CN209729871U - Substrate board treatment - Google Patents

Abstract

The utility model provides a kind of substrate board treatment, comprising: substrate rotating mechanism；The top of aforesaid substrate rotating mechanism is arranged in treatment fluid blowing unit；The top of aforesaid substrate rotating mechanism is arranged in displacement liquid blowing unit；And inert gas blowing unit, the top of aforesaid substrate rotating mechanism is set.

Description

Substrate processing apparatus

Technical Field

The utility model relates to a substrate processing device which replaces the processing liquid on the substrate with the replacement liquid after processing the substrate with the processing liquid, and blows inert gas to the replacement liquid on the substrate to remove the replacement liquid and dry the substrate.

Background

Conventionally, in the manufacture of semiconductor components, flat panel displays, and the like, various liquid processes such as cleaning and etching have been performed on substrates such as semiconductor wafers, liquid crystal substrates, and the like using a substrate processing apparatus.

For example, in a substrate processing apparatus that performs cleaning of a substrate, a cleaning liquid is supplied toward a rotating substrate, and a cleaning process is performed on the surface of the substrate with the cleaning liquid. Then, a rinse liquid is supplied toward the substrate, and the surface of the substrate is rinsed with the rinse liquid. Then, a replacement liquid (for example, IPA (isopropyl alcohol)) having a higher volatility than the treatment liquid (here, a rinse liquid (for example, pure water)) for treating the surface of the substrate is supplied, and the pure water is replaced with IPA.

In a conventional substrate processing apparatus, an IPA nozzle for ejecting IPA to 1 arm and a nitrogen nozzle for ejecting nitrogen are installed at intervals. The IPA nozzle ejects IPA vertically downward toward the substrate. Further, the nitrogen gas nozzle also ejects nitrogen gas vertically downward toward the substrate (for example, see patent document 1).

In the conventional substrate processing apparatus, IPA on the substrate is discharged to the outside of the substrate by the nitrogen gas by moving the arm from the upper center of the substrate to the outside in the same direction while the IPA and the nitrogen gas are being discharged.

Patent document 1: japanese laid-open patent publication No. 2010-45389

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

However, in the conventional substrate processing apparatus, if the gap between the IPA nozzle and the nitrogen nozzle is wide, IPA cannot be discharged from the substrate by the nitrogen gas and remains on the substrate, which causes particles and circuit pattern collapse. Therefore, the gap between the IPA nozzle and the nitrogen nozzle needs to be reduced, and in this case, since IPA is scattered by the nitrogen gas, the flow rate of the nitrogen gas is reduced and the IPA nozzle and the nitrogen nozzle are moved at a low speed. Thus, the time required to dry the substrate increases, and the consumption amount of IPA increases.

In order to increase the flow rate of nitrogen gas, the IPA nozzle and the nitrogen gas nozzle may be independently provided and moved in different directions. However, in this case, if the nitrogen gas discharged from the nitrogen gas nozzle exceeds the boundary with the substrate surface from which the IPA liquid film and IPA have been removed, IPA cannot be discharged from the substrate, which causes particle or pattern collapse. Therefore, the nitrogen nozzle needs to be moved at a low speed so as not to exceed the boundary of IPA. Thus, the time required to dry the substrate may increase.

Therefore, in the substrate processing apparatus, it is necessary to reduce the time required for drying the substrate and to reduce the consumption amount of IPA.

In a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus for drying a substrate after processing the substrate with a processing liquid, comprising: a substrate rotating mechanism for rotating the substrate; a treatment liquid ejecting section which is provided above the substrate rotating mechanism and ejects a treatment liquid to the substrate; a replacement liquid ejecting section which is provided above the substrate rotating mechanism and ejects a replacement liquid toward the substrate to replace the processing liquid on the substrate while relatively moving with respect to the substrate; and an inert gas discharge unit that is provided above the substrate rotation mechanism and discharges an inert gas obliquely in the outer circumferential direction from above the substrate while moving in a direction different from the direction of the replacement liquid discharge unit with respect to the substrate, wherein the replacement liquid discharge unit is configured to discharge the replacement liquid toward the substrate while moving in the outer circumferential direction from a center portion of the substrate to form a boundary at which a thickness of a liquid film of the replacement liquid is thicker on the outer circumferential portion side than the center portion side of the substrate, and the inert gas discharge unit is configured to discharge the inert gas vertically downward from above the substrate above the center of the substrate before moving with respect to the substrate to assist the formation of the boundary, and thereafter, to move in the outer circumferential direction of the substrate while stopping the discharge of the inert gas, the inert gas is jetted obliquely in the outer peripheral direction to the substrate.

In the first aspect, the inert gas discharge unit is configured to move at the same speed as the discharge rate of the inert gas per unit area of the substrate.

In the first aspect, the replacement liquid discharge unit is configured to move at the same speed as the discharge rate of the replacement liquid per unit area of the substrate.

In the first aspect, the inert gas discharge unit and the replacement liquid discharge unit are configured to move at the same speed.

In addition, according to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus for drying a substrate after processing the substrate with a processing liquid, comprising: a substrate rotating mechanism for rotating the substrate; a treatment liquid ejecting section which is provided above the substrate rotating mechanism and ejects a treatment liquid to the substrate; a replacement liquid ejecting section which is provided above the substrate rotating mechanism and ejects a replacement liquid toward the substrate to replace the processing liquid on the substrate while relatively moving with respect to the substrate; and an inert gas discharge unit that is provided above the substrate rotation mechanism and discharges an inert gas obliquely in a circumferential direction from above the substrate while moving in a direction different from the replacement liquid discharge unit with respect to the substrate, wherein the treatment liquid discharge unit is configured to discharge the treatment liquid to an outer circumferential side of the substrate with respect to the replacement liquid discharge unit and form a liquid film of the replacement liquid when the replacement liquid is discharged from the replacement liquid discharge unit to the substrate to form the liquid film of the replacement liquid on the substrate, and then stop the discharge of the treatment liquid and form the liquid film of the replacement liquid.

