JP6705925B2 - Wet processing device using a syringe - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a wet processing apparatus equipped with a processing liquid supply device for supplying a processing liquid filled in a processing liquid tank to a predetermined supply location.

In recent years, as a semiconductor device manufacturing line, it is basically necessary to form one device on a 0.5 inch size (half inch size) wafer, and therefore, the manufacturing process is configured by a plurality of portable unit processing devices. , A minimal fab system has been proposed that makes it possible to relocate these multiple unit processing units to a flow ship or a job shop, and to appropriately cope with ultra-small-volume production and high-mix production ( For example, see Patent Document 1.).

Also, as a developing device used in the minimal fab system, the amount of developing solution that is less than the amount spilled on the wafer is dropped onto the wafer, and the wafer is rotated slowly at a rotation speed that does not cause the developing solution to spill on the wafer. There has been proposed a spin developing apparatus which is adapted to do so (for example, refer to Patent Document 2).

International Publication No. 2012/029775 International Publication No. 2013/084574

The minimal fab system of Patent Document 1 is a method of processing half-inch size wafers one by one in a unit processing device, and is a device for developing an object to be developed printed on the half-inch size wafer. Although the spin developing apparatus described in Patent Document 2 is known, in a processing liquid supply device that supplies a processing liquid when developing or cleaning a half-inch size wafer (object to be processed), for example, There is no known device capable of accurately supplying a very small amount of the processing liquid of about 0.2 ml onto the wafer.

The present invention has been made from the actual situation in the above-described conventional technology, and its purpose is to supply a processing liquid to an extremely small wafer such as a half-inch size which can be used in the above-described minimal fab system or the like. Another object of the present invention is to provide a wet processing apparatus equipped with a processing liquid supply device capable of accurately supplying an extremely small amount of processing liquid.

To achieve the above object, the present invention includes a stage having a locking piece portion for holding over the outer periphery of the wafer for minimal fab system in the circumferential direction, and the processing liquid supply device, the said processing liquid supply device comprises a syringe for discharging on a wafer placed on the stage and inhalation of processing liquid, a processing liquid tank in which the treatment liquid has been filled, one end connected to the processing liquid tank , The other end is connected to the syringe, a filling pipe for sucking the processing liquid filled in the processing liquid tank into the syringe, and one end is connected to an intermediate portion of the filling pipe, and the other end is a predetermined supply A supply pipe for supplying the treatment liquid discharged from the syringe to a predetermined supply place, and attached to the connection position of the supply pipe and the filling pipe. An opening/closing valve capable of controlling the opening/closing of each of the filling pipes and an outlet provided at the center position of the lower end surface, the outlet being provided concentrically with the locking piece portion and facing the stage. And a cylindrical nozzle which is supplied with the processing liquid from the processing liquid supply device and discharges from the discharge port, wherein the nozzle is formed to have an outer diameter dimension equal to or larger than an outer diameter dimension of the wafer. The wet treatment device is characterized in that

According to the present invention thus configured, the syringe is driven in a state where the supply pipe is closed by the on-off valve and the filling pipe is opened, and the predetermined amount of the treatment liquid filled in the treatment liquid tank is obtained. After inhaling into the syringe, the filling pipe is closed by the on-off valve and the supply pipe is opened. In this state, the syringe is driven and the predetermined amount of the processing liquid sucked into the syringe is discharged to the supply pipe, so that the predetermined amount of the processing liquid is supplied to the predetermined supply point through the supply pipe. can do. Therefore, by appropriately controlling the discharge amount of the processing liquid from the syringe, even a very small amount of the processing liquid can be accurately supplied to a predetermined supply location. It is suitable for supplying the processing liquid to such an extremely small wafer. At the same time, by setting the outer diameter of the nozzle to be equal to or larger than the outer diameter of the wafer, the amount of chemical liquid remaining on the wafer can be made constant. Furthermore, in this state, the processing liquid supplied onto the wafer is kept constant by supplying the processing liquid from the nozzle at a constant supply rate or supplying the processing liquid onto the wafer at an intentionally controlled supply speed. Since it flows from the center to the outer periphery, the chemical reaction rate and the like due to the supply of the treatment liquid can be stabilized.

Further, the present invention is the above invention, wherein the syringe has a piston portion having an injection port penetrating along the axial direction, and at least a part of a proximal end side of the piston portion is inserted so as to be capable of advancing and retracting in the axial direction. A wet treatment device comprising a bottom cylinder-shaped syringe main body, and the other end of the filling pipe is connected to the injection port on the tip end side of the piston portion of the syringe.

According to the present invention thus configured, for example, in a state in which the tip side of the piston portion of the syringe is directed upward, by moving the piston portion relatively downward with respect to the syringe body, At the initial stage of discharging the inhaled processing liquid from the injection port of the piston part to the filling pipe, the gas sucked into the syringe body can be efficiently discharged from the injection port of the piston part to the filling pipe. it can. Therefore, before supplying the treatment liquid sucked into the syringe body to a predetermined supply location, the piston portion is moved relatively downward with respect to the syringe body, and the gas in the syringe body is efficiently discharged, By starting the supply of the processing liquid to the predetermined supply location, it is possible to suppress variations in the supply amount of the processing liquid based on the gas sucked into the syringe body, so that the supply of the processing liquid to the predetermined supply location is more accurate. It becomes possible to do well.

