Abstract:
A substrate treatment apparatus, comprising a box-shaped treatment tank ( 11 ) having an opening part at its upper side and a cover body ( 21 ) openably covering the opening part of the treatment tank. The cover body ( 21 ) is characterized in that a drying chamber ( 23 ) storing and drying a treated substrate (W) is formed therein, the treatment tank ( 11 ) is so formed that at least three of treatment fluid feed nozzle tubes ( 14   a ) to ( 14   c ) and ( 14   a ′) to ( 14   c ′) are disposed at each of the opposed side wall faces thereof forming the box shape horizontally at specified intervals and these feed nozzle tubes ( 14   a ) to ( 14   c ) and ( 14   a ′) to ( 14   c ′) are formed to be connected to a switching mechanism to supply a treatment fluid from the opposed side wall sides while alternately switching them at the opposed side wall faces. Thus, the treatment of various types of chemical liquids, flushing, and drying can be performed in the same treatment tank.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to a substrate treatment apparatus for cleaning and drying various types of substrates, such as a semiconductor wafer and a glass substrate for a liquid crystal. More specifically, the present invention relates to a substrate treatment apparatus in which the treatment of various types of chemical liquids, flushing, and drying can be performed in the same treatment bath. 
       RELATED ART 
       [0002]    Various types of substrate treatment apparatus have been used for removing contamination on the surface of a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter, referred to as “wafer”), such as particles, organic contaminants and metal impurities. Among them, a so-called wet substrate treatment apparatus in which a wafer is treated while being immersed in a treatment liquid is widely used, because with the wet substrate treatment apparatus, not only the above-noted contamination can be effectively removed, but also a batch treatment can be performed, so that the throughput thereof is satisfactory. 
         [0003]    The treatment with this substrate treatment apparatus includes a chemical liquid treatment using ammonia, sulfuric add, fluoric acid or the like, flushing using pure water or the like and drying using isopropyl alcohol (IPA) or the like to the wafer. This substrate treatment apparatus employs a batch treatment system in which for example, in each of a plurality of treatment baths and a drying chamber which are lined up according to the order of treatments, various types of chemical liquids (e.g., ammonia, sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, fluoric acid), pure water and IPA are respectively charged and a plurality of wafers are immersed sequentially in the treatment baths and dried (for example, see Patent Documents 1 and 2 below). 
         [0004]      FIG. 12  is a plan view showing a substrate treatment apparatus employing a batch treatment system described in Patent Document 1.  FIG. 13  is a schematic cross-sectional view of one cleaning device in the substrate treatment apparatus shown in  FIG. 12 . 
         [0005]    The substrate treatment apparatus  100  is provided with a cleaning treatment part  101  which includes sequentially from the side of a loader part  102 , a chuck cleaning and drying treatment bath  104  for cleaning and drying a wafer chuck of a wafer conveying device  103 , a chemical liquid cleaning treatment bath  105  for treating impurities, such as organic contaminants, metal impurities and particles, on the surface of the wafer, a flushing cleaning treatment bath  106  for cleaning the wafer treated in the chemical liquid cleaning treatment bath  105  with pure water, a chemical liquid cleaning treatment bath  107  for removing metal contaminants on the surface of the wafer by another chemical liquid, a flushing cleaning treatment bath  108  for cleaning the wafer cleaned in the chemical liquid cleaning treatment bath  107  with pure water, a cleaning device  109  for not only cleaning the wafer by removing an oxide film on the surface of the wafer by a chemical liquid, but also rinsing the cleaned wafer, flushing and drying the wafer, and a chuck cleaning and drying bath  110  for cleaning and drying the wafer chuck of the wafer conveying device  103 . The wafer is stored in each of the treatment baths  104  to  107  sequentially to be cleaned with chemical liquids and pure water and then, is subjected to drying in the treatment device  109  and the drying bath  110 . 
         [0006]    The cleaning device  109  includes, as shown in  FIG. 13 , a cleaning bath  111  in which the wafer is immersed in a chemical liquid and a rinsing liquid which are pooled in the cleaning bath  111 , and a cylinder-shaped drying chamber  112  which is arranged over the cleaning bath  111  and in which the wafer conveyed from the cleaning bath  111  is dried. Further, the cleaning bath  111  and the drying chamber  112  are connected to each other, i.e., are produced integrally. 
         [0007]    In the upper part and the lower part of the drying chamber  112 , opening parts  113  and  114 , respectively, for the hand-over of the wafer are provided. The upper opening part  113  has a sealing cover  115 , and the lower opening part  114  has a rotating door mechanism  116  or a sliding door mechanism (not shown in  FIG. 13 ), so that the wafer is dried in the drying chamber. 
         [0008]    Further, a substrate treatment apparatus in which treatments with various types of treatment liquids can be performed in a single bath has been already introduced (For example, see Patent Document 2).  FIG. 14  is a schematic view showing a treatment bath used in the substrate treatment apparatus described in Patent Document 2. 
         [0009]    The substrate treatment apparatus  120  includes a substrate treatment part  121  equipped with a treatment bath  122  for providing the wafer with a surface treatment by immersing the wafer in a mixed treatment liquid, a mixed treatment liquid supply part  123  for mixing a chemical liquid with pure water and supplying the resultant mixed treatment liquid to the treatment bath  122 , and a setting device (not shown in  FIG. 14 ) for setting a mixing condition determining a desired value of the concentration of the mixed treatment liquid. 
         [0010]    The mixed treatment liquid supply part  123  includes a mixing part  124  for mixing each of the chemical liquids with pure water, a supply line  125  for supplying the mixed treatment liquid mixed in the mixing part  124  to the treatment bath  122 , a pure water supply line  126  for supplying pure water to the mixing part  124 , one or more chemical liquid supply line(s)  127  for supplying individually each of chemical liquids to the mixing part  124 , a chemical liquid supply controlling  128  for controlling the supplying amounts of pure water and each chemical liquid to the mixing part  124  according to a furnished signal for manipulating a pure water supplying amount, a concentration monitor  129  for monitoring a present concentration value of the mixed treatment liquid, and a controlling part (not shown in  FIG. 14 ) for furnishing a chemical liquid signal which dissolves a concentration deviation between the desired concentration value and present concentration value of the mixed treatment liquid to the chemical liquid supply controlling mechanism  128 . The controlling part has a function of controlling the chemical liquid supply controlling mechanism  128  by a feedback control based on the present concentration value of the mixed treatment liquid which is monitored by the concentration monitor  129  in order to supply the mixed treatment liquid having a desired concentration value to the treatment bath  122 . 