In the second aspect, the inert gas discharge unit is configured to move at the same speed as the discharge rate of the inert gas per unit area of the substrate.

In the second aspect, the replacement liquid discharge unit is configured to move at the same speed as the discharge rate of the replacement liquid per unit area of the substrate.

In the second aspect, the inert gas discharge unit and the replacement liquid discharge unit are configured to move at the same speed.

The utility model discloses in, can shorten the time that dry the base plate and reduce the consumption of replacement liquid to realize the productivity improvement and the reduction of running cost in the base plate processing.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a plan view showing a substrate processing apparatus.

Fig. 2 is a sectional side view showing a substrate liquid processing apparatus according to example 1.

Fig. 3 is a top view of fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an explanatory view of the operation of the substrate liquid processing apparatus of example 1 (cleaning process step).

Fig. 5 is an explanatory view of the operation of the substrate liquid processing apparatus according to example 1 (rinsing process).

Fig. 6 is an explanatory view of the operation of the substrate liquid processing apparatus according to example 1 (replacement process).

Fig. 7 is an explanatory view of the operation of the substrate liquid processing apparatus according to example 1 (central portion drying process).

Fig. 8 is an explanatory view of an enlarged operation of fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is an explanatory view of the operation of the substrate liquid processing apparatus of example 1 (peripheral portion drying process).

Fig. 10(a) is an enlarged operation explanatory diagram of fig. 9.

Fig. 10(b) is an enlarged operation explanatory diagram of fig. 9.

Fig. 10(c) is an enlarged operation explanatory diagram of fig. 9.

Fig. 10(d) is an enlarged operation explanatory diagram of fig. 9.

Fig. 11 is a flowchart showing a substrate processing routine.

Fig. 12 is a sectional side view showing a substrate liquid processing apparatus according to example 2.

Fig. 13 is an explanatory view of the operation of the substrate liquid processing apparatus of example 2 (cleaning process step).

Fig. 14 is an explanatory view of the operation of the substrate liquid processing apparatus according to example 2 (first half of the rinsing process).

Fig. 15 is an explanatory view of the operation of the substrate liquid processing apparatus according to example 2 (second half of the rinsing process).

Fig. 16 is an explanatory view of the operation of the substrate liquid processing apparatus according to example 2 (first half of the replacement processing step).

Fig. 17 is an explanatory view of the operation of the substrate liquid processing apparatus according to example 2 (second half of the replacement processing step).

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, a specific configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Example 1

As shown in fig. 1, a substrate processing apparatus 1 according to example 1 has a carrying-in/out section 2 formed at a distal end thereof. A carrier 4 containing a plurality of (e.g., 25) substrates 3 (semiconductor wafers in this case) is carried in and out by the carrying in and out section 2, and is arranged and placed on the left and right.

The substrate processing apparatus 1 further includes a transport unit 5 formed at the rear of the carry-in/out unit 2. The transfer unit 5 has a substrate transfer device 6 disposed on the front side and a substrate transfer table 7 disposed on the rear side. In the transfer unit 5, the substrate 3 is transferred between any one of the carriers 4 placed on the carry-in/out unit 2 and the substrate transfer table 7 by using the substrate transfer device 6.

The substrate processing apparatus 1 further includes a processing unit 8 formed at a rear portion of the transfer unit 5. The processing unit 8 has a substrate transfer device 9 extending in the front-rear direction disposed at the center thereof, and substrate liquid processing devices 10 for performing liquid processing on the substrate 3 disposed in tandem on both the left and right sides of the substrate transfer device 9. In the processing unit 8, the substrate 3 is transported between the substrate transfer table 7 and the substrate liquid treatment apparatus 10 by the substrate transport apparatus 9, and the liquid treatment of the substrate 3 is performed by the substrate liquid treatment apparatus 10.

As shown in fig. 2 and 3, the substrate liquid processing apparatus 10 includes: a substrate holding unit 11 for holding and rotating the substrate 3; a cleaning liquid discharge section 12 for discharging a cleaning liquid as a processing liquid to the substrate 3; a rinse liquid discharge unit 13 for discharging a rinse liquid as a processing liquid onto the substrate 3; a replacement liquid ejecting section 14 for ejecting replacement liquid to the substrate 3; an inert gas ejection unit 15 for ejecting an inert gas to the substrate 3; and a recovery unit 16 for recovering the cleaning liquid, the rinse liquid, the replacement liquid, and the like, and having a control unit 17 for controlling these. The replacement liquid herein is a liquid having a higher volatility than the treatment liquid formed on the surface of the substrate 3.

The substrate holding portion 11 is provided with a vertically extending rotation shaft 19 rotatably at substantially the center inside the substrate processing chamber 18. A disk-shaped turntable 20 is horizontally attached to an upper end of the rotary shaft 19. At the outer peripheral edge of the turntable 20, 3 substrate holders 21 are attached at equal intervals in the circumferential direction.

The substrate holding unit 11 connects the substrate rotating mechanism 22 and the substrate lifting mechanism 23 to the rotating shaft 19. The substrate rotation mechanism 22 and the substrate lift mechanism 23 are controlled to rotate or lift by the controller 17.

