JP2007184375A - Device and method for chemically treating substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device and a method for chemically treating a substrate, capable of preventing the generation of damages to the substrate, by chemically automatically treating the substrate and preventing adsorption of the mutual substrates. <P>SOLUTION: The substrates 16 are positioned one by one by a side groove formed to the sidewall of a carrier 12, and a positioning groove formed to a lower positioning member and housed in the carrier 12; and the carrier 12 housing the substrates 16 is gripped by a gripping means 13. The gripped carrier 12 is carried and charged to a treatment tank 11 housing a chemical treatment liquid 21, and the substrates 16 are dipped in the chemical treating liquid 21. The substrates 16 are dipped in the treatment liquid 21 for a fixed time and treated chemically, the carrier 12 is inclined and held by an angle θ, the carrier 12 is pulled up from the treating tank 11, as it is, left inclined, and the carrier 12 is returned to a horizontal state and is carried up to another treating tank. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a chemical processing apparatus and a chemical processing method for a substrate such as a silicon wafer.

  In the production process of solar cells, semiconductor devices, etc., a substrate such as a silicon wafer is accommodated in an accommodating transport container called a carrier, the substrate accommodated in the carrier is immersed in a treatment liquid in a treatment tank, wet etching, Chemical processing such as cleaning is performed.

  FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a typical configuration of a conventional carrier 1, and FIG. 12 is a view of a cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the carrier 1. The carrier 1 is a storage / container used for transporting a plurality of substrates 2, transporting the substrates 2 in a state of storing the substrates 2, and performing chemical treatment. The carrier 1 includes a pair of opposing right side wall 3 and left side wall 4, and the right side wall 3 and left side wall 4 have substantially U-shaped shapes at both ends in the longitudinal direction. The first connecting portion 5 and the second connecting portion 6 are connected to each other. In addition, the space | interval in which the right side wall part 3 and the left side wall part 4 are provided is matched with the dimension of the board | substrate 2 so that the board | substrate 2 made into a process target can be inserted in the side groove | channel 9 mentioned later.

  Further, the carrier 1 is opened so that the chemical treatment liquid can flow in the vertical direction, and the first opening is connected to the lower opening so that the substrate 2 accommodated can be prevented from falling and the substrate 2 can be held. The right and left substrate holding parts 7 and 8 are respectively provided below the right side wall part 3 and the left side wall part 4 so that the part 5 and the second connecting part 6 are connected in the longitudinal direction.

  Side grooves 9 for positioning the substrates 2 one by one are formed on the pair of right and left side wall portions 3 and 4 which are provided so as to face each other. When the side grooves 9 are collectively referred to, the reference numeral 9 is used. When the side grooves 9 formed on the right and left side wall portions 3 and 4 are distinguished from each other, the side grooves 9a formed on the right side wall portion 3 The side groove 9b formed in the left side wall portion 4 is denoted by the letter b. In addition, the right and left side wall portions 3 and 4 are respectively formed with overhang portions 3a and 4a projecting so as to bend about 90 degrees outward. These overhang | projection parts 3a and 4a are formed so that the fall of the carrier 1 can be prevented reliably when the carrier 1 is gripped.

  Such a carrier 1 is formed of, for example, polypropylene or perfluoroalkoxy resin (abbreviated as PFA) so as to have resistance to chemicals such as acid and alkali. The substrates 2 having a rectangular shape when viewed from the plane are inserted one by one into the side groove 9 of the carrier 1, and the lower portions are held by the right and left substrate holding portions 7 and 8. The side grooves 9 are formed at a predetermined pitch, and the substrates 2 inserted into the side grooves 9 are positioned by the side grooves 9 one by one.

  In the chemical treatment of the substrate 2, the substrate 2 is inserted into the side groove 9 and set in the carrier 1 as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, and each process such as wet etching, cleaning, and drying is sequentially performed in the chemical treatment apparatus. .

  Conventionally, the process of performing chemical processing of a substrate includes a manual operation, for example, a manual operation in which a carrier on which a substrate that has been cleaned is set is manually gripped and loaded into a dryer. There has been a problem that the carrier and the substrate are contaminated by dust generation.

  To solve this problem, a carrier holder is provided on the carrier, a carrier grip for gripping the carrier is prepared, the carrier holder is operated to make it easy to remove or install the carrier, and the carrier is gripped by the carrier grip. Thus, it has been proposed to prevent the carrier and the substrate from being contaminated due to manual handling by avoiding direct contact with the carrier even when handled manually (see Patent Document 1).

  However, with the progress of robotization technology, various gripping devices, transport devices, and the like have been developed, so that the carrier is gripped and transported to the processing tank containing the chemical processing liquid, and the carrier is processed into the processing tank. The process of carrying out the chemical treatment of the substrate by repeating the operation of charging inside, pulling up the carrier from the treatment tank, and transporting the carrier to another treatment apparatus for each treatment has become generally automated, The usefulness of the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 that addresses the problem of manual contamination is decreasing.

