JP7111472B2 - Substrate processing method and substrate processing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a technique for processing a substrate, and more particularly to a technique for removing foreign substances adhering to the substrate surface. Substrates to be processed include, for example, semiconductor substrates, liquid crystal display device substrates, FPD (Flat Panel Display) substrates such as organic EL (Electroluminescence) display devices, optical disk substrates, magnetic disk substrates, and magneto-optical disk substrates. Substrates, substrates for photomasks, ceramic substrates, substrates for solar cells, etc. are included.

In a FOUP (Front-Opening Unified Pod) that accommodates multiple substrates such as semiconductor wafers, or in each processing unit of a substrate processing apparatus, when a substrate cracks, the fragments of the substrate become foreign matter and land on the surface of other substrates. It may stick. Such foreign matter is generally removed from the substrate by a cleaning process such as spraying DIW (deionized water) or the like.

Further, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-100000, when removing foreign matter on a substrate, the substrate held by suction by the suction unit is tilted perpendicularly or obliquely by more than 90° with respect to a horizontal plane, and the substrate is removed through the suction unit. is described to vibrate.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-21180

However, in the technique of Patent Document 1, there is a risk that a large foreign substance adhering to the substrate may rub off on the surface of the substrate, causing microscratches to occur on the surface of the substrate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a technique for removing foreign substances on the surface of a substrate while effectively suppressing the occurrence of microscratches on the surface of the substrate.

In order to solve the above-described problems, a first aspect is a substrate processing method for processing a substrate, comprising: (a) rotating a substrate having a vertically upward target surface around a rotation axis extending in the horizontal direction to horizontally rotate the substrate; and (b) applying vibration to the substrate in the horizontally inverted posture , wherein the step (b) includes: a step of applying vibration from a vibration generator to a portion to be applied, which is different from the portion to be held held by the substrate holding portion of the substrate in the horizontally inverted posture, by a vibration generator; above, further comprising the step of forming a liquid film of a processing liquid on the upper surface of the substrate, wherein the step (b) causes the vibration generator to move through the liquid film formed by the step (c). and applying vibration to the substrate .

A second aspect is the substrate processing method of the first aspect, wherein the step (b) is a step of applying vibration from the upper surface side to the substrate in the horizontally inverted posture by the vibration generator.

A third aspect is the substrate processing method of the first aspect or the second aspect, comprising: (d) a step of sucking air below the substrate while the vibration is being applied to the substrate in the step (b); further includes

A fourth aspect is the substrate processing method according to any one of the first to third aspects, comprising: (e) a step of performing a predetermined process on the substrate that has been placed in the horizontally inverted posture in the step (a); further includes

A fifth aspect is a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate, wherein the substrate having the target surface facing vertically upward is rotated around a rotation axis extending in the horizontal direction so that the substrate is in a horizontal posture and the target surface is vertical. and a substrate holder capable of holding the substrate in the horizontally reversed posture, comprising a reversing mechanism for setting the substrate in a horizontally reversed posture facing downward, and a vibration applying mechanism for applying vibration to the substrate in the horizontally reversed posture. the vibration applying mechanism includes a vibration generator that applies vibration to a portion of the substrate to be applied that is different from the portion to be held held by the substrate holding portion; a processing liquid supply unit that supplies a processing liquid to the upper surface of the substrate, and the vibration generator vibrates the substrate through a liquid film of the processing liquid formed on the substrate .

A sixth aspect is the substrate processing apparatus according to the fifth aspect, wherein the vibration generator applies vibration from above the substrate in the horizontally inverted posture.

A seventh aspect is the substrate processing apparatus according to the fifth aspect or the sixth aspect, further comprising an air suction unit that sucks air below the substrate while the vibration applying mechanism applies vibration to the substrate. .

An eighth aspect is the substrate processing apparatus according to any one of the fifth aspect to the seventh aspect, wherein a path portion that temporarily holds the substrate and the substrate that has been placed in the horizontally inverted posture by the reversing mechanism include: A processing section that performs a predetermined process on the substrate, and a substrate transfer section that transfers the substrate between the pass section and the processing section.

A ninth aspect is the substrate processing apparatus according to the eighth aspect, wherein the vibration applying mechanism applies vibration to the substrate in the horizontally inverted posture in the pass section.

A tenth aspect is the substrate processing apparatus according to the ninth aspect, wherein the vibration applying mechanism applies vibration to the substrate in the horizontally inverted posture in the processing section.

According to the substrate processing apparatus of the first aspect, vibration is applied to the substrate in the horizontally inverted posture with the target surface facing downward in the vertical direction. For this reason, it is possible to suppress the foreign matter separated from the target surface due to the application of vibration from rubbing off from the substrate. As a result, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of microscratches on the target surface.

According to the substrate processing method of the second aspect, since the vibration generator is brought into contact with the upper side of the substrate in the horizontally inverted posture, foreign matter on the lower side of the target surface can be effectively dropped. When the lower surface is the device surface, the device surface can be adequately protected by preventing the vibration generator from directly contacting the device surface.

According to the substrate processing method of the third aspect, foreign matter dropped from the substrate due to vibration can be sucked.

According to the substrate processing method of the fourth aspect, the vibration can be applied by taking advantage of the opportunity to set the substrate in the horizontally inverted posture for performing the predetermined processing. As a result, it is possible to efficiently separate the foreign matter from the target surface.

According to the substrate processing apparatus of the fifth aspect, vibration is applied to the substrate in the horizontally inverted posture with the target surface facing downward in the vertical direction. For this reason, it is possible to suppress the foreign matter separated from the target surface due to the application of vibration from rubbing off from the substrate. As a result, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of microscratches on the target surface.

According to the substrate processing apparatus of the sixth aspect, since the vibration is applied from the upper side of the substrate in the horizontally inverted posture, foreign matter on the lower target surface can be effectively dropped. Moreover, when the lower surface is the device surface, the device surface can be appropriately protected by preventing the vibration generator from directly contacting the device surface.

According to the substrate processing apparatus of the seventh aspect, it is possible to absorb foreign matter that has fallen below the substrate.

