JP2014130945A - Substrate processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a substrate processing apparatus capable of preventing mist generated during cleaning of a substrate support from being scattered and adhering to a nozzle or a nozzle arm provided in a liquid processing unit of the substrate.
A substrate processing apparatus includes a substrate transport mechanism provided with support portions (140a to 140c) for supporting a substrate (W) and a liquid processing module (2) for liquid processing the substrate (W), and constitutes a liquid processing module (2). The housing 20 is provided with an entrance 21 through which the support portion enters, a liquid processing portion that performs liquid processing on the substrate W, a cleaning mechanism 6 that cleans the support portions 140a to 140c that has entered the housing, and a cleaning liquid. A drainage section 64 that discharges from the inside of the housing 20 and a partition wall 62 that partitions a space in which the support portion is cleaned from other spaces in the housing 20 are provided. A passage port 631 through which the parts 140a to 140c pass is provided.
[Selection] Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for cleaning a support that supports a substrate conveyed to a liquid processing module.

  In the manufacturing process of a semiconductor device in which a laminated structure of integrated circuit patterns is formed on the surface of a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as a wafer), which is a substrate, a minute dust or a natural oxide film using a processing liquid such as a chemical liquid or a rinse liquid A liquid treatment is performed to remove.

  A wafer to be processed is taken out from a carrier containing a plurality of wafers W, and is carried into a liquid processing module in which liquid processing is performed in a state where the wafer is supported by a support portion provided on a transfer arm. At this time, foreign matters such as resist and particles may adhere to the lower surface and side surface of the wafer in contact with the transfer arm. If these foreign substances are transferred to the transfer arm that comes into contact with the wafer, it may cause contamination of the wafer when another wafer is transferred, so the transfer arm needs to be cleaned.

  On the other hand, Patent Document 1 describes a technique in which cleaning is performed by supplying a cleaning liquid to the entire arm body that transports a wafer in a cleaning unit that cleans the wafer after immersion exposure. As described above, when cleaning is performed in the cleaning unit, the mist of the cleaning liquid scatters in the cleaning unit, and the mist may adhere to a nozzle or a nozzle arm that supplies the cleaning liquid to the wafer.

JP 2006-222158 A: Paragraphs 0026 to 0027, 0041 to 0042, FIGS.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a nozzle or a nozzle arm provided in the liquid processing section of the substrate by scattering of mist generated during cleaning of the support section of the substrate. An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of preventing mist from adhering to the substrate.

A substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a substrate transport mechanism provided with a support unit that supports a substrate, and a liquid processing module that performs liquid processing on the substrate.
A housing that forms the liquid treatment module and is provided with an entrance into which the support portion enters,
A liquid processing unit that is provided in the housing and performs liquid processing on the substrate;
A cleaning mechanism provided in the housing for cleaning the support portion that has entered the housing;
A drainage part for discharging the cleaning liquid supplied to the support part from the inside of the housing;
A partition wall that partitions the space in which the support portion is cleaned from other spaces in the housing;
The partition wall is provided with a passage port through which the support portion passes.

The above-described substrate processing apparatus may have the following features.
(A) It further has a substrate processing nozzle for supplying a cleaning liquid to the substrate and a nozzle arm for holding the substrate processing nozzle, and the substrate processing nozzle and the nozzle arm are arranged in the other space.
(B) A moving mechanism for moving the partition wall between a position where the space for cleaning the support portion is partitioned from another space in the housing and a retracted position is provided.
(C) The cleaning mechanism includes a cleaning liquid supply nozzle that supplies a cleaning liquid to the support section, and a cleaning liquid supply section that supplies the cleaning liquid to the cleaning liquid supply nozzle.
(D) The substrate transport mechanism includes a substrate holding portion provided with a plurality of support portions at different positions, and the cleaning liquid supply nozzle is provided on the substrate holding portion that has entered the housing. The cleaning liquid supply nozzles are provided at a plurality of locations corresponding to the above, and the cleaning liquid supply nozzles discharge the cleaning liquid to all of the plurality of support portions at the same time or perform cleaning liquid discharge to some of the plurality of support portions. Clean all support parts in order. Alternatively, the substrate transport mechanism includes a substrate holding portion provided with a plurality of support portions at different positions, and the cleaning liquid supply nozzle moves to move to a position where the cleaning liquid is supplied toward each support portion. Having a mechanism.
(E) The liquid processing unit surrounds a rotation holding unit that holds the substrate horizontally, a rotation driving unit that rotates the rotation holding unit around a vertical axis, and a side of the substrate held by the rotation holding unit. A cup having an opening on the top surface, and a treatment liquid drainage part that is provided inside the cup and drains the treatment liquid in the cup, and the cleaning mechanism is located above the rotation holding part. Provided with a surrounding member that laterally surrounds a space in which the supporting portion is cleaned, and that introduces cleaning liquid supplied to the supporting portion into the cup, and the partition wall includes the cup and the surrounding member. Consists of.

