Substrate processing apparatus

Abstract

In the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention, in an internal space of a chamber, a substrate holding portion is disposed at a processing position that is offset further toward a transport opening side than a center of the internal space. The transfer distance and the transfer time of the substrate along the transfer path are shortened by a size corresponding to the offset amount, thereby saving power. The nozzle moving unit is configured to move the processing liquid discharge nozzle in a first radial direction, which is inclined with respect to a first imaginary horizontal line, among the radial directions of the substrate. As a result, the configuration relationship of the substrate holding unit, the nozzle head, and the nozzle moving unit in the chamber can be optimized, and substrate processing can be satisfactorily performed without using a chamber having a large internal space.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a substrate processing device that supplies a processing liquid to a peripheral portion of a substrate in an internal space of a chamber to process the peripheral portion.

[0002] The disclosures of the specification, drawings, and claims of the Japanese application shown below are incorporated in their entirety into the present specification by reference.

[0003] Japan Special Application No. 2022-134816 (applied on August 26, 2022). Background Art

[0004] As such a substrate processing device, for example, the device described in Patent Document 1 is known. In this device, a rotary chuck is arranged in the internal space of a chamber. The rotary chuck holds a roughly disk-shaped substrate such as a semiconductor wafer horizontally on one side, and rotates around a rotation axis extending in a vertical direction on the other side. Thus, the substrate and the rotary chuck rotate around the rotation axis integrally. In addition, a nozzle head equipped with a nozzle for spraying a processing liquid to the peripheral portion of the substrate rotating in this way, and a nozzle moving unit are arranged near the rotary chuck. The nozzle moving unit positions the nozzle head in a processing position suitable for supplying the processing liquid to the peripheral portion of the substrate by moving the nozzle head in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction. Thereafter, the bevel processing is performed by supplying the processing liquid to the peripheral portion of the substrate from the nozzle.

[0005] Prior art literature

[0006] Patent Literature

[0007] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2022-52835 Summary of the invention

[0008] Problems to be solved by the invention

[0009] In the device described in Patent Document 1, the chamber has a relatively large internal space, so there is no need to pay special attention to the positional relationship between the rotary chuck, the nozzle head, and the nozzle moving part in the internal space. However, the larger internal space will cause the following problems. That is, in the substrate processing device, the internal space is exhausted to prevent the components of the processing liquid from leaking out of the chamber. As a result, a large-capacity exhaust is required as the internal space increases. That is, in the previous substrate processing devices, there is room for improvement in reducing the environmental load. In addition, a large amount of electricity is consumed for exhaust, and there is also room for improvement in reducing power consumption.

[0010] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to reduce the environmental load and power consumption of a substrate processing apparatus by optimizing the arrangement relationship among a substrate holding portion, a nozzle head, and a nozzle moving portion in a chamber.

[0011] Means used to solve problems

[0012] The present invention is a substrate processing device, characterized in that it comprises: a chamber having an internal space and a transport opening that connects the internal space with the outside so that the substrate can be moved in and out of the internal space along a transport path; a substrate holding portion, which is arranged to hold the substrate approximately horizontally on one side and to be rotatable around a rotation axis extending in a vertical direction at a processing position that is offset toward the transport opening side relative to the center of the internal space on the transport path; a rotating mechanism that rotates the substrate holding portion around the rotation axis; and a processing mechanism, which has a processing liquid spraying nozzle that supplies a processing liquid for substrate processing to the peripheral portion of the substrate held on the substrate holding portion, and a nozzle moving portion that moves the processing liquid spraying nozzle; when looking down from above the chamber, the processing mechanism is located on the opposite side of the transport opening across a first imaginary horizontal line that passes through the center of the substrate holding portion and is orthogonal to the transport path; and the nozzle moving portion is arranged near the substrate holding portion in such a way that the processing liquid spraying nozzle moves along a first radial direction of the substrate that is inclined relative to the first imaginary horizontal line.

[0013] In the invention thus constructed, in the internal space of the chamber, the substrate holding part is arranged at a processing position offset toward the transport opening side relative to the center of the internal space. The transport distance and transport time of the substrate along the transport path are shortened by a size corresponding to the offset, thereby saving power. In addition, even if the internal space of the chamber is not expanded, the area on the opposite side of the transport opening of the substrate holding part, that is, the area on the opposite side of the transport opening across the first imaginary horizontal line, is also expanded, and the design freedom of the configuration of the processing mechanism becomes higher. However, in a substrate processing device constructed in a manner that the processing liquid spray nozzle is moved radially toward the substrate by a nozzle moving part, a certain degree of stroke is required in the moving direction of the processing liquid spray nozzle of the nozzle moving part. Therefore, for example, if the moving direction of the processing liquid spray nozzle is set to the same direction as the transport path, it may occur that although the area on the opposite side of the transport opening is expanded, the processing mechanism, especially the nozzle moving part, does not fall into the internal space. Therefore, in the present invention, as described above, the nozzle moving part is configured to move the treatment liquid ejecting nozzle along the first radial direction inclined relative to the first imaginary horizontal line in the radial direction of the substrate. As a result, the arrangement relationship between the substrate holding part, the nozzle head and the nozzle moving part in the chamber can be optimized, and the chamber with a large internal space is not wasted, and the substrate processing is performed well. In addition, the transport distance and transport time of the substrate along the transport path are shortened by an amount corresponding to the above-mentioned offset, thereby saving electricity.

[0014] Effects of the Invention

[0015] According to the present invention, in a substrate processing apparatus that supplies a processing liquid to the peripheral portion of a substrate in the internal space of a chamber to process the peripheral portion, the exhaust volume of the internal space can be suppressed, and environmental load and power consumption can be reduced.

[0016] The multiple components of each mode of the present invention described above are not all necessary. 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, some of the multiple components described above can be appropriately changed, deleted, replaced with new other components, or part of the limited content can be deleted. 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 mode of the present invention described above can also be combined with part or all of the technical features included in another mode of the present invention described above to form an independent mode of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Figure 1 It is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a substrate processing system including a substrate processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

[0018] Figure 2 It is a diagram showing the structure of a first embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention.

[0019] Figure 3 It is a diagram schematically showing the structure of the chamber and the structure attached to the chamber.

[0020] Figure 4 It is a plan view schematically showing the structure of a substrate processing unit provided on a base member.

[0021] Figure 5 It is a perspective view showing the structure of the rotation holding mechanism.

[0022] Figure 6 It is a figure which shows the dimensional relationship between the substrate held by the spin chuck and the spin cup part.

[0023] Figure 7 It is a figure which shows a part of a rotating cup part and a fixed cup part.

[0024] Figure 8 It is an external perspective view showing the structure of the upper surface protection heating mechanism.

[0025] Fig. 9 yes Figure 8 A cross-sectional view of the upper surface protection heating mechanism is shown.

[0026] Fig.10 It is a diagram schematically showing the structure of the nozzle moving unit.

[0027] Fig.11 This is a diagram schematically showing the structure and operation of the centering mechanism.

[0028] Fig.12 It is a perspective view showing an observation head of the substrate observation mechanism.

[0029] Fig.13 yes Fig.12 The exploded assembly perspective view of the viewing head is shown.

[0030] Fig.14 Yes means through Figure 2 The illustrated substrate processing apparatus executes a flow chart of a bevel processing as an example of a substrate processing operation.

[0031] Fig.15 It is a diagram showing the structure of a second embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] Figure 1 It is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a substrate processing system including a substrate processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 It is not a diagram showing the appearance of the substrate processing system 100, but a schematic diagram showing its internal structure in an easily understandable manner by removing the outer wall panel or other part of the substrate processing system 100. The substrate processing system 100 is, for example, a single-chip device that is arranged in a clean room and processes substrates W having a circuit pattern or the like (hereinafter referred to as "pattern") formed only on one main surface one by one. In addition, in the processing unit 1 equipped in the substrate processing system 100, substrate processing of the processing liquid is performed. In this specification, the pattern forming surface (one main surface) on which a pattern is formed on the two main surfaces of the substrate is referred to as the "front side", and the other main surface on the opposite side where the pattern is not formed is referred to as the "back side". In addition, the surface facing downward is referred to as the "lower surface", and the surface facing upward is referred to as the "upper surface". In addition, in this specification, the "pattern forming surface" means a surface on which a concave-convex pattern is formed in any area of ​​the substrate.

[0033] Here, as the "substrate" in this embodiment, various substrates such as semiconductor wafers, glass substrates for photomasks, 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 magneto-optical disks can be applied. Hereinafter, a substrate processing apparatus for processing semiconductor wafers is mainly used as an example and described with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the same can also be applied to the processing of various substrates exemplified above.

[0034] like Figure 1As shown, the substrate processing system 100 has a substrate processing area 110 for processing substrates W. A carrier 120 is provided adjacent to the substrate processing area 110. The carrier 120 has a container holding part 121 that can hold a plurality of containers C for storing substrates W (FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod: front opening wafer cassette, SMIF (Standard Mechanical Interface) cassette, OC (Open Cassette: open wafer cassette) and the like for storing a plurality of substrates W in a sealed state). In addition, the carrier 120 has a carrier robot 122, which is used to enter and exit the container C held in the container holding part 121, take out an unprocessed substrate W from the container C, or store a processed substrate W in the container C. In each container C, a plurality of substrates W are stored in a substantially horizontal posture.

[0035] The carrier robot 122 includes a base portion 122a fixed to the device housing, a multi-joint arm 122b arranged to be rotatable around a vertical axis relative to the base portion 122a, and a hand 122c mounted on the top of the multi-joint arm 122b. The hand 122c is a structure that can place and hold the substrate W on its upper surface. Since the carrier robot having such a multi-joint arm and a hand for holding the substrate is well known, a detailed description thereof is omitted.

[0036] In the substrate processing area 110, the loading table 112 is provided to load the substrate W from the transfer robot 122. In addition, in a plan view, a substrate transport robot 111 is arranged in the approximate center of the substrate processing area 110. Furthermore, a plurality of processing units 1 are arranged in a manner to surround the substrate transport robot 111. Specifically, a plurality of processing units 1 are arranged facing the space where the substrate transport robot 111 is arranged. For these processing units 1, the substrate transport robot 111 randomly enters and exits the loading table 112, and transfers the substrate W between the loading table 112. On the other hand, each processing unit 1 performs a prescribed process on the substrate W, which is equivalent to the substrate processing device of the present invention. In the present embodiment, these processing units (substrate processing devices) 1 have the same function. Therefore, a plurality of substrates W can be processed in parallel. In addition, if the substrate transport robot 111 can directly transfer the substrate W from the transfer robot 122, the loading table 112 is not necessarily required.

