Substrate Cleaning Equipment

Abstract

The purpose of the present disclosure is to provide a substrate cleaning device capable of removing a substance to be removed that is adhered to a cleaning surface of a substrate while suppressing the use amount of the cleaning liquid. A mist ejection unit (21) ejects a relay mist gas (MG1) including cleaning liquid mist (MT) along the mist ejection direction (F21). An air knife (23) blows air gas (AG1) to the relay mist gas (MG1) along the air gas blowing direction (FG1) during the period in which the operation of conveying a substrate (1) by the conveyance means is performed, to join the air gas (AG1) to the relay mist gas (MG1), and thereby a cleaning mist gas (MG2) is obtained. A first air gas blowing process is thus conducted. The cleaning mist gas (MG2), which is supplied by the first air gas blowing process, is directly blown onto the surface of the substrate (1) to be conveyed.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a substrate cleaning device that cleans a substrate, for example, a substrate cleaning device that cleans a substrate used in a plating processing device that forms a metal film in the manufacture of electronic components, etc. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventional cleaning devices for cleaning substrates and the like used in plating processing devices that form metal films in the manufacture of electronic components and the like include, for example, the sealed cleaning device disclosed in Patent Document 1, the substrate liquid processing device disclosed in Patent Document 2, the substrate cleaning device disclosed in Patent Document 3, the cleaning device disclosed in Patent Document 4, and the cleaning device disclosed in Patent Document 5.

[0003] The cleaning devices disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 3 basically spray a cleaning liquid directly onto the object to clean it. The cleaning device disclosed in Patent Document 4 performs cleaning in a mist atmosphere. The cleaning device disclosed in Patent Document 5 performs cleaning by spraying a cleaning liquid directly onto the object to be cleaned, which is placed in a mist atmosphere. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-76962 [Patent Document 2] International Publication No. 2018 / 501665 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-136742 [Patent Document 4] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-18993 [Patent Document 5] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-33730 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The conventional cleaning devices disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 5 basically spray cleaning liquid in a mist state directly onto the object to be cleaned, which has the problem of using a large amount of cleaning liquid.

[0006] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a substrate cleaning device that can solve the above-mentioned problems and reduce the amount of cleaning liquid used. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The substrate cleaning device according to the present disclosure includes a conveying means for performing a conveying operation of conveying a substrate along a conveying direction, and a mist gas supply mechanism for supplying cleaning mist gas containing a cleaning liquid mist obtained by misting a cleaning liquid to clean a cleaning surface of the substrate, the mist gas supply mechanism including a mist ejection unit for ejecting relay mist gas containing the cleaning liquid mist along a mist ejection direction, and a first air gas spraying unit for spraying a first air gas spraying direction to the relay mist gas during a period in which the conveying operation is performed by the conveying means. and a first air gas spraying unit that performs a first air gas spraying process to spray the first air gas onto the cleaning surface of the substrate and merge the first air gas into the relay mist gas to obtain the cleaning mist gas, wherein the cleaning mist gas is supplied to the cleaning surface of the substrate by the first air gas spraying process, the flow rate of the relay mist gas is set to an initial mist flow rate, the flow rate of the first air gas is set to a first air gas flow rate, and the first air gas flow rate is set to be faster than the initial mist flow rate. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] The mist gas supply mechanism in the substrate cleaning device of the present disclosure is configured to include the above-mentioned mist jetting section and first air gas spraying section, and the first air gas flow velocity is set to be higher than the initial mist flow velocity.

[0009] Therefore, the cleaning mist gas obtained by the joining of the relay mist gas and the first air gas is influenced by the first air gas, the supply direction of the cleaning mist gas is the same as the spray direction of the first air gas, and the final mist gas flow velocity, which is the flow velocity of the cleaning mist gas, is approximately the same as the flow velocity of the first air gas.

[0010] Therefore, by setting the first air gas flow rate to the flow rate required for cleaning the cleaning surface of the substrate, the amount of cleaning liquid mist contained in the cleaning mist gas can be kept to a necessary minimum, and the cleaning liquid mist can be efficiently supplied to the cleaning surface of the substrate.

[0011] As a result, the substrate cleaning device of the present disclosure can reduce the amount of cleaning liquid used and remove the materials adhering to the cleaning surface of the substrate.

[0012] The objects, features, aspects, and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is an explanatory diagram schematically illustrating the overall configuration of a substrate cleaning device according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram schematically illustrating the configuration of the mist gas supply mechanism shown in FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing an air knife and its periphery in the liquid draining mechanism shown in FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the adjustment function of the air knife in the mist gas supply mechanism. [Figure 5] 10 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the adjustment function of the mist ejection part in the mist gas supply mechanism. FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration for realizing the adjustment functions of the mist jetting portion and the air knife shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. [Figure 7] 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the mist diffusion prevention plate shown in FIG. 1 and its surroundings. FIG. [Figure 8]FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the planar configuration of a mist diffusion prevention plate. [Figure 9] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a comparative substrate cleaning device. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram schematically illustrating the overall configuration of a substrate cleaning device according to a second embodiment. [Figure 11] 11 is an explanatory diagram schematically illustrating the configuration of the mist gas supply mechanism shown in FIG. 10. FIG. [Figure 12] 12 is an explanatory diagram showing the structure of the suction mechanism shown in FIGS. 10 and 11. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] <Introduction> The substrate cleaning apparatus of the present disclosure is an apparatus for cleaning substrates, such as an apparatus for cleaning substrates used in plating processing equipment that forms metal coatings in the manufacture of electronic components. A more specific example is a substrate cleaning apparatus that cleans plating solution adhering to a substrate to be treated, such as a metal substrate or a printed circuit board, after plating in a plating process. For example, on a substrate 1 after plating, there are plated areas and areas that have not been plated and still have plating solution remaining, and the remaining plating solution in each of the former and latter areas is the cleaning target that must be removed.

[0015] <First Embodiment> 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic diagram of the overall configuration of a substrate cleaning apparatus 51 according to embodiment 1. An XYZ Cartesian coordinate system is shown in the drawing.

