JP2007220741A - Heating treatment apparatus, heating treatment method, computer readable storage medium applicable to computer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a heating treatment apparatus for preventing deterioration in quality of a substrate resulting from generation of trace of transfer to the substrate and generation of flexure of the substrate, even if large in size. <P>SOLUTION: The heating treatment apparatus 30 includes a casing 5 to store the substrate G, a holding mechanism 6 for holding an edge of the substrate G within the casing 5, a fluid supplying mechanism 7 for heating the substrate G by supplying the heated air from the lower side to the substrate G held with the holding mechanism 6, and a fluid discharging mechanism 8 for discharging the heated air supplied by the fluid supplying mechanism 7 to the external side of casing 5 from the upper side. Upper part pressure and lower part pressure of the substrate G can be adjusted and heated to set flexure of the substrate G within the allowable range, by adjusting amount of supply of the heated air with the fluid supplying mechanism 7 and amount of discharge of the heated air with the fluid discharging mechanism 8. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a heat treatment apparatus and a heat treatment method for heat-treating a substrate such as a glass substrate for a flat panel display (FPD), and a computer-readable storage medium for performing such a heat treatment method.

  In manufacturing an FPD, a photolithography technique is used to form a circuit pattern on a glass substrate for FPD. A circuit pattern is formed by photolithography by applying a resist film on a glass substrate, exposing the resist film so as to correspond to the circuit pattern, and developing the resist film.

  In the photolithography technique, usually, after the resist film is applied and further developed, the glass substrate is heat-treated in order to dry the resist film. In such heat treatment, a heating plate that heats the glass substrate from the lower side, and a support pin that places the glass substrate and supports it on the heating plate so that the glass substrate does not come into contact with the heating plate to be charged. The provided heat processing apparatus is used (for example, refer patent document 1).

  However, the above-described conventional heat treatment apparatus deteriorates the quality of the substrate by transferring the trace of the support pin to the glass substrate due to a change in the film thickness of the resist film corresponding to the shape of the support pin. Has the problem.

  For this reason, as a method of suppressing the occurrence of transfer marks of the support pins to the glass substrate, the solvent contained in the resist film is removed by holding the glass substrate under reduced pressure before the heat treatment. (See, for example, Patent Document 2) Recently, high-sensitivity resists have come to be used, and the actual situation is that the effect cannot be obtained sufficiently.

On the other hand, in order to suppress the occurrence of transfer traces of the support pins, it may be possible to reduce the number of support pins as much as possible. And the support of a large glass substrate by a small number of support pins leads to the occurrence of bending of the substrate, resulting in a decrease in the quality of the substrate.
JP 2001-196299 A JP 2002-346458 A

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and even if the substrate is large, it is possible to prevent deterioration in the quality of the substrate due to generation of a transfer mark on the substrate and occurrence of bending of the substrate. An object of the present invention is to provide a heat treatment apparatus and a heat treatment method, and a computer-readable storage medium for performing such a heat treatment method.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a heat treatment apparatus for heat-treating a substrate, a housing container that houses the substrate, a holding mechanism that holds an edge of the substrate in the housing container, and the holding A fluid supply mechanism that heats the substrate by supplying a heating fluid to the substrate held by the mechanism from below; a fluid discharge mechanism that discharges the heating fluid supplied by the fluid supply mechanism to the outside of the container from above the substrate; And adjusting the supply amount of the heating fluid by the fluid supply mechanism and / or the discharge amount of the heating fluid by the fluid discharge mechanism, so that the pressure of the upper portion and the pressure of the lower portion of the substrate are bent. The heat treatment apparatus is characterized in that the heat treatment is adjusted so as to be within an allowable range.

  In the present invention, the supply of the heating fluid by the fluid supply mechanism and / or the discharge of the heating fluid by the fluid discharge mechanism is controlled so that the pressure of the upper part and the pressure of the lower part of the substrate are within the allowable range of the deflection of the substrate. It is preferable to further include a control mechanism that adjusts so that. In this case, the control mechanism includes a deflection measuring unit that measures the deflection amount of the substrate held by the holding mechanism, and the fluid supply mechanism so that the deflection amount measured by the deflection measuring unit falls within an allowable range. Preferably, the control mechanism controls the supply of the heating fluid and / or the discharge of the heating fluid by the fluid discharge mechanism, and the control mechanism supplies the heating fluid set to a first temperature higher than a predetermined temperature. Supplying and heating the substrate to the vicinity of the predetermined temperature, and then supplying a heating fluid set to a second temperature lower than the first temperature to heat the substrate to the predetermined temperature. It is preferable to control the fluid supply mechanism.