[0037] Figure 2 1 is a diagram showing the structure of a first embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. Figure 3 FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing the structure of a chamber and the structure installed in the chamber. Figure 2 , Figure 3 In the drawings and the following references, the size or quantity of each part may be exaggerated or simplified for ease of understanding. Figure 3 As shown, the chamber 11 used in the substrate processing device (processing unit) 1 has a bottom wall 11a in a rectangular shape when viewed from vertically above, four side walls 11b to 11e erected around the bottom wall 11a, and a top wall 11f covering the upper ends of the side walls 11b to 11e. The bottom wall 11a, the side walls 11b to 11e, and the top wall 11f are combined to form an internal space 12 in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape.

[0038] On the upper surface of the bottom wall 11a, base support members 16, 16 are spaced apart from each other and fixed by bolts or other fastening members. That is, the base support members 16 are erected from the bottom wall 11a. The base member 17 is fixed to the upper end of these base support members 16, 16 by bolts or other fastening members. The base member 17 is composed of a metal plate having a smaller plane size than the bottom wall 11a, a thicker thickness than the bottom wall 11a, and a high rigidity. Figure 2 As shown, the base member 17 is lifted vertically upward from the bottom wall 11a by the base support members 16, 16. That is, a so-called high bottom plate structure is formed at the bottom of the internal space 12 of the chamber 11. As described in detail later, the upper surface of the base member 17 is processed to be able to set a substrate processing part SP for performing substrate processing on the substrate W, and the substrate processing part SP is set on the upper surface. The various parts constituting the substrate processing part SP are electrically connected to the control unit 10 that controls the entire device, and operate according to the instructions from the control unit 10. In addition, the shape of the base member 17, the structure or operation of the substrate processing part SP will be described in detail later.

[0039] like Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, a fan filter unit (FFU: Fan Filter Unit) 13 is installed on the top wall 11f of the chamber 11. The fan filter unit 13 further purifies the air in the clean room where the substrate processing device 1 is installed, and supplies it to the internal space 12 in the chamber 11. The fan filter unit 13 is equipped with a fan and a filter (such as a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air: High Efficiency Particulate Air) filter) for extracting the air in the clean room and sending it to the chamber 11, and the clean air is sent in through the opening 11f1 provided on the top wall 11f. As a result, a downward flow of clean air is formed in the internal space 12 in the chamber 11. In addition, in order to evenly disperse the clean air supplied from the fan filter unit 13, a punching plate 14 with a plurality of blowing holes is provided directly below the top wall 11f.

[0040] like Figure 3As shown, in the substrate processing apparatus 1, a transfer opening 11b1 is provided on the side wall 11b that is opposite to the substrate transfer robot 111 among the four side walls 11b to 11e, so that the internal space 12 is connected to the outside of the chamber 11. Therefore, the hand (not shown) of the substrate transfer robot 111 can enter and exit the substrate processing unit SP through the transfer opening 11b1. That is, by providing the transfer opening 11b1, the substrate W can be transferred in and out of the internal space 12. In addition, a baffle 15 for opening and closing the transfer opening 11b1 is installed on the side wall 11b.

[0041] The shutter 15 is connected to a shutter opening and closing mechanism (not shown), and the shutter 15 is opened and closed according to the opening and closing command from the control unit 10. More specifically, in the substrate processing apparatus 1, when an unprocessed substrate W is carried into the chamber 11, the shutter opening and closing mechanism opens the shutter 15, and the unprocessed substrate W is carried into the substrate processing section SP in a face-up posture by the hand of the substrate transport robot 111. That is, the substrate W is placed on the spin chuck ( Figure 5 21 in the figure). And, when the hand of the substrate transport robot 111 withdraws from the chamber 11 after the substrate is moved in, the baffle opening and closing mechanism closes the baffle 15. And, in the processing space of the chamber 11 (equivalent to the enclosed space 12a described in detail later), the substrate processing part SP performs a bevel treatment on the peripheral portion Ws of the substrate W as an example of "substrate treatment" of the present invention. In addition, after the bevel treatment is completed, the baffle opening and closing mechanism opens the baffle 15 again, and the hand of the substrate transport robot 111 moves the processed substrate W out of the substrate processing part SP. In this way, in the present embodiment, the internal space 12 of the chamber 11 maintains a normal temperature environment. In addition, in this specification, "normal temperature" means a temperature range of 5°C to 35°C.

[0042] like Figure 3 As shown, the side wall 11d is provided on the base member 17 between the substrate processing portion SP ( Figure 2 ) is located on the opposite side of the side wall 11b. The side wall 11d is provided with a maintenance opening 11d1. During maintenance, as shown in the figure, the maintenance opening 11d1 is opened. Therefore, an operator can enter and exit the substrate processing unit SP from the outside of the device through the maintenance opening 11d1. On the other hand, during substrate processing, the cover member 19 is installed in a manner that closes the maintenance opening 11d1. In this way, in the present embodiment, the cover member 19 is freely attachable and detachable to the side wall 11d.

[0043] Furthermore, a heating gas supply unit 47 for supplying heated inert gas (nitrogen gas in this embodiment) to the substrate processing portion SP is installed on the outer surface of the side wall 11e. The heating gas supply unit 47 has a heater 471 built therein.

[0044] Thus, the baffle plate 15, the cover member 19 and the heating gas supply unit 47 are arranged on the outer wall side of the chamber 11. On the other hand, the substrate processing unit SP is arranged on the upper surface of the base member 17 of the high bottom plate structure in the inner side of the chamber 11, that is, the internal space 12. Figure 2 , Figures 4 to 12 , the structure of the substrate processing part SP is described.

[0045] Figure 4 : is a top view schematically showing the structure of the substrate processing unit installed on the base member. In order to clarify the configuration relationship or operation of each part of the device, the coordinate system with the Z direction as the vertical direction and the XY plane as the horizontal plane is appropriately marked. Figure 4 In the coordinate system, the horizontal direction parallel to the transport path TP of the substrate W is referred to as the “X direction”, and the horizontal direction perpendicular thereto is referred to as the “Y direction”. More specifically, the directions from the internal space 12 of the chamber 11 toward the transport opening 11b1 and the maintenance opening 11d1 are referred to as the “+X direction” and the “−X direction”, respectively, the directions from the internal space 12 of the chamber 11 toward the side walls 11c and 11e are referred to as the “−Y direction” and the “+Y direction”, respectively, and the directions toward the vertically upward and vertically downward are referred to as the “+Z direction” and the “−Z direction”, respectively.

[0046] The substrate processing part SP includes a holding and rotating mechanism 2, an anti-scattering mechanism 3, an upper surface protection and heating mechanism 4, a processing mechanism 5, an atmosphere separation mechanism 6, a lifting mechanism 7, a centering mechanism 8, and a substrate observation mechanism 9. These mechanisms are provided on a base member 17. That is, the holding and rotating mechanism 2, the anti-scattering mechanism 3, the upper surface protection and heating mechanism 4, the processing mechanism 5, the atmosphere separation mechanism 6, the lifting mechanism 7, the centering mechanism 8, and the substrate observation mechanism 9 are arranged in a predetermined positional relationship with respect to the base member 17 having a higher rigidity than the chamber 11.

[0047] Figure 5 2 is a perspective view showing the structure of the holding and rotating mechanism. The holding and rotating mechanism 2 includes: a substrate holding portion 2A that holds the substrate W in a substantially horizontal position with the front surface of the substrate W facing upward; and a rotating mechanism 2B that rotates the substrate holding portion 2A holding the substrate W and a part of the anti-scattering mechanism 3 synchronously. Therefore, when the rotating mechanism 2B is operated according to the rotation command from the control unit 10, the substrate W and the rotating cup portion 31 of the anti-scattering mechanism 3 rotate around the rotation axis AX extending parallel to the vertical direction Z.

[0048] The substrate holding portion 2A includes a disk-shaped member smaller than the substrate W, namely a rotating chuck 21. The rotating chuck 21 is arranged so that its upper surface is substantially horizontal and its central axis coincides with the rotation axis AX. Figure 4As shown in the figure, the center of the substrate holding part 2A (equivalent to the center axis of the rotation chuck 21) is offset in the (+X) direction relative to the center 11g of the chamber 11. That is, the substrate holding part 2A is configured so that, when viewed from above the chamber 11, the center axis (rotation axis AX) of the rotation chuck 21 is located at a processing position offset by a distance Lof from the center 11g of the internal space 12 toward the transport opening 11b1. In addition, in order to clarify the configuration relationship of each part of the device described later, in this specification, the imaginary line passing through the center (rotation axis AX) of the offset substrate holding part 2A and being orthogonal to the transport path TP and the imaginary line parallel to the transport path TP are referred to as the "first imaginary horizontal line VL1" and the "second imaginary horizontal line VL2", respectively.

[0049] like Figure 5 As shown in FIG. 1 , a cylindrical rotating shaft portion 22 is connected to the lower surface of the spin chuck 21 . The rotating shaft portion 22 is extended in the vertical direction Z with its axis aligned with the rotation axis AX. In addition, the rotating mechanism 2B is connected to the rotating shaft portion 22 .

[0050] The rotating mechanism 2B includes a motor 23 for generating a rotational driving force for rotating the substrate holding portion 2A and the rotating cup portion 31 of the anti-scattering mechanism 3, and a power transmission portion 24 for transmitting the rotational driving force. The motor 23 includes a rotating shaft 231 that rotates as the rotational driving force is generated. The rotating shaft 231 is provided at the motor mounting portion 171 of the base member 17 in a posture extending vertically downward. More specifically, as Figure 3 As shown, the motor mounting portion 171 is a portion that is cut away along the (+X) direction while facing the maintenance opening 11d1 on one side. The cut-away width (Y-direction dimension) of the motor mounting portion 171 is substantially the same as the Y-direction width of the motor 23. Therefore, the motor 23 can freely move along the X direction while engaging its side surface with the motor mounting portion 171.

[0051] In the motor mounting portion 171, in order to position the motor 23 in the X direction and fix it to the base member 17, the motor fixing metal member 232 is connected to the base member 17 by a fastening member 233 such as a bolt or a screw. Figure 5 As shown, the motor fixing metal member 232 has a horizontal portion 2321 and a vertical portion 2322, and has a substantially L-shape when viewed from the side in the (+Y) direction. Figure 5, but a through hole for inserting the rotating shaft 231 is provided in the central part of the horizontal part 2321 of the motor fixing metal fitting 232. When the rotating shaft 231 is inserted into the through hole in a vertical downward direction, the horizontal part 2321 supports the motor 23. In addition, the vertical part 2322 is configured to engage with the motor 23 supported from below by the horizontal part 2321. In the vertical part 2322, two fastening members 234 such as bolts or screws are installed in the Y direction at intervals from each other. The top end portion of each fastening member 234 passes through the vertical part 2322 and extends in the (+X) direction, and each top end portion is screwed with the motor mounting part 171. Therefore, by the operator rotating the fastening member 234 forward or reversely, the motor fixing metal fitting 232 moves in the X direction while maintaining the state of supporting the motor 23. In this way, the motor 23 can be positioned in the X direction. After positioning, the operator rotates the fastening member 233 in the forward direction, so that the motor 23 and the motor mounting portion 171 are firmly fixed to the base member 17 as a whole.

