JP2000299268A - Stripping apparatus and method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a stripping apparatus which is capable of easily changing a processing time for a substrate, corresponding to the state of a film regardless of the size of a processing chamber and a transfer speed. SOLUTION: A wafer W is loaded into a stripping chamber 2 by a roller conveyer 1, and the wafer W is made to reciprocate cyclically. A control device 21 drives and controls a pump 19 provided in a liquid feed mechanism 10 through the intermediary of an inverter 20. When the wafer W is reciprocated, a stripping solution is supplied with a low pressure from a nozzle 11 to the wafer W, and a film formed on the surface of the wafer W swells up. After the stripping solution is fed at a low pressure to the substrate W for a prescribed time, then the stripping solution is supplied from the nozzle 11 with a high pressure to the wafer W, by which the swollen photoresist film is stripped off. After the stripping solution is fed at a high pressure to the wafer W for a prescribed time, the substrate W is transferred to a cleaning chamber 4.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for peeling off a film formed on the surface of a substrate such as a glass substrate used for manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel or a plasma display panel, a semiconductor wafer, and a mask substrate for a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus. And a stripping method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a photolithography process, for example, a photoresist film is formed on the surface of a substrate to be processed, and a desired patterning is performed by performing a process such as exposure, development, and etching. Thereafter, the photoresist film remaining on the substrate is peeled off. FIG. 3 shows an example of a peeling device for performing such a peeling process. This apparatus 90 is provided with two processing chambers, a first processing chamber 91 and a second processing chamber 92, and is provided with a roller conveyor 93 so as to pass through the two processing chambers. The roller conveyor 93 conveys the substrate W in a horizontal posture in the direction of the arrow in the figure. The first processing chamber 91 is provided with a low-pressure nozzle 94 for spraying a stripping liquid at a low pressure on the substrate W transferred by the roller conveyor 93. In the second processing chamber 92, a high-pressure nozzle 95 for spraying a stripping liquid at a high pressure on the substrate W conveyed by the roller conveyor 93 is provided.

In such an apparatus, the substrate W is first
While passing through the processing chamber 91, the surface is covered with a stripping solution supplied at a low pressure, and during that time, the photoresist film is swollen with the stripping solution. Subsequently, the substrate W is placed in the second processing chamber 9.
2, the physical impact force of the stripping solution sprayed at a high pressure is applied to the photoresist coating on the surface of the substrate W, and the photoresist coating is stripped off. Subsequently, the substrate W is conveyed to a cleaning processing chamber (not shown) provided on the right side in the figure, is cleaned with pure water, and is further conveyed to a drying processing chamber (not shown) to be dried.

[0004]

In the apparatus shown in FIG. 3, since the substrate W is transported at a constant speed by the roller conveyor 93, the processing time for supplying and processing the release liquid depends on the size of the processing chamber and the transport speed. It is difficult to change the processing time according to the state of the coating or the like. An object of the present invention is to provide a peeling device capable of easily changing a processing time.

In the apparatus shown in FIG. 3, the processing time for discharging the stripping liquid at a low pressure and the processing time for discharging the stripping liquid at a high pressure are also determined, and the time is changed according to the state of the film. It was difficult to do. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a peeling apparatus capable of freely changing and setting the time of a processing step by low-pressure discharge and the time of a processing step by high-pressure discharge.

In the apparatus shown in FIG. 3, the processing for discharging the stripping liquid at a low pressure and the processing for discharging the stripping liquid at a high pressure are performed in separate processing chambers, and two processing chambers are required. Was. An object of the present invention is to provide a peeling device that can reduce the size of the device.

In the apparatus shown in FIG. 3, the coating is swollen by a stripping solution supplied at a low pressure, and then the coating is stripped and removed by a physical impact force of the stripping solution supplied at a high pressure. Here, the swelling of the coating proceeds from the surface in contact with the stripper, but as the thickness of the coating increases, the surface of the coating easily swells, but swelling in the thickness direction of the coating does not easily progress. There are drawbacks in that the film cannot be sufficiently removed, or that the treatment takes a very long time. An object of the present invention is to provide a peeling device and a peeling method capable of efficiently swelling and peeling and removing a thick film even in a short time.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a peeling apparatus having a high degree of freedom in selecting a processing process.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a chamber constituting a processing chamber for processing a substrate, a supporting mechanism for supporting the substrate in the processing chamber, and the supporting mechanism supported by the supporting mechanism. A liquid supply mechanism capable of supplying a processing liquid to the substrate in the processing chamber at a low pressure and a high pressure, control means for controlling the operation of the liquid supply mechanism, and a position where the processing liquid is supplied to the substrate by the liquid supply mechanism. And a relative moving mechanism for moving the substrate relatively and periodically with respect to the liquid supply mechanism so as to change the liquid supply mechanism.

According to this structure, the substrate is reciprocated in the processing chamber only for the time required for the processing, and the processing is performed during the reciprocating operation. The processing time can be easily changed. Further, the respective times of the processing step of discharging the stripping liquid at a low pressure and the processing step of discharging the stripping liquid at a high pressure can be freely changed and set. Further, the process of discharging the stripper at a low pressure and the process of discharging the stripper at a high pressure are performed in one processing chamber, so that the apparatus can be downsized.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the stripping apparatus of the first aspect, the liquid supply mechanism supplies a processing liquid at a low pressure to a substrate supported by the support mechanism;
A high-pressure supply mechanism for supplying a processing liquid at a high pressure to the substrate supported by the support mechanism.

