JP2011040572A - Substrate processing apparatus and method - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to prevent pattern collapse and realize supercritical drying with low dust and high throughput.
Before gripping a wafer W by a wafer support 31 and unloading the wafer W from a cleaning chamber 1, a proximity plate 33 is brought close to the device surface of the wafer W so that a rinsing liquid RL is applied onto the wafer W by capillary force. While being held, it is transferred to the supercritical drying chamber 2.
[Selection] Figure 3B

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method.

  In recent years, the miniaturization of semiconductor devices has progressed, and the pattern aspect ratio has increased. For this reason, in the manufacture of semiconductor devices, there is a problem of a phenomenon in which patterns are joined (pattern collapse) after a wafer cleaning / drying process using a liquid. For such problems, it is known that the use of supercritical drying technology in the drying process can suppress the pattern collapse phenomenon caused by the surface tension during drying by drying with an ideal medium having a surface tension of zero. .

  Since supercritical drying is performed under high pressure (supercritical carbonic acid and critical pressure: about 8 MPa), it is necessary to use a high-pressure vessel for the processing chamber. In order to provide pressure resistance, SUS (Stainless Used Steel) material is used. A wall thickness chamber is used. In many cases, the SUS surface is not subjected to a coating process and becomes a solid SUS surface because it causes dust generation. Also, the treatment with an inorganic chemical solution (for example, hydrofluoric acid, hydrochloric acid, etc.) used in the processing after RIE (Reactive Ion Etching) is not performed in the same chamber from the viewpoint of corrosiveness, and the processing in another cleaning chamber. It must be later transferred to a chamber for supercritical drying. Pattern collapse is a phenomenon that applies the force necessary for collapse to the pattern side when the solvent remaining on the wafer surface is dried between patterns. To suppress this, before bringing it into supercritical drying, The space between the patterns must always be filled with some solvent. For example, after the wet process, a rinse process such as ultrapure water is performed, and the rinse liquid is transferred to the supercritical chamber in a state in which the wafer is accumulated on the wafer, and the substitution solvent is introduced in the supercritical state after the transfer is completed. The solvent remaining between the patterns is replaced with the supercritical solvent, and after the space between the patterns is completely filled with the supercritical solvent, the supercritical solvent is vaporized and discharged, and the wafer is discharged after the drying is completed.

  In such a supercritical drying process, it is necessary to complete conveyance while maintaining a liquid accumulation state during conveyance in order to suppress collapse. However, in a transfer hand used in a single wafer apparatus or the like, there is a risk that the liquid placed on the transfer will spill out (see FIG. 4), and in particular for a φ300 mm diameter wafer, the liquid is transferred without spilling from the entire wafer surface. It is very difficult.

  For such a problem, a special dedicated container is prepared, the wafer is allowed to stand in a minute space formed in the dedicated container, and the wafer is transferred to a predetermined processing tank together with the solvent in the container. (For example, Patent Document 1). According to the proposal disclosed in Patent Document 1, a “container” for transporting the entire solvent is required, and it is necessary to insert the transport arm into the container together with the wafer in order to store the wafer in the container. For this reason, the volume for a substantial arm is required, and there is a concern that the amount of the solvent brought into the next treatment tank after the conveyance increases. In the subsequent supercritical drying process, the carry-in solvent is replaced with the supercritical solvent. Therefore, if the amount of the carry-in solvent is large, the dust factor increases accordingly. For this reason, a long process for discharging the brought-in solvent to the outside is required, which causes a problem that the throughput on the apparatus side is lowered. In addition, it is necessary to leave the transfer container in the supercritical chamber, quickly take out the wafer in a liquid wet state, quickly transfer the transfer system to the outside, and seal the supercritical drying chamber to reach the drying process. However, since the transfer container has a size larger than the wafer diameter, the transfer system may be complicated.

