JP4463543B2 - Substrate holding device, substrate holding method, and substrate processing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate holding device and a substrate holding method that are suitable for use when a surface (surface to be processed) of a substrate is processed with a plating solution or other processing solution, and a substrate processing configured using the substrate holding device. Relates to the device.

  As a wiring formation process of a semiconductor substrate, a process (so-called damascene process) in which a metal (conductor) is embedded in a wiring groove and a contact hole is being used. This is because the wiring trench or contact hole formed in advance in the interlayer insulating film is filled with aluminum, in recent years copper or silver, etc. by plating, and then the excess metal is removed by chemical mechanical polishing (CMP). Process technology.

  In this type of wiring, for example, copper wiring using copper as the wiring material, the surface of the wiring made of copper is exposed to the outside after planarization, preventing thermal diffusion of the wiring (copper), For example, when an insulating film (oxide film) in an oxidizing atmosphere is laminated to make a semiconductor substrate having a multilayer wiring structure, it is made of a Co alloy, a Ni alloy, or the like in order to prevent the wiring (copper) from being oxidized. It has been studied to selectively cover the surface of the exposed wiring with a wiring protective layer (cover material) to prevent thermal diffusion and oxidation of the wiring. This Co alloy, Ni alloy, or the like can be obtained by electroless plating, for example.

For example, as shown in FIG. 1, a fine recess 4 for wiring is formed in an insulating film (interlayer insulating film) 2 made of SiO ₂ or the like deposited on the surface of a substrate W such as a semiconductor wafer, and the surface is formed. After the barrier layer 6 made of TaN or the like is formed, for example, copper plating is performed, a copper film is formed on the surface of the substrate W, and copper is embedded in the recess 4 (damascene process). Thereafter, the surface of the substrate W is subjected to CMP (Chemical Mechanical Polishing) and planarized to form a wiring 8 made of copper inside the insulating film 2. A wiring protective layer (cover material) 9 made of a Co—WP alloy film obtained by electrolytic plating is selectively formed to protect the wiring 8 (cover plating process).

A process of selectively forming the wiring protective layer (covering material) 9 made of such a Co—WP alloy film on the surface of the wiring 8 by general electroless plating will be described. First, a substrate W such as a semiconductor wafer subjected to CMP treatment is brought into contact with an acid solution (first treatment liquid) such as 0.5 M H ₂ SO ₄ at a liquid temperature of 25 ° C. for about 1 minute, for example. CMP residues such as copper remaining on the surface of the insulating film 2 are removed. Then, the surface of the substrate W is cleaned with a cleaning liquid (second processing liquid) such as ultrapure water (pre-cleaning process). Next, for example, when the liquid temperature is 25 ° C., the substrate W is brought into contact with a mixed solution (first treatment liquid) such as 0.005 g / L PdCl ₂ and 0.2 ml / L HCL for about 1 minute, thereby wiring. Pd as a catalyst is adhered to the surface of 8 to activate the exposed surface of the wiring 8. Then, the surface of the substrate W is cleaned with a cleaning liquid (second processing liquid) such as ultrapure water (first preprocessing process).

Next, the substrate W is brought into contact with a solution (first treatment liquid) such as 20 g / L Na ₃ C ₆ H ₅ O ₇ .2H ₂ O (sodium citrate) at a liquid temperature of 25 ° C., for example. The surface of the wiring 8 is neutralized. Then, the surface of the substrate W is washed with ultrapure water (second treatment liquid) (second pretreatment process). Next, for example, the substrate W is immersed in a Co—WP plating solution having a liquid temperature of 80 ° C. for about 120 seconds, for example, and the surface of the activated wiring 8 is selectively electrolessly plated (electroless Co— (W-P lid plating) is performed, and then the surface of the substrate W is washed with a cleaning liquid such as ultrapure water (plating process). Thus, the wiring protection layer 9 made of a Co—WP alloy film is selectively formed on the surface of the wiring 8 to protect the wiring 8.

  Conventionally, as a method of performing stable and uniform substrate plating (for example, electroless plating) treatment or stable and uniform substrate pre-plating treatment or cleaning treatment, the substrate is immersed in a treatment solution and its surface (covered) is treated. A dip treatment method in which a treatment liquid is brought into contact with the treatment surface has been generally used. In a substrate processing apparatus that employs this dip processing method, a substrate holding device that seals the peripheral portion of the surface surface and holds the substrate is generally provided, whereby the substrate is held by the substrate holding device and used as a processing liquid. When processing by immersing, the processing liquid is prevented from wrapping around the peripheral portion of the substrate surface and further to the back surface side.

  Furthermore, the suction seal is made of an elastic body such as rubber and continuously extends in a ring shape, and the suction seal is pressed against the substrate so that the end surface of the suction seal extends over the entire periphery of the back surface of the substrate. Substrate holding that employs a so-called vacuum suction system that holds the substrate while adhering to it, and sucking the inside of the suction seal in a vacuum while sealing the back peripheral edge of the substrate in a ring shape with the suction seal Equipment has been developed.

