Cleaning method and film forming apparatus

Abstract

To provide a technique that can stably remove a film formed on a substrate support portion or the like during film formation.SOLUTION: A cleaning method includes the steps of: (A) carrying out, from the inside of a processing vessel, a substrate that has been subjected to film formation processing; and (B) cleaning a substrate support portion that has supported the substrate inside the processing vessel and / or a peripheral portion of the substrate support portion after the step (A). In the step (B), the substrate support portion is rotated, the substrate support portion or a nozzle mechanism portion is moved relatively such that the discharge port of the nozzle mechanism portion passes through the center of the substrate support portion, and a cleaning gas is discharged from the discharge port of the nozzle mechanism portion toward the substrate support portion and / or the peripheral portion of the substrate support portion, thereby partially cleaning the substrate support portion and / or a film formation area of the peripheral portion of the substrate support portion.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a cleaning method and a film forming apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, a deposition apparatus has been known in which a plurality of wafers (substrates) held on a susceptor are revolved while a plurality of types of process gases are supplied from above to deposit a desired film on the surface of the substrate. In recent years, with the miniaturization and high performance of semiconductor devices, there has been a demand for a deposition method for depositing a thin film with excellent in-plane uniformity of film thickness.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a film formation apparatus in which a gas supply unit is disposed above each of two substrates arranged horizontally inside a processing vessel, and a film is formed by ejecting gas onto each substrate while rotating each gas supply unit around an axis between the two substrates. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-62703 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The present disclosure provides a technique capable of stably removing a film formed on a substrate support or the like during film formation. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a cleaning method for cleaning the inside of a processing vessel, the cleaning method comprising: (A) a step of removing a substrate that has been subjected to a film formation process from inside the processing vessel; and (B) a step of cleaning a substrate support part that has supported the substrate inside the processing vessel and / or a peripheral part of the substrate support part after the step (A), wherein in the step (B), the substrate support part is rotated and the substrate support part or the nozzle mechanism part is moved relatively so that an outlet of a nozzle mechanism part passes through a center of the substrate support part, and a cleaning gas is discharged from the outlet of the nozzle mechanism part toward the substrate support part and / or the peripheral part of the substrate support part, thereby partially cleaning a film formation region of the substrate support part and / or the peripheral part of the substrate support part. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to one aspect, a film formed on a substrate support or the like during film formation can be stably removed. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic plan view showing a film forming apparatus according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along a diagonal line of a processing vessel in the film forming apparatus of FIG. 1. [Diagram 3] Fig. 3(A) is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the tip side of the first nozzle mechanism, and Fig. 3(B) is a schematic plan view showing the ejection portion of the first head. [Figure 4] Fig. 4(A) is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the tip side of the second nozzle mechanism, and Fig. 4(B) is a schematic plan view showing the ejection portion of the second head. [Diagram 5] Fig. 5(A) is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the tip side of the third nozzle mechanism, and Fig. 5(B) is a schematic plan view showing the ejection portion of the third head. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is a schematic plan view for explaining the swing speed of a first nozzle mechanism. [Figure 7]1A to 1C are schematic cross-sectional views illustrating the state of a film to be cleaned and a general cleaning method. [Figure 8] 10A to 10C are schematic plan views showing an example of operation of a third nozzle mechanism in a cleaning method. [Figure 9] 9A and 9B are schematic cross-sectional views showing a cleaning step and a purging step of the cleaning method, respectively. [Figure 10] 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a film forming method including a cleaning method according to the embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 13 is a plan view showing a film forming apparatus according to a modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and duplicated descriptions may be omitted.

[0010] [Configuration of Film Forming Apparatus 1] 1, a film forming apparatus 1 according to the embodiment is configured as a single-wafer type apparatus that processes substrates W one by one. The film forming apparatus 1 performs film forming processing by atomic layer deposition (ALD) or molecular layer deposition (MLD) as substrate processing. The substrate W to be subjected to film forming processing may be a semiconductor wafer such as a silicon semiconductor, a compound semiconductor, or an oxide semiconductor. The substrate W may have a pattern such as a trench or a via.

[0011] The film forming apparatus 1 includes a processing vessel 10, a substrate support unit 20, a gas supply unit 30, a gas exhaust unit 40, and a nozzle mechanism unit 50. The film forming apparatus 1 also includes a control unit 90 that controls the operation of each component of the film forming apparatus 1.

[0012] The processing vessel 10 is a rectangular box-shaped vessel having an internal space IS capable of accommodating a substrate W. The size of the processing vessel 10 is preferably set according to the size of the substrate W to be processed, and for example, when the diameter of the substrate W is 300 mm, the length of each side of the processing vessel 10 is approximately 400 mm to 500 mm. The shape of the processing vessel 10 is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, cylindrical (circular in a plan view).

[0013] A gate valve 13 capable of opening and closing the internal space IS is provided on the side of the processing vessel 10. The film forming apparatus 1 opens the gate valve 13 before a film forming process, and a transfer device 2 provided in a substrate processing system (not shown) transfers the substrate W from outside the processing vessel 10 into the internal space IS. After the transfer, the film forming apparatus 1 closes the gate valve 13 and performs a film forming process. After the film forming process, the film forming apparatus 1 opens the gate valve 13, causes the transfer device 2 to enter the internal space IS again, and transfers the substrate W out of the processing vessel 10. Note that, although FIG. 1 illustrates a configuration in which multiple (three) gate valves 13 are provided and the substrate W can be transferred in and out through any of the gate valves 13, it is sufficient that the processing vessel 10 is provided with at least one gate valve 13.

[0014] 2, the processing vessel 10 has a lower concave vessel 11 with an open top and an upper concave vessel 12 with an open bottom that is placed on the lower concave vessel 11. The lower concave vessel 11 and the upper concave vessel 12 are fixed to each other so as to close their respective openings, thereby forming an internal space IS of the processing vessel 10. For ease of explanation, FIG. 1 shows the film forming apparatus 1 with the upper concave vessel 12 removed.

[0015] The lower concave container 11 has a bottom wall 111 formed in a substantially square shape in a plan view, and outer edge protrusions 112 that protrude vertically upward from the four outer edges of the bottom wall 111. The lower concave container 11 has a substrate support 20 on the inside. A through hole 111a is formed in the center of the bottom wall 111, through which a shaft 22 of the substrate support 20 described below is inserted. A central region including the center of the bottom wall 111 forms a recess 111b that is recessed downward relative to the adjacent annular region. In addition, a peripheral platform 111c that protrudes upward from the annular region is formed outside the annular region of the bottom wall 111 and between the outer edge protrusions 112.

[0016] A temperature adjustment unit 14 is installed in the recess 111b to adjust the temperature of the substrate W held by the substrate support 20. The temperature adjustment unit 14 is not particularly limited, and may be configured to use a heater such as an electric heating wire, or may be configured to use a flow path for circulating a temperature adjustment medium whose temperature is adjusted by a heat exchanger or the like, or may be a combination of these. The temperature adjustment unit 14 is connected to the control unit 90 via a temperature adjustment driver or the like (not shown), and the temperature is adjusted under the control of the control unit 90.

[0017] On the other hand, the upper concave vessel 12 has a ceiling wall 121 formed in a substantially square shape (same shape as the bottom wall 111) in a plan view, and a side wall 122 protruding vertically downward from the four outer edges of the ceiling wall 121. The processing vessel 10 is fixed in a state in which the lower end of the side wall 122 and the upper end of the outer edge protrusion 112 face each other. A seal member (not shown) is provided between the lower end of the side wall 122 and the upper end of the outer edge protrusion 112, so that the internal space IS is airtightly closed. The gate valve 13 opens and closes, for example, a side opening 122a formed in the side wall 122 (see FIG. 1).

[0018] Further, the substrate support part 20 provided in the processing vessel 10 rotatably holds the substrate W. The substrate support part 20 includes a susceptor 21 that directly holds the substrate W, a shaft part 22 that supports the susceptor 21, and a substrate rotation part 23 that is connected to the shaft part 22 outside the processing vessel 10.

[0019] The susceptor 21 is formed in a perfect circular shape that is slightly larger than the substrate W in a plan view, and has a mounting surface 21a that extends horizontally inside the processing vessel 10. The mounting surface 21a has an edge portion formed around its periphery that is the same thickness as the mounted substrate W or that protrudes longer than the thickness of the substrate W. The substrate support part 20 also includes a plurality of lift pin elevating mechanisms (not shown) that receive and transfer the substrate W between the substrate support part 20 and the transfer device 2. The susceptor 21 may be configured to fix the substrate W by an appropriate holding means (mechanical lock, adsorption, electrostatic chuck, etc.) when the substrate W is mounted on the mounting surface 21a.

[0020] The shaft portion 22 is connected to the lower surface and center of the susceptor 21, and extends along the axial direction (vertical direction) of the processing vessel 10. The shaft portion 22 is rotated about its axis by a substrate rotating unit 23, thereby rotating the susceptor 21. A magnetic fluid seal unit 24 that seals the shaft portion 22 so that it can rotate freely is provided between the outer circumferential surface of the shaft portion 22 and the through-hole 111a of the bottom wall 111 of the processing vessel 10.

