TWI756625B - Substrate processing apparatus and conveyance control method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention is a substrate processing apparatus 1 for conveying a substrate in a state where the surface of the substrate is covered with a liquid film. In order to prevent the surface of the substrate from being exposed due to vibration during conveyance or volatilization of the liquid, the substrate processing apparatus 1 of the present invention includes: a first The processing section 11A supplies the liquid to the substrate S and covers the surface of the substrate with a liquid film; the transport mechanism 15 transports the substrate carrying the liquid film; the second processing section 13A receives the substrate transported by the transport mechanism and executes The specific processing; the imaging unit 157 that photographs the liquid film formed on the surface of the substrate; and the control unit 90 that is based on the difference between the period from the formation of the liquid film until the substrate is transported into the second processing unit by the transport mechanism. The operation of the conveying mechanism is controlled by the difference between the plurality of images captured by the imaging unit at the time.

Description

Substrate processing apparatus and conveyance control method thereof

The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for transporting a substrate between a plurality of processing sections, and more particularly, to control of the transport in a state where a liquid film is formed on the surface of the substrate.

In the manufacturing process of substrates such as semiconductor substrates and glass substrates for display panels, in order to perform different processes by individual processing units, the substrates need to be transported between a plurality of processing units. In this case, it is necessary to prevent the following problems in advance, that is, surface oxidation due to exposure of the substrate surface during conveyance, or suspension of suspended matter on the conveyance path adhering to the substrate surface, and further collapse of the fine pattern formed on the substrate, etc. Therefore, there are cases in which the surface of the substrate is transported in a state covered with a liquid film.

For example, in the prior art described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-182817 (Patent Document 1), in the transfer between processing systems in which substrates are processed by liquids, the substrates are immersed in the liquid accumulated in the transfer tray It is conveyed in a state of being in the middle, or in a state where the entire surface is filled with liquid.

[Problems to be Solved by Invention]

During the transportation of the substrate, a part of the surface of the substrate may be exposed to the surrounding environment during transportation due to acceleration/deceleration or vibration on the transportation path, and reduction of the liquid due to volatilization. This phenomenon becomes the cause of defective products. Especially for a substrate on which a fine pattern is formed, surface exposure will immediately cause the pattern to collapse, so it is not allowed even for a short time.

In the above-mentioned prior art, since the substrates are accommodated in the transfer trays, a certain degree of stable transfer can be expected, but there is no provision for preventing temporary exposure of the substrate surfaces due to vibrations, volatilization of liquids, and the like as described above. function.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technology that can prevent the substrate from being caused by vibration during conveyance, volatilization of liquid, etc. surface exposure. [Technical means to solve problems]

In order to achieve the above object, one aspect of the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention includes: a first processing unit for supplying a liquid to a substrate and covering the surface of the substrate with a liquid film; a substrate; a second processing unit that receives the substrate conveyed by the conveying mechanism and executes a specific process; an imaging unit that images the liquid film formed on the surface of the substrate; and a control unit that forms the The operation of the conveying mechanism is controlled by the difference between the plurality of images captured by the imaging unit from the liquid film until the time period during which the substrate is conveyed into the second processing unit by the conveying mechanism is different from each other.

In addition, another aspect of the present invention is a conveyance control method of a substrate processing apparatus including: a first processing unit for supplying a liquid to a substrate and covering the surface of the substrate with a liquid film; a second processing unit , which receives the above-mentioned substrate carrying the above-mentioned liquid film and performs specific processing; and a transport mechanism, which transports the above-mentioned substrate between the above-mentioned first processing part and the above-mentioned second processing part; In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the substrate processing apparatus has The conveyance control method is to image the liquid film at mutually different timings from the formation of the liquid film to the time when the substrate is conveyed into the second processing unit, and control the above-mentioned liquid film based on the difference between the captured images. The action of the conveying mechanism.

In the invention thus constituted, the liquid film on the surface of the substrate being conveyed is imaged, and the operation of the conveying mechanism is controlled based on the difference between the images captured at different times. Therefore, the change in the state of the liquid film on the surface of the substrate can be detected and reflected in the conveyance control. For example, the conveyance speed can be suppressed in order to reduce vibration, or the liquid can be replenished when the thickness of the liquid film decreases. Thereby, it can convey stably in the state which covered the surface of a board|substrate with a liquid film, and can prevent the surface of a board|substrate from being exposed. [Effect of invention]

As described above, according to the present invention, the liquid film on the surface of the substrate being conveyed is photographed and changes are reflected in the conveyance control, so that the substrate can be conveyed in a state where the liquid film on the surface of the substrate is stabilized. Thereby, the substrate surface can be prevented from being exposed due to vibration during conveyance, volatilization of the liquid, or the like.

The above and other objects and novel features of the present invention will be more fully understood by reference to the accompanying drawings and a reading of the following detailed description. However, the drawings are used exclusively for explanation and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

1A and 1B are diagrams showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. More specifically, FIG. 1A is a plan view showing a substrate processing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a side view showing the substrate processing apparatus 1 . In addition, these drawings do not show the external appearance of the apparatus, but are schematic diagrams showing the internal structure of the apparatus in an easily understandable manner by excluding the outer wall panel and other parts of the apparatus. The substrate processing apparatus 1 is installed in a clean room, for example, and is used to perform specific processing on a substrate.

Here, as the "substrate" of the present embodiment, a semiconductor substrate, a glass substrate for a mask, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display, a glass substrate for a plasma display, a substrate for an FED (Field Emission Display), an optical disc can be applied Various substrates such as substrates for magnetic disks, substrates for optical disks, etc. Hereinafter, a substrate processing apparatus for processing a semiconductor substrate will be mainly described with reference to the drawings as an example. However, the same applies to the treatment of the various substrates exemplified above.

As shown in FIG. 1A , the substrate processing apparatus 1 includes a substrate processing unit 10 that processes a substrate S, and a transfer conveying unit 20 coupled to the substrate processing unit 10 . The transfer and transfer unit 20 includes a container holding unit 21 and a transfer and transfer robot 22 . The transfer unit 20 can hold a plurality of containers C for accommodating the substrates S. As shown in FIG. As the container C, FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod, front-opening wafer cassette), SMIF (Standard Mechanical Interface, standard mechanical interface) box, OC (Open Cassette, open wafer cassette), which accommodates a plurality of substrates S in a sealed state, can be used. box) etc. The transfer robot 22 moves in and out of the container C held by the container holding portion 21 , takes out the unprocessed substrate S from the container C, or stores the processed substrate in the container C. As shown in FIG. In each container C, a plurality of substrates S are accommodated in a substantially horizontal posture.

The transfer robot 22 includes a base portion 221 , a multi-joint arm 222 , and a hand 223 . The base portion 221 is fixed to the device casing. The multi-joint arm 222 is provided so as to be rotatable about a vertical axis with respect to the base portion 221 . A hand 223 is mounted on the front end of the multi-joint arm 222 . The hand 223 has a structure capable of placing and holding the substrate S on the upper surface thereof. Such a transfer robot having a multi-joint arm and a substrate holding hand is well known, so the detailed description is omitted.

