JP2010074185A5 - - Google Patents

Description

Coating and developing equipment

The present invention relates to a coating and developing apparatus for forming a resist film on a substrate and developing the substrate after exposure processing .

  As an apparatus for forming a resist pattern on a glass substrate for a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as a wafer) or an LCD (liquid crystal display), there is a coating / developing apparatus for applying a resist to the wafer and developing the exposed wafer. It is used. In this apparatus, a heating device called a baking device is incorporated. For example, in a device for heating a wafer coated with a resist solution, it plays a role of drying the solvent in the resist solution. .

  The configuration of an example of this heating device is shown in FIG. In FIG. 18, 10 is a housing and 10a is a wafer transfer port. In FIG. 18, 11 is a base, and 12 is a cooling plate that cools the wafer W that can move on the base 11 toward the hot plate 12a. Driving mechanisms 13 and 14 for raising and lowering the pins 13a and 14a are provided in the internal space of the base 11, and when the pins 13a are raised and lowered by the driving mechanism 13, the inside of the housing 10 is provided via the transport port 10a. The wafer is transferred between the transport mechanism (not shown) of the wafer that has entered and the cooling plate 12, and the pins 14 a are moved up and down by the drive mechanism 14, so that the wafer is transferred between the hot plate 12 a and the cooling plate 12. It is configured to be. By the way, the drive mechanism 14 is provided so as to avoid the projection area below the hot plate 12a. This is because the heat radiation of the hot plate 12a is large, so that the drive mechanism is prevented from deteriorating due to the heat radiation. In the figure, reference numeral 15 denotes a lid-like top plate that can be raised and lowered via the drive mechanism 15a, and reference numeral 16 in the figure denotes an electrical area in which electrical components for operating the drive mechanism 15a are stored.

An object of the present invention is to provide a coating / developing apparatus that can contribute to reducing the area occupied by the apparatus and that is effective against troubles in the apparatus .

The present invention provides a coating and developing apparatus for forming a resist film on a substrate and developing the substrate after exposure processing.
A carrier block for storing a substrate and carrying a carrier;
A coating block for forming a coating film on the surface of the substrate before exposure taken out from the carrier, and a development block for developing the substrate after the exposure processing, provided on the back side of the carrier block; Including processing blocks;
An interface unit provided on the back side of the processing block, for receiving a substrate before exposure processing from the processing block, and delivering the substrate after exposure processing to the processing block;
The development block includes a substrate conveyance path that extends linearly from the carrier block side to the interface unit side, a development unit that is provided on one side of the substrate conveyance path and that develops the substrate with a developer, and the substrate A heating device provided on the other side of the conveyance path, for heating the substrate, and a substrate conveyance for conveying the substrate along the substrate conveyance path and transferring the substrate between the developing unit and the heating device And a unit block comprising a mechanism and stacked on top of each other,
The heating device is disposed apart from the substrate transport path in a direction orthogonal to the substrate transport path, and is provided on the substrate transport path side with respect to the heating plate for heating the substrate and cools the substrate. And a cooling plate.

According to the present invention, a unit block is provided in which a developing unit is provided on one side of a substrate transport path extending linearly from the carrier block side to the interface unit side, and a heating device is provided on the other side of the substrate transport path. Are stacked on top of each other, which contributes to a reduction in the area occupied by the apparatus and is also effective for troubles in the apparatus.

An example of the heating device 2 used in the coating and developing device of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. The heating apparatus 2 includes a housing 20, and a transfer port 21 for the wafer W is opened on a side wall of the housing 20. Further, a base 22 having a hollow at the bottom is provided in the housing 20, and assuming that the side toward the transport port 21 is the front side, the base 22 is placed on the base 22 from the front side to the back side (in the drawing). An opening 31a for moving a cooling mechanism 3 (to be described later) toward the (X direction) is provided.

  The cooling mechanism 3 will be described with reference to FIG. 3 as well. The cooling mechanism 3 has a role of transferring the wafer W between a hot plate 53 and a transfer mechanism, which will be described later, and a role of cooling the wafer W. The connecting bracket 31, the cooling plate 33, and the air cooling fin portion 35 are configured. The connection bracket 31 is made of, for example, copper or aluminum having good thermal conductivity, and is provided so as to be inserted into the opening 31a. For example, a rail bracket 27 is connected to the lower end of the connection bracket 31. The connecting bracket 31 is locked to the guide rail 23 extending in the X direction in the figure via the rail bracket 27. Further, the side portion of the connection bracket 31 is connected to a drive unit 37 formed of, for example, a ball screw mechanism or an air cylinder provided at a lower portion of the base 22, and the cooling mechanism 3 is moved along the guide rail 23 by the drive unit 37. Thus, it is configured to be movable in the X-axis direction.

  A cooling plate 33 on which the wafer W is placed is connected to the upper part of the connection bracket 31 and is formed in a substantially circular plate shape. The cooling plate 33 is made of, for example, aluminum and has a thickness of, for example, about 4 mm. The cooling plate 33 has a diameter that is substantially the same as that of the wafer W to be heated. For example, four notches 34 are provided on the outer periphery of the cooling plate 33 toward the center of the cooling plate 33. ing. In the figure, 33a and 33b are slits through which support pins 26a described later pass. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, a heat pipe 38 is embedded in the cooling plate 33 in a vein shape, and one end of the heat pipe 38 is connected to the connection bracket 31.

