Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method

Abstract

To reduce the possibility that a substrate is contaminated by particles originating from a drive mechanism for moving the substrate.SOLUTION: A substrate processing apparatus comprises: a processing container which has in the inside thereof, a processing space with pressure reduced to lower than an atmospheric pressure, the processing container having an opening for carrying a substrate into and out of the processing space; a substrate holding and rotating mechanism holding the substrate in a horizontal posture and rotating the substrate around a vertical axis, and including a substrate holding part holding the substrate in the processing space and a driving force generating source generating a driving force for rotationally driving the substrate holding part; a housing which has an internal space isolated in an airtight manner from the processing space, and which houses in the internal space thereof, a substrate holding and rotating mechanism; a horizontal movement mechanism which horizontally moves the housing and horizontally moves the substrate holding part; and a gas nozzle that ejects gas in such a way as to apply a gas cluster onto an upper surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2A

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method. [Background technology]

[0002] In the manufacture of semiconductor devices, the adhesion of particles to substrates is a factor that reduces product yield. For this reason, substrates are cleaned before and after substrate processing such as film formation to remove particles. There are two methods for cleaning substrates: wet cleaning and dry cleaning, and gas cluster cleaning is one type of dry cleaning. Gas cluster cleaning involves irradiating the surface of a substrate placed in a vacuum processing chamber with gas clusters, and the physical energy of the gas clusters peels off particles that have adhered to the surface of the substrate.

[0003] An apparatus for performing gas cluster cleaning is described, for example, in Patent Document 1. The apparatus in Patent Document 1 adjusts the irradiation position of the gas cluster by moving a mounting table that holds a substrate using an XY table equipped with X-axis rails and Y-axis rails. The mounting table and the XY table are exposed to the atmosphere in a vacuum processing chamber. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-026745 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The present disclosure provides techniques for reducing the likelihood of substrate contamination by particles generated by the drive mechanism for moving the substrate. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus comprising: a processing vessel having a processing space therein that is decompressed to a pressure lower than atmospheric pressure, the processing vessel having an opening for loading and unloading a substrate into the processing space; a substrate holding and rotation mechanism that holds a substrate in a horizontal position and rotates it about a vertical axis, the substrate holding and rotation mechanism having a substrate holding part that holds the substrate within the processing space and a driving force generating source that generates a driving force to rotate the substrate holding part; a housing having an internal space airtightly isolated from the processing space, the internal space accommodating the driving force generating source for the substrate holding and rotation mechanism; a horizontal movement mechanism that moves the housing horizontally to move the substrate holding part horizontally; and a gas nozzle that sprays gas to irradiate gas clusters onto the upper surface of a substrate held by the substrate holding part. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the above-described embodiments of the present disclosure, it is possible to reduce the possibility of the substrate being contaminated by particles generated from the drive mechanism for moving the substrate. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a substrate processing system according to an embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus. [Figure 2A] 1 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a gas cluster cleaning unit incorporated in a substrate processing system, illustrating a state in which a substrate is being subjected to gas cluster cleaning; FIG. [Figure 2B] 2B is a diagram schematically illustrating a state in which a substrate is being carried in and out of a processing vessel in the gas cluster cleaning unit illustrated in FIG. 2A. FIG. [Figure 3A] FIG. 1 is a plan view showing one example of the configuration of a gas cluster cleaning unit, with the ceiling wall removed from the processing vessel, in which the housing and the rotating stage are at the substrate transfer position. [Figure 3B]FIG. 3B is a diagram showing the gas cluster cleaning unit shown in FIG. 3A with the housing and the rotary stage at the substrate processing position. [Figure 4] 3A and 3B are diagrams illustrating a gas nozzle and a gas supply mechanism. [Figure 5] 10 is an operational diagram showing the transition of the positional relationship between the processing chamber, the substrate W, and the gas nozzles as viewed from directly above when the substrate is loaded / unloaded and processed. FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of the gas cluster cleaning unit. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The configuration of a substrate processing system 100 according to one embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the present specification and drawings, an XYZ Cartesian coordinate system is defined, in which the coordinates are orthogonal to each other, in order to clarify the positional relationships, and this coordinate system will be referred to as necessary in the description. The positive direction of the Z axis is the vertically upward direction.

[0010] 1, the substrate processing system 100 has three load / unload ports 104 arranged in the X direction for loading FOUPs 102, which are sealed substrate transport containers that store, for example, 25 substrates W (e.g., semiconductor wafers). An atmospheric transfer chamber 106, which is maintained at atmospheric pressure, is provided at the back of the load / unload ports 104. A gate door 108, which opens and closes together with the lid of the FOUP 102, is provided on the front wall of the atmospheric transfer chamber 106.

[0011] Two load lock chambers 110, 112 are connected to the rear wall of the atmospheric transfer chamber 106. The atmosphere inside the load lock chambers 110, 112 can be switched between a normal pressure (atmospheric pressure) atmosphere and a medium vacuum atmosphere of about 1 Pa via a vacuum pump and a leak valve (not shown). In Fig. 1, the member marked with the reference symbol G is a gate valve.

