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JP3618256B2 - Rotating substrate processing apparatus and rotating substrate processing method - Google Patents

Rotating substrate processing apparatus and rotating substrate processing method Download PDF

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Publication number
JP3618256B2
JP3618256B2 JP15035899A JP15035899A JP3618256B2 JP 3618256 B2 JP3618256 B2 JP 3618256B2 JP 15035899 A JP15035899 A JP 15035899A JP 15035899 A JP15035899 A JP 15035899A JP 3618256 B2 JP3618256 B2 JP 3618256B2
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Prior art keywords
substrate
rotation
processing
rotational speed
rotary
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JP2000340491A (en
Inventor
正美 大谷
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Screen Holdings Co Ltd
Dainippon Screen Manufacturing Co Ltd
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Screen Holdings Co Ltd
Dainippon Screen Manufacturing Co Ltd
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Description

【0001】
【発明の属する技術分野】
本発明は、半導体ウェハ、フォトマスク用のガラス基板、液晶表示装置用のガラス基板、光ディスク用の基板等を保持しつつ回転させて所定の処理を行う回転式基板処理装置及び処理方法に係り、特に基板裏面と間隙を有して主要部が配置された基板保持手段により基板をその外周端縁に当接して保持し、基板を回転させつつ乾燥させる乾燥処理を行う回転式基板処理装置及び処理方法に関する。
【0002】
【従来の技術】
半導体ウェハ等の基板に種々に処理を行うために回転式の基板処理装置が用いられている。たとえば、基板の表面に形成された感光性膜の現像処理は、回転式の現像装置が用いられている。この現像装置を用いた基板の現像処理は、現像液供給、現像液保持、純水洗浄および乾燥の各工程からなる。
【0003】
回転式基板処理装置においては、基板を水平に保持しながら回転させる必要がある。一般的には、基板の裏面を真空吸着により吸引保持する吸引式スピンチャックが用いられている。しかしながら、吸引式スピンチャックでは、基板を確実に吸着保持するために強力な吸引を行っているので、基板の裏面に吸着跡が残る。そこで、水平姿勢で回転駆動される回転部材上に、基板の裏面を垂直に支持する複数の支持ピンと、基板の外周端面に当接して基板の水平位置を規制しかつ基板に回転力を伝達する複数の保持ピンとが設けられてなるメカ式スピンチャックが用いられる。
【0004】
以下、回転式基板処理装置の一例として現像装置について説明する。 図10は従来の現像装置の概略断面図であり、従来のメカ式スピンチャックを示している。図10において、現像装置100は基板Wを保持する基板保持手段としてメカ式スピンチャック101を備える。メカ式スピンチャック101は、モータ102の回転軸102aの先端部に水平に固定されかつ鉛直方向の軸の周りで回転駆動される回転部材103を備える。回転部材103の上面には、基板Wの裏面を支持する複数の支持ピン104が設けられるとともに、基板Wの外周端部に当接して基板Wの水平方向の位置を規制する複数の保持ピン105が設けられている。
【0005】
メカ式スピンチャック101の上方には、現像液を吐出する現像液供給ノズル106と洗浄液として純水を吐出する洗浄液供給ノズル107が上下方向および水平方向に移動可能に設けられている。現像液供給ノズル106は、現像液供給前および現像液供給後に基板Wの上方から外れた位置に待機し、現像液供給時に基板Wの中心部の上方に移動する。同様に、洗浄液供給ノズル107は、洗浄開始前および後に基板Wの上方から外れた位置に待機し、洗浄時に基板Wの中心部の上方に移動する。
【0006】
シーケンス制御部108は伝送ライン109を通じて、所定の速度パターンに従って回転制御部110に回転基準信号を与え、回転制御部110はモータ102の回転、すなわち基板Wの回転をこの回転基準信号の示す回転数と一致するように回転制御する。
【0007】
図11は速度パターンの一例を示す図であり、横軸は時間、縦軸は回転数を表す。図10の現像装置100を用いた基板処理フローは図11の速度パターンを用いて、まず、時間T1で基板Wがメカ式スピンチャック101に受け渡される。時間T2の現像液供給工程では、基板Wがメカ式スピンチャック101に保持された後、モータ102によりメカ式スピンチャック101が回転駆動され、この状態で基板Wの上方に移動した現像液供給ノズル106から基板W上に現像液が吐出され、回転に伴う遠心力により基板Wの全面に塗り広げられる。
【0008】
時間T3の現像液保持工程では、メカ式スピンチャック101の回転が停止され、現像液が基板Wの全面に塗り広げられた状態で基板Wが一定時間静止される。これにより、基板Wの感光性膜の現像が進行する。
【0009】
時間T4の純水洗浄工程では、メカ式スピンチャック101が再び回転駆動され、基板Wの表面に洗浄液供給ノズル107から純水が供給され、基板Wの表面の純水洗浄が行なわれる。
【0010】
時間T5の乾燥工程では、純水の供給が停止された後、メカ式スピンチャック101が高速で回転駆動され、回転に伴う遠心力により基板Wの表面から純水が振り切られる。これにより、基板Wが乾燥する。その後、メカ式スピンチャック101の回転が停止し、基板Wの現像処理が終了し、時間T6において基板Wは次工程に受け渡される。
【0011】
上記の処理中においては、現像装置100の上方から清浄な空気のダウンフロー(下降流)がカップ111内に供給されている。ダウンフローはカップ111内を下降してカップの下部に設けられた排気口112から外部へ排出されている。これにより、カップ111内に浮遊するミスト(飛沫)やパーティクル(粒子)がダウンフローとともに外部に排出され、カップ111内の雰囲気が清浄な状態に保持されている。
【0012】
【発明が解決しようとする課題】
しかしながら、このような構成を有する従来例の場合には、次のような問題がある。
前記のような回転式基板処理フローにおいては、時間T5の乾燥回転数を3,000rpm以上などの高回転で行い、速やかに減速停止制御を行なっていた。ところが、メカ式スピンチャックで基板Wを高速回転させると、基板Wの周縁の速度が回転中心の速度に比し速いため、基板Wを保持しているメカ式スピンチャック101の回転部材103と基板Wの間隙が負圧になっている。
【0013】
そのため、メカ式スピンチャック101の回転を停止させた時、回転部材103と基板Wの間隙の基板W周囲縁と回転中心の圧力差により、回転部材103と基板Wの間隙に周辺部から粉塵(パーティクル)を含んだエアが逆流し、基板W面上に付着するという問題があった。この問題は、基板Wの直径がφ300mmなどの大口径の場合は基板Wの周縁の速度と回転中心の速度の差が大きくなるので、回転部材103と基板Wの間隙の負圧も高くなり顕著になった。
【0014】
本発明の目的は、このような事情に鑑みてなされたものであって、基板の回転処理終了時に基板と基板保持手段の主要部との間隙に発生する負圧により基板表面へパーティクルが付着するのが防止された回転式基板処理装置及び基板処理方法を提供することである。
【0015】
【課題を解決するための手段】
本発明は、このような目的を達成するために、次のような構成をとる。すわなち、請求項1に係る発明は、基板を水平に保持しつつ回転させ、処理液を供給した後に乾燥処理を行う回転式基板処理装置であって、基板をその外周端縁に当接して保持し、基板裏面と間隙を有して主要部が配置された基板保持手段と、前記基板保持手段を回転駆動する駆動手段と、前記駆動手段を処理回転数に従って回転させる回転制御手段と、前記回転制御手段による、乾燥処理における回転処理を停止させる停止指令信号に基づいて、前記駆動手段を予め定められた停止開始回転数まで減速させる減速制御手段と、前記減速制御手段によって停止開始回転数に達っした後、前記駆動手段を停止する停止制御手段と、を有することを特徴とするものである。
【0016】
請求項2に係る発明は、請求項1記載の回転式基板処理装置において、前記減速制御手段は停止開始回転数に到達するまで駆動手段を徐々に減速することを特徴とする。
【0017】
請求項3に係る発明は、請求項1または請求項2記載の回転式基板処理装置において、前記停止開始回転数は2,500rpm以下であることを特徴とする。
【0018】
請求項4に係る発明は、請求項1乃至請求項3記載の回転式基板処理装置において、前記基板保持手段に保持された基板に処理液を供給する処理液吐出部を具備したことを特徴とする。