The substrate holding unit 11 horizontally holds the substrate 3 by the substrate holder 21 of the turntable 20. The substrate holding unit 11 rotates the substrate 3 held by the turntable 20 by the substrate rotation mechanism 22, and raises and lowers the turntable 20 or the substrate 3 by the substrate raising and lowering mechanism 23.

The cleaning liquid discharge section 12 has a guide rail 24 provided in the substrate processing chamber 18, and an arm 25 provided on the guide rail 24 so as to be movable laterally, the guide rail 24 extending horizontally in the lateral direction, and the arm 25 extending horizontally in the front-rear direction. At the lower right end of the front end of the arm 25, a cleaning liquid nozzle 26 is installed vertically downward. A cleaning liquid supply source 27 for supplying a cleaning liquid (for example, SC-1) is connected to the cleaning liquid nozzle 26 via a flow rate adjuster 28. The flow rate controller 28 controls the flow rate by the control unit 17.

The cleaning liquid discharge section 12 is connected to the arm 25 via the 1 st nozzle moving mechanism 29. The 1 st nozzle moving mechanism 29 is controlled by the controller 17.

The cleaning liquid discharge portion 12 can move the cleaning liquid nozzle 26 between the upper center (start position) of the substrate 3 and the outer right side (retreat position) of the substrate 3 by the first nozzle moving mechanism 29, and discharge the cleaning liquid onto the surface (upper surface) of the substrate 3.

The rinse liquid discharge unit 13 includes a guide rail 30 provided in the substrate processing chamber 18, and an arm 31 provided on the guide rail 30 so as to be movable laterally, the guide rail 30 extending horizontally in the lateral direction, and the arm 31 extending horizontally in the longitudinal direction. At the lower left end of the front end of the arm 31, a rinse liquid nozzle 32 is installed vertically downward. A rinse liquid supply source 33 for supplying a rinse liquid (for example, deionized water) is connected to the rinse liquid nozzle 32 through a flow rate regulator 34. The flow rate controller 34 controls the flow rate by the control unit 17.

The rinse liquid discharge unit 13 is connected to the arm 31 via a 2 nd nozzle moving mechanism 35. The 2 nd nozzle moving mechanism 35 is controlled by the controller 17.

The rinse liquid discharge unit 13 can move the rinse liquid nozzle 32 between the upper center (start position) of the substrate 3 and the outer left side (retreat position) of the substrate 3 by the 2 nd nozzle moving mechanism 35, and discharge the rinse liquid toward the front surface (upper surface) of the substrate 3.

The replacement liquid discharge section 14 has a replacement liquid nozzle 36 attached vertically downward to the lower right end of the front end of the left arm 31. A replacement liquid supply source 37 for supplying a replacement liquid (for example, IPA) is connected to the replacement liquid nozzle 36 via a flow rate adjuster 38. The flow rate controller 38 controls the flow rate by the control unit 17.

The replacement liquid discharge unit 14 can move the replacement liquid nozzle 36 between the upper center (start position) of the substrate 3 and the outer left side (retreat position) of the substrate 3 by the 2 nd nozzle moving mechanism 35, and discharge the replacement liquid toward the surface (upper surface) of the substrate 3.

The inert gas ejection part 15 has a 1 st inert gas nozzle 39 attached vertically downward to the center of the lower part of the tip of the right arm 25, and a 2 nd inert gas nozzle 40 attached obliquely downward to the right from above to the left at the lower part of the tip of the right arm 25. An inert gas supply source 41 for supplying an inert gas (e.g., nitrogen gas) is connected to the 1 st and 2 nd inert gas nozzles 39 and 40 through flow rate regulators 42 and 43, respectively. The flow rate regulators 42 and 43 are controlled by the control unit 17.

The inert gas ejection portion 15 can move the 1 st and 2 nd inert gas nozzles 39 and 40 between the upper center (start position) of the substrate 3 and the right outer side (retreat position) of the substrate 3 by the 1 st nozzle moving mechanism 29, and can eject the inert gas toward the surface (upper surface) of the substrate 3. At this time, from the 1 st inert gas nozzle 39, the inert gas is ejected vertically downward to the surface of the substrate 3. On the other hand, the inert gas is obliquely discharged from the 2 nd inert gas nozzle 40 onto the surface of the substrate 3.

The recovery unit 16 is provided with an annular recovery cup 44 around the turntable 20. An opening having a size one turn larger than the turntable 20 is formed in the upper end portion of the recovery cup 44. Further, a drain pipe 45 is connected to the lower end of the collection cup 44.

The recovery unit 16 recovers the processing liquid, the replacement liquid, and the like supplied to the surface of the substrate 3 by the recovery cup 44, and discharges the processing liquid, the replacement liquid, and the like to the outside through the drain pipe 45.

The substrate processing apparatus 1 is configured as described above, and processes the substrate 3 by being controlled by the control unit 17 in accordance with various programs recorded in the recording medium 46 provided in the control unit 17 (computer). The recording medium 46 stores various setting data and programs, and is configured by a well-known recording device such as a memory such as a ROM or a RAM, a hard disk, a disk-shaped recording medium such as a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, or a flexible disk, and the like.

The substrate processing apparatus 1 performs processing of the substrate 3 in accordance with a substrate processing program (see fig. 11) recorded in the recording medium 46 as described below.

First, as shown by a chain line in fig. 2, the substrate treatment apparatus 1 receives the substrate 3 conveyed by the substrate conveyance apparatus 9 by the substrate liquid treatment apparatus 10 (substrate receiving step).

