JP2007036121A - Substrate-treating device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate-treating device for preventing operation failure and treatment failure due to liquid adhering to a substrate in an exposing device. <P>SOLUTION: The substrate-treating device 500 includes an indexer block 9; a treatment block 10 for reflection prevention films; a treatment block 11 for resist films; a development treatment block 12; a treatment block 13 for resist cover films; a resist cover film removal block 14; a cleaning/drying treatment block 15; and an interface block 16. The exposing device 17 is arranged adjacent to the interface block 16 in the substrate-treating device 500. The exposure treatment of the substrate W is performed by a liquid immersion method in the exposing device 17. The interface block 16 includes substrate placement sections PASS1, DPASS2. When carrying the substrate W, the substrate W is placed at the substrate placement sections PASS1, DPASS2. The substrate placement sections DPASS1, DPASS2 perform the drying treatment of the placed substrate W. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate.

  In order to perform various processes on various substrates such as a semiconductor substrate, a liquid crystal display substrate, a plasma display substrate, an optical disk substrate, a magnetic disk substrate, a magneto-optical disk substrate, and a photomask substrate, It is used.

  In such a substrate processing apparatus, generally, a plurality of different processes are continuously performed on a single substrate. The substrate processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1 includes an indexer block, an antireflection film processing block, a resist film processing block, a development processing block, and an interface block. An exposure apparatus that is an external apparatus separate from the substrate processing apparatus is disposed adjacent to the interface block.

  In the substrate processing apparatus described above, the substrate carried in from the indexer block is configured such that after the formation of the antireflection film and the coating process of the resist film are performed in the antireflection film processing block and the resist film processing block, the interface block is To the exposure apparatus. After the exposure process is performed on the resist film on the substrate in the exposure apparatus, the substrate is transported to the development processing block via the interface block. After a resist pattern is formed by performing development processing on the resist film on the substrate in the development processing block, the substrate is transported to the indexer block.

  In recent years, miniaturization of resist patterns has become an important issue as the density and integration of devices increase. In a conventional general exposure apparatus, exposure processing is performed by reducing and projecting a reticle pattern onto a substrate through a projection lens. However, in such a conventional exposure apparatus, since the line width of the exposure pattern is determined by the wavelength of the light source of the exposure apparatus, there is a limit to the miniaturization of the resist pattern.

Accordingly, a liquid immersion method has been proposed as a projection exposure method that enables further miniaturization of the exposure pattern (see, for example, Patent Document 2). In the projection exposure apparatus of Patent Document 2, a liquid is filled between the projection optical system and the substrate, and the exposure light on the substrate surface can be shortened. Thereby, the exposure pattern can be further miniaturized.
JP 2003-324139 A International Publication No. 99/49504 Pamphlet

  In the projection exposure apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 2, since the exposure process is performed in a state where the substrate and the liquid are in contact with each other, the substrate is carried out of the exposure apparatus with the liquid attached thereto. Therefore, when the exposure apparatus using the liquid immersion method described in Patent Document 2 is provided as an external device in the substrate processing apparatus of Patent Document 1, the liquid adhering to the substrate carried out of the exposure apparatus May fall into the substrate processing apparatus, resulting in malfunctions such as abnormalities in the electrical system of the substrate processing apparatus.

  In addition, if liquid adheres to the substrate after the exposure processing, dust or the like may adhere to the substrate. If dust or the like adheres to the substrate, processing defects of the substrate may occur.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus in which operation failure and processing failure due to liquid adhering to a substrate in an exposure apparatus are prevented.

(1)
A substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention is a substrate processing apparatus disposed adjacent to an exposure apparatus, and is provided with a processing unit that performs processing on a substrate and an end of the processing unit that is adjacent to the processing unit. A substrate transfer mechanism for transferring the substrate between the exposure apparatus and the exposure apparatus; and a substrate transfer mechanism provided in the transfer section for transferring the substrate between the processing section and the exposure apparatus. It includes substrate drying means for processing.

  The substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention is disposed adjacent to the exposure apparatus. In this substrate processing apparatus, a predetermined process is performed on the substrate by the processing unit, and the substrate is transferred between the processing unit and the exposure apparatus by a transfer unit provided adjacent to one end of the processing unit. Is called. In the transfer unit, the substrate is transported between the processing unit and the exposure apparatus by the substrate drying means.

  According to this substrate processing apparatus, even when a liquid adheres to the substrate taken out from the processing unit or the exposure apparatus, the substrate drying means performs a drying process on the substrate transported between the processing unit and the exposure apparatus. The liquid falls into the substrate processing apparatus, and malfunctions such as abnormalities in the electrical system of the substrate processing apparatus are prevented.

  In addition, since the drying process is performed on the substrate, dust or the like does not adhere to the substrate to which the liquid has adhered, so that a substrate processing failure is prevented.

(2)
The substrate drying means may perform a drying process on the substrate after the exposure process by the exposure apparatus. In this case, the substrate after the exposure processing by the exposure apparatus is dried by the substrate drying means.

  Although liquid may adhere to the substrate after exposure processing transferred from the exposure apparatus to the substrate processing apparatus, the substrate drying means performs drying processing on the substrate after exposure processing by the exposure apparatus. An operation failure of the substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing failure due to the liquid adhering to the subsequent substrate are prevented.

(3)
The substrate drying means may perform a drying process of the substrate before the exposure process by the exposure apparatus. In this case, the substrate before the exposure process by the exposure apparatus is dried by the substrate drying means.

  Thereby, even when the liquid adheres to the back surface side of the substrate before the exposure process, the substrate drying unit performs the drying process, so that the substrate with the liquid adhered is prevented from being conveyed to the exposure apparatus. .

  As a result, contaminants such as dust are prevented from adhering to the substrate before the exposure processing, and contamination in the exposure apparatus due to substrate contamination can be prevented. Further, it is possible to prevent a processing failure caused by the liquid adhering to the substrate during the exposure processing of the substrate by the exposure apparatus. Furthermore, the malfunction of the substrate processing apparatus and the processing failure of the substrate due to the liquid adhering to the substrate before the exposure processing are also prevented.

(4)
The substrate transport mechanism includes a first transport device that transports while holding the substrate, and the first transport device holds a substrate before exposure processing when transported from the processing unit to the exposure apparatus. And a second holding means for holding the substrate after the exposure process when the exposure apparatus transports the substrate to the processing unit.

  In this case, in the transfer unit, the substrate before the exposure process is transported from the exposure apparatus to the processing unit by the first holding unit of the first transport apparatus. Further, the substrate after the exposure processing is transported from the exposure device to the processing unit by the second holding means of the first transport device.

  Therefore, when the substrate drying means performs the drying process of the substrate before the exposure process, even if the liquid adheres to the substrate after the exposure process, the holding means for holding the substrate differs before and after the exposure process. The liquid adhering to the substrate after the exposure processing is prevented from adhering to the substrate before the exposure processing via the first transport device.

  Similarly, when the substrate drying means performs the drying process of the substrate after the exposure process, even if a liquid adheres to the substrate before the exposure process, the holding means for holding the substrate is different before and after the exposure process. Therefore, the liquid adhering to the substrate before the exposure process is prevented from adhering to the substrate after the exposure process via the first transport device.

(5)
The substrate transport mechanism may include a substrate platform that temporarily mounts the substrate, and the substrate platform may include a substrate drying unit. In this case, in the transfer unit, the substrate is temporarily placed on the substrate platform. Therefore, the substrate placed on the substrate platform is dried by the substrate drying means.

  Thereby, since it is not necessary to provide a new unit for drying the substrate in the transfer section, the substrate processing apparatus can be downsized. Further, since there is no need to transport the substrate to such a unit, the substrate before the exposure process can be quickly transported into the exposure apparatus, and the substrate after the exposure process can be transported quickly into the processing unit. .

  Thereby, since the drying process of the substrate is efficiently performed, the throughput is improved, and the substrate can be effectively processed before the exposure process and after the exposure process.

(6)
The substrate placement unit may be disposed adjacent to the exposure apparatus in the transfer unit. In this case, the substrate after the exposure process to which the liquid is attached is subjected to a drying process by being placed on a substrate platform that is disposed adjacent to the exposure apparatus. Therefore, even when liquid adheres to the substrate after the exposure processing by the exposure apparatus, the substrate is quickly dried when the substrate is transported from the exposure apparatus to the substrate processing apparatus, so that it is possible to prevent generation of dry spots on the substrate. can do.

(7)
The substrate drying means may perform a drying process on the peripheral edge of the back surface of the substrate. In this case, the periphery of the back surface of the substrate is dried by the substrate drying means.

  After the exposure process by the exposure apparatus, the liquid adheres to the peripheral edge of the back surface of the substrate. Therefore, the substrate drying means can efficiently remove the liquid adhering to the substrate after the exposure processing by drying the periphery of the back surface of the substrate.

(8)
The substrate drying unit may include a supporting unit that supports the substrate and an inert gas supply unit that performs a drying process of the substrate by injecting an inert gas onto the back surface of the substrate supported by the supporting unit.

  In this case, the substrate is supported by the support means, and an inert gas is injected by the inert gas supply means onto the back surface of the substrate supported by the support means. Thereby, the liquid adhering to the back surface of the substrate is scattered outward by the inert gas ejected from the inert gas supply means. Thereby, the back surface of the substrate is sufficiently dried.

(9)
The substrate drying means includes an inert gas ejection device that is provided in the substrate conveyance path and has a slit-like opening for injecting an inert gas, and the inert gas ejection device supplies the inert gas to the back surface of the substrate being conveyed. The substrate may be dried by spraying.

  In this case, the inert gas is jetted from the slit-shaped opening of the inert gas jetting device to the back surface of the substrate to be transported in the transfer unit. Thereby, the liquid adhering to the back surface of the substrate is scattered outward by the inert gas ejected by the inert gas ejection device. Thereby, the back surface of the substrate is sufficiently dried.

  In addition, since the inert gas ejection device can be easily added to an existing substrate processing apparatus, it is possible to prevent a processing failure due to the liquid adhering to the substrate at low cost.

(10)
The processing unit includes a processing unit that performs a predetermined process on the substrate and a transport unit that transports the substrate between the plurality of processing units, and the processing unit performs a drying process on the substrate after the exposure processing by the exposure apparatus. May be included.

  In this case, in the processing unit, a predetermined process is performed on the substrate by the processing unit. In the drying unit included in the processing unit, the substrate is dried. Between the plurality of processing units, the substrate is transported by the transport unit.

  Thereby, when the substrate after the exposure processing is carried into the drying processing unit of the processing unit, the substrate is surely dried by the drying processing unit even when the liquid is attached to the substrate. Thereby, falling into the substrate processing apparatus is surely prevented. As a result, it is possible to reliably prevent malfunctions such as abnormalities in the electrical system of the substrate processing apparatus.

  In addition, by reliably performing the drying process on the substrate after the exposure process, it is possible to reliably prevent dust and the like in the atmosphere from adhering to the substrate after the exposure process, thereby reliably preventing the contamination of the substrate. it can.

  In addition, since it is possible to reliably prevent the substrate with the liquid attached inside the substrate processing apparatus from being transported, it is ensured that the liquid attached to the substrate during the exposure process affects the atmosphere in the substrate processing apparatus. Can be prevented. Thereby, temperature and humidity adjustment in the substrate processing apparatus can be sufficiently facilitated.

  Further, it is possible to reliably prevent the liquid adhering to the substrate during the exposure processing from adhering to another substrate before the exposure processing in the substrate processing apparatus. Therefore, the dust in the atmosphere is sufficiently prevented from adhering to another substrate before the exposure process, so that deterioration of the resolution performance during the exposure process can be sufficiently prevented and contamination in the exposure apparatus can be prevented. Can be reliably prevented.

  As a result, processing defects of the substrate can be reliably prevented.

(11)
The transport unit includes a second transport device provided adjacent to the transfer unit and adjacent to the drying processing unit, and the second transport device is configured to transport a third substrate while holding the substrate. A holding unit and a fourth holding unit, wherein the third holding unit transfers the substrate before the exposure processing by the exposure apparatus to the delivery unit and the substrate after the drying processing by the drying processing unit to another processing unit; The fourth holding means may hold the substrate when the substrate after the exposure processing by the exposure apparatus is transported to the drying processing unit.

  In this case, in the processing unit, the substrate before the exposure processing is held by the third holding unit of the second transfer device and transferred to the transfer unit. Further, the substrate after the exposure processing is held by the fourth holding unit of the second transfer device, and transferred from the transfer unit to the drying processing unit.

  Further, the substrate dried by the drying processing unit is held by the third holding unit of the second transfer device and transferred to another processing unit.

  That is, the fourth holding means is used for transporting the substrate to which the liquid is adhered by the exposure processing, and for transporting the substrate before the exposure processing and the substrate to which the liquid after the drying processing by the drying processing unit is not adhered. The third holding means is used. Therefore, the liquid is prevented from adhering to the third holding means.

  Thereby, it is possible to prevent the liquid from adhering to the substrate before the exposure processing and the substrate after the drying processing by the drying processing unit. As a result, it is possible to reliably prevent dust and the like in the atmosphere from adhering to the substrate after the exposure processing and the substrate after the drying processing by the drying processing unit.

