JP2010186974A - Liquid treatment device, liquid treatment method, and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress drop of a treatment liquid to a substrate from a treatment liquid nozzle to prevent degradation of a yield, in a liquid treatment device including a plurality of liquid treatment parts arranged in a line in the horizontal direction and each having a substrate holding part, and a treatment liquid nozzle shared by the liquid treatment parts. <P>SOLUTION: Liquid removal parts for removing a droplet from the treatment liquid nozzle by contacting the droplet of the treatment liquid suspended from the treatment liquid nozzle moved by a moving means are arranged on the lower side of a movement passage of the treatment liquid nozzle between openings of a plurality of cup bodies arranged in a line in the horizontal direction. Accordingly, when the treatment liquid nozzle moves between a standby part and respective liquid treatment parts for executing treatment to a substrate, the drop of the droplet from the treatment liquid nozzle onto the substrate can be prevented. As a result, degradation of a yield can be prevented. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid processing apparatus, a liquid processing method, and a storage medium that perform a liquid processing by supplying a processing liquid to a substrate.

  In the photoresist process, which is one of the semiconductor manufacturing processes, a resist is applied to the surface of a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as a wafer), the resist is exposed in a predetermined pattern, and then developed to form a resist pattern. . Such a process is generally performed by using a system in which an exposure apparatus is connected to a coating and developing apparatus for coating and developing a resist.

  The coating and developing apparatus is provided with a liquid processing module for supplying a processing liquid to the wafer and performing liquid processing. As this liquid processing module, for example, there is a developing module (developing apparatus) for supplying a developing solution and performing development. The development module includes a development processing unit including a substrate holding unit that holds a wafer, and a cup body that includes a draining unit and an exhausting unit and is provided so as to surround the wafer held by the substrate holding unit. . In addition, the developing module includes a developing solution nozzle for supplying the developing solution to the wafer, a standby unit for making the developing solution nozzle stand by, and a cleaning solution nozzle for supplying the cleaning solution after supplying the developing solution. Yes.

  In order to improve the throughput, a plurality of the development processing units are arranged in the horizontal direction in the development module, the standby unit is provided on an extension line in the arrangement direction of the development processing units, and a common developer for each cup There is a case where the nozzle moves between the upper region of each development processing unit and the standby unit to supply the developer. In this case, while the developer is supplied to the wafer of one development processing unit, the cleaning solution is supplied to the wafer in the other development processing unit, or the substrate holding unit is rotated to perform spin drying. .

  By the way, after supplying the developer to the wafer, the developer droplets may adhere to the lower end of the developer nozzle and hang down. When the developing device is configured as described above, while the developer nozzle moves between the development processing units, the droplets may fall on the dried wafer and become particles and develop defects. is there. Also, if the droplets hang down on the nozzle for a long time, the droplets absorb particles in the atmosphere, and such droplets are mixed with the developer discharged from the developer nozzle and supplied to the wafer. May lead to so-called nozzle contamination. At present, the resist pattern has been miniaturized, and a slight amount of particles adhering to the wafer may lead to a decrease in yield. Therefore, there is an increasing demand for removing droplets dripping from the developer nozzle.

  In order to remove these droplets, a suction mechanism is provided in the developer nozzle and suction is performed from the discharge port of the developer nozzle to suck the droplets or to discharge the developer toward a place other than the wafer. It is conceivable to perform a process called so-called dummy dispensing that pushes the droplets. However, providing the suction mechanism increases the cost, and performing dummy dispensing may cause a decrease in throughput due to an extension of processing tact and an increase in development processing cost.

  As a method for supplying the developer to the wafer, the developer nozzle is moved in the diameter direction of the wafer while discharging the developer from the developer nozzle to the rotating wafer to form a liquid film on the surface. There is. In this case, in order to prevent the developer discharged on the wafer W from being repelled on the wafer W and becoming particles, the developer nozzle 11 moves with its discharge port 12 tilted obliquely as shown in FIG. It has been studied to move the wafer W and between the development processing parts while being inclined by the moving means.

  However, when the developer nozzle 11 is tilted in this way, the droplet 13 is formed at a position shifted downward from the projection region 14 of the discharge port 12 shown between the chain lines in the drawing, so that suction is performed as described above. Even if a mechanism is provided or dummy dispensing is performed, the droplets 13 may not be sufficiently removed.

  The developing apparatus has been described. The liquid processing apparatus for applying various processing liquids such as a resist instead of the developing liquid also has the same apparatus configuration as the above-described developing apparatus except that the processing liquid to be used is different from the developing liquid. It may be said. In the liquid processing apparatus, the liquid droplets hang down from the nozzle that supplies the processing liquid in this way, and the solvent contained in the liquid droplets volatilizes while the liquid drips, and the concentration of the components in the liquid droplets changes. It is done. If a droplet with such a changed component concentration falls on the wafer before and after the liquid treatment, the droplet becomes a particle and contaminates the wafer, or the processing on the wafer surface is uniform. As a result, the yield may also decrease.

  Patent Document 1 describes that a needle for removing droplets is provided at a side position of one cup body. However, there is no description about providing a plurality of cup bodies as described above, and this is insufficient to solve the above problem.

JP-A-10-261609 (paragraph 0020, etc.)

  The present invention has been made under such circumstances, and an object thereof is to share a plurality of liquid processing units having substrate holding units arranged in a row in the horizontal direction with respect to these liquid processing units. A liquid processing apparatus, a liquid processing method, and a storage medium capable of preventing the processing liquid from dropping from the processing liquid nozzle onto the substrate and preventing a decrease in yield. It is to provide.

