JP2003088793A - Method and apparatus for treating substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate holding mechanism and a substrate holding method in which dust is not produced by abrasion, and a substrate holding position is not varied and a substrate treatment apparatus using the mechanism and the method. SOLUTION: A circumferential fringe part holding chuck 221 which holds and rotates a wafer W has three holding members 311-313. Each holding member 311-313 has a support part 321 for supporting the lower surface of the circumferential fringe part of the wafer W and a pair of holding pins 32A and 32B for holding the wafer W by contacting the circumferential fringe part of the water W. While the chuck 221 is rotated at a constant speed, air cylinders 81-83 are driven, and the holding pins 32A and 32B holding the wafer W are changed over. In this way, a wafer W holding position can be changed without rotating the wafer W relatively to the chuck 221.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a semiconductor wafer,
Etching liquids and the like are applied to various types of substrates such as glass substrates for liquid crystal display devices and glass substrates for PDPs (plasma display panels), optical disc substrates, magnetic disc substrates, magneto-optical disc substrates and photomask substrates. The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method for performing processing with a processing liquid.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the process of manufacturing a semiconductor device, after a metal thin film such as a copper thin film is formed on the entire surface of a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter simply referred to as "wafer") and the peripheral end face (in some cases, the back face). In some cases, a process of removing an unnecessary portion of the metal thin film by etching is performed. For example, since the copper thin film for forming the wiring has only to be formed in the element formation region on the front surface of the wafer, the peripheral portion of the front surface of the wafer (for example, a portion having a width of about 5 mm from the peripheral edge of the wafer), the back surface and the peripheral portion. The copper thin film formed on the end face is unnecessary. Not only that, copper or copper ions on the back surface and the peripheral edge surface contaminate the hand of the substrate transfer robot provided in the substrate processing apparatus, and this contamination is transferred to another substrate held by the hand. Cause problems.

A substrate processing apparatus for etching and removing the copper thin film on the peripheral edge and the peripheral edge of the wafer is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-104171. In one substrate processing apparatus disclosed in this publication, the wafer is held and rotated by a vacuum adsorption type spin chuck in order to process the peripheral end surface of the wafer over the entire circumference, and the wafer is rotated toward the peripheral portion thereof. An etching solution is supplied. However, with this configuration, since the back surface of the wafer cannot be processed, it is necessary to transfer the wafer to another chamber and perform the back surface processing of the wafer afterwards.

Therefore, in another substrate processing apparatus disclosed in the above publication, the wafer is rotated by a sandwich type spin chuck that sandwiches the peripheral edge surface of the wafer by a plurality of substrate sandwiching members, and the surface and the peripheral edge of the wafer are rotated. The processing for the part and the back surface is achieved in one chamber. In this substrate processing apparatus, in order to realize the processing over the entire peripheral portion of the wafer, the clamping by the substrate clamping member is released or relaxed during the rotation of the spin chuck, whereby the wafer clamping position by the substrate clamping member is achieved. A configuration is adopted that shifts in the circumferential direction.

FIG. 10 is a front view showing a simplified structure of the substrate holding member. A plate-like arm 2 is horizontally fixed to the upper end of the support shaft 1. A support projection 3 for supporting the peripheral edge of the back surface (lower surface) of the wafer W is provided on the rotation axis of the support shaft 1 in the arm 2, and the arm 2 is located at a position displaced from the rotation axis of the support shaft 1. Is provided with a contact pin 4 that abuts on the peripheral end surface of the wafer W.
By rotating the support shaft 1 around its axis,
The contact pin 4 can be pressed against the peripheral end surface of the wafer W, or the pressing force can be released. By arranging a plurality of such substrate holding members at different positions in the circumferential direction of the wafer, the wafer W can be held and the holding can be released or relaxed.

However, even if only one of the plurality of substrate holding members is driven and the remaining substrate holding members are fixed, the wafer W is held and the holding is released or relaxed. You can When the holding of the wafer W by the substrate holding member is temporarily released or alleviated during rotation of the spin chuck, particularly during acceleration or deceleration, the wafer W slides on the support protrusions 3 and moves relative to the spin chuck. Rotate to. As a result, the holding position of the wafer W by the substrate holding member changes.

[0007]

However, when the wafer W slides on the support protrusions 3, the support protrusions 3 are worn. As a result, dust is generated and the processing quality of the wafer W deteriorates, and the support height of the wafer W varies.
For example, by supplying the etching liquid from the back surface of the wafer W,
In some cases, the peripheral portion of the front surface of the wafer W is processed by the etching liquid that wraps around the peripheral edge surface of the wafer W to the upper surface.
In this structure, in addition, in order to control the amount of the etchant sneaking in, a blocking plate that covers almost the entire surface of the wafer W is arranged in the immediate vicinity of the upper surface of the wafer W, and an inert gas is passed from the central region toward the peripheral region. (Nitrogen gas etc.) may be ejected.

In such a case, if the supporting height of the wafer W changes, the amount of the etching solution that wraps around also changes, and the processing width of the peripheral portion of the front surface of the wafer W varies, so that good processing cannot be performed. There is a risk. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned technical problems, and to prevent the generation of dust or the variation of the substrate holding position due to abrasion, and thus to favorably process a substrate and a substrate processing method. Is to provide.