(12)
The fourth holding means may be provided below the third holding means. In this case, even if the liquid falls from the fourth holding means and the substrate held by the fourth holding means, the liquid is prevented from adhering to the third holding means and the substrate held by the third holding means.

  Thereby, it can prevent more reliably that dust etc. adhere to the board | substrate before an exposure process. As a result, contamination of the substrate before the exposure process can be prevented more reliably.

(13)
The processing unit may further include a heat treatment unit that performs a predetermined heat treatment on the substrate after the exposure processing by the exposure apparatus. In this case, a predetermined heat treatment is performed on the substrate after the exposure processing by the heat treatment unit.

  In the transfer unit, the substrate is transported between the processing unit and the exposure apparatus by the substrate drying means, so that the liquid adhering to the substrate falls into the heat treatment unit, and the electrical system of the heat treatment unit is abnormal. Such malfunctions are prevented.

  Further, since the drying process is performed on the substrate, dust or the like does not adhere to the substrate to which the liquid has adhered, so that the heat treatment failure of the substrate is reliably prevented.

(14)
The processing unit may further include a photosensitive film forming unit that forms a photosensitive film made of a photosensitive material on the substrate. In this case, a photosensitive film made of a photosensitive material can be formed on the substrate before the exposure processing by the photosensitive film forming unit.

  In the transfer unit, the substrate drying means performs a drying process on the substrate transported between the processing unit and the exposure apparatus, so that the liquid adhering to the substrate falls into the photosensitive film forming unit and forms the photosensitive film. Malfunctions such as abnormalities in the electrical system of the unit are prevented.

  Further, since the substrate is subjected to a drying process, dust or the like does not adhere to the substrate to which the liquid has adhered, so that formation failure of the photosensitive film due to contamination of the substrate can be prevented, and exposure pattern dimensional defects and Occurrence of shape defects can be prevented.

(15)
The processing unit may further include a protective film forming unit that forms a protective film for protecting the photosensitive film. In this case, since the protective film is formed on the photosensitive film, the components of the photosensitive film are prevented from being eluted into the liquid even when the exposure processing is performed in a state where the substrate is in contact with the liquid in the exposure apparatus. The Thereby, contamination in the exposure apparatus can be reliably prevented.

(16)
The processing unit may further include a removal unit that removes the protective film after the exposure processing by the exposure apparatus. In this case, the protective film formed on the photosensitive film can be reliably removed.

(17)
The processing unit may further include an antireflection film forming unit that forms an antireflection film on the substrate before forming the photosensitive film by the photosensitive film forming unit. In this case, since the antireflection film is formed on the substrate, standing waves and halation generated during the exposure process can be reduced.

(18)
The processing unit may further include a development processing unit that performs development processing on the substrate. In this case, the substrate is developed by the development processing unit. As described above, since the substrate can be dried and the substrate can be developed in one substrate processing apparatus, the footprint can be reduced.

  The substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention is disposed adjacent to the exposure apparatus. In this substrate processing apparatus, a predetermined process is performed on the substrate by the processing unit, and the substrate is transferred between the processing unit and the exposure apparatus by a transfer unit provided adjacent to one end of the processing unit. Is called. In the transfer unit, the substrate is transported between the processing unit and the exposure apparatus by the substrate drying means.

  According to this substrate processing apparatus, even when a liquid adheres to the substrate taken out from the processing unit or the exposure apparatus, the substrate drying means performs a drying process on the substrate transported between the processing unit and the exposure apparatus. The liquid falls into the substrate processing apparatus, and malfunctions such as abnormalities in the electrical system of the substrate processing apparatus are prevented.

  In addition, since the drying process is performed on the substrate, dust or the like does not adhere to the substrate to which the liquid has adhered, so that a substrate processing failure is prevented.

  Hereinafter, a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the substrate refers to a semiconductor substrate, a liquid crystal display substrate, a plasma display substrate, a photomask glass substrate, an optical disk substrate, a magnetic disk substrate, a magneto-optical disk substrate, a photomask substrate, and the like. Say.

  Further, in the following drawings, arrows indicating the X direction, the Y direction, and the Z direction orthogonal to each other are attached in order to clarify the positional relationship. The X direction and the Y direction are orthogonal to each other in the horizontal plane, and the Z direction corresponds to the vertical direction. In each direction, the direction in which the arrow points is the + direction, and the opposite direction is the-direction. Further, the rotation direction around the Z direction is defined as the θ direction.

A First Embodiment (1) Configuration of Substrate Processing Apparatus Hereinafter, a substrate processing apparatus according to a first embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of the substrate processing apparatus according to the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate processing apparatus 500 includes an indexer block 9, an antireflection film processing block 10, a resist film processing block 11, a development processing block 12, a resist cover film processing block 13, and a resist cover film removal block. 14, including a cleaning / drying processing block 15 and an interface block 16. In the substrate processing apparatus 500, these blocks are arranged in the above order.

  An exposure device 17 is disposed adjacent to the interface block 16 of the substrate processing apparatus 500. In the exposure apparatus 17, the substrate W is subjected to exposure processing by a liquid immersion method.

  The indexer block 9 includes a main controller (control unit) 91 that controls the operation of each block, a plurality of carrier platforms 92, and an indexer robot IR. In the indexer robot IR, hands IRH1 and IRH2 for delivering the substrate W are provided above and below.

  The antireflection film processing block 10 includes antireflection film heat treatment units 100 and 101, an antireflection film coating processing unit 30, and a first central robot CR1. The antireflection film coating treatment unit 30 is provided to face the antireflection film heat treatment units 100 and 101 with the first central robot CR1 interposed therebetween. The first center robot CR1 is provided with hands CRH1 and CRH2 for transferring the substrate W up and down.

  A partition wall 20 is provided between the indexer block 9 and the anti-reflection film processing block 10 for shielding the atmosphere. The partition wall 20 is provided with substrate platforms PASS 1 and PASS 2 that are adjacent to each other in the vertical direction for transferring the substrate W between the indexer block 9 and the anti-reflection film processing block 10. The upper substrate platform PASS1 is used when transporting the substrate W from the indexer block 9 to the antireflection film processing block 10, and the lower substrate platform PASS2 is used to transport the substrate W to the antireflection film processing block. It is used when transporting from 10 to the indexer block 9.

  The substrate platforms PASS1, PASS2 are provided with optical sensors (not shown) that detect the presence or absence of the substrate W. Thereby, it is possible to determine whether or not the substrate W is placed on the substrate platforms PASS1 and PASS2. The substrate platforms PASS1, PASS2 are provided with a plurality of support pins fixedly installed. The optical sensors and the support pins are also provided in the same manner on the substrate platforms PASS3 to PASS16, DPASS1, and DPASS2, which will be described later.

  The resist film processing block 11 includes resist film heat treatment units 110 and 111, a resist film coating processing unit 40, and a second central robot CR2. The resist film application processing unit 40 is provided to face the resist film heat treatment units 110 and 111 with the second central robot CR2 interposed therebetween. The second center robot CR2 is provided with hands CRH3 and CRH4 for transferring the substrate W up and down.

  A partition wall 21 is provided between the antireflection film processing block 10 and the resist film processing block 11 for shielding the atmosphere. The partition wall 21 is provided with substrate platforms PASS3 and PASS4 which are close to each other in the vertical direction for transferring the substrate W between the antireflection film processing block 10 and the resist film processing block 11. The upper substrate platform PASS3 is used when the substrate W is transported from the antireflection film processing block 10 to the resist film processing block 11, and the lower substrate platform PASS4 is used to transfer the substrate W to the resist film. It is used when transporting from the processing block 11 to the processing block 10 for antireflection film.

  The development processing block 12 includes development heat treatment units 120 and 121, a development processing unit 50, and a third center robot CR3. The development processing unit 50 is provided to face the development heat treatment units 120 and 121 with the third central robot CR3 interposed therebetween. The third center robot CR3 is provided with hands CRH5 and CRH6 for transferring the substrate W up and down.

  A partition wall 22 is provided between the resist film processing block 11 and the development processing block 12 for shielding the atmosphere. In the partition wall 22, substrate platforms PASS 5 and PASS 6 for transferring the substrate W between the resist film processing block 11 and the development processing block 12 are provided close to each other in the vertical direction. The upper substrate platform PASS5 is used when the substrate W is transported from the resist film processing block 11 to the development processing block 12, and the lower substrate platform PASS6 is used to transfer the substrate W from the development processing block 12 to the resist processing block 12. Used when transported to the film processing block 11.

  The resist cover film processing block 13 includes resist cover film heat treatment units 130 and 131, a resist cover film coating processing unit 60, and a fourth central robot CR4. The resist cover film coating processing section 60 is provided opposite to the resist cover film heat treatment sections 130 and 131 with the fourth central robot CR4 interposed therebetween. The fourth center robot CR4 is provided with hands CRH7 and CRH8 for delivering the substrate W up and down.

  A partition wall 23 is provided between the development processing block 12 and the resist cover film processing block 13 for shielding the atmosphere. The partition wall 23 is provided with substrate platforms PASS7 and PASS8 adjacent to each other in the vertical direction for transferring the substrate W between the development processing block 12 and the resist cover film processing block 13. The upper substrate platform PASS7 is used when the substrate W is transferred from the development processing block 12 to the resist cover film processing block 13, and the lower substrate platform PASS8 is used to process the substrate W on the resist cover film. Used when transported from the block 13 to the development processing block 12.

  The resist cover film removal block 14 includes resist cover film removal processing units 70a and 70b and a fifth central robot CR5. The resist cover film removal processing units 70a and 70b are provided to face each other with the fifth central robot CR5 interposed therebetween. The fifth center robot CR5 is provided with hands CRH9 and CRH10 for transferring the substrate W up and down.

  A partition wall 24 is provided between the resist cover film processing block 13 and the resist cover film removal block 14 for shielding the atmosphere. The partition wall 24 is provided with substrate platforms PASS9 and PASS10 adjacent to each other in the vertical direction for transferring the substrate W between the resist cover film processing block 13 and the resist cover film removal block 14. The upper substrate platform PASS9 is used when the substrate W is transferred from the resist cover film processing block 13 to the resist cover film removal block 14, and the lower substrate platform PASS10 is used to transfer the substrate W to the resist cover film. It is used when transporting from the removal block 14 to the resist cover film processing block 13.

  The cleaning / drying processing block 15 includes post-exposure baking heat treatment units 150 and 151, a cleaning / drying processing unit 80, and a sixth central robot CR6. The post-exposure bake heat treatment section 151 is adjacent to the interface block 16 and includes substrate platforms PASS13 and PASS14 as described later. The cleaning / drying processing unit 80 is provided to face the post-exposure baking heat treatment units 150 and 151 with the sixth central robot CR6 interposed therebetween. The sixth center robot CR6 is provided with hands CRH11 and CRH12 for transferring the substrate W up and down.

  A partition wall 25 is provided between the resist cover film removal block 14 and the cleaning / drying processing block 15 for shielding the atmosphere. In the partition wall 25, substrate platforms PASS11 and PASS12 for transferring the substrate W between the resist cover film removal block 14 and the cleaning / drying processing block 15 are provided close to each other in the vertical direction. The upper substrate platform PASS11 is used when transporting the substrate W from the resist cover film removal block 14 to the cleaning / drying processing block 15, and the lower substrate platform PASS12 is configured to perform cleaning / drying processing on the substrate W. Used when transported from the block 15 to the resist cover film removal block 14.

  The interface block 16 includes a seventh central robot CR7, a feed buffer unit SBF, an interface transport mechanism IFR, an edge exposure unit EEW, and substrate placement units PASS1, DPASS2. In addition, below-described edge exposure unit EEW are provided with substrate platforms PASS15 and PASS16 and a return buffer unit RBF, which will be described later. The seventh central robot CR7 is provided with hands CRH13 and CRH14 for delivering the substrate W up and down, and the interface transport mechanism IFR is provided with hands H1 and H2 for delivering the substrate W up and down. .

  In the present embodiment, the above-described hands IRH1, IRH2, CRH1 to CRH14, H1, and H2 have a structure for holding the substrate W by contacting the peripheral edge or the end surface of the back surface of the substrate W, respectively.

  FIG. 2 is a side view of the substrate processing apparatus 500 of FIG. 1 viewed from the + X direction.

  In the antireflection film coating processing section 30 (see FIG. 1) of the antireflection film processing block 10, three coating units BARC are stacked in a vertical direction. Each coating unit BARC includes a spin chuck 31 that rotates by attracting and holding the substrate W in a horizontal posture, and a supply nozzle 32 that supplies a coating liquid for an antireflection film to the substrate W held on the spin chuck 31.

  In the resist film coating processing section 40 (see FIG. 1) of the resist film processing block 11, three coating units RES are stacked in a vertical direction. Each coating unit RES includes a spin chuck 41 that rotates while adsorbing and holding the substrate W in a horizontal posture, and a supply nozzle 42 that supplies a coating liquid for a resist film to the substrate W held on the spin chuck 41.

