JP6534578B2 - Substrate processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus that processes a substrate by supplying a processing liquid to the substrate.

  Substrate processing equipment that processes substrates such as glass substrates for organic EL displays, glass substrates for liquid crystal displays, panel substrates for solar cells, glass substrates for plasma displays, glass substrates for photomasks, substrates for optical disks, semiconductor wafers, etc. Various processing liquids such as liquids such as processing liquids and gases such as inert gas are used. The processing liquid is controlled to be supplied by the opening and closing operation of the valve.

  In such a substrate processing apparatus, it is necessary to detect the leak of the processing liquid from the valve. Patent Document 1 discloses a substrate processing apparatus that detects the leakage of the processing liquid by a suck back method. In the substrate processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1, after the valve is closed, the suction operation of the processing liquid piping is performed by the suction device. And the structure which detects the leak of a process liquid is employ | adopted by whether the process liquid is detected with a liquid level sensor.

Patent No. 5030767

  In the substrate processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1, since it is necessary to execute the suction operation of the processing liquid piping when preventing the processing liquid from leaking, not only the time required for suction is required but also the processing liquid There is a problem that the processing liquid in the piping is wasted.

  On the other hand, in general, a flowmeter is often provided in such a processing liquid supply path, and it is not impossible to detect the leakage of the processing liquid using this flowmeter. However, in order to detect a slight leak of the processing solution, it is necessary to use an expensive flow meter capable of detecting a minute flow rate. In addition, when the treatment liquid is flowing a certain amount, it is possible to accurately detect the flow rate by the flow meter, but in the state where the flow of the treatment liquid is stopped, the flow meter erroneously detects May cause.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and has an object of providing a substrate processing apparatus capable of accurately detecting the leakage of a processing liquid while having a simple configuration.

The invention according to claim 1 is a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate by supplying the processing liquid to the substrate, and a nozzle for supplying the processing liquid to the substrate, a supply source of the processing liquid, and the above-mentioned. A conduit connecting the nozzle, an open / close valve disposed in the conduit, a liquid receiving portion disposed below the tip of the nozzle when the nozzle is on standby, and dripping on the liquid receiving portion Providing a drainage pipe having an inclined portion at least a part of which is inclined with respect to the vertical direction, and a sensor for detecting the treatment liquid in the inclination portion of the drainage pipe, for discharging the processing liquid; It features.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect , the inclined portion of the drainage pipe is formed of a translucent member, and the sensor has a light emitting portion and a light receiving portion. And the processing liquid flowing down the lower surface of the inner wall of the inclined portion is detected.

The invention according to claim 3 relates to the invention according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the liquid receiving portion discharges the processing liquid from the nozzle before supplying the processing liquid to the substrate. It is a pre-dispensing spot for receiving the processing liquid discharged from the nozzle.

The invention according to a fourth aspect is the invention according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein after the predetermined time has elapsed from the stop of the discharge of the processing liquid from the nozzle by closing the on-off valve. A control unit is provided to display a warning when the processing liquid is detected by the sensor.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, by detecting the processing liquid flowing down the inclined portion by the sensor, it is possible to accurately detect the leakage of the processing liquid with a simple configuration.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to reliably detect a small amount of processing liquid which gathers and flows down on the lower surface of the inner wall of the inclined portion.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the leakage of the processing liquid can be accurately detected by using the pot used for pre-dispensing.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, it is possible to accurately detect the leakage of the processing liquid after the discharge operation of the processing liquid is completed.

It is a schematic diagram for explaining the composition of the substrate processing device concerning this invention. It is a schematic diagram showing a drainage mechanism from a pre-dispensing spot 31 used for detecting a leak of treatment liquid together with the treatment liquid nozzle 15 and the like. It is a cross-sectional schematic which shows arrangement | positioning of a drainage pipe and a sensor. It is sectional drawing in the arrow part of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the main control systems in this substrate processing apparatus. FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing a drainage mechanism from a pre-dispensing spot 31 used for detecting the leakage of the treatment liquid, together with the treatment liquid nozzles 15, 16 and the like.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic view for explaining the configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention.

  The substrate processing apparatus is for processing the substrate 100 by supplying a processing solution to a circular substrate 100 such as a semiconductor wafer. The substrate processing apparatus includes a support pin 11 for supporting a substrate 100 at its edge, and a spin chuck 12 that rotates around an axis facing the substrate 100 along the vertical direction.

