JP2001168009A - Base board treating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress thermal influences from a heat treatment unit and to facilitate the management and maintenance of the atmosphere of a liquid treatment unit. SOLUTION: In an application and development treating device 1, heat treatment parts 10 and 12 and a liquid treatment part 11 are separately located in areas partitioned by partitions 13 and 14. Air, with which a temperature and a humidity are severely controlled, is fed into the liquid treatment part 11 and air controlled into lower level is fed into the heat treatment parts 10 and 12.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for performing a predetermined process on a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer or an LCD substrate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a photolithography process in the manufacture of semiconductor devices, a resist liquid is applied to a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter, referred to as a "wafer") to form a resist film, and a predetermined pattern is formed. Expose. Thereafter, a developing solution is supplied to the wafer to perform a developing process. Such a photolithography process
This is performed in a coating and developing treatment apparatus 200 as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 15, a coating and developing apparatus 200 includes a cassette station 202 provided with a wafer carrier 201, a processing station 204 provided with a carrier 203, and a wafer carrier 205. And an interface unit 206. In the cassette station 202, the wafer W is taken out of the cassette C by the wafer carrier 201 and loaded into the processing station 204. Processing station 204
, Various processing apparatus groups G _{1 to} G ₅ are arranged around the transfer apparatus 203, and the transfer apparatus 203 transfers the wafer W taken out of the cassette C to the various processing apparatus groups G _1.
It formed so as to convey to ~G _5. An exposure apparatus (not shown) is connected adjacent to the interface section 206 so that the wafer W can reciprocate between the processing station 204 and the exposure apparatus via the interface section 206. Has become. Finally, the wafer subjected to the photolithography step is carried out of the processing station 204 by the wafer carrier 201 and stored in the cassette C.

Various liquid processing units for performing predetermined liquid processing on wafers are arranged in the processing apparatus groups G ₁ and G ₂ . Various liquid processing units include an anti-reflection film forming unit for forming an anti-reflection film on the surface of a wafer, a resist coating unit for applying a resist solution to the wafer on which the anti-reflection film is formed to form a resist film, There is a development processing unit that develops a wafer. In this case, since various types of liquid processing are sensitive to temperature and humidity, it is necessary to strictly control the atmosphere in the processing station 204. This management forms a downflow for each processing unit groups G ₁ ~G ₅ from above, is carried out by controlling the temperature and humidity of the downflow. In the processing unit groups G ₃ and G ₄ , a large number of heat treatment units such as a heat treatment unit for heating the wafer before and after the liquid treatment and a cooling unit for cooling the wafer are arranged in multiple stages.

[0005]

However, if the heat treatment unit and the liquid treatment unit are arranged close to each other,
The thermal effect from the heat processing unit may affect the liquid processing unit, and the temperature and humidity in the liquid processing unit may fluctuate from predetermined values due to the heat of the liquid processing unit.
Therefore, for example, the thickness of the anti-reflection film in the anti-reflection film forming unit and the thickness of the resist film in the resist coating unit may change. Furthermore, in the development processing unit, development unevenness may occur, and a processing failure may occur.

[0006] Among the heat treatment units, especially the heat treatment unit does not require strict temperature and humidity control. Therefore, the fact that such a heat treatment unit is disposed in the treatment station 204 and placed under the strictly temperature and humidity controlled atmosphere together with the liquid treatment unit really requires a strict temperature and humidity controlled downflow. A load such as excessive generation exceeding a certain amount is imposed, which is inefficient in managing and maintaining the atmosphere in the processing station 204.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of such a point, and it is possible to prevent a thermal effect from a heat treatment unit on a liquid processing unit, and furthermore, strict temperature and humidity control is required. An object of the present invention is to provide a new substrate processing apparatus capable of centrally managing and maintaining only the surrounding atmosphere of a liquid processing unit, and to solve the above-mentioned problem.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for performing a predetermined liquid processing and a heat treatment on a substrate, wherein the apparatus performs a predetermined liquid processing on the substrate. A liquid processing unit having a liquid processing unit for performing a predetermined heat treatment on the substrate, and a heat processing unit having a heat treatment unit for performing a predetermined heat treatment on the substrate are separately arranged in the apparatus,
Further, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus characterized in that the atmosphere of the liquid processing section and the atmosphere of the heat treatment section are individually controlled. In this specification, heat treatment includes not only heat treatment but also cooling treatment.

According to the substrate processing apparatus of the first aspect,
Since the liquid treatment section and the heat treatment section are arranged separately in the area partitioned in the apparatus, it is possible to suppress the thermal influence from the heat treatment unit on the liquid treatment unit. Therefore, the liquid processing unit can suitably perform the desired liquid processing on the substrate.

[0010] Further, the temperature and humidity of the air forming the atmosphere are strictly required for at least the liquid processing unit in the liquid processing unit, and the temperature and humidity of the air forming the atmosphere are not strictly required for the heat treatment unit. In such a case, if the atmosphere in the liquid processing section and the atmosphere in the heat treatment section are individually controlled as in the present invention, while the air whose temperature and humidity are strictly controlled is supplied to the liquid processing section, The heat treatment section can be supplied with air whose temperature and humidity are controlled to a lower level. Thus, only the atmosphere of the liquid processing unit of the liquid processing unit can be centrally managed and maintained, and the burden of strictly controlling the temperature and humidity of the air can be reduced. Therefore, the atmosphere of the substrate processing apparatus can be managed more efficiently than before.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for performing predetermined liquid processing and heat treatment on a substrate, wherein the liquid processing section includes a liquid processing unit for performing predetermined liquid processing on the substrate; A heat treatment unit having a heat treatment unit for performing a predetermined heat treatment is disposed in a divided region in the apparatus, and further, a first transfer device for transferring the substrate in the liquid processing unit, and a substrate in the heat treatment unit. And a second transfer device for transferring the liquid, and wherein the atmosphere of the liquid processing section and the atmosphere of the heat treatment section are individually controlled.

