Substrate processing apparatus, substrate processing method, program, and storage medium

Abstract

To supply a more stable fine bubble solution to the device. [Solution] The substrate processing apparatus includes a first substrate detection unit that detects a substrate in a first module used in a first step, a bubble measurement unit that measures the amount of bubbles in a pipe that supplies fine bubble liquid to a second module used in a second step following the first step, in response to the detection of the substrate by the first substrate detection unit, and a control unit that controls the amount of bubbles according to the measurement result of the bubble measurement unit.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus, a substrate processing method, a program, and a storage medium.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a technique for stabilizing a substrate polishing process by supplying a fine bubble liquid onto a polishing pad is known (see Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] An object of the present invention is to supply a more stable fine bubble liquid to the apparatus.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] [1] A substrate processing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention includes a first substrate detection unit that detects a substrate in a first module used in a first step, a bubble measurement unit that measures the amount of bubbles in a pipe that supplies a fine bubble liquid to a second module used in a second step after the first step in response to the first substrate detection unit detecting the substrate, a control unit that controls the amount of bubbles according to the measurement result of the bubble measurement unit, and is provided with.

[0006] [2] The substrate processing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention is as described in [1] above, The bubble measuring unit includes a light-emitting unit that irradiates light toward the fine bubble liquid in the pipe, and a light-receiving unit that receives the light that has passed through the fine bubble liquid, and measures the amount of bubbles according to the amount of light received by the light-receiving unit.

[0007] [3] A substrate processing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention is described in [2] above, The control unit uses the result of converting the received light amount into the number of bubbles as the bubble amount.

[0008] [4] A substrate processing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention, in any of the above [1] to [3], The control unit controls the amount of bubbles when the amount of bubbles measured by the bubble measuring unit exceeds a reference range.

[0009] [5] A substrate processing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention, in any of the above [1] to [4], The second module further includes a second substrate detection unit for detecting the substrate, When the second substrate detection unit detects the substrate, the control unit does not control the amount of bubbles and instead issues a notification that the amount of bubbles is not stable.

[0010] [6] A substrate processing method according to one aspect of the present invention is: The first module used in the first process detects the substrate, In response to detecting the substrate in the first module, the amount of bubbles in the piping that supplies the fine bubble liquid to the second module used in the second step following the first step is measured, The bubble quantity is controlled according to the measurement results of the bubble quantity, Includes.

[0011] [7] A program according to one aspect of the present invention is: A program for causing a computer to execute a circuit board processing method, wherein the circuit board processing method is The first module used in the first process detects the substrate, Measuring the amount of bubbles in a pipe that supplies a fine bubble liquid to a second module used in a second step after the first step, in response to detecting the substrate in the first module; Controlling the amount of bubbles according to the measurement result of the amount of bubbles; A program including the above.

[0012] [8] A storage medium according to an aspect of the present invention is A computer-readable storage medium storing the program of [7] above.

Effect of the Invention

[0013] According to the present invention, a more stable fine bubble liquid can be supplied to the apparatus.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0014] [Figure 1] It is a figure which shows an example of schematic structure of the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. [Figure 2] It is a figure which shows an example of functional structure of the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. [Figure 3] It is a figure which shows an example of hardware constitutions of the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. [Figure 4] It is a figure explaining the measurement of the amount of bubbles of the fine bubble liquid. [Figure 5] It is a figure which shows an example of the relationship between the light reception amount measured by the bubble measurement part and the number of bubbles. [Figure 6] It is a figure explaining an example of the reference range of the amount of bubbles. [Figure 7] It is a flowchart which shows an example of substrate processing using a fine bubble liquid. [Figure 8] It is a flowchart which shows an example of dummy dispense processing of a fine bubble liquid. [Figure 9] It is a flowchart which shows an example of control of the amount of bubbles of a fine bubble liquid.

