JP3766615B2 - Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to substrate processing for processing various substrates typified by semiconductor wafers, glass substrates for liquid crystal display panels, glass substrates for plasma display panels, optical disk substrates, magnetic disk substrates, magneto-optical disk substrates, etc. The present invention relates to an apparatus and a substrate processing method.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In a manufacturing process of a semiconductor wafer or a liquid crystal display panel, a substrate processing apparatus for performing processing using a processing liquid on a substrate is used. A single-wafer type substrate processing apparatus that processes substrates one by one includes a spin chuck for rotating the substrate while holding the substrate substantially horizontal, and a processing liquid to the substrate held and rotated by the spin chuck. And a treatment liquid supply nozzle to be supplied.
[0003]
The spin chuck includes, for example, a spin base and a plurality of holding members provided on the spin base. By sandwiching the substrate by the plurality of holding members, the substrate is held and rotated together with the spin base.
The plurality of holding members are coupled so as to be displaced in an interlocking manner between a sandwiched state in which the substrate is sandwiched and a released state in which the sandwiched state is released, for example, by a link mechanism. In relation to the link mechanism, a spring that biases the holding member into a holding state is provided, and when no external force acts on the holding member, the plurality of holding members are in the holding state.
[0004]
The holding state of the holding member is released by, for example, a release mechanism provided on the side of the spin chuck. Specifically, one of the plurality of holding members is provided with a release lever. The release mechanism includes an arm-like release claw that swings along the horizontal direction and a swing drive mechanism that swings the release claw. With this configuration, the release claw is swung, the abutment portion at the tip of the release claw is brought into contact with the release lever, and the release lever is displaced. To do.
[0005]
When the transport robot that transports the substrate delivers the substrate to the spin chuck, the release mechanism drives the release claw and operates the release lever to release the holding member. After the substrate is transferred to the spin chuck, the release claw is guided to a retracted position separated to the side of the spin chuck.
After the substrate is processed with the processing liquid or the like, the release claw is driven again and the release lever is operated. As a result, the holding member is released, and in this state, the processed substrate is delivered from the spin chuck to the transport robot.
[0006]
In the case of a substrate processing apparatus that performs washing and drying processing on a substrate, after the spin chuck is rotated at high speed to drain and dry the substrate, the release claw is driven to contact the release lever and the holding member is released. And
FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the prior art of the release claw. A claw portion 101 is integrally formed at the tip of the substantially L-shaped arm portion 100. The arm portion 100 is swung along a horizontal plane by a swing driving mechanism (not shown), so that the contact surface 101a of the claw portion 101 approaches / separates from the release lever provided on the holding member of the spin chuck. To do.
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the above-described release mechanism, the upper surfaces of the arm unit 100 and the claw unit 101 are substantially horizontal in use. For this reason, droplets of the processing liquid scattered from the substrate during the rotation processing of the substrate tend to collect on the upper surfaces of the arm unit 100 and the claw unit 101. The liquid droplets fall from the upper surfaces of the arm unit 100 and the claw unit 101 when the arm unit 100 is driven. In particular, when the claw portion 101 comes into contact with the release lever after the processing on the substrate is completed and the droplet drops due to the impact, the droplet of the processing liquid adheres to the surface of the substrate on which the drying processing or the like has been completed. This will cause particles.
[0008]
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-described technical problem and prevent the droplets from staying on a member that approaches the substrate holding means after processing the substrate. It is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method that can realize good substrate processing while suppressing dropping.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention]
The invention described in claim 1 for achieving the above object is a substrate processing apparatus for supplying a processing liquid to a substrate (W) to perform processing on the substrate, wherein the substrate holding means ( rotating while holding the substrate) 1), and the treatment liquid nozzle for supplying a processing liquid to a substrate that is held is rotated by the substrate holding means (2,3), the substrate at the time of processing by the processing liquid of the substrate held in the substrate holding means in a position splashing processing liquid arrives from approaching moving member to which the process is finished, further rotate the substrate holding means moves so as to approach to the substrate holding means after the drying step of drying the substrate (70, 70A), and the upper surface of the approaching movement member is an inclined surface (71a, 71b, 75, 75A, 75a). The alphanumeric characters in parentheses indicate corresponding components in the embodiments described later. The same applies hereinafter.