  In recent years, there has been a tendency to reduce the thickness of substrates in response to demands for smaller and thinner solar cells, semiconductor devices, etc., and as substrates become thinner, the substrates are attracted to each other. However, the problem of damage and destruction of the substrate 2 has arisen. When the substrate 2 becomes thinner, the ratio of the thickness of the substrate 2 to the groove width of the side groove 9 becomes smaller, so the distance between the substrate 2 and the wall surface of the side groove 9 becomes larger, and the substrate 2 swings in the side groove 9. It becomes easy to do. Further, the thinned substrate 2 has a reduced strength and is likely to be deformed such as a curve. Accordingly, there is a problem that the substrates inserted in the side grooves 9 of the carrier 1 are adsorbed by the surface tension of the chemical treatment liquid, and the adsorbed substrates are rubbed to cause damage or cracking. In particular, when a substrate is transferred from one carrier to a carrier used for transporting the substrate to a subsequent process by an automated device, there is a problem that the substrate is likely to be cracked.

  FIG. 13 is a partial cross-sectional view seen from a side surface showing a state where the substrates are displaced in the side grooves, and FIG. 14 is a top view showing a state where adjacent substrates are adsorbed. The positional deviation of the substrates and the adsorption of the substrates as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 are caused when the carrier 1 is pulled up from the chemical treatment liquid in the treatment tank, particularly from the cleaning process that is the final process of the chemical treatment liquid. It tends to occur when moving to the drying process. When moving from the treatment using the chemical treatment liquid to the treatment using the next chemical treatment liquid, the substrate 2 once adsorbed is immersed in the next chemical treatment liquid, so that it is separated in the chemical treatment liquid and the adsorption is eliminated. Often.

  Although the size of the substrate 2 tends to increase more and more in order to improve the efficiency of product collection from a single substrate, the thickness of the substrate 2 does not increase as the size increases. Rather, as described above, since there is a tendency to reduce the thickness, the substrate 2 is more easily deformed and the substrates are more likely to be attracted to each other.

  In order to prevent the adsorption | suction between board | substrates, it is possible to enlarge the pitch which forms the side groove | channel of a carrier. However, although it is possible to prevent adsorption between the substrates by increasing the side groove formation pitch, it is not preferable because the number of substrates that can be processed with one carrier is reduced and the production efficiency is lowered.

  As a conventional technique for coping with such a problem, it is proposed that one side surface of the processing tank is inclined outward, and a jig containing a substrate is slid along the inclined surface and pulled up (Patent Document). 2). According to Patent Document 2, the substrate can be pulled up from the processing tank, that is, the processing liquid while adjusting the orientation of the substrate accommodated in the jig and the interval between the substrates, so that the substrate can be separated from the processing liquid. It is assumed that the substrates can be prevented from adsorbing to each other and damage to the substrates can be prevented.

  However, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 2 has the following problems. In Patent Document 2, since there is a variation in the skill of the operator in lifting up the jig from the processing tank while adjusting the alignment state of the substrate, the purpose is to reduce this variation. It is assumed that the operation of pulling up the stored jig from the processing tank is performed manually. That is, in Patent Document 2, chemical processing of a substrate is not automated, and a jig that accommodates the substrate is handled manually, so that there is a problem that the substrate is contaminated.

  Moreover, in patent document 2, it is made to lyse from the liquid of a processing tank in the state which inclined the board | substrate finally 30 degree | times or more (preferably 40 degree | times). As described above, the size of the substrate tends to increase in size and thickness, and if this large and thin substrate is tilted greatly, the amount of deformation of the substrate becomes extremely large. However, even if the substrates are to be aligned with each other, the possibility that the substrates are attracted to each other cannot be completely wiped out. In the technique of Patent Document 2, in order to prevent adsorption between substrates having a large amount of deformation, it is necessary to increase the protrusion interval. If the protrusion interval is increased, the number of processed substrates per jig is reduced and produced. There is a problem that efficiency decreases.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-77880 JP 2003-347262 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide a chemical processing apparatus and a chemical processing method for a substrate that can automatically perform chemical processing of the substrates, prevent adsorption between the substrates, and prevent the substrate from being damaged.

The present invention provides a chemical processing apparatus for chemically processing a plurality of substrates,
A treatment tank containing a chemical treatment liquid;
A storage and transfer container used for chemical processing and transfer in a state where a plurality of substrates are stored and a substrate is stored. The storage and transfer container includes at least one pair of opposing side wall portions. Side grooves for positioning each sheet are formed at opposing positions, opened so that the chemical treatment liquid can flow in the vertical direction, and the lower opening has a substrate corresponding to the side grooves formed in the side wall. Storage container having a lower positioning member capable of positioning each sheet,
A gripping means for gripping a storage transport container in which a substrate is stored;
Inclining means for inclining the containing transport container gripped by the gripping means;
A substrate chemical processing apparatus comprising: a transporting unit configured to move at least a two-dimensional direction of an accommodation transporting container gripped by the gripping unit.