The liquid processing apparatus of the present invention is configured by providing a substrate holding portion for horizontally holding a substrate in a cup body having an opening formed on the upper side, and each of the plurality of liquid processing portions arranged in a row in the horizontal direction. When,
A common processing liquid nozzle for supplying a processing liquid to the substrate;
A standby unit provided on an extended line of the row of the liquid processing units, for waiting the processing liquid nozzle;
Moving means for moving the liquid processing nozzle according to a row of liquid processing units between an upper region of each of the liquid processing units and the standby unit;
Between the openings of the cup body, the processing liquid nozzle is provided below the moving path of the processing liquid nozzle, and comes into contact with the liquid droplet of the processing liquid hanging from the processing liquid nozzle moved by the moving means. A liquid removal part for removal from the nozzle;
It is provided with.

  The processing liquid nozzle is provided with, for example, a discharge port for discharging the processing liquid obliquely downward, and the liquid removing unit is further provided in the standby unit, for example. And the said liquid removal part may be equipped with the washing | cleaning liquid supply part for supplying a washing | cleaning liquid to a process liquid nozzle. The liquid collecting part may have a large number of recesses on the surface in order to absorb and remove the liquid droplets by capillary action. The processing solution is, for example, a developing solution, and the substrate has a resist coated on the surface and exposed. The recess includes a hole and a groove.

In the liquid processing method of the present invention, a plurality of liquid processing units each configured in a row in the lateral direction are configured by providing a substrate holding unit for horizontally holding a substrate in a cup body having an opening formed on the upper side. Supplying a treatment liquid to the substrate from a treatment liquid nozzle shared with the substrate,
The liquid processing nozzles are arranged according to the row of the liquid processing units between a standby unit for waiting for the processing liquid nozzles provided on the extended line of the liquid processing unit columns and an upper region of each of the liquid processing units. Moving by means of moving means;
A step of bringing a liquid removal portion provided on the lower side of the movement path of the treatment liquid nozzle between the openings of the cup body into contact with the liquid droplets of the treatment liquid hanging from the treatment liquid nozzle moved by the moving means;
Removing liquid droplets coming into contact with the liquid removal unit from the treatment liquid nozzle by the liquid removal unit;
It is provided with.

  The step of supplying the processing liquid to the substrate is, for example, a step of supplying the processing liquid obliquely downward from the discharge port of the processing liquid nozzle, and the processing liquid is, for example, a developer, and the substrate is resisted on the surface thereof. Is applied and exposed.

A storage medium storing a computer program used in a liquid processing apparatus that performs liquid processing on a substrate,
The computer program is for carrying out the liquid processing method described above.

  According to the present invention, the liquid of the processing liquid that hangs down from the processing liquid nozzle moved by the moving means on the lower side of the moving path of the processing liquid nozzle between the openings of the plurality of cup bodies arranged in a row in the horizontal direction. A liquid removing unit is provided for contacting the droplet and removing the droplet from the treatment liquid nozzle. Accordingly, when the processing liquid nozzle moves between the standby unit and each liquid processing unit in order to perform processing on the substrate, the droplets from the processing liquid nozzle on the substrate can be prevented. As a result, it is possible to prevent the dropped droplets from becoming particles and to reduce the in-plane uniformity of the processing of the substrate, so that a decrease in yield can be suppressed.

1 is a schematic view of a developing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the developing device. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the developing device. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a developer nozzle and a standby unit provided in the developing device. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a positional relationship between the developer nozzle and a liquid removal portion, and a lower perspective view of the developer nozzle. It is explanatory drawing which showed a mode that the developing solution was supplied to the wafer by the said developing solution nozzle. It is explanatory drawing which showed a mode that the droplet of a developing solution nozzle was removed in the movement path | route of a developing solution nozzle. It is explanatory drawing which showed a mode that the droplet of a developing solution nozzle was removed in a waiting | standby part. FIG. 6 is an operation diagram illustrating a developing process by the developing device. FIG. 6 is an operation diagram illustrating a developing process by the developing device. FIG. 6 is an operation diagram illustrating a developing process by the developing device. It is the effect | action figure which showed the other image development process of the said developing device. It is explanatory drawing which showed the other structure of the liquid removal part. It is explanatory drawing which showed other structure of the liquid removal part. It is a top view of the application | coating and developing apparatus provided with the said developing device. It is a perspective view of the coating and developing apparatus. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal plan view of the coating and developing apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which showed a mode that the droplet fell from the developing solution nozzle.

  A developing device 2 which is an example of the liquid processing apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The developing device 2 includes development processing units 21a, 21b, and 21c, which are three liquid processing units, composite nozzle units 4a to 4c, and a developer nozzle 6.

  The development processing units 21a to 21c are arranged in a line in the horizontal direction. Each of the development processing units 21a to 21c is configured similarly, and here, the development processing unit 21a will be described as an example. The development processing unit 21a includes a spin chuck 22a that is a substrate holding unit that sucks and horizontally holds the center of the back surface of the wafer W, and the spin chuck 22a is connected to a rotation driving mechanism 24a via a rotation shaft 23a. . The spin chuck 22a is configured to be rotatable about the vertical axis while holding the wafer W via the rotation drive mechanism 24a, and is set so that the center of the wafer W is positioned on the rotation axis. The rotation driving mechanism 24a controls the rotation speed of the spin chuck 22a in response to a control signal from the control unit 100 described later.

  Around the spin chuck 22a, there is provided a cup body 31a having an opening 30a on the upper side so as to surround the wafer W on the spin chuck 22a, and the upper end of the side peripheral surface of the cup body 31a is inclined inward. A portion 32a is formed. On the bottom side of the cup body 31a, as shown in FIG. 1, for example, a liquid receiving portion 33a having a concave shape is provided. The liquid receiving portion 33a is divided into an outer region and an inner region over the entire circumference on the lower peripheral side of the wafer W by a partition (not shown). A waste liquid port (not shown) for discharging a drain of stored developer or the like is provided at the bottom of the outer region, and exhaust ports 34a and 34a for exhausting the processing atmosphere are provided at the bottom of the inner region.

