JP7664796B2 - SUBSTRATE PROCESSING METHOD AND SUBSTRATE PROCESSING APPARATUS - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a substrate processing method and substrate processing apparatus that prevent cracking and chipping of a laminated substrate manufactured by joining multiple substrates, and in particular to a technique for applying a filler to gaps formed between the edges of multiple substrates that make up a laminated substrate.

In recent years, in order to achieve even higher density and higher functionality in semiconductor devices, development of three-dimensional packaging technology has progressed, which stacks multiple substrates to integrate them three-dimensionally. In three-dimensional packaging technology, for example, the device surface of a first substrate on which integrated circuits and electrical wiring are formed is bonded to the device surface of a second substrate on which integrated circuits and electrical wiring are formed. Furthermore, after bonding the first substrate to the second substrate, the second substrate is thinned by a polishing or grinding device. In this way, integrated circuits can be stacked in a direction perpendicular to the device surfaces of the first substrate and the second substrate.

In three-dimensional packaging technology, three or more substrates may be bonded together. For example, after a second substrate bonded to a first substrate is laminated, a third substrate may be bonded to the second substrate and the third substrate may be laminated together. In this specification, the form of multiple substrates bonded together may be referred to as a "laminated substrate."

Usually, the edges of the substrate are pre-polished to a rounded or chamfered shape to prevent cracks and chipping. When a second substrate having such a shape is ground, a sharp edge is formed on the second substrate. This sharp edge (hereinafter referred to as the knife edge) is formed by the ground back surface of the second substrate and the outer peripheral surface of the second substrate. Such a knife edge is easily chipped by physical contact, and the laminated substrate itself may be damaged during transportation of the laminated substrate. Furthermore, if the bonding between the first substrate and the second substrate is insufficient, the second substrate may crack during grinding.

To prevent cracking or chipping of the knife edge, a filler is applied to the edge of the laminated substrate before grinding the second substrate. The filler is applied to the gap between the edge of the first substrate and the edge of the second substrate. The filler supports the knife edge formed after grinding the second substrate, and can prevent cracking or chipping of the knife edge.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 5-304062

However, when applying filler to the gap between the edge of the first substrate and the edge of the second substrate, filling defects such as a shortage of filler or excessive application can occur. If the laminated substrate is processed in a subsequent process while filling defects remain, there is a risk that the laminated substrate and process performance will be adversely affected, such as by being scratched. Conventionally, the state of the filler filling in the laminated substrate was checked after the application of the filler was completed, and in some cases, it was necessary to destroy the laminated substrate.

The present invention aims to provide a substrate processing method and substrate processing apparatus that can apply a filler under appropriate application conditions to the gap between the edge portion of a first substrate and the edge portion of a second substrate.

In one aspect, a substrate processing method is provided for applying a filler to a laminated substrate formed by bonding a first substrate and a second substrate, the method comprising: measuring surface shapes of an edge portion of the first substrate and an edge portion of the second substrate; determining application conditions for the filler to be applied to the laminated substrate based on the measurement results; and applying the filler to a gap between the edge portion of the first substrate and the edge portion of the second substrate of the laminated substrate under the determined application conditions.
In one aspect, the step of measuring the surface shapes of the edge portion of the first substrate and the edge portion of the second substrate is performed after the first substrate and the second substrate are bonded together.
In one embodiment, the step of measuring the surface shapes of the edge portion of the first substrate and the edge portion of the second substrate is performed before the first substrate and the second substrate are bonded to each other.

In one aspect, the surface shapes of the edge portion of the first substrate and the edge portion of the second substrate to be measured are identified by at least one of: (i) the radial dimensions of the edge portion of the first substrate and the edge portion of the second substrate; (ii) the thickness dimension of the gap between the edge portion of the first substrate and the edge portion of the second substrate; and (iii) the inclination angle of the edge portion of the first substrate and the inclination angle of the edge portion of the second substrate.
In one embodiment, the application conditions include at least one of the composition of the filler, the total amount of the filler applied, the shape of a filler outlet of an application device for applying the filler, the distance between the laminated substrate and the filler outlet, and the amount of the filler discharged from the filler outlet per unit time.