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0015] The following descriptions of each embodiment will be made with reference to the drawings. However, unnecessarily detailed explanations may be omitted. For example, detailed explanations of already well-known matters and redundant explanations of substantially identical configurations may be omitted. This is to avoid the following explanation becoming unnecessarily verbose and to facilitate understanding for those skilled in the art.

[0016] (Configuration of substrate processing apparatus) As shown in Figure 1, the substrate processing apparatus 1 of this embodiment has a substantially rectangular housing 10 and a load port 12 on which a substrate cassette for stocking a large number of substrates W is mounted. The load port 12 is located adjacent to the housing 10. The load port 12 can be equipped with an open cassette, an SMIF (Standard Mechanical Interface) pod, or a FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod). The SMIF pod and FOUP are sealed containers that house a substrate cassette inside and are covered with a partition wall, thereby maintaining an environment independent of the external space. Examples of substrates W include semiconductor wafers.

[0017] The housing 10 contains a plurality of polishing modules 14a to 14d (four in the embodiment shown in Figure 1), a first cleaning module 16 and a second cleaning module 18 for cleaning the substrate W after polishing, and a drying module 20 for drying the substrate W after cleaning. The polishing modules 14a to 14d are arranged along the longitudinal direction of the substrate processing apparatus 1, and the cleaning modules 16, 18 and the drying module 20 are also arranged along the longitudinal direction of the substrate processing apparatus 1. According to the substrate processing apparatus 1 of this embodiment, various substrates W can be polished in the manufacturing process of semiconductor wafers with a diameter of 300 mm or 450 mm, flat panels, image sensors such as CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) and CCD (Charge Coupled Device), and magnetic films in MRAM (Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory).

[0018] A first transport robot 22 is positioned in the area surrounded by the load port 12, the polishing module 14a located on the load port 12 side, and the drying module 20. A transport module 24 is also positioned parallel to the polishing modules 14a to 14d, the washing modules 16 and 18, and the drying module 20. The first transport robot 22 receives the substrate W before polishing from the load port 12 and transfers it to the transport module 24, and removes the substrate W after drying from the drying module 20 and returns it to the load port 12.

[0019] A second transport robot 26 is positioned between the first cleaning module 16 and the second cleaning module 18 to transfer the substrate W between them, and a third transport robot 28 is positioned between the second cleaning module 18 and the drying module 20 to transfer the substrate W between them. Furthermore, an overall control unit 30 that controls the movement of each component of the substrate processing apparatus is positioned inside the housing 10. In this embodiment, the description uses a configuration in which the overall control unit 30 is positioned inside the housing 10, but it is not limited to this configuration. The overall control unit 30 may be positioned outside the housing 10, or it may be located in a remote location.

[0020] The fine bubble liquid supply device 40 supplies fine bubble liquid to the substrate processing apparatus 1 via piping 41. The fine bubble liquid supplied to the substrate processing apparatus 1 is supplied to each module of the substrate processing apparatus 1 (for example, polishing modules 14a to 14d, cleaning modules 16 and 18) and is sprayed from injection nozzles (not shown) in predetermined processes.

[0021] The fine bubble liquid supply device 50 can supply microbubble liquid and ultrafine bubble liquid. In this specification, fine bubble liquid is a broader concept comprising microbubble liquid and ultrafine bubble liquid, and ultrafine bubble liquid has a smaller bubble diameter than microbubble liquid.

[0022] Furthermore, the polishing module 14d is equipped with a first substrate detector (first substrate detection unit) WD1 for detecting the substrate W. When the first substrate detector WD1 detects the substrate W, a detection signal is sent to the overall control unit 30.

[0023] Furthermore, the cleaning modules 16 and 18 are also equipped with a second substrate detector (second substrate detection unit) WD2 for detecting the substrate W. When the second substrate detector WD2 detects the substrate W, a detection signal is sent to the overall control unit 30.

