JP2007207973A - Surface treatment method and surface treatment device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a surface treatment method and a surface treatment device capable of manufacturing a high-quality product without accumulating particles which exist in the atmosphere, or sublimation substances from an object to be treated on the treatment surface. <P>SOLUTION: The treating method comprises a process (S3) for turning the treatment surface of an object W to be treated toward an almost perpendicular lower direction. It is preferable that the treatment method might include a reversal retention process (S2) for retaining the treatment surface of the object W to be treated in a state turning toward the perpendicular lower direction before processing the process (S3). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a surface treatment method and a surface treatment apparatus, and more particularly to a surface treatment method and a surface treatment apparatus for preventing deposition of sublimates from particles or films in the air.

  Conventionally, for example, when a coating film formed on a substrate is processed, the coating film formed is performed upward. Therefore, when the degree of cleanliness of the environment in which the treatment is performed is low, or when there is a sublimate from the film, particles may accumulate on the film surface. When these particles accumulate, the incidence of defective products increases, which directly leads to yield. For this reason, in the semiconductor manufacturing method, it is necessary to remove floating particles and sublimated substances.

In a semiconductor process or the like, manufacturing is performed in a clean room or a clean booth in order to remove particles (see Patent Document 1). In addition, if there are sublimation products, it is not possible to prevent the deposition of sublimation products only by manufacturing in a clean room or clean booth, and a vacuum furnace is used, or the flow rate of supply gas into the furnace More equipment was needed, such as increasing the amount of exhaust and increasing exhaust.
JP 2005-172425 A

  However, in order to perform such baking or semi-baking, since a clean room, a clean booth, or new equipment is required, high capital investment is required. Moreover, it is difficult to completely remove particles and the like.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and a surface treatment method capable of suppressing initial investment of equipment while reducing the accumulation of particles on the treatment surface and improving yield and productivity, and A surface treatment apparatus is provided.

  The inventors of the present invention treat the processing surface of the object to be processed downward, so that particles existing in the atmosphere or sublimates from the object do not accumulate on the processing surface, and are high. The present inventors have found that a quality product can be provided and have completed the present invention. More specifically, the present invention provides the following.

  A first invention of the present invention is a method for performing a surface treatment of a treatment surface of an object to be treated, the method comprising a step of treating the treatment surface of the object to be treated in a state of being directed substantially vertically downward. It is.

  The second invention of the present invention is a surface treatment apparatus for treating a treatment surface of an object to be treated, the treatment surface of the object to be treated being directed substantially vertically downward, and the treatment surface of the object to be treated being It is a surface treatment apparatus provided with an inversion maintenance means for maintaining in a state directed vertically downward, and a surface treatment means for treating a treatment surface of the workpiece.

  The surface treatment method of the present invention can suppress the particles accumulated on the surface to be processed by processing the processing surface of the object to be processed substantially vertically downward, and can be manufactured without reducing the yield. . Further, even in an environment with a low cleanness, manufacturing can be performed with a yield equivalent to that performed in an environment with a high cleanness.

  The surface treatment apparatus according to the present invention includes a reversing unit, a maintaining unit, a film forming unit, and a surface treatment unit. Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

[Surface treatment equipment]
1 and 2 are views showing an example of an embodiment of a surface treatment apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a side view showing the entire surface treatment apparatus, and FIG. 2 is a plan view of the reversing apparatus.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the surface treatment apparatus 1 includes a reversing device 2 as a reversing means, a film forming device 3 as a film forming means, and a processing chamber 4 as a surface processing means. Further, the processing chamber 4 includes a support bar 9 which is a maintaining means for maintaining the object to be processed while being inverted. By the reversing device 2, the object on which the film is formed by the film forming device 3 can be reversed and conveyed to the processing chamber 4.

<Surface treatment means>
The surface treatment means performs a surface treatment on the treatment surface of the workpiece. As this surface treatment means, the treatment chamber 4 shown in FIG. 1 will be described. The processing chamber 4 includes a support bar 9 (maintenance means) that maintains the processing surface of the object to be processed vertically downward when processing the processing surface of the object to be processed. As the processing chamber 4, it is sufficient that the surface treatment can be performed, and examples include ashing means, etching means, light processing means for irradiating light (electromagnetic waves) such as UV and EB, heating means, developing means, and the like. Specific examples include a heating device, an exposure device, and a developing device. Known devices can be used as the heating device, the exposure device, and the developing device, respectively. Among these, the surface treatment means is preferably a heat treatment means, and the treatment chamber 4 is preferably a heating device. By using the processing chamber 4 as a heating device, the addition of equipment to a normal heating device can be reduced, and processing can be suitably performed.