[0009]

The invention according to claim 1 for achieving the above object is a substrate processing apparatus for supplying a processing solution to a substrate (W) to process the substrate. , The at least three substrate supporting members (321) that come into contact with one surface of the substrate to support the substrate, and the pair of pins (32A, 32B) can be switched and brought into contact with the peripheral end faces of the substrate to sandwich the substrate. A substrate holding mechanism (221) having at least three sets of substrate holding members (311, 312, 313), a rotation drive means (222) for rotating the substrate holding mechanism, and the substrate holding mechanism by the rotation drive means. A control means (400) for controlling the operation of the at least three sets of substrate holding members so as to switch the pair of pins abutting on the peripheral end face of the substrate during the period of constant speed rotation. DOO is a substrate processing apparatus according to claim. In addition, the alphanumeric characters in the parentheses represent corresponding components in the embodiments described later. The same applies in this section below.

The switching of each pair of pins in the at least three sets of substrate holding members may be performed at the same time, or may be performed at different timings between the sets. From the viewpoint of stability of substrate holding when switching pins,
It is preferable to switch the pins by shifting the timing between the sets. According to the present invention, the pinching position of the substrate is changed by switching the pair of pins while rotating the substrate holding mechanism at a constant speed. If the substrate is rotating at a constant speed, the substrate does not rotate relative to the substrate holding mechanism, so that the substrate does not slide on the substrate supporting member. Therefore, there is no problem of dust generation or variation of the substrate holding position due to the abrasion of the substrate supporting member, and the substrate can be processed well.

The invention according to claim 2 further includes a processing liquid supply mechanism (225, 30) for supplying the processing liquid to the peripheral portion of the substrate held by the substrate holding mechanism. Substrate processing apparatus. With this configuration, the peripheral edge of the substrate can be processed (preferably the peripheral edge is selectively processed). For example, by supplying an etching solution to the peripheral portion of the substrate, it is possible to perform a bevel etching process for selectively removing the thin film on the peripheral portion of the substrate.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is further provided a blocking plate (250) which can be disposed in the vicinity of the surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding mechanism on the side opposite to the substrate supporting member so as to face the surface. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: According to this configuration, by disposing the blocking plate in the vicinity of the surface of the substrate so as to face each other, it is possible to control the processing width of the peripheral portion of the substrate, prevent the processing liquid droplets from adhering to the substrate surface, and You can limit the space.

In this case, since the substrate holding position does not change due to the abrasion of the substrate supporting member, it is possible to prevent the variation in the distance between the substrate and the blocking plate. Therefore, the action of the blocking plate can be effectively exerted, and the substrate processing can be favorably performed. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, at least three substrate supporting members (321) that contact one surface of the substrate (W) to support the substrate and a pair of pins (32A, 32B) are switched to the peripheral end surface of the substrate. At least three sets of substrate holding members (311, 31) capable of abutting and holding the substrate.
2, 313), a step of rotating the substrate holding mechanism, a step of supplying a processing liquid to the substrate held by the substrate holding mechanism, and a constant speed rotation of the substrate holding mechanism. And a step of switching a pair of pins abutting on the substrate held by the substrate holding mechanism during the predetermined period.

By this method, it is possible to achieve the same effect as that of the invention of claim 1.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view for explaining the structure of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. This substrate processing apparatus is capable of simultaneously removing the thin film formed on the back surface of the wafer W and the thin films formed on the peripheral portion and the end surface of the front surface of the wafer W. This substrate processing apparatus is equipped with a wafer W
Edge holding chuck 2 which holds the wafer W substantially horizontally and rotates about a vertical axis passing through the substantially center of the held wafer W.
21 is provided in a processing cup (not shown).

The peripheral edge holding chuck 221 is adapted to be rotated by being coupled to a drive shaft of a motor 222 as a rotary drive mechanism. A drive shaft of the motor 222 is a hollow shaft, and a back surface rinse nozzle 223 capable of supplying pure water or an etching liquid is inserted therein. The back surface rinse nozzle 223 is a back surface (lower surface) of the wafer W held by the peripheral edge holding chuck 221.
It has a discharge port at a position close to the center, and has a form of a central axis nozzle that supplies pure water or an etching solution from this discharge port toward the center of the back surface of the wafer W. Pure water or an etching solution is supplied to the back surface rinse nozzle 223 at a required timing via a pure water supply valve 201 connected to a pure water supply source or an etching solution supply valve 202 connected to an etching solution supply source. It has become so.

A swing drive mechanism 233 for swinging a swing arm 232 having an edge rinse nozzle 225 attached to its tip is provided on the side of the peripheral edge holding chuck 221. The swing arm 232 is a swing drive mechanism 233.
By being horizontally swung by the edge rinse nozzle 225 above the peripheral edge holding chuck 221.
Moves along an arc trajectory along a horizontal plane. As a result, the edge rinse nozzle 225 has a home position on the side of the peripheral edge holding chuck 221 and a processing position for supplying pure water or an etching solution to the surface (upper surface) of the wafer W held by the peripheral edge holding chuck 221. Can be displaced between. When removing an unnecessary thin film on the peripheral portion of the surface of the wafer W, the edge rinse nozzle 225 is provided so that the etching liquid can be supplied to the boundary position between the central region where the thin film should be left and the peripheral region where the thin film should be removed. The position of is determined.