[0012] The atmospheric transfer chamber 106 is provided with a first substrate transfer mechanism 114 for transferring the substrate W. An alignment chamber 116 is connected to the left wall of the atmospheric transfer chamber 106. The alignment chamber 116 is provided with an aligner (not shown) that aligns the notch of the substrate W. The first substrate transfer mechanism 114 delivers and receives wafers W to and from the FOUP 102, the load lock chambers 110 and 112, and the alignment chamber 116.

[0013] A vacuum transfer chamber 118 is connected to the rear of the load lock chambers 110, 112. The vacuum transfer chamber 118 is evacuated by a vacuum pump (not shown) and is maintained at a medium vacuum of, for example, about 1 Pa.

[0014] A plurality of processing units 120 are connected to the vacuum transfer chamber 118. At least one of the plurality of processing units 120 is a gas cluster cleaning unit 10, which will be described later. At least one of the other processing units 120 may be, for example, a vacuum bake unit for removing organic compounds from the substrate W before gas cluster cleaning is performed. At least one of the other processing units 120 may be a film formation unit that performs a vacuum film formation process by CVD or sputtering on the substrate W that has been subjected to gas cluster cleaning.

[0015] The vacuum transfer chamber 118 is provided with a second substrate transfer mechanism 122 for transferring the substrate W. The second substrate transfer mechanism 122 has, for example, a fork-shaped substrate holder 124 as an end effector. The second substrate transfer mechanism 122 delivers the substrate W to and from the load lock chambers 110, 112 and the processing unit 120.

[0016] The substrate processing system 100 includes a control device 130. The control device 130 is formed of, for example, a computer having an arithmetic and control unit 132 and a storage unit 134.

[0017] The storage unit 134 stores processing recipes that define various processing sequences to be executed in the substrate processing system 100, control programs that control various processes, etc. The control device 130 controls the operation of the substrate processing system 100 by reading and executing the processing recipes and programs stored in the storage unit 134.

[0018] The above-mentioned program may be recorded on a computer-readable storage medium and installed from that storage medium into the storage unit 134 of the control device 130. The computer-readable storage medium may be, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD), a magnetic disk such as a flexible disk (FD), an optical disk such as a compact disk (CD), a magneto-optical disk such as a magnet optical disk (MO), or a semiconductor memory such as a solid-state drive (SSD) or a memory card.

[0019] In the substrate processing system 100 described above, a first substrate transport mechanism 114 removes a substrate W from a FOUP 102 placed in the load / unload port 104 and loads it into a load lock chamber (110 or 112). When the load lock chamber is depressurized to a medium vacuum, a second substrate transport mechanism 122 removes the substrate W from the load lock chamber and loads it into a predetermined processing unit 120. The processing unit 120 is depressurized to a high vacuum, and a predetermined vacuum processing is performed in the processing unit 120. The substrate W that has been subjected to the predetermined vacuum processing in one or more processing units 120 is loaded into the load lock chamber (110 or 112) by the second substrate transport mechanism 122. When the pressure in the load lock chamber is increased to atmospheric pressure, the first substrate transport mechanism 114 removes the substrate W from the load lock chamber and stores the processed substrate W in the original FOUP 102 placed in the load / unload port 104. In the above series of steps, a gate valve G is opened and closed as appropriate.

[0020] The overall configuration and operation of the above-described substrate processing system 100 are well known in the field of multi-chamber vacuum processing systems, and therefore a detailed description thereof will be omitted. Furthermore, the overall configuration of the above-described substrate processing system 100 is merely one example of a configuration of a substrate processing system that can incorporate the gas cluster cleaning unit 10 described below, and it goes without saying that various modifications can be made.

[0021] Next, an example of the configuration of the gas cluster cleaning unit 10 will be described with reference to Figures 2A, 2B, 3A, and 3B. Figures 2A and 2B are vertical cross-sectional views that schematically show the configuration of the gas cluster cleaning unit 10, but please note that in order to show multiple components in the same cross section, the horizontal positional relationships between the components differ from those of the actual gas cluster cleaning unit 10. For the horizontal positional relationships between the components, please refer to Figures 3A and 3B.

[0022] The gas cluster cleaning unit 10 has a processing vessel 11 configured as a vacuum processing chamber. A processing space (processing chamber) 12 is defined inside the processing vessel 11. An exhaust port 13 is provided on the bottom wall of the processing vessel 11. The processing space 12 is evacuated via the exhaust port 13 by a vacuum pump, for example, a turbo molecular pump 14 (TMP), to a pressure of 1×10 -5 It is possible to reduce the pressure to a high vacuum of about Pa.

[0023] An opening 15 is provided in one side wall of the processing vessel 11. The opening 15 can be airtightly closed by an airtight door such as a gate valve 16 (corresponding to the gate valve G in FIG. 1). A substrate holder 124 of a second substrate transfer mechanism 122 (see FIG. 1) can carry a substrate W into or out of the processing space 12 through the opening 15 when the gate valve 16 is open while holding the substrate W.

