JP2012039163A - Substrate treatment device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate treatment device capable of eliminating drying failure by approximately uniformly supplying drying fluid to a substrate to be treated and of efficiently performing a series of treatment comprising chemical-washing treatment and drying treatment.SOLUTION: A shutter member 8 is provided between a washing tank 3 and a drying chamber 6 provided above the washing tank 3, and a discharge port 9for discharging the drying fluid is formed at an approximately center of the shutter member 8. On the upper side of the drying chamber 6, injection nozzles 15a, 15b injecting the drying fluid are formed on opposing faces of both side walls, respectively. A plurality of nozzle holes provided in the injection nozzles 15a, 15b are arranged to oppose to each other, and the drying fluid injected horizontally from the nozzle holes is made to collide at an upper center of the drying chamber 6, and then, is guided to the discharge port 9, so as to form a downward flow of the drying fluid.

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus that performs chemical processing on various substrates such as semiconductor wafers and liquid crystal display panel substrates, and then performs cleaning and drying, and more specifically, substrate processing that allows a series of processing to be performed by a single processing apparatus. It relates to the device.

  Among various substrates such as semiconductor wafers and liquid crystal display panel substrates, for example, semiconductor wafers are treated with various chemicals to clean the surface of the wafers, then washed with pure water, and then isopropyl alcohol (IPA ) And the like are dried using an organic solvent. Specifically, in this process, after the wafer was washed with a chemical solution and pure water, it was exposed to the IPA vapor to condense the IPA on the surface of the wafer, and this IPA condensation had previously adhered to the wafer. After pure water is replaced with IPA to wash away contaminants such as particles, IPA is evaporated to dry the wafer surface. However, in the drying process, if even a small amount of water droplets remain on the wafer surface, a water mark is formed on the wafer surface, and this water mark may cause defective wafer quality as well as particles.

  Therefore, in this substrate processing apparatus, it is necessary to prevent water droplets, contaminants, etc. from remaining on the wafer, particularly in the drying process, but the conventional substrate processing apparatus has a separate processing tank, that is, a chemical solution for each processing process. A so-called batch processing method is adopted in which a processing tank, a cleaning processing tank, and a drying processing tank are arranged adjacent to each other, and a series of processing is performed by sequentially moving and immersing wafers in these processing tanks. However, if this method is adopted, a plurality of various processing tanks are required and wafers must be transferred for each processing tank, which increases the size of processing equipment and increases processing efficiency, that is, throughput. In recent years, a substrate processing apparatus has been developed that achieves downsizing and high efficiency by performing a series of processes of chemical solution / cleaning process and drying process in one processing apparatus (for example, , See Patent Documents 1 and 2 below).

FIG. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view of the substrate processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1 below, and FIG. 11 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view showing the flow of the drying gas in the drying chamber of FIG.
As shown in FIG. 10, the substrate processing apparatus 100 stores a chemical solution, pure water, and the like, and a cleaning tank 101 for immersing the wafer W in the stored chemical solution and the like to perform a chemical solution and a cleaning process. A drying chamber 102 disposed above and drying the wafer W that has been subjected to the chemical solution / cleaning processing in the cleaning tank 101, and a slide that opens and closes the communication hole by connecting the cleaning tank 101 and the drying chamber 102 through a communication hole. The sliding door mechanism S having a door and the rotating door mechanism D for closing the bottom of the drying chamber 102 are provided.

  In the processing of wafers in the cleaning tank 101 and the drying chamber 102 in this prior art, the cleaning tank 101 and the drying chamber 102 are partitioned by operating the sliding door mechanism S and closing the communication hole with the sliding door. In the state, the cleaning process is performed in the cleaning tank 101. When the cleaning is completed, the slide door is moved to open the communication hole, and the cleaned wafer W is pulled up from the cleaning tank 101, stored in the drying chamber 102, and rotated. The drying process is performed with the door mechanism D closing the bottom of the drying chamber 102.

The drying chamber 102 is formed of a cylindrical body having a predetermined size with openings 102a and 102b sized to allow the wafer W to be inserted vertically. The lower opening 102b faces the slide door, and the upper opening 102a. Is covered with a lid 103 that can be freely opened and closed. In the vicinity of the opening 102a of the upper nozzle ₁₀₄ 1 2 on each side, 104 ₂ are disposed opposite and in the vicinity of the opening 102b of the lower, corresponding to the respective nozzles ₁₀₄ 1, 104 ₂ exhaust The ports 105 ₁ and 105 ₂ are formed, and the nozzles 104 ₁ and 104 ₂ and the exhaust ports 105 ₁ and 105 ₂ are arranged to face each other on both sides of the drying chamber 102. Rectifier plates 106 ₁ and 106 ₂ are mounted on the exhaust ports 105 ₁ and 105 ₂ , respectively, and a panel heater H is provided on the inner peripheral wall so that the drying chamber is controlled to a predetermined temperature during drying. It has become.

The drying of the wafer W in the drying chamber 102 is performed by blowing dry gas such as nitrogen gas from the upper nozzles 104 ₁ and 104 ₂ to the wafer W, and the used dry gas passes through the rectifying plates 106 ₁ and 106 ₂ . Thus, the air is sucked from the exhaust ports 105 ₁ and 105 ₂ and exhausted to the outside.