  Further, in the above invention, the holding mechanism has a frame-like support portion that can support the substrate by contacting the lower end or the lower surface of the edge portion of the substrate over the entire circumference, and the fluid supply mechanism is provided in the support portion. It is preferable to supply a heating fluid to. In this case, the holding mechanism further includes a frame-like pressing portion that can press the substrate by contacting the upper end or the upper surface of the edge portion of the substrate over the entire circumference, and the supporting portion and the pressing portion. It is preferable to hold the substrate so that the edge of the substrate is sandwiched therebetween. Further, in this case, when the holding mechanism holds the substrate, the pressing portion and the support portion come into contact with each other, and the support portion and the wall portion of the pressing portion are arranged in the support portion and the support portion. A communication passage that communicates with the inside of the pressing portion is provided, and the heating fluid supplied into the support portion by the fluid supply mechanism flows into the pressing portion through the communication passage, and into the pressing portion. It is preferable that the heated fluid that has flowed in is configured to be discharged out of the storage container by the fluid discharge mechanism. Furthermore, in this case, it is preferable that a purification mechanism for purifying the heating fluid is provided in the communication path, and the communication path is preferably capable of adjusting the flow rate of the heating fluid.

  The above invention is suitable when the substrate has a coating film on the surface and the coating film is dried by heating the substrate.

  Further, the present invention is a heat treatment method for heat-treating a substrate, the step of housing the substrate in a container, the step of holding the edge of the substrate in the container, and the substrate held from below. Supplying the heating fluid, discharging the supplied heating fluid from the upper side to the outside of the container and heating the substrate, and adjusting the supply amount and / or the discharge amount of the heating fluid in the heating step. Thus, there is provided a heat treatment method characterized in that heating is performed by adjusting the pressure in the upper part and the pressure in the lower part of the substrate so that the deflection of the substrate falls within an allowable range.

  In the present invention, in the heating step, it is preferable to adjust the supply amount and / or the discharge amount of the heating fluid so that the measured deflection amount falls within an allowable range while measuring the deflection amount of the held substrate.

  In the present invention described above, in the heating step, a heating fluid set to a first temperature higher than a predetermined temperature is supplied to heat the substrate to the vicinity of the predetermined temperature, and then the first temperature is set. It is preferable to heat the substrate to the predetermined temperature by supplying a heating fluid set at a lower second temperature.

  Furthermore, the present invention is a computer-readable storage medium storing a control program that operates on a computer, and the control program includes a processing device in the computer so that the above heat treatment method is performed at the time of execution. A computer-readable storage medium characterized by being controlled is provided.

  According to the present invention, while supplying the heating fluid from below to the substrate holding the edge in the container, the substrate is heated by discharging the supplied heating fluid out of the container from above. By adjusting the supply amount and / or discharge amount of the heating fluid, the pressure of the upper portion and the lower portion of the substrate is adjusted so that the deflection of the substrate is within an allowable range. While being able to heat efficiently, the influence which a holding part has on a board | substrate can be suppressed small, generation | occurrence | production of the transfer trace of the holding part to a board | substrate can be suppressed, and the bending of a board | substrate can be suppressed. For this reason, it becomes possible to improve the quality of a board | substrate.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 shows the formation of a resist film on a glass substrate for FPD (hereinafter simply referred to as “substrate”) on which a heat treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is mounted, and development of the resist film after exposure processing. It is a schematic plan view of a resist coating / development processing system that performs processing.

  The resist coating / development processing system 100 includes a cassette station 1 on which a cassette C for housing a plurality of substrates G is placed, a processing station 2 that performs a series of processes including resist coating and development on the substrate G, and a substrate And an interface station 9 that transfers the substrate G to and from an exposure apparatus 90 that performs an exposure process on G. The cassette station 1 and the interface station 9 are disposed on both sides of the processing station 2, respectively. In FIG. 1, the longitudinal direction of the resist coating / development processing system 100 is the X direction, and the direction perpendicular to the X direction on the plane is the Y direction.

  The cassette station 1 is configured to be movable along a placing table 11 on which the cassette C can be placed in parallel in the Y direction and a guide 12 extending in the Y direction, and is configured to be movable up and down, back and forth, and horizontally rotated. A transfer arm 13 for transferring the substrate G between the cassette C on the mounting table 11 and the processing station 2 is provided.

  The processing station 2 has two rows of transfer lines A and B extending in the X direction between the cassette station 1 and the interface station 9. The transport line A is basically configured to transport the substrate G from the cassette station 1 side to the interface station 9 side in a substantially horizontal posture by a transport mechanism such as roller transport or belt transport, and the transport line B is basically In addition, the substrate G is transported from the interface station 9 side to the cassette station 1 side in a substantially horizontal posture by a transport mechanism such as roller transport or belt transport.

  On the transfer line A, from the cassette station 1 side to the interface station 9 side, an excimer UV irradiation unit (e-UV) 21, a scrub cleaning unit (SCR) 22, a first thermal processing unit section 23, a resist A coating unit (CT) 24, a heat treatment unit (HT) 30 (heat treatment apparatus), and a second thermal treatment unit section 25 are arranged in this order.

  Further, in the transfer line A, the substrate G is transferred from the resist coating unit (CT) 24 to the heat treatment unit (HT) 30, and the first thermal processing unit section 23 described later from the heat treatment unit (HT) 30. One or a plurality of transfer arms 41 are provided for transferring the substrate G to the pass unit provided in (only one is shown in FIG. 1). The transport arm 41 is configured to grip the edge of the substrate G and transport the substrate G.

  On the transfer line B, a second thermal processing unit section 25, a developing unit (DEV) 26, and a third thermal processing unit section 27 are arranged in this order from the interface station 9 side to the cassette station 1 side. ing. An inspection apparatus (IP) 28 for inspecting the substrate G subjected to a series of processes including resist coating and development is provided between the third thermal processing unit section 27 and the cassette station 1. .

