JP2003037033A - Heat-treatment apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a heat-treatment apparatus capable of performing uniform heat-treatment to a semiconductor wafer, an LCD substrate, or the like. SOLUTION: An arm body 92, which receives a wafer W loaded on the loading pedestal of a processing section, is provided with open ditches 94 for avoiding interference with support pins that push up a wafer W to the loading pedestal, and a cooling flow channel 91. The cooling arm 90 performs cooling treatment to the wafer W received from the loading pedestal by radiating heat emitted from a cooling water (coolant) flowing in the coolant flow channel 91 from the surface of the arm body 92. The arm-body 92 is formed with a surface of the arm body 92 being divided into an open-ditch region A composed of a top region containing the open ditches 94 and an intermediate region, and an arm-body base region B composed of the other regions, while the distance between the arm-body base region B and the wafer W is made larger than the distance between the open-ditch region A and the wafer W to minimize the temperature difference between the part of the wafer W on the region A and that on the region B.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a heat treatment apparatus for heat treating an object to be processed such as a semiconductor wafer or LCD substrate on a mounting table.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a semiconductor wafer manufacturing process, a photolithography technique is used for forming a resist pattern on the surface of a semiconductor wafer, an LCD substrate or the like (hereinafter referred to as a wafer or the like). In this photolithography process, various heat treatments such as heat treatment after resist application (pre-bake), heat treatment after exposure (post-exposure bake (PEB)), heat treatment after development (post-bake) are performed. However, after these heat treatments, a cooling treatment for cooling to a constant temperature is generally performed.

The above heat treatment is important because it affects the formation of a resist pattern, but in recent years, high sensitivity, high resolution, and
Achieves high dry etching resistance, which has attracted attention as a chemically amplified resist (CAR).
When a fied resist is used, the difference in the amount of heat given to each part of the resist film during the post exposure bake (PEB) process has an extremely large effect on the circuit pattern formation in the final product. However, it is necessary to strictly control the conditions of the subsequent cooling process.

Conventionally, post-exposure bake (P
A chilling hot plate unit (CHP) is known as a heat treatment apparatus for performing the EB) process. As shown in FIG. 10, a heat treatment unit 50 that heats the wafer W to a predetermined temperature, and a wafer after the heat treatment. The cool arm 90 receives W in the heat processing unit 50 and cools it to a predetermined temperature.

The heat treatment section 50, as shown in FIG.
The mounting table 25 having the heater 26 and the mounting table 2 for the wafer W
5, a gap pin 70 for supporting the gap W on the wafer 5, and a support pin 80 penetrating the mounting table 25 for mounting the wafer W on the gap pin 70 and moving up and down along the gap pin 70. Then, the amount of heat emitted from the heater 26 is radiated from the surface of the mounting table 25 to heat-treat the wafer W.

As shown in FIG. 10, the cool arm 90 has an arm body 92 which receives the heat-treated wafer W placed on the mounting table 25 of the heat processing section 50, and the wafer W on the mounting table 25. The wafer W and the arm main body 92.
And a cooling channel 91 embedded in the arm body 92 are provided, and the mounting table 25 is provided.
The amount of heat generated from the cooling flow path 91 is radiated from the arm main body 92 to the wafer W received from the wafer W to cool the wafer W.

In the heat treatment apparatus configured as described above, first, the support pins 80 raise and lift the heat-treated wafer W placed on the mounting table 25 of the heat treatment section 50. Next, the arm body 92 moves forward and moves between the mounting table 25 and the wafer W. Then, the support pin 80 descends to mount the wafer W on the arm body 92, and
The wafer W is cooled. Therefore, the time from the heat treatment to the cooling treatment can be minimized and constant.

[0008]

However, in the conventional cool arm 90, the support pin 80 is attached to the arm body 92.
Since the opening groove 94 that avoids interference with the opening groove 94 is provided, there is a problem that the cooling rate of the wafer W on the opening groove 94 becomes slow and uniform heat treatment cannot be performed.