  As for the wet conveyance to the supercritical drying chamber, there is a proposal of immersing the wafer together with a solvent in a dish-like container having a wafer diameter (for example, Patent Document 2). In Patent Document 2, it is proposed that the wafer is placed flat and wet transferred while the wafer is immersed in a petri dish-like container. However, considering the suppression of drying due to liquid level fluctuation during transportation, the immersion liquid should require a sufficient amount of liquid, and the amount of solvent brought into the supercritical drying chamber also increases. It is expected that there will be a problem that the throughput on the side will decrease.

  Furthermore, since both Patent Documents 1 and 2 employ a structure in which the wafer to be processed is immersed in a double-sided solvent at the time of transport, dust caused by back surface transport traces in other processes is generated in the solvent that wraps around the back surface side. There is also a concern that this dust will adhere to the opposite device surface.

JP-A-2005-179722 JP 2003-51475 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method that prevent pattern collapse and realize supercritical drying with low dust and high throughput.

According to a first aspect of the invention,
A substrate support unit that supports a substrate having a plurality of adjacent patterns on the main surface, and the substrate is supported by the substrate support unit while the substrate is supported by the first solvent. A transport unit for transporting to a second chamber for critical drying; and a substrate having substantially the same size as the substrate, and arranged to be movable up and down in a direction perpendicular to a main surface of the substrate, A solvent holding member for holding the first solvent on the substrate by a capillary force with the substrate in the vicinity of the main surface of the substrate at the time of unloading from the first chamber; There is provided a substrate processing apparatus including a first lifting mechanism that moves up and down in a chamber.

According to the second aspect of the present invention,
A substrate support unit that supports a substrate having a plurality of adjacent patterns on the main surface, and the substrate is supported by the substrate support unit while the substrate is supported by the first solvent. A transport unit for transporting to a second chamber for critical drying; and a main surface of the substrate that is disposed so as to be movable up and down in a direction perpendicular to the main surface of the substrate, and that the substrate is unloaded from the first chamber There is provided a substrate processing apparatus comprising: a substrate protection part that contacts at least a peripheral part of the main surface of the substrate; and a first elevating mechanism that elevates and lowers the substrate protection part in the first chamber. The

According to the third aspect of the present invention,
A substrate support unit for supporting a substrate having a plurality of adjacent patterns on the main surface, a transport unit for transporting the substrate supported by the substrate support unit, and a vertically movable configuration in a direction perpendicular to the main surface of the substrate. A substrate processing method using a substrate processing apparatus comprising: a solvent holding member provided before the substrate is unloaded from a first chamber that cleans the substrate with a first solvent. The first solvent is held on the substrate by the capillary force of the substrate and the solvent holding member by covering the main surface of the substrate with the substrate close to the main surface of the substrate. The substrate processing method includes a step of transporting the substrate to a second chamber for supercritical drying.

Furthermore, according to the fourth aspect of the present invention,
A substrate support unit for supporting a substrate having a plurality of adjacent patterns on the main surface, a transport unit for transporting the substrate supported by the substrate support unit, and a vertically movable configuration in a direction perpendicular to the main surface of the substrate. A substrate processing method using a substrate processing apparatus comprising: a substrate protection unit provided before the substrate is unloaded from a first chamber that cleans the substrate with a first solvent. In contact with the main surface of the substrate to cover at least the peripheral portion of the main surface of the substrate, so that the first solvent is held on the substrate and the substrate is moved by the transfer unit. There is provided a substrate processing method comprising a step of transporting to a second chamber for critical drying.

  According to the present invention, there are provided a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method that prevent pattern collapse and realize supercritical drying with low dust and high throughput.