  The excimer UV irradiation unit (e-UV) 21 performs a removal process of organic substances contained in the substrate G, and the scrub cleaning unit (SCR) 22 performs a scrub cleaning process and a drying process of the substrate G. The resist coating unit (CT) 24 applies a resist solution on the substrate G to form a resist film (coating film), and the heat treatment unit (HT) 30 to be described in detail later heats the substrate G. The resist film is dried to some extent by evaporating volatile components contained in the film. The developing unit (DEV) 26 sequentially performs the application of the developer on the substrate G, the rinsing process of the substrate G, and the drying process of the substrate G.

  The first thermal processing unit section 23 includes two thermal processing unit blocks (TB) 31 and 32 configured by stacking thermal processing units that perform thermal processing on the substrate G, The thermal processing unit block (TB) 31 is provided on the scrub cleaning unit (SCR) 22 side, and the thermal processing unit block (TB) 32 is provided on the resist coating unit (CT) 24 side. A first transfer arm 33 is provided between the thermal processing unit blocks (TB) 31 and 32.

  The thermal processing unit block (TB) 31 includes a pass unit that transfers the substrate G, two dehydration hot plate units that perform a dehydration bake process on the substrate G, and an adhesive that performs a hydrophobic process on the substrate G. The thermal processing unit block (TB) 32 includes a pass unit that transfers the substrate G, two cooling units that cool the substrate G, and is hydrophobic with respect to the substrate G. It has a configuration in which the adhesion units to be processed are stacked in order from the bottom (not shown). The first transfer arm 33 can move up and down, move back and forth, and rotate horizontally, and receives the substrate G from the scrub cleaning unit (SCR) 22 through the pass unit of the thermal processing unit block (TB) 31. Loading / unloading of the substrate G between the dehydration hot plate unit, the adhesion unit and the cooling unit, and delivery of the substrate G to the resist coating unit (CT) 24 through the pass unit of the thermal processing unit block (TB) 32. I do.

  The second thermal processing unit section 25 includes two thermal processing unit blocks (TB) 34 and 35 formed by stacking thermal processing units for performing thermal processing on the substrate G, The thermal processing unit block (TB) 34 is provided on the transport line A, and the thermal processing unit block (TB) 35 (TB) is provided on the transport line B. A second transfer arm 36 is provided between the thermal processing unit blocks (TB) 34 and 35.

  The thermal processing unit block (TB) 34 has a configuration in which a pass unit that transfers the substrate G and three pre-baking hot plate units that perform pre-bake processing on the substrate G are stacked in order from the bottom. The processing unit block (TB) 35 has a configuration in which a pass unit that transfers the substrate G, a cooling unit that cools the substrate G, and two pre-baking hot plate units that perform pre-baking processing on the substrate G are stacked in order from the bottom. (Not shown). The second transfer arm 36 can move up and down, move back and forth and rotate horizontally, and receives the substrate G from the resist coating unit (CT) 24 via the pass unit of the thermal processing unit block (TB) 34. Loading and unloading of the substrate G of the pre-baking hot plate unit and the cooling unit, delivery of the substrate G to the developing unit (DEV) 26 via the pass unit of the thermal processing unit block (TB) 35, and an interface station 9 to be described later The substrate G is transferred to and received from the rotary stage (RS) 91 which is the substrate transfer unit.

  The third thermal processing unit section 27 includes two thermal processing unit blocks (TB) 37 and 38 configured by stacking thermal processing units that perform thermal processing on the substrate G, and The thermal processing unit block (TB) 37 is provided on the developing unit (DEV) 26 side, and the thermal processing unit block (TB) 38 is provided on the inspection device (IP) 28 side. A third transfer arm 39 is provided between the thermal processing unit blocks (TB) 37 and 38.

  The thermal processing unit block (TB) 37 has a configuration in which a pass unit that transfers the substrate G and three post-baking hot plate units that perform post-bake processing on the substrate G are stacked. The unit block (TB) 38 includes a post-bake hot plate unit that performs post-bake processing on the substrate G, a pass / cooling unit that transfers and cools the substrate G, and two post-bake hot plate units from below. It has the structure laminated | stacked in order (not shown). The third transfer arm 39 can move up and down, move back and forth, and rotate horizontally. The third transfer arm 39 receives the substrate G from the developing unit (DEV) 26 through the pass unit of the thermal processing unit block (TB) 37, and posts it. The substrate G is carried in and out between the baking hot plate unit and the pass / cooling unit, and the substrate G is transferred to the inspection apparatus (IP) 28 via the pass unit of the thermal processing unit block (TB) 38.

  In the space between the transport line A and the transport line B, a shuttle 40 is provided so as to be able to reciprocate in the X direction. The shuttle 40 is configured to hold the substrate G, and transfers the substrate G between the transfer lines A and B. The transfer of the substrate G between the shuttle 40 and the transfer lines A and B is performed by the first, second and third transfer arms 33, 36 and 39.

