JP2008153510A - Substrate processing system, substrate processing method, and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate processing system for surely preventing the back face of a substrate from being scratched without deteriorating a through-put. <P>SOLUTION: This substrate processing system 10 is provided with: a transfer module 11 as a vacuum substrate conveyance device; four process modules 12 to 15 radially arranged in the periphery of the transfer module 11; a loader module 16 as an atmospheric substrate conveyance device; a printing module 34 arranged at one end concerning the longitudinal direction of the loader module 16; and a cleaning module 35 arranged at the other end. The printing module 34 prints a protection film 48 on the back face of a wafer W by screen printing processing, and a process module 13 operates RIE processing to the wafer W, and the cleaning module 35 removes the protection film 48 printed on the back face of the wafer W by ordinary pressure plasma ashing processing. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing system, a substrate processing method, and a storage medium, and more particularly to a substrate processing system including an etching apparatus that electrostatically attracts a substrate.

  When forming a wiring groove or via hole of a desired pattern using plasma on the surface of the wafer as a substrate, a photoresist device that forms a resist film of the desired pattern on the surface of the wafer, and an etching process on the surface of the wafer, For example, an etching apparatus that performs RIE (Reactive Ion Etching) processing and a cleaning apparatus that removes the resist film are used. Here, the photoresist apparatus includes a coater for applying a photosensitive resin to the surface of the wafer, a stepper for exposing the photosensitive resin, and a developer for removing the uncured photosensitive resin from the surface of the wafer. The etching apparatus also includes a storage chamber that stores the wafer and generates plasma, and an electrostatic chuck that is disposed in the storage chamber and electrostatically attracts the wafer while the wafer is being etched. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

  The stepper irradiates the photosensitive resin on the surface of the wafer with ultraviolet light having a desired pattern. In recent years, ultraviolet light having a short wavelength, for example, a wavelength of 193 nm, is used as the desired pattern is miniaturized. When the wavelength is short, the depth of focus is also reduced, and the flatness and tilt of the allowable wafer are also reduced. Further, in the stepper, since a plurality of pin-shaped protrusions support the back surface of the wafer, scratches, foreign matter, etc. on the back surface of the wafer greatly affect the flatness and tilt of the wafer.

By the way, in order to realize a complicated wiring structure and electrode structure for a semiconductor device on a wafer, the wafer is repeatedly subjected to an etching process by a substrate processing system. Adsorbed. Since the surface of the electrostatic chuck is covered with yttria (Y ₂ O ₃ ), the back surface of the wafer made of adsorbed silicon (Si) may be damaged. Further, the surface of the electrostatic chuck may be damaged by contact with the back surface of the wafer that has been attracted. In some cases, foreign matter generated due to scratches on the surface of the electrostatic chuck may be transferred and adhered to the back surface of the wafer.

  Conventionally, foreign matter adhering to the back surface of a wafer can be removed by wet cleaning using a cleaning liquid or the like, but a method for effectively removing scratches on the back surface of the wafer is not known. As described above, there is a possibility that the flatness and inclination of the wafer allowed by the scratches on the back surface of the wafer cannot be maintained. Therefore, it is necessary to prevent the back surface of the wafer from being damaged when the wafer is attracted to the electrostatic chuck.

Therefore, the present inventor forms a protective film on the back surface of the wafer before the etching process by vapor deposition, specifically, CVD process or coating process, specifically, spin coat process, so that the wafer is static. A substrate processing system has been proposed in which a protective film formed on the back surface of a wafer is brought into contact with the surface of the electrostatic chuck when attracted to the electric chuck, thereby preventing the back surface of the wafer from being damaged.
JP 2005-347620 A

  However, in the above-described CVD process or spin coat process, a protective film is thinly formed on the back surface of the wafer, and when the wafer is repeatedly electrostatically adsorbed by an electrostatic chuck, the thin film is formed on the back surface of the wafer. The film was damaged, and as a result, the back surface of the wafer was sometimes damaged.

  In addition, the above-described wet cleaning, CVD processing, or spin coating processing significantly reduced the throughput of the substrate processing system.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing system, a substrate processing method, and a storage medium that can reliably prevent the back surface of the substrate from being scratched without reducing the throughput.

  In order to achieve the above object, a substrate processing system according to claim 1 includes an etching apparatus that performs a plasma etching process on a substrate, a vacuum substrate transport apparatus to which the etching apparatus is connected, and the vacuum substrate transport apparatus. An atmospheric substrate transfer device connected to the substrate, and the etching device includes a mounting table for electrostatically adsorbing the substrate, the mounting table contacting the back surface of the substrate in the substrate processing system. A protective film printing apparatus for printing a protective film on the back surface of the substrate before being connected to the apparatus and being subjected to the plasma etching process; and connected to the atmospheric substrate transport apparatus and being subjected to the plasma etching process. And a protective film removing device that removes the protective film from the back surface of the substrate after the substrate.

