JP4347787B2 - Substrate processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus that performs predetermined processing such as cleaning with a processing liquid on a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device, or an electronic component.

For example, in the manufacturing process of a semiconductor device, when removing contaminants such as silicon oxide film, particles, organic matter, heavy metals and alkali ions attached to the surface of a substrate, for example, a silicon wafer from the wafer surface, hydrofluoric acid, ammonia water Each time the wafer is cleaned using various chemicals such as a mixed solution of hydrogen and aqueous hydrogen peroxide or a mixed solution of hydrochloric acid and hydrogen peroxide, the wafer remains on the surface of the wafer each time the wafer is cleaned with the chemical. Unnecessary substances such as chemicals, decomposition products, and reaction products are removed by washing with pure water. In the substrate processing apparatus that performs such a cleaning process, the processing tank for storing the processing liquid and immersing the substrate in the processing liquid for processing is open at the top, so that the inside of the processing tank The mist of the processing solution scatters from the surface of the processing solution and diffuses to the surroundings, or the alkaline gas such as ammonia or the acidic gas such as hydrogen fluoride and hydrogen chloride evaporated from the processing solution diffuses to the surroundings. Mist and gas stay in a chamber provided so as to surround the upper space of the processing tank. As a result, the surface of the substrate is adversely affected, and when IPA (isopropyl alcohol) is supplied into the chamber for the substrate drying process, ammonia staying in the chamber reacts with IPA to generate particles. Occurs. Therefore, an exhaust port is provided near the upper opening of the processing tank, an exhaust pipe is connected to the exhaust port, and the atmosphere on the upper opening of the processing tank is exhausted through the exhaust port and the exhaust pipe. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2001-316878 (page 4-5, FIG. 3)

  As described above, when the atmosphere of the upper space of the processing tank is sucked through the exhaust port provided near the upper opening of the processing tank and exhausted through the exhaust pipe connected to the exhaust port, the atmosphere Because it contains mist of acid or alkaline liquid or alkaline gas or acid gas, there is a possibility that salt is generated by reaction of acid and alkali in the exhaust pipe, which causes particle generation. There is a problem.

  The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances as described above, and when the atmosphere in the upper space of the treatment tank is exhausted, salt is prevented from accumulating in the exhaust pipe to eliminate the cause of particle generation. It is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of performing the above.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate with a processing liquid, a processing tank having an opening in the upper part and storing the processing liquid, and a substrate holding means for holding the substrate in the processing tank; A processing liquid supply means for supplying a processing liquid into the processing tank; and an exhaust port provided above the upper opening of the processing tank, and an upper pipe of the processing tank through an exhaust pipe connected to the exhaust port. The pure water supply pipe is connected in communication with the exhaust means for exhausting the atmosphere in the exhaust pipe so as to join in the middle of the exhaust pipe, and the pure water supply pipe passes through the pure water supply pipe from the confluence position with the pure water supply pipe. And pure water supply means for supplying pure water for cleaning to a portion up to the exhaust port.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a lid member that is openable and closable with respect to an upper opening of the processing tank, wherein the exhaust port is closed and the lid member It is arrange | positioned in the space enclosed with the upper opening of the processing tank, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the substrate processing apparatus according to the first or second aspect of the present invention, the pure water supply means includes: a substrate that has been processed is unloaded from the processing tank; Pure water is supplied into the exhaust pipe before being carried into the treatment tank.

In the substrate processing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, the atmosphere on the upper opening of the processing tank is sucked and exhausted through the exhaust pipe by the exhaust means through the exhaust port provided above the upper opening of the processing tank. Sometimes, even if the mist contained in the atmosphere in the exhaust pipe or the acid in the gas reacts with the alkali to produce a salt, the salt is supplied to the exhaust pipe by the pure water supply means. And is removed from the exhaust pipe.
Therefore, when the substrate processing apparatus of the invention according to claim 1 is used, it is possible to prevent the salt from accumulating in the exhaust pipe and to eliminate the cause of the generation of particles.

  In the substrate processing apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, when the substrate is immersed in the processing liquid in the processing tank and processed, the upper opening of the processing tank is covered with the lid member, thereby being shielded by the lid member. The atmospheric gas can be efficiently exhausted from the space above the narrow processing tank through the exhaust port.