[0052] A first pulley 241 is mounted on the top end of the rotating shaft 231 protruding downward from the base member 17. In addition, a second pulley 242 is mounted on the lower end of the substrate holding portion 2A. In more detail, the lower end of the substrate holding portion 2A is inserted into a through hole of a rotating chuck mounting portion 172 provided on the base member 17, and protrudes downward from the base member 17. The second pulley 242 is provided on the protruding portion. And, an endless belt 243 is arranged between the first pulley 241 and the second pulley 242. In this way, in the present embodiment, the power transmission portion 24 is composed of the first pulley 241, the second pulley 242 and the endless belt 243.

[0053] When using the power transmission unit 24 having such a structure, a long timing belt can be selected as the endless belt 243, and the life of the endless belt 243 can be prolonged. However, it is necessary to perform maintenance work such as adjusting the interval between the first pulley 241 and the second pulley 242 or replacing the endless belt 243 by moving the motor 23 in the X direction. Figure 4 As shown, when looking down from above the chamber 11, the transfer opening 11b1, the substrate holding portion 2A, the power transmission portion 24, the motor 23, and the maintenance opening 11d1 are arranged in this order along the second virtual horizontal line VL2 and in a straight line. That is, the power transmission portion 24 and the motor 23 are arranged so as to face the maintenance opening 11d1. Therefore, when the cover member 19 is removed from the chamber 11 and the maintenance opening 11d1 is opened, the power transmission portion 24 and the motor 23 are exposed to the outside through the maintenance opening 11d1. As a result, it is easy for the operator to perform maintenance work, and the efficiency of the maintenance work can be improved.

[0054] Furthermore, other mechanisms described below are arranged above the base member 17, whereas the power transmission unit 24 is arranged below the base member 17. By adopting such an arrangement, the operator can perform maintenance work more efficiently without having to consider interference with other mechanisms.

[0055] like Figure 5 As shown, a through hole 211 is provided in the central portion of the rotary chuck 21, which is connected to the internal space of the rotary shaft portion 22. In the internal space, a pump 26 is connected via a pipe 25 equipped with a valve (not shown). The pump 26 and the valve are electrically connected to the control unit 10, and operate according to the command from the control unit 10. Thus, negative pressure and positive pressure are selectively applied to the rotary chuck 21. For example, when the pump 26 applies negative pressure to the rotary chuck 21 in a state where the substrate W is placed on the upper surface of the rotary chuck 21 in a roughly horizontal posture, the rotary chuck 21 adsorbs and holds the substrate W from below. On the other hand, when the pump 26 applies positive pressure to the rotary chuck 21, the substrate W can be removed from the upper surface of the rotary chuck 21. In addition, when the suction of the pump 26 is stopped, the substrate W can move horizontally on the upper surface of the rotary chuck 21.

[0056] In the spin chuck 21, a nitrogen supply unit 29 is connected via a pipe 28 provided in the central portion of the rotating shaft portion 22. The nitrogen supply unit 29 delivers room temperature nitrogen supplied from facilities of a factory where the substrate processing system 100 is provided to the spin chuck 21 at a flow rate and timing corresponding to the gas supply instruction from the control unit 10, and allows nitrogen to flow from the central portion to the radially outer side on the lower surface Wb side of the substrate W. In addition, in this embodiment, although nitrogen is used, other inert gases may also be used. In this regard, the same applies to the heating gas ejected from the central nozzle described later. In addition, "flow rate" means the amount of fluid such as nitrogen that moves per unit time.

[0057] The rotating mechanism 2B not only rotates the spin chuck 21 and the substrate W integrally, but also has a power transmission unit 27 ( Figure 2 The power transmission unit 27 has a circular ring member 27a ( Figure 5 ), a rotating chuck side magnet (not shown) built into the annular member, and a cup side magnet (not shown) built into the lower cup 32, which is a component of the rotating cup portion 31. The annular member 27a is as shown in FIG. Figure 5 As shown, the rotating shaft portion 22 is mounted thereon and can rotate together with the rotating shaft portion 22 around the rotating axis AX. Figure 2 and Figure 5 As shown, the rotating shaft portion 22 has a flange portion extending radially outwardly at a position directly below the rotating chuck 21. A circular ring member 27a is concentrically arranged at the flange portion and fastened and fixed by bolts or the like (not shown).

[0058] On the outer peripheral edge of the annular member 27a, a plurality of rotating chuck side magnets are arranged radially with the rotating axis AX as the center and at equal angles. In the present embodiment, one of the two rotating chuck side magnets adjacent to each other is arranged so that the outer side and the inner side are respectively N poles and S poles, and the other is arranged so that the outer side and the inner side are respectively S poles and N poles.

[0059] Similar to these rotating chuck side magnets, a plurality of cup side magnets are arranged radially and at equal angles around the rotating axis AX. These cup side magnets are built into the lower cup 32. The lower cup 32 is a component of the anti-scattering mechanism 3 described below, and has a circular ring shape. That is, the lower cup 32 has an inner peripheral surface that can face the outer peripheral surface of the circular ring member 27a. The inner diameter of the inner peripheral surface is larger than the outer diameter of the circular ring member 27a. And, while the inner peripheral surface is opposed to the outer peripheral surface of the circular ring member 27a at a predetermined interval (= (the above inner diameter - the above outer diameter) / 2), the lower cup 32 is arranged concentrically with the rotating shaft portion 22 and the circular ring member 27a. A locking pin and a connecting magnet are provided on the upper surface of the outer peripheral edge of the lower cup 32, whereby the upper cup 33 is connected to the lower cup 32, and the connection body functions as a rotating cup portion 31.

[0060] The lower cup 32 is supported on the upper surface of the base member 17 by a bearing which is omitted in the drawings so as to be rotatable around the rotation axis AX while maintaining the above-mentioned configuration. As described above, the cup side magnets are arranged radially and at equal angles around the rotation axis AX as the center on the inner peripheral edge of the lower cup 32. In addition, the configuration of the two cup side magnets adjacent to each other is the same as that of the rotating chuck side magnets. That is, in one, the outer side and the inner side are arranged in a manner that the N pole and the S pole are respectively formed, and in the other, the outer side and the inner side are arranged in a manner that the S pole and the N pole are respectively formed.

[0061] In the power transmission part 27 thus constructed, when the annular member 27a rotates together with the rotating shaft part 22 through the motor 23, the lower cup 32 maintains the air gap (the gap between the annular member 27a and the lower cup 32) and rotates in the same direction as the annular member 27a due to the magnetic force between the rotating chuck side magnet and the cup side magnet. As a result, the rotating cup part 31 rotates around the rotating axis AX. That is, the rotating cup part 31 and the substrate W rotate in the same direction and synchronously.

[0062] The anti-scattering mechanism 3 includes a rotating cup portion 31 that can rotate around the rotation axis AX while surrounding the outer circumference of the substrate W held on the spin chuck 21, and a fixed cup portion 34 that is fixedly provided in a manner to surround the rotating cup portion 31. The rotating cup portion 31 is provided so as to rotate around the rotation axis AX while surrounding the outer circumference of the rotating substrate W by connecting the upper cup 33 to the lower cup 32.

[0063] Figure 6 It is a figure which shows the dimensional relationship between the substrate held by the spin chuck and the spin cup part. Figure 7 2 is a diagram showing a part of the rotating cup part and the fixed cup part. The lower cup 32 has a circular ring shape. The outer diameter of the lower cup 32 is larger than the outer diameter of the substrate W. When viewed from vertically above, the lower cup 32 is configured to rotate freely around the rotation axis AX in a state where the substrate W held by the free rotating chuck 21 is extended in the radial direction. In the extended area, that is, the peripheral edge of the upper surface of the lower cup 32, a locking pin (not shown) erected vertically upward and a flat lower magnet (not shown) are alternately installed along the circumferential direction.

[0064] On the other hand, Figure 2 , Figure 3 and Figure 6 As shown, the upper cup 33 has a lower annular portion 331, an upper annular portion 332, and an inclined portion 333 connecting them. The outer diameter D331 of the lower annular portion 331 is the same as the outer diameter D32 of the lower cup 32, and the lower annular portion 331 is located vertically above the peripheral edge portion 321 of the lower cup 32. On the lower surface of the lower annular portion 331, in the area vertically above the engaging pin, a recessed portion opening downward is provided so as to be engageable with the top end portion of the engaging pin. In addition, an upper magnet is installed in the area vertically above the lower magnet. Therefore, when the recessed portion and the upper magnet are respectively opposite to the engaging pin and the lower magnet, the upper cup 33 can be engaged with and disengaged from the lower cup 32.

[0065] The upper cup 33 can be raised and lowered in the vertical direction by the lifting mechanism 7. When the upper cup 33 is moved upward by the lifting mechanism 7, a conveying space for carrying in and out the substrate W is formed between the upper cup 33 and the lower cup 32 in the vertical direction. On the other hand, when the upper cup 33 is moved downward by the lifting mechanism 7, the recess is engaged in a manner covering the top end of the locking pin, thereby positioning the upper cup 33 relative to the lower cup 32 in the horizontal direction. In addition, the upper magnet approaches the lower magnet, and the upper cup 33 and the lower cup 32 after the above positioning are combined with each other by the gravitational force generated therebetween. As a result, Figure 4 A partial enlarged view of Figure 7 As shown, the upper cup 33 and the lower cup 32 are integrated in the vertical direction with a gap GPc extending in the horizontal direction formed therein. Also, the rotating cup portion 31 is freely rotatable about the rotation axis AX with the gap GPc being formed therein.

[0066] In the rotating cup portion 31, as Figure 6As shown, the outer diameter D332 of the upper annular portion 332 is slightly smaller than the outer diameter D331 of the lower annular portion 331. In addition, if the diameters d331 and d332 of the inner circumferences of the lower annular portion 331 and the upper annular portion 332 are compared, the lower annular portion 331 is larger than the upper annular portion 332, and when viewed from vertically above, the inner circumference of the upper annular portion 332 is located on the inner side of the inner circumference of the lower annular portion 331. Furthermore, the inner circumference of the upper annular portion 332 and the inner circumference of the lower annular portion 331 are connected by the inclined portion 333 throughout the entire circumference of the upper cup 33. Therefore, the inner circumference of the inclined portion 333, that is, the surface surrounding the substrate W becomes an inclined surface 334. That is, as Figure 7 As shown, the inclined portion 333 can surround the outer periphery of the rotating substrate W to collect droplets scattered from the substrate W, and the space surrounded by the upper cup 33 and the lower cup 32 functions as a collection space SPc.

[0067] Furthermore, the inclined portion 333 facing the capture space SPc is inclined from the lower annular portion 331 toward the upper portion of the peripheral edge of the substrate W. Figure 7 As shown, the droplets captured in the inclined portion 333 can flow along the inclined surface 334 to the lower end of the upper cup 33 , namely the lower annular portion 331 , and then be discharged to the outside of the rotating cup portion 31 through the gap GPc.

