Substrate Guard Height Switching for Clean Chemical Recovery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing substrate processing methods face challenges in effectively removing foreign substances, such as contaminants and resist residues, from the inner wall of the guard in substrate processing apparatuses, leading to potential contamination of chemical liquids during reuse.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that involve positioning a guard to alternate heights to capture and wash away chemical liquids with and without foreign substances, ensuring thorough removal of residues before switching to a new guard, thereby preventing contamination and optimizing processing time.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a single guard is used to capture chemical liquid throughout the entire processing cycle, then the structure is simple, but foreign substances cannot be removed from the guard inner wall, leading to contamination of recovered chemical liquid
Solution Approach 1:
The processing cycle is segmented into distinct phases: a first period where the guard captures chemical liquid containing foreign substances, and a second period where the guard captures chemical liquid without foreign substances. This temporal segmentation allows the same guard to serve different functions at different times, enabling foreign substance removal while maintaining structural simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary action by capturing and removing foreign substances from the guard inner wall during the first period before the chemical liquid recovery process begins in the second period. This ensures that the guard is clean before clean chemical liquid is captured, preventing contamination.
2Reliability
If the guard is cleaned by changing rinse liquid scattering direction, then foreign substances can be removed, but this requires additional cleaning steps that increase processing time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the foreign substance removal function with the existing rinse liquid scattering process. By utilizing the rinse liquid that is already being scattered during substrate processing, the system removes foreign substances without requiring separate cleaning steps, thus eliminating additional processing time while achieving effective foreign substance removal.
Solution Approach 2:
The rinse liquid, which is already part of the processing cycle, serves a dual function: it rinses the substrate and simultaneously removes foreign substances from the guard inner wall. This self-service approach eliminates the need for dedicated cleaning mechanisms or additional cleaning steps.
3Productivity
If chemical liquid is continuously recovered without removing foreign substances, then processing efficiency is high, but foreign substances contaminate the recovered chemical liquid, reducing quality
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the guard's function based on the processing stage. During the first period, the guard is configured to remove foreign substances; during the second period, it is configured to capture and recover clean chemical liquid. This dynamic adaptation allows continuous processing while maintaining chemical liquid quality, resolving the contradiction between productivity and reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
A substrate processing method includes a substrate holding step of holding a substrate in a horizontal attitude, a chemical liquid supply step of supplying a chemical liquid to a main surface of the substrate while rotating the substrate around a vertical rotational axis that passes through a central portion of the substrate, a processing-height maintaining step of maintaining a cylindrical first guard that captures a chemical liquid expelled from the substrate at a processing height position in parallel with the chemical liquid supply step, and a cleaning-height maintaining step of maintaining the first guard at a cleaning height position set below the processing height position in parallel with the chemical liquid supply step after the processing-height maintaining step.