Cleaning apparatus

Abstract

To provide a cleaning apparatus which can prevent penetration of a cleaning fluid into a rotary mechanism and prevent adhesion of dust from the rotary mechanism to a substrate.SOLUTION: In a cleaning apparatus, each of multiple rollers which contact with an outer periphery of a substrate W to rotate the substrate W has: a transmission part 101; a rotation mechanism 110 which rotates the transmission part 101 through a rotary shaft 111; a cover 120 which is disposed between the transmission part 101 and the rotation mechanism 110 and covers the rotation mechanism 110; a discharge port 121 which is provided at the cover 120 and discharges a gas to a space between the cover 120 and the transmission part 101; and a negative pressure area 124 which is provided at the rotation mechanism 110 side in the cover 120 to create a negative pressure relative to an atmospheric pressure of the outside of the cover 120 with exhaust air. The cleaning device further includes cleaning parts each of which discharges a cleaning fluid L from a cleaning fluid discharge part to the substrate W and uses a swinging arm to place a brush in contact with at least one surface of the rotating substrate W to clean the surface of the substrate W.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a cleaning device. [Background technology]

[0002] In the manufacturing process of semiconductor devices, it is sometimes required to clean the surface of the semiconductor wafer, which is the substrate, with a high degree of cleanliness. For example, after chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) is performed to flatten the surface of the substrate, particles such as polishing debris containing organic matter and metals and slurry residues (hereinafter referred to as contaminants) are attached to the surface of the substrate.

[0003] Contaminants can cause defects in products because they can hinder flat film formation and lead to short circuits in circuit patterns. Therefore, it is necessary to remove the contaminants by cleaning the substrate with a cleaning liquid. A cleaning device that uses a rotating brush is known as a device for performing such cleaning (see Patent Document 1).

[0004] This cleaning device rotates the substrate and moves a rotating brush in a direction parallel to the substrate while contacting the surface of the substrate with the cleaning liquid in between, whereby contaminants adhering to the surface of the substrate are floated by the cleaning liquid and removed from the substrate by the brush, thereby cleaning the entire substrate.

[0005] The substrate is held at its periphery by a number of rollers, and is rotated by driving the rollers to rotate in the same direction by a rotation mechanism. The rotation mechanism is composed of a rotation shaft connected to the rollers, and a motor that transmits driving force to the rotation shaft. The rotation shaft can also be the drive shaft of the motor itself. If processing liquid flows into such a rotation mechanism, it can cause the motor bearings to rust and lead to breakdowns. Therefore, the cleaning device is provided with a cover that covers the rotation mechanism to prevent the cleaning liquid from entering. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] JP 2002-170806 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] Here, a certain gap must be provided between the rotating roller and the fixed cover to allow the roller to rotate. The cleaning liquid adhering to the rotating roller during cleaning is discharged outward by centrifugal force, but may flow downward along the outer circumference of the roller and enter through the above-mentioned gap. Also, when the cleaning liquid supplied to the substrate is discharged outward by centrifugal force, it hits the roller and enters through the above-mentioned gap. Naturally, if the liquid enters through the gap, it will lead to a breakdown of the rotating mechanism as described above. Furthermore, dust is generated in the driving part from the motor, and if this dust is discharged outward through the gap, it will adhere to the substrate and become a source of contamination. In other words, such dust is also a contaminant.

[0008] An embodiment of the present invention has been proposed to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its object is to provide a cleaning apparatus that can prevent cleaning liquid from entering the rotating mechanism and prevent dust from the rotating mechanism from adhering to a substrate. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] In order to solve the above problems, a cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of rollers that contact the outer periphery of a substrate and rotate the substrate, a rotation mechanism that rotates the rollers via a rotation shaft, a cover that is interposed between the rollers and the rotation mechanism and covers the rotation mechanism, an outlet provided in the cover that ejects gas between the cover and the rollers, a negative pressure region that is provided between the cover and the rotation mechanism side and that becomes negative in pressure compared to the air pressure outside the cover through exhaust, a cleaning liquid ejection unit that ejects a cleaning liquid onto the substrate, and a cleaning unit that cleans the surface of the substrate by contacting a brush with at least one surface of the rotating substrate. Effect of the Invention

[0010] The embodiment of the present invention can prevent the cleaning liquid from entering the rotating mechanism and can also prevent dust from adhering to the substrate from the rotating mechanism. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a cleaning device according to an embodiment; [Diagram 2] 1A is a cross-sectional view showing a roller and a cylindrical portion of a cover, and FIG. 1B is a side view showing a discharge port. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a side view showing the roller (A) in the released position and the roller (B) in the held position. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the roller (A) in the released position and the roller (B) in the held position. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the cleaning section (A) at the start position of cleaning, the cleaning section (B) during cleaning, and the cleaning section (C) at the end position. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a side view showing a modified example in which the discharge port of the embodiment is a slit. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a modified example in which the discharge passage is inclined. [Figure 8] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a modified example in which a buffer region is provided in the discharge path. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, this embodiment is a cleaning apparatus 1 that cleans a substrate W with a cleaning liquid L and a brush 25 (see FIG. 3) while rotating the substrate W. The substrate W to be cleaned is typically a semiconductor wafer, but may also be a substrate for a display device or the like. The substrate W is circular, and its outer periphery is beveled. In other words, the corners are chamfered by grinding.