This problem also applies to the case where the object cooled by the cooling processing unit is heat-treated by the arm receiving from the mounting table of the cooling processing unit.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a heat treatment apparatus capable of performing uniform heat treatment on a semiconductor wafer, an LCD substrate, or the like.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a heat treatment apparatus of the present invention comprises an arm body for receiving an object to be processed arranged on a mounting table of a processing section, and an object to be processed on the mounting table. The heat treatment for heat-treating the object to be processed by radiating the heat amount emitted from the heat source to the object to be processed received from the mounting table to the object to be processed and radiating from the arm body surface to the object to be processed received from the mounting table. Assuming a device,
The arm body is divided into an opening groove portion region including a tip and an intermediate portion including the opening groove on the surface of the arm body, and an arm body base region including other portions, and is placed above both regions. It is characterized in that the temperature difference of the heat treatment of the object to be processed is formed as small as possible (claim 1).

In this case, it is preferable that the distance between the opening groove region and the object to be processed and the distance between the arm body base region and the object to be processed have a difference (claim 2). Also,
It is preferable that the radiant heat reflectance in the opening groove region and the radiant heat reflectance in the arm body base region are different from each other (claim 3). Further, it is preferable that a surface area of the opening groove portion area and a surface area of the arm body base area facing each other per unit area of the object to be processed have a difference (claim 4).

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the arm body is divided into an opening groove portion region including a tip and an intermediate portion including an opening groove on the surface of the arm body, and an arm body base region including other portions. At the same time, since the temperature difference between the heat treatments of the objects to be processed above both regions is formed as small as possible, the heat treatments can be made uniform and the yield can be improved.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the distance between the opening groove area and the object to be processed and the distance between the arm body base area and the object to be processed are made different from each other. The amount of heat supplied to the object to be processed and the amount of heat supplied to the object to be processed on the arm body base region can be adjusted, and the heat treatment can be made uniform.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the reflectance of the radiant heat in the opening groove area and the reflectance of the radiant heat in the arm body base area are different from each other. The amount of heat supplied and the amount of heat supplied to the object to be processed on the arm body base region can be adjusted, and the heat treatment can be made uniform.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the surface area of the opening groove portion area and the surface area of the arm body base area that are opposed to each other per unit area of the object to be processed are made different from each other. The amount of heat supplied to the body and the amount of heat supplied to the object to be processed on the arm body base region can be adjusted, and the heat treatment can be made uniform.

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, a case where the heat treatment apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a semiconductor wafer coating / developing system will be described.

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of an embodiment of a resist solution coating / developing system, FIG. 2 is a front view of FIG. 1, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a rear view of FIG.

In the above processing system, a plurality of semiconductor wafers W (hereinafter referred to as wafers W) as the objects to be processed are loaded into or unloaded from the system from the outside in units of a plurality of wafer cassettes, for example, 25 wafers. On the other hand, a cassette station 10 (conveying section) for carrying out and carrying in the wafer W, and various single-wafer processing units for performing a predetermined process on the wafer W one by one in a coating / developing process are set at predetermined positions. An interface unit for transferring a wafer W between a processing station 20 including the processing apparatus of the present invention arranged in multiple stages and an exposure apparatus (not shown) provided adjacent to the processing station 20. Three
The main part is composed of 0 and.

In the cassette station 10, as shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of wafer cassettes 1, for example, up to four wafer cassettes 1 are provided at the positions of the projections 3 on the cassette mounting table 2, with their respective wafer entrances and exits facing the processing station 20 side. Wafer transfer which is placed in a row along the horizontal X direction and is movable in the wafer arrangement direction (Z direction) of the wafers W accommodated in the cassette arrangement direction (X direction) and in the wafer cassette 1 along the vertical direction. The tweezers 4 are configured to be selectively transported to each wafer cassette 1. The wafer transfer tweezers 4 is configured to be rotatable in the θ direction, and is included in the alignment unit (ALI) belonging to the multi-stage unit section of the third set G3 on the processing station 20 side described later.
M) and the extension unit (EXT).

