JP3672737B2 - Substrate dryer - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a substrate drying apparatus that performs a drying process on a substrate (hereinafter simply referred to as “substrate”) used for manufacturing a semiconductor device manufacturing substrate, a liquid crystal display, or the like.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In general, in the above-described substrate manufacturing process, a series of processes are achieved by performing a drying process using a substrate drying apparatus after an etching process using hydrofluoric acid or the like, a cleaning process using pure water, and the like. Various types of substrate drying apparatuses are used, and an apparatus that performs a drying process by a centrifugal force while rotating the substrate (so-called spin dryer) is one of them.
[0003]
As a rotary substrate drying apparatus conventionally used, for example, there is one disclosed in JP-A-6-112186. In this apparatus, a substrate holding boat (substrate holder 45) is detachably provided to the horizontal axis type rotor. The substrate is transferred to and from the outside of the drying apparatus by the lifting and lowering means disposed below the horizontal axis rotor pushing up the boat and the substrate transfer robot outside the apparatus passing or receiving a plurality of substrates to the boat. Is called. Further, when the substrate is dried, the boat that holds the substrates together with the plurality of substrates is also fixed to the horizontal shaft type rotor, and drying is performed by rotating the horizontal shaft type rotor. That is, the substrate and the boat are rotated by the horizontal axis type rotor, and the droplets adhering to the substrate are removed by centrifugal force.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
  However, in the above conventional substrate drying apparatus, air is sucked through the filter during the drying process.The lineHowever, since the atmosphere in the chamber is an atmospheric atmosphere, oxygen and other gases (NOx, SOx, boron-based gas, siloxane-based gas, etc.) intervene to form an unnecessary natural oxide film, Problems such as generation and contamination due to adsorption of gas and particles have occurred. Such substrate contamination has caused a reduction in device yield.
[0005]
Further, in the conventional substrate drying apparatus, the boat is also fixed to the horizontal axis rotor and rotated together with the substrate, so that the moment of inertia of the entire rotating object increases, and a long time is required for acceleration. For this reason, it takes a long time to remove the droplets adhering to the substrate, and the problem of unnecessary natural oxide film formation and watermark generation is promoted.
[0006]
Furthermore, since it is necessary to provide a fixing mechanism for fixing the boat in the horizontal shaft type rotor, the structure of the horizontal shaft type rotor becomes complicated and there is a possibility of contamination accumulation, and the fixing mechanism itself generates a moment of inertia. The time required for acceleration of the horizontal axis type rotor was further increased to increase the time. As a result, the above-described problems are more likely to occur.
[0007]
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate drying apparatus that can prevent contamination of the substrate during the rotary drying process.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention of claim 1 is a substrate drying apparatus that performs a drying process on the substrate by rotating the substrate, and (a) a chamber that accommodates the substrate to which the processing liquid adheres; b) a rotor that is provided in the chamber and rotates about the horizontal direction; and (c) the substrate is transferred to the outside of the apparatus at a substrate transfer position above the rotor, and the rotor and the substrate (D) the substrate transfer position, the substrate transfer position for transferring the rotor and the substrate, and the lift for moving the transfer means up and down to a retracted position below the rotor. And (e) a substrate holding means that is provided on the rotor and holds the substrate delivered from the transfer means.In the transfer means, (c-1) A plurality of support plates for supporting the substrate in a standing posture; (c-2) A droplet passage space provided between the plurality of support plates.The
[0009]
  The invention of claim 2A substrate drying apparatus that performs a drying process on the substrate by rotating the substrate, (a) A chamber for storing the substrate to which the treatment liquid is attached; (b) A rotor provided in the chamber and rotating about a horizontal direction; (c) Transferring the substrate to and from the outside of the apparatus at the substrate transfer position above the rotor, and transferring means for transferring the rotor and the substrate; (d) Elevating means for raising and lowering the transfer means to the substrate transfer position, a substrate transfer position for transferring the rotor and the substrate, and a retracted position below the rotor; (e) A substrate holding means that is provided on the rotor and holds the substrate delivered from the transfer means; and (c-1) A plurality of support plates for supporting the substrate in a standing posture; (c-3) An airflow passage hole formed in each of the plurality of support plates..
