JP2000195773A - Development processing method and developer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable to shorten a development time or eliminate exposure in an exposing process by quickening development, eliminate dispersion of the development process, and improve uniformity of line width. SOLUTION: A developer is applied on a post-exposure semiconductor wafer W and the development is conducted. At this time, after the developer is dropped from a developer-supplying nozzle 86 and applied on the wafer, a tip of the nozzle is contacted to or desirably soaked in the developer L, and the wafer W and the nozzle 86 are relatively moved to stir the developer L on the wafer W.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a developing method and a developing apparatus for performing a developing process after exposure on a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in a coating / developing processing system for a photolithography step in a semiconductor device manufacturing process, a resist coating process for forming a resist film on a surface of a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter, referred to as a "wafer") is performed. After the exposure process is performed on the wafer after the application, a development process of developing the wafer is performed.

In this development processing, a wafer having a predetermined pattern exposed, post-exposure bake processing and cooling processing is carried into a development processing unit and mounted on a spin chuck. A developer is supplied from a developer supply nozzle and applied to the entire surface of the wafer so as to have a thickness of, for example, 1 mm to form a developer paddle. The developer paddle is stopped for a predetermined time in a state where it is formed,
The development process proceeds by natural convection. Thereafter, the wafer is rotated by the spin chuck to shake off the developing solution, and then the rinsing solution is discharged from the cleaning solution supply nozzle to wash away the developing solution remaining on the wafer. afterwards,
The spin chuck is rotated at a high speed, and the developing solution and the rinsing solution remaining on the wafer are blown off to dry the wafer. Thus, a series of development processing ends.

[0004]

By the way, during the developing process, the developing solution is merely stopped on the wafer, and the developing speed is left to the natural convection of the developing solution. Therefore, the line width and uniformity after the development greatly depend on the conditions at the time of forming the developer paddle. On the wafer, the developing solution in which the resist has already been dissolved and the developing solution in which the resist has not been dissolved are present without being mixed so much. Have been.

[0005] When the development processing speed is slow, the amount of exposure must be increased in the preceding exposure step in order to maintain a predetermined line width and uniformity of the circuit pattern.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is possible to promote development to shorten the development processing time or to reduce the exposure amount in the exposure processing, and to reduce the variation in the development processing. An object of the present invention is to provide a developing method and a developing apparatus having high uniformity of line width.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a developing method for applying a developing solution to a substrate after an exposure process and performing a developing process. After applying the developing solution to the substrate by dripping the developing solution from the nozzle, the tip of the nozzle is brought into contact with the developing solution to cause relative movement between the substrate and the nozzle, thereby stirring the developing solution on the substrate. A developing method is provided.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a developing apparatus for applying a developing solution to a substrate after an exposure process and performing a developing process. A developing solution supply nozzle, moving means for moving at least one of the substrate and the nozzle, and applying the developing solution to the substrate by dropping the developing solution from the nozzle, and then bringing the nozzle into contact with the developing solution on the substrate. And a control unit that controls the position of the nozzle and the moving unit so as to cause relative movement between the substrate and the nozzle in the state.

According to the present invention, after the developer is dropped from the nozzle to apply the developer to the substrate, the tip of the nozzle is brought into contact with the developer to cause relative movement between the substrate and the nozzle. Then, the developing process is advanced by stirring the developing solution on the substrate. Therefore, by stirring the developing solution by the developing solution nozzle, the developing solution in which the resist has already been dissolved and the developing solution in which the resist has not been dissolved can be sufficiently mixed on the substrate, and the development can be uniformly performed over the entire surface of the substrate. Can be done. Therefore, the development speed can be increased, and the development processing time can be reduced. In addition, as a result of the development speed being increased, in the exposure process of the previous process,
The exposure amount in the exposure processing can be reduced. Furthermore, as a result of uniform progress of development, variation in development is small and uniformity of line width can be increased. further,
Since the developing solution on the substrate is agitated by the nozzle as described above, the above-described effect can be obtained with almost no change in existing equipment.

