TWI900876B - Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a substrate processing technology that applies a predetermined substrate treatment to a substrate held on a rotating substrate holder by supplying a processing liquid to the substrate and capturing droplets of the processing liquid that are blown off the substrate during the substrate processing. In this device, a cup cleaning liquid is directly supplied to the rotating cup from the inside while the rotating cup rotates about its rotation axis. This reduces the amount of cup cleaning liquid used and removes the processing liquid from the rotating cup, keeping it clean.

Description

Substrate processing device and substrate processing method

The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus and method for performing a prescribed substrate treatment on a substrate using a treatment liquid. Herein, the substrate includes semiconductor wafers, glass substrates for liquid crystal displays, glass substrates for plasma displays, optical disk substrates, magnetic disk substrates, magneto-optical disk substrates, glass substrates for photomasks, and solar cell substrates (hereinafter referred to as "substrates"). Furthermore, the treatment includes bevel treatment.

A substrate processing apparatus that rotates substrates such as semiconductor wafers and supplies a processing liquid to the substrate to perform chemical treatment or cleaning, such as by applying a treatment liquid to the substrate, is known. For example, the apparatus described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2017-92244 (Patent Document 1) is known. In this substrate processing apparatus, an outer cup is provided as a scattering prevention member to catch any processing liquid that scatters from the rotating substrate during the substrate processing process. The outer cup is positioned so that its inner circumference faces the outer circumference of the substrate and surrounds the outer circumference of the rotating substrate. Thus, the outer cup collects droplets of processing liquid that are shaken off by the rotating substrate.

In the previous device, a plurality of cup cleaning nozzles are provided on the base portion to clean the inner circumference of the outer cup. In addition, a cup cleaning component is arranged above the base portion. When the cup is cleaned, cleaning liquid (equivalent to an example of the "cup cleaning liquid" of the present invention) is supplied from the cup cleaning nozzle to the inner circumference of the outer cup through the guide portion provided on the cup cleaning component. Therefore, in order to clean the entire inner circumference of the outer cup, a plurality of cup cleaning nozzles need to be provided. Moreover, it is difficult to supply all the cleaning liquid ejected from each cup cleaning nozzle to the guide portion to the outer cup, and sometimes part of the cleaning liquid overflows from the guide portion. Based on these circumstances, cleaning the outer cup (equivalent to one example of the "cup cleaning process" of the present invention) requires a relatively large amount of cleaning liquid. In other words, in previous substrate processing equipment, the use of large amounts of cleaning liquid imposes a significant load on the environment. There is room for improvement in reducing this environmental load.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its object is to provide a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method that can reduce the environmental load by reducing the usage of cup cleaning liquid required for the cup cleaning process.

One aspect of the present invention is a substrate processing device, characterized by comprising: a substrate holding portion configured to hold a substrate while rotating about a rotation axis extending in a lead-line direction; a rotating cup portion configured to surround the outer circumference of a substrate held on the substrate holding portion and rotate about the rotation axis; a rotating mechanism that rotates the substrate holding portion and the rotating cup portion; and a processing mechanism that rotates the substrate held on the rotating substrate holding portion. The processing liquid is supplied to the plate to perform a specified substrate processing on the substrate; the cup cleaning mechanism directly supplies the cup cleaning liquid from the side of the rotation axis to the rotating cup portion that captures the processing liquid scattered from the substrate, thereby removing the processing liquid from the rotating cup portion; and the control portion controls the rotating mechanism and the cleaning liquid supply portion in a manner that the cup cleaning liquid is supplied to the rotating cup portion while the rotating cup portion is rotated after the substrate processing.

In addition, another aspect of the present invention is a substrate processing method characterized by having the following steps: supplying a processing liquid to a substrate while a rotating cup portion surrounds the outer periphery of the substrate rotating around a rotation axis extending in a lead vertical direction, thereby performing a predetermined substrate processing on the substrate with the processing liquid, and capturing the processing liquid scattered from the substrate with the rotating cup portion; and removing the processing liquid from the rotating cup portion by directly supplying a cup cleaning liquid to the rotating cup portion from the side of the rotation axis while rotating the rotating cup portion that has captured the processing liquid around the rotation axis.

In the present invention thus constructed, the cup cleaning liquid is directly supplied to the rotating cup from the inner side while the rotating cup portion that has collected the processing liquid rotates about the rotation axis. Therefore, the amount of cup cleaning liquid used can be significantly reduced compared to the amount used in the substrate processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1.

As described above, according to the present invention, the environmental load can be reduced by reducing the amount of cup cleaning liquid required for cleaning the rotating cup portion that collects the processing liquid scattered from the substrate.

FIG1 is a top view showing the schematic structure of a substrate processing system equipped with the first embodiment of the substrate processing device of the present invention. FIG1 does not show the external appearance of the substrate processing system 100, but is a schematic diagram showing its internal structure in an easily understandable manner by excluding the outer wall panel or other parts of the substrate processing system 100. The substrate processing system 100 is, for example, a single-chip device that is set in a clean room and processes substrates W having a circuit pattern or the like (hereinafter referred to as "pattern") formed only on one main surface one by one. Then, in the processing unit 1 equipped in the substrate processing system 100, substrate processing with a processing liquid is performed. In this specification, the pattern forming surface (one main surface) on which a pattern is formed of the two main surfaces of the substrate is referred to as the "front side", and the other main surface on the opposite side where no pattern is formed is referred to as the "back side". The surface facing downward is referred to as the "lower surface," and the surface facing upward is referred to as the "upper surface." In this specification, the "pattern-formed surface" refers to a surface on which a concave-convex pattern is formed in any region of a substrate.

The term "substrate" used in this embodiment includes various substrates, such as semiconductor wafers, mask glass substrates, liquid crystal display glass substrates, plasma display glass substrates, FED (Field Emission Display) substrates, optical disk substrates, magnetic disk substrates, and magneto-optical disk substrates. The following description primarily uses a substrate processing apparatus for processing semiconductor wafers as an example, with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is also applicable to processing various substrates exemplified above.

As shown in FIG1 , a substrate processing system 100 includes a substrate processing area 110 for processing substrates W. A transfer unit 120 is disposed adjacent to the substrate processing area 110. The transfer unit 120 includes a container holder 121 that can hold a plurality of containers C for storing substrates W (such as FOUPs (Front Opening Unified Pods), SMIF (Standard Mechanical Interface) cassettes, and OC (Open Cassettes) that store multiple substrates W in a sealed state). Furthermore, the transfer unit 120 includes a transfer robot 122 that is used to receive containers C held in the container holder 121, remove unprocessed substrates W from the containers C, and store processed substrates W in the containers C. In each container C, a plurality of substrates W are stored in a substantially horizontal position.

The transport robot 122 comprises a base 122a fixed to the device housing, a multi-jointed arm 122b rotatable about a linear axis relative to the base 122a, and a hand 122c mounted on the front end of the multi-jointed arm 122b. The hand 122c is configured to place and hold a substrate W on its upper surface. Since transport robots with such multi-jointed arms and substrate-holding hands are well known, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In the substrate processing area 110, a loading platform 112 is configured to load a substrate W from a carrier robot 122. In addition, a substrate transport robot 111 is arranged approximately in the center of the substrate processing area 110 when viewed from above. Furthermore, a plurality of processing units 1 are arranged so as to surround the substrate transport robot 111. Specifically, a plurality of processing units 1 are arranged facing the space in which the substrate transport robot 111 is arranged. With respect to these processing units 1, the substrate transport robot 111 randomly accesses the loading platform 112 and transfers the substrate W between the loading platform 112. On the other hand, each processing unit 1 is a unit that performs prescribed processing on the substrate W, which is equivalent to the substrate processing device of the present invention. In this embodiment, these processing units (substrate processing devices) 1 have the same function. Therefore, it is possible to process a plurality of substrates W in parallel. In addition, if the substrate transport robot 111 can directly receive the substrates W from the carrier robot 122 , the placement table 112 is not necessarily required.

FIG2 is a diagram showing the structure of the first embodiment of the substrate processing device of the present invention. FIG3 is a diagram schematically showing the structure of the chamber and the structure installed in the chamber. In FIG2, FIG3 and the following reference figures, the size or quantity of each part is exaggerated or simplified for ease of understanding. As shown in FIG3, the chamber 11 used in the substrate processing device (processing unit) 1 has a bottom wall 11a that is rectangular when viewed from directly above, four side walls 11b to 11e erected from the periphery of the bottom wall 11a, and a top wall 11f covering the upper ends of the side walls 11b to 11e. By combining the bottom wall 11a, the side walls 11b to 11e and the top wall 11f, an internal space 12 that is roughly rectangular in shape is formed.

On the upper surface of the bottom wall 11a, base support members 16, 16 are spaced apart from each other and secured by bolts or other fastening members. Specifically, the base support members 16 are erected from the bottom wall 11a. A base member 17 is secured to the upper ends of these base support members 16, 16 by bolts or other fastening members. This base member 17 is constructed from a plate material that is smaller in planar dimensions than the bottom wall 11a, yet thicker and possesses high rigidity. As shown in FIG2 , the base member 17 is lifted vertically upward from the bottom wall 11a by the base support members 16, 16. In other words, a so-called high floor structure is formed at the bottom of the interior space 12 of the chamber 11. As will be described in detail below, the upper surface of the base member 17 is machined to accommodate a substrate processing unit SP for performing substrate processing on a substrate W. The substrate processing unit SP is located on this upper surface. The components comprising the substrate processing unit SP are electrically connected to the control unit 10, which controls the entire apparatus, and operate according to instructions from the control unit 10. The shape of the base member 17 and the structure and operation of the substrate processing unit SP will be described in detail later.

As shown in Figures 2 and 3 , a fan filter unit (FFU) 13 is installed on the ceiling 11f of the chamber 11. This FFU 13 further purifies the air within the cleanroom housing the substrate processing apparatus 1 and supplies it to the interior space 12 of the chamber 11. The FFU 13 includes a fan and a filter (e.g., a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filter) for extracting air from the cleanroom and delivering it to the chamber 11. Clean air is introduced through an opening 11f1 in the ceiling 11f, creating a downward flow of clean air within the interior space 12 of the chamber 11. Furthermore, in order to evenly distribute the clean air supplied from the fan filter unit 13, a perforated plate 14 having a plurality of blow-out holes is provided directly below the top wall 11f.

As shown in Figure 3, in the substrate processing apparatus 1, a transfer opening 11b1 is provided on the sidewall 11b, which faces the substrate transfer robot 111, of the four sidewalls 11b-11e. This connects the interior space 12 with the exterior of the chamber 11. Therefore, the hand of the substrate transfer robot 111 (not shown) can access the substrate processing unit SP through the transfer opening 11b1. Specifically, the provision of the transfer opening 11b1 allows substrates W to be loaded and unloaded into and out of the interior space 12. Furthermore, a barrier 15 is attached to the sidewall 11b to open and close the transfer opening 11b1.

A shutter opening and closing mechanism (not shown) is connected to the shutter 15 and opens and closes the shutter 15 in response to opening and closing commands from the control unit 10. More specifically, in the substrate processing apparatus 1, when an unprocessed substrate W is loaded into the chamber 11, the shutter opening and closing mechanism opens the shutter 15. The unprocessed substrate W is then loaded face-up into the substrate processing section SP by the substrate transport robot 111. Specifically, the substrate W is placed on the rotary chuck 21 of the substrate processing section SP with its upper surface Wf facing upward. Furthermore, after loading the substrate, the shutter opening and closing mechanism closes the shutter 15 when the substrate transport robot 111 retracts from the chamber 11. Furthermore, within the processing space of the chamber 11 (corresponding to the enclosed space 12a described in detail below), the substrate processing section SP performs bevel processing on the peripheral portion Ws of the substrate W, an example of "substrate processing" in the present invention. After the bevel processing is completed, the shutter opening and closing mechanism opens the shutter 15 again, and the substrate transport robot 111 removes the processed substrate W from the substrate processing section SP. Thus, in this embodiment, the interior space 12 of the chamber 11 is maintained at a normal temperature. In this specification, "normal temperature" refers to a temperature range of 5°C to 35°C.

