JP7737528B2 - Substrate Processing Equipment - Google Patents

Description

The technology disclosed in this specification relates to substrate processing technology. Substrates that can be processed include, for example, semiconductor wafers, glass substrates for liquid crystal displays, substrates for flat panel displays (FPDs) such as organic electroluminescence (EL) displays, substrates for optical disks, substrates for magnetic disks, substrates for magneto-optical disks, glass substrates for photomasks, ceramic substrates, substrates for field emission displays (FEDs), and substrates for solar cells.

Traditionally, in the manufacturing process of semiconductor substrates (hereinafter simply referred to as "substrates"), various processes are performed on the substrates using substrate processing equipment.

During substrate processing, one or more chemical solutions are ejected onto the substrate through a nozzle, but a suction operation may be performed to suck out the chemical solution from the nozzle to prevent dripping from the nozzle (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-152375

The processing liquid sucked in by the suction operation described above may remain in the suction pipe and become mixed with other processing liquids that are discharged onto the substrate during subsequent substrate processing. This can cause unintended over-etching during subsequent substrate processing, and reduce the accuracy of substrate processing.

The technology disclosed in this specification was developed in consideration of the problems described above, and is a technology for suppressing problems caused by suction operations during substrate processing.

A first aspect of the technology disclosed herein is a substrate processing apparatus for processing substrates, comprising a connection unit and a plurality of first valves, a multi-valve capable of selectively supplying at least one of a processing liquid for processing the substrate and a cleaning liquid for cleaning the substrate; a connection pipe connected to the connection unit and including one of the plurality of first valves; a processing liquid nozzle for discharging the processing liquid onto the substrate via the connection pipe; a suction pipe branching from the connection pipe for suctioning the inside of the connection pipe; a second valve provided in the suction pipe; and a controller for controlling the opening and closing of the plurality of first valves and the second valve. When the cleaning liquid is supplied from the connection unit to the processing liquid nozzle, the controller opens at least one of the plurality of first valves and the second valve, and supplies the cleaning liquid to the suction pipe, thereby cleaning the inside of the suction pipe.

A substrate processing apparatus according to a second aspect of the technology disclosed herein is a substrate processing apparatus for processing substrates, and includes: a multiple valve capable of selectively supplying at least one of a processing liquid for processing the substrate and a cleaning liquid for cleaning the substrate; a processing liquid nozzle for discharging the processing liquid onto the substrate; a connection pipe connecting the multiple valve and the processing liquid nozzle; a suction pipe branching from the connection pipe for suctioning the inside of the connection pipe; a conductivity meter attached to the suction pipe for measuring the conductivity within the suction pipe; and a stopper that stops the supply of the cleaning liquid from the multiple valve to the suction pipe when the conductivity value output from the conductivity meter is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value.

At least the first aspect of the technology disclosed in this specification allows the inside of the suction piping to be thoroughly cleaned, thereby reducing problems caused by the suction operation during substrate processing.

Furthermore, the objects, features, aspects, and advantages associated with the technology disclosed in this specification will become more apparent from the detailed description and accompanying drawings set forth below.

1 is a plan view schematically showing an example of the configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment; FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a control unit illustrated in FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 illustrates an example of the configuration of a processing unit. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of the configuration of piping connected to a processing liquid nozzle, among the configurations of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a state in which the processing liquid nozzle has been moved to a retracted position.

Embodiments will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. While detailed features are shown in the following embodiments to explain the technology, these are merely examples, and not all of them are necessarily essential features for the embodiments to be implementable.

The drawings are schematic, and for the sake of convenience, elements may be omitted or simplified as appropriate. Furthermore, the relative sizes and positions of elements shown in different drawings are not necessarily accurately depicted and may be changed as appropriate. Hatching may also be used in drawings that are not cross-sectional views, such as plan views, to make it easier to understand the contents of the embodiments.

Furthermore, in the following description, similar components are illustrated with the same symbols, and their names and functions are also the same. Therefore, detailed descriptions of them may be omitted to avoid duplication.

Furthermore, in the description provided in this specification, when a certain component is described as "comprising," "including," or "having," it is not an exclusive expression that excludes the presence of other components, unless otherwise specified.

In addition, in the explanations given in this specification, expressions such as "positive direction of the ... axis" or "negative direction of the ... axis" refer to the direction along the arrow of the illustrated ... axis as the positive direction, and the direction opposite the arrow of the illustrated ... axis as the negative direction.