The substrate processing unit 10 includes: a central robot 15 which is arranged substantially at the center in plan view; and a plurality of substrate processing units which are arranged so as to surround the central robot 15 . Specifically, a plurality of (four in this example) substrate processing units 11A, 12A, 13A, and 14A are arranged facing the space in which the center robot 15 is arranged. The substrate processing units 11A to 14A perform specific processing on the substrate S, respectively. When these processing units have the same function, parallel processing of a plurality of substrates can be performed. Moreover, it may be comprised so that processing units with different functions may be combined to sequentially perform different processing on one substrate.

As described below, the substrate processing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment is used for a series of processing of drying the substrate S after wet processing the substrate S with a specific processing liquid. For this purpose, two substrate processing units 11A and 12A of the four substrate processing units are responsible for wet processing of the substrate S, and have a structure inside to enable the processing. In addition, the other two substrate processing units 13A and 14A are in charge of the processing (drying processing) of removing the residual liquid from the substrate S after the wet processing and drying the substrate S, and have a structure inside to enable the processing.

In each of the substrate processing units 11A to 14A, the substrate processing main body for processing the substrate S is housed in a processing chamber provided with a shutter that can be opened and closed on the side facing the center robot 15 . That is, the substrate processing unit 11A has a processing chamber 110 and a baffle plate 111 disposed in the processing chamber 110 and facing the side of the central robot 15 . The baffle 111 is provided to cover an opening (not shown) provided on the side of the processing chamber 110 facing the center robot 15 . When the shutter 111 is opened, the opening is exposed, and the substrate S can be carried in and out through the opening. In addition, when processing the substrate S in the processing chamber 110 , the environment in the processing chamber 110 is blocked from the outside by closing the shutter 111 .

Likewise, the substrate processing unit 12A has a processing chamber 120 and a baffle plate 121 disposed in the processing chamber 120 and facing the side of the central robot 15 . In addition, the substrate processing unit 13A has a processing chamber 130 and a baffle plate 131 disposed in the processing chamber 130 and facing the side of the central robot 15 . In addition, the substrate processing unit 14A has a processing chamber 140 and a baffle plate 141 disposed in the processing chamber 140 and facing the side of the central robot 15 .

Furthermore, the components of the substrate processing unit thus arranged in the horizontal direction are arranged in a plurality of stages (two stages in this example) in the vertical direction. That is, as shown in FIG. 1B , the substrate processing unit 11B is provided below the substrate processing unit 11A. The structure and function of the substrate processing unit 11B are the same as those of the substrate processing unit 11A. Further, below the substrate processing unit 12A, a substrate processing unit 12B having the same structure and the same function as the substrate processing unit 12A is provided. Similarly, a substrate processing unit 13B ( FIG. 2 ) is also provided below the substrate processing unit 13A, and an unillustrated substrate processing unit is also provided below the substrate processing unit 14A. In addition, the number of stages of the substrate processing unit is arbitrary, and is not limited to the two illustrated here. In addition, the number of substrate processing units arranged per stage is not limited to the above.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration and installation environment of the center robot. The central robot 15 can receive the unprocessed substrate S from the transfer and transfer robot 22 , and can hand over the processed substrate S to the transfer and transfer robot 22 . More specifically, the center robot 15 includes a base unit 151 , a lift unit 152 , a rotation unit 153 , a telescopic arm 154 , and a hand 155 . The base unit 151 is fixed to the bottom frame of the substrate processing unit 10 and supports each configuration of the center robot 15 . The elevating part 152 is attached to the base part 151 , and the rotating part 153 is attached to the upper part of the elevating part 152 . The elevating portion 152 is freely retractable in the vertical direction, and the rotating portion 153 is moved up and down by the retractable motion.

The rotating part 153 is rotatable about the vertical axis with respect to the lifting part 152 . The base of the telescopic arm 154 is attached to the rotating part 153 , and the hand 155 is attached to the front end of the telescopic arm 154 . The telescopic arm 154 is telescopic in a specific range along the horizontal direction. The hand 155 is structured such that the substrate S can be placed and held on the upper surface thereof, and the substrate S can be transferred to and from the hand 223 of the transfer robot 22 . The mechanism of such a structured hand is well known, so the detailed description is omitted.

The substrate S held by the hand 155 can be moved in the horizontal direction by extending and retracting the telescopic arm 154 in the horizontal direction. In addition, the direction of the horizontal movement of the substrate S can be defined by the rotation of the rotating portion 153 relative to the lifting portion 152 . Moreover, the height of the board|substrate S, ie, the vertical direction position, can be adjusted by raising and lowering the rotating part 153 by the raising/lowering part 152.

A support member 156 extending upward is installed on the rotating portion 153 . The support member 156 is attached to the side opposite to the extension direction of the telescopic arm 154 on the side surface of the rotating portion 153 so as not to interfere with the expansion and contraction of the hand 155 . A CCD camera 157 is attached to the upper end of the support member 156 . The optical axis direction of the CCD camera 157 is directed slightly downward from the horizontal direction, and the substrate S held by the hand 155 is viewed obliquely from above and falls into the photographing field of view. Thereby, the upper surface of the substrate S can be photographed. The photographic data is sent to the control unit 90 .

In addition, a replenishing liquid nozzle 158 is provided in the rotating portion 153 . The replenishing liquid nozzle 158 opens downward above the substrate S held by the hand 155 . The replenishing liquid nozzle 158 is connected to a low surface tension liquid supply part (not shown) (described below), and supplies the low surface tension liquid supplied from the low surface tension liquid supply part to the substrate S as needed.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1 configured as described above, the processing of the substrate S is performed as follows. In the initial state, the unprocessed substrate S is accommodated in the container C placed on the container holding portion 21 . The transfer robot 22 takes out one unprocessed substrate S from the container C, and transfers it to the center robot 15 . The center robot 15 carries the received substrate S to a substrate processing unit where processing of the substrate S is to be performed.

For example, when the substrate S is loaded into the substrate processing unit 11A, as shown in FIG. 2 , the center robot 15 adjusts the height of the rotating part 153 by the elevating part 152 and positions the substrate S held by the hand 155 on the substrate processing unit 11A The height of the baffle 111 on the side of the processing chamber 110. The shutter 111 is opened, and the telescopic arm 154 is extended toward the opening on the side surface of the processing chamber 110 , thereby carrying the substrate S into the processing chamber 110 . After the retractable arm 154 is retracted, the shutter 111 is closed, and the processing of the substrate S is performed in the processing chamber 110 . The loading of the substrate S with respect to other substrate processing units can also be performed in the same manner.

On the other hand, when taking out the processed substrate S from the substrate processing unit 11A, the telescopic arm 154 enters the processing chamber 110 with the shutter 111 opened and takes out the processed substrate S. The taken-out substrate S may be carried into another substrate processing unit to perform new processing, or may be returned to the container C via the transfer robot 22 . The specific processing procedure of this embodiment will be described in detail below.

