SUBSTRATE PROCESSING APPARATUS AND SUBSTRATE PROCESSING METHOD

Abstract

To improve treatment quality by suppressing an unbalanced supply of a treatment solution to a substrate immersed in the treatment solution stored in a treatment tank.SOLUTION: A substrate processing device includes a suppression unit 860 that intercepts at least a portion of a flow of a processing solution discharged from a processing solution discharge unit and directed to a substrate, thereby suppressing the direct supply of the processing solution from the processing solution discharge unit to the substrate between the substrate held in a substrate holding unit and a processing liquid discharge unit 830, a processing liquid discharge unit provided on a lower side of the substrate held in the substrate holding unit and which discharges the processing liquid from a processing liquid discharge port 834 toward an inner bottom surface of a storage space 821f, and an air bubble supply unit 840 provided on the lower side of the substrate and above the processing liquid discharge port to supply air bubbles to the processing liquid stored in the storage space. Between the bubble supply unit and the processing liquid discharge port in the vertical direction, at least a portion of the processing liquid flowing upward through the inner bottom of the storage space is made into a liquid to be diverted, and the flow of the liquid to be diverted is divided into a plurality of upward flows and guided to the substrate held in the substrate holding unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method in which substrates are processed by immersing them in a processing liquid such as a chemical liquid or pure water stored in a processing tank. [Background technology]

[0002] In the field of semiconductor device manufacturing, there is a demand for a technology to form a recess with a high aspect ratio in order to meet the demands of high density and large capacity of semiconductor devices. For example, the manufacturing process of a three-dimensional NAND type nonvolatile semiconductor device (hereinafter referred to as "3D-NAND memory") includes a process of forming a recess in the stacking direction in a multi-layered body of silicon oxide films (SiO2 films) and silicon nitride films (SiN films), and then removing the SiN film through the recess by wet etching. To carry out this process, for example, the use of a substrate processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1 is being considered.

[0003] When the above wet etching is performed using a substrate processing apparatus, a chemical solution containing phosphoric acid, which is an example of an etchant for a SiN film, is used as the processing liquid. More specifically, in the substrate processing apparatus, a liquid supply pipe is disposed at the inner bottom of a storage space formed inside a processing tank, and the processing liquid is supplied from the liquid supply pipe to the storage space. Therefore, in the processing tank, a certain amount of the processing liquid is stored in the processing tank while overflowing from the processing tank. Then, a substrate having the above recess structure is immersed in the processing liquid stored in the processing tank. In addition, in the substrate processing apparatus, a fluid supply pipe is disposed at the inner bottom of the storage space similar to the liquid supply pipe, and air bubbles are supplied from the inner bottom of the storage space toward the overflow surface. These air bubbles rise in the processing liquid and are supplied to the substrate. By supplying air bubbles to the substrate in this way, fresh processing liquid can be rapidly and continuously supplied to the recess. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-47885 A (see, for example, FIG. 10) Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, the device described in Patent Document 1 has the following problems. The processing liquid is discharged from the liquid supply pipe toward the center of the substrate. As a result, the processing liquid is directly supplied from the liquid supply pipe to a portion of the substrate. In other words, the processing liquid is unevenly supplied to the substrate. As a result, there is a problem that the substrate processing using the processing liquid (such as the chemical processing and rinsing processing described later) is also unevenly supplied.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and has an object to improve processing quality by preventing uneven supply of processing liquid to a substrate immersed in the processing liquid stored in a processing tank. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] One aspect of the present invention is a substrate processing apparatus comprising: a processing tank having a storage space for storing a processing liquid, and for processing a substrate by immersing the substrate in the processing liquid stored in the storage space; a substrate holding section for holding the substrate in an upright position within the storage space; a processing liquid discharge section having a discharge port that opens toward the substrate from a lower side of the substrate held in the substrate holding section, and for discharging the processing liquid from the discharge port toward the substrate; and a suppression section that blocks at least a portion of the flow of the processing liquid discharged from the processing liquid discharge section toward the substrate between the substrate held in the substrate holding section and the discharge port of the processing liquid discharge section, thereby suppressing the processing liquid from being directly supplied to the substrate from the processing liquid discharge section. The substrate holding unit holds a plurality of substrates arranged in the first direction with the surface normal of the substrate facing the first direction, the treatment liquid discharge unit extends in the first direction while facing the plurality of substrates, and the suppression unit has a discharge opposing surface extending in the first direction while facing the treatment liquid discharge unit, and the treatment liquid discharged from the treatment liquid discharge unit is blocked by the discharge opposing surface. It is characterized by the following.

