SUBSTRATE PROCESSING METHOD AND SUBSTRATE PROCESSING SYSTEM

Abstract

To attain the improvement of yield while reducing an environmental load by reducing the consumption of a process fluid.SOLUTION: In a substrate processing method and a substrate processing system, auxiliary organic solvent supply processing is executed between a chemical processing and rinse processing. Substitution processing and liquid filling processing (liquid membrane formation processing) are executed using an organic solvent after the rinse processing, and a liquid membrane is formed. At such a time, a rinse liquid may be residual in a pattern, and a residual position of the rinse liquid is not on an inner bottom face of the pattern but is held between liquid layers containing two kinds of organic solvents (=IPA+DIW) in a vertical direction. The rinse liquid constituting the residual liquid is mutually diffused between the liquid layers and a residual liquid free state is provided. In such a state, drying processing is executed using a process fluid in a supercritical state.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a technique for drying a substrate in a processing chamber, and more particularly to a process in which a substrate covered with a liquid film is treated with a processing fluid in a supercritical state. [Background technology]

[0002] The processing of various substrates such as semiconductor substrates and glass substrates for display devices includes processing of the substrate surface with various processing fluids. Wet processing using liquids such as chemicals and rinses as processing fluids has been widely used. In recent years, processing using processing fluids in a supercritical state has also been put to practical use in order to dry the substrate after the wet processing. This is particularly useful in the drying processing of a substrate having a pattern-formed surface on which a fine pattern is formed. This is because the processing fluid in a supercritical state has a lower surface tension than a liquid and has the property of penetrating deep into the gaps of the pattern. By using the processing fluid, it is possible to perform the drying processing efficiently. It is also possible to reduce the risk of pattern collapse caused by surface tension during drying.

[0003] For example, the substrate processing system described in Patent Document 1 is provided with a substrate developing apparatus as an example of the "wet processing apparatus" of the present invention. In this substrate developing apparatus, as a final process in the apparatus, the substrate wetted with the rinsing liquid is subjected to the " Organic Solvents " isopropyl alcohol (IPA) liquid, which is an example of a "supercritical processing apparatus" according to the present invention, is supplied. This performs IPA replacement and removes the rinsing liquid from the surface of the substrate. Also, a puddle of IPA liquid is created on the surface of the substrate. That is, a liquid film containing IPA liquid is formed in a puddle shape. As a result, the surface of the substrate is maintained in a wet state with IPA liquid. Then, while maintaining the puddle state, the substrate is transported by the substrate transport device to a substrate drying device, which is an example of the "supercritical processing apparatus" of the present invention, and a drying process is performed using a processing fluid in a supercritical state. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2013-201302 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In wet processing equipment such as substrate developing equipment and substrate cleaning equipment, it is desirable to completely drain liquid such as a rinse liquid from inside a pattern by IPA replacement. However, liquid may remain on the inner bottom surface of the pattern. If the substrate is carried into a substrate drying equipment (supercritical processing equipment) with such remaining liquid (hereinafter referred to as "residual liquid") remaining and a supercritical drying process is performed, the following problems may occur. That is, the replacement of the liquid components constituting the liquid film with the processing fluid in a supercritical state is likely to be incomplete. Therefore, in order to cover this, a countermeasure of increasing the amount of processing fluid used may be considered. However, this leads to an increase in running costs and imposes a large environmental burden on society.

[0006] Even if the amount of processing fluid used is increased, residual liquid remains on the inner bottom surface of the pattern, which can cause the pattern to collapse. For this reason, the presence of residual liquid is one of the main causes of reduced product yields.

[0007] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and has an object to provide a technology for improving yields while reducing consumption of processing fluid and mitigating environmental load in a substrate processing system in which a substrate having an organic solvent applied to its surface that has been subjected to wet processing is transported from a wet processing device to a supercritical processing device, and the substrate is dried using a processing fluid in a supercritical state. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] One aspect of the present invention is a substrate processing method for processing a substrate having a pattern-formed surface on which a pattern is formed, the method comprising: (a) supplying a chemical solution to the pattern-formed surface of the substrate in a wet processing apparatus; Organic Solvents The method is characterized by comprising the steps of: (a) carrying out a supply process, a rinsing process by supplying a rinsing liquid to the pattern-formed surface, a replacement process by supplying an organic solvent to the pattern-formed surface, and a puddle process of the organic solvent on the pattern-formed surface in this order; (b) transporting the substrate from the wet processing apparatus to a supercritical processing apparatus while the organic solvent remains in a puddle state on the pattern-formed surface as a result of the puddle process; and (c) drying the substrate in the supercritical processing apparatus by contacting a processing fluid in a supercritical state with the puddle-state pattern-formed surface.

[0009] Another aspect of the present invention is a substrate processing system for processing a substrate having a pattern-formed surface on which a pattern is formed, the substrate being subjected to chemical processing by supplying a chemical solution to the pattern-formed surface, and a backup process by supplying an organic solvent to the pattern-formed surface. Organic Solvents The system is characterized by comprising a wet processing apparatus which performs, in the stated order, a supply process, a rinsing process by supplying a rinsing liquid to the pattern-formed surface, a replacement process by supplying an organic solvent to the pattern-formed surface, and a puddle process which creates a puddle state in which the organic solvent is puddled on the pattern-formed surface; a supercritical processing apparatus which dries the substrate by contacting the puddle-state pattern-formed surface with a processing fluid in a supercritical state; and a substrate transport apparatus which transports the substrate from the wet processing apparatus to the supercritical processing apparatus while in the puddle state.

[0010] Conventionally, in wet processing apparatuses, after a chemical process is performed by supplying a chemical to a pattern-forming surface, a rinse process, a replacement process, and a puddle process are performed in that order. This can result in the rinse liquid remaining on the inner bottom surface of the pattern. This residual liquid can lead to increased consumption of processing fluids and reduced product yields. Therefore, in the present invention, a backup process is performed between the chemical process and the rinse process. Organic SolventsTherefore, even if the rinse liquid remains in the pattern, the remaining position of the rinse liquid is not on the inner bottom surface of the pattern, but is sandwiched between two types of liquid layers in the vertical direction, as shown in FIG. 7(b) to be described later. Of these two types, the liquid layer on the vertically lower side is a reserve liquid layer. Organic Solvents Used in supply processing Organic Solvents layer or the relevant Organic Solvents The other liquid layer is the mixture of the rinsing liquid and the ion exchange liquid. Organic solution Agent layer or the relevant Organic Solvents Therefore, when the substrate in a puddle state is transported to the supercritical processing device, the rinse liquid constituting the residual liquid is mutually diffused between two liquid layers adjacent in the vertical direction until it comes into contact with the processing fluid in a supercritical state, Organic Solvents As a result, the drying process is performed with the processing fluid in a supercritical state in a state where no residual liquid exists on the inner bottom surface of the pattern, that is, in a so-called residual liquid free state. Effect of the Invention

[0011] As described above, according to the present invention, the supercritical drying process can be carried out without leaving any residual liquid, thereby improving the yield while reducing the consumption of the processing fluid. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a first embodiment of a substrate processing system according to the present invention. [Figure 2A] FIG. 2 is a side view showing the overall configuration of the wet treatment apparatus. [Figure 2B] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the wet treatment apparatus. [Diagram 3] 3A to 3C are diagrams illustrating the configuration and operation of a chuck pin. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a side view showing the configuration of a supercritical processing apparatus. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a structure of a support tray. [Figure 6]2 is a flowchart showing an outline of a process executed by the substrate processing system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] 1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating a difference in liquid film configuration resulting from the presence or absence of a preliminary organic solvent supply process. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing pressure changes in a processing chamber. [Figure 9] 10 is a flowchart showing an operation of a second embodiment of a substrate processing system according to the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a first embodiment of a substrate processing system according to the present invention. The substrate processing system 1 is a processing system for supplying a processing liquid to the surface of various substrates, such as semiconductor wafers, to wet process the substrates and then drying the substrates, and has a system configuration suitable for carrying out a substrate processing method according to the present invention. The substrate processing system 1 mainly comprises a wet processing device 2, a substrate transport device 3, a supercritical processing device 4, and a control device 9.