According to the substrate processing apparatus of the eighth aspect, it is possible to apply vibration by taking advantage of the opportunity to set the substrate in the horizontally inverted posture for performing the predetermined processing. As a result, it is possible to efficiently separate the foreign matter from the target surface.

According to the substrate processing apparatus of the ninth aspect, vibration can be applied to the substrate in the horizontally inverted posture in the pass section. Therefore, since the vibration applying process can be performed after the reversing process, the foreign matter can be efficiently peeled off from the substrate.

According to the substrate processing apparatus of the tenth aspect, in the processing section that processes the substrate in the horizontally inverted posture, the vibration applying process can be performed on the substrate in the horizontally inverted posture. Therefore, since the vibration can be applied to the substrate while the substrate is being processed, foreign substances can be efficiently peeled off from the substrate.

1 is a schematic plan view showing the overall configuration of a substrate processing apparatus 1 according to a first embodiment; FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view showing the configuration of a pass portion 17 of the first embodiment; FIG. 3 is a schematic side view showing the pass portion 17 of the first embodiment; FIG. 3 is a schematic side view showing the pass portion 17 of the first embodiment; It is a figure which shows the washing|cleaning process unit 11b of 1st Embodiment. It is a schematic diagram showing cleaning processing unit 11b concerning a 2nd embodiment. It is a figure which shows the center robot 18a of 3rd Embodiment. FIG. 11 is a schematic side view showing how a vibration applying mechanism 20 according to a fourth embodiment applies vibration to a semiconductor wafer 9 in a rotating posture;

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the constituent elements described in this embodiment are merely examples, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention only to them. In the drawings, for ease of understanding, the dimensions and numbers of each part may be exaggerated or simplified as necessary.

<1. First Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing the overall configuration of a substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment. The substrate processing apparatus 1 is a wafer type cleaning apparatus that removes foreign matter such as particles adhering to the surface of a semiconductor wafer 9 in a semiconductor manufacturing process. The substrate processing apparatus 1 includes a control section 10 , cleaning processing units 11 a and 11 b , a fluid box 12 , an indexer unit 13 and an opener 14 .

The control unit 10 controls the operation of each element included in the substrate processing apparatus 1 . The hardware configuration of the control unit 10 is similar to that of a general computer. That is, the control unit 10 stores a CPU that performs various arithmetic processes, a ROM that is a read-only memory that stores basic programs, a RAM that is a readable and writable memory that stores various information, and a control application or data. It has a storage unit for

The cleaning processing units 11a and 11b accommodate and clean the semiconductor wafers 9 therein. Details of the cleaning units 11a and 11b will be described later. The cleaning units 11a and 11b are arranged with a passage 15 interposed therebetween. Although not shown, a plurality of cleaning units 11a and a plurality of cleaning units 11b may be stacked on top and bottom. Each of the cleaning units 11a and 11b is provided with a loading/unloading port 111 facing a center robot 18, which will be described later.

The cleaning processing unit 11a cleans one main surface of the two main surfaces of the semiconductor wafer 9 . Here, the main surface on one side processed by the cleaning unit 11a is the main surface on which the semiconductor device is formed. This main surface is hereinafter referred to as a device forming surface 91 . The cleaning processing unit 11a treats the device formation surface 91 of the semiconductor wafer 9 in a horizontal posture in which the device formation surface 91 faces upward in the vertical direction. The “horizontal posture” refers to a state in which both main surfaces of the semiconductor wafer 9 are parallel to the horizontal plane.

The cleaning unit 11b cleans the main surface on the other side of the main surfaces on both sides of the semiconductor wafer 9 . Here, the main surface on the other side is the main surface on the side opposite to the device forming surface 91 . This main surface is hereinafter referred to as back surface 92 . The cleaning unit 11b treats the back surface 92 of the semiconductor wafer 9 with the back surface 92 facing vertically upward. The configuration of the cleaning units 11a and 11b will be detailed later.

The fluid box 12 is adjacent to each of the cleaning units 11a and 11b, and accommodates liquid and gas pipes, on-off valves, and the like to be supplied to the cleaning units 11a and 11b.

The indexer unit 13 extends in a direction perpendicular to the passage 15 . Approximately the center of the indexer unit 13 and the passage 15 are connected. The indexer unit 13 is provided with an indexer robot 16 that transfers the semiconductor wafer 9 loaded from the opener 14 to the pass section 17 . The indexer robot 16 moves in the indexer unit 13 in a direction orthogonal to the passage 15 .

The indexer robot 16 has a hand portion 161 that holds the semiconductor wafer 9 . The hand part 161 is vertically movable, and is rotatable around a vertically extending rotating shaft.

The opener 14 has a mounting surface 141 for mounting a FOUP (Front Open Unified Pod) containing a plurality of semiconductor wafers 9 , and an opening/closing lid 142 for carrying the FOUP into the indexer unit 13 .

A pass section 17 and a center robot 18 are arranged in the passage 15 . The pass portion 17 forms a space for temporarily holding the semiconductor wafer 9 (here, a space where it is placed). The pass section 17 includes a reversing mechanism 40 for reversing the front and back of the semiconductor wafer 9 .

The center robot 18 has a hand section 181 that holds the semiconductor wafers 9 one by one and transfers the semiconductor wafers 9 between the pass section 17 and the cleaning units 11a and 11b. The hand part 181 is vertically movable and horizontally extendable. Further, the center robot 18 can move the hand portion 181 from the loading/unloading port 111 to the inside of the cleaning processing units 11a and 11b.

Here, a procedure for loading the semiconductor wafer 9 from the outside of the substrate processing apparatus 1 into the cleaning processing units 11a and 11b will be described.