  A similar cleaning / drying apparatus is also introduced in Patent Document 2 below. In this cleaning / drying processing apparatus, a cleaning tank and a drying chamber are connected by a fixed base having a communication hole. A pair of nozzles are arranged opposite to each other on both sides of the fixed base and exhaust ports are provided. Dry gas is blown from the nozzles along the inner peripheral wall of the drying chamber to convect the drying gas in the drying chamber. The wafer is then dried.

JP-A-10-209109 (FIGS. 3 and 13, paragraphs [0046] to [0051]) Japanese Patent No. 3128643 (FIG. 4, paragraphs [0043] to [0048]

The wafer drying process in the substrate processing apparatus 100 of Patent Document 1 is performed by spraying a drying gas from the nozzles 104 ₁ and 104 ₂ facing above the drying chamber 102 onto the wafer W. As shown in FIG. 11, the dry gas flows toward the center of the wafer W while drawing an arc from both sides in the drying chamber, and is sucked into the lower exhaust ports 105 ₁ and 105 ₂ to be out of the drying chamber. The wafer W is evacuated, and the wafer W is dried in this process.

However, the flow of this dry gas is the top and bottom on the vertical line passing through the center of the disk-shaped wafer W, that is, the drying that is blown onto the upper and lower regions A ₁ and A ₂ on the vertical line and bordering on the center of the wafer W. The amount of gas is small compared to other regions, and the amount becomes non-uniform. As a result, drying unevenness occurs on the surface of the wafer W, and there is a risk of poor drying.
In particular, the area A ₂ is water drops there below the wafer W is concentrated, a dry hard condition. Also in the substrate processing apparatus described in Patent Document 2, the amount of dry gas sprayed to the lower area (near the wafer board holding the wafer) in the center of the wafer is smaller than in other areas. May cause poor drying.

  The present invention has been made to solve such problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to supply a dry fluid substantially uniformly to a substrate to be processed so as to eliminate a dry defect, It is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate processing apparatus that can perform a series of processes including a cleaning process and a drying process more efficiently.

  The present invention stores a processing solution such as a chemical solution or pure water, and immerses and treats the substrate to be processed in the stored processing solution, and a substrate to be processed that has been cleaned and disposed above the cleaning bath. And a drying chamber for performing a drying process by pulling up the cleaning tank, and a substrate processing apparatus provided with a slidable shutter member for partitioning between the cleaning tank and the drying chamber. .

  The first invention is based on the substrate processing apparatus, and the shutter member is formed with an exhaust port for discharging a drying fluid at a substantially central portion, and both side walls are formed at the upper portion of the drying chamber. The spray nozzles for spraying the drying fluid are provided on each of the opposed surfaces, the plurality of spray ports provided in the spray nozzles are opposed to each other, and the dry fluid sprayed in the horizontal direction from the spray ports is disposed above the drying chamber. It is characterized in that it is made to collide at the central part and the collided dry fluid is guided to the exhaust port.

  2nd invention presupposes 1st invention, The said drying chamber equips the upper part with the opening part, this opening part is provided with the expansion part extended on the both sides outward, and the said injection nozzle in this expansion part It is characterized by storing.

In the first and second aspects of the invention, the shutter member is provided between the cleaning tank and the drying chamber so as to slidably evacuate a drying fluid between the cleaning tank and the drying chamber and discharge the drying fluid. The drying fluid supplied to the drying chamber is discharged from the lower center of the drying chamber to the outside.
In addition, the upper part of the drying chamber is provided with spray nozzles on the opposite wall surfaces, and the spray ports are opposed to each other, so that the drying fluid sprayed from the spray ports collides with the upper central part of the drying chamber and falls below. Is formed, and is led to the exhaust port at the substantially central portion of the shutter member located below. In the process, the drying fluid uniformly contacts the substrate to be processed and a good drying process is performed.
In particular, since the drying fluid collects and discharges in the lower part of the center, it passes through the center of the substrate to be processed, which has been a problem of the prior art, because more drying fluid contacts the lower central part of the substrate where water droplets are likely to remain. Unevenness of drying treatment on the top and bottom of the vertical line can be eliminated.

  Further, according to the second invention, since the spray nozzle of the drying fluid is housed in the expansion part of the drying chamber, the lid provided above the drying chamber is opened, and the substrate to be processed is inserted into the drying chamber, The ejection nozzle does not get in the way when taking out. Therefore, the workability of the transfer work of the substrate to be processed is improved, and the work time can be shortened.

