JP2007067111A - Heater, coater, developer, and heating method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a heater which heats a substrate and prepares a plurality of heat treatment temperatures, thereby providing a technique capable of a quick change upon changing the heat treatment temperature of the substrate. <P>SOLUTION: An upper heating means 40 is provided on the upper side of a substrate retainer 6, and an area ranging from the side of the substrate retainer 6 to the periphery of the upper heating means 40 is surrounded to form a heat atmosphere. At this time, as the height of the substrate retainer 6 is adjusted with reference to data which correlates a relative height position of a substrate with respect to the upper heating means 40 with a heat treatment temperature of a substrate W, the data are referred to upon changing the heat treatment temperature of the substrate and the heat treatment temperature of the substrate can quickly be changed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a heating device that heats a substrate on which a coating film is formed, for example, a coating and developing device including the heating device, and a heating method.

  As a device for forming a resist pattern on a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as a wafer) or a glass substrate for an LCD (liquid crystal display), the resist is applied to the substrate and the exposed wafer is developed. A coating and developing device is used. In this apparatus, a heating apparatus called a baking apparatus is incorporated. For example, in an apparatus for heating a substrate coated with a resist solution, it plays a role of drying a solvent in the resist solution, Further, in an apparatus for heating a substrate before exposure and before development, for example, a chemically amplified resist plays a role of diffusing an acid catalyst.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 12, this type of heating device includes a heating plate 11 made of, for example, ceramics, which incorporates a heater 10 made of a resistance heating element. The temperature control is performed for each zone. A lid 12 is provided on the upper side of the heating plate 11, and the lid 12 forms a space in which the upper region of the heating plate 11 is closed. Then, the substrate G is heat-treated while being sucked and exhausted from the central portion of the lid 12 while supplying gas from the gas supply port 13 formed over the entire circumference of the lid 12, thus forming an air flow as indicated by arrows. is doing.

  By the way, with the reduction in the number of semiconductor devices, the frequency of changing process parameters in the coating and developing apparatus is higher than in the past, and even in the heating apparatus, the substrate process temperature (heat treatment temperature) is switched between lots. There is a case to change in. However, when the power supplied to the heater 10 of the heating plate 11 is changed, there is a time delay until the temperature of the surface of the heating plate 11 is stabilized. Especially when the process temperature is lowered, a long time is required until the temperature is stabilized. There is such a problem. In addition, since the degree of heat radiation differs between the region near the outer edge of the substrate and the region on the center side, and the degree of heat radiation varies depending on the temperature of the heating plate 11, power supply control corresponding to various process temperatures is performed. There is also a problem that it is difficult to find the optimal point.

  On the other hand, Patent Document 1 describes a heating apparatus in which a heating plate is provided above a wafer placed on a heating plate, and these heating plates are vertically moved by a vertical drive mechanism. Further, in Patent Document 2, an upper lid provided with a heater is provided above a wafer placed on a heating plate, and wafer support pins extending through the heating plate are extended so that the wafer is brought close to the upper lid. The configuration to be performed is described. However, each of the apparatuses aims at shortening the wafer heating time by bringing the wafer close to a heat source (in this example, corresponding to a heating plate or an upper lid) provided on the upper side. It is not intended to solve this problem, and since the periphery of the substrate is an open space, the substrate cannot be heated with high in-plane uniformity.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-69111 (FIG. 1) JP-A-7-201719 (paragraph 0038 to paragraph 0040, FIG. 5)

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a heating apparatus and a heating method capable of promptly changing the heat treatment temperature of the substrate. is there. Another object of the present invention is to provide a coating / developing apparatus capable of quickly changing the substrate heat treatment temperature and suppressing a decrease in throughput.

The present invention is a heating apparatus in which a substrate is heat-treated, and a plurality of heat treatment temperatures are prepared,
A substrate holder for horizontally holding the substrate;
Upper heating means provided on the upper side of the substrate holding portion so as to face the substrate;
An enclosing member that forms a heating atmosphere surrounding a region from the side of the substrate held by the substrate holding unit to the periphery of the upper heating means;
First elevating means for elevating the substrate holder relative to the upper heating means between a substrate receiving position and a processing position where the substrate is surrounded by the surrounding member and heat-treated;
And a controller for controlling the first lifting / lowering means so as to be in a relative height position of the substrate with respect to the upper heating means in accordance with the heat treatment temperature of the substrate.