[0010]
  Further, the invention of claim 3 is the substrate drying apparatus according to the invention of claim 1 or 2,The rotor is configured such that the substrate holding means is installed on a pair of rotating bodies, and each of the rotating bodies is connected using a connecting member that connects the rotation center and the installation position where the substrate holding means is installed. Forming.
[0011]
  The invention of claim 4Any one of claims 1 to 3In the substrate drying apparatus according to the invention, each of the plurality of support plates is substantially aligned with a radial direction of the substrate held by the substrate holding means when the transfer means is located at the retracted position. It is provided in a parallel posture.
[0012]
  The invention of claim 5Any one of claims 1 to 4In the substrate drying apparatus according to the invention, the elevating means is provided with a support shaft that supports the transfer means, and the support shaft is provided so as not to intersect the rotation surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding means. ing.
[0013]
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the substrate drying apparatus according to any of the first to fifth aspects of the present invention, the substrate drying apparatus further includes (f) a pressure reducing means for reducing the pressure in the chamber.
[0014]
The invention of claim 7 is the substrate drying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein (g) nitrogen, heated nitrogen, cryogenic nitrogen, isopropyl alcohol, heated steam is contained in the chamber. Gas supply means for supplying either of them is further provided.
[0015]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[0016]
First, an example of a substrate processing unit incorporating a substrate drying apparatus according to the present invention will be briefly described. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a substrate processing unit incorporating a substrate drying apparatus according to the present invention. In FIG. 1 and the following drawings, an XYZ orthogonal coordinate system is attached as necessary to clarify the directional relationship.
[0017]
This processing unit is a unit that performs a drying process by rotating the substrate after performing a chemical treatment with hydrofluoric acid and a cleaning process with pure water on the substrate. This processing unit includes a loading / unloading unit 110 for loading / unloading a cassette C containing a plurality of substrates W, a substrate unloading unit 120, three liquid processing units 130, a substrate drying apparatus 100 according to the present invention, and a substrate transport And a robot TR.
[0018]
The carry-in / out unit 110 transfers the cassette C containing the unprocessed substrates W to the substrate extraction unit 120. The substrate take-out unit 120 pushes up a plurality of unprocessed substrates W from the cassette C and delivers them to the substrate transport robot TR. The substrate transport robot TR is movable in the horizontal direction (X direction), and sequentially transports the substrate W to the liquid processing unit 130 and the substrate drying apparatus 100.
[0019]
The three liquid processing units 130 are processing units that perform chemical liquid processing or pure water cleaning processing on the substrate W, respectively. Then, the substrate W that has been cleaned with pure water is transferred to the substrate drying apparatus 100 by the substrate transport robot TR and subjected to the drying process. The substrate drying apparatus 100 will be further described in detail.
[0020]
The substrate W that has been subjected to the drying process is again transported up to the upper portion of the substrate take-out unit 120 by the substrate transport robot TR. Then, the substrate take-out unit 120 receives the processed substrate W from the substrate transport robot TR and stores it in the cassette C. The cassette C containing a plurality of processed substrates W is transferred to the carry-in / out unit 110 and is carried out of the processing unit.
[0021]
Next, the substrate drying apparatus 100 will be further described. FIG. 2 is a front view showing a main configuration of the substrate drying apparatus 100. FIG. 3 is a side view showing the main configuration of the substrate drying apparatus 100.
[0022]
The substrate drying apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment includes the rotor 10 and the transfer unit 20 inside the chamber 5, and includes an elevating mechanism 30 that moves the transfer unit 20 up and down and an atmosphere control unit outside the chamber 5.
[0023]
The chamber 5 is a substantially cylindrical processing chamber whose axis is the horizontal direction (Y direction). An auto cover 6 that can be opened and closed by moving up and down in the Z direction and horizontally moving in the X direction by an opening / closing means (not shown) is provided above the chamber 5. When the auto cover 6 is closed (the state shown in FIG. 2), a seal member 6 a is provided between the auto cover 6 and the chamber 5, and the airtightness inside the chamber 5 is maintained. That is, the chamber 5 is a sealed chamber.
