JP2003234280A - Substrate treatment unit and device thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate treatment technique capable of restraining the wasteful consumption of a treatment solution. <P>SOLUTION: A substrate W is retained by a spinning chuck 11 in a substantially horizontal posture. A developing solution discharging nozzle 30 is moved horizontally in parallel to the main surface of the substrate W by a nozzle driving unit 21. The developing solution discharging nozzle 30 is provided with a slit whose discharging width is bigger than the diameter of the substrate W, while the width of the treatment solution discharged out of the slit is changed in accordance with the flow rate of the developing solution supplied to the slit. A supply amount control unit 81 controls a mass flow controller 74 so that the developing solution is supplied to the developing solution discharging nozzle 30 with a specified flow rate, wherein the width of the developing solution discharged out of the slit 31 becomes equal to the width of the substrate W immediately below the developing solution discharging nozzle 30 moved by the nozzle driving unit 21. Accordingly, the amount of developing solution, wastefully falling down from the substrate W, can be reduced whereby the wasteful consumption of the developing solution can be restrained. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention discharges a processing liquid such as a developing liquid onto a substantially circular thin plate substrate (hereinafter simply referred to as "substrate") such as a semiconductor substrate to perform a predetermined processing. The present invention relates to a substrate processing unit to perform and a substrate processing apparatus incorporating the substrate processing unit to perform a series of processes such as photolithography on a substrate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Products such as semiconductor devices are manufactured by subjecting a substrate to a series of processes such as cleaning, resist coating, exposure, development, etching, formation of an interlayer insulating film, and heat treatment. Of these various processes, the developing process is a process that proceeds by supplying a developing solution to the photoresist film after exposure (hereinafter, simply referred to as a resist film), and is conventionally performed as shown in FIG. Was there.

The discharge nozzle 101 has a slit having a discharge width equal to or larger than the diameter of the substrate W, and discharges the developing solution downward from the slit. Discharge nozzle 101
Is provided above the substrate W held in a horizontal posture in a stationary state. While ejecting a developer having a width equal to or larger than the diameter of the substrate W from the slit, the ejection nozzle 101 is linearly parallel to the main surface of the substrate W and from one end to the other end of the substrate W as indicated by an arrow AR10 in FIG. By moving the developing solution to, the developing solution is deposited on the main surface of the substrate W and the developing process proceeds.

According to such a developing method (so-called puddle development), a uniform amount of the developing solution can be deposited on the surface of the substrate, and the line width is good and the uniform developing treatment result can be obtained.

[0005]

However, as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, a region L1 (FIG. 1) excluding the region of the substrate W from the range in which the discharge nozzle 101 moves while discharging the developing solution.
In the hatched area in 0), the discharged developing solution is not supplied to the substrate W but drops as it is, so that the developing solution corresponding to the area of the area L1 is wasted.

Further, with the recent miniaturization of line widths, photoresists with high hydrophobicity (hereinafter, simply referred to as resists) are often used, so that the moving speed of the discharge nozzle 101 tends to be slowed. In this case, the developer supplied to the outside of the substrate W and wasted is further increased.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing unit and a substrate processing apparatus which can suppress wasteful consumption of a processing liquid.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention of claim 1 is a substrate processing unit for discharging a processing liquid onto a substantially circular substrate to perform a predetermined processing, wherein the substrate is placed in a substantially horizontal posture. And a holding nozzle that holds the substrate and a slit having a discharge width equal to or larger than the diameter of the substrate, and the width of the processing liquid discharged from the slit changes according to the flow rate of the processing liquid supplied to the slit. A processing liquid supply means for supplying the processing liquid to the discharge nozzle at a variable flow rate; a nozzle moving means for moving the discharge nozzle in parallel with the main surface of the substrate held by the holding means; and the slit. The processing liquid is discharged from the discharge nozzle at a specific flow rate such that the width of the processing liquid is equal to the width of the substrate immediately below the discharge nozzle moved by the nozzle moving means. Comprising a feed quantity control means for controlling the liquid feeding means.

According to a second aspect of the invention, in the substrate processing unit according to the first aspect of the invention, there is provided flow rate measuring means for measuring the flow rate of the processing liquid fed from the processing liquid feeding means to the discharge nozzle. Further, the supply amount control means is configured to control the processing liquid supply means so that the flow rate of the processing liquid supplied to the discharge nozzle is the specific flow rate based on the measurement result of the flow rate measurement means. ing.

According to a third aspect of the invention, in the substrate processing unit according to the second aspect of the invention, a warning is issued when the difference between the measurement result by the flow rate measuring means and the specific flow rate is equal to or more than a predetermined threshold value. A warning generation unit is further provided.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the substrate processing unit according to the second aspect of the invention, when the difference between the measurement result by the flow rate measuring means and the specific flow rate is equal to or more than a predetermined threshold value, the processing The liquid supply means further includes a supply stop means for stopping the supply of the processing liquid to the discharge nozzle.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the substrate processing unit according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the processing solution is a developing solution for a photoresist film.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in a substrate processing apparatus that performs a series of processes on a substrate, a coating processing unit that coats a photoresist on the substrate to form a photoresist film on the main surface of the substrate. A substrate processing unit according to the invention of claim 5, a thermal processing unit for performing thermal processing on the substrate, and a transport means for transporting the substrate between the respective units.

According to a seventh aspect of the invention, in the substrate processing apparatus according to the sixth aspect of the invention, an unprocessed substrate is transferred to the transfer means and a processed substrate is received from the transfer means, and exposure outside the apparatus. An interface for transferring a substrate between the unit and the transfer means is further provided.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

<1. Overall Configuration of Substrate Processing Apparatus and Outline of Processing> FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the overall configuration of a substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the present invention. In addition, in order to clarify the directional relationship between them, FIG. 1 and subsequent drawings are provided with an XYZ orthogonal coordinate system in which the Z-axis direction is the vertical direction and the XY plane is the horizontal plane, as necessary.

