IP Library Granted Patent US 12,635,478
Granted Patent B2
US 12,635,478 · App. 17/475,720 · Granted May 19, 2026

Substrate cleaning device, substrate processing apparatus and substrate cleaning method

Inventors: Tomoyuki Shinohara (Kyoto, JP); Yoshifumi Okada (Kyoto, JP); Nobuaki Okita (Kyoto, JP); Hiroshi Kato (Kyoto, JP); Takashi Shinohara (Kyoto, JP)
Assignee: SCREEN HOLDINGS CO., LTD.
H10P72/7618H10P72/0414B08B1/12B08B1/20
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,635,478
App. No.
17/475,720
Granted
May 19, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

A first substrate holder holds an outer peripheral end of a substrate. A second substrate holder holds a lower-surface center region of the substrate by suction at a position farther downward than the first substrate holder. The second substrate holder and the lower-surface brush are provided on a mobile base that is movable in a horizontal direction. The mobile base is moved between a position at which the lower-surface brush is opposite to a lower-surface outer region of the substrate and a position at which the lower-surface brush is opposite to the lower-surface center region of the substrate. The lower-surface center region of the substrate held by the first substrate holder is cleaned. At this time, a height position of the substrate is higher than an upper end portion of a processing cup. The lower-surface outer region of the substrate held by the second substrate holder is cleaned. At this time, a height position of the substrate is lower than the upper end portion of the processing cup.

Claims (87)

1 . A substrate cleaning device comprising:

a first substrate holder that holds an outer peripheral end of a substrate;

a second substrate holder that holds a lower-surface center portion of the substrate by suction at a position farther downward than the first substrate holder;

a mover that moves the substrate between the first substrate holder and the second substrate holder;

a cleaning tool that comes into contact with a lower surface of the substrate to clean the lower surface of the substrate;

a cleaning tool lifter-lowerer that supports the cleaning tool from below, and lifts or lowers the cleaning tool between a first cleaning height position at which the cleaning tool comes into contact with the lower surface of the substrate while the substrate is held by the first substrate holder and not the second substrate holder and a second cleaning height position at which the cleaning tool comes into contact with the lower surface of the substrate while the substrate is held by the second substrate holder and not the first substrate holder;

a rotation driver that supports the second substrate holder from below and rotates the second substrate holder about an axis extending in an up-and-down direction;

a base portion that supports the cleaning tool lifter-lowerer and the rotation driver such that the cleaning tool and the second substrate holder are spaced apart from each other in a plan view; and

a base mover that moves the base portion horizontally between a first horizontal position at which the second substrate holder is aligned in an up-and-down direction to the lower-surface center portion of the substrate and the cleaning tool is aligned in an up-and-down direction to a lower-surface outer region surrounding the lower-surface center portion of the substrate, and a second horizontal position at which the second substrate holder is aligned in an up-and-down direction to the lower-surface outer region of the substrate and the cleaning tool is aligned in an up-and-down direction to the lower-surface center portion of the substrate, with the substrate held by the first substrate holder.

2 . The substrate cleaning device according to claim 1 , further comprising an attachment member to which the cleaning tool is attached, wherein

the cleaning tool lifter-lowerer supports the cleaning tool by liftably and lowerably supporting the attachment member.

3 . The substrate cleaning device according to claim 2 , further comprising a cleaning liquid supplier that is attached to the attachment member and supplies a cleaning liquid to the lower surface of the substrate when the lower surface of the substrate is cleaned by the cleaning tool.

4 . The substrate cleaning device according to claim 2 , wherein

the attachment member has an upper surface that is inclined downwardly in a direction away from the second substrate holder.

5 . The substrate cleaning device according to claim 2 , further comprising an airflow generator that generates a strip-shaped flow of air between the cleaning tool and the second substrate holder.

6 . The substrate cleaning device according to claim 5 , wherein

the airflow generator is further attached to the attachment member.

7 . The substrate cleaning device according to claim 5 , wherein

the airflow generator forms a gas curtain between the cleaning tool and the second substrate holder by injecting a strip-shaped gas toward the lower surface of the substrate.

8 . The substrate cleaning device according to claim 1 , wherein

an area of a contact portion of the cleaning tool that comes into contact with the lower surface of the substrate is larger than an area of a suction portion of the second substrate holder that holds the lower-surface center portion of the substrate by suction.

9 . The substrate cleaning device according to claim 1 , wherein

the base portion is configured to support the cleaning tool lifter-lowerer such that the cleaning tool lifter-lowerer is movable in a horizontal plane with respect to the rotation driver, and

the substrate cleaning device further includes a movement driver that moves the cleaning tool lifter-lowerer in the horizontal direction with respect to the second substrate holder in the base portion.