[0008] Another aspect of the present invention is a method for processing a substrate, comprising: Substrate In a standing position In addition, while arranging the multiple substrates in the first direction with the surface normal of the substrate facing the first direction, A step of immersing and a lower side of the immersed substrate in the storage space. The substrate is extended in a first direction while facing the substrates.a step of discharging the processing liquid toward the substrate from a discharge port that is opened toward the substrate from below the substrate held by the substrate holding part in the processing liquid discharge part, thereby supplying the processing liquid to the substrate; and a step of blocking at least a part of the flow of the processing liquid discharged from the processing liquid discharge part toward the substrate by a suppression part disposed between the substrate immersed in the storage space and the discharge port of the processing liquid discharge part, thereby suppressing the processing liquid from being directly supplied from the processing liquid discharge part to the substrate. The suppression section has a discharge facing surface extending in a first direction while facing the treatment liquid discharge section, and the discharge facing surface blocks the treatment liquid discharged from the treatment liquid discharge section. It is characterized by the following. Effect of the Invention

[0009] As described above, according to the present invention, at least a part of the flow of the processing liquid discharged from the processing liquid discharge part toward the substrate is blocked by the suppression part, thereby suppressing direct supply of the processing liquid from the processing liquid discharge part to the substrate, thereby making it possible to improve the processing quality by suppressing uneven supply of the processing liquid to the substrate immersed in the processing liquid stored in the processing tank. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a substrate processing system equipped with a first embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. [Diagram 2] 1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a first embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. [Diagram 3] 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a schematic diagram of a main configuration of the substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG. 2. FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of FIG. 2. [Diagram 5] 11 is a schematic diagram showing the positional relationship between a plurality of substrates held by a lifter and a bubble discharge port. FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a second embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a view taken along line AA in FIG. 6. [Figure 8] 10 is a schematic diagram showing the positional relationship between a plurality of substrates held by a lifter, a bubble discharge port, and a suppression plate. FIG. [Figure 9]FIG. 11 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a fourth embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Fig. 1 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a substrate processing system equipped with a first embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. The substrate processing system 1 includes a container mounting unit 2, a shutter driving mechanism 3, a substrate transfer robot 4, a posture conversion mechanism 5, a pusher 6, a substrate transport mechanism 7, a processing unit 8, and a control unit 9. In order to unify the directions in the following figures, XYZ orthogonal coordinate axes are set as shown in Fig. 1. Here, the XY plane represents the horizontal plane. The Z axis represents the vertical axis, and more specifically, the Z direction is the vertical direction.

[0012] A storage container storing substrates W is placed on the storage container mounting part 2. In this embodiment, a FOUP F configured to be capable of storing a plurality of horizontally oriented substrates W (e.g., 25 substrates W) stacked in the Z direction is used as an example of a storage container. The FOUP F is placed on the storage container mounting part 2 in a state in which it stores unprocessed substrates W, or is placed on the storage container mounting part 2 in an empty state in order to store processed substrates W. In this embodiment, the substrates W stored in the FOUP F are semiconductor wafers forming a 3D-NAND memory, and have recesses with a high aspect ratio.

[0013] In the process space adjacent to the container placement part 2 on the (+Y) direction side, a shutter drive mechanism 3, a substrate transfer robot 4, a posture conversion mechanism 5, a pusher 6, a substrate transport mechanism 7, and a processing unit 8 are arranged. The container placement part 2 and the process space are partitioned by a partition wall (not shown) equipped with an openable and closable shutter 31. The shutter 31 is connected to the shutter drive mechanism 3. The shutter drive mechanism 3 closes the shutter 31 in response to a close command from the control part 9 to spatially separate the container placement part 2 and the process space. Conversely, the shutter drive mechanism 3 opens the shutter 31 in response to an open command from the control part 9 to communicate the container placement part 2 and the process space. This makes it possible to carry an unprocessed substrate W from the FOUP F into the process space and to carry a processed substrate W out to the FOUP F.

[0014] The above-mentioned loading and unloading process of the substrates W is performed by the substrate transfer robot 4. The substrate transfer robot 4 is configured to be rotatable in a horizontal plane. The substrate transfer robot 4 transfers multiple substrates W between the posture conversion mechanism 5 and FOUP F with the shutter 31 open. In addition, after receiving the substrates W from FOUP F via the substrate transfer robot 4 or before transferring the substrates W to FOUP F, the posture conversion mechanism 5 converts the postures of the multiple substrates W between an upright posture and a horizontal posture.

[0015] A pusher 6 is disposed on the substrate transport mechanism 7 side of the attitude changing mechanism 5 (the +X direction side in the figure), and multiple substrates W in an upright attitude are transferred between the attitude changing mechanism 5 and the substrate transport mechanism 7. Also, the substrate transport mechanism 7 moves horizontally from a position facing the pusher 6 as shown in the figure (hereinafter referred to as the "standby position") along the arrangement direction (the Y direction in the figure) in which the processing units 81-85 constituting the processing unit 8 are arranged.

[0016] The substrate transport mechanism 7 includes a pair of suspension arms 71. The pair of suspension arms 71 can be swung to hold or release a plurality of substrates W collectively. More specifically, the lower edges of the arms 71 are swung about a horizontal axis in a direction away from each other to release the plurality of substrates W, and the lower edges of the arms 71 are swung about a horizontal axis in a direction approaching each other to sandwich and hold the plurality of substrates W. Although not shown in FIG. 1, the substrate transport mechanism 7 includes an arm moving unit and an arm swinging unit. Of these, the arm moving unit has a function of horizontally moving the pair of suspension arms 71 along the arrangement direction Y in which the processing units 81 to 85 are arranged. Therefore, the pair of suspension arms 71 are positioned at positions facing each of the processing units 81 to 85 (hereinafter referred to as "processing positions") and at a standby position by this horizontal movement.