As shown in FIG. 2, the center robot 15 is installed in the conveyance space TS partitioned from the external space by the partition wall 101 in the side and upper direction. The substrate processing unit 11A is attached to the side portion of the partition wall 101 so that the side surface of the processing chamber 110 on which the baffle plate 111 is provided faces the transfer space TS. The same applies to other substrate processing units.

In addition to the above, the substrate processing apparatus 1 is provided with a control unit 90 for controlling the operation of each part of the apparatus. The control unit 90 includes at least a CPU (Central Processing Unit, central processing unit) 91 and a memory 92 . The CPU 91 causes each part of the device to execute a specific action by executing a control program prepared in advance. In addition, the memory 92 stores a control program to be executed by the CPU 91, data generated by the execution, and the like. The operations related to the operations of the transfer robot 22 and the center robot 15, the opening and closing of shutters in each processing chamber, and various processing of the substrate S are controlled by the CPU 91 that executes the control program.

3A and 3B are diagrams showing a substrate processing unit that performs wet processing. More specifically, FIG. 3A is a diagram showing the configuration of the substrate processing unit 11A, and FIG. 3B is a diagram for explaining the operation of the substrate processing unit 11A. Here, the configuration of the substrate processing unit 11A will be described, and the configurations of the other substrate processing units 11B, 12A and the like that perform wet processing are basically the same.

The substrate processing unit 11A includes a wet processing unit 30 as a substrate processing main body in the processing chamber 110 . The wet processing unit 30 supplies the processing liquid to the upper surface of the substrate S to perform surface treatment, cleaning, and the like of the substrate S. In addition, in order to prevent the upper surface of the substrate S unloaded after the wet processing from being exposed in the surrounding environment, the wet processing unit 30 also covers the upper surface of the substrate S after the wet processing with a liquid film of a low surface tension liquid. The liquid film forming process.

For this purpose, the wet processing section 30 includes a substrate holding section 31 , a splash guard 32 , a processing liquid supply section 33 , and a low surface tension liquid supply section 34 . Actions thereof are controlled by the control unit 90 . The substrate holding portion 31 has a disc-shaped spin chuck 311 having a diameter approximately equal to that of the substrate S, and a plurality of chuck pins 312 are provided on the periphery of the spin chuck 311 . The chuck pins 312 abut on the peripheral edge of the substrate S to support the substrate S, whereby the spin chuck 311 can hold the substrate S in a horizontal posture while being separated from the upper surface of the substrate S.

The rotary chuck 311 is supported by the rotation support shaft 313 extending downward from the central portion of the lower surface, and the upper surface thereof is horizontal. The rotating support shaft 313 is rotatably supported by a rotating mechanism 314 attached to the bottom of the processing chamber 110 . The rotating mechanism 314 has a built-in rotating motor (not shown), and the rotating motor rotates according to the control command from the control unit 90, whereby the rotating chuck 311 directly connected to the rotating support shaft 313 revolves around the vertical axis indicated by the single-dot chain line rotate. In FIGS. 3A and 3B , the vertical direction is the vertical direction. Thereby, the board|substrate S rotates about a vertical axis|shaft while maintaining a horizontal attitude|position.

The splash guard 32 is provided so as to surround the board holding part 31 from the side. The splash guard 32 has a substantially cylindrical shield 321 provided so as to cover the peripheral portion of the spin chuck 311 , and a liquid receiving portion 322 provided below the outer peripheral portion of the shield 321 . The shield 321 moves up and down according to the control command from the control unit 90 . The shield 321 moves up and down between the following positions, that is, as shown in FIG. 3A , the upper end of the shield 321 is lowered to a lower position lower than the peripheral edge of the substrate S held on the rotary chuck 311 , as shown in FIG. 3A . The upper end of the shield 321 shown in 3B is located at an upper position higher than the peripheral edge of the substrate S. As shown in FIG.

When the shield 321 is located at the lower position, as shown in FIG. 3A , the substrate S held by the spin chuck 311 is exposed to the outside of the shield 321 . Therefore, it is possible to prevent the shield 321 from becoming an obstacle when the substrate S is carried in and out of the spin chuck 311 , for example.

Moreover, when the shield 321 is located in the upper position, as shown in FIG. 3B, the peripheral edge part of the board|substrate S hold|maintained by the spin chuck 311 is enclosed. This can prevent the processing liquid thrown off from the peripheral edge of the substrate S from scattering into the processing chamber 110 at the time of liquid supply described below, so that the processing liquid can be reliably recovered. That is, the droplets of the processing liquid thrown away from the peripheral portion of the substrate S due to the rotation of the substrate S adhere to the inner wall of the shield 321 and flow downward, and are collected by the liquid receiving portion 322 disposed below the shield 321 and collected. Recycle. In order to recover a plurality of treatment liquids individually, a plurality of stages of shields may be arranged concentrically.

The processing liquid supply part 33 has a structure in which the rotating support shaft 332 is rotatably provided on the substrate 331 fixed to the processing chamber 110 , and further, the front end of the arm 333 extending horizontally on the rotating support shaft 332 is provided. A nozzle 334 is installed. The arm 333 is rotated by the rotation support shaft 332 according to the control command from the control unit 90 . Thereby, the nozzle 334 at the front end of the arm 333 moves between the retracted position retracted from above the substrate S to the side as shown in FIG. 3A and the processing position above the substrate S as shown in FIG. 3B .

The nozzle 334 is connected to a processing liquid supply part (not shown) provided in the control unit 90 . When an appropriate processing liquid is sent from the processing liquid supply part, the processing liquid is ejected toward the substrate S from the nozzle 334 . As shown in FIG. 3B , the substrate S is rotated by the rotation of the spin chuck 311 at a relatively low speed, and the processing liquid Lq is supplied from the nozzle 33 positioned above the rotation center of the substrate S. Thereby, the upper surface Sa of the board|substrate S is processed by the processing liquid Lq. As the processing liquid Lq, liquids having various functions, such as a developing liquid, an etching liquid, a cleaning liquid, and a cleaning liquid, can be used, and any composition thereof can be used. In addition, the treatment may be performed by combining a plurality of treatment liquids.

The low surface tension liquid supply part 34 also has a configuration corresponding to the processing liquid supply part 33 . That is, the low-surface-tension liquid supply part 34 has a base 341 , a rotating support shaft 342 , an arm 343 , a nozzle 344 , and the like, and the configuration thereof is equivalent to that of the processing liquid supply part 33 . The arm 343 is rotated by the rotation support shaft 342 according to the control command from the control unit 90 . The nozzle 344 at the front end of the arm 343 supplies a low surface tension liquid for forming a liquid film to the upper surface Sa of the substrate S after the wet processing.

The "processing liquid Lq", "arm 333", and "nozzle 334" in the above description of FIG. 3B are respectively renamed as "low surface tension liquid Lq", "arm 343", and "nozzle 344" to illustrate the low surface tension Operation of the tension liquid supply unit 34 . Among them, the one ejected is a low surface tension liquid, which is a different type of liquid from the general treatment liquid.