  An example of a wafer W transfer mechanism that delivers the wafer W to the cooling plate 33 will be described. This transfer mechanism supports a horizontal horseshoe-shaped transfer arm 41 and a transfer arm 41 as shown in FIG. And a transport base 42. The size of the inner periphery of the transfer arm 41 is slightly larger than the diameter of the cooling plate 33, and four projecting pieces 44 directed inward are provided at the lower portion of the inner periphery, as shown in FIG. As shown, the wafer W is held on these protruding pieces 44. The transfer arm 41 is configured to be movable up and down and forward and backward through a transfer base 42 by a driving mechanism (not shown), for example, and when transferring the wafer W to the cooling mechanism 3, the transfer arm 41 holding the wafer W is the transfer port. It enters the housing 20 via 21. Here, since the cutouts 34 on the outer periphery of the cooling plate 33 are provided at positions corresponding to the protruding pieces 44 of the transfer arm 41, the transfer arm 41 is cooled as shown in FIG. On the other hand, the transfer arm 41 passes below the cooling plate 33 by being lowered so as to cover from above, and the wafer W on the transfer arm 41 is transferred to the cooling plate 33. The transfer arm 41 that has transferred the wafer W moves backward from the housing 20 so that the front notch 43 passes through the connecting bracket 31 and moves backward.

  1-3, the air-cooling fin part 35 is connected to the connection bracket 31. The air-cooling fin part 35 has a structure including a large number of fins 35a (see FIG. 1) made of, for example, aluminum. Yes. Further, a local exhaust duct 24 is provided below the base 22, and an opening of the local exhaust duct 24 is, for example, at a position where the cooling plate 33 receives the wafer W from the transfer mechanism (home position) as described above. It is provided so as to be close to the air cooling fin portion 35. Here, “adjacent” means that the air is sucked from the front end side of the air-cooling fin portion 35 by suction exhaust from the local exhaust duct 24 and the air-cooling fin portion 35 is so close that the air-cooling action works. An end portion of the local exhaust duct 24 is connected to an exhaust duct 63 described later. When exhaust is performed from the local exhaust duct 24, the fins 35a are cooled, and the cold air of the fins 35a is connected to the heat pipe via the connection bracket 31. As a result, the entire surface of the heat pipe 38 is cooled, so that the wafer W placed on the cooling plate 33 is subjected to rough heat removal.

The heat pipe here is not necessarily a pipe in the general concept, but may be one in which hydraulic fluid is sealed in a flat plate having a wide cavity, or the cooling plate is formed in a hollow structure. A structure in which the working fluid is sealed in the space may be used. In this case, for example, the thickness of the cooling plate and the inner space on the near side is made larger than the thickness on the far side (the hot plate side) so that the hydraulic fluid can easily accumulate on the near side, and the cooling air of the connecting bracket is reduced. It is easily transmitted to the hydraulic fluid.
Furthermore, the cooling mechanism 3 is not limited to the configuration in which the wafer W is cooled by air cooling as described above. For example, the cooling mechanism 3 includes a cooling flow path for flowing a temperature adjusting liquid on the back surface side or inside of the cooling plate 33. The cooling plate 33 may be cooled by the adjustment liquid. As another configuration, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, instead of providing the local exhaust duct 24 in the housing 20, for example, the cooling water circulates as shown by the arrows in the figure connected to the water supply mechanism 3B and the drainage mechanism 3C. A flowing water block 39 is provided, and a block 3A made of, for example, copper or aluminum having high thermal conductivity is provided instead of providing the air cooling fin portion 35 in the cooling mechanism 3 described above, and the cooling plate 33 is placed at the home position. When moved, the flowing water block 39 and the block 3A come into contact with each other, the block 3A is cooled by the cold air of the cooling water, and the cold air transmitted to the block 3A is transmitted to the proximal end side of the heat pipe 38 via the connection bracket 31. As described above, the entire surface of the heat pipe 38 is cooled so that the cooling plate 33 in which the heat pipe 38 is embedded is cooled. It may be.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a hot plate support member 5, which is a flat cylindrical heat insulator, is embedded on the back side of the cooling mechanism 3 in the base 22. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the heat plate support member 5 has a vacuum heat insulating structure in which a vacuum layer 50 as a vacuum region is provided inside the bottom wall portion and inside the side wall portion. A vacuum layer 50 is provided in a circular shape, and a concentric vacuum layer 50 is provided around the vacuum layer 50 to avoid, for example, a gas supply pipe 57, a gas vent hole 58, and a hole 5a described later. Yes.

  On the lower surface of the hot plate support member 5, for example, three support columns 51 for supporting the hot plate support member 5 on the bottom surface of the housing 20 are provided in the circumferential direction. A ring-shaped support member 52 is provided on the inner periphery of the heat plate support member 5, and a disk-shaped heat plate 53 is disposed above the support member 52 via a heat insulating ring 52 a made of, for example, heat-resistant resin or ceramic. Is provided. The hot plate 53 has a size that covers the entire surface of the wafer W, and is disposed so as to be accommodated in the hot plate support member 5.

  On the lower surface of the hot plate 53, ring-shaped heaters 53a to 53e having different sizes, which are heating means for the wafer W as shown in FIG. 8, are provided concentrically, and the heater 53d located outside and For example, 53e is divided into four in the circumferential direction. Although not shown, temperature sensors are provided at, for example, a plurality of locations on the lower surface of the hot plate 53. Each of the heaters 53a to 53e is connected to an electric power supply unit 54, and based on an output from the temperature sensor to the control unit by a control unit provided in the heating device 2 described later, the heaters are connected via the electric power supply unit 54. The calorific values of 53a to 53e are individually controlled. With such a configuration, the hot plate 53 is configured such that, for example, the peripheral portion of the wafer W, which has high heat dissipation during heating, can be heated at a higher temperature than the central portion, that is, the peripheral portion can be offset. Has been. However, the number of heater divisions (number of installations), shape, and layout are not limited to this example.

