JP4776429B2 - Processing liquid supply system, processing liquid supply method, processing liquid supply program, and computer-readable recording medium recording the program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention provides a processing liquid supply system, a processing liquid supply method, a processing liquid supply program, and a computer-readable recording medium on which the program is recorded, for supplying the processing liquid to a module that performs processing using the processing liquid on a substrate. About.

For example, in an electronic device manufacturing process such as a semiconductor, in a photolithography process, a resist coating and developing apparatus, which is a unit apparatus for applying and developing a resist solution (hereinafter referred to as a resist) on a substrate such as a wafer, and a resist An in-line process is performed in combination with an exposure machine that performs an exposure process on the substrate on which the coating is applied. Specifically, for example, the substrate is processed through a series of processes such as cleaning processing → dehydration baking → adhesion (hydrophobization) processing → resist application → prebaking → exposure processing → baking before development → development → post baking. A predetermined circuit pattern is formed. In-line processing in such a photolithography process is described in Patent Document 1.
JP 2000-235949 A

By the way, in the resist coating and developing apparatus that performs the photolithography process in this way, as shown in FIG. 8, for example, the resist R as the processing liquid stored in the tank 50 is pressurized with nitrogen gas N ₂ and sent out of the tank, It is supplied to modules that perform substrate processing.

Such process liquid supply mechanism In the (called a dispensing mechanism), when pressurized with nitrogen gas N _2, nitrogen gas N ₂ and the resist R and the nitrogen gas N ₂ in the resist R for direct contact Is easy to melt, which has caused problems in substrate processing.
That is, when the nitrogen gas N ₂ is the resist R that dissolved is supplied to each substrate processing module, the nitrogen gas N ₂ that is dissolved in the resist R there is a case where foaming as microbubbles by the negative pressure in the pipe . When such a resist R is applied to the substrate, there is a problem that defects such as uneven application occur.

In order to solve such a problem, conventionally, the pressure in the tank 50 is reduced in advance by a suction means (not shown) before pressurization in the tank 50 with the nitrogen gas N ₂ , and the nitrogen gas N dissolved in the resist R is dissolved. _{The process} of forcibly foaming and removing ₂ is performed.
However, even with such means, the nitrogen gas N ₂ newly enters a large amount into the resist R at the pressurization stage, and there is a great risk of foaming in the piping path.

For this reason, in recent years, as shown in FIG. 9, a tank 51 having a structure in which a bag container 51b containing a resist R is provided in an outer container 51a is often used. As shown in the figure, the nitrogen gas N ₂ for pressurization is supplied to the space inside the outer container 51a and outside the bag container 51b. The inside of the bag container 51b and the space outside thereof are brought into a non-contact state.

In this configuration, when nitrogen gas N ₂ is supplied to the outer container 51a and the pressure in the container rises, the bag container 51b is compressed and the internal resist R is pushed out. That is, in this configuration, since the nitrogen gas N ₂ and the resist R do not come into contact with each other, the nitrogen gas N ₂ is not newly mixed into the resist R. Therefore, it is possible to solve the problem that the nitrogen gas N ₂ dissolved in the resist R foams due to negative pressure.

When the bag container containing the resist R is pressurized and supplied as described above, new mixing of the nitrogen gas N _{2 into} the resist R can be prevented.
However, even in the resist R housed in the bag container 51b, a very small amount of gas such as nitrogen gas N ₂ is dissolved, so that the resist R vibrates when passing through a filter or the like in the piping path to the substrate processing module. As a result, the dissolved gas may foam.

Therefore, it is desirable to remove the gas dissolved in the resist R stored in the bag container 51b. However, in the tank configuration as shown in FIG. Gas cannot be removed by the depressurization method.
Therefore, conventionally, a configuration has been used in which a large number of valves (valves) for discharging the gas foamed in the piping path are provided, and the valves are periodically opened to quantitatively discharge a chemical solution such as a resist containing bubbles. However, there is a problem that the cost becomes high because the apparatus becomes complicated and the chemical liquid is wasted wastefully.

