Substrate Processing System

Abstract

To provide a substrate processing system capable of suppressing the consumption of consumables in a fluid supply device and the power cost required for the operation of the fluid supply device.SOLUTION: A substrate processing system 1 includes a substrate processing device 2 having an on-off valve 8 that allows the supply of pure water 300, and a fluid supply device 3 connected to the substrate processing device 2 and supplying pure water 300 used in the substrate processing device 2, and the fluid supply device 3 includes a flow meter 84 installed in the pure water supply pipe 7 through which the pure water 300 is supplied to the substrate processing device 2, and when the on-off valve 8 stops receiving the pure water 300 and the flow meter 84 does not measure the supply of the pure water 300 to the substrate processing device 2 for a preset time or longer, the operation of the fluid supply device 3 is stopped.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a substrate processing system having a fluid supply device that supplies a fluid to a substrate processing apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] In substrate processing equipment, pure water is used to cool the processing point, remove processing waste, cool the drive unit, etc. In some cases, carbon dioxide gas or chemicals are mixed into the pure water to ensure good processing.

[0003] Such fluids are supplied by a fluid supply device connected to the substrate processing apparatus, and the temperature and flow rate are controlled by the fluid supply device. In addition, when special chemicals that require disposal are not used or special workpieces that have limitations on waste liquid disposal are not processed, the fluids are circulated and reused (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0004] Normally, when the operation of a substrate processing apparatus is stopped, the operation of the fluid supply apparatus is also stopped. However, if the substrate processing apparatus and the fluid supply apparatus are installed separately, or if multiple substrate processing apparatuses are connected to one fluid supply apparatus, there is a risk that the operator will forget to turn off the power to the fluid supply apparatus, or will find it difficult to determine whether it is okay to turn off the power, and the fluid supply apparatus will continue to operate. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2009-190128 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] Automatic control would be possible if the control units of the substrate processing apparatus and the fluid supply apparatus were designed to communicate their operating status with each other and turn off the power, but in actual semiconductor manufacturing structures, the control units of the substrate processing apparatus and the fluid supply apparatus often do not communicate electrically with each other.

[0007] For this reason, there is a risk that only the fluid supply device will operate continuously, which may result in the fluid supply device's consumables being wasted and / or the need for power, resulting in a rise in costs.

[0008] An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing system capable of reducing the cost of consumables in a fluid supplying apparatus and the cost of electricity required to operate the fluid supplying apparatus. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, the substrate processing system of the present invention is a substrate processing system comprising a substrate processing apparatus having a fluid supply allowing means for allowing the supply of a fluid, and a fluid supply device connected to the substrate processing apparatus and supplying a fluid used in the substrate processing apparatus, wherein the fluid supply device has a flow meter installed in a flow path through which the fluid is supplied to the substrate processing apparatus, and when the fluid supply allowing means stops receiving the fluid and the flow meter does not measure the supply of fluid to the substrate processing apparatus for more than a predetermined time, the operation of the fluid supply device is stopped.

[0010] In the substrate processing system, the fluid supply allowing means may be a pump or an on-off valve.

[0011] In the substrate processing system, a plurality of the substrate processing apparatuses may be connected to one fluid supplying device, and the fluid supplying device may supply fluid to the plurality of the substrate processing apparatuses. Effect of the Invention

[0012] The present invention has an effect of reducing the cost of consumables in the fluid supplying device and the power costs required for operating the fluid supplying device. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a substrate processing system according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a substrate processing apparatus of the substrate processing system shown in FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing an example of the configuration of a fluid supply device of the substrate processing system shown in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] The form (embodiment) for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the contents described in the following embodiment. Furthermore, the components described below include those that a person skilled in the art can easily imagine and those that are substantially the same. Furthermore, the configurations described below can be appropriately combined. Furthermore, various omissions, substitutions, or modifications of the configurations can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0015] [Embodiment 1] A substrate processing system according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of the substrate processing system according to the first embodiment. Fig. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a substrate processing apparatus of the substrate processing system shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing an example of the configuration of a fluid supply device of the substrate processing system shown in Fig. 1.