[0024]
A gas supply means 80 is connected to the chamber 5 via a pipe 81 and a valve 82. The gas supply means 80 is one of the atmosphere control means inside the chamber 5, and supplies any one of nitrogen, heated nitrogen, cryogenic nitrogen, IPA (isopropyl alcohol), and heated steam to supply oxygen partial pressure inside the chamber 5. Can be reduced.
[0025]
A pipe 88 is connected to the lower part of the chamber 5. The pipe 88 is branched into two in the middle of the path, one of which is connected to an exhaust line outside the processing unit via a valve 85 and the other is connected to a decompression pump 87 via a valve 86. The decompression pump 87 is one of the atmosphere control means inside the chamber 5 and can make the inside of the sealed chamber 5 into a decompressed atmosphere by forced exhaust.
[0026]
A rotor 10 is provided inside the chamber 5. As shown in the figure, the rotor 10 has a structure in which two fixed substrate holding members 12 and two movable substrate holding members 15 are installed between a pair of “X-shaped” end plates 11. Both ends of the fixed substrate holding member 12 are fixed to the two end plates 11, and a plurality of grooves each holding one substrate W are provided. On the other hand, both ends of the movable substrate holding member 15 are connected to the two end plates 11 so as to be rotatable about the rotation shaft 15a, and a plurality of grooves each holding one substrate W are formed. It is installed. The movable substrate holding member 15 is configured to rotate by a link mechanism (not shown), and a position for pressing and holding the edge of the substrate W (solid line position in FIG. 2) and a position for releasing the substrate W. It rotates between (the two-dot chain line position in FIG. 2). As the link mechanism, for example, the same one as in the conventional technique described above may be used, and the substrate W can be reliably held by the link mechanism even when the rotor 10 is rotated.
[0027]
A rotor shaft 18 is fixed at the center of each of the two end plates 11. The rotor shaft 18 is provided so as to be rotatable with respect to the chamber 5 via a seal member 19. That is, the seal member 19 serves to maintain the airtightness inside the chamber 5 and to hold the rotor shaft 18 rotatably. One rotor shaft 18 has one end (the end opposite to the end fixed to the end plate 11) connected to a motor M provided outside the chamber 5. With such a configuration, it is possible to rotate the rotor 10 and the plurality of substrates W held by the rotor 10 by the rotation of the motor M. Each of the two end plates 11 is provided with a balancer 13 to maintain a rotational balance when the rotor 10 rotates.
[0028]
A transfer unit 20 is provided below the rotor 10 inside the chamber 5. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the transfer unit 20. As shown in the figure, the transfer unit 20 has a structure in which three substrate support plates 21 a, b, and c are installed between a pair of side plates 22. Both ends of the three substrate support plates 21a, 21b, 21c are fixed to the side plate 22. In addition, a plurality of grooves each holding one substrate W are formed in the substrate support plates 21a, b, and c. In the substrate support plates 21a, b, and c, the resin portions 21aa, 21ba, and 21ca that are in contact with the substrate W are fixed to metal portions 21ab, 21bb, and 21cb made of a corrosion-resistant metal such as stainless steel, respectively. 21ab, 21bb and 21cb are fixed to the side plates 22 and 22, respectively. A plurality of airflow passage holes 201 are formed in the metal portions 21ab, 21bb, and 21cb. The substrate support plates 21a and 21c on both sides are provided inclined from the vertical direction, and the significance of this will be described later.
[0029]
Returning to FIG. 3, an elevating mechanism 30 for elevating the transfer unit 20 is provided below the chamber 5. The lifting mechanism 30 includes a motor 31, a belt 32, a male screw 33, a support block 34, and a support shaft 35. A belt 32 is hung on the rotating shaft of the motor 31 and the lower end of the male screw 33. A support block 34 is screwed onto the male screw 33, and a lower end of a support shaft 35 is connected to the upper surface of the support block 34. The upper end of the support shaft 35 is fixed to the bottom of each of the two side plates 22 of the transfer unit 20.