[0017] On the other hand, the arm swinging section has a function of executing the arm swinging operation, and switches between a holding state in which the substrate W is clamped and held, and a release state in which the clamping of the substrate W is released. Therefore, by this switching operation and the up and down movement of the lifter 810a functioning as the substrate holding section of the processing sections 81 and 82 and the lifter 810b functioning as the substrate holding section of the processing sections 83 and 84, the substrate W can be transferred between the lifter 810 and the suspension arm 71. Also, at the processing position facing the processing section 85, the substrate W can be transferred between the processing section 85 and the suspension arm 71. Furthermore, at the standby position, the substrate W can be transferred between the attitude changing mechanism 5 and the suspension arm 71 via the pusher 6.

[0018] The processing unit 8 is provided with five processing sections 81 to 85 as described above, which function as the first chemical processing section 81, the first rinsing processing section 82, the second chemical processing section 83, the second rinsing processing section 84, and the drying processing section 85, respectively. Among these, the first chemical processing section 81 and the second chemical processing section 83 each store the same or different chemical liquid in a processing tank 821, and immerse a plurality of substrates W collectively in the chemical liquid to perform chemical processing. The first rinsing processing section 82 and the second rinsing processing section 84 each store a rinsing liquid (e.g., pure water) in a processing tank 821, and immerse a plurality of substrates W collectively in the rinsing liquid to perform rinsing processing on the surfaces. The first chemical processing section 81, the first rinsing processing section 82, the second chemical processing section 83, and the second rinsing processing section 84 correspond to the first embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention, and although the types of processing liquids are different, the basic configuration of the apparatus is the same. The configuration and operation of the device will be described in detail later with reference to FIGS.

[0019] 1, first chemical processing unit 81 and adjacent first rinse processing unit 82 are paired, and second chemical processing unit 83 and adjacent second rinse processing unit 84 are paired. Lifter 810a not only functions as the "substrate holder" of the present invention in first chemical processing unit 81 and first rinse processing unit 82, but also functions as a dedicated transport mechanism for transferring substrate W that has been chemically processed in first chemical processing unit 81 to first rinse processing unit 82. Lifter 810b not only functions as the "substrate holder" of the present invention in second chemical processing unit 83 and second rinse processing unit 84, but also functions as a dedicated transport mechanism for transferring substrate W that has been chemically processed in second chemical processing unit 83 to second rinse processing unit 84.

[0020] In the processing unit 8 configured in this manner, the three support members (reference numeral 812 in FIG. 2) of the lifter 810a receive a plurality of substrates W from the pair of suspension arms 71 of the substrate transport mechanism 7 all at once, and while performing an overflow process of causing the processing liquid to overflow from the processing tank and an air bubble supply process of supplying air bubbles into the processing liquid stored in the processing tank, as described in detail later, the lifter 810a lowers the support members holding the plurality of substrates W from the chemical liquid, moves them laterally to the first rinse processing unit 82, and further lowers the support members while holding the substrates W that have been chemically processed into the processing tank (reference numeral 821 in FIG. 2) of the first rinse processing unit 82, and immerses them in the rinse liquid. After waiting for a predetermined rinse processing time, the lifter 810a raises the support members while holding the substrates W that have been rinsed, and raises the substrates W from the rinse liquid. Thereafter, the plurality of substrates W are collectively transferred from the support members of the lifter 810a to the pair of suspension arms 71 of the substrate transport mechanism .

[0021] Similarly, the lifter 810b also receives a plurality of substrates W collectively from the pair of suspension arms 71 of the substrate transport mechanism 7, and lowers the plurality of substrates W into the processing bath 821 of the second chemical processing unit 83 to immerse them in the chemical solution. After waiting for a predetermined chemical processing time, the lifter 810b raises the support member to lift the plurality of substrates W that have been processed with the chemical solution from the chemical solution, moves the support member laterally to the processing bath of the second rinsing processing unit 84, and further lowers the support member into the processing bath 821 of the second rinsing processing unit 84 to immerse them in the rinsing solution. After waiting for a predetermined rinsing processing time, the second lifter 810b raises the support member to lift the substrates W from the rinsing solution. After this, the plurality of substrates W are collectively delivered from the second lifter 810b to the substrate transport mechanism 7. Each of the first chemical liquid processing unit 81, the first rinsing processing unit 82, the second chemical liquid processing unit 83 and the second rinsing processing unit 84 may be provided with a lifter functioning as the "substrate holding unit" of the present invention, while the substrate W may be loaded and unloaded from the processing units 81-84 by a substrate transport mechanism 7 or a dedicated transport mechanism.

[0022] The drying processing section 85 has a substrate holding member (not shown) capable of holding a plurality of (e.g., 52) substrates W arranged in an upright position, and dries the substrates W by supplying an organic solvent (such as isopropyl alcohol) to the substrates W in a reduced pressure atmosphere, or by shaking off liquid components on the surfaces of the substrates W by centrifugal force. The drying processing section 85 is configured to be capable of transferring the substrates W between the pair of suspension arms 71 of the substrate transport mechanism 7. The drying processing section 85 then receives the plurality of substrates W after the rinsing processing all at once from the substrate transport mechanism 7, and performs a drying processing on the plurality of substrates W. After the drying processing, the plurality of substrates W are transferred all at once from the substrate holding member to the substrate transport mechanism 7.