[0016] The substrate processing system 1 according to the first embodiment shown in Fig. 1 is a system for processing a substrate 200 shown in Fig. 2. The processing means performing various processes such as cutting, grinding, polishing, plasma etching, resin coating, laser processing, etc. on the substrate 200. In the first embodiment, the substrate 200 is a wafer such as a disk-shaped semiconductor wafer or an optical device wafer, whose base material is silicon, sapphire, gallium, or the like. The substrate 200 has a plurality of division lines 202 set on a surface 201, and a device (not shown) is formed in each region partitioned by the division lines 202 on the surface 201.

[0017] In the present invention, the substrate 200 may be a package substrate in which a device chip disposed on the substrate is covered with a mold resin, various ceramic substrates used for electronic components, a resin substrate, a glass substrate, or the like. In the first embodiment, for example, as shown in Fig. 2, the substrate 200 has a disk-shaped adhesive tape 209 having a larger diameter than the substrate 200 attached to a back surface 203 behind a front surface 201, and an annular frame 210 having an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the substrate 200 attached to the outer edge of the adhesive tape 209, and is supported by the annular frame 210 via the adhesive tape 209. In the first embodiment, the substrate 200 is subjected to the above-mentioned processing and divided into individual devices.

[0018] 1, a substrate processing system 1 according to the first embodiment includes a plurality of substrate processing apparatuses 2 and one fluid supply apparatus 3. The substrate processing apparatus 2 is an apparatus that performs the above-mentioned processing on a substrate 200. In the first embodiment, the substrate processing apparatus 2 is a cutting apparatus that cuts the substrate 200 along a planned division line 202.

[0019] In embodiment 1, as shown in FIG. 2, the substrate processing apparatus 2 includes a chuck table 10 that holds a substrate 200, a cutting unit 20 that cuts the substrate 200 held on the chuck table 10, a moving unit (not shown) that moves the chuck table 10 and the cutting unit 20 relative to one another, and a control unit 27 that controls each component.

[0020] The chuck table 10 is formed in a disk shape, and suction-holds the substrate 200 on a holding surface 11. The holding surface 11 of the chuck table 10 is connected to a vacuum suction source (not shown), and the holding surface 11 is sucked by the vacuum suction source, thereby suction-holding the substrate 200 placed on the holding surface 11 via an adhesive tape 209. The chuck table 10 is also provided with a clamp portion (omitted in FIG. 2) that clamps an annular frame 210 around its periphery.

[0021] The cutting unit 20 is a processing unit in which the cutting blade 21 is attached to the spindle 23 and cuts the substrate 200 held on the chuck table 10. The cutting unit 20 includes the cutting blade 21 that cuts the substrate 200, a spindle housing 22, a spindle 23 that is a drive unit that is rotatably provided on the spindle housing 22 around its axis and has the cutting blade 21 attached to its tip, a spindle motor (not shown) that rotates the spindle 23 around its axis, a blade cover 24 that is attached to the tip surface of the spindle housing 22 and covers the upper part of the cutting blade 21, and a pure water supply nozzle 25 that supplies pure water 300 as a fluid to the cutting blade 21.

[0022] The pure water supply nozzle 25 is attached to the blade cover 24, and pure water 300 as a fluid is supplied from the fluid supply device 3 through a supply pipe 26 of the blade cover 24. The pure water supply nozzle 25 supplies the pure water 300 to the cutting blade 21, thereby supplying the pure water 300 to the processing point where the cutting edge of the cutting blade 21 cuts into the substrate 200.

[0023] In addition, in the cutting unit 20, pure water 300 is supplied into the spindle housing 22, and the pure water 300 supplied into the spindle housing 22 cools the heat generated by the rotation (drive) of the spindle 23 about its axis.

[0024] The control unit 27 controls each of the above-mentioned components constituting the substrate processing apparatus 2. That is, the control unit 27 causes the substrate processing apparatus 2 to execute processing operations on the substrate 200. The control unit 27 is a computer having an arithmetic processing device having a microprocessor such as a CPU (central processing unit), a storage device having a memory such as a ROM (read only memory) or a RAM (random access memory), and an input / output interface device.

[0025] The arithmetic processing device of the control unit 27 performs arithmetic processing in accordance with a computer program stored in the storage device, and outputs control signals for controlling the substrate processing apparatus 2 to the above-mentioned components of the substrate processing apparatus 2 via the input / output interface device. The control unit 27 is also connected to a display unit constituted by a liquid crystal display device or the like for displaying the status and images of the processing operation, and an input unit used by the operator to register processing conditions, etc. The input unit is constituted by at least one of a touch panel provided on the display unit, a keyboard, etc.

