Substrate Processing Apparatus and Substrate Processing Method

Abstract

The present invention can suppress the uneven supply of a processing liquid to a substrate immersed in the processing liquid stored in a processing tank to improve the processing quality. It includes: a suppression unit that blocks at least a part of the liquid flow of the processing liquid ejected from the processing liquid ejection unit and directed toward the substrate between the substrate held by the substrate holding unit and the processing liquid ejection unit, to suppress the direct supply of the processing liquid from the processing liquid ejection unit to the substrate; a processing liquid ejection unit that is provided on the lower side of the substrate held by the substrate holding unit and ejects the processing liquid from the processing liquid ejection port toward the inner bottom surface of the storage space; and a bubble supply unit that is provided on the lower side of the substrate held by the substrate holding unit and above the processing liquid ejection port and supplies bubbles to the processing liquid stored in the storage space. Between the bubble supply unit and the processing liquid ejection port in the vertical direction, at least a part of the processing liquid flowing upward through the inner bottom surface of the storage space, that is, the liquid flow of the shunt target liquid, is shunted into a plurality of upward flows and guided to the substrate.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method for processing a substrate by immersing the substrate in a processing liquid such as a chemical solution or pure water stored in a processing tank. Background Art

[0002] In the field of manufacturing semiconductor devices, in order to cope with the high density and large capacity of semiconductor devices, a technique for forming recesses with a high aspect ratio is desired. For example, in the manufacturing process of a three-dimensional NAND type non-volatile semiconductor device (hereinafter referred to as "3D-NAND memory"), the following steps are included: for a stack in which a plurality of silicon dioxide films (SiO2 films) and silicon nitride films (SiN films) are stacked, after forming recesses in the stacking direction, the SiN film is removed by wet etching through the recesses. To carry out this step, for example, a substrate processing apparatus described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2020-47885 is studied.

[0003] In the case of performing the above-described wet etching using a substrate processing apparatus, a chemical solution containing phosphoric acid, which is an example of an etchant for the SiN film, is used as the processing liquid. More specifically, in the substrate processing apparatus, a liquid supply pipe is disposed at the inner bottom of a storage space formed inside the processing tank, and the processing liquid is supplied from the liquid supply pipe to the storage space. Therefore, in the processing tank, the processing liquid is stored in the processing tank in a certain amount while overflowing from the processing tank. Then, a substrate having the above-described recess structure is immersed in the processing liquid stored in the processing tank. In addition, in the substrate processing apparatus, similarly to the liquid supply pipe, a fluid supply pipe is disposed at the inner bottom of the storage space, and bubbles are supplied from the inner bottom of the storage space toward the overflow surface. These bubbles rise in the processing liquid and are supplied to the substrate. By supplying bubbles to such a substrate, it is possible to quickly and continuously supply fresh processing liquid to the recesses.

[0004] However, in the apparatus described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2020-47885, there is the following problem. The processing liquid is ejected from the liquid supply pipe toward the center of the substrate. Therefore, the processing liquid from the liquid supply pipe is directly supplied to a part of the substrate. That is, the processing liquid is not uniformly supplied to the substrate. As a result, there is a problem that the substrate processing (chemical solution processing, rinsing processing, etc., described later) based on the processing liquid is also non-uniform. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to suppress the non-uniform supply of the processing liquid to a substrate immersed in the processing liquid stored in the processing tank, thereby improving the processing quality.

[0006] One aspect of the present invention is a substrate processing apparatus, characterized by comprising: a processing tank having a storage space for storing a processing liquid, and processing the substrate by immersing the substrate in the processing liquid stored in the storage space; a substrate holding unit for holding the substrate in an upright posture in the storage space; a processing liquid ejection unit for ejecting the processing liquid from the lower side of the substrate held by the substrate holding unit toward the substrate; and a suppression unit for blocking at least a part of the liquid flow of the processing liquid ejected from the processing liquid ejection unit and directed toward the substrate between the substrate held by the substrate holding unit and the processing liquid ejection unit, thereby suppressing the direct supply of the processing liquid from the processing liquid ejection unit to the substrate.

[0007] Another aspect of the present invention is a substrate processing method, characterized by including the following steps: a step of immersing the substrate in an upright posture in the processing liquid stored in a storage space provided in a processing tank; a step of ejecting the processing liquid from a processing liquid ejection unit provided on the lower side of the substrate immersed in the storage space toward the substrate and supplying it to the substrate; and a step of suppressing the direct supply of the processing liquid from the processing liquid ejection unit to the substrate by blocking at least a part of the liquid flow of the processing liquid ejected from the processing liquid ejection unit and directed toward the substrate by a suppression unit disposed between the substrate immersed in the storage space and the processing liquid ejection unit.

[0008] As described above, according to the present invention, at least a part of the liquid flow of the processing liquid ejected from the processing liquid ejection unit and directed toward the substrate is blocked by the suppression unit, thereby suppressing the direct supply of the processing liquid from the processing liquid ejection unit to the substrate. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the uneven supply of the processing liquid to the substrate immersed in the processing liquid stored in the processing tank, and thus improve the processing quality. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] Figure 1 It is a plan view showing a schematic structure of a substrate processing system of a first embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus equipped with the present invention.

[0010] Figure 2 It is a schematic view showing a schematic structure of a first embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention.

[0011] Figure 3 It schematically shows Figure 2 An exploded perspective view of the main structure of the substrate processing apparatus shown.

[0012] Figure 4 It is Figure 2 A partial cross-sectional view of.

