阅读说明：本技术 用于处理基板的装置和方法 (Apparatus and method for processing substrate ) 是由 朴晃秀 刘俊浩 于 2019-07-18 设计创作，主要内容包括：一种用于处理基板的方法,包括：基板处理步骤：在加工容器的加工空间中通过将处理液体滴涂到被支撑在支撑板上的基板上来处理所述基板,以及容器清洁步骤：通过将清洁溶液滴涂到被支撑在旋转支撑板上的夹具上来清洁所述加工容器。在所述容器清洁步骤中,所述夹具被定位成使得所述夹具的中心偏离所述支撑板的中心。(A method for processing a substrate includes a substrate processing step of processing the substrate by dropping a processing liquid onto the substrate supported on a support plate in a processing space of a processing vessel, and a vessel cleaning step of cleaning the processing vessel by dropping a cleaning solution onto a jig supported on a rotating support plate.)

1, a method for processing a substrate, the method comprising:

a substrate processing step: processing a substrate supported on a support plate by dispensing a treatment liquid onto the substrate in a processing space of a processing vessel; and

a container cleaning step: the processing vessel is cleaned by applying a drop of cleaning solution to a fixture supported on a rotating support plate,

wherein, in the container cleaning step, the jig is positioned such that the center of the jig is offset from the center of the support plate.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the relative height between the support plate and the processing vessel is varied during the vessel cleaning step.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the height of the process vessel is varied by a motor.

4. The method of any of claims 1-3, wherein the clamp has the same dimensions as the substrate.

an apparatus for processing a substrate, the apparatus comprising:

a processing container having a processing space therein;

a substrate supporting unit configured to support and rotate the substrate or the jig in the processing space;

a liquid dispensing unit including a treatment liquid dispensing member configured to dispense a treatment liquid for treating the substrate and a cleaning solution dispensing member configured to dispense a cleaning solution for cleaning the processing vessel; and

a controller configured to control the substrate support unit and the liquid dispensing unit,

wherein the substrate supporting unit includes a supporting plate on which the substrate is placed,

wherein the controller is configured to perform:

a substrate processing step: processing the substrate by dispensing the processing liquid onto the substrate placed on the support plate; and

a container cleaning step: cleaning the processing vessel by dripping the cleaning solution onto a rotating jig placed on the support plate, and

wherein, in the container cleaning step, the jig is supported on the support plate such that the center of the jig is offset from the center of the support plate.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the clamp has a circular shape.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the clamp has a larger diameter than the support plate.

8. The apparatus of any of claims 5-7, wherein the support plate includes a vacuum line configured to apply vacuum pressure to the support plate to cause the support plate to secure the substrate or the fixture with the vacuum pressure.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, further comprising a transfer robot configured to load the substrate or the clamp onto the substrate support unit,

wherein the controller controls the transfer robot,

wherein the transfer robot transfers the substrate such that the center of the substrate is aligned with the center of the support plate when the transfer robot loads the substrate onto the support plate, and

wherein the transfer robot transfers the jig such that the center of the jig is offset from the center of the support plate when the transfer robot loads the jig onto the support plate.

10. The apparatus of any of claims 5-7, further comprising:

a lifting unit configured to adjust a relative height between the substrate supporting unit and the processing container,

wherein the controller controls the lifting unit, and

wherein the relative height between the substrate support unit and the processing vessel is changed in the vessel cleaning step.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the clamp has the same dimensions as the substrate.

Technical Field

Embodiments of the inventive concepts described herein relate to an apparatus and method for processing a substrate, and more particularly, to a substrate processing apparatus and a method for cleaning a processing vessel.

Background

Various processes such as photolithography, etching, ashing, thin film deposition, cleaning, etc. are performed to fabricate a semiconductor device or a flat display panel. Among these processes, the photolithography, etching, ashing, and cleaning processes include a process of treating a substrate with a treatment liquid by dropping the treatment liquid onto the substrate.

The photolithography process includes a coating step, an exposure step, and a development step, the coating step is a coating process of coating a substrate with a photosensitive liquid (such as photoresist), and portions of the used photosensitive liquid are recovered by a processing container.