A FOUP carried in from the outside of the substrate processing apparatus 1 by an automatic transport vehicle or the like is placed on the placement surface 141 of the opener 14 . Next, the opening/closing lid 142 of the opener 14 is opened, and the indexer robot 16 takes out the unprocessed semiconductor wafers 9 from the FOUP one by one. The indexer robot 16 moves inside the indexer unit 13 to a position adjacent to the path 15 while holding the taken out semiconductor wafer 9 . The indexer robot 16 then delivers the semiconductor wafer 9 to the pass section 17 . At this time, in the pass portion 17, the semiconductor wafer 9 is in a horizontal orientation, with the device forming surface 91 (target surface) facing upward and the back surface 92 facing downward. Hereinafter, this posture will be referred to as a "horizontal initial posture".

When the semiconductor wafer 9 is placed on the pass portion 17, the reversing mechanism 40 reverses the semiconductor wafer 9 by 180° in the pass portion 17, as will be described later. As a result, the semiconductor wafer 9 is in a horizontal orientation with the device forming surface 91 (target surface) facing downward and the back surface 92 facing upward. This posture is hereinafter referred to as a "horizontally inverted posture". In the horizontally inverted posture, the rear surface 92 becomes the upper surface.

When the semiconductor wafer 9 is in the horizontally inverted posture, the hand section 181 of the center robot 18 accesses the pass section 17 and receives the semiconductor wafer 9 in the horizontally inverted posture. Then, the center robot 18 extends the hand portion 181 from the loading/unloading port 111 into the cleaning processing unit 11b, and loads the semiconductor wafer 9 into the cleaning processing unit 11b. After completion of loading, the loading/unloading port 111 is closed, and the semiconductor wafer 9 (more specifically, the back surface 92 of the semiconductor wafer 9) is cleaned in the cleaning processing unit 11b.

After completing the processing of the semiconductor wafer 9 in the cleaning processing unit 11 b , the center robot 18 unloads the semiconductor wafer 9 from the cleaning processing unit 11 b and transfers it to the pass section 17 . Then, in the pass section 17, the reversing mechanism 40 reverses the semiconductor wafer 9 in the horizontally reversing posture by 180°. That is, the horizontal initial posture is such that the device forming surface 91 faces upward and the back surface 92 faces downward.

Subsequently, the hand section 181 of the center robot 18 accesses the pass section 17 and receives the semiconductor wafer 9 in the horizontal initial posture. Then, the center robot 18 extends the hand portion 181 from the loading/unloading port 111 into the cleaning processing unit 11a, and loads the semiconductor wafer 9 into the cleaning processing unit 11a. After completion of loading, the loading/unloading port 111 is closed, and the semiconductor wafer 9 (more specifically, the device forming surface 91 of the semiconductor wafer 9) is cleaned in the cleaning processing unit 11a.

The hand portion 181 of the center robot 18 is vertically movable. When a plurality of cleaning units 11a are arranged so as to overlap each other in two stages, the hand part 181 of the center robot 18 places the semiconductor wafer 9 in both the upper cleaning unit 11a and the lower cleaning unit 11a. can be brought in.

Similarly, when the cleaning units 11b are arranged in two layers, the hand part 181 of the center robot 18 places the semiconductor wafer 9 in both the upper cleaning unit 11b and the lower cleaning unit 11b. can be brought in.

Further, the path portion 17 may also have a plurality of mounting spaces for mounting the semiconductor wafers 9 on the upper and lower sides thereof. In this case, the indexer robot 16 and the center robot 18 are configured so that the semiconductor wafers 9 can be carried in and out of each placement space of the pass section 17 .

When the processing of the semiconductor wafer 9 in the cleaning processing unit 11 a is completed, the center robot 18 unloads the semiconductor wafer 9 from the cleaning processing unit 11 a and transfers it to the pass section 17 . Then, the semiconductor wafer 9 in the horizontal initial posture is accommodated at a predetermined position of the FOUP by the indexer robot 16 .

As described above, the substrate processing apparatus 1 includes at least two types of cleaning units 11a and 11b, and can process a plurality of semiconductor wafers 9 in parallel in each of the cleaning units 11a and 11b.

<Path part 17>
FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing the configuration of the pass portion 17 of the first embodiment. 3 and 4 are schematic side views showing the pass portion 17 of the first embodiment. The pass section 17 includes a substrate support section 170 , a vibration application mechanism 20 , an intake mechanism 30 and an inversion mechanism 40 .

The substrate supporting portion 170 forms a mounting portion on which the semiconductor wafer 9 is mounted in a horizontal posture. Here, the substrate support portion 170 is composed of a plurality of pins rising from a horizontal table, and the semiconductor wafer 9 is supported by the upper end portions of the plurality of pins.

The reversing mechanism 40 includes a pair of gripping portions 42, 42 that grip both ends of the semiconductor wafer 9, and a displacement mechanism 44 that displaces the pair of gripping portions 42, 42. As shown in FIG. The pair of gripping portions 42, 42 holds the semiconductor wafer 9 by sandwiching it from both sides. The displacement mechanism 44 includes a contact/separation drive section 440 , an elevation drive section 442 and a rotation drive section 444 .

The contact/separation drive unit 440 holds the semiconductor wafer 9 by bringing the pair of gripping portions 42 and 42 closer together, and releases the semiconductor wafer 9 from the holding by separating the pair of gripping portions 42 and 42 .

The elevation driving section 442 vertically moves the pair of gripping sections 42, 42 between a receiving position L11 for receiving the semiconductor wafer 9 supported by the substrate supporting section 170 and a rotational position L12 higher than the receiving position L11.

The rotation drive section 444 rotates the pair of gripping sections 42, 42 arranged at the rotation position L12 around the rotation axis Q1 extending in the horizontal direction. The rotation axis Q1 is the position between the pair of gripping portions 42, 42 at the rotation position L12, and is the central position here. In addition, the height H1 from the substrate support portion 170 (more specifically, the upper end of the pin) to the rotation axis Q1 is larger than the half dimension r of the width of the semiconductor wafer 9 (the radius if the semiconductor wafer 9 is circular). dimension (ie, H1>r).

Also, as shown in FIG. 3, the pair of gripping portions 42, 42 hold the semiconductor wafer 9 in a state of being inverted by 180 degrees. That is, the pair of holding parts 42, 42 is an example of a substrate holding part capable of holding the semiconductor wafer 9 in the horizontally inverted posture.