[0014] The wet processing device 2 receives a substrate to be processed and performs a predetermined wet processing. The type of processing is not particularly limited. The wet processing includes a developing process using a chemical solution and a cleaning process for cleaning the substrate, which are performed in the above-mentioned conventional device. However, when a liquid such as IPA is applied to the pattern-formed surface of the substrate, Organic Solvents A puddle state is created with the puddle state being formed. The substrate transport device 3 transports the substrate out of the wet processing device 2 while maintaining the puddle state, and transports it into the supercritical processing device 4. The supercritical processing device 4 performs a drying process (supercritical drying process) on the substrate that has been transported therein using a processing fluid in a supercritical state. These are installed in a clean room. Therefore, the substrate transport device 3 transports the substrate S in the air atmosphere under atmospheric pressure.

[0015] The control device 9 controls the operation of each of these devices to realize predetermined processing. For this purpose, the control device 9 is equipped with a CPU 91, a memory 92, a storage 93, an interface 94, and the like. The CPU 91 executes various control programs. The memory 92 temporarily stores processing data. The storage 93 stores the control programs executed by the CPU 91. The interface 94 exchanges information with a user and external devices. The operation of the devices described below is realized by the CPU 91 executing the control programs written in advance in the storage 93 and causing each part of the devices to perform a predetermined operation.

[0016] As a result of the CPU 91 executing a predetermined control program, functional blocks such as a wet processing control unit 95 for controlling the operation of the wet processing device 2, a transport control unit 96 for controlling the operation of the substrate transport device 3, and a supercritical processing control unit 97 for controlling the operation of the supercritical processing device 4 are realized in the form of software in the control device 9. Note that each of these functional blocks may be at least partially configured with dedicated hardware.

[0017] As the "substrate" in this embodiment, various substrates such as semiconductor wafers, glass substrates for photomasks, glass substrates for liquid crystal displays, glass substrates for plasma displays, substrates for FEDs (Field Emission Displays), substrates for optical disks, substrates for magnetic disks, and substrates for magneto-optical disks can be applied. In the following, a substrate processing apparatus used mainly for processing disc-shaped semiconductor wafers will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention can be applied to the processing of the various substrates exemplified above. Various substrate shapes can also be applied.

[0018] In the following description, a substrate having a pattern formed only on one main surface is used as an example. Here, the side of the main surface on which the pattern is formed is referred to as the "front surface," and the opposite main surface on which no pattern is formed is referred to as the "rear surface." The main surface of the substrate facing downward is referred to as the "lower surface," and the main surface of the substrate facing upward is referred to as the "upper surface." In the following description, the upper surface is referred to as the front surface.

[0019] 2A and 2B are diagrams showing an example of the configuration of a wet-type processing apparatus. More specifically, FIG. 2A is a side view showing the overall configuration of the wet-type processing apparatus, and FIG. 2B is a diagram for explaining the operation of the wet-type processing apparatus. This wet-type processing apparatus 2 is an apparatus for processing a substrate by supplying a processing liquid to the surface of a substrate S. The operation of the wet-type processing apparatus 2 is controlled by a wet processing control unit 95 of a control apparatus 9.

[0020] The wet treatment device 2 supplies a treatment liquid to the surface (pattern-formed surface) Sa of the substrate S, and performs various treatments (chemical treatment, pretreatment, etc.) described in detail later. Organic Solvents Supplying processing, rinsing processing, replacement processing, liquid film forming processing, etc. are performed in the wet processing apparatus 2. For this purpose, the wet processing apparatus 2 is provided with a substrate holding section 21, a splash guard 22, and processing liquid supply sections 23 and 24 inside a processing chamber 200. The operations of these sections are controlled by a wet processing control section 95 provided in the control device 9. The substrate holding section 21 has a disk-shaped spin chuck 211 having approximately the same diameter as the substrate S, and a plurality of chuck pins 212 are provided on the periphery of the spin chuck 211.

[0021] 3 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration and operation of a chuck pin, in which (a) shows the chuck pin in a chucked state (clamped state) and (b) shows the chuck pin in a non-chucked state (open state). Although not shown, in this embodiment, twelve chuck pins 212 are provided radially around the rotation axis AX of the spin chuck 211. Each chuck pin 212 is arranged on the upper surface of the periphery of the spin chuck 211 so as to be movable in a radial direction D. The "radial direction D" here refers to the longitudinal direction of an imaginary line connecting the rotation axis AX and the chuck pin 212.

[0022] The chuck pins 212 all have the same configuration. Therefore, in the following, the configuration of one chuck pin 212 will be described, and the components of the other chuck pins 212 will be denoted by the same reference numerals and will not be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the chuck pin 212 has a chuck abutment surface 212a. This chuck abutment surface 212a is movable along the radial direction D on the upper surface of the peripheral portion of the spin chuck 211. In the chuck pin 212, a lower abutment surface 212b is provided above the chuck abutment surface 212a. The lower abutment surface 212b is inclined downward as it proceeds in the direction (+D) toward the rotation axis AX. A curved abutment surface 212c is provided above the end of the lower abutment surface 212b on the (-D) direction side. This curved abutment surface 212c is finished into a curved surface facing the rotation axis AX. Further, an upper abutment surface 212d extends upward from the upper end of the curved abutment surface 212c. This upper abutment surface 212d is inclined upward as it proceeds in the direction (+D) toward the rotation axis AX side. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the curved abutment surface 212c is directly continuous with the upper abutment surface 212d and the lower abutment surface 212b in a state in which it is disposed between the upper abutment surface 212d and the lower abutment surface 212b. Therefore, when the substrate abutment portion 212e in which the upper abutment surface 212d, the curved abutment surface 212c, and the lower abutment surface 212b are connected and abut against the substrate S is viewed from a horizontal direction perpendicular to the radial direction D, the substrate abutment portion 212e has a substantially C-shape. In other words, the chuck pin 212 is capable of reciprocating along the radial direction D with the substrate abutment portion 212e facing the rotation axis AX.

[0023] The chuck pin 212 is connected to a chuck driver 215. The chuck driver 215 moves the chuck pin 212 in the radial direction D in response to a command from the wet processing control unit 95. For example, when transferring the substrate S to and from the substrate transport device 3, the chuck driver 215 moves the chuck pin 212 in the direction (-D) and positions it at the non-chuck position, as shown in FIG. 3(b). At this time, the curved contact surface 212c and the upper contact surface 212d are slightly farther away from the rotation axis AX than the radius of the substrate S. On the other hand, the lower contact surface 212b is located below the substrate S. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3(b), the substrate S is supported only by the lower contact surface 212b, and moreover, at a position of the lower contact surface 212b that is farther away from the curved contact surface 212c in the (+D) direction.