Referring to fig. 1, a substrate coating apparatus in the related art includes a liquid dispensing member 2, a housing 3, a substrate support member 4, and a processing container 5. The substrate support member 4 supports and rotates the substrate W, and the processing container 5 surrounds the substrate support member 4. The photosensitive liquid is dripped onto the substrate W, and the used photosensitive liquid is recovered through a recovery line of the processing vessel 5. The photosensitive liquid, which is a chemical having viscosity, adheres to the inside of the processing vessel 5 in the recycling process. Due to this, it is necessary to perform a cleaning process for cleaning the inside of the processing vessel 5 after performing the coating process on the substrate W.

However, in this case, the cleaning efficiency may be deteriorated due to the relatively long distance 6 between the substrate W and the inside of the processing container 5. to solve this problem, methods of increasing the size of the substrate W for cleaning the processing container 5 have been proposed in the related art.

Disclosure of Invention

Embodiments of the inventive concept provide apparatus and methods for improving the efficiency of cleaning process vessels.

Embodiments of the inventive concept provide an apparatus and method for improving cleaning efficiency of a process vessel without change in a substrate processing equipment system.

The technical problems solved by the inventive concept are not limited to the foregoing problems, and other technical problems not mentioned herein will be clearly understood from the following description by those skilled in the art to which the inventive concept pertains.

According to an exemplary embodiment, a method for processing a substrate includes a substrate processing step of processing the substrate by dropping a processing liquid onto the substrate supported on a support plate in a processing space of a processing vessel, and a vessel cleaning step of cleaning the processing vessel by dropping a cleaning solution onto a jig supported on a rotating support plate.

According to the embodiment, the relative height between the support plate and the processing vessel may be varied during the vessel cleaning step.

According to the embodiment, the height of the processing container can be varied by a motor.

According to embodiment, the clamp has the same dimensions as the substrate.

According to an exemplary embodiment, an apparatus for processing a substrate includes a processing container having a processing space inside, a substrate supporting unit supporting and rotating the substrate or a jig in the processing space, a liquid dispensing unit including a processing liquid dispensing member dispensing a processing liquid for processing the substrate and a cleaning solution dispensing member dispensing a cleaning solution for cleaning the processing container, and a controller controlling the substrate supporting unit and the liquid dispensing unit.

According to the embodiment, the clip may have a circular shape.

According to the embodiment, the clamp may have a larger diameter than the support plate.

According to embodiments, the support plate may include a vacuum line that applies a vacuum pressure to the support plate to cause the support plate to clamp the substrate or the clamp with the vacuum pressure.

The apparatus may further include a transfer robot to load the substrate or the jig onto the substrate support unit, the controller may control the transfer robot, the transfer robot may transfer the substrate such that the center of the substrate is aligned with the center of the support plate when the transfer robot loads the substrate onto the support plate, and the transfer robot may transfer the jig such that the center of the jig is offset from the center of the support plate when the transfer robot loads the jig onto the support plate.

According to , the apparatus may further include a lift unit that adjusts a relative height between the substrate support unit and the processing vessel, the controller may control the lift unit, and the relative height between the substrate support unit and the processing vessel may be changed in the vessel cleaning step.

According to embodiment, the clamp has the same dimensions as the substrate.

Drawings

The above objects and features, and other objects and features, will become apparent from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various figures unless otherwise specified, and in which:

fig. 1 is a sectional view showing a substrate processing apparatus in the related art;

fig. 2 is a plan view illustrating a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the inventive concept;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the apparatus of FIG. 2 when viewed in direction A-A;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the apparatus of FIG. 2 when viewed in direction B-B;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the apparatus of FIG. 2 when viewed in direction C-C;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing the coating chamber of FIG. 2;

fig. 7a and 7b are sectional views illustrating a substrate processing step and a container cleaning step, respectively, according to an embodiment of the inventive concept;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing embodiments of cleaning the processing vessel in the vessel cleaning step, an

Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing another embodiments of cleaning a processing vessel during a vessel cleaning step.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the inventive concept will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The inventive concept may, however, be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. In the drawings, the specification of components has been exaggerated for clarity of illustration.

