Device for rinsing and drying substrate

• US 5,520,744 A
• Filed: 05/17/1994
• Issued: 05/28/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 05/17/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: SCREEN Holdings Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: SCREEN Holdings Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Tanaka, Masato, Fujikawa, Kazonori, Muraoka, Yusuke
• Primary Examiner(s): Stinson, Frankie L.
• Application Number:
  US08/245,241
• Time in Patent Office: 742 Days
• Field of Search: 134/902, 134/105, 134/201, 134/200, 134/76, 134/11, 134/45.1, 134/102.3, 134/102.1, 134/25.1
• US Class Current: 134/11
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02052 Wet cleaning only H01L21/02085 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67028 for cleaning followed by drying, rinsing, stripping, blasting or the like
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 134/902 Semiconductor wafer

Abstract

Deionized water is supplied into a rinsing bath from its bottom portion and overflows from the upper portion of the rinsing bath to form an upflow of deionized water in the rinsing bath. A substrate is rinsed by being immersed in the upflow of deionized water. After rinsing, the substrate is removed from deionized water, and at this tim the surroundings of the substrate are supplied with vapor of an organic solvent soluble in water which serves to lower surface tension of deionized water to the substrate. Thereafter, the substrate is dried in a sealed chamber that is evacuated and the surroundings of the substrate are reduced in pressure. As a result, during drying the substrate surface after rinsing same with deionized water, it is possible to reduce adhesion of particles to the substrate surface, and to dry the substrate surface rapidly without heating the substrate.

Claims

1. A device for processing a substrate, comprising:

a hermetically sealable process chamber;

a rinsing bath for rinsing a substrate that is inside said process chamber and said rinsing bath having an upper opening portion;

substrate holding means for holding the substrate while same is in said rinsing bath;

means for supplying a rinsing solution in said rinsing bath so that the rinsing solution overflows from the upper opening portion of said rinsing bath;

means for removing said substrate from said rinsing solution after rinsing;

means for reducing pressure in said process chamber; and

means for supplying vapor of an organic solvent to surroundings of the substrate that has been removed from said rinsing bath;

said vapor of said organic solvent being condensed on said substrate and then being evaporated while pressure within said process chamber is reduced, with exposure of said substrate to said vapor of said organic solvent serving to lower surface tension of said rinsing solution while exposing said substrate.

2. The device as recited in claim 1, further comprising means for thermally insulating said process chamber.

3. The device as recited in claim 2, wherein

said vapor of the organic solvent includes a mixture of the organic solvent and inactive gas.

4. The device as recited in claim 2, wherein

said vapor of the organic solvent includes ionized vapor of said organic solvent.

5. The device as recited in claim 1, wherein

said rinsing solution is deionized water,

said device constitutes a part of an apparatus for cleaning, rinsing and drying said substrate, and

said apparatus includes a bath for cleaning a substrate with chemicals and a bath for cleaning a substrate with deionized water, and a bath for rinsing a substrate, and said device includes said bath for rinsing a substrate.

6. The device as recited in claim 5, wherein

said device further includes means for thermally insulating said process chamber.

7. The device as recited in claim 6, wherein

said vapor of the organic solvent includes a mixture of the organic solvent and inactive gas.

8. A device as defined in claim 1 also comprising:

first means for supporting a substrate to be processed;

another chamber different from said process chamber;

means using a chemical for cleaning a substrate while said substrate is in said another chamber;

said rinsing solution comprising deionized water that washes any of said chemical that may become attached to said substrate during cleaning thereof;

substrate holding means for holding the substrate while the same is in said rinsing bath;

drying means for drying said substrate after said substrate has been rinsed and while said substrate is in said process chamber;

second means for receiving the substrate dried by said drying means; and

third means for transferring the substrate between said first means, said another chamber, said process second chamber, and said second means.

9. A method of rinsing and drying a substrate, comprising steps of:

supplying a rinsing solution into a rinsing bath continuously, and making the rinsing solution overflow from an upper portion of the rinsing bath, to form an upflow of the rinsing solution in the rinsing bath;

placing the substrate in said upflow of the rinsing solution to rinse said substrate;

removing said substrate from said rinsing solution while supplying vapor of an organic solvent to surroundings of said substrate serving to lower surface tension of said rinsing solution; and

drying said substrate with the surroundings of said substrate reduced in pressure;

said vapor of said organic solvent being condensed on said substrate and then being evaporated while pressure within said process chamber is reduced.

10. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein the organic solvent is ionized.

11. A device for cleaning, rinsing and drying a substrate, comprising:

a hermetically sealable process chamber;

a process bath located in said process chamber and having an upper opening portion;

substrate holding means for holding the substrate while the same is in said process bath;

selective supply means for selectively supplying either of a rinsing chemical and a deionized water to said process bath so that either of said rinsing chemical and said deionized water that is selectively supplied overflows from the upper opening portion of said process bath;

removing means for removing said substrate from said process bath after rinsing in said deionized water;

means for reducing pressure in said process chamber;

means for supplying vapor of an organic solvent to surroundings of the substrate that has been removed from said process bath, with exposure of said substrate to said vapor of said organic solvent serving to lower surface tension of said rinsing chemical while exposing said substrate; and

means for controlling said selective supply means in response to either one of cleaning by using said rinsing chemical, rinsing by using said deionized water and drying by exposure to said vapor of said organic solvent.