JP2003205265A - Film coating apparatus and method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To avoid waste of coating liquid and to save the time necessary for coating film to form a liquid membrane of the coating liquid on a substrate by scan-coating. <P>SOLUTION: The coating apparatus is composed of a substrate holding part which moves the substrate in the direction of Y for keeping it practically horizontal, a supply nozzle which reciprocates in the direction of X while the coating liquid is discharged on the substrate, and a pair of liquid receiving parts which move freely back and forth in the direction of X for receiving the coating liquid from the supply nozzle at both ends of a moving area of the supply nozzle and for regulating an area to be coated. A master control part outputs a moving command of the substrate holding part and the liquid receiving part when the coating liquid deceleration of the supply nozzle is started as to a controller of the coating unit (Step S5) (Step S6), outputs a moving command for an opposite direction to a supply nozzle when these movements are completed (Step S8), and outputs commands other than the moving command for the supply nozzle, the substrate holding part and the liquid receiving part after the movement is started to the opposite direction of the supply nozzle. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention supplies a coating solution to various substrates such as a semiconductor wafer, an LCD substrate (glass substrate for liquid crystal display), or a reticle substrate for a photomask, and coats the surface of the substrate. The present invention relates to a technique for forming a liquid film of liquid.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the manufacturing process of semiconductor devices and LCDs, a resist process is performed on a substrate to be processed by a technique called photolithography. In this technique, for example, a resist liquid is applied to a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as a wafer) to form a liquid film on the surface, the resist film is exposed using a photomask, and then a development process is performed to obtain a desired pattern. Is carried out by a series of steps. In performing this step, conventionally, for example, a coating unit, a developing unit, a heating unit for performing a process before and after the process of these units, a cooling unit, and a substrate to be processed are transferred between these units. The pattern forming apparatus provided with the main arm is used.

As a resist liquid coating unit in the pattern forming apparatus, for example, a substrate holding portion 11 movable along a rail R as shown in FIG. 12 sucks and holds a wafer W to be processed from the back side. At the same time, a nozzle 12 is provided above the held wafer W so that the discharge port of the resist solution faces the wafer W, and the nozzle 12 is reciprocated in the X direction along a guide member (not shown). It is known that W is intermittently fed in the Y direction and the resist solution is supplied to the entire surface of the wafer W in a so-called one-stroke writing manner.

In such a coating apparatus, for example, if the resist liquid spills on the outer edge of the wafer W, the resist liquid adhering to the relevant portion may be scattered as particles. It is necessary to prevent the resist liquid from adhering to a portion other than the coating area to be covered as much as possible, and for example, a pair of liquid receiving portions 13 (13a, 13b) as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 is used.

As shown in the drawing, the liquid receiving portions 13 (13a, 13b) are provided at both ends in the moving region of the nozzle 12 so as to be movable back and forth in the X direction, and the width of the coated region 14 of the wafer W during the coating process. The control unit 15 is configured to control the movement according to the above. For example, as shown in FIG. 14, the control unit 15 stores data in which the position of the Y coordinate of the nozzle 12 and the separation distance d of the liquid receiving unit 13 (13a, 13b) are associated with each other. For example, (Y = -99 mm, d = OOmm), (Y = -9
8.5 mm, d = ΔΔmm), (Y = −98 mm, d =
□□ mm) ... and so on. Where Y
= −100 mm, the tip of the wafer W is, for example, the liquid receiving portion 1.
It is the position of the nozzle 12 when it is located on the line connecting the center of 3a and the center of the liquid receiving portion 13b, and the value of the Y coordinate is, for example, 0.5 mm as the wafer W advances in the direction of the arrow in the figure. It will decrease little by little. In this way, Y of the nozzle 12
The liquid receiving portions 13a and 13b change symmetrically with respect to the center line a in the X direction according to the coordinate position, whereby the resist liquid is applied to the device formation region on the wafer W.

By the way, in the described pattern forming apparatus,
The coating unit, the developing unit, the heating unit, the cooling unit, and the main arm each have a controller, and the controller controls the processing in each unit. It is provided, and the operation of the entire system is managed by this. Taking the movement of the nozzle 12 as an example, the acceleration, deceleration, and stop of the nozzle 12 are controlled by the controller of the coating unit, but the timing of this movement is determined by a command from the main computer.

Specifically, the controller of each unit and the main arm sets a start flag when a certain process is started and an end flag when the certain process is completed. It is designed to monitor what kind of flag is set at, for example, at a speed of 20 msec per revolution, and send a command corresponding thereto. As an example, a flag indicating that the heating of the wafer has been completed is seen in the heating unit, and a command is sent to the main arm to the heating unit to receive the processed wafer.