As shown in FIG3 , the side wall 11d is located on the opposite side of the side wall 11b across the substrate processing unit SP ( FIG2 ) provided on the base member 17. A maintenance opening 11d1 is provided on the side wall 11d. During maintenance, as shown in the figure, the maintenance opening 11d1 is opened. Therefore, the operator can access the substrate processing unit SP from the outside of the device through the maintenance opening 11d1. On the other hand, during substrate processing, the cover member 19 is installed in a manner that closes the maintenance opening 11d1. Thus, in this embodiment, the cover member 19 can be freely attached and detached relative to the side wall 11d.

Furthermore, a heating gas supply unit 47 is installed on the outer side of the side wall 11e for supplying heated inert gas (nitrogen gas in this embodiment) to the substrate processing unit SP. The heating gas supply unit 47 has a heater 471 built in.

Thus, baffles 15, lid members 19, and heated gas supply unit 47 are arranged on the outer wall of chamber 11. Conversely, within chamber 11, or within interior space 12, a substrate processing unit SP is installed on the upper surface of a base member 17 with a raised floor structure. The following describes the structure of substrate processing unit SP with reference to Figures 2 to 13.

Figure 4 schematically illustrates a top view of the substrate processing unit mounted on a base structure. To clarify the arrangement and operation of various components of the apparatus, a coordinate system is described below, using the Z direction as the vertical axis and the XY plane as the horizontal plane. In the coordinate system of Figure 4, the horizontal direction parallel to the transport path TP of the substrate W is designated as the "X direction," and the horizontal direction perpendicular to it is designated as the "Y direction." More specifically, the directions from the interior space 12 of chamber 11 toward transfer opening 11b1 and maintenance opening 11d1 are referred to as the "+X direction" and the "-X direction," respectively. The directions from the interior space 12 of chamber 11 toward sidewalls 11c and 11e are referred to as the "-Y direction" and the "+Y direction," respectively. The directions directly above and directly below the lead are referred to as the "+Z direction" and the "-Z direction," respectively. "CR liquid" in the figure refers to cup cleaning liquid.

The substrate processing section SP includes a holding and rotating mechanism 2, an anti-scattering mechanism 3, an upper surface protection and heating mechanism 4, a processing mechanism 5, an atmosphere separation mechanism 6, an elevating mechanism 7, a centering mechanism 8, a substrate observation mechanism 9, and a cup cleaning mechanism 200. These mechanisms are mounted on a base member 17. Specifically, the holding and rotating mechanism 2, the anti-scattering mechanism 3, the upper surface protection and heating mechanism 4, the processing mechanism 5, the atmosphere separation mechanism 6, the elevating mechanism 7, the centering mechanism 8, the substrate observation mechanism 9, and the cup cleaning mechanism 200 are positioned relative to each other in a predetermined relationship based on the base member 17, which has a higher rigidity than the chamber 11.

As shown in FIG2 , the holding and rotating mechanism 2 includes a substrate holding portion 2A that holds a substrate W in a substantially horizontal position with its front surface facing upward, and a rotating mechanism 2B that synchronously rotates the substrate holding portion 2A holding the substrate W and a portion of the scattering prevention mechanism 3. Therefore, when the rotating mechanism 2B is activated in response to a rotation command from the control unit 10 , the substrate W and the rotating cup portion 31 of the scattering prevention mechanism 3 rotate about a rotation axis AX extending parallel to the vertical direction Z.

The substrate holder 2A includes a rotating suction cup 21, a disc-shaped component that is smaller than the substrate W. The rotating suction cup 21 is arranged so that its upper surface is substantially horizontal, and its central axis is aligned with the rotation axis AX. In particular, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG4 , the center of the substrate holder 2A (equivalent to the central axis of the rotating suction cup 21) is offset in the (+X) direction relative to the center 11g of the chamber 11. That is, the substrate holder 2A is configured so that, when viewed from above the chamber 11, the central axis of the rotating suction cup 21 (rotation axis AX) is located at a processing position that is offset by a distance Lof from the center 11g of the internal space 12 toward the transfer opening 11b1. In addition, in order to clarify the configuration relationship of the various parts of the device described later, in this specification, the imaginary line passing through the center of the offset substrate holding part 2A (rotation axis AX) and perpendicular to the transport path TP and the imaginary line parallel to the transport path TP are respectively referred to as the "first imaginary horizontal line VL1" and the "second imaginary horizontal line VL2".

A cylindrical rotating shaft 22 is connected to the lower surface of the rotating suction cup 21. The rotating shaft 22 extends along the vertical direction Z with its axis aligned with the rotation axis AX. Furthermore, the rotating mechanism 2B is connected to the rotating shaft 22.

The rotating mechanism 2B has a motor 23 that generates a rotational drive force for rotating the substrate holding portion 2A and the rotating cup portion 31 of the anti-scattering mechanism 3, and a power transmission portion 24 for transmitting the rotational drive force. The motor 23 has a rotation shaft 231 that rotates as the rotational drive force is generated. The rotation shaft 231 is arranged on the motor mounting portion 171 of the base member 17 in a posture extending directly downward. In more detail, as shown in Figure 3, the motor mounting portion 171 is a portion that is cut out along the (+X) direction on one side facing the maintenance opening 11d1 and on the other side. The cutout width (Y-direction dimension) of the motor mounting portion 171 is approximately the same as the Y-direction width of the motor 23. Therefore, the motor 23 can move freely in the X direction while engaging its side surface with the motor mounting portion 171 .

At the motor mounting portion 171, the motor 23 is positioned in the X direction while being fixed to the base member 17. A first pulley 241 is mounted on the front end of the rotating shaft 231, which protrudes downward from the base member 17. Furthermore, a second pulley 242 is mounted on the lower end of the substrate holding portion 2A. More specifically, the lower end of the substrate holding portion 2A is inserted through a through hole provided in the rotating suction cup mounting portion 172 of the base member 17, protruding downward from the base member 17. The second pulley 242 is mounted on this protruding portion. Furthermore, an endless belt 243 is provided between the first pulley 241 and the second pulley 242. Thus, in this embodiment, the power transmission unit 24 is composed of the first pulley 241, the second pulley 242, and the endless belt 243.

A through hole (not shown) is provided in the central portion of the rotary suction cup 21, which communicates with the internal space of the rotary shaft portion 22. In the internal space, a pump 26 is connected via a pipe 25 in which a valve (not shown) is installed. The pump 26 and the valve are electrically connected to the control unit 10 and operate according to the instructions from the control unit 10. In this way, negative pressure and positive pressure are selectively applied to the rotary suction cup 21. For example, when the substrate W is placed on the upper surface of the rotary suction cup 21 in a roughly horizontal position, when the pump 26 applies negative pressure to the rotary suction cup 21, the rotary suction cup 21 adsorbs and holds the substrate W from below. On the other hand, when the pump 26 applies positive pressure to the spin chuck 21, the substrate W can be removed from the upper surface of the spin chuck 21. Moreover, when the suction of the pump 26 is stopped, the substrate W can be moved horizontally on the upper surface of the spin chuck 21.

The rotary chuck 21 is connected to a nitrogen supply unit 29 via a pipe 28 located in the center of the rotary shaft 22. The nitrogen supply unit 29 delivers room-temperature nitrogen gas, supplied from equipment in the factory where the substrate processing system 100 is installed, to the rotary chuck 21 at a flow rate and timing corresponding to the gas supply command from the control unit 10, and circulates the nitrogen gas radially outward from the center of the rotary chuck on the lower surface Wb side of the substrate W. In this embodiment, nitrogen gas is used, but other inert gases may also be used. This also applies to the heated gas ejected from the central nozzle described later. Furthermore, "flow rate" refers to the amount of fluid, such as nitrogen gas, that moves per unit time.

The rotating mechanism 2B not only rotates the rotating chuck 21 and substrate W integrally, but also includes a power transmission unit 27 (Figure 2) to synchronize the rotation of the rotating cup 31. The power transmission unit 27 comprises an annular member 27a (Figure 2) made of a non-magnetic material or resin, a rotating chuck-side magnet (not shown) embedded within the annular member, and a cup-side magnet (not shown) embedded within one of the components of the rotating cup 31, namely the lower cup 32. As shown in Figure 2, the annular member 27a is mounted on the rotating shaft 22 and rotates along with the rotating shaft 22 about the rotation axis AX. More specifically, as shown in FIG2 , the rotating shaft 22 has a flange portion (not shown) protruding radially outwardly just below the rotating suction cup 21. Furthermore, the annular member 27a is concentrically disposed on the flange portion and is secured thereto by bolts (not shown).

On the outer periphery of the annular member 27a, a plurality of rotating chuck-side magnets are radially arranged around the rotation axis AX and spaced at equal angles. In this embodiment, one of the two adjacent rotating chuck-side magnets is arranged so that its outer side and inner side form a north pole and south pole, respectively, while the other is arranged so that its outer side and inner side form a south pole and north pole, respectively.

Similar to the rotating suction cup side magnets, a plurality of cup side magnets are arranged radially with the rotation axis AX as the center and at equal angles. The cup side magnets are built into the lower cup 32. The lower cup 32 is a component of the anti-scattering mechanism 3 described below, and has a circular ring shape. That is, the lower cup 32 has an inner circumferential surface that can be opposite to the outer circumferential surface of the circular ring member 27a. The inner diameter of the inner circumferential surface is larger than the outer diameter of the circular ring member 27a. Moreover, while the inner circumferential surface is opposite to the outer circumferential surface of the circular ring member 27a at a specified interval (= (the above inner diameter - the above outer diameter) / 2), the lower cup 32 is arranged concentrically with the rotating shaft portion 22 and the circular ring member 27a. A locking pin and a connecting magnet are provided on the outer peripheral upper surface of the lower cup 32, thereby connecting the upper cup 33 and the lower cup 32, and the connecting body functions as the rotating cup portion 31.

The lower cup 32 is supported on the upper surface of the base member 17 by bearings (not shown in the drawings) so that it can rotate about the rotation axis AX while maintaining the above-described configuration. As described above, cup-side magnets are radially arranged around the rotation axis AX and spaced at equal angles around the inner periphery of the lower cup 32. Furthermore, the arrangement of the two adjacent cup-side magnets is similar to that of the rotating chuck-side magnets. Specifically, in one case, the outer and inner sides are arranged to form north and south poles, respectively, while in the other case, the outer and inner sides are arranged to form south and north poles, respectively.

In the thus configured power transmission unit 27, when the annular member 27a rotates along with the rotating shaft 22 via the motor 23, the magnetic force between the rotating chuck-side magnet and the cup-side magnet causes the lower cup 32 to rotate in the same direction as the annular member 27a, maintaining an air gap (the gap between the annular member 27a and the lower cup 32). This causes the rotating cup 31 to rotate about the rotation axis AX. In other words, the rotating cup 31 and the substrate W rotate in the same direction and synchronously.

The anti-scattering mechanism 3 includes a rotating cup 31 that surrounds the outer periphery of a substrate W held on a rotating chuck 21 and rotates about a rotation axis AX, and a fixed cup 34 that surrounds the rotating cup 31. The rotating cup 31 is configured to surround the outer periphery of the rotating substrate W and rotate about the rotation axis AX by connecting an upper cup 33 to a lower cup 32.

