US 11,833,550 B2
Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method
Minako Inukai, Yokohama (JP); and Masatoshi Terayama, Kawasaki (JP)
Assigned to Kioxia Corporation, Tokyo (JP)
Filed by Kioxia Corporation, Tokyo (JP)
Filed on Mar. 15, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/695,512.
Claims priority of application No. 2021-154588 (JP), filed on Sep. 22, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2023/0090997 A1, Mar. 23, 2023
Int. Cl. H01L 21/67 (2006.01); B08B 13/00 (2006.01); B08B 3/02 (2006.01)
CPC B08B 13/00 (2013.01) [B08B 3/02 (2013.01); H01L 21/67034 (2013.01); H01L 21/67253 (2013.01)] 12 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A substrate processing apparatus for cleaning and drying a substrate under processing, comprising:
a substrate holding portion to hold the substrate;
a liquid nozzle that supplies a liquid onto the substrate under processing to form a liquid layer;
a gas nozzle that supplies a gas onto the substrate under processing to form a dry region;
a controller programmed to control the liquid nozzle and the gas nozzle; and
a monitoring mechanism configured to monitor an interface of the dry region constituting a boundary between the liquid layer and the dry region,
wherein:
the controller is programmed to carry out the substrate processing including:
(1) a liquid layer forming step to form and expand the liquid layer on the substrate;
(2) a dry region forming step to form a dry region and to expand the dry region to a predetermined size; and
(3) a dry region expanding step to further expand the dry region from the predetermined size, and
wherein the controller is programmed to, in the dry region forming step, while causing the liquid nozzle to supply the liquid and causing the gas nozzle to supply the gas, based on a monitoring result of the monitoring mechanism, adjust at least one of a liquid landing position of the liquid on the substrate under processing and a gas landing position of the gas on the substrate under processing to change a relative distance between the landing position of the liquid and the landing position of the gas from a first distance to a second distance being more than the first distance,
form the dry region by controlling a movement speed of the interface of the dry region to be less than or equal to a predetermined speed.