In one embodiment, the substrate processing method further includes a step of hardening the applied filler after applying the filler to the laminated substrate, and the application conditions further include the wind pressure and temperature of hot air blown from a curing device for hardening the filler.
In one embodiment, the step of applying the filler is performed while rotating the laminated substrate, and the application conditions further include a rotation speed of the laminated substrate.

In one aspect, a substrate processing apparatus for applying a filler to a laminated substrate formed by bonding a first substrate and a second substrate is provided, the substrate processing apparatus comprising: a filler application module configured to apply the filler to the laminated substrate; a surface shape measuring device that measures the surface shapes of the edge portion of the first substrate and the edge portion of the second substrate; and an operation control unit that controls the operation of the filler application module and the surface shape measuring device, the filler application module comprising a substrate holding unit that holds the laminated substrate and an application device that applies the filler to the gap between the edge portion of the first substrate and the edge portion of the second substrate, and the operation control unit is configured to determine application conditions for the filler to be applied to the laminated substrate based on the measurement results of the shapes, and to give a command to the filler application module to apply the filler under the determined application conditions.

In one aspect, the surface shape measuring device is configured to measure at least one of: (i) the radial dimension of the edge portion of the first substrate and the edge portion of the second substrate; (ii) the thickness dimension of the gap between the edge portion of the first substrate and the edge portion of the second substrate; and (iii) the inclination angle of the edge portion of the first substrate and the inclination angle of the edge portion of the second substrate.
In one aspect, the filler application module further comprises a curing device for curing the filler.
In one embodiment, the filler application module further includes a rotation mechanism that rotates the substrate holder.

According to the present invention, when applying a filler to the gap between the edge portion of the first substrate and the edge portion of the second substrate, the surface shapes of the edge portions of the first substrate and the second substrate are measured in advance, and the application conditions of the filler are determined, thereby realizing an appropriate filling state of the filler.

1(a) and 1(b) are enlarged cross-sectional views showing an edge portion of a substrate. FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a laminated substrate. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus. 1A to 1C are diagrams illustrating an embodiment of a measurement method using a surface shape measuring device. 11A to 11C are diagrams illustrating another embodiment of a measuring method using the surface profile measuring device. FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating one embodiment of a filler application module. FIG. 2 is a side view of one embodiment of a filler application module. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of a coating device. 3A and 3B are diagrams illustrating the surface shape of an edge portion to be measured by a surface shape measuring device. FIG. 13 is a schematic view showing another embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus. 1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating the surface shape of an edge portion to be measured by a surface shape measuring device before a first substrate and a second substrate are bonded together.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1(a) and 1(b) are enlarged cross-sectional views showing an edge portion E of a substrate W. More specifically, FIG. 1(a) is a cross-sectional view of a so-called straight type substrate W, and FIG. 1(b) is a cross-sectional view of a so-called round type substrate W. The edge portion E is the outermost side surface inclined with respect to the flat surfaces (front side surface and back side surface) of the substrate W, and has a rounded or chamfered shape. In the substrate W of FIG. 1(a), the edge portion E is the outermost peripheral surface of the substrate W composed of an upper inclined portion (upper bevel portion) B1, a lower inclined portion (lower bevel portion) B2, and a side portion (apex) B3. In the substrate W of FIG. 1(b), the edge portion E is a portion having a curved cross section that constitutes the outermost peripheral surface of the substrate W. The edge portion E is sometimes called a bevel portion.

2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the laminated substrate Ws. The laminated substrate Ws has a structure in which the first substrate W1 and the second substrate W2 are joined at the joining surface P. The first substrate W1 and the second substrate W2 used in this embodiment are circular. The laminated substrate Ws of this embodiment has a structure in which the rounded first substrate W1 and the second substrate W2 shown in FIG. 1(b) are joined, but in one embodiment, the laminated substrate Ws may have a structure in which the straight first substrate W1 and the second substrate W2 shown in FIG. 1(a) are joined. In this specification, the edge portion of the laminated substrate Ws refers to the outer edge portion of the laminated substrate Ws, including the edge portion E1 of the first substrate W1 and the edge portion E2 of the second substrate W2. The edge portions E1 and E2 are sometimes called bevel portions. A gap G is formed between the edge portion E1 of the first substrate W1 and the edge portion E2 of the second substrate W2. This gap G is formed around the entire circumference of the laminated substrate Ws.