       [Patent Document 1] 
       [0011]    JP-10-209109-A (FIG. 2, FIG. 3 and paragraphs [0030] to [0035]) 
       [Patent Document 2] 
       [0012]    JP-2000-21838-A (FIG. 1 and paragraphs [0029] to [0031]) 
       DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION 
     Problem to be solved 
       [0013]    A substrate treatment apparatus is introduced in Patent Documents 1 and 2 and other various types of the substrate treatment apparatus are known. However, in these types of the substrate treatment apparatus, it is extremely difficult to perform a series of treatments including the treatment of various types of chemical liquids, flushing and drying in the same treatment bath and such a substrate treatment apparatus that can perform the above-noted series of treatments in the same treatment bath has not yet been put to practical use. 
         [0014]    Examples of various reasons therefor are as follows. When a series of treatments including the treatment of various types of chemical liquids, flushing and drying are performed in the same treatment bath, an exchanging speed, i.e. a replacing speed of various types of treatment liquids in a single bath is limited. For example, after the completion of a treatment with a treatment liquid A, when the treatment liquid A in the treatment bath is replaced with a treatment liquid B, the treatment liquid A remains in the bath and the treatment liquids A and B are mixed. Accordingly, in the resultant mixture of the treatment liquids A and B, a chemical reaction is caused and an unnecessary precipitate is generated, so that the precipitate is attached to the wafer and becomes a cause of particles. Such a precipitate is attached to the inner wall of the treatment bath and is mixed into a treatment liquid used for the following treatments, whereby the precipitate is attached to the wafer and a bath wall and adversely affecting the treatment quality of the wafer. Furthermore, since recently complicated circuit patterns are formed on the surface of the wafer, even particles which have not been brought into question for a so-called bare wafer on which the above-noted complicated circuit patterns are not formed or a wafer on which a limited number of circuit patterns are formed, are undesirable for a wafer on which complicated circuit patterns are formed when such a wafer is treated in a single bath having a limited efficiency for replacing the treatment liquids. 
         [0015]    On the other hand, when as a countermeasure against the above-noted disadvantages, the treatment liquid is prevented from remaining in the bath, the exchange of the treatment liquid and the cleaning of the bath take too much time and the productivity of the wafer is extremely impaired, so that the treatment of the wafer becomes unsuitable for practical use and a large amount of the treatment liquid becomes necessary, which leads to a remarkable rise of the treatment cost. 
         [0016]    From this viewpoint, in the substrate treatment apparatus described in Patent Document 1, the chemical liquid treatment, flushing and drying are performed in individual treatment baths to solve the above-noted task. However, the apparatus is upsized and since the wafer is conveyed sequentially through the treatment baths, during conveying the wafer, the wafer is exposed to air and an oxide film may be generated on the surface of the wafer. Further, since in the cleaning device  109 , the cleaning bath  111  and the drying chamber  112  are produced integrally, every time the wafer is conveyed into the cleaning bath, the wafer needs to pass through the drying chamber, so that the conveyance of the wafer becomes cumbersome. Separately, a drying bath  110  is also needed. 
         [0017]    Further, in the substrate treatment apparatus described in Patent Document 2, due to the structure of the treatment bath and the treatment liquid supply line which are shown in the drawing, the replacing efficiency of the treatment liquids is limited, so that the treatment liquid remains in the bath and the above-noted precipitate might be generated. When the remaining amount of the treatment liquid will be reduced, the treatment requires a long time and moreover, a large amount of the treatment liquid becomes necessary. Further, the drying should be performed in another bath, and a series of treatments including the treatment of chemical liquids, flushing and drying cannot be performed in a single bath. It is further important that when the same amount of the treatment liquid is constantly supplied from the same position into the bath, the settlement of the liquid is caused in the treatment liquid. Even when the liquid supplying direction is changed, only the position of the settlement is changed and the settlement itself cannot be dissolved. It has become known that the settlement not only causes the above-noted particles, but also causes such a disadvantage that during replacing the treatment liquids a former treatment liquid remains easily. 
         [0018]    Considering these tasks, the present inventors have found that by raising the replacing efficiency of the treatment liquids, particularly of a rinsing liquid in the treatment bath and by preventing the settlement of the treatment liquid in the bath, the remaining amount of the treatment liquid becomes extremely little, so that the total amount of the chemical liquid can be reduced and the productivity can be raised, and the chemical liquid treatment, flushing and drying can be performed in a single bath. Based on these findings, the present invention has been completed. 
         [0019]    In other words, an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate treatment apparatus in which the treatment of various types of chemical liquids, flushing and drying can be performed in the same treatment bath. 
       Means to Solve the Problems 
       [0020]    (1) A substrate treatment apparatus according to the present invention includes a box-shaped treatment bath having an opening part at its upper side, and a cover body openably covering the opening part of the treatment bath. The cover body includes a drying chamber formed therein for storing and drying a substrate to be treated. The treatment bath is so formed that at least three of treatment liquid supply nozzle tubes are disposed at each of the opposed side wall faces thereof forming the box shape horizontally at specified intervals and these supply nozzle tubes are formed to be connected to a switching mechanism to supply a treatment liquid from the opposed side wall sides while alternately switching them at the opposed side wall faces. 
         [0021]    (2) In an aspect of (1), it is preferred that at least one tube among the three supply nozzle tubes disposed at each of the opposed side wall faces be exclusively used for pure water. 