1 is a plan view including a schematic configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The flowchart which shows the schematic process of the substrate processing method which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the specific process of the substrate processing method shown in FIG. The figure which shows the specific process of the substrate processing method shown in FIG. The figure which shows the specific process of the substrate processing method shown in FIG. The figure which shows the specific process of the substrate processing method shown in FIG. The figure which shows the specific process of the substrate processing method shown in FIG. The figure which shows the specific process of the substrate processing method shown in FIG. The figure which shows the specific process of the substrate processing method shown in FIG. The figure which shows the specific process of the substrate processing method shown in FIG. The figure which shows the specific process of the substrate processing method shown in FIG. The figure which shows the specific process of the substrate processing method shown in FIG. The figure explaining the substrate processing method by the prior art as a comparative example. The graph explaining the effect of the substrate processing method shown in FIG. The graph explaining the effect of the substrate processing method shown in FIG. The top view including schematic structure of the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which shows the schematic process of the substrate processing method which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the specific process of the substrate processing method shown in FIG. The figure which shows the specific process of the substrate processing method shown in FIG. The figure which shows the specific process of the substrate processing method shown in FIG. The figure which shows the specific process of the substrate processing method shown in FIG. The figure which shows the specific process of the substrate processing method shown in FIG. The figure which shows the specific process of the substrate processing method shown in FIG. The figure which shows the specific process of the substrate processing method shown in FIG. The figure which shows the specific process of the substrate processing method shown in FIG. The figure which shows the specific process of the substrate processing method shown in FIG. The figure which shows the specific process of the substrate processing method shown in FIG.

  Hereinafter, some embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be given only when necessary.

(1) First Embodiment FIG. 1 is a plan view including a schematic configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The substrate processing apparatus of this embodiment includes a wafer transfer device 3 and an elevating mechanism 37. The wafer transfer device 3 includes a transfer arm DA, a lower arm LA (see FIG. 3), a wafer support unit 31, an upper arm UA, and a proximity plate 33.

  In this embodiment, the wafer support unit 31 corresponds to, for example, a substrate support unit, is connected to the transfer arm DA via the lower arm LA, and is used to transfer the wafer W between the first chamber 1 and the second chamber 2. Grip. In the present embodiment, the first chamber 1 performs a cleaning / rinsing process on the wafer W, and the second chamber 2 performs supercritical drying on the wafer W.

  The upper arm UA is connected to the transfer arm DA on one side, and supports the proximity plate 33 from above in a state where it can be raised and lowered on the other side. The upper arm UA includes a solvent supply mechanism, and before or during transfer of the wafer W from the first chamber 1 to the second chamber 2, the rinsing liquid RL is supplied through a solvent supply pipe provided therein. The wafer W is supplied from a solvent supply port AP provided at the center of the proximity plate 33. In the present embodiment, the lower arm LA, the upper arm UA, and the transfer arm DA correspond to, for example, a transfer unit, and the rinse liquid RL corresponds to, for example, a first solvent. In the present embodiment, the upper arm UA also corresponds to, for example, a first lifting mechanism.

  In the present embodiment, the proximity plate 33 corresponds to, for example, a solvent holding member, is supported by the upper arm UA in a direction perpendicular to the wafer W, and is lowered by the upper arm UA when the wafer W is unloaded from the first chamber 1. Then, a minute gap is formed close to the pattern forming surface of the wafer W, and the rinse liquid RL is moved by the capillary force with the wafer W until the wafer W is moved by the transfer arm DA and placed in the second chamber 2. Is held on the wafer W (see FIG. 3B). The proximity plate 33 has substantially the same size as the wafer, and is formed of a material corresponding to the wettability on the wafer W side or a solvent in the supercritical drying process, or the surface facing the wafer W is processed. The processed one is selected. For example, when the liquid build-up solvent is pure water, a solution obtained by laminating an oxide film system on the outermost surface side of the surface facing the wafer W and making it hydrophilic is selected. Further, the proximity plate 33 itself may be formed of a material having hydrophilicity such as quartz. With such a proximity plate, even when the coverage of a portion showing water repellency such as polysilicon (polySi) on the device surface of the processed wafer W is large, the liquid can be sufficiently held on the proximity plate 33 side. The surface wetness on the wafer side can be maintained. Further, as will be described later, when isopropyl alcohol (IPA) is used as a pre-drying solvent in the supercritical drying process, the facing surface of the proximity plate 33 to the wafer W has a high wettability with respect to alcohols. A proximity plate with improved liquid retention is selected by applying. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, various types of proximity plates 33a to 33j are prepared in advance, and the most suitable one for the wafer W to be processed is selected from these.

