JP2004152892A - Method and device for treatment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and a device for treatment by which a semiconductor wafer, LCD glass substrate, etc., can be treated in an atmosphere containing a prescribed process gas and which can be improved in throughput. <P>SOLUTION: A resist removing device 1' is provided with a wafer guide 20 which holds a wafer W, a chamber 10' which houses the wafer W, and a gas supply nozzle 30 which supplies an ozone gas to the chamber 10'. The device 1' is also provided with an exhaust pipe 17b through which the gas in the chamber 10' can be discharged to the outside from the upper part of the chamber 10', and a pure water supply nozzle 40 which supplies a prescribed amount of pure water to the chamber 10'. In addition, a heater 72 is attached to the outside of the bottom of the chamber 10'. The wafer W is heated to a prescribed temperature with steam generated by heating the pure water stored in the bottom of the chamber 10' with the heater 72. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a processing method and a processing apparatus for processing an object to be processed such as a semiconductor wafer or an LCD glass substrate in an atmosphere containing a predetermined processing gas.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Generally, in a semiconductor device manufacturing process, a predetermined circuit pattern is formed on a wafer (semiconductor wafer) using photolithography technology. Specifically, a photoresist solution was applied to the washed wafer to form a resist film, the resist film was exposed in a predetermined pattern, developed, and further subjected to etching, impurity implantation, and the like. Later, a series of processes for removing (stripping) the unnecessary resist film from the wafer is performed.
[0003]
Recently, as a method of removing such a resist film, a certain amount of ozone (O ₃ ), A method of removing the resist film from the wafer by modifying the resist film using a mixed gas of a gas (hereinafter referred to as “ozone gas”) and water vapor and performing a water washing process thereafter. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-210614 discloses a processing apparatus that accommodates a plurality of wafers in a chamber and supplies the chamber with ozone gas and water vapor to process the wafers.
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2001-210614 A
[0005]
The process of processing a wafer using the processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 of JP-A-2001-210614 is roughly as follows. First, a holding member holding a plurality of wafers in a substantially vertical posture at equal intervals is housed in a chamber, and the chamber is sealed. Next, a heated nitrogen gas is supplied to the chamber to warm the wafer. The chamber has a vertically divided structure, and a heater is attached to the upper lid, and the temperature of the wafer can be increased by operating the heater.
[0006]
When the wafer is warmed to a predetermined temperature, ozone gas is supplied. A heater is provided at the bottom of the chamber (lower vessel). By supplying a certain amount of pure water to the chamber and heating the heater, the pure water is evaporated, and the inside of the chamber is mixed with ozone gas and water vapor. Keep in gas atmosphere. Hydroxyl radicals generated in the mixed gas atmosphere change the resist film into water-soluble (the resist film is easily peeled off by increasing water permeability). After a lapse of a predetermined time, the supply of pure water, the heating of the heater, and the supply of ozone gas are stopped, and the ozone gas in the chamber is exhausted to the outside by supplying nitrogen gas into the chamber. When the ozone gas concentration in the chamber becomes equal to or lower than a predetermined value, the supply of the nitrogen gas is stopped, and the wafer is taken out of the chamber. The taken-out wafer is transported to an apparatus for performing a washing process, where the resist film is stripped.
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, as described above, in the method of heating a wafer to a predetermined temperature with a heated nitrogen gas before processing the wafer with a mixed gas of ozone gas and water vapor, a long time of several tens minutes until the wafer reaches the predetermined temperature. Is required, so that the tact becomes long and the throughput is low. Further, since the supply of the nitrogen gas must be performed for such a long time, there is a problem that the consumption amount is increased and the processing cost is increased.
[0008]
The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a processing method and a processing apparatus in which tact is reduced and throughput is improved.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a processing method for processing an object to be processed in an atmosphere containing a processing gas and a vapor of a processing liquid,
A step of housing the object to be processed in the chamber;
Heating the object to be processed to a predetermined temperature by supplying vapor of the processing liquid to the chamber;
Supplying the processing gas to the chamber;
Processing the workpiece by supplying a predetermined amount of the vapor of the processing liquid to the chamber while maintaining the supply of the processing gas to the chamber for a predetermined amount of time;
And a processing method characterized by having the following.
[0010]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a processing apparatus for processing an object to be processed in a mixed atmosphere of a processing gas and a vapor of a processing liquid,
Holding means for holding the object,
A chamber for accommodating the object to be processed held by the holding means,
Processing gas supply means for supplying the processing gas to the chamber;
Processing liquid supply means for supplying the processing liquid to the chamber;
A heater for heating and evaporating the processing liquid supplied to the chamber by the processing liquid supply means and stored at the bottom of the chamber;
A gas exhaust mechanism for exhausting the processing gas in the chamber from the top of the chamber to the outside,
A heater control device that controls the operation of the heater so that the object to be processed housed in the chamber is heated to a predetermined temperature by the vapor of the processing liquid;
A processing device comprising:
[0011]
According to the processing method and the processing apparatus of the present invention, since the object to be processed is heated by the steam having a larger heat capacity than the gas, the time required to reach the predetermined temperature can be reduced. This shortens the tact time and improves the throughput. Further, since there is no need to use a large amount of inert gas, the processing cost can be reduced.