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing one embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus 1. The substrate processing apparatus 1 is an apparatus for determining the application conditions of the filler F in advance and applying the filler F to a laminated substrate Ws in which a first substrate W1 and a second substrate W2 are bonded. The substrate processing apparatus 1 includes a filler application module 9 configured to apply the filler F to the laminated substrate Ws, a surface shape measuring device 11 that measures the surface shapes of the first substrate W1 and the second substrate W2, and an operation control unit 10 that controls the operation of the filler application module 9 and the surface shape measuring device 11.

As shown in FIG. 3, after the first substrate W1 and the second substrate W2 are bonded, the surface shape measuring device 11 measures the surface shapes of the edge portion E1 of the first substrate W1 and the edge portion E2 of the second substrate W2 that constitute the laminated substrate Ws. The operation control unit 10 then determines the application conditions of the filler F based on the measurement results of the surface shapes. The filler application module 9 applies the filler F to the laminated substrate Ws under the determined application conditions. The surface shape measuring device 11 may be provided in association with a transport device (not shown) that transports the laminated substrate Ws to the filler application module 9, and may measure the surface shapes of the edge portion E1 of the first substrate W1 and the edge portion E2 of the second substrate W2 during or before and after the transport of the laminated substrate Ws.

Figure 4 is a diagram showing one embodiment of a measurement method using the surface shape measuring device 11. The surface shape measuring device 11 is a laser scanning device that irradiates a measurement object with laser light and detects the laser light reflected from the measurement object to measure the surface shape (including its dimensions) of the measurement object. As shown in Figure 4, the surface shape measuring device 11 moves in the thickness direction of the laminated substrate Ws while irradiating the measurement object with laser light, scanning the edge portion E1 of the first substrate W1 and the edge portion E2 of the second substrate W2 with the laser light to measure the surface shape.

Figure 5 is a diagram showing another embodiment of a measurement method using the surface shape measuring device 11. The surface shape measuring device 11 is a confocal laser microscope that irradiates the measurement object with laser light and generates a focal image of the measurement object to measure the surface shape (including its dimensions) of the measurement object. As shown in Figure 5, the surface shape measuring device 11 irradiates the measurement object with laser light while moving the objective lens of the confocal laser microscope in the radial direction of the laminated substrate Ws to generate focal images of the edge portion E1 of the first substrate W1 and the edge portion E2 of the second substrate W2 and measure the surface shape.

The surface shape measuring device 11 is not limited to the embodiment described with reference to Figures 4 and 5, so long as it is capable of measuring the surface shapes of the edge portion E1 of the first substrate W1 and the edge portion E2 of the second substrate W2.

Figure 6 is a plan view showing one embodiment of the filler application module 9, and Figure 7 is a side view showing one embodiment of the filler application module 9. The filler application module 9 includes a substrate holder 2 that holds the laminate substrate Ws, an application device 3 for applying the filler F, and a curing device 4 for curing the applied filler F.

The substrate holding unit 2 is a stage that holds the back surface of the laminated substrate Ws by vacuum suction. The filler application module 9 further includes a rotating shaft 7 connected to the center of the substrate holding unit 2, and a rotating mechanism 8 that rotates the substrate holding unit 2 and the rotating shaft 7. The laminated substrate Ws is placed on the substrate holding unit 2 so that the center of the laminated substrate Ws coincides with the axis of the rotating shaft 7. The rotating mechanism 8 includes a motor (not shown). As shown in FIG. 6, the rotating mechanism 8 is configured to rotate the substrate holding unit 2 and the laminated substrate Ws together in the direction indicated by the arrow around the central axis Cr of the laminated substrate Ws.

The coating device 3 is located radially outside the laminated substrate Ws on the substrate holding unit 2 and is configured to coat the gap G between the edge portion E1 of the first substrate W1 and the edge portion E2 of the second substrate W2 of the laminated substrate Ws with the filler F. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing one embodiment of the coating device 3. The coating device 3 includes a syringe 21 for discharging the filler F, a piston 22 that can reciprocate within the syringe 21, and a horizontal movement mechanism (not shown) for moving the syringe 21 closer to or farther from the laminated substrate Ws. This horizontal movement mechanism allows the coating device 3 to adjust the distance between the laminated substrate Ws and the filler discharge port 21a of the coating device 3. In one embodiment, the coating device 3 may omit the horizontal movement mechanism. In this case, the distance between the laminated substrate Ws and the filler discharge port 21a is determined in advance so that the filler F is appropriately injected into the gap G of the laminated substrate Ws.