  One end of an exhaust pipe 35a is connected to the exhaust ports 34a, 34a, and the other end of the exhaust pipe 35a merges with the exhaust pipes 35b, 35c of the development processing portions 21b and 21c via the exhaust damper 36a. It is connected to the exhaust passage of the factory where the device 2 is installed. The exhaust damper 36a receives a control signal from the control unit 100 and controls the exhaust amount in the cup body 31a.

  2 and 3 are a perspective view and a top view, respectively, schematically showing the actual configuration of the developing device 2 of FIG. In the figure, reference numeral 25a denotes an elevating pin configured to be movable up and down, and three pins are provided in the cup body 31a. The raising and lowering pins 25a move up and down according to the operation of a substrate transfer means (not shown) for transferring the wafer W to the developing device 2, and the wafer W is transferred between the substrate transfer means and the spin chuck 22a.

  For the portions of the development processing section 21b that correspond to the respective sections of the development processing section 21a, the same numbers as those used in the description of the development processing section 21a are used, and b is appended instead of a in each figure. Show. Further, for each part of the development processing unit 21c, the same numbers as those used in the description of the development processing unit 21a are used for portions corresponding to the respective parts of the development processing unit 21a, and c is appended instead of a. Shown in.

Next, the composite nozzle portions 4a, 4b, 4c will be described. These composite nozzle portions 4a, 4b, and 4c are configured to supply pure water and N ₂ (nitrogen) gas to the wafers W of the development processing portions 21a, 21b, and 21c, respectively. It is constituted similarly. Here, the composite nozzle portion 4a will be described as an example. The composite nozzle portion 4a includes a pure water nozzle 41a and an N ₂ gas nozzle 42a, respectively. The nozzles 41a and 42a are connected to each other in the diameter direction of the wafer W, and the nozzles 41a and 42a are opened vertically downward, for example. Each is provided with a discharge port which is a circular pore.

As shown in FIG. 1, the pure water nozzle 41a is supplied to a pure water supply source 5B in which pure water is stored through a supply path 43, and the N ₂ gas nozzle 42a is connected to N in which N ₂ gas is stored through a supply path 44. _Two gas supply sources 5C are connected to each other. Pure water is a surface treatment solution for performing a pre-wet treatment that is supplied to increase the wettability of the developer before supplying the developer to the wafer W. It is also a rinse for washing away. The N ₂ gas is a drying gas sprayed onto the wafer W in order to dry the wafer W. In this example, the N ₂ gas is cleaned by supplying the N ₂ gas in addition to shaking off the liquid by rotating the spin chucks 22a to 22c. The wafer W is dried.

  Flow rate controllers 45a and 46a are provided in the supply paths 43a and 44a, respectively. Each flow control unit 45a and 46a includes a valve, a mass flow controller, and the like, and controls supply / disconnection of each pure water and gas from each nozzle 41a, 42a to the wafer W based on a control signal from the control unit 100.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, one end of an arm body 47a that supports the composite nozzle section 4a is connected to the composite nozzle section 4a, and the other end of the arm body 47a is connected to a drive mechanism 48a that is a moving means. Has been. The drive mechanism 48a moves on a base 37 formed along the arrangement direction of the development processing units 21a to 21c, along a guide 49a extending in the arrangement direction, and through the arm body 47a, the composite nozzle unit 4a is moved up and down. Due to the movement of the drive mechanism 48a and the elevation by the drive mechanism 48a, the discharge ports of the pure water nozzle 41a and the N ₂ gas nozzle 42a move onto the central portion of the wafer W placed on the spin chuck 22a, and the pure water, N ₂ Each gas can be supplied to the center of the wafer W. The operation of the drive mechanism 48a is controlled in response to a control signal from the control unit 100.

  Similarly to the illustration of the development processing unit, the same numerals as those used for the description of the composite nozzle part are used for the parts configured in the same way as the composite nozzle part 4a in the composite nozzle parts 4b and 4c, and In the figure, a is changed to b or c, respectively.

  Cup-shaped nozzle standby portions 51a to 51c that are open on the upper side are provided on the sides of the development processing portions 21a to 21c, respectively, and the inside of the standby portions 51a to 51c is the standby region 52a to the composite nozzle portions 4a to 4c. 52c. The composite nozzle portions 4a to 4c are stored in the standby areas 52a to 52c, respectively, when the wafer W is not processed.

  Next, the developing solution nozzle 6 that is a processing solution nozzle will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5A and 5B. The developer nozzle 6 is provided with a discharge port 61 opened in a flat slit shape along the moving direction of the developer nozzle 6 at its lower end surface. The length direction of the discharge port 61 is the diameter of the wafer W and the development. Parallel to the moving direction of the liquid nozzle 6. Further, as shown in FIG. 5A, the discharge port 61 is formed obliquely.

  As shown in FIG. 1, one end of a developer supply path 62 is connected to the developer nozzle 6. The other end of the developer supply path 62 is connected to the developer supply source 5A through a flow rate control unit 63 including a valve, a mass flow controller, and the like, and the flow rate control unit 63 develops according to a control signal from the control unit 100. Control of the supply of developer from the liquid nozzle 6 to the wafer W is controlled.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the developer nozzle 6 is connected to and supported by one end of the arm body 64, and the other end of the arm body 64 is connected to a drive mechanism 65 provided on the base 37. Yes. The drive mechanism 65 is configured to be movable in the lateral direction along a guide 60 provided on the base 37 so as to extend in the arrangement direction of the development processing units 21a to 21c. Further, the drive mechanism 65 can raise and lower the developer nozzle 6 via the arm body 64. The operation of the drive mechanism 65 is controlled in response to a control signal from the control unit 100.

  The developer nozzle 6 is moved between an upper region of each of the development processing units 21 a to 21 c and a standby unit 66 described later by the driving mechanism 65. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the developer nozzle 6 supplies the developer in a strip shape obliquely along the rotation direction of the wafer W carried into each of the development processing units 21a to 21c, as shown by the arrows. A liquid film of the developer L can be formed on the entire surface of the wafer W by moving from the peripheral edge of the wafer W toward the center.