  In addition, the present invention is characterized in that the angle at which the tilting means tilts the storage container held by the gripping means is 1 to 10 degrees.

In the present invention, the lower positioning member included in the storage transport container is
It is an elongated rod-like member, and a plurality of positioning grooves are formed on the outer periphery of the rod-like member so as to correspond to side grooves formed in the side wall portion, and positioning is performed by placing a substrate in the positioning groove. To do.

In the present invention, the lower positioning member is
The center of the positioning groove with respect to the center of the side groove formed in the side wall portion is provided in the storage and transport container so as to have a deviation in the direction in which the plurality of substrates are stored and arranged in the storage and transport container. To do.

The present invention relates to a chemical treatment method for chemically treating a plurality of substrates,
At least one pair of opposing side wall portions is provided, and side grooves for positioning the substrates one by one are formed in the opposing pair of side wall portions, respectively, so that the chemical treatment liquid can flow in the vertical direction. The plurality of substrates are accommodated in an accommodation transport container having a lower positioning member capable of positioning the substrates one by one so as to correspond to the side grooves formed in the side wall portions in the lower opening portion. Process,
A step of gripping a container transport container in which a substrate is stored;
The step of transporting the holding and transporting container to the processing tank in which the chemical processing liquid is stored and charging it into the processing tank, and immersing the substrate stored in the storing and transporting container in the chemical processing liquid;
A step of tilting the storage and transfer container in the treatment tank;
A process of pulling up the storage container from the processing tank;
And a step of transporting the container transport container to another processing tank.

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that, in the step of tilting the storage and transfer container in the treatment tank, the tilt angle of the storage and transfer container is tilted to 1 degree to 10 degrees.

  Moreover, this invention is characterized by hold | maintaining in the state in which the accommodation conveyance container was inclined in the process which inclines an accommodation conveyance container in a processing tank.

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that, in the step of transporting the storage and transport container to another processing tank, the storage and transport container is held horizontally by recovering the inclination of the storage and transport container.

  According to the present invention, the chemical processing apparatus includes a processing tank in which a chemical processing solution is stored, a pair of opposing side wall portions, and a side groove formed on the side wall portion provided in the upper and lower openings and the lower opening. Correspondingly having a lower positioning member for positioning the substrates one by one, the accommodating transport container for accommodating the substrates, the gripping means for gripping the accommodating transport container, and the accommodating transport container gripped by the gripping means are inclined. And tilting means to be moved, and conveying means for moving at least a two-dimensional direction of the containing and conveying container held by the holding means.

  The chemical processing apparatus configured as described above can automatically perform chemical processing of a substrate without human intervention. The chemical processing apparatus tilts the substrate accommodated in the accommodating transport container in a fixed direction by tilting the accommodating transport container gripped by the gripping means with the tilting means and pulling it up from the processing liquid. Therefore, the alignment state of the substrates can be adjusted, and the substrates accommodated in the accommodation transport container during the chemical treatment can be prevented from being adsorbed. By preventing adsorption between substrates, damage due to abrasion between substrates, especially cracking of a substrate when transferring a substrate from one carrier to a carrier used for transporting the substrate to a subsequent process by automated equipment Occurrence can be prevented. Therefore, the yield of the substrate is improved, the material cost is reduced, and the cost is reduced.

  Moreover, according to this invention, the angle which makes the inclination conveyance means incline the accommodation conveyance container hold | gripped by the holding means is 1 degree-10 degree | times. As a result, the substrate accommodated in the accommodating transport container is not excessively inclined, so that even if the substrate is large and thin and easily deformed, the deformation of the substrate can be suppressed. Adsorption between each other can be reliably prevented.

  Further, according to the present invention, the lower positioning member included in the storage and conveyance container is an elongated rod-like member, and a plurality of positioning grooves are formed on the outer periphery so as to correspond to the side grooves formed in the side wall portion, and the positioning grooves The substrate is positioned by placing it on the substrate. Such a simple structure facilitates the production of the lower positioning member, and allows easy positioning at the lower portion of the substrate.

  Further, according to the present invention, the lower positioning member is provided in the receiving and transporting container so that the center of the positioning groove is displaced in the arrangement direction of the substrates with respect to the center of the side groove formed in the side wall portion. Since the side grooves and the positioning grooves are misaligned, the substrates are arranged with an inclination in a certain direction only by positioning the substrates with the side grooves and the positioning grooves, so that the adsorption between the substrates is further ensured. Can be prevented.

