JP2000077322A - Treatment apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a treatment apparatus for preventing thermal effects of a heat treatment apparatus to a liquid treatment apparatus, while a large number of heat treatment apparatus can be installed in a limited space. SOLUTION: In a coating exposure treatment apparatus 1 used for coating exposure treatment of a wafer(W), a third heating treatment apparatus group 60 is supported in a position above a first resist coating apparatus group 50 through a supporting member 92. A space 93 is formed between a cooling treatment apparatus 61 an a resist coating apparatus 52, and a flow 91a is carried in the space 92. The supporting member 92 has a cooling effect, so that the resist coating apparatus 52 is hardly affected from a thermal effect from a pre-baking apparatus 92.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a photoresist processing step in manufacturing a semiconductor device, a resist film is formed by applying a resist solution to a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter, referred to as "wafer"), and a predetermined pattern is formed. After the exposure, a developing solution is supplied to the wafer to perform a developing process. In performing such a series of processing, a coating and developing processing apparatus has been conventionally used.

Such a coating and developing apparatus includes, for example, a heat treatment apparatus for performing a hydrophobic treatment (adhesion treatment) for improving the fixability of a resist, a heating treatment for heating a wafer after applying a resist solution and curing a resist film. A thermal processing apparatus such as a cooling processing apparatus for cooling the wafer after the heat processing, a resist coating apparatus for applying a resist liquid to the wafer to form a resist film, and a developing liquid for the exposed wafer And a liquid processing apparatus such as a development processing apparatus for performing a developing process by supplying the liquid developer. Then, the transfer of the wafer to the various liquid processing apparatuses and the thermal processing apparatus is performed by the transfer apparatus. In the conventional coating and developing apparatus, various types of liquid processing apparatuses and thermal processing apparatuses are stacked in multiple stages, respectively, in order to effectively utilize the arrangement space in the coating and developing apparatus.

[0004]

Today, as the production volume of semiconductor devices increases, it is required to improve the processing capability of a coating and developing apparatus. However,
If the liquid processing unit and the thermal processing unit were separated and stacked in multiple stages, as in the past,
For example, there is a limit in arranging a large number of heat treatment apparatuses in a limited arrangement space. Therefore, it is very difficult to improve the processing capability of the coating and developing apparatus as it is.

Here, it is considered that the above-mentioned problem can be solved by disposing a multi-stage heat treatment device or the like above the multi-stage liquid treatment devices. Thermal effects will be exerted on the liquid processing apparatus. As a result, in a liquid processing apparatus that is sensitive to a change in temperature, for example, in a resist coating apparatus, the thickness of the resist film changes, and in a developing processing apparatus, uneven development occurs, which may result in processing failure.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of such a point, and it is possible to dispose a large number of heat treatment devices in a limited arrangement space, but to thermally affect the liquid treatment device from the heat treatment device. To provide new processing equipment that does not reach
It is intended to solve the above problem.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a liquid processing apparatus for supplying a processing liquid to a substrate in a container to process the substrate, and the substrate is heated at a predetermined temperature in the container. A processing apparatus comprising: a heating processing apparatus for heating; and a transfer apparatus for transferring a substrate, wherein the heating processing apparatus is disposed above the liquid processing apparatus with a supporting member interposed therebetween. A processing device is provided, wherein a space is formed between the device and the liquid processing device.

According to this configuration, since the heat treatment devices are arranged above the liquid treatment device, a large number of heat treatment devices can be arranged within a limited space where the treatment devices are arranged. Therefore, the processing capacity of the processing apparatus can be significantly improved without increasing the floor occupation area. In addition, due to the space provided between the heat treatment device and the liquid treatment device, the thermal effect from the heat treatment device hardly reaches the liquid treatment device. Therefore, in the liquid processing apparatus, the thermal effect from the heat processing apparatus is suppressed, and the desired processing on the substrate can be performed.

In the processing apparatus according to the first aspect, as described in the second aspect, it is preferable that air flow forming means for forming an air flow flowing in the space is provided. According to this configuration, since the airflow formed by the airflow forming means flows in the space, the atmosphere heated by the heat of the heat treatment device can be expelled from the space, and the thermal influence can be further suppressed. Can be.