The edge rinse nozzle 225 is supplied with pure water or an etching solution at a required timing via a pure water supply valve 203 connected to a pure water supply source or an etching solution supply valve 204 connected to an etching solution supply source. It will be supplied by. The swing drive mechanism 233
A rotary lifting shaft 234 having a swing arm 232 fixed to the upper end.
And holds the rotary lifting shaft 234 so that it can be raised and lowered, and the rotational force from the motor 235 causes the timing belt 23 to rotate.
The rotary holding cylinder 237 provided via 6 and the like, and the lifting drive mechanism 240 for moving the rotary holding cylinder 237 up and down. The lifting drive mechanism 240 includes a link mechanism 241.
And a motor 24 that gives a driving force to the link mechanism 241.
2 and.

When the link mechanism 241 is driven by the motor 242, the rotary lift shaft 234 moves up and down, and the edge rinse nozzle 225 can move up and down with respect to the wafer W held by the peripheral edge holding chuck 221. You can adjust the distance from W. In addition, the motor 235 is normally rotated /
By rotating in the reverse direction, the rotary elevating shaft 234 rotates about the vertical axis, so that the swing arm 232 can be horizontally swung.

A circle having a nozzle mechanism near the center of the lower surface above the peripheral edge holding chuck 221 and capable of supplying pure water or etching liquid toward the center of the wafer W held by the peripheral edge holding chuck 221. Plate-shaped blocking plate 2
50 is provided horizontally. The blocking plate 250 is formed in such a size as to face the upper surface of the wafer W and cover almost the entire area thereof, and is provided around the vertical axis near the tip of an arm 270 coupled to the lifting drive mechanism 260. It is mounted so that it can rotate.

The lifting drive mechanism 260 includes a support cylinder 261 and
The support cylinder 261 is provided with a hollow elevating shaft 262 held up and down, and a ball screw mechanism 263 for elevating the elevating shaft 262. Ball screw mechanism 263
The motor 263c connected to the screw shaft 263b of the
By reversing, the lifting shaft 262 moves up and down, and the arm 270 attached to the tip end of the lifting shaft 262 moves up and down. Reference numeral 267 is a bellows for preventing intrusion of pure water or an etching solution.

A rotating shaft 271 is inserted through the elevating shaft 262. The rotating shaft 271 is rotatably held by bearings 272 and 273 arranged at the upper end and the lower end of the elevating shaft 262, respectively. The lower end of the rotary shaft 271 is coupled to the rotary shaft of the motor 275 via the coupling 274. In addition, at the upper end of the rotating shaft 271,
The pulley 276 is fixed, and this pulley 276
A timing belt 277 arranged in the inner space of the arm 270 is wrapped around the belt. The timing belt 277 is also wound around a pulley 252 fixed to the rotary shaft 251 of the blocking plate 250. Therefore, when the motor 275 is rotationally driven, this rotation is transmitted to the blocking plate 250 via the rotary shaft 271 and the timing belt 277, and the blocking plate 250 rotates (rotates) around the vertical axis. In this way, the rotary drive mechanism for the blocking plate 250 is configured.

When the pure water or the etching liquid is supplied to the wafer W, the blocking plate 250 is stopped and is in the upper position shown in the drawing. Then, when the wafer W treated with pure water or the etching liquid is dried, the elevating and lowering drive mechanism 260 lowers the arm 270,
The blocking plate 250 is brought close to the surface (upper surface) of the wafer W held by the peripheral edge holding chuck 221, and covers almost the entire area of the wafer W in a non-contact state. Along with this, the motor 275
The blocking plate 250 is rotated in the same direction as the peripheral edge holding chuck 221 in the vicinity of the wafer W at substantially the same speed as the peripheral edge holding chuck 221. In this state, nitrogen gas is supplied to the limited space between the wafer W and the blocking plate 250 from near the center of the blocking plate 250. In this way, the peripheral edge holding chuck 221
The surface of the wafer W can be efficiently dried by forming a nitrogen atmosphere in the vicinity of the surface of the wafer W in parallel with the water draining by the rotation of. Further, since the blocking plate 250 is rotated in synchronization with the peripheral edge holding chuck 221, the turbulence of the air flow in the processing chamber is prevented.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the details of the configuration related to the peripheral edge holding chuck 221. FIG.
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the configuration of a drive mechanism for driving the peripheral portion holding chuck 221. In the right half of FIG. 2, a rotating portion rotated by the motor 222 is shown by a solid line, and a fixed portion that does not rotate is shown by a chain double-dashed line. The peripheral edge holding chuck 221 includes a disc-shaped upper cover 281 and a disc-shaped lower cover 28.
2, and these are superposed and fixed to each other by a bolt 283 provided on the peripheral portion, a bolt 284 provided on the inner side, and the like.

An insertion hole is formed at the center of each of the upper cover 281 and the lower cover 282, and the back surface rinse nozzle 223 penetrates through this insertion hole. That is, the back surface rinse nozzle 223 is used for the peripheral edge holding chuck 2
The wafer W held by the wafer 21 has a discharge part 226 having a discharge port 226a at a position close to the center (center of rotation), and a pipe part 227 to which the discharge part 226 is attached at the upper end. The upper surface of the ejection portion 226 is a conical surface that descends toward the periphery, and the ejection port 226a is provided at a position corresponding to the apex thereof. The upper part of the discharge part 226 projects outward, and prevents pure water or etching liquid from entering the insertion hole in the center of the upper cover 281. The pipe portion 227 is inserted into the hollow drive shaft 230 of the motor 222 while being held by the holding cylinder 228.