The syringe 21 has a hollow structure and is configured to be filled with the filler F. The piston 22 is disposed within the syringe 21. The syringe 21 has a filler discharge port 21a at its tip for discharging the filler F. The tip of the syringe 21 including the filler discharge port 21a may be configured to be removable. An appropriate shape of the filler discharge port 21a is selected depending on the physical properties (e.g., viscosity, etc.) of the filler F to be applied. The filler discharge port 21a is disposed to face the gap G between the edge portion E1 of the first substrate W1 and the edge portion E2 of the second substrate W2.

The coating device 3 is connected to a gas supply source via a gas supply line 25. When gas (e.g., dry air or nitrogen gas) is supplied from the gas supply source to the syringe 21, the piston 22 advances within the syringe 21. As the piston 22 advances, the filler F within the syringe 21 is discharged from the filler discharge port 21a. The coating device 3 continuously applies the filler F to the edge portion of the rotating laminated substrate Ws. The filler F may be applied during multiple rotations of the laminated substrate Ws depending on the total amount of filler F to be applied.

A pressure regulator 26 and an on-off valve 27 are arranged on the gas supply line 25. The on-off valve 27 is an actuator-driven valve such as an electric valve or an electromagnetic valve. When the on-off valve 27 is opened, gas is supplied from the gas supply source to the coating device 3, and the coating device 3 applies the filler F to the laminated substrate Ws. When the on-off valve 27 is closed, the supply of gas to the coating device 3 is stopped, and the application of the filler F is stopped. The pressure regulator 26 can adjust the amount of filler F discharged from the filler discharge port 21a per unit time by adjusting the pressure of the gas supplied from the gas supply source to the coating device 3. The operation of the pressure regulator 26 and the on-off valve 27 is controlled by the operation control unit 10.

In one embodiment, the application device 3 may be equipped with a screw feeder instead of the combination of the syringe 21 and the piston 22.

As shown in Figures 6 and 7, the curing device 4 is located radially outside the laminated substrate Ws on the substrate holding unit 2. The curing device 4 is disposed downstream of the coating device 3 in the rotation direction of the laminated substrate Ws, and is configured to cure the filler F applied to the laminated substrate Ws by the coating device 3. The curing device 4 cures the filler F while rotating the laminated substrate Ws. In this embodiment, the filler F is a filler having thermosetting properties. An example of such a filler is a thermosetting resin.

The curing device 4 is an air heater, and is configured to blow hot air toward the filler F applied to the laminated substrate Ws. The curing device 4 is configured to be able to adjust the wind pressure and temperature of the blown hot air. The filler F heated by the hot air hardens through a cross-linking reaction. The curing device 4 continuously hardens the filler F applied to the edge portion of the rotating laminated substrate Ws. If the filler F contains a solvent, the solvent is volatilized by heating. The curing device 4 is not limited to an air heater, and may be a lamp heater or other configuration as long as it can heat and harden the filler F.

In this embodiment, the filler F is a thermosetting filler, but in one embodiment, the filler F may be an ultraviolet-curable filler. In this case, the curing device 4 may be a UV irradiation device that cures the filler F by irradiating it with ultraviolet light. If the filler F contains a solvent, it may be heated using an air heater or the like to volatilize the solvent.

The filler application module 9 may further include an infrared imaging device 5 that generates an image of the edge portion of the laminated substrate Ws. The infrared imaging device 5 is disposed downstream of the curing device 4 in the rotation direction of the laminated substrate Ws. The infrared imaging device 5 is configured to generate an image including the filler F that has been applied to the laminated substrate Ws by the application device 3 and cured by the curing device 4. The distance between the infrared imaging device 5 and the curing device 4 is shorter than the distance between the infrared imaging device 5 and the application device 3. The infrared imaging device 5 is located above the edge portion of the laminated substrate Ws and is configured to generate an image of the edge portion of the laminated substrate Ws. More specifically, the infrared imaging device 5 is configured to irradiate the edge portion of the laminated substrate Ws with infrared rays, receive infrared rays reflected from the edge portion of the laminated substrate Ws, and generate an image of the edge portion of the laminated substrate Ws. An example of the infrared imaging device 5 is an infrared microscope.

