TWI781496B - Substrate processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The substrate processing apparatus of the present invention is provided with: a processing liquid discharge part, which is provided on the lower side of the substrate held by the substrate holding part, discharges the processing liquid to the storage space, and forms a flow of the processing liquid in the storage space; and a bubble supply part, which There is a pipe arranged on the lower side of the substrate held by the substrate holding part in the storage space, and a hollow protruding part protruding from the pipe in the flow direction of the processing liquid; and the gas sent to the protruding part through the pipe, Air bubbles are discharged from the air bubble outlet provided at the front end of the protruding part, and air bubbles are supplied to the treatment liquid stored in the storage space.

Description

Substrate processing equipment

The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus that immerses a substrate in a processing liquid such as chemical liquid or pure water stored in a processing tank, and supplies air bubbles to the substrate in the processing liquid to process the substrate.

In the field of manufacturing semiconductor devices, in order to cope with the increase in density and capacity of semiconductor devices, a technique of forming recesses with high aspect ratios is desired. For example, the manufacturing process of three-dimensional NAND type non-volatile semiconductor devices (hereinafter referred to as "3D-NAND memory") includes the following steps: stacking a plurality of silicon oxide films (SiO2 films) and silicon nitride films (SiN After forming a recess in the lamination direction of the laminated body of the film), the SiN film is removed by wet etching through the recess. In order to execute this step, for example, the use of a substrate processing apparatus described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-200821 has been considered.

When performing the above-mentioned wet etching using a substrate processing apparatus, a chemical solution containing phosphoric acid, which is an example of an etchant for the SiN film, is used as a processing solution. More specifically, in the substrate processing apparatus, a discharge pipe is disposed at the bottom of a storage space formed inside a processing tank, and a processing liquid is supplied from the discharge pipe to the storage space. Therefore, in the treatment tank, a certain amount of the treatment liquid is stored in the treatment tank while overflowing from the treatment tank. And, the substrate having the above-mentioned concave structure is immersed in the processing liquid stored in the processing tank. In addition, in the substrate processing apparatus, the air bubble supply pipe is arranged at the inner bottom of the storage space similarly to the discharge pipe, and the air bubbles are supplied from the inner bottom of the storage space to the overflow surface. These bubbles rise in the processing liquid and are supplied to the substrate. By supplying such air bubbles to the substrate, fresh processing liquid can be rapidly and continuously supplied to the concave portion.

Although the detailed structure of the bubble supply tube is not described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2016-200821, in substrate processing equipment, porous materials are often used to process porous materials into tubular shapes (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-40649), or A tube that provides a plurality of through-holes at regular intervals in a row (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-98270) or the like is used as a bubble supply tube. When a gas such as nitrogen gas is supplied to the bubble supply tubes from a gas supply source, the gas is discharged from a plurality of openings (porous holes or through holes) provided on the surface of the bubble supply tubes, thereby supplying bubbles into the treatment liquid. The size of the air bubbles thus supplied is larger than the opening size. This is because air bubbles are supplied as follows. That is, immediately after the generation of air bubbles, the air bubbles adhere closely around the opening in the surface of the air bubble supply pipe. Then, as time passes, after the adhered region expands radially around the opening, the air bubbles escape from the opening and the adhered region of the bubble supply pipe, and are supplied into the treatment liquid.

Thus, in the prior art, there is a problem that the size of the bubbles is larger than the size of the opening functioning as the discharge port of the bubbles, and it is difficult to efficiently supply fresh processing liquid to the surface of the substrate by supplying the bubbles. Also, in the substrate processing apparatus described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2016-200821 or Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-98270, since a plurality of substrates are separated and processed together at a certain interval, it is difficult for air bubbles to enter between the substrates. between. Therefore, in the prior substrate processing apparatus, there is a limit to improving the processing quality of the substrate.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and its object is to reduce the size of the bubbles and improve Handling quality.

The present invention provides a substrate processing device, which is characterized by comprising: a processing tank having a storage space for storing a processing liquid, and processing the substrate by immersing the substrate in the processing liquid stored in the storage space; a substrate holding part, which The substrate is held in an upright position in the storage space; the processing liquid discharge part is provided on the lower side of the substrate held by the substrate holding part, and discharges the processing liquid to the storage space to form a flow of the processing liquid in the storage space; and air bubble supply part, which has a pipe arranged in the storage space on the lower side of the substrate held by the substrate holding part, and a hollow projecting part protruding from the pipe in the flow direction of the processing liquid, and will be sent to the projecting part through the pipe The gas is discharged from the bubble discharge port provided at the front end of the protruding part, and the gas bubbles are supplied to the processing liquid stored in the storage space.

As described above, according to the present invention, the bubble discharge port of the bubble supply unit is provided at the front end of the protruding portion protruding from the piping instead of the piping. Therefore, the air bubbles in the air bubble supply part can be detached from the air bubble outlet and the adhering area immediately before being supplied to the treatment liquid can be limited to the front end surface of the protruding part, which can be more efficient than when the side wall of the pipe is provided with the air bubble outlet. Narrow down. As a result, the bubble size can be reduced and the treatment quality can be improved.

