TWI854793B - Substrate cleaning brush and substrate cleaning device - Google Patents

Abstract

The substrate cleaning brush of the present invention includes a cleaning part for cleaning a substrate. The cleaning part has a cleaning surface that can contact the substrate when cleaning the substrate. A cutout is formed on the cleaning surface. The cleaning surface is divided into a plurality of cleaning blocks by the cutout. When the cleaning surface contacts the substrate, each cleaning block contacts the cleaning block adjacent to the cleaning block by elastic deformation of the cleaning part.

Description

Substrate cleaning brush and substrate cleaning device

The present invention relates to a substrate cleaning brush and a substrate cleaning device for cleaning a substrate.

Substrate processing equipment is used to process various substrates such as FPD (Flat Panel Display) substrates used in liquid crystal display devices or organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display devices, semiconductor substrates, optical disk substrates, magnetic disk substrates, magneto-optical disk substrates, mask substrates, ceramic substrates, or solar cell substrates. Substrate cleaning equipment is used to clean substrates.

For example, in the substrate cleaning device described in Japanese Patent Gazette No. 2022-84287, there is described a substrate cleaning device including a lower surface brush. The lower surface brush includes a base portion having a circular plate shape, and first and second cleaning portions protruding upward from the upper surface of the base portion. The first cleaning portion extends radially of the base portion through the geometric center of the base portion when viewed from above. The second cleaning portion is arranged along the outer edge of the base portion. By rotating the base portion while the first and second cleaning portions of the lower surface brush are in contact with the lower surface of the substrate, contaminants attached to the lower surface of the substrate are removed.

According to the lower surface brush described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-84287, the area that can be cleaned is maintained larger, and excessive load is prevented from being applied to the substrate. In this way, the lower surface of the substrate can be cleaned efficiently. However, in the lower surface brush described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-84287, the substrate cannot be cleaned efficiently sometimes. Therefore, it is desired to improve the cleaning efficiency.

The object of the present invention is to provide a substrate cleaning brush and a substrate cleaning device that can efficiently clean a substrate.

One aspect of the substrate cleaning brush of the present invention is used for cleaning a substrate, and comprises: a cleaning portion having a cleaning surface that can contact the substrate when the substrate is cleaned, and a cutout is formed on the cleaning surface; and the cleaning surface is divided into a plurality of cleaning blocks by the cutouts; when the cleaning surface contacts the substrate, each cleaning block contacts the cleaning block adjacent to the cleaning block by elastic deformation of the cleaning portion.

The substrate cleaning device of another aspect of the present invention comprises: a substrate holding portion, which holds the above-mentioned substrate; and a substrate cleaning brush described in any one of technical solutions 1 to 8, which cleans the above-mentioned substrate held by the above-mentioned substrate holding portion. [Effect of the invention]

According to the present invention, the substrate can be cleaned efficiently.

The following uses drawings to describe the substrate cleaning brush and substrate cleaning device of the embodiment of the present invention. In the following description, the substrate refers to a semiconductor substrate, a liquid crystal display device or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display device FPD (Flat Panel Display) substrate, an optical disk substrate, a magnetic disk substrate, a magneto-optical disk substrate, a mask substrate, a ceramic substrate or a solar cell substrate.

1. First Implementation Form (1) Structure of Substrate Cleaning Brush FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a brush unit including a substrate cleaning brush of the first implementation form of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1 , the brush unit 300 includes a substrate cleaning brush 100 and a brush base 200. The brush unit 300 is formed by mounting the substrate cleaning brush 100 on the brush base 200.

In this example, the substrate cleaning brush 100 is a brush for cleaning the lower surface of the substrate. The substrate cleaning brush 100 can be formed of a relatively soft resin material such as PVA (Polyvinyl alcohol) or PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene). The brush base 200 can be formed of a relatively hard resin such as PVC (Polyvinyl chloride) or PP (Polypropylene).

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the substrate cleaning brush 100 of FIG. 1 . FIG. 3 is a top view of the substrate cleaning brush 100 of FIG. 1 . As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 , the substrate cleaning brush 100 includes a base portion 110 and cleaning portions 120 and 130. The base portion 110 has a circular plate shape. When viewed from above, a geometric center point 101 of the base portion 110 is defined ( FIG. 3 ).

The cleaning parts 120 and 130 are formed on the upper surface of the base part 110 so as to protrude upward from the upper surface of the base part 110. The protrusion amount of the cleaning parts 120 and 130 relative to the upper surface of the base part 110 is, for example, 5 mm to 6 mm. The upper surfaces of the cleaning parts 120 and 130 serve as cleaning surfaces for cleaning the lower surface of the substrate W.

The cleaning part 120 has a cleaning surface extending in one direction, and is arranged in a manner of passing through the center point 101 of the base part 110 and extending in the radial direction of the base part 110. The cleaning part 130 has a circular ring shape, and is arranged along the outer edge of the base part 110. The cleaning part 130 may also contact both ends of the cleaning part 120. The width of the cleaning part 120 may be equal to or different from the width of the cleaning part 130.

A plurality of through holes 111, a plurality of through holes 112, and a plurality of through holes 113 are formed on the base portion 110. Each of the through holes 111 to 113 extends in the up-down direction. The through holes 111 are used to connect the base portion 110 with the brush base 200 of FIG. 1, and 10 through holes 111 are provided in this example. Specifically, 8 through holes 111 are arranged at approximately equal angles in the peripheral area of the base portion 110. Two through holes 111 are arranged in the central area of the base portion 110 in a manner of facing each other across the cleaning portion 120.

The through holes 112 are used to connect the brush base 200 and the motor for rotating the brush unit 300, and four through holes 112 are provided in this example. The four through holes 112 are arranged at approximately equal angles in the central area of the base part 110 in a manner of surrounding the center point 101 of the base part 110. The through holes 113 are used to discharge the cleaning liquid when cleaning the substrate, and ten through holes 113 are provided in this example. The ten through holes 113 are regularly arranged in the peripheral area of the base part 110 in a manner of following the cleaning part 130.

A plurality of cutouts 102 are formed on the cleaning surfaces of the cleaning parts 120 and 130. Thus, the cleaning surfaces of the cleaning parts 120 and 130 are divided into a plurality of cleaning areas 103. In this example, one cutout 102 is formed in the cleaning part 120, which passes through the center point 101 and is parallel to the direction in which the cleaning part 120 extends, and a plurality of cutouts 102 are formed which are orthogonal to the direction in which the cleaning part 120 extends. In addition, a plurality of radial cutouts 102 are formed in the cleaning part 130, which are centered on the center point 101.

By forming a plurality of cutouts 102 on the cleaning surface of the cleaning parts 120 and 130, the rigidity of the cleaning surface of the cleaning parts 120 and 130 is reduced. FIG. 4 is an enlarged three-dimensional view showing a portion of the cleaning part 120. As shown in FIG. 4, the depth of each cutout 102 is d, and the width of each cutout 102 is w. The area of the upper surface of each cleaning block 103 that becomes the cleaning surface is S. The greater the depth d of the cutout 102, the smaller the rigidity of the cleaning surface of the cleaning parts 120 and 130. In addition, the smaller the area S of the cleaning block 103, the smaller the rigidity of the cleaning surface of the cleaning parts 120 and 130.

By reducing the rigidity of the cleaning parts 120 and 130, the cleaning parts 120 and 130 are elastically deformed due to the load generated by the cleaning parts 120 and 130 when the cleaning surface contacts the lower surface of the substrate. As a result, the side surface of each cleaning block 103 is roughly in contact with the side surface of the cleaning block 103 adjacent to the cleaning block 103. In this way, in this embodiment, the incision 102 is different from a slit, a notch or a groove for allowing a liquid such as a cleaning liquid to pass through. Therefore, the width w of the incision 102 is smaller. Specifically, the width w of the incision 102 can be less than 1 mm.

The brush base 200 is a plate-shaped member having the same shape as the base portion 110 of the substrate cleaning brush 100. FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the brush unit 300 of FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 5, a concave portion 210 that is concave upward is formed in the central area of the lower surface of the brush base 200. In addition, an inclined portion 220 that is inclined outward and downward is formed in the peripheral area of the lower surface of the brush base 200. Furthermore, a plurality of threaded holes 201, a plurality of through holes 202, and a plurality of through holes 203 are formed in the brush base 200.

The plurality of threaded holes 201 are disposed on the upper surface of the brush base 200 in a manner corresponding to the plurality of through holes 111 of the substrate cleaning brush 100. The plurality of through holes 202 are arranged in a manner extending up and down and corresponding to the plurality of through holes 112 of the substrate cleaning brush 100. The plurality of through holes 203 are arranged in a manner extending up and down and corresponding to the plurality of through holes 113 of the substrate cleaning brush 100.

A plurality of threaded components 310 (FIG. 1) are inserted from above into the plurality of through holes 111 of the substrate cleaning brush 100. The lower end of each threaded component 310 is screwed into the corresponding threaded hole 201 of the brush base 200. In this way, the substrate cleaning brush 100 is connected to the brush base 200 to complete the brush unit 300. In the brush unit 300, the plurality of through holes 113 of the substrate cleaning brush 100 are connected to the plurality of through holes 203 of the brush base 200.