  The elevating mechanism 37 corresponds to, for example, the second elevating mechanism in the present embodiment, and is disposed in the second chamber 2 so that the wafer W held by the wafer support 31 is placed in the second chamber 2 together with the proximity plate 33. After being carried in, the proximity plate 33 is raised according to the degree to which the space in the second chamber 2 is filled with the supercritical solvent (see FIGS. 3D and 3E). Thereby, the substitution efficiency from the rinse liquid RL or IPA to the supercritical solvent is improved. In the present embodiment, the elevating mechanism 37 includes an IPA supply mechanism that supplies IPA between the proximity plate 33 and the wafer W via the proximity plate 33 before the supercritical drying. As a result, only the required amount of IPA can be used in the primary replacement of the rinse liquid RL with the IPA, so that the cost can be reduced and the throughput can be increased.

  Next, a method for performing supercritical drying of the wafer W using the above-described substrate processing apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5B as a first embodiment of the substrate processing method according to the present invention. 3A and 3B are partial side views of the wafer transfer device 3 and the first chamber 1 as viewed from the arrow AR1 in FIG. 1, and FIGS. 3C to 3J show the wafer transfer device 3 described above. 2 is a partial side view of the first chamber 2 and the second chamber 2 as viewed from an arrow AR2 in FIG.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing schematic steps of the substrate processing method according to the present embodiment.

  First, a wafer W on which a plurality of fine patterns are formed adjacent to each other on the device surface is carried into the first chamber 1, and cleaning and rinsing processes are performed (steps S1 and S2). As a result, the rinse liquid RL is in a liquid accumulation state on the device surface of the wafer W (see FIG. 3A). In this embodiment, the rinse liquid is ultrapure water. In the present embodiment, the device surface corresponds to, for example, the main surface.

  After completion of the rinsing process, as shown in FIG. 3A, the upper arm UA, the proximity plate 33, the lower arm LA, and the wafer support unit 31 of the wafer transfer device 3 are moved into the first chamber 1, and the wafer support unit 31 After the wafer W is gripped and transported, the proximity plate is measured so that the measured value and the target value coincide with each other while measuring the distance between the proximity plate 33 and the wafer W by a distance sensor (not shown), for example. 33 is brought close to the wafer W (step S3, FIG. 3B). Alternatively, the proximity distance to the wafer W may be mechanically stopped using a stepping motor or the like so that the relative distance is adjusted in advance. The proximity distance is a value that allows the entire surface of the wafer W to be sufficiently wetted with the solvent. The type of supercritical solvent used for drying, the type of solvent that accumulates on the wafer W before drying, the wafer W and the proximity plate 33 The optimum value varies depending on the surface wettability with respect to the solvent. For example, when liquefied carbon dioxide is used as a supercritical solvent and isopropyl alcohol (IPA) is used as a pre-drying solvent to perform φ300 mm wafer supercritical drying, a gap of about 1-2 mm is provided between the wafer W and the proximity plate 32. By providing this, the entire wafer can be sufficiently wetted. The value of such a minute gap is obtained by adjusting in advance.

  In this way, the wafer W is transferred to the second chamber 2 while holding the rinse liquid RL in the gap between the wafer W and the proximity plate 32 (step S4, FIG. 3C). When the wafer W is placed at a predetermined position in the second chamber 2, the wafer support unit 31 and the proximity plate 33 are left in the second chamber 2 together with the transfer arm DA, the lower arm LA, and the upper arm UA. Are removed from the chamber 2 (FIG. 3D).

  Next, the elevating mechanism 37 installed in the second chamber 2 is lowered and connected to the proximity plate 33 (FIG. 3D), and IPA is supplied to the piping provided in the elevating mechanism 37 via the proximity plate 33. The ink is discharged into a minute gap between the proximity plate 33 and the wafer W. As a result, the rinse liquid RL accumulated on the wafer W is expelled, discharged from the discharge pipe 23, and replaced with IPA (step S5, FIG. 3D). In this embodiment, IPA corresponds to the second solvent, for example.