According to this configuration, since the low-pressure supply mechanism and the high-pressure supply mechanism are separately provided, they can be operated at the same time, and the degree of freedom in selecting the processing process is high.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the stripping apparatus of the second aspect, the control means controls the high-pressure supply mechanism to operate after the low-pressure supply mechanism is operated. .

According to this structure, the film to be peeled can be swelled by first supplying the processing liquid at a low pressure and then supplying the processing liquid at a high pressure so that the film can be peeled and removed well.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the peeling apparatus of the second aspect, the control means controls the low-pressure supply mechanism and the high-pressure supply mechanism to operate alternately.

According to this configuration, the swelling and peeling removal can be efficiently performed in a short time by repeatedly swelling the coating film to be peeled by supplying a low-pressure processing liquid and peeling it by supplying a high-pressure processing liquid.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the stripping apparatus of the second aspect, a low-pressure nozzle provided in the low-pressure supply mechanism for discharging a processing liquid onto the substrate, and a processing apparatus for the substrate provided in the high-pressure supply mechanism. A high-pressure nozzle for discharging a liquid, and the liquid discharge regions on the surface of the substrate are arranged so that the respective liquid discharge regions are alternately positioned along a relative movement direction by the relative movement mechanism; The supply mechanism and the high-pressure supply mechanism are controlled to operate simultaneously.

According to this structure, swelling and peeling removal can be efficiently performed in a short time by repeating swelling by supplying a low-pressure processing liquid and peeling by supplying a high-pressure processing liquid to a portion of the substrate.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the stripping apparatus of the first aspect, the liquid supply mechanism can supply a processing liquid at a low pressure or a high pressure to a substrate in the processing chamber supported by the support mechanism. And a liquid feeding mechanism that supplies a processing liquid to the nozzle and that can switch the supply pressure between a low pressure and a high pressure.

According to this configuration, the nozzle and the liquid sending mechanism are used for both high-pressure discharge and low-pressure discharge, and the apparatus can be reduced in size and cost.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the stripping apparatus of the sixth aspect, after the control means operates the liquid feeding mechanism to supply the processing liquid to the nozzle at a low pressure, the processing liquid is supplied to the nozzle. The liquid supply mechanism is controlled to operate so as to supply at a high pressure.

According to this configuration, the film to be peeled can be swelled by first supplying the processing liquid at a low pressure and then supplying the processing liquid at a high pressure so that the film can be removed and satisfactorily removed.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the peeling apparatus of the sixth aspect, the control means alternately switches the operation of the liquid feeding mechanism between a low pressure and a high pressure of the supply pressure of the processing liquid to the nozzle. Characterized by the following:

According to this structure, swelling and peeling removal can be efficiently performed in a short time by repeating swelling by supplying a low-pressure processing liquid and peeling by supplying a high-pressure processing liquid to the film to be peeled.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a first step of supplying a stripper at a low pressure to a film adhered to the surface of the substrate, and a step of supplying a stripper at a high pressure to the film adhered to the surface of the substrate. This is a stripping method, wherein a set of two steps is repeatedly performed a plurality of times.

According to this configuration, the swelling and peeling removal of the film to be peeled can be performed efficiently and reliably in a short time by repeating the swelling by supplying the low-pressure processing liquid and the peeling by supplying the high-pressure processing liquid. .

[0027]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a main part of a first embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. This substrate processing apparatus has a rectangular glass substrate W
(Hereinafter, simply referred to as the substrate W) in a horizontal posture or a slightly inclined posture, while being conveyed horizontally from left to right in the figure by the roller conveyor 1, while supplying a stripping liquid as a processing liquid to the substrate W. This is a stripping apparatus for performing a stripping process and supplying pure water after the process to perform a cleaning process. This substrate W
Is a film in which a photoresist film to be peeled is adhered to the surface thereof through a process such as formation of a photoresist film, exposure, development, and etching. Although not shown, a drying processing unit for performing a drying process by supplying dry air to the substrate W or rotating the substrate W after that is provided on the right side of FIG. The substrate processing apparatus includes a release processing unit that performs processing using a release liquid,
The cleaning unit includes a cleaning unit for performing a cleaning process and a drying unit for performing a drying process.
Only shown.

A separation processing chamber 2 for performing the separation processing on the substrate W and a cleaning processing chamber 4 for performing the cleaning processing on the substrate W are defined by the chamber components 3. Further, the chamber constituting body 3 is formed with an opening 5 for carrying the substrate W into and out of the separation processing chamber 2 and the cleaning processing chamber 4, and the substrate W is loaded into the separation processing chamber 2 through the opening 5, Further, a roller conveyor 1 for carrying in and out of the cleaning processing chamber 4 is provided. The substrate W is supported and transported by the roller conveyor 1 in the separation processing chamber 2 and the cleaning processing chamber 4.

