Substrate processing device

Abstract

To highly accurately position a nozzle without being influenced by a process liquid by moving and positioning the nozzle below a substrate.SOLUTION: A substrate processing device comprises a nozzle moving mechanism 58 which adjusts a position of a discharge port of a nozzle below a substrate. In the nozzle moving mechanism, a guide shaft 586 moves in a nozzle moving direction in a state where one end of the guide shaft is coupled with a nozzle head 582 and the other end is supported by a pair of seal rings 584 and 585. At this time, an outer peripheral surface of the guide shaft moves in slide contact, over an entire circumference, with ring-like slide contact portions of the pair of seal rings provided in a through hole 581b of a stationary support section 581. Therefore, the nozzle can be stably moved in the nozzle moving direction and highly accurately positioned and ring-like adhesive portions of the seal rings adhere with an inner peripheral surface of the through hole over the entire circumference, so that a seal configuration effectively prevents a process liquid from entering the through hole.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7B

Description

[Technical field]

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

[0002] As a process for a circular or nearly circular substrate such as a semiconductor wafer, there is a process for removing only a thin film formed on at least one of the main surfaces of the substrate, the thin film on the substrate's periphery. For example, a technique is known in which an etching solution is supplied to the periphery of the substrate while rotating the substrate, and only the thin film outside the supply position of the etching solution is removed. This process for removing a thin film is sometimes called a bevel etching process.

[0003] For example, in Patent Document 1, a lower peripheral nozzle is provided below a horizontally oriented substrate in a substrate processing apparatus housed in a processing chamber to etch the peripheral portion of the lower surface of the substrate. This lower peripheral nozzle has multiple nozzles attached to a nozzle support member, and each of these nozzles ejects a processing liquid such as a chemical liquid or a rinse liquid upward toward the peripheral portion of the lower surface of the substrate. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2022-052835 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In such a process, the width (etching width) of the region to be removed from the thin film must be adjusted to a predetermined target value. For this reason, in the substrate processing apparatus, it is necessary to adjust the nozzle position so as to obtain a predetermined etching width before starting to use the apparatus after assembly or part replacement. In addition, the etching width required in the process is not necessarily constant, and the nozzle position may be changed depending on the purpose. In recent years, the precision required for adjusting the nozzle position has been increasing for the purpose of miniaturizing devices and improving yields, and adjustments on the order of several tens of microns, for example, have become necessary. To enable such adjustments, it is necessary to provide a nozzle movement mechanism below the substrate to stabilize the nozzle movement.

[0006] Here, because of the arrangement condition that the nozzle movement mechanism is provided below the substrate, the following points must be considered. Under the above arrangement condition, after the processing liquid discharged from the nozzle is supplied to the peripheral portion of the lower surface of the substrate, a part of the processing liquid falls onto the nozzle movement mechanism. In other words, the nozzle movement mechanism is exposed to the processing liquid atmosphere. Therefore, a nozzle movement mechanism that can stably perform nozzle movement even in the processing liquid atmosphere is required. However, up to now, there has been no nozzle movement mechanism that satisfies the above demand, and it has not been possible to position the nozzle with high precision in the processing liquid atmosphere.

[0007] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and has an object to position a nozzle with high accuracy without being affected by processing liquid in a substrate processing apparatus that moves and positions a nozzle below a substrate. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] One aspect of the present invention is a substrate processing apparatus comprising: a rotation mechanism that holds a circular substrate in a horizontal position and rotates it about a vertical axis passing through the center of the substrate; a nozzle that ejects a processing liquid from an ejection port toward the peripheral edge of the underside of the substrate from below the substrate; and a nozzle moving mechanism that adjusts the position of the ejection port in the radial direction of the substrate by moving the nozzle in a predetermined nozzle movement direction below the substrate, wherein the nozzle moving mechanism comprises a fixed support part fixedly provided below the substrate; a nozzle drive part that drives the nozzle in the nozzle movement direction by an actuator attached to the fixed support part; a guide shaft having one end connected to the nozzle and the other end penetrating a through hole extending in the nozzle movement direction in the fixed support part, and moving in the nozzle movement direction integrally with the nozzle; and a pair of seal rings that are spaced apart from each other in the nozzle movement direction in the through hole and are fitted between the outer surface of the guide shaft and the inner surface of the through hole to seal a ring-shaped space between the guide shaft and the through hole.

[0009] In the invention configured as described above, a nozzle movement mechanism is provided. In this nozzle movement mechanism, a guide shaft moves in the nozzle movement direction together with the nozzle, with one end connected to the nozzle and the other end supported by a pair of seal rings. At this time, the outer circumferential surface of the guide shaft moves while being in sliding contact with the ring-shaped sliding parts of the pair of seal rings provided in the through hole of the fixed support part over the entire circumference. Therefore, the nozzle can be stably moved in the nozzle movement direction, and highly accurate positioning is possible. Moreover, the ring-shaped contact parts of each seal ring are in close contact with the inner circumferential surface of the through hole over the entire circumference. Such a sealing configuration effectively prevents the processing liquid from entering the inside of the nozzle movement mechanism, more specifically, the inside of the through hole. Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the present invention, in a substrate processing apparatus that moves and positions a nozzle below a substrate, the nozzle can be positioned with high accuracy without being affected by processing liquid. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a substrate processing system equipped with an embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention; [Diagram 2] 1 is a side view showing an internal structure of a processing unit according to an embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus; [Diagram 3] 3 is a plan view of the substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG. 2. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a state in which the cup is raised. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 shows the structure and arrangement of a processing mechanism. [Figure 6A] 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating the configuration and operation of the processing liquid discharge nozzle and the nozzle moving mechanism in a fully retracted state when the processing liquid discharge nozzle is fully retracted. [Figure 6B] 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating the configuration and operation of the processing liquid discharge nozzle and the nozzle moving mechanism in a fully retracted state when the processing liquid discharge nozzle is fully retracted. [Figure 7A] 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating the configuration and operation of a processing liquid discharge nozzle and a nozzle moving mechanism in a partial advance state when only one processing liquid discharge nozzle advances. [Figure 7B] 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating the configuration and operation of a processing liquid discharge nozzle and a nozzle moving mechanism in a partial advance state when only one processing liquid discharge nozzle advances. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is an exploded view showing a method of mounting a pair of glide rings to a fixed support portion. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of a glide ring. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a substrate observation mechanism. [Figure 11] 11A and 11B are diagrams illustrating nozzle position adjustment in an automatic adjustment mode. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a substrate processing system equipped with an embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. This is not a view showing the appearance of the substrate processing system 100, but a schematic view showing the internal structure of the substrate processing system 100 by excluding the outer wall panel and other parts of the substrate processing system 100. The substrate processing system 100 is a single-wafer type apparatus that is installed, for example, in a clean room and processes substrates S one by one. The main configuration of the substrate processing system 100 shown here is similar to that described in Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-134816 filed by the applicant of the present application.

[0013] The substrate processing system 100 includes a plurality of processing units (substrate processing apparatus) 1 each of which performs processing on a substrate S. Although four processing units 1 are shown arranged horizontally in Fig. 1, the processing units 1 are also stacked vertically in multiple stages. For example, when the processing units 1 are stacked in six stages, the substrate processing system 100 includes a total of 24 processing units 1.

[0014] In each of the multiple processing units 1 installed in the substrate processing system 100, substrate processing is performed using a processing liquid. In this specification, the surface facing downward out of the two main surfaces of the substrate is referred to as the "lower surface" and is assigned the symbol Sb. The surface facing upward is referred to as the "upper surface" and is assigned the symbol St.

[0015] Here, the "substrate" in this embodiment can be any of various substrates such as a semiconductor wafer, a glass substrate for a photomask, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display, a glass substrate for a plasma display, a substrate for an FED (Field Emission Display), a substrate for an optical disk, a substrate for a magnetic disk, a substrate for a magneto-optical disk, etc. In the following, a substrate processing apparatus used mainly for processing semiconductor wafers will be described with reference to the drawings, but the present invention can be similarly applied to the processing of the various substrates exemplified above.

[0016] As described later, the processing unit 1 of this embodiment receives a substrate S having a thin film of a metal or metal compound formed on one main surface, and performs a process of removing only a peripheral portion of the thin film formed on the substrate S by etching. Such an etching process may be called a "bevel etching process" or simply a "bevel process." Note that all of the multiple processing units 1 included in the substrate processing system 100 may perform such a bevel etching process, or multiple types of processing units performing different processes may be combined.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate processing system 100 has a substrate processing area 110 where a substrate S is processed. An indexer unit 120 is provided adjacent to the substrate processing area 110. The indexer unit 120 has a container holding unit 121 capable of holding a plurality of containers C (FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod), SMIF (Standard Mechanical Interface) pod, OC (Open Cassette), etc., which contain a plurality of substrates S in a sealed state) for containing the substrates S. The indexer unit 120 also has an indexer robot 122 for accessing the container C held by the container holding unit 121 to take out an unprocessed substrate S from the container C or store a processed substrate S in the container C. Each container C contains a plurality of substrates S in a substantially horizontal position.