  Subsequently, a supercritical solvent is supplied from the pipe 21 to the second chamber 2 (step S6, FIG. 3E). Examples of the supercritical solvent include ethanol, methanol, propanol, butanol, methane, ethane, propane, water, ammonia, ethylene, and fluoromethane. In this embodiment, liquefied carbon dioxide is used. At this time, when the liquid level of liquefied carbon dioxide reaches the height of the IPA accumulated on the wafer W, the proximity plate 33 is raised by the elevating mechanism 37, whereby the proximity plate 33 and the wafer W are separated. (Step S7, FIG. 3E) As described above, according to the present embodiment, the supercritical solvent is introduced while the liquid is deposited on the wafer W to perform the liquid replacement. Note that the second chamber is used when it is necessary to sufficiently fill the liquid in the vicinity of the wafer W, for example, when the wafer W side exhibits a solvent repellency with respect to the liquid solvent. The proximity plate 33 may be retracted above the wafer W after the supercritical solvent is filled therein.

  When the IPA on the wafer W is sufficiently substituted with liquefied carbon dioxide, the liquefied carbon dioxide is boosted and heated to reach the supercritical state (step S8), whereby the second chamber. Supercritical drying is performed using the liquefied carbon dioxide in the inside as a supercritical fluid (step S9, FIG. 3F).

  When the supercritical drying is completed, the second chamber 2 is returned to normal pressure, the supercritical fluid is vaporized and then exhausted from the discharge pipe 23 (see FIG. 3G), and the wafer W is moved to the wafer support 31 and the proximity plate 33. At the same time, the wafer W is taken out from the second chamber 2, and the proximity plate 33 is again separated from the wafer W by the upper arm UA to take out the dried wafer W (step S10, FIGS. 3H to 3J).

  The effect of the substrate processing method of the present embodiment will be described by comparison with the conventional technique. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a substrate processing method according to a conventional technique. In the past, the rinse liquid RL was transferred to the device surface of the wafer W while it was transferred by gripping the edge portion of the wafer W or dropping it into a guide according to the wafer diameter. The liquid of the rinsing liquid RL is spilled while being transported from the cleaning / rinsing chamber to the supercritical drying chamber, and partially dried naturally at the spilled part where the liquid volume is reduced, so that the solvent for drying is included. There was a situation where the pattern collapsed due to surface tension.

  On the other hand, according to the present embodiment, liquid spillage during transportation can be prevented, so that the replacement with the supercritical solvent can be completed smoothly, and the occurrence of pattern collapse can be prevented. Further, since the rinsing liquid RL is placed in the minute gap with the wafer W using the proximity plate 33, it is possible to reduce the amount of liquid necessary for liquid accumulation compared to normal liquid accumulation conveyance. Furthermore, since the solvent is in contact with only the device surface of the wafer W, the concern that dust will circulate from the back surface is eliminated.

  FIG. 5A is a graph showing the correlation between the amount of IPA brought into the supercritical drying chamber and adhered particles. FIG. 5A shows that the number of particles adhering to one wafer W drastically decreases exponentially when the amount of IPA is reduced. FIG. 5B is a graph showing the correlation between the amount of IPA brought in and the processing time per supercritical drying chamber. From FIG. 5B, it can be seen that the amount of IPA and the processing time per chamber are generally proportional. Also referring to FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B, when the amount of liquid required for liquid deposition on the wafer W is reduced according to this embodiment, the amount of IPA in the supercritical drying chamber is reduced, and both in dust reduction and processing time. It turns out that a remarkable effect is show | played.

(2) Second Embodiment FIG. 6 is a plan view including a schematic configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. As is clear from comparison with FIG. 1, in the substrate processing apparatus of the present embodiment, the wafer transfer apparatus 4 includes a wafer guard 43 instead of the proximity plate 33 in the first embodiment. The other structure of the substrate processing apparatus of this embodiment is substantially the same as the apparatus shown in FIG.

