JP3183098B2 - Substrate holder for substrate processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to surface treatment (including cleaning and drying) of semiconductor wafers and liquid crystal glass substrates.
More particularly, the present invention relates to a substrate holder used when a plurality of substrates held in an upright posture are relatively pulled up from a processing liquid. Note that a wafer boat and a wafer chuck described later are also substrate holders according to the present invention.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an example of a substrate processing apparatus using a substrate holder of this type, a cleaning and drying apparatus for a substrate disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. Hei. is there.

[0003] As shown in FIG. 18 (A), a closed chamber 1, which can be sealed, an overflow type cleaning tank 2 provided at the bottom of the closed chamber 1, and a substrate holder 20. Lifter 1 for immersing a plurality of substrates W thus cleaned in cleaning solution 3 and for lifting up cleaned substrates W
0. According to the cleaning / drying apparatus, the substrate W is immersed in the cleaning liquid 3 for cleaning.
When the substrate W is pulled up from the cleaning liquid 3, alcohol vapor or the like can be supplied to the periphery of the substrate W under reduced pressure to promote drying. In FIG. 18A, reference numeral 4 denotes a supply port for the cleaning liquid, 5 denotes a receiving portion for the overflowing cleaning liquid, 6 denotes an openable upper opening, 7 denotes a sealing lid of the upper opening 6, 8 denotes a rubber heater, and 9 denotes a rubber heater. For example, a supply port for alcohol or the like.

The lifter 10 has an inverted L-shaped member 13 at the upper end of an output rod 12 supported by a thrust bearing 11.
And the wafer boat 20 is fixed substantially horizontally at the lower end of the member 13. The above wafer boat 2
0 denotes a plurality of substrate holding frames 21A for holding a plurality of substrates W side by side in a standing posture, as shown in FIG.
21B, and the front and rear ends of these substrate holding frames 21A to 21B are fixed by fixed frames 26. As shown in FIG. 18C, a number of Y-shaped substrate holding grooves 22 for holding a plurality of substrates W side by side in a standing posture are formed in these substrate holding frames 21. Note that FIG.
As shown in (D), a plurality of substrates W held by the wafer chuck 40 instead of the wafer boat 20 may be immersed in the cleaning liquid 3 and the cleaned substrate W may be pulled up.
The substrate holding frame 21 of the wafer chuck 40 also has a Y-shaped or V-shaped substrate holding groove.

[0005]

In the above conventional example, when the wafer boat 20 and the wafer chuck 40 are pulled up from the processing liquid, there is a problem that the processing liquid in the substrate holding groove 22 is hardly removed. That is, when the substrate W is accommodated in the substrate holding groove 22, the gap between the substrate holding groove 22 and the substrate W is narrowed, and it is considered that the processing liquid remains in the gap due to the capillary phenomenon. For this reason, in the substrate immersion processing step, there is a problem of cross-contamination accompanying the removal of the processing liquid. In addition, in the pull-up drying process, the substrate cannot be dried quickly because the processing liquid remains in the substrate holding groove 22. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is a main technical object of the present invention to significantly improve the inconvenience of processing liquid remaining in a substrate holding groove and to eliminate the problem of cross contamination in a substrate immersion processing step.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is configured as follows. The invention according to claim 1 includes a substrate processing apparatus having a plurality of substrate holding frames for holding a plurality of substrates in a standing posture in a front-to-back direction, and for relatively pulling up the plurality of substrates held in the standing posture from a processing solution. in the substrate holder, the groove of each board holding grooves of the substrate holding frame
A drain hole having a diameter greater than the thickness of the substrate is formed through the bottom surface, and the substrate holding frame is formed in parallel with the groove bottom surface.
Through another drainage hole, and connect the lower end of the drainage hole
It is characterized in that it communicates with the another liquid drain hole .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there are provided a plurality of substrate holding frames for holding a plurality of substrates in a standing posture in a back-and-forth parallel manner,
In a substrate holder of a substrate processing apparatus that relatively pulls up a plurality of substrates held in a standing posture from a processing liquid, each substrate holding groove of the substrate holding frame has a V-shaped groove, a vertical groove, and
A groove bottom surface, wherein at least one of the left and right sides of each substrate holding groove, the V-shaped groove portion of the substrate holding groove extends from the groove bottom surface;
, The liquid draining paragraph concave portion is recessed and formed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a plurality of substrate holding frames for holding a plurality of substrates in a standing posture in a back-and-forth direction.
In the substrate holder of the substrate processing apparatus for relatively pulling up a plurality of substrates held in the standing posture from the processing liquid, each substrate holding groove of the substrate holding frame has a V-shaped groove, a vertical groove, and
And a groove bottom surface, the groove width of each of the substrate holding grooves is formed large enough to allow liquid to be drained, and the V-shaped groove portion has an inclined surface.
Thereby along and is characterized in that the formation of the protrusions to hold the substrate.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a plurality of substrate holding frames for holding a plurality of substrates in a standing posture in a back-and-forth parallel manner,
In a substrate holder of a substrate processing apparatus for relatively pulling up a plurality of substrates held in an upright position from a processing liquid, the plurality of substrate holding frames each have a thin plate material having a substrate holding groove formed thereon for holding a substrate. Are fixed to the fixing member in an upright state with an interval therebetween.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the substrate holder of the substrate processing apparatus according to the fourth aspect, each of the substrate holding frames is provided with a substrate holding groove that is in contact with one surface of the substrate. And a second thin plate member provided with a substrate holding groove in contact with the other surface of the substrate.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the substrate holder of the substrate processing apparatus according to the fifth aspect, each of the substrate holding frames is provided so as to face each other and is relatively movable in the thickness direction of the substrate. The first thin plate member and the second thin plate member.

