JPH0132358Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to a rotary processing apparatus used for processing substrates such as wafers, and more specifically, the present invention relates to a rotary processing apparatus used for processing substrates such as wafers, and more specifically, a rotating body that is located in a chamber and that holds and rotates the substrate. The present invention relates to a substrate rotation processing apparatus comprising a nozzle for supplying a processing liquid to the surface of a substrate, and means for preventing deterioration of the processing liquid at the tip of the nozzle.

<Prior Art> A technique is well known in which a thin plate-shaped substrate such as a wafer or a glass substrate is rotated at high speed while supplying a photoresist, a developer, etc. to the surface of the substrate.

However, since the tip of the processing liquid supply nozzle is exposed to the atmosphere, the processing liquid at the nozzle tip changes in quality due to solvent volatilization, oxidation, etc.
This causes problems such as a change in viscosity and the inability to uniformly supply the processing liquid.

To solve this problem, a rotary processing apparatus equipped with means for preventing deterioration of the processing liquid at the tip of the nozzle is disclosed in JP-A-57-135066 or JP-A-57-173839.

That is, in the former, a cap is provided on the nozzle and the inside of the cap is filled with solvent vapor of the processing liquid, whereas in the latter, a separate nozzle is provided at the tip of the nozzle to supply solvent vapor for volatile matter. It is something.

Both of them have a structure in which a solvent is separately prepared to supplement the volatile content of the solvent in the processing liquid.

<Problems to be solved by the invention> In the above-mentioned conventional technology, it is necessary to separately prepare a solvent to replenish the solvent volatile content in the processing liquid at the nozzle tip, and (a) excess solvent is consumed. (b) When the rotary processing equipment is operated continuously for a relatively long period of time, it is possible to prevent the processing liquid at the nozzle tip from deteriorating if one forgets to replenish the separately prepared solvent. In addition, in the event that the processing liquid at the tip of the nozzle deteriorates as described in (b) above, if the deteriorated processing liquid is discharged and flowed down, it may fall onto the top surface of the rotating body. This caused problems such as adhesion and hindrance when placing the substrate, making it impossible to continue processing the substrate.

The present invention was developed in view of these circumstances, and its purpose is to be economical as there is no need to separately prepare extra solvent, and to be continuously stable over a long period of time without replenishing the solvent. A substrate configured to prevent deterioration of the treatment liquid at the nozzle tip, so that it can be operated and will not cause any problems even if the treatment part that has undergone deterioration at the nozzle tip is discharged. An object of the present invention is to provide a rotary processing device.

<Means for solving the problems> In order to achieve the above object, the present invention solves the problem of deterioration of the processing liquid at the tip of the nozzle in the substrate rotation processing apparatus described in the above-mentioned <Industrial Application Field> section. A means for preventing this is provided at the bottom of the chamber and for collecting the processing liquid flowing down from the drain pipe of the chamber. The present invention is characterized by comprising a nozzle receiver and a nozzle moving means for moving the nozzle between a processing liquid supply position and a nozzle retraction position.

<Operation> The processing liquid supplied to the substrate surface becomes surplus liquid or used waste liquid and is collected in a processing liquid recovery box flowing down from the drain pipe of the chamber.

The solvent of the processing liquid collected in the processing liquid collection box evaporates, and the inside of the processing liquid collection box and the inside of the nozzle receiver communicating with this processing liquid collection box become saturated with the solvent vapor.

When the processing liquid is not supplied to the substrate, the nozzle is moved to the retracted position by the nozzle moving means, and the nozzle tip is placed facing the nozzle receiver, and the solvent vapor filled in the nozzle receiver is transferred to the nozzle. Since the treatment liquid is supplied to the tip of the nozzle, deterioration of the processing liquid at the tip of the nozzle can be prevented.

In addition, if there is a concern that the processing liquid at the tip of the nozzle may deteriorate, the processing liquid portion at the tip of the nozzle can be released in advance, flowed down through the nozzle receiver, and collected in the processing liquid collection box. As a result, the deteriorated processing liquid portion at the nozzle tip can be discarded.