[0016] As shown in the figure, a substrate 1 is placed on a conveyor table 2, and a material to be removed 3, such as a plating solution, is attached to the surface of the substrate 1. This material to be removed 3 is the object to be cleaned by a substrate cleaning device 51. In the first embodiment, the surface of the substrate 1 is the surface to be cleaned, and the material to be removed 3 is assumed to be the plating solution attached to the surface of the substrate 1.

[0017] The substrate cleaning device 51 includes a conveying means, an ultrasonic atomizer 11, a mist supply pipe 12, a mist gas supply mechanism 20, and a liquid draining mechanism 30 as main components.

[0018] The transport means includes the above-mentioned transport table 2 and a transport device such as a conveyor (not shown). The transport means performs a transport operation of transporting the substrate 1 along the table transport direction T2 (+X direction) by moving the transport table 2 along the table transport direction T2 using the transport device.

[0019] The ultrasonic atomizer 11 contains a cleaning liquid (not shown) and generates a cleaning liquid mist MT having a droplet size of 15 μm or less by applying ultrasonic vibrations to the cleaning liquid. The cleaning liquid mist MT generated by the ultrasonic atomizer 11 is supplied to the mist jetting part 21 of the mist gas supply mechanism 20 via the mist supply pipe 12 by a carrier gas (not shown). In the first embodiment, pure water is used as the cleaning liquid.

[0020] In addition, other than the ultrasonic propagation method that applies ultrasonic vibrations to the cleaning liquid, other generation technologies for the cleaning liquid mist MT include pressure, rotation, steam, piezoelectric, thermal, electrostatic, etc. However, when generating cleaning liquid mist MT with a relatively small (droplet) particle size of 15 μm or less, it is desirable to adopt the ultrasonic vibration propagation method.

[0021] The mist gas supply mechanism 20 supplies cleaning mist gas MG2 containing cleaning liquid mist MT, which is a mist of cleaning liquid, toward the surface of the substrate 1 in order to clean the object to be removed 3 adhering to the surface, which is the cleaning surface of the substrate 1.

[0022] The mist gas supply mechanism 20 includes, as main components, a mist jetting part 21 and an air knife 23 which is a first air gas blowing part.

[0023] The mist ejection unit 21 ejects relay mist gas MG1 containing cleaning liquid mist MT along a mist ejection direction F21. At this time, the relay mist gas MG1 is supplied to the outlet of the air gas AG1 of the air knife 23 or the vicinity of the outlet. Here, the flow velocity of the relay mist gas MG1 is defined as mist gas flow velocity V21. This mist gas flow velocity V21 is the initial mist flow velocity.

[0024] The mist ejection unit 21 is realized by transporting the cleaning liquid mist MT using a carrier gas (not shown) for ejection having a directionality along the mist gas ejection direction F21, for example. In this case, a mixture of the cleaning liquid mist MT and the carrier gas becomes the relay mist gas MG1.

[0025] The particle size of the cleaning liquid mist MT generated by applying ultrasonic vibrations in the ultrasonic atomizer 11 is 15 μm or less, which is smaller than the particle size of a typical spray mist, and the falling speed of the cleaning liquid mist MT is slow, so it is possible to handle the cleaning liquid mist MT as relay mist gas MG1 by carrying it on a gas flow having a directional mist gas ejection direction F21.

[0026] The air knife 23, which is the first air gas blowing unit, blows air gas AG1 along the air gas blowing direction FG1 toward the relay mist gas MG1 during the period when the transport means is performing the transport operation, and performs a first air gas blowing process to obtain a cleaning mist gas MG2 by merging the air gas AG1 with the relay mist gas MG1. The air gas AG1 becomes the first air gas, and atmospheric air, nitrogen, or the like is used as the air gas AG1.

[0027] Here, if the flow velocity of the first air gas, AG1, is defined as air gas flow velocity VG1 (first air gas flow velocity), the air gas flow velocity VG1 is set to be faster than the mist gas flow velocity V21. Specifically, the velocity ratio {VG1:V21} between the air gas flow velocity VG1 and the mist gas flow velocity V21 is set to, for example, {10:1}.

[0028] In this way, since the air gas flow velocity VG1 is set to be faster than the mist gas flow velocity V21, when the relay mist gas MG1 merges with the air gas AG1, it is caught up in the flow of the air gas AG1 and is therefore greatly affected by the air gas AG1.

[0029] Here, the flow velocity of the cleaning mist gas MG2 is referred to as the mist gas flow velocity V23, and the supply direction of the cleaning mist gas MG2 is referred to as the mist gas supply direction F23. As described above, the cleaning mist gas MG2 is significantly affected by the air gas AG1, so the mist gas supply direction F23 is the same as the air gas spraying direction FG1, and the mist gas flow velocity V23 is approximately the same as the air gas flow velocity VG1. This is because the mist gas flow velocity V21 of the relay mist gas MG1 is slower than the air gas flow velocity VG1 of the air gas AG1, resulting in the Coanda effect.

[0030] In this way, with regard to the cleaning mist gas MG2 obtained by the confluence of the relay mist gas MG1 and the air gas AG1, the mist gas supply direction F23 is the same as the air gas spraying direction FG1, and the mist gas flow velocity V23 is approximately the same as the air gas flow velocity VG1.

[0031] The cleaning mist gas MG2 obtained by merging the relay mist gas MG1 with the air gas AG1 passes below the mist diffusion prevention plate 4, which will be described in detail later, and is supplied toward the transport path of the transport table 2, which is transported along the table transport direction T2.

[0032] Therefore, the cleaning mist gas MG2 supplied by the first air gas spraying process is directly sprayed onto the surface of the substrate 1 while the transporting means is performing the transporting operation.

[0033] At this time, the mist gas flow velocity V23 of the cleaning mist gas MG2 is approximately the same as the air gas flow velocity VG1 of the air gas AG1, so that the mist gas flow velocity V23 is relatively high and the object 3 to be removed adhering to the surface of the substrate 1 is directly sprayed thereon. Therefore, the object 3 to be removed, such as a plating solution, can be swept away by the cleaning mist gas MG2 having the mist gas flow velocity V23.