The apparatus according to the present embodiment may be used to perform a photolithography process on a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer or a flat display panel. In particular, the apparatus according to the present embodiment may be connected to a stepper and may be used to perform a coating process and a developing process on a substrate. In the following description, it will be exemplified that a wafer is used as a substrate.

Hereinafter, a substrate processing apparatus of the inventive concept will be described with reference to fig. 2 to 6.

Fig. 2 is a plan view illustrating a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the inventive concept. Fig. 3 is a view showing the device of fig. 2 when viewed in direction a-a. Fig. 4 is a view showing the device of fig. 2 when viewed in direction B-B. Fig. 5 is a view showing the device of fig. 2 when viewed in direction C-C.

Referring to fig. 2 to 5, the substrate processing apparatus 1 includes a load port 100, an index module 200, an th buffer module 300, a coating and developing module 400, a second buffer module 500, a pre/post exposure processing module 600, and an interface module 700. the load port 100, the index module 200, the th buffer module 300, the coating and developing module 400, the second buffer module 500, the pre/post exposure processing module 600, and the interface module 700 are sequentially arranged in rows in directions.

Hereinafter, the th direction 12 refers to a direction in which the load port 100, the index module 200, the th buffer module 300, the coating and developing module 400, the second buffer module 500, the pre/post exposure processing module 600, and the interface module 700 are arranged, the second direction 14 refers to a direction perpendicular to the th direction 12 when viewed in plan, and the third direction refers to a direction perpendicular to the th direction 12 and the second direction 14.

For example, Front Open Unified Pods (FOUPs), each having in Front thereof, may be used as the cassette 20, and the load port 100, the index module 200, the buffer module 300, the coat and develop module 400, the second buffer module 500, the pre/post exposure process module 600, and the interface module 700 will be described in detail hereinafter.

The load port 100 has a mounting station 120 on which the cassettes 20 are placed, the cassettes 20 having substrates W accommodated therein, placed in rows along the second direction 14 in fig. 2, four mounting stations 120 are provided, an index module 200 transfers substrates W between the cassettes 20 placed on the mounting station 120 of the load port 100 and a buffer module 300, the index module 200 has a frame 210, an index robot 220, and a guide rail 230, the frame 210 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape having an empty space therein and is placed between the load port 100 and a buffer module 300, the frame 210 of the index module 200 may be located at a lower position than the frame 310 of the 25 buffer module 300 (which will be described below), the index robot 220 and the guide rail 230 are placed in the frame 210, the index robot 220 has a structure enabling a 4-axis drive capable of allowing a hand 221 directly handling the substrates W to move and rotate in the direction 12, the second direction 14, and the third direction 16, the index robot 220 has a support bar 221, and a support bar 224 for rotatably supporting the substrates W, the support bar 224 is provided in a longitudinal direction 224, a support bar 224, a movable combination of a movable and a base 224, a support bar 224, a movable along a longitudinal direction 224, and a support bar 224, which is provided for holding a longitudinal direction 224, and a support bar 224, which is provided for the cassette W, and a support bar 224, and a movable assembly, which is provided for the cassette W, and a.

The -th buffer module 300 has a frame 310, a -th buffer 320, a second buffer 330, a cooling chamber 350, and a -th buffer robot 360. the frame 310 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape having a vacant space inside, the frame 310 is interposed between the index module 200 and the coating and developing module 400, the -th buffer 320, the second buffer 330, the cooling chamber 350, and the -th buffer robot 360 are located in the frame 310. the cooling chamber 350, the second buffer 330, and the -th buffer 320 are sequentially arranged along the third direction 16 from bottom to top, the -th buffer 320 is located at a height corresponding to a coating module 401 (which will be described below) of the coating and developing module 400, and the second buffer 330 and the cooling chamber 350 are located at a height corresponding to a developing module 402 (which will be described below) of the coating and developing module 400. the -th buffer robot 360 is spaced apart from the second buffer 330, the cooling chamber 350, and the -th buffer 320 by a predetermined distance in the second direction 14.