[0024] Furthermore, the cleaning modules 16 and 18 are equipped with a bubble measuring instrument (bubble measuring unit) BD that measures the amount of bubbles contained in the fine bubble liquid supplied from the fine bubble liquid supply device 50. The measurement results (signal values) measured by the bubble measuring instrument BD are sent to the overall control unit 30.

[0025] Furthermore, the cleaning modules 16 and 18 are equipped with spray nozzles that dispense fine bubble liquid supplied from the fine bubble liquid supply device 50. This allows the cleaning modules 16 and 18 to clean the substrate W using the fine bubble liquid.

[0026] In this embodiment, an example of supplying fine bubble liquid to the cleaning modules 16 and 18 of the substrate processing apparatus 1 is described, but the fine bubble liquid may also be supplied to the polishing modules 14a to 14d. Specifically, the fine bubble liquid may be supplied to the atomizer piping and slurry piping of the polishing modules 14a to 14d, and a mixed liquid containing the fine bubble liquid may be supplied to the polishing table from injection nozzles positioned in the space of the polishing modules 14a to 14d. In that case, the injection nozzles, the second substrate detector WD2, and the bubble measuring instrument BD may be provided in the polishing modules 14a to 14d, and the first substrate detector WD1 may be provided near the first transport robot 22 or near the load port 12.

[0027] (Functional Configuration) Figure 2 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment. As shown in Figure 2, the substrate processing apparatus 1 includes a control unit 100, a first substrate detection unit 101, a second substrate detection unit 102, a bubble measurement unit 103, It has a communication unit 104, an input unit 105, an output unit (display unit) 107, and a storage unit 107. In the figure, each functional unit that performs a function can be said to be a means for performing that function.

[0028] The control unit 100 performs a dummy dispensing process, as described below, according to the measurement results of the bubble measurement unit 103. Here, dummy dispensing refers to a process of adjusting the amount of bubbles in the fine bubble liquid while spraying the fine bubble liquid, as a preliminary step before actually performing substrate processing using the fine bubble liquid.

[0029] The first substrate detection unit 101 detects the substrate W in a module (first module) used in a process (first process) prior to the substrate processing process (second process) using fine bubble liquid. Specifically, if the substrate processing process using fine bubble liquid is a cleaning process, the first substrate detection unit 101 detects the substrate W in a polishing module used in a polishing process, which is a process prior to the cleaning process. Also, if the substrate processing process using fine bubble liquid is a polishing process, the first substrate detection unit 101 detects the substrate W in a transport module (first transport robot 22 or load port 12) used in a transport process, which is a process prior to the polishing process.

[0030] The second substrate detection unit 102 detects the substrate W in the module (second module) used in the substrate processing process (second process) using the fine bubble liquid. Specifically, if the substrate processing process using the fine bubble liquid is a cleaning process, the second substrate detection unit 102 detects the substrate W in the cleaning module. If the substrate processing process using the fine bubble liquid is a polishing process, the second substrate detection unit 102 detects the substrate W in the polishing module.

[0031] The bubble measurement unit 103 measures the amount of bubbles in the piping that supplies the fine bubble liquid to the module used in the substrate processing process using the fine bubble liquid.

[0032] Figure 4 illustrates the method for measuring the amount of bubbles in the fine bubble liquid using the bubble measurement unit 103. As shown in Figure 4, the bubble measurement unit 103 has a light-emitting unit 104a that irradiates light toward the fine bubble liquid in the pipe 41a, and a light-receiving unit 104b that receives light that has passed through the fine bubble liquid, and measures the amount of bubbles according to the amount of light received by the light-receiving unit 104b. When the amount of bubbles in the fine bubble liquid increases, the light is scattered by the bubbles, and the fine bubble liquid becomes cloudy white. Therefore, as the amount of bubbles in the fine bubble liquid increases, the amount of light received by the light-receiving unit 104b decreases. It is preferable to install the bubble measurement unit 103 near the injection nozzle 41b. This makes it possible to control the amount of bubbles in the fine bubble liquid using the amount of bubbles just before the fine bubble liquid is actually injected into the module.

