JP4871912B2 - Substrate processing equipment, brush cleaning equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus suitable for cleaning a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer or a glass substrate for liquid crystal, and a brush cleaning apparatus for cleaning a cleaning tool for cleaning the substrate.

  For example, in a semiconductor device manufacturing process, there is a process that requires a semiconductor wafer to be cleaned with high cleanliness. There are two methods for cleaning semiconductor wafers: a dip method in which a plurality of semiconductor wafers are immersed in the cleaning solution at once, and a single wafer method in which cleaning liquid is sprayed onto the semiconductor wafer one by one. In the case of a small rod, a cost-effective single wafer method is increasingly employed.

  As one of the single wafer systems, a cleaning apparatus for cleaning the semiconductor wafer using a cleaning tool such as a roll brush or a disk brush is known. In that case, not only the roll brush and the disk brush are rotated, but also the semiconductor wafer is rotated to bring the brushes into contact with the semiconductor wafer evenly to enhance the cleaning effect.

  On the other hand, when cleaning a semiconductor wafer, not only the upper surface on which the circuit pattern is formed, but also the lower surface is cleaned. When the semiconductor wafer is transported or stored in a cassette, the pattern is transferred to another semiconductor wafer. It is performed to prevent the transfer of dirt such as tickle.

  Conventionally, the upper and lower surfaces of a semiconductor wafer are simultaneously cleaned using a roll brush. In this case, the semiconductor wafer is held by the holding mechanism so that it can be rotated, and a roll brush that is driven to rotate is respectively provided on the upper surface side and the lower surface side of the semiconductor wafer held by the holding mechanism. It arrange | positions so that it may become parallel to a plate surface, and it is made to wash | clean by making each roll brush contact the upper and lower surfaces of the said semiconductor wafer.

  However, according to such a cleaning method, cleaning is performed by bringing the roll brush into line contact with the plate surface of the semiconductor wafer. For this reason, if the dimensional accuracy of the roll brush and the parallelism between the roll brush and the semiconductor wafer plate surface are not set with high accuracy, the roll brush uniformly contacts the semiconductor wafer plate surface over the entire length in the axial direction. As a result, uneven cleaning may occur.

  A cleaning system that uses a disk brush in place of the roll brush and performs a circular motion along the radial direction in contact with a rotationally driven semiconductor wafer so that cleaning can be performed evenly. Has been developed.

  A processing apparatus for cleaning a semiconductor wafer is usually installed in a clean room. The above processing apparatus has a processing tank, and a mechanism for holding and rotating the semiconductor wafer inside the processing tank and a mechanism for driving along the radial direction of the semiconductor wafer while rotating the cleaning tool are arranged. ing.

  Since clean rooms are expensive to maintain, clean spaces can be used effectively. For this reason, it is desired to make the processing apparatus as small as possible. In order to reduce the size of the processing apparatus, it is required to rationally arrange various mechanisms disposed in the processing apparatus as much as possible.

  Conventionally, a processing apparatus capable of simultaneously cleaning the upper and lower surfaces of a semiconductor wafer using a disk brush has not been developed. As one of the causes, when holding a semiconductor wafer, one surface (lower surface) of the semiconductor wafer is usually held by suction with a rotary table.

  In that case, in order to clean the upper and lower surfaces of the semiconductor wafer, it was necessary to invert the semiconductor wafer after processing one surface, and then to clean the other surface. In addition to being unable to do so, a reversing mechanism is required, which complicates and enlarges the processing apparatus.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a processing apparatus capable of processing both surfaces of a substrate at the same time without complicating the structure and increasing the size.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a brush cleaning apparatus that can reliably remove dust adhering to a cleaning brush that has been cleaned on both surfaces of a substrate.

The invention of claim 1 is a processing apparatus for cleaning a substrate with a processing liquid.
A treatment tank in which a loading / unloading port for loading / unloading the substrate is formed on the front surface ;
Holding drive that is provided at a position opposite to the loading / unloading port in the processing tank and holds both ends in a direction intersecting with the loading direction of the substrate carried into the processing tank from the loading / unloading port to rotate the substrate. Means,
A treatment liquid supply means for supplying a treatment liquid toward the plate surface of the substrate held by the holding drive means;
A pair of upper and lower arms and a pair of upper and lower arms lower cleaning tool is provided for cleaning the upper cleaning tool and a lower surface to clean the upper surface of the substrate to the tip portion is disposed to the rear than the holding driving means of the treatment tank Drive that swings and drives the arm so that each cleaning tool moves along the radial direction of the substrate through a portion not held by the holding driving means from the rear in the processing tank. A substrate processing apparatus comprising: a tool unit having means.

  As a result, it is possible to move the cleaning tool along the radial direction of the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate holding both ends in the radial direction at the same time. By sequentially arranging the drive unit and the tool unit in the drive means, the tool unit does not interfere with the loading and unloading of the substrate.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the tool unit includes an upper tool unit having an upper arm provided with an upper cleaning tool that cleans the upper surface of the substrate and is rotationally driven at a tip portion; And a lower tool unit having a lower arm provided with a lower cleaning tool for cleaning and rotating the lower surface of the substrate at the tip.

