Substrate processing apparatus and method for processing cylindrical guard

Abstract

To provide a substrate processing device capable of further suppressing splashing of liquid droplets from a cylindrical guard onto a substrate, and a processing method for the cylindrical guard.SOLUTION: A substrate processing device 1 includes a resin cylindrical guard 80 surrounding a substrate held by a spin chuck. The cylindrical guard 80 includes an inner peripheral surface 120 and an uneven portion 121 provided on inner peripheral surface 120. The uneven portion 121 includes a plurality of concave portions 130 and a plurality of convex portions 131 located between the concave portions 130 adjacent to each other. The concave portion 130 has a width W1 which is smaller than a diameter Dm of a droplet LD scattered from the substrate W held by a spin chuck 15, and a depth De at which the droplet LD does not touch the bottom portion 130a of the concave portion 130 while the droplet LD is in contact with the plurality of convex portions 131. The convex portion 131 has a width W2 smaller than the diameter Dm of the droplet LD and smaller than the width W1 of the concave portion 130.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for processing substrates, and a method for processing a cylindrical guard used in the substrate processing apparatus for processing substrates. Substrates to be processed include, for example, semiconductor wafers, FPD (Flat Panel Display) substrates such as liquid crystal display devices and organic EL (Electroluminescence) display devices, optical disk substrates, magnetic disk substrates, magneto-optical disk substrates, photomask substrates, ceramic substrates, solar cell substrates, etc. [Background technology]

[0002] The following Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose substrate processing apparatuses equipped with a cylindrical cup having a plurality of vertical grooves formed therein. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-155590 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2018-166135 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The cups in Patent Documents 1 and 2 receive droplets of liquid scattered from the substrate and slide the liquid down the sides and bottom of multiple grooves. This makes it possible to prevent droplets from bouncing off the cup. There is a demand for a new configuration that can prevent droplets from bouncing off the inner circumferential surface of the cup. SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of suppressing the scattering of droplets from a cylindrical guard onto a substrate, and a method for processing the cylindrical guard. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] One embodiment of the present invention provides a substrate processing apparatus comprising a rotating holding member that holds a substrate and rotates the substrate around a predetermined rotation axis, a liquid supply member that supplies liquid to the substrate held by the rotating holding member, and a resin cylindrical guard that surrounds the substrate held by the rotating holding member. The cylindrical guard in this substrate processing apparatus has an inner circumferential surface and an uneven portion provided on the inner circumferential surface, the uneven portion having a plurality of recesses and a plurality of protrusions located between adjacent recesses. The recesses have a width smaller than the diameter of a droplet scattered from the substrate held by the rotating holding member and a depth such that the droplet does not come into contact with a bottom of the recesses when the droplet comes into contact with the plurality of protrusions, and the protrusions have a width smaller than the diameter of the droplet and smaller than the width of the recesses.

[0006] According to this substrate processing apparatus, liquid can be supplied from a liquid supply member to a substrate held by a rotating holding member. When liquid is supplied to the substrate in a rotating state, droplets of liquid are scattered from the substrate in a rotating state, and the droplets scattered from the substrate can be received by the inner peripheral surface of a cylindrical resin guard that surrounds the substrate. The uneven portion provided on the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical guard has a plurality of recesses and a plurality of protrusions located between adjacent recesses. The recesses have a width smaller than the diameter of the droplet, and the protrusions have a width smaller than the diameter of the droplet and smaller than the width of the recesses. Therefore, the droplet received in the uneven portion of the inner peripheral surface does not enter the recess completely and contacts the plurality of protrusions. Furthermore, the depth of the recess is a depth at which the droplet does not contact the bottom of the recess when the droplet contacts the plurality of protrusions. If the uneven portion and the droplet have such a dimensional relationship, the area where the droplet contacts the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical guard can be reduced compared to a flat surface where the uneven portion is not formed. Therefore, the contact angle of the droplet with the uneven portion can be made larger than the contact angle of the droplet with the flat surface where the uneven portion is not formed. That is, the hydrophobicity of the inner peripheral surface can be improved.

[0007] Therefore, droplets that have scattered from the substrate and been received by the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical guard can be prevented from remaining on the inner peripheral surface. This reduces the amount of droplets remaining on the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical guard. As a result, the scattering of droplets from the inner peripheral surface onto the substrate caused by collision between droplets newly scattered from the substrate and droplets remaining on the inner peripheral surface can be effectively prevented. Therefore, the suppression of droplets from scattering onto the substrate from the cylindrical guard can be achieved.

[0008] The diameter of droplets scattered from a substrate rotated at a rotation speed of 600 rpm to 1200 rpm is mainly 1.5 mm or less. If the depth of the recess is 10 μm or more and the width of the recess and the width of the protrusion are smaller than 1.5 mm, droplets having a diameter of 1.5 mm or less can be effectively prevented from contacting the bottom of the recess, and hydrophobization can be achieved for droplets having a diameter of 1.5 mm or less.

[0009] In particular, if the width of the recess is 100 μm or more and less than 1.0 mm, the depth of the recess is 200 μm or less, and the width of the protrusion is 40 μm or less, it is possible to effectively prevent a droplet having a diameter of 1.5 mm or less from contacting the bottom of the recess, and the inner surface can be satisfactorily hydrophobized. The average surface roughness of the uneven portion having such a dimensional relationship is 3.0 or more and 6.0 or less.

[0010] In one embodiment of the present invention, the recesses include a plurality of circular grooves along the circumferential direction of the inner circumferential surface. The circular grooves are provided on the inner circumferential surface at intervals in the axial direction along the central axis of the inner circumferential surface. This makes it possible to improve the hydrophobicity of the inner circumferential surface over the entire circumferential area of ​​the inner circumferential surface. This makes it possible to uniformly prevent droplets that have scattered from the substrate and been received by the inner circumferential surface of the cylindrical guard from remaining on the inner circumferential surface over the entire area of ​​the inner circumferential surface.

[0011] In one embodiment of the present invention, the recesses include a plurality of intersecting grooves extending in a direction intersecting the circular grooves. The intersecting grooves and the circular grooves form a lattice shape. Therefore, compared to a configuration in which only circular grooves are provided as recesses, the hydrophobicity can be improved uniformly over the entire area of ​​the uneven portion. In one embodiment of the present invention, the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical guard has a cylindrical surface extending in a vertical direction and an inclined surface connected to an upper end of the cylindrical surface and extending at an angle with respect to the cylindrical surface, and the plurality of recesses include a plurality of first recesses formed in the inclined surface.

[0012] Droplets scattering diagonally upward from the substrate are mainly received by the inclined surface connected to the upper end of the cylindrical surface, while droplets scattering diagonally downward from the substrate are mainly received by the cylindrical surface. Droplets scattering from the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical guard tend to scatter diagonally downward, so re-adhesion to the substrate of droplets scattering from the inclined surface is more likely to be a problem than droplets scattering from the cylindrical surface. Therefore, if the multiple recesses include multiple first recesses formed on the inclined surface, the hydrophobicity of the inclined surface can be improved, thereby effectively suppressing adhesion of droplets scattering from the inner surface to the substrate.

[0013] In one embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of recesses include a plurality of second recesses formed on the cylindrical surface. The droplets received by the inclined surface move downward along the inclined surface and are guided to the cylindrical surface. If the plurality of recesses include a plurality of second recesses formed on the cylindrical surface, the hydrophobicity of the cylindrical surface can be improved, so that the liquid can be prevented from remaining on the cylindrical surface. Therefore, the collision between the droplets scattering from the substrate toward the cylindrical surface and the droplets remaining on the cylindrical surface can be prevented. As a result, the scattering of the droplets from the cylindrical surface to the substrate caused by the collision between the droplets newly scattering from the substrate and the droplets remaining on the cylindrical surface can be effectively prevented.

[0014] In one embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of protrusions include a plurality of first protrusions located between adjacent first recesses and a plurality of second protrusions located between adjacent second recesses, and a width of the first protrusions is smaller than a width of the second protrusions. According to this substrate processing apparatus, since the width of the first convex portion is smaller than the width of the second convex portion, the hydrophobicity of the inclined surface is higher than that of the cylindrical surface. By making the hydrophobicity of the inclined surface higher than that of the cylindrical surface, it is possible to prevent droplets from remaining on the inclined surface. Droplets scattering from the inclined surface of the cylindrical guard are more likely to adhere to the substrate than droplets scattering from the cylindrical surface. Therefore, by increasing the hydrophobicity of the inclined surface, it is possible to prevent droplets from scattering from the inclined surface and adhering to the substrate.

[0015] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the cylindrical guard is made of a hydrophobic resin, which can further improve the hydrophobicity of the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical guard. Another embodiment of the present invention provides a substrate processing apparatus including a rotary holding member for holding a substrate so that the substrate rotates around a predetermined rotation axis, a liquid supply member for supplying liquid to the substrate held by the rotary holding member, and a resin cylindrical guard surrounding the rotary holding member. The cylindrical guard in the substrate processing apparatus has an inner peripheral surface and an uneven portion provided on the inner peripheral surface, the uneven portion having a plurality of recesses and a plurality of protrusions located between adjacent recesses. The recesses have a depth of 10 μm or more and a width smaller than 1.5 mm, and the protrusions have a width smaller than the width of the recesses and smaller than 1.5 mm.

[0016] As described above, this substrate processing apparatus effectively prevents droplets having a diameter of 1.5 mm or less from contacting the bottom of the recess, and can achieve hydrophobicity for droplets having a diameter of 1.5 mm or less. Therefore, droplets that have scattered from the substrate and been received by the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical guard can be prevented from remaining on the inner peripheral surface. Since the amount of droplets remaining on the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical guard can be reduced, droplets that are scattered from the inner peripheral surface toward the substrate due to collisions between droplets newly scattered from the substrate and droplets remaining on the inner peripheral surface can be effectively prevented.

[0017] In another embodiment of the present invention, the width of the recess may be 100 μm or more and less than 1.0 mm, and the depth of the recess may be 200 μm or less. Furthermore, the width of the protrusion may be 40 μm or less. In another embodiment of the present invention, the average surface roughness of the inner circumferential surface may be 3.0 or more and 6.0 or less.