According to the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention, the substrate is transported in the liquid processing section by the first transport apparatus, and the substrate is transported in the heat treatment section by the second transport apparatus. As a result, the substrate can be efficiently transported in the substrate processing apparatus. Of course, as in the case of the first aspect, the intended liquid processing can be suitably performed on the substrate by the liquid processing unit, and the atmosphere management of the entire substrate processing apparatus can be performed more efficiently than before.

In this case, as set forth in claim 3, the first transfer device transfers the substrate between a transfer table provided in the liquid processing unit and the liquid processing unit, and transfers the substrate to the second processing unit. May be configured to transfer the substrate between the transfer table and the heat treatment unit.

According to this configuration, the substrate can be smoothly transferred between the inside of the liquid processing section and the inside of the heat treatment section via the transfer table provided in the liquid processing section. Then, once the substrate is placed on the transfer table, the tact time of the processing can be appropriately adjusted.

The delivery table has a cooling function of cooling the substrate to a predetermined temperature during the liquid processing before performing the predetermined liquid processing on the substrate. Is preferred. Thus, the cooling process before the liquid processing can be performed simultaneously when the substrate is placed on the transfer table, and it is possible to save space and improve throughput.

In this case, it is preferable that one cooling processing unit is provided for each type of liquid processing. Thereby, the cooling process corresponding to the liquid process can be performed at the delivery table.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the liquid processing units may be arranged in multiple stages in the vertical direction, and the transfer table may be provided for each liquid processing unit. In this case, the first transfer device may be provided for each liquid processing unit.

The liquid processing unit has a plurality of processing chambers, and is configured to perform a series of predetermined liquid processing by sequentially moving the substrates into the processing chambers. You may.

Depending on the type of liquid treatment, a predetermined series of processes may be carried out by obtaining some series of processes. However, a plurality of steps are sequentially performed in one treatment chamber. Instead of performing the prescribed liquid treatment on the substrate,
The individual processes in the predetermined liquid processing are performed simultaneously and in parallel by using a plurality of processing chambers, and the predetermined liquid processing is performed by sequentially moving the substrates to these processing chambers. , The processing can be made uniform.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there are provided a plurality of the liquid processing units, at least one of which is a resist coating unit for forming a resist film on the surface of the substrate. A resist film forming chamber for supplying a resist solution to the surface of the substrate and diffusing the resist solution by centrifugal force generated when the substrate is rotated to form a resist film on the surface of the substrate; A configuration may be provided in which a resist removal chamber for removing the adhered resist solution from the substrate is separately provided.

According to this configuration, the formation of the resist film in the resist film forming chamber and the removal of the resist solution in the resist removing chamber can be performed simultaneously and in parallel, thereby improving the throughput of the resist coating unit. it can. In addition, this type of conventional resist coating unit has both a resist liquid supply nozzle and a solvent supply nozzle for removing unnecessary resist liquid in one processing chamber.
In the case of the seventh aspect, it is only necessary to provide, for example, only the resist solution supply nozzle in the resist film forming chamber, and only, for example, only the removal nozzle in the resist removal chamber. The manufacturing cost can be reduced as compared with the case where two coating units are provided.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there are provided a plurality of the liquid processing units, at least one of which is a developing unit for performing a developing process on a substrate.
The development processing unit supplies a developer to the surface of the substrate to form a liquid film of the developer, and a developer film forming chamber for keeping the substrate on which the film of the developer is formed in a stationary state, and thereafter, to the substrate. Alternatively, a cleaning chamber for supplying cleaning water to wash the developing solution from the substrate and a drying chamber for rotating the substrate and drying the substrate may be separately provided.

According to this structure, the development in the developing film forming chamber, the washing of the developing solution in the cleaning chamber, and the drying in the drying chamber can be performed simultaneously and in parallel. Can be improved. In addition, this type of conventional development processing unit is provided with a developer supply nozzle, a cleaning water supply nozzle, and the like in one unit so that a series of development processes are all performed in one unit. According to the eighth aspect, it is only necessary to provide, for example, a developer supply nozzle in the developer film forming chamber and a cleaning water supply nozzle in the cleaning chamber, respectively, so that the structure of the unit is simplified, and the conventional structure is simplified. The cost can be reduced by providing one development processing unit according to claim 8 rather than by providing three development processing units.

[0024]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 shows a state of the coating and developing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment viewed from a plane, and FIG. 2 shows a state of the coating and developing apparatus 1 viewed from a side.

As shown in FIG. 1, a coating and developing apparatus 1
Is a cassette station 2 for loading and unloading, for example, 25 wafers W into and from the coating and developing processing apparatus 1 together with the cassette C, and loading and unloading wafers W from and into the cassette C; Processing station 3 having many single-wafer processing units for performing processing
And an interface unit 5 for transferring a wafer W between the exposure unit 4 provided adjacent to the processing station 3 and the exposure unit 4 as a whole.

In the cassette station 2, a plurality of cassettes C can be placed at predetermined positions on the cassette mounting table 6 in a row in the X direction (vertical direction in FIG. 1) with the entrance of the wafer W toward the processing station 3. It is. A wafer carrier 8 movable in the cassette arrangement direction (X direction) and the wafer arrangement direction (Z direction; vertical direction) of the wafers W accommodated in the cassette C is movable along the transfer path 9. The cassette C can be selectively accessed.

In the processing station 3, a heat treatment unit 10, a liquid treatment unit 11, and a heat treatment unit 12 are sequentially arranged from the cassette station 2 side to the interface unit 5 side. A partition plate 13 is disposed between the heat treatment unit 10 and the liquid processing unit 11, and a partition plate 14 is disposed between the liquid treatment unit 11 and the heat treatment unit 12, and the atmosphere of the liquid processing unit 11 is And the atmosphere of the heat treatment sections 10 and 12 are configured so that they can be individually controlled.