         [0022]    (3) In another aspect of (1), it is preferred that the at least three supply nozzle tubes respectively include a hollow cylinder in which a plurality of injection openings are formed at specified pitches in at least one row in the longitudinal direction of the hollow cylinder, and each of these at least three supply nozzle tubes be attached to the opposed side wall faces while directing each of the injection openings to a substrate to be treated which is arranged in the vertical direction. 
         [0023]    (4) In still another aspect of (1), it is preferred that in the treatment bath, a bottom wall be inclined from the horizontal direction by a specified angle and a discharge outlet be formed at a lower end of the inclined bottom wall. 
         [0024]    (5) In another aspect of (1) to (4), it is preferred that in the treatment bath, an ultrasonic generating device be attached to an outer surface of the bottom wall. 
         [0025]    (6) In still another aspect of (1), it is preferred that a plurality of injection nozzles be disposed in the drying chamber and these injection nozzles be connected to a dry vapor supply device for supplying a dry vapor containing submicron organic solvent mist. 
       ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION 
       [0026]    By including the above-noted features, the present invention provides the following advantages. According to an aspect of the present invention, since at least three supply nozzle tubes are respectively attached to each of the opposed side wall faces in the treatment bath, the settlement of the treatment liquid can be prevented in the bath. 
         [0027]    For example, after the completion of the treatment of a specified chemical liquid A, the supply of the chemical liquid is stopped and by supplying pure water only from three supply nozzle tubes provided on any one of the opposed side wall faces, the chemical liquid A is purged for a specified time. Consequently, the supply of pure water from the three supply nozzle tubes from which pure water has been supplied first is stopped and by supplying pure water from three supply nozzle tubes provided on the other of the opposed side wall faces, the flow of the liquid in the bath is gradually changed to purge the chemical liquid A which has been settled in the bath and could not be purged. Further, by supplying pure water from all of the supply nozzle tubes to increase the flow amount and flow rate of pure water, the substrate to be treated and the inside of the bath can be cleaned in a short time. This is because the direction of the supplying of pure water is changed at a stretch, but the flow rate is changed not at a stretch but gradually, so that the settlement caused first is gradually moved and the remained chemical liquid can be swiftly purged. By performing the same treatment and cleaning in the treatment with the chemical liquid B as those in the treatment with the chemical liquid A and by repeating such treatment and cleaning, the exchange of the chemical liquid and cleaning liquid is speeded up and a series of treatments including the treatment of chemical liquids, flushing and drying can be performed in the same treatment bath. 
         [0028]    Since between a supply nozzle tube for supplying both a chemical liquid and pure water and a treatment liquid supply source, a mixing device which makes the concentration of the treatment liquid to a specified concentration is connected and treatment liquids are supplied from the mixing device into the bath, a large amount of pure water cannot be supplied from such a supply nozzle tube during the exchange of the treatment liquids. However, according to the present invention, by providing supply nozzle tubes used exclusively for pure water, pure water can be supplied not through the mixing device into the bath. In addition by supplying pure water also from other supply nozzle tubes, a large amount of pure water is supplied into the bath in a short time. With the large amount of pure water, the substrate to be treated and the inside of the bath can be cleaned. 
         [0029]    Since the cover body covers openably the opening part of the treatment bath and in the inside thereof, the drying chamber is formed, the cover body can be moved upward or in the side direction from the opening part during the treatment of the substrate, so that the contamination of the cover body by the chemical liquid can be avoided. Further, since during the drying, the opening part of the treatment bath is covered by the cover body and the substrate to be treated is pulled up from the treatment bath and is dried in the drying chamber, the substrate is not exposed to air during the moving thereof, so that the generation of an oxide film on the surface of the substrate is prevented and high quality drying can be performed. 
         [0030]    According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, by providing supply nozzle tubes used exclusively for pure water, pure water can be supplied efficiently. 
         [0031]    Since between a supply nozzle tube for supplying both a chemical liquid and pure water and a treatment liquid supply source, a mixing device which makes the concentration of the treatment liquid to a specified concentration is connected and treatment liquids are supplied from the mixing device into the bath, a large amount of pure water cannot be supplied from such a supply nozzle tube during the exchange of the treatment liquids. However, according to the present invention, by providing supply nozzle tubes used exclusively for pure water, pure water can be supplied not through the mixing device and consequently in a large amount into the bath. In addition by supplying pure water also from other supply nozzle tubes, a large amount of pure water is supplied into the bath in a short time. With the large amount of pure water, the wafer and the inside of the bath can be rapidly cleaned. 
         [0032]    According to another preferred aspect of the present invention, by using a supply nozzle tube having a simple structure, pure water or a chemical liquid can be efficiently supplied to the substrate to be treated. Moreover since the flow amount can be increased in the bath and a flow in a specified direction which has a large flow rate can be formed, not only the settlement of the cleaning liquid in the bath can be prevented, but also the replacing efficiency can be improved. 
         [0033]    According to still another preferred aspect of the present invention, since the bottom wall is inclined from the horizontal direction by a specified angle, the permeability of the ultrasonic is improved. Furthermore, since a discharge outlet is formed at a lower end of the bottom wall, the sediment accumulated on the bottom of the bath slides down along the inclined bottom wall surface and can be easily discharged out of the discharge outlet. Therefore, each time when the treatment liquid is exchanged, the sediment on the bottom of the bath is discharged out of the bath, so that it is possible to keep the bath clean. 
         [0034]    According to still another preferred aspect of the present invention, the substrate to be treated can be subjected to not only a chemical treatment with a treatment liquid, but also to a physical treatment by an ultrasonic vibration, and by a combination of these treatments, a high quality treatment can be performed. 
