Processing liquid supplying apparatus, processing liquid supplying method and storage medium

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9778571-B2
Application number	US-201414548719-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 20, 2014
Priority date	Nov 20, 2013
Publication date	Oct 3, 2017
Grant date	Oct 3, 2017

Abstract

A processing liquid supplying apparatus supplies a processing liquid to a process object via a discharging part. In one embodiment, the apparatus includes: a processing liquid source that supplies a processing liquid; an intermediate tank connected to the processing liquid source via a transport line; a feed line provided between the intermediate tank and the discharging part; an evacuating unit that evacuates an interior of the intermediate tank to transport the processing liquid from the processing liquid source to the intermediate tank through the transport line; and a pressure adjusting unit that supplies a gas into the intermediate tank to return a pressure in the evacuated intermediate tank from a reduced pressure to a normal pressure, thereby to place the intermediate tank ready for feeding the processing liquid, having been transported into the intermediate tank, into the feed line.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A processing liquid supplying apparatus that supplies a processing liquid to a process object via a discharging part, said apparatus comprising:
a processing liquid source that supplies a processing liquid;
an intermediate tank connected to the processing liquid source via a transport line;
a feed line provided between the intermediate tank and the discharging part;
an evacuating unit that evacuates an interior of the intermediate tank to transport the processing liquid from the processing liquid source to the intermediate tank through the transport line;
a pressure adjusting unit that supplies a gas into the intermediate tank to return a pressure in the evacuated intermediate tank from a reduced pressure to a normal pressure, thereby to place the intermediate tank ready for feeding the processing liquid, having been transported into the intermediate tank, into the feed line, wherein a plurality of intermediate tanks are connected to the processing liquid source in parallel,
said processing liquid supplying apparatus further comprising:
a flow-combining unit, disposed between the plurality of intermediate tanks and the evacuating unit, in which gases evacuated from the intermediate tanks merge with each other;
a pressure sensor that detects a pressure in the flow-combining unit; and
a control unit configured to perform a step of setting a target pressure in the flow-combining unit as a function of the number of the intermediate tanks to which the processing liquid is transported, the target pressure causing the processing liquid to flow from the processing liquid source to each of the intermediate tanks at a predetermined flow rate, and a step of controlling an evacuating rate of the evacuating unit such that the pressure in the flow-combining unit detected by the pressure sensor becomes a predetermined target pressure.

2. The processing liquid supplying apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the processing liquid source includes a pressurizing unit that pressurizes the processing liquid in the processing liquid source, thereby to fill the feed line with the processing liquid through the transport line and the intermediate tank through the transport line and the intermediate tank.

3. The processing liquid supplying apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a flow rate-determining unit that determines a flow rate of the processing liquid transported from the processing liquid source to each of the intermediate tanks,
wherein the control unit is configured to perform the setting of the target pressure using a regression equation expressing a relationship between the pressure in the flow-combining unit and a sum of flow rates of the processing liquid transported from the processing liquid source to the respective intermediate tanks, and configured, if a difference between the sum of the flow rates of the processing liquid determined by the flow rate-determining unit and the sum of flow rates calculated by applying the target pressure to the regression equation is out of a predetermined allowable range when the processing liquid is transported to the respective intermediate tanks with the pressure in the flow-combining unit being set at the target pressure, to generate a new regression equation based on an actual value of the pressure in the flow-combining unit detected by the pressure sensor and actual values of the flow rates determined by the flow rate-determining unit, and configured to set the target value using the new regression equation.

4. The processing liquid supplying apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the flow rate-determining unit includes a lower liquid level sensor and a higher liquid level sensor disposed at different height levels of each of the intermediate tanks, a time measurement unit that measures a time period from a time point when the liquid level is detected by the lower liquid level sensor to a time point when the liquid level is detected by the higher liquid level sensor, and wherein the flow rate-determining unit is configured to determine the flow rate of the processing liquid based on a volume of a part of the intermediate tank between the lower and higher liquid level sensors and a time period measured by the time measurement unit.

5. The processing liquid supplying apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the gas supplied from the pressure adjusting unit into the intermediate tank is an inert gas.

6. The processing liquid supplying apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the pressure adjusting unit has a filter for removing particles from the gas supplied to the intermediate tank.

7. A processing liquid supplying method for supplying a processing liquid to a process object via a discharging part, said method comprising:
evacuating an interior of an intermediate tank which is connected to a processing liquid source that supplies the processing liquid via a transport line, thereby transporting the processing liquid to the intermediate tank;
supplying a gas for adjusting a pressure into the intermediate tank, having been evacuated, to return pressure in the intermediate tank from a reduced pressure to a normal pressure;
feeding the processing liquid, having been supplied into the intermediate tank, into a feed line provided between the intermediate tank and the discharging part, wherein a plurality of intermediate tanks are connected to the processing liquid source in parallel, and a flow-combining unit is disposed between the plurality of intermediate tanks and an evacuating unit so that exhaust gases discharged from the intermediate tanks merge with each other in the flow-combining unit,
said method further comprising:
measuring pressure in the flow-combining unit;
setting a target pressure in the flow-combining unit, as a function of the number of the intermediate tanks to which the processing liquid is transported, the target pressure causing the processing liquid to flow from the processing liquid source to each of the inteimediate tanks at a predetermined flow rate; and
controlling an evacuating rate of the evacuating unit such that the pressure in the flow-combining unit is regulated at a predetermined target pressure.

8. The processing liquid supplying method according to claim 7 , further comprising:
before evacuating the interior of the intermediate tank for transporting the processing liquid to the intermediate tank, pressuring the processing liquid in the processing liquid source, thereby filling the feed line with the processing liquid through the transport line and the intermediate tank.

9. The processing liquid supplying method according to claim 7 , further comprising:
determining a flow rate of the processing liquid transported from the processing liquid source to each of the intermediate tanks;
performing the setting of the target pressure using a regression equation expressing a relationship between the pressure in the flow-combining unit and a sum of flow rates of the processing liquid transported from the processing liquid source to the respective intermediate tanks;
if a difference between a sum of the flow rates determined by the flow rate-determining unit and the sum of flow rates calculated by applying the target pressure to the regression equation is out of a predetermined allowable range when the processing liquid is transported to the respective intermediate tanks with the pressure in the flow-combining unit being set at the target pressure, generating a new regression equation based on an actual value of the pressure in the flow-combining unit and actual values of the flow rates determined by the flow rate-determining unit; and
setting the target value using the new regression equation.

10. The processing l

Assignees

• Tokyo Electron Ltd

Inventors

• Sasa Takashi
• Ishimaru Daisuke

Classifications

• H10P72/0448

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

• H10P72/0402

  Apparatus for fluid treatment (H10P72/0441, H10P72/0448 take precedence) · CPC title

• G03F7/162 Primary

  Coating on a rotating support, e.g. using a whirler or a spinner · CPC title

• G03F7/3021

  from a wafer supported on a rotating chuck · CPC title

• H01L21/6715

  Electricity · mapped topic