In addition, although the descriptions in this specification may use terms that indicate specific positions or directions, such as "top," "bottom," "left," "right," "side," "bottom," "front," or "back," these terms are used for convenience to facilitate understanding of the contents of the embodiments, and do not relate to the positions or directions in which the embodiments are actually implemented.

In addition, in the description provided in this specification, when reference is made to the "top surface of..." or the "bottom surface of...", this includes not only the top surface or bottom surface of the target component itself, but also a state in which another component is formed on the top surface or bottom surface of the target component. In other words, for example, when reference is made to "B provided on the top surface of A", this does not preclude the presence of another component "C" between A and B.

<Embodiment>
The substrate processing apparatus and the substrate processing method according to this embodiment will be described below.

<Configuration of the substrate processing apparatus>
1 is a plan view schematically illustrating an example of the configuration of a substrate processing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment. The substrate processing apparatus 1 includes a load port 601, an indexer robot 602, a center robot 603, a control unit 90, and at least one processing unit 600 (four processing units in FIG. 1).

The processing unit 600 is a single-wafer processing device that can be used for substrate processing, and specifically, is a device that performs processing to remove organic matter adhering to the substrate W. The organic matter adhering to the substrate W is, for example, a used resist film. This resist film was used, for example, as an implantation mask for an ion implantation process.

The processing unit 600 may also include a chamber 180. In this case, the atmosphere within the chamber 180 can be controlled by the control unit 90, allowing the processing unit 600 to process substrates in the desired atmosphere.

The control unit 90 can control the operation of each component in the substrate processing apparatus 1. The carrier C is a container that stores substrates W. The load port 601 is a container holding mechanism that holds multiple carriers C. The indexer robot 602 can transport substrates W between the load port 601 and the substrate platform 604. The center robot 603 can transport substrates W between the substrate platform 604 and the processing unit 600.

With the above configuration, the indexer robot 602, substrate placement unit 604, and center robot 603 function as a transport mechanism that transports substrates W between each processing unit 600 and the load port 601.

The unprocessed substrate W is removed from the carrier C by the indexer robot 602. The unprocessed substrate W is then transferred to the center robot 603 via the substrate placement unit 604.

The center robot 603 transports the unprocessed substrate W into the processing unit 600. The processing unit 600 then processes the substrate W.

The substrate W that has been processed in the processing unit 600 is removed from the processing unit 600 by the center robot 603. The processed substrate W then passes through other processing units 600 as necessary, and is then transferred to the indexer robot 602 via the substrate placement section 604. The indexer robot 602 then loads the processed substrate W into a carrier C. In this manner, the substrate W is processed.

Figure 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the control unit 90 shown in Figure 1. The control unit 90 may be configured as a general-purpose computer having electrical circuits. Specifically, the control unit 90 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 91, a read-only memory (ROM) 92, a random access memory (RAM) 93, a recording device 94, an input unit 96, a display unit 97, and a communication unit 98, as well as a bus line 95 interconnecting these units.

ROM 92 stores the basic program. RAM 93 is used as a work area when CPU 91 performs predetermined processing. Recording device 94 is composed of a non-volatile recording device such as flash memory or a hard disk drive. Input unit 96 is composed of various switches or a touch panel, and receives input setting instructions such as processing recipes from the user. Display unit 97 is composed of, for example, an LCD display and lamps, and displays various information under the control of CPU 91. Communication unit 98 has a data communication function via a local area network (LAN), etc.

Setting values for controlling each component in the substrate processing apparatus 1 of FIG. 1 are preset in the recording device 94. When the CPU 91 executes the processing program 94P, each component is controlled based on the setting values. The processing program 94P may be recorded on an external recording medium. Using this recording medium, the processing program 94P can be installed in the control unit 90. Furthermore, some or all of the functions performed by the control unit 90 do not necessarily have to be realized by software, but may be realized by hardware such as a dedicated logic circuit.

<About the processing unit>
Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a processing unit 600. As shown in the example in Fig. 3, the processing unit 600 includes a spin chuck 10 that holds one substrate W in a substantially horizontal position and rotates the substrate W about a vertical rotation axis Z1 passing through the center of the substrate W, a processing liquid nozzle 20 that discharges a processing liquid onto the substrate W, a nozzle arm 22 to which the processing liquid nozzle 20 is attached at its end, a cylindrical processing cup 12 that surrounds the spin chuck 10 about the rotation axis Z1 of the substrate W, a rinse liquid nozzle 60, and a gas nozzle 30.