  Further, in the above heating apparatus, an upper cylindrical body having a lower surface opened and surrounding the substrate is provided above the substrate holding portion, and the upper heating means is provided in the upper cylindrical body, You may comprise the side wall of a cylindrical body so that it may make a part of at least said enclosure member.

  Further, in the above heating apparatus, a lower cylindrical body for forming a space in which an upper surface is opened and a side peripheral wall of the upper cylindrical body and the side peripheral wall overlap each other and is closed, and the lower cylindrical body, Second elevating means for elevating and lowering relative to the upper cylindrical body between a low position located when the substrate is transferred to the substrate holding portion and a high position located during the heat treatment of the substrate; The structure provided with these may be sufficient. In this case, it is desirable that the substrate holding part is provided in the lower cylindrical body, and the first lifting means and the second lifting means are shared.

  Further, in the above heating device, a groove extending in the vertical direction is formed along the circumferential direction on at least one of the opening end surface of the upper cylindrical body and the opening end surface of the lower cylindrical body, and the upper cylindrical body and the lower cylindrical body are formed. It is preferable that the other side peripheral wall of the first and second side walls enter the groove so that the side walls overlap each other.

  The heating apparatus further includes a gas supply means for supplying a purge gas for purging the heating atmosphere of the substrate, and is provided between the substrate and the upper heating means for rectifying the purge gas supplied by the gas supply means. It is also possible to have a configuration provided with a straightened current plate.

  In the heating apparatus, the storage unit stores data in which the relative height position of the substrate with respect to the upper heating unit and the substrate heat treatment temperature are associated with each other, and the control unit has a substrate height corresponding to the substrate heat treatment temperature. It is also possible to read the position from the storage unit and control the first lifting / lowering means.

  In the heating apparatus, a side heating means may be provided on the enclosure member so as to surround the substrate. In this case, the side portion heating means may include a plurality of heaters provided in the vertical direction, and may be configured such that the set temperature is lower as the heater on the lower side, or a plurality of stages provided in the vertical direction. The side peripheral wall of the upper cylindrical body may be formed in a divergent shape, and the heater on the lower side may be separated from the substrate.

  The present invention also includes a carrier block into which a carrier containing a plurality of substrates is carried, a coating unit that applies a resist to the surface of the substrate taken out of the carrier, and a development processing unit that develops the exposed substrate. In the coating / developing apparatus provided with a processing block including a processing block and an interface unit for transferring the substrate between the processing block and the exposure apparatus, the heating block described above is provided in the processing block. Features.

The heating method of the present invention includes a step of holding the substrate horizontally on the substrate holding portion,
The relative height position of the substrate corresponding to the heat treatment temperature of the substrate from the data in the storage unit in which the relative height position of the substrate with respect to the upper heating means provided so as to face the substrate is associated with the heat treatment temperature of the substrate A process of reading
And a step of raising the substrate holding portion relative to the upper heating means so as to be a relative height position of the read substrate, and placing the substrate at a position where it is surrounded by the surrounding member and subjected to heat treatment. It is characterized by that. The upper heating means is provided in, for example, an upper cylindrical body that is configured to have a lower surface opened and surround the substrate, and a side wall of the upper cylindrical body forms at least a part of the surrounding member. ing.

  In the heating method, the lower cylindrical body having an upper surface opened from the low position where the substrate is transferred to the substrate holding portion during the heat treatment of the substrate and the side peripheral wall of the upper cylindrical body. The method may include a step of raising to a high position where the side peripheral walls overlap each other to form a closed space. In this case, it is preferable that the substrate holding part is provided on the lower cylindrical body.

  Further, the above heating method may include a step of supplying a purge gas to an upper side of a rectifying plate provided between the substrate and the upper heating means and purging the heating atmosphere of the substrate by lowering the gas through the rectifying plate. Good. In that case, for example, at least one of the opening end surface of the upper cylindrical body and the opening end surface of the lower cylindrical body is formed with a groove extending in the vertical direction along the circumferential direction, and the upper cylindrical body and the lower cylindrical body Since the other side peripheral wall enters the groove, the side walls overlap each other. Further, the substrate is heated by, for example, the upper heating unit and a side heating unit provided in the surrounding member so as to surround the substrate.

  In the present invention, the upper heating means is provided above the substrate holding portion, and a heating atmosphere is formed surrounding the area from the side of the substrate to the periphery of the upper heating means, so that the in-plane uniformity with respect to the substrate is achieved. In addition to performing highly heat treatment, the relative height position of the substrate with respect to the upper heating means is controlled to a position corresponding to the heat treatment temperature of the substrate to cope with the change in the heat treatment temperature. Therefore, the heat treatment temperature of the substrate can be changed quickly.