(F) The cleaning mechanism performs cleaning by irradiating the support portion with UV light, and includes a light source unit that irradiates the support portion with UV light.
(G) The substrate transport mechanism includes a substrate holding portion provided with a plurality of support portions at different positions, and the light source portion is provided on a support portion provided in the substrate holding portion that has entered the housing. Correspondingly, they are provided at a plurality of locations, and these light source parts are irradiated with UV light at the same time for cleaning, or are irradiated with UV light on a part of the plurality of support parts. Clean all support parts in order. Alternatively, the substrate transport mechanism has a substrate holding portion provided with a plurality of support portions at different positions, and the light source portion is moved to move to a position where UV light is irradiated toward each support portion. Having a mechanism.

  In the present invention, the inside of the liquid processing module in which the liquid processing is performed on the substrate is partitioned, and the support portion of the substrate is cleaned in the partitioned space, so that the mist of the liquid processing portion disposed in another space is removed. It prevents adhesion and keeps it clean.

It is a cross-sectional top view of the substrate processing apparatus provided with the liquid processing module in connection with embodiment of this invention. It is a vertical side view of the liquid processing module provided with the washing | cleaning mechanism of the support part which supports a wafer. It is a cross-sectional top view of the said liquid processing module. It is a top view of the conveyance arm provided with the said support part. It is a side view of the washing | cleaning mechanism of the said support part. FIG. 3 is a first operation explanatory diagram of the liquid processing module. FIG. 10 is a second operation explanatory diagram of the liquid processing module. It is a 1st operation explanatory view of the washing mechanism. It is a 2nd operation explanatory view of the washing mechanism. It is a 3rd operation explanatory view of the washing mechanism. It is a side view which shows the other structural example of the said washing | cleaning mechanism. It is a vertical side view of the liquid processing module in connection with 2nd Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structural example of the surrounding member provided in the said liquid processing module. It is explanatory drawing which shows the other structural example of the said surrounding member. It is a vertical side view which shows the other example of the liquid processing module in connection with 2nd Embodiment. It is a side view which shows the structural example of the washing | cleaning mechanism using UV lamp.

  Hereinafter, the configuration of the substrate processing apparatus 1 including the liquid processing module 2 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in the cross-sectional plan view of FIG. 1, the substrate processing apparatus 1 includes a placement block 11 on which a FOUP 100 that is a carrier containing a plurality of wafers W is placed, and a FOUP 100 placed on the placement block 11. A loading / unloading block 12 for loading / unloading the wafer W, a delivery block 13 for delivering the wafer W between the loading / unloading block 12 and the subsequent liquid processing block 14, and a liquid for performing liquid processing on the wafer W And a processing block 14.

  The mounting block 11 mounts a FOUP 100 that accommodates a plurality of wafers W in a horizontal state on a mounting table 111. The carry-in / out block 12 carries the wafer W paid out from the FOUP 100. The delivery block 13 delivers the wafer W.

  The loading / unloading block 12 has a first wafer transfer module 121. The first wafer transfer module 121 has a transfer arm 122 that holds the wafer W and a mechanism that moves the transfer arm 122 forward and backward. The first wafer transfer module 121 also has a mechanism that moves along a horizontal guide 123 that extends in the arrangement direction of the FOUP 100, a mechanism that moves along a vertical guide (not shown) provided in the vertical direction, and a transfer arm 122 that moves in a horizontal plane. It has a mechanism to rotate. The wafer W is transferred between the FOUP 100 and the delivery block 13 by the first wafer transfer module 121.

  The delivery block 13 has a delivery shelf 131 on which the wafer W can be placed. In the delivery block 13, the wafer W is delivered between the loading / unloading block 12 and the liquid processing block 14 via the delivery shelf 131.

  The liquid processing block 14 includes a processing unit 141 in which a plurality of liquid processing modules 2 are arranged, and a transfer unit 142 in which the wafer W is transferred. The transfer unit 142 includes a second wafer transfer module 143 arranged in a space extending in the front-rear direction with a connection portion with the delivery block 13 as a base end. The second wafer transfer module 143 includes a transfer arm 144 that holds the wafer W and a mechanism that moves the transfer arm 144 forward and backward.

  The second wafer transfer module 143 includes a mechanism that moves along a horizontal guide 145 extending in the front-rear direction, a mechanism that moves along a vertical guide 146 provided in the vertical direction, and a mechanism that rotates the transfer arm 144 in a horizontal plane. have. By the second wafer transfer module 143, the wafer W is transferred between the delivery shelf 131 and each liquid processing module 2. The second wafer transfer module 143 corresponds to the substrate transfer mechanism of the present embodiment, and the transfer arm 144 corresponds to the substrate holding unit.