  The interface station 9 transports the substrate G between the rotary stage (RS) 91, which is a transfer portion of the substrate G, in which a buffer cassette capable of accommodating the substrate G is disposed, and between the rotary stage (RS) 91 and the exposure apparatus 90. A transfer arm 92 that can move up and down, move back and forth, and rotate horizontally. Next to the transfer arm 92, an external device block 93 having a peripheral exposure device (EE) and a titler (TITLER) is provided, and the transfer arm 92 can also access the external device block 93.

  The resist coating / developing apparatus 100 is configured to be connected to and controlled by a process controller 101 having a CPU. On the process controller 101, the process manager visualizes and displays the operation status of each part or each unit, a keyboard for performing a command input operation or the like for managing each part or each unit of the resist coating / developing apparatus 100. A control program and processing condition data for realizing various processes such as a heating process and a cooling process executed by the resist coating / development processing apparatus 100 under the control of the process controller 101 are recorded. The storage unit 103 in which the recipe is stored is connected.

  If necessary, an arbitrary recipe is called from the storage unit 103 by an instruction from the user interface 102 and is executed by the process controller 101, and the resist coating / developing apparatus 100 is controlled by the process controller 101. Desired processing is performed. Also, recipes such as control programs and processing condition data may be stored in computer-readable storage media such as CD-ROMs, hard disks, flexible disks, flash memories, etc., or other devices For example, it is possible to transmit the data as needed via a dedicated line and use it online.

  In the resist coating / developing apparatus 100 configured as described above, first, the substrate G in the cassette C placed on the placing table 11 of the cassette station 1 is transferred onto the carrying line A of the processing station 2 by the carrying arm 13. The excimer UV irradiation unit (e-UV) 21 provided in the substrate G is transported, and the excimer UV irradiation unit (e-UV) 21 removes organic substances contained in the substrate G. The substrate G after the organic substance removal processing in the excimer UV irradiation unit (e-UV) 21 is completed is transported on the transport line A, and scrub cleaning processing and drying processing are performed in the scrub cleaning unit (SCR) 22. The substrate G that has been processed in the scrub cleaning unit (SCR) 22 is transferred to a pass unit of a thermal processing unit block (TB) 31 belonging to the first thermal processing unit section 23.

  The substrate G placed in the pass unit of the thermal processing unit block (TB) 31 is first transported to the dehydration hot plate unit of the thermal processing unit block (TB) 31 where dehydration baking is performed. Next, the substrate G is transferred to the cooling unit of the thermal processing unit block (TB) 32 and cooled there, and then added to the thermal processing unit blocks (TB) 31 and 32 in order to improve the fixability of the resist. It is conveyed to one of the fusion units, where it is hydrophobized by HMDS. Thereafter, the substrate G is transferred to the cooling unit, cooled there, and further transferred to the pass unit of the thermal processing unit block (TB) 32. The transfer of the substrate G when performing such a series of processes is performed by the first transfer arm 33.

  The substrate G arranged in the pass unit of the thermal processing unit block (TB) 32 is transferred from this pass unit to the resist coating unit (CT) 24. In the resist coating unit (CT) 24, the resist solution is supplied onto the substrate G while the substrate G is being transported on the transport line A in a horizontal posture, so that a resist film is formed. Next, the substrate G is transferred to the heat treatment unit (HT) 30 by the transfer arm 41 and heated by the heat treatment unit (HT) 30 to perform a drying process of the resist film. Thereafter, the substrate G is transported by the transport arm 41 from the heat processing unit (HT) 30 to the pass unit of the thermal processing unit block (TB) 34 belonging to the second thermal processing unit section 25 and delivered.

  The substrate G placed in the pass unit of the thermal processing unit block (TB) 34 is first transported to one of the pre-baking hot plate units of the thermal processing unit blocks (TB) 34 and 35, where it is pre-baked. After that, it is transferred to the cooling unit of the thermal processing unit block (TB) 35 where it is cooled. Then, the substrate G is transported to the rotary stage (RS) 91 of the interface station 9. The transport of the substrate G when performing such a series of processing is performed by the second transport arm 36.

  The substrate G placed on the rotary stage (RS) 91 is transferred by the transfer arm 92 to the peripheral exposure device (EE) of the external device block 93, where an exposure process for removing unnecessary portions on the outer peripheral portion of the resist film is performed. Applied. Next, the substrate G is transported to the exposure device 90 by the transport arm 92, where the resist film is subjected to exposure processing of a predetermined pattern. The substrate G may be transported to the exposure apparatus 90 after being temporarily stored in a buffer cassette on the rotary stage (RS) 91. Subsequently, the substrate G is transported to a titler (TITLER) of the external device block 93 by the transport arm 92, and predetermined information is written there. Thereafter, the substrate G is transported to the rotary stage (RS) 91 by the transport arm 92.

