JPH1064872A - Cleaning method and its device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the amount used of cleaning liquid and improve cleaning efficiency. SOLUTION: In this cleaning method, a chemical 2 is fed onto a semiconductor wafer W through circulation so as to apply chemical treatment thereto, and a pure water 1 is sprayed onto the wafer W to clean it thereafter. After applying chemical treatment and discharging the chemical 2, the pure water 1 in a pure water tank 1 is supplied to a treatment tank 10 for immersing the wafer W for cleaning. Such a step is repeated, thereby reducing a recovery time of the pure water up to a specified resistivity value.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cleaning method and an apparatus for cleaning an object to be processed, such as a semiconductor wafer or a glass substrate for LCD, with a chemical solution and then cleaning with a cleaning solution.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in a manufacturing process of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, a processing liquid such as a chemical liquid or a rinsing liquid (cleaning liquid) is stored in an object to be processed such as a semiconductor wafer or an LCD glass substrate (hereinafter, referred to as a wafer). A cleaning treatment method of sequentially immersing in a treatment bath for cleaning is widely adopted.

As an example of such a cleaning processing method, an object to be processed, for example, a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter, referred to as a wafer) is accommodated in a processing tank in a state of being held by a holding means, for example, a wafer boat, and a chemical, for example, a chemical liquid is supplied from a chemical supply nozzle or the like. A chemical solution such as ammonia, hydrochloric acid or hydrofluoric acid is supplied (spouted) to the wafer, and is circulated, that is, overflows from the processing tank to the outer tank, and circulates from the outer tank into the processing tank again, and particles adhere to the wafer. After removing contaminants such as metals and metal ions or removing oxide films, etc., the chemical solution is discharged, and then a cleaning liquid, for example, pure water is rapidly supplied (water supply) into the processing tank, and the wafer is immersed. A method of cleaning a wafer by overflowing is adopted.

As another cleaning processing method, a cleaning method in which pure water is jetted from below a wafer housed in a processing bath to jet rinse the wafer is known. Further, there is also known a cleaning treatment method in which pure water is brought into contact with a wafer in a shower state simultaneously or independently with jet rinsing to perform shower rinsing.

[0005]

However, in the former method, that is, in the method of rapidly supplying (water supply) pure water to the treatment tank after the treatment with the chemical solution, the chemical solution remains in the treatment tank, so that the chemical solution is replaced with pure water. It takes a lot of time to reach a predetermined specific resistance. Therefore, there is a problem that the consumption of the pure water is increased and the pure water is wasted, and the cleaning efficiency is reduced.

In the latter method, that is, the method of cleaning by ejecting pure water from below the wafer, as shown in FIG. 17 (a), it is disposed below the wafer W accommodated in the processing tank a. When the pure water 1 is jetted from the cleaning liquid supply means, for example, the jet nozzle b toward the wafer W, the jet nozzle b
Pure water 1 spouted from the tank may be in a fountain state, scattered outside the treatment tank a, and contaminate the surroundings.

As a means for solving this problem, for example, as shown in FIG.
After the jet nozzle b is completely immersed in the pure water 1, the on-off valve d is opened and the pure water 1 is supplied from the jet nozzle b.
A method of squirting is considered. But with this method,
Since the amount of the pure water 1 supplied from the shower nozzle c is small, much time is required until the pure water 1 is jetted from the jet nozzle b, and much time is required for the cleaning process. Also,
There is a problem that the timing of jetting pure water from the jet nozzle b, that is, the time control cannot be accurately performed.

As another solution, FIG.
As shown in the above, a method of supplying pure water 1 into the treatment tank a from the pure water supply line A or B and jetting the pure water 1 from the jet nozzle b after the jet nozzle b is completely immersed in the pure water 1 is also available. Conceivable. However, in this method, since it is necessary to provide the pure water supply line A or B, there is a problem that the size of the apparatus is increased and the cost is increased. Moreover, similarly to the method of FIG. 17B, there is a problem that the timing of jetting the pure water from the jet nozzle b, that is, the time control cannot be accurately performed.

