US-12622200-B2 - Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method

US12622200B2US 12622200 B2US12622200 B2US 12622200B2US-12622200-B2

Abstract

A substrate processing apparatus includes a unit block including multiple liquid film forming devices each configured to form a liquid film on a top surface of a substrate, and a drying device configured to replace the liquid film with a supercritical fluid to dry the substrate; and a transfer block provided between the multiple liquid film forming devices and the drying device. The transfer block includes a transfer device configured to transfer the substrate between the multiple liquid film forming devices and the drying device, and a length of a transfer path of the substrate is equal between each of the multiple liquid film forming devices and the drying device.

Inventors

Shota Umezaki
Takahiro Hayashida
Mikio Nakashima
Takafumi YASUNAGA

Assignees

TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20240115
Priority Date: 20230117

Claims (12)

1 . A substrate processing apparatus, comprising: a unit block including multiple liquid film forming devices each configured to form a liquid film on a top surface of a substrate, and a drying device configured to replace the liquid film with a supercritical fluid to dry the substrate; and a transfer block provided between the multiple liquid film forming devices and the drying device, wherein the transfer block includes a transfer device configured to transfer the substrate between the multiple liquid film forming devices and the drying device, a length of a transfer path of the substrate is equal between each of the multiple liquid film forming devices and the drying device, and the multiple liquid film forming devices are disposed, without any intervening block, adjacent to each other along a lengthwise direction of the transfer block, wherein the unit block includes multiple unit blocks, and the multiple unit blocks are arranged along the lengthwise direction of the transfer block of a rectangular shape, wherein the multiple unit blocks include a first unit block having a first drying device and a second unit block having a second drying device, when viewed from a top, the first drying device and the second drying device are disposed on one side of the transfer block, and an intermediate area is provided between the first drying device and the second drying device, and the substrate processing apparatus further comprises an electrical equipment block including a device configured to control the first drying device and the second drying device.
2 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the multiple liquid film forming devices include a first liquid film forming device and a second liquid film forming device, and when viewed from a top, the first liquid film forming device and the second liquid film forming device are arranged to be axisymmetric about an imaginary line passing through a center of the drying device.
3 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a maintenance area is provided between the first drying device and the second drying device to perform maintenance of the first drying device and the second drying device.
4 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 2 , further comprising: a workbench provided in the maintenance area to be used during the maintenance.
5 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first drying device and the second drying device are configured to be moved in a direction away from the transfer block.
6 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first drying device and the second drying device are configured to be rotated horizontally.
7 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the electrical equipment block is configured to be moved in a direction away from the transfer block.
8 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first unit block includes multiple first unit blocks, and the second unit block includes multiple second unit blocks, and the multiple first unit blocks are stacked in multiple levels in a vertical direction and the multiple second unit blocks are stacked in multiple levels in the vertical direction.
9 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the transfer block includes multiple transfer blocks, and the multiple transfer blocks are stacked in multiple levels in the vertical direction.
10 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the electrical equipment block includes multiple electrical equipment boxes stacked in multiple levels in the vertical direction, and the electrical equipment boxes are configured to be moved independently of each other.
11 . A substrate processing method performed in a substrate processing apparatus including a unit block having multiple liquid film forming devices each configured to form a liquid film on a top surface of a substrate and a drying device configured to replace the liquid film with a supercritical fluid to dry the substrate, and a transfer block provided between the multiple liquid film forming devices and the drying device, wherein the transfer block includes a transfer device configured to transfer the substrate between the multiple liquid film forming devices and the drying device, a length of a transfer path of the substrate is equal between each of the multiple liquid film forming devices and the drying device, and wherein the substrate processing method comprises: forming, by the liquid film forming device, the liquid film on the top surface of the substrate; transferring, by the transfer device, the substrate having the liquid film formed thereon from the liquid film forming device to the drying device; and drying, by the drying device, the substrate by replacing the liquid film with the supercritical fluid, wherein the multiple liquid film forming devices are disposed, without any intervening block, adjacent to each other along a lengthwise direction of the transfer block, wherein the unit block includes multiple unit blocks, and the multiple unit blocks are arranged along the lengthwise direction of the transfer block of a rectangular shape, wherein the multiple unit blocks include a first unit block having a first drying device and a second unit block having a second drying device, when viewed from a top, the first drying device and the second drying device are disposed on one side of the transfer block, and an intermediate area is provided between the first drying device and the second drying device, and the substrate processing apparatus further comprises an electrical equipment block including a device configured to control the first drying device and the second drying device.