[0026] The substrate processing apparatus 2 also includes a cassette for housing multiple substrates 200 before and after cutting, a loading / unloading means for loading / unloading the substrates 200 into the cassette, a cleaning means for cleaning the substrates 200 after cutting, and a transport means for transporting the substrates 200.

[0027] In the processing operation of processing the substrate 200, the substrate processing apparatus 2 takes out the substrate 200 before cutting from the cassette by the carry-in / out means, and transports the taken-out substrate 200 to the chuck table 10 by the transport means. Then, the substrate processing apparatus 2 suction-holds the substrate 200 by the chuck table 10, and relatively moves the chuck table 10 and the cutting unit 20 by the moving unit in the X-axis direction parallel to the horizontal direction, the Y-axis direction parallel to the horizontal direction and perpendicular to the X-axis direction, the Z-axis direction parallel to the vertical direction, and around an axis parallel to the Z-axis direction, cutting the substrate 200 while supplying cutting water, and dividing it into individual devices. The substrate processing apparatus 2 transports the cut substrate 200 from the chuck table 10 to the cleaning means by the transport means, and then cleans it by the cleaning means. Then, the substrate processing apparatus 2 transports the cleaned substrate 200 to the carry-in / out means by the transport means, and stores it in a cassette by the carry-in / out means.

[0028] In the processing operation, the substrate processing apparatus 2 supplies pure water 300 as a fluid to the pure water supply nozzle 25, the spindle housing 22, and a cleaning means (not shown) to clean the substrate 200 after cutting. The substrate processing apparatus 2 also sends out a processing waste liquid 301 containing the pure water 300 and processing waste generated by processing such as cutting toward the fluid supply device 3. In the first embodiment, three substrate processing apparatuses 2 are provided. The fluid supplied to the pure water supply nozzle 25 needs to be circulated after removing the processing waste liquid 301 because the processing waste liquid 301 is mixed with the processing waste liquid. On the other hand, the fluid supplied to the spindle housing 22 is not mixed with the processing waste, so it can be repeatedly circulated by only temperature control. Therefore, the fluid supplied to the pure water supply nozzle 25 and functioning as a processing fluid for cooling and cleaning the processing point, and the fluid supplied to the drive unit such as the spindle housing 22 and functioning as cooling water may be supplied and controlled through different flow paths from the fluid supply device. In this case, the flow meter 84 may be installed in only one of the flow paths, or may be installed in both of the flow paths.

[0029] 1, the substrate processing apparatus 2 has a processing waste liquid supply pipe 5, a pure water supply pipe 7, and an on-off valve 8. One end of the processing waste liquid supply pipe 5 and the pure water supply pipe 7 are connected to each of the substrate processing apparatuses 2, and the other end is connected to one fluid supply device 3. The processing waste liquid supply pipe 5 and the pure water supply pipe 7 correspond to the substrate processing apparatuses 2 one-to-one, and one end is connected to the corresponding substrate processing apparatus 2. In this way, the processing waste liquid supply pipe 5 and the pure water supply pipe 7 connect a plurality of substrate processing apparatuses 2 (three in the first embodiment) to one fluid supply device 3. The processing waste liquid supply pipe 5 is a flow path of the processing waste liquid 301 that supplies the processing waste liquid 301 from the substrate processing apparatus 2 to the fluid supply device 3. The pure water supply pipe 7 is a flow path of the pure water 300 that supplies the pure water 300 from the fluid supply device 3 to the substrate processing apparatus 2.

[0030] The on-off valve 8 is installed in the substrate processing apparatus 2. The on-off valve 8 allows the supply of the pure water 300 to the substrate processing apparatus 2 by opening, and stops the supply (receiving) of the pure water 300 to the substrate processing apparatus 2 by closing. For this purpose, the on-off valve 8 is a fluid supply allowing means that is connected to the cutting unit 20, which is a processing unit of the substrate processing apparatus 2, and allows the supply of the pure water 300 to the substrate processing apparatus 2. The substrate processing apparatus 2 may use a pump controlled by the control unit 27 as the fluid supply allowing means instead of the on-off valve. The substrate processing apparatus 2 may receive the supply of the pure water 300 from the fluid supply device 3 according to a required flow rate by driving the pump by the control unit 27, and stop receiving the pure water 300 by stopping the driving of the pump.