[0013] Figure 5It is a schematic diagram showing the arrangement relationship between a plurality of substrates held by a lifter and a bubble ejection port.

[0014] Figure 6 It is a partial cross-sectional view showing the schematic structure of the second embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention.

[0015] Figure 7 It is a view along Figure 6 line A-A of

[0016] Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram showing the arrangement relationship between a plurality of substrates held by a lifter, a bubble ejection port, and a suppression plate.

[0017] Figure 9 It is a partial cross-sectional view showing the schematic structure of the fourth embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention.

[0018] Explanation of reference numerals

[0019] 81 to 84: Processing unit

[0020] 810, 810a, 810b: Lifter

[0021] 821: Processing tank

[0022] 821f: Storage space

[0023] 830: Processing liquid ejection unit

[0024] 831, 831a, 831b: Flow tube

[0025] 832: Processing liquid supply unit

[0026] 834: Processing liquid ejection port

[0027] 840: Bubble supply unit

[0028] 841, 841a to 841d: Bubbler

[0029] 860: Suppression unit

[0030] 861, 861a, 861b: Suppression plate

[0031] PT: Substrate pitch

[0032] V: Bubble

[0033] W: Substrate

[0034] Wa: (Surface of the substrate)

[0035] WP: Substrate pair

[0036] X: First direction

[0037] Z: Vertical direction Detailed implementation mode

[0038] Figure 1 It is a top view showing the schematic structure of a substrate processing system representing the first implementation mode of a substrate processing apparatus equipped with the present invention. The substrate processing system 1 includes: a magazine placement unit 2, a gate drive mechanism 3, a substrate transfer robot 4, a posture transformation mechanism 5, a push unit 6, a substrate transfer mechanism 7, a processing unit 8, and a control unit 9. In order to uniformly represent the directions in the following figures, XYZ orthogonal coordinate axes are set as shown in Figure 1 shown. Here, the XY plane represents the horizontal plane. In addition, the Z-axis represents the vertical axis. More specifically, the Z direction is the vertical direction.

[0039] A magazine containing the substrate W is placed in the magazine placement unit 2. In the present implementation mode, as an example of the magazine, a hoop F is used, and the hoop F is configured to be able to store multiple (for example, 25) substrates W in a horizontally stacked state in the Z direction. The hoop F is placed in the magazine placement unit 2 in a state where the unprocessed substrate W is stored, or is placed in the magazine placement unit 2 in an empty state in order to store the processed substrate W. In the present implementation mode, the substrate W stored in the hoop F is a semiconductor wafer for forming a 3D-NAND memory, and has a concave portion with a high aspect ratio.

[0040] The gate drive mechanism 3, the substrate transfer robot 4, the posture transformation mechanism 5, the push unit 6, the substrate transfer mechanism 7, and the processing unit 8 are arranged in the processing space adjacent to the magazine placement unit 2 on the (+Y) direction side. The magazine placement unit 2 and the processing space are divided by a partition wall (not shown) equipped with an openable and closable gate 31. The gate 31 is connected to the gate drive mechanism 3. The gate drive mechanism 3 closes the gate 31 according to a closing instruction from the control unit 9, spatially separating the magazine placement unit 2 and the processing space. On the contrary, the gate drive mechanism 3 opens the gate 31 according to an opening instruction from the control unit 9, connecting the magazine placement unit 2 and the processing space. Thereby, the unprocessed substrate W can be carried into the processing space from the hoop F and the processed substrate W can be carried out from the hoop F.

[0041] The above-mentioned loading and unloading process of the substrate W is performed by the substrate transfer robot 4. The substrate transfer robot 4 is configured to be rotatable in the horizontal plane. The substrate transfer robot 4 exchanges multiple substrates W between the posture transformation mechanism 5 and the hoop F in a state where the gate 31 is open. In addition, the posture transformation mechanism 5 transforms the posture of multiple substrates W between the upright posture and the horizontal posture after receiving the substrate W from the hoop F via the substrate transfer robot 4 or before handing over the substrate W to the hoop F.

[0042] The pusher portion 6 is disposed on the substrate transfer mechanism 7 side (the +X direction side in the figure) of the posture changing mechanism 5, and a plurality of substrates W in the erected posture are transferred between the posture changing mechanism 5 and the substrate transfer mechanism 7. In addition, as shown in the figure, the substrate transfer mechanism 7 moves horizontally in the arrangement direction (the Y direction in the figure) of the processing units 81 to 85 that make up the processing unit 8 from the position facing the pusher portion 6 (hereinafter referred to as the "standby position").

[0043] The substrate transfer mechanism 7 has a pair of suspension arms 71. By the swinging of the pair of suspension arms 71, it is possible to switch between holding and releasing a plurality of substrates W together. More specifically, the lower edges of the respective arms 71 swing around a horizontal axis in a direction of separating from each other to release the plurality of substrates W, and the lower edges of the respective arms 71 swing around a horizontal axis in a direction of approaching each other to clamp and hold the plurality of substrates W. In addition, although the illustration in Figure 1 is omitted, the substrate transfer mechanism 7 has an arm moving portion and an arm swinging portion. Among them, the arm moving portion has a function of horizontally moving the pair of suspension arms 71 along the arrangement direction Y in which the processing units 81 to 85 are arranged. Therefore, by this horizontal movement, the pair of suspension arms 71 are positioned at positions (hereinafter referred to as "processing positions") respectively facing the processing units 81 to 85 and the standby position.