As shown in FIG. 1, the processing station 20 is provided with a vertical transfer type main wafer transfer mechanism 21 at the center thereof, and a chamber 22 for accommodating the main wafer transfer mechanism 21.
All the processing units are arranged in a multi-stage around one set or a plurality of sets. In this example, 5 sets G1, G
2, G3, G4 and G5 are arranged in multiple stages, the first and second sets G1 and G2 of the multistage units are arranged in parallel on the front side of the system (front side in FIG. 1), and the third set of G3 multistage units are The multistage unit of the fourth group G4 is arranged adjacent to the cassette station 10, the multistage unit of the fourth group G4 is arranged adjacent to the interface portion 30, and the multistage unit of the fifth group G5 is arranged on the back side.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 2, the first set G
In the first example, two spinner type processing units, for example, a resist coating unit (COT) and a developing unit (for developing a resist pattern) that place a wafer W on a spin chuck (not shown) in the cup 23 and perform predetermined processing. DEV) are vertically stacked in two stages from the bottom. Similarly, the second set G2 also includes two spinner type processing units such as a resist coating unit (COT) and a developing unit (DE).
V) are vertically stacked in two stages from the bottom. The reason for arranging the resist coating unit (COT) on the lower side in this way is that draining of the resist solution is troublesome both mechanically and in terms of maintenance. However, it is also possible to arrange the resist coating unit (COT) on the upper stage if necessary.

As shown in FIG. 3, in the third group G3, an oven type processing unit for mounting the wafer W on the wafer mounting table 24 and performing a predetermined process, for example, a cooling unit (COL) for cooling the wafer W. , An adhesion unit (AD) for hydrophobicizing the wafer W, an alignment unit (ALIM) for aligning the wafer W, and an extension unit (EX for loading / unloading the wafer W).
T), four hot plate units (HP) for baking the wafer W are sequentially stacked from the bottom in the vertical direction in eight stages, for example. Similarly, the fourth set G4 is also an oven type processing unit such as a cooling unit (COL), an extension cooling unit (EXTCOL), an extension unit (EXT), a cooling unit (COL), and two chilling hot plate units having a quenching function. (CHP) and two hot plate units (HP) are stacked, for example, in eight stages from the bottom in the vertical direction.

As described above, the cooling unit (COL) having a low processing temperature and the extension cooling unit (EXTCOL) are arranged in the lower stage, and the hot plate unit (HP), the chilling hot plate unit (CHP) and the add processing unit having a high processing temperature are provided. By arranging the fusion unit (AD) in the upper stage, it is possible to reduce thermal mutual interference between the units. Of course, a random multi-stage arrangement is also possible.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the processing station 20, the third and fourth groups G3 and G4 adjacent to the multistage unit (spinner type processing unit) of the first and second groups G1 and G2 are arranged. Ducts 65 and 66 are vertically provided in the side wall of the multi-stage unit (oven type processing unit). These ducts 6
Downflow clean air or specially temperature-controlled air is made to flow through the valves 5, 66. With this duct structure, the heat generated in the oven type processing units of the third and fourth groups G3 and G4 is blocked and does not reach the spinner type processing units of the first and second groups G1 and G2. ing.

Further, in this processing system, the multistage unit of the fifth set G5 can be arranged on the back side of the main wafer transfer mechanism 21 as shown by the dotted line in FIG.
The multi-stage unit of the fifth group G5 can move laterally along the guide rail 67 as viewed from the main wafer transfer mechanism 21. Therefore, even when the multistage unit of the fifth group G5 is provided, the space is secured by sliding the unit, so that the main wafer transfer mechanism 21
The maintenance work can be easily performed from behind.

The interface section 30 has the same dimensions as the processing station 20 in the depth direction,
It is made small in the width direction. A portable pickup cassette 31 and a stationary buffer cassette 32 are arranged in two stages on the front surface of the interface portion 30, a peripheral exposure device 33 is arranged on the rear surface, and a wafer is formed in the central portion. A transfer arm 34 is provided. The wafer transfer arm 34 is configured to move in the X and Z directions and transfer it to both the cassettes 31, 32 and the peripheral exposure device 33. Further, the wafer transfer arm 34 is configured to be rotatable in the θ direction, and an extension unit (EXT) belonging to the multi-stage unit of the fourth group G4 on the processing station 20 side and a wafer transfer table (not shown) on the adjacent exposure apparatus side. It is configured so that it can also be transported.

