JP2009032887A - Substrate-treating device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate-treating device capable of preventing the poor treatment quality of a substrate caused by the state of an edge. <P>SOLUTION: A main controller inspects the state of the edge of a substrate by an inspection head while the rotation of the substrate W is being maintained (step S4), and determines whether a coating liquid has adhered to the edge of the substrate, based on the inspection result (step S5). When no coating liquids have adhered to the edge of the substrate, the rotation of the substrate by spin chuck is stopped and the substrate W is carried out of a coating unit by a first center robot (step S6). When the coating liquid has adhered to the edge of the substrate, a removing liquid is discharged onto the substrate from a removing liquid supply nozzle while the rotation of the substrate is being maintained (step S7), thus removing the coating liquid applied onto the substrate. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

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

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

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

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

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

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

  Before the exposure process, various film forming processes are performed on the substrate. In the course of the film forming process, the edge of the substrate may be contaminated. As described above, when the exposure processing of the substrate is performed in a state where the end portion of the substrate is contaminated, the lens of the exposure apparatus may be contaminated, and the dimensional defect and shape defect of the exposure pattern may occur.

  In addition, if the edge of the substrate is contaminated during the film formation process, the film may not be formed normally on the substrate.

  Thus, if the state of the end portion of the substrate is not good, various processing defects may occur on the substrate.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of preventing a processing failure of a substrate due to an end state.

  (1) A substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention is a substrate processing apparatus arranged so as to be adjacent to an exposure apparatus, and is adjacent to a processing unit having a processing unit for processing a substrate and one end of the processing unit. A transfer unit for transferring the substrate between the processing unit and the exposure apparatus, and a control unit for controlling the processing unit and the operation of the transfer unit, and the processing unit performs predetermined processing on the substrate. And having an edge inspection means for inspecting the state of the edge of the substrate after applying the control, and the controller determines whether the edge of the substrate is in a good state based on the inspection result of the edge inspection means. The first control operation is performed when the end portion of the substrate is in a good state, and the second control operation is performed when the end portion of the substrate is in a poor state.

  In this substrate processing apparatus, predetermined processing is performed on the substrate by the processing unit in the processing unit, and the substrate is transferred from the processing unit to the exposure apparatus by the transfer unit. After the exposure process is performed on the substrate in the exposure apparatus, the substrate after the exposure process is returned from the exposure apparatus to the processing unit by the transfer unit. Operations of the processing unit and the transfer unit are controlled by the control unit.

  In the processing unit, after a predetermined process is performed on the substrate, the end state of the substrate is inspected by the end inspection means. Based on the inspection result, the control unit determines whether or not the end portion of the substrate is in a good state. When the end portion of the substrate is in a good state, the control unit performs a first control operation, and when the end portion of the substrate is not in a good state, the control unit performs a second control operation.

  As described above, the first control operation or the second control operation is selectively performed according to the state of the end portion of the substrate after processing in the processing unit, so that the processing failure of the substrate due to the state of the end portion of the substrate is performed. Can be prevented.

  (2) The processing unit includes a film forming process unit that performs a film forming process on the substrate before the exposure process by the exposure apparatus, and the film forming process unit supplies a processing liquid for the film forming process onto the substrate. And a processing liquid removing unit that removes the processing liquid supplied onto the substrate by the processing liquid supplying unit. The edge inspection unit is configured such that the processing liquid is supplied onto the substrate by the processing liquid supplying unit in the film forming unit. You may test | inspect the state of the edge part of a board | substrate after being supplied.

  In this case, in the film forming processing unit, the processing liquid is supplied onto the substrate by the processing liquid supply means, so that the film forming process is performed on the substrate. After the film forming process, the edge inspection means inspects the state of the edge of the substrate.

  By controlling the processing liquid supply means and the processing liquid removal means in accordance with the state of the edge of the substrate after the film formation process, the film can be appropriately formed on the substrate while keeping the edge of the substrate clean. It becomes possible.

  (3) Based on the inspection result of the edge inspection means in the film formation processing unit, the control unit applies the processing liquid to the edge of the substrate as a good state or applies it to the edge of the substrate as an unfavorable state. It is determined whether the processing liquid is attached, and when the processing liquid is attached to the edge of the substrate, the processing liquid supplied onto the substrate is removed as a second control operation, and the processing liquid is again applied to the substrate. You may control a process liquid supply means and a process liquid removal means so that it may supply.

  In this case, if the processing liquid adheres to the edge of the substrate after the film forming process, the processing liquid on the substrate is once removed by the processing liquid removing unit, and then the film forming process is performed again on the substrate by the processing liquid supply unit. Applied. This prevents the substrate from being transported from the film forming unit to the exposure apparatus while the processing liquid remains attached to the end. Therefore, contamination of the exposure apparatus due to the processing liquid adhering to the edge of the substrate is prevented, and the occurrence of defective dimension and shape defect of the exposure pattern is prevented.

  (4) Based on the inspection result of the edge inspection means in the film formation processing unit, the control unit applies the treatment liquid to the edge of the substrate as a good state or places it on the edge of the substrate as an unfavorable state. It is determined whether or not the processing liquid is attached, and when the processing liquid is attached to the end portion of the substrate, the processing liquid removing means is configured to remove the processing liquid attached to the end portion of the substrate as a second control operation. You may control.

  In this case, if the processing liquid adheres to the end portion of the substrate after the film forming process, the processing liquid attached to the end portion of the substrate is removed by the processing liquid removing unit. This prevents the substrate from being transported from the film forming unit to the exposure apparatus while the processing liquid remains attached to the end. Therefore, contamination of the exposure apparatus due to the processing liquid adhering to the edge of the substrate is prevented, and the occurrence of defective dimension and shape defect of the exposure pattern is prevented.

  (5) The film formation processing unit may include a photosensitive film formation unit that forms a photosensitive film on the substrate. In this case, the photosensitive film can be appropriately formed on the substrate while keeping the edge of the substrate clean.

  (6) The film forming unit may further include an antireflection film forming unit that forms an antireflection film on the substrate before forming the photosensitive film by the photosensitive film forming unit.

  In this case, it is possible to appropriately form the antireflection film on the substrate while keeping the end portion of the substrate clean. Further, in the photosensitive film forming unit, since the film forming process can be performed with the edge of the substrate being clean, it is possible to satisfactorily form the photosensitive film on the substrate.

  (7) The film forming unit may further include a protective film forming unit that forms a protective film on the substrate to protect the photosensitive film formed by the photosensitive film forming unit.

  In this case, the protective film can be appropriately formed on the substrate while keeping the edge of the substrate clean. Thereby, the photosensitive film can be sufficiently protected, and processing defects of the substrate can be more sufficiently prevented.

