JPH07201798A - Single wafer processing method and its apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a method for single wafer processing which can reduce the running cost of a clean room and improve the yield CONSTITUTION:A method for single wafer processing comprises the step for treating a substrate 1 with a liquid in a cup-shaped container, 2 and the step for drying the substrate 1 while the atmosphere of the cup-shaped container 2 is circulated via a circulation line 20 as the container 2 keeps almost closed and while dust and moisture in the atmosphere in the container 2 is separated by a separation means 21 in the circulation line 20.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a single-wafer processing method and apparatus for processing substrates such as glass substrates used in liquid crystal panels and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A liquid crystal device has a glass substrate of several μm.
This is an electronic device that can be obtained by forming a fine film pattern of a large number of times many times, and various processes using a chemical solution or pure water are essential in the fine processing. FIG. 2 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of a processing chamber in which a substrate 1 such as a glass substrate is processed in a single wafer in such a processing apparatus. A substrate chuck 3 on which a substrate 1 is mounted and a processing means 4 are arranged in a cup-shaped container 2 made of SUS or PVC which is a processing chamber. Reference numeral 5 denotes a shaft that connects the motor 6 for rotating the substrate chuck 3 to the substrate chuck 3 when the substrate 1 is dried, for example.

The processing means 4 is, for example, a cleaning device, which is a nozzle for spraying pure water or an appropriate chemical liquid onto the substrate 1 in the form of an ultrasonic jet or an ultra-high pressure jet to wash away foreign matters and particles on the substrate 1, and to dry it. If it is an apparatus, it is a nozzle that blows out dry air or nitrogen gas. When the processing means 4 is operated in the cup-shaped container 2 to process the substrate 1, treated water is generated in the cup-shaped container 2 and the chemicals and their mist 7 are contained in the atmosphere. For this reason, these treated water and atmosphere are collected at the drainage port 8, water drops are separated by the mist separator 9 for appropriate draining, the treated water or the chemical liquid is discharged to the waste liquid line 10 including the waste water, and the atmosphere is exhaust line 11. Although not shown, it is sent to a separate processing device.

In this case, the atmosphere in the cup-shaped container 2 is sucked by the exhaust line 11, but since these production facilities are usually installed in a clean room, the clean air 12 above the cup-shaped container 2 with little dust. Is always sucked into the cup-shaped container 2. Reference numeral 13 is a safety cover for preventing glass fragments from scattering when the glass substrate 1 is broken, and is provided with a plurality of intake ports 14 for taking in the clean air 12.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the cup-shaped container 2. Reference numeral 15 is the substrate 1 because the substrate 1 does not fly even if the substrate 1 is mounted on the substrate chuck 3 and the substrate chuck 3 is rotated. Is a stopper disposed at the corner of the substrate, and 16 is a protrusion-like support that prevents the substrate 1 from bending and coming into contact with the substrate chuck 3 during processing. Reference numeral 17 denotes an arm that rotationally scans the nozzles of the processing means 4, and generally scans the glass substrate 1 to make the processing on the substrate 1 uniform.

2 and 3, other components such as a mechanism for transferring the substrate 1 and a sealing mechanism for preventing the processing water and the chemical solution from leaking from the processing chamber are omitted, and the cup-shaped container is omitted. Areas 18 and 19 installed on the upstream side and the downstream side of 2 are, for example, an etching device using a chemical solution,
A loader, an unloader, etc. for the substrate 1 are arranged.

[0007]

This conventional single-wafer substrate processing apparatus is different from the batch type substrate processing apparatus in which a large number of glass substrates are stored in a storage container such as a cassette and processed in a batch.
By turbulence of the surrounding air accompanying high speed rotation of the substrate 1 at the time of drying or by spraying a large amount of dry gas, and by spraying a chemical solution or pure water at the time of cleaning into an ultrasonic jet or a high-pressure jet, The mist of is generated.

The atmosphere in the cup-shaped container 2 is always the cup-shaped container 2 from the viewpoint of safety and facility maintenance of the chemical liquid mist, and from the viewpoint of preventing the mist of the treated water from adhering on the substrate 1 due to splashing and stains during drying. It is necessary to exhaust from 2. When the substrate 1 is small, the exhaust volume is small because the volume inside the cup-shaped container 2 is also small, but when the substrate size is large, the exhaust volume increases dramatically. For example 400x
The exhaust volume of the cup-shaped container 2 of the 300 mm size glass substrate 1 is required to be about 10 m ³ / min in the catalog value, and the exhaust volume will increase with further expansion of the substrate size in the liquid crystal device field in the future. Increasing is not difficult to predict.