[0034] As a result, by spraying cleaning mist gas MG2 containing cleaning liquid mist MT onto the surface of the substrate 1, the object to be removed 3 attached to the surface of the substrate 1 is removed or decomposed, and the object to be removed 3 to be cleaned is cleaned.

[0035] The liquid draining mechanism 30 includes, as a main component, an air knife 31. The air knife 31, which is the second air gas blowing part, is disposed downstream of the air knife 23, which is the first air gas blowing part, in the table conveying direction T2.

[0036] The air gas AG2 blown out by the air knife 31, which is the second air gas blowing section, along the air gas blowing direction FG2 passes below the mist diffusion prevention plate 4 and is supplied toward the conveying path of the conveying table 2, which is conveyed along the table conveying direction T2, during the period when the above-mentioned conveying operation is being performed by the above-mentioned conveying means.

[0037] Therefore, the air knife 31, which is the second air gas spraying section, performs a second air gas spraying process in which the second air gas, air gas AG2, is directly sprayed onto the remaining material on the surface of the substrate 1 during the period in which the above-mentioned conveying operation is being performed by the above-mentioned conveying means.

[0038] The air gas blowing direction FG1 of the air gas AG1 (mist gas supply direction F23) and the air gas blowing direction FG2 of the air gas AG2 each have a directional component in the opposite transport direction (-X direction) that is opposite to the table transport direction T2.

[0039] By means of the second air gas spraying process using the air knife 31, the residues remaining on the surface of the base material 1 can be removed. Examples of the residues include a part of the object to be removed 3, cleaning liquid, and the like.

[0040] In FIG. 1, the table conveyance direction T2 of the base material 1 is the horizontal direction (X direction), but the table conveyance direction T2 may be a direction inclined with respect to the X direction, or the vertical direction (Z direction) may be the table conveyance direction T2.

[0041] In FIG. 1, the cleaning surface of the base material 1 is the surface (upper surface) of the base material 1, but the back surface (lower surface) of the base material 1 may be the cleaning surface.

[0042] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the configuration of the mist gas supply mechanism 20. As shown in the figure, the distance along the mist gas ejection direction F21 until the relay mist gas MG1 merges with the air gas AG1 is the outlet-to-outlet distance D13. The outlet-to-outlet distance D13 is the distance from the ejection port (tip portion) of the mist ejection unit 21 to the peripheral region of the ejection port (tip portion) of the air knife 23. This outlet-to-outlet distance D13 is set so that the cleaning mist gas MG2 having the directivity of the mist gas supply direction F23 that coincides with the air gas spraying direction FG1 can be accurately obtained when the relay mist gas MG1 and the air gas AG1 merge.

[0043] Also, the gap G23, which is the distance along the vertical direction (Z direction) from the surface 1s that becomes the cleaning surface of the base material 1 to the ejection port of the air knife 23, is set to a length that enhances the removal effect of the object to be removed 3.

[0044] The gas flow supply angle A23, which is the angle of the mist gas supply direction F23 with respect to the table conveyance direction T2 (+X direction), is set within the range of 0 to 90 degrees (exceeding 0 degrees and less than 90 degrees: 0 (degrees) < A23 < 90 (degrees)). This gas flow supply angle A23 becomes the first air gas spraying angle.

[0045] It is not desirable to set the gas flow supply angle A23, which is the first air gas spraying angle, outside the range of 0 to 90 degrees, because when the object 3 to be removed is pushed away and removed, the object 3 to be removed may flow over the surface of the substrate 1 that is to be cleaned, thereby contaminating the surface of the substrate 1.

[0046] When the air gas AG1 is blown out from the air knife 23, the gas supply pressure to the air knife 23 is set to a pressure that will give a desired air gas flow velocity VG1.

[0047] It is desirable that the transport speed of the substrate 1 along the table transport direction T2 by the transport means be appropriately set within a range that reduces the amount of cleaning liquid mist MT contained in the cleaning mist gas MG2 used while maintaining a moderate cleaning effect on the object to be removed 3.

[0048] 3 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the air knife 31 and its periphery. The air gas flow velocity VG2 (second air gas flow velocity) of the air gas AG2 (second air gas) blown out from the air knife 31, which is the second air gas blowing section, is set so that the effect of removing residual matter on the surface of the substrate 1 is maintained at a desired removal level and the dryness of the surface of the substrate 1 is kept at a predetermined dryness level or below.

[0049] The higher the air gas flow velocity VG2, which is the second air gas flow velocity, the greater the effect of removing residual material, and the lower the air gas flow velocity VG2, the lower the degree of dryness on the surface of the substrate 1. If the substrate 1 is made of a material that is easily oxidized, if the degree of dryness on the surface of the substrate 1 becomes high, the residual material on the surface of the substrate 1 may oxidize and contaminate the substrate 1. The air gas flow velocity VG2 can be adjusted by the gas supply pressure to the air knife 31.

[0050] Further, the gap G31 along the vertical direction (Z direction) from the surface of the base material 1 that becomes the cleaning surface to the air knife 31's air outlet is set to a distance such that the removal effect of residues is high and the base material 1 placed on the conveyance table 2 does not move. If the gap G31 becomes short, the wind force by the air gas AG2 increases, and there is a possibility that the base material 1 may move from the conveyance table 2.

[0051] The gas flow supply angle A31, which is the angle of the air gas blowing direction FG2 with respect to the table conveyance direction T2 (X direction), is set within the range of 0 to 90 degrees (exceeding 0 degrees and less than 90 degrees: 0 (degrees) < A31 < 90 (degrees)). This gas flow supply angle A23 becomes the second air gas blowing angle.

[0052] Note that if the gas flow supply angle A31, which is the second air gas blowing angle, is set outside the range of 0 to 90 degrees, when washing away and removing residues, there is a possibility that the residues may flow on the surface of the base material 1 that becomes the cleaning surface and stain the surface of the base material 1, which is not desirable.