<Inversion means>
The reversing means is for reversing the processing surface of the workpiece. As this inversion means, the inversion device shown in FIG. 2 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the reversing device 2 (reversing means) includes a support column 5 and an arm 6 that rotates around the center of the support column 5. Further, the arm 6 is divided into two hands, and a vacuum chuck 8 is disposed at the tip as a holding means for holding a workpiece W such as a glass substrate or a semiconductor wafer.

  Further, the arm 6 can be moved back and forth in the horizontal direction, and the held workpiece W can be moved in the horizontal direction. Moreover, the support | pillar 5 is provided with the expansion-contraction mechanism by an actuator, and can move the to-be-processed object W hold | maintained to the orthogonal | vertical direction. Therefore, the workpiece W can be transferred from the film forming apparatus 3 to the processing chamber 4 by the expansion and contraction of the arm 6, the rotation of the arm 6, and the expansion and contraction of the column 5.

  The vacuum chuck 8 is connected to a suction device (not shown). The object to be processed W is sucked from the surface opposite to the surface to be processed and is held by the vacuum chuck 8. The holding means is not limited to this, and any holding means such as a mechanical chuck or an electrostatic chuck that can fix the workpiece W can be used.

  Further, the arm 6 can be rotated by a rotating shaft 7. By rotating the rotating shaft 7, the direction of the processing surface of the workpiece W held by the vacuum chuck 8 can be changed, and the processing surface can be turned substantially vertically downward.

  In the above, the reversing means is divided into two hands from the arm 6 and includes two holding means. However, the present invention is not limited to this. A number of holding means may be provided.

<Maintenance means>
The maintaining means maintains the inverted workpiece in an inverted state. Specifically, the support bar 9 shown in FIG. The support bar 9 is provided in the processing chamber 4. And the support bar 9 maintains the to-be-processed object W orient | assigned to the substantially perpendicular downward direction in the inversion apparatus 2 in the state orient | assigned to the substantially perpendicular downward direction. In FIG. 1, the support bars 9 are provided on both side surfaces in the processing chamber 4. By this structure, it will be maintained by the lower both side edge part of the to-be-processed object W, and it can maintain, without contacting a process surface. Such a maintaining means is not particularly limited as long as it can maintain the processing surface of the object to be processed substantially vertically downward without contacting the processing surface.

<Reversal maintenance means>
In the above description, the surface treatment apparatus has a configuration in which the reversing unit and the maintaining unit are separately provided. That is, the inversion maintaining means inverts the workpiece and maintains it in the inverted state. Specifically, the inversion device 2 can be used as the inversion maintaining means. In this configuration, in the reversing device 2, the processing surface of the workpiece is reversed substantially vertically downward and is maintained in the reversed state. And it is the structure which surface-treats by a surface treatment means, maintaining the to-be-processed object in the state reversed in the inversion apparatus 2.

<Film forming means>
The surface treatment apparatus of the present invention is preferably used for processing a film formed on a substrate, and preferably includes a film forming apparatus 3. The film forming apparatus 3 is preferably a film forming means for forming a film on the surface of the substrate facing substantially vertically upward, and a known film forming apparatus can be used. Examples of the film forming means include a coating film forming apparatus. Examples of the coating film forming apparatus include those using a conventionally known apparatus, such as a spray coating apparatus, a roll coat coating apparatus, and a spin coating apparatus. Moreover, as said film formation means, it is preferable to provide a heating apparatus and to dry a coating film.

  Although the film forming apparatus 3 is shown in FIG. 1, any apparatus (pretreatment apparatus) that can perform pretreatment of the treatment performed in the treatment chamber 4 may be used. For example, a heating apparatus or an exposure apparatus may be used. There may be.

  Moreover, the surface treatment apparatus of this invention does not need to have said film formation apparatus. That is, the surface treatment apparatus of the present invention may include a reversing unit that directs the processing surface of the workpiece to be vertically downward and a surface processing unit that processes the processing surface of the workpiece.

[Surface treatment method]
Next, the surface treatment method of the present invention using the above surface treatment apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. The surface treatment method of the present invention is a treatment method including a step of treating a treatment surface of an object to be processed substantially vertically downward.

<First Embodiment>
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a first embodiment of the surface treatment method of the present invention. 1st Embodiment of the surface treatment method of this invention consists of a film formation process (S1), an inversion maintenance process (S2), and a process process (S3).