[0044] On the other hand, the arm swinging portion has a function of performing the above-described arm swinging action, and switches between a holding state of holding the substrate W and a releasing state of releasing the substrate W. Therefore, through this switching action and the up and down movement of the lifters 810a that function as substrate holding portions of the processing units 81 and 82 and the lifters 810b that function as substrate holding portions of the processing units 83 and 84, the substrate W can be transferred between the lifters 810 and the suspension arms 71. In addition, at the processing position facing the processing unit 85, the substrate W can be transferred between the processing unit 85 and the suspension arms 71. Furthermore, at the standby position, the substrate W can be transferred between the posture changing mechanism 5 and the suspension arms 71 via the pusher portion 6.

[0045] As described above, five processing units 81 to 85 are provided on the processing unit 8, which function as a first chemical solution processing unit 81, a first rinsing processing unit 82, a second chemical solution processing unit 83, a second rinsing processing unit 84, and a drying processing unit 85, respectively. Among them, the first chemical solution processing unit 81 and the second chemical solution processing unit 83 store the same type or different types of chemical solutions in the processing tank 821, and immerse a plurality of substrates W in the chemical solution together to perform chemical solution processing. The first rinsing processing unit 82 and the second rinsing processing unit 84 store a rinsing liquid (such as pure water) in the processing tank 821, immerse a plurality of substrates W in the rinsing liquid together, and perform a rinsing process on the surface. These first chemical solution processing unit 81, first rinsing processing unit 82, second chemical solution processing unit 83, and second rinsing processing unit 84 correspond to the first embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention. Although the types of processing liquids are different, the basic structures of the apparatuses are the same. In addition, refer to Figures 2 to 5 The device structure and operation will be described in detail.

[0046] As Figure 1 shown, the first chemical solution processing unit 81 and the adjacent first rinsing processing unit 82 are paired, and the second chemical solution processing unit 83 and the adjacent second rinsing processing unit 84 are paired. Moreover, the lifter 810a functions not only as the "substrate holding unit" of the present invention in the first chemical solution processing unit 81 and the first rinsing processing unit 82, but also as a dedicated transfer mechanism for transferring the substrate W that has undergone chemical solution processing by the first chemical solution processing unit 81 to the first rinsing processing unit 82. In addition, the lifter 810b functions not only as the "substrate holding unit" of the present invention in the second chemical solution processing unit 83 and the second rinsing processing unit 84, but also as a dedicated transfer mechanism for transferring the substrate W that has undergone chemical solution processing by the second chemical solution processing unit 83 to the second rinsing processing unit 84.

[0047] In the processing unit 8 configured in this way, the three support members ( Figure 2 reference numeral 812 in) of the lifter 810a receive a plurality of substrates W together from a pair of suspension arms 71 of the substrate transfer mechanism 7. As will be described later, while performing an overflow process of causing the processing liquid to overflow from the processing tank and a bubble supply process of supplying bubbles into the processing liquid stored in the processing tank, the substrates are lowered into the processing tank of the first chemical solution processing unit 81 and immersed in the chemical solution (immersion process). Furthermore, after waiting for a predetermined chemical solution processing time, the lifter 810a lifts the support members holding the plurality of substrates W out of the chemical solution, and laterally transfers them to the first rinsing processing unit 82. Furthermore, while maintaining the state of the substrates W after the chemical solution processing is completed, the support members are moved to the processing tank of the first rinsing processing unit 82 ( Figure 2The lifting device 810a moves in the rinse liquid (reference numeral 821 in the figure) and descends, thereby immersing the substrate in the rinse liquid. After waiting for the rinse processing time specified by the machine, the lifting device 810a raises the supporting member while holding the substrate W after the rinse processing, and lifts the substrate W from the rinse liquid. Thereafter, a plurality of substrates W are transferred from the supporting member of the lifting device 810a to the pair of suspension arms 71 of the substrate transport mechanism 7 at a time.

[0048] Similarly, the lifter 810b receives a plurality of substrates W from the pair of suspension arms 71 of the substrate conveying mechanism 7, and descends to the processing tank 821 of the second liquid chemical processing section 83 to immerse the plurality of substrates W in the liquid chemical. Then, after waiting for a predetermined liquid chemical processing time, the lifter 810b raises the support member to lift the plurality of substrates W that have been processed by the liquid chemical from the liquid chemical, and moves the support member laterally to the processing tank of the second rinse processing section 84, and then moves the support member into the processing tank 821 of the second rinse processing section 84 and descends, thereby immersing the substrates in the rinse liquid. After waiting for a predetermined rinse processing time, the second lifter 810b raises the support member to lift the substrates W from the rinse liquid. Then, the plurality of substrates W are delivered from the second lifter 810b to the substrate conveying mechanism 7. In addition, lifts that function as the "substrate holding portion" of the present invention are respectively provided in the first liquid chemical processing section 81, the first rinse processing section 82, the second liquid chemical processing section 83, and the second rinse processing section 84. On the other hand, the substrate W can be moved in and out of the processing sections 81 to 84 by utilizing the substrate conveying mechanism 7 or a dedicated conveying mechanism.