<Vibration application mechanism 20>
When a crack (substrate crack) occurs in a specific semiconductor wafer 9 in a FOUP or the like, fragments of the crack may adhere to other semiconductor wafers 9 as foreign matter PT1. The foreign matter PT1 may include, for example, those having a width and a thickness of 0.1 mm or more. If such a foreign matter PT1 adheres to the device forming surface 91 of the semiconductor wafer 9, it may interfere with device formation. Microscratches may form at 91 . The vibration applying mechanism 20 causes the foreign matter PT1 to drop from the semiconductor wafer 9 by applying vibration to the semiconductor wafer 9 .

Here, the vibration applying mechanism 20 applies vibrations to the semiconductor wafer 9 held by a pair of holding portions 42, 42 (substrate holders). More specifically, the vibration applying mechanism 20 includes a vibration generator 21 , an arm 22 , a rotating mechanism 23 and an elevating mechanism 24 .

The vibration generator 21 incorporates a vibrator such as a piezoelectric element. The vibration generator 21 vibrates the vibrator based on the control signal from the control unit 10 to micro-vibrate the piezoelectric element at a predetermined frequency (for example, 1 kHz or more, preferably 50 kHz). The vibration generator 21 vibrates the object by transmitting this vibration to the object.

Vibration generator 21 is here supported in a suspended manner at the tip of arm 22 extending in the horizontal direction. The proximal end of the arm 22 is provided with a rotation mechanism 23 for rotating the arm 22 around a rotation axis Q10 extending in the vertical direction, and an elevating mechanism 24 for elevating the arm 22 in the vertical direction. The rotating mechanism 23 and the lifting mechanism 24 rotate and lift the arm 22 based on a control signal from the control unit 10 , thereby displacing the vibration generator 21 . The rotating mechanism 23 and the lifting mechanism 24 are examples of a vibration generator moving mechanism.

As will be described later, the rotating mechanism 23 and the lifting mechanism 24 move the vibration generator 21 between the application position L21 and the separation position L22. The application position L21 is the position of the vibration generator 21 when the vibration generator 21 applies vibration to the semiconductor wafer 9 held by the pair of grippers 42, 42 at the rotational position L12. The isolation position L22 is the position of the vibration generator 21 when it is isolated from the semiconductor wafer 9 more than the application position L21. Here, the position is radially outside the peripheral edge portion of the semiconductor wafer 9 gripped by the pair of gripping portions 42, 42 at the rotational position L12.

<Intake Mechanism 30>
The suction mechanism 30 is a mechanism that sucks the foreign matter PT1 that has fallen from the semiconductor wafer 9 by applying vibration to the semiconductor wafer 9 . The suction mechanism 30 includes one or more suction port portions 31 forming an opening upward at a position below the semiconductor wafer 9 arranged at the rotational position L12, a vacuum pump 32, each suction port portion 31, and a vacuum. and an intake line 33 that connects with the pump 32 . Here, four air inlet portions 31 are arranged respectively between adjacent substrate support portions 170 (pins).

<Reversal processing and vibration application processing>
Next, the reversing process and the vibration applying process performed in the pass section 17 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. 3 shows how the semiconductor wafer 9 is changed from the horizontal initial posture to the horizontally inverted posture, and FIG. 4 shows how vibration is applied to the semiconductor wafer 9. As shown in FIG.

First, in a state where the semiconductor wafer 9 is placed on the pass portion 17 on the substrate support portion 170 in a horizontal initial posture (a posture in which the device forming surface 91 faces upward), the reversing mechanism 40 moves the pair of gripping portions 42, 42 to the semiconductor wafer. It is arranged on both sides of the wafer 9 . Then, the contact/separation driving section 440 causes the pair of gripping sections 42, 42 to approach each other and move to the receiving position L11. Thereby, the pair of holding parts 42, 42 hold the semiconductor wafer 9 (substrate holding step S21).

When the semiconductor wafer 9 is held by the pair of gripping portions 42, 42, the elevation driving portion 442 lifts the pair of gripping portions 42, 42 from the receiving position L11 to the rotation position L12. Then, the rotation drive unit 444 rotates the pair of grippers 42, 42 about the rotation axis Q1 by 180°, thereby changing the semiconductor wafer 9 from the horizontal initial posture to the horizontally inverted posture (substrate rotation step S22).

When the semiconductor wafer 9 is horizontally inverted, the vibration applying mechanism 20 moves the vibration generator 21 to the applying position L21 as shown in FIG. Specifically, the rotation mechanism 23 rotates the arm 22 to place the vibration generator 21 above the semiconductor wafer 9 . Then, the lifting mechanism 24 lowers the arm 22 to place the vibration generator 21 at the application position L21 that contacts the upper surface (here, the rear surface 92) of the semiconductor wafer 9. FIG. Then, the semiconductor wafer 9 is vibrated by vibrating the vibration generator 21 in contact with the upper surface of the semiconductor wafer 9 (vibration applying step S23).

Also, the intake mechanism 30 sucks the atmosphere from the intake port portion 31 (intake step S24). As a result, the foreign matter PT1 dropped by the vibration from the semiconductor wafer 9 in the horizontally inverted posture is recovered. The timing at which the suction mechanism 30 starts suction can be arbitrarily set, for example, between the time when the semiconductor wafer 9 is introduced into the pass section 17 and the time when the vibration applying mechanism 20 applies vibration to the semiconductor wafer 9 . While the vibration applying mechanism 20 is vibrating the semiconductor wafer 9, it is desirable that the intake mechanism 30 continues to intake air. In addition, since the suction mechanism 30 starts suction before the vibration application mechanism 20 vibrates the semiconductor wafer 9, the foreign matter PT1 that has naturally fallen from the semiconductor wafer 9 during the reversing process can also be collected.

The vibration applying mechanism 20 stops the vibration of the vibration generator 21 after a predetermined time has passed since the start of applying vibration to the semiconductor wafer 9 . The lifting mechanism 24 and the rotating mechanism 23 lift and rotate the arm 22 to move the vibration generator 21 from the application position L21 to the isolation position L22.

