JPH0799177A - Immersion treatment apparatus for substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the running costs of an immersion treatment apparatus by preventing a substrate treatment apparatus for the surface treatment of a semiconductor substrate or the like from becoming large-sized and by suppressing the consumption amount of a treatment liquid. CONSTITUTION:A liquid discharge passage 42 which is drawn out from an overflow-type substrate treatment tank 1 is branched, one part is connected to a drain 43 via a liquid discharge valve 47, and the other part is connected to a treatment-liquid storage container 6 via a treatment-liquid collection valve 44 as a treatment-liquid collection passage. Whenever, surface treatments with a plurality of kinds of treatment liquids are conducted, a treatment liquid which has overflowed from the substrate treatment tank 1 is collected in the storage container 6 via the treatment-liquid collection valve 44, and it is circulated again to the substrate treatment tank 1 so as to be reused.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to immersion of a substrate used for surface-treating a thin substrate (hereinafter simply referred to as a substrate) such as a semiconductor wafer or a glass substrate for liquid crystal in an immersion treatment section of a substrate processing apparatus. Regarding a processing device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG. 19, for example, is shown in FIG. 20, and a substrate immersion processing apparatus used in the immersion processing section 165 is shown in FIG.
21 (hereinafter referred to as conventional example 1) or the one disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-42531 and shown in FIG. 21 (hereinafter referred to as conventional example 2) is known. Here, FIG. 19 is a plan view of the entire substrate processing apparatus.

As shown in FIG. 19, this substrate processing apparatus 150 has a loading section 151 for a cassette C containing a substrate W.
And a substrate take-out section 160 for taking out the substrate W from the cassette C
A substrate transfer robot 175 that collectively holds and transfers a plurality of substrates W, a chuck cleaning unit 163 that cleans a chuck hand of the substrate transfer robot 175, and the robot 1
A plurality of dipping processing units 165 that dip and sequentially process the plurality of substrates W held at 75, a drying unit 170 disposed on the rear side of the dipping processing unit 165, and the processed substrates W are stored in the cassette C. And a carry-out section 152 for carrying out the cassette C containing the substrate W.

The dipping treatment unit 165 is provided with a dipping treatment device as shown in FIGS. 20 (A) and 20 (B), for example.
It is configured to perform various surface treatments. Figure 20
FIG. 20A shows a substrate dipping treatment apparatus for performing surface treatment (hereinafter referred to as chemical treatment) on a substrate W with a plurality of types of treatment liquids, and FIG. 20B shows a rinse treatment of the substrate W with pure water D _W. This is an immersion treatment device for performing (hereinafter referred to as pure water treatment). These immersion treatment devices are the same as the immersion treatment unit 165.
It is appropriately arranged in any of (165a to 165f).

The immersion processing apparatus shown in FIG. 20A includes an overflow type substrate processing bath 101a for immersing a substrate W in a processing liquid for surface treatment, and a processing liquid supply path 107 connected to the substrate processing bath 101a. The processing liquid storage container 106 communicating with the processing liquid supply passage 107 through the processing liquid introduction valve 108, the filter 110, and the pressure feed pump 115 in order, and the processing liquid overflowing from the substrate processing bath 101a is collected in the processing liquid storage container 106. Recovery passage 142a and processing liquid supply passage 1
07 is provided with a supply / exhaust switching valve 113a that opens and closes the recovery passage 142a, and is configured to return the processing liquid overflowing from the substrate processing bath 101a to the processing liquid storage container 6 during the chemical liquid processing. There is.

Further, the immersion treatment apparatus of FIG. 20 (B) has an overflow type substrate cleaning tank 101b and a substrate cleaning tank 10
Pure water supply path 103 connected to 1b and pure water supply path 103
A pure water introduction valve 127, a drain passage 142b for leading the pure water overflowing from the substrate cleaning tank 101b to a drain drain 143, a pure water supply passage 103 and a drain passage 142b.
And a supply / exhaust switching valve 113b that communicates with each other in an openable / closable manner, and is configured to discharge the drainage overflowing from the substrate cleaning tank 101b to the drain 143 during pure water treatment.

On the other hand, in the conventional example 2, as shown in FIG. 21, the surface treatment of the substrate W is performed by successively supplying a plurality of types of treatment liquids 102 into a single substrate treatment bath 101. That is, the overflow-type substrate processing bath 1 in which a plurality of substrates W are immersed in the processing liquid 102 for surface treatment of the substrates W
01 and a plurality of types of processing liquids 1 from the bottom of the substrate processing bath 101.
02, a processing liquid supply path 103, and a processing liquid supply path 1
Each 03 process liquid inlet valve 108 _A -108 _C and flow controllers 107 _A to 107 and a plurality of the processing liquid storage container 106 _A - 106 _C which communicates via a _C, pure water introducing valve 108 _D and a flow regulator Pure water supply source 10 connected via 107 _D
Includes a 6 _D, and is configured with the inlet valve 108 _A -108 _D selectively open and close controlled to a predetermined processing liquid Q _A to Q _C to supply to the substrate processing chamber 101.

[0008] Among the above-described processing liquid storage container 106 _A - 106 _C, for example, the processing liquid storage container 106 _A hydrogen peroxide Q _A,
The 106 _B in hydrochloric Q _B, 106 _C such etchants Q _C, such as hydrogen fluoride are reservoir. The substrate processing bath 101 is provided with the treatment liquid 10 for each of these plural types of surface treatments.
It is configured as an overflow type processing tank capable of replacing 2 and the overflowed processing solution is discharged to a drain (not shown).

[0009]

The substrate processing apparatus 15 described above.
No. 0 has the drawback that the size of the entire apparatus increases because the immersion processing apparatuses of FIGS. 20 (A) and 20 (B) are arranged in each of the immersion processing units 165a to 165f. In addition, conventional example 2
Is a substrate processing bath 10 for each chemical treatment with a plurality of treatment liquids.
Since the processing liquid overflowing from No. 1 is discarded in the drain, the consumption amount of the processing liquid increases and the running cost of the entire substrate processing apparatus becomes expensive. The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and it is a technical object to prevent the substrate processing apparatus from increasing in size and reduce the running cost.

[0010]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is configured as follows. According to a first aspect of the present invention, an overflow type substrate processing bath for surface-treating a substrate by immersing the substrate in the processing liquid, a processing liquid supply passage connected to the substrate processing bath, and a processing liquid supply passage are processed. A treatment liquid storage container that communicates with the liquid introduction valve and the pressure pump in this order, a pure water supply passage that communicates with the treatment liquid supply passage through a pure water introduction valve, and a drainage liquid that overflows from the substrate treatment tank is discharged. In a substrate immersion processing apparatus comprising a drainage channel leading to a liquid drain, the drainage channel is branched so that one communicates with the drainage drain via a drain valve and the other recovers the treatment liquid. A passage is communicated with the treatment liquid storage container via a treatment liquid recovery valve, and the treatment liquid overflowed during the chemical treatment is recovered and returned to the substrate treatment tank.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the immersion treatment apparatus according to the first aspect, a filter is attached between the pressure feed pump and the treatment liquid introduction valve in the treatment liquid supply path, and the filter is provided downstream of the treatment liquid introduction valve. Side is connected to the deionized water supply path, the treatment liquid supply path is connected between the pressure feed pump and the deionized water supply path connection part to the treatment liquid recovery path, and the treatment liquid pumped up by the pressure feed pump during deionized water treatment is treated liquid. The liquid is circulated through the recovery passage and is returned to the treatment liquid storage container.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the immersion treatment apparatus according to the second aspect, the treatment liquid is recovered at the time of chemical treatment by connecting the treatment liquid supply passage upstream of the pressure feed pump and the treatment liquid recovery passage. The liquid is circulated from the channel to the processing liquid supply channel and is returned to the substrate processing bath.

The invention of claim 4 is the invention of claim 2 or claim 3.
In the immersion treatment apparatus described in (1), a heating means for heating the treatment liquid is provided in a part of the treatment liquid circulation path including the treatment liquid storage container, which is formed during the pure water treatment.