On the inner wall of the drive shaft 230 of the motor 222,
A protective tube 229 made of resin is arranged between the holding tube 228 and the holding tube 228. A rotary cylinder 231 arranged outside the protective tube 229 is fixed to the upper portion of the drive shaft 230 by a bolt 288. The upper end of the rotary cylinder 231 has a lower cover 2
It is in contact with the lower surface of the upper cover 281 through the insertion hole in the center of 82, and is fixed to the upper cover 281 by bolts 285. Reference numeral 286 is a cover for preventing the processing liquid (pure water or etching liquid) from entering. The rotary cylinder 231 and the protection tube 229 are fixed by an embedded bolt 287 so as not to rotate relative to each other. 289 is
It is the main body (non-rotating portion) of the motor 222.

The case 290 is the main body 28 of the motor 222.
9 and is fixed to the main body 289 with bolts 303 and the like. In the upper part of the case 290, three lip seals 51, 5 which are in sliding contact with the peripheral surface of the rotary cylinder 231 are provided at positions facing the rotary cylinder 231.
2, 53 are arranged along the axial direction of the rotary cylinder 231. In addition, the first sliding member 3 fixed to the lower cover 282 is provided between the lower cover 282 and the upper portion of the case 290.
01 and the second sliding member 302 fixed to the upper part of the case 290 are interposed in the seal 300, which allows the processing liquid to invade the mechanism portion inside the seal 300. Is being prevented.

The lip seals 51, 52 and 53 are in contact with the entire circumference of the rotary cylinder 231 and form annular spaces 54, 55 and 56 with the peripheral surface of the rotary cylinder 231 respectively. The thick portion of the rotary cylinder 231 has a vertical direction (axial direction).
An air passage 57 extending along the air passage 57 is formed. The air passage 57 communicates with the annular space 54 of the lip seal 51 via a through hole 58 extending in the radial direction of the rotary cylinder 231. This communication state is maintained regardless of the rotational position of the rotary cylinder 231.

The lip seals 52 and 53 are also provided with the same structure as the structure corresponding to the lip seal 51. That is, air passages (not shown) corresponding to the lip seals 52, 53 are formed in the thick portion of the rotary cylinder 231 at different circumferential positions. These air passages are connected to the annular space 5 of the lip seals 52 and 53 through two through holes (not shown) extending in the radial direction at height positions corresponding to the lip seals 52 and 53, respectively.
5 and 56 are in communication with each other.

The lip seals 51, 52, 53 are connected to air supply pipes 64, 65, 66 for supplying air to the annular spaces 54, 55, 56. Air supply pipe 64,
Air supply valves 61, 62, and 63 are provided at 65 and 66, respectively, so that compressed air from an air supply source can be supplied as needed. On the other hand, in the rotary cylinder 231, at a position facing the lower cover 282,
A through hole 59 extending in the radial direction is formed. The through hole 59 connects the air passage 57 of the rotary cylinder 231 and the air passage 71 formed in the lower cover 282. The air passage 71 is connected to an air cylinder 81 (see FIG. 4).

The above-mentioned air passages corresponding to the lip seals 52 and 53 have the same structure, and these air passages are formed in the lower cover 282.
2, 73 (see FIG. 4). Air passage 71,
72 and 73 are formed radially at substantially equal angular intervals,
The air cylinders 81, 82 and 83 are respectively connected. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a configuration in which the upper cover 281 and the lower cover 282 are seen through the peripheral portion of the peripheral portion holding chuck 221.
As best seen in Fig. 1, a plurality of (at this embodiment, three) are provided at substantially equal angular intervals at intervals in the circumferential direction.
Sandwiching members 311, 312, 313 are arranged.

As shown in the enlarged view of FIG.
1 to 313 are a support portion 321 for supporting the lower surface of the peripheral edge portion of the wafer W in point contact with the plate-shaped base portion 320, and a pair of contact portions for contacting the peripheral end surface of the wafer W to clamp the wafer W. Cylindrical holding pins 32A and 32B are provided. A round shaft 323 (see FIG. 2) is integrally provided directly below the support portion 321 on the lower surface of the base portion 320 of the sandwiching members 311 to 313. The round shaft 323 is formed by the upper cover 281 and the lower cover. It is rotatably attached to 282.
As a result, the holding members 311 to 313 move the supporting portion 321.
It is rotatable about a vertical axis 321a passing through the center of.

By rotating the sandwiching members 311 to 313 about the round shaft 323, the sandwiching pins 32A and 32B move toward and away from the peripheral end surface of the wafer W. As a result, the holding members 311 to 313 move the pair of holding pins 32 to the peripheral end surface of the wafer W, as shown in FIGS. 6 (a) (b) (c).
A first holding position (FIG. 6A) in which one of the A and 32B 32A abuts to hold the wafer W and a second holding position in which the other holding pin 32B abuts the peripheral end surface of the wafer W to hold the wafer W. Clamping position (Fig. 6 (b)) and a pair of clamping pins 32A, 32B
Both of them can be selectively set to the retracted position (FIG. 6 (c)) retracted from the peripheral end surface of the wafer W. When the unprocessed wafer W is loaded into the substrate processing apparatus and held by the peripheral edge holding chuck 221, or when the processed wafer W is unloaded from the peripheral edge holding chuck 221, the wafer W shown in FIG.
The retreat position shown in is selected.