When the vibration application to the semiconductor wafer 9 is completed, the elevation driving section 442 lowers the pair of gripping sections 42, 42 from the rotation position L12 to the receiving position L11. In this embodiment, the vibration generator 21 is above the semiconductor wafer 9 . Therefore, the pair of grips 42, 42 may be lowered before the vibration generator 21 starts moving from the application position L21 to the isolation position L22.

The semiconductor wafer 9 is supported by the substrate supporting portion 170 by lowering the pair of gripping portions 42, 42 to the receiving position L11. Then, the contact/separation drive section 440 separates the pair of gripping sections 42 , 42 from each other, thereby releasing the holding of the semiconductor wafer 9 by the pair of gripping sections 42 , 42 , and transferring the semiconductor wafer 9 to the substrate support section 170 . . As described above, in the pass section 17, the semiconductor wafer 9 is converted from the horizontal initial posture in which the device forming surface 91 faces upward to the horizontally inverted posture in which the device forming surface 91 faces downward.

In the pass section 17, the reversing mechanism 40 can also convert the semiconductor wafer 9 in the horizontal reversal posture to the horizontal initial posture. Since this attitude change can be performed in the same way as the contents explained in FIG. 3, detailed explanation is omitted here.

Vibration is applied to the semiconductor wafer 9 in a state in which the semiconductor wafer 9 is horizontally inverted and the target surface (here, the device formation surface 91) to which the foreign matter PT1 adheres is directed downward. Therefore, the foreign matter PT1 separated from the semiconductor wafer 9 by the vibration can drop downward without rubbing along the surface of the semiconductor wafer 9. FIG. Therefore, the foreign matter PT1 can be peeled off while effectively suppressing the occurrence of microscratches on the semiconductor wafer 9 .

Vibration may be applied to the semiconductor wafer 9 by vibrating the pair of gripping portions 42 , 42 . However, when the semiconductor wafer 9 is vibrated by vibrating the holding portions such as the pair of gripping portions 42, 42, the entire semiconductor wafer 9 vibrates in the same direction, thereby vibrating the semiconductor wafer 9 satisfactorily. Sometimes it is difficult. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, in the semiconductor wafer 9, the portion held by the pair of gripping portions 42, 42 (held portion) is substantially fixed, and vibration is applied to a different applied portion. applied. Therefore, in the semiconductor wafer 9, the semiconductor wafer 9 vibrates with the portion to be held as the fixed end. As a result, the portion to which the voltage is applied and the portion to be held vibrate in a wavy manner. Therefore, the foreign matter PT1 adhering to the device forming surface 91 of the semiconductor wafer 9 can be efficiently removed.

In addition, the vibration applying mechanism 20 vibrates the semiconductor wafer 9 on the occasion that the semiconductor wafer 9 is placed in the horizontally inverted posture in order to transport the semiconductor wafer 9 to the cleaning processing unit 11b. Therefore, the foreign matter PT1 adhering to the device forming surface 91 of the semiconductor wafer 9 can be removed efficiently.

In this embodiment, the reversing mechanism 40 rotates the semiconductor wafer 9 in the horizontal initial posture by 180° to the horizontal reversing posture. However, for example, in the pass section 17 , the reversing mechanism 40 may horizontally reverse the semiconductor wafer 9 whose normal direction to the device forming surface 91 is upward in the vertical direction but which is not in the horizontal posture. In this case, the reversing mechanism 40 preferably rotates the semiconductor wafer 9 by an angle of less than 180° around the rotation axis Q1 to take the horizontally reversing posture.

Further, when the vibration generator 21 applies vibration, the pair of gripping portions 42, 42 may be arranged at a position lower than the rotational position L12. As a result, the semiconductor wafer 9 can be brought closer to the intake port portion 31, so that the foreign matter PT1 can be recovered satisfactorily.

Further, in this embodiment, the vibration applying mechanism 20 vibrates the semiconductor wafer 9 held in the air by the pair of gripping portions 42 , 42 . However, the vibration applying mechanism 20 may apply vibration to the horizontally inverted semiconductor wafer 9 held by the substrate supporting portion 170 (here, a plurality of pins).

Further, it is not essential that the vibration applying mechanism 20 directly contacts the semiconductor wafer 9 to apply vibration, and the semiconductor wafer 9 may be vibrated in a non-contact manner. For example, the semiconductor wafer 9 may be vibrated by the vibration generator 21 emitting ultrasonic waves toward the semiconductor wafer 9 from a position away from the semiconductor wafer 9 .

Alternatively, vibration may be applied to the semiconductor wafer 9 via a holding portion that holds the semiconductor wafer 9 . For example, the semiconductor wafer 9 may be vibrated by vibrating the pair of gripping portions 42, 42 that hold the semiconductor wafer 9, the substrate support portion 170, or the like.

The reversing mechanism 40 may have any configuration as long as it can reverse the semiconductor wafer 9 (that is, change the posture between the horizontal initial posture and the horizontal reversal posture). For example, instead of holding the semiconductor wafer 9 between the pair of gripping portions 42, 42, a suction holding portion that holds the semiconductor wafer 9 placed on the substrate support portion 170 by suction may be employed. In this case, the semiconductor wafer 9 may be turned upside down by rotating the suction holding portion around a horizontal rotation axis passing through the center of the semiconductor wafer 9 held by suction.

Further, in the present embodiment, the cleaning process is performed in the cleaning unit 11a after the vibration application process is performed first. That is, the device formation surface 91 is cleaned after removing the foreign matter PT1 from the device formation surface 91 first. Therefore, when the device forming surface 91 is cleaned, it is possible to effectively prevent the device forming surface 91 from being scratched by the relatively large foreign matter PT1.

<Configuration of cleaning unit 11b>
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the cleaning unit 11b of the first embodiment. The cleaning processing unit 11 b includes a stage 50 , a plurality of chuck pins 52 , a stage rotation driving section 54 , a processing liquid supply nozzle 56 , a gas spray nozzle 58 and a cup 59 .