  On the hot plate 53, for example, four protrusions 55 that support the back surface of the wafer W are provided along the circumferential direction of the hot plate 53. The height of the protrusion 55 is preferably 0.3 to 1.0 mm, and is set to 0.3 mm in this example. If the thickness is lower than 0.3 mm, the wafer W may be warped. In particular, in the case of a wafer W having a size of 12 inches or more, there is a risk of causing a displacement due to contact with the hot plate 53. Heat is not sufficiently transferred to the wafer W, and it is difficult to ensure good in-plane uniformity with respect to temperature. Three holes 5a and 5b are formed in the circumferential direction in the central portion of the hot plate support member 5 and the central portion of the hot plate 53, respectively. Three support pins 26a, which are elevating members, are provided so as to pass through the holes 5a. These support pins 26a are located below the hot plate support member 5 in a lower projection area of the hot plate 53 (below the hot plate). ) Is connected to the drive unit 26 provided. The support pin 26a moves up and down in the vertical direction through the drive unit 26, and the support pin 26a is configured to protrude and retract on the heat plate 53 through the hole 5b. When the support pins 26a are lowered while supporting the back surface of the wafer W, the wafer W is transferred onto the protrusion 55. In FIG. 6, reference numeral 5c denotes a cylindrical guide for the support pin 26a to project vertically.

  By the way, if the region surrounded by the support member 51, the heat insulating ring 52, the hot plate 53, and the hot plate support member 5 is defined as a gas flow part 5A (see FIG. 6), the hot plate support member 5 is supplied with a plurality of gases at a plurality of locations, for example. One end of the pipe 57 penetrates and opens to the gas circulation part 5A. The other end of the gas supply pipe 57 is connected to a gas supply source 57 a in which an inert gas such as a clean purge gas, for example, nitrogen gas, which is a cooling gas for the hot plate 53 is stored. Further, gas vent holes 58 communicating with the gas circulation part 5A are formed at, for example, a plurality of locations on the hot plate support member 5, and a purge gas is supplied from the gas supply source 57a to the gas circulation part 5A via the gas supply pipe 57. Then, the purge gas takes the heat of the heaters 53a to 53e and the hot plate 53 heated by the heater, and circulates to the outside of the gas circulation part 5A through the gas vent hole 58. The purge gas is circulated in order to lower the temperature of the hot plate 53.

  By the way, the hot plate support member 5 may be formed as an integrally molded structure or may be divided at a plurality of locations. Specifically, for example, a hole through which the gas supply pipe 57 is penetrated, a gas vent hole 58 and a hole 5a are provided in the center of the hot plate support member 5, and the hot plate support member 5 includes a central portion including these holes, A structure in which peripheral portions other than the central portion are formed separately and fitted to each other may be employed. Further, the hot plate support member 5 may have a plate structure that covers the bottom surface of the hot plate 53 that is not provided with a side wall, instead of the bottomed cylindrical structure as described above.

    For example, four support columns 61 are provided at an upper end portion of the hot plate support member 5 at intervals, and a peripheral portion of a top plate 6 formed in a circular shape, for example, is connected to the upper portion of the support column 61. The top plate 6 has a size that covers the heat-treated region of the wafer W (an effective region such as a semiconductor device). In this example, the top plate 6 has a size that covers the hot plate 53 and faces the hot plate 53. Is provided. The distance between the hot plate 53 and the top plate 6 is preferably 12 to 15 mm, for example, and 14 mm in the heating device 2. If the distance is smaller than this range, the cooling plate 33 may interfere with the top plate 6 or the hot plate 53 when moving, and if it is larger than this range, the lower surface of the top plate 6 is sufficiently covered when the wafer W is heated. May not be heated.

  The suction exhaust port 62 has an opening with a diameter increasing toward the bottom at the center of the top plate 6. The suction exhaust port 62 communicates with an exhaust duct 63 connected to the top of the top plate 6. An end of the local exhaust duct 24 is connected downstream of the exhaust duct 63, and a fan 64, which is a forced exhaust means, is interposed downstream of the exhaust duct 63. Moreover, the edge part of the exhaust duct 63 is connected to the exhaust path of a factory, for example. By controlling the number of rotations of the fan 64, for example, the air around the top plate 6 is exhausted through a suction exhaust port 62 with a preset exhaust amount. The top plate 6 is configured so that an airflow from the outer periphery of the wafer W placed thereon toward the center can be formed. A vacuum layer 65 extending from the periphery of the suction / exhaust port 62 toward the end of the top plate 6 is formed inside the top plate 6, and the top plate 6 has a vacuum heat insulating structure. With this structure, the top plate 6 is configured so that the temperature of the lower surface of the top plate 6 follows the temperature close to the heating temperature of the wafer W when the wafer W is heated. When heating, the heat radiation of the hot plate 53 is received and the temperature of the lower surface of the top plate 6 is maintained at 70% or more of the heating temperature of the wafer W. When the distance between the hot plate 53 and the top plate 6 is 14 mm as in the heating device 2, when the temperature of the lower surface of the top plate 6 reaches, for example, 70% or less, the airflow passing through the upper surface of the wafer W is reduced. Since it may be cooled and become a turbulent flow, it is not preferable. The “heating temperature of the wafer W” is the temperature of the wafer during the heat treatment of the wafer W.

  Next, the control unit provided in the heating device 2 will be described. This control unit has a program storage unit composed of, for example, a computer, and the program storage unit has an operation of a heating device 2 as described later, that is, processing of the wafer W, delivery of the wafer W, heating of the wafer W and airflow. A program made up of, for example, software in which instructions are set so as to execute the above control is stored. And when the said program is read by the control part, a control part controls the effect | action of the heating apparatus 2 mentioned later. The program is stored in the program storage unit while being stored in a recording medium such as a hard disk, a compact disk, a magnetic optical disk, or a memory card.

  Next, the operation of the heating device 2 will be described. The wafer W having the transfer arm 41 described above carries the wafer W coated with a resist solution on the surface thereof into the housing 20 via the transfer port 21. As described above, the wafer W is cooled by the cooling plate 33. Then, the transfer arm 41 moves out of the housing 20. On the other hand, before the cooling mechanism 3 moves toward the hot plate 53, the surface of the hot plate 53 is heated to a preset temperature, for example, 130 ° C. by the heaters 53a to 53e. Is heated.