[0023] Next, a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described. In the first chemical processing section 81, the first rinsing processing section 82, the second chemical processing section 83, and the second rinsing processing section 84 provided in the substrate processing system shown in Fig. 1, the processing liquids used are partially different, but the configuration and operation of the apparatus are basically the same. Therefore, in the following, the configuration and operation of the first chemical processing section 81 corresponding to the first embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described, and the description of the first rinsing processing section 82, the second chemical processing section 83, and the second rinsing processing section 84 will be omitted.

[0024] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a first embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a schematic configuration of the substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of FIG. 2. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the arrangement relationship between a plurality of substrates held by a lifter and a bubble discharge port. The first chemical processing unit 81 is an apparatus that uses a chemical solution containing, for example, phosphoric acid as a processing solution to etch away a silicon nitride film through a recess formed on the surface of the substrate W. As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the first chemical processing unit 81 includes a processing tank 821 for performing a first chemical processing on the substrate W. The processing tank 821 has an upwardly opening box structure that is composed of a bottom wall 821a that is rectangular in plan view and four side walls 821b to 821e that rise from the periphery of the bottom wall 821a. Therefore, the processing tank 821 can immerse multiple substrates W held by the lifter 810a all at once while storing the processing liquid in a storage space 821f surrounded by a bottom wall 821a and side walls 821b to 821e. The processing tank 821 also has an upper opening 821g that opens in the (+Z) direction, allowing the processing liquid to overflow from the storage space 821f.

[0025] An overflow tank 822 is provided around the treatment tank 821, and a recovery space 822a for recovering overflowed treatment liquid is formed between the overflow tank 822 and side walls 821b to 821e of the treatment tank 821. In addition, an outer container 823 is provided so as to surround the lower and lateral sides of the treatment tank 821 and the overflow tank 822.

[0026] A flow piping system 839 is disposed in a part of the recovery space 822a of the overflow tank 822, more specifically, in the space on the (-X) direction side of the side wall 821d. An inlet of the flow piping system 839 is connected to a treatment liquid supply unit 832, and an outlet is connected to a flow pipe 831 of the treatment liquid discharge unit 830. Therefore, when the treatment liquid supply unit 832 operates in response to a treatment liquid supply command from the control unit 9, the treatment liquid is simultaneously supplied to the multiple flow pipes 831 via the flow piping system 839. As a result, the treatment liquid is discharged from the flow pipe 831 and stored in the storage space 821f. The detailed configuration of the flow pipe 831 will be described later.

[0027] Moreover, the processing liquid overflowing from the processing tank 821 is collected in the overflow tank 822. A processing liquid collection unit 833 is connected to this overflow tank 822. When the processing liquid collection unit 833 operates in response to a processing liquid collection command from the control unit 9, the processing liquid collected in the overflow tank 822 is sent to the processing liquid supply unit 832 via the processing liquid collection unit 833 and is provided for reuse. In this manner, in this embodiment, the processing liquid can be stored in the storage space 821f while being circulated and supplied to the processing tank 821.

[0028] In order to immerse a plurality of substrates W in a storage space 821f in which a processing liquid is stored while holding them together, a lifter 810a is provided as shown in FIG. 2. The lifter 810a is configured to be able to move up and down between a "delivery position" where the plurality of substrates W are delivered to and from the substrate transport mechanism 7 (FIG. 1) and the storage space 821f. The lifter 810a includes a back plate 811, three support members 812, and an extension member 813. The back plate 811 extends toward the bottom wall 821a along the side wall 821b of the processing tank 821. The support member 812 extends in the (-X) direction from the side surface of the lower end of the back plate 811. In this embodiment, three support members 812 are provided. In each support member 812, a plurality of V-shaped grooves 812a are arranged at a constant pitch in the X direction. Each groove 812a is a V-shaped groove 812a slightly wider than the thickness of the substrate W, and opens in the (+Z) direction to be capable of retaining the substrate W. Therefore, the three support members 812 can collectively hold a plurality of substrates W transported by the substrate transport mechanism 7 at a constant substrate pitch. The extension member 813 extends in the (+X) direction from the rear surface of the upper end of the back plate 811. The lifter 810a is L-shaped overall, as shown in FIG. 2. The uppermost position of the lifter 810a is set to a height that allows the substrate transport mechanism 7 to pass above the support members 812 even when the substrate transport mechanism 7 is holding a plurality of substrates W.

[0029] In this embodiment, as shown in Figs. 2, 4 and 5, the lifter 810a holds the multiple substrates W arranged at a substrate pitch PT (Fig. 5) in the X direction with the surface normal of the substrate W (a line extending from the center Wc of the substrate W in Fig. 4 in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface) facing the X direction. At this time, there are various patterns for holding the multiple substrates W by the lifter 810a. For example, the multiple substrates W may be held in a state in which the surface (symbol Wa in Fig. 8, which will be described later) of both main surfaces of the substrate W that will be subjected to the first chemical liquid treatment with the chemical liquid faces the +X direction (first holding pattern). In addition, as described in the next second embodiment, the substrates W may be spaced apart by a substrate pitch (symbol PT in Fig. 5) in the X direction to form a substrate pair WP in which the surfaces of the two substrates W face each other, and the substrate pairs WP may be arranged at a pitch twice the substrate pitch in the X direction and held (second holding pattern).

