JP2930307B2 - Liquid discharge mechanism in substrate processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a liquid discharging mechanism in a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate such as a semiconductor substrate with a liquid.

(Prior Art) In a process of performing a desired process by using a liquid, for example, a process of processing a semiconductor wafer in semiconductor manufacturing, a semiconductor manufacturing process generally includes a processing unit (2) for the above-described process in a clean room (1). The apparatus (3) is installed, and the processing liquid (5) is supplied to the semiconductor wafer (4) to perform a desired processing. For example, a resist solution is dropped to spin coat the resist solution. Then, the dirty liquid that is used in this processing and becomes unnecessary, that is, the waste liquid (6) is discharged to the processing unit (2).
And temporarily stored in a storage tank (8) via a drain pipe (7) provided in the storage tank. When the storage amount increases with the processing of the semiconductor wafer (4), it is detected by the sensor (9), and a warning is issued by, for example, a buzzer (10) to notify the operator. The operator enters the clean room (1), temporarily stops the operation of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus (3), puts the storage tank (8) containing the waste liquid (6) on a trolley (11) or the like, and takes out a new storage instead of taking it out. After replacing the tank with the tank (8) and setting it, operations such as starting the operation of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus (3) have been performed.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, since the replacement of the storage tank (8) is performed by the operator, the downtime of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus (3) is long, the productivity is reduced, and the operator removes dust in the clean room (1). Treatment liquid (5)
Some types are harmful to the human body and are dangerous.

In addition, there is a possibility that the waste liquid (6) flows out of the storage tank (8) due to generation of dust from the cart (11) and an incorrect setting of the storage tank (8).

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional circumstances, and automatically discharges waste liquid and cleans the storage tank of the waste liquid, without stopping a substrate processing apparatus such as a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, and is clean. It is an object of the present invention to provide a liquid discharge mechanism in a substrate processing apparatus capable of safely processing.

[Configuration of the invention]

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to solve the above problems, the present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus provided with a container for temporarily storing a processed waste liquid discharged from a processing apparatus for performing a substrate processing using a liquid. A liquid discharging mechanism for detecting an increase in the amount of waste liquid stored in the container, discharging means for automatically discharging waste liquid from the container based on the detection, and discharging the waste liquid after or during discharge. A liquid discharging mechanism in a substrate processing apparatus, comprising: a cleaning unit that supplies a cleaning liquid to a container and automatically cleans the inside of the container.

The present invention is also a liquid discharge mechanism in a substrate processing apparatus that discharges waste liquid from a processing apparatus that performs substrate processing with a liquid, wherein the container temporarily stores the waste liquid, and detects an amount of waste liquid stored in the container. Detecting means; a liquid discharging valve provided in the container; and discharging the liquid by opening the valve when the detecting means detects that the waste liquid amount in the container has reached a preset value. And a cleaning means for supplying a cleaning liquid to the container after or during discharge of the waste liquid and automatically cleaning the inside of the container. Provide a mechanism.

(Operation) In the present invention, the amount of waste liquid stored in a container for temporarily storing the waste liquid after processing discharged from a substrate processing apparatus for performing substrate processing with a liquid is detected, and the container is determined based on the detection. Automatically discharges the waste liquid from the container, and supplies the cleaning liquid to the container after or during the discharge of the waste liquid, and automatically cleans the inside of the container. . Therefore, liquid processing of a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer can be performed cleanly and safely. Also,
Since the waste liquid can be automatically discharged from the substrate processing apparatus, the waste liquid can be discharged without stopping the substrate processing apparatus.

(Embodiment) An embodiment in which the mechanism of the present invention is applied to a resist coating apparatus for semiconductor manufacturing will be described below with reference to the drawings.

A resist coating mechanism ( 13 ) using a coating method called, for example, a spinner method is provided on the upper surface of the resist coating device main body (12). A wafer chuck (15) for adsorbing and holding the semiconductor wafer (14) by, for example, a vacuum chuck or the like is arranged inside the resist coating mechanism ( 13 ). The wafer chuck (15) is a motor (1).
It is configured to be rotatable according to 6). A nozzle (17) is provided above the wafer chuck (15) so as to face the semiconductor wafer (14), and drops a resist (16) solution toward the semiconductor wafer (14).

An annular cup (18) is arranged in the resist coating mechanism ( 13 ) so as to surround the wafer chuck (15), and the cup (18) is shaken off by the rotation of the semiconductor wafer (14). The resist (16) scattered in the cup (18) is collected and discharged as a waste liquid (19) through a drain pipe (20) provided at the bottom of the cup (18) to the outside of the resist coating mechanism ( 13 ).