The processing liquid nozzle 20 is capable of ejecting a plurality of types of processing liquid, and a plurality of processing liquid nozzles 20 may be provided corresponding to the respective processing liquids. The processing liquid nozzle 20 ejects the processing liquid onto the upper surface of the substrate W. Here, the processing liquid is a liquid for processing the substrate W, and includes an etching liquid for etching the substrate W (such as a mixed solution of ammonia and hydrogen peroxide (SC1)), a functional liquid such as _CO2 water, an organic solvent such as IPA (isopropyl alcohol), or deionized water (DIW).

The spin chuck 10 comprises a disk-shaped spin base 10A that vacuum-sucks the underside of a substrate W in a substantially horizontal position, a rotation shaft 10C extending downward from the center of the spin base 10A, and a spin motor 10D that rotates the rotation shaft 10C to rotate the substrate W held by the spin base 10A. Instead of the spin chuck 10, a clamping chuck may be used that has multiple chuck pins protruding upward from the outer periphery of the top surface of the spin base and clamps the peripheral edge of the substrate W with the chuck pins.

The nozzle arm 22 comprises an arm portion 22A, a shaft body 22B, and an actuator 22C. The actuator 22C adjusts the angle of the shaft body 22B around its axis. One end of the arm portion 22A is fixed to the shaft body 22B, and the other end of the arm portion 22A is positioned away from the axis of the shaft body 22B. The processing liquid nozzle 20 is attached to the other end of the arm portion 22A. This allows the processing liquid nozzle 20 to swing in the radial direction of the substrate W.

Among the positions to which the processing liquid nozzle 20 can be moved by driving the nozzle arm 22, the position where the processing liquid is ejected onto the substrate W to perform substrate processing is defined as the processing position, and the position where the processing liquid nozzle 20 is retracted from above the substrate W (i.e., the position where the substrate W and the processing liquid nozzle 20 do not overlap in a planar view) is defined as the retracted position.The nozzle arm 22 can move the processing liquid nozzle 20 between the processing position and the retracted position.

The direction of movement of the processing liquid nozzle 20 due to the swinging motion only needs to have a radial component of the substrate W, and does not need to be strictly parallel to the radial direction of the substrate W.

Here, the nozzle arm 22 may be capable of being raised and lowered vertically by a motor (not shown) or the like. In this case, the distance between the processing liquid nozzle 20 attached to the end of the nozzle arm 22 and the upper surface of the substrate W can be adjusted by raising and lowering the nozzle arm 22.

The control unit 90 controls the rotation speed of the spin motor 10D, causing the processing liquid nozzle 20 to eject the processing liquid onto the upper surface of the substrate W. The control unit 90 also controls the driving of the actuator 22C, causing the processing liquid nozzle 20 to oscillate above the upper surface of the substrate W.

The processing unit 600 includes a rinse liquid nozzle 60 that discharges rinse liquid above the substrate W. The rinse liquid nozzle 60 may be fixed above the substrate W. The rinse liquid nozzle 60 is connected to a rinse liquid supply pipe 62 that is equipped with a rinse liquid valve 61. The opening and closing of the rinse liquid valve 61 is controlled by the control unit 90. The rinse liquid nozzle 60 discharges rinse liquid toward the top surface of the substrate W held by the spin chuck 10.

Rinse liquid is supplied to the rinse liquid nozzle 60 from a rinse liquid supply source via a rinse liquid supply pipe 62. DIW (deionized water) or the like is used as the rinse liquid. By supplying the rinse liquid to the substrate W from the rinse liquid nozzle 60, deposits and other substances adhering to the substrate W can be washed away.

The processing unit 600 is equipped with a gas nozzle 30 that sprays gas from above the substrate W. The gas nozzle 30 is supported in a vertical position above the spin chuck 10. A gas supply pipe 32 equipped with a gas valve 31 is connected to the gas nozzle 30. The opening and closing of the gas valve 31 is controlled by the control unit 90.

Gas is supplied to the gas nozzle 30 from a gas supply source via a gas supply pipe 32. Examples of the gas supplied to the gas nozzle 30 include an inert gas such as nitrogen (N ₂ ) gas, dry air, or clean air.

Figure 4 is a diagram that schematically illustrates an example of the configuration of the piping connected to the processing liquid nozzle 20 in the configuration of the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment.

