JP2000182932A - Method and device for processing substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and device for processing a substrate wherein a transfer which is an index of an evenness of film-thickness of a resist liquid and fluctuation of line thickness in circuit pattern is prevented. SOLUTION: A resist coated on a substrate G is dried before heating exposure, and development here, a chamber wherein the inside is kept at depressurized atmosphere, a stage 63 where, provided in the chamber, the substrate G after coated with resist is placed, and an exhaust mechanism where the chamber is vacuumized to keep a depressurized condition, are provided. The chamber is exhausted by an exhausting means to provide a depressurized condition so that a resist coated on the substrate is dried.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method for performing a drying process after applying a resist to a substrate such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) substrate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In manufacturing a liquid crystal display (LCD), a photoresist liquid is applied to a rectangular LCD substrate made of glass to form a resist film, and the resist film is exposed according to a circuit pattern. Developing
A circuit pattern is formed by a so-called photolithography technique.

In the step of applying the resist solution, a rectangular LCD substrate (hereinafter, referred to as a substrate) is subjected to a hydrophobic treatment (HMDS treatment) in an adhesion processing unit in order to enhance the fixability of the resist, and is cooled in a cooling unit. After cooling, it is carried into the resist coating unit.

In a resist coating unit, while a rectangular substrate is rotated while being held on a spin chuck, a resist liquid is supplied from a nozzle provided above the substrate to the center of the surface of the substrate, and centrifugal force due to the rotation of the substrate is supplied. The resist liquid is thereby diffused, whereby a resist film is applied to the entire surface of the substrate.

[0005] The substrate coated with the resist solution is carried into a heat treatment unit after the extra resist on the periphery is removed, and is subjected to a pre-bake treatment. In this heat treatment unit, in order to avoid direct contact between the heating plate and the substrate, the substrate received by the lift pins is placed on fixing pins of the heating plate and heated by heat radiation from the heating plate, so-called Proximity method is often adopted.

Next, the substrate is cooled by a cooling unit, transported to an exposure device, where a predetermined pattern is exposed, developed, and post-baked to form a predetermined resist pattern.

[0007]

However, the above L
In the photolithography process of the CD substrate, after the substrate on which the resist is applied is subjected to a pre-baking process or the like, or after the substrate is exposed and developed, the lift pin, the fixing pin, or the vacuum groove of the above-described heat treatment unit is used. May be transferred to the substrate.

Specifically, the transfer of the lift pins and the like is performed by
After the pre-bake processing, the thickness of the resist applied on the substrate is changed according to the shape of the lift pins and the like.After the exposure and development processing, the line width of the circuit pattern formed on the substrate is reduced. This is caused by a change corresponding to the shape of a lift pin or the like. Further, even when the presence of transfer is not recognized after prebaking, transfer may occur after development.

[0009] Such transfer occurs because a high-sensitivity type resist has recently been used, and the line width of a circuit pattern formed on an LCD substrate is 3 mm.
The cause is presumed to be a thinner than conventional ones of about μm, but the cause is not understood in detail, and a technique for effectively preventing such transfer has not been established.

However, as described above, the transfer of the lift pins and the like is not uniform in the thickness of the resist, and
Since it corresponds to the fluctuation of the line width of the circuit pattern,
In the coating / developing process of a substrate or a color filter, it is required to prevent such transfer from occurring on the substrate as much as possible.

In the production of a color filter used in a color liquid crystal display, a color resist is applied to a rectangular glass substrate by a photolithography process substantially similar to the photolithography process of an LCD substrate. In the same manner as described above, a problem of transfer of a pin or the like occurs.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing apparatus capable of preventing transfer, which is an index of unevenness in the thickness of a resist solution and variation in the line width of a circuit pattern. The aim is to provide a method.