  An upper cylindrical body having a lower surface opened and a side wall forming at least a part of the enclosing member is provided above the substrate holding portion, and an upper surface is opened. The side peripheral wall of the upper cylindrical body and the side peripheral wall thereof By providing a lower cylindrical body for forming a closed space overlapping each other, the substrate is placed in a closed space surrounded by upper and lower cylindrical bodies, and this space becomes a heating atmosphere. Heat treatment with higher in-plane uniformity can be performed on the substrate. Furthermore, by providing the side heating means on the side peripheral wall of the enclosing member so as to surround the substrate, the substrate can be heated even more uniformly.

  As an example of an embodiment of a heating apparatus that performs the heating method according to the present invention, for example, a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as a wafer) W that is a substrate coated with a resist solution as a coating solution is heated. The heating apparatus 2 for forming a resist film on the surface of the wafer W will be described. The heating device 2 includes a housing 20, and a transfer port 21 for carrying the wafer W in and out is formed on the side wall of the housing 20. In addition, a base 30 having a hollow at the bottom is provided in the housing 20, and when the side toward the transport port 21 is the front side, the center portion of the base 30 has a back side from the front side. An opening 32 for moving a transfer plate 31 for transferring a wafer W movable in the direction (X direction in the figure) is formed.

  One end side (conveying port 21 side) of the conveying plate 31 is connected to a connecting member 33. As shown in FIG. 3, the connecting member 33 is inserted into the opening 32, the lower end thereof is fitted into the guide rail 35, and is configured to be movable in the X-axis direction along the guide rail 35 by the drive unit 36. Has been.

  The transport plate 31 has a role of a cooling plate in which, for example, a cooling medium flow path is formed. Three holes 22 are formed in the center portion of the transport plate 3 in the circumferential direction. A support pin 23 provided on the lower side of the transport plate 31 passes through the hole 22. The support pin 23 is connected to the elevating part 25 via the holding member 24, and is thereby configured to be movable up and down so that the tip of the support pin 23 can protrude and retract with respect to the surface of the transport plate 31. In FIG. 2, 37a and 37b are slits through which support pins 62a, 62b and 62c described later pass.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a processing container (chamber) 4 made of, for example, aluminum is provided on the back side of the transfer plate 31 in the base 30. The processing container 4 has an open bottom surface and surrounds the wafer W. The upper cylindrical body 41 configured as described above and the lower cylindrical body 42 configured to have a smaller diameter than the upper cylindrical body 41 and have an upper surface opened and surround the wafer W. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, a base 5 is laid on the lower surface of the housing 20, and a column 51 is provided on one end side of the base 5. An upper support arm 52 is horizontally provided on the upper end side of the support column 51, and the above-described upper cylindrical body 41 is fixed to a distal end portion of the upper support arm 52. Further, the support column 51 is provided with an elevator unit 53 (not shown) that can be moved up and down by a motor or an air cylinder along the support column 51, and a lower support arm 54 is provided horizontally on the lift unit 53. It has been. The lower cylindrical body 42 described above is fixed to the distal end portion of the lower support arm 54, and the lower cylindrical body 42 can be moved up and down by an elevating part 53.

  Further, a groove 43 extending in the vertical direction is formed on the opening end surface of the upper cylindrical body 41 along the circumferential direction, and the side peripheral end of the lower cylindrical body 42 enters the groove 43 so that the upper cylindrical shape is formed. The side wall of the body 41 and the side wall of the lower cylindrical body 42 are configured to overlap each other. In this example, a groove 43 extending in the vertical direction is formed in the opening end surface of the upper cylindrical body 41 having a diameter larger than that of the lower cylindrical body 42 along the circumferential direction, so that the side peripheral end of the lower cylindrical body 42 is formed. Is formed so as to enter the groove 43, but a groove extending in the vertical direction is formed along the circumferential direction at the opening end of the lower cylindrical body 42 having a larger diameter than the upper cylindrical body 41. You may comprise so that the side peripheral end of the body 41 may enter into the said groove | channel.

  A gas supply pipe 44 is provided on the upper surface of the upper cylindrical body 41. The gas supply pipe 44 penetrates the upper surface of the housing 20 to purge the heated atmosphere of the wafer W, for example, N2. It is connected to a gas supply unit 45 for supplying gas or air. In this example, a gas supply unit is configured by the gas supply pipe 44 provided on the upper surface portion of the upper cylindrical body 41 and the gas supply section 45 connected to the proximal end side of the gas supply pipe 44.