In this case, as described in claim 3, a blower that forms a downward airflow from at least the transfer device, the heat treatment device, or the liquid treatment device to at least one of these devices is provided. It is preferable to have a guide means for guiding a part of the descending airflow blown from the blower into the space. According to this configuration, a part of the downward airflow that pushes down particles generated by the transfer operation of the transfer device is used as the airflow flowing in the space, so that a separate blower that separates the airflow into the space is used. It becomes unnecessary. In addition, since a part of the descending airflow flows into the space by the guide means, particles can be expelled from the space.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a cooling device for cooling a substrate at a predetermined temperature in a container is disposed below the heating device, and the cooling device is supported by the support member. Thus, the heat treatment device and the cooling treatment device may be stacked above the liquid treatment device. According to this configuration, since not only the space but also the cooling treatment device is interposed between the liquid treatment device and the heat treatment device, the thermal influence from the heat treatment device can be suppressed as compared with the first aspect.

In this case, if the supply path for supplying the cooling medium to the cooling processing device is formed in the support member, the cooling medium flows through the support member. Therefore, the support member and the surrounding atmosphere of the support member are cooled.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 shows a coating and developing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment viewed from a plane.

The coating and developing apparatus 1 includes, for example, a cassette station 2 for loading and unloading 25 wafers W into and out of the coating and developing apparatus 1 in cassette units, and a cassette station 2 for transferring wafers W to and from the cassette C. On the other hand, a processing station 3 in which a number of various processing apparatuses for performing a predetermined processing in a single-wafer manner are arranged, and an interface unit 5 for transferring a wafer W between the processing station 3 and the exposure apparatus 4. Are connected integrally.

At the cassette station 2, as shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of cassettes C are positioned at positions of the positioning projections 10 a on the cassette mounting table 10 in the X direction with the entrance of the wafer W toward the processing station 3 (see FIG. 1). (In the vertical direction in the middle). And this cassette C
Of the wafers W accommodated in the cassette C (vertical direction) and the arrangement direction (the vertical direction) of the wafers W accommodated in the cassette C can be moved along the conveyance path 12. It can be selectively accessed. The wafer carrier 11 is also configured to be rotatable in the θ direction, and is configured to be able to access an extension device 34 belonging to a first thermal processing device group 30 described later.

FIGS. 2 and 3 are side views of the coating and developing apparatus 1. FIG. 2 is a view from the cassette station 2 side, and FIG. 3 is a view from the interface section 5 side. I have. In the processing station 3, a main transfer device 20 is disposed at a central portion, and the main transfer device 20 is provided with, for example, three tweezers 21 having the same configuration for holding the wafer W in upper and lower directions. Further, around the main transfer device 20, there are arranged a group of processing apparatuses in which various liquid processing apparatuses and thermal processing apparatuses are integrated and arranged in multiple stages. In the coating and developing apparatus 1, the first thermal processing apparatus group 30 described above is disposed on the cassette station 2 side, and the second thermal processing apparatus group 40 is disposed on the interface section 5 side.

The structure of the first thermal processing apparatus group 30 will be described with reference to FIG. 2. The first thermal processing apparatus group 30 includes a cooling processing apparatus 31 for cooling the wafer W at a predetermined temperature,
A hydrophobizing device 32 for improving the adhesion between the resist and the wafer W, an alignment device 33 for positioning the wafer W, an extension device 34 for holding the wafer W on standby, and a wafer W after resist application at a predetermined temperature. A pre-baking device 35 for performing a heating process, a post-baking device 36 for performing a heating process for the wafer W after the development process,
36 are stacked in seven stages in order from the bottom.

The structure of the second thermal processing unit group 40 will be described with reference to FIG. 3. The second thermal processing unit group 40 includes a cooling processing unit 41 and an extension cooling unit 42 for naturally cooling the wafer W. And the extension device 43
A cooling processing device 44; and a post-exposure baking device 45, 4 for heating the wafer W after the exposure processing.
5 and post-baking devices 46, 46 are stacked in order from the bottom in, for example, seven stages.

A first resist coating device group 50 and a second resist coating device group 55 are arranged in parallel on the front side (lower side in FIG. 1) of the coating and developing treatment device 1 with the main transfer device 20 interposed therebetween. I have. A third thermal processing apparatus group 60 is disposed above the first resist coating apparatus group 50, and a fourth thermal processing apparatus group 65 is disposed above the second resist coating apparatus group 55. First resist coating device group 50, second resist coating device group 50
The resist coating device group 55 that applies a resist liquid to the wafer W in the cup CP
1 and 52 are each stacked in two stages. The third thermal processing equipment group 60 and the fourth thermal processing equipment group 65 include:
The cooling processing device 61 and the prebaking devices 62 and 63 are respectively stacked in three stages from the bottom.