A liquid supply mechanism 10 capable of supplying a processing liquid at a low pressure or a high pressure to the substrate W in the separation processing chamber 2 supported by the roller conveyor 1 is additionally provided in the separation processing chamber 2. In the liquid supply mechanism 10, the stripping solution tank 18 is connected to the opening 15 below the stripping processing chamber 2 by piping, and the stripping solution discharged from the opening 15 is received and stored in the stripping solution tank 18. The release liquid tank 18 is provided with a temperature control mechanism 14 for keeping the stored release liquid at a predetermined temperature. The stripping liquid tank 18 is connected to the nozzle 11 via a pump 19, a flow rate adjustable on-off valve 22, and a filter 23. The pump 19 is driven by the output of the inverter 20, and the output of the inverter 20 is controlled by the control device 21. By controlling the frequency of the inverter 20 by the control device 21, the pump 19 can control the drive by arbitrarily switching the discharge pressure toward the nozzle 11 side between a low pressure and a high pressure. Thereby, the nozzle 1 installed above the roller conveyor 1
No. 1 is capable of supplying a stripping liquid to the substrate W supported on the roller conveyor 1 at a low pressure or a high pressure. In addition,
The nozzle 11 may be long in the depth direction of FIG. 1 or may be a plurality of the same nozzles 1 in the depth direction of the paper.
By arranging the 1s, the processing liquid is supplied in the same state in the depth direction of the paper surface, thereby preventing processing unevenness in the depth direction of the paper surface.

The roller conveyor 1 in the separation processing chamber 2
Sensors 16 and 17 for detecting the presence or absence of the substrate W on the roller conveyor 1 and outputting a signal are provided near both ends of the roller conveyor 1, that is, near the openings 5. Sensor 16, 1
Reference numeral 7 is connected to a control device 21. When the substrate W is conveyed on the roller conveyor 1 to the sensors 16 and 17, the control device 21 detects the substrate W based on output signals from the sensors 16 and 17. . Roller conveyor 1
The operation is controlled by the control device 21 as described later. In the roller conveyor 1, in particular, a portion located in the separation processing chamber 2 has a reversible rotating motor (see FIG. (Not shown), and the substrate W carried on the roller conveyor 1 can be periodically reciprocated between the sensors 16 and 17 in the separation processing chamber 2.

The nozzle 11 is a high-pressure spray nozzle that supplies the substrate W in a high-pressure spray form when the release liquid is supplied at a high pressure. It is supplied to the substrate W in the form of a low pressure spray. In addition, a cover member 9 is provided around each nozzle 11 to prevent the stripping liquid discharged from the nozzle 11 at high pressure from becoming mist and scattering around.

A nozzle 24 for supplying pure water in a spray form to the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate W carried by the roller conveyor 1 from the separation processing chamber 2 for cleaning is provided in the cleaning processing chamber 4. 1 are provided above and below. Pure water from a pure water supply source 29 is pressurized by a pump 30 and connected to a nozzle 24 via an on-off valve 31 and a filter 32 that can adjust the flow rate. In addition, a filter 33 for cleaning and taking in the surrounding downdraft is provided at the upper part of the cleaning processing chamber 4. In addition, an opening 34 is formed in a lower portion of the cleaning processing chamber 4 for discharging the taken-down airflow and discharging the used pure water.

The control device 21 includes the inverter 20 described above.
In addition, it is also connected to the pump 30, the on-off valves 22 and 31, the roller conveyor 1 and the like (not shown). Take control. In particular, when the stripping solution is supplied to the substrate W in the stripping processing chamber 2,
Indicates that the substrate W is conveyed from left to right in the figure and the sensor 17
Is detected, the peeling processing chamber 2 is detected.
The drive source of the roller conveyor 1 is rotated in the reverse direction to convey the substrate W from right to left in the drawing. Then, when the substrate reaches the position of the sensor 16 next, the substrate W is transported from left to right in the drawing by rotating the driving source forward. The control device 21 can reciprocate the substrate W periodically within a predetermined range in the separation processing chamber 2 by repeating the control operation. Then, when the processing in the separation processing chamber 2 for the substrate W is completed by the reciprocating movement, the drive source of the roller conveyor 1 is rotated forward to convey the substrate W beyond the position of the sensor 17 to the right in the drawing. , Can be sent to the cleaning processing chamber 4.

Next, the operation of the peeling apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described. First, as a first step, when it is detected by the sensor 16 that the substrate W to be subjected to the peeling process is conveyed by the roller conveyor 1 and loaded into the peeling processing chamber 2, the control device 21 causes the pump 19 to lower the discharge pressure. The stripper is supplied from the nozzle 11 to the substrate W being conveyed in a spray state at a low pressure. In the first step, the stripping solution supplied onto the substrate W at a low pressure does not collide with the surface of the substrate W and rebound and scatter around the substrate W as when supplied at a high pressure. A liquid film is formed on the surface, and sufficiently contacts the film to be peeled off, that is, the photoresist film adhered to the surface of the substrate W to swell the film. This first step is
The swelling is continued for a predetermined time during which the swelling sufficiently proceeds, and during that time, the supply of the stripping solution in a low pressure state is continued. During this time, the temperature-controlled stripping solution is continuously supplied to the substrate W, so that there is no inconvenience that the temperature of the stripping solution that touches the substrate W during the process decreases.

If the substrate W is conveyed by the roller conveyor 1 to the right end of the stripping chamber 2 in the drawing before the first step is completed, the sensor 17 detects the position of the substrate W, The control device 21 drives the drive source of the roller conveyor 1 in the reverse direction, and conveys the substrate W from right to left in the drawing, and continuously executes the first process in the separation processing chamber 2. Similarly, when the substrate W is transported by the roller conveyor 1 to the left end of the separation processing chamber 2 in the drawing before the first step is completed, the position of the substrate W is similarly detected by the sensor 16 and the control device is controlled. Reference numeral 21 drives the drive source of the roller conveyor 1 in the forward direction, and conveys the substrate W from left to right in the figure, and continuously executes the first process in the separation processing chamber 2. As described above, the substrate W periodically reciprocates in the stripping chamber 2 and the stripping liquid is spray-supplied during the movement, so that the supply position of the stripping liquid from the nozzle 11 to the substrate W changes with time. The stripper is supplied evenly to the entire surface of the substrate W. The control device 21 monitors the execution time of the first step by using a built-in timer, and ends the first step when the set predetermined time has elapsed.

