JP-2026074623-A - Substrate processing method and substrate processing apparatus

JP2026074623AJP 2026074623 AJP2026074623 AJP 2026074623AJP-2026074623-A

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a substrate processing method that can efficiently generate a processing solution containing component liquid and component gas on the upper surface of the substrate. [Solution] The substrate processing method includes a sealing step of sealing the gap between the blocking member 41 and the substrate holder 14, thereby forming a sealed space SP between the blocking member 41 and the substrate holder 14, which contains the substrate W held in the substrate holder 14, with the component liquid on the upper surface of the substrate W; and a pressurizing step of supplying a component gas that generates a processing liquid together with the component liquid to the sealed space SP, thereby raising the air pressure inside the sealed space SP to a value higher than the air pressure outside the sealed space SP, with the component liquid on the upper surface of the substrate W. [Selection Diagram] Figure 4

Inventors

山口佑
鰍場真樹
林宗儒
田村圭伍

Assignees

株式会社ＳＣＲＥＥＮホールディングス

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20241021

Claims (20)

A substrate holding process in which the substrate is held horizontally in a substrate holder, A component liquid supply step of supplying a component liquid to the upper surface of the substrate held in the substrate holder, A sealing step is to seal the gap between the blocking member and the substrate holder, thereby forming a sealed space between the blocking member and the substrate holder that contains the substrate held in the substrate holder while the component liquid is on the upper surface of the substrate; A substrate processing method comprising: a pressurization step of supplying a component gas that generates a processing liquid together with the component liquid to the sealed space, thereby raising the air pressure inside the sealed space to a value higher than the air pressure outside the sealed space while the component liquid is on the upper surface of the substrate.
The substrate processing method according to claim 1, wherein the pressurization step includes a step of maintaining the air pressure inside the sealed space at a higher value than the air pressure outside the sealed space while the component gas is discharged from the sealed space, thereby maintaining the air pressure inside the sealed space at a higher value than the air pressure outside the sealed space while the component liquid is on the upper surface of the substrate.
The substrate holder includes a spin chuck that rotates the substrate while holding it horizontally with a plurality of chuck pins arranged around the substrate, and a hot plate that heats the substrate while holding it horizontally. The substrate processing method further includes a substrate transfer step of moving the substrate between the spin chuck and the hot plate by moving the spin chuck and the hot plate relative to each other, The component liquid supply step includes a step of discharging the component liquid toward the upper surface of the substrate held in the spin chuck while rotating the substrate in the spin chuck, The substrate processing method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the pressurization step includes a step of heating the substrate while holding it on the hot plate, with the component liquid on the upper surface of the substrate and the air pressure inside the sealed space being higher than the air pressure outside the sealed space.
The substrate processing method according to claim 3, wherein the sealing step includes sealing the gap between the blocking member and the hot plate, thereby forming a sealed space between the blocking member and the hot plate containing the substrate held on the hot plate while the component liquid is on the upper surface of the substrate.
The aforementioned pressurization step is The process involves diffusing the component gas into the upper space, which is the space between the rectifier plate of the barrier member positioned above the substrate held in the substrate holder and the plate-shaped portion of the barrier member positioned above the rectifier plate, within the space inside the cylindrical portion of the barrier member surrounding the substrate held in the substrate holder while the sealed space is formed. The substrate processing method according to claim 1 or 2, comprising the step of supplying the component gas in the upper space to the lower space, which is the lower part of the space inside the cylindrical portion of the blocking member, through a plurality of gas passages that penetrate the rectifier plate vertically.
A depressurization step is performed to reduce the air pressure inside the sealed space by discharging the component gas from the sealed space, A substrate processing method according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: a replacement gas supply step of supplying a replacement gas, which is a gas other than the component gas, to the sealed space after the air pressure in the sealed space has decreased, while the sealed space is filled with the component gas and the component gas is being discharged from the sealed space.
The substrate processing method according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a pressurization preparation step of supplying the component gas to the space between the blocking member and the substrate holder while the gap between the blocking member and the substrate holder is not sealed, thereby discharging the gas in the space between the blocking member and the substrate holder through the gap.
The substrate processing method according to claim 7, wherein the pressurization preparation step includes, while the gap between the blocking member and the substrate holder is not sealed and the component gas is supplied to the space between the blocking member and the substrate holder, the step of discharging the gas inside the guard through an exhaust duct located below the gap, while positioning the upper end of the guard surrounding the blocking member and the substrate holder in a plan view above the gap.
After supplying the aforementioned component gas to the sealed space, an organic solvent supply step is performed, in which a liquid organic solvent with higher volatility than water is supplied to the upper surface of the substrate held in the substrate holder. A substrate processing method according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: a substrate drying step in which, while the liquid of the organic solvent is on the upper surface of the substrate, gas is discharged from the sealed space to reduce the air pressure inside the sealed space, thereby evaporating the liquid of the organic solvent on the upper surface of the substrate until the upper surface of the substrate is dry.
