Substrate processing method and substrate processing apparatus

Abstract

The present invention reduces the drying time in a substrate processing method and a substrate processing apparatus for drying a substrate on which a liquid film of an organic solvent is formed in a liquid deposition state on the surface by using a processing fluid in a supercritical state. In a step of supplying a processing fluid to a processing chamber and increasing the pressure of the processing chamber from atmospheric pressure to a first pressure at which the processing chamber becomes a subcritical state, a portion of the processing fluid is mixed into a liquid film. As a result, the surface tension of the liquid film is reduced, a portion of the liquid mixture (= organic solvent + processing fluid) constituting the liquid film falls from the substrate, and the film thickness of the liquid film is reduced. Here, by adding vibration to the substrate at a stage in which the surface tension becomes small, a portion of the mixed liquid further falls from the substrate, and the liquid film further becomes thinner. After the thin film processing, substrate drying with a processing fluid in a supercritical state is performed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a technology for drying a substrate in a processing chamber, and more particularly to a process for processing a substrate covered by a liquid film using a processing fluid in a supercritical state.

[0002] The disclosures of the following Japanese patent applications, including the specification, drawings, and claims, are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety:

[0003] JP Special Application No. 2023-138192 (applied on August 28, 2023). Background Art

[0004] The processing steps of various substrates such as semiconductor substrates and glass substrates for display devices include the steps of treating the surface of the substrate using various processing fluids. In the past, wet processing using liquids such as chemical solutions or rinse solutions as processing fluids has been widely carried out. In recent years, in order to dry the substrate after the wet processing, the processing using a processing fluid in a supercritical state has also been put into practical use. It is particularly beneficial in the drying process of a substrate having a pattern forming surface with a fine pattern formed thereon. This is because the processing fluid in a supercritical state has the characteristics of low surface tension compared to a liquid and can penetrate deep into the gaps of the pattern. By using this processing fluid, the drying process can be carried out efficiently. In addition, the risk of pattern collapse caused by surface tension during drying can also be reduced.

[0005] For example, in a substrate processing device described in JP Patent Publication No. 2022-103636, a substrate having a liquid film formed by IPA (isopropyl alcohol), which is an example of an "organic solvent" of the present invention, is dried using carbon dioxide (processing fluid) in a supercritical state. The liquid film is in a liquid stack state in which IPA is stacked on the surface of the substrate. Therefore, the surface of the substrate is maintained in a state wetted by IPA. Then, the substrate is transported to a substrate drying device, which is an example of a "substrate processing device" of the present invention, while maintaining the liquid stack state, and a drying process based on the processing fluid in a supercritical state is performed on the substrate. Summary of the invention

[0006] In the above-mentioned substrate processing device, the IPA covering the substrate is replaced by the processing fluid in the supercritical state by filling the processing chamber with the processing fluid in the supercritical state. The IPA separated from the surface of the substrate is discharged from the processing chamber together with the processing fluid while being dissolved in the processing fluid. In this way, the substrate is subjected to supercritical drying treatment. Therefore, it is considered that in order to shorten the time required for supercritical drying treatment, it is beneficial to thin the liquid film before contacting the processing fluid in the supercritical state. However, in the past, the above-mentioned methods have not achieved a shortening of the processing time.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems and aims to shorten the drying time in a substrate processing method and a substrate processing apparatus for drying a substrate having a liquid film of an organic solvent formed in a pile state on its surface by using a processing fluid in a supercritical state.

[0008] One aspect of the present invention is a substrate processing method for drying a substrate having a liquid film of an organic solvent formed in a liquid-bank state on its surface by using a processing fluid in a supercritical state. The substrate processing method is characterized in that it includes: (a) a step of accommodating the substrate in a processing chamber; (b) a step of supplying the processing fluid to the processing chamber to increase the pressure of the processing chamber from atmospheric pressure to a first pressure that becomes a subcritical state; (c) a step of supplying the processing fluid to the processing chamber that has been pressurized to the first pressure to increase the pressure of the processing chamber to a second pressure that becomes a supercritical state; and (d) a step of maintaining the liquid-bank state and reducing the film thickness of the liquid film by applying vibration to the substrate during the pressurization period from starting step (b) to the time when the processing chamber becomes a supercritical state.

[0009] In addition, another aspect of the present invention is a substrate processing device that uses a processing fluid in a supercritical state to dry a substrate having a liquid film of an organic solvent formed in a liquid pile state on the surface. The substrate processing device is characterized in that it comprises: a processing chamber that accommodates the substrate; a fluid supply unit that supplies the processing fluid to the processing chamber; a vibration adding unit that adds vibration to the substrate accommodated in the processing chamber; and a control unit, which controls the fluid supply unit in a manner that increases the pressure of the processing chamber from a first pressure that becomes a subcritical state to a second pressure that becomes a supercritical state by supplying the processing fluid to the processing chamber in an atmospheric pressure state, and controls the vibration adding unit in a manner that adds vibration to the substrate during the period of pressure increase from the start of supplying the processing fluid to the processing chamber becoming a supercritical state, by adding vibration to the substrate.

[0010] In the invention constructed as above, during the pressure-raising period in which the processing fluid is supplied to the processing chamber and the pressure is raised, the processing fluid dissolves into the liquid film, and the surface tension of the liquid film decreases. Therefore, a part of the liquid film flows off the substrate, and the film thickness of the liquid film becomes thinner to a certain extent. Here, by adding vibration to the substrate during the pressure-raising period, the reduction in film thickness is greatly increased, and thin filming is promoted. Thereafter, the processing fluid in a supercritical state contacts the thin film, thereby drying the substrate.

[0011] Effects of the Invention

[0012] As described above, according to the present invention, the drying time can be shortened by adding vibration to the substrate during the pressure increase period.

[0013] The present invention described above or all, or achieves part or all of the effects described in this specification, can appropriately change, delete, replace with new other components for some of the multiple components, and delete part of the limited content. In addition, in order to solve part or all of the above-mentioned problems, or to achieve part or all of the effects described in this specification, part or all of the technical features included in one aspect of the present invention described above can also be combined with part or all of the technical features included in other aspects of the present invention described above as an independent mode of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] Figure 1 It is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a substrate processing system including a substrate processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

[0015] Figure 2A It is a side view showing the overall structure of the wet processing device.

[0016] Figure 2B It is a diagram for explaining the operation of the wet processing device.

[0017] Figure 3 It is a side view showing the structure of a supercritical processing apparatus.

[0018] Figure 4 It is a perspective view showing the structure of supporting the tray.

[0019] Figure 5 It is a diagram schematically showing the structure and operation of the support pin.