  A substrate processing system according to a second aspect is the substrate processing system according to the first aspect, wherein the protective film printing apparatus prints the protective film by a screen printing process.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the substrate processing system according to the first aspect, wherein the protective film printing apparatus prints the protective film by applying a predetermined film.

  The substrate processing system according to claim 4 is the substrate processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the protective film removing apparatus removes the protective film by an atmospheric pressure plasma ashing process. And

  The substrate processing system according to claim 5 is the substrate processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the protective film removing device removes the protective film by superheated steam ejection processing. To do.

  A substrate processing system according to a sixth aspect is the substrate processing system according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the protective film is made of a resin.

  The substrate processing system according to claim 7 is the substrate processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the protective film is any one of silica, an organic polymer of fluorine-free aromatic hydrocarbon, polyimide, and a resist. It consists of or one.

  The substrate processing system according to claim 8 is the substrate processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the base of the mounting table is exposed at an upper portion of the mounting table.

  The substrate processing system according to claim 9 is the substrate processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the protective film removing apparatus holds the substrate without contacting the substrate. And

  In order to achieve the above object, a substrate processing method according to claim 10 includes at least an etching apparatus that performs plasma etching on a substrate, and the etching apparatus includes a mounting table that electrostatically attracts the substrate. The mounting table is a substrate processing method in a substrate processing system in contact with the back surface of the substrate, the printing step printing a protective film on the back surface of the substrate, the etching step performing the plasma etching process on the surface of the substrate, And a removing step for removing the protective film.

  The substrate processing method according to an eleventh aspect is the substrate processing method according to the tenth aspect, wherein the protective film is printed by a screen printing process in the printing step.

  According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the substrate processing method according to the tenth aspect, in the printing step, the protective film is printed by applying a predetermined film.

  The substrate processing method according to claim 13 is the substrate processing method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein the protective film is removed by atmospheric pressure plasma ashing in the removing step. .

  A substrate processing method according to a fourteenth aspect is the substrate processing method according to any one of the tenth to twelfth aspects, wherein in the removing step, the protective film is removed by a superheated steam jetting process.

  The substrate processing method according to claim 15 is the substrate processing method according to any one of claims 10 to 14, wherein the protective film is made of a resin.

  The substrate processing method according to claim 16 is the substrate processing method according to any one of claims 10 to 14, wherein the protective film is any one of silica, a fluorine-free aromatic hydrocarbon organic polymer, polyimide, and a resist. It consists of or one.

  The substrate processing method according to claim 17 is the substrate processing method according to any one of claims 10 to 16, wherein in the removing step, the substrate is held without contacting the substrate. .

  In order to achieve the above object, the storage medium according to claim 18 includes at least an etching apparatus for performing a plasma etching process on a substrate, and the etching apparatus includes a mounting table for electrostatically adsorbing the substrate. Is a computer-readable storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute a substrate processing method in a substrate processing system in contact with the back surface of the substrate, wherein the program prints a protective film on the back surface of the substrate And an etching module that performs the plasma etching process on the surface of the substrate, and a removal module that removes the protective film.

  According to the substrate processing system according to claim 1, the substrate processing method according to claim 10, and the storage medium according to claim 18, the protective film is printed on the back surface of the substrate before the plasma etching process is performed on the surface of the substrate. Then, after the plasma etching process is performed on the surface of the substrate, the protective film is removed from the back surface of the substrate, so that the mounting table is in contact with the protective film printed thick on the back surface of the substrate. Therefore, even when the substrate is repeatedly attracted to the mounting table, it is possible to reliably prevent the back surface of the substrate from being damaged.

  According to the substrate processing system of the second aspect and the substrate processing method of the eleventh aspect, since the protective film is printed by the screen printing process, the protective film can be reliably printed thick. Furthermore, since the screen printing process is performed under an atmospheric pressure environment, the throughput of the substrate processing system is not significantly reduced.

  According to the substrate processing system of the third aspect and the substrate processing method of the twelfth aspect, since the protective film is printed by the sticking process of the predetermined film, the protective film can be reliably printed thick. Furthermore, since the predetermined film sticking process is performed under an environment of normal pressure, the throughput of the substrate processing system is not significantly reduced.

