JP-7855424-B2 - Substrate processing equipment

Inventors

• 前川 直嗣

Assignees

• 株式会社ＳＣＲＥＥＮホールディングス

Dates

Publication Date

20260508

Application Date

20220622

Claims (4)

1. In a substrate processing apparatus for processing substrates, A batch processing unit that processes multiple circuit boards simultaneously in a vertical orientation, A single-wafer processing unit that processes a single substrate in a horizontal position, A configuration change unit holds multiple substrates that have been processed by the batch processing unit and converts them from a vertical orientation to a horizontal orientation, A first transport unit that transports multiple substrates that have been processed in the batch processing unit to the attitude conversion unit, A second transport unit transports the substrate, which has been positioned horizontally in the attitude conversion unit, to the single-wafer processing unit. An immersion tank for housing multiple substrates whose orientation is to be changed by the orientation changing unit, and for immersing the multiple substrates in pure water until the orientation change is performed, Equipped with , The immersion tank is further equipped with a lifting mechanism that moves the plurality of substrates, which are positioned horizontally, up and down relative to each other. When the second transport unit receives the substrate, it moves only the substrate to be transported from among the multiple substrates so that it is positioned above the liquid surface of the immersion tank. The aforementioned attitude changing unit is A carrier inside a tank that houses multiple substrates, with the surfaces of the substrates positioned perpendicular to a predetermined alignment direction, A rotation mechanism that rotates the in-tank carrier below the liquid surface in the immersion tank about a horizontal axis perpendicular to the alignment direction, Equipped with, The aforementioned lifting mechanism is The lifter comprises a back plate portion extending along the inner surface of the immersion tank, and a support portion provided at the lower end of the back plate portion, extending horizontally to support the in-tank carrier, A substrate processing apparatus characterized by moving the lifter to a submerged position in which the entire in-tank carrier is supported below the liquid surface of the immersion tank, a rotational position below the submerged position in which the support portion is separated from the lower surface of the in-tank carrier, a transfer position in which a substrate is transferred between the first transport portion and the lifter, and a transport position in which only the substrate to be transported is positioned above the liquid surface of the immersion tank .
2. In the substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , The aforementioned rotating mechanism is The carrier inside the tank comprises a pair of rotating shafts that can move between a connecting position connected to a side perpendicular to the alignment direction and an open position spaced apart from the side, To change the orientation of multiple substrates in the carrier inside the tank, a rotational drive unit rotates the pair of rotating shafts located at the connecting position, A substrate processing apparatus characterized by comprising the following features.
3. In the substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2 , The pair of rotating shafts are provided with a forward and backward drive mechanism that moves them between the connected position and the open position. A substrate processing apparatus characterized in that the forward/backward drive mechanism advances the pair of rotating shafts to the coupling position, moves the lifter to the rotation position, and the rotation drive unit changes the orientation of multiple substrates in the tank carrier.
4. In the substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , The aforementioned in-tank carrier has an opening at its bottom, The lifter is provided in a position where the support portion does not close the opening. The system includes a pusher that supports the lower edges of multiple substrates, has a shape that does not interfere with the opening and the support portion, and moves up and down between a standby position located below the in-tank carrier and at the bottom of the immersion tank, and a transfer position located above the liquid level in the immersion tank, where multiple substrates are transferred between the first transport unit. A substrate processing apparatus characterized in that, when the first transport unit has transported a plurality of substrates to the attitude changing unit, the pusher is raised to the transfer position to receive the plurality of substrates, and then the pusher is lowered to the standby position to transfer the plurality of substrates to the tank carrier.

Description

This invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus that performs predetermined processing on substrates such as semiconductor substrates, FPD (Flat Panel Display) substrates for liquid crystal displays and organic electroluminescence (EL) displays, photomask glass substrates, and optical disc substrates. Conventionally, this type of apparatus includes batch modules, single-wafer modules, and rotating mechanisms (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Batch modules process multiple substrates simultaneously. Single-wafer modules process substrates one at a time. Generally, drying with a single-wafer module results in a smaller processing atmosphere space affecting the substrate and higher particle performance compared to drying with a batch module. Therefore, single-wafer modules tend to have better drying performance than batch modules. For example, etching and rinsing are performed with a batch module, followed by drying with a single-wafer module. In batch-type modules, multiple substrates are processed in a vertical orientation. In contrast, single-wafer modules process substrates in a horizontal orientation. Therefore, substrates processed in a batch-type module are rotated to a horizontal orientation by a rotation mechanism before being transported to a single-wafer module. Incidentally, in recent years, the semiconductor field has seen advancements in the refinement of three-dimensional patterns. Therefore, on such substrates, there is a risk of pattern collapse due to the effects of the gas-liquid interface during drying. For this reason, after processing with a batch-type module, the substrate is kept wet before processing with a single-wafer module to prevent drying. Specifically, multiple spray pipes are placed next to the rotating mechanism. These spray pipes spray pure water onto the substrate held by the rotating mechanism. This keeps the substrate wet until it is placed on the single-wafer module. Special Publication No. 2016-502275 This is a plan view of the substrate processing apparatus according to the embodiment.This is a plan view of the underwater attitude change unit.This is a side view of the underwater attitude change unit.This is a front view of the underwater attitude change unit.This is a diagram illustrating the operation of the underwater attitude change unit.This is a diagram illustrating the operation of the underwater attitude change unit.This is a diagram illustrating the operation of the underwater attitude change unit.This is a diagram illustrating the operation of the underwater attitude change unit.This is a diagram illustrating the operation of the underwater attitude change unit.This is a diagram illustrating the operation of the underwater attitude change unit.This is a diagram illustrating the operation of the underwater attitude change unit.This is a diagram illustrating the operation of the underwater attitude change unit.This is a side view showing a modified example of the underwater attitude change unit. Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 is a plan view of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment. <1. Overall Structure> The substrate processing apparatus 1 comprises an input/output block 3, a stocker block 5, a transfer block 7, and a processing block 9. The substrate processing apparatus 1 processes the substrate W. For example, the substrate processing apparatus 1 performs chemical treatment, cleaning, and drying on the substrate W. The substrate processing apparatus 1 employs a processing method that combines batch processing and single-wafer processing (a so-called hybrid method). Batch processing processes multiple substrates W in a vertical position simultaneously. Single-wafer processing processes a single substrate W in a horizontal position. In this specification, for convenience, the direction in which the loading/unloading block 3, stocker block 5, transfer block 7, and processing block 9 are aligned is referred to as the "front-to-back direction X." The front-to-back direction X is horizontal. Within the front-to-back direction X, the direction from the stocker block 5 toward the loading/unloading block 3 is referred to as "forward." The direction opposite to forward is referred to as "rear." The horizontal direction perpendicular to the front-to-back direction X is referred to as the "width direction Y." One direction of the "width direction Y" is appropriately referred to as "right." The direction opposite to right is referred to as "left." The direction perpendicular to the horizontal is referred to as the "vertical direction Z." In each figure, front, rear, right, left, up, and down are indicated as appropriate for reference. <2. Loading/Unloading Block> The loading/unloading block 3 comprises an input section 11 and an output section 13. The input section 11 and the output section 13 are arranged in the width direction Y. Multiple substrates W (fo