  However, in the substrate holding device adopting the above-described vacuum suction method, the suction is caused by the dimensional tolerance of each component of the substrate holding device, the variation of the substrate, and the bias pressure acting on the suction seal made of an elastic body. Prior to vacuum suction inside the seal, the end surface of the suction seal cannot be securely adhered to the peripheral edge of the back surface of the horizontally supported substrate without any gaps. There was a problem that air leakage occurred and the substrate could not be adsorbed and held.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and can reliably hold the substrate by adhering the peripheral edge of the back surface of the substrate to the end surface of the suction seal over the entire circumference of the suction seal without any gap. It is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate holding apparatus, a substrate holding method, and a substrate processing apparatus that can be used.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the substrate holding portion that holds the substrate by adsorbing the substrate holding portion that supports the substrate with the surface facing down and the back surface peripheral portion of the substrate supported by the substrate holding portion in a ring shape. A suction head provided with a seal, and the substrate pressing portion is attached to the peripheral edge portion of the surface of the substrate supported by the substrate pressing portion as the substrate pressing portion moves relative to the suction head. a plurality of pressing mechanism having a movable pawl abuts with the substrate is pressed toward the suction head is found provided at a position along the circumferential direction, the movable pawl, rotatably in a vertical direction through a pivot It is supported and arranged at a position along the diametrical direction of the substrate pressing portion, and is urged downward via an elastic body on the outer peripheral side across the pivot, and contacts the surface peripheral portion of the substrate on the inner peripheral side. substrate holding apparatus der, characterized by being configured to .

  Thus, the substrate supported by the substrate pressing portion is individually pressed toward the suction head at a plurality of locations along the circumferential direction via a plurality of pressing mechanisms, so that the back surface peripheral portion of the substrate is attached to the suction seal. It is possible to securely hold the substrate by adhering to the end face without any gap over the entire circumference of the suction seal.

In addition, by moving the substrate pressing portion relatively toward the suction head, there is no gap across the entire periphery of the suction seal from the peripheral edge of the back surface of the substrate to the end surface of the suction seal via the movable claw of the pressing mechanism. It is possible to ensure close contact.

Further, as the substrate pressing portion moves relative to the suction head, the substrate is formed on the inner peripheral side with the pivot of the movable claw interposed therebetween, via the elastic force of the elastic body disposed on the outer periphery with the pivot interposed. Can be pressed upward toward the suction head.
A second aspect of the present invention is the substrate holding apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the elastic body is made of rubber having a substantially truncated cone shape.

The invention according to claim 3 is an adsorption for holding the substrate by adsorbing the substrate holding portion supporting the substrate with the surface facing downward and the back surface peripheral portion of the substrate supported by the substrate holding portion in a ring shape. A suction head provided with a seal, and the substrate pressing portion is disposed at a predetermined interval from the base portion and is connected to the base portion so as to be tiltable via a connecting portion provided at a peripheral edge portion. It is a substrate holding device characterized by having a substrate support part to support.

  Thereby, even if the plane formed by the back surface of the substrate supported by the substrate support portion of the substrate pressing portion and the plane formed by the end surface of the suction seal are inclined with respect to each other, the back surface of the substrate and the end surface of the suction seal are mutually When the substrate comes into contact, the substrate tilts and this tilt is corrected.This prevents contact with each other, so that the peripheral edge of the back surface of the substrate is securely applied to the end surface of the suction seal without any gap over the entire circumference of the suction seal. Can be touched.

The invention according to claim 4 is the substrate holding apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the connecting portion includes an elastic body that elastically connects the base side member and the substrate support portion side member. .
A fifth aspect of the present invention is the substrate holding apparatus according to the fourth aspect, wherein the elastic body is a compression coil spring.

In the invention according to claim 6 , the substrate is supported by the substrate pressing portion with the surface facing downward, and the substrate pressing portion supporting the substrate is relatively moved toward the suction seal portion continuously extending in a ring shape. The substrate holder is rotatably supported in a vertical direction via a pivot and is disposed at a position along the diameter direction of the substrate pressing portion, and is biased downward via an elastic body on the outer peripheral side across the pivot, A plurality of movable claws configured to come into contact with the surface peripheral edge of the substrate on the side are brought into contact with the surface peripheral edge of the substrate supported by the substrate plate pressing portion in accordance with the movement of the substrate pressing portion, The substrate holding method is characterized in that the substrate is pressed toward the suction seal portion to bring a back surface peripheral portion of the substrate into close contact with the suction seal portion, and the suction seal portion is sucked to hold the substrate. .
According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the substrate support portion of the substrate pressing portion that is disposed to be spaced apart from the base portion by a predetermined distance and is tiltably connected via a connecting portion provided at the peripheral edge portion to support the substrate. downward to support the substrate, the substrate holding portion which supports the substrate in the substrate support is moved toward the suction sealing portion extending continuously in a ring shape, with the said mobile, in the substrate support portion The substrate holding method is characterized in that the substrate supported is tilted through the connecting portion, the peripheral edge of the back surface of the substrate is brought into close contact with the suction seal portion, and the suction seal portion is sucked to hold the substrate.

The invention according to claim 8 includes a substrate holding device for holding a substrate, and a processing tank for bringing a surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding device into contact with a processing liquid stored inside, wherein the substrate holding device is A substrate holding portion that supports the substrate with the surface facing downward, and a suction head that includes a suction seal that holds the substrate by sucking while sealing the peripheral edge of the back surface of the substrate supported by the substrate pressing portion in a ring shape. The substrate holding portion comes into contact with the peripheral edge of the surface of the substrate supported by the substrate holding portion with relative movement of the substrate holding portion toward the suction head, and holds the substrate. a plurality of pressing mechanism having a movable claw for pressing the head is found provided at a position along the circumferential direction, wherein the movable pawl is rotatably supported in a vertical direction through a pivot with the substrate holding portion It is arranged at a position along the diametrical direction and this pivot A substrate processing apparatus, wherein the substrate processing apparatus is configured to be biased downward via an elastic body on the outer peripheral side across the shaft and to contact the peripheral edge of the surface of the substrate on the inner peripheral side .