[0018] Yet another embodiment of the present invention provides a method for processing a resin cylindrical guard for surrounding a rotary holding member that holds a substrate and rotates the substrate about a predetermined rotation axis in a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate with a liquid, the method including a guard preparation step of preparing a cylindrical guard having an inner peripheral surface, and a hydrophobization step of hydrophobizing the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical guard by forming an uneven portion on the inner peripheral surface.

[0019] According to this processing method, it is possible to manufacture a cylindrical guard having an inner circumferential surface formed with a concave-convex portion that makes the inner circumferential surface hydrophobic. Therefore, the hydrophobicity of the inner circumferential surface can be improved compared to a surface without the concave-convex portion. In addition, the concave-convex portion can be additionally formed on a cylindrical guard that already has the concave-convex portion formed thereon. Therefore, droplets that have scattered from the substrate and been received by the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical guard can be prevented from remaining on the inner peripheral surface. Since the amount of droplets remaining on the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical guard can be reduced, droplets that are scattered from the inner peripheral surface toward the substrate due to collisions between droplets newly scattered from the substrate and droplets remaining on the inner peripheral surface can be effectively prevented. Therefore, the prevention of droplets from scattering from the cylindrical guard to the substrate can be achieved.

[0020] In still another embodiment of the present invention, the uneven portion is formed in the hydrophobization step so that the average surface roughness is 3.0 or more and 6.0 or less. If an uneven portion with such an average surface roughness can be formed, the contact angle formed between the inner circumferential surface and a liquid droplet can be made larger than the contact angle formed between a surface on which the uneven portion is not formed and a liquid droplet. In other words, the hydrophobicity of the inner circumferential surface can be improved compared to a surface on which the uneven portion is not formed.

[0021] Therefore, droplets that have scattered from the substrate and been received by the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical guard can be prevented from remaining on the inner peripheral surface. Since the amount of droplets remaining on the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical guard can be reduced, droplets that are scattered from the inner peripheral surface toward the substrate due to collision between droplets newly scattered from the substrate and droplets remaining on the inner peripheral surface can be effectively prevented. In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the hydrophobization process includes a cutting member moving process in which a cutting member is moved a predetermined feed distance along the inner circumferential surface at each predetermined feed time while rotating the cylindrical guard about the central axis of the inner circumferential surface, and a cutting process in which, after moving the cutting member by the feed distance, the cutting member is pressed against the inner circumferential surface by a predetermined pressing amount to cut the inner circumferential surface and form a circular groove portion.

[0022] By simply moving the cutting member, a plurality of circular grooves having a uniform depth can be formed at uniform intervals, thereby improving the uniformity of the dimensions of the projections and recesses formed on the inner circumferential surface. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0023] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing the internal configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic vertical sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining a configuration example of a processing unit provided in the substrate processing apparatus. [Figure 4]FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining the configuration of a cylindrical guard provided in the processing unit. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the inner circumferential surface and its vicinity in cross section of the cylindrical guard. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a view of the concave-convex portion as viewed from the arrow VI shown in FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view for explaining the shape of the projections and recesses provided on the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical guard. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 corresponds to a cross section taken along line VIII-VIII in FIG. 6, and is a schematic diagram for explaining the configuration of the concave-convex portion. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram for explaining how droplets scatter from a substrate. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a main part of the substrate processing apparatus. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a flow chart for explaining an example of substrate processing by the substrate processing apparatus. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a graph showing the relationship between the rotation speed of the substrate and the scattering angle of water droplets. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a graph showing the diameter of water droplets scattering from a substrate. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a graph showing the relationship between the number of water droplets scattered from the cylindrical guard and the rotation speed of the substrate. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a graph for explaining the effect of reducing the number of water droplets adhering to the upper surface of the substrate due to the presence of unevenness. [Figure 16] FIG. 16 is a graph for explaining the effect of reducing the number of particles adhering to the upper surface of the substrate due to the presence of unevenness. [Figure 17] FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram showing the vicinity of a water droplet dropped on the concave-convex portion in a contact angle measurement experiment. [Figure 18] FIG. 18 is a graph showing the results of a contact angle measurement experiment carried out using a cylindrical guard having projections and recesses with different average surface roughnesses. [Figure 19A]FIG. 19A is a schematic diagram for explaining a manufacturing method of the cylindrical guard. [Figure 19B] FIG. 19B is a schematic diagram for explaining a manufacturing method of the cylindrical guard. [Figure 19C] FIG. 19C is a schematic diagram for explaining a manufacturing method of the cylindrical guard. [Figure 19D] FIG. 19D is a schematic diagram for explaining a manufacturing method of the cylindrical guard. [Figure 20A] FIG. 20A is a schematic diagram for explaining a first modified example of the concave-convex portion. [Figure 20B] FIG. 20B is a schematic diagram for explaining a second modified example of the concave-convex portion. [Figure 20C] FIG. 20C is a schematic diagram for explaining a third modified example of the concave-convex portion. [Figure 20D] FIG. 20D is a schematic diagram for explaining a fourth modified example of the concave-convex portion. [Figure 20E] FIG. 20E is a schematic diagram for explaining a fifth modified example of the concave-convex portion. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0024] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Fig. 1 is a schematic plan view showing an internal configuration of a substrate processing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a schematic vertical sectional view taken along line II-II in Fig. 1. The substrate processing apparatus 1 includes an indexer block 2, a processing block 3 adjacent to the indexer block 2 in the lateral direction (horizontal direction), and a controller 4 that controls the substrate processing apparatus 1 (see FIG. 10 described later).

[0025] The indexer block 2 includes a plurality of load ports LP (four in this embodiment) and an indexer robot IR. The load ports LP are arranged in a horizontal direction. Each load port LP is configured to hold one carrier CA. The carrier CA is a substrate container that accommodates a substrate W to be processed. The substrate W is, for example, a semiconductor wafer.

[0026] The indexer robot IR is configured to access the carriers CA held on the multiple load ports LP, respectively, to load / unload the substrate W and transport the substrate W between the processing block 3. In this embodiment, the indexer robot IR is an articulated arm robot equipped with an articulated arm. The processing block 3 includes multiple (12 in this embodiment) processing units 5, multiple substrate placement parts 6 (a first substrate placement part 6U and a second substrate placement part 6L), and multiple main transport robots CR (a first main transport robot CRU and a second main transport robot CRL).

[0027] The plurality of processing units 5 perform processing on the substrates W. In this embodiment, each processing unit 5 is a single-wafer processing unit that processes the substrates W one by one. The multiple processing units 5 are arranged on both sides of the transport space 8 along which the substrates W are transported by the multiple main transport robots CR, and face the transport space 8. The transport space 8 extends linearly in a direction away from the indexer block 2 in a plan view.

[0028] The multiple processing units 5 constitute multiple (four in this embodiment) processing towers TW. In a plan view, multiple (two in this embodiment) processing towers TW are arranged on each of both sides of the transfer space 8. Each processing tower TW includes multiple stages (six stages in this embodiment) of processing units 5 stacked vertically. In this embodiment, 24 processing units 5 are arranged in four processing towers TW, six units per stage. All processing units 5 have a substrate transfer entrance / exit 5a facing the transfer space 8.

[0029] A fluid supply unit 9 and an exhaust unit 10 are disposed on the sides of each processing tower TW. The fluid supply unit 9 houses pipes for supplying processing fluids used in the multiple processing units 5 constituting the processing tower TW, and pumps for sending liquids in the pipes. The exhaust unit 10 houses pipes for exhausting the atmosphere inside the multiple processing units 5 constituting the processing tower TW.

[0030] The processing fluid refers to a liquid (processing liquid) or gas used in the substrate processing apparatus 1. Examples of the processing liquid include a chemical liquid and a rinse liquid, which will be described later. In plan view, the exhaust section 10 accommodates exhaust piping 11 for directing exhaust from a plurality of processing units 5 constituting the corresponding processing tower TW to an exhaust facility outside the substrate processing apparatus 1. The exhaust section 10 may further accommodate a switching mechanism 12 for switching the exhaust piping 11 depending on the type of processing (more specifically, the type of processing liquid) in the processing unit 5. Although not shown, the exhaust section 10 accommodates actuators for driving the switching mechanism 12.

[0031] The multiple processing units 5 are classified as lower-layer processing units 5 or upper-layer processing units 5. In this embodiment, the processing units 5 in the lower three tiers are lower-layer processing units 5, and the processing units 5 in the upper three tiers are upper-layer processing units 5. The first substrate platform 6U and the second substrate platform 6L are arranged next to each other in the vertical direction. The first main transport robot CRU and the second main transport robot CRL are arranged next to each other in the vertical direction in the transport space 8.

[0032] The first substrate platform 6U temporarily holds the substrate W to be transferred between the indexer robot IR and the first main transport robot CRU. The second substrate platform 6L temporarily holds the substrate W to be transferred between the indexer robot IR and the second main transport robot CRL. The first main transport robot CRU transports the substrate W between the first substrate platform 6U and the upper processing unit 5. The second main transport robot CRL transports the substrate W between the second substrate platform 6L and the lower processing unit 5.

[0033] The processing unit 5 includes a spin chuck 15 that rotates the substrate W about a rotation axis A1 (vertical axis) while holding the substrate W horizontally, a processing cup 16 that surrounds the spin chuck 15 in a plan view, and a processing chamber 17 that houses the spin chuck 15 and the processing cup 16. The rotation axis A1 is a vertical line that passes through the center of the substrate W. The spin chuck 15 is an example of a rotating holding member.

[0034] The processing chamber 17 includes a bottom wall 17A, a plurality of (four in this embodiment) side walls 17B, and a top wall 17C (see FIG. 3 described later), which define an internal space 101 of the processing chamber 17. The substrate unloading / loading opening 5a is formed in the side wall 17B of the processing chamber 17. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining an example of the configuration of the processing unit 5. As shown in FIG.

[0035] The spin chuck 15 includes a plurality of chuck pins 20, a spin base 21, a rotating shaft 22, and a spin motor 23. The spin base 21 has a disk shape extending in the horizontal direction. In a plan view, the spin base 21 has a circular shape with a diameter larger than that of the substrate W. On the upper surface of the spin base 21, a plurality of chuck pins 20 for gripping the peripheral edge of the substrate W are arranged at intervals in the circumferential direction of the spin base 21. The chuck pins 20 are also referred to as gripping pins.