[0031] The fluid supplying device 3 is connected to the substrate processing apparatus 2 and supplies pure water 300, which is a fluid used in the substrate processing apparatus 2, to the substrate processing apparatus 2. In the first embodiment, the fluid supplying device 3 is supplied with the pure water 300 used in cutting the substrate 200 from the substrate processing apparatus 2 and processing waste liquid 301 (corresponding to the fluid discharged from the substrate processing apparatus 2) containing processing debris, and refines the processing waste liquid 301 into pure water 300 (corresponding to the fluid from which the processing debris has been removed) for reuse in the substrate processing apparatus 2. As shown in FIG. 3, the fluid supplying device 3 includes a circulation unit 6 and a control unit 4.

[0032] The circulation unit 6 receives the processing waste liquid 301 discharged from the substrate processing apparatus 2 through the processing waste liquid supply pipe 5, removes processing debris from the processing waste liquid 301, generates pure water 300 from which the processing debris has been removed, and supplies the purified pure water 300 again to the substrate processing apparatus 2 through the pure water supply pipe 7. The circulation unit 6 includes a waste liquid storage tank 30, a filter unit 40, a clean water storage unit 50, a pure water purification unit 60, a precision filter 70, and a temperature adjustment unit 80.

[0033] The waste liquid storage tank 30 stores the processing waste liquid 301 including processing waste discharged by the substrate processing apparatus 2. That is, the processing waste liquid 301 stored in the waste liquid storage tank 30 is used processing waste liquid that the substrate processing apparatus 2 used to process the substrate 200, and includes processing waste. The waste liquid storage tank 30 includes a waste liquid tank 31, which is a sealed tank that stores the processing waste liquid 301 supplied from the substrate processing apparatus 2 through the processing waste liquid supply pipe 5, and a waste liquid delivery pump 32 shown in FIG. 3 that delivers the processing waste liquid 301 in the waste liquid tank 31.

[0034] The filter unit 40 filters and removes machining waste from the machining waste liquid 301 once stored in the waste liquid storage tank 30 and delivered from the waste liquid storage tank 30, and refines the machining waste liquid 301 into clean water 302. The filter unit 40 includes a first filter 42 to which the machining waste liquid 301 delivered from the waste liquid storage tank 30 is introduced via a pipe 41, a second filter 43 to which the machining waste liquid 301 is introduced via the pipe 41, and a clean water receiving pan 46 to which the first filter 42 and the second filter 43 are detachably provided. The pipe 41 connecting the waste liquid delivery pump 32 to the first filter 42 and the second filter 43 is provided with electromagnetic opening / closing valves 44-1 and 44-2. When the electromagnetic opening / closing valves 44-1 and 44-2 are opened, the machining waste liquid 301 is introduced into the first filter 42 and the second filter 43. Further, the pipe 41 is provided with a pressure detection means 45 for detecting the pressure of the processing waste liquid 301 .

[0035] The first filter 42 and the second filter 43 filter the introduced processing waste liquid 301, capture processing debris in the processing waste liquid 301, and refine the processing waste liquid 301 into fresh water 302. The first filter 42 and the second filter 43 cause the refined fresh water 302 to flow out onto a fresh water receiving pan 46. The fresh water receiving pan 46 sends the fresh water 302 to the fresh water storage unit 50 through a pipe 47 consisting of a flexible hose or the like.

[0036] The fresh water storage unit 50 stores the fresh water 302 from the filter unit 40. The fresh water storage unit 50 includes a fresh water storage tank 51, which is a sealed tank that stores the fresh water 302 supplied from the filter unit 40 through the piping 47.

[0037] The pure water purification unit 60 purifies the fresh water 302 into the pure water 300. The pure water purification unit 60 includes a pressure pump 61, an ultraviolet irradiation unit 72, a first ion exchange unit 62, a second ion exchange unit 63, and a suction pump 64. The pressure pump 61 supplies the fresh water 302 in the fresh water storage tank 51 through a pipe 65 to the ultraviolet irradiation unit 72.

