Apparatus for and method of processing substrate

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9922848-B2
Application number	US-201514716980-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 20, 2015
Priority date	Sep 29, 2010
Publication date	Mar 20, 2018
Grant date	Mar 20, 2018

Abstract

A rinsing liquid adheres to a substrate subjected to a cleaning process. The rinsing liquid on the substrate is first replaced with IPA liquid. While the substrate covered with the IPA liquid is held in a dryer chamber, liquid carbon dioxide is supplied to the surface of the substrate. Liquid nitrogen is supplied to cool down the interior of the dryer chamber. This solidifies the liquid carbon dioxide on the substrate into solid carbon dioxide. Thereafter, the pressure in the dryer chamber is returned to atmospheric pressure, and gaseous nitrogen is supplied into the dryer chamber. Thus, the temperature in the dryer chamber increases. The solid carbon dioxide on the surface of the substrate is sublimated, and is hence removed from the substrate. All of the steps are performed while carbon dioxide is not in a supercritical state but in a non-supercritical state.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of processing a substrate to remove a first liquid adhering to the substrate, said method comprising the steps of:
(a) adjusting an atmosphere surrounding said substrate that is received in a process chamber and has said first liquid adhering thereto to an atmosphere having temperature and pressure higher than the temperature and pressure of a predetermined material at the triple point thereof;
(b) supplying a second liquid made of said predetermined material to said substrate;
(c) solidifying said predetermined material on said substrate; and
(d) changing at least one of the temperature and pressure in said process chamber to sublimate the solidified predetermined material, thereby removing said predetermined material from said substrate, wherein
said step (b) supplies said second liquid to said substrate in a state where the atmosphere surrounding said substrate is adjusted to an atmosphere having a temperature and a pressure higher than the temperature and pressure of said predetermined material at the triple point thereof in said step (a),
said step (a) supplies a gas of said predetermined material to said process chamber hermetically closed to adjust the atmosphere surrounding said substrate to an atmosphere having a temperature and a pressure higher than the temperature and pressure of said predetermined material at the triple point thereof, and
said step (b) is started by continuously supplying the gas of said predetermined material, which is supplied in said step (a), after the atmosphere surrounding said substrate is adjusted to an atmosphere having temperature and pressure higher than the temperature and pressure of said predetermined material at the triple point thereof such that the gas of said predetermined material to liquefy and adhere to said substrate as a liquid phase.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein:
a solidification temperature of said first liquid is lower than the temperature of said predetermined material at the triple point thereof.

3. The method according to claim 2 , further comprising the step of:
(h) cleaning said substrate by using a rinsing liquid before said step (a), wherein:
said first liquid is a replacement liquid used for replacement of said rinsing liquid left on said substrate after said step (h), and
a solidification temperature of said rinsing liquid is higher than the temperature of said predetermined material at the triple point thereof.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein:
said step (c) cools said predetermined material on said substrate to a temperature lower than a solidification temperature of said predetermined material.

5. The method according to claim 4 , wherein:
said step (c) supplies a fluid having a temperature lower than the solidification temperature of said predetermined material to a front surface or a rear surface of said substrate.

6. The method according to claim 4 , further comprising the step of:
(e) after said step (c), discharging the atmosphere surrounding said substrate having a pressure higher than the pressure of said predetermined material at the triple point thereof to the outside of said process chamber to decrease the pressure of said process chamber.

7. The method according to claim 6 , wherein:
said step (d) raises the temperature in the atmosphere surrounding said substrate after said step (e).

8. The method according to claim 7 , further comprising the step of:
(f) after said step (d), raising the temperature in the atmosphere surrounding said substrate to an external temperature of said process chamber.

9. The method according to claim 1 , wherein:
said step (c) discharges the atmosphere surrounding said substrate having the temperature and pressure higher than the temperature and pressure of said predetermined material at the triple point thereof to the outside of said process chamber to decrease the pressure in the atmosphere surrounding said substrate.

10. The method according to claim 9 , wherein:
said step (d) raises the temperature in the atmosphere surrounding said substrate.

11. The method according to claim 10 , further comprising the step of:
(g) raising the temperature in the atmosphere surrounding said substrate to the external temperature of said process chamber.

12. The method according to claim 1 , wherein:
said predetermined material comprises a material having a pressure of one atmosphere or higher at the triple point thereof.

13. The method according to claim 12 , wherein:
said predetermined material comprises carbon dioxide.

Assignees

• Miya Katsuhiko
• Kitagawa Hiroaki
• Screen Holdings Co Ltd

Inventors

• Miya Katsuhiko
• Kitagawa Hiroaki

Classifications

• H10P72/0408

  for drying · CPC title

• H10P72/0406 Primary

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

• H10P50/00 Primary

  Etching of wafers, substrates or parts of devices · CPC title

• H01L21/67028 Primary

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H01L21/67034

  Electricity · mapped topic