[0021] Substrate rotating unit 23 has a motor and a drive transmission unit (both not shown) that connects the motor and shaft unit 22. The motor of substrate rotating unit 23 is connected to control unit 90 via a driver (not shown). Substrate rotating unit 23 rotates shaft unit 22 at an appropriate rotation speed by supplying power to the motor that is adjusted by the driver based on a command from control unit 90.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the gas supply unit 30 has a plurality of supply paths 31 for circulating gases such as a film-forming gas (adsorption gas, reactive gas), a purge gas, and a cleaning gas outside the processing vessel 10, and supplies gases into the processing vessel 10 through each supply path 31. The film-forming gas supplied to the processing vessel 10 is selected appropriately depending on the type of film to be formed on the substrate W. For example, when forming a silicon oxide film (SiO2 film), a silicon-containing gas such as a silane-based gas can be used as the adsorption gas. An oxygen-containing gas such as oxygen (O2) gas or ozone (O3) gas can be used as the reactive gas. An inert gas such as nitrogen (N2) gas or argon (Ar) gas can be used as the purge gas. As the cleaning gas, for example, a mixed gas of fluorine (F2) gas, nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) gas, chlorine (Cl2) gas, tetrafluoromethane (CF4) gas, trifluoromethane (CHF3), O2 gas, O3 gas, Ar gas, N2 gas, etc. can be used.

[0023] The plurality of supply paths 31 include an adsorption gas supply path 31A for circulating an adsorption gas, a reaction gas supply path 31B for circulating a reaction gas, a purge gas supply path 31C for circulating a purge gas, and a cleaning gas supply path 31D for circulating a cleaning gas. Each supply path 31 includes a plurality of tanks 32 for storing gas, a plurality of opening / closing valves 33 for opening and closing each supply path 31, and a plurality of flow regulators 34 for adjusting the flow rate of gas flowing through the flow path of each supply path 31.

[0024] The tanks 32 include an adsorption gas tank 32A for storing an adsorption gas, a reaction gas tank 32B for storing a reaction gas, a purge gas tank 32C for storing a purge gas, and a cleaning gas tank 32D for storing an etching gas. Each opening / closing valve 33 and each flow rate regulator 34 are connected to a control unit 90 via an appropriate driver. The control unit 90 opens the opening / closing valve 33 of each supply path 31 of a predetermined gas at an appropriate timing and adjusts the flow rate of the gas by the flow rate regulator 34, thereby supplying the predetermined gas to the processing vessel 10.

[0025] Meanwhile, the gas exhaust unit 40 has a plurality of exhaust paths 41 for circulating gas (reacted gas, unreacted gas, purge gas, etc.) outside the processing vessel 10, and exhausts the gas supplied into the processing vessel 10 via each exhaust path 41. The plurality of exhaust paths 41 are divided into three systems according to the three mechanisms (first nozzle mechanism 60, second nozzle mechanism 70, third nozzle mechanism 80) of the nozzle mechanism unit 50 described below.

[0026] The first exhaust path 42 is connected to the first nozzle mechanism 60 and a position in its vicinity, and mainly exhausts gas discharged from the first nozzle mechanism 60. The first exhaust path 42 has branch exhaust paths 421 branched into multiple (two) paths, and a junction exhaust path 422 where the branch exhaust paths 421 join together to collectively exhaust gas. One of the branch exhaust paths 421A is directly connected to the first nozzle mechanism 60, and exhausts gas from the first nozzle mechanism 60. The branch exhaust path 421A is provided with a pressure adjustment valve 423A for adjusting the pressure of gas sucked in by the first nozzle mechanism 60.

[0027] The other branch exhaust path 421B is connected to an annular region of the bottom wall 111 of the processing vessel 10, and exhausts gas from the internal space IS around the susceptor 21. An exhaust groove 15 is provided in the bottom wall 111, which runs around the side of the temperature adjustment unit 14 in an annular shape (see also FIG. 1). The branch exhaust path 421B is connected to the bottom of the exhaust groove 15. An exhaust net 16 is preferably provided at the upper opening of the exhaust groove 15 to make the conductance uniform in the circumferential direction when exhausting the gas.

[0028] A suction mechanism 424 (e.g., a turbo molecular pump, a vacuum pump) is connected to one end of the confluence exhaust path 422 in order to suck gas from the entire first exhaust path 42. Furthermore, the confluence exhaust path 422 is provided with a pressure adjustment valve 423B for adjusting the pressure of gas sucked in the entire first system.

[0029] The second exhaust path 43 is connected to the second nozzle mechanism 70 and a position in the vicinity thereof, and mainly exhausts gas from the second nozzle mechanism 70. Similarly to the first exhaust path 42, the second exhaust path 43 also has a branch exhaust path 431 branched into a plurality (two) and a junction exhaust path 432 where the branch exhaust paths 431 join together to exhaust gas collectively. One of the branch exhaust paths 431A is connected to the second nozzle mechanism 70 and exhausts gas from the second nozzle mechanism 70. A pressure adjustment valve 433A is provided midway along the branch exhaust path 431A to adjust the pressure of gas sucked in by the second nozzle mechanism 70. The other branch exhaust path 431B is connected to an annular region (the bottom of the exhaust groove 15) of the bottom wall 111 of the processing vessel 10, and exhausts gas from the internal space IS around the susceptor 21.

[0030] A suction mechanism 434 (e.g., a turbo molecular pump, a vacuum pump) is connected to one end of the confluence exhaust path 432 in order to suck gas from the entire second exhaust path 43. Furthermore, a pressure adjustment valve 433B is provided midway along the confluence exhaust path 432 in order to adjust the pressure of gas being sucked in the entire second system.

[0031] The third exhaust path 44 is connected to the third nozzle mechanism 80 and its vicinity, and mainly exhausts gas from the third nozzle mechanism 80. Although not shown, the third exhaust path 44 may have a plurality of (two) branch paths, one of which is connected to the third nozzle mechanism 80 and the other of which is connected to the bottom wall 111 of the processing vessel 10, and a junction path, similar to the first exhaust path 42 and the second exhaust path 43. A pressure adjustment valve (not shown) for adjusting the gas pressure is provided at an appropriate position of the branch path. In addition, a suction mechanism 444 is connected to one end of the junction path of the third exhaust path 44 in order to suck gas from the entire third exhaust path 44.

[0032] The nozzle mechanism 50 has a function of discharging a film forming gas and a purge gas onto the surface (upper surface) of the substrate W held by the susceptor 21 in the processing vessel 10, and sucking in gas above the substrate W. The nozzle mechanism 50 also has a function of discharging a cleaning gas onto the substrate support 20 and / or the periphery of the substrate support 20, and sucking in gas above the substrate W. For this reason, the nozzle mechanism 50 includes a first nozzle mechanism 60, a second nozzle mechanism 70, and a third nozzle mechanism 80 according to the adsorption gas, reaction gas, and cleaning gas to be supplied to the substrate W. The film forming apparatus 1 swings each of the first nozzle mechanism 60, the second nozzle mechanism 70, and the third nozzle mechanism 80 relative to the substrate support 20 in the processing vessel 10. This allows the first processing point area PR1 (see Figure 3(A)) where gas is ejected and sucked in by the first nozzle mechanism 60, the second processing point area PR2 (see Figure 4(A)) where gas is ejected and sucked in by the second nozzle mechanism 70, and the third processing point area PR3 (see Figure 5(A)) where gas is ejected and sucked in by the third nozzle mechanism 80 to move independently of each other.

[0033] The first nozzle mechanism 60 is installed at one of the four corners (the lower left corner in FIG. 1 ) of the processing vessel 10 (lower concave vessel 11). The first nozzle mechanism 60 discharges the adsorption gas and the purge gas while sucking in the discharged gases. Specifically, the first nozzle mechanism 60 includes a first nozzle 61, a first nozzle operating part 62 provided at the base end of the first nozzle 61, and a first head 63 provided at the protruding end (tip) of the first nozzle 61.

[0034] The first nozzle 61 is installed on the peripheral platform 111c of the bottom wall 111, and extends parallel (horizontally) to the mounting surface 21a of the susceptor 21 at a position higher than the substrate W mounted on the susceptor 21. The first nozzle 61 is formed to a length that allows it to extend from a first nozzle operating portion 62 in the processing vessel 10 to the center of the processing vessel 10. The center of the processing vessel 10 coincides with the center of the susceptor 21 (substrate W), and the first nozzle 61 extends to the center of the susceptor 21. In other words, the extension length of the first nozzle 61 is set to be slightly shorter than half the diagonal of the processing vessel 10, but longer than the radius of the susceptor 21.

[0035] The first nozzle 61 is formed, for example, as a square tube having a rectangular shape in a cross-sectional view, and has a flow path 611 therein through which a gas can flow. Furthermore, a plurality of pipes 612, 614 are provided at appropriate positions (for example, the upper surface) of the outer circumferential surface of the first nozzle 61 in the processing vessel 10. The plurality of pipes 612, 614 extend from the base end of the first nozzle 61 to the first head 63 of the first nozzle 61 in parallel with the extension direction of the first nozzle 61.

[0036] The pipe 612 has a flow path 612a extending along the axial direction therein, and a base end thereof is connected to a connection pipe 613 provided in the processing vessel 10. The connection pipe 613 has appropriate flexibility so that the pipe 612 can move following the rotation of the first nozzle 61. The connection pipe 613 is connected to an adsorption gas supply path 31A outside the processing vessel 10 via a connector provided in the processing vessel 10. This allows the pipe 612 to distribute the adsorption gas from the base end to the first head 63 along the flow path 612a.

[0037] The pipe 614 has a flow path 614a extending along the axial direction therein, and a base end thereof is connected to a connection pipe 615 provided in the processing vessel 10. The connection pipe 615 also has appropriate flexibility so that the pipe 614 can move following the rotation of the first nozzle 61. The connection pipe 615 is connected to a purge gas supply path 31C outside the processing vessel 10 via a connector provided in the processing vessel 10. This allows the pipe 614 to distribute the purge gas from the base end to the first head 63 along the flow path 614a.