  (8) The substrate processing apparatus further includes transport means for transporting the substrate between the processing unit and the plurality of storage containers according to the control operation of the control unit, and the processing unit develops the substrate after the exposure processing by the exposure device. In the development processing unit, the edge inspection means inspects the edge of the substrate after the development processing, and the control section is based on the inspection result by the edge inspection means after the development processing. It is determined whether or not the end portion of the substrate is in a good state. When the end portion of the substrate is in a good state, the substrate is stored in one of the plurality of storage containers as a first control operation. If the transport means is controlled in such a manner that the substrate is stored in another storage container among the plurality of storage containers as the second control operation when the end portion of the substrate is in an unfavorable state. Good.

  In this case, since the substrate with the good end and the substrate with the poor end are stored in separate containers, the substrate with the poor end is sent directly to the next processing step. Can be prevented.

  According to the present invention, the first control operation or the second control operation is selectively performed depending on the state of the edge of the substrate after processing in the processing unit. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the processing failure of the substrate due to the state of the end portion of the substrate.

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

(1) Configuration of Substrate Processing Apparatus FIG. 1 is a plan view of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 and FIG. 2 to FIG. 5 and FIG. 8 to FIG. 10 to be described later are provided with arrows indicating X, Y, and Z directions orthogonal to each other in order to clarify the positional relationship. The X direction and the Y direction are orthogonal to each other in the horizontal plane, and the Z direction corresponds to the vertical direction. In each direction, the direction in which the arrow points is the + direction, and the opposite direction is the-direction. Further, the rotation direction around the Z direction is defined as the θ direction.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate processing apparatus 500 includes an indexer block 9, an antireflection film processing block 10, a resist film processing block 11, a development processing block 12, a resist cover film processing block 13, and a resist cover film removal block. 14 and an interface block 15. An exposure device 16 is arranged adjacent to the interface block 15. In the exposure apparatus 16, the substrate W is subjected to an exposure process by a liquid immersion method.

  Hereinafter, each of the indexer block 9, the antireflection film processing block 10, the resist film processing block 11, the development processing block 12, the resist cover film processing block 13, the resist cover film removal block 14 and the interface block 15 is referred to as a processing block. Call.

  The indexer block 9 includes a main controller (control unit) 30 that controls the operation of each processing block, a plurality of carrier platforms 40, and an indexer robot IR. The indexer robot IR is provided with a hand IRH for delivering the substrate W.

  The antireflection film processing block 10 includes antireflection film heat treatment units 100 and 101, an antireflection film application processing unit 50, and a first central robot CR1. The antireflection film coating processing unit 50 is provided opposite to the antireflection film heat treatment units 100 and 101 with the first central robot CR1 interposed therebetween. The first center robot CR1 is provided with hands CRH1 and CRH2 for transferring the substrate W up and down.

  A partition wall 17 is provided between the indexer block 9 and the antireflection film processing block 10 for shielding the atmosphere. In the partition wall 17, substrate platforms PASS 1 and PASS 2 for transferring the substrate W between the indexer block 9 and the anti-reflection film processing block 10 are provided close to each other in the vertical direction. The upper substrate platform PASS1 is used when transporting the substrate W from the indexer block 9 to the antireflection film processing block 10, and the lower substrate platform PASS2 is used to transport the substrate W to the antireflection film processing block. It is used when transporting from 10 to the indexer block 9.

  The substrate platforms PASS1, PASS2 are provided with optical sensors (not shown) that detect the presence or absence of the substrate W. Thereby, it is possible to determine whether or not the substrate W is placed on the substrate platforms PASS1 and PASS2. The substrate platforms PASS1, PASS2 are provided with a plurality of support pins fixedly installed. The optical sensor and the support pin are also provided in the same manner on the substrate platforms PASS3 to PASS13 described later.

  The resist film processing block 11 includes resist film heat treatment units 110 and 111, a resist film coating processing unit 60, and a second central robot CR2. The resist film application processing unit 60 is provided to face the resist film heat treatment units 110 and 111 with the second central robot CR2 interposed therebetween. The second center robot CR2 is provided with hands CRH3 and CRH4 for transferring the substrate W up and down.

  A partition wall 18 is provided between the antireflection film processing block 10 and the resist film processing block 11 for shielding the atmosphere. The partition wall 18 is provided with substrate platforms PASS3 and PASS4 that are close to each other in the vertical direction for transferring the substrate W between the anti-reflection film processing block 10 and the resist film processing block 11. The upper substrate platform PASS3 is used when the substrate W is transported from the antireflection film processing block 10 to the resist film processing block 11, and the lower substrate platform PASS4 is used to transfer the substrate W to the resist film. It is used when transporting from the processing block 11 to the processing block 10 for antireflection film.

  The development processing block 12 includes development heat treatment units 120 and 121, a development processing unit 70, and a third central robot CR3. The development processing unit 70 is provided to face the development heat treatment units 120 and 121 with the third central robot CR3 interposed therebetween. The third center robot CR3 is provided with hands CRH5 and CRH6 for transferring the substrate W up and down.

  A partition wall 19 is provided between the resist film processing block 11 and the development processing block 12 for shielding the atmosphere. In the partition wall 19, substrate platforms PASS 5 and PASS 6 for transferring the substrate W between the resist film processing block 11 and the development processing block 12 are provided close to each other in the vertical direction. The upper substrate platform PASS5 is used when the substrate W is transported from the resist film processing block 11 to the development processing block 12, and the lower substrate platform PASS6 is used to transfer the substrate W from the development processing block 12 to the resist processing block 12. Used when transported to the film processing block 11.

  The resist cover film processing block 13 includes resist cover film heat treatment units 130 and 131, a resist cover film coating processing unit 80, and a fourth central robot CR4. The resist cover film coating processing unit 80 is provided to face the resist cover film heat treatment units 130 and 131 with the fourth central robot CR4 interposed therebetween. The fourth center robot CR4 is provided with hands CRH7 and CRH8 for delivering the substrate W up and down.

  A partition wall 20 is provided between the development processing block 12 and the resist cover film processing block 13 for shielding the atmosphere. The partition wall 20 is provided with substrate platforms PASS 7 and PASS 8 that are adjacent to each other in the vertical direction for transferring the substrate W between the development processing block 12 and the resist cover film processing block 13. The upper substrate platform PASS7 is used when the substrate W is transferred from the development processing block 12 to the resist cover film processing block 13, and the lower substrate platform PASS8 is used to process the substrate W on the resist cover film. Used when transported from the block 13 to the development processing block 12.

  The resist cover film removal block 14 includes post-exposure baking heat treatment units 140 and 141, a resist cover film removal processing unit 90, and a fifth central robot CR5. The post-exposure bake heat treatment unit 141 is adjacent to the interface block 15 and includes substrate platforms PASS11 and PASS12 as described later. The resist cover film removal processing unit 90 is provided to face the post-exposure bake heat treatment units 140 and 141 with the fifth central robot CR5 interposed therebetween. The fifth center robot CR5 is provided with hands CRH9 and CRH10 for transferring the substrate W up and down.