[0038] The ultraviolet irradiation unit 72 irradiates ultraviolet rays onto the fresh water 302 from which the machining waste has been removed. The ultraviolet irradiation unit 72 includes a fresh water storage tank 73, which is a sealed tank into which the fresh water 302 is introduced and which stores the introduced fresh water 302, and an ultraviolet irradiation lamp (not shown) which is installed in the fresh water storage tank 73 and irradiates the fresh water 302 introduced into the fresh water storage tank 73 with ultraviolet rays to decompose and sterilize organic matter. The fresh water storage tank 73 is made of metal and prevents ultraviolet rays from the ultraviolet irradiation lamp installed inside from leaking to the outside.

[0039] The ultraviolet irradiation unit 72 is connected to the inlets of the first ion exchange unit 62 and the second ion exchange unit 63 through a pipe 74. The pipe 74 connecting the ultraviolet irradiation unit 72 to the first ion exchange unit 62 and the second ion exchange unit 63 is provided with electromagnetic on-off valves 66-1 and 66-2. When the electromagnetic on-off valves 66-1 and 66-2 are opened, fresh water 302 is introduced into the first ion exchange unit 62 and the second ion exchange unit 63.

[0040] The first ion exchange unit 62 and the second ion exchange unit 63 perform ion exchange on the clean water 302 sent from the ultraviolet irradiation unit 72 to purify it into pure water 300. The first ion exchange unit 62 and the second ion exchange unit 63 each have an inlet provided at an upper portion and an outlet provided at a lower portion, with the inlet connected to a pipe 74 and the outlet connected to the precision filter 70 via a pipe 67. The first ion exchange unit 62 and the second ion exchange unit 63 contain ion exchange resin, which is a consumable item (not shown).

[0041] At least one of anion exchange resin and cation exchange resin is used as the ion exchange resin. In the first embodiment, both anion exchange resin and cation exchange resin are filled in each of the ion exchange units 62, 63 in a predetermined ratio as the ion exchange resin. The cation exchange resin has a larger specific gravity than the anion exchange resin. When fresh water 302 is supplied, the ion exchange resin adsorbs ions, causing volumetric contraction and generating gaps between the ion exchange resins.

[0042] Specifically, the cation exchange resin takes the cations in the fresh water 302 and converts them into H + The anion exchange resin releases the anion, and the anion exchange resin releases the anion - H in ion exchange resins such as cation exchange resins and anion exchange resins + OH -exists in combination with HO and has a large volume compared to the ions to be exchanged. For this reason, the volume of ion exchange resins such as cation exchange resins and anion exchange resins gradually decreases as ion exchange is carried out.

[0043] The first ion exchange unit 62 and the second ion exchange unit 63 guide the clean water 302 introduced from the inlet between the ion exchange resins, exchanges ions in the ion exchange resin to purify the clean water 302 into pure water 300, and sends it out from the outlet to the pipe 67.

[0044] In addition, a pressure detection means 68 for detecting the pressure of the pure water 300 from the outlets of the first ion exchange unit 62 and the second ion exchange unit 63, a resistivity meter 69, and a suction pump 64 for sucking the purified pure water 300 are attached to the piping 67 connecting the outlets of the first ion exchange unit 62 and the second ion exchange unit 63 to the precision filter 70.

[0045] The precision filter 70 captures and removes fine substances such as resin debris of ion exchange resin and the like in the pure water 300, and sends the pure water 300 with the fine substances captured therein to the temperature adjustment unit 80 through the piping 71. The temperature adjustment unit 80 adjusts the pure water 300 to a predetermined temperature and supplies it to the substrate processing apparatus 2 through the supply piping 81 and the pure water supply pipe 7. The supply piping 81 is connected to the pure water supply pipe 7 of each substrate processing apparatus 2.

[0046] The fluid supplying apparatus 3 having the above-mentioned configuration controls the electromagnetic on-off valves 44-1, 44-2, 66-1, 66-2, the pressure pump 61 and the suction pump 64 based on the detection results of the pressure detecting means 45, 68-1 to store the processing waste liquid 301 in the waste liquid storage tank 30, filter the same in the filter unit 40 to refine it into clean water 302, store the clean water 302 in the clean water storage unit 50, refine the same into pure water 300 in the pure water purification unit 60, and supply the pure water 300 to the plurality of substrate processing apparatuses 2 via the precision filter 70 and the temperature adjustment unit 80. For this purpose, the pumps 61, 64 circulate the fluid within the fluid supplying apparatus 3.

