JPH0132359Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] <Industrial field of application> This invention relates to a parallel rotation processing apparatus consisting of a plurality of rotation processing apparatuses such as spinners installed in parallel. A plurality of rotary processing apparatuses each equipped with a rotating body for rotary processing and a nozzle for supplying a processing liquid to the surface of the substrate are installed in parallel, and the air flow in the chamber of each rotary processing apparatus is exhausted. The present invention relates to a parallel rotary processing apparatus configured to be adjusted by a quantity adjusting means.

<Prior art> In recent years, in substrate processing equipment for semiconductor wafers, etc., in order to improve productivity, there has been a demand for centralization and automation of the entire equipment, and in order to reduce production management costs, clean rooms have been downsized, and clean rooms have also been made smaller. There is a demand for a compact processing device installed in the interior of the plant and a device that is easy to maintain and manage.

The above-mentioned processing apparatus for substrates etc. includes, for example, a substrate supply section, a rotation processing section, a heat processing section, and a
It has a substrate storage section and is configured to sequentially transport substrates to each processing section to perform a series of processing, and in response to the above-mentioned request for improved productivity, a plurality of rows of these processing steps are arranged in parallel. has been done.

The rotary cleaning equipment, rotary coating equipment, etc. that constitute part of the processing equipment for substrates, etc. mentioned above are well known as rotary processing equipment that supplies cleaning liquid, photoresist solution, developer, etc. to the substrate surface while rotating the substrate at high speed. It is.

However, if the solvent in the processing liquid supplied to the substrate surface evaporates more quickly than necessary, or if the temperature inside the chamber drops below a predetermined temperature due to this evaporation, the processing that is formed on the substrate surface may occur. There are disadvantages such as unevenness in the liquid film thickness. To solve this problem, a rotary processing device equipped with means for appropriately adjusting the air flow inside the chamber is disclosed in JP-A-58-171819 or JP-A-57-166033. .

In other words, the former is a drain attached to the chamber.
The exhaust duct is connected to the processing liquid recovery tank to collect the processed processing liquid, and a damper is connected to the exhaust port of the processing liquid recovery tank via another exhaust duct, and the wind speed sensor inside the chamber is connected to the exhaust port of the processing liquid recovery tank. The damper is configured to automatically control the open/close state of the damper based on the detection signal to adjust the air flow within the chamber.

In addition, the latter is configured such that an exhaust pipe attached to the chamber for both draining and exhausting is connected to a processing liquid recovery chamber, and a forced exhaust duct is connected to the outlet of this processing liquid recovery chamber for forced exhaust. The exhaust pipe is provided with an exhaust volume detector and an exhaust volume control valve that is opened and closed by the output of the detector, so as to adjust the flow of air within the chamber.

<Problems to be solved by the invention> However, when applying the above-mentioned displacement adjustment means, there are the following difficulties, and it is difficult to apply the above-mentioned displacement adjustment means to a parallel rotary processing device in which multiple rotary processing devices are installed side by side. The applied technology was not disclosed.

B In the conventional technology as disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 58-171819, each damper is individually arranged at the exhaust port of each processing liquid recovery tank via a separate exhaust duct, so inspection of the damper is required.・It is also inconvenient to maintain the equipment because maintenance etc. must be carried out individually.

In addition, in the conventional technology as disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 57-166033, each damper is provided in an exhaust pipe attached to each chamber that serves both as a drain and an exhaust gas, so a large number of dampers are required. This is not only an obstacle to making the device compact, but also inconvenient to maintain the device.

Furthermore, since both of the conventional technologies disclosed in the above-mentioned publications use an exhaust pipe that is attached to the chamber and is used for both draining and exhausting, the exhaust contains a large amount of mist, and these mist are transferred to the exhaust volume control valve. It is easy to get stuck and cause a malfunction.

The present invention was developed in view of these circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a side-by-side rotary processing device that has a simple structure, is easy to maintain, and is equipped with a displacement adjustment means that is less prone to failure. be.

<Means for Solving the Problems> In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a parallel rotary processing apparatus as described above, in which a drain pipe is attached to each chamber, and the processing liquid flowing down each drain pipe is The exhaust volume adjusting means connects at least one exhaust pipe attached to each chamber to each exhaust chamber, and connects the exhaust outlet of each exhaust chamber to a common exhaust chamber. The exhaust outlet of the common exhaust chamber is connected to the forced exhaust means via the exhaust duct, and each damper is installed in parallel with each communication port of the common exhaust chamber to connect each chamber. It is characterized by being configured to adjust the airflow inside.

<Function> Each chamber has at least one
Since more than one exhaust pipe is provided and the air inside the chamber is exhausted from the exhaust pipes, the amount of mist contained in the exhaust gas is relatively small. In particular, when a plurality of exhaust pipes are attached, the air flow within the chamber is divided and is not concentrated in only one direction, so that it flows smoothly.

The exhaust speed of the exhaust gas discharged from the exhaust pipe is rapidly reduced in each exhaust chamber, and the mist contained in the exhaust gas is attached to the side wall or bottom of the exhaust chamber and separated.

The exhaust outlet of each exhaust chamber is connected to each damper installed in parallel with each communication port of the common exhaust chamber, and by controlling each damper, the airflow within each chamber is adjusted. By providing a common exhaust chamber, the exhaust treatment structure of the parallel rotary processing apparatus can be simplified and maintenance work can be easily performed.