[Processed object]
The workpiece W used in the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it is a workpiece to which particles may be deposited. The object to be processed is preferably a flat plate that can be easily inverted, and is preferably a substrate, a pretreated substrate, or the like. The pretreatment is a treatment performed before being reversed by the reversing means, and includes, for example, formation of a coating film before heating or baking. In the present invention, for example, a substrate having a film formed by applying a resist composition, a silica-based film forming material (for example, an SOG material), a dielectric forming coating solution, or the like can be given. Examples of the material for the substrate include metals such as copper, chromium, iron, and aluminum, silicon, and glass. Further, the surface treatment method of the present invention can be suitably used for a film formed on a substrate. The film can be formed by the following film forming process.

(Film formation process)
The film forming step (S1) is a step of forming the film 20 on the substrate 10 performed by the film forming apparatus 3. In this film formation step (S1), the film 20 is formed on the substrate 10 facing substantially vertically upward. In order to form the film 20, for example, a film forming composition is applied to the substrate 10 made of the above-described material or the like. The film-forming composition is not particularly limited as long as the film-forming composition does not hang downward when the treatment surface is oriented substantially vertically downward. For example, the film-forming composition includes a silica-based film-forming material (for example, SOG material), a high-dielectric material, a dielectric-forming coating solution for forming a ferroelectric material, positive / negative for semiconductor manufacturing and TFT arrays. Type resist, CF resist, interlayer insulating film resist, spacer resist, TAB / BUMP resist, and the like. Moreover, as a coating method, a conventionally well-known method can be used, for example, a spray method, a roll coat method, a spin coating method etc. are mentioned.

  It is preferable to form the film 20 by applying a heating (drying) treatment at about 50 to 400 ° C. after applying the film forming composition. If desired, the process from application to drying is repeated a plurality of times to form a laminate of the film 20. By drying after application, the film is cured, and in the inversion maintaining step of the next step, dripping can be prevented and treatment can be performed effectively.

(Reversal maintenance process)
As shown in FIG. 3, the inversion maintaining step (S2) is a step of inverting the film 20 that is the processing surface of the workpiece W substantially vertically downward and maintaining the film 20 substantially vertically downward. In the inversion maintaining step, by maintaining the processing surface substantially vertically downward, it is possible to prevent deposition of sublimates and particles in the atmosphere on the processing surface.

  The method of reversing is not particularly limited as long as the workpiece can be reversed substantially vertically downward. In the surface apparatus shown in FIG. 1, first, the support column 5 is expanded and contracted to the height of the workpiece W on which a film is formed in the film forming apparatus 3. Next, the arm 6 is extended and the vacuum chuck 8 is brought into contact with the surface of the workpiece W on which no film is formed. The workpiece W is sucked by the vacuum chuck 8 and is held by the vacuum chuck 8. In this state, the arm 6 is contracted and carried out of the film forming apparatus 3.

  Next, the arm 6 is rotated in a horizontal direction to a predetermined position so that the arm 6 can be carried into the processing chamber 4 around the support column 5. The workpiece 6 is rotated by the rotation shaft 7 of the arm 6 and inverted so that the processing surface of the workpiece W is directed substantially vertically downward, and the surface of the workpiece W is maintained substantially vertically downward. Thereafter, by the same method as the method of unloading the workpiece W from the film forming apparatus 3, the workpiece W is carried into the processing chamber 4 by the expansion / contraction mechanism of the support column 5 and the expansion / contraction of the arm 6, and the processing surface Is maintained in a state of being directed substantially vertically downward.

  In the above, after rotating the arm 6 around the support column 5 and then reversing the workpiece W at a position where it can be loaded into the processing chamber 4, when the workpiece W is unloaded from the film forming apparatus 3. The workpiece W may be inverted. In this case, the time during which the surface to be processed is directed substantially vertically upward is short, and particle adhesion can be reduced.

(Processing process)
The processing step (S3) is particularly limited as long as it is performed in the processing chamber 4 and can process the processing surface substantially vertically downward without preferably touching the processing surface of the workpiece W. Not. Examples of such steps include heat treatment, gas treatment, high energy ray treatment, and liquid treatment. More specifically, as the heat treatment, baking treatment, drying treatment, ashing treatment, etching treatment as gas treatment, ultraviolet treatment, electron beam treatment as high energy ray treatment, cleaning treatment as liquid treatment, Examples include development processing and wet etching processing. The processing method of the present invention can also be used in a method in which the processing surface is directed in either direction as in high energy beam processing, but the atmosphere in the processing chamber is kept constant as in heat treatment. It is preferable that the treatment can be performed. According to the heat treatment, even if the treatment surface is processed substantially vertically downward, the same treatment as when the treatment is performed upward can be performed. Furthermore, a process process (S3) is a process of processing in the state which maintained the to-be-processed surface of the to-be-processed object W in the state which faced the substantially vertical downward direction.