[0053] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the adjustment function of the air knife 23. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the adjustment function of the mist ejection part 21. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration for realizing the adjustment functions of the mist ejection part 21 and the air knife 23 respectively.

[0054] As shown in FIG. 6, an air knife rotation mechanism 23R and an air knife movement mechanism 23M are connected to the air knife 23.

[0055] The air knife movement mechanism 23M is a mechanism that moves the air knife 23 along the movement direction T23X or the movement direction T23Z. Therefore, the base material cleaning device 51 having the air knife movement mechanism 23M has a first blowing part movement function of moving the air knife 23, which is the first air gas blowing part, along the movement direction T23X or the movement direction T23Z. Note that the movement direction T23X is a direction parallel to the X direction, and the movement direction T23Z is a direction parallel to the Z direction.

[0056] The air knife rotation mechanism 23R is a mechanism that uses a predetermined position of the air knife 23 as the rotation axis in the XZ plane and rotates the air knife 23 along the rotation direction R23. Therefore, the substrate cleaning device 51 having the air knife rotation mechanism 23R has a first spraying angle adjustment function of adjusting the gas flow supply angle A23, which is the first air gas spraying angle, by rotating the air knife 23 along the rotation direction R23.

[0057] The configuration of the air knife movement mechanism 23M can be arbitrary as long as it can move the air knife 23 without changing the gas flow supply angle A23, and it can be realized by existing technologies. The configuration of the air knife rotation mechanism 23R can be arbitrary as long as it can rotate the air knife 23 along the rotation direction R23, and it can be realized by existing technologies.

[0058] As shown in FIG. 6, a mist ejection unit rotation mechanism 21R and a mist ejection unit movement mechanism 21M are connected to the mist ejection unit 21.

[0059] The mist ejection unit movement mechanism 21M is a mechanism that moves the mist ejection unit 21 along the movement direction T21X or the movement direction T21Z. Therefore, the substrate cleaning device 51 having the mist ejection unit movement mechanism 21M has an ejection unit movement function of moving the mist ejection unit 21 along the movement direction T21X or the movement direction T23Z. Note that the movement direction T21X is a direction parallel to the X direction, and the movement direction T21Z is a direction parallel to the Z direction.

[0060] The mist ejection unit rotation mechanism 21R is a mechanism that uses a predetermined position of the mist ejection unit 21 as the rotation axis in the XZ plane and rotates the mist ejection unit 21 along the rotation direction R21. Therefore, the substrate cleaning device 51 having the mist ejection unit rotation mechanism 21R has an ejection angle adjustment function of adjusting the mist supply angle A21, which is the mist ejection angle with respect to the table conveyance direction T2, by rotating the mist ejection unit 21 along the rotation direction R21. The mist supply angle A21 is set within a range of 0 to 90 degrees (exceeding 0 degrees and less than 90 degrees: 0 (degrees) < A21 < 90 (degrees)).

[0061] The structure of the mist ejection part moving mechanism 21M can be arbitrary as long as it can move the mist ejection part 21 without changing the mist supply angle A21, and it can be realized by the existing technology. The structure of the mist ejection part rotating mechanism 21R can be arbitrary as long as it can rotate the air knife 23 along the rotation direction R21, and it can be realized by the existing technology.

[0062] (Mist diffusion prevention plate 4) The base material cleaning device 51 of the first embodiment has a mist diffusion prevention plate 4. The mist diffusion prevention plate 4 is disposed between the mist gas supply mechanism 20 and the base material 1 and has a flat plate shape. The plate shape is a shape along the XY plane.

[0063] FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the mist diffusion prevention plate 4 and its periphery, and FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing the planar configuration of the mist diffusion prevention plate 4. An XYZ orthogonal coordinate system is shown in each of FIGS. 7 and 8.

[0064] The mist diffusion prevention plate 4 is arranged so that a diffusion suppression space S1 having a predetermined gap G4 is provided without hindering the supply of the cleaning mist gas MG2 to the surface 1s which is the cleaning surface of the base material 1. The gap G4 is the distance along the Z direction between the back surface 4r of the mist diffusion prevention plate 4 and the surface 1s of the base material 1, and the diffusion suppression space S1 is a space having the gap G4 formed between the surface 1s of the base material 1 and the back surface 4r of the mist diffusion prevention plate 4.

[0065] As shown in FIG. 8, since the planar shape of the mist diffusion prevention plate 4 is set to be sufficiently wide, most of the upper space of the surface 1s of the base material 1 can be made the diffusion suppression space S1.

[0066] By setting the gap G4 which is a predetermined gap to be sufficiently short to make the diffusion suppression space S1 a narrow space, the diffusion of the cleaning liquid mist MT contained in the cleaning mist gas MG2 can be suppressed. It is desirable to set the gap G4 (μm) within a range satisfying {15 μm < G4 ≤ 50 mm}.

[0067] That is, in the substrate cleaning apparatus 51 of the first embodiment, the cleaning liquid mist MT is assumed to have a particle size (of droplets) of 15 μm or less, and the gap G4 is set to a length exceeding the particle size of the cleaning liquid mist MT.

[0068] 9 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a comparative substrate cleaning apparatus 51X, which is the substrate cleaning apparatus 51 of the first embodiment, without the mist diffusion prevention plate 4. An XYZ Cartesian coordinate system is shown in the figure. FIG. 9 shows a state in which a material to be removed 3 is attached to part of the surface of the substrate 1.

[0069] As shown in the figure, when the cleaning mist gas MG2 is supplied to the surface 1s of the substrate 1, the cleaning liquid mist MT contained in the cleaning mist gas MG2 is lightweight, so part of the cleaning liquid mist MT diffuses above the substrate 1. The comparative substrate cleaning apparatus 51X does not have a mist diffusion prevention plate 4, and therefore cannot suppress the diffusion phenomenon of the cleaning liquid mist MT.