As still another solution, FIG.
As shown in (d), an on-off valve f with water saving is used in place of the on-off valve interposed in the pure water supply line e, and pure water 1 is supplied in a water-saving state to maintain the cleanliness of the processing tank a ( About 3 ~ pure water
(4 liter / min supply), and after the jet nozzle b is completely immersed in pure water, a method of supplying pure water 1 from the jet nozzle b at a large flow rate is also conceivable. There is a problem that the timing of jetting the pure water from the nozzle, that is, the time control cannot be accurately performed, and there is a problem that it takes time to jet the pure water from the jet nozzle due to a small water saving flow rate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a cleaning method and a cleaning apparatus capable of reducing the amount of cleaning liquid used and improving the cleaning efficiency. .

[0011]

Means for Solving the Problems To achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, after a chemical solution is brought into contact with an object to be treated, a cleaning solution is brought into contact with the object to be treated. In the cleaning method of performing the cleaning process, after performing the chemical solution treatment and draining the chemical solution, a cleaning step of supplying the cleaning solution into a processing tank that houses the processing object and immersing and cleaning the processing object is performed. It is characterized by being repeatedly performed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the cleaning treatment method according to the first aspect, after the chemical solution treatment is performed and the chemical solution is drained, or during the drainage, the cleaning solution is showered onto the object to be processed. The object is preliminarily cleaned by being brought into contact with the object, and thereafter, the cleaning step is repeatedly performed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the cleaning method according to the first or second aspect, an inert gas is supplied into the processing tank to prevent carbon dioxide from dissolving in the cleaning liquid and to supply the inert gas. The cleaning liquid supplied from the tank is overflowed from the processing tank to perform the cleaning processing.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cleaning method in which a cleaning liquid is jetted from a cleaning liquid supply means disposed below a processing object accommodated in a processing tank toward the processing object to wash the processing object. In the processing method, after the cleaning liquid supply unit is immersed in the cleaning liquid ejected from the cleaning liquid supply unit, the object to be processed is cleaned by changing a discharge amount of the cleaning liquid.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a processing tank for accommodating an object to be processed, and a cleaning liquid supply means disposed in the processing tank below the object to be processed and jetting a cleaning liquid toward the object to be processed. A cleaning liquid supply source is connected to the cleaning liquid supply means via a flow rate adjusting means, and the flow rate adjusting means is controlled based on a detection signal from the cleaning liquid amount detecting means in the processing tank. And controllable.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cleaning apparatus comprising a processing tank for accommodating an object to be processed and a cleaning liquid supply means for supplying a cleaning liquid to the object in the processing tank. A lid for opening and closing the tank is provided, and an inert gas supply unit for supplying an inert gas into the processing tank is provided on the lid.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the cleaning step of supplying the cleaning liquid after performing the chemical processing and draining the chemical liquid is repeatedly performed, thereby removing the chemical liquid remaining after the chemical processing and replacing the cleaning liquid with the cleaning liquid. The time can be shortened, and the recovery time of the cleaning liquid to the predetermined specific resistance value can be shortened. Therefore, the amount of the cleaning liquid used can be reduced, and the cleaning efficiency can be improved. In addition, rapid supply of the cleaning liquid is preferable in that throughput can be improved.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the cleaning liquid is supplied to the object to be processed in the form of a shower after or after draining the chemical solution after the chemical solution treatment, thereby adhering to the object to be processed. Residual chemicals can be removed. Therefore, it is possible to further shorten the recovery time of the subsequently supplied cleaning liquid to the predetermined specific resistance value, and to further reduce the amount of the cleaning liquid used.

According to the third or sixth aspect of the present invention, an inert gas is supplied into the processing tank to prevent carbon dioxide from dissolving into the cleaning liquid, and the cleaning liquid supplied from the supply means is supplied from the processing tank. By performing the cleaning process by overflowing, the recovery time of the cleaning liquid to the predetermined specific resistance value can be reduced. Therefore, the cleaning efficiency can be improved, the amount of the cleaning liquid used can be reduced, and the cleaning time can be shortened.