The invention according to claim 9 includes a substrate holding device for holding a substrate, and a processing tank for bringing a surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding device into contact with a processing liquid stored inside, wherein the substrate holding device is A substrate holding portion that supports the substrate with the surface facing downward, and a suction head that includes a suction seal that holds the substrate by sucking while sealing the peripheral edge of the back surface of the substrate supported by the substrate pressing portion in a ring shape. The substrate pressing portion includes a base portion and a substrate support portion that is arranged at a predetermined distance from the base portion and is tiltably connected via a connecting portion provided at a peripheral edge portion to support the substrate. This is a substrate processing apparatus.
A tenth aspect of the present invention is the substrate processing apparatus according to the eighth or ninth aspect, wherein the treatment of the surface of the substrate by the treatment liquid is an electroless plating treatment.

  According to the present invention, the peripheral edge of the back surface of the substrate is securely brought into close contact with the end surface of the suction seal over the entire circumference of the suction seal without any gaps. It is possible to securely hold by suction.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view showing the substrate holding apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the substrate holding device 80 includes a substrate head 81 and a substrate head driving unit 120. The substrate head 81 is configured by accommodating a substantially circular suction head 84 inside a substantially cylindrical substrate pressing portion 82 whose bottom surface is open. The substrate head drive unit 120 includes therein a substrate rotation motor 121 that rotationally drives the suction head 84, a substrate presser drive cylinder 122 that raises and lowers the substrate presser 82 to predetermined upper and lower positions (at least three locations), and the like. It has. The suction head 84 is rotationally driven by the substrate rotation motor 121, and the substrate pressing portion 82 is moved up and down by the substrate pressing portion driving cylinder 122. That is, the suction head 84 does not move up and down only by rotation, and the substrate pressing portion 82 rotates together with the suction head 84 and moves up and down.

  FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main part of the suction head 84. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the suction head 84 has a substantially disc-shaped support body 88 provided with a vacuum supply line (vacuum and gas supply line) 86 inside. A suction seal 90 is attached in a ring shape, and a plurality of pushers 92 are arranged inside the ring-shaped suction seal 90. Further, a ventilation portion (see FIG. 2) 94 having an opening penetrating vertically is provided inside the support 88.

  The suction seal 90 is made of, for example, an elastic body made of rubber or the like. The lower end portion of the suction seal 90 protrudes downward from the lower surface of the support 88, and the peripheral edge of the back surface of the substrate W contacting the suction seal 90 is adsorbed in a ring shape. Holding the substrate W serves as a seal that prevents the processing liquid (plating solution) from entering the back surface of the substrate W (the inner portion sealed in a ring shape by the suction seal 90). A portion of the suction seal 90 that comes into contact with the substrate W is provided with a substrate suction groove (suction and separation hole) 96, and a vacuum supply line 86 is connected to the substrate suction groove 96. As a result, the substrate W is sucked and separated by the substrate suction groove 96. The shape of the suction seal 90 is not limited to the shape shown in the drawing, and it is needless to say that it may have any shape and structure as long as it can be sucked in a ring shape with a predetermined circumferential width.

  The pusher 92 accommodates the pusher main body 104 in the accommodating portion 102 provided inside the cylindrical box-shaped case 100 whose upper surface is opened, and then supports the flange portion 106 protruding from the outer periphery of the case 100 with a bolt 88. It is comprised by fixing to. The pusher body 104 is formed of a stretchable elastic material such as a synthetic rubber material made of a fluororesin, for example, and is configured by providing a pressing portion 112 at the tip of an outer peripheral wall 110 formed in a bellows shape. And the press part 112 is inserted in the through-hole 114 provided in case 100 so that insertion / extraction is possible. At this time, the position of the lower surface of the pressing portion 112 is slightly above the position of the lower surface of the suction seal 90. A vacuum supply line 86 is connected to the back side of the pusher body 104.

  Thereby, when a vacuum pressure is supplied to the vacuum supply line 86, the inside of the pusher body 104 is in a vacuum state, the outer peripheral wall 110 of the pusher body 104 is contracted, and the pressing portion 112 is retracted into the case 100 (FIG. 8). When the gas is supplied to the vacuum supply line 86, the outer peripheral wall 110 of the pusher body 104 extends and the pressing portion 112 protrudes to the outside of the case 100 (state shown in FIG. 2). It is configured.

  FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a part of the substrate pressing portion 82 by cutting away. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the substrate pressing portion 82 includes a base portion 160 connected to the substrate pressing portion driving cylinder 123, and a ring-shaped substrate supporting portion that is disposed at a predetermined interval from the base portion 160. 162, and a pair of connecting portions 163 that connect the base portion 160 and the substrate support portion 162 to each other so as to be tiltable. Then, at a position along the circumferential direction of the substrate support portion 162, the substrate W is supported by contacting the peripheral edge of the surface of the substrate W, and the substrate W is moved to the suction head 84 as the substrate pressing portion 82 is raised. A plurality (twelve in the drawing) of pressing mechanisms 164 that are pressed toward each other are provided at a predetermined pitch.

  FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the connecting portion 163. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the connecting portion 163 has a guide support 172 attached to the lower surface of the peripheral portion of the outer peripheral plate 170 of the base portion 160 and a guide spacer 176 attached to the upper surface of the fixing ring 174 of the substrate support portion 162. And have. A plurality (three in the figure) of guide bolts 178 are fixed to the fixing rings 174 by inserting the lower portions of the guide bolts 178 through the guide spacers 176 and screwed to the fixing rings 174. The upper portions of the guide bolts 178 are guides. It is located inside each storage portion 180 provided on the support 172.