[0024] A swiveling housing 20 is provided within the processing space 12. The housing 20 has an internal space 21 that is airtightly isolated from the atmosphere of the processing space 12. A hollow pivot shaft 22 extends vertically downward from the bottom surface of the housing 20. The pivot shaft 22 penetrates the bottom wall of the processing vessel 11 and extends to the outside of the processing vessel 11.

[0025] 2A, a pivot drive mechanism 23 for rotating the pivot 22 about a vertical axis is provided outside the processing vessel 11. The pivot drive mechanism 23 may be composed of, for example, an electric rotary motor 24 and a power transmission mechanism such as a transmission gear or a timing belt. The electric rotary motor 24 may directly drive and rotate the pivot 22.

[0026] Any electric rotary motor 24 can be used as long as it can accurately position the rotation angle position of the pivot shaft 22 and the housing 20 connected thereto. For example, a stepping motor or a servo motor with a rotary encoder can be used as the electric rotary motor 24.

[0027] A rotary stage 30 is provided within the processing space (processing chamber) 12. A substrate W to be processed is held on the rotary stage 30 in a horizontal position with its surface (front surface) facing upward. As shown in Fig. 3A, the rotary stage 30 has a disk-shaped plate 31 that is roughly the same shape as the substrate W, and a plurality of, for example, six, substrate holding claws 32 provided on the periphery of the plate 31.

[0028] As shown in FIG. 2A , a rotation shaft 33 extends vertically downward from the bottom surface of the center of the plate 31. The rotation shaft 33 penetrates the ceiling wall of the housing 20 and extends into the internal space 21 of the housing 20. A rotation drive unit 34 that rotates the rotation stage 30 around the vertical axis is provided in the internal space 21 of the housing 20 and is fixed to the wall of the housing 20. The rotation drive unit 34 is, for example, an electric rotation motor 35 that serves as a driving force generation source. An extension of the rotation shaft of the electric rotation motor 35 may serve as the rotation shaft 33 of the rotation stage 30. Alternatively, the rotation shafts of the electric rotation motor 35 and the rotation shaft 33 of the rotation stage 30 may be coaxially arranged and coupled to each other. A configuration in which the electric rotation motor 35 rotates the rotation shaft 33 via a power transmission mechanism (e.g., a gear box, a belt, etc.) arranged in the internal space 21 of the housing 20 is also possible. The rotation stage 30, the rotation shaft 33, and the rotation drive unit 34 (electric rotation motor 35) constitute a substrate holding and rotating mechanism.

[0029] By driving the electric rotary motor 35, the rotary stage 30 and the substrate W held thereon can be rotated about a vertical axis. The electric rotary motor 35 preferably has a function of determining the rotation angle position of the rotary stage 30 and a function of adjusting the rotation speed of the rotary stage 30. For example, a stepping motor or a servo motor with a rotary encoder can be used as the electric rotary motor 35.

[0030] A gas nozzle 50 is provided on the ceiling wall of the processing vessel 11. The gas nozzle 50 injects gas (CO gas, He gas, etc.) downward to irradiate the upper surface of the substrate W held by the rotation stage 30 with gas clusters (denoted by the reference symbol GC in FIG. 2A).

[0031] In the illustrated embodiment, the gas nozzle 50 is firmly fixed to the ceiling wall of the processing vessel 11 and is immovable. Vibration of the gas nozzle 50 can cause variations in the gas flow (i.e., movement of clusters), which can lead to variations in processing results. By making the gas nozzle 50 immovable, the gas nozzle 50 does not vibrate as it moves, which has the effect of stabilizing processing results.

[0032] 3A and 3B are plan views showing the processing vessel 11 with the ceiling wall removed and the main components therein.

[0033] 3A and 3B, the pivoting movement of the housing 20 and the rotary stage 30 coupled thereto by the pivot-axis drive mechanism 23 can be understood. The pivoting axis of the pivoting movement is indicated by reference character SC. This pivoting movement allows the rotary stage 30 to pivot about a vertical axis between a substrate transfer position (substrate transfer area) (a position shown in FIG. 3A that is relatively close to the opening 15 of the processing vessel 11) and a processing position (substrate processing area) (a position shown in FIG. 4B that is relatively far from the opening 15). In FIGS. 3A and 3B, the rotation axis of the rotary movement of the rotary stage 30 is indicated by reference character RC.

[0034] 3A and 3B, the position directly below the gas nozzle 50 is indicated by a double circle labeled with the reference symbol 50. Note that in FIG. 3B, the position indicated by the reference symbol RC and the position indicated by the reference symbol 50 coincide with each other, making it difficult to see.

[0035] When gas clusters are emitted from gas nozzle 50 in the state of Figure 3B, the gas clusters collide with the center of substrate W (which coincides with the center of rotation stage 30). From this state, by rotating rotation stage 30 about rotation axis SC via housing 20, any radial position on the surface of substrate W can be positioned directly below gas nozzle 50. In the configuration example shown in Figure 3B, by rotating housing 20 and rotation stage 30 counterclockwise through approximately 45 degrees from the position shown in Figure 3B, any radial position on the surface of substrate W can be positioned directly below gas nozzle 50.