  The present invention has been made under the circumstances as described above, and in a processing liquid supply system that supplies a processing liquid to a module that performs substrate processing using the processing liquid, gas dissolved in the processing liquid can be easily obtained. An object of the present invention is to provide a processing liquid supply system, a processing liquid supply method, a processing liquid supply program, and a computer-readable recording medium on which the program is recorded, which can be removed and reduced in cost. .

In order to solve the above problems, a processing liquid supply system according to the present invention is a processing liquid containing a processing liquid in a processing liquid supply system that supplies the processing liquid to a module that performs substrate processing using the processing liquid. A supply source; a treatment liquid storage tank for filling the treatment liquid supplied from the treatment liquid supply source and delivering the treatment liquid to the module; and oscillating the treatment liquid in the treatment liquid storage tank and discharging the treatment liquid. A treatment liquid storage tank vibrating means for vibrating the pipe; a discharge pipe connected to the treatment liquid storage tank for discharging the foamed gas from the treatment liquid in the treatment liquid storage tank; and provided in the middle of the discharge pipe A valve for controlling the opening and closing of the discharge pipe, and a gas detection means for detecting a gas passing between the treatment liquid storage tank and the valve in the discharge pipe. The click vibrating means, said processing liquid to vibrate the treatment liquid in the storage tank, the foaming, the discharge pipe is vibrated, by reflux of the treatment liquid in the outlet tube to a processing liquid storage tank, the processing solution The foamed gas is moved to the discharge pipe, and when the gas detection means detects the gas moved to the discharge pipe, the valve is opened to discharge the gas from the discharge pipe.

According to such a configuration, the processing liquid filled in the processing liquid storage tank is vibrated to forcibly foam the gas dissolved in the processing liquid, and control is performed to detect and discharge the gas. . Thereby, in the piping path from the processing liquid storage tank to the substrate processing module, it is possible to supply the processing liquid from which gas is substantially removed without foaming even if negative pressure occurs.
Accordingly, it is not necessary to provide a large number of valves for discharging gas in the piping path as in the prior art, so that the apparatus is not complicated. In addition, when the gas is detected, the processing liquid containing bubbles is discharged, so it is possible to eliminate unnecessary waste liquid of the processing liquid compared to the conventional configuration that periodically discharges the processing liquid containing bubbles. , It can reduce the cost.
In particular, the treatment liquid storage tank vibrating means vibrates the treatment liquid and vibrates the discharge pipe so that the treatment liquid in the discharge pipe flows back into the treatment liquid storage tank. The gas can be guided to the discharge pipe, and the gas can be easily detected by the gas detection means.

In order to solve the above problems, a processing liquid supply system according to the present invention includes a processing liquid stored in a processing liquid supply system that supplies the processing liquid to a module that performs substrate processing using the processing liquid. A processing liquid supply source, a processing liquid storage tank for filling the processing liquid supplied from the processing liquid supply source and delivering the processing liquid to the module, and a processing liquid for vibrating the processing liquid in the processing liquid storage tank A storage tank vibration means, a discharge pipe connected to the treatment liquid storage tank for discharging the foamed gas from the treatment liquid in the treatment liquid storage tank, and provided in the middle of the discharge pipe for opening and closing the discharge pipe A valve for controlling, a gas detection means for detecting a gas passing between the processing liquid storage tank and the valve in the discharge pipe, and a discharge pipe vibration means for vibrating the discharge pipe. The processing liquid is vibrated and foamed by the processing liquid storage tank vibration means, and the discharge pipe is vibrated by the discharge pipe vibration means, so that the processing liquid in the discharge pipe flows back into the processing liquid storage tank. Thus, the gas foamed from the treatment liquid is moved to the discharge pipe.
As described above, the apparatus includes the discharge pipe vibration means for vibrating the discharge pipe, vibrates the processing liquid by the treatment liquid storage tank vibration means, vibrates the discharge pipe by the discharge pipe vibration means, and discharges the discharge liquid. The gas foamed from the processing liquid may be moved to the discharge pipe by causing the processing liquid in the pipe to flow back into the processing liquid storage tank.
Also with such a configuration , the foamed gas can be efficiently guided to the discharge pipe, and the gas can be easily detected by the gas detection means.