In the processing unit 141, a plurality of liquid processing modules 2 are arranged side by side along the direction in which the space forming the transport unit 142 extends.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, each liquid processing module 2 has a structure in which a liquid processing unit that performs liquid processing on the wafer W is provided in the housing 20. The liquid processing unit includes a rotation holding unit 3 that rotatably holds the wafer W, a liquid processing nozzle 41 (substrate processing nozzle) that supplies a processing liquid to the wafer W, and a process that is swung around the rotating wafer W. And a cup 36 for receiving the liquid. The housing 20 is provided with a wafer W loading / unloading port 21 including a shutter 22 that can be freely opened and closed. The carry-in / out port 21 also serves as an entrance for allowing the transport arm 144 to enter when cleaning later-described support portions 140 a to 140 c provided on the transport arm 144.

  The rotation holding unit 3 includes a disk-shaped spin chuck 31 and a rotation shaft 33 that is connected to the center portion on the lower surface side of the spin chuck 31 and extends in the vertical direction. A rotation drive unit 34 is provided for rotating 31 around a vertical axis. The rotation drive unit 34 is constituted by, for example, a motor, and is accommodated in a cover 35 whose upper surface is open.

  On the upper surface of the spin chuck 31, an end of an evacuation line 32 penetrating the rotary shaft 33 in the vertical direction is opened, and the lower surface of the wafer W placed on the spin chuck 31 is sucked and held. As shown in FIG. 6, the spin chuck 31 is provided with, for example, three support pins 311 that can be moved up and down to transfer the wafer W to and from the transfer arm 144.

  The cup 36 is provided so as to surround the side of the wafer W held on the spin chuck 31, and receives the processing liquid scattered from the rotating wafer W. A drain line 262 for discharging the processing liquid received by the cup 36 and an exhaust line 263 for exhausting the cup 36 are connected to the bottom surface of the cup 36. The drainage that has flowed into the drainage line 262 is collected by the drainage collecting part 54 on the downstream side. The drainage line 262 corresponds to the processing liquid drainage part of this example.

  The liquid processing nozzle 41 is held at the tip of the nozzle arm 42 via a nozzle head 411 provided at the tip of the nozzle arm 42. A rotation shaft 44 is provided at the base end portion of the nozzle arm 42, and the liquid nozzle 41 can be rotated around the vertical axis by the rotation drive unit 43 via the rotation shaft 44. As a result, the liquid processing nozzle 41 has a processing position for supplying the processing liquid to the wafer W (shown by a solid line in FIG. 3) and a retreat position (shown by a broken line in FIG. 3) from the upper side of the wafer W. Move between.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a processing liquid supply line 511 for supplying a processing liquid to the liquid processing nozzle 41 is connected to the liquid processing nozzle 41, and the processing liquid supply line 511 is upstream of the chemical liquid supply line. 512 and DIW supply line 513. A chemical solution supply unit 51 and a DIW supply unit 52 are provided upstream of the chemical solution supply line 512 and the DIW supply line 513 via open / close valves V1 and V2, respectively. The chemical solution supply unit 51 supplies a predetermined chemical solution such as an acidic chemical solution or an alkaline chemical solution in accordance with the content of the liquid processing performed on the wafer W. The DIW supply unit 52 supplies DIW (Deion Ized Water) which is a rinse liquid for rinse cleaning performed after the chemical liquid is supplied. For convenience of explanation, in this example, the common liquid processing nozzle 41 is used to supply the chemical liquid and DIW, but the processing liquid supply is performed using a plurality of liquid processing nozzles 41 according to the type and number of chemical liquids. May be performed.

  Further, a clean air supply line 25 for supplying clean air is connected to the upper portion of the casing 20, and a clean air downflow is formed in the casing 20 through an opening provided in the top plate 23. An exhaust line 261 for exhausting the inside of the housing 20 is connected to the bottom surface of the housing 20 on the outer side of the cup 36.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 1, among the plurality of liquid processing modules 2 provided in the substrate processing apparatus 1, for example, one liquid processing module 2 includes a support part 140 a to a wafer W provided in the transfer arm 144. A cleaning mechanism 6 for cleaning 140c is provided. FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 show the liquid processing module 2 provided with the cleaning mechanism 6.

  The cleaning mechanism 6 includes a cleaning liquid nozzle 611 (cleaning liquid supply nozzle) that supplies DIW as a cleaning liquid to the support portions 140a to 140c of the wafer W, and a drying that supplies a drying gas for drying the support portions 140a to 140c after cleaning. A gas nozzle 612 and a cover member 62 that is a partition wall for partitioning a space in which the support portions 140 a to 140 c are cleaned from other spaces in the housing 20 of the liquid processing module 2 are provided.