  A partition wall 21 is provided between the resist cover film processing block 13 and the resist cover film removal block 14 for shielding the atmosphere. The partition wall 21 is provided with substrate platforms PASS9 and PASS10 adjacent to each other in the vertical direction for transferring the substrate W between the resist cover film processing block 13 and the resist cover film removal block. The upper substrate platform PASS9 is used when the substrate W is transferred from the resist cover film processing block 13 to the resist cover film removal block 14, and the lower substrate platform PASS10 is used to transfer the substrate W to the resist cover film. It is used when transporting from the removal block 14 to the resist cover film processing block 13.

  The interface block 15 includes a sending buffer unit SBF, a first cleaning / drying processing unit SD1, a sixth central robot CR6, an edge exposure unit EEW, a return buffer unit RBF, a placement / cooling unit PASS-CP (hereinafter referred to as P-). Abbreviated as CP), a substrate platform PASS13, an interface transport mechanism IFR, and a second cleaning / drying processing unit SD2. The first cleaning / drying processing unit SD1 performs cleaning and drying processing of the substrate W before the exposure processing, and the second cleaning / drying processing unit SD2 performs cleaning and drying processing of the substrate W after the exposure processing. Do. The sixth central robot CR6 is provided with hands CRH11 and CRH12 (see FIG. 4) for delivering the substrate W up and down, and a hand H1 for delivering the substrate W to the interface transport mechanism IFR. , H2 (see FIG. 4) are provided above and below. Details of the interface block 15 will be described later.

  In the substrate processing apparatus 500 according to the present embodiment, an indexer block 9, an antireflection film processing block 10, a resist film processing block 11, a development processing block 12, a resist cover film processing block 13, along the Y direction, The resist cover film removal block 14 and the interface block 15 are arranged in order.

  2 is a schematic side view of the substrate processing apparatus 500 of FIG. 1 viewed from the + X direction, and FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of the substrate processing apparatus 500 of FIG. 1 viewed from the −X direction. 2 mainly shows what is provided on the + X side of the substrate processing apparatus 500, and FIG. 3 mainly shows what is provided on the −X side of the substrate processing apparatus 500.

  First, the configuration on the + X side of the substrate processing apparatus 500 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, in the antireflection film coating processing unit 50 (see FIG. 1) of the antireflection film processing block 10, three coating units BARC are vertically stacked. The coating unit BARC forms an antireflection film on the substrate W by supplying a coating liquid for the antireflection film onto the substrate W while rotating the substrate W.

  In the resist film coating processing section 60 (see FIG. 1) of the resist film processing block 11, three coating units RES are stacked in a vertical direction. The coating unit RES forms a resist film on the substrate W by supplying a resist film coating liquid onto the substrate W while rotating the substrate W.

  In the development processing unit 70 of the development processing block 12, five development processing units DEV are stacked one above the other. The development processing unit DEV performs a development process on the exposed substrate W by supplying a developer onto the substrate W.

  In the resist cover film coating processing unit 80 of the resist cover film processing block 13, three coating units COV are stacked one above the other. The coating unit COV forms a resist cover film on the substrate W by supplying the resist cover film coating liquid onto the substrate W while rotating the substrate W. As a coating solution for the resist cover film, a material having a low affinity with the resist and water (a material having low reactivity with the resist and water) can be used. For example, a fluororesin. Details of the coating units BARC, RES, COV and the development processing unit DEV will be described later.

  In the resist cover film removal processing unit 90 of the resist cover film removal block 14, three removal units REM are vertically stacked. The removal unit REM removes the resist cover film formed on the substrate W by supplying a peeling liquid (for example, a fluororesin) onto the substrate W while rotating the substrate W. The method for removing the resist cover film in the removal unit REM is not limited to the above example. For example, the resist cover film may be removed by supplying a stripping solution onto the substrate W while moving the slit nozzle above the substrate W.

  On the + X side in the interface block 15, an edge exposure unit EEW and three second cleaning / drying processing units SD2 are stacked in a vertical direction.

  Next, the configuration on the −X side of the substrate processing apparatus 500 will be described with reference to FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 3, two heating units (hot plates) HP and two cooling units (cooling plates) CP are provided in the antireflection film heat treatment units 100 and 101 of the antireflection film processing block 10, respectively. Laminated. Further, in the antireflection film heat treatment units 100 and 101, local controllers LC for controlling the temperatures of the heating unit HP and the cooling unit CP are respectively arranged at the top.

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

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

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

  In the post-exposure baking heat treatment section 140 of the resist cover film removal block 14, two heating units HP and two cooling units CP are stacked one above the other, and the two post-exposure baking heat treatment section 141 has two heating units. The unit HP, the two cooling units CP, and the substrate platforms PASS11 and PASS12 are stacked one above the other. In addition, in the post-exposure bake heat treatment sections 140 and 141, local controllers LC for controlling the temperatures of the heating unit HP and the cooling unit CP are arranged at the top.

  Next, the interface block 15 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of the interface block 15 as viewed from the + Y side. As shown in FIG. 4, in the interface block 15, on the −X side, a feed buffer unit SBF and three first cleaning / drying processing units SD1 are stacked. In the interface block 15, an edge exposure unit EEW is disposed at the upper part on the + X side.

  Below the edge exposure unit EEW, a return buffer unit RBF, two placement / cooling units P-CP, and a substrate platform PASS13 are stacked in a vertical direction at a substantially central portion in the interface block 15. Below the edge exposure unit EEW, on the + X side in the interface block 15, three second cleaning / drying processing units SD2 are vertically stacked.

  A sixth center robot CR6 and an interface transport mechanism IFR are provided in the lower part of the interface block 15. The sixth central robot CR6 includes a feed buffer unit SBF and a first cleaning / drying processing unit SD1, an edge exposure unit EEW, a return buffer unit RBF, a placement / cooling unit P-CP, and a substrate platform PASS13. It is provided so that it can move up and down and rotate between them. The interface transport mechanism IFR is provided so as to be vertically movable and rotatable between the placement / cooling unit P-CP and the substrate platform PASS13 and the second cleaning / drying processing unit SD2.

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

(2-1) Operation of Indexer Block to Resist Cover Film Removal Block First, the operation of the indexer block 9 to the resist cover film removal block 14 will be briefly described.

  On the carrier mounting table 40 of the indexer block 9, a carrier C that stores a plurality of substrates W in multiple stages is loaded. The indexer robot IR takes out the unprocessed substrate W stored in the carrier C using the hand IRH. Thereafter, the indexer robot IR rotates in the ± θ direction while moving in the ± X direction, and places the unprocessed substrate W on the substrate platform PASS1.

  In the present embodiment, a front opening unified pod (FOUP) is adopted as the carrier C. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and an OC (open cassette) that exposes the standard mechanical interface (SMIF) pod and the storage substrate W to the outside air. ) Etc. may be used.