[0038] The flow path 611 of the first nozzle 61 has a flow path cross-sectional area larger than the flow path 612a of the pipe 612 and the flow path 614a of the pipe 614. This flow path 611 circulates gas sucked in at the outer periphery of the first head 63, and discharges the gas to the branch discharge path 421A via the support shaft 621. The base end of the first nozzle 61 is connected to the support shaft 621 of the first nozzle operating unit 62. As the support shaft 621 operates, the first nozzle 61 swings (moves back and forth) the first nozzle 61 and the first head 63 in an arc shape with the support shaft 621 as a base point.

[0039] The first nozzle operation unit 62 rotates the support shaft 621 while ensuring the flow of gas in the flow path 611 of the first nozzle 61. For this reason, the first nozzle operation unit 62 is provided with a cover 622, a magnetic fluid seal unit 623, and a drive main body 624 in addition to the support shaft 621.

[0040] The support shaft 621 is formed as a hard circular tube extending in the vertical direction and having a flow path 621a therein. The first nozzle 61 extending in the horizontal direction is firmly fixed to the upper end of the support shaft 621 using an appropriate fixing member. The lower end of the support shaft 621 is connected to the branch exhaust path 421A outside the processing vessel 10 via a connector (not shown) provided in the processing vessel 10. Thus, the first nozzle 61 can apply a suction force (negative pressure) to the first head 63 provided at the tip of the first nozzle 61 to suck gas in the order of the branch exhaust path 421A, the flow path 621a, and the flow path 611.

[0041] The magnetic fluid seal unit 623 hermetically seals the gap between the bottom wall 111 and the support shaft 621, thereby restricting leakage of gas from inside the processing vessel 10 through the first nozzle operation unit 62. The drive body 624 includes a rotary motor and a drive transmission mechanism (not shown), and rotates the support shaft 621 over a set angle range based on the rotary drive of the rotary motor. With the rotation of the support shaft 621, the first nozzle 61 swings around the base end connected to the support shaft 621 as a base point. The drive body 624 is connected to the control unit 90 via a drive driver (not shown), and the rotation speed, rotation direction, etc. of the rotary motor are controlled under the control of the control unit 90.

[0042] 1 over a range of approximately 90°. Due to the operation of the first nozzle operation unit 62, the first nozzle 61 swings between a first nozzle movement end N11 set near one side of the processing vessel 10 and a first nozzle movement other end N12 set near the other side perpendicular to the one side of the processing vessel 10. The first nozzle movement end N11 and the first nozzle movement other end N12 are positions that are appropriately spaced apart from the susceptor 21 in the horizontal direction (positions that do not overlap with the susceptor 21 in the vertical direction).

[0043] 3(A) and 3(B), the first head 63 provided at the tip of the first nozzle 61 is formed in a rectangular shape that is long in a direction perpendicular to the extension direction of the first nozzle 61 in a plan view. During a film formation process, the first head 63 discharges an adsorption gas onto the substrate W, discharges a purge gas onto the substrate W around the adsorption gas, and forms a first processing point region PR1 that sucks in gas outside the discharged portions of the adsorption gas and the purge gas. The first head 63 reciprocates along a first arc path in response to the swing of a first nozzle movement end N11 and a first nozzle movement other end N12 of the first nozzle 61, and faces the substrate W during this movement (see also FIG. 1).

[0044] In detail, the first head 63 has a rectangular head body 631 that is long in the tangential direction of the first arc path, and a protruding portion 632 that protrudes from the surface of the head body 631. The first nozzle 61 is directly connected to the head body 631, and the above-mentioned pipes 612 and 614 are connected to the protruding portion 632. The first head 63 has a process gas discharge portion 633 that discharges the adsorption gas at the center of the head body 631 and the center of the protruding portion 632.

[0045] The process gas discharge part 633 is surrounded by an inner wall extending across the head body 631 and the protruding part 632, and a bottom wall (discharge plate 637) of the head body 631 facing the substrate W. The process gas discharge part 633 has a discharge path 633a therein, and has a plurality of discharge ports 633b in the bottom wall that communicate with the discharge path 633a. The pipe 612 is connected to the protruding part 632 so that the discharge path 633a communicates with the flow path 612a. The process gas discharge part 633 may include a heater 636 in the discharge path 633a for heating the adsorption gas supplied from the flow path 612a.

[0046] The outlets 633b of the processing gas discharge part 633 are arranged in a matrix and are generally rectangular in shape with a long edge in the tangential direction of the first arcuate path. As a result, the processing gas discharge part 633 forms a rectangular adsorption gas discharge area PR11 at the center of the first processing point area PR1. In other words, the processing gas discharge part 633 can spray the adsorption gas onto an area that is sufficiently narrow relative to the entire area of ​​the substrate W during the film formation process.

[0047] Furthermore, the first head 63 has a purge gas discharge part 634 that discharges a purge gas around the processing gas discharge part 633. The purge gas discharge part 634 is a part surrounded by the space between the inner wall and the outer wall of the protruding part 632, the space between the inner wall and the partition wall of the head main body 631, and the bottom wall. The purge gas discharge part 634 has a discharge path 634a therein, and has a plurality of discharge ports 634b in the bottom wall that communicate with the discharge path 634a. A pipe 614 is connected to the protruding part 632 so that the discharge path 634a communicates with the flow path 613a.

[0048] The outlets 634b of the purge gas discharge part 634 are arranged in a matrix, similar to the outlets 633b, and form a square ring shape that circles around the outlets 633b of the process gas discharge part 633. As a result, the purge gas discharge part 634 forms a square ring-shaped purge gas discharge region PR12 outside the discharge region of the adsorption gas. The purge gas discharge part 634 prevents the adsorption gas discharged by the process gas discharge part 633 from spreading outward due to the discharge of the purge gas during the film formation process.

[0049] The first head 63 also has a gas suction section 635 that sucks in gas around the purge gas discharge section 634. The gas suction section 635 is a section surrounded by a partition wall and an outer wall of the head body 631. The gas suction section 635 has an internal suction path 635a and a series of openings 635b that communicate with the suction path 635a. The first nozzle 61 and the head body 631 are connected so that the suction path 635a communicates with the flow path 611.

[0050] The opening 635b is formed in a square ring shape going around the outer periphery of the bottom wall of the head main body 631. As a result, the gas suction part 635 forms a square ring-shaped suction region PR13 outside the discharge region of the purge gas. The gas suction part 635 can smoothly suck in the adsorption gas and the purge gas discharged onto the substrate W around the discharge region PR12 during the film formation process.

[0051] 1 and 2, the second nozzle mechanism 70 is installed at another corner (the upper right corner in FIG. 1) diagonally opposite to the first nozzle mechanism 60 among the four corners of the processing vessel 10. The second nozzle mechanism 70 discharges reactive gas and purge gas while sucking in the discharged gases. Specifically, the second nozzle mechanism 70 includes a second nozzle 71, a second nozzle operating unit 72 provided at a base end of the second nozzle 71, and a second head 73 provided at a protruding end (tip) of the second nozzle 71.

[0052] The second nozzle 71 is formed in basically the same shape as the first nozzle 61. That is, a flow path 711 is provided inside the second nozzle 71. Furthermore, a plurality of pipes 712, 714 are provided at appropriate positions (for example, on the surface) of the outer circumferential surface of the second nozzle 71. The pipe 712 has a flow path 712a therein, and a base end thereof is connected to a connection pipe 713 provided in the processing vessel 10. The connection pipe 713 is connected to a reaction gas supply path 31B provided outside the processing vessel 10. The pipe 714 has a flow path 714a therein, and a base end thereof is connected to a connection pipe 715 provided in the processing vessel 10. The connection pipe 715 is connected to a purge gas supply path 31C provided outside the processing vessel 10.

[0053] The second nozzle operation part 72 is also formed in the same manner as the first nozzle operation part 62. That is, the second nozzle operation part 72 includes a support shaft 721, a cover 722, a magnetic fluid seal part 723, and a drive body 724. The support shaft 721 is formed as a hard circular tube having a flow path 721a therein. The support shaft 721 supports the second nozzle 71 at its upper end, and is connected at its lower end to a branch discharge path 431A provided outside the processing vessel 10. The drive body 724 includes a rotation motor and a drive transmission mechanism (not shown), and rotates the support shaft 721 over a set angle range based on the rotation drive of the rotation motor. The drive body 724 is connected to a control part 90 via a drive driver (not shown), and the rotation speed, rotation direction, etc. of the rotation motor are controlled under the control of the control part 90.

[0054] The second nozzle operation unit 72 is also controlled so that the support shaft 721 repeatedly rotates clockwise and counterclockwise over a range of approximately 90°. Therefore, the second nozzle 71 swings between a second nozzle movement end N21 set near one side of the processing vessel 10 and a second nozzle movement other end N22 set near the other side perpendicular to the one side of the processing vessel 10 by the operation of the second nozzle operation unit 72. The second nozzle movement end N21 and the second nozzle movement other end N22 are positions that are appropriately spaced apart from the susceptor 21 in the horizontal direction (positions that do not overlap with the susceptor 21 in the vertical direction).

[0055] 4(A) and 4(B), the second head 73 is basically formed in the same manner as the first head 63. During the film formation process, the second head 73 discharges a reactive gas onto the substrate W and also discharges a purge gas onto the substrate W around the reactive gas, and further forms a second processing point region PR2 that sucks in gas outside the discharged portions of the reactive gas and the purge gas. The second head 73 reciprocates along a second arc path in response to the swing of the second nozzle movement one end N21 and the second nozzle movement other end N22 of the second nozzle 71, and faces the substrate W during this movement.