  Around the space where the cleaning liquid is supplied from the cleaning liquid nozzle 611 to the support portions 140a to 140c, a cover member that is a partition wall for partitioning the space from other spaces in the housing 20 during the execution of cleaning. 62 is provided. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cover member 62 is provided so as to cover the cleaning liquid nozzle 611, the dry gas nozzle 612, the moving mechanism (head portion 613, guide rail 614), and the loading / unloading port 21 from the inside of the housing 20. It is a flat housing-shaped member.

  The surface of the cover member 62 that is in contact with the loading / unloading port 21 is cut away. The cover member 62 is also provided with an entrance 621 on the surface facing the loading / unloading port 21. The transfer arm 144 holding the wafer W can enter the housing 20 through the carry-in / out port 21 and the entrance / inlet 621 (see FIG. 6). The entrance 621 is opened to the same size as the loading / unloading port 21 so as not to interfere with the lifting / lowering operation of the transfer arm 144 when the wafer W is transferred.

  Further, the entrance 621 is provided with a shutter 63 that can be opened and closed. The shutter 63 includes a moving mechanism, and moves between a position where the entrance 621 is closed and partitioned from another space when the support portions 140a to 140c are cleaned, and a retreat position where the entrance 621 is opened when the wafer W is liquid-treated. To do.

  The shutter 63 is provided with a passage port 631 through which the front end side of the transport arm 144 passes (see FIG. 7). The passage port 631 is an opening through which the transport arm 144 can pass when the transport arm 144 advances and retreats. The height of the passage port 631 is larger than the thickness of the transport arm 144, and the width of the passage port 631 is formed wider than the lateral width of the transport arm 144.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a drain line 64 (drainage part) for discharging the cleaning liquid supplied from the cleaning liquid nozzle 611 is provided at the bottom of the cover member 62, and the drain line 64 is disposed downstream. And connected to the drainage recovery unit 54 described above. As shown in FIG. 3, an exhaust line 65 connected to the exhaust part 55 is provided on the side wall surface of the cover member 62, and the inside of the cover member 62 can be exhausted. For example, the exhaust part 55 is configured by a vacuum pump, a common exhaust line in a factory, or the like.

  As shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 5, the cleaning liquid nozzle 611 and the dry gas nozzle 612 are held by the head portion 613 and arranged above the loading / unloading port 21 described above provided on the side surface of the housing 20. The head portion 613 is connected to a moving mechanism (not shown) such as a ball screw mechanism provided in the guide rail 614, and can move in the lateral direction along the guide rail 614.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the transfer arm 144 of this example has a shape in which the tip of an annular member is cut out, and a support portion 140 a that protrudes laterally inward in the radial direction of the ring. To 140c. Since the wafer W is placed and transported on the support portions 140a to 140c, the foreign matter adhering to the lower surface or the side surface of the wafer W is transferred to the support portions 140a to 140c in contact with the wafer W, causing contamination. Become.

  Therefore, the cleaning liquid nozzle 611 and the dry gas nozzle 612 described above move to positions above the support portions 140a to 140c provided in the transfer arm 144 that has entered the housing 20 via the carry-in / out port 21, and these support portions. Wash and dry 140a-140c.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the cleaning liquid nozzle 611 is connected to the above-described DIW supply unit 52 (cleaning liquid supply unit) via the cleaning liquid supply line 521 and the opening / closing valve V3. On the other hand, the dry gas nozzle 612 is connected to the dry gas supply unit 53 that supplies the dry gas via the dry gas supply line 531 and the open / close valve V4. Nitrogen gas or dry air is used as the drying gas. Further, the drying gas supply unit 53 may be provided with a heating mechanism for heating the drying gas to a temperature higher than room temperature, so that the time required for drying the cleaning liquid may be shortened.

  The substrate processing apparatus 1 and the liquid processing module 2 having the configuration described above are connected to the control unit 7. The control unit 7 includes a computer having a CPU and a storage unit (not shown). The storage unit transports the wafer W taken out from the FOUP 100 to each liquid processing module 2, that is, the operation of the substrate processing apparatus 1 and the liquid processing module 2. Thus, a program in which a group of steps (commands) for the operation of performing the liquid treatment and the operation of cleaning the support portions 140a to 140c provided in the transfer arm 144 is recorded. This program is stored in a storage medium such as a hard disk, a compact disk, a magnetic optical disk, or a memory card, and installed in the computer therefrom.