[0030]
The forward or reverse rotation of the motor 31 is transmitted to the male screw 33 via the belt 32, and the male screw 33 is rotated. As the male screw 33 rotates, the support block 34 moves up and down, and the transfer unit 20 connected to the support block 34 moves up and down. With such a configuration, the transfer unit 20 has a substrate transfer position P3 for transferring the substrate W and the substrate W (see FIG. 2), a substrate transfer position P2 for transferring the rotor 10 and the substrate W, The elevator mechanism 30 moves up and down between the retracted position P <b> 1 below the rotor 10. In addition, as a mechanism which raises / lowers the transfer part 20, it is not limited to such a form, The raising / lowering mechanism using an air cylinder, an actuator, etc. may be sufficient.
[0031]
The configuration of the substrate drying apparatus 100 according to the present invention has been described above. Next, the operation of the apparatus will be described. In the present embodiment, the transfer unit 20 corresponds to the transfer means, the lifting mechanism 30 corresponds to the lifting means, and the fixed substrate holding member 12 and the movable substrate holding member 15 correspond to the substrate holding means. The end plate 11 corresponds to a rotating body.
[0032]
First, liquid processing in the liquid processing unit 130 is completed, and a plurality of substrates W to which a processing liquid (here, pure water used for cleaning processing) is attached are transferred to the upper side of the substrate drying apparatus 100 by the substrate transfer robot TR. The Then, the transfer unit 20 is moved up to the substrate delivery position P3 by the elevating mechanism 30, and receives the plurality of substrates W to which the processing liquid is adhered from the substrate transport robot TR. At this time, the edge of the substrate W is fitted into the grooves formed in the three substrate support plates 21a, 21b, and 21c of the transfer unit 20, and the plurality of substrates W stand upright at a predetermined interval ( The main surface is supported in a horizontal orientation).
[0033]
Next, the lifting mechanism 30 lowers the transfer unit 20 to the substrate transfer position P2. At the substrate transfer position P <b> 2, the plurality of substrates W supported by the three substrate support plates 21 a, b, and c of the transfer unit 20 are transferred to the two fixed substrate holding members 12 of the rotor 10. Also at this time, the edges of the substrate W are fitted into the grooves formed in the two fixed substrate holding members 12 of the rotor 10, and the plurality of substrates W are held in a standing posture with a predetermined interval therebetween. Is done.
[0034]
Thereafter, the transfer unit 20 is lowered by the elevating mechanism 30 to the retracted position P1. In the state where the transfer unit 20 is lowered to the retracted position P1, the annular member 35a provided around the support shaft 35 is fitted to the bottom wall of the chamber 5, and thereby the inside of the chamber 5 when the rotor 10 rotates. Airtightness is maintained.
[0035]
On the other hand, the plurality of substrates W held by the two fixed substrate holding members 12 are reliably held by the rotor 10 by the rotation of the two movable substrate holding members 15. That is, when the two movable substrate holding members 15 are rotated from the two-dot chain line position in FIG. 2 to the solid line position, the edge of the substrate W is fitted in the groove formed in the movable substrate holding member 15. The plurality of substrates W are reliably held at four points by the two fixed substrate holding members 12 and the two movable substrate holding members 15.
[0036]
Thereafter, the auto cover 6 is closed, and the inside of the chamber 5 is sufficiently sealed. Then, the motor M starts to rotate the rotor 10 in the arrow A direction. At this time, the valve 82 may be opened to supply nitrogen, heated nitrogen, cryogenic nitrogen, IPA, or heated steam from the gas supply means 80 into the chamber 5, or the valve 86 may be opened. Then, the inside of the chamber 5 may be made into a reduced pressure atmosphere by forced exhaust of the reduced pressure pump 87.
[0037]
As the rotor 10 rotates, the plurality of substrates W held thereon also rotate, and the processing liquid adhering to the substrates W is removed by centrifugal force, and the drying process proceeds.