As shown in the example in Figure 4, a multiple valve 40 is connected to the processing liquid nozzle 20 via a connecting pipe 50, and multiple processing liquid supply sources are further connected to the multiple valve 40.

The multiple valve 40 includes a connection portion 40A, a valve 50A on a connection pipe 50 connected downstream to the connection portion 40A, a valve 42A on a supply pipe 42 connected upstream to the connection portion 40A, a valve 43A on a supply pipe 43 connected upstream to the connection portion 40A, a valve 44A on a supply pipe 44 connected upstream to the connection portion 40A, a valve 45A on a supply pipe 45 connected upstream to the connection portion 40A, and a valve 41A on a drain pipe 41 connected to the connection portion 40A. The multiple valve 40 selectively supplies at least one of the processing liquid or the cleaning liquid (described below) supplied from these supply pipes.

The supply pipe 42 is supplied with, for example, ammonia (NH ₃ ). The supply pipe 43 is supplied with, for example, hydrogen peroxide (H ₂ O ₂ ). The supply pipe 44 is supplied with, for example, pure water (DIW). The supply pipe 45 is supplied with, for example, CO ₂ water.

The drainage pipe 41 drains the processing liquid or the cleaning liquid described below from the connection part 40A. It is desirable that the drainage pipe 41 be connected vertically above the connection part 40A rather than the above-mentioned supply pipes (supply pipe 42, supply pipe 43, supply pipe 44, or supply pipe 45).

The connection pipe 50 is connected to a suction pipe 52 that branches off downstream of the valve 50A. The suction pipe 52 is equipped with a suction mechanism 56, a conductivity meter 54, and a valve 52A. The suction pipe 52 also merges with a drainage pipe 58 downstream.

The suction mechanism 56 is, for example, a siphon-type suction mechanism. Here, a siphon-type suction mechanism refers to a mechanism that fills the inside of the pipe (suction pipe 52) with liquid and uses the siphon principle to suck (drain) the liquid inside the connecting pipe 50. Note that the suction mechanism 56 may also be an ejector-type suction mechanism.

The conductivity meter 54 is a device that measures the conductivity within the suction pipe 52. The conductivity meter 54 measures, for example, the conductivity of the liquid (such as a processing liquid containing pure water) remaining in the suction pipe 52. The conductivity meter 54 does not necessarily have to be provided, or it may be provided in the connecting pipe 50 downstream from the point where it branches off from the suction pipe 52. When the conductivity meter 54 is provided in the connecting pipe 50, it can directly measure the conductivity of the processing liquid ejected from the processing liquid nozzle 20, which is useful for controlling the concentration of the processing liquid used in substrate processing.

<Operation of the substrate processing apparatus>
Next, the operation of the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

The indexer robot 602 transports a substrate W from a carrier C in the load port 601 to the substrate platform 604. The center robot 603 transports the substrate W from the substrate platform 604 to one of the processing units 600. The processing unit 600 processes the substrate W. The center robot 603 transports the substrate W from the processing unit 600 to the substrate platform 604. The indexer robot 602 transports the substrate W from the substrate platform 604 to a carrier C in the load port 601.

The above-described processing of the substrate W is performed by supplying a processing liquid to the processing liquid nozzle 20 under the control of the control unit 90. The processing liquid is, for example, an etching liquid for etching a metal layer formed on the upper surface of the substrate W (e.g., a metal layer formed of cobalt, aluminum, tungsten, copper, ruthenium, molybdenum, titanium nitride, tantalum nitride, or the like).

Specifically, under the control of the control unit 90, valve 41A is closed and valve 50A is opened. Furthermore, under the control of the control unit 90, at least one of valves 42A, 43A, 44A, and 45A is opened. Which of valves 42A, 43A, 44A, and 45A is opened can be changed depending on the type of processing liquid being supplied.

Then, the processing liquid is supplied from the corresponding supply source to the multiple valve 40, and the processing liquid is supplied from the multiple valve 40 to the processing liquid nozzle 20 via the connecting pipe 50. The processing liquid is then supplied to the corresponding substrate W.

At this time, the valve 52A of the suction pipe 52 connected to the connection pipe 50 is closed, and the suction mechanism 56 is not operating.