[0056] In detail, the second head 73 has a rectangular head body 731 that is long in the tangential direction of the second arc path, and a protruding portion 732 that protrudes from the surface of the head body 731, and the pipes 712 and 714 are connected to the protruding portion 732. The second head 73 has a process gas discharge portion 733 that discharges a reactive gas at the center of the head body 731 and the center of the protruding portion 732.

[0057] The process gas discharge part 733 is a part surrounded by an inner wall extending across the head body 731 and the protruding part 732, and a bottom wall (discharge plate 738) of the head body 731 facing the substrate W. The process gas discharge part 733 has a discharge path 733a therein and has a discharge port 733b communicating with the discharge path 733a. The pipe 712 is connected to the protruding part 732 so that the discharge path 733a communicates with the flow path 712a. In the embodiment, the discharge port 733b has a rectangular shape communicating in the longitudinal direction, but is not limited thereto, and the second head 73 may be configured to have a plurality of discharge ports like the first head 63. The process gas discharge part 733 may also have a heater 736 in the discharge path 733a for heating the reaction gas supplied from the flow path 712a.

[0058] Furthermore, the process gas discharge part 733 may discharge the reaction gas as it is (or after heating) or may be configured to convert the reaction gas into plasma and discharge it according to the requirements of the film formation process. The process gas discharge part 733 may be configured to convert the reaction gas into plasma and discharge it, and the configuration will be specifically described below. The process gas discharge part 733 has an antenna 737 for plasma that goes around the outer circumferential surface of the inner wall of the protruding part 732. The antenna 737 is connected to a high-frequency power supply part (not shown) provided outside the process vessel 10 via a wiring (not shown). The wiring extends, for example, along the outer circumferential surface of the second nozzle 71. Therefore, during the film formation process, high-frequency power is supplied from the high-frequency power supply part to the antenna 737 via the wiring, and plasma is generated in the reaction gas flowing through the discharge path 733a.

[0059] When the reactive gas is turned into plasma, a mixed gas of, for example, O2, H2, NH3, Ar, N2, etc. may be used as the reactive gas. In addition, in order to form a high-quality oxide film, a purge gas containing O3 may be supplied as a purge gas in plasma generation. This allows the processing gas discharge part 733 to form a discharge region PR21 of the plasma-converted reactive gas at the center of the second processing point region PR2 when discharging the reactive gas.

[0060] Furthermore, the second head 73 has a purge gas discharge part 734 that discharges a purge gas around the process gas discharge part 733. The purge gas discharge part 734 can have a similar configuration to the purge gas discharge part 634 of the first head 63, has a discharge path 734a and a plurality of discharge ports 734b, and forms a discharge region PR22 of the purge gas. Furthermore, the second head 73 has a gas suction part 735 that sucks gas around the purge gas discharge part 734. The gas suction part 735 can also have a similar configuration to the gas suction part 735 of the first head 63, has a suction path 735a and an opening 735b, and forms a gas suction region PR23.

[0061] Returning to FIG. 1, the third nozzle mechanism 80 is installed at one of the four corners of the processing vessel 10, which is different from the corners of the first nozzle mechanism 60 and the second nozzle mechanism 70 (the lower right corner in FIG. 1). The third nozzle mechanism 80 has a function of discharging a cleaning gas and a purge gas while sucking in the discharged gases. The third nozzle mechanism 80 may also be used in combination with a configuration for discharging an etching gas for etching a film on the substrate W. Specifically, the third nozzle mechanism 80 includes a third nozzle 81, a third nozzle operating unit 82 provided at a base end of the third nozzle 81, and a third head 83 provided at a protruding end (tip) of the third nozzle 81.

[0062] The third nozzle 81 is basically formed in the same shape as the first nozzle 61. That is, a flow path 811 is provided inside the third nozzle 81. In addition, a plurality of pipes 812, 814 are provided at appropriate positions (for example, the upper surface) of the outer circumferential surface of the third nozzle 81. The pipe 812 has a flow path 812a therein, and a base end thereof is connected to a connection pipe 813 provided in the processing vessel 10. The connection pipe 813 is connected to a cleaning gas supply path 31D provided outside the processing vessel 10. Thereby, the gas supply unit 30 supplies a cleaning gas from the cleaning gas tank 32D through the cleaning gas supply path 31D outside the processing vessel 10. On the other hand, the pipe 814 has a flow path 814a therein, and a base end thereof is connected to a connection pipe 815 provided in the processing vessel 10. The connection pipe 815 is connected to a purge gas supply path 31C provided outside the processing vessel 10.

[0063] The third nozzle operation unit 82 is also formed in the same manner as the first nozzle operation unit 62. That is, the third nozzle operation unit 82 includes a support shaft 821, a cover (not shown), a magnetic fluid seal unit (not shown), and a drive body 824. The support shaft 821 is formed as a hard circular tube having a flow path 821a therein. The support shaft 821 supports the third nozzle 81 at its upper end, and is connected at its lower end to a third discharge path 44 provided outside the processing vessel 10. The drive body 824 includes a rotation motor and a drive transmission mechanism (not shown), and rotates the support shaft 821 over a set angle range based on the rotation drive of the rotation motor. The drive body 824 is connected to a control unit 90 via a drive driver (not shown), and the rotation speed, rotation direction, etc. of the rotation motor are controlled under the control of the control unit 90.

[0064] The third nozzle operation unit 82 is configured to be capable of repeatedly rotating the support shaft 821 clockwise and counterclockwise over a range of approximately 90°. That is, the third nozzle 81 can be swung by the third nozzle operation unit 82 between a third nozzle movement end N31 set near one side of the processing vessel 10 and a third nozzle movement other end N32 set near the other side perpendicular to the one side of the processing vessel 10. The third nozzle movement end N31 and the third nozzle movement other end N32 are positions that are appropriately spaced apart from the susceptor 21 in the horizontal direction (positions that do not overlap with the susceptor 21 in the vertical direction).

[0065] 5(A) and 5(B), the third head 83 is basically formed in the same manner as the second head 73. During the cleaning process, the third head 83 discharges cleaning gas to the substrate support 20 and / or the peripheral portion of the substrate support 20, discharges purge gas to the substrate W around the cleaning gas, and forms a third processing point region PR3 that sucks in gas outside the discharge portion of the cleaning gas and purge gas. The third head 83 reciprocates within a range between one end N31 and the other end N32 of the third nozzle 81 to form a third arc orbit, and faces the film formation region of the substrate support 20 during this movement.

[0066] In detail, the third head 83 has a rectangular head body 831 that is long in the tangential direction of the third arc path, and a protruding portion 832 that protrudes from the upper surface of the head body 831, and the pipes 812 and 814 are connected to the protruding portion 832. The third head 83 has a process gas discharge portion 833 that discharges a cleaning gas at the center of the head body 831 and the center of the protruding portion 832.

[0067] The processing gas discharge part 833 is a part surrounded by an inner wall extending across the head body 831 and the protruding part 832, and a bottom wall of the head body 831 facing the substrate W. The processing gas discharge part 833 has a discharge path 833a therein and has a discharge port 833b communicating with the discharge path 833a. The pipe 812 is connected to the protruding part 832 so that the discharge path 833a communicates with the flow path 812a. The processing gas discharge part 833 may include a heater 836 in the discharge path 833a for heating the reactive gas supplied from the flow path 812a.

[0068] The processing gas discharge part 833 converts the cleaning gas into plasma and discharges it. The processing gas discharge part 833 has an antenna 837 for plasma that revolves around the outer circumferential surface of the inner wall of the protruding part 832. During the cleaning process, high frequency power is supplied to the antenna 837 from a high frequency power supply part via wiring (not shown), and plasma is generated in the cleaning gas flowing through the discharge path 833a. Note that the processing gas discharge part 833 is not limited to a configuration that converts the cleaning gas into plasma, and may be a unit that only includes a configuration (heater 836) for heating the cleaning gas, for example, as long as the cleaning gas is activated by heat.

[0069] Furthermore, the third head 83 includes a purge gas discharge part 834 that discharges a purge gas around the processing gas discharge part 833. The purge gas discharge part 834 can have a similar configuration to the purge gas discharge part 634 of the first head 63, has a discharge path 834a and a plurality of discharge holes 834b, and forms a purge gas discharge region PR32 around the cleaning gas discharge region PR31. The third head 83 also includes a gas suction part 835 that sucks gas around the purge gas discharge part 834. The gas suction part 835 can also have a similar configuration to the gas suction part 735 of the first head 63, has a suction path 835a and an opening 835b, and forms a gas suction region PR33 around the purge gas discharge region PR32.

[0070] 2, the film forming apparatus 1 further has a mechanism for supplying a purge gas from the upper portion (above the nozzle mechanism 50) of the processing vessel 10 to the lower internal space IS. For example, the ceiling wall 121 of the upper concave vessel 12 has a gas inlet port 17 for introducing the purge gas. The gas inlet port 17 is connected to a purge gas tank 32C that stores the purge gas via a purge gas supply path 31C having an opening / closing valve 33 and a flow rate regulator 34.

[0071] A shower head 18 may be provided in the upper concave container 12 to horizontally diffuse the purge gas introduced from the gas introduction port 17. The shower head 18 is formed in a flat plate shape having a plurality of gas holes 18a, and uniformly discharges the purge gas supplied to the space between the shower head 18 and the ceiling wall 121 into the space below the shower head 18 (the space where the substrate W and the nozzle mechanism unit 50 are located).

[0072] 1, a computer having a processor 91, a memory 92, an input / output interface (not shown), etc. can be applied to the control unit 90 that controls the above-mentioned film forming apparatus 1. The processor 91 is one or a combination of a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), a circuit made of a plurality of discrete semiconductors, etc. The memory 92 includes a main storage device made of a semiconductor memory or the like, and an auxiliary storage device made of a disk, a semiconductor memory (flash memory), etc.