FIG5 is a diagram showing the dimensional relationship between the substrate held on the rotating suction cup and the rotating cup portion. FIG6 is a diagram showing a portion of the rotating cup portion and the fixed cup portion. The lower cup 32 has a circular ring shape. Its outer diameter is larger than the outer diameter of the substrate W. When viewed from directly above the lead, when the substrate W held by the freely rotating suction cup 21 is radially extended, the lower cup 32 is configured to rotate freely around the rotation axis AX. In the extended area, that is, the peripheral portion of the upper surface of the lower cup 32, there are alternately mounted engaging pins (not shown) that are vertically arranged circumferentially toward the upper side of the lead and flat lower magnets (not shown).

As shown in Figures 2, 3, and 5, the upper cup 33 has a lower annular portion 331, an upper annular portion 332, and an inclined portion 333 connecting them. The outer diameter D331 of the lower annular portion 331 is the same as the outer diameter D32 of the lower cup 32. The lower annular portion 331 is located directly above the lead of the peripheral portion 321 of the lower cup 32. On the lower surface of the lower annular portion 331, in the area directly above the lead of the locking pin, a downwardly opening recess is provided to engage with the front end of the locking pin. Furthermore, an upper magnet is mounted in the area directly above the lead of the lower magnet. Therefore, when the recess and the upper magnet are respectively opposite to the engaging pin and the lower magnet, the upper cup 33 can be engaged with and disengaged from the lower cup 32.

The upper cup 33 can be raised and lowered in the vertical direction by the lifting mechanism 7. When the upper cup 33 is moved upward by the lifting mechanism 7, a transport space for carrying in and out the substrate W is formed between the upper cup 33 and the lower cup 32 in the vertical direction. On the other hand, when the upper cup 33 is moved downward by the lifting mechanism 7, the recess is engaged in a manner covering the front end portion of the locking pin, thereby positioning the upper cup 33 relative to the lower cup 32 in the horizontal direction. In addition, the upper magnet approaches the lower magnet, and due to the attraction generated between the two, the upper cup 33 and the lower cup 32 are combined with each other after the above positioning. Thereby, as shown in the partial enlarged view of Figure 4 and Figure 6, the upper cup 33 and the lower cup 32 are integrated in the vertical direction in a state where a gap GPc extending in the horizontal direction is formed. Furthermore, the rotating cup portion 31 freely rotates around the rotation axis AX while maintaining the gap GPc.

In the rotating cup 31, as shown in Figure 5, the outer diameter D332 of the upper annular portion 332 is slightly smaller than the outer diameter D331 of the lower annular portion 331. Furthermore, if the inner diameters d331 and d332 of the lower annular portion 331 and upper annular portion 332 are compared, the lower annular portion 331 is larger than the upper annular portion 332. When viewed from directly above, the inner circumference of the upper annular portion 332 is located inward of the inner circumference of the lower annular portion 331. Furthermore, the inner circumferences of the upper annular portion 332 and the lower annular portion 331 are connected throughout the entire circumference of the upper cup 33 by a slanted portion 333. Therefore, the inner circumferential surface of the inclined portion 333, i.e., the surface surrounding the substrate W, becomes the inclined surface 334. Specifically, as shown in FIG6 , the inclined portion 333 can surround the outer circumference of the rotating substrate W and capture droplets scattered from the substrate W. The space surrounded by the upper cup 33 and the lower cup 32 functions as the capture space SPc. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the height positions of various components in the vertical direction Z are referred to below. Specifically, as shown in FIG6 , the position of the upper surface (front surface) of the substrate W held on the rotating chuck 21 is referred to as "height position Zw," and the position of the upper surface of the circular plate portion 42 of the upper surface protection and heating mechanism 4, which will be described in detail later, is referred to as "height position Z42."

Furthermore, the inclined portion 333, which faces the capture space SPc, is tilted upward from the lower annular portion 331, which is connected to the lower cup 32, toward the periphery of the substrate W. Therefore, as shown in FIG6 , droplets of processing liquid scattered from the spinning substrate W are captured at a height Zw on the inclined surface 334 of the inclined portion 333. These droplets then flow along the inclined surface 334 to the lower end of the upper cup 33, namely the lower annular portion 331, and are further discharged to the outside of the rotating cup portion 31 through the gap GPc.

The fixed cup portion 34 is arranged to surround the rotating cup portion 31 to form an exhaust space SPe. The fixed cup portion 34 has a liquid receiving portion 341 and an exhaust portion 342 arranged on the inner side of the liquid receiving portion 341. The liquid receiving portion 341 has a cup structure that is opened on the anti-substrate side facing the gap GPc (opening on the left-hand side of Figure 6). That is, the internal space of the liquid receiving portion 341 functions as the exhaust space SPe and is connected to the capture space SPc through the gap GPc. Therefore, the liquid droplets captured by the rotating cup portion 31 are guided to the exhaust space SPe through the gap GPc together with the gas components. Then, the liquid droplets gather at the bottom of the liquid receiving portion 341 and are discharged from the fixed cup portion 34.

On the other hand, the gas components gather at the exhaust portion 342. The exhaust portion 342 is separated from the liquid receiving portion 341 by a partition wall 343. In addition, a gas guide portion 344 is arranged above the partition wall 343. The gas guide portion 344 extends from a position directly above the partition wall 343 to the exhaust space SPe and the interior of the exhaust portion 342, respectively, thereby covering the partition wall 343 from above to form a flow path for the gas components having a maze structure. Therefore, the gas components in the fluid flowing into the liquid receiving portion 341 are gathered at the exhaust portion 342 through the above-mentioned flow path. The exhaust portion 342 is connected to the exhaust portion 38. Therefore, by activating the exhaust section 38 based on commands from the control unit 10 and adjusting the pressure in the fixed cup 34, gas components within the exhaust portion 342 are effectively exhausted. Furthermore, by precisely controlling the exhaust section 38, the pressure or flow rate in the exhaust space SPe is adjusted. For example, the pressure in the exhaust space SPe can be lowered relative to the pressure in the capture space SPc. As a result, droplets in the capture space SPc can be effectively drawn into the exhaust space SPe, promoting the movement of droplets from the capture space SPc.

FIG7 is an external perspective view showing the structure of the upper surface protection and heating mechanism. FIG8 is a cross-sectional view of the upper surface protection and heating mechanism shown in FIG7. The upper surface protection and heating mechanism 4 has a blocking plate 41 arranged above the upper surface Wf of the substrate W held on the rotating suction cup 21. The blocking plate 41 has a circular plate portion 42 held in a horizontal position. The circular plate portion 42 has a built-in heater 421 driven and controlled by a heater drive portion 422. The circular plate portion 42 has a diameter slightly shorter than that of the substrate W. The circular plate portion 42 is supported by a supporting member 43 so that the lower surface of the circular plate portion 42 covers the surface area of the upper surface Wf of the substrate W except for the peripheral portion Ws from above. 7 is a cutout portion provided on the periphery of the circular plate portion 42, which is provided to prevent interference with the treatment liquid ejection nozzle included in the treatment mechanism 5. The cutout portion 44 is open radially outward.

The lower end of the support member 43 is mounted on the center of the circular plate portion 42. A cylindrical through hole is formed by vertically penetrating the support member 43 and the circular plate portion 42. In addition, the central nozzle 45 is inserted vertically into the through hole. As shown in FIG2 , the central nozzle 45 is connected to a heating gas supply unit 47 via a pipe 46. The heating gas supply unit 47 heats the room temperature nitrogen gas supplied from the equipment of the factory where the substrate processing system 100 is installed, and supplies it to the substrate processing unit SP at a flow rate and timing corresponding to the heating gas supply instruction from the control unit 10.

If the heater 471 is placed within the interior space 12 of the chamber 11, the heat radiated from the heater 471 could adversely affect the substrate processing unit SP, particularly the processing mechanism 5 or substrate observation mechanism 9 described below. Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG4 , a heating gas supply unit 47 including the heater 471 is placed outside the chamber 11. Furthermore, in this embodiment, a ribbon heater 48 is installed in a portion of the piping 46. The ribbon heater 48 generates heat in response to a heating command from the control unit 10, thereby heating the nitrogen gas flowing within the piping 46.

The nitrogen gas heated in this manner (hereinafter referred to as "heating gas") is pressurized toward the central nozzle 45 and ejected from the central nozzle 45. For example, as shown in FIG8 , by supplying heating gas with the circular plate portion 42 positioned close to the processing position of the substrate W held on the rotary chuck 21, the heating gas flows from the center of the space SPa between the upper surface Wf of the substrate W and the circular plate portion 42 with the built-in heater toward the periphery. This prevents the atmosphere surrounding the substrate W from entering the upper surface Wf of the substrate W. As a result, droplets contained in the aforementioned atmosphere from being drawn into the space SPa between the substrate W and the circular plate portion 42 can be effectively prevented. Furthermore, the entire upper surface Wf can be heated by the heating of the heater 421 and the heating gas, thereby making the in-plane temperature of the substrate W uniform. Thereby, warping of the substrate W can be suppressed, and the landing position of the processing liquid can be stabilized.

As shown in FIG2 , the upper end of the support member 43 is fixed to a beam member 49 extending along the first imaginary horizontal line VL1. The beam member 49 is connected to the lifting mechanism 7 mounted on the upper surface of the base member 17 and is raised and lowered by the lifting mechanism 7 according to the command from the control unit 10. For example, in FIG2 , by positioning the beam member 49 at the bottom, the circular plate portion 42 connected to the beam member 49 via the support member 43 is located in the processing position. On the other hand, when the lifting mechanism 7 receives the raising command from the control unit 10 and raises the beam member 49, the beam member 49, the support member 43, and the circular plate portion 42 are raised as a whole, and the upper cup 33 is also linked to separate from the lower cup 32 and rise. As a result, the space between the rotary chuck 21, the upper cup 33 and the circular plate portion 42 is larger, allowing the substrate W to be moved in and out of the rotary chuck 21.

The processing mechanism 5 includes a processing liquid ejection nozzle 51F ( FIG. 4 ) disposed on the upper surface side of the substrate W, a processing liquid ejection nozzle 51B ( FIG. 2 ) disposed on the lower surface side of the substrate W, and a processing liquid supply unit 52 that supplies processing liquid to the processing liquid ejection nozzles 51F and 51B. Hereinafter, to distinguish between the processing liquid ejection nozzle 51F on the upper surface side and the processing liquid ejection nozzle 51B on the lower surface side, they will be referred to as the "upper surface processing nozzle 51F" and the "lower surface processing nozzle 51B," respectively. FIG. 2 shows two processing liquid supply units 52, but they are equivalent.

Figure 9 is a perspective view of the processing liquid discharge nozzles mounted on the upper surface side of the processing mechanism and the cup cleaning liquid discharge nozzles mounted on the upper surface side of the cup cleaning mechanism, viewed from an oblique downward direction. In this embodiment, three upper surface processing nozzles 51F are provided as upper surface side processing liquid discharge nozzles that discharge processing liquid from above the substrate W held on the spin chuck 21 toward the peripheral portion Ws of the upper surface Wf of the substrate W. A processing liquid supply unit 52 is connected to these nozzles. Furthermore, the processing liquid supply unit 52 is configured to supply SC1, DHF, and functional water (such as CO2 water) as processing liquids. SC1, DHF, and functional water can be independently discharged from each of the three upper surface processing nozzles 51F.