[0008]

By the way, in the coating unit, the controller controls the nozzle 12 to be the wafer W.
The movement is controlled so that deceleration starts near the inner edge of the liquid receiving portion 13 (13a, 13b), stops at a predetermined position, and starts accelerating in the opposite direction again, while the liquid receiving portion 13
When the nozzle 12 starts decelerating, the liquid receiving section 13 moves the wafer W (the substrate holding section 11) in the X direction.
Starts to move a predetermined distance in the Y direction, and after these movements are finished, the respective movements are controlled so that the acceleration of the nozzle 12 is started.

The movement control of the nozzle 12, the liquid receiving portion 13, and the substrate holding portion in the controller of the coating unit at this time will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 15. First, it is judged whether or not the nozzle 12 is decelerated, When the deceleration is started, a flag indicating that the movement is started is set (step 1), and the main computer sees this and issues a command to the controller to the liquid receiving portion 13 and the substrate holding portion 11 to start a predetermined movement ( Step 2). Next, it is judged whether or not both of them have moved to a predetermined position, and when the movement of the liquid receiving portion 13 and the substrate holding portion 11 is completed, a flag indicating the completion of movement is set (step 3), and this is set to the main computer. Is issued, the nozzle 12 is commanded to accelerate (step 4). After this, in the next step, it is judged whether or not the XX flag is set (step 5), and if the flag is set, the corresponding process is performed (step 6).

However, in such a control method, since the main computer monitors whether or not the flags of step 1, step 3 and step 5 are set at a speed of 20 msec per revolution, the liquid receiving part 13 and the substrate are Step 3 may be determined before the flag (step 3) indicating that the movement of the holding unit 11 is completed is set. In this case, NO is determined in step 3 and the process proceeds to the next step 5. I went to see the next flag and went around once. For this reason,
Even after the movement of the liquid receiving portion 13 and the substrate holding portion 11 is actually completed, the instruction to accelerate the nozzle 12 is not issued until the main computer next sees the flag indicating the movement completion. The stop time of the nozzle 12 becomes long.

When the nozzle 12 is not smoothly moved in this way and the nozzle 12 is stopped for a long time, the chemical liquid is continuously discharged from the nozzle 12, so the wafer W
The discharge amount of the chemical liquid not used for the coating is increased and the chemical liquid is wasted, and the time for the entire coating process is lengthened by the stop time of the nozzle 12.

The present invention has been made under such circumstances, and an object thereof is to linearly scan-coat a substrate with a coating liquid to form a liquid film of the coating liquid on the surface of the substrate. In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a technique capable of eliminating waste of the coating liquid and shortening the time required for the coating film forming process.

[0013]

A coating film forming apparatus according to the present invention includes a cassette station in which a substrate cassette accommodating a plurality of substrates is placed, and a coating liquid is supplied to the substrates from a supply nozzle to supply the substrates to the substrates. A coating unit for forming a liquid film, and a plurality of processing units for performing pretreatment or posttreatment of the coating treatment performed in this coating unit,
A transport unit for transporting the substrate between the coating unit and the processing unit, a controller provided in each of the coating unit, the processing unit, and the transport unit, for controlling respective processing, the coating unit and the processing unit. A coating film forming apparatus including: a main control unit that outputs a command to each controller of the unit and the transporting unit and manages the operation of each controller based on the command;
The coating unit is a Y unit for holding the substrate substantially horizontally.
And a substrate holding unit that moves in the direction, and is provided opposite to the substrate held by the substrate holding unit and reciprocates in the X direction while discharging the coating liquid onto the substrate, and both ends of the moving region of the supply nozzle. The supply nozzle that starts deceleration in the vicinity area and the both ends of the moving area of the supply nozzle can advance and retreat in the X direction so that the application area can be regulated by receiving the coating liquid from the supply nozzle. A pair of liquid receiving parts provided, and the supply nozzle is moved in the X direction to linearly apply the coating liquid on the substrate, and then the substrate is intermittently moved in the Y direction with respect to the supply nozzle and the liquid receiving part. The coating liquid is applied so that the linear coating regions are arranged in the Y direction, and the main controller holds the substrate when the supply nozzle starts decelerating with respect to the controller of the coating unit. And a liquid receiving part, and when these movements are completed, a movement command in the reverse direction is output to the supply nozzle, and after the movement of this supply nozzle in the reverse direction is started, Commands other than movement commands for the substrate holder and liquid receiver are applied to the coating unit, the processing unit,
It is characterized in that it is output to any controller of the conveying means.