According to the fourth or fifth aspect of the present invention, after the cleaning liquid supply means is immersed by the depth of the cleaning liquid in the processing tank by the cleaning liquid ejected from the cleaning liquid supply means, the discharge amount of the cleaning liquid is changed, for example, to increase. By cleaning the object to be processed, the scattering of the cleaning liquid outside the processing tank can be prevented, and the supply time of the cleaning liquid can be reduced.

[0021]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, a case where the present invention is applied to a semiconductor wafer cleaning processing apparatus will be described.

First Embodiment FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing a first embodiment of a cleaning apparatus according to the present invention.

In the cleaning apparatus, a processing tank 1 for accommodating a semiconductor wafer W to be processed (hereinafter, referred to as a wafer).
0 and the upper end opening of the processing tank 10
An outer tank 11 for receiving a chemical solution overflowing from 0, such as ammonia, hydrochloric acid, or hydrofluoric acid, or a cleaning solution, for example, pure water 1, and a predetermined number of, for example, 50 wafers W arranged in the processing tank 10 at appropriate intervals. Holding means, for example, a wafer boat 30, a pure water storage tank 20 (hereinafter referred to as a pure water tank) for storing pure water 1 rapidly supplied into the processing tank 10, and a pure water tank A cleaning liquid supply unit, such as a shower nozzle 40, for supplying the inner wafer W and the outer tank 11; a supply nozzle 28 for supplying the pure water 1 in the pure water tank 20 to the wafer W in the processing tank 10 and the processing tank; A supply means, for example, a jet nozzle 42, which is provided at the bottom of the tank 10 and supplies the wafer W with the chemical solution or the pure water 1 is provided.

The processing tank 10 and the outer tank 11 are made of a material having high corrosion resistance and chemical resistance, for example, quartz.
A drain port 10a is provided at the bottom of the processing tank 10,
A drain pipe 13 is connected to the drain port 10a through a drain valve 12.
Is connected. In addition, a mesh 17 is laid on the upper part of the drainage port 10a, and the mesh 17 can collect dust and the like in the chemical solution discharged from the processing tank 10. A pure water discharge pipe 18 is connected to an upper side of the processing tank 10, for example, at a position 20 to 40 mm from an upper end of the processing tank 10, and a specific resistance value detector 19 connected to the pure water discharge pipe 18. The specific resistance value of the pure water in the processing tank 10 is measured.

A drain port 11a is provided at the bottom of the outer tank 11, and a circulation pipe 43 is connected to the drain port 11a and the jet nozzle 42. A pump 44, a damper 45, and a filter 46 are provided in this circulation line 43 in this order from the drain port 11a side. Filter 4
A pure water supply source 48 is connected between the nozzle 6 and the jet nozzle 42 via a switching valve 47. Further, a drain pipe 52 is provided between the drainage port 11a and the pump 44 via a switching valve 51.
Is connected, and a chemical solution supply source 50 is connected through a switching valve 49.
Is connected, and a drain pipe 54 is branched between the filter 46 and the switching valve 47 via a drain valve 53.

In this case, the jet nozzle 42, as shown in FIG.
And a plurality of nozzle holes 42b formed at appropriate intervals in the longitudinal direction of a pipe-shaped nozzle body 42a disposed on both lower sides of the pipe.

As described above, by providing the circulation piping system between the jet nozzle 42 and the drainage port 11a of the outer tank 11, the processing tank 10 is supplied from the chemical supply source 50 by the pump 44.
After the chemical solution supplied into the wafer W overflows from the processing tank 10 and the chemical solution circulation is completed, particles and metal ions adhering to the surface of the wafer W while being circulated through the circulation pipe 43 and supplied to the wafer W again from the jet nozzle 42 are removed. An oxide film or the like can be removed. Also, after draining the drug solution,
By switching the switching valve 47, the pure water supplied from the pure water supply source 48 can be jetted from the jet nozzle 42 onto the wafer W to remove the chemical solution attached to the wafer W. In this case, the pure water overflowing from the processing tank 10 is discharged through the drain pipe 52.

