Substrate processing apparatus, substrate processing method, and substrate processing system

Abstract

To suppress inflow of a foreign substance to a processing space which is atmospherically separated is performed in a state where formation of the atmospheric separation is cancelled in a substrate processing device which performs substrate processing in the processing space.SOLUTION: A gas passing between an upper seal member and a lower seal member is rectified and circulated downward along an outer side face of the lower seal member by an outside rectification member. Thus, a so-called air curtain is formed so as to enclose a processing space. Further, when cancelling the formation of the atmospherically separated space, while the outside rectification member is mounted to the upper seal member and stops at a stationary position, an inside rectification member for rectifying a gas passing inside of the lower seal member and circulating the gas to the processing space moves up and down integrally with the lower seal member. Thus, a differential pressure is generated between outlet sides of the outside rectification member and the inside rectification member, and a flow rate of the gas distributed from the outside rectification member along the outer side face of the lower seal member is increased. Namely, the air curtain is reinforced.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8C

Claims

1. A chamber having an internal space, A substrate holding part is provided so as to be rotatable around a rotation axis extending vertically while holding the substrate substantially horizontally within the internal space, A rotation mechanism that rotates the substrate holding portion around the rotation axis, A processing mechanism that applies substrate processing to a substrate by supplying a processing liquid to the substrate held in the substrate holding part which is rotated by the aforementioned rotation mechanism, A splash prevention mechanism surrounds the outer periphery of the substrate and collects and discharges the processing liquid that splashes from the substrate as the substrate holding part rotates, A gas supply unit that supplies gas to the internal space from a first opening provided in the ceiling wall of the chamber, An atmosphere separation mechanism comprising: a cylindrical upper sealing member attached to the ceiling wall so as to surround the entire first opening from the internal space side; and a cylindrical lower sealing member provided so as to be movable in the vertical direction, with its outer surface overlapping with the inner surface of the upper sealing member in the vertical direction; wherein the space extending from the processing space surrounded by the splash prevention mechanism toward the center of the first opening is surrounded by the lower sealing member and the upper sealing member, thereby forming an atmosphere separation space separated from the surroundings; An outer rectifier member is attached to the upper sealing member to rectify the gas passing between the upper sealing member and the lower sealing member and to cause it to flow downward along the outer surface of the lower sealing member, An inner flow straightening member is provided integrally with the lower sealing member and is movable up and down to straighten the gas passing inside the lower sealing member and allow it to flow into the processing space, A lifting mechanism for raising and lowering the aforementioned lower sealing member, A control unit controls the lifting mechanism such that the lower sealing member is lowered vertically to a predetermined lower limit position to form the atmosphere separation space, while the lower sealing member is raised to a retracted position vertically above the lower limit position to allow access to the processing space and increase the flow rate of gas flowing downward along the outer surface of the lower sealing member. A substrate processing apparatus characterized by comprising:

2. A substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, When the flow rate per unit time of the gas flowing toward the processing space via the inner rectifier is defined as the inner flow rate, and the flow rate per unit time of the gas flowing along the outer surface of the lower sealing member via the outer rectifier is defined as the outer flow rate, A substrate processing apparatus in which the inner rectifier member and the outer rectifier member are finished such that the inner flow rate is greater than the outer flow rate when the lower sealing member is in the lower limit position.

3. A substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2, The outer rectifier member is a perforated plate in which a plurality of outer through holes are provided in an annular plate surrounding the lower sealing member. The substrate processing apparatus is a perforated plate in which the inner rectifier member is a plate surrounded by the lower sealing member and has inner through holes that are smaller in diameter than the outer through holes and more numerous than the number of outer through holes.

4. A substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, The chamber is equipped with a shutter that opens and closes a second opening provided on the side wall of the chamber, The control unit is A substrate processing apparatus that controls a shutter such that the lower sealing member remains in the lower limit position until the opening of the second opening by the shutter is completed, in order to load or unload the substrate into or out of the substrate holding section through the second opening, and then moves to the retracted position after the opening of the second opening is completed.

5. A substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, The device includes a centering mechanism that performs a centering process to align the center of the substrate with the rotation axis by bringing a contact portion into contact with the substrate, which is mounted on the substrate holding portion so as to be movable in the horizontal direction. The control unit controls the lifting mechanism so that the lower sealing member is positioned in the retracted position when the centering process is performed, in a substrate processing apparatus.