The heat treatment section 10 includes a first heat treatment apparatus group 20 and a second heat treatment apparatus group 21 in which heat treatment units for performing a predetermined heat treatment on the wafer W are arranged in multiple stages.
A transport device 22 for transporting the wafer W is provided.

As shown in FIG. 2, the first heat treatment apparatus group 2
For example, a low hot cooling unit 23 for performing a heating process on the wafer W at, for example, about 120 ° C. and also performing a cooling process, an alignment unit 24 for positioning the wafer W, an extension unit 25 for waiting the wafer W, a low hot cooling unit・ Cooling units 23, 2
3. A high-hot cooling unit 26 for performing a heating process on the wafer W at, for example, about 350 ° C. and also performing a cooling process is stacked in multiple stages from the bottom.

Similarly to the first processing apparatus group 20, the second heat processing apparatus group 21 includes processing units related to heat processing from the lowest low-hot cooling unit 23 to the highest high-hot cooling unit 26. Stacked in multiple layers. High hot cooling unit 26
As shown in FIG. 1, the apparatus includes a heating stage 30 for performing a heating process on the wafer W and a cooling stage 31 for performing a cooling process on the wafer W. In each of the adjacent high-hot cooling units 26 in the first processing unit group 20 and the second processing unit group 21, the cooling mounting tables 31 belonging to the respective units are arranged so as to be adjacent to each other.
On the other hand, the heating mounting tables 31 are arranged so as to be positioned on the outside. By arranging the cooling mounting tables 31 and the heating mounting tables 30 in this manner, heat interference between the high-hot cooling units 26 does not occur. Although not shown, the low-temperature cooling unit 23 also has a heating mounting table arranged outside and a cooling mounting table arranged inside.

The low-hot cooling unit 23 and the high-hot cooling unit 26 differ from each other only in the setting of the heating temperature on the heating table, and have basically the same configuration in other respects. I will explain the details.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the low hot cooling unit 23 has a heating stage 30 and a cooling stage 31 juxtaposed in a casing 23a. The heating mounting table 30 is formed in a circular planar shape, and the heating mounting table 30 is supported by a support member 35 located in the lower container 34. A heater 3 for heating the wafer W is provided inside the heating table 30.
6 are provided. Also, three support pins 38, 3 movable up and down by a lifting mechanism 37 are mounted on the heating mounting table 30.
8 and 38 are arranged so as to be able to protrude and retract from the surface of the heating table 30. Therefore, the wafer W supported by each lifting pin 38 can be raised and lowered freely.

The heating table 30 is covered with a cover 41, and the cover 41 is provided with an exhaust pipe 42. A gas supply port 43 for supplying an inert gas, for example, a nitrogen gas (N ₂ gas) to the holding member 35 into the heat treatment chamber HS formed by the lower container 34 and the cover 41.
Is provided. The cover 41 is configured to move up and down by driving an appropriate lifting mechanism (not shown).

The cooling table 31 is formed, for example, in a circular plane in the same manner as the heating table 30, and is supported by an annular support member 45 provided in the lower container 44. Further, there are three support pins 47, 47, 47 which can be raised and lowered by a lifting mechanism 46. The cooling table 31 is arranged so as to be able to protrude and retract from the surface. For example, a Peltier element 48 for cooling the wafer W is provided inside the cooling mounting table 31. The heat generated from the Peltier element 48 is released to the outside via a radiator (not shown) and cooling water.

Also, a low hot cooling unit 2
A transfer arm 50 is provided in 3. As shown in FIG. 5, the transfer arm 50 is configured as a horizontal articulated robot that is rotatable in the θ direction and also expandable and contractable in the horizontal direction. By expanding and contracting toward the side 31, the wafer W between the heating mounting table 30 and the cooling mounting table 31 can be transferred. In this case, the transfer arm 50 is provided, for example, with the suction pad 55
May be provided, and the rear surface of the wafer W may be held by vacuum suction to hold the wafer W.

The transfer device 22 provided in the heat treatment unit 10 is provided with the low hot cooling unit 2 described above.
3. Wafers W are loaded and unloaded to and from various processing units and the like arranged in the heat treatment unit 10, including the high-hot cooling unit 26 and the like. The wafer W is transferred to and from the transfer table 72 of each of the liquid processing knit groups 60, 61, and 62. The transport device 22 is
Three retractable tweezers 5 that hold the wafer W and can transfer the wafer W to another processing unit
6, 57 and 58 are provided in three upper and lower stages.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6, the liquid processing section 11 includes three liquid processing unit groups 60, 61, and 62.
Stacked in columns. As shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 6, the wafer loading / unloading port 64, which can be opened and closed by a shutter (not shown), is connected to each of the liquid processing unit groups 60, 6 by the same.
1, 62 are provided. Other partition plate 14
Similarly, a wafer loading / unloading port 65 is provided in each liquid processing unit group. A transport device 70 is disposed at the center of the liquid processing unit group 60, a transport device 80 is disposed at the center of the liquid processing unit group 61, and a transport device 90 is disposed at the central portion of the liquid processing unit group 62. I have.

On the front side and the back side of the lowermost liquid processing unit group 60, two anti-reflection film forming units 71 for forming an anti-reflection film on the surface of the wafer W are arranged side by side. Are placed facing each other across 70,
A total of four antireflection film forming units 71 are provided. The cassette station 2 side (left side in FIG. 3)
The transfer table 72 is provided on the interface section 5 side (FIG. 3).
Delivery tables 73 are arranged on the right side in the middle). Each of the transfer tables 72 and 73 has a function of cooling the mounted wafer W to a predetermined temperature. Each of the transfer tables 72 and 73 has a multi-stage configuration so that a plurality of wafers W can be placed in upper and lower stages. Then, the transport device 70 includes the respective antireflection film forming units 71,
The wafer W is configured to be able to be transferred between the transfer tables 72 and 73. In FIG. 6, reference numeral 71a denotes a carry-in / out port of the wafer W to / from the anti-reflection film forming unit 71.