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a substrate processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention and a schematic view of an accessory device connected to the processing apparatus. FIG. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of the processing apparatus of FIG. 3 shows the shutter member of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 (a) is a perspective view, FIG. 3 (b) is a longitudinal sectional view of FIG. 3 (a), and FIG. 3 (c) is an enlarged view of FIG. FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the suction member of FIG. FIG. 5 is a view showing a modification of the shutter member according to the first embodiment, FIG. 5 (a) is a schematic perspective view, and FIG. 5 (b) is a small hole accompanying the movement of the plate-like body of FIG. 5 (a). It is an enlarged plan view which shows the state. FIG. 6 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing the processing apparatus of the substrate processing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. 7 shows the shutter member of FIG. 6, FIG. 7 (a) is a perspective view, and FIG. 7 (b) is a sectional view taken along line XX of FIG. 7 (a). FIG. 8 shows a modification of the shutter member according to the second embodiment. FIG. 8 (a) is a schematic perspective view, and FIG. 8 (b) is a small hole accompanying the movement of the plate-like body of FIG. 8 (a). It is an enlarged plan view which shows the state. FIG. 9 shows another modified example of the shutter member according to the second embodiment. FIG. 9A is a schematic perspective view, and FIG. 9B is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which the shutter member is closed. is there. FIG. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view of a conventional substrate processing apparatus, 11 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view showing the flow of the drying gas in the drying chamber of FIG.

  A substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 is a series of processes for a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as a wafer) W, that is, chemical processing for processing with various chemical solutions, and the wafer W is treated with pure water after the chemical processing. And a treatment mechanism 2 capable of continuously performing a treatment such as a rinsing treatment that is washed with, for example, and a drying treatment that dries the wafer W with an organic solvent after the rinsing treatment.

The processing mechanism 2 includes a cleaning tank 3 and a drying chamber 6 disposed above the cleaning tank 3, and the processing mechanism 2 is supplied and discharged with processing liquid and supplied with drying fluid. An attached system for exhausting air is connected.
The cleaning tank 3 provided in the processing mechanism 2 stores a processing solution such as a chemical solution or pure water, and processes the wafer W by immersing the wafer W in the stored processing solution.
In addition, the drying chamber 6 is provided with a shutter device 10 that partitions the wafer W processed in the cleaning tank 3 between the cleaning tank 3 and the drying chamber 6.

The cleaning tank 3 includes an inner tank 4 and an outer tank 5. The inner tank 4 is made of a chemical-resistant and heat-resistant material such as quartz or a synthetic resin material, and has a size capable of accommodating a predetermined amount of processing liquid for storing the processing liquid and a plurality of wafers W. Further, the inner tank 4 is provided with a substrate holder (not shown), and the substrate holder holds a plurality of wafers in a state where they are erected in parallel with each other at a substantially equal pitch and vertically. It is configured to be able to move to the drying chamber 6 together with the substrate holder.
The outer tank 5 that receives the processing liquid overflowing from the inner tank 4 is provided outside the opening 4 a of the inner tank 4 thus configured.

The inner tank 4 as described above is provided with a plurality of supply ports 4 ₁ to 4 ₅ at the bottom 4b, and these supply ports 4 ₁ to 4 ₅ are connected to the chemical solution supply source 15 and the pure water supply source by the pipe L _1. 16 is connected.
The supply of the chemical solution and pure water from the chemical solution supply source 15 and the pure water supply source 16 to the inner tank 4 is performed by the operation of the pump P connected in the middle of the piping and the switching of the valve.
Further, in the bottom of the inner tub 4 and the outer tub 5, the outlet 4 ₀ is formed, these outlet 4 ₀ is connected to the drainage processing facility 19 and the exhaust processing facility 20 through a pipe L _2.

The treated liquids in the inner tank 4 and the outer tank 5 are drained by switching a valve provided in the middle of the pipe L ₂ connected to the inner tank 4 and the outer tank 5 and operating the pump P. 19 is sent out.
Incidentally, reference numeral L ₃ is a pipe connected to a pump P via a valve.
Reference numeral S denotes a sink that accommodates the processing mechanism 2, and is connected to the exhaust treatment facility 17 via the pipe L _9. The gas in the sink S is exhausted to the exhaust treatment facility 17 by the pump P.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the drying chamber 6 is formed of a cylindrical body having a size that can accommodate the wafer W processed in the inner tank 4, and the size thereof is substantially the same at the top and bottom. Openings 6a and 6b are provided. Further, the lower opening 6 b is formed to have substantially the same size as the opening 4 a of the inner tank 4. Each of the openings 6a, 6b, and 4a thus configured has a size necessary for passing the wafer W.
The upper opening 6a is provided with a lid 7 that can be freely opened and closed. The lid 7 and the drying chamber 6 are made of a chemical-resistant and heat-resistant material such as quartz or a synthetic resin material. Yes.

  The upper opening 6a is expanded outward on both sides, and two expansion nozzles 15a and 15b are provided in the expanded portion. Each of these injection nozzles 15a and 15b is formed of a tubular body having a predetermined length and a thickness, and is formed with injection holes having an equal pitch in the longitudinal direction. Since these injection nozzles 15a and 15b are mounted on the upper opening 6a so that the respective injection ports are directed substantially in the horizontal direction, each of the injection nozzles 15a and 15b is supplied with a dry fluid. The drying fluid is supplied in the horizontal direction from the mouth toward the upper central portion of the drying chamber 6, and each of them collides with the upper central portion to form a downward flow and is sprayed onto the wafer W.

