JP2002303991A - Hybrid type resist developing device, resist developing method using the same and liquid crystal display obtained by this method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a hybrid type resist developing device improved in such a manner that the economical burden in a resist process can be lessened by performing recycling of a developer as efficiently as possible at a low cost. SOLUTION: This device has a paddle development process chamber 16 for paddle development of the photoresist, a shower development process chamber 5 for shower development of the photoresist and a developer tank 8 for storing the developer to be supplied into the shower development process chamber 5. The developer is circulated between the developer tank 8 and the shower development process chamber 5 so that the developer can be repetitively used.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention generally relates to a resist developing apparatus, and more particularly, to a hybrid type resist developing apparatus improved so that a resist developing solution can be ideally recycled. About. The present invention also relates to a resist developing method using such a developing device. The invention further relates to a liquid crystal display obtained by such a method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, paddle development and shower development are known as resist development.

Hereinafter, description will be made with reference to the drawings. In the following drawings, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals.

Referring to FIG. 4, paddle development will be described first. An organic alkaline developer 3 is applied to the surface of the substrate 2 guided to the development processing chamber, and the developer 3 is raised on the substrate 2 by surface tension. After being left in this state, it is blown off with an air knife 4 while cleaning the surface with pure water. Then, final washing with water and drying are performed to complete the development. At this time, the developing solution that has been washed away with pure water is stored in a liquid collecting tank and is treated as waste liquid.

[0005] Shower development will be described with reference to FIGS. A developer adjusted to a predetermined alkali concentration in advance is stored in a developer storage tank (not shown) installed in the development processing chamber. The developer 3 is sprayed on the surface of the substrate 2 guided to the processing chamber using a shower. After leaving for a certain period of time, it is blown off with an air knife 4, and immediately thereafter, pure water is applied to stop the development. After the final washing with water and drying, the development is completed. The developer used here is collected in the developer storage tank 8 and reused in the developing process (recycle development). In FIG. 6, 5 is a shower developing chamber, 6 is a flow of a developing solution, 7 is a developing shower, and 9 is a filter for filtering a developing solution.

In this shower development, referring to FIG. 7, the developer in the storage tank 8 is subjected to an alkali concentration and a resin concentration (dissolved in the air during the development process) by a developer concentration management system 15 installed in the apparatus. (The concentration of the resist component) is controlled to a predetermined value. In order to adjust the concentration, a tank 12 containing a high-concentration developer is installed separately from the storage tank, and a solution 13 to be immediately added thereto and diluted with pure water to a concentration lower than the solution in the storage tank 8. The developer 14 is divided into the two solutions, and while measuring the respective concentrations in the storage tank, the two developers are added as needed to adjust the concentration. In FIG. 7, reference numeral 10 denotes a flow of the preparation developer, and reference numeral 11 denotes a flow of pure water.

In the shower development, by using the developer concentration management system 15, a constant development rate can always be maintained.

However, the management system 15 employs a method of monitoring the alkali concentration of the solution by measuring the conductivity in the solution and observing the degree of ionization of alkali ions. For this reason, as it is used, the concentration of carbonate and the concentration of alkali generated by combination with carbon dioxide dissolved in the liquid cannot be distinguished, and the reliability of the monitor decreases with use time.

In fact, referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, there is an example in which the alkali concentration displayed by the apparatus does not match the true alkali concentration, resulting in insufficient development. In addition, as a matter of course, as the liquid crystal is used, impurities, dust, and the like dissolve into the liquid, which lowers the yield of panels and devices.
Therefore, there are some restrictions on the use of liquids,
When time has passed, the whole liquid in the tank is replaced with a new liquid.