[0018] The indexer robot 122 comprises a base 122a fixed to the device housing, an articulated arm 122b rotatable about a vertical axis relative to the base 122a, and a hand 122c attached to the tip of the articulated arm 122b. The hand 122c is structured so that a substrate S can be placed on its upper surface and held thereon. Indexer robots having such articulated arms and hands for holding substrates are well known, and therefore a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0019] In the substrate processing area 110, a mounting table 112 is provided so that a substrate S from an indexer robot 122 can be mounted thereon. In addition, in a plan view, a substrate transport robot 111 is disposed at approximately the center of the substrate processing area 110. Furthermore, a plurality of processing units 1 are disposed so as to surround the substrate transport robot 111. Specifically, a plurality of processing units 1 are disposed facing the space in which the substrate transport robot 111 is disposed. The substrate transport robot 111 randomly accesses the mounting table 112 for these processing units 1, and transfers the substrate S between the mounting table 112. Meanwhile, each processing unit 1 performs a predetermined process on the substrate S, and corresponds to the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. In this embodiment, these processing units (substrate processing apparatus) 1 have the same function. Therefore, parallel processing of a plurality of substrates S is possible. Note that if the substrate transport robot 111 can directly transfer the substrate S from the indexer robot 122, the mounting table 112 is not necessarily required.

[0020] Figures 2 and 3 are diagrams showing the configuration of the main parts of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. More specifically, Figure 2 is a side view showing the internal structure of a processing unit 1, which is one embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus, and Figure 3 is a plan view thereof. In Figures 2 and 3 and the figures referred to below, the dimensions and numbers of each part may be exaggerated or simplified for ease of understanding. The substrate processing apparatus (processing unit) 1 has a structure in which a substrate processing section SP is arranged in an internal space 12 within a chamber 11.

[0021] Base support members 16, 16 are fixed to the upper surface of the bottom plate 11a of the chamber 11 by fastening parts such as bolts while being spaced apart from each other. That is, the base support member 16 stands upright from the bottom plate 11a. A base member 17 is fixed to the upper ends of these base support members 16, 16 by fastening parts such as bolts. This base member 17 is made of a metal plate that has a smaller planar size than the bottom plate 11a and is thicker and more rigid than the bottom plate 11a. As shown in FIG. 2, the base member 17 is lifted vertically upward from the bottom plate 11a by the base support members 16, 16. That is, a so-called raised floor structure is formed at the bottom of the internal space 12 of the chamber 11. A substrate processing section SP that performs substrate processing on a substrate S is installed on the upper surface of this base member 17. Each part constituting this substrate processing section SP is electrically connected to a control unit 10 that controls the entire apparatus, and operates according to instructions from the control unit 10.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 2, a fan filter unit (FFU) 13 is attached to the ceiling surface 11f of the chamber 11. This fan filter unit 13 further purifies the air in the clean room in which the processing unit 1 is installed and supplies it to the internal space 12 in the chamber 11. The fan filter unit 13 includes a fan and a filter (e.g., a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filter) for taking in air in the clean room and sending it out into the chamber 11, and sends the clean air through an opening 11f1 provided in the ceiling surface 11f. This forms a downflow of clean air in the internal space 12 in the chamber 11. In addition, in order to uniformly distribute the clean air supplied from the fan filter unit 13, a punching plate 14 having a large number of blowing holes is provided directly below the ceiling surface 11f.

[0023] 3, in the processing unit 1, a transfer opening 11b1 is provided in the side wall 11b facing the substrate transfer robot 111 among the four side walls 11b to 11e, and the internal space 12 communicates with the outside of the chamber 11. Therefore, a hand (not shown) of the substrate transfer robot 111 can access the substrate processing section SP through the transfer opening 11b1. That is, the substrate S can be loaded and unloaded from the internal space 12 through the transfer opening 11b1. In addition, a shutter 15 for opening and closing the transfer opening 11b1 is attached to the side wall 11b.

[0024] A shutter opening / closing mechanism (not shown) is connected to the shutter 15, and opens and closes the shutter 15 in response to an opening / closing command from the control unit 10. More specifically, in the processing unit 1, when an unprocessed substrate S is loaded into the chamber 11, the shutter opening / closing mechanism opens the shutter 15, and the unprocessed substrate S is loaded into the substrate processing section SP by the hand of the substrate transport robot 111. When the hand of the substrate transport robot 111 retreats from the chamber 11 after the substrate is loaded, the shutter opening / closing mechanism closes the shutter 15. Then, processing of the substrate S is performed by the substrate processing section SP within the internal space 12 of the chamber 11. After the processing is completed, the shutter opening / closing mechanism opens the shutter 15 again, and the hand of the substrate transport robot 111 unloads the processed substrate S from the substrate processing section SP.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 3, side wall 11d is located on the opposite side of side wall 11b across the substrate processing section SP (FIG. 2) installed on base member 17. A maintenance opening 11d1 is provided in this side wall 11d. During maintenance, as shown in the figure, maintenance opening 11d1 is opened. This allows an operator to access the substrate processing section SP from outside the apparatus through maintenance opening 11d1. On the other hand, during substrate processing, cover member 19 is attached to cover maintenance opening 11d1. Thus, in this embodiment, cover member 19 is detachable from side wall 11d.

[0026] Further, a heated gas supply unit 47 for supplying a heated inert gas (nitrogen gas in this embodiment) to the substrate processing unit SP is attached to the outer surface of the side wall 11e. The heated gas supply unit 47 includes a heater 471 built therein.

[0027] In this manner, the shutter 15, the lid member 19, and the heating gas supply unit 47 are disposed on the outer wall side of the chamber 11. On the other hand, inside the chamber 11, i.e., in the internal space 12, a substrate processing unit SP is disposed on the upper surface of a base member 17 having a raised floor structure. The configuration of the substrate processing unit SP disposed on the base member 17 will be described below.

[0028] In the following, in order to clarify the positional relationship and operation of each part of the device, a coordinate system is appropriately provided in which the Z direction is the vertical direction and the XY plane is the horizontal plane. In the coordinate system in FIG. 3, the horizontal direction corresponding to the up-down direction of the paper is the "X direction", and the horizontal direction perpendicular to it is the "Y direction". More specifically, the directions from the internal space 12 of the chamber 11 toward the transfer opening 11b1 and the maintenance opening 11d1 are respectively referred to as the "+X direction" and the "-X direction", the directions from the internal space 12 of the chamber 11 toward the side walls 11c and 11e are respectively referred to as the "-Y direction" and the "+Y direction", and the directions vertically upward and vertically downward are respectively referred to as the "+Z direction" and the "-Z direction".

[0029] 2 and 3, the substrate processing section SP includes a holding and rotating mechanism 2, a scattering prevention 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. In other words, the holding and rotating mechanism 2, the scattering prevention 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 relative to one another, based on the base member 17, which has a higher rigidity than the chamber 11.

[0030] The holding and rotating mechanism 2 includes a substrate holding part 2A that holds the substrate S in a substantially horizontal position with the film formation surface of the substrate S facing downward, and a rotation mechanism 2B that synchronously rotates the substrate holding part 2A holding the substrate S and a part of the shatter prevention mechanism 3. Therefore, when the rotation mechanism 2B operates in response to a rotation command from the control unit 10, the substrate S and the rotating cup part 31 of the shatter prevention mechanism 3 are rotated around a rotation axis AX that extends parallel to the vertical direction Z.

[0031] The substrate holding unit 2A is equipped with a spin chuck 21, which is a disk-shaped member smaller than the substrate S. The spin chuck 21 is provided so that its upper surface is substantially horizontal and its central axis coincides with the rotation axis AX. A cylindrical rotating shaft unit 22 is connected to the lower surface of the spin chuck 21. The rotating shaft unit 22 extends in the vertical direction Z with its axis coincident with the rotation axis AX. A rotation mechanism 2B is connected to the rotating shaft unit 22.

[0032] The rotation mechanism 2B has a motor 23 that generates a rotational driving force for rotating the substrate holding part 2A and the rotating cup part 31 of the shatter prevention mechanism 3, and a power transmission part 24 that transmits the rotational driving force. The motor 23 has a rotating shaft 231 that rotates in response to the generation of the rotational driving force, and is attached to the base member 17 in an orientation in which the rotating shaft 231 extends vertically downward.

[0033] A first pulley 241 is attached to the tip of the rotating shaft 231 protruding downward from the base member 17. A second pulley 242 is attached to the lower end of the rotating shaft 22 of the substrate holding unit 2A. More specifically, the lower end of the rotating shaft 22 is inserted into a through hole provided in the base member 17 and protrudes downward from the base member 17. The second pulley 242 is provided on this protruding portion. An endless belt 243 is stretched between the first pulley 241 and the second pulley 242. In this manner, in this embodiment, the power transmission unit 24 is configured by the first pulley 241, the second pulley 242, and the endless belt 243.

[0034] When the power transmission unit 24 having such a configuration is used, a long timing belt can be selected as the endless belt 243, and the life of the endless belt 243 can be extended. As shown in FIG. 3, in this embodiment, the motor 23 is disposed at a position facing the maintenance opening 11d1 in the chamber 11. Therefore, when the cover member 19 is removed from the chamber 11 to open the maintenance opening 11d1, the power transmission unit 24 and the motor 23 are exposed to the outside through the maintenance opening 11d1. As a result, the maintenance work by the operator is facilitated, and the efficiency of the maintenance work can be improved.

[0035] Moreover, while other mechanisms described below are disposed above the base member 17, the power transmission unit 24 is disposed 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.