[0013] [composition] As shown in FIG. 1, the cleaning device 1 includes a rotation drive unit 10, a cleaning unit 20, a brush drive unit 30, a cleaning liquid discharge unit 40, and a control device 50.

[0014] (Rotation drive unit) The rotation drive unit 10 rotates the plurality of rollers 100 to rotate the substrate W. The plurality of rollers 100 rotate the substrate W by contacting the outer periphery of the substrate W. The rotation drive unit 10 has a first holding unit 11, a second holding unit 12, a first driving unit 13, and a second driving unit 14. The first holding unit 11 and the second holding unit 12 are disposed at positions facing each other with the substrate W interposed therebetween.

[0015] Each of the first holding unit 11 and the second holding unit 12 has a pair of rollers 100. The rollers 100 are provided rotatably about an axis perpendicular to the substrate W. As shown in FIG. 2(A), each of the rollers 100 in the first holding unit 11 and the second holding unit 12 has a transmission unit 101, a base unit 102, and a storage unit 103. The transmission unit 101 rotates the substrate W by contacting the outer edge of the substrate W (see FIGS. 3(B), 4(B), and 5(A) to (C)). The transmission unit 101 is cylindrical, and its side surface abuts against the outer periphery of the substrate W to hold the substrate W.

[0016] The base part 102 is concentric with the transmission part 101 and has a cylindrical shape with a diameter expanded from the transmission part 101. The upper surface 102a of the base part 102 is an inclined surface located below the substrate W held by the transmission part 101. This upper surface 102a forms an umbrella-shaped tapered surface, which is the side shape of a cone, around the entire circumference so that it becomes higher from the outer periphery toward the transmission part 101. The side surface 102b of the base part 102 is a vertical surface and is continuous with the upper surface 102a by a curved surface.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 2(A), the storage section 103 stores a cylindrical section 122 of the cover 120, which will be described later. The storage section 103 is a cylindrical recess provided at the bottom of the base section 102 and coaxial with the axis of rotation of the roller 100. A convex section 103a that protrudes downward in an annular shape is provided at the center of the ceiling of the storage section 103, and an annular concave section 103b is formed around the convex section 103a. An inner wall 103c of the storage section 103 is a cylindrical curved surface that is coaxial with the axis of rotation of the roller 100. An inclined surface 103d that is chamfered so as to widen outward is formed at the inner corner of the lower end of the storage section 103.

[0018] The roller 100 is formed of a material, such as PCTFE or PEEK, that is resistant to the cleaning liquid L. It is more preferable to use PCTFE, which has excellent abrasion resistance and is less likely to generate particles when it comes into contact with the substrate W.

[0019] 1, the first driving unit 13 and the second driving unit 14 support the first holding unit 11 and the second holding unit 12, respectively, and rotate the roller 100 about its axis of rotation, while moving the roller 100 in a direction toward and away from the substrate W. The first driving unit 13 and the second driving unit 14 each have a rotation mechanism 110 and a cover 120 therein.

[0020] The rotation mechanism 110 rotates the rollers 100 via a rotation shaft 111. The rotation mechanism 110 can be configured with a motor 112 that uses the rotation shaft 111 as a drive shaft. That is, the drive shaft of the motor 112 is connected to the center of the lower part of each roller 100, and the rollers 100 are rotated by the operation of the motor 112. The motor 112 is fixed to a support (not shown), and the vertical drive shaft faces upward.

[0021] 2(A), the cover 120 is a member that is interposed between the rollers 100 and the rotation mechanism 110 and covers the rotation mechanism 110. The cover 120 is divided into a cover 120 that covers the rotation mechanism 110 corresponding to the pair of rollers 100 of the first holding unit 11, and a cover 120 that covers the rotation mechanism 110 corresponding to the pair of rollers 100 of the second holding unit 12 (see FIG. 1).