12 . A substrate processing apparatus, comprising: a unit block including multiple liquid film forming devices each configured to form a liquid film on a top surface of a substrate, and a drying device configured to replace the liquid film with a supercritical fluid to dry the substrate; and a transfer block provided between the multiple liquid film forming devices and the drying device, wherein the transfer block includes a transfer device configured to transfer the substrate between the multiple liquid film forming devices and the drying device, the transfer device transfers the substrate such that a transfer time of the substrate becomes equal between each of the multiple liquid film forming devices and the drying device, and the multiple liquid film forming devices are disposed, without any intervening block, adjacent to each other along a lengthwise direction of the transfer block, wherein the unit block includes multiple unit blocks, and the multiple unit blocks are arranged along the lengthwise direction of the transfer block of a rectangular shape, wherein the multiple unit blocks include a first unit block having a first drying device and a second unit block having a second drying device, when viewed from a top, the first drying device and the second drying device are disposed on one side of the transfer block, and an intermediate area is provided between the first drying device and the second drying device, and the substrate processing apparatus further comprises an electrical equipment block including a device configured to control the first drying device and the second drying device.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-004940 filed on Jan. 17, 2023, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD The various aspects and embodiments described herein pertain generally to a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method. BACKGROUND There is known a technique of drying a substrate by using a supercritical fluid. Patent Document 1 discloses an apparatus having multiple sets of liquid film forming units and drying units. The drying unit dries the substrate by replacing the liquid film formed on a top surface of the substrate in the liquid film forming unit with the supercritical fluid. Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2022-030851 SUMMARY In one exemplary embodiment, a substrate processing apparatus includes a unit block including multiple liquid film forming devices each configured to form a liquid film on a top surface of a substrate, and a drying device configured to replace the liquid film with a supercritical fluid to dry the substrate; and a transfer block provided between the multiple liquid film forming devices and the drying device. The transfer block includes a transfer device configured to transfer the substrate between the multiple liquid film forming devices and the drying device, and a length of a transfer path of the substrate is equal between each of the multiple liquid film forming devices and the drying device. The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the detailed description that follows, embodiments are described as illustrations only since various changes and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description. The use of the same reference numbers in different figures indicates similar or identical items. FIG. 1 is a plan view of a substrate processing apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment; FIG. 2 is a front view of the substrate processing apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment; FIG. 3 is a side view of the substrate processing apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment; FIG. 4 is a timing chart showing a substrate processing method according to the exemplary embodiment; FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the substrate processing method according to the exemplary embodiment; FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the substrate processing method according to the exemplary embodiment; FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the substrate processing method according to the exemplary embodiment; FIG. 8 is a plan view showing the substrate processing method according to the exemplary embodiment; FIG. 9 is a plan view showing the substrate processing method according to the exemplary embodiment; FIG. 10 is a plan view showing the substrate processing method according to the exemplary embodiment; FIG. 11 is a plan view showing the substrate processing method according to the exemplary embodiment; FIG. 12 is a plan view showing the substrate processing method according to the exemplary embodiment; FIG. 13 is a plan view showing the substrate processing method according to the exemplary embodiment; FIG. 14 is a plan view showing the substrate processing method according to the exemplary embodiment: FIG. 15 is a plan view showing the substrate processing method according to the exemplary embodiment; FIG. 16 is a plan view showing the substrate processing method according to the exemplary embodiment; FIG. 17 is a plan view showing the substrate processing method according to the exemplary embodiment; FIG. 18 is a plan view showing the substrate processing method according to the exemplary embodiment; FIG. 19 is a plan view showing the substrate processing method according to the exemplary embodiment; FIG. 20 is a plan view showing the substrate processing method according to the exemplary embodiment; FIG. 21 is a plan view showing the substrate processing method according to the exemplary embodiment; FIG. 22 is a plan view showing the substrate processing method according to the exemplary embodiment; FIG. 23A and FIG. 23B are diagrams showing an intermediate area when a device is in operation; FIG. 24A and FIG. 24B are diagrams showing the intermediate area during maintenance of a lower level; FIG. 25A and FIG. 25B are diagrams showing the intermediate area during maintenance of intermediate and upper levels; FIG. 26 is a plan view of a substrate processing apparatus according to a first modification example of the exemplary embodiment; FIG. 27 is a plan view of a substrate processing apparatus according to a second modification example of the exemplary embodiment; FIG. 28 is a