In this embodiment, the first substrate W1 and the second substrate W2 are basically made of silicon wafers, and the infrared light irradiated from the infrared imaging device 5 passes through the first substrate W1 and the second substrate W2. Since the infrared light does not pass through the filler F, the infrared imaging device 5 can generate an image of the filler F applied to the laminated substrate Ws from the infrared light reflected from the edge portion of the laminated substrate Ws.

The operation control unit 10 is configured to control the operation of the substrate processing apparatus 1 including the filler application module 9 and the surface shape measuring device 11 configured as described above. The filler application module 9 including the application device 3, the curing device 4, the infrared imaging device 5, the rotation mechanism 8, the pressure adjustment device 26, and the opening/closing valve 27, and the surface shape measuring device 11 are electrically connected to the operation control unit 10.

The operation control unit 10 is composed of at least one computer. The operation control unit 10 includes a storage device 10a that stores a program for controlling the operation of the substrate processing apparatus 1 including the filler application module 9 and the surface shape measuring device 11, and a processing device 10b that executes calculations according to instructions included in the program. The storage device 10a includes a main storage device such as a random access memory (RAM) and an auxiliary storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD). Examples of the processing device 10b include a CPU (central processing unit) and a GPU (graphic processing unit). However, the specific configuration of the operation control unit 10 is not limited to these examples.

The operation control unit 10 issues a command to the surface shape measuring device 11 to cause the surface shape measuring device 11 to measure the surface shapes of the edge portion E1 of the first substrate W1 and the edge portion E2 of the second substrate W2. Based on the surface shape measurement results, the operation control unit 10 determines the application conditions for the filler F to be applied to the laminated substrate Ws. Figure 9 is a diagram explaining the surface shape of the edge portions to be measured by the surface shape measuring device 11. The surface shapes of the edge portion E1 of the first substrate W1 and the edge portion E2 of the second substrate W2 to be measured are identified by at least one of: (i) the radial dimension x1 of the edge portion E1 of the first substrate W1 and the radial dimension x2 of the edge portion E2 of the second substrate W2; (ii) the thickness dimension x3 of the gap G between the edge portion E1 of the first substrate W1 and the edge portion E2 of the second substrate W2; and (iii) the inclination angle θ1 of the edge portion E1 of the first substrate W1 and the inclination angle θ2 of the edge portion E2 of the second substrate W2.

The reference line Lr shown in FIG. 9 is a line perpendicular to the joining surface P of the first substrate W1 and the second substrate W2, and passes through the radially outermost end of the joining surface P. The radially outermost end of the joining surface P coincides with the radially innermost end of the gap G between the edge portion E1 of the first substrate W1 and the edge portion E2 of the second substrate W2. The radial dimension x1 of the edge portion E1 of the first substrate W1 is the distance from the reference line Lr to the radially outermost end of the first substrate W1. The radial dimension x2 of the edge portion E2 of the second substrate W2 is the distance from the reference line Lr to the radially outermost end of the second substrate W2. In one embodiment, when the first substrate W1 and the second substrate W2 have the same substrate shape, either the dimension x1 or the dimension x2 may be measured.

The thickness dimension x3 of the gap G between the edge portion E1 of the first substrate W1 and the edge portion E2 of the second substrate W2 is the distance in the thickness direction of the laminated substrates Ws (the first substrate W1 and the second substrate W2) from the radially outermost end of the first substrate W1 to the radially outermost end of the second substrate W2. The inclination angle θ1 of the edge portion E1 of the first substrate W1 is the angle of the edge portion E1 of the first substrate W1 with respect to the reference line Lr. The inclination angle θ2 of the edge portion E2 of the second substrate W2 is the angle of the edge portion E2 of the second substrate W2 with respect to the reference line Lr. In one embodiment, when the first substrate W1 and the second substrate W2 have the same substrate shape, either the inclination angle θ1 or the inclination angle θ2 may be measured. In one embodiment, the inclination angle θ1 and the inclination angle θ2 may be the angles of the edge portion E1 of the first substrate W1 and the edge portion E2 of the second substrate W2 with respect to the joint surface P of the first substrate W1 and the second substrate W2.