In the above developing method, the relative movement between the substrate and the nozzle may be performed by stopping the nozzle and rotating the substrate, or stopping the substrate and rotating the nozzle.
Preferably, the relative rotation is caused by either rotating the substrate and the nozzle in opposite directions. In order to stir the developer effectively, it is preferable that the tip of the nozzle is immersed in the developer. Further, when stirring the developing solution, the height of the tip of the nozzle is preferably 0.3 to 3 mm, and more preferably 0.5 to 1.0 mm from the viewpoint of obtaining a more uniform line width. preferable. Still further, it is preferable that, when causing relative rotation between the substrate and the nozzle, the rotation speed be not less than 20 rpm and less than 40 rpm.

Further, in the above-mentioned developing device, the moving means may have a rotating mechanism for rotating at least one of the substrate and the nozzle to cause a relative rotational movement between the substrate and the nozzle. A scanning mechanism that scans at least one of the substrate and the nozzle and causes relative translation between them may be provided. The nozzle preferably has a rod-shaped main body having a length equal to or larger than the diameter of the substrate, and a plurality of or slit-shaped developer discharge ports along the lower surface thereof. Further, since the nozzle comes into contact with the developing solution, it is preferable to further have a nozzle cleaning mechanism.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 3 are views showing the overall configuration of a semiconductor wafer coating / developing processing system to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied. FIG. 1 is a plan view, FIG. 2 is a front view, and FIG. Each is shown.

As shown in FIG. 1, the coating / developing processing system 1 loads a plurality of wafers W as substrates to be processed into a wafer cassette CR from a system, for example, a unit of 25 wafers, or unloads wafers from the system. A cassette station 10 for loading and unloading wafers W into and out of the wafer cassette CR, and various single-wafer processing units for performing predetermined processing on the wafers W one by one in a coating and developing process. An interface unit 12 for transferring a wafer W between a processing station 11 arranged in multiple stages at a predetermined position and an exposure apparatus (not shown) provided adjacent to the processing station 11 is integrally connected. It has a configuration.

In the cassette station 10, FIG.
As shown in FIG.
At a position 0a, a plurality of wafer cassettes CR, for example, up to four wafer cassettes CR are placed in a line in the X direction with their respective wafer entrances facing the processing station 11 side. A wafer carrier 21 that can move in the wafer arrangement direction (Z direction: vertical direction) of the wafers stored in the cassette selectively accesses each wafer cassette CR.

Furthermore the wafer transfer member 21 is configured to be rotatable in θ direction, alignment belonging to the third multi-stage unit of the processing unit group G ₃ of the processing station 11 side as described later unit (ALIM) And an extension unit (EXT).

As shown in FIG. 1, the processing station 11 is provided with a vertical transfer type main wafer transfer mechanism 22 having a wafer transfer device, and all the processing units are surrounded by one or more sets. Are arranged in multiple stages.

As shown in FIG. 3, the main wafer transfer mechanism 22 is provided with a wafer transfer device 46 inside a cylindrical support 49 so as to be able to move up and down in the vertical direction (Z direction). The cylindrical support 49 is connected to a rotation shaft of a motor (not shown), and is rotated integrally with the wafer transfer device 46 about the rotation shaft by the rotation driving force of the motor, whereby the wafer transfer is performed. The device 46 is rotatable in the θ direction.

The wafer transfer device 46 has a plurality of holding members 48 which are movable in the front-rear direction of the transfer base 47, and the transfer of the wafer W between the processing units is realized by these holding members 48. .

Further, as shown in FIG.
Processing unit group G₁, G₂, G ₃, G₄, G₅Is arranged
First and second processing unit groups
G₁, G₂The multi-stage unit is located at the front of the system (Fig. 1).
And the third processing unit group G₃of
The multi-stage unit is arranged adjacent to the cassette station 10.
And a fourth processing unit group G₄Multi-stage unit
The fifth processing is disposed adjacent to the interface section 12.
Unit group G₅Multi-stage unit is located on the rear side.
And it is possible.