After that, the processing of the substrate W is completed, and the supply of processing liquid to the processing liquid nozzle 20 is stopped under the control of the control unit 90. Then, under the control of the control unit 90, the valve 52A is opened, and the suction mechanism 56 is operated with the valve 52A open. This causes suction inside the suction pipe 52. That is, the processing liquid remaining in the connection pipe 50 and the suction pipe 52 is drawn into the suction pipe 52, and then drained via the drainage pipe 58.

On the other hand, the substrate processing apparatus 1 can switch between opening and closing each valve in order to clean the piping structure including the multi-valve 40 between substrate processing of the same or different substrates W.

In this case, first, cleaning liquid is supplied to the multiple valve 40 under the control of the control unit 90. Here, the cleaning liquid is, for example, deionized water (DIW), and the time during which the cleaning liquid is supplied to the multiple valve 40 is, for example, about several seconds.

Specifically, valve 41A and valve 44A are opened under the control of control unit 90. Furthermore, valves 42A, 43A, 45A, and 50A are closed under the control of control unit 90.

The cleaning liquid is then supplied to the corresponding multiple valve 40 and then drained through the drainage pipe 41, thereby cleaning the inside of the multiple valve 40 with the cleaning liquid.

Next, under the control of the control unit 90, cleaning liquid is supplied to the connecting pipe 50 via the multiple valve 40. Here, the cleaning liquid is, for example, deionized water (DIW), and the time during which the cleaning liquid is supplied to the connecting pipe 50 is, for example, about several seconds.

Specifically, valve 44A and valve 50A are opened under the control of control unit 90. Furthermore, valves 42A, 43A, 45A, and 41A are closed under the control of control unit 90.

The cleaning liquid is then supplied to the connection pipe 50 and the processing liquid nozzle 20 via the corresponding multiple valve 40, and is then drained from the bottom of the processing cup 12 into the drain pipe 58, thereby cleaning the inside of the connection pipe 50 and the processing liquid nozzle 20 with the cleaning liquid.

At this time, cleaning liquid can be supplied to the suction pipe 52 by opening the valve 52A of the suction pipe 52 connected to the connection pipe 50. The cleaning liquid supplied to the suction pipe 52 is then drained into the drainage pipe 58. In this way, the inside of the suction pipe 52 is cleaned with the cleaning liquid.

By supplying cleaning liquid to the suction pipe 52 as described above, the processing liquid remaining in the suction pipe 52 can be effectively cleaned by the suction operation after substrate processing.

Due to the suction operation after substrate processing, processing liquid remains in the suction pipe 52, mainly at the branch point from the connection pipe 50. If this remaining processing liquid mixes with other types of processing liquid supplied to the substrate W at a later time, unintended effects (such as over-etching or under-etching) may occur. According to experiments by the inventors, when cleaning only the connection pipe 50, it takes several tens of seconds for this mixing to become sufficiently small.

On the other hand, with the cleaning method shown in this embodiment, in which cleaning liquid is supplied directly to the suction pipe 52, it only takes a few seconds for the above-mentioned contamination to become sufficiently small.

Furthermore, the concentration of the processing liquid remaining in the suction pipe 52 can be calculated based on the conductivity value in the suction pipe 52 output from the conductivity meter 54 installed in the suction pipe 52, making it possible to control the end timing of the above-mentioned cleaning method in which cleaning liquid is supplied directly to the suction pipe 52.

That is, when the conductivity inside the suction pipe 52 falls below a predetermined threshold (for example, a value at which the contamination is sufficiently small, such as 0.05 μS/cm or more and 0.1 μS/cm or less), the control unit 90 can close the valve 52A and stop the supply of cleaning liquid to the suction pipe 52. Alternatively, if the conductivity does not fall below the threshold after cleaning for a predetermined time, the control unit 90 can open the valve 52A again to perform additional cleaning and resume the supply of cleaning liquid to the suction pipe 52. The threshold can be determined in advance, for example, based on the correspondence between the measured conductivity and the amount of contamination in the treatment liquid actually discharged.

When cleaning the connection pipe 50 and the suction pipe 52, cleaning liquid is discharged from the processing liquid nozzle 20. Therefore, it is desirable that the processing liquid nozzle 20 be retracted from above the substrate W during this cleaning. Specifically, as shown in the example in Figure 5, when cleaning the connection pipe 50 and the suction pipe 52, it is desirable that the control unit 90 control the drive of the nozzle arm 22 to move the processing liquid nozzle 20 to the retracted position. Note that Figure 5 shows the state in which the processing liquid nozzle 20 has been moved to the retracted position.