In such a coating film forming apparatus, the first control step outputs a command other than the command relating to the movement of the supply nozzle, the substrate holding section and the liquid receiving section, and the main control section controls the supply nozzle and the substrate. A second step of outputting a command other than a command relating to the movement of the holding part and the liquid receiving part, and an interrupt process performed between the first process and the second process, the interrupt process comprising: Decelerating the speed of the supply nozzle near both ends of the moving area of the supply nozzle,
Starting when the supply nozzle starts decelerating, starting movement of the substrate holding part and liquid receiving part when the supply nozzle starts decelerating, and the substrate holding part and liquid receiving part The step of starting the movement of the supply nozzle in the opposite direction when the movement is completed; and the step of ending the interruption step when starting the movement of the supply nozzle in the opposite direction, and the second step. The coating film forming method is carried out, which is characterized in that

In the coating film forming apparatus and method according to the present invention, when the supply nozzle of the coating unit is decelerated, a movement command is output to the substrate holding section and the liquid receiving section, and the interruption process is executed, and the substrate holding section and the liquid receiving section are executed. When the supply nozzle starts moving in the opposite direction after the movement with the receiving portion is completed, the interruption process ends. As a result, the supply nozzle, the substrate holding unit, and the liquid receiving unit are preferentially moved, so that the stop time of the supply nozzle is shortened, the waste of the coating liquid is suppressed, and the time required for the coating film forming process is shortened. be able to.

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The embodiments of the coating film forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described below, taking the case of forming a resist film on a substrate as an example. 1 and 2 show the overall configuration of the present embodiment.
Reference numeral 1 denotes a cassette station, for example, a cassette mounting portion 22 for mounting a cassette C containing 25 wafers W and a transfer arm for transferring the wafer W between the mounted cassettes C. 23 is provided, and a processing unit S1 surrounded by a casing 24 is connected to the back side of the transfer arm 23. Processing unit S1
A main transport means 25, which is a transport means, is provided at the center of the
A plurality of coating units 3A for coating a wafer with a coating liquid, for example, a resist liquid to form a resist film, and a plurality of developing units 3B for pouring a developing liquid on the exposed wafer to perform development processing are provided. In this example, two pieces are provided above and below. In addition, on the left side, front side, and
Shelving units U1, U2, U3 each of which is configured by stacking processing units for performing pre-processing or post-processing of the coating process and the developing process performed in the coating unit 3A and the developing unit 3B are stacked in multiple stages on the back side. It is arranged.

As the processing units constituting the shelf units U1, U2, U3, for example, as shown in FIG. 3 as a representative of the shelf units U2, U3, a wafer W whose surface is coated with a coating liquid by a coating unit 3A is used. A reduced pressure drying unit 201 which dries under a reduced pressure atmosphere and volatilizes the solvent contained in the coating liquid;
A heating unit 202 for heating (baking) the wafer W, a cooling unit 203 for cooling the wafer W, a hydrophobic processing unit 204, and the like are included. A transfer unit 205 including a transfer table for transferring the wafer W is also incorporated in the shelf units U2 and U3. In addition, the above-mentioned main transport means 25 is configured to be movable up and down, moved back and forth, and rotatable around a vertical axis, and has a coating unit 3A, a developing unit 3B, and shelf units U1, U.
It is possible to transfer the wafer W between the units forming the U2 and U3. However, in FIG. 2, the transfer arm 23 and the main transfer means 25 are not shown for convenience.

An interface is provided on the back side of the processing section S1.
The exposure device S3 is connected via the face portion S2. The interface part S2 can be moved up and down, left and right,
The wafer W is transferred between the processing section S1 and the exposure apparatus S3 by a transfer arm 26 configured to be movable back and forth and rotatable about a vertical axis.

The flow of the wafer W in such a coating film forming apparatus will be briefly described. First, when the cassette C is loaded into the cassette station 21, the transfer arm 23 takes out the wafer W. And wafer W
Is transferred from the transfer arm 23 to the main transfer means 25 via the transfer unit 205 in the shelf unit U2, and after being subjected to the hydrophobic treatment by the hydrophobicizing unit 204, it is carried into the coating unit 3A. Then, a resist solution which is a coating solution is applied. Then, the wafer W coated with the coating liquid is depressurized and dried by the main transfer means 25.
Wafer W after being processed, the solvent contained in the coating liquid on the wafer surface is evaporated and dried by a predetermined method.
Is carried out by the main carrying means 25 through the steps in the reverse order of the time of carrying in the reduced pressure drying unit 201, and carried to the cooling unit 203 which is the next step. After that, it is sent to the exposure device S3 through the interface portion S2 and the transfer arm 26, and exposure is performed there through a mask corresponding to the pattern. After the exposure processing, the wafer is processed in the reverse path through the processing unit S1.
Is transferred to the developing unit 3B via the cooling unit 203 and is subjected to development processing to form a resist mask. Thereafter, the wafer W is returned to the original cassette C by the reverse path.