The substrate processing apparatus 1 is an apparatus for performing resist coating processing and development processing on a substantially circular substrate, and is composed of an indexer ID for loading and unloading the substrate and a plurality of processing units for processing the substrate. It includes a first processing unit group PG1, a second processing unit group PG2, an interface IF for transferring substrates to and from an exposure device (stepper) not shown, and a transfer robot TR.

The indexer ID mounts a carrier (not shown) capable of accommodating a plurality of substrates and is equipped with a transfer robot, and delivers an unprocessed substrate from the carrier to the transfer robot TR and transfers the processed substrate. Robot T
Received from R and stored in carrier. The form of the carrier is OC (open case) in which the storage substrate is exposed to the outside air.
tte), or FO that stores the board in a closed space
UP (front opening unified pod) and SMIF (Standa
rd Mechanical Inter Face) Pod. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the carrier accommodates 25 substrates.

The interface IF is a transfer robot T
It has a function of receiving the resist-coated substrate from R and delivering it to an exposure device (not shown), and receiving the exposed substrate from the exposure device and delivering it to the transport robot TR. Further, the interface IF has a buffer function of temporarily stocking the substrates before and after the exposure in order to adjust the transfer timing with the exposure apparatus. The robot includes a robot for delivering and receiving, and a buffer cassette for mounting the substrate.

The substrate processing apparatus 1 is provided with a plurality of processing units for processing substrates, some of which constitute a first processing group PG1 and the rest of which is a second processing group PG.
Make up 2. FIG. 2 shows a first processing unit group PG1 and a second processing unit group PG1.
It is a figure which shows the structure of the process part group PG2. First processing unit group P
G1 is a coating processing unit SC1, which is a liquid processing unit.
A plurality of heat treatment units are arranged above SC2 (resist coating processing section). In FIG. 2, the processing units are arranged in a plane for convenience of illustration, but in reality, these are stacked in the height direction (Z-axis direction).

The coating processing units SC1 and SC2 are so-called spin coaters for supplying a resist to the main surface of the substrate and uniformly rotating the substrate to form a resist film on the main surface of the substrate. Above the coating units SC1 and SC2, three rows of heat treatment units stacked in three stages are provided. That is, a column in which the cooling unit CP1, the adhesion strengthening unit AH (adhesion strengthening processing section), and the heating unit HP1 are stacked in order from the bottom, the cooling unit CP2, the heating unit HP2, and the heating unit HP.
A row in which 3 is stacked and a row in which a cooling unit CP3, a heating unit HP4, and a heating unit HP5 are stacked are provided.

Similarly, the second processing section group PG2 is constituted by disposing a plurality of heat treatment units above the development processing units SD1 and SD2 which are liquid processing units. The development processing units SD1 and SD2 perform development processing by supplying a developing solution for a resist film onto the exposed substrate.
He is a so-called spin developer. Details of the configurations of the development processing units SD1 and SD2 will be described later.

Above the development processing units SD1 and SD2, three rows of heat treatment units stacked in three stages are provided. That is, a row in which the cooling unit CP4, the post-exposure bake unit PEB, and the heating unit HP6 are stacked in order from the bottom, a row in which the cooling unit CP5, the heating unit HP7, and the heating unit HP8 are stacked, and the cooling unit CP.
6, a heating unit HP9, and a row in which the heating unit HP10 is stacked are provided.

The heating units HP1 to HP10 are so-called hot plates that heat the substrate to raise it to a predetermined temperature. Further, the adhesion enhancing unit AH and the post-exposure bake unit PEB are also heating units for heating the substrate before the resist coating process and immediately after the exposure, respectively.
The cooling units CP1 to CP6 are so-called cool plates that cool the substrate to lower the temperature to a predetermined temperature and maintain the substrate at the predetermined temperature.

In the present specification, the processing unit (heating unit and cooling unit) for adjusting the temperature of these substrates is referred to as a heat treatment unit. Further, coating processing units SC1 and SC2 and development processing units SD1 and SD
A processing unit such as 2 which supplies a processing liquid to a substrate and performs a predetermined processing is referred to as a liquid processing unit. The liquid treatment unit and the heat treatment unit are collectively referred to as a treatment unit.

Directly below the heat treatment unit, a filter fan unit FFU for forming a clean air downflow whose temperature and humidity are controlled is provided on the liquid treatment unit side. Although not shown, a filter fan unit that forms a downflow of clean air toward the transfer space is also provided at a position above the transfer robot TR.

A controller CR is provided inside the substrate processing apparatus 1. The controller CR is configured by using a computer including a memory and a CPU. The controller CR is a control unit that controls the entire substrate processing apparatus 1, controls the transfer operation of the transfer robot TR according to a predetermined processing program, and gives an instruction to each processing unit to set processing conditions.

FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of the transfer robot TR. The transport robot TR is provided with an arm stage 45 having the transport arms 41a and 41b on the upper part of the telescopic body 40, and the telescopic type multistage nested structure is realized by the telescopic body 40.

The elastic body 40 is composed of four divided bodies 4 in order from the top.
It is composed of 0a, 40b, 40c and 40d. The divided body 40a can be accommodated in the divided body 40b, the divided body 40b can be accommodated in the divided body 40c, and the divided body 4b can be accommodated.
0c can be accommodated in the divided body 40d. Then, the expandable body 40 contracts by accommodating the divided bodies 40a to 40d sequentially, and conversely, the elastic body 40 extends by drawing out the divided bodies 40a to 40d sequentially. That is, when the stretchable body 40 contracts, the divided body 40a is accommodated in the divided body 40b, and the divided body 40b is divided into the divided body 40c.
The divided body 40c is accommodated in the divided body 40d. On the other hand, when the stretchable body 40 is extended, the split body 40
a is drawn out of the divided body 40b, divided body 40b is drawn out of the divided body 40c, divided body 40c is divided body 40d
Drawn from.