When the first step is completed in the separation processing chamber 2,
Subsequently, the second step is performed. In the second step, the control device 21 drives the pump 19 so that the discharge pressure becomes high, and supplies the stripper at a high pressure from the nozzle 11 to the substrate W being conveyed in a spray form. In the second step, a stripping solution is supplied at a high pressure onto the surface of the substrate W, and a physical impact force caused by the stripping solution colliding at a high pressure with a sufficiently swollen photoresist film during the first step. Is added, and the film is effectively peeled and removed. This second step is continued for a predetermined time during which the film is sufficiently peeled and removed, and during that time, the supply of the peeling liquid under a high pressure is continued. During this time, the temperature-controlled stripping solution is continuously supplied to the substrate W, so that there is no inconvenience that the temperature of the stripping solution that touches the substrate W during the process decreases.

If the substrate W is conveyed by the roller conveyor 1 to either end of the separation processing chamber 2 before the completion of the second step, the sensors 16 and 17 are carried out similarly to the first step. , The position of the substrate W is detected, and the control device 21 controls the rotation direction of the driving source of the roller conveyor 1 to periodically reciprocate the substrate W in the separation processing chamber 2. The two steps are continuously performed. Since the stripping liquid is spray-supplied while the substrate W is moving in the stripping processing chamber 2 as described above, the supply position of the stripping liquid from the nozzle 11 to the substrate W changes with time, and the substrate W
The stripper is supplied evenly over the entire surface of the substrate. The control device 21 monitors the execution time of the second step by using a built-in timer, and ends the second step when the set predetermined time has elapsed. When the second step is completed, the control device 21 drives the roller conveyor 1 to send the substrate W to the cleaning processing chamber 4.

The third step is performed in the cleaning processing chamber 4. In the third step, the control device 21
0 to the nozzle W with respect to the substrate W being conveyed.
4 to supply a spray of pure water to perform a washing process. In the third step, the stripping solution remaining on the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate W, the fragments of the separated photoresist film, and the like are washed away by pure water spray. This third step is performed until the substrate W is carried out from the opening 5 on the right side of the cleaning processing chamber 4 in the drawing.

After the third step is completed, the substrate W carried out from the opening 5 on the right side in the drawing of the cleaning processing chamber 4 is transferred to the drying apparatus by a transfer device (not shown), and the fourth step is executed. In the fourth step, the substrate W is dried by a known drying device, for example, a rotary drying device by rotating the substrate or an air knife type drying device by blowing air. The substrate W after the drying process is immediately sent to the next step or stored in a predetermined container.

In the peeling apparatus of the first embodiment, the substrate W
Is periodically reciprocated in the stripping chamber for the time required for processing, and processing is performed during that period. Therefore, regardless of the size of the processing chamber or the transport speed, the processing time can be easily changed according to the state of the coating etc. can do. In particular, in the apparatus of this embodiment, the respective times of the processing step of discharging the stripping liquid at a low pressure and the processing step of discharging the stripping liquid at a high pressure can be freely changed and set. Further, in the apparatus of this embodiment, the processing of discharging the release liquid at a low pressure and the processing of discharging the release liquid at a high pressure are performed in one release processing chamber 2, and the apparatus can be downsized. In particular, in the apparatus of this embodiment, the nozzle 1
The liquid supply mechanism 10 such as the pump 1 and the pump 19 is used for both high-pressure discharge and low-pressure discharge, and the effect of reducing the size and cost of the apparatus is great.

Next, a modification of the first embodiment will be described. In this modification, the configuration excluding the control device 21 is the same as above, and only the control operation of the control device 21 is different. That is, in the above-described embodiment, the control device 21 executes the first step, the second step, the third step, and the fourth step once in order, but in this modified example, the control device 21 performs the same first step as described above. The third step and the fourth step are performed after the step and the second step are set as a set and the set is repeated a plurality of times. That is, for example, the first step, the second step
Step, first step, second step, first step, second step, third step
The processing is performed in the order of the step and the fourth step. In this example, the first
The set of the step and the second step is repeated three times. In this case, for example, in the above embodiment, the time of the first step is 30.
Assuming that the time of the second step is 60 seconds, the first step is 10 seconds and the second step is 20 seconds in this modification.
Seconds are fine.

In this modified example, the total time of each step is the same as that of the above-described embodiment. However, according to the peeling apparatus and the peeling method of this modified example, the apparatus and the method of the above-described embodiment can be used even if the processing time is the same. As a result, the peeling and removal of the film can be sufficiently performed. That is, although the swelling of the coating proceeds from the surface in contact with the stripping solution, the swelling in the thickness direction of the coating does not easily progress, especially when the thickness of the coating is large. Swells easily, but the swelling is insufficient on the substrate side of the coating.
However, according to this modification, the surface of the coating film can be swollen in the first step in a short time, and the swollen portion can be peeled and removed in the next second step. Then, in the next first step, swelling starts again from the surface of the remaining thin film,
Swelling is performed more smoothly than when swelling is gradually advanced from the surface of the thick film. As a result, even if the processing time is the same, the peeling and removal of the film can be performed more sufficiently, and the processing time can be shortened. Even if the film is thick, the swelling and peeling and removal can be performed efficiently and reliably in a short time. I can do it.