The steam waste liquid (19) contains, besides the shaken-off resist (16), a solvent for the resist, a rinsing liquid for cleaning the back surface of the peripheral portion of the semiconductor wafer (14), and the like.

Next, the configuration of the liquid discharging mechanism ( 21 ) will be described.

A container for temporarily storing the waste liquid (19), for example, a storage tank (22) made of transparent glass is disposed below the resist coating mechanism ( 13 ) in the main body (12).

The storage tank (22) is provided, for example, at an upper portion thereof with an inlet (23) for introducing a waste liquid (19) discharged from a drain pipe (20) of the resist coating mechanism ( 13 ). A drain pipe (24) for discharging the waste liquid (19) is attached to the bottom, and is connected to a waste liquid treatment device (26) installed outside the main body (12) via a discharge valve (25). Have been. Also,
At a predetermined height position on the side wall of the storage tank (22), for example, a capacitance type sensor (27) for detecting the waste liquid (19) is provided, and this sensor (27) is a control unit (28). It is wired to. When the sensor (27) detects the waste liquid (19) in the storage tank (22), the controller (28)
Thus, normally, the discharge valve (25) in the "close" operation is controlled to the "open" operation, and the waste liquid (19) in the storage tank (22) is automatically discharged. The “open” operation time of the discharge valve (25) is controlled by, for example, the control unit (2
Set by the timer in 8). As described above, the waste liquid discharging means is provided.

Next, at a position higher than, for example, the sensor (27) on the side wall of the storage tank (22), a cleaning liquid (30) containing a solvent of, for example, a resist (16) supplied through a cleaning valve (29) is supplied. Storage tank (22) introduced into the storage tank (22)
A cleaning nozzle (31) for jetting toward the inner wall of the rim is penetrated through the side wall and is attached. Then, for example, after the discharge of the waste liquid (19) in the storage tank (22) is completed, the control unit (28) controls the cleaning valve (29), which is normally in the "closed" operation, to the "open" operation during the discharge. The washing liquid (30) is automatically spouted from the washing nozzle (31) and the storage tank (2
2) It is configured to clean the inside. The “opening” operation time of the cleaning valve (29) is determined, for example, by the control unit (28).
Set by a timer inside. As described above, the means for cleaning the inside of the storage tank (22) is provided.

The cleaning liquid (30) or the like accumulated in the storage tank (22) at the time of the above-mentioned cleaning is controlled to “open” by controlling the discharge valve (25) by the control unit (28) after the completion of the above-mentioned cleaning, so that the cleaning liquid (30) Etc. are automatically discharged. This discharge time is also determined by a timer in the control unit (28).

In the control unit (28), when the waste liquid (19) is discharged from the storage tank (22), that is, the discharge is not performed smoothly due to, for example, the timer, and a timer for setting the discharge time has timed out. When the sensor (27) detects the waste liquid (19) at the time, an alarm is generated by, for example, sounding a buzzer or the like.

The liquid discharge mechanism ( 21 ) is configured as described above. The main body (12) of the resist coating apparatus is generally installed in a clean room (32).

 Next, the operation will be described.

First, a semiconductor wafer (1) is transported by a transport mechanism (not shown).
4) is carried into the resist coating mechanism ( 13 ), and is placed on the wafer chuck (15) and held by suction. And the nozzle (1
After a predetermined amount of resist (16) is dropped from 7) toward the semiconductor wafer (14), the motor (16) is driven to rotate the semiconductor wafer (14), and the dropped resist (16)
Is spread by centrifugal force and applied to the upper surface of the semiconductor wafer (14). At this time, the dropped resist (16), which has been shaken out of the semiconductor wafer (14) by the rotation and scattered, collides with the inside of the cup (18) and is scattered.
Waste liquid (19) accumulates at the bottom and is discharged through a drain pipe (20), flows into a storage tank (22) of a liquid discharge mechanism ( 21 ), and is temporarily stored.

When the application of the resist to the upper surface of the semiconductor wafer (14) is completed, the rinsing liquid is caused to flow toward the back surface of the peripheral portion of the semiconductor wafer (14) to perform the back surface cleaning. Therefore, the waste liquid (19) is a liquid obtained by mixing the resist (16), the solvent of the resist (16), the rinsing liquid and the like in addition to the resist (16). Thereafter, the semiconductor wafer (14) on which the resist coating has been completed is carried out by a transport mechanism (not shown), and the semiconductor wafer (14) to be coated next is placed on the wafer chuck (15) and the same as above. To apply.