The invention of claim 5 is the invention of claims 1 to 4.
In the immersion treatment apparatus according to any one of the above, a plurality of treatment liquid storage containers are switchably connected to the treatment liquid supply passage via a treatment liquid selection valve, and the treatment liquid recovery passage is connected to the treatment liquid return passage via a treatment liquid return selection valve. A plurality of processing liquid storage containers are switchably connected. In addition, the invention of claim 5 includes one in which a plurality of processing liquid storage containers are switchably connected to a plurality of substrate processing baths.

[0015]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the pure water supply passage is connected to the treatment liquid supply passage to the substrate treatment tank through the pure water introduction valve, the chemical treatment and the pure water treatment are performed by one substrate treatment tank. Will be sequentially executed. In addition, while branching the drainage path, one of them is connected to a drainage drain through a drainage valve,
Since the other one communicates with the processing liquid storage container via the processing liquid recovery valve as a processing liquid recovery path, the processing liquid overflowing from the substrate processing tank is recovered via the processing liquid recovery path and the processing liquid recovery valve, It is returned to the substrate processing tank again. That is, the processing liquid is reused without being discarded.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the immersion treatment apparatus of the first aspect, a filter is attached between the pressure feed pump and the treatment liquid introduction valve in the treatment liquid supply path, and the filter is provided downstream of the treatment liquid introduction valve. Since the pure water supply path is communicated and the pressure feed pump of the processing solution supply path and the pure water supply path connecting portion are connected to the processing solution recovery path, during the chemical solution processing and the pure water processing, The processing liquid is refreshed by filtering. That is, when the chemical liquid treatment is performed, the treatment liquid is refreshed by the filter in the treatment liquid supply path (hereinafter simply referred to as filtering). Further, even in the case of performing pure water treatment, the treatment liquid pumped up from the treatment liquid storage container by the pressure feed pump flows down the treatment liquid recovery passage after being filtered and then flows back to the treatment liquid storage container again.

According to the third aspect of the invention, in the immersion treatment apparatus according to the second aspect, since the upstream side of the pressure feed pump of the treatment liquid supply passage and the treatment liquid recovery passage are connected to each other, the following operation is achieved. In the case where chemical treatment is performed, the treatment liquid overflowing from the substrate treatment tank flows down the treatment liquid recovery passage, then flows into the treatment liquid supply passage without passing through the treatment liquid storage container, is pumped by the pressure feed pump, and is again fed. Return to the substrate processing tank. In other words, when the chemical solution is processed, the processing solution is sucked by the pressure pump and flows down the processing solution recovery path. Therefore, even if the processing solution recovery path has the same pipe diameter, it simply flows down. The flow rate of the processing liquid flowing down is much higher than that of the above.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, in the immersion treatment apparatus of the third aspect, a heating means for heating the treatment liquid is provided in a part of the treatment liquid circulation path including the treatment liquid storage container, which is formed during the pure water treatment. Therefore, it works as follows. In the standby state where the pure water treatment is performed, the treatment liquid pumped up from the treatment liquid storage container by the pressure pump and returned to the treatment liquid storage container again is heated by the heating means and maintained at a predetermined treatment temperature. For example, when performing a chemical treatment at a high temperature, there is no need to wait for the temperature of the treatment liquid to rise,
It is possible to immediately shift from pure water treatment to chemical treatment.

According to a fifth aspect of the invention, in the immersion treatment apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, a plurality of treatment liquid storage containers can be switched to the treatment liquid supply passage via a treatment liquid selection valve. Since the plurality of processing liquid storage containers are connected to the processing liquid recovery path via the processing liquid return selection valve so as to be switchable, the following operation is achieved. By selecting and connecting an arbitrary processing liquid storage container to at least one substrate processing tank via the processing liquid selection valve, a plurality of chemical solutions can be processed in a single substrate processing tank. In that case, the processing liquid overflowing from the substrate processing bath is collected in each processing liquid storage container for each selected processing liquid.

[0020]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, a substrate processing apparatus for cleaning a substrate to which the present invention is applied will be described. 16 is a schematic perspective view of the substrate processing apparatus, FIG. 17 is a schematic plan view of the apparatus, and FIG. 18 is a schematic vertical sectional view of the apparatus. In the substrate processing apparatus 50, a plurality of substrate processing tanks 1 are arranged in parallel in a dipping processing unit 65 described later to clean semiconductor wafers (hereinafter simply referred to as wafers), and a cleaning liquid overflowing from the substrate processing tank 1 (hereinafter The treatment liquid is simply collected in the treatment liquid storage container 6 and can be recycled.

As shown in FIGS. 16 to 18, this substrate processing apparatus 50 has a loading / unloading section 51 for a substrate accommodating cassette C.
And take out the wafer W from the cassette C or the cassette C
A substrate transfer section 60 for loading the wafer W therein and a cassette C
The cassette C is provided between the loading / unloading unit 51 and the substrate transfer unit 60.
A cassette transfer robot 55 for transferring a plurality of wafers W, an immersion processing unit 65 for cleaning a plurality of wafers W at a time, a liquid draining substrate drying unit 70 for the wafers W, and a plurality of substrates taken out of the cassette C by a substrate transfer unit 60. And a substrate transfer robot 75 that transfers the wafers W to the immersion processing section 65 and the substrate drying section 70.

The cassette transfer robot 55 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 18, the cassette C, which is configured to be movable up and down and rotatable and movable in the arrow A direction, is loaded into the loading / unloading unit 51 and transferred onto the table 61 of the substrate transfer unit 60. Further, the cassette C accommodating the cleaned wafer W is transferred from the table 61 to the loading / unloading section 51. In addition, the substrate transfer robot 75 is shown in FIG.
6 to 18, a plurality of wafers W, which are movably provided in the direction of arrow B and received from the lifter 64 of the substrate transfer unit 60, are held and moved by the substrate holding arm 76 of the substrate transfer robot 75. Immersion treatment unit 65 along the portion 77
It is configured to be sequentially transported into the inside and the substrate drying unit 70.

The immersion treatment section 65 is provided with various immersion treatment apparatuses according to the present invention as described below.
However, in FIG. 16 to FIG.
The ones arranged side by side are illustrated. That is, the immersion processing unit 65 is formed by arranging three overflow type substrate processing tanks 1 in parallel, and receives them from the substrate transfer robot 75 by the substrate holders 66 that can be moved up and down in each substrate processing tank 1. A plurality of wafers W can be sequentially dipped in each substrate processing bath 1. The specific contents of the immersion treatment apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described later.

The substrate drying unit 70 has a rotation center near the center of the main plane of the wafer W as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-255227 proposed by the present applicant.
It is provided with a drying treatment tank 71 for draining and drying with a rotating centrifugal force. It should be noted that the substrate drying unit 70 may accelerate the drying by using a drying method using an organic solvent or the like, or a heating steam or reduced pressure drying method in addition to the centrifugal type. .

As for the layout of the substrate processing apparatus 50, as shown in FIGS. 16 to 18, the loading / unloading section 51 of the cassette C from the front facing the clean room work area 30 to the rear facing the maintenance work area 31. , Substrate transfer section 6
0, the substrate drying unit 70, and the immersion processing unit 65 are sequentially arranged. Further, as shown in FIGS. 16 and 18, the processing liquid supply / discharge piping chamber 20 is provided below the three substrate processing baths 1 of the immersion processing unit 65, and the processing liquid supply / discharge piping chamber 20 is provided at the lower portion. The processing liquid storage containers 6 for cleaning are arranged in upper and lower three stages. Further, as shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, the substrate transfer section 6 is
0, the substrate drying section 70, the moving section 77 of the substrate transfer robot 75 is formed in the front-back direction on the right side of the immersion processing section 65, and the space behind these substrate transfer sections 60 is maintained in these left spaces. The space 90 is formed. A plurality of pipes, valves, etc. are laid on the floor of the maintenance space 90.

That is, in the substrate processing apparatus 50, the substrate processing tank 1 of the dipping processing unit 65, the supply / discharge piping chamber 20, and the processing liquid storage container 6 are stacked vertically in three stages and laid out vertically. The maintenance space 90 can be secured in the area facing the left side of these stacked parts. In other words, as shown in FIG. 17, various work blocks such as the immersion processing unit 65 and the substrate transfer unit 60 are put together in an L shape in a plan view, so that the excess space in the substrate processing apparatus 50 can be maintained and maintained. It can be set as a space 90. Further, by mainly stacking the dipping processing units 65 in the vertical direction, the whole substrate processing apparatus 50 can be compactly assembled to efficiently save space in the entire clean room, and as the number of the substrate processing apparatuses 50 installed increases, The effective utilization rate of the space in the clean room can be further increased.