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a main part of a second embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. This substrate processing apparatus supplies a stripping liquid as a processing liquid to the substrate W while transporting the substrate W in a horizontal posture or a slightly inclined posture from the left to the right in the figure by a roller conveyor 1 in a horizontal direction. This is a stripping apparatus that performs a stripping process and supplies pure water after the stripping process to perform a cleaning process. This substrate W
A photoresist film to be peeled off is adhered to the surface of the photoresist film through process processes such as formation of a photoresist film, exposure, development, and etching. Although not shown, a drying processing unit for performing a drying process by supplying dry air to the substrate W or rotating the substrate W after that is provided on the right side of FIG. 2. This substrate processing apparatus includes a stripping section for performing a process with a stripping liquid, a cleaning section for performing a cleaning process, and a drying section for performing a drying process. Only shown.

A separation processing chamber 2 for performing the peeling process on the substrate W and a cleaning processing chamber 4 for performing the cleaning process on the substrate W are defined by the chamber structure 3. Further, the chamber constituting body 3 is formed with an opening 5 for carrying the substrate W into and out of the separation processing chamber 2 and the cleaning processing chamber 4, and the substrate W is loaded into the separation processing chamber 2 through the opening 5, Further, a roller conveyor 1 for carrying in and out of the cleaning processing chamber 4 is provided. The substrate W is supported and transported by the roller conveyor 1 in the separation processing chamber 2 and the cleaning processing chamber 4.

The separation processing chamber 2 includes a low-pressure supply mechanism 40 capable of supplying a processing liquid at a low pressure to the substrate W in the separation processing chamber 2 supported by the roller conveyor 1, and a separation supporting mechanism supported by the roller conveyor 1. A high-pressure supply mechanism 50 capable of supplying a processing liquid to the substrate W in the processing chamber 2 at a high pressure is provided.

In the low-pressure supply mechanism 40, the stripping solution tank 18 is connected to the opening 15 below the stripping chamber 2 by piping.
The stripper discharged from the opening 15 is received and stored in the stripper tank 18. The temperature adjusting mechanism 1 for keeping the stored stripping solution at a predetermined temperature is provided in the stripping solution tank 18.
4 is attached. The stripper tank 18 is connected to the nozzle 41 via a pump 49 for discharging the stripper at a low pressure, an opening / closing valve 42 capable of adjusting the flow rate, and a filter 43. The drive of the pump 49 is controlled by the control device 21. The nozzle 41 is a low-pressure spray nozzle that supplies a stripping solution supplied at a low pressure to the substrate W in a low-pressure spray state.

In the high-pressure supply mechanism 50, the stripper tank 18 is shared with the low-pressure supply mechanism 40. Stripper tank 1
Numeral 8 is connected to the nozzle 51 via a pump 59 for discharging the stripper at a high pressure, an on-off valve 52 capable of adjusting the flow rate, and a filter 53. The drive of the pump 59 is controlled by the control device 21. The nozzle 51 is a high-pressure spray nozzle that supplies a stripping liquid supplied at a high pressure to the substrate W in a high-pressure spray state. Around the nozzle 51, the nozzle 5
A cover member 9 is provided to prevent the stripping liquid discharged from 1 from high pressure from becoming mist and scattering around.

The nozzles 41 of the low-pressure supply mechanism 40 and the nozzles 51 of the high-pressure supply mechanism 50 are alternately arranged in the peeling processing chamber 2 along the direction in which the substrate W is transported, and both ends of a row of the arrangement are arranged. That is, the nozzle 41 is arranged at a position closest to both the openings 5. In addition, each of the nozzles 41 and 51 may be long in the depth direction of the paper of FIG. 2 or may be arranged by arranging a plurality of the same nozzles 41 and 51 in the depth direction of the paper.
The processing liquid is supplied in a state equal to the depth direction of the paper surface, thereby preventing the occurrence of processing unevenness in the depth direction of the paper surface.

The roller conveyor 1 in the separation processing chamber 2
Sensors 16 and 17 for detecting the presence or absence of the substrate W on the roller conveyor 1 and outputting a signal are provided near both ends of the roller conveyor 1, that is, near the openings 5. Sensor 16, 1
Reference numeral 7 is connected to a control device 21. When the substrate W is conveyed on the roller conveyor 1 to the sensors 16 and 17, the control device 21 detects the substrate W based on output signals from the sensors 16 and 17. . Roller conveyor 1
The operation is controlled by the control device 21 as described later. In the roller conveyor 1, in particular, a portion located in the separation processing chamber 2 has a reversible rotating motor (see FIG. (Not shown), and the substrate W carried on the roller conveyor 1 can be periodically reciprocated between the sensors 16 and 17 in the separation processing chamber 2.

The nozzle 51 is a high-pressure spray nozzle that supplies the substrate W in the form of a high-pressure spray when the release liquid is supplied at a high pressure. A cover member 9 is provided around each of the nozzles 51 to suppress the stripping liquid discharged from the nozzles 51 at high pressure from becoming mist and scattering around.

