JPH09115808A - Coater - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To restrain manufacturing cost by reducing the number of types of solutions to be used and reducing the quantity of the solutions to be used through effective use. SOLUTION: A coater includes a substrate chuck 101 having a flange 110 formed on the peripheral portion thereof so that a semiconductor substrate 104 may be embedded and held in a recess 111 surrounded by the flange 110 without generating any gap, a rotary bar 107 for rotating the substrate chuck 101, and a coating solution 106 to be dropped on the upper surface of the semiconductor substrate 104. As the semiconductor substrate 104 is embedded in the recess 111, the upper surface of the semiconductor substrate 104 is held at the same level as or higher than that of the upper surface of the flange 110. Since the substrate chuck 101 has such a structure that the semiconductor substrate 104 may be embedded and held without having any gap, the coating solution 106 is prevented from entering the back side of the semiconductor substrate 104, and therefore cleaning of the back side is not necessary. Thus, an exhausted solution of the coating solution 106 which was not effectively used is prevented from being mixed with a cleaning solution, and therefore may be reused.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a coating apparatus for coating an organic solution or an inorganic solution on the upper surface of a semiconductor substrate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, as semiconductor devices have become highly integrated and have high performance, the number of process steps has increased and the process has become more complicated.
There is a strong demand for cost reduction and simplification of the process.
In particular, even in the coating device in the mask pattern forming process, it is required to realize the cost reduction of the semiconductor device due to the cost reduction of the manufacturing process by reducing the solution usage amount, the solution usage number and the processing capacity. There is.

Conventionally, a spin coating method is well known as a method for uniformly coating a solution on the upper surface of a semiconductor substrate.
FIG. 10 shows a schematic view of a coating apparatus using a conventional spin coating method. In the conventional spin coating method, the coating solution 3 is dropped on the upper surface of the semiconductor substrate 2 held by the substrate chuck 1,
When the semiconductor substrate 2 is rotated to uniformly apply the coating solution 3 to the upper surface of the semiconductor substrate 2, the coating solution 3 wraps around the back surface of the semiconductor substrate 2 and the coating solution 3 is applied to the back surface of the semiconductor substrate 2 to prevent this. A cleaning solution ejection pipe 5 for ejecting the cleaning solution 4 to be washed out is provided.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional coating apparatus, since the cleaning solution 4 for washing away the coating solution 3 spilled around the back surface of the semiconductor substrate 2 is required, when coating the upper surface of the semiconductor substrate 2, The types of solutions used increase. Further, in the spin coating method, only a few percent of the used coating solution is effectively used and the remaining coating solution 3 becomes a waste liquid. This waste solution could not be used for re-coating, since and were mixed. Therefore, there is a problem that it is difficult to effectively use the resources, the amount of the coating solution 3 used increases, and the manufacturing cost increases.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a coating apparatus which can realize reduction of the kinds of used solutions and effective use of the used solutions to reduce the production cost, and to suppress the manufacturing cost.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a coating apparatus, wherein a flange is formed on a peripheral portion of the substrate chuck and a semiconductor substrate can be embedded and held in a concave portion surrounded by the flange without a gap. A rotating rod to rotate,
And a coating solution dropped onto the upper surface of the semiconductor substrate, and the upper surface of the semiconductor substrate is held at the same level or higher as the upper surface of the flange in a state where the semiconductor substrate is embedded in the recess.