On the other hand, the pure water tank 20, as shown in FIG.
An outside air inlet 22 for supplying pure water 1 is provided. The tank body 21 contains pure water 1 in the tank.
An overflow pipe 23 for maintaining a constant amount of water is provided, and an upper limit sensor 2 for detecting an upper limit, a lower limit, and an appropriate amount of the liquid level of the pure water 1 is provided near the outside of the tank body 21.
4a, a lower limit sensor 24b and an appropriate amount sensor 24c are provided, and a predetermined amount of pure water 1 is always stored in the tank by these sensors. In this case, the volume of the pure water 1 in the tank needs to be at least equal to or more than 35 liters (l) of a single supply rapidly supplied into the treatment tank 10, and preferably to a rapid supply of two liters such as 70 liters. (L) It is better to accommodate. The tank body 21
A heater 25 having a heater wire inserted through a quartz tube, for example, is disposed at the bottom of the tank so that the pure water 1 in the tank can be heated to a predetermined temperature, for example, 60 to 80 ° C.
The reason why the pure water 1 in the tank is heated to 60 to 80 ° C. is that the rinsing efficiency of the pure water 1 is increased.

A supply port (not shown) provided at the bottom of the tank body 21 of the pure water tank 20 configured as described above.
And the supply nozzle 28 are connected via a supply pipe 26, and by opening and closing a supply valve 27 provided in the supply pipe 26, the pure water 1 in the pure water tank 20 is supplied from the supply nozzle 28 to the inside of the processing tank 10. It is configured to be supplied to the wafer W and the outer tank 11.

On the other hand, the shower nozzle 40 is connected to a pure water supply pipe 26a of a factory provided with an on-off valve 29, and is disposed above both opposite sides of the processing tank 10, as shown in FIGS. Each of the shower nozzles 40 is provided with a large number of wafer cleaning nozzle holes 40b at appropriate intervals inside the processing tank below the pipe-shaped nozzle body 40a.

The shower nozzle 40 thus configured
And the pure water 1 jetted from the jet nozzle 42 is supplied toward the wafer W held in the processing tank 10, so that the wafer W can be pre-cleaned. Pure water in the tank 20 is rapidly supplied.

As shown in FIG. 2, the wafer boat 30 has a pair of bolts 32a fixed to a mounting member 32 connected to an elevating mechanism 31 disposed outside the processing tank 10 (only one in the drawing). ). A support member 33 having an inverted T-shape, one central holding rod 34 provided at a lower center portion between the support members 33, and a right and left side end portion between the support members 33 laid in parallel with each other. Two side holding rods 35
And is configured to be able to move up and down in the processing chamber 12 by driving the elevating mechanism 31. In this case, the center holding rod 34 and the side holding rod 35 are provided with a plurality of, for example, 50 holding grooves 34a, 35a at appropriate intervals in the longitudinal direction. These holding rods 3
Reference numerals 4 and 35 are made of a material having excellent corrosion resistance, heat resistance and strength resistance, for example, a member made of polyetheretherketone (PEEK) or quartz.

Next, the procedure of the chemical processing and the cleaning processing of the wafer W by the cleaning processing apparatus of the first embodiment will be described.
This will be described with reference to the time chart shown in FIG. 3 and the schematic sectional views shown in FIGS. First, a plurality of wafers W, for example, 50 wafers conveyed by a wafer chuck (not shown) are received by the wafer boat 30 and arranged in the processing tank 10, and then a chemical such as ammonia or hydrochloric acid is supplied from the chemical supply source 50 into the processing tank 10. Or chemical solution 2 such as hydrofluoric acid
And the chemical solution 2 is caused to overflow from the processing tank 10, and the chemical solution 2 overflowed by the driving of the pump 44 in the circulation pipe 43 is jetted from the jet nozzle 42 toward the wafer W and adheres to the surface of the wafer W. The removed particles, metal ions, oxide films and the like are removed (chemical solution circulation treatment; see FIG. 4).