[0010]
According to the above configuration, since the upper surface of the approaching movement member is an inclined surface, even if the processing liquid for substrate processing reaches the upper surface of the approaching movement member, the processing liquid quickly drops and approaches. It does not stay on the upper surface of the moving member. Therefore, when the approach moving member moves toward the substrate holding means after the processing for the substrate is completed and the drying step, no liquid stays on the approach moving member. The droplet does not fall on the substrate after the drying process. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the drop of the droplets on the substrate after processing and suppress the generation of particles on the substrate, thereby achieving good substrate processing.
[0011]
In order to reliably prevent the processing liquid from staying on the upper surface of the approaching movement member, it is preferable that the entire upper surface of the approaching movement member is inclined.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, the approaching movement member is formed with a through hole (74) penetrating in the vertical direction, and the inclined surface is inclined downward as it goes inward of the through hole. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:
[0012]
According to this configuration, by forming the through-hole in the approaching moving member, the inclined surface of the upper surface can be formed at a steep angle, and the treatment liquid that has slipped down such a steep inclined surface can pass through the above-mentioned through-hole. It can be quickly dropped from the hole. Thereby, the retention of the processing liquid on the approaching movement member can be further reliably prevented.
A third aspect of the present invention is the substrate processing apparatus according to the first or second aspect, wherein the inclined surface includes an inclined surface (75a) that goes downward as the distance from the substrate holding means increases.
[0013]
According to this configuration, the processing liquid that slides down the inclined surface on the upper surface of the approaching movement member is guided in a direction away from the substrate holding means. Thereby, it can prevent more reliably that the droplet of a process liquid reaches | attains the board | substrate hold | maintained at the board | substrate holding means.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the substrate holding means includes a release lever (50) for releasing the holding state of the substrate, and the approaching moving member includes a release claw (for operating the release lever). The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate processing apparatus is 70, 70A).
[0014]
According to this configuration, since the upper surface of the release claw for operating the release lever provided in the substrate holding means is an inclined surface, when the holding of the substrate by the substrate holding means is released, it has been processed The treatment liquid droplets can be prevented from adhering to the surface of the substrate.
A fifth aspect of the present invention is the substrate processing apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the approaching movement member includes a contact portion that contacts the substrate holding means.
According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the processing liquid is supplied to the substrate (W) held and rotated by the substrate holding means (1) to process the substrate, and after the processing of the substrate by the processing liquid is completed. a drying step of drying the substrate by rotating the substrate holding means, after this drying step, the upper surface is inclined faces (71a, 71b, 75,75A, 75a ) and to name the substrate by the treatment solution And a step of bringing the approaching moving member (70, 70A) at a position where the processing liquid spattering from the substrate reaches at the time of processing to the substrate holding means.
[0015]
By this method, an effect similar to the effect described in relation to the invention of claim 1 can be achieved.
A seventh aspect of the present invention is the substrate processing method according to the sixth aspect, further comprising the step of bringing the contact portion of the approaching movement member into contact with the substrate holding means.
[0016]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic front view showing a configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view thereof. This substrate processing apparatus is an apparatus for performing processing with a processing liquid (chemical solution or pure water) on the surface of a wafer W as an example of a substrate. The substrate processing apparatus includes a spin chuck 1 that rotates while holding the wafer W substantially horizontally, and an upper surface processing liquid nozzle 2 that supplies a processing liquid to the upper surface of the wafer W held and rotated by the spin chuck 1. And a lower surface processing liquid nozzle 3 for supplying a processing liquid to the lower surface of the wafer W held and rotated by the spin chuck 1.