In each upper surface treatment nozzle 51F, as shown in column (a) of FIG. 9 , a spray outlet 511 for spraying the treatment liquid is provided on the lower surface of the front end. As shown in the enlarged view of FIG4 , the lower portions of a plurality of (three in this embodiment) upper surface processing nozzles 51F are disposed in the cutout 44 of the circular plate portion 42, along with the cleaning liquid ejection nozzle 201 shown in the partially enlarged top view of FIG7 , with each nozzle outlet facing the periphery of the upper surface Wf of the substrate W. Furthermore, the upper portions of the upper surface processing nozzles 51F and the cleaning liquid ejection nozzles 201 are integrally mounted on a nozzle holder 53 so as to be freely movable in a radial direction D1 (a direction in which the nozzle ejection is tilted at an elevation angle of 45° and a rotational angle of approximately 65° relative to a first imaginary horizontal line VL1). The nozzle holder 53 is connected to a nozzle moving portion 54.

Figure 10 schematically illustrates the structure of the nozzle moving unit. Figure 11A schematically illustrates the nozzle position during bevel processing, and Figure 11B schematically illustrates the nozzle position during cup cleaning. In Figures 11A and 11B, column (a) is a side view of the nozzle dispensing the processing liquid or cup cleaning liquid, and column (b) is a top view of the nozzle as viewed from above. Furthermore, the symbol AR indicates the radial direction from the rotation axis AX toward the nozzle dispensing the processing liquid or cup cleaning liquid.

As shown in Figure 10, the nozzle moving unit 54 is mounted on the upper end of a lift member 713a of a lift unit 713 (described later) while retaining the nozzle head 56 (= upper surface treatment nozzle 51F + cleaning liquid discharge nozzle 201 + nozzle holder 53). Therefore, when the lift member 713a expands and contracts in the vertical direction in response to a lift command from the control unit 10, the nozzle moving unit 54 and the nozzle head 56 correspondingly move in the vertical direction Z.

Furthermore, in the nozzle moving section 54, a base member 541 is fixed to the upper end of the lift member 713a. A linear actuator 542 is mounted on this base member 541. The linear actuator 542 comprises a motor (hereinafter referred to as the "nozzle drive motor") 543, which functions as the driving source for moving the nozzle in the radial direction X, and a motion conversion mechanism 545, which converts the rotational motion of a rotating body, such as a ball screw, connected to the rotating shaft of the nozzle drive motor 543 into linear motion, causing the slider 544 to reciprocate along the radial direction D1. Furthermore, in the motion conversion mechanism 545, in order to stabilize the movement of the slider 544 in the radial direction D1, a guide rail such as an LM (Linear Motion) guide rail (registered trademark) is used.

In the slider 544 that is reciprocatingly driven in the radial direction X, a head support member 547 is connected via a connecting member 546. The head support member 547 has a rod shape extending in the radial direction X. The end of the head support member 547 in the (+D1) direction is fixed to the slider 544. On the other hand, the end of the head support member 547 in the (-D1) direction is horizontally extended toward the rotating suction cup 21, and the nozzle head 56 is mounted on the front end thereof. Therefore, when the nozzle drive motor 543 rotates according to the nozzle movement command from the control unit 10, the slider 544, the head support member 547 and the nozzle head 56 move integrally in the (+D1) direction or the (-D1) direction corresponding to the rotation direction by a distance corresponding to the rotation amount. As a result, the upper surface processing nozzle 51F mounted on the nozzle head 56 is positioned in the radial direction D1. For example, as shown in FIG10 , when the upper surface processing nozzle 51F is positioned in the preset starting position, the spring member 548 provided in the motion conversion mechanism 545 is compressed by the slider 544, applying a spring force to the slider 544 in the (-D1) direction. This allows the backlash within the motion conversion mechanism 545 to be controlled. Specifically, because the motion conversion mechanism 545 includes mechanical components such as guide rails, it is practically difficult to achieve zero backlash along the radial direction D1. If this consideration is not fully taken into account, the positioning accuracy of the upper surface processing nozzle 51F in the radial direction D1 will be reduced. Therefore, in this embodiment, by providing the spring member 548, when the upper surface processing nozzle 51F is stationary at the initial position, the tooth gap is always biased in the (-D1) direction.

In response to a nozzle movement command from the control unit 10, the nozzle movement unit 54 drives the three upper surface processing nozzles 51F and the cleaning liquid ejection nozzle 201 in the radial direction D1. The nozzle movement command includes information related to the nozzle movement distance. Based on this information, the upper surface processing nozzle 51F and the cleaning liquid ejection nozzle 201 move the specified nozzle movement distance in the radial direction D1. Here, when the above information corresponds to the bevel processing position, as shown in Figure 11A, the upper surface processing nozzle 51F is correctly positioned at the bevel processing position (equivalent to an example of the "substrate processing device" of the present invention). On the other hand, when the above information corresponds to the cup cleaning processing position, as shown in FIG. 11B , the cleaning liquid spraying nozzle 201 is correctly positioned at the cup cleaning position.

The nozzle outlet 511 of the upper surface processing nozzle 51F, positioned at the bevel processing position, faces the periphery of the upper surface Wf of the substrate W. Furthermore, when the processing liquid supply unit 52 supplies the processing liquid corresponding to the supply instruction among the three processing liquids to the upper surface processing nozzle 51F in accordance with the supply instruction from the control unit 10, the processing liquid is supplied from the upper surface processing nozzle 51F from the end surface of the substrate W to a predetermined position. Furthermore, during the bevel processing, the supply of the cup cleaning liquid to the cleaning liquid ejection nozzle 201 is stopped.

Meanwhile, the nozzle 202 of the cleaning liquid discharge nozzle 201, positioned at the cup cleaning position, faces the inclined portion 333 of the upper cup 33. The nozzle 202 is positioned on the cleaning liquid discharge nozzle 201 so that its diameter is larger than the diameter of the nozzle 511 of the upper surface treatment nozzle 51F. Furthermore, when the cup cleaning liquid supply unit 203 ( FIG. 2 ) supplies a cup cleaning liquid such as room-temperature DIW (deionized water) to the cleaning liquid discharge nozzle 201 in response to a supply command from the control unit 10, the cup cleaning liquid is supplied from the cleaning liquid discharge nozzle 201 toward the inclined portion 333, as shown in FIG. 11B . In this embodiment, as shown in FIG11B , the cup cleaning liquid discharge direction D33 is tilted at an angle θ in the horizontal plane (XY plane) relative to the radial direction AR from the rotation axis AX toward the cleaning liquid discharge nozzle 201, and toward the rotation direction Dr of the upper cup 33. This effectively prevents the cup cleaning liquid from rebounding back toward the cleaning liquid discharge nozzle 201 when it collides with the tilted portion 333. Furthermore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG11A , the treatment liquid discharge is also tilted at an angle θ relative to the radial direction AR toward the rotation direction Dr of the upper cup 33. However, the angle θ is arbitrary and can be set, for example, to θ = zero. Furthermore, during the cup cleaning process, the supply of treatment liquid to the upper surface treatment nozzle 51F is stopped.

Furthermore, the lower sealing cup member 61 of the atmosphere separation mechanism 6 is detachably fixed to a component of the nozzle moving unit 54. Specifically, when performing bevel processing, the upper surface processing nozzle 51F and the nozzle holder 53 are integrated with the lower sealing cup member 61 via the nozzle moving unit 54 and are raised and lowered along the vertical direction Z along with the lower sealing cup member 61 by the lifting mechanism 7.

Figure 12 is a perspective view of the treatment liquid discharge nozzle and the nozzle support portion supporting the nozzle, mounted on the lower surface side of the treatment mechanism. In this embodiment, the lower surface treatment nozzle 51B and nozzle support portion 57 are positioned below the substrate W held on the rotary chuck 21 to discharge treatment liquid toward the periphery of the lower surface Wb of the substrate W. The nozzle support portion 57 comprises a thin-walled cylindrical portion 571 extending in the vertical direction and a circular flange portion 572 that is radially bent and expanded at the upper end of the cylindrical portion 571. The cylindrical portion 571 is shaped to freely fit into the air gap formed between the annular member 27a and the lower cup 32. As shown in FIG2 , the nozzle support portion 57 is fixedly arranged such that the cylindrical portion 571 is interposed in the air gap and the flange portion 572 is positioned between the substrate W held on the rotary chuck 21 and the lower cup 32. Three lower surface processing nozzles 51B are mounted around the upper surface of the flange portion 572. Each lower surface processing nozzle 51B has a nozzle opening (not shown) facing the periphery of the lower surface Wb of the substrate W and is capable of dispensing a processing liquid supplied from the processing liquid supply portion 52 via a pipe 58.

The processing liquid ejected from the upper surface processing nozzle 51F and the lower surface processing nozzle 51B performs a bevel treatment on the periphery of the substrate W. Furthermore, a flange portion 572 is provided on the lower surface of the substrate W, extending to the vicinity of the peripheral portion Ws. Therefore, nitrogen gas supplied to the lower surface via the pipe 28 flows along the flange portion 572 into the collection space SPc. As a result, backflow of liquid droplets from the collection space SPc to the substrate W is effectively suppressed.

The atmosphere separation mechanism 6 comprises a lower sealed cup member 61 and an upper sealed cup member 62. Both the lower sealed cup member 61 and the upper sealed cup member 62 are cylindrical in shape, with openings at the top and bottom. Their inner diameters are larger than the outer diameter of the rotating cup member 31. The atmosphere separation mechanism 6 is configured to completely surround the rotating chuck 21, the substrate W held thereon, the rotating cup member 31, and the upper surface protection and heating mechanism 4 from above. More specifically, as shown in FIG2 , the upper sealed cup member 62 is fixedly positioned directly below the perforated plate 14, with its upper opening covering the opening 11f1 of the top wall 11f from below. Therefore, the downflow of clean air introduced into the chamber 11 is divided into the downflow passing through the interior of the upper sealing cup member 62 and the downflow passing through the exterior of the upper sealing cup member 62 .

The lower end of the upper sealing cup member 62 has an inwardly folded, annular flange 621. An O-ring 63 is mounted on the upper surface of the flange 621. Inside the upper sealing cup member 62, the lower sealing cup member 61 is disposed so as to be freely movable in the vertical direction.

The upper end of the lower sealing cup member 61 has an outwardly bent and expanded annular flange 611. When viewed from directly above, flange 611 overlaps flange 621. Therefore, when the lower sealing cup member 61 descends, as shown in the partially enlarged view in Figure 4, flange 611 of the lower sealing cup member 61 is locked by flange 621 of the upper sealing cup member 62 via O-ring 63. This positions the lower sealing cup member 61 at its lower limit. At the lower limit position, the upper closed cup member 62 is connected to the lower closed cup member 61 in the vertical direction, guiding the downflow introduced into the interior of the upper closed cup member 62 to the substrate W held on the rotary chuck 21.

The lower end of the lower sealed cup member 61 has a flange portion 612 with a circular ring shape that is folded inwards outwards. When viewed from above, the flange portion 612 overlaps with the upper end portion of the fixed cup portion 34 (the upper end portion of the liquid receiving portion 341). Therefore, in the above-mentioned lower limit position, as shown in the partial enlarged view in Figure 5, the flange portion 612 of the lower sealed cup member 61 is clamped by the fixed cup portion 34 via the O-ring 64. Thereby, in the vertical direction, the lower sealed cup member 61 is connected to the fixed cup portion 34, and a closed space 12a is formed by the upper sealed cup member 62, the lower sealed cup member 61 and the fixed cup portion 34. In the closed space 12a, the substrate W can be subjected to bevel processing. Specifically, by positioning the lower sealing cup member 61 at its lower limit, the enclosed space 12a is separated from the space 12b outside of the enclosed space 12a (atmosphere separation). This allows for stable bevel processing without being affected by the external atmosphere. Furthermore, while a treatment liquid is used for bevel processing, leakage from the enclosed space 12a to the external space 12b can be reliably prevented. This provides greater freedom in the selection and design of components placed in the external space 12b.