[0020] Figure 6 This is a flowchart showing an overview of processing executed by the substrate processing system according to the first embodiment.

[0021] Figure 7 The diagram shows the pressure change in the processing chamber, the movement of the support pins, and the state inside the pattern.

[0022] Fig. 8A This is a diagram schematically showing problems caused by a liquid film after a liquid film forming process.

[0023] Figure 8B This is a diagram schematically showing how the above-mentioned problem is solved by adding vibration.

[0024] Fig. 9 It is a diagram showing a second embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention.

[0025] Fig.10 It is a diagram showing a third embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention.

[0026] The reference numerals are described as follows:

[0027] 4Supercritical processing equipment (substrate processing equipment)

[0028] 97Supercritical processing control unit (control unit)

[0029] 412 Processing Chamber

[0030] 412a Ultrasonic transducer (vibration attachment)

[0031] 415 support tray

[0032] 415a Vibrator (vibration attachment)

[0033] 417 Support pin (vibration attachment)

[0034] 417f pin drive unit (vibration attachment unit)

[0035] LF Liquid Film

[0036] PT pattern

[0037] S substrate

[0038] Sa upper surface (pattern forming surface)

[0039] Z vertical direction DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] Figure 1 1 is a diagram showing a schematic structure of a substrate processing system of a first embodiment of the present invention having a substrate processing device. The substrate processing system 1 is a processing system for supplying a processing liquid to the upper surface of various substrates such as semiconductor wafers to perform wet processing on the substrates and then drying the substrates, and has a system structure that is preferred for implementing the substrate processing method of the present invention. The substrate processing system 1 mainly includes a wet processing device 2, a substrate transport device 3, a supercritical processing device 4, and a control device 9.

[0041] The wet processing device 2 receives the substrate to be processed and performs a prescribed wet processing. The content of the processing is not particularly limited. The wet processing includes a developing process or a cleaning process, etc., but after the developing process, etc., a liquid pile state of an organic solvent such as IPA liquid is formed on the pattern forming surface of the substrate. The substrate conveying device 3 carries out and conveys the substrate from the wet processing device 2 while maintaining the liquid pile state, and then carries it into the supercritical processing device 4. The supercritical processing device 4 is equivalent to the substrate processing device of the present invention, and performs a drying process (supercritical drying process) using a processing fluid in a supercritical state on the brought-in substrate. These are all arranged in a clean room. Therefore, the substrate conveying device 3 conveys the substrate S under ambient gas and atmospheric pressure.

[0042] The control device 9 controls the actions of these devices to achieve the prescribed processing. For this purpose, the control device 9 has a CPU 91, a memory 92, a storage 93, and an interface 94. The CPU 91 executes various control programs. The memory 92 temporarily stores processing data. The storage 93 stores the control program executed by the CPU 91. The interface 94 exchanges information with a user or an external device. The actions of the devices described below are achieved by the CPU 91 executing the control program written in advance to the storage 93, so that each part of the device performs a prescribed action.

[0043] By making the CPU 91 execute a predetermined control program, the control device 9 realizes, by software operation, functional blocks such as a wet processing control unit 95 for controlling the operation of the wet processing device 2, a transport control unit 96 for controlling the operation of the substrate transport device 3, and a supercritical processing control unit 97 for controlling the operation of the supercritical processing device 4. In addition, at least a part of each of these functional blocks may also be constructed using dedicated hardware.

[0044] As the "substrate" in this embodiment, various substrates such as semiconductor wafers, glass substrates for masks, glass substrates for liquid crystal displays, glass substrates for plasma displays, substrates for FED (Field Emission Display), substrates for optical disks, substrates for magnetic disks, and substrates for optical magneto-magnetic disks can be applied. Hereinafter, a substrate processing device mainly used for processing a disk-shaped semiconductor wafer is described as an example with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, it can also be applied to the processing of various substrates exemplified above. In addition, various substrate shapes can also be applied.

[0045] In addition, in the following description, a substrate having a pattern formed only on one main surface is used as an example. Here, the main surface side having the pattern formed thereon is referred to as the "front surface", and the main surface on the opposite side without the pattern formed thereon is referred to as the "back surface". In addition, the main surface of the substrate facing downward is referred to as the "lower surface", and the main surface of the substrate facing upward is referred to as the "upper surface". In addition, the upper surface is referred to as the surface in the following description.

[0046] Figure 2A as well as Figure 2B : is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a wet processing device. More specifically, Figure 2A is a side view showing the overall structure of the wet processing device, Figure 2B 2 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the wet processing apparatus. The wet processing apparatus 2 is an apparatus for processing the substrate by supplying a processing liquid to the upper surface of the substrate S. The operation of the wet processing apparatus 2 is controlled by a wet processing control unit 95 of the control device 9.

[0047] The wet processing device 2 supplies a processing liquid to the surface (pattern forming surface) Sa of the substrate S to perform wet processing such as surface processing and cleaning of the substrate S. For this purpose, the wet processing device 2 has a substrate holding portion 21, a splash shield 22, and processing liquid supply portions 23 and 24 inside the processing chamber 200. These actions are controlled by a wet processing control portion 95 provided in the control device 9. The substrate holding portion 21 has a circular plate-shaped rotating chuck 211 having a diameter substantially equal to that of the substrate S, and a plurality of chuck pins 212 are provided at the peripheral portion of the rotating chuck 211. The substrate S is supported by the chuck pins 212 abutting against the peripheral portion of the substrate S, and the rotating chuck 211 can hold the substrate S in a horizontal posture in a state separated from its upper surface.

[0048] The rotating chuck 211 is supported so that the upper surface is horizontal by a rotating spindle 213 extending downward from the central part of the lower surface thereof. The rotating spindle 213 is supported rotatably by a rotating mechanism 214 installed at the bottom of the processing chamber 200. The rotating mechanism 214 has a built-in rotating motor (not shown), and the rotating motor is rotated according to a control instruction from the control device 9, so that the rotating chuck 211 directly connected to the rotating spindle 213 is rotated around the rotating axis AX shown by the single-point dashed line. In FIG. 2 , the up and down direction is the vertical direction. Thus, the substrate S rotates around the rotating axis AX while maintaining a horizontal posture.

[0049] The splash shield 22 is provided so as to surround the substrate holding portion 21 from the side. The splash shield 22 has a substantially cylindrical cup portion 221 provided so as to cover the peripheral portion of the rotation chuck 211, and a liquid receiving portion 222 provided below the outer peripheral portion of the cup portion 221. The cup portion 221 is raised and lowered according to a control command from the control device 9. The cup portion 221 is raised and lowered between a lower position and an upper position, and the lower position is as shown in FIG. Figure 2A As shown in FIG. 1 , the upper end of the cup portion 221 is lowered to a position lower than the peripheral edge of the substrate S held on the rotating chuck 211, and the upper position is as shown in FIG. Figure 2B As shown in FIG. 1 , the upper end portion of the cup portion 221 is located above the peripheral edge portion of the substrate S. As shown in FIG.