Further, when the injection nozzles 15a and 15b are housed in the extended portion as described above, the injection nozzles 15a and 15b do not get in the way when the wafer W is inserted and removed.
According to this configuration, since the wafer W can be taken in and out by opening and closing the lid body 7, it is not necessary to move the drying chamber 6 from the upper part of the cleaning tank 3 in order to put the wafer W into and out of the drying chamber 6. . Moreover, since the injection nozzles 15a and 15b are not attached to the lid body 7, the lid body 7 becomes lighter and the movement thereof becomes easier. In addition, a heater (not shown) is attached to the outer periphery of the drying chamber 6 so that the temperature in the chamber is controlled.

The two spray nozzles 15a and 15b are connected to the dry fluid supply device 21, and the dry fluid is supplied from the dry fluid supply device 21 to the spray nozzles 15a and 15b. Is described below.
The dry fluid is a collective term for an inert gas and a mixed gas of the inert gas and vapor (including micromist) of an organic solvent such as IPA.

The dry fluid supply device 21 includes a vapor supply device 22 and an inert gas supply source 25 such as nitrogen gas N _{2. The} vapor supply device 22 includes an organic solvent supply source 23 and inert gas supply sources 24 and 25. It is connected to the. The organic solvent supply source 23 is an organic solvent supply source such as an isopropyl alcohol (IPA) solvent that can be easily mixed with the adhering water remaining on the surface of the wafer W and has a very small surface tension. And the vapor supply apparatus 22 and the organic solvent (IPA) supply source 23 is connected by a pipe _{L 5,} IPA is supplied to the vapor generating tank 22 _1. The vapor generating tank 22 ₁ is immersed in hot water in the heating tank 22 _2, heating and vaporizing the organic solvent.

The above vapor generating tank 22 ₁ and inert gas supply source 24 is connected by a pipe _{L 6,} it is branched by the branch pipe _{L 61, L 62} the pipe _{L 6} in the middle. One branch pipe L ₆₂ sends a nitrogen gas N ₂ is an inert gas into the bottom of the vapor generating tank 22 ₁ to generate bubbles in IPA reserved in the vapor generation tank 22 _1, the evaporation of IPA Promote.
Further, the nitrogen gas N ₂ supplied from the other branch pipe L ₆₁ is used as a carrier gas.

Further, the vapor generation tank 22 ₁ is connected to the pipe L ₈ through the pipe L ₇ , and the mixed gas of the carrier gas N ₂ and the IPA vapor is supplied from the vapor generation tank 22 ₁ to each of the injection nozzles 15 a and 15 b. . From the inert gas supply source 25, the injection nozzle 15a through the pipe _{L 8,} nitrogen gas _{N 2} is supplied to 15b. This nitrogen gas N ₂ is used not only for purging the inside of the drying chamber 6 but also for finish drying. In addition, the pipes L ₇ and L ₈ are each provided with a heater (not shown) around the outer periphery so that the temperature of the drying fluid is controlled.

Next, the shutter device 10 positioned between the cleaning tank 4 and the drying chamber 6 will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the shutter device 10 includes a box-shaped storage portion 11 provided on the side of the processing mechanism 2, and a support member 11 a provided at a position facing the opening of the storage portion 11. The shutter member 8 is slidably held in the housing portion 11 and is extended between the housing portion 11 and the support member 11a. The shutter member 8 includes a moving mechanism (not shown) that slides the shutter member 8. When the shutter member 8 is in a position spanned between the housing portion 11 and the support member 11a, the shutter member 8 closes the opening 4a of the inner tub 4 and the opening 6b of the drying chamber 6. Become.

The accommodating portion 11 has a length in the longitudinal direction slightly longer than that of the shutter member 8, and is a member having a substantially U-shaped cross section having a space in which the shutter member 8 can be accommodated. It is fixed to the outer edge.
Between the end section of the upper surface of the housing portion 11 and the outer edge of the lower opening 6b of the drying chamber 6, the first communication port 11 ₁ is formed. Then, the shutter member 8 the first communication port 11 ₁ is in the closed the opening 4a and 6b communicating with the first exhaust port 8 _1, the communication is opened the opening 4a and 6b Blocked.

The support member 11a has a substantially L-shaped cross section composed of a support plate 11b having substantially the same height as the bottom surface of the housing portion 11 extending toward the housing portion 11 and a side plate 11c having the same height as the housing portion 11. It is a member. The support plate 11b of the support member 11a supports the bottom plate 8b on the side plate 8f side of the shutter member 8 with the shutter member 8 closing the openings 4a and 6b.
The lower end portion of the side plate 11c is connected to the outer tub 5, the second exhaust port ₈₂ of the shutter member to be described later between the outer peripheral edge of the upper portion and the lower opening 6b of the drying chamber 6 of the side plate 11c the second communication port 11 ₂ which communicates is formed. Although the shutter member 8 is supported by the housing portion 11 and the support member 11a as described above, it can be supported by a rail or the like on the side surface on which the shutter member 8 moves.