The lower sealed cup member 61 is also configured to move vertically upward. Furthermore, as described above, the nozzle head 56 (= upper surface treatment nozzle 51F + cleaning liquid discharge nozzle 201 + nozzle holder 53) is secured to the center of the lower sealed cup member 61 in the vertical direction via the head support member 547 of the nozzle moving unit 54. Furthermore, as shown in Figures 2 and 4 , the upper surface protection and heating mechanism 4 is also secured to the center of the lower sealed cup member 61 via the beam member 49. Specifically, as shown in Figure 4 , the lower sealed cup member 61 is connected to one end of the beam member 49, the other end of the beam member 49, and the head support member 547 at three different locations in the circumferential direction. Furthermore, by raising and lowering one end of the beam member 49, the other end of the beam member 49 and the head support member 547 by the lifting mechanism 7, the lower closed cup member 61 is also raised and lowered accordingly.

As shown in Figures 2 and 4, a plurality of (4) protrusions 613 are provided on the inner circumference of the lower sealed cup member 61, which serve as engaging portions that can engage with the upper cup 33. Each protrusion 613 extends to the space below the upper annular portion 332 of the upper cup 33. In addition, each protrusion 613 is installed so as to move downward away from the upper annular portion 332 of the upper cup 33 when the lower sealed cup member 61 is positioned at the lower limit position. Moreover, by raising the lower sealed cup member 61, each protrusion 613 can engage with the upper annular portion 332 from below. After the engagement, the upper cup 33 and the lower cup 32 can be separated by further raising the lower sealed cup member 61.

In this embodiment, after the lower sealed cup assembly 61 begins to rise along with the upper surface protection and heating mechanism 4 and the nozzle head 56 via the lifting mechanism 7, the upper cup 33 also rises. This causes the upper cup 33, the upper surface protection and heating mechanism 4, and the nozzle head 56 to move upward away from the spin chuck 21. By moving the lower sealed cup assembly 61 to a retracted position, a transfer space is created for the hand of the substrate transfer robot 111 to access the spin chuck 21. Furthermore, substrates W can be loaded onto and unloaded from the spin chuck 21 via this transfer space. Thus, in this embodiment, the substrate W can be received by the rotary chuck 21 by minimally raising the lower closed cup member 61 by the lifting mechanism 7.

The lifting mechanism 7 has two lifting drive parts 71 and 72. In the lifting drive part 71, the first lifting motor (not shown) is installed on the first lifting installation part 173 (Figure 3) of the base member 17. The first lifting motor is actuated according to the driving instruction from the control unit 10 to generate a rotational force. The two lifting parts 712 and 713 are connected to the first lifting motor. The lifting parts 712 and 713 are simultaneously subjected to the above-mentioned rotational force from the first lifting motor. Then, the lifting part 712 lifts the support member 491 at one end of the support beam member 49 in the vertical direction Z according to the rotation amount of the first lifting motor. In addition, the lifting part 713 lifts the head support member 547 supporting the nozzle head 56 in the vertical direction Z according to the rotation amount of the first lifting motor.

In the lift drive unit 72, a second lift motor (not shown) is mounted on the second lift mounting portion 174 of the base member 17 (Figure 3). The lift unit 722 is connected to the second lift motor. The second lift motor is actuated by a drive command from the control unit 10, generating a rotational force that is applied to the lift unit 722. The lift unit 722 vertically raises and lowers the support member 492 at the other end of the support beam member 49 based on the amount of rotation of the second lift motor.

Lifting actuators 71 and 72 move support members 491, 492, and 54, which are fixed at three different locations on the circumference of the lower sealed cup member 61, in a synchronous, vertical motion. This ensures stable lifting and lowering of the upper surface protection and heating mechanism 4, nozzle head 56, and lower sealed cup member 61. Furthermore, as the lower sealed cup member 61 rises and falls, the upper cup 33 also rises and falls stably.

The centering mechanism 8 performs a centering process while the pump 26 is stopped (i.e., while the substrate W is allowed to move horizontally on the upper surface of the rotary chuck 21). This centering process eliminates any eccentricity of the substrate W relative to the rotation axis AX, aligning the center of the substrate W with the rotation axis AX. As shown in FIG4 , the centering mechanism 8 comprises a single abutting portion 81, which is positioned on the transport opening 11b1 side relative to the rotation axis AX in the abutting movement direction D2, which is inclined approximately 40° relative to the first imaginary horizontal line VL1; a multiple abutting portion 82, which is positioned on the maintenance opening 11d1 side; and a centering drive portion 83, which moves the single abutting portion 81 and the multiple abutting portion 82 in the abutting movement direction D2.

The single abutting portion 81 is shaped to extend parallel to the abutting movement direction D2 and is configured to abut the end surface of the substrate W on the rotating chuck 21 at its leading end. Meanwhile, the multiple abutting portion 82 is substantially Y-shaped when viewed from above and is configured to abut the end surface of the substrate W on the rotating chuck 21 at its leading end at each of its two prongs. Both the single abutting portion 81 and the multiple abutting portion 82 are freely movable in the abutting movement direction D2.

The centering drive 83 includes a single movable portion 831 for moving the single contact portion 81 in the contact movement direction D2, and a multi-movable portion 832 for moving the multi-contact portion 82 in the contact movement direction D2. The single movable portion 831 is mounted on the single movable mounting portion 175 ( FIG. 3 ) of the base member 17, while the multi-movable portion 832 is mounted on the multi-movable mounting portion 176 ( FIG. 3 ) of the base member 17. When not centering the substrate W, the centering drive 83 separates the single contact portion 81 and the multi-contact portion 82 from the rotary chuck 21, as shown in FIG. 4 . Therefore, the single contact portion 81 and the multiple contact portions 82 are separated from the transport path TP, which can effectively prevent the single contact portion 81 and the multiple contact portions 82 from interfering with the substrate W being carried in and out of the chamber 11.

Meanwhile, when centering the substrate W, the single-moving portion 831 moves the single-contact portion 81 toward the rotation axis AX, and the multiple-moving portion 832 moves the multiple-contact portion 82 toward the rotation axis AX in response to a centering command from the control unit 10. This aligns the center of the substrate W with the rotation axis AX.

The substrate observation mechanism 9 includes a light source 91, an imaging unit 92, an observation head 93, and an observation head driver 94. The light source 91 and the imaging unit 92 are located side by side at the optical component mounting position 177 ( FIG. 3 ) of the base member 17. The light source 91 illuminates the observation position based on illumination commands from the control unit 10. This observation position corresponds to the peripheral portion Ws of the substrate W and corresponds to the position where the observation head 93 is positioned (not shown).

The observation head 93 can reciprocate between an observation position and a spaced-apart position radially away from the observation position toward the outside of the substrate W. The observation head driver 94 is connected to the observation head 93. The observation head driver 94 is mounted on the base member 17 at a head drive position 178 ( FIG. 3 ) of the base member 17. Furthermore, the observation head driver 94 reciprocates the observation head 93 along a head movement direction D3 tilted approximately 10° relative to the first imaginary horizontal line VL1 in accordance with a head movement instruction from the control unit 10. More specifically, when the observation process of the substrate W is not being performed, the observation head driver 94 moves the observation head 93 to a retreat position for positioning. Therefore, the observation head 93 leaves the transport path TP, effectively preventing interference between the observation head 93 and the substrates W being loaded into and out of the chamber 11. Meanwhile, when performing observation processing on the substrate W, the observation head driver 94 moves the observation head 93 to the observation position based on a substrate observation command from the control unit 10.

When the observation head 93, thus configured, is positioned at the observation position and, in this positioned state, the light source unit 91 is illuminated in accordance with an illumination command from the control unit 10, illumination light is directed to the illumination area of the observation head 93. The diffuse illumination light from the observation head 93 thereby illuminates the peripheral portion Ws of the substrate W and its adjacent areas. Furthermore, light reflected from the peripheral portion Ws and its adjacent areas is guided through the observation head 93 to the imaging unit 92.

The imaging unit 92 includes an observation lens system consisting of an object-side telecentric lens and a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) camera. Therefore, of the reflected light guided from the observation head 93, only the light parallel to the optical axis of the observation lens system is incident on the sensor surface of the CMOS camera, forming an image of the peripheral portion Ws of the substrate W and the adjacent area on the sensor surface. In this way, the imaging unit 92 captures the peripheral portion Ws and the adjacent area of the substrate W, acquiring images of the top, side, and bottom surfaces of the substrate W. The imaging unit 92 then transmits image data representing these images to the control unit 10.

The control unit 10 includes a processing unit 10A, a memory unit 10B, a readout unit 10C, an image processing unit 10D, a drive control unit 10E, a communication unit 10F, and an exhaust control unit 10G. The memory unit 10B is composed of a hard drive or the like and stores a program for executing bevel processing using the substrate processing apparatus 1. The program is stored on a computer-readable recording medium RM (e.g., an optical disk, a magnetic disk, a magneto-optical disk, etc.), read from the recording medium RM by the readout unit 10C, and stored in the memory unit 10B. Furthermore, provision of the program is not limited to the recording medium RM; for example, the program may also be provided via an electrical communication line. The image processing unit 10D performs various processes on the image captured by the substrate observation mechanism 9. The drive control unit 10E controls the various drive units of the substrate processing apparatus 1. The communication unit 10F communicates with the control unit that collectively controls the various units of the substrate processing system 100. The exhaust control unit 10G controls the exhaust unit 38.

Furthermore, the control unit 10 is connected to a display unit 10H (such as a monitor) for displaying various information or an input unit 10J (such as a keyboard and a mouse) for accepting input from an operator.

The processing unit 10A is comprised of a computer equipped with a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or RAM (Random Access Memory). It controls various components of the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to a program stored in the memory unit 10B, as described below, to perform bevel processing. The following describes the bevel processing and cup cleaning processes of the substrate processing apparatus 1 with reference to FIG. 13 .

FIG13 is a flow chart illustrating a bevel treatment performed as an example of a substrate processing operation by the substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG2 . When performing bevel treatment on a substrate W in the substrate processing apparatus 1 , the computation processing unit 10A uses the elevating drive units 71 and 72 to collectively raise the lower sealed cup member 61, the nozzle head 56, the beam member 49, the support member 43, and the circular plate portion 42. During the ascent of the lower sealed cup member 61, the protrusion 613 engages with the upper annular portion 332 of the upper cup 33. Subsequently, the upper cup 33, along with the lower sealed cup member 61, the nozzle head 56, the beam member 49, the support member 43, and the circular plate portion 42, rises and is positioned in a retracted position. This creates a transfer space above the rotary chuck 21 sufficient for the hand (not shown) of the substrate transfer robot 111 to enter. Furthermore, the processing unit 10A uses the centering drive unit 83 to move the single moving unit 831 and the multiple contacting unit 82 to a retreat position away from the rotary chuck 21, and uses the observation head drive unit 94 to move the observation head 93 to a standby position away from the rotary chuck 21. Consequently, as shown in FIG4 , the nozzle head 56 , light source unit 91 , imaging unit 92 , motor 23 , and multiple contacting unit 82 , among the components disposed around the rotary chuck 21 , are positioned closer to the maintenance opening 11d1 (the lower side in the figure) relative to the first imaginary horizontal line VL1 . Furthermore, the single moving portion 831 and the observation head 93 are positioned closer to the transfer opening 11b1 than the first imaginary horizontal line VL1, but offset from the movement area of the substrate W along the transfer path TP. In this embodiment, this layout effectively prevents interference between components surrounding the rotary chuck 21 and the substrate W when the substrate W is loaded into or unloaded from the chamber 11.