[0012]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Here, an ozone gas (a gas containing a certain amount of ozone and other main components of oxygen and nitrogen) is used as a processing gas on a wafer (semiconductor wafer) on which a resist film is formed. A description will be given of a resist removing apparatus for supplying steam as steam, modifying the resist film with the mixed gas, and removing an unnecessary resist film from the wafer.
[0013]
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of the resist removing apparatus 1, and FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view (ZX section). The resist removing apparatus 1 includes a chamber 10 in which a wafer W is accommodated and processing of the wafer W is performed, a wafer guide 20 that holds the wafer W in the chamber 10, and a gas supply that supplies ozone gas and / or water vapor to the chamber 10. It has a nozzle 30 and a pure water supply nozzle 40 for supplying pure water to the chamber 10.
[0014]
The chamber 10 has, for example, a processing container 10a having a size capable of accommodating 50 wafers W, and a container cover 10b for opening and closing the processing container 10a. The container cover 10b can be moved up and down by an elevating mechanism 11. Has become. The elevating mechanism 11 is connected to control means, for example, a central processing unit (CPU) 90, and raises and lowers the container cover 10b according to a control signal from the CPU 90.
[0015]
A flange portion 12a is provided on an upper surface portion of the processing container 10a, and a flange portion 12b facing the flange portion 12a is provided on a lower surface portion of the container cover 10b. Air seal rings 13a and 13b are provided on the upper surface of the flange portion 12a, and air at a predetermined pressure is supplied to the air seal rings 13a and 13b by opening the valve V4, and the air is opened by opening the valve V8. Of air is discharged to the outside.
[0016]
By operating the elevating mechanism 11, lowering the container cover 10b so that the flange portion 12b of the container cover 10b is pressed against the flange portion 12a of the processing container 10a, and then supplying air to the air seal rings 13a and 13b. Thereby, the space between the flange portions 12a and 12b is hermetically sealed. The opening and closing control of the valve V4 is performed by the CPU 90. The opening and closing control of other valves described later is also performed by the CPU 90 in the same manner.
[0017]
FIG. 3 shows a YZ sectional view of the container cover 10b. The container cover 10b is formed in a substantially inverted V-shaped cross section having a downwardly inclined surface extending from the center to the end. As a result, even if water vapor is condensed on the inner wall of the container cover 10b to form droplets, the droplets flow downward along the downward slope, and further flow down to the bottom along the side walls of the processing container 10a. In this manner, in the chamber 10, even if the droplets adhere to the inner wall of the container cover 10b, the droplets fall on the wafer W and do not adhere to the wafer W.
[0018]
On the inclined wall surface, there are provided a cylindrical projection 14 for penetrating the shaft 21 of the wafer guide 20 and a projection 15 forming a substantially rectangular parallelepiped space 15a inside. The shaft 21 can be raised and lowered by a lifting mechanism 23. Air seal rings 16a and 16b are provided on the inner surface of the cylindrical projection 14. Air at a predetermined pressure is supplied to the air seal rings 16a and 16b by opening the valve V4, and the valve V8 is opened. By doing so, the internal air is discharged to the outside. By the operation of the air seal rings 16a and 16b, the gap between the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical projection 14 and the outer periphery of the shaft 21 can be hermetically sealed. The operations of the air seal rings 13a and 13b and the air seal rings 16a and 16b may be performed simultaneously as described above from the viewpoint of sealing the chamber 10, or may be configured to supply and exhaust air separately. You may.
[0019]
Air (or nitrogen) is supplied from the outside to the space 15a formed by the projection 15 through the air supply pipe 17a, and the space 15a can be exhausted by the exhaust pipe 17b. I have. The control of the air supply amount to the space 15a is performed by adjusting the opening / closing amount of the valve V5.
[0020]
The exhaust of the space 15a through the exhaust pipe 17b is naturally performed by opening the valve V6 in a state where the pressure in the chamber 10 is higher than the external pressure. However, an intake device for performing forced exhaust downstream of the valve V6. May be provided. Since the gas exhausted from the exhaust pipe 17b contains ozone, an ozone decomposing device (not shown) for decomposing ozone into oxygen is provided downstream of the exhaust pipe 17b. Ozone contained in the gas exhausted from the exhaust pipe 17 is decomposed into oxygen by the ozone decomposing device and then released to the atmosphere, for example.