The -th buffer 320 and the second buffer 330 each temporarily store a plurality of substrates W. the second buffer 330 has a housing 331 and a plurality of support portions 332. the support portions 332 are disposed in the housing 331 and spaced apart from each other in the third direction 16. substrates W are placed on each of the support portions 332. the housing 331 has an opening (not shown) facing a direction in which the index robot 220, the -th buffer robot 360 and the developing robot 482 are disposed, so that the index robot 220, the -th buffer robot 360 and the developing robot 482 of the developing module 402, which will be described later, load the substrates W onto the support portions 332 or unload the substrates W from the support portions 332. the buffer 320 has a structure substantially similar to that of the second buffer 330. however, the housing 321 of the -th buffer 320 has an opening facing a direction in which the -th buffer robot 360 and the transfer robot 432 in the coating module 401 are disposed, the number of the support portions 332 provided in the -th buffer 320 may be the same as the number of the support portions 360 provided in the second buffer 330 or different from the number of the support portions 330 provided in the second buffer 585. the second buffer 330, the second buffer 330 may be provided between the second buffer 330.

The th buffer manipulator 360 has a hand 361, an arm 362 and a support rod 363, the hand 361 is fixedly attached to the arm 362, the arm 362 has a retractable structure to enable the hand 361 to move in the second direction 14, the arm 362 is combined with the support rod 363 to be linearly movable in the third direction 16 along the support rod 363, the support rod 363 has a length extending from a position corresponding to the second buffer 330 to a position corresponding to the buffer 320, the support rod 363 may also extend in a higher or lower direction, the th buffer manipulator 360 may allow the hand 361 to perform only 2-axis driving in the second direction 14 and the third direction 16.

The chill chamber 350 cools each substrate W. the chill chamber 350 has a housing 351 and a chill plate 352. the chill plate 352 has an upper surface on which the substrate W is placed and a chill unit 353 cooling the substrate W. various methods such as cooling by cooling water, cooling using a thermoelectric element, etc. may be used for the chill unit 353. furthermore, the chill chamber 350 may include a lift pin assembly (not shown) positioning the substrate W on the chill plate 352. the housing 351 has an opening (not shown) facing a direction in which the transfer robot 220 and the development robot 482 are disposed so that the transfer robot 220 and the development robot 482 provided in the development module 402 load the substrate W onto the chill plate 352 or unload the substrate W from the chill plate 352. furthermore, the chill chamber 350 may include an opening (not shown) opening or closing the above-mentioned opening.

The coating and developing module 400 performs a process of coating the substrate W with photoresist before the exposure process and a developing process on the substrate W after the exposure process the coating and developing module 400 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, the coating and developing module 400 has a coating module 401 and a developing module 402, the coating module 401 and the developing module 402 are disposed on different levels, and the coating module 401 is located above the developing module 402 according to the embodiment.

The coating module 401 performs a process of coating a substrate W with a photosensitive liquid, such as photoresist, and a heat treatment process before and after the photoresist coating process, such as heating or cooling the substrate W, the coating module 401 has a photoresist coating chamber 410, a bake chamber 420, and a transfer chamber 430, the photoresist coating chamber 410, the transfer chamber 430, and the bake chamber 420 are sequentially arranged along the second direction 14, accordingly, the photoresist coating chamber 410 and the bake chamber 420 are spaced apart from each other in the second direction 14 with the transfer chamber 430 therebetween, the photoresist coating chamber 410 is arranged in the th direction 12 and the third direction 16, the drawing shows an example of providing 6 photoresist coating chambers 410, the bake chamber 420 is arranged in the th direction 12 and the third direction 16, the drawing shows an example of providing 6 bake chambers 420, however, a greater number of bake chambers 420 may be provided.