The expansion / contraction operation of the expansion / contraction body 40 is realized by an expansion / contraction elevating mechanism provided therein. As the expansion / contraction mechanism, for example, a mechanism in which a motor drives a combination of a plurality of belts and rollers can be adopted. The transport robot TR can raise and lower the transport arms 41a and 41b by such a telescopic lifting mechanism.

Further, the transfer robot TR includes a transfer arm 4
It is also possible to perform horizontal advancing / retreating movements and rotation operations of 1a and 41b. Specifically, an arm stage 45 is provided above the split body 40a.
The horizontal movements and rotations of the transfer arms 41a and 41b are performed by. That is, the arm stage 45 bends and extends the respective arm segments of the transfer arms 41a and 41b, so that the transfer arms 41a and 41b move horizontally and backward, and the arm stage 45 itself moves the telescopic body 4.
By carrying out a rotation operation with respect to 0, the transfer arm 41
a and 41b rotate.

Therefore, the transfer robot TR can move the transfer arms 41a and 41b up and down in the height direction, rotate them, and move them forward and backward in the horizontal direction. In other words, the transfer robot TR is configured so that the transfer arm 41
It is possible to move a and 41b three-dimensionally. Then, the transfer arms 41a and 41b holding the substrate W move three-dimensionally to transfer the substrate W to and from the plurality of processing units, thereby transferring the substrate W to the plurality of processing units. Various treatments can be performed on the substrate W.

Next, the procedure of substrate processing in the substrate processing apparatus 1 will be briefly described. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a procedure of substrate processing in the substrate processing apparatus 1.
First, the unprocessed substrate W delivered from the indexer ID to the transport robot TR is carried into the adhesion strengthening unit AH. The adhesion strengthening unit AH is an adhesion strengthening processing unit that heats the substrate W to improve the adhesion between the substrate W and the resist, and more accurately, it heats the substrate W into a vapor-shaped HMDS (Hexa). Strengthening the adhesion by spraying Methyl Di Silazan). Next, the transfer robot TR transfers the substrate W for which the adhesion strengthening process has been completed from the adhesion strengthening unit AH to the cooling unit CP1. The cooling unit CP1 is a cool plate that cools the substrate W that has been heat-treated by the adhesion strengthening unit AH.

The substrate W which has been cooled is transferred from the cooling unit CP1 to the coating unit SC1 by the transfer robot TR. The coating processing unit SC1 is
A resist is supplied to the main surface of the substrate W, the substrate W is rotated, and a resist coating process is performed. The supplied resist spreads over the entire main surface of the substrate W by a centrifugal force to form a resist film.

Next, the substrate W on which the resist coating process has been completed
Is the coating processing unit SC1 by the transfer robot TR.
Is transported to the heating unit HP1. The heating unit HP1 is a hot plate that heats the substrate W on which the resist coating has been performed by the coating processing unit SC1. This heat treatment is a heat treatment called "pre-baking", which evaporates the excess solvent component in the resist applied to the substrate W, strengthens the adhesion between the resist and the substrate W, and has a stable sensitivity. Is a process for forming.

The substrate W that has been prebaked is transported from the heating unit HP1 to the cooling unit CP2 by the transport robot TR. The cooling unit CP2 cools the substrate W after prebaking.

After the cooling process is completed, the transfer robot TR transfers the substrate W from the cooling unit CP2 to the interface IF. Interface IF is a transfer robot TR
The substrate W on which the resist film is received is transferred to the exposure device (stepper). The exposure apparatus performs an exposure process on the substrate W. The substrate W after the exposure processing is returned from the exposure apparatus to the interface IF again.

The substrate W returned to the interface IF
Is a post-exposure bake unit P by the transfer robot TR.
Transported to EB. The post-exposure bake unit PEB performs a heat treatment (post-exposure bake) that uniformly diffuses the product generated by the photochemical reaction in the resist film. By this heat treatment, the waviness of the resist at the boundary between the exposed portion and the unexposed portion is eliminated, and a good pattern is formed.

The substrate W after the post-exposure bake is transported by the transport robot TR from the post-exposure bake unit PEB to the cooling unit CP3. Cooling unit CP3
Performs cooling processing of the substrate W after the post-exposure bake. After that, the substrate W is cooled by the transport robot TR to the cooling unit C.
It is conveyed from P3 to the development processing unit SD1. The development processing unit SD1 performs development processing on the substrate W after exposure.

The substrate W after development is transported from the development processing unit SD1 to the heating unit HP2 by the transport robot TR. The heating unit HP2 is used for the substrate W after development.
Heating. After that, the substrate W is transferred to the transfer robot T.
R heating unit HP2 to cooling unit CP4
Is transported to and cooled.

The substrate W cooled by the cooling unit CP4
Is returned to the indexer ID by the transport robot TR and stored in the carrier.

As described above, the transport robot TR transports the substrate W according to the procedure shown in FIG.
The substrate W is subjected to a series of processes including a resist coating process, a developing process, and a heat treatment accompanying them. It should be noted that in FIG. 4, instead of the coating processing unit SC1, a coating processing unit SC2 having the same function as that may be used, and the coating processing unit SC1 or the coating processing unit SC2 may be vacant. Substrate W
It is also possible to carry out so-called parallel processing of carrying in. This is the same for the development processing unit SD1, the heating unit HP1, the cooling unit CP1, and the like having other processing units having the same function.