The substrate processing method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the sealing step involves sealing the gap between the blocking member and the substrate holder within a chamber housing the blocking member and the substrate holder, thereby forming a sealed space between the blocking member and the substrate holder that houses the substrate held in the substrate holder, with the component liquid present on the upper surface of the substrate.
A circuit board holder that holds the circuit board horizontally, A component liquid nozzle that discharges the component liquid toward the upper surface of the substrate held in the substrate holder, A relative movement actuator that reduces the distance between the blocking member and the substrate holder, thereby sealing the gap between the blocking member and the substrate holder, and thereby forming a sealed space between the blocking member and the substrate holder that houses the substrate held in the substrate holder while the component liquid is on the upper surface of the substrate. A substrate processing apparatus comprising: a component gas piping that supplies a component gas that generates a processing liquid together with the component liquid into the sealed space, thereby raising the air pressure inside the sealed space to a value higher than the air pressure outside the sealed space while the component liquid is on the upper surface of the substrate.
The substrate processing apparatus further includes an exhaust pipe for sucking gas from the space between the blocking member and the substrate holder, The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the component gas piping continues to supply the component gas to the sealed space when the exhaust pipe is discharging gas from the sealed space, thereby maintaining the air pressure inside the sealed space at a higher value than the air pressure outside the sealed space while the component liquid is on the upper surface of the substrate.
The substrate holder includes a spin chuck that rotates the substrate while holding it horizontally with a plurality of chuck pins arranged around the substrate, and a hot plate that heats the substrate while holding it horizontally. The substrate processing apparatus further includes a transfer actuator that moves the substrate between the spin chuck and the hot plate by moving the spin chuck and the hot plate relative to each other. The component liquid nozzle discharges the component liquid toward the upper surface of the substrate held by the spin chuck when the spin chuck is rotating the substrate. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the hot plate heats the substrate while holding it, with the component liquid on the upper surface of the substrate and the air pressure inside the sealed space being higher than the air pressure outside the sealed space.
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the relative movement actuator seals the gap between the blocking member and the hot plate, thereby forming a sealed space between the blocking member and the hot plate containing the substrate held on the hot plate while the component liquid is on the upper surface of the substrate.
The aforementioned blocking member is A cylindrical portion surrounding the substrate held in the substrate holder with the aforementioned sealed space formed, A rectifier plate positioned above the substrate held in the substrate holder, A plate-shaped portion positioned above the rectifier plate, A substrate processing apparatus according to claim 11 or 12, comprising a gas supply port that supplies the component gas in the upper space, which is the portion of the space inside the cylindrical part between the rectifier plate and the plate-shaped part, to the lower space, which is the portion of the space inside the cylindrical part below the rectifier plate, via a plurality of gas passages that penetrate the rectifier plate vertically.
An exhaust pipe that reduces the air pressure inside the sealed space by discharging the component gas from the sealed space, The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 11 or 12, further comprising: a replacement gas pipe for supplying a replacement gas, which is a gas other than the component gas, to the sealed space after the air pressure in the sealed space has decreased, the sealed space is filled with the component gas, and the exhaust pipe is discharging the component gas from the sealed space.
A component gas valve that switches between an open state that allows the component gas flowing through the component gas piping to pass through, and a closed state that stops the component gas flowing through the component gas piping, A substrate processing apparatus according to claim 11 or 12, further comprising: a control device that, while the gap between the shut-off member and the substrate holder is not sealed, switches the component gas valve to the open state and supplies the component gas to the space between the shut-off member and the substrate holder, thereby discharging the gas in the space between the shut-off member and the substrate holder through the gap, and then causes the relative movement actuator to seal the gap.
A guard including an upper end that surrounds the blocking member and the substrate holder in a plan view, A guard lifting actuator that positions the upper end of the guard above the gap when the gap between the blocking member and the substrate holder is not sealed and the component gas is supplied to the space between the blocking member and the substrate holder, The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 17, further comprising an exhaust duct positioned below the gap for discharging gas from within the guard.
After supplying the aforementioned component gas to the sealed space, an organic solvent nozzle discharges a liquid organic solvent, which is more volatile than water, toward the upper surface of the substrate held in the substrate holder. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 11 or 12, further comprising: an exhaust pipe that, while the liquid of the organic solvent is on the upper surface of the substrate, discharges gas from the sealed space to reduce the air pressure inside the sealed space, thereby evaporating the liquid of the organic solvent on the upper surface of the substrate until the upper surface of the substrate is dry.
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 11 or 12, further comprising a chamber housing the blocking member and the substrate holder.