When the upper surface Sa of the substrate to be processed has a fine concave-convex pattern (hereinafter, abbreviated as "pattern") formed thereon, in the process of drying the wet substrate S after the wet processing, there may be a cause of entering into the pattern. The surface tension of the liquid may cause the pattern to collapse. As a method for preventing this, there are the following methods: a method of replacing the liquid in the pattern with a liquid with a lower surface tension and then drying; a method of covering the upper surface Sa of the substrate with a solid of the sublimable substance and sublimation drying of the sublimation substance method; and the supercritical drying method used in this embodiment.

In order to perform the supercritical drying process which requires high temperature and high pressure state, another high pressure chamber different from the chamber for wet processing is required. Therefore, the wet-processed substrate S needs to be transferred to a high-pressure chamber. In order to avoid pattern collapse due to exposure of the substrate surface during conveyance, it is desirable to cover the substrate upper surface Sa with a liquid or a solid. In this case, the liquid covering the upper surface Sa of the substrate is preferably a liquid whose surface tension is smaller than that of the treatment liquid from the viewpoint of more reliably preventing the collapse of the pattern caused by the surface tension. Liquids of this nature are referred to as "low surface tension liquids" in this specification.

In the present embodiment, the transfer is performed in a state where the upper surface Sa of the substrate is covered with a liquid film of the low surface tension liquid. The liquid film is formed as follows. As shown in FIG. 3B , in a state in which the substrate S rotates at a specific rotational speed, the low surface tension liquid Lq supplied from the low surface tension liquid supply part (not shown) provided in the control unit 90 is ejected from the nozzle 343, Thereby, the upper surface Sa of the substrate is in a state covered with the liquid film LF of the low surface tension liquid. The low-surface-tension liquid is preferably one that has good miscibility with a treatment liquid used for wet processing and has a smaller surface tension than the treatment liquid. For example, when the treatment liquid is mainly composed of water, isopropyl alcohol (IPA) can be preferably used. In this way, the entire upper surface Sa of the substrate is in a state covered by the liquid film LF of the low surface tension liquid.

Moreover, in the processing chamber 110, above the substrate S held by the spin chuck 311, a CCD camera 351 and an illumination light source 352 are arranged. The optical axis direction of the CCD camera 351 is directed slightly downward from the horizontal direction. Therefore, the CCD camera 351 has a plan view of the substrate S held by the spin chuck 311 from obliquely above and falls into the photographing field of view. The illumination light source 352 irradiates the substrate S with illumination light for photographing. Thereby, the upper surface of the board|substrate S is imaged. The photographic data is sent to the control unit 90 .

The substrate S carried out from the substrate processing unit 11A in a state where the upper surface Sa is covered with the liquid film LF is transferred to the substrate processing unit 13A and subjected to a drying process. That is, the substrate processing unit 13A has a function of performing drying processing as a substrate processing for drying the substrate S by removing the liquid film LF formed on the upper surface Sa of the substrate S carried in in a horizontal position. As the drying process, supercritical drying is applied in which the substrate S is covered with a supercritical fluid, and then the supercritical fluid is vaporized (without passing through the liquid phase) and removed. Here, the configuration of the substrate processing unit 13A will be described, and the configurations of the other substrate processing units 13B, 14A, etc. that perform drying processing are basically the same.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a substrate processing unit that performs a supercritical drying process. More specifically, FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the substrate processing unit 13A. The principle of supercritical drying treatment and the basic structure required therefor are well known, so the detailed description is omitted here. The substrate processing unit 13A includes a high-pressure chamber 130 , and a drying processing unit 40 serving as an execution body for drying processing is provided inside the high-pressure chamber 130 . In the drying processing unit 40 , a stage 41 for placing the substrate S is provided in the high-pressure chamber 130 . The stage 41 holds the substrate S whose upper surface Sa is covered with the liquid film by suction holding or mechanical holding. The high-pressure chamber 130 is high-pressure, so for high-pressure resistance, a component with a relatively simple internal structure and high-pressure resistance is used.

At the center of the lower surface of the platform 41, the rotating support shaft 42 extends downward. The rotation support shaft 42 is inserted through the bottom surface of the high pressure chamber 130 via the high pressure seal rotation introduction mechanism 43 . The rotation shaft 431 of the high-pressure seal rotation introduction mechanism 43 is connected to the rotation mechanism 432 . Therefore, when the rotation mechanism 432 is actuated according to the control command from the control unit 90, the substrate S rotates together with the stage 41 around the rotation axis in the vertical direction indicated by the single-dot chain line.

Inside the high pressure chamber 130 and above the platform 41, a fluid dispersing member 44 is disposed. The fluid dispersing member 44 is provided with a plurality of through holes 442 penetrating up and down with respect to the flat plate-shaped blocking plate 441 . Carbon dioxide gas is supplied from the carbon dioxide supply unit 45 to the upper part of the high pressure chamber 130 as needed, and the carbon dioxide gas is rectified by the fluid dispersion member 44 and supplied uniformly from above the substrate S toward the substrate S.

Moreover, nitrogen is introduced into the high pressure chamber 130 from the nitrogen supply part 46 as needed. If necessary, nitrogen is supplied in various forms, that is, as normal temperature or heated gas, or as cooled and liquefied liquid nitrogen, according to the purpose of flushing the gas in the high-pressure chamber 130 or cooling the chamber.

Furthermore, the discharge mechanism 48 is connected to the high pressure chamber 130 . The discharge mechanism 48 has a function of discharging various fluids such as gas and liquid introduced into the high-pressure chamber 130 . The discharge mechanism 48 is equipped with piping, a valve, a pump, etc. for this purpose. Thereby, the fluid in the high pressure chamber 130 can be quickly discharged when necessary.

Although illustration is omitted, the control unit 90 has a structure for detecting the pressure or temperature in the high-pressure chamber 130 and a structure for controlling the pressure or the like to a specific value. That is, the control unit 90 has a function of controlling the pressure and temperature in the high-pressure chamber 130 to specific target values.

Next, the operation of the substrate processing apparatus 1 configured as described above will be described. As described above, the substrate processing apparatus 1 is an apparatus for sequentially performing wet processing and drying processing on the substrate S. As shown in FIG. The main flow of this process is as follows. That is, after the substrate S is transported to a substrate processing unit that performs wet processing to perform processing of the processing liquid, a liquid film of the low surface tension liquid is formed, the substrate S is transported to the substrate processing unit that performs drying processing, and the liquid film is removed to remove the liquid film. The substrate S is dried. Hereinafter, specific processing contents will be described.

Here, it is assumed that the substrate processing unit 11A performs wet processing on one substrate S, and the substrate processing unit 13A performs drying processing on the one substrate S. However, the combination of the substrate processing unit that performs wet processing and the substrate processing unit that performs dry processing is arbitrary, and is not limited thereto. In addition, in the following description, in order to clearly show the role of each substrate processing unit, the substrate processing unit 11A that performs wet processing and the like are referred to as "wet processing unit", and the substrate processing unit 13A that performs drying processing is referred to as "wet processing unit", etc. For the "drying processing unit".