  In the development processing unit 50 (see FIG. 1) of the development processing block 12, five development processing units DEV are stacked one above the other. Each development processing unit DEV includes a spin chuck 51 that rotates while adsorbing and holding the substrate W in a horizontal posture, and a supply nozzle 52 that supplies the developer to the substrate W held on the spin chuck 51.

  In the resist cover film coating processing unit 60 (see FIG. 1) of the resist cover film processing block 13, three coating units COV are stacked one above the other. Each coating unit COV includes a spin chuck 61 that rotates while adsorbing and holding the substrate W in a horizontal posture, and a supply nozzle 62 that supplies a coating liquid for the resist cover film to the substrate W held on the spin chuck 61. As a coating solution for the resist cover film, a material having a low affinity with the resist and water (a material having low reactivity with the resist and water) can be used. For example, a fluororesin. The coating unit COV forms a resist cover film on the resist film formed on the substrate W by applying a coating liquid onto the substrate W while rotating the substrate W.

  In the resist cover film removal processing unit 70b (see FIG. 1) of the resist cover film removal block 14, three removal units REM are vertically stacked. Each removal unit REM includes a spin chuck 71 that rotates while adsorbing and holding the substrate W in a horizontal posture, and a supply nozzle 72 that supplies a peeling liquid (for example, a fluororesin) to the substrate W held on the spin chuck 71. The removal unit REM removes the resist cover film formed on the substrate W by applying a stripping solution onto the substrate W while rotating the substrate W.

  The method for removing the resist cover film in the removal unit REM is not limited to the above example. For example, the resist cover film may be removed by supplying a stripping solution onto the substrate W while moving the slit nozzle above the substrate W.

  In the cleaning / drying processing unit 80 (see FIG. 1) of the cleaning / drying processing block 15, three cleaning / drying processing units SD are stacked one above the other. Details of the cleaning / drying processing unit SD will be described later.

  In the interface block 16, two edge exposure units EEW, substrate platforms PASS15 and PASS16, and a return buffer unit RBF are stacked one above the other, and substrate platforms DPASS1 and DPASS2 (see FIG. 1), seventh Center robot CR7 (see FIG. 1) and interface transport mechanism IFR are arranged.

  The substrate platforms DPASS1 and DPASS2 are disposed adjacent to the exposure apparatus 17 (see FIGS. 1 and 2). Details of the structure of the substrate platforms DPASS1 and DPASS2 will be described later.

  Each edge exposure unit EEW includes a spin chuck 98 that rotates by attracting and holding the substrate W in a horizontal posture, and a light irradiator 99 that exposes the periphery of the substrate W held on the spin chuck 98.

  FIG. 3 is a side view of the substrate processing apparatus 500 of FIG. 1 viewed from the −X direction.

  In the antireflection film heat treatment section 100 of the antireflection film processing block 10, two heating units (hot plates) HP and two cooling units (cooling plates) CP are stacked, and the antireflection film heat treatment section is arranged. In 101, two heating units HP and two cooling units CP are stacked one above the other. Further, in the heat treatment units 100 and 101 for the antireflection film, local controllers LC for controlling the temperatures of the cooling unit CP and the heating unit HP are arranged at the top.

  The resist film heat treatment section 110 of the resist film processing block 11 has two heating units HP and two cooling units CP stacked one above the other, and the resist film heat treatment section 111 has two heating units. HP and two cooling units CP are stacked one above the other. In addition, in the resist film heat treatment units 110 and 111, local controllers LC for controlling the temperatures of the cooling unit CP and the heating unit HP are respectively arranged at the top.

  In the development heat treatment section 120 of the development processing block 12, two heating units HP and two cooling units CP are stacked one above the other, and in the development heat treatment section 121, two heating units HP and two are provided. The cooling units CP are stacked one above the other. Further, in the development heat treatment sections 120 and 121, local controllers LC for controlling the temperatures of the cooling unit CP and the heating unit HP are respectively arranged at the top.

  In the resist cover film heat treatment section 130 of the resist cover film processing block 13, two heating units HP and two cooling units CP are stacked one above the other, and two resist cover film heat treatment sections 131 are disposed in the resist cover film heat treatment section 131. The heating unit HP and the two cooling units CP are stacked one above the other. In addition, in the resist cover film heat treatment sections 130 and 131, local controllers LC for controlling the temperatures of the cooling unit CP and the heating unit HP are respectively arranged at the top.

  In the resist cover film removal processing unit 70a of the resist cover film removal block 14, three removal units REM are stacked in a vertical direction.

  In the post-exposure bake heat treatment section 150 of the cleaning / drying processing block 15, two heating units HP and two cooling units CP are stacked one above the other. The unit HP, the two cooling units CP, and the substrate platforms PASS13 and 14 are stacked one above the other. Further, in the post-exposure bake heat treatment parts 150 and 151, local controllers LC for controlling the temperatures of the cooling unit CP and the heating unit HP are respectively arranged at the top.

  The number of coating units BARC, RES, COV, cleaning / drying processing unit SD, removal unit REM, development processing unit DEV, edge exposure unit EEW, heating unit HP and cooling unit CP depends on the processing speed of each block. You may change suitably.

(2) Operation of Substrate Processing Apparatus Next, the operation of the substrate processing apparatus 500 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  On the carrier mounting table 92 of the indexer block 9, a carrier C that stores a plurality of substrates W in multiple stages is loaded. The indexer robot IR takes out the unprocessed substrate W stored in the carrier C using the upper hand IRH1. Thereafter, the indexer robot IR rotates in the ± θ direction while moving in the ± X direction, and places the unprocessed substrate W on the substrate platform PASS1.

  In the present embodiment, a front opening unified pod (FOUP) is adopted as the carrier C. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and an OC (open cassette) that exposes the standard mechanical interface (SMIF) pod and the storage substrate W to the outside air. ) Etc. may be used. Further, the indexer robot IR, the first to seventh center robots CR1 to CR7, and the interface transport mechanism IFR are each provided with a direct-acting transport robot that slides linearly with respect to the substrate W and moves the hand back and forth. Although it is used, the present invention is not limited to this, and an articulated transfer robot that linearly moves the hand forward and backward by moving the joint may be used.

  The unprocessed substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS1 is received by the first central robot CR1 of the antireflection film processing block 10. The first center robot CR1 carries the substrate W into the antireflection film heat treatment units 100 and 101. Thereafter, the first central robot CR1 takes out the heat-treated substrate W from the antireflection film heat treatment units 100 and 101, and carries the substrate W into the antireflection film application processing unit 30. In the anti-reflection film coating processing unit 30, an anti-reflection film is applied and formed on the substrate W by the coating unit BARC in order to reduce standing waves and halation generated during the exposure process.

  Thereafter, the first central robot CR1 takes out the substrate W that has been coated from the coating processing section 30 for the antireflection film, and carries the substrate W into the thermal processing sections 100 and 101 for the antireflection film. Next, the first central robot CR1 takes out the heat-treated substrate W from the antireflection film heat treatment units 100 and 101, and places the substrate W on the substrate platform PASS3.

  The substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS3 is received by the second central robot CR2 of the resist film processing block 11. The second center robot CR2 carries the substrate W into the resist film application processing unit 40. In the resist film application processing unit 40, a resist film is applied and formed on the substrate W on which the antireflection film is applied and formed by the application unit RES.

  Thereafter, the second central robot CR2 takes out the coated substrate W from the resist film coating processing unit 40, and carries the substrate W into the resist film thermal processing units 110 and 111. Next, the second central robot CR2 takes out the heat-treated substrate W from the resist film heat treatment units 110 and 111 and places the substrate W on the substrate platform PASS5.

  The substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS5 is received by the third central robot CR3 of the development processing block 12. The third central robot CR3 places the substrate W on the substrate platform PASS7.

  The substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS7 is received by the fourth central robot CR4 of the resist cover film processing block 13. The fourth central robot CR4 carries the substrate W into the resist cover film coating processing unit 60. In the resist cover film coating processing unit 60, as described above, the resist cover film is applied and formed on the resist film by the coating unit COV.

  Thereafter, the fourth central robot CR4 takes out the coated substrate W from the resist cover film coating processing unit 60 and carries the substrate W into the resist cover film heat treatment units 130 and 131. Next, the fourth central robot CR4 takes out the heat-treated substrate W from the resist cover film heat treatment units 130 and 131, and places the substrate W on the substrate platform PASS9.

  The substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS9 is received by the fifth central robot CR5 of the resist cover film removal block 14. The fifth central robot CR5 places the substrate W on the substrate platform PASS11.

  The substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS11 is received by the sixth central robot CR6 of the cleaning / drying processing block 15. The sixth central robot CR6 places the substrate W on the substrate platform PASS13.

  The substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS13 is received by the seventh central robot CR7 of the interface block 16. The seventh central robot CR7 carries the substrate W into the edge exposure unit EEW. In the edge exposure unit EEW, the peripheral portion of the substrate W is subjected to exposure processing.

  Next, the seventh central robot CR7 takes out the substrate W that has been subjected to the edge exposure processing from the edge exposure unit EEW, and places the substrate W on the substrate platform PASS15.

  The substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS15 is received by the interface transport mechanism IFR. The interface transport mechanism IFR places the substrate W on the substrate platform DPASS1 (see FIG. 1). In the substrate platform DPASS1, a drying process is performed on the substrate W before the exposure process. Details will be described later.

  The substrate W placed on the substrate platform DPASS1 is received by a transport mechanism (not shown) provided in the exposure apparatus 17 and carried into the exposure apparatus 17.

  When the exposure apparatus 17 cannot accept the substrate W, the substrate W is temporarily stored and stored in the sending buffer unit SBF.

  In the exposure apparatus 17, the substrate W subjected to the exposure process is carried into the interface block 16 by a transport mechanism (not shown) of the exposure apparatus 17 and placed on the substrate platform DPASS 2 (see FIG. 1) of the interface block 16. . In the substrate platform DPASS2, a drying process is performed on the substrate W after the exposure process. Details will be described later.

  The substrate W placed on the substrate platform DPASS2 is received by the interface transport mechanism IFR. The interface transport mechanism IFR places the substrate W on the substrate platform PASS16.

  The substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS16 is received by the seventh central robot CR7. The seventh central robot CR7 places the substrate W on the substrate platform PASS14 of the cleaning / drying processing block 15.

  The substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS14 is received by the sixth central robot CR6 of the cleaning / drying processing block 15.

  The sixth central robot CR6 carries the substrate W into the cleaning / drying processing unit 80 of the cleaning / drying processing block 15. In the cleaning / drying processing unit SD of the cleaning / drying processing unit 80, the substrate W after the exposure processing is cleaned and dried. Details will be described later.

  When the cleaning / drying processing unit 80 cannot temporarily perform cleaning and drying processing due to a failure or the like, the return buffer unit RBF of the interface block 16 is subjected to exposure processing before the substrate W is carried into the cleaning / drying processing block 15. The subsequent substrate W can be temporarily stored and stored.

  In the cleaning / drying processing unit 80, after the substrate W after the exposure processing is subjected to cleaning and drying processing, the sixth central robot CR6 takes out the substrate W from the cleaning / drying processing unit 80, and cleans / It is carried into the post-exposure baking heat treatment section 151 of the drying processing block 15. In the post-exposure baking heat treatment section 151, post-exposure baking (PEB) is performed on the substrate W. Thereafter, the sixth central robot CR6 takes out the substrate W from the post-exposure bake heat treatment unit 151 and places the substrate W on the substrate platform PASS12.

  In this embodiment, post-exposure baking is performed by the post-exposure bake heat treatment unit 151, but post-exposure bake may be performed by the post-exposure bake heat treatment unit 150.

  Details of the operation of the sixth central robot CR6 in the cleaning / drying processing block 15 will be described later.

  The substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS12 is received by the fifth central robot CR5 of the resist cover film removal block 14. The fifth central robot CR5 carries the substrate W into the resist cover film removal processing unit 70a or the resist cover film removal processing unit 70b. In the resist cover film removal processing units 70a and 70b, the resist cover film on the substrate W is removed by the removal unit REM.

  Thereafter, the fifth central robot CR5 takes out the processed substrate W from the resist cover film removal processing unit 70a or the resist cover film removal processing unit 70b, and places the substrate W on the substrate platform PASS10.

  The substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS10 is received by the fourth central robot CR4 of the resist cover film processing block 13. The fourth central robot CR4 places the substrate W on the substrate platform PASS8.

  The substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS8 is received by the third central robot CR3 of the development processing block 12. The third central robot CR3 carries the substrate W into the development processing unit 50. In the development processing unit 50, the development processing of the substrate W is performed by the development processing unit DEV.

  Thereafter, the third central robot CR3 takes out the development-processed substrate W from the development processing unit 50, and carries the substrate W into the development heat treatment units 120 and 121.

  Next, the third central robot CR3 takes out the substrate W after the heat treatment from the development heat treatment units 120 and 121, and places the substrate W on the substrate platform PASS6.

  The substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS6 is received by the second central robot CR2 of the resist film processing block 11. The second central robot CR2 places the substrate W on the substrate platform PASS4.

  The substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS4 is received by the first central robot CR1 of the anti-reflection film processing block 10. The first central robot CR1 places the substrate W on the substrate platform PASS2.