Not all of the plurality of constituent requirements of the above-mentioned aspects of the present invention are essential, and in order to solve part or all of the above-mentioned problems, or to achieve part or all of the effects described in this specification, the above-mentioned plurality of constituent requirements can be appropriately adjusted. Part of the constituent elements may be changed, deleted, or replaced with new other constituent elements, and part of the limited content may be deleted. In addition, in order to solve part or all of the above-mentioned problems, or to achieve part or all of the effects described in this specification, part or all of the technical features contained in the above-mentioned aspects of the present invention may be combined with those of the above-mentioned present invention. A combination of some or all of the technical features contained in other aspects is regarded as an independent form of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a substrate processing system equipped with a substrate processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The substrate processing system 1 includes a container loading unit 2 , a shutter driving mechanism 3 , a substrate transfer robot 4 , a posture switching mechanism 5 , a pusher 6 , a substrate transfer mechanism 7 , a processing unit 8 , and a control unit 9 . In order to uniformly display the directions of the following figures, set the XYZ orthogonal coordinate axes as shown in Figure 1. Here, the XY plane represents a horizontal plane. In addition, the Z axis represents a vertical axis, and more specifically, the Z direction is a vertical direction.

The container in which the substrate W has been stored is placed on the container loading section 2 . In this embodiment, as an example of a storage device, an endless belt F configured by storing a plurality of (for example, 25) substrates W in a horizontal posture in a stacked state in the Z direction is used. The endless belt F is loaded on the container loading unit 2 in a state where unprocessed substrates W are stored, or is loaded on the container loading 2 in an empty state in order to store processed substrates W. FIG. In this embodiment, the substrate W accommodated in the annular zone F is a semiconductor wafer forming a 3D-NAND memory, and has a concave portion with a high aspect ratio.

In the process space adjacent to the container loading unit 2 on the (+Y) direction side, a shutter drive mechanism 3, a substrate transfer robot 4, a posture conversion mechanism 5, a push rod 6, a substrate transfer mechanism 7 and a processing Unit 8. The container loading part 2 and the process space are partitioned by partitions (not shown) equipped with openable and closable baffles 31 . The baffle 31 is connected to the baffle driving mechanism 3 . The shutter driving mechanism 3 closes the shutter 31 according to the closing command from the control unit 9, and spatially separates the container loading unit 2 from the process space. On the contrary, the shutter driving mechanism 3 opens the shutter 31 according to the opening instruction from the control unit 9, so that the container loading part 2 communicates with the process space. Thereby, the unprocessed substrate W can be carried in from the endless belt F to the process space, and the processed substrate W can be carried out to the endless belt F. FIG.

The loading and unloading process of the above-described substrate W is performed by the substrate transfer robot 4 . The substrate transfer robot 4 is configured to be able to turn freely in the horizontal plane. The substrate transfer robot 4 transfers a plurality of substrates W between the posture conversion mechanism 5 and the endless belt F in a state where the shutter 31 is opened. Furthermore, the posture switching mechanism 5 switches the postures of the plurality of substrates W between the vertical posture and the horizontal posture after receiving the substrate W from the endless belt F via the substrate transfer robot 4 or before handing over the substrate W to the endless belt F.

A pusher 6 is arranged on the side of the substrate transfer mechanism 7 of the posture conversion mechanism 5 (the +X direction side in the figure), and a plurality of substrates W in an upright position are delivered between the posture conversion mechanism 5 and the substrate transfer mechanism 7 . Also, as shown in the figure, the substrate transfer mechanism 7 moves from a position facing the push rod 6 (hereinafter referred to as a "standby position") along an arrangement direction in which the processing sections 81 to 85 constituting the processing unit 8 are arranged (the figure In the Y direction) to move in the horizontal direction.

The substrate transfer mechanism 7 includes a pair of suspension arms 71 . Through the swinging of the pair of suspension arms 71 , it is possible to switch between holding and releasing a plurality of substrates W together. More specifically, the lower edge of each arm 71 swings around a horizontal axis in a direction away from each other, releases a plurality of substrates W, and makes the lower edge of each arm 71 swing around a horizontal axis in a direction close to each other, clamps and holds a plurality of substrates W. block substrate W. In addition, although illustration of FIG. 1 is omitted, the substrate transfer mechanism 7 has an arm moving part and an arm swing part. Among them, the arm moving part has the function of horizontally moving the pair of hanging arms 71 along the arrangement direction Y in which the treatment parts 81-85 are arranged. Therefore, by this horizontal movement, a pair of suspension arm 71 is positioned at the position which opposes each of the processing part 81-85 (henceforth referred to as "processing position"), and a standby position.

On the other hand, the arm swing unit has a function of executing the above-mentioned arm swing operation, and switches between a holding state in which the substrate W is clamped and held, and a released state in which the clamping of the substrate W is released. Therefore, by this switching operation, the lifter 810a functioning as the substrate holding part of the processing parts 81, 82 or the lifter 810b functioning as the substrate holding part of the processing parts 83, 84 moves up and down, and the lifter 810 and the Transfer of the substrate W between the suspension arms 71 . In addition, at the processing position facing the processing part 85, the transfer of the substrate W between the processing part 85 and the suspension arm 71 can be performed. Furthermore, in the standby position, the transfer of the substrate W between the posture conversion mechanism 5 and the suspension arm 71 can be performed via the push rod 6 .

The processing unit 8 is provided with five processing sections 81 to 85 as described above, which serve as the first chemical solution processing section 81, the first cleaning processing section 82, the second chemical solution processing section 83, the second cleaning processing section 84, and the drying section. The processing unit 85 functions. Among them, the first chemical solution processing unit 81 and the second chemical solution processing unit 83 respectively store the same or different kinds of chemical solutions in the treatment tank 821, and immerse a plurality of substrates W in the chemical solution together to perform chemical treatment. . The first cleaning treatment unit 82 and the second cleaning treatment unit 84 respectively store a cleaning solution (for example, pure water) in the treatment tank 821 and immerse a plurality of substrates W in the cleaning solution together to perform cleaning treatment on the surface. The first chemical solution processing unit 81, the first cleaning treatment unit 82, the second chemical solution processing unit 83, and the second cleaning treatment unit 84 correspond to the first embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention. Different but the basic configuration of the device is the same. In addition, the configuration and operation of the device will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5 .