  Hereinafter, operations of the substrate processing apparatus 1 and the liquid processing module 2 having the above-described configuration will be described. First, the wafer W is taken out from the FOUP 100 placed on the placement block 11 by the first wafer transfer module 121 and placed on the delivery shelf 131, and this operation is continuously performed. The wafers W placed on the delivery shelf 131 are sequentially transferred by the second wafer transfer module 143 in the transfer unit 142 and transferred into any one of the liquid processing modules 2.

  In particular, in the case of the liquid processing module 2 provided with the cleaning mechanism 6, as shown in FIG. 6, the shutters 22 and 63 are retracted downward, and the transfer arm 144 is entered with the entrance 621 being opened. As a result, when the wafer W is transferred to and from the support pins 311, the transfer arm 144 can enter the liquid processing module 2 without being interfered with the cover member 62 and can be moved up and down.

  When the wafer W is placed on the spin chuck 31 and sucked and held, the transfer arm 144 is retracted from the housing 20 and the shutter 22 is closed as shown in FIG. The liquid processing nozzle 41 is moved from the retreat position to the processing position, and liquid processing is performed by supplying chemicals and DIW in a predetermined order while rotating the wafer W. When the liquid processing is completed, supply of the processing liquid is stopped while the wafer W is rotated, and the remaining processing liquid is shaken off to dry the wafer W.

The processed wafer W is taken out from each liquid processing module 2 through a path opposite to that at the time of carry-in, transported in the substrate processing apparatus 1 and accommodated in the FOUP 100.
In the substrate processing apparatus 1 in which such processing is performed, the support portions 140a to 140c of the transfer arm 144 are cleaned at a predetermined time interval, for example, after processing a predetermined number of wafers W.

  When cleaning the support portions 140a to 140c, as shown in FIG. 7, the shutter 22 is lowered to open the loading / unloading port 21, and the shutter 63 is lifted to close the entrance 621 of the cover member 62. The transfer arm 144 that does not hold the wafer W is moved into the space surrounded by the cover member 62. When the support portions 140a and 140b reach the lower side of the trajectory along which the cleaning liquid nozzle 611 and the dry gas nozzle 612 move, the head portion 613 is moved to the upper side of the support portion 140a as shown in FIG. The cleaning liquid is locally supplied from the head toward the support portion 140a. Here, “local supply of cleaning liquid” does not exclude that the cleaning liquid reaches the members of the transfer arm 144 positioned around the support portion 140a.

  The cleaning liquid supplied to the support portion 140a falls downward and is discharged to the outside through the drain line 64. Further, the mist of the cleaning liquid that collides with the support portion 140 a and the like and is scattered in the space surrounded by the cover member 62 is exhausted from the exhaust line 65. Exhaust in the cover member 62 by the exhaust line 65 is performed, for example, during the execution period of the cleaning operation of the support portions 140a to 140c.

  When the cleaning of the support part 140a is executed for a predetermined time, the supply of the cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid nozzle 611 is stopped, and the drying gas is supplied from the drying gas nozzle 612 to dry the support part 140a. At this time, in order to dry the mist adhering to the transfer arm 144, the drying gas may be supplied in a wider range than the range in which the cleaning liquid is supplied. Thus, the supply of the dry gas to a wide range is performed by moving the dry gas nozzle 612 in accordance with the advance / retreat of the transfer arm 144.

  After the cleaning and drying of the support portion 140a are completed, the head portion 613 is positioned above the support portion 140b as shown in FIG. 9, and cleaning and drying are performed in the same procedure as in the case of the support portion 140a. Thereafter, the transport arm 144 is moved into the housing 20 and the head portion 613 is moved to the center side to be positioned above the support portion 140c. Similarly, the support portion 140c is cleaned and dried (FIG. 10). .

  In these operations, as shown in FIG. 7, the distal end portion of the transfer arm 144 protrudes from the cover member 62 into the housing 20 through the passage port 631, but the passage port 631 is narrowed. The inside of the cover member 62 is exhausted through the exhaust line 65. As a result, the mist can be prevented from entering the housing 20 and the mist can be prevented from adhering to the liquid processing nozzle 41 and the nozzle arm 42. At this time, for example, the pressure in the cover member 62 may be adjusted to be lower than the pressure in the housing 20 to further suppress the entry of mist into the housing 20.

After cleaning and drying of the support parts 140a to 140c, the transfer arm 144 is retracted from the liquid processing module 2. At this time, in order to sufficiently dry the entire transfer arm 144, the drying gas may be supplied to the entire transfer arm 144 again.
After the transfer arm 144 has retreated, the shutter 22 is raised to close the loading / unloading port 21 and exhaust the mist remaining in the cover member 62 sufficiently. After the mist is exhausted, exhaust from the exhaust line 65 is stopped and the shutter 63 is opened to wait for the wafer W to be loaded.