10 . The substrate cleaning device according to claim 1 , further comprising a cleaning tool rotation driver that rotates the cleaning tool about an axis extending in the up-and-down direction.

11 . A substrate cleaning device comprising:

a first substrate holder that holds an outer peripheral end of a substrate at a first height position without rotating the substrate;

a second substrate holder that rotates the substrate about an axis extending in an up-and-down direction while holding the lower-surface center portion of the substrate by suction at a second height position further downward than the first height position;

a substrate mover that moves the substrate between the first height position and the second height position;

a cleaning tool that comes into contact with a lower surface of the substrate to clean the lower surface of the substrate;

a cleaning tool lifter-lowerer that changes the cleaning tool between a first state where the cleaning tool comes into contact with the lower surface of the substrate while the substrate is held by the first substrate holder and not by the second substrate holder and a second state where the cleaning tool comes into contact with the lower surface of the substrate while the substrate is held by the second substrate holder and not by the first substrate holder, by lifting or lowering the cleaning tool;

a cleaning tool mover that moves the cleaning tool in a horizontal direction with respect to the substrate at a position below the substrate held by the first or second substrate holder;

a cleaning liquid supplier that supplies a cleaning liquid to the lower surface of the substrate; and

a processing cup that is provided to surround the second substrate holder in a plan view, and receives the cleaning liquid splashed from the substrate in a case where the cleaning liquid is supplied from the cleaning liquid supplier to the substrate that is rotated while being held by suction by the second substrate holder, wherein

the first height position is higher than an upper end portion of the processing cup, and

the second height position is lower than the upper end portion of the processing cup when the substrate is cleaned by the cleaning tool while being held by the second substrate holder.

12 . The substrate cleaning device according to claim 11 , further comprising a controller that controls the first substrate holder, the second substrate holder, the substrate mover, the cleaning tool lifter-lowerer, the cleaning tool mover and the cleaning liquid supplier, wherein

the controller

controls the first substrate holder, the cleaning tool lifter-lowerer and the cleaning liquid supplier such that the lower-surface center portion of the substrate held by the first substrate holder is cleaned by the cleaning tool, when the lower-surface center portion of the substrate is cleaned,

controls the second substrate holder, the cleaning tool lifter-lowerer, the cleaning tool mover and the cleaning liquid supplier such that a lower-surface outer region, surrounding the lower-surface center portion of the substrate, is cleaned by the cleaning tool while the cleaning liquid is supplied to the lower surface of the substrate held by the second substrate holder, when the lower-surface outer region is cleaned, and

controls the first substrate holder, the second substrate holder and the substrate mover such that the substrate is moved between the first substrate holder and the second substrate holder.

13 . The substrate cleaning device according to claim 11 , wherein

the cleaning tool mover moves the cleaning tool in the horizontal direction with respect to the substrate in at least one of a state where the cleaning tool is in contact with the lower surface of the substrate held by the first substrate holder and a state where the cleaning tool is in contact with the lower surface of the substrate held by the second substrate holder.

14 . The substrate cleaning device according to claim 11 , further comprising a gas supplier that is configured to be capable of supplying gas to the lower surface of the substrate held by the first substrate holder and to be capable of supplying gas to the lower surface of the substrate held by the second substrate holder.

15 . The substrate cleaning device according to claim 11 , further comprising a cleaning tool rotation driver that rotates the cleaning tool about an axis extending in the up-and-down direction.

16 . The substrate cleaning device according to claim 11 , wherein

an area of a contact portion of the cleaning tool that comes into contact with the lower surface of the substrate is larger than an area of a suction portion of the second substrate holder that holds the lower-surface center portion of the substrate by suction.

17 . The substrate cleaning device according to claim 11 , further comprising a processing cup driver that lifts or lowers the processing cup between an upper cup position at which an upper end portion of the processing cup is higher than the second height position and a lower cup position at which the upper end portion of the processing cup is lower than the second height position, wherein

the processing cup driver holds the processing cup at the upper cup position when the substrate is cleaned by the cleaning tool while being held by the second substrate holder, and holds the processing cup at the lower cup position before or after the substrate held by the second substrate holder is cleaned.

18 . A substrate processing apparatus comprising:

the substrate cleaning device according to claim 11 ; and

a substrate transporter that includes a first transport holder configured to be capable of holding the substrate and a second transport holder configured to be capable of holding the substrate at a position farther downward than the first transport holder, wherein

the first transport holder receives the substrate from or transfers the substrate to the first substrate holder of the substrate cleaning device, and

the second transport holder receives the substrate from or transfers a substrate to the second substrate holder of the substrate cleaning device.