[0050] When the cup portion 221 is in the lower position, Figure 2A As shown, the substrate S held by the spin chuck 211 is exposed to the outside of the cup portion 221. For this reason, for example, when the substrate S is carried in and out of the spin chuck 211, the cup portion 221 is prevented from causing an obstacle.

[0051] In addition, when the cup portion 221 is located at the upper position, as shown in FIG. Figure 2BAs shown, the cup 221 surrounds the periphery of the substrate S held by the spin chuck 211. In this way, the processing liquid thrown out from the periphery of the substrate S during the liquid supply described later is prevented from splashing into the chamber 200, and the processing liquid can be reliably recovered. That is, the droplets of the processing liquid thrown out from the periphery of the substrate S by rotating the substrate S adhere to the inner wall of the cup 221 and flow downward, and are collected and recovered by the liquid receiving portion 222 disposed below the cup 221. In order to independently recover a variety of processing liquids, a multi-stage cup is concentrically provided.

[0052] The processing liquid supply unit 23 has a structure in which a nozzle 234 is installed at the front end of an arm 233 extending horizontally from a rotating main shaft 232 that is rotatably provided relative to a base 231 fixed to the processing chamber 200. By rotating the rotating main shaft 232 according to the control command from the control device 9, the arm 233 is shaken, and the nozzle 234 at the front end of the arm 233 is moved as shown in FIG. Figure 2A The retreat position of retreating from the upper side of the substrate S as shown in FIG. Figure 2B The substrate S is shown moving between processing positions above the substrate.

[0053] The nozzle 234 is connected to the processing liquid supply source 238. When a suitable processing liquid is delivered from the processing liquid supply source 238, the processing liquid is sprayed toward the substrate S from the nozzle 234. Figure 2B As shown in the figure, while the substrate S is rotated by rotating the spin chuck 211 at a relatively low speed, the processing liquid L1 is supplied from the nozzle 234 positioned above the rotation center of the substrate S, thereby the surface Sa of the substrate S is processed by the processing liquid L1. As the processing liquid L1, liquids having various functions such as a developer, an etching liquid, a cleaning liquid, and a rinse liquid can be used, and the composition thereof is arbitrary. In addition, a plurality of processing liquids can be combined to perform processing.

[0054] The other processing liquid supply unit 24 also has a configuration corresponding to the first processing liquid supply unit 23. That is, the second processing liquid supply unit 24 has a base 241, a rotation spindle 242, an arm 243, a nozzle 244, etc., and these configurations are the same as the corresponding configurations in the first processing liquid supply unit 23. The rotation spindle 242 rotates according to the control command from the control device 9, thereby causing the arm 243 to shake. The nozzle 244 at the front end of the arm 243 supplies the processing liquid relative to the surface Sa of the substrate S.

[0055] In this embodiment, the second processing liquid supply unit 24 is used for the purpose of forming a liquid film for preventing drying with respect to the wet-treated substrate S. That is, the wet-treated substrate S is transported to the supercritical treatment device 4 to receive supercritical drying treatment, but in order to prevent the surface of the substrate S from being exposed and oxidized during the transportation, or the fine pattern formed on the surface from collapsing, the substrate S is transported in a state where the surface is covered with a paddle-shaped liquid film.

[0056] As the liquid constituting the liquid film, a substance having a surface tension smaller than that of water, which is the main component of the treatment liquid used in the cleaning process, such as an organic solvent such as isopropyl alcohol (IPA) or acetone is used. These organic solvents are supplied from an organic solvent supply source 248 .

[0057] Here, two groups of processing liquid supply parts are provided in the wet processing device 2, but the number of processing liquid supply parts, their structure, and functions are not limited thereto. For example, there may be only one group of processing liquid supply parts, or there may be more than three groups. In addition, a processing liquid supply part may have multiple nozzles. For example, multiple nozzles may be provided at the front end of an arm. In addition, this may include not only a form in which the nozzle sprays the processing liquid in a state where the nozzle is positioned at a specified position, but also a form in which the nozzle sprays the processing liquid while scanning and moving along the surface Sa of the substrate S.

[0058] return Figure 1 The substrate transport device 3 is provided with a transport robot 30 having a hand 31 at the front end of a telescopic / rotatable arm. The hand 31 can support the substrate by partially contacting the lower surface of the substrate, such as Figure 1 As shown by the dotted lines, the hand 31 can move freely forward and backward relative to both the wet processing device 2 and the supercritical processing device 4. Thus, the substrate can be carried in and out of the wet processing device 2 and the supercritical processing device 4, respectively. The movement of the transport robot 30 is controlled by the transport control unit 96 of the control device 9. There are many known technologies for this type of transport robot, which can also be appropriately selected and used in this embodiment, so detailed description is omitted.

[0059] Figure 3 : is a side view showing the structure of the supercritical processing device. The supercritical processing device 4 is equivalent to the first embodiment of the substrate processing device of the present invention, and is a device for performing a drying process using a processing fluid in a supercritical state on a substrate S after a wet process. More specifically, the supercritical processing device 4 is a device that receives a substrate S after a wet process, and after replacing the liquid remaining in the substrate S with a processing fluid in a supercritical state, discharges the processing fluid, thereby finally making the substrate S reach a dry state.

[0060] The supercritical treatment device 4 has a treatment unit 41, a transfer unit 43 and a supply unit 45. The treatment unit 41 becomes the main body for executing the supercritical drying treatment. The transfer unit 43 receives the substrate S after the wet treatment transported by the substrate transport device 3 and transports it into the treatment unit 41, and then delivers the treated substrate S from the treatment unit 41 to the external transport device. The supply unit 45 supplies the chemical substances, power and energy required for the treatment to the treatment unit 41 and the transfer unit 43. These actions are controlled by the control device 9, especially by the supercritical treatment control unit 97.

[0061] The processing unit 41 has a structure in which a processing chamber 412 is installed on a pedestal 411. The processing chamber 412 is composed of a combination of several metal blocks, and its interior is hollow, forming a processing space SP. The substrate S to be processed is moved into the processing space SP and processed. A slit-shaped opening 421 extending elongatedly along the X direction is formed on the (-Y) side of the processing chamber 412. The processing space SP is connected to the external space through the opening 421. The cross-sectional shape of the processing space SP is roughly the same as the opening shape of the opening 421. That is, the processing space SP has a cross-sectional shape that is long in the X direction and short in the Z direction, and is a hollow extending along the Y direction.