[0013]

According to the present invention, to solve the above-mentioned problems, a resist applied on a substrate is formed by:
A substrate processing apparatus for performing a drying process prior to a subsequent heating process, an exposure process, and a development process, wherein a chamber capable of holding the inside in a reduced-pressure atmosphere, and a substrate provided in the chamber and coated with a resist are provided. A stage to be mounted, and an exhaust unit that exhausts the inside of the chamber to maintain a reduced pressure state are provided, and the inside of the chamber is exhausted by the exhaust unit to a reduced pressure state, so that the substrate is coated. A substrate processing apparatus is provided, wherein the resist is dried.

Further, there is provided a substrate processing method for drying a resist applied on a substrate prior to a subsequent heat treatment, exposure treatment, and development treatment, the method comprising: transporting the resist-coated substrate into a chamber; And a step of evacuating the inside of the chamber, and drying the resist on the substrate under reduced pressure in the chamber by the evacuation step.

As described above, according to the present invention, since the inside of the chamber is evacuated to dry the substrate after application of the resist therein under reduced pressure, rapid drying unlike heating the substrate does not occur. The solvent in the resist solution is gradually released, the drying of the resist can be promoted without adversely affecting the resist, and the transfer on the substrate can be effectively prevented.

In this case, a gentle evacuation is performed for a predetermined time from the start of evacuation, and then the main evacuation is performed by increasing the amount of evacuation. The drying under reduced pressure can be performed without causing inconveniences such as displacement, vibration, and generation of bubbles in the resist, which cause the above.

Further, when the inside of the chamber is returned to the normal pressure, a purge gas supply means for supplying a purge gas to the inside of the chamber is further provided, so that the inside of the chamber can be quickly returned to the normal pressure. When the purge gas is supplied gently until the pressure reaches the predetermined pressure, and then the supply amount of the purge gas is increased and the main purge is performed, problems such as displacement and vibration of the substrate and bubbles in the resist occur. Absent.

Further, the chamber includes a lower chamber including a bottom wall of the chamber, and an upper chamber which can be moved up and down relatively with respect to the lower chamber and forms a processing space therein in close contact with the lower chamber. And at least two seal members provided between the lower chamber and the upper chamber for making the space therebetween, and communicating between the space between the seal members and the inside of the chamber. Since the communication path is further provided, the space between the seal members can be exhausted through the communication path when the pressure in the chamber is reduced, and the sealing performance between the lower chamber and the upper chamber can be extremely improved. In addition, by providing at least two seal members, the inner seal member has a function of maintaining a reduced-pressure atmosphere in the chamber, and the outer seal member has dust generated when the upper chamber and the lower chamber come into contact with each other. It has a function of preventing intrusion into the chamber.

[0019] Further, a purge gas supply means for supplying a purge gas into a space between the chamber and the seal member is further provided, so that after the drying under reduced pressure,
The purge gas is supplied not only to the chamber but also to the space between the seal members to return to normal pressure, preferably to positive pressure, so that the lower chamber and the upper chamber can be easily separated from each other after drying under reduced pressure.

[0020]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an LCD substrate coating / developing processing system to which the present invention is applied.

This coating / developing processing system includes a cassette station 1 on which a cassette C accommodating a plurality of substrates G is mounted, and a plurality of processing units for performing a series of processes including resist coating and developing on the substrates G. A processing unit 2 is provided, and an interface unit 3 for transferring a substrate G between the processing unit 2 and an exposure apparatus (not shown). A cassette station 2 and an interface unit 3 are provided at both ends of the processing unit 2, respectively. Are located.

The cassette station 1 has a transport mechanism 10 for transporting an LCD substrate between the cassette C and the processing section 2. And cassette station 1
, A cassette C is loaded and unloaded. The transport mechanism 10 includes a transport arm 11 that can move on a transport path 10 a provided along the direction in which the cassettes are arranged. The transport arm 11 allows the substrate G to be moved between the cassette C and the processing unit 2.
Is carried out.

The processing section 2 is divided into a front section 2a, a middle section 2b, and a rear section 2c.
2, 13 and 14, and each processing unit is disposed on both sides of these transport paths. Then, relay portions 15 and 16 are provided between them.