The brush unit 300 is mounted on a rotating shaft 400 of a motor or the like. Specifically, the rotating shaft 400 is embedded in the recess 210 of the brush base 200 from below. A plurality of threaded holes 401 corresponding to the through holes 202 of the brush base 200 are formed on the rotating shaft 400. A plurality of threaded components 320 ( FIG. 1 ) are respectively inserted from above into the plurality of through holes 112 of the substrate cleaning brush 100. The lower end of each threaded component 320 passes through the corresponding through hole 202 of the brush base 200 and is screwed into the corresponding threaded hole 401 of the rotating shaft 400.

(2) Operation of the brush unit In this example, the brush unit 300 is used to clean the lower surface of the substrate. Hereinafter, the central portion of the lower surface of the substrate is referred to as the lower surface central area. The area surrounding the lower surface central area of the lower surface of the substrate is referred to as the lower surface outer area. In addition, the lower surface of the substrate means the surface of the substrate facing downward. Therefore, when the circuit forming surface (front side) of the substrate faces downward, the front side of the substrate is the lower surface, and when the surface opposite to the front side (back side) faces downward, the back side of the substrate is the lower surface.

FIG6 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the brush unit 300. When cleaning the central area of the lower surface of the substrate W, as shown in the upper portion of FIG6 , the brush unit 300 moves below the central area of the lower surface of the substrate W. Then, the upper end of the brush unit 300, i.e., the cleaning surface of the cleaning portion 120, 130 (FIG. 1) of the substrate cleaning brush 100 contacts the lower surface of the substrate W. Subsequently, the brush unit 300 rotates around an axis vertical to the center point 101 of the base portion 110 to remove contaminants attached to the central area of the lower surface of the substrate W. In this example, when cleaning the central area of the lower surface of the substrate W, the substrate W does not rotate, but the substrate W may also rotate.

When cleaning the outer area of the lower surface of the substrate W, as shown in the lower section of Figure 6, the brush unit 300 moves below the outer area of the lower surface of the substrate W. At this time, a portion of the brush unit 300 may also protrude slightly outward from the substrate W. Then, the upper end of the brush unit 300, i.e., the cleaning surface of the cleaning portion 120, 130 of the substrate cleaning brush 100 contacts the lower surface of the substrate W. Subsequently, the contaminants attached to the outer area of the lower surface of the substrate W are removed by rotating the substrate W. In this example, when cleaning the outer area of the lower surface of the substrate W, the brush unit 300 does not rotate, but the brush unit 300 may also rotate.

Here, the substrate W is not a completely flat plate, and sometimes warps the substrate W. Also, when cleaning the substrate W, sometimes the substrate W temporarily deforms such as warping due to the load from the substrate cleaning brush 100. Even in this case, as described above, by forming a plurality of cutouts 102 on the cleaning surfaces of the cleaning parts 120 and 130, the rigidity of the cleaning parts 120 and 130 is reduced.

Therefore, when the cleaning surface contacts the lower surface of the substrate W, the cleaning parts 120 and 130 are elastically deformed by the load generated by the cleaning parts 120 and 130. In this case, it is easy to follow the shape of the substrate W and make the cleaning surfaces of the cleaning parts 120 and 130 contact the lower surface of the substrate W as a whole. In addition, by the elastic deformation of the cleaning parts 120 and 130, each cleaning block 103 contacts the cleaning block 103 adjacent to the cleaning block 103. In this way, it is prevented that a portion that does not contact the lower surface of the substrate W is generated between adjacent cleaning blocks 103. As a result, the lower surface of the substrate W can be efficiently cleaned.

In this example, the diameter of the substrate cleaning brush 100 is greater than 1/3 and less than 1/2 of the diameter of the substrate W. In this case, by moving the brush unit 300 between below the central area of the lower surface of the substrate W and below the outer area of the lower surface, the entire lower surface of the substrate W can be efficiently cleaned. Therefore, there is no need to make the substrate cleaning brush 100 too large. In addition, the diameter of the substrate W is, for example, 300 mm. As shown by the dot chain in Figure 6, the area that can be cleaned when the brush unit 300 moves to below the central area of the lower surface of the substrate W and the area that can be cleaned when the brush unit 300 moves to below the outer area of the lower surface of the substrate W may overlap slightly.

When cleaning the lower surface of the substrate W, a cleaning liquid may be supplied to the lower surface of the substrate W. In this case, contaminants attached to the lower surface of the substrate W can be removed more efficiently. The cleaning liquid supplied to the lower surface of the substrate W is discharged to the lower surface of the brush base 200 through the plurality of through holes 113 formed in the substrate cleaning brush 100 and the plurality of through holes 203 formed in the brush base 200 shown in FIG. 5 . Therefore, the cleaning liquid is prevented from being retained on the substrate cleaning brush 100.

As shown in FIG5 , an inclined portion 220 inclined outward and downward is formed in the peripheral area of the lower surface of the brush base 200. Therefore, the cleaning liquid discharged to the lower surface of the brush base 200 is not guided to the inner side of the brush base 200, but is guided to the outer side along the inclined portion 220 and discharged from the brush base 200. In this way, the cleaning liquid is prevented from being attached to the rotating shaft 400 or the motor.

(3) Variations of the substrate cleaning brush In the substrate cleaning brush 100 of the present embodiment, a cleaning portion 120 having a cleaning surface extending in one direction and a cleaning portion 130 having a circular cleaning surface are provided on a circular base portion 110, but the embodiment is not limited thereto. The substrate cleaning brush 100 may have various shapes. In addition, the pattern of the cutout 102 formed on the cleaning surface of the substrate cleaning brush 100 is also not particularly limited.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing variations of the substrate cleaning brush 100. As shown in FIG. 7, in the substrate cleaning brush 100 of the first variation, a cleaning portion 120 having a cleaning surface extending in one direction is provided on the base portion 110. In the substrate cleaning brush 100 of the second variation, a cleaning portion 130 having a circular cleaning surface is provided on the base portion 110. In the substrate cleaning brush 100 of the third variation, a cleaning portion 140 having a cross-shaped cleaning surface is provided on the base portion 110.

In the substrate cleaning brush 100 of the fourth variation, a cleaning portion 130 having a circular cleaning surface and a cleaning portion 140 having a cross-shaped cleaning surface are provided on the base portion 110. In the substrate cleaning brush 100 of the fifth variation, a cleaning portion 150 having a circular cleaning surface with a larger diameter is provided on the base portion 110. In the substrate cleaning brush 100 of the sixth variation, a cleaning portion 150 having a circular cleaning surface with a smaller diameter is provided on the base portion 110.

In the first to fourth variations, although the cutouts 102 are omitted, the cutouts 102 of various patterns may be formed in each of the first to fourth variations. FIG8 is a diagram showing variations of the cutouts 102 formed on the cleaning surface of the substrate cleaning brush 100. In each variation of FIG8 , a top view of the substrate cleaning brush 100 is shown in the left column, and a three-dimensional view of the substrate cleaning brush 100 is shown in the right column.

As shown in FIG8 , in the seventh variation, a plurality of cutouts 102 are formed in a grid shape in a manner extending at equal intervals in the longitudinal and transverse directions. In the example of FIG8 , the cutouts 102 of the seventh variation are formed on the cleaning surface of the cleaning portion 150 of the substrate cleaning brush 100 of the fifth variation. The same is true in the eighth and ninth variations below.

In the eighth variation, the plurality of cutouts 102 are formed in a manner extending at equal intervals in one direction. In the ninth variation, the plurality of cutouts 102 are formed in a grid shape in a manner extending at unequal intervals in the longitudinal and transverse directions. In the ninth variation, the cutouts 102 may be formed at small intervals in a region where the rigidity of the cleaning surface of the cleaning portion 150 is to be further reduced (e.g., a region that is easy to contact the substrate W).

In the tenth variation, a plurality of cutouts 102 are formed to extend radially from the center point 101 (FIG. 3) of the base portion 110. In the example of FIG8, the cutouts 102 of the tenth variation are formed on the cleaning surface of the cleaning portion 130 of the substrate cleaning brush 100 of the second variation.

(4) Effect In the substrate cleaning brush 100 of the present embodiment, the cleaning surface of the cleaning parts 120 and 130 is divided into a plurality of cleaning blocks 103 by the cutouts 102. In this case, the rigidity of the cleaning surface can be reduced, and each cleaning block 103 can be deformed independently. Therefore, when the cleaning surface contacts the lower surface of the substrate W, the cleaning parts 120 and 130 are elastically deformed by the load generated by the cleaning parts 120 and 130. Therefore, even when the substrate W is deformed such as warping or bending, it is easy to follow the shape of the substrate W when cleaning the substrate W so that the cleaning surface contacts the lower surface of the substrate W as a whole.

Furthermore, each cleaning block 103 is in contact with the cleaning block 103 adjacent to the cleaning block 103 by elastic deformation of the cleaning parts 120 and 130. Therefore, it is prevented that a portion not in contact with the lower surface of the substrate W is generated between adjacent cleaning blocks 103. In this way, the lower surface of the substrate W can be cleaned without leaving contaminants on the lower surface of the substrate W. As a result, the lower surface of the substrate W can be cleaned efficiently.