[0036] The spin base 21 and the multiple chuck pins 20 constitute a substrate holding unit that horizontally holds the substrate W. The substrate holding unit is also called a substrate holder. The rotating shaft 22 extends vertically along the rotation axis A1. The upper end of the rotating shaft 22 is coupled to the center of the lower surface of the spin base 21. The spin motor 23 applies a rotational force to the rotating shaft 22. The spin motor 23 rotates the rotating shaft 22, thereby rotating the spin base 21. As a result, the substrate W is rotated about the rotation axis A1. The spin motor 23 is an example of a substrate rotation unit that rotates the substrate W about the rotation axis A1.

[0037] The processing unit 5 includes a plurality of processing liquid nozzles 30 and a Fan Filter Unit (FFU) 26. The processing liquid nozzles 30 are housed in the processing chamber 17. The FFU 26 is attached to an opening 17a provided in an upper wall 17C of the processing chamber 17, and is an example of an air blowing unit that sends clean air into the processing chamber 17. The FFU 26 includes a fan (not shown) that generates an airflow from the outside of the processing chamber 17 toward the inside of the processing chamber 17, a filter (not shown) for removing foreign matter contained in the airflow, and an actuator (not shown) such as a motor that drives the fan.

[0038] Each processing liquid nozzle 30 is an example of a liquid supplying member that supplies liquid to the substrate W held by the spin chuck 15. The multiple processing liquid nozzles 30 include a chemical liquid nozzle 31 that ejects a chemical liquid toward the upper surface of the substrate W, an upper rinse liquid nozzle 32 that ejects a rinse liquid toward the upper surface of the substrate W, and a lower rinse liquid nozzle 33 that ejects a rinse liquid toward the lower surface of the substrate W.

[0039] The chemical nozzle 31 is connected to a chemical pipe 41 that guides the chemical to the chemical nozzle 31. A chemical valve 51 that opens and closes the flow path of the chemical pipe 41 and a chemical pump 61 that sends the chemical to the chemical nozzle 31 are interposed in the chemical pipe 41. When the chemical valve 51 is opened, the chemical is discharged downward from the chemical nozzle 31 in a continuous flow. In this embodiment, the chemical nozzle 31 is a moving nozzle that is moved horizontally and vertically by the first nozzle moving unit 71. The chemical nozzle 31 is configured to move horizontally between a central position and a home position (retracted position). When the chemical nozzle 31 is located at the central position and the chemical valve 51 is opened, the chemical liquid is supplied to the central region of the upper surface of the substrate W.

[0040] The first nozzle moving unit 71 may include an arm 71A connected to the chemical liquid nozzle 31 and extending horizontally, a rotating shaft 71B connected to the arm 71A and extending vertically, and a rotating shaft drive unit 71C that raises and lowers the rotating shaft. The rotating shaft drive unit 71C includes a drive motor (not shown) that rotates the rotating shaft 71B around a rotation axis A2 extending vertically to swing the arm 71A, and an arm lifter (not shown) that raises and lowers the arm 71A by raising and lowering the rotating shaft 71B along the vertical direction. The arm lifter is, for example, a ball screw mechanism or a rack and pinion mechanism.

[0041] Unlike this embodiment, chemical liquid nozzle 31 may be a fixed nozzle whose position is fixed in the horizontal and vertical directions. The chemical solution discharged from the chemical solution nozzle 31 may be a liquid containing at least one of sulfuric acid, acetic acid, nitric acid, hydrochloric acid, hydrofluoric acid, ammonia water, hydrogen peroxide water, organic acid (e.g., citric acid, oxalic acid, etc.), organic alkali (e.g., TMAH: tetramethylammonium hydroxide, etc.), surfactant, and corrosion inhibitor. Examples of chemical solutions that are mixtures of these include SPM (sulfuric acid / hydrogen peroxide mixture), APM (ammonia-hydrogen peroxide mixture), etc.

[0042] The upper rinse liquid nozzle 32 is connected to an upper rinse liquid pipe 42 that guides the rinse liquid to the upper rinse liquid nozzle 32. An upper rinse liquid valve 52 that opens and closes the flow path of the upper rinse liquid pipe 42 and an upper rinse liquid pump 62 that sends the rinse liquid to the upper rinse liquid nozzle 32 are provided in the upper rinse liquid pipe 42. When the upper rinse liquid valve 52 is opened, the rinse liquid is discharged downward from the upper rinse liquid nozzle 32 in a continuous flow.

[0043] In this embodiment, the upper rinsing liquid nozzle 32 is a moving nozzle that is moved horizontally and vertically by the second nozzle moving unit 72. The upper rinsing liquid nozzle 32 is configured to move horizontally between a central position and a home position (retracted position). When the upper rinsing liquid nozzle 32 is located at the central position and the upper rinsing liquid valve 52 is opened, the rinsing liquid is supplied to the central region of the upper surface of the substrate W.

[0044] The second nozzle movement unit 72 may include an arm 72A connected to the upper rinsing liquid nozzle 32 and extending horizontally, a rotating shaft 72B connected to the arm 72A and extending vertically, and a rotating shaft drive unit 72C that raises and lowers the rotating shaft 72B. The rotating shaft drive unit 72C includes a drive motor (not shown) that rotates the rotating shaft 72B around a rotation axis A3 extending vertically to swing the arm 72A, and an arm lifter (not shown) that raises and lowers the arm 72A by raising and lowering the rotating shaft along the vertical direction. The arm lifter is, for example, a ball screw mechanism or a rack and pinion mechanism.

[0045] Unlike this embodiment, the upper rinsing liquid nozzle 32 may be a fixed nozzle whose position is fixed in the horizontal and vertical directions. The lower rinsing liquid nozzle 33 is a fixed nozzle that discharges a rinsing liquid toward the center of the lower surface of the substrate W. The lower rinsing liquid nozzle 33 is inserted into a through hole 21a that opens in the center of the upper surface of the spin base 21 and an internal space 22a of the rotation shaft 22 that communicates with the through hole 21a. An outlet 33a of the lower rinsing liquid nozzle 33 is exposed from the upper surface of the spin base 21.

[0046] The lower rinse liquid nozzle 33 is connected to a lower rinse liquid pipe 43 that guides the rinse liquid to the lower rinse liquid nozzle 33. A lower rinse liquid valve 53 that opens and closes the flow path of the lower rinse liquid pipe 43 and a lower rinse liquid pump 63 that sends the rinse liquid to the lower rinse liquid nozzle 33 are provided in the lower rinse liquid pipe 43. When the lower rinse liquid valve 53 is opened, the rinse liquid is discharged upward from the lower rinse liquid nozzle 33 in a continuous flow.

[0047] Examples of the rinse liquid include DIW, carbonated water, electrolytic ion water, diluted hydrochloric acid water (for example, about 1 ppm to 100 ppm), diluted ammonia water (for example, about 1 ppm to 100 ppm), reduced water (hydrogen water), and the like. A lower gas flow passage 25 is formed by a space between the lower rinsing liquid nozzle 33 and the through-hole 21a of the spin base 21. The lower gas flow passage 25 is connected to a lower gas pipe 44 inserted into the internal space 22a between the inner circumferential surface of the rotating shaft 22 and the lower rinsing liquid nozzle 33. When a lower gas valve 54 provided in the lower gas pipe 44 is opened, a gas such as nitrogen gas (N2 gas) is discharged from the lower gas flow passage 25 toward the space between the lower surface of the substrate W and the upper surface of the spin base 21.

[0048] The gas discharged from the lower gas flow passage 25 is not limited to nitrogen gas. The gas discharged from the lower gas flow passage 25 may be air. The gas discharged from the lower gas flow passage 25 may be an inert gas other than nitrogen gas. The inert gas other than nitrogen gas is, for example, argon. Processing cup 16 includes a plurality of cylindrical guards 80 that receive liquid splashed outward from substrate W held on spin chuck 15, a plurality of cups 90 that receive liquid guided downward by the plurality of cylindrical guards 80, and an exhaust bucket 100 that surrounds the plurality of cylindrical guards 80 and the plurality of cups 90 in a plan view. The cylindrical guards 80 are an example of a liquid receiving member that receives liquid splashed from the substrate W.

[0049] In this embodiment, an example is shown in which two cylindrical guards 80 (a first cylindrical guard 80A and a second cylindrical guard 80B) and two cups 90 (a first cup 90A and a second cup 90B) are provided. The cylindrical guard 80 is made of resin. The cylindrical guard 80 is made of a hydrophilic resin or a hydrophobic resin. The cylindrical guard 80 is preferably made of a hydrophobic resin.

[0050] The hydrophobic resin is, for example, a fluororesin. Specifically, the cylindrical guard 80 is made of one of perfluoroalkoxyalkane (PFA), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polychlorotrifluoroethylene (PCTFE), and ethylene chlorotrifluoroethylene copolymer (ECTFE), or a mixture containing two or more of these.

[0051] Each of the first cup 90A and the second cup 90B has the form of an upwardly opening annular groove. The first cylindrical guard 80A and the second cylindrical guard 80B each have a substantially cylindrical shape, and the upper end of each cylindrical guard 80 is inclined inward toward the center of the cylindrical guard 80. The first cylindrical guard 80A is disposed so as to surround the substrate W held by the spin chuck 15. The second cylindrical guard 80B (inner guard) is disposed so as to surround the substrate W held by the spin chuck 15 closer to the center of the first cylindrical guard 80A than the first cylindrical guard 80A (outer guard).

[0052] The center side of first cylindrical guard 80A (hereinafter referred to as "inner guard side IS") is also the inside in the rotational radial direction of substrate W. The opposite side of first cylindrical guard 80A from the center side (hereinafter referred to as "outer guard side OS") is also the outside in the rotational radial direction of substrate W. The first cylindrical guard 80A and second cylindrical guard 80B are arranged coaxially, and the center side of first cylindrical guard 80A is also the center side of second cylindrical guard 80B.

[0053] The first cup 90A is formed integrally with the second cylindrical guard 80B and receives the liquid guided downward by the first cylindrical guard 80A. The second cup 90B receives the liquid guided downward by the second cylindrical guard 80B. The liquid received by the first cup 90A is collected by a first processing liquid recovery passage (not shown) connected to the lower end of the first cup 90A. The liquid received by the second cup 90B is collected by a second processing liquid recovery passage (not shown) connected to the lower end of the second cup 90B.