[0022] The cover 120 is a container that forms a closed space that houses the rotation mechanism 110. The cover 120 is provided with an outlet 121 that discharges gas between the cover 120 and the roller 100. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 2B, the cover 120 has a cylindrical portion 122 that surrounds the rotating shaft 111 and the motor 112. The cylindrical portion 122 is formed to protrude vertically from the horizontal surface of the cover 120. The cylindrical portion 122 is provided with outlets 121 that are multiple holes. The outlets 121 are provided along the outer periphery of the cylindrical portion 122. That is, the multiple outlets 121 are formed at equal intervals at the same height around the entire circumference of the cylindrical portion 122. The outlets 121 are connected to each other inside the cylindrical portion 122 by an annular outlet path 122a. As described later, the outer periphery (discharge port 121) of the cylindrical portion 122 is covered with a side surface 102b of the base portion 102 of the roller 100 via a small gap.

[0023] Inside the cylindrical part 122, an air supply passage 122b is provided, the lower end of which opens into the inside of the cover 120 and the upper end of which communicates with the discharge passage 122a. The air supply part 123 is connected to the lower end of the air supply passage 122b. The air supply part 123 includes an air supply device 123a that supplies gas, and is connected to the air supply passage 122b via a pipe having a valve (not shown). A rare gas such as N2 is used as the gas. Note that a clean filter is provided in the middle of the pipe, so that clean gas is supplied. By supplying gas from the air supply part 123, the gas is blown outward from the discharge port 121 via the air supply passage 122b and the discharge passage 122a, so that the cleaning liquid L is prevented from entering through the gap between the cover 120 and the roller 100. The gas supply amount is preferably, for example, 5 to 10 L / min. It is preferable that the air supply passage 122b is provided at a plurality of locations. For example, by providing two pairs of nozzles on opposite sides of the rotating shaft 111, or three or more nozzles evenly spaced in the circumferential direction, the gas can be easily distributed around the entire circumference.

[0024] A negative pressure region 124 is provided on the side of the cover 120 facing the rotation mechanism 110. The negative pressure region 124 is a region that is made more negative than the atmospheric pressure outside the cover 120 by exhausting air by an exhaust unit 126, which will be described later. More specifically, the motor 112 of the rotation mechanism 110 is inserted into the inside of the inner circumferential wall 122c of the cylindrical portion 122 so as not to contact the inside, thereby providing a gap between the cylindrical portion 122 and the rotation mechanism 110. This gap is the negative pressure region 124. In this embodiment, the negative pressure region 124 is in communication with the inside of the cover 120, and the inside of the cover 120 is also made negative pressure.

[0025] A cylindrical recess 122d is provided in the center of the top of the cylindrical part 122, and a ring-shaped protrusion 122e is formed around the recess 122d. The rotating shaft 111 is exposed from an opening on the inside of the top of the cylindrical part 122. The lower part of the roller 100 is connected to the rotating shaft 111 so as to cover this opening.

[0026] As a result, the cylindrical portion 122 is accommodated in the accommodation portion 103 of the roller 100 with a gap therebetween. That is, in order to ensure the rotation of the roller 100, the cylindrical portion 122 and the roller 100 are supported so as to be out of contact with each other, so that gas can pass through the gap between them. Between the recess 122d of the cylindrical portion 122 and the protrusion 103a of the roller 100, and between the protrusion 122e of the cylindrical portion 122 and the recess 103b of the roller 100, ventilation paths 125 having a curved labyrinth structure are formed.

[0027] This ventilation path 125 is provided between the negative pressure region 124 and the discharge port 121 of the cylindrical portion 122, and communicates with a discharge path 122a formed between the inner side wall 103c of the storage portion 103 and the outer peripheral wall 122f of the cylindrical portion 122. The discharge port 121 is provided above the lower end of the storage portion 103. In other words, the lower end of the discharge port 121 is above the lower end of the side surface 102b. It is preferable that the lower end of the discharge port 121 is located above one-third of the height of the storage portion 103 from the lower end.

[0028] An exhaust unit 126 is connected to the negative pressure region 124. The exhaust unit 126 includes an exhaust device 126a that sucks in and exhausts gas, and is connected to the negative pressure region 124 via a pipe having a valve (not shown). The exhaust device 126a may be, for example, an exhaust pump or Convum (registered trademark). The exhaust unit 126 exhausts gas to an exhaust facility on the factory side. That is, the atmosphere in the space of the negative pressure region 124 is exhausted to the exhaust facility of the factory. A pressure detection unit 127 that detects the pressure of the negative pressure region 124 is provided inside the negative pressure region 124 or the cover 120 that communicates with the negative pressure region 124. The pressure detection unit 127 uses, for example, a differential pressure gauge that can detect the differential pressure between the inside and outside of the cover 120.