  In the present invention, “to face substantially vertically downward” means that the processing surface of the object to be processed is directed downward so as to prevent the falling particles from adhering to the processing surface. In particular, if the processing surface is arranged in a direction that prevents adhesion of particles due to free fall, it is included in the present invention regardless of its angle and direction. Specifically, the processing surface is not exposed when viewed from the vertically upward direction. Preferably, the angle formed by the normal line on the processing surface of the workpiece and the downward straight line in the vertical direction is 90 ° or less.

Second Embodiment
As a second embodiment of the surface treatment method of the present invention, the inversion maintaining step of the first embodiment may be omitted. That is, when the processing surface of the object to be processed is already substantially vertically downward, the processing step can be performed without performing the inversion maintaining step.

  Further, in the case where it is not necessary to form a film on the processing surface of the object to be processed, the film forming process can be omitted.

Example 1
A coating solution (SGM FE100 (trade name): manufactured by Tokyo Ohka Kogyo Co., Ltd.) was spin-coated on a 6-inch silicon substrate. Thereafter, the coated surface was faced down and baked in a furnace at 700 ° C. and O _{2 at} 5 L / min for 1 hour. The cleanliness in the furnace was class 1000, and the pressure was normal pressure.

(Comparative Example 1)
When firing in the furnace, the treatment was performed under the same conditions as in Example 1 except that the coated surface was turned up.

  The number of particles on the treated surface of the substrate of Example 1 and Comparative Example 1 was measured with a surface inspection apparatus (Hitachi wafer surface inspection apparatus LS6600). The surface analysis results in Example 1 are shown in FIG. 4, and the surface analysis results in Comparative Example 1 are shown in FIG.

  In Example 1, the number of particles of 0.2 μm or more was 31. On the other hand, the number of particles of 0.2 μm or more in Comparative Example 1 was a large amount of 770. It was confirmed that the amount of accumulated particles was reduced by processing the processing surface downward.

It is a side view which shows the whole surface treatment apparatus of this invention. It is a top view which shows an inversion apparatus. It is a figure which shows the process of a surface treatment method. It is a figure which shows the surface analysis result of Example 1 by a surface inspection apparatus. It is a figure which shows the surface analysis result of the comparative example 1 by a surface inspection apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Surface treatment apparatus 2 Inversion apparatus 3 Film formation apparatus 4 Processing chamber 5 Support | pillar 6 Arm 7 Rotating shaft 8 Vacuum chuck 9 Support bar 10 Substrate 20 Film W Workpiece

Claims (9)

A method of performing a surface treatment on a treated surface of a workpiece,
A surface treatment method including a step of treating the treatment surface of the workpiece to be processed in a substantially vertically downward direction.   2. The surface treatment method according to claim 1, further comprising a reversal maintaining step of maintaining the processing surface of the workpiece to be substantially vertically downward and maintaining the processing surface of the workpiece to be vertically downward.   The surface treatment method according to claim 1, wherein the treatment is at least one selected from heat treatment, gas treatment, high energy ray treatment, and liquid treatment.   The surface treatment method according to claim 1, wherein the treatment surface of the object to be treated is a film formed on a substrate.   The surface treatment method of Claim 4 including the film | membrane formation process of forming the said film | membrane on the surface which faced the substantially vertical upper direction of the board | substrate. A surface treatment apparatus for treating a treatment surface of a workpiece,
An inversion maintaining means for directing the processing surface of the object to be processed substantially vertically downward and maintaining the processing surface of the object to be processed substantially vertically downward;
A surface treatment means for treating a treatment surface of the workpiece. A surface treatment apparatus for treating a treatment surface of a workpiece,
Reversing means for directing the processing surface of the object to be processed substantially vertically downward;
Maintaining means for maintaining the processing surface of the object to be processed substantially vertically downward;
A surface treatment means for treating a treatment surface of the workpiece. The processing surface of the workpiece is a film formed on a substrate,
The surface treatment apparatus of Claim 6 or 7 provided with the film | membrane formation means which forms the said film | membrane on the surface of the board | substrate which has faced substantially perpendicularly upward. The surface treatment apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the surface treatment means is a heat treatment means.

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