On the front side and the back side of the second stage liquid processing unit group 61, resist coating units 81, 81 for applying a resist liquid to the wafer W on which the antireflection film is formed to form a resist film. Are arranged side by side, and are opposed to each other with the transfer device 80 interposed therebetween, and a total of four resist coating units 81 are provided. The delivery table 72 is arranged on the cassette station 2 side (left side in FIG. 3), and the delivery table 73 is arranged on the interface section 5 side (right side in FIG. 3). Each of the transfer tables 72 and 73 has a function of cooling the mounted wafer W to a predetermined temperature. The transfer device 80 is configured to transfer the wafer W between each of the resist coating units 81 and the transfer tables 72 and 73. In FIG. 6, reference numeral 81a denotes a loading / unloading port of the wafer W to / from the resist coating unit 81.

Similarly, on the front side and the back side of the uppermost liquid processing unit group 62, two development processing units 91 for developing the wafer W are also juxtaposed, and they are opposed to each other with the transfer device 90 interposed therebetween. And a total of four development processing units 91 are provided. Liquid treatment unit group 62
In the cassette station 2 side, the delivery table 7 described above is provided.
2, a cooling unit 73 is arranged on the interface section 5 side. The transfer device 90
Is configured such that the wafer W can be transferred between the respective development processing units 91 and the transfer tables 72 and 73. In FIG. 6, reference numeral 91a denotes a carry-in / out port of the wafer W to / from the resist coating unit 81.

Each of the transfer devices 70, 80, and 90 functions as a first transfer device of the present invention. For example, regarding the transfer device 90, the tweezers 90a holding the wafer W shown in FIG. It has in two steps.

The heat treatment section 12 includes a third heat treatment apparatus group 1
00, a transfer device 101 having the same configuration as the transfer device 22, and a peripheral exposure device 102 for performing an exposure process for removing a resist film around the wafer. As shown in FIG. 2, in the third heat treatment apparatus group 100, a low hot cooling unit 23, a cooling extension unit 103 for naturally cooling the wafer W, an extension unit 25, and a high hot cooling unit 26 are arranged in multiple stages in order from the bottom. Stacked.

The transfer device 101 includes the low hot cooling unit 23, the cooling extension unit 103 for naturally cooling the wafer W, the extension unit 25, the high hot cooling unit 26,
And each liquid processing unit group 6 provided in the liquid processing unit 11
The wafer W is transferred between the transfer table 73 at 0, 61, and 62.

Here, the atmosphere control in the coating and developing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG. For example, an air supply source 11 for introducing air from the atmosphere in a clean room
0 is provided outside the coating and developing treatment apparatus 1. The air system from the air supply source 110 is roughly classified into an air system 111 dedicated to the liquid processing unit and an air system 112 dedicated to the heat treatment unit. The air system 111 dedicated to the liquid processing unit further includes three systems: a first system 113 corresponding to the liquid processing unit group 60, a second system 114 corresponding to the liquid processing unit group 61, and a liquid processing unit group 62. Third system 1 corresponding to
15. The first system 113, the second system 114, and the third system 115 each include a temperature / humidity adjusting device 116 for independently adjusting air to a predetermined temperature / humidity.
a, 116b, and 116c, and high-performance filters 117a, 117b, and 117c such as ULPA and a chemical adsorption filter (so-called chemical filter) are provided, respectively.

As shown in FIG.
a, 117b, and 117c are installed above the corresponding liquid processing unit groups 60, 61, and 62, respectively. The air temperature / humidity adjusted by the temperature / humidity adjusting devices 116a, 116b, 116c is supplied to the respective filters 117a, 117a.
The filters 117a, 117b, and 117c, which are supplied independently from the upstream side of the filters 17b and 117c,
Particles and organic components such as alkalis are collected and removed. Accordingly, in each of the liquid processing unit groups 60, 61, and 62, a downflow of clean air is formed from above.

Further, each liquid processing unit group 60, 61, 6
2 is provided with a temperature and humidity sensor 118 for detecting the temperature and humidity of each unit group. The temperature / humidity detected by the temperature / humidity sensor 118 is sent to the corresponding temperature / humidity adjusting units 116a, 116b, 116c, respectively. The air is configured to adjust a predetermined temperature and humidity based on the temperature and humidity signal. Therefore, the atmosphere in the liquid processing unit group 60 is adjusted to the temperature and humidity suitable for the anti-reflection film forming process, and the atmosphere in the liquid processing unit group 61 is adjusted to the temperature and humidity suitable for the resist coating. The atmosphere in the group 62 is independently adjusted to a temperature and humidity suitable for the development processing. Each liquid processing unit group 6
The atmosphere in 0, 61, and 62 is exhausted to the outside through an exhaust pipe (not shown).

On the other hand, in the air system 112 dedicated to the heat treatment section, the heat treatment section 1 is located downstream of the temperature and humidity adjustment section 116d.
0, and a fifth system 121 corresponding to the heat treatment unit 12.
After passing through d and 117e, it is supplied to the heat treatment units 10 and 12. As shown in FIG. 2, the filter 117d of the fourth system 120 is arranged above the heat treatment unit 10, and the filter 117e of the fifth system 121 is arranged above the heat treatment unit 12. In this case, the heat treatment units 10 and 12 are not provided with any particular components such as temperature and humidity sensors. Since the heat treatment unit 10 and the cassette station 2 are adjacent to each other, a clean downflow is formed from the filter 117d also for the cassette station 2.