         [0035]    According to still another preferred aspect of the present invention, a dry gas containing submicron organic solvent mist is supplied from a dry vapor supply device into the drying chamber. Therefore, since mist contained in the organic solvent vapor is submicron in size, the number of mist particles of the organic solvent can be large without increasing the amount of the organic solvent. Further, while the surface area of an individual mist particle is small, in line with the large number of mist particles, the total surface area of mist particles, which is a total sum of the surface area of an individual mist particle, is large. As a result, a large amount of submicron mist particles can be injected to the surface of the substrate, so that a cleaning liquid attached to the substrate can be efficiently replaced by the large amount of submicron organic solvent mist particles. Moreover, even when a large number of substrates having a large diameter are inserted into the treatment bath, since a plurality of injection nozzles are disposed, and consequently submicron mist particles can rapidly intrude between the substrates, not only the efficiency of the drying can be improved, but also the treatment time can be shortened. Accordingly, the cause of a water mark on the substrate surface can be reduced to extremely little or almost nothing. Further, the attaching of particles to the substrate can be prevented, and moreover the speed of the drying is enhanced, so that the reattaching of particles can be also prevented. 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0036]      FIG. 1  is a schematic plan layout pattern of a substrate treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0037]      FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view showing the treatment apparatus. 
           [0038]      FIG. 3  shows a treatment bath constituting the treatment apparatus shown in  FIG. 2 .  FIG. 3A  is a sectional side view shown in the direction indicated by the arrow X in  FIG. 2 ;  FIG. 3B  is a top view; and  FIG. 3C  is a cross-sectional view along the IIIC-IIIC line shown in  FIG. 3A . 
           [0039]      FIG. 4  shows a supply nozzle tube disposed in the treatment bath shown in FIG.  3 .  FIG. 4A  is a side view;  FIG. 4B  is a partially enlarged top view shown in the direction indicated by the arrow Y in  FIG. 4A ; and  FIG. 4C  is a cross-sectional view along the IVC-IVC line shown in  FIG. 4B . 
           [0040]      FIG. 5  is a schematic of the pipe. 
           [0041]      FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view showing a treatment process in the treatment apparatus. 
           [0042]      FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view showing a treatment process in the treatment apparatus. 
           [0043]      FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional view showing a treatment process in the treatment apparatus. 
           [0044]      FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional view showing a treatment process in the treatment apparatus. 
           [0045]      FIG. 10  is an explanatory drawing for a treatment process showing a timing of supplying various types of treatment liquids. 
           [0046]      FIG. 11  is an explanatory drawing for a treatment process showing a timing of supplying various types of treatment liquids. 
           [0047]      FIG. 12  is a plan view showing a substrate treatment apparatus according to a related art. 
           [0048]      FIG. 13  is a cross-sectional view showing a cleaning device constituting the substrate treatment apparatus shown in  FIG. 12 . 
           [0049]      FIG. 14  is a schematic view showing a substrate treatment apparatus according to a related art. 
       
    
    
     REFERENCE NUMERALS 
       [0000]    
       
           1  Substrate treatment apparatus 
           10  Treatment device 
           11  Treatment bath 
           12  Inner bath 
           12   a  Bottom wall 
           12   b  to  12   e  Side walls 
           13  Outer bath 
           14 ,  14   a  to  14   c,    14   a ′ to  14   c ′ Supply nozzle tubes 
           17 ,  18  Injection openings 
           19 ,  20  Discharge outlet 
           21  Cover body 
           23  Drying chamber 
           30  Ultrasonic generating device 
           32  Ultrasonic generator 
           35  Dry vapor supply device 
           36  Vapor generating bath 
           40  Mixing device 
           41 ,  41   a  Pure water supply source 
           42  to  46  Chemical liquid supply source 
           38 ,  39  Inert gas supply source 
       
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0070]    Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention are described referring to the drawings. The following embodiments only exemplify a substrate treatment apparatus for embodying the technical concept of the present invention. Therefore, it is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention to these embodiments of the substrate treatment apparatus, but other embodiments contained in the Claims appended hereto are equally applicable. 
       First Embodiment 
       [0071]      FIG. 1  is a schematic plan layout pattern of a substrate treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view showing the treatment apparatus.  FIG. 3  shows a treatment bath constituting the treatment apparatus shown in  FIG. 2 ;  FIG. 3A  is a sectional side view shown in the direction indicated by the arrow X in  FIG. 2 ;  FIG. 3B  is a top view; and  FIG. 3C  is a cross-sectional view along the IIIC-IIIC line shown in  FIG. 3A .  FIG. 4  shows a supply nozzle tube disposed in the treatment bath shown in  FIG. 3 ;  FIG. 4A  is a side view;  FIG. 4B  is a partially enlarged top view shown in the direction indicated by the arrow Y in  FIG. 4A ; and  FIG. 4C  is a cross-sectional view along the IVC-IVC line shown in  FIG. 4B .  FIG. 5  is a schematic of the pipe. 
         [0072]    A substrate treatment apparatus  1  is provided with a treatment device  10  in which a series of treatments including from the chemical liquid treatment to the cleaning as a surface treatment of various types of substrates, such as a semiconductor wafer, a substrate for a liquid crystal display device, a substrate for a recording disc, and a substrate for a mask, can be performed in one bath. Hereinafter, a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter, referred to as “wafer”) is described as a representative of various types of substrates. 
         [0073]    Hereinafter, the term “treatment liquid” is used as a general term including a chemical liquid for an etching treatment of a wafer surface and a cleaning liquid for cleaning a wafer surface and inside the treatment bath. 
         [0074]    Further, “vapor” indicates generally “gas”, however, in the technical field of substrate treatment, a substance containing fine liquid particles (mist) besides gas, such as a dry air, is also expressed as “vapor”, so that herein and in Claims, a substance containing fine liquid particles (mist) besides gas will be also referred to as “vapor”. 
         [0075]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , the substrate treatment apparatus  1  includes a treatment device  10  positioned in an approximately central part  3 , a treatment liquid supply part  4  positioned around the treatment device  10  and supplying various types of treatment liquids to the treatment device  10 , a pipe area  5  connecting the treatment device  10  with the supply part  4 , and a conveying part  2  conveying a wafer W into or out of the treatment device  10 . 
