Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9728443-B2
Application number	US-201514632500-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 26, 2015
Priority date	Feb 27, 2014
Publication date	Aug 8, 2017
Grant date	Aug 8, 2017

Abstract

A substrate processing apparatus includes a substrate heating unit arranged to heat the underside of a substrate while supporting the substrate thereon and an attitude changing unit arranged to cause the substrate heating unit to undergo an attitude change between a horizontal attitude and a tilted attitude. In an organic solvent removing step to be performed following a substrate heating step of heating the substrate, the substrate heating unit undergoes an attitude change to the tilted attitude so that the upper surface of the substrate becomes tilted with respect to the horizontal surface.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A substrate processing apparatus comprising:
a processing liquid supplying unit arranged to supply processing liquid onto an upper surface of a substrate to form a liquid film of the processing liquid;
a substrate heating unit arranged to heat the substrate from below the substrate to heat the liquid film on the substrate and arranged to be in contact with a lower surface of the substrate to support the substrate thereon; and
an attitude changing unit arranged to cause the substrate and the substrate heating unit to undergo an attitude change between a horizontal attitude in which the upper surface of the substrate is horizontal so that the liquid film of the processing liquid is held on the substrate, and a tilted attitude in which the upper surface of the substrate is tilted so that the liquid film of the processing liquid heated by the substrate heating unit is removed from the substrate, while keeping constant a relative attitude between the substrate and the substrate heating unit, wherein
the attitude changing unit is arranged to cause the substrate heating unit, which is supporting the substrate thereon, to undergo the attitude change between the horizontal attitude and the tilted attitude, and
the substrate processing apparatus further comprises a sliding preventing member arranged to come into contact with a lower portion of a peripheral portion of the substrate tilted at the tilted attitude to prevent the substrate from sliding off the substrate heating unit.

2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the attitude changing unit includes:
a support member including a horizontal support surface;
a plurality of rods that are vertically movable, disposed above the support surface of the support member and support pheripheral portions of the substrate heating unit thereon; and
an actuator arranged to vertically move at least one of the plurality of rods so that the at least one rod is disposed at a height different from heights of remaining rods.

3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a substrate holding unit including a support pin arranged to come into contact with the peripheral portion of the substrate to support the substrate, the substrate holding unit being arranged to receive the substrate on the substrate heating unit by the support pin and to put the substrate supported by the support pin on the substrate heating unit, wherein
the support pin serves as the sliding preventing member.

4. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the substrate heating unit includes:
a substrate opposing surface opposed to the lower surface of the substrate; and
a plurality of embosses provided on the substrate opposing surface, wherein
the plurality of embosses are in contact with the lower surface of the substrate to support the substrate thereon with the lower surface of the substrate and the substrate opposing surface being spaced and opposed to each other.

5. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the plurality of embosses serve as the sliding preventing member.

6. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the plurality of embosses are disposed in a manner distributed across the substrate opposing surface.

7. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the plurality of embosses are disposed only in a peripheral portion of the substrate opposing surface.

8. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the attitude changing unit is arranged to tilt the substrate and the substrate heating unit from the horizontal attitude to the tilted attitude, after a gaseous phase of the processing liquid is formed in a space over the upper surface of the substrate due to heating of the substrate by the substrate heating unit.

9. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the substrate heating unit is a unit that forms a gaseous phase of the processing liquid in a space over the upper surface of the substrate by heating the liquid film of the processing liquid to evaporate the processing liquid, and
the substrate processing apparatus further comprises a gas discharging unit arranged to discharge gas toward the upper surface of the substrate, with a gaseous phase of the processing liquid being formed between the liquid film of the processing liquid and the upper surface of the substrate, to form a dried region from which the processing liquid is removed in a region of the upper surface of the substrate.

10. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein a position to start supplying the gas from the gas discharging unit to the substrate is in a central portion of the upper surface of the substrate.

11. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein a position to start supplying the gas from the gas discharging unit to the substrate is in a peripheral portion of the upper surface of the substrate.

12. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the gas discharging unit is arranged to discharge the gas toward an upper end portion of the upper surface of the substrate tilted by the attitude changing unit with a gaseous phase of the processing liquid being formed between the liquid film of the processing liquid and the upper surface of the substrate.

13. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the gas discharged from the gas discharging unit has a temperature equal to or higher than a boiling point of the processing liquid.

14. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a substrate heating unit including a plurality of heaters arranged to heat an entire upper surface of the substrate, the substrate heating unit arranged to heat the substrate at a temperature equal to or higher than a boiling point of the processing liquid, with the entire upper surface of the substrate being covered with the liquid film of the processing liquid, to vaporize the processing liquid and form a gaseous phase of the processing liquid between the liquid film of the processing liquid and the upper surface of the substrate; and
a controller arranged to control the substrate heating unit, wherein
the controller is arranged to perform:
a uniform heating step of uniformly heating the substrate at a temperature equal to or higher than the boiling point of the processing liquid, with the entire upper surface of the substrate being covered with the liquid film of the processing liquid, to vaporize the processing liquid and form the gaseous phase between the liquid film of the processing liquid and the upper surface of the substrate; and
a temperature difference generating step of, after the uniform heating step, forming a low-temperature region with a temperature equal to or higher than the boiling point of the processing liquid and a high-temperature region with a temperature higher than that of the low-temperature region in the upper surface of the substrate with the gaseous phase being formed between the liquid film of the processing liquid and the upper surface of the substrate.

15. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 14 , wherein the controller is arranged to form the high-temperature region in a central portion of the upper surface of the substrate in the temperature difference generating step.

16. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 14 , wherein the controller is arranged to form the high-temperature region in a peripheral portion of the upper surface

Assignees

• Screen Holdings Co Ltd

Inventors

• Yoshihara Naohiko
• Kobayashi Kenji
• Okutani Manabu

Classifications

• H10P72/7612

  characterised by lifting arrangements, e.g. lift pins · CPC title

• H10P72/7608

  characterised by a plurality of separate clamping members, e.g. clamping fingers · CPC title

• H10P72/0424

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

• H10P72/0414 Primary

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

• H10P72/0406 Primary

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