[0068] The fixed cup portion 34 is arranged to surround the rotating cup portion 31 to form a discharge space SPe. The fixed cup portion 34 has a liquid receiving portion 341 and a gas exhaust portion 342 arranged inside the liquid receiving portion 341. The liquid receiving portion 341 has an opening on the counter substrate side facing the gap GPc ( Figure 7 The cup structure is open in the form of a left-hand opening of the liquid receiving portion 341. That is, the internal space of the liquid receiving portion 341 functions as a discharge space SPe and is connected to the capture space SPc through the gap GPc. Therefore, the liquid droplets captured by the rotating cup portion 31 are guided to the discharge space SPe together with the gas components through the gap GPc. Then, the liquid droplets gather at the bottom of the liquid receiving portion 341 and are discharged from the fixed cup portion 34.

[0069] On the other hand, the gas components gather in the exhaust part 342. The exhaust part 342 is separated from the liquid receiving part 341 by the partition wall 343. In addition, a gas guide 344 is arranged above the partition wall 343. The gas guide 344 extends from the position directly above the partition wall 343 to the inside of the exhaust space SPe and the exhaust part 342, thereby covering the partition wall 343 from above to form a flow path of the gas component having a labyrinth structure. Therefore, the gas components in the fluid flowing into the liquid receiving part 341 are gathered in the exhaust part 342 via the above-mentioned flow path. The exhaust part 342 is connected to the exhaust part 38. Therefore, by operating the exhaust part 38 according to the command from the control unit 10 and adjusting the pressure of the fixed cup part 34, the gas components in the exhaust part 342 are effectively discharged. In addition, the pressure or flow rate of the exhaust space SPe is adjusted by precisely controlling the exhaust part 38. For example, the pressure of the exhaust space SPe is lower than the pressure of the capture space SPc. As a result, the liquid droplets in the collection space SPc can be effectively introduced into the discharge space SPe, and the movement of the liquid droplets from the collection space SPc can be promoted.

[0070] Figure 8 It is an external perspective view showing the structure of the upper surface protection heating mechanism. Fig. 9 yes Figure 8 The upper surface protection heating mechanism 4 is a cross-sectional view shown in FIG. The upper surface protection heating mechanism 4 has a blocking plate 41 disposed above the upper surface Wf of the substrate W held on the rotating chuck 21. The blocking plate 41 has a circular plate portion 42 held in a horizontal position. The circular plate portion 42 has a built-in heater 421 driven and controlled by a heater driving portion 422. The circular plate portion 42 has a diameter slightly shorter than that of the substrate W. Furthermore, the circular plate portion 42 is supported by a supporting member 43 in such a manner that the lower surface of the circular plate portion 42 covers the surface area of ​​the upper surface Wf of the substrate W except for the peripheral edge portion Ws from above. In addition, Figure 8 Reference numeral 44 in the figure denotes a cutout portion provided at the peripheral edge of the disk portion 42, and is provided to prevent interference with a treatment liquid ejection nozzle included in the treatment mechanism 5. The cutout portion 44 opens toward the radially outer side.

[0071] The lower end of the support member 43 is mounted on the central portion of the disk portion 42. A cylindrical through hole is formed by vertically penetrating the support member 43 and the disk portion 42. In addition, the central nozzle 45 is vertically inserted into the through hole. Figure 2 As shown, the central nozzle 45 is connected to a heating gas supply unit 47 via a pipe 46. The heating gas supply unit 47 heats the normal temperature nitrogen gas supplied from the equipment of the factory where the substrate processing system 100 is installed, etc., through a heater 471, and supplies it to the substrate processing unit SP at a flow rate and timing corresponding to the heating gas supply instruction from the control unit 10.

[0072] Here, if the heater 471 is disposed in the internal space 12 of the chamber 11, the heat radiated from the heater 471 may adversely affect the substrate processing unit SP, especially the processing mechanism 5 or the substrate observation mechanism 9 as described later. Figure 4 As shown, a heating gas supply unit 47 having a heater 471 is arranged outside the chamber 11. In addition, in this embodiment, a band heater 48 is installed in a part of the pipe 46. The band heater 48 generates heat according to a heating command from the control unit 10, and heats the nitrogen gas flowing in the pipe 46.

[0073] The nitrogen gas heated in this way (hereinafter referred to as "heating gas") is pressure-fed toward the central nozzle 45 and ejected from the central nozzle 45. Fig. 9 As shown, by supplying heating gas while the circular plate portion 42 is positioned close to the processing position of the substrate W held on the rotating chuck 21, the heating gas flows from the central portion of the space SPa sandwiched between the upper surface Wf of the substrate W and the circular plate portion 42 with a built-in heater toward the peripheral portion. As a result, the ambient gas around the substrate W can be suppressed from entering the upper surface Wf of the substrate W. As a result, the droplets contained in the above-mentioned ambient gas can be effectively prevented from being drawn into the space SPa sandwiched between the substrate W and the circular plate portion 42. In addition, the upper surface Wf can be heated as a whole by the heating of the heater 421 and the heating gas, and the in-plane temperature of the substrate W can be uniformized. As a result, the warping of the substrate W can be suppressed, and the landing position of the processing liquid can be stabilized.

[0074] like Figure 2 As shown, the upper end of the support member 43 is fixed to a beam member 49 extending along the first virtual horizontal line VL1. The beam member 49 is connected to the lifting mechanism 7 installed on the upper surface of the base member 17, and is raised and lowered by the lifting mechanism 7 according to the command from the control unit 10. For example, Figure 2 In the embodiment, the beam member 49 is positioned at the bottom, and the circular plate portion 42 connected to the beam member 49 via the supporting member 43 is located at the processing position. On the other hand, when the lifting mechanism 7 receives the lifting command from the control unit 10 and lifts the beam member 49, the beam member 49, the supporting member 43 and the circular plate portion 42 are lifted together, and the upper cup 33 is also linked to separate from the lower cup 32 and lift up. As a result, the space between the spin chuck 21, the upper cup 33 and the circular plate portion 42 is expanded, and the substrate W can be carried in and out of the spin chuck 21.

[0075] The processing mechanism 5 includes a processing liquid discharge nozzle 51F ( Figure 4 ), the processing liquid discharge nozzle 51B ( Figure 2), and a treatment liquid supply unit 52 for supplying treatment liquid to the treatment liquid spraying nozzles 51F and 51B. Hereinafter, in order to distinguish the treatment liquid spraying nozzle 51F on the upper surface side from the treatment liquid spraying nozzle 51B on the lower surface side, they are referred to as "upper surface nozzle 51F" and "lower surface nozzle 51B", respectively. Figure 2 In the figure, two processing liquid supply parts 52 are shown, but they are the same.

[0076] In this embodiment, three upper surface nozzles 51F are provided, and they are connected to the treatment liquid supply unit 52. In addition, the treatment liquid supply unit 52 is configured to supply SC1, DHF and other liquids and functional water (CO2 water, etc.) as treatment liquids, and SC1, DHF and functional water can be sprayed independently from the three upper surface nozzles 51F.

[0077] In each upper surface nozzle 51F, a nozzle (not shown) for ejecting the processing liquid is provided on the lower surface of the top end. Figure 4 As shown in the enlarged view in FIG. 1 , the lower portion of a plurality of (three in this embodiment) upper surface nozzles 51F is arranged in the cutout portion 44 of the circular plate portion 42 (see FIG. 1 ) so that each nozzle is directed toward the peripheral edge of the upper surface Wf of the substrate W. Figure 6 ), and the upper portion of the upper surface nozzle 51F is mounted to be movable in the radial direction D1 (the direction in which the nozzle ejection is inclined at an elevation angle of 45° and a rotation angle of about 65° relative to the first imaginary horizontal line VL1) relative to the nozzle holder 53. The nozzle holder 53 is connected to the nozzle moving part 54.

[0078] Fig.10 Schematically shows the structure of the nozzle moving part. Fig.10 As shown in FIG. 1 , the nozzle moving part 54 is mounted on the upper end of the lifting member 713a of the lifting part 713 described later while holding the nozzle head 56 (=upper surface nozzle 51F+nozzle holder 53). Therefore, when the lifting member 713a is extended and retracted in the vertical direction according to the lifting command from the control unit 10, the nozzle moving part 54 and the nozzle head 56 are moved in the vertical direction Z accordingly.

[0079] In addition, in the nozzle moving part 54, the base member 541 is fixed to the upper end of the lifting member 713a. A direct-acting actuator 542 is installed in the base member 541. The direct-acting actuator 542 has: a motor (hereinafter referred to as a "nozzle drive motor") 543, which functions as a driving source for the nozzle movement in the radial direction X; and a motion conversion mechanism 545, which converts the rotational motion of a rotating body such as a ball screw connected to the rotating shaft of the nozzle drive motor 543 into a linear motion, so that the slider 544 reciprocates along the radial direction D1. In addition, in the motion conversion mechanism 545, in order to stabilize the movement of the slider 544 in the radial direction D1, a guide rail such as an LM (Linear Motion) guide rail (registered trademark) is used.

[0080] A head support member 547 is connected to the slider 544 that is driven reciprocatingly in the radial direction X via a connecting member 546. The head support member 547 has a rod shape extending in the radial direction X. The end of the head support member 547 in the (+D1) direction is fixed to the slider 544. On the other hand, the end of the head support member 547 in the (-D1) direction is horizontally extended toward the rotating chuck 21, and a nozzle head 56 is installed at its top end. Therefore, when the nozzle drive motor 543 rotates according to the nozzle movement instruction from the control unit 10, the slider 544, the head support member 547 and the nozzle head 56 move integrally in the (+D1) direction or the (-D1) direction corresponding to the rotation direction by a distance corresponding to the rotation amount. As a result, the upper surface nozzle 51F installed on the nozzle head 56 is positioned in the radial direction D1. For example, as Fig.10 As shown, when the upper surface nozzle 51F is positioned at a predetermined starting position, the spring member 548 provided in the motion conversion mechanism 545 is compressed by the slider 544, and a force is applied to the slider 544 in the (-X) direction. Thus, the backlash contained in the motion conversion mechanism 545 can be controlled. That is, since the motion conversion mechanism 545 has mechanical components such as guide rails, it is actually difficult to make the backlash along the radial direction D1 become zero. If the above situation is not fully considered, the positioning accuracy of the upper surface nozzle 51F in the radial direction D1 will be reduced. Therefore, in this embodiment, by providing a spring member 548, when the upper surface nozzle 51F is stationary at the starting position, the backlash is always biased in the (-D1) direction. Thus, the following effects can be obtained. According to the nozzle movement instruction from the control unit 10, the nozzle moving unit 54 drives the three upper surface nozzles 51F together in the direction D1. The nozzle movement instruction contains information related to the nozzle movement distance. When the upper surface nozzle 51F moves a designated nozzle movement distance in the radial direction D1 based on this information, the upper surface nozzle 51F is accurately positioned at the bevel processing position.