  Further, the indexer robot IR, the first to sixth center robots CR1 to CR6, and the interface transport mechanism IFR are each provided with a direct-acting transport robot that slides linearly with respect to the substrate W and moves the hand back and forth. Although it is used, the present invention is not limited to this, and an articulated transfer robot that linearly moves the hand forward and backward by moving the joint may be used.

  The unprocessed substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS1 is received by the first central robot CR1 of the antireflection film processing block 10. The first center robot CR1 carries the substrate W into the antireflection film heat treatment units 100 and 101.

  Thereafter, the first central robot CR1 takes out the heat-treated substrate W from the antireflection film heat treatment units 100 and 101, and carries the substrate W into the antireflection film application processing unit 50. In the antireflection film coating processing unit 50, an antireflection film is applied and formed on the substrate W by the coating unit BARC in order to reduce low standing waves and halation that occur during exposure.

  Next, the first central robot CR1 takes out the coated substrate W from the antireflection film coating processing unit 50 and carries the substrate W into the antireflection film heat treatment units 100 and 101. Thereafter, the first central robot CR1 takes out the heat-treated substrate W from the antireflection film heat treatment units 100 and 101, and places the substrate W on the substrate platform PASS3.

  The substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS3 is received by the second central robot CR2 of the resist film processing block 11. The second central robot CR2 carries the substrate W into the resist film heat treatment units 110 and 111.

  Thereafter, the second central robot CR2 takes out the heat-treated substrate W from the resist film heat treatment units 110 and 111, and carries the substrate W into the resist film coating treatment unit 60. In the resist film application processing unit 60, a resist film is applied and formed on the substrate W on which the antireflection film is applied and formed by the application unit RES.

  Next, the second central robot CR2 takes out the coated substrate W from the resist film coating processing unit 60, and carries the substrate W into the resist film heat treatment units 110 and 111. Thereafter, the second central robot CR2 takes out the heat-treated substrate W from the resist film heat treatment units 110 and 111, and places the substrate W on the substrate platform PASS5.

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

  The substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS7 is received by the fourth central robot CR4 of the resist cover film processing block 13. The fourth central robot CR4 carries the substrate W into the resist cover film coating processing unit 80. In this resist cover film coating processing section 80, a resist cover film is applied and formed on the substrate W on which the resist film has been applied and formed by the coating unit COV.

  Next, the fourth central robot CR4 takes out the coated substrate W from the resist cover film coating processing unit 80 and carries the substrate W into the resist cover film heat treatment units 130 and 131. Thereafter, the fourth central robot CR4 takes out the heat-treated substrate W from the resist cover film heat treatment units 130 and 131, and places the substrate W on the substrate platform PASS9.

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

  The substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS11 is received by the sixth central robot CR6 of the interface block 15, and predetermined processing is performed in the interface block 15 and the exposure device 16, as will be described later. After predetermined processing is performed on the substrate W in the interface block 15 and the exposure apparatus 16, the substrate W is carried into the post-exposure bake heat treatment unit 141 of the resist cover film removal block 14 by the sixth central robot CR6. .

  In the post-exposure baking heat treatment unit 141, post-exposure baking (PEB) is performed on the substrate W. Thereafter, the sixth central robot CR6 takes out the substrate W from the post-exposure bake heat treatment unit 141 and places the substrate W on the substrate platform PASS12.

  In this embodiment, post-exposure bake heat treatment unit 141 performs post-exposure bake, but post-exposure bake heat treatment unit 140 may perform post-exposure bake.

  The substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS12 is received by the fifth central robot CR5 of the resist cover film removal block 14. The fifth central robot CR5 carries the substrate W into the resist cover film removal processing unit 90. In the resist cover film removal processing unit 90, the resist cover film on the substrate W is removed by the removal unit REM.

  Next, the fifth central robot CR5 takes out the processed substrate W from the resist cover film removal processing unit 90 and places the substrate W on the substrate platform PASS10.

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

  The substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS8 is received by the third central robot CR3 of the development processing block 12. The third central robot CR3 carries the substrate W into the development processing unit 70. In the development processing unit 70, development processing is performed on the exposed substrate W.

  Next, the third central robot CR3 takes out the development-processed substrate W from the development processing unit 70, and carries the substrate W into the development heat treatment units 120 and 121. Thereafter, the third central robot CR3 takes out the substrate W after the heat treatment from the development heat treatment units 120 and 121, and places the substrate W on the substrate platform PASS6.

  The substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS6 is placed on the substrate platform PASS4 by the second central robot CR2 of the resist film processing block 11. The substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS4 is placed on the substrate platform PASS2 by the first central robot CR1 of the anti-reflection film processing block 10.

  The substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS 2 is stored in the carrier C by the indexer robot IR of the indexer block 9. Thereby, each process of the board | substrate W in the substrate processing apparatus 500 is complete | finished.

(2-2) Operation of Interface Block Next, the operation of the interface block 15 will be described in detail.

  As described above, the substrate W carried into the indexer block 9 is subjected to a predetermined process and then placed on the substrate platform PASS11 of the resist cover film removal block 14 (FIG. 1).

  The substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS11 is received by the sixth central robot CR6 of the interface block 15. The sixth central robot CR6 carries the substrate W into the edge exposure unit EEW (FIG. 4). In the edge exposure unit EEW, the peripheral portion of the substrate W is subjected to exposure processing.

  Next, the sixth central robot CR6 takes out the edge-exposed substrate W from the edge exposure unit EEW and carries the substrate W into one of the first cleaning / drying processing units SD1. In the first cleaning / drying processing unit SD1, the cleaning and drying processing of the substrate W before the exposure processing is performed as described above.

  Here, the time of the exposure process by the exposure apparatus 16 is usually longer than the other process steps and the transport step. As a result, the exposure apparatus 16 often cannot accept a subsequent substrate W. In this case, the substrate W is temporarily stored in the sending buffer unit SBF (FIG. 4). In the present embodiment, the sixth central robot CR6 takes out the substrate W that has been cleaned and dried from the first cleaning / drying processing unit SD1, and transports the substrate W to the sending buffer unit SBF.

  Next, the sixth central robot CR6 takes out the substrate W stored and stored in the sending buffer unit SBF and carries the substrate W into the placement / cooling unit P-CP. The substrate W carried into the placement / cooling unit P-CP is maintained at the same temperature (for example, 23 ° C.) as that in the exposure apparatus 16.

  If the exposure apparatus 16 has a sufficient processing speed, the substrate W is not stored and stored in the sending buffer unit SBF, and the substrate is transferred from the first cleaning / drying processing unit SD1 to the placement / cooling unit P-CP. W may be conveyed.

  Subsequently, the substrate W maintained at the predetermined temperature by the placement / cooling unit P-CP is received by the upper hand H1 (FIG. 4) of the interface transport mechanism IFR, and the substrate carry-in section 16a in the exposure apparatus 16 is received. (FIG. 1).