After confirming that the transfer space has been formed and that interference with the substrate W has been prevented, the processing unit 10A requests the substrate transport robot 111 to load the substrate W via the communication unit 10F. The robot then waits for an unprocessed substrate W to be loaded into the substrate processing apparatus 1 along the transfer path TP shown in FIG4 and placed on the top surface of the rotary chuck 21. The substrate W is then placed on the rotary chuck 21 (step S1). At this point, the pump 26 stops, allowing the substrate W to move horizontally on the top surface of the rotary chuck 21.

After the loading of the substrate W is completed, the substrate transport robot 111 retreats from the substrate processing device 1 along the transport path TP. Then, the arithmetic processing unit 10A controls the centering drive unit 83 in such a manner that the single moving unit 831 and the multi-contact unit 82 approach the substrate W on the rotary suction cup 21. In this way, the eccentricity of the substrate W relative to the rotary suction cup 21 is eliminated, and the center of the substrate W is aligned with the center of the rotary suction cup 21 (step S2). In this way, when the centering process is completed, the arithmetic processing unit 10A controls the centering drive unit 83 in such a manner that the single moving unit 831 and the multi-contact unit 82 are separated from the substrate W, and activates the pump 26 to apply negative pressure to the rotary suction cup 21. In this way, the rotary suction cup 21 adsorbs and holds the substrate W from below.

Next, the processing unit 10A issues a lowering command to the lift actuators 71 and 72. In response, the lift actuators 71 and 72 lower the lower sealing cup member 61, the nozzle head 56, the beam member 49, the support member 43, and the circular plate portion 42. During this lowering process, the protrusion 613 of the lower sealing cup member 61 supports the upper cup 33 from below, connecting it to the lower cup 32. This forms the rotating cup portion 31 (the connection between the upper cup 33 and the lower cup 32).

After the rotating cup portion 31 is formed, the lower sealed cup member 61, nozzle head 56, beam member 49, support member 43, and circular plate portion 42 are further lowered as a unit. The flanges 611 and 612 of the lower sealed cup member 61 are respectively locked by the flange 621 of the upper sealed cup member 62 and the fixed cup portion 34. This positions the lower sealed cup member 61 at the lower limit position (the position shown in FIG. 2 ) (step S3). After this locking, as shown in the partially enlarged view of FIG. 4 , the flange 621 of the upper sealed cup member 62 and the flange 611 of the lower sealed cup member 61 are in close contact with each other via the O-ring 63, and the flange 612 of the lower sealed cup member 61 and the fixed cup portion 34 are in close contact with each other via the O-ring 63. As a result, as shown in FIG2 , the upper and lower sealed cup members 61 are connected to the fixed cup portion 34 in the vertical direction, and a closed space 12a is formed by the upper sealed cup member 62, the lower sealed cup member 61, and the fixed cup portion 34. The closed space 12a is separated from the external atmosphere (external space 12b) (atmosphere separation).

In this atmosphere separation state, the lower surface of the circular plate portion 42 covers the upper surface Wf of the substrate W, excluding the peripheral portion Ws. Furthermore, the upper surface nozzle 51F is positioned within the cutout 44 of the circular plate portion 42, with the nozzle opening 511 facing the peripheral portion of the upper surface Wf of the substrate W. Once preparations for supplying the processing liquid to the substrate W are complete, the computational processing unit 10A issues a rotation command to the motor 23, initiating rotation of the rotary chuck 21 and rotary cup 31 holding the substrate W (step S4). The rotation speed of the substrate W and rotary cup 31 is set, for example, to 1800 rpm. Furthermore, the arithmetic processing unit 10A drives and controls the heater driver 422 to raise the temperature of the heater 421 to a desired temperature, for example, 185°C.

Next, the computational processing unit 10A issues a heating gas supply command to the heating gas supply unit 47. This causes nitrogen gas, heated by heater 471, to be pressure-fed from the heating gas supply unit 47 to the central nozzle 45 (step S5). While passing through the piping 46, the heating gas is heated by the belt heater 48. This prevents the temperature of the heating gas from decreasing while being supplied through the piping 46, while simultaneously being ejected from the central nozzle 45 into the space SPa ( FIG. 8 ) sandwiched between the substrate W and the circular plate portion 42. This fully heats the upper surface Wf of the substrate W. Substrate W is also heated by the heater 421. As a result, over time, the temperature of the peripheral portion Ws of the substrate W rises, reaching a temperature suitable for bevel processing, for example, 90°C. Furthermore, the temperature outside the peripheral portion Ws also rises to a roughly equal temperature. In other words, in this embodiment, the in-plane temperature of the upper surface Wf of the substrate W is substantially uniform. Consequently, warping of the substrate W can be effectively suppressed.

Next, the computation processing unit 10A controls the processing liquid supply unit 52 to supply processing liquid to the upper surface processing nozzle 51F and the lower surface processing nozzle 51B. Specifically, the processing liquid is ejected from the upper surface processing nozzle 51F so as to contact the upper surface periphery of the substrate W, while the processing liquid is ejected from the lower surface processing nozzle 51B so as to contact the lower surface periphery of the substrate W. This performs bevel processing on the peripheral portion Ws of the substrate W (step S6). Then, upon detecting that the processing time required for bevel processing of the substrate W has elapsed, the computation processing unit 10A issues a supply stop command to the processing liquid supply unit 52, thereby stopping the ejection of processing liquid.

Next, the processing unit 10A issues a supply stop command to the heating gas supply unit 47, thereby stopping the supply of nitrogen gas from the heating gas supply unit 47 to the central nozzle 45 (step S7). Furthermore, the processing unit 10A issues a rotation stop command to the motor 23, thereby stopping the rotation of the rotary chuck 21 and the rotary cup unit 31 (step S8).

In the next step S9, the processing unit 10A observes the peripheral portion Ws of the substrate W and checks the results of the bevel processing. More specifically, the processing unit 10A positions the upper cup 33 at the retracted position, as in the case of loading the substrate W, to form a transfer space. The processing unit 10A then controls the observation head drive unit 94 to bring the observation head 93 close to the substrate W. The processing unit 10A then illuminates the peripheral portion Ws of the substrate W through the observation head 93 by illuminating the light source unit 91. In addition, the imaging unit 92 receives the reflected light from the peripheral portion Ws and the adjacent area and captures the peripheral portion Ws and the adjacent area. That is, from the images of the plurality of peripheral portions Ws acquired by the imaging unit 92 while the substrate W rotates around the rotation axis AX, a peripheral image of the peripheral portion Ws along the rotation direction of the substrate W is acquired. Then, the computational processing unit 10A controls the observation head drive unit 94 to retract the observation head 93 from the substrate W. In parallel with this, the computational processing unit 10A inspects whether the bevel processing has been performed well based on the captured images of the peripheral portion Ws and the adjacent area, i.e., the peripheral images. In addition, in this embodiment, as an example of such inspection, the processing width after treatment with the processing liquid from the end surface of the substrate W toward the center of the substrate W is inspected from the peripheral images (post-processing inspection).

After inspection, the processing unit 10A requests the substrate transport robot 111 to unload the substrate W via the communication unit 10F, unloading the processed substrate W from the substrate processing apparatus 1 (step S10). The processing unit 10A then determines whether the timing for performing cup cleaning on the rotary cup unit 31 has arrived (step S11). This timing may, for example, be when the cumulative number or time of bevel surface processing since replacing the rotary cup unit 31 or the last maintenance has reached a specified value. This also includes the timing of cup cleaning requests from the operator.

If the calculation processing unit 10A determines that the cup cleaning process is not necessary ("No" in step S11), the cup cleaning process is not performed and the series of processes is terminated. On the other hand, if the calculation processing unit 10A determines that the cup cleaning process is necessary ("YES" in step S11), the cup cleaning process is performed (step S12).

During the cup cleaning process (step S12), the computational processing unit 10A controls the various components of the apparatus as follows (steps S12a to S12e). Specifically, the computational processing unit 10A issues a descending command to the elevating drive units 71 and 72. In response, the elevating drive units 71 and 72 lower the lower sealed cup member 61, the nozzle head 56, the beam member 49, the support member 43, and the circular plate portion 42. During this descent, the upper cup 33 is supported from below by the protrusion 613 of the lower sealed cup member 61, connecting it to the lower cup 32. This forms the rotary cup portion 31 (the connection between the upper cup 33 and the lower cup 32) while maintaining the absence of the substrate W on the rotary chuck 21.

After the rotating cup portion 31 is formed, the lower sealed cup member 61, nozzle head 56, beam member 49, support member 43, and circular plate portion 42 are further lowered as a whole. The flanges 611 and 612 of the lower sealed cup member 61 are respectively locked by the flange 621 of the upper sealed cup member 62 and the fixed cup portion 34. As a result, the lower sealed cup member 61 is positioned at the lower limit position (the position shown in FIG. 2 ) (step S12a).

In this atmosphere separation state, as shown in FIG11B , the lower surface of the circular plate portion 42 covers the surface area of the upper surface Wf of the substrate W except for the peripheral portion Ws from above. In addition, the arithmetic processing unit 10A applies a drive command to the nozzle drive motor 543. The slider 544, the head support member 547, and the nozzle head 56 move as a whole by a distance corresponding to the rotation amount included in the drive command. As a result, the cleaning liquid ejection nozzle 201 is positioned in the notch portion 44 of the circular plate portion 42 at a cup cleaning position (the position shown in FIG11B ) suitable for cup cleaning processing with the ejection port 202 facing the inclined portion 333 of the upper cup 33 (step S12b).

After the cup cleaning liquid is supplied to the rotary cup 31, the processing unit 10A issues a rotation command to the motor 23, thereby starting the rotation of the rotary chuck 21 and the rotary cup 31, which hold the substrate W (step S12c). During the cup cleaning process, the rotation speed of the substrate W and the rotary cup 31 is set to a lower speed than that used during the bevel processing, for example, 100 to 500 rpm.

Next, the processing unit 10A controls the cup cleaning liquid supply unit 203 to supply the cup cleaning liquid to the cleaning liquid discharge nozzle 201. Specifically, the cleaning liquid is discharged from the cleaning liquid discharge nozzle 201 toward a portion of the inclined portion 333 of the upper cup 33. More specifically, as shown in FIG11B , the cup cleaning liquid is discharged at the cup cleaning position Zcr in the vertical direction Z. This causes the cup cleaning liquid to flow down the inclined surface 334 of the inclined portion 333, performing the cup cleaning process (step S12d). Then, upon detecting that the cup cleaning process time required for the rotating cup unit 31 has elapsed, the processing unit 10A issues a supply stop command to the cup cleaning liquid supply unit 203, thereby stopping the discharge of the cup cleaning liquid.

Next, the processing unit 10A issues a rotation stop command to the motor 23, causing the rotating cup unit 31 to stop rotating (step S12e). The cup cleaning process is then completed, and the entire series of processes is terminated. The series of steps (steps S1 to S12) is then repeated.

As described above, in this embodiment, cup cleaning liquid is directly supplied from the side of the rotation axis AX to the rotating cup portion 31 rotating about the rotation axis AX, thereby performing the cup cleaning process. This maintains the cleanliness of the rotating cup portion 31 and effectively prevents the generation of particles from droplets of the processing liquid adhering to the rotating cup portion 31. Furthermore, if cup contamination by the processing liquid, particularly a chemical solution, is left untreated, the rotating cup portion 31 made of a resin material, such as a resin, may deform. However, by performing the cup cleaning process at an appropriate timing, deformation of the rotating cup portion 31 is suppressed. This extends the life of the rotating cup portion 31, thereby reducing operating costs. Furthermore, the amount of cup cleaning liquid used to achieve this effect is less than that of the substrate processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1, thereby reducing the environmental load.