[0054] The processing unit 5 includes a guard lifting unit 95 that raises and lowers the first cylindrical guard 80A and the second cylindrical guard 80B separately. The guard lifting unit 95 raises and lowers the first cylindrical guard 80A between a lower position and an upper position. The guard lifting unit 95 raises and lowers the second cylindrical guard 80B between a lower position and an upper position. When first cylindrical guard 80A and second cylindrical guard 80B are both located in the upper position, liquid splashed from the substrate W is received by second cylindrical guard 80B. When second cylindrical guard 80B is located in the lower position and first cylindrical guard 80A is located in the upper position, liquid splashed from the substrate W is received by first cylindrical guard 80A.

[0055] When the first cylindrical guard 80A and the second cylindrical guard 80B are both located in the lower position, the corresponding main transport robot CR can load a substrate W into the processing chamber 17 or load a substrate W out of the processing chamber 17. The guard lifting unit 95 includes a first guard lifting unit that lifts and lowers the first cylindrical guard 80A and a second guard lifting unit that lifts and lowers the second cylindrical guard 80B. The first guard lifting unit is, for example, a first actuator (not shown) that provides a driving force to a first lifting mechanism (not shown) coupled to the first cylindrical guard 80A. The first lifting mechanism is, for example, a ball screw mechanism or a rack and pinion mechanism. The second guard lifting unit is, for example, a second actuator (not shown) that provides a driving force to a second lifting mechanism (not shown) coupled to the second cylindrical guard 80B. The second lifting mechanism is, for example, a ball screw mechanism or a rack and pinion mechanism.

[0056] The guard lifting unit 95 is also referred to as a guard lifter. Similarly, the first guard lifting unit is a first guard lifter, and the second guard lifting unit is a second guard lifter. The internal space 101 of the processing chamber 17 is divided into an in-guard space 102 on the guard inner side IS of the first cylindrical guard 80A, and an out-guard space 103 other than the in-guard space 102. A partition plate 104 is provided on at least one of the side walls 17B of the processing chamber 17 to separate the out-guard space 103 of the processing chamber 17 into upper and lower spaces. That is, the out-guard space 103 is divided by the partition plate 104 into an upper space 103A above the partition plate 104 and a lower space 103B below the partition plate 104. The partition plate 104 is supported by the exhaust bucket 100.

[0057] Upper space 103A includes a space above partition plate 104 and on the guard inner side IS of first cylindrical guard 80A, and a space above partition plate 104 and on the guard outer side OS of first cylindrical guard 80A. The lower space 103B is divided into an inner lower space 105 on the inside of the guard IS relative to the exhaust bucket 100 and an outer lower space 106 on the outside of the guard OS relative to the exhaust bucket 100.

[0058] The atmosphere in processing chamber 17 is exhausted via exhaust connection pipe 45 penetrating side wall 17B of processing chamber 17 and exhaust bucket 100. Exhaust connection pipe 45 is connected to exhaust piping 11 (see FIG. 1) disposed in exhaust section 10. The FFU 26 generates an airflow F by sending clean air to the internal space 101 of the processing chamber 17. The airflow F passes from the upper space 103A through the in-guard space 102 or the lower space 103B, and is sent to the exhaust connection pipe 45 of the exhaust unit 10. The airflow F flows into the lower space 103B through a gap G1 between the end of the partition plate 104 on the guard inner side IS and the first cylindrical guard 80A, or through a gap G2 formed at the end of the partition plate 104 on the guard outer side OS.

[0059] The airflow F1 that has flowed into the inner lower space 105 through the gap G1 flows from the inner lower space 105 into the exhaust connecting pipe 45. The airflow F2 that flows into the outer lower space 106 through the gap G2 flows into the inner lower space 105 through the opening 100a formed in the exhaust bucket 100, and then flows into the exhaust connecting pipe 45. The airflow F3 that flows into the guard internal space 102 flows from the guard internal space 102 into the exhaust connecting pipe 45.

[0060] The size of gap G1 between partition plate 104 and first cylindrical guard 80A can be adjusted by adjusting the height position of first cylindrical guard 80A. Adjusting the size of gap G1 makes it possible to adjust the flow rates of airflows F1 to F3. FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining the configuration of the cylindrical guard 80. As shown in FIG. With reference to FIG. 4, each cylindrical guard 80 includes a cylindrical portion 81, an extension portion 82, and a hanging portion 83.

[0061] The cylindrical portion 81 is a cylindrical portion that is circular in a plan view. The cylindrical portion 81 surrounds the spin chuck 15. The central side of the cylindrical portion 81 is also a guard inner side IS, and the side opposite to the central side of the cylindrical portion 81 is also a guard outer side OS. The extension portion 82 has a circular ring shape in a plan view. The extension portion 82 is connected to the upper end portion of the cylindrical portion 81 and extends from the upper end portion of the cylindrical portion 81 toward the center of the cylindrical portion 81.

[0062] Hanging portion 83 is directly connected to the end of extension portion 82 on the center side of tubular portion 81 (hereinafter referred to as "center side end portion 82a"), and extends downward from center side end portion 82a. Hanging portion 83 has a circular ring shape in a plan view. Hanging portion 83 has a tapered shape that narrows in width as it extends downward. Hanging portion 83 is triangular in cross section. Extension portion 82 has an inclined portion 84 that extends obliquely upward toward guard inside side IS, and a horizontal portion 86 that extends horizontally above inclined portion 84 and is connected to an upper end portion of hanging portion 83. Unlike the example in FIG. 4, horizontal portion 86 may not be provided, and hanging portion 83 may be directly connected to the upper end portion of inclined portion 84.

[0063] The cylindrical guard 80 has an inner peripheral surface 120 and an uneven portion 121 provided on the inner peripheral surface 120. The inner peripheral surface 120 of the cylindrical guard 80 is composed of a cylindrical surface 122 which is the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 81, an inclined surface 123 which is the inner peripheral surface of the inclined portion 84, and a curved surface 124 which smoothly connects the cylindrical surface 122 and the inclined surface 123. The cylindrical surface 122 is a cylindrical surface extending in the vertical direction. The inclined surface 123 is connected to the upper end of the cylindrical surface 122 via the curved surface 124 and extends at an incline with respect to the cylindrical surface 122. More specifically, the inclined surface 123 extends obliquely upward from the upper end of the curved surface 124 toward the guard inner side IS. Unlike the example of FIG. 4, the curved surface 124 is not provided, and the inclined surface 123 may be directly connected to the upper end of the cylindrical surface 122.

[0064] The uneven portion 121 is provided on both the inclined surface 123 and the cylindrical surface 122. The uneven portion 121 is provided on the inner circumferential surface 120, in a region below the lower end portion of the hanging portion 83. Fig. 5 is an enlarged view of the inner peripheral surface 120 and its vicinity in a cross-sectional view of the cylindrical guard 80. Fig. 6 is a view of the uneven portion 121 as viewed from the arrow VI shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a schematic perspective view for explaining the shape of the uneven portion 121 provided on the inner peripheral surface 120 of the cylindrical guard 80.

[0065] 5 and 6, the uneven portion 121 has a plurality of recesses 130 and a plurality of protrusions 131 located between adjacent recesses 130. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the recesses 130 are circular grooves 135 extending along the circumferential direction CD of the inner circumferential surface 120. Similarly, the protrusions 131 are circular protrusions 136 extending along the circumferential direction CD of the inner circumferential surface 120 (see FIG. 6). The plurality of circular grooves 135 are provided on the inner circumferential surface 120 at intervals in the axial direction X.

[0066] The recesses 130 are provided on the inner circumferential surface 120 at intervals in the axial direction X along the central axis A4 (see FIG. 7) of the inner circumferential surface 120. The central axis A4 coincides with the rotation axis A1 (see FIG. 3). 5 and 6, of the multiple recesses 130, the recesses 130 formed on the inclined surface 123 are referred to as first recesses 130A, and the recesses 130 formed on the cylindrical surface 122 are referred to as second recesses 130B. Of the multiple protrusions 131, the protrusions 131 located between the first recesses 130A are referred to as first protrusions 131A, and the protrusions 131 located between the second recesses 130B are referred to as second protrusions 131B.

[0067] FIG. 8 corresponds to a cross section taken along line VIII-VIII in FIG. 6, and is a schematic diagram for explaining the configuration of the concave-convex portion 121. As shown in FIG. 8, the recess 130 has a width W1 smaller than the diameter Dm of the droplet LD, and a depth De at which the droplet LD does not contact the bottom 130a of the recess 130 in a state in which the droplet LD contacts a plurality of protrusions 131. The protrusions 131 have a width W2 smaller than the diameter Dm of the droplet LD and smaller than the width W1 of the recess 130.

[0068] Therefore, the liquid droplet LD received by the uneven portion 121 of the inner circumferential surface 120 does not enter the recess 130 completely, but is in contact with the multiple protrusions 131. The recess 130 has a depth De such that the liquid droplet LD does not contact the bottom 130a of the recess 130 when the liquid droplet LD is in contact with the multiple protrusions 131. If the uneven portion 121 and the liquid droplet LD have such a dimensional relationship, the liquid droplet LD can be brought into contact with the air in the recess 130, and the area of ​​the liquid droplet LD in contact with the inner circumferential surface 120 of the cylindrical guard 80 can be reduced.

[0069] Therefore, the contact angle θ of the liquid droplet LD with the uneven portion 121 can be made larger than the contact angle of the liquid droplet LD with an inner circumferential surface on which the uneven portion 121 is not formed. That is, the hydrophobicity of the inner circumferential surface 120 of the cylindrical guard 80 can be improved compared to an inner circumferential surface on which the uneven portion 121 is not formed. If the cylindrical guard 80 is formed using a hydrophobic resin, the hydrophobicity of the inner circumferential surface 120 can be further improved.

[0070] The contact angle θ is an angle formed inside the droplet LD between the gas-liquid interface of the droplet LD and the interface of the droplet LD and the uneven portion 121. When the liquid constituting the droplet LD is water, the contact angle θ is preferably, for example, 99° or more. Next, a description will be given of specific values ​​of the scattering angle θs of the droplets LD scattering from the substrate W and the diameter Dm of the scattered droplets LD. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram for explaining the state in which the liquid is scattered from the substrate W.