[0073] The memory 92 stores a program for operating the film forming apparatus 1 and a recipe such as process conditions for the film forming process. The processor 91 reads out and executes the program from the memory 92 to control each component of the film forming apparatus 1. The control unit 90 may be configured by a host computer or a plurality of client computers that communicate with each other via a network.

[0074] The control unit 90 controls each component of the film forming apparatus 1 to form a desired film on the substrate W held by the substrate support unit 20. At this time, the control unit 90 controls the operation of the first nozzle operating unit 62 to swing the first nozzle 61 in a direction parallel to the surface of the substrate W. The control unit 90 also controls the operation of the second nozzle operating unit 72 to swing the second nozzle 71 in a direction parallel to the surface of the substrate W. Furthermore, the control unit 90 controls the operation of the third nozzle operating unit 82 to swing the third nozzle 81 in a direction parallel to the surface of the substrate W. However, the control unit 90 operates the third nozzle mechanism 80 in a cleaning process after the film forming process by the first nozzle mechanism 60 and the second nozzle mechanism 70.

[0075] In the film forming process, the first head 63 reciprocates along a first arcuate path based on the swing of the first nozzle 61. The second head 73 reciprocates along a second arcuate path based on the swing of the second nozzle. The first arcuate path and the second arcuate path intersect at the center of the susceptor 21 (substrate W). For example, the control unit 90 controls the swing speed of the first nozzle 61 and the swing speed of the second nozzle 71 to be the same, while shifting the start timing of the swing of the first nozzle 61 from the start timing of the swing of the second nozzle 71. This allows the film forming apparatus 1 to avoid interference between the first head 63 and the second head 73 and to stably repeat the reciprocating movement of the first head 63 and the reciprocating movement of the second head 73.

[0076] The control unit 90 operates the gas supply unit 30 and the gas exhaust unit 40 in conjunction with the reciprocating movement of the first nozzle mechanism 60 and the reciprocating movement of the second nozzle mechanism 70, thereby supplying film formation gases (adsorption gas, reaction gas) using the nozzle mechanism unit 50 and aspirating the gases.

[0077] 3A, the discharge port 633b of the first head 63 forms a discharge region PR11 of the adsorption gas on the vertically lower side, and adsorbs the adsorption gas onto the rotating substrate W. Furthermore, the first head 63 forms a discharge region PR12 of the purge gas around the discharge region PR11 of the adsorption gas, thereby suppressing the spread of the adsorption gas and easily controlling the discharge region PR11 of the adsorption gas. The first head 63 sucks the gas in a suction region PR13 outside the discharge region PR12, thereby reducing the amount of adsorption gas remaining near the surface of the substrate W and suppressing the adsorption gas from adhering to locations on the substrate W other than the first processing point region PR1.

[0078] 4A, the outlet 733b of the second head 73 forms a reactive gas discharge region PR21 on the vertically lower side while moving along the second arcuate orbit, and discharges the plasmatized reactive gas onto the rotating substrate W. Furthermore, the second head 73 forms a purge gas discharge region PR22 around the reactive gas discharge region PR21, thereby suppressing the spread of the reactive gas and easily controlling the reactive gas discharge region PR21. The second head 73 sucks the gas in a suction region PR23 outside the discharge region PR22, thereby reducing the amount of reactive gas remaining near the surface of the substrate W and suppressing the reactive gas from reacting at locations other than the second processing point region PR2 of the substrate W.

[0079] 6, the film forming apparatus 1 may perform control to change the moving speed of the first nozzle mechanism 60 and the moving speed of the second nozzle mechanism 70 (or the moving speed of the third nozzle mechanism 80). In the following, the swing operation of the first nozzle mechanism 60 will be representatively described, and descriptions of the second nozzle mechanism 70 and the third nozzle mechanism 80 which perform similar swing operations will be omitted.

[0080] When the radial interval is divided into a plurality of equal sections from the center of the substrate W toward the radially outward side, the surface area of ​​each section is smaller toward the center and larger toward the outer edge. In Fig. 5, the surface of the substrate W is divided into three sections (hereinafter, the divided sections are also referred to as the first section R1 to the third section R3, in order from the center of the substrate W toward the outer edge). The number of divided sections is not limited to three, and may be two, four or more.

[0081] The first section R1 has a perfect circle shape at the center of the substrate W. The second section R2 is adjacent to the outside of the first section R1 and has a circular ring shape going around the periphery. The third section R3 is also adjacent to the outside of the second section R2 and has a circular ring shape going around the periphery. In this case, the relationship of the surface areas of the sections is first section R1<second section R2<third section R3. Therefore, in the film formation method, a large amount of film formation gas is supplied to the third section R3 side of the rotating substrate W, while a small amount of film formation gas is supplied to the first section R1 side of the rotating substrate W, thereby achieving in-plane uniformity of the film formation.

[0082] Specifically, the control unit 90 increases the supply amount of the film formation gas in the third section R3 by making the discharge ports 633b, 733b of the nozzle mechanism unit 50 face the third section R3 (outer edge side) longer than the first section R1 (center side). That is, the control unit 90 controls the swing operations of the first nozzle mechanism 60, the second nozzle mechanism 70, and the third nozzle mechanism 80 such that the movement speed Vr1 in the first section R1>the movement speed Vr2 in the second section R2>the movement speed Vr3 in the third section R3. This allows the thickness of the film formed on the surface of the substrate W to be appropriately adjusted.

[0083] Here, the nozzle mechanism section 50 moves the first nozzle mechanism 60 within a range between one end N11 of the first nozzle movement and the other end N12 of the first nozzle movement, and moves the second nozzle mechanism 70 within a range between one end N21 of the second nozzle movement and the other end N22 of the second nozzle movement to form a film on the substrate W. Therefore, as shown in the upper diagram of Fig. 7, the film forming apparatus 1 not only forms a film on the surface of the substrate W in the film forming process, but also forms a film on the outer periphery of the susceptor 21 of the substrate support section 20 and on the peripheral portion of the susceptor 21. An example of the peripheral portion of the susceptor 21 is a protective plate 141 covering the temperature adjustment section 14.

[0084] When the substrate W after the film formation process is removed from the substrate support part 20, the film formation apparatus 1 is in a state in which a film remains only on the outer periphery and / or the peripheral part of the substrate support part 20, as shown in the middle diagram of FIG. 7. Hereinafter, the film formed on the substrate support part 20 itself and / or the peripheral part of the substrate support part 20 is referred to as a film to be cleaned CB. For example, the film to be cleaned CB is formed on the upper surface, both side surfaces, and the upper surface of the protective plate 141 of the protruding part on the outer periphery of the concave susceptor 21. In order to remove the film to be cleaned CB, the film formation apparatus 1 performs a cleaning process after the film formation process.

[0085] However, while the film CB to be cleaned is formed on the outer periphery of the susceptor 21 of the substrate support part 20, the film CB to be cleaned is hardly formed on the portion of the mounting surface 21a where the substrate W was mounted (inside the outer periphery of the susceptor 21). Therefore, as shown in the lower diagram of Fig. 7, when a general cleaning process is performed in which a plasmatized cleaning gas is supplied to the entire surface of the susceptor 21, the susceptor 21 may be over-etched by the cleaning gas and damaged.

[0086] Therefore, in the film forming apparatus 1 according to the embodiment, in the cleaning process by the third nozzle mechanism 80, the operating range in which the third nozzle mechanism 80 reciprocates is limited to perform the cleaning process. Hereinafter, the operation of the third nozzle mechanism 80 in the cleaning process will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9.

[0087] As shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9(A), the film forming apparatus 1 can reciprocate the third nozzle mechanism 80 in an operating range from the outer edge of the substrate support 20 to the center 20o of the substrate support 20 under the control of the control unit 90. In other words, the outlet 833b of the third nozzle mechanism 80 reciprocates in an operating range narrower than the diameter of the substrate support 20 on the outer edge side of the substrate support 20. As a result, the outlet 833b of the third nozzle mechanism 80 faces the substrate support 20 in the limited operating range for a long distance. Each outlet 833b supplies a large amount of cleaning gas to the portion facing the long distance. As a result, the film forming apparatus 1 can increase the amount of removal of the portion (the film forming region of the substrate support 20 and / or its periphery) where the cleaning target film CB remains, while decreasing the amount of removal of the central portion of the substrate support 20. Hereinafter, cleaning with the limited operating range of the third nozzle mechanism 80 is also referred to as a partial cleaning process.

[0088] In the partial cleaning process, the discharge conditions are set such that the time during which the discharge port 833b of the third nozzle mechanism 80 faces the film CB is longer for a portion where the film thickness of the film CB to be cleaned is thicker. This allows a large amount of cleaning gas to be supplied to a portion where the film CB to be cleaned is thicker, and the film CB to be cleaned can be stably removed. On the other hand, by not facing the third nozzle mechanism 80 (or facing it for a short time) to a portion where the film thickness of the film CB to be cleaned is thin, over-etching can be suppressed. Note that even when the partial cleaning process is performed, the swing speed of the third nozzle 81 may be changed for each of a plurality of sections on the substrate support part 20. This makes it possible to suppress the speed of the third nozzle 81 from slowing down at the end of the reciprocating movement on the center side of the substrate support part 20, for example, and to promote the removal of other portions.