[0047] The fluid supply device 3 also has a circulation pipe 82 whose both ends are connected to the pipe 71 and the pipe 47 and capable of passing a fluid such as pure water 300, an on-off valve 83 installed in the circulation pipe 82, and a flow meter 84 installed in the pure water supply pipe 7.

[0048] The circulation pipe 82 guides the pure water 300 sent to the pipe 71 through the pipe 47 to the pure water storage tank 51 of the pure water storage unit 50, thereby circulating the pure water 300 between the pure water storage unit 50 and the pure water purification unit 60.

[0049] The on-off valve 83, when opened, permits the supply of the pure water 300 to the fresh water storage tank 51 of the fresh water storage unit 50 and permits the circulation of the pure water 300 between the fresh water storage unit 50 and the pure water purification unit 60. The on-off valve 83, when closed, stops the supply (receives) of the pure water 300 to the fresh water storage tank 51 of the fresh water storage unit 50 and stops the circulation of the pure water 300 between the fresh water storage unit 50 and the pure water purification unit 60.

[0050] The flow meter 84 is disposed on the supply pipe 81 in the fluid supply device 3. That is, one flow meter 84 is provided for each of the substrate processing apparatuses 2.

[0051] The flow meter 84 detects the flow rate of the pure water 300 supplied to the substrate processing apparatus 2, and outputs the detection result to the control unit 4. For example, in the first embodiment, the flow rate of the pure water 300 detected by the flow meter 84 when the corresponding on-off valve 8 of the substrate processing apparatus 2 is closed is 0 (L / min), and the flow rate of the pure water 300 detected by the flow meter 84 when the corresponding on-off valve 8 of the substrate processing apparatus 2 is open is a predetermined value (L / min).

[0052] The flow meter 84 is an ultrasonic flow meter, an electromagnetic flow meter, a Riolli flow meter, a thermal flow meter, a Karman vortex flow meter, an impeller flow meter, a float flow meter, a differential pressure flow meter, or the like.

[0053] The control unit 4 controls each of the above-mentioned components constituting the fluid supplying apparatus 3, and causes the fluid supplying apparatus 3 to execute a refining operation for refining the processing waste liquid 301 into pure water 300. The control unit 4 is a computer having an arithmetic processing device having a microprocessor such as a CPU (central processing unit), a storage device having a memory such as a ROM (read only memory) or a RAM (random access memory), and an input / output interface device.

[0054] The arithmetic processing device of the control unit 4 performs arithmetic processing according to a computer program stored in the storage device, and outputs control signals for controlling the fluid supplying device 3 to the above-mentioned components of the fluid supplying device 3 via the input / output interface device. The control unit 4 is also connected to a display unit constituted by a liquid crystal display device or the like that displays the operating status and images of each component, and an input unit that an operator uses to register operating conditions, etc. The input unit is constituted by at least one of a touch panel provided on the display unit, a keyboard, etc.

[0055] The fluid supplying apparatus 3 having the above-mentioned configuration includes a circulation unit 6 that purifies the processing waste liquid 301 into pure water 300, and is integrated with a so-called pure water purification apparatus. In addition, the fluid supplying apparatus 3 may be installed at a position away from the substrate processing apparatus 2.

[0056] As described above, in the substrate processing system 1 according to the first embodiment, the substrate processing apparatus 2 includes the control unit 27, and the fluid supply apparatus 3 includes the control unit 4 that operates independently of the control unit 27. In the substrate processing system 1 according to the first embodiment, the control units 27 and 4 do not transmit and receive information to each other, and the operations of the substrate processing apparatus 2 and the fluid supply apparatus 3 are controlled independently of each other by the control units 27 and 4.

[0057] In the above-described substrate processing system 1, when at least one substrate processing apparatus 2 starts a processing operation, the fluid supplying apparatus 3 first starts a purification operation. With the on-off valve 8 closed, the fluid supplying apparatus 3 opens the on-off valve 83 and drives the pumps 32, 61, and 64 to purify the processing waste liquid 301 into pure water 300, and circulates the purified pure water 300 between the clean water containing unit 50 and the pure water purifying unit 60 for a predetermined time, thereby stabilizing the temperature and quality of the pure water 300 to a state required by the substrate processing apparatus 2. Alternatively, the fluid supplying apparatus 3 may supply a new fluid from a fluid supply source and circulate it between the clean water containing unit 50 and the pure water purifying unit 60 for a predetermined time, thereby stabilizing the temperature and quality of the pure water 300 to a state required by the substrate processing apparatus 2.