The front section 2a includes a main transfer device 17 movable along the transfer path 12. On one side of the transfer path 12, two cleaning units (SCR) 21a and 21b are arranged. UV irradiation on the other side of the transport path 12
A cooling unit (UV / COL) 25, a heat treatment unit (HP) 26 and a cooling unit (COL) 27, each of which is stacked in two layers, are arranged.

The middle section 2b is provided with a main transfer device 18 movable along the transfer path 13. On one side of the transfer path 13, a resist coating unit (CT) 22 and the periphery of the substrate G are provided. An edge remover (ER) 23 for removing a portion of the resist is provided integrally with the transport path 1.
On the other side of the heat treatment unit 3, a heat treatment unit (HP) 28 having two stacked layers, and a heat treatment / cooling unit (HP /
COL) 29, and an adhesion processing / cooling unit (AD / COL) 30 in which an adhesion processing unit and a cooling unit are vertically stacked.

Further, in the present embodiment, the resist coating unit (COT) 22 and the edge remover (E
R) 23 and a vacuum drying processing unit (VD) 40
Is provided. As a result, the substrate G coated with the resist is conveyed to the reduced-pressure drying processing unit (VD) 40 and dried, and thereafter, the edge remover (ER) 2
3, the end face is processed.

Further, the rear stage 2c is provided with a main transport device 19 which can move along the transport path 14.
On one side, three development processing units 24a, 24
b and 24c are arranged, and on the other side of the transport path 14, a heat treatment unit 31 that is stacked in two layers vertically and two heat treatment units that are stacked vertically in a heat treatment unit and a cooling unit. Cooling unit (HP / CO
L) 32, 33 are arranged.

The processing section 2 includes a cleaning processing unit 21a and a resist processing unit 2 on one side of the transport path.
2. Only a spinner unit such as the development processing unit 24a is arranged, and only a heat processing unit such as a heating processing unit or a cooling processing unit is arranged on the other side.

Further, a chemical solution supply unit 34 is arranged at a portion of the relay units 15 and 16 on the side where the spinner system unit is arranged, and further, a space 35 is provided in which the main transport device can be taken in and out.

The main transfer unit 17 transfers the substrate G to and from the arm 11 of the transfer mechanism 10, and loads and unloads the substrate G to and from each processing unit of the former stage 2 a, and further transfers the substrate G to and from the relay unit 15. It has a function of transferring the substrate G between the two. Further, the main transfer device 18 is connected to the relay unit 1.
5 and transfer the substrate G to the middle section 2
b has a function of loading / unloading the substrate G to / from each processing unit and transferring the substrate G to / from the relay unit 16. Further, the main transfer device 19 transfers the substrate G to and from the relay unit 16, and loads and unloads the substrate G to and from each processing unit in the subsequent unit 2 c, and transfers the substrate G to and from the interface unit 3. Has the function of performing Note that the relay sections 15 and 16 also function as cooling plates.

The interface unit 3 includes an extension 36 for temporarily holding the substrate when transferring the substrate to and from the processing unit 2, and two buffer stages 37 provided on both sides thereof for disposing a buffer cassette. And a substrate G between these and an exposure apparatus (not shown)
And a transport mechanism 38 for carrying in and out the wafer. The transport mechanism 38 includes the extension 36 and the buffer stage 3
The transfer arm 39 is provided along the transfer path 38a provided along the arrangement direction of the transfer unit 7 and the transfer arm 39 transfers the substrate G between the processing unit 2 and the exposure apparatus. By consolidating and integrating the processing units in this manner, space saving and processing efficiency can be achieved.

In the coating / developing processing system configured as described above, the substrate G in the cassette C is transported to the processing section 2, where the ultraviolet irradiation / cooling unit (UV) of the front section 2a / COL) 25, after the surface modification / cleaning treatment and subsequent cooling, the cleaning unit (S
After the scrubber cleaning is performed in CR) 21a and 21b, and is heated and dried in one of the heat treatment units (HP) 26,
It is cooled by one of the cooling units (COL) 27.