On the back side (upper side in FIG. 1) of the coating and developing processing apparatus 1 with the main transfer device 20 interposed, a first developing processing apparatus group 70 and a second developing processing apparatus group 75 are arranged in parallel. ing. A fifth thermal processing apparatus group 80 is provided above the first developing processing apparatus group 70, and a second developing processing apparatus group 75 is provided above the first developing processing apparatus group 75.
A sixth group of thermal processing apparatuses 85 is arranged above the respective elements. In the first development processing apparatus group 70 and the second development processing apparatus group 75, development processing apparatuses 71 and 72 for supplying a developing solution to the wafer W in the cup CP are respectively stacked in two stages. In the fifth thermal processing unit group 80 and the sixth thermal processing unit group 85, a cooling processing unit 81 and post-baking units 82 and 83 are respectively stacked in three stages from the bottom.

In the upper part of the coating and developing apparatus 1, an FFU
(Fan / filter unit) 90 is provided. The FFU 90 forms a clean downflow 91 (downdraft) in the processing station 3 so that particles generated from the main transfer device 20 and the like flow downward.

FIG. 4 shows a first resist coating device group 50,
FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a second resist coating device group 55, a third thermal processing device group 60, and a fourth thermal processing device group 65. First
Resist coating apparatus group 50 and third thermal processing apparatus group 60
Configuration of the second resist coating apparatus group 55 and the fourth
Since the configuration of the thermal processing apparatus group 65 has the same configuration, the first resist coating apparatus group 5 has the same configuration.
0, the third thermal processing apparatus group 60 will be described as an example.

As shown in FIG. 4, the third thermal processing apparatus group 60 is stacked above the first resist coating apparatus group 50 with a support member 92 interposed therebetween. That is, on the upper surface of the resist coating device 52 of the resist coating device group 50,
Four support members 92 are provided, and the four lower corners of the cooling processing device 61 of the third thermal processing device group 60 are
2 supported. Thus, a space 93 is formed between the cooling processing device 61 and the resist coating device 52.

On the upper surface of the resist coating device 52, there is provided a guide plate 94 which is substantially triangular and whose one surface is concavely curved outward. The guide plate 94 is disposed on the rear surface side of the resist coating device 52 such that the curved surface 94a faces the front surface of the resist coating device 52.
By the guide plate 94, the flow 91a, which is a part of the down flow 91 blown from the FFU 90, is
Will be guided to. That is, the flow 91a flowing downward along the rear surface side of the third thermal processing apparatus group 60 is
Is guided into the space 93 by being guided by the surface 94a.

The fourth thermal processing apparatus group 65 is also stacked above the second resist coating apparatus group 55 with the support member 92 interposed therebetween, and is disposed between the cooling processing apparatus 61 and the resist coating apparatus 52. Is formed with a space 93. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the flow 91 a flows into the space 93 by the guide plate 94.

FIG. 5 shows a first developing device group 70 and a second developing device group 70.
7 is a perspective view of a developing processing device group 75, a fifth thermal processing device group 80, and a sixth thermal processing device group 85. FIG. The configuration of the first developing apparatus group 70 and the fifth thermal processing apparatus group 80 and the configuration of the second developing apparatus group 75 and the sixth thermal processing apparatus group 85 are also described earlier. The configuration is the same as the configuration of the arrangement of the first resist coating apparatus group 50 and the third thermal processing apparatus group 60 described above. That is, the fifth thermal processing apparatus group 80 and the sixth thermal processing apparatus group 85 are placed above the first developing processing apparatus group 70 and the second developing processing apparatus group 75 with the support member 92 interposed therebetween. Spaces 93 are formed between the developing devices 72 and the cooling devices 81, respectively. Since the guide plate 94 is arranged on the rear surface side of the upper surface of each developing device 72, the flow 91a flows into each space 93.

As shown in FIG. 6, inside the support member 92, a cooling medium such as constant temperature water whose temperature has been adjusted to, for example, 23 ° C., a cooling medium supply source (not shown) and cooling processing devices 61 and 81.
A circulating supply path 100 for circulating and supplying the circulating air is formed. Accordingly, the support member 92 has a cooling function, and the surrounding atmosphere of the support member 92 is cooled.

The interface unit 5 is provided with an extension unit 43 belonging to the second thermal processing unit group 40 and a wafer carrier 110 accessible to the post-exposure baking units 43, 43 and the like. The wafer carrier 110 can move freely in the X direction along the rail 111, move up and down in the vertical direction, and can also rotate in the θ direction. The wafer W can be transferred to the exposure device 4 and the peripheral exposure device 112.

The coating and developing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention is configured as described above. Next, the operation and effect of the coating and developing apparatus 1 will be described.