[0062] A cover member 413 is provided on the (-Y) side of the processing chamber 412 in a manner of closing the opening 421. The cover member 413 closes the opening 421 of the processing chamber 412, thereby forming an airtight processing container. As a result, the substrate S can be processed under high pressure in the internal processing space SP. On the (+Y) side of the cover member 413, a flat support tray 415 is installed in a horizontal posture. The upper surface of the support tray 415 serves as a support surface on which the substrate S can be placed. The cover member 413 is supported by a support mechanism (not shown) so as to be freely movable horizontally in the Y direction.

[0063] The cover member 413 can be moved forward and backward relative to the processing chamber 412 by an advance and retreat mechanism 453 provided in the supply unit 45. Specifically, the advance and retreat mechanism 453 has a direct-acting mechanism such as a linear motor, a direct-acting guide rail, a ball screw mechanism, a solenoid valve, a cylinder, etc. Such a direct-acting mechanism moves the cover member 413 in the Y direction. The advance and retreat mechanism 453 operates according to a control command from the control device 9.

[0064] The cover member 413 is separated from the processing chamber 412 by moving in the (-Y) direction. As shown by the dotted line, if the support tray 415 is pulled out from the processing space SP through the opening 421, the support tray 415 can be contacted. That is, the substrate S can be placed on the support tray 415, and the substrate S placed on the support tray 415 can be taken out. On the other hand, by moving the cover member 413 in the (+Y) direction, the support tray 415 is accommodated in the processing space SP. When the support tray 415 is loaded with the substrate S, the substrate S is carried into the processing space SP together with the support tray 415.

[0065] Figure 4 4 is a perspective view showing the structure of the support tray. The support tray 415 has a tray member 416 and a plurality of support pins 417. The tray member 416 has a structure in which a recessed portion 418 is provided on a horizontal and flat upper surface of a flat plate-shaped structure, for example, and the recessed portion 418 has a diameter corresponding to the plane size of the substrate S, more specifically, a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the circular substrate S.

[0066] The recessed portion 418 partially extends to the side surface of the tray member 416. That is, the side wall surface of the recessed portion 418 is not round, but partially cut out. Therefore, in the cut-out portion, a part of the bottom surface 418a of the recessed portion 418 is directly connected to the side surface. In this example, such cut-out portions are provided at both ends on the X side and the (+Y) side of the support tray 415, and in these locations, the bottom surface 418a is directly connected to the side surface.

[0067] In addition, a through hole 419 for inserting the lifting pin 437 is formed in the bottom surface 418a at a position corresponding to the lifting pin 437 of the transfer unit 43. By passing the lifting pin 437 through the through hole 419 and lifting and lowering it, the substrate S is accommodated in the recessed portion 418 and lifted upward in this state.

[0068] A plurality of support pins 417 are disposed around the recessed portion 418. The number of support pins 417 is arbitrary, but preferably three or more from the viewpoint of stably supporting the substrate S. In the present embodiment, three support pins 417 are attached to the tray member 416 so as to surround the bottom surface 418a when viewed from above.

[0069] The plurality of support pins 417 all have the same structure. Therefore, the structure of one support pin 417 is described below, and the same reference numerals are given to the components of the other support pins 417 and the description thereof is omitted. Figure 5The tray abutment surface 417a is shown. The tray abutment surface 417a can move along the radial direction D on the upper surface of the tray member 416. A lower abutment surface 417b is provided above the tray abutment surface 417a of the support pin 417. The lower abutment surface 417b is inclined downward as it moves in the direction (+D) toward the center line BX side. Figure 4 As shown, the “center line BX” is a vertical line passing through the center of the recessed portion 418 . As will be described later, when the substrate S is clamped by a plurality of support pins 417 , the “center line BX” passes through the center of the substrate S.

[0070] A curved abutment surface 417c is provided upward from the end of the lower abutment surface 417b on the (-D) direction side. The curved abutment surface 417c completes a curved surface toward the center line BX side. Moreover, an upper abutment surface 417d extends upward from the upper end of the curved abutment surface 417c. The upper abutment surface 417d tilts upward as it moves toward the direction (+D) toward the center line BX side. In more detail, as Figure 5 As shown in FIG. 1 , the curved contact surface 417c is directly connected to the upper contact surface 417d and the lower contact surface 417b when it is arranged between the upper contact surface 417d and the lower contact surface 417b. Therefore, if the substrate contact portion 417e that is connected to the substrate S by the upper contact surface 417d, the curved contact surface 417c and the lower contact surface 417b is observed from the horizontal direction orthogonal to the radial direction D, the substrate contact portion 417e has a substantially C-shaped shape. In other words, the support pin 417 can reciprocate along the radial direction D in a state where the substrate contact portion 417e is directed toward the center line BX.

[0071] The support pin 417 is connected to a pin driving unit 417f. The pin driving unit 417f moves the support pin 417 in the radial direction D according to the instruction from the supercritical process control unit 97. Figure 5 As shown in (b) of the figure, the pin driving portion 417f moves the support pin 417 in the direction (-D) and positions it in a non-clamping position (equivalent to an example of the "release position" of the present invention). At this time, the curved abutting surface 417c and the upper abutting surface 417d are separated from the center line BX by a distance slightly larger than the radius of the substrate S. On the other hand, the lower abutting surface 417b is located below the substrate S. Therefore, as shown in (b) of the figure, the substrate S is supported only by the lower abutting surface 417b, and is supported only at a position of the lower abutting surface 417b that is separated from the curved abutting surface 417c on the (+D) direction side.

[0072] On the other hand, when the substrate S is clamped, Figure 5As shown in (a), the pin driving unit 417f moves the support pin 417 in the direction (+D) and positions it at the clamping position (equivalent to an example of the "clamping position" of the present invention). By moving the support pin 417 from the non-clamping position to the clamping position in this way, the support position of the substrate S supported by the lower abutting surface 417b is displaced in the (-D) direction. When the support pin 417 finishes moving to the clamping position, the substrate S is supported by the lower abutting surface 417b, the curved abutting surface 417c, and the upper abutting surface 417d. In other words, the clamping of the substrate is completed.

[0073] When the clamping of the substrate S is released, the support pins 417 are moved in the reverse order to the above, and the support position of the substrate S supported by the lower contact surface 417b is displaced in the (+D) direction.