The coating unit 3A will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. Reference numeral 30 in the drawing denotes a housing, the inner space of which is vertically divided by a partition plate 32 having a slit 31 formed in the center thereof, and clean air downflow is formed by an airflow forming means (not shown). ing. The width of the slit 31 in the lengthwise direction is, for example, substantially the same as the maximum width of the coated region of the wafer W.

First, the lower space 3 below the partition plate 32
To explain from 0a, 33 is a substrate holding portion, which is a suction portion 34 that sucks the wafer W on the back surface side and holds it substantially horizontally.
And a drive base 35 for making the suction part 34 movable up and down and rotatable about a vertical axis. The drive base 35 is supported at its lower end by a moving body 36.

For example, two rails 37a extending in the Y direction are provided on the bottom surface of the housing 30, and a rail 37b for guiding the drive base 35 in the X direction is provided on the upper surface of the moving body 36. The wafer W held by the substrate holder 33 can be moved to an arbitrary position in the XY direction in the lower space 30a by the operation of the drive mechanism 38. Here, the drive mechanism 38 for guiding the moving body 36 in the Y direction is, for example, a ball screw portion 39 provided near the bottom surface of the moving body 36 and substantially parallel to the rail 37a.
And the motor M1. The motor M1 rotates the ball screw portion 39 to move the moving body 36 to the rail 37a.
It is designed to be moved in the Y direction by being guided by.

An upper space 30b above the partition plate 32
The pair of liquid receiving portions 41 for covering a part of the slit 31 described above, receiving the resist liquid falling from above, and preventing the supply of the resist liquid to the region near the outer edge of the wafer.
(41a, 41b) are provided. This liquid receiving part 4
1 (41a, 41b) is formed, for example, in the shape of a tray so that it can receive the resist solution falling from above and collect it. Further, although not shown, the resist solution adhering to the surface is washed away. There is provided a cleaning mechanism for draining, or a drain line for discharging the received resist liquid to the outside of the apparatus. Also, the liquid receiver 41
Are arranged symmetrically with respect to the center line passing through the center of the wafer so that the inner end of the wafer is located near the outer edge (slightly inner side of the outer edge of the wafer) of the coated area of the wafer. Each of them is configured to be movable forward and backward symmetrically with respect to the center line in the X direction via the forward and backward drive parts 42 (42a, 42b).

Further, the liquid receiving portion 41 (41a, 41b)
Above the moving area of the moving body 5 along the guide member 51.
A supply nozzle 5 is provided which is guided in the X-direction via 2. The supply nozzle 5 can be moved in the X direction by the nozzle driving unit 53 via the moving body 52. For example, the nozzle driving unit 53 is composed of a ball screw portion 54 driven by a motor M2.

In the coating unit 3A as described above, the wafer W carried into the housing 30 by the main carrier means 25 is held by the substrate holding portion 33 so that the back surface side thereof is sucked and is substantially horizontal. Then, the supply nozzle 5 is positioned above the wafer W, and the liquid receiving portions 41 (41a, 41b) are respectively arranged at predetermined positions slightly inside the outer edge of the wafer W.
While the coating liquid is being ejected from the nozzle 5 while being moved in the X direction, the wafer W is intermittently fed in the Y direction by the moving body 36, and thus the coating liquid is applied in a single stroke.

Here, a drive mechanism 38 for the substrate holding portion 33.
The operation of the advancing / retreating drive section 42 of the liquid receiving section 41 and the nozzle drive section 53 of the supply nozzle 5 are controlled by the controller 6 of the coating unit 3A.
Functions of the controller 6 relating to the operation of the advancing / retreating drive unit 42 and the nozzle drive unit 53 will be described.

That is, the controller 6 is a controller for the motor M1 of the drive mechanism 38 as shown in FIG.
Controller 61, a second controller 62 that is a controller of the advancing / retreating drive units 42a and 42b, and a third controller 63 that is a controller of the motor M2 of the nozzle drive unit 53, and the first controller Reference numeral 61 is operation data 61a of the substrate holding unit 33 and a flag storage unit 61b, and the second controller 62 is the liquid receiving unit 41.
The operation data 62a, the flag storage unit 62b, and the third controller 63 each include the operation data 63a of the supply nozzle 5 and the flag storage unit 63b.

By the way, the controller 6 manages wafer position data. The position data is (Y = -99.5 mm, d =
XX mm) ... Based on this position data, for example, pitch: Amm, nozzle speed: Bm /
s, the distance between the liquid receiving portions 41a and 41b: The scan trajectory of the supply nozzle 5 obtained by Cmm is calculated in advance. Here, Y = −100 mm is the position and pitch of the supply nozzle 5 when the tip of the wafer W is located on, for example, the line connecting the center of the liquid receiving portion 41 a and the center of the liquid receiving portion 41 b. Is the moving distance in the Y direction, for example, 2
set to mm. Based on the scan trajectory of the supply nozzle 5, operation data 61a of the substrate holding unit 33, operation data 62a of the liquid receiving unit 41, operation data 6 of the supply nozzle 5
3a are respectively obtained, and the data thus obtained are stored in the respective controllers 61 to 63.