The transfer chamber 430 is positioned side by side with the buffer 320 of the third buffer module 300 in the th direction 12. the transfer robot 432 and the guide rail 433 are located in the transfer chamber 430. the transfer chamber 430 has a substantially rectangular shape. the transfer robot 432 transfers the substrate W between the bake chamber 420, the photoresist coating chamber 410, the th buffer 320 of the th buffer module 300, and the th cooling chamber 520 of the second buffer module 500 (which will be described later). the guide rail 433 is arranged such that the longitudinal direction thereof is parallel to the th direction 12. the guide rail 433 guides the linear movement of the transfer robot 432 in the th direction 12. the transfer robot 432 has a hand 434, an arm 435, a support bar 436, and a base 437. the hand 434 is fixedly attached to the arm 435. the arm 435 has a retractable structure to enable the hand 434 to move in the horizontal direction.

The photoresist coating chambers 410 all have the same structure. However, the types of the photoresist used in the respective photoresist coating chambers 410 may be different from each other. For example, a chemically amplified resist may be used as the photoresist. The photoresist coating chamber 410 is provided as a substrate processing apparatus for coating a substrate W with photoresist.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view illustrating the coating chamber of fig. 2.

Referring to fig. 6, the substrate processing apparatus 800 provided in the coating chamber 410 performs a liquid coating process. The substrate processing apparatus 800 includes a housing 810, an air flow supply unit 820, a substrate support unit 830, a liquid dispensing unit 840, a processing container 850, a lift unit 870, and a controller 900.

The housing 810 has a rectangular parallelepiped container shape having a space 812 inside, the housing 810 has an opening (not shown) on the side thereof, the opening is used as an inlet through which a substrate W is placed in the housing 810 or extracted from the housing 810, (not shown) is provided in the opening, the opens or closes the opening, when a substrate treating process is performed, the closes the opening to externally seal the inner space 812 of the housing 810, the housing 810 has an outer exhaust port 816 formed at the bottom thereof, and the processing container 850 has an inner exhaust port 814 formed at the bottom thereof, the air flow formed in the housing 810 is discharged to the outside through the inner exhaust port 814 and the outer exhaust port 816, according to the embodiment, the air flow inside the processing container 850 can be discharged through the inner exhaust port 814, and the air flow outside the processing container 850 can be discharged through the outer exhaust port 816.

The airflow supply unit 820 forms a downward airflow in the inner space 812 of the housing 810. The airflow supply unit 820 includes an airflow supply line 822, a fan 824, and a filter 826. An airflow supply line 822 is connected to the housing 810. The airflow supply line 822 supplies external air into the housing 810. The filter 826 filters the air supplied from the airflow supply line 822. The filter 826 removes impurities contained in the air. A fan 824 is mounted in the upper wall of the housing 810. The fan 824 is located in a central region of the upper wall of the housing 810. The fan 824 creates a downward airflow in the interior 812 of the housing 810. When air is supplied from the air flow supply line 822 to the fan 824, the fan 824 supplies the air downward.

The substrate supporting unit 830 supports the substrate W in the inner space 812 of the housing 810. the substrate supporting unit 830 rotates the substrate W. the substrate supporting unit 830 includes a support plate 832, a rotation shaft 834, and an actuator 836. the support plate 832 has a circular plate shape. the substrate W is placed on an upper surface of the support plate 832. the support plate 832 has a smaller diameter than the substrate W. according to the embodiment, a vacuum pipe 837 may be provided in the support plate 832 to cause the support plate 832 to secure the substrate W by vacuum pressure. a decompression member 838 generating vacuum pressure may be mounted on the vacuum pipe 837. thus, the support plate 832 may secure the substrate W by vacuum pressure. the substrate W may be positioned such that a central axis of the substrate W is aligned with a central axis of the support plate 832 when viewed from above.

The liquid droplet applying unit 840 applies the processing liquid and the cleaning solution droplets onto the substrate W. The liquid dispensing unit 840 may include a treatment liquid dispensing member 842 and a cleaning solution dispensing member 844. The processing liquid may be a photosensitive liquid, such as photoresist, and the cleaning solution may be a thinner. The treatment liquid dispensing member 842 and the cleaning solution dispensing member 844 can dispense the treatment liquid and the cleaning solution on a central location. Here, the center position may be a position where the liquid droplet-applying members 842 and 844 face the center area of the substrate W.