As described above, since the substrate chuck has a structure in which the semiconductor substrate can be embedded and held without a gap, the coating solution does not wrap around to the back surface of the semiconductor substrate, and cleaning of the back surface is unnecessary. For this reason, only the coating solution needs to be used, and the kinds of used solutions can be reduced. Further, since the cleaning solution is not necessary, the waste solution of the coating solution which has not been effectively used can be reused without being mixed with the cleaning solution. Therefore, the manufacturing cost can be suppressed by reducing the amount of the used solution. Also,
Since the upper surface of the semiconductor substrate was held at the same level or higher as the upper surface of the flange while the semiconductor substrate was embedded in the recess, the coating solution flowed without being blocked by the flange at the peripheral edge of the semiconductor substrate, and a uniform film thickness was formed. There is no problem.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the coating apparatus according to the first aspect, the substrate chuck is divided into a plurality of constituent members, and these constituent members are moved so as to approach each other to hold the semiconductor substrate. is there. As described above, since the semiconductor substrate is held by moving the constituent members of the substrate chuck so as to be close to each other, it is not necessary to accurately align the positions of the semiconductor substrate and the substrate chuck before holding, and The position adjustment of the substrate chuck can be controlled more easily and accurately.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the substrate chuck is made of a material having a thermal expansion coefficient substantially equal to that of the semiconductor substrate. As described above, since the substrate chuck is made of a material having a coefficient of thermal expansion substantially equal to that of the semiconductor substrate, it is possible to prevent a gap between the semiconductor substrate and the substrate chuck and a deformation of the semiconductor substrate, which are caused by a difference in coefficient of thermal expansion. It becomes possible to apply.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A coating apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. This coating apparatus includes a substrate chuck 1 capable of holding a semiconductor substrate 104.
01 and a rotating rod 107 for rotating the substrate chuck 101.
And the coating solution 106 dropped on the upper surface of the semiconductor substrate 104.
And

As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate chuck 101 has a flange 110 formed on the periphery thereof, and a semiconductor substrate 104 as shown in FIG. 3 can be embedded and held in a recess 111 surrounded by the flange 110 without a gap. it can. In this case, the upper surface of the semiconductor substrate 104 is held at the same level as the upper surface of the flange 110 while the semiconductor substrate 104 is embedded in the recess 111. In addition, this substrate chuck 101
2, a plurality of support rod holes 103 into which the semiconductor substrate support rods 102 can be inserted are formed. The semiconductor substrate support rod 102 supports the semiconductor substrate 104,
It is transferred to the substrate chuck 101.

The upper end of the rotary rod 107 is fixed to the shaft center of the lower surface of the substrate chuck 101, and is rotated integrally with the substrate chuck 101 by a motor (not shown). The coating solution 106 is contained in the solution tank 108, as shown in FIG. The tank solution 108 is the coating solution 106.
A solution nozzle 105 for guiding the above to the upper side of the substrate chuck 101 is connected. A cup (not shown) for receiving the coating solution 106 flowing from the semiconductor substrate 104 is installed around the substrate chuck 101.

Next, the operation of this coating apparatus will be described. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the semiconductor substrate 104
Is held by the semiconductor substrate supporting rod 102, and the semiconductor substrate supporting rod 102 is inserted into the hole 103 for the supporting rod so that the semiconductor substrate 104 is embedded in the concave portion 111 of the substrate chuck 101 without any gap. Next, as shown in FIG. 1, the substrate chuck 101 together with the rotary rod 107 rotated by the drive of the motor.
The semiconductor substrate 104 is rotated by the solution nozzle 105.
The coating solution 106 is dropped near the axis of the upper surface of the. In this case, the rotating rod 107 is rotated at a rotation speed of about 400 rpm, so that the coating solution 106 is evenly applied to the upper surface of the semiconductor substrate 104 to a film thickness of about 1.0 μm. Also,
The coating solution 106 flowing from the semiconductor substrate 104 becomes a waste liquid and is received by the cup.

According to this embodiment, the substrate chuck 1
Since 01 has a structure in which the semiconductor substrate 104 can be embedded and held without a gap, the coating solution 106 does not wrap around the back surface of the semiconductor substrate 104, and cleaning of the back surface is unnecessary. Therefore, only the coating solution 106 needs to be used, and the kinds of used solutions can be reduced. Further, since the cleaning solution is not necessary, the waste solution of the coating solution 106 that has not been effectively used can be reused without being mixed with the cleaning solution. In this case, the coating solution 106 collected in the cup can be reused as it is. Therefore, the manufacturing cost can be suppressed by reducing the amount of the used solution. In addition, the semiconductor substrate 104 is formed in the recess 11
Since the upper surface of the semiconductor substrate 104 is held at the same level as or higher than the upper surface of the flange 110 in the state of being embedded in the substrate 1, the coating solution 106 flows in the peripheral portion of the semiconductor substrate 104 without being blocked by the flange 110, and the film thickness is uniform. There is no hindrance to the formation.