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the substrate processing apparatus. This operation is realized by executing a control program prepared in advance by the CPU 91 to cause each part of the device to perform a specific operation. First, the transfer robot 22 takes out one unprocessed substrate S from one of the containers C that accommodates the unprocessed substrates (step S101 ). Next, the substrate S is transferred from the transfer robot 22 to the center robot 15 (step S102). The center robot 15 carries the substrate S into the substrate processing unit (wet processing unit) 11A that performs wet processing (step S103).

The substrate processing unit 11A into which the substrate S is carried in performs wet processing on the substrate S (step S104 ). As described above, the content of the wet processing is to supply the processing liquid to the substrate S to perform processing or cleaning of the upper surface Sa of the substrate. The liquid film forming process for forming the liquid film LF of the low surface tension liquid is performed on the substrate S after the wet processing (step S105 ).

The substrate S having the liquid film LF formed on the upper surface Sa by the liquid film formation process is taken out from the substrate processing unit 11A by the center robot 15 and carried into the substrate processing unit (drying processing unit) 13A that performs drying processing. That is, a transfer process of transferring the substrate S from the substrate processing unit 11A to the substrate processing unit 13A is performed (step S106 ). Various aspects are conceivable as the transfer process, so the various aspects such as these will be summarized and described below in detail.

The substrate processing unit 13A into which the substrate S is carried in performs a drying process of removing the adhered liquid and drying the substrate S on the substrate S (step S107 ). In the substrate processing unit 13A, a supercritical drying process using a supercritical fluid is performed. That is, carbon dioxide is introduced into the high-pressure chamber 130 from the carbon dioxide supply unit 45, and the pressure in the chamber is sufficiently increased, whereby the carbon dioxide is liquefied. Alternatively, liquid carbon dioxide can also be introduced into the high pressure chamber 130 . Liquid carbon dioxide covers the upper surface Sa of the substrate. The liquefied carbon dioxide fully dissolves the organic solvent. Therefore, liquid such as IPA remaining in the pattern is replaced with liquid carbon dioxide.

Then, the temperature and pressure in the high-pressure chamber 130 are adjusted to the conditions that the carbon dioxide is in a supercritical state. Thereby, the carbon dioxide in the high pressure chamber 130 becomes a supercritical fluid. Fluids in the supercritical state have extremely high fluidity and minimal surface tension. In particular, the supercritical fluid generated from carbon dioxide fully dissolves organic solvents such as IPA and acetone. Therefore, the supercritical fluid of carbon dioxide enters the deep part of the fine pattern and removes the remaining organic solvent components from the pattern. The point of becoming supercritical at relatively low pressure and low temperature is also one of the reasons for applying carbon dioxide to the supercritical drying process.

Then, the inside of the high-pressure chamber 130 is rapidly decompressed, whereby the supercritical fluid is directly vaporized and removed from the substrate S without passing through the liquid phase. Thereby, the board|substrate S becomes the state in which the liquid component was completely removed and it was dry. The liquid components remaining in the pattern are replaced by the supercritical fluid, and the supercritical fluid is directly vaporized to avoid the problem of pattern collapse caused by the surface tension of the liquid in the pattern.

The processed substrate S is taken out from the substrate processing unit 13A by the center robot 15 (step S108). The processed substrate S that has been taken out is handed over from the center robot 15 to the transfer robot 22 (step S109 ). The transfer robot 22 accommodates the substrate S in one of the containers C (step S110). The container C for accommodating the processed substrate S may be a container that once accommodated the substrate S in an unprocessed state, or may be another container.

Furthermore, when there exists a board|substrate to be processed (Yes in step S111), it returns to step S101, and the said process is performed with respect to the next board|substrate S. If there is no substrate to be processed (No in step S111 ), the process ends.

In the above, the flow in the case of processing one substrate S has been described, but in an actual apparatus, the processing of a plurality of substrates is performed in parallel. That is, while one substrate S is being processed in one substrate processing unit, it is possible to simultaneously execute the transfer of other substrates by the transfer robot 22 and the center robot 15 and the processing of substrates by the other substrate processing units in parallel. at least one.

More specifically, for example, after the substrate S is handed over from the transfer robot 22 to the center robot 15 in step S102 , the transfer robot 22 can re-enter and exit the container C and take out other substrates. Also, for example, after carrying one substrate S into the substrate processing unit 11A in step S103 , the center robot 15 can carry another substrate into another substrate processing unit, or carry out another substrate processed by another substrate processing unit.

Therefore, when it is necessary to process a plurality of substrates S sequentially, by appropriately adjusting the operation sequence of each part of the apparatus for processing each substrate S, the processing of the plurality of substrates can be performed in parallel. In this way, the throughput of the processing as the entire substrate processing apparatus 1 can be improved. The specific sequence of operations needs to be appropriately determined according to the specifications of the processing, the time required for each of the above steps, or whether simultaneous processing can be performed.

Next, some aspects of the transfer processing (step S106 in FIG. 5 ) of the above-mentioned substrate processing will be described. The purpose of the transfer process is to transfer the substrate S on which the liquid film LF is formed on the upper surface Sa from the substrate processing unit 11A, and to transfer the substrate S with the liquid film LF maintained, that is, without exposing the substrate upper surface Sa. to the substrate processing unit 13A. For this purpose, in this embodiment, images captured by the CCD camera 351 provided in the substrate processing unit 11A and the CCD camera 157 provided in the center robot 15 are used.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a first aspect of the transfer process. First, in the processing chamber 110 of the substrate processing unit 11A, the substrate S immediately after the liquid film formation process is photographed by the CCD camera 351 (step S201 ). At this time, the liquid film LF formed to cover the upper surface Sa of the substrate is actually photographed. Preferably, the entirety of the liquid film LF covering the upper surface Sa of the substrate falls into the image. The data of the captured image is stored in the memory 92 of the control unit 90 as the reference data.

Then, the hand 155 of the center robot 15 enters the processing chamber 110 to hold the substrate S (step S202 ), and the hand 155 moves horizontally to start conveying the substrate S (step S203 ). During conveyance, the liquid film LF on the upper surface Sa of the substrate is photographed at any time by the CCD camera 157 provided in the center robot 15 (step S204). Ideally, between the image captured by the CCD camera 157 and the image captured by the CCD camera 351 , the position, size and elevation angle occupied by the substrate S in the image are the same.

The images obtained from the shooting are compared with the reference images originally taken. That is, the difference between the image newly captured by the CCD camera 157 and the image captured by the CCD camera 351 in the processing chamber 110 is obtained (step S205). If the result is that the two images are significantly different, it is considered that the liquid film LF on the substrate S has some changes. For example, the absolute value of the difference of each pixel between the two images is accumulated in the image, and whether there is a significant difference can be determined according to whether the value exceeds a preset reference amount (threshold value). The difference in the thickness of the liquid film appears as a change in the surface reflectivity or a difference in the generation of interference fringes. This difference can be detected by finding the difference between the images.