[0021]
As will be described later, when pure water is supplied into the chamber 10, the ozone gas finally remains only in the narrow space 15a. At that time, the exhaust is performed while supplying the air to the space 15a. Ozone gas can be exhausted efficiently.
[0022]
Rubber heaters 18a and 18b are attached to the outer peripheral surface and the bottom surface of the processing container 10a, respectively, and a rubber heater 18c is attached to the upper surface of the container cover 10b. These rubber heaters 18a to 18c receive power supply from a power supply (not shown) to generate heat and heat the inside of the chamber 10. The power supply from the power supply to the rubber heaters 18a to 18c is controlled by the CPU 90. The temperature in the chamber 10 (the temperature of the wafer W) can be measured by the temperature sensor TS. The temperature detected by the temperature sensor TS is sent to the CPU 90, and the CPU 90 controls power supply from the power supply to the rubber heaters 18a to 18c so that the inside of the chamber 10 is maintained at a predetermined constant temperature. Thereby, the internal temperature of the chamber 10 is maintained at a substantially constant value within a range of, for example, 80C to 120C.
[0023]
In addition, the dew condensation in the chamber 10 can be suppressed by these rubber heaters 18a to 18c. In particular, by providing the rubber heater 18c on the upper surface of the container cover 10b, it is possible to prevent the formation of dew on the inner wall of the container cover 10b, and to prevent the condensed droplet from dropping onto the wafer W.
[0024]
The processing of the wafer W in the chamber 10 is further performed by maintaining the inside of the chamber 10 at 80 ° C. to 120 ° C. and raising the internal pressure of the chamber 10 to, for example, 0.05 to 0.2 MPa higher than the external pressure. Can be shortened. Further, since the mixed gas of the ozone gas and the water vapor is highly corrosive, the inside of the chamber 10 is preferably made of a material having good corrosion resistance to the mixed gas. From these viewpoints, the processing container 10a is provided with an inner container 19a made of a fluororesin material such as PTFE excellent in corrosion resistance to a mixed gas of ozone gas and water vapor inside, and made of a metal material such as stainless steel excellent in pressure resistance on the outside. The outer container 19b has a double structure. The container cover 10b also has a similar double structure.
[0025]
The wafer guide 20 mainly includes a shaft 21 whose longitudinal direction is a vertical direction, and a wafer holding portion 22 provided below the shaft 21. The wafer guide 20 can be moved up and down by an elevating mechanism 23. The elevating mechanism 23 transfers the wafer W above and below the processing container 10a where the wafer holding unit 22 transfers the wafer W to and from the processing position in the processing container 10a and the outside. The wafer guide 20 is moved so as to move between the positions. The raising and lowering operation of the wafer guide 20 is performed in a state where the space between the shaft 21 and the cylindrical projection 14 is not sealed by the air seal rings 16a and 16b.
[0026]
The wafer holding section 22 is provided with horizontally held wafer support members 22a, 22b, and 22c, and a connection member 24 that connects and holds the wafer support members 22a to 22c in parallel. Grooves (not shown) for supporting the wafer W are formed at regular intervals in the wafer support members 22a to 22c, and the wafer W is substantially parallel to the wafer support member 22a so as to be sandwiched between the grooves. To 22c. With the container cover 10b retracted upward and the wafer loading / unloading port opened, the wafer W is held from outside by the wafer support members 22a to 22c, and conversely, the wafer W held by the wafer support members 22a to 22c is Take out to.
[0027]
As a constituent member of the wafer guide 20, a material having excellent mechanical strength is used so that there is no deformation when the wafer W is held, and the elevating operation with the wafer W held is performed without difficulty. For example, as the shaft 21, it is preferable to use a shaft in which a fluororesin film such as a PTFE film is formed on the surface of a metal material such as stainless steel so that the durability against a mixed gas of ozone gas and water vapor is improved. Further, it is preferable to use a silicon oxide-based material (for example, quartz or quartz glass) for the wafer holding unit 22. Thereby, corrosion of the wafer guide 20 is suppressed, and adhesion of particles to the wafer W is prevented.
[0028]
The gas supply nozzle 30 has a double pipe structure including an outer pipe and an inner pipe, and has a structure in which gas discharge ports are formed in the outer pipe and the inner pipe at regular intervals in the longitudinal direction. The outer pipe is also provided with a drain port for discharging the dew water generated in the pipe.
[0029]
The ozone gas or water vapor supplied into the inner pipe is discharged from an ozone gas discharge port provided in the inner pipe to a gap between the inner pipe and the outer pipe, and then processed through a gas discharge port provided in the outer pipe. The liquid is discharged obliquely upward toward the vertical wall of the container 10a at an angle of about 45 degrees. Ozone gas or water vapor blown out from a gas discharge port provided in the outer tube rises along the inner wall of the processing container 10a, and is supplied to the wafer W as a downflow from the upper part of the chamber 10.