[0036] The upper surface of the spin chuck 21 has suction holes 211, and a pump 26 is connected to the internal space of the suction holes 211 via a pipe 25 having a valve (not shown). The pump 26 and the valve are electrically connected to the control unit 10 and operate in response to commands from the control unit 10. This allows negative pressure and positive pressure to be selectively applied to the spin chuck 21. For example, when the pump 26 applies negative pressure to the suction holes 211 of the spin chuck 21 with the substrate S placed on the upper surface of the spin chuck 21 in a substantially horizontal position, the spin chuck 21 suctions and holds the substrate S from below. On the other hand, when the pump 26 applies positive pressure to the suction holes 211, the substrate S can be removed from the upper surface of the spin chuck 21. When the suction of the pump 26 is stopped, the substrate S can be moved horizontally on the upper surface of the spin chuck 21.

[0037] A nitrogen gas supply unit 29 is connected to the spin chuck 21 via a pipe 28 provided in the center of the rotating shaft unit 22. The nitrogen gas supply unit 29 supplies room temperature nitrogen gas, supplied from a utility of a factory in which the substrate processing system 100 is installed, to the spin chuck 21 at a flow rate and timing according to a gas supply command from the control unit 10, and causes the nitrogen gas to flow from the center to the outside in the radial direction on the underside Sb of the substrate S. Note that although nitrogen gas is used in this embodiment, other inert gases may be used.

[0038] The rotation mechanism 2B has a power transmission unit 27 not only to rotate the spin chuck 21 integrally with the substrate S, but also to rotate the rotating cup portion 31 in synchronization with the rotation. The power transmission unit 27 has a disk member 27a made of a non-magnetic material or resin, a spin chuck side magnet 27b embedded in the peripheral edge portion of the disk member 27a, and a cup side magnet 27c embedded in a lower cup 32 which is one component of the rotating cup portion 31. The disk member 27a is attached coaxially with the rotating shaft portion 22 and is rotatable together with the rotating shaft portion 22 around the rotation axis AX.

[0039] A plurality of spin chuck side magnets 27b are arranged radially around the rotation axis AX at equal angular intervals on the outer periphery of the disk member 27a. In this embodiment, one of two adjacent spin chuck side magnets 27b is arranged so that the outer and inner sides are N and S poles, respectively, and the other is arranged so that the outer and inner sides are N and S poles, respectively.

[0040] Similar to these spin chuck side magnets 27b, a plurality of cup side magnets 27c are arranged radially around the rotation axis AX at equal angular intervals. These cup side magnets 27c are built into the lower cup 32. The lower cup 32 is a component of the scattering prevention mechanism 3 described next, and has an annular shape. That is, the lower cup 32 has an inner peripheral surface that can face the outer peripheral surface of the disk member 27a. The inner diameter of this inner peripheral surface is larger than the outer diameter of the disk member 27a. The lower cup 32 is arranged concentrically with the rotating shaft portion 22 and the disk member 27a, with the inner peripheral surface facing the outer peripheral surface of the disk member 27a at a predetermined distance. An engagement pin and a connecting magnet (not shown) are provided on the upper surface of the outer peripheral edge of the lower cup 32, which connect the upper cup 33 to the lower cup 32, and this connecting body functions as the rotating cup portion 31.

[0041] The lower cup 32 is supported on the upper surface of the base member 17 by a bearing (not shown in the drawings) so as to be rotatable about the rotation axis AX while remaining in the above-mentioned arrangement. On the inner peripheral edge of the lower cup 32, the cup side magnets 27c are arranged radially around the rotation axis AX at equal angular intervals as described above. The arrangement of the two adjacent cup side magnets 27c is similar to that of the spin chuck side magnets 27b. That is, on one side, the outer and inner sides are arranged as N and S poles, respectively, and on the other side, the outer and inner sides are arranged as N and S poles, respectively.

[0042] In the power transmission unit 27 configured as above, when the disk member 27a rotates together with the rotating shaft unit 22 by the motor 23, the lower cup 32 rotates in the same direction as the disk member 27a while maintaining an air gap (a gap between the disk member 27a and the lower cup 32) due to the magnetic action between the spin chuck side magnet 27b and the cup side magnet 27c. In this manner, in the power transmission unit 27, the spin chuck side magnet 27b and the cup side magnet 27c constitute a so-called magnetic coupling, and the rotational driving force for the spin chuck 21 is transmitted to the rotating cup unit 31 via the magnetic coupling. As a result, the rotating cup unit 31 rotates around the rotation axis AX. When the substrate S rotates due to the rotation of the spin chuck 21, the rotating cup unit 31 rotates in the same direction as the substrate S in synchronization with it.

[0043] The shatter prevention mechanism 3 has a rotating cup portion 31 that is rotatable about the rotation axis AX while surrounding the outer periphery of the substrate S held by the spin chuck 21, and a fixed cup portion 34 that is fixedly provided so as to surround the rotating cup portion 31. The rotating cup portion 31 is provided to be rotatable about the rotation axis AX while surrounding the outer periphery of the rotating substrate S by connecting an upper cup 33 to a lower cup 32.

[0044] The lower cup 32 has an annular shape. As shown in Fig. 2, its outer diameter is larger than that of the substrate S, and the lower cup 32 is disposed rotatably about the rotation axis AX in a state where it protrudes radially from the substrate S held by the spin chuck 21 in a plan view from vertically above. In the protruding area, i.e., on the peripheral portion of the upper surface of the lower cup 32, engagement pins (not shown) standing vertically upward along the circumferential direction and flat lower magnets (not shown) are alternately attached.

[0045] On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, 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 of the lower annular portion 331 is substantially the same as the outer diameter of the lower cup 32, and the lower annular portion 331 is located vertically above the peripheral portion 321 of the lower cup 32. The inner peripheral surface of the upper annular portion 332 and the inner peripheral surface of the lower annular portion 331 are connected by the inclined portion 333 over the entire circumference of the upper cup 33. Therefore, the inner peripheral surface of the inclined portion 333, that is, the surface surrounding the substrate S, is an inclined surface 334. Therefore, the inclined portion 333 surrounds the outer periphery of the rotating substrate S and can collect droplets scattered from the substrate S, and the space surrounded by the upper cup 33 and the lower cup 32 functions as a collection space.

[0046] The inclined portion 333 is inclined from the lower annular portion 331 toward above the peripheral edge of the substrate S. Therefore, the droplets collected in the inclined portion 333 flow along the inclined surface 334 to the lower end of the upper cup 33, i.e., the lower annular portion 331, and are further discharged to the outside of the rotating cup part 31 through the gap with the lower cup 32.

[0047] The fixed cup portion 34 is provided so as to surround the rotating cup portion 31. The fixed cup portion 34 has a liquid receiving portion 341 and an exhaust portion 342 provided inside the liquid receiving portion 341. The liquid receiving portion 341 has a cup structure that is open so as to surround the gap between the upper cup 33 and the lower cup 32 from the outside. In other words, the internal space of the liquid receiving portion 341 functions as an exhaust space. Therefore, the liquid droplets collected by the rotating cup portion 31 are guided to the liquid receiving portion 341 together with the gas components. The liquid droplets are then collected at the bottom of the liquid receiving portion 341 and are drained from the fixed cup portion 34.

[0048] On the other hand, the gas components are collected in the exhaust part 342. This exhaust part 342 is partitioned from the liquid receiving part 341 via a partition wall 343. In addition, a gas guide part 344 is disposed above the partition wall 343. The gas guide part 344 extends from a position directly above the partition wall 343 in a substantially horizontal direction, thereby covering the partition wall 343 from above and forming a flow path for the gas components having a labyrinth structure. Therefore, the gas components of the fluid that has flowed into the liquid receiving part 341 are collected in the exhaust part 342 via the flow path. This exhaust part 342 is connected to the exhaust part 38. Therefore, the exhaust part 38 operates in response to a command from the control unit 10 to adjust the pressure of the fixed cup part 34, and the gas components in the exhaust part 342 are efficiently exhausted.

[0049] The upper surface protection and heating mechanism 4 has a shielding plate 41 arranged above the upper surface St of the substrate S held by the spin chuck 21. The shielding plate 41 has a disk portion 42 held in a horizontal position. The disk portion 42 incorporates a heater 421 whose driving is controlled by a heater driving unit 422. The disk portion 42 has a diameter slightly shorter than that of the substrate S. The disk portion 42 is supported by a support member 43 so that the lower surface of the disk portion 42 covers from above the surface region of the upper surface St of the substrate S excluding the peripheral edge portion Ss.

[0050] The lower end of the support member 43 is attached to the center of the disk portion 42. A cylindrical through hole is formed so as to vertically penetrate the support member 43 and the disk portion 42. A central nozzle 45 is inserted vertically into the through hole. As shown in FIG. 2, the central nozzle 45 is connected to a heating gas supply unit 47 via a pipe 46. The heating gas supply unit 47 heats room temperature nitrogen gas supplied from the utility power of the factory in which the substrate processing system 100 is installed, using a heater 471, and supplies the gas to the substrate processing unit SP at a flow rate and timing according to a heating gas supply command from the control unit 10.