[0030] A lifter drive mechanism 814 is provided on the (+X) direction side of the processing tank 821. The lifter drive mechanism 814 includes a lift motor 815, a ball screw 816, a lift base 817, a lift column 818, and a motor drive unit 819. The lift motor 815 is attached to a frame (not shown) of the substrate processing system 1 with its rotation shaft vertically oriented. The ball screw 816 is connected to the rotation shaft of the lift motor 815. One side of the lift base 817 is screwed to the ball screw 816. The base end side of the lift column 818 is attached to the center of the lift base 817, and the other end side is attached to the lower surface of the extension member 813. When the motor drive unit 819 drives the lift motor 815 in response to a lift command from the control unit 9, the ball screw 816 rotates, and the lift column 818 rises together with the lift base 817. This positions the support member 812 at the delivery position. Furthermore, when the motor drive unit 819 drives the lift motor 815 in the reverse direction in response to a lowering command from the control unit 9, the ball screw 816 rotates in the reverse direction, and the lift column 818 lowers together with the lift base 817. This causes the multiple substrates W held by the support member 812 to be immersed collectively in the processing liquid stored in the storage space 821f.

[0031] In the storage space 821f, a processing liquid discharge unit 830 and a bubble supply unit 840 are disposed below the multiple substrates W held by the support member 812, i.e., on the (-Z) direction side. The processing liquid discharge unit 830 discharges the processing liquid supplied from the processing liquid supply unit 832 via a flow piping system 839 into the storage space 821f, and the bubble supply unit 840 supplies nitrogen gas bubbles V (FIG. 5) into the processing liquid stored in the storage space 821f, and each is configured as follows.

[0032] As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the processing liquid discharge part 830 has a flow pipe 831 extending in the X direction. In this embodiment, two flow pipes 831 are arranged spaced apart from each other in the Y direction. The (-X) end of each flow pipe 831 is connected to an outlet of a flow piping system 839, and the (+X) end is sealed. In addition, a plurality of processing liquid discharge ports 834 are drilled in the side wall of each flow pipe 831 so as to be arranged at regular intervals in the X direction. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, each processing liquid discharge port 834 is provided toward the center Wc of the substrate W immersed in the processing liquid in the storage space 821f. Therefore, the processing liquid supplied to the flow pipe 831 flows inside the piping in the (+X) direction and is discharged from each processing liquid discharge port 834 toward the substrate W.

[0033] The suppression units 860 are provided in one-to-one correspondence with the two flow pipes 831. Each suppression unit 860 has a suppression plate 861 extending in the X direction. In order to facilitate understanding of the invention, the one of the two flow pipes 831 arranged on the (-Y) side is referred to as the "flow pipe 831a", and the one arranged on the (+Y) side is referred to as the "flow pipe 831b". When there is no need to distinguish between them, they are simply referred to as the "flow pipe 831" as described above. Furthermore, of the two suppression plates 861, the one arranged on the (-Y) side is referred to as the "suppression plate 861a", and the one arranged on the (+Y) side is referred to as the "suppression plate 861b". When there is no need to distinguish between them, they are simply referred to as the "suppression plate 861" as described above.

[0034] The suppression plate 861 is disposed between the substrate W held by the lifter 810a and the flow pipe 831. Therefore, one main surface of the suppression plate 861 is a discharge facing surface 862 facing the flow pipe 831, and the other main surface is a substrate facing surface 863 facing the substrate W. The surface normal of the discharge facing surface 862 is substantially coincident with a virtual line (two-dot chain line in FIG. 4) connecting the processing liquid discharge port 834 and the center Wc of the substrate W. In other words, the angle θ of the discharge facing surface 862 with respect to the flow of the processing liquid discharged from the processing liquid discharge port 834 is approximately 90°. Note that this angle θ is desirably set in the range of 60° to 120°.

[0035] Due to the arrangement of the suppression unit 860, the flow of the processing liquid discharged from the processing liquid discharge port 834 toward the substrate W (reference symbol FL in FIG. 4) is blocked by the discharge opposing surface 862 of the suppression unit 860 and flows toward the substrate W via the discharge opposing surface 862. In this way, the processing liquid flows upward while suppressing the processing liquid from being directly supplied from the processing liquid discharge port 834 to the substrate W, forming a flow of the processing liquid from the bottom wall side of the processing tank 821 toward the upper opening 821g, i.e., the overflow surface. In this way, an upward flow of the processing liquid is formed below the substrate W.

[0036] The bubble supply unit 840 has a plurality of bubblers 841 (four in this embodiment) as shown in Fig. 3 to Fig. 5. Each bubbler 841 has a bubble pipe 842 extending in the X direction and a plurality of protruding parts 843 protruding upward from the bubble pipe 842, that is, in the (+Z) direction. One end of each bubble pipe 842 is connected to a gas supply unit 844 that supplies nitrogen gas, and the other end is sealed. The plurality of protruding parts 843 are provided on the upper side wall of the bubble pipe 842 at the same substrate pitch PT as the constant substrate pitch PT (Fig. 5). Each protruding part 843 has a hollow cylindrical shape as shown in Fig. 3, and a bubble discharge port 845 is provided at the center of the upper end surface. In this embodiment, the bubble pipe 842 and the multiple protruding portions 843 are integrally formed by performing cutting and drilling on the surface of a long resin pipe made of a resin material, particularly at least one selected from the group consisting of polyetheretherketone (PEEK), perfluoroalkoxyalkane (PFA), and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). It goes without saying that the bubble pipe 842 and the multiple protruding portions 843 may be prepared separately, and the multiple protruding portions 843 may be attached to the bubble pipe 842 to be integrated.