Further, in the present invention according to the above-mentioned invention, the processing liquid tank is provided with an opening portion for taking in outside air when the processing liquid is sucked, and a gas supply portion for supplying an inert gas toward the opening portion. And a wet treatment device.

The present invention thus configured, by supplying an inert gas toward the opening of the treatment liquid tank, the treatment liquid in the treatment liquid tank, when the syringe is sucked through the filling pipe, The gas in the treatment liquid tank that may be taken in together with the treatment liquid can be made an inert gas. As a result, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of watermarks and the like that may occur when a gas such as oxygen is taken in together with the treatment liquid and the treatment liquid is supplied to a predetermined supply location together with the taken-in gas.

Further, the present invention provides the wet treatment apparatus according to the above-mentioned invention, wherein the opening/closing valve is a three-way valve capable of opening/closing control of the supply pipe and the filling pipe separately.

The present invention configured as described above, an open/close valve capable of opening/closing control of each of the supply pipe and the filling pipe is a three-way valve in which the supply pipe and the filling pipe can be separately opened/closed, The opening/closing control of each of the supply pipe and the filling pipe can be performed more accurately. As a result, the processing liquid filled in the processing liquid tank can be more accurately sucked into the syringe, and the processing liquid sucked into the syringe can be more accurately supplied to the predetermined supply location.

Further, the present invention provides the wet treatment apparatus according to the above-mentioned invention, characterized in that the processing liquid supply device supplies onto the wafer an amount of the processing liquid that does not spill over the wafer.

According to the present invention configured as described above, the processing liquid sucked by the syringe of the processing liquid supply device is discharged from the syringe by driving the syringe even if the processing liquid is in an amount that does not spill on the wafer. By this, it is possible to accurately supply on the wafer.

Further, the present invention provides the wet processing apparatus according to the above-mentioned invention, wherein the wafer has a disk shape having an outer diameter of 12.5 mm.

The present invention thus configured can appropriately control the discharge amount of the processing liquid of the processing liquid supply device even for a disc-shaped wafer having an extremely small outer diameter of 12.5 mm used in a so-called minimal fab system. This makes it possible to accurately supply a very small amount of processing liquid onto the wafer.

According to the present invention, by appropriately controlling the discharge amount of the processing liquid from the syringe, even a very small amount of the processing liquid can be accurately supplied to a predetermined supply location.

It is a perspective view showing the appearance of the wet processing equipment concerning a 1st embodiment of the present invention. It is a part of internal structure of the said wet processing apparatus, It is a schematic diagram which shows operation|movement at the time of inhaling a process liquid. It is a part of internal structure of the said wet processing apparatus, It is a schematic diagram which shows operation|movement at the time of discharge of a process liquid. It is the schematic which shows a part of internal structure of the wet processing apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment]
<Overall structure>
The wet processing apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention is, as shown in FIG. 1, a unit processing apparatus based on a minimal fabrication concept housed in a housing 2 having a standard size. Is configured. The wet processing apparatus 1 is used, for example, when supplying a chemical liquid L, which is a predetermined processing liquid, onto a wafer W, which is an ejection target, for cleaning. Here, the minimal fab concept is the most suitable for the semiconductor manufacturing market of high-mix low-volume production, and can correspond to various fabs that are resource-saving, energy-saving, investment-saving, and high-performance, and are described in, for example, JP2012-54414A. To realize a minimal production system that minimizes the production of.

The housing 2 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape having a longitudinal direction in the vertical direction, and has a uniform size of width (x) 0.30 m x depth (y) 0.45 m x height (z) 1.44 m. The structure is designed to block the intrusion of fine particles and gas molecules into the interior. Various processing apparatus main bodies 3 for processing the wafer W are housed in the apparatus upper section 2 a on the upper side of the housing 2. The processing apparatus main body 3 has a structure capable of performing one processing step for cleaning the surface of the wafer W, for example. On the lower side of the housing 2, there is provided a device lower part 2b for incorporating a control device for controlling the processing device body 3 in the device upper part 2a. Various units used for processing in the processing apparatus body 3 are housed in the apparatus lower portion 2b. In addition, a supporting portion m for supporting the housing 2 is provided in the device lower portion 2b.

The front side of the device upper portion 2a is cut upward in a concave shape at an intermediate portion in the vertical direction of the device upper portion 2a of the housing 2. An operation panel 2c is attached to the front side on the upper side of the device upper portion 2a. The lower part of the upper part 2 a of the apparatus is a front chamber 2 d for loading the wafer W into the housing 2. A substantially circular docking port 2e serving as a shuttle accommodating portion for installing a shuttle (not shown) serving as a transfer container is provided in a substantially central portion of the upper surface of the front chamber 2d. The front chamber 2d is configured to block each of the fine particles and gas molecules entering the housing 2. The front chamber 2d is equipped with a PLAD (Particle Lock Air-tight Docking) system (not shown) that allows the wafer W accommodated in the shuttle to be taken in and out of the housing 2 without being exposed to the outside air. Has been.