[0036] By combining the above-mentioned pivoting movement about the pivot axis SC and the rotational movement about the rotation axis RC of the rotating stage 30, any position on the surface of the substrate W held on the rotating stage 30 can be positioned directly under the gas nozzle 50. In other words, it is possible to irradiate the entire surface of the substrate W with gas clusters.

[0037] When processing the substrate W, it is preferable to reduce the distance between the gas nozzle 50 and the surface of the substrate W in order to increase the efficiency of gas cluster cleaning. On the other hand, when loading or unloading the substrate W into or from the processing vessel 11, space is required to lift the substrate W using lift pins 70, which will be described later. For this reason, it is preferable that the ceiling wall be provided so that the vertical distance between the ceiling wall of the processing vessel 11 and the rotation stage 30 when the rotation stage 30 is in the substrate transfer position is greater than the vertical distance between the ceiling wall of the processing vessel 11 and the rotation stage 30 when the rotation stage 30 is in the processing position.

[0038] If a mechanism for raising and lowering the gas nozzle 50 or a mechanism for raising and lowering the housing 20 or the rotation stage 30 is provided, the rotation angle range of the housing 20 and the rotation stage 30 may be such that the rotation stage 30 is moved from the substrate transfer position by a distance roughly corresponding to the radius of the substrate W. This makes it possible to further reduce the internal volume of the processing space 12, but there is a trade-off in that the cost of the apparatus increases.

[0039] Two or more gas nozzles 50 may be provided on the ceiling wall of the processing vessel 11. In this case, the two gas nozzles may be arranged on a circle having a center at the pivot axis SC and a radius of the line segment SCRC in the plan view shown in FIG. 3B . In this way, by appropriately combining the pivoting motion of the rotation stage 30 about the pivot axis SC and the rotational motion of the rotation stage 30 about the rotation axis RC, any position on the surface of the substrate W held on the rotation stage 30 can be positioned directly below each gas nozzle.

[0040] The same gas cluster may be irradiated from two gas nozzles 50. In this case, one gas nozzle 50 may be used to irradiate a region closer to the center of the substrate W, and the other gas nozzle 50 may be used to irradiate a region closer to the center of the substrate W. By doing so, the time required to process one substrate W can be roughly halved.

[0041] Different gas clusters may be irradiated from two or more gas nozzles 50. In this case, one gas cluster cleaning unit 10 can perform gas cluster cleaning under different conditions.

[0042] 2A, a disk-shaped heater 60 is provided below the plate 31 of the rotating stage 30. When electricity is applied to the heater 60, the heater 60 generates heat, and the plate 31 is heated by thermal radiation from the heater 60, and the heated plate 31 can heat the substrate W held on the rotating stage 30. The heater 60 is configured to be able to heat the entire substrate W approximately evenly. For example, the heater 60 can be a resistance heater having a heating element that extends in a serpentine manner to cover the entire area of ​​the plate 31.

[0043] The heater 60 is supported by a plurality of support columns 61 rising from the ceiling wall of the housing 20. A power supply line 62 for supplying power to the heater 60 may be provided inside the support columns 61. In one configuration example shown in FIG. 2A , the power supply line 62 passes through the inside of the support columns 61 and is drawn into the internal space 21 of the housing 20. The power supply line 62 is further drawn from the internal space 21 through the internal space of the hollow rotating shaft 22 to the outside of the processing vessel 11, where it can be connected to a power supply unit (PS) 63.

[0044] Although not shown, a detection signal line can be provided in parallel with the power supply line 62. A detection signal from a temperature sensor such as a thermocouple embedded in the heater 60 is sent to the power supply device 63 via the control and detection signal line. A temperature controller built into the power supply device 63 then controls the power sent to the heater 60 via the power supply line 62.

[0045] Below the plate 31 of the rotary stage 30 and below the heater 60, multiple lift pins 70 (three in this example) are provided for raising and lowering the substrate W relative to the rotary stage 30. The lower ends of the lift pins 70 are fixed to a ring-shaped pin support 71. A lift rod (lifting body) 72 extends vertically downward from the lower surface of an extension portion that extends radially from the ring-shaped portion of the pin support 71. The lift rod 72 penetrates the ceiling wall of the housing 20 and extends to the internal space 21 of the housing 20. A lifting drive mechanism 73 for raising and lowering the lift rod 72 is provided in the internal space 21. The lifting drive mechanism 73 is configured with an appropriate linear actuator, such as a ball screw. The lifting drive mechanism 73 may also be configured with an air cylinder. When a ball screw is used, it is desirable to configure the lifting drive mechanism 73 so that the lift rod 72 does not rotate, in order to facilitate sealing of the lift rod 72 (described below).

[0046] 2B, by raising the lift pins 70 using the elevation drive mechanism 73, the lift pins 70 can be positioned at an elevated position where their upper ends protrude upward from the upper surface of the plate 31 of the rotary stage 30. As shown in FIG. 2A, by lowering the lift pins 70 using the elevation drive mechanism 73, the lift pins 70 can be positioned at a position where they do not interfere with the rotation of the rotary stage 30, preferably at a lowered position where their upper ends are positioned below the lower surface of the heater 60.