[0030]
The supply of the ozone gas to the gas supply nozzle 30 is performed by generating the ozone gas in the ozone gas generator 31 and controlling the opening / closing amount of a valve V2 provided in a pipe connecting the ozone gas generator 31 and the gas supply nozzle 30.
[0031]
The ozone gas generator 31 is connected to a high-frequency power supply 32 and applies oxygen (O 2) between discharge electrodes 33 to which a high-frequency voltage is applied. ₂ ) To convert some of the oxygen to ozone and generate ozone gas. The high frequency power supply 32 and the discharge electrode 33 are switched by a switch 34 receiving a control signal from the CPU 90, so that the ozone concentration in the ozone gas generated by the ozone gas generator 31 is controlled.
[0032]
The supply of steam to the gas supply nozzle 30 is performed by generating steam with the steam generator 41 and controlling the opening / closing amount of a valve V1 provided in a pipe connecting the gas supply nozzle 30 and the steam generator 41. Is A heater (not shown) is wound around at least a portion of the pipe connecting the gas supply nozzle 30 and the steam generator 41 that is outside the chamber 10. This prevents the occurrence of dew condensation in the piping.
[0033]
It is possible to supply only ozone gas or only water vapor from the gas discharge nozzle 30 to the chamber 10 by controlling the opening and closing of the valves V1 and V2, and it is also possible to supply a mixed gas obtained by mixing these at a predetermined ratio. It is. In addition, it is also preferable to use a gas supply nozzle 30 having a double structure in which a rod-shaped heater is provided inside a pipe in which gas discharge ports for blowing out ozone gas or water vapor are provided at predetermined intervals in the longitudinal direction. . This can suppress the occurrence of dew condensation in the nozzle.
[0034]
A drain pipe 42 is provided at the bottom of the processing container 10a to discharge water generated by condensation of the water vapor supplied from the gas supply nozzle 30 into the chamber 10 to the outside. The liquid pipe 42 is provided with a valve V7.
[0035]
A pressure sensor PS for detecting a pressure in the chamber 10 is provided in the chamber 10, and a detection value of the pressure sensor PS is sent to the CPU 90. The CPU 90 adjusts the amount of opening and closing of the valves V1 and V2 so that the inside of the chamber 10 has a predetermined pressure, and adjusts the amount of opening and closing of the valve V7 while supplying water vapor and ozone gas to the inside of the chamber 10. A certain amount of water vapor and ozone gas and dew water are discharged to the outside. Since ozone gas is also discharged from the drain pipe 42, the gas component discharged from the drain pipe 42 is sent to an ozone decomposing device provided downstream of the exhaust pipe 17b.
[0036]
The pure water supply nozzle 40 discharges pure water supplied from a pure water supply source (not shown) into the chamber 10 by opening the valve V3. The pure water supply nozzle 40 preferably has a structure capable of minimizing bubbles in the discharged pure water when discharging the pure water. For example, a simple cylindrical one is used. . The pure water supplied into the chamber 10 by the pure water supply nozzle 40 is discharged through a drain pipe 42.
[0037]
Next, a method of processing the wafer W by the resist removing device 1 will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a schematic processing step of the wafer W. First, the container cover 10b is lifted to open the upper surface of the processing container 10a, and the wafer holding unit 22 is moved above the processing container 10a so that the wafer W transferred by, for example, a wafer transfer unit (not shown) is transferred to the wafer. It is transferred to the holding unit 22 (step 1).
[0038]
Subsequently, the elevating mechanism 23 is operated to lower the wafer guide 20 so that the wafer W is held at a predetermined position in the processing chamber 10a, and then the container cover 10b is lowered by operating the elevating mechanism 11. Subsequently, the valve V4 is opened to supply air to the air seal rings 13a, 13b, 16a, and 16b to seal between the flanges 12a and 12b and between the cylindrical projection 14 and the shaft 21, and Seal (step 2).
[0039]
Next, the valve V1 is opened to supply steam from the gas supply nozzle 30 to the chamber 10, and the rubber heaters 18a to 18c are heated so that the atmosphere temperature in the wafer W and the chamber 10 is reduced to a predetermined processing temperature, for example. The temperature is raised to 80 ° C. and maintained (step 3). Comparing the case where a gas at the same temperature is used for heating the wafer W and the case where water vapor is used, it is possible to raise the wafer W to a predetermined temperature in a short time because the water vapor has a larger heat capacity at the same temperature than the gas. it can. That is, the processing time can be reduced, and the throughput is improved.