<2. Configuration of Development Processing Unit> The overall configuration of the substrate processing apparatus 1 and the outline of the processing procedure in the substrate processing apparatus 1 have been described above. Next, the development processing unit SD1 included in the substrate processing apparatus 1 will be further described. It should be noted that the following is a description of the development processing unit SD1, but the same applies to the development processing unit SD2.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a schematic structure of a main part of a development processing unit SD1 which is a substrate processing unit according to the present invention. The development processing unit SD1 is a unit that performs the development processing by supplying the development solution onto the substrate W after the exposure, and can perform the development solution discharge processing, the rinse solution discharge processing, the spin dry processing, and the like by the configuration described later. It is possible.

The development processing unit SD1 supplies a spin motor 15 for rotating the substantially circular substrate W, a developing solution discharge nozzle 30 for discharging the developing solution onto the substrate W, and a developing solution discharge nozzle 30 for supplying the developing solution. Developing solution supply mechanism 70, a rinse solution discharge nozzle 65 for discharging a rinse solution (pure water in the present embodiment) onto the substrate W at the end of development, and a rinse solution supply for supplying a rinse solution to the rinse solution discharge nozzle 65. Feeding mechanism 50,
Control unit 8 that controls the operation of each mechanism provided in the unit
0 and mainly.

The substrate W is held horizontally by the spin chuck 11. The spin chuck 11 is a substrate W
Is a so-called vacuum chuck that holds the substrate W by vacuum suction of the back surface of the substrate. A so-called mechanical chuck that mechanically grips the edge portion of the substrate W may be used as the spin chuck 11.

A motor shaft 12 of a spin motor 15 is vertically provided at the center of the lower surface of the spin chuck 11. When the spin motor 15 is driven to rotate the motor shaft 12 in the forward or reverse direction, the spin chuck 11 and the substrate W held by the spin chuck 11 also rotate in the horizontal plane.

The development processing unit SD1 is provided with a cup 10 for receiving and collecting the developer and rinse liquid scattered from the rotating substrate W. The cup 10 can be moved up and down relatively to the spin chuck 11, and when the development processing is performed on the substrate W, the cup 10 is positioned around the substrate W held by the spin chuck 11 as shown in FIG. In this state, the rinse liquid or the like scattered from the rotating substrate W is received by the inner wall surface of the cup 10 and guided to the lower discharge port (not shown). When the transport robot TR loads / unloads the substrate W into / from the development processing unit SD1, the spin chuck 11 projects from the upper end of the cup 10.

The developing solution discharge nozzle 30 is a slit nozzle having a slit having a developing solution discharge width equal to or larger than the diameter of the substrate W. FIG. 6 is a view of the developing solution discharge nozzle 30 as seen from below, and FIG. 7 is a front sectional view of the developing solution discharge nozzle 30. The developer discharge nozzle 30 has a slit 3 opened downward (on the side of the substrate W held by the spin chuck 11).
1 is provided. Width W1 of developer discharge from slit 31
Is not less than the diameter of the substrate W, and in this embodiment, the developing solution discharge width W1 is made equal to the diameter of the substrate W.

The upper part of the slit 31 is connected to a feed pipe 71 of a developer feed mechanism 70, which will be described later. The developer sent from the feed pipe 71 flows into the slit 31 and is discharged in a strip shape downward from the lower opening. Here, the width of the developer discharged in a strip shape from the slit 31 changes according to the flow rate of the developer supplied from the supply pipe 71 to the slit 31. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, when the flow rate of the developing solution supplied from the feed pipe 71 to the slit 31 is small, the width of the developing solution discharged in a strip shape from the slit 31 is about W2 (W1> W2). On the other hand, when the flow rate is higher than a predetermined value (flow rate F1 described later), the width of the developer discharged in a band shape from the slit 31 is the slit 31.
It becomes equal to the developer discharge width W1 of itself.

An optical sensor 35 is attached to the developing solution discharge nozzle 30. The optical sensor 35 emits light and receives the reflected light reflected by the substrate W, whereby the length of the substrate W immediately below the developer discharge nozzle 30 (width of the substrate W traversed by the developer discharge nozzle 30). )
Can be measured.

The developing solution discharge nozzle 30 has a horizontal arm 26.
It is movably held at the same time and is connected to a timing belt 25 provided inside the horizontal arm 26.
The timing belt 25 includes a driving pulley 23 and a driven pulley 2
It is held by 4 so that it can run. Driving pulley 23
Is connected to a motor 22 provided inside the nozzle drive unit 21, and the timing belt 25 is circulated between a main drive pulley 23 and a driven pulley 24 by the forward or reverse rotation of the motor 22, and the developer discharge nozzle 30 moves. That is, the motor 22, the driving pulley 23, the driven pulley 24, and the timing belt 25 constitute a so-called belt feeding mechanism, and the developing solution discharge nozzle 30 is held on the spin chuck 11 by the belt feeding mechanism. It is moved horizontally in parallel with. The mechanism for moving the developing solution discharge nozzle 30 is not limited to the belt feeding mechanism, and a known linear movement mechanism such as a screw feeding mechanism using a ball screw can be applied.

The driven pulley 24 is connected to the encoder 27, and the encoder 27 measures the number of pulses, whereby the rotation speed of the driven pulley 24 is detected. That is, the position of the developer discharge nozzle 30 above the substrate W can be detected by the encoder 27.
The position detecting means of the developing solution discharge nozzle 30 is not limited to the encoder 27, and may be, for example, the horizontal arm 2.
6 may be provided with a nozzle passage detection sensor,
Any other means that can detect the position of the developing solution discharge nozzle 30 above the substrate W can be applied.

The developing solution discharge nozzle 30 has a horizontal arm 26.
The nozzle elevating unit 20 moves up and down together with the nozzle driving unit 21. The nozzle elevating part 20 is provided with an air cylinder therein, and the operation of the air cylinder elevates the developer discharge nozzle 30. As a result, the developer discharge nozzle 30 can be retracted upward except when the developer is discharged. It should be noted that the elevation of the developing solution discharge nozzle 30 is not limited to the air cylinder, and may be performed by an actuator or the like.