A nozzle 24 for supplying pure water in the form of a spray to the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate W carried by the roller conveyor 1 from the separation processing chamber 2 for cleaning is provided in the cleaning processing chamber 4. 1 are provided above and below. Pure water from a pure water supply source 29 is pressurized by a pump 30 and connected to a nozzle 24 via an on-off valve 31 and a filter 32 that can adjust the flow rate. In addition, a filter 33 for cleaning and taking in the surrounding downdraft is provided at the upper part of the cleaning processing chamber 4. In addition, an opening 34 is formed in a lower portion of the cleaning processing chamber 4 for discharging the taken-down airflow and discharging the used pure water.

The control device 21 is connected (not shown) to the on-off valves 31, 42, 52, the roller conveyor 1 and the like in addition to the pumps 49 and 59, and by controlling these, the supply of the stripping liquid or pure water is performed. It controls the operation of the entire peeling apparatus such as the transfer of the substrate. In particular, when the stripping liquid is supplied to the substrate W in the stripping processing chamber 2, the control device 21
When it is detected that the substrate W has been conveyed from the left to the right in the drawing and has reached the position of the sensor 17, the driving source of the roller conveyor 1 in the separation processing chamber 2 is reversely rotated, and the substrate W is now moved from the right to the left in the drawing. Transport in the direction. Then, when the substrate reaches the position of the sensor 16 next, the substrate W is transported from left to right in the drawing by rotating the driving source forward. The control device 21 can reciprocate the substrate W periodically within a predetermined range in the separation processing chamber 2 by repeating the control operation. When the processing in the separation processing chamber 2 for the substrate W is completed by the reciprocating movement,
By rotating the drive source of the roller conveyor 1 forward, the substrate W can be transported rightward in the figure beyond the position of the sensor 17 and sent to the cleaning processing chamber 4.

Next, the operation of the peeling apparatus according to the second embodiment will be described. First, as a first step, when it is detected by the sensor 16 that the substrate W to be subjected to the peeling process is transported by the roller conveyor 1 and loaded into the peeling processing chamber 2, the control device 21 drives the pump 49 to transport the substrate W. The stripper is supplied from the nozzle 41 to the substrate W being sprayed at a low pressure in a spray state. In the first step, the stripping solution supplied on the substrate W at a low pressure forms a liquid film on the surface of the substrate W, and the film to be stripped adhered to the surface of the substrate W, ie, the photoresist Sufficient contact with the coating to swell the coating. This first step is continued for a predetermined time during which the swelling sufficiently proceeds, and during that time, the supply of the stripping solution in a low pressure state is continued. During this time, the temperature-controlled release liquid is continuously supplied to the substrate W,
There is no inconvenience that the temperature of the stripping solution that comes into contact with the substrate W decreases during the process.

If the substrate W is transported by the roller conveyor 1 to the right end of the stripping chamber 2 in the drawing before the first step is completed, the sensor 17 detects the position of the substrate W, The control device 21 drives the drive source of the roller conveyor 1 in the reverse direction, and conveys the substrate W from right to left in the drawing, and continuously executes the first process in the separation processing chamber 2. Similarly, when the substrate W is transported by the roller conveyor 1 to the left end of the separation processing chamber 2 in the drawing before the first step is completed, the position of the substrate W is similarly detected by the sensor 16 and the control device is controlled. Reference numeral 21 drives the drive source of the roller conveyor 1 in the forward direction, and conveys the substrate W from left to right in the figure, and continuously executes the first process in the separation processing chamber 2. As described above, the substrate W periodically reciprocates in the stripping processing chamber 2 and the stripping liquid is spray-supplied during the movement, so that the supply position of the stripping liquid from the nozzle 41 to the substrate W changes with time. The stripper is supplied evenly to the entire surface of the substrate W. The control device 21 monitors the execution time of the first step by using a built-in timer, and stops the operation of the pump 49 and ends the first step when a set predetermined time elapses.

When the first step is completed in the separation processing chamber 2,
Subsequently, the second step is performed. In the second step, the control device 21 drives the pump 59 to supply the stripper at a high pressure from the nozzle 51 to the substrate W being conveyed in a spray state. In the second step, a stripping solution is supplied at a high pressure onto the surface of the substrate W, and a physical impact force caused by the stripping solution colliding at a high pressure with a sufficiently swollen photoresist film during the first step. Is added, and the film is effectively peeled and removed. This second step is continued for a predetermined time during which the film is sufficiently peeled and removed, and during that time, the supply of the peeling liquid under a high pressure is continued. During this time,
Since the temperature-controlled stripping solution is continuously supplied to the substrate W, there is no inconvenience that the temperature of the stripping solution that touches the substrate W during the process decreases.

If the substrate W is conveyed by the roller conveyor 1 to either end of the separation processing chamber 2 before the completion of the second step, the sensors 16 and 17 are carried out similarly to the first step. , The position of the substrate W is detected, and the control device 21 controls the rotation direction of the driving source of the roller conveyor 1 to periodically reciprocate the substrate W in the separation processing chamber 2. The two steps are continuously performed. Since the stripping liquid is spray-supplied while the substrate W is moving in the stripping processing chamber 2 as described above, the supply position of the stripping liquid from the nozzle 51 to the substrate W changes with time, and the substrate W
The stripper is supplied evenly over the entire surface of the substrate. The control device 21 monitors the execution time of the second step by using a built-in timer, and ends the second step when the set predetermined time has elapsed. When the second step is completed, the control device 21 drives the roller conveyor 1 to send the substrate W to the cleaning processing chamber 4.