The processing system configured as described above is
Although it is installed in the clean room 40, the cleanliness of each part is enhanced by an efficient vertical laminar flow system in the system.

Next, the operation of the above processing system will be described. First, in the cassette station 10, the wafer transfer tweezers 4 access the cassette 1 containing the unprocessed wafer W on the cassette mounting table 2,
One wafer W is taken out from the cassette 1. When the wafer W is taken out of the cassette 1, the wafer transfer tweezers 4 is arranged in the alignment unit (A) arranged in the multistage unit of the third set G3 on the processing station 20 side.
The wafer W is placed on the wafer mounting table 24 in the unit (ALIM). The wafer W undergoes orientation flat alignment and centering on the wafer mounting table 24. Then, the main wafer transfer mechanism 21 accesses the alignment unit (ALIM) from the opposite side and receives the wafer W from the wafer mounting table 24.

In the processing station 20, the main wafer transfer mechanism 21 first carries the wafer W into the adhesion unit (AD) belonging to the multistage unit of the third set G3. The wafer W is subjected to a hydrophobizing process in this adhesion unit (AD). When the hydrophobic treatment is completed, the main wafer transfer mechanism 21 carries the wafer W out of the adhesion unit (AD), and then the third group G3 or the fourth group G3.
It is carried into the cooling unit (COL) belonging to the multi-stage unit of the group G4. This cooling unit (CO
In L), the wafer W is cooled to a set temperature before the resist coating process, for example, 23 ° C. When the cooling process is completed, the main wafer transfer mechanism 21 carries the wafer W out of the cooling unit (COL), and then the resist coating unit (C) belonging to the multistage unit of the first group G1 or the second group G2.
OT). This resist coating unit (CO
In T), the wafer W is coated with a resist having a uniform film thickness on the wafer surface by a spin coating method.

When the resist coating process is completed, the main wafer transfer mechanism 21 applies the wafer W to the resist coating unit (C
OT), then the hot plate unit (H
P). The wafer W is mounted on the mounting table in the hot plate unit (HP) and kept at a predetermined temperature, for example, 10
Prebaking is performed at 0 ° C. for a predetermined time. by this,
The residual solvent can be removed by evaporation from the coating film on the wafer W. When the pre-baking is completed, the main wafer transfer mechanism 2
1, the wafer W is unloaded from the hot plate unit (HP) and then transferred to the extension cooling unit (EXTCOL) belonging to the multi-stage unit of the fourth group G4. In this unit (COL), the wafer W is cooled to a temperature suitable for the next step, that is, the peripheral exposure processing in the peripheral exposure apparatus 33, for example, 24 ° C. After this cooling, the main wafer transfer mechanism 21 transfers the wafer W to the extension unit (EXT) immediately above, and this unit (E
The wafer W is mounted on a mounting table (not shown) in the XT). When the wafer W is mounted on the mounting table of the extension unit (EXT), the interface unit 3
0 wafer transfer arm 34 accesses from the opposite side,
The wafer W is received. Then, the wafer transfer arm 34 carries the wafer W into the peripheral exposure apparatus 33 in the interface section 30. Here, the wafer W is exposed to the edge portion.

When the peripheral exposure is completed, the wafer transfer arm 34 carries the wafer W out of the peripheral exposure apparatus 33 and transfers it to a wafer receiving table (not shown) on the adjacent exposure apparatus side. In this case, before the wafer W is transferred to the exposure apparatus,
It may be temporarily stored in the buffer cassette 32.