The operation control unit 10 determines the application conditions of the filler F to be applied by the filler application module 9 based on the measurement results of the surface shape (dimensions x1, x2, x3, and inclination angles θ1, θ2) described with reference to FIG. 9. The application conditions include at least one of the following: the composition of the filler F, the total application amount of the filler F, the shape of the filler discharge port 21a of the application device 3, the distance between the laminated substrate Ws and the filler discharge port 21a, the amount of filler F discharged from the filler discharge port 21a per unit time, the wind pressure and temperature of the hot air blown from the curing device 4, and the rotation speed of the laminated substrate Ws.

The filler F is mainly composed of a binder, a solvent, and particles, and the particles are dispersed in the binder dissolved in the solvent. The particles are used to increase the volume of the filler and to adjust the viscosity of the filler. If the viscosity of the filler F is high and the particle diameter is large, the filler F will not penetrate into the fine gaps G, resulting in poor filling. Therefore, the operation control unit 10 determines an appropriate composition of the filler F based on the measurement results of the surface shape described with reference to Figure 9. More specifically, the composition of the filler F includes the type of binder, the amount of solvent, the amount of particles, and the size of the particles.

The operation control unit 10 determines the total application amount of filler F (volume of filler F) based on the measurement results of the surface shape described with reference to FIG. 9. The shape of the filler discharge port 21a of the application device 3, the distance between the laminated substrate Ws and the filler discharge port 21a, the amount of filler F discharged from the filler discharge port 21a per unit time, the wind pressure and temperature of the hot air blown from the hardening device 4, and the rotation speed of the laminated substrate Ws may be determined based on the determined composition of the filler F. The operation control unit 10 issues a command to the filler application module 9 to apply the filler F by the application device 3 under the determined application conditions and harden the applied filler F by the hardening device 4.

According to this embodiment, when applying filler F to the gap G of the laminated substrates Ws, the surface shapes of the edge portion E1 of the first substrate W1 and the edge portion E2 of the second substrate W2 are measured in advance, and the application conditions of the filler F are determined, thereby achieving an appropriate filling state of the filler F.

Figure 10 is a schematic diagram showing another embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus 1. In this embodiment, before the first substrate W1 and the second substrate W2 are bonded, the operation control unit 10 issues a command to the surface shape measuring device 11 to measure the surface shapes of the edge portion E1 of the first substrate W1 and the edge portion E2 of the second substrate W2. The operation control unit 10 then determines the application conditions of the filler F based on the measurement results of the surface shapes. After the first substrate W1 and the second substrate W2 are bonded, the operation control unit 10 issues a command to the filler application module 9 to apply the filler F by the application device 3 under the determined application conditions, and hardens the applied filler F by the hardening device 4.

The surface shapes of the edge portion E1 of the first substrate W1 and the edge portion E2 of the second substrate W2 to be measured are identified by at least one of: (i) the radial dimension x1 of the edge portion E1 of the first substrate W1 and the radial dimension x2 of the edge portion E2 of the second substrate W2; (ii) the thickness dimension x3 of the gap G between the edge portion E1 of the first substrate W1 and the edge portion E2 of the second substrate W2; and (iii) the inclination angle θ1 of the edge portion E1 of the first substrate W1 and the inclination angle θ2 of the edge portion E2 of the second substrate W2.

Figure 11 is a diagram explaining the surface shape of the edge portion to be measured by the surface shape measuring device 11 before the first substrate W1 and the second substrate W2 are bonded. When the first substrate W1 and the second substrate W2 are bonded, the bonding surface P1 of the first substrate W1 and the bonding surface P2 of the second substrate W2 are bonded. The dimensions x1, x2 and inclination angles θ1, θ2 of the bonding surface P1 of the first substrate W1 are the same as the dimensions x1, x2 and inclination angles θ1, θ2 explained with reference to Figure 9, so a duplicate explanation will be omitted.

The dimension x3 in the thickness direction of the gap G between the edge portion E1 of the first substrate W1 and the edge portion E2 of the second substrate W2 is, in other words, the sum of the dimensions x3-1 and x3-2 shown in FIG. 11. The dimension x3-1 is the distance in the thickness direction from the outermost end in the radial direction of the first substrate W1 to the joining surface P1. The dimension x3-2 is the distance in the thickness direction from the outermost end in the radial direction of the second substrate W2 to the joining surface P2. In one embodiment, when the first substrate W1 and the second substrate W2 have the same substrate shape, either the dimension x3-1 or the dimension x3-2 may be measured, and the measured value may be doubled to be the dimension x3 in the thickness direction of the gap G between the edge portion E1 of the first substrate W1 and the edge portion E2 of the second substrate W2.