In the substrate receiving step, the controller 17 raises the turntable 20 to a predetermined position by the substrate lifting mechanism 23. Then, the substrate holder 21 horizontally holds the 1 substrate 3 transferred from the substrate transfer device 9 into the substrate processing chamber 18. Then, the turntable 20 is lowered to a predetermined position by the substrate lifting mechanism 23. In the substrate receiving step, the cleaning liquid nozzle 26, the rinse liquid nozzle 32, the replacement liquid nozzle 36, and the 1 st and 2 nd inert gas nozzles 39 and 40 are retracted to retracted positions outside the outer periphery of the turntable 20 in advance.

Next, as shown in fig. 4, the substrate processing apparatus 1 processes the surface of the substrate 3 with a cleaning liquid (cleaning process).

In this cleaning process, the controller 17 moves the arm 25 by the first nozzle moving mechanism 29 to move the cleaning liquid nozzle 26 to the supply start position above the center of the substrate 3. The substrate 3 is rotated by rotating the turntable 20 at a predetermined rotation speed by the substrate rotation mechanism 22. Then, the cleaning liquid controlled to a predetermined flow rate by the flow rate regulator 28 is discharged from the cleaning liquid nozzle 26 toward the surface of the substrate 3. The cleaning liquid supplied to the substrate 3 is collected by the collection cup 44 and discharged to the outside through the drain pipe 45. Then, the discharge of the cleaning liquid is stopped by the flow rate adjuster 28. At the end of the cleaning process, the arm 25 is moved by the 1 st nozzle moving mechanism 29, and the cleaning liquid nozzle 26 is moved to a retracted position outside the outer periphery of the substrate 3 in the right direction.

Next, as shown in fig. 5, the substrate processing apparatus 1 processes the surface of the substrate 3 with a rinse liquid (rinse process).

In the rinsing process, the controller 17 moves the rinse liquid nozzle 32 to the supply start position above the center of the substrate 3 by moving the arm 31 by the 2 nd nozzle moving mechanism 35. Then, the rinse liquid controlled to a predetermined flow rate by the flow rate controller 34 is discharged from the rinse liquid nozzle 32 toward the front surface of the substrate 3. During the period from the stop of the discharge of the cleaning liquid to the start of the discharge of the rinse liquid, the cleaning liquid remains at least on both sides of the circuit pattern formed on the front surface of the substrate 3 (see fig. 10 (b)). Further, the rinse liquid nozzle 32 is horizontally moved from the upper center toward the left outer side along the substrate 3 by the 2 nd nozzle moving mechanism 35. The rinse liquid supplied to the substrate 3 is collected by the collection cup 44 and discharged to the outside through the drain pipe 45. Then, the discharge of the rinse liquid is stopped by the flow rate regulator 34. At the end of the rinsing process, the rinse liquid nozzle 32 is moved to the retreated position to the outside of the outer periphery of the substrate 3 by moving the arm 31 by the 2 nd nozzle moving mechanism 35.

Next, the substrate processing apparatus 1 removes the rinse liquid from the surface of the substrate 3 while rotating the substrate 3, and performs a drying process of the substrate 3 (drying process step). The drying process comprises: a replacement treatment step (1 st drying treatment step) of replacing the rinse liquid on the surface of the substrate 3 with a replacement liquid; a central portion drying step (2 nd drying step) of blowing an inert gas to the central portion of the substrate 3 to partially dry only the central portion of the substrate 3; and an outer peripheral portion drying step (3 rd drying step) of gradually drying the entire outer peripheral portion from the central portion of the substrate 3 by blowing an inert gas while moving from the central portion to the outer peripheral portion of the substrate 3.

In the replacement processing step, as shown in fig. 6, the controller 17 moves the arm 31 by the 2 nd nozzle moving mechanism 35 and moves the replacement liquid nozzle 36 to the supply start position above the center portion of the substrate 3. Then, the replacement liquid controlled to a predetermined flow rate by the flow rate regulator 38 is ejected vertically downward from the replacement liquid nozzle 36 toward the surface of the substrate 3.

In the replacement processing step, the rinse liquid remaining on the surface of the substrate 3 in the rinse processing step is replaced with the replacement liquid, and a liquid film 47 (see fig. 8) containing the replacement liquid or the replacement liquid of the rinse liquid is formed on the surface of the substrate 3.

Next, in the central portion drying process step, as shown in fig. 7, the controller 17 moves the arm 25 by the 1 st nozzle moving mechanism 29 and moves the 1 st inert gas nozzle 39 to the supply start position above the central portion of the substrate 3. Then, the inert gas controlled to a predetermined flow rate by the flow rate regulator 42 is ejected vertically downward from the 1 st inert gas nozzle 39 toward the surface of the substrate 3. At this time, the 1 st nozzle moving mechanism 29 is not driven, and the 1 st inert gas nozzle 39 is stopped above the center of the substrate 3 in advance. In the central drying process, the replacement liquid controlled to a predetermined flow rate by the flow rate controller 38 is ejected vertically downward from the replacement liquid nozzle 36 toward the front surface of the substrate 3 while the replacement liquid nozzle 36 is horizontally moved toward the left outer side along the substrate 3 by the 2 nd nozzle moving mechanism 35.

