IP Library › Granted Patent US 9,721,813
Granted Patent B2
US 9,721,813 · App. 13/937,306 · Granted Aug 1, 2017

Liquid processing apparatus with cleaning jig

Inventors: Nobuhiro Ogata (Kumamoto, JP); Hiromi Kiyose (Kumamoto, JP); Hidetsugu Yano (Kumamoto, JP); Tsukasa Hirayama (Kumamoto, JP)
Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
H01L21/67051B08B3/04B08B13/00H01L21/68735
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 9,721,813
App. No.
13/937,306
Granted
Aug 1, 2017
Kind
B2
Abstract

The present disclosure provides a cleaning method which enables a cup and a member around the cup to be cleaned thoroughly. In this cleaning method, a cleaning liquid is supplied to a cleaning jig from the upper side of the cleaning jig while rotating the cleaning jig held by a substrate holding unit. The cleaning liquid supplied to the cleaning jig is scattered obliquely upward along an inclined surface of an inclined portion which is provided around the entire circumference of the cleaning jig in the vicinity of the outer circumferential edge of the cleaning jig, thereby cleaning cups.

Claims (17)

1. A liquid processing apparatus comprising:

a substrate holding unit configured to hold a substrate to be processed horizontally so that the substrate is processed with a processing liquid;

a substrate rotating mechanism configured to rotate the substrate holding unit; a cup configured to surround the substrate held by the substrate holding unit and receive the processing liquid after the processing liquid is supplied to the substrate;

a cleaning jig disposed on the substrate holding unit and configured to clean the cup, the cleaning jig being formed in a disc shape and provided with an inclined portion on a top surface thereof around an entire circumference in the vicinity of an outer circumferential edge of the cleaning jig, and the inclined portion of the cleaning jig being inclined upward toward an outside of the cleaning jig in a diameter direction;

a cleaning jig accommodating unit configured to accommodate the cleaning jig;

the substrate holding unit provided with a substrate holding body configured to hold the outer circumferential edge of the cleaning jig, wherein the outer circumferential edge of the cleaning jig has a shape which is held by the substrate holding body; and

a cleaning liquid supplying unit disposed at an upper side of the substrate holding unit and configured to supply a cleaning liquid,

wherein the inclined portion of the cleaning jig is angled such that a virtual line extended from an upper end of the inclined portion toward the outside of the cleaning jig is positioned above an upper portion of the cup, and the cleaning liquid supplied by the cleaning liquid supplying unit is supplied to a top surface of the cleaning jig.

2. The liquid processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the cleaning jig is formed with a plurality of through holes at a central part of the top surface thereof, the through holes being configured to guide the cleaning liquid supplied to the top surface to the lower side of the cleaning jig through the cleaning jig.

3. The liquid processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the cup includes a rotation cup attached to the substrate holding unit and a liquid collecting cup provided to surround the rotation cup, and the inclined portion is formed in an inclined shape such that the cleaning liquid is scattered toward a gap between the rotation cup and the liquid collecting cup.

4. The liquid processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the cleaning jig includes a horizontal portion and the inclined portion, and a through hole is formed at a location where the horizontal portion and the inclined portion adjoin each other.

5. The liquid processing apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the through hole is provided a plurality of times in the circumferential direction of the cleaning jig.

6. The liquid processing apparatus of claim 4 , further comprising:

a guide part provided in the vicinity of the outer circumferential edge of the cleaning jig,

wherein the guide part is configured to guide the cleaning liquid discharged from the through hole of the inclined portion in a horizontal direction toward the outside in the diameter direction of the cleaning jig.

7. The liquid processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the inclined portion is provided with inclined sections of at least two steps.

8. The liquid processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the outer circumferential edge of the cleaning jig has a thickness equal to that of a circumferential edge of the substrate.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jul 9, 2013
From: OGATA, NOBUHIRO; KIYOSE, HIROMI; YANO, HIDETSUGU; HIRAYAMA, TSUKASA
To: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
Reel/Frame 030756/0154 →
Priority Claims (2)
JP 2012-155635 · Jul 11, 2012 · national
JP 2013-025841 · Feb 13, 2013 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20140014134A1 · Jan 16, 2014