Originally, this shower development was the mainstream in semiconductor production, but if a recycled developer was used, the line width stability at the time of completion of development could not be maintained. Further, it is impossible to perform a recent development process of a fine pattern on the order of submicrons. For this reason, in the current semiconductor IC manufacturing process, the above-described paddle development is the mainstream, and shower development is mainly used in the production of liquid crystal panels and the like in which pattern dimensions are relatively large and line width stability is not so strictly required. Used in

Referring to FIG. 10, as a method of recycling the developing solution used in the paddle development, an uncured resist (and a part of the cured resist) contained in the used developing solution and a photosensitive agent are decomposed. In order to separate the product and the alkali component, the waste developer is passed through an ion exchange treatment chamber 18 or an electrodialysis treatment chamber to separate an alkaline chemical solution, which is a main component of the developer, and again as a developer in a concentration adjusting chamber 19. Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. Hei 9
-34121. In the figure, reference numeral 16 denotes a developing chamber for paddle development, 17 denotes a used developer collecting tank, 191 denotes a developing solution application, and 192 denotes a flow of the solution.

[0012]

However, such recycling requires large-scale equipment. And the cost of operating it naturally comes.

Referring to FIG. 11, with respect to the shower developing system, the developing rate in the recycled developer is as follows.
It greatly depends on the resin concentration in the liquid. When processing a large number of substrates, a certain level of resin concentration is required to control the resin concentration. When the same amount of resist is dissolved, the concentration fluctuation rate decreases as the resin concentration in the solution increases, so that the amount of solution added for controlling the concentration can be reduced.

This is shown in FIGS. 12, 13 and 14.
This will be specifically described with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 shows the result of calculating the addition amount of a new solution necessary for returning the resin concentration to the original concentration when the resin concentration increased by 0.01% with respect to an arbitrary resin concentration in 100 liters of the developing solution. It is. According to this, 0.1%, 0.2%, 0.75%, 1.0%
% And 1.3% resin concentration settings,
The addition amounts of the new liquid necessary to restore the 1% concentration fluctuation are 2 liters, 1 liter, 0.267 liters, 0.2 liters, and 0.154 liters, respectively. That is, the amount of addition when adjusting to 0.2% is 1.0%.
% Of the solution is required as compared to the%. in this way,
The higher the set value of the resin concentration, the smaller the amount of the new solution required for addition when adjusting the concentration. This is apparent from FIGS. 13 and 14, where even if the amount of the new liquid to be added is the same, the higher the set value of the resin concentration, the greater the change in concentration. FIG. 13 shows the results of simulating the addition amount of a new developing solution necessary for adjusting the resin concentration to an arbitrary resin concentration, with respect to 100 liters of the developing solution. It shows the result of calculating the amount of change (decrease) in resin concentration when 5 liters of a new solution is added.

FIG. 14 shows the result of a simulation of the amount of a new developing solution required for adjusting the resin concentration with respect to 100 liters of developing solution for an arbitrary resin concentration. It shows the result of calculating a resin concentration value (a value obtained by subtracting the amount of change calculated in b from the original resin concentration) when a new solution is added.

The flow rate of the liquid added by the liquid concentration management system 15 is generally not so large. This is because delicate concentration adjustment is required for the management of the alkali concentration, and it becomes difficult to control the concentration when the amount of liquid is increased. This, on the contrary, causes a higher set value for controlling the resin concentration. For example, if the content is controlled to 0.1% ± 0.01%, the addition of the liquid cannot keep up with the fluctuation of the resin concentration due to the penetration of the resist when a large number of substrates are processed, and it is difficult to actually control the resin. Therefore, in a normal production process, the control is often performed at about 1.0% ± 0.05%. However, starting the development process from the new solution,
The development rate naturally changes until the liquid reaches this resin concentration while the resist is dissolved.

According to FIG. 11, there is a case where the line width at the time of completion of development differs by 1.0 μm between the state of the new solution and the state of the resin concentration of 1.0%. For this reason, after liquid exchange,
After processing a substrate having a rough line width controllability and increasing the resin concentration to a required value, processing of another layer is started.

FIG. 15 shows a state in which the alkali concentration of the liquid is reduced stepwise so as to suppress the development rate from changing as much as possible in order to suppress the fluctuation of the development rate due to the increase in the resin concentration. FIG.