Thereafter, the substrate G is transported to the middle section 2b,
In order to enhance the fixability of the resist, the upper part of the unit 30 is subjected to a hydrophobic treatment (HMDS treatment) in the adhesion processing unit (AD), and is cooled in the cooling unit (COL). Then, as will be described later in detail, the resist is dried by a reduced-pressure drying unit (VD) 40, and an excess resist on the periphery of the substrate G is removed by an edge remover (ER) 23. Thereafter, the substrate G is pre-baked in one of the heat processing units (HP) in the middle section 2b, and is cooled in the lower cooling unit (COL) of the unit 29 or 30.

Thereafter, the substrate G is transferred from the relay section 16 to the exposure apparatus via the interface section 3 by the main transfer apparatus 19, where a predetermined pattern is exposed. And
The substrate G is carried in again via the interface unit 3,
Development processing is performed in any of the development processing units (DEV) 24a, 24b, and 24c, and a predetermined circuit pattern is formed. The developed substrate G is subjected to post-baking in any one of the heat treatment units (HP) in the subsequent section 2c, and then cooled in the cooling unit (COL). Then, the sheet is stored in a predetermined cassette on the cassette station 1 by the transport mechanism 10.

Next, a resist coating unit (COT), a reduced-pressure drying unit (VD), and an edge remover (ER) mounted on the LCD substrate coating / developing system according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG.
And FIG. 3 shows a resist coating unit (COT);
Vacuum drying unit and edge remover (E
It is the schematic plan view and schematic side view which show R).

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the resist coating unit (COT) 22, the reduced-pressure drying unit (VD) 40, and the edge remover (ER)
23 are integrally arranged in parallel on the same stage. The substrate G on which the resist is applied by the resist coating unit (COT) is transported by a pair of transport arms 41 to a reduced-pressure drying unit (VD) 40, and the substrate is dried by the reduced-pressure drying unit (VD) 40. G is an edge remover (ER) 23 by a pair of transfer arms 42.
To be transported.

This resist coating unit (COT)
Reference numeral 22 denotes a horizontally rotatable spin chuck 51 for sucking and holding the substrate G, a bottomed opening surrounding the upper end of the spin chuck 51 and surrounding the substrate G sucked and held by the spin chuck 51 and having an upper end opening. The rotating cup 52 includes a cylindrical rotating cup 52, a lid (not shown) that covers the upper end opening of the rotating cup 52, and a drain cup 53 fixed and arranged to surround the outer periphery of the rotating cup 52. Thus, the substrate G is rotated by the spin chuck 51 when the lid (not shown) is opened when the resist liquid described below is dropped, and when the resist liquid is diffused, the substrate G is rotated by the spin chuck 51. At the same time, the rotating cup 52 with the lid (not shown) closed is rotated. In addition, on the outer periphery of the drain cup 53,
An outer cover 54 is provided.

Further, a resist coating unit (CO
T) 22 has a resist discharge nozzle arm 55 for discharging a resist liquid onto a rectangular LCD substrate G made of glass. The resist discharge nozzle arm 55 is moved to the center of the substrate G when the resist droplet falls. A resist liquid discharge nozzle 56 and a thinner discharge nozzle 57 are provided at the end of the resist discharge nozzle arm 55, and are connected to a resist supply unit (not shown) via a resist supply pipe (not shown).

A stage 71 for mounting the substrate G is provided on the edge remover (ER) 23. Two alignment means 72 for positioning the substrate G are provided at two corners on the stage 71. Is provided. As will be described later, the stage 63 of the reduced-pressure drying unit (VD) 40 is not provided with a suction means, and merely mounts the substrate G on the pins of the stage 63. Prior to the removal of the resist at the periphery of the substrate by the ER) 23, the alignment of the substrate G must be performed by the alignment mechanism 72.