<Processor body>
The processing apparatus main body 3 is a cleaning unit that constitutes a wafer cleaning machine as a wet processing apparatus that cleans the surface of a substantially disk-shaped or rectangular-shaped wafer W that is molded to a predetermined size. The cleaning by the processing apparatus main body 3 includes cleaning for the purpose of removing the resist on the wafer W, etching, and removing adhered residues and the like. The wafer W to be cleaned by the processing apparatus main body 3 is formed in a disk shape having a predetermined size, for example, a circular surface having a diameter of 12.5 mm (half inch size). A predetermined pattern is formed on the wafer W in advance and is in a state before cleaning. As the wafer W, a bare silicon wafer from which the photoresist film has been removed can be used.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the processing apparatus main body 3 includes a cleaning chamber 31. At the center position of the cleaning chamber 31, a stage 32 having an engaging piece portion 32a for holding the wafer W on the upper surface is provided. The stage 32 is configured to be rotatable in a horizontal direction by a drive source (not shown) such as a motor. The stage 32 faces the upper surface of the stage 32 and is concentric with a cylindrical liquid holding material 33 as a processing liquid holding material. It is attached in a shape. Inside the liquid holding material 33, a CCD camera (not shown) as a photographing device for photographing the surface state of the wafer W held by being locked by the locking piece portion 32a of the stage 32, and this liquid holding An ultrasonic oscillator (not shown) for ultrasonically vibrating the chemical liquid supplied onto the wafer W via the material 33 is attached.

In the cleaning chamber 31, for example, hydrogen peroxide solution (H ₂ O ₂ ·H ₂ O) or ammonium hydroxide aqueous solution (on the surface of the wafer W held by being locked by the locking piece portion 32 a of the stage 32). A plurality of, for example, two, nozzles 34 and 35 for ejecting a chemical liquid for supplying the chemical liquid L such as (NH ₄ OH·H ₂ O) are attached. Each of the nozzles 34 and 35 is in a state where its tip end portion is brought close to between the locking piece portion 32a of the stage 32 and the lower end surface of the liquid holding material 33, that is, the chemical liquid is placed on the wafer W from the side of the stage 32. It is configured to supply L. The chemical liquid L supplied from the nozzles 34 and 35 is diluted with pure water to a predetermined concentration in advance and filled in a chemical liquid bottle 42 as a processing liquid tank.

At a position adjacent to the cleaning chamber 31, a processing liquid supply for supplying a predetermined chemical liquid L onto the wafer W held on the stage 32 by being locked by the locking piece portion 32a of the stage 32 of the cleaning chamber 31. A chemical liquid supply device 41 as a device is attached. The chemical liquid supply devices 41 are attached so as to correspond to the number of nozzles 34 and 35, specifically, one chemical liquid supply device 41 for one nozzle. Each chemical solution supply device 41 includes a chemical solution bottle 42 for filling a predetermined chemical solution L. The chemical liquid bottle 42 is formed, for example, in a bottomed cylindrical shape, and is filled with a predetermined amount of the chemical liquid L of about 100 cc and stored. The chemical liquid bottle 42 is provided with an opening 42a for sucking the outside air and taking it into the chemical liquid bottle 42 as the volume of the chemical liquid L in the chemical liquid bottle 42 decreases due to the suction, and the gas supply unit is opposed to the opening 42a. The nitrogen gas supply device 43 is attached. The nitrogen gas supply device 43 has a spray nozzle 43a for spraying the nitrogen (N2) gas G, which is an inert gas, to the opening 42a and sucking it into the chemical liquid bottle 42 for supply. The tip portion of the spray nozzle 43a is expanded in a stepped shape, and the tip end of the opening 42a is concentrically opposed to the tip end of the opening 42a of the chemical liquid bottle 42 with the expanded tip end side. It is attached so as to cover the part.

A tubular suction hose 44 for sucking the chemical liquid L in the chemical liquid bottle 42 is attached to an upper end portion of the chemical liquid bottle 42. The suction hose 44 is a filling pipe for sucking the drug solution L stored in the drug solution bottle 42 from the drug solution bottle 42 into the syringe 45. One end of the suction hose 44 is inserted from the upper end of the chemical liquid bottle 42, and is inserted into the chemical liquid L in the chemical liquid bottle 42. The other end of the suction hose 44 is attached with a syringe 45 for sucking the chemical liquid L in the chemical liquid bottle 42 through the suction hose 44. The syringe 45 includes a syringe body 46 having a substantially cylindrical shape with a bottom, and a piston portion 47 that is inserted into the syringe body 46 so as to be able to move forward and backward. The syringe 45 is made of a material having excellent resistance such as a fluororesin, and has a configuration capable of inhaling, for example, 1.5 ml of the chemical liquid L.

The syringe main body 46 is in a state in which the opening 46a is directed upward, and a drive device 46c for driving the syringe main body 46 in the vertical direction, that is, the axial direction is provided on the cylindrical peripheral surface portion 46b of the syringe main body 46. It is installed. The drive device 46c includes a pulse motor (not shown) which is a precision motor capable of pulse control as its drive source. The drive device 46c is a linear moving machine that moves the syringe body 46 up and down along the axial direction by driving the pulse motor by pulse control.