The third step is performed in the cleaning processing chamber 4. In the third step, the control device 21
0 to the nozzle W with respect to the substrate W being conveyed.
4 to supply a spray of pure water to perform a washing process. In the third step, the stripping solution remaining on the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate W, the fragments of the separated photoresist film, and the like are washed away by pure water spray. This third step is performed until the substrate W is carried out from the opening 5 on the right side of the cleaning processing chamber 4 in the drawing.

After the third step is completed, the substrate W carried out from the opening 5 on the right side of the cleaning processing chamber 4 in the drawing is transferred to the drying device by a transfer device (not shown), and the fourth step is executed. In the fourth step, the substrate W is dried by a known drying device, for example, a rotary drying device by rotating the substrate or an air knife type drying device by blowing air. The substrate W after the drying process is immediately sent to the next step or stored in a predetermined container.

In the device of the second embodiment, the control operation of the control device 21 can be the same as that of the modification of the first embodiment. Thereby, the same processing method as the modification of the first embodiment can be performed.

In the peeling apparatus of the second embodiment, the substrate W
Is periodically reciprocated in the stripping chamber for the time required for processing, and processing is performed during that period. Therefore, regardless of the size of the processing chamber or the transport speed, the processing time can be easily changed according to the state of the coating etc. can do. In particular, in the apparatus of this embodiment, the respective times of the processing step of discharging the stripping liquid at a low pressure and the processing step of discharging the stripping liquid at a high pressure can be freely changed and set. Further, in the apparatus of this embodiment, the processing of discharging the release liquid at a low pressure and the processing of discharging the release liquid at a high pressure are performed in one release processing chamber 2, and the apparatus can be downsized. In particular, in the apparatus of this embodiment, the nozzle 41 of the low-pressure supply mechanism 40 and the nozzle 5 of the high-pressure supply mechanism 50
1 are provided separately from each other, so that the processing method described below can be executed only by changing the control operation of the control device.

Next, a modification of the above-described second embodiment will be described. In this modification, the configuration excluding the control device 21 is the same as that of the second embodiment, and only the control operation of the control device 21 is different. That is, in the second embodiment, the control device 21 performs the first step, the second step, and the third step.
The step and the fourth step are executed once in order, but in this modified example, the control device 21 operates the low-pressure supply mechanism 40 and the high-pressure supply mechanism 50 simultaneously. That is, the nozzle 41
, And the stripping liquid is discharged from the nozzle 51 toward the substrate W at the same time. In this case, when the substrate W is transported to the separation processing chamber 2, first, the front end of the substrate W reaches below the first nozzle 41, and the substrate W
The stripping solution is supplied at a low pressure to the corresponding portion, and the photoresist film in the corresponding portion swells. Then, as the substrate W is transported rightward in FIG.
And the stripping solution is supplied at a high pressure to the corresponding portion to remove the particularly swollen portion of the photoresist film in the corresponding portion. When the substrate W is further transported, the corresponding portion of the substrate W reaches below the next nozzle 41, and the stripping liquid is supplied to the corresponding portion at a low pressure.

As described above, in the peeling apparatus of this modified example, the nozzles 41 and the nozzles 51 are provided alternately in the direction in which the substrate W is transported by the roller conveyor 1, and in the peeling method of this modified example, Although it appears that the first step and the second step are performed simultaneously on the entire substrate W, the peeling method according to the modified example of the first embodiment described above is applied to a part of the substrate W. This means that the same method, that is, a method of repeatedly performing the set of steps of the first step and the second step a plurality of times is performed. Thereby, as a whole, the peeling and removal of the film can be performed more sufficiently even with the same processing time, and the processing time can be shortened.
In addition, even if the film is thick, swelling and peeling can be efficiently performed in a short time. The reverse rotation operation of the roller conveyor 1 when the substrate W is transported to the end of the separation processing chamber 2, the cleaning process in the third process, and the drying process in the fourth process are the same as described above in this modification. The same is true. In this modification, it is not always necessary to start or end the operations of the low-pressure supply mechanism 40 and the high-pressure supply mechanism 50 at the same time. For example, the low-pressure supply mechanism 40 is started in advance and the swelling of the film is advanced in advance, or the operation of the low-pressure supply mechanism 40 is continued for a predetermined time even after the operation of the high-pressure supply mechanism 50 is stopped. Debris of the photoresist film, dirty stripper, and the like may be preliminarily washed away.

In the above description of the first and second embodiments, it has been described that the roller conveyor 1 transports the substrate W in a horizontal position or a slightly inclined position in the separation processing chamber 2 and the cleaning processing chamber 4. However, it is desirable to convey the sheet in a slightly inclined posture for the following reasons. In other words, by supporting the substrate W with a slight inclination to the left or right with respect to, for example, the transport direction, fragments of the peeled photoresist film, dirty stripping solution, pure water, etc., quickly flow down along the slope. As a result, the substrate W can be kept clean.

In the first and second embodiments, the supply of the stripping solution at a low pressure means that the supplied stripping solution can form a liquid film sufficient to swell the film on the substrate W. What is necessary is just that it can be realized. That is, for example, in a state of supply of a liquid in which a considerable part of the supplied liquid rebounds upon collision with the substrate W, the film cannot be sufficiently swollen. The supply of the stripping solution at a high pressure may be sufficient as long as it can give an impact force sufficient to strip and remove the swollen coating. The specific pressure varies depending on the strength of adhesion between the film to be peeled and the substrate W. For example, in the above embodiment, in the case of low pressure supply, the pressure in the pipe to the nozzle is, for example, 1 to ² kg / cm ^2. In the case of a high pressure supply and a high pressure supply, the pressure is also about 10 to ²⁰ kg / cm ² .
In the case of low-pressure supply, for example, using a nozzle having a slit-shaped opening having a length equal to or greater than the width of the substrate W, a pressure is almost applied to the substrate W by a curtain-like liquid flow along the surface of the substrate W. It is also possible to supply the stripping liquid without adding the liquid, and if the liquid is supplied in the form of a spray, the impact force on the substrate surface may be, for example, a pressure of about 2 g / cm ² or less. In the case of high-pressure supply, it is also conceivable to set the impact force on the substrate surface to a pressure of about 50 g / cm ² or more.