[0058] In the substrate processing system 1, when a predetermined time has elapsed since the fluid supply device 3 started the refining operation, the control unit 4 closes the on-off valve 83, the control unit 27 opens the on-off valve 8, and each substrate processing apparatus 2 starts a processing operation. In the substrate processing system 1, when each substrate processing apparatus 2 starts a processing operation, pure water 300 is supplied to each substrate processing apparatus 2 from the fluid supply device 3, and a flow meter 84 installed in the pure water supply pipe 7 with the on-off valve 8 open detects the flow rate of the pure water 300 supplied from the fluid supply device 3 to the substrate processing apparatus 2.

[0059] In the substrate processing system 1, when each substrate processing apparatus 2 starts a processing operation, each substrate processing apparatus 2 supplies the processing waste liquid 301 to the fluid supply apparatus 3 through the processing waste liquid supply pipe 5.

[0060] Furthermore, in the substrate processing system 1, when each substrate processing apparatus 2 finishes a processing operation after starting the processing operation, the control unit 27 closes the on-off valve 8. Then, the flow rate of the pure water 300 detected by the flow meter 84 installed in the pure water supply pipe 7 with the on-off valve 8 closed becomes 0 (L / min).

[0061] In the substrate processing system 1, when the on-off valves 8 of all the substrate processing apparatuses 2 are closed and the flow rate of the pure water 300 detected by the flow meter 84 of the fluid supply apparatus 3 becomes 0 (L / min), the water pressure in the piping 71 of the fluid supply apparatus 3 rises, and the on-off valve 83 designed to open when a certain pressure or more is applied is opened, and the pure water 300 purified by the pure water purification unit 60 is circulated between the pure water storage unit 50 and the pure water purification unit 60 through the circulation piping 82. Note that the on-off valve 83 does not automatically open due to pressure, but may be opened by the control unit 4.

[0062] In the substrate processing system 1, when the flow rates of the pure water 300 detected by all the flow meters 84 of the fluid supply device 3 are 0 (L / min), i.e., when a predetermined time (for example, 3 hours in the first embodiment) has elapsed since the on-off valves 8 of all the substrate processing apparatuses 2 were closed, the control unit 4 of the fluid supply device 3 stops the operation of the pumps 32, 61, 64 to stop the circulation of the pure water 300 between the pure water storage unit 50 and the pure water purification unit 60, and stops the operation of the fluid supply device 3. In this way, the control unit 4 of the fluid supply device 3 stops the operation of the fluid supply device 3 when the flow rates of the pure water 300 detected by all the flow meters 84 of the fluid supply device 3 are 0 (L / min), i.e., when all the substrate processing apparatuses 2 have finished their processing operations, all the on-off valves 8 have stopped receiving the pure water 300 to the substrate processing apparatuses 2, and all the flow meters 84 have not measured (detected) the supply of the pure water 300 to all the substrate processing apparatuses 2 for a predetermined time or more.

[0063] As described above, in the substrate processing system 1 according to the first embodiment, when all the on-off valves 8 have stopped receiving the pure water 300 to the substrate processing apparatus 2 and all the flow meters 84 have not measured (detected) the supply of the pure water 300 to all the substrate processing apparatuses 2 for a predetermined period of time or longer, the control unit 4 of the fluid supply apparatus 3 stops the operation of the fluid supply apparatus 3. In this way, the substrate processing system 1 according to the first embodiment can determine the operating status of each substrate processing apparatus 2 by the fluid supply apparatus 3 alone and stop the operation of the fluid supply apparatus 3 itself.

[0064] As a result, the substrate processing system 1 has the advantage of being able to reduce the costs of consumables such as ion exchange resin and ultraviolet irradiation lamps in the fluid supply device 3, as well as the electricity costs for operating the fluid supply device 3, even if the operations of the substrate processing device 2 and the fluid supply device 3 are controlled independently of each other.