Furthermore, in the rotating cup portion 31, the processing liquid is captured by the inclined surface 334 of the inclined portion 333 of the upper cup 33. At this time, the centrifugal force generated by the cup rotation acts on the liquid droplets adhering to the inclined surface 334 of the inclined portion 333 of the rotating cup portion 31. Furthermore, the liquid droplets are affected by the flow of nitrogen gas, etc., supplied during the inclined surface treatment process and flowing radially outward along the upper surface Wf and lower surface Wb of the substrate W. As a result, downward vector stress acts on the liquid droplets along the inclined surface 334 of the inclined portion 333. Furthermore, a cup cleaning liquid is supplied to the inclined portion 333 and caused to flow downward along the inclined portion 333. Therefore, the processing liquid can be effectively removed from the rotating cup portion 31.

Furthermore, in the vertical direction Z, the cup cleaning position Zcr, where the cup cleaning liquid lands in the inclined portion 333, is set higher than the height Zw at which droplets of the processing liquid are captured from the spinning substrate W. Therefore, the cup cleaning liquid flowing down the inclined surface 334 of the inclined portion 333 can clean and remove all droplets of the processing liquid captured by the inclined portion 333, achieving excellent cup cleaning results.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, as shown in Figure 11B , the cup cleaning process is performed while the circular plate portion 42 of the upper surface protection and heating mechanism 4 is close to the inclined portion 333 of the upper cup 33. Therefore, some of the cup cleaning liquid that lands on the inclined portion 333 may rebound. Taking this into account, in this embodiment, the cup cleaning position Zcr is set lower than the position of the upper surface of the circular plate portion 42 of the upper surface protection and heating mechanism 4, i.e., the height position Z42. This effectively prevents droplets of cup cleaning liquid that rebound from the cup cleaning position Zcr from adhering to the upper surface of the circular plate portion 42.

Furthermore, heat dissipated from the upper surface protection and heating mechanism 4 heats not only the substrate W but also the upper cup 33. However, the temperature of the upper cup 33 is lowered by supplying a room-temperature cup cleaning liquid to the upper cup 33. As a result, the heat resistance of the upper cup 33 is improved and deformation of the upper cup 33 is suppressed.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, since the diameter of the nozzle 202 is larger than the diameter of the nozzle 511 of the upper surface treatment nozzle 51F, the following effects can be obtained. In order to suppress the cup cleaning liquid from rebounding at the cup cleaning position Zcr, in this embodiment, the ejection speed of the cup cleaning liquid is set to be lower than the ejection speed of the treatment liquid. On the other hand, as described above, the diameter of the nozzle 202 is set to be relatively large. Therefore, although the ejection speed of the cup cleaning liquid is suppressed, the supply amount of the cup cleaning liquid to the cup cleaning position Zcr per unit time can be obtained. That is, the cup cleaning liquid can be suppressed from rebounding at the cup cleaning position Zcr, and a sufficient amount of cup cleaning liquid can be supplied to the cup cleaning process. As a result, the adverse effects caused by the rebound of the cup cleaning liquid can be suppressed and the cup cleaning process can be performed well.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG11B , because the cup cleaning liquid ejection direction D33 is inclined relative to the radial direction AR toward the rotational direction Dr of the upper cup 33, as described above, droplets of cup cleaning liquid that rebound at the cup cleaning position Zcr are effectively prevented from returning to and adhering to the cleaning liquid ejection nozzle 201. As a result, the cup cleaning process using the cleaning liquid ejection nozzle 201 can be continued, and the frequency of maintenance of the cleaning liquid ejection nozzle 201 or the rotating cup portion 31 can be reduced, thereby improving the operating efficiency of the apparatus.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the cleaning liquid discharge nozzle 201 and the upper surface treatment nozzle 51F are held together by the nozzle holder 53 to form a nozzle head 56. The nozzle head 56 is then moved to the cup cleaning position (see FIG. 11B ) by the nozzle moving unit 54. This allows the cleaning liquid discharge nozzle 201 to be precisely positioned at a position suitable for cup cleaning. Consequently, the cup cleaning liquid can be supplied to the desired position of the upper cup 33, enabling efficient cup cleaning.

As described above, in this embodiment, the control unit 10 corresponds to an example of the "control section" of the present invention. The cup cleaning position Zcr corresponds to an example of the "cup cleaning liquid ejection destination" of the present invention. The height position Zw corresponds to an example of the "height position of the upper surface of the substrate" of the present invention. The cleaning liquid ejection nozzle 201 corresponds to an example of the "upper surface cleaning nozzle" of the present invention. The inclined surface 334 corresponds to an example of the "inner circumferential surface of the rotating cup portion" of the present invention.

However, in the above-mentioned first embodiment, the cup cleaning liquid is sprayed from the cup cleaning position Zcr of the inclined surface 334 above the substrate holding height at which the substrate W is held by the rotating suction cup 21 in the vertical direction Z, but at the same time, the cup cleaning liquid can also be sprayed toward the cup cleaning position Zcr by spraying the cup cleaning liquid from below the substrate holding height toward the inclined surface 334 (second embodiment).

Figure 14 schematically illustrates the structure and operation of a second embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention. This second embodiment differs significantly from the first embodiment in that a cleaning liquid discharge nozzle 204 is provided on the upper surface (ridge portion 572) of the nozzle support 57 that supports the lower surface processing nozzle 51B. This cleaning liquid discharge nozzle 204 is fixed to the nozzle support 57 with its nozzle port 205, which discharges cup cleaning liquid, oriented toward the cup cleaning position Zcr. Since the remaining structure and operation are identical to those of the first embodiment, they are designated with the same reference numerals and their explanations are omitted.

In the second embodiment, during the cup cleaning process (step S12d), when the computing unit 10A controls the cup cleaning liquid supply unit 203 to also supply cup cleaning liquid to the cleaning liquid discharge nozzle 204, the cup cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid discharge nozzles 201 and 204 is simultaneously supplied to the cup cleaning position Zcr. Therefore, the cup cleaning liquid is supplied to the inclined portion 333 of the upper cup 33 from both the upper and lower sides. As a result, superior cup cleaning performance compared to the first embodiment is achieved.

Thus, in the second embodiment, the cleaning liquid spraying nozzle 204 is equivalent to an example of the "lower surface cleaning nozzle" of the present invention.

Furthermore, the cleaning liquid discharge nozzle of the present invention includes an upper surface cleaning nozzle 201 in the first embodiment, and includes both an upper surface cleaning nozzle 201 and a lower surface cleaning nozzle 204 in the second embodiment. However, a configuration in which only the lower surface cleaning nozzle 204 is provided is also possible (third embodiment). In this third embodiment, since the upper surface cleaning nozzle is not used, the nozzle head 56 (=upper surface treatment nozzle 51F+nozzle holder 53) can be separated from the inclined portion 333 during cup cleaning. This prevents cup cleaning liquid reflected from the inclined portion 333 from adhering to the upper surface treatment nozzle 51F. Furthermore, simply securing the cleaning liquid discharge nozzle 204 to the nozzle support 57 with the discharge port 205 facing the cup cleaning position Zcr facilitates adjustment of the cleaning liquid discharge nozzle 204. Furthermore, since the cleaning liquid discharge nozzle 204 is fixed, the step of positioning the cleaning liquid discharge nozzle 201 relative to the cup cleaning position (step S12b) as in the first or second embodiments is unnecessary. Consequently, processing time can be shortened.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications may be made thereto without departing from the main purpose. For example, in the above-described embodiments, the rotary suction cup 21 and the rotary cup 31 are rotationally driven by a single motor 23. However, the rotary suction cup 21 and the rotary cup 31 may be driven separately by separate motors. The present invention may also be applied to such a substrate processing apparatus. Furthermore, in such a substrate processing apparatus, during the cup cleaning process, the cup cleaning liquid may be supplied while only the rotary cup 31 is rotated. As a result, power consumption during the cup cleaning process can be reduced, and the environmental load can be reduced.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the present invention is applied to a substrate processing apparatus having a high bottom plate structure in which a substrate processing portion SP is provided on the upper surface of a base member 17. Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the present invention is applied to a substrate processing apparatus having a rotary cup portion 31. Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the present invention is applied to a substrate processing apparatus having an upper surface protection and heating mechanism 4, an atmosphere separation mechanism 6, a centering mechanism 8, and a substrate observation mechanism 9. However, as described in Patent Document 1, for example, the present invention may be applied to a substrate processing apparatus that does not have these structures, that is, a substrate processing apparatus that supplies a processing liquid to the periphery of a substrate W in the internal space 12 of a chamber 11 to process the periphery.

Furthermore, the present invention is applied to a substrate processing apparatus that performs bevel processing as an example of "substrate processing", but the present invention can also be applied to an entire substrate processing apparatus that performs substrate processing on a substrate by supplying a processing liquid to a rotating substrate.

The present invention can be applied to the entire substrate processing system for processing a substrate using a processing liquid.

1: Substrate processing device (substrate processing unit) 2: Holding and rotating mechanism 2A: Substrate holding unit 2B: Rotating mechanism 3: Anti-scattering mechanism 4: Top surface protection and heating mechanism 5: Processing mechanism 6: Atmosphere separation mechanism 7: Elevator mechanism 8: Centering mechanism 9: Substrate observation mechanism 10: Control unit (control unit) 10A: Arithmetic processing unit 10B: Memory unit 10C: Reading unit 10D: Image processing unit 10E: Drive control unit 10F: Communication unit 10G: Exhaust control unit 10H: Display unit 10J: Input unit 11: Chamber 11a: Bottom wall 11b-11e: Side walls 11b1: Transport opening 11d1: Maintenance opening 11f: Top wall 11f1: Opening 11g: Center 12: Internal space 12a: Enclosed space 12b: External space 13: Fan filter unit 14: Perforated plate 15: Baffle 16: Base support member 17: Base member 19: Cover member 21: Rotating suction cup 22: Rotating shaft 23: Motor 24: Power transmission unit 25, 28: Piping 26: Pump 27: Power transmission unit 27a: Ring member 29: Nitrogen supply unit 31: Rotating cup 32: Lower cup 33: Upper cup 34: Fixed cup 38: Exhaust section 41: Blocking plate 42: Circular plate 43: Support member 44: Cutout 45: Central nozzle 46: Piping 47: Heating gas supply 48: Strip heater 49: Beam 51B: Lower surface treatment nozzle (treatment liquid discharge nozzle) 51F: Upper surface treatment nozzle (treatment liquid discharge nozzle) 52: Treatment liquid supply 53: Nozzle holder 54: Nozzle moving section 56: Nozzle head 57: Nozzle support 58: Piping 61: Lower sealing cup assembly 62: Upper sealing cup assembly 63, 64: O-rings 71, 72: Lifting drive 81: Single abutment 82: Multiple abutment 83: Centering drive 91: Light source 92: Camera 93: Observation head 94: Observation head drive 100: Substrate processing system 110: Substrate processing area 111: Substrate transfer robot 112: Loading table 120: Carrier 121: Container holding unit 122: Carrier robot 122a: Base 122b: Multi-jointed arm 122c: Hand 171: Motor mounting area 172: Rotating suction cup mounting area 173: First lift mounting area 174: Second lift mounting area 175: Single-movement mounting area 176: Multi-movement mounting area 177: Optical component mounting area 178: Head drive area 200: Cup cleaning mechanism 201: (Upper surface) cleaning liquid spray nozzle 202: (Upper surface cleaning liquid spray nozzle) outlet 203: Cup cleaning liquid supply unit 204: (Lower surface) cleaning liquid spray nozzle 205: (Lower surface cleaning liquid spray nozzle) outlet 231: Rotating shaft 241: First pulley 242: Second pulley 243: Endless belt 331: Lower ring 332: Upper ring 333: Inclined portion (of upper cup) 334: Inclined surface 341: Liquid receiving portion 342: Exhaust portion 343: Partitioning wall 344: Gas guide 421: Heater 422: Heater drive unit 471: Heater 511: Nozzle 541: Base member 542: Linear actuator 543: Nozzle drive motor 544: Slider 545: Motion conversion mechanism 546: Connecting member 547: Head support member 548: Spring member 571: Cylindrical member 572: Flange 611, 612, 621: Flange 613: Protrusion 712, 713, 722: Lifting unit 713a: Lifting element 831: Single-moving unit 832: Multi-moving unit AR: Radial direction AX: Rotation axis C: Container D1: Radial direction D2: Contact movement direction D3: Head movement direction D32: Outer diameter D33: Discharge direction d331, d332: Diameter D331, D332: Outer diameter Dr: Rotational direction GPc: Gap Lof: Distance RM: Recording medium S1-S12: Steps S12a-S12e: Steps SP: Substrate processing unit Spa: Spacing SPc: Collection space SPe: Exhaust space TP: Transport path VL1: First virtual horizontal line VL2: Second virtual horizontal line W: Substrate Wb: Lower surface Wf: Upper surface Ws: Periphery (of substrate) Z: Vertical direction Z42: Height position Zcr: Cup cleaning position Zw: Height position (of substrate top surface) θ: Angle +D1: Direction -D1: Direction