  The substrate G placed on the rotary stage (RS) 91 after the processing at the interface station 9 is completed is transferred to the pass unit of the thermal processing unit block (TB) 35 by the second transfer arm 36. Next, the substrate G is transported from the pass unit to the developing unit (DEV) 26, and the developing unit (DEV) 26 sequentially performs a developer coating process, a rinsing process, and a drying process. In the coating process, the rinsing process and the drying process of the developer, for example, the developer is deposited on the substrate G while the substrate G is transported on the transport line B, and then the transport is temporarily stopped and the substrate is set at a predetermined angle. In this state, the developer flows down and rinse solution is supplied onto the substrate G to wash away the developer. Thereafter, the substrate G returns to the horizontal posture and is transported again, so that dry gas is blown onto the substrate G. Performed in the procedure Thereafter, the substrate G is transferred to a pass unit of a thermal processing unit block (TB) 37 belonging to the third thermal processing unit section 27. Note that an i-line UV irradiation unit that performs a decoloring process of the developer may be provided between the developing unit (DEV) 26 and the thermal processing unit block (TB) 37.

  The substrate G transferred to the pass unit of the thermal processing unit block (TB) 37 is transferred to one of the post-baking hot plate units of the thermal processing unit blocks (TB) 37 and 38 by the third transfer arm 39. After being post-baked there, it is transferred to a pass cooling unit of a thermal processing unit block (TB) 38 where it is cooled. The transport of the substrate G when performing such a series of processing is performed by the third transport arm 39.

  The substrate G cooled by the pass / cooling unit of the thermal processing unit block (TB) 38 is transferred to the inspection apparatus (IP) 28 and inspected by the inspection apparatus (IP) 28. The substrate G that has passed the inspection is accommodated in a predetermined cassette C mounted on the mounting table 11 by the transfer arm 13 provided in the cassette station 1.

Next, the heat treatment unit (HT) 30 will be described in detail.
FIG. 2 is a plan view of the heat treatment unit (HT) 30 (heat treatment apparatus), and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view in the side surface direction.

  The heat treatment unit (HT) 30 includes a casing 5 (accommodating container) that accommodates the substrate G, a holding mechanism 6 that holds the edge of the substrate G in the casing, and a substrate G held by the holding mechanism 6 from below. A fluid supply mechanism 7 that heats the substrate G by supplying heated fluid, for example, heated air, and a fluid discharge mechanism 8 that discharges the heated air supplied by the fluid supply mechanism 7 out of the casing 5 from above. .

  The casing 5 has an upper container part 51 and a lower container part 52 provided to face each other (only the lower container part 52 is shown in FIG. 2), and the upper container part 51 is moved to the lower container by an elevating mechanism 53. It is configured to be openable and closable by moving up and down with respect to the part 52 (the solid line in FIG. 3 is open and the virtual line is closed).

  FIG. 4 is a perspective view in which a part of the holding mechanism 6 which is a component of the heat treatment unit (HT) 30 is cut out, and FIG. The holding mechanism 6 includes a support portion 61 that can support the edge portion of the substrate G from below and a pressing portion 62 that can press the edge portion of the substrate G from above, and the support portion 61 and the pressing portion 62. To hold the edge of the substrate G.

  The support portion 61 is formed in a rectangular frame shape corresponding to the shape of the substrate G, and is provided on the inner wall of the lower container portion 52. On the surface of the support portion 61 that faces the pressing portion 62, for example, a support protrusion 63 that protrudes upward is provided on the inner peripheral side end, and the support protrusion 61 is provided with the support protrusion 63. The substrate G is configured to be supported by contacting the lower end or lower surface of the edge of the substrate G transported by the transport arm 41 over the entire circumference.

  The pressing portion 62 is formed in a rectangular frame shape corresponding to the shape of the substrate G. For example, the outer peripheral side portion can be in contact with the support portion 61 over the entire periphery, and the upper container so as to face the support portion 61. It is provided on the inner wall of the part 51. Thereby, the pressing part 62 can be moved up and down with respect to the lower container part 52 and the support part 61 together with the upper container part 51. A taper portion 64 that shrinks from below to above is formed on the inner peripheral side portion on the surface of the pressing portion 62 that faces the support portion 61. The pressing portion 62 is configured to be able to press the substrate G when the tapered portion 64 abuts the upper end or the upper surface of the edge portion of the substrate G. The taper portion 64 may be formed so as to always abut against the substrate G supported by the support portion 61 when the support portion 61 and the pressing portion 62 abut, but FIG. As shown in FIG. 9, the substrate G may be formed so as to be separated from the substrate G supported by the support portion 61.

  The fluid supply mechanism 7 includes a fluid supply source 71 that supplies heating air, and the heating air supplied by the fluid supply source 71 in the lower container portion 52 of the casing 5, more specifically in the support portion 61 (support portion A supply duct 72 that leads to the inside of the space surrounded by 61 and a diffusion plate 74 in which a number of diffusion holes 73 for diffusing the heated air guided by the supply duct 72 into the support portion 61 are formed. ing. The supply duct 72 and the diffusing plate 74 are connected to the bottom of the lower container part 52, whereby the fluid supply mechanism 7 supplies heated air into the support part 61 from below and on the support part 61. The supported substrate G is configured to be heated.