The piston portion 47 includes a cylindrical piston body 47a having an outer diameter dimension equal to the inner diameter dimension of the peripheral surface portion 46b of the syringe body 46. The piston main body 47a is attached such that at least a part of the base end side of the piston main body 47a is inserted into the peripheral surface portion 46b of the syringe main body 46 from the opening 46a of the syringe main body 46 so as to be able to move forward and backward. Here, the internal space S between the bottom of the syringe body 46 and the lower end of the piston body 47a is provided so that its maximum capacity is larger than the amount of one-time supply from the nozzle 35 to the wafer W. .. An injection port 47b is provided at the center of the piston body 47a along the axial direction of the piston body 47a. The inlet 47b penetrates from the front end surface to the base end surface of the piston body 47a in the axial direction. An annular flange 47c is formed on the base end side of the piston body 47a and extends in the circumferential direction of the piston body 47a. The piston part 47 is said to have a part of the base end side of the piston body 47a inserted into the opening part 46a of the syringe body 46, and is fixed to the outer surface of the cleaning chamber 31 by screwing or the like. ..

The other end of the suction hose 44 is connected to the inlet 47b on the tip side of the piston portion 47. The intermediate portion of the suction hose 44 is connected to one end of a supply hose 48 for supplying the chemical liquid L discharged from the piston portion 47 onto a predetermined supply point, that is, on the wafer W. The other end of the supply hose 48 is connected to the base end portion of the nozzle 35, which is a supply location of the chemical liquid L. That is, the supply hose 48 supplies the chemical liquid L, which is pushed by the piston portion 47 and discharged from the injection port 47 b, by moving the syringe body 46 of the syringe 45 upward from the middle portion of the suction hose 44 to the nozzle 35. It is a supply pipe for doing.

A three-way solenoid valve 49 as an opening/closing valve capable of controlling opening/closing of each of the suction hose 44 and the supply hose 48 is attached to a connection position between the suction hose 44 and the supply hose 48. The three-way solenoid valve 49 is a three-way valve configured so that the suction hose 44 and the supply hose 48 can be opened and closed separately. The three-way solenoid valve 49 opens the suction hose 44 while controlling the supply hose 48 to be closed when the syringe main body 46 of the syringe 45 is moved downward to suck the chemical liquid L in the chemical liquid bottle 42 into the syringe main body 46. When the syringe main body 46 is controlled to move upward to supply the drug solution L sucked into the syringe main body 46 to the nozzle 35, the suction hose 44 is closed and the supply hose 48 is opened.

Next, a method for discharging a chemical liquid by the chemical liquid supply device 41 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

<Filling process>
The state in which the nitrogen gas G is continuously blown from the spray nozzle 43a of the nitrogen gas supply device 43 to the opening 42a of the chemical liquid bottle 42, and the concentration of the nitrogen gas G is increased around the opening 42a of the chemical liquid bottle 42. Then, as shown in FIG. 2, the three-way solenoid valve 49 is driven to close one end side of the supply hose 48 and open the middle part of the suction hose 44, and the chemical liquid L in the chemical liquid bottle 42 is injected by the syringe 45. Prepare for inhalation. In this state, the drive device 46c is driven to move the syringe main body 46 of the syringe 45 downward to widen the internal space S between the bottom of the piston portion 47 and the syringe main body 46, whereby the suction hose 44 is obtained. The drug solution L that fills the inside flows into the syringe body 46, and the drug solution L in the drug solution bottle 42 is sucked into the suction hose 44. At this time, due to the decrease in the filling amount of the chemical liquid L in the chemical liquid bottle 42 due to the suction of the chemical liquid L in the chemical liquid bottle 42 into the suction hose 44, the high concentration nitrogen gas is discharged from the opening 42a of the chemical liquid bottle 42. G is sucked into the chemical liquid bottle 42.

<Supply process>
As shown in FIG. 3, in a state where the syringe body 46 of the syringe 45 is filled with a predetermined amount of the drug solution L, the three-way solenoid valve 49 is driven to close the middle portion of the suction hose 44 and one end of the supply hose 48. The side is opened so that the chemical liquid L in the syringe 45 can be supplied onto the wafer W. In this state, the driving device 46c is driven to move the syringe main body 46 of the syringe 45 upward, and the internal space S in the syringe main body 46 is narrowed. The chemical liquid L that has been discharged through the injection port 47b of the above and fills the inside of the supply hose 48 is supplied to the nozzle 35 and is supplied onto the wafer W. At this time, by accurately controlling the upward movement distance of the syringe body 46 by the drive device 46c, the space between the bottom surface of the liquid holding material 33 and the surface of the wafer W is filled, and the surface of the wafer W is A predetermined amount of the chemical liquid L that does not spill can be accurately supplied onto the wafer W.

<Continuous process>
Furthermore, the syringe body 46 is moved upward in a predetermined distance and moved stepwise every time the wafer W is processed, whereby a predetermined amount of the chemical liquid L is discharged from the injection port 47b of the piston portion 47 each time. .. Therefore, it is possible to process a plurality of wafers W with the chemical liquid L using a predetermined amount of the chemical liquid L sucked into the syringe body 46.