On the four sides of the substrate G,
There are provided four remover heads 73 for removing extra resist from the four edges. Each of the removers 73 has a substantially U-shaped cross section so as to discharge the thinner from the inside, and is moved by a moving mechanism (not shown) along four sides of the substrate G. Thus, each remover head 73 can move along each side of the substrate G and discharge the thinner, and can remove excess resist attached to the edges of the four sides of the substrate G.

The vacuum drying unit (VD) 40 includes:
A lower chamber 61 is provided so as to cover the lower chamber 61,
Upper chamber 6 for keeping the processing space inside airtight
2 are provided. The lower chamber 61 is provided with a stage 63 on which the substrate G is mounted, and each corner of the lower chamber 61 is provided with four exhaust ports 64, and exhaust pipes communicated with the exhaust ports 64. 65 (FIG. 3) is an exhaust pump such as a turbo-molecular exhaust pump (not shown).
It is connected to the. The upper chamber 61 and the upper chamber 62 are configured to be evacuated to a predetermined vacuum degree by evacuating a processing space in a state where the upper chamber 61 and the upper chamber 62 are in close contact with each other.

This vacuum drying unit (VD) 40
The substrate G is placed on a stage 63 provided in an internal processing space where the lower chamber 61 and the upper chamber 62 are formed in close contact with each other, as shown in FIG. A plurality of fixing pins 66 for
The plurality of fixing pins 66 are attached to appropriate positions on the stage 63. And these fixing pins 6
Numeral 6 is configured so that its position can be easily changed according to the substrate. It is preferable that the fixing pins 66 are formed of substantially the same material as the substrate (glass in the present embodiment).

On the other hand, below the stage 63, an elevating shaft 67 for elevating the stage is provided. As shown in FIG. 5, the elevating shaft 67 is provided so as to be able to move up and down through the bottom wall of the lower chamber 61. Ring-shaped vacuum seal members 68 are provided near the inside and outside of the bottom wall, respectively. Is arranged. Outside the vacuum seal members 68, ring-shaped fixing members 69 for fixing these seal members are provided.

The ring-shaped vacuum seal member 68 is made of a relatively soft material, and when the inside of the chamber is reduced to a substantially vacuum state, the vacuum seal member 68 is formed.
While the inner lip 68a is in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the elevating shaft 67 to seal the elevating shaft 67, when the chamber is returned to normal pressure, the inner lip 68a releases the close contact with the elevating shaft 67. It has become.

Also, as shown in FIG.
A temperature control water passage 70 is formed as a temperature control means in the inside 7, and the temperature of the stage 63 is adjusted by flowing the temperature control water through the flow passage 70.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7, at the joint between the upper chamber 61 and the upper chamber 62, two O-seal ring grooves 81 and 82 are formed on the joint surface of the lower chamber 61, and these are formed. O seal ring groove 8
1 and 82 have O-seal rings 83 and 84, respectively.
(Seal member) is fitted. The inner O-seal ring 83 has a function of maintaining a predetermined reduced-pressure atmosphere in the chamber, and the outer O-seal ring 84 allows dust generated when the lower chamber 61 and the upper chamber 62 come into contact with each other. It has the function of preventing intrusion into the Internet.

In the bottom wall of the lower chamber 61, there is formed a communication groove 85 communicating from the outside into the chamber.
A communication groove 86 communicating with a space between the two O-seal rings 83 and 84 is formed in a vertical wall of the lower chamber 61. These communication grooves 85 and 86 are provided in the U-shaped pipe 87.
The U-shaped pipe 87 is connected to a filling pipe 88 provided with an on-off valve 89. A gas supply device (not shown) is connected to the filling pipe 88.
A purge gas such as N _{2 is} supplied from the gas supply device to the filling pipe 8.
8, through the U-shaped tube 87 and the communication grooves 85 and 86, the air is supplied to the space in the chamber and the space between the O seal rings 83 and 84. When the gas is supplied from the gas supply device into the chamber, the inside of the chamber is returned from the reduced pressure state to the normal pressure state.