[0070] Therefore, since the cleaning mist gas MG2 becomes a drier gas as the cleaning liquid mist MT diffuses, the dry cleaning mist gas MG2 is sprayed onto the surface 1s of the substrate 1, which makes it easier for the surface 1s of the substrate 1 to dry. If the surface 1s of the substrate 1 in a dried state oxidizes, the surface 1s of the substrate 1 will become dirty.

[0071] On the other hand, in the substrate cleaning apparatus 51 of the first embodiment, the space above the surface 1s of the substrate 1 is narrowed to the diffusion suppression space S1 due to the presence of the mist diffusion prevention plate 4, so that the diffusion of the cleaning liquid mist MT contained in the cleaning mist gas MG2 can be effectively suppressed. Therefore, the substrate cleaning apparatus 51 of the first embodiment can prevent the surface 1s from drying out, thereby avoiding the phenomenon of the surface 1s being oxidized and contaminated.

[0072] (effect) The mist gas supply mechanism 20 in the substrate cleaning apparatus 51 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure is configured to include a mist ejection section 21 and an air knife 23, and the first air gas flow velocity, VG1, is set to be faster than the mist gas flow velocity V21 of the relay mist gas MG1.

[0073] Therefore, the cleaning mist gas MG2 obtained by merging the relay mist gas MG1 with the air gas AG1 is influenced by the air gas AG1, so that the mist gas supply direction F23 of the cleaning mist gas MG2 becomes the same direction as the air gas spraying direction FG1, and the mist gas flow velocity V23 becomes approximately the same as the air gas flow velocity VG1.

[0074] Therefore, by setting the air gas flow rate VG1 to the flow rate required for cleaning the surface 1s, which is the cleaning surface of the substrate 1, the amount of cleaning liquid mist MT contained in the cleaning mist gas MG2 can be kept to a minimum, and the cleaning liquid mist MT can be efficiently supplied to the surface of the substrate 1.

[0075] As a result, the substrate cleaning apparatus 51 of the first embodiment can remove the objects 3 adhering to the surface of the substrate 1 while reducing the amount of cleaning liquid used.

[0076] The substrate cleaning device 51 of embodiment 1 supplies cleaning mist gas MG2 onto the transport path of the transport table 2 and directly sprays the cleaning mist gas MG2 containing cleaning liquid mist MT onto the surface of the substrate 1, thereby accurately removing the object to be removed 3 attached to the surface of the substrate 1.

[0077] An example of the cleaning effect of the substrate cleaning apparatus 51 of the first embodiment will be described below when the object 3 to be removed is a nickel plating solution and the cleaning liquid is pure water.

[0078] The substrate 1 was a Hull Cell copper substrate with a planar size of 100 mm x 100 mm and a thickness of 0.3 mm. 2 mL of nickel plating solution was dropped onto the surface to be cleaned, and the dropped plating solution was spread to remove unnecessary plating solution. In this way, a nickel plating solution weighing 0.6 to 0.7 g and having a thickness of approximately 0.5 mm was adhered to the surface of the substrate 1 as the object to be removed 3.

[0079] During the period in which the conveying operation was being performed in which the conveying table 2 was conveyed by the conveying means along the table conveying direction T2 at a substrate conveying speed of 200 mm / min for the substrate 1 having the material to be removed 3 adhering to its surface as described above, cleaning mist gas MG2 was sprayed from the mist gas supply mechanism 20 onto the surface of the substrate 1, and the remaining material on the surface of the substrate 1 was removed with the air knife 31.

[0080] As a result, analysis results obtained by ICP-MS (Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry) showed that the substrate cleaning apparatus 51 of embodiment 1 reduced the amount of nickel plating solution adhering to the object to be removed 3 to 22 μg.

[0081] In this way, the substrate cleaning apparatus 51 of the first embodiment can remove the objects 3 adhering to the surface of the substrate 1 with high precision.

[0082] It should be noted that, even if the cleaning mist gas MG2 is not directly sprayed onto the surface of the substrate 1, if an atmosphere of the cleaning mist gas MG2 can be formed on the surface of the conveying table 2, the object 3 to be removed adhering to the surface of the substrate 1 can be removed. For example, an environment in which the cleaning mist gas MG2 is indirectly supplied can be considered, such as a conveying path for the conveying table 2 being provided on the downwind side of the cleaning mist gas MG2, and the surface of the substrate 1 passing through an atmosphere of the cleaning mist gas MG2.

[0083] However, to improve the cleaning effect of removing the object 3, an environment in which the cleaning mist gas MG2 is directly sprayed onto the surface of the substrate 1 is more preferable than an environment in which the cleaning mist gas MG2 is indirectly supplied.

[0084] In the substrate cleaning apparatus 51 according to the first embodiment, by directly blowing the air gas AG2, which is the second air gas, from the air knife 31, which is the second air gas blowing unit, onto the surface 1s of the substrate 1 that serves as the cleaning surface, residues remaining on the surface 1s of the substrate 1 can be accurately removed.

[0085] The substrate cleaning apparatus 51 according to the first embodiment includes an ultrasonic nebulizer 11, and thus can supply, for example, a cleaning liquid mist MT having a relatively small particle size of 15 μm or less to the mist ejection unit 21 via the mist supply pipe 12.

[0086] As a result, the cleaning liquid mist MT contained in the cleaning mist gas MG2 supplied from the substrate cleaning apparatus 51 according to the first embodiment can penetrate into fine portions on the surface of the substrate 1, and by suppressing the amount of the cleaning liquid contained in one unit droplet of the cleaning liquid mist MT, the usage amount of the cleaning liquid can be minimized.

[0087] Regarding the air knife 23 in the substrate cleaning apparatus 51 according to the first embodiment, the air gas blowing direction FG1 (mist gas supply direction F23) has a direction component in the conveyance opposing direction that opposes the table conveyance direction T2, and the gas flow supply angle A23, which is the first air gas blowing angle, is set within the range of 0 to 90 degrees (0 (degrees) < A23 < 90 (degrees)).

[0088] Therefore, the substrate cleaning apparatus 51 according to the first embodiment can accurately remove the removed object 3 attached to the surface of the substrate 1.