Further, the developing solution delivery mechanism 70 is configured to deliver the developing solution to the developing solution ejection nozzle 30. The developer supply mechanism 70 includes a supply pipe 71 and a pressure pipe 7.
2, a flow meter 73, a mass flow controller 74, a buffer tank 75 and a pressure pump 76. The buffer tank 75 is an airtight container, and stores the developer therein. The base end portion of the pressurizing pipe 72 is connected to a nitrogen gas supply source outside the substrate processing apparatus 1 (for example, a nitrogen gas pipe in a factory), and the front end portion is inside the buffer tank 75 and is located above the liquid surface of the developer. Is also connected to the space above.
A pressure pump 76 is provided in the middle of the pressure pipe 72. The pressurizing pump 76 can send nitrogen gas to the buffer tank 75 to pressurize the inside thereof.

On the other hand, the base end portion of the feed pipe 71 is connected to the inside of the buffer tank 75 and into the liquid developer, and the tip end portion thereof is connected to the slit 31 of the developer discharge nozzle 30 (see FIG. 7). A flow meter 73 and a mass flow controller 74 are provided in the middle of the feed pipe 71. The mass flow controller 74 has a function of variably adjusting the flow rate of the developer flowing through the supply pipe 71 to a designated predetermined amount. The flow meter 73 measures the flow rate of the developer flowing through the supply pipe 71.

When the surface of the developing solution inside the buffer tank 75 is pressurized by the nitrogen gas pressure from the pressurizing pump 76, the developing solution flows into the feed pipe 71. At this time,
The mass flow controller 74 adjusts the flow rate of the developer flowing through the feed pipe 71, and the flow rate 73 measures the flow rate. The liquid flow of the developer, which is adjusted to a predetermined flow rate, flows into the slit 31 of the developer discharge nozzle 30 from the supply pipe 71, and is discharged in a band shape from the slit 31 toward the substrate W. In this embodiment, the slit 31
The width of the developer discharged in a strip shape from the developer discharge nozzle 3
The developer is supplied to the developer discharge nozzle 30 at a flow rate that is equal to the width of the substrate W immediately below 0, which will be described later in detail.

The rinse liquid discharge nozzle 65 has a function of receiving the rinse liquid (pure water) supplied from the rinse liquid supply mechanism 50, discharging the rinse liquid onto the substrate W at the end of development, and stopping the development process. . Further, the rinse liquid discharge nozzle 65 is configured to be rotatable by the nozzle rotation motor 60, and can be also moved up and down by the rinse liquid discharge nozzle lifter 61 having the same configuration as the nozzle lifter 20. . As a result, the rinse liquid discharge nozzle 65 avoids interfering with the developer discharge nozzle 30 by retracting from above the substrate W except when discharging the rinse liquid.

Further, the control section 80 is constituted by using a computer having a CPU, a memory and the like, and controls the development processing unit SD1. Each operation mechanism described above, that is, the mass flow controller 74, the pressurizing pump 76, the nozzle elevating unit 20, the nozzle driving unit 21, the rinse liquid feeding mechanism 50, the rinse liquid ejecting nozzle elevating unit 61, the nozzle rotation motor 60, and the spin motor. Reference numeral 15 is electrically connected to the control unit 80, and the control unit 80 controls the operations thereof to sequentially perform a series of processes such as a developing solution discharge process, a rinse solution discharge process, and a spin dry process. Further, the control unit 80 is also electrically connected to the encoder 27, the flow meter 73, and the optical sensor 35, and the positional information of the developer discharge nozzle 30 detected by the encoder 27 and the feed pipe 7 detected by the flow meter 73.
The flow rate of the developing solution flowing through No. 1 and the length of the substrate W immediately below the developing solution discharge nozzle 30 detected by the optical sensor 35 are transmitted to the control unit 80.

The control unit 80 is provided with a feed amount control unit 81 and a feed stopping unit 82. These are processing units realized by the CPU of the control unit 80 executing processing software. The feed amount control unit 81 determines the flow rate of the developing solution to be fed to the developing solution discharge nozzle 30 based on the position information of the developing solution discharge nozzle 30 detected by the encoder 27, and develops the developing solution at the specific flow rate. The mass flow controller 74 is controlled to supply the liquid discharge nozzle 30. Further, when the difference between the measurement result of the flow meter 73 and the specific flow rate is equal to or larger than a predetermined threshold value, the feed stop unit 82 instructs the mass flow controller 74 to supply the developer to the developer discharge nozzle 30. Will stop feeding.

Further, a display section 90 is connected to the control section 80. The display unit 90 may also be used as an operation panel or the like of the substrate processing apparatus 1. The display unit 90 is the control unit 8
According to the instruction from 0, a warning message is issued when the difference between the measurement result by the flow meter 73 and the specific flow rate is equal to or more than a predetermined threshold value. The warning generating means for issuing a warning is not limited to the display unit 90, and may be a warning light or a buzzer.

<3. Operation of Development Processing Unit> Next, the operation of the development processing unit SD1 having the above configuration will be described. The outline of the operation of the development processing unit SD1 is as follows.
First, after the substrate W after exposure (strictly speaking, after exposure bake) carried in by the transport robot TR is adsorbed and held by the spin chuck 11 in a stationary state in a horizontal posture, the developing solution discharge nozzle 30 is horizontally moved and developed. The liquid is discharged to puddle the developer on the stationary substrate W. After that, the developing process proceeds, and when a predetermined developing time elapses, the rinse liquid is ejected from the rinse liquid ejecting nozzle 65 to the substrate W, and the developing process is stopped. Then, after the spin motor 15 rotates the substrate W to perform the spin dry process,
The substrate W after development is carried out again by the transport robot TR, and a series of development processing is completed.