  In each storage portion 180 of the guide support 172, the lower surface is in contact with the bottom wall of the storage portion 180 and the upper surface is in contact with the lower surface of the collar 184 attached to the upper surface of the guide bolt 178 via the bolt 182. Thus, the elastic bodies 186 made of compression coil springs are accommodated. As a result, the substrate support 162 is elastically connected to the base 160 via the elastic force of the elastic body (compression coil spring) 186 on both sides in the diametrical direction, and the substrate support 162 is connected to the base 160. And can be tilted freely.

  In this way, by configuring the substrate support portion 162 to be tiltable with respect to the base portion 160, the plane formed by the back surface of the substrate W supported by the substrate support portion 162 of the substrate pressing portion 82 and the suction head 84 suction. Even when the flat surface formed by the lower end surface of the seal 90 is inclined with respect to each other, the substrate W tilts and corrects this inclination when the back surface of the substrate W and the lower end surface of the suction seal 90 abut each other. By this, it is possible to prevent the substrate W and the suction seal 90 from coming into contact with each other, and the peripheral edge of the back surface of the substrate W can be reliably brought into contact with the lower end surface of the suction seal 90 over the entire circumference of the suction seal 90 without any gap. .

  FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing the pressing mechanism 164, and FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main part showing the pressing mechanism 164 together with the suction seal 90 of the suction head 84. As shown in FIGS. 4, 6, and 7, the pressing mechanism 164 is disposed along the diameter direction of the fixing ring 174 of the substrate support 162 and protrudes inward of the fixing ring 174 to protrude from the surface of the substrate W. A movable claw 190 that comes into contact with is provided. On both sides of the movable claw 190, a pivot 192 is provided substantially at the center in the length direction, and the pivot 192 is rotatable on a cover 196 attached to the lower surface of the fixed ring 174 via a bolt 194. It is supported by. Accordingly, the movable claw 190 is rotated in the vertical direction.

  Then, an elastic body 198 made of a truncated cone-shaped rubber is located between the movable claw 190 and the fixing ring 174 and is located on the outer peripheral side with the pivot 192 of the movable claw 190 interposed therebetween, as shown in FIG. With the contraction amount δ, the outer peripheral side sandwiching the pivot 192 of the movable claw 190 is biased downward via the elastic force of the elastic body (rubber) 198. Further, the rod-shaped portion 196a of the cover 196 located below the movable claw 190 comes into contact with the lower surface on the outer peripheral side across the pivot 192 of the movable claw 190 and plays a role as a stopper that restricts the descent. ing.

  Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 7, the substrate W is supported by bringing the surface of the substrate W into contact with the inner peripheral side of the movable claw 190 of the substrate pressing portion 82 with the pivot 192 interposed therebetween, and in this state, the substrate pressing portion 82 is supported. , The peripheral edge of the back surface of the substrate W is brought into contact with the suction seal 90 of the suction head 84, and the substrate pressing portion 82 is further lifted, and the movable claw 190 is lowered on the inner peripheral side with the pivot 192 interposed therebetween, The outer peripheral side rotates so as to rise (for convenience of drawing, FIG. 7 shows only the movable claw 190 rotating). When the movable claw 190 rotates in this way, the elastic body (rubber) 198 disposed on the outer peripheral side across the pivot 192 further contracts, and the elastic force of the elastic body 198 is on the inner peripheral side across the pivot 192. It acts to raise W, whereby the substrate W is pressed toward the suction seal 90 and comes into close contact with the suction seal 90.

  As described above, the substrate W is temporarily supported by the movable claws 190 of the plurality of pressing mechanisms 164 provided in the substrate pressing portion 82, and is provided at a plurality of locations along the circumferential direction of the substrate W via the plurality of pressing mechanisms 164. By individually pressing the substrate W toward the suction seal 90 of the suction head 84, the peripheral edge of the back surface of the substrate W is securely adhered to the lower end surface of the suction seal 90 without any gap over the entire circumference of the suction seal 90. In this state, the substrate W can be reliably sucked and held on the suction seal 90 by vacuum suction inside the suction seal 90. In particular, according to this example, by raising the substrate pressing portion 82, the back peripheral edge portion of the substrate W is adsorbed and sealed 90 via the movable claw 190 and the elastic body 198 as the substrate pressing portion 82 rises. It is possible to reliably adhere to the end surface of the suction seal 90 without any gap over the entire circumference of the suction seal 90.

  In the above example, the substrate pressing portion 82 is provided with the connecting portion 163 and the pressing mechanism 164 so that the back surface peripheral edge portion of the substrate W is more reliably attached to the end surface of the suction seal 90 over the entire circumference of the suction seal 90. However, only one of the connection portion 163 and the pressing mechanism 164 may be provided.

  Next, the operation of the substrate holding device 80 will be described with further reference to FIGS. FIG. 8 shows the main part of the state (substrate suction position) when the substrate W is sucked and held by the suction seal 90. FIG. 9 shows the substrate W held by the suction seal 90 and lowers the substrate presser 82. The main part of the state (substrate processing position) when it was made to show is shown.

  First, as shown in FIG. 2, without rotating the suction head 84, the substrate pressing portion 82 is moved to the lowest position (substrate delivery position), and the substrate W sucked by the robot hand (not shown) is moved. The substrate W is placed on the movable claw 190 of the pressing mechanism 164 by inserting it into the substrate head 81 and releasing the suction of the robot hand. At this time, the surface (surface to be processed) of the substrate W faces downward. Then, the robot hand is extracted from the substrate head 81. Next, the substrate pressing portion 82 is raised, and the lower end surface of the suction seal 90 is brought into contact with the peripheral surface portion of the back surface (upper surface) of the substrate W. At this time, even if the plane formed by the back surface of the substrate W supported by the substrate support portion 162 of the substrate pressing portion 82 and the plane formed by the lower end surface of the suction seal 90 of the suction head 84 are inclined with respect to each other, the connecting portion The substrate W is tilted through 163 to correct this tilt.