The flag storage section 61b stores in advance a movement start flag when the substrate holding section 33 starts moving in the Y direction and a movement end flag when ending movement to a predetermined position. , And has a function of setting a corresponding flag at a predetermined timing.
Stores in advance a movement start flag when the liquid receiving portions 41a and 41b start moving in the X direction and a movement end flag when ending movement to a predetermined position, and a corresponding flag at a predetermined timing. Has the function of standing up,
The flag storage unit 62c previously stores a deceleration start flag when the supply nozzle 5 starts deceleration, and has a function of setting the flag when deceleration starts.

On the other hand, the substrate processing apparatus is provided with a main control section 7 composed of a computer including a CPU, a memory, a program 71 and the like, and the main control section 7 manages the entire apparatus. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the main control unit 7 includes a reduced pressure drying unit 201, a heating unit 202, a cooling unit 203, a hydrophobizing unit 204, a delivery unit 205, a main transport unit 25, a coating unit 3A, a developing unit 3B, and an exposure. Each controller 211, 212, 21 that manages the device S3
3, 214, 215, 205, 6, 30B, 200, and in the coating unit 3A, the three controllers 61, 62, 63 described above are also connected.

The controller of each unit is configured to set a flag indicating the start of processing and a flag indicating the end of processing in a predetermined process, that is, 1-bit data of "1" when completed and "0" when not completed. , The main controller 7 monitors the flags of each unit and the main transport means 25 in a cycle of 20 msec for one round, and when the flag is data of "1", the operation command of the corresponding process for this flag is sent to the corresponding controller. Output. In the controller, the predetermined operation of the corresponding process is stored in advance, and the predetermined corresponding process is performed based on a command from the main control unit 7.

The operation of the present invention will be described below. In the coating unit 3A, the supply nozzle 5 has the liquid receiving portion 41 (41a, 41a) arranged near the outer edge of the wafer W.
Start deceleration near the inner edge of b), stop at a predetermined position,
The movement is controlled so as to move in the X direction to the start point of the next scan and start accelerating in the opposite direction again. On the other hand, in the liquid receiving portion 41 and the substrate holding portion 33, when the supply nozzle 5 starts decelerating, the liquid receiving portions 42a and 42b have a predetermined distance in the X direction and the wafer W (the substrate holding portion 33) has a predetermined pitch in the Y direction. Each movement is controlled so that the movement of the supply nozzle 5 is started again after the movement is started and these movements are completed, and the supply nozzle 5 is accelerated again.

The movement of the supply nozzle 5 will be described with reference to FIG. 8 which is a characteristic diagram showing the change over time in the amount of current of the motor M2 of the nozzle drive section 53 of the supply nozzle 5, which is from time t1 to time t.
4 is the Y coordinate of the supply nozzle 5 on the coating area of the wafer = P1
P2 position (a predetermined pitch from the P1 position) where the supply nozzle 5 is at the Y coordinate = P2 on the coating area of the wafer during a time period in which the P1 position is moving in the positive direction, for example, from the right end to the left end of the wafer, from time t5 to time t8. It refers to the time during which the remote position is moved in the opposite direction, for example, from the left end of the wafer to the right end. Here, the time t1 to the time t4 and the time t5 to the time t8 are opposite in the flow of the electric current, which means that the supply nozzle 5 moves in the opposite direction. Further, the supply nozzle 5 accelerates as the current amount increases from the time t1 to the time t4 and decelerates as the current amount decreases, and the time t5.
Up to time t8, it means acceleration as the current amount decreases and deceleration as the current amount increases, and when the current amount is 0, the supply nozzle 5 stops.

As a result, time t1 is at the start of acceleration of the wafer when the wafer starts to move in the positive direction from the right end portion of the wafer coated area, and time t3 is at the left end portion of the wafer coated area (wafer When the supply nozzle 5 arrives at a position (corresponding to the inner end of the liquid receiving portion 41b on the left side of the) of the liquid receiving portion 41b and starts deceleration of the wafer, the deceleration start time is defined as time t.
5 is the start of acceleration of the wafer when the wafer is about to start moving in the opposite direction from the left end of the coated area of the wafer,
At time t7, the supply nozzle 5 arrives at the right end of the coated area of the wafer (the position corresponding to the inner end of the liquid receiving portion 41a on the right side of the wafer) and starts deceleration of the wafer. means.