  According to the substrate processing system of the fourth aspect and the substrate processing method of the thirteenth aspect, since the protective film is removed by the atmospheric pressure plasma ashing process, the protective film can be reliably removed. Furthermore, since the atmospheric pressure plasma ashing process is performed under an environment of atmospheric pressure, the throughput of the substrate processing system is not significantly reduced.

  According to the substrate processing system of the fifth aspect and the substrate processing method of the fourteenth aspect, since the protective film is removed by the superheated steam jetting process, the protective film can be reliably removed. Furthermore, since the superheated steam jetting process is performed under a normal pressure environment, the throughput of the substrate processing system is not significantly reduced.

  According to the substrate processing system described in claim 6 and the substrate processing method described in claim 15, since the protective film is made of resin, the protective film can be printed thick easily.

  According to the substrate processing system according to claim 7 and the substrate processing method according to claim 16, the protective film is made of any one of silica, a fluorine-free aromatic hydrocarbon organic polymer, polyimide, and resist. The protective film can be easily printed thick.

  According to the substrate processing system of the eighth aspect, the base of the mounting table is exposed at the upper part of the mounting table. As a result, when a substrate with a protective film printed thick on the back surface is placed on the upper surface of the mounting table, the substrate is sucked and held on the upper surface of the mounting table with the base material exposed. Therefore, the substrate can be sucked and held without disposing the electrostatic chuck on the top of the mounting table, so that the configuration of the mounting table can be simplified.

  According to the substrate processing system according to claim 9 and the substrate processing method according to claim 17, when removing the protective film, since the substrate is held without contacting the substrate, the protective film is surely removed. In addition, it is possible to reliably prevent a decrease in the throughput of the substrate processing system.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  First, a substrate processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing the configuration of the substrate processing system according to the present embodiment.

  In FIG. 1, a substrate processing system 10 includes a hexagonal transfer module 11 (vacuum-based substrate transfer device) in plan view, and semiconductor device wafers (hereinafter simply referred to as “simply”) arranged radially around the transfer module 11. "Wafer".) Four process modules 12 to 15 for performing predetermined processing on W (substrate), a loader module 16 (atmospheric substrate transfer device) as a rectangular common transfer chamber, transfer module 11 and loader module 16 and two load lock modules 17 and 18 that connect the transfer module 11 and the loader module 16 to each other.

  The internal pressure of the transfer module 11 and each of the process modules 12 to 15 is maintained in a vacuum, and the transfer module 11 and each of the process modules 12 to 15 are connected via vacuum gate valves 19 to 22, respectively.

  In the substrate processing system 10, the internal pressure of the loader module 16 is maintained at atmospheric pressure, while the internal pressure of the transfer module 11 is maintained at vacuum. Therefore, each load lock module 17, 18 is provided with vacuum gate valves 23, 24 at the connection portion with the transfer module 11, and atmospheric door valves 25, 26 at the connection portion with the loader module 16. It is configured as a vacuum preliminary transfer chamber that can adjust the internal pressure. Each load / lock module 17, 18 has a wafer mounting table 27, 28 for temporarily mounting a wafer W delivered between the loader module 16 and the transfer module 11.

  The transfer module 11 has a frog-leg type transfer arm 29 arranged in the inside thereof so as to be able to bend and stretch, and the transfer arm 29 is provided with the process modules 12 to 15 and the load / lock modules 17 and 18. The wafer W is transferred between them.

  In addition to the load / lock modules 17 and 18 described above, the loader module 16 includes three FOUP mounting tables 31 on which FOUPs (Front Opening Unified Pods) 30 as containers for storing 25 wafers W are respectively mounted. A printing module 34 that prints a protective film to be described later on the back surface of the wafer W and a cleaning module 35 that removes the protective film from the back surface of the wafer W are connected via a wafer reversing module 36 that reverses the wafer W. ing.

  The load / lock modules 17 and 18 are connected to the side wall in the longitudinal direction of the loader module 16 and are disposed so as to face the three hoop mounting tables 31 with the loader module 16 interposed therebetween. The cleaning module 35 is disposed at one end in the longitudinal direction, and the cleaning module 35 is disposed at the other end in the longitudinal direction of the loader module 16.

  The loader module 16 serves as a loading port for the wafer W disposed on the side wall so as to correspond to the scalar type dual arm type transport arm mechanism 32 for transporting the wafer W and the respective hoop mounting tables 31. And three load ports 33. The transfer arm mechanism 32 takes out the wafer W from the FOUP 30 placed on the FOUP placement table 31 via the load port 33, and prints the taken wafer W via the load / lock modules 17 and 18 and the wafer reversing module 36. Carry in and out of the module 34 and the cleaning module 35.