First, in the cassette station 2, the wafer carrier 11 accesses the cassette C and takes out one unprocessed wafer W. Next, the wafer W is transferred by the wafer transfer body 11 to the alignment device 33 of the first thermal processing apparatus group 30. The wafer W whose alignment has been completed by the alignment device 33 is taken out of the alignment device 33 by the main carrier device 20 and carried into the adhesion device 32 belonging to the first thermal processing device group 30. After completion of the hydrophobizing process, the wafer W is transferred to a cooling processing device 61 mounted on the first resist coating device group 50 and subjected to a predetermined cooling process. The wafer W having undergone the predetermined cooling process is transported to the first resist coating device group 50, carried into the resist coating device 51, and subjected to a predetermined coating process.

After that, the wafer W is transferred to a pre-baking device 62 mounted on the first resist coating device group 50 and subjected to a predetermined heating process. The wafer W after the completion of the heating process is transferred to the cooling processing device 41 belonging to the second thermal processing device group 40, and is subjected to a predetermined cooling process. The wafer W for which the predetermined cooling process has been completed is carried into the extension device 43 belonging to the second thermal processing device group 40 and stands by there.

Next, the wafer W is carried out of the extension device 43 by the wafer carrier 110 and carried to the peripheral exposure device 112. And the peripheral exposure device 11
The wafer W from which the unnecessary resist film in the peripheral portion has been removed in Step 2 is transferred to the exposure device 4 and subjected to a predetermined exposure process.

The wafer W, the pattern of which has been exposed by the exposure apparatus 4, is transferred to the second thermal processing apparatus group 40 by the wafer carrier 110.
To the post-exposure baking device 45
And is subjected to a predetermined heating process. The wafer W that has been subjected to the heating process after the exposure process is carried into a cooling device 81 mounted on the first developing device group 70 and subjected to a predetermined cooling process. Thereafter, the developer is conveyed to the first development processing apparatus group 70, is carried into the development processing apparatus 71, and is subjected to a predetermined development processing.

The wafer W having undergone the developing process is carried into a post-baking device 82 mounted on the first developing device group 70 and subjected to a heating process after the developing process. Thereafter, the wafer W is transferred to the first thermal processing apparatus group 30.
And is subjected to a predetermined cooling process. The transfer process of the wafer W in the developing / coating apparatus 1 is not limited to the above example, and the transfer process can be freely changed. For example, when performing the cooling process after the completion of the hydrophobic treatment, the first resist coating device group 5
The cooling processing may be performed by the cooling processing apparatus 31 belonging to the first thermal processing apparatus group 30 instead of the cooling processing apparatus 61 mounted on the upper part 0, and other resist coating processing, developing processing, The same can be said for the cooling treatment and the heating treatment.

As described above, in the embodiment of the present invention, the third thermal processing apparatus group 60 and the fourth thermal system are disposed above the first resist coating apparatus group 50 and the second resist coating apparatus group 55. The processing device group 65 is provided with a fifth thermal processing device group 8 above the first developing device group 70 and the second developing device group 75.
Since the 0th and sixth thermal processing unit groups 85 are respectively disposed, the arrangement space of the coating and developing processing unit 1 is limited.
A number of thermal processing units can be arranged. Therefore,
Developing and coating apparatus 1 without increasing floor occupation area
Can be significantly improved.

In addition, between the resist coating device 52 and the cooling device 61, and between the developing device 72 and the cooling device 81.
Spaces 93 are formed between them. Space 93
The thermal influence from the pre-baking device 62 and the post-baking device 82 is less likely to be exerted on the resist coating device 52 and the developing device 72, respectively. A flow 91a, which is a part of the downflow 91 blown from the FFU 90, flows into the space 93. Thereby, first, the atmosphere heated by the thermal influence of the pre-baking device 62 and the post-baking device 82 can be expelled from the space 93, respectively, and the heated atmosphere may be trapped in the space 93. Absent. A part of the down flow 91 that pushes particles generated by the transfer operation of the main transfer device 20 downward is used as the flow 91 a that flows into the space 93, so that the flow 91 a flows into the space 93. No blower is required. Further, particles can be driven out of the space 93.

Above each space 93, a cooling device 61,
The arrangement of the respective 81s further suppresses the thermal influence from the pre-baking device 62 and the post-baking device 82 on the resist coating device 52 and the developing device 72, respectively. In addition, a circulation supply path 100 is formed in the support member 92 that supports the cooling processing devices 61 and 81, and the cooling medium flows through the support member 92. Has been cooled. Therefore, in the resist coating device 52 and the developing device 72, the thermal effects from the pre-baking device 62 and the post-baking device 82 are further suppressed, and the temperature-sensitive resist process and developing process are preferably performed. Can be.