The cutout 102 may have a width that does not allow the cleaning solution of the substrate W to pass through. Alternatively, the width of the cutout 102 may be less than 1 mm. In such cases, it is more reliably prevented that a portion that does not contact the substrate W is generated between adjacent cleaning blocks 103. Thus, the substrate W can be cleaned more efficiently.

The cutout 102 may be formed in a grid shape on the cleaning surface. Alternatively, the cutout 102 may be formed in a radial shape on the cleaning surface. In this case, when cleaning the substrate W, the shape of the cleaning surface may be deformed more appropriately to follow the shape of the substrate W. In particular, in this example, the cutout 102 is formed in a grid shape on the cleaning surface of the cleaning portion 120 extending in one direction, and is formed in a radial shape on the cleaning surface of the cleaning portion 130 having a circular shape. In this case, when cleaning the substrate W, the shape of the cleaning surfaces of the cleaning portions 120 and 130 may be deformed more appropriately to follow the shape of the substrate W.

Thus, in this example, since the cleaning surfaces of the cleaning parts 120 and 130 are formed with the cutouts 102, the cleaning parts 120 and 130 can more fully contact the lower surface of the substrate W. Furthermore, when cleaning the lower surface of the substrate W, since the substrate cleaning brush 100 rotates, the cleanable area is maintained larger, and the contact area between the lower surface of the substrate W and the substrate cleaning brush 100 is reduced. Therefore, even when a relatively small load is applied to the substrate cleaning brush 100, the lower surface of the substrate W and the cleaning surface of the substrate cleaning brush 100 are still in contact with a sufficient load. In this way, the lower surface of the substrate W can be cleaned more efficiently.

(5) Reference Example The differences between the substrate cleaning brush of the reference example and the substrate cleaning brush 100 of the present embodiment are described. FIG. 9 is a top view of the substrate cleaning brush of the reference example. As shown in FIG. 9 , the substrate cleaning brush 500 of the reference example includes a base portion 510 and cleaning portions 520 and 530.

The base portion 510 has the same structure as the base portion 110 of FIG3 . Therefore, a center point 501 is defined for the base portion 510. Furthermore, a plurality of through holes 511, a plurality of through holes 512, and a plurality of through holes 513 are formed in the base portion 510. The through hole 511 has the same structure as the through hole 111 of FIG3 . The through hole 512 has the same structure as the through hole 112 of FIG3 . The through hole 513 has the same structure as the through hole 113 of FIG3 .

The cleaning parts 520 and 530 have the same structure as the cleaning parts 120 and 130 of Fig. 3, except that the cutout 102 is not formed. In addition, the width of the cleaning part 520 of the substrate cleaning brush 500 is greater than the width of the cleaning part 120. The substrate cleaning brush 500 is mounted on the brush base 200 of Fig. 1 to form a brush unit.

FIG10 is a schematic diagram showing a cleaning step of the central area of the lower surface of the substrate W using the substrate cleaning brush 500 of FIG9 . As shown in FIG10 , when the substrate cleaning brush 500 contacts the central area of the lower surface of the substrate W, the brush unit including the substrate cleaning brush 500 rotates around a vertical axis passing through the center point 501. In this case, the contaminants attached to the central area of the lower surface of the substrate W are removed in the same manner as the substrate cleaning brush 100 of FIG3 .

However, warping may occur in the substrate W. Also, deformation may occur in the substrate W due to the cleaning surfaces of the cleaning parts 520 and 530 contacting the central area of the lower surface of the substrate W. Here, since no cutouts are formed in the cleaning surfaces of the cleaning parts 520 and 530, the rigidity of the cleaning surfaces of the cleaning parts 120 and 130 is not reduced.

In this case, as shown by the thick dashed line in FIG10 , a portion of the cleaning surface of the cleaning parts 520 and 530 contacts the central area of the lower surface of the substrate W, and as shown by the thicker dotted line in FIG10 , the cleaning surface of the cleaning parts 520 and 530 is separated from the central area of the lower surface of the substrate W. Therefore, the central area of the lower surface of the substrate W cannot be cleaned efficiently, and a portion of the contaminants remain in the central area of the lower surface of the substrate W.

FIG11 is a schematic diagram showing a cleaning step of the outer region of the lower surface of the substrate W using the substrate cleaning brush 500 of FIG9 . As shown in FIG11 , in a state where the substrate cleaning brush 500 contacts the outer region of the lower surface of the substrate W, the brush unit including the substrate cleaning brush 500 rotates around a vertical axis passing through a center point 501. Furthermore, the substrate W rotates by the substrate holding device. In this case, the contaminants attached to the outer region of the lower surface of the substrate W are removed in the same manner as the substrate cleaning brush 100 of FIG3 .

However, warping may occur in the substrate W. Also, deformation may occur in the substrate W due to the cleaning surfaces of the cleaning parts 520 and 530 contacting the outer region of the lower surface of the substrate W. Here, since no cutouts are formed in the cleaning surfaces of the cleaning parts 520 and 530, the rigidity of the cleaning surfaces of the cleaning parts 120 and 130 is not reduced.

In this case, as shown by the thick dashed line in FIG11 , a portion of the cleaning surface of the cleaning parts 520 and 530 contacts the outer region of the lower surface of the substrate W, and as shown by the thicker dotted line in FIG11 , the cleaning surface of the cleaning parts 520 and 530 is separated from the outer region of the lower surface of the substrate W. Therefore, the outer region of the lower surface of the substrate W cannot be cleaned efficiently, and a portion of the contaminants remain in the outer region of the lower surface of the substrate W.

(6) Examples and Comparative Examples In the following Examples 1, 2 and Comparative Examples, the deformation ease of the cleaning surface of the substrate cleaning brush was evaluated. Specifically, in Example 1, a push-pull force gauge was used to apply a specified load to each cleaning surface of the cleaning parts 120 and 130 of the substrate cleaning brush 100 in FIG. 3. In addition, the deformation amount of multiple parts centered on the load application part was measured by a laser displacement meter, and the average value thereof was set as the deformation amount of the load application part.

In Example 2, the same measurement as in Example 1 is performed on a substrate cleaning brush 100 different from that in Example 1. FIG12 is a top view of the substrate cleaning brush 100 of Example 2. The substrate cleaning brush 100 of Example 2 in FIG12 differs from the substrate cleaning brush 100 of Example 1 in FIG3 in the following points. The area S of each cleaning block 103 in Example 2 is larger than the area S of each cleaning block 103 in Example 1.

Specifically, the intervals between the plurality of cutouts 102 in Example 2 are greater than the intervals between the plurality of cutouts 102 in Example 1. Also, the width of the cleaning portion 120 in Example 2 is greater than the width of the cleaning portion 120 in Example 1. Furthermore, in Example 2, the cutout 102 passing through the center point 101 and parallel to the direction in which the cleaning portion 120 extends is not formed in the cleaning portion 120.

In the comparative example, the substrate cleaning brush 500 of the reference example of FIG9 was measured in the same manner as in Example 1. In addition, the width of the cleaning portion 520 in the comparative example is the same as the width of the cleaning portion 120 in Example 2.

FIG. 13 is a graph showing the measurement results of the deformation amount of the cleaning surface of the cleaning parts 120 and 130 of Example 1. FIG. 14 is a graph showing the measurement results of the deformation amount of the cleaning surface of the cleaning parts 120 and 130 of Example 2. FIG. 15 is a graph showing the measurement results of the deformation amount of the cleaning surface of the cleaning parts 520 and 530 of the comparative example. In FIG. 13 to FIG. 15, the horizontal axis shows the applied load in g weight unit, and the vertical axis shows the measured deformation amount in mm unit. 13 to 15 , the white bars indicate the measurement results of the cleaning section 120 or the cleaning section 520 , and the bars with shaded patterns indicate the measurement results of the cleaning section 130 or the cleaning section 530 .

As shown in FIG13, in Example 1, the deformation amount of the cleaning surface of the cleaning parts 120 and 130 is large each time a load is applied. In addition, as shown in FIG14, in Example 2, the deformation amount of the cleaning surface of the cleaning parts 120 and 130 is also large each time a load is applied. On the other hand, as shown in FIG15, in the comparative example, the deformation amount of the cleaning surface of the cleaning parts 520 and 530 is small each time a load is applied.

From the comparison results of Examples 1 and 2 and the comparative example, it is confirmed that the rigidity of the cleaning surface of the cleaning parts 120 and 130 is reduced by forming the cutouts 102 on the cleaning surface of the cleaning parts 120 and 130. In addition, from the comparison results of Examples 1 and 2, it is confirmed that the rigidity of the cleaning surface of the cleaning parts 120 and 130 is further reduced by reducing the area S of the cleaning block 103.

2. Second Implementation Form (1) Structure of Substrate Cleaning Device As the second implementation form, the detailed structure of the substrate cleaning device including the substrate cleaning brush 100 of the first implementation form is described. FIG. 16 is a schematic top view of the substrate cleaning device of the second implementation form of the present invention. FIG. 17 is an external perspective view showing the internal structure of the substrate cleaning device 1 of FIG. 16. In the substrate cleaning device 1 of this implementation form, mutually orthogonal X direction, Y direction and Z direction are defined to clarify the positional relationship. In the designated figures after FIG. 16 and FIG. 17, the X direction, Y direction and Z direction are appropriately indicated by arrows. The X direction and the Y direction are mutually orthogonal in the horizontal plane, and the Z direction is equivalent to the vertical direction.