As a result, the amount of exhaust gas is naturally increased, but a large amount of clean air that is highly purified and dust is removed is consumed, so that an increase in running cost of the clean room cannot be avoided. There is. Also, since a large amount of clean air around the device is sucked in, for example, the total opening area of the cup-shaped container 2 described above is 1 m.
^{If 2} , the wind speed of the clean air sucked into the cup-shaped container 2 is 0.16 m / sec, which is almost half of the vertical laminar flow velocity of 0.3 m / sec flowing from the ceiling to the device or floor in the clean room. Not only does it make it difficult to adjust and maintain the air flow in the clean room,
At the same time, dust in the clean air is sucked toward the intake port of the processing device, which causes a problem of lowering the yield of products.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a single-wafer processing method and apparatus capable of reducing the running cost of a clean room and improving the yield.

[0011]

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a single-wafer substrate processing method in which a substrate is processed using a liquid in a processing chamber, and the processing chamber is almost sealed and an atmosphere in the processing chamber is passed through a circulation line. And a circulation step of drying the substrate while separating the dust and water in the atmosphere in the processing chamber by the separation means in the circulation line.

A method for processing a single-wafer substrate according to a second aspect is the method according to the first aspect.
In the above, the drying step is characterized in that the substrate is dried by rotating the substrate at a high speed. According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the single-wafer substrate processing method according to the first aspect, wherein the substrate is dried by blowing at least one of the air and the nitrogen gas which have been dried in the drying step.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the single-wafer substrate processing method, the processing chamber in which the substrate is placed is substantially sealed, the atmosphere in the processing chamber is circulated through the circulation line, and the dust and mist in the atmosphere in the processing chamber are circulated. In the above, the step of cleaning the substrate while separating it by the separating means is included. According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the single-wafer substrate processing method according to the fourth aspect, wherein the cleaning of the substrate is performed by spraying at least one of pure water and a chemical solution into an ultrasonic jet on the substrate.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a single-wafer processing method.
In the above, the cleaning of the substrate is characterized in that at least one of pure water and a chemical liquid is made into a super high pressure jet and sprayed onto the substrate. The single-wafer substrate processing apparatus according to claim 7,
A processing chamber having a substrate chuck for holding a substrate and a processing means for cleaning and drying the substrate, a circulation line having both ends connected to the processing chamber, and a blower provided in the circulation line to circulate the atmosphere of the processing chamber. A fan, a separation means arranged on the windward side of the blower fan of the circulation line to separate dust and mist in the atmosphere, and a waste liquid line connected to the windward side of the separation means of the circulation line. .

[0015]

According to the single-wafer substrate processing method of the first aspect, when the substrate is processed with the liquid and then the substrate is dried, the atmosphere in the processing chamber is circulated through the circulation line and the separating means is used. Since moisture and dust in the atmosphere are separated, the atmosphere returning from the circulation line into the processing chamber is in a state similar to that of clean air and is reused for drying the substrate. In this way, since the atmosphere inside the processing chamber containing a large amount of dust and moisture is collected and reused without being exhausted, even if the substrate size increases, a large amount of clean air introduced from the outside into the processing chamber is consumed. Can be prevented, and the running cost of the clean room can be reduced.
In addition, the flow of clean air introduced from the outside is not disturbed, and the amount of dust that flows with the clean air is small, which improves the yield of products.

According to the single-wafer processing method of the second aspect, in the first aspect, since the substrate is dried by rotating the substrate at a high speed in the drying step, it has the same effect as the first aspect. According to the single-wafer processing method of claim 3, in the drying step of claim 1, the substrate is dried by blowing at least one of dried air and nitrogen gas to the substrate. .

According to the single-wafer processing method of the fourth aspect, the atmosphere of the processing chamber is circulated and the mist and the dust are separated by the separating means in the cleaning step, so that there is the same effect as the first aspect. According to the single-wafer substrate processing method of claim 5, in claim 4, since in the cleaning of the substrate, at least one of pure water and a chemical solution is made into an ultrasonic jet and sprayed onto the substrate. Has the same effect.