[0038]
When the drying process of the substrate W is completed, the dried substrate W is taken out of the substrate drying apparatus 100 by the reverse procedure to that described above. That is, the auto cover 6 is opened, and the two movable substrate holding members 15 are rotated from the solid line position in FIG. 2 to the two-dot chain line position, whereby the substrate W is released. Then, the transfer unit 20 is moved up to the substrate transfer position P <b> 2 by the lifting mechanism 30, whereby a plurality of substrates W are transferred from the rotor 10 to the transfer unit 20. When the transfer unit 20 further rises and rises to the substrate delivery position P3, the substrate W is delivered to the substrate transport robot TR. Thereafter, the substrate transport robot TR transports the substrate W after the drying process to the substrate take-out unit 120.
[0039]
As described above, first, since the boat for holding the substrate is not used as in the prior art described above, it is not necessary to rotate the boat together with the rotor 10, and the inertia moment of the entire rotating object is conventionally increased. Can also be reduced. As a result, the rotor 10 can be accelerated quickly and in a short time, and the time required to remove the droplets adhering to the substrate can be shortened, and unnecessary natural oxide film formation and watermark generation can be achieved. The problem can be easily avoided and contamination of the substrate W during the rotary drying process can be prevented.
[0040]
Further, since there is no need to provide a fixing mechanism for fixing the boat to the rotor 10, the structure of the rotor 10 can be made simpler than before, and the possibility of contamination accumulation can be reduced. And since it is not necessary to provide the fixing mechanism for fixing a boat, the inertia moment of the whole rotating object can be made smaller, and the time required for acceleration of the rotor 10 can be shortened further. As a result, the above-described effect can be obtained more easily.
[0041]
In addition, the shape of the end plate of the rotor 10 is a disk in the prior art, whereas in the present embodiment, the end plate 11 has an “X-shaped” end plate 11. The moment of inertia of the rotor 10 itself can be made smaller than before. As a result, the rotor 10 can be accelerated more quickly and in a short time, and the same effect as described above can be further enhanced.
[0042]
By the way, when the processing liquid adheres to the transfer unit 20 during the rotary drying process, the processing liquid is scattered by the air flow generated inside the chamber 5 as the substrate W rotates, and adheres to the substrate W and is contaminated. It may cause. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, there are spaces between the substrate support plate 21a and the substrate support plate 21b of the transfer unit 20 and between the substrate support plate 21b and the substrate support plate 21c. The interval is a droplet passage space. For this reason, when the transfer unit 20 holds a plurality of substrates W, the processing liquid adhering to the substrate W does not fall from the droplet passage space and accumulate in the transfer unit 20. As a result, it is possible to prevent the substrate W from being contaminated by the scattering of the processing liquid accumulated in the transfer unit 20.
[0043]
Further, during the spin drying process of the substrate W, the processing liquid scatters from the substrate W due to centrifugal force. In the present embodiment, the transfer unit 20 is provided with a droplet passage space and scatters from the substrate W. The droplet passes through the droplet passage space and hardly adheres to the transfer unit 20. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent contamination due to the processing liquid adhering to the transfer unit 20 being scattered again by the air flow accompanying the rotation of the substrate W and reattaching to the substrate W.
[0044]
Further, the substrate support plates 21a and 21c on both sides of the transfer unit 20 are provided to be inclined from the vertical direction. More precisely, the substrate support plates 21a, b, and c are provided in a posture that is substantially parallel to the radial direction of the substrate W held by the rotor 10 in a state where the transfer unit 20 is lowered to the retracted position P1. It has been. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the functions of the inclined substrate support plates 21a, b, and c. As indicated by the dotted line in the figure, droplets are often scattered from the substrate W during the rotation process in the radial direction by centrifugal force. Here, since the substrate support plates 21a, b, c are provided substantially in parallel with the radial direction of the substrate W, the substrate support plates 21a, b, c are all provided in the vertical direction. Thus, the processing liquid scattered from the substrate W by the centrifugal force smoothly passes through the droplet passage space and is less likely to adhere to the transfer unit 20. As a result, the processing liquid adhering to the transfer unit 20 can be further reduced, and contamination of the substrate W due to reattachment due to the airflow can be more reliably prevented.