The stage 50 is a disc-shaped member, and has a plurality of chuck pins 52 provided on its upper surface. A plurality of chuck pins 52 can hold the peripheral edge of the semiconductor wafer 9 . Each chuck pin 52 is provided at equal intervals around the rotation axis Q2. The stage rotation driving section 54 rotates the stage 50 around the rotation axis Q2.

The processing liquid supply nozzle 56 is directed toward the upper surface of the semiconductor wafer 9 held by the chuck pins 52 . The processing liquid supply nozzle 56 is pipe-connected to a processing liquid supply source (not shown), and supplies the processing liquid to the semiconductor wafer 9 by a pumping mechanism such as a pump. Here, the processing liquid supply nozzle 56 discharges the processing liquid toward the center of the upper surface of the semiconductor wafer 9 (here, the back surface 92). The processing liquid is a liquid used for liquid processing of the semiconductor wafer 9 . The processing liquid may be deionized water (DIW).

The gas spray nozzle 58 is a nozzle for supplying gas toward the upper surface of the cleaning unit 11 held by the chuck pins 52 . The gas spray nozzle 58 is connected to a gas supply source and sprays gas toward the semiconductor wafer 9 . The gas is, for example, nitrogen, which is an inert gas, or air. A nozzle moving mechanism 581 moves the gas spray nozzle 58 in the horizontal direction.

The cup 59 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape capable of surrounding the outer circumferences of the stage 50 and the semiconductor wafer 9 . The cup 59 receives the processing liquid that is shaken off from the rotating semiconductor wafer 9 when the upper surface of the semiconductor wafer 9 is processed in the cleaning processing unit 11b. The cup 59 can be moved up and down between a position where it can surround the semiconductor wafer 9 and a position lower than the semiconductor wafer 9 by a lifting mechanism (not shown).

<Regarding cleaning processing in cleaning processing unit 11b>
The cleaning unit 11 b holds the semiconductor wafer 9 in a horizontally inverted posture (a posture in which the back surface 92 faces upward) with a plurality of chuck pins 52 . Then, the semiconductor wafer 9 is rotated by the stage rotation driving section 54 rotating the stage 50 around the rotation axis Q2.

The processing liquid supply nozzle 56 discharges a predetermined processing liquid toward the upper surface of the rotating semiconductor wafer 9 to liquid-process the upper surface of the semiconductor wafer 9 . The processing liquid supplied to the upper surface of the semiconductor wafer 9 moves toward the peripheral edge of the rotating semiconductor wafer 9 and is further shaken off from the peripheral edge. The processing liquid shaken off from the semiconductor wafer 9 is received on the inner surface of the cup 59 .

While the processing liquid is supplied to the upper surface of the semiconductor wafer 9, the gas spray nozzle 58 injects gas toward the upper surface of the semiconductor wafer 9 (gas spray processing). The gas spray nozzle 58 sprays gas onto the entire surface of the semiconductor wafer 9 by scanning the rotating semiconductor wafer 9 in the radial direction by the nozzle moving mechanism 581 . In the cleaning processing unit 11b, particles adhered to the semiconductor wafer 9 (mainly, foreign substances smaller than the foreign substances PT1 (for example, those having a width and a thickness of less than 0.1 mm) attached to the semiconductor wafer 9 are cleaned by blowing the gas and supplying the processing liquid. ) is removed.

If the semiconductor wafer 9 is a substrate to which DIW cannot be applied (for example, if it has a low-K film and is degraded due to moisture absorption), only the gas spray process is performed in the cleaning unit 11b. may be performed.

In the present embodiment, relatively small foreign matter is present on the semiconductor wafer 9 because the large foreign matter is removed by the vibration applying process first. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the generation of microscratches on the semiconductor wafer 9 due to the foreign matter PT1 when gas spray processing or liquid processing is performed.

<2. Second Embodiment>
Next, a second embodiment will be described. In the following description, elements having functions similar to those already described may be given the same reference numerals or reference numerals with additional alphabetic characters, and detailed description thereof may be omitted.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a cleaning unit 11b according to the second embodiment. In this embodiment, the vibration applying mechanism 20 is provided in the cleaning processing unit 11b, and the foreign matter PT1 is peeled off by applying vibration to the semiconductor wafer 9 in the cleaning processing unit 11b. The vibration applying process performed in the cleaning unit 11b will be described below.

<Regarding the vibration applying process in the cleaning unit 11b>
First, the horizontally inverted semiconductor wafer 9 is loaded into the cleaning processing unit 11 b and gripped by the plurality of chuck pins 52 . The semiconductor wafer 9 in this horizontal reversal posture is reversed by the reversing mechanism 40 in the pass section 17 .

Next, the vibration applying mechanism 20 moves the vibration generator 21 to the applying position and contacts the upper surface (back surface 92 ) of the semiconductor wafer 9 held by the plurality of chuck pins 52 . Then, the vibration generator 21 applies vibration to the semiconductor wafer 9 for a predetermined time. After a predetermined time has elapsed, the vibration applying mechanism 20 retracts the vibration generator 21 from the semiconductor wafer 9 .

Here, vibration is applied to the semiconductor wafer 9 by bringing the vibration generator 21 into contact with the semiconductor wafer 9, but this is not essential. For example, vibration generator 21 may apply vibration to semiconductor wafer 9 via a medium such as liquid.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, a processing liquid (for example, DIW) is supplied from the processing liquid supply nozzle 56 onto the upper surface (back surface 92) of the semiconductor wafer 9, thereby forming a liquid film of the processing liquid. state. The semiconductor wafer 9 may be rotated by the stage rotation driving section 54 rotating the stage 50 at a low rotation speed (for example, 100 rpm or less). Thereby, a liquid film of the processing liquid can be stably formed on the upper surface of the semiconductor wafer 9 . In addition, by setting the rotation speed to a low speed, it is possible to suppress the foreign matter PT1 on the lower surface side (the device forming surface 91 side) from vigorously scattering around the semiconductor wafer 9 .