  Thereby, the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate held by the holding drive means by the upper tool unit and the lower tool unit can be cleaned.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, in the tool unit, the driving means is provided on the outer bottom portion of the processing tank, and one end of the arm driven by the driving means is connected to the driving means. The middle part is provided at the other end of the cylindrical body formed to be disassembled.

  Thereby, dust generated by the drive means does not contaminate the inside of the washing tank, and the arm can be removed by disassembling the middle part of the cylindrical body, so that maintenance and inspection of the arm can be easily performed.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the holding driving means is provided with holding rollers for holding both ends in the direction intersecting the loading direction of the substrate carried in from the loading / unloading port of the processing tank. A pair of movable members movable along the radial direction of the substrate, a first driving means provided on the outer bottom portion of the cleaning tank for rotationally driving the holding roller, and a first member for driving the pair of movable members in the contact / separation direction 2 driving means.

  This prevents dust generated by the first and second drive means of the holding drive means from contaminating the inside of the processing tank.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the fourth aspect of the invention, the movable member is provided with an end surface cleaning brush that contacts the outer peripheral surface of the substrate held by the holding roller and cleans the outer peripheral surface. It is characterized by.

  Thereby, the outer peripheral surface can be cleaned simultaneously with the plate surface of the substrate.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the fifth aspect of the present invention, the holding drive means is a drive shaft that is rotationally driven by the first drive means, and the first drive means that is detachably coupled to the drive shaft. A driven shaft that transmits the rotation of the drive shaft to the holding roller via the drive shaft, a first cylinder having the drive shaft inserted therein and one end connected to the second drive means, and the first cylinder And a second cylinder having one end removably connected to the cylinder and the movable member attached to the other end and the driven shaft inserted therein.

  Thereby, since it can be disassembled together with the movable member provided with the holding roller and the second cylindrical body, maintenance and inspection of the holding driving means can be easily performed.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the cleaning tank is provided with support means for supporting the substrate before the substrate carried in from the loading / unloading port is held by the holding driving means. It is characterized by being.

  As a result, when the substrate loaded from the outlet is transferred to the holding drive means, the substrate is held by the holding drive means while being supported by the support means, so that the transfer can be performed smoothly. Become.

The invention of claim 8 is the invention of claim 7, wherein the holding driving means is a pair of movable members provided so as to be movable along a direction intersecting a carrying-in direction of the substrate supported by the supporting means, First driving means for driving the pair of movable members in the contact / separation direction, and a V-shaped holding groove formed on the outer periphery of each movable member and rotated by the second driving means. Holding rollers, and
When the pair of movable members are driven in the approaching direction and the both ends in the radial direction of the substrate are held by the holding grooves of the holding roller, the substrate is raised from the support means by the inclined surfaces of the holding grooves.

  Accordingly, if the substrate supported by the support means is held by the holding drive means, the substrate can be separated from the support means, so that it is not necessary to raise the holding drive means after holding the substrate.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, at a position deviated outward from an end portion in a direction intersecting the carrying-in direction of the substrate, on the extension line of the swing of the upper arm and the lower arm, The upper and lower surfaces of the upper and lower surfaces are formed on an uneven surface, and the upper cleaning tool provided on each of the arms contacts the upper surface, the lower cleaning tool contacts the lower surface, and a flow that causes the cleaning liquid to flow out to the upper and lower surfaces. A tool cleaning member in which a path is formed is arranged.

  As a result, the upper cleaning tool and the lower cleaning tool that have become dirty after the substrate has been cleaned can be cleaned with the uneven surface of the tool cleaning member and the cleaning liquid that flows out of the uneven surface.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the both ends in the radial direction of the substrate carried in from the loading / unloading port of the processing tank are held and rotated by the holding driving means, the cleaning tool is moved by the holding driving means of the substrate. It is possible to simultaneously move along the radial direction of the upper and lower surfaces from the unheld part and clean it, and in the processing tank, the holding drive means facing the loading / unloading port and the tool unit in the inside are sequentially arranged. By arranging, the tool unit does not get in the way when the substrate is taken in and out of the loading / unloading port.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The processing apparatus of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 includes a processing tank 1. An inlet / outlet port 2 is formed in the front surface of the processing tank 1. The entrance / exit 2 is opened and closed by a shutter 3. A vent hole 4 is formed on the upper surface of the processing tank 1, and a clean unit 5 is provided in the vent hole 4. Therefore, clean air is introduced into the processing tank 1 through the clean unit 5.

The portion facing the unloading opening 2 of the processing tank 1, for supporting a semiconductor wafer 10 as a substrate carried into the processing tank 1 from the loading and unloading opening 2 by hand 6 of the robot shown by a chain line in FIG. 1 A supporting mechanism 7 and a holding driving means 8 for holding and rotating the semiconductor wafer 10 supported by the supporting mechanism 7 are provided.

  The holding drive means 8 has a pair of hollow movable members 11 whose planar shape is Y-shaped. Holding rollers 12 are respectively provided on one side surface and an intermediate portion of the tip portions of the pair of portions branched in the shape of an inverted C of the movable member 11.