According to the single-wafer processing method of claim 6, in the cleaning of the substrate according to claim 4, at least one of the pure water and the chemical liquid is sprayed to the substrate in the form of an ultra-high pressure jet. There is. According to the single-wafer substrate processing apparatus of claim 7, in the substrate processing steps such as cleaning and drying, the atmosphere in the processing chamber can be circulated and reused, and dust and mist can be separated by the separating means, and introduced from the outside. Since the amount of clean air used can be reduced, the running cost of the clean room can be reduced, and the yield of products can be improved.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. That is, FIG. 1 shows a schematic sectional view of the processing chamber,
2 is different from the conventional one in that a circulation line 20 is connected to the processing chamber 2, and a separation means 21 and a blower fan 22 having a special filter that allows air to pass through the circulation line 20 but does not pass water are provided. That is, the collected air from which water has been removed and which has been removed of water is sucked and again fed into the cup-shaped container 2 which is the processing chamber as clean air 23.
As a result, the atmosphere in the processing chamber 2 is circulated. In addition, the same parts as those in FIG. 2 are designated by the same reference numerals.

First, the single-wafer substrate processing method of this embodiment will be described. In this processing method, a processing step of processing a substrate 1 with a liquid in a cup-shaped container 2 which is a processing chamber, and a cup-shaped container 2 are described. And the atmosphere in the cup-shaped container 2 is circulated through the circulation line 20 and the substrate 1 is dried while separating the dust and moisture in the atmosphere in the cup-shaped container 2 by the separating means 21 in the circulation line 20. And a drying step.

As the separating means 21, a special filter is used for removing dust and moisture in the atmosphere of the cup-shaped container 2. An example of this special filter is a membrane filter bag made by GORE-TEX. This filter is a continuous porous body with an extremely fine structure obtained by specially processing PTFE, has a high porosity, and has the ability to reliably collect even fine powders, while at the same time providing a high release ( (Peeling) characteristics, heat resistance, and chemical resistance. However, when operating for a long time, the purity of the circulating air and heat generation cannot be avoided, so an intake port 24 for taking in fresh air into the cup-shaped container 2 is appropriately formed in the cup-shaped container 2. It is desirable to provide an exhaust port 25 for discharging the unnecessary atmosphere on the opposite side of the mist separator 9 from the cup-shaped container 2.

The drying step may be performed by rotating the substrate 1 at a high speed, or by using an air knife (not shown) to blow at least one of dried air and nitrogen gas onto the substrate 1. In the former case, when the dry air or the nitrogen gas is blown from the nozzle of the processing means 4 in order to shorten the drying time, fresh air is appropriately fed even if the cup-shaped container 2 is not provided with the intake port 24. The mouth 24 is unnecessary.

Further, this single-wafer substrate processing apparatus includes a cup-shaped container 2 which is a processing chamber having a substrate chuck 3 for holding the substrate 1 and a processing means 4 for cleaning and drying the substrate 1.
Circulation line 20 having both ends connected to the cup-shaped container 2
And a blower fan 22 provided in the circulation line 20 to circulate the atmosphere of the cup-shaped container 2, and a separation means arranged on the windward side of the blower fan 22 in the circulation line 21 to separate dust and mist in the atmosphere. 21 and the waste liquid line 1 connected to the windward side of the separating means 21 of the circulation line 20.
It has 0 and. In the embodiment, one end of the circulation line 20 is connected to the exhaust port 25 side of the mist separator 9 provided in the waste liquid line 10 of the drainage port 8, and the other end of the circulation line 20 is connected to the cup-shaped container 2.

According to this embodiment, after the substrate 1 is treated with the liquid, when the substrate 1 is dried, the atmosphere in the cup-shaped container 2 is circulated through the circulation line 20 and the separating means 21 is used. As a result, moisture and dust in the atmosphere are separated, so that the atmosphere returning from the circulation line 20 into the processing chamber is in a state similar to that of clean air and is reused for drying the substrate 1.

Since the atmosphere in the processing chamber containing a large amount of dust and water is recovered and reused without being exhausted in this manner, even if the substrate size increases, it is introduced into the cup-shaped container 2 from the outside. It is possible to prevent a large amount of clean air from being consumed and reduce the running cost of the clean room. In addition, the flow of clean air introduced from the outside is not disturbed, and the amount of dust that flows with the clean air is small, which improves the yield of products.

A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. That is, in the single-wafer substrate processing method, in the cleaning step of the processing step of the first embodiment, the cup-shaped container 2 in which the substrate 1 is placed is almost sealed, and the atmosphere of the cup-shaped container 2 is passed through the circulation line 20. The circulation line 2 that circulates and dusts and mists in the atmosphere inside the cup-shaped container 2 are circulated.
At 0, the substrate 1 is washed while being separated by the separating means 21.