A coating apparatus according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 9. In this coating apparatus, as shown in FIG. 6, the substrate chuck 201 is divided into two, and the semiconductor substrate 104 is held by moving the constituent members so as to approach each other. That is, the substrate chuck 201 has a structure in which a hanging portion 212 is provided and the lower end thereof can be connected to the substrate chuck driving rod 203.
The substrate chuck drive rod 203 is movable in the horizontal direction, whereby the constituent members of the substrate chuck 201 can be moved closer to each other to hold the semiconductor substrate 104. The rotating rod 206 is separated from the substrate chuck 201 and has a structure that can be connected to the hanging portion 212. The substrate chuck 201 is connected to the semiconductor substrate 104 in the connected state.
And the rotary rod 206 holds the substrate chuck 2 by the motor.
It rotates together with 01.

Further, the substrate chuck 201 has a flange 210 formed at the peripheral edge thereof as in the first embodiment.
The semiconductor substrate 104 can be embedded and held in the concave portion 211 surrounded by the flange 210 without any gap. In this case, the upper surface of the semiconductor substrate 104 is flush with the upper surface of the flange 210 with the semiconductor substrate 104 embedded in the recess 211. Further, a solution tank 108 containing the coating solution 106, a solution nozzle 105 connected to the solution tank 108, and a cup (not shown) for receiving the coating solution 106.
Etc. are provided similarly to the first embodiment.

Next, the operation of this coating apparatus will be described. As shown in FIG. 7, the substrate chuck driving rod 203 is connected to the substrate chuck 201 and holds the constituent members of the substrate chuck 201 at positions separated from each other.
4 is transferred to the substrate chuck 201. Next, as shown in FIG. 8, the substrate chuck driving rod 203 moves the constituent members of the substrate chuck 201 closer to each other to hold the semiconductor substrate 104. In this state, the semiconductor substrate 104 is embedded in the concave portion 211 of the substrate chuck 201 without any gap, and at the same time, the hanging portion 21 of the substrate chuck 201 is formed.
2 and the rotary rod 206 are connected.

Next, as shown in FIG. 9, the substrate chuck drive rod 203 is separated from the substrate chuck 201, and the substrate chuck 201 is rotated together with the rotation rod 206 rotated by the drive of the motor, and the solution nozzle 105 is used to rotate the semiconductor substrate 104. The coating solution 106 is dropped near the axis of the upper surface. In this case, by rotating the rotary rod 206 at a rotation speed of about 400 rpm, the coating solution 106 is uniformly applied to the upper surface of the semiconductor substrate 104 to a film thickness of about 1.0 μm. Further, the coating solution 106 flowing from the semiconductor substrate 104
Is a waste liquid and is received in a cup.

In this embodiment, the substrate chuck 201
Since the semiconductor substrate 104 is held by moving the constituent members of (1) so as to be close to each other, it is not necessary to accurately align the positions of the semiconductor substrate 104 and the substrate chuck 201 before holding, and the semiconductor substrate 104 and the substrate chuck 20
The positioning of 1 can be controlled more easily and systematically. In addition, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained. In addition,
The substrate chuck 201 may be divided into three or more parts.

In the first and second embodiments, the upper surface of the semiconductor substrate 104 is filled with the flange 110 while the semiconductor substrate 104 is embedded in the recess 111 (211).
Although the upper surface of (210) is held at the same level, the upper surface of the semiconductor substrate 104 may be held at the same level as the upper surface of the flange 110 (210) or higher, and the coating solution 106 is blocked by the flange 110 (210). It may be a configuration that flows without any flow.