[0065] Furthermore, the substrate processing system 1 according to the first embodiment utilizes the flowmeter 84 provided in the fluid supply device 3, and even if the system is connected to a plurality of substrate processing apparatuses 2, the fluid supply device 3 alone can determine the operating status of each substrate processing apparatus 2 and stop the operation of the fluid supply device 3 without additional costs, and this has the effect of reducing the cost of consumables such as ion exchange resin and ultraviolet irradiation lamps in the fluid supply device 3 and the cost of electricity required for the operation of the fluid supply device 3. The fluid supply device 3 needs to be operated while at least one substrate processing apparatus 2 is in operation, and the flow rate required for each substrate processing apparatus 2 is managed by the fluid supply permitting means provided in each substrate processing apparatus 2, so that it is often not necessary to know which substrate processing apparatus 2 is operating individually. Therefore, even if the system is connected to a plurality of substrate processing apparatuses 2, it is not necessary to provide a plurality of flowmeters 84 corresponding to the number of substrate processing apparatuses 2, and the operation of the fluid supply device 3 can be controlled by one flowmeter 84 provided in the fluid supply device 3, which is economical.

[0066] The fluid supplying device 3 of the substrate processing system 1 according to the embodiment 1 may further include a unit for mixing a chemical liquid such as carbon dioxide gas, a surfactant, etc. Also, the fluid supplying device 3 of the substrate processing system 1 according to the embodiment 1 may be connected to a fluid supply source and a discharge part, and may not include the circulation unit 6 for circulating the processing waste liquid 301, and may only manage the flow rate and temperature of the pure water 300.

[0067] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0068] In the first embodiment, the substrate processing apparatus 2 is a cutting apparatus that cuts the substrate 200, but the present invention is not limited to a cutting apparatus. In the present invention, the substrate processing apparatus 2 may be a grinding apparatus that grinds the substrate 200, a polishing apparatus that polishes the substrate 200, a plasma etching apparatus that plasma etches the substrate, a coating apparatus that coats the substrate 200 with a liquid resin, or a laser processing apparatus that laser processes the substrate.

[0069] Furthermore, when the substrate processing apparatus 2 is a grinding apparatus or a polishing apparatus, it is preferable that the fluid supplying apparatus 3 supplies a processing fluid supplied to the processing point where the grinding wheel or polishing pad comes into contact with the substrate 200, a cooling fluid for cooling the driving parts such as the spindle, and a cleaning fluid used in a cleaning unit for cleaning the substrate 200 after processing.

[0070] Furthermore, in the case where the substrate processing apparatus 2 is a plasma etching apparatus, the fluid supplying apparatus 3 desirably supplies an etching gas that is turned into plasma and supplied to the processing point of the substrate 200 where etching is to be performed.

[0071] Furthermore, when the substrate processing apparatus 2 is a coating apparatus, the fluid supply apparatus 3 desirably supplies a liquid resin with which the substrate 200 is coated.

[0072] Furthermore, when the substrate processing apparatus 2 is a laser processing apparatus, it is desirable for the laser processing apparatus to supply a liquid resin used in a resin coating unit that coats the substrate 200 with liquid resin to prevent processing debris from adhering to the substrate 200, and a cleaning liquid used in a cleaning unit that cleans the substrate 200 after laser processing. [Explanation of symbols]

[0073] 1. Substrate Processing System 2. Substrate Processing Equipment 3 Fluid supply device 7 Pure water supply pipe (flow path) 8. Opening and closing valve (fluid supply permitting means) 61 Pressure Pump 64 Suction Pump 84 Flow meter 300 Pure Water (Fluid)

Claims

1. a substrate processing apparatus having a fluid supply allowing means for allowing a supply of a fluid; a fluid supply device connected to the substrate processing apparatus and supplying a fluid used in the substrate processing apparatus, The fluid supply device comprises: a flow meter provided in a flow path through which the fluid is supplied to the substrate processing apparatus; the fluid supply permitting means stops receiving the fluid; When the flow meter does not measure the supply of fluid to the substrate processing apparatus for a period of time set in advance or longer, the operation of the fluid supply apparatus is stopped.

2. The fluid supply allowing means comprises:

2. The substrate processing system according to claim 1, wherein the pressure sensor is a pump or an on-off valve.

3. A plurality of the substrate processing apparatuses are connected to one of the fluid supply apparatuses; 2. The substrate processing system according to claim 1, wherein the fluid supply device supplies fluid to a plurality of the substrate processing apparatuses.

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