Base portion 320 of the holding members 311 to 313
A substantially L-shaped lever 331 in a plan view is fixed to the round shaft 323 formed on the lower surface of the inside of the housing space 310 between the upper cover 281 and the lower cover 282. One end of the lever 331 is rotatably connected to one end of a link 332, and the other end of the link 332 is rotatably connected to a free end of a lever 333. The base end portion of the lever 333 is fixed to a rotating shaft 335 (see FIG. 2) that penetrates the lower cover 282 in a freely rotatable state. The link mechanism 330 including the levers 331 and 333 and the link 332 is housed in the housing space 310 between the upper and lower covers 281 and 282. Clamping members 311 to 31 are provided in the accommodation space 310.
Corresponding to 3, the above three link mechanisms 330 are accommodated.

Air cylinders 81, 82, 83 for driving the holding members 311 to 313 are connected to the links 332 of the three link mechanisms 330, respectively. Specifically, laterally extending levers 84, 85, 86 are fixed in the middle of the link 332, and these levers 84, 85, 86 are connected to the air cylinders 81, 8 respectively.
2, 83 rods 81a, 82a, 83a are respectively coupled via coil springs 87, 88, 89.

The air cylinders 81, 82, 83 are double-acting type cylinders driven by compressed air from the air passages 71, 72, 73, and rods 81a, 82a, 83.
a can be stopped and held at any position in each stroke range. The air cylinders 81, 82, 83 are arranged such that the rods 81a, 82a, 83a are stroke-displaced along the longitudinal direction of the link 332. Therefore, by driving the air cylinders 81, 82, 83, the longitudinal displacement of the link 332 can be caused, and this longitudinal displacement is converted into the rotational movement of the sandwiching members 311 to 313 by the action of the link mechanism 330. To be done.

Therefore, the rods 81a, 82a, 83
By controlling the stroke position of a, the holding members 311 to 313 can be controlled to the first holding position, the second holding position, or the retracted position shown in FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C, respectively. In this way, the air cylinders 81, 82, 83 as drive sources and the air cylinders 81, 82, 8
A holding member drive mechanism is configured by the link mechanism 330 that transmits the driving force of No. 3 to the holding members 311 to 313.

In this embodiment, the peripheral edge holding chuck 2
21 is rotating at a constant speed, the clamping members 311 to 31
The position 3 is switched between the first pinching position and the second pinching position. That is, the holding pins 32A and 32B for holding the peripheral end surface of the wafer W are switched. When the peripheral edge holding chuck 221 is rotating at a constant speed, the holding pin 32A,
Even if the sandwiching by 32B is released, the wafer W does not rotate relative to the peripheral portion holding chuck 221. Therefore, the holding position on the peripheral end surface can be changed without causing the wafer W to slide on the supporting portion 321. As a result, the entire area of the peripheral end surface of the wafer W can be treated with an etching solution or the like, and the wear of the support portion 321 can be avoided.

The air cylinders 81, 82 and 83 may be simultaneously driven to switch the holding pins 32A and 32B of the three holding members 311 to 313 simultaneously (that is, at the same time), or the three holding members 311. The switching of the sandwiching pins 32A and 32B in up to 313 may be performed at different timings. However, the three holding members 31
When holding of the wafer W may become unstable due to simultaneous release of the holding of the wafers 1 to 313, it is preferable to drive the three holding members 311 to 313 at different timings.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing the structure in the vicinity of the blocking plate 250. The pulley 252 to which the driving force from the timing belt 277 is applied is fixed to the hollow rotating shaft 251. The rotating shaft 251 is composed of an outer cylinder 255 rotatably held by a holder portion 254 via a pair of bearings 253 and the like, and an inner cylinder 256 fitted in the outer cylinder 255. The holder portion 254 is fixed to the arm 270,
It hangs from its lower surface.

The lower end of the inner cylinder 256 projects downward from the outer cylinder 255 and forms a flange 257 that extends outward of the outer cylinder 255. The blocking plate 250 is fixed to the flange 257 using bolts 258.
An opening 259 communicating with the inner space of the inner cylinder 256 is formed in the center of the blocking plate 250. A mounting block 360 having a through hole 361 formed in the center thereof is fixed to the upper surface of the arm 270 while covering the thinned upper end of the inner cylinder 256 over the entire circumference in a non-contact state.
The mounting block 360 includes a through hole 36 from the side.
A gas passage 362 penetrating to 1 is formed, and a step portion 363 is formed between the gas passage 362 and the through hole 361 on the upper surface thereof. A pipe fitting 364 is provided in the gas passage 362.
Thus, the nitrogen gas supply pipe 365 is connected. Nitrogen gas is supplied to the nitrogen gas supply pipe 365 from a nitrogen gas supply source via a nitrogen gas supply valve 366 at a required timing.

On the other hand, the treatment liquid supply nozzle 370 is inserted through the inner cylinder 256 in a state of not contacting the inner cylinder 256.
More specifically, the treatment liquid supply nozzle 370 is provided in the inner cylinder 25.
6, a pipe portion 371 through which the pipe 6 is inserted, a flange portion 372 formed at the upper end of the pipe portion 371, and the flange portion 372.
Has a step portion 373 formed on the lower surface and a pure water pipe attachment portion 374 formed on the upper surface of the flange portion 372. Then, the step portion 373 is attached to the block 360.
The flange portion 372 is fixed to the upper surface of the mounting block 360 by the bolt 375 in a state in which the flange portion 372 is fitted to the step portion 363 of the inner cylinder 256 and is aligned with the inner cylinder 256, so that the attachment can be achieved. There is. The lower end of the pipe portion 371 has an opening 2 at the center of the blocking plate 250.
59, which is located slightly above 59 and holds the peripheral edge holding chuck 2
The processing liquid (pure water or etching liquid) can be supplied toward the center of the wafer W held by the wafer 21.

