SUBSTRATE PROCESSING APPARATUS AND SUBSTRATE PROCESSING METHOD USING PROCESSING SOLUTION

• US 20130020284A1
• Filed: 07/02/2012
• Published: 01/24/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SCREEN Holdings Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: SCREEN Holdings Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: OSADA, Naoyuki, SUGIMOTO, Kentaro
• Granted Patent: US 9,378,988 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 216/57
• CPC Class Codes: B08B 3/022 Cleaning travelling work B08B3/042 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B08B 3/041 Cleaning travelling work
• CPC Class Codes: B08B 9/023 Cleaning the external surface B08B9/021 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67028 for cleaning followed by drying, rinsing, stripping, blasting or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67034 for drying
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67051 using mainly spraying means, e.g. nozzles

Abstract

Nozzle arms for holding discharge heads are caused by a pivotal driving part to move between a processing position above a substrate and a standby position outside a processing cup surrounding a substrate. When the nozzle arms having cleaned a substrate is placed at the standby position, a cleaning solution is ejected from a shower nozzle toward the nozzle arms arranged obliquely downward of the shower nozzle. The three nozzle arms are caused to move up and down such that the nozzle arms cut across a jet of a cleaning solution discharged obliquely downward, thereby cleaning the three nozzle arms in order. Then, a nitrogen gas is ejected from a drying gas nozzle and sprayed on the nozzle arms to remove the cleaning solution attached to the nozzle arms, thereby drying the nozzle arms.

Claims

1. A substrate processing apparatus that supplies a processing solution to a substrate, comprising:

a substrate holding element for holding a substrate in a substantially horizontal position thereon while causing the substrate to rotate;

a cup surrounding said substrate holding element;

a nozzle arm with a discharge head provided at its tip end, the discharge head discharging a processing solution to a substrate held on said substrate holding element;

a pivotal driving part for causing said nozzle arm to pivot such that said discharge head moves between a processing position above a substrate held on said substrate holding element and a standby position outside said cup; and

an arm cleaning element for cleaning at least part of said nozzle arm that is to face a substrate held on said substrate holding element when said discharge head has moved to said processing position.

2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

said pivotal driving part is arranged outside said cup and coupled to the base end of said nozzle arm, and

said arm cleaning element includes a shower nozzle that ejects a cleaning solution toward said nozzle arm when said discharge head is at said standby position.

3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising an up-and-down driving part for causing said nozzle arm to move up and down, wherein

said shower nozzle is fixedly arranged outside said cup, and ejects a cleaning solution obliquely downward, and

said up-and-down driving part causes said nozzle arm to move up and down such that said nozzle arm cuts across a jet of a cleaning solution discharged from said shower nozzle.

4. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said shower nozzle ejects a cleaning solution in a direction away from said substrate holding element.

5. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a gas ejecting part for ejecting a drying gas to be sprayed on at least part of said nozzle arm having received a cleaning solution ejected from said shower nozzle to dry this part of said nozzle arm.

6. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said gas ejecting part is arranged at a position that causes a drying gas to be sprayed first on the tip end of said nozzle arm when said discharge head is at said standby position.

7. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said nozzle arm includes a plurality of parallel nozzle arms arranged in parallel to each other in the horizontal direction, and the nozzle arms are connected to said pivotal driving part.

8. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said nozzle arm includes a gas discharging part arranged side by side with said discharge head, the gas discharging part mixing gas with a processing solution discharged from said discharge head.

9. A substrate processing method that supplies a processing solution to a substrate, comprising the steps of

(a) causing a nozzle arm to pivot such that a discharge head arranged at the tip end thereof moves between a processing position and a standby position, the discharge head discharging a processing solution to a substrate held on a substrate holding element in a substantially horizontal position while being caused to rotate by the substrate holding element, the processing position being above a substrate held on said substrate holding element, the standby position being outside a cup surrounding said substrate holding element, and

(b) cleaning at least part of said nozzle arm that is to face a substrate held on said substrate holding element when said discharge head has moved to said processing position.

10. The substrate processing method according to claim 9, wherein said step (b) includes the step of

(b-1) ejecting a cleaning solution from a shower nozzle toward said nozzle arm when said discharge head is at said standby position.

11. The substrate processing method according to claim 10, wherein in said step (b-1), while a cleaning solution is ejected obliquely downward from said shower nozzle, said nozzle arm is caused to move up and down such that said nozzle arm cuts across a jet of the cleaning solution discharged from said shower nozzle.

12. The substrate processing method according to claim 11, wherein said shower nozzle ejects a cleaning solution in a direction away from said substrate holding element.

13. The substrate processing method according to claim 10, further comprising the step of

(c) ejecting a drying gas to be sprayed on at least part of said nozzle arm having received a cleaning solution ejected from said shower nozzle to dry this part of said nozzle arm.

14. The substrate processing method according to claim 13, wherein in said step (c), a drying gas is sprayed first on the tip end of said nozzle arm when said discharge head is at said standby position.

15. The substrate processing method according to claim 9, wherein said nozzle arm includes a plurality of parallel nozzle arms arranged in parallel to each other in the horizontal direction.

16. The substrate processing method according to claim 9, wherein said nozzle arm includes a gas discharging part arranged side by side with said discharge head, the gas discharging part mixing gas with a processing solution discharged from said discharge head.