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

First, the wafer W taken out of the cassette C
Are carried into the alignment unit 24 belonging to the first heat treatment apparatus group 20, for example, and are aligned. Thereafter, the wafer W is unloaded from the alignment unit 24 by the transfer device 22 and placed on the transfer table 72 belonging to the liquid processing unit group 60. And this wafer W is
On the transfer table 72, the temperature is adjusted to a temperature required for the antireflection film forming process. Thereafter, the wafer W is transferred by the transfer device 70 to the anti-reflection film forming unit 71 to form an anti-reflection film.

The wafer W on which the predetermined anti-reflection film is formed in the anti-reflection film forming unit 71 is placed on the transfer table 72 by the transfer device 70. And the transport device 2
The wafer W is unloaded from the liquid processing unit group 60 by the step (2). Thereafter, the wafer W is transferred to the low hot cooling unit 2 belonging to the first heat treatment apparatus group 20, for example.
3. The wafers are sequentially conveyed to the high-hot cooling unit 26, and heating and cooling processes are continuously performed. Next, the wafer W is transferred to the liquid processing unit group 61 by the transfer device 22.
Is conveyed to the transfer table 72 belonging to and cooled.
Then, the wafer W adjusted to a predetermined temperature required for resist coating is transferred to the resist coating unit 81 by the transfer device 80. In the resist coating unit 81, a resist film is formed on the wafer W on which the antireflection film has been formed.

The wafer W on which the resist film is formed is transferred to the transfer table 73 by the transfer device 80, and then the transfer device 101 receives the wafer W, and the low hot cooling unit 23 belonging to the third heat treatment apparatus group 100. To be heated and cooled. Thereafter, the wafer W is transferred to the peripheral exposure device 102 by the transfer device 101.
After the unnecessary resist film in the peripheral portion is removed, the wafer is conveyed to the exposure device 4 where an exposure process of a predetermined pattern is performed. In order to perform a more precise cooling process before the peripheral exposure, the cooling process may be performed by temporarily placing the device on the transfer table 73 belonging to the liquid processing unit group 60 or the liquid processing unit group 61 and performing a predetermined cooling process. .

The wafer W exposed by the exposure device 4 is immediately transferred by the transfer device 101 to the low hot cooling unit 23 belonging to the third processing device group 100, where the wafer W is heated and cooled. Thereafter, the wafer W is transferred to a transfer table 73 belonging to the liquid processing unit group 62, and subjected to a highly accurate cooling process before the developing process. After being cooled to a predetermined temperature, the wafer W is transferred to the developing unit 91 by the transfer device 90 and subjected to the developing process. Next, the developed wafer W is transferred to the transfer table 72 by the transfer device 90. If no strict cooling is required here, the delivery table 7
It is not necessary to provide the cooling function to 2.

Thereafter, the wafer W is transferred by the transfer device 22 to, for example, a high-hot wafer belonging to the second processing unit group 21.
It is conveyed to the cooling unit 26 and subjected to heating and cooling processing. The wafer W having undergone the series of coating and developing processing steps is stored in the cassette C.

According to the coating and developing apparatus 1, first, the liquid processing section 11 and the heat treatment sections 10 and 12 are separated from each other by the partition plates 13,
14, the low-hot cooling units 23 and 27 and the high-hot cooling unit 26 for the anti-reflection film forming unit 71, the resist coating unit 81, and the developing unit 91. , 28 can be suppressed. Therefore, the anti-reflection film forming unit 71
In the resist coating unit 81, a liquid film having a desired thickness can be formed, and in the development processing unit 91, uneven development can be prevented. As described above, according to the coating and developing processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, first, the desired liquid processing on the wafer W can be suitably performed in the various liquid processing units.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7, since the atmosphere of the liquid processing section 11 and the atmosphere of the heat treatment sections 10 and 12 are individually controlled, each liquid processing unit group 60 of the liquid processing section 11 is controlled. , 61, and 62 form a downflow in which the temperature and humidity are strictly controlled, while the heat treatment section 1
At 0 and 12, it is possible to form a down flow in which the temperature and humidity are controlled at a lower level. Accordingly, only the atmosphere around the anti-reflection film forming unit 71, the resist coating unit 81, and the developing unit 91 can be centrally managed and maintained, and the amount of air for strictly controlling the temperature and humidity can be reduced. . Therefore, the atmosphere of the entire coating and developing apparatus 1 can be managed more efficiently than before. In addition, each liquid processing unit group 60, 61,
Since the temperature and humidity of the downflow are controlled for each 62, it is possible to precisely respond to the temperature and humidity required for the antireflection film forming unit 71, the resist coating unit 81, and the developing unit 91, respectively. Has become.

The liquid processing unit groups 60, 61, 62
Are provided with dedicated transfer devices 70, 80 and 90, respectively, and the heat treatment units 10 and 12 are provided with separate transfer devices 22 and 101 separately, so that the transfer of the wafer W is divided. The wafer W can be efficiently transported in the inside. Moreover, the liquid processing unit groups 60, 61, 6
Since each of the transfer devices 70, 80, and 90 does not transfer the high-temperature wafer W immediately after heating, no heat is accumulated in each of the transfer devices 70, 80, and 90. It is also possible to carry out the desired liquid treatment suitably.

Each liquid processing unit group 60, 61, 62
At the loading / unloading ports 64, 65, there are provided transfer tables 72, 73 each having a cooling function, so that the inside of the liquid processing section 11 and the inside of the heat treatment sections 10, 12 smoothly move first.
In addition, the tact time can be appropriately adjusted. Since the transfer tables 72 and 73 have a cooling function capable of accurately cooling to the temperature of the wafer W required at the time of the corresponding liquid processing, the throughput is improved.

Further, if the cooling units to be subjected to the cooling process are different, there may be a slight difference in the cooling effect depending on the cooling units, but according to this embodiment,
In each of the liquid processing unit groups 60, 61, and 62, the transfer tables 72 and 73 having a dedicated cooling function are arranged, so that the same cooling processing can always be obtained in the cooling processing before various liquid processing. .