One end of a pure water supply pipe 378 is attached to the pure water pipe attaching portion 374. Pure water from a pure water supply source can be supplied to the pure water supply pipe 378 through a pure water supply valve 379, and an etching solution from an etching solution supply source can be supplied through an etching solution supply valve 380. You can do it. The nitrogen gas from the nitrogen gas supply pipe 365 is guided from the gas passage 362 of the mounting block 360 to the gas passage 381 formed between the inner cylinder 256 and the pipe portion 371 of the treatment liquid supply nozzle 370, and is further cut off. Aperture 2 in the center of plate 250
It is blown out from 59 toward the surface of the wafer W.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram for explaining the configuration of the control system of the above substrate processing apparatus. The control device 400 including a microcomputer or the like uses a motor 222 for rotationally driving the peripheral edge holding chuck 221 and an air for switching the supply of compressed air to the air cylinders 81, 82, 83 incorporated in the peripheral edge holding chuck 221. The supply valves 61, 62, 63 are controlled. Further, the control device 400 includes a motor 235 for horizontally moving the edge rinse nozzle 225, a motor 242 for raising and lowering the edge rinse nozzle 225, a pure water supply valve 203 for supplying pure water to the edge rinse nozzle 225, And the etching solution supply valve 204 for supplying the etching solution to the edge rinse nozzle 225 is controlled. Further, the control device 400 controls the motor 263c of the ball screw mechanism 263 to raise and lower the blocking plate 250, and controls the motor 275 to drive the blocking plate 250 to rotate. Further, the control device 400 controls the supply of pure water to the processing liquid supply nozzle 370 by opening and closing the pure water supply valve 379, and the supply of etching liquid to the processing liquid supply nozzle 370 by opening and closing the etching liquid supply valve 380. Control. Further, the control device 400 controls the supply of nitrogen gas to the wafer W by opening and closing the nitrogen gas supply valve 366. Further, the control device 400 controls the opening and closing of the pure water supply valve 201 and the etching liquid supply valve 202 to control the supply of pure water and the etching liquid to the back surface rinse nozzle 223.

An example of the wafer processing process is as follows. That is, first, a bevel etching process for removing unnecessary thin films on the peripheral portion and the end surface of the wafer W is performed. Simultaneously with or before or after this, the unnecessary thin film on the back surface of the wafer W may be etched. After this bevel etching step, a double-sided cleaning step of cleaning the front surface (upper surface) and the back surface (lower surface) of the wafer W with an etching liquid may be performed. Then
A water washing step of washing the front and back surfaces of the wafer W with pure water is performed. Then, finally, a drying process for drying the surface of the wafer W is performed.

In the bevel etching process, the controller 40
0 energizes the motor 222 to hold the peripheral edge holding chuck 22.
1 is rotationally driven, and the wafer W held by this is rotated. On the other hand, the controller 400 controls the motor 235 and the motor 242 to control the edge rinse nozzle 2
25 is guided from the wafer W to a position where the processing liquid is ejected toward a peripheral portion of the wafer W at a predetermined height. After the edge rinse nozzle 225 is properly placed, the controller 4
00 opens the etching solution supply valve 204 to discharge the etching solution from the edge rinse nozzle 225.
At the same time as or just before this, the control device 400
Opens the pure water supply valves 379 and 201 to supply pure water to the center of the front and back surfaces of the wafer W.

In this way, the central region of the surface of the wafer W is protected from corrosion due to the attachment of the mist of the etching solution. When removing the unnecessary thin film on the back surface of the wafer W, the deionized water supply valve 201 is closed and the etching solution supply valve 202 is opened so that the etching solution is discharged from the back surface rinse nozzle 223 to the center of the back surface of the wafer W. It may be ejected toward Further, when the double-sided cleaning process is performed after the bevel etching process, in the double-sided cleaning process, the control device 400 urges the motor 222 to rotationally drive the peripheral edge holding chuck 221 to hold the wafer W held thereon. Rotate. In this state, the control device 400 opens the etching liquid supply valves 380 and 202. As a result, the etching solution is supplied to the front and back surfaces of the wafer W from the respective centers, and the etching solution is centrifugally applied to the wafer W.
It will spread to the entire front and back. Thus, the double-sided cleaning process is achieved. At this time, the valve 29
7, 203, 204, 379, 366 and 201 are closed. Further, the blocking plate 250 is at an upper position (position shown in FIG. 1) separated from the wafer W.

Here, the bevel etching step will be further described. When the etching liquid is supplied from the edge rinse nozzle 225 for a certain period of time, the control device 40 is operated.
0 controls the air supply valves 61, 62, 63 at the same time or by shifting the timing to drive the air cylinders 81, 82, 83 at the same time or at the timing. Thereby, the sandwiching members 311 to 311
At 313, the holding pins 32A and 32B that are in contact with the peripheral end surface of the wafer W are switched.