The material of the substrate chuck 101 (201) is not limited, but the semiconductor substrate 104 and the substrate chuck 10 can be formed by using a silicon-containing material such as quartz.
1 (201) can be made substantially equal to each other in thermal expansion coefficient, so that the semiconductor substrate 104 caused by the difference in thermal expansion coefficient.
A gap between the substrate chuck 101 and the substrate chuck 101 (201) and the deformation of the semiconductor substrate 104 can be prevented, and more uniform coating can be performed.

[0022]

According to the coating apparatus of the first aspect, the substrate chuck has a structure capable of embedding and holding the semiconductor substrate without a gap, so that the coating solution does not wrap around the back surface of the semiconductor substrate and the back surface is cleaned. It becomes unnecessary. For this reason, only the coating solution needs to be used, and the kinds of used solutions can be reduced. Further, since the cleaning solution is not necessary, the waste solution of the coating solution which has not been effectively used can be reused without being mixed with the cleaning solution. Therefore, the manufacturing cost can be suppressed by reducing the amount of the used solution. In this way, it greatly contributes to the cost reduction of the manufacturing process of the semiconductor device. Further, since the upper surface of the semiconductor substrate is held at the same level or higher as the upper surface of the flange in the state where the semiconductor substrate is embedded in the recess, the coating solution flows in the peripheral portion of the semiconductor substrate without being blocked by the flange, and the film thickness is uniform. There is no hindrance to the formation.

In the second aspect, since the semiconductor substrate is held by moving the constituent members of the substrate chuck so as to be close to each other, it is not necessary to accurately align the positions of the semiconductor substrate and the substrate chuck before holding. , It is possible to control the alignment between the semiconductor substrate and the substrate chuck more easily and accurately. According to the present invention, since the substrate chuck is made of a material having a coefficient of thermal expansion substantially equal to that of the semiconductor substrate, it is possible to prevent the generation of a gap between the semiconductor substrate and the substrate chuck and the deformation of the semiconductor substrate due to the difference in coefficient of thermal expansion, and it is possible to obtain a more uniform Various coatings are possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a coating apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the substrate chuck according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a semiconductor substrate.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram before holding a semiconductor substrate on a substrate chuck in the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram after holding a semiconductor substrate on a substrate chuck in the second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a substrate chuck according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram before holding a semiconductor substrate on a substrate chuck in the second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram after holding a semiconductor substrate on a substrate chuck in the second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of applying a coating solution to a semiconductor substrate according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram of a conventional coating device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 101, 201 Substrate chuck 102 Semiconductor substrate support rod 103 Support rod hole 104 Semiconductor substrate 105 Solution nozzle 106 Coating solution 107, 206 Rotation rod 108 Solution tank 110, 210 Flange 111, 211 Recess 203 Substrate chuck drive rod

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Michiyo Kobayashi 1-1 Sachimachi Takatsuki City, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electronics Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Tetsuya Nakamura 1-1 Sachimachi Takatsuki City, Osaka Matsushita Electronics Industry Incorporated (72) Inventor Keiichi Fujimoto 1-1, Saiwaicho, Takatsuki City, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electronics Industrial Co., Ltd.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A substrate chuck in which a flange is formed on a peripheral edge portion and a semiconductor substrate can be embedded and held in a recess surrounded by the flange without a gap, a rotating rod for rotating the substrate chuck, and a drip on the upper surface of the semiconductor substrate. And a coating solution for coating the semiconductor substrate, the upper surface of the semiconductor substrate being held at the same level or higher as the upper surface of the flange in a state where the semiconductor substrate is embedded in the recess. 2. The coating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate chuck is divided into a plurality of constituent members, and the semiconductor substrate is held by moving these constituent members so as to approach each other. 3. The coating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate chuck is made of a material having a coefficient of thermal expansion substantially equal to that of the semiconductor substrate.