The processing container 850 is located in the interior space 812 of the housing 810. The processing container 850 has a processing space 852 inside. The processing container 850 has a cup shape opened at the top thereof. The processing container 850 may surround the substrate support unit 830. The processing container 850 includes a lower portion 854, a side portion 856, and an upper portion 858. The lower portion 854 has a circular plate shape with an opening.

A reclaim line 855 is formed on the lower portion 854. The recovery line 855 may convey the treatment liquid and the cleaning solution recovered through the process space 852 to an external liquid regeneration system (not shown). The side 856 has a cylindrical shape with an empty space therein. The side portions 856 extend vertically from side ends of the lower portion 854. The side portions 856 extend upwardly from the lower portion 854. An upper portion 858 extends from an upper end of the side portions 856. The upper portion 858 may be inclined upward toward the substrate support unit 830.

The elevating unit 870 adjusts a relative height between the substrate support unit 830 and the processing container 850. The lifting unit 870 lifts or lowers the processing container 850. The lift unit 870 includes a bracket 872, a movable shaft 874, and an actuator 876. The actuator 876 may be a motor. Bracket 872 is fixedly attached to side 856 of processing vessel 850. The movable shaft 874 supports the bracket 872. The movable shaft 874 is arranged such that its longitudinal direction is parallel to the vertical direction. The actuator 876 moves the movable shaft 874 in the vertical direction. Therefore, the bracket 872 and the processing container 850 are movable in the vertical direction.

The controller 900 may control the substrate support unit 830, the liquid dispensing unit 840, the lifting unit 870, and the transfer robot 432 to perform a substrate processing step and a container cleaning step, which will be described below.

Next, methods of processing a substrate W using the above substrate processing apparatus will be described, the substrate processing method may include a substrate processing step of processing the substrate W by dropping a processing liquid onto the substrate W while rotating the substrate W supported on the support plate 832 in the processing space 852 of the processing container 850, and a container cleaning step of cleaning the processing container 850 by dropping a cleaning solution onto the jig G supported on the support plate 832, in the following description, it will be exemplified that the substrate W and the jig G have the same size.

Fig. 7a and 7b are sectional views illustrating a substrate processing step and a container cleaning step, respectively, according to an embodiment of the inventive concept.

Referring to fig. 7a, in a substrate processing step, a substrate W may be loaded onto a support plate 832 by a transfer robot 432. When the substrate W is loaded onto the support plate 832, the transfer robot 432 may transfer the substrate W such that the center of the substrate W is aligned with the center of the support plate 832. The support plate 832 may apply vacuum pressure to the substrate W. Thus, the substrate W may be held to the support plate 832 by vacuum pressure.

The substrate W is rotated by the substrate support unit 830. In the center position, the processing liquid dripping member 842 drips the processing liquid onto the substrate W. The processing liquid may be a photosensitive liquid, such as photoresist. The processing liquid dripped onto the central area of the top side of the substrate W is applied to the edge area of the substrate W by the rotation of the substrate W. When the process of coating the substrate W with the treatment liquid is completed, a process of cleaning the processing container 850 may be performed.

Referring to fig. 7b, in the container cleaning step, the jig G for cleaning the processing container 850 may be loaded on the support plate 832 by the transfer robot 432. When loading the jig G onto the support plate 832, the transfer robot 432 may transfer the jig G such that the center of the jig G is positioned eccentrically off-center from the center of the support plate 832. For example, the transfer robot 432 may transfer the jig G such that the distance between the center of the jig G and the center of the support plate 832 is the set distance P2. The set distance P2 may be shorter than the distance P1 between the substrate W and the interior distal end of the upper portion 858 of the process vessel 850 (in the case where the substrate W is in the correct position on the support plate 832). Alternatively, the set distance P2 may be the same as the distance P1. Further, the clamp G may have a larger diameter than the support plate 832.