[0029] As described above, the first driving unit 13 and the second driving unit 14 are configured to be movable in a direction toward and away from the substrate W. That is, a driving mechanism (not shown) is provided at the lower end of each of the first driving unit 13 and the second driving unit 14, and this driving mechanism moves the first driving unit 13 and the second driving unit 14 in a direction toward and away from the substrate W. As a result, the first holding unit 11 and the second holding unit 12 also move in a direction toward and away from the substrate W. For example, as the driving mechanism, a rotary cylinder can be used that moves the drive shafts provided at the lower ends of the first driving unit 13 and the second driving unit 14 in opposite directions along a direction parallel to the surface of the substrate W.

[0030] The drive mechanism moves the first holding portion 11 and the second holding portion 12 in directions away from each other, so that the transmission portion 101 of the roller 100 is in a release position away from the substrate W, as shown in Figures 3(A) and 4(A). The drive mechanism moves the first holding portion 11 and the second holding portion 12 in directions toward each other, so that the transmission portion 101 of the roller 100 is in a holding position where it contacts and holds the substrate W, as shown in Figures 3(B) and 4(B). Note that Figure 3 shows a state in which a pair of rollers 100 positioned opposite each other are arranged along the left-right direction in the figure, and the other rollers 100 are not shown.

[0031] (Cleaning section) The cleaning unit 20 cleans the surface of the substrate W by bringing a rotating brush 25 into contact with the surface of the rotating substrate W. Note that the contact referred to here includes both the case where the brush 25 comes into direct contact with the surface of the substrate W and the case where the brush 25 comes into contact with the surface of the substrate W via the cleaning liquid L. As shown in FIG. 3(A), the cleaning unit 20 has a body 21, a brush holder 23, a support 24, and a brush 25. The body 21 is a cylindrical container and houses a motor (not shown) therein. The motor is a drive source that rotates the brush 25.

[0032] The brush holder 23 is a disk-shaped member attached to the drive shaft of the motor, and to which the support 24 is detachably provided. The brush holder 23 is provided so as to be rotatable independently of the body 21. The support 24 is a disk-shaped member to which the brush 25 is fixed, and which is attached to and detached from the brush holder 23 by a chuck mechanism or the like.

[0033] The brush 25 is a cylindrical member made of a material having flexibility and elasticity. The brush 25 of this embodiment uses a spongy resin such as PVA (nylon resin) or PTFE (fluorine resin). A bristle brush made of a similar resin may also be used. That is, the brush 25 of this embodiment includes a spongy mass and a mass of many densely packed hair bodies. The spongy mass of the brush 25 includes a mass of a plurality of densely packed fibrous bodies. The number of brushes 25 provided on the support 24 may be one or more.

[0034] (Brush drive unit) 1, the brush driving unit 30 moves the cleaning unit 20 in a direction parallel to the surface of the substrate W. The brush driving unit 30 has an arm 31 and a driving mechanism 32. The arm 31 is a member in a direction parallel to the substrate W, and has the cleaning unit 20 attached to one end. The driving mechanism 32 has a swinging mechanism and a lifting mechanism.

[0035] 5(A) to 5(C), the swing mechanism reciprocates the arm 31 in parallel to the substrate W from the outer periphery of the substrate W to the outer periphery on the opposite side in an arc trajectory with the end portion opposite the cleaning unit 20 as the axis. The swing mechanism also reciprocates the arm 31 from a standby position to the outer periphery of the substrate W. The swing mechanism has a support shaft extending from the arm 31 in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the substrate W, and a motor (not shown) which is a drive source for swinging the support shaft. When the substrate W is not being cleaned, the arm 31 is positioned at a standby position (not shown) outside the substrate W.

[0036] 3(A) and (B), the lifting mechanism moves the arm 31 in a direction in which the cleaning unit 20 approaches or moves away from the substrate W. As the lifting mechanism, a ball screw mechanism, a cylinder, or the like that raises and lowers the support shaft of the arm 31 can be used.

[0037] (Cleaning liquid discharge part) The cleaning liquid discharge unit 40 discharges the cleaning liquid L onto the substrate W. The cleaning liquid discharge unit 40 has a nozzle 41, and discharges the cleaning liquid L from a discharge port 41a at the tip of the nozzle 41 toward both sides of the rotating substrate W (see FIG. 3(B)). The cleaning liquid L in this embodiment is ozone water, pure water, SC-1 (a cleaning liquid made by mixing ammonia water and hydrogen peroxide), or an acid-based chemical liquid (hydrofluoric acid, nitric acid, hydrochloric acid, etc.). For example, when the brush 25 is PVA, cleaning is performed with pure water. Also, when the brush 25 is PTFE, ozone water, SC-1, or an acid-based chemical liquid is used. Since PTFE is liquid-resistant, cleaning liquids L such as ozone water, SC-1, and an acid-based chemical liquid can be used in combination.

