Substrate cleaning method, substrate cleaning system and program storage medium

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9358588-B2
Application number	US-201213709331-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 10, 2012
Priority date	Mar 15, 2006
Publication date	Jun 7, 2016
Grant date	Jun 7, 2016

Abstract

The present invention provides a substrate cleaning method capable of removing particles from the entire surface of a substrate to be processed at a high removing efficiency. In the substrate cleaning method according to the present invention, a substrate to be processed W is immersed in a cleaning liquid in a cleaning tank 12 . Then, ultrasonic waves are generated in the cleaning liquid contained in the cleaning tank 12 , so that the substrate to be processed W is subjected to an ultrasonic cleaning process. While the substrate to be processed is being cleaned, a dissolved gas concentration of a gas dissolved in the cleaning liquid contained in the cleaning tank is changed.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A substrate cleaning method comprising the steps of:
immersing a substrate in a cleaning liquid contained in a cleaning tank and maintaining the substrate upstanding within the tank;
generating ultrasonic waves in the cleaning liquid from below the substrate to clean the substrate, while supplying more cleaning liquid into the cleaning tank from below the substrate so that the cleaning liquid overflows from the tank through an open upper end of the tank, and
taking out the substrate from the cleaning liquid contained in the cleaning tank after the step of generating ultrasonic waves,
wherein, in the step of generating ultrasonic waves, a dissolved gas concentration of a gas dissolved in the cleaning liquid is lowered after a lapse of a certain time period from starting generation of ultrasonic waves, so that the step of generating ultrasonic, waves includes a step in which the ultrasonic waves are generated in the cleaning liquid when the cleaning liquid has a higher dissolved gas concentration and a succeeding step in which the ultrasonic waves are generated in the cleaning liquid when the cleaning liquid has a lower dissolved gas concentration.

2. The substrate cleaning method according to claim 1 ,
wherein the generation of ultrasonic waves is stopped for a while, and the dissolved gas concentration is changed during the stopping.

3. The substrate cleaning method according to claim 1 ,
wherein the dissolved gas concentration is changed while ultrasonic waves are being generated in the cleaning liquid.

4. The substrate cleaning method according to claim 1 ,
wherein the dissolved gas concentration is changed by supplying at least one of a first cleaning liquid and a second cleaning liquid, and
wherein a dissolved gas concentration of the first cleaning liquid is different from a dissolved gas concentration of the second cleaning liquid.

5. The substrate cleaning method according to claim 4 ,
wherein the first cleaning liquid and the second cleaning liquid are supplied into the cleaning tank through separate supply pipes.

6. The substrate cleaning method according to claim 4 ,
wherein the first cleaning liquid and the second cleaning liquid are supplied into the cleaning tank through a single supply pipe, after the first cleaning liquid and the second cleaning liquid are mixed with each other.

7. The substrate cleaning method according to claim 4 ,
wherein the second cleaning liquid is generated by deaerating a part of the first cleaning liquid separated from the first cleaning liquid.

8. The substrate cleaning method according to claim 4 ,
wherein the first cleaning liquid is generated by dissolving the gas in a part of the second cleaning liquid separated from the second cleaning liquid.

9. The substrate cleaning method according to claim 4 ,
wherein the second cleaning liquid is generated, by means of a deaerator placed in a supply pipe capable of supplying the first cleaning liquid into the cleaning tank, by deaerating the first cleaning liquid passing through the supply pipe.

10. The substrate cleaning method according to claim 4 ,
wherein the first cleaning liquid is generated, by means of a dissolving device placed in a supply pipe capable of supplying the second cleaning liquid into the cleaning tank, by dissolving the gas in the second cleaning liquid passing through the supply pipe.

11. The substrate cleaning method according to claim 4 ,
wherein the dissolved gas concentration of the first cleaning liquid is the saturated concentration, and the dissolved gas concentration of the second cleaning liquid is 0 ppm.

12. A storage medium storing a program executed by a control device for controlling a substrate processing system so as to accomplish a substrate cleaning method according to claim 1 .

13. The substrate cleaning method according to claim 1 , wherein, in the succeeding step in which the ultrasonic waves are generated in the cleaning liquid having the lower dissolved gas concentration, the dissolved gas concentration is lowered to thereby change a position on the substrate where particles are removed more efficiently.

Assignees

• Tokyo Electron Ltd

Inventors

• Watanabe Tsukasa
• Shindo Naoki
• Furukawa Takahiro
• Kamikawa Yuji

Classifications

• H10P72/0416

  with the semiconductor substrates being dipped in baths or vessels · CPC title

• H10P52/00 Primary

  Grinding, lapping or polishing of wafers, substrates or parts of devices · CPC title

• B01F15/0429

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic

• B08B3/00

  Cleaning by methods involving the use or presence of liquid or steam (B08B9/00 takes precedence) · CPC title

• C11D11/0047

  Chemistry & Metallurgy · mapped topic