Referring to FIG. 15, in the step of increasing the resin concentration, the alkali concentration of the developing solution is gradually reduced at appropriate intervals, and finally the resin concentration reaches the set value. At the start of the control, there is a case where the alkali concentration is settled to a predetermined value so that the development rate is kept as small as possible.

The alkali concentration management set value of the concentration management system is operated while changing as follows.

[0021]

[Table 1]

As described above, the paddle development and the shower development have advantages and disadvantages, and each has a point to be improved.
Also, for LCDs that did not require line width controllability and pattern fineness as much as liquid crystal panels, fineness and line width controllability have been required for some layers. However, it cannot be controlled by shower development alone, so it may be used in parallel with paddle development.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems. In connection with using these developing devices in parallel, the recycling of the developing solution is carried out with as little waste as possible and at low cost. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for reducing an economic burden in a process.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for ensuring that the resin concentration of the recycled developer in the shower development reaches a desired value immediately after the replacement of the solution, thereby ensuring the line width stability as much as possible.

[0025]

The hybrid type resist developing apparatus according to the present invention relates to a developing apparatus for developing a photoresist using an alkaline developing solution. The apparatus is a paddle developing type processing chamber for applying the developing solution on the substrate surface and paddle developing the photoresist, and a shower developing type for spraying the developing solution on the substrate surface by shower and shower developing the photoresist. A processing chamber; and a developer tank connected to the shower development processing chamber and storing the developer supplied into the shower development processing chamber. The developer is circulated between the developer tank and the shower developing type processing chamber so that the developer can be used repeatedly.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the developer used in the paddle developing type processing chamber is recovered, and
There is further provided a liquid recovery tank for storing this, and the inside of the liquid recovery tank is filled with nitrogen gas.

According to a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, in the developer recovered in the liquid recovery tank,
The apparatus further includes first concentration adjusting means for adjusting the alkali concentration and the resin concentration.

According to a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, the developing solution collected in the liquid collecting tank is provided between the liquid collecting tank and the shower developing type processing chamber. A reserve tank is provided for temporarily storing the developer until the developer is supplied to the chamber.

According to a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, the developing solution stored in the spare tank can be filled in the developing solution tank.

According to a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is further provided a second concentration adjusting means for adjusting the alkali concentration and the resin concentration of the developer in the developer tank.

A resist developing method according to another aspect of the present invention relates to a method for developing a resist using any one of the above-described apparatuses.

An invention according to still another aspect of the present invention includes:
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display obtained by developing a resist using any one of the above devices.

[0033]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the present invention, the above-mentioned paddle developing system and shower developing system can be used in parallel by one developing device. The developer used in the paddle development is once collected in a predetermined tank and stored. After a certain amount of this liquid has accumulated, it is moved to another spare tank and the used liquid is again accumulated. When these two tanks are purged with nitrogen, care should be taken so that the intrusion of carbon dioxide from the outside air is further blocked, and products such as carbonates that interfere with the monitor of the alkali concentration are not produced.

On the shower developing side, recycling development is performed, and when the life of the liquid has expired, the liquid is discarded, and the used paddle developing liquid in the spare tank is introduced as a new liquid into the developing tank. It should be noted that a small amount of the liquid is always present in the spare tank so that it can be used as a preparation liquid for adjusting the concentration of the recycled developer.

A recovery tank for the used paddle developing solution is provided with a solution concentration controller in combination with a recycled developing solution tank for shower development, so that an optimum alkali concentration and resin for use as a replacement solution and a preparation solution are provided. The liquid concentration is controlled so as to obtain the concentration.

According to the present invention, first, a layer (transistor, gate electrode,
The removal pattern between the pixel electrodes of the LCD, contact holes, etc.) is always highly reliable by performing paddle development with a solution that does not contain any resist components and is adjusted to a constant alkali concentration. Development processing can be performed. Next, a layer having a relatively rough dimension on the order of several microns (for example, a resist window during ion doping,
For resists for diffusion sources at the time of impurity diffusion, for which line width controllability of about sub-micron variation is allowed, shower development with a solution containing resist components, trace amounts of carbonate, particles, etc. Do. This liquid is a so-called recycled developer which circulates the liquid accumulated in the tank.