[0037] In the bubble supply unit 840 configured as above, when the gas supply unit 844 supplies nitrogen gas to the bubble supply unit 840 in response to a bubble supply command from the control unit 9, the nitrogen gas flowing through the bubble pipe 842 is discharged upward from the bubble discharge port 845. As a result, bubbles V (FIG. 5) of nitrogen gas are supplied to the processing liquid stored in the storage space 821f, and the bubbles V are supplied in a direction toward the overflow surface from a position higher than the processing liquid discharge port 834 in the vertical direction Z, that is, in the (+Z) direction. These bubbles V rise in the processing liquid and promote the replacement of the processing liquid located near the surface Wa of the substrate W with fresh processing liquid. Note that the gas supply unit 844 may be configured to supply nitrogen gas from a cylinder filled with nitrogen gas, for example, or a utility provided in a factory in which the substrate processing system 1 is installed may be used.

[0038] 4, the four bubblers 841 are supported from below by a bubbler support 850 consisting of three bubbler boards 851, and are fixedly disposed below the substrate W held by the lifter 810a and above the processing liquid discharge port 834. Again, to facilitate understanding of the invention, the one of the four bubblers 841 disposed furthest in the (-Y) direction will be referred to as "bubbler 841a," and the ones sequentially disposed on the (+Y) direction side will be referred to as "bubbler 841b," "bubbler 841c," and "bubbler 841d," respectively. When there is no need to distinguish between these, they will be simply referred to as "bubbler 841," as described above. Similarly, for the bubbler board 851, the one arranged closest to the (-Y) direction is referred to as the "bubbler board 851a," and the ones arranged next to each other on the (+Y) direction side are referred to as the "bubbler board 851b" and the "bubbler board 851c," respectively. When there is no need to distinguish between these, they are simply referred to as the "bubbler board 851" as described above.

[0039] Each of the bubbler boards 851a to 851c has a plate shape extending in the X direction. As shown in FIG. 4, the bubbler board 851a is disposed between the side wall 821c of the processing tank 821 and the flow pipe 831a, and is fixed to the processing tank 821 by a fixing member (not shown). The bubbler 841a is fixed to the upper surface of the bubbler board 851a so as to satisfy the following arrangement relationship. As shown in FIG. 5, the arrangement relationship is that the protruding portion 843 attached to the bubbler 841a faces upward, and the substrate W and the bubble discharge port 845 are alternately positioned in the X direction. By arranging in this manner, the bubbles V supplied from the bubble discharge port 845 are discharged toward the inter-substrate region sandwiched between the adjacent substrates W in the X direction, and efficient chemical processing is performed. The arrangement relationship is the same for the other bubblers 841b to 841d.

[0040] The bubbler board 851b is disposed between the flow pipes 831a and 831b and is fixed to the treatment tank 821 by a fixing member (not shown). Bubblers 841b and 841c are fixed to the upper surface of the bubbler board 851b at a fixed interval in the Y direction. The bubbler board 851c is disposed between the flow pipe 831b and a side wall 821e of the treatment tank 821 and is fixed to the treatment tank 821 by a fixing member (not shown). A bubbler 841d is fixed to the upper surface of the bubbler board 851c. In this way, the bubbler boards 851a to 851c have the function of supporting the bubble supply unit 840 from below.

[0041] 2 to 5, the configuration of first chemical liquid processing unit 81 corresponding to the first embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention has been described, and second chemical liquid processing unit 83 has the same configuration as first chemical liquid processing unit 81 except that the types of processing liquids used are the same or different, and corresponds to the first embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. Also, first rinse processing unit 82 and second rinse processing unit 84 have the same configuration as first chemical liquid processing unit 81 except that the processing liquid is a rinse liquid such as pure water or DIW (deionized water), and correspond to the first embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention.

[0042] As described above, according to this embodiment, the flow FL of the processing liquid discharged from the processing liquid discharge port 834 of the processing liquid discharger 830 and directed toward the substrate W is blocked by the suppression plate 861 of the suppression unit 860. That is, the direct supply of the processing liquid from the processing liquid discharger 830 to the substrate W is suppressed. As a result, uneven supply of the processing liquid to the substrate immersed in the processing liquid stored in the processing tank is suppressed, thereby improving the processing quality.

[0043] Moreover, comparing the first embodiment with the device described in Patent Document 1, the two have basically the same configuration, except for the suppression unit 860. In other words, by adding the suppression unit 860 to the device described in Patent Document 1, the same action and effect as the first embodiment can be obtained. In other words, the present invention corresponds to an example of improving the device described in Patent Document 1 by incorporating the suppression unit 860, that is, a so-called retrofit.