As shown in FIG. 2, the first processing unit group G _1, 2 spinner-type processing units of the wafer W is mounted on a spin chuck performs predetermined processing in a cup CP, for example, a resist coating unit ( COT) and the development processing unit (DEV) are stacked in two stages from the bottom. Second processing even unit group G _2, two spinner-type processing units, for example, a resist coating unit (CO
T) and the development processing unit (DEV) are 2
It is piled up on the steps. These resist coating units (C
OT) is preferably disposed at the lower stage in this way, since the drainage of the resist solution is troublesome both mechanically and for maintenance. However, it is of course possible to appropriately arrange the upper stage as needed.

As shown in FIG. 3, the third in the processing unit group G _3, oven-type processing units of the wafer W is placed on a mounting table SP performs predetermined processing, for example, a cooling unit (COL) , An adhesion unit (AD) for performing a so-called hydrophobizing process for improving the fixability of a resist, an alignment unit (ALIM) for positioning, and an extension unit (EX)
T), a pre-baking unit (PREBAKE) for performing a heating process before the exposure process and a post-baking unit (POBAKE) for performing a heating process after the exposure process are stacked in, for example, eight stages from the bottom. Fourth processing even unit group _{G 4,} oven-type processing units, for example, a cooling unit (COL), an extension and cooling unit (EXTCOL), extension unit (EXT), a cooling unit (COL), prebaking units (PREBAKE ) And a post-baking unit (POBAKE) are stacked in order from the bottom, for example, in eight stages.

As described above, the cooling unit (COL) and the extension cooling unit (EXTCOL) having a low processing temperature are arranged in the lower stage, and the baking unit (PREBAKE), the post-baking unit (POBAKE) and the adhesion having a high processing temperature are arranged. By arranging the units (AD) in the upper stage, thermal mutual interference between the units can be reduced. Of course, a random multi-stage arrangement may be used.

As shown in FIG. 1, the interface section 12 has the same dimensions as the processing station 11 in the depth direction (X direction), but is set smaller in the width direction. A portable pickup cassette CR and a stationary buffer cassette BR are provided in front of the interface section 12.
On the other hand, a peripheral exposing device 23 is arranged on the back side, and a wafer carrier 24 is provided on the central part. The wafer carrier 24 moves in the X and Z directions to move the cassettes CR and BR and the peripheral exposure device 2.
3 is accessed. The wafer transfer body 24 is configured so as also to be rotatable in the θ direction, wherein the processing station 11 side of the fourth processing unit extension units belonging to the multi-stage units of group G ₄ (EXT) and, further Can also access a wafer transfer table (not shown) on the adjacent exposure apparatus side.

In the coating and developing system 1,
As shown in FIG. 1, a multi-stage unit of a _fifth processing unit group G5 shown by a broken line can be arranged on the back side of the main wafer transfer mechanism 22 as described above.
The multi-stage unit of the processing unit group G _5, the guide rail 2
When viewed from the main wafer transfer mechanism 22 along the line 5, it can be shifted to the side. Therefore, even in the case where the multi-stage units of the fifth processing unit group G ₅ as shown, by sliding along the guide rail 25, the space portion is secured, the main wafer transfer mechanism 22 On the other hand, maintenance work can be easily performed from behind.

Next, the developing unit (DEV) according to the present embodiment will be described. 4 and 5 are a schematic sectional view and a schematic plan view showing the entire configuration of the developing unit (DEV).

An annular cup CP is arranged at the center of the development processing unit (DEV), and a spin chuck 52 is arranged inside the cup CP. The spin chuck 52 is rotationally driven by a drive motor 54 in a state where the wafer W is fixedly held by vacuum suction. The drive motor 54 is disposed at an opening of the unit bottom plate 50 so as to be able to move up and down, and is connected to a lift drive means 60 and a lift guide means 62 such as an air cylinder via a cap-like flange member 58 made of, for example, aluminum. . A cylindrical cooling jacket 64 made of, for example, SUS is attached to a side surface of the drive motor 54, and a flange member 58 is attached so as to cover an upper half of the cooling jacket 64.