  In the substrate processing system 10, the printing module 34 (protective film printing apparatus) prints a protective film (to be described later) on the back surface of the wafer W, the process module 13 (etching apparatus) performs RIE processing on the wafer W, and the cleaning module 35 (protection module 35). A film removing device removes the protective film printed on the back surface of the wafer W. In the substrate processing system 10, the wafer W is transferred in the order of the printing module 34, the process module 13, and the cleaning module 35. Incidentally, before the wafer W is carried into the printing module 34, the front and back are reversed by the wafer reversing module 36.

  FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the configuration of the printing module 34 in FIG.

  In FIG. 2, the printing module 34 includes a chamber 37 serving as a housing-like storage chamber for storing the wafer W, a mounting table 39 disposed on the bottom surface 38 of the chamber 37, and a predetermined distance from the mounting table 39. And a screen printing unit 40 disposed so as to be opposed to the mounting table 39.

  The mounting table 39 is a cylindrical protrusion, and a plurality of lift pins 41 are arranged on the upper surface. Each lift pin 41 is formed with a slope at the top, and the lift pin 41 contacts the peripheral edge of the surface of the wafer W loaded into the chamber 37 to support the wafer W. Each lift pin 41 can move the wafer W in the vertical direction (vertical direction) in the drawing. When the wafer W is loaded / unloaded, the lift pins 41 move the wafer W so that the wafer W is positioned at a height corresponding to the wafer W loading / unloading port 47 provided on the side wall of the chamber 37.

  The screen printing unit 40 includes a screen film 43 on which a plate film 42 having the same shape as the back surface of the wafer W is formed, a frame 44 on which the screen film 43 is stretched, and a screen-like film 43. And a squeegee 45 formed on the surface.

  In the printing module 34, a protective film made of resin is printed on the back surface of the wafer W by a screen printing process. Specifically, first, the lift pins 41 move the wafer W so that the back surface of the wafer W is positioned at a predetermined height below the screen printing unit 40, and then the insulating film is formed on the screen film 43. A resin 46 is placed on the back surface of the wafer W to protect the rear surface of the wafer W by moving the squeegee 45 in the horizontal direction in the figure while pressing the resin 46 against the screen film 41, particularly the plate film 42, with the squeegee 45. Print the membrane.

In the printing module 34, a protective film having a thickness of 30 to 50 μm is printed on the back surface of the wafer W. The printed resin 46 may be polyimide, for example. Further, the protective film to be printed is not limited to a protective film made of a resin, but may be, for example, a protective film made of silica (SiO ₂ ) or a resist, specifically an organic polymer of a non-fluorinated aromatic hydrocarbon, specifically A protective film made of SiLK (registered trademark) may be used.

  In the present embodiment, the protective film is printed on the back surface of the wafer W by screen printing processing, but a resin film (predetermined film) prepared in advance according to the shape of the back surface of the wafer W is attached to the back surface of the wafer W. You may print a protective film on the back surface of the wafer W by a film sticking process.

  When the wafer W on which the protective film is printed on the back surface by the printing module 34 is unloaded from the chamber 37, the front and back are reversed by the wafer reversing module 36 and further conveyed by the loader module 16.

  FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the configuration of the process module 13 in FIG.

  In FIG. 3, the process module 13 has a chamber 51 for accommodating the wafer W on which the protective film 48 is printed by the above-described printing module 34 on the back surface, and a mounting table on which the wafer W is mounted. A cylindrical susceptor 52 is disposed.

  In the process module 13, a side exhaust path 53 that functions as a flow path for discharging the gas above the susceptor 52 out of the chamber 51 is formed by the inner wall of the chamber 51 and the side surface of the susceptor 52. An exhaust plate 54 is disposed in the middle of the side exhaust path 53.

  The exhaust plate 54 is a plate-like member having a large number of holes, and functions as a partition plate that partitions the chamber 51 into an upper part and a lower part. In an upper part 57 of the chamber 51 partitioned by the exhaust plate 54, a susceptor 52 and the like on which the wafer W is placed are arranged, and plasma is generated. Hereinafter, the upper part of the chamber 51 is referred to as a “reaction chamber”. Further, a roughing exhaust pipe 55 and a main exhaust pipe 56 for exhausting the gas in the chamber 51 are opened in a lower part 58 (hereinafter referred to as “exhaust chamber (manifold)”) of the chamber 51. A DP (Dry Pump) (not shown) is connected to the roughing exhaust pipe 55, and a TMP (Turbo Molecular Pump) (not shown) is connected to the main exhaust pipe 56. The exhaust plate 54 captures or reflects ions and radicals generated in a processing space S (described later) of the reaction chamber 57 to prevent leakage to the manifold 58.