  The substrate W that has been subjected to the exposure processing in the exposure device 16 is unloaded from the substrate unloading portion 16b (FIG. 1) by the lower hand H2 (FIG. 4) of the interface transport mechanism IFR. The interface transport mechanism IFR carries the substrate W into one of the second cleaning / drying processing units SD2 by the hand H2. In the second cleaning / drying processing unit SD2, the substrate W after the exposure processing is cleaned and dried as described above.

  The substrate W that has been subjected to the cleaning and drying processing in the second cleaning / drying processing unit SD2 is taken out by the hand H1 (FIG. 4) of the interface transport mechanism IFR. The interface transport mechanism IFR places the substrate W on the substrate platform PASS13 with the hand H1.

  The substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS13 is received by the sixth central robot CR6. The sixth central robot CR6 transports the substrate W to the post-exposure bake heat treatment unit 141 of the resist cover film removal block 14 (FIG. 1).

  When the resist cover film removal block 14 temporarily cannot accept the substrate W due to a failure of the removal unit REM (FIG. 2), the substrate W after the exposure processing is temporarily stored in the return buffer unit RBF. can do.

(3) Coating unit Next, the details of the coating units BARC, RES, and COV will be described. The application units BARC, RES, and COV have substantially the same configuration.

(3-1) Coating unit BARC
(3-1-1) Configuration FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the configuration of the coating unit BARC. As shown in FIG. 5, the coating unit BARC includes a rotation processing unit 801, a plurality (three in this example) of coating liquid supply nozzles 810, a plurality (three in this example) of peeling liquid supply nozzles 811, and a nozzle gripping unit. 820, a gripper moving mechanism 834, 837, a standby unit 850, and an end inspection unit 860.

  The rotation processing unit 801 surrounds the periphery of the spin chuck 803 and the spin chuck 803 that rotate while adsorbing and holding the substrate W in a horizontal posture, and the organic solvent or the processing liquid scattered from the substrate W is diffused outward. A hollow cup 802 to prevent is provided.

  In the vicinity of the spin chuck 803, a back rinse nozzle (not shown) that discharges a rinse liquid (for example, pure water) toward the lower surface of the substrate W held by the spin chuck 803 is provided. An edge rinse nozzle 804 is movably provided above the spin chuck 803. The edge rinse nozzle 804 discharges a rinse liquid (for example, pure water) to the peripheral portion of the substrate W held by the spin chuck 803.

  During standby, each coating liquid supply nozzle 810 and each stripping liquid supply nozzle 811 are inserted into the standby unit 850. Each coating liquid supply nozzle 810 is supplied with a coating liquid for an antireflection film from a coating liquid reservoir (not shown) through a processing liquid pipe. Each stripping solution supply nozzle 811 is supplied with a stripping solution for the antireflection film from a stripping solution storage unit (not shown) through a processing solution pipe.

  Note that the types of coating liquid supplied to a plurality (three in this example) of coating liquid supply nozzles 810 are different from each other. As will be described later, the coating liquid supplied to the substrate W is appropriately selected according to processing conditions set in advance.

  Each coating liquid supply nozzle 810 is provided with a gripping portion 810a that protrudes upward. Each stripping solution supply nozzle 811 is provided with a gripping portion 811a protruding upward.

  The nozzle gripping part 820 has a pair of sandwiching arms 821 and 821 that sandwich the gripping parts 810a and 811a of the coating liquid supply nozzle 810 and the stripping liquid supply nozzle 811. The pair of holding arms 821 and 821 are moved in a direction close to each other or in a direction away from each other by a driving mechanism (not shown).

  The nozzle gripping part 820 is attached to the gripping part moving mechanism 834. The nozzle gripping portion 820 moves in the X direction and the Z direction by the gripping portion moving mechanism 834. One end of the gripping part moving mechanism 834 is engaged with the rotation screw 838 of the gripping part moving mechanism 837. The rotating screw 838 is rotated by a motor (not shown). By the rotation of the rotation screw 838, the gripper moving mechanism 834 moves horizontally along the guide 839 in the Y direction. As a result, the nozzle grip 820 moves in the Y direction.

  The end inspection unit 860 includes an inspection head 863. The inspection head 863 is attached to the tip of a rotating arm 865 that is rotated by a motor 864. The inspection head 863 inspects the state of the end portion of the substrate W by irradiating the end portion of the substrate W held by the spin chuck 803 with laser light and detecting the scattered light. The inspection result of the end portion of the substrate W by the inspection head 863 is given to the main controller 30 shown in FIG.

(3-1-2) End of Substrate Here, the definition of the end of the substrate W is shown. FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing an end portion of the substrate W. As shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the substrate W has a flat front surface and a back surface, and has a bevel portion BE on the outer peripheral portion thereof. The bevel portion BE includes an upper bevel region A that is inclined so as to be continuously connected to the surface of the substrate W, a lower bevel region C that is inclined so as to be continuously connected to the back surface of the substrate W, and an end surface region B.

  On the surface of the substrate W, an antireflection film F1, a resist film F2, and a resist cover film F3 are sequentially formed. The regions where the films F1, F2, and F3 are to be formed are predetermined. In the example of FIG. 6, the films F <b> 1, F <b> 2, and F <b> 3 are formed on the surface region of the substrate W excluding the peripheral region D.

  In the present embodiment, the end portion of the substrate W refers to the bevel portion BE and the surface region of the substrate W where the films F1, F2, and F3 are not formed. In the example of FIG. 6, the bevel portion BE and the peripheral region D are called end portions of the substrate W.

  In addition, each film | membrane F1, F2, F3 may be formed to the upper bevel area | region A of bevel part BE. In that case, the region of the upper bevel region A, the end surface region B, and the lower bevel region C in which the films F1, F2, and F3 are not formed are referred to as end portions of the substrate W.

(3-1-3) Operation Next, the operation of the coating unit BARC having the above structure will be described with reference to the drawings. The operation of the coating unit BARC is controlled by the main controller 30 in FIG. FIG. 7 is a schematic flowchart showing the control operation of the main controller 30.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the main controller 30 selects a coating liquid to be supplied to the substrate W according to a predetermined processing condition, and selects a coating liquid supply nozzle 810 corresponding to the coating liquid (Step S1).

  When the coating liquid supply nozzle 810 is selected, the gripping part moving mechanisms 834 and 837 cause the nozzle gripping part 820 to move to the gripping part 810a of the selected coating liquid supply nozzle 810 with the pair of holding arms 821 and 821 open. approach.

  Then, the gripping portion 810 a of the coating liquid supply nozzle 810 is sandwiched by the sandwiching arms 821 and 821. Further, the sandwiched coating liquid supply nozzle 810 is lifted upward, and the coating liquid supply nozzle 810 is moved to a predetermined position above the center of the substrate W by the gripper moving mechanisms 834 and 837.