【0019】
請求項5に係る発明は、基板を水平に保持しつつ回転させ、処理液を供給した後に乾燥処理を行う回転式基板処理方法であって、基板裏面と間隙を有して主要部が配置された基板保持手段により基板を基板外周端縁に当接して保持し、処理回転数に従って回転させ、処理液を供給した後に乾燥処理を行う処理工程と、前記処理工程の停止指令信号に基づいて、基板回転を予め定められた停止開始回転数に減速する第1減速工程と、前記停止開始回転数に達っした後、前記駆動手段を停止する第2減速工程と、をその順で実施し、基板回転を停止することを特徴とする。
【0020】
【作用】
本発明の作用は次のとおりである。請求項1に係る発明の回転式基板処理装置においては、基板は回転処理にあたって基板保持手段の主要部と間隙を有して保持される。その保持状態で基板保持手段が回転駆動され、処理液を供給した後に乾燥処理を行うために処理回転数に従って回転制御される。回転処理の停止に際しては停止指令信号の発信に従って、駆動手段は予め定められた停止開始回転数に減速される。そして停止開始回転数に達した後、停止制御手段により駆動手段は停止される。よって駆動手段の回転停止は停止指令信号の発信によって停止制御されるのではなく、停止開始回転数に減速され基板と基板保持手段の主要部との間隙における負圧が解消された後、基板を停止制御する。その結果、基板と基板保持手段の主要部との間隙に周辺の雰囲気が逆流することを防止できる。
【0021】
請求項2に係る発明の回転式基板処理装置では、減速制御手段は停止開始回転数まで駆動手段の回転を徐々に減速する。即ち、基板の回転処理によって発生した基板と基板保持手段の主要部との間隙における負圧を徐々に減速することで解消する。そのことで、停止開始回転数に到る減速工程での周辺の雰囲気が逆流することを確実に防止することが可能となる。
【0022】
請求項3に係る発明の回転式基板処理装置では、停止開始回転数は基板の回転数が2,500rpm以下の値で駆動手段の停止を行なう。即ち、回転数が2,500rpm以下に減速されるので、この工程間に基板と基板保持手段の主要部との間隙における負圧は解消される。よって、その後、停止制御を行なっても周辺の雰囲気の逆流は発生しない。
【0023】
請求項4に係る発明の回転式基板処理装置では、保持された基板の表面に処理液吐出部から処理液が供給される。その結果、基板の回転処理にあたってミストが発生するが、回転停止制御においてそのミストを含んだ周辺雰囲気の逆流を防止できる。即ち、ミストの基板への再付着を防止することが可能となる。
【0024】
請求項5に係る発明の回転式基板処理方法では、まず、基板裏面と間隙を有して主要部が配置された基板保持手段により基板外周端縁に当接して基板を保持し、処理回転数に従って回転させ、処理液を供給した後に乾燥処理を行う処理工程を行なう。この処理工程の停止指令信号に基づいて、第1減速工程で基板回転を予め定められた停止開始回転数に減速する。そして停止開始回転数に達っした後、第2減速工程で駆動手段の停止を行なう。即ち、基板の回転処理の一連の処理フローにおいて、基板の回転停止時に停止開始回転数に減速されるので、基板と基板保持手段の主要部との間隙における負圧が解消される。その後、基板を停止制御するので基板と基板保持手段の主要部との間隙に周辺の雰囲気を逆流を発生させずに基板処理が可能となる。
【0025】
【発明の実施の形態】
以下、図面を参照して本発明の実施の形態を説明する。
図1は本発明の一実施例による回転式基板処理装置の断面図である。また、図2は図1の回転式基板処理装置の主要部の平面図である。本実施例では、回転式基板処理装置の一例として現像装置について説明する。
【0026】
この現像装置1は、主に基板Wの現像処理と洗浄処理が行なわれる回転式の基板処理部2と、基板処理部2に現像液を供給する現像液供給手段3と、同じく基板処理部2へ洗浄液を供給する洗浄液供給手段4とから構成される。本実施例では、この現像液と洗浄液が処理液に相当する。
【0027】
基板処理部2には、基板保持・回転手段5と、カップ6とが配設されている。基板保持・回転手段5は、基板Wを水平姿勢に保持する基板保持手段としてのメカ式スピンチャック7、このメカ式スピンチャック7を水平姿勢に支持し回転自在に保持する回転軸8、この回転軸8に出力軸が連接されてメカ式スピンチャック7を鉛直軸周りに回転させる駆動手段としてのモータ9とより構成される。
【0028】
そしてさらに、基板処理部2の周囲を取り囲むように配設された中空のカップ6は、メカ式スピンチャック7に保持された基板Wの周囲を取り囲むように配設され、上下方向に移動可能な上カップ6aと、上カップ6aの下方に固定された下カップ6bとを備える。下カップ6bの下部には現像装置1の上方からカップ6内に下降される清浄な空気流(ダウンフロー)を排気するための排気口6cが設けられカップ6の内部を排気するための排気管11が接続されている。また、カップ6の底部には、その内底部に集まるドレンを排出するためのドレン排出管12が接続されている。
【0029】
メカ式スピンチャック7は金属製の円形板状の回転部材71を備える。回転部材71は、回転軸8の先端に取付部材72を介して水平に固定され、鉛直方向の軸の周りで回転駆動される。回転部材71の上面には、樹脂からなる環状のカバー部材73が形成されており、このカバー部材73の上面から基板Wの裏面を支持する複数の支持ピン74が突出している。また、回転部材71には、基板Wの水平位置を規制する複数の回転式の保持ピン75が鉛直方向の軸の周りで回動可能に取り付けられている。図2に示すように、複数の保持ピン75は回転部材71の回転中心Pから等距離に等分配置され、保持ピン75を回動して基板Wの外周端面に当接し基板Wを保持する。
【0030】
本実施例において回転部材71は基板保持手段の主要部を構成するものであり、基板Wがメカ式チャック7に保持された時に、この回転部材71上で支持ピン74により基板W裏面が回転部材71より離間され間隙が形成される。
【0031】
図3は保持ピン75および図4はベアリングプレート76の斜視図である。図3において、保持ピン75は、円柱状のピン固定部751、円柱状(棒状)のピン部材752、連結シャフト753および磁石収納部754を備える。ピン部材752は、ピン固定部751の上面にピン固定部751の中心に対して偏心して設けられている。磁石収納部754は、ピン固定部751の下部に連結シャフト753を介して固定されている。磁石収納部754内には棒状の永久磁石755が収納されている。
【0032】
保持ピン75はベアリングプレート76により回転部材71に取り付けられる。図4において、ベアリングプレート76は1対の取付孔761を有し、回転部材71(図1参照)の下面外周にねじ止め固定される。ベアリングプレート76にはベアリング762が固定されており、ベアリング762の軸孔763内に保持ピン75の連結シャフト753が挿通される。これにより、図1に示すように、保持ピン75のピン部材752およびピン固定部材751が回転部材71の上面側に突出し、保持ピン75の磁石収納部754が回転部材71の下面側に突出する。
【0033】
一方、回転部材71の下方には環状磁石77が配設されている。上記環状磁石77は、駆動装置(図示せず)により上下動自在の設けられた磁石支持部材78に固定されている。そして、磁石支持部材78が上昇すると、環状磁石77と保持ピン75の永久磁石755とが引き合い、保持ピン75が回転してピン部材752が基板Wの外周端部に当接して基板Wを保持する。また、磁石支持部材78が下降すると、保持ピン75が逆方向に回動し、ピン部材752が基板Wの外周端部から離間する。このような動作により、基板Wの外周端部が保持ピン75により保持され、あるいは開放される。
【0034】
また、回転部材71には複数の貫通孔71aが形成されている。これらの貫通孔71aの下方には昇降ピン79がエアシリンダ(図示せず)により、昇降自在に配設されている。これらの昇降ピン79は、基板搬送装置(図示せず)との基板Wの受渡し時に、回転部材71の貫通孔71aを貫通して上昇し、基板Wの裏面に当接して基板Wを上方に押上げる。
【0035】
現像液供給手段3は、メカ式スピンチャック7の上方に現像液を吐出する現像液供給ノズル31が上下方向および水平方向に移動可能に設けられている。現像液供給ノズル31は本発明の処理液吐出部に相当するものであって、吐出孔32と、この吐出孔32を支持するノズル支持アーム33とによって構成されるとともに、吐出孔32は、ノズル支持アーム33内を貫通して配設される現像液供給路35に流路接続されている。
【0036】
ノズル支持アーム33の基端部側には昇降・揺動駆動機構34が連動連結される。そして昇降・揺動駆動機構34によって昇降可能に保持されるとともに鉛直軸回りに揺動可能に保持されている。昇降・揺動駆動機構34は、カップ6の近傍に配置され、これにより現像液供給ノズル31は、現像処理前および現像処理後に基板Wの上方から外れて位置に待機し、現像処理時に基板Wの回転中心Pの上方に移動する。
【0037】
同じく洗浄液供給手段4は、基板Wに対向して基板Wの表面へ洗浄液を供給する洗浄液供給ノズル41を有する。洗浄液供給ノズル41は本発明の処理液吐出部に相当するものであって、吐出孔42と、この吐出孔42を支持するノズル支持アーム43とによって構成されるとともに、吐出孔42は、ノズル支持アーム43内を貫通して配設される洗浄液供給路45に流路接続されている。
【0038】
ノズル支持アーム43の基端部側には昇降・揺動駆動機構44が連動連結される。そして昇降・揺動駆動機構44によって昇降可能に保持されるとともに鉛直軸回りに揺動可能に保持されている。昇降・揺動駆動機構44も、カップ6の近傍に配置され、これにより洗浄液供給ノズル41は、洗浄処理前および洗浄処理後に基板Wの上方から外れて位置に待機し、洗浄処理時に基板Wの回転中心Pの上方に移動する。