The storage tank (2
The storage amount of the waste liquid (19) stored in 2) gradually increases, and then the sensor (27) detects that the waste liquid (19) is full. The detection result is transmitted to the control unit (28), and the control unit (28) controls the discharge valve (25) to “open” to automatically discharge the waste liquid (19) in the storage tank (22). It is discharged and discharged to the waste liquid treatment device (26). Control unit (2
When the timer of 8) expires, the discharge valve (2
5) Return to normal "close" operation and stop discharging waste liquid (19).

At this time, if the sensor (27) detects the waste liquid (19) when the timer of the control unit (28) expires, the discharge of the waste liquid (19) from the storage tank (22) is performed normally. A buzzer sounds and a warning is given because the user has not been warned.

When the discharge of the waste liquid (19) is completed, the cleaning valve (29) is then opened, and the cleaning liquid (30) is ejected from the cleaning nozzle (31) to automatically clean the inside of the storage tank (22). I do. The washing may be performed while the waste liquid (19) is being discharged. When the timer of the control unit (28) expires, the cleaning valve (29) is returned to the normal "open" operation, and the ejection of the cleaning liquid (30) is stopped.

Next, the cleaning liquid (30) and the like stored in the storage tank (22) with the discharge valve (25) opened are discharged and discharged to the waste liquid treatment device (26). At that time, drain pipe (24),
The inside of the discharge valve (25) and the like is also cleaned by the cleaning liquid (30).

Then, when the timer of the control unit (28) expires, the discharge valve (25) is returned to the normal "close" operation, and the discharge is stopped. During the draining and cleaning, the waste liquid (19) is stored in the storage tank (22) from the resist coating mechanism ( 13 ).
There is no particular problem even if the resist flows in, so there is no need to stop the resist coating mechanism ( 13 ).

 Thereafter, the operation described above is repeated.

As will be understood from the above description, since the drainage and cleaning are automatically performed, the operator does not need to enter the clean room and does not need to stop the apparatus. Further, since it is not necessary to take out the storage tank or the like, the configuration of the apparatus can be simplified.

In the above embodiment, the case where the cleaning is performed after discharging the waste liquid has been described. However, in the case of a solvent that dries quickly, the cleaning may be performed during the discharging.

In the above embodiment, the example in which the “open” operation time of the discharge valve (25) and the cleaning valve (29) is set by the time of the timer of the control unit (28) is described. Alternatively, the control may be performed by detecting the liquid level.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which the mechanism of the present invention is applied to a resist coating apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor is described. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. Is also applicable.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, discharge of waste liquid generated in a substrate processing apparatus that performs substrate processing with a liquid such as a coating apparatus and cleaning of a waste liquid storage container are automatically performed. Therefore, a liquid discharge mechanism capable of realizing clean and safe processing is provided. Further, according to the present invention, the waste liquid can be discharged without stopping the apparatus.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an apparatus configuration diagram for explaining an embodiment in which the mechanism of the present invention is applied to a resist coating apparatus, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of a conventional resist coating apparatus. 13 Resist coating mechanism, 19 Waste liquid, 21 Liquid discharge mechanism, 22 Storage tank, 25 Discharge valve, 27 Sensor, 28 Control unit, 29 Cleaning valve, 30 ... cleaning liquid, 31 ... cleaning nozzle.

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A liquid discharging mechanism in a substrate processing apparatus, comprising: a container for temporarily storing a processed waste liquid discharged from a processing apparatus for performing a substrate processing using a liquid; a storage amount of the waste liquid stored in the container; A discharge means for automatically discharging waste liquid from the container based on this detection, and supplying a cleaning liquid to the container after or during discharge of the waste liquid to automatically clean the inside of the container. A liquid discharging mechanism in the substrate processing apparatus, comprising: 2. A liquid discharging mechanism in a substrate processing apparatus for discharging a waste liquid from a processing apparatus for performing a substrate processing by using a liquid, wherein a container for temporarily storing the waste liquid and an amount of the waste liquid stored in the container are detected. Detecting means; a liquid discharging valve provided in the container; and discharging the liquid by opening the valve when the detecting means detects that the waste liquid amount in the container has reached a preset value. And a cleaning means for supplying a cleaning liquid to the container after or during discharge of a waste liquid and automatically cleaning the inside of the container, the liquid discharging mechanism in the substrate processing apparatus. .