In the low hot cooling unit 23 used in the above embodiment, the heating table 30 and the cooling table 31 are fixed, and the transfer of the wafer W between them is performed by the transfer arm 50. However, for example, like the low hot cooling unit 130 shown in FIG. 8 and FIG.
1 may be configured to be movable, and the cooling mounting table 131 may directly transfer the wafer W to and from the heating mounting table 30. That is, the cooling table 131 is connected to the moving unit 133 via the elevating member 132.

Therefore, the cooling mounting table 131 is mounted on the moving means 1.
33 moves toward the heating table 30 and moves up and down with the up and down movement of the elevating member 132. A circulation path 134 is formed inside the cooling mounting table 131, and a cooling water supply source 135 that supplies cooling water is connected to the circulation path 134. Also,
As shown in FIG. 9, the cooling mounting table 131 is connected to the heating mounting table 3.
A notch 136 is formed toward zero. The notch 136 is formed so as not to contact the support pin 38 provided on the heating table 30.

According to the low hot cooling unit 130 having such a configuration, the wafer W heated by the heating mounting table 30 can be cooled immediately after the cooling mounting table 131 receives it, and so-called overbaking can be prevented. Further, the transfer arm 5 is similar to the low-hot cooling unit 23 used in the above embodiment.
Since there is no need to provide 0, the size of the low hot cooling unit 130 can be reduced. The high-hot cooling unit is also used for this low-hot cooling unit.
The cooling unit 130 may be configured in the same manner.

Also in the low-hot cooling unit 23 used in the above embodiment, the transfer table 22 and 101 in the heat treatment units 10 and 12 do not provide the transfer arm 50, and the heating table 30 and the cooling table 3 are used.
1 may be transferred. In this case, one of the three tweezers 56, 57, 58 provided in the transfer devices 22, 101 is dedicated to the transfer of the wafer W immediately after being heated by the heating mounting table 30. Then, no heat will accumulate on the other tweezers.

Instead of the coating and developing apparatus 1 of the above embodiment, a coating and developing apparatus 140 according to a second embodiment described below can be proposed. As shown in FIG. 10, the coating and developing apparatus 140 is provided with a resist coating unit 141 on the lowermost second liquid processing floor 60.
On the third liquid processing floor 61, a developing unit 142 is provided. Each of the resist coating unit 141 and the development processing unit 142 has a plurality of processing chambers, and is configured to perform a predetermined liquid processing by sequentially moving the wafer W into the processing chambers. The configuration is the same as that of the coating and developing apparatus 1 described above, except that the resist coating unit 141 and the developing unit 142 are provided. Therefore, the description of the components having the same functions and configurations will be omitted. I do.

As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the resist coating unit 141 has a resist film forming chamber 143 and a resist removing chamber 144 individually.

The resist film forming chamber 143 is provided with a spin chuck 146 for vacuum-sucking the wafer W in a processing container 145 for storing the wafer W. The spin chuck 146 is located below the processing container 145. It is rotatable and vertically movable by a driving mechanism 147 provided.
The bottom wall 148 of the processing container 145 has an annular wall 149.
At the upper end of the annular wall 149, a rectifying plate 150 close to the back surface of the wafer W held by the spin chuck 146 is provided. This current plate 15
The peripheral portion of 0 is formed so as to be inclined downward toward the outside.

A resist supply nozzle 151 and a solvent supply nozzle 152 are provided above the processing container 145.
It is attached to a moving arm 154 connected to 53. Therefore, the resist solution supply nozzle 151 and the solvent supply nozzle 152 are configured to be movable in the processing vessel 145 by the movement arm 154. Also,
The resist solution and the solvent scattered in the processing container 145 are drained outside through a drain pipe 155 provided at the bottom of the processing container 145. Further, the atmosphere in the processing vessel 145 is
The processing chamber 145 is evacuated from the center of the bottom by an evacuation unit (not shown) such as a vacuum pump provided outside.

In the resist removing chamber 144, similarly to the resist film forming chamber 143, a processing vessel 145, a spin chuck 146, a driving mechanism 147 and the like are provided. And
A removal nozzle 156 that supplies pure water to the back and side surfaces of the wafer W to remove the resist solution is disposed on the rectifying plate 150. The upper half of the wall 157 that separates the resist film formation chamber 143 and the resist removal chamber 144 is empty.
Utilizing this vacant space, the transfer arm 157 having the same configuration as the transfer arm 50 is moved to the resist film formation chamber 14.
The transfer of the wafer W between the wafer 3 and the resist removal chamber 144 is performed.

As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the developing unit 142 includes a developer supply chamber 160 as a developer film formation chamber, a pure water supply chamber 161 as a cleaning chamber, and a drying chamber 162. In preparation.

The processing container 163 is provided in the developer supply chamber 160.
A rotary mounting table 164 for horizontally mounting the wafer W in the processing container 163 and rotating the mounted wafer W; and a developer supply nozzle 16 for supplying a developer to the surface of the wafer W.
5 are provided.

The drain pipe 1 is provided on the bottom surface 166 of the processing vessel 163.
67 are connected. The rotary mounting table 164 is provided for the support column 1 of the lifting / lowering rotary mechanism 168 provided below the processing container 163.
69, and can move up and down and rotate.
The developer supply nozzle 165 is connected to the transport rail 1 shown in FIG.
70 is gripped by a gripping arm 171 movable on the
The reciprocating movement is possible in the X direction of FIGS. 13 and 14 (the direction parallel to the long side direction of the developing unit 142 in FIG. 13). The developer supply chamber 160 and the pure water supply chamber 161 are partitioned by a wall 172 having an upper half open, and the developer supply chamber 160 and the pure water supply chamber 16 are separated.
The transfer of the wafer W during the transfer is performed by the transfer arm 1 shown in FIG.
73.