  A plurality of through passages 65 penetrating the inner wall surface and the facing surface of the pressing portion 62 are formed on the side wall portion of the support portion 61 over the entire circumference at substantially equal intervals. A plurality of through passages 66 penetrating the inner wall surface and the opposing surface of the support portion 61 are formed at substantially equal intervals over the entire circumference. The through passage 65 and the through passage 66 are pressed against the support portion 61. It is provided so as to be continuous when the part 62 abuts. Accordingly, the heated air supplied into the support portion 61 by the fluid supply mechanism 7 passes through the through passage 65 and the through passage 66 in the upper container portion 51 of the casing 5, more specifically in the pressing portion 62 ( It is configured to flow into a space surrounded by the pressing portion 62. The through passage 65 and the through passage 66 constitute a communication passage that communicates the inside of the support portion 61 and the inside of the pressing portion 62.

  A communication flow rate adjusting mechanism 67 such as a valve or a damper is provided in the communication path, for example, the through-passage 65 (not shown in FIG. 4). The communication path is adjusted by the communication flow rate adjustment mechanism 67 to adjust the flow rate of the heated air. It is configured to be possible. Further, a purification mechanism 68 such as a filter is provided in the communication path, for example, the through-passage 66 (not shown in FIG. 4), and the heated air flowing through the communication path is pressed down by the purification mechanism 68. It is configured to be purified before flowing into the portion 62. For this reason, the adhesion of particles to the resist film formed on the substrate G is suppressed.

  The fluid discharge mechanism 8 includes a fluid discharge device 81 that discharges the heated air that has flowed into the pressing portion 62 to the outside of the casing 5, and a discharge duct 82 that guides the heated air that has flowed into the pressing portion 62 to the fluid discharge device 81. A discharge plate 84 in which a large number of discharge holes 83 for diffusing the heated air that has flowed into the pressing portion 62 by, for example, a suction force of the fluid discharge device 81 and being led into the discharge duct 82, and a discharge duct And a discharge flow rate adjusting mechanism 85 such as a valve or a damper for adjusting the flow rate of the heated air flowing through the inside of the air 82. The discharge duct 82 and the discharge plate 84 are connected to the upper part of the upper container part 51, so that the fluid discharge mechanism 8 discharges the heated air that has flowed into the pressing part 62 out of the casing 5 from above. It is configured. In addition, it is preferable that the supply duct 72 or the discharge duct 82 has a flexible mechanism so that the raising and lowering with respect to the lower container part 52 of the upper container part 51 can be followed.

  FIG. 6 is a block diagram conceptually showing the control system of the heat treatment unit (HT) 30. As shown in FIG. 6, the supply amount and supply temperature of the heating air by the fluid supply source 71, the flow rate of the heating air in the communication passage by the communication flow rate adjustment mechanism 67, and the heating air in the discharge duct 82 by the discharge flow rate adjustment mechanism 85 The discharge flow rate is controlled by a unit controller (control headquarters) 104 that receives a command from the process controller 101. In the casing 5, for example, in the upper container 51, a displacement meter (deflection measuring unit) 105 that measures the amount of deflection (and warpage) displacement of the substrate G held by the holding mechanism 6 is provided. Is based on the amount of displacement measured by the displacement meter 105, for example, the amount of heating air supplied by the fluid supply mechanism 7 and the communication flow rate adjusting mechanism 67 are connected so that the amount of displacement of the central portion of the substrate G falls within an allowable range. Controls the flow rate of heated air in the passage. That is, the unit controller 104 and the displacement meter 105 constitute a control mechanism that controls the supply of the heating air by the fluid supply mechanism 7 and the discharge of the heating air by the fluid discharge mechanism 8 so that the bending of the substrate G falls within an allowable range. . The displacement meter 105 can be configured by a laser displacement meter using a Doppler effect by laser light.

  Next, the heat treatment of the substrate G in the heat treatment unit (HT) 30 configured as described above will be described.

  In the heat treatment unit (HT) 30, first, the substrate G transported by the transport arm 41 after the processing in the resist coating unit (CT) 24 is finished with the casing 5 being opened is transferred to the support unit 61. It is placed and supported on the support protrusion 63 over the entire circumference. At this time, the transport arm 41 grips the edge of the substrate G and transports the substrate G, but can enter the side of the support protrusion 63 (see FIG. 5A). It can be transferred onto the support protrusion 63 without being dropped. Next, the upper container portion 51 is lowered with respect to the lower container portion 52 to close the casing 5, the support portion 61 and the pressing portion 62 come into contact with each other, and the substrate G is held by the holding mechanism 6. .

  FIG. 7 is a view for explaining the heat treatment of the substrate G by the heat treatment unit (HT) 30. When the substrate G is held by the holding mechanism 6, as shown in FIG. 7, heated air is supplied into the support portion 61 by the fluid supply mechanism 7 to heat the substrate G. Here, when heating the substrate G to a predetermined temperature, the fluid supply mechanism 7 supplies heated air set to a first temperature higher than the predetermined temperature under the control of the unit controller 104. After the substrate G is heated to the vicinity of a predetermined temperature, heated air set at a second temperature lower than the first temperature is supplied to heat the substrate G to a predetermined temperature. Thereby, the heating time of the substrate G can be shortened.