[0071] When the substrate W is rotated while liquid is present on the upper surface thereof, the liquid scatters from the periphery of the substrate W toward the outside of the substrate W. The diameter Dm of the droplets LD scattering from the substrate W and the scattering angle θs of the droplets LD depend on the rotation speed of the substrate W. The scattering angle θs is the angle between the horizontal plane HS and the scattering direction SD of the droplets LD. If the rotation speed of the substrate W is lower than 600 rpm, most of the droplets LD scatter obliquely downward. If the rotation speed of the substrate W is lower than 600 rpm, most of the droplets LD are received by the cylindrical surface 122. On the other hand, if the rotation speed of the substrate W is 600 rpm or higher, most of the droplets LD scatter obliquely upward. Therefore, if the rotation speed of the substrate W is 600 rpm or higher, most of the droplets LD are received by the inclined surface 123.

[0072] The diameter Dm of the droplets LD scattering from the substrate W varies depending on the flow rate of the liquid supplied to the substrate W and on the shear energy. The shear energy varies depending on the rotation speed and diameter of the substrate W. The diameter of the substrate W is approximately 300 mm. The diameter Dm of the droplets LD scattering from the substrate W is approximately 0.1 mm or more and 3.0 mm or less. If the rotation speed of the substrate W is 600 rpm or more and 1200 rpm or less, the diameter Dm of the droplets LD scattering from the substrate W is approximately 0.1 mm or more and 1.5 mm or less.

[0073] In order to prevent the liquid droplets LD having a diameter Dm of 1.5 mm or less from entering the recesses 130, it is preferable that the depth De of the recesses 130 is 1 mm or less and 10 μm or more. It is also preferable that the width W1 of the recesses 130 is 100 μm or more and smaller than 1.5 mm. Furthermore, it is preferable that the width W2 of the protrusions 131 is 1.0 μm or more and smaller than 1.5 mm.

[0074] If the rotation speed of the substrate W is 600 rpm or more and 1200 rpm or less, the diameter Dm of the droplets LD scattered from the substrate W is mainly 1.0 mm or less. In order to further suppress the intrusion of the droplets LD having a diameter Dm of 1.0 mm or less into the recesses 130, it is preferable that the depth De of the recesses 130 is 1.0 mm or less and 10 μm or more, similar to the condition for suppressing the intrusion of the droplets LD having a diameter Dm of 1.0 mm or less into the recesses 130. Furthermore, it is more preferable that the width W1 of the recesses 130 is 100 μm or more and smaller than 1.0 mm, and it is more preferable that the width W2 of the protrusions 131 is 1.0 μm or more and smaller than 1.0 mm.

[0075] In order to form the uneven portion 121 with such dimensions, it is necessary to set the average surface roughness of the uneven portion 121 to 3.0 or more and 6.0 or less. If the average surface roughness Ra is 6.0 or less, the width W1 of the recess 130 becomes sufficiently small, and it is possible to effectively prevent the liquid droplet LD having a diameter Dm of 1.5 mm or less from entering the recess 130. If the average surface roughness Ra is 3.0 or more, the depth De of the recess 130 becomes sufficiently large, and it is possible to effectively prevent the liquid droplet LD having a diameter Dm of 1.5 mm or less from entering the recess 130. It is particularly preferable that the average surface roughness Ra is 3.8.

[0076] In order to achieve an average surface roughness Ra of 3.0 or more and 4.0 or less, the depth De of the recesses 130 is preferably 10 μm or more and 200 μm or less. Furthermore, the width W1 of the recesses 130 is preferably 100 μm or more and less than 1.0 mm, and the width W2 of the protrusions 131 is preferably 30 μm or more and 40 μm or less. Therefore, when the upper surface of the substrate W is treated with a treatment liquid while rotating the substrate W at a rotation speed of 600 rpm or more, it is preferable that the unevenness 121 is formed at least on the inclined surface 123 of the inner circumferential surface 120. Furthermore, it is preferable that the depth De of the recess 130 is 10 μm or more, the width W1 of the recess 130 is smaller than 1.5 mm, and the width W2 of the protrusion 131 is smaller than the width of the recess 130 and also smaller than 1.5 mm.

[0077] In addition, when the uneven portion 121 having a high average surface roughness Ra is formed, the width W2 of the convex portion 131 becomes narrow. Specifically, when the uneven portion 121 is processed so that the average surface roughness Ra is 6.0, the width W2 becomes 40 μm or less. Therefore, the uneven portion 121 having an average surface roughness Ra of 6.0 or less is easier to process into the inner circumferential surface 120 than the uneven portion 121 having an average surface roughness Ra of more than 6.0. In particular, when the uneven portion 121 is formed by lathe rotary cutting, the difference in ease of processing is remarkable. Therefore, from the viewpoint of ease of processing, it is preferable that the average surface roughness Ra is 6.0 or less.

[0078] 10 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a main part of the substrate processing apparatus 1. The controller 4 includes a microcomputer, and controls the controlled objects included in the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to a predetermined control program. Specifically, the controller 4 may be a computer including a processor (CPU) 4A and a memory 4B in which a control program is stored. The controller 4 is configured to perform various controls for substrate processing by the processor 4A executing the control program.

[0079] The objects controlled by the controller 4 include the indexer robot IR and the multiple main transport robots CR. The objects controlled by the controller 4 include the actuators arranged in the exhaust unit 10, and the valves (chemical liquid valve 51, upper rinse liquid valve 52, lower rinse liquid valve 53, lower gas valve 54) and pumps (chemical liquid pump 61, upper rinse liquid pump 62, lower rinse liquid pump 63) arranged in the fluid supply unit 9.

[0080] The objects controlled by the controller 4 further include each member (the spin motor 23, the first nozzle moving unit 71, the second nozzle moving unit 72, the guard lifting unit 95, and the FFU 26) provided in the processing unit. 11 is a flow chart for explaining an example of substrate processing by the substrate processing apparatus 1. In the substrate processing by the substrate processing apparatus 1, for example, as shown in FIG 11, a chemical processing step (step S1), a rinsing step (step S2), and a spin drying step (step S3) are performed in this order.

[0081] In the following, reference will be mainly made to Figures 3 and 11. First, an unprocessed substrate W is carried from the carrier CA into the processing unit 5 by the indexer robot IR (see Figure 1) and one of a plurality of main transport robots CR (see Figure 1), and is then handed over to the spin chuck 15. As a result, the substrate W is held horizontally by the spin chuck 15 (substrate holding step). The spin chuck 15 continues to hold the substrate W until the spin dry process (step S3) is completed. During the period from when the substrate holding process is started until the spin dry process (step S3) is completed, the guard lifting unit 95 adjusts the height positions of the first cylindrical guard 80A and the second cylindrical guard 80B so that at least one cylindrical guard 80 is located at the upper position. With the substrate W held by the spin chuck 15, the spin motor 23 rotates the spin base 21. This starts the rotation of the substrate W held horizontally (substrate rotation process). The rotation speed of the substrate W is, for example, 600 rpm or more and 1200 rpm or less.

[0082] Then, the lower gas valve 54 is opened to discharge gas from the lower gas flow path 25 (anticipatory discharge step). The lower gas valve 54 is maintained in an open state until the spin dry step (step S3) is completed. The flow rate of gas from the lower gas flow path 25 is, for example, 50 L / min. The exhaust flow rate is adjusted by the supply of gas from the lower gas flow path 25 and the inflow of gas by the FFU 26, and the internal pressure of the processing chamber 17 is adjusted to a predetermined pressure. The exhaust flow rate is, for example, 3 m 3 In this case, the internal pressure of the processing chamber 17 is adjusted to -30 Pa.

[0083] Next, a chemical liquid treatment step (step S1) is performed in which the upper surface of the substrate W is treated with a chemical liquid. Specifically, the first nozzle moving unit 71 moves the chemical nozzle 31 to a processing position. The processing position of the chemical nozzle 31 is, for example, a central position. With the chemical nozzle 31 positioned at the processing position, the chemical valve 51 is opened. As a result, the chemical is supplied (discharged) from the chemical nozzle 31 toward the central region of the upper surface of the substrate W in a rotating state (chemical supplying step).

[0084] The chemical liquid supplied to the upper surface of the substrate W spreads radially due to the centrifugal force, and spreads over the entire upper surface of the substrate W. The chemical liquid is discharged from the periphery of the upper surface of the substrate W by the centrifugal force. In this way, the entire upper surface of the substrate W is treated with the chemical liquid. The chemical liquid discharged from the upper surface of the substrate W is mainly received by the inclined surface 123 of either the first cylindrical guard 80A or the second cylindrical guard 80B. The chemical liquid received by the inclined surface 123 moves downward along the inclined surface 123 and is guided to the cylindrical surface 122. The chemical liquid guided to the cylindrical surface 122 is finally received by the corresponding cup 90.

[0085] Next, a rinsing process (step S2) is performed to clean the substrate W with a rinsing liquid. Specifically, after the chemical liquid valve 51 is closed, the first nozzle movement unit 71 moves the chemical liquid nozzle 31 to the home position. After the chemical liquid valve 51 is closed, the second nozzle movement unit 72 moves the upper rinsing liquid nozzle 32 to a processing position. The processing position of the upper rinsing liquid nozzle 32 is, for example, the central position.

[0086] With the upper rinsing liquid nozzle 32 located at the processing position, the upper rinsing liquid valve 52 is opened. As a result, the rinsing liquid is supplied (discharged) from the upper rinsing liquid nozzle 32 toward the central region of the upper surface of the substrate W in the rotating state (upper rinsing liquid supplying step). The rinsing liquid supplied to the upper surface of the substrate W spreads radially due to the centrifugal force, and spreads over the entire upper surface of the substrate W. The rinsing liquid is discharged from the periphery of the upper surface of the substrate W by the centrifugal force. As a result, the entire upper surface of the substrate W is washed with the rinsing liquid (upper-side rinsing process).

[0087] The rinsing liquid discharged from the upper surface of the substrate W is mainly received by the inclined surface 123 of either the first cylindrical guard 80A or the second cylindrical guard 80B. The rinsing liquid received by the inclined surface 123 moves downward along the inclined surface 123 and is guided to the cylindrical surface 122. The rinsing liquid guided to the cylindrical surface 122 is finally received by the corresponding cup 90.