As shown in FIG. 1 , the first chemical solution processing unit 81 is paired with the first cleaning treatment unit 82 adjacent thereto, and the second chemical solution processing unit 83 is paired with the second cleaning treatment unit 84 adjacent thereto. In addition, the elevator 810a not only functions as the "substrate holding part" of the present invention in the first chemical solution processing part 81 and the first cleaning processing part 82, but also serves as a substrate for processing the chemical solution with the first chemical solution processing part 81. Afterwards, the substrate W is moved to the first cleaning processing unit 82 and the dedicated transfer mechanism functions. In addition, the elevator 810b not only functions as the "substrate holding part" of the present invention in the second chemical solution processing part 83 and the second cleaning processing part 84, but also serves as a substrate for processing the chemical solution by the second chemical solution processing part 83. Afterwards, the substrate W is moved to the second cleaning processing section 84 and the dedicated transfer mechanism functions.

In the processing unit 8 configured in this way, the three support members (symbol 812 in FIG. 2 ) of the lifter 810 a receive a plurality of substrates W from the pair of suspension arms 71 of the substrate transfer mechanism 7 . Also, in the processing unit 8, as will be described in detail below, the elevator 810a moves the plurality of blocks in parallel with the overflow step of causing the processing liquid to overflow from the processing tank and the bubble supply step of supplying bubbles to the processing liquid stored in the processing tank. The substrate W is lowered together into the processing tank of the first chemical solution processing unit 81 and immersed in the chemical solution (immersion step). Moreover, after waiting for a specific chemical solution processing time, the elevator 810a lifts the support member holding the plurality of substrates W from the chemical solution. In addition, the elevator 810a traverses the supporting member toward the first cleaning processing unit 82, and further moves the supporting member holding the substrate W treated with the chemical solution into the processing tank (symbol 821 in FIG. 2 ) of the first cleaning processing unit 82. Descended and immersed in the cleaning solution. After waiting for a specified cleaning time, the lifter 810a raises the support member holding the substrate W that has been cleaned, and lifts the substrate W out of the cleaning solution. Thereafter, the plurality of substrates W are delivered to the pair of suspension arms 71 of the substrate transport mechanism 7 from the supporting member of the elevator 810a.

Likewise, the elevator 810b receives a plurality of substrates W from a pair of suspension arms 71 of the substrate transfer mechanism 7, and lowers the plurality of substrates W into the processing tank 821 of the second chemical solution processing unit 83, and dips them in the chemical solution. middle. Furthermore, after waiting for a specific chemical solution treatment time, the elevator 810b raises the supporting member to lift the plurality of substrates W treated with the chemical solution from the chemical solution. Then, the elevator 810b traverses the support member toward the treatment tank of the second cleaning treatment unit 84, further lowers the support member into the treatment tank 821 of the second cleaning treatment unit 84, and immerses the support member in the cleaning solution. After waiting for a specified cleaning processing time, the second elevator 810b raises the supporting member to lift the substrate W out of the cleaning solution. Thereafter, the plurality of substrates W are collectively delivered to the substrate transfer mechanism 7 from the second elevator 810b. In addition, it is also possible to configure each of the first chemical solution processing part 81, the first cleaning processing part 82, the second chemical solution processing part 83, and the second cleaning processing part 84 as a "substrate holding part" of the present invention. The functioning elevator, on the other hand, carries out loading and unloading of the substrate W to and from the processing units 81 to 84 by the substrate conveying mechanism 7 or a dedicated conveying mechanism.

The drying processing part 85 is as follows: it has a substrate holding member (not shown) that can hold a plurality of (for example, 52) substrates W in a state of being arranged in an upright position. Alcohol, etc.) is supplied to the substrate W, or the liquid component on the surface of the substrate W is shaken off by centrifugal force, and the substrate W is dried. The drying processing unit 85 is configured to transfer the substrate W to and from the pair of suspension arms 71 of the substrate transfer mechanism 7 . Then, the plurality of substrates W after the cleaning process are received together from the substrate transfer mechanism 7, and the plurality of substrates W are subjected to the drying process. Also, after the drying process, the plurality of substrates W are delivered together from the substrate holding member to the substrate transfer mechanism 7 .

Next, the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention will be described. In the first chemical solution processing unit 81, the first cleaning treatment unit 82, the second chemical solution processing unit 83, and the second cleaning treatment unit 84 equipped in the substrate processing system shown in FIG. 1, the processing liquids used are partially different, but The device structure and operation are basically the same. Therefore, in the following, the configuration and operation of the first chemical solution processing unit 81 corresponding to the first embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention will be described, and the first cleaning treatment unit 82, the second chemical solution processing unit 83 and the second chemical solution processing unit 82 will be omitted. 2. Explanation related to the cleaning processing unit 84.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the schematic configuration of the first embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing the main components of the substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG. 2 . FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view of FIG. 2 . Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the disposition relationship between a plurality of substrates held in an elevator and air bubble outlets. The first chemical solution processing unit 81 is, for example, a device for etching and removing the silicon nitride film through the concave portion formed on the surface of the substrate W using a chemical solution containing phosphoric acid as a processing solution. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , the first chemical solution processing unit 81 includes a treatment tank 821 for performing the first chemical solution treatment on the substrate W. As shown in FIG. The processing tank 821 has a box structure with an upper opening, and is composed of a rectangular bottom wall 821a in plan view and four side walls 821b to 821e standing from the periphery of the bottom wall 821a. Therefore, the processing tank 821 can store the processing liquid in the storage space 821f surrounded by the bottom wall 821a and the side walls 821b-821e, and simultaneously immerse a plurality of substrates W held by the elevator 810a. In addition, the treatment tank 821 has an upper opening 821g opened in the (+Z) direction, and the treatment liquid can overflow from the storage space 821f.