  The substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS 2 is stored in the carrier C by the indexer robot IR of the indexer block 9.

(3) Substrate Placement Unit Having a Drying Processing Function Here, the substrate placement units DPASS1 and DPASS2 in FIGS. 1 to 3 will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The operation of each component of the substrate platform DPASS2 described below is controlled by the main controller (control unit) 91 in FIG.

(3-a) Configuration of Substrate Placement Unit Having Drying Processing Function The substrate placement units DPASS1 and DPASS2 perform the drying process on the substrate W as described above.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the substrate platforms DPASS1 and DPASS2 in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the substrate platforms DPASS <b> 1 and DPASS <b> 2 include a spin chuck 201 that holds the substrate W horizontally and rotates the substrate W around a vertical rotation axis that passes through the center of the substrate W.

  The spin chuck 201 is fixed to the upper end of the rotation shaft 203 rotated by the chuck rotation drive mechanism 204. Further, the spin chuck 201 is formed with an intake path (not shown), and the substrate W is placed on the spin chuck 201 and the inside of the intake path is evacuated so that the lower surface of the substrate W is placed on the spin chuck 201. The substrate W can be held in a horizontal posture.

  A plurality of (for example, three) support pins 211 are arranged so as to surround the spin chuck 201. The plurality of support pins 211 extend in the vertical direction, and their lower ends are connected to the connecting member 212. The connecting member 212 connects the plurality of support pins 211 and is connected to the pin lifting / lowering drive mechanism 213.

  The pin lift drive mechanism 213 moves the connecting member 212 up and down as indicated by an arrow G. Thereby, the plurality of support pins 211 move up and down.

  For example, the plurality of support pins 211 are raised and lowered when the substrate W is placed on the substrate platforms DPASS1 and DPASS2 and when the substrate W is taken out from the substrate platforms DPASS1 and DPASS2. The substrate W is supported at the upper end.

  An airflow forming tube 220 is provided on the side of the spin chuck 201 so as to be on the back surface side of the substrate W held by the spin chuck 201 and close to the peripheral portion of the substrate W (hereinafter referred to as the back surface peripheral portion). It has been. The airflow forming pipe 220 has a structure in which an inert gas supply pipe 221 and an exhaust pipe 222 are integrally formed.

  At the upper end portion of the airflow forming pipe 220, the inert gas supply port 221a of the inert gas supply pipe 221 and the exhaust port 222a of the exhaust pipe 222 are adjacent to each other.

  The inert gas supply pipe 221 is connected to the inert gas supply part 231, and the exhaust pipe 222 is connected to the intake part 232.

  Thereby, the inert gas supply part 231 injects the inert gas supplied from the inert gas supply system which is not shown in figure to the peripheral part of the back surface of the board | substrate W through the inert gas supply pipe | tube 221 and the inert gas supply port 221a.

  The intake section 232 sucks the inert gas injected to the peripheral edge of the back surface of the substrate W through the exhaust port 222a and the exhaust pipe 222 and exhausts it through an exhaust system (not shown). Thereby, in the vicinity of the upper end portion of the airflow forming tube 220, an airflow is formed from the inert gas supply port 221a to the exhaust port 222a as indicated by an arrow.

  FIG. 5A is a longitudinal sectional view of the substrate platforms DPASS1 and DPASS2, and FIG. 5B is a top view of the substrate platforms DPASS1 and DPASS2.

  As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, when the substrate W is placed on the substrate platform DPASS1, DPASS2 during the transfer of the substrate W between the interface block 16 and the exposure apparatus 17, the substrate W is attracted and held by the spin chuck 201 and rotated by the chuck rotation drive mechanism 204 (see FIG. 4).

  As indicated by an arrow RF in FIG. 5, when the substrate W rotates, an inert gas is supplied to the inert gas supply pipe 221 of the airflow forming pipe 220, and the atmosphere around the exhaust port 222 a is sucked through the exhaust pipe 222. Is done.

  Specifically, the inert gas supply port 221a of the inert gas supply pipe 221 is formed so as to incline from the peripheral edge center side of the substrate W to the end side of the substrate W as shown in FIG. Has been. Accordingly, the inert gas supplied from the inert gas supply unit 231 (see FIG. 4) to the inert gas supply pipe 221 is jetted so as to flow from the inside of the substrate W to the outside of the substrate W.

  Further, the exhaust port 222a of the exhaust pipe 222 is opened so as to cover a region above the end portion of the substrate W as shown in FIG. As a result, the inert gas flowing along the peripheral edge of the back surface of the substrate W as described above does not leak out above the substrate, as shown by the thick arrows in FIGS. 5A and 5B. It is surely sucked into 222a.

  With the above configuration, in the substrate platforms DPASS1 and DPASS2, the liquid LQ attached to the peripheral edge of the back surface of the substrate W moves to the vicinity of the end of the substrate W by centrifugal force. Then, the liquid LQ moved to the vicinity of the end portion of the substrate W is scattered outward by the inert gas ejected from the inert gas supply pipe 221 and sucked into the exhaust pipe 222.

  As a result, the liquid LQ adhering to the vicinity of the peripheral edge of the back surface of the substrate W is discharged from the intake portion 232 of FIG. As a result, the peripheral edge of the back surface of the substrate W is dried.

As the inert gas supplied from the inert gas supply pipe 221 to the substrate W, for example, nitrogen gas (N ₂ ), argon gas, helium gas, or the like can be used.

(3-b) Other Configuration Examples of the Substrate Placement Unit Having a Drying Processing Function The substrate placement units DPASS1 and DPASS2 in FIG. 1 may have the following configuration. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining another configuration example of the substrate platforms DPASS1 and DPASS2 of FIG. 6A is a longitudinal sectional view of the substrate platforms DPASS1 and DPASS2, and FIG. 6B is a top view of the substrate platforms DPASS1 and DPASS2.

  A difference between the substrate platforms DPASS1 and DPASS2 in FIG. 6 and the substrate platforms DPASS1 and DPASS2 in FIG. 4 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 6A, the substrate platforms DPASS1 and DPASS2 of this example include an inverted conical member 310 for holding the substrate W horizontally. The diameter of the upper surface of the inverted conical member 310 is slightly smaller than the diameter of the substrate W.

  On the upper surface of the inverted conical member 310, a plurality of (for example, three) hemispherical substrate placement pieces 311 are arranged at equal intervals. A substrate W is placed on the substrate placement piece 311.

  A funnel-shaped member 320 is disposed below the inverted conical member 310 at a predetermined interval. The funnel-shaped member 320 is formed so as to have a diameter gradually decreasing downward, and the inner surface thereof is opposed to the surface of the inverted conical member 310.

  A space formed between the inverted conical member 310 and the funnel member 320 forms a part of the inert gas supply path SU for supplying the inert gas to the peripheral edge of the back surface of the substrate W.

  A plurality of through holes 310 h are formed in the inverted conical member 310, and a plurality of through holes 320 h are formed in the funnel-shaped member 320.

  A plurality of (for example, three) support pins 211 are arranged so as to be inserted into the plurality of through holes 310h and 320h. The plurality of support pins 211 extend in the vertical direction and are connected to the connecting member 212 at the lower ends, similarly to the substrate platforms DPASS 1 and DPASS 2 in FIG. The connecting member 212 connects the plurality of support pins 211 and is connected to the pin lifting / lowering drive mechanism 213.

  The pin lift drive mechanism 213 moves the connecting member 212 up and down as indicated by an arrow G. Thereby, the plurality of support pins 211 move up and down.

  Also in this example, the plurality of support pins 211 are raised and lowered when, for example, the substrate W is placed on the substrate platforms DPASS1 and DPASS2 and when the substrate W is taken out from the substrate platforms DPASS1 and DPASS2. Then, the substrate W is supported at its upper end.

  An inert gas supply pipe 330 that forms part of the above-described inert gas supply path SU is connected to the lower end of the funnel-shaped member 320. The inert gas supply pipe 330 is connected to the inert gas supply unit 331. Thus, the inert gas supply unit 331 supplies the inert gas supplied from an inert gas supply system (not shown) to the space between the funnel-shaped member 320 and the inverted conical member 310 through the inert gas supply pipe 330. To do.

  That is, the inert gas supplied to the inert gas supply unit 331 is jetted to the peripheral edge of the back surface of the substrate W through the inert gas supply path SU.

  A cylindrical inner peripheral wall 340 is connected so as to extend downward from the upper end portion of the funnel-shaped member 320. A cylindrical outer peripheral wall 350 is disposed outside the inner peripheral wall 340 at a predetermined interval as shown in FIG. The upper end portion of the outer peripheral wall 350 extends upward from the end portion of the substrate W placed on the inverted conical member 310.

  A space formed between the inner peripheral wall 340 and the outer peripheral wall 350 forms an exhaust path AS that exhausts the inert gas supplied to the peripheral edge of the back surface of the substrate W. The exhaust passage AS is connected to the intake portion 341 via an exhaust pipe 345.

  The intake section 341 sucks the inert gas injected to the peripheral edge of the back surface of the substrate W through the exhaust path AS and the exhaust pipe 345 and exhausts it through an exhaust system (not shown). Thereby, in the vicinity of the peripheral edge of the back surface of the substrate W, an air flow is formed from the inert gas supply path SU to the exhaust path AS.

  FIG. 7A is a longitudinal sectional view for explaining the drying process of the substrate W by the substrate platforms DPASS1 and DPASS2, and FIG. 7B shows the drying process of the substrate W by the substrate platforms DPASS1 and DPASS2. It is a top view for demonstrating.

  As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, when the substrate W is transported between the interface block 16 and the exposure apparatus 17, the substrate W is placed on the substrate platforms DPASS1 and DPASS2.

  In this state, the inert gas is supplied from the inert gas supply unit 331 (see FIG. 6) to the peripheral edge of the back surface of the substrate W through the inert gas supply path SU. The inert gas supplied from the inert gas supply unit 331 (see FIG. 6) to the inert gas supply path SU is injected so as to flow from the inside of the substrate W to the outside of the substrate W.

  Further, the outer peripheral wall 350 forming the exhaust path AS extends upward from the end portion of the substrate W as shown in FIG. As a result, the inert gas flowing through the peripheral edge of the back surface of the substrate W is sucked into the exhaust passage AS as shown by the thick arrows in FIGS. 7 (a) and 7 (b).

  With the above configuration, in the substrate platforms DPASS1 and DPASS2, the liquid LQ adhering to the peripheral edge of the back surface of the substrate W is scattered outward by the inert gas ejected from the inert gas supply passage SU, and enters the exhaust passage AS. Sucked. Thereby, the liquid LQ adhering to the vicinity of the peripheral edge of the back surface of the substrate W is sucked into the exhaust passage AS and discharged from the intake portion 341 in FIG. As a result, the peripheral edge of the back surface of the substrate W is dried.

As the inert gas supplied from the inert gas supply pipe 330 to the substrate W, for example, nitrogen gas (N ₂ ), argon gas, helium gas, or the like can be used.

(4) Interface transport mechanism of interface block The interface transport mechanism IFR will be described. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the configuration and operation of the interface transport mechanism IFR.

  First, the configuration of the interface transport mechanism IFR will be described. As shown in FIG. 8, the movable base 181 of the interface transport mechanism IFR is screwed onto the screw shaft 182. The screw shaft 182 is rotatably supported by the support base 183 so as to extend in the X direction. A motor M1 is provided at one end of the screw shaft 182. The motor M1 rotates the screw shaft 182 and horizontally moves the movable base 181 in the ± X direction.

  In addition, a hand support base 184 is mounted on the movable base 181 so that it can rotate in the ± θ direction and can be moved up and down in the ± Z direction. The hand support base 184 is connected to a motor M2 in the movable base 181 via a rotating shaft 185, and the hand support base 184 is rotated by the motor M2. On the hand support base 184, two hands H1 and H2 for holding the substrate W in a horizontal posture are provided vertically so as to be able to advance and retreat.

  Next, the operation of the interface transport mechanism IFR will be described. The operation of the interface transport mechanism IFR is controlled by the main controller (control unit) 81 shown in FIG.

  When the substrate W is transported from the interface block 16 to the exposure apparatus 17, the interface transport mechanism IFR rotates the hand support base 184 at the position A in FIG. 8 and raises it in the + Z direction to place the upper hand H1 on the substrate. Enter the placement unit PASS15. When the hand H1 receives the substrate W in the substrate platform PASS15, the interface transport mechanism IFR retracts the hand H1 from the substrate platform PASS15 and lowers the hand support base 184 in the −Z direction.

  Next, the interface transport mechanism IFR moves in the −X direction, rotates the hand support base 184 at the position B, and moves the hand H1 into the substrate platform DPASS1 (see FIG. 1). Thus, after placing the substrate W on the substrate platform DPASS1, the interface transport mechanism IFR retracts the hand H1 from the substrate platform DPASS1.

  On the other hand, when transporting the substrate W from the exposure apparatus 17 to the interface block 16, the interface transport mechanism IFR causes the lower hand H2 to enter the substrate platform DPASS2 (see FIG. 1) at the position A in FIG. .

  Here, as described above, when the substrate W is transferred from the exposure apparatus 17 to the interface block 16, the substrate W is placed on the substrate platform DPASS2.