[0074] In addition, by moving the support position of the substrate S supported by the lower abutting surface 417b in the radial direction D, the height position of the substrate S in the vertical direction Z is displaced by only a distance dz. Therefore, if the supercritical processing control unit 97 adds a reciprocating movement instruction to the pin driving unit 417f, the support pin 417 moves back and forth in the radial direction D, and the substrate S is repeatedly raised and lowered synchronously therewith. In other words, it is possible to add vibration in the up and down directions relative to the substrate S. In this embodiment, the purpose of the present invention is achieved by adding this vibration. This point will be described in detail later together with the operation description of the substrate processing system 1.

[0075] The cover member 413 blocks the opening 421 by moving in the (+Y) direction, thereby sealing the processing space SP. A sealing member 422 is provided between the (+Y) side surface of the cover member 413 and the (-Y) side surface of the processing chamber 412 to maintain the airtight state of the processing space SP. The sealing member 422 is made of rubber, for example. In addition, the cover member 413 is fixed relative to the processing chamber 412 by a locking mechanism not shown. As described above, in the present embodiment, the cover member 413 switches between a closed state (solid line) in which the opening 421 is closed to seal the processing space SP, and a separated state (dashed line) in which the cover member 413 is greatly separated from the opening 421 to allow the substrate S to enter and exit.

[0076] While ensuring the airtight state of the processing space SP, processing of the substrate S is performed in the processing space SP. In the present embodiment, the fluid supply part 457 provided in the supply unit 45 delivers a processing fluid of a substance that can be used for supercritical processing, such as carbon dioxide, as a processing fluid, to further pressurize the processing fluid in the processing chamber 412, thereby reaching a supercritical state. The processing fluid is supplied to the processing unit 41 in a gas or liquid state. Carbon dioxide is a preferred chemical substance for supercritical drying processing because it becomes a supercritical state at a relatively low temperature and low pressure, and has the property of dissolving organic solvents commonly used in substrate processing well. The critical point at which carbon dioxide becomes a supercritical state is a gas pressure (critical pressure) of 7.38 MPa and a temperature (critical temperature) of 31.1°C.

[0077] The processing fluid is filled into the processing space SP. When the processing space SP reaches an appropriate temperature and pressure, the processing space SP is filled with the processing fluid in a supercritical state. Thus, the substrate S is processed in the processing chamber 412 using the processing fluid in a supercritical state. The supply unit 45 is provided with a fluid recovery unit 455, and the processed fluid is recovered by the fluid recovery unit 455. The fluid supply unit 457 and the fluid recovery unit 455 are controlled by the supercritical processing control unit 97.

[0078] The processing space SP has a shape and a volume that can receive the support tray 415 and the substrate S supported by the support tray 415. That is, the processing space SP has a roughly rectangular cross-sectional shape that is larger than the width of the support tray 415 in the horizontal direction and larger than the height of the support tray 415 and the substrate S in the vertical direction, and a depth that can receive the support tray 415. In this way, the processing space SP has a shape and a volume that can only receive the support tray 415 and the substrate S. However, the gap between the support tray 415 and the substrate S and the inner wall surface of the processing space SP is very small. Therefore, a relatively small amount of processing fluid required to fill the processing space SP is sufficient.

[0079] The fluid supply unit 457 supplies the processing fluid to the processing space SP at a position closer to the (+Y) side than the (+Y) side end of the substrate S. On the other hand, the fluid recovery unit 55 discharges the processing fluid flowing in the space above the substrate S and the space below the support tray 415 in the processing space SP at a position closer to the (-Y) side than the (-Y) side end of the substrate S. Thus, in the processing space SP, laminar flows of the processing fluid from the (+Y) side toward the (-Y) side are formed above the substrate S and below the support tray 415, respectively.

[0080] The supercritical processing control unit 97 of the control device 9 determines the pressure and temperature in the processing space SP based on the detection result of the detection unit (not shown), and controls the fluid supply unit 457 and the fluid recovery unit 455 based on the result. Thus, the supply of the processing fluid to the processing space SP and the discharge of the processing fluid from the processing space SP are appropriately managed and adjusted according to the processing process to achieve the specified pressure and temperature in the processing space SP.

[0081] The transfer unit 43 is responsible for the transfer of the substrate S between the substrate transport device 3 and the support tray 415. To achieve this purpose, the transfer unit 43 has a main body 431, a lifting member 433, a base member 435, and a plurality of lifting pins 437. The lifting member 433 is a columnar member extending in the Z direction, and is supported to be movable in the Z direction relative to the main body 431 by a supporting mechanism not shown in the figure. A base member 435 having a substantially horizontal upper surface is installed on the upper part of the lifting member 433. A plurality of lifting pins 437 are vertically arranged upward from the upper surface of the base member 435. The lifting pins 437 support the substrate S in a horizontal posture from below by making their upper ends abut against the lower surface of the substrate S. In order to stably support the substrate S in a horizontal posture, it is preferred to provide three or more lifting pins 437 whose upper ends have the same height as each other.

[0082] The lifting member 433 can be lifted and lowered by a lifting mechanism 451 provided in the supply unit 45. Specifically, the lifting mechanism 451 has a direct-acting mechanism such as a linear motor, a direct-acting guide rail, a ball screw mechanism, a solenoid valve, and a cylinder, and such a direct-acting mechanism moves the lifting member 433 in the Z direction. The lifting mechanism 451 operates according to a control command from the control device 9.

[0083] The lifting member 433 is lifted and lowered to move the base member 435 up and down, and the plurality of lifting pins 437 move up and down together with the base member 435. Thus, the substrate S is transferred between the transfer unit 43 and the support tray 415. More specifically, as Figure 4As shown by the dotted line, the substrate S is delivered when the support tray 415 is pulled out of the chamber. To achieve this purpose, the support tray 415 is provided with a through hole 419 for the lifting pin 437 to be inserted. When the base member 435 rises, the upper end of the lifting pin 437 passes through the through hole 419 and reaches above the upper surface of the support tray 415. In this state, the substrate S transported by the transport robot 30 is delivered from the hand 31 of the transport robot 30 to the lifting pin 437. By lowering the lifting pin 437, the substrate S is delivered from the lifting pin 437 to the support tray 415. The removal of the substrate S can be performed in the opposite order to the above. In addition, in the present embodiment, when the substrate S is carried in and out, the plurality of support pins 417 are positioned at the release position. On the other hand, in addition to this, the plurality of support pins 417 are positioned at the clamping position. In the thin film treatment described below, switching between the release position and the clamping position is repeated.

[0084] Figure 6 1 is a flowchart showing an overview of the processing performed by the substrate processing system of the first embodiment. The substrate processing system 1 receives a substrate S to be processed, and sequentially performs a wet process using a processing liquid and a supercritical drying process using a supercritical processing fluid. Specifically, the following steps S101 to S114 are performed. The substrate S to be processed is accommodated in a wet processing device 2 constituting the substrate processing system 1 (step S101). The substrate S can be carried in directly using an external conveying device, or it can be carried in from an external conveying device with the aid of a conveying robot 30.