As shown in FIG16 , the substrate cleaning device 1 includes upper holding devices 10A and 10B, a lower holding device 20, a pedestal device 30, a transfer device 40, a lower surface cleaning device 50, a cup device 60, an upper surface cleaning device 70, an end cleaning device 80, and an opening and closing device 90. These components are arranged in a unit housing 2. In FIG17 , the unit housing 2 is shown in dotted lines.

The unit housing 2 has a rectangular bottom portion 2a and four sidewall portions 2b, 2c, 2d, and 2e extending upward from the four sides of the bottom portion 2a. The sidewall portions 2b and 2c face each other, and the sidewall portions 2d and 2e face each other. A rectangular opening is formed in the center of the sidewall portion 2b. The opening is a loading and unloading port 2x for substrates W, and is used when the substrates W are loaded into and unloaded from the unit housing 2. In FIG. 17 , the loading and unloading port 2x is shown by a thick dashed line. In the following description, the direction in the Y direction from the inside of the unit housing 2 through the loading and unloading port 2x toward the outside of the unit housing 2 (the direction from the side wall portion 2c toward the side wall portion 2b) is called the front, and the opposite direction (the direction from the side wall portion 2b toward the side wall portion 2c) is called the rear.

An opening and closing device 90 is provided in the portion of the side wall portion 2b where the loading and unloading port 2x is formed and in the vicinity thereof. The opening and closing device 90 includes a gate 91 configured to open and close the loading and unloading port 2x and a gate driving unit 92 for driving the gate 91. In FIG. 17 , the gate 91 is shown by a thicker two-dot chain line. The gate driving unit 92 drives the gate 91 in such a manner as to open the loading and unloading port 2x when the substrate W is loaded into and unloaded from the substrate cleaning device 1. Furthermore, the gate driving unit 92 drives the gate 91 so as to close the loading/unloading port 2x when the substrate W is being cleaned in the substrate cleaning apparatus 1.

A pedestal device 30 is provided at the center of the bottom surface 2a. The pedestal device 30 includes a linear guide 31, a movable pedestal 32, and a pedestal drive unit 33. The linear guide 31 includes two guide rails, which are provided in a manner extending from the vicinity of the side wall 2b to the vicinity of the side wall 2c along the Y direction when viewed from above. The movable pedestal 32 is provided to be movable along the Y direction on the two guide rails of the linear guide 31. The pedestal drive unit 33 includes, for example, a pulse motor, which moves the movable pedestal 32 in the Y direction on the linear guide 31.

On the movable pedestal 32, the lower side holding device 20 and the lower surface cleaning device 50 are arranged in the Y direction. The lower side holding device 20 includes an adsorption holding portion 21 and an adsorption holding driving portion 22. The adsorption holding portion 21 is a so-called spin chuck, which has a circular adsorption surface that can adsorb and hold the lower surface of the substrate W, and is configured to be rotatable around an axis extending in the vertical direction (axis in the Z direction). In FIG. 16, the appearance of the substrate W adsorbed and held by the lower side holding device 20 is shown by a two-point chain.

The adsorption and holding drive unit 22 includes a motor. The motor of the adsorption and holding drive unit 22 is arranged on the movable pedestal 32 in a manner that the rotating shaft protrudes upward. The adsorption and holding unit 21 is mounted on the upper end of the rotating shaft of the adsorption and holding drive unit 22. In addition, a suction path for adsorbing and holding the substrate W in the adsorption and holding unit 21 is formed on the rotating shaft of the adsorption and holding drive unit 22. The suction path is connected to a suction device not shown in the figure. The adsorption and holding drive unit 22 causes the adsorption and holding unit 21 to rotate around the above-mentioned rotating shaft.

On the movable pedestal 32, a handover device 40 is further provided near the lower holding device 20. The handover device 40 includes a plurality of (three in this example) support pins 41, a pin connection structure 42, and a pin lifting drive unit 43. The pin connection structure 42 is formed in a manner of surrounding the adsorption holding unit 21 when viewed from above, and connects the plurality of support pins 41. The plurality of support pins 41 extend upward from the pin connection structure 42 to a certain length while being connected to each other by the pin connection structure 42. The pin lifting drive unit 43 causes the pin connection structure 42 to rise and fall on the movable pedestal 32. Thereby, the plurality of support pins 41 are lifted and lowered relative to the adsorption holding unit 21.

The lower surface cleaning device 50 includes a brush unit 300, two liquid nozzles 52, a gas ejection portion 53, a lifting support portion 54, a moving support portion 55, a lower surface brush rotation drive portion 55a, a lower surface brush lifting drive portion 55b, and a lower surface brush moving drive portion 55c. The moving support portion 55 is arranged to be movable in a certain area on the movable pedestal 32 relative to the lower side holding device 20 along the Y direction. As shown in FIG. 17 , the lifting support portion 54 is arranged on the moving support portion 55 so as to be liftable. The lifting support portion 54 has an upper surface 54u that is inclined obliquely downward in a direction away from the adsorption holding portion 21 (rearward in this example).

The brush unit 300 includes the substrate cleaning brush 100 of the first embodiment and the brush base 200. As shown in FIG16, the brush unit 300 is mounted on the upper surface 54u of the lifting support portion 54 in such a manner that the substrate cleaning brush 100 can rotate around an axis extending in the vertical direction and passing through the center point 101 (FIG. 3) of the base portion 110. The area of the base portion 110 of the substrate cleaning brush 100 is larger than the area of the adsorption surface of the adsorption holding portion 21.

Each of the two liquid nozzles 52 is mounted on the upper surface 54u of the lifting support part 54 in a manner such that it is located near the brush unit 300 and the liquid nozzle is facing upward. The lower surface cleaning liquid supply part 56 (Figure 18) is connected to the liquid nozzle 52. The lower surface cleaning liquid supply part 56 supplies cleaning liquid to the liquid nozzle 52. When the liquid nozzle 52 uses the brush unit 300 to clean the substrate W, the cleaning liquid supplied from the lower surface cleaning liquid supply part 56 is supplied to the lower surface of the substrate W. In this embodiment, pure water (deionized water) is used as the cleaning liquid supplied to the liquid nozzle 52. In addition, as the cleaning liquid supplied to the liquid nozzle 52, carbonated water, ozone water, hydrogen water, electrolytic water, SC1 (a mixed solution of ammonia and hydrogen peroxide), or TMAH (Tetra-Methyl Ammonium Hydroxide) may be used instead of pure water.

The gas ejection portion 53 is a slit-shaped gas ejection nozzle having a gas ejection outlet extending in one direction. The gas ejection portion 53 is mounted on the upper surface 54u of the lifting support portion 54 in a manner such that the gas ejection outlet is directed upward and is located between the brush unit 300 and the adsorption holding portion 21 when viewed from above. The ejection gas supply portion 57 (FIG. 18) is connected to the gas ejection portion 53. The ejection gas supply portion 57 supplies gas to the gas ejection portion 53. In this embodiment, nitrogen is used as the gas supplied to the gas ejection portion 53. The gas ejection unit 53 ejects the gas supplied from the ejection gas supply unit 57 onto the lower surface of the substrate W when the brush unit 300 is used to clean the substrate W and when the lower surface of the substrate W is dried as described later. In this case, a belt-shaped gas curtain extending in the X direction is formed between the brush unit 300 and the adsorption holding unit 21. As the gas supplied to the gas ejection unit 53, an inert gas such as argon or helium may be used instead of nitrogen.

The lower surface brush rotation driving part 55a includes a motor having a rotation shaft 400 (FIG. 5), and rotates the brush unit 300 when the brush unit 300 is used to clean the substrate W. Thus, the area that can be cleaned by the brush unit 300 can be maintained larger.

The lower surface brush lifting drive unit 55b includes a stepping motor or a cylinder to lift the lifting support unit 54 relative to the moving support unit 55. The lower surface brush moving drive unit 55c includes a motor to move the moving support unit 55 along the Y direction on the movable base 32. Here, the position of the lower side holding device 20 of the movable base 32 is fixed. Therefore, when the lower surface brush moving drive unit 55c moves the moving support unit 55 in the Y direction, the moving support unit 55 moves relative to the lower side holding device 20. In the following description, the position of the lower surface cleaning device 50 on the movable pedestal 32 when it is closest to the lower side holding device 20 is called the approach position, and the position of the lower surface cleaning device 50 on the movable pedestal 32 when it is farthest from the lower side holding device 20 is called the departure position.

A cup device 60 is further provided in the central portion of the bottom surface portion 2a. The cup device 60 includes a cup 61 and a cup driving portion 62. The cup 61 is provided in a manner that surrounds the lower holding device 20 and the pedestal device 30 when viewed from above and can be raised and lowered. In FIG17 , the cup 61 is shown by a dotted line. The cup driving portion 62 moves the cup 61 between a lower cup position and an upper cup position depending on which portion of the lower surface of the substrate W is cleaned by the brush unit 300. The lower cup position is a height position where the upper end of the cup 61 is located at a lower height than the substrate W adsorbed and held by the adsorption holding portion 21. Furthermore, the upper cup position is a height position where the upper end of the cup 61 is located at a higher height than the adsorption holding portion 21.