17. A substrate processing apparatus that supplies a processing solution to a substrate, comprising:

a substrate holding element for holding a substrate in a substantially horizontal position thereon while causing the substrate to rotate;

a cup surrounding said substrate holding element;

a nozzle arm with a discharge head provided at its tip end, the discharge head discharging a processing solution to a substrate held on said substrate holding element;

a pivotal driving part for causing said nozzle arm to pivot such that said discharge head moves between a processing position above a substrate held on said substrate holding element and a standby position outside said cup; and

a gas ejecting part, the gas ejecting part ejecting a drying gas to be sprayed on at least part of said nozzle arm to dry this part of said nozzle arm when said discharge head has moved back from said processing position to said standby position, the part of said nozzle arm being to face a substrate held on said substrate holding element when said discharge head has moved to said processing position.

18. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 17, wherein said gas ejecting part is arranged at a position that causes a drying gas to be sprayed first on the tip end of said nozzle arm when said discharge head is at said standby position.

19. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 18, wherein

said gas ejecting part is fixedly arranged, and

said pivotal driving part causes said nozzle arm to swing such that the tip end of said nozzle arm cuts across a jet of a drying gas ejected from said gas ejecting part.

20. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 17, wherein said gas ejecting part is configured to eject a drying gas to be sprayed on said nozzle arm each time said discharge head has moved back from said processing position to said standby position after process of discharging a processing solution onto one substrate is finished.

21. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 17, wherein said nozzle arm includes a plurality of parallel nozzle arms arranged in parallel to each other in the horizontal direction, and the nozzle arms are connected to said pivotal driving part.

22. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 17, wherein said nozzle arm includes a gas discharging part arranged side by side with said discharge head, the gas discharging part mixing gas with a processing solution discharged from said discharge head.

23. A substrate processing method that supplies a processing solution to a substrate, comprising the steps of:

(a) causing a nozzle arm with a discharge head provided at its tip end to pivot to move the discharge head to a processing position above a substrate held on a substrate holding element in a substantially horizontal position while being caused to rotate by the substrate holding element, and discharging a processing solution from said discharge head to said substrate;

(b) causing said nozzle arm to pivot to move said discharge head from said processing position back to a standby position outside a cup surrounding said substrate holding element; and

(c) ejecting a drying gas from a gas ejecting part to be sprayed on at least part of said nozzle arm to dry this part of said nozzle arm when said discharge head has moved back from said processing position to said standby position, the part of said nozzle arm being to face a substrate held on said substrate holding element when said discharge head has moved to said processing position.

24. The substrate processing method according to claim 23, wherein in said step (c), a drying gas is sprayed first on the tip end of said nozzle arm when said discharge head is at said standby position.

25. The substrate processing method according to claim 24, wherein

said gas ejecting part is fixedly arranged, and

in said step (c), said nozzle arm is caused to swing such that the tip end of said nozzle arm cuts across a jet of a drying gas ejected from said gas ejecting part.

26. The substrate processing method according to claim 23, wherein said step (c) is performed each time said discharge head has moved back from said processing position to said standby position after said step (a) is finished.

27. The substrate processing method according to claim 23, wherein said nozzle arm includes a plurality of parallel nozzle arms arranged in parallel to each other in the horizontal direction.

28. The substrate processing method according to claim 23, wherein said nozzle arm includes a gas discharging part arranged side by side with said discharge head, the gas discharging part mixing gas with a processing solution discharged from said discharge head.

29. A substrate processing apparatus that supplies a processing solution to a substrate, comprising:

a substrate holding element for holding a substrate in a substantially horizontal position thereon while causing the substrate to rotate;

a cup surrounding said substrate holding element;

a nozzle arm with a discharge head provided at its tip end, the discharge head discharging a processing solution to a substrate held on said substrate holding element;

a pivotal driving part for causing said nozzle arm to pivot such that said discharge head moves between a processing position above a substrate held on said substrate holding element and a standby position outside said cup;

a standby pot arranged at said standby position, the standby pot housing said discharge head;

a cleaning element provided to said standby pot, the cleaning element cleaning said discharge head housed in said standby pot by supplying a cleaning solution to said discharge head; and

a drying element provided to said standby pot, the drying element drying said discharge head after being cleaned by said cleaning element by ejecting a drying gas to be sprayed on said discharge head.

30. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 29, further comprising an up-and-down driving part for causing said nozzle arm and said discharge head to move up and down,

wherein said drying element ejects a drying gas to be sprayed on said discharge head being lifted out of said standby pot by said up-and-down driving part.

31. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 29, further comprising an arm drying part provided to said standby pot, the arm drying part ejecting a drying gas to be sprayed on said nozzle arm.

32. A substrate processing method that supplies a processing solution to a substrate, comprising the steps of:

(a) causing a nozzle arm with a discharge head provided at its tip end to pivot to move the discharge head to a processing position above a substrate held on a substrate holding element in a substantially horizontal position while being caused to rotate by the substrate holding element, and discharging a processing solution from said discharge head to said substrate;

(b) causing said nozzle arm to pivot to move said discharge head from said processing position back to a standby position outside a cup surrounding said substrate holding element, and housing said discharge head in a standby pot arranged at said standby position,

(c) cleaning said discharge head housed in said standby pot by supplying a cleaning solution to said discharge head from a cleaning element provided to said standby pot; and

(d) drying said discharge head after being cleaned in said step (c) by spraying a drying gas on said discharge head ejected from a drying element provided to said standby pot.

33. The substrate processing method according to claim 32, wherein in said step (d), while said discharge head is lifted out of said standby pot, said drying element ejects a drying gas to be sprayed on said discharge head.

34. The substrate processing method according to claim 32, wherein in said step (d), a drying gas ejected is ejected from an arm drying element provided to said standby pot and sprayed on said nozzle arm.