【0039】
また、回転軸8は、中空軸により構成され、その内部に基板の裏面洗浄用のバックリンスノズル(図示せず)が形成されている。このバックリンスノズルは取付部材72を貫通して基板Wの裏面側に突出している。
【0040】
上記構成の機能は、例えばマイクロコンピュータを用いて実現することができる。図5は、その時の構成を示すブロック図である。シーケンス制御部200により、基板Wの回転数やノズル支持アーム33、43の昇降や回転、処理液の吐出タイミングや吐出量、磁石支持部材78の上昇および下降、バックリンスノズルからのバックリンス液の吐出が統括的に制御されるようになっている。そして基板・保持回転手段5のモータ9の一連の回転および停止、等の動作は回転制御手段20により制御される。
【0041】
すなわちシーケンス制御部200とは別に、その下位プロセッサとしてこの発明によるモータ9の回転制御を行なうための回転制御部21と、その記録装置としてメモリ22を回転制御部21に付随して設け、伝送ライン23を通じてシーケンス制御部200と接続する。
【0042】
回転制御部21は、モータ9の回転に伴うエンコーダ27からのフィードバックパルスをカウントし、カウント値を常時監視する。そしてモータ9の回転数をコントロールする。即ち、具体的にパルスモータを使用した場合、回転制御部21がメモリ22に予め設定された速度パターンに従ったパルス数を出力することでパルスモータの回転数を制御する。尚、モータ9はパルスモータの他、サーボモータ等が用いられる。
【0043】
また、回転制御部21は速度パターンによりモータ9の停止指令信号を発信する。さらに、メモリ22に予め設定された減速パターン(負の加速度)に従って減速する減速制御部25、同じくモータ9の回転を停止する停止制御部26を具備する。本実施例においては、これらの回転制御部21構成中の減速制御部25とメモリ22が本願の減速制御手段に相当し、停止制御部26とメモリ22が停止制御手段に相当する。
【0044】
次に、図1の現像装置1における現像処理時の動作について説明する。図6は、現像処理時の基板Wの回転数を示すタイムチャートである。
この現像装置1においては、上方から清浄な空気のダウンフローがカップ6の内外に供給されつつ現像処理が行なわれる。
【0045】
まず、受け渡し工程では、環状磁石77が回転部材71の下方に離れて位置する。それにより、保持ピン75が基板W解放位置に移動する。基板Wの搬入時には、上カップ6aを下降させた状態で、図示しない基板搬送ロボットにより搬送された基板Wを、回転部材71の貫通孔71aを貫通して上昇した昇降ピン79上に載置する。基板Wが載置された後、昇降ピン79が下降する。それにより、基板Wが保持ピン75で囲まれる領域内のメカ式スピンチャック7の支持ピン74上に載置される。この時間T1では基板Wは静止状態である。
【0046】
基板Wの処理時には、環状磁石77が上昇して回転部材71に接近する。それにより複数の保持ピン75が回動してピン部材752が基板保持位置に回動し、基板Wを水平方向に保持する。この状態で、モータ9により回転部材71が鉛直方向の回転軸8の周りで回転駆動する。
【0047】
次に、現像液供給工程では、図1に示すように現像液供給ノズル31が基板Wの基板回転中心Pの上方に位置するようにノズル支持アーム33を揺動・移動し、基板Wを回転させつつ現像液を供給する。詳細には、上カップ6aを上昇させ、現像液供給ノズル31を図示しない待機ポッド内の待機位置から基板Wの基板回転中心Pへ移動させる。モータ9によってメカ式スピンチャック7に保持されて回転している基板Wの表面へ現像液供給ノズル31から現像液を吐出して、基板Wの表面に現像液を塗布する。
【0048】
この際、一般的には図6に示すように時間T2開始で基板Wを低速、例えば900rpm程度の回転数で回転させ、この状態で現像液は基板W表面の全体に均一に塗り広げられる。現像液が基板Wの全面に拡がった後で現像液の吐出を停止し、この時、表面張力で現像液を基板W全面に盛って保持する。基板は徐々に回転数を落として時間T2の終了で静止させる。基板Wの回転が停止すると、環状磁石6が下降して保持ピン75が開放状態となる。
【0049】
この状態で、現像液が基板W上に一定時間静止保持される。これにより、適切な時間T3の間に、静止もしくは数回の攪拌の為の回転を行いながら基板W上の感光性膜の現像が進行する。
【0050】
次に、純水洗浄工程では、環状磁石77が上昇して保持ピン75により基板Wが水平方向に保持される。そして、モータ9によりメカ式スピンチャック7が回転駆動され、基板Wが所定の速度で回転する。この状態で時間T4の間、洗浄液供給ノズル41から基板W上に純水が供給されて基板Wの表面が洗浄されるとともに、バックリンスノズルからバックリンス液が吐出されて基板Wの裏面が洗浄される。
【0051】
基板Wの表面および裏面の洗浄処理が終了すると、純水およびバックリンス液の供給が停止され、乾燥工程に移行する。
【0052】
乾燥工程では、図6に示すように、モータ9の回転数が高められ例えば、基板Wがφ300mmの場合は約3,000rpmの回転数で高速回転される。これにより、基板Wの表面に供給された純水が外方に振り切られ、基板Wの表面が乾燥される。尚、基板Wの高速回転を開始し洗浄液を振り切ると同時にイソプロピルアルコール液等のリンス液を図示しない供給手段により基板W上に供給し基板W上の洗浄液を洗浄した後、回転を続けて基板Wを乾燥させるようにしても良い。
【0053】
図6の時間T5が経過し基板Wの乾燥処理が終了すると、同時に基板Wを停止するのにモータ9が停止されるとともに、続いて環状磁石77が下降され、それによって保持ピン75が基板Wの外周端部から離間した位置に回動し、基板Wが開放状態となる。その後、基板Wの搬出時には、昇降ピン79が回転部材71の貫通孔71aを貫通して上昇する。それにより、基板Wが昇降ピン79により上方に押上げられる。現像処理済みの基板Wがメカ式スピンチャック7から搬出される。
【0054】
制御手段20による上記回転式基板処理フローにおいて、特にその基板回転の停止時においてモータ9は以下のように制御される。そのフローチャートの要部を拡大して示す図7を参照して、時間T5の終期において基板Wの表面が乾燥したタイミングで基板Wの回転処理を停止させる停止指令信号が回転制御部21より生成される。この停止指令信号に基づいて減速制御部25はモータ9の回転数を減速する。例えば、300rpm/secの負の加速度で回転数を減速する。この減速は回転数が停止開始回転数である2,500rpmに到達するまで減速制御部25によりコントロールされる。即ち、この期間が第1減速工程に相当する。
【0055】
その後、モータ9の回転数が停止開始回転数である2,500rpmに到達すると、停止制御部26がモータ9を停止する。この時、モータ9は例えば1000rpm/secの負の加速度で回転を停止すべく減速される。即ち、この期間が第2減速工程に相当する。
【0056】
負の加速度は、モータ9の回転数をエンコーダ27のパルスカウント数で監視し、メモリ22に記憶された減速パターンに従って回転数をコントロールするように、減速制御部25と停止制御部26からの信号が出力される。
【0057】
以上のように、上記の構成によれば基板Wの乾燥時に時間T5の間、基板Wは高速回転されるので、この基板Wと回転部材71との間隙の雰囲気が周囲に放出される。そのため、基板Wと回転部材71との間隙は高い負圧状態である。一方、乾燥時に、先の洗浄工程において保持ピン75等に付着していた洗浄液が飛散され、またカップ6の内壁により跳ね返されるなどしてミストとなってカップ6内を浮遊する。
【0058】
そこで、高速回転状態の基板Wを急速に減速停止しようとすると、基板Wと回転部材71との間隙の負圧により、カップ6内では、基板W周縁の外方側から内方側に間隙を吸引流入する気流が生じる。そして、同時にミストやパーティクルが上記気流に乗って基板Wの内方側に流入しようとする。しかしながら、一旦、緩やかな負の加速度で2,500rpmへ徐々に減速されると、このことにより上記の負圧は解消される。よって、その後、基板Wの回転停止のため急激な減速を行っても、基板Wと回転部材71との間隙に気流の吸引流入が発生しない。
【0059】
なお、本発明は上記実施の形態に限定されるのもではなく、その要旨を逸脱しない範囲で種々変更可能であることはいうまでもない。例えば、図8に示すように停止開始回転数に達した後、短時間その回転数で負圧を解消する構成としても良い。
【0060】
さらに、図9に示すように停止開始回転数に達するまで段階的に回転数を落として行くことで負圧を解消する構成としても良い。
【0061】
さらに、上記実施例では、負の加速度を一定にして直線的に減速するようにしたが、第1減速工程において初期の負の加速度を大きくし徐々に小さくし、放物線を描くように減速するようにしても良い。
【0062】
さらに、上記実施例では、回転式基板処理部を有する現像装置に本発明を適用した場合を説明したが、回転式の現像装置のみならず、純水による洗浄および回転乾燥処理のみが行われる回転式基板処理装置、例えば回転式の洗浄装置等にも発明は同様に適当することができる。
【0063】
【発明の効果】