         [0076]    A plurality of wafers W, for example 25 pieces of wafers having a diameter of 300 mm are stored as one set in a plurality of containers, for example in two front open unified pods (FOUPs)  6   a,    6   b,  conveyed by a conveying robot  9  along a direction shown by the arrow in  FIG. 1  to an HV unit  7 . Here, the array of the wafers W is changed from the horizontal direction to the vertical direction and the wafers W are transferred to a vertical conveyer  8  including a wafer chuck part to be conveyed into the treatment device  10 . The wafers W which have been subjected to the treatment are conveyed out through the reverse route. At this time, since a chuck which has gripped the wafers W before the treatment grips also the wafers W after the treatment, a chemical liquid is attached to the chuck while inserting the wafers W into the treatment device  10 . Consequently the chemical liquid may be attached to the wafers W after the treatment through the wafer chuck. Therefore, it is necessary to clean the wafer chuck during the treatment of the wafers W. However, since a widely known robot mechanism and conveying mechanism including also used for wafer chuck cleaning are used here, the explanations thereof are omitted. 
         [0077]    As shown in  FIG. 2 , the treatment device  10  includes a treatment bath  11  having a size which can accommodate a specified number of wafers W, for example the above-noted 50 pieces, and a treatment liquid, a cover body  21  openably covering an upper opening part  12   a ′ of the treatment bath  11 , and an ultrasonic generating device  30  mounted in the bottom part of the treatment bath. These elements are accommodated in a box-shaped accommodating case  25 . In the accommodating case  25 , footstools  26   a,    26   b  are provided upright from the floor plate and by the footstools, the treatment bath  11  is supported and fixed. In the inside of the cover body  21 , a drying chamber  23  is provided. The cover body  21  is moved up and down by a moving mechanism (not shown) to cover openably the opening part  12   a ′ of the treatment bath. 
         [0078]    As shown in  FIG. 3 , the treatment bath  11  includes a box-shaped inner bath  12  which is formed with an approximate quadrangle-shaped bottom wall  12   a  and four side walls  12   b  to  12   e  provided upright from the circumference of the bottom wall  12   a,  and of which upper part is opened. The treatment bath  11  also includes an outer bath  13  which is formed with a bottom wall  13   a  and surrounded by four side walls  13   b  to  13   e  provided with a predetermined width from the periphery of the inner bath  12 . On the side walls  13   b,    13   d  of the outer bath  13 , attaching parts  13   f,    13   g  for attaching the outer bath  13  to the footstools  26   a,    26   b  are formed. 
         [0079]    As shown in  FIG. 3A , the bottom wall  12   a  of the inner bath  12  is inclined by a specified angle θ, e.g., 3° from the horizontal direction. By inclining the bottom wall, when a below-described ultrasonic generating device  30  is attached to the bottom wall, ultrasonic cleaning can be efficiently performed. In addition, the discharge of a liquid can be smoothly performed. 
         [0080]    In the upper end part of each of the side walls  12   b  to  12   e,  V-shaped grooves (in  FIG. 3 , grooves  12   b ′,  12   e ′ of the side walls  12   b,    12   e  are shown) are formed. By providing these grooves, a treatment liquid can overflow out of the inner bath  12  to the outer bath  13  over every side wall evenly without deviating to a side wall. 
         [0081]    For shortening the discharge time when the discharge of the liquid is necessary, the discharge outlet  19  is formed to have a large diameter, such as 75 mm. Also, on the bottom wall  13   a  of the outer bath  13 , a discharge outlet  20  having a diameter of e.g., 50 mm is formed. 
         [0082]    Between the opposed side walls  12   b,    12   d,  a plurality of supply nozzle tubes (in  FIG. 3 , three tubes per one side wall)  14   a  to  14   c  and  14   a ′ to  14   c ′ including a hollow cylinder are provided horizontally at specified intervals. 
         [0083]    Each of the supply nozzle tubes  14   a  to  14   c  and  14   t ′ to  14   c ′ has the same configuration and one of these tubes is shown in  FIG. 4 . The supply nozzle tube  14  includes a cylinder having a specified diameter D 1  and a specified length in which injection openings  17 ,  18  including a plurality of openings  17   a,    18   a  are formed in the longitudinal direction thereof in two rows which are separated from each other by a specified distance D 2 , wherein the openings  17   a,    18   a  are each formed at specified pitches D 3  in one row. D 1  is, for example 20 mm; D 2  is, for example 6.8 mm which is determined by the following angle α; D 3  is, for example 5.0 mm; and the length of the supply tube is a little longer than the width of the treatment bath  10 . 
         [0084]    The injection openings  17 ,  18  have a specified diameter φ and are formed at positions at the specified angle α from the center of the cylinder. The diameter φ is, for example 1 mm and the angle α is, for example 30°. 
         [0085]    The supply nozzle tubes  14   a  to  14   c,    14   a ′ to  14   c ′ are provided on the opposed side walls  12   b,    12   d  in such a manner that the injection openings  17   a,    18   b  turn to a specified direction. In other words, on one side wall  12   b,  three supply nozzle tubes  14   a  to  14   c  are provided substantially horizontally in upper, middle and lower parts of the wall  12   b  at specified intervals. In this arrangement, the injection openings  17   a,    18   a  of the supply nozzle tube  14   c  in the lower part is inclined upward by 60°, the supply nozzle tube  14   b  in the middle part is inclined upward by 20°, and the supply nozzle tube  14   a  in the upper part is inclined downward by 45°. Also, on the other side wall  12   d,  three supply nozzle tubes  14   a ′ to  14   c ′ are provided in the same manner. By setting the above-noted angles, when the wafer is stored in the bath, each of the injection openings turns to substantially the center of the wafer. 
         [0086]    Among the supply nozzle tubes, the supply nozzle tubes  14   a,    14   a  in the upper part are used exclusively for a pure water supply and the other supply nozzle tubes  14   b,    14   c,    14   b ′,  14   c ′ are used for supplying both a chemical liquid and pure water. 
         [0087]    By providing the supply nozzle tubes  14   a  to  14   c,    14   a  to  14   c ′ respectively on the opposed side walls  12   b,    12   d,  a flow channel in a specified direction can be formed in the bath. 