Here, in this embodiment, when the developer is piled up, the flow rate of the developer supplied to the developer discharge nozzle 30 is changed according to the position of the developer discharge nozzle 30. Specifically, first, the flow rate of the developing solution to be supplied to the developing solution ejecting nozzle 30 and the developing solution ejecting nozzle 3 are previously experimentally determined.
The correlation with the width of the strip-shaped developing solution discharged from the slit 31 of 0 is obtained. FIG. 8 shows the developer discharge nozzle 30.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the correlation between the flow rate of the developing solution fed to and the width of the developing solution discharged in a strip shape. Such a correlation naturally varies depending on the shape of the slit 31 and the like, but basically, as the flow rate of the developer supplied to the developer discharge nozzle 30 increases, the slit 31 discharges in a band shape. The width of the developing solution is increased. However, the width of the discharged developing solution is the developing solution discharge width W1 of the slit 31.
It cannot be larger, and the developer discharge nozzle 30
When the flow rate of the developing solution to be fed to is not less than F1, the width of the discharged developing solution is always W1.

After the correlation as shown in FIG. 8 is experimentally obtained, the change curve of the developer flow rate with respect to the position of the developer discharge nozzle 30 is determined. That is, since the substrate W has a circular shape, the width of the substrate W immediately below the developing solution discharge nozzle 30 varies depending on the position of the developing solution discharge nozzle 30, and the slit 3
A change curve of the flow rate of the developer is determined so that the width of the developer discharged from 1 in a band shape and the width of the substrate W immediately below the developer discharge nozzle 30 become equal. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of such a change curve of the developer flow rate.

Here, the position P1 is immediately above one end of the substrate W held by the spin chuck 41, the position P2 is just above the center, and the position P3 is just above the other end (see FIG. 5). Further, the developing solution discharge nozzle 30 discharges the developing solution while moving from the left side to the right side of FIG. When the developer discharge nozzle 30 is located before the position P1,
The width of the substrate W immediately below the developer discharge nozzle 30 is “0”.
Therefore, the developer is not fed to the developer discharge nozzle 30. Since the width of the substrate W immediately below the developer discharge nozzle 30 gradually increases until the developer discharge nozzle 30 passes through the position P1 and reaches the position P2, the width and the width of the developer discharged in a band shape are different from each other. The flow rate of the developer supplied to the developer discharge nozzle 30 is gradually increased based on the correlation shown in FIG. Then, when the developer discharge nozzle 30 reaches the position P2, the width of the substrate W immediately below the developer discharge nozzle 30 becomes maximum, that is, the diameter of the substrate W. In the present embodiment, since the developing solution discharge width W1 of the slit 31 is made equal to the diameter of the substrate W, in order to make the width of the substrate W immediately below the developing solution discharge nozzle 30 equal to the width of the discharged developing solution. It suffices that the width of the strip-shaped developer discharged is equal to the developer discharge width W1 of the slit 31, and the flow rate of the developer supplied to the developer discharge nozzle 30 is F1.

Since the width of the substrate W immediately below the developer discharge nozzle 30 gradually decreases until the developer discharge nozzle 30 passes through the position P2 and reaches the position P3, the width and the developer discharged in a band shape. The flow rate of the developer supplied to the developer discharge nozzle 30 is gradually reduced based on the correlation shown in FIG. When the developing solution discharge nozzle 30 exceeds the position P3, the width of the substrate W immediately below the developing solution discharge nozzle 30 is “0”, and therefore the developing solution is not fed to the developing solution discharge nozzle 30.

The change curve of the flow rate of the developing solution determined in accordance with the above contents is shown in FIG. 9, and this is stored in the control unit 80 as a look-up table. Then, the feed rate control unit 81 of the control unit 80 sends the developing solution to the developing solution discharge nozzle 30 based on the position information of the developing solution discharge nozzle 30 detected by the encoder 27 according to the developing solution flow rate change curve as shown in FIG. The flow rate of the developing solution to be supplied is determined, and the mass flow controller 74 is controlled to supply the developing solution to the developing solution discharge nozzle 30 with the determined set value. That is, the feed amount control unit 81 supplies the developer at a specific flow rate such that the width of the developer discharged from the slit 31 is equal to the width of the substrate W immediately below the developer discharge nozzle 30 moved by the nozzle drive unit 21. The mass flow controller 74 is controlled so as to supply the developer to the developing solution discharge nozzle 30.

In this way, the developing solution discharge nozzle 30
Since the developing solution is always discharged in the form of a strip having a width equal to the width of the substrate W immediately below, it is possible to reduce the amount of the developing solution spilled unnecessarily from the substrate W and waste the developing solution. It is possible to suppress consumption. Further, the advantage of the paddle development that the line width is good and a uniform development processing result is obtained can be left as it is.

Further, the feed amount control section 81 determines the set value of the flow rate of the developing solution to be fed to the developing solution discharge nozzle 30 from the variation curve of the developing solution flow rate shown in FIG. Is provided with a flow meter 73, and the flow rate of the developing solution which actually flows through the feeding pipe 71 and is fed to the developing solution discharge nozzle 30 is measured and transmitted to the feeding amount control section 81. When the difference between the measurement result of the flow meter 73 (that is, the actual developer flow rate) and the above-described specific flow rate (that is, the set value of the developer flow rate) is less than the predetermined threshold value, the feed rate control unit 81 Based on the measurement result of the flow meter 73, the mass flow controller 74 adjusts the actual developer flow rate so as to approach the specific flow rate.
Feedback control.