Further, the substrate processing tank 1 of the dipping processing unit 65.
16 to FIG. 18 in the layout of the substrate drying unit 70.
As shown in FIG. 3, three overflow type substrate processing tanks 1, a drying processing unit 70, and the substrate transfer unit 60 are provided from the back side facing the maintenance work area 31 to the front side facing the clean room work area 30. Arrange in order. That is, since the substrate drying unit 70 is disposed between the immersion processing unit 65 and the substrate transfer unit 60, the cleaned wafer W is dried as quickly as possible, returned to the cassette C, and transferred from the carry-in / carry-out unit 51. It can be carried out efficiently. On the other hand, this substrate drying step is not strongly restricted by the time required for returning to the cassette C, and a waiting time can be taken between the completion of the drying process and the returning to the substrate transfer section 60. Adjacent substrate transfer section 60
On the other hand, the drying processing unit 70 can play a role of a buffer.

In addition, since the temperature-increased acid is usually used in the acid cleaning process, acid vapor or mist is likely to be generated. For example, in the substrate processing tank 1 on the far side farthest from the clean room work area 30, When carrying out the acid cleaning treatment, it is possible to prevent the adverse effect on the clean room work area 30 and ensure the work safety. Hereinafter, examples of various immersion treatment devices arranged in the immersion treatment unit 65 will be sequentially described.

FIG. 1 is a schematic system diagram of an immersion treatment apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, this immersion processing apparatus includes three substrate processing tanks 1.1.1.1 for collectively cleaning a surface of a substrate W by immersing a plurality of substrates W in a processing solution.
A processing liquid supply path 7 for supplying a processing liquid from the lower portion of each substrate processing tank 1, and a processing liquid storage container 6 communicating with the processing liquid supply path 7 through a processing liquid introduction valve 8 and a pressure pump 15 in order.
It is provided with a pure water supply passage 3 communicating with the treatment liquid supply passage 7 via a pure water introduction valve 27, and a drainage passage 42 for leading out the drainage overflowed from the substrate processing bath 1 to a drainage drain 43. . That is, in each substrate processing tank 1, a predetermined processing liquid Q _A
Chemical process described later by Q _C is performed separately.

The substrate processing bath 1 is, as shown in FIG.
It is made of quartz glass and is formed into a substantially V shape in a side view and a substantially rectangular shape in a plan view, and a processing liquid supply path 7 is connected to the lower part thereof to form a uniform upward flow of the processing liquid in the substrate processing bath 1. The substrate W is subjected to the surface treatment by the surface treatment, and the treatment liquid is configured as an overflow tank capable of being rapidly replaced for each cleaning treatment of a plurality of types. The substrate processing tank 1 is not limited to quartz glass, and for example, when HF or the like that corrodes quartz glass is used as the cleaning liquid, it may be formed of a resin material such as tetrafluoroethylene resin having corrosion resistance. good. Further, four or more overflow type substrate processing baths 1 may be arranged in parallel in the immersion processing section 65.

As shown in FIG. 1, the structure for supplying the processing liquid is a processing liquid supply passage 7 connected in parallel to the lower portion of each substrate processing tank 1 and a processing liquid introduction valve in the processing liquid supply passage 7. 8 and the processing liquid storage container 6 connected via the pressure feed pump 15,
The treatment liquid supply passage 7 is provided with a pure water supply passage 3 and a pure water supply source (not shown) which are connected to each other via a pure water introduction valve 27. The pure water supply passage 3 serves as a main passage of pure water for supplying the pure water D _W that has been heated to room temperature or a predetermined temperature.
The pure water D _W is preferably deoxidized in order to prevent surface oxidation of the substrate.

When the processing liquid introduction valve 8 is opened, the processing liquid in the processing liquid storage container 6 is pumped by the pump 15 to the substrate processing tank 1.
And is overflowed from the substrate processing bath 1 to perform chemical treatment. Further, when the pure water introduction valve 27 is opened, pure water D _W is supplied from the pure water supply path 3 to the substrate processing bath 1 and overflows to perform pure water processing. That is,
Treatment solution selectively suppliable configured with switching operation of the inlet valve 8 and pure water introducing valve 27 processing liquid Q _A to Q _C and pure water D _W to the processing liquid supply path 7. Note that the processing liquid storage container 6, the process liquid Q _A to Q _C is configured to be automatically refilled.

The configuration for discharging the processing liquid Q _A to Q _C, as shown in FIG. 1, an overflow liquid recovery section 41 which is attached to the upper portion of each substrate treatment tank 1, to discharge the processing liquid overflowing It is provided with a drainage passage 42 and a communication passage 4 leading from the bottom portion of the substrate processing tank 1 to the drainage passage 42 via the supply / discharge switching valve 13. The lower flow side of the drainage passage 42 is branched into a bifurcated shape, one of which is connected to the drainage drain 43 via a drainage valve 47, and the other is connected to the treatment liquid recovery passage 22.
Via the treatment liquid recovery valve 44 as the treatment liquid storage container 6
Connect to. Note that the supply and discharge switching valve 13 is used to derive the respective processing solution Q _A to Q _C of the substrate processing bath 1 to the drains 42 if required.

In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a processing liquid supply passage 7 led out from each processing liquid storage container 6 is connected to a lower portion of each substrate processing tank 1 through a processing liquid introduction valve 8. are, predetermined processing solution Q _a to Q _C are respectively supplied from the process liquid storing container 6 to each substrate treatment tank 1. Further, a pure water supply passage 3 is connected to a lower portion of each substrate processing tank 1 via a pure water introduction valve 27, and pure water D _W can be supplied to each substrate processing tank 1. Then, the downstream side of the drainage path 42 led out from the upper part of the substrate processing tank 1 is communicated with the side of the treatment liquid storage container 6 which is communicated with via the treatment liquid recovery valve 44 via a drainage valve 47. It is branched in two directions with respect to the drainage drain 43 side. Therefore, when the described processing solution Q _A in FIG. 1, the processing solution Q _A of the processing liquid storage container 6, after cleaning the wafer W by overflow from the processing liquid supply channel 7 in each of the substrate treatment tank 1, waste The liquid is collected from the liquid path 42 to the processing liquid storage container 6 via the processing liquid recovery valve 44 and recycled to the substrate processing bath 1.

On the other hand, in the pure water treatment performed after the chemical liquid treatment, pure water D _W is supplied from the pure water supply passage 3 to the substrate processing tank 1 and overflows, and the drainage passage 42 passes through the drainage valve 47. It is discarded in the drainage drain 43. The processing liquid Q _B
Similarly, Q _C can be collected from the substrate processing bath 1. Accordingly, since each processing solution Q _A to Q _C overflowed from the substrate processing chamber 1 is recycled are collected in the processing liquid storage container 6 through the treatment liquid recovery valve 44, the treatment liquid for each of a plurality of types of chemical treatment It is possible to effectively suppress the consumption of the processing liquid and reduce the running cost of the entire substrate processing apparatus, as compared with the conventional example 2 in which the substrate is discarded.

Further, in the immersion treatment device, as shown in FIG. 1, since the parallel processing of multiple types of processing solution Q _A to Q _C by the wafer W sequentially immersed into three substrate processing tank 1 which is arranged Throughput is improved. Moreover, in this immersion processing apparatus, since the processing liquid overflows from the upper portion of the substrate processing tank 1, when the chemical liquid processing is transferred to the pure water processing, the cleaning liquid in the substrate processing tank 1 is not completely discharged and the chemical liquid is pure. It can be replaced with water, and the wafer W does not come into contact with air until the chemical solution treatment and the pure water treatment are completed. Therefore, there is no risk that an oxide film will be formed on the wafer surface or that impurities in the air will adhere. Further, the wafer W can be loaded and unloaded without discharging all the cleaning liquid in the substrate processing bath 1.

