Solution treatment apparatus and solution treatment method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9731226-B2
Application number	US-201314378337-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 22, 2013
Priority date	Feb 27, 2012
Publication date	Aug 15, 2017
Grant date	Aug 15, 2017

Abstract

A solution treatment apparatus connected to a supply nozzle that supplies a treatment solution to a substrate, includes: a supply pipeline connecting a treatment solution storage container and the supply nozzle; a filter apparatus provided in the supply pipeline; a pump on a secondary side of the filter apparatus; a circulation pipeline connecting a discharge side of the pump and an intake side of the filter apparatus; a supply control valve provided in the supply pipeline on a secondary side of the pump; a circulation control valve provided in the circulation pipeline; and a control unit, wherein the control unit opens the circulation control valve and drives the pump when supply of the treatment solution from the supply nozzle to the substrate is stopped by closing the supply control valve, to thereby circulate the treatment solution between the supply pipeline having the filter apparatus and the circulation pipeline.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A solution treatment apparatus connected to one treatment solution supply nozzle of a plurality of treatment solution supply nozzles each of which supplies a treatment solution to a substrate to be treated, the solution treatment apparatus comprising:
a supply pipeline that connects a treatment solution storage container that stores the treatment solution and the one treatment solution supply nozzle;
a filter apparatus that is provided in the supply pipeline, and filtrates the treatment solution and removes foreign matters mixed in the treatment solution;
a treatment solution temporary storage container that is provided in the supply pipeline on a primary side of the filter apparatus and stores a part of the treatment solution,
a pump that is provided in the supply pipeline on a secondary side of the filter apparatus;
a trap tank that is provided in the supply pipeline between the filter apparatus and the pump and has a function of separating bubbles existing in the treatment solution;
a circulation pipeline that comprises a first circulation pipeline that returns the treatment solution from the pump to the trap tank, and a second circulation pipeline that returns the treatment solution from the trap tank to the supply pipeline connecting the treatment solution temporary storage container and the primary side of the filter apparatus;
a supply control valve that is provided in the supply pipeline on a secondary side of the pump;
a circulation control valve that is provided in the circulation pipeline; and
a control unit that controls the pump, the supply control valve, and the circulation control valve to open the circulation control valve and drive the pump when supply of the treatment solution from the one treatment solution supply nozzle to the substrate to be treated is stopped by closing the supply control valve, to thereby circulate the treatment solution between the supply pipeline having the filter apparatus and the circulation pipeline.

2. The solution treatment apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the circulation pipeline connects the supply pipeline on the secondary side of the pump and the treatment solution temporary storage container.

3. The solution treatment apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the pump is composed of a diaphragm pump that drives a diaphragm partitioning a pump portion and a driving portion, to reciprocate by drive of a driving means,
wherein on an intake side of the diaphragm pump, an opening/closing valve on an intake side that selectively enables inflow of the treatment solution into the pump portion is provided,
wherein on a discharge side of the diaphragm pump, a first opening/closing valve that selectively enables supply of the treatment solution to the one treatment solution supply nozzle and a second opening/closing valve that selectively enables supply of the treatment solution to the circulation pipeline are provided, and a switching valve that selectively enables discharge of the bubbles separated in the trap tank to an outside via a drain pipe is provided,
wherein the circulation control valve is provided in the second circulation pipeline, and a third opening/closing valve is provided in the supply pipeline on the primary side of the filter apparatus and on a secondary side of a connection portion between the second circulation pipeline and the supply pipeline,
wherein the drive of the driving means brings the pump portion to a negative pressure with the first opening/closing valve, the second opening/closing valve, the opening/closing valve on the intake side, and the circulation control valve closed, to expose fine bubbles existing in the treatment solution,
wherein the opening/closing valve on the intake side, the first opening/closing valve, the third opening/closing valve, and the switching valve are closed and the second opening/closing valve and the circulation control valve are opened, to move the exposed bubbles to the trap tank, and
wherein the first opening/closing valve, the second opening/closing valve, and the circulation control valve are closed and the opening/closing valve on the intake side, the third opening/closing valve, and the switching valve are opened, to discharge the bubbles in the trap tank to the outside via the drain pipe.

4. The solution treatment apparatus according to claim 3 ,
wherein the drive of the driving means brings the pump portion to the negative pressure with the first opening/closing valve, the second opening/closing valve, the third opening/closing valve, the switching valve, and the circulation control valve closed and the opening/closing valve on the intake side opened, to expose the fine bubbles existing in the treatment solution.

5. The solution treatment apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the control unit is further configured to control circulation of the treatment solution to be performed at a predetermined interval.

6. The solution treatment apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a degassing mechanism configured to degas the treatment solution provided at least in one pipeline of the supply pipeline and the circulation pipeline that circulate the treatment solution.

7. The solution treatment apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a vibrator that vibrates the treatment solution in the filter apparatus.

8. The solution treatment apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a temperature sensor that detects a temperature of the treatment solution in the filter apparatus; and
a temperature control device configured to control, based a signal from the temperature sensor, the temperature of the treatment solution in the filter apparatus.

9. The solution treatment apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein a plurality of the filter apparatuses are provided in the supply pipeline.

Assignees

• Tokyo Electron Ltd

Inventors

• Yoshihara Kousuke
• Ichino Katsunori
• Furusho Toshinobu
• Sasa Takashi
• Tsuchiya Katsuhiro
• Terashita Yuichi
• Takeguchi Hirofumi

Classifications

• H10P72/0448

  Apparatus for applying a liquid, a resin, an ink or the like · CPC title

• B01D19/0068 Primary

  General arrangements, e.g. flowsheets (B01D19/0063 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G03F7/30 Primary

  Imagewise removal using liquid means · CPC title

• G03F7/16

  Coating processes; Apparatus therefor (applying coatings to base materials in general B05; applying photosensitive compositions to base for photographic purposes G03C1/74) · CPC title

• B01D19/0031

  by filtration · CPC title