[0024] On the other hand, when chucking the substrate S, as shown in Fig. 3(a), the chuck driver 215 moves the chuck pin 212 in the direction (+D) and positions it at the chuck position. By moving the chuck pin 212 from the non-chuck position to the chuck position in this manner, the support position of the substrate S on the lower contact surface 212b shifts in the (-D) direction. When the movement of the chuck pin 212 to the chuck position is completed, the substrate S is supported by the lower contact surface 212b, the curved contact surface 212c, and the upper contact surface 212d. In other words, substrate chucking is completed.

[0025] When releasing the chuck of the substrate S, the chuck pins 212 move in the reverse order to that described above, and the supporting position of the substrate S on the lower contact surface 212b shifts in the (+D) direction.

[0026] Furthermore, as the support position of the substrate S on the lower contact surface 212b moves in the radial direction D, the height position of the substrate S in the vertical direction Z is displaced by a distance dz. Therefore, when the wet processing control unit 95 gives a reciprocating movement command to the chuck driving unit 215, the chuck pins 212 reciprocate in the radial direction D, and the substrate S is repeatedly raised and lowered in synchronization therewith. In other words, it is possible to impart vibrations to the substrate S in the up and down directions. Note that, although the present embodiment uses the chuck pins 212 capable of imparting vibration, conventional chuck pins without a vibration imparting function may also be used.

[0027] Returning to Figures 2A and 2B, the description of the configuration of the wet-processing apparatus 2 will be continued. The spin chuck 211 is supported by a rotation support shaft 213 extending downward from the center of its lower surface so that its upper surface is horizontal. The rotation support shaft 213 is rotatably supported by a rotation mechanism 214 attached to the bottom of the processing chamber 200. The rotation mechanism 214 has a built-in rotation motor (not shown), and when the rotation motor rotates in response to a control command from the control device 9, the spin chuck 211 directly connected to the rotation support shaft 213 rotates about a rotation axis AX indicated by a dashed line. In Figure 2, the up-down direction is the vertical direction. As a result, the substrate S is rotated about the rotation axis AX while remaining in a horizontal position.

[0028] A splash guard 22 is provided to surround the substrate holding part 21 from the side. The splash guard 22 has a generally cylindrical cup 221 provided to cover the peripheral part of the spin chuck 211, and a liquid receiving part 222 provided below the outer periphery of the cup 221. The cup 221 moves up and down in response to a control command from the control device 9. The cup 221 moves up and down between a lower position where the upper end of the cup 221 is lowered below the peripheral part of the substrate S held by the spin chuck 211 as shown in Fig. 2A, and an upper position where the upper end of the cup 221 is located above the peripheral part of the substrate S as shown in Fig. 2B.

[0029] 2A, when the cup 221 is in the lower position, the substrate S held by the spin chuck 211 is exposed to the outside of the cup 221. This prevents the cup 221 from becoming an obstacle, for example, when the substrate S is loaded onto or unloaded from the spin chuck 211.

[0030] 2B, when the cup 221 is in the upper position, it surrounds the peripheral portion of the substrate S held by the spin chuck 211. This prevents the processing liquid shaken off from the peripheral portion of the substrate S during liquid supply, which will be described later, from scattering inside the processing chamber 200, and makes it possible to reliably collect the processing liquid. That is, droplets of the processing liquid shaken off from the peripheral portion of the substrate S as the substrate S rotates adhere to the inner wall of the cup 221 and flow downward, and are collected by the liquid receiving portion 222 arranged below the cup 221. In order to collect multiple processing liquids individually, multiple stages of cups may be provided concentrically.

[0031] The processing liquid supply unit 23 has a structure in which a nozzle 234 is attached to the tip of an arm 233 extending horizontally from a pivot shaft 232 that is rotatably provided with respect to a base 231 fixed to the processing chamber 200. The pivot shaft 232 rotates in response to a control command from the control device 9, whereby the arm 233 swings, and the nozzle 234 at the tip of the arm 233 moves between a retracted position retracted to the side from above the substrate S as shown in Fig. 2A and a processing position above the substrate S as shown in Fig. 2B.

[0032] The nozzle 234 is connected to a processing liquid supply source 238, and when an appropriate processing liquid is sent from the processing liquid supply source 238, the processing liquid is discharged from the nozzle 234 toward the substrate S. As shown in FIG. 2B, the spin chuck 211 rotates at a relatively slow speed to rotate the substrate S, and the processing liquid L1 is supplied from the nozzle 234 positioned above the center of rotation of the substrate S, thereby processing the surface Sa of the substrate S with the processing liquid L1. As the processing liquid L1, liquids having various functions such as chemical liquids (developing liquid, etching liquid, cleaning liquid, etc.) and rinsing liquids can be used, and the composition thereof is arbitrary. In addition, a plurality of types of processing liquids may be combined to perform processing.

[0033] The other processing liquid supply unit 24 also has a configuration corresponding to that of the above-mentioned first processing liquid supply unit 23. That is, the second processing liquid supply unit 24 has a base 241, a rotating support shaft 242, an arm 243, a nozzle 244, etc., and these configurations are equivalent to those corresponding to those in the first processing liquid supply unit 23. The rotating support shaft 242 rotates in response to a control command from the control device 9, thereby swinging the arm 243. The nozzle 244 at the tip of the arm 243 supplies the processing liquid to the surface Sa of the substrate S.

[0034] In this embodiment, the second processing liquid supply unit 24 is a backup Organic Solvents It is used for the purpose of carrying out the supply process, the replacement process, and the liquid film forming process. That is, the substrate S after the wet process is transported to the supercritical processing device 4 and subjected to the supercritical drying process, but in order to prevent the surface of the substrate S from being exposed and oxidized during the transport, or to prevent the fine pattern formed on the surface from collapsing, the substrate S is transported with its surface covered with a paddle-shaped liquid film.

[0035] The liquid that constitutes the liquid film is a substance with a surface tension smaller than that of water, which is the main component of the processing liquid used in the chemical processing, such as isopropyl alcohol (IPA) or acetone. Yes Machine Solvent is used. Organic Solvents is provided from an organic solvent source 248.

[0036] In addition, in this embodiment, Organic Solvents Not only during the liquid film formation process, but also as a spare Organic solution Agent During the supply process, the second processing liquid is also supplied to the substrate S from the second processing liquid supply unit 24. The purpose of this is to remove residual liquid, the details of which will be described later with reference to FIGS.

[0037] Here, two sets of processing liquid supply units are provided in the wet processing apparatus 2, but the number of processing liquid supply units provided, their structures, and functions are not limited to this. For example, only one set of processing liquid supply units may be provided, or three or more sets may be provided. Also, one processing liquid supply unit may have multiple nozzles. For example, multiple nozzles may be provided at the tip of one arm. Also, in addition to the above-mentioned mode in which the nozzle is positioned at a predetermined position and the processing liquid is discharged, for example, the nozzle may be moved in a scanning manner along the surface Sa of the substrate S and the processing liquid is discharged.

[0038] Returning to FIG. 1, the description will be continued. The substrate transport device 3 is provided with a transport robot 30 having a hand 31 attached to the tip of a telescopic and rotatable arm. The hand 31 can support the substrate S by partially abutting against the back surface of the substrate, and can move forward and backward relative to both the wet treatment device 2 and the supercritical treatment device 4 as shown by the dotted line in FIG. 1. This allows the substrate to be carried in and out of both the wet treatment device 2 and the supercritical treatment device 4. The operation of the transport robot 30 is controlled by a transport control unit 96 of the control device 9. There are many known techniques for this type of transport robot, and since these can be appropriately selected and used in this embodiment, detailed explanations will be omitted.

