Patent ID: 7591922
Filing Date: 2009-09-22
Classification: H01L,Y10S

Abstract:
1. A substrate processing apparatus for supplying a treatment liquid onto a surface of a substrate to treat the same, comprising: a spin chuck for holding and rotating the substrate; a nozzle for supplying a treatment liquid to the substrate held by the spin chuck; a circulating passage arranged such that the treatment liquid supplied to the substrate from the nozzle and used for substrate treatment is circulated to the nozzle and reutilized for substrate treatment, the circulating passage including a treatment liquid tank which stores the treatment liquid, the spin chuck being disposed outside the treatment liquid tank; a treatment liquid supply passage through which the treatment liquid is supplied from the treatment liquid tank to the substrate, and a treatment liquid collecting passage through which the treatment liquid after the substrate treatment is returned to the treatment liquid tank; a treatment liquid return passage arranged to guide the treatment liquid from the treatment liquid supply passage to the treatment liquid tank; the supply passage, the collecting passage and the return passage being separate passages each communicating separately with said treatment liquid tank; a valve unit arranged to selectively guide the treatment liquid in the treatment liquid supply passage to the nozzle or the treatment liquid return passage; a pump arranged to pump out the treatment liquid in the treatment liquid tank and supply the treatment liquid through the treatment liquid supply passage toward the valve unit; a sampling passage which diverges from the treatment liquid supply passage at a part of the treatment liquid supply passage on the treatment liquid tank side with respect to the valve unit; a metal contamination amount measuring device connected to the treatment liquid supply passage through the sampling passage for sampling the treatment liquid in the treatment supply passage, and for measuring a metal contamination amount in the treatment liquid thus sampled, wherein the metal contamination amount measuring device does not return the treatment liquid thus sampled to the circulating passage, but discards the sampled treatment liquid; and a judgment processing unit for judging whether or not a value measured by the metal contamination amount measuring device has exceeded a predetermined set value and thereby judging whether or not the treatment liquid circulating through the circulating passage should be replaced.