The invention of claim 7 is the invention of claims 4 and 5.
In each of the substrate holders of the substrate processing apparatus described in any one of the above, each of the substrate holding frames includes two thin plate members and a thin plate fixing member that fixes the two thin plate members so as to face each other. Is formed by penetrating a drainage hole for discharging the processing liquid on the thin plate fixing member in the thickness direction thereof.

[0013]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a plurality of substrates held in an upright posture are processed with a processing liquid because a liquid drain hole having a diameter larger than the thickness of the substrate is formed through the bottom of each substrate holding groove of the substrate holding frame. When the processing liquid is relatively pulled up from the inside, the processing liquid is pulled by its own weight and flows down from the substrate holding groove into the liquid drain hole, and the processing liquid remaining in the substrate holding groove becomes very small.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the length of each substrate holding groove is sufficiently short because the liquid draining paragraph recess is formed from at least one of the left and right sides of each substrate holding groove of the substrate holding frame. The contact area between the substrate and the substrate holding groove is reduced. Therefore, when the plurality of substrates held in the upright posture are relatively pulled up from the processing liquid, the processing liquid flows out of the substrate holding groove, flows down to the drain recess, and the processing liquid remaining in the substrate holding groove is extremely small. Become slight.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the width of each of the substrate holding grooves of the substrate holding frame is formed large so that the liquid can be drained.
Since the protrusions for holding the substrate are formed on the opposing surfaces before and after the groove, the contact area between the substrate and the protrusions becomes extremely small, and the substrate is held substantially in a point contact state. Therefore,
When the plurality of substrates held in the upright posture are relatively pulled up from the processing liquid, the processing liquid may flow out of the substrate holding groove formed so that the groove width can be drained, and may remain in the substrate holding groove. Almost gone.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the plurality of substrate holding frames are each formed by fixing a thin plate member having a substrate holding groove formed on an upper portion thereof to a fixed member in an upright state at intervals. Therefore, the substrate is held by a plurality of thin plate members fixed in an upright state at intervals. That is, the contact area between the substrate holding groove formed in the plurality of thin plate members and each substrate is small, and the substrate can be held substantially in a line contact state.
Thus, when the plurality of substrates held in the upright posture are relatively pulled up from the processing liquid, the processing liquid hardly flows out of the substrate holding groove of the thin plate material and remains in the substrate holding groove.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, each substrate holding frame includes a first thin plate member provided with a substrate holding groove in contact with one surface of the substrate, and a substrate holding groove in contact with the other surface of the substrate. Since each of the substrates has the first sheet material provided,
It is held by a substrate holding groove formed by the thin sheet material and the second thin sheet material. Therefore, as described above, the contact area between the substrate and the substrate holding groove is small, and when the plurality of substrates held in the upright posture are relatively pulled up from the processing liquid, the processing liquid flows out of the substrate holding groove and holds the substrate. It hardly remains in the groove.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, since each of the substrate holding frames is provided to face each other and has a pair of the first thin plate member and the second thin plate member which are relatively movable in the thickness direction of the substrate. ,
By relatively moving the first thin plate and the second thin plate, the gap of the substrate holding groove for holding the substrate can be adjusted, and by adjusting the gap,
The shape of the substrate holding groove in a side view can be appropriately changed.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, each substrate holding frame has two
It is provided with a thin plate member and a thin plate fixing member for fixing the two thin plate members so as to face each other, and each of the thin plate members has a drainage hole formed in a thickness direction thereof, so that the thin plate member is held in an upright posture. When pulling up multiple substrates relatively from the processing solution,
The treatment liquid hardly flows out of the drain hole and remains on the thin plate fixing member.

[0020]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in more detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a wafer boat provided with a substrate holding frame according to the invention of claim 1, wherein FIG. 1A is a longitudinal sectional front view of the wafer boat, and FIG. 1B is a plan view of the wafer boat. (C) is an enlarged side view of a main part A in FIG. (A), and FIG. (D) is a perspective view showing the main part A in an enlarged manner.

In this embodiment, the substrate holder 20 is configured as a wafer boat. For example, in the substrate cleaning / drying apparatus, the substrate holder 20 can be chucked by a lifter.
Further, in other substrate processing apparatuses, the processing liquid is installed in a processing tank, but when the plurality of substrates W held in an upright posture are relatively pulled up from the processing liquid, the processing liquid from the substrate holding groove is removed. Excellent for outflow.

As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the wafer boat 20 has three substrate holding frames 21A to 21B for holding a plurality of substrates W in a standing posture in a back-and-forth direction. Both front and rear ends of these substrate holding frames 21A to 21B are fixed by fixed frames 26. A pair of lifter chuck pins 27 project from front and rear end surfaces of the fixed frame 26, respectively.
Four adjustable legs 28 for horizontal installation of the 0 are provided. The substrate holding frames 21A to 21B are formed with a large number of substrate holding grooves for holding a plurality of substrates W side by side in a standing posture.