As shown in FIG. 3, the shutter member 8 is erected at a predetermined height from a bottom plate 8b having a size capable of shielding a space between the cleaning tank 3 and the drying chamber 6, and an outer peripheral edge of the bottom plate 8b. and the side plate 8C～8f, and a front plate 8a which is connected to the upper end of these side plates 8C～8f, overall comprising a hollow 8 ₀ therein consists flat duct, chemical resistance and heat resistance of the material It is formed with. The front plate 8a has first and second exhaust ports 8 ₁ and 8 ₂ on both sides in the longitudinal direction, and the lower opening 6a of the drying chamber is between these first and second exhaust ports 8 ₁ and 8 _2. opening 8 ₃ the closing plate 9 is fitted are formed for closing the.

The exhaust holes 9 ₁ a predetermined size is formed at a substantially central portion in the closing plate 9. The exhaust hole 9 ₁ has a rectangular shape having a predetermined width and length, are formed directly below the lower end portion Wb of the wafer W. Then, each wafer W is accommodated so as to perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the exhaust holes 9 ₁ to a drying chamber 6 (see FIG. 2). With this form exhaust holes 9 ₁ a substantially central portion of the closing plate 9, when evacuating the drying fluid convection drying chamber 6 is formed downward flow, vertical passing through the center W ₀ of the wafer W The drying fluid flows sufficiently to the areas Wa and Wb in the vertical direction of the line, and a good drying process is performed.
Incidentally, when the approach to reduce the distance between the exhaust hole 9 ₁ and the wafer lower portion Wb, since the drying fluid to the wafer W is efficiently contacted it can be exhausted preferred.

The closing plate 9 is attached to the shutter member 8 by bending one end thereof and fixing the bent end to the bottom plate 8b with a screw or the like.
The first and second exhaust ports 8 ₁ and 8 ₂ communicate with the first and second communication ports 11 ₁ and 11 ₂ , respectively, in the operating state of the shutter member 8, and the first and second communication ports 11. _1, 11 respectively suction members 12, 12 to ₂ is mounted. Each of the suction members 12 and 12 has the same structure, and one of them is shown in FIG. 4 and has a size that fits into the openings of the first and second communication ports 11 ₁ and 11 ₂ at one end. A suction port 12a and a discharge port 12b are formed at the other end. Outlet 12b is connected to an exhaust processing facility 18 by the pump P is interposed midway through a pipe L _4.

Further, the shutter member 8, the outlet 8 ₄ for discharging the treatment liquid to the lower end of the side plate 8e is 1 or plural number. By providing the outlet 8 _4, the outer tub 5 through the wafer W treatment liquid falling through the outlet 8 _4, housing portion 11 bottom drain port 11 ₃ formed in the discharge port 8 ₄ near the Flow down.

Next, the operation of the substrate processing apparatus configured as described above will be described. The following operation control is performed by a control unit (not shown), for example.
First, the lid 7 of the drying chamber 6 is opened, a substrate transport mechanism (not shown) is lowered into the drying chamber 6, and a plurality of wafers W are received by a substrate holder (not shown) in the drying chamber 6. hand over. Further, after the substrate transport mechanism is moved away, the lid 7 is closed, and the shutter member 8 below the drying chamber 6 is opened almost simultaneously. When the shutter member 8 is opened, the substrate holder holding the wafer W is lowered, the wafer W is transferred into the inner tank 4, and the shutter member 8 is closed.

Next, a predetermined chemical solution is supplied from the chemical solution supply source 15 to each of the supply ports 4 ₁ to 4 ₅ in the inner tank 4 to perform the chemical treatment of the wafer W.
At this time, it is preferable to store the chemical solution in the inner tank 4 in advance and immerse the wafer W in the stored chemical solution. Thereafter, the supply of the chemical solution is stopped and the chemical solution is not immediately discharged, but pure water is supplied from the pure water supply source 16 to each of the supply ports 4 ₁ to 4 ₅ while the chemical solution is stored, and the chemical solution is gradually diluted. However, the inside of the inner tank 4 is replaced with a chemical solution from pure water, and the wafer W is washed with water.

  On the other hand, during this chemical treatment / rinse cleaning, nitrogen gas is supplied into the drying chamber 6 from the inert gas supply source 25 to the injection nozzles 15a and 15b, and the inside of the drying chamber 6 is replaced with nitrogen gas. Thereafter, the supply of this gas is stopped, and a mixed gas of IPA and nitrogen is supplied from the dry fluid supply device 21 to each of the spray nozzles 15a and 15b, so that the interior of the drying chamber 6 is set to an IPA atmosphere in advance. After this state, the shutter member 8 is operated by a moving mechanism (not shown) to open the opening 4a of the inner tank 4, the substrate holder is pulled up from the inner tank 4, and the wafer W held by the holder is held. Is stored in the drying chamber 6 filled with IPA. Thereafter, the shutter member 8 at the bottom of the drying chamber 6 is closed, the drying fluid is supplied from the drying fluid supply device 21 to each of the spray nozzles 15a and 15b, and blown down on the wafer W.