  According to the present invention, the accommodation transport container is tilted and pulled out from the processing liquid, and the substrates accommodated in the storage transport container are tilted in a certain direction so as to align the substrates, and the substrates are adsorbed. It is possible to realize a chemical processing method for a substrate that can prevent this. By preventing adsorption between the substrates, damage due to abrasion between the substrates can be prevented, the yield of the substrates can be improved, the material cost can be reduced, and the cost can be reduced.

  According to the present invention, in the step of tilting the storage transport container in the processing tank, the storage transport container is tilted so that the tilt angle of the storage transport container is 1 degree to 10 degrees. As a result, the substrate accommodated in the accommodating transport container is not excessively inclined, so that even if the substrate is large and thin and easily deformed, the deformation of the substrate can be suppressed. Adsorption between each other can be reliably prevented.

  Further, according to the present invention, by holding the storage container in the processing tank in an inclined state, the substrate is accommodated in the storage container so that its own weight acts on the substrate and the substrate is surely inclined in a certain direction. After realizing the state, the container container can be pulled up.

  According to the present invention, in the step of transporting the storage transport container to another processing tank, the tilt of the storage transport container is recovered and the storage transport container is held horizontally. In this way, without changing the shape of the processing tank that is widely used in the horizontal state, the container is transported to the processing tank used for the next processing while being kept horizontal, and is put into the next processing. Can be used.

  FIG. 1 is a side view showing a configuration of a substrate chemical processing apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention in a partial cross section, and FIG. 2 is a partial cross section of the substrate chemical processing apparatus 10 shown in FIG. FIG. A substrate chemical processing apparatus 10 (hereinafter simply referred to as a chemical processing apparatus 10) includes a processing tank 11, a storage and transfer container 12, a gripping means 13, a tilting means 14, and a transfer means 15. . The chemical processing apparatus 10 is used for chemically processing a plurality of substrates 16.

  Examples of the substrate 16 include silicon wafers used for solar cells, silicon wafers and gallium arsenide wafers used for semiconductor devices, and glass substrates used for liquid crystal display elements. In the present embodiment, a silicon wafer used for a solar battery cell is illustrated. The silicon wafer as the substrate 16 has a rectangular shape when viewed from above, and its dimensions are 100 mm square and 100 μm thick.

The treatment tank 11 is formed of, for example, vinyl chloride and has a rectangular parallelepiped shape. The treatment tank 11 has four side surfaces 11a, 11b, 11c, and 11d, and one bottom surface 11e. The chemical treatment liquid 21 is accommodated in the container. Examples of the chemical treatment liquid 21 include an acid solution, an alkali solution, a developer, pure water, and functional water obtained by dissolving carbon dioxide (CO ₂ ) in pure water. That is, in this specification, chemical treatment is used in a broad sense including wet etching, development, cleaning, and the like.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the storage and transport container 12. The accommodating / conveying container 12 accommodates a plurality of silicon wafers 16 and is used for chemical processing and conveying in a state where the silicon wafers 16 are accommodated. Since such a storage container 12 is generally referred to as a carrier, the storage container 12 is also referred to as a carrier hereinafter. Since the carrier 12 of this embodiment is similar to the carrier 1 shown in FIG. 11 described above, the corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description may be simplified or omitted.

  It should be noted that the carrier 12 corresponds to the side grooves 9a and 9b formed in the right and left side walls 3 and 4 respectively in the lower opening of the openings formed for flowing the chemical treatment liquid 21 up and down. Thus, the lower positioning members 17a and 17b that can position the silicon wafers 16 one by one are provided. A lower positioning member provided in contact with the right substrate holding portion 7 and extending in the longitudinal direction of the carrier 12 on the inner side of the carrier 12 than the right substrate holding portion 7 is referred to as a lower right positioning member 17a. A lower positioning member provided in contact with the left substrate holding portion 8 and inward of the carrier 12 and extending in the longitudinal direction of the carrier 12 is referred to as a lower left positioning member 17b. Note that the lower positioning member is collectively referred to by reference numeral 17.

  4 is a side view showing the configuration of the lower positioning member 17, and FIG. 5 is a front view of the lower positioning member 17 shown in FIG. Since the right and lower left positioning members 17a and 17b are configured identically, FIGS. 4 and 5 show the configuration of only one lower positioning member 17. FIG.

  The lower positioning member 17 is an elongated round bar member made of, for example, polypropylene or PFA. In the lower positioning member 17, a plurality of positioning grooves 18 are formed on the outer periphery of the round bar so as to correspond to the side grooves 9 formed in the side wall portions 3 and 4 of the carrier 12. Here, to correspond to the side grooves 9 formed in the side wall portions 3 and 4 means that the pitch at which the side grooves 9 are formed and the pitch at which the positioning grooves 18 are formed are the same. is there.