Next, the operation of the present invention will be described with reference to the flow chart of FIG. 9. In step S1, it is determined whether or not the flag of XX is set, and YES (for example, "1" of 1-bit data is set). If so, the corresponding process is performed in step S2, and if NO (for example, 1-bit data “0”), the process proceeds to step S3. Subsequently, in step S3, it is determined whether or not the flag ΔΔ is set. If YES, the corresponding process is performed in step S4, and if NO, the process proceeds to step S5. The step S3 corresponds to the first step in the claims.

In step S5, it is determined whether or not a flag for starting deceleration of the motor M2 of the nozzle driving section 53 of the supply nozzle 5 is set, and if YES, step S6.
At the first controller 61 of the substrate holding part 33 and the second controller 62 of the liquid receiving part 41, the substrate holding part 33
Indicates a predetermined pitch in the Y direction, and the liquid receiving section 41 issues a command to perform a predetermined distance in the X direction. Next, in step S7, it is determined whether or not a flag indicating that the substrate holding unit 33 and the liquid receiving unit 41 have been moved to the predetermined positions is set, and if YES, the third controller 63 of the supply nozzle 5 is determined. A command to start acceleration of the motor M2 (step S8), and if NO, step S7 again.
At, it is determined whether the substrate holding portion 33 and the liquid receiving portion 41 have moved to the predetermined positions. Then in step S9
If YES, the corresponding process is performed in step S10, and if NO, the process proceeds to the next step (not shown). Step S9 here
The step of corresponds to the second step in the claims.

Here, XX flag, ΔΔ flag, XX
Is a flag other than the movement of the supply nozzle 5, the substrate holding unit 33, and the liquid delivery unit 41 of the coating unit 3A. For example, the flag indicating that heating by the heating unit 202 is completed, or the main transfer unit 25. Is a flag indicating that the transfer of the wafer to the coating unit 3A has been completed. In this example, not all flags are shown for convenience of illustration, but they are examples.

As described above, in the present invention, the program relating to the movement of the supply nozzle 5, the substrate holding portion 33 and the liquid receiving portion 41 is used as an interrupt program, and the program is created so that the program has priority over other programs. There is.
That is, a flag indicating that the supply nozzle 5 starts decelerating is set, and when the main control unit 7 sees this, the interrupt program is immediately activated, and the flag of the next unit is not seen until the start of acceleration of the supply nozzle 5 is started. .

In this way, the supply nozzle 5 and the substrate holder 33 are
The program relating to the movement of the liquid receiving unit 41 and the liquid receiving unit 41 is preferentially performed, and the substrate holding unit 33 and the liquid receiving unit 41 are moved immediately when the deceleration start flag of the supply nozzle 5 is set, and the substrate holding unit 33 and the liquid receiving unit 41 are moved. As soon as the flag indicating that the movement of the portion 41 has been completed is set, the supply nozzle 5 starts to accelerate, and the stop time of the supply nozzle 5 is shortened. Therefore, the amount of the coating liquid continuously discharged during the stop is reduced, and the amount of the coating liquid can be saved, so that the cost can be reduced. Further, since the stop time of the supply nozzle 5 is shortened, the processing time required for the substrate coating processing is shortened, and the throughput of the entire substrate processing apparatus can be increased.

On the other hand, in the conventional program shown in FIG. 15, even if the deceleration of the supply nozzle 5 is started, the main control section 7 monitors the flag of the whole unit. In some cases, it may take some time until the holding unit 33 and the liquid receiving unit 41 are moved, or even if the movement of the substrate holding unit 33 and the liquid receiving unit 41 is completed, it is necessary to wait for the start of acceleration of the supply nozzle 5. is there.

More specifically, referring to FIG. 10, here, the speed waveform (power supply amount) of the motor M2 of the nozzle driving unit 53 of the supply nozzle 5 that scans and moves in the X direction and the Y direction is moved at a predetermined pitch. Drive mechanism 3 for substrate holding unit 33
The speed waveform (power supply amount) of the motor M1 of No. 8, the interrupt signal of the supply nozzle 5, and the interrupt signal of the substrate holding unit 33 are described. In this figure, the moving pitch of the substrate holder 33 is 2 mm, and the moving speed of the supply nozzle 5 is 1.
An example will be described in which the acceleration / deceleration time is 5 msec.

First, the speed waveform of the motor M2 of the supply nozzle 5 is decelerated at a predetermined position (time t3, time t7) as described above, and at this time, a deceleration start interrupt signal is output and a flag is set. After that, the supply nozzle 5 stops at a predetermined position, moves from here to the next scan start point in the X direction, and at this time, an interrupt signal indicating the completion of positioning is output and a flag is set. And about 10 msec (time t
5-time t4) It shows that the vehicle accelerates again after stopping.