[0033] Figure 5 shows an example of the relationship between the amount of light received by the bubble measurement unit 103 and the number of bubbles (bubble quantity) in the fine bubble liquid. For example, by storing the data as a database or function in the storage unit 107, as shown in Figure 5, the bubble quantity can be determined from the amount of light received by the bubble measurement unit 103. Note that the bubble quantity is not limited to the number of bubbles, but may also be the bubble density, etc.

[0034] Returning to Figure 2, the communication unit 104 is a communication interface between the substrate processing device 1 and other devices. The communication unit 104 also sends and receives information to and from servers and terminal devices via the network.

[0035] The input unit 105 is an element for users of the board processing device 1 (including users and maintenance personnel of the board processing device 1) to input information, and is, for example, a keyboard, mouse, touch panel, microphone, gesture input device, etc.

[0036] The output unit (display unit) 106 is an interface that outputs various information (images and sound) from the board processing device 1 to the user, and is, for example, a video display device (display unit) such as a liquid crystal display or a speaker. When the output unit 106 is configured as a display unit, a GUI for accepting user operations is displayed on this display unit.

[0037] The storage unit 107 is, for example, a data storage device such as an internal memory or an external memory (SD memory card, etc.). The storage unit 107 stores various data handled by the control unit 100 and various information downloaded by the communication unit 104 from a server via the network. The storage unit 107 does not necessarily have to be located within the board processing device 1; part or all of the storage unit 107 may be located in another device that is connected to the board processing device 1 via the network in a manner that allows communication.

[0038] (Hardware configuration) Next, the hardware configuration of the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment will be described. Figure 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment.

[0039] In the substrate processing apparatus 1, the CPU 201 is a processing unit that controls the operation of the entire substrate processing apparatus 1. The ROM 202 is a non-volatile memory that stores control programs executed by the CPU 201 and various data. The RAM 203 is a volatile memory used for the load area and work area of ​​programs executed by the CPU 201. The storage device 204 is a storage means for storing various information, and may be built into the main body of the substrate processing apparatus 1 or may have a removable storage medium. The input device 205 is a device for the user of the substrate processing apparatus 1 to input information, such as a keyboard, mouse, touch panel, or microphone. The display 206 is a display device that displays various information (user interface, etc.). The bubble measuring instrument 207 is a measuring instrument that measures the amount of bubbles in the piping that supplies fine bubble liquid to a module used in the substrate processing process using fine bubble liquid. The FB liquid supply device 208 is a device that supplies fine bubble liquid to the substrate processing apparatus 1. The substrate detector 209 is a detector (including a first substrate detector and a second substrate detector) for detecting the substrate W. The communication interface 210 is an interface for connecting to other devices and networks (not shown). The bus 211 is a bus line that connects each of the above components to each other.

[0040] (An example of operation) Next, an example of the operation of the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment will be described. Figure 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of substrate processing using a fine bubble solution in the substrate processing apparatus 1.

[0041] First, the control unit 100 performs a dummy dispensing process for the fine bubble liquid (step S1). For example, when cleaning the substrate W using the fine bubble liquid, the fine bubble liquid is prepared (dummy dispensing process) before actually cleaning the substrate W with the fine bubble liquid.

[0042] Once the preparation of the fine bubble solution (dummy dispensing process) is complete, the control unit 100 performs the substrate processing using the fine bubble solution (step S2).

[0043] Next, the operation of the dummy dispensing process of the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment will be described. Figure 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the dummy dispensing process (step S1) in Figure 7.

[0044] First, the control unit 100 determines whether the first substrate detection unit 101 has detected the substrate W in the first module used in the step preceding the substrate processing step using the fine bubble liquid (step S10). If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S11; otherwise, the dummy dispensing process is terminated.