This spraying, circulating along with the drying fluid is filled into the drying chamber 6, a so-called convection are formed, in contact with dry fluid to the plurality of wafers W, a through the exhaust holes 9 ₁ immediately below the wafer W 1. Exhaust air from the second exhaust ports 8 ₁ and 8 ₂ to the outside. This exhaust is performed by forcibly being sucked by a pump from each suction hole.
Therefore, when evacuating the drying fluid convection drying chamber 6, downward flow is formed, the vertical direction of a region Wa of the vertical line passing through the center W ₀ of the wafer W, Wb to dry fluid is sufficiently contact A good drying process is performed. Finally, nitrogen gas is supplied to dry the IPA remaining on the wafer W to complete the drying process. Thereafter, the lid 7 at the top of the drying chamber 6 is opened, the wafer is carried out of the chamber, and a series of processes is completed.

The substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment replaces the inside of the inner tank 4 with pure water and rinses it while supplying the pure water with the chemical liquid stored in the inner tank 4 to dilute the chemical liquid. As a result, the surface of the wafer W does not come into contact with the atmospheric gas, and adhesion of particles and generation of watermarks can be prevented.
Then, when the wafer W is pulled up from the inner tank 4 after the rinse cleaning, since the inside of the drying chamber 6 is in the IPA atmosphere, the wafer W can be smoothly transferred to the drying process without being exposed to the outside air. Further, in the drying process, a downward flow is formed when the convection drying fluid in the drying chamber 6 is exhausted, so that the drying is performed in the vertical areas Wa and Wb of the vertical line passing through the center W _{0 of the} wafer W. The fluid is in sufficient contact and a good drying process is performed.

In the above embodiment, the shutter member 8 is formed of a flat duct, but the configuration of the shutter member is not limited to this. For example, as a shutter member 8 ′ according to the modification according to the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, two plate-like bodies provided with a plurality of small holes 8 </ b> A ₁ , 8 </ b> B ₁ at a substantially central portion of the surface. There is a shutter member 8 'in which 8A and 8B are slidably stacked. The shutter member 8 ′ may be configured such that the small holes 8A ₁ and 8B ₁ are overlapped to form an exhaust hole by horizontally moving one plate-like body 8A with respect to the other plate member 8B. The plurality of small holes 8A ₁ and 8B ₁ are formed at the center of the shutter member 8 ′ as shown in FIG. 5A, and the exhaust holes formed by these small holes 8A ₁ and 8B ₁ are substantially the same as the shutter member. It becomes the exhaust port of this invention provided in the center part.

The exhaust when using the shutter member 8 'may be so as to exhaust from the outlet 4 ₀ of the inner tank 4, the suction from the outer tub 5 in a state of storing the process liquid in the inner tank 4 You may make it exhaust. Since the shutter member 8 ′ is formed of two plate-like bodies 8A and 8B serving as two shutter doors having small holes 8A ₁ and 8B ₁ , respectively, the shutter member 8 ′ can be easily manufactured, and FIG. As shown in b), the opening state can be changed freely such as full open or half open.

Specifically, when forming an IPA vapor atmosphere during chemical treatment / rinsing, the small holes 8A ₁ and 8B ₁ are closed without overlapping, and when drying, the small holes 8A ₁ and 8B ₁ are overlapped at a predetermined timing. Exhaust from the lower center.
Further, the exhaust fluid of the cleaning tank 3 can be exhausted by exhausting the dry fluid from the cleaning tank 3 through the exhaust holes formed by the small holes 8A ₁ and 8B ₁ of the two plate-like bodies 8A and 8B. Can be used.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1 of the first embodiment, the shutter apparatus 10 includes the shutter members 8 and 8 'inserted between the cleaning tank and the drying chamber from one direction. Not limited to this, the shutter member may be inserted from a position facing it. Therefore, in the following, a processing mechanism 2 ′ that employs shutter members that are inserted from opposite sides of the processing apparatus will be described as a second embodiment.
In the processing mechanism 2 ′, the configuration excluding the shutter device 30 is the same as that of the substrate processing apparatus shown in the first embodiment. Therefore, here, the same portions are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted, and only different components are described.
6 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing a processing mechanism 2 ′ of the substrate processing apparatus according to the second embodiment, FIG. 7 shows the shutter member of FIG. 6, FIG. 7 (a) is a perspective view, and FIG. (B) is the XX sectional view taken on the line of Fig.7 (a).

As shown in FIG. 6, the processing mechanism 2 ′ of the second embodiment includes a drying chamber 6 having a lid 7 as in the first embodiment, a cleaning tank 3 including an inner tank 4 and an outer tank 5, A shutter device 30 is provided between the drying chamber 6 and the cleaning tank 3.
The shutter device 30 is provided on opposite sides of the processing mechanism 2 ′, and includes storage units 31 </ b> A and 31 </ b> B having spaces in which the shutter member 35 can be stored, the storage units 31 </ b> A and 31 </ b> B, the cleaning tank 3, and the drying chamber 6. The shutter member 35 is slidably provided between the shutter member 35 and a moving mechanism (not shown) that operates the shutter member 35.