         [0088]    For example, after the completion of a treatment of a specified chemical liquid A, the supply of the chemical liquid is stopped and first, pure water is supplied only from the three supply nozzle tubes  14   a  to  14   c  on any one of the two side walls (for example, the left side wall  12   b  in  FIG. 3C ) to purge the chemical liquid A in the inner bath  12  for a specified time. Next, the supply of pure water from the supply nozzle tubes  14   a  to  14   c  is stopped and instead the supply of pure water from the other three supply nozzle tubes  14   a ′ to  14   c ′ on the other of the two side walls (for example, the right side wall  12   d  in  FIG. 3C ) is started, whereby the flow in the bath is gradually changed to further purge the specified chemical liquid A which is settled and remains unpurged in the bath. Further, by supplying pure water from all of the supply nozzle tubes  14   a  to  14   c,    14   a ′ to  14   c ′ to increase not only the flow amount, but also the flow rate of pure water, the wafer W and the inside of the inner bath  12  can be cleaned in a short time. This is because the direction of the supplying of pure water is changed at a stretch, but the flow rate is changed not at a stretch but gradually, so that the settlement caused first is gradually moved and a remained chemical liquid can be swiftly purged. By performing processing and cleaning with the chemical liquid B in the same manner and by repeating such treatment and cleaning, the exchange of the chemical liquid and cleaning liquid is speeded-up and a series of treatments including the treatment of chemical liquids, flushing and drying can be performed in the same treatment bath. 
         [0089]    Further, in the above description, pure water is supplied from a right supply nozzle tube or from a left supply nozzle tube alternatively by switching the supply; however, for example, when the supply nozzle tubes  14   b,    14   c  (or supply nozzle tube  14   a ) in the lower (or upper) part among the supply nozzle tubes  14   a  to  14   c  provided on the side wall  12   b  and the supply nozzle tube  14   i ′ (or supply nozzle tubes  14   b ′,  14   c ) in the upper (or lower) part among the supply nozzle tubes  14   a ′ to  14   c ′ provided on the side wall  12   d  are simultaneously used, a whirlpool-shaped flow can be formed in the treatment bath  11 . By supplying pure water while changing the supplying direction optionally, the cause of the settlement in the treatment bath  11  can be rendered difficult. 
         [0090]    The number of the supply nozzle tubes and the angles of the injection openings at providing the supply nozzle tubes are not limited to the above-noted number and angles and may be optionally selected. 
         [0091]    As shown in  FIG. 2 , at the bottom  12   a  of the treatment bath  11 , an ultrasonic generating device  30  is mounted. The ultrasonic generating device  30  includes an ultrasonic generator  32  a shallow-bottomed container  31  for pooling an ultrasonic transfer medium, such as water. As the ultrasonic generator  32 , an oscillator emitting an ultrasonic having a specified frequency, such as 10 KHz to several MHz is used. 
         [0092]    By mounting the ultrasonic generator  30  at the bottom  12   a  of the treatment bath  11 , an ultrasonic irradiated from the generator is transmitted through water and the bottom  12   a  of the inner bath  12  and transferred to the treatment liquid. Further, the ultrasonic vibrates the treatment liquid and acts as a physical force on the surface of the wafer to remove particles, such as foreign matters and contaminants attached to the surface of the wafer. 
         [0093]    As shown in  FIG. 2 , the cover body  21  includes a box-shaped container  22  having an opening part  22   a  in the lower part thereof and a closed part in the upper part thereof and having such a size that in the inside thereof a plurality of wafers W can be received, and the inside of the container is used as the drying chamber  23 . The cover body  21  can be moved in a vertical or horizontal direction by a moving mechanism (not shown). 
         [0094]    In the upper part of the box-shaped container  22 , a substantially arch-shaped ceiling surface  25  is formed. On the ceiling surface  25 , a plurality of injection nozzles  24   1  to  24   n  for injecting a dry gas are disposed in a line at substantially regular intervals on the four sides. 
         [0095]    Next, referring to  FIG. 5 , the connection by the piping between the treatment device and the supply part of various types of chemical liquids is described.  FIG. 5  shows a schematic of the pipe and the line of the pipe, divided roughly into a treatment liquid supply line and a discharged liquid treating line. 
         [0000]    (i) Treatment Liquid Supply Line 
         [0096]    As the treatment liquid supply line, pure water supply sources  41 ,  41   a,  various types of chemical liquid supply sources  42  to  46  and inert gas supply sources  38 ,  39  are disposed around the treatment device  10 . 
         [0097]    The pure water supply sources  41 ,  41   a  include a pure water supply source  41  for supplying pure water at normal temperature and a warm pure water supply source  41   a  for supplying pure water heated to a specified temperature of 25 to 65° C. The chemical liquid supply source includes a chemical liquid A supply source  42  for supplying, e.g., HCl, a chemical liquid B (e.g., H 2 O 2 ) supply source  43 , a chemical liquid C (e.g., HF) supply source  44 , a chemical liquid D (e.g., NH 4 O 4 ) supply source  45 , and a chemical liquid E (e.g., O 3 +pure water) supply source  46 . 
         [0098]    Each of the above-noted supply sources  41  to  46  is connected to the mixing device  40  by a pipe L. Among them, the pure water supply sources  41 ,  41   a  are connected via valves V 1 , V 2  to directly supply pure water to the supply nozzle tubes  14   a,    14   a ′ of the treatment bath  11 , not through the mixing device  40 . By this connection, a large amount of pure water can be supplied from the pure water supply sources  41 ,  41   a  to the treatment bath, not through the mixing device  40 . 
         [0099]    The chemical liquid supply sources  42  to  46  are connected to the mixing device  40  by the pipe L and the mixing device  40  is connected to the supply nozzle tubes  14   b,    14   c,    14   b ′,  14   c ′ of the treatment bath  11  by the pipe L. Further, a chemical liquid supplied from each of the chemical liquid supply sources  42  to  46  is adjusted to a specified concentration by mixing a single chemical liquid or a plurality of chemical liquids with pure water, and is supplied to the treatment bath  11 . Mixing ratios of pure water and chemical liquids used in the below-described various treatment processes ( FIG. 11 ,  FIG. 12 ) are as follows: a chemical liquid APM is prepared by mixing chemical liquids and pure water in a mixing ratio of NH 4 OH:H 2 O 2 :H 2 O=1:2:50 to 1:1:200; a chemical liquid DHF is prepared by mixing chemical liquids and pure water in a mixing ratio of HF:H 2 O=1:100 to 1:1000; a chemical liquid HCl is prepared by mixing chemical liquids and pure water in a mixing ratio of HCl:H 2 O=1:100 to 1:1000; and the concentration of O 3  is 0 to 10 ppm. 