When the cooling plate 33 holding the wafer W moves onto the hot plate 53, the support pins 26 a rise to support the back surface of the wafer W placed on the cooling plate 33. When the cooling mechanism 3 is retracted to the home position (left end position in FIG. 1), the support pins 26a are lowered, the wafer W is transferred onto the protrusions 55 of the hot plate 53, and the wafer W is heated. During this heating, the amount of heat generated by the heater provided on the outer peripheral side of the hot plate 53 in the heaters 53a to 53e is adjusted to be greater than the amount of heat generated by the heater provided on the inner peripheral side.
In addition, when the fan 64 is heated, suction and exhaust are performed from the suction and exhaust port 62, so that outside air (in this case, gas in the housing 20) flows from between the top plate 6 and the hot plate 53. The airflow is regulated and rectified by the top plate 6 and the hot platen 53, whereby an airflow from the outer periphery of the wafer W toward the center is formed as described above. For this reason, the resist solution applied to the wafer W evaporates the solvent by the heat of the hot plate 53 and part of the resist component sublimates, and the solvent vapor and the sublimation component are sucked into the suction / exhaust port 62 along the air flow. Thus, the resist solution is dried and a resist film is formed on the wafer W.

  For example, after the wafer W is heated for a preset time, the support pins 26a rise to support the wafer W. The cooling plate 33 moves again from the home position onto the hot plate 53, and the wafer W is transferred onto the cooling plate 33. The heat of the wafer W is transferred to the cooling plate 33, and the cooling plate 33 is stored and heated up. However, when returning to the home position, the tip opening of the local exhaust duct 24 and the cooling mechanism 3 as described above. The air-cooling fins 35 on the lower side of the air-cooling fins 35 are lined up in a row, and the gas is circulated into the air-cooling fins 35 by the suction and exhaust of the local exhaust duct 24, whereby the air-cooling fins 35 are cooled. Then, the cooling plate 33 is cooled via the heat pipe 38. Then, the wafer W transfer mechanism picks up the wafer W according to the transfer schedule as will be described later. By this time, the wafer W is roughly removed by the cooling plate 33.

The transfer mechanism including the transfer arm 41 receives the wafer W on the cooling plate 33 by scooping it from below and transfers the wafer W to the outside of the housing 20. Thereafter, the subsequent wafer W is transferred to the heating device 2 by the transfer mechanism, and the subsequent wafer W is similarly heated.
For example, when the lot of the wafer W is switched and the heating temperature of the wafer W newly transferred to the heating apparatus 2 is switched to a temperature lower than the heating temperature of the wafer W processed by the heating apparatus 2 so far, As described above, the purge gas is supplied from the gas supply source 57a to the gas flow part 5A via the gas supply pipe 57, and the hot plate 53 is rapidly cooled by the purge gas, whereby the temperature of the hot plate 53 is newly conveyed. It is adjusted according to the heating temperature of the wafer W to be processed.

According to the heating device 2 described above, the wafer W coated with the resist solution is placed on the hot plate 53, and the top plate 6 is connected to the top plate 6 via the suction exhaust port 62 opened in the lower surface of the central portion of the top plate 6. A top plate provided with a vacuum layer 65 is provided for heating while forming an air flow from the outer periphery of the wafer W toward the center between the wafer W and the top plate 6 while flowing from a gap between the hot plate 53 and the wafer W. 6 is used, it is difficult for the heat from the hot plate 53 side to escape, and therefore the temperature of the lower surface of the top plate 6 is set to the temperature of the wafer W even if the periphery between the top plate 6 and the hot plate 53 is left open. Can approach. Accordingly, a mechanism for raising and lowering the top plate 6 is not required to seal the space between the top plate 6 and the hot plate 53 during the heat treatment, or a heater is provided to increase the temperature of the lower surface of the top plate 6. It is not necessary to adopt a configuration such as that, and the temperature difference between the wafer W and the lower surface of the top plate 6 is suppressed from spreading while the structure is simple, and as a result, the airflow is cooled, resulting in turbulent flow. Can be prevented. Therefore, heat treatment with high in-plane uniformity can be performed on the wafer W. In addition, the top plate 6 has a simple structure, and the lower surface of the top plate 6 can be heated to prevent the generation of the turbulent flow. Therefore, the top plate 6 is generated from the resist solution applied to the wafer W during the heat treatment of the wafer W. As a result of suppressing the adherence of the sublimate to the top plate 6, maintenance of the top plate 6 can be performed easily, and therefore the maintenance time of the heating device 2 can be shortened.
Furthermore, when the lot of wafers W changes, the processing temperature often changes. However, when the top plate 6 is not provided with a heater, the temperature of the top plate 6 can be reduced when the temperature is lowered from one processing temperature to another. Since the temperature of the lower surface quickly follows the temperature of the wafer W, the lots can be switched quickly. In addition, since the top plate 6 is not provided with a heater, the thickness of the top plate 6 can be reduced, and as a result, the entire heating device 2 can be saved in space.

  Moreover, in the heating apparatus 2, since the heat insulation support member 5 which is a vacuum heat insulation material provided with the vacuum layer 50 inside is provided so that the lower surface side of the said heat plate 53 may be covered, the downward direction of the heat insulation support member 5 is provided. Since heat dissipation of the hot plate 53 is suppressed, the drive unit 26 is deteriorated by heat when the drive unit 26 for raising and lowering the support pins 26a is provided in the lower projection region of the hot plate 53 via the heat insulating support member 5. Can be suppressed. Further, since the drive unit 26 is provided below the hot plate 53, the occupied floor area of the heating device 2 can be reduced as compared with the case where the drive unit 26 is provided on the side of the hot plate 53. Therefore, the size of the heating device 2 can be reduced. Can be achieved.