<Effect>
Generally, since a syringe is a kind of tank for storing a drug solution, it is usually used to use a fraction of the predetermined amount to fill the entire amount of the drug solution at once. A typical example is a syringe. As described above, the general syringe is practically used for one-time use of the drug solution. For this reason, syringes are not usually used for precise liquid supply. Further, as another application of the syringe, it may be used for dropping one to several drops of a drug solution or the like. In this case, a small amount of the drug solution is dropped and added to the object, and in most cases, the drug solution is dropped by pushing a piston part of the syringe by a person.

On the other hand, there is also a syringe called a micro buret, which can drop a precise amount of drug solution. However, this syringe is the same as the dropper in the method of supplying the drug solution, and is a method in which a person absorbs it from another raw material tank and fills it in the syringe tank, so that the drug solution cannot be continuously supplied. There is also a device in which a robot fills a syringe with a drug instead of a person, but even in this case, since the drug is taken to the raw material tank at the time of filling the drug, continuous supply of the drug is not possible, and the syringe itself does not have space. Therefore, there is a problem in that it must be moved manually, and the nozzle portion of the syringe may be contaminated or contaminated with the chemical liquid.

There is also a piston pump called a plunger pump, but this piston pump has a valve and is configured so that the discharge amount of the chemical liquid becomes constant by opening and closing the valve once. However, in the piston pump, the pulsation of the chemical liquid may occur due to the opening and closing of the valve. As described above, it is not easy for a syringe or a piston pump to continuously supply a minute amount of chemical liquid while controlling it precisely and freely.

On the other hand, for a pump that supplies a small flow rate of chemical solution, it is thought that the size should be reduced in principle, but the smaller the size, the finer micromachining is required, and the longer the pump life is. It is not easy to reduce the manufacturing cost. Further, since most pumps supply a fixed amount of the chemical liquid in a divided manner, there is a risk that the pulsation of the chemical liquid may occur.

Furthermore, the problem of precise control of the chemical liquid is that even if a minute amount of the chemical liquid accumulates due to the surface tension at the tip of the outlet at the chemical liquid discharge port such as a nozzle, and the chemical liquid is pumped out and pushed out, the chemical liquid will not be discharged. There is a possibility that the chemical solution may not be actually collected and the chemical solution may accumulate at the tip of the outlet. At the same time, due to the surface tension, when a small amount of the chemical liquid is discharged from the chemical liquid discharge port and is released, there is a problem that the liquid chemical is intermittently supplied as a droplet.

Therefore, in the chemical liquid supply device 41 according to the first embodiment described above, the chemical liquid L can be continuously supplied without pulsation by precisely controlling the supply speed and the supply amount of the chemical liquid L having a minute flow rate. I am trying. Specifically, the syringe 45 and the three-way solenoid valve 49 are used, and the driving distance of the syringe body 46 when the syringe body 46 of the syringe 45 is moved up and down by the drive device 46c is accurately controlled. The chemical liquid L in 42 can be accurately filled into the syringe body 46, and can be accurately supplied onto the wafer W from the syringe body 46.

In particular, the drive device 46c is a pulse motor, and the drive device 46c is pulse-controlled to accurately control the vertical movement of the syringe main body 46, so that the filling amount and the discharge amount of the drug solution L into the syringe 45 are, for example, 0. It can be controlled accurately on the order of 001 ml. Therefore, even a very small amount of the chemical liquid L such as 0.2 ml can be accurately supplied to the surface of the wafer W, so that the chemical liquid on the extremely small half-inch size wafer W adapted to the minimal fab concept can be supplied. Is suitable as a supply method of the liquid chemical L and does not spill out between the surface of the wafer W held by the locking piece 32a of the stage 32 and held by the surface tension of the chemical liquid L and the bottom surface of the liquid holding material 33. Even a very small amount of the chemical liquid L can be accurately supplied between the wafer W and the liquid holding material 33.

Moreover, since the driving device 46c is configured to move the syringe body 46 in a straight line, the piston portion 47 of the syringe 45 can be continuously pushed. Therefore, the pulsation is not generated in the chemical liquid L discharged from the piston portion 47 of the syringe 45. Moreover, since the speed at which the syringe body 46 is driven can be controlled by the moving speed of the drive device 46c, the movement of the syringe body 46 can be performed with extremely precise control. Therefore, the discharge pressure of the chemical liquid L from the piston portion 47 of the syringe 45 can also be controlled by the moving speed of the drive device 46c.

Further, by moving the syringe main body 46 of the syringe 45 downward, the nozzles 34 and 35 can be backed up. Here, “Zuck back” is emitted from the nozzles 34 and 35, but due to the surface tension of the nozzle tip portion, a droplet of the chemical liquid L accumulates in the nozzle tip portion, and this droplet is unintentionally followed. In order to prevent a difference between the discharge amount of the chemical liquid L to be supplied from the syringe 45 and the supply amount of the chemical liquid L actually supplied, the chemical liquid L is slightly back-flowed and the nozzle tip This is to prevent the chemical liquid L from adhering to the portion as a droplet. Usually, in order to realize the backpack, a complicated mechanism is required, but in the first embodiment, the backpack can be realized only by moving the syringe body 46 downward.