  The substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment has the following effects. By performing cleaning in the cover member 62 that defines the inside of the housing 20, it is possible to prevent the cleaning liquid and mist from being scattered outside the cover member 62 and to keep the inside of the housing 20 in a clean state. Thereby, it is possible to prevent mist from adhering to the liquid processing nozzle 41 and the nozzle arm 42. Further, by exhausting the space covered with the cover member 62, the internal mist can be discharged in a short time, so that the time until the liquid processing of the wafer W is restarted can be shortened.

  Further, by locally discharging the cleaning liquid to the support portions 140a to 140c, the impact of the cleaning liquid colliding with the support portions 140a to 140c can be increased, and the cleaning power can be improved.

  Further, the cleaning liquid nozzle 611 and the dry gas nozzle 612 may not be configured to be movable along the guide rail 614. For example, FIG. 11 shows an example in which the cleaning liquid nozzle 611 and the dry gas nozzle 612 are fixedly provided above the support portions 140 a to 140 c that pass through the loading / unloading port 21. In this example, the support portions 140a to 140c are positioned below the cleaning liquid nozzles 611 and the dry gas nozzles 612, and the supply of the cleaning liquid and the dry gas is executed.

  In this case, the processing time may be shortened by supplying the cleaning liquid and the dry gas from the cleaning liquid nozzle 611 and the dry gas nozzle 612 to the support portions 140a and 140b on the front end side simultaneously. Thereafter, the transfer arm 144 is moved into the housing 20, and the cleaning liquid and the drying gas are supplied from the central cleaning liquid nozzle 611 and the drying gas nozzle 612 to the support portion 140c. In the example in which the cleaning liquid nozzle 611 and the dry gas nozzle 612 shown in FIG. 5 are moved, two sets of head portions 613 having these nozzles 611 and 612 are provided, and the support portions 140a and 140b are cleaned and dried simultaneously on the left and right. Cleaning and drying time may be shortened.

  As shown in FIG. 11, a cleaning liquid nozzle 611 and a drying gas nozzle 612 may be provided below the loading / unloading port 21 to clean and dry the lower surfaces of the support portions 140a to 140c. Needless to say, the supply of the cleaning liquid and the dry gas from the lower surface side may also be performed when the cleaning liquid nozzle 611 and the dry gas nozzle 612 shown in FIG. 5 are moved.

  Next, the configuration of the liquid processing module 2 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In the liquid processing module 2 of this example, the support parts 140a to 140c are cleaned on the upper side of the rotation holding part 3 constituting the liquid processing part. In the liquid processing module 2, for example, four surrounding members 66 are arranged to partition a space for cleaning the support portions 140 a to 140 c and another space in which the liquid processing nozzle 41 and the nozzle arm 42 are arranged. .

  As shown in FIG. 13, each of the surrounding members 66 in this example has a trapezoidal shape, and one side of the long side is rotatably held around a rotation shaft 662 provided on the top plate 23 side. ing. The moving mechanism connected to each surrounding member 66 rotates each surrounding member 66 around the rotation shaft 662 and inserts the short side into the opening on the upper surface side of the cup 36. At this time, the surrounding members 66 are configured such that the side edges of the adjacent surrounding members 66 are in contact with each other. According to such a configuration, a funnel for introducing the cleaning liquid scattered around the transfer arm 144 into the cup 36 is configured. The surrounding member 66 may be coated with a material having high water repellency, such as Teflon (registered trademark).

  The surrounding member 66 facing the loading / unloading port 21 is provided with a passage port 661, and the transfer arm 144 enters the space where the cleaning is performed through the passage port 661. Further, when the spin chuck 31 is an adsorption type equipped with an evacuation line 32, in order to prevent the cleaning liquid from entering the evacuation line 32, cleaning is performed with the dummy wafer DW held on the spin chuck 31. Done. In this case, the transfer arm 144 first enters the liquid processing module 2 with the surrounding member 66 folded, holding the dummy wafer DW, delivers the dummy wafer DW onto the spin chuck 31, and then temporarily retracts. Then, after the surrounding member 66 is rotated and disposed at a predetermined position, the transport arm 144 enters again through the passage port 661, and the support portions 140a to 140c are cleaned.

  In the above example, the partition wall is constituted by the surrounding member 66 surrounding the space where the cleaning of the support portions 140a to 140c is performed from the side and the cup 36 on the lower side. In this case, the cleaning liquid is drained and the mist is drained by the drain line 262 and the exhaust line 263 provided in the cup 36. In other words, the drainage line 262 (treatment liquid drainage part) provided in the cup 36 also functions as a drainage part for the cleaning liquid.