[0039] 4 is a side view showing the configuration of a supercritical processing apparatus. The supercritical processing apparatus 4 is an apparatus that performs a drying process using a processing fluid in a supercritical state on a substrate S after a wet process. More specifically, the supercritical processing apparatus 4 is an apparatus that receives the substrate S after a wet process, replaces the liquid remaining on the substrate S with the processing fluid in a supercritical state, and then discharges the processing fluid, thereby finally bringing the substrate S to a dry state.

[0040] The supercritical processing apparatus 4 includes a processing unit 41, a transfer unit 43, and a supply unit 45. The processing unit 41 is the main body that executes the supercritical drying process. The transfer unit 43 receives the substrate S after the wet process transported by the substrate transport device 3 and transports it into the processing unit 41, and also transfers the processed substrate S from the processing unit 41 to an external transport device. The supply unit 45 supplies chemical substances, power, energy, etc. required for the process to the processing unit 41 and the transfer unit 43. These operations are controlled by the control device 9, in particular the supercritical processing control unit 97.

[0041] The processing unit 41 has a structure in which a processing chamber 412 is attached on a pedestal 411. The processing chamber 412 is configured by combining several metal blocks, and its interior is hollow to form a processing space SP. The substrate S to be processed is loaded into the processing space SP and undergoes processing. A slit-shaped opening 421 that is elongated and extends in the X direction is formed on the (-Y) side surface of the processing chamber 412. The processing space SP communicates with the outside space via the opening 421. The cross-sectional shape of the processing space SP is approximately the same as the opening shape of the opening 421. In other words, the processing space SP has a cross-sectional shape that is long in the X direction and short in the Z direction, and is a cavity that extends in the Y direction.

[0042] A lid member 413 is provided on the (-Y) side surface of the processing chamber 412 so as to close the opening 421. The lid member 413 closes the opening 421 of the processing chamber 412 to form an airtight processing container. This allows processing of the substrate S under high pressure in the internal processing space SP. A flat support tray 415 is attached in a horizontal position to the (+Y) side surface of the lid member 413. The upper surface of the support tray 415 serves as a support surface on which the substrate S can be placed. The lid member 413 is supported by a support mechanism (not shown) so as to be horizontally movable in the Y direction.

[0043] The lid member 413 can be moved forward and backward with respect to the processing chamber 412 by an advance / retract mechanism 453 provided in the supply unit 45. Specifically, the advance / retract mechanism 453 has a linear motion mechanism such as a linear motor, a linear motion guide, a ball screw mechanism, a solenoid, an air cylinder, or the like. Such a linear motion mechanism moves the lid member 413 in the Y direction. The advance / retract mechanism 453 operates in response to a control command from the control device 9.

[0044] When the cover member 413 moves in the (-Y) direction to move away from the processing chamber 412 and the support tray 415 is pulled out from the processing space SP through the opening 421 to the outside as shown by the dotted line, access to the support tray 415 becomes possible. That is, it becomes possible to place the substrate S on the support tray 415 and to remove the substrate S placed on the support tray 415. On the other hand, when the cover member 413 moves in the (+Y) direction, the support tray 415 is accommodated in the processing space SP. When the substrate S is placed on the support tray 415, the substrate S is carried into the processing space SP together with the support tray 415.

[0045] 5 is a perspective view showing the structure of the support tray. The support tray 415 has a tray member 416 and a plurality of support pins 417. The tray member 416 has a structure in which a depression 418 having a diameter corresponding to the planar size of the substrate S, more specifically, a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the circular substrate S, is provided on the horizontal and flat upper surface of, for example, a flat plate-like structure.

[0046] The recess 418 partially extends to the side surface of the tray member 416. In other words, the side wall surface of the recess 418 is not circular, but is partially cut out. Therefore, at this cutout portion, part of the bottom surface 418a of the recess 418 is directly connected to the side surface. In this example, such cutout portions are provided at both ends on the X side and the (+Y) side end of the support tray 415, and at these locations, the bottom surface 418a is directly connected to the side surface.

[0047] Further, through holes 419 for inserting the lift pins 437 are formed in the bottom surface 418a at positions corresponding to the lift pins 437 of the transfer unit 43. The lift pins 437 are raised and lowered through the through holes 419, whereby the substrate S is accommodated in the recess 418 and is lifted upward therefrom.

[0048] A plurality of support pins 417 are arranged on the periphery of the recess 418. The number of support pins 417 to be arranged is arbitrary, but from the viewpoint of stably supporting the substrate S, it is preferable that the number be three or more. In this embodiment, three support pins 417 are attached to the tray member 416 so as to surround the bottom surface 418a in a plan view from above. As shown in the partially enlarged view of FIG. 5, the support pin 417 has a height restriction portion 417a and a horizontal position restriction portion 417b.

[0049] The height restriction portion 417a has a flat upper surface and abuts against the peripheral edge of the rear surface of the substrate S to support the substrate S and restrict its position in the vertical direction Z (hereinafter referred to as "height position"). On the other hand, the horizontal position restriction portion 417b extends above the upper end of the height restriction portion 417a and abuts against the side surface of the substrate S to restrict the position of the substrate S in the horizontal directions (XY directions). By such support pins 417, the substrate S is supported in a horizontal position facing the bottom surface 418a of the recess 418 while being spaced above the bottom surface 418a.

[0050] The lid member 413 moves in the (+Y) direction to close the opening 421, thereby sealing the processing space SP. A seal member 422 is provided between the (+Y) side surface of the lid member 413 and the (-Y) side surface of the processing chamber 412 to keep the processing space SP airtight. The seal member 422 is made of rubber, for example. The lid member 413 is fixed to the processing chamber 412 by a locking mechanism (not shown). Thus, in this embodiment, the lid member 413 can be switched between a closed state (solid line) in which the opening 421 is closed to seal the processing space SP, and a separated state (dotted line) in which the lid member 413 is significantly separated from the opening 421 to allow the substrate S to be inserted and removed.

[0051] With the airtight state of the processing space SP ensured, processing of the substrate S is performed in the processing space SP. In this embodiment, the fluid supply unit 457 provided in the supply unit 45 delivers a processing fluid of a substance usable for supercritical processing, such as carbon dioxide, as the processing fluid, and the processing fluid is pressurized in the processing chamber 412 to bring it into a supercritical state. The processing fluid is supplied to the processing unit 41 in a gaseous or liquid state. Carbon dioxide is a chemical substance suitable for supercritical drying processing in that it reaches a supercritical state at a relatively low temperature and low pressure, and has the property of dissolving organic solvents that are often used in substrate processing well. The critical point at which carbon dioxide reaches a supercritical state is an atmospheric pressure (critical pressure) of 7.38 MPa and a temperature (critical temperature) of 31.1°C.

[0052] When the processing space SP is filled with the processing fluid and the inside of the processing space SP reaches an appropriate temperature and pressure, the processing space SP is filled with the processing fluid in a supercritical state. In this manner, the substrate S is processed by the processing fluid in the supercritical state in the processing chamber 412. The supply unit 45 is provided with a fluid recovery part 455, and the fluid after processing is recovered by the fluid recovery part 455. The fluid supply part 457 and the fluid recovery part 455 are controlled by the supercritical processing control part 97.