  A heating plate 46 made of circular ceramics is provided above the upper cylindrical body 41 and includes a heater 40 which is a resistance heating element as an upper heating means. The diameter of the heating plate 46 is larger than the diameter of the wafer W mounted on a mounting table described later. A gap 47 is formed between the outer edge of the heating plate 46 and the upper cylindrical body 41, and purge gas is supplied to the lower side through the gap 47. As shown in FIG. 1, a power supply unit 70 is connected to the heater 40 of the heating plate 46, and the power supply unit 70 controls the power supplied to the heater 40 by the control unit 8 described later. .

  Below the heating plate 46, as shown in FIGS. 1, 4, and 5, a circular rectifying plate 48 having a large number of holes 49 for adjusting the flow of the purge gas that has passed through the gap 47. Is provided.

  In the lower cylindrical body 42, a circular mounting table 6 which is a substrate holding part that is slightly larger than the wafer W for holding the wafer W horizontally is formed on the upper cylindrical body 41 on the upper side of the upper cylindrical body 41. 48, and is provided with three holes 6a, 6b and 6c in the circumferential direction at the center of the mounting table 6 described above. In addition, holes 61a, 61b, 61c are formed in the projected areas of the three holes 6a, 6b, 6c on the lower surface of the lower cylindrical body 42, respectively. Support pins 62a, 62b, and 62c are provided so as to penetrate the holes 6a, 6b, and 6c and the holes 61a, 61b, and 61c, respectively, and these support pins 62a, 62b, and 62c are provided via a support member 63. By a lifting unit 64 provided on the upper surface of the table 5, the wafer W can be moved up and down between a transfer position of the wafer W whose tip is positioned above the mounting table 6 and a standby position whose tip is positioned below the mounting table 6. It is configured.

  Further, as the lower cylindrical body 42 is moved up and down by the lifting and lowering portion 53, the support pins 62a, 62b and 62c project and sink on the mounting table 6 through the holes 6a, 6b and 6c and the holes 61a, 61b and 61c. Is configured to do. That is, when the lower cylindrical body 42 is raised by the elevating part 53 from the state in which the support pins 62a, 62b, 62c support the back surface of the wafer W, the wafer W is delivered onto the mounting table 6. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 60 denotes an electrical area in which electrical components for operating the elevating unit 53 and the like are stored.

  Further, exhaust pipes 71 and 72, which are flexible tubes that can be vertically expanded and contracted, are connected to the bottom of the lower cylindrical body 42. The exhaust pipes 71 and 72 are connected to the upper cylindrical body 40 and the lower cylindrical body 41, respectively. Are connected to the exhaust pump 73 through the base 5 and the lower surface of the housing 20 in order to exhaust the purge gas supplied in the space surrounded by. In this example, the exhaust pipes 71 and 72 are extended as the lower cylindrical body 42 is raised by the elevating part 53.

  Next, the control unit 8 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. In FIG. 6, reference numeral 80 denotes a bus, and a storage unit, a CPU, and the like are connected to the bus 80. In FIG. 6, these are functionally represented as blocks.

  The storage unit 81 stores a data table in which the relative height position of the wafer W with respect to the heating plate 46 provided on the upper cylindrical body 41 is associated with the heat treatment temperature of the wafer W. In this example, since the mounting table 6 side moves up and down, the height position of the mounting table 6 and the heat treatment temperature are associated with each other.

  The control program 82 reads the height of the mounting table 6 corresponding to the heat treatment temperature of the wafer W from the table in the storage unit 82, and outputs an operation command to the elevating unit 54 so as to be at the height position. On the other hand, a predetermined amount of power is supplied from the power supply unit 70 to the heater 40 of the heating plate 46.

  The control program 82 is stored in a storage medium such as a flexible disk (FD), a memory card, a compact disk (CD), a magnetic optical desk (MO), etc., installed in a computer as the control unit 8, and stored in a program storage unit. Will be.

  The data processing unit 83 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and controls the series of operations in which the control program 82 outputs an operation command to the elevating unit 54 with reference to the data sheet stored in the storage unit 81. .

  Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described. The wafer W coated with the resist solution on its surface is loaded into the housing 20 through the transfer port 21 by a transfer mechanism of a wafer W having a transfer arm (not shown), and the cooperative action of the transfer arm and the lift pins 23 is performed. Delivered to the transport plate 31. Next, the transfer arm is retracted from the inside of the housing 20, and when the transfer plate 31 holding the wafer W is moved onto the mounting table 6, the support pins 6 a, 6 b, 6 c are raised and mounted on the transfer plate 31. The back surface of the wafer W is supported. Then, the transport plate 31 moves back to the home position (left end position in FIG. 1) (FIG. 7A).

  Subsequently, assuming that the heat treatment temperature of the wafer W scheduled this time is, for example, t3 (see FIG. 6), the temperature of the mounting table 6 corresponding to the heat treatment temperature t3 of the wafer W from the data table stored in the storage unit 82 described above. The height position d3 is read by the program of the control unit 8. Then, the control unit 8 controls the lifting / lowering operation of the lifting / lowering unit 53 so as to reach the read height position d <b> 3 to raise the mounting table 6 relative to the heating plate 46. At this time, the mounting table 6 receives the wafer W supported by the support pins 6a, 6b and 6c as shown in FIG. When the lower cylindrical body 42 (mounting table 6) is further raised, the side wall of the lower cylindrical body 42 enters the groove 43 in the side wall of the upper cylindrical body 41 to form a closed space in which a heating atmosphere is formed. As shown in FIG. 7C, the wafer W is placed in a processing position corresponding to the height position d3 in a closed space surrounded by the upper cylindrical body 41 and the lower cylindrical body 42. In other words, in this example, the lower cylindrical body 42 having an upper surface opened from the lower position where the wafer W is transferred to the mounting table 6, the side peripheral wall of the upper cylindrical body 41 and the side peripheral wall thereof are mutually connected. It will rise to a high position that overlaps and forms a closed space.

  On the other hand, the heating plate 46 is heated to, for example, 110 ° C. by supplying a predetermined amount of electric power to the heater 40 from the power supply unit 70. When the wafer W is placed at the above-described height position d3, the heating plate 46 is heated. And a temperature determined by the distance between the heating plate 46 and the wafer W, that is, the temperature t3. Then, while supplying a purge gas such as N 2 gas into the space from the gas supply section 45 through the gas supply pipe 44, suction exhaust gas is exhausted from the exhaust pipes 71 and 72 connected to the bottom surface of the lower cylindrical body 42 by the exhaust pump 73. Do. More specifically, the purge gas supplied to the space between the upper cylindrical body 41 and the heating plate 46 passes through the gap 47 formed between the outer edge of the heating plate 46 and the upper chamber 41, and the heating plate It is warmed by 46 heat dissipation. The purge gas supplied to the space between the heating plate 46 and the rectifying plate 48 is adjusted in flow by passing through a large number of holes 49 formed in the surface of the rectifying plate 48, and the rectified purge gas is supplied to the wafer W. Will be supplied to the surface. The purge gas flows from the center along the outer periphery of the wafer W and is exhausted from the exhaust pipes 71 and 72 connected to the bottom surface of the lower cylindrical body 42. Thus, the heat treatment is performed while forming an air flow from the center of the wafer W toward the outer periphery as shown by the arrow in FIG.

  By heat-treating the wafer W in this way, in this example, the solvent in the resist solution is dried, and a resist film is formed on the surface of the wafer W.

  After the heat treatment of the wafer W is completed in this manner, the mounting table 6 is lowered by the elevating unit 53, so that the wafer W mounted on the mounting table 6 is transferred onto the support pins 6a, 6b, 6c. . Thereafter, the transfer plate 31 moves again from the home position onto the mounting table 6, and the wafer W supported by the support pins 6a, 6b, and 6c is transferred onto the transfer plate 31 (cooling plate). Coarse heat is taken and cooled. Thereafter, after the transfer plate 31 returns to the home position, the wafer W is unloaded by an external transfer mechanism, which is the main transfer means A2 in the examples of FIGS.

  Here, for example, the lot of the wafer W is switched, and the heat treatment temperature of the wafer W is changed from, for example, t3 to t2 (see FIG. 6). In this case, the wafer W of the next lot is similarly mounted on the mounting table 6 and raised, but the control unit 8 reads d2 corresponding to t2 from the data table, and sets the height of the mounting table 6 to d2. It will control via the raising / lowering part 53 so that it may become. As a result, the wafer W is placed at a height corresponding to d2, and is subjected to heat treatment at the heat treatment temperature t2.