[0088] When the rinsing liquid is supplied to the upper surface of the substrate W, the lower rinsing liquid valve 53 may be opened to discharge the rinsing liquid from the lower rinsing liquid nozzle 33 (lower rinsing liquid supply step). This causes the lower surface of the substrate W to be washed with the rinsing liquid (lower rinsing step). Thereafter, a spin dry process (step S3) is performed in which the substrate W is rotated at high speed to dry the upper surface of the substrate W. Specifically, the upper rinse liquid valve 52 and the lower rinse liquid valve 53 are closed. This stops the supply of the rinse liquid to the substrate W. Then, the second nozzle moving unit 72 moves the upper rinse liquid nozzle 32 to the home position.

[0089] Then, the spin motor 23 accelerates the rotation of the substrate W, rotating the substrate W at a high speed (for example, 1500 rpm). As a result, a large centrifugal force acts on the liquid remaining on the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate W, and the liquid adhering to the substrate W is shaken off around the substrate W. The liquid shaken off from the substrate W is received by either the first cylindrical guard 80A or the second cylindrical guard 80B.

[0090] Then, the spin motor 23 stops the rotation of the substrate W. The guard lifting unit 95 moves the first cylindrical guard 80A and the second cylindrical guard 80B to their lower positions. Thereafter, the main transport robot CR enters the processing unit 5, scoops up the processed substrate W from the chuck pins 20 of the spin chuck 15, and carries it out of the processing unit 5. The substrate W is handed over from the main transport robot CR to the indexer robot IR, which stores it in the carrier CA.

[0091] In this substrate processing apparatus 1, since the uneven portion 121 is formed on the inner peripheral surface 120 of the cylindrical guard 80, the hydrophobicity of the inner peripheral surface 120 is improved. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the droplets LD that have scattered from the substrate W and been received by the inner peripheral surface 120 of the cylindrical guard 80 from remaining on the inner peripheral surface 120. Since the amount of the droplets LD remaining on the inner peripheral surface 120 of the cylindrical guard 80 can be reduced, it is possible to effectively suppress the amount of the droplets LD that splash from the inner peripheral surface 120 toward the substrate W due to collision between the droplets LD newly scattered from the substrate W and the droplets LD remaining on the inner peripheral surface 120.

[0092] The recesses 130 include a plurality of circular grooves 135 along the circumferential direction CD of the inner circumferential surface 120. The circular grooves 135 are provided on the inner circumferential surface 120 at intervals in the axial direction X. This makes it possible to improve the hydrophobicity of the inner circumferential surface 120 over the entire area in the circumferential direction CD. This makes it possible to uniformly prevent the droplets LD scattered from the substrate W and received by the inner circumferential surface 120 of the cylindrical guard 80 from remaining on the inner circumferential surface 120 over the entire area of ​​the inner circumferential surface 120.

[0093] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the inner circumferential surface 120 of the cylindrical guard 80 has a cylindrical surface 122 extending in the vertical direction, and an inclined surface 123 connected to the upper end of the cylindrical surface 122 and extending at an angle relative to the cylindrical surface 122. The multiple recesses 130 include multiple first recesses 130A formed in the inclined surface 123. Since the droplets LD scattering (rebounding) from the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical guard tend to scatter in an obliquely downward direction, re-adhesion to the substrate W of the droplets LD scattering from the inclined surface 123 is more likely to be a problem than that of the droplets LD scattering from the cylindrical surface 122. In this embodiment, the multiple recesses 130 include multiple first recesses 130A formed in the inclined surface 123, so that the hydrophobicity of the inclined surface 123 can be improved. Therefore, adhesion of the droplets LD scattering from the inner peripheral surface 120 to the substrate W can be effectively suppressed.

[0094] Moreover, according to this embodiment, the plurality of recesses 130 include a plurality of second recesses 130B formed on the cylindrical surface 122. The droplets LD received by the inclined surface 123 move downward along the inclined surface 123 and are guided to the cylindrical surface 122. In this embodiment, since the plurality of recesses 130 include a plurality of second recesses 130B formed on the cylindrical surface 122, the hydrophobicity of the cylindrical surface 122 can be improved, and therefore, the liquid can be prevented from remaining on the cylindrical surface 122. Therefore, the collision between the droplets LD scattering from the substrate W toward the cylindrical surface 122 and the droplets LD remaining on the cylindrical surface 122 can be prevented. As a result, the scattering of the droplets LD from the cylindrical surface 122 to the substrate W caused by the collision between the droplets LD newly scattering from the substrate W and the droplets LD remaining on the cylindrical surface 122 can be effectively prevented.

[0095] Furthermore, the dimensions of uneven portion 121 formed on cylindrical surface 122 and the dimensions of uneven portion 121 formed on inclined surface 123 may be the same as or different from each other. For example, as shown in Fig. 5, width W2 of first convex portion 131A may be smaller than width W2 of second convex portion 131B. If this is the case, the hydrophobicity of the inclined surface 123 is higher than that of the cylindrical surface 122. By making the hydrophobicity of the inclined surface 123 higher than that of the cylindrical surface 122, it is possible to suppress the liquid droplets LD from remaining on the inclined surface 123. The liquid droplets LD scattering from the inclined surface 123 of the cylindrical guard 80 are more likely to adhere to the substrate W than the liquid droplets LD scattering from the cylindrical surface 122. Therefore, by increasing the hydrophobicity of the inclined surface 123, it is possible to suppress the liquid droplets LD from scattering from the inclined surface 123 and adhering to the substrate W.

[0096] <Water droplet scattering angle measurement experiment> The following describes the results of a water droplet scattering angle measurement experiment in which DIW droplets LD (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "water droplets") scattering from a substrate W were photographed with a high-speed camera and the scattering angle of the water droplets was measured. Fig. 12 is a graph showing the relationship between the rotation speed of the substrate W and the scattering angle θs of the water droplets. The horizontal axis in the graph of Fig. 12 is the scattering angle θs of the water droplets scattering from the substrate W. If the scattering direction SD of the water droplets is obliquely upward, the scattering angle θs is larger than 0°. If the scattering direction of the liquid droplets LD is obliquely downward, the scattering angle θs is smaller than 0°.

[0097] 12, when the rotation speed of the substrate W is 500 rpm, the result is that most of the droplets LD are scattered in an obliquely downward direction because the scattering angle θs of most of the droplets LD is smaller than 0°. When the rotation speed of the substrate W is 800 rpm or 1200 rpm, the result is that most of the droplets LD are scattered in an obliquely upward direction because the scattering angle θs of most of the droplets LD is larger than 0°.

[0098] <Water droplet size measurement experiment> The results of a water droplet size measurement experiment in which water droplets scattering from the substrate W were photographed with a high-speed camera and the diameters of the water droplets were measured will be described. FIG. 13 is a graph showing the diameter of water droplets scattered from a substrate W when DIW is supplied to the substrate W rotating at 1000 rpm at 0.5 L / min. The horizontal axis of the graph in FIG. 13 shows the diameter Dm of water droplets scattered from the substrate W, and the vertical axis of the graph in FIG. 13 shows the probability of water droplets of each diameter scattering. As shown in FIG. 13, the results show that the diameter Dm of most of the water droplets scattered from a substrate W rotating at 1000 rpm is 1.5 mm or less. Among them, the results show that the number of water droplets with a diameter Dm of 1.0 mm or less is particularly large.

[0099] <Water droplet adhesion measurement experiment> The results of an experiment to measure the number of water droplets adhering, in which the number of water droplets bouncing off the cylindrical guard 80 and scattering toward the substrate W was observed with a microscope, will be described. Specifically, while rotating the substrate W, DIW was supplied to the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate W at 2 L / min for 3 seconds, and the number of water droplets bouncing off the substrate W in the 3 seconds was measured using a high-speed camera.

[0100] FIG. 14 is a graph showing the relationship between the number of water droplets scattered from the cylindrical guard 80 and the rotation speed of the substrate W. In the graph of FIG. 14, the horizontal axis indicates the rotation speed of the substrate W, and the vertical axis indicates the number of water droplets scattered from the cylindrical guard 80 and attached to the upper surface of the substrate W. As shown in FIG. 14, when the rotation speed of the substrate W is set to 300 rpm, the number of water droplets attached to the upper surface of the substrate W is relatively small, and when the rotation speed of the substrate W is set to 600 rpm, the number of water droplets attached to the upper surface of the substrate W is relatively large. When the rotation speed of the substrate W is set to 800 rpm, 1200 rpm, and 1600 rpm, the number of water droplets attached to the upper surface of the substrate W is greater than when the rotation speed of the substrate W is 300 rpm, as in the case when the rotation speed of the substrate W is 600 rpm. Therefore, it is presumed that when the rotation speed of the substrate W is 600 rpm or more, scattering of droplets from the cylindrical guard 80 to the upper surface of the substrate W becomes a problem.

[0101] Next, while the substrate W was rotated at 1200 rpn, DIW was supplied to the upper surface of the substrate W at 2 L / min for 30 seconds, and the number of water droplets that bounced off the cylindrical guard 80 and adhered to the substrate W during the supply of DIW was counted using water-sensitive paper. In order to confirm the effect of the uneven portion 121 in reducing the amount of scattered water droplets, the number of water droplets adhering to the upper surface of the substrate W when using a cylindrical guard 80 having the uneven portion 121 formed thereon was compared with the number of water droplets adhering to the upper surface of the substrate W when using a cylindrical guard 80 not having the uneven portion 121 formed thereon. Fig. 15 is a graph for explaining the effect of the uneven portion 121 in reducing the number of water droplets adhering to the upper surface of the substrate W.

[0102] 15, the number of water droplets scattered from a cylindrical guard 80 having an inner circumferential surface 120 on which an uneven portion 121 having an average surface roughness Ra of 3.0 or more is formed (the "cylindrical guard having uneven portions" shown in FIG. 15) and adhering to the upper surface of the substrate W was smaller than the number of water droplets scattered from a cylindrical guard 80 having an inner circumferential surface 120 on which an uneven portion 121 is not formed (the "unprocessed cylindrical guard" shown in FIG. 15) and adhering to the upper surface of the substrate W. From this, it is presumed that the presence of the uneven portion 121 having an average surface roughness Ra of 3.0 or more can reduce the number of water droplets scattered from the cylindrical guard 80 toward the substrate W.