  As shown in FIG. 7, each holding roller 12 has a V-shaped holding groove 13 formed on the outer peripheral surface, and one end portion of a support shaft 14 is fitted at the center. Each support shaft 14 is rotatably supported by a bearing 15 provided on the movable member 11, and a driven pulley 16 is fitted to a portion corresponding to the inside of the movable member 11.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, one movable member 11 and the other movable member 11 are arranged so that one side surface on which the holding roller is provided is directed upside down. Therefore, in one movable member 11 with the holding roller 12 on the upper side, the driven pulley 16 is provided in the middle portion of the support shaft 14, and the other movable member 11 is provided with the driven pulley 16 in the upper end portion of the support shaft 14. Yes.

  The upper end of the cylindrical body 17 is connected to the base end portion of the movable member 11. The cylindrical body 17 is inserted with a driven shaft 18 whose upper end is rotatably supported by a bearing 19. The upper end portion of the driven shaft 18 protrudes into the internal space 11a of the movable member 11, and a driving pulley 21 is fitted to the protruding end portion.

  A belt 22 is stretched between the driving pulley 21 and the three driven pulleys 16. As shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of tension rollers 23 are provided inside the movable member 11 to apply a predetermined tension to the belt 22 so that the belt 22 contacts the driving pulley 21 and the driven pulley 16. ing.

  Accordingly, when the drive pulley 21 is driven to rotate, the three driven pulleys 16 rotate in the same direction via the belt 22.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, a disk-like member 25 is provided at the lower end of the cylindrical body 17 so as to close the lower end opening surface. A through hole 26 is formed in the disk-shaped member 25, and the lower end portion of the driven shaft 18 is inserted into the through hole 26 and is rotatably supported by a bearing 27.

  An engagement pin 18 a is penetrated in the radial direction at the lower end portion of the driven shaft 18 protruding from the bearing 27, and the engagement pin 18 a is detachably engaged with a recess 29 a provided at one end portion of the drive shaft 29. ing.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the drive shaft 29 is inserted into a connecting cylinder 31 whose upper end is detachably connected to the disk-like member 25 by a screw 30, and the upper end and the lower end are respectively rotatable by a bearing 32. It is supported by.

A plurality of exhaust holes 17a penetrates the peripheral wall of the cylindrical body 17 in the axial direction and is formed at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction. The upper end of the exhaust hole 17a communicates with the internal space 11a of the movable member, and the lower end is connected to a suction pump (not shown) via a tube 17b. Therefore, dust generated in the internal space 11a of the movable member 11 is discharged through the exhaust hole 17a and the tube 17b, and therefore does not flow out into the processing tank 1.

As shown in FIG. 9, the connecting cylinder 31 is externally connected to a first plate 34 formed on the bottom plate 1a of the processing tank 1 and a base plate 33 provided on the lower surface side of the bottom plate 1a. Protruding. A lower end portion of the drive shaft 29 protruding from the connecting cylinder 31 is connected to a rotating shaft 36 a of a motor 36 through a coupling 35. This motor 36 is attached to a movable plate 37.

  A mounting plate 38 is suspended from the lower surface of the base plate 33, and a pair of rails 39 are provided horizontally and parallel to the plate surface of the mounting plate 38. A guide body 41 provided on the movable plate 37 is slidably engaged with the rail 39.

  A drive cylinder 42 is provided on the mounting plate 38. The rod 42 a of the drive cylinder 42 is connected to the movable plate 37 via a connecting member 43. When the drive cylinder 42 is operated, the movable plate 37 slides along the rail 39.

  The pair of movable members 11 of the holding driving means 8 is driven in a direction intersecting the transport direction of the semiconductor wafer 10 carried in from the loading / unloading port 3 of the processing tank 1 by the operation of the driving cylinder 42. It is like that. That is, the pair of movable members 11 are driven by the drive cylinder 42 in the approaching direction and the separating direction.

In addition, a cylindrical wall 45 is erected around the through hole 34 of the bottom plate 1a of the treatment tank 1, and the disk-like member 25 is provided with a skirt member 46 that covers the upper end opening of the cylindrical wall 45, Thus, a labyrinth structure is formed, and the processing liquid splashed in the processing tank 1 from the through hole 34 is prevented from flowing out to the outside.

  Moreover, as shown in FIG. 7, a skirt 12 a is formed on the periphery of the holding member 12 of one movable member 11 with the side surface provided with the holding roller 12 facing upward. Thereby, the skirt portion 12 a prevents the processing liquid from entering the internal space 11 a of the movable member 11.

As shown in FIG. 1, the support mechanism 7 includes a pair of front support bodies 47 and a pair of rear support bodies 48. As shown in FIG. 5, the front support 47 has a strip-shaped member 48a having one end attached to the bottom plate 1a of the processing tank 1 at a predetermined height, and the upper end of the other end of the strip-shaped member 48a is tapered to the upper end. A support shaft 49 having a predetermined length on which the portion 49a is formed is erected.

  The rear support 48 has one end of a belt-like member 52 attached to the upper end of a column 51 erected on the bottom plate 1a, and a taper portion 53a is formed on the upper end surface of the other end of the belt-like member 52. A short shaft 53 is provided.

  The tapered portion 49a of the support shaft 49 and the tapered portion 53a of the short shaft 53 are located at substantially the same height, and the height of the semiconductor wafer 10 supported by these tapered portions is the same as that of the movable member 11. It is located below the top of the V-shaped holding groove 13 of the provided holding roller 12 and in a range not deviating from the lower end of the lower slope.