[0089] The substrate cleaning apparatus 51 according to the first embodiment has a first blowing unit movement function realized by the air knife movement mechanism 23M and a first blowing angle adjustment function realized by the air knife rotation mechanism 23R.

[0090] Therefore, the substrate cleaning device 51 of Embodiment 1 can adjust the confluence point of the relay mist gas MG1 and the air gas AG2 and the air gas blowing direction FG1 (= mist gas supply direction F23) so as to enhance the removal effect of the removed substance 3 adhering to the surface of the substrate 1.

[0091] Regarding the mist ejection part 21 in the substrate cleaning device 51 of Embodiment 1, the mist gas ejection direction F21 includes a direction component in the table conveyance direction T2 (+X direction), and the mist supply angle A21, which is the mist ejection angle with respect to the table conveyance direction T2, is set in the range of 0 to 90 degrees (0 (degrees) < A21 < 90 (degrees)). On the other hand, in the air knife 23, which is the first air gas blowing part, the air gas blowing direction FG1, which is the first air gas blowing direction, has a direction component in the conveyance opposite direction (-X direction), and the gas flow supply angle A23, which is the first air gas blowing angle, is set in the range of 0 to 90 degrees.

[0092] Therefore, the air knife 23 in the substrate cleaning device 51 of Embodiment 1 can relatively easily execute the first air gas blowing process on the relay mist gas MG which is ejected from the mist ejection part 21.

[0093] As a desirable aspect in the present embodiment, the mist supply angle A21 is set in the range of 0 to 90 degrees including a direction component in the table conveyance direction T2 so as to be supplied to the vicinity of the air outlet of the air gas AG1 of the air knife 23 or the air outlet. As a modification, it is also conceivable to set the mist supply angle A21 outside the range of 0 to 90 degrees. As described above, since the cleaning mist gas MG2 is greatly affected by the air gas AG1, it is possible to obtain the cleaning mist gas MG2 that is directly blown onto the removed substance 3 by the air gas AG1 even in the modification.

[0094] The substrate cleaning device 51 of Embodiment 1 has an ejection part movement function by the mist ejection part movement mechanism 21M and an ejection angle adjustment function by the mist ejection part rotation mechanism 21R.

[0095] Therefore, the substrate cleaning apparatus 51 of embodiment 1 can adjust the confluence point of the relay mist gas MG1 and the air gas AG2 so as to enhance the effect of removing the material 3 adhering to the surface of the substrate 1.

[0096] The mist diffusion prevention plate 4 in the substrate cleaning apparatus 51 of embodiment 1 is positioned so as to provide a diffusion suppression space S1 with a gap G4 that is a predetermined gap between the surface 1s of the substrate 1 and the mist diffusion prevention plate 4, without interfering with the supply of the cleaning mist gas MG2 to the surface 1s, which is the cleaning surface of the substrate 1.

[0097] The substrate cleaning apparatus 51 of embodiment 1 can exert a mist diffusion suppression effect that effectively suppresses the phenomenon of the cleaning liquid mist MT contained in the cleaning mist gas MG2 diffusing from the surface 1s of the substrate 1 by limiting the space in contact with the surface 1s of the substrate 1 to a relatively narrow diffusion suppression space S1 using the mist diffusion prevention plate 4.

[0098] Furthermore, when the air gas flow velocity VG1 of the air gas AG1 blown out from the air knife 23 is fast, the mist gas flow velocity V23 (=VG1) of the cleaning mist gas MG2 also becomes fast, making it difficult for the cleaning liquid mist MT in the cleaning mist gas MG2 to adhere to the surface 1s of the substrate 1. However, the cleaning liquid mist MT is present in the relatively narrow diffusion-suppressing space S1, and the mist diffusion suppression effect described above can increase the rate of adhesion to the surface 1s of the substrate 1.

[0099] As a result, the substrate cleaning device 51 of embodiment 1 can remove the object 3 to be removed without contaminating the surface 1s by preventing the surface 1s, which is the cleaning surface of the substrate 1, from drying and oxidizing due to the mist diffusion suppression effect.

[0100] In the substrate cleaning device 51 of Embodiment 1, a gap G4 (predetermined gap) having a length exceeding the particle size of the cleaning liquid mist MT is set. In Embodiment 1, since the cleaning liquid mist MT is obtained by the ultrasonic nebulizer 11, the gap G4 is set to a length exceeding 15 μm. This is because the particle size of the cleaning liquid mist MT generated by the ultrasonic nebulizer 11 is 15 μm or less.

[0101] In addition, in order to prevent the above-described mist diffusion suppressing effect from being reduced, it is desirable to set the gap G4 within a range that satisfies {15 μm < G4 ≤ 50 mm}. That is, it is desirable to set the upper limit of the gap G4 to about 50 mm.

[0102] Therefore, the substrate cleaning device 51 of Embodiment 1 can supply the cleaning liquid mist MT contained in the cleaning mist gas MG2 to the diffusion suppressing space S1 of the relatively narrow gap G4 without any trouble.

[0103] <Embodiment 2> FIG. 10 is an explanatory view schematically showing the overall configuration of the substrate cleaning device 52 of Embodiment 2. FIG. 11 is an explanatory view schematically showing the configuration of the mist gas supply mechanism 20. An XYZ orthogonal coordinate system is shown in each of FIGS. 10 and 11.

[0104] Hereinafter, the same components as those of the substrate cleaning device 51 of Embodiment 1 will be denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be appropriately omitted, and the characteristic parts of the substrate cleaning device 52 of Embodiment 2 will be described.

[0105] The conveying means in the substrate cleaning device 52 of Embodiment 2 includes, as in Embodiment 1, a conveying table 2B on which the substrate 1 is placed, and executes a conveying operation by moving the conveying table 2B in the table conveying direction T2.

[0106] The conveying table 2B has a suction mechanism 5 that sucks the back surface 1r of the substrate 1 at the upper layer portion. The substrate cleaning device 52 of Embodiment 2 is characterized by including the conveying table 2B having the suction mechanism 5.