First, the structure of the substrate holding frame according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described. The board holding frame 21A
1 to 21B, the substrate holding frame 21A at the center is
As shown in (C) and (D), a liquid drain hole 23a larger than the groove width of the vertical groove portion 22b is formed through the V-shaped groove portion 22a, the vertical groove portion 22b, and the groove bottom surface 22c of the Y-shaped substrate holding groove 22. ing. This drain hole 23a is inserted into the vertical groove 22b.
The reason why the groove width is made larger than the above is that the center of the vertical groove portion 22b is cut off to substantially reduce the contact area of the substrate W and facilitate the flow of the droplet. Under the vertical groove portion 22b, another drainage hole 23b parallel to the groove bottom surface 22c is formed to penetrate therethrough.
The lower end of 3a is communicated with another liquid drain hole 23b.
The groove bottom surface 22c and the liquid drain hole 23b are slightly inclined so as to promote the flow of the processing liquid.

In this embodiment, since the drain holes 23a and 23b are formed through the bottom of each of the substrate holding grooves 22 of the substrate holding frame 21A, the plurality of substrates W held in the upright posture are relatively removed from the processing liquid. When the liquid is pulled up, the liquid drops are attracted by their own weight and flow down from the vertical grooves 22b of the substrate holding groove 22 into the drain holes 23a and 23b, so that the processing liquid remaining in the vertical grooves 22b is very slight. Become. Therefore,
In the immersion type substrate processing apparatus, cross contamination caused by taking out the processing liquid is greatly improved. Further, in the pull-up drying step in the substrate cleaning / drying apparatus (FIG. 18), drying of the substrate can be further promoted. These effects are common to the embodiments described later.

In the above embodiment, the central substrate holding frame 21A
Since the substrate holding groove 22 is formed in a Y-shape, there is an advantage that the contact area between the substrate and the groove can be reduced and the falling of the substrate can be reliably prevented. However, this does not exclude the case where the substrate holding groove 22 of the central substrate holding frame 21A is formed in a V-shape. This is because, even in this case, the plurality of substrates W can be held side by side in a standing posture in a back-and-forth direction. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the remodeling is easy only by additionally processing the drain holes 23a and 23b in the conventional substrate holding frame 21. The liquid drain hole 23a may be penetrated so as to reach the lower surface of the substrate holding frame 21A as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. Further, it is sufficient that the liquid drain holes 23a and 23b have at least a diameter larger than the thickness of the substrate W. This is because a capillary phenomenon can be avoided and the flow of the droplet can be promoted.

FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of the substrate holding frame 21A at the center, and shows a first embodiment of the substrate holding frame according to the second aspect of the present invention. That is, FIG. 7A is a vertical sectional front view of the substrate holding frame 21A, and FIG.
2A is a plan view, FIG. 2C is an enlarged side view of a main part of the substrate holding frame 21A, and FIG. 2D is an enlarged perspective view of a main part of the substrate holding frame 21A. The board holding frame 21A is provided with V-shaped groove portions 2 from both left and right sides of each of the Y-shaped board holding grooves 22.
The liquid draining paragraph concave portion 24 having an arc width approximately equal to the groove width of the groove 2a is formed in a concave shape.

The liquid draining recess 24 is recessed from the V-shaped groove portion 22a of the substrate holding groove 22 to the groove bottom surface 22c.
It is formed in a paragraph lower than 2c, and is inclined downward to both left and right sides. By forming the liquid draining paragraph concave portion 24, there is an advantage that the length of the vertical groove portion 22b of the substrate holding groove 22 can be shortened and the contact area between the substrate W and the vertical groove portion 22b can be reduced. Accordingly, when the plurality of substrates W held in the upright posture are relatively pulled up from the processing liquid, the processing liquid flows out of the vertical groove 22b and flows down to the drainage recess 24, so that the vertical groove 2
The processing liquid remaining in 2b is very small.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of a pair of left and right substrate holding frames 21B in FIG. 1A, and shows a second embodiment of the substrate holding frame according to the second aspect of the present invention. 1A is a longitudinal sectional front view of a main part B of the substrate holding frame 21B in FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B is a plan view of the substrate holding frame 21B, and FIG. FIG. 3D is an enlarged perspective view of the main part B. FIG. This substrate holding frame 21B is formed by recessing the liquid draining paragraph recess 24 from both left and right sides of each of the Y-shaped substrate holding grooves 22 of the substrate holding frame 21B as in FIG. Also in this case, the processing liquid remaining in the vertical groove portion 22b becomes very small.

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the pair of left and right substrate holding frames 21B, and shows a third embodiment of the substrate holding frame according to the second aspect of the present invention. That is, FIG. 2A is a longitudinal sectional front view of a main part of the substrate holding frame 21B, FIG. 2B is a plan view of the substrate holding frame 21B, and FIG. 2C is an enlarged side view of the main part. FIG. 1D is an enlarged perspective view of the main part. This substrate holding frame is formed by recessing the same liquid draining paragraph recess 24 from the inside (one side) of each of the Y-shaped substrate holding grooves 22 of the pair of substrate holding frames 21B opposed to each other. The substrate holding groove 22 is inclined toward the inside facing the groove. Also in this case, the processing liquid remaining in the vertical groove portion 22b becomes very small.