Further, by bringing the nozzles 34 and 35 closer to or equal to the droplet size of the chemical liquid L ejected from the nozzles 34 and 35 with respect to the wafer W, the chemical liquid L ejected from the nozzles 34 and 35 is made into droplets. Instead, a fixed amount can be supplied onto the wafer W. In particular, a certain amount of the chemical liquid L can be supplied onto the wafer W without pulsation by the syringe 45 using the mechanical piston movement that mechanically moves the syringe body 46. Therefore, by bringing the outlets of the nozzles 34 and 35 closer to the wafer W so that the distance is equal to or less than the droplet of the chemical liquid L, the chemical liquid can be supplied at a constant speed.

In particular, in the first embodiment described above, the maximum capacity of the internal space S of the syringe 45 is set to be larger than the amount of one-time supply from the nozzles 34 and 35 to the wafer W, so that the chemical solution is supplied from the nozzles 34 and 35. Can be completely constant from the start of feeding to the end of feeding. When the nozzles 34 and 35 have an outer diameter of 1.2 mm and an inner diameter of 0.8 mm, the droplets are about 0.013 cc. If this droplet is a sphere, the droplet has an outer diameter of about 1.5 mm. Therefore, when the nozzles 34 and 35 are brought closer to the wafer W than 1.5 mm, droplets are not formed, so that the chemical liquid L can be continuously supplied.

Particularly, a chemical solution bottle 42 filled with about 49 ml of a first chemical solution (aqueous solution of ammonium hydroxide) prepared by diluting 14 ml of ammonium hydroxide (NH4OH) with 35 ml of pure water (H20), and 70 ml of 28 ml of hydrogen peroxide (H202) with pure water. A chemical liquid bottle 42 filled with 98 ml of the diluted second chemical liquid (hydrogen peroxide aqueous solution) is prepared, and 0.1 ml (0.1 ml in total) of each of the first and second chemical liquids by each syringe 45, each nozzle 34, By supplying from 35 to the surface of the wafer W, these first and second chemicals can be mixed at the position immediately before the time of supplying to the surface of the wafer W, and (ammonium hydroxide):(hydrogen peroxide):( The chemical liquid L having a mixture ratio of (pure water) of 1:1:5 can be supplied to the surface of the wafer W.

In addition, the syringe body 46 has an opening 46a directed upward, and a syringe 45 is formed by penetrating an injection port 47b for sucking and discharging the drug solution L on the piston part 47 side. Therefore, for example, when the syringe body 46 is moved downward in a state where the syringe body 46 is not filled with the drug solution L to suck the drug solution L into the syringe body 46, a gas such as nitrogen gas G (outside air ) Is inhaled, this gas moves upward due to the difference in specific gravity from the chemical liquid L, and accumulates around the injection port 47b below the piston portion 47. Therefore, in this state, the syringe body 46 is moved upward, and the drug solution L sucked into the syringe body 46 is sucked into the syringe body 46 at an initial stage, that is, an initializing stage when the drug solution L is discharged from the injection port 47b of the piston portion 47. The trapped gas can be efficiently discharged, that is, discharged from the inlet 47b of the piston portion 47. Therefore, the syringe body 46 is moved upward in a state before the chemical solution L sucked into the syringe body 46 is supplied to the surface of the wafer W, and the gas sucked into the syringe body 46 is efficiently returned to the chemical solution bottle 42. Then, by further moving the syringe body 46 upward and starting the supply of the chemical liquid L to the surface of the wafer W, it is possible to suppress the variation in the supply amount of the chemical liquid L based on the gas sucked into the syringe body 46. it can. As a result, the chemical liquid L can be more accurately supplied from the syringe 45 to the surface of the wafer W.

In addition, the nitrogen gas G is blown by the nitrogen gas supply device 43 toward the opening 42a of the chemical liquid bottle 42, and the atmosphere around the opening 42a of the chemical liquid bottle 42 has a high concentration of nitrogen gas G. 46 is moved downward and the liquid medicine L in the liquid medicine bottle 42 is sucked into the syringe body 46. As a result, when the chemical liquid L in the chemical liquid bottle 42 is sucked into the syringe body 46, the gas in the chemical liquid bottle 42 that may be taken in together with the chemical liquid L becomes a highly concentrated inert gas, that is, the nitrogen gas G. it can. Therefore, a gas such as oxygen is taken in together with the chemical liquid L, and the chemical liquid L is supplied to the surface of the wafer W together with the taken-in gas to prevent generation of a watermark or the like that may occur when the wafer W is subjected to the chemical liquid treatment. be able to.

Further, the suction hose 44 from the liquid medicine bottle 42 to the syringe 45 and the supply hose 48 from the intermediate portion of the suction hose 44 to the nozzles 34, 35 are opened and closed by one three-way solenoid valve 49. .. Therefore, by controlling the opening/closing operation of this one three-way solenoid valve 49, the flow path for sucking the chemical liquid L from the chemical liquid bottle 42 into the syringe 45 and the flow path for supplying the chemical liquid L from the syringe 45 to the surface of the wafer W are controlled. Can be accurately separated from the flow path of. Therefore, the chemical liquid L filled in the chemical liquid bottle 42 can be more accurately sucked into the syringe body 46, and the chemical liquid L sucked into the syringe body 46 can be supplied to the surface of the wafer W more accurately and accurately. Becomes At the same time, when the chemical liquid L is used, it is sucked from the chemical liquid bottle 42 into the syringe body 46, and the chemical liquid L sucked into the syringe body 46 is supplied onto the wafer W, so that the chemical liquid L is deteriorated. And the like, and the frequency of exchanging the chemical liquid bottle 42 can be reduced, so that the burden on the user can be reduced.