  Thereby, when the hand H2 receives the substrate W after the exposure processing in the substrate platform DPASS2, the interface transport mechanism IFR retracts the hand H2 from the substrate platform DPASS2.

  Thereafter, at the position A, the interface transport mechanism IFR rotates the hand support base 184 and raises it in the + Z direction to cause the lower hand H2 to enter the substrate platform PASS16. As described above, the interface transport mechanism IFR operates to transport the substrate W between the interface block 16 and the exposure apparatus 17.

  If the exposure apparatus 17 cannot accept the substrate W as described above, the substrate W is temporarily stored and stored in the sending buffer unit SBF. If the cleaning / drying processing unit SD in FIG. 2 cannot temporarily perform cleaning and drying processing, the substrate W after the exposure processing is temporarily stored and stored in the return buffer unit RBF of the interface block 16.

  In the present embodiment, one interface transport mechanism IFR transports from the interface block 16 to the exposure apparatus 17 and transports from the exposure apparatus 17 to the cleaning / drying processing unit SD. The substrate W may be transported using the transport mechanism IFR.

(5) Sixth Center Robot The operation of the sixth center robot CR6 of the cleaning / drying processing block 15 including the cleaning / drying processing unit SD will be described. FIG. 9 is a view of the cleaning / drying processing block 15 of FIG. 1 as viewed from the −Y direction.

  As shown in FIG. 9, a hand support base 192 is mounted on the fixed base 191 of the sixth central robot CR6 so as to be rotatable in the ± θ direction and movable up and down in the ± Z direction. The hand support base 192 is connected to a motor M3 in the fixed base 191 via a rotating shaft 193, and the hand support base 192 is rotated by the motor M3. On the hand support base 192, two hands CRH11 and CRH12 that hold the substrate W in a horizontal posture are provided vertically so as to be able to advance and retreat.

  The substrate W before exposure processing placed on the substrate platform PASS11 by the fifth central robot CR5 in FIG. 1 is received by the upper hand CRH11 of the sixth central robot CR6. Thereafter, the sixth central robot CR6 rotates the hand support base 192 and raises or lowers it in the ± Z directions, and carries the substrate W onto the substrate platform PASS13 of the post-exposure bake heat treatment unit 151 by the hand CRH11. Thereby, the substrate W before the exposure process is transported to the interface block 16.

  On the other hand, the substrate W after the exposure processing placed on the substrate platform PASS14 by the seventh central robot CR7 in FIG. 1 is received by the lower hand CRH12 of the sixth central robot CR6. Thereafter, the sixth central robot CR6 rotates the hand support base 192 and raises or lowers it in the ± Z direction, and carries the substrate W into the cleaning / drying processing unit SD of the cleaning / drying processing unit 80 by the hand CRH12. Thus, the cleaning / drying processing unit SD performs cleaning and drying processing of the substrate W after the exposure processing.

  Next, the sixth central robot CR6 receives the cleaned and dried substrate W from the cleaning / drying processing unit SD of the cleaning / drying processing unit 80 by the upper hand CRH11.

  Subsequently, the sixth central robot CR6 rotates the hand support base 192 and raises or lowers it in the ± Z direction, and the hand CRH11 moves the substrate W to the heating unit HP or cooling unit CP of the post-baking heat treatment section 151. Carry in. As a result, the substrate W is heated or cooled by the heating unit HP or the cooling unit CP.

  Thereafter, the sixth central robot CR6 receives the heated or cooled substrate W from the heating unit HP or the cooling unit CP of the post-exposure baking heat treatment section 151 by the upper hand CRH11. The sixth central robot CR6 places the substrate W on the substrate platform PASS12.

(6) Cleaning / Drying Processing Unit Here, the cleaning / drying processing unit SD will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(6-a) Configuration of Cleaning / Drying Processing Unit The configuration of the cleaning / drying processing unit SD will be described. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the cleaning / drying processing unit SD.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the cleaning / drying processing unit SD includes a spin chuck 621 for holding the substrate W horizontally and rotating the substrate W around a vertical rotation axis passing through the center of the substrate W.

  The spin chuck 621 is fixed to the upper end of the rotation shaft 625 rotated by the chuck rotation drive mechanism 636. In addition, the spin chuck 621 is formed with an intake path (not shown), and the substrate W is placed on the spin chuck 621 to exhaust the inside of the intake path so that the lower surface of the substrate W is covered with the spin chuck 621. The substrate W can be held in a horizontal posture.

  A first motor 660 is provided outside the spin chuck 621. A first rotating shaft 661 is connected to the first motor 660. A first arm 662 is connected to the first rotation shaft 661 so as to extend in the horizontal direction, and a cleaning nozzle 650 is provided at the tip of the first arm 662.

  The first motor 660 rotates the first rotating shaft 661 and the first arm 662, and the cleaning processing nozzle 650 moves above the substrate W held by the spin chuck 621.

  A cleaning processing supply pipe 663 is provided so as to pass through the inside of the first motor 660, the first rotating shaft 661, and the first arm 662. The cleaning processing supply pipe 663 is connected to the cleaning liquid supply source R1 and the rinsing liquid supply source R2 via the valves Va and Vb. By controlling the opening and closing of the valves Va and Vb, the processing liquid supplied to the cleaning processing supply pipe 663 can be selected and the supply amount can be adjusted. In the configuration of FIG. 10, the cleaning liquid can be supplied to the cleaning processing supply pipe 663 by opening the valve Va, and the rinsing liquid can be supplied to the cleaning processing supply pipe 663 by opening the valve Vb. it can.

  The cleaning liquid or the rinse liquid is supplied to the cleaning process nozzle 650 from the cleaning liquid supply source R1 or the rinse liquid supply source R2 through the cleaning process supply pipe 663. Thereby, the cleaning liquid or the rinsing liquid can be supplied to the surface of the substrate W. As the cleaning liquid, for example, pure water, a liquid obtained by dissolving a complex (ionized) in pure water, a fluorine-based chemical liquid, or the like is used. As the rinsing liquid, for example, pure water, carbonated water, hydrogen water, or electrolytic ion water HFE (hydrofluoroether) is used.

  A second motor 671 is provided outside the spin chuck 621. A second rotating shaft 672 is connected to the second motor 671. A second arm 673 is connected to the second rotating shaft 672 so as to extend in the horizontal direction, and a drying processing nozzle 670 is provided at the tip of the second arm 673.

  The second rotating shaft 672 is rotated by the second motor 671 and the second arm 673 is rotated, so that the drying processing nozzle 670 moves above the substrate W held by the spin chuck 21.

  A drying treatment supply pipe 674 is provided so as to pass through the inside of the second motor 671, the second rotation shaft 672, and the second arm 673. The drying processing supply pipe 674 is connected to an inert gas supply source R3 via a valve Vc. By controlling the opening and closing of the valve Vc, the supply amount of the inert gas supplied to the drying treatment supply pipe 674 can be adjusted.

The inert gas is supplied to the drying processing nozzle 670 from the inert gas supply source R3 through the drying processing supply pipe 674. Thereby, an inert gas can be supplied to the surface of the substrate W. For example, nitrogen gas (N ₂ ) is used as the inert gas.

  When supplying the cleaning liquid or the rinsing liquid to the surface of the substrate W, the cleaning processing nozzle 650 is positioned above the substrate. When supplying the inert gas to the surface of the substrate W, the cleaning processing nozzle 650 is Retreated to a predetermined position.

  Further, when supplying the cleaning liquid or the rinsing liquid to the surface of the substrate W, the drying processing nozzle 670 is retracted to a predetermined position, and when supplying the inert gas to the surface of the substrate W, the drying processing nozzle 670 is located above the substrate W.

  The substrate W held on the spin chuck 621 is accommodated in the processing cup 623. A cylindrical partition wall 633 is provided inside the processing cup 623. A drainage space 631 for draining the processing liquid (cleaning liquid or rinsing liquid) used for processing the substrate W is formed so as to surround the periphery of the spin chuck 621. Further, a recovery liquid space 632 for recovering the processing liquid used for processing the substrate W is formed between the processing cup 623 and the partition wall 633 so as to surround the drainage space 631.

  The drainage space 631 is connected to a drainage pipe 634 for guiding the processing liquid to a drainage processing apparatus (not shown), and the recovery liquid space 632 is supplied with the processing liquid to the recovery processing apparatus (not shown). A collection pipe 635 for guiding is connected.

  A guard 624 for preventing the processing liquid from the substrate W from splashing outward is provided above the processing cup 623. The guard 624 has a rotationally symmetric shape with respect to the rotation shaft 625. A drainage guide groove 641 having a square cross section is formed in an annular shape on the inner surface of the upper end portion of the guard 624.

  In addition, a recovery liquid guide portion 642 is formed on the inner surface of the lower end portion of the guard 624. The recovery liquid guide portion 642 includes an inclined surface that is inclined outward and downward. A partition wall storage groove 643 for receiving the partition wall 633 of the processing cup 623 is formed near the upper end of the recovered liquid guide portion 642.

  The guard 624 is provided with a guard lifting / lowering drive mechanism (not shown) configured by a ball screw mechanism or the like. The guard lifting / lowering drive mechanism includes a guard 624, a recovery position where the recovery liquid guide portion 642 faces the outer peripheral end surface of the substrate W held by the spin chuck 621, and the substrate W where the drainage guide groove 641 is held by the spin chuck 621. The liquid is moved up and down with respect to the drainage position facing the outer peripheral end face. When the guard 624 is at the recovery position (the guard position shown in FIG. 10), the processing liquid splashed outward from the substrate W is guided to the recovery liquid space 632 by the recovery liquid guide 642 and recovered through the recovery pipe 635. Is done. On the other hand, when the guard 624 is at the drainage position, the processing liquid splashed outward from the substrate W is guided to the drainage space 631 by the drainage guide groove 641 and drained through the drainage pipe 634. With the above configuration, the processing liquid is drained and collected.

(6-b) Operation of Cleaning / Drying Processing Unit Next, the processing operation of the cleaning / drying processing unit SD having the above configuration will be described. The operation of each component of the cleaning / drying processing unit SD described below is controlled by the main controller (control unit) 91 shown in FIG.

  First, when the substrate W is carried in, the guard 624 is lowered, and the sixth central robot CR6 in FIG. 1 places the substrate W on the spin chuck 621. The substrate W placed on the spin chuck 621 is sucked and held by the spin chuck 621.

  Next, the guard 624 moves to the waste liquid position described above, and the cleaning nozzle 650 moves above the center of the substrate W. Thereafter, the rotating shaft 625 rotates, and the substrate W held by the spin chuck 621 rotates with this rotation. Thereafter, the cleaning liquid is discharged from the cleaning nozzle 650 onto the upper surface of the substrate W. Thereby, the substrate W is cleaned.

  In the cleaning / drying processing unit 80, the components of the resist cover film on the substrate W are eluted in the cleaning liquid during the cleaning. In cleaning the substrate W, the cleaning liquid is supplied onto the substrate W while rotating the substrate W. In this case, the cleaning liquid on the substrate W always moves to the periphery of the substrate W due to centrifugal force and scatters. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the components of the resist cover film eluted in the cleaning liquid from remaining on the substrate W. The components of the resist cover film may be eluted by, for example, depositing pure water on the substrate W and holding it for a certain time. The supply of the cleaning liquid onto the substrate W may be performed by a soft spray method using a two-fluid nozzle.

  After a predetermined time has elapsed, the supply of the cleaning liquid is stopped, and the rinsing liquid is discharged from the cleaning processing nozzle 650. Thereby, the cleaning liquid on the substrate W is washed away.

  Further, after a predetermined time has elapsed, the rotational speed of the rotating shaft 625 decreases. As a result, the amount of the rinsing liquid shaken off by the rotation of the substrate W is reduced, and a liquid layer L of the rinsing liquid is formed on the entire surface of the substrate W as shown in FIG. Note that the rotation of the rotation shaft 625 may be stopped to form the liquid layer L over the entire surface of the substrate W.

  Next, the supply of the rinsing liquid is stopped, the cleaning processing nozzle 650 is retracted to a predetermined position, and the drying processing nozzle 670 is moved above the center of the substrate W. Thereafter, an inert gas is discharged from the drying processing nozzle 670. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 11B, the rinse liquid at the center of the substrate W moves to the peripheral edge of the substrate W, and the liquid layer L exists only at the peripheral edge of the substrate W.

  Next, as the number of rotations of the rotation shaft 625 (see FIG. 10) increases, the drying processing nozzle 670 gradually moves from above the central portion of the substrate W to above the peripheral portion as shown in FIG. . As a result, a large centrifugal force acts on the liquid layer L on the substrate W, and an inert gas can be blown over the entire surface of the substrate W, so that the liquid layer L on the substrate W can be reliably removed. As a result, the substrate W can be reliably dried.

  Next, the supply of the inert gas is stopped, the drying processing nozzle 670 is retracted to a predetermined position, and the rotation of the rotating shaft 625 is stopped. Thereafter, the guard 624 descends and the sixth central robot CR6 in FIG. 1 carries the substrate W out of the cleaning / drying processing unit SD. Thereby, the processing operation in the cleaning / drying processing unit SD is completed. Note that the position of the guard 624 during the cleaning and drying process is preferably changed as appropriate according to the need for the recovery of the processing liquid or the waste liquid.