Moreover, it is preferable that the ceiling surface in the said processing liquid storage tank is formed in an inclined surface, and the said exhaust pipe is connected to the uppermost part of this inclined surface.
By comprising in this way, the gas foamed within the processing liquid storage tank can be more easily guided to the discharge pipe.

  In order to solve the above problems, a processing liquid supply method according to the present invention includes a processing liquid stored in the processing liquid supply method for supplying the processing liquid to a module that performs substrate processing using the processing liquid. Filling the processing liquid storage tank with the processing liquid supplied from the processing liquid supply source, vibrating the processing liquid in the processing liquid storage tank, and bubbling the gas dissolved in the processing liquid; and the processing liquid Oscillating a discharge pipe connected to the storage tank to reversely flow the processing liquid in the discharge pipe into the processing liquid storage tank, and moving the gas foamed by the vibration of the processing liquid to the discharge pipe; and It is characterized in that the step of detecting the moved gas and the step of opening the valve for controlling opening and closing of the inside of the discharge pipe and discharging the gas are performed.

According to such a method, in the piping path from the processing liquid storage tank to the substrate processing module, it is possible to supply the processing liquid from which gas is substantially removed without foaming even if negative pressure occurs.
Accordingly, it is not necessary to provide a large number of valves for discharging gas in the piping path as in the prior art, so that the apparatus is not complicated. In addition, when the gas is detected, the processing liquid containing bubbles is discharged, so that wasteful liquid waste of the processing liquid can be eliminated compared with the conventional method of periodically discharging the processing liquid containing bubbles. Can be reduced.

  According to the present invention, in a processing liquid supply system that supplies a processing liquid to a module that performs substrate processing using the processing liquid, it is possible to easily remove the gas dissolved in the processing liquid and reduce the cost. A processing liquid supply system, a processing liquid supply method, a processing liquid supply program, and a computer-readable recording medium on which the program is recorded can be obtained.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of a resist coating and developing apparatus to which a processing liquid supply system and a processing liquid supply method of the present invention are applied, and FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof. First, the resist coating and developing apparatus 100 will be described. In the resist coating and developing apparatus 100, B1 in the drawing is a carrier mounting portion for carrying in and out a carrier C1 in which, for example, 13 wafers W serving as substrates are hermetically stored, and a mounting on which a plurality of carriers C1 can be mounted. A carrier station 90 having a placement portion 90a, an opening / closing portion 91 provided on a wall surface in front of the carrier station 90, and delivery means A1 for taking out the wafer W from the carrier C1 via the opening / closing portion 91 are provided. It has been.

  A processing unit B2 surrounded by a casing 92 is connected to the back side of the carrier mounting unit B1, and the processing unit B2 is a shelf unit in which heating / cooling system units are arranged in stages from the front side. U1, U2 and U3 and main transfer means A2 and A3 for transferring the wafer W between processing units including a coating / developing unit described later are alternately arranged. That is, the shelf units U1, U2, U3 and the main transfer means A2, A3 are arranged in a line in the front-rear direction when viewed from the carrier mounting part B1, and an opening for wafer transfer (not shown) is formed at each connection portion. Thus, the wafer W can freely move in the processing section B2 from the shelf unit U1 on one end side to the shelf unit U3 on the other end side.

  The main transport means A2 is placed between the shelf units U1 and U2 and in the space between the liquid processing unit U4 and the partition wall 93, and the main transport means A3 is between the shelf units U2 and U3. And placed in the space between the liquid processing unit U5 and the partition wall 93.