[0053] The processing space SP has a shape and volume capable of receiving the support tray 415 and the substrate S supported thereon. That is, the processing space SP has a roughly rectangular cross-sectional shape that is wider than the width of the support tray 415 in the horizontal direction and greater than the combined height of the support tray 415 and the substrate S in the vertical direction, and a depth capable of receiving the support tray 415. In this manner, the processing space SP has a shape and volume sufficient to receive the support tray 415 and the substrate S. However, there is only a small gap between the support tray 415 and the substrate S and the inner wall surface of the processing space SP. Therefore, a relatively small amount of processing fluid is required to fill the processing space SP.

[0054] The fluid supply unit 457 supplies the processing fluid to the processing space SP on the (+Y) side of the (+Y) side end of the substrate S. Meanwhile, the fluid recovery unit 55 discharges the processing fluid flowing through the space above the substrate S and the space below the support tray 415 in the processing space SP on the (-Y) side of the (-Y) side of the (-Y) side end of the substrate S. As a result, laminar flows of the processing fluid from the (+Y) side to the (-Y) side are formed above the substrate S and below the support tray 415 in the processing space SP.

[0055] The supercritical processing control unit 97 of the control device 9 identifies the pressure and temperature in the processing space SP based on the detection result from a detection unit (not shown), and controls the fluid supply unit 457 and the fluid recovery unit 455 based on the result. This appropriately manages the supply of the processing fluid to the processing space SP and the discharge of the processing fluid from the processing space SP, and adjusts the pressure and temperature in the processing space SP in accordance with a predetermined processing recipe.

[0056] The transfer unit 43 is responsible for transferring the substrate S between the substrate transport device 3 and the support tray 415. For this purpose, the transfer unit 43 includes a main body 431, a lifting member 433, a base member 435, and a plurality of lift pins 437. The lifting member 433 is a columnar member extending in the Z direction, and is supported by a support mechanism (not shown) so as to be movable in the Z direction relative to the main body 431. A base member 435 having a substantially horizontal upper surface is attached to the upper portion of the lifting member 433. A plurality of lift pins 437 are erected upward from the upper surface of the base member 435. Each of the lift pins 437 supports the substrate S in a horizontal position from below by abutting its upper end against the rear surface of the substrate S. In order to stably support the substrate S in a horizontal position, it is desirable to provide three or more lift pins 437 whose upper ends have the same height.

[0057] The lifting member 433 can be moved up and down by a lifting mechanism 451 provided in the supply unit 45. Specifically, the lifting mechanism 451 has a linear motion mechanism such as a linear motor, a linear motion guide, a ball screw mechanism, a solenoid, an air cylinder, etc., and such a linear motion mechanism moves the lifting member 433 in the Z direction. The lifting mechanism 451 operates in response to a control command from the control device 9.

[0058] The base member 435 moves up and down by the lifting member 433 moving up and down, and the multiple lift pins 437 move up and down integrally therewith. This allows the transfer of the substrate S between the transfer unit 43 and the support tray 415. More specifically, as shown by the dotted line in FIG. 5, the substrate S is transferred in a state in which the support tray 415 is pulled out of the chamber. For this purpose, the support tray 415 is provided with through holes 419 for inserting the lift pins 437. When the base member 435 moves up, the upper ends of the lift pins 437 reach a position higher than the upper surface of the support tray 415 through the through holes 419. In this state, the substrate S transferred by the transfer robot 30 is transferred from the hand 31 of the transfer robot 30 to the lift pins 437. The lift pins 437 move down, and the substrate S is transferred from the lift pins 437 to the support tray 415. The substrate S can be taken out by the reverse procedure to the above.

[0059] 6 is a flow chart showing an outline of a process executed by the substrate processing system according to the first embodiment. The substrate processing system 1 receives a substrate S to be processed, and applies a chemical liquid, a rinse liquid, and Organic Solvents a wet processing using a processing liquid such as a wet processing liquid, a transfer processing for transferring the wet-processed substrate S from the wet processing apparatus 2 to the supercritical processing apparatus 4, and a supercritical drying processing using a supercritical processing fluid are sequentially performed. Specifically, when the substrate S to be processed is accommodated in the wet processing apparatus 2 constituting the substrate processing system 1 (step S10), the wet processing (step S20), the transfer processing (step S30), and the supercritical drying processing (step S40) are performed in this order.

[0060] Here, the substrate S may be carried in directly by an external transfer device, or may be carried in from an external transfer device via a transfer robot 30.

[0061] The wet processing device 2 performs wet processing on the substrate S using a predetermined processing liquid (step S20). In this embodiment, in addition to the conventional chemical liquid processing (step S21), rinsing processing (step S23), replacement processing (step S24) and liquid film forming processing (step S25), Organic SolventsReserve to supply Organic Solvents The supply process (step S22) is executed. Organic solution Agent The supply process is performed between the chemical process and the rinsing process. That is, in the wet process, a chemical such as a developer or a cleaning liquid is supplied in step S21 to perform a predetermined chemical process, and then, for example, IPA or acetone is supplied. Organic Solvents is supplied onto the surface Sa of the substrate S (step S22). Subsequently, a rinse liquid such as DIW (de-ionized water) is supplied onto the surface Sa of the substrate S, and further, an organic solvent such as IPA is supplied onto the substrate S, so that the rinse liquid adhering to the surface Sa of the substrate S is replaced with the organic solvent (step S24) and a liquid mound state of the organic solvent is created. That is, a liquid film LF is formed on the surface Sa of the substrate S (step S25: liquid film forming process).

[0062] Here, the liquid film formation process and the preliminary Organic Solvents The technical significance of the supply process will be explained with reference to FIG. Organic Solvents FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the difference in the liquid film configuration caused by the presence or absence of a supply process, and column (a) of the figure shows the preliminary Organic Solvents This shows the prior art that does not perform the supply process, and column (b) is the reserve Organic Solvents 7 shows an embodiment in which a supply process is performed. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, if DIW is present inside the pattern PT formed on the surface Sa of the substrate S, the pattern PT may collapse due to the surface tension of the DIW. In addition, water marks may remain on the surface Sa of the substrate S due to incomplete drying. Furthermore, when the surface Sa of the substrate S is exposed to the outside air, it may be altered, such as by oxidation. In order to prevent such problems from occurring, the surface Sa of the substrate S is covered with an organic solvent. As the organic solvent, it is preferable to use a liquid that has a lower surface tension than DIW and is less corrosive to the substrate S, such as IPA or acetone, which is compatible with DIW. In the following, a case in which DIW is used as the rinse liquid and IPA is used as the organic solvent will be described.

[0063] If the replacement with IPA is performed satisfactorily, the liquid film LF will be composed of only IPA or a mixture of IPA and DIW. In this case, no DIW will remain on the inner bottom surface of the pattern PT. However, in reality, in the conventional example, as shown in FIG. 7(a), residual liquid (DIW) may remain on the inner bottom surface of the pattern PT. The specific gravity of this residual liquid is Organic solution Agent It is heavier than that of the PT and is likely to remain on the inner bottom surface of the pattern.

[0064] Therefore, in this embodiment, IPA is supplied to the surface Sa of the substrate S between the chemical liquid treatment (step S21) and the rinsing treatment (step S22). As a result, in the pattern PT, the following five liquid layers LL1 to LL5 are formed in order from the inner bottom surface side: Liquid layer LL1 = spare Organic Solvents an IPA layer consisting of IPA used in the supply process; Liquid layer LL2 = spare Organic Solvents A mixed layer of IPA and DIW used in the supply process, Liquid layer LL3 = residual liquid layer composed of DIW, Liquid layer LL4 = a mixed layer of IPA and DIW used in the replacement process; Liquid layer LL5=IPA layer composed of IPA used in the replacement process; The liquid layer LL5 may contain a part of the IPA used in the liquid film formation process.

