Chemical liquid preparation device, and substrate processing device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12337289-B2
Application number	US-202418755680-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 27, 2024
Priority date	Sep 22, 2017
Publication date	Jun 24, 2025
Grant date	Jun 24, 2025

Abstract

A chemical liquid preparation method of preparing a TMAH-containing chemical liquid, including, a correspondence relationship preparing step of preparing a correspondence relationship between a supply flow rate ratio between an oxygen-containing gas and an inert-gas-containing gas and a convergent dissolved oxygen concentration in the TMAH-containing chemical liquid that is converged to when the oxygen-containing gas and the inert-gas-containing gas are supplied into the TMAH-containing chemical liquid; a concentration setting step of setting a target dissolved oxygen concentration in the TMAH-containing chemical liquid; a supply-flow-rate-ratio acquiring step of acquiring the supply flow rate ratio between the oxygen-containing gas and the inert-gas-containing gas corresponding to the target dissolved oxygen concentration in accordance with the correspondence relationship prepared in the correspondence relationship preparing step; and a gas supplying step of supplying the oxygen-containing gas and the inert-gas-containing gas with the supply flow rate ratio acquired in the supply-flow-rate-ratio acquiring step.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A chemical liquid preparation method of preparing a chemical liquid to be supplied to a substrate,
the chemical liquid being a TMAH-containing chemical liquid which contains tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH),
the chemical liquid preparation method comprising:
a correspondence relationship preparing step of preparing a correspondence relationship between a supply flow rate ratio between an oxygen-containing gas and an inert-gas-containing gas and a convergent dissolved oxygen concentration in the TMAH-containing chemical liquid that is converged to when the oxygen-containing gas and the inert-gas-containing gas are supplied into the TMAH-containing chemical liquid at the supply flow rate ratio,
a concentration setting step of setting a target dissolved oxygen concentration in the TMAH-containing chemical liquid that corresponds to a desired etching rate,
a supply-flow-rate-ratio acquiring step of acquiring the supply flow rate ratio between the oxygen-containing gas and the inert-gas-containing gas corresponding to the target dissolved oxygen concentration in accordance with the correspondence relationship prepared in the correspondence relationship preparing step, and
a gas supplying step of supplying the oxygen-containing gas and the inert-gas-containing gas with the supply flow rate ratio acquired in the supply-flow-rate-ratio acquiring step.

2. The chemical liquid preparation method according to claim 1 , wherein the gas supplying step generates bubbles in the TMAH-containing chemical liquid by discharging the oxygen-containing gas and the inert-gas-containing gas in the TMAH-containing chemical liquid.

3. The chemical liquid preparation method according to claim 1 , wherein the gas supplying step operates a first flow rate adjusting valve and a second flow rate adjusting valve so as to reach the supply flow rate ratio acquired in the supply-flow-rate-ratio acquiring step, the first flow rate adjusting valve changing a flow rate of the oxygen-containing gas supplied to the TMAH-containing chemical liquid, the second flow rate adjusting valve changing a flow rate of the inert-gas-containing gas supplied to the TMAH-containing chemical liquid.

4. The chemical liquid preparation method according to claim 3 , wherein the gas supplying step produces a mixed gas of the oxygen-containing gas and the inert-gas-containing gas by mixing the oxygen-containing gas supplied through the first flow rate adjusting valve and the inert-gas-containing gas supplied through the second flow rate adjusting valve, and discharges the mixed gas in the TMAH-containing chemical liquid.

5. The chemical liquid preparation method according to claim 1 , wherein the TMAH-containing chemical liquid includes a TMAH-containing chemical liquid recovered from a processing unit.

6. The chemical liquid preparation method according to claim 1 , further comprising
a measurement step in which a dissolved oxygen concentration of the TMAH-containing chemical liquid after the gas supplying step is measured;
an inert gas dissolving step in which, when the dissolved oxygen concentration measured in the measurement step is higher than the target dissolved oxygen concentration, the inert-gas-containing gas is dissolved in the TMAH-containing chemical liquid by supplying the inert-gas-containing gas to the TMAH-containing chemical liquid after the gas supplying step; and
an oxygen-containing gas dissolving step in which, when the dissolved oxygen concentration measured in the measurement step is lower than the target dissolved oxygen concentration, the oxygen-containing gas is dissolved in the TMAH-containing chemical liquid by supplying the oxygen-containing gas to the TMAH-containing chemical liquid after the gas supplying step.

7. A chemical liquid preparation method of preparing a chemical liquid to be supplied to a substrate,
the chemical liquid being a TMAH-containing chemical liquid which contains tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH),
the chemical liquid preparation method comprising:
a correspondence relationship preparing step of preparing a correspondence relationship between a supply flow rate ratio between an oxygen-containing gas and an inert-gas-containing gas and a convergent dissolved oxygen concentration in the TMAH-containing chemical liquid that is converged to when the oxygen-containing gas and the inert-gas-containing gas are supplied into the TMAH-containing chemical liquid at the supply flow rate ratio,
a concentration setting step of setting a target dissolved oxygen concentration in the TMAH-containing chemical liquid that corresponds to a desired etching rate,
a supply-flow-rate-ratio acquiring step of acquiring the supply flow rate ratio between the oxygen-containing gas and the inert-gas-containing gas corresponding to the target dissolved oxygen concentration in accordance with the correspondence relationship prepared in the correspondence relationship preparing step,
a first gas supplying step of supplying the oxygen-containing gas and the inert-gas-containing gas with a predetermined supply flow rate ratio of the oxygen-containing gas and the inert-gas-containing gas, and
a second gas supplying step of, after the first gas supplying step, supplying the oxygen-containing gas and the inert-gas-containing gas with the supply flow rate ratio acquired in the supply-flow-rate-ratio acquiring step.

8. The chemical liquid preparation method according to claim 7 , wherein the predetermined supply flow rate ratio is the same as the supply flow rate ratio acquired in the supply-flow-rate-ratio acquiring step.

9. The chemical liquid preparation method according to claim 7 , wherein, the predetermined supply flow rate ratio is lower in the oxygen-containing gas flow rate ratio than the supply flow rate ratio acquired in the supply-flow-rate-ratio acquiring step.

Assignees

• Screen Holdings Co Ltd

Inventors

• Nishide Hajime
• Izuta Takashi
• Hayashi Takatoshi
• Fukui Katsuhiro
• Okamoto Koichi
• Fujita Kazuhiro
• Miura Atsuyasu
• Kobayashi Kenji
• Negoro Sei
• Tsujikawa Hiroki

Classifications

• H10P72/0424 Primary

  using mainly spraying means, e.g. nozzles · CPC title

• H10P72/0422

  for wet etching · CPC title

• H10P72/0414

  using mainly spraying means, e.g. nozzles · CPC title

• H10P72/0406

  for cleaning followed by drying, rinsing, stripping, blasting or the like · CPC title

• H10P72/0402

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