After performing the chemical solution treatment for a predetermined time, the circulating supply of the chemical solution 2 is stopped, and the chemical solution 2 in the treatment tank 10 is discharged from the drain pipe 13 connected to the drain port 10a. Is discharged from the drain pipes 52 and 54 (chemical solution discharge; see FIG. 5).

Next, the pump 44 is stopped, the switching valve 47 is opened, and the pure water 1 supplied from the pure water supply source 48 is jetted from the jet nozzle 42 toward the wafer W to clean the wafer W. At the same time, the switching valve 29 is opened to supply the pure water 1 supplied from the pure water line of the factory in a shower shape from the shower nozzle 40 toward the wafer W to remove the residual chemical liquid attached to the wafer W (preliminary cleaning). Jet / shower rinse; see FIG. 6). This preliminary cleaning may be performed during the drainage of the chemical solution.

Next, the switching valve 29 and the drain valve 12 are closed to stop the supply of pure water from the shower nozzle 40.
7 is opened to supply pure water in the pure water tank 20 to the supply nozzle 28.
Then, the wafer W is rapidly supplied (water supply) into the outer tank 11 and the pure water 1 is supplied from the outer tank 11 into the processing layer 10 to perform the cleaning process on the wafer W (first cleaning process; see FIG. 7). At this time, the supply of the pure water 1 from the jet nozzle 42 may be stopped,
Alternatively, as shown by an imaginary line in FIG.
The supply of pure water from 2 may be continued. It is to be noted that the supply of the pure water 1 from the shower nozzle 40 must be stopped when the pure water 1 is rapidly supplied (water supply). The reason is that by supplying pure water 1 in a shower form from the shower nozzle 40, carbon dioxide (CO2) is mixed into the pure water 1,
This is because it takes a long time for the specific resistance of the pure water 1 to decrease to reach a predetermined specific resistance due to the mixing of CO2.

After a predetermined amount of pure water 1 is rapidly supplied (water supply), the supply valve 27 is closed to stop the supply of the pure water 1 from the pure water tank 20, and the drain valve 12 and the switching valve 51 are opened. The pure water 1 in the treatment layer 10 and the outer tank 11 is drained (draining step; see FIG. 8). At this time, when the pure water 1 is being supplied from the jet nozzle 42, the switching valve 49 is closed to stop the supply of the pure water 1 from the jet nozzle 42.

Next, the supply valve 27 is opened again, and the pure water in the pure water tank 20 is supplied from the supply nozzle 28 into the outer tank 11 through the second tank.
The first rapid supply (water supply) is performed, and pure water 1
(Second washing process; see FIG. 9). At this time, the switching valve 47 is opened to discharge the pure water 1 supplied from the pure water supply source 48 from the jet nozzle 42, and
Then, the wafer W is overflowed to the outer tank 11 to perform the cleaning process on the wafer W.

After a predetermined amount of pure water 1 is rapidly supplied (water supply), the supply valve 27 is closed and the supply of pure water 1 from the pure water tank 20 is stopped. The specific resistance value of the pure water 1 in the inside is measured, and when the pure water 1 in the processing tank 10 reaches a predetermined specific resistance value, the wafer W is gripped by a wafer chuck (not shown) and taken out.

Second Embodiment FIG. 10 is a schematic sectional view showing a second embodiment of the cleaning apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 11 is a schematic sectional view for explaining an operation mode of the second embodiment.