  Between the cup body 31a of the development processing section 21a and the cup body 31b of the development processing section 21b, a liquid removal section 7A is provided above the standby section 52b. Further, between the cup body 31b of the development processing section 21b and the cup body 31c of the development processing section 21c, a liquid collecting section 7B is provided above the standby section 52c. These liquid removing portions 7A and 7B are provided on the lower side of the lateral movement path of the developer nozzle 6.

  The liquid collecting portions 7A and 7B are configured in the same manner, and will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 (a) and 7 (a). As shown in these drawings, the liquid collecting portions 7A and 7B include a base portion 71 provided horizontally and a plate-shaped liquid receiving portion 72 extending obliquely from the base portion 71, and the liquid receiving portion 72. Is formed so as to be parallel to the lateral movement direction of the developer nozzle 6 and close to the lower end of the developer nozzle 6 moving in the lateral direction. These liquid collecting portions 7A and 7B are made of porous ceramics having high hydrophilicity, for example, in order to efficiently remove the developer droplets from the developer nozzle 6, and the droplets are collected by capillary action. It is absorbed and removed inside.

  FIGS. 7A to 7D show a state in which the developer nozzle 6 moves in the lateral direction. When the developer nozzle 6 moves, the liquid removal portions 7A and 7B are the developer nozzles. 6, comes into contact with a droplet D formed by hanging from the lower end of the developer nozzle 6, and the droplet D is taken in and removed. By the way, the developer droplet D formed by hanging down from the lower end of the developer nozzle 6 gradually becomes larger due to the accumulation of the developer at the lower end in the process of repeated development processing, and when it reaches a predetermined size. The droplet D drops from the developer nozzle 6 due to gravity, but it is sufficient if it can be removed before the drop. Therefore, the distance h1 between the lower end of the developer nozzle 6 and the liquid collecting portion 7A in FIG. It is arbitrarily set according to the size when it is performed, for example, 1.5 mm.

  In the base 37, a standby portion 66 formed in a cup shape having an upper opening is provided on an extension line in the arrangement direction of the development processing portions 21 a to 21 c, and the standby portion 66 has an inside of the developer nozzle 6. It is configured as a standby area 67. The developer nozzle 6 is stored in the standby area 67 when the wafer W is not processed, and moves from the standby area 67 to the development processing units 21a to 21c via the driving mechanism 65 when the development process is performed. .

  The standby area 67 is provided with a liquid collecting portion 7C. As shown in FIG. 4, the liquid collecting unit 7 </ b> C is configured in the same manner as the liquid collecting units 7 </ b> A and 7 </ b> B, and when the developing solution nozzle 6 is stored in the standby unit 66, the tip of the liquid receiving unit 72 is the developing solution nozzle. 6 in the vicinity of the discharge port 62, and the length direction of the discharge port 62 is parallel to the tip. FIGS. 8A to 8D show a state in which the developer nozzle 6 is accommodated in the standby unit 6 and the liquid take-up unit 7 </ b> C absorbs and removes the developer droplet D dripping from the developer nozzle 6. Show. The distance h2 between the lower end of the developer nozzle 6 and the liquid removal portion 7C when stored in the standby portion 6 shown in FIG. 8D is arbitrarily set according to the size when the droplet D falls. For example, 1.5 mm.

Next, the control unit 100 will be described. The control unit 100 is formed of a computer, for example, and has a program storage unit (not shown). The program storage unit stores a program made of software, for example, in which instructions are set so that the development processing described in the operation described later is performed, and the control unit 100 reads the program into the control unit 100 to read the control unit 100. It controls the rotation speed of the wafer, the movement of each nozzle, the supply of the developer, pure water and N ₂ gas to the wafer. This program is stored in the program storage unit while being stored in a storage medium such as a hard disk, a compact disk, a magnetic optical disk, or a memory card.

  Next, an example of processing performed when the wafers W are sequentially loaded into the developing device 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. For example, the wafers W are transferred in the order of the development processing units 21a, 21b, and 21c by a substrate transfer means (not shown), and a resist is applied to the surface of each wafer W, and the resist is subjected to a predetermined exposure process. Shall. For convenience, the wafers W loaded into the development processing units 21a, 21b, and 21c are referred to as wafers W1, W2, and W3, respectively, for convenience.

  Further, as described above, the developer is accumulated at the lower end of the developer nozzle 6 every time the development process is repeatedly performed, and the droplet D attached to the nozzle 6 becomes larger. Then, the distance between the developer nozzle 6 and each of the liquid removal portions may be adjusted so that the droplets D can be removed by the liquid removal portions 7A to 7C when a predetermined size is reached. In order to clearly show how the liquid droplets D are removed, for convenience of explanation, the liquid droplets D hang down to the developer nozzle 6 every time the wafer W is processed, and the liquid droplets D are removed every time the processing is performed. It is assumed that the positions of the liquid collecting portions 7A to 7C are adjusted as described above.

  As shown in FIG. 9A, the developer nozzle 6 and the composite nozzle portions 4a to 4c are accommodated in the standby portions 66 and 51a to 51c, respectively, before the processing is started. The exhaust amount in each cup body 31a to 31c becomes a predetermined exhaust amount, the wafer W1 is transferred to the spin chuck 22a of the development processing unit 21a, rotates at a predetermined number of revolutions, and the composite nozzle unit 4a moves on the wafer W1. The pure water nozzle 41a discharges pure water F to the center of the wafer W1. The discharged pure water F covers the wafer W1 by so-called spin coating that is spread to the peripheral edge by centrifugal force, and the above-described pre-wetting is performed (FIG. 9B).