  Further, in the heating device 2, the purge gas is supplied from the gas supply source 57 a through the gas supply pipe 57 to the gas circulation part 5 </ b> A surrounded by the hot plate 53 and the heat insulating support member 5 provided on the lower surface of the hot plate 53. Therefore, the hot plate 53 can be rapidly cooled. When the hot plate 53 is cooled, heat dissipation to the top plate 6 is reduced, and the temperature of the lower surface of the top plate 6 is cooled. It drops to follow the temperature of As a result, the lot of the wafer W is switched as described above, and the heating temperature of the wafer W newly transferred to the heating apparatus 2 is switched to a temperature lower than the heating temperature of the wafer W that has been subjected to the processing so far. In some cases, the lots can be switched more quickly, and the wafer W can be prevented from being overheated by the residual heat of the top plate 6 and the hot plate 53, so that high-precision heat treatment is performed. be able to.

In addition, the heating apparatus of this invention is not restricted to what exhausts from the center part of a top plate like the above-mentioned embodiment, For example, a structure as shown to FIGS. The heating device 7 shown in these drawings will be described. This heating device 7 is largely different from the heating device 2 in the method of forming an air flow when heating the wafer W. In the figure, reference numerals 70, 71, 72 denote a housing, a transfer port, and a base, respectively. In the figure, reference numeral 73 denotes a cooling plate, and the cooling structure including the cooling plate 73 may be the same as that of the above-described embodiment, but here, for example, cooling water passes through a passage (not shown) provided on the back surface. A configuration for cooling the wafer W placed thereon by circulation is shown. Reference numeral 74 a denotes support pins that transfer the wafer W between the wafer W transfer mechanism and the cooling plate 73 via the elevating mechanism 74. Reference numeral 75 a denotes a support pin that transfers the wafer W between the cooling plate 73 and the hot plate 81 via the elevating mechanism 75.
The hot plate 81 is configured in the same manner as the hot plate 53 described above, and the side and bottom of the hot plate 81 are surrounded by a hot plate support member 82 configured in the same manner as the hot plate support member 5.
In the figure, 81a is a protrusion on which a wafer W provided on a hot plate is placed, and 82a in the figure is a vacuum provided inside the bottom wall portion and the side wall portion of the hot plate support member 82. It is a vacuum layer that is a region. In the figure, reference numeral 83 denotes a rectifying top plate fixed on the hot plate 81 via the support portion 84 and provided so as to face the wafer W placed on the hot plate 81. Inside, for example, a vacuum layer 83a which is a vacuum region having a size covering the surface of the hot plate 81 is provided. The support portion 84 also includes a vacuum layer 84a inside, and the top plate 83 and the support portion 84 have a vacuum heat insulating structure.

  In the drawing, reference numeral 85 denotes a gas discharge portion provided along the width direction (Y direction in the drawing), and an exhaust portion 86 is provided so as to face the gas discharge portion 85 with the hot plate 81 interposed therebetween. The gas discharge unit 85 includes a gas discharge port 85a for discharging a clean purge gas composed of a large number of small holes along the width direction so as to cover the width of the wafer W, and the exhaust unit 86 has a gas discharge port. A gas exhaust port 86a composed of a large number of small holes is provided so as to be parallel to 85a. When the wafer W is placed on the protrusion 81a of the hot plate 81 and heated, the heating device 7 discharges the purge gas from the gas discharge port 85a toward the lower surface of the top plate 83, while exhausting the gas. Exhaust is performed from the port 86a, and the width of the wafer W is covered as shown by an arrow in FIG. 13, and an air flow that should be called a one-way flow from one end side to the multi-end side of the wafer W is formed. Has been.

Even when the heating apparatus is configured in this way, the temperature between the top plate 83 of the wafer W and the surface of the wafer W, the hot plate 81, and the wafer are heated by heating the lower surface of the top plate 83 when the wafer W is heated. As a result, it is possible to perform a heat treatment with high in-plane uniformity as a result of preventing the temperature difference between the back surface of W and the unidirectional flow from becoming turbulent.
In addition, as a method for forming such a one-way flow, three regions other than the side where the cooling plate 73 enters are surrounded in the region 88 between the top plate 6 and the hot plate 53 without providing the gas discharge port 85a. Then, a wind tunnel may be formed and exhausted from the gas exhaust port 86a to suck a gas from the entrance of the cooling plate 73 to form a one-way flow.

Subsequently, an embodiment of the coating and developing apparatus of the present invention will be described. 14 is a plan view of the resist pattern forming apparatus, FIG. 15 is a schematic perspective view thereof, and FIG. 16 is a schematic side view thereof. This apparatus is configured by vertically arranging a carrier block S1 for carrying in and out a carrier 90 in which, for example, 13 wafers W, which are substrates, are hermetically stored, and a plurality of unit blocks B1 to B5, for example. A processing block S2, an interface block S3, and an exposure apparatus S4 are provided.

  The carrier block S1 has a mounting table 91 on which a plurality of the carriers 90 can be mounted, an opening / closing part 92 provided on the front wall as viewed from the mounting table 91, and a wafer from the carrier 90 via the opening / closing part 92. A transfer arm C for taking out W is provided. The transfer arm C can be moved forward and backward, can be raised and lowered, can be rotated about a vertical axis, and can be rotated about a vertical axis so as to transfer a wafer W to and from transfer stages TRS1 and TRS2 of unit blocks B1 and B2, which will be described later. It is configured to be freely movable.