[0103] <Particle adhesion measurement experiment> The results of a particle adhesion number measurement experiment for measuring the number of particles adhering to the upper surface of the substrate W after substrate processing will be described. In the particle adhesion number measurement experiment, the upper surface of the substrate W was processed in the order of dilute hydrofluoric acid, APM, and isopropyl alcohol (IPA), and then the number of particles adhering to the substrate W was measured using a microscope. In order to confirm the effect of reducing the number of particles adhering due to the presence of the uneven portion 121, the number of particles adhering to the upper surface of the substrate W when using the cylindrical guard 80 having the uneven portion 121 formed thereon was compared with the number of particles adhering to the upper surface of the substrate W when using the cylindrical guard 80 having no uneven portion 121 formed thereon. FIG. 16 is a graph for explaining the effect of reducing the number of particles adhering to the upper surface of the substrate W due to the presence of the uneven portion 121.

[0104] 16, the number of particles adhering to the upper surface of the substrate W after substrate processing is performed using a cylindrical guard 80 having an inner circumferential surface 120 on which an uneven portion 121 having an average surface roughness Ra of 3.0 or more is formed (the "cylindrical guard having uneven portion" shown in FIG. 16) is smaller than the number of particles adhering to the upper surface of the substrate W after substrate processing is performed using a cylindrical guard 80 having an inner circumferential surface 120 on which an uneven portion 121 is not formed (the "unprocessed cylindrical guard" shown in FIG. 16). From this, it is presumed that the presence of the uneven portion 121 having an average surface roughness Ra of 3.0 or more reduces the number of water droplets scattering from the cylindrical guard 80 toward the substrate W, and as a result, the number of particles adhering to the upper surface of the substrate W can be reduced.

[0105] <Contact angle measurement experiment> Next, the results of a contact angle measurement experiment comparing the contact angle θ1 of a water droplet WD on a cylindrical guard 80 having an uneven portion 121 with different average surface roughness Ra will be described with reference to Figures 17 and 18. Figure 17 is a schematic diagram showing the vicinity of a water droplet WD dropped on the uneven portion 121 in the contact angle measurement experiment.

[0106] The procedure for the contact angle measurement experiment is as follows: (1) A water droplet WD of 2 mm or more and 3 mm or less is dropped onto the inner circumferential surface 120. (2) An image of the vicinity of the water droplet WD is obtained using a microscope. (3) Based on the image obtained in (2), the contact angle θ1 of the water droplet WD with respect to the inner circumferential surface 120 is measured. In the contact angle measurement experiment, a cylindrical guard 80 having an inner surface 120 without uneven portions 121 formed thereon, and five types of cylindrical guards 80 having inner surfaces 120 with uneven portions 121 formed thereon and each having a different average surface roughness Ra were used as samples.

[0107] The average surface roughness Ra, the width W1 and depth De of the recessed portion 130, and the width W2 of the protruding portion 131 of each sample are as shown in Table 1. As shown in Table 1, for the cylindrical guard 80 (sample A) having an inner circumferential surface 120 on which the uneven portion 121 is not formed, "unprocessed" is entered in the average surface roughness Ra column. In addition, since measurements were not performed on each dimension of sample A (the width W1 and depth De of the recessed portion 130, and the width W2 of the protruding portion 131), "-" is entered in the column for each dimension.

[0108] [Table 1]

[0109] The dimensions shown in Table 1 were measured using a microscope. The number of samples for each of Samples A to E was 5 (N=5). Each sample was formed by injection molding using PFA as the material. Fig. 18 is a graph showing the results of the contact angle measurement experiment. As shown in Fig. 18, the contact angle θ1 of the water droplet WD on sample A was 83° or more and 96° or less. The contact angle θ1 of the water droplet WD on sample B was 80° or more and 95° or less. Therefore, it is presumed that the inner circumferential surface 120 cannot be sufficiently hydrophobized with an average surface roughness Ra of about 1.3.

[0110] The contact angle θ1 of the water droplet WD with sample C was 99° or more and 116° or less. The contact angle θ1 of the water droplet WD with sample D was 102° or more and 126° or less. Furthermore, the contact angle θ1 of the water droplet WD with sample E was 119° or more and 137° or less. Therefore, it is presumed that the inner circumferential surface 120 is sufficiently hydrophobic if the average surface roughness Ra is at least 3.0 or more.

[0111] Based on the results of the experiment for measuring the number of attached water droplets shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the results of the experiment for measuring the number of attached particles shown in FIG. 16, and the results of the experiment for measuring contact angles shown in FIG. 18, the following can be inferred. If the average surface roughness Ra is 3.0 or more, the inner circumferential surface 120 can be sufficiently hydrophobic. Furthermore, even if the average surface roughness is 3.0 or more and the rotation speed of the substrate W is 600 rpm or more, the rebound of the droplets LD from the cylindrical guard 80 can be suppressed, and the adhesion of particles to the upper surface of the substrate W can be suppressed.

[0112] <How to process the cylindrical guard> The machining method of the cylindrical guard 80 will be described in detail below. FIGS. 19A to 19D are schematic diagrams for explaining the machining method of the cylindrical guard 80. The machining method shown in FIGS. 19A to 19D is a lathe rotation machining method. First, as shown in FIG. 19A, an unmachined cylindrical guard 80 to be machined is prepared (guard preparation step). Specifically, the cylindrical guard 80 is held by the holding member 161 so that the central axis A4 of the cylindrical guard 80 coincides with the rotation axis A5 of the holding member 161, thereby completing the preparation of the cylindrical guard 80 (guard holding step). The unmachined cylindrical guard 80 refers to a cylindrical guard 80 in which the uneven portion 121 is not formed on the inner peripheral surface 120.

[0113] With the cylindrical guard 80 held by the holding member 161, the holding member 161 is rotated around a predetermined rotation axis A5 (guard rotation process). The holding member 161 has a cylindrical hole 161a that surrounds the cylindrical guard 80 from the outside. The unprocessed cylindrical guard 80 has the same configuration as the cylindrical guard 80, except that the uneven portion 121 is not formed on the inner circumferential surface 120.

[0114] Then, while rotating the cylindrical guard 80 around the rotation axis A5 (center axis A4), the cutting member 163 is used to cut the inner peripheral surface 120 of the cylindrical guard 80. The cutting member 163 is a member having a needle-shaped blade 163a at its tip. Specifically, the cutting member 163 is moved in the axial direction X1 along the rotation axis A5 to form the uneven portion 121 (see FIG. 19C) on the inner peripheral surface 120 (uneven portion forming step).

[0115] 19B, the cutting member 163 is moved a predetermined feed distance L1 in a direction intersecting the rotation direction S of the cylindrical guard 80 and along the inner circumferential surface 120 of the cylindrical guard 80 at predetermined feed times (cutting member moving step). After moving the cutting member 163 by the feed distance L1, as shown in Fig. 19C, the cutting member 163 is moved in a direction OD1 perpendicular to the inner circumferential surface 120. Specifically, the cutting member 163 is moved to a pressing position where the blade 163a is pressed into the inner circumferential surface 120 by a predetermined pressing amount L2. As a result, the inner circumferential surface 120 is cut, and the recesses 130 that constitute the uneven portion 121 are formed in the inner circumferential surface 120 (cutting process).

[0116] By maintaining the cutting member 163 pressed against the inner circumferential surface 120 for a predetermined time, a recess 130 extending over the entire circumferential direction of the inner circumferential surface 120, i.e., a circular groove portion 135, is formed. After the predetermined time has elapsed, the cutting member 163 is moved in a direction OD1 perpendicular to the inner circumferential surface 120 so as to move away from the inner circumferential surface 120. Thereafter, the cutting member moving step and the cutting step are repeated again. By forming a plurality of recesses 130, a protrusion 131 (circular protrusion 136) is formed between adjacent recesses 130. By forming the uneven portion 121 on the inner circumferential surface 120, the inner circumferential surface 120 is hydrophobized (hydrophobization step).

[0117] In this way, a plurality of circular grooves 135 having a constant depth can be formed at constant intervals by simply moving the cutting member 163. Therefore, the uniformity of the dimensions of the unevenness 121 formed on the inner circumferential surface 120 can be improved. The inner circumferential surface 120 has a cylindrical surface 122 and an inclined surface 123. Therefore, when forming the uneven portion 121 on the cylindrical surface 122, as shown in FIG. 19A and FIG. 19B, in the cutting member moving step, the cutting member 163 is moved in a direction along the cylindrical surface 122 (axial direction X1) (first moving step). As shown in FIG. 19A and FIG. 19C, in the cutting step, the cutting member 163 is pressed into the cylindrical surface 122 from a direction perpendicular to the cylindrical surface 122 OD1 (first pressing step). When forming the uneven portion 121 on the inclined surface 123, as shown in FIG. 19D, in the cutting member moving step, the cutting member 163 is moved in a direction along the inclined surface 123 (inclined direction X2 with respect to the axial direction X1) (second moving step). In the cutting step, the cutting member 163 is pressed into the inclined surface 123 from a direction perpendicular to the inclined surface 123 OD2 (second pressing step).

[0118] When forming the uneven portion 121 on the inclined surface 123, the angle of the cutting member 163 is adjusted so that the cutting member 163 can be moved along the inclined surface 123 and can be pressed into the inclined surface 123 from a direction OD2 perpendicular to the inclined surface 123. That is, the angle of the cutting member 163 is adjusted in accordance with the angle of the surface to be processed. In this way, multiple grooves having a constant depth can be formed at regular intervals by simply moving the cutting member on the cylindrical surface 122 and the inclined surface 123. Therefore, the uniformity of the grooves in the uneven portion formed on the inner circumferential surface can be improved.

[0119] In this way, if the recess 130 is the circular groove portion 135, the uneven portion 121 can be formed by simply operating the cutting member 163 while rotating the cylindrical guard 80. Therefore, the processing is easier than when discontinuous recesses 130 are formed along the circumferential direction CD of the inner circumferential surface 120. <Modification of uneven portion> 20A to 20E are schematic diagrams illustrating first to fifth modified examples of the concave-convex portion 121. FIG.

[0120] As in the first modification shown in FIG. 20A, the multiple recesses 130 of the uneven portion 121 may include multiple cross grooves 137 extending in a direction crossing the circular grooves 135 in addition to the multiple circular grooves 135. In FIG. 20A, the cross grooves 137 extend in a direction perpendicular to the circular grooves 135. The multiple circular grooves 135 and the multiple cross grooves 137 form a lattice shape. Each protrusion 131 is surrounded on all four sides by a pair of circular grooves 135 and a pair of cross grooves 137. The width W2 of the protrusion 131 is smaller than the width W11 (width W1) of the circular grooves 135 and the width W12 (width W1) of the cross grooves 137. The width W11 and the width W12 may be different from each other.