  The roughing exhaust pipe 55, the main exhaust pipe 56, DP, TMP, and the like constitute an exhaust device, and the exhaust device exhausts the gas in the reaction chamber 57 to the outside of the chamber 51 through the manifold 58. Specifically, the roughing exhaust pipe 55 depressurizes the inside of the chamber 51 from the atmospheric pressure to a low vacuum state, and the main exhaust pipe 56 cooperates with the roughing exhaust pipe 55 in the chamber 51 from the atmospheric pressure to a low vacuum state. The pressure is reduced to a high vacuum state (for example, 133 Pa (1 Torr or less)) which is a lower pressure.

  A lower high frequency power supply 59 is connected to the susceptor 52 via a matching unit 60, and the lower high frequency power supply 59 supplies predetermined high frequency power to the susceptor 52. Thereby, the susceptor 52 functions as a lower electrode. In addition, the matching unit 60 reduces the reflection of the high frequency power from the susceptor 52 to maximize the supply efficiency of the high frequency power to the susceptor 52.

Usually, on the upper part of the susceptor 52, an insulating member having an electrode plate to which a DC power supply is electrically connected, for example, a disc-shaped electrostatic chuck made of yttria, alumina (Al ₂ O ₃ ), or silica. When the susceptor 52 places the wafer W thereon, the wafer W is placed on the electrostatic chuck. When a negative DC voltage is applied to the electrode plate, a potential difference is generated between the electrode plate and the back surface of the wafer W, and the wafer W is electrostatically electrostatically caused by the Coulomb force or Johnson Rabeck force resulting from the generated potential difference. Adsorbed and held on the upper surface of the chuck. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the base material of the susceptor 52, for example, aluminum is exposed at the upper portion of the susceptor 52.

  In the present embodiment, since the protective film 48 made of an insulating resin having a thickness of 30 to 50 μm is printed on the back surface of the wafer W, the susceptor 52 is not disposed on the susceptor 52. The wafer W can be adsorbed and held on the upper surface of the susceptor 52 with the base material exposed. Specifically, a DC power supply 61 is electrically connected to the susceptor 52, and when a negative DC voltage is applied to the susceptor 52, a positive potential is generated at the interface with the protective film 48 on the wafer W, Further, a negative potential is generated on the surface of the wafer W. Then, a potential difference is generated between the upper surface of the susceptor 52 and the interface of the wafer W with the protective film 48, and the wafer W is attracted and held on the upper surface of the susceptor 52 by Coulomb force or Johnson Rabeck force resulting from the potential difference. In the present embodiment, the electrostatic chuck may be disposed above the susceptor 52.

  Further, an annular focus ring 62 is disposed above the susceptor 52 so as to surround the wafer W sucked and held on the upper surface of the susceptor 52. The focus ring 62 is exposed to the processing space S and converges the plasma toward the surface of the wafer W in the processing space S, thereby improving the efficiency of the RIE processing.

  Further, for example, an annular coolant chamber 63 extending in the circumferential direction is provided inside the susceptor 52. A refrigerant having a predetermined temperature, for example, cooling water or galden, is circulated and supplied from the chiller unit (not shown) to the refrigerant chamber 63 via a refrigerant pipe 64 and is adsorbed and held on the upper surface of the susceptor 52 by the temperature of the refrigerant. The processing temperature of the wafer W is controlled.

  A plurality of heat transfer gas supply holes 65 are opened in a portion of the upper surface of the susceptor 52 where the wafer W is adsorbed and held (hereinafter referred to as “adsorption surface”). The plurality of heat transfer gas supply holes 65 are connected to a heat transfer gas supply unit (not shown) via a heat transfer gas supply line 66, and the heat transfer gas supply unit transfers helium gas as the heat transfer gas. It is supplied to the gap between the suction surface and the back surface of the wafer W through the hot gas supply hole 65. The helium gas supplied to the gap between the suction surface and the back surface of the wafer W transfers the heat of the wafer W to the susceptor 52.

  In addition, a plurality of pusher pins (not shown) serving as liftable lift pins are disposed on the suction surface of the susceptor 52. These pusher pins are connected via a motor (not shown) and a ball screw (not shown), and freely protrude from the suction surface due to the rotational motion of the motor converted into a linear motion by the ball screw. When the wafer W is sucked and held on the suction surface in order to perform the RIE process on the wafer W, the pusher pin is accommodated in the susceptor 52, and when the wafer W subjected to the RIE process is unloaded from the chamber 51, the pusher pin protrudes. The wafer W is separated from the susceptor 52 and lifted upward.