FIG. 5 shows still another embodiment of the substrate holding frame 21A at the center and a pair of left and right substrate holding frames 21B, and shows an embodiment of the substrate holding frame according to the third aspect of the present invention. That is, FIG. 2A is an enlarged side view of a main part of the substrate holding frame, and FIG. 2B is an enlarged perspective view of a main part of the substrate holding frame. The substrate holding frame is provided with the Y-shaped substrate holding groove 2.
The groove width of the second vertical groove portion 22b is formed large enough to allow liquid to be drained, and a pair of projections 25 for holding the substrate W are formed on opposing surfaces before and after the groove portion.

The pair of protrusions 25 are desirably provided along the inclined surface of the V-shaped groove 22a so as not to hinder the accommodation of the substrate W in the vertical groove 22b of the substrate holding groove 22. Further, the groove bottom surface 22c of the substrate holding groove 22 is formed so as to form an upward mountain shape. With the above configuration,
The contact area between the substrate W and the projection 25 becomes extremely small, and the substrate W is supported in a substantially point contact state at the top of the groove bottom surface 22c. When the substrate W is relatively pulled up from the processing solution, The processing liquid does not flow out of the substrate holding groove having a large groove width and remains in the substrate holding groove 22.

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional front view showing a first embodiment of the wafer boat according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a perspective view thereof. The wafer boat 20 has three sets of substrate holding frames 21A that hold a plurality of substrates W in a standing posture in a back-and-forth direction.
21B, and both front and rear ends of these substrate holding frames 21A to 21B are fixed to fixed beams 26b. Then, as shown in FIG. 6, each set of substrate holding frames 21A to 21B
Are each composed of two thin plate members 32, and each thin plate member 3
A space S through which the processing liquid can flow is provided between the two.

As shown in FIG. 7, the substrate holding frame 2 at the center is
A substrate holding groove 22 in a Y-shape is formed in each thin plate member 32a constituting 1A, and a V-shaped substrate holding groove 22d is formed in each thin plate member 32b constituting a pair of left and right substrate holding frames 21B. I have. With the above configuration, the substrate W
Is held, and the contact area between the substrate W and each of the substrate holding grooves 22 becomes small. When the plurality of substrates W held in the upright posture are relatively pulled up from the processing liquid, the processing liquid flows down from the space S and flows into the substrate holding grooves 22.
Will not remain in the interior.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a second embodiment of the wafer boat according to the fourth aspect of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 8, the wafer boat 20 has the same space S as in FIG. 6, and each of the three sets of substrate holding frames 21A to 21B is composed of two thin plate members 32. Each board holding frame 21
In each of the thin plate members 32 constituting A to 21B, convex portions 33 and concave portions 34 are alternately formed along the upper edge thereof at a pitch twice as large as the arrangement pitch of the substrates W.

However, a set of substrate holding frames 21A at the center is provided.
And a pair of left and right substrate holding frames 2
The depth of the concave portion 34 is slightly different from each of the thin plate members 32b constituting 1B. And the convex part 3 of the thin plate material 32
3 and the recess 34, the central part 1
In the set of substrate holding frames 21A, a Y-shaped substrate holding groove 22 is formed in a side view, and in a pair of left and right substrate holding frames 21B, a V-shaped substrate holding groove 22d is formed in a side view.

In the above embodiment, the convex portions 33 and the concave portions 34 are alternately formed at a pitch twice as large as the substrate arrangement.
Can be easily manufactured as compared with the case of simply forming the Y-shaped substrate holding groove 22 or the V-shaped substrate holding groove 22d,
Further, the convex portions 33 and the concave portions 34 of the thin plate members 32
There is an advantage that the Y-shaped substrate holding groove 22 and the V-shaped substrate holding groove 22d can be easily formed only by combining. Also in this embodiment, the contact area between the substrate W and each of the substrate holding grooves 22 and 22d is reduced, and the processing liquid does not remain in the substrate holding grooves 22 and 22d.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a third embodiment of the wafer boat according to the fourth aspect of the present invention. In this embodiment, only the substrate holding frame 21A at the center portion has two thin plate members 32a.
32a, and has a space S similar to that shown in FIG. 8 and a substrate holding groove 22 which is Y-shaped when viewed from the side. The pair of left and right substrate holding frames 21B are formed of a single thin plate 32b similar to that shown in FIG. 8, but the protrusions 33 of each thin plate 32b are used to support the substrate W with the two thin plates 32b. And the recess 34 are alternately arranged. Also in this embodiment, the wafer boat can be easily manufactured, and the processing liquid does not remain in the substrate holding groove 22.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a fourth embodiment of the wafer boat according to the present invention. In this embodiment, a substrate holding frame 21A at the center and a pair of left and right substrate holding frames 2 are provided.
1B have the same shape as the thin plate member 32a in FIG. However, a pair of left and right substrate holding frames 21
The central projection 33 of the substrate holding frame 21A is disposed so as to correspond to the recess 34 of B, and a Y-shaped substrate holding groove is formed as a whole in side view. Therefore, in this embodiment as well, it is possible to hold a plurality of substrates W side by side in a standing posture in front and rear. Further, the wafer boat can be easily manufactured, and the processing liquid does not remain in the substrate holding groove formed by combining the substrate holding frames 21A and 21B.