After the entire surface is exposed by the exposure apparatus and the wafer W is returned to the wafer receiving table on the exposure apparatus side,
The wafer transfer arm 34 of the face unit 30 accesses the wafer receiving table to receive the wafer W, and the received wafer W is an extension unit (EX) belonging to the multistage unit of the fourth group G4 on the processing station 20 side.
T) and place it on the wafer receiving table. Also in this case, the wafer W is transferred to the buffer cassette 3 in the interface unit 30 before being transferred to the processing station 20 side.
It may be temporarily stored in 2.

Wafer W placed on the wafer receiving table
Is transferred to the heat treatment section 50 of the chilling hot plate unit (CHP) by the main wafer transfer mechanism 21,
Post-exposure bake (PEB) to prevent the generation of fringes on the mounting table 25 or to induce an acid-catalyzed reaction in a chemically amplified resist (CAR).
Processing is performed. Post exposure bake (PE
B) When the processing is completed, the wafer W on the mounting table 25 is pushed up by the support pins 80 and is mounted on the cool arm 90 described later to be subjected to cooling processing for suppressing thermal reaction.

After that, the wafer W is transferred to the developing unit (DE) belonging to the multistage unit of the first group G1 or the second group G2.
V). In this developing unit (DEV), the wafer W is placed on a spin chuck, and the developing solution is evenly applied to the resist on the surface of the wafer W by, for example, a spray method. When the development is completed, the rinse liquid is applied to the surface of the wafer W and the developer is washed off.

When the developing process is completed, the main wafer transfer mechanism 21 carries the wafer W out of the developing unit (DEV) and then the hot plate unit belonging to the multistage unit of the third group G3 or the fourth group G4. Carry in to (HP).
In this unit (HP), the wafer W is post-baked at 100 ° C. for a predetermined time. As a result, the resist swollen by development is cured and chemical resistance is improved.

After the post-baking is completed, the main wafer transfer mechanism 21 transfers the wafer W to the hot plate unit (H
P) and then to any cooling unit (COL). Here, after the wafer W has returned to room temperature, the main wafer transfer mechanism 21 then transfers the wafer W to the extension unit (EXT) belonging to the third set G3. When the wafer W is mounted on the mounting table (not shown) of the extension unit (EXT), the wafer transfer tweezers 4 on the cassette station 10 side is accessed from the opposite side to receive the wafer W. And
The wafer transfer tweezers 4 inserts the received wafer W into a predetermined wafer accommodation groove of the cassette 1 for accommodating the processed wafer on the cassette mounting table, and the processing is completed.

Next, the cool arm 90 which is an embodiment of the heat treatment apparatus according to the present invention will be described.

Similar to the conventional heat treatment apparatus, the cool arm 90 transfers the heat-treated wafer W placed on the mounting table 25 of the heat treatment section 50, and also serves as an arm body 92 capable of cooling the wafer W. Although not shown, it is a cooling movement holding means constituted by a movement means capable of moving the arm body 92 forward and backward between the heat treatment section 50 and the retracted position by driving an air cylinder, for example.

The arm body 92 is made of a material having a good thermal conductivity, such as an aluminum alloy material or a stainless steel material, and as shown in FIG. 4, a heat source, for example, a cooling flow for circulating a cooling medium. In addition to having the passage 91, the wafer W is transferred when the wafer W is transferred on the mounting table 25.
Opening groove 9 that avoids interference with the support pin 80 that pushes up
4 are formed. In addition, the arm body 92 has gap pins 93 that support the wafer W on the arm body 92 with a gap therebetween, so that particles and the like can be prevented from adhering to the wafer W and can be cooled efficiently. It is formed so that it can.

The opening groove 94 comprises two long opening grooves 94a and a short opening groove 94b which are parallel to each other from the front end portion to the base portion of the arm body 92. When the wafer W on the mounting table 25 is received, the opening groove 94 is 3 Two of the two support pins 80 are fitted into the long opening grooves 94a, and the remaining one is a short opening groove 94b.
It is formed so as to be inserted into (see FIG. 10).