[0107] 12 is an explanatory diagram schematically illustrating the structure of the suction mechanism 5. As shown in the figure, the suction mechanism 5 has a suction path 5r and a plurality of suction holes 5h that communicate with the suction path 5r. The plurality of suction holes 5h are arranged at positions that overlap with the rear surface of the substrate 1 in a plan view. The suction mechanism 5 has the suction path 5r and the plurality of suction holes 5h, and suctions the substrate 1 from the rear surface 1r through the plurality of suction holes 5h by vacuum suction.

[0108] In the substrate cleaning device 52 of embodiment 2, as in embodiment 1, the cleaning mist gas MG2 obtained by the first air gas spraying process of the air knife 23 is sprayed directly onto the surface of the substrate 1, so there is a possibility that the substrate 1 placed on the conveying table 2B will move.

[0109] In the substrate cleaning apparatus 52 of embodiment 2, the conveying table 2B has an adsorption mechanism 5, and by using the adsorption mechanism 5 to adsorb the substrate 1 from the back surface 1r, the substrate 1 can be stably and tightly fixed on the conveying table 2 even when exposed to the cleaning mist gas MG2.

[0110] Furthermore, since the suction mechanism 5 functions as a porous suction plate having multiple suction holes 5h, even if the substrate 1 has a thin structure with a thickness of 1 mm or less, the substrate 1 can be tightly fixed on the conveying table 2 so that the substrate 1 does not move due to the cleaning mist gas MG2.

[0111] Furthermore, since the adsorption mechanism 5 functions as a porous adsorption plate, no gaps are generated between the surface of the adsorption mechanism 5 and the surface 1s of the substrate 1 due to deformation or deformation of the substrate 1 caused by concentrated adsorption in a localized area.

[0112] In this way, the substrate cleaning apparatus 52 of embodiment 2 can reliably avoid deformation of the substrate 1, the occurrence of gaps, etc., thereby reliably avoiding the phenomenon of obstruction of the flow of the cleaning mist gas MG2 containing the cleaning liquid mist MT.

[0113] In the substrate cleaning apparatus 52 of the second embodiment, the suction mechanism 5 included in the conveying table 2B uses a plurality of suction holes 5h to suction the substrate 1 from the back surface 1r, so that the substrate 1 can be stably placed on the conveying table 2B when the cleaning mist gas MG2 or the air gas AG2 is sprayed directly onto the surface to be cleaned of the substrate 1. In this case, even if the thickness of the substrate 1 is 1 mm or less, the substrate 1 can be stably placed on the conveying table 2B.

[0114] Furthermore, since the plurality of suction holes 5h are provided so as to overlap on the rear surface of the substrate in plan view, the substrate 1 is not deformed when the suction mechanism 5 suctions the substrate 1. Therefore, no gap is generated between the suction mechanism 5 and the rear surface 1r of the substrate 1 due to deformation of the substrate 1.

[0115] As a result, the substrate cleaning device 52 of embodiment 2 can supply cleaning mist gas MG2 to the surface of the substrate 1 without any problems when performing the first air gas spraying process using the air knife 23, which is the first air gas spraying section, and can therefore accurately remove the object 3 to be removed that has adhered to the surface of the substrate 1.

[0116] Furthermore, the substrate cleaning device 52 of embodiment 2 can supply air gas AG2 to the surface of the substrate 1 without any problems when performing the second air gas spraying process using the air knife 31, which is the second air gas spraying section, so that any residue remaining on the surface of the substrate 1 can be removed with high accuracy.

[0117] <Other> As described above, the substrate cleaning apparatus 51 of embodiment 1 and the substrate cleaning apparatus 52 of embodiment 2 have been shown as substrate cleaning apparatuses of the present disclosure, but the present disclosure is not limited to these embodiments and can be modified within the scope of the gist thereof.

[0118] In this embodiment, pure water is used as the cleaning liquid, but other possible cleaning liquids include alkaline degreasing liquids (solutions containing sodium hydroxide or phosphoric acid) and acidic degreasing liquids (solutions containing sulfuric acid or hydrochloric acid).The alkaline degreasing liquid and acidic degreasing liquid are effective cleaning liquids for the substrate 1 that requires degreasing treatment.

[0119] In addition, the substrate cleaning apparatus of the present disclosure can also be applied to an acid cleaning process using a solution containing sulfuric acid as the cleaning liquid, an etching process using a solution containing iron (III) chloride as the cleaning liquid, a surface modification process using a solution containing a metal organic compound such as TEOS as the cleaning liquid, and a resist agent removal process using a solution containing sodium hydroxide as the cleaning liquid.

[0120] In this embodiment, the object to be removed 3 is assumed to be a plating solution, but other objects to be removed 3 may include solid fine particles such as dust, dirt, and particles, organic compounds such as oil, and metal / inorganic compounds such as rust and metal oxide films.

[0121] Furthermore, the plating removal products, typically from plating solutions, include metal salts, which are sources of metal ions, such as copper sulfate and nickel sulfate.

[0122] In the above-described embodiment, the mist gas supply mechanism 20 is configured with the mist ejection section 21 and the air knife 23, which are independent of each other. However, it is also possible to adopt an embodiment in which the mist gas supply mechanism 20 and the mist ejection section 21 are integrated together, as shown by the dashed line in Figure 6.

[0123] Furthermore, although the mist diffusion prevention plate 4 is arranged parallel to the table transport direction T2 (X direction), the arrangement is not limited to this, and the arrangement direction of the mist diffusion prevention plate 4 may be significantly inclined with respect to the X direction. Furthermore, the shape of the mist diffusion prevention plate 4 is not limited to a flat plate shape.

[0124] The shape and arrangement of the mist diffusion prevention plate 4 can be set arbitrarily under the condition that the mist diffusion prevention plate 4 can form a diffusion suppression space that can prevent the diffusion of the cleaning liquid mist MT contained in the cleaning mist gas MG2 in the spatial region in contact with the surface 1s, which is the cleaning surface of the substrate 1.