[0017]
The spin chuck 1 is fixed substantially horizontally to the upper end of a hollow rotary shaft 4 arranged along the vertical direction. The rotary shaft 4 is driven to rotate around a vertical axis by a rotary drive mechanism 5.
A processing liquid supply pipe 6 communicating with the lower surface processing liquid nozzle 3 is inserted into the rotary shaft 4, and a processing liquid from a processing liquid supply source (not shown) is supplied to the processing liquid supply pipe 6. 7 is supplied. A processing liquid from a processing liquid supply source (not shown) is supplied to the upper surface processing liquid nozzle 2 via a processing liquid supply valve 8.
[0018]
The spin chuck 1 includes a spin base 11 and holding members 12 that are provided at a plurality of positions on the periphery of the spin base 11 at substantially equal angular intervals to hold the wafer W therebetween. A holding member 12 </ b> A that is one of the plurality of holding members 12 is provided with a release lever 50 for releasing the wafer W from being held.
When the wafer W is transferred between the spin chuck 1 and a transfer robot (not shown), the rotation drive mechanism 5 stops the spin chuck 1 at a predetermined rotation angle position. A release claw 70 for operating the release lever 50 is disposed at a position facing the release lever 50 on the side of the spin chuck 1 at the rotation angle position at this time. The release claw 70 reaches the droplets of the processing liquid that scatters from the wafer W held and rotated by the spin chuck 1.
[0019]
The release claw 70 is fixed to the tip of a swing arm 81 that swings along the horizontal direction. The swing arm 81 is swung along the horizontal direction by a swing drive mechanism 82. It has become.
FIG. 3 is a plan view for explaining the configuration of the spin chuck 1. The spin base 11 has a hollow structure having an accommodation space therein. The accommodation space accommodates an interlocking link mechanism 20 for operating a plurality of (three in this embodiment) holding members 12 in an interlocked manner. The interlocking link mechanism 20 includes a link mechanism 21 for each holding member 12 and a ring 22 for interlocking the plurality of link mechanisms 21.
[0020]
Each link mechanism 21 includes a boomerang-shaped first link 211 having an intermediate portion fixed to the lower end of the holding member 12, and a second link 212 having one end rotatably coupled to the first link 211, A third link 213 having one end rotatably coupled to the other end of the second link 212, and one end fixed to a common rotating shaft (not shown) together with the other end of the third link 213. The other end is provided with a fourth link 214 rotatably coupled to the ring 22. The rotation shaft to which the other end portion of the third link 213 and the one end portion of the fourth link 214 are fixed in common is erected so as to be rotatable with respect to the spin base 11. On the other hand, each holding member 12 is attached in the vicinity of the periphery of the spin base 11 so as to be rotatable around the vertical axis.
[0021]
A tension coil spring 215 is stretched between the ring 22 and a predetermined portion of the spin base 11, whereby the holding member 12 is spring-biased in the clamping direction for clamping the wafer W. ing.
The first link 211 is fixed to the holding member 12 at a substantially middle portion thereof. A portion of the first link 211 opposite to the coupling portion with the second link 212 receives a centrifugal force when the spin chuck 1 is rotated, and a weight for urging the holding member 12 in the clamping direction. It has a function as a part.
[0022]
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the holding member 12 </ b> A having the release lever 50. The holding member 12 </ b> A includes a shaft portion 55 that is rotatably attached to the spin base 11, a flat plate portion 53 that is fixed to the upper end of the shaft portion 55, and a vertical axis on the rotation axis of the shaft portion 55. A peripheral support portion 52 protruding upward and a holding pin 51 erected at a position shifted from the peripheral support portion 52 on the upper surface of the flat plate portion 53 are provided. The holding pins 51 are for contacting the end face of the wafer W and for holding the wafer W in cooperation with the holding pins 51 provided in the other holding members 12. A contact surface 51a is provided on the side surface.
[0023]
The release lever 50 is formed in the flat plate portion 53 so as to extend to the side opposite to the holding pin 51 and is configured to receive the claw portion 72 of the release claw 70.