  The substrate processing apparatus also includes a processing liquid nozzle 15 for supplying a processing liquid to the substrate 100. The treatment liquid nozzle 15 is supported by a swing arm 14 connected to the rotation shaft 13, and swings around the rotation shaft 13 together with the swing arm 14. Further, the treatment liquid nozzle 15 is connected to the treatment liquid supply mechanism 20. The front end of the processing liquid nozzle 15 is moved along a circular arc-shaped locus including the rotation center and the edge of the substrate 100 held by the spin chuck 12 so that the entire surface of the substrate 100 is scanned while scanning the surface. It is possible to supply the processing solution to the

  The substrate processing apparatus also includes a pre-dispensing spot 31 for pre-dispensing the processing liquid in the processing liquid nozzle 15 before applying the processing liquid to the substrate 100. The pre-dispensing spot 31 is connected to a treatment liquid recovery unit (not shown) via a drainage pipe composed of a first downflow 32, an inclined portion 33 and a second downflow 34.

  The treatment liquid supply mechanism 20 includes a treatment liquid pipe 27 for feeding the treatment liquid from the treatment liquid tank 21 storing the treatment liquid to the treatment liquid nozzle 15. The processing liquid pipe 27 includes a pump 22 for pressure-feeding the processing liquid in the processing liquid tank 21, an open / close valve 23 for supplying and stopping the processing liquid, and the processing liquid supplied to the processing liquid nozzle 15. A flow control valve 24 and a flow meter 25 are provided to adjust the flow rate.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a drainage mechanism from the pre-dispensing spot 31 used for detecting the leakage of the treatment liquid, together with the treatment liquid nozzle 15 and the like. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the arrangement of the drainage pipe and the sensor. Furthermore, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the arrow portion of FIG. In FIG. 2, the flow control valve 24 and the flow meter 25 shown in FIG. 1 are not shown.

  The pre-dispensing spot 31 is used when pre-dispensing to discharge the old processing liquid remaining in the processing liquid nozzle 15 before applying the processing liquid to the substrate 100 held and rotated by the spin chuck 12. In order to prevent contamination of the processing liquid nozzle 15 and solidification of the processing liquid, the front end of the processing liquid nozzle 15 is accommodated when the processing liquid is not used for recovery of the processing liquid and the substrate 100 is not coated with the processing liquid. used. The substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention is configured to detect the leakage of the processing liquid by monitoring the dropping of the processing liquid onto the pre-dispensing spot 31.

  At a lower end portion of the pre-dispensing spot 31, a first flowing portion 32 directed in the vertical direction, an inclined portion 33 inclined with respect to the vertical direction, and a vertical direction for recovering the treatment liquid dropped onto the pre-dispensing spot 31 A drainage pipe is connected, consisting of a second flow lower 34 pointing in the direction. The drain pipe is at least partially made of a translucent resin or the like including the inclined portion 33, and is connected to a processing liquid collecting portion (not shown).

  A sensor 53 (see FIG. 5 described later) including a light emitting unit 51 and a light receiving unit 52 is disposed on both sides of the inclined portion 33 in the drainage pipe. Among the sensors 53, the light projecting unit 51 is disposed at a position directly below the inclined portion 33 in the drainage pipe in a state of emitting detection light toward the center of the inclined portion 33. Further, the light receiving unit 52 is disposed at a position facing the light emitting unit 51 with respect to the inclined unit 33.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a main control system in this substrate processing apparatus. In addition, in this figure, only the control system which concerns on a leak detection is mainly shown.

  The substrate processing apparatus includes a CPU that executes a logical operation, a ROM that stores an operation program required to control the apparatus, a RAM that temporarily stores data etc. during control, and a control unit that controls the entire apparatus. 50 is provided. The control unit 50 is connected to a nozzle drive unit 19 including a motor or the like for moving the treatment liquid nozzle 15. The control unit 50 is connected to the above-described open / close valve 23 and the sensor 53 including the light emitting unit 51 and the light receiving unit 52. Furthermore, the control unit 50 is also connected to a warning display unit 59 that generates a warning display and a warning sound.