[0038] The nozzles 41 are cylindrical bodies provided in a pair above and below sandwiching the substrate W. One end of the nozzle 41 is bent at an angle of, for example, 45° with respect to the surface of the substrate W, and has an outlet 41a that ejects the cleaning liquid L toward the surface of the substrate W. The nozzle 41 ejects the cleaning liquid L from the outside of the substrate W toward the vicinity of the center of the surface of the substrate W, that is, in a spraying manner toward the middle of the movement path of the brush 25.

[0039] The other end of the nozzle 41 is connected via a pipe to a supply device (not shown) for the cleaning liquid L. The supply device has a pure water production device (pure water storage tank), an ozone water production device (ozone water storage tank), and a liquid delivery device, valves, etc., connected to an SC-1 supply device or an acid-based chemical liquid supply device, and can switch between supplying pure water, ozone water, and SC-1 or an acid-based chemical liquid.

[0040] 3, the cleaning unit 20, brush driving unit 30, and cleaning liquid discharge unit 40 as described above are provided in pairs above and below the substrate W so as to be able to clean the upper and lower surfaces (also called the front and back surfaces) of the substrate W. That is, the pair of cleaning units 20 have a pair of arms 31 of the brush driving unit 30 disposed above and below the substrate W so that their respective brushes 25 and discharge ports 41a face the substrate W. The drive mechanism 32 moves the pair of arms 31 between a contact position (FIG. 3(B)) where the pair of brushes 25 are in contact with the substrate W so as to sandwich it therebetween, and a separated position (FIG. 3(A)) where they are separated from the substrate W.

[0041] Moreover, the driving mechanism 32 swings the pair of arms 31 to move the pair of brushes 25 at the contact position along a circular arc trajectory as shown in Figures 5(A) to (C). When viewed in a plan view, the contact position is the start point of the swinging of the brushes 25 as shown in Figure 5(A), and the separated position is the end point of the swinging of the brushes 25 as shown in Figure 5(C). Furthermore, the contact positions are on the outer periphery of the substrate W, and the separated position is on the outer periphery of the substrate W opposite to the contact positions.

[0042] (Control device) The control device 50 controls each part of the cleaning device 1. The control device 50 has a processor that executes programs to realize various functions of the cleaning device 1, a memory that stores various information such as the programs and operating conditions, and a drive circuit that drives each element. In other words, the control device 50 controls the rotation drive unit 10, the cleaning unit 20, the brush drive unit 30, the cleaning liquid discharge unit 40, etc. The control device 50 also has an input device for inputting information and a display device for displaying information.

[0043] As shown in FIG. 2(A), the control device 50 of this embodiment has a mechanism control unit 51 and a pressure control unit 52. The mechanism control unit 51 controls the driving of the rotation mechanism 110, the air supply unit 123, the exhaust unit 126, the first drive unit 13 and the second drive unit 14, the motor for rotating the brush 25, the drive mechanism 32 of the brush drive unit 30, the supply device of the cleaning liquid L, and the like. The pressure control unit 52 controls the exhaust unit 126 in accordance with the detection result by the pressure detection unit 127 so that the negative pressure region 124 maintains a negative pressure of a preset value. For example, it is preferable to control the pressure of the negative pressure region 124 (pressure value inside the cover 120) to be 0 to -1 Pa. The pressure here is a gauge pressure based on atmospheric pressure. The pressure control can be performed by controlling the exhaust flow rate of the exhaust unit 126 by a valve or the like.

[0044] [Operation] The operation of the cleaning device 1 having the above configuration will be described. (Delivery of boards) First, the operation of carrying in the substrate W will be described. That is, in the previous process, ozone water is applied to the surface of the processed substrate W, and an oxide film is formed, thereby making the surface hydrophilic. The surface of the substrate W on which this oxide film is formed has organic contaminants (slurry, etc.) and metal contaminants remaining from the CMP process, which is the process before the previous process, attached thereto. This means that the ozone water is supplied with the contaminants still attached to the front and back surfaces of the substrate W, that is, the oxide film is formed with the contaminants still attached. Although ozone water has the ability to remove organic matter, this previous process is not a process for removing organic matter, but rather a process aimed at making the front and back surfaces of the substrate W hydrophilic.

[0045] The transport robot transports the substrate W from the previous process to the cleaning apparatus 1, and loads it between the rollers 100 of the first holding unit 11 and the second holding unit 12 as shown in Fig. 3(A) and Fig. 4(A). The loaded substrate W is placed on the upper surface 102a of the rollers 100. The first holding unit 11 and the second holding unit 12 move in a direction approaching each other as shown in Fig. 3(B) and Fig. 4(B). Then, the four rollers 100 move toward the substrate W, so that the inclination of the upper surface 102a of the base unit 102 pushes up the outer periphery of the substrate W, and the side of the transfer unit 101 comes into contact with the outer periphery of the substrate W, thereby holding the substrate W.

