Substrate processing apparatus
AssigneeTokyo Electron Limited
InventorsKousuke Yoshihara, Akihiro Fujimoto
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A spin chuck for holding a wafer to the front face of which a resist solution is supplied, a cup for housing the spin chuck and forcibly exhausting an atmosphere around the wafer by exhaust from the bottom thereof, and an air flow control plate, provided in the cup to surround the outer periphery of the wafer, for controlling an air flow in the vicinity of the wafer are provided. Accordingly, a state of special air flow at an outer edge portion of a substrate to be processed can be eliminated, thereby preventing an increase in film thickness at the outer edge portion.
Claims10
A substrate processing apparatus, comprising:
- a substrate holding mechanism for holding a substrate horizontally, capable of rotating and moving vertically while holding the substrate;
- a solution supplying section for supplying a solution to a front face of the substrate held at a first height;
- an air flow control plate, the air flow control plate positioned at approximately the first height and surrounding adjacently an outer periphery of the substrate held at the first height so that an air flow is generated horizontally from the front face of the held and rotated substrate towards the outer periphery of the air flow control plate;
- and
- wherein the air flow control plate is inertially fixed relative to the substrate.
A substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate having a first face and a second face, comprising:
- a holding and rotating section for holding and rotating the first face of the substrate;
- a solution supplying section for supplying a solution to the second face of the substrate;
- and
- an air flow control plate, disposed to surround an outer periphery of the substrate being held and rotated, having a third face, at least a first portion of the third face placed close to the held substrate, being approximately the same height as the second face, and the third face being provided with a through-hole penetrating between a front face of the air flow control plate and a rear face thereof;
- wherein a sectional shape of at least a portion of the air flow control plate placed close to the held substrate is structured so that the thickness thereof increases downwards as the plate becomes apart from the outer periphery of the substrate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.