Next, the contents of the chemical liquid treatment in the above-mentioned first embodiment will be described by way of an example. SC ₁ processing is performed in the _first substrate processing tank 1. As the treatment liquid Q _A , a prepared mixed liquid of ammonia (NH ₄ OH), hydrogen peroxide solution (H ₂ O ₂ ) and pure water D _W is used. Pure water treatment is performed after the chemical treatment with the treatment liquid Q _A to remove organic substances such as photoresist adhering to the surface of the wafer W. In addition, SC ₁
CARO processing may be performed instead of processing. Sulfuric acid / hydrogen peroxide is used as the treatment liquid Q _{A in} this case.

In the second substrate processing bath 1, SC ₂
Perform processing. As the treatment liquid Q _B , prepared hydrochloric acid (HC
l), a hydrogen peroxide solution (H ₂ O ₂ ) and pure water are used. Similarly, pure water treatment is performed after the chemical treatment with the treatment liquid Q _B to remove metal ions attached to the surface of the wafer W. Further, HF processing is performed in the third substrate processing tank 1. The processing solution Q _C using a 50% aqueous solution of hydrogen fluoride to etch unexposed portion of the surface of the wafer W. In some cases, phosphoric acid / hydrogen peroxide may be used instead of the hydrogen fluoride.

The surface treatment including the wafer cleaning treatment is not uniform depending on the manufacturing process and is not always sequentially dipped in the first to third substrate processing tanks 1. By the way,
As its type, various surface treatments such as the following (1) to (4) are possible. (1) SC ₁ treatment → HF treatment → SC ₂ treatment (2) HF treatment → SC ₁ treatment → SC ₂ treatment (3) SC ₁ treatment → SC ₂ treatment (4) Others, HF treatment only or SC ₁ treatment only . The above-mentioned type of chemical solution treatment can be similarly applied to the examples described later, and the duplicated description will be omitted.

When any of the chemical liquid treatments includes HF treatment, when the wafer W is brought into contact with air after the HF treatment, HF, O ₂ and Si react with each other, and the surface of the wafer W is impure. A compound is generated and becomes a particle.
Therefore, after supplying HF to the substrate processing bath 1 and circulating it,
The supply of HF is stopped, and then pure water is supplied in a state where HF is placed in the substrate processing bath 1 and overflowed to replace HF with pure water. As a result, the wafer W always stays in the liquid, and the continuous supply of pure water removes the HF component without generating particles.

In the above-mentioned chemical liquid processing, when the processing liquid other than the HF liquid is to be recovered, when the wafer W may be exposed to the air, the cleaning liquid is drained from the bottom of the substrate processing bath 1, and the pure water D _W is supplied. When there is an adverse effect, the processing liquid is replaced with pure water so that the wafer W is not exposed to the air. In the final rinse treatment with pure water, the pure water treatment is completed when the specific resistance value of the pure water is detected or when a fixed time elapses. Further, when the wafer W is pulled up from the substrate processing bath 1 after the final rinse, in order to prevent the floating particles from adhering to the wafer W, the deionized water is overflowed.

As an advantage of the first embodiment,
That it can prevent an increase in the size of the substrate processing apparatus by reducing the number of the substrate processing chamber 1 by performing the chemical treatment and pure water treatment using a single substrate processing chamber 1, the processing solution Q _A to Q _C The running cost can be reduced by collecting and reusing the processing liquid in the processing liquid storage container 6, and the processing liquid is not completely discharged from the substrate processing tank 1 when the chemical liquid processing is changed to the pure water processing. Although it is possible to prevent the formation of an oxide film on the surface of the wafer by substituting with water, these advantages are the same in Examples 2 to 11 described later, and redundant description will be omitted. To do.

FIG. 2 is a schematic system diagram of an immersion treatment apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, this immersion treatment apparatus is one in which one of the three substrate treatment tanks 1 disposed in the immersion treatment section 65 is set as a substrate treatment tank dedicated to pure water treatment. . That is, the pure water supply path 3 is led out from the lower part of the rinse tank 1, and the pure water supply valve 27 is introduced into the pure water supply path 3.
A pure water supply source (not shown) is connected via
A drainage channel 42 is led out from the upper part of the rinse tank 1, and a drainage drain 43 is connected to the drainage channel 42 via a drainage valve 47.
Pure water D _W is supplied to the rinsing bath 1, overflows, and the wafer W is treated with pure water, and is discarded from the drainage channel 42 to the drainage drain 43 via the drainage valve 47. There is.

In the second embodiment, after the chemical treatment with the treatment liquid Q _A or Q _B is performed in each of the two substrate cleaning tanks 1,
Subsequently, the pure water treatment is carried out lightly, and separately, the pure water treatment with the pure water D _W is carried out in the rinse tank 1. Therefore, the wafer W is stronger than the case where the chemical liquid treatment and the pure water treatment are performed in each substrate processing tank 1 as in the first embodiment.
Can be rinsed, the time required for pure water treatment can be shortened, and the throughput can be improved.

FIG. 3 is a schematic system diagram of an immersion treatment apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In this immersion treatment apparatus, the single substrate treatment tank 1 is arranged in the immersion treatment section 65 of the substrate cleaning apparatus 50, and is supplied to the substrate treatment tank 1 in the same manner as in the first or second embodiment. The overflowing processing liquid is collected in the processing liquid storage container 6 via the processing liquid recovery passage 22 and the processing liquid recovery valve 44 so that it can be reused, and the pure water D _W overflowing from the substrate processing tank 1 is drained. Drain 4
It is configured to be discarded in 3. Also in this third embodiment, the consumption of the processing liquid is suppressed and the substrate processing bath 1 is used.
The substrate processing apparatus 50 as a whole can be compactly formed by using the above single tank.

FIG. 4 is a schematic system diagram of an immersion treatment apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. In the fourth embodiment, a plurality of processing liquid storage containers 6 are switchably connected. In this immersion processing apparatus, the processing liquid is circulated from the substrate processing tank 1 to the processing liquid storage container 6 so that it can be reused.
3 to 3, but the above-mentioned Example 1 performs three kinds of chemical liquid treatments separately in the three substrate processing baths 1, whereas the present Example 4 uses three types of chemical solutions in one substrate processing bath 1. It is characterized in that the substrate processing bath 1 is shared for a plurality of types of chemical liquid treatments by sequentially performing chemical liquid treatments.

That is, as shown in FIG. 4A, the treatment liquid storage valves 6 of the three kinds of treatment liquids Q _A , Q _B, and Q _C are connected to the treatment liquid introduction valves 8 _A , 8 _B, and 8 _C , respectively. The processing liquid supply path 7 is connected to the lower part of one substrate processing bath 1 via the above. Here, the processing liquid introduction valves 8 _A , 8 _B, and 8 _C correspond to the processing liquid selection valve 82 in claim 5. Further, FIG. 4 (B) shows an introduction valve connecting path 16 where the treatment liquid introduction valves 8 _A , 8 _B , 8 _C and the pure water introduction valve 27, which supply and cut off each treatment liquid, are gathered on the treatment liquid supply side. Indicates
The pure water supply passage 3 is connected to one end 16a of the connection passage 16, and the treatment liquid supply passage 7 is connected to the other end 16b.

The downstream side of the drainage path 42 of the substrate processing 31 is branched into four lines, one of these is connected to the drainage drain 43, and the other is connected to the processing liquid recovery path 22 (specifically, 22).
a · 22b · 22c) as the three types of processing solution Q _A · Q
Connecting the processing liquid storage container 6 for _B · Q _C. Various processing liquids that have overflowed are collected in the processing liquid storage container 6 and can be disposed of in the drainage drain 43 as needed. FIG. 4 (C) shows processing liquid recovery valves 44 _A , 44 _B , 4 for supplying / disconnecting each processing liquid on the discharge side of this processing liquid.
4 _C and shows an essential part of the drainage passage 42 a set of drain valve 47, the drain valve 47 for pure water is provided in the innermost portion 42a of the downstream side of the drain path 42. Here, the processing liquid recovery valves 44 _A , 44 _B , 44 _C correspond to the processing liquid return selection valve 83 in claim 5.