Further, as a method of adding the unreacted chemical liquid and quickly discharging the reactive chemical liquid while keeping the chemical liquid L on the wafer W at a constant amount, as in the first embodiment, the same method as that on the wafer W is used. A cylindrical liquid holding material 33 having a diameter is placed close to each other. With this configuration, the amount of chemical liquid supplied onto the wafer W can be maintained at a constant amount. In this case, for supplying the chemical liquid, it is necessary to discharge the chemical liquid L from the outside to flow into the gap between the wafer W and the liquid holding material 33. In particular, the outer diameter of the liquid holding material 33 may be slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the wafer W for the purpose of promoting the discharge of the chemical liquid L onto the wafer W.

[Second Embodiment]
<Structure>
The second embodiment of the present invention is different from the above-described first embodiment in that in the first embodiment, nozzles 34 and 35 are installed beside the stage 32, and the wafer W on the stage 32 is provided from the nozzles 34 and 35. While the chemical liquid L is supplied between the liquid holding material 33 and the liquid holding material 33, the second embodiment is configured to supply the chemical liquid L from the nozzle 35 on the wafer W installed on the stage 32. That is, in the wet processing apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the configuration excluding the nozzle 35 and the liquid holding material 33 is the same as that of the first embodiment, and the structure of the nozzle 35 is This is different from the first embodiment.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the nozzle 35 is formed in a cylindrical shape having a chemical solution discharge port 35a in the lower side, and is perpendicular to the wafer W held by being locked by the locking piece portion 32a of the stage 32. Are mounted concentrically. The outer diameter of the tip of the nozzle 35 is substantially equal to the outer diameter of the wafer W placed on the stage 32, and a predetermined distance A is formed between the surface of the wafer W and the lower end surface of the nozzle 35. It is installed as described.

<Effect>
Generally, when the surface of the wafer W, which is an ejection target, is a flat surface, there is no infinite size in the flat surface, and thus there is an end portion of the flat surface. A typical example is a disk-shaped wafer W having a predetermined size. In such a case, even if the chemical liquid L is supplied at an extremely stable and intended supply speed due to the surface tension acting at the end portion, the chemical liquid L discharged from the nozzle 35 is discharged at the end portion of the wafer W. Due to the generated surface tension, the chemical solution L gradually accumulates on the wafer W, and even if the chemical solution on the wafer W changes with time even if it is supplied at a preset supply rate, the chemical reaction rate by the chemical solution L supplied on the wafer W also changes. It may change over time.

Therefore, in the wet processing apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment, the outer diameter of the tip of the nozzle 35 is set equal to the outer diameter of the wafer W. As a result, the surface tension generated in the chemical liquid L is determined not by the wafer W itself but by the end portion of the wafer W and the lower end portion of the nozzle 35. The flow rate of the chemical liquid L that can be supplied onto the wafer W is up to a height of only about 1 mm in the case of a wafer W having an outer diameter of more than 20 mm, but the end of the wafer W having a small outer diameter of 15 mm or less. The surface tension of is gradually increasing. For example, on the surface of a silicon wafer, water can be retained up to a height of 4 mm without spilling from the surface. That is, the chemical liquid L is supplied in a very small amount, and the chemical liquid L is always supplied to the surface of the wafer W in a constant amount, and the reaction substances and contaminants generated as a result of the chemical reaction by the chemical liquid L are promptly discharged from the surface of the wafer W. In order to do so, the surface tension generated at the edge of the wafer W is inconvenient.

On the other hand, in the wet processing apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment described above, the outer diameter of the tip of the nozzle 35 and the outer diameter of the wafer W are set to be substantially equal to each other, and the gap A between the nozzle 35 and the wafer W is set. The chemical liquid L is stored. As a result, the gap A becomes a kind of closed space for holding the chemical liquid L, and a certain amount of chemical liquid determined by the distance between the nozzle 35 and the wafer W can be held. Then, when the chemical liquid L of a small flow rate is additionally supplied from the nozzle 35, the additionally supplied chemical liquid L protrudes from the gap A between the nozzle 35 and the wafer W and is discharged. As a result, when the nozzle 35 and the wafer W have the same diameter, the surface tension at the end of the wafer W can be prevented from working.

For example, when the outer diameter of the nozzle 35 is smaller than the outer diameter of the wafer W, the chemical liquid L is likely to accumulate on the surface of the wafer W protruding outside the outer diameter of the nozzle 35. On the other hand, when the outer diameter of the nozzle 35 is smaller than the outer diameter of the wafer W, the chemical liquid L in the portion protruding from the surface of the wafer W falls due to its own weight. However, since the wafer W facing the vicinity of the outer peripheral portion of the nozzle 35 is flat rather than the end portion, surface tension is easily exerted by the outer peripheral portion of the nozzle 35, and the chemical liquid L adheres to the outer peripheral portion of the nozzle 35. There is a risk that Also in this case, the amount of the chemical liquid on the wafer W can be basically defined as the flow rate determined by the distance between the wafer W and the nozzle 35, that is, the gap A.