In addition, the liquid processing units U4 and U5 are each provided with a coating unit COT, which is a substrate processing module, on a storage unit 96 that forms a space for a chemical unit CU that is a supply mechanism of a chemical solution (processing solution) such as a resist solution and a developing solution. The developing unit DEV and the antireflection film forming unit BARC are stacked in a plurality of stages, for example, five stages. Further, before and after the liquid processing units U4 and U5 as viewed from the carrier mounting part B1, there are a temperature adjusting device for the chemical liquid used in each unit, a duct for temperature and humidity adjustment, a pump for supplying the chemical liquid to each unit, and the like. Storage units 94 and 95 including a dispensing unit DU and the like are provided.
That is, when supplying a chemical solution (processing solution) to each unit (substrate processing module) that performs wafer processing, the chemical solution is sent from the chemical unit CU to the dispensing unit DU corresponding to each unit, and the pump of each dispensing unit DU. It is comprised so that a chemical | medical solution may be supplied to each unit by operation | movement.

  In addition, the above shelf units U1, U2, U3 are configured such that various units for performing pre-processing and post-processing of the processing performed in the liquid processing units U4, U5 are stacked in a plurality of stages, for example, 10 stages. A heating unit for heating (baking) the wafer W, a cooling unit for cooling the wafer W, and the like are included.

  An exposure unit B4 is connected to an inner side of the shelf unit U3 in the processing unit B2 through an interface unit B3 including, for example, a first transfer chamber 97 and a second transfer chamber 98. Inside the interface unit B3, as shown in FIG. 2, a shelf unit U6 and a buffer carrier C0 are provided in addition to two transfer means A4 and A5 for transferring the wafer W between the processing unit B2 and the exposure unit B4. Is provided.

  An example of the flow of the wafer W in this apparatus is as follows. First, the carrier C1 in which the wafer W is stored is placed on the mounting table 90, the lid of the carrier C1 is removed together with the opening / closing portion 91, and the delivery means A1. The wafer W is taken out. Then, the wafer W is transferred to the main transfer means A2 via a transfer unit (not shown) that forms one stage of the shelf unit U1, and is pre-processed as a coating process on one shelf in the shelf units U1 to U3. For example, an antireflection film forming process and a cooling process are performed, and then a resist solution is applied by the application unit COT.

  Next, the wafer W is heated (baked) by a heating unit forming one shelf of the shelf units U1 to U3, and further cooled, and then transferred to the interface unit B3 via the delivery unit of the shelf unit U3. In this interface section B3, the wafer W is transferred to the exposure section B4 through a path of transfer means A4 → shelf unit U6 → transfer means A5, for example, and exposure is performed. After the exposure, the wafer W is transferred to the main transfer means A2 through the reverse path, and developed by the developing unit DEV to form a resist mask. Thereafter, the wafer W is returned to the original carrier C1 on the mounting table 90.

  Subsequently, the configuration of the processing liquid supply system of the present invention that supplies a chemical solution (processing liquid) to each substrate processing module in the resist coating and developing apparatus 100 will be described by taking as an example the resist supply to the coating unit COT that is the substrate processing module. To do.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram schematically showing, for example, a resist dispensing mechanism as the processing liquid supply system of the present invention, and one line of piping among a plurality of types (a plurality of lines) of resists prepared in the coating unit COT. Shows the line.
The dispensing mechanism 1 shown in FIG. 3 includes a chemical unit CU which is a resist supply mechanism as described above, a plurality of dispense units DU from which resist is distributed and supplied, and the chemical unit CU and the dispense unit DU. It is comprised with the control part 10 which performs valve control etc.
The dispensing units DU are provided in the same number as the number of coating units COT and the like stacked in multiple stages, and correspond to each other one to one.

  The chemical unit CU detects whether or not the resist R in the bottle 20 remains by temporarily storing and buffering the resist R and the bottle 20 (processing liquid supply source) serving as the resist R supply source. It comprises an L / E (liquid end) tank 21 as a processing liquid storage tank having a detecting means, a filter 22 for filtering the resist R, and a plurality of valves V1 to V3.

The bottle 20 preferably has a structure in which a bag container 20b is provided in a bottle-shaped outer container 20a and a resist R is accommodated in the bag container 20b as in the structure shown in FIG. Thereby, entry of new gas into the resist R in the bottle 20 can be prevented.
The L / E tank 21 is connected to a drain pipe 30 for discharging the resist R containing bubbles, in addition to a path pipe for connecting to the tank 20 and the filter 22.