A pair of upper holding devices 10A and 10B are provided at a height position higher than the cup 61 so as to face each other across the base device 30 in a top view. The upper holding device 10A includes a lower chuck 11A, an upper chuck 12A, a lower chuck drive 13A, and an upper chuck drive 14A. The upper holding device 10B includes a lower chuck 11B, an upper chuck 12B, a lower chuck drive 13B, and an upper chuck drive 14B.

The lower chucks 11A and 11B are symmetrically arranged with respect to a lead plane extending in the Y direction (front-rear direction) through the center of the adsorption holding portion 21 in a plan view, and are arranged to be movable in the X direction in a common horizontal plane. Each of the lower chucks 11A and 11B has two supporting pieces that can support the peripheral portion of the lower surface of the substrate W from below the substrate W. The lower chuck driving parts 13A and 13B move the lower chucks 11A and 11B in a manner that the lower chucks 11A and 11B approach each other or in a manner that the lower chucks 11A and 11B move away from each other.

The upper chucks 12A and 12B are similar to the lower chucks 11A and 11B, and are symmetrically arranged with respect to the lead plane extending in the Y direction (front-rear direction) through the center of the adsorption holding portion 21 when viewed from above, and are arranged to be movable in the X direction in a common horizontal plane. Each of the upper chucks 12A and 12B has two holding pieces that are configured to abut against two portions of the outer peripheral end of the substrate W and can hold the outer peripheral end of the substrate W. The upper chuck driving portions 14A and 14B move the upper chucks 12A and 12B in a manner that the upper chucks 12A and 12B approach each other or in a manner that the upper chucks 12A and 12B move away from each other.

As shown in Fig. 16, an upper surface cleaning device 70 is provided on one side of the cup 61 so as to be located near the upper holding device 10B in a plan view. The upper surface cleaning device 70 includes a rotation support shaft 71, an arm 72, a spray nozzle 73, and an upper surface cleaning drive unit 74.

The rotation support shaft 71 is supported on the bottom surface 2a in a manner extending in the vertical direction and being supported by the upper surface cleaning drive 74 in a manner that it can be raised and lowered and rotatable. As shown in FIG17 , the arm 72 is provided at a position above the upper side holding device 10B in a manner that it extends in the horizontal direction from the upper end of the rotation support shaft 71. A spray nozzle 73 is installed at the front end of the arm 72.

The upper surface cleaning fluid supply unit 75 (FIG. 18) is connected to the spray nozzle 73. The upper surface cleaning fluid supply unit 75 supplies cleaning liquid and gas to the spray nozzle 73. In the present embodiment, pure water is used as the cleaning liquid supplied to the spray nozzle 73, and nitrogen gas is used as the gas supplied to the spray nozzle 73. When the spray nozzle 73 cleans the upper surface of the substrate W, the cleaning liquid supplied from the upper surface cleaning fluid supply unit 75 is mixed with the gas to generate a mixed fluid, and the generated mixed fluid is sprayed downward.

In addition, as a cleaning liquid supplied to the spray nozzle 73, carbonated water, ozone water, hydrogen water, electrolytic ion water, SC1 (a mixed solution of ammonia and hydrogen peroxide), or TMAH (tetramethylammonium hydroxide) may be used instead of pure water. In addition, as a gas supplied to the spray nozzle 73, an inert gas such as argon or helium may be used instead of nitrogen.

The upper surface cleaning drive unit 74 includes one or more pulse motors and cylinders, etc., which move the rotation support shaft 71 up and down and rotate the rotation support shaft 71. According to the above structure, the entire upper surface of the substrate W can be cleaned by moving the spray nozzle 73 in an arc shape on the upper surface of the substrate W that is sucked and held by the suction holding unit 21 and rotated.

As shown in Fig. 16, an end cleaning device 80 is provided on the other side of the cup 61 so as to be located near the upper holding device 10A in a plan view. The end cleaning device 80 includes a rotation support shaft 81, an arm 82, a bevel brush 83, and a bevel brush driving unit 84.

The rotation support shaft 81 is supported on the bottom surface 2a in a manner extending in the vertical direction and being supported by the bevel brush driving portion 84 in a manner that can be raised and lowered and rotatable. As shown in FIG. 17 , the arm 82 is provided at a position above the upper side holding device 10A in a manner that extends in the horizontal direction from the upper end of the rotation support shaft 81. A bevel brush 83 is provided at the front end of the arm 82 in a manner that protrudes downward and is rotatable around an axis in the vertical direction.

The bevel brush 83 is formed of, for example, a PVA sponge or a PVA sponge with abrasive particles dispersed therein, and has an inverted pyramidal shape at the upper half and a pyramidal shape at the lower half. The bevel brush 83 can clean the outer peripheral end of the substrate W at the central portion in the up-down direction of the outer peripheral surface.

The bevel brush driving unit 84 includes one or more pulse motors and cylinders, etc., which move the rotation support shaft 81 up and down and rotate the rotation support shaft 81. According to the above structure, the outer peripheral end of the substrate W that is sucked and held by the suction holding unit 21 and rotated can be cleaned as a whole by making the central portion of the outer peripheral surface of the bevel brush 83 contact the outer peripheral end of the substrate W that is sucked and held by the suction holding unit 21 and rotated.

Here, the bevel brush driving unit 84 further includes a motor built into the arm 82. The motor rotates the bevel brush 83 provided at the front end of the arm 82 around an axis in the vertical direction. Therefore, when cleaning the outer peripheral end of the substrate W, the bevel brush 83 rotates, thereby increasing the cleaning force of the bevel brush 83 at the outer peripheral end of the substrate W.

FIG18 is a block diagram showing the structure of the control system of the substrate cleaning device 1 of FIG16. The control unit 9 of FIG18 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and a memory device. The RAM is used as a working area of the CPU. The ROM stores the system program. The memory device stores the control program. The CPU controls the operation of each part of the substrate cleaning device 1 by executing the substrate cleaning program stored in the memory device on the RAM.

As shown in FIG18 , the control unit 9 mainly controls the lower chuck drive units 13A, 13B and the upper chuck drive units 14A, 14B to receive the substrate W carried into the substrate cleaning device 1 and hold it at a position above the adsorption and holding unit 21. In addition, the control unit 9 mainly controls the adsorption and holding drive unit 22 to adsorb and hold the substrate W by the adsorption and holding unit 21 and rotate the adsorbed and held substrate W.

Furthermore, the control unit 9 mainly controls the table drive unit 33 to move the movable table 32 relative to the substrate W held by the upper holding devices 10A and 10B. Furthermore, the control unit 9 controls the pin lifting drive unit 43 to move the substrate W between the height position of the substrate W held by the upper holding devices 10A and 10B and the height position of the substrate W held by the adsorption holding unit 21.

Furthermore, the control unit 9 controls the lower surface brush rotation driver 55a, the lower surface brush lifting driver 55b, the lower surface brush moving driver 55c, the lower surface cleaning liquid supplier 56, and the ejection gas supplier 57 to clean the lower surface of the substrate W. Furthermore, the control unit 9 controls the cup driver 62 to receive the cleaning liquid scattered from the substrate W when cleaning the substrate W adsorbed and held by the adsorption holding unit 21 with the cup 61.

Furthermore, the control unit 9 controls the upper surface cleaning driving unit 74 and the upper surface cleaning fluid supplying unit 75 to clean the upper surface of the substrate W adsorbed and held by the adsorption holding unit 21. Furthermore, the control unit 9 controls the bevel brush driving unit 84 to clean the outer peripheral end of the substrate W adsorbed and held by the adsorption holding unit 21. Furthermore, the control unit 9 controls the gate driving unit 92 to open and close the loading and unloading port 2x of the unit housing 2 when the substrate W is loaded and unloaded from the substrate cleaning device 1.

(2) Operation of substrate cleaning device Figures 19 to 30 are schematic diagrams for explaining an example of the operation of the substrate cleaning device 1 of Figure 16. In each of Figures 19 to 30, a top view of the substrate cleaning device 1 is shown in the upper section. In addition, a side view of the lower side holding device 20 and its peripheral portion observed along the Y direction is shown in the middle section, and a side view of the lower side holding device 20 and its peripheral portion observed along the X direction is shown in the lower section. The side view in the middle section corresponds to the A-A line side view of Figure 16, and the side view in the lower section corresponds to the B-B line side view of Figure 16. In addition, in order to facilitate understanding of the shape and operation state of each component in the substrate cleaning device 1, the expansion rate of some components is different between the top view in the upper section and the side views in the middle section and the lower section. In addition, in Figures 19 to 30, the cup 61 is shown with a two-dot chain line, and the shape of the substrate W is shown with a thicker one-dot chain line.