In the central portion drying process, as shown in fig. 8, the inert gas is ejected vertically downward toward the central portion of the substrate 3 from the 1 st inert gas nozzle 39 stopped above the center of the substrate 3. Therefore, the liquid film 47 of the replacement liquid formed on the surface of the substrate 3 in the replacement process is removed only at the center of the substrate 3, and is partially dried only at the center of the substrate 3. Thus, a boundary 48 is formed on the surface of the substrate 3, and the thickness of the liquid film of the replacement liquid is larger on the outer peripheral side of the substrate 3 than on the central side of the substrate 3 at the boundary 48. At this time, since the inert gas is ejected vertically downward, a substantially perfect circle boundary 48 in a plan view can be formed at the center of the substrate 3. By thus ejecting the inert gas vertically downward to the center of the substrate 3, the boundary 48 can be expanded uniformly from the center of the substrate 3 toward the periphery, and the replacement liquid can be discharged efficiently in the outer circumferential direction of the substrate 3.

Next, in the peripheral portion drying process step, as shown in fig. 9, after the control portion 17 stops the ejection of the inert gas from the 1 st inert gas nozzle 39 by the flow rate regulator 42, the 1 st nozzle moving mechanism 29 moves the arm 25 and moves the 2 nd inert gas nozzle 40 to the supply start position above the center portion of the substrate 3. Then, the inert gas controlled to a predetermined flow rate by the flow rate regulator 43 is ejected obliquely outward from above the substrate 3 toward the surface of the substrate 3 from the 2 nd inert gas nozzle 40. At this time, the 1 st nozzle moving mechanism 29 horizontally moves the 2 nd inert gas nozzle 40 from the center of the substrate 3 toward the right peripheral edge along the substrate 3. Then, the inert gas is ejected so as to reach a position near the front side of the boundary (the side where the liquid film is not formed). In the peripheral portion drying process, the replacement liquid controlled to a predetermined flow rate by the flow rate regulator 38 is ejected vertically downward from the replacement liquid nozzle 36 toward the front surface of the substrate 3 while the replacement liquid nozzle 36 is horizontally moved toward the left outer side along the substrate 3 by the 2 nd nozzle moving mechanism 35. Thus, a boundary 48 is formed on the surface of the substrate 3, and the thickness of the liquid film of the replacement liquid is larger on the outer peripheral side of the substrate 3 than on the central side of the substrate 3 at the boundary 48. The inert gas is ejected to the center side of the substrate 3 with respect to the boundary 48. Then, the discharge of the replacement liquid and the inert gas is stopped by the flow rate regulators 38 and 42. After the discharge of the replacement liquid and the inert gas is stopped, the rotation of the substrate 3 (the turntable 20) is stopped by the substrate rotation mechanism 22 after a predetermined time has elapsed. At the end of the outer periphery drying process, the arm 31 is moved by the 2 nd nozzle moving mechanism 35, and the replacement liquid nozzle 36 is moved to a retracted position that is further to the outside in the left direction than the outer periphery of the substrate 3. The arm 25 is moved by the 1 st nozzle moving mechanism 29, and the 1 st and 2 nd inert gas nozzles 39 and 40 are moved to the retracted positions to the outside of the outer periphery of the substrate 3. By ejecting the replacement liquid vertically downward toward the substrate 3 in this manner, the replacement liquid can be spread to the deep portion between the circuit patterns formed on the surface of the substrate 3. Further, by ejecting the inert gas to the boundary surface of the liquid film formed on the surface of the substrate 3, the replacement liquid can be efficiently discharged with the inert gas, and the particle residue or the collapse of the circuit pattern can be suppressed.

In this outer peripheral portion drying process step, as shown in fig. 9, the controller 17 moves the substitution liquid nozzle 36 from above the center of the substrate 3 to the left and to the right, and on the other hand, moves the 2 nd inert gas nozzle 40 from above the center of the substrate 3 to the right and to the right. By making the moving directions of the replacement liquid nozzle 36 and the 2 nd inert gas nozzle 40 different from each other in this way, the inert gas is not ejected from the 2 nd inert gas nozzle 40 to a relatively thick portion of the liquid film 47 of the replacement liquid formed on the surface of the substrate 3 immediately after being ejected from the replacement liquid nozzle 36 to the substrate 3, but the inert gas is blown to a relatively thin portion of the liquid film 47 of the replacement liquid, and scattering of the replacement liquid due to wind pressure of the inert gas can be suppressed. This can increase the flow rate of the inert gas discharged from the 2 nd inert gas nozzle 40.

In the peripheral portion drying process, as shown in fig. 9, the controller 17 obliquely ejects the inert gas from above the substrate 3 toward the substrate 3 from the 2 nd inert gas nozzle 40. Therefore, as shown in fig. 10 a, the velocity distribution (pressure distribution) of the inert gas ejected in the direction inclined with respect to the normal line 49 of the substrate 3 in the direction along the surface of the substrate 3 (horizontal direction) in the vicinity of the surface of the substrate 3 is substantially the same in the thickness range of the liquid film 47, and the inert gas uniformly contacts the boundary 48 of the liquid film 47 of the replacement liquid, and the replacement liquid can be discharged in the outer circumferential direction of the substrate 3. In this way, since the inert gas can be obliquely discharged to the substrate 3 and the drying capability by the inert gas can be increased, the moving speed of the 2 nd inert gas nozzle 40 can be increased. This can shorten the time required to dry the substrate 3 and reduce the consumption of the replacement liquid. As shown in fig. 10(b), the inert gas is blown to a relatively wide range on the surface of the substrate 3, and the inert gas is blown to both sides of the circuit pattern 50 formed on the surface of the substrate 3, so that the liquid level difference Δ H of the replacement liquid remaining on both sides of the circuit pattern 50 can be reduced. Here, the stress (stress that collapses the circuit pattern 50) F acting on the circuit pattern 50 is represented by the following formula (1):

f2 · γ · cos θ · Δ H · D/s. (formula 1)

Wherein,

γ: surface tension

θ: contact angle

D: length of the circuit pattern 50

S: the spacing of the circuit pattern 50.