[0049] The drying processing section 85 has a substrate holding member (not shown) capable of holding a plurality of (e.g., 52) substrates W arranged in an upright position, and dries the substrates W by supplying an organic solvent (isopropyl alcohol, etc.) to the substrates W in a reduced pressure environment or by using centrifugal force to remove liquid components on the surface of the substrates W. The drying processing section 85 is configured to receive the substrates W between the pair of suspension arms 71 of the substrate conveying mechanism 7. Then, the plurality of substrates W after the rinsing process are collectively received from the substrate conveying mechanism 7, and the plurality of substrates W are subjected to a drying process. In addition, after the drying process, the plurality of substrates W are collectively delivered from the substrate holding member to the substrate conveying mechanism 7.

[0050] Next, the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention is described. Figure 1Among the first chemical solution treatment unit 81, the first rinsing treatment unit 82, the second chemical solution treatment unit 83, and the second rinsing treatment unit 84 in the substrate processing system shown, although some of the treatment liquids used are different, the device structures and operations are basically the same. Therefore, hereinafter, the structure and operation of the first chemical solution treatment unit 81, which corresponds to the first embodiment of the substrate processing device of the present invention, will be described, and the descriptions related to the first rinsing treatment unit 82, the second chemical solution treatment unit 83, and the second rinsing treatment unit 84 will be omitted.

[0051] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram showing the schematic structure of the first embodiment of the substrate processing device of the present invention. Figure 3 It schematically shows Figure 2 An exploded perspective view of the main structure of the substrate processing device shown. Figure 4 It is Figure 2 A partial cross-sectional view of. Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram showing the arrangement relationship between a plurality of substrates held by a lifter and a bubble ejection port. The first chemical solution treatment unit 81 is, for example, a device that uses a chemical solution containing phosphoric acid as a treatment liquid and etches and removes a silicon nitride film through recesses formed on the surface of the substrate W. As Figure 2 and Figure 3 shown, the first chemical solution treatment unit 81 has a treatment tank 821 for performing the first chemical solution treatment on the substrate W. The treatment tank 821 has a box structure with an upper opening formed by a bottom wall 821a that is rectangular in plan view and four side walls 821b to 821e that stand up from the periphery of the bottom wall 821a. Therefore, the treatment tank 821 can store the treatment liquid in a storage space 821f surrounded by the bottom wall 821a and the side walls 821b to 821e, and immerse a plurality of substrates W held by the lifter 810a at once. In addition, the treatment tank 821 has an upper opening 821g that opens in the (+Z) direction, and can cause the treatment liquid to overflow from the storage space 821f.

[0052] An overflow tank 822 is provided around the treatment tank 821, and a recovery space 822a for recovering the treatment liquid that overflows from the overflow tank 822 and the side walls 821b to 821e of the treatment tank 821 is formed. In addition, an outer container 823 is provided so as to surround the lower and side portions of the treatment tank 821 and the overflow tank 822.

[0053] A part of the recovery space 822a of the overflow tank 822, more specifically, a flow piping system 839 is arranged in the space on the (-X) direction side of the side wall 821d. The inlet of the flow piping system 839 is connected to the processing liquid supply section 832, and the outlet is connected to the flow pipe 831 of the processing liquid ejection section 830. Therefore, when the processing liquid supply section 832 operates according to the processing liquid supply instruction from the control section 9, the processing liquid is supplied to the plurality of flow pipes 831 simultaneously via the flow piping system 839. As a result, the processing liquid is ejected from the flow pipe 831 and stored in the storage space 821f. In addition, the detailed structure of the flow pipe 831 will be described in detail later.

[0054] In addition, the processing liquid overflowing from the processing tank 821 is recovered to the overflow tank 822. The processing liquid recovery section 833 is connected to the overflow tank 822. When the processing liquid recovery section 833 operates according to the processing liquid recovery instruction from the control section 9, the processing liquid recovered to the overflow tank 822 is transported to the processing liquid supply section 832 via the processing liquid recovery section 833 for reuse. Thus, in the present embodiment, it is possible to supply the processing liquid to the processing tank 821 in a circulating manner while storing the processing liquid in the storage space 821f.

[0055] In order to hold and immerse a plurality of substrates W together in the storage space 821f storing the processing liquid, as Figure 2 shown, a lifter 810a is provided. The lifter 810a is configured to be able to lift between the "handover position" where multiple substrates W can be handed over with the substrate transfer mechanism 7 ( Figure 1 ) and the storage space 821f. The lifter 810a has a back plate 811, three support members 812, and an extension member 813. The back plate 811 extends along the side wall 821b of the processing tank 821 toward the bottom wall 821a. The support members 812 extend from the side surface of the lower end portion of the back plate 811 toward the (-X) direction. In the present embodiment, three support members 812 are provided. In each support member 812, a plurality of V-shaped grooves 812a are arranged at a certain interval in the X direction. Each groove 812a opens upward in the (+Z) direction to form a V-shaped groove 812a slightly wider than the thickness of the substrate W, and can catch the substrate W. Therefore, a plurality of substrates W transported by the substrate transfer mechanism 7 can be held together by the three support members 812 at a certain substrate interval. In addition, the extension member 813 extends from the back surface of the upper end portion of the back plate 811 toward the (+X) direction. As Figure 2 shown, the lifter 810a is in an L shape as a whole. In addition, the uppermost rising position of the lifter 810a is set to a height that can pass above the support members 812 even when the substrate transfer mechanism 7 holds multiple substrates W.

