Substrate processing method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12576425-B2
Application number	US-202218711588-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 4, 2022
Priority date	Nov 22, 2021
Publication date	Mar 17, 2026
Grant date	Mar 17, 2026

Abstract

In this substrate processing method, a water-repellent treatment is performed on a upper surface of a substrate so as to change the contact angle of pure water with respect to a flat surface to 90° or greater, and then a hydrophobic liquid is supplied to the upper surface of the substrate, thereby replacing a water repellent agent-containing liquid on the upper surface of the substrate with the hydrophobic liquid. After the hydrophobic liquid replacement step, a hydrophilic liquid is supplied to the upper surface of the substrate, thereby replacing the hydrophobic liquid on the upper surface of the substrate with the hydrophilic liquid. After the hydrophilic liquid replacement step, the hydrophilic liquid on the upper surface of the substrate is caused to flow and is removed from the upper surface of the substrate, and the upper surface of the substrate is thereby dried.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1 . A substrate processing method to process a substrate having a major surface at which a pattern having a concave portion is formed, the substrate processing method comprising:
performing a water-repellent treatment on the major surface of the substrate to supply a water repellent agent-containing liquid to the major surface of the substrate and to change a contact angle of pure water with respect to a flat surface to 90° or greater; after performing the water-repellent treatment on the major surface of the substrate, supplying a hydrophobic liquid to the major surface of the substrate and replacing the water repellent agent-containing liquid on the major surface of the substrate with the hydrophobic liquid; after supplying the hydrophobic liquid to the major surface of the substrate, supplying a hydrophilic liquid that is mixable with the hydrophobic liquid and that has hydrophilicity higher than the hydrophobic liquid to the major surface of the substrate and replacing the hydrophobic liquid on the major surface of the substrate with the hydrophilic liquid to form a liquid film of the hydrophilic liquid on the major surface of the substrate; and forming an opening that exposes the major surface in the liquid film by supplying a gas toward the liquid film and excluding the hydrophilic liquid from the major surface of the substrate by enlarging the opening; wherein, replacing the water repellent agent-containing liquid on the major surface of the substrate with the hydrophobic liquid includes filling the hydrophobic liquid into the concave portion of the pattern, replacing the hydrophobic liquid on the major surface of the substrate with the hydrophilic liquid includes: allowing the hydrophilic liquid to enter the concave portion while the hydrophilic liquid is mixed with the hydrophobic liquid in the concave portion by allowing the hydrophilic liquid to be supplied to the major surface of the substrate; and causing an internal liquid to recede from the concave portion by causing the internal liquid, which is a liquid in the concave portion, to flow; the substrate processing method further comprises promoting a retreat of the internal liquid from an inside of the concave portion, which is caused by a flow of the internal liquid, by giving external stimulation to the hydrophilic liquid on the major surface of the substrate, and the external stimulation is selected from the group consisting of (a), (b), and (c): (a) supplying the hydrophilic liquid that is in a droplet state; (b) changing a posture of the substrate; and (c) suctioning the liquid film by a suction nozzle.

2 . The substrate processing method according to claim 1 , wherein performing the water-repellent treatment on the major surface of the substrate and excluding the hydrophilic liquid from the major surface of the substrate are performed without heating liquids on the major surface of the substrate.

3 . The substrate processing method according to claim 1 , further comprising promoting the retreat of the internal liquid from the inside of the concave portion, which is caused by the flow of the internal liquid, by replacing the internal liquid with an evolved gas generated from the hydrophilic liquid.

4 . The substrate processing method according to claim 1 , wherein the water repellent agent-containing liquid contains 1H, 1H,2H,2H-perfluoro decyltriethoxysilane.

Assignees

• Screen Holdings Co Ltd

Inventors

• Tanaka Takayoshi
• Otsuji Masayuki

Classifications

• B05D5/02

  to obtain a matt or rough surface · CPC title

• B05D3/0466

  the gas being a non-reacting gas (B05D3/0406 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H10P72/0454

  surrounding a central transfer chamber · 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