以上の説明から明らかなように、本発明によれば、基板を水平に保持しつつ回転させ、処理液を供給した後に乾燥処理を行う回転式基板処理装置であって、基板をその外周端縁に当接して保持し、基板裏面と間隙を有して主要部が配置された基板保持手段と、前記基板保持手段を回転駆動する駆動手段と、前記駆動手段を処理回転数に従って回転させる回転制御手段と、前記回転制御手段による、乾燥処理における回転処理を停止させる停止指令信号に基づいて、前記駆動手段を予め定められた停止開始回転数まで減速させる減速制御手段と、前記減速制御手段によって停止開始回転数に達っした後、前記駆動手段を停止する停止制御手段とを有することを特徴とするもので、処理液を供給した後の乾燥処理における回転の停止に際しては停止指令信号の発信に従って、駆動手段は予め定められた停止開始回転数に減速される。そして停止開始回転数に達した後、停止制御手段により駆動手段は停止される。よって駆動手段の回転停止は停止開始回転数に減速され基板と基板保持手段の主要部との間隙における負圧が解消された後、基板を停止制御する。その結果、基板と基板保持手段の主要部との間隙に周辺の雰囲気が逆流することを防止できる。
更に本発明の回転式基板処理方法では、基板を水平に保持しつつ回転させ、処理液を供給した後に乾燥処理を行う回転式基板処理方法であって、基板裏面と間隙を有して主要部が配置された基板保持手段により基板を基板外周端縁に当接して保持し、処理回転数に従って回転させ、処理液を供給した後に乾燥処理を行う処理工程と、前記処理工程の停止指令信号に基づいて、基板回転を予め定められた停止開始回転数に減速する第1減速工程と、前記停止開始回転数に達っした後、前記駆動手段を停止する第2減速工程と、をその順で実施し、基板回転を停止することを特徴とするので、乾燥を行う処理工程における停止指令信号に基づいて、第1減速工程で基板回転を予め定められた停止開始回転数に減速する。そして停止開始回転数に達っした後、第2減速工程で駆動手段の停止を行なう。即ち、基板の回転停止時に停止開始回転数に減速されるので、基板と基板保持手段の主要部との間隙における負圧が解消される。その後、基板を停止制御するので基板と基板保持手段の主要部との間隙に周辺の雰囲気を逆流を発生させずに基板処理が可能となる
【図面の簡単な説明】
【図1】本発明の一実施例における現像装置の断面図である。
【図2】図1の現像装置の主要部の平面図である。
【図3】図1の現像装置の保持ピンの斜視図である。
【図4】図1の現像装置のアリングプレートの斜視図である。
【図5】図1の現像装置の制御手段を示すブロック図である。
【図6】現像処理における基板の回転数を示すフローチャートである。
【図7】図6のフローチャートの要部の拡大図である。
【図8】他の実施例である基板の回転数を示すフローチャートである。
【図9】さらに他の実施例である基板の回転数を示すフローチャートである。
【図10】図10は従来の現像装置の断面図である。
【図11】図11は従来の現像処理における基板の回転数を示すフローチャートである。
【符号の説明】
1、100 現像装置
2 基板処理部
3 現像液供給手段
4 洗浄液供給手段
5 基板保持・回転手段
6、111 カップ
7、101 メカ式スピンチャック
9 モータ
71 回転部材
74、104 支持ピン
75、105 保持ピン
20 回転制御手段
108、200 シーケンス制御手段
21、110 回転制御部
22 メモリ
25 減速制御部
26 停止制御部
W 基板
P 回転中心
[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a rotary substrate processing apparatus and a processing method for performing predetermined processing by rotating a semiconductor wafer, a glass substrate for a photomask, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device, a substrate for an optical disk, etc. In particular, a rotary substrate processing apparatus and a process for performing a drying process in which a substrate is held in contact with the outer peripheral edge by a substrate holding means having a main portion arranged with a gap from the back surface of the substrate, and the substrate is dried while rotating. Regarding the method.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A rotary substrate processing apparatus is used to perform various processes on a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer. For example, a rotary developing device is used for developing the photosensitive film formed on the surface of the substrate. The development processing of the substrate using this developing device includes the steps of supplying a developing solution, holding the developing solution, washing with pure water, and drying.
[0003]
In the rotary substrate processing apparatus, it is necessary to rotate the substrate while holding it horizontally. Generally, a suction spin chuck that sucks and holds the back surface of the substrate by vacuum suction is used. However, in the suction type spin chuck, strong suction is performed in order to securely hold the substrate by suction, so that a suction mark remains on the back surface of the substrate. Therefore, a plurality of support pins that vertically support the back surface of the substrate on a rotating member that is rotationally driven in a horizontal posture, and the outer peripheral end surface of the substrate are abutted to regulate the horizontal position of the substrate and transmit the rotational force to the substrate. A mechanical spin chuck provided with a plurality of holding pins is used.
[0004]
Hereinafter, a developing device will be described as an example of a rotary substrate processing apparatus. FIG. 10 is a schematic sectional view of a conventional developing device, showing a conventional mechanical spin chuck. In FIG. 10, the developing device 100 includes a mechanical spin chuck 101 as a substrate holding unit that holds a substrate W. The mechanical spin chuck 101 includes a rotating member 103 that is horizontally fixed to a tip end of a rotating shaft 102a of a motor 102 and is driven to rotate around a vertical axis. A plurality of support pins 104 that support the back surface of the substrate W are provided on the upper surface of the rotating member 103, and a plurality of holding pins 105 that abut against the outer peripheral edge of the substrate W and regulate the position of the substrate W in the horizontal direction. Is provided.