The processing device is similar to that of the first embodiment. Further, the cleaning of the substrate 1 includes a method of spraying at least one of pure water and a chemical solution onto the substrate 1 in the form of an ultrasonic jet, and a method of spraying at least one of pure water and a chemical solution into the form of an ultra-high pressure jet onto the substrate 1. . Others are the same as those in the first embodiment.

[0028]

According to the single-wafer substrate processing method of the first aspect,
After the substrate is treated with the liquid, when the substrate is dried, the atmosphere in the treatment chamber is circulated through the circulation line, and the moisture and dust in the atmosphere are separated by the separation means, so the treatment is performed from the circulation line. The atmosphere returning to the room is in a state similar to that of clean air and is reused for drying the substrate. In this way, since the atmosphere inside the processing chamber containing a large amount of dust and moisture is collected and reused without being exhausted, even if the substrate size increases, a large amount of clean air introduced from the outside into the processing chamber is consumed. Can be prevented, and the running cost of the clean room can be reduced. In addition, the flow of clean air introduced from the outside is not disturbed, and the amount of dust that flows with the clean air is small, so that the yield of products can be improved.

According to the single-wafer substrate processing method of the second aspect, since the substrate is dried by rotating the substrate at a high speed in the drying step of the first aspect, the same effect as the first aspect is obtained. According to the single-wafer substrate processing method of claim 3, since the substrate is dried by blowing at least one of the dried air and nitrogen gas to the substrate in the drying step in claim 1, the same effect as in claim 1 is obtained. .

According to the single-wafer substrate processing method of the fourth aspect, the atmosphere of the processing chamber is circulated and the mist and dust are separated by the separating means in the cleaning step, and therefore, the same effect as the first aspect is obtained. According to the single-wafer substrate processing method of claim 5, in claim 4, since in the cleaning of the substrate, at least one of pure water and a chemical solution is made into an ultrasonic jet and sprayed onto the substrate. It has the same effect.

According to the single-wafer substrate processing method of claim 6, in the cleaning of the substrate according to claim 4, at least one of pure water and a chemical solution is sprayed onto the substrate in the form of an ultra-high pressure jet. There is. According to the single-wafer substrate processing apparatus of claim 7, in the substrate processing steps such as cleaning and drying, the atmosphere in the processing chamber can be circulated and reused, and dust and mist can be separated by the separating means, and introduced from the outside. Since the amount of clean air used can be reduced, the running cost of the clean room can be reduced, and the yield of products can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of an apparatus applied to a single-wafer substrate processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of an apparatus applied to a conventional single-wafer processing method.

FIG. 3 is a partial plan view showing a substrate on the substrate chuck.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 substrate 2 cup-shaped container which is a processing chamber 4 processing means 20 circulation line 21 separation means 22 blower fan

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Internal reference number FI technical display location F26B 21/14 G02F 1/1333 500

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A processing step of processing a substrate using a liquid in a processing chamber, and a process of substantially sealing the processing chamber to circulate the atmosphere of the processing chamber through a circulation line and dust in the atmosphere of the processing chamber. And a drying step of drying the substrate while separating water in the circulation line by a separating means. 2. The single-wafer processing method according to claim 1, wherein in the drying step, the substrate is dried by rotating the substrate at a high speed. 3. The single-wafer processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in the drying step, the substrate is dried by blowing at least one of dried air and nitrogen gas onto the substrate. 4. A processing chamber in which a substrate is placed is almost sealed, the atmosphere in the processing chamber is circulated through a circulation line, and dust and mist in the atmosphere in the processing chamber are separated by a separation means in the circulation line. While treating the substrate, a single-wafer substrate processing method. 5. The single-wafer processing method according to claim 4, wherein the cleaning of the substrate is performed by spraying at least one of pure water and a chemical liquid onto the substrate in an ultrasonic jet form. 6. The single-wafer substrate processing method according to claim 4, wherein at least one of pure water and a chemical liquid is sprayed onto the substrate in the form of an ultrahigh pressure jet to clean the substrate. 7. A processing chamber having a substrate chuck for holding a substrate and processing means for cleaning / drying the substrate, a circulation line having both ends connected to the processing chamber, and the treatment line provided in the circulation line. A blower fan that circulates the atmosphere in the chamber, a separation unit that is arranged on the windward side of the blower fan of the circulation line to separate dust and mist in the atmosphere, and a windward side of the separation unit of the circulation line. A single-wafer processing apparatus having a connected waste liquid line.