[0051] Here, if the heater 471 is disposed in the internal space 12 of the chamber 11, there is a possibility that the heat radiated from the heater 471 may adversely affect the substrate processing section SP, in particular the processing mechanism 5 and the substrate observation mechanism 9, as described below. Therefore, in this embodiment, a heated gas supply section 47 having the heater 471 is disposed outside the chamber 11, as shown in Fig. 3. Also, in this embodiment, a ribbon heater 48 is attached to a part of the pipe 46. The ribbon heater 48 generates heat in response to a heating command from the control unit 10, and heats the nitrogen gas flowing inside the pipe 46.

[0052] The nitrogen gas thus heated (hereinafter referred to as "heated gas") is pumped toward the central nozzle 45 and discharged from the central nozzle 45. For example, when the disk portion 42 is positioned at a processing position close to the substrate S held by the spin chuck 21 and the heated gas is supplied, the heated gas flows from the center to the periphery of the space between the upper surface St of the substrate S and the disk portion 42 with the built-in heater. This makes it possible to prevent the atmosphere around the substrate S from entering the upper surface St of the substrate S. As a result, it is possible to effectively prevent droplets contained in the atmosphere from being drawn into the space between the substrate S and the disk portion 42. In addition, the upper surface St is heated overall by the heating by the heater 421 and the heated gas, and the in-plane temperature of the substrate S can be made uniform. This makes it possible to prevent the substrate S from warping.

[0053] As shown in FIG. 2, the upper end of the support member 43 is fixed to a beam member 49 extending in the horizontal direction. The beam member 49 is connected to the lifting mechanism 7 attached to the upper surface of the base member 17, and is raised and lowered by the lifting mechanism 7 in response to a command from the control unit 10. For example, in FIG. 2, the beam member 49 is positioned downward, so that the disk portion 42 connected to the beam member 49 via the support member 43 is located at the processing position. On the other hand, when the lifting mechanism 7 raises the beam member 49 in response to a lifting command from the control unit 10, the beam member 49, the support member 43, and the disk portion 42 rise together, and the upper cup 33 also rises in conjunction with the upper cup 32 and separates from it. This widens the gap between the spin chuck 21 and the upper cup 33 and the disk portion 42, making it possible to load and unload the substrate S from the spin chuck 21.

[0054] The atmosphere separation mechanism 6 has 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 both have a cylindrical shape that opens at the top and bottom. The inner diameters of the members are larger than the outer diameter of the rotating cup portion 31. The atmosphere separation mechanism 6 is disposed so as to completely surround the spin chuck 21, the substrate S held by the spin chuck 21, the rotating cup portion 31, and the upper surface protection and heating mechanism 4 from above. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the upper sealed cup member 62 is fixed and disposed at a position directly below the punching plate 14 so that its upper opening covers the opening 11f1 of the ceiling surface 11f from below. Therefore, the downflow of clean air introduced into the chamber 11 is divided into one that passes through the inside of the upper sealed cup member 62 and one that passes through the outside of the upper sealed cup member 62.

[0055] The lower end of the upper sealing cup member 62 has a flange portion 621 having an inwardly folded annular shape. An O-ring 63 is attached to the upper surface of the flange portion 621. Inside the upper sealing cup member 62, the lower sealing cup member 61 is disposed so as to be movable in the vertical direction.

[0056] The upper end of the lower sealing cup member 61 has a flange portion 611 having a circular ring shape that is folded outward. This flange portion 611 overlaps with a flange portion 621 in a plan view from vertically above. Therefore, when the lower sealing cup member 61 descends, the flange portion 611 of the lower sealing cup member 61 is locked by the flange portion 621 of the upper sealing cup member 62 via the O-ring 63. This positions the lower sealing cup member 61 at the lower limit position. At this lower limit position, the upper sealing cup member 62 and the lower sealing cup member 61 are connected in the vertical direction, and the downflow introduced into the upper sealing cup member 62 is guided toward the substrate S held by the spin chuck 21.

[0057] The lower end of the lower sealing cup member 61 has a flange portion 612 having an annular shape with a diameter expanded outward. This flange portion 612 overlaps with the upper end of the fixed cup portion 34 (the upper end of the liquid receiving portion 341) in a plan view from vertically above. Therefore, at the lower limit position, the flange portion 612 of the lower sealing cup member 61 is locked to the fixed cup portion 34 via the O-ring 64. As a result, the lower sealing cup member 61 and the fixed cup portion 34 are connected in the vertical direction, and a sealed space 12a is formed by the upper sealing cup member 62, the lower sealing cup member 61, and the fixed cup portion 34. In this sealed space 12a, bevel processing of the substrate S can be performed.

[0058] That is, by positioning the lower sealed cup member 61 at the lowest position, the sealed space 12a is separated from the outer space 12b of the sealed space 12a (atmosphere separation). Therefore, the bevel processing can be stably performed without being affected by the outer atmosphere. In addition, although a processing liquid is used for the bevel processing, the processing liquid can be reliably prevented from leaking from the sealed space 12a to the outer space 12b. This increases the degree of freedom in the selection and design of the parts to be placed in the outer space 12b.

[0059] The lower sealing cup member 61 is configured to be movable vertically upward. In addition, as shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, the upper surface protection and heating mechanism 4 is fixed to the middle part of the lower sealing cup member 61 via the beam member 49. That is, as shown in Fig. 4, the lower sealing cup member 61 is connected to one end and the other end of the beam member 49 at two different points in the circumferential direction. Then, when the lifting mechanism 7 lifts and lowers the one end and the other end of the beam member 49, the lower sealing cup member 61 also lifts and lowers accordingly.

[0060] As shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, on the inner peripheral surface of the lower sealing cup member 61, a plurality of (four) protrusions 613 are provided protruding inward as engagement parts that can engage with the upper cup 33. Each protrusion 613 is extended to a space below the upper annular part 332 of the upper cup 33. Each protrusion 613 is attached so as to move downward away from the upper annular part 332 of the upper cup 33 when the lower sealing cup member 61 is positioned at the lowest position. Each protrusion 613 can engage with the upper annular part 332 from below by the rise of the lower sealing cup member 61. Even after this engagement, the upper cup 33 can be separated from the lower cup 32 by the further rise of the lower sealing cup member 61.

[0061] Fig. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which the upper cup is raised. More specifically, Fig. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which the lower sealed cup member 61 has raised the upper cup 33 by the operation of the lifting mechanism 7, and in that sense, it is a counterpart to Fig. 2, which shows a state in which the upper cup 33 is lowered. Note that Fig. 2 and Fig. 4 only differ in partial positional relationship, and the respective configurations themselves are basically the same. Therefore, in Fig. 4, description of some of the configurations shown in Fig. 2 that are not directly related to the description here is omitted.

[0062] In this embodiment, after the lower sealing cup member 61 starts to rise together with the upper surface protection and heating mechanism 4 by the lifting mechanism 7, as shown in FIG. 4, the protrusion 613 of the lower sealing cup member 61 engages with the upper cup 33, so that the upper cup 33 and the upper surface protection and heating mechanism 4 move upward away from the spin chuck 21. The movement of the lower sealing cup member 61 to the retreat position forms a transport space for the hand of the substrate transport robot 111 to access the spin chuck 21. Then, the substrate S can be loaded onto the spin chuck 21 and unloaded from the spin chuck 21 through the transport space. Thus, in this embodiment, the substrate S can be accessed from the spin chuck 21 by the minimum lifting of the lower sealing cup member 61 by the lifting mechanism 7.

[0063] The lifting mechanism 7 has two lifting drive units, namely, a first lifting drive unit 71 and a second lifting drive unit 72. In the lifting drive unit 71, a first lifting motor (not shown) is attached to the base member 17. The first lifting motor operates in response to a drive command from the control unit 10 to generate a rotational force. A lifting unit 712 is connected to this first lifting motor. The lifting unit 712 is coupled to one end of the beam member 49 via a side surface of the lower sealed cup member 61, and when it receives the rotational force from the first lifting motor, it raises and lowers one end of the beam member 49 in the vertical direction Z according to the amount of rotation of the first lifting motor.

[0064] In the lift drive section 72, a second lift motor (not shown) is attached to the base member 17. A lift section 722 is connected to the second lift motor. The second lift motor operates in response to a drive command from the control unit 10 to generate a rotational force and provides it to the lift section 722. The lift section 722 is coupled to the other end of the beam member 49 via the side surface of the lower sealed cup member 61, and raises and lowers the other end of the beam member 49 in the vertical direction in response to the amount of rotation of the second lift motor.

[0065] The lifting and lowering drive units 71, 72 vertically move two different points in the circumferential direction of the side surface of the lower sealing cup member 61 in synchronization with each other. Therefore, the upper surface protection and heating mechanism 4 and the lower sealing cup member 61 can be stably lifted and lowered. In addition, the upper cup 33 can also be stably lifted and lowered in conjunction with the lifting and lowering of the lower sealing cup member 61.

[0066] Next, the centering mechanism 8 will be briefly described since it is basically known. The centering mechanism 8 performs a centering process while suction by the pump 26 is stopped (i.e., while the substrate S is horizontally movable on the upper surface of the spin chuck 21). This centering process eliminates eccentricity of the substrate S, and the center of the substrate S coincides with the rotation axis AX. As shown in Fig. 3, the centering mechanism 8 has a single contact portion 81 and a multi-contact portion 82 arranged on opposite sides of the rotation axis AX of the spin chuck 21, and a centering drive portion 83 that moves the single contact portion 81 and the multi-contact portion 82 in the contact movement direction.