  Next, the main controller 30 discharges the coating liquid from the coating liquid supply nozzle 810 onto the substrate W and rotates the substrate W by the spin chuck 803 to apply the coating liquid onto the substrate W (step S2). At this time, a rinsing liquid is discharged toward the lower surface of the substrate W from a back rinse nozzle (not shown) located below the substrate W. This prevents the coating liquid from adhering to the lower surface of the substrate W. When the discharge of the coating liquid is completed, the coating liquid supply nozzle 810 is returned to a predetermined position of the standby unit 850 in FIG.

  Next, the main controller 30 moves the edge rinse nozzle 804 to the vicinity of the peripheral edge of the substrate W, and discharges the rinse liquid from the edge rinse nozzle 804 toward the peripheral edge of the substrate W (step S3). Thereby, the coating liquid adhering to the peripheral edge portion of the substrate W is dissolved and removed. After a predetermined time has elapsed, the discharge of the rinse liquid from the edge rinse nozzle 804 is stopped, and the edge rinse 804 is moved to the outside of the substrate W.

  Next, the main controller 30 moves the inspection head 863 to the vicinity of the end portion of the substrate W by the motor 864. Then, the state of the end portion of the substrate W is inspected by the inspection head 863 while the rotation of the substrate W is maintained (step S4).

  Next, the main controller 30 determines whether or not the coating liquid adheres to the end portion of the substrate W based on the inspection result by the inspection head 863 (step S5). That is, it is determined whether or not the coating liquid adheres to a portion where the antireflection film should not be formed.

  Specifically, when the intensity of the scattered light of the laser beam detected by the inspection head 863 is within a predetermined range, it is determined that the coating liquid is not attached to the end portion of the substrate W. On the other hand, when the intensity of the scattered light is out of the predetermined range, it is determined that the coating liquid is attached to the end portion of the substrate W.

  When the coating liquid does not adhere to the edge of the substrate W, the main controller 30 stops the rotation of the substrate W by the spin chuck 803, and the substrate W is removed from the coating unit BARC by the first central robot CR1 (FIG. 1). Unload (step S6).

  When the coating liquid adheres to the end portion of the substrate W, the main controller 30 moves any of the stripping solution supply nozzles 811 to a predetermined position above the center of the substrate W by the nozzle grip 820. Then, the main controller 30 discharges the stripping solution from the stripping solution supply nozzle 811 onto the substrate W while maintaining the rotation of the substrate W (step S7). Thereby, the coating liquid applied on the substrate W is removed.

  Thereafter, the main controller 30 shakes off the coating solution and the stripping solution on the substrate W by increasing the rotation speed of the substrate W, and returns to the process of step S <b> 2 to apply the coating solution onto the substrate W again.

  Thus, in the coating unit BARC, after the coating liquid of the antireflection film is coated on the substrate W, the state of the end portion of the substrate W is inspected by the inspection head 863. As a result of the inspection, when the coating liquid adheres to the end portion of the substrate W, the coating liquid on the substrate W is once removed, and the coating liquid is again coated on the substrate W. Thereby, an antireflection film can be formed in an appropriate region on the substrate W while keeping the end portion of the substrate W clean.

  It should be noted that it is difficult to remove the antireflection film from the substrate W after the antireflection film on the substrate W is subjected to the heat treatment in the resist film heat treatment units 110 and 111 (FIG. 1). In this embodiment, since the above-described treatment is performed before the antireflection film is heat-treated, the antireflection film can be reliably removed. Therefore, the end portion of the substrate W can be reliably maintained clean.

(3-2) Application unit RES
The coating unit RES is similar to the coating unit BARC except that a resist film coating solution is used instead of the antireflection coating solution and a resist film stripping solution is used instead of the antireflection coating. It is the composition.

  In the coating unit RES, the same processing as that of the coating unit BARC is performed on the substrate W. Specifically, first, a resist film coating solution is applied onto the substrate W on which the antireflection film is formed. Subsequently, the state of the end portion of the substrate W is inspected by the inspection head 863 (see FIG. 5). As a result of the inspection, if the resist film coating liquid does not adhere to the edge of the substrate W, the substrate W is unloaded from the coating unit RES.

  On the other hand, if the resist film coating solution adheres to the edge of the substrate W, the resist film stripping solution is supplied onto the substrate W. In this case, the state of the antireflection film on the substrate W is maintained, and only the resist film coating solution is removed. Thereafter, a resist film coating solution is again applied onto the substrate W, and the end of the substrate W is inspected again by the inspection head 863.

  Thereby, it is possible to form a resist film in an appropriate region on the substrate W while keeping the end portion of the substrate clean.

(3-3) Coating unit COV
The coating unit COV is a coating unit BARC except that a resist cover film coating solution is used instead of the antireflection coating solution and a resist cover film stripping solution is used instead of the antireflection coating. It is the same composition as.

  In the coating unit COV, the same processing as that of the coating unit BARC is performed on the substrate W. Specifically, first, a resist cover film coating solution is applied onto the substrate W on which the antireflection film and the resist film are formed. Subsequently, the state of the end portion of the substrate W is inspected by the inspection head 863 (see FIG. 5). As a result of the inspection, if the resist cover film coating liquid does not adhere to the edge of the substrate W, the substrate W is unloaded from the coating unit COV.

  On the other hand, if the resist cover film coating solution adheres to the edge of the substrate W, the resist cover film stripping solution is supplied onto the substrate W. In this case, the state of the antireflection film and the resist film on the substrate W is maintained, and only the coating liquid for the resist cover film is removed. Thereafter, a resist cover film coating solution is again applied on the substrate W, and the end of the substrate W is inspected again by the inspection head 863.

  As a result, the resist cover film can be formed in an appropriate region on the substrate W while keeping the end portion of the substrate W clean.

(4) Development unit DEV
Next, details of the development processing unit DEV will be described. FIG. 8 is a plan view showing the configuration of the development processing unit DEV, and FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the development processing unit DEV in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the development processing unit DEV includes a spin chuck 901 that sucks and holds the substrate W in a horizontal posture. The spin chuck 901 is fixed to the tip of a rotating shaft 903 of a motor 902 (FIG. 9) and is configured to be rotatable around a vertical axis. A circular inner cup 904 is provided around the spin chuck 901 so as to be movable up and down so as to surround the substrate W. A square outer cup 905 is provided around the inner cup 904.

  Standby pods 906 and 907 are disposed on both sides of the outer cup 905, respectively, and a guide rail 908 is disposed on one side of the outer cup 905. A nozzle arm 909 is provided so as to be movable in the scanning direction A and the opposite direction along the guide rail 908 by the arm driving unit 910. On the other side of the outer cup 905, a cleaning rinse liquid discharge nozzle 912 that discharges pure water as a cleaning rinse liquid is provided to be rotatable in the direction of arrow R.