[0044] 4, the suppression unit 860, the processing liquid discharge unit 830, the bubble supply unit 840, and the bubbler support unit 850 are arranged symmetrically with respect to a virtual vertical plane VS that passes through the center Wc of the substrate W held by the lifter 810a in the storage space 821f and is perpendicular to the surface of the substrate W. Therefore, the upward flow generated in the processing liquid stored in the storage space 821f is also symmetric with respect to the virtual vertical plane VS, and the bias of the upward flow is suppressed, allowing the substrate processing (chemical processing and rinsing processing) to be performed with high quality.

[0045] 5, the bubbler 841d is arranged so that the substrates W and the bubble outlets 845 are alternately positioned in the X direction, so that the bubbles V can be efficiently supplied between the adjacent substrates W. As a result, the substrate processing (chemical processing and rinsing processing) can be performed with high quality.

[0046] Moreover, the bubbler boards 851a to 851c are positioned vertically directly below the bubble supply unit 840 to support the bubble supply unit 840 from below. Therefore, the bubble supply unit 840 can be firmly fixed, and the bubbles V can be stably supplied between the adjacent substrates W.

[0047] Thus, in the first embodiment, the X direction corresponds to the "first direction" of the present invention.

[0048] Fig. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a second embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. Fig. 7 is a view taken along the line AA in Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram showing the arrangement of a plurality of substrates held by a lifter, a bubble discharge port, and a suppression plate. The second embodiment differs greatly from the first embodiment in the configuration of a suppression unit 860, and the other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment. Therefore, the following description will focus on the differences, and the same configurations will be denoted by the same reference numerals and will not be described.

[0049] 6, one of the suppression plates 861a constituting the suppression unit 860 is extended to an upper region of the bubblers 841a, 841b arranged on both sides of the flow pipe 831a. Therefore, the suppression plate 861a blocks not only the processing liquid discharged from the processing liquid discharge port 834 of the flow pipe 831a but also the air bubbles V supplied from the bubblers 841a, 841b, thereby preventing the processing liquid and the air bubbles from being directly supplied to the substrate W. In this embodiment, the upper region corresponds to an example of the "region sandwiched between the substrate and the air bubble supply unit" of the present invention.

[0050] Meanwhile, the suppression plate 861a is provided with a plurality of through holes 864 to allow a part of the processing liquid and the bubbles V to flow to the substrate W. However, in the second embodiment, the through holes 864 are arranged as shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 in correspondence with the substrate W being held by the second holding pattern. In this second holding pattern, the substrate pairs WP are arranged in the X direction at a substrate pair pitch (=2×PT). In each substrate pair WP, two adjacent substrates W face each other with their surfaces facing each other and spaced apart by the substrate pitch PT to form an inter-substrate region between the surfaces Wa. Therefore, the through holes 864 are provided vertically below the inter-substrate region. Also, the substrate-side X-direction size of the through holes 864 is set to be equal to or smaller than the X-direction size of the inter-substrate region. This provides the following effects.

[0051] In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, among the bubbles V supplied from the bubblers 841a and 841b, those that move to the bubbler-side openings of the through-holes 864 flow directly to the substrate side through the through-holes 864 and are sent to the inter-substrate region. On the other hand, most of the bubbles V that move to the regions of the discharge facing surface 862 other than the through-holes 864 slide to the adjacent through-holes 864, flow to the substrate side through the through-holes 864, and are sent to the inter-substrate region. The above-mentioned configuration is similar to that of the other suppression plate 861b that constitutes the suppression section 860. In this embodiment, the bubbler-side X-direction size of the through-holes 864 is wider than the substrate-side X-direction size, and is finished into a trapezoidal shape in the XZ cross section, so that the bubbles V can be efficiently guided to the inter-substrate region. Of course, the shape of the through-holes 864 is not limited to this, and for example, the through-holes 864 may be provided so that the bubbler-side X-direction size matches the substrate-side X-direction size.

[0052] According to the second embodiment using the suppression unit 860 having the through-holes 864 in this manner, many bubbles V are efficiently sent to the inter-substrate region, creating a bubble-rich state on the front surface Wa of the substrate W. As a result, the processing liquid located in the vicinity of the front surface Wa of the substrate W is efficiently replaced with fresh processing liquid, allowing substrate processing to be performed more efficiently.

[0053] The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the above-mentioned second embodiment, the through-hole 864 is provided vertically below the inter-substrate area sandwiched between the two substrates W constituting the substrate pair WP in correspondence with the substrate W being held by the second holding pattern, but in the case of the first holding pattern, the through-hole 864 may be provided as follows (third embodiment). In this first holding pattern, the substrates W are arranged at a substrate pitch PT in the X direction, and an inter-substrate area is formed between two adjacent substrates W. Therefore, by providing the through-hole 864 vertically below each inter-substrate area, a bubble-rich state can be created for the surface Wa facing the inter-substrate area. As a result, the processing liquid located near the surface Wa is efficiently replaced with fresh processing liquid, and the substrate processing can be performed more efficiently.

[0054] In the second and third embodiments, the through holes 864 are provided in the suppression section 860 having the suppression plates 861a, 861b whose width is increased in the Y direction, but the through holes 864 may be provided in the suppression plates 861a, 861b whose width is not increased (configured to block only the processing liquid as in the first embodiment) as shown in FIG. 9. In this third embodiment, the number of flow paths for the processing liquid flowing from the suppression plates 861a, 861b toward the substrate W is increased. As a result, the processing liquid can be supplied more uniformly to the substrate W, and bias in the processing liquid can be effectively suppressed.