Therefore, if the difference Δ H between the liquid levels of the replacement liquid on both sides of the circuit pattern 50 is small, the external force (collapse stress F) acting on the circuit pattern 50 is reduced as can be derived from the above equation (1), and collapse of the circuit pattern 50 can be prevented. When the inert gas is ejected in the same direction as the normal line 49 of the substrate 3, as shown in fig. 10 c, the velocity (pressure) in the direction (horizontal direction) along the surface of the substrate 3 in the vicinity of the surface of the substrate 3 becomes larger as it approaches the surface of the substrate 3. As shown in fig. 10(d), the inert gas may be blown to a relatively narrow range on the surface of the substrate 3, and the difference Δ H between the liquid levels of the replacement liquid remaining on both sides of the circuit pattern 50 may increase, and the collapse stress F derived from the above equation (1) may increase, thereby collapsing the circuit pattern 50.

In the outer peripheral portion drying process step, the control portion 17 ejects the inert gas toward the boundary 48 formed on the surface of the substrate 3 in the central portion drying process step. This makes it possible to enlarge the dried portion (boundary 48) outward from the central portion of the substrate 3, with the dried portion of the central portion of the substrate 3 being the core in the central portion drying process. Then, in the peripheral portion drying process, the inert gas is ejected toward the expanded boundary 48 while moving to the outside of the substrate 3. As a result, the boundary 48 can be moved while gradually expanding from the central portion to the outer peripheral edge portion of the substrate 3, and the replacement liquid can be discharged well outside the outer periphery of the substrate 3 over the entire surface of the substrate 3.

In the peripheral portion drying process, the controller 17 obliquely discharges the inert gas from the 2 nd inert gas nozzle 40 in the same direction (see fig. 8) as the normal direction of the boundary 48 formed on the substrate 3 (the direction of a straight line connecting the center and the outer periphery of the substrate 3). This makes it possible to uniformly discharge the inert gas to the boundary 48 and improve the drying performance by the inert gas.

In the peripheral portion drying process, the controller 17 moves the 2 nd inert gas nozzle 40 at a speed gradually decreasing from the central portion of the substrate 3 to the outer side, so that the inert gas is ejected at the same speed per unit area of the substrate 3. This makes it possible to equalize the amount of the inert gas blown to the replacement liquid and uniformly dry the entire surface of the substrate 3. Further, since the liquid level can be uniformly lowered on both sides of the circuit pattern 50 and the liquid level difference Δ H can be made small by equalizing the amount of the inert gas blown to the replacement liquid, the collapse stress F derived from the above equation (1) becomes small, and the collapse of the circuit pattern 50 can be prevented. In this case, the replacement liquid nozzle 36 is moved at the same speed as the discharge amount of the replacement liquid per unit area of the substrate 3, and the replacement liquid nozzle 36 and the 2 nd inert gas nozzle 40 are moved at the same speed, whereby the entire surface of the single-layer substrate 3 can be dried more uniformly.

In the peripheral portion drying process, the controller 17 obliquely discharges the inert gas toward the substrate 3 from above the substrate 3 toward the substrate 3 from the 2 nd inert gas nozzle 40 in the peripheral direction. The ejection angle is preferably in the range of 40 to 60 degrees with respect to the normal line of the substrate 3, and more preferably 45 degrees. The 2 nd inert gas nozzle may be configured such that 1 nozzle is moved from the center of the substrate 3 to the outside, or a plurality of nozzles are alternately moved in the middle. The 2 nd inert gas nozzle may have a structure in which a plurality of nozzles or a plurality of discharge ports are provided in the arm 25.

Finally, as shown by a chain line in fig. 2, the substrate treatment apparatus 1 delivers the substrate 3 from the substrate liquid treatment apparatus 10 to the substrate transfer apparatus 9 (substrate delivery step).

In the substrate transfer step, the controller 17 raises the turntable 20 to a predetermined position by the substrate lift mechanism 23. Then, the substrate 3 held by the turntable 20 is delivered to the substrate transfer device 9. Then, the turntable 20 is lowered to a predetermined position by the substrate lifting mechanism 23.

As described above, in the substrate processing apparatus 1 (the substrate processing method performed by the substrate processing apparatus 1), the replacement liquid is ejected toward the substrate 3 while relatively moving the substrate 3, and the inert gas is ejected obliquely toward the substrate 3 from above the substrate 3 while moving the substrate 3 in a direction different from that of the replacement liquid, so that the time required for drying the substrate 3 can be shortened, the consumption amount of the replacement liquid can be reduced, and improvement in productivity and reduction in running cost in substrate processing can be achieved.

Example 2

In the substrate liquid processing apparatus 10 according to embodiment 1, the cleaning liquid nozzle 26 and the 1 st and 2 nd inert gas nozzles 39 and 40 are provided on the same arm 25 and integrally movable by the 1 st nozzle moving mechanism 29, and the rinse liquid nozzle 32 and the replacement liquid nozzle 36 are provided on the same arm 31 and integrally movable by the 2 nd nozzle moving mechanism 35, but the present invention is not limited to the above configuration as long as the replacement liquid nozzle 36 and the 2 nd inert gas nozzle 40 can be moved in different directions.