  The supply of pure water F stops, the composite nozzle portion 4a moves toward the peripheral edge of the wafer W1, and the developer nozzle 6 moves from the standby portion 66 onto the peripheral edge of the wafer W1. Then, the developer nozzle 6 moves to the center of the wafer W1 while supplying the developer L (FIG. 9C), and the entire surface of the wafer W1 is covered with the developer L. Thereafter, the discharge of the developer L from the developer nozzle 6 is stopped, and the developer nozzle 6 returns to the standby unit 66 (FIG. 9D).

  The developer nozzle 6 is accommodated in a standby area 67 in the standby section 66, and the lower end of the developer nozzle 6 is close to the liquid collecting section 7C as shown in FIGS. The liquid droplet D comes into contact with the liquid collecting part 7C and is absorbed and removed by the liquid collecting part 7C. Further, the composite nozzle portion 4a moves onto the center portion of the wafer W1, pure water F is supplied onto the center portion of the wafer W1, and the developer L on the surface of the wafer W1 is washed away. On the other hand, the wafer W2 is delivered to the spin chuck 22b of the substrate processing unit 21b (FIG. 9E).

  Thereafter, the wafer W2 is rotated at a predetermined rotational speed, the composite nozzle portion 4b is moved from the standby portion 51b onto the wafer W2, and the pure water nozzle 41b discharges pure water F onto the central portion of the wafer W2. The surface of the wafer W2 is covered with pure water F, and the developer nozzle 6 moves onto the peripheral edge of the wafer W2. On the other hand, the supply of pure water F from the pure water nozzle 41a to the wafer W1 is stopped (FIG. 10A).

The N ₂ gas nozzle 42a moves onto the center of the wafer W1, N ₂ gas is discharged onto the wafer W1, and the wafer W1 is dried by the synergistic action of the pure water spun off by rotation and the gas supply. On the other hand, the discharge of pure water F from the pure water nozzle 41b to the wafer W2 is stopped, the composite nozzle portion 4b is moved onto the peripheral edge of the wafer W2, and the developer nozzle 6 discharges the developer L while discharging the developer L. The entire surface of the wafer W2 is covered with the developer L by moving from the peripheral edge of W2 to the center (FIG. 10B).

Thereafter, the discharge of N ₂ gas to the wafer W1 is stopped and the rotation of the wafer W1 is stopped, and the composite nozzle portion 4a returns to the standby portion 51a, while the supply of the developer L to the wafer W2 is stopped. Subsequently, the developer nozzle 6 passes above the liquid collecting portion 7A as indicated by an arrow in the drawing, and the liquid droplets drooping to the lower end of the developer nozzle 6 as described in FIGS. 7 (a) to (d). D comes into contact with the liquid removal portion 7A, is absorbed and removed (FIGS. 10C and 10D), and the developer nozzle 6 passes over the wafer W1 and returns to the standby portion 66 (FIG. 10E). )). Further, the composite nozzle portion 4b moves onto the center portion of the wafer W2, supplies pure water F to the wafer W2, and the developer L on the surface of the wafer W2 is washed away. On the other hand, the wafer W3 is delivered to the spin chuck 22c of the development processing unit 21c (FIG. 11A).

  Subsequently, the wafer W3 is rotated at a predetermined number of revolutions, the composite nozzle portion 4c is moved from the standby portion 51c onto the wafer W3, and the pure water nozzle 42c discharges pure water F onto the center portion of the wafer W3. The surface of the wafer W3 is covered with the pure water F by the coating, and the developer nozzle 6 moves onto the peripheral edge of the wafer W3. On the other hand, the supply of pure water F from the pure water nozzle 41b is stopped, and the N2 gas nozzle 42b is moved onto the center of the wafer W2 (FIG. 11B).

Then, N ₂ gas is discharged onto the central portion of the wafer W2 to dry the wafer W2, while the discharge of pure water F from the pure water nozzle 41c is stopped, and the composite nozzle portion 4c becomes the peripheral portion of the wafer W3. Move up. Then, the developer nozzle 6 moves from the peripheral edge of the wafer W3 to the center while discharging the developer L (FIG. 11C), and the entire surface of the wafer W3 is covered with the developer L.

Thereafter, the discharge of N ₂ gas to the wafer W2 stops and the rotation of the wafer W2 stops, and the composite nozzle portion 4b returns to the standby portion 51b, while the supply of the developer L to the wafer W3 stops. . Then, the developer nozzle 6 passes above the liquid collecting portion 7B as indicated by an arrow in the figure, and the liquid droplet D hanging on the lower end of the developer nozzle 6 contacts the liquid collecting portion 7B as described in FIG. Then, it is absorbed and removed (FIGS. 11D and 11E). Thereafter, the developer nozzle 6 passes over the development processing units 21b and 21a and returns to the standby unit 66 (FIG. 12A). Further, the composite nozzle portion 4c moves onto the center portion of the wafer W3, and pure water F is supplied onto the center portion of the wafer W3 to wash away the developer L on the surface of the wafer W3 (FIG. 12B).

Thereafter, the supply stop of the pure water F from the pure water nozzle 41c, and _{N 2} gas nozzle 42c is moved on the center portion of the wafer W3, the discharge from the _{N 2} gas nozzle 42c _N on the center of the ₂ gas wafer W3 Then, the wafer W3 is dried (FIG. 12C). Thereafter, the supply of N ₂ gas is stopped and the rotation of the wafer W3 is stopped, the composite nozzle portion 4c returns to the standby portion 51c (FIG. 12D), and the wafer W3 is unloaded from the development processing portion 31c by the substrate transfer means. The

  According to the developing device 2, between the cup bodies 31 a to 31 c of the development processing units 21 a to 21 c arranged in a row in the horizontal direction, on the lower side of the moving path of the developer nozzle 6 moved by the drive mechanism 65, Liquid-removing portions 7A and 7B for coming close to the lower end of the developer nozzle 6 and contacting the developer droplet D dripping from the developer nozzle 6 to remove the droplet D from the developer nozzle 6 are provided. The developer nozzle 6 is provided on the moving track. Therefore, when the developer nozzle 6 moves between the standby unit 66 and each of the development processing units 21a to 21c in order to perform processing on the wafer W and passes over the dried wafer W after the developer is removed, the dried wafer is moved. It is possible to prevent the droplet D from dropping from the developer nozzle 6 onto W. Accordingly, since the droplets are prevented from becoming particles and contaminating the wafer W, a decrease in yield can be suppressed. Further, since the droplet D is removed while the developer nozzle 6 is moving, time for removing the droplet D is not required. As a result, a decrease in throughput can be suppressed.