  A gas introduction shower head 67 is disposed on the ceiling of the chamber 51 (reaction chamber 57) so as to face the susceptor 52. An upper high-frequency power source 69 is connected to the gas introduction shower head 67 via a matching unit 68, and the upper high-frequency power source 69 supplies predetermined high-frequency power to the gas introduction shower head 67. Functions as an electrode. The function of the matching unit 68 is the same as the function of the matching unit 60 described above.

  The gas introduction shower head 67 includes a ceiling electrode plate 71 having a number of gas holes 70 and an electrode support 72 that detachably supports the ceiling electrode plate 71. In addition, a buffer chamber 73 is provided inside the electrode support 72, and a processing gas introduction pipe 74 is connected to the buffer chamber 73. The gas introduction shower head 67 supplies the processing gas supplied from the processing gas introduction pipe 74 to the buffer chamber 73 into the chamber 51 (reaction chamber 57) via the gas hole 70.

  In addition, on the side wall of the chamber 51, a wafer W loading / unloading port 75 is provided at a position corresponding to the height of the wafer W lifted upward from the susceptor 52 by a pusher pin. A vacuum gate valve 20 for opening and closing is attached.

  In the chamber 51 of the process module 13, as described above, high frequency power is supplied to the susceptor 52 and the gas introduction shower head 67 and high frequency power is applied to the processing space S between the susceptor 52 and the gas introduction shower head 67. As a result, the processing gas supplied from the gas introduction shower head 67 in the processing space S is made into high-density plasma to generate ions and radicals, and the wafer W is subjected to RIE processing by the ions and the like.

  FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the configuration of the cleaning module 35 in FIG.

  In FIG. 4, the cleaning module 35 includes a chamber 81 serving as a housing-like storage chamber for storing the above-described protective film 48 on the back surface and storing the wafer W subjected to the above-described RIE process on the front surface. A mounting table 83 disposed on the bottom surface portion 82 of the chamber 81 and a discharge pipe 84 for discharging gas in the chamber 81 to the outside are provided.

  The mounting table 83 is a cylindrical protrusion, and has an atmospheric pressure plasma generation unit (not shown) that generates ions and radicals by using a processing gas supplied in an atmospheric pressure as a plasma. Are provided with a plurality of ejection holes 85 for ejecting ions and the like generated in the atmospheric pressure plasma generating section. A plurality of lift pins 86 are arranged on the upper surface of the mounting table 83. Each lift pin 86 has a top formed in a conical shape, and the lift pin 86 contacts the protective film 48 printed on the back surface of the wafer W carried into the chamber 81 to support the wafer W. Each lift pin 86 can move the wafer W in the vertical direction in the drawing. When removing the protective film 48 printed on the back surface of the wafer W, the lift pins 86 are arranged so that the gap between the protective film 48 printed on the back surface of the wafer W and each ejection hole 85 is 1 to 3 mm. When the wafer W is moved and the wafer W is loaded / unloaded, the lift pins 86 are positioned at a height corresponding to the wafer W loading / unloading port 87 provided on the side wall of the chamber 81. To move.

  In the cleaning module 35, ions and the like are ejected from the ejection holes 85 toward the protective film 48 printed on the back surface of the wafer W supported by the lift pins 86. The ions ejected from the respective ejection holes 85 decompose and remove the protective film 48 (atmospheric pressure plasma ashing process). It should be noted that the contact portion of the protective film 48 with the lift pin 86 is prevented from being contacted with the ions or the like by the lift pin 86, and the protective film of the contact portion cannot be decomposed or removed. Therefore, the position of the wafer W is shifted by the transfer arm mechanism 32 and brought into contact with the lift pins 86 again, and the protective film at the contact portion is similarly disassembled and removed.

  In the present embodiment, the mounting table 83 has an atmospheric pressure plasma generation unit, and ions generated in the atmospheric pressure plasma generation unit are ejected from the plurality of ejection holes 85, and the protective film 48 is formed by the ions or the like. Although it has been decomposed and removed, it has a superheated steam generating section that generates superheated steam inside the mounting table 83, and the superheated steam generated in the superheated steam generating section is ejected from a plurality of ejection holes 85 and protected by the superheated steam. The film 48 may be peeled off (superheated steam ejection process). Here, superheated steam at 120 ° C. or higher is used.

