JP2001239187A - Liquid feed nozzle and treating method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid feed nozzle and a liquid treating method wherein a large quantity of liquid is fed onto a substrate to be treated without imparting an impact to it and without mixing bubbles into the liquid so that a uniform and accurate pattern can be obtained, whereby a liquid treatment free from defect due to dust can be performed with a high degree of quality. SOLUTION: The liquid feed nozzle includes a nozzle cylinder body provided with a fluid inlet port, a first and second straightening plates, a first and second buffer parts, and a laminar flow forming means.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a nozzle for liquid-treating a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer, a liquid crystal panel substrate and a photomask thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A semiconductor photomask will be described as an example. For the photomask, a chromium film is sputtered on a glass substrate, a resist is applied on the chromium film, and electron beam drawing is performed selectively, followed by development.

The developing system includes a dip system, a spray system, and a paddle system. The nozzle of the present invention is mainly used in a paddle system. The paddle method discharges a developing solution from a nozzle while rotating a horizontally mounted photomask at a low speed, builds up the liquid on the photomask, and then stops,
Alternatively, it is a method of developing in a state close to stopping. In order to develop a photomask uniformly and accurately, it is necessary to quickly add a developing solution onto the mask without applying an impact force.

A conventional nozzle used for paddle development has a liquid film 2 in which a developer is spread in a flat fan shape as shown in FIG.
Is a fan-shaped nozzle of a type in which the liquid is filled on the photomask 3.

[0005] Since the tip 2a of the liquid film 2 of the fan-shaped nozzle 1 becomes particles having a diameter of 0.5 to 1 mm, uneven development occurs at portions where the particles hit and portions where they do not hit. In other words, the portion hit by the particles has a defect that the impact speeds up the development speed and deteriorates the dimensional uniformity of the fine pattern.

Also, a pressure is applied to the developing solution to make the developing solution fan-shaped, for example, a pressure of 1 kgf / cm 2 is applied to the developing solution, and a strong impact is applied to the resist of the photomask 3 to generate a pinhole in the resist. There is.

In addition, the conventional nozzle has a problem that the developing solution is scattered in a mist form by the impact force when the developing solution hits the substrate, and the mist is re-adhered to the substrate to generate a dust defect.

In order to solve these problems, as a nozzle having no impact, for example, a proposal has been made of a micro-hole nozzle in which several hundred micro-holes are provided on the lower surface of a rectangular parallelepiped container (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 55133/1993). It has been done.

However, the nozzle of this type has a defect that the flow velocity of the liquid increases and the impact force increases because the diameter of the fine holes is as small as 0.1 to 1 mm. Also,
Since high pressure must be applied to increase the liquid supply amount, bubbles are apt to be mixed into the liquid, and the resist immediately below the bubbles is not developed, resulting in a pattern defect.

Furthermore, since an accessory for removing air bubbles is required, the structure of the nozzle is complicated, and there is a defect that particles are generated.

In order to uniformly develop the surface of the mask, it is necessary to apply a developing solution over the entire surface of the mask in a short time, for example, within one second.

Since the size of the mask is a square having a side of 15 cm, it is necessary to cover the diagonal of the mask in order to pour the developing solution on the mask in a short time with the nozzle of the fine hole method. There is a defect that the total length is as large as about 25 cm and it is difficult to incorporate it into the device.

[0013]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to supply a large flow rate of liquid to a substrate to be processed without impact and without mixing of air bubbles, and to provide a uniform and highly accurate circuit. An object of the present invention is to provide a small liquid supply nozzle for forming a pattern, which is easy to incorporate into a device. Another object of the present invention is to provide a liquid supply nozzle for performing high-quality substrate processing without dust defects.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for uniformly and highly accurately liquid-treating a substrate on which a circuit pattern is drawn.

[0015]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention comprises a nozzle cylinder having a liquid input port, first and second rectifying means, first and second buffer means, and a laminar flow forming means. It is characterized by having done.

Further, according to the present invention, a nozzle cylinder provided with a liquid input port, a liquid supply nozzle provided with first and second rectifying means, and first and second buffer means are provided close to a substrate to be processed. Processing.

[0017]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a first liquid supply nozzle according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a view along arrow AA, FIG. 3 is a view along arrow BB, and FIG. 4 is a view along arrow CC.

A liquid, for example, a developing solution is supplied from an input port 11 of a nozzle 10 to a nozzle cylinder 12. Since the inner diameter of the input port 11 is usually 0.4 cm, the flow rate required for filling in one second is about 33 mL / sec, and the flow rate at that time is 26 mL / sec.
3 cm / sec. This developer is received by the first current plate 13, and the flow rate of the developer is reduced and stabilized in the first buffer chamber 14,
It is fed into the second buffer chamber 16 through the hole 15.