[0045] If the first substrate detection unit 101 detects a substrate W (if the determination in step S10 is affirmed), the control unit 100 measures the amount of bubbles in the piping to which the fine bubble liquid is supplied using the bubble measurement unit 103 (step S11). In this way, by measuring the amount of bubbles in the fine bubble liquid triggered by the detection of a substrate W in a step prior to the process using the fine bubble liquid, it becomes possible to adjust the amount of bubbles in the fine bubble liquid before actually performing substrate processing using the fine bubble liquid.

[0046] Next, the control unit 100 determines whether the amount of bubbles measured by the bubble measurement unit 103 is within the first reference range.

[0047] Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating the reference range and thresholds for the bubble quantity. As shown in Figure 6, a first reference range defined by threshold 1 and threshold 1', and a second reference range including the first reference range and defined by threshold 2 and threshold 2', are stored in the storage unit 107.

[0048] Returning to Figure 8, the control unit 100 terminates the process if the amount of bubbles measured by the bubble measurement unit 103 is within the first reference range (if the determination in step S12 is affirmed). If the amount of bubbles is outside the first reference range (if the determination in step S12 is denied), the process proceeds to step S13.

[0049] In step S13, the control unit 100 determines whether the second substrate detection unit 102 has detected the substrate W in the second module where the substrate processing process using fine bubble liquid is performed.

[0050] If the second substrate detection unit 102 detects a substrate W, it notifies the system via the output unit 106 that the amount of bubbles in the fine bubble liquid is unstable (step S14), and stops the substrate processing in the second module (step S15). This is because if the second substrate detection unit 102 detects a substrate W, there is not enough time to adjust the amount of bubbles in the fine bubble liquid.

[0051] On the other hand, if the second substrate detection unit 102 does not detect the substrate W (i.e., the determination in step S13 is rejected), the control unit 100 starts dispensing dummy fine bubble liquid by spraying it from the injection nozzle 41b (step S16), and performs a process to control the amount of bubbles according to the measurement result of the bubble amount measured by the bubble measurement unit 103 (step S17).

[0052] Then, once the control unit 100 has finished controlling the amount of bubbles, it terminates the dummy dispensing of the fine bubble liquid (step S18).

[0053] Next, an example of the operation of controlling the bubble amount according to the measurement result of the bubble amount measured by the bubble measurement unit 103 will be described. Figure 9 is a flowchart of an example of the operation of controlling the bubble amount (step S17) shown in Figure 8.

[0054] First, the control unit 100 determines whether the amount of bubbles measured by the bubble measurement unit 103 is less than threshold 1 (see Figure 6) (step S20).

[0055] If the bubble amount measured by the bubble measuring unit 103 is less than the threshold of 1 (if the determination in step S20 is affirmed), the amount of bubbles in the fine bubble liquid is less than the standard value, so the control unit 100 instructs the fine bubble liquid supply device 40 to increase the amount of bubbles (step S21).

[0056] On the other hand, if the determination in step S20 is rejected, it means that the amount of bubbles measured by the bubble measuring unit 103 is greater than the threshold 1' (see Figure 6). This means that the amount of bubbles in the fine bubble liquid is greater than the standard value, so the control unit 100 instructs the fine bubble liquid supply device 40 to reduce the amount of bubbles (step S22).

[0057] After adjusting the amount of bubbles in the fine bubble liquid in this manner, the control unit 100 measures the amount of bubbles in the fine bubble liquid again using the bubble measuring unit 103 (step S23).

[0058] Then, the control unit 100 determines whether the amount of bubbles in the fine bubble liquid measured by the bubble measurement unit 103 is within the first reference range (step S24), and if the determination is affirmative, the process ends.

[0059] On the other hand, if the amount of bubbles in the fine bubble liquid measured by the bubble measurement unit 103 is determined to be outside the first reference range (i.e., the determination in step S24 is denied), the control unit 100 determines whether the amount of bubbles is within the second reference range (see Figure 6) (step S25). If the determination is affirmative, the process returns to step S20.

