US 12,237,178 B2
Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method
Masataka Gosho, Kumamoto (JP); and Reijiro Yamanaka, Tokyo (JP)
Assigned to TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED, Tokyo (JP)
Filed by Tokyo Electron Limited, Tokyo (JP)
Filed on Dec. 21, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/392,552.
Application 18/392,552 is a division of application No. 17/689,199, filed on Mar. 8, 2022, granted, now 11,901,197.
Claims priority of application No. 2021-042031 (JP), filed on Mar. 16, 2021; and application No. 2021-196119 (JP), filed on Dec. 2, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2024/0162053 A1, May 16, 2024
Int. Cl. H01L 21/67 (2006.01); H01L 21/02 (2006.01)
CPC H01L 21/67034 (2013.01) [H01L 21/02101 (2013.01)] 8 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A substrate processing method comprising:
drying a substrate by supplying a supercritical fluid to an interior of a processing container and replacing a drying liquid collected on the substrate with the supercritical fluid;
discharging a mixed fluid containing the supercritical fluid and the drying liquid from the interior of the processing container to a discharge line;
detecting, by a density meter, a density of the mixed fluid flowing through the discharge line at every unit time;
calculating, by a first circuitry of a controller, a reference density, which is a density of the supercritical fluid having a temperature and a pressure that are the same as a temperature and a pressure of the mixed fluid flowing through the discharge line, at every unit time by referring to a state equation of the supercritical fluid stored in a storage medium of the controller;
calculating, by a second circuitry of the controller, a density difference between the density of the mixed fluid detected by the density meter and the reference density calculated by the first circuitry at every unit time; and
detecting, by a third circuitry of the controller, a termination of the drying of the substrate by monitoring whether or not the density difference is equal to or smaller than a threshold value.