  When the processing liquid is supplied to the substrate 100 by the substrate processing apparatus having the above configuration, pre-dispensing is first performed. At this time, after the on-off valve 23 is opened under the control of the control unit 50 and a predetermined amount of treatment liquid is discharged from the treatment liquid nozzle 15, the on-off valve 23 is closed to stop the discharge of the treatment liquid. The treatment liquid discharged from the treatment liquid nozzle 15 is collected by the pre-dispensing spot 31 and is not shown in the drawing via a drainage pipe composed of the first flow lower portion 32, the inclined portion 33 and the second flow lower portion 34. It is collected in the liquid collection unit. At this time, the sensor 53 including the light emitting unit 51 and the light receiving unit 52 detects the treatment liquid flowing down the inclined portion 33 as in the case of the treatment liquid leakage described later, but the control unit 50 operates normally. I will judge.

  Subsequently, the nozzle drive unit 19 is controlled by the control of the control unit 50 to move the processing solution nozzle 15 to a position facing the surface of the substrate 100 supported by the spin chuck 12 and rotating. Then, the on-off valve 23 is opened to supply the processing liquid to the surface of the substrate 100. When the processing on the substrate 100 is completed, the control unit 50 controls the control valve 50 to close the on-off valve 23 to end the discharge of the processing liquid, and the processing liquid nozzle 15 has a standby position where the tip thereof faces the pre-dispensing spot 31 Move to

  In this state, the sensor 53 monitors the leakage of the processing liquid by the on-off valve 23. At this time, the light emitted from the light emitting unit 51 in the sensor 53 is received by the light receiving unit 52. When the treatment liquid leaks at the open / close valve 23, the treatment liquid is dropped onto the pre-dispensed spot 31 via the treatment liquid pipe 27 and the treatment liquid nozzle 15. Then, the treatment liquid drips from the pre-dispensing spot 31 into the first flow lower portion 32 in the drainage pipe. At this time, since the treatment liquid due to leakage is a very small amount, as indicated by a symbol D1 in FIG. 3, the treatment liquid adheres to any wall surface of the first flow lower portion 32 and flows down, or the first flow lower portion Drop in the inside of 32.

  Then, the treatment liquid reaches the inclined portion 33 in the drainage pipe. Since the inclined portion 33 is inclined with respect to the vertical direction, the treatment liquid dropped on the inclined portion 33 moves to the lower region of the inner peripheral surface of the inclined portion 33. Then, as indicated by symbol D2 in FIG. 3, the processing liquid flows as a liquid and flows down the lower region of the inner circumferential surface of the inclined portion 33. The flow velocity of the treatment liquid at this time is a slow velocity because the inclined portion 33 is inclined with respect to the vertical direction.

  The amount of light emitted from the light emitting unit 51 in the sensor 53 changes due to blocking, reflection, refraction, or the like by the treatment liquid D2 flowing down the inner peripheral surface of the inclined portion 33. A change in the light amount is detected by the light receiving unit 52. At this time, as described above, since the inclined portion 33 in the drainage pipe is inclined with respect to the vertical direction, the flow-down speed of the treatment liquid D2 is low. Then, the treatment liquid D2 gathers in the lower region of the inner circumferential surface of the inclined portion 33 (see FIG. 4), and as described above, the light emitting unit 51 inclines to a position directly below the inclined portion 33. It is disposed in a state of emitting detection light toward the center of the unit 33. Therefore, even if the amount of the treatment liquid D2 is small, the sensor 53 including the light emitting unit 51 and the light receiving unit 52 can reliably detect the treatment liquid.

  When the control unit 50 detects the treatment liquid by the sensor 53 after the control unit 50 closes the on-off valve 23 and a predetermined time has elapsed from the stop of the discharge of the treatment liquid from the treatment liquid nozzle 15, the warning display unit 59 Send a signal for warning display. The warning display unit 59 generates a warning display on a display or the like and a warning sound.