It is to be noted that there is no hole in the center of the first current plate 13 facing the input port 11 and a plurality of holes 15 are provided in the outer peripheral portion not facing the input plate 11 to efficiently reduce the flow rate of the liquid. Can be.

After the developer is further stabilized by the second buffer chamber 16 and the second rectifying plate 17, the developer is uniformly discharged from the entire surface of the discharge surface 21, and the developer is supplied onto the surface of the photomask 20. I do.

The photomask 20 is mounted on a rotating stage (not shown), and is rotated at a low speed, for example, 60 rpm to 1 rpm.
By rotating at 50 rpm, liquid is applied on the entire surface of the photomask 20. Alternatively, the liquid may be filled by swinging the nozzle 10 left and right.

Since the inner diameter of the nozzle cylinder 12 is 1 to 3 cm, the flow velocity of the liquid on the discharge surface 21 is reduced to 4.7 cm / sec when the inner diameter is 3 cm, and the impact force on the mask is drastically reduced.

By making the gap between the discharge surface 21 of the nozzle 10 and the mask close to 1 to 5 mm, the thinning of the liquid flow due to the surface tension of the liquid is prevented, and the liquid is discharged uniformly from the entire surface of the discharge surface 21.

According to an experiment, the impact force at a flow rate of 33 mL / sec is 91 g / c for the conventional fan-shaped nozzle shown in FIG.
m2, micro-hole nozzle (JP-A-5-55133) is 3.5
G / cm <2>, whereas the nozzle of the invention was 0.5 g / cm <2>.

When the liquid is pure water or a water-soluble chemical,
A resin porous body having continuous pores is used. Also, the second
For example, there is a medium used for a Teflon (registered trademark) nonwoven fabric, a polyethylene nonwoven fabric, a liquid filter, or the like. Since the nonwoven fabric is soft, it is held by a corrosion-resistant teflon or stainless steel support net shown in FIG.

When the liquid is an organic solvent such as ketone,
The present invention can also be realized by using a porous body having continuous holes, such as a filter medium made of stainless steel or a sintered metal, for the second current plate.

The second current plate 17 has a diameter of 0.5 m.
The present invention can be realized even with a plate having pores of m or less uniformly arranged on the entire surface.

When the development is completed, the rotating stage is rotated at a medium speed, for example, 300 rpm, and the photomask 20 is sprayed with a rinsing liquid and washed.
Rotate at 500 rpm to shake off and dry, and end all the processing.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the second liquid supply nozzle of the present invention. 1 are given the same reference numerals. The first rectifying plate 13 and the second rectifying plate 1 of the first embodiment
By adding a third rectifying plate 31 and a third buffer chamber 32 during the period 7, the liquid is further stabilized, and the developer is uniformly supplied from the discharge surface 21 of the nozzle 30.

In the second embodiment, the case where the third rectifying plate 31 is added has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a large number of fourth and fifth rectifying plates may be additionally inserted. It is clear that the present invention can be realized also by the above.

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view of a third liquid supply nozzle according to the present invention. 1 are given the same reference numerals. The laminar flow forming means is disposed in close contact with the second rectifying plate 17 of the first embodiment, and the liquid flows out of the discharge surface 21 more uniformly.

As the laminar flow forming means, a thin tube bundle 19 in which tubes having an inner diameter of 1 to 3 mm are bundled is used.

When the nozzle is inclined by bringing the second straightening plate 17 into close contact with the thin tube bundle 19, it is possible to prevent air from flowing into the higher pores 22 and dripping from the lower pores 22. be able to.

Further, since the thin tube bundle 19 is constituted by pores having an inner diameter of 1 to 3 mm, a nozzle with a good drainage can be obtained.

In the above description, the case where the laminar flow forming means is a bundle of thin tubes has been described. However, the present invention can be realized in exactly the same manner even if the cross-section is a hexagonal, square or triangular honeycomb-shaped thin plate. can do.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a liquid supply nozzle according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a view taken on line AA of FIG. The same reference numerals are given to the same names as in FIG.

While the cylinders of the first to third embodiments are cylindrical, the fourth embodiment is a liquid supply nozzle having a rectangular parallelepiped cylinder.

By reducing the width of the discharge surface 23 of the rectangular parallelepiped nozzle 33 to 1 to 3 mm and increasing the length to 50 to 160 mm, the substrate is covered in a wide range, and the rotation of the substrate and the movement of the nozzle 33 are combined. To supply a chemical solution onto the substrate in a short time, and perform a uniform chemical solution treatment over the entire surface of the substrate.

There is also a method in which the nozzle 33 is stopped after being moved on the substrate, and the substrate is rotated to supply a chemical solution. Furthermore, there is a method of supplying a chemical solution by moving the nozzle 33 while the substrate is stationary.