[0056] In addition, in the present embodiment, as Figure 2 ,Figure 4 , Figure 5 As shown in Figure 5 , while the surface normal line of the substrate W (the line extending from the center Wc of the substrate W in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface in Figure 5 ) is oriented in the X direction, the elevator 810a holds a plurality of substrates W arranged in the X direction at a substrate pitch PT ( Figure 4 ). At this time, there are various modes for holding the plurality of substrates W by the elevator 810a. For example, the plurality of substrates W may be held in a state where the surface (reference numeral Wa in Figure 8 described later) for receiving the first chemical liquid treatment among the two main surfaces of the substrate W faces the +X direction (first holding mode). In addition, as described in the following second embodiment, the substrate pair WP may be arranged and held in the X direction at a pitch twice the above-described substrate pitch, where the substrate pair WP is two adjacent substrates W separated by the substrate pitch ( Figure 5 ) and the surfaces of the two substrates W face each other. Figure 8 ). Figure 5 ).

[0057] An elevator drive mechanism 814 is provided on the (+X) direction side of the processing tank 821. The elevator drive mechanism 814 includes an elevator motor 815, a ball screw 816, an elevator base 817, an elevator column 818, and a motor drive unit 819. The elevator motor 815 is installed in a state where its rotation axis is vertically disposed on a frame (not shown) of the substrate processing system 1. The ball screw 816 is connected to the rotation axis of the elevator motor 815. One side of the elevator base 817 is screwed to the ball screw 816. The base end side of the elevator column 818 is mounted on the central portion of the elevator base 817, and the other end side is mounted on the lower surface of the extension member 813. When the motor drive unit 819 drives the elevator motor 815 according to an upward instruction from the control unit 9, the ball screw 816 rotates, and the elevator column 818 rises together with the elevator base 817. As a result, the support member 812 is positioned at the transfer position. In addition, when the motor drive unit 819 drives the elevator motor 815 in the opposite direction according to a downward instruction from the control unit 9, the ball screw 816 rotates in reverse, and the elevator column 818 descends together with the elevator base 817. As a result, the plurality of substrates W held by the support member 812 are collectively immersed in the processing liquid stored in the storage space 821f.

[0058] In the storage space 821f, a processing liquid ejection unit 830 and a bubble supply unit 840 are arranged on the lower side, i.e., the (-Z) direction side, of the plurality of substrates W held by the support member 812. The processing liquid ejection unit 830 ejects the processing liquid supplied from the processing liquid supply unit 832 via the flow piping system 839 into the storage space 821f, and the bubble supply unit 840 supplies nitrogen gas bubbles V into the processing liquid stored in the storage space 821f (Figure 5 ), are configured as follows, respectively.

[0059] As Figure 3 and Figure 4 shown, the processing liquid ejection unit 830 has a flow tube 831 extending in the X direction. In the present embodiment, two flow tubes 831 are arranged separately from each other in the Y direction. The (-X) direction end of each flow tube 831 is connected to the outlet of the flow piping system 839, and the (+X) direction end is closed. In addition, a plurality of processing liquid ejection ports 834 are formed in the side walls of each flow tube 831 at regular intervals in the X direction. In the present embodiment, as Figure 4 shown, each processing liquid ejection port 834 is provided toward the center Wc of the substrate W immersed in the processing liquid in the storage space 821f. Therefore, the processing liquid supplied to the flow tube 831 flows in the (+X) direction inside the pipe and is ejected from each processing liquid ejection port 834 toward the substrate W.

[0060] Suppression units 860 are provided for the two flow tubes 831 in a one-to-one correspondence. Each suppression unit 860 has a suppression plate 861 extending in the X direction. It should be noted that, for ease of understanding the invention, the flow tube 831 arranged on the (-Y) direction side among the two flow tubes 831 is referred to as "flow tube 831a", and the flow tube 831 arranged on the (+Y) direction side is referred to as "flow tube 831b". In addition, without distinguishing them, they are simply referred to as "flow tube 831" as described above. Furthermore, the suppression plate 861 arranged on the (-Y) direction side among the two suppression plates 861 is referred to as "suppression plate 861a", and the suppression plate 861 arranged on the (+Y) direction side is referred to as "suppression plate 861b". In addition, without distinguishing them, they are simply referred to as "suppression plate 861" as described above.

[0061] The suppression plate 861 is arranged between the substrate W held by the lifter 810a and the flow tube 831. Therefore, one main surface of the suppression plate 861 is an ejection opposing surface 862 opposed to the flow tube 831, and the other main surface is a substrate opposing surface 863 opposed to the substrate W. The surface normal of the ejection opposing surface 862 is almost coincident with the imaginary line connecting the processing liquid ejection port 834 and the center Wc of the substrate W ( Figure 4 the double-dot chain line in). That is, the angle θ of the ejection opposing surface 862 with respect to the liquid flow of the processing liquid ejected from the processing liquid ejection port 834 is about 90°. It should be noted that this angle θ is preferably set in the range of 60° to 120°.

[0062] By arranging the suppression unit 860, the liquid flow of the processing liquid ejected from the processing liquid ejection port 834 toward the substrate W ( Figure 4The liquid (with reference numeral FL in the figure) is blocked by the ejection facing surface 862 of the suppression unit 860, and flows toward the substrate W via the ejection facing surface 862. In this way, the processing liquid is prevented from being directly supplied to the substrate W from the processing liquid ejection port 834, and the processing liquid is caused to flow upward, forming a liquid flow of the processing liquid from the bottom wall side of the processing tank 821 toward the upper opening 821g, i.e., the overflow surface. In this way, an upward flow of the processing liquid is formed on the lower side of the substrate W.