FIG. 11 shows a fifth embodiment in which the substrate holding frame according to the fourth aspect of the present invention is applied to, for example, the lifter 10 shown in FIG. 18A, and FIG. FIG. 11 (B) is a side view showing a partially cutaway view, and FIG.
FIG. 11A is a front view taken along the line BB in FIG. 11A, and FIG.
11B is an enlarged plan view of the front end portion of the substrate holding frame 21A in the center, FIG. 11D is an enlarged side view of the substrate holding portion D of the substrate holding frame 21A, and FIG. It is an enlarged side view of the board holding part E of the left and right board holding frames 21B in B).

As shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B, the lifter 10 has a substrate holding frame 21A in the center of the lower front surface of the lift member 13, and a pair of substrate holding frames 21B
B, and these three sets of substrate holding frames 21A
The plurality of substrates W are configured to be held side by side in a standing posture by 21B. The lift member 13 is made of quartz glass, and its surface is coated with a resin having corrosion resistance to the processing liquid. Further, the distal ends of the substrate holding frames 21A to 21B are fixed by a fixing frame 26. Hereinafter, each substrate holding frame 21A / 2
1B will be described.

First, the substrate holding frame 21A at the center will be described. The substrate holding frame 21A is provided with the lift member 1
3. A thin plate fixing member 32A, one end of which is fixed to the lower front central portion of the lower plate 3, and two thin plate members 32a.3 fixed to the thin plate fixing member 32A and supporting the lower edge central portions of the plurality of substrates W.
2b. The thin plate fixing member 32A, together with a thin plate fixing member 32B described later, has
To secure rigidity. As shown in FIGS. 11B and 11C, the thin plate fixing member 32A is formed with a slit-shaped liquid draining hole 23 which runs in the front-rear direction and extends vertically. An inclined portion 23c is formed around the liquid drain hole 23. This is to promote the flow of the processing liquid.

The thin plate members 32a and 32b are made of fluororesin, PCTFE (polychlorotrifluoroethylene),
Substrate holding grooves 22 which are made of a resin such as PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) are formed in each of the thin plate members 32a and 32b. Further, as shown in FIGS. 11A and 11C, each of the thin plate members 32a
2b, the drain hole 23e and the thin plate material 32a
A long hole 3 for assembling 23b to the thin plate fixing member 32A;
8 are formed to penetrate, and are vertically fixed to both left and right side surfaces of the thin plate fixing member 32A with bolts 39a and nuts 39b. That is, a pair of left and right thin plate members 32a
2b is relatively moved in the longitudinal (horizontal) direction to adjust the relative position of the pair of left and right substrate holding grooves 22.

On the upper part of each of the thin plate members 32a and 32b,
As shown in FIGS. 11A and 11D, the inclined convex portion 33 and the concave portion 34 are provided.
Are formed alternately, and the inclined convex portion 33 and the concave portion 34 have chamfered surfaces 3 in order to promote the flow of the processing liquid.
3c and 34c are formed. As shown in FIG. 11 (D), the pair of left and right thin plate members 32a and 32b thus formed has a V-shape in which the inclined ridge lines of the left and right inclined convex portions 33 intersect each other in side view. The substrate W is disposed so as to form a substrate holding groove 22, and each substrate W is supported in a point contact with the inclined ridge line of the V-shaped substrate holding groove. In addition, by increasing the height of the vertical groove portion 22b, the processing liquid that tends to stay between the substrate W and the inclined convex portion 33 easily flows down, so that the processing liquid remaining in the substrate holding frame 21A decreases. . Therefore, the drying time after the surface treatment of the substrate can be shortened.

Next, one of the left and right substrate holding frames 21B will be described. Each of the substrate holding frames 21B is fixed to a thin plate fixing member 32B having one end fixed to the left and right of the lower front surface of the lift member 13, and is fixed to the thin plate fixing member 32B.
Each of the plurality of substrates W is formed of two thin plate members 32c and 32d that hold the lower edge left and right portions. The thin plate fixing member 32B and the thin plate members 32c and 32d are configured in the same manner as the thin plate fixing member 32A and the thin plate members 32a and 32b at the center, and a pair of thin plate members assembled to the left and right sides of the thin plate fixing member 32B. 32c and 32d are relatively moved in the longitudinal (horizontal) direction to adjust the mutual positions of the substrate holding grooves 22 of the thin plate members 32c and 32d, and the groove width or gap of the Y-shaped substrate holding groove 22 is appropriately adjusted. It is configured to adjust.

That is, the pair of thin plate members 32c and 32d
As shown in FIGS. 11 (A) and 11 (E), each inclined ridge line of the inclined convex portion 33 is opposed to each other, and is arranged so as to form a Y-shaped substrate holding groove 22 in side view. ing. Each substrate W is held in a state of being in contact with the vertical groove portion 22b of the Y-shaped substrate holding groove 22 and its lower edge (recess 34). Therefore, also in this embodiment, the three sets of substrate holding frames 21A are used.
The plurality of substrates W can be held side by side in a standing posture by 21B.