[0005]
Above the mechanical spin chuck 101, a developer supply nozzle 106 that discharges the developer and a cleaning liquid supply nozzle 107 that discharges pure water as the cleaning liquid are provided so as to be movable in the vertical and horizontal directions. The developer supply nozzle 106 stands by at a position deviated from above the substrate W before and after supplying the developer, and moves above the central portion of the substrate W when supplying the developer. Similarly, the cleaning liquid supply nozzle 107 stands by at a position deviated from above the substrate W before and after the start of cleaning, and moves above the center portion of the substrate W during cleaning.
[0006]
The sequence control unit 108 gives a rotation reference signal to the rotation control unit 110 according to a predetermined speed pattern through the transmission line 109, and the rotation control unit 110 indicates the rotation of the motor 102, that is, the rotation of the substrate W by the rotation number indicated by the rotation reference signal. Rotation control to match
[0007]
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a speed pattern, where the horizontal axis represents time and the vertical axis represents the number of rotations. In the substrate processing flow using the developing device 100 of FIG. 10, the substrate W is first transferred to the mechanical spin chuck 101 at time T1 using the speed pattern of FIG. In the developer supply process at time T2, after the substrate W is held by the mechanical spin chuck 101, the mechanical spin chuck 101 is rotationally driven by the motor 102, and in this state, the developer supply nozzle moved above the substrate W. A developer is discharged from the substrate 106 onto the substrate W, and is spread over the entire surface of the substrate W by a centrifugal force accompanying rotation.
[0008]
In the developer holding process at time T3, the rotation of the mechanical spin chuck 101 is stopped, and the substrate W is stopped for a certain period of time while the developer is spread on the entire surface of the substrate W. Thereby, development of the photosensitive film of the substrate W proceeds.
[0009]
In the pure water cleaning process at time T4, the mechanical spin chuck 101 is rotated again, pure water is supplied to the surface of the substrate W from the cleaning liquid supply nozzle 107, and the surface of the substrate W is cleaned with pure water.
[0010]
In the drying process at time T5, after the supply of pure water is stopped, the mechanical spin chuck 101 is rotationally driven at a high speed, and the pure water is shaken off from the surface of the substrate W by the centrifugal force accompanying the rotation. Thereby, the substrate W is dried. Thereafter, the rotation of the mechanical spin chuck 101 is stopped, the development processing of the substrate W is completed, and the substrate W is transferred to the next process at time T6.
[0011]
During the above processing, a clean air downflow (downflow) is supplied into the cup 111 from above the developing device 100. The down flow descends in the cup 111 and is discharged to the outside from an exhaust port 112 provided in the lower part of the cup. Thereby, mist (spray) and particles (particles) floating in the cup 111 are discharged to the outside along with the downflow, and the atmosphere in the cup 111 is kept clean.
[0012]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the conventional example having such a configuration has the following problems.
In the rotary substrate processing flow as described above, the drying rotation speed at time T5 was performed at a high rotation speed such as 3,000 rpm or more, and the deceleration stop control was performed promptly. However, when the substrate W is rotated at a high speed by the mechanical spin chuck, the peripheral edge of the substrate W is faster than the rotation center, so that the rotating member 103 of the mechanical spin chuck 101 holding the substrate W and the substrate The gap of W is negative pressure.
[0013]
Therefore, when the rotation of the mechanical spin chuck 101 is stopped, dust (from the periphery to the gap between the rotating member 103 and the substrate W is caused by the pressure difference between the peripheral edge of the substrate W and the rotation center in the gap between the rotating member 103 and the substrate W. There is a problem that air containing particles) flows backward and adheres to the surface of the substrate W. This problem is remarkable when the diameter of the substrate W is large, such as φ300 mm, because the difference between the peripheral edge speed of the substrate W and the rotational center speed becomes large, and the negative pressure in the gap between the rotating member 103 and the substrate W also increases. Became.
[0014]
The object of the present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and particles adhere to the substrate surface due to the negative pressure generated in the gap between the substrate and the main part of the substrate holding means at the end of the substrate rotation process. It is an object of the present invention to provide a rotary substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method in which the above is prevented.
[0015]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve such an object, the present invention has the following configuration. In other words, the invention according to claim 1 rotates the substrate while holding it horizontally.After supplying the processing liquid, dry theA rotary substrate processing apparatus that holds a substrate in contact with an outer peripheral edge of the substrate, and has a substrate holding means in which a main part is disposed with a gap between the substrate back surface and the substrate, and the substrate holding means is rotated. A driving means, a rotation control means for rotating the driving means in accordance with a processing rotational speed, and the rotation control means;In the drying processBased on a stop command signal for stopping the rotation process, a deceleration control means for decelerating the drive means to a predetermined stop start rotational speed, and after reaching the stop start rotational speed by the deceleration control means, the drive means And a stop control means for stopping the operation.
[0016]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the rotary substrate processing apparatus according to the first aspect, the deceleration control means gradually decelerates the driving means until the stop start rotational speed is reached.
[0017]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the rotary substrate processing apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the stop start rotational speed is 2,500 rpm or less.
[0018]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the rotary substrate processing apparatus according to the first to third aspects of the present invention, the rotary substrate processing apparatus includes a processing liquid discharge unit that supplies a processing liquid to the substrate held by the substrate holding means. To do.
[0019]
In the invention according to claim 5, the substrate is rotated while being held horizontally.After supplying the processing liquid, dry theThis is a rotary substrate processing method, in which the substrate is held in contact with the outer peripheral edge of the substrate by the substrate holding means having a main portion arranged with a gap between the back surface of the substrate and rotated according to the processing rotation number.Drying treatment after supplying treatment liquidA first decelerating step of decelerating the substrate rotation to a predetermined stop start rotational speed based on a stop command signal of the processing step, and the driving after reaching the stop start rotational speed The second deceleration step of stopping the means is performed in that order, and the substrate rotation is stopped.
[0020]
[Action]
The operation of the present invention is as follows. In the rotary substrate processing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, the substrate is held with a gap from the main part of the substrate holding means in the rotation processing. The substrate holding means is rotationally driven in the holding state,To perform the drying process after supplying the processing solutionThe rotation is controlled according to the processing rotational speed. When stopping the rotation process, the drive means is decelerated to a predetermined stop start rotation speed in accordance with the transmission of the stop command signal. Then, after reaching the stop start rotational speed, the drive means is stopped by the stop control means. Therefore, the rotation stop of the driving means is not controlled by transmission of a stop command signal, but after the negative pressure in the gap between the substrate and the main part of the substrate holding means is eliminated by decelerating to the stop start rotation speed, Stop control. As a result, it is possible to prevent the surrounding atmosphere from flowing back into the gap between the substrate and the main part of the substrate holding means.
[0021]
In the rotary substrate processing apparatus according to the second aspect of the invention, the deceleration control means gradually decelerates the rotation of the drive means up to the stop start rotational speed. That is, the negative pressure in the gap between the substrate and the main part of the substrate holding means generated by the rotation processing of the substrate is eliminated by gradually decelerating. As a result, it is possible to reliably prevent the surrounding atmosphere from flowing backward in the deceleration process reaching the stop start rotational speed.
[0022]
In the rotary substrate processing apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention, the drive means is stopped when the stop start rotational speed is a value of 2,500 rpm or less. That is, since the rotational speed is reduced to 2500 rpm or less, the negative pressure in the gap between the substrate and the main part of the substrate holding means is eliminated during this process. Therefore, even if stop control is performed thereafter, the backflow of the surrounding atmosphere does not occur.
[0023]
In the rotary substrate processing apparatus according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the processing liquid is supplied from the processing liquid discharge unit to the surface of the held substrate. As a result, mist is generated in the rotation processing of the substrate, but backflow of the ambient atmosphere including the mist can be prevented in the rotation stop control. That is, it becomes possible to prevent the mist from reattaching to the substrate.