On the other hand, each processing liquid Q _A to the substrate processing bath 1
To Q _C pumping means 25, FIG. 4 (A), the respective processing liquid storage container 6 (specifically 6 _A to 6 _C) processing liquid supply passage 7 derived from (specifically 7 _A pressure pump 15 provided at _{A to} 7 _C ), a motor 19 for driving the pressure pump 15,
From the pressure detector 26 (specifically, a pressure gauge) provided on the discharge side of the pressure feed pump 15, and the control means 12 that controls the rotation speed of the pressure feed pump 15 based on the detection signal from the pressure detector 26. Composed. In the pressure feeding means 25, the pressure detector 26 detects an excess or deficiency with respect to the set pressure, and the control means 12 drives and controls the drive motor 19 of the pressure feeding pump 15 to set the processing liquid in the substrate processing tank 1 at a predetermined set pressure. Is pumped.

In the case of cleaning the wafer W, first, the processing liquid Q _A is circulated into the substrate processing bath 1 through the processing liquid introduction valve 8 _A to overflow the wafer W, and the wafer W is chemically processed. Subsequently, after that, the treatment liquid Q _A is supplied to the treatment liquid storage container 6 via the supply / discharge liquid switching valve 13 and the treatment liquid recovery valve 44 _A of the discharge passage 42.
To collect. Then, pure water D _W is supplied to the emptied substrate processing tank 1 through the pure water introducing valve 27 to shift to pure water processing. After rinsing the wafer W while overflowing the pure water, the pure water is discharged. For even the processing solution Q _B · Q _C,
After circulating and treating the chemical liquid as in the case of the treatment liquid Q _A ,
The wafer W is pulled up from the substrate processing bath 1.

In the above pure water treatment, the pure water drainage liquid overflowing from the substrate processing tank 1 is discarded into the drainage drain 43 through the drainage valve 47. At this time, since the pure water waste liquid is discharged from the innermost portion 42a of the drainage passage 42, the processing liquid remaining on the inner wall of the drainage passage 42 is effectively washed away. Further, the discharge port 45 at the bottom of the substrate processing tank 1 and the supply / discharge liquid switching valve 13 are configured to be capable of quick draining, and the throughput is increased by rapid discharge. In addition, when HF treatment is included in any one of the chemical liquid treatments, the substrate treatment tank 1 is subjected to H treatment as described above.
When pure water is supplied in a state of being filled with F and HF is replaced with pure water by overflow, and when the substrate W is pulled up from the substrate processing bath 1 after the final rinse is completed, while pure water overflows, To do.

FIG. 5 is a schematic system diagram of an immersion treatment apparatus according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. The thick line in FIG. 5 (A) indicates the treatment liquid path in the case of chemical treatment, and the thick line in FIG. Thick lines indicate pure water paths and processing liquid paths in the case of pure water processing. In this immersion processing apparatus, a single substrate processing tank 1 is provided in the immersion processing section 65, and the processing solution is circulated and filtered and the temperature is adjusted while the chemical solution processing and the pure water processing are performed. It is a thing. That is, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the treatment liquid introduction valve 8 of the treatment liquid supply passage 7 and the drainage valve 47 of the drainage passage 42 are constituted by switchable three-way valves.

The lower flow side of the drainage passage 42 is branched into two branches, one of the pipe passages 21 is connected to the drainage drain 43, and the other is connected to the treatment liquid storage container 6 as the treatment liquid recovery passage 22. . The pure water supply passage 3 is provided downstream of the treatment liquid introduction valve 8.
And the pressure feed pump 15 and the treatment liquid introduction valve 8
A filter 10 and an in-line type heater (hereinafter referred to as “in-line heater”) 81 are attached between the filter 10 and the filter 10, and the treatment liquid supply passage 7 and the treatment liquid recovery passage 22 are connected via a treatment liquid introduction valve 8 which can be switched. To do.

When the chemical treatment is performed, as shown in FIG. 5A, the cleaning liquid overflowed from the substrate treatment tank 1 to the overflow recovery portion 41 is treated by the treatment liquid recovery passage 22.
After that, it is collected in the processing liquid storage container 6 and is again fed by the pressure pump 1.
After being sucked up by the filter 5, filtered by the filter 10 and refreshed, it is returned to the substrate processing bath 1. When the pure water treatment is performed, the overflowed pure water is discharged to the drain drain 43 through the switchable drain valve 47 and the drain passage 21, as shown in FIG. 5 (B). .

During this pure water treatment, the pressure pump 15
The treatment liquid pumped up by is filtered by the filter 10 and refreshed, and then the treatment liquid introduction valve 8 which can be switched.
Flow into the processing liquid recovery path 22 via the flow path and return to the processing liquid storage container 6 again. Even when a single substrate processing tank 1 is used with the above configuration, the processing solution is circulated and filtered during the chemical solution processing and the pure water processing, so that the processing solution can be refreshed. The in-line heater 81 has, for example, a structure in which a heater is arranged on the outer periphery of the pipeline, and heats the processing liquid passing through the pipeline. For this reason,
The circulating treatment liquid can be adjusted to a uniform temperature even during the pure water treatment described above, and particularly when performing high-temperature chemical treatment, the treatment liquid having a predetermined temperature is supplied into the substrate treatment tank to immediately wash it. It becomes possible to shift to processing.

FIG. 6 is a schematic system diagram of an immersion treatment apparatus according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention. The thick line in FIG. 6 (A) indicates the treatment liquid circulation path in the case of chemical treatment, and in FIG. The thick line indicates the pure water path and the processing solution circulation path in the case of pure water processing. This immersion treatment apparatus also performs circulation filtering and temperature adjustment of the treatment liquid as in the fifth embodiment (FIG. 5). That is, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, in the immersion treatment apparatus of the fifth embodiment (FIG. 5), a switchable treatment liquid recovery valve 44 is attached to the treatment liquid recovery passage 22 and the treatment liquid is also added. The upstream side of the pressure feed pump of the supply passage 7 and the treatment liquid recovery passage 22 are connected via the treatment liquid recovery valve 44.

When the chemical liquid processing is performed, as shown in FIG. 6 (A), the overflow liquid recovery unit 4 of the substrate processing bath 1 is used.
From 1, the processing liquid is supplied to the processing liquid recovery path 22 via the drain valve 47.
Flown into the processing liquid supply passage 7 via the processing liquid recovery valve 44 without passing through the processing liquid storage container 6, filtered by the filter 10 to be refreshed, and after the temperature is adjusted, the substrate is processed again. Reflux to tank 1. On the other hand, when the pure water treatment is performed, as shown in FIG. 6B, the treatment liquid pumped up by the pressure pump 15 is refreshed by the filter 10 and after the temperature is adjusted, the treatment liquid is recovered. It flows down the path 22 and returns to the treatment liquid storage container 6 via the treatment liquid recovery valve 44.

In the sixth embodiment, when the chemical liquid treatment is performed, the treatment liquid is sucked by the pressure pump 15 and flows down the treatment liquid recovery passage 22. Therefore, the diameter of the treatment liquid recovery passage 22 is reduced. Even if the thickness is small, the flow rate of the processing liquid flowing down is remarkably increased as compared with the case of Example 5 in which the flow rate is simply dropped. That is, there is an advantage that the treatment liquid recovery passage 22 need only have a small pipe diameter.

FIG. 7 is a schematic system diagram of an immersion treatment apparatus according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention. The seventh embodiment is configured by arranging three sets of dipping treatment devices similar to those of the sixth embodiment (FIG. 6) in parallel. In Example 7, as shown in FIG. 7, each respectively, in the substrate processing chamber 1 the chemical treatment of the type with a predetermined processing solution Q _A to Q _C is carried out separately, each processing solution and the wafer W surface-treated Q _a to Q _C is recycled is collected in the processing liquid storage container 6. It is also possible to adjust the temperature of each processing solution Q _A to Q _C by or in-line heater 81 to refresh each processing solution Q _A to Q _C by the circulation filtering.

FIG. 8 is a schematic system diagram of an immersion treatment apparatus according to the eighth embodiment of the present invention. This immersion treatment apparatus is used in Example 7
In FIG. 7, one of the substrate processing baths 1 is set as a rinse-only bath for pure water treatment, and in the other two sets, the treatment liquid is used while the chemical liquid treatment and the pure water treatment are performed. Example 6 is the point where the circulation filtering and the temperature adjustment are performed.
(FIG. 6). In the eighth embodiment, after the chemical treatment with the treatment liquid Q _A or Q _B is performed in each of the two substrate treatment tanks 1, light pure water treatment is continuously performed, and pure water D is further used in the rinse dedicated tank 1. Pure water treatment with _W is performed.
As a result, the wafer W can be rinsed more strongly than in the case where the chemical solution treatment and the pure water treatment are sequentially performed in each substrate treatment tank 1, the time required for the pure water treatment is shortened, and the throughput is improved.