  The treatment liquid D2 having passed through the inclined portion 33 in the drainage pipe flows up along the inner peripheral surface of the second flow lower portion 34 and flows downward, as indicated by symbol D3 in FIG. Discharged to the

  Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing the drainage mechanism from the pre-dispensing spot 31 used for detecting the leakage of the treatment liquid, together with the treatment liquid nozzles 15 and 16 and the like. In addition, about the member similar to 1st Embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

  In the first embodiment described above, a configuration is employed in which the leakage of the processing liquid from the single processing liquid nozzle 15 whose supply of the processing liquid is controlled by the on-off valve 23 is detected through the pre-dispensing spot 31. There is. On the other hand, in the substrate processing apparatus according to the second embodiment, not only the processing liquid nozzle 15 but also the processing liquid leaking from the processing liquid nozzle 16 whose supply of the processing liquid is controlled by the on-off valve 28 is , And is detected through the pre-dispensing spot 31.

  In this embodiment, the control unit 50 closes the on-off valve 23 and after a predetermined time has elapsed from the stop of discharge of the processing liquid from the processing liquid nozzle 15, and closes the on-off valve 28 to process the processing liquid. When a predetermined amount of time has elapsed since the discharge of the treatment liquid from the nozzle 16 has been stopped, when the treatment liquid is detected by the sensor 53, a signal for displaying a warning is sent to the warning display unit 59. The warning display unit 59 generates a warning display on a display or the like and a warning sound.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, the processing liquid collected in the pre-dispensed spot 31 is detected by the sensor 53 to detect the leakage of the processing liquid, but a standby state different from the pre-dispensed spot 31 is used. The processing solution nozzles 15 and 16 may be kept on standby in the unit, and the processing solution may be detected through these waiting units to detect the leakage of the processing solution.

  Further, in the embodiment described above, as shown in FIG. 4, of the sensors 53, the light projecting unit 51 is disposed at a position directly below the inclined portion 33 in the drainage pipe, and the light receiving unit 52 is projected. However, the light receiving unit 52 may be disposed at a position directly below the inclined portion 33, and the light emitting unit 51 may be disposed at a position facing the light receiving unit 52. Further, the optical path of the sensor 53 for detecting the treatment liquid D2 shown in FIG. 4 is not limited to such an arrangement, and a direction (for example, orthogonal to the detection of the treatment liquid D2 flowing down the inclined portion 33). The light emitting unit 51 and the light receiving unit 52 may be arranged to be formed in the

  Further, although the optical sensor 53 is used in each of the embodiments described above, a capacitance sensor that detects the capacitance of the processing liquid, a heat sensor that detects the heat of the processing liquid, etc. Other sensors may be used.

  Furthermore, in the embodiment described above, although the treatment liquid flowing down the inclined portion 33 in the drainage pipe is detected by the sensor 53, a configuration is employed in which the treatment liquid flowing down the inclined portion having a shape other than a tubular shape is employed. You may

12 spin chuck 15 treatment solution nozzle 16 treatment solution nozzle 19 nozzle drive unit 20 treatment solution supply mechanism 21 treatment solution tank 22 pump 23 opening and closing valve 27 treatment solution piping 31 pre-dispense spot 32 first flow lower portion 33 inclined portion 34 second flow lower portion Reference Signs List 50 control unit 51 light emitting unit 52 light receiving unit 53 sensor 59 warning display unit 100 substrate

Claims (4)

A substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate by supplying a processing liquid to the substrate, the substrate processing apparatus comprising:
A nozzle for supplying a processing solution to the substrate;
A pipe connecting a supply source of the processing liquid and the nozzle;
An on-off valve disposed in the pipe;
A liquid receiving portion disposed below the tip of the nozzle when the nozzle is on standby;
A drain pipe having an inclined portion at least a part of which is inclined with respect to the vertical direction for discharging the processing liquid dropped to the liquid receiving portion;
A sensor for detecting a treatment liquid in the inclined portion of the drainage pipe ;
A substrate processing apparatus comprising: In the substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 ,
The inclined portion of the drainage tube is made of a translucent member, and
The sensor includes a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit, and detects a processing liquid flowing down a lower surface of an inner wall of the inclined portion. In the substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 ,
The liquid processing unit is a substrate processing apparatus that is a pre-dispensing spot for receiving the processing liquid discharged from the nozzle at the time of pre-dispensing discharging the processing liquid from the nozzle before supplying the processing liquid to the substrate. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3 .
A substrate processing apparatus comprising: a control unit that displays a warning when the processing liquid is detected by the sensor after a predetermined time has elapsed from stopping the discharge of the processing liquid from the nozzle by closing the on-off valve.

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