The shutter member 35 includes a pair of flat duct-shaped first and second shutter members 36A and 36B, and the first and second shutter members 36A and 36B are provided on the left and right sides of the processing mechanism 2 ′. The cleaning tank 3 and the drying chamber 6 are shielded when they are moved from and contact with 31A and 31B.
The first and second shutter members 36A and 36B include bottom plates 37b and 38b that equally cover the upper opening of the cleaning tank 3, and side plates 37c to 37f and 38c that are erected from four outer peripheral edges of the bottom plates 37b and 38b. To 38f and front plates 37a and 38a connected to the upper ends of the outer side plates 37c to 37e and 38c to 38e (see FIG. 7).

Moreover, the front board 37a, a 38a, the accommodating portion 31A, the side plates adjacent to 31B side 37e, the portion adjacent to the upper end of the 38e outer outlet ₄₀ 1, 41 ₁ provided, the top plate 37a, Cutouts 40 ₃ and 41 ₃ are formed in the portion 38 a facing the outer exhaust ports 40 ₁ and 41 ₁ . Closing plates 39A and 39B having exhaust holes 40 ₂ and 41 ₂ are attached to the notches 40 ₃ and 41 ₃ , respectively. These exhaust holes 40 _2, 41 ₂ constitutes an exhaust port of the invention formed at a substantially central portion of the shutter member 35.

In addition, a plurality of discharge holes 40 ₄ and 41 ₄ for discharging the processing liquid and the like accumulated in the shutter members 36A and 36B are provided at the lower ends of the one side plates 37e and 38e adjacent to the housing portions 31A and 31B. It has been.
Further, the side plates 37f and 38f on the side where the first and second shutter members 36A and 36B are in contact with each other are formed to be shorter than the other side plates, and among them, the upper end portion of the second shutter member 36B is A tongue piece 38f ′ is provided which protrudes toward the outer upper portion and covers the upper end of the side plate 37f of the first shutter member 36A in a state where the cleaning tank 3 and the drying chamber 6 are shielded.

The accommodating portions 31A and 31B for accommodating the first and second shutter members 36A and 36B are members having a substantially U-shaped cross section formed on the opposite side portions of the processing mechanism 2 ′, and the accommodating portions 31A and 31B. On the bottom surface of the basin, drainage ports 33A and 33B communicating with the outer tub 5 are formed. The drainage ports 33A and 33B are for discharging the processing liquid discharged from the drainage holes 40 ₄ and 41 _{4 of the} shutter members 36A and 36B to the outer tank 5.
Further, the cleaning tank 3 and the drying chamber 6 are shielded by the first and second shutter members 36A and 36B between the end portions on the upper surfaces of the housing portions 31A and 31B and the opening 6b below the drying chamber 6. In this state, communication ports 32A and 32B communicating with the first exhaust ports 40 ₁ and 41 ₁ are formed. And it is preferable to arrange | position the suction member 12 shown in FIG. 4 in the said communication port 32A, 32B. As a result, the gas exhausted from the drying chamber 6 is guided from the first and second shutter members 36A and 36B to the exhaust treatment facility through the communication ports 32A and 32B.

Also in the substrate processing apparatus of the second embodiment having such a configuration, as in the first embodiment, the drying fluid in the drying chamber 6 forms a flow that flows downward from above, and is substantially at the center of the shutter member 35. Since it is discharged from the exhaust port of the part, the drying fluid sufficiently contacts the vertical areas Wa and Wb of the vertical line passing through the center W _{0 of the} wafer W, and a good drying process is performed.
In addition, as described above, when the shutter device 30 having the pair of shutter members 36A and 36B is employed, the movement amount of each shutter member 36A and 36B is shorter than that in the case of using the shutter member made of one member. The shutter member 35 can be opened and closed more smoothly. Therefore, even when the wafer W is transferred from the cleaning tank 3 to the drying chamber 6, the first and second shutter members 36 </ b> A and 36 </ b> B can transfer the wafer W in a short time without obstructing the transfer, and the processing mechanism 2. 'Can be operated efficiently.

  Further, since the tongue 38f ′ is provided on the side plate 38f of the second shutter member 36B and the opposing portion can be blocked with the shutter members 36A and 36B closed, the wafer W is transferred to the drying chamber 6 and the shutter member 35 is moved. The processing liquid or the like dropped from the wafer W during the closing process or during the drying process does not fall into the inner tank 4.

Further, instead of the shutter member 35 shown in the second embodiment, a shutter member 45 as a modified example shown in FIG. 8 may be adopted.
FIG. 8 shows a modification of the shutter member according to the second embodiment. FIG. 8 (a) is a schematic perspective view, and FIG. 8 (b) is a movement of the plate-like body of FIG. 8 (a). It is an enlarged plan view which shows the state of the accompanying small hole.

As shown in FIG. 8A, the shutter member 45 is a plate-like body that is slidable left and right, and has a plurality of small holes 47 ₁ and 47 ₂ at positions adjacent to each other. Third and fourth members 46A and 46B, and third and fourth members, which are arranged below the first and second shutter members 46A and 46B, are made of a plate body that is also slidable to the left and right and have similar small holes 48 ₁ and 48 ₂ . It consists of shutter members 49A and 49B. As described above, the shutter member 45 is composed of a total of four plate-like bodies. However, the individual plate-like bodies can be easily manufactured, and as shown in FIG. The state can be changed freely such as fully open or half open.

