Patent ID: 9666455
Date: 2017-05-30
CPC Classifications: H01L

Claim:
1. A substrate cleaning apparatus comprising: a process chamber having a substrate conveying unit therein configured to hold a substrate horizontally with its upper surface facing upwardly and to convey the substrate in one direction; a cleaning unit provided in the process chamber and configured to clean a surface of the substrate; a drying unit provided in the process chamber and configured to dry the substrate, the cleaning unit and the drying unit being arranged in series along a conveyance direction of the substrate; and an inert gas blowing unit provided in the drying unit and configured to blow an inert gas toward front and reverse surfaces of the substrate to dry the substrate, wherein an inert gas source supplies inert gas to the inert gas blowing unit, and a blowing port of the inert gas blowing unit being directed to an upstream side of the conveyance direction of the substrate to form a flow of the inert gas toward the cleaning unit, wherein an inert gas atmosphere, produced by blowing the inert gas from the inert gas blowing unit, disperses throughout the process chamber including the cleaning unit and the drying unit.