[0067] The centering drive unit 83 moves in a direction approaching the substrate S on the spin chuck 21 while interlocking the single contact unit 81 and the multi-contact unit 82, and adjusts the position of the substrate S so that one contact portion of the single contact unit 81 and two contact portions of the multi-contact unit 82 are both in contact with the edge surface of the substrate S. In this way, eccentricity of the substrate S on the spin chuck 21 is eliminated and centering is achieved.

[0068] Next, the processing mechanism 5 will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the processing mechanism 5 has a nozzle block 50 arranged on the lower surface Sb side of the substrate S, and a processing liquid supply unit 59 that supplies a processing liquid to the nozzle block 50. The nozzle block 50 has three sets of processing liquid discharge nozzles 51A, 51B, 51C (FIG. 5) each of which discharges a processing liquid, and a nozzle movement mechanism 58 that moves these independently. As will be described later, the nozzle movement mechanism 58 moves each of the processing liquid discharge nozzles 51A to 51C independently in the radial direction of the substrate S. This allows the position of each of the processing liquid discharge nozzles 51A to 51C with respect to the substrate S (hereinafter referred to as the "nozzle position") to be adjusted.

[0069] A processing liquid supply unit 59 is connected to the three sets of processing liquid discharge nozzles 51A to 51C. The processing liquid supply unit 59 is configured to be able to supply chemicals such as SC1 liquid, DHF (dilute hydrofluoric acid), and functional water (CO2 water, etc.) as processing liquids, and the SC1 liquid, DHF, and functional water can be discharged independently from the three sets of processing liquid discharge nozzles 51A to 51C.

[0070] As shown in FIG. 2, in this embodiment, in order to eject a processing liquid toward the peripheral portion of the lower surface Sb of the substrate S, a nozzle support portion 57 supporting a nozzle block 50 is provided below the substrate S held by the spin chuck 21. The nozzle support portion 57 has a thin cylindrical portion 571 extending in the vertical direction and a flange portion 572 having a ring shape folded outward in the radial direction at the upper end of the cylindrical portion 571. The cylindrical portion 571 has a shape that allows it to be freely inserted into the air gap formed between the disk member 27a and the lower cup 32. As shown in FIG. 2, the nozzle support portion 57 is fixedly disposed so that the cylindrical portion 571 is loosely inserted into the air gap and the flange portion 572 is located between the substrate S held by the spin chuck 21 and the lower cup 32. The nozzle block 50 is attached to a part of the upper surface peripheral portion of the flange portion 572.

[0071] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the structure and arrangement of the processing mechanism. Also, FIG. 6A, FIG. 6B, FIG. 7A, and FIG. 7B are diagrams showing the configuration of the processing liquid discharge nozzle and the nozzle movement mechanism. Among these, FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B show a fully retracted state when the processing liquid discharge nozzle is fully retracted, the former is a perspective view showing the structure of the processing liquid discharge nozzle and the nozzle movement mechanism in the fully retracted state, and the latter is a view showing the cross-sectional structure of the processing liquid discharge nozzle and the nozzle movement mechanism in the fully retracted state. Meanwhile, FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B show a partially advanced state when only one processing liquid discharge nozzle advances, the former is a perspective view showing the structure of the processing liquid discharge nozzle and the nozzle movement mechanism in the partially advanced state, and the latter is a view showing the cross-sectional structure of the advanced processing liquid discharge nozzle and the nozzle movement mechanism. In the following, the horizontal and outward direction from the rotation axis AX of the spin chuck 21 may be referred to as the radial direction R. This radial direction R corresponds to the radial direction of the substrate S held by the spin chuck 21, particularly the direction outward from the center of the substrate S.

[0072] 5, the nozzle block 50 is attached to a substantially annular flange portion 572 provided on the upper portion of the nozzle support portion 57. The nozzle block 50 is provided with a nozzle movement mechanism 58 for each of the processing liquid discharge nozzles 51A to 51C. In the following, the three nozzle movement mechanisms for moving the processing liquid discharge nozzles 51A to 51C in the radial directions R1 to R3, respectively, are collectively referred to as the "nozzle movement mechanism 58." On the other hand, when referring to the three nozzle movement mechanisms individually, the nozzle movement mechanism for the processing liquid discharge nozzle 51A is referred to as the "nozzle movement mechanism 58A," the nozzle movement mechanism for the processing liquid discharge nozzle 51B is referred to as the "nozzle movement mechanism 58B," and the nozzle movement mechanism for the processing liquid discharge nozzle 51C is referred to as the "nozzle movement mechanism 58C."

[0073] These three nozzle movement mechanisms 58A to 58C basically have the same configuration, except that the nozzle movement directions are the radial directions R1 to R3, respectively. Also, each of the processing liquid discharge nozzles 51A to 51C has the same shape. Therefore, in this specification, one processing liquid discharge nozzle 51C and its nozzle movement mechanism 58C will be described in this order. The same or corresponding symbols will be used to denote the same configurations of the other discharge nozzles 51A, 51B and nozzle movement mechanisms 58A, 58B, and description thereof will be omitted.

[0074] The configuration of the processing liquid discharge nozzle 51C will be described with reference to FIGS. 6A, 6B, 7A, and 7B. In the following, when there is no need to distinguish between the processing liquid discharge nozzles 51A to 51C, they may be simply referred to as "processing liquid discharge nozzles 51." A nozzle body 510, which is a main part of the processing liquid discharge nozzle 51C, is configured to be detachable from a nozzle head part 582 of a nozzle moving mechanism 58C. A discharge port 511 for discharging the processing liquid is provided at the tip of the nozzle body 510. The discharge port 511 discharges the processing liquid supplied from the processing liquid supply part 59 obliquely upward at an elevation angle of 45 degrees and outward when viewed from the rotation axis AX. The processing liquid is discharged toward the lower surface peripheral part Ss of the substrate S. In addition, the processing liquid discharge nozzles 51 (51A to 51C) are made of a material having excellent chemical resistance, for example, a resin material. For example, polyethylene resin, PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) resin, PEEK (polyetheretherketone) resin, etc. can be appropriately selected and used depending on the purpose.

[0075] When a metal thin film or a metal compound thin film is formed on the lower surface Sb of the substrate S and the discharged processing liquid is soluble in the coating, the thin film in the region of the lower surface Sb of the substrate where the processing liquid lands is etched away. When the substrate S is rotating, the processing liquid spreads outward from the landing position due to the action of centrifugal force, and as a result, the thin film outside the landing position is removed.

[0076] Furthermore, a reflecting member 513 having a (+R3) end surface that is a flat reflecting surface is attached to the (+R3) end of the nozzle head part 582. The reflecting member 513 is used when measuring the nozzle position with, for example, a laser displacement meter, and enables accurate and stable position measurement by reflecting the laser light emitted from the laser displacement meter.

[0077] Next, the configuration and operation of the nozzle movement mechanism 58C will be described. The nozzle movement mechanism 58C has a fixed support part 581, a nozzle head part 582, a nozzle drive part 583, a pair of glide rings 584, 585, and a guide shaft 586. As with the treatment liquid discharge nozzle 51, materials constituting the fixed support part 581, the nozzle head part 582, and the nozzle drive part 583 (excluding a motor 583a and wiring 583b described later) can be appropriately selected and used according to the purpose, such as polyethylene resin. The guide shaft 586 can be made of a stainless steel rod coated with PTFE.

[0078] The fixed support part 581 is fixed on the flange part 572 of the nozzle support part 57. Through holes 581a, 581b are respectively provided at the upper end and the lower end of the fixed support part 581, extending in the radial direction R3. A motor 583a, which is a drive source of the nozzle drive part 583, is inserted into the through hole 581a with its rotation axis facing the nozzle head part 582. The motor 583a is connected to the motor drive part 583c via a wiring 583b covered with a fluorine shrink tube. The opening of the through hole 581a on the (-R3) direction side is sealed with a caulking agent or the like, except for the wiring 583b.

[0079] In through hole 581a, the (-R3) side end of shaft member 583d of nozzle driving unit 583 is attached to the rotation shaft. A glide ring 587 is attached adjacent to the (+R) direction opening of through hole 581a, and supports shaft member 583d rotatably around the rotation axis of the rotation shaft. The configuration of glide ring 587 will be described later.

[0080] A male screw is threaded on the outer circumferential surface of the shaft member 583d on the (+R3) side of the glide ring 587, and functions as a male screw portion. The male screw portion is screwed into a female screw portion provided on the nozzle head portion 582. Therefore, when the control unit 10 gives a nozzle movement command to the motor drive portion 583c, the motor drive portion 583c rotates the rotation shaft of the motor 583a accordingly. Depending on the rotation direction and rotation amount at this time, the nozzle head portion 582, the processing liquid discharge nozzle 51C attached to the (+R3) side end of the nozzle head portion 582, and the reflecting member 513 move back and forth integrally in the radial direction R3. For example, when the rotation shaft rotates in the forward direction, the nozzle head portion 582 and the like move from the position shown in FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B to the position shown in FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B. Conversely, when the rotation shaft rotates in the reverse direction, the nozzle head portion 582 and the like move in the reverse direction.