In the present embodiment, when the inside of the chamber is depressurized by the exhaust pump, the gas is first exhausted relatively slowly (slow exhaust), for example, at 500 Torr.
r, and then the main exhaust is performed by increasing the exhaust amount from the start of the exhaust, for example, 0.1 to 0.2 Torr.
Reduce the pressure to r. Also, when returning the inside of the chamber from the reduced pressure state to the normal pressure state, the processing chamber is filled with the gas relatively slowly (slow purge), and then the gas is supplied at a larger supply amount than at the start of the filling ( Main purge).

Next, processing of the substrate G in the resist coating unit (COT) 22, the reduced-pressure drying unit (VD) 40, and the edge remover (ER) 23 configured as described above will be described.

First, a resist coating unit (CO
At T) 22, the substrate G is rotated by the spin chuck 41, the resist discharge nozzle arm 55 is rotated to the center of the substrate G, and the thinner nozzle 57 reaches the center of the substrate G. Is supplied to the substrate G, and the thinner is evenly spread from the center of the substrate G to the entire surrounding area by the centrifugal force. Subsequently, the resist solution nozzle 56
Reaches the center of the spin chuck 41 (the center of the substrate G), a resist solution is dropped on the center of the rotating substrate G, and is applied to the substrate G, and is spread evenly from the center of the substrate G to the entire periphery thereof by centrifugal force. Can be

The substrate G coated with the resist is transported by the transport arm 41 to the reduced-pressure drying unit (VD) 40 and subjected to reduced-pressure drying according to a procedure described later.

The dried substrate G is transferred to the transfer arm 42
Is transported to the edge remover (ER), the four removers 73 are moved along each side of the substrate G, and the excess thinner adhering to the four edges of the substrate G is removed by the thinner discharged. Thereafter, the substrate G coated with the resist is exposed and developed.

Next, the above-mentioned vacuum drying processing unit (VD)
The drying process at 40 will be described in detail. FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the reduced-pressure drying processing unit (VD).
As shown in FIG. 8, the vacuum drying processing unit (VD) 40
Then, the substrate G to which the resist has been applied is carried in by the transfer arm 41 and mounted on the fixing pins 66 of the stage 63 (S: 01).

Next, the stage 63 on which the substrate G is placed is lowered (S: 02), and the upper chamber 62 is further lowered to be in close contact with the lower chamber 61 to form an airtight processing space (S: 03). ).

Thereafter, the exhaust is first performed relatively slowly (slow exhaust), and the pressure is reduced to, for example, 500 Torr (S: 04). After a predetermined time, the main exhaust is performed by increasing the exhaust amount from the start of the exhaust, for example, 0.1 to 0.2 T
The pressure is reduced to orr (S: 05). By maintaining this reduced pressure state for a predetermined time, the resist applied to the substrate G is dried. By drying under reduced pressure in this manner, the solvent in the resist solution is gradually released, and the drying of the resist can be promoted without adversely affecting the resist. Can be prevented.

As described above, a gentle exhaust (slow exhaust) is first performed, and then the main exhaust is performed by increasing the exhaust amount.
Drying under reduced pressure can be performed without causing inconveniences such as displacement, vibration, and the like, which cause coating unevenness on the substrate G on the stage 63, and generation of bubbles in the resist.

In this case, two O seal rings 83,
Since the space between 84 is communicated with the inside of the chamber through the communication groove 86, the U-shaped pipe 87, and the communication groove 85, the on-off valve 89 is closed, and the inside of the chamber is evacuated to reduce the pressure. Not only the inside of the chamber but also the space between the O-seal rings 83 and 84 is exhausted under reduced pressure. Thereby, the sealing performance between the lower chamber 61 and the upper chamber 62 can be made extremely good.