In the second embodiment, the flow rate of the pure water 1 jetted from the jet nozzle 42 is adjusted to prevent the pure water from scattering outside the treatment layer 10. That is, the switching valve 47A interposed between the jet nozzle 42 and the pure water supply source 48 is formed by an on-off valve that can switch between a small flow rate and a large flow rate, while the jet nozzle at the outside of the processing tank 10 is formed. A liquid level detecting means, for example, a liquid level sensor 55 is disposed near the height position of the upper end of the liquid level sensor 42.
Is sent to a control means, for example, a central processing unit 56 (CPU), and the switching valve 47A is operated based on a control signal from the CPU 56, that is, the switching valve 47A is switched to a small flow rate or a large flow rate. Is the case. Here, the small flow rate means a flow rate in a range where the pure water 1 jetted from the jet nozzle 42 does not scatter outside the processing tank 10, but is as small as possible within a range where the pure water 1 does not scatter outside the processing tank 10. It is preferable that the flow rate is large.

With the above-described structure, as described above, after the chemical liquid treatment is performed and the chemical liquid is drained, the pure water supplied from the pure water supply source 48 is supplied to the jet nozzle 42.
First, the pure water 1 is ejected from the jet nozzle 42 by switching the switching valve 47A to the operation position of a small flow rate (see FIG. 11A). In this state, the pure water 1 jetted from the jet nozzle 42 is supplied to the wafer W in the processing tank 10 without being scattered outside the processing tank 10 to perform a cleaning process (jet rinsing) of the wafer W. . Then, the pure water 1 is stored in the processing tank 10, and when the pure water 1 reaches the upper end of the jet nozzle 42, the liquid level is detected by the liquid level sensor 55, and the detection signal is transmitted to the CPU 56. A comparison operation is performed with information stored in advance. And CPU
The switching valve 47A performs a switching operation according to the control signal from 56, and a large flow of pure water 1 is jetted from the jet nozzle 42, so that the pure water 1 can be safely and quickly supplied into the treatment tank 10 (FIG. 11 (b)). )reference). Therefore, it is not necessary to provide another supply line, which is advantageous in terms of space and cost, and can prevent the pure water 1 from scattering outside the processing tank 10. Moreover, since the liquid level of the pure water 1 in the processing tank 10 is controlled by the liquid level sensor 55, the flow rate of the pure water 1 can be switched in an optimum state, so that the throughput can be improved.

In the above description, the case where the liquid level detecting means is formed by the liquid level sensor 56 has been described. However, the liquid level detecting means does not necessarily need to be the liquid level sensor 55. For example, FIG. As indicated by a two-dot chain line, for example, N2 gas may be inserted into the detection tube 55a inserted vertically into the processing tank 10, and a detection means for detecting the liquid level according to the pressurized state may be used, or It is possible to predict (store) the time when the jet nozzle 42 is immersed in the cleaning liquid and manage the time. Further, in the above description, the case where the switching valve 47A is formed by an open / close valve that can switch between the small flow rate and the large flow rate has been described. However, as shown in FIG. Switching valve 47B and on-off valve 47C
And a valve mechanism connected in series, or
As shown in FIG. 10 (c), a large flow opening / closing valve 47D,
Switching valve 47E with water saving function to switch between large flow rate and water saving
And a switching mechanism 47F for switching between a large flow rate and a small flow rate.

Since other parts in the second embodiment are the same as those in the first embodiment, the same reference numerals are given to the same parts, and the description will be omitted.

Third Embodiment FIG. 12 is a schematic sectional view of a cleaning apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 13 is a side view of a main part thereof.

In the third embodiment, pure water 1
In this case, it is possible to prevent the specific resistance value of the pure water 1 from dropping due to the mixing of CO2 therein, thereby preventing the waste of the pure water from being wasted, and to improve the cleaning efficiency. That is, at the time of the jet / shower rinsing, the processing tank 10 and the outer tank 11
In this case, the opening is closed, and an inert gas such as N2 gas is supplied into the processing tank 10 so as to suppress the mixing of CO2 into the pure water 1.

In this case, a pair of lids 60 that open and close in a double-opened manner are attached to the openings of the processing tank 10 and the outer tank 11, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15. Each is provided with a N2 supply nozzle 61 extending bifurcated from one end to the other end. The N2 supply nozzle 61 is provided with a large number of ejection holes (not shown) at appropriate intervals on the lower side, that is, on the processing tank side in a closed state, and has an N2 connected to an N2 supply source (not shown) at an end. The supply pipe 62 is connected.