Furthermore, in order to prevent the substrate W from drying out while the connection pipe 50 and the suction pipe 52 are being cleaned, it is desirable to supply rinse liquid to the substrate W from the rinse liquid nozzle 60 during the above-mentioned cleaning, as shown in FIG. 5.

In the above description, the suction pipe 52 was cleaned when the processing liquid nozzle 20 was cleaned, but it is also possible to clean only the suction pipe 52.

In the above description, the suction piping 52 was cleaned after the multiple valve 40 was cleaned, but the suction piping 52 may be cleaned first, or only the suction piping 52 may be cleaned without the multiple valve 40 being cleaned. Furthermore, the suction piping 52 and the multiple valve 40 may be cleaned simultaneously by opening valves 41A, 50A, and 52A.

Furthermore, when multiple connection pipes 50 are connected to one multiple valve 40 and multiple processing liquid nozzles 20 are provided correspondingly, cleaning of the multiple valve 40, connection pipes 50, and suction pipes 52 may be performed simultaneously for the multiple connection pipes 50 and the corresponding multiple suction pipes 52. This can shorten the cleaning time.

The treatment liquid can then be ejected from different treatment liquid nozzles 20 before and after cleaning the multiple valve 40, connection pipe 50, and suction pipe 52.

<Effects of the above-described embodiments>
Next, examples of effects obtained by the above-described embodiments will be described. Note that in the following description, the effects will be described based on the specific configurations exemplified in the above-described embodiments, but these may be replaced with other specific configurations exemplified in the present specification as long as the same effects are obtained. In other words, for convenience, only one of the associated specific configurations may be described as a representative below, but the representatively described specific configuration may be replaced with another associated specific configuration.

According to the embodiment described above, in a substrate processing method using a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate W, the substrate processing apparatus includes a multiple valve 40, a processing liquid nozzle 20, a connection pipe 50, and a suction pipe 52. The multiple valve 40 is capable of selectively supplying at least one of a processing liquid for processing the substrate W and a cleaning liquid for cleaning. The processing liquid nozzle 20 discharges the processing liquid onto the substrate W. The connection pipe 50 connects the multiple valve 40 and the processing liquid nozzle 20. The suction pipe 52 branches off from the connection pipe 50. The suction pipe 52 also suctions the inside of the connection pipe 50. The substrate processing method further includes a step of cleaning the inside of the suction pipe 52 by supplying a cleaning liquid from the multiple valve 40 to the suction pipe 52.

With this configuration, the inside of the suction pipe 52 is sufficiently cleaned, thereby preventing problems caused by the processing liquid remaining in the suction pipe 52 being discharged onto the substrate W during subsequent substrate processing. If the processing liquid remaining in the suction pipe 52 is an etching liquid, unintended over-etching during subsequent substrate processing can be prevented. Furthermore, if the processing liquid remaining in the suction pipe 52 is pure water (low-conductivity DIW), the pure water may become conductive due to the inclusion of _O2 or _CO2 from the atmosphere as a result of remaining in the suction pipe 52 for a long time, and this can prevent unintended arc discharge during subsequent substrate processing.

Furthermore, the same effect can be achieved even if other configurations exemplified in this specification are appropriately added to the above configuration, i.e., even if other configurations in this specification that are not mentioned as the above configuration are appropriately added.

Furthermore, according to the embodiment described above, the multiple valve 40 includes a drainage pipe 41 for draining at least one of the processing liquid and the cleaning liquid from the multiple valve 40. The substrate processing method further includes a step of supplying cleaning liquid from the multiple valve 40 to the drainage pipe 41. With this configuration, the inside of the multiple valve 40 can be cleaned by supplying cleaning liquid from the multiple valve 40 to the drainage pipe 41. This prevents problems caused by processing liquid remaining in the multiple valve 40 being sprayed onto the substrate W during subsequent substrate processing.

Furthermore, according to the embodiment described above, the process of supplying cleaning liquid from the multiple valve 40 to the drainage pipe 41 is performed simultaneously with the process of cleaning the inside of the suction pipe 52. With this configuration, the multiple valve 40 and the suction pipe 52 are cleaned simultaneously, thereby shortening the time required for cleaning.