In the above embodiment, each thin plate fixing member 32A
A slit-shaped drainage hole 23 is formed in the vertical direction through the slit 32B. An inclined portion 23c is provided around the drainage hole 23 on the upper surface of the thin plate fixing members 32A and 32B, and each of the thin plate members 32a to 32d is formed. Since the drainage holes 23e are provided in the thickness direction of the substrate W, the flow of the processing liquid is promoted when the substrate W is pulled up from the processing liquid. Thereby, the substrate holding frame 2
The processing liquid adhering and remaining on 1A to 21B is reduced, and the drying time after the surface treatment of the substrate can be shortened.

In the above embodiment, each of the thin plate members 32a to 32a
A long hole 38 is formed in the through hole 32d, and a set of thin plate members 32a and 32b or 32c and 32d is relatively moved in the longitudinal direction at the time of assembly to adjust the relative position of the left and right substrate holding grooves 22. The shape of the substrate holding groove in side view is Y
It can be shaped like a letter or a letter V. Therefore, Y
It is not necessary to separately manufacture a thin sheet material dedicated to the letter shape or the V-shape, and it is possible to reduce the cost by sharing the thin sheet material.

FIG. 12 is a view corresponding to FIG. 11 (C) showing a first modification of the above-mentioned substrate holding frame. In this first modification, each thin plate member 32f has a thin plate fixing member 32 separated by a drainage space 23d.
F and is configured to promote the flow of the processing liquid. Other points are the same as those of the embodiment of FIGS. 11A and 11B. Note that such a configuration is shown in FIG.
In (C), when the thin plate members 32a and 32b and the thin plate fixing member 32A are fastened and fixed by bolts 39a and nuts 39b, the thin plate members 32a and 32b and the thin plate fixing member 32 are fixed.
A can be realized by interposing washers between the first and second A.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing still another modified example 2 of the substrate holding frame. In this modified example 2, each of the thin plate members 32g and the thin plate fixing member 32G are integrally formed.
The configuration is such that the flow of the processing liquid is promoted through the slit-shaped drainage hole 23 formed in the thin plate fixing member 32G. Also in these Modifications 1 and 2, when the substrate W is pulled up from the processing liquid, the processing liquid remaining on the substrate holding frame 21 is reduced, and the drying time after the surface processing of the substrate is reduced. it can.

FIG. 14 shows a first modification of the thin plate material, wherein FIG. 14A is a plan view of a main part thereof, and FIG. 14B is a perspective view of the main part thereof. In the first modification, the vertical groove portion 22b of the substrate holding groove 22 of the thin plate material 32h that comes into contact with the substrate W is chamfered. 15 shows a second modification of the thin plate material shown in FIG. 11, wherein FIG. 15 (A) is a plan view of the main part and FIG. 15 (B) is a side view of the main part. In this modified example 2, a projection 25 similar to that of FIG. 5 is formed in a vertical groove portion 22b of the substrate holding groove 22 of the thin plate material 32j that contacts the substrate W.
Other points are the same as those of the embodiment of FIG. In these modified examples 1 and 2, the contact area between the substrate surface and the thin plate material is reduced in the vertical groove portion 22b,
The area of the portion where the substrate W is not exposed to the processing liquid becomes extremely small. Thereby, the surface treatment quality of the substrate can be improved.

FIG. 16 is a longitudinal sectional front view showing an embodiment of a wafer boat provided with another substrate holding frame. The wafer boat 20 has three substrate holding frames 21A to 21B for holding a plurality of substrates W in a standing posture in a back-and-forth direction, and the front and rear ends of these substrate holding frames 21A to 21B are fixed frames 2.
It is fixed at 6. In this embodiment, three substrate holding frames 21A to 21B are each formed of a tubular member 35, and a Y-shaped substrate holding groove 22 is formed on the outer curved surface thereof. In addition, a liquid drain hole 36 is formed in the lower surface of the tubular member 35 so as to penetrate into the pipe.

Also in this embodiment, the contact area between the substrate W and the substrate holding groove 22 is small, the substrate W is held substantially in a line contact state, and when the plurality of substrates held in the standing posture are relatively pulled up from the processing liquid. In addition, the processing liquid does not remain in the substrate holding groove 22. Note that instead of the tubular member 35,
For example, by fixing a half-split member (not shown) in which a tubular member is formed in a half-split shape with the inner curved surface facing downward,
It is also possible to configure the substrate holding frames 21A to 21B. In this case, since each substrate holding groove 22 formed on the outer curved surface penetrates the inner curved surface of the half-split member, it is not necessary to make a hole 36 for the treatment liquid.

FIG. 17 is a longitudinal sectional front view showing an embodiment of a wafer chuck provided with a substrate holding frame constituted by the tubular member 35. The wafer chuck 40 includes a pair of left and right swing arms 41 that are swingably provided, and each of the swing arms 4.
A plurality of substrate holding frames 21 fixed to each other, and holding a plurality of substrates W in front and back in parallel in a standing posture, and immersing a plurality of substrates held in a standing posture in a processing liquid. And can be pulled up from the processing solution.