Since there is a slight difference (tolerance) in the pipe length and bending of the developing solution between the devices and between the units, even if the developing solution flow rate change curve is the same as shown in FIG. The actual flow rate of the developer supplied to the liquid discharge nozzle 30 is slightly different for each development processing unit. Therefore, if the feed rate control unit 81 feedback-controls the mass flow controller 74 so that the actual developer flow rate approaches the specific flow rate based on the measurement result of the flow meter 73, there is a slight difference in pipe length and the like. Instead, since the actual flow rate of the developer supplied to the developer discharge nozzle 30 can be adjusted to the above-mentioned specific flow rate, wasteful developer is reduced to the minimum while the entire main surface of the substrate W is reduced. It is possible to reliably puddle the developer.

On the other hand, when the difference between the measurement result of the flow meter 73 and the specific flow rate is equal to or larger than the predetermined threshold value, the control unit 80 informs the display unit 90 of the fact, and the display unit 90 displays a warning message. Emit. The operator of the substrate processing apparatus 1 receives the warning from the display unit 90 and the developer discharge nozzle 30
It is possible to recognize that the flow rate of the developing solution being fed to is abnormal.

<4. Modifications> Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above examples. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the flow rate of the developer supplied to the developer discharge nozzle 30 is adjusted by the mass flow controller 74, but a pressure controller is added to the pressurizing pump 76 instead of the mass flow controller 74, The supply controller 81 may control the pressure controller to change the nitrogen gas pressure for pressurizing the inside of the buffer tank 75 to adjust the flow rate of the developer supplied to the developer discharge nozzle 30. . That is, various mechanisms for feeding the developing solution to the developing solution discharge nozzle 30 at a variable flow rate can be adopted, and the feeding rate control unit 81 may control the mechanism.

Further, in the above embodiment, the feed amount control section 81 follows the developing solution flow rate change curve as shown in FIG.
Although the flow rate of the developing solution to be supplied to the developing solution discharge nozzle 30 is determined based on the position information of the developing solution discharge nozzle 30 detected by the encoder 27, the developing solution discharge is performed based on the moving time of the developing solution discharge nozzle 30. The flow rate of the developing solution to be supplied to the nozzle 30 may be determined. Nozzle drive unit 21
When the developing solution discharge nozzle 30 is moved at a constant speed, the moving time of the developing solution discharge nozzle 30 can be directly used as the position information.

Further, the feeding amount control section 81 is provided with an optical sensor 35.
The flow rate of the developing solution to be supplied to the developing solution discharge nozzle 30 may be determined based on the actually measured width of the substrate W immediately below the developing solution discharge nozzle 30 detected by. In this case, the correlation as shown in FIG. 8 is stored in the control unit 80 as a look-up table, and the feed amount control unit 81 uses the correlation shown in FIG. Thirty
The flow rate of the developing solution to be supplied to is determined.

In the above embodiment, the flow meter 7
When the difference between the measurement result of No. 3 and the specific flow rate is equal to or larger than the predetermined threshold value, the display unit 90 issues a warning message. However, the feed stop unit 82 instructs the mass flow controller 74 to issue the developer. The supply of the developing solution to the discharge nozzle 30 may be stopped. Further, the control unit 80
Alternatively, the entire processing in the development processing unit SD1 may be stopped.

Further, the threshold value for determining the difference between the measurement result of the flow meter 73 and the specific flow rate, and the setting input means for inputting the subsequent processing contents when the difference is equal to or more than the threshold value are provided. You may do it. The operation panel of the substrate processing apparatus 1 may be used as the setting input means. Further, a correction value of the developer flow rate due to a subtle difference such as the pipe length of the developer may be input from the setting input means. In this case, the feed rate control unit 81 controls the mass flow controller 74 with a value obtained by adding or subtracting the correction value from the change curve of the developer flow rate shown in FIG. 9 as a set value.

Further, based on the actual measurement result of the flow rate of the developing solution by the flow meter 73, the control section 80 causes the nozzle drive section 21 to operate.
May be controlled to adjust the moving speed of the developing solution discharge nozzle 30, or the nozzle elevating part 20 may be controlled to adjust the gap between the developing solution discharge nozzle 30 and the substrate W. For example, when the actual flow rate of the developing solution is larger than the set value, the moving speed of the developing solution discharge nozzle 30 is increased and the gap between the developing solution discharge nozzle 30 and the substrate W is increased. On the other hand, when the actual flow rate of the developing solution is smaller than the set value, the moving speed of the developing solution discharge nozzle 30 is slowed and the gap between the developing solution discharge nozzle 30 and the substrate W is reduced. By doing so, the developing solution can be evenly spread on the substrate W, and development defects due to in-plane non-uniformity can be prevented.

Further, the slit 3 of the developing solution discharge nozzle 30
The discharge port of 1 is not limited to a single area,
It may be divided into a plurality of areas. Even when the slit discharge port is divided into a plurality of areas, the total length of the plurality of areas is set to be equal to or larger than the diameter of the substrate W, and the number of areas for discharging the developing solution changes depending on the flow rate of the developing solution supplied to the slit. Then, the width of the developing solution may be changed.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the mode in which the developing solution is ejected onto the substantially circular substrate W to form the puddle has been described, but another mode may be ejected to perform a predetermined process. The technology according to the present invention can be applied.

[0080]

As described above, according to the invention of claim 1, the width of the processing liquid discharged from the slit is equal to the width of the substrate immediately below the discharge nozzle moved by the nozzle moving means. Since the processing liquid is supplied to the discharge nozzle at a flow rate, the processing liquid that spills unnecessarily from the substrate is reduced, and wasteful consumption of the processing liquid can be suppressed.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the feed amount control means controls the treatment liquid feeding means based on the result of measuring the flow rate of the treatment liquid fed to the discharge nozzle. It is possible to reliably discharge the processing liquid onto the entire surface of the substrate while suppressing wasteful consumption of the liquid.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since a warning is issued when the difference between the measurement result of the flow rate measuring means and the specific flow rate is equal to or more than a predetermined threshold value, it is possible to prevent the ejection failure of the processing liquid. it can.