When the inside of the chamber is returned from the reduced pressure state to the normal pressure state after the completion of the pressure reduction processing, first, the opening / closing valve 89 is opened to supply the purge gas into the chamber relatively slowly (slow purge). (S: 06), after a predetermined time, the main purge is performed by increasing the supply amount from that at the start of the purge gas supply (S: 07). Also in this case, there is no inconvenience that the substrate G is displaced or vibrated or bubbles are generated in the resist, unlike the case where the purge gas is rapidly supplied first.

To return the chamber from a reduced pressure state to a normal pressure state, the on-off valve 89 is opened, and a gas supply device (not shown) is connected to the chamber via the filling pipe 88 and the communication grooves 85 and 86. O seal ring 8
The space between 3,84 is also filled with gas. for that reason,
The joint surface between the lower chamber 61 and the upper chamber 62 that are in close contact with each other via the O seal rings 83 and 84 can be easily separated. In this case, the lower chamber 61
From the viewpoint of separating the upper chamber 62 and the upper chamber 62 more easily, it is preferable that the space in the chamber and between the O-seal rings 83 and 84 have a positive pressure.

Next, after the above series of processing is completed, the upper chamber 62 is moved up (S: 08), the stage 63 is moved up (S: 09), and the substrate G is moved by the transfer arm 42 to the edge remover (ER). 23 (S: 10).

In this embodiment, in addition to the above basic effects, the following effects can be obtained. For example, an elevating shaft 67 for elevating the stage 63
And only one sealing portion is required, so that the chamber can be sealed with high efficiency and certainty during the drying under reduced pressure.

Further, if the positions of the plurality of fixing pins 66 for mounting the substrate G can be easily changed on the stage 63, the pins 66 are located at positions where the influence of the transfer is small depending on the substrate. Can be arranged.

Further, the temperature control water flow path 7 of the elevating shaft 67
When the temperature of the stage 63 is adjusted to be substantially the same as that of the substrate G by supplying the temperature control water to 0, the substrate G is hardly affected by the temperature of the stage 63 and the transfer of the fixing pins 66 is performed. It can be suppressed effectively.

Further, by making the plurality of fixing pins 66 the same material as the substrate G, the temperature of the fixing pins 66 can be reduced.
Can be maintained at substantially the same temperature as above, the influence of the temperature from the fixing pins 66 to the substrate G can be reduced, and the transfer of the fixing pins 66 can be suppressed.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible. For example, in the above embodiment, the resist coating / developing process of the LCD substrate is described. However, other substrates to be processed other than those for the LCD substrate, for example, a color filter substrate of the LCD substrate, or a resist coating / developing process of the semiconductor wafer. It can also be applied to processing.

[0066]

As described above, according to the present invention,
By exhausting the inside of the chamber, the substrate after application of the resist in it is dried under reduced pressure, so that the solvent in the resist solution is gradually released without rapid drying as in the case of heating the substrate, and the resist is removed. Drying of the resist can be promoted without any adverse effect, and transfer on the substrate can be effectively prevented.

In this case, by performing gentle exhaust for a predetermined time from the start of exhaust, and then performing main exhaust by increasing the amount of exhaust, uneven coating on the substrate on the stage as in the case of performing strong exhaust first. The drying under reduced pressure can be performed without causing inconveniences such as displacement, vibration, and generation of bubbles in the resist, which cause the above.

Further, when the inside of the chamber is returned to the normal pressure, a purge gas supply means for supplying a purge gas into the chamber is further provided, so that the inside of the chamber can be returned to the normal pressure promptly. Slowly supply the purge gas until the pressure reaches the specified pressure, and then increase the supply amount of the purge gas to perform the main purge, thereby preventing inconveniences such as displacement of the substrate, vibration, and bubbles in the resist. can do.