[0081] In this way, the motor 583a is used as an example of the "actuator" of the present invention to move the processing liquid discharge nozzle 51C in the radial direction R3, but this alone lacks stability in positioning the processing liquid discharge nozzle 51C. Therefore, in this embodiment, a pair of glide rings 584, 585 and a guide shaft 586 are added as main components of a guide mechanism to guide the movement of the processing liquid discharge nozzle 51C along the radial direction R3. More specifically, it is configured as follows.

[0082] FIG. 8 is an exploded view showing a method of mounting a pair of glide rings to the fixed support. The through hole 581b provided at the lower end of the fixed support 581 has an inner diameter that increases from the (-R3) direction side to the (+R3) direction side, as shown in FIG. 8. As a result, two stepped portions are formed inside the through hole 581b. In the narrowest region of the through hole 581b, that is, the through region closest to the (-R3) direction (hereinafter referred to as the "opposite-head-side through region"), the inner diameter is slightly wider than the outer diameter of the guide shaft 586. The inner diameter of the adjacent through region on the (+R3) direction side (hereinafter referred to as the "intermediate through region") is wider than the inner diameter of the anti-head-side through region, and is the same as or slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the glide rings 584 and 585. Furthermore, the inner diameter of the adjacent through region on the (+R3) direction side (hereinafter referred to as the "head-side through region") is wider than the inner diameter of the intermediate through region, and is finished to be the same as the outer diameter of the spacers 588 and 589. Therefore, spacers 588 and 589 can be fitted into the head-side through-area.

[0083] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the structure of the glide ring. The glide ring 584 is a seal ring that is formed by integrating a first ring member made of a resin material that is resistant to chemicals and water against the processing liquid with a second ring member made of an elastic material that is resistant to chemicals and water, and is finished into a ring shape as a whole. More specifically, the glide ring 584 has a ring-shaped resin member (first ring member) 584a having an inner diameter equal to the outer diameter of the guide shaft 586, and a ring-shaped elastic member (second ring member) 584b having an outer diameter equal to or slightly larger than the inner diameter of the intermediate through region. The ring-shaped elastic member 584b is fitted to the exterior of the ring-shaped resin member 584a. For this reason, in glide ring 584, inner peripheral surface 584a1 of ring-shaped resin member 584a functions as a ring-shaped sliding contact portion that is in sliding contact with the outer peripheral surface of guide shaft 586 over the entire circumference, while outer peripheral surface 584b1 of ring-shaped elastic member 584b functions as a ring-shaped contact portion that is in close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the intermediate through-hole region over the entire circumference. Glide ring 585 has exactly the same structure as glide ring 584, and is disposed at a fixed distance from glide ring 584 in the (+R3) direction by spacer 588, as will be described next.

[0084] As shown in FIG. 8, the spacers 588 and 589 have a cylindrical shape that can be fitted into the head-side through-hole. The through-hole provided in the spacer 588 has through-holes with different inner diameters. One of them is a (-R3) side through-hole provided to a position a distance away from the (-R3) direction side corresponding to the separation distance between the glide rings 584 and 585. The remaining one is a (+R3) side through-hole provided extending from the (-R3) side through-hole in the (+R3) direction by a distance corresponding to the thickness of the glide ring 585. The other spacer 589 has a ring shape with an inner diameter slightly wider than the outer diameter of the guide shaft 586.

[0085] 8, glide ring 584, spacer 588, glide ring 584, and spacer 589 are fitted in this order from the (+R3) direction side to the (-R3) direction side toward through hole 581b. Glide ring 584 is fitted into the intermediate through region of through hole 581b and is engaged with a step portion formed between the intermediate through region and the anti-head side through region. Furthermore, glide ring 584 is sandwiched between the step portion and spacer 588 in the radial direction R3 and positioned within through hole 581b.

[0086] Furthermore, a glide ring 585 is fitted into the (+R3) side through region of the spacer 588 fitted into the head side through region. After that, a spacer 589 is fitted into the head side through region. As a result, the glide ring 585 is positioned in the through hole 581b between the spacer 589 and a step portion formed between the (+R3) side through region and the (-R3) side through region in the radial direction R3. Thus, the pair of glide rings 584, 585 are separated from each other by the length of the (-R3) side through region in the radial direction R3.

[0087] As described above, the glide rings 584, 585 are attached to the fixed support portion 581 by fitting the glide ring 584, the spacer 588, the glide ring 584, and the spacer 589. The (-R3) end of the guide shaft 586 is inserted into the pair of glide rings 584, 585 so as to be freely in sliding contact with them. More specifically, the outer circumferential surface of the guide shaft 586 is supported while being in sliding contact with the ring-shaped sliding contact portions of the glide rings 584, 585 over the entire circumference. The (+R3) end of the guide shaft 586 is press-fitted into a hole provided in advance in the nozzle head portion 582 and fixed to the nozzle head portion 582. Therefore, the guide shaft 586 moves in the radial direction R3 together with the processing liquid discharge nozzle 51C and the nozzle head portion 582, with the (-R3) end of the guide shaft 586 extending to the through hole 581b along the radial direction R3. Moreover, the (-R3) side end of the guide shaft 586 is always supported slidably in the radial direction R3 by a pair of glide rings 584, 585. Therefore, the processing liquid discharge nozzle 51C moves stably in the radial direction R3, and thus the processing liquid discharge nozzle 51C is positioned with high accuracy.

[0088] Further, the outer circumferential surface (ring-shaped contact portion) of glide ring 584 is in direct contact with fixed support portion 581, and the outer circumferential surface (ring-shaped contact portion) of glide ring 585 is in contact with fixed support portion 581 via spacer 588. That is, each of glide rings 584, 585 is interposed between the outer circumferential surface of guide shaft 586 and the inner circumferential surface of through hole 581b to seal the ring-shaped space between guide shaft 586 and through hole 581b. As a result, it is possible to effectively prevent the processing liquid from entering the ring-shaped space.

[0089] Such a sealing effect can also be obtained in the through hole 581a by installing a glide ring 587 in the through hole 581a. In this embodiment, as shown in Figs. 6B and 7B, an annular groove is provided in the vicinity of the (+R3) side opening of the through hole 581a, and the glide ring 587 is fitted in the groove. The glide ring 587 is configured similarly to the glide rings 584 and 585. That is, the glide ring 587 has a ring-shaped resin member (first ring member) having an inner diameter equal to the outer diameter of the (-R3) side end of the shaft member 583d, and a ring-shaped elastic member (second ring member) having an outer diameter equal to or slightly wider than the inner diameter of the through hole 581a (Fig. 8). The ring-shaped elastic member is exteriorly covered with a ring-shaped resin member. Therefore, by fitting the glide ring 587 into the groove, the inner peripheral surface of the ring-shaped resin member functions as a ring-shaped sliding contact portion that slides over the entire circumference with the outer peripheral surface of the (-R3) side end of the shaft member 583d, while the outer peripheral surface of the ring-shaped elastic member functions as a ring-shaped contact portion that closely contacts the inner peripheral surface of the groove over the entire circumference. In other words, the glide ring 587 is interposed between the outer peripheral surface of the shaft member 583d and the inner peripheral surface of the through hole 581a to seal the ring-shaped space between the shaft member 583d and the through hole 581a. As a result, it is possible to effectively prevent the treatment liquid from entering the ring-shaped space, and it is possible to position the nozzle with high accuracy without being affected by the treatment liquid.

[0090] Although the nozzle movement mechanism 58C that moves the treatment liquid discharge nozzle 51C in the radial direction R3 has been described above, the other nozzle movement mechanisms 58A and 58B are configured in the same manner. Therefore, it is possible to position the nozzle with high accuracy without being affected by the treatment liquid.

[0091] In this embodiment, a configuration for adjusting the position of the discharge port 511 in the radial direction R, i.e., the nozzle position, is disposed inside the discharge port 511 to prevent the processing liquid from spilling outward. In this embodiment, the discharge port 511 is provided so as to discharge the processing liquid obliquely upward at an elevation angle of 45 degrees and outward when viewed from the rotation axis AX. Therefore, the planar size can be suppressed while realizing a mode for automatically adjusting the nozzle position, and the substrate processing apparatus 1 can be made compact. As a result, the amount of gas used in the substrate processing apparatus 1 can be reduced, enabling a reduction in the environmental load.

[0092] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the rotating cup part 31 rotates around the rotation axis AX while surrounding the outer periphery of the rotating substrate S, and collects droplets of the processing liquid scattered from the substrate S. Therefore, it is difficult to arrange all or a part of the configuration for adjusting the position of the discharge port 511 outside the discharge port 511 in the radial direction R. In contrast, in the substrate processing apparatus 1 having the above structure, it is possible to coexist the rotating cup part 31 and independent position adjustment of each of the processing liquid discharge nozzles 51A to 51C.

[0093] Returning to Fig. 5, the explanation will be continued. The pipes 56 for supplying the processing liquid to the processing liquid discharge nozzles 51A to 51C are arranged as follows. That is, the pipes 561, 562, and 563 for conveying the processing liquid from the processing liquid supply unit 59 to each of the nozzles 51A, 51B, and 51C are formed of flexible tubes, and each of the pipes 561, 562, and 563 is divided into an upstream pipe and a downstream pipe by a relay block 591 attached to a flange portion 572 of the nozzle support unit 57.