  Then, the substrate pressing portion 82 is further raised, whereby the movable claw 190 is rotated, and the elastic body (rubber) 198 disposed on the outer peripheral side across the pivot 192 is further contracted, whereby the elasticity of the elastic body 198 is increased. The force is applied so as to raise the substrate W on the inner peripheral side with the pivot 192 interposed therebetween, and the substrate W is pressed evenly toward the suction seal 90 at a plurality of locations so as to be in close contact with the suction seal 90.

  In this state, the inside of the substrate suction groove 96 is evacuated to suck the peripheral edge of the back surface of the substrate W onto the suction seal 90 to hold the substrate W. At this time, the vacuum force is generated only in the substrate suction groove 96 inside the portion of the suction seal 90 that contacts the substrate W. The state at this time is shown in FIG. As a result, the portion surrounded by the suction seal 90 on the back surface of the substrate W is blocked from the surface (surface to be processed) of the substrate by the seal by the suction seal 90.

  According to this example, by adsorbing the outer periphery of the substrate W with the ring-shaped adsorption seal 90 having a small width (in the radial direction), the adsorption width is suppressed as much as possible, and the influence (deflection etc.) on the substrate W is eliminated. be able to. Specifically, the width of the suction seal 90 is very narrow, and the portion where the suction seal 90 contacts the substrate W is, for example, a portion between the outer periphery of the substrate W and 5 mm inside thereof. Since only the outer peripheral portion of the back surface of the substrate W is in contact with the suction seal 90, there is no possibility that the temperature of the processing liquid during substrate processing unnecessarily transmits the contact surface with the suction seal 90 and escapes.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 9, the substrate pressing portion 82 is slightly lowered (for example, several mm), and the substrate W is pulled away from the movable claw 190. In this state, when the entire substrate holding device 80 is lowered and immersed in a processing solution such as a plating solution (not shown), the substrate W is only sucked and held on the back surface thereof, so It is possible to dip all the portions into the processing liquid and perform the processing.

  Furthermore, since the substrate pressing portion 82 is lowered and separated from the substrate W, and only the back surface of the substrate W is adsorbed and held, the flow of the processing liquid to the substrate W even if the substrate W is immersed in the processing solution. Is prevented, and a uniform flow of the processing liquid is formed over the entire surface of the substrate. In addition, along with the flow of the processing liquid, bubbles entrained on the surface of the substrate W and bubbles generated by the processing can be discharged upward from the surface of the substrate W. As a result, it is possible to solve the influence of the non-uniform treatment liquid flow and bubbles that adversely affect the treatment such as plating, and to perform uniform treatment such as plating over the entire substrate surface including the edge. In addition, the inside of the portion of the back surface of the substrate W that is vacuum-sucked in a ring shape is blocked from the surface by the seal by the suction seal 90, so that the processing liquid is prevented from entering the inside of the suction seal 90 on the back surface of the substrate W. Can do.

  At this time, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the pusher main body 104 of the pusher 92 connected to the vacuum supply line 86 has its pressing portion 112 retracted to the case 100 side by evacuation. At a predetermined narrow distance from Therefore, when the pressing portion 112 comes into contact with the back surface of the substrate W, there is no possibility that the temperature of the processing liquid during substrate processing unnecessarily transmits the contact surface with the pressing portion 112 and escapes.

  At this time, since the ventilation portion 94 is provided in the support 88 of the suction head 84, the space on the back surface of the substrate W surrounded by the support 88, the substrate W, and the suction seal 90 does not become a sealed space. Therefore, even if the gas in the space expands or contracts due to the substrate W being immersed in the processing liquid or the like, there is no possibility that the substrate W will be bent.

  After the processing such as plating of the substrate W is completed, the substrate pressing portion 82 is raised to the position shown in FIG. 8 (substrate adsorption position), and the substrate W is placed on the movable claw 190, and the vacuum supply line 86 is placed. By supplying gas (inert gas, for example, nitrogen gas), this gas is ejected from the substrate adsorption groove 96, and the inside of the pusher main body 104 of the pusher 92 is pressurized by the supply pressure of this gas, and the pressing portion 112. Is protruded from the case 100 and the substrate W is pressed from the back surface thereof. At the same time, by lowering the substrate holding portion 82, the substrate W is separated from the suction seal 90, and the substrate holding portion 82 is further lowered to the position (substrate delivery position) shown in FIG. Then, a robot hand is inserted into the substrate head 81 and the substrate W is pulled out.

  In this way, gas is ejected from the substrate suction groove 96 and the back surface of the substrate W is pressed by the pressing portion 112 of the pusher 92, so that the suction seal 90 formed of an elastic body such as rubber is changed over time. Even if it becomes easy to adhere to the substrate and the substrate W once adsorbed to the adsorption seal 90 is difficult to be peeled off only by gas ejection from the substrate adsorption groove 96, the pressing of the back surface of the substrate W by the pressing portion 112 of the pusher 92 is performed. Thus, the substrate W can be easily and reliably peeled off from the suction seal 90.

  FIG. 10A is a side view of the substrate processing apparatus 1 configured using the substrate holding apparatus 80 having the above structure, and FIG. 10B is a schematic side sectional view thereof. As shown in FIG. 10, the substrate processing apparatus 1 includes a processing tank 10 for dipping the substrate W by storing a processing liquid Q such as a plating solution, and a cover 40 for closing the opening 11 of the processing tank 10. The spray nozzle 60 attached to the upper surface of the cover 40, the drive mechanism 70 for driving (turning) the cover 40, the substrate holding device 80 for holding the substrate W, and the substrate holding device driving mechanism for driving the entire substrate holding device 80. 130 and a processing liquid circulation device 150 that circulates the processing liquid Q in the processing tank 10.