For example, in the substrate liquid processing apparatus 52 of example 2 shown in fig. 12, the rinse liquid nozzle 32 is provided on the arm 25 provided with the 1 st and 2 nd inert gas nozzles 39 and 40, and the cleaning liquid and rinse liquid nozzle 53 is provided on the arm 31 provided with the replacement liquid nozzle 36. Then, the cleaning liquid supply source 27 and the rinse liquid supply source 33 are connected to the cleaning liquid and rinse liquid nozzle 53 by the flow rate regulators 28 and 54, and the cleaning liquid and the rinse liquid are selectively discharged from the cleaning liquid and rinse liquid nozzle 53. In the following description of example 2, the same components as those of example 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

In the substrate liquid treatment apparatus 52 of example 2, the substrate receiving step is performed and then the cleaning step is performed as shown in fig. 13, similarly to the substrate liquid treatment apparatus 10 of example 1.

In this cleaning process, the controller 17 moves the arm 31 by the 2 nd nozzle moving mechanism 35 and moves the cleaning liquid and rinse liquid nozzle 53 to the supply start position above the center of the substrate 3. The substrate 3 is rotated by rotating the turntable 20 at a predetermined rotation speed by the substrate rotation mechanism 22. Then, the cleaning liquid controlled to a predetermined flow rate by the flow rate regulator 28 is discharged from the cleaning liquid and rinse liquid nozzle 53 toward the surface of the substrate 3. Then, the discharge of the cleaning liquid is stopped by the flow rate adjuster 28.

Next, as shown in fig. 14 and 15, the substrate processing apparatus 52 processes the surface of the substrate 3 with a rinse liquid (rinse process).

In the rinsing process, as shown in fig. 14, the controller 17 ejects the rinse liquid, which is controlled to a predetermined flow rate by the flow rate controller 54, toward the front surface of the substrate 3 from the cleaning liquid and rinse liquid nozzle 53 moved to the supply start position above the center of the substrate 3 in the cleaning process. Thereby, a liquid film of the rinse liquid is formed on the surface of the substrate 3. Then, as shown in fig. 15, the controller 17 moves the rinse liquid nozzle 32 to above the outer periphery of the substrate 3 by the first nozzle moving mechanism 29 1. Then, while the rinse liquid nozzle 32 is moved horizontally toward the outer peripheral edge of the substrate 3 by the first nozzle moving mechanism 29, the rinse liquid controlled to a predetermined flow rate by the flow rate regulator 34 is ejected from the rinse liquid nozzle 32 toward the front surface of the substrate 3. At this time, the moving speed or the moving range of the rinse liquid nozzle 32 or the discharge flow rate of the rinse liquid is adjusted so that the liquid film of the rinse liquid is formed on the surface of the substrate 3.

Next, the substrate liquid processing apparatus 52 removes the film-like rinse liquid formed on the surface of the substrate 3, thereby performing a drying process on the substrate 3 (drying process step). The drying process can be performed using the 1 st and 2 nd inert gas nozzles 39 and 40 in the same manner as the substrate liquid processing apparatus 10 of example 1.

That is, in the replacement processing step, as shown in fig. 16, the control unit 17 stops the rinse liquid nozzle 32 at a predetermined position above the outer periphery of the substrate 3, continues to discharge the rinse liquid toward the substrate 3, and moves the arm 31 by the 2 nd nozzle moving mechanism 35 to move the replacement liquid nozzle 36 to the supply start position above the center of the substrate 3. Then, the supply of the rinse liquid from the rinse liquid and rinse liquid nozzle 53 is stopped by the flow rate regulator 54. The replacement liquid controlled to a predetermined flow rate by the flow rate regulator 38 is ejected vertically downward from the replacement liquid nozzle 36 toward the surface of the substrate 3. Thereby, the replacement liquid is supplied to the surface of the substrate 3 in a state where the liquid film of the rinse liquid is formed on the surface of the substrate 3. Then, as shown in fig. 17, the control unit 17 stops the discharge of the rinse liquid by the flow rate adjuster 34. As a result, the rinse liquid is pushed out from the outer peripheral edge of the substrate 3 on the surface of the substrate 3 by the replacement liquid, and the rinse liquid remaining on the surface of the substrate 3 is replaced with the replacement liquid in the rinse treatment step, so that a liquid film 47 (see fig. 8) containing the replacement liquid or the replacement liquid of the rinse liquid is formed on the surface of the substrate 3.

Then, the substrate liquid treatment apparatus 52 performs a drying process (a central portion drying process, an outer peripheral portion drying process) and a substrate transfer process in the same manner as the substrate liquid treatment apparatus 10 of example 1.

The substrate liquid processing apparatus 10 according to example 1 described above forms a liquid film of the rinse liquid by supplying the rinse liquid to the front surface of the substrate 3 in advance, and starts supplying the replacement liquid after stopping supplying the rinse liquid, thereby replacing the rinse liquid with the replacement liquid in the replacement processing step. However, when a liquid film of the rinse liquid is formed on the surface of the substrate 3, a centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the substrate 3 acts on the liquid film of the rinse liquid. The centrifugal force is larger on the outer peripheral side of the substrate 3 than on the central portion of the substrate 3. Therefore, the liquid film of the rinse liquid is thrown off on the outer peripheral side of the substrate 3 before the liquid film of the replacement liquid is formed on the entire surface of the substrate 3. Further, a liquid film of the replacement liquid may not be formed on the outer peripheral side of the substrate 3, and droplets of the replacement liquid may be formed, whereby substances and the like in the environment may be dissolved into the droplets, and water marks or particles may be generated on the surface of the substrate 3. As a countermeasure, it is conceivable to reduce the centrifugal force and hold the liquid film of the rinse liquid by lowering the rotation speed of the substrate 3 when supplying the replacement liquid. In addition, in this case, the processing time may be lengthened, and the productivity of the substrate processing apparatus 1 may be lowered. In addition, in order to reliably form a liquid film of the replacement liquid, it is conceivable to increase the flow rate of the replacement liquid, but this may increase the consumption amount of the replacement liquid.