  The wafer guard 43 is a ring-shaped wafer protection member in the present embodiment, and has a predetermined height (thickness) and is perpendicular to the wafer W by the upper arm UA, as can be seen from the side view of FIG. 8A. When the wafer W is unmovably supported from the first chamber 1, it is lowered by the upper arm UA and comes into contact with the periphery of the pattern forming surface of the wafer W on the lower surface, and the wafer W is moved by the transfer arm DA. Then, the wafer W is surrounded and protected from the periphery until it is placed in the second chamber 2 to prevent the rinse liquid RL from spilling from the wafer W (see FIG. 8B). Similar to the proximity plate 33, the wafer guard 43 has substantially the same size as the wafer, and is formed of a material corresponding to the type of the wafer W, the wettability of the wafer W, and the solvent in the supercritical drying process. Or a wafer whose surface facing the wafer W is processed in accordance with these. Also in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, various wafer guards 43a to 43j are prepared in advance, and the most suitable one for the wafer W to be processed is selected from these.

  In this embodiment, since the height (thickness) of the wafer guard 43 is a given value, the wafer guards 43a to 43j to be selected include the material, the processing mode of the surface facing the wafer W, and the like. In addition, the height (thickness) is prepared in addition to the variation elements.

  Since the wafer guard 43 has a ring shape, the connecting portion of the elevating mechanism 37 installed on the second chamber 2 side is adjusted to have a shape corresponding to the ring shape. In the present embodiment, the wafer guard 43 is formed in a ring shape. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the device surface of the wafer W may be covered by a shape with a lid.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a schematic process of the method of processing the wafer W using the substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG. The flow shown in FIG. 7 corresponds to a flow in which the proximity plate in the flow diagram of FIG. 2 is replaced with a wafer guard and 20 is added to each process number.

  8A to 8J are partial side views specifically showing each flow of the substrate processing method shown in FIG.

  As described above, since the height (thickness) of the wafer guard 43 is a given value, the proximity in FIGS. 3A to 3J except that there is no step of adjusting the distance of the wafer W from the device surface. This corresponds to the replacement of the plate 33 with the wafer guard 43, and the specific steps are substantially the same as those in the first embodiment described above, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted. 8A and 8B are partial side views of the wafer transfer device 4 and the first chamber 1 as viewed from the arrow AR1 in FIG. 6, and FIGS. 8C to 8J show the wafer transfer device 4 and the second chamber 1 respectively. It is the partial side view which looked at the chamber 2 from arrow AR2 of FIG.

  According to the present embodiment, since the wafer guard 43 having a predetermined height (thickness) abuts on the peripheral portion of the wafer W, it is not necessary to adjust the distance from the device surface when the wafer W is approached. Therefore, liquid spillage during transportation can be prevented with a simple structure, and replacement with the supercritical solvent can be completed smoothly, so that pattern collapse can be prevented. Further, similarly to the first embodiment, since the solvent is in contact with only the device surface of the wafer W, the concern that dust wraps around from the back surface is also eliminated.

(3) Others Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it is needless to say that various modifications can be made within the technical scope thereof.

  In the above-described embodiment, the elevating mechanism 37 raises and lowers the proximity plate 33 or the wafer guard 43 in the second chamber 2 to increase the substitution efficiency with the supercritical dry solvent. In this case, only the wafer transfer device 3 or 4 is used, and the proximity plate 33 or the wafer guard 43 is withdrawn from the second chamber 2 when the wafer W is placed in the second chamber 2. Also good.

  Similarly, in the above-described embodiment, the upper arm UA is provided with a solvent supply mechanism, and the rinse liquid RL is supplied to the wafer W before or during transfer of the wafer W from the first chamber 1 to the second chamber 2. However, this mechanism is not an essential element in the present invention.

  In the above-described embodiment, the lifting mechanism 37 is provided with the IPA supply mechanism that supplies IPA between the proximity plate 33 and the wafer W. Alternatively, a pipe is simply provided on the side wall of the second chamber 2 to supply IPA from the bottom surface of the second chamber 2 to the bottom surface of the proximity plate 33 or the top surface of the ring of the wafer guard 43. It is good to do.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the rinsing liquid RL is replaced with liquefied carbon dioxide through the primary replacement with IPA. However, the cleaning / rinsing solvent is directly replaced with the supercritical dry solvent without using IPA. It is good to do.