An overflow tank 822 is provided around the treatment tank 821, and the recovery space 822a for recovering the overflowed treatment liquid is formed by the overflow tank 822 and the side walls 821b-821e of the treatment tank 821. Furthermore, an outer container 823 is provided so as to surround the bottom and sides of the treatment tank 821 and the overflow tank 822 .

A flow piping system 839 is arranged in a part of the recovery space 822a of the overflow tank 822, more specifically, in the space on the (-X) direction side of the side wall 821d. The inlet of the flow piping system 839 is connected to the processing liquid supply part 832 , and the outlet is connected to the flow pipe 831 of the processing liquid discharge port 830 . Therefore, when the processing liquid supply unit 832 operates according to the processing liquid supply command from the control unit 9 , the processing liquid is simultaneously supplied to the plurality of flow tubes 831 through the flow piping system 839 . As a result, the treatment liquid is discharged from the flow tube 831 and stored in the storage space 821f. In addition, the detailed structure of the flow tube 831 will be described in detail below.

Also, the treatment liquid overflowing from the treatment tank 821 is recovered to the overflow tank 822 . A treatment liquid recovery unit 833 is connected to the overflow tank 822 . If the treatment liquid recovery unit 833 operates according to the treatment liquid recovery command from the control unit 9, the treatment liquid recovered to the overflow tank 822 will be sent to the treatment liquid supply unit 832 via the treatment liquid recovery unit 833 for reuse. Thus, in this embodiment, the processing liquid can be stored in the storage space 821f while circulating and supplying the processing liquid to the processing tank 821 .

In order to hold and immerse a plurality of substrates W together in the storage space 821f storing the processing liquid, as shown in FIG. 2 , a lifter 810a is provided. The elevator 810a is configured to be able to move up and down between a "delivery position" where a plurality of substrates W are delivered to and from the substrate transport mechanism 7 (FIG. 1), and a storage space 821f. The elevator 810a includes a back plate 811 , three support members 812 , and an extension member 813 . The back plate 811 extends along the side wall 821b of the treatment tank 821 toward the bottom wall 821a. The supporting member 812 extends from the lower end side of the back plate 811 in the (−X) direction. In this embodiment, three supporting members 812 are provided. In each supporting member 812, a plurality of V-shaped grooves 812a are arranged at a constant pitch in the X direction. Each of the grooves 812a is formed as a V-shaped groove 812a that is slightly wider than the thickness of the substrate W and opens toward the (+Z) direction, and can engage the substrate W. Therefore, the plurality of substrates W conveyed by the substrate conveyance mechanism 7 can be collectively held at a constant substrate pitch PT ( FIG. 5 ) by the three support members 812 . In addition, the extension member 813 extends from the back surface of the upper end of the back plate 811 toward the (+X) direction. As shown in FIG. 2 , the elevator 810a is L-shaped as a whole. In addition, the most elevated position of the elevator 810a is set to a height that can pass above the supporting member 812 even in the state where the substrate transfer mechanism 7 holds a plurality of substrates W.

On the (+X) direction side of the processing tank 821, an elevator driving mechanism 814 is provided. The elevator driving mechanism 814 includes an elevator motor 815 , a ball screw 816 , an elevator base 817 , an elevator column 818 , and a motor drive unit 819 . The elevating motor 815 is mounted on the frame (not shown) of the substrate processing system 1 in a state where the rotating shaft is placed vertically. The ball screw 816 is connected to the rotating shaft of the lift motor 815 . One side of the lifting base 817 is screwed with the ball screw 816 . The base end side of the lift column 818 is attached to the central portion of the lift base 817 , and the other end side is attached to the lower surface of the extension member 813 . When the motor driver 819 drives the elevating motor 815 according to the elevating command from the control portion 9 , the ball screw 816 rotates, and the elevating pillar 818 and the elevating base 817 rise together. Thereby, the support member 812 is positioned at the transfer position. Moreover, if the motor driver 819 drives the elevating motor 815 in the reverse direction according to the descending command from the control portion 9, the ball screw 816 reversely rotates, and the elevating column 818 and the elevating base 817 descend together. Thereby, the plurality of substrates W held by the supporting member 812 are immersed together in the processing liquid stored in the storage space 821f.