         [0100]    Inert gas supply sources  38 ,  39  supplying an inert gas, such as nitrogen gas, are connected via a valve V to injection nozzles  21   1  to  24   n  and to a dry vapor supply device  35  by the pipe L. 
         [0101]    Each of the injection nozzles  21   1  to  24   n  is cone-shaped and at a tapered top part thereof, an opening from which a dry gas is injected is formed. To each of the injection nozzles  21   1  to  24   n , a heater (not shown) is attached. Since each injection nozzle itself is already known, specific descriptions of the nozzle will be omitted. Further, with respect to a pipe LH and a branched pipe branched from the pipe LH, a heater (not shown) is attached to a circumference surface of the pipe. As the heater, for example a belt heater is used. The heater is connected to a CPU (not shown) and controlled by the CPU. 
         [0102]    From the dry vapor supply devices  38 ,  39 , an inert gas (carrier gas) is supplied to the bottom part of a vapor generating bath  36  and the dry vapor supply device  35  generates bubbles (bubbling) in an IPA liquid pooled in the vapor generating bath  36  to generate an IPA vapor including an IPA gas and mist. A vapor derived from a vapor generating bath  37  is led via a static mixer (not shown) to the pipe LH and is supplied from the vapor generating bath  36  to the injection nozzles  21   1  to  24   n  as a gas mixture including a carrier gas and an IPA vapor. The static mixer (not shown) is provided for accelerating a mixing degree of a gas mixture including a carrier gas and an IPA vapor to homogenize the gas mixture. 
         [0103]    By bubbling the IPA liquid using an inert gas, a gas mixture of an inert gas with an IPA vapor including IPA mist and a gas having a concentration less than a saturated concentration thereof in the IPA vapor, can be obtained. Since the temperature of the gas mixture is so controlled to be kept at the same temperature or to be elevated gradually until the gas mixture is released from the injection nozzle, IPA is gradually vaporized from the surface of the IPA mist during the moving of the gas mixture and consequently, the particle diameter of the mist becomes smaller, so that a dry gas including submicron IPA mist can be easily obtained. As the organic solvent, besides IPA, an organic solvent selected from the group consisting of organic compounds, such as diacetone alcohol, 1-methoxy-2-propanol, ethylene glycol, 1-propanol, 2-propanol, and tetrahydrofuran, is used. 
         [0104]    By using this dry gas, since the mist contained in the vapor of an organic solvent are submicron in size, the number of mist particles of the organic solvent can be large without increasing the amount of the organic solvent. Therefore, while the surface area of an individual mist particle is small, in line with the large number of mist particles, the total surface area of mist particles, which is a total sum of the surface area of an individual mist particle, is large. 
         [0105]    Further, since a large amount of submicron mist can be injected to the surface of the wafer, a cleaning liquid attached to the wafer can be efficiently replaced by the large amount of submicron organic solvent mist. As a result, along with the adjustment of the plurality of supply nozzles and the amount of a carrier N 2 , even when a large number of wafers having a large diameter are inserted into the treatment bath, since the submicron mist can rapidly intrude between the substrates, not only the efficiency of the drying can be improved, but also the treatment time can be shortened, so that the cause of a water mark on the substrate surface can be reduced to extremely little or almost nothing. Further, the attaching of particles to the substrate can be prevented. Moreover, since the speed of the drying is enhanced, the reattaching of particles can be also prevented. 
         [0106]    From the inert gas supply sources  38 ,  39 , nitrogen gas N 2  is supplied to the pipe LH as an inert gas. The pipe LH is also controlled to a specified temperature by a belt heater. The nitrogen gas N 2  is used not only for diluting a gas mixture of an inert gas and an organic solvent vapor from the vapor generating bath  36 , but also for purging the inside of the treatment bath and for finish-drying. As the inert gas, besides nitrogen gas N 2 , an inert gas selected from the group consisting of argon, helium and the like can be used. MFC shown in  FIG. 5  represents a flow meter. 
         [0000]    (ii) Discharged Liquid Treatment Line 
         [0107]    The discharged liquid treatment line includes liquid treatment equipment for treating chemical liquids and water, and gas treatment equipment for treating a gas, such as a dry gas. The liquid treatment equipment includes a pure water treatment part  53 , an alkali treatment part  54 , an acid treatment part  55 , an HF treatment part  56 , an organic treatment part  57 , and an organic gas treatment part  58 . The gas treatment equipment positioned over the bath includes an organic substance treatment part  50 , an acid treatment part  51 , and an alkali treatment part  52 . Each of the treatment equipments  50  to  58  is connected to the treatment device  10 . 
         [0108]    Next, a series of treatments of the wafer including the treatment of chemical liquids, cleaning and drying using this treatment device are described referring to  FIG. 5  to  FIG. 9 . First, pure water DIW is supplied to the inner bath  12  of the treatment bath  11  from the pure water supply source  41  to clean the inner bath. At this time, the cover body  21  stands by in the upper part or upper side part of the treatment bath  11  ( FIG. 6A ). 
         [0109]    After the cleaning of the inside of the bath, the pure water DIW is discharged and a chemical liquid A is supplied from a chemical liquid supply source, for example the supply source  42  to the supply nozzle tubes  14   b,    14   c,    14   b ′,  14   c ′ in the bath ( FIG. 6B ). After the chemical liquid A is pooled in the bath  12 , the wafer W is immersed in the chemical liquid A to be treated ( FIG. 6C ). After the completion of the treatment of the chemical liquid A, pure water is supplied from the pure water supply source  41  through the supply nozzle tubes  14   a  to  14   c  on one side wall and after a specified time, the supply of pure water is stopped. Subsequently, pure water is supplied through the supply nozzle tubes  14   a ′ to  14   c ′ on the other side wall. Lastly, the pure water DIW is supplied all at once through the supply nozzle tubes  14   a  to  14   c,    14   a ′ to  14   c ′ ( FIG. 7A ). 