[0060] On the other hand, if the amount of bubbles is outside the second reference range (i.e., the determination in step S25 is rejected), it means that the bubble amount control is not working properly, and there may be a problem with the fine bubble liquid supply device 40 or the piping. In this case, the control unit 100 notifies the user of the substrate processing device 1 via the output unit 106 that an error has occurred.

[0061] According to the above configuration, a more stable fine bubble solution can be supplied to the apparatus during the substrate processing process using the fine bubble solution.

[0062] Any part or all of the functional components described herein may be implemented by program. The programs referred to herein may be distributed by non-temporarily recording them on a computer-readable recording medium, by distributing them via communication lines such as the Internet (including wireless communication), or by distributing them installed on any terminal.

[0063] Based on the above description, those skilled in the art may be able to conceive of additional effects and various modifications of the present invention, but the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the individual embodiments described above. Various additions, modifications, and partial deletions are possible without departing from the conceptual idea and spirit of the present invention derived from the claims and their equivalents.

[0064] For example, what is described herein as a single device (or component, hereinafter the same) (including what is depicted as a single device in the drawings) may be implemented by multiple devices. Conversely, what is described herein as multiple devices (including what is depicted as multiple devices in the drawings) may be implemented by a single device. Alternatively, some or all of the means or functions included in one device (e.g., a server) may be included in another device (e.g., a terminal device).

[0065] Furthermore, not all matters described herein are mandatory requirements. In particular, matters described herein but not included in the claims can be considered optional additional matters.

[0066] It should also be noted that the applicant is only aware of the prior art inventions described in the "Prior Art Documents" section of this specification, and the present invention is not necessarily intended to solve the problems described in those prior art inventions. The problems that the present invention aims to solve should be determined by considering this specification as a whole. For example, if this specification describes that a certain effect is achieved by a particular configuration, it can also be said that the problem that is the inverse of that predetermined effect is solved. However, this does not necessarily mean that such a particular configuration is an essential requirement. [Explanation of symbols]

[0067] 1. Substrate processing apparatus 101 Control Unit 102 First substrate detection unit 103 Second substrate detection unit 104 Bubble Measurement Unit 105 Communications Department 106 Input section 107 Output section (display section) 108 Storage section

Claims

1. A first substrate detection unit that detects a substrate in the first module used in the first process, In response to the detection of the substrate by the first substrate detection unit, a bubble measurement unit measures the amount of bubbles in the piping that supplies the fine bubble liquid to the second module used in the second step following the first step, A control unit that controls the amount of bubbles according to the measurement results of the bubble measuring unit, A substrate processing apparatus comprising:

2. The bubble measuring unit includes a light-emitting unit that irradiates light toward the fine bubble liquid in the pipe, and a light-receiving unit that receives the light that has passed through the fine bubble liquid, and measures the amount of bubbles according to the amount of light received by the light-receiving unit. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1.

3. The control unit uses the result of converting the amount of light received into the number of bubbles as the amount of bubbles. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2.

4. The control unit controls the amount of bubbles when the amount of bubbles measured by the bubble measuring unit exceeds a reference range. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1.

5. The second module further includes a second substrate detection unit for detecting the substrate, When the second substrate detection unit detects the substrate, the control unit does not control the bubble amount and instead issues a notification that the bubble amount is unstable. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1.

6. The first module used in the first process detects the substrate, In response to detecting the substrate in the first module, the amount of bubbles in the piping that supplies the fine bubble liquid to the second module used in the second step following the first step is measured, The bubble quantity is controlled according to the measurement results of the bubble quantity, A substrate processing method, including the following.

7. A program for causing a computer to execute a circuit board processing method, wherein the circuit board processing method is The first module used in the first process detects the substrate, In response to detecting the substrate in the first module, the amount of bubbles in the piping that supplies the fine bubble liquid to the second module used in the second step following the first step is measured, The bubble quantity is controlled according to the measurement results of the bubble quantity, A program that includes this.

8. A computer-readable storage medium storing the program described in claim 7.

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