<Example> Hereinafter, an example according to the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

Figures 1 to 3 show the main parts of the parallel rotary processing apparatus according to the present invention, with Figure 1 being a partially cutaway plan view, Figure 2 being a front view, and Figure 3 being a partially cutaway plan view. is a sectional view taken along the - arrow in FIG. 1;

In these figures, 1 is a base frame, 2 is a chamber, 3 is a rotating body installed in the chamber and rotates by suctioning and holding a mounted substrate 4, and 5 is a motor etc. that rotationally drives the rotating body 3. drive means, 6, 6
is an exhaust pipe attached to the chamber, 7 is a drain pipe,
Reference numeral 50 shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 3 is a nozzle.

An exhaust chamber 8 and a processing liquid recovery chamber 9 are arranged below each chamber 2, and two exhaust pipes 6, 6 attached to each chamber 2 are connected to the exhaust chamber 8. One drain pipe 7 is connected to a collection container 10 installed in the processing liquid collection chamber 9.
has been introduced.

The rotating body is detachably attached to the rotating body 11 as shown in FIG. 3, and by pulling up the rotating body 3 and removing it, the chamber 2 can be removed from the upper surface of the base frame 1. It is configured. Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the exhaust pipes 6, 6 and the drain pipe 7 are connected to each stepped opening 12, 12, 1 formed on the upper surface of the base frame 1.
3, and these exhaust pipes 6, 6 and drain pipe 7 can also be removed by pulling upward after removing the chamber 2 from the base frame 1, to facilitate maintenance work as described later. It is composed of

A baffle plate 14 is provided in each exhaust chamber 8 disposed below each chamber 2 so as to surround the lower end of the exhaust pipe 6.
The upper side 14a of the exhaust pipe 6 is positioned higher than the lower end surface 6a of the exhaust pipe 6, so that the mist contained in the exhaust gas can be easily separated.

Exhaust outlet 15, 15, 1 of each exhaust chamber 8, 8, 8
5 are respective communication ports 19 arranged in parallel to the common exhaust chamber 18,
19, 19 via each duct 16, 16, 16, each communication port 9, 19,
19 is provided with dampers 20, 20, 20 for adjusting the exhaust flow rate in each chamber 2, respectively.

In addition, a forced exhaust duct 25 is connected to the exhaust outlet 22 of the common exhaust chamber 18 via a common exhaust damper 23.
is connected, and is configured to be forcibly evacuated by a forced exhaust means (not shown).

The dampers 20, 20, 20 and the common exhaust damper 23 are each equipped with an on-off valve mechanism 21 having a known flow rate detection means, and are controlled by a manual control device or an automatic control device (not shown). They are configured to adjust the exhaust flow rate within each.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing another embodiment of the present invention, in which the outlet 29 of each exhaust chamber 28 is
are directly connected to respective communication ports 31 arranged in parallel in the common exhaust chamber 30.

In each of the above embodiments, the box bodies 24, 24a, which are integrally formed by partitioning each exhaust chamber and a common exhaust chamber, are constructed so as to be able to be pulled out in the direction of arrow A, and the exhaust pipe 6 , and after taking out the drain pipe 7 upward, its box bodies 24, 24a
The structure is such that it is easy to pull out the processing liquid, dispose of used processing liquid, and perform daily maintenance.

In addition to the respective exhaust chambers and the common exhaust chamber, the processing liquid recovery chamber can also be formed integrally and can be drawn out in the direction of the arrow.

<Effects of the Invention> According to the present invention, the invention is constructed and operated as described above, so that the following effects are achieved.

(b) The exhaust outlets of the exhaust chambers provided corresponding to each chamber are arranged in parallel in a common exhaust chamber and connected to each communication port, and the dampers are arranged in parallel to each communication port, so that the overall The exhaust processing structure of the parallel rotary processing apparatus can be simplified, and maintenance work and the like can be facilitated.

(b) Since the drain pipe and the exhaust pipe are configured separately, the amount of mist contained in the exhaust gas is extremely small, and problems such as failure of the exhaust volume control valve etc. due to adhesion of mist are eliminated.

(c) In particular, if each exhaust chamber and the common exhaust chamber are formed integrally and can be taken out of the machine, maintenance work can be further facilitated.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 4 relate to the parallel rotary processing apparatus according to the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway plan view, FIG. 2 is a front view, and FIG. 3 is the same as that shown in FIG. A sectional view taken in the direction of arrows and FIG. 4 are plan views showing another embodiment. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Base frame, 2...Chamber, 3...Rotating body, 4...Substrate, 6...Exhaust pipe, 7...Drain pipe,
8, 28...exhaust chamber,...processing liquid recovery chamber, 14...
Baffle plate, 15... Exhaust outlet, 18, 30... Common exhaust chamber, 19, 29... Communication port, 22... Exhaust outlet of common exhaust chamber, 24, 24a... Box body, 25...
...forced exhaust duct.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] 1. A plurality of rotary processing apparatuses installed in a chamber and equipped with a rotating body that holds a substrate and rotates, and a nozzle that supplies a processing liquid to the surface of the substrate, each of which is installed in parallel. In a side-by-side rotary processing device configured to adjust the flow of air in the chambers of the rotary processing device using a displacement adjustment means, a drain pipe is attached to each chamber, and the processing liquid flowing down each drain pipe is treated. The exhaust volume adjusting means connects at least one exhaust pipe attached to each chamber to each exhaust chamber, and the exhaust outlet of each exhaust chamber is arranged in parallel to a common exhaust chamber. The exhaust outlet of the common exhaust chamber is connected to the forced exhaust means, and dampers are arranged in parallel to each of the communication ports of the common exhaust chamber to adjust the air flow within each chamber. A side-by-side rotary processing device characterized by being configured as follows. 2. The side-by-side rotary processing device as set forth in claim 1 of the utility model registration claim, in which each exhaust chamber and a common exhaust chamber are integrally formed and can be drawn out from the machine. 3. The side-by-side rotary treatment apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein each rotary treatment apparatus is a rotary coating apparatus.