[0046] (Substrate cleaning) Next, the cleaning operation of the substrate W will be described. As shown in FIG. 4(B), the roller 100 rotates clockwise in the figure, causing the substrate W to start rotating counterclockwise. The black arrow in the figure indicates the rotation direction of the substrate W. For example, the substrate W rotates at a low speed of 20 to 60 rpm. As shown in FIG. 2(A), when the side surface of the transmission portion 101 of the roller 100 is in contact with the outer periphery of the substrate W, the rotation of the roller 100 is transmitted to the substrate W, and the rotation of the substrate W is maintained.

[0047] At the same time as the roller 100 starts to rotate, exhaust by the exhaust unit 126 starts, and air supply by the air supply unit 123 starts. Note that the timing for starting exhaust is the timing when negative pressure acts on the air passage 125 before the roller 100 starts to rotate or before the substrate W is held. When exhaust starts, the negative pressure area 124 becomes negative pressure, and dust from the motor 112 of the rotation mechanism 110 is prevented from being discharged to the outside of the roller 100 via the air passage 125. Also, gas from the air supply unit 123 is discharged from the discharge port 121 via the discharge path 122a, and the gas flows out from the lower end of the roller 100.

[0048] Here, if it is only necessary to prevent the cleaning liquid L from entering the inside of the cover 120, it is sufficient to discharge the gas from the air supply device 123a from the discharge port 121. However, by discharging the gas from the discharge port 121, a force that attracts the air from the ventilation path 125 to the outside occurs, and a flow that exhausts the atmosphere inside the cover 120 (including dust generated by the motor) to the outside through the gap between the cover 120 and the roller 100 is generated. In this embodiment, in order to suppress this, as described above, the inside of the cover 120 is sucked by exhausting the exhaust device 126a of the exhaust unit 126, and the atmosphere inside the cover 120 is prevented from being exhausted from the ventilation path 125, which is the gap between the roller 100 and the cover 120. Note that the pressure value of the negative pressure region 124 is set to 0 to -1 Pa as described above. This pressure is a pressure that prevents the atmosphere inside the cover 120 from being exhausted to the outside by the gas exhausted from the gap between the roller 100 and the cover 120 by the air supply device 123a.

[0049] The upper and lower arms 31 are initially in a standby state at standby positions outside the substrate W. The upper and lower arms 31 in the standby positions swing to above the outer periphery of the substrate W and then stop temporarily, as shown in Fig. 5(A), while rotating the brushes 25 by the motor. Then, as the upper and lower arms 31 move in directions approaching the substrate W, the brushes 25 of the upper and lower cleaning parts 20 come into contact with the front and back surfaces of the substrate W, as shown in Fig. 3(B), thereby sandwiching the substrate W.

[0050] The upper and lower arms 31 rotate, causing the upper and lower brushes 25 to move horizontally. At this time, the discharge port 41a of the nozzle 41 discharges the cleaning liquid L, so that the cleaning liquid L flows between the brush 25 and the substrate W. That is, as shown in Figures 5(A) and (B), the brush 25 starts moving from one side of the outer periphery of the substrate W, and pushes out contaminants together with the cleaning liquid L to the outer periphery of the substrate W while moving along the arc trajectory indicated by the white arrow in the figure.

[0051] At this time, the cleaning liquid L also splashes on the roller 100, but since gas flows out from the lower end of the roller 100 as described above, the cleaning liquid L is prevented from entering the rotation mechanism 110 inside the roller 100. As shown in Fig. 5(C), when the brush 25 passes over the other side of the outer periphery of the substrate W and comes off the substrate W, the brush 25 stops rotating and stops discharging the cleaning liquid L from the discharge port 41a, thereby ending the cleaning process. Thereafter, exhaust by the exhaust unit 126 stops, and air supply by the air supply unit 123 stops.

[0052] Then, the upper and lower arms 31 move in directions away from each other, so that the upper and lower brushes 25 move away from the front and back surfaces of the substrate W, and the arms 31 swing to retreat to standby positions outside the outer periphery of the substrate W. Note that the above operation may then be repeated to perform cleaning with the brushes 25 multiple times. In this case, after each cleaning, the arms 31 return to the position where the cleaning starts (see FIG. 5(A)).