Description

This invention relates to a substrate processing method and a substrate processing apparatus for processing substrates. Examples of substrates include semiconductor wafers, substrates for FPDs (Flat Panel Displays) such as liquid crystal displays and organic electroluminescence (EL) displays, substrates for optical discs, substrates for magnetic discs, substrates for magneto-optical discs, substrates for photomasks, ceramic substrates, and substrates for solar cells. Patent Document 1 discloses a method of treating a substrate with an aqueous sulfuric acid solution containing dissolved ozone. Paragraph 0141 of Patent Document 1 states: "By supplying ozone-containing gas into the processing chamber 12, the processing chamber 12 can be pressurized (pressurized supply step). This results in the pressure inside the processing chamber 12 becoming higher than the pressure outside the processing chamber 12." Japanese Patent Publication No. 2023-34828 This is a schematic plan view showing the layout of a substrate processing apparatus according to one embodiment.This is a schematic side view of a substrate processing device.This is a schematic diagram showing the inside of the processing unit viewed horizontally.This is a schematic diagram showing the inside of the processing unit viewed horizontally.This is an enlarged view of the shut-off member and the hot plate, showing the state in which the gap between the shut-off member and the hot plate is sealed.This is a schematic diagram of a chuck pin.This is a process diagram illustrating an example of substrate processing performed by a substrate processing device.This timing chart illustrates the process in an example of substrate processing shown in Figure 6, from sealing the space containing the substrate to replacing the ozone gas in that space with nitrogen gas.This is a schematic diagram of a blocking member and a hot plate according to another embodiment.The following is a schematic diagram of a blocking member and a hot plate according to another embodiment. The embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 1A is a schematic plan view showing the layout of a substrate processing apparatus 1 according to one embodiment. Figure 1B is a schematic side view of the substrate processing apparatus 1. As shown in Figure 1A, the substrate processing apparatus 1 is a single-wafer type apparatus that processes disc-shaped substrates W, such as semiconductor wafers, one at a time. The substrate processing apparatus 1 comprises a load port LP that holds carriers CA, such as FOUPs (Front-Opening Unified Pods), which accommodate multiple substrates W; multiple processing units 2 that process the substrates W transported from the carriers CA on the load port LP with processing fluids such as processing liquid and processing gas; a transport system TS that transports the substrates W between the carriers CA on the load port LP and the multiple processing units 2; an outer wall 1a that forms a sealed space housing the multiple processing units 2 and the transport system TS; and a control device 3 that controls the substrate processing apparatus 1. Multiple processing units 2 form multiple towers TW. Figure 1A shows an example where four towers TW are formed. As shown in Figure 1B, the multiple processing units 2 contained within one tower TW are stacked vertically. As shown in Figure 1A, the multiple towers TW form two rows extending in the depth direction of the substrate processing apparatus 1 (the left-right direction of the paper in Figure 1A) in a plan view. In a plan view, the two rows face each other via a transport path TP. The transport system TS includes an indexer robot IR that loads and unloads substrates W to and from the carrier CA on the load port LP, and a center robot CR that loads and unloads substrates W to and from multiple processing units 2. The center robot CR is positioned on the transport path TP. The indexer robot IR is positioned between the load port LP and the center robot CR in a plan view. The indexer robot IR passes the substrates W to the center robot CR and receives the substrates W from the center robot CR. The same applies to the center robot CR. The indexer robot IR includes one or more hands Hi that horizontally support the substrate W. The hands Hi are capable of translation in both the horizontal and vertical directions. The hands Hi are rotatable around a vertical line. The hands Hi can load and unload the substrate W to and from any carrier CA on any load port LP, and can transfer the substrate W between the center robot CR and the carrier. The center robot CR includes one or more hands Hc that horizontally support the substrate W. The hands Hc are capable of translation in both the horizontal and vertical directions. The hands Hc are also capable of rotation around a vertical line. The hands Hc can transfer the substrate W to and from the indexer robot IR, an