In the storage space 821f, a processing liquid discharge unit 830 and a bubble supply unit 840 are disposed on the lower side of the plurality of substrates W held by the support member 812, that is, on the side in the (−Z) direction. The processing liquid discharge part 830 is for discharging the processing liquid supplied from the processing liquid supply part 832 through the flow piping system 839 to the storage space 821f, and the air bubble supply part 840 is for supplying the bubbles V( Fig. 5) person, respectively constitutes as follows.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 , the processing liquid discharge unit 830 has a flow tube 831 extending in the X direction. In this embodiment, the four flow tubes 831 are spaced apart from each other in the Y direction. The (-X) direction end of each flow tube 831 is connected to the outlet of the flow piping system 839, and the (+X) direction end is sealed. In addition, a plurality of treatment liquid outlets 834 are arranged at certain intervals in the X direction and penetrate through the side walls of the respective flow tubes 831 . In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4 , each treatment liquid discharge port 834 is provided facing the (-Z) direction. Therefore, the processing liquid supplied to the flow tube 831 flows in the (+X) direction inside the pipe, and is discharged from the processing liquid discharge ports 834 toward the bottom wall 821a, that is, the inner bottom surface 821h of the storage space 821f. And, as shown by the solid line arrow in Fig. 4, the treatment liquid flows upward through the inner bottom surface 821h of the storage space 821f, forming the flow F of the treatment liquid from the bottom wall 821a of the treatment tank 821 toward the upper opening 821g, that is, the overflow surface. . In this way, the upward flow of the processing liquid is formed on the lower side of the substrate W. As shown in FIG. In addition, in order to easily understand the content of the invention, among the four flow tubes 831, those arranged on the most (-Y) direction side are referred to as "flow tubes 831a", and those arranged sequentially on the (+Y) direction side are respectively referred to as "flow tubes 831a". tube 831b", "flow tube 831c" and "flow tube 831d". In addition, when these cases are not distinguished, they are simply referred to as "flow tube 831" as described above.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5 , the bubble supply unit 840 has a plurality of (four in this embodiment) bubblers 841 . Each bubbler 841 has a bubble pipe 842 extending in the X direction, and a plurality of protruding parts 843 protruding upward from the bubble pipe 842 , that is, in the (+Z) direction. One end of each bubble pipe 842 was connected to a gas supply unit 844 for supplying nitrogen gas, and the other end was sealed. A plurality of protruding parts 843 are provided on the upper side wall of the air bubble pipe 842 at the same pitch PT as the fixed substrate pitch PT. Each protruding portion 843 has a hollow shape, for example, as shown in FIG. 3 , has a hollow cylindrical shape, and a bubble discharge port 845 is provided at the center of the upper end surface. In this embodiment, by using resin materials, especially at least one selected from the group consisting of polyetheretherketone (PEEK), perfluoroalkoxyalkane (PFA), and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) The surface of the long resin tube is cut and pierced, and the air bubble pipe 842 and a plurality of protruding parts 843 are integrally formed. Here, of course, the bubble pipe 842 and the plurality of protrusions 843 may be separately prepared, and the plurality of protrusions 843 may be attached to the bubble pipe 842 to be integrated.

In the bubble supply unit 840 configured in this way, when the gas supply unit 844 supplies nitrogen gas to the bubble supply unit 840 according to the bubble supply command from the control unit 9, the nitrogen gas flowing in the bubble pipe 842 is discharged upward from the bubble discharge port 845. Thereby, the bubbles V of nitrogen gas are supplied to the processing liquid stored in the storage space 821f, and in the vertical direction Z, the bubbles are supplied from a position higher than the processing liquid discharge port 834 to the direction toward the overflow surface, that is, the (+Z) direction. V. These bubbles V rise in the processing liquid, and promote the replacement of the processing liquid on the surface of the substrate W with fresh processing liquid. In addition, as the gas supply unit 844 , for example, a configuration in which nitrogen gas is supplied from a cylinder filled with nitrogen gas may be used, and equipment installed in a factory in which the substrate processing system 1 is installed may also be used.

Also, as shown in FIG. 4 , four bubblers 841 are supported from below by three bubbler plates 851, and the substrate W held by the elevator 810a is positioned below the substrate W and above the treatment liquid discharge port 834. Fixed configuration. Here, in order to easily understand the content of the present invention, among the four bubblers 841, those arranged on the most (-Y) direction side are referred to as "bubblers 841a", and those arranged sequentially on the (+Y) direction side are respectively These are referred to as "bubbler 841b", "bubbler 841c" and "bubbler 841d". In addition, when these cases are not distinguished, it is simply referred to as "bubbler 841" as described above. On the other hand, the same is true for the bubbler plate 851. Among the bubbler plates 851, those arranged on the most (-Y) direction side are referred to as “bubbler plates 851a”, and they are arranged sequentially in the (+Y) direction. The sides are called "bubbler plate 851b" and "bubbler plate 851c", respectively. In addition, when these cases are not distinguished, it is simply referred to as "bubbler plate 851" as described above.

The bubbler plates 851a to 851c all have a plate shape extending in the X direction. Among them, the bubbler plate 851a, as shown in FIG. 4, is disposed between the flow tube 831a and the flow tube 831b at a position higher than the treatment liquid discharge port 834 in the vertical direction Z, and is fixed by a fixing member (not shown). ) is fixed in the processing tank 821. And, the bubbler 841a is fixed on the upper surface of the bubbler plate 851a so as to satisfy the following arrangement relationship. The arrangement relationship is shown in FIG. 5 , where the protruding part 843 mounted on the bubbler 841a faces upward, and the substrate W and the bubble outlets 845 are arranged alternately in the X direction. With such an arrangement, the bubbles V supplied from the bubble discharge port 845 are discharged in the X direction between the adjacent substrates W, and efficient chemical solution processing is performed. In addition, this arrangement relationship is also the same for the other bubblers 841b to 841d.