[0081] The discharge port 512 of the upper surface nozzle 51F positioned at the bevel processing position faces the peripheral portion of the upper surface Wf of the substrate W. When the processing liquid supply unit 52 supplies the processing liquid corresponding to the supply instruction among the three processing liquids to the upper surface nozzle 51F for the processing liquid according to the supply instruction from the control unit 10, the processing liquid is supplied from the upper surface nozzle 51F to a position preset from the end surface of the substrate W.

[0082] In addition, the lower sealed cup member 61 of the atmosphere separation mechanism 6 is detachably fixed to a part of the components of the nozzle moving part 54. That is, when the bevel process is performed, the upper surface nozzle 51F and the nozzle holder 53 are integrated with the lower sealed cup member 61 via the nozzle moving part 54, and are lifted and lowered together with the lower sealed cup member 61 in the vertical direction Z by the lifting mechanism 7. On the other hand, when the calibration process is performed, the lower sealed cup member 61 is removed, and the upper surface nozzle 51F and the nozzle holder 53 are reciprocated in the radial direction D1 by the nozzle moving part 54, and are lifted and lowered in the vertical direction Z by the lifting mechanism 7.

[0083] In this embodiment, in order to spray the processing liquid toward the peripheral portion of the lower surface Wb of the substrate W, the lower surface nozzle 51B and the nozzle support portion 57 are disposed below the substrate W held on the spin chuck 21. The nozzle support portion 57 has a thin-walled cylindrical portion 571 extending in the vertical direction, and a flange portion 572 having a circular ring shape that is bent and expanded radially outward at the upper end of the cylindrical portion 571. The cylindrical portion 571 has a shape that can be loosely inserted into the air gap formed between the annular member 27a and the lower cup 32. And, as Figure 2 As shown in FIG. 1 , the nozzle support portion 57 is fixedly arranged in such a manner that the cylindrical portion 571 is loosely inserted into the air gap and the flange portion 572 is located between the substrate W held by the spin chuck 21 and the lower cup 32. Three lower surface nozzles 51B are mounted on the upper surface peripheral portion of the flange portion 572. Each lower surface nozzle 51B has a spray port (not shown) opened toward the peripheral portion of the lower surface Wb of the substrate W, and can spray the processing liquid supplied from the processing liquid supply portion 52 via the pipe 58.

[0084] The processing liquid ejected from the upper surface nozzle 51F and the lower surface nozzle 51B performs a bevel process on the peripheral edge of the substrate W. In addition, the flange portion 572 is extended to the vicinity of the peripheral edge Ws on the lower surface side of the substrate W. Therefore, the nitrogen gas supplied to the lower surface side via the pipe 28 flows into the capture space SPc along the flange portion 572. As a result, the backflow of droplets from the capture space SPc to the substrate W is effectively suppressed.

[0085] The atmosphere separation mechanism 6 includes a lower sealed cup member 61 and an upper sealed cup member 62. The lower sealed cup member 61 and the upper sealed cup member 62 are both cylindrical in shape with openings at the top and bottom. In addition, their inner diameters are larger than the outer diameter of the rotating cup portion 31. The atmosphere separation mechanism 6 is configured to completely surround the rotating chuck 21, the substrate W held on the rotating chuck 21, the rotating cup portion 31, and the upper surface protection heating mechanism 4 from above. In more detail, as shown in FIG. Figure 2 As shown, the upper sealed cup member 62 is fixedly arranged at a position directly below the punching plate 14 in such a manner that its upper opening covers the opening 11f1 of the top wall 11f from below. Therefore, the downward flow of the clean air introduced into the chamber 11 is divided into an airflow passing through the inside of the upper sealed cup member 62 and an airflow passing through the outside of the upper sealed cup member 62.

[0086] The lower end of the upper sealed cup member 62 has a flange portion 621 folded inwardly and having an annular shape. An O-ring 63 is attached to the upper surface of the flange portion 621. Inside the upper sealed cup member 62, the lower sealed cup member 61 is arranged to be movable in the vertical direction.

[0087] The upper end of the lower sealed cup member 61 has a flange portion 611 that is bent outward and expanded in a circular ring shape. The flange portion 611 overlaps with the flange portion 621 when viewed from above vertically. Therefore, when the lower sealed cup member 61 is lowered, Figure 4 As shown in the partial enlarged view in FIG. 1 , the flange portion 611 of the lower sealed cup member 61 is locked by the flange portion 621 of the upper sealed cup member 62 via the O-ring 63. Thus, the lower sealed cup member 61 is positioned at the lower limit position. At the lower limit position, the upper sealed cup member 62 is connected to the lower sealed cup member 61 in the vertical direction, and the downward flow introduced into the interior of the upper sealed cup member 62 is guided to the substrate W held on the spin chuck 21.

[0088] The lower end of the lower sealed cup member 61 has a flange portion 612 folded outward and having a circular ring shape. The flange portion 612 overlaps with the upper end of the fixed cup portion 34 (the upper end of the liquid receiving portion 341) when viewed from vertically above. Figure 4As shown in the partial enlarged view in FIG, the flange portion 612 of the lower sealed cup member 61 is locked by the fixed cup portion 34 via the O-ring 64. Thus, in the vertical direction, the lower sealed cup member 61 is connected to the fixed cup portion 34, and a closed space 12a is formed by the upper sealed cup member 62, the lower sealed cup member 61 and the fixed cup portion 34. In the closed space 12a, the substrate W can be subjected to a bevel treatment. That is, by positioning the lower sealed cup member 61 at the lower limit position, the closed space 12a is separated from the outer space 12b of the closed space 12a (environmental gas separation). Therefore, the bevel treatment can be performed stably without being affected by the external environmental gas. In addition, a treatment liquid is used for the bevel treatment, but it is possible to reliably prevent the treatment liquid from leaking from the closed space 12a to the outer space 12b. Therefore, the degree of freedom in the selection and design of the components arranged in the outer space 12b becomes higher.

[0089] The lower sealed cup member 61 is configured to be movable vertically upward. In addition, as described above, the nozzle head 56 (=upper surface nozzle 51F+nozzle holder 53) is fixed to the middle portion of the lower sealed cup member 61 in the vertical direction via the head support member 547 of the nozzle moving portion 54. Figure 2 and Figure 4 As shown, the upper surface protection heating mechanism 4 is also fixed to the middle part of the lower sealed cup member 61 via the beam member 49. Figure 4 As shown, the lower sealed cup member 61 is connected to one end of the beam member 49, the other end of the beam member 49 and the head support member 547 at three different locations in the circumferential direction. And, by raising and lowering the one end of the beam member 49, the other end of the beam member 49 and the head support member 547 by the lifting mechanism 7, the lower sealed cup member 61 is also raised and lowered accordingly.

[0090] In the inner peripheral surface of the lower sealed cup member 61, as shown in FIG. Figure 2 and Figure 4 As shown, a plurality of (4) protrusions 613 are provided protruding inwardly as engaging portions that can engage with the upper cup 33. Each protrusion 613 is extended to the space below the upper annular portion 332 of the upper cup 33. In addition, each protrusion 613 is installed in a manner of moving away from the upper annular portion 332 of the upper cup 33 downward when the lower sealed cup member 61 is positioned at the lower limit position. Furthermore, by the rise of the lower sealed cup member 61, each protrusion 613 can engage with the upper annular portion 332 from below. After this engagement, the upper cup 33 and the lower cup 32 can also be separated by further rising the lower sealed cup member 61.

[0091] In the present embodiment, after the lower sealed cup member 61 begins to rise together with the upper surface protection heating mechanism 4 and the nozzle head 56 through the lifting mechanism 7, the upper cup 33 also rises together. As a result, the upper cup 33, the upper surface protection heating mechanism 4 and the nozzle head 56 move upward from the rotary chuck 21. By moving the lower sealed cup member 61 to the retracted position, a transport space is formed for the hand of the substrate transport robot 111 to enter and exit the rotary chuck 21. In addition, the substrate W can be loaded onto the rotary chuck 21 and removed from the rotary chuck 21 through the transport space. In this way, in the present embodiment, the substrate can be moved in and out relative to the rotary chuck 21 by the minimum lifting of the lower sealed cup member 61 by the lifting mechanism 7.

[0092] The lifting mechanism 7 includes two lifting drive units 71 and 72. In the lifting drive unit 71, a first lifting motor (not shown) is mounted on a first lifting mounting portion 173 ( Figure 3 ). The first lifting motor operates according to the driving command from the control unit 10 to generate a rotational force. Two lifting parts 712 and 713 are connected to the first lifting motor. The lifting parts 712 and 713 are simultaneously subjected to the above-mentioned rotational force from the first lifting motor. Then, the lifting part 712 lifts the support member 491 at one end of the support beam member 49 in the vertical direction Z according to the rotation amount of the first lifting motor. In addition, the lifting part 713 lifts the head support member 547 supporting the nozzle head 56 in the vertical direction Z according to the rotation amount of the first lifting motor.

[0093] In the lifting drive unit 72, a second lifting motor (not shown) is mounted on a second lifting mounting portion 174 ( Figure 3 The lifting unit 722 is connected to the second lifting motor. The second lifting motor is operated according to the driving instruction from the control unit 10, generates a rotational force, and applies it to the lifting unit 722. The lifting unit 722 lifts the support member 492 at the other end of the support beam member 49 in the vertical direction according to the rotation amount of the second lifting motor.

[0094] The lifting drive units 71 and 72 move the support members 491, 492, and 54 fixed to three different positions in the circumferential direction of the side surface of the lower sealed cup member 61 synchronously in the vertical direction. Therefore, the upper surface protection heating mechanism 4, the nozzle head 56, and the lower sealed cup member 61 can be stably lifted and lowered. In addition, as the lower sealed cup member 61 is lifted and lowered, the upper cup 33 can also be stably lifted and lowered.

[0095] Fig.112 is a diagram schematically showing the structure and operation of the centering mechanism. The centering mechanism 8 performs a centering process during the period when the suction of the pump 26 is stopped (i.e., during the period when the substrate W can move horizontally on the upper surface of the spin chuck 21). The centering process eliminates the above-mentioned eccentricity, and the center of the substrate W is consistent with the rotation axis AX. Figure 4 and Fig.11 As shown, the centering mechanism 8 has a single contact portion 81 which is arranged on the side of the conveying opening 11b1 with respect to the rotation axis AX in the contact movement direction D2 inclined at about 40° with respect to the first virtual horizontal line VL1 ( Fig.11 multi-contact portion 82, which is inclined about 40 ° relative to the first imaginary horizontal line VL1 in the contact movement direction D2, relative to the rotation axis AX is arranged on the maintenance opening 11d1 side ( Fig.11 and a centering drive portion 83, which causes the single abutment portion 81 and the multi-abutment portion 82 to move toward the abutment movement direction D2.

[0096] The single contact portion 81 has a shape extending in parallel with the contact movement direction D2, and is processed so that the top end portion on the spin chuck 21 side can contact the end surface of the substrate W on the spin chuck 21. On the other hand, the multiple contact portions 82 have a substantially Y-shaped shape when viewed from vertically above, and are processed so that the top ends of the forked portions on the spin chuck 21 side can contact the end surface of the substrate W on the spin chuck 21. These single contact portions 81 and multiple contact portions 82 are freely movable in the contact movement direction D2.