As shown in FIG. 1, when the robot hand 6 holds the semiconductor wafer 10 and enters the inside / outside 2 of the processing tank 1 and descends at a predetermined position corresponding to the support mechanism 7, as shown in FIG. In addition, the four portions of the peripheral portion of the semiconductor wafer 10 are transferred while being supported by the tapered portion 49 a of the support shaft 49 and the tapered portion 53 a of the short shaft 53.

  In this state, when the pair of movable members 11 of the holding drive means 8 are driven in the approaching direction, as indicated by a chain line in FIG. 7, below the V-shaped holding grooves 13 of the holding rollers 12 of these movable members 11. The outer peripheral edge of the semiconductor wafer 10 comes into contact with the inclined surface on the side. In this state, when the pair of movable members 11 is further driven in the approaching direction, the semiconductor wafer 10 is pushed up by the lower slope of the holding groove 13 as shown by the solid line in FIG. The taper portions 49a and 53a rise and are held by the top portion of the holding groove 13.

  If the motor 36 is operated and the holding roller 12 is rotated while the semiconductor wafer 10 is held in the holding groove 13 of the holding roller 12, the semiconductor wafer 10 is driven to rotate in conjunction with the rotation. .

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 10 (a), 10 (b), a block 54 is provided on one inner side surface (only one is shown) of a portion of the pair of movable members 11 branched in an inverted C shape. Each block 54 is provided with an end face brush 55 formed in a truncated cone shape by a material such as sponge so as to be rotatable by a support shaft 56.

  Each end surface brush 55 comes into pressure contact with the outer peripheral surface of the semiconductor wafer 10 when the pair of movable members 11 is driven in the approaching direction and the semiconductor wafer 10 is held by the holding roller 12.

  Therefore, when the semiconductor wafer 10 is rotationally driven by the holding roller 12, the outer peripheral surface of the semiconductor wafer 10 is cleaned by the pair of end surface brushes 55.

  In addition, the end surface brush 55 provided in one movable member 11 and the other movable member 11 is the up-down direction similarly to the direction of the holding roller 12 of a pair of movable member 11 as shown to Fig.10 (a), (b). Is reversed.

As shown in FIG. 1, an upper tool unit 61 and a lower tool unit 62 are disposed inward of the holding driving means 8 in the processing tank 1. The upper tool unit 61 is configured as shown in FIGS. That is, the upper tool unit 61 has an upper arm 63 as shown in FIGS. The upper arm 63 is formed in a hollow shape, and a first attachment hole 64 is formed on the lower surface of the tip portion. A support member 65 is provided in the first mounting hole 64, and a middle portion of the rotation shaft 66 is rotatably supported by the support member 65 by a bearing 67.

  The upper end portion of the rotating shaft 66 protrudes into the internal space 63a of the upper arm 63, and a driven pulley 68 is fitted to the protruding end portion. A mounting portion 70 is attached to the lower end portion of the rotary shaft 66, and a presser flange 69 is detachably screwed to the mounting portion 70, and the upper cleaning brush 71 made of sponge as a cleaning tool by the presser flange 69. Is held.

  A second mounting hole 72 is formed in the lower surface of the other end of the upper arm 63. The upper end portion of the driven cylinder 73 is fitted and connected to the second mounting hole 72. The upper end of the drive cylinder 74 is connected to the lower end of the driven cylinder 73 by a screw 75 so as to be disassembled.

The drive cylinder 74 protrudes to the outside from a second through hole 76 formed in the bottom plate 1a and the base plate 33 of the processing tank 1. A drive shaft 77 is inserted into the drive cylinder 74, and the upper and lower ends of the drive shaft 77 are rotatably supported by bearings 78, respectively. An engagement groove 77 a is formed at the upper end of the drive shaft 77, and an engagement pin provided in the engagement groove 77 a in a radial direction at the lower end portion of the driven shaft 79 inserted through the driven cylinder 73. 81 is detachably engaged.

  Upper and lower ends of the driven shaft 79 are rotatably supported by bearings 82 provided on the driven cylinder 73. Therefore, if the screw 75 connecting the drive cylinder 74 and the driven cylinder 73 is removed, the driven cylinder 73, the driven shaft 79, and the arm 63 can be disassembled.

An annular wall 83 is erected on the periphery of the second through hole 76, and a skirt portion 84 is provided at the lower end of the driven cylinder 73 to cover the periphery of the annular wall 83, thereby providing a labyrinth structure. There is no. Therefore, the processing liquid in the processing tank 1 is prevented from flowing out from the second through hole 76.

A driven gear 84 is fitted and fixed to the middle portion of the drive cylinder 74 protruding from the outer bottom of the treatment tank 1, and the lower end portion is rotatably supported by a cylindrical receiver 86 via a bearing 85. . As shown in FIG. 13, the receiving body 86 is attached to a vertically movable member 87 whose side surface is L-shaped.

  A rotating motor 88 is provided at the lower end of the receiving body 86, and the rotating shaft 89 is connected to the lower end of the driving shaft 77 through a coupling 91. An upper end portion of the driven shaft 79 connected to the drive shaft 77 protrudes into the internal space 63a of the upper arm 63, and a drive pulley 92 is fitted therein. A belt 93 is stretched between the drive pulley 92 and a driven pulley 68 provided on the rotating shaft 66.