  According to the above-described embodiment, the upper cylindrical body 41 is provided on the upper side of the mounting table 6 so that the lower surface is opened and the wafer W is surrounded, and the upper surface is further opened. By providing the lower cylindrical body 42 for forming a closed space where the side peripheral wall 41 and the side peripheral wall overlap each other, the wafer W is surrounded by the upper cylindrical body 41 and the lower cylindrical body 42. Since this space is placed in a closed space and becomes a heating atmosphere, a heat treatment with higher in-plane uniformity can be performed on the wafer W.

  Further, according to the above-described embodiment, the relative height position of the wafer W with respect to the heating plate 46 provided on the upper portion of the upper cylindrical body 41 is controlled to a position corresponding to the heat treatment temperature of the wafer W. Since the heat treatment temperature of W is changed, the heat treatment temperature of the wafer W can be quickly changed.

  In the above-described example, the wafer W coated with the resist solution is heated. However, in the heating apparatus of the present invention, the wafer W before exposure and before development may be heated.

  Note that the heat treatment may be performed in a state where the wafer W is placed in the upper tubular body 41 without providing the lower tubular body 42, but in consideration of the temperature stability of the heat treatment atmosphere, The side is preferably closed. Further, an enclosing member, in this example, the side wall of the upper cylindrical body 41 needs to exist around the wafer W, but this enclosing member may be formed by the side wall of the lower cylindrical body 42. Good.

  In addition, it is preferable that a heating means is provided on the side wall of the surrounding member, for example, the upper cylindrical body 41 so as to surround the wafer W on the mounting table 6. In this case, the wafer W is also heated from the side. The in-plane temperature uniformity of W can be made higher, and the adjustment is easier than in the case of increasing the in-plane uniformity only by the upper heating means. In providing the side heating means in this way, as shown in FIG. 9A, a plurality of heaters 90 that can be controlled in temperature in the vertical direction are arranged, and the set temperature is lowered for the lower heater 90. It is preferable. Since the temperature of the wafer W decreases as the distance between the wafer W and the upper heating means increases, the in-plane temperature uniformity of the wafer W is further improved by correspondingly reducing the amount of heating from the side. Can be made. In this case, the heater 90 in each stage may correspond to each height position of the wafer W according to the heat treatment temperature of the wafer W.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 9B, the side wall of the upper cylindrical body 41 is formed in a divergent shape so that the distance between each heater 91 and the wafer W increases as it goes downward. The amount of heating may be reduced as it goes downward. In this case, the heaters 91 in each stage may have the same heat generation amount, or may be reduced as they go downward.

  Moreover, in the mounting table 6 provided in the lower cylindrical body 42 of the processing container 4 shown in FIGS. 1 and 9, a configuration in which a heater is embedded in the mounting table 6 may be employed. In this case, the heating temperature of the heater provided in the mounting table 6 is set to be lower than the process temperature of the wafer W. In this way, heat radiation to the lower side of the wafer W can be suppressed. The atmosphere in the closed space surrounded by the upper cylindrical body 41 and the lower cylindrical body 42 can be heated more quickly, and the wafer W on the mounting table 6 can be quickly heated to the process temperature.

  Next, an embodiment in which the heating device 2 described above is applied to a coating and developing device will be briefly described with reference to FIGS. In the figure, B1 is a cassette mounting section for carrying in / out a cassette C in which, for example, 13 wafers W serving as substrates are hermetically stored, and a cassette station having a mounting section 200a on which a plurality of cassettes C can be mounted. 200, an opening / closing part 210 provided on the wall surface in front of the cassette station 200, and a delivery means A1 for taking out the wafer W from the cassette C via the opening / closing part 210 are provided.

  A processing unit B2 surrounded by a casing 220 is connected to the back side of the cassette mounting unit B1, and the processing unit B2 is a shelf unit in which heating / cooling units are sequentially arranged from the front side. U1, U2 and U3 and main transfer means A2 and A3 for transferring the wafer W between processing units including a coating / developing unit described later are alternately arranged. That is, the shelf units U1, U2, U3 and the main transfer means A2, A3 are arranged in a line in the front-rear direction when viewed from the cassette mounting part B1, and an opening for wafer transfer (not shown) is formed at each connection part. Thus, the wafer W can freely move in the processing section B1 from the shelf unit U1 on one end side to the shelf unit U3 on the other end side. The main transport means A2 and A3 include one surface portion on the shelf units U1, U2 and U3 side arranged in the front-rear direction when viewed from the cassette mounting portion B1, and one surface on the right side liquid processing unit U4 and U5 side which will be described later. It is placed in a space surrounded by a partition wall 230 composed of a portion and a back surface forming one surface on the left side. In the figure, reference numerals 240 and 250 denote temperature / humidity adjusting units including a temperature adjusting device for processing liquid used in each unit, a duct for adjusting temperature and humidity, and the like.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 11, the liquid processing units U4 and U5 have a coating unit (COT) 300, a developing unit DEV, and a developing unit DEV on a storage unit 260 forming a space for supplying a chemical solution such as a coating solution (resist solution) and a developing solution. The antireflection film forming unit BARC and the like are stacked in a plurality of stages, for example, five stages. In addition, the above-described shelf units U1, U2, and U3 are configured such that various units for performing pre-processing and post-processing of the processing performed in the liquid processing units U4 and U5 are stacked in a plurality of stages, for example, 10 stages. In this combination, the wafer W whose surface is coated with the coating solution is dried in a reduced pressure atmosphere by the coating unit 3, and the reduced pressure drying apparatus for evaporating the solvent contained in the coating solution is heated (baked). The heating unit of the present invention, the cooling unit for cooling the wafer W, and the like are included.