  Further, the developing device 2 also includes a liquid collecting unit 7C in the standby unit 66, and the droplet D is removed not only when the nozzle 6 moves in the lateral direction but also when stored in the standby unit 66. Therefore, it is possible to more reliably prevent the droplet D from dropping from the developer nozzle 6 described above onto the dried wafer W.

  In the above example, the state where three wafers W are developed is described. However, when processing three or more wafers W, for example, the wafers are successively repeated in the order of the development processing units 21a, 21b, and 21c. W is transported and development processing is performed in the same manner as in the above example.

  In the above example, every time the developer is supplied to the wafer W, the developer nozzle 6 returns to the standby unit 66. In this way, the developer nozzle 6 does not return to the standby unit 66 every time processing is performed. When the developing solution is supplied, the developing solution may be supplied directly to another developing processing unit to supply the developing solution, and the developing solution may be supplied to several wafers W and then returned to the standby unit 66. Further, the transfer order of the wafers W to the development processing units 21a to 21c may not be as described above. For example, the wafers W are repeatedly transferred to the development processing units 21a and 21b in this order, and a predetermined number of these development processing units are provided. When the wafers W are transferred to 21a and 21b, the wafers W may be transferred to the development processing unit 21c, and the development processing may be performed in this transfer order. Even in the case where the development processing is performed as described above, since the droplets are removed when moving between the development processing portions 21a to 21c, the same effect as in the above embodiment can be obtained.

  For example, the liquid collecting portion may be configured such that its external appearance is shown in FIG. 13 (a) and its side surface is shown in FIG. 13 (b). In order to obtain a high droplet removal effect, the liquid collecting portion 81 is formed in a comb shape, and a large number of grooves (concave portions) 82 are formed on the surface thereof along the moving direction of the developer nozzle 6. Then, when the lower end of the developer nozzle 6 comes close to the liquid droplet D and adheres to the surface of the liquid collecting portion 81 as in the embodiment described above, the liquid droplet D as shown by the arrow in FIG. Enters into the groove 82 by capillary action. Further, in order to prevent the replacement frequency of the liquid take-up portion 81 from being increased by storing a large amount of developer in the groove 82, the liquid take-up portion 81 has a groove 82 as shown in FIG. You may be comprised so that a lower side may spread.

  By the way, in this example, the discharge port 61 of the developer nozzle 6 may be opened in the vertical direction instead of being opened obliquely. However, as described in the background section, the developer nozzle opened in the oblique direction. In the case of using No. 6, even if dummy dispensing, liquid suction, or the like is performed, it is difficult to prevent the liquid droplets from dropping from the developer nozzle, and therefore it is particularly effective to provide the liquid removing portion described above.

  The material constituting each of the liquid collecting portions is not limited to ceramics, but a hydrophilic material is preferably used in order to obtain a high droplet D removal effect. Further, it is preferable to roughen the surface state because a high developer removing effect can be obtained. In addition, each liquid collecting part may be configured by using an elastic material. In this case, even if the developer nozzle 6 comes into contact with each liquid collecting part, the liquid collecting part and the developer nozzle can be prevented from being damaged. Therefore, it is possible to suppress time-consuming adjustment of the distance between the developer nozzle and the liquid removal unit.

  Further, since it is only necessary to prevent the droplet D from dropping onto the wafer W, the liquid collecting portions 7A and 7B may be provided between the opening portions 31a to 31c of the cup bodies 31a to 31c, for example, the cup body 31a. ˜31c may be provided on the upper inclined portions 32a to 32c.

  In the above example, the developing units 21a to 21c are arranged in a linear direction, and the standby unit 66 is provided on the extended line of the row. However, the developing units 21a to 21c and the standby unit 66 are arranged in the circumferential direction. The developer nozzles 6 may be moved in the arrangement direction, and the liquid removal portions 7A and 7B may be provided on the lower side of the movement path of the developer nozzles 6. The numbers of the development processing unit and the liquid collecting unit are not limited to the above-described embodiments.

  Moreover, it is good also as a structure shown to FIG. 14 (a), (b) as a liquid-removal part. The liquid collecting part 9 includes a liquid receiving part 92 having a triangular shape in side view on a base 91. A cleaning liquid nozzle 93 that discharges a cleaning liquid such as pure water in an oblique direction is provided on the base 91. In the figure, 94 is a drainage port provided in the base 91 and is connected to a drainage path (not shown). For example, the liquid collecting part 9 is provided between the cup bodies 31a to 31c and in the standby area 67 instead of the liquid receiving parts 7A to 7C. In this example, a developing solution nozzle 90 for performing a developing process is provided with a discharge port 97 opened in a circular shape in an oblique direction, and is connected to the above-described arm body 64 through a base 96, and is similar to the developing solution nozzle 6. Can be moved up and down and moved laterally.

  For example, when the developer nozzle 90 moves from the lateral direction and approaches the liquid receiving portion 92 provided between the cup bodies 31 a to 31 c, the developer droplet D comes into contact with the liquid receiving portion 92, and the liquid receiving portion 92. It flows down to the base 91. Further, the cleaning liquid is discharged from the cleaning liquid nozzle 93 toward the developer nozzle 90, and the droplets D are washed away by the cleaning liquid. The washed liquid is transmitted from the lower end of the nozzle 90 to the liquid receiving portion 92 and flows down to the base 91, and the drained drained liquid is removed from the drain outlet 94. The liquid collecting unit 9 may be provided in the standby area 67 instead of the liquid collecting unit 7C. Further, in this example, the cleaning liquid nozzle 93 may not be provided, and the liquid droplets removed from the developer nozzle 6 may be removed by only transmitting the liquid droplets contacting the liquid receiving part 92 to the lower side of the liquid receiving part 92. .