  The positioning groove 18 has a V-shaped cross section and is formed so as to go around the outer periphery of the round bar. In the present embodiment, the lower positioning member 17 has a groove-unformed portion 19 having an appropriate length in which the positioning groove 18 is not formed in the vicinity of both end portions thereof. A mounting hole 21 for mounting the lower positioning member 17 to the carrier 12 is formed at the center of the end surface 20 at both ends of the lower positioning member 17. A female screw is engraved on the inner surface of the mounting hole 21.

The lower positioning member 17 is formed to have a length L that is substantially the same as that of the right and left substrate holding parts 7, 8, that is, a length that can be inserted between the first connecting part 5 and the second connecting part 6. ,Like above-mentioned,
The right and left substrate holders 7 and 8 are in contact with each other and are mounted on the inner side of the carrier 12 with respect to the substrate holders 7 and 8. The lower positioning member 17 is fixed to the carrier 12 by a male screw member 22 inserted through the through holes formed in the first and second connecting portions 5 and 6 and screwed into the mounting hole 21 of the lower positioning member 17. The

  When the lower positioning member 17 is mounted and fixed to the carrier 12, the center of the positioning groove 18 is accommodated in the carrier 12 with respect to the center of the side groove 9 formed in the side walls 3 and 4. Are provided so as to have a deviation in the arrangement direction.

  6 is a view of the state of the silicon wafer 16 accommodated in the carrier 12 as viewed from a cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, and FIG. 7 is a view of the state of the silicon wafer 16 accommodated in the carrier 12 as viewed from the side. FIG. 8 is a view of the state of the silicon wafer 16 accommodated in the carrier 12 as seen from above. Hereinafter, the positioning of the silicon wafer 16 accommodated in the carrier 12 and the shift between the side groove 9 and the positioning groove 18 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  One silicon wafer 16 is inserted into a pair of side grooves 9 a and 9 b formed with its side end portions facing the right and left side wall portions 3 and 4, and its lower end portion is a positioning groove of the lower positioning member 17. By being placed on 18, it is accommodated and positioned in the carrier 12. The silicon wafer 16 has a rectangular shape at four locations including right and left grooves 9a and 9b formed in the right and left wall portions 3 and 4, respectively, and positioning grooves 18 formed in the right and lower left positioning members 17a and 17b. Three of the four sides are positioned. Therefore, when the silicon wafer 16 is accommodated in the carrier 12, the silicon wafer 16 is stably positioned and its swing is suppressed.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the lower positioning member 17 is mounted on the carrier 12 so that the center of the side groove 9 and the center of the positioning groove 18 have a deviation δ in the arrangement direction of the plurality of silicon wafers 16. The plurality of silicon wafers 16 are accommodated after being aligned in the same inclined manner on one side in the arrangement direction. Thus, by arranging the silicon wafers 16 in an aligned state inclined in the same direction, and stably positioning them to suppress swinging, it is possible to keep the distance between adjacent silicon wafers through the chemical treatment process.

  Returning to FIGS. 1 and 2, the gripping means 13, the tilting means 14, and the conveying means 15 will be described. The gripping means 13 includes a hook member 25, a rotation support member 26 to which the hook member 25 is mounted, and an angular displacement drive means 27 that drives the rotation support member 26 to be angularly displaced about its axis.

  The hook members 25 are metal members having a J-shape, and four hook members 25 are provided in this embodiment. The rotation support member 26 is a metal round bar, and two are provided in this embodiment. The two hook members 25 are separated at a position having a predetermined distance from the free end portion 26a of one rotation support member 26 so as to have an interval less than the length in the longitudinal direction of the carrier 12, and are J-shaped. Are attached to the rotation support member 26 so that the bent portions thereof face in the same direction. The other rotation support member 26 is mounted so that the bent portion of the J-shaped hook member 25 is in the opposite direction to that of the previous rotation support member 26. The hook member 25 and the rotation support member 26 may be integrally formed of the same material.

  As described above, a pair of members each having the two hook members 25 mounted thereon is prepared on the rotation support member 26. The two rotation support members 26 support the rotation support members so that the rotation support members are parallel to each other. The hook member 25 attached to the member 26 is attached to the angular displacement driving means 27 so that the bent portions thereof face inward. The angular displacement driving means 27 is constituted by, for example, a gear train and an electric motor. The rotation driving force of the electric motor is transmitted to the rotation support member 26 through a gear train, and the rotation support member 26 is angularly driven. The two rotation support members 26 are rotated around the axis indicated by the arrow 28 by the angular displacement drive means 27 so that the bent portions of the hook members 25 provided so as to face each other are moved closer to and away from each other. The angular displacement is driven in the direction of.