  In the substrate processing apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention, the pure water supply means allows the substrate to be processed in the exhaust pipe until the processed substrate is unloaded from the processing tank and the next substrate to be processed is loaded into the processing tank. Since pure water is supplied to remove salt from the exhaust pipe, there is no fear of contaminating the substrate to be processed next, and the time required for a series of substrate processing for cleaning the exhaust pipe with pure water It won't be long.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the best embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The substrate processing apparatus includes a processing tank 10 that is open at the top and stores a processing solution. A liquid ejection nozzle 12 is provided at the lower portion of the processing tank 10, and a drain port 14 is formed at the bottom of the processing tank 10. An overflow liquid tank 16 into which the processing liquid overflowing from the upper part of the processing tank 10 flows is integrally provided on the upper outer periphery of the processing tank 10. In addition, the apparatus includes a lifter 18 that holds a plurality of substrates W in the processing tank 10, and the lifter 18 can freely move up and down between an internal position of the processing tank 10 and an external upper position of the processing tank 10. And is driven up and down by a lifter driving device (not shown).

  The processing tank 10 is accommodated in a processing chamber 20 that can carry in and out the substrate W and can be sealed by opening and closing a lid (not shown). A gas blowing nozzle 22 is provided above the inside of the processing chamber 20, and a vapor supply pipe 24 that is connected to the IPA vapor supply source through a flow path is connected to the gas blowing nozzle 22. An opening / closing control valve 26 is interposed in the steam supply pipe 24. In the processing chamber 20, a pair of lid members 28 that cover the upper opening of the processing tank 10 and the upper opening surface of the overflow liquid tank 16 are disposed. The lid member 28 is rotatably supported between a closed position indicated by a solid line and an open position indicated by a two-dot chain line, and is opened and closed by a lid member driving device (not shown). Further, an exhaust port 30 is provided below the closed lid member 28, and an exhaust pipe 32 connected to a flow path to an exhaust device such as a vacuum pump is connected to the exhaust port 30 in communication therewith. In the middle of the exhaust pipe 32, the pure water supply pipe 34 connected to the pure water supply source is connected so as to join. The exhaust pipe 32 is provided with opening / closing control valves 36 and 38 on the upstream side and the downstream side of the joining position with the pure water supply pipe 34, and the pure water supply pipe 34 is also provided with an opening / closing control valve. 40 is provided with insertion.

  A liquid supply pipe 42 in which an opening / closing control valve 44 is inserted is connected to the liquid ejection nozzle 12 in communication therewith. The liquid supply pipe 42 is connected to the outlet side of the mixing block 46 and is connected to the inlet side of the mixing block 46 by a pure water supply pipe 48 connected to the pure water supply channel. Has been. The pure water supply pipe 48 is provided with an open / close control valve 50, and in addition, a regulator (flow rate adjusting valve), a flow meter, a filter and the like are provided, although not shown. In addition, the mixing block 46 is supplied to a first chemical solution supply pipe 52 connected to the hydrofluoric acid supply device and to a supply device for a mixed solution of ammonia water and hydrogen peroxide solution (hereinafter referred to as “APM solution”). A second chemical liquid supply pipe 54 connected to the passage and a third chemical liquid supply pipe 56 connected to the flow path to a mixed solution of hydrochloric acid and hydrogen peroxide (hereinafter referred to as “HPM liquid”) communicate with each other. Connected. The first chemical liquid supply pipe 52, the second chemical liquid supply pipe 54, and the third chemical liquid supply pipe 56 are provided with opening / closing control valves 58, 60, and 62, respectively.

  A drainage pipe 64 having a quick drainage valve (opening / closing control valve) 66 interposed therethrough is connected to the drainage port 14 at the bottom of the processing tank 10. The diameter of the drainage port 14 and the inner diameter of the drainage pipe 64 are large enough to allow the processing liquid to be rapidly discharged from the processing tank 10. An overflow liquid discharge pipe 68 communicates with the bottom of the overflow liquid tank 16, and the overflow liquid discharge pipe 68 joins downstream of the quick drain valve 66 in the middle of the drain pipe 64. So that they are connected in communication. The overflow liquid discharge pipe 68 is provided with an open / close control valve 70. The drain pipe 64 is inserted into a drain box 72 having a sealed structure. A drain discharge port 74 is formed at the bottom of the drain box 72, and a drain discharge pipe 76 in which a drain discharge valve 78 is inserted is connected to and connected to the drain discharge port 74. The drain box 72 is provided to enable quick drainage from the processing tank 10 by temporarily storing the processing liquid discharged from the processing tank 10, and is stored in the drain box 72. The treated liquid is gradually discharged from the drain discharge port 74 through the drain discharge pipe 76.

