JP2000047391A - Developing method and etching method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To form a pattern on a substrate according to a mask in a short time. SOLUTION: A developer under high pressure is sprayed in an atomized state through a spray nozzle 42 to a silicon wafer W. Thereby, an accurate pattern to the mask can be formed in a short time by the chemical effect of the developer and by the physical effect of jet. The developer is preferably jetted at >=3 MPa and <=50 MPa jetting pressure so that particles having >=1 μm and <=300 μm particle size are sprayed at >=10 m/s and <=500 m/s velocity to develop.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a developing method and an etching method, and more particularly, to a developing method and an etching method applied to a photo-etching technique.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an integrated circuit manufacturing process, a photoetching technique is used to form an IC pattern on a substrate with good reproducibility. This photo-etching technology can be roughly divided into two processes: a process of applying a photoresist film, exposing and developing to form a photoresist pattern (photolithography), and processing the substrate using the pattern by etching. There is a step to do.

FIG. 6 shows a process of photoetching a silicon wafer. As shown in FIG. 1A, first, a photosensitive resin called a photoresist 1 is uniformly applied on a silicon wafer W. The photoresist 1 is classified into two types: one that is hardly soluble when exposed to ultraviolet rays (negative type) and one that is easily soluble (positive type). Here, a material (negative type) that becomes difficult to dissolve when exposed to ultraviolet light is used. Subsequently, drying is performed and the solvent is evaporated.

[0004] Next, as shown in FIG. 1 B, a mask 2 having a predetermined pattern is overlaid on a photoresist 1.
Irradiate ultraviolet rays from above. This makes it difficult for the portion 1a exposed to the ultraviolet light to be melted. Next, the silicon wafer W is immersed in the developing solution 3 as shown in FIG. As a result, the portion 1b that has not been exposed to the ultraviolet rays is not melted, and a pattern of the photoresist 1 is formed. At this time, the surface of the silicon oxide film 4 is exposed in the portion 4b where the photoresist 1 has disappeared. Subsequently, drying called post-baking is performed to improve corrosion resistance and adhesion to the silicon wafer W.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1D, the silicon wafer W is immersed in the etching solution 5. Here, since the portion 4a under the photoresist 1 is protected by the photoresist 1, the silicon oxide film 4 remains as it is, and only the silicon oxide film 4 in the portion 4b without the photoresist 1 is removed to remove the silicon oxide film 4. The surface of is exposed.

Finally, as shown in FIG. 1E, the silicon wafer W is immersed in a resist stripper 6 to remove the photoresist 1. As described above, the mask 2
The silicon oxide film 4 corresponding to the pattern is removed.

[0007]

However, the method of immersing the silicon wafer W in the developing solution 3 for development as described above has a drawback that it takes a long time and a pattern cannot be formed according to a model. That is, even if the photoresist 1 is exposed in the exposure step, only the surface of the photoresist 1 is actually cured, so that isotropic development (horizontal direction and depth direction development) is performed as in immersion type development. When the development is performed at almost the same speed), as shown in FIG. 7, there is a disadvantage that the edge is broken and a pattern cannot be formed according to the pattern. The same applies to the case where the silicon wafer W is immersed in the etching solution 5 and etched.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a developing method and an etching method capable of forming a pattern on a substrate in a short time.

[0009]

The invention according to claim 1 is
In order to achieve the above object, in a developing method of developing a photoresist on a substrate having a predetermined pattern exposed through a mask, a developing solution applied with high pressure toward the substrate is atomized from a spray nozzle. And developing by spraying.

[0010] According to the present invention, a developing solution to which a high pressure is applied toward the substrate is sprayed in a state of being atomized from a spray nozzle for development. This makes it possible to form a pattern in a short time by the chemical action of the developer and the physical action of the ejection. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, in the etching method for etching a thin film on a substrate on which a photoresist of a predetermined pattern is formed on the surface, a high pressure is applied to the substrate. It is characterized in that etching is performed by spraying an etchant in a state of being atomized from a spray nozzle.

According to the present invention, etching is performed by spraying an etching solution, which has been applied to a substrate at a high pressure, into fine particles from a spray nozzle. This makes it possible to form a pattern in a short time by the chemical action of the etchant and the physical action of the spray.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of a developing method and an etching method according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a high-pressure jet developing device to which a developing method according to the present invention is applied.
FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the configuration of the main part.

As shown in FIG. 1, a high-pressure jet developing device 10 includes a wafer rotating device 12 for holding and rotating a silicon wafer W to be developed, and a silicon wafer rotating and held by the wafer rotating device 12. And a high-pressure jet spray device 30 that sprays a high-pressure developer toward W in a state of being atomized. First, the configuration of the wafer rotation device 12 will be described. Inside the developing tank 16 installed on the gantry 14, a disk-shaped turntable 18 is provided. A vacuum chuck 20 is provided above the turntable 18, and the silicon wafer W is suction-held on the vacuum chuck 20. On the other hand, a spindle 22 is connected to a lower portion of the turntable 18, and an output shaft of a turntable drive motor 24 is connected to a lower end of the spindle 22. The turntable 18 is rotated by driving the turntable drive motor 24.