As the change that can be caused in the liquid film during conveyance, it is considered that the shake of the liquid surface due to vibration, the drop of the liquid, or the reduction of the liquid amount due to volatilization are mainly. In these cases, it is effective to replenish the low surface tension liquid to the substrate S. Therefore, when there is a significant change in the liquid film (Yes in step S206 ), a specific amount of low surface tension liquid is replenished from the replenishing liquid nozzle 158 provided in the center robot 15 (step S207 ). As a result, the liquid film can be prevented from being damaged due to a decrease in the liquid amount. When there is no significant change (No in step S206 ), liquid replenishment is not performed.

Before the substrate S reaches the target position, that is, the inside of the high pressure chamber 130 of the substrate processing unit 13A, the above steps S204 to S207 are repeatedly performed (No in step S208 ). Therefore, during the transfer of the substrate S, the state of the liquid film LF can be constantly monitored, and the low surface tension liquid can be replenished when necessary. Thereby, the liquid film on the substrate S can be stably maintained. If the target position is reached (Yes in step S208 ), the substrate S is transferred from the central robot 15 to the platform 41 in the high pressure chamber 130 (step S209 ), thereby completing the transfer of the substrate S.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a second aspect of the transfer process. In this aspect, step S221 is provided in place of step S207 in the first aspect. The contents of other processes are the same as those in the first aspect, and therefore the same symbols are assigned to the same processes, and the description thereof will be omitted. In step S221 performed in the second aspect instead of the liquid replenishment in the first aspect, the conveying speed of the substrate S by the center robot 15 is changed.

For example, in the case where the low surface tension liquid falls from the substrate S due to vibration or sudden acceleration and deceleration, the liquid falling can be suppressed by conveying the substrate S more slowly. That is, in this case, what is necessary is just to reduce the conveyance speed. For example, when the surface of the liquid film is corrugated, it can be considered that the liquid film LF is shaken due to vibration. On the other hand, the decrease in the liquid amount due to the volatilization of the liquid appears as a decrease in the film thickness of the liquid film of the entire substrate S. In this case, it is preferable to increase the conveyance speed and complete the conveyance in a shorter time. Furthermore, in the case of implementing this aspect alone, the supplementary liquid nozzle 158 may also be omitted.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a third aspect of the transfer process. 9 is a flowchart showing a substrate processing operation including the transfer processing. In this aspect, since the contents of the transfer processing are different, the operation of the substrate processing itself also needs to be changed. Here, the same reference numerals are given to the same processing as the processing described above, and the description is omitted. As shown in FIG. 8 , in the transfer process of the third aspect, when the image of the liquid film changes significantly in step S206, an exception flag is set for making the subsequent processes different (step S231). In this case, the transfer of the substrate S is interrupted.

As shown in FIG. 9 , in the substrate processing of this aspect, after the transfer processing (step S106 ), a step S121 of judging whether or not to set an exception flag is added. When the mark is set (Yes in step S121 ), the center robot 15 returns the substrate S to the wet processing unit 11A (step S122 ). Following this, the exception flag is reset (step S123). Next, after the wet processing unit 11A executes the liquid film formation process again (step S105 ), the transfer process is executed again (step S106 ).

In this aspect, when the liquid film LF on the substrate S changes, the liquid film LF is formed again in the substrate processing unit 11A. If the exception flag is not set (NO in step S121 ), since the liquid film LF does not change greatly, the drying process is continued (step S107 ). Thereby, it can be avoided that the liquid film LF is transported into the substrate processing unit 13A in a state where the liquid film LF is damaged. That is, the substrate S can be transferred while the liquid film LF is stably maintained. Furthermore, in this aspect, the supplementary liquid nozzle 158 may be omitted in the case of independent implementation.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a fourth aspect of the transfer process. In FIG. 10, the same reference numerals are attached to the same contents as those of the transfer process shown in FIG. 6, and the description thereof will be omitted. In this aspect, after the liquid film is photographed by the CCD camera 351 in step S201, the image is compared with an ideal image prepared in advance. That is, the difference between the captured image and the ideal image is obtained (step S241). The so-called ideal image is an image corresponding to an ideal state in which the upper surface Sa of the substrate S is uniformly covered by the liquid film LF of a specific thickness.

This process is a process for verifying whether an appropriate liquid film LF is formed on the substrate S. That is, in the substrate S after wet processing, the unevenness or wettability of the surface is changed as a result of the processing, so that it may be difficult to form a uniform liquid film. In particular, if the substrate surface after treatment is in a state of liquid repellency, it is difficult to support a uniform liquid film. In addition, there may be cases where an appropriate liquid film is not formed initially, depending on the abnormal operation of the structure of the apparatus for forming the liquid film or the holding state of the substrate S. Such abnormality can be detected immediately by comparing the image of the substrate S immediately after the formation of the liquid film with the ideal image. Moreover, the liquid supply amount for liquid film formation or the rotation speed of the substrate S may be adjusted based on the magnitude of the difference from the ideal image.

If there is a significant difference between the captured image and the ideal image (Yes in step S242 ), the transfer process is terminated after appropriate error processing (step S243 ). The content of the error handling is arbitrary, for example, it is considered to notify the operator of the occurrence of an abnormality, and to display and output the image at that time. Ideally, even if the processing of the substrate S in which abnormality is detected is stopped, the processing of the substrate without abnormality can be continued.

If no abnormality is detected (NO in step S242 ), the transfer process after step S202 is executed with the captured image as the reference image. Here, it is assumed that the transfer processing of the first aspect is performed, but the processing of the second or third aspect may be performed.

In addition, the processing of each of the above-mentioned aspects may be appropriately combined. For example, a plurality of reference quantities may be set for the magnitude of the difference between the image captured by the CCD camera 157 and the reference image, and subsequent processing may be changed according to the magnitude of the difference.

In actual substrate processing, depending on the subsequent processing conditions, etc., there may be a situation in which the substrate S is placed in the processing chamber 110 and the liquid film LF is formed on the upper surface Sa until the substrate S is transported. To wait for a long time. As a measure to cope with such a situation, for example, the processing shown in FIG. 10 may be partially changed and implemented as follows. The liquid film LF is imaged by the CCD camera 351 in the processing chamber 110 at a plurality of timings that are different from each other from the time the liquid film LF is formed on the substrate S to the start of the transfer. Comparing their images, when it is confirmed that there is a significant difference in the liquid film between the latest image captured and the ideal image or the first captured image, liquid replenishment or proper error handling is performed (step S243 ).

In this way, in the substrate processing of the present embodiment, images of a plurality of liquid films captured at different times during the period from the formation of the liquid film LF on the substrate S to the end of the conveyance are compared, and a subsequent determination is made based on the results. the transfer action. Therefore, it is possible to detect changes in the liquid film caused by vibration or volatilization during conveyance without delay, and to change the conveyance operation according to the situation. In this way, in the present embodiment, the substrate can be conveyed in a state where the liquid film is stably formed on the surface. As a result, exposure of the substrate surface due to vibration during conveyance, volatilization of liquid, or the like can be prevented.