  As the nozzle 93 for discharging the cleaning liquid, in order to obtain a high cleaning effect for the developer nozzle 90 and enhance the effect of removing the droplets D, for example, the cleaning liquid and gas are mixed to generate a cleaning liquid mist. A so-called two-fluid nozzle that sprays the mist may be used. In addition, for the purpose of enhancing the removal effect, a so-called megasonic nozzle that discharges a cleaning liquid applied with an ultrasonic wave of about 1 MHz, for example, may be used. Note that the liquid removal unit 9 may be used for the developer nozzle 6 described above instead of the developer nozzle 90.

  Although the application example of the present invention to the developing device has been described, the present invention can also be applied to other liquid processing devices such as a resist coating device. In this case, the treatment liquid from the treatment liquid nozzle is prevented from falling onto the substrate before and after the treatment with the treatment liquid, and particles are generated or the in-plane uniformity of the treatment of the substrate is reduced. Can be prevented. As a result, a decrease in yield can be prevented.

  Hereinafter, the coating and developing device 101 in which the developing device 2 is incorporated will be described. FIG. 15 is a plan view of a resist pattern forming system in which an exposure apparatus C4 is connected to the coating and developing apparatus 101, and FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the system. FIG. 17 is a longitudinal sectional view of the coating and developing apparatus 101. The coating / developing apparatus 101 is provided with a carrier block C1, and the transfer arm 112 takes out the wafer W from the sealed carrier 110 mounted on the mounting table 111 and transfers it to the processing block C2. The transfer arm 112 is configured to receive the processed wafer W from C2 and return it to the carrier 110. The carrier 110 includes a large number of wafers W, and each wafer W is sequentially transferred to the processing block C2.

  As shown in FIG. 16, the processing block C2 is a first block (DEV layer) B1 for performing development processing and a first processing for forming an antireflection film formed under the resist film in this example. 2 block (BCT layer) B2, a third block (COT layer) B3 for applying a resist film, a fourth block for forming an antireflection film formed on the upper layer side of the resist film ( ITC layer) B4 is laminated in order from the bottom.

  Each layer of the processing block C2 is configured similarly to a plan view. The third block (COT layer) B3 will be described as an example. The COT layer B3 is a resist film forming module for forming a resist film as a coating film, and pre-processing of processing performed in the resist film forming module. And the shelf units U1 to U4 constituting the heating / cooling system processing module group for performing post-processing, and the resist film forming module and the heating / cooling system processing module group, And a transfer arm A3 that transfers the wafer W.

  The shelf units U1 to U4 are arranged along the transfer region R1 in which the transfer arm A3 moves, and are configured by stacking the heating module and the cooling module, respectively. The heating module includes a heating plate for heating the mounted wafer, and the cooling module includes a cooling plate for cooling the mounted wafer.

  For the second block (BCT layer) B2 and the fourth block (ITC layer) B4, an antireflection film forming module and a protective film forming module corresponding to the resist film forming module are provided, respectively. Instead, the configuration is the same as that of the COT layer B3 except that a chemical solution for forming an antireflection film and a chemical solution for forming a protective film are supplied to the wafer W as processing solutions.

  For the first block (DEV layer) B1, development modules 113 corresponding to the resist film forming modules are stacked in two stages in one DEV layer B1, and each development module 113 is connected to the development apparatus 2 described above. Correspondingly, three development processing units and the nozzles described above are included in a common housing. The DEV layer B1 is provided with shelf units U1 to U4 that constitute a heating / cooling system processing module group for performing pre-processing and post-processing of the developing module 113. In the DEV layer B1, a transfer arm A1 for transferring the wafer W to the two-stage developing module and the heating / cooling processing module is provided. That is, the transport arm A1 is shared by the two-stage development module. The transfer arm A1 corresponds to the substrate transfer means.

  Further, the processing block C2 is provided with a shelf unit U5 as shown in FIGS. 15 and 17, and the wafer W from the carrier block C1 is one transfer unit of the shelf unit U5, for example, a second block (BCT layer). It is sequentially conveyed to the corresponding delivery unit CPL2 of B2. The transfer arm A2 in the second block (BCT layer) B2 receives the wafer W from the transfer unit CPL2 and transfers it to each unit (antireflection film forming module and heating / cooling processing unit group). Thus, an antireflection film is formed on the wafer W.

  Thereafter, the wafer W is transferred to the transfer unit BF2 of the shelf unit U5, the transfer arm D1, and the transfer unit CPL3 of the shelf unit U5, where the temperature is adjusted to, for example, 23 ° C., and then the third block ( COT layer) B3 and a resist film is formed by a resist film forming module. Further, the wafer W is transferred to the transfer unit BF3 in the shelf unit U5 through the transfer arm A3 → the transfer unit BF3 of the shelf unit U5 → the transfer arm D1. The wafer W on which the resist film is formed may further have a protective film formed in the fourth block (ITC layer) B4. In this case, the wafer W is transferred to the transfer arm A4 via the transfer unit CPL4, and after the protective film is formed, the wafer W is transferred to the transfer unit TRS4 by the transfer arm A4.

  On the other hand, in the upper part of the DEV layer B1, a shuttle arm 115, which is a dedicated transfer means for directly transferring the wafer W from the transfer unit CPL11 provided in the shelf unit U5 to the transfer unit CPL12 provided in the shelf unit U6, is provided. Is provided. The wafer W on which the resist film and the protective film are further formed is transferred from the transfer units BF3 and TRS4 to the transfer unit CPL11 via the transfer arm D1, and from there to the transfer unit CPL12 of the shelf unit U6 directly by the shuttle arm 115. It is conveyed and taken into the interface block C3. In addition, the delivery unit to which CPL is attached in FIG. 11 also serves as a cooling unit for temperature control, and the delivery unit to which BF is attached also serves as a buffer unit on which a plurality of wafers W can be placed.