[0063] like Figures 3 to 5 As shown, the bubble supply unit 840 has a plurality of (four in this embodiment) bubblers 841. Each bubbler 841 has a bubble pipe 842 extending in the X direction, and a plurality of protruding portions 843 protruding upward from the bubble pipe 842, i.e., in the (+Z) direction. One end of each bubble pipe 842 is connected to a gas supply unit 844 for supplying nitrogen gas, and the other end is closed. The plurality of protruding portions 843 are spaced apart from the substrate at a certain distance PT ( Figure 5 ) The same substrate spacing PT is arranged on the upper side wall of the bubble pipe 842. Figure 3 As shown, each protruding portion 843 has a hollow cylindrical shape, and a bubble ejection port 845 is provided at the center of the upper end surface. In this embodiment, the surface of a long resin tube made of at least one material selected from the group consisting of a resin material, particularly polyetheretherketone (PEEK), perfluoroalkoxyalkane (PFA), and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is subjected to cutting and punching, thereby integrally forming the bubble pipe 842 and the plurality of protruding portions 843. Of course, the bubble pipe 842 and the plurality of protruding portions 843 may be prepared separately, and the plurality of protruding portions 843 may be attached to the bubble pipe 842 to form an integral body.

[0064] In the bubble supply unit 840 thus configured, when the gas supply unit 844 supplies nitrogen gas to the bubble supply unit 840 according to the bubble supply command from the control unit 9, the nitrogen gas flowing in the bubble pipe 842 is ejected upward from the bubble ejection port 845. Figure 5 ) is supplied to the processing liquid stored in the storage space 821f, and bubbles V are supplied toward the (+Z) direction. These bubbles V rise in the processing liquid, and promote the replacement of the processing liquid near the surface Wa of the substrate W with fresh processing liquid. In addition, as the gas supply unit 844, for example, a structure for supplying nitrogen from a gas cylinder filled with nitrogen gas may be used, or a facility provided in a factory where the substrate processing system 1 is installed may be used.

[0065] In addition, if Figure 4As shown, four bubblers 841 are supported from below by a bubbler support portion 850 composed of three bubbler plates 851, and are fixedly arranged on the lower side of a substrate W held by a lifter 810a. Here, for easy understanding of the invention, among the four bubblers 841, the one arranged on the side closest to the (-Y) direction is called "bubbler 841a", and the ones arranged successively on the (+Y) direction side are respectively called "bubbler 841b", "bubbler 841c", and "bubbler 841d". In addition, without distinguishing them, they are simply called "bubbler 841" as described above. On the other hand, for the bubbler plates 851 as well, the one arranged on the side closest to the (-Y) direction is called "bubbler plate 851a", and the ones arranged successively on the (+Y) direction side are respectively called "bubbler plate 851b" and "bubbler plate 851c". In addition, without distinguishing them, they are simply called "bubbler plate 851" as described above.

[0066] The bubbler plates 851a to 851c all have a plate shape extending in the X direction. Among them, as Figure 4 shown, the bubbler plate 851a is arranged between the side wall 821c of the processing tank 821 and the flow pipe 831a, and is fixed to the processing tank 821 by a fixing member (not shown). Moreover, the bubbler 841a is fixed to the upper surface of the bubbler plate 851a in a manner that satisfies the following arrangement relationship. As Figure 5 shown, this arrangement relationship means that the protruding portion 843 installed on the bubbler 841a faces upward, and the substrate W and the bubble ejection ports 845 are alternately arranged in the X direction. By arranging in this way, the bubbles V supplied from the bubble ejection ports 845 are ejected into the gap of the inter-substrate region sandwiched by adjacent substrates W in the X direction, and efficient liquid medicine treatment is performed. In addition, this arrangement relationship is the same for the other bubblers 841b to 841d.

[0067] The bubbler plate 851b is arranged between the flow pipe 831a and the flow pipe 831b, and is fixed to the processing tank 821 by a fixing member (not shown). Moreover, the bubblers 841b and 841c are separated at a certain interval in the Y direction and fixed to the upper surface of the bubbler plate 851b. Furthermore, the bubbler plate 851c is arranged between the flow pipe 831b and the side wall 821e of the processing tank 821, and is fixed to the processing tank 821 by a fixing member (not shown). Moreover, the bubbler 841d is fixed to the upper surface of the bubbler plate 851c. In this way, the bubbler plates 851a to 851c have the function of supporting the bubble supply portion 840 from below.

[0068] Refer to Figures 2 to 5The structure of the first chemical liquid processing unit 81 corresponding to the first embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention has been described. However, the second chemical liquid processing unit 83 has the same structure as the first chemical liquid processing unit 81 except that the types of the processing liquids are the same or different, corresponding to the first embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention. In addition, the first rinsing processing unit 82 and the second rinsing processing unit 84 have the same structure as the first chemical liquid processing unit 81 except that the processing liquid is a rinsing liquid such as pure water or DIW (deionized water), corresponding to the first embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention.

[0069] As described above, according to the present embodiment, the liquid flow FL of the processing liquid ejected from the processing liquid ejection port 834 of the processing liquid ejection unit 830 and directed toward the substrate W is blocked by the blocking plate 861 of the blocking unit 860. That is, the direct supply of the processing liquid from the processing liquid ejection unit 830 to the substrate W is blocked. As a result, it is possible to suppress the uneven supply of the processing liquid to the substrate immersed in the processing liquid stored in the processing tank, thereby improving the processing quality.

[0070] In addition, by having the blocking unit 860 not described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2020-47885, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained. In other words, the invention of the present application corresponds to a structure obtained by modifying the device described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2020-47885 by assembling the blocking unit 860, that is, an example of a modification.