The wafer W that has been subjected to the favorable coating and developing process in the processing station 3 is returned to the cassette station 2 and stored in the cassette C on the cassette mounting table 10.

In the above-described embodiment, the thermal processing apparatus group including the cooling and heating processing apparatuses is arranged above one liquid processing apparatus group. However, as shown in FIG. For example, a seventh thermal processing apparatus group 120 including only the pre-baking apparatuses 62 and 63 may be disposed above the first resist processing apparatus group 50. Also in this case, the pre-baking device 62 is supported by the support member 92,
A space 93 is formed between the pre-baking device 62 and the resist processing device 52. Then, the flow 91 a flows into the space 93 by the guide plate 94.

According to this configuration, the thermal effect from the pre-baking device 62 is suppressed by the space 93 and the heated atmosphere is expelled from the space 93 by the flow 91 a flowing into the space 93. Accordingly, even in such a configuration, the resist coating device 52 is not affected by the thermal influence from the pre-baking device 62, and the resist processing can be suitably performed. Note that, for example, above the first developing device group 70,
Even if a group of thermal processing apparatuses including only the post-baking apparatuses 82 and 83 is similarly arranged, the development processing can be suitably performed.

Further, the substrate which can be used in the present invention is not limited to the wafer W as in the above-described embodiment.
It may be a substrate or a CD substrate.

[0042]

According to the first to fifth aspects of the present invention, a large number of heat treatment devices can be arranged in a limited space for disposing the treatment devices. Therefore, the processing capacity of the processing apparatus can be significantly improved without increasing the floor occupation area. In addition, even if the liquid processing apparatus and the heat processing apparatus are arranged in multiple stages, the thermal influence of the heat processing apparatus on the liquid processing apparatus can be suppressed, so that the intended liquid processing on the substrate can be performed.

In particular, according to the second aspect of the present invention, an air flow is caused to flow in a space provided between the liquid processing apparatus and the heat processing apparatus, and an atmosphere heated by the influence of the heat processing apparatus is expelled from the space. Can be. As a result, a heated atmosphere does not remain in the space. In this case, if a unique requirement is added to the third aspect, a separate dedicated blower for flowing an airflow into the space is not required, and simplification of the device can be realized.

According to the fourth and fifth aspects of the present invention, not only the space but also the cooling treatment device is interposed between the liquid treatment device and the heat treatment device. Can be suppressed. In particular, since the support member according to the fifth aspect has a cooling function, the inside of the space is cooled, and the thermal influence from the heat treatment device can be suppressed well.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a coating and developing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the coating and developing apparatus of FIG. 1 as viewed from a cassette station side.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the coating and developing apparatus of FIG. 1 as viewed from an interface unit side.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a group of resist coating apparatuses and a group of third thermal processing apparatuses in the coating and developing processing apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a development processing apparatus group and a fourth thermal processing apparatus group in the coating and development processing apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged side view of a support member according to the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a side view of another group of thermal processing apparatuses including only a group of resist coating apparatuses and a pre-baking apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 coating / developing apparatus 31, 41, 44, 61, 81 cooling processing apparatus 35, 62, 63 pre-baking apparatus 46, 82, 83 post-baking apparatus 51, 52 resist coating apparatus 71, 72 developing processing apparatus 90 FFU 91 downflow 91a flow 92 support member 93 space 94 guide plate

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A processing apparatus comprising: a liquid processing apparatus that supplies a processing liquid to a substrate in a container to perform processing; a heating processing apparatus that heats the substrate at a predetermined temperature in the container; and a transport device that transports the substrate. An apparatus, wherein a space is formed between the heat treatment device and the liquid treatment device by disposing the heat treatment device above the liquid treatment device with a support member interposed therebetween. Processing device. 2. The processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising airflow forming means for forming an airflow flowing in the space. 3. A blower for forming a downward airflow to at least one of the transfer device, the heat treatment device or the liquid treatment device from above the transfer device, and the air blown from the blower device. A guide means for guiding a part of the downdraft into the space;
The processing device according to claim 2. 4. A cooling processing device for cooling a substrate at a predetermined temperature in a container is disposed below the heating processing device, and the cooling processing device is supported by the support member. 4. The processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cooling processing apparatus is stacked above the liquid processing apparatus. 5. The processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein a supply path for supplying a cooling medium to the cooling processing apparatus is formed in the support member.