In this way, by selecting and providing a necessary and sufficient developing system for each of the dimensions of the layer to be processed and the specifications required for the line width stability, there is no waste in the dimensions of the pattern. Developing process can be performed with proper ability. Therefore, the reliability of pattern formation is significantly improved. For example, if a line leaving pattern having a dimension of 10 μm and a line width specification of ± 1 μm is permitted, there is no need to have controllability enough to process the pattern by paddle development, and this clearly wastes developer.

Conversely, a silicon transistor pattern having a size of about submicron has a line width specification of 0.01 μm.
If the order is required, if the shower development is performed using the recycled developer, the precision cannot be obtained and the processing cannot be performed.

Also, since the resist component can be recycled without removing the resist component from the new developing solution used in the paddle development, there is no need to install extra equipment such as an ion exchange membrane treatment, and the apparatus can be made inexpensive. In addition, the cost of operating the equipment can be reduced. Basically, the only equipment required is a system that manages the alkali concentration and resin concentration of the liquid.

Further, as for the recycle developer, even when the solution is replaced after the end of its life, a solution in which the alkali concentration and the resin concentration are constantly adjusted is supplied.
This solves the problem of the conventional shower development that the resin concentration increases as the substrate is processed from the new liquid state, the development rate fluctuates, and the pattern line width cannot be stably maintained. In other words, there is no need to take measures to wait for the resin concentration after liquid exchange to rise to a predetermined value (processing only the layer that does not care about line width variation), and the process operation rate is significantly improved. Can be done.

Further, since it is not necessary to treat a rough layer that does not care about variations, the added value of the substrate is significantly improved. Also, if the resin concentration setting value is set high, the amount of developing solution (new solution) to be added at the time of performing concentration adjustment is small, and processing exceeding the capacity of the concentration control device is not performed. The material cost of the developer is also small.

As described above, the development processing chambers of the two systems are shared by one apparatus, and at this time, the necessary and sufficient development system of the layer to be processed is selected to maintain the quality and reliability of the processing substrate. The material cost can be significantly reduced by ensuring a sufficient amount and simplifying the recycling of the used developer as much as possible.

Further, since the resin concentration of the liquid can be constantly supplied stably at the time of liquid exchange in the shower development, a high value-added device having no rough pattern can be manufactured without increasing the process operation rate and not worrying about variations.
Thus, the present invention is expected to be able to maintain high quality and reliability with high cost performance and high added value in the manufacture of semiconductor devices and liquid crystal display elements.

[0044]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.

First, the appearance of the developing device according to the present embodiment and the substrate processing flow when the substrate is actually processed will be described.

Here, the substrate is, for example, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device, and two types of processing layers are selected.

One is a line width specification of 1.0 ± 0.05 μm.
m is a transistor pattern (this is referred to as a substrate A), and the other is a line width specification of 20.0 ± 0.8 μm.
m is a permitted window opening pattern for ion doping (this is referred to as a substrate B). Note that the processing capacity of the developing device is such that the paddle developing process can be performed with a variation within 0.05 μm, and the shower developing device has a processing capability of 0.4 μm.
If it is attempted to process a fine pattern with a variation within m and a size of 2.0 μm or less, it is assumed that a resist remains and processing cannot be performed.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overview of the developing device according to the present embodiment. The substrate 2 guided to the loader section 20 is guided to either the paddle developing chamber 16 or the shower developing chamber 5. This can be arbitrarily selected in advance by a recipe setting, and is manually selected by an operator or automatically selected by a CIM system or the like. When the above substrate 2 is processed, the substrate A is placed in the paddle development processing chamber 16.
The substrate B is guided to the shower development processing chamber 5.