During the switching period of the sandwiching pins 32A, 32B, the control device 400 holds the motor 222 in a constant speed rotation state and rotates the peripheral edge holding chuck 221 at a constant speed. As a result, even if the holding of the wafer W is temporarily released during the process of switching the substrate holding pins 32A and 32B, the relative rotation of the wafer W with respect to the peripheral edge holding chuck 221 does not occur. Therefore, the holding position of the peripheral end surface of the wafer W can be changed without causing the wafer W to slide on the support portion 321 of the holding members 311 to 313. In this way, the treatment with the etching liquid can be applied to the entire end surface of the wafer W. Moreover, there is no problem of dust generation due to wear of the support portion 321. Further, since the support portion 321 does not wear, the wafer W can be held at a constant height on the peripheral edge holding chuck 221, so that the process can be stabilized and the wafer W can be processed well. You can

In the subsequent water washing step, the control device 400 closes the etching liquid supply valve 204 to stop the etching liquid from the edge rinse nozzle 225 and drives the motors 235 and 242 to make the edge rinse nozzle 225 rim. The part holding chuck 221 is evacuated to the side. Then, control device 400 opens the pure water supply valves 379 and 201 to supply pure water to the center of the front and back surfaces of wafer W.

When the washing step is completed in this way, the pure water supply valves 379 and 201 are closed, and the control device 400
The motor 263c is driven to lower the blocking plate 250 to a height near the wafer W, and the motor 275 is driven to rotate the blocking plate 250 at a high speed in the same direction as the rotation direction of the peripheral portion holding chuck 221. At this time, the control device 40
0 rotates the peripheral edge holding chuck 221 at high speed by controlling the motor 222, and the rotation and the blocking plate 25
The rotation of 0 is almost synchronized. Further, the control device 400
Opens the nitrogen gas supply valve 366 to open the shutoff plate 25.
The limited space between 0 and the wafer W is filled with nitrogen gas.

In this manner, the water draining and drying by the high speed rotation of the wafer W is efficiently performed in the space filled with nitrogen gas and containing a small amount of oxygen. In this case, the blocking plate 250 is rotated almost in synchronization with the wafer W, so that the turbulence of the air flow in the processing chamber can be prevented, and the processing of the wafer W can be favorably performed. FIG. 9 is an illustrative view for explaining the configuration of the substrate processing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 9, portions corresponding to the respective portions shown in FIGS. 1 to 8 described above are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in those figures.

In this embodiment, the peripheral edge holding chuck 2
In relation to 21, a processing liquid supply nozzle 30 for supplying a processing liquid (mainly an etching liquid) toward the peripheral portion of the back surface (lower surface) of the wafer W held and rotated by the peripheral portion holding chuck 221 is provided. Has been. The processing liquid supplied to the peripheral portion of the back surface of the wafer W by the processing liquid supply nozzle 30 is subjected to a centrifugal force, is guided to the peripheral end surface of the wafer W, wraps around the peripheral end surface, and then the upper surface of the wafer W. To the periphery of. At this time, nitrogen gas is ejected from the center of the blocking plate 250, which causes the wafer W and the blocking plate 250.
An air flow that is directed toward the outside of the wafer W is generated between and.

Therefore, the processing liquid which has contributed to the processing of the peripheral portion of the upper surface of the wafer W is removed to the outside of the wafer W by the blowing force and the centrifugal force of the nitrogen gas. In this way, the peripheral portion of the upper surface of the wafer W can be selectively processed with a desired processing width. Since the pure water is not necessarily supplied to the central portion of the wafer W, the device region on the wafer W is not adversely affected by the supply of the pure water.

While the peripheral portion of the upper surface of the wafer W is being processed, the peripheral portion holding chuck 221 is rotated at a constant speed, and the clamping pins 32A of the clamping members 311 to 313,
32B is switched. As a result, the holding position on the peripheral end surface of the wafer W can be changed, so that the entire peripheral end surface of the wafer W can be equally processed. Clamping pins 32A and 32B in the clamping members 311 to 313
Since the switching is performed during the constant speed rotation of the peripheral portion holding chuck 221, the support portion 321 does not wear. Therefore, the problem of dust generation and the problem of fluctuation of the holding height of the wafer W do not occur.

The processing width at the peripheral portion of the upper surface of the wafer W is the amount of the processing liquid supplied from the processing liquid supply nozzle 30, the rotation speed of the peripheral portion holding chuck 221, the supply flow rate of nitrogen gas,
It is defined by adjusting factors such as the distance between the blocking plate 250 and the wafer W. Above all, the blocking plate 25
The distance between 0 and the wafer W is an important factor, but according to this embodiment, since the holding height of the wafer W does not change, the peripheral portion of the upper surface of the wafer W is processed with a stable processing width. be able to.

Although the two embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention can be implemented in other forms. For example, in the above embodiment, the sandwiching members 311 to 311
313 is a pair of holding pins 32A, 3
2B and the support portion 321 are fixed, and the support portion 32
1 and the sandwiching pins 32A and 32B are coupled via the base portion 320, the support portion 321 and the sandwiching pins 32A,
It does not necessarily have to be connected to 32B. For example, the supporting portion 321 of the sandwiching members 311 to 312 may be eliminated, and the peripheral portion of the wafer W may be supported by the supporting portion fixed to another position on the upper surface of the peripheral portion holding chuck 221.