  Further, when the supporting portions 140a to 140c are not cleaned, each surrounding member 66 is moved to the position indicated by the broken line in FIG. FIG. 13 shows a state in which the folded surrounding member 66 is looked up from the lower side. For example, two surrounding members 66 are arranged at different height positions so that overlapping portions of the surrounding members 66 do not interfere with each other. It is supported by the rotating shaft 662.

  Next, the configuration of the cleaning liquid nozzle 611 and the drying gas nozzle 612 for supplying the cleaning liquid and the drying gas to the space surrounded by the surrounding member 66 will be described. In the example shown in FIG. 12, the cleaning liquid nozzle 611 and the dry gas nozzle 612 are held by a head portion 613 a attached to the lower surface of the top plate 23, and the head portion 613 a is located above the central portion of the spin chuck 31. Is arranged.

  The nozzles 611 and 612 are held by the head portion 613a so as to discharge the processing liquid and the dry gas obliquely downward, while the head portion 613a is configured to be rotatable around the vertical axis. Then, the cleaning liquid nozzle 611 and the drying gas nozzle 612 are sequentially directed to the support portions 140a to 140c of the transfer arm 144 that have entered the spin chuck 31 through the passage port 661, and the cleaning liquid and the drying gas are supplied. These support parts 140a to 140c are cleaned and dried.

  FIG. 14 shows an example in which the surrounding member 66a is made of a vinyl material having a hollow interior or a water repellent cloth. The enclosing member 66a swells in a plate shape by being supplied with a gas through a gas flow path formed in the support rod 67 during use (FIG. 14A), similarly to the example shown in FIG. A space for cleaning the support portions 140a to 140c and a space in which the liquid processing nozzle 41 and the nozzle arm 42 are disposed are partitioned. When cleaning the wafer W, gas is extracted from the inside of the surrounding member 66a (FIG. 14B), and the supporting member 67 is rotated to wind up the surrounding member 66a (FIG. 14C). It is possible to prevent the flow of the downflow supplied from the top plate 23 side from being obstructed. From this viewpoint, the mechanism for rotating the support rod 67 also corresponds to the moving mechanism of the surrounding member 66a.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 15, a cylindrical member that can be expanded and contracted in the vertical direction may be disposed as a surrounding member 68 on the lower surface side of the top plate 23. At the time of cleaning the support portions 140 a to 140 c, the surrounding member 68 is extended downward, and the lower end portion thereof enters the inside of the cup 36 and the cleaning liquid scattered around is introduced into the cup 36. Also in this example, the transfer arm 144 enters above the spin chuck 31 through the passage port 681 provided in the surrounding member 68.

  In the example shown in FIG. 15, the cleaning liquid nozzle 611 and the dry gas nozzle 612 are provided on the upper side of the rotation holding unit 3, for example, on the lower surface of the top plate 23, in common with the example shown in FIG. 12. Yes. On the other hand, the head portion 613b holding the cleaning liquid nozzle 611 and the dry gas nozzle 612 is fixed at three positions corresponding to the support portions 140a to 140c provided on the transport arm 144 that has entered the inside of the passage port 681. The point provided is different from the example of FIG. 12 in which the common head unit 61a is rotated and used. When the dedicated cleaning liquid nozzle 611 and the drying gas nozzle 612 for cleaning and drying each of the support portions 140a to 140c are provided in this way, the supply of the cleaning liquid and the subsequent supply of the drying gas are supplied to the support portions 140a to 140c. The cleaning and drying time may be shortened by simultaneously performing 140c.

  Next, a cleaning module according to the third embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 16, the cleaning module of this example employs dry cleaning that irradiates UV light from the UV light source unit 8 and decomposes and removes foreign matters attached to the support units 140a to 140c. Different from the first and second embodiments. The UV light source unit 8 locally irradiates the support units 140 a to 140 c with UV light having a wavelength of 300 to 500 nm, for example, by supplying power from the power supply unit 81. The UV light source unit 8 may use a laser light source.

  FIG. 16 shows an example in which the UV light source unit 8 held by the head unit 613 is moved to irradiate the support units 140a to 140c with UV light locally, as in the example shown in FIG. In the case of dry cleaning using UV light, cleaning can be performed without using a liquid, so that the cover member 62, the drain line 64, the dry gas nozzle 612, etc. shown in FIG. The UV light source unit 8 may be provided in place of the cleaning liquid nozzle 611 and the dry gas nozzle 612 in the head units 613, 613a, and 613b shown in FIGS. In this case, the surrounding members 66 and 68 described in FIGS. 12 and 15 may not be provided.

  By locally dry-cleaning the support portions 140a to 140c using UV light, for example, deterioration of a resin member provided in a region other than the support portions 140a to 140c of the transfer arm 144 can be suppressed. Since the deteriorated resin becomes a generation source of particles, dry cleaning by local irradiation with UV light has an effect of maintaining the liquid processing module 2 in a clean state.