For example, when an IPA vapor atmosphere is formed in the drying chamber 6 during chemical treatment and rinsing, the third and fourth shutter members 49A and 49B positioned at the lower part with the first and second shutter members 46A and 46B closed. Is also closed so that the small holes 47 ₁ and 47 _{2 of} the first and second shutter members 46A and 46B do not overlap the small holes 48 ₁ and 48 _{2 of} the third and fourth shutter members 49A and 49B. State. On the other hand, during the drying process, the third and fourth shutter members 49A and 49B are slid by a predetermined distance at a predetermined timing, and the upper and lower small holes are overlapped with each other so as to be substantially at the center of the shutter member 45, that is, below the drying chamber 6. Exhaust from the center can be performed.

The exhaust when using the shutter member 45 may be caused to discharge from the outlet 4 ₀ of the inner tank 4, sucking the exhaust from the outer tub 5 in a state of storing the process liquid in the inner tank 4 You may make it do.
If the drying fluid is sucked and exhausted from the cleaning tank 3, the exhaust equipment of the cleaning tank 3 can be used for exhausting the drying chamber 6, and the exhaust equipment can also be used.

Furthermore, instead of the shutter member 35 shown in the second embodiment or the shutter member 45 shown in the modified example, a shutter member 50 as another modified example described below may be adopted.
FIG. 9 shows another modified example of the shutter member according to the second embodiment. FIG. 9 (a) is a schematic perspective view, and FIG. 9 (b) is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which the shutter member is closed. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 9A, the shutter member 50 is a plate-like body that is slidable left and right, and has a plurality of small holes 52A and 52B at positions adjacent to each other, the first and second shutter members 51A. 51B. When the cleaning tank 3 and the drying chamber 6 are closed while the first and second shutter members 51A and 51B are shifted up and down, the lower surface of the first shutter member 51A and the second shutter are closed. The upper surface of the member 51B is disposed at a position in sliding contact.
Exhaust when using the shutter member 50 may be caused to discharge from the outlet 4 ₀ same inner tub 4 with the modification, the outer tub 5 in a state of storing the process liquid in the inner tank 4 The air may be sucked and exhausted.
If the drying fluid is sucked and exhausted from the cleaning tank 3, the exhaust equipment of the cleaning tank 3 can be used for exhausting the drying chamber 6, and the exhaust equipment can also be used.

Further, since the shutter member 50 has a portion that overlaps with each other, it is necessary to lengthen the accommodating portions 31A and 31B as compared with the case where the shutter members 35 and 45 that are closed together with their end portions are closed. However, since the shutter member 50 is composed of two plate-like bodies, it can be easily manufactured.
Further, similarly to the modification of the above position, it is possible to change the opening state so as to be fully open or half open.

  Specifically, when an IPA vapor atmosphere is formed in the drying chamber 6 during chemical treatment and rinsing, the first and second shutter members 51A and 51B are slid in contact with each other as shown in FIG. 52A and 52B are closed by not overlapping each other, and when drying, the plate-like body first and second shutter members 51A and 51B are slid by a predetermined distance at a predetermined timing to overlap the small holes 52A and 52B. Thus, exhaust from the lower central portion of the drying chamber 6 can be performed.

  The substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention is suitable for performing a series of processes of a chemical solution / cleaning process and a drying process more efficiently and accurately on a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Substrate processing apparatus 2, 2 'Processing mechanism 3 Cleaning tank 4 Inner tank 5 Outer tank 6 Drying chamber 6a (Upper part) Opening part 8 Shutter member 9 ₁ (Exhaust port is comprised) Exhaust hole 10 Shutter apparatus 15a, 15b Injection nozzle 21 dry fluid feeder 8 'shutter member _8A 1, _8B 1, constitute a (to an exhaust port) eyelet 35 the shutter member ₄₀ 2, 41 ₂ discharge hole 30 the shutter device 45 the shutter member ₄₇ 1, 47 ₂ (outlet ) Small holes 48 ₁ , 48 ₂ (composing the exhaust port) Small holes 50 Shutter members 52A, 52B (composing the exhaust port) Small holes

Claims (2)

A cleaning tank for storing a processing solution such as a chemical solution or pure water and immersing the substrate to be processed in the stored processing solution, and a cleaning tank to be cleaned and disposed above the cleaning tank. In the substrate processing apparatus provided with a drying chamber that is pulled up from the drying chamber, and between the cleaning tank and the drying chamber, a shutter member that slidably separates them is provided.
The shutter member forms an exhaust port for discharging the drying fluid in a substantially central portion, and an upper part of the drying chamber is provided with an injection nozzle for injecting the drying fluid to each of the opposing surfaces of both side walls, A plurality of spray ports provided in these spray nozzles are opposed to each other, and the drying fluid sprayed in the horizontal direction from these spray ports is caused to collide with the upper central portion of the drying chamber, and the collided dry fluid is applied to the exhaust port. A substrate processing apparatus configured to guide.   2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the drying chamber has an opening at an upper portion thereof, and an extended portion that extends outward on both sides is provided in the opening, and the spray nozzle is accommodated in the extended portion.

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