Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12424459-B2
Application number	US-202318215184-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 28, 2023
Priority date	Jul 14, 2022
Publication date	Sep 23, 2025
Grant date	Sep 23, 2025

Abstract

A substrate processing apparatus according to the present disclosure includes a substrate holding unit, a fluid supplying unit, a processing-liquid supplying unit, a nozzle, a fluid amount adjusting unit, and a controller. The substrate holding unit holds a substrate to be rotatable. The fluid supplying unit supplies fluid including pressurized vapor or mist of deionized water. The processing-liquid supplying unit supplies processing liquid including at least a sulfuric acid. The nozzle is connected to the fluid supplying unit and the processing-liquid supplying unit to discharge mixed fluid of the fluid and the processing liquid toward the substrate. The fluid amount adjusting unit adjusts a flow volume of the fluid that is flowing through the fluid supplying unit. The controller controls the fluid amount adjusting unit to adjust a ratio of the fluid to the processing liquid.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A substrate processing apparatus, comprising:
a substrate holding unit that holds a substrate to be rotatable;
a fluid supplying unit that supplies fluid including pressurized vapor or mist of deionized water;
a processing-liquid supplying unit that supplies processing liquid including at least sulfuric acid;
a nozzle that is connected to the fluid supplying unit and the processing-liquid supplying unit to discharge mixed fluid of the fluid and the processing liquid toward the substrate;
a fluid amount adjusting unit that adjusts a flow volume of the fluid that is flowing through the fluid supplying unit; and
a controller that controls the fluid amount adjusting unit to adjust a ratio of the fluid to the processing liquid, wherein
the nozzle includes a long nozzle that extends along a horizontal direction,
the substrate processing apparatus further comprises a second nozzle in addition to the long nozzle, and
the controller is further configured to:
prior to a mixed fluid supplying process for supplying the mixed fluid to the substrate from the nozzle, execute a liquid-film forming process for supplying deionized water to the substrate from the second nozzle to form a liquid film of the deionized water on a surface of the substrate, and then supply the vapor or the mist from the nozzle to the substrate on which the liquid film is formed to execute a heating process for heating the nozzle.

2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the fluid supplying unit includes a plurality of individual supply units each of which individually supplies the fluid,
the nozzle linearly extends along the horizontal direction, and
the substrate processing apparatus further comprises:
a processing liquid distributing route that is connected to the processing-liquid supplying unit to distribute the processing liquid to a whole of discharge region of the mixed fluid discharged from the nozzle; and
a plurality of individual distributing routes that are connected to the plurality of individual supply units to distribute the fluid to a plurality of individual discharge regions that section the whole of discharge region along an extending direction of the nozzle.

3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein
the fluid amount adjusting unit includes:
a plurality of individual adjusting units that correspond to the plurality of individual supply units to adjust a flow volume of the fluid flowing through the plurality of individual discharge regions, and

the controller is further configured to:
control the plurality of individual adjusting units to adjust the ratio of the fluid to the processing liquid for each of the plurality of individual discharge regions.

4. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the controller is further configured to:
control the plurality of individual adjusting units such that, during a time period from a start until an end of a process using the mixed fluid, a difference in an accumulated temperature is small between a plurality of within-wafer regions of the substrate corresponding to the plurality of individual discharge regions; and
adjust the ratio of the fluid to the processing liquid for each of the plurality of individual discharge regions.

5. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein
the plurality of individual discharge regions include:
a center discharge region that corresponds to a center region including a center portion of the substrate among the plurality of within-wafer regions; and
a peripheral discharge region that corresponds to a peripheral region including a peripheral portion of the substrate among the plurality of within-wafer regions, and

the controller is further configured to:
control the plurality of individual adjusting units such that a total amount of the fluid supplied to the peripheral discharge region during the time period is larger than a total amount of the fluid supplied to the center discharge region during the time period.

6. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein
the controller is further configured to:
control the plurality of individual adjusting units during the process using the mixed fluid to adjust the ratio of the fluid to the processing liquid for each of the plurality of individual discharge regions.

7. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the process using the mixed fluid includes:
a first discharging process for discharging the mixed fluid; and
a second discharging process for discharging the processing liquid, and the controller is further configured to:
control the plurality of individual adjusting units during the process using the mixed fluid to adjust a ratio of a time interval of the second discharging process to a total time interval of the process using the mixed fluid for each of the plurality of individual discharge regions.

8. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the plurality of individual discharge regions include:
a center discharge region that corresponds to a center region including a center portion of the substrate among a plurality of within-wafer regions of the substrate corresponding to the plurality of individual discharge regions; and
a peripheral discharge region that corresponds to a peripheral region including a peripheral portion of the substrate among the plurality of within-wafer regions, and the controller is further configured to:
control the plurality of individual adjusting units during the process using the mixed fluid; and
control the plurality of individual adjusting units during the process using the mixed fluid such that a ratio of the time interval of the second discharging process to the total time interval of the process using the mixed fluid in the peripheral discharge region is smaller than a ratio of the time interval of the second discharging process to a total time interval of the process using the mixed fluid in the center discharge region.

9. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein
the controller is further configured to:
set a ratio of the time interval of the second discharging process to the total time interval of the process using the mixed fluid in the peripheral discharge region to zero.

10. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 7 , further comprising: a temperature detecting unit that detects a temperature of the substrate, wherein the controller is further configured to:
control the plurality of individual adjusting units during the process using the mixed fluid based on an accumulated value of a temperature that is detected by the temperature detecting unit during the process using the mixed fluid; and
adjust a ratio of the time interval of the second discharging process to the total time interval of the process using the mixed fluid for each of the plurality of individual discharge regions.

11. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a moving unit that moves the nozzle in the horizontal direction, wherein
the controller is further configured to:
control the fluid amount adjusting unit while controlling the moving unit to move the nozzle; and
adjust the ratio of the fluid to the processing liquid.

12. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein:
the controller is further configured to:
control the fluid amount adjusting unit to adjust the ratio of the fluid to the processing liquid while controlling the moving unit to move the nozzle such that a supply amount of the fluid to a peripheral region

Assignees

• Tokyo Electron Ltd

Inventors

• Sakurai Hiroki
• Hsu Yenrui
• Mizuguchi Shoki
• Ogata Nobuhiro
• Umeno Shinichi
• Goda Kazuya
• Kim Minsung
• Higashi Hiroyuki

Classifications

• H10P72/7618 Primary

  characterised by a movable susceptor, stage or support, others than those only rotating on their own vertical axis, e.g. susceptors on a rotating carrousel · CPC title

• H10P72/0602

  Temperature monitoring · CPC title

• H10P72/0424 Primary

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

• H10P70/20

  Cleaning during device manufacture · CPC title

• H10P72/0414 Primary

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