[0065] In this way, the liquid layer LL3 in the pattern PT, i.e., the residual liquid (DIW), exists in a state sandwiched between liquid layers LL2 and LL4 containing IPA. The DIW constituting the residual liquid interdiffuses between the liquid layers LL2 and LL4 while being transported to the supercritical processing equipment 4 by the substrate transport device 3, as described below. As a result, the liquid layer LL3, which was composed only of the residual liquid, is removed. In this way, a residual-liquid-free liquid film LF is formed on the surface Sa of the substrate S. Then, in the puddle state, the substrate is transported from the wet processing equipment 2 to the supercritical processing equipment 4 by the substrate transport device 3 (step S30).

[0066] The substrate S transported to the supercritical processing apparatus 4 is accommodated in the processing chamber 412 in a puddle state. Specifically, the substrate S is transported with the pattern-formed surface (surface Sa) facing up and covered with a thin liquid film LF. As shown by the dotted line in FIG. 4, the lift pins 437 rise while the cover member 413 moves to the (-Y) side and the support tray 415 is pulled out. The transport device transfers the substrate S to the lift pins 437. The lift pins 437 descend, so that the substrate S is placed on the support tray 415. When the support tray 415 and the cover member 413 move together in the (+Y) direction, the support tray 415 supporting the substrate S is accommodated in the processing space SP in the processing chamber 412, and the opening 421 is closed by the cover member 413.

[0067] In this state, carbon dioxide as a processing fluid is introduced in a gas phase into the processing space SP (step S41). When the substrate S is loaded, outside air enters the processing space SP, but this can be replaced by introducing the gas phase processing fluid. Furthermore, the pressure inside the processing chamber 412 increases as the gas phase processing fluid is injected.

[0068] During the process of introducing the processing fluid, the processing fluid is continuously discharged from the processing space SP. That is, even while the processing fluid is being introduced by the fluid supply unit 457, the processing fluid is discharged from the processing space SP by the fluid recovery unit 455. This allows the processing fluid used for processing to be discharged without remaining in the processing space SP, and prevents impurities such as residues that have been taken in the processing fluid from adhering again to the substrate S.

[0069] If the supply rate of the processing fluid is greater than the discharge rate, the density of the processing fluid in the processing space SP increases, and the pressure inside the chamber increases. Conversely, if the supply rate of the processing fluid is less than the discharge rate, the density of the processing fluid in the processing space SP decreases, and the pressure inside the chamber is reduced. The supply of the processing fluid to the processing chamber 412 and the discharge of the processing fluid from the processing chamber 12 are performed based on a supply and discharge recipe created in advance. That is, the control device 9 controls the fluid supply unit 457 and the fluid recovery unit 455 based on the supply and discharge recipe, thereby adjusting the supply and discharge timing and the flow rate of the processing fluid.

[0070] 8 is a diagram showing pressure changes within the processing chamber. When the processing fluid is carbon dioxide, its critical temperature is not significantly different from room temperature, so the temperature change during processing is not so great. Here, the phenomenon will be explained by focusing on the pressure within the chamber, where the change is more noticeable. When the processing space SP is opened to the atmosphere and the internal pressure is atmospheric pressure Pa, the introduction of the processing fluid begins at time T1 after the processing space SP is sealed, and the internal pressure begins to rise.

[0071] Pressurization continues until the pressure of the processing fluid rises in the processing space SP and exceeds the critical pressure Pc (step S42). At time T2 when the pressure in the chamber reaches the critical pressure Pc, the processing fluid becomes supercritical in the chamber. That is, the processing fluid transitions from the gas phase to the supercritical state due to a phase change in the processing space SP. When the processing space SP is filled with the processing fluid in the supercritical state, the IPA (or a mixed fluid of IPA and DIW) covering the substrate S is replaced by the processing fluid in the supercritical state. IPA and the like liberated from the surface of the substrate S are discharged from the processing chamber 412 together with the processing fluid in a state dissolved in the processing fluid, and are removed from the substrate S. That is, the processing fluid in the supercritical state has the function of replacing the IPA (or the mixed fluid of IPA and DIW) adhering to the substrate S as the replacement target liquid, and discharging it out of the processing chamber 412.

[0072] After time T3 when the processing fluid has definitely transitioned to the supercritical state, the processing space SP is kept filled with the processing fluid in the supercritical state for a predetermined time (steps S43, S44), whereby the liquid to be replaced adhering to the substrate S can be completely replaced and discharged outside the chamber. Note that, although the pressure Pm within the chamber in the supercritical state is shown as being constant in Fig. 8, the pressure may fluctuate within a range not falling below the critical pressure Pc.

[0073] At time T4, when the replacement of the liquid to be replaced with the supercritical processing fluid in the processing chamber 412 is completed ("YES" in step S44), the processing fluid in the processing space SP is discharged to dry the substrate S. Specifically, the amount of fluid discharged from the processing space SP is increased to reduce the pressure in the processing chamber 12 filled with the supercritical processing fluid (step S45).

[0074] In the depressurization process, the supply of the processing fluid may be stopped, or a small amount of the processing fluid may be continuously supplied. When the processing space SP is depressurized from a state filled with the processing fluid in a supercritical state, the processing fluid changes phase from the supercritical state to a gas phase. By discharging the vaporized processing fluid to the outside, the substrate S becomes a dry state. At this time, the depressurization speed is adjusted so that a solid phase and a liquid phase are not generated due to a sudden drop in temperature. That is, after the depressurization is started at time T4, the depressurization is performed at a relatively low depressurization speed until time T5 when the pressure is surely lowered below the critical pressure Pc. As a result, the processing fluid in the processing space SP is directly vaporized from the supercritical state and discharged to the outside.

[0075] After time T5 when the processing fluid is completely vaporized, the depressurization speed is increased, and thus it is possible to quickly depressurize the chamber to atmospheric pressure Pa. In this way, the processing fluid is not liquefied during the entire period from time T4 when depressurization begins to time T6 when the pressure inside the chamber drops to atmospheric pressure Pa, and the formation of a gas-liquid interface on the substrate S with the exposed surface after drying is avoided.

[0076] As described above, in the supercritical drying process of this embodiment, the processing space SP is filled with a processing fluid in a supercritical state, and then the processing fluid is changed into a gas phase and discharged, thereby efficiently replacing the liquid adhering to the substrate S and preventing it from remaining on the substrate S. Moreover, the substrate can be dried while avoiding problems caused by the formation of a gas-liquid interface, such as contamination of the substrate due to the adhesion of impurities and pattern collapse.

[0077] After processing, the substrate S is discharged to a subsequent process (step S50). That is, the support tray 415 is drawn out from the processing chamber 412 to the outside by moving the cover member 413 in the (-Y) direction, and the substrate S is delivered to an external transport device via the transfer unit 43. At this time, the substrate S is in a dry state. The content of the subsequent process is arbitrary. In this way, the processing for one substrate S is completed. If there is another substrate to be processed, the process returns to step S101 to receive the new substrate S, and the above processing is repeated.