  The processing tank 10 includes a container-shaped processing tank main body 13 that stores the processing liquid Q, an outer peripheral groove 15 that is installed in an upper end outer peripheral portion of the processing tank main body 13 and collects the processing liquid Q that overflows from the processing tank main body 13, and an outer peripheral groove The cover part 17 which surrounds the outer periphery of 15 and protrudes upwards in the shape of a cylinder is provided. A treatment liquid supply port 21 is provided at the center of the bottom surface of the treatment tank body 13. A rinsing nozzle 23 is attached to the cover portion 17 of the treatment tank 10 to inject the cleaning liquid (pure water) from the inner wall of the cover portion 17 toward the opening portion 11 in one shot.

  The treatment liquid circulation device 150 returns the treatment liquid Q overflowed to the outer peripheral groove 15 of the treatment tank 10 to the supply tank 151 by piping, and the treatment liquid Q accumulated in the supply tank 151 is treated by the pump P in the treatment tank main body 13. The treatment liquid Q is circulated by being supplied to the supply port 21. The supply tank 151 is provided with a heater 153 that keeps the temperature of the processing liquid Q supplied into the processing tank 10 at a predetermined temperature.

  The cover 40 is made of a plate material having a size that closes the opening 11 of the treatment tank 10, and includes a substantially disk-shaped upper surface portion 41 and a side surface portion 43 that surrounds the outer periphery of the upper surface portion 41. Plate-like arm portions 45 are attached to both side surfaces, and portions near the tip thereof are pivotally supported by shaft support portions 47 installed on both sides of a substantially central portion of the processing tank 10. The tip is fixed to the tip of the connecting arm 75 of the drive mechanism 70. The drive mechanism 70 includes a cover turning cylinder 71, a rod 73 connected to a piston in the cover turning cylinder 71, and a connecting arm 75 rotatably connected to the tip of the rod 73. The lower end portion of the cover turning cylinder 71 is rotatably supported by the fixed member.

The spray nozzle 60 is configured by mounting a plurality of (five) nozzles 63 upward in a row on a single rod-shaped mounting block 61 mounted at the center of the upper surface of the cover 40. In this embodiment, the cleaning liquid (pure water) is sprayed from the nozzle 63 in the upward direction.
The substrate holding device driving mechanism 130 includes a swinging mechanism 131 that swings the entire substrate holding device 80 and a turning / lifting mechanism 133 that swings and lifts the entire substrate holding device 80 and the swinging mechanism 131.

Next, the overall operation of the substrate processing apparatus 1 will be described.
The state shown in FIG. 10 shows a state in which the opening 11 of the processing tank 10 is opened and the substrate holding device 80 is raised by turning the cover 40 and moving it to the retracted position. At this time, the processing liquid circulation device 150 is driven, and the processing liquid Q such as a plating solution is circulated between the processing tank 10 and the supply tank 151 while being maintained at a predetermined temperature. In this state, the unprocessed substrate W is first sucked and held on the suction head 84 of the substrate holding device 80 as described above.

  Next, the substrate holding device 80 is swung by the swing mechanism 131 to tilt the substrate W by a predetermined angle from the horizontal position, and the substrate holding device 80 is moved to the state shown in FIG. The substrate W is lowered to the position shown, and the substrate W is dipped in the processing liquid Q. After dipping the substrate W, the entire substrate holding device 80 is swung to the original position by the swing mechanism 131 to return the substrate W to the horizontal position, and in this state, processing such as electroless plating is performed. At this time, the substrate W is rotated by driving the substrate rotating motor 121 shown in FIG. In this substrate processing apparatus 1, since the substrate W is dipped in the processing liquid Q in a state inclined by a predetermined angle from the horizontal position, the substrate W is compared with the case where the substrate W is immersed in the processing liquid Q in a horizontal state. It is possible to prevent gas such as air from being mixed on the surface (surface to be treated).

  After performing a process such as electroless plating on the surface of the substrate W for a predetermined time as described above, the turning / lifting mechanism 133 is driven to raise the substrate holding device 80 to the position shown in FIG. While the substrate W is being lifted, a cleaning liquid (pure water) is sprayed from the rinsing nozzle 23 provided in the processing tank 10 toward the processing surface of the rising substrate W in one shot. For example, if the cooling is not performed immediately after the electroless plating process is completed, the electroless plating proceeds due to the Q of the processing liquid (plating liquid) remaining on the substrate W.

  Next, the cover 40 is turned by driving the drive mechanism 70, and the opening 11 of the processing tank 10 is closed with the cover 40 as shown in FIG. 12. That is, the cover 40 is moved to the closed position that is located at the upper part of the processing tank 10 and closes the opening 11. Then, the cleaning liquid is sprayed from the nozzles 63 of the spray nozzle 60 fixed on the upper surface of the cover 40 toward the upper side to come into contact with the processing surface of the substrate W for cleaning. At this time, since the opening 11 of the processing tank 10 is covered with the cover 40, the cleaning liquid does not enter the processing tank 10, and the processing liquid Q inside the processing tank 10 is not diluted. Q can be recycled. The cleaning liquid after cleaning the substrate W is drained from a drain port (not shown). The substrate W that has been cleaned as described above is taken out from the substrate holding device 80 as described above, the next unprocessed substrate W is mounted on the substrate holding device 80, and the above-described processing such as plating is performed again. A cleaning process is performed.