[0089] Furthermore, in the partial cleaning process, the control unit 90 may gradually narrow the operating range of the reciprocating movement of the third nozzle mechanism 80. For example, the control unit 90 moves the end of the reciprocating movement of the third nozzle 81 on the center side of the substrate support part 20 toward the outer edge side of the substrate support part 20 as time passes during the partial cleaning process. This allows the film forming apparatus 1 to gradually remove the cleaning target film CB on the outer periphery of the substrate support part 20 and / or its periphery, without cleaning the center side of the substrate support part 20.

[0090] 9(B), the film forming apparatus 1 preferably performs a purge step in which a purge gas is sprayed onto the entire mounting surface 21a of the susceptor 21 and the gas is sucked in after the cleaning target film CB is removed in the cleaning method. In other words, in the cleaning method, a cleaning step in which a partial cleaning process is performed on the outer periphery and / or the periphery of the substrate support part 20, and a purge step in which the surface of the substrate support part 20 is purged are performed in this order. For example, in the purge step, the film forming apparatus 1 sets the operating range of the reciprocating movement of the third nozzle mechanism 80 to a position that passes through the center of the substrate support part 20 but does not reach the outer edge of the substrate support part 20. This allows the residue of the cleaning target film CB generated by cleaning to be discharged from the third nozzle mechanism 80 without scattering into the processing vessel 10. In the purge step, the film forming apparatus 1 may move the third nozzle mechanism 80 outside the outer edge of the susceptor 21 (to the protruding portion of the outer edge of the susceptor 21, above the protective plate 141) to spray the purge gas and suck in the gas.

[0091] [Film formation method] Hereinafter, a film formation method including a cleaning method according to an embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of Fig. 10. After performing a preparatory step for film formation, the film formation apparatus 1 performs a film formation step and a cleaning step (cleaning method) for the substrate W in this order. In the film formation method, under the control of the controller 90, steps S101 to S106 which are film formation steps, and steps S108 to S114 which are cleaning steps are performed.

[0092] More specifically, the film forming apparatus 1 executes steps S101 to S114 shown in Fig. 10 under the control of the control unit 90. After placing the substrate W on the susceptor 21 of the substrate support unit 20, the control unit 90 first adjusts the internal pressure of the processing vessel 10 to a target pressure (step S101). The control unit 90 exhausts the internal gas by the gas exhaust unit 40 while supplying a purge gas from the upper part of the processing vessel 10 by the gas supply unit 30. In this way, the control unit 90 adjusts the internal pressure of the processing vessel 10 to a target pressure set in the range of, for example, 1 Torr to 10 Torr.

[0093] The control unit 90 also operates the temperature adjustment unit 14 in the processing chamber 10 to adjust the temperature of the substrate W placed on the susceptor 21 to the target temperature (step S102). The control unit 90 adjusts the temperature of the substrate W to the target temperature set in the range of, for example, about 100° C. to 800° C.

[0094] Then, the control unit 90 operates the substrate rotation unit 23 of the substrate support unit 20 to rotate the susceptor 21 at a target speed (step S103). The control unit 90 rotates the susceptor 21 at a target speed set within a range of, for example, 10 rpm to 1000 rpm. As a result, the substrate W held by the susceptor 21 also rotates (spins) about its center.

[0095] When the internal pressure of the processing vessel 10, the temperature of the substrate W, the rotation speed of the substrate W, and the like are stabilized, the control unit 90 ends the advance preparation and starts the film formation process. The control unit 90 swings the first head 63 of the first nozzle mechanism 60 and the second head 73 of the second nozzle mechanism 70 within an appropriate operating range (step S104). As a result, the first head 63 and the second head 73 swing above the substrate W so as to face the entire surface of the substrate W. At this time, the control unit 90 operates the swing of the first head 63 and the swing of the second head 73 with a difference in timing to avoid interference between the first head 63 and the second head 73.

[0096] Then, the control unit 90 operates the gas supply unit 30 and the gas exhaust unit 40 together with the operation of the nozzle mechanism unit 50, and starts supplying the film formation gas (adsorption gas, reaction gas) using the nozzle mechanism unit 50 and suctioning the gas (step S105). The operation timing of the gas supply unit 30 and the gas exhaust unit 40 is not particularly limited, and may be before or after the reciprocating movement of the first nozzle 61 and the second nozzle 71. This allows the adsorption gas to be adsorbed on the surface of the substrate W, and the reaction gas to react with the adsorption gas. Thus, a film corresponding to the adsorption gas and the reaction gas is formed on the entire surface of the substrate W.

[0097] During the film formation process, the control unit 90 monitors whether the film formation process is to be ended (step S106). For example, the control unit 90 compares a target time for the film formation process set in a recipe or the like (or a processing time set according to a target film thickness or the like) with an actual operation time of the nozzle mechanism unit 50, and determines the end of the film formation process when the actual operation time reaches the target time. The film formation apparatus 1 may include a film thickness measuring device (not shown) for measuring film thickness in the processing vessel 10, and determine the end of the first film formation process based on the measured film thickness.

[0098] Thereafter, the control unit 90 stops the rotation of the substrate support unit 20, stops the gas supply unit 30, stops the gas discharge unit 40, and stops the operation of the nozzle mechanism unit 50, and unloads the substrate W on which a film has been formed in the film forming process from the processing vessel 10 (step S107). As a result, the substrate support unit 20 is exposed in the processing vessel 10.

[0099] Then, the control unit 90 determines whether or not to perform the cleaning process (step S108). As described above, in the film forming process, the cleaning target film CB is formed on the substrate support part 20. The state (thickness, etc.) of the cleaning target film CB can be grasped in advance by performing an experiment, a simulation, etc. in advance.

[0100] When the film forming process has been performed the number of times set in the recipe, the control unit 90 determines whether to perform the cleaning process (step S108: YES), and proceeds to step S109. On the other hand, when the film forming process has not been performed the set number of times, the control unit 90 determines not to perform the cleaning process (step S107: NO), and ends the process without performing the subsequent steps S109 to S114. The film forming apparatus 1 may perform the cleaning process every time the film forming process is performed.

[0101] In step S109, the control unit 90 sets the operating range of the third nozzle mechanism 80 to the outer periphery and / or the periphery of the substrate support unit 20 as the cleaning process, and swings the third head 83. That is, as shown in FIG. 8(A) above, the operating range of each of the third heads 83 is narrowed to a range that does not reach the center of the substrate W from the outer edge of the substrate W. At this time, the control unit 90 rotates the substrate support unit 20 at a predetermined speed. Furthermore, the control unit 90 stops the swing of the first nozzle mechanism 60 and the second nozzle mechanism 70, and stops the discharge of the film formation gas. The control unit 90 may control the temperature adjustment unit 14 to adjust the temperature of the substrate support unit 20 to a temperature suitable for the cleaning process.

[0102] Then, in step S110, the control unit 90 operates the gas supply unit 30 and the gas exhaust unit 40 to start supplying the cleaning gas to the rotating substrate support unit 20 and sucking the gas, thereby performing the cleaning step. This allows the film forming apparatus 1 to remove the cleaning target film CB from the outer periphery of the substrate support unit 20 and / or the peripheral portion of the substrate support unit 20 along the circumferential direction.

[0103] The control unit 90 monitors whether or not the cleaning step is to be ended during the execution of the cleaning step (step S111). For example, the control unit 90 compares the target time of the cleaning step set in the recipe or the like (or the processing time set according to the film thickness of the cleaning target film CB or the like) with the actual operation time of the third nozzle mechanism 80, and determines the end of the cleaning step based on the actual operation time reaching the target time. The target time of the cleaning step can be set by performing experiments or simulations in advance for the film thickness of the cleaning target film CB formed in the film forming process.

[0104] Next, in order to perform the purge step, the control unit 90 sets the operating range of the reciprocating movement of the third nozzle mechanism 80 to the mounting surface 21a of the substrate support unit 20 and swings the third head 83 (step S113). At this time, the control unit 90 stops the discharge of the cleaning gas while continuing the rotation of the substrate support unit 20.

[0105] Then, the control unit 90 operates the gas supply unit 30 and the gas exhaust unit 40 to spray the purge gas and suck the gas (step S114). It is preferable that the discharge amount of the purge gas in the purge step is greater than the discharge amount of the purge gas in the cleaning step. This allows the film forming apparatus 1 to suck the residue of the cleaning target film CB on the mounting surface 21a of the substrate support unit 20 while blowing it away with the third nozzle mechanism 80, thereby making it possible to significantly reduce particles in the processing vessel 10.

[0106] During the execution of the purge step, the control unit 90 monitors whether the purge step is to be ended (step S114). For example, the control unit 90 compares a target time of the purge step set in a recipe or the like with an actual operation time of the third nozzle mechanism 80, and determines the end of the purge step based on the actual operation time reaching the target time.

[0107] When the purge step is completed, the control unit 90 ends the film formation method including the cleaning method. Through the above process flow, the film formation apparatus 1 can sufficiently remove the cleaning target film CB on the substrate support part 20 and / or the periphery of the substrate support part 20. Therefore, when the next substrate W is placed on the substrate support part 20, the film formation apparatus 1 can prevent particles from adhering to the substrate W, thereby improving the quality of the film formation on the substrate W.

[0108] The cleaning method and the film forming apparatus 1 according to the embodiment are not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible. For example, in the cleaning method and the film forming apparatus 1 according to the above embodiment, the third nozzle mechanism 80 is swung to discharge the cleaning gas from the third nozzle mechanism 80. However, the cleaning method and the film forming apparatus 1 may be configured to use (swing) the first nozzle mechanism 60 and the second nozzle mechanism 70 to discharge the cleaning gas to the substrate support part 20 and to suck in the gas.