[0040]
When the temperature sensor TS indicates that the wafer W has reached the predetermined temperature, the valve V1 is closed to stop the supply of water vapor, and then the valve V2 is opened, and the gas supply nozzle 30 outputs, for example, an ozone concentration of about 9%. About 10m of volume% ozone gas ³ / Minute to the chamber 10 (step 4). The internal pressure of the chamber 10 is maintained at a pressure higher than the external pressure by, for example, about 0.01 to 0.03 MPa.
[0041]
When the pressure sensor PS detects that the inside of the chamber 10 has reached a predetermined pressure, the valve V1 is opened while continuing the discharge of the ozone gas from the gas supply nozzle 30 to the gas supply nozzle 30, for example, in liquid conversion. 100m ³ The steam is supplied at a flow rate of / min. As a result, the mixed gas of the ozone gas and the water vapor is obstructed from the gas supply nozzle 30 to the chamber 10, and the alteration processing of the resist film formed on the wafer W proceeds by the mixed gas (Step 5). At this time, the flow rate of the mixed gas supplied from the gas supply nozzle 30 to the chamber 10 may be changed so that the composition is kept constant.
[0042]
During the processing with the mixed gas, the opening and closing amounts of the valves V1, V2, and V7 are controlled so that the internal pressure of the chamber 10 is maintained at, for example, 0.05 MPa higher than the external pressure, so that air supply and drainage are performed. The temperatures of the rubber heaters 18a to 18c are controlled such that the exhaust is performed and the temperature in the wafer W and the chamber 10 is maintained at, for example, 80 ° C.
[0043]
After a lapse of a predetermined processing time (for example, 3 to 6 minutes), the valves V1, V2, and V7 are closed to stop the supply of water vapor and ozone gas and the exhaust / drainage (step 6). After opening the valve V6 provided in the exhaust pipe 17b, the valve V3 is opened to supply pure water to the chamber 10 from the pure water supply nozzle 40, and the chamber 10 is filled with pure water (step 7). At this time, as the water level in the chamber 10 rises, the gas in the chamber 10 is exhausted from the exhaust pipe 17b. According to such a method, the gas in the chamber 10 can be surely exhausted in the time required to fill the inside of the chamber 10 with pure water.
[0044]
When the water level in the chamber 10 reaches near the lower part of the protrusion 15, the supply of pure water is stopped. Subsequently, the valve V5 is opened to supply air from the air supply pipe 17a to the space 15a, and the ozone gas remaining in the space 15a is exhausted to the outside through the exhaust pipe 17b (step 8). In the narrow space 15a, such gas replacement can be completed in a short time.
[0045]
In the steps 7 and 8 described above, the wafer W is in a state of being immersed in pure water, and the resist film peeling process proceeds. That is, in the processing of the wafer W using the resist removing apparatus 1, the water washing processing of the wafer W can be performed simultaneously with the exhaustion of the ozone gas from the chamber 10.
[0046]
When a predetermined time has elapsed after the wafer W has been immersed in pure water, the valve V7 is opened and the pure water in the chamber 10 is discharged through the drain pipe 42 (step 9). At this time, for example, a certain amount of air may be supplied into the chamber 10 from the air supply pipe 17a so that the internal pressure of the chamber 10 does not decrease. When the internal pressure of the chamber 10 becomes the same as the external pressure, the air is removed from the air seal rings 13a, 13b, 16a, and 16b, the container cover 10b is raised, and then the wafer guide 20 is raised and the wafer holding unit 22 is removed. The wafer W is lifted up from the processing container 10a and transferred to the wafer transfer means (Step 10). Thus, a series of processes in the resist removing device 1 ends.
[0047]
The wafer W is transferred by a wafer transfer unit to a cleaning processing unit provided separately from the resist removing apparatus 1, where the wafer W is further cleaned and rinsed with pure water, and unnecessary wafers are removed from the wafer W. The resist is completely removed. In the resist removing device 1, the operation of discharging the pure water from the chamber 10 and then supplying the pure water to the chamber 10 again to perform the water washing process a predetermined number of times completely removes the resist film from the wafer W. Then, a rinsing process can be further performed.
[0048]
Next, a resist removing apparatus will be described. FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view of the resist removing device 1 '. Comparing the resist removing device 1 'and the resist removing device 1, the same one is used for the wafer guide 20 and the container cover 10b. Hereinafter, a point of difference between the resist removing apparatus 1 ′ and the resist removing apparatus 1 will be described.
[0049]
The chamber 10 'provided in the resist removing device 1' includes a processing container 10a 'and a container cover 10b. In the resist removing apparatus 1 ′, an air supply pipe 17 a and an exhaust pipe 17 b are arranged through the wall surface of the processing container 10 a ′ to supply air to the space 15 a of the projection 15 provided on the container cover 10 b, or The space 15a can be evacuated.