The above-described embodiments have been described for the purpose of enabling a person having ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention pertains to practice the present invention. Various modifications of the above-described embodiments would naturally be possible for a person skilled in the art, and the technical ideas of the present invention may also be applied to other embodiments. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the described embodiments, but is to be interpreted in the broadest scope in accordance with the technical ideas defined by the scope of the claims.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Substrate processing apparatus 2 Substrate holder 3 Coating apparatus 4 Hardening apparatus 5 Infrared imaging apparatus 7 Rotating shaft 8 Rotating mechanism 9 Filler coating module 10 Operation control section 10a Storage device 10b Processing apparatus 11 Surface shape measuring apparatus 21 Syringe 21a Filler discharge port 22 Piston 25 Gas supply line 26 Pressure adjustment device 27 Opening and closing valve

Claims (11)

1. A substrate processing method for applying a filler to a laminated substrate in which a first substrate and a second substrate are bonded together, comprising the steps of:
measuring a surface shape of an edge portion of the first substrate and an edge portion of the second substrate;
determining application conditions for the filler to be applied to the laminated substrate based on the measurement results;
the filler is applied to a gap between an edge portion of the first substrate and an edge portion of the second substrate of the laminated substrate under the determined application conditions. The substrate processing method according to claim 1, wherein the process of measuring the surface shapes of the edge portion of the first substrate and the edge portion of the second substrate is performed after the first substrate and the second substrate are bonded. The substrate processing method according to claim 1, wherein the process of measuring the surface shapes of the edge portion of the first substrate and the edge portion of the second substrate is performed before the first substrate and the second substrate are bonded. The surface shapes of the edge portion of the first substrate and the edge portion of the second substrate to be measured are
(i) a radial dimension of an edge portion of the first substrate and an edge portion of the second substrate;
(ii) a dimension in a thickness direction of a gap between an edge portion of the first substrate and an edge portion of the second substrate; and (iii) an inclination angle of the edge portion of the first substrate and an inclination angle of the edge portion of the second substrate.
The method of claim 1 , characterized by at least one of the following: The substrate processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the coating conditions include at least one of the following: a composition of the filler, a total coating amount of the filler, a shape of a filler outlet of a coating device for coating the filler, a distance between the laminated substrate and the filler outlet, and an amount of the filler discharged from the filler outlet per unit time. The substrate processing method further includes a step of applying the filler to the laminated substrate and then curing the applied filler,
The substrate processing method according to claim 5 , wherein the application conditions further include an air pressure and a temperature of hot air blown from a hardening device for hardening the filler. The step of applying the filler is performed while rotating the laminated substrate,
The substrate processing method according to claim 5 , wherein the coating conditions further include a rotation speed of the laminated substrate. 1. A substrate processing apparatus for applying a filler to a laminated substrate in which a first substrate and a second substrate are bonded together, comprising:
a filler application module configured to apply the filler to the laminate substrate;
a surface shape measuring device for measuring a surface shape of an edge portion of the first substrate and an edge portion of the second substrate;
an operation control unit for controlling operations of the filler application module and the surface profile measuring device;
The filler application module includes:
A substrate holder that holds the laminated substrate;
a coating device for coating the filler in a gap between an edge portion of the first substrate and an edge portion of the second substrate;
The substrate processing apparatus is configured such that the operation control unit determines application conditions for the filler to be applied to the laminated substrate based on the shape measurement results, and gives a command to the filler application module to apply the filler under the determined application conditions. The surface shape measuring device is
(i) a radial dimension of an edge portion of the first substrate and an edge portion of the second substrate;
(ii) a dimension in a thickness direction of a gap between an edge portion of the first substrate and an edge portion of the second substrate; and (iii) an inclination angle of the edge portion of the first substrate and an inclination angle of the edge portion of the second substrate.
The substrate processing apparatus of claim 8 , configured to measure at least one of: The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the filler application module further comprises a curing device for curing the filler. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the filler application module further comprises a rotation mechanism for rotating the substrate holder.

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