[0109] In addition, in the cleaning method according to the above embodiment, the operating range of the reciprocating movement of the third nozzle mechanism 80 is set narrower than the movement limit of the third nozzle mechanism 80 as the discharge condition of the cleaning gas in the cleaning step. However, the cleaning method is not limited to this, and the discharge condition of the cleaning gas may be changed, such as lengthening the time that the third nozzle mechanism 80 faces the substrate support part 20 for the part with a thick film thickness, or increasing the discharge amount of the cleaning gas supplied to the substrate support part 20. In other words, in the cleaning step, it is sufficient to set the discharge condition (operation of the third nozzle mechanism 80, the rotation speed on the substrate W side, the discharge amount of the cleaning gas, etc.) that reduces the part with a thick film thickness of the cleaning target film CB. As a result, the cleaning method can suppress damage to the substrate support part 20 and appropriately remove the cleaning target film CB.

[0110] Furthermore, the film formation apparatus 1 according to the above embodiment has been described as an apparatus in which the first nozzle mechanism 60, the second nozzle mechanism 70, and the third nozzle mechanism 80 move (swing) relative to the substrate W. However, the film formation apparatus 1 may be configured such that the nozzle mechanism that supplies the film formation gas and the cleaning gas is fixed, and the substrate support unit 20 that supports the substrate W moves relative to the nozzles. Figure 11 shows an example of a film formation apparatus 1A in this case.

[0111] A film forming apparatus 1A according to a modified example shown in Fig. 11 includes a processing vessel 1010, a substrate support unit 1020, a gas supply unit 1030, a gas exhaust unit 1040, and a nozzle mechanism unit 1050. For ease of explanation, a top plate of the processing vessel 1010 is not shown in Fig. 11.

[0112] The processing vessel 1010 is made of quartz or the like, and has an internal space that can accommodate a plurality of substrates W and can be depressurized. The processing vessel 1010 has a perfect circle shape in a plan view, and is formed into a cylindrical shape having a vertical length shorter than its horizontal diameter. The processing vessel 1010 has a side opening 1112a in a side wall 1112 through which a transfer device 2 for transferring the substrates W enters and retreats. In addition, a gate valve 1015 for opening and closing the side opening 1112a is provided in the side wall 1112.

[0113] The substrate support part 1020 holds a plurality of substrates W (four in FIG. 13) accommodated in the processing vessel 1010 so as to be revolvable and rotatable about its axis. To this end, the substrate support part 1020 has a turntable 1021 and a plurality of (four) mounting tables 1022 that support each substrate W on the outer peripheral surface of the turntable 1021. The four mounting tables 1022 are provided at the same distance (radial position) from the center of the turntable 1021 and are arranged at equal intervals (i.e., at 90° intervals) along the circumferential direction. The substrate support part 1020 also reciprocates the turntable 1021 in the circumferential direction. For example, the substrate support part 1020 rotates the turntable 1021 by 90° clockwise in FIG. 11, and then rotates the turntable 1021 by 90° counterclockwise in FIG. 11.

[0114] The gas supply unit 1030 has a plurality of supply paths (not shown) for circulating gases such as a film forming gas (adsorption gas, reaction gas), a purge gas, and a cleaning gas outside the processing vessel 1010, and supplies the gases into the processing vessel 1010 through each supply path. The gas exhaust unit 1040 has a plurality of exhaust paths (not shown) for circulating gases (reacted gas, unreacted gas, purge gas, and the like) outside the processing vessel 1010, and exhausts the gases supplied into the processing vessel 1010 through each exhaust path.

[0115] The nozzle mechanism 1050 discharges a film forming gas and a purge gas onto the surface (front surface) of each substrate W at an appropriate position in the processing vessel 1010, and also sucks in gas above the substrate W. The nozzle mechanism 1050 includes a first nozzle 1060 that discharges an adsorption gas and a purge gas, a second nozzle 1070 that discharges a reaction gas and a purge gas, and a third nozzle 1080 that discharges a cleaning gas and a purge gas. Four of each of the first nozzles 1060, the second nozzles 1070, and the third nozzles 1080 are provided in the processing vessel 1010.

[0116] The first nozzles 1060 and the second nozzles 1070 are fixed to each of the four partition members 1122. For example, each partition member 1122 holds the first nozzles 1060 on its side surface facing the counterclockwise direction in Fig. 1, while holding the second nozzles 1070 on its side surface facing the clockwise direction in Fig. 1. In other words, one first nozzle 1060 and one second nozzle 1070 are arranged in each of the first quadrant Q1 to fourth quadrant Q4 partitioned by each partition member 1122.

[0117] On the other hand, the third nozzle 1080 is disposed in the middle of the first to fourth quadrants Q1 to Q4, spaced apart from the first nozzle 1060 and the second nozzle 1070, and is fixed to the top plate of the processing vessel 1010.

[0118] The first nozzle 1060, the second nozzle 1070, and the third nozzle 1080 each penetrate the top plate of the processing vessel 1010 and are connected to the gas supply unit 1030 and the gas exhaust unit 40 on the outside of the processing vessel 1010. The first nozzle 1060 and the second nozzle 1070 discharge and suck gas to the vertically lower side in the processing vessel 1010. The configuration of the first nozzle 1060 for discharging and sucking the adsorption gas is substantially similar to the configuration of the first head 63 according to the embodiment. The configuration of the second nozzle 1070 for discharging and sucking the reaction gas is substantially similar to the configuration of the second head 73 according to the embodiment. The process of discharging and sucking the etching gas in the third nozzle 1080 is substantially similar to the third head 83 according to the embodiment. As a result, a first processing point region PR1 (see also FIG. 3A) is formed vertically below the first nozzle 1060. A second treatment point area (see also FIG. 4A) is formed vertically below the second nozzle 1070. A third treatment point area (see also FIG. 5A) is formed vertically below the third nozzle 1080.

[0119] Moreover, the center of the first nozzle 1060, the center of the second nozzle 1070, and the third nozzle 1080 face the center of each mounting table 1022 provided on the turntable 1021. As a result, the first nozzle 1060, the second nozzle 1070, and the third nozzle 1080 pass above the vertical direction of the substrate W mounted on each mounting table 1022 and through the center of the substrate W as the turntable 1021 rotates. Since each mounting table 1022 rotates on its axis during the film forming process or cleaning process, the first nozzle 1060, the second nozzle 1070, and the third nozzle 1080 can ultimately face the entire surface of the substrate W (mounting table 1022).

[0120] The control unit 1090 of the film forming apparatus 1A performs a film forming method on the substrate W on each mounting stage 1022 by reciprocating the turntable 1021 clockwise and counterclockwise while rotating (spinning) each mounting stage 1022. That is, in the film forming method, a film is formed on the surface of the substrate W by moving each substrate W relative to the fixed first nozzle 1060, second nozzle 1070, and third nozzle 1080.

[0121] Then, the control unit 1090 performs a film formation process and a cleaning process (cleaning method) in the same manner as the process flow of the film formation method shown in Fig. 10. That is, in the film formation process, the turntable 1021 is reciprocated clockwise and counterclockwise within a range of 90° to perform a full film formation process in which a film is formed on the entire surface of the substrate W by the first nozzle 1060 and the second nozzle 1070. In the cleaning process, the turntable 1021 is reciprocated in a narrower operating range in the clockwise and counterclockwise directions to perform a partial cleaning process on the outer periphery and / or its surrounding area of ​​each mounting table 1022 by the third nozzle 1080. As a result, the cleaning method and film formation apparatus 1A can stably remove the cleaning target film CB formed on the substrate support 20, etc. in the film formation.

[0122] The technical ideas and effects of the present disclosure explained in the above embodiments will be described below.

[0123] A first aspect of the present disclosure is a cleaning method for cleaning the inside of a processing vessel 10, comprising: (A) a step of removing a substrate W that has been subjected to a film formation process from inside the processing vessel 10; and (B) a step of cleaning a substrate support part 20 and / or a peripheral part of the substrate support part 20 that has supported the substrate W inside the processing vessel 10 after step (A). In step (B), the substrate support part 20 is rotated and the substrate support part 20 or the nozzle mechanism part 50 is moved relatively so that the outlet 833b of the nozzle mechanism part 50 passes through the center of the substrate support part 20. A cleaning gas is ejected from the outlet 833b of the nozzle mechanism part 50 toward the substrate support part 20 and / or the peripheral part of the substrate support part 20, thereby partially cleaning the film formation region of the substrate support part 20 and / or the peripheral part of the substrate support part 20.

[0124] As described above, the cleaning method can narrow the range of cleaning to the substrate support part 20 and / or the film formation region around the substrate support part 20. This allows the cleaning method to stably remove the film (film to be cleaned CB) formed on the outer periphery of the substrate support part 20 during the film formation process. As a result, the cleaning method can suppress damage (over-etching) to the portion of the substrate support part 20 where the substrate W was supported. Therefore, the film formation apparatus 1 can suppress the generation of particles in the processing chamber 10 and improve the quality of the film formation.

[0125] Furthermore, the thicker the film (film to be cleaned CB) formed on the substrate support 20 and / or the periphery of the substrate support 20, the longer the time that the discharge port 833b faces the film is set as the discharge condition in step (B). This allows the cleaning method to supply more cleaning gas to the thicker film to remove the film, thereby improving the cleaning accuracy.

[0126] Furthermore, in the step (B), the operating range for relatively moving the substrate support part 20 or the nozzle mechanism part 50 is set to a range in which the discharge port 833b passes through the outer edge of the substrate support part 20 but does not reach the center of the substrate support part 20. This allows the cleaning method to remove the cleaning target film CB by making the discharge port 833b face the outer periphery of the substrate support part 20 over a long distance, where a film is easily formed.