  In the above embodiment, the cleaning liquid processing nozzle 650 is commonly used for supplying the cleaning liquid and the rinsing liquid so that both the cleaning liquid and the rinsing liquid can be supplied from the cleaning liquid processing nozzle 650. However, a configuration in which the cleaning liquid supply nozzle and the rinsing liquid supply nozzle are separately provided may be employed.

  Further, when supplying the rinsing liquid, pure water may be supplied from a back rinsing nozzle (not shown) to the back surface of the substrate W so that the rinsing liquid does not flow around the back surface of the substrate W.

  In addition, when pure water is used as a cleaning liquid for cleaning the substrate W, it is not necessary to supply a rinse liquid.

  In the above embodiment, the substrate W is dried by a spin drying method. However, the substrate W may be dried by another drying method such as a reduced pressure drying method or an air knife drying method.

  In the above embodiment, the inert gas is supplied from the drying processing nozzle 670 in a state where the liquid layer L of the rinsing liquid is formed, but the liquid layer L of the rinsing liquid is not formed. Alternatively, when the rinsing liquid is not used, the substrate W is completely dried by immediately supplying an inert gas from the drying nozzle 670 after the substrate W is rotated and the liquid layer of the cleaning liquid is once shaken off. May be.

(7) Effects in the First Embodiment In the substrate processing apparatus 500 according to the present embodiment, the liquid LQ adheres to the substrate W after the exposure process transferred from the exposure apparatus 17 to the substrate processing apparatus 500. There is a case. The liquid LQ attached by the exposure process is concentrated on the back surface side of the substrate W and on the peripheral edge portion of the substrate W (hereinafter referred to as the back surface peripheral edge portion).

(7-a) Effect of Drying Process on Substrate Placement Unit In the substrate processing apparatus 500 according to the present embodiment, the liquid LQ adhering to the peripheral edge of the back surface of the substrate W after the exposure process is caused by the substrate placement unit DPASS2. The substrate W is removed and the substrate W is dried. This prevents malfunctions and processing defects caused by the liquid LQ adhering to the substrate W in the exposure apparatus 17.

  Even when the liquid LQ adheres to the peripheral edge of the back surface of the substrate W before the exposure processing, the liquid LQ attached to the peripheral edge of the back surface of the substrate W is removed by the substrate platform DPASS1, and the substrate W is dried. Is done. Thereby, the substrate W to which the liquid LQ is adhered is prevented from being conveyed to the exposure device 17.

  As a result, contaminants such as dust are prevented from adhering to the substrate W before the exposure processing, and contamination in the exposure apparatus 17 due to contamination of the substrate W can be prevented. Further, when the exposure apparatus 17 performs the exposure process on the substrate W, it is possible to prevent a processing failure caused by the liquid LQ attached to the substrate W.

  Further, by performing the drying process of the substrate W by the substrate platforms DPASS1 and DPASS2 in the interface block 16, the indexer block 9, the antireflection film processing block 10, the resist film processing block 11, the development processing block 12, In the resist cover film processing block 13, the resist cover film removal block 14, the cleaning / drying processing block 15, and the exposure apparatus 17, contamination of the substrate W due to the liquid LQ adhering to the peripheral edge of the back surface of the substrate W, transport of the substrate W Defects and substrate W processing defects are prevented.

  Further, in the present embodiment, a drying process is performed while the substrate W is being transported by the substrate platforms DPASS1 and DPASS2. Accordingly, it is not necessary to provide a unit for performing a drying process on the back surface peripheral edge of the substrate W in the interface block 16 and it is not necessary to transport the substrate W to such a unit. It can be quickly conveyed to the post-exposure baking heat treatment section 151.

  Thereby, since the drying process with respect to the back surface peripheral part of the board | substrate W is performed efficiently, a throughput improves and the heat processing of the board | substrate W after an exposure process can be performed effectively. Further, the substrate processing apparatus 500 can be downsized.

(7-b) Effects on the Hand of the Sixth Central Robot In the cleaning / drying processing block 15, when the substrate W is transported from the substrate platform PASS11 to the substrate platform PASS13, the cleaning / drying processor 80 When the substrate W after the cleaning and drying treatment is carried into the heating unit HP or the cooling unit CP of the post-exposure baking heat treatment section 151 from the cleaning / drying processing unit SD, and the heating unit HP or cooling of the post-exposure baking heat treatment section 151 The upper hand CRH11 is used when the substrate W that has been heat-treated or cooled is transported from the unit CP to the substrate platform PASS12.

  Further, the lower hand CRH 12 is used when the substrate W after the exposure processing is transported from the substrate platform PASS14 to the cleaning / drying processing unit SD of the cleaning / drying processing unit 80.

  As described above, in the substrate platform DPASS2, the liquid LQ that adheres to the peripheral edge of the back surface of the substrate W is removed. Therefore, in the substrate W after the exposure process, the liquid LQ may adhere to a portion other than the peripheral edge of the back surface of the substrate W.

  Even in such a case, according to the operation of the sixth central robot CR6, the liquid LQ adhering to the substrate W is prevented from adhering to the hand CRH11. Since the hand CRH12 is provided below the hand CRH11, even if the liquid LQ falls from the hand CRH12 and the substrate W held by the hand CRH12, the liquid LQ adheres to the hand CRH11 and the substrate W held by the hand CRH12. Is prevented.

  Thereby, it is possible to reliably prevent the liquid LQ from adhering to the substrate W before the exposure processing. As a result, contamination of the substrate W before the exposure process can be reliably prevented.

(7-c) Effect of Cleaning Process of Substrate After Exposure Process After the exposure process is performed on the substrate W in the exposure apparatus 17, the cleaning process of the substrate W is performed in the cleaning / drying processing unit 80 of the cleaning / drying processing block 15. Done. In this case, even if dust or the like in the atmosphere adheres to the substrate W, the attached matter can be removed. Thereby, contamination of the substrate W can be prevented.

  Further, in the cleaning / drying processing unit 80, the substrate W after the exposure processing is dried. This prevents the liquid LQ adhering to the substrate W during the exposure processing from falling into the substrate processing apparatus 500. As a result, a malfunction such as an abnormality in the electrical system of the substrate processing apparatus 500 can be sufficiently prevented.

  In addition, by performing a drying process on the substrate W after the exposure process, it is possible to prevent dust and the like in the atmosphere from adhering to the substrate W after the exposure process, thereby preventing contamination of the substrate W.

  Further, since the substrate W to which the liquid LQ is adhered can be prevented from being transported through the substrate processing apparatus 500, the liquid LQ that has adhered to the substrate W during the exposure processing affects the atmosphere in the substrate processing apparatus 500. This can be prevented. Thereby, temperature and humidity adjustment in the substrate processing apparatus 500 is facilitated.

  Further, since the liquid LQ attached to the substrate W during the exposure processing is prevented from attaching to the indexer robot IR and the first to sixth center robots CR1 to CR6, the liquid LQ adheres to the substrate W before the exposure processing. It is prevented. This prevents dust and the like in the atmosphere from adhering to the substrate W before the exposure process, so that contamination of the substrate W is prevented. As a result, it is possible to prevent degradation of the resolution performance during the exposure processing and to reliably prevent contamination in the exposure device 17.

  As a result, processing defects of the substrate W can be reliably prevented.

  In addition, the structure for performing the drying process of the board | substrate W after an exposure process is not restricted to the example of the substrate processing apparatus 500 of FIG. Instead of providing the cleaning / drying processing block 15 between the resist cover film removal block 14 and the interface block 16, a cleaning / drying processing unit 80 is provided in the interface block 16 to dry the substrate W after the exposure processing. May be.

(7-d) Effect of drying processing of substrate after exposure processing In the cleaning / drying processing unit SD, the substrate W is rotated by blowing an inert gas from the central portion to the peripheral portion of the substrate W while rotating the substrate W. A drying process is performed. In this case, the cleaning liquid and the rinsing liquid on the substrate W can be reliably removed, so that it is possible to reliably prevent dust and the like in the atmosphere from adhering to the cleaned substrate W. Thereby, the contamination of the substrate W can be surely prevented, and the occurrence of dry spots on the surface of the substrate W can be prevented.

(7-e) Effect of Cleaning / Drying Processing Block Since the substrate processing apparatus 500 according to the present embodiment has a configuration in which the cleaning / drying processing block 15 is added to the existing substrate processing apparatus, the substrate W can be manufactured at low cost. The processing failure can be prevented.

(7-f) Effect of Resist Cover Film Application Process Before the exposure process is performed on the substrate W in the exposure apparatus 17, a resist cover film is formed on the resist film in the resist cover film processing block 13. In this case, even if the substrate W comes into contact with the liquid in the exposure apparatus 17, the resist cover film prevents the resist film from coming into contact with the liquid, so that the resist components are prevented from eluting into the liquid.

(7-g) Effect of Removal Process of Resist Cover Film Before the development process is performed on the substrate W in the development process block 12, the resist cover film removal process is performed in the resist cover film removal block 14. In this case, since the resist cover film is reliably removed before the development processing, the development processing can be performed reliably.

(7-h) Effect of Cleaning / Drying Processing Unit As described above, in the cleaning / drying processing unit SD, the substrate W is rotated by blowing an inert gas from the central portion to the peripheral portion of the substrate W while rotating the substrate W. Since the drying process of W is performed, the cleaning liquid and the rinse liquid can be surely removed.

  This ensures that the resist component or the resist cover film component elutes in the cleaning liquid and the rinse liquid remaining on the substrate W while the substrate W is transported from the cleaning / drying processing unit 80 to the development processing unit 50. Can be prevented. Thereby, deformation of the exposure pattern formed on the resist film can be prevented. As a result, it is possible to reliably prevent a reduction in line width accuracy during the development process.

(7-i) Effects on the robot hand In the first to fifth center robots CR1 to CR5 and the indexer robot IR, the upper side is used for transporting the substrate W before the exposure processing, similarly to the interface transport mechanism IFR. A lower hand is used to transport the substrate W after the exposure processing using a hand. Thereby, it is possible to reliably prevent the liquid LQ resulting from the exposure process from adhering to the substrate W before the exposure process.

(7-j) Effects on Resist Film Application Processing Unit In this example, a resist film is formed by the resist film application processing unit 40 on the substrate W before the exposure processing, in which the end face R is cleaned.

  Thereby, when the resist film is formed on the substrate W, since the contaminants attached to the end surface R of the substrate W are removed, the formation failure of the resist film due to the contamination of the end surface R of the substrate W can be prevented. Further, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of defective dimensions and defective shapes of the exposure pattern.

  Moreover, since the end surface R of the substrate W can be cleaned and the resist film can be formed on the substrate W in one substrate processing apparatus 500, the footprint can be reduced.

(8) Modifications in the first embodiment (8-a) Other examples of the hand of the interface transport mechanism The interface transport mechanism IFR of the interface block 16 is replaced with two hands H1 and H2. One hand may be provided. In this case, it is preferable that one hand has a structure that holds the central portion of the back surface of the substrate W by suction.

  According to this hand, the central portion of the back surface of the substrate W is sucked and held, so that the positional deviation of the substrate W during transport is reliably prevented. Further, even when the liquid LQ adheres to the peripheral edge of the back surface of the substrate W after the exposure process, the hand holds the central portion of the back surface of the substrate W, thereby preventing the liquid LQ from adhering to the hand.

  Further, the single hand simplifies the structure of the interface transport mechanism IFR and facilitates the control of the interface transport mechanism IFR.

(8-b) Arrangement of Substrate Placement Unit Having Drying Processing Function In the present embodiment, substrate placement unit DPASS1 and substrate placement unit DPASS2 that dry the peripheral edge of the back surface of substrate W are interface block 16 and exposure. It arrange | positions so that the connection part with the apparatus 17 may be adjoined.

  As described above, instead of disposing the substrate platforms DPASS1 and DPASS2 in the interface block 16, the substrate platforms PASS15 and PASS16 of the interface block 16 may have the configuration of the substrate platforms DPASS1 and DPASS2.

  In this case, the liquid LQ adhering to the peripheral edge of the back surface of the substrate W is removed in the substrate platforms PASS15 and PASS16 of the interface block 16, and the substrate W is dried. Therefore, since it is not necessary to arrange the substrate platforms DPASS1 and DPASS2 in the interface block 16, the footprint can be reduced.

  Here, in the interface block 16, when the substrate W before exposure processing is transferred from the substrate platform PASS15, the hand H1 of the interface transport mechanism IFR is used, and the substrate W after exposure processing is transferred to the substrate platform. When transporting to the PASS 16, the hand H2 of the interface transport mechanism IFR is used.

  That is, the hand H1 is used for transporting the substrate W before the exposure processing, and the hand H2 is used for transporting the substrate W after the exposure processing.