  A processing block S2 surrounded by a casing 93 is connected to the back side of the carrier block S1. In this example, the processing block S2 includes first and second unit blocks (DEV layers) B1 and B2 for performing development processing from the lower side to the lower side, and reflections formed on the upper side of the resist film. The third unit block (TCT layer) B3 for performing the formation process of the prevention film, the fourth unit block (COT layer) B4 for performing the coating process of the resist solution, and the reflection formed on the lower layer side of the resist film It is assigned as a fifth unit block (BCT layer) B5 for performing the formation process of the prevention film. Here, the DEV layers B1 and B2 correspond to unit blocks for development processing, and the TCT layer B3, COT layer B4, and BCT layer B5 correspond to unit blocks for coating film formation.

  Next, the configuration of the first to fifth unit blocks B (B1 to B5) will be described. Each of these unit blocks B1 to B5 includes a liquid processing unit for applying a chemical solution to the wafer W, and various heating / cooling systems for performing pre-processing and post-processing of processing performed in the liquid processing unit. Main arms A1 to A5, which are dedicated transfer means for transferring the wafer W between the processing unit and the heating / cooling processing unit of these apparatuses, are provided.

  First, the COT layer B4 shown in FIG. 14 will be described below as an example. Near the center of the COT layer B4, a transfer region R1 for the wafer W for connecting the carrier block S1 and the interface block S3 is formed in the length direction of the COT layer B4 (Y-axis direction in the figure). Yes.

  On both sides of the transfer region R1 as viewed from the carrier block S1 side, a plurality of coating portions for performing a resist coating process on the wafer W are provided on the right side from the near side (carrier block S1 side) to the back side. A coating unit 94 provided is provided. In addition, on the left side from the front side to the back side of the COT layer B4, four shelf units U1, U2, U3, U4 in which heating / cooling units are sequentially arranged are provided. Various units for performing pre-processing and post-processing of the processing performed in this manner are stacked in a plurality of stages, for example, two stages.

  Among the various units for performing the above pre-processing and post-processing, for example, a cooling unit (COL) for adjusting the wafer W to a predetermined temperature before application of the resist solution, and the wafer W after application of the resist solution. For example, a heating unit (CHP) 95 called a pre-baking unit for performing the heat treatment, a peripheral exposure apparatus (WEE) for selectively exposing only the edge portion of the wafer W, and the like are included. In this example, the heating device 2 described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9 corresponds to the heating unit 95. Each processing unit such as a cooling unit (COL) and a heating unit (CHP) 95 is housed in a processing container 96, and the shelf units U1 to U4 are configured by stacking the processing containers 96 in two stages. In addition, on the surface of each processing container 96 facing the transfer region R1, a transfer port 97 for loading and unloading the wafer W is formed. In this example, the heating unit (CHP) 95 is stacked as a shelf unit U3 and is included in the shelf unit U4.

  The main arm A4 is provided in the transfer region R1. The main arm A4 includes all modules (places where the wafer W is placed) in the COT layer B4, for example, each processing unit of the shelf units U1 to U4, a coating unit 94, and each unit of a shelf unit U5 and a shelf unit U6 described later. Therefore, the wafer is transferred between the first and second wafers, and can be moved back and forth, raised and lowered, rotated about the vertical axis, and moved in the Y-axis direction.

  An area adjacent to the carrier block S1 in the transfer area R1 is a first wafer transfer area R2, which includes a transfer arm C, a main arm A4, and a transfer arm C, as shown in FIGS. A shelf unit U5 is provided at a position accessible by the first unit, and a first transfer arm D1 serving as a first substrate transfer unit for transferring the wafer W to the shelf unit U5 is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 16, the shelf unit U5 transfers wafers W to and from the main arms A1 to A5 of the unit blocks B1 to B5. In this example, each of the unit blocks B1 to B5 is 1 More than two, for example, two first delivery stages TRS1 to TRS5 are provided, thereby constituting a first delivery stage group in which the first delivery stages are stacked in multiple stages. Further, the first delivery arm D1 is configured to be movable forward and backward and up and down so that the wafer W can be delivered to the first delivery stages TRS1 to TRS5. In this example, the first transfer stages TRS1 and TRS2 of the first and second unit blocks B1 and B2 are configured to transfer the wafer W to and from the transfer arm C. Corresponds to the stage.

  Further, the area adjacent to the interface block S3 in the transfer area R1 is a second wafer transfer area R3. As shown in FIG. 14, the shelf unit U6 is located at a position accessible by the main arm A4. And a second transfer arm D2 which forms a second substrate transfer means for transferring the wafer W to the shelf unit U6.

  As shown in FIG. 16, the shelf unit U6 transfers wafers W to and from the main arms A1 to A5 of the unit blocks B1 to B5. In this example, each of the unit blocks B1 to B5 is 1 More than two, for example, two second delivery stages TRS6 to TRS10 are provided, and thereby a second delivery stage group in which the second delivery stages are stacked in multiple stages is configured. The second delivery arm D2 is configured to be movable forward and backward and up and down so that the wafer W can be delivered to the second delivery stages TRS6 to TRS10. As described above, in the present embodiment, the first delivery stage TRS1 is respectively provided between the unit blocks B1 to B5 stacked in five stages by the first delivery arm D1 and the second delivery arm D2. Through the TRS5 and the second delivery stages TRS6 through TRS10, the wafer W can be freely delivered.

  Next, another unit block B will be briefly described. The DEV layers B1 and B2 are configured in the same manner, and a development unit having a plurality of development units for performing development processing on the wafer W is provided. The shelf units U1 to U4 are provided with the wafer W after exposure. A heating unit (PEB) called a post-exposure baking unit for heating processing, a cooling unit (COL) for adjusting the wafer W to a predetermined temperature after processing in the heating unit (PEB), The wafer W is configured in the same manner as the COT layer B4 except that it includes a heating unit (POST) called a post-baking unit that heats the wafer W to remove moisture. These heating units provided in the DEV layers B1 and B2 have, for example, the same configuration as the heating unit 95 provided in the COT layer B4, and only the processing temperature and the processing time are different.