  An inspection head 920 is disposed on the other side of the outer cup 905. The inspection head 920 is attached to the tip of a rotating arm 922 that is rotated by a motor 921. The inspection head 920 has the same configuration as the inspection head 863 shown in FIG. 5, and irradiates the end of the substrate W held by the spin chuck 901 with laser light and detects the scattered light, thereby detecting the scattered light of the substrate W. Inspect end condition.

  A developer discharge nozzle 911 having a slit-like discharge port 915 (see FIG. 9) at the lower end is attached to the nozzle arm 909 perpendicularly to the guide rail 908. A developer is supplied to the developer discharge nozzle 911 by a developer supply system (not shown).

  During the development processing of the substrate W, the developer discharge nozzle 911 moves from the position of the standby pot 906 to the position in the outer cup 905. The developer discharge nozzle 911 passes above the stationary substrate W while discharging the developer. As a result, the developer is deposited on the entire surface of the substrate W, and the development process proceeds. The developer discharge nozzle 911 moves to the position of the standby pod 907 and then returns to the position of the standby pot 906.

  After a predetermined time has elapsed, the rinse liquid is discharged onto the substrate W from the rinse liquid discharge nozzle 912. Thereby, the development process on the substrate W is stopped. Note that the developing process on the substrate W may be stopped by the developer discharge nozzle 911 returning to the standby pot 906 moving above the substrate W while discharging the rinse liquid.

  Thereafter, when the substrate W is rotated at a high speed, the developer and the rinsing liquid on the substrate W are shaken off, and the substrate W is dried. Thereby, the development processing of the substrate W is completed. After the development process is completed, the inspection head 920 moves to the vicinity of the end of the substrate W. Then, the state of the end portion of the substrate W is inspected by the inspection head 920 while the substrate W is rotating. The inspection result by the inspection head 920 is given to the main controller 30 in FIG. Thereafter, the substrate W is unloaded from the development processing unit DEV.

  As described above, the substrate W carried out of the development processing unit DEV is stored in the carrier C (FIG. 1) by the indexer robot IR (FIG. 1) in the indexer block 9 (FIG. 1).

  In the present embodiment, the indexer robot IR is controlled by the main controller 30 (FIG. 1) based on the inspection result of the inspection head 920 in the development processing unit DEV, and the substrate W determined that the end is contaminated, The substrate W determined that the end portion is not contaminated is accommodated in a carrier C that is separate from each other.

(5) Effects of the present embodiment In the present embodiment, after the antireflection film, the resist film, and the resist cover film are applied onto the substrate W in the coating units BARC, RES, and COV, the substrate W is applied by the inspection head 863. The state of the end of the is inspected. A predetermined process is performed on the substrate W according to the result of the inspection, and the substrate W is prevented from being sent from the coating unit BARC, RES, COV to the next process in a state where the end is contaminated.

  Therefore, the substrate W can be carried into the exposure device 16 with the end portion being clean. Therefore, the exposure apparatus 16 can be prevented from being contaminated due to the contamination of the edge of the substrate W. As a result, it is possible to prevent occurrence of dimensional defects and shape defects in the exposure pattern.

  In each coating unit, since the coating process can be performed with the end portion of the substrate W being clean, each film can be formed satisfactorily.

  Further, in the development processing block DEV, the state of the end portion of the substrate W is inspected by the inspection head 920 after the development processing, and it is determined that the end portion is contaminated by the inspection, and the end portion is not contaminated. Are determined to be stored in separate carriers C. Thereby, it can prevent that the board | substrate W with which the edge part was contaminated is sent as it is to the next process process from the substrate processing apparatus 500 as it is.

(6) Modification of coating unit (6-1)
In the coating units BARC, RES, and COV of the above embodiment, when the coating liquid for the antireflection film, the resist film, or the resist cover film is attached to the edge of the substrate W, all the coating liquid on the substrate W is removed. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and only the coating liquid adhering to the end portion of the substrate W may be removed.

  Specifically, by supplying the stripping solution only from the stripping solution supply nozzle 811 to the end portion of the substrate W, the edge of the substrate W is left in a state where the coating solution applied to an appropriate region on the substrate W is left as it is. Only the coating liquid adhering to the part can be removed. Further, by supplying the rinse liquid from the edge rinse nozzle 804 to the end portion of the substrate W again, the coating liquid adhering to the end portion of the substrate W can be removed.

(6-2)
A method for removing the coating liquid may be selected in accordance with the degree of adhesion of the coating liquid on the edge of the substrate W. For example, if the coating liquid adheres to the end portion of the substrate W as a result of inspection by the inspection head 863, all of the coating solution on the substrate W is removed by the stripping solution supply nozzle 811, and the coating to the end portion of the substrate W is performed. When the adhesion of the liquid is slight, only the coating liquid adhering to the end portion of the substrate W is removed by the peeling liquid supply nozzle 811 or the edge rinse nozzle 804.

  In this case, a peeling liquid supply nozzle 811 for removing all the coating liquid on the substrate W and a peeling liquid supply nozzle 811 for removing only the coating liquid adhering to the end of the substrate W are separately provided. The structures may be different from each other.

  For example, the diameter of the discharge port of the peeling liquid supply nozzle 811 for removing only the coating liquid adhering to the end portion of the substrate W is larger than the diameter of the discharge port of the peeling liquid supply nozzle 811 for removing all the coating liquid on the substrate W. Also set a smaller value. In this case, when all the coating liquid on the substrate W is removed, the stripping liquid can be efficiently supplied to the entire surface of the substrate W. On the other hand, when removing only the coating solution adhering to the end portion of the substrate W, the stripping solution can be supplied to only the end portion of the substrate W more accurately.

(6-3)
In the coating units BARC, RES, and COV, a plurality of types of coating liquids are used. A plurality of types of stripping solutions may be used so as to correspond to the plurality of types of coating solutions. Specifically, different types of stripping liquids are supplied to the plurality of stripping liquid supply nozzles 811. When removing the coating solution on the substrate W, a stripping solution that can effectively remove the coating solution is selected. In this case, the coating liquid on the substrate W can be removed efficiently and reliably.

(6-4)
A modification of the coating units BARC, RES, and COV will be described using the coating unit BARC as an example with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a modification of the application unit BARC. Hereinafter, the difference between the coating unit BARC shown in FIG. 10 and the coating unit BARC shown in FIG. 5 will be described.

  The application unit BARC in FIG. 10 is provided with a cleaning brush 870 for cleaning the edge of the substrate W. The cleaning brush 870 is held by a holding arm 871, and the holding arm 871 is driven by driving means (not shown). As a result, the cleaning brush 870 moves in a direction toward or away from the end of the substrate W held by the spin chuck 803.

  In the coating unit BARC, when the coating liquid adheres to the end portion of the substrate W as a result of the inspection by the inspection head 863, the end portion of the substrate W is cleaned by the cleaning brush 870. Thereby, the coating liquid adhering to the edge part of the board | substrate W can be removed in the state which maintained the coating liquid apply | coated to the appropriate area | region on the board | substrate W as it is.