[0078] As described above, according to the first embodiment, in the wet treatment device 2, after the chemical treatment (step S21), Organic SolventsA supply process (step S22), a rinse process (step S23), a replacement process (step S24), and a liquid film forming process (step S25) corresponding to an example of the "liquid puddle process" of the present invention are performed in this order. Here, even if DIW remains in the pattern PT on the pattern forming surface (surface Sa) of the substrate S in a puddle state, as shown in FIG. 7(b), the liquid layer LL3 composed of the residual liquid is sandwiched between the liquid layers LL2 and LL4, which are mixed layers of IPA and DIW, in the vertical direction. Therefore, the DIW constituting the liquid layer LL3 diffuses between the liquid layers LL2 and LL4. In particular, there is enough time for the residual liquid (DIW) to diffuse between the liquid layers LL2 and LL4 before the substrate S in a puddle state is transported to the supercritical processing device 4 and comes into contact with the processing fluid in a supercritical state. For this reason, the residual liquid is mixed with the IPA due to the above-mentioned mutual diffusion. Therefore, the drying process is performed by the processing fluid in a supercritical state in a so-called residual liquid-free state. This means that the supercritical drying process can be performed with high quality without excessive use of the processing fluid in a supercritical state, resulting in improved yield while reducing consumption of the processing fluid.

[0079] As described above, in the first embodiment, DIW corresponds to an example of the "rinsing liquid" of the present invention. Organic Solvents " and is an example of a backup Organic Solvents In the supply process (step S22), the replacement process (step S24), and the liquid film forming process (step S25), IPA is Organic Solvents The surface Sa of the substrate S corresponds to the "pattern formation surface" of the present invention. Steps S20, S30, and S40 correspond to examples of "step (a)", "step (b)", and "step (c)" of the present invention, respectively.

[0080] In the first embodiment, the substrate S is transported from the wet processing apparatus 2 to the supercritical processing apparatus 4 in a so-called sandwich structure in which the liquid layer LL3 corresponding to the residual liquid is sandwiched between the liquid layers LL2 and LL4. Here, vibration may be applied to the substrate S before or during the transport and / or before the supply of the processing fluid in the supercritical processing apparatus 4. This vibration promotes interdiffusion between the DIW constituting the liquid layer LL3 and the liquid layers LL2 and LL4, and the residual liquid can be removed in a shorter time.

[0081] FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing the operation of the second embodiment of the substrate processing system according to the present invention. In the first embodiment, the chuck pins 212 have a vibration function in addition to the function of holding the substrate S by pinching the side edge of the substrate S. Therefore, in the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, for example, vibration may be applied to the substrate S (step S60) after the liquid film forming process (step S25) and before the substrate transfer (step S30). More specifically, after a liquid puddle state is created in the wet processing device 2, the wet processing control unit 95 gives a reciprocating movement command to the chuck driving unit 215. Then, the chuck state shown in FIG. 3(a) and the non-chuck state shown in FIG. 3(b) are alternately repeated. That is, the substrate S is repeatedly raised and lowered in accordance with the reciprocating movement of the chuck pins 212 in the radial direction D. 9, vibration is applied to the substrate S in the vertical direction Z, and the residual liquid (DIW) constituting the liquid layer LL3 is advected and diffused into the liquid layers LL2 and LL4, and the DIW contained in the liquid layers LL2 and LL4 is advected and diffused into the liquid layers LL1 and LL5, respectively. Thus, the liquid layer LL3 disappears in a shorter time than in the first embodiment, and the DIW spreads over the entire liquid film LF (step S60). In this specification, the process of removing the residual liquid by applying vibration in this manner is referred to as a "residual liquid removal process."

[0082] In the second embodiment, a vibration imparting function is essential to perform the residual liquid removal process, but this function is performed by the chuck pin 212. Therefore, there is no need to add a component that specializes in the vibration imparting function, and therefore the cost of the device can be reduced.

[0083] In the second embodiment, the substrate S is vibrated in the vertical direction Z to perform the residual liquid removal process, but the manner in which the vibration is applied is not limited to this. For example, the wet process control unit 95 may issue a forward / reverse rotation command to the rotation mechanism 214 while the substrate S is held by the chuck pins 212. In this case, upon receiving the forward / reverse rotation command, the rotation mechanism 214 repeats an operation of rotating the substrate S forward and reverse by a predetermined angle around the rotation axis AX, that is, a rotation operation. In this manner, vibration may be applied to the substrate S by an operation of rotating the substrate S in the circumferential direction.

[0084] Also, vibration may be applied to the substrate S by a separately added configuration, without applying vibration along the vertical direction Z by the chuck pin 212 (hereinafter referred to as "applying vertical vibration") or vibration along the circumferential direction by the rotating mechanism 214 (hereinafter referred to as "applying rotational vibration"). For example, following the liquid film forming process (step S25), the wet process control unit 95 may operate an ultrasonic vibrator installed at a position away from the substrate holding unit 21 to vibrate the substrate S with ultrasonic waves generated by the ultrasonic vibrator. Also, the vibrator may be attached to the substrate holding unit 21 in advance, and following the liquid film forming process (step S25), the wet process control unit 95 may operate the vibrator. In these embodiments, the vibration direction of the substrate S can be controlled by the installation mode of the vibrator. It is to be noted that the vibrator and ultrasonic vibrator may be conventionally known. Therefore, detailed configuration explanations are omitted in this specification.

[0085] In the second embodiment, vibration is applied to the substrate S in a puddle state in the wet processing apparatus 2, but vibration may be applied in the substrate transport apparatus 3 or the supercritical processing apparatus 4. For example, in the first and second embodiments, the transport robot 30 is capable of moving forward and backward relative to both the wet processing apparatus 2 and the supercritical processing apparatus 4 while supporting the substrate S in a puddle state from the back side. Therefore, the transport robot 30 not only has the function of simply carrying the substrate S into and out of each of the wet processing apparatus 2 and the supercritical processing apparatus 4, but also has the function of horizontally reciprocating and rotating the hand 31 supporting the substrate S. In other words, it is possible to apply vibration along the horizontal direction to the substrate S by repeating the reciprocating and rotating operations of the hand 31. Therefore, the transport process (step S30) from the wet processing apparatus 2 to the supercritical processing apparatus 4 is divided into the following three sub-processes: A step in which the hand 31 receives the substrate S in a puddle state; A process of applying vibration to the substrate S by moving the hand 31 back and forth a predetermined distance in a horizontal plane and rotating it in forward and reverse directions while holding the substrate S in the puddle state; A process of transporting the substrate S in a puddle state to a processing unit 41 of the supercritical processing apparatus 4; The transfer control unit 96 may control the transfer robot 30 to perform the above steps in this order. Note that, here, the residual liquid removal process is performed when the hand 31 enters the wet-type processing apparatus 2 and receives the substrate S in a puddle state, but the timing of performing the residual liquid removal process is not limited to this. For example, the residual liquid removal process may be performed while the hand 31 is moving to the supercritical processing apparatus 4 or while the hand 31 is stopped and waiting near the supercritical processing apparatus 4.

[0086] In addition, in order to wait for the transfer of the substrate S to the supercritical processing device 4 depending on the operating status of the supercritical processing device 4, a different waiting position may be provided in addition to the vicinity of the supercritical processing device 4 as described above. For example, if the substrate transfer device 3 has a mounting table on which the substrate S in a puddle state is temporarily placed and waits, the mounting table functions as the waiting position. Therefore, a vibrator may be attached to the mounting table to impart vibration to the substrate S waiting on the mounting table. In other words, the residual liquid removal process may be performed at the waiting position where the mounting table is provided.

