Substrate processing apparatus and method thereof

Abstract

A substrate processing apparatus 10 for processing a glass substrate 50 comprises a slider 20 on which the glass substrate 50 is placed, a process chamber 30 that can be mounted on the slider 20, and light irradiation units 110, 120. The process chamber 30 comprises a supply inlet 33 for supplying process fluid, a drain outlet 34 for draining out the process fluid, and a processing space 32, wherein one plane of the processing space that corresponds to the region to be processed is opened. When the process chamber 30 is mounted on the placing member 20, the processing space 32 forms a processing space which is sealed with the glass substrate 50.

Description

[0001] This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119 of Japanese patent application 2003-206416, filed on Aug. 7, 2003 and Japanese patent application 2004-099129, filed on Mar. 30, 2004, which applications are both hereby incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD [0002] This invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus and method thereof for processing substrates such as glass substrates for liquid crystal panels, plasma panels, or field emission panels, semiconductor wafers, and other thin sheet-like substrates. BACKGROUND [0003] Semiconductor integrated circuits are formed by repetitively performing processes, such as film-forming, lithography, etching, ion implantation, and resist stripping, on a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer or a glass substrate. Before the film-forming is performed on the substrate, or after the resist stripping is performed, cleaning is performed to clean the surface of the substrate. [0004] Cleaning apparatuses for clea...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0009] In one aspect, embodiments of the present invention solve problems in the above-mentioned conventional technology and provide a substrate processing apparatus and a method thereof that is capable of more uniformly processing a selected region to be processed on a substrate such as a glass substrate. For example, embodiments of the invention provide a substrate processing apparatus and a method thereof wherein the apparatus itself can be made extremely thin. Embodiments of the invention also provide a cost effective substrate processing apparatus and a method thereof that can reduce the cost required for the consumption of chemical solutions.

[0010] A substrate processing apparatus for processing substrates according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a placing member on which a substrate is placed, a process chamber that can be mounted on the placing member, and a light irradiation unit for irradiating the substrate in the process chamber with light. The process chamber comprises a supply inlet for supplying process fluid, a drain outlet for draining out the process fluid, and a processing space, wherein one plane of the processing space that corresponds to the region to be processed on the substrate is opened. When the process chamber is mounted on the placing member, the processing space forms a processing space sealed with the substrate. The light irradiation function enables to concurrently perform drying and decomposition of organics on the substrate in the space in the process chamber, which enhances process efficiency.

[0012] Preferably, the processing space comprises a plane that is parallel with the region to be processed on the substrate. This makes the flow of the process fluid uniform, and thus it is possible to process the region to be processed on the substrate uniformly. Furthermore, by making the processing space as thin as possible, the consumption of the process fluid can be reduced, in addition, the process chamber can be made thinner and thus the apparatus itself can be made smaller and thinner.

[0017] In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, by mounting a process chamber on a placing member on which a substrate is placed, a processing space that corresponds to the selected region to be processed on the substrate is formed, and the processing of the selected region to be processed is processed in the processing space. With this configuration, it is possible to effectively perform the processing of desired regions, and to easily adapt the apparatus for the substrates having larger dimensions. In addition, with the use of the light irradiation function, it becomes possible to concurrently perform processings, such as drying of the substrate and decomposition of organics, and thus yields of products and process efficiency can be improved. The light sources to be applied are not limited to the wavelength of ultraviolet rays and infrared rays, and other light sources such as white light, visible light, or laser light can be used.

Problems solved by technology

The batch-type, in which a plurality of substrates are immersed into a plurality of baths or a single bath, provides excellent throughput but has a disadvantage in that its footprint becomes larger if wafer size becomes larger.

If the chemical solutions are used only once and disposed, the cost will increase.

However, even in the single-wafer type, if the dimensions of the glass substrate become large, it is required to provide appropriate supports for the glass substrate because the large glass substrate may bend under its own weight, and devices or the glass substrate may be damaged. FIG. 25 shows an example of a conventional method for cleaning a glass substrate.

However, the conventional cleaning method shown in FIG. 25 has several problems to be solved.

Especially when the dimension of the glass substrate 200 is large, it is difficult to clean the substrate uniformly.

In addition, if the chemical solutions from the shower head 220 are used only once, the cost for the consumption of chemical solutions increases.

Also, if a large amount of chemical solution is drained out, it has adverse impacts on the environment.

However, in this configuration, there is a problem in that it is not easy to adapt for the glass substrate having large dimensions.

In addition, depending on the glass substrate, there may be some portions that are not desirable to be exposed to chemical solutions, but it is very troublesome and difficult to give masking on these portions and to mount them in the cleaning vessel.

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