[0094] Specifically, the pipe 561 for supplying the SC1 liquid to the processing liquid discharge nozzle 51A is divided into an upstream pipe 561a located upstream of the relay block 591 and a downstream pipe 561b located downstream. The upstream pipe 561a and the relay block 591 are connected by a joint 561c. The downstream pipe 561b and the relay block 591 are connected by a joint 561d. The upstream pipe 561a extends from below the chamber 11 through the air gap between the disk member 27a and the lower cup 32 to the top of the flange portion 572, and the SC1 liquid delivered from the processing liquid supply unit 59 is delivered inside the upstream pipe 561a. The SC1 liquid is further delivered through the downstream pipe 561b and finally discharged from the processing liquid discharge nozzle 51A.

[0095] Similarly, the pipe 562 that supplies DHF to the processing liquid discharge nozzle 51B is divided into an upstream pipe 562a located upstream of the relay block 591 and a downstream pipe 562b located downstream of the relay block 591. The upstream pipe 562a and the relay block 591 are connected by a joint 562c. The downstream pipe 562b and the relay block 591 are connected by a joint 562d. The upstream pipe 562a extends from below the chamber 11 through the air gap between the disc member 27a and the lower cup 32 to the top of the flange part 572, and DHF delivered from the processing liquid supply unit 59 is delivered therethrough, and the DHF delivered via the downstream pipe 562b is finally delivered from the processing liquid discharge nozzle 51B.

[0096] The pipe 563 for supplying functional water (CO2 water) to the treatment liquid discharge nozzle 51C is divided into an upstream pipe 563a upstream of the relay block 591 and a downstream pipe 563b downstream of the relay block 591. The upstream pipe 563a and the relay block 591 are connected by a joint 563c. The downstream pipe 563b and the relay block 591 are connected by a joint 563d. The upstream pipe 563a extends from below the chamber 11 through the air gap between the disc member 27a and the lower cup 32 to the top of the flange portion 572, and the functional water delivered from the treatment liquid supply unit 59 is delivered inside the upstream pipe 563a, and the functional water delivered via the downstream pipe 563b is finally delivered from the treatment liquid discharge nozzle 51C.

[0097] By dividing the piping into the upstream side and the downstream side by the relay block 591, it is possible to set the layout of each piping independently. Therefore, the piping can be accommodated in the narrow space around the spin chuck 21. In addition, the piping can be passed through without affecting the transmission of the rotational force via the magnetic coupling.

[0098] Next, a description will be given of the substrate observation mechanism 9. The substrate observation mechanism 9 is a mechanism for optically observing the peripheral portion Ss of the substrate S being processed, for the purpose of checking whether the processing is being performed appropriately.

[0099] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the configuration of the substrate observation mechanism. More specifically, FIG. 10(a) is a diagram showing a schematic operation of the substrate observation mechanism 9, and FIG. 10(b) is a perspective view showing an observation head 93 of the substrate observation mechanism 9. The substrate observation mechanism 9 has 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 arranged side by side on the base member 17. The light source unit 91 irradiates illumination light toward an observation position in response to an illumination command from the control unit 10. This observation position is a position corresponding to the peripheral portion Ss of the substrate S, and corresponds to the position where the observation head 93 is indicated by a solid line in FIG. 10(a).

[0100] The observation head 93 can move back and forth between the observation position and a retreat position (dotted line) that is spaced from the observation position to the outside in the radial direction of the substrate S. An observation head drive unit 94 is connected to the observation head 93. The observation head drive unit 94 is attached to the base member 17. Then, in response to a head movement command from the control unit 10, the observation head drive unit 94 moves the observation head 93 back and forth. More specifically, while the observation process of the substrate S is not being performed, the observation head drive unit 94 moves and positions the observation head 93 at the retreat position. Therefore, the observation head 93 is separated from the transport path of the substrate S, and it is possible to effectively prevent the observation head 93 from interfering with the substrate S being carried in and out of the chamber 11. On the other hand, when the observation process of the substrate S is performed, the observation head drive unit 94 moves the observation head 93 to the observation position in response to a substrate observation command from the control unit 10.

[0101] As shown in FIG. 10(b), the observation head 93 has a diffusion illumination section 931 having a diffusion surface 931a, a guide section 932 constituted by three mirror members 932a to 932c, and a holder 933.

[0102] The diffuse illumination unit 931 is made of, for example, PTFE. The diffuse illumination unit 931 has a plate shape extending in the horizontal direction, and a notch 9311 is formed at the end on the substrate S side. The vertical size of the notch 9311 is larger than the thickness of the substrate S, and when the observation head 93 is positioned at the observation position, the notch 9311 enters the peripheral edge Ss of the substrate S and a region further inward in the radial direction from the peripheral edge Ss. This notch 9311 has an inverted C shape when viewed from the circumferential direction of the substrate S. In addition, the diffuse illumination unit 931 has an inclined surface along the notch 9311. The inclined surface is a tapered surface that is finished so as to be inclined in the direction in which the illumination light travels as it approaches the notch 9311.

[0103] The holding portion 933 is made of, for example, PEEK, and has a notch at its end on the substrate S side similar to that of the diffuse illumination portion 931. The holding portion 933 is finished in a shape that allows it to be mutually fitted with the diffuse illumination portion 931.

[0104] When the observation head 93 configured in this manner is positioned at the observation position, the diffusion surface 931a is located in the illumination area by the light source unit 91. When the light source unit 91 is turned on in response to an illumination command from the control unit 10 in this positioning state, illumination light is irradiated onto the illumination area. At this time, the diffusion surface 931a diffuses and reflects the illumination light, illuminating the peripheral portion Ss of the substrate S and its adjacent area from various directions. As shown by the dotted arrow in FIG. 10(b), a part of the light reflected by the upper surface in the vicinity of the peripheral portion Ss of the substrate S is reflected by the mirror member 932a. Also, a part of the light reflected by the edge surface of the substrate S is reflected by the mirror member 932b. Furthermore, a part of the light reflected by the lower surface of the substrate S is reflected by the mirror member 932c. These reflected lights are 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 camera. Therefore, of the reflected light guided from the observation head 93, only light rays parallel to the optical axis of the observation lens system are incident on the sensor surface of the CMOS camera, and images of the peripheral portion Ss of the substrate S and adjacent areas are formed on the sensor surface. In this way, the imaging unit 92 images the peripheral portion Ss and adjacent areas of the substrate S, and obtains images of the top surface, side surface, and bottom surface of the substrate S. The imaging unit 92 then transmits image data representing the images to the control unit 10.

[0106] The observation head 93 is disposed in a position close to the peripheral edge of the substrate S as necessary, but the light source unit 91 and the imaging unit 92 are disposed in a position sufficiently farther away from the substrate S than the observation head 93. Therefore, even if liquid adheres to the substrate S, the possibility that the liquid will adhere to the light source unit 91 and the imaging unit 92 and interfere with imaging is extremely low.

[0107] The control unit 10 includes an arithmetic 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 or the like, and stores a program for executing a bevel process by the substrate processing apparatus 1. The program is stored, for example, 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 program is not limited to being provided from the recording medium RM, and may be configured to be provided, for example, via an electric 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 each drive unit of the substrate processing apparatus 1. The communication unit 10F communicates with a control unit that integrally controls each unit of the substrate processing system 100. The exhaust control unit 10G controls the exhaust unit 38.

[0108] Also connected to the control unit 10 are a display unit 10H (eg, a display) that displays various information, and an input unit 10J (eg, a keyboard and a mouse) that accepts input from an operator.

[0109] The arithmetic processing unit 10A is configured by a computer having a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random Access Memory), etc., and realizes a predetermined operation by controlling each part of the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to a program stored in the storage unit 10B. For example, the above-mentioned bevel processing can be performed.

[0110] Next, the adjustment of the nozzle position in the processing unit 1 configured as above will be described. In the bevel processing for removing the thin film on the peripheral portion Ss of the substrate S, it is necessary to adjust the nozzle position in advance in order to set the etching width to the target size. This is because, as described above, the etching width is determined by the landing position of the processing liquid from the nozzle, and the landing position is affected by the nozzle position.

[0111] The nozzle position adjustment work can be performed, for example, as follows. First, the nozzle block 50 with the processing liquid discharge nozzles 51A-51C attached to the nozzle movement mechanism 58 is attached to the flange portion 572 by the fixing member 551. The position adjustment is performed in the automatic adjustment mode for each of the processing liquid discharge nozzles 51A-51C. For example, the positions of the processing liquid discharge nozzles 51A-51C can be finely adjusted as follows.

[0112] 11 is a diagram showing a schematic diagram of nozzle position adjustment in the automatic adjustment mode. In the automatic adjustment mode, a laser measurement unit 53 is introduced. The laser measurement unit 53 includes laser displacement meters 53A, 53B, and 53C corresponding to the three sets of processing liquid discharge nozzles 51A, 51B, and 51C, respectively, and a support frame 531 that supports them. The support frame 531 can be attached to, for example, a base member 17 that supports the substrate processing unit SP.

[0113] That is, a female screw for fixing the support frame 531 is formed in advance in the base member 17, and the support frame 531 is fixed to the base member 17 using a fastening member 555 as necessary, so that the laser displacement meters 53A, 53B, and 53C can be positioned in appropriate positions corresponding to each of the three processing liquid discharge nozzles 51A, 51B, and 51C.