During the application of the developing solution, the lower end of the flange member 58 is in close contact with the unit bottom plate 50 near the outer periphery of the opening of the unit bottom plate 50, thereby sealing the inside of the unit.
When the wafer W is transferred between the spin chuck 52 and the main wafer transfer mechanism 22, the lifting drive mechanism 60 raises the drive motor 54 or the spin chuck 52 to move the lower end of the flange member 58 to the unit bottom plate 5.
It floats from zero. Note that a window 70 through which the wafer holding member 48 enters is formed in the housing of the development processing unit (DEV).

A developer supply nozzle 86 for supplying a developer to the surface of the wafer W is connected to a developer supply unit (not shown) via a developer supply pipe 88. The developer supply nozzle 86 is detachably attached to the tip of the nozzle scan arm 92. This scan arm 63
Is attached to the upper end of a vertical support member 96 that can move horizontally on a guide rail 94 laid in one direction (Y direction) on the unit bottom plate 50.
11 moves in the Y direction integrally with the vertical support member 96.

The developer supply nozzle 86 is provided so as to extend in the horizontal direction. When the developer is applied, as shown in FIG. Is located above. The developer supply nozzle 86 can be moved vertically (Z direction) by a Z-axis drive mechanism 112. Developer supply nozzle 86
Has a plurality of discharge ports 87 on its lower surface, as shown in FIG. 6, so that the discharged developer becomes a band as a whole. When the developing solution is applied, the developing solution is discharged from the developing solution supply nozzle 86 located above the wafer W in a strip shape, and the developing solution is rotated once, for example, by one rotation. Applied to
In discharging the developing solution, the developing solution supply nozzle 86 may be scanned along the guide rail 65 without rotating the wafer W.

The driving mechanism of the developing unit (DEV) is controlled by the control unit 110. Specifically, the drive motor 54 and the Y-axis drive mechanism 111 and the Z-axis drive mechanism 112
It is driven by the command. In the present embodiment, the control unit 11
0 controls the Z-axis drive mechanism 112 so that the lower end of the developer supply nozzle 86 is adjusted so that the lower end of the developer supply nozzle 86 comes into contact with, or preferably is immersed in, the developer laid on the wafer W. When discharging the developing solution, the driving motor 54 rotates the wafer W while discharging the developing solution while the nozzle 86 is positioned at the center of the wafer W by the Y-axis driving mechanism 111, or the developing solution is discharged. Further, the Y-axis drive mechanism 111 controls the developer supply nozzle 86 to scan in the Y-axis direction. After the supply of the developer is completed, the control unit 110 rotates the wafer W by the drive motor 54 for a predetermined time, or sets the developer supply nozzle 86 to Y
Scanning is performed in the Y-axis direction by the axis driving mechanism 111 to cause a relative movement between the wafer W and the developer supply nozzle 86 to agitate the developer.

At this time, it is preferable that the tip of the developer supply nozzle 86 is cut out toward the end of the developer L on the substrate W, as shown in FIG. This reduces the risk of the developer dissipating during the stirring of the developer. As shown in FIG. 7B, when the developer L is stirred by the developer supply nozzle 86, the relative rotation speed r between the developer supply nozzle 86 and the wafer W is increased.
Is preferably about 20 to 40 rpm. Further, as shown in FIG. 7C, the height h of the tip of the developer supply nozzle 86 from the substrate is preferably 0.3 to 3 mm, more preferably 0.5 to 1.0 mm. . Although it depends on the type of the developer, when the thickness of the developer on the wafer W is about 1.2 mm, which is a normal liquid level, the developer supply nozzle 8
6. The height of the tip is optimally about 0.7 mm. Such stirring of the developer for about 30 seconds is sufficient.

Further, the development processing unit (DEV)
It has a rinse nozzle 102 for discharging the cleaning liquid. The rinsing nozzle 102 includes a nozzle scan arm 1 movably provided on a guide rail 94 in the Y direction.
04. Thus, after the completion of the developing process with the developing solution, the cleaning solution is moved onto the wafer W and the cleaning solution is discharged onto the wafer W.