9 and 10 are schematic system diagrams of an immersion treatment apparatus according to the ninth embodiment of the present invention. The thick line in FIG. 9 indicates the treatment liquid circulation path in the case of chemical treatment, and the thick line in FIG. The pure water path and the processing solution circulation path in the case of pure water processing are shown. This Example 9 uses a single substrate processing bath 1, and
This embodiment is common to the sixth embodiment (FIG. 6) in that the circulation filtering and the temperature adjustment of the processing liquid are executed during the chemical liquid processing and the pure water processing.

In the ninth embodiment, between the processing liquid supply passage 7 shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, between the opening / closing valve 9 on the upstream side of the pump and the processing liquid introducing valve 8, the processing liquid is collected at the time of collecting the processing liquid. It also serves as the recovery path 22. In FIG. 9, when the chemical liquid treatment is performed, the open / close valve 9 and the treatment liquid introduction valve 8 of the treatment liquid supply passage 7 and the switchable drainage valve 47a of the drainage passage 42 are closed, and other The valve is closed. The processing liquid Q is pumped up by the pressure pump 15 until the substrate processing tank 1 is filled with the processing liquid Q and sufficiently overflows.

After that, the on-off valve 9 on the upstream side of the pump in the processing liquid supply passage 7 is closed. The processing liquid Q overflowing from the substrate processing bath 1 flows down from the overflow recovery unit 41 through the processing liquid recovery path 22 through the drainage path 42 and the drainage valve 47a, and the processing solution is supplied without passing through the processing solution storage container 6. After flowing into the upstream side of the pump of the path 7, pumped by the pressure pump 15 again, filtered by the filter 10 and refreshed, it is returned to the substrate processing bath 1. That is, the processing solution is circulated and filtered while the substrate is processed with the chemical solution.

When the chemical liquid treatment is completed, the open / close valve 9 and the treatment liquid introduction valve 8 in the treatment liquid supply passage 7 are closed, and the drainage passage 42.
Drain valve 47a, processing liquid supply path 7 and processing liquid recovery path 22
The supply / drainage liquid switching valve 13 that communicates with and is opened. further,
The treatment liquid recovery passage 22a at the latter stage, which is led out between the pressure pump 15 and the treatment liquid introduction valve 8, communicates with the treatment liquid storage container 6 via the treatment liquid recovery valve 44, and the other valves are closed. Then, the processing liquid Q in the substrate processing tank 1 passes through the processing liquid recovery path 22 → the upstream side of the processing liquid supply path 7 → the pressure pump 15 → the subsequent processing liquid recovery path 22a → the processing liquid recovery valve 44 and the processing liquid storage container. Recovered within 6.

In FIG. 10, when the treatment liquid is recovered and the treatment proceeds to pure water treatment, the open / close valve 9 is opened,
The supply / drainage liquid switching valve 13 is closed, and the drainage valve 47 in the drainage passage 42 is provided.
a is switched to the drain 43a side. The treatment liquid Q collected in the treatment liquid storage container 6 is pumped up by the pressure feed pump 15, and the filter 10 → the treatment liquid recovery passage 22a →
Circulation filtering is performed via the treatment liquid recovery valve 44.

Next, the supply / drainage liquid switching valve 13 is closed, the first drainage valve 47a of the drainage passage 42 is switched to the drain 43a side for drainage, and the pure water introduction valve 27 of the pure water supply passage 3a is opened. The valve is opened. The pure water D _W fills the substrate processing tank 1 and overflows, rinsing the wafer. Substrate processing tank 1
The pure water D _{W that} has overflowed from the drainage drain 4 passes through the overflow recovery unit 41 → the drainage passage 42 → the first drainage valve 47a → the second drainage valve 47b → the drainage drainage passage 21a.
It is discharged to 3a. Then, the circulating filtering of the processing liquid is performed during the pure water processing of the wafer.

The ninth embodiment has various functions as described below, in addition to the above-mentioned circular filtering. As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the substrate processing tank 1 is installed above the ultrasonic cleaning unit 34 in the drainage tank 2, and an ultrasonic oscillator 35 is used to clean the wafer through the ultrasonic cleaning unit 34. It can be strongly cleaned (hereinafter referred to as ultrasonic cleaning function). The pure water supply passage 3 is branched into a pure water introduction passage 3a connected to the treatment liquid supply passage 7 and a shower introduction passage 3b connected to the shower pipe 17, and a pure water introduction valve is provided in the pure water introduction passage 3a. A unit valve 27 constituting the above is attached, and a similar unit valve 28 is attached to the shower introduction passage 3b. This pure water shower is used when the wafer is lightly washed with pure water before chemical treatment (hereinafter referred to as pure water shower function). Excess pure water from the unit valves 27 and 28 is separated and discharged to a pure water recovery drain 43b described later.

The drainage passage 42 is branched into the drainage passage 21 and the treatment liquid recovery passage 22 via a switchable first drainage valve 47a. The drainage passage 21 is branched into a drainage drainage passage 21a and a recovery drainage passage 21b via a second drainage valve 47b. The drainage drainage channel 21a is connected to the drainage drain 43a, and the recovery drainage channel 21b is connected to the pure water recovery drain 43b. The substrate processing bath 1 is provided with a quick drain valve 32 for rapid drainage. When the pure water drainage liquid is drained from the substrate processing bath 1, the quick drain valve 32 is opened to drain the pure water drainage liquid. It is made to flow down into the liquid tank 2, and the first drain valve 47a and the second drain valve 47b are appropriately switched and operated to drain the drain 43a.
Alternatively, it is separated and discharged to the pure water recovery drain 43b (hereinafter referred to as a drainage separate discharge function).

The treatment liquid supply passage 7 is provided between the connection portion of the pure water introduction passage 3a and the treatment liquid introduction valve 8 and the supply / discharge switching valve 1 is provided.
3, the lower end of the processing liquid recovery passage 22 is connected between the opening / closing valve 9 attached to the processing liquid supply passage 7 and the pressure feed pump 15. Further, between the pressure pump 15 and the treatment liquid introduction valve 8, a treatment liquid recovery passage 22a and a treatment liquid drain passage 21c in the latter stage are led out. The processing liquid recovery passage 22a in the latter stage is connected to the processing liquid storage container 6 via the processing liquid recovery valve 44, and the processing liquid drainage passage 21c is connected to the processing liquid recovery drain 43b via the third drainage valve 47c. It

When the processing liquid Q is collected in the processing liquid storage container 6, as described above, the substrate processing tank 1 → the processing liquid supply path 7
→ Supply / Drainage liquid switching valve 13 → Treatment liquid recovery path 22 → Pressure pump 1
The treatment liquid Q is collected in the treatment liquid storage container 6 through 5 → filter 10 → the second treatment liquid recovery passage 22a (treatment liquid recovery valve 44). When the used processing liquid Q is exhausted, the processing liquid recovery valve 44 of the processing liquid recovery passage 22a is closed and the third drain valve 47c is opened, and the processing liquid Q is processed by the pressure pump 15. The liquid is discharged to the liquid collecting drain 43c. As a result, the treatment liquid Q is separated and discharged into the treatment liquid storage container 6 and the treatment liquid recovery drain 43c (hereinafter referred to as a treatment liquid separation and discharge function).

A constant temperature heater 5 is immersed in the substrate processing bath 1 and the processing liquid storage container 6 so that the processing liquid can be adjusted to a uniform temperature in combination with the circulation filtering described above (hereinafter, the processing liquid is kept at a constant temperature). Function). As a result, particularly in the high temperature chemical liquid processing, the processing liquid Q having a predetermined temperature can be supplied into the substrate processing bath 1 to immediately perform the cleaning processing, and the throughput is improved. Further, the bubbling means 24 is immersed in the substrate processing bath 1, and N ₂ gas is supplied from the gas supply passage 23 to form a uniform upward flow of the processing liquid Q during the cleaning process of the substrate. , Is configured to accelerate the cleaning process (hereinafter referred to as a bubbling function of the processing liquid). A gas introduction valve 37, a unit valve 38, and a gas filter 39 are attached to the gas supply path 23.