19 . A substrate cleaning device comprising:

a first substrate holder that holds an outer peripheral end of a substrate in a first position in a vertical direction;

a second substrate holder that holds a lower-surface center region of the substrate in a second position farther downward than the first substrate holder in the vertical direction;

a receiver-transferer that receives and transfers the substrate between the first substrate holder and the second substrate holder;

a cleaning tool that comes into contact with a lower surface of the substrate to clean the lower surface of the substrate;

a cleaning controller that controls the cleaning tool such that the lower-surface center region of the substrate is cleaned while the substrate is in the first position when the substrate is held by the first substrate holder, and controls the cleaning tool such that a lower-surface outer region surrounding the lower-surface center region of the substrate is cleaned while the substrate is in the second position when the substrate is held by the second substrate holder;

a base portion configured to support the cleaning tool and the second substrate holder; and

a unit casing that has a horizontal bottom surface portion and stores the first substrate holder, the second substrate holder, the receiver-transferer, the cleaning tool, and the base portion,

wherein the base portion is configured to be integrally movable in a horizontal direction together with the cleaning tool and the second substrate holder on the bottom surface portion of the unit casing,

the cleaning tool and the second substrate holder are arranged to be aligned in a plan view, and

the base portion further includes:

a linear guide that includes a rail provided on the bottom surface portion to extend in a direction in which the cleaning tool and the second substrate holder are aligned,

a mobile base that is movably provided on the rail of the linear guide, and

a base driver that moves the mobile base on the linear guide.

20 . The substrate cleaning device according to claim 19 , further comprising a receiving-transferring controller that controls the receiver-transferer such that the substrate having the lower-surface center region that has been cleaned in the first substrate holder to the second substrate holder.

21 . The substrate cleaning device according to claim 20 , wherein

the receiving-transferring controller further controls the receiver-transferer such that the substrate having the lower-surface outer region that has been cleaned in the second substrate holder is transferred to the first substrate holder again, and

the cleaning controller controls the cleaning tool such that the lower-surface center region of the substrate held by the first substrate holder is cleaned again.

22 . The substrate cleaning device according to claim 19 , further comprising a receiving-transferring controller that controls the receiver-transferer such that the substrate having the lower-surface outer region that has been cleaned in the second substrate holder is transferred to the first substrate holder.

23 . The substrate cleaning device according to claim 19 , wherein

the substrate cleaning device is configured to selectively operate in a first cleaning mode or a second cleaning mode, and

the cleaning controller

controls the cleaning tool such that the lower-surface center region of the substrate is cleaned when the substrate is held by the first substrate holder, and controls the cleaning tool such that the lower-surface outer region of the substrate is cleaned when the substrate is held by the second substrate holder, in the first cleaning mode, and

controls the cleaning tool such that the substrate is not cleaned when the substrate is held by the first substrate holder, and controls the cleaning tool such that the lower-surface outer region of the substrate is cleaned when the substrate is held by the second substrate holder, in the second cleaning mode.

24 . A substrate cleaning device comprising:

a first substrate holder that holds an outer peripheral end of a substrate in a first position in a vertical direction;

a second substrate holder that holds a lower-surface center region of the substrate in a second position farther downward than the first substrate holder in the vertical direction;

a receiver-transferer that receives and transfers the substrate between the first substrate holder and the second substrate holder;

a cleaning tool that comes into contact with a lower surface of the substrate to clean the lower surface of the substrate;

a cleaning controller that controls the cleaning tool such that the lower-surface center region of the substrate is cleaned while the substrate is in the first position when the substrate is held by the first substrate holder, and controls the cleaning tool such that a lower-surface outer region surrounding the lower-surface center region of the substrate is cleaned while the substrate is in the second position in the vertical direction when the substrate is held by the second substrate holder;

a base portion that supports the cleaning tool and the second substrate holder;

a base driver that changes the base portion between a first state where the cleaning tool is below the center of the substrate to be held by the first substrate holder and a second state where a rotational center of the second substrate holder is below the center of the substrate to be held by the first substrate holder, and

a base controller that controls the base driver such that the base portion is in the first state when the substrate is cleaned in the first substrate holder, and controls the base driver such that the base portion is in the second state when the substrate is received and transferred between the first substrate holder and the second substrate holder.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 15, 2021
From: SHINOHARA, TOMOYUKI; OKADA, YOSHIFUMI; OKITA, NOBUAKI; KATO, HIROSHI; SHINOHARA, TAKASHI
To: SCREEN HOLDINGS CO., LTD.
Reel/Frame 057487/0524 →
Priority Claims (3)
JP 2020-157267 · Sep 18, 2020 · national
JP 2020-157268 · Sep 18, 2020 · national
JP 2020-157270 · Sep 18, 2020 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20220093420A1 · Mar 24, 2022
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