As described above, in the above-described embodiment, the substrate processing unit 11A, which is a wet processing unit, functions as the "first processing unit" of the present invention, and the substrate processing unit 13A, which is a dry processing unit, functions as the "second processing unit" of the present invention. ” function. Furthermore, the center robot 15 functions as a "transfer mechanism" of the present invention. In addition, the processing chamber 110 functions as a "processing chamber" of the present invention.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the hand 155 functions as the "holding member" of the present invention. Furthermore, the CCD cameras 157 and 351 function as a "second camera" and a "first camera" of the present invention, respectively, and constitute an "imaging section" of the present invention. In addition, the replenishment liquid nozzle 158 functions as a "liquid supply mechanism" of the present invention. In addition, the control unit 90 functions as a "control unit" of the present invention. In addition, the image of the liquid film captured by the camera 351 immediately after the formation of the liquid film corresponds to the "image before transfer" in the present invention.

In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, In the limit which does not deviate from the summary, various changes other than the above are possible. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the substrate processing unit 11A, the substrate processing unit 13A, and the center robot 15 corresponding to the "first processing unit", the "second processing unit", and the "transfer mechanism" of the present invention, respectively, are accommodated in a single case. The body constitutes an integrated processing system. However, this invention is applicable also to the processing system which has the 1st processing part and the 2nd processing part provided independently of each other, and the conveyance mechanism which conveys a board|substrate between them.

In the above-described embodiment, the image of the liquid film captured by the CCD camera 351 in the processing chamber 110 is used as the reference image, but the reference image is not limited to this. For example, an image captured by the CCD camera 157 at the initial stage of conveyance may be used as a reference image. In this case, the CCD camera 351 in the processing chamber 110 is not required for the purpose of observing the state of the liquid film being conveyed. In particular, when the CCD camera 157 is configured to move integrally with the hand 155, the positional relationship between the substrate S held by the hand 155 and the CCD camera 157 remains unchanged at each stage of conveyance. According to such a configuration, there is no need to align the images with each other, and the accuracy of the difference calculation can be further improved.

Moreover, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the CCD camera 157 is attached to the center robot 15 which moves with the board|substrate S when the board|substrate S is conveyed. Instead of this, for example, the conveyed board|substrate S may be imaged by the camera fixedly installed in the position which can see the conveyance path of the board|substrate S completely. Especially for the substrate S provided with the fine pattern, in order to prevent the pattern from collapsing, the substrate surface is not allowed to be exposed even for a short time. Therefore, in this case, it is preferable that a plurality of cameras are arranged on the conveyance path, and the liquid film conveyed together with the substrate S can be photographed at short time intervals. Alternatively, a mechanism for making the camera follow the movement of the substrate S may also be provided.

In addition, the center robot 15 may further be provided with a structure for catching and recovering the liquid dropped from the substrate S being conveyed.

As described above, as an example of specific embodiments, the present invention can be configured as follows. For example, the first processing unit performs liquid film formation on the substrate in the processing chamber, and the imaging unit includes the first camera installed in the processing chamber. . According to such a configuration, the liquid film immediately after formation can be photographed, and, for example, the state of the subsequent liquid film can be evaluated based on the liquid film included in the image.

Moreover, for example, the conveyance mechanism may have the holding member which hold|maintains a board|substrate, and the imaging part may have the 2nd camera provided in the conveyance mechanism and moved together with the holding member. According to such a configuration, it is possible to photograph at any time during conveyance, so that changes in the liquid film on the substrate can be detected without delay and necessary countermeasures can be taken.

Also, for example, the control unit may make the difference between the first processing unit and the second processing unit between the case where the difference obtained from the plurality of images exceeds the preset reference amount and the case where the difference does not exceed the preset reference amount. The time it takes to transport varies. Changes in the liquid film include vibration during conveyance, sudden acceleration and deceleration, volatilization of liquid components, and the like, and the change in the liquid film may be suppressed by changing the conveyance speed.

Further, for example, the transfer mechanism may include a liquid supply mechanism for supplying liquid to the substrate to be transferred, and the control unit may be configured to cause the liquid supply mechanism to The substrate is supplied with liquid. According to such a configuration, by replenishing the liquid constituting the liquid film as necessary, the liquid film on the substrate can be maintained while the liquid film can be continuously conveyed. In particular, when the liquid film is formed of a material with high volatility, the thickness of the liquid film is reduced due to volatilization during transportation, which may cause the surface of the substrate to be exposed. This problem can be eliminated by providing a mechanism for replenishing the liquid in the conveying portion.

In addition, for example, the control unit may be configured to return the substrate to the first processing unit by the conveying mechanism when the difference calculated from the plurality of images exceeds a predetermined reference amount, and cause the first processing unit to perform liquid film regeneration. form. According to such a configuration, the liquid film is re-formed in the first processing section having the necessary configuration for forming the liquid film. Therefore, even if a configuration for replenishing the liquid during transfer is not provided separately, the liquid film during transfer can be prevented. of damage.

Furthermore, for example, the liquid constituting the liquid film may be an organic solvent, and the second processing unit may be configured to perform supercritical drying processing on the substrate. The supercritical drying process requires a dedicated high pressure environment in order to be carried out under high pressure. In addition, it is necessary to use parts that can withstand high pressure. Therefore, in reality, it is performed in a place different from the wet processing which can be carried out under normal pressure. In such a case, it is necessary to carry out the conveyance of the substrate after wet processing, and by applying the present invention, it is possible to carry out the conveyance without exposing the surface of the substrate. From the viewpoint of the affinity with the supercritical fluid, it is preferable to use an organic solvent to form the liquid film, but the organic solvent with high volatility is easily lost during transportation. By observing the state of the liquid film by the application of the present invention, it is possible to reliably cover the surface of the substrate with the liquid film and convey the liquid film also in this case.

Also, for example, the plurality of images may include a pre-conveyance image captured before the substrate is conveyed by the conveyance mechanism. According to such a configuration, it is possible to grasp whether or not the substrate surface is properly covered with the liquid film at the time of starting the transfer, and it is possible to take necessary measures depending on the situation. For example, the control unit may determine whether to start the conveyance of the substrate by the conveyance mechanism based on the difference between the ideal image corresponding to the substrate in which the liquid film is ideally supported and the image before conveyance. In this way, it is possible to avoid feeding and conveying the substrate in a state in which the surface is not properly covered by the liquid film. [Industrial Availability]

The present invention can be applied to the overall substrate processing technology in which the substrate surface is covered with a liquid film and the substrate is transported between processing sections that perform different processing. For example, it is suitable for drying the wet-processed substrate by supercritical drying.

As mentioned above, although the invention was demonstrated based on the specific Example, this description is not intended to interpret in a limited sense. Similar to other embodiments of the present invention, various modifications of the disclosed embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art with reference to the description of the invention. Therefore, it is considered that the scope of the appended claims includes such modifications or embodiments within the scope not departing from the true scope of the invention.