The treatment liquid storage container 6 is supplied with the chemical liquid q ₁ through a plurality of chemical liquid introduction valves 48a, 48b and 48c, respectively.
It is configured so that q ₂ · q ₃ can be injected, and these chemicals q ₁ · q ₂ · q ₃ can be mixed to form a required processing liquid (hereinafter referred to as a processing liquid mixing function) . In addition,
In the substrate processing tank 1 and the processing liquid storage container 6, the processing liquid Q
Detectors for detecting liquid level, remaining amount, temperature, etc. 1
8 are provided.

FIG. 11, FIG. 12 and FIG. 13 each show a schematic system diagram of an immersion treatment apparatus according to the tenth embodiment of the present invention. The thick line in FIG. 11 shows the treatment solution circulation route in the case of chemical treatment. 12 and 13 indicate the pure water path and the processing solution circulation path in the case of the pure water processing, respectively. In this immersion processing apparatus, a plurality of processing liquid storage containers 6 _A and 6 _B having different processing liquids are provided for a single substrate processing tank 1, and a processing liquid supply path 7 _A is provided.
Points to switchably configured for · 7 _B and the treatment liquid recovery passage 22a · 22b of each processing solution reservoir vessel 6 _A · 6 _B are different in the above Example 9 basically.

In the tenth embodiment, as in the ninth embodiment, a part of the treatment liquid supply passage 7 (between the on-off valve 9a and the treatment liquid introduction valve 8) also includes the treatment liquid recovery passage 22 during the treatment liquid recovery. Also serve. The on-off valve 9a · connecting the switchable plurality of processing liquid reservoir chamber 6 _A · 6 _B to the treatment liquid supply channel 7
9b corresponds to the processing liquid selection valve 82 in claim 5. Further, the processing liquid supply path 7 that also serves as the processing liquid recovery path 22.
Selection process liquid recovery valve 44a · 44b for connecting the portion to be switched a plurality of processing liquid reservoir chamber 6 _A · 6 _B (between the on-off valve 9a and the treatment liquid inlet valve 8) back treatment liquid in Claim 5 It corresponds to the valve 83.

A quick drain valve 32 for rapid drainage is provided in each of the substrate processing tank 1 and the overflow recovery section 41, respectively.
33 is attached, and when the substrate processing tank 1 and the overflow recovery unit 41 are emptied, liquid can be quickly drained. Further, the primary chamber of the filter 10 and the overflow recovery unit 41 are communicated with each other by the communication passage 85 via the check valve 86, and when the filter 10 is clogged, the processing liquid is overflow recovered. Four
It is configured so that it can be pumped to unit 1.

In FIG. 11, when the chemical treatment with the treatment liquid Q _A is performed, the first on-off valve 9a on the upstream side of the treatment liquid supply path 7, the treatment liquid introducing valve 8 and the on-off valve on the downstream side thereof. 14 and the switchable first drain valve 47a are closed,
The other valves are closed. The treatment liquid Q _A is pumped up from the pressure feed pump 15 until the substrate treatment tank 1 is filled and overflows sufficiently, and then the on-off valve 9a is closed.
The first drain valve 47a is opened. The processing solution Q _A that overflows from the substrate processing tank 1 is collected in the overflow recovery unit 4
1 → drainage path 42 → first drainage valve 47a → processing liquid recovery path 22
→ Pump upstream side of the processing liquid supply path 7 → Pressurizing pump 15 → Filter 10 → Processing liquid introducing valve 8 → Returning to the substrate processing bath 1 through the on-off valve 14. That is, the chemical treatment of the wafer is performed while the circulation filtering of the treatment liquid is performed.

When the chemical liquid treatment is completed, the open / close valves 9a9b and the treatment liquid introduction valve 8 on the upstream side of the treatment liquid supply passage 7 are closed, and the first drainage valve 47a of the drainage passage 42 and the treatment liquid supply passage 7 are connected. The supply / discharge liquid switching valve 13 that communicates with the processing liquid recovery passage 22 is opened. Further, another processing liquid recovery path 22 a led out between the pressure feed pump 15 and the processing liquid introduction valve 8 is connected to the processing liquid storage container 6 via the processing liquid recovery valve 44. The other valves are closed, and the processing liquid Q in the substrate processing tank 1 is collected in the processing liquid storage container 6.

When the process liquid is recovered and the process proceeds to the pure water process, as shown in FIG. 12, the open / close valve 9a is opened, the supply / discharge liquid switching valve 13 is closed, and the discharge passage 42 is opened. The first drain valve 47a is switched to the drain 43a side for drainage.
The treatment liquid Q _A recovered in the treatment liquid storage container 6 _A is pumped up by the pressure pump 15 and circulated and filtered through the filter 10 and the second treatment liquid recovery passage 22a. Then, the supply / drainage liquid switching valve 13 is closed, the first drainage valve 47a of the drainage passage 42 is switched to the drain 43a side for drainage, and the pure water introduction valve 27 of the pure water supply passage 3a is opened. The pure water D _W rinses the substrate W while being filled and overflowing in the substrate processing bath 1. The pure water D _W overflowing from the substrate processing tank 1 is discharged to the drain 43a via the overflow recovery unit 41 → the drainage passage 42 → the first drainage valve 47a → the second drainage valve 47b. The circulating filtering of the processing liquid Q _A is performed during the pure water processing of the substrate.

In FIG. 13, in the case where the chemical liquid treatment is performed by the treatment liquid Q _B , another on-off valve 19b (treatment liquid selection valve 82) is provided for the treatment liquid supply passage 7b in the latter stage communicating with the substrate treatment tank 1. The processing liquid storage container 6 _B is connected via
Another process liquid recovery valve for this treatment liquid reservoir chamber 6 _B 44
The treatment liquid recovery passage 22b is connected via b (treatment liquid selection valve 83). In other words, when the wafer is subjected to the chemical treatment, the circulation filtering of the treatment liquid is executed as in the case shown in FIG. 11, and when the wafer is subjected to the pure water treatment,
In FIG. 13, the circulation filtering of the processing liquid Q _B is executed. In addition, also in this tenth embodiment, the ninth embodiment
As in (Fig. 9), ultrasonic cleaning function, pure water shower function,
It is configured to exhibit a pure water separation / discharge function, a processing liquid separation / discharge function, and a processing liquid constant temperature function.

14 and 15 are schematic system diagrams of an immersion treatment apparatus according to Embodiment 11 of the present invention.
The thick line in 4 indicates the processing solution circulation route in the case of chemical processing,
Thick lines in 5 indicate a pure water path and a processing solution circulation path in the case of pure water processing. This immersion processing apparatus is provided with a plurality of substrate processing tanks 1.
Treatment liquid differs a plurality of processing liquid reservoir chamber 6 _A · 6 _B of provided for _A · 1 _B, the processing liquid the substrate supply path 7 _A · 7 _B and the treatment liquid recovery passage 22a · 22b treatment tank 1 _A · 1 _B and the treatment liquid storage containers 6 _A and 6 _B are different from the tenth embodiment in that they are switchable, and other points are the same as in the tenth embodiment. The same members as those described above are designated by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.

In this dipping treatment apparatus, as shown in FIG. 14, the chemical treatment with the treatment liquid Q _A and the treatment liquid Q _B and the pure water treatment are appropriately selectively performed in parallel in each substrate treatment tank 1. In that case, the chemical solution treatment and the pure water treatment are performed according to the tenth embodiment. That is, when the chemical treatment is performed, as shown in FIG. 14, the treatment liquids Q _A and Q _B are filled in the respective substrate treatment tanks 1 and the overflowed treatment liquids Q _A and Q _B are overflowed. Recovery part 41 → drainage path 42 → first drainage valve 47a → processing liquid recovery path 22 → pump upstream side of processing liquid supply path 7 → pressure pump 15 → filter 10
→ Treatment liquid introduction valve 8 → Return to the substrate treatment bath 1 through the on-off valve 14. That is, the chemical treatment of the wafer is performed while the circulation filtering of the treatment liquid is performed.