In this embodiment, each substrate holding frame 21 is formed of a tubular member 35, and a V-shaped substrate holding groove 22c is formed on the outer curved surface on the sandwiching side. It penetrates. Also in this embodiment, the contact area between the substrate W and the substrate holding groove 22c is small, and the substrate W is held substantially in a line contact state. The liquid does not remain in the substrate holding groove 22.

It should be noted that the wafer chuck 40 is not limited to the above embodiment, and a half-split member (not shown) in which a tubular member is formed as the substrate holding frame 21 in place of the tubular member 35 in a half-split shape. Can also be used. Further, the substrate holding frames 21A to 21B disclosed in FIGS. 1 to 11 can be used as the substrate holding frame 21. In each of the above embodiments, the substrate (semiconductor wafer) W
The orientation flat is held downward or upward by way of example, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention is practiced by appropriately changing the holding position and the number of substrate holding frames depending on the type of substrate and the like. be able to.

[0056]

The present invention has the following effects. According to the first to seventh aspects of the present invention, since the processing liquid remaining in the substrate holding groove is very small, the cross-contamination due to the removal of the processing liquid in the immersion type substrate processing step is achieved. Has been greatly improved,
Moreover, the drying time can be reduced in the subsequent drying step. According to the first aspect of the present invention, since a drain hole having a diameter larger than the thickness of the substrate is formed through the bottom of each substrate holding groove of the substrate holding frame, the additional drain hole is simply formed in the conventional substrate holding frame. It is easy to remodel.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the liquid-removing paragraph recess is formed in at least one of the left and right sides of each of the substrate holding grooves of the substrate holding frame, the length of each of the substrate holding grooves can be made sufficiently short. Therefore, there is an advantage that the contact area between the substrate and the substrate holding groove can be reduced. According to the third aspect of the present invention, the width of each of the substrate holding grooves of the substrate holding frame is formed large so as to be able to drain the liquid, and the projections for holding the substrate are formed on the opposing surfaces before and after the groove. Has an advantage that the contact area with the substrate is extremely small, and the substrate can be held substantially in a point contact state.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the plurality of substrate holding frames are configured such that the thin plate members each having a substrate holding groove formed thereon for holding the substrate are fixed to the fixing member in an upright state at intervals. Therefore, there is an advantage that the contact area between the substrate and the substrate holding groove can be reduced and the substrate can be held substantially in a line contact state. In the invention according to claim 5, each of the substrate holding frames has a first thin plate member provided with a substrate holding groove that is in contact with one surface of the substrate;
Since it has a second thin plate member provided with a substrate holding groove that comes into contact with the other surface of the substrate, each substrate is held by a substrate holding groove formed by the first thin plate member and the second thin plate member, As described above, there is an advantage that the substrate can be held substantially in line contact.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, each of the substrate holders is provided so as to face each other, and has a pair of the first thin plate member and the second thin plate member which are relatively movable in the thickness direction of the substrate. The gap of the substrate holding groove for holding the substrate can be adjusted, and by adjusting the gap, the shape of the substrate holding groove in a side view can be appropriately changed. It is not necessary to use the same sheet material, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. In the invention according to claim 7, each substrate holder includes two thin plate members and a thin plate fixing member for fixing the two thin plate members so as to face each other, and each of the thin plate members is drained in its thickness direction. Since the holes are formed through, the flow of the processing liquid is promoted when the substrate is pulled up from the processing liquid, the processing liquid remaining on the substrate holding frame is reduced, and the drying time after the surface processing of the substrate is reduced. can do.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1A and 1B show a wafer boat provided with a substrate holding frame according to the invention of claim 1, wherein FIG. 1A is a longitudinal sectional front view of the wafer boat, and FIG. 1B is a plan view of the wafer boat; (C)
2 is an enlarged side view of a main part A in FIG. 2A, and FIG. 2D is an enlarged perspective view of the main part A.

FIGS. 2A and 2B show a first embodiment of a substrate holding frame according to the invention of claim 2, wherein FIG. 2A is a longitudinal sectional front view of the substrate holding frame, and FIG. FIG. 3C is an enlarged side view of a main part of the substrate holding frame, and FIG. 3D is an enlarged perspective view of a main part of the substrate holding frame.

FIG. 3 is a view corresponding to FIG. 2, showing a second embodiment of the substrate holding frame according to the invention of claim 2;

FIG. 4 is a view corresponding to FIG. 2, showing a third embodiment of the substrate holding frame according to the invention of claim 2;

5A and 5B show an embodiment of a substrate holding frame according to the invention of claim 3, wherein FIG. 5A is an enlarged side view of a main part of the substrate holding frame, and FIG. It is an expansion perspective view of a part.

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional front view showing a first embodiment of the wafer boat according to the invention of claim 4;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of a wafer boat according to the invention of claim 4;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a second embodiment of the wafer boat according to the invention of claim 4;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a third embodiment of the wafer boat according to the invention of claim 4;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a fourth embodiment of the wafer boat according to the invention of claim 4;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the substrate holding frame according to the invention of FIG.
5A shows a fifth embodiment applied to the lifter in FIG. 1A, FIG. 1A is a side view showing the lifter partially broken away, and FIG. 1B is a side view in FIG. BB line arrow front view,
FIG. 1C is an enlarged plan view of the front end portion of the substrate holding frame at the center in FIG. 1B, FIG. 2D is an enlarged side view of the substrate holding portion of the substrate holding frame, and FIG. 2) is an enlarged side view of the substrate holding portions of the left and right substrate holding frames in FIG.