[0114] The laser displacement meter 53A irradiates the corresponding processing liquid discharge nozzle 51A with a laser beam for measuring distance. Specifically, as indicated by the dotted arrow in the figure, the laser beam is irradiated toward a reflecting member 513 provided at the tip of the (+R) side of the processing liquid discharge nozzle 51A, and the laser beam reflected by the reflecting member 513 is received by the laser displacement meter 53A. This allows the position of the processing liquid discharge nozzle 51A, more specifically, the distance to the processing liquid discharge nozzle 51A as seen from the laser displacement meter 53A, to be determined.

[0115] The calculation processing unit 10A issues a nozzle movement command to the motor driving unit 583c based on the measurement result by the laser displacement meter 53A and the etching width, thereby adjusting the nozzle position to the desired target position. In this way, the position of the processing liquid discharge nozzle 51A is adjusted, and the etching width can be adjusted. The adjustment accuracy at this time can be, for example, on the order of microns.

[0116] Similarly, the laser displacement meter 53B irradiates the corresponding processing liquid discharge nozzle 51B with a laser beam for distance measurement, receives the reflected light, and measures the position of the processing liquid discharge nozzle 51B. The laser displacement meter 53C irradiates the corresponding processing liquid discharge nozzle 51C with a laser beam for distance measurement, receives the reflected light, and measures the position of the processing liquid discharge nozzle 51C. Using these measurement results and the etching width, the calculation processing unit 10A adjusts the positions of the processing liquid discharge nozzles 51B and 51C.

[0117] Each of the processing liquid discharge nozzles 51A to 51C is provided with a reflecting member 513 having a reflecting surface with a simple shape, for example, a surface facing the laser displacement meter is a flat surface, and distance measurement can be performed reliably by making the laser light incident on and reflected by this reflecting member 513. In addition, by separately providing such a reflecting member 513, a high degree of freedom in designing the shape of the nozzle body 510 itself can be ensured.

[0118] It is also possible to provide only one laser displacement meter for multiple nozzles by switching the nozzle to be measured for each nozzle position adjustment. However, if the laser displacement meter 53A, 53B, and 53C are individually provided for each processing liquid discharge nozzle 51A, 51B, and 51C as described above, the following advantages are obtained. First, even if the position of another nozzle changes while the position of one nozzle is being adjusted, the calculation processing unit 10A can grasp this and make appropriate corrections. In addition, the positions of the laser displacement meters 53A, 53B, and 53C can be set with high accuracy and excellent reproducibility, so that excellent accuracy can be obtained when detecting the position of each nozzle.

[0119] The laser measurement unit 53 is installed temporarily during the adjustment work, and is not a part of the processing unit 1 as a final product. Therefore, even if the number of laser displacement meters installed increases, it does not affect the equipment cost of the processing unit 1. In other words, after the adjustment work is completed, the laser measurement unit 53 is removed. By installing the nozzle block 50 and the laser measurement unit 53 in a position close to the maintenance opening 11d1, the nozzle position adjustment work and the laser measurement unit 53 attachment and detachment work can be performed with excellent workability.

[0120] As described above, the processing unit 1 of this embodiment corresponds to one embodiment of the "substrate processing apparatus" of the present invention. In this embodiment, each of the processing liquid discharge nozzles 51A-51C corresponds to the "nozzle" of the present invention, and the radial directions R1-R3 correspond to the "nozzle movement direction" of the present invention. The through hole 581b corresponds to one example of the "through hole" of the present invention. The glide rings 584 and 585 correspond to one example of the "pair of seal rings" of the present invention. Furthermore, the nozzle head portion 582 corresponds to one example of the "movable support portion" of the present invention.

[0121] The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made to the above without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, a glide ring made of a combination of two types of ring members is used as the "seal ring" of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a single ring member whose inner peripheral surface functions as a ring-shaped sliding contact portion and whose outer peripheral surface functions as a ring-shaped contact portion may be used as the "seal ring" of the present invention. Also, a seal ring made of a combination of three or more types of ring members may be used.

[0122] In addition, in the above embodiment, the processing liquid discharge nozzle 51 (51A, 51B, 51C) is indirectly connected to the nozzle drive part 583 and the guide shaft 586 via the nozzle head part 582 (movable support part), but they may be configured to be directly connected to each other.

[0123] In the above embodiment, the motor 583a is used as an example of the "actuator" of the present invention, but a driving part such as a card motor may also be used as the "actuator" of the present invention.

[0124] In the above embodiment, the processing liquid discharge nozzle 51 (51A, 51B, 51C) is moved in the radial direction R (R1 to R3), but the nozzle movement direction is not limited to this. In other words, the present invention can also be applied to a substrate processing apparatus in which the processing liquid discharge nozzle 51 is moved in a direction inclined in a horizontal plane or in a direction inclined vertically with respect to the radial direction (radial direction R) of the substrate S.

[0125] In the above embodiment, the ring-shaped sliding contact portion of the seal ring is in sliding contact with the outer circumferential surface of the guide shaft over the entire circumference, while the ring-shaped contact portion is in close contact with the inner circumferential surface of the through hole over the entire circumference, but the relationship of sliding contact and close contact may be reversed. In other words, the seal ring may be configured so that the ring-shaped sliding contact portion is in sliding contact with the inner circumferential surface of the through hole over the entire circumference, while the ring-shaped contact portion is in close contact with the outer circumferential surface of the guide shaft over the entire circumference.

[0126] Furthermore, in the processing unit 1 of the above embodiment, three sets of processing liquid discharge nozzles 51A to 51C that discharge different processing liquids are provided in the nozzle block 50. However, the number of nozzles is not limited to this, and the number can be any number. [Industrial Applicability]

[0127] The present invention can be applied to any substrate processing apparatus that processes the peripheral edge of a substrate by supplying a processing liquid to the peripheral edge of the substrate from a nozzle disposed below the substrate. [Explanation of symbols]

[0128] 1...Substrate processing device 2B…Rotation mechanism 5. Processing mechanism 50…Nozzle block 51, 51A to 51C... Processing liquid discharge nozzle 58, 58A to 58C...Nozzle movement mechanism 59... Processing liquid supply section 511...Discharge port 581...Fixed support part 581b...Through hole 582…Nozzle head part 583…Nozzle drive unit 584, 585...Glide ring (pair of seal rings) 584a…Ring-shaped resin member 584b...Ring-shaped elastic member 584a1...Inner surface (ring-shaped sliding portion) 584b1...Outer surface (ring-shaped elastic portion) 586…Guide shaft AX...rotation axis R, R1~R3…Radial direction (radial direction) S...Substrate Sb…(substrate) bottom surface Ss: (substrate) edge

Claims

1. a rotation mechanism that holds a circular substrate in a horizontal position and rotates the substrate around a vertical axis passing through a center of the substrate; a nozzle that discharges a processing liquid from a discharge port toward a peripheral portion of a lower surface of the substrate from below the substrate; a nozzle moving mechanism that adjusts a position of the ejection port in a radial direction of the substrate by moving the nozzle in a predetermined nozzle moving direction below the substrate, The nozzle moving mechanism includes: A fixed support portion fixedly provided on a lower side of the substrate; a nozzle driving unit that drives the nozzle in the nozzle movement direction by an actuator attached to the fixed support unit; One end of the nozzle is connected to the nozzle, and the other end of the nozzle is inserted into a through hole extending in the nozzle movement direction in the fixed support part. The through hole is provided. a guide shaft that moves integrally with the nozzle in the nozzle movement direction; a pair of seal rings that are fitted between an outer circumferential surface of the guide shaft and an inner circumferential surface of the through hole while being spaced apart from each other in the nozzle movement direction in the through hole to seal a ring-shaped space between the guide shaft and the through hole; A substrate processing apparatus comprising:

2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , In the substrate processing apparatus, each of the seal rings has a ring-shaped sliding contact portion that is in sliding contact with the outer circumferential surface of the guide shaft over the entire circumference, and a ring-shaped contact portion that is in close contact with the inner circumferential surface of the through hole over the entire circumference.

3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2, Each of the seal rings is formed of a single ring member having a ring shape, and the inner peripheral surface of the single ring member functions as the ring-shaped sliding contact portion, and the outer peripheral surface of the single ring member functions as the ring-shaped contact portion. Substrate processing equipment.

4. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3, The single ring member has both chemical resistance and water resistance to the processing liquid.

5. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2, Each of the seal rings is a first ring member formed of a resin material, the inner peripheral surface of which functions as the ring-shaped sliding contact portion; a second ring member formed of an elastic material, the outer circumferential surface of which functions as the ring-shaped contact portion; The first ring member and the second ring member are integrated with each other while an outer peripheral surface of the first ring member and an inner peripheral surface of the second ring member are in close contact with each other, so that the first ring member and the second ring member have an overall ring shape. Substrate processing equipment.

6. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 5 , The first ring member and the second ring member are both chemically resistant and water resistant to the processing liquid.

7. 7. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, the nozzle movement mechanism further includes a movable support part that is movable in the nozzle movement direction, the nozzle and one end of the guide shaft are connected via the movable support part, The nozzle driving unit drives the movable support unit in the nozzle movement direction using the actuator, thereby moving the movable support unit, the nozzle, and the guide shaft integrally in the nozzle movement direction.

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