Figure 1 is a top view schematically illustrating the configuration of a substrate processing system equipped with a first embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention. Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the first embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention. Figure 3 schematically illustrates the configuration of a chamber and the components mounted in the chamber. Figure 4 is a top view schematically illustrating the configuration of a substrate processing unit mounted on a base member. Figure 5 illustrates the dimensional relationship between a substrate held on a rotary chuck and a rotary cup. Figure 6 illustrates a portion of the rotary cup and the fixed cup. Figure 7 is a perspective view illustrating the external configuration of the upper surface protection and heating mechanism. Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view of the upper surface protection and heating mechanism shown in Figure 7. Figure 9 is a perspective view of a processing liquid discharge nozzle mounted on the upper surface side of the processing mechanism and a cup cleaning liquid discharge nozzle mounted on the upper surface side of the cup cleaning mechanism. Figure 10 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the nozzle moving unit. Figure 11A is a schematic diagram showing the nozzle positions during bevel processing. Figure 11B is a schematic diagram showing the nozzle positions during cup cleaning. Figure 12 is a perspective view of a processing liquid discharge nozzle mounted on the lower surface side of the processing mechanism and the nozzle support unit that supports the nozzle. Figure 13 is a flow chart showing bevel processing, an example of a substrate processing operation, performed by the substrate processing apparatus shown in Figure 2. FIG14 is a schematic diagram showing the structure and operation of the second embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention.

1: Substrate processing device (substrate processing unit) 2: Holding and rotating mechanism 2A: Substrate holding unit 3: Anti-scattering mechanism 4: Top surface protection and heating mechanism 5: Processing mechanism 6: Atmosphere separation mechanism 7: Elevator mechanism 8: Centering mechanism 9: Substrate observation mechanism 11b, 11d, 11e: Side walls 11b1: Transport opening 11d1: Maintenance opening 11g: Center 12: Internal space 12a: Enclosed space 12b: External space 15: Baffle 17: Base member 19: Cover member 23: Motor 32: Lower cup 33: Upper cup 42: Circular plate 47: Heating gas supply unit 49: Beam member 51F: Top surface treatment nozzle (treatment liquid spray nozzle) 53: Nozzle holder 54: Nozzle moving unit 56: Nozzle head 61: Lower sealing cup member 62: Upper sealing cup member 63, 64: O-rings 81: Single contact unit 82: Multiple contact units 83: Centering drive unit 91: Light source unit 92: Camera unit 93: Observation head 94: Observation head drive unit 201: (Top surface) cleaning liquid spray nozzle 341: Liquid receiving area 421: Heater 471: Heater 611, 612, 621: Flange 613: Protrusion 712, 713, 722: Lifting section 831: Single-moving section 832: Multi-moving section AX: Rotation axis D1: Radial direction D2: Contact movement direction D3: Head movement direction GPc: Gap Lof: Distance SP: Substrate processing section SPc: Collection space SPe: Exhaust space TP: Transport path VL1: First virtual horizontal line VL2: Second virtual horizontal line W: Substrate Wb: Bottom surface Ws: Peripheral portion (of substrate) Z: Vertical direction

Claims (8)

A substrate processing device is characterized by comprising: a substrate holding portion configured to hold a substrate while rotating around a rotation axis extending in a lead-line direction; a rotation cup portion configured to surround the outer circumference of the substrate held on the substrate holding portion and rotate around the rotation axis; a rotating mechanism that rotates the substrate holding portion and the rotation cup portion; and a processing mechanism that sprays a processing liquid from a nozzle onto the substrate held on the rotating substrate. The processing liquid is supplied to the substrate of the plate holding portion, and the substrate processing is performed on the substrate; the cup cleaning mechanism directly supplies the cup cleaning liquid from the rotating cup portion that collects the processing liquid scattered from the substrate from the rotating shaft side, and performs a cup cleaning process to remove the processing liquid from the rotating cup portion; and the control portion rotates the rotating cup portion while supplying the cup cleaning liquid to the upper portion after the substrate processing. The method of rotating the cup portion controls the above-mentioned rotating mechanism and the above-mentioned cup cleaning mechanism; the above-mentioned rotating cup portion comprises: a lower cup, which is subjected to the rotation driving force given by the above-mentioned rotating mechanism and rotates around the above-mentioned rotating shaft; and an upper cup, which is connected to the above-mentioned lower cup and rotates around the above-mentioned rotating shaft together with the above-mentioned lower cup, while capturing the droplets of the above-mentioned processing liquid scattered from the above-mentioned substrate; the above-mentioned upper cup has a portion located above the above-mentioned lower cup and connected to the above-mentioned lower cup. The cup cleaning mechanism comprises a connecting portion and an inclined portion inclined upward from the connecting portion toward the peripheral portion of the substrate; the liquid droplets are captured at the inclined portion; the cup cleaning mechanism comprises a cleaning liquid spraying nozzle for spraying the cup cleaning liquid toward the inclined portion, and the spraying destination of the cup cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid spraying nozzle is a cup cleaning position that is higher in the vertical direction than the upper surface of the substrate held on the substrate holding portion. The substrate processing device of claim 1 further comprises: a heating mechanism having a circular plate portion, in which a heater is built into the circular plate portion for heating the central portion of the upper surface of the substrate to which the processing liquid is supplied, excluding the peripheral portion, and the substrate is heated by arranging the circular plate portion above the substrate; and the cup cleaning position is lower than the upper surface of the circular plate portion in the vertical direction. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the ejection direction of the cup cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid ejection nozzle is inclined in a horizontal plane toward the rotation direction of the rotating cup portion relative to the radial direction from the rotation axis toward the cleaning liquid ejection nozzle. A substrate processing device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the processing mechanism comprises an upper surface processing nozzle for spraying the processing liquid from above the substrate held on the substrate holding portion toward the peripheral portion of the upper surface of the substrate, as the processing liquid spraying nozzle; and the cup cleaning mechanism comprises an upper surface cleaning nozzle for spraying the cup cleaning liquid in a vertical direction from above a substrate holding height at which the substrate is held by the substrate holding portion toward the inner peripheral surface of the rotating cup portion, as the cleaning liquid spraying nozzle. The substrate processing device of claim 4 comprises: a nozzle holder, which holds the upper surface processing nozzle and the upper surface cleaning nozzle arranged close to each other; and a nozzle moving part, which moves the nozzle holder to a substrate processing position for performing the above-mentioned substrate processing or a cup cleaning position for performing the above-mentioned cup cleaning processing; and the control part controls the above-mentioned processing liquid spraying nozzle and the above-mentioned cleaning liquid spraying nozzle as follows: when the above-mentioned nozzle holder moves to the above-mentioned substrate processing position, the cup cleaning liquid is stopped from being sprayed from the above-mentioned upper surface cleaning nozzle while the above-mentioned processing liquid is sprayed from the above-mentioned upper surface processing nozzle; and when the above-mentioned nozzle holder moves to the above-mentioned cup cleaning position, the processing liquid is stopped from being sprayed from the above-mentioned upper surface processing nozzle while the above-mentioned cup cleaning liquid is sprayed from the above-mentioned upper surface cleaning nozzle. A substrate processing device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the processing mechanism comprises a lower surface processing nozzle for spraying the processing liquid from below the substrate held on the substrate holding portion toward the peripheral portion of the lower surface of the substrate, as the processing liquid spraying nozzle; and the cup cleaning mechanism comprises a lower surface cleaning nozzle for spraying the cup cleaning liquid in a vertical direction from below the substrate holding height at which the substrate is held by the substrate holding portion toward the inner peripheral surface of the rotating cup portion, as the cleaning liquid spraying nozzle. The substrate processing device of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the processing mechanism comprises an upper surface processing nozzle for spraying the processing liquid from above the substrate held on the substrate holding portion toward the peripheral portion of the upper surface of the substrate, and a lower surface processing nozzle for spraying the processing liquid from below the substrate held on the substrate holding portion toward the peripheral portion of the lower surface of the substrate, as the processing liquid spraying nozzles; the cup cleaning mechanism comprises a nozzle for spraying the processing liquid from above the substrate held on the substrate holding portion toward the peripheral portion of the lower surface of the substrate; The upper surface cleaning nozzle supplies the cup cleaning liquid to the inner circumferential surface by spraying the cup cleaning liquid from above the substrate holding height at which the substrate is held by the substrate holding portion toward the inner circumferential surface of the rotating cup portion, and the lower surface cleaning nozzle supplies the cup cleaning liquid to the inner circumferential surface by spraying the cup cleaning liquid from below the substrate holding height toward the inner circumferential surface of the rotating cup portion, as the cleaning liquid spraying nozzles. A substrate processing method is characterized by comprising the following steps: supplying a processing liquid to the substrate while the substrate is held on a substrate holding portion, with a rotating cup portion surrounding the outer periphery of the substrate rotating around a rotating shaft extending in a lead vertical direction, thereby performing a predetermined substrate processing on the substrate with the processing liquid, and collecting the processing liquid scattered from the substrate with the rotating cup portion; and removing the processing liquid from the rotating cup portion by directly supplying a cup cleaning liquid to the rotating cup portion from the side of the rotating shaft while rotating the rotating cup portion having collected the processing liquid around the rotating shaft; the rotating cup portion comprises: a lower cup which rotates under the rotational driving force given by the rotating mechanism; The above-mentioned rotating shaft rotates; and the upper cup, on one hand, rotates around the above-mentioned rotating shaft together with the above-mentioned lower cup by being connected to the above-mentioned lower cup, and on the other hand, collects the droplets of the above-mentioned processing liquid scattered from the above-mentioned substrate; the above-mentioned upper cup has a connecting portion located above the above-mentioned lower cup and connected to the above-mentioned lower cup, and an inclined portion inclined from the above-mentioned connecting portion toward the upper part of the peripheral portion of the above-mentioned substrate; the above-mentioned droplets are collected at the above-mentioned inclined portion; the above-mentioned cup cleaning mechanism has a cleaning liquid spraying nozzle for spraying the above-mentioned cup cleaning liquid toward the above-mentioned inclined portion, so that the spraying destination of the above-mentioned cup cleaning liquid from the above-mentioned cleaning liquid spraying nozzle is a cup cleaning position that is higher than the height position of the upper surface of the above-mentioned substrate held on the above-mentioned substrate holding portion in the vertical direction.