When the liquid film of the processing liquid is formed, the vibration applying mechanism 20 is arranged at the applying position L21a, and the semiconductor wafer 9 is vibrated. The application position L21a is a height position where the lower surface of the vibration generator 21 is slightly separated from the upper surface (back surface 92) of the semiconductor wafer 9 by a predetermined distance and can come into contact with the liquid film.

In this embodiment, the vibration generator 21 applies vibration to the semiconductor wafer 9 via the processing liquid at the application position L21a. The portion to which vibration is applied is, for example, the central portion of the semiconductor wafer 9 . In this case, the vibration propagation efficiency can be increased as compared with the case where the vibration generator 21 is brought into direct contact with the semiconductor wafer 9 . Further, it is possible to apply a large vibration energy to the substrate without bringing the vibration generator 21 into direct contact with the substrate. Therefore, the foreign matter PT1 can be removed from the semiconductor wafer 9 efficiently. Further, the semiconductor wafer 9 to which the vibration is applied vibrates with the held portions held by the chuck pins 52 of the peripheral portion thereof as fixed ends. Therefore, the foreign matter PT1 can be peeled off more efficiently than in the case where vibration is applied via each chuck pin 52, which is the substrate holding portion.

When the vibration applying process is completed, the cleaning unit 11b preferably performs the liquid process and the gas spray process as described in the first embodiment. After the vibration applying process and the cleaning process are finished, the semiconductor wafer 9 is released from the chuck pins 52 . Then, the center robot 18 unloads the semiconductor wafer 9 from the cleaning processing unit 11b.

In the cleaning processing unit 11b, the upper surface of the stage 50 may be cleaned after the semiconductor wafer 9 is transferred. Specifically, the processing liquid supply nozzle 56 discharges the cleaning liquid toward the stage 50, and the stage rotation driving section 54 rotates the stage 50 at a predetermined rotation speed. As a result, the cleaning liquid moves from the central portion of the stage 50 toward the outer edge portion and is shaken off from the outer edge portion to the outside of the stage 50 . This movement of the cleaning liquid removes the foreign matter PT1 that has fallen onto the stage 50 from the stage 50 .

A suction mechanism may be provided below the semiconductor wafer 9 to suck the atmosphere. For example, stage 50 may be provided with one or more intake holes connected to an intake line. By sucking air from the suction hole, the foreign matter PT1 that has fallen off the semiconductor wafer 9 during the vibration applying process can be recovered.

<3. Third Embodiment>
In the first and second embodiments, the semiconductor wafer 9 is inverted in the pass section 17 . However, the reversal of the semiconductor wafer 9 may be performed by the transfer mechanism.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the center robot 18a of the third embodiment. The center robot 18a is a transfer mechanism used in place of the center robot 18 shown in FIG. 1, and transfers the semiconductor wafer 9 between the pass section 17 and the cleaning units 11a and 11b.

Similar to the reversing mechanism 40 shown in FIG. 2, the center robot 18a includes a pair of horizontally extending gripping portions 42a, 42a that grip the substrate from both sides, and a contact/separation driving portion that brings the pair of gripping portions 42a, 42a into contact with each other. 440, and a parallel rolling drive portion 444a that rotates the pair of gripping portions 42a, 42a around the rotation axis Q2.

When the center robot 18a receives the semiconductor wafer 9 in the horizontal initial posture from the pass section 17, the center robot 18a holds the semiconductor wafer 9 with a pair of gripping sections 42a, 42a. Then, the center robot 18a brings the semiconductor wafer 9 in the horizontal initial posture taken out from the pass section 17 or the cleaning processing unit 11a into the horizontally inverted posture before loading it into the cleaning processing unit 11b.

More specifically, the contact/separation drive unit 440a rotates the pair of grippers 42a, 42a around the rotation axis Q2, thereby inverting the semiconductor wafer 9 by 180° to the horizontally inverted posture. Then, the center robot 18a carries the semiconductor wafer 9 in the horizontally inverted posture into the cleaning processing unit 11b. In addition, the center robot 18a further reverses the semiconductor wafer 9 in the horizontally reversed posture to the horizontal initial posture in the same way.

Vibration is applied from the vibration applying mechanism 20 in the cleaning processing unit 11b to the semiconductor wafer 9 loaded into the cleaning processing unit 11b, as described with reference to FIG. As a result, the foreign matter PT1 adhering to the device forming surface 91 of the cleaning unit 11b can be peeled off.

In the case of this embodiment, the vibration applying mechanism 20 vibrates the semiconductor wafer 9 on the occasion that the center robot 18a reverses the semiconductor wafer 9 in order to carry it into the cleaning processing unit 11b. Therefore, the foreign matter PT1 adhering to the device forming surface 91 of the semiconductor wafer 9 can be efficiently removed.

Note that it is not essential that the vibration applying mechanism 20 applies vibration in the cleaning processing unit 11b. For example, as described with reference to FIG. 3, the center robot 18a that receives the semiconductor wafer 9 from the pass section 17 reverses the semiconductor wafer 9 at the pass section 17. FIG. Then, the vibration applying mechanism 20 arranged in the pass section 17 may apply vibration to the semiconductor wafer 9 held by the center robot 18a.

In addition, a dedicated processing space provided at a location different from the cleaning processing unit 11b is provided, and in the dedicated processing space, the substrate is puddled with the processing liquid, the processing liquid is mixed, and vibration is applied to the semiconductor wafer 9. may be

Alternatively, a chamber dedicated to applying vibration may be provided in a place different from the pass section 17 and the cleaning processing units 11a and 11b in the substrate processing apparatus 1, and the vibration applying mechanism 20 may be provided in the chamber. Vibration application processing may be performed in a dedicated chamber.

Further, in this embodiment, the center robot 18a has a reversing mechanism, but the indexer robot 16 may have a reversing mechanism similar to that of the central robot 18a.

Also, in the present embodiment, the pair of gripping portions 42, 42 of the reversing mechanism 40 or the pair of gripping portions 42a, 42a of the center robot 18a grip the semiconductor wafer 9, but this is not essential. For example, instead of holding the semiconductor wafer 9 by the center robot 18a, the semiconductor wafer 9 may be held by suction.