1: Substrate processing device 10: Substrate processing department 11A: Wet processing unit, substrate processing unit (first processing unit) 11B: Substrate processing unit 12A: Substrate processing unit 13A: Drying processing unit, substrate processing unit (second processing section) 13B: Substrate processing unit 14A: Substrate processing unit 15: Center Robot (Transfer Mechanism) 20: Transfer and transfer department 21: Container holding part 22: Transfer and transfer robot 30: Wet processing section 31: Substrate holding part 32: splash guard 33: Treatment liquid supply part 34: Low surface tension liquid supply part 41: Platform 42: Rotating fulcrum 43: High-pressure sealing rotary introduction mechanism 44: Fluid Dispersion Components 45: Carbon dioxide supply department 46: Nitrogen Supply Department 48: Discharge mechanism 90: Control unit (control part) 91: CPU 92: memory 110: Processing chamber (chamber) 111: Baffle 120: Processing Chamber 121: Baffle 130: High pressure chamber 131: Bezel 140: Processing Chamber 141: Baffle 151: Abutment 152: Lifting Department 153: Rotary part 154: Telescopic boom 155: Hand (holding member) 156: Support Components 157: CCD camera (camera, second camera) 158: Refill nozzle (liquid supply mechanism) 221: base 222: Multi-Articulated Arm 223: Hand 311: Rotary chuck 312: Chuck pin 313: Rotary Pivot 314: Rotary Mechanism 321: Shield 322: Liquid receiving part 341: Base 342: Swivel pivot 343: Arm 344: Nozzle 351: CCD camera (photographing section, 1st camera) 352: Lighting source 431: Rotary axis 432: Rotary Mechanism 441: Occlusion Plate 442: Through hole C: container LF: liquid film Lq: treatment liquid S: substrate Sa: upper surface S101: Steps S102: Steps S103: Steps S104: Steps S105: Steps S106: Steps S107: Steps S108: Steps S109: Steps S110: Steps S111: Steps S121: Steps S122: Steps S123: Steps S201: Steps S202: Steps S203: Step S204: Step S205: Steps S206: Step S207: Steps S208: Steps S209: Steps S221: Steps S231: Steps S241: Steps S242: Step S243: Steps TS: Handling space

FIG. 1A is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. 1B is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration and installation environment of the center robot. FIG. 3A is a diagram showing a substrate processing unit performing wet processing. FIG. 3B is a diagram showing a substrate processing unit performing wet processing. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a substrate processing unit that performs a supercritical drying process. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the substrate processing apparatus. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a first aspect of the transfer process. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a second aspect of the transfer process. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a third aspect of the transfer process. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a substrate processing operation including the transfer processing of the third aspect. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a fourth aspect of the transfer process.

1: Substrate processing device

10: Substrate processing department

11A: Substrate processing unit

11B: Substrate processing unit

13A: Substrate processing unit

13B: Substrate processing unit

15: Center Robot

90: Control unit

91:CPU

92: memory

101: Partition Wall

110: Processing Chamber

111: Baffle

130: High pressure chamber

131: Bezel

151: Abutment

152: Lifting Department

153: Rotary Department

154: Telescopic boom

155: hand

156: Support Components

157: CCD camera

158: Refill nozzle

S: substrate

TS: Handling space

Claims (13)

A substrate processing apparatus comprising: a first processing unit that accommodates a substrate, supplies a liquid to the substrate, and covers the surface of the substrate with a liquid film; the substrate; a second processing unit that receives the substrate conveyed by the conveying mechanism and executes specific processing; an imaging unit that is provided inside the first processing unit and images the liquid film formed on the surface of the substrate and a control unit that controls the operation of the conveying mechanism; and the control unit compares the image captured by the imaging unit with the image captured by the imaging unit before the conveying mechanism starts to perform the conveying process of conveying the substrate from the first processing unit. The ideal images prepared in advance before the substrates are accommodated in the first processing unit are compared, and based on the difference between the captured images and the ideal images, it is determined whether or not to terminate the transfer processing. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first processing unit performs the liquid film formation on the substrate in a processing chamber, and the imaging unit includes a first camera installed in the processing chamber. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the conveying mechanism has a holding member for holding the substrate, The said imaging part has the 2nd camera which is provided in the said conveyance mechanism, and moves together with the said holding member. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the liquid is an organic solvent, and the second processing unit performs a supercritical drying process on the substrate. A substrate processing apparatus comprising: a first processing unit for supplying a liquid to a substrate and covering a surface of the substrate with a liquid film; a conveying mechanism for conveying the substrate on which the liquid film is carried; and a second processing unit for receiving the substrate conveyed by the conveying mechanism and performing a specific process; an imaging unit for imaging the liquid film formed on the surface of the substrate; and a control unit for controlling the operation of the conveying mechanism based on the difference between the plurality of images the difference between the plurality of images is captured by the imaging unit at different timings from the time when the liquid film is formed until the substrate is transported into the second processing unit by the transport mechanism; and the above The control unit causes the cost of transferring from the first processing unit to the second processing unit between the case where the difference obtained from the plurality of images exceeds the preset reference amount and the case where the difference does not exceed the preset reference amount time is different. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the first processing unit performs the liquid film formation on the substrate in a processing chamber, and the imaging unit includes a first camera installed in the processing chamber. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the conveyance mechanism includes a holding member for holding the substrate, and the imaging unit includes a second camera that is installed on the conveyance mechanism and moves together with the holding member. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of Claims 5 to 7, wherein the conveying mechanism has a liquid supply mechanism that supplies the liquid to the substrate to be conveyed, and the control unit obtains the image from the plurality of images. When the output difference exceeds a preset reference amount, the liquid supply mechanism is caused to supply the liquid to the substrate. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein when the difference obtained from the plurality of images exceeds a predetermined reference amount, the control unit causes the conveying mechanism to return the substrate to the first A treatment section is used, and the first treatment section is made to carry out the reformation of the liquid film. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the liquid is an organic solvent, and the second processing unit performs a supercritical drying process on the substrate. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the plurality of images includes a pre-transfer image of the substrate captured before the transfer by the transfer mechanism starts. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the control unit determines based on a difference between an ideal image corresponding to the substrate in a state in which the liquid film is ideally supported, and the image before transfer Whether to start the conveyance of the above-mentioned substrate by the above-mentioned conveyance mechanism. A conveyance control method of a substrate processing apparatus, the substrate processing apparatus comprising: a first processing unit for supplying a liquid to a substrate and covering the surface of the substrate with a liquid film; and a second processing unit for receiving the and a transport mechanism for transporting the substrate between the first processing part and the second processing part; and the transport control method of the substrate processing apparatus is from forming the liquid film until the liquid film is formed. The liquid film is imaged at different times during the period during which the substrate is carried into the second processing unit, and the operation of the conveying mechanism is controlled based on the difference between the captured images; and the operation of the conveying mechanism is controlled. , between the case where the difference obtained from the plurality of images exceeds the preset reference amount and the case where the difference does not exceed the preset reference amount, the cost of transferring from the first processing unit to the second processing unit is different times.

Images