The pure water supply chamber 161 is provided with the developer supply chamber 16.
As in the case of the wafer W, a processing container 163, a rotary mounting table 164, an elevating and rotating mechanism 168 and the like are provided. Back surface cleaning nozzle 17 for supplying pure water
4 are added. As shown in FIG. 13, the pure water supply nozzle 173 has a support member 176 above the rotation shaft 175.
, And is supported in a horizontal posture through the rotation shaft 175.
Is configured to rotate above the processing container 163 in the θ direction of FIG.

In the drying chamber 162, a shutter 178 that can be opened and closed is provided on a wall 177 that separates the pure water supply chamber 161 and the drying chamber 162. And this shutter 178
Exhaust pipes 179 and 180 for exhausting the internal atmosphere in the drying chamber 162 with the are closed are provided on the bottom surface. Also,
With the shutter 178 opened, the transfer of the wafer W between the pure water supply chamber 161 and the drying chamber 162 is performed by the transfer arm 181 shown in FIG.

The drying chamber 162 has a processing container 182.
And a spin chuck 183 for rotatably holding the wafer W in the processing container 182. Processing container 1
At 82, the bottom surface 184 is inclined,
A drain pipe 185 for draining pure water scattered in the processing container 182 is connected to the lowermost part of the pipe 84. An exhaust pipe 186 for exhausting the atmosphere inside the processing container 182 is connected to the opposite side of the drain pipe 185. Further, an annular wall 187 and a rectifying plate 188 are formed in the processing container 182 as in the processing container 145. Also,
The spin chuck 183 is connected to a support column 190 of a lifting / lowering rotation mechanism 189 provided below the processing container 182. Here, since the spin chuck 183 is configured to suction-hold the wafer W in a horizontal state, the wafer W
When drying the wafer W, the wafer W can be rotated at a high speed by operating the elevating / lowering rotating mechanism 189.

The resist coating processing and the developing processing in the coating and developing processing apparatus 140 configured as described above will be described. First, regarding the resist coating process, the first wafer W is loaded into the resist film forming chamber 143 of the resist coating unit 141, and the spin chuck 1
46 and housed in the processing container 145. Then, a resist liquid is supplied to the surface of the first wafer W, and the resist liquid is diffused by centrifugal force generated when the wafer W is rotated by the spin chuck 146 to form a resist film on the surface of the wafer W. After that, the first wafer W is transferred to the resist removal chamber 144 and stored in the processing container 145. Then, pure water is discharged from the removal nozzle 156, and the resist liquid that has flowed to the back and side surfaces of the wafer W is removed.

On the other hand, during this time, the second wafer W is carried into the resist film forming chamber 143 and a resist film is formed in exactly the same procedure as the first wafer W. The first wafer W on which the resist application has been completed is placed in the resist removal chamber 143.
It is carried out from. On the other hand, the second wafer W is carried into the empty resist removal chamber 143 by the transfer arm 157 and subjected to the resist removal processing. Then, the third wafer W is carried into the empty resist film forming chamber 144,
Thereafter, similar development processing is performed.

According to the resist coating unit 141, the formation of the resist film in the resist film forming chamber 143 and the removal of the resist solution in the resist removing chamber 144 can be performed simultaneously and in parallel.
The throughput can be improved more than the above. Moreover,
A resist liquid supply nozzle 151 is provided in the resist film forming chamber 143.
It is only necessary to provide the resist removal chamber 144 with the removal nozzles 156, respectively.
Providing one unit 41 simplifies the overall device configuration and reduces the manufacturing cost. And the resist coating process can be made uniform.

On the other hand, the processing in the developing cloth unit 142 will be described. First, the first wafer W is carried into the developing solution supply chamber 160 of the developing processing unit 142 and is mounted on the rotary mounting table 164 to be processed in the processing container 163. Is stored inside. Then, a developer is supplied to the surface of the first wafer W to form a liquid film of the developer, and development is performed while the wafer W on which the film of the developer is formed is kept stationary. After that, the first wafer W is transferred to the pure water supply chamber 161 and stored in the processing container 163. Then, pure water is supplied to the wafer W, and the developing solution is washed away from the wafer W. On the other hand, during this time, the second wafer W is supplied to the developer supply chamber 160.
And the developer is supplied thereto, and a film of the developer is formed on the surface.

Next, the first wafer W is placed in the drying chamber 16.
2 and is held by the spin chuck 183. The spin chuck 183 rotates at high speed, shakes off pure water from the wafer W, and spin-drys the wafer W. At this time, the shutter 178 is closed so that the drying chamber 162 is closed, and the atmosphere in the drying chamber 162 is exhausted through the exhaust pipes 137 and 138. As can be seen from the figure, since the drying chamber 162 does not have the pure water supply nozzle 173 and the like and is provided with only the components necessary for the drying process, the indoor space is compact. Therefore, such a drying chamber 162
In this case, the exhaust amount can be reduced as compared with the developing unit 91 provided with a pure water supply nozzle or the like.

On the other hand, during this time, the second wafer W is loaded into the pure water supply chamber 161 and the developing solution is washed away, and further, the third wafer W is loaded into the developing solution supply chamber 160 and the developer is loaded. Supplied. Then, the developing process is completed 1
The second wafer W is unloaded from the drying chamber 162, the second wafer W and the third wafer W are shifted to the next processing, and the fourth wafer W is loaded into the developer supply chamber 160. After that, the same developing process is continued.

According to the development processing unit 142,
Since development in the developer supply chamber 160, washing of the developer in the pure water supply chamber 161 and drying in the drying chamber 162 can be performed simultaneously and in parallel, the throughput of the development processing unit 142 can be improved. . In addition, the developer supply nozzle 160 is connected to the developer supply chamber 160 and the pure water supply chamber
1 only needs to be provided with the pure water supply nozzles 173, respectively. Therefore, the provision of one development processing unit 142 simplifies the structure of the entire apparatus rather than providing three conventional development processing units 91. Manufacturing costs can be reduced. Further, uniform development processing can be achieved.