  Accordingly, when the rotary motor 88 is operated, the rotation is transmitted to the rotary shaft 66 via the drive shaft 77, the driven shaft 79 and the belt 93, so that the upper cleaning brush 71 provided on the rotary shaft 66 rotates. Will be driven.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the vertically movable member 87 is provided with a swing drive source 94 on the side of the receiving body 86. The swing drive source 94 has a motor and a speed reducer integrated therein, and a drive gear 96 that meshes with the driven gear 84 is attached to the output shaft 95.

  Therefore, when the swing drive source 94 is operated and the drive gear 96 rotates, the rotation is transmitted to the drive cylinder 74 via the driven gear 84. Therefore, the driven cylinder connected to the drive cylinder 74 is transmitted. The upper arm 63 is driven to swing in the horizontal direction via 79.

  A rotating plate 97 is attached to the drive gear 96, and the rotation angle of the rotating plate 97 is detected by a pair of detectors 98 arranged at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction as shown in FIG. Therefore, the swing angle of the upper arm 63 is controlled by the detection signal of the detector 98. That is, the swing angle is controlled by using a servo motor as the swing drive source 94 and using the pulse signal of the servo motor. The pair of detectors 98 determines the limit angle of swing in each direction. To detect. Further, the swinging position is determined by an absolute encoder (not shown).

As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, a fixed member 101 is suspended from a base plate 33 provided at the bottom of the processing tank 1 with the vertical movable member 87 and the plate surface spaced apart in parallel. On one plate surface of the fixed member 101 facing the up and down movable member 87, a driving screw 102 having an axis perpendicular to the central portion in the width direction is rotatably supported by bearings 103. Yes. A nut body 104 is screwed to the drive screw 102. The nut body 104 is non-rotatably attached to an attachment portion 87a provided with the up and down movable member 87.

  A driven pulley 105 is fitted to the lower end portion of the drive screw 102. A vertical motor 106 is provided on the other plate surface of the fixing member 101. A driving pulley 108 is fitted on the rotary shaft 107 of the vertical motor 106. A belt 109 is stretched between the driving pulley 108 and the driven pulley 105.

  As shown in FIG. 12, rails 111 are provided along the vertical direction at both ends in the width direction of one plate surface of the fixed member 101 facing the vertical movable member 87. A guide 112 provided on the vertically movable member 87 is slidably engaged with the rail 111.

  Therefore, when the vertical motor 106 is operated and the drive screw 102 is rotationally driven, the nut body 104 provided on the drive screw 102 moves in the vertical direction. The upper arm 63 is driven up and down via the drive cylinder 74 and the driven cylinder 73.

  A detection plate 113 is provided on one side of the vertical movable member 87 along the vertical direction, and the fixed member 101 is detected by detecting the vertical movement amount of the vertical drive member 87 via the detection plate 113. A container 114 is provided. Accordingly, the vertical movement amount of the upper arm 63, that is, the vertical movement amount of the upper cleaning brush 71 can be detected and controlled. That is, the detector 114 is an upper limit, a lower limit, and an origin sensor, and the vertical motor 106 uses a servo motor to control the vertical movement amount.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the drive cylinder 74 is formed with a suction path 115 having one end communicating with the internal space of the driven cylinder 73 and the other end communicating with the outside. A tube body 116 is connected to the other end of the suction path 115, and the tube body 116 is connected to a suction pump (not shown).

  Therefore, the suction force of the suction pump acts on the inner space 63a of the upper arm 63 and the lower end side of the support member 65 attached to the tip of the upper arm 63 via the communication hole 65a. It is possible to prevent the dust generated in the portion supporting the shaft 66 and the internal space 63a of the upper arm 63 from flowing out.

  On the other hand, the lower tool unit 62 has a lower arm 121 as shown in FIGS. A lower cleaning brush 122 is provided on the upper surface of one end of the lower arm 121. Since the mounting structure of the lower cleaning brush 122 is the same as that of the upper cleaning brush 71, the same reference numerals are given to the same parts and the description thereof is omitted.

  Similar to the upper arm 63, a second mounting hole 72 is formed on the lower surface of the other end of the lower arm 121, and the driven cylinder 73 a is shorter than the driven cylinder 73 of the upper arm 63. The drive cylinder 74 is connected through a screw 75 so as to be disassembled.

  The mechanism for rotationally driving the lower cleaning brush 122 and the mechanism for swinging and vertically driving the lower arm 121 have the same configuration as in the case of the upper arm 63. A description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, the upper cleaning is performed at a position facing the substantially central portion between the upper surface and the lower surface of the semiconductor wafer 10 held by the holding rollers 12 of the pair of movable members 11 of the holding driving means 8. A nozzle 124 and a lower cleaning nozzle 125 are respectively disposed. The nozzles 124 and 125 are provided at the tip of the rod 126 so that the angle thereof can be adjusted with respect to the axial direction of the rod 126. The base end portion of the rod 126 is attached to a stand 127 erected on the front end side of the inner bottom portion of the processing tank 1 so that the length can be adjusted and the rotation angle in the circumferential direction can be adjusted.

  The upper cleaning nozzle 124 and the lower cleaning nozzle 125 are supplied with a processing solution such as pure water or a chemical solution. Therefore, the processing liquid can be supplied to the upper surface and the lower surface of the semiconductor wafer 10 held by the holding driving means 8.