[0045]
Further, since the airflow passage hole 201 is formed in the substrate support plates 21a, 21b, and 21c, the airflow flows from the inside of the chamber 5 toward the pipe 88 through the airflow passage hole 201 during the rotational drying process. For this reason, it can suppress that the transfer part 20 in the retracted position P1 obstructs the progress of the air flow from the chamber 5 toward the pipe 88, and the processing liquid can be quickly discharged out of the chamber 5. Therefore, the substrate W can be quickly dried.
[0046]
Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the transfer unit 20 is supported by two support shafts 35. The two support shafts 35 are provided so as not to intersect with the rotation surfaces of the plurality of substrates W held by the rotor 10 (a plane obtained by virtually extending the main surface of the substrate W in the XZ direction). That is, the rotation surfaces of the plurality of substrates W held by the rotor 10 are planes parallel to the XZ plane and exist as many as the number of the substrates W, but the transfer unit does not cross any of them. Support shafts 35 are connected to both ends of the 20 (both ends in the Y direction). The droplets are scattered along the rotation surface from the substrate W during the rotation process by the centrifugal force, but the support shaft 35 is provided so as not to intersect the rotation surfaces of the plurality of substrates W held by the rotor 10. Therefore, the scattered processing liquid does not adhere to the support shaft 35. For this reason, it is possible to prevent contamination due to the treatment liquid adhering to the support shaft 35 being scattered again by the air flow accompanying the rotation of the substrate W and reattaching to the substrate W.
[0047]
Further, in particular, in the present embodiment, the support shaft 35 is provided outside the space sandwiched between the rotation surfaces of the substrates at both ends among the plurality of substrates held by the rotor 10, so that the scattered processing liquid is supported by the support shaft 35. Thus, it is possible to more reliably prevent the attached processing liquid from splashing again, and the scattered processing liquid from hitting the support shaft 35 and rebounding to adhere to the substrate W.
[0048]
Further, when any of nitrogen, heated nitrogen, cryogenic nitrogen, IPA, and heated steam is supplied from the gas supply means 80 to the inside of the chamber 5 during the rotary drying process, oxygen and other gases (NOx, The partial pressure of SOx, boron-based gas, siloxane-based gas, etc.) can be reduced to prevent unnecessary natural oxide film formation, watermark generation, and contamination of the substrate W due to gas / particle adsorption.
[0049]
Further, even when the pressure inside the chamber 5 is reduced by forced evacuation of the vacuum pump 87 during the rotary drying process, the partial pressure of oxygen and other gases can be reduced, and the same effect as that obtained by the gas supply means 80 can be obtained. it can.
[0050]
While the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above examples. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the shape of the end plate 11 of the rotor 10 is “X-shaped”, but is not limited thereto. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a substrate drying apparatus to which another shape of the end plate 11 is applied. The substrate drying apparatus shown in FIG. 6 is different from the substrate drying apparatus shown in FIG. 2 in that the shape of the end plate 11 is “Y-shaped”. Therefore, in the form of FIG. 6, the plurality of substrates W are held at three points by one fixed substrate holding member 12 and two movable substrate holding members 15. Corresponding to the shape of the end plate 11, the shape of the transfer part 20 is also separated into two in the X direction so as not to interfere with the fixed substrate holding member 12. Since the remaining points are the same as those in the above embodiment (the embodiment in FIG. 2), the description thereof is omitted.
[0051]
Even in this case, since the end plate 11 is not a disk but “Y-shaped”, the mass of the end plate 11 becomes small, and the moment of inertia of the rotor 10 itself can be made smaller than before. As a result, the rotor 10 can be accelerated more quickly and in a shorter time, the time required to remove the droplets adhering to the substrate can be shortened, and unnecessary natural oxide film formation and watermark generation can be achieved. This problem can be easily avoided and contamination of the substrate W during the rotary drying process can be prevented.