Further, according to the invention of claim 4, when the difference between the measurement result by the flow rate measuring means and the specific flow rate is equal to or more than a predetermined threshold value, the processing liquid feeding means sends the processing liquid to the discharge nozzle. Since the supply is stopped, it is possible to prevent defects caused by defective ejection of the processing liquid.

Further, according to the invention of claim 5, the processing liquid is the developing liquid for the photoresist film, and the wasteful consumption of the developing liquid can be suppressed.

Further, according to the invention of claim 6, a coating processing unit for coating a photoresist on a substrate to form a photoresist film on a main surface of the substrate, the substrate processing unit according to claim 5, and a heat treatment on the substrate. Since the heat treatment unit for performing the above and the transporting unit for transporting the substrate between the units are provided, wasteful consumption of the developing solution in the substrate processing apparatus can be suppressed.

Further, according to the invention of claim 7, the unprocessed substrate is transferred to the transfer means and the processed substrate is transferred from the transfer means, and the substrate is transferred between the exposure unit outside the apparatus and the transfer means. Further, it is possible to suppress wasteful consumption of the developing solution in the substrate processing apparatus by further including an interface for performing the processing.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an overall configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention.

2 is a first processing unit group and a second processing unit group of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. 1;
It is a figure which shows the structure of a processing part group.

3 is an external perspective view of a transfer robot of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a procedure of substrate processing in the substrate processing apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a main part of the entire substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a view of the developing solution discharge nozzle of the development processing unit as viewed from below.

FIG. 7 is a front cross-sectional view of a developing solution discharge nozzle of a development processing unit.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the correlation between the flow rate of the developing solution supplied to the developing solution ejection nozzle and the width of the developing solution ejected in a band shape.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a change curve of the developer flow rate with respect to the position of the developer discharge nozzle.

FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a developing solution discharge process using a conventional slit nozzle.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Substrate processing equipment 11 Spin chuck 21 Nozzle drive 30 developer discharge nozzle 31 slits 35 Optical sensor 70 developer supply mechanism 71 Supply pipe 72 Pressurized piping 73 Flowmeter 74 Mass Flow Controller 75 buffer tank 76 Pressurizing pump 80 Control unit 81 Feed rate controller 82 Feeding stop 90 Display CP1, CP2 Coating processing unit ID indexer IF interface SD1, SD2 Development processing unit TR transport robot W board

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Akihiro Hisai             4-chome Tenjin, which runs up to Teranouchi, Horikawa-dori, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto             1 Kitamachi No. 1 Dai Nippon Screen Manufacturing Co., Ltd.             Inside the company (72) Inventor Masakazu Sanada             4-chome Tenjin, which runs up to Teranouchi, Horikawa-dori, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto             1 Kitamachi No. 1 Dai Nippon Screen Manufacturing Co., Ltd.             Inside the company (72) Inventor Hiroshi Kobayashi             4-chome Tenjin, which runs up to Teranouchi, Horikawa-dori, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto             1 Kitamachi No. 1 Dai Nippon Screen Manufacturing Co., Ltd.             Inside the company F-term (reference) 2H096 AA25 GA02 GA21                 5F046 LA14

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A substrate processing unit for discharging a processing liquid onto a substantially circular substrate to perform a predetermined process, comprising: holding means for holding the substrate in a substantially horizontal posture; and a discharge width equal to or larger than the diameter of the substrate. A discharge nozzle that has a slit and the width of the processing liquid discharged from the slit changes according to the flow rate of the processing liquid supplied to the slit; and a process that supplies the processing liquid to the discharge nozzle at a variable flow rate. A liquid supply unit, a nozzle moving unit that moves the discharge nozzle in parallel with the main surface of the substrate held by the holding unit, and a width of the processing liquid discharged from the slit is moved by the nozzle moving unit. And a feed rate control means for controlling the treatment liquid feeding means so as to feed the treatment liquid to the ejection nozzle at a specific flow rate that is equal to the width of the substrate immediately below the ejection nozzle. The substrate processing unit according to symptoms. 2. The substrate processing unit according to claim 1, further comprising flow rate measuring means for measuring a flow rate of the processing liquid fed from said processing liquid feeding means to said discharge nozzle, said feeding amount control means. The substrate processing unit is characterized in that the processing liquid supply means is controlled so that the flow rate of the processing liquid supplied to the discharge nozzle becomes the specific flow rate based on the measurement result by the flow rate measurement means. 3. The substrate processing unit according to claim 2, further comprising warning generating means for issuing a warning when a difference between the measurement result by the flow rate measuring means and the specific flow rate is equal to or more than a predetermined threshold value. Substrate processing unit. 4. The substrate processing unit according to claim 2, wherein when the difference between the measurement result of the flow rate measuring means and the specific flow rate is equal to or more than a predetermined threshold value, the processing liquid feeding means sends the processing liquid to the discharge nozzle. The substrate processing unit, further comprising a supply stop means for stopping the supply of the processing liquid. 5. The substrate processing unit according to claim 1, wherein the processing solution is a photoresist film developing solution. 6. A substrate processing apparatus for performing a series of processes on a substrate in a plurality of steps, and a coating processing unit for coating a photoresist on a substrate to form a photoresist film on a main surface of the substrate. 2. A substrate processing apparatus, comprising: the substrate processing unit of 1 .; a thermal processing unit for performing thermal processing on the substrate; and a transporting unit that transports the substrate between the units. 7. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein an unprocessed substrate is transferred to said transfer means and a processed substrate is received from said transfer means; and an exposure unit outside said apparatus and said transfer means. A substrate processing apparatus further comprising: an interface for transferring a substrate.