Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing system
A substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing system according to the invention includes a processing chamber having a processing space capable of accommodating a substrate inside, being provided with an aperture on a side surface thereof, which communicates with the processing space to cause the substrate to pass therethrough, and being disposed under a downflow environment, a lid part which closes and opens the aperture, a fluid supplier which supplies a heated processing fluid to be used for processing the substrate to the processing space closed by the lid part, and a regulator which guides at least part of an air flowing as the downflow to around the processing chamber and generates an airflow having a uniform flow velocity along an outer surface of the processing chamber.
1 . A substrate processing apparatus provided in a clean room where a downflow is generated by a fan filter unit provided to a ceiling of the clean room, the substrate processing apparatus comprising:
a processing chamber which is disposed in an downflow environment below the fan filter unit in the clean room, the processing chamber having a processing space capable of accommodating a substrate inside and being provided with an aperture on one side surface thereof, which communicates with the processing space to cause the substrate to pass therethrough;
a lid part which closes and opens the aperture;
a fluid supplier which supplies a heated processing fluid to be used for processing the substrate to the processing space closed by the lid part;
an upper regulating plate which is disposed below the fan filter unit and includes a horizontal part and a vertical part, the horizontal part extending in a first direction, which is a horizontal direction from the one side surface to an other side surface of the processing chamber opposite to the one side surface, with a certain interval from an upper surface of the processing chamber, the vertical part extending downwardly from an end of the horizontal part in the first direction with a certain interval from the other side surface of the processing chamber;
a lower regulating plate which is disposed between a floor of the clean room and a lower surface of the processing chamber with a certain interval from the lower surface of the processing chamber and extends along the first direction, wherein:
the horizontal part and an upper end of the one side surface form an aperture extending along a second direction which is a horizontal direction perpendicular to the first direction;
the lower regulating plate and a lower end of the one side surface form an aperture extending along the second direction; and
the lower regulating plate and a lower end of the vertical part form an aperture having a slit-like shape and extending along the second direction.
2 . The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a flow velocity of an airflow around the processing chamber is lower than a velocity of the downflow.
3 . The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a direction of an airflow along the upper surface of the processing chamber is a horizontal direction.
4 . The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the upper regulating plate is parallel to the upper surface and the lower regulating plate is parallel to the lower surface.
5 . The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein a distance between the upper surface and the upper regulating plate is equal to that between the lower surface and the lower regulating plate.
6 . The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the fluid supplier fills the processing space with the processing fluid in a supercritical state.
7 . A substrate processing system, comprising:
a processing chamber having a processing space capable of accommodating a substrate inside, being provided with an aperture on a side surface thereof, which communicates with the processing space to cause the substrate to pass therethrough, and being disposed under a downflow environment;
a lid part which closes and opens the aperture;
a fluid supplier which supplies a heated processing fluid to be used for processing the substrate to the processing space closed by the lid part;
a processing room accommodating the processing chamber and the lid part integrally in an internal space thereof;
an airflow generator which generates a downflow in the internal space from an inlet port provided above the processing chamber among wall surfaces of the processing room;
an exhaust port which is provided below the processing chamber among the wall surfaces of the processing room and exhausts the internal space; and
a regulator which guides at least part of an air flowing as the downflow to around the processing chamber and generates an airflow having a uniform flow velocity along an outer surface of the processing chamber; wherein
the regulator includes a vertical barrier wall which divides the internal space into a first space and a second space, the first space including the processing chamber and the lid part and communicating with the inlet port, and the second space not including the processing chamber or the lid part and communicating with the exhaust port, and
the barrier wall is provided with a plurality of through holes for passing the airflow therethrough.
8 . The substrate processing system according to claim 7 , wherein the processing chamber is disposed between the inlet port and the exhaust port in a plan view.