In the initial state before the substrate W is loaded into the substrate cleaning device 1, the shutter 91 of the opening and closing device 90 closes the loading and unloading port 2x. Furthermore, as shown in FIG16 , the lower chucks 11A and 11B are maintained in a state where the distance between the lower chucks 11A and 11B is sufficiently greater than the diameter of the substrate W. Furthermore, the upper chucks 12A and 12B are also maintained in a state where the distance between the upper chucks 12A and 12B is sufficiently greater than the diameter of the substrate W. Furthermore, the movable pedestal 32 of the pedestal device 30 is arranged in such a manner that the center of the adsorption holding portion 21 is located at the center of the cup 61 when viewed from above. Furthermore, the lower surface cleaning device 50 is arranged on the movable pedestal 32 in a close position. In addition, the lifting support portion 54 of the lower surface cleaning device 50 is in a state where the upper end portion of the brush unit 300 is located below the adsorption holding portion 21. In addition, the transfer device 40 is in a state where the plurality of support pins 41 are located below the adsorption holding portion 21. Furthermore, in the cup device 60, the cup 61 is located at the lower cup position. In the following description, the center position of the cup 61 when viewed from above is referred to as the plane reference position rp. In addition, the position of the movable pedestal 32 on the bottom portion 2a when the center of the adsorption holding portion 21 is located at the plane reference position rp when viewed from above is referred to as the first horizontal position.

The substrate W is loaded into the unit housing 2 of the substrate cleaning device 1. Specifically, the gate 91 opens the loading/unloading port 2x just before the substrate W is loaded. Then, as shown by the thick solid arrow a1 in FIG. 19 , the hand (substrate holding part) RH of the substrate transport robot (not shown) loads the substrate W into the substantially central position of the unit housing 2 through the loading/unloading port 2x. At this time, the substrate W held by the hand RH is located between the lower chuck 11A and the upper chuck 12A and the lower chuck 11B and the upper chuck 12B as shown in FIG. 19 .

Next, as shown by the thick solid arrow a2 in FIG. 20 , the lower chucks 11A and 11B are brought closer to each other in such a manner that the plurality of support pieces of the lower chucks 11A and 11B are located below the peripheral portion of the lower surface of the substrate W. In this state, the hand RH descends and exits from the loading/unloading port 2x. Thereby, the plurality of portions of the peripheral portion of the lower surface of the substrate W held by the hand RH are supported by the plurality of support pieces of the lower chucks 11A and 11B. After the hand RH exits, the shutter 91 closes the loading/unloading port 2x.

Next, as shown by the thick solid arrow a3 in FIG. 21 , the upper chucks 12A and 12B approach each other in such a manner that the plurality of holding pieces of the upper chucks 12A and 12B abut against the outer peripheral end of the substrate W. The substrate W supported by the lower chucks 11A and 11B is further held by the upper chucks 12A and 12B by the plurality of holding pieces of the upper chucks 12A and 12B abutting against the plurality of portions of the outer peripheral end of the substrate W. In this way, the center of the substrate W held by the upper holding devices 10A and 10B overlaps or substantially overlaps with the plane reference position rp when viewed from above. Furthermore, as shown by the thick solid arrow a4 in FIG. 21 , the movable pedestal 32 moves forward from the first horizontal position in such a manner that the suction holding portion 21 deviates from the plane reference position rp by a specified distance and the center point 101 ( FIG. 3 ) of the brush unit 300 is located at the plane reference position rp. At this time, the position of the movable pedestal 32 located on the bottom surface 2a is referred to as the second horizontal position.

Next, as shown by the thick solid arrow a5 in FIG. 22 , the lifting support 54 rises in such a way that the brush unit 300 contacts the central area of the lower surface of the substrate W. Furthermore, as shown by the thick solid arrow a6 in FIG. 22 , the brush unit 300 rotates (rotates) around the axis in the vertical direction. Thus, the contaminants attached to the central area of the lower surface of the substrate W are physically peeled off by the brush unit 300.

In the lower section of FIG. 22 , an enlarged side view of the portion where the brush unit 300 contacts the lower surface of the substrate W is shown in the white box. As shown in the white box, when the brush unit 300 contacts the substrate W, the liquid nozzle 52 and the gas ejection portion 53 are maintained at a position close to the lower surface of the substrate W. At this time, the liquid nozzle 52 ejects the cleaning liquid toward the lower surface of the substrate W at a position near the brush unit 300, as indicated by the white arrow a51. Thereby, the cleaning liquid supplied from the liquid nozzle 52 to the lower surface of the substrate W is guided to the contact portion between the brush unit 300 and the substrate W, and the contaminants removed from the lower surface of the substrate W by the brush unit 300 are rinsed by the cleaning liquid. Thus, in the lower surface cleaning device 50, the liquid nozzle 52 is mounted on the lifting support part 54 together with the brush unit 300. Thus, the cleaning liquid can be efficiently supplied to the portion of the lower surface of the substrate W to be cleaned by the brush unit 300. Therefore, the consumption of the cleaning liquid is reduced and excessive scattering of the cleaning liquid is suppressed.

In addition, the rotation speed of the brush unit 300 when cleaning the lower surface of the substrate W is maintained at a speed such that the cleaning liquid supplied from the liquid nozzle 52 to the lower surface of the substrate W does not scatter to the sides of the brush unit 300.

Here, the upper surface 54u of the lifting support part 54 is inclined downward in a direction away from the adsorption holding part 21. In this case, when the cleaning liquid containing contaminants falls from the lower surface of the substrate W onto the lifting support part 54, the cleaning liquid received by the upper surface 54u is guided in a direction away from the adsorption holding part 21.

Furthermore, when the brush unit 300 is used to clean the lower surface of the substrate W, the gas ejection portion 53 ejects gas toward the lower surface of the substrate W at a position between the brush unit 300 and the adsorption holding portion 21, as indicated by the white arrow a52 in the white box of FIG. 22. In this embodiment, the gas ejection portion 53 is mounted on the lifting support portion 54 in such a manner that the gas ejection port extends in the X direction. In this case, when the gas is ejected from the gas ejection portion 53 toward the lower surface of the substrate W, a belt-shaped gas curtain extending in the X direction is formed between the brush unit 300 and the adsorption holding portion 21. Thereby, when the brush unit 300 is used to clean the lower surface of the substrate W, the cleaning liquid containing pollutants is prevented from scattering toward the adsorption holding portion 21. Therefore, when the lower surface of the substrate W is cleaned by the brush unit 300, the cleaning liquid containing pollutants is prevented from adhering to the adsorption holding part 21, and the adsorption surface of the adsorption holding part 21 is kept clean.

22, the gas ejection part 53 ejects gas obliquely upward from the gas ejection part 53 toward the brush unit 300 as indicated by the white arrow a52, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The gas ejection part 53 may also eject gas from the gas ejection part 53 toward the lower surface of the substrate W along the Z direction.

Next, in the state of FIG. 22 , when the cleaning of the central area of the lower surface of the substrate W is completed, the rotation of the brush unit 300 is stopped, and the lifting support portion 54 is lowered in a manner that the upper end of the brush unit 300 is separated from the substrate W by a specified distance. In addition, the cleaning liquid is stopped from being sprayed from the liquid nozzle 52 to the substrate W. At this time, the gas is continued to be sprayed from the gas ejection portion 53 to the substrate W.

Then, as shown by the thick solid arrow a7 in FIG. 23 , the movable pedestal 32 moves backward so that the adsorption holding portion 21 is located at the plane reference position rp. That is, the movable pedestal 32 moves from the second horizontal position to the first horizontal position. At this time, by continuing to spray gas from the gas spraying portion 53 toward the substrate W, the central area of the lower surface of the substrate W is dried by the gas curtain in sequence.

Next, as shown by the thick solid arrow a8 in FIG. 24 , the lifting support part 54 is lowered in such a manner that the brush unit 300 is located below the adsorption surface (upper end portion) of the adsorption holding part 21. Furthermore, as shown by the thick solid arrow a9 in FIG. 24 , the upper chucks 12A and 12B are separated from each other in such a manner that the plurality of holding pieces of the upper chucks 12A and 12B are separated from the outer peripheral end portion of the substrate W. At this time, the substrate W is supported by the lower chucks 11A and 11B.

Then, as shown by the thick solid arrow a10 in Fig. 24, the pin connection member 42 rises in such a way that the upper end of the plurality of support pins 41 is slightly above the lower chucks 11A and 11B. Thus, the plurality of support pins 41 receive the substrate W supported by the lower chucks 11A and 11B.

Next, as shown by the thick solid arrow a11 in FIG25 , the lower chucks 11A and 11B move away from each other. At this time, the lower chucks 11A and 11B move to a position where they do not overlap with the substrate W supported by the plurality of support pins 41 when viewed from above. Thus, the upper holding devices 10A and 10B return to their initial state.

Next, as indicated by the thick solid arrow a12 in FIG. 26 , the pin-connecting structure 42 is lowered in such a manner that the upper end portions of the plurality of supporting pins 41 are located below the adsorption holding portion 21. Thereby, the substrate W supported on the plurality of supporting pins 41 is received by the adsorption holding portion 21. In this state, the adsorption holding portion 21 adsorbs and holds the central area of the lower surface of the substrate W. In this way, the center of the substrate W adsorbed and held by the lower holding device 20 overlaps or roughly overlaps with the plane reference position rp when viewed from above. Simultaneously with the descent of the pin-connecting structure 42 or after the descent of the pin-connecting structure 42 is completed, as indicated by the thick solid arrow a13 in FIG. 26 , the cup 61 rises from the lower cup position to the upper cup position.

Next, as shown by the thick solid arrow a14 in Fig. 27, the suction holding section 21 rotates around the axis in the vertical direction (the axis of the rotation axis of the suction holding drive section 22). As a result, the substrate W suction-held by the suction holding section 21 rotates in a horizontal posture.