The cooling flow passage 91 is formed by a tubular flow passage. By circulating a cooling medium such as cooling water in the pipe, the cooling flow passage 91 absorbs the heat of the arm main body 92 and is placed on the arm main body 92. The wafer W is formed so that it can be cooled. In this case, the cooling flow path 91 extends parallel to one side of the arm body 92 from the cooling water supply port 91a that opens at the base end of the arm body 92, and detours from the tip of the arm body 92 to form a long opening. Meanderingly bends along the groove 94a and the short opening groove 94b, extends parallel to the other side, and
A cooling water discharge port 91b is embedded in the arm body 92 at a position adjacent to the cooling water supply port 91a at the base end of the arm body 92. The cooling water supply port 9
A cooling water supply source (not shown) is connected to 1a, and a discharge pipe (not shown) is connected to the cooling water discharge port 91b. It should be noted that, as long as it can cool the wafer W, what is circulated in the tube is not limited to cooling water, and for example, a cooling gas or the like can be used. Further, it is of course possible to use a Peltier element or the like instead of the cooling flow passage 91 for cooling.

The cool arm 90 formed in this manner has an opening groove area A having a tip and an intermediate portion including the opening groove 94 on the surface of the arm body 92 and an arm body base area B having other portions. And is formed so that the temperature difference of the heat treatment of the wafer W placed above both regions is as small as possible.

Specifically, it can be configured as follows.

First Embodiment In the first embodiment of the present invention, the temperature of the wafer W on both the areas A and B is set so that the distance between the opening groove area A and the arm body base area B with respect to the wafer W is made different. This is the case when the difference is made as small as possible. That is, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the arm body 92 is formed in a stepped shape in which the height of the arm body base region B is lower than the height of the opening groove region A.

As described above, by making the distance between the arm body base region B and the wafer W larger than the distance between the opening groove region A and the wafer W, the cooling capacity of the arm body base region B can be suppressed. , Arm body base area B
The upper wafer W and the wafer W on the opening groove region A can be made to have the same cooling rate, and the heat treatment of the wafer W can be made uniform.

In the above description, the case where the arm main body is formed in a step shape in which the height of the arm main body base area B is lower than the height of the opening groove area A is described, but the arm main body base area B and the wafer W are formed. Other shapes may be used as long as the distance is larger than the distance between the opening groove area A and the wafer W. For example, the arm body base region B
Is formed to be lower than the height of the opening groove portion region A, and as shown in FIG. 6A, on the boundary line between the opening groove portion region A and the arm body base region B, the sectional shape is inclined toward the outer peripheral side. The taper portion 96a is provided, or FIG.
As shown in (b), if a curved portion 96b having a curved cross section is provided on the boundary line between the opening groove portion region A and the arm body base region B, the heat treatment can be performed more uniformly.

Second Embodiment In the second embodiment of the present invention, the reflectance of the radiant heat in the opening groove area A and the arm body base area B is changed to make the temperature difference between the wafers W on both areas A and B as large as possible. This is the case when it is made small. That is, as shown in FIG. 7, for example, the opening groove area A is painted black, the arm body base area B is painted gray, and the reflectance of the radiant heat in the arm body base area B is changed to the radiant heat in the opening groove area A. Is larger than the reflectance of

As described above, by making the reflectance of the radiant heat in the arm body base region B larger than the reflectance of the radiant heat in the opening groove region A, the radiant heat to the arm body base region B is reflected and the amount of heat absorption is reduced. Therefore, the cooling capacity of the arm body base B can be suppressed. Therefore, the cooling rates of the wafer W on the arm body base region B and the wafer W on the opening groove region A can be made equal, and the heat treatment of the wafer W can be made uniform.

The combination of the colors of the opening groove area A and the arm body base area B may be arbitrary as long as the lightness of the arm body base area B is larger than that of the opening groove area A. The groove area A can be black and the arm body base area B can be brown. Further, if the color on the boundary line between the opening groove area A and the arm body base area B is formed so that the brightness of the color gradually increases from the opening groove area A toward the arm body base area B, a more uniform heat treatment can be performed. You can

The surface treatment method applied to make the reflectance of the radiant heat in the arm body base region B higher than the reflectance of the radiant heat in the opening groove region A is not limited to painting, but may be another method such as plating. Of course, it is also possible to use.