Further, the chamber is composed of a lower chamber including a bottom wall of the chamber, and an upper chamber which can move up and down relatively to the lower chamber and forms a processing space therein while being in close contact with the lower chamber. And at least two seal members provided between the lower chamber and the upper chamber for making the space therebetween, and communicating between the space between the seal members and the inside of the chamber. Since the communication path is further provided, the space between the seal members can be exhausted through the communication path when the pressure in the chamber is reduced, and the sealing performance between the lower chamber and the upper chamber can be extremely improved.

Further, a purge gas supply means for supplying a purge gas to the space between the chamber and the seal member is further provided, so that after the drying under reduced pressure,
The purge gas is supplied not only to the chamber but also to the space between the seal members to return to normal pressure, preferably to positive pressure, so that the lower chamber and the upper chamber can be easily separated from each other after drying under reduced pressure.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an LCD substrate coating / developing processing system to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing a resist coating unit, a reduced-pressure drying unit, and an edge remover incorporated in the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic side view showing a resist coating unit, a reduced-pressure drying unit, and an edge remover incorporated in the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a reduced-pressure drying processing unit according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view showing a seal portion of the reduced-pressure drying processing unit shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a temperature control mechanism in the reduced-pressure drying unit shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view of a joint between an upper chamber and a lower chamber of the reduced-pressure drying unit shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a process in a reduced-pressure drying processing unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 22; resist coating processing unit 23; edge remover 40; reduced pressure drying processing unit 61; lower chamber 62; upper chamber 63; stage 64; exhaust port 65; exhaust pipe 66; 84; O-ring for sealing 85, 86; communication groove (communication means) 87; U-shaped groove 88; filling tube 89; on-off valve G;

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page F term (reference) 3L113 AA01 AB10 AC11 AC21 AC24 AC45 AC46 AC53 AC54 AC63 AC67 AC76 AC77 AC78 AC90 BA34 CA16 DA01 DA07 DA17 DA19 DA24 5F046 KA10

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A substrate processing apparatus for drying a resist applied on a substrate prior to a subsequent heat treatment, exposure treatment, and development treatment, comprising: a chamber capable of holding an interior in a reduced-pressure atmosphere; A stage on which the substrate after the application of the resist is placed, and an exhaust unit for exhausting the inside of the chamber and maintaining the chamber in a reduced pressure state, wherein the exhaust unit exhausts the inside of the chamber. A substrate processing apparatus characterized in that a resist applied on a substrate is dried by reducing the pressure to a reduced pressure. 2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the exhaust unit performs a gentle exhaust for a predetermined time from the start of the exhaust, and then performs a main exhaust by increasing an exhaust amount. 3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a purge gas supply unit that supplies a purge gas into the chamber when the inside of the chamber is returned to normal pressure. 4. The chamber includes a lower chamber including a bottom wall of the chamber, and an upper chamber that is movable up and down relative to the lower chamber to form a processing space therein while being in close contact with the lower chamber. And at least two seal members provided between the lower chamber and the upper chamber for making the space therebetween, and communicating between a space between the seal members and the inside of the chamber. 3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a communication path that communicates with the substrate. 4. 5. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a purge gas supply unit that supplies a purge gas to a space between the chamber and the seal member. 6. A substrate processing method for drying a resist applied on a substrate prior to a subsequent heat treatment, exposure treatment, and development treatment, comprising: transporting the resist-coated substrate into a chamber. Exhausting the inside of the chamber, and drying the resist on the substrate under reduced pressure in the chamber by the exhausting step. 7. The substrate processing method according to claim 6, wherein, in the evacuation step, a gentle evacuation is performed for a predetermined time from the start of evacuation, and then the main evacuation is performed by increasing the amount of evacuation. 8. The substrate processing method according to claim 6, further comprising a step of supplying a purge gas into the chamber after the drying under reduced pressure is completed in the evacuation step. 9. The purge gas supply step according to claim 8, wherein the purge gas is supplied gently until the pressure in the chamber reaches a predetermined pressure, and then the supply amount of the purge gas is increased to perform the main purge. Substrate processing method.