  Further, a liquid trap 80 into which the lower end portion of the drainage pipe 64 is inserted is disposed inside the drain box 72. The liquid storage trap 80 temporarily stores the processing liquid 82 discharged from the processing tank 10 through the drain pipe 64. The processing liquid 82 overflowing from the upper end of the liquid storage trap 80 is stored in the drain box 72. It flows out to the inner bottom and accumulates. Then, the lower end portion of the drain pipe 64 is inserted into the processing liquid 82 stored in the liquid trap 80, whereby the internal atmosphere of the drain box 72 and the drain pipe 64 are connected to the processing liquid 82 of the liquid trap 80. Is blocked in the gas flow path. The liquid trap 80 prevents the atmospheric gas inside the drain box 72 from flowing back into the empty processing tank 10 through the drain pipe 64.

Next, an example of a substrate cleaning operation performed using the substrate processing apparatus having the configuration shown in FIG. 1 will be described.
When a plurality of substrates W are carried into the processing chamber 20 by a substrate transport robot (not shown) and the plurality of substrates W are transferred from the substrate transport robot to the lifter 18, the lifter 18 is lowered and the substrate W is processed. It is inserted into the tank 10. At this time, the lid member 28 is opened as shown by a two-dot chain line. Further, hydrofluoric acid is stored in the processing tank 10, and the substrate W is held in the processing tank 10 and immersed in the hydrofluoric acid as shown in FIG. When the substrate W is held in the processing tank 10, the lid member 28 is closed as indicated by a solid line, and the upper opening of the processing tank 10 and the upper opening surface of the overflow liquid tank 16 are closed by the lid member 28. . When the lid member 28 is closed, the closed open / close control valves 36 and 38 are opened, and the atmospheric gas in the space surrounded by the lid member 28, the treatment tank 10, and the overflow liquid tank 16 is discharged to the exhaust port 30. And exhausted through the exhaust pipe 32. In this state, the substrate W is processed by being immersed in the hydrofluoric acid in the processing tank 10 for a predetermined time.

  When the processing of the substrate W with hydrofluoric acid is completed, the open / close control valves 44 and 50 are opened while the open / close control valves 58 to 62 are closed while the substrate W is held in the processing tank 10, and the pure water supply pipe is opened. 48, only pure water is supplied to the liquid jet nozzle 12 through the mixing block 46 and the liquid supply pipe 42, and pure water is jetted from the liquid jet nozzle 12 into the treatment tank 10. By continuously ejecting pure water into the treatment tank 10, hydrofluoric acid is pushed out from the upper part of the treatment tank 10, and the inside of the treatment tank 10 is replaced with pure water. Then, the inside of the processing tank 10 is filled with pure water, and the pure water overflows from the upper part of the processing tank 10, the substrate W is immersed in the pure water in the processing tank 10, and the substrate W is washed with water. The At this time, the open / close control valve 68 inserted in the overflow liquid discharge pipe 68 is in an open state (the quick drain valve 66 inserted in the drain pipe 64 is closed), and the upper part of the processing tank 10. The hydrofluoric acid and pure water that have overflowed and flowed into the overflow liquid tank 16 flow down into the drain box 72 through the overflow liquid discharge pipe 68.

  When the substrate W is immersed in pure water in the processing tank 10 and washed with water for a predetermined time, the open / close control valve inserted in the liquid supply pipe 42 while the substrate W is held in the processing tank 10. 44 is closed, the supply of pure water into the processing tank 10 is stopped, and the quick drain valve 66 is opened, so that pure water is discharged from the processing tank 10 through the drain pipe 64. The pure water discharged from the treatment tank 10 through the drain pipe 64 flows down into the drain box 72 and accumulates at the inner bottom of the drain box 72, and is discharged from the drain box 72 through the drain discharge pipe 76. The

  When draining from the treatment tank 10 is finished, the quick drain valve 66 is closed, the open / close control valve 44 inserted in the liquid supply pipe 42 is opened, and the open / close control valves 50, 60 are opened, so that the predetermined concentration is reached. The prepared APM liquid is supplied to the liquid ejection nozzle 12 through the liquid supply pipe 42, and the APM liquid is ejected from the liquid ejection nozzle 12 into the processing tank 10. Then, the inside of the processing tank 10 is filled with the APM liquid, the substrate W is immersed in the APM liquid in the processing tank 10, and the substrate W is processed with the APM liquid for a predetermined time.