  In the above embodiment, the treatment liquid Q is stored in the treatment tank 10, and as the treatment liquid Q, for example, a plating liquid is used to perform the electroless plating treatment. The surface of the substrate W (surface to be treated) can be electrolytically plated by installing an anode in the substrate 10 and connecting the cathode electrode to the substrate W. Further, the substrate processing apparatus 1 can be used as a substrate processing apparatus that performs other chemical processing (for example, pre-processing and post-processing of plating) instead of using as a plating apparatus. Further, the processing of the substrate W performed by the spray nozzle 60 is not limited to the cleaning processing step using the cleaning liquid, and may be other various chemical processing.

  FIG. 13 is a plan view of a substrate processing system (electroless plating apparatus) including the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the above embodiment. As shown in the figure, the substrate processing system includes three processing areas: a load / unload area 140, a cleaning area 200, and a plating processing area 300. In the load / unload area 140, two load ports 142, a first substrate transfer robot 144, and a first reversing machine 146 are installed. In the cleaning area 200, a temporary substrate mounting table 210, a second substrate transfer robot 230, a pre-cleaning unit 240, a second reversing machine 250, a cleaning unit 260, and a first chemical solution supply unit 900 are installed. In the plating processing area 300, a third substrate transfer robot 310, a first preprocessing unit 320, a second preprocessing unit 340, two plating processing units 360, a plating solution supply unit 390, and a second chemical solution supply unit 910 are installed. Has been. These chemical solution supply units 900 and 910 are units that dilute the chemical solution (stock solution) to a concentration to be used, and supply the diluted solution to each apparatus. The first chemical solution supply unit 900 includes the pre-cleaning unit 240 and the cleaning in the cleaning area 200. The chemical solution used in each unit 260 is supplied, and the second chemical solution supply unit 910 supplies the chemical solution (pretreatment liquid) used in each of the first pretreatment unit 320 and the second pretreatment unit 340 in the plating processing area 300. To do.

  And as each plating processing unit 360, the substrate processing apparatus 1 concerning the said embodiment is used. In addition, the substrate processing apparatus 1 concerning the said embodiment can be used also about the 1st pre-processing unit 320 and the 2nd pre-processing unit 340 by using a pre-processing liquid as a processing liquid supplied in the processing tank 10. FIG. .

The overall operation of the substrate processing system will be described.
First, one substrate W is taken out from the substrate cassette mounted on the load port 142 by the first substrate transfer robot 144. The taken-out substrate W is transferred to the first reversing machine 146 and reversed so that the surface to be processed is placed on the lower side, and then placed on the temporary substrate placement table 210 by the first substrate transport robot 144. Next, the substrate W is transported to the pre-cleaning unit 240 by the second substrate transport robot 230 and pre-cleaned in the pre-cleaning unit 240 (pre-cleaning process). The substrate W that has been pre-cleaned is transferred to the first pretreatment unit 320 by the third substrate transfer robot 310. The substrate W transferred to the first pretreatment unit 320 is subjected to first pretreatment and cleaning in the first pretreatment unit 320 (first pretreatment process).

  The substrate W for which the first pretreatment is completed is transferred to the second pretreatment unit 340 by the third substrate transfer robot 310, and the second pretreatment unit 340 performs the second pretreatment and the cleaning (second pretreatment process). ). The substrate W for which the second pretreatment has been completed is transferred to the plating unit 360 by the third substrate transfer robot 310, and is subjected to plating and cleaning. After the plating process is completed, the substrate W is transferred to the second reversing machine 250 by the third substrate transport robot 310 and reversed, and then is transferred to the first cleaning unit 270 of the post-cleaning unit 260 by the second substrate transport robot 230. After being transferred and cleaned, it is transferred to the second cleaning / drying unit 290 by the second substrate transfer robot 230 to be cleaned and dried.

The substrate W that has been cleaned and dried is temporarily placed on the temporary substrate placement table 210 by the second substrate transport robot 230 and then stored in the substrate cassette mounted on the load port 142 by the first substrate transport robot 144. .
The substrate processing apparatus and the substrate processing system to which the substrate holding device 80 according to the present invention can be applied are not limited to the substrate processing apparatus and the substrate processing system having the structure shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. It may be a processing apparatus or a substrate processing system.

It is a principal part expanded sectional view of a semiconductor substrate. It is a vertical front view which shows the board | substrate holding | maintenance apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a principal part expanded sectional view of the adsorption head of the substrate holding device shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a part of a substrate pressing portion of the substrate holding device shown in FIG. It is a disassembled perspective view of the connection part of a substrate pressing part. It is a disassembled perspective view of the pressing mechanism of a substrate pressing part. It is a principal part expanded sectional view which shows the press mechanism of a board | substrate press part with the suction seal of a suction head. It is a figure which shows the principal part of the state (board | substrate adsorption | suction position) at the time of carrying out the adsorption | suction holding of the board | substrate of a board | substrate holding apparatus with a suction seal. It is a figure which shows the principal part of the state (substrate processing position) when the board | substrate of a board | substrate holding apparatus is adsorbed-held with an adsorption | suction seal | sticker, and also the substrate holding part was lowered | hung. (A) is a side view which shows the state before the process of the substrate processing apparatus comprised using the substrate holding apparatus, (b) is a schematic sectional side view of (a). (A) is a side view which shows the process state by the process liquid of the substrate processing apparatus comprised using the substrate holding apparatus, (b) is a schematic sectional side view of (a). (A) is a side view which shows the state just before wash | cleaning a board | substrate with the substrate processing apparatus comprised using the substrate holding apparatus, (b) is a schematic sectional side view of (a). It is a top view which shows the substrate processing system provided with the substrate processing apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Substrate processing apparatus 10 Processing tank 11 Opening part 13 Processing tank main body 40 Cover 60 Spray nozzle 70 Drive mechanism 80 Substrate holding device 81 Substrate head 82 Substrate pressing part 84 Adsorption head 86 Vacuum supply line 88 Support body 90 Adsorption seal 92 Pusher 94 Ventilation Unit 96 Substrate suction groove 100 Case 104 Pusher body 112 Press unit 120 Substrate head drive unit 121 Substrate rotation motor 123 Unit drive cylinder 130 Substrate holding device drive mechanism 131 Oscillating mechanism 133 Swing / lifting mechanism 150 Processing liquid circulation device 160 Base 162 Substrate support part 163 Connection part 164 Pressing mechanism 174 Fixing ring 186 Elastic body (compression coil spring)
190 Movable Claw 192 Axis 196 Cover 198 Elastic Body (Rubber)
401, 403, 405 Transport unit 411, 413 Drying unit 415, 417 Cleaning unit 419, 421, 423, 425, 427 Substrate pretreatment apparatus 429, 431 Electroless plating apparatus