  The supply of heated air by the fluid supply mechanism 7 and communication are controlled under the control of the unit controller 104 based on the amount of displacement measured by the displacement meter 105 while the support 61 is held at a positive pressure by the supply of heated air. The flow rate of the heated air from the inside of the support portion 61 by the flow rate adjusting mechanism 67, that is, the pressure to the substrate G from below is adjusted. For this reason, generation | occurrence | production of the bending of the board | substrate G is suppressed. At this time, even if buoyancy acts on the substrate G due to the pressure of the heated air from below, the substrate G is pressed from above by the pressing portion 62, and the taper portion 64 of the pressing portion 62 is applied to the substrate G. Due to the contact, damage to the substrate G is prevented.

  When heated air is supplied into the support portion 61 by the fluid supply mechanism 7, the heated air flows into the pressing portion 62 through the communication path and is then discharged by the fluid discharge mechanism 8. For this reason, the board | substrate G can be heated from the lower support part 61 inner side and the upper pressing part 62 inner side. In particular, under the control of the unit controller 104 based on the amount of displacement measured by the displacement meter 105, the amount of heated air flowing into the pressing portion 62 by the communication flow rate adjusting mechanism 67 and the amount of heated air by the discharge flow rate adjusting mechanism 85 are as follows. Since the discharge amount, that is, the pressure to the substrate G from above is adjusted, the occurrence of warping upward of the substrate G is suppressed. Moreover, since the communication path is provided at substantially equal intervals over the entire circumference of the holding mechanism 6, the substrate G can be heated uniformly in the circumferential direction. Furthermore, by forcibly discharging the heated air in the pressing part 62 by the fluid discharge mechanism 8, the pressure in the pressing part 62 can be made negative and the pressing part 62 and the support part 61 can be brought into close contact with each other. Therefore, heating efficiency can be increased.

  When the substrate G is heated to a predetermined temperature for a predetermined time and the resist film is dried, the supply of heated air by the fluid supply mechanism 7 is stopped and the discharge flow rate of the heated air by the discharge flow rate adjusting mechanism 85 is reduced. It is adjusted to a predetermined amount or less. Next, the upper container 51 rises with respect to the lower container 52, and the holding of the substrate G by the holding mechanism 6 is released, and the casing 5 is opened. Then, the substrate G is held by the transfer arm 41 and transferred to the pass unit of the thermal processing unit block (TB) 34 belonging to the second thermal processing unit section 25.

  In addition, as shown in the figure which shows the example of a change of the 2nd thermal processing unit section 25 of FIG. 8, you may provide the heat processing unit (HT) 30 in the 2nd thermal processing unit section 25. FIG. In this case, together with a pass unit (PASS) 44 for delivering the substrate G, a pre-baking hot plate unit (HP) 42 for performing pre-bake processing on the substrate G, and a cooling unit (COL) 43 for cooling the substrate G, One or a plurality of heat treatment units (HT) 30 may be stacked to constitute the thermal treatment unit block (TB) 34 or 35. The substrate G that has been processed in the resist coating unit (CT) 24 is first transported to the pass unit (PASS) 44 of the thermal processing unit block (TB) 34 by the transport arm 41, and then the substrate G is transferred to the second substrate G. 2 is transferred from the pass unit (PASS) 44 to the heat treatment unit (HT) 30 by the second transfer arm 36, and after the heat treatment in the heat treatment unit (HT) 30, the substrate G is heated by the second transfer arm 36. It can be transported from the unit (HT) 30 to the pre-baking hot plate unit (HP) 42. The transfer of the substrate G between the second transfer arm 36 and the heat treatment unit (HT) 30 is performed, for example, by providing a support pin that can be moved up and down on the surface of the support portion 61 facing the pressing portion 62 or in the support portion 61. In addition, this support pin can be moved up and down.

  Further, the pre-bake processing of the substrate G is performed only by the heat treatment unit (HT) 30 by setting a long heating time in the heat treatment unit (HT) 30 without providing the pre-baking hot plate unit (HP). Alternatively, a reduced-pressure drying unit is provided between the resist coating unit (CT) 24 and the heat treatment unit (HT) 30, and a resist film is formed on the substrate G by the resist coating unit (CT) 24. After the substrate G is held under reduced pressure by the reduced pressure drying unit to remove the solvent contained in the resist film, the substrate G may be heated by the heat treatment unit (HT) 30. Further, the heat treatment unit (HT) 30 may be used for a dehydration baking process after the scrub cleaning process, a post baking process after the development process, or the like.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made. For example, only one of heating air supply by the fluid supply mechanism and heating air discharge by the fluid discharge mechanism is controlled by the unit controller to adjust the pressure of the upper part and the lower part of the substrate held by the holding mechanism. May be. Moreover, you may comprise so that heated air may be supplied or discharged | emitted from the side of a support part or a pressing part, and a communicating path may be provided in the tubular shape which protrudes from the wall part of a support part and a pressing part. Further, the substrate container is provided with a substrate inlet and outlet in advance without raising or lowering the container, and the holding unit is moved up and down with respect to the support unit in the container to hold the substrate. May be.

  According to the present invention, it is particularly suitable when the substrate is large like a glass substrate for FPD, but is not limited to a glass substrate for FPD, and other glass substrates, semiconductor wafers, photomasks, printed boards, etc. It can be widely applied to heat treatment of other substrates.