By the upper arm 63 and lower arm 121 transgressions swing drive source 94 that is oscillated driven in the range shown by the solid line and chain line in FIG. 1, the semiconductor wafer 10 and the upper cleaning brush 71 and the lower cleaning brush 122 The upper and lower surfaces move along a locus indicated by arrows in the figure. Each brush 71, 122 is driven in the vertical direction as well as swinging.

  That is, while the processing liquid is supplied to the upper surface and the lower surface of the semiconductor wafer 10, it moves to the center of the semiconductor wafer 10 while being away from these surfaces, and the upper cleaning brush 71 descends at that position and the lower cleaning brush 122. Rises and contacts the upper and lower surfaces of the semiconductor wafer 10. In this state, the upper surface and the lower surface are cleaned by moving along the radially outward direction of the semiconductor wafer 10 and moving to a position outside the peripheral edge.

  The movement of each of the cleaning brushes 71 and 122 during cleaning can be set in various ways. For example, the movement of the cleaning brushes 71 and 122 in the radial direction between the central portion and the peripheral portion of the semiconductor wafer 10 in contact with the upper and lower surfaces of the semiconductor wafer 10. The movement may be repeated.

A brush cleaning device 131 is disposed on the extension line of the swing of the cleaning brushes 71 and 122 in the front and rear direction of the processing tank 1 with respect to the tool units 61 and 62. The brush cleaning device 131 has a tool cleaning member 132.

  As shown in FIG. 17, the tool cleaning member 132 has an upper surface and a lower surface formed on an uneven surface 133 having a large number of convex portions and concave portions, and each cleaning brush is formed on the upper and lower uneven surfaces 133 by a support base 134. 71 and 122 are supported so as to have a contactable height. The relationship between the heights of the cleaning brushes 71 and 122 and the tool cleaning member 132 is shown in FIG.

  The tool cleaning member 132 is formed with a flow path 135 to which a cleaning liquid such as pure water is supplied. From this flow path 135, a first branch path 136a communicating with the upper surface of the tool cleaning member 132 and a second branch path 136b communicating with the lower surface are branched. As a result, the cleaning liquid can flow out from the upper and lower surfaces of the tool cleaning member 132.

  When the upper cleaning brush 71 and the lower cleaning brush 122 are in contact with and rotated on the upper and lower surfaces of the tool cleaning member 132 and the cleaning liquid flows out from the upper and lower surfaces, the cleaning brushes 71, The dirt attached to 122 can be washed away. Since the upper and lower surfaces of the tool cleaning member 132 are formed on the uneven surface 133, the cleaning effect can be enhanced.

Moreover, the tool cleaning member 132 is provided on an extension line of the swinging motion of the cleaning brushes 71 and 122. Therefore, the cleaning brushes 71 and 122 clean the upper and lower surfaces of the semiconductor wafer 10, and each of the cleaning brushes 71, 122 is in a standby state when the semiconductor wafer 10 is taken out of the processing tank 1 and replaced with an uncleaned semiconductor wafer 10. 122 can be cleaned. That is, it is not necessary to provide a dedicated processing time for cleaning the cleaning brushes 71 and 122, so that the takt time for the cleaning process of the semiconductor wafer 10 is not increased.

  Next, a case where the semiconductor wafer 10 is cleaned by the processing apparatus having the above configuration will be described. In a state where the pair of movable members 11 of the holding driving means 8 are separated from each other, the loading / unloading port 2 of the processing tank 1 is opened, and the robot hand 6 holding the unprocessed semiconductor wafer 10 is horizontally inserted into the inside.

  When the hand 6 enters a predetermined position, the semiconductor wafer 10 held by the hand 6 is moved down so that the pair of front support body 47 and rear support body 48 of the support mechanism 7 respectively. Are supported by the taper portions 49a and 53a. In this state, by driving the pair of movable members 11 in the approaching direction, the both ends in the radial direction of the semiconductor wafer 10 are engaged and held by the V-shaped holding grooves 13 of the holding rollers 12 provided in each movable member 11. Is done. At the same time, the semiconductor wafer 10 is lifted slightly upward by the lower slope of the holding groove 13, and can be lifted from the support mechanism 7 only by being held by the holding roller 12.

  Since the semiconductor wafer 10 is supported by the support mechanism 7, the height position can be accurately determined. Therefore, the semiconductor wafer 10 supported by the support mechanism 7 can be reliably delivered to the pair of movable members 11 of the holding drive means 8. That is, the delivery of the semiconductor wafer 10 can be performed directly from the robot hand 6 to the movable member 11 of the holding drive means 8, but in that case, if there is an error in positioning accuracy in the vertical direction of the hand 6, the delivery is surely performed. It may not be possible.

  However, as described above, the delivery can be performed with certainty through the support mechanism 7. Moreover, since the semiconductor wafer 10 can be lifted from the support mechanism 7 by sandwiching the semiconductor wafer 10 with the pair of movable members 11, the semiconductor wafer 10 can be sandwiched and raised simultaneously.

  When the wafer 10 is sandwiched between the pair of movable members 11 in this way, the processing liquid is sprayed from the upper cleaning nozzle 124 and the lower cleaning nozzle 125 toward the upper surface and the lower surface of the semiconductor wafer 10.