The valve V 1 is provided in the middle of the drain pipe 30 that is a discharge pipe from the L / E tank 21, and the valve V 2 is provided in the middle of the drain pipe 31 from the filter 22. That is, these valves V1 and V2 are valves for discharging the gas (nitrogen gas N ₂ or the like) dissolved in the resist R in the L / E tank 21 and the filter 22 when foamed. The valve V3 is provided after the filter 22 and at the start end for supplying the resist to each dispensing unit DU.

  In addition, a bubble detector 23 (gas detection means) that detects bubbles in the resist flowing in the drain pipe by, for example, reflected light with respect to light irradiation, is provided between the L / E tank 21 and the valve V1 in the drain pipe 30. Is provided. Further, the L / E tank 21 is provided with a vibrator 24 (treatment liquid storage tank vibration means) that vibrates the resist accommodated therein.

In the chemical unit CU, when the pressurizing means (not shown) supplies nitrogen gas N ₂ into the bottle 20 under the control of the control unit 10, the pressure in the bottle increases. When the inside of the bottle is pressurized, the resist R is pressed out (pumped) from the inside of the bottle, and the resist R is supplied to the L / E tank 21.
Further, the resist R sequentially supplied to the L / E tank 21 is filtered by the filter 22, and the valve V3 is opened under the control of the control unit 10, so that the resist R is supplied to each dispensing unit DU. It is configured.

On the other hand, each of the plurality of dispensing units DU includes, for example, a constant pressure pump 40 and valves V4 and V5. The control unit 10 controls the constant pressure pump 40 in a state where the valve V3 of the chemical unit CU is opened. R is replenished.
In the case of this example, when the resist R is supplied to the coating unit COT, the resist R is sent from the constant pressure pump 40 toward the nozzle while the valve V5 is opened. The valve V4 is provided for discharging the gas foamed in the pump 40.

The control unit 10 includes a storage unit (not shown), and a processing liquid supply program including software whose operations in the chemical unit CU and the dispense unit DU are determined in advance is stored in the storage unit.
And the control part 10 reads the said program, and performs control so that the below-mentioned gas removal process is implemented. Note that this program is stored in the storage unit of the control unit 10 in a state of being recorded and stored in a recording medium such as a hard disk, a compact disk, a magnetic optical disk, or a memory card.

Next, in the dispensing mechanism 1 configured as described above, a process of removing gas from the resist R during resist supply by operation control of the control unit 10 will be described based on the flow of FIG. 4 and using the process diagram of FIG. To do.
For example, when supplying the resist to the coating unit COT, first, the tank 20 is pressurized with nitrogen gas N ₂ , and the resist R is pressure-fed to the L / E tank 21, and as shown in FIG. The resist R is stored in the tank 21 (step S1 in FIG. 4).

When the L / E tank 21 is filled with the resist R, the control unit 10 vibrates the entire container of the L / E tank 21 by the vibrator 24 and thereby vibrates the resist R stored inside. (Step S2 in FIG. 4).
When the resist R in the L / E tank 21 vibrates, as shown in FIG. 5 (b), the gas bubbles in the resist R and rises as bubbles Ba, and the gas collects in the upper part of the L / E tank 21. .

On the other hand, the drain pipe 30 is also vibrated by the vibrator 24, and the resist R in the drain pipe 30 flows back (flows down) into the L / E tank 21 due to the vibration, and also on the upper part in the L / E tank 21. The collected gas is led to the drain pipe 30 in place of the resist R that has flowed down (step S3 in FIG. 4).
In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, the ceiling surface in the L / E tank 21 is formed in an inclined surface, and the drain pipe 30 is connected to the uppermost part of the inclined surface, so that the gas can be more easily discharged. Led to. Further, the vibration of the drain pipe 30 in this step S3 may be made by the vibrator 24 as described above, but another vibrator (discharge pipe vibration means) is provided so that the drain pipe 30 can be securely connected. You may comprise so that it may vibrate.