Next, the rotation support shaft 71 of the upper surface cleaning device 70 rotates and descends. As a result, as shown by the thick solid arrow a15 in FIG. 27 , the spray nozzle 73 moves to a position above the substrate W, and descends in a manner such that the distance between the spray nozzle 73 and the substrate W becomes a predetermined distance. In this state, the spray nozzle 73 sprays a mixed fluid of a cleaning liquid and a gas onto the upper surface of the substrate W. Furthermore, the rotation support shaft 71 rotates. As a result, as shown by the thick solid arrow a16 in FIG. 27 , the spray nozzle 73 moves to a position above the rotating substrate W. By spraying the mixed fluid onto the entire upper surface of the substrate W, the entire upper surface of the substrate W is cleaned.

Furthermore, when the upper surface of the substrate W is cleaned by the spray nozzle 73, the rotating support shaft 81 of the end cleaning device 80 also rotates and descends. As a result, as shown by the thick solid arrow a17 in Figure 27, the bevel brush 83 moves to a position above the outer peripheral end of the substrate W. Furthermore, the bevel brush 83 descends in a manner such that the central portion of the outer peripheral surface contacts the outer peripheral end of the substrate W. In this state, the bevel brush 83 rotates (rotates) around the axis in the up-down direction. As a result, the contaminants attached to the outer peripheral end of the substrate W are physically peeled off by the bevel brush 83. The contaminants peeled off from the outer peripheral end of the substrate W are rinsed by the cleaning liquid of the mixed fluid sprayed onto the substrate W from the spray nozzle 73.

Furthermore, when the upper surface of the substrate W is cleaned by the spray nozzle 73, the lifting support part 54 rises in such a manner that the brush unit 300 contacts the outer area of the lower surface of the substrate W. In addition, as shown by the thick solid arrow a18 in FIG. 27 , the brush unit 300 can also rotate (rotate) around an axis in the up-down direction. Then, the liquid nozzle 52 sprays the cleaning liquid toward the lower surface of the substrate W, and the gas ejection part 53 sprays the gas toward the lower surface of the substrate W. In this state, as shown by the thick solid arrow a19 in FIG. 27 , the moving support part 55 moves back and forth between the approach position and the departure position on the movable stage 32. Thereby, the outer area of the lower surface of the substrate W that is held and rotated by the adsorption holding part 21 is cleaned entirely by the brush unit 300.

Next, when the cleaning of the upper surface, the outer peripheral end and the outer area of the lower surface of the substrate W is completed, the spraying of the mixed fluid from the spray nozzle 73 to the substrate W is stopped. Furthermore, as shown by the thick solid arrow a20 in Figure 28, the spray nozzle 73 moves to a position on one side of the cup 61 (the position of the initial state). Furthermore, as shown by the thick solid arrow a21 in Figure 28, the bevel brush 83 moves to a position on the other side of the cup 61 (the position of the initial state). Furthermore, the rotation of the brush unit 300 is stopped, and the lifting support part 54 is lowered in a manner that the upper end of the brush unit 300 is away from the substrate W by a specified distance. Furthermore, the spraying of the cleaning liquid from the liquid nozzle 52 to the substrate W and the spraying of the gas from the gas ejection part 53 to the substrate W are stopped. In this state, the cleaning liquid attached to the substrate W is thrown out by the high-speed rotation of the adsorption holding part 21, and the substrate W is dried as a whole.

Next, as shown by the thick solid arrow a22 in Figure 29, the cup 61 descends from the upper cup position to the lower cup position. In preparation for moving a new substrate W into the unit housing 2, as shown by the thick solid arrow a23 in Figure 29, the lower chucks 11A and 11B approach each other to a position where they can support the new substrate W.

Finally, the substrate W is unloaded from the unit housing 2 of the substrate cleaning device 1. Specifically, before the substrate W is unloaded, the gate 91 opens the loading and unloading port 2x. Subsequently, as shown by the thick solid arrow a24 in FIG. 30 , the hand (substrate holding part) RH of the substrate transport robot (not shown) enters the unit housing 2 through the loading and unloading port 2x. Then, the hand RH receives the substrate W on the adsorption holding part 21 and exits from the loading and unloading port 2x. After the hand RH exits, the gate 91 closes the loading and unloading port 2x.

(3) Effect In the substrate cleaning device 1 of the present embodiment, the lower surface of the substrate W held by the upper holding device 10A, 10B or the lower holding device 20 is cleaned by the substrate cleaning brush 100 of the first form. Here, when cleaning the outer area of the lower surface of the substrate W and when cleaning the central area of the lower surface, the substrate cleaning brush 100 moves to the first and second horizontal positions respectively. When cleaning the outer area of the lower surface of the substrate W, the substrate W rotates. Thereby, the entire lower surface of the substrate W can be efficiently cleaned.

3. Other embodiments (1) In the first embodiment, the substrate cleaning brush 100 is a lower surface brush for cleaning the lower surface of the substrate W, but the embodiment is not limited thereto. The substrate cleaning brush 100 may also be an upper surface brush for cleaning the upper surface of the substrate W.

(2) In the first embodiment, the cutout 102 is formed in both the washing parts 120 and 130, but the embodiment is not limited thereto. The cutout 102 may be formed in the washing part 120, but not in the washing part 130. In this case, the rigidity of the washing part 120 may be reduced. Alternatively, the cutout 102 may be formed in the washing part 130, but not in the washing part 120. In this case, the rigidity of the washing part 130 may be reduced.

(3) In the first embodiment, a plurality of cutouts 102 are formed on the cleaning surfaces of the cleaning sections 120, 130, 140, 150, but the embodiment is not limited thereto. As long as the cleaning surfaces of the cleaning sections 120, 130, 140, 150 are divided into a plurality of cleaning areas 103, a single cutout 102 may be formed on the cleaning surfaces of the cleaning sections 120, 130, 140, 150.

4. Correspondence between the components of the technical solution and the parts of the implementation form Although the following describes the correspondence between the components of the technical solution and the components of the implementation form, the present invention is not limited to the following example. As the components of the technical solution, various other components having the structure or function described in the technical solution can also be used.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the substrate W is an example of a substrate, the substrate cleaning brush 100 is an example of a substrate cleaning brush, the cutout 102 is an example of a cutout, and the cleaning parts 120, 130, 140, and 150 are examples of cleaning parts. The cleaning block 103 is an example of a cleaning block, the center point 101 is an example of a center point, the base part 110 is an example of a base part, the cleaning part 120 is an example of a first cleaning part, and the cleaning part 130 is an example of a second cleaning part. The upper holding device 10A, 10B or the lower holding device 20 is an example of a substrate holding part, the substrate cleaning device 1 is an example of a substrate cleaning device, and the stage driving part 33 is an example of a moving device.

5. Summary of Implementation Forms (Item 1) The substrate cleaning brush of Item 1 is used for cleaning a substrate and comprises: A cleaning portion having a cleaning surface that can contact the substrate when the substrate is cleaned, and a cutout is formed on the cleaning surface; and The cleaning surface is divided into a plurality of cleaning blocks by the cutout; When the cleaning surface contacts the substrate, each cleaning block contacts the cleaning block adjacent to the cleaning block by elastic deformation of the cleaning portion.

In the substrate cleaning brush, the cleaning surface of the cleaning part is divided into a plurality of cleaning blocks by cutouts. In this case, the rigidity of the cleaning surface can be reduced, and each cleaning block can be deformed independently. Therefore, when the cleaning surface contacts the substrate, the cleaning part deforms elastically due to the load generated by the cleaning part. Therefore, even when the substrate is deformed such as warping or bending, it is easy to follow the shape of the substrate when cleaning the substrate so that the cleaning surface contacts the substrate as a whole.

Furthermore, by elastic deformation of the cleaning section, each cleaning block contacts the cleaning block adjacent to the cleaning block. Therefore, it is prevented that a portion not in contact with the substrate is generated between adjacent cleaning blocks. In this way, the substrate can be cleaned without leaving contaminants on the substrate. As a result, the substrate can be cleaned efficiently.

(Item 2) A substrate cleaning brush as described in Item 1, wherein the cutout may have a width that does not allow the cleaning liquid of the substrate to pass through.

In this case, when cleaning the substrate, it is more reliably prevented that a portion not in contact with the substrate is generated between adjacent cleaning areas, thereby making it possible to clean the substrate more efficiently.

(Item 3) A substrate cleaning brush as described in Item 1 or Item 2, wherein the width of the cutout may be less than 1 mm.

In this case, when cleaning the substrate, it is more reliably prevented that a portion not in contact with the substrate is generated between adjacent cleaning areas, thereby making it possible to clean the substrate more efficiently.

(Item 4) A substrate cleaning brush as described in any one of Items 1 to 3, wherein the cutout may be formed in a grid shape on the cleaning surface.

In this case, when cleaning the substrate, the shape of the cleaning surface can be deformed more appropriately following the shape of the substrate.

(Item 5) A substrate cleaning brush as described in any one of Items 1 to 4, wherein the cutouts may be formed radially on the cleaning surface.

In this case, when cleaning the substrate, the shape of the cleaning surface can be deformed more appropriately following the shape of the substrate.