[0097] The centering drive unit 83 includes a single moving unit 831 for moving the single contact unit 81 in the contact movement direction D2, and a multi-moving unit 832 for moving the multi-contact unit 82 in the contact movement direction D2. The single moving unit 831 is mounted on the single moving mounting portion 175 ( Figure 3 ), the multi-movable portion 832 is mounted on the multi-movable mounting portion 176 of the base member 17 ( Figure 3 During the period when the centering process of the substrate W is not being performed, the centering drive unit 83 is as follows: Figure 4 and Fig.11 As shown in column (a) of FIG. 1 , the single contact portion 81 and the multiple contact portions 82 are spaced apart from the spin chuck 21 and positioned. Therefore, the single contact portion 81 and the multiple contact portions 82 are separated from the transport path TP, which can effectively prevent the single contact portion 81 and the multiple contact portions 82 from interfering with the substrate W carried in and out of the chamber 11.

[0098] On the other hand, when the centering process of the substrate W is performed, according to the centering instruction from the control unit 10, the single moving part 831 moves the single contact part 81 toward the rotation axis AX, and the multiple moving parts 832 move the multiple contact parts 82 toward the rotation axis AX. Fig.11As shown in column (b), the center of the substrate W coincides with the rotation axis AX.

[0099] Fig.12 It is a perspective view showing an observation head of the substrate observation mechanism. Fig.13 yes Fig.12 The substrate observation mechanism 9 includes a light source unit 91, an imaging unit 92, an observation head 93, and an observation head driving unit 94. The light source unit 91 and the imaging unit 92 are provided at the optical component mounting position 177 ( Figure 3 The light source unit 91 irradiates the observation position with illumination light according to the illumination instruction from the control unit 10. The observation position is a position corresponding to the peripheral portion Ws of the substrate W. Fig.12 The middle is equivalent to the position where the observation head 93 is positioned.

[0100] The observation head 93 can reciprocate between an observation position and a spaced-apart position away from the observation position toward the radially outer side of the substrate W. The observation head driving unit 94 is connected to the observation head 93. The observation head driving unit 94 is located at the head driving position 178 ( Figure 3 ) is mounted on the base member 17. Furthermore, the observation head driving unit 94 reciprocates the observation head 93 along the head moving direction D3 inclined at about 10° relative to the first imaginary horizontal line VL1 according to the head moving instruction from the control unit 10. More specifically, during the period when the observation processing of the substrate W is not performed, the observation head driving unit 94 moves the observation head 93 to the retreat position for positioning. Therefore, the observation head 93 leaves the transport path TP, which can effectively prevent the observation head 93 from interfering with the substrate W that is moved in and out of the chamber 11. On the other hand, when the observation processing of the substrate W is performed, the observation head driving unit 94 moves the observation head 93 to the observation position according to the substrate observation instruction from the control unit 10.

[0101] like Fig.12 and Fig.13 As shown, the observation head 93 includes a diffusion lighting unit 931 having five diffusion surfaces 931 a to 931 d , a guide unit 932 composed of three mirror members 932 a to 932 c , and a holding unit 933 .

[0102] The holding portion 933 is made of, for example, PEEK (polyetheretherketone). Fig.12 and Fig.13 As shown in FIG. 1 , a cutout portion 9331 is provided at the end portion on the substrate W side. The vertical dimension of the cutout portion 9331 is wider than the thickness of the substrate W. Fig.12As shown, when the observation head 93 is positioned at the observation position, the cutout portion 9331 enters the peripheral portion Ws of the substrate W and the area further radially inward from the peripheral portion Ws. In addition, the holding portion 933 is processed into a shape that can be interlocked with the diffuse lighting portion 931. In addition, the holding portion 933 has mirror support portions 933a to 933c that respectively support the mirror components 932a to 932c from the back side. Therefore, the diffuse lighting portion 931 and the holding portion 933 are integrated while holding the mirror components 932a to 932c by interlocking with each other.

[0103] The diffuse lighting unit 931 is made of, for example, PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene). Fig.12 and Fig.13 As shown in FIG. 1 , the diffuse lighting portion 931 has a plate shape extending in the horizontal direction, and similarly to the holding portion 933, a cutout portion 9311 is formed at the end portion on the substrate W side. Fig.12 As shown, it has an inverted C shape when viewed from the circumferential direction of the substrate W. In addition, in the diffuse lighting portion 931, an inclined surface is provided along the cutout portion 9311. The inclined surface is a tapered surface processed in a manner that inclines toward the direction in which the illumination light travels (the horizontal direction orthogonal to the direction D3) as it approaches the cutout portion 9311. In particular, the vertically upper region, the side region, and the vertically lower region of the cutout portion 9311 in the tapered surface function as diffusion surfaces 931a to 931c, respectively. In addition, in the cutout portion 9311, the regions of the mirror members 932a and 932c located on the side of the rotation axis AX function as diffusion surfaces 931d and 931e, respectively.

[0104] When the observation head 93 configured in this way is positioned at the observation position, the diffusion surfaces 931a to 931e are located in the illumination area ( Fig.12Thick dashed area). When the light source unit 91 is turned on according to the lighting command from the control unit 10 in this positioning state, the illumination light is irradiated to the illumination area. At this time, the diffusion surfaces 931a~931e diffuse and reflect the illumination light, and illuminate the peripheral portion Ws and the adjacent area of ​​the substrate W from various directions. Here, a part of the upper surface diffused light of the illumination light toward the upper surface of the substrate W including the peripheral portion Ws is reflected on the upper surface of the peripheral portion Ws and the adjacent area of ​​the peripheral portion Ws (the upper surface area adjacent to the peripheral portion Ws on the radial inside). After being reflected by the reflecting surface of the mirror member 932a, the reflected light is guided to the camera unit 92. In addition, a part of the lower surface diffused light of the illumination light toward the lower surface of the substrate W including the peripheral portion Ws is reflected on the lower surface of the peripheral portion Ws and the adjacent area of ​​the peripheral portion Ws (the lower surface area adjacent to the peripheral portion Ws on the radial inside). The reflected light is reflected by the reflection surface of the mirror member 932c and then guided to the imaging unit 92. A portion of the side diffusion light toward the side surface (end surface) Wse of the substrate W in the illumination light is reflected by the side surface Wse of the substrate W. The reflected light is reflected by the reflection surface of the mirror member 62b and then guided to the imaging unit 92.

[0105] The imaging unit 92 has an observation lens system composed of an object-side telecentric lens and a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) camera. Therefore, among the reflected light guided from the observation head 93, only the light parallel to the optical axis of the observation lens system is incident on the sensor surface of the CMOS camera, and the image of the peripheral portion Ws and the adjacent area of ​​the substrate W is formed on the sensor surface. In this way, the imaging unit 92 captures the peripheral portion Ws and the adjacent area of ​​the substrate W, and obtains the upper surface image, the side image, and the lower surface image of the substrate W. Then, the imaging unit 92 sends the image data representing the image to the control unit 10.

[0106] The control unit 10 has a calculation processing unit 10A, a storage unit 10B, a reading unit 10C, an image processing unit 10D, a drive control unit 10E, a communication unit 10F and an exhaust control unit 10G. The storage unit 10B is composed of a hard disk drive, etc., and stores a program for performing bevel processing through the above-mentioned substrate processing device 1. The program is stored in a computer-readable recording medium RM (for example, an optical disk, a magnetic disk, a magneto-optical disk, etc.), read from the recording medium RM by the reading unit 10C, and stored in the storage unit 10B. In addition, the provision of the program is not limited to the recording medium RM, for example, it can also be configured in a manner of providing the program via an electrical communication line. The image processing unit 10D performs various processes on the image captured by the substrate observation mechanism 9. The drive control unit 10E controls the various drive units of the substrate processing device 1. The communication unit 10F communicates with the control unit that integrates and controls the various units of the substrate processing system 100. The exhaust control unit 10G controls the exhaust unit 38.

[0107] Furthermore, the control unit 10 is connected to a display unit 10H (for example, a monitor, etc.) that displays various information and an input unit 10J (for example, a keyboard, a mouse, etc.) that receives input from an operator.

[0108] The processing unit 10A is composed of a computer having a CPU (=Central Processing Unit) or a RAM (=Random Access Memory), etc., and controls each unit of the substrate processing apparatus 1 as follows according to a program stored in the storage unit 10B to perform the bevel processing. Fig.14 The bevel surface processing of the substrate processing apparatus 1 will be described.

[0109] Fig.14 Yes means through Figure 2 1 is a flowchart of a substrate processing apparatus performing a slope treatment as an example of a substrate processing operation. When the substrate W is subjected to a slope treatment by the substrate processing apparatus 1, the operation processing unit 10A integrally raises the lower sealed cup member 61, the nozzle head 56, the beam member 49, the support member 43 and the circular plate portion 42 through the lifting drive units 71 and 72. In the middle of the rise of the lower sealed cup member 61, the protrusion 613 engages with the upper annular portion 332 of the upper cup 33, and then the upper cup 33 rises together with the lower sealed cup member 61, the nozzle head 56, the beam member 49, the support member 43 and the circular plate portion 42 and is positioned at the retreat position. As a result, a transfer space sufficient for the hand (not shown) of the substrate transfer robot 111 to enter is formed above the spin chuck 21. In addition, the processing unit 10A moves the single moving unit 831 and the multi-contact unit 82 to the retreat position away from the rotation chuck 21 through the centering drive unit 83, and moves the observation head 93 to the standby position away from the rotation chuck 21 through the observation head drive unit 94. Figure 4 As shown in FIG. 1 , the nozzle head 56, the light source unit 91, the camera unit 92, the motor 23, and the multi-contact unit 82 of the components arranged around the spin chuck 21 are located on the side of the maintenance opening 11d1 (the lower side of the figure) relative to the first virtual horizontal line VL1. In addition, the single moving unit 831 and the observation head 93 are located on the side of the transport opening 11b1 relative to the first virtual horizontal line VL1, but away from the moving area of ​​the substrate W along the transport path TP. In this embodiment, since such a layout structure is adopted, when the substrate W is carried in and out of the chamber 11, the components arranged around the spin chuck 21 can effectively prevent interference with the substrate W.

[0110] In this way, after confirming that the formation of the transfer space is completed and the interference with the substrate W is prevented, the processing unit 10A sends a loading request for the substrate W to the substrate transfer robot 111 via the communication unit 10F, and waits for the substrate W to be loaded. Figure 4 The transport path TP shown carries an unprocessed substrate W into the substrate processing apparatus 1 and places it on the upper surface of the spin chuck 21. Then, the substrate W is placed on the spin chuck 21 (step S1). At this point in time, the pump 26 is stopped, and the substrate W can be horizontally moved on the upper surface of the spin chuck 21.