With the above configuration, the lid 60 is closed during the rinsing, and when the N 2 gas supplied from the N 2 supply source (not shown) is supplied from the nozzle hole of the N 2 supply nozzle 61 into the processing tank. The CO2 in the upper atmosphere of the processing tank 10 is replaced with N2, and the dissolution of CO2 into the pure water 1 can be prevented. Therefore, a decrease in the specific resistance value of the pure water 1 can be suppressed, the consumption amount of the pure water 1 can be reduced, and the cleaning efficiency can be improved. The formation of a natural oxide film on W can also be prevented. The treatment tank 10 and the lid 6
When 0 is not in a sealed state, it is more effective to attach a cover 63 to the processing tank 10 in order to improve the sealing between the lid 60 and the processing tank 10.

In the third embodiment, the other parts are the same as those in the first and second embodiments. Therefore, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

Other Embodiments The cleaning apparatus configured as described above can be used as a single chemical solution / cleaning apparatus, or can be incorporated into a wafer cleaning / drying processing system. The wafer cleaning / drying processing system includes, for example, as shown in FIG.
A cleaning / drying processing unit 71 for performing a cleaning process and a drying process for the wafer W, and an unloading unit 7 for storing the wafer W after the drying process
A main part is constituted by a plurality of, for example, three wafer chucks 80 disposed beside the cleaning / drying processing section 71 and carrying a predetermined number of, for example, 50 wafers W.

The washing / drying processing section 71 has a carry-in section 7
0a, a first chuck cleaning / drying unit 72, a first chemical processing unit 73, a first water cleaning processing unit 74, and a second chemical including the above cleaning apparatus. For example, an ammonia liquid processing unit 75, a third chemical liquid such as hydrofluoric acid (HF aqueous solution) processing unit 76, a second water washing processing unit 77,
A second chuck cleaning / drying unit 78 and a drying processing unit 79 are provided.

In the cleaning / drying processing system configured as described above, unprocessed wafers W are sequentially transferred to the processing units 73, 74, 75, 76 and 77 of the cleaning / drying processing section 71 by the wafer chuck 80. Conveyed,
After a predetermined chemical solution treatment and cleaning treatment are performed, the substrate is conveyed to the drying treatment unit 79 and dried.

In the above embodiment, the case where the cleaning apparatus of the present invention is applied to a semiconductor wafer cleaning apparatus has been described. However, the present invention is also applicable to the drying processing of an object other than a semiconductor wafer, such as an LCD glass substrate. Of course, it can be applied.

[0054]

As described above, according to the present invention, because of the above-described configuration, the following excellent effects can be obtained.

1) According to the first aspect of the present invention, the cleaning step of supplying the cleaning liquid after performing the chemical processing to drain the chemical liquid is repeatedly performed, thereby removing the chemical liquid remaining after the chemical processing and removing the cleaning liquid. The replacement time can be shortened, and the recovery time of the cleaning liquid to a predetermined specific resistance value can be shortened, so that the usage amount of the cleaning liquid can be reduced and the cleaning efficiency can be improved.

2) According to the second aspect of the present invention, the cleaning liquid is supplied to the object to be processed in the form of a shower after or after draining the chemical solution after the chemical solution treatment, and thereby to the object to be processed. Since the adhered residual chemical solution can be removed, the recovery time of the cleaning solution supplied after the chemical solution treatment to a predetermined specific resistance value can be further shortened, and the amount of the cleaning solution used can be further reduced. Therefore, the cleaning efficiency can be further improved in addition to the above 1).

3) According to the third or sixth aspect of the present invention,
By supplying an inert gas into the processing tank to prevent carbon dioxide from dissolving into the cleaning liquid, and by performing the cleaning process by overflowing the cleaning liquid supplied from the supply means from the processing tank, a predetermined ratio of the cleaning liquid is obtained. The recovery time to the resistance value can be shortened. Therefore, the cleaning efficiency can be improved, the amount of the cleaning liquid used can be reduced, and the cleaning time can be shortened.