The developer supply nozzle 86 is connected to the nozzle standby section 1
15 (FIG. 5), and the standby unit 115 includes a nozzle cleaning mechanism 12 for cleaning the nozzle 86.
0 is provided. Nozzle cleaning mechanism (nozzle bath) 1
20, as shown in FIGS. 7 (a), (b) and (c),
In the main body 121, a bath chamber 122 in which the tip portion 86a of the developer supply nozzle 86 described above is mounted is formed, and a drain groove 123 is formed in the bottom surface of the bath chamber 122. Connected to tube 124. The nozzle cleaning mechanism (nozzle bath) 120 may be provided adjacent to the nozzle standby unit 115.

A pair of supply pipes 125 for supplying a cleaning liquid (pure water) and an inert gas are provided on the upper side wall of the bath chamber 122. A large number of cleaning nozzles 126 for discharging a cleaning liquid (pure water) and an inert gas are formed at a distal end portion 86 a of the nozzle 86.

The nozzle cleaning mechanism (nozzle bath) 120 includes:
With this configuration, the developer supply nozzle 86
When the distal end portion 86a is mounted in the bath chamber 122, a cleaning liquid (pure water) or an inert gas is supplied through a pair of supply pipes 125, and the cleaning liquid 126 is supplied from the cleaning nozzle 126 to the developing liquid supply nozzle 8.
6 is discharged to the tip portion 86a. Further, the developing solution is also discharged from the distal end portion 86a of the developing solution supply nozzle 86 itself for cleaning. The cleaning solution (pure water) or developer after these cleanings
It is discharged by the drain pipe 124 through the drain groove 123.

Next, the operation of the developing process in the developing unit (DEV) configured as described above will be described. A wafer W having a predetermined pattern exposed and subjected to post-exposure bake processing and cooling processing is transferred to a position directly above the cup CP by the main wafer transfer mechanism 22, and is vacuum-sucked to the spin chuck 52 raised by the lifting drive mechanism 60. .

Next, the developer supply nozzle 86 moves the wafer W
Is moved upward, and while the developer is discharged from the developer supply nozzle 86 in a strip shape, the wafer W is rotated, for example, once, so that the developer is spread over the entire surface of the wafer W by, for example, 1.2 m.
m. Further, the discharge may be performed while scanning the developer supply nozzle 86 along the guide rail 94.

After the developing solution is discharged in this manner, the wafer W is rotated while the tip of the developing solution supply nozzle 86 is in contact with the developing solution on the wafer W, preferably while it is immersed, or By scanning the nozzle 86, a relative movement is generated between the wafer W and the developer supply nozzle 86, and the developer is stirred for a predetermined time. In this case, the height of the tip of the developer supply nozzle 86 may be set to the height at the time of stirring from the stage of liquid supply, or at the time of stirring.
May be lowered to set the height.

By causing the relative movement between the wafer W and the developing solution supply nozzle 86 while immersing the tip of the nozzle 86 in the developing solution in this way, a stirring flow as shown in FIG. As described above, the developer in which the resist has already been dissolved and the developer in which the resist has not been dissolved can be sufficiently mixed, and the development can be performed uniformly over the entire surface of the wafer W. Therefore, the development speed can be increased, and the development processing time can be reduced. In addition, as a result of the development speed being increased, the exposure amount in the exposure processing can be reduced in the exposure step in the preceding step. Furthermore, as a result of uniform progress of development, variation in development is small and uniformity of line width can be increased.

Further, since the developing solution on the wafer W is agitated by the developing solution supply nozzle 86 as described above, the agitating of the developing solution can be promoted with almost no change in existing equipment, and the above-mentioned effect can be obtained. it can.

After the development process is completed for a predetermined time, the wafer W is rotated by the spin chuck 52 to shake off the developer. Thereafter, the rinsing nozzle 102 is moved above the wafer W, and the cleaning liquid is discharged from the rinsing nozzle 102 to wash away the developer remaining on the wafer W.

Next, the spin chuck 52 is rotated at a high speed, the developing solution and the cleaning solution remaining on the wafer W are blown off, and the wafer W is dried. Thus, a series of development processing ends.