[0111] When the loading of the substrate W is completed, the substrate transport robot 111 retreats from the substrate processing device 1 along the transport path TP. Then, the operation processing unit 10A controls the centering drive unit 83 in such a manner that the single movable unit 831 and the multi-contact unit 82 approach the substrate W on the rotary chuck 21. Thus, the eccentricity of the substrate W relative to the rotary chuck 21 is eliminated, and the center of the substrate W coincides with the center of the rotary chuck 21 (step S2). In this way, when the centering process is completed, the operation processing unit 10A controls the centering drive unit 83 in such a manner that the single movable unit 831 and the multi-contact unit 82 are separated from the substrate W, and operates the pump 26d to apply negative pressure to the rotary chuck 21. Thus, the rotary chuck 21 adsorbs and holds the substrate W from below.

[0112] Next, the calculation processing unit 10A applies a descending command to the lifting drive units 71 and 72. In response, the lifting drive units 71 and 72 lower the lower sealed cup member 61, the nozzle head 56, the beam member 49, the support member 43, and the circular plate portion 42 as a whole. In the middle of the descent, the upper cup 33 supported from below by the protrusion 613 of the lower sealed cup member 61 is connected to the lower cup 32. Thus, the rotating cup portion 31 (= a connected body of the upper cup 33 and the lower cup 32) is formed.

[0113] After the rotating cup portion 31 is formed, the lower sealed cup member 61, the nozzle head 56, the beam member 49, the support member 43 and the circular plate portion 42 are further lowered as a whole, and the flanges 611 and 612 of the lower sealed cup member 61 are respectively locked by the flange 621 of the upper sealed cup member 62 and the fixed cup portion 34. As a result, the lower sealed cup member 61 is positioned at the lower limit position ( Figure 2 After the above-mentioned stop, Figure 4 As shown in the partially enlarged view of FIG. 1 , the flange 621 of the upper sealed cup member 62 and the flange 611 of the lower sealed cup member 61 are in close contact with each other via the O-ring 63, and the flange 612 of the lower sealed cup member 61 and the fixed cup portion 34 are in close contact with each other via the O-ring 63. As a result, Figure 2 As shown, the upper and lower sealed cup components 61 are connected to the fixed cup portion 34 in the vertical direction, and a closed space 12a is formed by the upper sealed cup component 62, the lower sealed cup component 61 and the fixed cup portion 34. The closed space 12a is separated from the external ambient gas (external space 12b) (environmental gas separation).

[0114] In this state of environmental gas separation, the lower surface of the circular plate portion 42 covers the surface area of ​​the upper surface Wf of the substrate W except the peripheral portion Ws from above. In addition, the upper surface nozzle 51F is positioned in the cutout portion 44 of the circular plate portion 42 in a posture that the ejection port 512 is directed toward the peripheral portion of the upper surface Wf of the substrate W. In this way, when the supply preparation of the processing liquid to the substrate W is completed, the operation processing unit 10A applies a rotation command to the motor 23 to start the rotation of the rotating chuck 21 and the rotating cup portion 31 that hold the substrate W (step S4). The rotation speed of the substrate W and the rotating cup portion 31 is set to, for example, 1800 rpm. In addition, the operation processing unit 10A drives and controls the heater driving unit 422 to heat the heater 421 to a desired temperature, for example, 185°C.

[0115] Next, the processing unit 10A applies a heating gas supply command to the heating gas supply unit 47. As a result, the nitrogen gas heated by the heater 471, i.e., the heating gas, is pressure-sent from the heating gas supply unit 47 to the central nozzle 45 (step S5). The heating gas is heated by the belt heater 48 while passing through the pipe 46. As a result, while preventing the temperature of the heating gas from decreasing during the gas supply through the pipe 46, the heating gas is supplied from the central nozzle 45 to the space SPa ( Fig. 9) ejects heated gas. As a result, the upper surface Wf of the substrate W is fully heated. In addition, the heating of the substrate W is also performed by the heater 421. Therefore, as time passes, the temperature of the peripheral portion Ws of the substrate W rises and reaches a temperature suitable for bevel processing, for example, 90°C. In addition, the temperature outside the peripheral portion Ws also rises to a substantially equal temperature. That is, in this embodiment, the in-plane temperature of the upper surface Wf of the substrate W is substantially uniform. Therefore, the warping of the substrate W can be effectively suppressed.

[0116] Then, the operation processing unit 10A controls the processing liquid supply unit 52 to supply the processing liquid to the upper surface nozzle 51F and the lower surface nozzle 51B. That is, the liquid flow of the processing liquid is ejected from the upper surface nozzle 51F to hit the upper surface peripheral portion of the substrate W, and the liquid flow of the processing liquid is ejected from the lower surface nozzle 51B to hit the lower surface peripheral portion of the substrate W. Thus, the bevel processing of the peripheral portion Ws of the substrate W is performed (step S6). Then, when the operation processing unit 10A detects that the processing time required for the bevel processing of the substrate W has passed, etc., it applies a supply stop instruction to the processing liquid supply unit 52 to stop ejecting the processing liquid.

[0117] Then, the processing unit 10A applies a supply stop command to the heating gas supply unit 47 to stop the supply of nitrogen gas from the heating gas supply unit 47 to the central nozzle 45 (step S7). In addition, the processing unit 10A applies a rotation stop command to the motor 23 to stop the rotation of the rotation chuck 21 and the rotation cup unit 31 (step S8).

[0118] In the next step S9, the operation processing unit 10A observes the peripheral portion Ws of the substrate W and checks the result of the bevel processing. More specifically, the operation processing unit 10A positions the upper cup 33 at the retracted position as when loading the substrate W, thereby forming a conveying space. Then, the operation processing unit 10A controls the observation head driving unit 94 to bring the observation head 93 close to the substrate W. Then, the operation processing unit 10A illuminates the peripheral portion Ws of the substrate W through the observation head 93 by lighting the light source unit 91. In addition, the camera unit 92 receives the reflected light reflected by the peripheral portion Ws and the adjacent area, and photographs the peripheral portion Ws and the adjacent area. That is, from the images of the plurality of peripheral portions Ws obtained by the camera unit 92 during the rotation of the substrate W around the rotation axis AX, the peripheral portion image of the peripheral portion Ws along the rotation direction of the substrate W is obtained. Then, the operation processing unit 10A controls the observation head driving unit 94 to make the observation head 93 retreat from the substrate W. In parallel, the arithmetic processing unit 10A checks whether the bevel processing has been performed well based on the image of the peripheral portion Ws and the adjacent area captured, that is, the peripheral portion image. In addition, in this embodiment, as an example of this inspection, the processing width from the end surface of the substrate W toward the center of the substrate W after being processed by the processing liquid is inspected from the peripheral portion image (post-processing inspection).

[0119] After the inspection, the arithmetic processing unit 10A issues a request to the substrate transport robot 111 to unload the substrate W via the communication unit 10F, and unloads the processed substrate W from the substrate processing apparatus 1 (step S10 ). In addition, this series of steps is repeatedly executed.

[0120] In the above-described embodiment, the motor mounting portion 171 and the spin chuck mounting portion 172 correspond to examples of the “first holding portion” and the “second holding portion” of the present invention, respectively.

[0121] As described above, in this embodiment, since the respective parts of the device are arranged as described above, the following effects can be obtained.

[0122] (A) In the conventional substrate processing apparatus, in order to receive and process the substrate W held by the spin chuck 21 functioning as a substrate holding portion, the spin chuck 21 is usually arranged at or near the center 11g of the chamber 11. In contrast, in the present embodiment, Figure 4 As shown, in the internal space 12 of the chamber 11, the substrate holding portion 2A is arranged at a processing position offset toward the transfer opening side relative to the center 11g of the internal space 12. The transfer distance and transfer time of the substrate W along the transfer path TP are shortened by an amount corresponding to the offset (distance Lof), thereby saving power.

[0123] (B) Even if the internal space 12 of the chamber 11 is not enlarged, the area on the opposite side of the transfer opening of the spin chuck 21, that is, the area on the opposite side of the transfer opening 11b1 across the first virtual horizontal line VL1, is enlarged by the amount corresponding to the above-mentioned offset, and the degree of design freedom for the arrangement of the processing mechanism 5 is increased. However, if Fig.10 As shown in FIG. 1 , in a substrate processing apparatus configured to move the processing liquid ejection nozzle 51B toward the radial direction D1 of the substrate W by the nozzle moving portion 54, the nozzle moving portion 54 needs a certain degree of stroke in the moving direction of the processing liquid ejection nozzle 51B. Therefore, for example, if the moving direction of the processing liquid ejection nozzle 51B is set to the same direction as the transport path TP, there may be a situation where the processing mechanism, especially the nozzle moving portion 54, does not fall into the internal space 12 even though the area on the reverse transport opening side is enlarged. However, in the present embodiment, as described above, the nozzle moving portion 54 is configured to move the processing liquid ejection nozzle 51F toward the radial direction D1 inclined relative to the first virtual horizontal line VL1 in the radial direction of the substrate W. Thus, the arrangement relationship among the spin chuck 21, the nozzle head, and the nozzle moving portion 54 in the chamber 11 can be optimized, and the chamber 11 with a large internal space 12 is not wasted, and the inclined surface processing can be performed well. As a result, the exhaust volume of the internal space 12 by the exhaust portion 38 can be suppressed, and the environmental load and power consumption can be reduced.

[0124] (C) In the above embodiment, if Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, a heater 471 for obtaining a heating gas for heating the substrate W is installed on the outer wall (side wall 11e) of the chamber 11. That is, the heater 471 is arranged outside the chamber 11. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the heat generated by the heater 471 from affecting various mechanisms arranged in the internal space 12 of the chamber 11. In particular, since the light source unit 91 and the camera unit 92 are easily affected by heat, in this embodiment, the light source unit 91 and the camera unit 92 are arranged at a separated position away from the installation position of the heater 471. Therefore, by adopting the above-mentioned layout structure, the light source unit 91 and the camera unit 92 are not easily affected by the heat generated in the heater 471. As a result, it is possible to prevent the reduction in observation accuracy caused by the influence of temperature changes, and the peripheral portion of the substrate can be observed with high precision. In addition, the processing liquid spray nozzles 51F and 51B are also the same with respect to the thermal influence from the heater 471, so the processing liquid spray nozzles 51F and 51B are arranged at a separated position away from the installation position of the heater 471. In more detail, as Figure 4 As shown in FIG. 1 , the light source unit 91, the imaging unit 92, and the processing liquid ejection nozzles 51F and 51B are arranged on the opposite side of the heater 471 across the second virtual horizontal line VL2 when viewed from above the chamber 11. By adopting such an arrangement structure, the distance from the heater 471 to the light source unit 91, the imaging unit 92, and the processing liquid ejection nozzles 51F and 51B becomes longer, and the heat influence from the heater 471 can be reliably suppressed.

