Substrate Treating Nozzle Liquid Discharge and Radial Movement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current substrate cleaning and drying processes face challenges such as increased surface repellency of photosensitive films, bubble-induced liquid residue, and difficulty in forming and maintaining liquid layers, leading to inefficiencies and residue issues during the immersion exposure method.
Innovation Solution
A substrate treating method involving a nozzle that discharges processing liquid at a preset distance from the substrate's center, allowing it to converge into a single stream immediately, and moving the nozzle outward while continuously discharging, effectively preventing liquid residue and enhancing throughput by avoiding liquid layer formation on the substrate.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a liquid layer is formed on the entire substrate surface for cleaning, then cleaning coverage is improved, but liquid residue and minute droplet formation increase due to water-repellent surface properties
Solution Approach 1:
The liquid discharge is segmented into discrete droplets rather than forming a continuous liquid layer. The nozzle discharges liquid in controlled droplet form at specific positions, avoiding the formation of a complete liquid layer on the substrate surface, thereby preventing liquid residue while maintaining cleaning effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of applying liquid uniformly across the entire substrate surface, the invention applies liquid locally at specific positions where droplets are discharged. This localized approach ensures cleaning at necessary areas while avoiding unnecessary liquid accumulation on water-repellent surfaces.
2Manufacturing precision
If the nozzle moves from center to periphery while discharging liquid, then liquid layer formation is avoided, but liquid distribution uniformity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The nozzle operates in a periodic manner, moving between discharge positions and returning to the center position. This periodic action allows the nozzle to discharge liquid at multiple positions including the center, ensuring uniform liquid distribution while maintaining the benefit of avoiding complete liquid layer formation.
3Productivity
If high-speed liquid movement is used for cleaning, then cleaning efficiency is improved, but liquid layer formation becomes difficult due to surface repellency
Solution Approach 1:
The invention leverages the water-repellent property of the substrate surface rather than attempting to overcome it. By discharging liquid in controlled droplets, the liquid naturally adheres to the surface in discrete locations, and the water-repellent surface itself facilitates the droplet formation and distribution pattern desired for effective cleaning without complete liquid layer formation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method suppresses the formation of minute water droplets and liquid residue, improves substrate cleaning and drying efficiency, and reduces processing time, especially for substrates with high water-repellent surfaces, while maintaining a dried region within the processing liquid flow.
Implementation Method 1
the processing liquid flows so as for the processing liquid to converge into one stream immediately after the starting discharging the processing liquid
Implementation Method 2
a rotation speed of the substrate W is increased, whereby the substrate W becomes thick at a periphery edge of the substrate W and becomes thin at the center of the substrate W
Data Source
AI summary
A nozzle starts discharging a processing liquid while a spin chuck holds and rotates a substrate having a water-repellent film being formed on a surface thereof. The processing liquid is discharged to a position spaced away from the center of the substrate by a preset distance, and flows so as to converge into one stream on the substrate immediately after discharge of the processing liquid starts. This achieves suppression of the minute water droplets. Moreover, the nozzle is moved toward outside of the substrate while discharging the processing liquid successively. This allows entire flow of the processing liquid to move toward outside of the substrate while the processing liquid converging into one stream on the substrate is maintained. Here, inside the flow of the processing liquid is a dried region.