[0050]
The processing vessel 10a 'is provided with pure water supply nozzles 40, 40', 40 "for supplying pure water from a pure water supply source (not shown) to the processing vessel 10a 'at three places having different heights. The amount of pure water discharged from the water supply nozzle 40 is controlled by controlling the opening and closing amount of the valve V3, and the amount of pure water discharged from the pure water supply nozzle 40 'is controlled by controlling the opening and closing amount of the valve V3'. The discharge amount of pure water from the nozzle 40 "is controlled by controlling the opening and closing amount of the valve V3".
[0051]
A step is provided at the bottom of the processing container 10a ', and a constant amount of pure water can be stored in a recess at the center of the bottom of the processing container 10a'. Further, a heater 72 is attached to the outside of the bottom of the processing container 10a ', so that the pure water stored in the bottom of the processing container 10a' can be heated. For the bottom plate 71 of the processing container 10a ', a material which does not deteriorate due to heating by the heater 72 and has excellent heat conductivity and corrosion resistance, for example, a ceramic material such as silicon carbide (SiC) is suitably used. The drainage from the processing container 10a 'is performed through a drain pipe 42 provided on the bottom side surface of the processing container 10a'.
[0052]
A holding member 74 is placed on the upper surface of the step portion provided at the bottom of the processing container 10a ', and three mist shielding plates 73 are arranged at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction and held by the holding member 74. Have been. Each mist shielding plate 73 is provided with a hole, and water vapor that evaporates when pure water stored in the bottom of the processing container 10a 'is heated by the heater 72 is removed from the hole provided in each mist shielding plate 73. The light is diffused toward the wafer W held by the wafer holding unit 22 through the portion. By staggering the positions of the holes provided in each mist shielding plate 73 in the vertical direction, even if pure water boils at the bottom of the processing container 10a ', splashed splashes are prevented from directly contacting the wafer W. You. As the mist shielding plate 73, for example, a fluororesin plate is suitably used.
[0053]
As described above, in the resist removing apparatus 1 ′, since the supply of water vapor into the chamber 10 ′ is performed from the bottom of the chamber 10 ′, only the ozone gas can be supplied from the gas supply nozzle 30 to the chamber 10 ′. It has become.
[0054]
FIG. 6 is a graph showing a temperature change of the wafer W when the wafer W is heated by water vapor using the resist removing apparatus 1 '. Here, the wafer W was heated by storing the wafer W in the processing vessel 10a 'in which water vapor was generated from the bottom, and then immediately closing the chamber 10'. As a result, it was confirmed that the temperature of the wafer W reached approximately 100 ° C. in about 3 minutes from the start of the supply of steam.
[0055]
FIG. 6 also shows temperature changes when the wafer W is heated by air heated to 100 ° C. The supply of the heated air to the chamber 10 'was performed by temporarily attaching a device for sending the heated air to the gas supply nozzle 30. In this case, it took about 20 minutes from the start of the supply of the heated air until the temperature of the wafer W reached about 95 ° C. Thus, it was confirmed that the heating time of the wafer W was significantly reduced by heating the wafer W with the steam.
[0056]
The process of processing the wafer W in the resist removing apparatus 1 'thus configured will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. First, the wafer W is held in the wafer holding unit 22 and accommodated in the chamber 10 ', and the chamber 10' is sealed (step 101). Next, the valve V3 is opened to supply a certain amount of water to the chamber 10 ', and pure water is stored in the bottom of the chamber 10' (that is, the bottom of the processing vessel 10a ') (Step 102). At this time, the water surface is located below the mist shielding plate 73. Step 101 and step 102 may be performed in the reverse order.
[0057]
Next, power is supplied to the heater 72 to heat the heater 72, and the pure water stored at the bottom of the chamber 10 'is heated to generate steam. The generated water vapor diffuses into the wafer W and heats the wafer W to a predetermined temperature (Step 103). It is preferable that the process of step 103 be performed while exhausting air through the exhaust pipe 17b. Further, the rubber heater 18c is heated to maintain the wafer W and the atmosphere temperature in the chamber 10 at a predetermined processing temperature, for example, 80 ° C.
[0058]
Then, after the power supply to the heater 72 is stopped to suppress the generation of water vapor, the valve V2 is opened, and for example, ozone gas having an ozone concentration of about 9% by volume is supplied to the gas supply nozzle 30 for about 10 m. ³ Per minute, the gas is replaced in the chamber 10 '(step 104).