[0125] Furthermore, although the table transport direction T2, which is the transport direction of the substrate 1, is set to a horizontal direction along the X direction, the table transport direction T2 may be significantly inclined with respect to the X direction. Furthermore, the table transport direction T2 may be set to a vertical direction along the Z direction. In other words, the table transport direction T2 can be set arbitrarily, provided that the cleaning mist gas MG2 is sprayed onto the surface of the substrate 1 during the transport operation.

[0126] In the above-described embodiment, the cleaning surface of the substrate 1 is the front surface 1s, but the cleaning surface may be the back surface 1r. In this case, components corresponding to the mist gas supply mechanism 20 and the liquid draining mechanism 30 are arranged on the back surface 1r side of the substrate 1, and the cleaning mist gas is directly sprayed onto the back surface 1r of the substrate 1 by the first air gas blown out from the first air gas blowing unit corresponding to the air knife 23.

[0127] In the substrate cleaning apparatus 52 of embodiment 2, the manner in which the substrate 1 and the conveying table 2B are tightly fixed together may be such that a fixing means for the substrate 1 other than the adsorption mechanism 5 is provided under the condition that the substrate 1 is stably and tightly fixed onto the conveying table 2B even when exposed to the cleaning mist gas MG2 and the air gas AG2 without impeding the flow of the cleaning mist gas MG2.

[0128] Although the present disclosure has been described in detail, the above description is illustrative in all respects and does not limit the present disclosure to the above. It is understood that countless variations not illustrated can be envisioned without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. [Explanation of symbols]

[0129] 1 Base material 2,2B Transport table 3 Object to be removed 4. Mist diffusion prevention plate 5 Adsorption mechanism 5h Adsorption hole 11 Ultrasonic atomizer 12 Mist supply piping 20 Mist gas supply mechanism 21 Mist jetting section 21M Mist jet moving mechanism 21R Mist jet rotation mechanism 23,31 Air knife 23M Air knife moving mechanism 23R Air knife rotation mechanism 30 Draining mechanism 51,52 Substrate cleaning equipment AG1,AG2 Air Gas MG1 relay mist gas MG2 Cleaning Mist Gas MT cleaning liquid mist

Claims

1. a conveying means for performing a conveying operation of conveying the substrate along a conveying direction; an ultrasonic atomizer that generates a cleaning liquid mist by applying ultrasonic vibrations to the cleaning liquid; a mist gas supply mechanism that supplies a cleaning mist gas containing the cleaning liquid mist in order to clean the cleaning surface of the base material, The particle size of the cleaning liquid mist is 15 μm or less, The mist gas supply mechanism includes: a mist ejection section that ejects relay mist gas containing the cleaning liquid mist along a mist ejection direction; a first air gas spraying unit that performs a first air gas spraying process to spray a first air gas onto the relay mist gas along a first air gas spraying direction during a period in which the transporting operation is being performed by the transport means, and to merge the first air gas into the relay mist gas to obtain the cleaning mist gas, the cleaning mist gas is supplied to the cleaning surface of the base material by the first air gas spraying process; The flow velocity of the relay mist gas is set to an initial mist flow velocity, the flow velocity of the first air gas is set to a first air gas flow velocity, and the first air gas flow velocity is set to be faster than the initial mist flow velocity, The cleaning device further includes a mist diffusion prevention plate disposed between the mist gas supply mechanism and the cleaning surface of the substrate, the mist diffusion prevention plate is disposed so as to provide a diffusion suppression space of a predetermined gap between the mist diffusion prevention plate and the cleaning surface of the base material without interfering with the supply of the cleaning mist gas to the cleaning surface of the base material, The mist diffusion prevention plate is plate-shaped, the cleaning surface of the substrate is a surface of the substrate; The diffusion suppression space is a space formed between the surface of the base material and the rear surface of the mist diffusion prevention plate. Substrate cleaning equipment.

2. The substrate cleaning device according to claim 1, By performing the first air gas spraying process of the first air gas spraying unit, the cleaning mist gas is directly sprayed onto the cleaning surface of the base material. Substrate cleaning equipment.

3. The substrate cleaning device according to claim 2, a second air gas blowing unit that is disposed downstream of the first air gas blowing unit in the conveying direction and that performs a second air gas blowing process of directly blowing a second air gas onto the cleaning surface of the base material during a period in which the conveying operation is being performed by the conveying means; Substrate cleaning equipment.

4. The substrate cleaning device according to claim 2, The cleaning liquid mist sprayer further includes a mist supply pipe for supplying the cleaning liquid mist generated by the ultrasonic atomizer to the mist spraying part. Substrate cleaning equipment.

5. The substrate cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, the first air gas blowing direction includes a component of a conveyance counter direction that is a direction opposite to the conveyance direction, a first air gas blowing angle, which is an angle of the first air gas blowing direction with respect to the conveying direction, is set in a range of more than 0 degrees and less than 90 degrees; Substrate cleaning equipment.

6. The substrate cleaning device according to claim 5, a first blowing unit moving function for moving the first air gas blowing unit; A first air gas blowing angle adjustment function for adjusting the first air gas blowing angle. Substrate cleaning equipment.

7. The substrate cleaning device according to claim 5, the mist ejection direction includes a component of the transport direction, a mist ejection angle, which is the angle of the mist ejection direction with respect to the conveyance direction, is set in a range of more than 0 degrees and less than 90 degrees; Substrate cleaning equipment.

8. The substrate cleaning device according to claim 7, A mist ejection unit moving function that moves the mist ejection unit; and a spray angle adjustment function for adjusting the mist spray angle. Substrate cleaning equipment.

9. The substrate cleaning device according to claim 1, the predetermined gap is set to a length exceeding the particle diameter of the cleaning liquid mist; Substrate cleaning equipment.

10. The substrate cleaning device according to any one of claims 2 to 4, The conveying means is a conveying table on which the base material is placed, the conveying operation being performed by moving the conveying table in the conveying direction; the conveying table has a suction mechanism that suctions the back surface of the base material, the suction mechanism has a plurality of suction holes that overlap the rear surface of the base material in a plan view, and the base material is suctioned from the rear surface by the plurality of suction holes; Substrate cleaning equipment.

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