  In the present embodiment, a suction port may be provided on the top surface of the mounting table 83 for sucking ions or the like ejected from the ejection holes 85 or superheated steam.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the substrate processing system 10 is related to a longitudinal direction of the loader module 16 and a system controller (not shown) that controls the operation of each component, for example, the transfer module 11, the process modules 12 to 15 and the loader module 16. An operation panel 90 is provided at one end.

  The operation panel 90 includes a display unit made up of, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), and the display unit displays the operation status of each component of the substrate processing system 10.

  According to the substrate processing system 10 described above, the protective film 48 having a thickness of 30 to 50 μm is printed by the screen printing process on the back surface of the wafer W before the RIE process, and the wafer after the RIE process is performed. Since the protective film 48 is removed from the back surface of W by atmospheric pressure plasma ashing, the thick protective film 48 can be printed on the back surface of the wafer W, and the protective film 48 can be reliably removed. In the process module 13, the susceptor 52 comes into contact with the thick protective film 48 printed on the back surface of the wafer W. Therefore, even when the wafer W is repeatedly electrostatically attracted by the susceptor 52, the back surface of the wafer W and the top surface of the susceptor 52 can be reliably prevented from being damaged, and the adhesion between the wafer W and the susceptor 52 can be prevented. Therefore, the temperature controllability of the wafer W can be improved. Furthermore, since the wafer W can be sucked and held with the base material of the susceptor 52 exposed without disposing an electrostatic chuck on the susceptor 52, the configuration of the susceptor 52 can be simplified.

  In the substrate processing system 10, since the printing module 34 prints the protective film 48 by screen printing processing, the printing module 34 is an atmospheric processing apparatus. Therefore, since the protective film 48 can be printed on the back surface of the wafer W under a normal pressure environment, the throughput of the substrate processing system 10 is not significantly reduced. Further, since the loader module 16 is an atmospheric substrate transfer device, the printing module 34 can be easily connected to the loader module 16. Accordingly, the printing module 34 can be connected without significantly changing the configuration of the conventional substrate processing system.

  Further, in the substrate processing system 10, the cleaning module 35 removes the protective film 48 by the atmospheric pressure plasma ashing process, so the cleaning module 35 is an atmospheric processing apparatus. Therefore, since the protective film 48 can be removed from the back surface of the wafer W under a normal pressure environment, the throughput of the substrate processing system 10 is not significantly reduced. Further, since the loader module 16 is an atmospheric substrate transfer device, the cleaning module 35 can be easily connected to the loader module 16. Accordingly, the cleaning module 35 can be connected without significantly changing the configuration of the conventional substrate processing system.

  Next, a modified example of the cleaning module that removes the protective film from the back surface of the wafer W will be described.

  This modification is basically the same in configuration and operation as the cleaning module 35 described above, and only the method for holding the wafer W is different from that in the cleaning module 35 described above. Therefore, the description of the same configuration is omitted, and only the configuration and operation different from the cleaning module 35 described above will be described below.

  FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a configuration of a modified example of the cleaning module for removing the protective film from the back surface of the wafer W.

  In FIG. 5, the cleaning module 91 includes a Bernoulli chuck unit 92 provided above the mounting table 83. The Bernoulli chuck unit 92 includes a gas introduction pipe 93 and a nozzle 94 that is connected to the gas introduction pipe 93 and has a divergent shape and has an outer end curved inward.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the Bernoulli chuck unit 92 introduces a predetermined gas into the nozzle 94 from the gas introduction pipe 93, and the nozzle 94 supplies the introduced gas toward the wafer W from the surface side of the wafer W. . Then, the gas supplied from the front side goes around to the back side of the wafer W, and the wafer W is lifted by the gas pressure difference between the front side and the back side generated at this time, thereby contacting the wafer W. Without support.

  In the cleaning module 91, the protective film 48 printed on the back surface of the wafer W supported without being contacted by the Bernoulli chuck unit 92 is subjected to an atmospheric pressure plasma ashing process or a superheated steam blowing process, and the protective film 48 is applied from the back surface of the wafer W. Remove.

  According to this modification, the protective film 48 is removed from the back surface of the wafer W supported without contact by atmospheric pressure plasma ashing or superheated steam ejection, so that the protective film 48 is reliably removed from the back surface of the wafer W. can do. Therefore, unlike the cleaning module 35 described above, it is not necessary to shift the position of the wafer W and perform the atmospheric pressure plasma ashing process or the superheated steam ejection process again, so that it is possible to reliably prevent a decrease in the throughput of the substrate processing system 10. it can.

  Further, the substrate subjected to the etching process in the substrate processing system in the above-described embodiment is not limited to a semiconductor wafer, but various substrates used for LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), FPD (Flat Panel Display), etc., photomasks, CDs A board | substrate, a printed circuit board, etc. may be sufficient.