12 is a view showing a first modification of the substrate holding frame of FIG. 11;
(B) It is an equivalent figure.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing still another modified example 2 of the substrate holding frame of FIG. 11;

14A and 14B show Modification Example 1 of the thin plate material of FIG. 11, wherein FIG. 14A is a plan view of a main part thereof, and FIG. 14B is a perspective view of the main part thereof.

15 shows a second modification of the thin plate material of FIG. 11, wherein FIG. 15 (A) is a plan view of a main part thereof, and FIG. 15 (B) is a side view of the main part thereof.

FIG. 16 is a longitudinal sectional front view showing an embodiment of a wafer boat provided with a substrate holding frame.

FIG. 17 is a longitudinal sectional front view showing an embodiment of a wafer chuck provided with a substrate holding frame.

18 (A) is a longitudinal sectional view of a substrate cleaning / drying apparatus, FIG. 18 (B) is a longitudinal sectional front view of a wafer boat, and FIG. 18 (C) is a view of the substrate holding frame. FIG. 4D is an enlarged side view of a main part, and FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

W: substrate (wafer), 20: substrate holder (wafer boat), 21 / 21A / 21B: substrate holding frame, 22/22
b · 22c · · · substrate holding groove, 23 · 23a · 23b · · · liquid drain hole, 23e · · · drain hole, 24 · · · liquid drainage recess, 25 · · · ·
Projection, 26 / 26b ... fixed member (fixed frame), 32A / 3
2B: Thin plate fixing member, 32a / 32c: First thin plate material, 3
2b, 32d: second thin plate material, 40: substrate holder (wafer chuck).

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page Examiner Mototsugu Morikawa (56) References JP-A-61-161724 (JP, A) JP-A-3-22547 (JP, A) JP-A-7-17589 (JP, A) JP-A-6-216102 (JP, A) JP-A-6-286869 (JP, A) JP-A-7-6988 (JP, A) JP-A-7-86373 (JP, A) (JP, U) Shokai Sho 61-177450 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01L 21/304 648 B08B 11/02 B08B 3/04 H01L 21/68

Claims (7)

(57) [Claims] 1. A substrate processing apparatus, comprising: a plurality of substrate holding frames for holding a plurality of substrates in a standing posture in a back-and-forth direction, wherein the plurality of substrates held in the standing posture are relatively pulled up from a processing liquid. in the holder, formed through a weep hole having a diameter greater than the thickness of the substrate to the groove bottom surface of each substrate holding groove of the substrate holding frame, the substrate
Insert another drain hole in the holding frame parallel to the bottom of the groove.
The through hole is formed, and the lower end of the drain hole is connected to the another drain hole.
A substrate holder for a substrate processing apparatus, wherein the substrate holder is in communication. 2. A substrate processing apparatus, comprising: a plurality of substrate holding frames for holding a plurality of substrates in a standing posture in a back-and-forth direction, wherein the plurality of substrates held in the standing posture are relatively pulled up from a processing solution. In the holder, each substrate holding groove of the substrate holding frame has a V-shaped groove, a vertical groove,
Part, and a groove bottom surface, from above the V-shaped groove part of the substrate holding groove from at least one of the left and right sides of each substrate holding groove.
A substrate holder for a substrate processing apparatus, wherein a liquid draining paragraph concave portion is formed so as to extend over a bottom surface of the groove. 3. A substrate processing apparatus, comprising: a plurality of substrate holding frames for holding a plurality of substrates in a standing posture in a back-and-forth direction, wherein the plurality of substrates held in the standing posture are relatively pulled up from a processing solution. In the holder, each substrate holding groove of the substrate holding frame has a V-shaped groove, a vertical groove,
Portion, and a groove bottom surface, the width of each of the substrate holding grooves is formed large enough to allow liquid to be drained , and the inclination of the V-shaped groove is
A substrate processing tool for a substrate processing apparatus, wherein a projection for holding a substrate is formed along a slope . 4. A substrate processing apparatus, comprising: a plurality of substrate holding frames for holding a plurality of substrates in a standing posture in a back-and-forth direction, wherein the plurality of substrates held in the standing posture are relatively pulled up from a processing solution. In the holder, the plurality of substrate holding frames are configured by fixing thin plate members each having a substrate holding groove formed on an upper portion thereof to a fixing member in an upright state at intervals. Substrate holder for substrate processing equipment. 5. Each of the substrate holding frames has a first thin plate member provided with a substrate holding groove in contact with one surface of the substrate and a second thin plate member provided with a substrate holding groove in contact with the other surface of the substrate. The substrate holder of the substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a thin plate. 6. The substrate according to claim 5, wherein each of the substrate holding frames includes a pair of a first sheet material and a second sheet material which are provided to face each other and are relatively movable in a thickness direction of the substrate. Substrate holder for processing equipment. 7. Each of the substrate holding frames includes two thin plate members and a thin plate fixing member for fixing the two thin plate members so as to face each other, and each thin plate member is provided in the thickness direction thereof. 6. The substrate holder of the substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein a drainage hole for discharging the processing liquid is formed through the drainage hole.