         [0110]    After the completion of the cleaning ( FIG. 7B ) with the pure water DIW, a chemical liquid B is supplied from a chemical liquid supply source, for example the supply source  43  to the supply nozzle tubes  14   b,    14   c,    14   b ′,  14   c ′ to perform the treatment with the chemical liquid B and the cleaning with pure water ( FIG. 7C ). Afterward, in the same manner, optionally the treatments with chemical liquids C and D are performed. 
         [0111]    After the completion of the treatment with the last chemical liquid, for example the chemical liquid D, pure water is supplied from the pure water supply sources  41 ,  41   b  through all of the supply nozzle tubes  14   a  to  14   c,    14   a ′ to  14   c ′ to clean the wafer W. 
         [0112]    After the completion of this cleaning, the wafer W is pulled up out of the treatment bath  11  and is stored in the drying chamber  23  in the cover body  21 , and a dry gas containing micro mist of IPA is injected through the injection openings  24   1  to  24   n  to the wafer ( FIG. 8A ). 
         [0113]    Next, the discharge outlet  19  (see  FIG. 2 ,  FIG. 3 ) is fully opened to discharge rapidly the pure water in the inner bath  12 . During the discharge, a dry gas of IPA containing micro mist is continued to be supplied through the injection openings  24   1  to  24   n  to dry the wafer W ( FIG. 8B ,  FIG. 8C ). 
         [0114]    After the completion of this drying, nitrogen gas (N 2 ) is supplied from the inert gas supply sources  38 ,  39  to the drying chamber  23  ( FIG. 9A ) and thereafter, the wafer W is taken out of the drying chamber  23  to complete the treatment ( FIG. 9B ). 
         [0115]    In the above-noted treatment process, the treatment using a general chemical liquid A, B is described; however, more specifically, the following chemical liquid treatment process can be performed. Hereinafter, a representative treatment process is described. 
       (1) Dirt Removal Treatment Process 
       [0116]    A treatment process shown in  FIG. 10A  is a process for removing organic dirt, particles, oxide films, and metal impurities which are attached to the wafer and is usually referred to as an RCA process. Here, a process for casting the wafer into pure water DIW is described. In this treatment process, first, pure water DIW is supplied from the pure water supply source  41  to the inner bath  12  to clean the inside of the bath. After this cleaning, the wafer W is cast into pure water and at the time point t 1 , the supply of a chemical liquid APM from the chemical liquid supply sources  43 ,  45  is started by the mixing device  40 . Controlling the supply amount of the chemical liquid APM, pure water in the bath  12  is driven out of the bath to replace pure water with the chemical liquid APM. The concentration of the chemical liquid is adjusted to and kept at a certain concentration and the treatment of the wafer W is performed. By this treatment, organic dirt, attached particles and the like of the wafer W will be removed. 
         [0117]    After the supply of the chemical liquid APM has been continued until the time point t 2 , the supply of this chemical liquid is stopped and instead, the supply of pure water DIW from the pure water supply sources  41 ,  41   a  is started again to replace the chemical liquid APM with pure water DIW in the inner bath  12 . After the cleaning with pure water has been performed from the time point t 3  to the time point t 4 , the supply of pure water is stopped at the time point t 4  and instead, the supply of the chemical liquid DHF from the chemical liquid supply source  44  is started to replace pure water in the bath with the chemical liquid DHF. The treatment of the wafer with this chemical liquid is continued until the time point t 6 . By this treatment, oxide films are removed. However, at the time point t 5  before the time point t 6 , the supply of the chemical liquid DHF is stopped and at the same time, the replacement of the chemical liquid DHF with pure water in the bath is started again by starting the supply of pure water DIW. After the replacement has been completed, the cleaning with pure water is performed. 
         [0118]    Afterward, in the same manner, the treatments with a chemical liquid HPM, pure water DIW and a chemical liquid O3 are performed. By these treatments, metal impurities are removed from the wafer W. Thereafter, after the last cleaning with pure water DIW has been completed, the drying is performed. 
         [0119]    Also, in the treatment with the chemical liquid APM and the last cleaning treatment respectively in the dirt removal treatment process, during the time durations T 1  and T 2 , the ultrasonic oscillating device  30  is operated to provide an ultrasonic treatment with both the chemical liquid and with the cleaning liquid. 
       (2) Etching Treatment Process 
       [0120]      FIG. 10B  and  FIG. 11A  show etching treatment processes and the treatment process shown in  FIG. 10B  includes treatments with a chemical liquid H 2 O 2 , pure water DIW, a chemical liquid DHF and a chemical liquid HPM. In this treatment process, the chemical liquid DHF and the chemical liquid HPM are mixed at a specified concentration X ppm. This process becomes possible, because the treatment is performed in the same treatment bath. 
         [0121]    In the treatment process shown in  FIG. 1A , the treatment is performed, first using O 3  water in which O 3  is dissolved in pure water and next by the chemical liquid DHF. These treatment processes are performed in the treatment device shown in  FIG. 5 . Since the treatment procedure of this treatment process is the same as that of the treatment process of the above (1), the description thereof is omitted. 
       (3) Last Cleaning Process 
       [0122]      FIG. 11B  shows the last cleaning process of the wafer and the treatments are performed with the chemical liquid APM, pure water DIW, the chemical liquid DHF and the chemical liquid HCl. This treatment process is performed in the treatment device shown in  FIG. 5 . Since the treatment procedure of this treatment process is the same as that of the treatment process of the above (1), the description thereof is omitted. In this process, O 3  water is not stopped completely and is flowed continuously in a small amount. This process becomes possible, because the treatment is performed in the same treatment bath.