[0024]
In the rotary substrate processing method according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, first, the substrate is held in contact with the outer peripheral edge of the substrate by the substrate holding means having a main portion disposed with a gap between the back surface of the substrate and the number of processing rotations. Rotate according toDrying treatment after supplying treatment liquidA processing step is performed. Based on the stop command signal of this processing step, the substrate rotation is decelerated to a predetermined stop start rotation speed in the first deceleration step. Then, after reaching the stop start rotational speed, the drive means is stopped in the second deceleration step. That is, in the series of processing steps of the substrate rotation process, when the rotation of the substrate is stopped, the speed is reduced to the stop start rotation speed, so that the negative pressure in the gap between the substrate and the main part of the substrate holding means is eliminated. Thereafter, since the substrate is controlled to stop, the substrate can be processed without causing a backflow of the surrounding atmosphere in the gap between the substrate and the main part of the substrate holding means.
[0025]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a rotary substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the main part of the rotary substrate processing apparatus of FIG. In this embodiment, a developing device will be described as an example of a rotary substrate processing apparatus.
[0026]
The developing apparatus 1 includes a rotary substrate processing unit 2 that mainly performs development processing and cleaning processing of the substrate W, developer supply means 3 that supplies the developer to the substrate processing unit 2, and the substrate processing unit 2. And a cleaning liquid supply means 4 for supplying a cleaning liquid. In this embodiment, the developer and the cleaning liquid correspond to the processing liquid.
[0027]
The substrate processing section 2 is provided with a substrate holding / rotating means 5 and a cup 6. The substrate holding / rotating means 5 includes a mechanical spin chuck 7 as a substrate holding means for holding the substrate W in a horizontal position, a rotating shaft 8 that supports the mechanical spin chuck 7 in a horizontal position and holds it rotatably, and this rotation. An output shaft is connected to the shaft 8 and a motor 9 as drive means for rotating the mechanical spin chuck 7 around the vertical axis is constituted.
[0028]
Further, the hollow cup 6 disposed so as to surround the periphery of the substrate processing unit 2 is disposed so as to surround the periphery of the substrate W held by the mechanical spin chuck 7 and is movable in the vertical direction. An upper cup 6a and a lower cup 6b fixed below the upper cup 6a are provided. An exhaust port 6c for exhausting a clean air flow (down flow) descending into the cup 6 from above the developing device 1 is provided below the lower cup 6b, and an exhaust pipe for exhausting the inside of the cup 6 11 is connected. In addition, a drain discharge pipe 12 is connected to the bottom of the cup 6 for discharging the drain collected at the inner bottom.
[0029]
The mechanical spin chuck 7 includes a circular plate-shaped rotating member 71 made of metal. The rotating member 71 is horizontally fixed to the tip end of the rotating shaft 8 via the mounting member 72 and is driven to rotate around a vertical axis. An annular cover member 73 made of resin is formed on the upper surface of the rotating member 71, and a plurality of support pins 74 that support the back surface of the substrate W protrude from the upper surface of the cover member 73. Further, a plurality of rotary holding pins 75 that regulate the horizontal position of the substrate W are attached to the rotating member 71 so as to be rotatable around a vertical axis. As shown in FIG. 2, the plurality of holding pins 75 are equally arranged at the same distance from the rotation center P of the rotating member 71, and the holding pins 75 are rotated to contact the outer peripheral end surface of the substrate W to hold the substrate W. .
[0030]
In this embodiment, the rotating member 71 constitutes a main part of the substrate holding means. When the substrate W is held by the mechanical chuck 7, the back surface of the substrate W is rotated by the support pins 74 on the rotating member 71. A gap is formed apart from 71.
[0031]
3 is a perspective view of the holding pin 75 and FIG. In FIG. 3, the holding pin 75 includes a cylindrical pin fixing portion 751, a cylindrical (rod-shaped) pin member 752, a connecting shaft 753, and a magnet storage portion 754. The pin member 752 is provided on the upper surface of the pin fixing portion 751 so as to be eccentric with respect to the center of the pin fixing portion 751. The magnet storage part 754 is fixed to the lower part of the pin fixing part 751 via a connecting shaft 753. A rod-like permanent magnet 755 is housed in the magnet housing portion 754.
[0032]
The holding pin 75 is attached to the rotating member 71 by a bearing plate 76. In FIG. 4, the bearing plate 76 has a pair of mounting holes 761 and is fixed to the outer periphery of the lower surface of the rotating member 71 (see FIG. 1) with screws. A bearing 762 is fixed to the bearing plate 76, and the connecting shaft 753 of the holding pin 75 is inserted into the shaft hole 763 of the bearing 762. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 1, the pin member 752 and the pin fixing member 751 of the holding pin 75 protrude to the upper surface side of the rotating member 71, and the magnet storage portion 754 of the holding pin 75 protrudes to the lower surface side of the rotating member 71. .
[0033]
On the other hand, an annular magnet 77 is disposed below the rotating member 71. The annular magnet 77 is fixed to a magnet support member 78 that can be moved up and down by a driving device (not shown). When the magnet support member 78 is raised, the annular magnet 77 and the permanent magnet 755 of the holding pin 75 are attracted, the holding pin 75 is rotated, and the pin member 752 is brought into contact with the outer peripheral end of the substrate W to hold the substrate W. To do. When the magnet support member 78 is lowered, the holding pin 75 is rotated in the reverse direction, and the pin member 752 is separated from the outer peripheral end of the substrate W. By such an operation, the outer peripheral end portion of the substrate W is held by the holding pins 75 or released.
[0034]
The rotating member 71 has a plurality of through holes 71a. Below these through-holes 71a, an elevating pin 79 is arranged to be raised and lowered by an air cylinder (not shown). When the substrate W is transferred to and from the substrate transfer device (not shown), these elevating pins 79 rise through the through holes 71a of the rotating member 71 and come into contact with the back surface of the substrate W to bring the substrate W upward. Push up.
[0035]
The developer supply means 3 is provided with a developer supply nozzle 31 for discharging the developer above the mechanical spin chuck 7 so as to be movable in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction. The developer supply nozzle 31 corresponds to the processing liquid discharge portion of the present invention, and includes a discharge hole 32 and a nozzle support arm 33 that supports the discharge hole 32. The discharge hole 32 is a nozzle. A flow path connection is made to a developer supply path 35 that is disposed through the support arm 33.
[0036]
An elevating / swinging drive mechanism 34 is interlocked and connected to the base end side of the nozzle support arm 33. And it is hold | maintained by the raising / lowering drive mechanism 34 so that raising / lowering is possible, and it is hold | maintained so that rocking | swiveling around a vertical axis is possible. The raising / lowering / swinging drive mechanism 34 is disposed in the vicinity of the cup 6, whereby the developer supply nozzle 31 is deviated from the upper side of the substrate W before and after the development process and stands by at the position. Move above the center of rotation P.
[0037]
Similarly, the cleaning liquid supply means 4 includes a cleaning liquid supply nozzle 41 that supplies the cleaning liquid to the surface of the substrate W so as to face the substrate W. The cleaning liquid supply nozzle 41 corresponds to the processing liquid discharge portion of the present invention, and includes a discharge hole 42 and a nozzle support arm 43 that supports the discharge hole 42, and the discharge hole 42 supports the nozzle. A flow path connection is made to a cleaning liquid supply path 45 disposed through the arm 43.
[0038]
An elevating / swinging driving mechanism 44 is interlocked and connected to the base end side of the nozzle support arm 43. And it is hold | maintained by the raising / lowering drive mechanism 44 so that raising / lowering is possible, and it is hold | maintained so that rocking | fluctuation around a vertical axis is possible. The raising / lowering / swinging drive mechanism 44 is also arranged in the vicinity of the cup 6, so that the cleaning liquid supply nozzle 41 is separated from the upper side of the substrate W before and after the cleaning process and stands by at a position of the substrate W during the cleaning process. It moves above the rotation center P.
[0039]
Moreover, the rotating shaft 8 is comprised by the hollow shaft, and the back rinse nozzle (not shown) for the back surface washing | cleaning of a board | substrate is formed in the inside. The back rinse nozzle passes through the attachment member 72 and protrudes toward the back side of the substrate W.