[0055] In the above embodiment, the processing liquid discharge unit 830 includes two flow pipes 831, but the number of flow pipes 831 is not limited to this and is desirably set depending on the size of the storage space 821f and the substrate W, etc. The bubble supply unit 840 includes four bubblers 841, but the number of bubblers 841 is not limited to this and is desirably set depending on the size of the storage space 821f and the substrate W, etc. The suppression unit 860 includes two suppression plates 861, but the number of suppression plates 861 is not limited to this and is desirably set depending on the number and arrangement of the flow pipes 831, etc.

[0056] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, nitrogen gas is sent to the bubbler 841 to supply bubbles V into the processing liquid, but a gas other than nitrogen gas may be used as the "gas" of the present invention.

[0057] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to a substrate processing apparatus that performs chemical processing using a chemical solution containing phosphoric acid and a substrate processing apparatus that performs rinsing processing. However, the scope of application of the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention can be applied to substrate processing techniques in general in which substrates are processed by immersing them in processing solutions other than the above chemical solutions and rinsing solutions. [Industrial Applicability]

[0058] The present invention can be applied to the general substrate processing technology in which a substrate is immersed in a processing liquid, such as a chemical liquid or pure water, stored in a processing tank for processing. [Explanation of symbols]

[0059] 81 to 84: Processing section 810, 810a, 810b… Lifter 821...Treatment tank 821f…storage space 830... Processing liquid discharge section 831, 831a, 831b...Flow tube 832... Processing liquid supply unit 834... Processing liquid outlet 840…Air bubble supply section 841, 841a~841d…Bubbler 860…Suppression part 861,861a,861b...Suppression plate PT: Board pitch V…Air bubble W…Substrate Wa…(substrate) surface WP...Board pair X…first direction Z: Vertical direction

Claims

1. a processing tank having a storage space for storing a processing liquid, the processing tank processing a substrate by immersing the substrate in the processing liquid stored in the storage space; a substrate holder that holds the substrate in an upright position within the storage space; a processing liquid discharge unit having a discharge port that opens toward the substrate from a lower side of the substrate held by the substrate holding unit, and discharges the processing liquid from the discharge port toward the substrate; a suppression unit that blocks at least a part of a flow of the processing liquid discharged from the processing liquid discharge unit toward the substrate between the substrate held by the substrate holding unit and the discharge port of the processing liquid discharge unit, thereby suppressing the processing liquid from being directly supplied from the processing liquid discharge unit to the substrate, the substrate holding unit holds the plurality of substrates while arranging them in the first direction with surface normals of the substrates facing the first direction; the treatment liquid discharge unit extends in the first direction while facing the plurality of substrates, The suppression section has a discharge opposing surface extending in the first direction while facing the treatment liquid discharge section, and the treatment liquid discharged from the treatment liquid discharge section is blocked by the discharge opposing surface. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1,

2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , The suppression section further has a substrate facing surface extending in the first direction while facing the substrate, and a through hole penetrating from the ejection facing surface to the substrate facing surface, and a portion of the processing liquid ejected from the processing liquid ejection section to the ejection facing surface is circulated to the substrate through the through hole.

3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2, a bubble supply unit provided below the substrate held by the substrate holder and configured to supply bubbles to the processing liquid stored in the storage space; the ejection facing surface and the substrate facing surface are extended to a region between the substrate held by the substrate holding unit and the bubble supply unit, The suppression section causes a portion of the bubbles supplied from the bubble supply section to the discharge opposing surface via the through hole to flow to the substrate.

4. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3, the substrate holding unit holds the plurality of substrates while spaced apart at a constant interval in the first direction, The through hole is provided vertically below an inter-substrate area between two adjacent substrates.

5. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3, the substrate holding unit holds a substrate pair arranged in the first direction, the substrate pairs being arranged such that the surfaces of the two substrates face each other while the two substrates are spaced apart from each other by a constant interval in the first direction; The through hole is provided vertically below an inter-substrate area sandwiched between the two substrates constituting the substrate pair.

6. a step of immersing a plurality of substrates in a treatment liquid stored in a storage space provided in a treatment tank while arranging the substrates in the first direction, the substrates being in an upright position and with a surface normal of the substrate facing a first direction; a step of discharging the processing liquid toward the substrate from a discharge port that opens toward the substrate from a lower side of the substrate held by the substrate holding unit in a processing liquid discharge unit that is extended in the first direction while facing the plurality of substrates below the substrate immersed in the storage space, thereby supplying the processing liquid to the substrate; a step of blocking at least a part of a flow of the processing liquid discharged from the processing liquid discharge part toward the substrate by a suppression part disposed between the substrate immersed in the storage space and the discharge port of the processing liquid discharge part, thereby suppressing the processing liquid from being directly supplied to the substrate from the processing liquid discharge part, The suppression section has a discharge opposing surface extending in the first direction while facing the treatment liquid discharge section, and the treatment liquid discharged from the treatment liquid discharge section is blocked by the discharge opposing surface. A substrate processing method comprising:

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