  And if the gas which moved to the drain piping 30 is detected by the bubble detector 23 provided in the drain piping 30 (step S4 of FIG. 4), the control part 10 will open the valve | bulb V1, and will show in FIG.5 (c). Thus, all the gas (resist R containing bubbles) is discharged from the drain pipe 30 (step S5 in FIG. 4).

When no gas is detected by the bubble detector 23 (step S6 in FIG. 4), after a predetermined time has elapsed (step S7 in FIG. 4), the control unit 10 closes the valve V1 and finishes discharging the gas (FIG. 4). 4 step S8). In step S7, by allowing a predetermined time to elapse, it is possible to completely discharge the bubbles and prevent the bubbles from re-melting into the L / E tank 21. The predetermined time to wait for the passage in step S7 is set to, for example, 0.1 to 3.0 seconds in consideration of the piping length between the bubble detector 23 and the valve V1 and the pressure state of the resist R.
In addition, after step S8, the vibration operation of the vibrator 24 (and the discharge pipe vibration means) may be continuously performed, or may be controlled to be performed periodically for a predetermined time.
Further, the resist R from which the dissolved gas is substantially removed in the L / E tank 21 is then filtered by the filter 22, passes through the valve V <b> 3, and is supplied to each dispensing unit DU.

As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the resist R filled in the L / E tank 21 is vibrated to forcibly foam the gas dissolved in the resist R, and further, the drain pipe 30. Is controlled so that the gas is guided to the discharge pipe and the gas is detected and discharged. Thereby, in the piping path from the L / E tank 21 to the coating unit COT, it is possible to supply the resist R from which the gas is substantially removed without foaming even if a negative pressure occurs.
Accordingly, it is not necessary to provide a large number of valves for discharging gas in the piping path as in the prior art, so that the apparatus is not complicated. In addition, when the gas is detected, the chemical liquid containing bubbles is discharged, so that wasteful liquid waste of chemical liquid can be eliminated compared to the conventional structure that periodically discharges the chemical liquid containing bubbles, and the cost is high. Can be reduced.

  In the above-described embodiment, the vibrator 24 is provided on the side surface of the L / E tank 21 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. For example, FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, a recess 21a may be formed in the container, and a vibrator 24 may be provided in the recess 21a. In that case, the thickness dimension of the container wall forming the recess 21a is formed such that the recess 21a sufficiently vibrates due to the vibration of the vibrator 24 and can vibrate the entire resist R (chemical solution). Is desirable.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 7, the vibrator 24 may be provided inside the L / E tank 21, and the entire resist R inside the L / E tank 21 may be vibrated by the vibration.
In the case of the configuration shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the drain pipe 30 may not be sufficiently vibrated by the vibrator 24, so another vibrator (discharge) for vibrating the drain pipe 30 may be used. It is preferable to provide a tube vibration means.

In the embodiment, the example in which the resist is supplied to the coating unit COT for applying the resist as the processing liquid to the substrate has been shown. However, the processing liquid supply system according to the present invention supplies the resist to the coating unit COT. The present invention can be applied not only to the dispensing mechanism but also to a dispensing mechanism that supplies various processing liquids to other substrate processing modules.
Further, the tank 20 preferably has a structure in which the bag container 20b containing the resist is provided in the outer container 20a as described above. However, in the present invention, the structure is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. Further, it can be applied to a structure in which a resist is directly pressurized with nitrogen gas N ₂ and fed.

  In the above embodiment, a semiconductor wafer is used as an example of the substrate. However, the substrate in the present invention is not limited to a semiconductor wafer, and an LCD substrate, a CD substrate, a glass substrate, a photomask, a printed substrate, and the like are also possible. .

  The present invention can be applied to a resist coating and developing apparatus for processing a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer, and can be suitably used in the semiconductor manufacturing industry, the electronic device manufacturing industry, and the like.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of a resist coating and developing apparatus to which a processing liquid supply system of the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the resist coating and developing apparatus of FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram schematically showing a dispensing mechanism to which the processing liquid supply system of the present invention is applied. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a gas removal processing step from the processing liquid by operation control of the control unit in the dispensing mechanism of FIG. FIG. 5 is a process diagram showing the state of the L / E tank corresponding to the flow of FIG. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing another form of the L / E tank provided with the vibrator. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of the L / E tank provided with the vibrator. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a structure for pumping the processing liquid in a conventional tank containing the processing liquid. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing another structure for pumping the processing liquid in a conventional tank containing the processing liquid.