1: First chamber 2: Second chamber 3, 4: Wafer transfer device 31: Wafer support unit 33, 33a to 33j: Proximity plate 37: Lifting mechanism 43, 43a to 43j: Wafer guard (substrate protection unit)
AP: Solvent supply port DA: Transfer arm LA: Lower arm RL: Rinse solution W: Wafer UA: Upper arm

Claims (13)

A substrate support portion for supporting a substrate having a plurality of adjacent patterns on the main surface;
A transport unit for transporting the substrate from a first chamber for cleaning the substrate with a first solvent to a second chamber for supercritical drying, while supporting the substrate by the substrate support unit;
The substrate has substantially the same size as the substrate, and is disposed so as to be movable up and down in a direction perpendicular to the main surface of the substrate, and is close to the main surface of the substrate when the substrate is unloaded from the first chamber. A solvent holding member for holding the first solvent on the substrate by capillary force with the substrate;
A first elevating mechanism for elevating and lowering the solvent holding member in the first chamber;
A substrate processing apparatus comprising:   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a second lifting mechanism that lifts and lowers the solvent holding member in the second chamber.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a solvent supply mechanism that supplies a solvent between the solvent holding member and the substrate via the solvent holding member. A substrate support portion for supporting a substrate having a plurality of adjacent patterns on the main surface;
A transport unit for transporting the substrate from a first chamber for cleaning the substrate with a first solvent to a second chamber for supercritical drying, while supporting the substrate by the substrate support unit;
The substrate is disposed so as to be movable up and down in a direction perpendicular to the main surface of the substrate, and contacts at least the peripheral portion of the main surface of the substrate by contacting the main surface of the substrate when the substrate is unloaded from the first chamber. A board protection unit;
A first elevating mechanism that elevates and lowers the substrate protection part in the first chamber;
A substrate processing apparatus comprising:   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a second elevating mechanism that elevates and lowers the substrate protection unit in the second chamber.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a solvent supply mechanism that supplies a solvent between the substrate protection unit and the substrate via the substrate protection unit. A substrate support unit for supporting a substrate having a plurality of adjacent patterns on the main surface, a transport unit for transporting the substrate supported by the substrate support unit, and a vertically movable configuration in a direction perpendicular to the main surface of the substrate. A substrate holding method, and a substrate processing method using a substrate processing apparatus comprising:
Before unloading the substrate from the first chamber that cleans the substrate with the first solvent, the solvent holding member is brought close to the main surface of the substrate, and the capillary force between the substrate and the solvent holding member causes the A step of transporting the substrate to a second chamber for supercritical drying by the transport unit while holding the first solvent on the substrate;
Substrate processing method.   The substrate processing method according to claim 7, further comprising a step of raising and lowering the solvent holding member in the second chamber.   The substrate processing method according to claim 7, further comprising a step of supplying a second solvent for supercritical drying between the solvent holding member and the substrate. A substrate support unit for supporting a substrate having a plurality of adjacent patterns on the main surface, a transport unit for transporting the substrate supported by the substrate support unit, and a vertically movable configuration in a direction perpendicular to the main surface of the substrate. A substrate processing method using a substrate processing apparatus comprising: a substrate protection unit provided;
Before unloading the substrate from the first chamber for cleaning the substrate with the first solvent, the substrate protection unit is brought into contact with the main surface of the substrate to cover at least the peripheral portion of the main surface of the substrate. Thereby, the process of transporting the substrate to the second chamber for supercritical drying by the transport unit while holding the first solvent on the substrate,
Substrate processing method.   The substrate processing method according to claim 10, further comprising a step of raising and lowering the substrate protection unit in the second chamber.   The substrate processing method according to claim 10, further comprising a step of supplying a second solvent for supercritical drying between the substrate protection unit and the substrate.   The solvent holding member or the substrate protection part may be a plurality of proximity plates or a plurality of wafer guards formed of different materials, or a plurality of sheets having different surface treatments on the surface facing the substrate. 13. The proximity plate or the plurality of wafer guards, wherein the wettability of the first solvent is selected according to the surface wettability of the substrate. Substrate processing method.

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