[0053] (effect) (1) The cleaning apparatus 1 of this embodiment as described above includes a plurality of rollers 100 that rotate the substrate W by contacting the outer periphery of the substrate W, a rotation mechanism 110 that rotates the rollers 100 via a rotation shaft 111, a cover 120 that is interposed between the rollers 100 and the rotation mechanism 110 and covers the rotation mechanism 110, an outlet 121 that is provided in the cover 120 and that ejects gas between the cover 120 and the rollers 100, a negative pressure region 124 that is provided on the rotation mechanism 110 side of the cover 120 and that becomes negative in pressure compared to the air pressure outside the cover 120 through exhaust, a cleaning liquid ejection unit 40 that ejects cleaning liquid L onto the substrate W, and a cleaning unit 20 that cleans the surface of the substrate W by bringing a brush 25 into contact with at least one surface of the rotating substrate W.

[0054] Therefore, the discharge of gas from the discharge port 121 prevents the cleaning liquid L from entering the rotation mechanism 110, so that the cleaning liquid L does not get on the rotation mechanism 110 and it is possible to prevent a breakdown of the motor 112. Furthermore, by forming the negative pressure region 124, it is possible to prevent the atmosphere around the rotation mechanism 110, that is, the dust generated from the rotation mechanism 110, from being discharged to the outside of the cover 120 together with the gas discharged from the discharge port 121 via the ventilation path 125 by the gas discharged from the discharge port 121. This makes it possible to keep the substrate W and the inside of the cleaning apparatus 1 clean.

[0055] (2) The discharge port 121 is a plurality of holes, which makes it possible to prevent the cleaning liquid L from entering from multiple locations.

[0056] (3) The cover 120 is provided between the roller 100 and the rotating mechanism 110 and has a cylindrical portion 122 surrounding the rotating shaft 111, the roller 100 has a storage portion 103 that is open at the lower end and stores the cylindrical portion 122, and the discharge port 121 is provided above the lower end of the storage portion 103. Therefore, the gas that is rectified downward by hitting the inside of the storage portion 103 of the roller 100, particularly the inner wall 103c of the roller 100, flows out from the lower end, preventing the cleaning liquid L from reattaching to the substrate W due to the gas being blown out. Note that although a part of the gas that hits the inner wall 103c of the roller 100 may flow from above into the ventilation path 125, the flow of gas discharged from the lower end can prevent the cleaning liquid L from entering from the outside, so there is no problem even if the gas flows from the discharge port 121 into the ventilation path 125.

[0057] (4) A ventilation path 125 having a bent labyrinth structure is provided between the negative pressure region 124 and the discharge port 121. This makes it difficult for gas to flow between the negative pressure region 124 and the discharge port 121, and the negative pressure of the negative pressure region 124 and the discharge of gas from the discharge port 121 are unlikely to affect each other.

[0058] (5) The cleaning device 1 has an exhaust unit 126 that exhausts air from the negative pressure area 124, a pressure detection unit 127 that detects the pressure in the negative pressure area 124, and a pressure control unit 52 that controls the exhaust unit 126 in accordance with the detection result by the pressure detection unit 127 so that the negative pressure area 124 maintains a preset negative pressure value relative to the outside of the roller 100. Therefore, even if gas is discharged from the discharge port 121, the negative pressure in the negative pressure area 124 is maintained, thereby preventing dust from being discharged through the ventilation path 125 together with the gas discharged from the discharge port 121.

[0059] (Modification) This embodiment is not limited to the above-described aspects, and the following modified examples can also be configured.

[0060] (1) The discharge port 121 may be a slit. The slit is a horizontally long narrow hole, and may be formed continuously around the entire circumference of the cylindrical part 122 as shown in Fig. 6(A), or may be formed in a plurality of slits along the entire circumference of the cylindrical part 122 as shown in Fig. 6(B). This allows the gas to be discharged more evenly into the inside of the roller 100, and prevents the cleaning liquid L from entering around the entire circumference of the roller 100.

[0061] (2) The discharge passage 122a provided in the cover 120 may be an air passage inclined downward toward the discharge port 121. For example, as shown in Fig. 7, the discharge passage 122a that communicates the discharge port 121 and the air supply passage 122b is a path inclined so that the cross section becomes lower toward the outside. This makes it easier for the gas flow to flow downward along the inner side wall 103c of the roller 100, thereby preventing the cleaning liquid L from entering the negative pressure region 124 due to the gas flow being directed toward the negative pressure region 124. The discharge passage 122a may be inclined with respect to the horizontal, and is preferably inclined at, for example, about 45°.

[0062] However, there is a concern that by making the gas supplied from the discharge port 121 flow preferentially downward, the force of the gas being drawn in may cause negative pressure on the ventilation path side. To address this, for example, the pressure control unit 52 may change the amount of exhaust by the exhaust unit 126 so that dust from the rotation mechanism 110 in the negative pressure area 124 does not leak to the outside.