  In the DEV layers B1 and B2, the main arms A1 and A2 respectively use the first transfer stages TRS1 and TRS2, the second transfer stages TRS6 and TRS7, the developing units, and the processing units of the shelf units U1 to U4. The wafer W is transferred to and from the above.

  Further, the TCT layer B3 is provided with a second antireflection film forming unit including a plurality of second antireflection film forming portions for performing a second antireflection film forming process on the wafer W. Yes. That is, the second antireflection film forming unit is an apparatus for applying a chemical solution for the antireflection film to the wafer W after applying the resist solution. Further, the chemical liquid for the antireflection film is discharged from the discharge port formed in the chemical liquid nozzle 12a. Further, the shelf units U1 to U4 are a cooling unit (COL) for adjusting the wafer W to a predetermined temperature before the antireflection film forming process, or a heating unit (CHP) for heating the wafer W after the antireflection film forming process. Is configured in the same manner as the COT layer B4. The heating unit (CHP) has, for example, the same configuration as the heating unit 95 provided in the COT layer B4, and only the processing temperature and the processing time are different. In the TCT layer B3, the main arm A3 causes the first delivery stage TRS3, the second delivery stage TRS8, the second antireflection film forming unit, and the processing units of the shelf units U1 to U4 to The delivery of the wafer W is performed.

  The BCT layer B5 is provided with a first antireflection film forming unit including a plurality of first antireflection film forming portions for performing a first antireflection film forming process on the wafer W. Yes. That is, the first antireflection film forming unit is an apparatus for applying a chemical solution for the antireflection film to the wafer W before applying the resist solution. Further, the shelf units U1 to U4 are a cooling unit (COL) for adjusting the wafer W to a predetermined temperature before the antireflection film forming process, or a heating unit (CHP) for heating the wafer W after the antireflection film forming process. And is configured in the same manner as the COT layer B4 except that the peripheral edge exposure apparatus (WEE) is not provided. The heating unit (CHP) has, for example, the same configuration as the heating unit 95 provided in the COT layer B4, and only the processing temperature and the processing time are different. In the fifth unit block B5, the main arm A5 causes the first delivery stage TRS5, the second delivery stage TRS10, the first antireflection film forming unit, and the processing units of the shelf units U1 to U4 to , The wafer W is transferred.

  These processing units are not limited to the heating unit (CHP, PEB, POST), the cooling unit (COL), and the edge exposure apparatus (WEE), and other processing units may be provided. The number of units installed is determined in consideration of the processing time of the processing units.

  On the other hand, an exposure apparatus S4 is connected to the back side of the shelf unit U6 in the processing block S2 via an interface block S3. The interface block S3 includes an interface arm B for delivering the wafer W to the shelf unit U6 of the processing block S2 and the exposure apparatus S4. The interface arm B serves as a transfer means for the wafer W interposed between the processing block S2 and the exposure apparatus S4. In this example, the second delivery of the first to fourth unit blocks B1 to B4 is performed. In order to transfer the wafer W to the stages TRS6 to TRS9, the wafer W can be moved back and forth, raised and lowered, and rotatable about the vertical axis. In this example, the second transfer stages TRS6 to TRS9 serve as interface block transfer stages. Equivalent to.

  The interface arm B may be configured to transfer the wafer W to the second transfer stages TRS6 to TRS10 of all the unit blocks B1 to B5. In this case, the second transfer stage TRS6 is used. ˜TRS10 corresponds to the interface block transfer stage.

  Next, the main arm A (A1 to A5) will be briefly described by taking the main arm A4 of the COT layer as an example. The main arm A4 is a 2 for supporting the rear surface side peripheral region of the wafer W as shown in FIG. The transfer arms 201 and 202 are provided, and these transfer arms 201 and 202 are configured to be movable forward and backward independently of each other along the transfer base 203. The transport base 203 is configured to be rotatable about the vertical axis by the rotation mechanism 204, and is attached to the surface facing the transport region R1 of the platform 206 that supports the shelf units U1 to U4 by the moving mechanism 205. It is configured to be movable along the axis rail 207 in the Y-axis direction and up and down along the elevating rail 208. Thus, the transfer arms 201 and 202 are configured to be movable back and forth, movable in the Y-axis direction, movable up and down, and rotatable about the vertical axis. The main arms A1 to A3 and A5 are configured in the same manner as the main arm A4. The main arm A is connected to each unit of the shelf units U1 to U6, the first and second delivery stages TRS1 to TRS10, and the liquid processing unit. The wafer W can be transferred between them.

  In the COT layer B4, the wafer W is transferred into the heating unit via the transfer port 97 by the main arm A4, and after the resist solution is applied, the wafer W is external to the heating unit 95 via the transfer port 97 by the main arm A4. To be transported.

  Here, the flow of the wafer W in this resist pattern forming apparatus will be described by taking as an example the case where antireflection films are formed above and below the resist film, respectively. First, the carrier 90 is carried into the carrier block 91 from the outside, and the wafer W is taken out from the carrier 90 by the transfer arm C. The wafer W is first transferred from the transfer arm C to the first transfer stage TRS2 of the shelf unit U5 of the second unit block B2, and then the wafer W is transferred to the BCT layer B5 in order to transfer the wafer W to the first transfer stage TRS2. Is delivered to the main arm A5 of the BCT layer B5 via the first delivery part TRS5 by the delivery arm D1. In the BCT layer B5, the main arm A5 is transported in the order of the cooling unit (COL) → first antireflection film forming unit → heating unit (CHP) → second delivery stage TRS10 of the shelf unit U6. 1 antireflection film is formed.