The other two holding members 12 have substantially the same configuration as the holding member 12A except that the release lever 50 is not provided.
FIG. 5 is a side view of the holding member 12 as seen from the horizontal direction. The peripheral support portion 52 has a substantially conical surface at the head, and the tip 52a is processed into a spherical shape. The peripheral edge support portion 52 mainly supports the wafer W from below by making point contact with the peripheral edge of the lower surface of the wafer W when the wafer W is transferred between the spin chuck 1 and the transfer robot (not shown). To do.
[0024]
The wafer contact surface 51 a of the holding pin 51 has a drum-like shape that is recessed in a direction of retreating from the end surface of the wafer W in a side view along the wafer W.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the release claw 70. The release claw 70 is generally formed in an L-shape, and is integrally formed with an arm portion 71 and a posture protruding in the horizontal direction at an angle of about 90 degrees from the tip of the arm portion 71. And a base end portion of the arm portion 71 is fixed to the swing arm 81 (see FIG. 2).
[0025]
The upper surface of the arm portion 71 is composed of a pair of inclined surfaces 71a and 71b having a mountain shape. That is, the pair of inclined surfaces 71a and 71b extends along the longitudinal direction of the arm portion 71, and forms a ridge line portion 71c along the longitudinal direction.
The claw portion 72 has a contact portion 73 that contacts the release lever 50. A through hole 74 penetrating in the vertical direction is formed behind the contact portion 73, and most of the upper surface of the claw portion 72 has an inclined surface 75 that goes downward as it goes inward of the through hole 74. There is no.
[0026]
In particular, as shown in FIG. 4, the upper surface of the portion close to the contact portion 73 forms an inclined surface 75 a that is inclined downward as it is away from the spin chuck 1.
When the unprocessed wafer W is transferred from the transfer robot to the spin chuck 1, the swing drive mechanism 82 drives the release claw 70 so as to approach the spin chuck 1 via the swing arm 81 (see FIG. 2 alternate long and two short dashes line position). Thereby, the claw part 72 of the release claw 70 contacts the release lever 50, and the holding member 12 is displaced to the release state. In this state, after the wafer W is delivered to the spin chuck 1, the swing drive mechanism 82 retracts the release claw 70 from the spin chuck 1 (the position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 2), and the spring force of the tension coil spring 215 The holding member 12 is guided to the clamping state.
[0027]
Thereafter, the spin chuck 1 is rotationally driven, and the processing liquid from the upper surface processing liquid nozzle 2 and / or the lower surface processing liquid nozzle 3 is supplied to the wafer W rotated together with the spin chuck 1. Furthermore, if necessary, after the supply of the processing liquid is stopped, the spin chuck 1 is rotated at a high speed, and the wafer W is drained and dried.
Thus, when the processing for the wafer W is completed, the swing driving mechanism 82 drives the release claw 70 toward the release lever 50 of the spin chuck 1 (the position indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 2). As a result, the claw portion 72 of the release claw 70 contacts the release lever 50 and the holding of the wafer W by the holding member 12 is released. In this state, the processed wafer W is delivered from the spin chuck 1 to the transfer robot. After the completion of the delivery, the swing drive mechanism 82 retracts the release claw 70 to a retracted position (solid line position in FIG. 2) separated from the spin chuck 1.
[0028]
As described above, since the release claw 70 has an inclined surface in almost the entire upper surface, the droplets of the processing liquid scattered from the wafer W during the rotation of the wafer W do not stay on the upper surface of the release claw 70. In particular, the claw portion 72 that is closest to the spin chuck 1 is formed with a through hole 74 to form a steep inclined surface 75 so that the processing liquid can quickly fall through the through hole 74. Accordingly, the retention of the droplets in the claw portion 72 can be reliably eliminated, and the generation of particles due to the droplets can be effectively suppressed.
[0029]
In addition, an inclined surface 75a that guides the droplet in a direction away from the spin chuck 1 is formed behind the contact portion 73 in the claw portion 72, so that the droplet is transferred from the claw portion 72 to the processed wafer W. Can be reliably prevented.