  In this case, the liquid LQ adhering to the peripheral edge of the back surface of the substrate W during the exposure process is prevented from adhering to the hand H1, and thus the liquid LQ is prevented from adhering to the substrate W before the exposure process. Further, since the hand H2 is provided below the hand H1, even if the liquid LQ falls from the hand H2 and the substrate W held by the hand H2, the liquid LQ is prevented from adhering to the hand H1 and the substrate W held by the hand H2. can do. Thereby, it is possible to reliably prevent the liquid LQ from adhering to the substrate W before the exposure processing. As a result, contamination of the substrate W before the exposure process can be reliably prevented.

(8-c) Still another example of the hand of the interface transport mechanism Instead of arranging the substrate platforms DPASS1 and DPASS2 on the interface block 16, the peripheral edge of the back surface of the substrate W on the hands H1 and H2 of the interface transport mechanism IFR A drying mechanism for drying the part may be provided.

  In this case, since it is not necessary to arrange the substrate platforms DPASS1 and DPASS2 in the interface block 16, the footprint can be reduced.

B Second Embodiment (1) Configuration and Operation of Substrate Processing Apparatus Hereinafter, the difference between the substrate processing apparatus according to the second embodiment and the substrate processing apparatus 500 according to the first embodiment will be described. .

  FIG. 12 is a schematic plan view of the substrate processing apparatus according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 12, the substrate processing apparatus 500 according to the second embodiment is not provided with the substrate platforms DPASS1, DPASS2 (see FIG. 1) in the interface block 16. Instead of the substrate platforms DPASS1 and DPASS2, a substrate carry-in portion 17a and a substrate carry-out portion 17b are provided inside the exposure apparatus 17.

  Thereby, in this Embodiment, the board | substrate W conveyed from the interface block 16 of the substrate processing apparatus 500 to the exposure apparatus 17 is mounted in the board | substrate carrying-in part 17a of the exposure apparatus 17. FIG. Further, the substrate W transported from the exposure apparatus 17 to the interface block 16 of the substrate processing apparatus 500 is placed on the substrate carry-out portion 17 b of the exposure apparatus 17.

  The interface transport mechanism IFR of the interface block 16 in FIG. 12 is different in configuration from the interface transport mechanism IFR used in the first embodiment. In addition, two air knives AN1 and AN2 are provided at a connection portion between the interface block 16 and the exposure apparatus 17 corresponding to the transport path of the substrate W.

  Details of the interface transport mechanism IFR used in the substrate processing apparatus 500 according to the second embodiment will be described.

  In the present embodiment, the interface transport mechanism IFR has the same configuration as that of the interface transport mechanism IFR of FIG. 8 except that it includes one hand H3.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining the configuration and operation of the interface transport mechanism IFR of FIG. FIG. 13A shows a side view when the interface transport mechanism IFR carries the substrate W into the exposure apparatus 17 at the position B in FIG. FIG. 13B shows a side view when the interface transport mechanism IFR unloads the substrate W from the exposure apparatus 17 at the position A in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B, the hand H3 provided in the interface transport mechanism IFR of this example has a structure that holds the substantially central portion of the back surface of the substrate W by suction.

  When the unprocessed substrate W is transported from the interface block 16 to the exposure apparatus 17, the interface transport mechanism IFR advances the hand H3 holding the substrate W by suction into the substrate carry-in portion 17a of the exposure apparatus 17 (FIG. 13A ) (See arrow IN), the substrate W is placed on the substrate carry-in portion 17a.

  An air knife AN1 corresponding to the transport path of the substrate W from the interface block 16 to the exposure apparatus 17 is provided at a connecting portion between the interface block 16 and the exposure apparatus 17. Thereby, the drying process is performed on the substrate W before the exposure process that moves from the interface block 16 to the exposure apparatus 17. Details will be described later.

  On the other hand, when the substrate W after exposure processing is transported from the exposure apparatus 17 to the interface block 16, the interface transport mechanism IFR receives the substrate W placed on the substrate unloading portion 17 b of the exposure apparatus 17 and sucks the substrate W. The held hand H3 is retracted from the substrate carry-out portion 17b (see arrow OUT in FIG. 13B).

  Similarly to the above, an air knife AN2 corresponding to the transport path of the substrate W from the exposure apparatus 17 to the interface block 16 is provided at a connection portion between the interface block 16 and the exposure apparatus 17. Thereby, the drying process is performed on the substrate W after the exposure process moving from the exposure apparatus 17 to the interface block 16. Details will be described later.

  FIG. 14 is a view for explaining the drying process of the substrate W by the air knives AN1 and AN2 of FIG. FIG. 14A is a side view showing how the substrate W is dried when the substrate W is transported from the interface block 16 to the exposure device 17. FIG. 14B shows a top view of the drying process of the substrate W when the substrate W is transferred from the interface block 16 to the exposure device 17. Further, FIG. 14C is a top view showing a state of the drying process of the substrate W when the substrate W is transported from the exposure apparatus 17 to the interface block 16.

  As shown in FIGS. 14A and 14B, the air knife AN1 includes an inert gas ejection nozzle 410 and an air knife main body 420 formed to extend in the X direction. An inert gas jet nozzle 411 is formed at the upper end of the inert gas jet nozzle 410. In the X direction, the inert gas ejection port 411 is longer than the diameter of the substrate W.

  An inert gas supply path 430 is formed inside the inert gas ejection nozzle 410 and the air knife main body 420. The inert gas supply path 430 is connected to the inert gas supply unit 440 via the inert gas supply pipe 431.

  Thereby, the inert gas supply unit 440 passes the inert gas supplied from an inert gas supply system (not shown) from the inert gas outlet 411 to the substrate W through the inert gas supply pipe 431 and the inert gas supply path 430. Spray on the back of the.

  When the substrate W is transported from the interface block 16 to the exposure apparatus 17, an inert gas is injected onto the back surface of the substrate W, so that the thick arrows in FIGS. 14A and 14B indicate An inert gas stream is generated along the back surface of the substrate W.

  As a result, the liquid LQ adhering to the back side of the substrate W during transport from the interface block 16 to the exposure apparatus 17 is scattered and removed by the airflow of the inert gas. As a result, the back surface of the substrate W is dried. Further, the liquid LQ adhering to the hand H3 holding the substrate W is also removed by the flow of inert gas. Thereby, the hand H3 is also dried.

  The air knife AN2 has the same configuration as the air knife AN1. As a result, when the substrate W is transferred from the exposure apparatus 17 to the interface block 16, the inert gas is injected onto the back surface of the substrate W, so that the substrate W has a shape as shown by a thick arrow in FIG. An inert gas stream is generated along the back surface.

  As a result, the liquid LQ adhering to the back side of the substrate W during transport from the exposure device 17 to the interface block 16 is scattered backward by the air flow of the inert gas and removed. As a result, the back surface of the substrate W is dried. Further, the liquid LQ adhering to the hand H3 holding the substrate W is also removed by the flow of inert gas. Thereby, the hand H3 is also dried.

As the inert gas supplied from the inert gas supply pipe 431 to the substrate W, for example, nitrogen gas (N ₂ ), argon gas, helium gas, or the like can be used.

(2) Effects in the Second Embodiment In the substrate processing apparatus 500 according to the present embodiment, the liquid LQ adhering to the back surface of the substrate W after the exposure processing is removed by the air knife AN2, and the substrate W is dried. Is done. This prevents malfunctions and processing defects due to the liquid LQ adhering to the substrate W in the exposure apparatus 17.

  Further, even when the liquid LQ adheres to the back surface of the substrate W before the exposure processing, the liquid LQ attached to the back surface of the substrate W is removed by the air knife AN1, and the substrate W is dried. Thereby, the substrate W to which the liquid LQ is adhered is prevented from being conveyed to the exposure device 17.

  As a result, contaminants such as dust are prevented from adhering to the substrate W before the exposure processing, and contamination in the exposure apparatus 17 due to contamination of the substrate W can be prevented. Further, when the exposure apparatus 17 performs the exposure process on the substrate W, it is possible to prevent a processing failure caused by the liquid LQ attached to the substrate W.

  Further, the drying process of the substrate W by the air knives AN1 and AN2 is performed at the connecting portion between the interface block 16 and the exposure apparatus 17, so that the indexer block 9, the antireflection film processing block 10, the resist film processing block 11, In the development processing block 12, the resist cover film processing block 13, the resist cover film removal block 14, the cleaning / drying processing block 15, the interface block 16, and the exposure device 17, the liquid LQ adheres to the peripheral edge of the back surface of the substrate W. The resulting contamination of the substrate W, poor conveyance of the substrate W, and poor processing of the substrate W are prevented.

  Further, in the present embodiment, a drying process is performed while the substrate W is being transferred by the air knives AN1 and AN2. Accordingly, it is not necessary to provide a unit for performing the drying process on the back surface of the substrate W in the interface block 16 and it is not necessary to transport the substrate W to such a unit. It can be conveyed to the post-exposure baking heat treatment section 151.

  Thereby, since the drying process with respect to the back surface of the substrate W is efficiently performed, the throughput is improved, and the heat treatment of the substrate W after the exposure process can be effectively performed. Further, the substrate processing apparatus 500 can be downsized.

  The air knives AN1 and AN2 are provided at the connecting portion between the interface block 16 and the exposure apparatus 17. Thus, since it has the structure which added the air knife to the existing substrate processing apparatus, the liquid LQ adhering to the back surface of the board | substrate W after an exposure process can be removed at low cost.

(3) Modification in Second Embodiment The above-described interface transport mechanism IFR uses a direct-acting transport robot that slides linearly with respect to the substrate W and moves the hand H3 back and forth. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and an articulated transfer robot that linearly moves the hand H3 back and forth by moving the joint may be used.

  The interface transport mechanism IFR uses one hand H3 that sucks and holds the substrate W, but the hand H3 holds the substrate W by contacting the peripheral edge or the end surface of the back surface of the substrate W. You may have the structure to do.

  In this case, as described above, since the two air knives AN1 and AN2 can also perform the drying process on the hand H3, the hand H3 holds the substrate W in contact with the peripheral edge or the end surface of the back surface of the substrate W. Even in this case, the liquid LQ is prevented from adhering to the substrate W due to the hand H3.

  Also in the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment, instead of providing the air knives AN1 and AN2 at the connecting portion between the interface block 16 and the exposure device 17, the substrate is mounted on the hand H3 of the interface transport mechanism IFR. A drying mechanism for drying the back surface of W may be provided. In this case, the footprint can be reduced.

C Other Embodiments and Effects (1) Substrate Cleaning Process Before Exposure Processing Substrate processing apparatus 500 according to the above embodiment may perform cleaning processing on substrate W before exposure processing. In this case, for example, the cleaning / drying processing unit 80 of the cleaning / drying processing block 15 performs cleaning and drying processing of the substrate W before the exposure processing. Thereby, dust or the like attached to the substrate W before the exposure process can be removed. As a result, contamination in the exposure apparatus 17 can be prevented.

  In the cleaning / drying processing unit 80, the substrate W is subjected to a drying process after the substrate W is cleaned. As a result, the cleaning liquid or the rinse liquid adhering to the substrate W during the cleaning process is removed, so that the dust in the atmosphere or the like is prevented from adhering again to the substrate W after the cleaning process. As a result, contamination within the exposure apparatus 17 can be reliably prevented.

  Further, after the resist cover film is formed and before the exposure process is performed on the substrate W in the exposure apparatus 17, the cleaning process of the substrate W is performed in the cleaning / drying processing unit 80. At this time, a part of the components of the resist cover film formed on the substrate W is eluted in the cleaning liquid. Thereby, even if the substrate W comes into contact with the liquid LQ in the exposure apparatus 17, it is possible to prevent the components of the resist cover film from eluting into the liquid LQ.

  As a result, contamination in the exposure apparatus 17 is surely prevented and the resist film and resist cover film components are prevented from remaining on the surface of the substrate W. Thereby, the processing defect of the substrate W can be surely prevented.

  The cleaning and drying processing of the substrate W before the exposure processing may be performed by providing a cleaning / drying processing unit 80 in the interface block 16.

(2) About processing block for resist cover film When cleaning processing of substrate W is performed before exposure processing, processing block 13 for resist cover film does not need to be provided. In this case, in the cleaning / drying processing unit 80 that performs the cleaning process of the substrate W before the exposure process, part of the components of the resist film is eluted in the cleaning liquid during the cleaning process. Thereby, even if the resist film comes into contact with the liquid LQ in the exposure apparatus 17, the resist components are prevented from being eluted into the liquid LQ. As a result, contamination in the exposure apparatus 17 can be prevented.

  Further, when the resist cover film processing block 13 is not provided, it is not necessary to provide the resist cover film removal block 14. Therefore, the footprint of the substrate processing apparatus 500 can be reduced.

(3) When the substrate processing apparatus has a waterproof function When the substrate processing apparatus 500 has a sufficient waterproof function, the cleaning / drying processing unit 80 may not be provided. In this case, the footprint of the substrate processing apparatus 500 can be reduced. Moreover, since the conveyance of the substrate W to the cleaning / drying processing unit 80 after the exposure processing is omitted, the productivity of the substrate W is improved.

(4) Other Arrangements In the above embodiment, the resist cover film removal block 14 includes two resist cover film removal processing units 70a and 70b, but the resist cover film removal block 14 includes two resist cover films. Instead of one of the removal processing units 70a and 70b, a thermal processing unit that performs thermal processing on the substrate W may be included. In this case, the heat treatment is efficiently performed on the plurality of substrates W, so that the throughput is improved.

