Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method

• US 7,442,257 B2
• Filed: 06/20/2006
• Issued: 10/28/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/15/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Ebara Corporation
• Original Assignee: Ebara Corporation
• Inventors: Katsuoka, Seiji, Motoshima, Yasuyuki, Owatari, Akira, Watanabe, Teruyuki, Dai, Naoki, Ogawa, Takahiro, Kobayashi, Kenichi, Sekimoto, Masahiko, Yokoyama, Toshio, Miyazaki, Mitsuru
• Primary Examiner(s): EDWARDS, LAURA ESTELLE
• Application Number:
  US11/455,736
• Publication Number:
  US 20060236929A1
• Time in Patent Office: 861 Days
• Field of Search: 118/500, 269/20, 269/21, 204/298.01, 204/297.03, 204/297.08, 204/297.09, 204/297.1, 451/388, 451/289, 156/345.51, 279/3, 294/64.1, 438/692, 414/737, 414/752.1, 414/744.8
• US Class Current: 118/500
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 18/1628 Specific elements or parts of the apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 18/1893 with use of organic or inorganic compounds other than metals, first
• CPC Class Codes: C25D 17/001 Apparatus specially adapted for electrolytic coating of wafers, e.g. semiconductors or solar cells
• CPC Class Codes: C25D 17/08 Supporting racks , i.e. not for suspending
• CPC Class Codes: C25D 7/123 Semiconductors first coated with a seed layer or a conductive layer
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67051 using mainly spraying means, e.g. nozzles
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67126 Apparatus for sealing, encapsulating, glassing, decapsulating or the like processes H01L23/02, H01L23/28
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67161 characterized by the layout of the process chambers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67173 in-line arrangement
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/6719 characterized by the construction of the processing chambers, e.g. modular processing chambers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67196 characterized by the construction of the transfer chamber
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/6723 comprising at least one plating chamber electroless plating apparatuses C23C, electroplating apparatuses C25D
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67742 Mechanical parts of transfer devices robots in general in B25J
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67751 vertical transfer of a single workpiece
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67766 Mechanical parts of transfer devices robots in general in B25J
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67781 Batch transfer of wafers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/68707 the wafers being placed on a robot blade, or gripped by a gripper for conveyance
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/68721 characterised by edge clamping, e.g. clamping ring
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 134/902 Semiconductor wafer
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 279/11 Vacuum

Abstract

The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus useful for plating a substrate or processing a substrate by dipping a substrate in a processing liquid. A substrate processing apparatus of the present invention includes: a loading/unloading area for carrying in and out a substrate; a cleaning area for cleaning the substrate; and a plating area for plating the substrate. The loading/unloading area is provided with a substrate transfer robot having a plurality of hands of dry-use design, a loading port mounted with a cassette for housing substrates, and a reversing machine of dry-use design for reversing the substrate from face up to face down.

Claims

1. A substrate holding device for holding a substrate by attracting a back surface of the substrate to a lower surface of an attracting head, comprising:

a ring-shaped substrate attracting portion for attracting by vacuum the back surface of the substrate, the substrate attracting portion being shaped and arranged to function as a seal for preventing intrusion of a processing liquid into an inside of a ring-shaped vacuum-attracted portion of the back surface of the substrate, the substrate attracting portion having a substrate attracting groove for attracting and holding the ring-shaped vacuum-attracted portion of the back surface of the substrate to the substrate attracting portion by the vacuum applied through the substrate attracting groove; and

a pusher for pressing on the substrate attracted to the substrate attracting portion in a direction away from the attracting head, said substrate attracting portion and the pusher being mounted in a peripheral region of the lower surface of the attracting head;

wherein the pusher is connected to a vacuum supply line so that the pusher is retracted into the attracting head due to a vacuum through the vacuum supply line, while the pusher is protruded from the attracting head by a supply of a gas to the vacuum supply line to press on the back surface of the substrate held in the attracting head.

2. The substrate holding device according to claim 1, the pusher retracted in the attracting head does not make contact with the back surface of the substrate attracted and held on the lower surface of the attracting head.

3. The substrate holding device according to claim 1, wherein the vacuum supply line is also connected to the substrate attracting portion.