6. A substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, The substrate observation mechanism is provided to perform an observation process for observing the peripheral edge of the substrate held in the substrate holding portion. The control unit controls the lifting mechanism so that the lower sealing member is positioned in the retracted position when performing the observation process, in a substrate processing apparatus.

7. A substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, A detachable lid member is provided to the side wall of the chamber so as to close a third opening provided in the side wall of the chamber, A substrate processing apparatus, wherein the control unit controls the lifting mechanism such that the lower sealing member remains in the lower limit position until the lid member is removed from the side wall of the chamber so that an operator can access the internal space and perform maintenance work, and the lower sealing member moves to the retracted position after the removal of the lid member is complete.

8. A substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, The aforementioned gas supply unit has a circular gas outlet in a plan view when viewed vertically upward from the atmosphere separation mechanism side, in a substrate processing apparatus.

9. A substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, A first exhaust pipe for exhausting the aforementioned processing space, A second exhaust pipe for exhausting the space within the internal space other than the processing space, An exhaust section that exhausts the internal space via the first exhaust pipe and the second exhaust pipe, The system includes an exhaust flow rate adjustment unit that can adjust the ratio between a first exhaust flow rate discharged through the first exhaust piping and a second exhaust flow rate discharged through the second exhaust piping, The exhaust unit maintains a constant exhaust flow rate per unit time, A substrate processing apparatus comprising a control unit that controls the exhaust flow rate adjustment unit such that the ratio of the first exhaust flow rate increases when the lower sealing member is in the lower limit position, and the ratio of the second exhaust flow rate increases when the lower sealing member is in the retracted position.

10. A substrate processing method comprising supplying a processing liquid to a substrate while surrounding the outer circumference of a rotating substrate with a splash prevention mechanism in the internal space of a chamber in which gas is supplied through a first opening provided in the ceiling wall of the chamber, wherein the substrate is subjected to substrate processing, A first step involves lowering the lower sealing member to a predetermined lower limit position in the vertical direction, while overlapping the outer surface of the cylindrical lower sealing member with the inner surface of the cylindrical upper sealing member, which is attached to the ceiling wall from the internal space side so as to surround the entire first opening, thereby forming an atmosphere separation space that surrounds the space extending from the processing space enclosed by the scattering prevention mechanism toward the center of the first opening and is separated from the surroundings. The second step involves raising the lower sealing member to a retracted position vertically above the lower limit position, thereby eliminating the formation of the atmosphere separation space and creating a gap between the lower sealing member and the splash prevention mechanism in the vertical direction. The first step includes straightening the gas passing between the upper sealing member and the lower sealing member using an outer straightening member attached to the upper sealing member and circulating it downward along the outer surface of the lower sealing member, and straightening the gas passing inside the lower sealing member using an inner straightening member provided integrally and movably with the lower sealing member and circulating it into the processing space. The second step includes increasing the flow rate of the gas flowing downward along the outer surface of the lower sealing member compared to the first step, as the inner rectifier rises integrally with the lower sealing member. A substrate processing method characterized by the following:

11. A plurality of substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, The system includes an exhaust device that is connected in parallel to the plurality of substrate processing devices to simultaneously exhaust multiple internal spaces, Each of the aforementioned plurality of substrate processing devices is A first exhaust pipe connecting the processing space and the exhaust device, A second exhaust pipe connects the space other than the processing space within the internal space to the exhaust device, The system includes an exhaust flow rate adjustment unit that can adjust the ratio between a first exhaust flow rate discharged through the first exhaust piping and a second exhaust flow rate discharged through the second exhaust piping, A substrate processing system characterized in that the control unit controls the exhaust flow rate adjustment unit so that the exhaust flow rate per unit time from the internal space by the exhaust device remains constant, by increasing the ratio of the first exhaust flow rate when the lower sealing member is in the lower limit position, and increasing the ratio of the second exhaust flow rate when the lower sealing member is in the retracted position.

12. A plurality of substrate processing systems according to claim 11, The aforementioned plurality of substrate processing devices are arranged in a vertical stack, The exhaust device is positioned above the substrate processing apparatus, which is located at the highest point in the vertical direction, in a substrate processing system.

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