[0085] The wet processing device 2 performs wet processing on the substrate S using a prescribed processing liquid (step S102). In the wet processing, after the developer, the cleaning liquid, etc. are supplied and the prescribed processing is performed, a rinsing liquid such as DIW (deionized water) is supplied to the surface Sa of the substrate S. Therefore, just after the wet processing is completed, the rinsing liquid is attached to the surface Sa of the substrate S as an example of the "liquid" of the present invention. Therefore, after the wet processing, an organic solvent such as IPA is supplied to the substrate S, thereby replacing the rinsing liquid attached to the surface Sa of the substrate S with an organic solvent, and forming a liquid stack state with an organic solvent. That is, a liquid film LF is formed on the surface Sa of the substrate S (step S103: liquid film formation processing).

[0086] The technical significance of the liquid film forming process is as follows. When DIW exists inside the pattern PT formed on the surface Sa of the substrate S, for example, there is a concern that the pattern PT may collapse due to the surface tension of DIW. In addition, watermarks may remain on the surface Sa of the substrate S due to incomplete drying. Moreover, the surface Sa of the substrate S may be deteriorated by oxidation due to contact with the outside air. In order to prevent such problems from happening, the surface Sa of the substrate S is covered with an organic solvent. As the organic solvent, it is preferred to use a liquid with a lower surface tension than DIW and a lower corrosiveness to the substrate S, such as IPA, acetone, and the like, which are compatible with DIW. The following describes the case where DIW is used as the rinse liquid and IPA is used as the organic solvent.

[0087] By the liquid film forming process, the liquid film LF is formed on the surface Sa of the substrate S. The substrate S is transported from the wet processing apparatus 2 to the supercritical processing apparatus 4 by the substrate transport apparatus 3 while maintaining the liquid accumulation state (step S104).

[0088] The substrate S transported to the supercritical processing device 4 is stored in the processing chamber 412 while maintaining the liquid stacking state. Specifically, the substrate S is transported with the pattern forming surface (surface Sa) as the upper surface and the pattern forming surface is covered by a very thin liquid film LF. Figure 3 As shown by the dotted line, when the cover member 413 moves to the (-Y) side and the support tray 415 is pulled out, the lifting pin 437 rises. The conveying device delivers the substrate S to the lifting pin 437. When the lifting pin 437 descends, the substrate S is placed on the support pin 417 positioned at the release position. Thereafter, the support pin 417 moves to the clamping position and holds the substrate S. In this way, the reception of the substrate S by the support tray 415 is completed (step S105).

[0089] When the support tray 415 and the cover member 413 move integrally in the (+Y) direction, the support tray 415 supporting the substrate S is accommodated in the processing space SP in the processing chamber 412 , and the opening 421 is closed by the cover member 413 .

[0090] When the receiving of the substrate S is confirmed (judged as "yes" in step S106), carbon dioxide as a processing fluid is introduced into the processing space SP in a gas phase while maintaining the liquid stack state. In other words, the processing fluid is introduced into the processing chamber 412 (step S107). When the substrate S is carried in, the outside air invades the processing space SP, but it can be replaced by introducing the processing fluid in the gas phase. In addition, by injecting the processing fluid in the gas phase, the pressure in the processing chamber 412 is increased from the atmospheric pressure, and the inside of the processing chamber 412 is in the atmospheric pressure state.

[0091] In addition, during the process of introducing the processing fluid, the processing fluid from the processing space SP is continuously discharged. That is, during the period of introducing the processing fluid by the fluid supply unit 457, the fluid recovery unit 455 also discharges the processing fluid from the processing space SP. Thus, the processing fluid supplied to the processing space SP will not be retained in the processing space SP but will be discharged, and impurities such as residues entering the processing fluid are prevented from being attached to the substrate S again.

[0092] If the supply amount of the treatment fluid is greater than the discharge amount, the density of the treatment fluid in the treatment space SP increases, and the pressure in the chamber increases. On the contrary, if the supply amount of the treatment fluid is less than the discharge amount, the density of the treatment fluid in the treatment space SP decreases, and the pressure in the chamber is reduced. The supply of the treatment fluid to the treatment chamber 412 and the discharge from the treatment chamber 12 are carried out based on a supply and discharge process created in advance. That is, the control device 9 controls the fluid supply part 457 and the fluid recovery part 455 based on the supply and discharge process, thereby adjusting the supply / discharge timing and flow rate of the treatment fluid. Moreover, according to the pressure change in the treatment chamber 412, the support pin 417 is moved back and forth to perform the thin film treatment.

[0093] Figure 7 It is a diagram showing the pressure change in the processing chamber, the movement of the support pins, and the situation inside the pattern. When the processing fluid is carbon dioxide, the critical temperature is basically the same as the room temperature, so the temperature change during the processing is not large. Here, the phenomenon is explained by focusing on the pressure inside the chamber, which makes the change more significant. From the state where the processing space SP is open to the atmosphere and the internal air pressure is the atmospheric pressure Pa, the processing fluid is introduced at time T1 after the processing space SP is sealed, and the internal pressure begins to rise.

[0094] Until the pressure of the processing fluid in the processing space SP rises. In the present embodiment, the pressure in the processing chamber 412 continues to be pressurized until it reaches a subcritical pressure (hereinafter referred to as "subcritical pressure") Ps and exceeds the critical pressure Pc. By supplying carbon dioxide as a processing fluid, carbon dioxide is mixed with the IPA constituting the liquid film LF. As a result, the liquid film LF increases, but the surface tension of the mixed liquid (=IPA+carbon dioxide) decreases. For example, when the pressure in the processing chamber 412 reaches near the subcritical pressure Ps, a portion of the mixed liquid constituting the liquid film LF falls from the substrate S, and the film thickness of the liquid film LF becomes thinner. Here, if the substrate S is vibrated at the stage when the surface tension becomes smaller, a portion of the mixed liquid further falls from the substrate S, and further thinning of the liquid film LF can be achieved.

