Substrate processing apparatus

{
  "publication_number": "US10593571B2",
  "country": "US",
  "kind": "B2",
  "title": "Substrate processing apparatus",
  "abstract": "Provided is a substrate processing apparatus including a liquid processing unit that performs a liquid processing on a substrate; a drying processing unit that performs a drying processing on the substrate in a wet state; a first conveyance unit that conveys the substrate to the liquid processing unit; a second conveyance unit that conveys the substrate in the wet state from the liquid processing unit to the drying processing unit; and a third conveyance unit that conveys the substrate before the liquid processing in the liquid processing unit and to convey the substrate after the drying processing from the drying processing unit. The first and second conveyance units and the drying processing unit are disposed on a side that faces the third conveyance unit, and the liquid processing unit is disposed on a side that faces the first and second conveyance units and is opposite to the third conveyance unit.",
  "claims": [
    "1. A substrate processing apparatus comprising: a liquid processing chamber configured to perform a liquid processing on a substrate using a processing liquid; a drying processing chamber provided at a side of the liquid processing chamber and configured to perform a drying processing on the substrate in a wet state after the liquid processing in the liquid processing chamber; a placing table provided at a diagonal position of the liquid processing chamber; a first conveyance arm including a first holder and provided in front of the liquid processing chamber and at a side of the placing table to face both the liquid processing chamber and the placing table when viewed from above, the first conveyance arm being configured to convey the substrate before the liquid processing to the liquid processing chamber from the placing table using the first holder thereof; and a second conveyance arm including a second holder and provided between the first conveyance arm and the drying processing chamber to face the drying processing chamber and the liquid processing chamber, respectively, the second conveyance arm being configured to convey the substrate in the wet state from the liquid processing chamber to the drying processing chamber using the second holder thereof, wherein the substrate before the liquid processing is conveyed in a dry state to the placing table by a third holder of a conveyance table, which is movable on a rail extended along a side of each of the placing table, the first conveyance arm, the second conveyance arm and the drying processing chamber, and the substrate after the drying processing is removed in a dry state from the drying processing chamber by a fourth holder of the conveyance table, and the first conveyance arm and the second conveyance arm are provided between the liquid processing chamber and the rail, and a cover is provided at a carry-out port from the drying processing chamber.",
    "2. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the conveyance table performs conveyance of the substrate to and from a carrier that accommodates a plurality of substrates therein.",
    "3. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the drying processing chamber includes a container body, a substrate placing table accommodated inside the container body, and the cover is attached to the substrate placing table and configured to cover or open a front opening of the container body, and the cover is movable together with the substrate placing table between a processing position at which the substrate placing table is accommodated inside the container body and the cover attached to the substrate placing table covers the front opening of the container body, and a standby position at which the cover and the substrate placing table are retreated to an outside of the container body such that the front opening of the container body is opened, and the substrate is placed on the substrate placing table positioned at the standby position by the second holder of the second conveyance arm, and is removed from the substrate placing table positioned at the standby position by the fourth holder of the conveyance table.",
    "4. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the drying processing chamber performs a drying processing on the substrate in the wet state using a supercritical fluid."
  ],
  "description_excerpt": "The present disclosure relates to a substrate processing apparatus. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a substrate processing apparatus, which performs a liquid processing on a substrate with a processing liquid using a liquid processing unit, and then performs a drying processing on the substrate with a supercritical fluid using a supercritical drying processing unit.\n\nConventionally, in manufacturing, for example, a semiconductor element or a flat panel display, a liquid processing (e.g., cleaning or etching) is performed on a substrate (e.g., a semiconductor wafer or a liquid crystal substrate) with various processing liquids using a substrate processing apparatus, and then, a drying processing is performed to remove the processing liquid remaining on the substrate.\n\nIn the substrate processing apparatus, the substrate is subjected to the liquid processing with the processing liquid using a liquid processing unit, and then, the substrate is subjected to a drying processing using a supercritical drying processing unit by replacing the processing liquid remaining on the substrate with a fluid in a supercritical state (i.e., a supercritical fluid) and vaporizing the supercritical fluid.\n\nIn the substrate processing apparatus that performs the supercritical drying processing, a substrate conveyance unit is provided to carry the substrate into the liquid processing unit and to carry the substrate out from the supercritical drying processing unit.",
  "cpc": [
    "H10P 72/0414",
    "B08B 3/024",
    "B08B 3/08",
    "B08B 3/10",
    "H01L 21/67051",
    "H10P 72/0402",
    "H10P 72/0404",
    "H10P 72/0408",
    "H10P 72/0431",
    "H10P 72/0448",
    "H10P 72/0452",
    "H10P 72/3208",
    "H10P 72/3304"
  ],
  "ipc": [
    "B08B 3/02",
    "B08B 3/08",
    "B08B 3/10",
    "H10P 72/00",
    "H10P 72/30"
  ],
  "assignees": [
    "Tokyo Electron Ltd"
  ],
  "inventors": [
    "Hiroaki Inadomi",
    "Tooru Nakamura",
    "Kouji Kimoto",
    "Yasuo Kiyohara",
    "Satoshi Okamura",
    "Satoshi BIWA",
    "Nobuya Yamamoto",
    "Katsuhiro Ookawa",
    "Keiichi Yahata",
    "Tetsuro Nakahara"
  ],
  "filing_date": "2017-03-23",
  "publication_date": "2020-03-17",
  "grant_date": "2020-03-17",
  "priority_date": "2016-03-31",
  "application_number": "US-201715467001-A",
  "family_id": "59959714",
  "cited_by_count": 3,
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    "JP2013254904A",
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  ]
}