  When the processing of the substrate W with the APM liquid is completed, the rapid drainage valve 66 is opened with the open / close control valves 44, 50, 58 to 62 being closed while the substrate W is held in the processing tank 10. The APM liquid is rapidly discharged from the processing tank 10 through the drain pipe 64. The APM liquid discharged from the processing tank 10 through the drain pipe 64 flows into the drain box 72 and flows into the liquid trap 80, overflows from the liquid trap 80, and reaches the inner bottom of the drain box 72. It collects in. At this time, the inside of the sealed drain box 72 is temporarily pressurized due to the inflow of the APM liquid into the drain box 72, but the drain pipe 64 is contained in the APM liquid collected in the liquid trap 80. By inserting the lower end, the internal atmosphere of the drain box 72 and the drainage pipe 64 are shut off in a gas flow path. For this reason, the ammonia gas evaporated from the APM liquid in the drain box 72 is prevented from flowing back into the processing tank 10 that has become empty through the drain pipe 64.

  When the discharge of the APM liquid from the processing tank 10 is finished, the quick drain valve 66 is closed, the open / close control valves 44 and 50 are opened, and only pure water is supplied to the liquid jet nozzle 12. The pure water is ejected into the treatment tank 10 from the inside. Then, the inside of the processing tank 10 is filled with pure water, and the substrate W is immersed in the pure water in the processing tank 10 while the pure water overflows from the upper part of the processing tank 10 to wash the substrate W with water. . Then, after the substrate W is washed with water for a predetermined time, the open / close control valve 44 inserted in the liquid supply pipe 42 is closed while the substrate W is held in the processing bath 10, and the processing bath 10 enters the processing bath 10. The supply of pure water is stopped, the quick drain valve 66 is opened, and pure water is discharged from the treatment tank 10 through the drain pipe 64.

  When drainage from the treatment tank 10 is finished, the quick drain valve 66 is closed, the open / close control valve 44 inserted in the liquid supply pipe 42 is opened, and the open / close control valves 50 and 62 are opened to have a predetermined concentration. The HPM liquid thus prepared is supplied to the liquid ejection nozzle 12 through the liquid supply pipe 42, and the HPM liquid is ejected from the liquid ejection nozzle 12 into the processing tank 10. Then, the inside of the processing tank 10 is filled with the HPM liquid, the substrate W is immersed in the HPM liquid in the processing tank 10, and the substrate W is processed with the HPM liquid for a predetermined time.

  When the processing of the substrate W by the HPM liquid is completed, the rapid drainage valve 66 is opened with the open / close control valves 44, 50, 58 to 62 being closed while the substrate W is held in the processing tank 10. The HPM liquid is rapidly discharged from the processing tank 10 through the drain pipe 64. The HPM liquid discharged from the treatment tank 10 through the drain pipe 64 flows down into the drain box 72 and flows into the liquid trap 80, overflows from the liquid trap 80, and flows into the inner bottom of the drain box 72. It collects in. At this time, the inside of the sealed drain box 72 is temporarily pressurized due to the inflow of the HPM liquid into the drain box 72, but the inside of the drain box 72 is the same as when the APM liquid is discharged. Since the atmosphere and the drainage pipe 64 are blocked in a gas flow path, the hydrogen chloride evaporated from the HPM liquid in the drain box 72 passes through the drainage pipe 64 and enters the treatment tank 10 that has become empty. Backflow is prevented.

  When the discharge of the HPM liquid from the processing tank 10 is finished, the quick drain valve 66 is closed, the open / close control valves 44 and 50 are opened, only pure water is supplied to the liquid jet nozzle 12, and pure water is supplied from the liquid jet nozzle 12. Water is ejected into the treatment tank 10. Then, the inside of the processing tank 10 is filled with pure water, and the substrate W is immersed in the pure water in the processing tank 10 while the pure water overflows from the upper part of the processing tank 10, and the substrate W is washed with water. Then, after the substrate W is washed with water for a predetermined time, the open / close control valve 44 inserted in the liquid supply pipe 42 is closed while the substrate W is held in the processing bath 10, and the processing bath 10 enters the processing bath 10. The supply of pure water is stopped, the quick drain valve 66 is opened, and pure water is discharged from the treatment tank 10 through the drain pipe 64.