  An exposure unit B4 is connected to an inner side of the shelf unit U3 in the processing unit B2 via an interface unit B3 including, for example, a first transfer chamber 270 and a second transfer chamber 280. In addition to two transfer means A4 and A5 for transferring the wafer W between the processing unit B2 and the exposure unit B4, a shelf unit U6 and a buffer cassette C0 are provided inside the interface unit B3.

  An example of the flow of wafers in this apparatus is as follows. First, when a cassette C in which wafers W are stored is mounted on the mounting table 200 from the outside, the lid of the cassette C is removed together with the opening / closing section 210 and the transfer means A1. Thus, the wafer W is taken out. Then, the wafer W is transferred to the main transfer means A2 via a transfer unit (not shown) that forms one stage of the shelf unit U1, and is pre-processed as a coating process on one shelf in the shelf units U1 to U3. For example, an antireflection film forming process and a cooling process are performed, and then a resist solution is applied by the application unit 3. Next, when reduced pressure drying is performed by a reduced pressure drying apparatus and a resist film is formed on the surface of the wafer W, the wafer W is heated (baked) by the heating unit of the present invention forming one shelf of the shelf units U1 to U3. After being cooled, it is carried into the interface unit B3 via the delivery unit of the shelf unit U3. In this interface section B3, the wafer W is transferred to the exposure section B4 through a path of transfer means A4 → shelf unit U6 → transfer means A5, for example, and exposure is performed. After the exposure, the wafer W is transferred to the main transfer means A2 through the reverse path, and developed by the developing unit DEV to form a resist mask. Thereafter, the wafer W is returned to the original cassette C on the mounting table 200.

  Thus, by applying the heating device 2 of the present invention to the above-described coating and developing device, the heating device is configured so that the heat treatment temperature of the wafer W can be quickly changed. Therefore, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the throughput of the developing device.

It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows an example of embodiment of the heating apparatus of this invention. It is a cross-sectional view of the heating device. It is the vertical side view which showed the conveyance plate which conveys a wafer in the said heating apparatus. It is a schematic perspective view which shows the processing container provided in the said heating apparatus. It is a schematic plan view which shows the baffle plate provided in the downward side of the heating plate in the said upper cylindrical body. It is a block diagram which shows the control part used for embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing explaining the effect | action in embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing explaining the effect | action in embodiment of this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the other example of embodiment of the heating apparatus of this invention. 1 is a plan view of a coating and developing apparatus to which a heating device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. It is a perspective view which shows the said coating and developing apparatus. It is the figure which showed an example of the conventional heating apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

W Semiconductor wafer 2 Heating device 4 Processing container 41 Upper cylindrical body 42 Lower cylindrical body 44 Gas supply pipe 45 Gas supply part 46 Heating plate 48 Current plate 5 Base 53 Drive part 6 Mounting base 60 Electrical areas 71 and 72 Exhaust pipe 73 Exhaust pump 8 Control unit 81 Storage unit 82 Control program 83 Data processing

Claims (18)