[0047] Through holes through which the lift pins 70 pass when they are raised and lowered are provided in the plate 31 and the heater 60 (not shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B). In FIG. 2A, the through holes for the lift pins 70 provided in the plate 31 are indicated by reference numeral 35. A similar through hole is also provided in the heater 60 directly below the through hole 35.

[0048] When loading the substrate W into the processing chamber 11, the rotating stage 30 is positioned at the substrate transfer position (the position shown in FIG. 3A), and the lift pins 70 are positioned at the raised position (the position shown in FIG. 2A). In this state, the substrate holder 124 of the second substrate transport mechanism 122 holding the substrate W enters the processing space 12 through the opening 15 of the gate valve 16, and positions the substrate W held by the substrate holder 124 directly above the rotating stage 30. Next, the lift pins 70 are further raised, lifting the substrate from the substrate holder 124. Thereafter, the substrate holder 124 exits the processing space 12. Next, the substrate W is transferred to the rotating stage 30 as the lift pins 70 descend to the lowered position. Alternatively, the substrate W may be transferred from the substrate holder 124 to the lift pins 70 by lowering the substrate holder 124 of the substrate transport mechanism 122, which is located directly above the rotary stage 30 and holds the substrate W, to place the substrate on the lift pins 70 in the raised position. That is, the transfer of the substrate W between the substrate holder 124 and the lift pins 70 may be performed by raising and lowering the lift pins 70, or by raising and lowering the substrate holder 124. In either case, when the substrate W is to be unloaded from the processing chamber 11, the reverse operations to those described above are performed.

[0049] The internal space 21 of the housing 20 is connected via a hollow pivot 22 to the atmosphere (atmospheric atmosphere) in a clean room in which the substrate processing system 1 is installed. Therefore, the internal space 21 of the housing 20 is always maintained at an atmospheric atmosphere (normal pressure). On the other hand, during operation of the substrate processing system 1, the interior of the processing vessel 11, i.e., the processing space 12, is maintained at a reduced pressure atmosphere. For example, the processing space 12 is maintained at a medium vacuum (i.e., the same vacuum level as the interior of the vacuum transfer chamber 118 (FIG. 1)) when the substrate W is transferred into or out of the processing space 12, and at a high vacuum when the substrate is processed in the processing space 12. In either case, there is a large pressure difference between the processing space 12 of the processing vessel 11 and the internal space 21 of the housing 20 (or the space outside the processing vessel 11).

[0050] For this reason, it is necessary to provide a vacuum seal to the movable members (specifically, the rotation shaft 33 of the rotation stage 30 and the lift rod 72 that raises and lowers the lift pins 70) that extend through the wall of the housing 20 and the movable members (specifically, the pivot shaft 22 of the housing 20) that extend through the wall of the processing vessel 11. The vacuum seal can be appropriately selected from those known in the technical field of vacuum seals.

[0051] 2A, a vacuum seal is indicated by the reference numeral 80. For example, the portion of housing 20 through which pivot shaft 22 passes and the portion through which rotation shaft 33 passes can be sealed by vacuum seal 80 made of a magnetic fluid seal. Because lift rod 52 only moves by sliding, it can be sealed by vacuum seal 80 made of an O-ring (preferably a plurality of O-rings arranged in series along the axial direction of lift rod 52). Note that the portion of lift rod 52 to be sealed by the O-ring is a smooth cylindrical portion.

[0052] Because the internal space 21 of the housing 20 is an atmospheric atmosphere, the driving force generating source (electric rotary motor 35) of the rotation drive unit 34 and the driving force generating source (e.g., a ball screw electric rotary motor) of the lift drive mechanism 73 can be cooled using air as a cooling medium. This allows the driving force generating source to be cooled more efficiently than when the driving force generating source is disposed in a vacuum. Furthermore, it is possible to use a driving force generating source that is designed for use in an atmospheric atmosphere and is less expensive (compared to one designed for use in a vacuum). Furthermore, by disposing the driving force generating source in a space isolated from the processing space 12, contamination of the processing space 12 by dust (particle-causing substances) generated by the driving force generating source can be prevented.

[0053] In order to promote air cooling of the driving force generation source, a configuration may be adopted in which cooling air is drawn into and exhausted from the internal space 21 of the housing 20 via the hollow rotating shaft 22. Specifically, for example, the internal space 21 of the housing 20 may be suctioned and exhausted via the internal space of the hollow rotating shaft 26 using an exhaust mechanism 28 such as an exhaust fan or an ejector, and a tube 25 may be installed in the hollow rotating shaft 22, one end of which opens to the atmosphere and the other end of which opens into the internal space 21 of the housing 20 (preferably the back side).

[0054] The internal space of the hollow pivot 22 can be used to pass a power supply line and a control / detection signal line (these lines are designated by reference numeral 36 in FIG. 2A) connected to the electric rotary motor 35. The internal space of the hollow pivot 22 can also be used to pass a power supply line and a control / detection signal line (these lines are designated by reference numeral 74 in FIG. 2A) connected to the linear actuator of the lift drive mechanism 73. The control / detection signal lines 36 and 74 are connected to a power supply unit 63, and the rotation angle position of the rotary table 30 and the height position of the lift rod 52 are controlled via a controller built into the power supply unit 63.