On the other hand, when the flag indicating that the supply nozzle 5 has started decelerating is set in the substrate holding unit 33 (time t3), electric power is supplied to the motor M1 to move by 2 mm pitch, and an interrupt signal indicating that the movement is completed is sent. Output and flag. In this example, the time required to move the substrate holder 33 (time ta
-Time t3) is approximately 12.5 ms. Note that (time t5
The time indicated by −time tb) is the processing time of the controller 6, and the supply nozzle 5 is stopped including the time for the controller 6 to process after the positioning completion signal of the supply nozzle 5 is output.

As described above, this example shows that the movement of the substrate holding portion 33 is completed while the supply nozzle 5 is stopped for the positioning of the next scan, which is not shown. The movement of the liquid receiving portion 41 is also performed at the same timing as the movement of the substrate holding portion 33. Since the liquid receiving portion 41 is a member smaller than the substrate holding portion 33, the movement is completed in 10 ms. Therefore, the movement of the substrate holding unit 33 and the liquid receiving unit 41 is completed while the supply nozzle 5 is stopped for the positioning of the next scan, so that the stop time of the supply nozzle 5 is the shortest and The effect is obtained.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described. In this example, as shown in the flow chart of the figure, an interrupt program relating to the movement of the supply nozzle 5 and the like is incorporated twice. For example, in the program shown in FIG. 11, after step S5 regarding the flag of XX and after step S11 regarding the flag of XXX,
An interrupt program relating to the movement of the supply nozzle 5 and the like is incorporated in each. The interrupt program including steps S5 to S8 in FIG. 11 and the interrupt program including steps S11 to S14 are created in the same manner as the interrupt program including steps S5 to S8 in FIG. In this example, the step (not shown) subsequent to step S14 corresponds to the third step in the claims.

In such an example, since the main control section 7 can monitor the deceleration start flag of the supply nozzle 5 at intervals shorter than that shown in FIG. 9, for example, every 10 msec, the flag is set after the flag is set. The time until the main control unit 7 looks becomes shorter. Therefore, after the deceleration of the supply nozzle 5 is started, the substrate holding section 33 and the liquid receiving section 41 start to move without waiting so long. Therefore, the stop time of the supply nozzle 5 can be shortened, the waste of the coating liquid can be suppressed, and the total processing time can be further shortened.

In the above, the substrate used in the present invention is L
It may be a CD substrate. It may be a reticle substrate for a photomask. The coating liquid is not limited to the resist liquid, and an interlayer insulating material, a low dielectric material, a ferroelectric material, a wiring material, an organic metal material, a metal paste, or the like may be used.

[0048]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the coating liquid is linearly scan-coated on the substrate to form the liquid film of the coating liquid on the surface of the substrate, waste of the coating liquid is eliminated. The time required for the coating film forming process can be shortened.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the overall structure of an embodiment of a coating film forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the overall structure of the above embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a shelf unit used in the above embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view for explaining a coating unit used in the above embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a plan view for explaining the coating unit.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view for explaining the coating unit.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a main control unit 7 of the coating film forming apparatus.

FIG. 8 is a characteristic diagram showing a change over time in a current amount of a motor of a supply nozzle of the coating unit.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart for explaining the coating film forming method of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a characteristic diagram showing a relationship between a current amount of a motor of a supply nozzle of the coating unit and an interrupt signal, and a current amount of a motor of a substrate holding unit and an interrupt signal.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining still another embodiment of the coating film forming method according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a conventional coating film forming apparatus.

FIG. 13 is a side view showing a conventional coating film forming apparatus.

FIG. 14 is a plan view for explaining a conventional coating film forming method.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart for explaining a conventional coating film forming method.

[Explanation of symbols]

21 cassette station 25 Main transport means 3A coating unit 33 substrate holder 38 Drive mechanism 39,54 Ball screw part M1, M2 motor 41 (41a, 41b) Liquid receiving part 42 (41a, 41b) Forward / backward drive unit 5 supply nozzles 52 Mobile 53 Nozzle drive 6 controller 61 First Controller 62 Second controller 63 Third Controller 7 Main control unit 71 programs

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] January 28, 2002 (2002.1.2
8)

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be amended] Title of invention

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

Patent application title: Coating film forming apparatus and method thereof

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Yuuki Morikawa             TBS release, 5-3-6 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo             Sending Center Tokyo Electron Limited (72) Inventor Shuji Ohno             TBS release, 5-3-6 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo             Sending Center Tokyo Electron Limited F term (reference) 4D075 AC65 CA47 DA06 DB13 DB14                       DC22 DC24 EA07 EA45                 4F042 AA02 AA07 BA08 DA00 DB00                       DF09 DF11 DF28 DF29 DF32                       EB09 EB13 EB18 EB21                 5F031 CA02 CA05 CA20 DA01 FA01                       FA02 FA05 FA07 FA11 FA12                       GA47 GA49 HA13 HA57 HA58                       HA59 LA07 LA12 MA24 MA26                       MA27 PA03 PA04 PA26                 5F046 JA02 JA27