The two developing processing chambers 16 and 5 are provided with draining chambers 21 and 22, respectively. After each substrate 2 is developed by a paddle system or a shower system, it is led to the liquid drain chambers 21 and 22. Here, the developing solution on the substrate surface is blown off toward the developing processing chambers 16 and 5 by the liquid draining air knife 4, and the surface is washed immediately with a pure water shower 23. The pure water used here is stored in water recovery tanks 29 and 30 (not shown).
It is circulating water that is used repeatedly. This step is called stop washing. In addition, each processing chamber 1 is air-knife 4.
The liquids returned to 6, 5 flow into respective recovery tanks 24, 8 (described later in FIG. 2).

Next, the substrate 2 is guided to the washing room 25. Here, an air knife 4 is provided at the entrance to blow off the water mixed with the developer on the substrate surface and to flow into the circulating water recovery tanks 29 and 30. Immediately after that, pure water is started to be sprayed in the pure water shower 26, and washing is performed.
The pure water used here is disposable (final washing). Thereafter, the substrate is guided to a drying chamber 27, where the moisture and the like on the substrate surface are blown off and dried by a high-pressure air knife 28. Then, post-baking is performed in the post-baking chamber 31, and the developing process is completed.

The draining chambers 21 and 22 and the washing chamber 25
The reason why water is applied immediately after the liquid is cut off with the air knife 4 is to prevent the substrate from thirst. If it is dried halfway, unevenness may be visible on the substrate 2 at the time of completion of development due to unevenness in blowing. In order to avoid this, before the substrate dries, it is wetted with a liquid (water or the like) to be used next.

The substrate guided to the washing room 25 is
While being washed, a merging process (substrate alignment by a transport system) for entering the next drying chamber 27 is performed, and then the drying chamber 27 is introduced. That is, the drying chamber 27 and the post-baking chamber 31 are one lane for both developing systems. The substrate 2 divided into two parts by the loader unit 20 is joined again to one system in the washing room 25.

According to the flow described above, the unprocessed substrates are each subjected to development processing by a necessary and sufficient development method, and patterning can be performed with as little unevenness and finished size variation as possible.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an outline of the flow of the developing solution in the developing device. In the drawing, an arrow 33 indicates a flow of a developer in paddle development, and an arrow 6 indicates a flow of a developer containing a resist component in shower development.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the developing solution is initially stored in a new solution tank 34. This is a canister or the like that is completely sealed, and the alkali concentration of the liquid is adjusted to a predetermined value. Paddle processing room 1
When the substrate 2 arrives at 6, the new liquid is applied to the substrate surface.
As development proceeds, the resist dissolves and penetrates into the solution.

After the set time has elapsed, when the liquid is introduced into the liquid draining chamber 21, the liquid on the substrate surface is blown off by the air knife 4 and enters the used liquid recovery tank 24. The used liquid is stored here until a predetermined amount is accumulated. At this time, the used liquid includes
Naturally, the resist component is included. A developer concentration management system 15 is installed in the collection tank 24, and is adjusted so that the alkali concentration and the resin concentration become predetermined values.

When the used liquid is accumulated up to a predetermined amount, it is introduced into the next spare tank 35. Used liquid recovery tank 24
Becomes empty, and starts to collect the used developing solution again.

The liquid that has entered the spare tank 35 is used for liquid exchange when the recycled developer reaches the end of its life and has entered the next shower developing liquid circulation tank 8. Further, it is also used as a preparation liquid 36 for controlling the concentration of the recycled developer in the circulation tank 8. Therefore, the capacity of the developer stored in the spare tank 35 must be at least larger than the capacity of the recycled developer circulation tank 8 immediately before the replacement of the solution. If the capacities of the two are the same, there is no liquid in the spare tank 35 immediately after the liquid exchange, so that the prepared liquid 36 cannot be used for concentration control.

The developer entering the recycled developer circulation tank 8 is adjusted to a predetermined alkali concentration and a resin concentration by the solution concentration management system 15 (at this time, as the adjusting solution 36, the used paddle development in the reserve tank 35 is used). When the processing substrate 2 arrives in the development processing chamber 5, it is filtered by the filtering device 9 and then sprayed on the substrate surface by the shower 7. The used developer is recovered as it is in the liquid circulation tank 8 and used repeatedly.