[0087] Furthermore, to perform the residual liquid removal process, the hand 31 is vibrated in the horizontal direction or rotated within a horizontal plane, but vibration may be applied in another manner depending on the configuration of the transport robot 30. For example, the transport robot 30 may be configured to be able to move the hand 31 in the vertical direction Z. In such a case, the hand 31 holding the substrate S in a puddle state may be raised and lowered in the vertical direction Z to vibrate the substrate S.

[0088] In the first and second embodiments, the substrate S transported to the supercritical processing apparatus 4 is accommodated in the processing chamber 412 in a puddle state. Specifically, the substrate S is transported with the pattern-formed surface Sa facing up, and the pattern-formed surface Sa is covered with a thin liquid film LF. As shown by the dotted line in FIG. 4, the lift pins 437 rise while the cover member 413 moves to the (-Y) side and the support tray 415 is pulled out. The transport device transfers the substrate S to the lift pins 437. The lift pins 437 descend, so that the substrate S is placed on the support tray 415. In this manner, the reception of the substrate S is completed.

[0089] At this point, the supercritical processing control unit 97 may move the support tray 415 and the lid member 413 back and forth along the Y direction while holding the substrate S in the liquid-filled state. This back and forth movement imparts vibration to the substrate S, thereby causing the residual liquid to be advected and diffused (residual liquid removal process) as in the second embodiment. According to this embodiment, the residual liquid removal process is performed in the supercritical processing device 4 before the processing fluid in a supercritical state is brought into contact with the substrate S. Therefore, the same effects as in the second embodiment can be obtained.

[0090] In addition, in this embodiment, the support tray 415 and the lid member 413 are vibrated along the Y direction to perform the residual liquid removal process, but a vibrator may be attached to the support tray 415 or the lid member 413. In other words, the vibrator may be operated in response to a vibration command from the supercritical process control unit 97 to vibrate the substrate S.

[0091] In addition, the residual liquid removal process is performed before the pressure in the processing chamber 412 rises, but the residual liquid removal process may be performed while the pressure is rising, as long as the pressure is not yet at the supercritical condition. For example, the residual liquid removal process may be performed in a subcritical state. In particular, considering the time that has elapsed since the residual liquid removal process was performed until the contact with the processing fluid in the supercritical state begins, it is preferable to perform the residual liquid removal process at a timing close to the subcritical state. In other words, as the above-mentioned elapsed time increases, due to reasons such as the specific gravity of DIW being greater than that of IPA, a part of the DIW that has diffused into the IPA may settle on the inner bottom surface of the pattern PT, increasing the DIW concentration. It is preferable to set the timing of performing the residual liquid removal process in consideration of this point.

[0092] Alternatively, instead of or in addition to the vibration application, a step of heating the inside of the pattern may be provided. For example, the following means, that is, (a) Use a rinse solution having a temperature of 40° C. or higher and the upper limit temperature at which a puddle state can be maintained. (b) In parallel with the thin film formation process (liquid puddle process), high-temperature DIW or a heated fluid (collectively referred to as the "heating medium") is supplied to the back surface Sb of the substrate S opposite the pattern formation surface Sa. Note that the heating medium is preferably one that has a temperature of 80°C or higher and is equal to or lower than the upper limit temperature at which the liquid puddle state can be maintained. (c) In parallel with the thin film formation process (liquid puddle process), the substrate S is heated by a heater (not shown) arranged opposite the back surface Sb of the substrate S opposite the pattern formation surface Sa. (d) The substrate S received from the wet treatment device 2 is heated by a heater (not shown) provided on the hand 31 of the transfer robot 30, and is then transferred to the supercritical treatment device 4 by the hand 31. (e) In the supercritical processing apparatus 4, before the processing fluid in a supercritical state is brought into contact with the substrate S to perform supercritical drying, the substrate S is heated by a heater (not shown) provided on the support tray 415; At least one of the following measures may be implemented.

[0093] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Organic Solvents In the supply process (step S22), the replacement process (step S24), and the liquid film formation process (step S25), IPA is used. Organic Solvents However, it is used for each process. Organic Solvents The combination of the above is not limited to the above, and a combination of a plurality of types may be used. For example, acetone may be used in one of the three processes, while IPA may be used in the remaining processes.

[0094] In addition, the various chemical substances used in the treatment of the above-mentioned embodiments are only some examples, and various substances can be used instead as long as they are in accordance with the technical concept of the present invention described above. [Industrial Applicability]

[0095] The present invention can be generally applied to a substrate processing method and a substrate processing system in which a substrate covered with a liquid film is processed with a processing fluid in a supercritical state. [Explanation of symbols]

[0096] 1...Substrate processing system 2. Wet treatment equipment 3...Substrate transport device 4…Supercritical processing equipment 9...Control device 95...Wet processing control section 96...Transport control unit 97...Supercritical processing control section AX: axis of rotation LF…Liquid film LL2, LL4…Liquid layer (=IPA+DIW) LL3…Liquid film (=DIW) PT…Pattern S...Substrate Sa: Surface (pattern forming surface) Z: Vertical direction

Claims

1. A substrate processing method for processing a substrate having a pattern-formed surface on which a pattern is formed, (a) performing, in a wet processing apparatus, a chemical treatment of the substrate by supplying a chemical solution to the pattern-formed surface, a spare organic solvent supply treatment by supplying an organic solvent to the pattern-formed surface, a rinsing treatment by supplying a rinsing liquid to the pattern-formed surface, a replacement treatment by supplying the organic solvent to the pattern-formed surface, and a puddle treatment of the organic solvent on the pattern-formed surface in this order; (b) transporting the substrate from the wet treatment apparatus to a supercritical treatment apparatus while the organic solvent is in a puddle state on the pattern formation surface as a result of the puddle treatment; (c) drying the substrate by contacting the puddle-like pattern-formed surface with a processing fluid in a supercritical state in the supercritical processing apparatus; A substrate processing method comprising:

2. 2. The substrate processing method according to claim 1, The organic solvent used in the spare organic solvent supplying process, the organic solvent used in the replacing process, and the organic solvent used in the puddle process are of the same type.

3. 3. The substrate processing method according to claim 2, further comprising the steps of: The organic solvent used in the spare organic solvent supplying process, the organic solvent used in the replacing process, and the organic solvent used in the puddle process are isopropyl alcohol (IPA).

4. The substrate processing method according to claim 1, (d) a substrate processing method further comprising a step of, before contacting the processing fluid in the supercritical state with the pattern forming surface, vibrating the substrate while maintaining the puddle state, thereby mixing the rinsing liquid remaining in the pattern with the organic solvent.

5. 2. The substrate processing method according to claim 1, The substrate processing method, wherein in at least one of the steps (a), (b) and (c), the inside of the pattern is heated while maintaining a puddle state.

6. 1. A substrate processing system for processing a substrate having a patterned surface on which a pattern is formed, comprising: a wet processing apparatus which performs, in this order, a chemical processing of the substrate by supplying a chemical to the pattern-formed surface, a spare organic solvent supply processing by supplying an organic solvent to the pattern-formed surface, a rinsing processing by supplying a rinsing liquid to the pattern-formed surface, a replacement processing by supplying the organic solvent to the pattern-formed surface, and a liquid puddle processing for creating a puddle state in which the organic solvent is piled on the pattern-formed surface; a supercritical processing apparatus that dries the substrate by contacting the puddle-like pattern-formed surface with a processing fluid in a supercritical state; a substrate transport device that transports the substrate from the wet processing device to a supercritical processing device while maintaining the substrate in the puddle state; A substrate processing system comprising:

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