Thereafter, the developing solution supply nozzle 86 to which the developing solution has adhered by the stirring of the developing solution is moved to the standby position 115 and positioned at the nozzle cleaning mechanism (nozzle bath) 120. Then, the cleaning liquid is supplied to the tip of the developer supply nozzle 86 for cleaning. Thus, the developer supply nozzle 8
By cleaning the developer 6, the developer adhering to the developer supply nozzle 87 due to the developer agitation can be promptly removed, and the next development process can be immediately dealt with.

Next, the results of actual development using the present invention will be described. Here, using the nozzle having the shape shown in FIG. 6 above, after the liquid was filled on the wafer at a height of 1.2 mm, the tip of the developer supply nozzle was immersed in the developer, and the wafer was rotated. Was stirred for 45 seconds. Such processing was performed by setting the height of the nozzle tip from the wafer and the rotation speed of the wafer under various conditions.

The results are shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. FIG. 10 shows values of the line width variation (3σ) and the critical dimension (CD) when the rotation speed is kept constant at 30 rpm and the height of the nozzle tip from the wafer is changed to 0.35 to 1.4 mm. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a variation in line width (3σ) and a critical dimension (3σ) when the height of the nozzle tip from the wafer is fixed at 0.7 mm and the rotation speed of the wafer is changed between 20 and 40 rpm. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing values of CD).

As shown in FIG. 10, it was confirmed that the variation in line width (3σ) was smaller than that of the conventional developing method in which the developing solution was not stirred, regardless of the height of the nozzle. Then, it was confirmed that the line width variation was particularly small when the height of the nozzle tip was 0.7 mm from the wafer. Judging from this graph, the tip height of the nozzle is 0.5 ~
It is considered that about 1.0 mm is more preferable.

Further, as shown in FIG.
It was confirmed that the variation in line width was small to some extent even at 0 rpm, but the variation in line width was particularly small when the rotation speed was 30 rpm. However, at 40 rpm, the variation in line width was rather large. From this, it is considered that the rotation speed during the stirring of the developer is preferably 20 rpm or more and less than 40 rpm.

The height of the nozzle tip from the wafer is 0.7 m
FIG. 12 shows the results of comparison of the line width variation (3σ) between the example in which the rotation speed was 30 rpm and the comparative example in which the stirring of the developer was not performed. As shown in this figure, it is clearly shown that the variation in line width is reduced by employing the present invention.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be variously modified. For example, the developer supply nozzle 86 is not limited to the one described above.
As shown in FIG. 3A, a slit-shaped developer discharge port 87 ′
May be provided. Further, the developing solution supply nozzle is not limited to the one extending over the diameter of the wafer, and may have a length corresponding to the radius of the wafer, for example, as shown in FIG. Further, the shape of the nozzle may not be linear in the width direction, and may be, for example, a curved shape as shown in FIGS. 13C and 13D. If the curve is formed so as to receive the developing solution when the wafer and the nozzle are relatively rotated, the risk of the developing solution falling can be reduced.

Further, in this embodiment, the developer is stirred by rotating the wafer and stopping the developer supply nozzle.
Alternatively, the developer is agitated by stopping the wafer and scanning the developer supply nozzle, but the invention is not limited thereto, and the developer supply nozzle may be rotated, the wafer may be scanned, or both may be used. May be rotated or scanned. However, rotating the wafer or scanning the nozzle can effectively use existing equipment, and it is necessary to provide a new mechanism for rotating the developer supply nozzle and a new mechanism for scanning the wafer. There is no advantage. Further, the relative movement between the wafer and the developer supply nozzle during the stirring of the developer is not limited to the rotational movement or the parallel movement as described above, but may be another movement mode.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the coating / developing processing system for a semiconductor wafer has been described. However, the present invention is applied to a coating / developing processing system for a substrate other than the semiconductor wafer, for example, an LCD substrate. Can be applied.