Furthermore, according to the embodiment described above, the processing liquid nozzle 20 can be positioned at a processing position for processing the substrate W and a retracted position for retracting from the substrate W. The process of cleaning the inside of the suction pipe 52 is performed while the processing liquid nozzle 20 is positioned at the retracted position. With this configuration, since the cleaning inside of the suction pipe 52 is performed while the processing liquid nozzle 20 is positioned at the retracted position, even if the cleaning liquid supplied to the suction pipe 52 is ejected from the processing liquid nozzle 20, it is possible to prevent the ejected cleaning liquid from contaminating the substrate W.

Furthermore, according to the embodiment described above, the substrate processing apparatus is equipped with a rinse liquid nozzle 60 for discharging rinse liquid onto the substrate W. The rinse liquid nozzle 60 then discharges rinse liquid onto the substrate W at the processing position during the process of cleaning the inside of the suction pipe 52. With this configuration, the substrate W can be rinsed while the inside of the suction pipe 52 is being cleaned, thereby enabling efficient substrate processing.

Furthermore, according to the embodiment described above, the substrate processing apparatus includes a conductivity meter 54 provided in the suction pipe 52 for measuring the conductivity within the suction pipe 52, and a stop unit that stops the supply of cleaning liquid from the multiple valve 40 to the suction pipe 52 when the conductivity value output from the conductivity meter 54 is equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold value. Here, the stop unit corresponds to, for example, the control unit 90. With this configuration, the cleaning time within the suction pipe 52 can be adjusted according to the conductivity value output from the conductivity meter 54 under the control of the control unit 90, thereby preventing the cleaning time within the suction pipe 52 from becoming longer than necessary and effectively removing processing liquid remaining within the suction pipe 52.

<Modifications of the above-described embodiments>
In the embodiments described above, the material, composition, dimensions, shape, relative positional relationship, or implementation conditions of each component may also be described, but these are merely examples in all aspects and are not limiting.

Accordingly, countless variations and equivalents not shown are contemplated within the scope of the technology disclosed herein. For example, this includes modifying, adding, or omitting at least one component.

Furthermore, in the embodiments described above, when a material name is mentioned without any particular specification, unless a contradiction arises, it is assumed that the material in question may contain other additives, such as alloys.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Substrate processing apparatus 10 Spin chuck 10A Spin base 10C Rotation shaft 10D Spin motor 12 Processing cup 20 Processing liquid nozzle 22 Nozzle arm 22A Arm portion 22B Shaft body 22C Actuator 30 Gas nozzle 31 Gas valve 32 Gas supply pipe 40 Multiple valve 40A Connection portion 41, 58 Drain pipe 41A, 42A, 43A, 44A, 45A, 50A, 52A Valve 42, 43, 44, 45 Supply pipe 50 Connection pipe 52 Suction pipe 54 Conductivity meter 56 Suction mechanism 60 Rinse liquid nozzle 61 Rinse liquid valve 62 Rinse liquid supply pipe 90 Control unit 91 CPU
92 ROM
93 RAM
94 Recording device 94P Processing program 95 Bus line 96 Input section 97 Display section 98 Communication section 180 Chamber 600 Processing unit 601 Load port 602 Indexer robot 603 Center robot 604 Substrate placement section

Claims (2)

a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate,
a multi-valve including a connection portion and a plurality of first valves, and capable of selectively supplying at least one of a processing liquid for processing the substrate and a cleaning liquid for cleaning;
a connecting pipe connected to the connecting portion and including one of the plurality of first valves;
a processing liquid nozzle for discharging the processing liquid onto the substrate through the connection pipe;
a suction pipe branching from the connection pipe and configured to draw air into the connection pipe;
a second valve provided in the suction pipe;
a control unit that controls opening and closing of the plurality of first valves and the plurality of second valves,
when the control unit supplies the cleaning liquid from the connection unit to the processing liquid nozzle, the control unit opens at least one of the plurality of first valves and the second valve to supply the cleaning liquid to the suction pipe, thereby cleaning the inside of the suction pipe.
Substrate processing equipment. a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate,
a multi-valve capable of selectively supplying at least one of a processing liquid for processing the substrate and a cleaning liquid for cleaning the substrate;
a processing liquid nozzle for discharging the processing liquid onto the substrate;
a connection pipe connecting the multiple valve and the processing liquid nozzle;
a suction pipe branching from the connection pipe and configured to draw air into the connection pipe;
a conductivity meter provided in the suction pipe for measuring the conductivity in the suction pipe;
a stopper that stops the supply of the cleaning liquid from the multiple valve to the suction pipe when the conductivity value output from the conductivity meter is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value.
Substrate processing equipment.