[0127] Furthermore, in step (B), the operating range in which the substrate support part 20 or the nozzle mechanism part 50 is moved relatively is gradually narrowed over time. This allows the cleaning method to supply the cleaning gas in a concentrated manner to the narrow operating range, and allows the partial removal of the film on the substrate support part 20 and / or the peripheral part of the substrate support part 20 to be stably performed.

[0128] In the process of (B), the steps of (B-1) rotating the substrate support 20 and relatively moving the substrate support 20 or the nozzle mechanism 50 to supply cleaning gas to the substrate support 20 and / or the substrate support 20, and (B-2) rotating the substrate support 20 and relatively moving the substrate support 20 or the nozzle mechanism 50 to supply purge gas to the substrate support 20 and / or the substrate support 20, and aspirating gas around the purge gas are performed in this order. This makes it possible for the cleaning method to remove the cleaning target film CB with the cleaning gas, and then aspirate and discharge the residue remaining on the substrate support 20 while blowing it away with the purge gas.

[0129] Furthermore, in the step (B-2), the operating range for relatively moving the substrate support part 20 or the nozzle mechanism part 50 is set to a range in which the discharge port 833b passes through the center of the substrate support part 20 but does not reach the outer edge of the substrate support part 20. This allows the cleaning method to satisfactorily remove particles from the mounting surface 21a of the substrate support part 20 on which the substrate W was placed.

[0130] Furthermore, in the step (B), the speed at which the substrate support part 20 or the nozzle mechanism part 50 is moved relatively is changed based on the position of the substrate support part 20 that the discharge port 833b faces. As a result, for example, the cleaning method can deal with factors such as the surface area increasing toward the outer edge side of the substrate support part 20 by changing the speed of the relative movement, and the cleaning target film CB can be removed more stably.

[0131] Further, the nozzle mechanism section 50 includes a first nozzle mechanism 60 and a second nozzle mechanism 70 which discharge a film formation gas onto the substrate W, and a third nozzle mechanism 80 which discharges a cleaning gas onto the substrate support section 20, and in the film formation process, the first nozzle mechanism 60 and the second nozzle mechanism 70 are swung independently of each other while the substrate W is being rotated to form a film on the substrate W, and in step (B), only the third nozzle mechanism 80 is swung while the substrate support section 20 is being rotated. This allows the cleaning method to easily swing the third nozzle mechanism 80 to supply the cleaning gas to the substrate W.

[0132] The first nozzle mechanism 60 has a first nozzle 61 extending inside the processing vessel 10, a first nozzle operating unit 62 provided at the base end of the first nozzle 61 and swinging the first nozzle 61, and a first head 63 provided at the tip of the first nozzle 61 and discharging an adsorption gas as a film formation gas. The second nozzle mechanism 70 has a second nozzle 71 extending inside the processing vessel 10, a second nozzle operating unit 72 provided at the base end of the second nozzle 71 and swinging the second nozzle 71, and a second head 73 provided at the tip of the second nozzle 71 and discharging a reaction gas that reacts with the adsorption gas as a film formation gas. The third nozzle mechanism 80 has a third nozzle 81 extending inside the processing vessel 10, a third nozzle operating unit 82 provided at the base end of the third nozzle 81 and swinging the third nozzle 81, and a third head 83 provided at the tip of the third nozzle 81 and discharging a cleaning gas. This allows the cleaning method to supply the adsorption gas and reaction gas to pinpoints on the surface of the substrate W, and also allows the cleaning gas to be supplied to pinpoints on the surface of the substrate support 20.

[0133] Also, a film formation apparatus 1, 1A for forming a film on a substrate W according to the present disclosure includes a processing vessel 10 for accommodating the substrate W, a substrate support part 20 for supporting the substrate W inside the processing vessel 10 and rotating the substrate W, a nozzle mechanism part 50 for ejecting a film formation gas and a cleaning gas toward the substrate W supported by the substrate support part 20, and a control part 90 for controlling the operation of the substrate support part 20 and the nozzle mechanism part 50, and the control part 90 controls the control part 90 to perform the following operations: (A) a step of unloading the substrate W that has been subjected to a film formation process from inside the processing vessel 10; and a step of cleaning the substrate support 20 and / or the peripheral portion of the substrate support 20, and in step (B), the substrate support 20 is rotated, and the substrate support 20 or the nozzle mechanism 50 is moved relatively so that the outlet 833b of the nozzle mechanism 50 passes through the center of the substrate support 20, and a cleaning gas is discharged from the outlet 833b of the nozzle mechanism 50 toward the substrate support 20 and / or the peripheral portion of the substrate support 20, thereby partially cleaning the substrate support 20 and / or the film formation region of the peripheral portion of the substrate support 20. Even in this case, the film formation apparatus 1 can stably remove the film formed on the substrate support 20 etc. during film formation.

[0134] The cleaning method and the film forming apparatus 1, 1A according to the embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative and not restrictive in all respects. The embodiments can be modified and improved in various forms without departing from the scope and spirit of the appended claims. The matters described in the above embodiments can be configured in other ways as long as they are not inconsistent, and can be combined as long as they are not inconsistent. [Explanation of symbols]

[0135] 1, 1A film deposition equipment 10 Processing vessel 20 Substrate support 50 Nozzle mechanism 833b Discharge port 90 Control section W substrate

Claims

1. A cleaning method for cleaning the inside of a processing vessel, comprising the steps of: (A) unloading the substrate that has been subjected to the film formation process from the inside of the processing chamber; (B) after the step (A), cleaning a substrate support part that has supported the substrate inside the processing vessel and / or a peripheral part of the substrate support part, In the step (B), the substrate support part is rotated, and the substrate support part or the nozzle mechanism part is relatively moved so that the outlet of the nozzle mechanism part passes through the center of the substrate support part, and a cleaning gas is discharged from the outlet of the nozzle mechanism part toward the substrate support part and / or the peripheral part of the substrate support part, thereby partially cleaning the film formation region of the substrate support part and / or the peripheral part of the substrate support part. Cleaning method:

2. a discharge condition is set such that the time during which the discharge port faces the substrate in the step (B) is longer as the thickness of the film formed on the substrate support portion and / or the periphery of the substrate support portion is larger. The cleaning method according to claim 1 .

3. In the step (B), a range of motion for relatively moving the substrate support part or the nozzle mechanism part is set to a range in which the discharge port passes through an outer edge of the substrate support part but does not reach a center of the substrate support part. The cleaning method according to claim 2 .

4. In the step (B), a motion range in which the substrate support unit or the nozzle mechanism unit is moved relatively is gradually narrowed over time. The cleaning method according to claim 3.

5. In the step (B), (B-1) rotating the substrate support and relatively moving the substrate support or the nozzle mechanism to supply the cleaning gas to the substrate support and / or the substrate support; (B-2) rotating the substrate support and relatively moving the substrate support or the nozzle mechanism, supplying a purge gas to the substrate support and / or the substrate support, and aspirating gas around the purge gas, in this order. The cleaning method according to claim 1 .

6. In the step (B-2), a range of motion for relatively moving the substrate support part or the nozzle mechanism part is set to a range in which the discharge port passes through a center of the substrate support part but does not reach an outer edge of the substrate support part. The cleaning method according to claim 5.

7. In the step (B), a speed at which the substrate support part or the nozzle mechanism part is relatively moved is changed based on a position of the substrate support part facing the ejection port. The cleaning method according to claim 1 .

8. the nozzle mechanism unit includes a first nozzle mechanism and a second nozzle mechanism that discharge a film forming gas onto the substrate, and a third nozzle mechanism that discharges the cleaning gas onto the substrate support unit; In the film formation process, the first nozzle mechanism and the second nozzle mechanism are swung independently of each other while the substrate is rotated, to form a film on the substrate; In the step (B), only the third nozzle mechanism is swung while the substrate support part is rotated. The cleaning method according to claim 1 .

9. the first nozzle mechanism includes a first nozzle extending inside the processing vessel, a first nozzle operating unit provided at a base end of the first nozzle and configured to swing the first nozzle, and a first head provided at a tip end of the first nozzle and configured to discharge an adsorption gas as the film forming gas; the second nozzle mechanism includes a second nozzle extending inside the processing vessel, a second nozzle operating unit provided at a base end of the second nozzle and configured to swing the second nozzle, and a second head provided at a tip end of the second nozzle and configured to eject a reaction gas that reacts with the adsorption gas as the film forming gas, the third nozzle mechanism includes a third nozzle extending inside the processing vessel, a third nozzle operating unit provided at a base end of the third nozzle and configured to swing the third nozzle, and a third head provided at a tip end of the third nozzle and configured to discharge the cleaning gas. The cleaning method according to claim 8.

10. A film forming apparatus for forming a film on a substrate, comprising: a processing vessel for accommodating the substrate; a substrate support section configured to support and rotate the substrate within the processing chamber; a nozzle mechanism that ejects a film forming gas and a cleaning gas toward the substrate supported by the substrate support; a control unit that controls operations of the substrate support unit and the nozzle mechanism unit, The control unit is (A) unloading the substrate that has been subjected to a film formation process from inside the processing chamber; (B) after the step (A), a step of cleaning the substrate support and / or a periphery of the substrate support; In the step (B), the substrate support part is rotated, and the substrate support part or the nozzle mechanism part is relatively moved so that the outlet of the nozzle mechanism part passes through the center of the substrate support part, and a cleaning gas is discharged from the outlet of the nozzle mechanism part toward the substrate support part and / or the peripheral part of the substrate support part, thereby partially cleaning the film formation region of the substrate support part and / or the peripheral part of the substrate support part. Film deposition equipment.

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