[0055] Known gas nozzles 50 and gas supply mechanisms 52 for supplying gas thereto can be used, one example of which will be described below with reference to FIG.

[0056] The gas nozzle 50 includes a substantially cylindrical pressure chamber 501. An orifice portion 502 having an opening diameter of, for example, about 0.1 mm is provided at the lower end of the pressure chamber 501, and a gas diffusion portion 503 whose diameter increases downward is connected to the orifice portion 502.

[0057] The gas supply mechanism 52 has a CO2 gas (carbon dioxide gas) supply unit 53 and a He gas (helium gas) supply unit 54. The CO2 gas supply unit 53 has a CO2 gas supply path 532 connected to a CO2 gas supply source 531, and an on-off valve 533 and a flow rate control valve 534 provided in the CO2 supply path 532. The He gas supply unit has a He gas supply path 542 connected to a He gas supply source 541, and an on-off valve 543 and a flow rate control valve 544 provided in the He gas supply path 542.

[0058] The CO gas supply channel 532 and the He gas supply channel 542 join to form a gas supply channel 55. The downstream end of the gas supply channel 55 is connected to the upper end of the pressure chamber 501 of the gas nozzle 50. A pressure control valve 56 is disposed in the gas supply channel 55. A pressure sensor 57 is disposed in the gas supply channel 55 to detect the pressure in the gas supply channel 55. The pressure sensor 57 may detect the pressure in the pressure chamber 501 of the gas nozzle 50. A control unit 58 for the gas supply mechanism 52 adjusts the aperture of the pressure control valve 56 so that the pressure detected by the pressure sensor 57 becomes a predetermined value. This controls the pressure in the pressure chamber 501 of the gas nozzle 50 to a desired value. The control unit 58 also adjusts the apertures of the flow control valves 534 and 544 to control the mixture ratio of CO gas and He gas.

[0059] Because the gas nozzle 50 is provided with an orifice 502, a large pressure drop occurs at the orifice 502 when gas is injected from the gas nozzle 50 into the reduced-pressure processing space 12. As a result, the gas passing through the orifice 502 undergoes adiabatic expansion, generating gas clusters 505, which are aggregates of atoms or molecules 504 of the cleaning gas (CO2 gas in this example). Note that He gas is a gas used to accelerate the gas flow, i.e., the gas clusters. He gas does not easily form clusters, so mixing He gas with CO2 gas can increase the velocity of the clusters generated from the CO2 gas. When the gas clusters 505 collide with the surface of the substrate W, the kinetic energy of the gas clusters blows away contaminants such as particles adhering to the surface of the substrate W.

[0060] Gas nozzle 50 is provided so as to irradiate gas clusters substantially perpendicularly onto the surface of substrate W. "Substantially perpendicular" means that, as shown in Fig. 5, the angle α formed by the directional vector of the main flow of gas clusters when they impinge on the surface of substrate W and the surface of substrate W held by rotation stage 30 is within the range of 90 degrees ± 15 degrees.

[0061] In order to irradiate the gas clusters substantially perpendicularly onto the surface of the substrate W, the gas nozzle 50 can be provided so that the angle α between the central axis of the outlet of the gas nozzle 50 and the surface of the substrate W is within a range of 90°±15°. In a modified embodiment, the gas clusters discharged from the gas nozzle 50 can be ionized midway and an electric field can be applied to them to bend their paths. In this case, too, it is sufficient that the angle α between the directional vector of the path of the main flow of the gas clusters when they are incident on the surface of the substrate W and the surface of the substrate W held on the rotation stage 30 is within a range of 90°±15°.

[0062] In this specification, the operation is described on the assumption that the gas nozzle 50 discharges gas vertically downward and that the gas clusters are incident substantially perpendicularly on the surface of the substrate W in a horizontal position.

[0063] 3A, it is preferable that the exhaust port 13 of the processing vessel 11 is located directly below the gas nozzle 50. This allows the gas to be quickly exhausted from the processing space 12 when a dummy dispense of gas is performed from the gas nozzle 50. Even when two or more gas nozzles 50 are provided, it is preferable that the opening of the exhaust port 13 is located directly below each gas nozzle 50.

[0064] The gas clusters emitted from the gas nozzle 50 return to gas molecules after colliding with the substrate W. The gas molecules remaining near the surface of the substrate W collide with the gas clusters, reducing the kinetic energy of the gas clusters. If the exhaust port 13 is located below the substrate W, the gas molecules derived from the gas clusters can be quickly removed from near the surface of the substrate W. By providing the exhaust port 13 of the processing vessel 11 directly below the gas nozzle 50, the exhaust port 13 of the processing vessel 11 is located below the substrate W held on the rotation stage 30 at the processing position.

[0065] An example of a procedure for processing performed by the gas cluster cleaning unit 10 will be described below with reference to Figures 3A, 3B, and 5. The following procedure is executed by the control device 130 (see Figure 1) controlling the operation of the components of the gas cluster cleaning unit 10. Figure 5 schematically shows the transition of the positional relationship between the processing space 12, the substrate W, and the gas nozzle 50 as viewed from directly above.