[0040]
The function of the above configuration can be realized using, for example, a microcomputer. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration at that time. By the sequence control unit 200, the number of rotations of the substrate W, the raising and lowering and rotation of the nozzle support arms 33 and 43, the discharge timing and discharge amount of the processing liquid, the rising and lowering of the magnet support member 78, the back rinse liquid from the back rinse nozzle The discharge is controlled centrally. The rotation control means 20 controls operations such as a series of rotations and stops of the motor 9 of the substrate / holding rotation means 5.
[0041]
That is, apart from the sequence control unit 200, a rotation control unit 21 for controlling the rotation of the motor 9 according to the present invention as a lower processor thereof, and a memory 22 as its recording device are provided in association with the rotation control unit 21, and a transmission line. 23 is connected to the sequence control unit 200.
[0042]
The rotation control unit 21 counts feedback pulses from the encoder 27 accompanying the rotation of the motor 9, and constantly monitors the count value. Then, the rotational speed of the motor 9 is controlled. That is, when a pulse motor is specifically used, the rotation control unit 21 controls the rotation speed of the pulse motor by outputting the number of pulses according to a preset speed pattern in the memory 22. The motor 9 is a pulse motor or a servo motor.
[0043]
Moreover, the rotation control part 21 transmits the stop command signal of the motor 9 with a speed pattern. Furthermore, the memory 22 includes a deceleration control unit 25 that decelerates according to a deceleration pattern (negative acceleration) set in advance, and a stop control unit 26 that similarly stops the rotation of the motor 9. In this embodiment, the deceleration control unit 25 and the memory 22 in the configuration of the rotation control unit 21 correspond to the deceleration control unit of the present application, and the stop control unit 26 and the memory 22 correspond to the stop control unit.
[0044]
Next, the operation during the developing process in the developing device 1 of FIG. 1 will be described. FIG. 6 is a time chart showing the number of rotations of the substrate W during the development process.
In the developing device 1, the developing process is performed while a clean air downflow is supplied to the inside and outside of the cup 6 from above.
[0045]
First, in the delivery step, the annular magnet 77 is positioned below the rotating member 71. Thereby, the holding pin 75 moves to the substrate W release position. When the substrate W is loaded, the substrate W transported by a substrate transport robot (not shown) is placed on the lift pins 79 that have been lifted through the through hole 71a of the rotating member 71 while the upper cup 6a is lowered. . After the substrate W is placed, the elevating pins 79 are lowered. Thereby, the substrate W is placed on the support pins 74 of the mechanical spin chuck 7 in the region surrounded by the holding pins 75. At this time T1, the substrate W is stationary.
[0046]
At the time of processing the substrate W, the annular magnet 77 rises and approaches the rotating member 71. As a result, the plurality of holding pins 75 rotate and the pin member 752 rotates to the substrate holding position, thereby holding the substrate W in the horizontal direction. In this state, the rotating member 71 is rotationally driven around the rotating shaft 8 in the vertical direction by the motor 9.
[0047]
Next, in the developer supply step, the nozzle support arm 33 is swung and moved so that the developer supply nozzle 31 is positioned above the substrate rotation center P of the substrate W as shown in FIG. Then, the developer is supplied. Specifically, the upper cup 6a is raised, and the developer supply nozzle 31 is moved from a standby position in a standby pod (not shown) to the substrate rotation center P of the substrate W. The developing solution is discharged from the developing solution supply nozzle 31 onto the surface of the rotating substrate W held by the mechanical spin chuck 7 by the motor 9 to apply the developing solution to the surface of the substrate W.
[0048]
At this time, generally, as shown in FIG. 6, the substrate W is rotated at a low speed, for example, about 900 rpm at the start of time T2, and in this state, the developer is uniformly spread over the entire surface of the substrate W. After the developer spreads over the entire surface of the substrate W, the discharge of the developer is stopped, and at this time, the developer is accumulated and held on the entire surface of the substrate W by surface tension. The substrate is gradually stopped at the end of time T2 with the number of rotations being gradually reduced. When the rotation of the substrate W is stopped, the annular magnet 6 is lowered and the holding pin 75 is opened.
[0049]
In this state, the developer is held stationary on the substrate W for a certain time. As a result, the development of the photosensitive film on the substrate W proceeds while performing rotation for stationary or several times of stirring during an appropriate time T3.
[0050]
Next, in the pure water cleaning step, the annular magnet 77 is raised and the substrate W is held in the horizontal direction by the holding pins 75. Then, the mechanical spin chuck 7 is rotationally driven by the motor 9, and the substrate W rotates at a predetermined speed. In this state, for a time T4, pure water is supplied from the cleaning liquid supply nozzle 41 onto the substrate W to clean the surface of the substrate W, and back rinse liquid is discharged from the back rinse nozzle to clean the back surface of the substrate W. Is done.
[0051]
When the cleaning process for the front and back surfaces of the substrate W is completed, the supply of pure water and the back rinse liquid is stopped, and the process proceeds to the drying process.
[0052]
In the drying process, as shown in FIG. 6, the number of rotations of the motor 9 is increased. For example, when the substrate W is φ300 mm, the rotation speed is about 3,000 rpm. As a result, the pure water supplied to the surface of the substrate W is shaken out and the surface of the substrate W is dried. The substrate W starts to rotate at a high speed, and the cleaning liquid is shaken off. At the same time, a rinsing liquid such as isopropyl alcohol liquid is supplied onto the substrate W by a supply means (not shown), and the cleaning liquid on the substrate W is cleaned. You may make it dry.
[0053]
When the time T5 in FIG. 6 elapses and the drying process of the substrate W is completed, the motor 9 is stopped to stop the substrate W at the same time, and the annular magnet 77 is subsequently lowered, whereby the holding pin 75 is moved to the substrate W. And the substrate W is in an open state. Thereafter, when the substrate W is unloaded, the elevating pins 79 rise through the through holes 71 a of the rotating member 71. Thereby, the substrate W is pushed upward by the lift pins 79. The developed substrate W is unloaded from the mechanical spin chuck 7.
[0054]
In the rotary substrate processing flow by the controller 20, the motor 9 is controlled as follows, particularly when the substrate rotation is stopped. Referring to FIG. 7 showing an enlarged main part of the flowchart, a stop command signal for stopping the rotation processing of the substrate W is generated from the rotation control unit 21 at the timing when the surface of the substrate W is dried at the end of the time T5. The Based on this stop command signal, the deceleration control unit 25 decelerates the rotational speed of the motor 9. For example, the rotational speed is decelerated with a negative acceleration of 300 rpm / sec. This deceleration is controlled by the deceleration control unit 25 until the rotational speed reaches 2500 rpm, which is the stop start rotational speed. That is, this period corresponds to the first deceleration process.
[0055]
Thereafter, when the rotation speed of the motor 9 reaches 2,500 rpm, which is the stop start rotation speed, the stop control unit 26 stops the motor 9. At this time, the motor 9 is decelerated to stop the rotation at a negative acceleration of, for example, 1000 rpm / sec. That is, this period corresponds to the second deceleration process.
[0056]
The negative acceleration is a signal from the deceleration control unit 25 and the stop control unit 26 so that the rotation number of the motor 9 is monitored by the pulse count number of the encoder 27 and the rotation number is controlled according to the deceleration pattern stored in the memory 22. Is output.
[0057]
As described above, according to the above configuration, the substrate W is rotated at a high speed during the time T5 when the substrate W is dried, so that the atmosphere in the gap between the substrate W and the rotating member 71 is released to the surroundings. Therefore, the gap between the substrate W and the rotating member 71 is in a high negative pressure state. On the other hand, at the time of drying, the cleaning liquid adhering to the holding pins 75 and the like in the previous cleaning step is scattered and rebounded by the inner wall of the cup 6 to become mist and float in the cup 6.
