Chemical liquid discharge mechanism, liquid processing apparatus, chemical liquid discharge method, and storage medium

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10755952-B2
Application number	US-201816059265-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 9, 2018
Priority date	Jul 11, 2014
Publication date	Aug 25, 2020
Grant date	Aug 25, 2020

Abstract

Disclosed is a chemical liquid discharge mechanism. The mechanism includes: a storage portion including a chemical liquid storage space; a diluent supply port opened to supply a diluent for reducing a viscosity of the chemical liquid to the storage space; a vertex flow forming portion that forms vortex flows in the diluent and the chemical liquid by supplying a fluid to the storage space to stir the diluent and the chemical liquid; and a liquid discharge port opened to an upper side of the diluent supply port in the storage space such that, by the supply of the diluent, the diluent and the chemical liquid flow into the liquid discharge port to be discharged from the storage space. Thus, the viscosity of the waste liquid discharged from the liquid discharge port may be reduced, and thus, it is not necessary to largely set the inclination of the liquid discharge path.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A chemical liquid discharge mechanism comprising:
a storage portion including a storage space having a circular shape in a plan view where a chemical liquid is stored;
a vortex flow forming portion including a diluent supply port opened to a lower end of the storage space and configured to supply a diluent for reducing a viscosity of the chemical liquid to the storage space
by forming vortex flows in the diluent and the chemical liquid so as to stir the diluent and the chemical liquid;
a liquid discharge port opened to an upper end of the storage space such that, by the supply of the diluent after stirring of the diluent and the chemical liquid is terminated, the diluent and the chemical liquid flow into the liquid discharge port to be discharged from the storage space; and
a shaft member configured to restrain a liquid flow of the chemical liquid and the diluent in the storage space and
provided at a central portion of the storage space having the circular shape in plan view and extended from a bottom of the storage space along a height direction of the storage space; and
a collision member extending laterally from the shaft member toward an inner wall of the storage portion and configured to divide the storage space in the up-down direction,
wherein the top end of the shaft member is positioned lower than a top end of the liquid discharge port and the collision member is positioned lower than a bottom end of the liquid discharge port.

2. The chemical liquid discharge mechanism of claim 1 , wherein the diluent supply port supplies the diluent in a tangential direction of the storage space in the plan view.

3. The chemical liquid discharge mechanism of claim 1 , wherein the shaft member is formed to be wider toward the end as it goes downward.

4. The chemical liquid discharge mechanism of claim 1 , wherein the width of the storage space in a vertical cross-sectional view is formed to be narrower toward the bottom of the storage space.

5. The chemical liquid discharge mechanism of claim 1 , wherein a chemical liquid supply port configured to supply chemical liquid to the storage space is opened along the extending direction of the shaft member above the shaft member.

6. The chemical liquid discharge mechanism of claim 1 , wherein the collision member is configured to collide with agglomerates formed by coagulation of components of the chemical liquid so as to crush the agglomerates, and
provided with a plurality of penetrating holes, each of the penetrating holes being opened in the up-down direction such that the diluent and the chemical liquid flows through the holes.

Assignees

• Tokyo Electron Ltd

Inventors

• Sasagawa Norihiko
• Inada Hiroichi
• Hamada Masahito

Classifications

• H10P72/0448 Primary

  Apparatus for applying a liquid, a resin, an ink or the like · CPC title

• H10P72/0402 Primary

  Apparatus for fluid treatment (H10P72/0441, H10P72/0448 take precedence) · CPC title

• G03F7/3021

  from a wafer supported on a rotating chuck · CPC title

• B01F35/5311

  with horizontal baffles mounted on the walls · CPC title

• B01F35/531

  with baffles, plates or bars on the wall or the bottom · CPC title