On the other hand, in the substrate liquid processing apparatus 53 of the above-described embodiment 2, in the replacement processing step, the rinse liquid is supplied to the front surface of the substrate 3 in advance to form the liquid film of the rinse liquid, and the supply of the replacement liquid is started while replenishing the rinse liquid to the substrate 3 without stopping the supply of the rinse liquid, so that the rinse liquid is replaced with the replacement liquid. Therefore, the liquid film of the replacement liquid can be formed on the surface of the substrate 3 without throwing away the liquid film of the rinse liquid on the outer peripheral side of the substrate 3. Thus, in the substrate liquid processing apparatus 53 of example 2, the substrate 3 can be processed satisfactorily while suppressing the generation of water marks and the remaining of particles without lowering the productivity of the substrate processing apparatus 1. Further, a liquid film can be formed without increasing the consumption of the replacement liquid.

In addition, in the substrate liquid processing apparatus 53 of example 2, in the case where the replacement process is performed after the rinse process, the process liquid is replenished to form the liquid film of the process liquid, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention can also be applied to a case where the replacement process is performed by replacing the process liquid (hydrophobizing liquid) with the replacement liquid after the hydrophobizing process is performed on the substrate 3 with the process liquid (hydrophobizing liquid).

AI: artificial intelligence

The control unit 17 may further include an AI (Artificial Intelligence). The AI includes a machine learning module that performs machine learning using accumulated data obtained by associating processing recipe data including various parameters, results of substrate processing performed based on the processing recipe data (inspection results of the processed substrate 3, and the like) with sensor values and the like acquired from various sensors during substrate processing, for example.

Thus, the AI can output, for example, processing method data that optimizes parameters so that a better test result can be obtained. Examples of parameters that can be optimized are: the temperature, flow rate, and supply time of each treatment liquid; temperature, humidity, air pressure and exhaust flow rate within the device; the conveyance speed of the substrate 3, the standby time, and the like.

The control unit 17 can optimize a series of substrate processes by using the optimized processing method data. For example, the ratio of the substrates 3 determined to be defective in the inspection process can be reduced, or the processing accuracy of the substrates 3 can be improved.

As the mechanical learning, for example, a known algorithm such as deep learning, SVM (Support Vector Machine), adaptive boosting (AdaBoost), Random Forest (Random Forest) or the like can be used.

Claims (8)

1. A substrate processing apparatus for drying a substrate after processing the substrate with a processing liquid, comprising:

a substrate rotating mechanism that rotates the substrate;

a treatment liquid ejecting section which is provided above the substrate rotating mechanism and ejects a treatment liquid to the substrate;

a replacement liquid ejecting section which is provided above the substrate rotating mechanism and ejects a replacement liquid toward the substrate to replace the processing liquid on the substrate while relatively moving with respect to the substrate; and

an inert gas discharge unit provided above the substrate rotation unit and discharging an inert gas obliquely in a peripheral direction from above the substrate while moving in a direction different from the direction of the replacement liquid discharge unit with respect to the substrate,

the replacement liquid discharge section is configured to discharge the replacement liquid toward the substrate while moving in an outer circumferential direction from a central portion of the substrate to form a boundary in which a thickness of a liquid film of the replacement liquid is greater on an outer circumferential portion side of the substrate than on a central portion side of the substrate,

the inert gas ejection unit is configured to eject the inert gas vertically downward from above the substrate above a center of the substrate to assist formation of the boundary before moving relative to the substrate, and then to eject the inert gas obliquely in a circumferential direction of the substrate while moving in the circumferential direction of the substrate after stopping ejection of the inert gas.

2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the inert gas discharge unit is configured to move at a speed at which the inert gas is discharged at a rate equal to a discharge rate of the inert gas per unit area of the substrate.

3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the replacement liquid discharge unit is configured to move at the same speed as the discharge amount of the replacement liquid per unit area of the substrate.

4. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the inert gas discharge section and the replacement liquid discharge section are configured to move at the same speed.

5. A substrate processing apparatus for drying a substrate after processing the substrate with a processing liquid, comprising:

a substrate rotating mechanism that rotates the substrate;

a treatment liquid ejecting section which is provided above the substrate rotating mechanism and ejects a treatment liquid to the substrate;

a replacement liquid ejecting section which is provided above the substrate rotating mechanism and ejects a replacement liquid toward the substrate to replace the processing liquid on the substrate while relatively moving with respect to the substrate; and

an inert gas discharge unit provided above the substrate rotation unit and discharging an inert gas obliquely in a peripheral direction from above the substrate while moving in a direction different from the direction of the replacement liquid discharge unit with respect to the substrate,

the treatment liquid discharge section is configured to discharge the treatment liquid to an outer peripheral side of the substrate with respect to the replacement liquid to form a liquid film of the treatment liquid, and then to stop discharge of the treatment liquid to form the liquid film of the replacement liquid, when the replacement liquid is discharged from the replacement liquid discharge section to the substrate to form the liquid film of the replacement liquid on the substrate.

6. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein:

the inert gas discharge unit is configured to move at a speed at which the inert gas is discharged at a rate equal to a discharge rate of the inert gas per unit area of the substrate.

7. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein:

the replacement liquid discharge unit is configured to move at the same speed as the discharge amount of the replacement liquid per unit area of the substrate.

8. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein:

the inert gas discharge section and the replacement liquid discharge section are configured to move at the same speed.