The present invention is not limited to these embodiments. For example, the substrate is not limited to the wafer W, but may be an LCD substrate, a glass substrate, a CD substrate, a photomask, a printed substrate, a ceramic substrate, or the like.

[0082]

According to the substrate processing apparatus according to the first and second aspects of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the thermal effect from the heat treatment unit on the liquid processing unit. Period can be suitably performed. Further, since only the surrounding atmosphere of the liquid processing unit requiring strict temperature and humidity control can be centrally managed, the atmosphere management of the entire substrate processing apparatus can be performed more efficiently than before.

According to the substrate processing apparatus of the second to tenth aspects, the transfer of the substrate in the apparatus can be further efficiently performed. According to the third aspect, the substrate can smoothly move between the liquid processing section and the heat treatment section, and the tact time of the processing can be appropriately adjusted. In the case of claim 4, it is possible to improve the throughput.
In the case of claim 5, it is possible to suitably cope with the case where various liquid treatments are performed in one apparatus. Claim 6
In the case of, the area occupied by the floor can be saved. In the case of claim 7, efficient transfer and prevention of contamination by dedicated use of the transfer device can be achieved. According to the ninth and tenth aspects, the throughput can be improved, the entire apparatus can be simplified, and the uniformity of the processing can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a front view of the coating and developing apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view showing a low hot / shortening process in the coating and developing apparatus of FIG.
It is a top view of a cooling unit.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the low hot cooling unit of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a transfer arm of the low hot cooling unit of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of a processing station of the coating and developing processing apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is an air system diagram for explaining the flow of air in the coating and developing apparatus.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of another low-hot cooling unit when the cooling mounting table is configured to be movable.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of another low-hot cooling unit when the cooling mounting table is configured to be movable.

FIG. 10 is a front view of a coating and developing apparatus according to a second embodiment.

11 is a plan view of a resist coating unit provided in the coating and developing apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 12 is a longitudinal sectional view of a resist coating unit provided in the coating and developing apparatus of FIG. 10;

FIG. 13 is a plan view of a developing unit provided in the coating and developing apparatus of FIG. 10;

FIG. 14 is a vertical sectional view of a developing unit provided in the coating and developing apparatus of FIG. 10;

FIG. 15 is a plan view of a conventional coating and developing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 coating / developing processing apparatus 10, 12 heat treatment section 11 liquid processing section 22 transport apparatus 23, 27 low hot cooling unit 26, 28 high hot cooling unit 70, 80, 90 transport apparatus 71 antireflection film forming unit 72 transfer table 81 resist Coating unit 91 Development processing unit 111 Air system dedicated to liquid processing unit 112 Air system dedicated to heat treatment unit C Cassette W Wafer

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5F031 CA02 CA05 DA17 FA01 FA02 FA12 FA15 GA43 GA48 HA37 MA02 MA06 MA23 MA26 NA02 5F046 CD01 CD05 JA07 JA08 JA15 JA22 JA24 KA04 KA07 LA02 LA04 LA07 LA13 LA18

Claims (10)

[Claims] An apparatus for performing predetermined liquid processing and heat treatment on a substrate, comprising: a liquid processing unit having a liquid processing unit for performing predetermined liquid processing on the substrate; And a heat treatment unit having a heat treatment unit for performing the heat treatment are arranged in divided regions in the apparatus, and the atmosphere of the liquid treatment unit and the atmosphere of the heat treatment unit are individually controlled. A substrate processing apparatus. 2. An apparatus for performing predetermined liquid processing and heat treatment on a substrate, comprising: a liquid processing unit having a liquid processing unit for performing predetermined liquid processing on the substrate; A heat treatment unit having a heat treatment unit for carrying out the treatment, a first transfer device for transferring a substrate in the liquid treatment unit, and a second transfer device for transferring a substrate in the heat treatment unit A substrate processing apparatus, wherein the atmosphere in the liquid processing section and the atmosphere in the heat treatment section are individually controlled. 3. The liquid transfer unit according to claim 1, wherein the first transfer device transfers the substrate between a transfer table provided in the liquid processing unit and the liquid processing unit, and the second transfer device controls the transfer table and the transfer table. 3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the substrate processing apparatus is configured to transfer the substrate to and from the heat treatment unit. 4. The transfer table has a cooling function of cooling a substrate to a predetermined temperature during the liquid processing before performing a predetermined liquid processing on the substrate.
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3. 5. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein at least one transfer table is provided for each type of liquid processing. 6. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the liquid processing units are arranged in multiple stages in a vertical direction, and the transfer table is provided for each liquid processing unit. 7. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the first transfer device is provided for each liquid processing unit. 8. The liquid processing unit has a plurality of processing chambers, and is configured to sequentially perform a series of liquid processing by sequentially moving substrates into the processing chambers. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. 9. A plurality of liquid processing units, at least one of which is a resist coating unit for forming a resist film on the surface of a substrate, wherein the resist coating unit supplies a resist liquid to the surface of the substrate. A resist film forming chamber for diffusing the resist solution by centrifugal force generated when the substrate is rotated to form a resist film on the surface of the substrate; 9. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein a resist removal chamber to be removed is separately provided. 10. A liquid processing unit comprising a plurality of liquid processing units, wherein at least one of the liquid processing units is a developing unit for performing a developing process on a substrate, and the developing unit supplies a developing solution to a surface of the substrate. A developing solution film forming chamber for forming a liquid film of the developing solution and keeping the substrate on which the liquid film is formed in a stationary state, and thereafter, cleaning water is supplied to the substrate to wash the developing solution from the substrate. 10. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein a chamber and a drying chamber for drying the substrate by rotating the substrate thereafter are separately provided.