In the above description, the case where the processing is development is described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention can be realized in the same manner for etching a metal film or a silicon oxide film. Can be.

In the above description, the case where the substrate to be processed is a photomask has been described. However, the present invention can be applied to a semiconductor wafer or a liquid crystal panel substrate in the same manner.

In the above description, mainly the paddle type development has been described. However, since a large flow rate of liquid can be supplied without impact, a nozzle for pure water cleaning following substrate processing by continuous discharge or chemical liquid processing. The present invention can also be realized as follows.

[0044]

As described above, the present invention has the following effects. Large flow of liquid without impact
In addition, a uniform and highly accurate pattern can be obtained by supplying to a substrate to be processed without air bubbles being mixed therein. In addition, liquid mist is not scattered, and high quality liquid processing without particle defects can be performed. Furthermore, since it is small, it can be easily incorporated into a device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a first liquid supply nozzle of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view taken in the direction of arrows AA in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view taken in the direction of arrows BB in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view taken in the direction of the arrow CC in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of a second liquid supply nozzle of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of a third liquid supply nozzle of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a liquid film of a conventional fan-shaped nozzle.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a fourth liquid supply nozzle of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a view on arrow AA of FIG. 8;

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Fan-shaped nozzle, 2 ... Liquid film, 2a ... Tip of liquid film 2, 3,
Reference numeral 20: photomask, 10, 30: nozzle, 11: input port, 12: nozzle cylinder, 13: first straightening plate, 14: first buffer chamber, 15: hole, 16: second buffer chamber, 17 .., A second baffle plate, 19 a thin tube bundle, 21 a discharge surface, 22 pores, 23 a support net, 31 a third baffle plate, 32 a third buffer chamber.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 4F033 AA14 BA03 CA01 DA05 EA05 JA01 JA06 PA11 QA05 QC04 4F041 AA05 AB01 BA05 BA13 BA17 4F042 AA07 DD33 DD36

Claims (18)

[Claims] A liquid supply nozzle disposed opposite to the substrate to be processed and discharging a predetermined liquid onto the substrate to be processed;
A liquid supply nozzle, comprising: a nozzle cylinder having a liquid input port; first and second rectifying means; and first and second buffer means. 2. The liquid supply nozzle according to claim 1, wherein said first rectifying means is a rectifying plate having a plurality of holes. 3. The liquid supply nozzle according to claim 1, wherein the first rectifying means is a rectifying plate having a hole at a position facing the liquid input port and having a hole at a position not facing the liquid input port. . 4. The liquid supply nozzle according to claim 1, wherein one or a plurality of rectifiers are inserted between the first rectifier and the second rectifier. 5. The liquid supply nozzle according to claim 1, wherein the second straightening means is a nonwoven fabric having fine holes, and is held by a support net. 6. The liquid supply nozzle according to claim 1, wherein the second straightening means is a resin nonwoven fabric. 7. The liquid supply nozzle according to claim 1, wherein the second straightening means is a porous body having continuous holes. 8. A liquid processing method for disposing a predetermined liquid on a substrate to be processed, wherein the nozzle cylinder has a liquid input port and the first and second rectifiers. A liquid supply nozzle provided with means and first and second buffer means, and processing the liquid supply nozzle close to a substrate to be processed. 9. The liquid processing method according to claim 8, wherein a gap between the substrate to be processed and a discharge surface of the liquid nozzle is 5 mm or less. 10. A liquid supply nozzle arranged to face a substrate to be processed and discharging a predetermined liquid to the substrate to be processed,
A liquid supply nozzle comprising: a nozzle cylinder having a liquid input port; first and second rectification means; first and second buffer means; and a laminar flow forming means. 11. The liquid supply nozzle according to claim 10, wherein said second rectifying means is in close contact with said laminar flow forming means. 12. The liquid supply nozzle according to claim 10, wherein said laminar flow forming means is a laminar flow plate having pores having a thickness of 5 mm or more. 13. The liquid supply nozzle according to claim 10, wherein said laminar flow forming means is a bundle of thin tubes having a length of 5 mm or more. 14. The laminar flow forming means is a honeycomb tube plate having a length of 5 mm or more.
The liquid supply nozzle according to 0. 15. The liquid supply nozzle according to claim 10, wherein the diameter of the pores or narrow tubes of the laminar flow forming means is 1 to 5 mm. 16. The liquid supply nozzle according to claim 10, wherein said second rectifying means is a plate or a thin film having a large number of fine holes of 0.5 mm or less. 17. The liquid supply nozzle according to claim 1, wherein said cylindrical body has a cylindrical shape. 18. The liquid supply nozzle according to claim 1, wherein said cylindrical body has a rectangular parallelepiped shape.