[0125] (D) In ​​addition, although there are fewer heat sources than the heater 471, heat is also released from the pipe 46 for delivering the heated gas (the inert gas heated by the heater 471) to the central nozzle 45 and the belt heater 48 disposed around the pipe 46. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the pipe 46 and the belt heater 48 are disposed on the opposite side of the components (the light source unit 91, the imaging unit 92, the processing liquid ejection nozzles 51F and 51B) that are easily affected by the heat from the heater 471 across the second virtual horizontal line VL2 when viewed from above the chamber 11, and are disposed on the opposite side of the transfer opening 11b1 across the first virtual horizontal line VL1. Therefore, the influence of the heat released from the pipe 46 and the like is suppressed from affecting the above-mentioned components.

[0126] (E) In the above embodiment, the power transmission unit 24 is composed of two pulleys 241, 242 and the endless belt 243, and the substrate holding unit 2A and the motor 23 are connected through the power transmission unit 24. Therefore, the power transmission unit 24 transmits the driving force generated by the motor to the substrate holding unit 2A. Therefore, when a defect occurs in the motor 23 or the power transmission unit 24 during the operation of the substrate processing device 1, such as the stretching or damage of the endless belt 243, it is necessary to appropriately perform maintenance work such as adjusting the power transmission unit 24 or replacing the components constituting the power transmission unit 24. In this case, the operator can remove the cover member 19 from the chamber 11 and open the maintenance opening 11d1, thereby exposing the power transmission unit 24 and the motor 23 to the outside through the maintenance opening 11d1. In addition, the operator can perform maintenance work through the maintenance opening 11d1. As a result, the efficiency of the maintenance work can be improved.

[0127] (F) As described above, by arranging the substrate holding portion 2A at a processing position offset from the center 11g of the internal space 12 toward the transport opening, the area on the opposite side of the transport opening 11b1 across the first virtual horizontal line VL1, that is, the area facing the maintenance opening 11d1, is expanded. Therefore, maintenance work through the maintenance opening 11d1 is easier than in a case where there is no offset. In this regard, the same applies to the subsequent maintenance work of the light source unit 91 and the camera unit 92.

[0128] (G) Figure 4 As shown, the light source unit 91 and the camera unit 92 of the substrate observation mechanism 9 are also arranged to face the maintenance opening 11d1, so that the operator can enter and exit the light source unit 91 and the camera unit 92 through the maintenance opening 11d1. Therefore, the maintenance work on the light source unit 91 and the camera unit 92 can be easily performed.

[0129] (H) Figure 5 As shown, the motor 23 is arranged such that its rotation axis 231 is spaced upward from the bottom wall 11a of the chamber 11 and is oriented toward the bottom wall 11a ( Figure 3 ) from the motor mounting portion 171 of the base member 17 ( Figure 3 ) is held on the base member 17 in a posture of hanging down from the lower surface. In addition, the lower end of the substrate holding portion 2A extends from the bottom wall 11a ( Figure 3 ) is separated upward and directed toward the bottom wall 11a from the rotation chuck mounting portion 172 ( Figure 3) is held on the base member 17 in a posture of hanging down from the lower surface thereof. Furthermore, the power transmission part 24 (= the first pulley 241 + the second pulley 242 + the endless belt 243) is arranged below the base member 17. By adopting such an arrangement, maintenance work can be effectively performed without considering interference with other mechanisms. In addition, the endless belt 243 can be replaced by utilizing the gap formed between the lower end of the substrate holding part 2A and the rotating shaft 231 of the motor 23 and the bottom wall 11a. That is, the endless belt 243 can be replaced without removing the first pulley 241 and the second pulley 242.

[0130] (I) In addition, for the reason that a port (not shown) for connecting the pipes 25 and 28 is provided in the central part of the substrate holding part 2A, the lower end of the substrate holding part 2A is sometimes extended vertically downward. In this case, the gap SPx formed between the lower end of the substrate holding part 2A and the bottom wall 11a becomes narrower. Therefore, for example, Fig.15 As shown, a counterbore portion 11 a 1 may be provided in a region of the bottom wall 11 a of the chamber 11 that faces the lower end of the substrate holding portion 2A to enlarge the gap SPx.

[0131] (J) The base member 17 is disposed at a separated position upwardly separated from the bottom wall 11a of the chamber 11, and a so-called high bottom plate structure is formed in the internal space 12 of the chamber 11. In addition, the upper surface of the base member 17 is processed as a mounting surface for setting the substrate processing unit SP. By adopting such a layout of a high bottom plate structure, even if the processing liquid leaks and accumulates on the bottom wall 11a of the chamber 11, it is possible to reliably prevent the processing liquid from contacting the substrate processing unit SP. Therefore, the base member 17 is not necessarily formed of a resin material, but can be formed of a material having higher rigidity than the bottom wall 11a, and the substrate processing unit SP can be set on the mounting surface of the base member 17 with the mounting surface as a reference base. Therefore, the substrate processing unit SP can be set with better maintainability than the previous device in which the bottom wall is formed of a resin material in consideration of the chemical resistance of the processing unit. Furthermore, by arranging the substrate processing unit SP at a position higher than the bottom wall 11a in the vertical direction Z, it is not necessary to install an additional structure such as a cover for preventing adverse effects caused by the processing liquid in advance on the substrate processing unit SP. As a result, even though the substrate processing unit SP for processing the substrate W using the chemical liquid as the processing liquid is arranged in the internal space 12 of the chamber 11, it is possible to avoid adverse effects caused by leakage of the processing liquid, and to perform substrate processing on the substrate at low cost and with good maintainability.

[0132] In the above-mentioned embodiment, the upper surface nozzle 51F is equivalent to an example of the "treatment liquid ejection nozzle" of the present invention. The radial direction D1 is equivalent to an example of the "first radial direction" of the present invention. The central nozzle 45 is equivalent to an example of the "gas ejection nozzle" of the present invention. The upper surface protection heating mechanism 4 is equivalent to an example of the "heating mechanism" of the present invention.

[0133] In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and various changes can be made to the above-mentioned embodiments without departing from the main purpose. For example, in the above-mentioned embodiment, in the substrate processing device 1, the present invention is applied to a substrate processing device having a high bottom plate structure in which a substrate processing part SP is provided on the upper surface of a base member 17. In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the present invention is applied to a substrate processing device having a rotating cup part 31. In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the present invention is applied to a substrate processing device having an upper surface protection heating mechanism 4, an environmental gas separation mechanism 6, a centering mechanism 8 and a substrate observation mechanism 9. However, as described in patent document 1, for example, the present invention can be applied to a substrate processing device that does not have these structures, that is, the entire substrate processing device that supplies a processing liquid to the peripheral portion of the substrate W in the internal space 12 of the chamber 11 to process the above-mentioned peripheral portion.

[0134] In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the upper portion of the upper surface nozzle 51F is freely movably arranged in a direction in which the nozzle spray elevation angle is inclined at 45° and the rotation angle is inclined at 65° relative to the first imaginary horizontal line VL1, but the angle can also be set to a spray elevation angle of greater than 44° and less than 46°, and a rotation angle of greater than 60° and less than 70°.

[0135] The invention has been described above with reference to specific embodiments, but the description is not intended to be interpreted in a limiting sense. With reference to the description of the present invention, various modifications of the disclosed embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, as will other embodiments of the present invention. Therefore, the appended claims are intended to include such modifications or embodiments within the scope of the present invention.

[0136] Industrial Applicability

[0137] The present invention can be applied to the entire substrate processing apparatus that supplies a processing liquid to the peripheral portion of a substrate in the internal space of a chamber to process the peripheral portion.

[0138] [Description of Reference Numerals]

[0139] 1: Substrate processing equipment

[0140] 2: Maintain the rotating mechanism

[0141] 2A: Substrate holding part

[0142] 2B: Rotating mechanism

[0143] 4: Upper surface protection heating mechanism (heating mechanism)

[0144] 5: Processing Agency

[0145] 11: Chamber

[0146] 11a: Bottom wall (of the chamber)

[0147] 11a1: Countersinking

[0148] 11b~11e: Side wall

[0149] 11b1: Opening for transport

[0150] 11d1: Opening for maintenance

[0151] 11g: Center (of chamber)

[0152] 12: Internal Space

[0153] 17: Base component

[0154] 21: Rotating chuck

[0155] 22: Rotating shaft

[0156] 23: Motor

[0157] 24: Power transmission unit

[0158] 45: Central nozzle (gas ejection nozzle)

[0159] 47: Heating gas supply unit

[0160] 51F: Treatment liquid spray nozzle

[0161] 54: Nozzle moving part

[0162] 56: Nozzle head

[0163] 231: Rotating shaft (of a motor)

[0164] 471: Heater

[0165] AX: Rotation axis

[0166] D1: (1st) radial

[0167] SP: Substrate Processing Section

[0168] TP: Transport path

[0169] VL1: 1st virtual horizontal line

[0170] VL2: Second virtual horizontal line

[0171] W: substrate

[0172] Ws: peripheral part (of substrate)

[0173] Z: vertical direction

Claims

1. A substrate processing device, characterized in that: have: A chamber having an internal space and a transport opening that connects the internal space with the outside so that a substrate can be transported into and out of the internal space along a transport path; A substrate holding portion, which is arranged to hold the substrate substantially horizontally while being rotatable about a rotation axis extending in a vertical direction at a processing position offset from the center of the internal space toward the transport opening on the transport path; a rotating mechanism that rotates the substrate holding portion around the rotation axis; and a processing mechanism including a processing liquid discharge nozzle for supplying a processing liquid for substrate processing to a peripheral portion of the substrate held by the substrate holding portion, and a nozzle moving portion for moving the processing liquid discharge nozzle; When the chamber is viewed from above, the processing mechanism is located on the opposite side of the transfer opening across a first imaginary horizontal line passing through the center of the substrate holding portion and perpendicular to the transfer path; The nozzle moving portion is provided near the substrate holding portion so as to move the processing liquid discharge nozzle along a first radial direction inclined with respect to the first imaginary horizontal line among radial directions of the substrate.

2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: An angle formed by the first radial direction and the first imaginary horizontal line is greater than or equal to 60° and less than or equal to 70°.

3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: The chamber has a bottom wall having a rectangular shape when viewed from above, four side walls erected around the bottom wall, and a top wall covering the upper ends of the four side walls; The transfer opening is provided in one of the four side walls.

4. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: Also available: a heating mechanism including a gas ejection nozzle disposed in the internal space, a heater mounted on an outer wall of the chamber, and a pipe for conveying the inert gas heated by the heater to the gas ejection nozzle, wherein the substrate is heated by supplying the inert gas from the gas ejection nozzle to the substrate subjected to substrate processing by the processing liquid; When the chamber is viewed from above, the processing mechanism is located on the opposite side of the heater across a second imaginary horizontal line that passes through the center of the substrate holding portion and is parallel to the transport path.

5. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein: The pipe is disposed on the opposite side of the processing mechanism across the second virtual horizontal line, and is disposed on the opposite side of the transfer opening across the first virtual horizontal line, when viewed from above the chamber.

Images