When the surface treatment is carried out, it is preferable that the material used for the surface treatment is formed so as to prevent the generation of particles due to peeling.

Third Embodiment In the third embodiment of the present invention, the surface area of the opening groove area A and the surface area of the arm main body base area B facing each other per unit area of the wafer W are made different from each other, and both areas A are formed. , B on the wafer W is made as small as possible. That is, as shown in FIG. 8, the surface area of the opening groove portion area A is increased per unit area of the wafer W by providing the surface of the opening groove portion area A with irregularities such as a strip 95 having a triangular cross section.

As described above, by providing the opening groove portion area A with the unevenness such as the strip 95 having a triangular cross section, the surface area can be increased and the amount of heat absorption in the opening groove portion area A can be increased. Therefore, the cooling rates of the wafer W on the arm body base region B and the wafer W on the opening groove region A can be made equal to make the heat treatment of the wafer W uniform.

In this case, if the unevenness is too large, the wafer W
Since there is a possibility that a transfer mark of the thin strip 95 is left on the wafer W, the unevenness does not cause a temperature difference due to the effect of the unevenness on the wafer W during the heat treatment, or is small enough to be ignored, for example, sufficiently smaller than the gap width. It is preferable to form it in a size.

In the above description, the case where the strip 95 having a triangular cross section is provided in the opening groove area A has been described.
The unevenness may have another shape as long as it increases the surface area, and for example, the unevenness can be formed into a strip having a trapezoidal cross section. Further, it is of course possible to form the irregularities in a grid pattern.

Further, the number of the strips 95 is gradually reduced from the opening groove portion area A toward the arm body base portion area B, and the surface area of the arm body facing per unit area of the wafer W is changed from the opening groove portion area A. If it is formed so as to be gradually smaller toward the arm body base region B, a more uniform heat treatment can be performed.

Other Embodiments In the above first to third embodiments, the cool arm 90 is used.
Although the case where the arm body 92 is configured to cool from the lower surface side of the wafer W has been described, the structure of the cool arm 90 is not limited to this, and for example, FIG.
As shown in (c), the wafer W mounted on the arm body 92 is mounted on the cool arm 90 of the first to third embodiments.
Of the heat source, for example, the cooling flow path 98
It is also possible to provide the cover body 97 having the above and to cool the wafer W from both sides. According to this structure, since the cover body 97 can compensate for the weakening of the cooling power on the opening groove 94 of the arm body 92, the wafer W can be quickly cooled from both sides, and at the same time, the wafer W can be cooled. The heat treatment can be made uniform.

Further, it is of course possible to divide the surface of the cover body into a plurality of parts and to form the temperature difference of the heat treatment of the wafer W below each region as small as possible. 9A to 9C, the other parts are the same as those in the first to third embodiments, and therefore, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

The first to third embodiments and the other embodiments may be combined in a plurality, and for example, the height of the arm body base region B is lower than the height of the opening groove region A. In addition, the reflectance of the arm body base region B can be made higher than the reflectance of the opening groove region A so that the temperature difference of the wafer W can be made as small as possible. According to this structure, the temperature difference between the wafers W on both regions A and B can be further reduced, and uniform heat treatment can be performed.

Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention is applied to the cool arm 90 for cooling the wafer W has been described, but the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the cooling treatment, and the wafer W is not limited thereto. It is also possible to apply to what is heat-treated. Specifically, the heat treatment apparatus is such that a heat source, for example, a heater is embedded in the arm body 92,
The amount of heat emitted from the heater is radiated from the surface of the arm body 92 to heat the wafer W, and the distance between the arm body base region B and the wafer W is set to the opening groove region A.
Or the distance between the wafer W and the wafer W, or the reflectance of the radiant heat in the opening groove area A is greater than the reflectance of the radiant heat in the arm body base area B, or they are opposed to each other per unit area of the wafer W. The surface area of the opening groove area A is made larger than the surface area of the arm body base area. With this configuration, it is possible to prevent the temperature rising rate of the wafer W on the opening groove 94 from slowing down and to perform uniform heat treatment.