  The rotation support member 26 is angularly displaced so that the hook members 25 move away from each other, and the bent portion of the hook member 25 is positioned below the overhang portions 3 a and 4 a of the side wall portions 3 and 4 of the carrier 12. In addition, the positional relationship between the gripping means 13 and the carrier 12 is determined so that the carrier 12 is between the hook members 25. Next, the hook member 25 can grip the carrier 12 with the side walls 3 and 4 by angularly moving the rotation support member 26 so that the bent portions of the opposing hook members 25 are brought closer to each other. When the gripping means 13 grips the carrier 12, the overhang portions 3 a and 4 a of the carrier 12 are hooked on the bent portion of the hook member 25, so that the gripped carrier 12 does not fall off the hook member 25. The carrier 12 can be released from the gripping means 13 by performing the reverse operation.

  The tilting means 14 includes the hook member 25, the rotation support member 26, and the tilting means 29 that tilts the rotation support member 26 so as to tilt with respect to the horizontal plane. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the gripping means 13 and the tilting means 14 are combined to constitute one means for gripping the carrier 12 and tilting the gripped carrier. The tilting means 29 is constituted by, for example, a gear train and an electric motor, and the gripping means is transmitted by transmitting the rotational driving force of the electric motor to the rotation support member 26 by the gear train and inclining the rotation support member 26 with respect to the horizontal plane by an angle θ. The longitudinal direction of the carrier 12 gripped by 13 is inclined at an angle θ with respect to the horizontal plane. At this time, the silicon wafer 16 accommodated in the carrier 12 is inclined at an angle θ with respect to the vertical plane.

  The angle θ for inclining the carrier 12 is preferably selected in the range of 1 to 10 degrees. Even if the silicon wafer 16 accommodated in the carrier 12 is not excessively inclined by being set to 1 degree or more and 10 degrees or less, even if the silicon wafer 16 is large and thin, and easily deforms, The deformation of the silicon wafer 16 is suppressed, and the adsorption of the silicon wafers 16 is reliably prevented.

  When the inclination angle θ is less than 1 degree, the effect of aligning the silicon wafers 16 in the inclination direction cannot be fully exhibited, and the adsorption of the silicon wafers 16 during chemical processing cannot be reliably prevented. On the other hand, when the tilt angle θ exceeds 10 degrees, the large-size silicon wafer 16 is greatly deformed by its own weight, and the silicon wafer 16 may be damaged.

  The conveying means 15 includes a traveling operation unit 31 and an up / down operation unit 32. In the present embodiment, the conveyance unit 15 is configured to be movable in a two-dimensional direction within an XZ plane that is one of vertical surfaces. Here, the X direction is a direction parallel to the short direction of the carrier 12 held by the holding means 13 in the horizontal plane. The Y direction is the direction perpendicular to the X direction in the horizontal plane, that is, the longitudinal direction of the carrier 12 gripped by the gripping means 13. The Z direction is the vertical direction.

  The traveling operation unit 31 is provided on the ceiling portion 33 in the area where the chemical treatment apparatus 10 is provided, and is configured to be capable of traveling in the X direction. This traveling operation is realized by, for example, a rack provided in the ceiling portion 33 and a pinion provided in the traveling operation unit 31 and an electric motor in which the pinion is connected to an output shaft thereof.

  The vertical motion unit 32 connects the travel motion unit 31 with the angular displacement driving unit 27 and the tilting unit 29 of the gripping unit 13 and the tilting unit 14 so as to move the angular displacement driving unit 27 and the tilting unit 29 in the Z direction. It can be moved up and down. This up / down motion can be realized by a combination of a ball screw and an electric motor, for example. A ball screw nut is mounted on the angular displacement driving means 27 and the tilting means 29, and the screw shaft of the ball screw screwed to the nut is rotationally driven by an electric motor, whereby the angular displacement driving means 27 and the tilting means 29, that is, the gripping means. The carrier 12 held by 13 can be moved up and down in the Z direction.

  As described above, the conveying unit 15 can immerse the carrier 12 held by the holding unit 13 by the vertical movement unit 32 in the processing liquid 21 accommodated in the processing tank 11 and pull it up from the processing liquid 21. The carrier 12 gripped by the gripping means 13 by the traveling operation unit 31 can be transported to another processing tank.

  The conveying means 15 may be configured to be movable in the Y direction, that is, movable in the XYZ three-dimensional direction, and further, the vertical movement unit 32 can be rotated around its axis. It may be configured.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining a method of performing chemical processing on the silicon wafer 16 using the chemical processing apparatus 10. FIG. 9 illustrates a case where the silicon wafer 16 is cleaned by being immersed in, for example, pure water stored in the processing tank 11.