The bubbler plate 851b is disposed between the flow tube 831b and the flow tube 831c at a position higher than the treatment liquid outlet 834 in the vertical direction Z, and is fixed to the treatment tank 821 by a fixing member (not shown). And, the bubblers 841b and 841c are fixed to the upper surface of the bubbler plate 851b with a certain interval in the Y direction. Moreover, the bubbler plate 851c is positioned higher than the treatment liquid outlet 834 in the vertical direction Z, is arranged between the flow tube 831c and the flow tube 831d, and is fixed to the treatment tank 821 by a fixing member (not shown). . And, a bubbler 841d is fixed on the upper surface of the bubbler plate 851c. Thus, the bubbler plates 851a-851c have the function of supporting the bubble supply part 840 from below.

In addition, since the bubbler plates 851a-851c are positioned higher than the treatment liquid discharge port 834 in the vertical direction Z, and are arranged between the flow tubes 831a-831d, in addition to the above-mentioned supporting functions, they also have the ability to restrict passage through the storage space 821f. The bottom surface 821h is the function of the flow F of the treatment liquid flowing to the upper side. The bubbler plates 851a to 851c are spaced apart from each other to form through portions 852a and 852b that serve as flow paths for the treatment liquid. Also, the lower end portions of the flow tubes 831b, 831c are disposed in the through portions 852a, 852b so as to enter. Also, at the same height as the flow tubes 831b and 831c, the flow tube 831a is arranged on the (-Y) direction side of the bubbler plate 851a, and the flow tube 831d is arranged on the (+Y) direction side of the bubbler plate 851a. Furthermore, gaps 86 are formed between the bubbler plates 851a to 851c and the flow tubes 831a to 831d which are adjacent to each other. Therefore, the flow F of the processing liquid (hereinafter referred to as "distribution target liquid") flowing to the lower surface of the bubbler plate 851 in the upward flow of the processing liquid is restricted on the lower surface and is thrown away in the horizontal plane. For example, in the partial enlarged view of FIG. 4 , the flow F of the split target liquid toward the lower surface of the bubbler plate 851c is split into the flow F5 of the processing liquid flowing in the gap 86 between the bubbler plate 851c and the flow tube 831c, and Flow F6 of the treatment liquid flowing in the gap 86 between the bubbler plate 851c and the flow tube 831d. Also, in the other bubbler plates 851a and 851b, similar to the bubbler plate 851c, the flow F of the liquid to be divided is restricted, and the flow F1 to F4 of a plurality of treatment liquids is divided.

Thus, in this embodiment, the flow F of a part of the processing liquid (divided liquid) flowing upward through the inner bottom surface 821h of the storage space 821f is divided into a plurality of flows F1-F6, and rises toward the overflow surface. Thus, in this embodiment, the bubbler plates 851a to 851c use at least a part of the treatment liquid flowing upward through the inner bottom surface 821h of the storage space 821f as the liquid to be divided, and divide the flow F of the liquid to be divided into a plurality of upward flows. , guided to the substrate W held by the lifter 810a, and functions as the diverter 850 ( FIG. 3 ).

In addition, while referring to FIGS. 2 to 5 , the structure of the first chemical solution processing unit 81 corresponding to the first embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention has been described, but the second chemical solution processing unit 83 is also excluded. It has the same configuration as the first chemical solution processing unit 81 except that the types of the processing liquid are the same or different, and corresponds to the first embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention. Also, the first cleaning processing unit 82 and the second cleaning processing unit 84 have the same configuration as the first chemical solution processing unit 81 except that the processing liquid is a cleaning liquid such as pure water or DIW (deionized water: deionized water). , corresponds to the first embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention.

As described above, in the present embodiment, a plurality of hollow protruding parts 843 are protruded upward from the bubble pipe 842, and nitrogen gas protrudes from the bubble discharge port 845 provided at the front end of each protruding part 843 to treat the processing liquid. Air bubbles V are supplied inside. Therefore, the size of the bubble V can be reduced. The detailed reason will be described while comparing the comparative example shown in FIG. 6 with the present embodiment (FIG. 5).

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a comparative example of the substrate processing apparatus of the first embodiment. In this comparative example, a bubble discharge port 845 was provided on the side wall of the bubble pipe 842 , and nitrogen gas was discharged from the bubble discharge port 845 to supply the bubbles V into the treatment liquid. In this case, immediately after the bubble V is generated, the bubble V adheres closely around the bubble discharge port 845 on the side wall surface of the bubble pipe 842 . In this way, the area where the bubble V and the bubbler 841 are in close contact (hereinafter referred to as "adhesive area") will expand along the surface of the bubbler 841 as time passes, as shown in the partially enlarged view of FIG. 6 for example. , the bubble V grows into a relatively large roughly dome shape. Thereafter, the air bubbles V escape from the air bubble discharge port 845 and the adhered region, and are supplied into the processing liquid.

On the other hand, in this embodiment, immediately after the generation of the air bubbles V, the place where the air bubbles V closely adheres is the front end surface of the protruding portion 843 . Therefore, as time passes, the adhesive region expands radially around the bubble discharge port 845, but when it reaches the periphery of the front end surface (the step difference at the front end of the protruding part 843), for example, the partial enlarged view of FIG. 5 As shown, the expansion of the dense area will be limited. As a result, the growth of the bubbles V is stopped, and at this point, the bubbles V are detached from the bubble discharge port 845 and the adhered region, and are supplied into the processing liquid. Thus, in the first embodiment, the adhesion region where the air bubbles V adhere immediately before being supplied into the treatment liquid is limited to the front end surface of the protruding portion 843 . As a result, in the first embodiment, the size of the air bubbles V is smaller than that of the comparative example ( FIG. 6 ), and the processing quality can be improved.