[0071] In addition, as Figure 4 shown, with respect to the imaginary vertical plane VS passing through the center Wc of the substrate W held by the lifter 810a in the storage space 821f and orthogonal to the surface of the substrate W, the blocking unit 860, the processing liquid ejection unit 830, the bubble supply unit 840, and the bubbler support unit 850 are symmetrically arranged. Therefore, the upward flow generated in the processing liquid stored in the storage space 821f is also symmetric with respect to the imaginary vertical plane VS, and the unevenness of the upward flow is suppressed, and the substrate processing (chemical liquid processing or rinsing processing) can be performed with high quality.

[0072] In addition, as Figure 5 shown in the partial enlarged view, since the bubble ejection ports 845 are arranged in the bubbler 841d in an alternating manner with the substrate W in the X direction, the bubbles V can be efficiently supplied between the adjacent substrates W. As a result, the substrate processing (chemical liquid processing or rinsing processing) can be performed with high quality.

[0073] In addition, the bubbler plates 851a to 851c are positioned directly below the bubble supply unit 840 in the vertical direction to support the bubble supply unit 840 from below. Therefore, the bubble supply unit 840 can be firmly fixed, and the bubbles V can be stably supplied between the adjacent substrates W.

[0074] In this way, in the first embodiment, the X direction corresponds to the "first direction" of the present invention.

[0075] Figure 6 FIG. is a partial cross-sectional view schematically showing the structure of a second embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention. Figure 7 It is Figure 6 a view taken along line A-A of Figure 8 FIG. is a schematic view showing the arrangement relationship of a plurality of substrates held by a lifter, a bubble ejection port, and a suppression plate. A major difference between this second embodiment and the first embodiment lies in the structure of the suppression unit 860. Other structures are the same as those in the first embodiment. Therefore, hereinafter, the description will focus on the differences, and the same reference numerals will be assigned to the same structures and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0076] As Figure 6 shown, one of the suppression plates 861a constituting the suppression unit 860 extends to the upper region above the bubblers 841a and 841b arranged on both sides of the flow tube 831a. Therefore, the suppression plate 861a not only blocks the processing liquid ejected from the processing liquid ejection port 834 of the flow tube 831a, but also blocks the bubbles V supplied from the bubblers 841a and 841b, thereby suppressing the direct supply of the processing liquid and the bubbles to the substrate W. In the present embodiment, the above-mentioned upper region is an example of the "region sandwiched between the substrate and the bubble supply unit" of the present invention.

[0077] On the other hand, a plurality of through holes 864 are provided in the suppression plate 861a to allow a part of the above-mentioned processing liquid and the bubbles V to flow to the substrate W. However, in the second embodiment, corresponding to the case where the substrate W is held in the second holding mode, the through holes 864 are arranged as Figure 7 and Figure 8 shown. In this second holding mode, the substrate pairs WP are arranged at a substrate pair pitch (= 2 × PT) in the X direction. In each substrate pair WP, the surfaces of two adjacent substrates W face each other and are separated by a substrate pitch PT, and an inter-substrate region sandwiched between these surfaces Wa is formed. Therefore, the through holes 864 are provided directly below the above-mentioned inter-substrate region. In addition, the X-direction dimension of the through holes 864 on the substrate side is set to the X-direction dimension of the inter-substrate region. Thereby, the following effects can be obtained.

[0078] In the second embodiment, as Figure 8As shown, the bubbles V supplied from the bubblers 841a and 841b that move to the bubbler-side opening of the through-hole 864 directly flow to the substrate side through the through-hole 864 and are fed into the inter-substrate region. On the other hand, most of the bubbles V that move to the regions other than the through-hole 864 in the ejection facing surface 862 slide toward the adjacent through-hole 864, flow to the substrate side through the through-hole 864, and are fed into the inter-substrate region. The same applies to the suppression plate 861b, which is the other part that constitutes the suppression unit 860. In addition, in the present embodiment, the X-direction dimension of the bubbler side of the through-hole 864 is wider than the X-direction dimension of the substrate side, and it is machined into a trapezoidal shape in the XZ cross-section, so that the bubbles V can be effectively guided to the inter-substrate region. Of course, the shape of the through-hole 864 is not limited to this. For example, the through-hole 864 may be provided such that the X-direction dimension of the bubbler side is the same as the X-direction dimension of the substrate side.

[0079] According to the second embodiment that uses the suppression unit 860 having the through-hole 864 in this way, a large number of bubbles V are effectively fed into the inter-substrate region, so that a state rich in bubbles is formed on the surface Wa of the substrate W. As a result, the processing liquid near the surface Wa of the substrate W is efficiently replaced by the fresh processing liquid, and the substrate processing can be performed more efficiently.

[0080] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications other than the above can be made without departing from the gist thereof. For example, in the above second embodiment, corresponding to the case where the substrate W is held in the second holding mode, the through-hole 864 is provided vertically below the inter-substrate region sandwiched by the two substrates W that constitute the substrate pair WP. In the case of the first holding mode, the through-hole 864 can also be provided as follows (third embodiment). In this first holding mode, the substrates W are arranged at the substrate pitch PT in the X direction, and an inter-substrate region sandwiched by two adjacent substrates W is formed. Therefore, by providing the through-hole 864 vertically below each inter-substrate region, a state rich in bubbles can be formed on the surface Wa facing the inter-substrate region. As a result, the processing liquid near the surface Wa is efficiently replaced by the fresh processing liquid, and the substrate processing can be performed more efficiently.