In the liquid processing module 2 described above, the configuration of the liquid processing unit is not limited to the illustrated example. For example, while supplying a cleaning liquid to the surface of the wafer W, a cleaning member such as a substantially circular columnar sponge formed from a resin such as PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) or PP (polypropylene) or a nylon brush is brought into contact with the surface of the wafer W. A cleaning mechanism for the support portions 140a to 140c may be provided in the type of liquid processing module 2 that performs cleaning.
Of course, the shape of the transfer arm 144 and the support portions 140a to 140c, the number of support portions 140a to 140c installed, the installation position, and the like may be different from those illustrated in FIG. is there.

W wafer 1 substrate processing apparatus 140a-140c
Support unit 144 Transfer arm 2 Liquid processing module 20 Housing 21 Loading / unloading port (advancing port)
262 Drainage line 3 Rotation holding unit 34 Rotation drive unit 36 Cup 41 Liquid treatment nozzle 6 Cleaning mechanism 611 Cleaning liquid nozzle 612 Dry gas nozzle 62 Cover member 621 Entrance 63 Shutter 631 Passage 64 Drainage lines 66 and 66a
Enclosing member 661 Passing port 68 Enclosing member 681 Passing port 7 Control unit 8 UV light source unit

Claims (10)

In a substrate processing apparatus provided with a substrate transport mechanism provided with a support unit for supporting a substrate and a liquid processing module for liquid processing a substrate,
A housing that forms the liquid treatment module and is provided with an entrance into which the support portion enters,
A liquid processing unit that is provided in the housing and performs liquid processing on the substrate;
A cleaning mechanism provided in the housing for cleaning the support portion that has entered the housing;
A drainage part for discharging the cleaning liquid supplied to the support part from the inside of the housing;
A partition wall that partitions the space in which the support portion is cleaned from other spaces in the housing;
The substrate processing apparatus, wherein the partition wall is provided with a passage port through which the support portion passes.   The substrate processing nozzle for supplying a cleaning liquid to the substrate and a nozzle arm for holding the substrate processing nozzle are further provided, and the substrate processing nozzle and the nozzle arm are disposed in the other space. 2. The substrate processing apparatus according to 1.   3. The moving mechanism according to claim 1, further comprising: a moving mechanism that moves the partition wall between a position where the space where the support portion is cleaned is partitioned from another space in the housing and a retracted position. The substrate processing apparatus as described.   The cleaning mechanism includes a cleaning liquid supply nozzle that supplies a cleaning liquid to the support section, and a cleaning liquid supply section that supplies a cleaning liquid to the cleaning liquid supply nozzle. The substrate processing apparatus as described.   The substrate transport mechanism includes a substrate holding portion provided with a plurality of support portions at different positions, and the cleaning liquid supply nozzle corresponds to a support portion provided in the substrate holding portion that has entered the housing. These cleaning liquid supply nozzles simultaneously discharge the cleaning liquid onto all of the plurality of support parts to perform cleaning, or sequentially discharge the cleaning liquid to some of the plurality of support parts. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein all of the support parts are cleaned.   The substrate transport mechanism has a substrate holding portion provided with a plurality of support portions at different positions, and the cleaning liquid supply nozzle has a moving mechanism for moving to a position for supplying the cleaning liquid toward each support portion. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a substrate processing apparatus. The liquid processing unit surrounds a rotation holding unit that holds the substrate horizontally, a rotation driving unit that rotates the rotation holding unit around a vertical axis, and a side of the substrate held by the rotation holding unit, on the upper surface. A cup provided with an opening, and a treatment liquid drainage part that is provided inside the cup and discharges the treatment liquid in the cup,
The cleaning mechanism includes an enclosing member that is provided above the rotation holding unit, surrounds a space in which the support unit is cleaned from the side, and introduces cleaning liquid supplied to the support unit into the cup. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the partition wall includes the cup and a surrounding member.   The substrate according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning mechanism performs cleaning by irradiating the support part with UV light, and includes a light source unit that irradiates UV light toward the support part. Processing equipment.   The substrate transport mechanism includes a substrate holding portion provided with a plurality of support portions at different positions, and the light source portion corresponds to a support portion provided in the substrate holding portion that has entered the housing. Provided at a plurality of locations, these light source sections perform cleaning by irradiating all of the plurality of support sections with UV light at the same time, or sequentially irradiate a part of the plurality of support sections with UV light. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein all the support portions are cleaned.   The substrate transport mechanism includes a substrate holding unit provided with a plurality of support units at different positions, and the light source unit includes a moving mechanism for moving the UV light toward the support unit. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the substrate processing apparatus is provided.

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