In particular, it is important for the manufacture of 3D-NAND memory to apply the present invention to the first chemical solution processing unit 81 so that the first chemical solution processing unit 81 wet-etches the SiN film through the concave portion with a high aspect ratio. That is, in order to improve the wet etching performance, it is necessary to perform a good replacement of the processing liquid between the inside and outside of the concave portion. In addition, although silicon is deposited near the bottom of the concave portion due to the etching reaction, the silicon can be discharged from the concave portion by replacement with the treatment liquid. In order to express this liquid displacement stably and continuously, it is necessary to increase the concentration gradient, which is the concentration difference between the inside and outside of the concave portion. Furthermore, in order to satisfy the above, it is an important technical matter to efficiently supply fresh processing liquid to the surface of the substrate W by reducing the bubble size. In this regard, according to the first chemical solution processing unit 81 that can effectively reduce the size of the air bubbles V, the air bubbles V can promote the supply of fresh processing liquid, and wet etching of the SiN film can be favorably performed.

In addition, as shown in the partially enlarged view of FIG. 5 , since the substrate W and the bubble discharge ports 845 are alternately arranged in the bubbler 841d in the X direction, it is possible to efficiently supply between substrates W adjacent to each other. Bubble V of small size. As a result, high-quality substrate processing (chemical solution processing or cleaning processing) can be performed.

Thus, in the first embodiment, the (+Z) direction corresponds to an example of the "flow direction of the treatment liquid" in the present invention. In addition, the bubble piping 842 corresponds to an example of the "piping" of the present invention. In addition, the X direction corresponds to the "horizontal direction" of the present invention.

In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, Unless it deviates from the summary, various changes other than the above can be added. For example, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the bubbler 841 provided with the hollow cylindrical protruding part 843 is used, and the air bubbles V are supplied from the bubble pipe 842, but the structure of the bubbler 841 is not limited to this. As the hollow protruding portion, for example, as shown in FIG. 7 , a protruding portion 846 in the shape of a hollow truncated cone protruding from a bubble pipe 842 may be used (second embodiment). According to the second embodiment, the surface area of the front end surface of the protruding portion 846 is narrower than that of the protruding portion 843 in the shape of a hollow cylinder used in the first embodiment, so that the air bubbles V of a smaller size can be supplied. As a result, substrate processing can be performed with higher quality.

In addition, in the above-mentioned first embodiment and second embodiment, the front end surfaces of the protruding parts 843 and 846 are circular, but this shape is not limited thereto and is arbitrary. For example, as shown in FIG. 8 , protruding portions 847 and 878 having an elliptical front end surface may also be used. In short, it is preferable to use a protruding portion having a columnar shape or a tapered shape in which the outer diameter becomes smaller toward the front end.

In addition, plasma treatment may be performed on the front ends of the protruding parts 843, 846-848. By this plasma treatment, the front end, that is, the periphery of the bubble discharge port 845 is hydrophilized, and the detachment of the bubbles V is accelerated. As a result, the size of the bubble V can be further reduced.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the processing liquid discharge part 830 includes four flow tubes 831, but the number of flow tubes 831 is not limited thereto, and is preferably set according to the storage space 821f or the size of the substrate W. Also, the number of bubblers 841 included in the bubble supply unit 840 is four, but the number of bubblers 841 is not limited thereto, and is preferably set according to the storage space 821f or the size of the substrate W. Also, the number of bubbler plates 851 included in the splitter 850 is three, but the number of bubblers 841 is not limited thereto, and is preferably set according to the size of the storage space 821f or the substrate W.

In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the bubbler 841 is supported by the bubbler plate 851 of the distribution part 850, and it is fixedly arranged in the treatment liquid stored in the storage space 821f, and the bubbler plate 851 passes through The flow F of the treatment liquid flowing upward from the inner bottom surface 821h is divided into a plurality of flows. Here, for example, the present invention can also be applied to a substrate processing apparatus in which the bubbler plate 851 is directly fixed to the processing tank 821 , that is, the flow divider 850 is not provided.

In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, nitrogen gas is fed into the bubbler 841 to supply the bubbles V of nitrogen gas into the processing liquid, but a gas other than nitrogen gas may be used as the "gas" in the present invention.

In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the present invention is applied to a substrate processing apparatus that discharges the processing liquid from the flow tube 831 to the inner bottom surface 821h of the storage space 821f, but the supply aspect of the processing liquid in the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the present invention can also be applied to a substrate processing device that discharges from the lower side of the substrate upward or obliquely upward, or discharges along the inner bottom surface of the storage space as in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-200821.

Furthermore, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the present invention is applied to a substrate processing apparatus that performs chemical solution treatment with a chemical solution containing phosphoric acid or a substrate processing apparatus that performs cleaning treatment, but the scope of application of the present invention is not limited thereto, and may be The present invention is applied to an overall substrate processing technology in which a substrate is immersed in a processing liquid other than the above-mentioned chemical liquid or cleaning liquid, and bubbles are supplied to the above-mentioned substrate in the processing liquid to perform substrate processing.

As mentioned above, although the invention was described based on the specific embodiment, this description is not intended to be construed in a limited sense. As with other embodiments of the present invention, various modifications of the disclosed embodiments will be clear to those skilled in the art when referring to the description of the invention. Therefore, it is believed that the appended patent claims include such variations or embodiments within the true scope of the invention.