[0066] First, the substrate W is carried into the processing chamber 11, and the substrate W is held by the rotary stage 30 located at the substrate transfer position (FIG. 3A and FIG. 5A).

[0067] Next, the housing 20 and the rotary stage 30 are rotated to position the center of the substrate W directly below the outlet of the gas nozzle 50 (substrate processing position) (FIG. 3B and (A) to (B) of FIG. 5).

[0068] Next, rotation of the substrate W is started, and irradiation of gas clusters from the gas nozzle 50 is initiated. While continuing to rotate the substrate W and irradiate the gas clusters from the gas nozzle 50, the housing 20 and the rotation stage 30 are rotated counterclockwise until the periphery of the substrate W is positioned directly below the outlet of the gas nozzle 50. The position at which the gas clusters are irradiated onto the surface of the substrate W is moved from the center of the substrate W to the periphery over, for example, 30 seconds (from (C) to (D) in FIG. 5).

[0069] While continuing to rotate the substrate W and irradiate it with gas clusters from the gas nozzle 50, the housing 20 and the rotation stage 30 are rotated in the opposite direction, and the position at which the gas clusters are irradiated onto the surface of the substrate W is moved from the periphery to the center over, for example, 30 seconds (from (D) to (E) in FIG. 5). As a result, the entire surface of the substrate W is irradiated with gas clusters, and gas cluster cleaning is completed.

[0070] Thereafter, the housing 20 and the rotary stage 30 are rotated to the substrate transfer position, and the substrate W is carried out from the processing chamber 11 (FIG. 5(F)).

[0071] According to the above embodiment, all of the driving force generating sources of the mechanisms for moving (rotating, swiveling, raising and lowering, etc.) the substrate W are disposed in locations (inside the housing 20 or outside the processing vessel 11) that are not exposed to the atmosphere in the processing space 12. This eliminates the need for expensive driving force generating sources intended for use in a vacuum atmosphere, and allows for the use of inexpensive driving force generating sources. Furthermore, because all of the driving force generating sources of the mechanisms for moving the substrate W are disposed in the atmospheric atmosphere, the driving force generating sources can be cooled (heat dissipated) using air as a heat transfer medium. In other words, cooling can be performed more inexpensively than when heat conduction in a vacuum atmosphere is used. Furthermore, dust (particle-causing substances) from the driving force generating sources does not enter the processing space 12, preventing contamination of the substrate W.

[0072] In the above embodiment, the rotational movement of the rotary stage 30 and the pivoting movement of the housing 20 (which moves the housing 20 horizontally) are combined to enable irradiation of gas clusters at any position on the surface of the substrate W, but this is not limiting. The housing 20 may also be translated horizontally.

[0073] 6, for example, a linear motion mechanism 90 may be provided on one side wall of the housing 20. The linear motion mechanism 90 includes a linear actuator such as a ball screw (not shown) driven by an electric motor (driving force generating source) (not shown), and a drive rod 92 that is moved back and forth horizontally by the linear actuator. The drive rod 92 penetrates the side wall of the processing vessel 11 and extends horizontally, and the tip of the drive rod is fixed to the housing 20.

[0074] A hollow driven rod 94 is provided on the other side wall of the housing 20. The driven rod 94 extends horizontally through the side wall of the processing vessel 11, and the tip of the driven rod is fixed to the housing 20. The driven rod 94 is supported by a linear bearing 96.

[0075] The portion of the side wall of the housing 20 through which the drive rod 92 and the driven rod 94 pass is sealed by a vacuum seal 80 (e.g., consisting of multiple O-rings arranged in series along the axial direction of the drive rod 92 and the driven rod 94).

[0076] By moving the drive rod 92 back and forth horizontally, the housing 20 and the various devices attached thereto (the rotation stage 30, the lift pins 70 and their drive mechanisms, the heater 60, etc.) can be moved horizontally together. By combining the horizontal translational movement of the housing 20 and the rotational movement of the rotational stage 30, it is also possible to position any position on the surface of the substrate W directly below the gas nozzle 50 and irradiate it with gas clusters.

[0077] The internal space of the hollow driven rod 94, like the internal space of the hollow pivot shaft 22, can be used to pass power supply lines and control / detection signal lines, and can also be used to suction and exhaust the internal space 21 of the housing 20.

[0078] The modified embodiment shown in FIG. 6 can also achieve substantially the same effects as the embodiment shown in FIG. 2A.

[0079] The embodiments disclosed herein should be considered to be illustrative in all respects and not restrictive, and the above-described embodiments may be omitted, substituted, or modified in various ways without departing from the scope and spirit of the appended claims.