[0063] (3) The cover 120 may be provided with a buffer area 128 that communicates with the discharge port 121 and where gas accumulates before being discharged from the discharge port 121. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the buffer area 128 is formed by expanding the discharge path 122a that communicates with the air supply path 122b, providing a gap that communicates with the discharge port 121 inside the expanded path, and providing a straightening plate 128a that blocks the flow of gas. This allows the supplied gas to be strongly discharged from the discharge port 121 after the pressure is increased by the buffer area 128. In addition, by making the buffer area 128 a continuous area in a ring shape, the gas can be strongly discharged evenly over the entire circumference. Furthermore, once the gas is stored in the buffer area 128, the supply of gas from the buffer area 128 to the discharge port 121 becomes stable. This stabilizes the amount of gas discharged from the discharge port 121 over the entire circumference.

[0064] (4) The rotation mechanism 110 may be a belt drive mechanism. In other words, a belt for transmitting a driving force may be stretched between the drive shaft of the motor 112, which is the drive source, and a pulley provided on the drive shaft of one of the rollers 100, and between pulleys provided on the drive shafts of the pair of rollers 100, so that the pair of rollers 100 can be rotated by the drive source.

[0065] (5) The number of rollers 100 that rotate the substrate W is not limited to the above embodiment. Furthermore, the configuration of the cleaning unit 20 is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the cleaning unit 20 may be configured to clean only one surface of the substrate W with the brush 25. The cleaning unit 20 may be configured to use a cylindrical brush 25 with an axis parallel to the surface of the substrate W, and to bring the side surface of the brush 25 into contact with the substrate W for cleaning.

[0066] [Other embodiments] Although the embodiment of the present invention and the modified examples of each part have been described above, these embodiments and the modified examples of each part are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments described above can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0067] 1 Cleaning equipment 10 Rotation drive unit 11 First holding part 12 Second holding part 13 First Drive Unit 14 Second Drive Unit 20 Cleaning section 21 Torso 23 Brush holder 24 Support 25 Brushes 30 Brush drive unit 31 Arm 32 Drive mechanism 40 Cleaning liquid discharge section 41 Nozzle 41a Discharge port 50 Control device 51 Mechanical control unit 52 Pressure control section 100 Lola 101 Transmission section 102 Base part 102a Top side 102b Side 103 Storage unit 103a Convex 103b Recess 103c Inner wall 103d slope 110 Rotation mechanism 111 Rotation axis 112 Motor 120, 120A, 120B Cover 121 Discharge port 122 Cylindrical part 122a Discharge path 122b Air supply path 122c inner peripheral wall 122d Recess 122e Convex 122f outer wall 123 Air supply section 123a Air supply system 124 Negative Pressure Area 125 Ventilation path 126 Exhaust section 126a Exhaust system 127 Pressure detection unit 128 buffer space 128a rectifier plate

Claims

1. a plurality of rollers that contact the outer periphery of the substrate and rotate the substrate; a rotation mechanism that rotates the roller via a rotation shaft; a cover interposed between the roller and the rotation mechanism and covering the rotation mechanism; an outlet provided in the cover for discharging gas between the cover and the roller; a negative pressure region provided on the rotation mechanism side of the cover, the negative pressure region being lower than the atmospheric pressure outside the cover by exhaust; a cleaning liquid discharge unit that discharges a cleaning liquid onto the substrate; a cleaning unit that cleans a surface of the substrate by bringing a brush into contact with at least one surface of the rotating substrate; A cleaning device comprising:

2. 2. The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the discharge port comprises a plurality of holes.

3. 2. The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the discharge port is a slit.

4. 2. The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cover is provided with a buffer area that communicates with the discharge port and in which the gas stays before being discharged from the discharge port.

5. the cover is provided between the roller and the rotation mechanism and has a cylindrical portion surrounding the rotation shaft; 5. The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the discharge port is provided along an outer periphery of the cylindrical portion.

6. the cover has a cylindrical portion in which the discharge port is provided and which surrounds the rotation shaft, the roller has an accommodating portion that is open at a lower end and accommodates the cylindrical portion, 5. The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the discharge port is provided above a lower end of the container.

7. 2. The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the cover has an air passage through which the gas flows and which is inclined downward toward the discharge port.

8. 2. The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein a ventilation path having a bent labyrinth structure is provided between the negative pressure region and the discharge port.

9. an exhaust section that exhausts air from the negative pressure region; a pressure detection unit that detects the pressure in the negative pressure region; a pressure control unit that controls the exhaust unit in accordance with the detection result by the pressure detection unit so that the negative pressure region maintains a negative pressure of a preset value relative to the outside of the roller; 2. The cleaning device according to claim 1, further comprising:

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