[0059]
When the ozone concentration in the chamber 10 'reaches a predetermined value, the power supply to the heater 72 is started again to heat the heater 72 while the supply of the ozone gas to the chamber 10' is continued, and the ozone gas is stored at the bottom of the chamber 10 '. The water vapor is evaporated from the pure water (step 105). As a result, the inside of the chamber 10 'becomes a mixed gas atmosphere of water vapor and ozone gas evaporating from the bottom portion, whereby the resist film formed on the wafer W is altered. During this process, a certain amount of ozone gas is exhausted from the exhaust pipe 17b so that the internal pressure of the chamber 10 'is maintained at a pressure higher than the external pressure by, for example, about 0.05 MPa.
[0060]
After a lapse of a predetermined processing time (for example, 3 to 6 minutes), the heating of the pure water by the heater 72 is stopped, and the supply of the ozone gas is stopped by closing the valve V2 (step 106). Subsequently, the valve V3 is opened to supply pure water from the pure water supply nozzle 40 to the chamber 10 '(step 107). As the water level in the chamber 10 'rises, the gas in the chamber 10' is exhausted through the exhaust pipe 17b.
[0061]
When the water level in the chamber 10 'reaches the height of the pure water supply nozzle 40', the valve V3 'is opened to start supplying pure water from the pure water supply nozzle 40' to the chamber 10 '. Further, when the water level in the chamber 10 'reaches the height of the pure water supply nozzle 40 ", the valve V3" is opened to start the supply of pure water from the pure water supply nozzle 40 "to the chamber 10'. The time required to fill the chamber 10 'with pure water is reduced, and the pure water is supplied to the chamber 10' as the water level rises, so that the pure water in the chamber 10 'does not contain bubbles. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent bubbles from adhering to the wafer W and causing unevenness in the water washing process.
[0062]
When the water level in the chamber 10 'reaches the projection 15, the supply of pure water to the chamber 10' is stopped, and air is supplied from the air supply pipe 17a to the space 15a, and the ozone gas remaining in the space 15a is removed from the exhaust pipe 17b. The air is exhausted to the outside (step 108). In the steps 107 and 108, the wafer W is immersed in pure water, and the resist film peeling process proceeds.
[0063]
When a predetermined time has elapsed after the wafer W has been immersed in the pure water, the valve V7 is opened, and the pure water in the chamber 10 'is discharged through the drain pipe 42 (step 109). At this time, for example, a constant amount of air is supplied from the air supply pipe 17a into the chamber 10 'so that the internal pressure of the chamber 10' does not decrease. When the internal pressure of the chamber 10 'becomes equal to the external pressure, the hermetically closed state of the chamber 10' is released, the container cover 10b and the wafer guide 20 are raised, and the wafer holding unit 22 is pulled up from the processing container 10a 'and held. The wafer W is transferred to the wafer transfer means (step 110). Thus, a series of processes in the resist removing device 1 'is completed.
[0064]
The embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the present invention is not limited to such embodiments. For example, in the above description, for example, the wafer W is exemplified as the substrate, but the substrate is not limited to this, and the substrate may be another substrate such as an LCD substrate.
[0065]
In the resist removing apparatus 1 ', even after the wafer W is heated to a predetermined temperature by the water vapor and the power supply to the heater 72 is stopped, the evaporation of pure water from the bottom of the chamber 10' does not stop immediately. Therefore, for example, while the power supply by the heater 72 is stopped, a certain amount of pure water is supplied to the chamber 10 ′ to lower the temperature of the pure water stored at the bottom of the chamber 10 ′, thereby reducing the generation of water vapor. Can be suppressed. Further, while stopping the power supply by the heater 72 and supplying a certain amount of pure water to the chamber 10 ', the valve V7 is opened to discharge the hot water from the chamber 10', thereby stopping the generation of water vapor. You can also.
[0066]
When exhausting ozone gas from the chamber 10 by filling the chamber 10 (or 10 ') with pure water, the pure water is supplied to the chamber 10 until the pure water supplied into the chamber 10 overflows from the exhaust pipe 17b. May be. In this case, in the space 15a of the protrusion 15, the air supply pipe 17a and the exhaust pipe are arranged such that the height of the air discharge port of the air supply pipe 17a is higher than the height of the air intake port of the exhaust pipe 17b. 17b is preferably installed.
[0067]
The metal material forming the outside of the chambers 10 and 10 'is not limited to stainless steel, and various other steel materials such as brass, aluminum, and cast iron can be used. In the processing container 10a 'constituting the chamber 10', the drain pipe 42 drains the liquid from the upper surface (the surface to which the holding member 74 is fixed) of the step provided at the bottom of the processing container 10a '. It may be arranged as follows. Alternatively, a branch pipe may be provided in a liquid supply pipe connected to the pure water supply nozzle 40, and the pure water in the chamber 10 'may be discharged from the pure water supply nozzle 40 through the branch pipe.