[0080] The substrate to be processed is not limited to a semiconductor wafer, but may be any of various substrates used in the field of semiconductor device manufacturing, such as a glass substrate or a ceramic substrate. [Explanation of symbols]

[0081] 11 Processing container 12 Processing space (processing chamber) 20 Case 21 Internal space of the housing 30 Substrate holding unit (rotation stage) of substrate holding and rotation mechanism 35 Driving force source for substrate holding and rotating mechanism (electric rotating motor) 50 Gas Nozzle

Claims

1. a processing vessel having a processing space therein that is decompressed to a pressure lower than atmospheric pressure, the processing vessel having an opening for transferring a substrate into and out of the processing space; a substrate holding and rotation mechanism that holds a substrate in a horizontal position and rotates it about a vertical axis, the substrate holding and rotation mechanism including a substrate holder that holds the substrate within the processing space, and a driving force generating source that generates a driving force that rotationally drives the substrate holder; a housing having an internal space airtightly isolated from the processing space, the internal space accommodating a driving force generating source for the substrate holding and rotating mechanism; a horizontal movement mechanism that moves the housing in a horizontal direction to move the substrate holding unit in a horizontal direction; a gas nozzle that injects gas to irradiate gas clusters onto an upper surface of the substrate held by the substrate holder; A substrate processing apparatus comprising:

2. 2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the horizontal movement mechanism includes a turning mechanism that turns the housing about a turning axis extending in a vertical direction to turn the substrate holding part.

3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the horizontal movement mechanism includes a linear movement mechanism that linearly moves the housing to linearly move the substrate holder.

4. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the inner space of the housing communicates with the outer space of the processing vessel.

5. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising an exhaust mechanism for exhausting the atmosphere in the internal space of the housing.

6. 3. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 2, wherein the rotation mechanism has a hollow rotation shaft extending downward from the housing to the outside of the processing vessel, and the internal space of the housing is connected to the space outside the processing vessel via the internal space of the rotation shaft.

7. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 6 , further comprising an exhaust mechanism that exhausts the atmosphere in the internal space of the housing through the internal space of the pivot shaft.

8. 7. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein a power supply line for supplying power to a driving force generating source of the substrate holding and rotating mechanism extends from the outside of the processing vessel through the internal space of the rotating shaft to the internal space of the housing.

9. a plurality of lift pins capable of supporting a substrate by their upper ends; an elevation drive mechanism that raises and lowers the lift pins relative to the substrate holding unit, thereby raising and lowering the substrate relative to the substrate holding unit; Equipped with The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein at least a driving force generating source of said lifting drive mechanism is housed in said housing.

10. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the gas nozzle is fixed to the processing vessel and is immovable.

11. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein an exhaust port for evacuating the processing space to a vacuum is opened directly below the gas nozzle.

12. a control device that controls at least the operation of a driving force generating source of the substrate holding and rotating mechanism, the horizontal movement mechanism, and a gas supply mechanism that supplies gas to the gas nozzle; The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein the control device controls the operation of the driving force generating source of the substrate holding and rotating mechanism and the horizontal movement mechanism when gas clusters are being irradiated onto the substrate from the gas nozzle so that the gas clusters are sequentially irradiated onto the target area of ​​the gas cluster irradiation on the upper surface of the substrate.

13. a control device that controls at least the operations of a driving force generating source of the substrate holding and rotating mechanism, the horizontal movement mechanism, the elevation drive mechanism, and a gas supply mechanism that supplies gas to the gas nozzle; a substrate transfer area that is relatively close to the opening and a substrate processing area that is relatively far from the opening are defined in the processing space; the control device controls the operation of the horizontal movement mechanism and the lifting drive mechanism to position the substrate holding unit in the substrate transfer area and transfer the substrate from an external substrate transport mechanism to a rotary stage using the lift pins; controlling the operation of the horizontal movement mechanism to position the substrate holder in the substrate processing region; irradiating the substrate with gas clusters from the gas nozzle, and controlling the operation of the driving force generating source of the substrate holding and rotating mechanism and the horizontal movement mechanism so that the gas clusters are sequentially irradiated onto target regions of the upper surface of the substrate for gas cluster irradiation; controlling the operation of the horizontal movement mechanism and the lifting drive mechanism to return the substrate holding unit to the substrate transfer area and transfer the substrate from the substrate holding unit to an external substrate transport mechanism using the lift pins; The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the substrate processing apparatus executes the steps of:

14. a processing vessel having a processing space therein that is decompressed to a pressure lower than atmospheric pressure, the processing vessel having an opening for transferring a substrate into and out of the processing space; a substrate holding and rotation mechanism that holds a substrate in a horizontal position and rotates it about a vertical axis, the substrate holding and rotation mechanism including a substrate holder that holds the substrate within the processing space, and a driving force generating source that generates a driving force that rotationally drives the substrate holder; a housing having an internal space airtightly isolated from the processing space, the internal space accommodating a driving force generating source for the substrate holding and rotating mechanism; a horizontal movement mechanism that moves the housing in a horizontal direction to move the substrate holding unit in a horizontal direction; and a gas nozzle that injects gas to irradiate a top surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding unit with gas clusters. A substrate processing method performed using a substrate processing apparatus comprising: irradiating gas clusters from the gas nozzle onto the substrate held by the substrate holder; While the substrate is being irradiated with gas clusters, controlling the operation of the driving force generating source of the substrate holding and rotating mechanism and the horizontal movement mechanism so that the gas clusters are sequentially irradiated onto target regions of the upper surface of the substrate that are to be irradiated with gas clusters; A substrate processing method comprising:

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