<4. Fourth Embodiment>
FIG. 8 is a schematic side view showing how the vibration applying mechanism 20 of the fourth embodiment applies vibration to the semiconductor wafer 9 in the rotating posture. In this embodiment, a pair of gripping portions 42, 42 grip the semiconductor wafer 9 in the horizontal initial posture, like the reversing mechanism 40 described in the second embodiment. However, in the present embodiment, the rotation driving section 444 rotates the pair of gripping sections 42, 42 around the rotation axis Q1 by an angle ? As a result, the posture of the semiconductor wafer 9 is set to the inverted posture in which it is tilted with respect to the horizontal direction. That is, the device forming surface 91 (target surface) faces vertically downward, but is inclined with respect to the horizontal direction. As shown in FIG. 8, this reversed posture is a tilted posture obliquely tilted with respect to the vertical direction.

The vibration applying mechanism 20 of this embodiment brings the vibration generator 21 into contact with the rear surface 92 of the semiconductor wafer 9 in this rotational posture. The lower surface of the vibration generator 21 is also inclined by an angle (here, 45°) corresponding to the inclination of the semiconductor wafer 9 in the inverted posture, and is brought into contact with the back surface 92 of the semiconductor wafer 9 in the inclined posture. Apply vibration.

Also in the present embodiment, the normal direction of the device forming surface 91 has a vertically downward component. Therefore, by applying vibration from the back surface 92 side with the vibration generator 21, the foreign matter PT1 adhering to the device forming surface 91 can be peeled off and dropped downward.

Further, as described above, by applying vibration with the vibration generator 21, the semiconductor wafer 9 can be caused to vibrate with the portion to be held as the fixed end. Therefore, the foreign matter PT1 can be removed from the device forming surface 91, which is the target surface, more efficiently than when vibration is applied via the pair of gripping portions 42,42.

In this embodiment, vibration is applied in a non-horizontal posture. Therefore, the foreign matter PT1 separated from the device forming surface 91 may come into contact with other portions on the device forming surface 91 and drop. Therefore, as described in the first to third embodiments, it is desirable that the semiconductor wafer 9 is horizontally inverted.

Although the present invention has been described in detail, the above description is, in all aspects, illustrative and not intended to limit the present invention. It is understood that numerous variations not illustrated can be envisioned without departing from the scope of the invention. Each configuration described in each of the above embodiments and modifications can be appropriately combined or omitted as long as they do not contradict each other.

1 substrate processing apparatus 10 control section 11b cleaning processing unit (processing section)
111 loading/unloading port 17 pass unit 18, 18a center robot (substrate transport unit)
20 vibration applying mechanism 21 vibration generator 30 suction mechanism 40 reversing mechanism 42, 42a grasping part 44 displacement mechanism 50 stage 56 treatment liquid supply nozzle 9 semiconductor wafer 91 device forming surface (target surface)
92 back surface PT1 foreign matter Q1 rotation axis line S21 substrate holding process S22 substrate rotation process S23 vibration application process S24 suction process

Claims (10)

A substrate processing method for processing a substrate,
(a) a step of rotating a substrate whose target surface faces upward in the vertical direction around a rotation axis extending in the horizontal direction to a horizontal posture and a horizontally inverted posture in which the target surface faces downward in the vertical direction;
(b) applying vibration to the substrate in the horizontally inverted posture;
including
The step (b) is a step of applying vibration by a vibration generator to a portion to be applied, which is different from the held portion held by the substrate holding portion, of the substrate in the horizontally inverted posture,
(c) further comprising the step of forming a liquid film of the treatment liquid on the upper surface of the substrate prior to the step (b);
The step (b) includes applying vibrations to the substrate through the liquid film formed in the step (c) by the vibration generator.
Substrate processing method. The substrate processing method of claim 1 ,
In the substrate processing method, the step (b) is a step of applying vibration from the upper surface side to the substrate in the horizontally inverted posture by the vibration generator. The substrate processing method according to claim 1 or claim 2 ,
(d) sucking air below the substrate while the substrate is being vibrated in step (b);
A substrate processing method further comprising: The substrate processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 ,
(e) performing a cleaning process on the substrate that has been placed in the horizontally inverted posture in step (a);
A substrate processing method further comprising: A substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate,
a reversing mechanism that rotates a substrate whose target surface faces upward in the vertical direction around a rotation axis that extends in the horizontal direction so as to assume a horizontal posture and a horizontally reversed posture in which the target surface faces downward in the vertical direction;
a vibration applying mechanism that applies vibration to the substrate in the horizontally inverted posture;
with
a substrate holder capable of holding the substrate in the horizontally inverted posture;
further comprising
The vibration applying mechanism is
a vibration generator that applies vibration to a portion of the substrate to be applied that is different from the portion to be held held by the substrate holding portion;
a processing liquid supply unit that supplies a processing liquid to the upper surface of the substrate in the horizontally inverted posture;
further comprising
The vibration generator vibrates the substrate through a liquid film of the processing liquid formed on the substrate.
Substrate processing equipment. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 5 ,
The substrate processing apparatus, wherein the vibration generator applies vibration from above the substrate in the horizontally inverted posture. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 5 or claim 6 ,
an air suction unit that sucks air below the substrate while the vibration applying mechanism applies vibration to the substrate;
A substrate processing apparatus further comprising: The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 5 to 7 ,
a path portion that temporarily holds the substrate;
a processing unit that performs a cleaning process on the substrate placed in the horizontally inverted posture by the reversing mechanism;
a substrate transfer section that transfers the substrate between the pass section and the processing section;
A substrate processing apparatus comprising: The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 8 ,
The substrate processing apparatus, wherein the vibration applying mechanism applies vibration to the substrate in the horizontally inverted posture in the pass section. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 9 ,
The substrate processing apparatus, wherein the vibration applying mechanism applies vibration to the substrate in the horizontally inverted posture in the processing section.

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