[0081] In addition, in the above second embodiment and third embodiment, the through-hole 864 is provided in the suppression unit 860 having the suppression plates 861a and 861b that are widened in the Y direction, but it can also be as Figure 9Through holes 864 are provided in the un-expanded suppression plates 861a and 861b (configured to block only the processing liquid in the same manner as in the first embodiment) as shown. In this third embodiment, the number of flow paths of the processing liquid flowing from the suppression plates 861a and 861b toward the substrate W increases. As a result, the processing liquid can be supplied to the substrate W more uniformly, and non-uniformity of the processing liquid can be effectively suppressed.

[0082] In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the processing liquid ejection unit 830 includes two flow tubes 831, but the number of flow tubes 831 is not limited thereto, and it is preferably set according to the storage space 821f, the size of the substrate W, and the like. In addition, the number of bubblers 841 included in the bubble supply unit 840 is four, but the number of bubblers 841 is not limited thereto, and it is preferably set according to the storage space 821f, the size of the substrate W, and the like. In addition, the suppression unit 860 includes two suppression plates 861, but the number of suppression plates 861 is not limited thereto, and it is preferably set according to the number of flow tubes 831, the arrangement, and the like.

[0083] In addition, in the above-described embodiment, nitrogen is introduced into the bubbler 841 to supply the bubbles V into the processing liquid, but a gas other than nitrogen may be used as the "gas" of the present invention.

[0084] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the present invention is applied to a substrate processing apparatus that performs a chemical liquid treatment using a chemical liquid containing phosphoric acid and a substrate processing apparatus that performs a rinsing treatment, but the application scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and the present invention can be applied to the entire substrate processing technology for performing substrate processing by immersing the substrate in a processing liquid other than the above-described chemical liquid and rinsing liquid.

[0085] The present invention can be applied to the entire substrate processing technology for performing processing by immersing the substrate in a processing liquid such as a chemical liquid or pure water stored in a processing tank.

Claims

1. A substrate processing apparatus, characterized in that, having: a processing tank having a storage space for storing a processing liquid, and processing the substrate by immersing the substrate in the processing liquid stored in the storage space; a substrate holding unit that holds the substrate in an upright posture within the storage space; a processing liquid ejection unit having an ejection port that opens toward the substrate from a lower side of the substrate held by the substrate holding unit, and ejecting the processing liquid toward the substrate from the ejection port; and a suppression unit that blocks at least a part of the liquid flow of the processing liquid ejected from the processing liquid ejection unit and directed toward the substrate between the substrate held by the substrate holding unit and the ejection port of the processing liquid ejection unit, thereby suppressing the direct supply of the processing liquid from the processing liquid ejection unit to the substrate, in a state where the surface normal of the substrate faces a first direction, the substrate holding unit arranges and holds a plurality of the substrates in the first direction, the processing liquid ejection unit is provided to extend along the first direction, the suppression unit has an ejection opposing surface that opposes the ejection port of the processing liquid ejection unit and is provided to extend along the first direction, and the processing liquid ejected from the processing liquid ejection unit is blocked by the ejection opposing surface.

2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The suppression unit further has a substrate opposing surface that opposes the substrate and is provided to extend along the first direction, and a through hole that penetrates from the ejection opposing surface to the substrate opposing surface, and allows a part of the processing liquid ejected from the processing liquid ejection unit to the ejection opposing surface to flow to the substrate via the through hole.

3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that, The substrate processing apparatus further has a bubble supply unit provided on a lower side of the substrate held by the substrate holding unit, and supplying bubbles to the processing liquid stored in the storage space, the ejection opposing surface and the substrate opposing surface are provided to extend to a region sandwiched between the substrate held by the substrate holding unit and the bubble supply unit, the suppression unit allows a part of the bubbles supplied from the bubble supply unit to the ejection opposing surface to flow to the substrate via the through hole.

4. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that, The substrate holding unit holds a plurality of the substrates separated from each other at a constant interval in the first direction, the through hole is provided vertically below an inter-substrate region sandwiched between two adjacent substrates.

5. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that, The substrate holding unit arranges and holds substrate pairs in the first direction, and the substrate pairs are formed by separating two adjacent substrates from each other at a constant interval in the first direction and opposing the surfaces of the two substrates to each other, the through hole is provided vertically below an inter-substrate region sandwiched between the two substrates constituting the substrate pair.

6. A substrate processing method, characterized in that, including: a step of arranging a plurality of the substrates in the first direction in an upright posture and in a state where the surface normal of the substrate faces the first direction, and immersing the substrates in the processing liquid stored in a storage space provided in a processing tank; At a processing liquid ejection portion that extends in the first direction on the lower side of the substrate impregnated in the storage space, the processing liquid is ejected from the ejection port toward the substrate and supplied to the substrate, wherein the ejection port faces the substrate and opens from the lower side of the substrate held by the substrate holding portion; And By a suppression portion disposed between the substrate impregnated in the storage space and the ejection port of the processing liquid ejection portion, at least a part of the liquid flow of the processing liquid ejected from the processing liquid ejection portion and directed toward the substrate is blocked, thereby suppressing the process of directly supplying the processing liquid from the processing liquid ejection portion to the substrate, The suppression portion has an ejection opposing surface that faces the ejection port of the processing liquid ejection portion and extends in the first direction, and the processing liquid ejected from the processing liquid ejection portion is blocked by the ejection opposing surface.

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