[0095] Therefore, in this embodiment, when the pressure in the processing chamber 412 reaches the subcritical pressure Ps ("Yes" in step S108: time T2), the supercritical processing control unit 97 gives a reciprocating movement instruction to the pin driving unit 417f. Figure 7 As shown in the middle diagram of , the pin driving unit 417f causes the support pin 417 to move back and forth in the radial direction D. Along with this, the substrate S is repeatedly raised and lowered, and vibrations in the up and down directions are added relative to the substrate S. Thereby, the liquid stack state of the liquid film LF is maintained, and the liquid film LF is thinned by a thickness dz (step S109: thin film treatment). In addition, if the pressure in the processing chamber 412 exceeds the time T3 when the subcritical pressure Ps is reached, the processing fluid becomes a supercritical state in the chamber. Therefore, the end point of the period of additional vibration (that is, the vibration addition period) needs to be set to less than (less than) the time T3. In contrast, the starting point of the vibration addition period is not limited to the time T2, as long as it is set to a timing when the surface tension of the liquid film LF is sufficiently low. In addition, the number of reciprocating movements of the support pin 417 during the vibration addition period (that is, the number of vibrations) is arbitrary.

[0096] After the thin film treatment is performed in this way, the pressure increase treatment is also continued. Therefore, at the moment T3 when the critical pressure Pc is reached in the chamber, the processing fluid becomes a supercritical state in the chamber. That is, due to the phase change in the processing space SP, the processing fluid is transformed from the gas phase to the supercritical state. By filling the processing space SP with the processing fluid in the supercritical state, the IPA covering the substrate S is replaced by the processing fluid in the supercritical state. The IPA and the like freed from the surface of the substrate S are discharged from the processing chamber 412 together with the processing fluid in a state of being dissolved in the processing fluid, and are removed from the substrate S. That is, the processing fluid in the supercritical state has the function of replacing the IPA attached to the substrate S as a replacement object liquid and discharging it to the outside of the processing chamber 412.

[0097] After the time T3 when the processing fluid is reliably transformed into the supercritical state, the processing space SP is filled with the processing fluid in the supercritical state for a predetermined time (steps S110 and S111), so that the replacement target liquid attached to the substrate S can be completely replaced and discharged out of the chamber. Figure 7 , after the pressure is continuously increased until time T4 exceeding time T3, it is shown that the pressure Pm in the chamber is constant in the supercritical state, but the pressure may fluctuate within a range that does not fall below the critical pressure Pc.

[0098] At time T4, when the replacement of the replacement target liquid by the processing fluid in the supercritical state in the processing chamber 412 is completed (step S112), the processing fluid in the processing space SP is discharged to dry the substrate S. Specifically, by increasing the discharge amount of the fluid from the processing space SP, the pressure in the processing chamber 12 filled with the processing fluid in the supercritical state is reduced (step S113).

[0099] In the decompression process, the supply of the processing fluid can be stopped, or a small amount of processing fluid can be continuously supplied. By decompressing the processing space SP from a state filled with the processing fluid in a supercritical state, the processing fluid undergoes a phase change from the supercritical state to a gas phase. By discharging the vaporized processing fluid to the outside, the substrate S becomes a dry state. At this time, the decompression speed is adjusted in a manner that does not produce a solid phase and a liquid phase due to a sudden drop in temperature. That is, after the decompression starts at time T5, the decompression is performed at a relatively low decompression speed until time T6 when the pressure reliably drops to the critical pressure Pc. As a result, the processing fluid in the processing space SP is directly vaporized from the supercritical state and discharged to the outside.

[0100] After the time T6 when the processing fluid is completely vaporized, the decompression rate is increased, thereby reducing the pressure to the atmospheric pressure Pa in a short time. In this way, during the entire period from the time T4 when the decompression starts to the time T7 when the pressure in the chamber drops to the atmospheric pressure Pa, the processing fluid will not liquefy, thereby avoiding the formation of a gas-liquid interface on the substrate S exposed on the surface after drying.

[0101] As described above, in the supercritical drying process of the present embodiment, after the processing space SP is filled with the processing fluid in a supercritical state, the gas phase is changed and discharged, thereby making it possible to efficiently replace the liquid attached to the substrate S and prevent the liquid from remaining on the substrate S. Furthermore, the substrate can be dried while avoiding problems such as contamination of the substrate due to the attachment of impurities, pattern collapse, and the formation of a gas-liquid interface.

[0102] The processed substrate S is carried out to the subsequent process (step S114). That is, by moving the cover member 413 in the (-Y) direction, the support tray 415 is pulled out from the processing chamber 412 to the outside, and the substrate S is delivered to the external conveying device via the transfer unit 43. At this time, the substrate S is in a dry state. The content of the subsequent process is arbitrary. In this way, the processing of a substrate S is completed. In the case where there is a substrate to be processed next, return to step S101 to receive a new substrate S, and repeat the above process.

[0103] As described above, according to the first embodiment, after the liquid film LF is thinned, the substrate is dried using the processing fluid in a supercritical state, and therefore, the drying time can be shortened.

[0104] In addition, the following effects are obtained by using additional vibration. Fig. 8A as well as Figure 8B Provide explanation.

[0105] Fig. 8A Schematically shows the problems caused by the liquid film after the liquid film forming process. Figure 8B Schematically shows how to solve the above problem by adding vibration. Fig. 8A As shown, sometimes a part of the rinse liquid (DIW) remains on the inner bottom surface of the pattern PT. When the substrate S is subjected to a drying process based on a supercritical state processing fluid while such residual liquid (hereinafter referred to as "residual liquid") remains, the following problems may occur. In other words, the replacement of the liquid component constituting the liquid film with the supercritical state processing fluid is prone to be incomplete. Therefore, in order to cope with this problem, a countermeasure of increasing the amount of processing fluid used is considered. However, this will lead to an increase in operating costs and will cause a great environmental burden on society.

[0106] In contrast, in this embodiment, by performing a thin filming process, vibration is added to the substrate S. Therefore, the liquid (DIW) remaining in the pattern PT is diffused and mixed with the mixed liquid (=IPA+carbon dioxide) constituting the liquid film LF. Therefore, the drying process of the processing fluid based on the supercritical state is performed using the state where there is no residual liquid on the inner bottom surface of the pattern, that is, the so-called residual liquid. As a result, the consumption of the processing fluid can be reduced and the yield can be improved.

[0107] In addition, sometimes part of the mixed liquid dripping from the substrate S during the pressure increase process adheres to the through hole 419, which may have an adverse effect on the drying performance. However, in this embodiment, by adding vibration to the substrate S during the thin filming process, the mixed liquid adhering to the through hole 419 can be dropped and removed. As a result, the drying performance can be improved.

[0108] Furthermore, in the first embodiment, the reciprocating movement of the support pin 417 in the radial direction D is used to add vibration to the substrate S. That is, in addition to the function of the support pin 417 clamping the side end of the substrate S to hold the substrate S, the function of adding vibration is also exerted. Therefore, there is no need to add a structure dedicated to the function of adding vibration, so that the cost of the device can be reduced.