  Another object of the present invention is to supply a storage medium storing software program codes for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or apparatus. It is also achieved by reading and executing the program code stored in the storage medium.

  In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the program code and the storage medium storing the program code constitute the present invention.

  Examples of the storage medium for supplying the program code include a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a hard disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a CD-RW, a DVD-ROM, a DVD-RAM, and a DVD. An optical disc such as RW or DVD + RW, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, or the like can be used. Alternatively, the program code may be downloaded via a network.

  Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an OS (operating system) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code, etc. Includes a case where part or all of the actual processing is performed and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

  Furthermore, after the program code read from the storage medium is written to a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the expanded function is based on the instruction of the program code. This includes a case where a CPU or the like provided on the expansion board or the expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

It is a top view which shows schematically the structure of the substrate processing system which concerns on this Embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the printing module in FIG. 1 roughly. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the process module in FIG. 1 roughly. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the cleaning module in FIG. 1 roughly. 7 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a configuration of a modified example of the cleaning module for removing the protective film from the back surface of the wafer W. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

W Wafer S Processing space 10 Substrate processing system 11 Transfer module 12, 13, 14, 15 Process module 16 Loader module 34 Printing module 35 Cleaning module 40 Screen printing unit 48 Protective film 52 Susceptor 85 Ejection hole 92 Bernoulli chuck unit

Claims (18)

An etching apparatus that performs plasma etching processing on a substrate, a vacuum substrate transport apparatus connected to the etching apparatus, and an atmospheric substrate transport apparatus connected to the vacuum substrate transport apparatus, the etching apparatus including the substrate In the substrate processing system in which the mounting table contacts the back surface of the substrate,
A protective film printing apparatus which is connected to the atmospheric substrate transport apparatus and prints a protective film on the back surface of the substrate before being subjected to the plasma etching process;
A substrate processing system, comprising: a protective film removing device connected to the atmospheric substrate transfer device and removing the protective film from the back surface of the substrate after the plasma etching process is performed.   The substrate processing system according to claim 1, wherein the protective film printing apparatus performs printing of the protective film by a screen printing process.   The substrate processing system according to claim 1, wherein the protective film printing apparatus prints the protective film by a predetermined film sticking process.   The substrate processing system according to claim 1, wherein the protective film removing device removes the protective film by an atmospheric pressure plasma ashing process.   The substrate processing system according to claim 1, wherein the protective film removing apparatus removes the protective film by superheated steam ejection processing.   The substrate processing system according to claim 1, wherein the protective film is made of a resin.   The substrate processing system according to claim 1, wherein the protective film is made of any one of silica, a fluorine-free aromatic hydrocarbon organic polymer, polyimide, and a resist.   The substrate processing system according to claim 1, wherein a base material of the mounting table is exposed at an upper portion of the mounting table.   The substrate processing system according to claim 1, wherein the protective film removing apparatus holds the substrate without coming into contact with the substrate. A substrate processing method in a substrate processing system comprising at least an etching apparatus for performing plasma etching processing on a substrate, the etching apparatus having a mounting table for electrostatically attracting the substrate, wherein the mounting table is in contact with a back surface of the substrate. And
A printing step of printing a protective film on the back surface of the substrate;
An etching step of performing the plasma etching process on the surface of the substrate;
And a removing step for removing the protective film.   The substrate processing method according to claim 10, wherein the protective film is printed by screen printing in the printing step.   The substrate processing method according to claim 10, wherein the protective film is printed by a predetermined film sticking process in the printing step.   The substrate processing method according to claim 10, wherein the protective film is removed by atmospheric pressure plasma ashing in the removing step.   The substrate processing method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein the protective film is removed by superheated steam ejection processing in the removing step.   The substrate processing method according to claim 10, wherein the protective film is made of a resin.   15. The substrate processing method according to claim 10, wherein the protective film is made of any one of silica, a fluorine-free aromatic hydrocarbon organic polymer, polyimide, and a resist.   The substrate processing method according to claim 10, wherein the substrate is held without contacting the substrate in the removing step. A substrate processing method in a substrate processing system comprising at least an etching apparatus for performing plasma etching processing on a substrate, the etching apparatus having a mounting table for electrostatically attracting the substrate, and contacting the back surface of the substrate. A computer-readable storage medium storing a program to be executed by the computer,
A printing module for printing a protective film on the back surface of the substrate;
An etching module for performing the plasma etching process on the surface of the substrate;
And a removal module for removing the protective film.

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