(Item 6) The substrate cleaning brush described in any one of Items 1 to 3 further comprises: a base portion having a center point; and the cleaning portion includes: a first cleaning portion protruding from the base portion and extending in one direction through the center point of the base portion when viewed from above; and a second cleaning portion protruding from the base portion and having a circular ring shape centered on the center point of the base portion when viewed from above; the cutout may also be formed on at least one of the cleaning surface of the first cleaning portion and the cleaning surface of the second cleaning portion.

In this case, since at least one of the cleaning surface of the first cleaning part and the cleaning surface of the second cleaning part forms a cut, the cleaning surface of the first cleaning part and at least one of the cleaning surface of the second cleaning part can be more fully in contact with the substrate. In addition, when the substrate cleaning brush rotates, the area that can be cleaned is maintained larger, and the contact area between the substrate and the substrate cleaning brush is reduced. Therefore, even when the load applied to the substrate cleaning brush is relatively small, the substrate and the cleaning surface of the substrate cleaning brush are in contact with a sufficient load. In this way, the substrate can be cleaned more efficiently.

(Item 7) A substrate cleaning brush as described in Item 6, wherein the cutout may also be formed in a grid shape on the cleaning surface of the first cleaning portion.

In this case, when cleaning the substrate, the shape of the cleaning surface of the first cleaning part can be deformed more appropriately in accordance with the shape of the substrate.

(Item 8) A substrate cleaning brush as described in Item 6 or Item 7, wherein the cutout may be formed radially on the cleaning surface of the second cleaning portion.

In this case, when cleaning the substrate, the shape of the cleaning surface of the first cleaning part can be deformed more appropriately in accordance with the shape of the substrate.

(Item 9) The substrate cleaning device of Item 9 comprises: A substrate holding portion that holds the above-mentioned substrate; and A substrate cleaning brush described in any one of Items 1 to 8 that cleans the above-mentioned substrate held by the above-mentioned substrate holding portion.

In the substrate cleaning device, the substrate held by the substrate holding portion is cleaned by the substrate cleaning brush, thereby efficiently cleaning the substrate.

(Item 10) The substrate cleaning device described in Item 9 may further include: A moving device that moves the substrate cleaning brush between a first horizontal position that can clean the outer area of the lower surface surrounding the central area of the lower surface of the substrate and a second horizontal position that can clean the central area of the lower surface of the substrate.

In this case, the entire lower surface of the substrate can be cleaned efficiently.

(Item 11) A substrate cleaning device as described in Item 10, wherein the substrate holding portion can also rotate the substrate at least when the substrate cleaning brush is used to clean the outer area of the lower surface of the substrate.

In this case, the outer area of the lower surface of the substrate can be cleaned more efficiently. Thereby, the entire lower surface of the substrate can be cleaned more efficiently.

1: Substrate cleaning device 2: Unit housing 2a: Bottom part 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e: Side wall 2x: Loading and unloading port 9: Control unit 10A, 10B: Upper side holding device 11A, 11B: Lower chuck 12A, 12B: Upper chuck 13A, 13B: Lower chuck drive unit 14A, 14B: Upper chuck drive unit 20: Lower side holding device 21: Adsorption holding unit 22: Adsorption holding drive unit 30: Base device 31: Linear guide 32: Movable base 33: Base drive unit 40: Handover device 41: Support pin 42: Pin connection structure 43: Pin lifting drive unit 50: Lower surface cleaning device 52: Liquid nozzle 53: Gas ejection unit 54: Lifting support unit 54u: Upper surface 55: Moving support unit 55a: Lower surface brush rotation drive unit 55b: Lower surface brush lifting drive unit 55c: Lower surface brush moving drive unit 56: Lower surface cleaning liquid supply unit 57: Ejection gas supply unit 60: Cup device 61: Cup 62: Cup drive unit 70: Upper surface cleaning device 71: Rotation support shaft 72: Arm 73: Spray nozzle 74: Upper surface cleaning drive unit 75: Upper surface cleaning fluid supply unit 80: End cleaning device 81: Rotation support shaft 82: Arm 83: Inclined brush 84: Inclined brush drive unit 90: Opening and closing device 91: Shutter 92: Shutter drive unit 100: Substrate cleaning brush 101: Center point 102: Cutout 103: Cleaning area 110: Base unit 111, 112, 113: Through hole 120, 130, 140, 150: Cleaning unit 200: Brush base 201: Threaded hole 202, 203: Through hole 210: Recess 220: Inclined part 300: Brush unit 310: Threaded component 320: Threaded component 400: Rotating shaft 401: Threaded hole 500: Substrate cleaning brush 501: Center point 510: Base part 511, 512, 513: Through hole 520, 530: Cleaning part a1～a24, a51, a52: Arrow d: Depth RH: Hand (substrate holding part) rp: Plane reference position S: Area w: Width W: Substrate

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a brush unit of a substrate cleaning brush including the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the substrate cleaning brush of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a top view of the substrate cleaning brush of FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view showing a portion of the cleaning portion. FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the brush unit of FIG. 1. FIG. 6 is a view for explaining the operation of the brush unit. FIG. 7 is a view showing a variation of the substrate cleaning brush. FIG. 8 is a view showing a variation of the cutout formed on the cleaning surface of the substrate cleaning brush. FIG. 9 is a top view of the substrate cleaning brush of the reference example. FIG. 10 is a schematic view showing a cleaning step of the central area of the lower surface of the substrate using the substrate cleaning brush of FIG. 9. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing a cleaning step of the outer area of the lower surface of the substrate using the substrate cleaning brush of FIG. 9. FIG. 12 is a top view of the substrate cleaning brush of Example 2. FIG. 13 is a graph showing the measurement results of the deformation amount of the cleaning surface of the cleaning portion of Example 1. FIG. 14 is a graph showing the measurement results of the deformation amount of the cleaning surface of the cleaning portion of Example 2. FIG. 15 is a graph showing the measurement results of the deformation amount of the cleaning surface of the cleaning portion of the comparative example. FIG. 16 is a schematic top view of the substrate cleaning device of the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 17 is an external perspective view showing the internal structure of the substrate cleaning device of FIG. 16. FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing the structure of the control system of the substrate cleaning device of FIG. 16. FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of the operation of the substrate cleaning device of FIG. 16. FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of the operation of the substrate cleaning device of FIG. 16. FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of the operation of the substrate cleaning device of FIG. 16. FIG. 22 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of the operation of the substrate cleaning device of FIG. 16. FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of the operation of the substrate cleaning device of FIG. 16. FIG. 24 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of the operation of the substrate cleaning device of FIG. 16. FIG. 25 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of the operation of the substrate cleaning device of FIG. 16. FIG. 26 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of the operation of the substrate cleaning device of FIG. 16. FIG. 27 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of the operation of the substrate cleaning device of FIG. 16. FIG. 28 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of the operation of the substrate cleaning device of FIG. 16. FIG. 29 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of the operation of the substrate cleaning device of FIG. 16. FIG. 30 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of the operation of the substrate cleaning device of FIG. 16.

100: Substrate cleaning brush

102:Incision

103: Washing area

110: Base part

111,112,113: Through holes

120,130: Cleaning Department

Claims (11)

A substrate cleaning brush is used for cleaning a substrate, and comprises: A cleaning portion having a cleaning surface that can contact the substrate when the substrate is cleaned, and a cutout is formed on the cleaning surface; and The cleaning surface is divided into a plurality of cleaning blocks by the cutout; When the cleaning surface contacts the substrate, each cleaning block contacts the cleaning block adjacent to the cleaning block by elastic deformation of the cleaning portion. A substrate cleaning brush as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cutout has a width that does not allow the cleaning liquid of the substrate to pass through. For a substrate cleaning brush as claimed in claim 1 or 2, the width of the cutout is less than 1 mm. A substrate cleaning brush as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the cutout is formed in a grid shape on the cleaning surface. A substrate cleaning brush as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the cutouts are formed radially on the cleaning surface. The substrate cleaning brush of claim 1 or 2 further comprises a base portion having a center point; and the cleaning portion comprises: a first cleaning portion protruding from the base portion and extending in one direction through the center point of the base portion when viewed from above; and a second cleaning portion protruding from the base portion and having a circular ring shape centered on the center point of the base portion when viewed from above; the cutout is formed on at least one of the cleaning surface of the first cleaning portion and the cleaning surface of the second cleaning portion. A substrate cleaning brush as claimed in claim 6, wherein the cutout is formed in a grid shape on the cleaning surface of the first cleaning portion. A substrate cleaning brush as claimed in claim 6, wherein the cutouts are formed radially on the cleaning surface of the second cleaning portion. A substrate cleaning device comprising: a substrate holding portion that holds the substrate; and a substrate cleaning brush according to any one of claims 1 to 8 that cleans the substrate held by the substrate holding portion. The substrate cleaning device of claim 9 is further provided with a moving device, which enables the above-mentioned substrate cleaning brush to move between a first horizontal position for cleaning the outer area of the lower surface surrounding the central area of the lower surface of the above-mentioned substrate, and a second horizontal position for cleaning the central area of the lower surface of the above-mentioned substrate. A substrate cleaning device as claimed in claim 10, wherein the substrate holding portion rotates the substrate at least when the outer area of the lower surface of the substrate is cleaned with the substrate cleaning brush.