After the recycled developer has been used for a certain period of time, it is collectively subjected to waste liquid treatment. The use cycle of the solution is determined by examining the development reliability and the like of the processing substrate by a technician in charge.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an outline of the control of the concentration of the developing solution in the developing device. In the figure,
Numeral 11 denotes a flow of pure water for diluting the developer, numeral 10 denotes a flow of a developer for adjusting the concentration of the developer, and numeral 33 denotes a flow of the developer in paddle development. Numeral 6 indicates a flow of a developer containing a resist component in shower development.

The stock solution supply tank 12 always stores a developing solution whose alkali concentration is higher than the solution used for the developing process. These are introduced into the stock solution tank 13 and the preparation solution tank 14, respectively. Pure water 11 is supplied to the preparation liquid tank 14 to dilute the stock solution to a predetermined concentration. At this time, the alkali concentration in the prepared solution is adjusted so as to be lower than the solution used for the development processing.

The liquid concentration management system 15 samples the developing solution in the used paddle developing solution collecting tank 24 and the shower developing recycle developing solution circulating tank 8, and adjusts the respective alkali concentrations and resin concentrations. If the alkali concentration is higher than the set value, the prepared liquid is added from the tanks 13 and 14, respectively.
If the resin concentration is higher than the set value, the solution is once diluted from the prepared solution to the set value. At that time, since the alkali concentration decreases, the concentration is adjusted by adding a stock solution. Conversely, when the concentration is lower than the set value, the addition of the liquid is stopped and the substrate is processed, whereby the resist naturally dissolves and the concentration increases. However, liquid addition for adjusting the alkali concentration must be performed.

The used paddle developing solution recovery tank 24
Conversely, the resin concentration may decrease as the developer accumulates.
The concentration control is started immediately before moving to step 5. At this time, after a sensor is installed in the tank and the liquid is accumulated in the tank 24 to a predetermined amount, the concentration adjustment is started.

Further, a spare tank 35 is provided in the circulation tank 8.
The used paddle developing liquid 33 stored in the liquid is also added, and by using this, the undiluted liquid and the preparation liquid (containing no resist component) can be saved. By optimizing the alkali concentration and the resin concentration in the liquid in the preliminary tank 35, the concentration of the recycled developer can be efficiently controlled, and the undiluted solution can be used as little as possible.

The resin concentration in the used paddle developing solution 33 when the preliminary tank 35 is introduced must be adjusted to a relatively high concentration immediately after the replacement of the recycle solution in order to obtain a predetermined resin concentration. At least, the concentration must be higher than that of the recycled developer. If the concentration is lower than the set concentration of the recycled developer, the resin concentration becomes insufficient at the time of liquid exchange. If the concentration is the same as the set value, the resin concentration decreases when the exchanged liquid is diluted for some reason. In any case, the only way to increase the resin concentration is to dissolve the resist, so there is no other way than to develop the substrate. In this case, it is not possible to achieve the original purpose of performing the development processing at a constant resin concentration from the beginning. Therefore, in order to optimally adjust the resin concentration at the time of liquid exchange, it is essential to keep the resin concentration high from the beginning.

The embodiments disclosed this time are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

[0068]

According to the present invention, with respect to the developing process in the resist process, the recycling of the developing solution to be used can be realized by a relatively simple method, and compared with the case where two developing devices are separately introduced, Expense (purchase cost of developer)
Can be expected to be significantly reduced.

Further, since there is no need for a facility for performing ion exchange membrane treatment and the like necessary for recycling the developing solution used in the paddle development, the apparatus can be manufactured at low cost and can contribute to depreciation.

In the case of shower development, since the resin concentration after liquid exchange is adjusted to a predetermined value, there is no need for an emergency measure for increasing the concentration, which has been a problem in the conventional method. If used, the density stability will be high, so that line width variations at the time of completion of development can be reduced as much as possible, and the amount of developer used for concentration adjustment needs to be small. It also contributes to the reduction of emissions.

