Substrate processing apparatus, linked processing system, and substrate processing method

Abstract

A substrate processing apparatus comprises: a substrate holding unit configured to hold and rotate a substrate; an etching unit configured to etch a surface of a substrate by discharging a processing liquid to the substrate rotated by the substrate holding unit; and a control unit configured to control an etching amount by the etching unit. In the substrate processing apparatus, the control unit controls an etching amount at each position on the surface of the substrate based on information upon a characteristic of a surface processing to be performed on the substrate by a post-processing apparatus which is configured to perform a post-processing after a substrate processing by the substrate processing apparatus.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A substrate processing apparatus, comprising:
 a substrate holding unit configured to hold and rotate a substrate;   an etching unit configured to etch a surface of a substrate by discharging a processing liquid to the substrate rotated by the substrate holding unit; and   a control unit configured to control an etching amount by the etching unit,   wherein the control unit controls an etching amount at each position on the surface of the substrate based on information upon a characteristic of a surface processing to be performed on the substrate by a post-processing apparatus which is configured to perform a post-processing after a substrate processing by the substrate processing apparatus.   
     
     
         2 . The substrate processing apparatus of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the information upon the characteristic of the surface processing to be performed on the substrate by the post-processing apparatus indicates that a film thickness at a central portion of the substrate is smaller than a film thickness at a peripheral portion thereof, and   the control unit controls an etching amount at the central portion of the substrate to be decreased and an etching amount at the peripheral portion of the substrate to be increased based on the information upon the characteristic of the surface processing.   
     
     
         3 . The substrate processing apparatus of  claim 2 ,
 wherein the etching unit comprises a nozzle unit configured to be movable above the substrate, and   the control unit controls the nozzle unit to start a discharge of the processing liquid from a position spaced apart from a center of the substrate by a preset distance and to be moved toward the center of the substrate.   
     
     
         4 . The substrate processing apparatus of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the information upon the characteristic of the surface processing to be performed on the substrate by the post-processing apparatus indicates that a film thickness at a central portion of the substrate is larger than a film thickness at a peripheral portion thereof, and   the control unit controls an etching amount at the central portion of the substrate to be increased and an etching amount at the peripheral portion of the substrate to be decreased based on the information upon the characteristic of the surface processing.   
     
     
         5 . The substrate processing apparatus of  claim 4 , further comprising:
 a fluid discharge unit configured to discharge a fluid, which has a temperature higher than that of the processing liquid discharged from the etching unit, toward a center of a rear surface of the substrate,   wherein the etching unit comprises a nozzle unit configured to discharge the processing liquid to the center of the substrate from above the substrate, and   the control unit controls the nozzle unit to discharge the processing liquid and controls the fluid discharge unit to discharge the fluid.   
     
     
         6 . The substrate processing apparatus of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the surface processing to be performed on the substrate by the post-processing apparatus is a dry etching processing.   
     
     
         7 . The substrate processing apparatus of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the surface processing to be performed on the substrate by the post-processing apparatus is a film forming processing.   
     
     
         8 . The substrate processing apparatus of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the control unit controls an etching amount at each position on the surface of the substrate based on information upon a characteristic of a surface processing performed on the substrate by a pre-processing unit which is configured to perform a pre-processing prior to the substrate processing by the substrate processing apparatus and based on the information upon the characteristic of the surface processing to be performed on the substrate by the post-processing unit.   
     
     
         9 . A linked processing system, comprising:
 a pre-processing apparatus configured to perform a pre-processing on a surface of a substrate;   a substrate processing apparatus configured to perform an etching processing on the surface of the substrate after the pre-processing;   a post-processing apparatus configured to perform a post-processing on the surface of the substrate after the etching processing; and   a host device connected to the pre-processing apparatus, the substrate processing apparatus and the post-processing apparatus,   wherein the host device acquires information upon a characteristic of a surface processing to be performed on the substrate by the post-processing apparatus, and sends the acquired information to a control unit within the substrate processing apparatus, and   the control unit controls an etching amount at each position on the surface of the substrate in the substrate processing apparatus based on the information upon the characteristic of the surface processing to be performed on the substrate by the post-processing apparatus.   
     
     
         10 . The linked processing system of  claim 9 ,
 wherein the host device additionally acquires information upon a characteristic of a surface processing performed on the substrate by the pre-processing apparatus, and sends the acquired information to the control unit within the substrate processing apparatus, and   the control unit controls the etching amount at each position on the surface of the substrate in the substrate processing apparatus based on the information upon the characteristic of the surface processing performed on the substrate by the pre-processing apparatus and based on the information upon the characteristic of the surface processing to be performed on the substrate by the post-processing apparatus.   
     
     
         11 . A substrate processing method, comprising:
 performing a pre-processing on a surface of a substrate;   acquiring information upon a characteristic of a surface processing to be performed on the substrate in a post-processing after an etching processing;   performing the etching processing on the surface of the substrate by discharging a processing liquid to the surface of the substrate while controlling an etching amount at each position on the surface of the substrate based on the information upon the characteristic of the surface processing in the post-processing; and   performing the post-processing on the surface of the substrate after the etching processing.   
     
     
         12 . The substrate processing method of  claim 11 ,
 wherein the information upon the characteristic of the surface processing to be performed on the substrate in the post-processing indicates that a film thickness at a central portion of the substrate is smaller than a film thickness at a peripheral portion thereof, and   the step of performing the etching processing on the surface of the substrate comprises controlling an etching amount at the central portion of the substrate to be decreased and an etching amount at the peripheral portion of the substrate to be increased based on the information upon the characteristic of the surface processing in the post-processing.   
     
     
         13 . The substrate processing method of  claim 12 ,
 wherein the step of performing the etching processing on the surface of the substrate comprises starting a discharge of a processing liquid from a position spaced apart from a center of the substrate by a preset distance, and moving a nozzle, which discharges the processing liquid, toward the center of the substrate.   
     
     
         14 . The substrate processing method of  claim 11 ,
 wherein the information upon the characteristic of the surface processing to be performed on the substrate in the post-processing indicates that a film thickness at a central portion of the substrate is larger than a film thickness at a peripheral portion thereof, and   the step of performing the etching processing on the surface of the substrate comprises controlling an etching amount at the central portion of the substrate to be increased and an etching amount at the peripheral portion of the substrate to be decreased based on the information upon the characteristic of the surface processing in the post-processing.   
     
     
         15 . The substrate processing apparatus of  claim 14 ,
 wherein the processing liquid is discharged to the center of the substrate from above the substrate, and   a fluid having a temperature higher than that of the processing liquid is discharged to a center of a rear surface of the substrate.   
     
     
         16 . The substrate processing apparatus of  claim 11 ,
 wherein the surface processing to be performed on the substrate in the post-processing is a dry etching processing.   
     
     
         17 . The substrate processing apparatus of  claim 11 ,
 wherein the surface processing to be performed on the substrate in the post-processing is a film forming processing.   
     
     
         18 . The substrate processing apparatus of  claim 11 ,
 wherein the step of performing the etching processing on the surface of the substrate comprises controlling the etching amount at each position on the substrate based on information upon a characteristic of a surface processing performed on the substrate in the pre-processing and based on the information upon the characteristic of the surface processing to be performed on the substrate in the post-processing.