  Next, the wafer W is transferred to the exposure apparatus C4 by the interface arm 116, and after a predetermined exposure process is performed here, the wafer W is placed on the transfer unit TRS6 of the shelf unit U6 and returned to the processing block C2. The returned wafer W is subjected to development processing in the first block (DEV layer) B1, and transferred to the transfer unit TRS1 of the shelf unit U5 by the transfer arm A1. Thereafter, it is returned to the carrier 110 via the delivery arm 112.

(Evaluation Test 1)
In the developing solution nozzle 6, it was confirmed how much the droplet D hanging down from the lower end dropped. As a result, when the droplet size was 1 mm, 2 mm, or 3 mm, the droplet did not fall, but when the droplet size reached 4 mm, it was confirmed that the droplet dropped from the tip of the developer nozzle 6. . Based on this result, when the developer nozzle 6 is stored in the standby section 66, the distance h2 between the lower end of the developer nozzle 6 and the liquid removal section 7C is set to 2 mm, and then the developer nozzle 6 is turned on. The liquid droplet was raised with respect to the liquid collecting part 7C, and a liquid droplet was formed that hanged down 2 mm from the lower end of the developer nozzle. Then, after the developer nozzle 6 was lowered and stored in the standby unit 66, the developer nozzle 6 was raised and the presence or absence of droplets was observed. The formation of droplets by raising the developer nozzle 6 and the storage of the developer nozzle 6 in the standby unit 6 were repeated 50 times.

  As a result of Evaluation Test 1, every time the developer nozzle 6 descends, the droplets are removed from the lower end of the developer nozzle 6. From this test, it was shown that droplets can be removed by providing the developing device 2 with the liquid collecting portion 7C as in the above embodiment. Although the direction in which the developer nozzle 6 approaches is different, it is expected from this experiment that the liquid droplets D can be effectively removed from the developer nozzle 6 also in the liquid collecting portions 7A and 7B.

(Evaluation test 2)
The liquid collecting part 7C was dyed with paint, and a test similar to the evaluation test 1 was performed to check whether the developer nozzle 6 was contaminated with paint. As a result, there was no adhesion of the paint to the developer nozzle 6. Therefore, it can be seen that the liquid droplets adhering from the developing solution nozzle 6 to the liquid taking part 7C are removed by the liquid taking part 7C without adhering to the developing solution nozzle 6 again. From this test, it can be seen that it is effective to provide the liquid collecting portion 7C in the developing device as in the above embodiment, and it is expected that the liquid collecting portions 7A and 7B are effective.

D droplet L developer W wafer 2 developing devices 21a to 21c developing units 22a to 22c spin chucks 30a to 30c openings 31a to 31c cup bodies 4a to 4c composite nozzles 41a to 41c pure water nozzles 42a to 42c N ₂ gas nozzles 6 Developer Nozzle 61 Discharge Port 65 Drive Mechanism 66 Standby Units 7A-7C Liquid Removing Unit 100 Control Unit

Claims (10)

A plurality of liquid processing units each configured in a row in a horizontal direction, each having a substrate holding unit configured to hold a substrate horizontally in a cup body having an opening formed on the upper side,
A common processing liquid nozzle for supplying a processing liquid to the substrate;
A standby unit provided on an extended line of the row of the liquid processing units, for waiting the processing liquid nozzle;
Moving means for moving the liquid processing nozzle according to a row of liquid processing units between an upper region of each of the liquid processing units and the standby unit;
Between the openings of the cup body, the processing liquid nozzle is provided below the moving path of the processing liquid nozzle, and comes into contact with the liquid droplet of the processing liquid hanging from the processing liquid nozzle moved by the moving means. A liquid removal part for removal from the nozzle;
A liquid processing apparatus comprising:   The liquid processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing liquid nozzle includes a discharge port that discharges the processing liquid obliquely downward.   The liquid processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the liquid collecting unit is further provided in the standby unit.   The liquid processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the liquid removing unit includes a cleaning liquid supply unit for supplying a cleaning liquid to the processing liquid nozzle.   6. The liquid treatment according to claim 1, wherein the liquid collection part has a large number of recesses on a surface thereof in order to absorb and remove the liquid droplets by capillary action. apparatus.   The liquid processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing liquid is a developer, and the substrate is exposed with a resist applied to a surface thereof. A treatment that is configured by providing a substrate holding portion for horizontally holding the substrate in a cup body having an opening formed on the upper side, and is shared by a plurality of liquid treatment portions arranged in a row in the horizontal direction. Supplying a processing liquid from the liquid nozzle to the substrate;
The liquid processing nozzles are arranged according to the row of the liquid processing units between a standby unit for waiting for the processing liquid nozzles provided on the extended line of the liquid processing unit columns and an upper region of each of the liquid processing units. Moving by means of moving means;
A step of bringing a liquid removal portion provided on the lower side of the movement path of the treatment liquid nozzle between the openings of the cup body into contact with the liquid droplets of the treatment liquid hanging from the treatment liquid nozzle moved by the moving means;
Removing liquid droplets coming into contact with the liquid removal unit from the treatment liquid nozzle by the liquid removal unit;
A liquid treatment method comprising: The step of supplying the processing liquid to the substrate includes
The liquid processing method according to claim 7, wherein the liquid processing method is a step of supplying the processing liquid obliquely downward from a discharge port of the processing liquid nozzle.   The liquid processing method according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the processing liquid is a developer, and the substrate is exposed by applying a resist on a surface thereof. A storage medium storing a computer program used in a liquid processing apparatus that performs liquid processing on a substrate,
A storage medium for performing the liquid processing method according to any one of claims 7 to 9.

Images