  The processing method as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 9 can be automated, and each part of the operation of the chemical processing apparatus 10 is connected to a processing circuit, such as a microcomputer, on which a central processing unit (CPU) is mounted. This can be realized by the microcomputer controlling in accordance with a program prepared in advance for controlling the operation of the processing apparatus 10. Hereinafter, a chemical processing method of the silicon wafer 16 will be described with reference to FIG.

  At the start, the chemical processing apparatus 10 is in an operable state, and pure water is prepared as the chemical processing liquid 21 accommodated in the silicon wafer 16 to be processed, the carrier 12 and the processing tank 11.

  In step s1, the silicon wafer 16 is inserted into the carrier 12, and the side grooves 9 and the positioning grooves 18 are positioned one by one. The silicon wafer 16 can be inserted into the carrier 12 by, for example, an automatic transfer machine. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the carrier 12 that accommodates the silicon wafer 16 is prepared. The carrier 12 in which the silicon wafer 16 is accommodated is placed on the first temporary placement table 35, for example.

  In step s 2, the travel operation unit 31 of the transport unit 15 is operated to transport the gripping unit 13 and the tilting unit 14 to above the carrier 12 placed on the first temporary mounting table 35 and grip it by the vertical operation unit 32. The vertical position of the means 13 is adjusted, and the carrier 12 is gripped by the gripping means 13. In step s 3, the carrier 12 gripped by the gripping means 13 is transported to the upper position of the processing tank 11 by the operation of the traveling operation unit 31 of the transporting means 15.

  In step s 4, the vertical movement unit 32 of the conveying unit 15 is operated to lower the carrier 12 held by the holding unit 13, and the carrier 12 is immersed in the pure water 21. In step s5, the gripping means 13 is operated to release the carrier 12 in the processing tank 11. That is, the carrier 12 is immersed in pure water in a free state.

  In step s6, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed. Here, the predetermined time is a time required for cleaning the silicon wafer 16. The time required for cleaning the silicon wafer 16 (reference time) can be obtained by performing a preliminary cleaning test, and is determined according to the size of the silicon wafer 16 and the previous process. Such a reference time can be stored in a memory. Therefore, the determination of step s6 can be made by reading the reference time from the memory and comparing it with the time counted by the clock unit of the microcomputer after the carrier 12 is immersed in the pure water 21.

  When the predetermined time has not elapsed, the time-lapse operation of step s6 is repeated, and when the predetermined time has elapsed, the process proceeds to step s7. In step s7, the gripping means 13 is operated to grip the carrier 12 in the pure water 21 again.

  In step s8, the tilting means 14 is operated to tilt the carrier 12 by, for example, 5 degrees and hold it in a tilted state. By tilting the carrier 12 by an angle θ in the longitudinal direction, the silicon wafer 16 positioned by the side groove 9 and the positioning groove 18 and accommodated in the carrier 12 is moved downward by a downward force due to its own weight. In this way, the side grooves 9 and the positioning grooves 18 can be more reliably aligned in a biased form. As described above, by aligning the plurality of silicon wafers 16 so as to be offset in the same direction, the distance between the adjacent silicon wafers 16 is reliably maintained, so that the adjacent silicon wafers 16 can be prevented from being adsorbed. .

  In step s 9, the vertical movement unit 32 of the transport unit 15 is operated to raise the carrier 12 gripped by the gripping unit 13, and the carrier 12 is pulled up from the pure water 21. As described above, the carrier 12 is pulled up from the pure water 21 while being inclined at the angle θ, thereby aligning the plurality of silicon wafers 16 so as to be offset in the same direction, and reliably keeping the distance between the adjacent silicon wafers 16. Since the pure water 21 can be drained as it is, the adjoining silicon wafers 16 can be prevented from being adsorbed.

  In step s10, the tilting means 14 is operated to recover the tilt of the carrier 12 gripped by the gripping means 13 and hold it horizontally. In step s11, the traveling operation unit 31 of the transport unit 15 is operated so that the carrier 12 gripped by the grip unit 13 is transported in the X direction and once placed on the second temporary placement table 36, and another transport unit. Is transferred to another processing tank, for example, a drying processing tank, and one chemical process is completed.

  When the treatment in the treatment tank 11 is not cleaning but wet etching, for example, the carrier 12 pulled up from the treatment tank 11 is conveyed to another treatment tank 11A or a treatment tank 11B by the conveyance means 15, It is subjected to other chemical treatments such as washing.

  As described above, in this embodiment, a silicon wafer is exemplified as the substrate, but the substrate is not limited to this, and the substrate may be a gallium arsenide wafer or a glass substrate. Further, the lower positioning member 17 has a round bar shape, but is not limited thereto, and may have another bar shape such as a square bar shape or an elliptical bar shape. Moreover, although the positioning groove is formed over the entire circumference of the lower positioning member, the positioning groove is not limited to this, and may be formed in the upper half-circumferential part, or may be formed in the upper 1/3 circumferential part. Good. Moreover, although the cross section of the positioning groove is formed in a V shape, it is not limited to this and may be a U shape or a concave groove. However, it is preferable that the cross section is V-shaped from the viewpoint of positioning accuracy of the lower part of the substrate.