Explanation of symbols

1 Dispensing mechanism (treatment liquid supply system)
10 Control unit 20 Tank (Processing liquid supply source)
21 L / E tank (treatment liquid storage tank)
22 Filter 23 Bubble detector (gas detection means)
24 Vibrator (treatment liquid storage tank vibration means)
30 Drain pipe (discharge pipe)
40 constant pressure pump 100 resist coating and developing unit CU chemical unit DU dispensing unit R resist (processing solution)
V1-V5 valve

Claims (6)

In a processing liquid supply system that supplies the processing liquid to a module that performs substrate processing using the processing liquid,
A processing liquid supply source containing the processing liquid, a processing liquid storage tank for filling the processing liquid supplied from the processing liquid supply source and sending the processing liquid to the module, and a processing in the processing liquid storage tank A treatment liquid storage tank vibration means for vibrating the liquid and the discharge pipe; and a discharge pipe connected to the treatment liquid storage tank for discharging the foamed gas from the treatment liquid in the treatment liquid storage tank; A valve provided in the middle of the discharge pipe for controlling the opening and closing of the discharge pipe, and a gas detection means for detecting gas passing between the treatment liquid storage tank and the valve in the discharge pipe,
The processing liquid storage tank vibration means vibrates and foams the processing liquid in the processing liquid storage tank, and vibrates the discharge pipe to cause the processing liquid in the discharge pipe to flow back into the processing liquid storage tank. By moving the gas foamed from the treatment liquid to the discharge pipe,
When the gas detection means detects the gas that has moved to the discharge pipe, the valve is opened to discharge the gas from the discharge pipe. In a processing liquid supply system that supplies the processing liquid to a module that performs substrate processing using the processing liquid,
A processing liquid supply source containing the processing liquid, a processing liquid storage tank for filling the processing liquid supplied from the processing liquid supply source and sending the processing liquid to the module, and a processing in the processing liquid storage tank A treatment liquid storage tank vibrating means for vibrating the liquid, a discharge pipe connected to the treatment liquid storage tank for discharging the foamed gas from the treatment liquid in the treatment liquid storage tank, and provided in the middle of the discharge pipe A valve for controlling opening and closing of the discharge pipe, a gas detection means for detecting gas passing between the processing liquid storage tank and the valve in the discharge pipe, and a discharge pipe exciting means for vibrating the discharge pipe; With
The treatment liquid is vibrated and foamed by the treatment liquid storage tank vibration means, and the discharge pipe is vibrated by the discharge pipe vibration means, so that the treatment liquid in the discharge pipe flows back into the treatment liquid storage tank. To move the gas foamed from the processing liquid to the discharge pipe. The processing liquid supply according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a ceiling surface in the processing liquid storage tank is formed as an inclined surface, and the discharge pipe is connected to an uppermost portion of the inclined surface. system. In a processing liquid supply method for supplying the processing liquid to a module that performs substrate processing using the processing liquid,
Filling the processing liquid storage tank with the processing liquid supplied from the processing liquid supply source containing the processing liquid;
Vibrating the treatment liquid in the treatment liquid storage tank and foaming a gas dissolved in the treatment liquid;
Oscillating a discharge pipe connected to the treatment liquid storage tank to reversely flow the treatment liquid in the discharge pipe into the treatment liquid storage tank, and moving the gas foamed by the vibration of the treatment liquid to the discharge pipe;
Detecting gas moved into the discharge pipe;
And a step of opening a valve for controlling opening and closing of the inside of the discharge pipe and discharging the gas. A program for causing a computer to execute the processing liquid supply method according to claim 4 . A computer-readable recording medium on which the program according to claim 5 is recorded.

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