<Example> Hereinafter, an example of the substrate rotation processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

The drawing is a longitudinal side view showing an embodiment of the present invention.
Reference numeral 1 is a nozzle for supplying processing liquid, 2 is a substrate, and 3
is a rotating body on which the substrate 1 is placed, held by suction, and rotated;
4 is a rotating means for rotationally driving the rotating body 3; 5 is a chamber provided to surround the rotating body 3; 6;
7 is an exhaust pipe for forcibly exhausting the air in the chamber 5, and 7 is provided on the bottom of the chamber 5.
This is a drain pipe that drains used processing liquid.

Hereinafter, the characteristic structure of the rotary processing device according to the present invention will be explained.

A processing liquid collection box 8 is provided below the chamber 5,
A collection container 9 is removably provided in the processing liquid collection box 8, and is configured to collect surplus liquid or used waste liquid 10 flowing down from the drain pipe 7 of the chamber 5 into the collection container 9. .

The nozzle 1 is connected to a nozzle moving means, for example, a rod 12 of an air cylinder 11, and can reciprocate between a processing liquid supply position A, which supplies the processing liquid to the substrate 1, and a retreat position B, which does not supply the processing liquid. It is configured as follows.

A nozzle receiver 13 is provided below the retracted position B of the nozzle 1 so as to face the nozzle tip 1a.
The solvent vapor of the recovered processing liquid 10 fills the processing liquid recovery box 8 and the nozzle receiver 13, and this solvent vapor is supplied to the nozzle tip 1a, thereby removing the processing liquid at the nozzle tip 1a. It is configured to prevent deterioration of the

It is preferable that the nozzle 1 and the nozzle receiver 13 be placed as close together as possible to make it difficult for air to come into contact with the processing liquid at the nozzle tip 1a. It is preferable that the liquid drain pipe 7 of the chamber 5 and the processing liquid recovery box 8 be constructed so as not to be in close contact with each other to prevent forced exhaustion through the process.

The present invention is not limited to a rotary coating device for applying a photoresist solution, but can also be applied to a rotary developing device, etc., as long as it meets the purpose of the present invention.

<Effects of the Invention> According to the present invention, since it is constructed and operates as described above, the following excellent effects can be achieved.

B. It is configured to use the surplus liquid or used processing liquid collected in the processing liquid collection box, and since there is no need to consume excess solvent, running costs can be reduced and it is economical. It is.

(b) Even when the rotary processing equipment is operated continuously for a relatively long period of time, the used processing liquid is sequentially supplied into the processing liquid collection box, so there is no need to worry about forgetting to replenish the solvent. It is possible to prevent the processing liquid at the tip of the nozzle from deteriorating and maintain it in an extremely stable state.

C. Even if the processing liquid at the tip of the nozzle deteriorates due to the extended exposure time in the air, the processing liquid can be discharged down and collected in the processing liquid collection box via the nozzle receiver, making it easier than ever before. As in the above, the discharged processing liquid portion does not adhere to the rotating body or become an obstacle when mounting the substrate, and the substrate can be processed continuously.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawing is a longitudinal sectional side view of a substrate recovery processing apparatus according to the present invention. 1... Nozzle, 1a... Nozzle tip, 2...
Substrate, 3... Rotating body, 4... Rotating means, 5... Chamber, 6... Exhaust pipe, 7... Drain pipe, 8...
Processing liquid collection box, 9... Recovery container, 10... Recovered processing liquid, 11... Air cylinder, 12...
Rod, 13... Nozzle receiver, A... Processing liquid supply position, B... Retraction position.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] 1. A rotating body that is located in a chamber and that holds and rotates a substrate, a nozzle that supplies a processing liquid to the surface of the substrate, and a means for preventing deterioration of the processing liquid at the tip of the nozzle. A substrate rotation processing apparatus comprising: a means for preventing deterioration of the processing liquid at the tip of the nozzle; It consists of a nozzle receiver that communicates with the processing liquid recovery box and is arranged to face the nozzle tip at the nozzle retraction position, and a nozzle moving means that moves the nozzle between the processing liquid supply position and the nozzle retraction position. A substrate rotation processing apparatus characterized by: 2. The substrate rotation processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing liquid is a photoresist liquid.