# US 2019/0172732 A1 · Determination method and substrate processing equipment > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2019/0172732 A1 - Document ID: US20190172732A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 16/200,673 - Filed: 2018-11-27 - Published: 2019-06-06 - Earliest claimed: 2017-12-04 - Assignees: SCREEN Holdings Co., Ltd. - Applicants: SCREEN Holdings Co., Ltd. - Inventors: Hideji NAOHARA; Hiroaki KAKUMA; Yuji OKITA; Tatsuya MASUI - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20190172732A1 ## CPC - H10P 72/0414: {using mainly spraying means, e.g. nozzles} - H10P 70/18: {by combined dry cleaning and wet cleaning (H10P70/52 takes precedence)} - H10P 70/20: {Cleaning during device manufacture} - H10P 70/50: {characterised by the part to be cleaned} - H10P 72/0406: {for cleaning followed by drying, rinsing, stripping, blasting or the like} - H10P 72/0408: {for drying} - H10P 72/0424: {using mainly spraying means, e.g. nozzles} - H10P 72/0432: {mainly by conduction} - H10P 72/0604: {Process monitoring, e.g. flow or thickness monitoring} - H10P 72/0616: {Monitoring of warpages, curvatures, damages, defects or the like} - H10P 72/7606: {characterised by edge clamping, e.g. clamping ring} - H10P 72/7612: {characterised by lifting arrangements, e.g. lift pins} - H10P 72/7614: {characterised by a plurality of individual support members, e.g. support posts or protrusions} - H10P 74/203: {Structural properties, e.g. testing or measuring thicknesses, line widths, warpage, bond strengths or physical defects} - H10P 74/23: {characterised by multiple measurements, corrections, marking or sorting processes} - H10P: GENERIC PROCESSES OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10 ## Abstract In equipment that executes a drying process of forming a liquid membrane on a top surface of a substrate W which is held horizontally and gradually enlarging a dry area from which the liquid membrane has been removed, quality of the drying process is determined. Specifically, first, the top surface of the substrate is repeatedly imaged by an imaging unit during execution of the drying process. Then, it is determined whether the dry area is in a normal state based on a plurality of captured images acquired by the imaging. Accordingly, it is possible to quantitatively determine whether a dry area is in a normal state based on a plurality of captured images. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A determination method of determining quality of a drying process in equipment that executes the drying process of forming a liquid membrane on a top surface of a substrate which is held horizontally and gradually enlarging a dry area from which the liquid membrane has been removed, the determination method comprising: a step of a) repeatedly imaging the top surface of the substrate during execution of the drying process; and a step of b) determining whether the dry area is in a normal state based on a plurality of captured images acquired in the step of a). ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The determination method according to claim 1, wherein the step of b) comprises a step of c) determining whether an opening is formed in the liquid membrane before the dry area is initially formed. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The determination method according to claim 2, wherein the step of c) comprises: c-11) generating a difference image between a reference image which is an image of the substrate immediately after the liquid membrane has been formed and the captured image; c-12) determining that the opening is formed when a difference area in the difference image is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) The determination method according to claim 2, wherein the step of c) comprises: c-21) performing a filtering process in a space direction on the captured image and generating a space-filtered image; c-22) performing a filtering process in a time direction on the captured image and generating a time-filtered image; c-23) generating a difference image between the space-filtered image and the time-filtered image; and c-24) determining that the opening is formed when a difference area in the difference image is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The determination method according to claim 1, wherein the step of b) comprises a step of d) determining whether a shape of the dry area at the time of enlargement is a predetermined shape. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The determination method according to claim 5, wherein the step of d) comprises: d-11) sequentially generating a sequential difference image between the plurality of captured images; d-12) calculating roundness of a closed curve which is formed in the sequential difference image; and d-13) determining that the shape is abnormal when the roundness is less than a predetermined threshold value. ### Claim 7 (depends on 5) The determination method according to claim 5, wherein the step of d) comprises: d-21) sequentially generating a sequential difference image between the plurality of captured images; d-22) counting the number of closed curves which are formed in the sequential difference image; and d-23) determining that the shape is abnormal when the number of closed curves is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The determination method according to claim 1, wherein the initial formation of the dry area in the drying process is performed by blowing a gas on the substrate. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The determination method according to claim 1, wherein the initial formation of the dry area in the drying process is performed by heating a predetermined position of the substrate. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The determination method according to claim 1, wherein the enlargement of the dry area in the drying process is performed by blowing a gas onto the substrate. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The determination method according to claim 1, wherein the enlargement of the dry area in the drying process is performed by gradually enlarging a heated area of the substrate. ### Claim 12 (depends on 8) The determination method according to claim 8, wherein the drying process comprises: a step of x) heating the substrate and forming a vapor layer between the top surface of the substrate and the liquid membrane; a step of y) blowing a gas onto the center of the top surface of the substrate and initially forming the dry area after the step of x); and a step of z) further blowing a gas onto the top surface of the substrate and enlarging the dry area after the step of y). ### Claim 13 Substrate processing equipment comprising: a substrate holding unit configured to hold a substrate horizontally; a liquid membrane forming unit configured to form a liquid membrane on a top surface of the substrate which is held by the substrate holding unit; a first drying unit configured to initially form a dry area from which the liquid membrane has been removed at a predetermined position of the top surface of the substrate; a second drying unit configured to gradually enlarge the dry area; an imaging unit configured to repeatedly image the top surface of the substrate; and a determination unit configured to determine whether the dry area is in a normal state based on a plurality of captured images acquired by the imaging unit. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The substrate processing equipment according to claim 13, wherein the determination unit is configured to execute a process of c) determining whether an opening is formed in the liquid membrane before the dry area is initially formed. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The substrate processing equipment according to claim 14, wherein the determination unit is configured that the process of c) comprises: a process of c-11) generating a difference image between a reference image which is an image of the substrate immediately after the liquid membrane has been formed and the captured image; and a process of c-12) determining that the opening is formed when a difference area in the difference image is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value. ### Claim 16 (depends on 14) The substrate processing equipment according to claim 14, wherein the determination unit is configured that the process of c) comprises: a process of c-21) performing a filtering process in a space direction on the captured image and generating a space-filtered image; a process of c-22) performing a filtering process in a time direction on the captured image and generating a time-filtered image; a process of c-23) generating a difference image between the space-filtered image and the time-filtered image; and a process of c-24) determining that the opening is formed when a difference area in the difference image is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value. ### Claim 17 (depends on 13) The substrate processing equipment according to claim 13, wherein the determination, unit is configured to perform a process of d) determining whether a shape of the dry area at the time of enlargement is a predetermined shape. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The substrate processing equipment according to claim 17, wherein the determination unit is configured that the process of d) comprises: a process of d-11) sequentially generating a sequential difference image between the plurality of captured images; a process of d-12) calculating roundness of a closed curve which is formed in the sequential difference image; and a process of d-13) determining that the shape is abnormal when the roundness is less than a predetermined threshold value. ### Claim 19 (depends on 17) The substrate processing equipment according to claim 17, wherein the determination unit is configured that the process of d) comprises: a process of d-21) sequentially generating a sequential difference image between the plurality of captured images; a process of d-22) counting the number of closed curves which are formed in the sequential difference image; and a process of d-23) determining that the shape is abnormal when the number of closed curves is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value. ### Claim 20 (depends on 13) The substrate processing equipment according to claim 13, wherein the first drying unit initially forms the dry area by blowing a gas on the substrate. ### Claim 21 (depends on 13) The substrate processing equipment according to claim 13, wherein the first drying unit initially forms the dry area by heating the predetermined position of the substrate. ### Claim 22 (depends on 13) The substrate processing equipment according to claim 13, wherein the second drying unit enlarges the dry area by blowing a gas onto the substrate. ### Claim 23 (depends on 13) The substrate processing equipment according to claim 13, wherein the second drying unit enlarges the dry area by gradually enlarging a heated area of the substrate. ### Claim 24 (depends on 20) The substrate processing equipment according to claim 20, further comprising a heating unit configured to heat the substrate, wherein a vapor layer is formed between the top surface of the substrate and the liquid membrane by causing the heating unit to heat the substrate.