[0052]

As described above, according to the present invention,
After applying the developing solution to the substrate by dropping the developing solution from the nozzle, the tip of the nozzle is brought into contact with the developing solution to cause relative movement between the substrate and the nozzle, thereby stirring the developing solution on the substrate. Since the developing process proceeds by this, the developing solution in which the resist has already been dissolved and the developing solution in which the resist has not been dissolved can be sufficiently mixed on the substrate by stirring the developing solution by the developing solution nozzle. Can be performed uniformly over the entire surface of the substrate. Therefore, the development speed can be increased, and the development processing time can be reduced. In addition, as a result of the development speed being increased, the exposure amount in the exposure processing can be reduced in the exposure step in the preceding step. Furthermore, as a result of uniform progress of development, variation in development is small and uniformity of line width can be increased. Further, since the developing solution on the substrate is stirred by the nozzle as described above, the above-described effect can be obtained with almost no change in existing equipment.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the overall configuration of a semiconductor wafer coating and developing processing system to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing the entire configuration of a semiconductor wafer coating and developing processing system to which the present invention is applied;

FIG. 3 is a rear view showing the overall configuration of a semiconductor wafer coating and developing processing system to which the present invention is applied;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the overall configuration of a developing unit mounted in the resist coating and developing system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a developing unit mounted on the resist coating and developing system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a developer supply nozzle used in the development processing unit.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a state in which a developer is stirred by a developer supply nozzle.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a cleaning mechanism of a developer supply nozzle mounted on the development processing unit.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing a stirring flow when a developer is stirred by a developer supply nozzle.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the relationship between the height of the tip of the developer supply nozzle from the substrate, the line width variation, and the CD when the developer is stirred.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the relationship between the rotational speed of a substrate, line width variation, and CD during stirring of a developer.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a comparison of line width variation between an example in which the developer is stirred and a comparative example in which the developer is not stirred.

FIG. 13 is a view showing another example of the developer supply nozzle.

[Explanation of symbols]

 22 main wafer transfer mechanism 52 spin chuck 54 drive motor 86 developer supply nozzle 102 rinse nozzle 110 control unit 111 Y-axis drive mechanism 112 Z-axis drive mechanism DEV … Development processing unit L …… Developer W …… Semiconductor wafer (substrate)

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A developing method for applying a developing solution to a substrate after an exposure process and performing a developing process, wherein the developing solution is dropped from a nozzle to apply the developing solution to the substrate, and then the tip of the nozzle is removed. A developing method comprising contacting a developing solution to cause relative movement between a substrate and a nozzle to stir the developing solution on the substrate. 2. The relative movement between the substrate and the nozzle,
A relative rotational movement caused by either stopping the nozzle to rotate the substrate, stopping the substrate to rotate the nozzle, or rotating the substrate and the nozzle in opposite directions. Item 6. The developing method according to Item 1. 3. The relative movement between the substrate and the nozzle,
The method according to claim 1, wherein the movement is parallel movement caused by scanning one of a nozzle and a substrate. 4. The developing method according to claim 1, wherein the tip of the nozzle is immersed in a developer. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the height of the tip of the nozzle from the substrate is 0.3 to 3 mm when stirring the developer. Development processing method. 6. The height of the tip of the nozzle from the substrate is 0.
The developing method according to claim 5, wherein the thickness is 5 to 1.0 mm. 7. The developing method according to claim 2, wherein a relative rotation speed between the substrate and the nozzle is not less than 20 rpm and less than 40 rpm. 8. A developing apparatus for applying a developing solution to a substrate after the exposure processing and performing a developing process, comprising: a developing solution supply nozzle for supplying and applying the developing solution to the substrate; Moving means for moving at least one of the first and second liquids, the developer is dropped from the nozzle to apply the liquid to the substrate, and then the nozzle is brought into contact with the liquid developer on the substrate. A developing means for controlling the position of the nozzle and the moving means so as to cause the movement. 9. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said moving means has a rotating mechanism for rotating at least one of the substrate and the nozzle to cause a relative rotational movement therebetween. Development processing equipment. 10. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the moving unit has a scanning mechanism that scans at least one of the substrate and the nozzle and causes a relative translation between the substrate and the nozzle. Development processing equipment. 11. The nozzle according to claim 1, wherein the nozzle has a rod-shaped main body having a length equal to or larger than the diameter of the substrate, and a plurality of or slit-shaped developing solution discharge ports along a lower surface thereof. The development processing apparatus according to claim 8. 12. The development processing apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a cleaning mechanism for cleaning the nozzle.