It is a side view which shows the structure of the chemical processing apparatus 10 of the board | substrate which is one Embodiment of this invention in a partial cross section. It is a front view which shows the chemical processing apparatus 10 of the board | substrate shown in FIG. 1 in a partial cross section. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a storage transport container 12. 4 is a side view showing a configuration of a lower positioning member 17. FIG. It is a front view of the lower positioning member 17 shown in FIG. It is the figure which looked at the state of the silicon wafer 16 accommodated in the carrier 12 from the cross section perpendicular | vertical to a longitudinal direction. It is the figure which looked at the state of the silicon wafer 16 accommodated in the carrier 12 from the side. It is the figure which looked at the state of the silicon wafer 16 accommodated in the carrier 12 from the upper surface. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method for performing chemical processing on a silicon wafer 16 using the chemical processing apparatus 10. It is a figure which shows the state by which the carrier 12 which accommodates the silicon wafer 16 is prepared. It is a perspective view which shows the typical structure of the conventional carrier 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is a view of a cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the carrier 1. It is the fragmentary sectional view seen from the side which shows the state which the board | substrate has shifted in the side groove | channel. It is a top view which shows the state which the adjacent board | substrates adsorb | suck.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,12 Carrier 2,16 Board | substrate 3 Right side wall part 4 Left side wall part 5,6 Connection part 7,8 Substrate holding | maintenance part 9 Side groove 10 Chemical processing apparatus 11 Processing tank 13 Holding means 14 Inclining means 15 Conveying means 17 Lower positioning member 18 Positioning groove

Claims (8)

In a chemical processing apparatus that chemically processes a plurality of substrates,
A treatment tank containing a chemical treatment liquid;
A storage and transfer container used for chemical processing and transfer in a state where a plurality of substrates are stored and a substrate is stored. The storage and transfer container includes at least one pair of opposing side wall portions. Side grooves for positioning each sheet are formed at opposing positions, opened so that the chemical treatment liquid can flow in the vertical direction, and the lower opening has a substrate corresponding to the side grooves formed in the side wall. Storage container having a lower positioning member capable of positioning each sheet,
A gripping means for gripping a storage transport container in which a substrate is stored;
Inclining means for inclining the containing transport container gripped by the gripping means;
A substrate chemical processing apparatus, comprising: a transport unit that moves at least a two-dimensional direction of an accommodation transport container gripped by the grip unit.   2. The chemical processing apparatus for a substrate according to claim 1, wherein the tilting means tilts the storage container held by the gripping means in an angle of 1 to 10 degrees. The lower positioning member of the receiving and transporting container is
It is an elongated rod-like member, and a plurality of positioning grooves are formed on the outer periphery of the rod-like member so as to correspond to side grooves formed in the side wall portion, and positioning is performed by placing a substrate in the positioning groove. The substrate chemical processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. The lower positioning member
The center of the positioning groove with respect to the center of the side groove formed in the side wall portion is provided in the storage and transport container so as to have a deviation in the direction in which the plurality of substrates are stored and arranged in the storage and transport container. The substrate chemical processing apparatus according to claim 3. In a chemical processing method for chemically processing a plurality of substrates,
At least one pair of opposing side wall portions is provided, and side grooves for positioning the substrates one by one are formed in the opposing pair of side wall portions, respectively, so that the chemical treatment liquid can flow in the vertical direction. The plurality of substrates are accommodated in an accommodation transport container having a lower positioning member capable of positioning the substrates one by one so as to correspond to the side grooves formed in the side wall portions in the lower opening portion. Process,
A step of gripping a container transport container in which a substrate is stored;
The step of transporting the holding and transporting container to the processing tank in which the chemical processing liquid is stored and charging it into the processing tank, and immersing the substrate stored in the storing and transporting container in the chemical processing liquid;
A step of tilting the storage and transfer container in the treatment tank;
A process of pulling up the storage container from the processing tank;
And a step of transporting the containing transport container to another processing tank. In the process of tilting the storage container in the treatment tank,
6. The method for chemical treatment of a substrate according to claim 5, wherein the inclination angle of the containing transport container is inclined so as to be 1 to 10 degrees. In the process of tilting the storage container in the treatment tank,
The substrate chemical processing method according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the storage container is held in an inclined state. In the process of transporting the storage transport container to another processing tank,
8. The chemical treatment method for a substrate according to claim 5, wherein the accommodation conveyance container is restored to be inclined to hold the accommodation conveyance container horizontally.

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