[0121] In the first modified example, a lattice shape is formed by a plurality of intersecting grooves 137 and a plurality of circular grooves 135, so that the hydrophobicity can be improved uniformly over the entire area of ​​the uneven portion 121, compared to a configuration in which only circular grooves 135 are provided as recesses 130. 20B, the recessed portion 130 may be a vertically extending vertical groove. In this case, the multiple protruding portions 131 extend vertically. The multiple recessed portions 130 (multiple vertical grooves) are aligned along the circumferential direction CD, and the protruding portions 131 are located between the vertical grooves adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction CD.

[0122] As shown in FIGS. 20C and 20D, the recesses 130 may be inclined grooves extending obliquely with respect to the circumferential direction CD (horizontal direction). 20E, the recess 130 may be a circular hole. When the recesses 130 are circular holes, the circular holes are arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction CD and in a direction perpendicular to the circumferential direction CD. The protrusions 131 are portions between adjacent circular holes. The width W1 of the recess 130 corresponds to the diameter of the circular hole, and the width W2 of the protrusions 131 corresponds to the interval between the vertically or horizontally adjacent circular holes.

[0123] The plurality of recesses 130 and the plurality of protrusions 131 constituting the uneven portion 121 do not have to be arranged regularly as in the above-described embodiment and the first to fifth modified examples, and may be arranged irregularly. Although the above-mentioned modified examples have been described taking the uneven portion 121 formed on the inclined surface 123 as an example, similar modified examples can also be applied to the uneven portion 121 formed on the cylindrical surface 122.

[0124] <Other embodiments> The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be embodied in other forms. For example, in the above-described embodiment, two cylindrical guards 80 (the first cylindrical guard 80A and the second cylindrical guard 80B) are provided. However, unlike the above-described embodiment, only one of the cylindrical guards 80 may be provided.

[0125] In the above embodiment, the chemical liquid nozzle 31, the upper rinse liquid nozzle 32, and the lower rinse liquid nozzle 33 are exemplified as the processing liquid nozzle 30. However, in addition to the chemical liquid nozzle 31, the upper rinse liquid nozzle 32, and the lower rinse liquid nozzle 33, an organic solvent nozzle that discharges an organic solvent such as IPA toward the upper surface of the substrate W may be provided as the processing liquid nozzle 30. Furthermore, the chemical liquid nozzle 31 may be configured to selectively discharge a plurality of chemical liquids. In this case, the substrate processing performed in the particle adhesion number measurement experiment, that is, the substrate processing in which the upper surface of the substrate W is processed in the order of hydrofluoric acid, APM, and IPA, can be performed.

[0126] In the above-described embodiment, the partition plate 104 is provided. However, unlike the above-described embodiment, the partition plate 104 may not be provided, and the outer-guard space 103 may not be divided into upper and lower portions. In this case, the exhaust connection pipe 45 opens in the side wall 17B of the processing chamber 17. 19A to 19D uses an unprocessed cylindrical guard 80. However, the processing method shown in Fig. 19A to 19D can also be used when additionally processing (additionally forming) unevenness 121 on a cylindrical guard 80 having an inner circumferential surface 120 on which unevenness 121 is already formed.

[0127] The processing method for the cylindrical guard 80 is not limited to the above-mentioned lathe rotary cutting process, but may be laser processing in which the recesses 130 are formed on the inner peripheral surface 120 of the cylindrical guard 80 by laser irradiation. Also, it may be mold transfer processing in which the recesses 130 are formed on the inner peripheral surface 120 by transferring unevenness formed on a mold to the inner peripheral surface 120. Furthermore, the dimensions of the uneven portion 121 do not need to be constant within the inclined surface 123, and there may be a plurality of regions within the inclined surface 123 that have different dimensions of the uneven portion 121 (the width W1 and depth De of the recesses 130, and the width W2 of the protrusions 131), i.e., different average surface roughnesses Ra. Similarly, there may be a plurality of regions within the cylindrical surface 122 that have different average surface roughnesses Ra.

[0128] In the above embodiment, the substrate processing apparatus 1 includes a plurality of processing units 5, together with a plurality of substrate placement parts 6, an indexer robot IR, a plurality of main transport robots CR, and a controller 4. However, the substrate processing apparatus may be configured with only a single processing unit 5. In other words, the processing unit 5 may be an example of the substrate processing apparatus.

[0129] In the above embodiment, expressions such as "along", "horizontal", and "vertical" are used. However, it is not necessary to strictly refer to "along," "horizontal," or "vertical." In other words, these expressions allow for deviations due to manufacturing precision, installation precision, and the like. In this specification, when numerical ranges are indicated using "~" or "-", they include both endpoints and have the same units, unless otherwise specified.

[0130] In addition, various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0131] 1: Substrate processing equipment 1: Substrate processing equipment 15: Spin chuck 30: Processing liquid nozzle 80: Cylindrical guard 120: Inner surface 121: Uneven part 122: Cylindrical surface 123: Inclined surface 130: Recess 130A: First recess 130B: Second recess 131: Convex 131A: First protrusion 131B: Second protrusion 135: Circular groove 137: Intersecting groove 163: Cutting materials A1: Rotation axis A4: Center axis line CD: Circumferential direction De :Depth L1: Feed distance L2: Push amount LD: droplet Ra: Average surface roughness X: Axial direction W: Substrate W1:Width W2:Width

Claims

1. a rotary holding member that holds a substrate and rotates the substrate about a predetermined rotation axis; a liquid supplying member for supplying liquid to the substrate held by the rotating holding member; a cylindrical guard made of a hydrophobic resin surrounding the substrate held by the rotating holding member; the cylindrical guard has an inner circumferential surface and an uneven portion provided on the inner circumferential surface to receive droplets scattered from the substrate held by the rotating holding member; The uneven portion has a plurality of recesses and a plurality of protrusions located between adjacent recesses, the recess is a groove having a width smaller than a diameter of a droplet scattered from the substrate held by the rotating holding member and a depth such that the droplet does not come into contact with a bottom of the recess when the droplet comes into contact with the plurality of protrusions, the protrusion has a width smaller than a diameter of the droplet and smaller than a width of the recess, The depth of the recess is 10 μm or more, The width of the recess is less than 1.5 mm, The width of the protrusion is less than 1.5 mm, The substrate processing apparatus, wherein the uneven portion has an average surface roughness of 3.0 or more.

2. The depth of the recess is 200 μm or less, The width of the recess is 100 μm or more and less than 1.0 mm; The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the width of the protrusion is 40 μm or less.

3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the average surface roughness of the uneven portion is 6.0 or less.

4. 4. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the diameter of the droplets is a diameter of the droplets scattered from the substrate rotated by the rotary holding member at a rotation speed of 600 rpm or more and 1200 rpm or less.

5. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the diameter of the droplets is 1.5 mm or less.

6. The plurality of grooves include a plurality of circular grooves extending along a circumferential direction of the inner circumferential surface, 6. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of circular grooves are provided on the inner circumferential surface at intervals in an axial direction along a central axis of the inner circumferential surface.

7. The plurality of grooves include a plurality of intersecting grooves extending in a direction intersecting the circular groove, The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein a lattice shape is formed by a plurality of the intersecting grooves and a plurality of the circular grooves.

8. the inner circumferential surface of the cylindrical guard has a cylindrical surface extending in a vertical direction and an inclined surface connected to an upper end of the cylindrical surface and extending at an incline with respect to the cylindrical surface, The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recesses include a plurality of first recesses formed in the inclined surface.

9. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the plurality of recesses includes a plurality of second recesses formed in the cylindrical surface.

10. the plurality of protruding portions include a plurality of first protruding portions located between the adjacent first recessed portions and a plurality of second protruding portions located between the adjacent second recessed portions, The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein a width of the first convex portion is smaller than a width of the second convex portion.

11. a rotating holding member that holds the substrate so that the substrate rotates about a predetermined rotation axis; a liquid supplying member for supplying liquid to the substrate held by the rotating holding member; a cylindrical guard made of a hydrophobic resin surrounding the rotation holding member; the cylindrical guard has an inner circumferential surface and an uneven portion provided on the inner circumferential surface to receive droplets scattered from the substrate held by the rotating holding member; The uneven portion has a plurality of recesses and a plurality of protrusions located between adjacent recesses, The recess is a groove having a depth of 10 μm or more and a width of less than 1.5 mm, The convex portion has a width smaller than the width of the concave portion and smaller than 1.5 mm, The substrate processing apparatus, wherein the uneven portion has an average surface roughness of 3.0 or more.

12. The width of the recess is 100 μm or more and less than 1.0 mm; The depth of the recess is 200 μm or less, The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein the width of the convex portion is 40 μm or less.

13. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the average surface roughness of the inner circumferential surface is 6.0 or less.

14. A method for processing a cylindrical guard made of a hydrophobic resin for surrounding a rotary holding member that holds a substrate and rotates the substrate about a predetermined rotation axis in a substrate processing apparatus that processes the substrate with a liquid, comprising the steps of: a guard preparation step of preparing a cylindrical guard having an inner peripheral surface; a hydrophobizing step of hydrophobizing the inner circumferential surface of the cylindrical guard by forming an uneven portion on the inner circumferential surface to receive droplets scattered from the substrate held by the rotating holding member, A method for processing a cylindrical guard, in which, in the hydrophobization process, the uneven portion is formed so that it has a plurality of recesses and a plurality of protrusions located between adjacent recesses, the recesses are grooves having a depth of 10 μm or more and a width smaller than 1.5 mm, the protrusions have a width smaller than the width of the recesses and smaller than 1.5 mm, and the uneven portion has an average surface roughness of 3.0 or more.

15. The method for processing a cylindrical guard according to claim 14, wherein the uneven portion has an average surface roughness of 6.0 or less in the hydrophobizing step.

16. The hydrophobization step comprises: a cutting member moving step of moving a cutting member along the inner peripheral surface by a predetermined feed distance for each predetermined feed time while rotating the cylindrical guard about a central axis of the inner peripheral surface; 16. The method for machining a cylindrical guard as described in claim 14 or 15, further comprising a cutting step of, after moving the cutting member by the feed distance, pressing the cutting member against the inner circumferential surface by a predetermined pressing amount to cut the inner circumferential surface and form a circular groove portion that constitutes the uneven portion.

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