[0052]
Further, the end plate 11 may have a shape that supports the substrate W at five points, or may have a shape that supports the substrate W at more points. In other words, the minimum requirement for the end plate 11 is a construction in which the rotation center on which the rotor shaft 18 is fixed and the substrate holding means (the fixed substrate holding member 12 and the movable substrate holding member 15) are installed. It is a strip-like or rod-like connecting member that connects positions, and can be applied to the substrate drying apparatus according to the present invention as long as it is formed using such a connecting member. However, since the end plate 11 having a radial shape as shown in FIGS. 2 and 6 is constituted by only the minimum necessary connecting members, the effect of reducing the weight of the rotor 10 can be obtained efficiently. .
[0053]
Further, in the present embodiment, in the substrate support plates 21a, 21b, and 21c of the transfer unit 20, the resin part is fixed to the plate-like metal part. However, as shown in FIG. The metal parts may be pipe-shaped metal parts 211ab, 211bb, 211cb having a substantially circular cross section, and the resin parts 211aa, 211ba, 211ca may be fixed thereto.
[0054]
【The invention's effect】
  As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the substrate is transferred from the transfer means to the rotor, and the transfer means descends to the retracted position below the rotor. It is not necessary to rotate, and the moment of inertia of the entire rotating object can be reduced. As a result, the rotor can be accelerated quickly and in a short time, the time required to remove the droplets adhering to the substrate can be shortened, and there is a problem of unnecessary natural oxide film formation and watermark generation. It is easy to avoid the contamination of the substrate W during the rotary drying process.In addition, since the transfer means includes a droplet passage space provided between the plurality of support plates, the processing liquid adhering to the substrate does not fall from the droplet passage space and accumulate in the transfer means. Further, it is possible to prevent the substrate from being contaminated by the scattering of the processing liquid accumulated in the transfer means. In addition, the droplets scattered from the rotating substrate pass through the droplet passage space and hardly adhere to the transfer means, and the treatment liquid adhering to the transfer means is scattered again by the air flow accompanying the rotation of the substrate. Contamination due to reattachment to the substrate can be prevented.
[0055]
  According to the invention of claim 2,Since the substrate is transferred from the transfer means to the rotor and the transfer means descends to a retracted position below the rotor, it is not necessary to rotate the boat together with the rotor as in the prior art, and the inertia moment of the entire rotating object is reduced. can do. As a result, the rotor can be accelerated quickly and in a short time, the time required to remove the droplets adhering to the substrate can be shortened, and there is a problem of unnecessary natural oxide film formation and watermark generation. It is easy to avoid the contamination of the substrate W during the rotary drying process. In addition, since the transfer means includes an airflow passage hole opened in each of the plurality of support plates, the transfer means can be inhibited from obstructing the progress of the airflow in the chamber, and the substrate can be dried quickly. .
[0056]
  According to the invention of claim 3,Since the rotor rotating body is formed by using a connecting member that connects the center of rotation and the installation position where the substrate holding means is installed, the mass of the rotating body becomes small, and the moment of inertia of the rotor itself is reduced. Can be made smaller than before. As a result, the rotor can be accelerated more quickly and in a short time, the time required to remove the droplets adhering to the substrate can be shortened, and unnecessary natural oxide film formation and watermark generation can be achieved. The problem can be easily avoided and contamination of the substrate W during the rotary drying process can be prevented.
[0057]
According to the invention of claim 4, each of the plurality of support plates is substantially parallel to the radial direction of the substrate held by the substrate holding means when the transfer means is located at the retracted position. Therefore, the processing liquid scattered by rotation from the substrate smoothly passes through the droplet passage space and is difficult to adhere to the transfer means. As a result, the processing liquid adhering to the transfer means can be further reduced, and contamination of the substrate due to reattachment due to the airflow can be more reliably prevented.
[0058]
According to the invention of claim 5, since the support shaft of the elevating means is provided so as not to intersect the rotation surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding means, the processing liquid scattered from the rotating substrate is supported. It is possible to prevent contamination of the substrate due to the treatment liquid adhering to the support shaft splashing again due to the airflow accompanying the rotation of the substrate and reattaching to the substrate without adhering to the shaft.
[0059]
Further, according to the invention of claim 6, since the decompression means for decompressing the inside of the chamber is provided, the partial pressure of oxygen or the like can be reduced if the interior of the chamber is decompressed by forced exhaust of the decompression means during the rotary drying process. It is possible to prevent the formation of unnecessary natural oxide films, the generation of watermarks, and the contamination of the substrate due to the adsorption of gas and particles.