Next, the configuration of the high-pressure jet type injector 30 will be described. A developer tank 36 is connected via a pipe 34 to an input side of a jet pump 32 which constitutes a pressure source of the high-pressure jet type injection device 30. On the other hand, a gun 40 is connected to the output side of the jet pump 32 via a pipe 38. A spray nozzle 42 is provided at the tip of the gun 40, and a high-pressure developer is sprayed from the spray nozzle 42 toward the silicon wafer W in a state of being atomized.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the gun 40 is supported at the distal end of an arm 44 provided in the developing tank 16, and the base end of the arm 44 is connected to a motor 46. Is fixed to the output shaft. The motor 46 is supported on the inner wall surface of the developing tank 16 via a bracket 48.
Swings and the gun 40 moves horizontally above the silicon wafer W.

The high-pressure jet type injection device 30 having the above configuration
When the jet pump 32 is driven, the developer in the developer tank 36 is sucked into the jet pump 32,
The high pressure is applied to the gun 40. Then, the developer supplied to the gun 40 is supplied to the spray nozzle 4
Injection is performed in a state of atomization from the second injection port. The developing solution blown out from the spray nozzle 42 hits the silicon wafer W, falls into the developing tank 16, and is guided to the drain port 28 via the rib 26 provided in the developing tank 16. The pipe 50 connected to the drain port 28
Is returned to the developer tank 36 via

The developing method according to the present invention using the high-pressure jet developing device 10 configured as described above is as follows. First, the exposed silicon wafer W is transported and placed on the vacuum chuck 20 by a transport robot (not shown). Then, it is sucked and held by the vacuum chuck 20.

Next, the turntable drive motor 24 is driven to rotate the turntable 18, and the silicon wafer W starts to rotate. At the same time, the motor 46 is driven, and the arm 44 turns and moves from a predetermined standby position (a position shown by a two-dot broken line in FIG. 2) to a predetermined development start position (a position shown by a solid line in FIG. 2). . And
A horizontal swing is started within a predetermined angle range. As a result, the gun 40 provided at the tip of the arm 44 starts reciprocating horizontally above the silicon wafer W.

Next, the jet pump 32 is driven, and the developing solution in the developing solution tank 36 is sucked into the jet pump 32. The developer sucked into the jet pump 32 is supplied to the gun 40 in a state where a high pressure is applied, and is jetted from the spray nozzle 42 of the gun 40 toward the silicon wafer W in a state of atomization (high pressure). Jet injection). The sprayed developer is sprayed on the silicon wafer W rotating on the turntable 18 to develop the silicon wafer W.

Here, in the case of a negative type photoresist, the development of the silicon wafer W is performed by dissolving a portion which was not exposed to the ultraviolet rays in the exposure step with a developing solution. Since the developing solution is sprayed onto the silicon wafer W for development, in addition to the development by a normal chemical action, a physical action of an impact by jetting works. For this reason, the development can be performed in a shorter time as compared with the normal immersion type development.

Further, since the developing solution jetted by the high-pressure jet has a straight running property as described above, even if only the surface of the photoresist is hardened, the edge does not collapse as shown in FIG. A pattern can be developed according to the pattern. The developer sprayed on the silicon wafer W as described above is guided to the drain port 28 by the rib 26, and is returned from the drain port 28 to the developer tank 36 via the pipe 50. Then, it is sprayed again on the silicon wafer W and used for development.

The injection of the developer is performed continuously for a predetermined time.
After a lapse of a predetermined time, the driving of the jet pump 32 is stopped. This terminates the injection of the developer. Thereafter, the drive of the motor is stopped, the swing of the arm 44 is stopped,
Return to the original standby position. On the other hand, the rotation of the turntable 18 is continued even after the completion of the injection of the developer, and the developer remaining on the silicon wafer W is shaken off by the centrifugal force due to the rotation of the turntable 18. So-called spin drying is performed. The spin drying of the silicon wafer W is also continued for a predetermined time, and after the predetermined time has elapsed, the drive of the turntable drive motor 24 is stopped. After the rotation of the turntable 18 is stopped, the vacuum chuck 2
Then, the silicon wafer W developed by the transfer robot (not shown) is transferred to the next step.

As described above, according to the developing method of the present invention, in addition to the development by the chemical action of the ordinary developer, the physical action by the high-pressure jet injection works.
The development can be performed in a shorter time than in a normal immersion type development. Also, the development can be performed neatly according to the pattern of the exposed mask. In the present embodiment, the injection pressure of the developing solution ejected from the spray nozzle 42 is not particularly mentioned. However, as a result of conducting a certain type of resist experiment on a certain substrate, when the pressure is less than 3 MPa, the developing solution is ejected. If the physical development action cannot be sufficiently obtained, and if the injection pressure exceeds 50 MPa, the damage to the photoresist or the like becomes large.
It is preferable to set within the range of 0 MPa.