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A cassette station in which a substrate cassette containing a plurality of substrates is placed, a coating unit for supplying a coating liquid to a substrate from a supply nozzle and forming a liquid film on the substrate, and the coating unit. A plurality of processing units for performing pre-treatment or post-treatment of the coating process performed in step 1, a transporting unit for transporting the substrate between the coating unit and the processing unit, the coating unit, the processing unit, and a transporting unit. To each controller of the coating unit, the processing unit, and the conveying means, which is provided in each of the above-mentioned units, and controls the operation of each controller based on this command. In the coating film forming apparatus, the coating unit includes a Y controller for holding the substrate substantially horizontally.
And a substrate holding unit that moves in the direction, and is provided opposite to the substrate held by the substrate holding unit and reciprocates in the X direction while discharging the coating liquid onto the substrate, and both ends of the moving region of the supply nozzle. The supply nozzle that starts deceleration in the vicinity area and the both ends of the moving area of the supply nozzle can advance and retreat in the X direction so that the application area can be regulated by receiving the coating liquid from the supply nozzle. A pair of liquid receiving parts provided, and the supply nozzle is moved in the X direction to linearly apply the coating liquid on the substrate, and then the substrate is intermittently moved in the Y direction with respect to the supply nozzle and the liquid receiving part. The coating liquid is applied so that the linear coating regions are arranged in the Y direction, and the main controller holds the substrate when the supply nozzle starts decelerating with respect to the controller of the coating unit. Section and the liquid receiving section are output, and when these movements are completed, a movement instruction in the reverse direction is output to the supply nozzle, and after the movement of this supply nozzle in the reverse direction is started, A coating film forming apparatus, which outputs a command other than a command to move a substrate holding unit and a liquid receiving unit to a controller of any one of a coating unit, a processing unit, and a transfer unit. 2. The coating film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pair of liquid receiving portions advance and retreat symmetrically with respect to the movement path of the rotation center of the substrate holding portion. 3. A drive mechanism for moving the substrate holding part in the Y direction comprises a first ball screw part extending in the Y direction and a first motor rotating the first ball screw part,
The nozzle driving unit that moves the supply nozzle in the X direction,
It is composed of a second ball screw portion extending in the X direction and a second motor for rotating the second ball screw portion, and the controller supplies power to the first motor and the second motor based on a command from the main controller. The coating film forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the amount is controlled. 4. A cassette station in which a substrate cassette containing a plurality of substrates is placed, a coating unit for forming a liquid film of a coating liquid on the substrates, and a pretreatment of the coating process performed by this coating unit. Alternatively, a plurality of processing units for performing post-processing, and a transport unit for transporting the substrate between the coating unit and the processing unit, the main control unit the coating unit, the processing unit,
A method for forming a coating film, which is performed in a coating film forming apparatus in which the driving of a transfer unit is controlled, wherein the coating unit holds a substrate substantially horizontally by a substrate holder that can move in the Y direction, and After arranging a pair of liquid receiving portions on the outside of the coating area to regulate the coating area, a supply nozzle provided so as to face the substrate held by the substrate holding section is moved toward the substrate. After the coating liquid is discharged and moved in the X direction to linearly apply the coating liquid on the substrate, the substrate is intermittently moved in the Y direction with respect to the supply nozzle and the liquid receiving portion, and the linear coating region is The first step in which the coating liquid is applied to the substrates so that they are arranged in the Y direction, and the main control unit outputs a command other than a command regarding the movement of the supply nozzle, the substrate holding unit, and the liquid receiving unit, and the main control Supply nozzle and substrate A second step of outputting a command other than a command relating to the movement of the plate and the liquid receiving part, and an interrupt step performed between the first step and the second step, wherein the interrupt step is The speed of the supply nozzle is decelerated in the vicinity of both ends of the movement area of the supply nozzle, the operation is started when the supply nozzle starts decelerating, and the substrate holding section and the liquid receiving section when the supply nozzle starts decelerating. And a step of starting the movement of the supply nozzle in the opposite direction when the movement of the substrate holding section and the liquid receiving section is completed, and The coating film forming method, wherein the interrupting step is completed when the transfer is started, and the process proceeds to the second step. 5. The method further includes a third step performed after the second step by outputting a command other than a command relating to the movement of the supply nozzle, the substrate holding part, and the liquid receiving part by the main control part, and the second step. The coating film forming method according to claim 2, wherein the interrupting step is performed again between the step and the third step.