[0060]
According to the invention of claim 7, since the gas supply means for supplying any one of nitrogen, heated nitrogen, cryogenic nitrogen, isopropyl alcohol, and heated steam is provided in the chamber, the gas is supplied during the rotary drying process. If nitrogen, heated nitrogen, cryogenic nitrogen, IPA, or heated steam is supplied from the means to the inside of the chamber, the partial pressure of oxygen inside the chamber is reduced, formation of an unnecessary natural oxide film, Contamination of the substrate due to generation and gas / particle adsorption can be prevented.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a substrate processing unit incorporating a substrate drying apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a front view showing a main configuration of the substrate drying apparatus of FIG.
FIG. 3 is a side view showing a main configuration of the substrate drying apparatus of FIG. 1;
4 is a perspective view showing a transfer portion of the substrate drying apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the function of an inclined substrate support plate.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of another shape of the end plate.
7 is a front cross-sectional view showing another example of the transfer section of the substrate drying apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
5 Chamber
10 Rotor
11 End plate
12 Fixed substrate holding member
15 Movable substrate holding member
20 Transfer Department
21a, 21b, 21c Substrate support plate
30 Lifting mechanism
35 Support shaft
80 Gas supply means
87 Pressure reducing pump
W substrate

Claims (7)

A substrate drying apparatus that performs a drying process on the substrate by rotating the substrate,
(a) a chamber for storing a substrate to which a processing solution is attached;
(b) a rotor provided in the chamber and rotating around a horizontal direction;
(c) transferring the substrate to and from the outside of the apparatus at a substrate transfer position above the rotor, and transferring means for transferring the rotor and the substrate;
(d) a substrate transfer position, a substrate transfer position for transferring the rotor and the substrate, and a lifting means for moving the transfer means up and down to a retracted position below the rotor;
(e) a substrate holding means provided on the rotor and holding the substrate delivered from the transfer means;
Equipped with a,
The transfer means is
(c-1) a plurality of support plates that support the substrate in an upright position;
(c-2) a droplet passage space provided between the plurality of support plates;
Apparatus for drying a substrate, wherein Rukoto equipped with. A substrate drying apparatus that performs a drying process on the substrate by rotating the substrate,
(a) A chamber for storing the substrate to which the treatment liquid is attached;
(b) A rotor provided in the chamber and rotating about a horizontal direction;
(c) Transferring the substrate to and from the outside of the apparatus at a substrate transfer position above the rotor, and transferring means for transferring the rotor and the substrate;
(d) Elevating means for elevating and lowering the transfer means to the substrate transfer position, a substrate transfer position for transferring the rotor and the substrate, and a retracted position below the rotor;
(e) A substrate holding means provided on the rotor for holding the substrate delivered from the transfer means;
With
The transfer means is
(c-1) A plurality of support plates for supporting the substrate in a standing posture;
(c-3) An airflow passage hole opened in each of the plurality of support plates;
A substrate drying apparatus comprising: The substrate drying apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The rotor has the substrate holding means installed on a pair of rotating bodies,
Each of the rotating bodies is formed using a connecting member that connects a rotation center of the rotating body and a mounting position on which the substrate holding means is mounted. The substrate drying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3 ,
Each of the plurality of support plates is provided in a posture that is substantially parallel to the radial direction of the substrate held by the substrate holding means when the transfer means is located at the retracted position. A substrate drying apparatus. In the board | substrate drying apparatus in any one of Claims 1-4 ,
The lifting means is
A support shaft for supporting the transfer means;
The substrate drying apparatus, wherein the support shaft is provided so as not to cross a rotation surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding means. The substrate drying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
(f) Depressurizing means for depressurizing the inside of the chamber,
A substrate drying apparatus, further comprising: The substrate drying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
(g) Gas supply means for supplying any of nitrogen, heated nitrogen, cryogenic nitrogen, isopropyl alcohol, and heated steam into the chamber,
A substrate drying apparatus, further comprising:

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