  Even when the cleaning brush 870 is provided in the coating units RES and COV, the same effect can be obtained.

(7) Other embodiments (7-1)
In the above embodiment, in the coating units BARC, RES, and COV, when it is determined by the inspection of the inspection head 863 that the coating liquid is attached to the end of the substrate W, the coating applied in the common coating unit. Although only the liquid is removed, all the films formed on the substrate W may be removed in the coating units RES and COV. In this case, the substrate W is returned from the coating units RES and COV to the coating unit BARC, and a film on the substrate W is formed again in order from the antireflection film.

(7-2)
In the above embodiment, the inspection head 863 is provided in each of the coating units BARC, RES, and COV. However, one type of the coating units BARC, RES, and COV can be used as long as the end of the substrate W can be kept clean. Alternatively, only two types of inspection heads 863 may be provided.

(7-3)
An inspection apparatus similar to the inspection heads 863 and 920 may be provided in the removal unit REM. In this case, after the resist cover film removal process, the state of the end portion of the substrate W is inspected, and the resist cover film removal process is performed again on the substrate W that is determined to be contaminated.

  This prevents the substrate W from being sent to the next step in a state where the resist cover film residue adheres to the end. Therefore, the development processing in the development processing unit DEV can be performed satisfactorily.

(8) Correspondence between each constituent element of claim and each element of the embodiment Hereinafter, an example of correspondence between each constituent element of the claim and each element of the embodiment will be described. It is not limited to.

  In the above embodiment, the coating units BARC, RES, COV, the development processing unit DEV or the removal unit REM are examples of processing units. The indexer block 9, the antireflection film processing block 10, the resist film processing block 11, and the development The processing block 12, the resist cover film processing block 13 and the resist cover film removal block 14 are examples of processing units, the interface block 15 is an example of a delivery unit, the main controller 30 is an example of a control unit, and an inspection head 863 and 920 are examples of edge inspection means, the coating units BARC, RES, and COV are examples of film forming processing units, the coating liquid supply nozzle 810 is an example of processing liquid supply means, and the stripping liquid supply nozzle 811. Alternatively, the edge rinse nozzle 804 is an example of the processing liquid removing unit.

  The coating unit RES is an example of a photosensitive film forming unit, the coating unit BARC is an example of an antireflection film forming unit, the coating unit COV is an example of a protective film forming unit, and the carrier C is an example of a storage container. Yes, the indexer robot IR is an example of the conveying means.

  As each constituent element in the claims, various other elements having configurations or functions described in the claims can be used.

  The present invention can be effectively used for processing various substrates.

1 is a plan view of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is the schematic side view which looked at the substrate processing apparatus of Drawing 1 from the + X direction. FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. 1 viewed from the −X direction. It is the schematic side view which looked at the interface block from the + Y side. It is a top view which shows the structure of the coating unit BARC. It is a figure which shows the edge part of a board | substrate schematically. It is a schematic flowchart which shows the control operation of a main controller. It is a top view which shows the structure of the development processing unit DEV. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line QQ of the development processing unit DEV in FIG. 8. It is a top view which shows the modification of the application unit BARC.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 9 Indexer block 10 Antireflection film processing block 11 Resist film processing block 12 Development processing block 13 Resist cover film processing block 14 Resist cover film removal block 15 Interface block 16 Exposure apparatus 30 Main controller 500 Substrate processing apparatus 804 Edge rinse nozzle 810 Coating liquid supply nozzle 811 Stripping liquid supply nozzle 863, 920 Inspection head BARC, RES, COV Coating unit DEV Development processing unit REM removal unit W substrate

Claims (8)

A substrate processing apparatus disposed adjacent to an exposure apparatus,
A processing unit having a processing unit for processing a substrate;
A transfer unit provided adjacent to one end of the processing unit, and for transferring a substrate between the processing unit and the exposure apparatus;
A control unit for controlling the operation of the processing unit and the transfer unit,
The processing unit has end inspection means for inspecting the state of the end of the substrate after performing predetermined processing on the substrate,
The control unit determines whether or not the end portion of the substrate is in a good state based on the inspection result of the end portion inspection means, and the first control is performed when the end portion of the substrate is in a good state. A substrate processing apparatus which performs an operation and performs a second control operation when an end portion of the substrate is in a poor state. The processing unit includes a film forming unit that performs a film forming process on the substrate before the exposure processing by the exposure apparatus,
The film forming unit is
A treatment liquid supply means for supplying a treatment liquid for film formation on the substrate;
Treatment liquid removal means for removing the treatment liquid supplied onto the substrate by the treatment liquid supply means,
2. The substrate processing according to claim 1, wherein the end inspection unit inspects the state of the end of the substrate after the processing liquid is supplied onto the substrate by the processing liquid supply unit in the film formation processing unit. apparatus. Based on the inspection result of the edge inspection means in the film formation processing unit, the controller is configured such that the processing liquid is not attached to the edge of the substrate as the good state or the edge of the substrate is not in the good state. It is determined whether the processing liquid is attached to the substrate, and when the processing liquid is attached to the edge of the substrate, the processing liquid supplied onto the substrate is removed as the second control operation, and again on the substrate. 3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the processing liquid supply means and the processing liquid removal means are controlled so as to supply a processing liquid. Based on the inspection result of the edge inspection means in the film formation processing unit, the control unit is configured such that the processing liquid is not attached to the edge of the substrate as the good state or the edge of the substrate as the poor state. It is determined whether the processing liquid is attached to the substrate, and when the processing liquid is attached to the edge of the substrate, the processing liquid is removed as the second control operation so as to remove the processing liquid attached to the edge of the substrate. 3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the liquid removing unit is controlled. 5. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the film forming unit includes a photosensitive film forming unit that forms a photosensitive film on the substrate. 6. The substrate according to claim 5, wherein the film forming unit further includes an antireflection film forming unit that forms an antireflection film on the substrate before the formation of the photosensitive film by the photosensitive film forming unit. Processing equipment. 7. The film forming unit further includes a protective film forming unit that forms a protective film on the substrate to protect the photosensitive film formed by the photosensitive film forming unit. Substrate processing equipment. Further comprising transport means for transporting the substrate between the processing unit and the plurality of storage containers according to the control operation of the control unit;
The processing unit includes a development processing unit that performs development processing on the substrate after the exposure processing by the exposure apparatus,
In the development processing unit, the edge inspection means inspects the edge of the substrate after the development processing,
The control unit determines whether or not the edge of the substrate is in a good state based on the inspection result by the edge inspection means after the development processing, and when the edge of the substrate is in a good state As the first control operation, the transport unit is controlled to store the substrate in one of the plurality of storage containers, and the second control operation is performed when the end portion of the substrate is in an unfavorable state. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transport unit is controlled to store the substrate in another storage container among the plurality of storage containers.

Images