In each of the above embodiments, the stripping solution is used for both low-pressure supply and high-pressure supply. For example, supply at a high pressure may involve applying a physical force to the coating. For example, it is conceivable to use a processing liquid other than the stripping liquid, for example, high-temperature pure water or ozone water.

[0066]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the peeling apparatus of the present invention, the substrate is reciprocated in the processing chamber for the time required for the processing, and the processing is performed during that time. Regardless of the size or the transport speed, the processing time can be easily changed according to the state of the film. Further, the respective times of the processing step of discharging the stripping liquid at a low pressure and the processing step of discharging the stripping liquid at a high pressure can be freely changed and set. Furthermore, the process of discharging the stripping liquid at a low pressure and the process of discharging the stripping liquid at a high pressure are performed in one stripping chamber, so that the apparatus can be downsized.

According to the stripping apparatus and the stripping method of the present invention, the supply of the low-pressure processing liquid and the high-pressure processing liquid are repeatedly performed for the coating to be stripped, so that the coating can be efficiently and reliably removed in a short time. Can swell and peel off.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a main part of a first embodiment of a peeling device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of a main part of a second embodiment of the peeling device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of a main part of a conventional peeling device.

[Tax of sign]

 W ... substrate 1 ... roller conveyor 2 ... peeling processing chamber 3 ... chamber constituent 10 ... liquid supply mechanism 11,41,51 ... nozzle 19,49,59 ... pump 21 ... Control device 40 ... Low pressure supply mechanism 50 ... High pressure supply mechanism

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) C23F 1/00 104 C23F 1/00 104 5F046 G03F 7/42 G03F 7/42 H01L 21/304 643 H01L 21 / 304 643B 21/306 21/306 DF term (reference) 2H096 AA24 AA25 AA27 LA02 LA03 3F108 JA05 4D075 AA01 AA83 AA84 BB20Z DA06 DB14 DC22 EA45 4K057 DA19 DB17 DK03 DM36 DN02 DN03 WA19 WB17 W04W04N06 WK01 WM04A06 CC12 CC16 DD06 DD30 EE07 EE08 EE22 EE24 EE28 EE29 EE33 EE36 GG10 5F046 MA01 MA10

Claims (9)

[Claims] A chamber constituting a processing chamber for processing a substrate; a support mechanism for supporting the substrate in the processing chamber; and a low-pressure processing liquid for the substrate in the processing chamber supported by the support mechanism. And a liquid supply mechanism capable of supplying the liquid at a high pressure; control means for controlling the operation of the liquid supply mechanism; and a liquid supply mechanism for supplying the processing liquid to the substrate by the liquid supply mechanism with time. A relative movement mechanism for relatively reciprocating the substrate. 2. A liquid supply mechanism comprising: a low-pressure supply mechanism for supplying a processing liquid at a low pressure to a substrate supported by the support mechanism; and a high-pressure supply of the processing liquid to the substrate supported by the support mechanism. 2. The peeling device according to claim 1, further comprising a high-pressure supply mechanism for supplying. 3. The peeling apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control unit controls the high-pressure supply mechanism to operate after the low-pressure supply mechanism is operated. 4. The control device according to claim 2, wherein the control unit controls the low-pressure supply mechanism and the high-pressure supply mechanism to operate alternately.
The peeling device according to claim 1. 5. A low-pressure nozzle provided in the low-pressure supply mechanism for discharging a processing liquid to the substrate, and a high-pressure nozzle provided in the high-pressure supply mechanism for discharging a processing liquid to the substrate, wherein: The respective liquid discharge areas on the upper side are arranged alternately along the direction of relative movement by the relative movement mechanism, and the control means operates the low-pressure supply mechanism and the high-pressure supply mechanism simultaneously. 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the control is performed.
The peeling device according to claim 1. 6. A nozzle capable of supplying a processing liquid at a low pressure or a high pressure to a substrate in the processing chamber supported by the support mechanism, a liquid supply mechanism supplying the processing liquid to the nozzle, 2. The peeling device according to claim 1, further comprising a liquid sending mechanism capable of switching the supply pressure between a low pressure and a high pressure. 7. The control means operates the liquid feeding mechanism to supply the processing liquid to the nozzle at a low pressure, and then operates the liquid feeding mechanism to supply the processing liquid to the nozzle at a high pressure. The peeling device according to claim 6, wherein the peeling device is controlled. 8. The control means controls the operation of the liquid sending mechanism so that the supply pressure of the processing liquid to the nozzle alternates between a low pressure and a high pressure a plurality of times. The peeling device according to claim 6. 9. A first step of supplying a stripper at a low pressure to a film adhered to a surface of a substrate, and a second step of supplying a stripper at a high pressure to a film adhered to a surface of the substrate. A peeling method, wherein one set of steps is repeatedly performed a plurality of times.