4) According to the invention described in claim 4 or 5,
After the cleaning liquid supply unit is immersed by the cleaning liquid ejected from the cleaning liquid supply unit, the object to be processed is cleaned by changing the discharge amount of the cleaning liquid, thereby preventing the cleaning liquid from scattering outside the processing tank, The supply time of the cleaning liquid can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing a first embodiment of a cleaning apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a processing object holding means in the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a time chart illustrating a cleaning process of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a chemical treatment step of the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view illustrating a chemical solution discharging step of the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a schematic sectional view illustrating a jet / shower rinsing step of the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a first rapid supply step of the first embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a cleaning liquid draining step according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a schematic sectional view illustrating a second rapid supply step of the first embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a schematic sectional view showing a second embodiment of the cleaning apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a schematic sectional view illustrating a jet rinsing step in the second embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a schematic sectional view showing a third embodiment of the cleaning apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a side view showing a main part of the third embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a plan view of FIG.

FIG. 15 is a side view of FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a schematic plan view showing an example of a cleaning / drying processing system incorporating the cleaning processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a schematic sectional view showing another embodiment of the jet / shower rinsing step in the conventional cleaning treatment method.

[Explanation of symbols]

 W Semiconductor wafer (object to be processed) 1 Pure water (cleaning liquid) 2 Chemical liquid (processing liquid) 10 Processing tank 11 Outer tank 20 Pure water tank (cleaning liquid storage tank) 30 Wafer boat (object to be processed) 40 Shower nozzle 42 Jet Nozzle (supply nozzle; supply means) 43 Circulation pipeline 47, 47A, 47B, 47E, 47F Switching valve 48 Pure water supply source 50 Chemical supply source 55 Liquid level sensor (liquid level detection means) 56 CPU 60 Lid 61 N2 supply nozzle

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Yuji Uekawa 1375 41, Nishishinmachi, Tosu City, Saga Prefecture Inside the Tokyo Electron Kyushu Saga Office

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A cleaning treatment method of performing a chemical treatment by bringing a chemical solution into contact with an object to be treated and then performing a cleaning treatment by bringing a cleaning solution into contact with the object to be treated. And a cleaning step of supplying the cleaning liquid into a processing tank accommodating the object to be processed and immersing and cleaning the object to be processed. 2. The cleaning treatment method according to claim 1, wherein after the chemical treatment is performed to drain the chemical, or during the drainage,
A cleaning method, comprising: preliminarily cleaning an object to be processed by bringing the cleaning liquid into contact with the object to be processed in a shower form; and repeatedly performing the cleaning step. 3. The cleaning method according to claim 1, wherein an inert gas is supplied into the processing tank to prevent carbon dioxide from being dissolved in the cleaning liquid, and the cleaning liquid supplied from the supply unit is supplied to the processing tank. A cleaning method, wherein a cleaning process is performed by overflowing from a processing tank. 4. A cleaning method for cleaning a target object by jetting a cleaning liquid toward the target object from cleaning liquid supply means disposed below the target object accommodated in the processing tank, wherein the cleaning liquid is provided. After the cleaning liquid supply means is immersed in the cleaning liquid ejected from the supply means, the object to be processed is cleaned by changing the discharge amount of the cleaning liquid. 5. A cleaning process comprising: a processing tank for accommodating an object to be processed; and a cleaning liquid supply means disposed in the processing tank below the object to be processed and ejecting a cleaning liquid toward the object to be processed. In the apparatus, a cleaning liquid supply source is connected to the cleaning liquid supply means via a flow rate adjusting means, and the flow rate adjusting means can be controlled based on a detection signal from a cleaning liquid amount detecting means in the processing tank. A cleaning apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. 6. A cleaning apparatus comprising: a processing tank for accommodating an object to be processed; and a cleaning liquid supply means for supplying a cleaning liquid to the object in the processing tank. And a cover provided with an inert gas supply unit for supplying an inert gas into the processing tank.