As mentioned above, although one Embodiment of this invention was described, this invention can also be implemented with another form. For example, in the above embodiment, the example in which the through hole 74 is formed in the claw portion 72 of the release claw 70 has been described. However, as shown in FIG. 7, the release claw 70A having the claw portion 72A having no through hole is used. Also good. Even in this case, it is preferable that the upper surface of the claw portion 72A forms an inclined surface 75A. In FIG. 7, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 6 are assigned to the same parts as those shown in FIG.
[0030]
In the above-described embodiment, the release claw 70 for releasing the substrate holding by the holding member 12 of the spin chuck 1 is taken as an example of the approaching movement member. Anything can be used as long as it is close to (spin chuck 1). For example, the approach moving member may be a substrate transport hand that approaches the substrate holding member (spin chuck 1) at the end of processing of the substrate with the processing liquid, receives the substrate, and transports the substrate to another processing unit. .
[0031]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the configuration for processing the wafer W, which is a substantially circular substrate, has been described. However, the present invention is also applicable to a configuration for processing a square substrate such as a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display panel. can do.
In addition, various design changes can be made within the scope of matters described in the claims.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic front view showing a configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the substrate processing apparatus.
FIG. 3 is a plan view for explaining a configuration of a spin chuck of the substrate processing apparatus.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a holding member provided in the spin chuck.
FIG. 5 is a side view of the holding member as seen from the horizontal direction.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a release claw for releasing clamping by a holding member.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing another configuration example of the release claw.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a conventional release claw.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Spin chuck 2 Upper surface process liquid nozzle 3 Lower surface process liquid nozzle 4 Rotating shaft 5 Rotation drive mechanism 6 Process liquid supply pipe 7 Process liquid supply valve 8 Process liquid supply valve 11 Spin base 12 Holding member 12A Holding member (having a release lever) )
20 interlocking link mechanism 21 link mechanism 22 ring 50 release lever 51 holding pin 52 peripheral support portion 70 release claw 70A release claw 71 arm portions 71a and 71b inclined surface 72 claw portion 72A claw portion 73 abutment portion 74 through hole 75 inclined surface 75A Inclined surface 75a Inclined surface 81 Swing arm 82 Swing drive mechanism W Wafer

Claims (7)

A substrate processing apparatus for supplying a processing liquid to a substrate and processing the substrate,
A substrate holding means for holding and rotating the substrate;
A processing liquid nozzle for supplying a processing liquid to the substrate held and rotated by the substrate holding means;
When the substrate held by the substrate holding means is treated with the treatment liquid, a drying step is performed in which the treatment liquid scattered from the substrate reaches, the treatment is finished , and the substrate holding means is rotated to dry the substrate. And an approach moving member that moves so as to approach the substrate holding means after
A substrate processing apparatus, wherein an upper surface of the approaching moving member is an inclined surface. The approach moving member is formed with a through-hole penetrating in the vertical direction,
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the inclined surface includes an inclined surface that goes downward as it goes inward of the through hole.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the inclined surface includes an inclined surface that goes downward as the distance from the substrate holding unit increases. The substrate holding means includes a release lever for releasing the holding state of the substrate,
4. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the approaching movement member is a release claw for operating the release lever.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the approaching movement member includes a contact portion that contacts the substrate holding unit. Supplying a processing liquid to the substrate held by the substrate holding means and rotating the substrate, and processing the substrate;
A drying step of rotating the substrate holding means to dry the substrate after the processing of the substrate with the processing liquid;
After this drying step, to the upper surface the name of the inclined surface, the approach movement member during processing of the substrate by the treatment solution at the location processing liquid splashing from the substrate arrives, the step of approaching the substrate holding means A substrate processing method comprising:   7. The substrate processing method according to claim 6, further comprising the step of bringing the contact portion of the approaching movement member into contact with the substrate holding means.

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