As described above, it is possible to optimally process a semiconductor device such as a liquid crystal panel in accordance with the required line width only by using two conventional developing devices in parallel. Compared to the conventional method,
It is considered that the line width stability can be remarkably improved.

In addition, by introducing paddle development into the production of liquid crystal panels, it becomes possible to develop high-definition patterns to a level (submicron order) that cannot be realized by conventional shower development, and to develop panel processing in the future. The added value is significantly improved. In addition, by easily and inexpensively recycling the developing solution, it is possible to greatly contribute to a reduction in panel manufacturing cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a hybrid resist developing apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a view for explaining a flow of a developer in the hybrid resist developing apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a view for explaining a processing flow of a system for managing the concentration of a developer in the hybrid resist developing apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a flow of a development process of paddle development conventionally used.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a flow of a resist development process of shower development which has been conventionally used.

FIG. 6 is a view showing a flow of a developer in a conventional shower development (recycle type development).

FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram of a developer concentration management system in the shower developing device.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a change over time of an alkali concentration and a carbonate concentration in a developer in a conventional shower developing device.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a measurement result of a line width of a resist pattern developed with the developing solution shown in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a view showing a flow of a liquid for recycling a liquid used in conventional paddle development.

FIG. 11 is a view showing a result of measuring a line width at the time of completion of development with respect to a change in resin density.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the amount of resin concentration adjusting solution added to 100 liters of developing solution.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a change in concentration when a new liquid is added to a 100-liter liquid.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the reached resin concentration when a new solution is added to a 100-liter solution.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a change in density after the replacement of the developer.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 substrate, 4 air knives for draining, 5 developing processing chamber for shower development, 7 developing shower, 8 developing liquid collecting / circulating tank, 16 developing processing chamber for paddle developing, 20 loader section, 21 liquid draining chamber (paddle developing processing) Side), 22 drainage chamber (shower development processing side), 23
Stop rinsing circulating water spray shower, 24 paddle developing spent developer recovery tank, 25 final rinsing room, 2
6 Shower for spraying pure water for final washing, 27 Substrate drying room, 28 High pressure air knife, 29 Stop circulating water collecting tank for washing, 30 Stop circulating water collecting tank for washing, 31 Post bake room.

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A developing device for developing a photoresist using an alkaline developing solution, wherein the developing solution is applied to a substrate surface, and a paddle developing type processing chamber for paddle developing the photoresist is provided. A shower development processing chamber for spraying the photoresist onto the substrate surface and shower developing the photoresist; and a developer tank connected to the shower development processing chamber for storing the developer supplied to the shower development processing chamber. A hybrid type resist developing apparatus, comprising: circulating the developing solution between the developing solution tank and the shower developing type processing chamber so that the developing solution can be used repeatedly. 2. The liquid collecting tank according to claim 1, further comprising a liquid collecting tank for collecting and storing the developing solution used in the paddle developing type processing chamber, wherein the liquid collecting tank is filled with nitrogen gas. 5. The hybrid type resist developing device according to item 1. 3. The hybrid type resist developing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a first concentration adjusting means for adjusting an alkali concentration and a resin concentration in the developing solution collected in the liquid collecting tank. 4. The developing solution provided between the liquid collecting tank and the shower developing type processing chamber and supplying the developing solution collected in the liquid collecting tank to the shower developing type processing chamber. The hybrid resist developing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a spare tank that temporarily stores the resist until the time has elapsed. 5. The hybrid resist developing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the developer stored in the spare tank can be filled in the developer tank. 6. The hybrid resist developing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a second concentration adjusting means for adjusting an alkali concentration and a resin concentration of the developer in the developer tank. 7. A resist developing method, wherein a resist developing process is performed using the apparatus according to claim 1. 8. A liquid crystal display obtained by subjecting a resist to a development process using the apparatus according to claim 1.