Fig. 8 is a sectional view showing embodiments of cleaning the processing vessel in the vessel cleaning step, referring to fig. 8, in the vessel cleaning step, the jig G may be positioned such that the center of the jig G is offset from the center of the support plate 832 the jig G may be rotated by the support plate 832 when the cleaning solution droplet applying member 844 applies the cleaning solution droplets onto the central region of the top side of the rotating jig G, the cleaning solution may be scattered over the edge region of the jig G, the cleaning solution dripped onto the jig G may be scattered outside the jig G in the horizontal direction along the path provided by the jig G, the scattered cleaning solution may collide with the inside of the processing vessel 850, the cleaning solution colliding with the inside of the processing vessel 850 may remove the processing liquid adhered to the inside of the processing vessel 850.

According to an embodiment of the inventive concept, the transfer robot 432 may transfer the jig G such that the center of the jig G is offset from the center of the support plate 832. In this case, the flow rate of the cleaning solution dropped onto the top side of the rotating jig G can be increased. For example, the cleaning solution dropped onto the jig G may be scattered along the path provided by the jig G. When the jig G is placed on the support plate 832 such that the center of the jig G is offset from the center of the support plate 832, the path provided by the jig G may be extended. Therefore, the time elapsed for applying the centrifugal force of the jig G to the cleaning solution can be increased, resulting in an increase in the time elapsed for accelerating the cleaning solution. Accordingly, the flow rate of the cleaning solution scattered toward the inside of the processing container 850 can be increased.

The collision force of the cleaning solution applied to the inside of the processing container 850 may increase as the flow rate of the scattered cleaning solution increases. Therefore, the cleaning efficiency of the processing container 850 can be improved.

According to an embodiment of the inventive concept, the scattering distance of the cleaning solution dropped to the jig G may be changed. For example, the scattering distance may be reduced. Here, the scattering distance may be defined as a distance between the outside of the jig G and the inside of the processing container 850.

When the scattering distance is long, the scattered cleaning solution may immediately drop to the lower portion 854 of the process vessel 850 without colliding with the process vessel 850. However, according to an embodiment of the inventive concept, the scattering distance may be reduced by eccentrically positioning the jig G. Therefore, the amount of the cleaning solution that does not collide with the inside of the processing container 850 can be reduced. Therefore, the cleaning efficiency of the processing container 850 can be improved. In addition, waste of cleaning solution not used to clean the processing vessel 850 may be reduced.

Fig. 9 is a sectional view showing another embodiments of cleaning the processing container in the container cleaning step, referring to fig. 9, in the container cleaning step, the lifting unit 870 may change the relative height between the support plate 832 and the processing container 850, the actuator 876 of the lifting unit 870 may be a motor, the relative height change may be achieved by changing the height of the processing container 850 by a motor, unlike a hydraulic press, the motor may finely adjust the height of the processing container 850, and thus, the height of the processing container 850 may be slowly changed, and thus, the cleaning efficiency of the processing container 850 may be improved, and in addition, the cleaning area may be widened as the relative height between the processing container 850 and the support plate 832 is changed during the performance of the container cleaning step, for example, the processing liquid adhered to the inside of the side 856 and upper portion 858 of the processing container 850 may be cleaned.

In the above embodiment, it is exemplified that the processing container 850 is cleaned by using the jig G. However, the processing container 850 may be cleaned by using the substrate W.

In the above-described embodiment, it is exemplified that the processing container 850 is cleaned by using the jig G having the same shape as the substrate W. however, the jig G may have various shapes.A jig G may have a flat central region and an upwardly inclined edge region, for example.A jig G may have a plurality of protrusions inclined upward toward the outside on an edge region. in the other case, a jig G may have a plurality of protrusions inclined upward toward the outside and a plurality of recesses inclined downward toward the outside on an edge region. in the other case, an edge region of a jig G may be inclined upward toward the outside and may have a corrugated shape along the circumferential direction.

According to the embodiments of the inventive concept, the process vessel can be effectively cleaned.

According to embodiments of the inventive concept, a process vessel can be effectively cleaned without a change in a substrate processing apparatus system.

Effects of the inventive concept are not limited to the above-described effects, and any other effects not mentioned herein can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art to which the inventive concept pertains from the present specification and the accompanying drawings.

Although the present inventive concept has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the inventive concept. Accordingly, it should be understood that the above-described embodiments are not limiting, but illustrative.