As a result of the above, by making the outer diameters of the wafer W and the nozzle 35 equal to each other or making the outer diameter of the nozzle 35 larger than the outer diameter of the wafer W, the amount of the chemical liquid remaining on the wafer W can be made constant. Further, the outer diameter of the nozzle 35 is made substantially equal to or larger than the outer diameter of the wafer W, and then the supply speed of the chemical liquid L from the nozzle 35 is set to a constant speed or intentionally controlled. By supplying the chemical liquid L at the supply speed, the chemical liquid L supplied onto the wafer W flows from the center of the nozzle 35 to the outer periphery of the wafer W, and passes through the gap A between the nozzle 35 and the wafer W. Since the wafer W flows in one direction from the center to the outer periphery of the wafer W, the chemical reaction rate generated between the chemical liquid L and the wafer W can be stabilized.

<Other>
In addition, in each of the above-described embodiments, the wet processing apparatus 1 that supplies the chemical liquid to the surface of the half-inch size wafer W adapted to the minimal fab concept has been described, but the present invention is not limited thereto. An apparatus that supplies the processing liquid to an object to be processed other than the wafer W such as a resist mask may be used. Further, as the chemical liquid L, not only hydrogen peroxide aqueous solution and sodium hydroxide aqueous solution but also hydrofluoric acid, ozone, a mixed solution of sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide aqueous solution, potassium hydroxide aqueous solution, etc. are used correspondingly. be able to.

Further, the chemical liquid supply device 41 uses a plurality of chemical liquid supply devices 41 depending on the chemical liquid L to be supplied and the type of the chemical liquid L to be supplied, or a chemical liquid bottle filled with the chemical liquid L previously mixed at a predetermined mixing ratio. It is also possible to make one chemical liquid supply device 41 using 42. Regarding the nozzles 34 and 35 of the processing apparatus main body 3, different nozzles 34 and 35 may be used for each chemical liquid supply device 41, or a plurality of chemical liquids L may be mixed at the base end side of one nozzle 35.

1 Wet processing device 2 Housing 2a Device upper part 2b Device lower part 2c Operation panel 2d Front chamber 2e Docking port 3 Processing device body 31 Cleaning chamber 32 Stage 32a Locking piece part 33 Liquid holding material (processing liquid holding material)
34,35 Nozzle 35a Chemical liquid discharge port 41 Chemical liquid supply device (treatment liquid supply device)
42 Chemical liquid bottle (treatment liquid tank)
42a Opening 43 Nitrogen gas supply device (gas supply unit)
43a Spray nozzle 44 Suction hose (filling pipe)
45 Syringe 46 Syringe main body 46a Opening 46b Circumferential surface 46c Driving device 47 Piston part 47a Piston main body 47b Injection port 47c Flange 48 Supply hose (supply pipe)
49 Three-way solenoid valve (three-way valve, open/close valve)
W Wafer L Chemical liquid (treatment liquid)
m Support part G Nitrogen gas (inert gas)
S Internal space A Gap

Claims (5)

A stage having a locking piece portion for holding the outer periphery of the wafer for the minimal fab system in the circumferential direction ,
Comprising a processing liquid supply device, and
The processing liquid supply device ,
A syringe for discharging on a wafer placed on the stage and inhalation of processing liquid,
A treatment liquid tank filled with the treatment liquid;
One end is connected to the processing liquid tank, the other end is connected to the syringe, a filling pipe for sucking the processing liquid filled in the processing liquid tank into the syringe,
One end is connected to the intermediate portion of the filling pipe, the other end is disposed at a predetermined supply point, a supply pipe for supplying the processing liquid discharged from the syringe to a predetermined supply point,
An on-off valve that is attached to the connection position of the supply pipe and the filling pipe, and that can control opening and closing of each of the supply pipe and the filling pipe ,
It has a discharge port provided at the center position of the lower end surface, and the discharge port is provided concentrically with the locking piece portion so as to face the stage, and the processing liquid is supplied from the processing liquid supply device. A cylindrical nozzle for discharging from the discharge port,
The said nozzle is formed so that it may have an outer diameter dimension more than the outer diameter dimension of the said wafer. The wet treatment apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. The wet treatment device according to claim 1,
The syringe includes a piston portion having an injection port penetrating along the axial direction, and a bottomed cylindrical syringe body into which at least a part of the base end side of the piston portion is inserted so as to be able to advance and retract in the axial direction. ,
The other end of the filling pipe is connected to the injection port on the tip side of the piston portion of the syringe. The wet treatment apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The treatment tank is provided with an opening for taking in outside air as the treatment solution is sucked, and a gas supply unit for supplying an inert gas toward the opening. apparatus. The wet treatment device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The wet treatment device, wherein the opening/closing valve is a three-way valve capable of controlling opening/closing of the supply pipe and the filling pipe separately. The wet treatment device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The wet processing apparatus is characterized in that the processing liquid supply device supplies an amount of the processing liquid that does not spill onto the wafer onto the wafer.