The developer to be atomized depends on the type of the photoresist to be developed, but has a particle size of 1 μm or more and 30 μm or more.
Set to be 0 μm or less, and set to 10 m / s or more and 500
It is preferable to set so as to collide with the silicon wafer W at a speed of m / s or less. In the high-pressure jet type developing device 10 of the present embodiment, one spray nozzle 42 is used.
Although the developer is ejected from the nozzle, the developer may be ejected from a plurality of spray nozzles. In this case, the plurality of spray nozzles may be arranged at equal intervals on a concentric circle, or may be arranged on the same straight line.

In the high-pressure jet type developing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, the spray nozzle 42 is moved by horizontally swinging the arm 44, but the arm 44 is reciprocated on a horizontal plane. Thus, the spray nozzle 42 may be moved. Furthermore, the high-pressure jet developing device 1 of the present embodiment
0, the developing solution is sprayed while rotating the silicon wafer W to develop the wafer. However, as shown in FIG.
Alternatively, a developing solution may be sprayed from the spray nozzles 62, 62, and 62 for development.

The above is the description of the embodiment of the developing method according to the present invention. However, the etching method according to the present invention can be carried out using an apparatus having a similar configuration.
That is, in the apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1, an etching solution is sprayed instead of the developing solution. As a result, as in the case of development, a physical action of collision acts in addition to etching by only normal chemical action, so that etching can be performed in a short time and as shown in FIG. Can be performed neatly without breaking.

When etching is performed, the etching solution is sprayed at a pressure of 3MP for the same reason as in the case of development.
It is preferable that the silicon wafer W is sprayed at a pressure of a to 50 MPa, and particles having a particle diameter of 1 μm to 300 μm are sprayed at a speed of 10 m / s to 500 m / s or less.
In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to an integrated circuit manufacturing process. However, the application field of the present invention is not limited to this example. The present invention can also be applied to fields such as plasma display panel manufacturing.

In particular, in the case of a plasma display panel, ribs (partitions) serving as partitions for forming discharge cells are formed by photolithography, and the thickness is as large as about 150 mm. In the conventional immersion type development, there was a problem that the edge collapsed as shown in FIG. However, when the developing method according to the present invention is used, a rib having an edge standing vertically as shown in FIG. 3 can be formed, which is extremely effective.

As described above, the effect of the present invention becomes more remarkable as the thickness of the film to be developed becomes higher and as the thickness of the film to be etched becomes higher. Further, in the above-described embodiments, the types of the developing solution and the etching solution to be used are not particularly mentioned, but an optimum one is selected and used according to a photoresist to be developed or a thin film to be etched. At this time, the developing method and the etching method according to the present invention can correspond to various liquids such as an inorganic acid, an alkaline liquid, and water as a developing solution and an etching solution to be used.

When the developing method according to the present invention is applied to the development of a photoresist using water as a developing solution, water can be used as a developing solution. Post-processing can be facilitated. In addition, environmental friendliness can be improved.

[0031]

As described above, according to the present invention,
By spraying the developer with high pressure applied to the substrate from the spray nozzle while atomizing it,
Due to the chemical action of the developer and the physical action of the jetting, a pattern can be formed in a short time in a short time.

Further, according to the present invention, etching is performed by spraying an etching solution with a high pressure applied to a substrate in a state of being atomized from a spray nozzle, thereby performing a chemical action by the etching solution and a physical action by the spraying. With a typical action, a pattern can be formed in a short time in accordance with a pattern.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a high-pressure jet developing device.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a configuration of a main part of the high-pressure jet developing device.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a silicon wafer developed by the developing method according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a configuration diagram of another embodiment of the high-pressure jet developing device.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a silicon wafer etched by the etching method according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of a process of photoetching a silicon wafer.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a silicon wafer developed by a conventional developing method.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Photoresist 4 ... Silicon oxide film W ... Silicon wafer 10 ... High-pressure jet developing device 16 ... Developing tank 18 ... Turntable 32 ... Jet pump 36 ... Developer tank 40 ... Gun 42 ... Spray nozzle

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Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A developing method for developing a photoresist on a substrate on which a predetermined pattern is exposed through a mask, wherein a developing solution applied with high pressure toward the substrate is atomized from a spray nozzle. A developing method characterized by spraying and developing. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the developer is injected at an injection pressure of 3 MPa to 50 MPa, and particles having a particle size of 1 μm to 300 μm are sprayed onto the substrate at a speed of 10 m / s to 500 m / s to perform development. The developing method according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The developing method according to claim 1, wherein said photoresist is developed with water, and said developing solution is water. 4. An etching method for etching a thin film on a substrate having a photoresist having a predetermined pattern formed on a surface thereof, wherein an etching solution applied with a high pressure is sprayed on the substrate in a state of being atomized from a spray nozzle. An etching method characterized by performing etching by etching. 5. The etching solution is 3 MPa or more and 50 M or more.
Injection at an injection pressure of Pa or less, particle size of 1 μm or more and 300
The etching method according to claim 4, wherein particles having a size of not more than μm are sprayed onto the substrate at a speed of not less than 10 m / s and not more than 500 m / s to perform etching.