The present invention can be applied to an entire substrate processing apparatus that immerses a substrate in a processing liquid such as a chemical solution or pure water stored in a processing tank, and supplies air bubbles to the substrate in the processing liquid to process the substrate.

The disclosures of the description, drawings and scope of the patent application of the Japanese application shown below are all incorporated into this specification by reference:

Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-236758 (applied on December 26, 2019)

Japanese Special Application No. 2020-130002 (apply on July 31, 2020).

1: Substrate processing system 2: Receiver loading part 3: Baffle drive mechanism 4: Substrate transfer robot 5: Posture conversion mechanism 6: putter 7: Substrate transfer mechanism 8: Processing unit 9: Control Department 31: Baffle 71: Suspension arm 81: The first chemical solution processing part (substrate processing device) 82: The first cleaning processing part (substrate processing device) 83: The second chemical solution processing part (substrate processing device) 84:Second cleaning processing part (substrate processing device) 85: Processing Department 86: Clearance 810: Elevator (substrate holding part) 810a: Elevator (substrate holding part) 810b: Elevator (substrate holding part) 811: Backplane 812: Support components 812a: V-shaped groove 813: extension member 814: Elevator drive mechanism 815:Lift motor 816: ball screw 817:Lift base 818:Lifting pillar 819:Motor drive department 821: processing tank 821a: bottom wall 821b～821e: side wall 821f: storage space 821g: top opening 821h: inner bottom surface 822: overflow tank 822a:Reclaim space 823: outer container 830: Treatment liquid discharge part 831: flow tube 831a～831d: flow tube 832:Processing liquid supply unit 833: Treatment liquid recovery department 834: treatment liquid outlet 839: Flow piping system 840:Bubble supply unit 841: Bubbler 841a～841d: bubbler 842: Bubble piping 843: Protruding parts 844: gas supply 845:Bubble outlet 846～848: Protruding parts 850:Shunt 851: bubbler board 851a～851c: bubbler plate 852a: through part 852b: through part F: ring belt F1～F6: flow PT: Pitch V: Bubble W: Substrate

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a substrate processing system equipped with a substrate processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the schematic configuration of the first embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing the main components of the substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG. 2 . FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view of FIG. 2 . Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the disposition relationship between a plurality of substrates held by an elevator and air bubble outlets. Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a comparative example of the substrate processing apparatus of the first embodiment. Fig. 7 is a diagram showing the configuration of a bubble supply unit used in the second embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention. 8(a), (b) are diagrams showing other configurations of the air bubble supply unit.

841: Bubbler

842: Bubble piping

843: Protruding parts

845:Bubble outlet

851: bubbler board

PT: Pitch

V: Bubble

W: Substrate

Claims (7)

A substrate processing apparatus, characterized by comprising: a processing tank having a storage space for storing a processing liquid, and processing the substrate by immersing the substrate in the processing liquid stored in the storage space; In the above-mentioned storage space, the above-mentioned substrate is held in an upright posture; a processing liquid discharge part is provided on the lower side of the above-mentioned substrate held by the above-mentioned substrate holding part, and discharges the above-mentioned processing liquid to the above-mentioned storage space to form the above-mentioned substrate in the above-mentioned storage space. A flow of the processing liquid; and a bubble supply unit having a pipe disposed in the storage space on the lower side of the substrate held by the substrate holding portion, protruding from the pipe in the flow direction of the processing liquid and having a column The hollow protruding part in the form of a hollow shape, the gas sent to the protruding part through the above-mentioned piping is discharged from the bubble discharge port in the center part of the front end of the protruding part, and the above-mentioned processing liquid stored in the above-mentioned storage space is discharged. Air bubbles are supplied inside. A substrate processing apparatus, characterized by comprising: a processing tank having a storage space for storing a processing liquid, and processing the substrate by immersing the substrate in the processing liquid stored in the storage space; In the above-mentioned storage space, the above-mentioned substrate is held in an upright posture; a processing liquid discharge part is provided on the lower side of the above-mentioned substrate held by the above-mentioned substrate holding part, and discharges the above-mentioned processing liquid to the above-mentioned storage space to form the above-mentioned substrate in the above-mentioned storage space. The flow of the processing liquid; and the air bubble supply part, which has a position arranged in the above-mentioned storage space and held by the above-mentioned substrate holding part. The piping on the lower side of the above-mentioned substrate is protruded from the above-mentioned piping in the flow direction of the above-mentioned processing liquid and has a tapered hollow-shaped protruding part with a smaller outer diameter as it approaches the front end. The gas in the protruding part is discharged from the bubble discharge port provided at the front end of the protruding part, and the gas bubbles are supplied to the processing liquid stored in the storage space. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the protruding part is made of resin material. The substrate processing device according to claim 3, wherein the protruding part is at least one selected from the group consisting of polyetheretherketone (PEEK), perfluoroalkoxyalkane (PFA), and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) constitute. The substrate processing device according to claim 3, wherein the front end of the protruding part is treated with plasma. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate holding part holds a plurality of the above-mentioned substrates in a manner of being spaced apart from each other in the horizontal direction, and the above-mentioned air bubble supply part extends along the horizontal direction on the side wall of the above-mentioned pipe extending in the above-mentioned horizontal direction. A plurality of the above-mentioned protruding parts are arranged in a row, and the above-mentioned substrates and the above-mentioned protruding parts are alternately arranged in the above-mentioned horizontal direction. The bubble discharge port supplies the above-mentioned bubbles. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the processing tank allows the processing liquid supplied from the processing liquid discharge port to overflow from the upper opening of the storage space during processing the substrate.

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