Of course, the above embodiments may be combined.

Further, the object to be processed is not limited to the wafer W, but LC
Of course, it can be applied to a D substrate, a CD substrate, a mask reticle substrate, or the like.

[0064]

As described above, according to the present invention, since it is configured as described above, the following effects can be obtained.

1) According to the invention as set forth in claim 1, the arm body has an opening groove portion region including a tip and an intermediate portion including an opening groove on the surface of the arm body, and an arm body base region including other portions. The heat treatment can be made uniform and the yield can be improved because the temperature difference of the heat treatment of the object to be processed placed above the both regions is made as small as possible. it can.

2) According to the invention as set forth in claim 2, since the distance between the opening groove area and the object to be processed and the distance between the arm body base area and the object to be processed are made different from each other, the opening groove area above The amount of heat supplied to the object to be processed and the amount of heat supplied to the object to be processed on the arm body base region can be adjusted, and the heat treatment can be made uniform.

3) According to the invention described in claim 3, since the reflectance of the radiant heat in the opening groove region and the reflectance of the radiant heat in the arm body base region are different from each other,
The amount of heat supplied to the object to be processed on the opening groove region and the amount of heat supplied to the object to be processed on the arm body base region can be adjusted, and the heat treatment can be made uniform.

4) According to the invention described in claim 4, since the surface area of the opening groove portion area and the surface area of the arm body base portion area facing each other per unit area of the object to be processed are made different,
The amount of heat supplied to the object to be processed on the opening groove region and the amount of heat supplied to the object to be processed on the arm body base region can be adjusted, and the heat treatment can be made uniform.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing an example of a resist solution coating / development processing system to which a heat treatment apparatus of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of the resist solution coating / developing system.

FIG. 3 is a schematic rear view of the resist solution coating / developing system.

FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view showing a heat treatment apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows a first embodiment of the present invention, in which (a)
Is a cross-sectional view taken along the line I-I of FIG. 4, and (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing another example of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic plan view showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic sectional view showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 shows another embodiment of the present invention,
(A) is a schematic cross-sectional view when the heat treatment apparatus of the first embodiment is provided with a cover body, (b) is a schematic cross-sectional view when the heat treatment apparatus of the second embodiment is provided with a cover body, (c) is It is a schematic sectional drawing when a cover body is provided in the heat treatment equipment of a third embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view showing an example of a conventional heat treatment apparatus.

FIG. 11 is a schematic sectional view showing an example of a conventional heat treatment apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

A Opening groove area B arm body base area W Semiconductor wafer (Processing object) 25 table 50 Heat treatment section 80 support pins 90 cool arm 91 Cooling channel 92 Arm body 94 opening groove

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Koichiro Tanaka             TBS broadcasting, 5-3-6 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo             Inside Center Tokyo Electron Ltd. F-term (reference) 5F046 KA04 KA10

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An arm main body for receiving an object to be processed, which is arranged on a mounting table of a processing section, is provided with an opening groove for avoiding interference with a support pin for pushing up the processing object on the mounting table, and a heat source. In the heat treatment apparatus for radiating the amount of heat emitted from the heat source to the object to be processed received from the table to heat treat the object to be processed, the arm body has a tip including the opening groove on the surface of the arm body. And an intermediate portion and an open groove portion region, and an arm body base region including the other portion, and the temperature difference of the heat treatment of the object to be treated above both regions is minimized as much as possible. A heat treatment apparatus characterized by being formed as follows. 2. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the distance between the opening groove area and the object to be processed and the distance between the arm body base area and the object to be processed are different from each other. Heat treatment equipment. 3. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reflectance of the radiant heat in the opening groove portion region and the reflectance of the radiant heat in the arm body base region are different from each other. apparatus. 4. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a surface area of the opening groove portion region and a surface area of the arm body base region that are opposed to each other per unit area of the object to be treated are:
A heat treatment apparatus characterized by having a difference.