1 is a schematic plan view of a resist coating / development processing system for forming a resist film on a glass substrate for FPD and developing a resist film after exposure processing, on which a heat treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is mounted. is there. It is a top view of a heat processing apparatus. It is sectional drawing of the side surface direction of a heat processing apparatus. It is the perspective view which notched a part of holding mechanism which is a component of a heat processing apparatus. It is a figure which shows the principal part of a holding mechanism. It is a block diagram which shows notionally the control system of a heat processing apparatus. It is a figure for demonstrating the heat processing of the board | substrate by a heat processing apparatus. It is a figure which shows the example of a change of the 2nd thermal processing unit section which is a component of a resist application | coating / development processing system.

Explanation of symbols

30 ... Heat treatment unit (heat treatment device)
5 ... Casing (container)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 6 ... Holding mechanism 7 ... Fluid supply mechanism 8 ... Fluid discharge | emission mechanism 61 ... Support part 62 ... Pressing part 65, 66 ... Through-passage 67 ... Communication flow volume adjustment mechanism 68 ... Purification mechanism 71 ... Fluid supply source 85 ... Discharge flow volume adjustment mechanism 104 ... Unit controller (control headquarters)
105 ... Displacement meter (flexure measuring unit)
G ... Board

Claims (14)

A heat treatment apparatus for heat-treating a substrate,
A storage container for storing the substrate;
A holding mechanism for holding the edge of the substrate in the container;
A fluid supply mechanism for supplying a heating fluid from below to the substrate held by the holding mechanism to heat the substrate;
A fluid discharge mechanism that discharges the heated fluid supplied by the fluid supply mechanism from the top of the substrate to the outside of the container;
By adjusting the supply amount of the heating fluid by the fluid supply mechanism and / or the discharge amount of the heating fluid by the fluid discharge mechanism, the pressure of the upper part and the pressure of the lower part of the substrate can be set within an allowable range. The heat processing apparatus characterized by adjusting and heating so that it may become.   The supply of the heating fluid by the fluid supply mechanism and / or the discharge of the heating fluid by the fluid discharge mechanism is controlled so that the pressure of the upper portion and the pressure of the lower portion of the substrate are within an allowable range. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a control mechanism for adjustment. The control mechanism is
A deflection measuring unit for measuring the amount of deflection of the substrate held by the holding mechanism;
And a control head for controlling heating fluid supply by the fluid supply mechanism and / or heating fluid discharge by the fluid discharge mechanism so that a deflection amount measured by the deflection measurement unit falls within an allowable range. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 2.   The control mechanism supplies a heating fluid set to a first temperature higher than a predetermined temperature to heat the substrate to the vicinity of the predetermined temperature, and then sets the second temperature lower than the first temperature. 4. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the fluid supply mechanism is controlled to supply a set heating fluid to heat the substrate to the predetermined temperature. 5. The holding mechanism has a frame-shaped support portion that can support the substrate by contacting the lower end or the lower surface of the edge portion of the substrate over the entire circumference,
The heat treatment apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the fluid supply mechanism supplies a heating fluid into the support portion.   The holding mechanism further includes a frame-shaped pressing portion that is capable of pressing the substrate by contacting the upper end or the upper surface of the edge portion of the substrate over the entire circumference, and the edge of the substrate is formed by the support portion and the pressing portion. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the heat treatment apparatus is held so as to sandwich the section. When the holding mechanism holds the substrate, the pressing portion and the support portion abut,
The support portion and the wall portion of the pressing portion are provided with a communication path that communicates the inside of the supporting portion and the inside of the pressing portion,
The heating fluid supplied into the support portion by the fluid supply mechanism flows into the pressing portion through the communication path, and the heating fluid that flows into the pressing portion is removed from the container by the fluid discharge mechanism. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the heat treatment apparatus is configured to be discharged.   The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 7, wherein a purification mechanism that purifies the heating fluid is provided in the communication path.   The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the communication path is capable of adjusting a flow rate of the heating fluid.   The heat treatment apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the substrate has a coating film on a surface thereof, and the coating film is dried by heating the substrate. A heat treatment method for heat-treating a substrate,
Storing the substrate in the storage container;
Holding the edge of the substrate in the container;
Supplying the heated fluid from below to the held substrate, discharging the supplied heated fluid from above to the outside of the container, and heating the substrate.
In the heating step, by adjusting the supply amount and / or discharge amount of the heating fluid, the pressure of the upper part and the pressure of the lower part of the substrate are adjusted and heated so that the bending of the substrate falls within an allowable range. The heat processing method characterized by the above-mentioned.   In the heating step, the supply amount and / or the discharge amount of the heating fluid are adjusted so that the measured deflection amount falls within an allowable range while measuring the deflection amount of the held substrate. The heat processing method as described.   In the heating step, a heating fluid set to a first temperature higher than a predetermined temperature is supplied to heat the substrate to the vicinity of the predetermined temperature, and then to a second temperature lower than the first temperature. 13. The heat treatment method according to claim 11, wherein the heating fluid is supplied to heat the substrate to the predetermined temperature. A computer-readable storage medium storing a control program that runs on a computer,
14. A computer-readable storage medium, wherein the control program causes a computer to control a processing apparatus so that the heat treatment method according to any one of claims 11 to 13 is performed at the time of execution.

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