[0058]
Therefore, if the substrate W in a high-speed rotation state is to be rapidly decelerated and stopped, a gap is formed in the cup 6 from the outer side to the inner side of the periphery of the substrate W due to the negative pressure in the gap between the substrate W and the rotating member 71. An airflow that flows in is generated. At the same time, mist and particles try to flow into the inner side of the substrate W along the airflow. However, once it is gradually decelerated to 2500 rpm with a gentle negative acceleration, this eliminates the negative pressure. Therefore, even if rapid deceleration is performed after that to stop the rotation of the substrate W, no airflow sucks and flows into the gap between the substrate W and the rotating member 71.
[0059]
Needless to say, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, after reaching the stop start rotational speed, the negative pressure may be eliminated at that rotational speed for a short time.
[0060]
Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 9, it is good also as a structure which eliminates a negative pressure by reducing a rotation speed in steps until it reaches a stop start rotation speed.
[0061]
Further, in the above embodiment, the negative acceleration is constant and the vehicle is linearly decelerated. However, in the first deceleration process, the initial negative acceleration is increased and gradually decreased, and the vehicle is decelerated so as to draw a parabola. Anyway.
[0062]
Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to a developing device having a rotary substrate processing unit has been described. The invention can be similarly applied to a type substrate processing apparatus such as a rotary cleaning apparatus.
[0063]
【The invention's effect】
As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, the substrate is rotated while being held horizontally.After supplying the processing solution, dry theA rotary substrate processing apparatus that holds a substrate in contact with an outer peripheral edge of the substrate, and has a substrate holding means in which a main part is disposed with a gap between the substrate back surface and the substrate, and the substrate holding means is rotated. A driving means, a rotation control means for rotating the driving means in accordance with a processing rotational speed, and the rotation control means;In the drying processBased on a stop command signal for stopping the rotation process, a deceleration control means for decelerating the drive means to a predetermined stop start rotational speed, and after reaching the stop start rotational speed by the deceleration control means, the drive means And stop control means for stoppingRotation in the drying process after supplying the processing liquidWhen stopping, the drive means is decelerated to a predetermined stop start rotational speed in accordance with the transmission of the stop command signal. Then, after reaching the stop start rotational speed, the drive means is stopped by the stop control means. Therefore, the rotation stop of the drive means is decelerated to the stop start rotation speed, and after the negative pressure in the gap between the substrate and the main part of the substrate holding means is eliminated, the substrate is controlled to stop. As a result, it is possible to prevent the surrounding atmosphere from flowing back into the gap between the substrate and the main part of the substrate holding means.
Furthermore, in the rotary substrate processing method of the present invention, the substrate is rotated while being held horizontally.After supplying the processing liquid, dry theThis is a rotary substrate processing method, in which the substrate is held in contact with the outer peripheral edge of the substrate by the substrate holding means having a main portion arranged with a gap between the back surface of the substrate and rotated according to the processing rotation number.Drying treatment after supplying treatment liquidA first decelerating step of decelerating the substrate rotation to a predetermined stop start rotational speed based on a stop command signal of the processing step, and the driving after reaching the stop start rotational speed Since the second deceleration step of stopping the means is performed in that order, and the substrate rotation is stopped.DryProcessing processInBased on the stop command signal, the substrate rotation is decelerated to a predetermined stop start rotation speed in the first deceleration step. Then, after reaching the stop start rotational speed, the drive means is stopped in the second deceleration step. That is, when the rotation of the substrate is stopped, it is decelerated to the stop start rotation speed, so that the negative pressure in the gap between the substrate and the main part of the substrate holding means is eliminated. Thereafter, the substrate is stopped and controlled so that the substrate can be processed without causing a backflow of the surrounding atmosphere in the gap between the substrate and the main part of the substrate holding means..
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a developing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a plan view of a main part of the developing device of FIG.
3 is a perspective view of a holding pin of the developing device of FIG. 1. FIG.
4 is a perspective view of an aligning plate of the developing device of FIG. 1. FIG.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a control unit of the developing device of FIG. 1;
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the number of rotations of a substrate in development processing.
7 is an enlarged view of a main part of the flowchart of FIG.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the number of rotations of a substrate according to another embodiment.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the number of rotations of a substrate according to still another embodiment.
FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional developing device.
FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the number of rotations of a substrate in conventional development processing.
[Explanation of symbols]
1,100 Development device
2 Substrate processing section
3 Developer supply means
4 Cleaning liquid supply means
5 Substrate holding / rotating means
6,111 cups
7, 101 Mechanical spin chuck
9 Motor
71 Rotating member
74, 104 Support pins
75, 105 Holding pin
20 Rotation control means
108, 200 Sequence control means
21, 110 Rotation control unit
22 memory
25 Deceleration control unit
26 Stop controller
W substrate
P center of rotation

Claims (5)

基板を水平に保持しつつ回転させ、処理液を供給した後に乾燥処理を行う回転式基板処理装置であって、
基板をその外周端縁に当接して保持し、基板裏面と間隙を有して主要部が配置された基板保持手段と、
前記基板保持手段を回転駆動する駆動手段と、
前記駆動手段を処理回転数に従って回転させる回転制御手段と、
前記回転制御手段による、乾燥処理における回転処理を停止させる停止指令信号に基づいて、前記駆動手段を予め定められた停止開始回転数まで減速させる減速制御手段と、
前記減速制御手段によって停止開始回転数に達っした後、前記駆動手段を停止する停止制御手段と、
を有することを特徴とする回転式基板処理装置。
The rotated while horizontally holding the substrate, a intends row drying process after supplying the processing liquid rotary substrate processing apparatus,
A substrate holding means in which the substrate is held in contact with the outer peripheral edge, and the main portion is arranged with a gap between the substrate back surface and a gap,
Driving means for rotationally driving the substrate holding means;
Rotation control means for rotating the driving means according to the processing rotational speed;
Deceleration control means for decelerating the drive means to a predetermined stop start rotational speed based on a stop command signal for stopping the rotation processing in the drying process by the rotation control means;
Stop control means for stopping the drive means after reaching the stop start rotational speed by the deceleration control means;
A rotary substrate processing apparatus comprising:
請求項1記載の回転式基板処理装置において、
前記減速制御手段は停止開始回転数に到達するまで駆動手段を徐々に減速することを特徴とする回転式基板処理装置。
The rotary substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The rotary substrate processing apparatus, wherein the deceleration control means gradually decelerates the drive means until reaching the stop start rotational speed.
請求項1または請求項2記載の回転式基板処理装置において、前記停止開始回転数は2,500rpm以下であることを特徴とする回転式基板処理装置。3. The rotary substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the stop start rotational speed is 2,500 rpm or less. 請求項1乃至請求項3記載の回転式基板処理装置において、
前記基板保持手段に保持された基板に処理液を供給する処理液吐出部を具備したことを特徴とする回転式基板処理装置。
The rotary substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:
A rotary substrate processing apparatus comprising a processing liquid discharge section for supplying a processing liquid to a substrate held by the substrate holding means.
基板を水平に保持しつつ回転させ、処理液を供給した後に乾燥処理を行う回転式基板処理方法であって、
基板裏面と間隙を有して主要部が配置された基板保持手段により基板を基板外周端縁に当接して保持し、処理回転数に従って回転させ、処理液を供給した後に乾燥処理を行う処理工程と、
前記処理工程の停止指令信号に基づいて、基板回転を予め定められた停止開始回転数に減速する第1減速工程と、
前記停止開始回転数に達っした後、前記駆動手段を停止する第2減速工程と、をその順で実施し、基板回転を停止することを特徴とする回転式基板処理方法。
The rotated while horizontally holding the substrate, a row intends rotary substrate processing method a drying treatment after supplying the processing liquid,
A processing step in which a substrate is held in contact with the outer peripheral edge of the substrate by a substrate holding means having a main portion arranged with a gap from the back surface of the substrate, rotated according to the number of processing rotations, and supplied with a processing liquid and then dried. When,
A first deceleration step of decelerating the substrate rotation to a predetermined stop start rotational speed based on the stop command signal of the processing step;
A rotary substrate processing method characterized in that after reaching the stop start rotational speed, the second deceleration step of stopping the driving means is performed in that order to stop the substrate rotation.
JP15035899A 1999-05-28 1999-05-28 Rotating substrate processing apparatus and rotating substrate processing method Expired - Fee Related JP3618256B2 (en)

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