Claims (10)

A substrate pressing portion that supports the substrate with the surface facing downward,
A suction head provided with a suction seal that holds the substrate by sucking while sealing the back surface periphery of the substrate supported by the substrate pressing portion in a ring shape;
The substrate pressing portion comes into contact with the peripheral edge of the surface of the substrate supported by the substrate pressing portion with the relative movement of the substrate pressing portion toward the suction head, and directs the substrate toward the suction head. a plurality of pressing mechanism having a movable pawl for pressing Te is found provided at a position along the circumferential direction,
The movable claw is rotatably supported in a vertical direction via a pivot and is disposed at a position along the diameter direction of the substrate pressing portion, and is biased downward via an elastic body on the outer peripheral side across the pivot. And a substrate holding device, wherein the substrate holding device is configured to come into contact with the peripheral edge of the surface of the substrate on the inner peripheral side . The elastic body, the substrate holding apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that it consists substantially frustoconical rubber. A substrate pressing portion that supports the substrate with the surface facing downward,
A suction head provided with a suction seal that holds the substrate by sucking while sealing the back surface peripheral edge of the substrate supported by the substrate pressing portion in a ring shape;
The substrate holding portion includes a base portion and a substrate support portion that is disposed at a predetermined distance from the base portion and is tiltably connected via a connecting portion provided at a peripheral edge portion to support the substrate. A substrate holding device. 4. The substrate holding apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the connecting portion includes an elastic body that elastically connects the base side member and the substrate support side member. The substrate holding apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the elastic body includes a compression coil spring. Support the substrate with the substrate holder with the surface facing down,
Move the substrate holding portion supporting this substrate relatively toward the suction seal portion that continuously extends in a ring shape,
It is rotatably supported in the vertical direction via a pivot and is arranged at a position along the diameter direction of the substrate holder, and is urged downward via an elastic body on the outer circumference side across this pivot, and the inner circumference side A plurality of movable claws configured to come into contact with the surface peripheral portion of the substrate in contact with the surface peripheral portion of the substrate supported by the substrate plate pressing portion in accordance with the movement of the substrate pressing portion; the substrate is pressed toward the suction seal portion is adhered to the back side rim portion of the substrate to the suction seal portion,
A substrate holding method, wherein the suction seal portion is sucked to hold the substrate. Supporting the substrate with the surface facing downward at the substrate support portion of the substrate pressing portion that is disposed at a predetermined distance from the base portion and is tiltably connected via a connecting portion provided at the peripheral portion to support the substrate ,
The substrate holding portion of the substrate supported by the substrate supporting portion is moved toward the suction sealing portion extending continuously in a ring shape, with the said moving, a substrate supported by the substrate supporting portion of the connecting portion through is tilted brought into close contact with the back side rim portion of the substrate to the suction seal portion,
A substrate holding method, wherein the suction seal portion is sucked to hold the substrate. A substrate holding device for holding the substrate;
A treatment tank for bringing the surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding device into contact with the treatment liquid stored inside,
The substrate holding device is
A substrate pressing portion that supports the substrate with the surface facing downward,
A suction head provided with a suction seal that holds the substrate by sucking while sealing the back surface periphery of the substrate supported by the substrate pressing portion in a ring shape;
The substrate pressing portion comes into contact with the peripheral edge of the surface of the substrate supported by the substrate pressing portion with the relative movement of the substrate pressing portion toward the suction head, and directs the substrate toward the suction head. a plurality of pressing mechanism having a movable pawl for pressing Te is found provided at a position along the circumferential direction,
The movable claw is rotatably supported in a vertical direction via a pivot and is disposed at a position along the diameter direction of the substrate pressing portion, and is biased downward via an elastic body on the outer peripheral side across the pivot. And a substrate processing apparatus, wherein the substrate processing apparatus is configured to come into contact with the peripheral edge of the surface of the substrate on the inner peripheral side . A substrate holding device for holding the substrate;
A treatment tank for bringing the surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding device into contact with the treatment liquid stored inside,
The substrate holding device is
A substrate pressing portion that supports the substrate with the surface facing downward,
A suction head provided with a suction seal that holds the substrate by sucking while sealing the back surface peripheral edge of the substrate supported by the substrate pressing portion in a ring shape;
The substrate pressing portion includes a base portion and a substrate support portion that is disposed at a predetermined distance from the base portion and is tiltably connected via a connecting portion provided at a peripheral edge portion to support the substrate. A substrate processing apparatus. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the treatment of the surface of the substrate with the treatment liquid is an electroless plating treatment.

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