  When drainage from the processing tank 10 is finished, the open / close control valve 38 inserted in the exhaust pipe 32 is closed, and the exhaust from the space surrounded by the lid member 28, the processing tank 10 and the overflow liquid tank 16 is performed. Stops. Subsequently, after the lid member 28 is opened as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1, the open / close control valve 26 is opened, and the IPA vapor is supplied to the gas blowing nozzle 22 through the vapor supply pipe 24. IPA vapor is discharged from 22 into the processing chamber 20. Then, while continuing the discharge of the IPA vapor, the lifter 18 rises and the substrate W moves from the inside of the processing tank 10 to the outside of the processing tank 10. During this time, the IPA vapor is condensed on the surface of the substrate W, and the pure water adhering to the substrate W is replaced with IPA. Then, after the discharge of the IPA vapor from the gas blowing nozzle 22 is stopped, for example, only nitrogen gas is supplied to the gas blowing nozzle 22, and nitrogen gas is blown into the processing chamber 20 from the gas blowing nozzle 46. The inside is purged with nitrogen gas, and then the inside of the processing chamber 20 is evacuated through the exhaust port 30 and the exhaust pipe 32, and the substrate W held in the processing chamber 20 is quickly dried under reduced pressure. Thereby, IPA is completely evaporated and removed from the surface of the substrate W, and drying of the substrate W is completed.

  When the drying of the substrate W is completed, the substrate W is delivered from the lifter 18 to a substrate transport robot (not shown), and the substrate W is unloaded from the processing chamber 20 by the substrate transport robot. When the substrate W is unloaded from the processing chamber 20, the open / close control valves 36 and 40 are opened (open / close control valve 38) until the next substrate W to be processed is loaded into the processing chamber 20. Is closed), pure water is supplied into the exhaust pipe 32 through the pure water supply pipe 34, and the inside of the exhaust pipe 32 is washed with pure water. Even if the mist contained in the atmosphere in the exhaust pipe 32 and the hydrofluoric acid or hydrochloric acid in the gas react with ammonia during the chemical treatment of the substrate W by this cleaning operation, the generated salt is The pure water supplied into the exhaust pipe 32 through the pure water supply pipe 34 is washed away and removed from the exhaust pipe 32. For this reason, there is no fear that salt accumulates in the exhaust pipe 32, and generation of particles is prevented.

  The above-described substrate cleaning processing operation is an example, and the substrate processing using the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention can be implemented in various forms.

It is a schematic diagram which shows one example of embodiment of this invention and shows schematic structure of a substrate processing apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Treatment tank 12 Liquid ejection nozzle 14 Drain outlet 16 Overflow liquid tank 18 Lifter 20 Processing chamber 22 Gas blowing nozzle 24 Steam supply pipe 26, 36, 38, 40, 44, 50, 58, 60, 62, 70 Open / close control Valve 28 Lid member 30 Exhaust port 32 Exhaust pipe 34 Pure water supply pipe 42 Liquid supply pipe 46 Mixing block 48 Pure water supply pipe 52, 54, 56 Chemical liquid supply pipe 64 Drainage pipe 66 Rapid drainage valve (open / close control valve)
68 Overflow liquid discharge pipe 72 Drain box 74 Drain discharge port 76 Drain discharge pipe 78 Drain discharge valve 80 Reservoir trap 82 Treatment liquid W Substrate

Claims (3)

In a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate with a processing liquid,
A treatment tank having an opening in the upper part and storing a treatment liquid;
Substrate holding means for holding the substrate in the processing tank;
Treatment liquid supply means for supplying a treatment liquid into the treatment tank;
An exhaust port provided above the upper opening of the treatment tank, and an exhaust means for exhausting the atmosphere on the upper opening of the treatment tank through an exhaust pipe connected to the exhaust port;
A pure water supply pipe is connected so as to join in the middle of the exhaust pipe, and through the pure water supply pipe, a pure water for cleaning is provided in a portion from the joining position with the pure water supply pipe to the exhaust port in the exhaust pipe. Pure water supply means for supplying water;
A substrate processing apparatus comprising: 2. A lid member that can be opened and closed with respect to an upper opening of the processing tank is provided, and the exhaust port is disposed in a space surrounded by the closed lid member and the upper opening of the processing tank. 2. The substrate processing apparatus according to 1. The pure water supply means supplies pure water into the exhaust pipe until a substrate that has been processed is unloaded from the processing tank and a substrate to be processed next is loaded into the processing tank. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.

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