Substrate Processing Drain Switching for High-Purity Rinse Recovery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing substrate processing methods recover low-purity rinsing or drying liquids, which require further improvement to achieve high-purity recovery.
Innovation Solution
A substrate processing apparatus with a holding unit, processing cup, first and second supply units, and a drain unit connected via a line switch, incorporating measurement units to control the flow of liquids and switch between drain and recovery lines based on purity thresholds, ensuring high-purity recovery of rinse or drying liquids.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single drain system is used for both chemical liquid processing and pure water processing, then device complexity is reduced, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to inability to achieve efficient drainage and recovery separation
Solution Approach 1:
The drain system is segmented into separate drain lines for chemical liquid processing and pure water processing. This segmentation allows independent optimization of each drainage path, enabling efficient recovery of pure water while maintaining simple overall system structure through modular design.
2Manufacturing precision
If pure water processing is separated from chemical liquid processing, then manufacturing precision improves through efficient drainage and recovery, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The drain unit is designed with multi-functionality, serving both as a drainage system for chemical liquids and a recovery system for pure water. The line switch enables the same physical infrastructure to perform multiple functions, reducing the need for entirely separate systems while achieving efficient separation of drainage and recovery operations.
3Loss of substance
If low-purity rinse liquid is recovered, then loss of substance is reduced, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to impurity accumulation
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates a measurement unit that provides feedback on the purity of recovered liquid. Based on this feedback, the line switch dynamically adjusts the recovery process, ensuring that only liquid meeting purity standards is recovered. This closed-loop control prevents impurity accumulation while maximizing liquid recovery.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the operational parameters of the drain unit based on liquid purity requirements. The line switch adjusts flow rates, recovery timing, and routing decisions based on real-time purity measurements, enabling dynamic optimization of both recovery quantity and quality.
4Manufacturing precision
If high-purity recovery is implemented with measurement units and line switching, then manufacturing precision improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The measurement unit automatically monitors liquid purity and triggers the line switch to adjust recovery operations without external intervention. The system serves itself by using real-time measurements to autonomously control the recovery process, achieving high purity recovery while minimizing the need for complex external control mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
A substrate processing apparatus includes: a holding unit, a processing cup, a first supply unit, a second supply unit, a drain unit, and a first measurement unit. The holding unit holds a substrate. The processing cup is provided around the holding unit. The first supply unit supplies a chemical liquid to the substrate held by the holding unit. The second supply unit supplies a rinse liquid or a drying liquid to the substrate held by the holding unit. The drain unit is provided at the bottom of the processing cup, and is connected to a drain line and a recovery line via a line switch. The first measurement unit is provided in the drain unit, and measures the purity of the rinse liquid or the drying liquid.