It is not always necessary to connect the pair of holding pins 32A and 32B to each other.
The wafer W is driven by driving a pair of pins, each of which is provided so as to be movable along the radius of rotation of the peripheral edge holding chuck 221, individually or in conjunction with each other along the radius of rotation. You may make it switch the pin which clamps the peripheral end surface of. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the air cylinders 81, 82, and 83 are individually provided for the three holding members 311 to 313 so that the holding members 311 to 313 can be individually operated. However, for example, the clamping members 311 to 313
It is also possible to link the three link mechanisms 330 corresponding to and to interlock the holding members 311 to 313.
Specifically, near the center of the peripheral edge holding chuck 211,
A donut-shaped or disc-shaped connecting member is provided rotatably around the rotation axis of the peripheral edge holding chuck 211, and levers are fixed to the rotating shafts 335 of the three link mechanisms 330, respectively, and the three levers are connected. It may be connected to the member. In this case, by connecting a driving source such as an air cylinder to any one of the three link mechanisms 330, the three holding members 311 to 313 can be interlocked.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the structure in which the lower surface of the peripheral portion of the wafer W is supported by the three supporting portions 321, and the peripheral portion of the wafer W is clamped by the three sets of clamping pins 32A and 32B has been described. The lower surface of the peripheral edge of the wafer W may be supported at four or more points, or the peripheral edge of the wafer W may be clamped by four or more pairs of clamping pins. The number of supporting points on the lower surface of the peripheral portion of the wafer W does not necessarily have to match the number of pinching pin groups. Further, in the above embodiment, the blocking plate 250 was rotated together with the wafer W, but the blocking plate 25
0 may not be rotated. That is, the blocking plate 250 does not necessarily have to be rotatable.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the apparatus for performing the process using the etching liquid on the semiconductor wafer is taken as an example, but the present invention is applied to the glass substrate for the liquid crystal display device and the plasma display panel. It can also be applied to an apparatus for performing a peripheral edge etching process on another substrate to be processed (particularly in the case of a substantially circular shape) such as a glass substrate or a glass substrate for a photomask. In addition, various design changes can be made within the scope of the matters described in the claims.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view for explaining a configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view for explaining details of a configuration related to a peripheral edge holding chuck.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a configuration of a drive mechanism for driving a peripheral edge holding chuck.

FIG. 4 is a perspective plan view for explaining an internal structure of a peripheral edge holding chuck.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view for explaining the structure of a holding member.

FIG. 6 is a plan view for explaining a first holding position, a second holding position and a retracted position of the holding member.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration near a blocking plate.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control system of the substrate processing apparatus.

FIG. 9 is an illustrative view for explaining a configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a front view schematically showing a conventional example of a substrate holding member.

[Explanation of symbols]

30 Processing liquid supply nozzle 201 Pure water supply valve 202 Etching liquid supply valve 203 Pure water supply valve 204 Etching liquid supply valve 221 Perimeter holding chuck 222 motor 223 Back rinse nozzle 225 Edge rinse nozzle 226 Discharge part 226a outlet 242 motor 250 blocking plate 251 rotation axis 311 to 313 Position Control Clamping Member 314 Clamping member for pressing 320 Base 321 Support 32A, 32B clamping pin 323 round shaft 51-53 Lip seal 54-56 annular space 57 Air passage 58 through hole 59 through hole 61-63 Air supply valve 64-66 Air supply pipe 71-73 Air passage 81-83 Air cylinder 365 nitrogen gas supply pipe 366 Nitrogen gas supply valve 370 Processing liquid supply nozzle 378 Pure water supply pipe 379 Pure water supply valve 380 Etching liquid supply valve 381 gas passage 400 control device W wafer

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H01L 21/306 H01L 21/30 569C F term (reference) 4D075 AC64 AC78 AC79 AC82 AC84 AC93 BB66Z DA08 DC22 EA05 EB01 4F042 AA06 AA07 BA08 CC04 CC09 DA01 DF07 DF11 DF28 DF32 EB05 EB08 EB09 EB21 5F043 AA26 BB27 EE07 EE08 EE09 5F046 JA10 LA05 LA11 MA10

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A substrate processing apparatus for supplying a processing liquid to a substrate to process the substrate, wherein at least three substrate supporting members which contact one surface of the substrate to support the substrate and a pair of pins are provided on the substrate. A substrate holding mechanism having at least three sets of substrate holding members capable of holding the substrate by switching to and contacting the peripheral end face, a rotation driving means for rotating the substrate holding mechanism, and the substrate holding means by the rotation driving means. And a control unit that controls the operation of the at least three sets of substrate holding members so as to switch the pair of pins that are in contact with the peripheral end surface of the substrate while the mechanism is rotating at a constant speed. Processing equipment. 2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a processing liquid supply mechanism that supplies a processing liquid to a peripheral portion of the substrate held by the substrate holding mechanism. 3. A blocking plate which can be disposed in the vicinity of a surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding mechanism on the side opposite to the substrate supporting member so as to face the surface thereof. Alternatively, the substrate processing apparatus of item 2. 4. At least three substrate supporting members that contact one surface of the substrate to support the substrate, and at least three pairs that can switch the pair of pins to the peripheral end surface of the substrate and contact them to sandwich the substrate. A step of providing a substrate holding mechanism having a substrate holding member, a step of rotating the substrate holding mechanism, a step of supplying a processing liquid to the substrate held by the substrate holding mechanism, and a constant speed rotation of the substrate holding mechanism. A step of switching a pair of pins abutting on the substrate held by the substrate holding mechanism during a predetermined period.