  Subsequently, the wafer W of the second delivery stage TRS10 is transferred to the second delivery stage TRS9 in order to deliver the wafer W to the COT layer B4 by the second delivery arm D2, and then the main arm A4 of the COT layer B4. Is passed on. Then, in the COT layer B4, the main arm A4 transports the cooling unit (COL) → the coating unit 94 → the heating unit (CHP) 95 → the first delivery stage TRS4 in this order, on the first antireflection film. A resist film is formed.

Next, the wafer W of the transfer stage TRS4 is transferred to the first transfer stage TRS3 by the first transfer arm D1 to transfer the wafer W to the TCT layer B3, and transferred to the main arm A3 of the TCT layer B3. In the TCT layer B3, the main arm A3 causes the cooling unit (COL) → second antireflection film forming unit → heating unit (CHP) → periphery exposure apparatus (WEE) → second delivery stage TRS8 of the shelf unit U6. The second antireflection film is formed on the resist film by being conveyed in order.

  Subsequently, the wafer W on the second delivery stage TRS8 is transferred to the exposure apparatus S4 by the interface arm B, where a predetermined exposure process is performed. The wafer W after the exposure processing is transferred to the second transfer stage TRS6 (TRS7) of the shelf unit U6 to transfer the wafer W to the DEV layer B1 (DEV layer B2) by the interface arm B, and this stage TRS6. The wafer W on (TRS7) is received by the DEV layer B1 (DEV layer B2) main arm A1 (main arm A2), and in the DEV layer B1 (B2), first, the heating unit (PEB) → the cooling unit (COL). ) → development unit → heating unit (POST) in this order, and a predetermined development process is performed. The wafer W thus developed is transferred to the first transfer stage TRS1 (TRS2) to transfer the wafer W to the transfer arm C, and is placed on the carrier block S1 by the transfer arm C. Returned to the original carrier 90.

  Thus, by applying the heating device of the present invention as a heating unit provided in the coating and developing device, a resist solution or an antireflection film chemical solution is applied as a coating solution in each of the coating film forming blocks B3 to B5. As described above, by providing the vacuum layer 65 inside the top plate 6 during heating of the coated wafer W, it is possible to suppress the turbulent flow of the airflow formed during heating, so that the in-plane uniformity is achieved. Since a highly heat-resistant wafer W can be heat-treated, a good resist pattern can be formed on the wafer W.

  In addition to the coating and developing device for forming a resist film on the substrate, the heating device 2 applies, for example, a liquid insulating film precursor to the substrate and heats the liquid to form the insulating film on the substrate. It can also be applied to a forming apparatus.

It is a vertical side view which shows an example of embodiment of the heating apparatus of this invention. It is a cross-sectional top view of the said heating apparatus. It is the vertical side view which showed an example of the cooling mechanism of the wafer W of the said heating apparatus. It is explanatory drawing of the conveyance mechanism which delivers the wafer W to the said cooling mechanism. It is explanatory drawing which showed another example of the cooling mechanism of the wafer W of the said heating apparatus. It is the vertical side view which showed the structure of the periphery of the heat | fever plate and top plate which comprise the said heating apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which showed the structure of the hot plate support member which comprises the said heating apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which showed the structure of the said hot platen. It is explanatory drawing which showed the flow of the airflow formed with the said top plate. It is a vertical side view which shows an example of a structure of the heating apparatus which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. It is a cross-sectional top view of the said heating apparatus. It is the cross-sectional top view which showed the structure of the top plate periphery of the said heating apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which showed the flow of the airflow formed at the time of the heating by the said heating apparatus. It is a top view of the application | coating and developing apparatus with which the heating apparatus in 1st Embodiment was applied. It is a perspective view which shows the said coating and developing apparatus. It is side part sectional drawing which shows the said application | coating and developing apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows the application | coating unit, shelf unit, and conveyance means in the said application | coating and image development apparatus. It is the figure which showed an example of the conventional heating apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which showed the structure of the top plate of the said heating apparatus.

2 Heating device 3 Cooling mechanism 33 Cooling plate 5 Hot plate support member 53 Hot plate 6 Top plate 50, 65 Vacuum layer

Claims (3)

In a coating and developing apparatus for forming a resist film on a substrate and developing the substrate after exposure processing,
  A carrier block for storing a substrate and carrying a carrier;
  A coating block for forming a coating film on the surface of the substrate before exposure taken out from the carrier, and a development block for developing the substrate after the exposure processing, provided on the back side of the carrier block; Including processing blocks;
  An interface unit that is provided on the back side of the processing block, receives a substrate before exposure processing from the processing block, and delivers the substrate after exposure processing to the processing block;
  The development block includes a substrate conveyance path that extends linearly from the carrier block side to the interface unit side, a development unit that is provided on one side of the substrate conveyance path and that develops the substrate with a developer, and the substrate A heating device provided on the other side of the conveyance path, for heating the substrate, and a substrate conveyance for conveying the substrate along the substrate conveyance path and transferring the substrate between the developing unit and the heating device And a unit block comprising a mechanism and is stacked one above the other,
  The heating device is provided on the substrate transport path side of the heating plate for heating the substrate, which is disposed apart from the substrate transport path as viewed from the side, and between the heating plate and the substrate transport mechanism. A cooling plate that delivers and cools the substrate, and a substrate that has been transferred to the cooling plate by the substrate transfer mechanism are transferred to the heating plate, and a substrate that is heated by the heating plate is transferred by the substrate transfer mechanism. And a mechanism for transporting to the position of the cooling plate where the coating is performed.   The coating / developing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cooling plate is configured to transport the substrate between the heating plate and a position closer to the substrate transport path than the heating plate. The substrate transport mechanism includes an arm portion having an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the cooling plate, and a projecting piece projecting from the arm portion to the inside of the arm portion to hold the substrate,
The coating according to claim 2, wherein a cutout portion is formed on an outer periphery of the cooling plate so that the projecting piece can pass when the arm portion moves up and down a position surrounding the cooling plate. Development device.