  At the same time, the upper tool unit 61 and the lower tool unit 62 are operated to clean the upper surface of the semiconductor wafer 10 with the upper cleaning brush 71 provided on the upper arm 63, and by the lower cleaning brush 122 provided on the lower arm 121. The lower surface of the semiconductor wafer 10 is cleaned.

That is, if the cleaning brushes 71 and 122 are moved to the center of the semiconductor wafer 10 in a state of being separated from the upper and lower surfaces of the semiconductor wafer 10, the upper cleaning brush 71 is lowered to the upper surface of the semiconductor wafer 10. Make contact. Similarly, the lower cleaning brush 122 is raised and brought into contact with the central portion of the lower surface of the semiconductor wafer 10. Then, the upper and lower surfaces of the semiconductor wafer 10 are cleaned by moving the cleaning brushes 71 and 122 from the central portion in the radial direction toward the outer peripheral portion.

  The movement of each of the cleaning brushes 71 and 122 along the radial direction of the semiconductor wafer 10 may be performed once, but may be repeated a plurality of times.

  When the cleaning of the upper surface and the lower surface of the semiconductor wafer 10 is completed in this way, the cleaning brushes 71 and 122 are placed on the upper surface of the tool cleaning member 132 of the brush cleaning device 131 positioned on the extension line of these swinging motions. While being brought into contact with the lower surface, the cleaning liquid is caused to flow out from the upper surface and the lower surface. Accordingly, the cleaning brushes 71 and 122 that are soiled by cleaning the semiconductor wafer 10 can be cleaned.

Simultaneously with cleaning of the cleaning brushes 71 and 122, the cleaned semiconductor wafer 10 is taken out of the processing tank 1, and the uncleaned semiconductor wafer 10 is supplied. That is, cleaning of the cleaning brushes 71 and 122 can be performed simultaneously with the operation of taking out the cleaned semiconductor wafer 10 and supplying the uncleaned semiconductor wafer 10, thereby increasing the overall tact time. Absent.

  In addition, the upper and lower surfaces of the tool cleaning member 132 are formed on the concavo-convex surface 133 so that the cleaning liquid can flow out from the upper and lower surfaces. Therefore, the pair of cleaning brushes 71 and 122 can be formed by one tool cleaning member 132. It can be cleaned at the same time. That is, the brush cleaning device 131 can be made compact.

The holding driving means 8 and the tool units 61 and 62 are configured such that a portion protruding into the processing tank 1 can be disassembled from a portion provided on the outer bottom of the cleaning tank 1. For this reason, the movable driving member 11 can be removed and the maintenance inspection can be easily performed in the holding drive means 8, and the maintenance inspection of the upper arm 63 and the lower arm 121 can be easily performed in each tool unit 61 and 62. it can.

A motor 36 that rotationally drives the holding roller 12 of the holding drive unit 8 and a drive cylinder 42 that drives the movable member 11 in the contact / separation direction are provided on the outer bottom of the processing tank 1. Since the motor 36 and the drive cylinder 42 have movable parts, dust is likely to be generated. However, by providing these outside the cleaning tank 1, even if dust is generated, it adheres to the cleaned semiconductor wafer 10. Can be prevented.

Similarly, since the rotation motor 88, the swing drive source 94 and the vertical motor 106 for driving the tool units 61 and 62 are also provided outside the processing tank 1, dust generated in these movable parts is cleaned. It is also possible to prevent the semiconductor wafer 10 from adhering.

  18 (a) and 18 (b) show another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, an upper cleaning brush 71 is provided on the upper arm 63 of the upper tool unit 61, and an ultrasonic nozzle 171 is provided on the lower arm 121 of the lower tool unit 62 instead of the lower cleaning brush 122. The ultrasonic nozzle 171 applies ultrasonic vibration to the processing liquid supplied to the ultrasonic nozzle 171 and ejects the processing liquid, and dust attached to the semiconductor wafer 10 can be removed by the ultrasonic wave.

  When the upper cleaning brush 71 and the ultrasonic nozzle 171 are swung along the radial direction of the semiconductor wafer 10, the swing angle is set so that they clean the same position in the radial direction of the upper surface and the lower surface of the semiconductor wafer 10. Alternatively, the ultrasonic nozzle 171 is moved slightly ahead of the moving direction of the upper cleaning brush 71 as indicated by an arrow in FIG.

  Further, the angle of the ultrasonic nozzle 171 is such that a part of the ultrasonic wave applied to the cleaning liquid sprayed from the ultrasonic nozzle 171 to the lower surface of the semiconductor wafer 10 is most easily transmitted from the lower surface of the semiconductor wafer 10 to the upper surface side. Set.

  When the semiconductor wafer 10 is cleaned in such a state, the lower surface of the semiconductor wafer 10 is cleaned by the processing liquid to which ultrasonic vibration is applied, and the upper surface is cleaned by the upper cleaning brush 71. When the upper cleaning brush 71 is cleaned on the upper surface of the semiconductor wafer 10, ultrasonic waves transmitted from the lower surface side act when the upper cleaning brush 71 is cleaned or immediately before the cleaning, and dust adhering to the site floats from the plate surface. Let

  Thereby, the cleaning effect of the upper surface of the semiconductor wafer 10 by the upper cleaning brush 71 can be improved.