When the treatment liquid is recovered and the process proceeds to the pure water treatment, as shown in FIG. 15, the treatment liquids Q _A and Q _B in the respective substrate treatment tanks 1 are treated in the treatment liquid storage containers 6 _A and 6 _A , respectively. Recovered in 6 _B. The treatment liquids Q _A and Q _B recovered in the treatment liquid storage containers 6 _A and 6 _B are respectively pumped up by the pressure pump 15 and circulated and filtered through the filter 10 and the treatment liquid recovery passage 22 a in the subsequent stage. The pure water D _W rinses the wafer while filling and overflowing the respective substrate processing baths 1. The deionized water D _W overflowing from each substrate processing tank 1 is overflow recovery unit 41 → drainage channel 42 → first drainage valve 47a → second drainage valve 4 respectively.
It is discharged to the drain 43a via 7b. The circulating filtering of the treatment liquid Q _A , 6 _B is performed during the pure water treatment of the wafer.

In the eleventh embodiment, the example in which the two substrate processing baths and the two processing liquid storage containers are selectively connected has been described, but the substrate processing baths and the processing liquid storage containers may be further increased. it can. In that case, since a plurality of chemical liquid treatments can be executed in parallel by the respective substrate treatment baths, the throughput is further improved, and the chemical liquid treatment and the pure water treatment by the treatment liquids Q _A and Q _B are performed in each substrate treatment bath. Although it has been explained that it is performed selectively in parallel as appropriate,
You may make it perform a chemical | medical solution processing for each each substrate processing tank.

[0084]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the processing liquid overflowing from the substrate processing tank is stored in the processing liquid storage container via the processing liquid recovery valve and the processing liquid recovery passage because it is constructed and operates as described above. Since the recovered liquid is recycled to the substrate processing tank and can be reused, the consumption of the processing liquid can be significantly reduced. Further, since the chemical solution treatment and the pure water treatment can be performed in a single substrate processing tank, it is possible to prevent the substrate processing apparatus from becoming large. According to the second aspect of the present invention, since it is configured and operates as described above, the processing liquid is refreshed by filtering while the chemical liquid processing and the pure water processing are performed.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when the chemical treatment is performed, the treatment liquid is sucked by the pressure feed pump and flows down the treatment liquid recovery passage. Therefore, the treatment liquid recovery passage has the same pipe diameter. However, since the flow rate of the processing liquid flowing down is much larger than that of the processing liquid flowing down simply by a drop, it is sufficient for the processing liquid recovery passage to have a small pipe diameter. In the invention of claim 4, since the heating means for heating the treatment liquid is provided in a part of the treatment liquid circulation path including the treatment liquid storage container, the temperature of the treatment liquid is increased when the chemical treatment is performed at a high temperature. There is no need to wait, and it is possible to immediately shift from the cleaning treatment with pure water to the chemical treatment.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since at least one substrate processing bath can process a plurality of chemicals, it is possible to prevent the substrate processing apparatus from becoming large. In addition, the consumption of each processing liquid can be greatly reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a schematic system diagram of an immersion treatment apparatus according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic system diagram of an immersion treatment apparatus according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic system diagram of an immersion treatment apparatus according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 4 (A) is a schematic system diagram of an immersion treatment apparatus showing Example 4, and FIG. 4 (B) shows a portion B of FIG. 4 (A) and FIG.
FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a main part of a liquid passage showing a part C of FIG. 4 (A).

FIG. 5 shows a schematic system diagram of an immersion treatment apparatus according to a fifth embodiment.

FIG. 6 shows a schematic system diagram of an immersion treatment apparatus according to a sixth embodiment.

FIG. 7 shows a schematic system diagram of an immersion treatment apparatus according to a seventh embodiment.

FIG. 8 shows a schematic system diagram of an immersion treatment apparatus according to an eighth embodiment.

FIG. 9 shows a schematic system diagram of an immersion treatment apparatus according to a ninth embodiment.

FIG. 10 shows a schematic system diagram of an immersion treatment apparatus according to a ninth embodiment.

FIG. 11 shows a schematic system diagram of the immersion treatment apparatus according to the tenth embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a schematic system diagram of an immersion treatment apparatus according to Example 10.

FIG. 13 is a schematic system diagram of an immersion treatment apparatus according to Example 10.

FIG. 14 shows a schematic system diagram of an immersion treatment apparatus according to an eleventh embodiment.

FIG. 15 shows a schematic system diagram of an immersion treatment apparatus according to an eleventh embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a schematic perspective view of a substrate processing apparatus to which the immersion processing apparatus of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 17 is a schematic plan view of the substrate processing apparatus.

FIG. 18 is a schematic vertical sectional view of the substrate processing apparatus.

FIG. 19 is a schematic plan view of a substrate processing apparatus according to a conventional technique.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an immersion treatment apparatus according to Conventional Example 1;
(A) is a schematic system diagram of chemical liquid treatment, and (B) is a schematic system diagram of pure water treatment.

FIG. 21 is a schematic explanatory view of an immersion treatment apparatus showing Conventional Example 2.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Substrate processing tank, 3 ... Pure water supply path, 6 ... Processing solution storage container, 7 ... Processing solution supply path, 8 ... Processing solution introduction valve, 10 ... Filter, 15 ... Pressure pump, 22 ... Processing solution recovery path, 27 ...
Pure water inlet valve, 42 ... Drainage channel, 43 ... Drainage drain, 44 ...
Treatment liquid recovery valve, 47 ... Drainage valve, 81 ... In-line heater, 82 ... Treatment liquid selection valve, 83 ... Treatment liquid selection return valve, D _W
... pure water, Q _A ~Q _E ... processing solution, W ... substrate.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Kenji Sugimoto Inventor Kenji Sugimoto 2426-1 Kuchinogawara, Mikami, Yasu-cho, Yasu-gun, Shiga Prefecture Inside the Yasu Plant of Dainippon Screen Mfg. Co., Ltd. (72) Naoji Maekawa Yasu-gun, Shiga Prefecture 2426-1 Kuchinogawara, Misu, Yasu-machi, Daiji Screen Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Yasu Plant

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An overflow type substrate processing bath for immersing a substrate in a processing liquid for surface treatment of the substrate, a processing liquid supply passage connected to the substrate processing bath, and a processing liquid introduction into the processing liquid supply passage. A treatment liquid storage container that communicates with each other through a valve and a pressure pump, a pure water supply passage that communicates with the treatment liquid supply passage through a pure water introduction valve, and a drainage that drains the overflowed liquid from the substrate treatment tank. In a substrate immersion treatment apparatus comprising a drainage path leading to a drainage path, one of the drainage paths is branched and one is connected to a drainage drain through a drainage valve, and the other is used as a treatment solution recovery path. An immersion treatment apparatus for a substrate, which communicates with the treatment liquid storage container through a treatment liquid recovery valve, collects the treatment liquid overflowed during the chemical treatment, and returns the treatment liquid to the substrate treatment tank. 2. A pump is provided between the pressure feed pump of the treatment liquid supply passage and the treatment liquid introduction valve, and a pure water supply passage is connected to the downstream side of the treatment liquid introduction valve so that the treatment liquid supply passage is pressure fed. A treatment liquid recovery passage is connected between the pump and the pure water supply passage connecting portion, and the treatment liquid pumped up by a pressure pump during the treatment of pure water is circulated in the treatment liquid recovery passage to be returned to the treatment liquid storage container. 1. The substrate immersion treatment apparatus according to 1. 3. A processing liquid supply path is connected to an upstream side of a pressure-feeding pump and a processing liquid recovery path so that the processing liquid is circulated from the processing liquid recovery path to the processing liquid supply path and returned to the substrate processing bath during chemical liquid processing. The substrate immersion treatment apparatus according to claim 2. 4. The substrate according to claim 2 or 3, wherein a heating means for heating the processing liquid is provided in a part of the processing liquid circulation path including the processing liquid storage container, which is formed during the pure water processing. Immersion treatment equipment. 5. A plurality of processing liquid storage containers are switchably connected to a processing liquid supply passage via a processing liquid selection valve, and the plurality of processing liquid storage containers are connected to a processing liquid recovery passage via a processing liquid return selection valve. 5. The substrate immersion treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate immersion treatment apparatus is configured to be switchably connected.