Substrate Treatment Nozzle Guide Member for Stable Liquid Discharge
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Solution Overview
Problem
In substrate treatment devices, the beveling treatment for removing films from the peripheral end of semiconductor substrates faces challenges due to the small flow rate of treatment liquids, which are easily affected by air flow and static electricity, making it difficult to maintain a stable discharge state, especially with narrow nozzle-substrate gaps.
Innovation Solution
A substrate treatment device is designed with a camera positioned above the substrate to image the treatment liquid discharged from nozzles, allowing for accurate determination of the discharge state, and nozzles are arranged to avoid overlap in captured images, ensuring proper imaging and monitoring of the liquid column shape.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the treatment liquid flow rate is reduced for beveling treatment at the substrate end portion, then the treatment precision is improved, but the discharge state becomes unstable due to influence from air flow and static electricity
Solution Approach 1:
A guide member is introduced as an intermediary component between the discharge nozzle and the substrate. This guide member provides a physical structure that stabilizes the thin liquid column of treatment liquid, preventing it from being easily influenced by air flow and static electricity. The guide member acts as a mediator that maintains discharge stability while allowing the use of low flow rates for precise beveling treatment.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the physical parameters of the discharge system by introducing a guide member that modifies the liquid column characteristics. The guide member alters the flow dynamics, surface tension effects, and structural support parameters of the treatment liquid, enabling stable discharge at low flow rates that would otherwise be unstable.
2Manufacturing precision
If the gap between the discharge nozzle and substrate is narrowed for precise treatment, then the treatment precision is improved, but it becomes difficult to image the liquid-column shaped treatment liquid
Solution Approach 1:
The guide member serves as an optical intermediary that provides a reference structure for imaging. By placing the guide member in the gap between the nozzle and substrate, it creates visible reference points that help capture and analyze the liquid column shape, even when the gap is narrow. The guide member acts as a mediator that makes the invisible liquid column observable through its interaction with the imaging system.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide member introduces a spatial dimension to the imaging problem. By providing a three-dimensional reference structure within the narrow gap, it enables the imaging system to capture depth and position information that would otherwise be difficult to obtain when the gap is too narrow for direct liquid column observation.
3Productivity
If multiple nozzles are arranged close together for efficient substrate treatment, then the productivity is improved, but the nozzles overlap in captured images making it difficult to monitor individual discharge states
Solution Approach 1:
The guide member is divided into multiple segments, with each segment corresponding to a specific nozzle. This segmentation allows the imaging system to distinguish between individual nozzles and their respective liquid columns, even when the nozzles are arranged closely together. Each guide member segment acts as a visual marker that separates the monitoring zones for different nozzles, enabling precise discharge state measurement for each nozzle independently.
Solution Approach 2:
Each guide member segment provides localized quality control for its corresponding nozzle. The segmented structure creates distinct local regions in the imaging field, where each region is optimized for monitoring a specific nozzle's discharge state. This local quality approach allows multiple nozzles to be monitored simultaneously with the precision needed for each individual nozzle.
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 configuration enables stable and effective removal of unwanted substances from the substrate edges by maintaining a consistent treatment liquid discharge, improving the precision and reliability of the beveling treatment process.
Implementation Method 1
The treatment liquid arriving substantially at a center of the substrate from the discharge nozzle expands on the whole surface due to a centrifugal force accompanying the rotation of the substrate
Implementation Method 2
a camera that images an imaging region from an imaging position to acquire captured images, wherein the imaging region contains the treatment liquid discharged from the discharge port
Data Source
AI summary
A substrate treatment device is provided, including a substrate holding unit holding a substrate and rotating the substrate; plural nozzles each having a discharge port and discharging a treatment liquid from the discharge port at a treatment position; a camera imaging an imaging region from an imaging position to acquire captured images, the imaging region containing the treatment liquid discharged from the discharge port of each nozzle positioned at the treatment position, and the imaging position being above the substrate held on the substrate holding unit and in a plan view, the imaging position being positioned at a central side of the substrate with respect to the nozzles and at an upstream side in a rotation direction of the substrate holding unit with respect to the nozzles; and an image processing unit determining a discharge state of the treatment liquid based on the captured images.