[0068]
The present invention is not limited to the case where the resist is removed from the wafer W as described above. For example, the present invention can be applied to an apparatus for oxidizing the surface of a substrate such as a wafer W by directly processing the wafer W or the like with a mixed gas of ozone gas and water vapor. Further, in the processing apparatus of the present invention, a suitable gas type and vapor (for example, vapor of an organic solvent) can be appropriately selected according to the substrate and the processing contents (for example, cleaning processing and etching processing). . By heating the substrate with the vapor before treating the substrate with the mixed gas of the gas and the vapor, the heating time of the substrate is reduced.
[0069]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the time required to heat the substrate to a predetermined temperature prior to the processing of the substrate is reduced, so that the throughput is improved. Further, since an inert gas is not used for heating the substrate as in the related art, the processing cost can be reduced.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic structure of a resist removing apparatus.
FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of the resist removing apparatus shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a container cover included in the resist removing device shown in FIG.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a wafer processing process by the resist removing apparatus shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a schematic structure of another resist removing apparatus.
FIG. 6 is a graph showing a difference in temperature change of a wafer due to a difference in a medium for heating the wafer.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a wafer processing process by the resist removing apparatus shown in FIG. 5;
[Explanation of symbols]
1.1 '; Resist removal equipment
10.10 '; chamber
11; lifting mechanism
12a, 12b; flange part
13a ・ 13b ； Air seal ring
14; cylindrical projection
15; protrusion
15a; space
16a ・ 16b ； Air seal ring
17a; air supply pipe
17b; exhaust pipe
20; wafer guide
22a to 22c; wafer support member
30; gas supply nozzle
40; pure water supply nozzle
72; heater
73; Mist shielding plate
90; CPU
W; Wafer (substrate)

Claims (11)

A processing method for processing an object to be processed in an atmosphere including a processing gas and a processing liquid vapor,
A step of housing the object to be processed in the chamber;
Heating the object to be processed to a predetermined temperature by supplying vapor of the processing liquid to the chamber;
Supplying the processing gas to the chamber;
Processing the workpiece by supplying a predetermined amount of the vapor of the processing liquid to the chamber while maintaining the supply of the processing gas to the chamber for a predetermined amount of time;
A processing method comprising: After the processing of the object to be processed by the processing gas and the vapor of the processing liquid,
Stopping the supply of the processing gas and the vapor of the processing liquid to the chamber;
Supplying the processing liquid to the chamber and filling the inside of the chamber with the processing liquid, thereby discharging a processing gas in the chamber from the top of the chamber to the outside;
Discharging the processing solution from the chamber;
Unloading the object from the chamber;
The processing method according to claim 1, further comprising: The processing method according to claim 2, wherein a predetermined amount of the processing liquid is left at the bottom of the chamber at the end of the step of discharging the processing liquid from the chamber. The supply of the processing liquid vapor to the chamber is stopped or the supply amount is reduced before supplying the processing gas to the chamber. The processing method described in the section. In the step of heating the object to be processed to a predetermined temperature by the vapor of the processing liquid, the supply of the vapor of the processing liquid is performed by supplying the vapor generated by heating the processing liquid stored at the bottom of the chamber to the chamber. The processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the processing is performed by diffusing. 2. A processing method according to claim 1, wherein a gas containing ozone is used as the processing gas, and pure water is used as the processing liquid, and a processing target having a resist film formed thereon is processed. The processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 5. A processing apparatus for processing an object to be processed in a mixed atmosphere of a processing gas and a vapor of a processing liquid,
Holding means for holding the object,
A chamber for accommodating the object to be processed held by the holding means,
Processing gas supply means for supplying the processing gas to the chamber;
Processing liquid supply means for supplying the processing liquid to the chamber;
A heater for heating and evaporating the processing liquid supplied to the chamber by the processing liquid supply means and stored at the bottom of the chamber;
A gas exhaust mechanism for exhausting the processing gas in the chamber from the top of the chamber to the outside,
A heater control device that controls the operation of the heater so that the object to be processed housed in the chamber is heated to a predetermined temperature by the vapor of the processing liquid;
A processing device comprising: 8. The processing method according to claim 7, wherein the processing gas is a gas containing ozone, and the processing liquid is pure water, and a processing target having a resist film formed thereon is processed. Processing equipment. The processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the heater is provided outside a bottom wall of the chamber. A hole is provided in a predetermined position inside the chamber below the object to be processed housed in the chamber and through which a vapor of the processing liquid generated when heating the processing liquid stored at the bottom of the chamber is passed. Part is provided, and further comprising a plurality of shielding plates arranged so that the positions of the holes are vertically displaced so that the droplets due to bumping of the processing liquid do not directly touch the object to be processed. The processing device according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein The processing apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein the chamber includes an inner wall portion made of a fluororesin and an outer wall portion made of a metal.

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