A heating apparatus that heat-treats a substrate and has a plurality of heat-treatment temperatures,
A substrate holder for horizontally holding the substrate;
Upper heating means provided on the upper side of the substrate holding portion so as to face the substrate;
An enclosing member that forms a heating atmosphere surrounding a region from the side of the substrate held by the substrate holding unit to the periphery of the upper heating means;
First elevating means for elevating the substrate holder relative to the upper heating means between a substrate receiving position and a processing position where the substrate is surrounded by the surrounding member and heat-treated;
And a controller that controls the first lifting / lowering means so as to be at a relative height position of the substrate with respect to the upper heating means in accordance with the heat treatment temperature of the substrate. Provided on the upper side of the substrate holding portion is an upper cylindrical body configured to surround the substrate with a lower surface opened,
The upper heating means is provided in the upper cylindrical body,
The heating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a side wall of the upper cylindrical body forms at least a part of the enclosure member. A lower cylindrical body for forming a space in which an upper surface is opened and a side peripheral wall of the upper cylindrical body and the side peripheral wall overlap each other and are closed;
The lower cylindrical body is moved up and down relative to the upper cylindrical body between a low position where the substrate is transferred to the substrate holding portion and a high position where the substrate is heated. The heating apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a second lifting / lowering means. The substrate holding part is provided on the lower cylindrical body,
The heating apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the first elevating means and the second elevating means are shared.   A groove extending in the vertical direction is formed along at least one of the opening end surface of the upper cylindrical body and the opening end surface of the lower cylindrical body along the circumferential direction, and the other side peripheral wall of the upper cylindrical body and the lower cylindrical body is provided. The heating apparatus according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the side walls overlap each other by entering the groove. A gas supply means for supplying a purge gas for purging the heating atmosphere of the substrate;
6. A rectifying plate provided between the substrate and the upper heating means for rectifying the purge gas supplied by the gas supply means, according to any one of claims 1 to 5, Heating device. A storage unit for storing data in which the relative height position of the substrate with respect to the upper heating means and the heat treatment temperature of the substrate are associated with each other;
The said control part reads the height position of the board | substrate according to the heat processing temperature of a board | substrate from the said memory | storage part, and controls a said 1st raising / lowering means, It is any one of Claim 1 thru | or 6 characterized by the above-mentioned. The heating device described.   The heating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a side heating unit is provided on the enclosing member so as to surround the substrate.   The heating apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the side heating means includes a plurality of heaters provided in the vertical direction, and a lower temperature is set to a lower heater.   The side part heating means includes a plurality of stages of heaters provided in the vertical direction, and the surrounding member is formed in a divergent shape, and the lower stage heater is further away from the substrate. Item 9. The heating device according to Item 8. A carrier block into which a carrier containing a plurality of substrates is loaded;
A processing block including a coating unit that applies a resist to the surface of the substrate taken out of the carrier, and a development processing unit that develops the exposed substrate.
In a coating and developing apparatus comprising an interface unit that transfers a substrate between the processing block and the exposure apparatus,
A coating and developing apparatus, wherein the processing block is provided with the heating device according to any one of claims 1 to 10. Holding the substrate horizontally on the substrate holder;
The relative height position of the substrate corresponding to the heat treatment temperature of the substrate from the data in the storage unit in which the relative height position of the substrate with respect to the upper heating means provided so as to face the substrate is associated with the heat treatment temperature of the substrate A process of reading
And a step of raising the substrate holding portion relative to the upper heating means so as to be a relative height position of the read substrate, and placing the substrate at a position where it is surrounded by the surrounding member and subjected to heat treatment. The heating method characterized by the above-mentioned.   An upper heating means is provided in an upper cylindrical body configured to open a lower surface and surround a substrate, and a side wall of the upper cylindrical body forms at least a part of the surrounding member. 12. The heating method according to 12.   From the lower position where the lower cylindrical body whose upper surface is open is positioned when the substrate is transferred to the substrate holding part during the heat treatment of the substrate, the side peripheral wall and the side peripheral wall of the upper cylindrical body are mutually connected. The heating method according to claim 12, further comprising a step of raising to a high position forming an overlapped closed space.   The heating method according to claim 14, wherein the substrate holding part is provided on the lower cylindrical body.   The method includes a step of supplying a purge gas to an upper side of a rectifying plate provided between the substrate and the upper heating means, and lowering the gas through the rectifying plate to purge the heating atmosphere of the substrate. The heating method according to any one of 12 to 15.   A groove extending in the vertical direction is formed along at least one of the opening end surface of the upper cylindrical body and the opening end surface of the lower cylindrical body along the circumferential direction, and the other side peripheral wall of the upper cylindrical body and the lower cylindrical body is provided. The heating method according to any one of claims 14 to 16, wherein the side walls overlap each other by entering the groove. 18. The heating method according to claim 12, wherein the substrate is heated by the upper heating unit and a side heating unit provided in the enclosing member so as to surround the substrate. .

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