1 is a cross-sectional view of a processing apparatus showing an embodiment of the present invention. The longitudinal cross-sectional view which follows the AA line of FIG. Sectional drawing which follows the BB line of FIG. Explanatory drawing which similarly shows the relationship of the height position of a holding drive means, a tool unit, and a brush cleaning apparatus. Similarly explanatory drawing of a support means. The top view of a holding drive means similarly. Similarly, a sectional side view of the holding drive means. Sectional drawing of the part which similarly transmits motive power to the holding roller of a holding drive means. Sectional drawing which similarly shows the part of the drive means of a holding drive means. (A), (b) is a front view which shows the end surface washing brush similarly provided in a pair of movable member of a holding drive means. Similarly, a longitudinal sectional view of the upper tool unit. FIG. Sectional drawing which follows the CC line of FIG. The longitudinal cross-sectional view of a lower tool unit similarly. FIG. Sectional drawing which follows the DD line of FIG. 15 similarly. Sectional drawing of a tool cleaning member similarly. Explanatory drawing in the case of wash | cleaning one surface of the board | substrate which shows other embodiment of this invention with a washing brush, and wash | cleaning the other surface with an ultrasonic nozzle.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Processing tank, 2 ... Loading / unloading port, 8 ... Holding drive means, 10 ... Semiconductor wafer (substrate), 61 ... Upper tool unit, 62 ... Lower tool unit, 71 ... Upper cleaning brush (cleaning tool), 122 ... Lower cleaning Brush (cleaning tool), 124... Upper cleaning nozzle (processing liquid supply means), 125... Lower cleaning nozzle (processing liquid supply means).

Claims (9)

In a processing apparatus for cleaning a substrate with a processing liquid,
A treatment tank in which a loading / unloading port for loading / unloading the substrate is formed on the front surface ;
Holding drive that is provided at a position opposite to the loading / unloading port in the processing tank and holds both ends in a direction intersecting with the loading direction of the substrate carried into the processing tank from the loading / unloading port to rotate the substrate. Means,
A treatment liquid supply means for supplying a treatment liquid toward the plate surface of the substrate held by the holding drive means;
A pair of upper and lower arms and a pair of upper and lower arms lower cleaning tool is provided for cleaning the upper cleaning tool and a lower surface to clean the upper surface of the substrate to the tip portion is disposed to the rear than the holding driving means of the treatment tank Drive that swings and drives the arm so that each cleaning tool moves along the radial direction of the substrate through a portion not held by the holding driving means from the rear in the processing tank. A substrate processing apparatus comprising: a tool unit having means. The tool unit includes an upper tool unit having an upper arm provided with an upper cleaning tool that cleans and rotates the upper surface of the substrate at the tip, and is driven to rotate while cleaning the lower surface of the substrate at the tip. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a lower tool unit having a lower arm provided with a lower cleaning tool. In the tool unit, the driving means is provided on the outer bottom portion of the processing tank, and the arm driven by the driving means is a cylinder whose one end is connected to the driving means and a midway portion is formed to be disassembled. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate processing apparatus is provided at an end. The holding driving means is provided with a pair of movable members provided with holding rollers for holding both ends in a direction intersecting the carrying-in direction of the substrate carried in from the loading / unloading port of the processing tank and movable along the radial direction of the substrate. And a first drive means provided on the outer bottom of the cleaning tank for rotationally driving the holding roller, and a second drive means for driving the pair of movable members in the contact / separation direction. Item 2. A substrate processing apparatus according to Item 1. 5. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the movable member is provided with an end surface cleaning brush for contacting and cleaning the outer peripheral surface of the substrate held by the holding roller. The holding drive means is a drive shaft that is rotationally driven by the first drive means, and is removably connected to the drive shaft, and transmits the rotation of the first drive means to the holding roller via the drive shaft. A driven shaft, a first cylindrical body having one end connected to the second driving means, the first driving shaft being inserted therein, and one end connected to the first cylindrical body removably. 6. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising: a second cylindrical body having a movable member attached and the driven shaft inserted therein. 2. The substrate according to claim 1, wherein a support means for supporting the substrate before the substrate carried from the loading / unloading port is held by the holding drive means is provided in the cleaning tank. Processing equipment. The holding driving means includes a pair of movable members movably provided along a direction intersecting a loading direction of the substrate supported by the support means, and a first driving the pair of movable members in the contact / separation direction. Driving means, and a holding roller that is provided at the tip of each movable member, has a V-shaped holding groove formed on the outer periphery, and is driven to rotate by the second driving means,
The substrate is lifted from the support means by the slope of the holding groove when the pair of movable members are driven in the approaching direction and both radial ends of the substrate are held by the holding groove of the holding roller. Item 8. The substrate processing apparatus according to Item 7. On the extended line of the swing of the upper arm and the lower arm, an upper surface and a lower surface are respectively formed as irregular surfaces on the extension line of the swing of the upper arm and the lower arm at a position deviated outward from the end portion in the direction intersecting the carry-in direction of the substrate. An upper cleaning tool provided on the arm is in contact with the upper surface, a lower cleaning tool is in contact with the lower surface, and a tool cleaning member in which a flow path for allowing the cleaning liquid to flow out is formed on the upper and lower surfaces. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2.

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