(5) Other Examples of Cleaning / Drying Processing Unit In the cleaning / drying processing unit SD shown in FIG. 10, the cleaning processing nozzle 650 and the drying processing nozzle 670 are separately provided. As shown in FIG. 4, the cleaning nozzle 650 and the drying nozzle 670 may be provided integrally. In this case, since it is not necessary to move the cleaning nozzle 650 and the drying nozzle 670 separately during the cleaning process or the drying process of the substrate W, the driving mechanism can be simplified.

  Further, instead of the drying processing nozzle 670 shown in FIG. 15, a drying processing nozzle 770 as shown in FIG. 16 may be used.

  The drying processing nozzle 770 in FIG. 16 has branch pipes 771 and 772 that extend vertically downward and obliquely downward from the side surface. Gas discharge ports 770a, 770b, and 770c for discharging an inert gas are formed at the lower end of the drying processing nozzle 770 and the lower ends of the branch pipes 771 and 772. From each discharge port 770a, 770b, 770c, an inert gas is discharged vertically downward and diagonally downward as indicated by arrows in FIG. That is, in the drying processing nozzle 770, the inert gas is discharged so that the spraying range expands downward.

  Here, when the drying processing nozzle 770 is used, the cleaning / drying processing unit SD performs the drying processing of the substrate W by the operation described below.

  FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining a method for drying the substrate W when the drying processing nozzle 770 is used.

  First, after the liquid layer L is formed on the surface of the substrate W by the method described with reference to FIG. 11, the drying processing nozzle 770 moves above the center of the substrate W as shown in FIG. Thereafter, an inert gas is discharged from the drying processing nozzle 770. As a result, as shown in FIG. 17B, the rinse liquid at the center of the substrate W moves to the peripheral edge of the substrate W, and the liquid layer L exists only at the peripheral edge of the substrate W. At this time, the drying processing nozzle 770 is placed close to the surface of the substrate W so that the rinsing liquid present at the center of the substrate W can be moved reliably.

  Next, the rotational speed of the rotary shaft 625 (see FIG. 10) increases, and the drying processing nozzle 770 moves upward as shown in FIG. 17 (c). Thereby, a large centrifugal force acts on the liquid layer L on the substrate W, and the range in which the inert gas on the substrate W is sprayed is expanded. As a result, the liquid layer L on the substrate W can be reliably removed. The drying processing nozzle 770 moves up and down by moving the second rotating shaft 672 up and down by a rotating shaft lifting mechanism (not shown) provided on the second rotating shaft 672 in FIG. Can be moved.

  Further, instead of the drying processing nozzle 770, a drying processing nozzle 870 as shown in FIG. 18 may be used. The drying processing nozzle 870 in FIG. 18 has a discharge port 870a whose diameter gradually increases downward. From the discharge port 870a, an inert gas is discharged vertically downward and obliquely downward as indicated by arrows in FIG. That is, in the drying nozzle 870, as in the drying nozzle 770 in FIG. 16, the inert gas is discharged so that the spray range expands downward. Therefore, even when the drying processing nozzle 870 is used, the substrate W can be dried by the same method as that when the drying processing nozzle 770 is used.

  Further, instead of the cleaning / drying processing unit SD shown in FIG. 10, a cleaning / drying processing unit SDa as shown in FIG. 19 may be used.

  The cleaning / drying processing unit SDa shown in FIG. 19 is different from the cleaning / drying processing unit SD shown in FIG. 10 in the following points.

  In the cleaning / drying processing unit SDa of FIG. 19, a disc-shaped blocking plate 682 having an opening at the center is provided above the spin chuck 621. A support shaft 689 is provided vertically downward from the vicinity of the tip of the arm 688, and a blocking plate 682 is attached to the lower end of the support shaft 689 so as to face the upper surface of the substrate W held by the spin chuck 621.

A gas supply path 690 communicating with the opening of the blocking plate 682 is inserted into the support shaft 689. For example, nitrogen gas (N ₂ ) is supplied to the gas supply path 690.

  The arm 688 is connected to a shield plate lifting / lowering drive mechanism 697 and a shield plate rotation drive mechanism 698. The blocking plate lifting / lowering drive mechanism 697 moves the blocking plate 682 up and down between a position close to the upper surface of the substrate W held by the spin chuck 621 and a position away from the spin chuck 621.

  In the cleaning / drying processing unit SDa of FIG. 19, during the drying process of the substrate W, the gap between the substrate W and the shielding plate 682 is placed with the shielding plate 682 in proximity to the substrate W as shown in FIG. Inert gas is supplied from the gas supply path 690 to the gas. In this case, since the inert gas can be efficiently supplied from the central portion of the substrate W to the peripheral portion, the liquid layer L on the substrate W can be reliably removed.

D Correspondence between Each Component in Claim and Each Part in Embodiment In the above embodiment, the anti-reflection film processing block 10, the resist film processing block 11, the development processing block 12, the resist cover film processing block 13, The resist cover film removal block 14 and the cleaning / drying processing block 15 correspond to the processing unit, the interface block 16 corresponds to the transfer unit, the seventh central robot CR7, the substrate platforms PASS13 to PASS16, and the interface transport mechanism IFR. The substrate platforms DPASS1 and DPASS2 correspond to the substrate transport mechanism, and the substrate platforms DPASS1 and DPASS2 correspond to the substrate drying means.

  The interface transport mechanism IFR corresponds to the first transport device, the hand H1 corresponds to the first holding means, the hand H2 corresponds to the second holding means, the spin chuck 201 and the inverted conical member 310. Corresponds to the supporting means, and the inert gas supply unit 231, the inert gas supply pipe 221, the inert gas supply port 221a, the inert gas supply unit 331, the inert gas supply pipe 330, and the inert gas supply path SU are inactive. It corresponds to the active gas supply means.

  Further, the inert gas ejection port 411 corresponds to a slit-like opening, the air knives AN1 and AN2 correspond to an inert gas ejection device, the coating unit BARC of the antireflection film coating processing unit 30, and the resist film coating processing unit 40. Coating unit RES, development processing unit DEV of development processing unit 50, coating unit COV of resist cover film coating processing unit 60, removal unit REM of resist cover film removal processing units 70a and 70b, and cleaning / drying processing unit 80 The cleaning / drying processing unit SD corresponds to a processing unit, the first to sixth central robots CR1 to CR6 correspond to transport units, and the cleaning / drying processing unit SD corresponds to a drying processing unit.

  The sixth center robot CR6 corresponds to the second transfer device, the hand CRH11 of the sixth center robot CR6 corresponds to the third holding means, and the hand CRH12 of the sixth center robot CR6 corresponds to the fourth transfer device. It corresponds to the holding means.

  Further, the cooling unit CP and the heating unit HP of the post-exposure baking heat treatment units 150 and 151 correspond to the heat treatment unit, the coating unit RES of the resist film coating processing unit 40 corresponds to the photosensitive film forming unit, and the resist cover film. The coating unit COV of the coating processing unit 60 corresponds to a protective film forming unit, the removal unit REM of the resist cover film removal processing units 70a and 70b corresponds to the removing unit, and the coating unit of the antireflection film coating processing unit 30. BARC corresponds to the antireflection film forming unit, and the development processing unit DEV of the development processing unit 50 corresponds to the development processing unit.

  The present invention can be used for processing various substrates.

1 is a schematic plan view of a substrate processing apparatus according to a first embodiment. It is the side view which looked at the substrate processing apparatus of Drawing 1 from the + X direction. It is the side view which looked at the substrate processing apparatus of Drawing 1 from the -X direction. It is a figure for demonstrating the structure of the board | substrate mounting part of FIG. (A) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a substrate platform, and (b) is a top view of the substrate platform. It is a figure for demonstrating the other structural example of the board | substrate mounting part of FIG. (A) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view for demonstrating the drying process of the board | substrate by a board | substrate mounting part, (b) is a top view for demonstrating the drying process of the board | substrate by a board | substrate mounting part. It is a figure for demonstrating a structure and operation | movement of the conveyance mechanism for interfaces. It is the figure which looked at the washing / drying processing block of FIG. 1 from the -Y direction. It is a figure for demonstrating the structure of a washing | cleaning / drying processing unit. It is a figure for demonstrating operation | movement of a washing | cleaning / drying processing unit. It is a typical top view of the substrate processing apparatus concerning a 2nd embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the structure and operation | movement of the conveyance mechanism for interfaces of FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the drying process of the board | substrate by the air knife of FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the other example of the nozzle for a drying process. It is a schematic diagram which shows the other example of the nozzle for a drying process. It is a figure for demonstrating the drying processing method of the board | substrate at the time of using the nozzle for drying processing of FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the other example of the nozzle for a drying process. It is a schematic diagram which shows the other example of a washing | cleaning / drying processing unit. It is a figure for demonstrating the drying processing method of the board | substrate at the time of using the washing | cleaning / drying processing unit of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Antireflection film processing block 11 Resist film processing block 12 Development processing block 13 Resist cover film processing block 14 Resist cover film removal block 15 Cleaning / drying processing block 16 Interface block 17 Exposure apparatus 30 Antireflection film coating processing section 40 Resist film coating processing unit 50 Development processing unit 60 Resist cover film coating processing unit 70a, 70b Resist cover film removal processing unit 80 Cleaning / drying processing unit 150, 151 Post-exposure baking heat processing unit 201 Spin chuck 221 Inactive Gas supply pipe 221a Inert gas supply port 231 Inert gas supply part 310 Inverted conical member 330 Inert gas supply pipe 331 Inert gas supply part 411 Inert gas outlet 500 Substrate processing apparatus AN1, AN2 Air knife BARC, CO , RES coating unit CR1, CR2, CR3, CR4, CR5, CR6, CR7 1st to 7th central robot CP Cooling unit CRH91, CRH92, H1, H2 Hand DEV Development processing unit H1, H2, CRH11, CRH12 Hand HP Heating Unit IFR interface transport mechanism PASS13 to PASS16, DPASS1, DPASS2 Substrate placement unit REM removal unit SD Cleaning / drying processing unit SU Inactive gas supply path W Substrate

Claims (18)

A substrate processing apparatus disposed adjacent to an exposure apparatus,
A processing unit for processing the substrate;
A transfer unit that is provided adjacent to one end of the processing unit, and transfers a substrate between the processing unit and the exposure apparatus;
A substrate transport mechanism that is provided in the transfer unit and transports a substrate between the processing unit and the exposure apparatus;
The substrate processing apparatus, wherein the substrate transport mechanism includes a substrate drying unit that performs a substrate drying process. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate drying unit performs a drying process on the substrate after the exposure process by the exposure apparatus. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate drying unit performs a drying process of the substrate before the exposure process by the exposure apparatus. The substrate transport mechanism includes a first transport device that transports the substrate while holding it,
The first transport device includes a first holding unit configured to hold a substrate before exposure processing when transported from the processing unit to the exposure device, and after exposure processing when transported from the exposure device to the processing unit. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a second holding unit that holds the substrate. The substrate transport mechanism includes a substrate placement unit for temporarily placing a substrate,
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate mounting unit includes the substrate drying unit. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the substrate placement unit is disposed adjacent to the exposure apparatus in the transfer unit. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate drying unit performs a drying process on a peripheral edge of the back surface of the substrate. The substrate drying means includes support means for supporting the substrate, and inert gas supply means for drying the substrate by injecting an inert gas onto the back surface of the substrate supported by the support means. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1. The substrate drying means includes an inert gas ejection device provided in a substrate transport path and having a slit-like opening for ejecting an inert gas,
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the inert gas ejection device performs a drying process on the substrate by injecting an inert gas onto a back surface of the substrate being transported. The processing unit includes a processing unit that performs a predetermined process on a substrate, and a transport unit that transports the substrate between a plurality of processing units,
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing unit includes a drying processing unit that performs a drying process on the substrate after the exposure processing by the exposure apparatus. The transport unit has a second transport device provided so as to be adjacent to the delivery unit and to be adjacent to the drying unit,
The second transfer device has a third holding unit and a fourth holding unit for transferring the substrate while holding the substrate,
The third holding unit holds the substrate when the substrate before the exposure processing by the exposure apparatus is transported to the delivery unit and when the substrate after the drying processing by the drying processing unit is transported to another processing unit. And
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the fourth holding unit holds the substrate when the substrate after the exposure processing by the exposure apparatus is transported to the drying processing unit. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the fourth holding unit is provided below the third holding unit. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the processing unit further includes a heat treatment unit that performs a predetermined heat treatment on the substrate after the exposure processing by the exposure apparatus. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the processing unit further includes a photosensitive film forming unit that forms a photosensitive film made of a photosensitive material on the substrate. 15. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the processing unit further includes a protective film forming unit that forms a protective film for protecting the photosensitive film. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the processing unit further includes a removing unit that removes the protective film after the exposure process by the exposure apparatus. 17. The processing unit further includes an antireflection film forming unit that forms an antireflection film on a substrate before forming the photosensitive film by the photosensitive film forming unit. The substrate processing apparatus as described. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the processing unit further includes a development processing unit that performs development processing on the substrate.

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