[0109] As described above, in the first embodiment, DIW and IPA correspond to an example of the "liquid" and "organic solvent" of the present invention, respectively. In addition, the subcritical pressure Ps and the critical pressure Pc correspond to an example of the "first pressure" and "second pressure" of the present invention, respectively. In addition, the surface Sa of the substrate S corresponds to the "pattern forming surface" of the present invention. In addition, steps S105 and S106 correspond to an example of the "process (a)" of the present invention, steps S107 and S108 correspond to an example of the "process (b)" of the present invention, steps S110 and S111 correspond to an example of the "process (c)" of the present invention, and step S109 corresponds to an example of the "process (d)" of the present invention. In addition, the liquid film forming process (step S103) corresponds to an example of the "liquid film forming process" of the present invention. In addition, the period from time T1 to time T4 corresponds to an example of the "pressurization period" of the present invention. In addition, the supercritical processing control unit 97 corresponds to an example of the "control unit" of the present invention.

[0110] In the first embodiment, in order to perform the thin filming process, the support pin 417 is moved back and forth in the D direction. That is, the support pin 417 and the pin driving part 417f function as the "vibration adding part" of the present invention, but the structure of the vibration adding part is not limited to this. For example, the support pin 417 can be used to add vibration to Z along the vertical direction (hereinafter referred to as "up and down vibration addition"), and the substrate S can be added to vibration by using an additional additional structure. For example, it can also be configured to use the vibrator 415a ( Fig. 9 ) or ultrasonic transducer ( Fig.10 ) etc. to vibrate the support tray 415 directly or indirectly, and the vibration of the support tray 415 is used to vibrate the substrate S.

[0111] Fig. 9 1 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention. In the second embodiment, a vibrator 415a is mounted on a support tray 415. The vibrator 415a vibrates according to a vibration instruction from a supercritical processing control unit 97. As described above, in the second embodiment, the vibrator 415a is equivalent to an example of a "vibration adding unit" of the present invention. Here, the mounting position of the vibrator 415a is not limited to the support tray 415, and may also be mounted on the cover member 413.

[0112] Fig.10 1 is a diagram showing a third embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention. In the third embodiment, an ultrasonic transducer 412a is installed in a processing chamber 412 in a manner opposed to the lower surface of a support tray 415. The ultrasonic transducer 412a vibrates in accordance with a vibration command from a supercritical processing control unit 97. In this way, in the third embodiment, the ultrasonic transducer 412a is equivalent to an example of a "vibration adding unit" of the present invention.

[0113] As described above, in the second embodiment or the third embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the film forming process (step S109) is performed before the drying process using the process fluid in the supercritical state. Therefore, the effects such as shortening the drying time are obtained.

[0114] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications other than the above-described can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. When supercritical drying is performed on one substrate S, the thinning process is performed only once, but the thinning process may be performed multiple times.

[0115] In addition, various chemical substances used in the processing of the above-mentioned embodiment are shown as some examples, and various chemical substances can be used instead as long as they conform to the technical concept of the above-mentioned present invention.

[0116] The invention is described above along specific embodiments, but these descriptions are not intended to be interpreted in a limiting sense. As with other embodiments of the present invention, various modifications of the disclosed embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art by reference to the description of the invention. Therefore, the attached claims are considered to include such modifications or embodiments within the scope of the subject matter of the invention.

[0117] The present invention can be applied to all technologies for drying a substrate using a process fluid in a supercritical state in a chamber.

Claims

1. A substrate processing method, wherein a substrate is dried by using a processing fluid in a supercritical state, wherein a liquid film of an organic solvent is formed on the surface of the substrate in a liquid stack state, wherein the substrate processing method is characterized by comprising: (a) step of accommodating the substrate in a processing chamber; (b) supplying a processing fluid to the processing chamber to increase the pressure of the processing chamber from atmospheric pressure to a first pressure that becomes a subcritical state; (c) supplying the processing fluid to the processing chamber whose pressure is increased to the first pressure, so that the processing chamber is pressurized to a second pressure that becomes the supercritical state; and (d) a step of reducing the thickness of the liquid film while maintaining the liquid accumulation state by applying vibration to the substrate during a pressure increase period from the start of the step (b) to the time when the processing chamber reaches the supercritical state.

2. The substrate processing method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The step (a) comprises: (a-1) step of, after supporting the peripheral edge of the substrate from below by a plurality of support pins provided on a support tray, continuously supporting the substrate by the plurality of support pins and moving the plurality of support pins toward the substrate, thereby clamping and holding the substrate from a horizontal direction by the plurality of support pins; as well as (a-2) step of moving the support tray into the processing chamber while the substrate is held by the plurality of support pins, In the step (d), the vibration is applied to the substrate by reciprocating the plurality of support pins between a clamping position for clamping the substrate and a release position separated from the clamping position.

3. The substrate processing method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The step (a) comprises: (a-3) step of placing the substrate on a support tray; and (a-4) step of moving the support tray into the processing chamber with the substrate placed thereon, In the step (d), the vibration is applied to the substrate by operating a vibrator attached to the support tray.

4. The substrate processing method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The step (a) comprises: (a-3) step of placing the substrate on a support tray; and (a-4) step of moving the support tray into the processing chamber with the substrate placed thereon, In the step (d), the vibration is applied to the substrate by operating an ultrasonic transducer installed in the processing chamber.

5. The substrate processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The step (d) of applying the vibration to the substrate is performed in the subcritical state.

6. The substrate processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The surface of the substrate is a pattern-forming surface on which a pattern is formed, Before performing the step (a), after the liquid attached to the pattern forming surface is replaced with the organic solvent by supplying the organic solvent to the pattern forming surface to which the liquid is attached, a liquid film forming step of forming the liquid film on the pattern forming surface is performed, In the step (d), the vibration is applied to the substrate, so that the liquid remaining in the pattern is mixed with the organic solvent in parallel with the thinning of the liquid film.

7. A substrate processing device, which dries a substrate using a processing fluid in a supercritical state, wherein a liquid film of an organic solvent is formed on the surface of the substrate in a liquid pile state, wherein the substrate processing device is characterized by comprising: a processing chamber for accommodating the substrate; a fluid supply unit for supplying a processing fluid to the processing chamber; a vibration applying portion for applying vibration to the substrate accommodated in the processing chamber; and A control unit controls the fluid supply unit in such a manner that the processing chamber is pressurized from a first pressure that becomes a subcritical state to a second pressure that becomes a supercritical state by supplying the processing fluid to the processing chamber in an atmospheric pressure state, and controls the vibration adding unit in such a manner that vibration is added to the substrate during a period of pressure increase from the start of supplying the processing fluid to the time when the processing chamber becomes the supercritical state, by adding vibration to the substrate.

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