JP2010219435A - Substrate processing apparatus, and substrate processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method sufficiently preventing a pattern failure caused by contamination of a back surface of a substrate. <P>SOLUTION: Before formation of a film on a front surface of the substrate W, adhesion reinforcing processing is performed on the substrate W by an adhesion reinforcing unit AHL. In the adhesion reinforcing unit AHL, the substrate W is mounted on a substrate mounting plate 931. In this state, the back surface of the substrate W is supported on a plurality of spheres PU and an annular member 935. A peripheral edge part of the back surface of the substrate W abuts on the annular member 935. A gap space BS is formed between the back surface of the substrate W and an upper surface of the substrate mounting plate 931. In supplying an adhesion reinforcing agent onto the front surface of the substrate W, the atmosphere in the gap space BS is exhausted by a first exhauster 990 and an outer peripheral part of the gap space BS is closed by the annular member 935. The film is formed on the front surface of the substrate W after adhesion reinforcing processing. Then, the back surface of the substrate W is washed and the substrate W the back surface of which has been washed is carried to an exposure device. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

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

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

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

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

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

  Accordingly, a liquid immersion method has been proposed as a projection exposure method that enables further miniaturization of the exposure pattern (see, for example, Patent Document 2). In the projection exposure apparatus of Patent Document 2, a liquid is filled between the projection optical system and the substrate, and the exposure light on the substrate surface can be shortened. Thereby, the exposure pattern can be further miniaturized.

JP 2003-324139 A International Publication No. 99/49504 Pamphlet JP 2007-214365 A

  Prior to the exposure process, various film forming processes are performed on the substrate. During the film forming process, the back surface of the substrate may be contaminated. In that case, unevenness occurs on the back surface of the substrate due to the contaminant, and the substrate becomes unstable. Therefore, when the exposure process is performed by a general method that does not use a liquid, defocusing may occur in which the focus of the lens of the exposure apparatus deviates from the surface of the resist film on the substrate. As a result, there is a possibility that a dimensional defect and a shape defect of the exposure pattern may occur.

  On the other hand, in the case of performing exposure processing of a substrate using the immersion method as described in Patent Document 2, if the back surface of the substrate is contaminated, contaminants attached to the back surface of the substrate are exposed to the exposure apparatus. Mix in the liquid inside. As a result, the lens of the exposure apparatus is contaminated, and there is a risk that a dimension defect and shape defect of the exposure pattern may occur.

  Therefore, Patent Document 3 discloses a substrate processing apparatus for cleaning the back surface of a substrate before exposure processing. According to this substrate processing apparatus, the back surface of the substrate before the exposure processing is cleaned by the back surface cleaning unit, so that contaminants attached to the back surface of the substrate before the exposure processing can be removed.

  However, in reality, there are cases where droplets remain on the back surface of the substrate after the cleaning process. In this case, particles in the external atmosphere adhere to droplets on the back surface of the substrate while the substrate after the cleaning process is transported from the back surface cleaning unit to the exposure apparatus. For this reason, there are cases where contamination within the exposure apparatus due to contamination of the back surface of the substrate cannot be sufficiently prevented.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method capable of sufficiently preventing pattern defects caused by contamination of the back surface of a substrate.

  (1) A substrate processing apparatus according to a first invention is a substrate processing apparatus disposed so as to be adjacent to an exposure apparatus, and is adjacent to a processing unit for processing a substrate and one end of the processing unit. A transfer unit for transferring the substrate between the processing unit and the exposure apparatus, and the processing unit includes a film forming unit that forms a film on the surface of the substrate before the exposure process by the exposure apparatus; An adhesion strengthening unit that performs an adhesion strengthening process on the surface of the substrate before the film is formed by the film forming unit, and at least one of the processing unit and the transfer unit is an exposure process performed by an exposure apparatus after the film is formed by the film forming unit. The adhesion strengthening unit includes a substrate mounting table including a first cleaning unit that previously cleans the back surface of the substrate, the adhesion enhancing unit having a top surface on which the substrate is mounted and having a passage opening on the top surface, and the back surface of the substrate and the substrate mounting table A support member that supports the back surface of the substrate so that a gap is formed between the top surface, an adhesion reinforcing agent supply unit that supplies an adhesion reinforcing agent to the surface of the substrate mounted on the substrate mounting table, and an adhesion reinforcing agent And a pressure adjusting mechanism that adjusts the pressure in the gap through the passage so that the adhesion reinforcing agent supplied to the surface of the substrate by the supply section does not enter the gap.

  In this substrate processing apparatus, the substrate after processing by the processing unit is received by the transfer unit and transferred to the exposure apparatus. In the exposure apparatus, an exposure process is performed on the substrate that has been processed by the processing unit. The substrate after the exposure processing is received by the transfer unit and transferred to the processing unit.

  In the adhesion strengthening unit of the processing unit, the back surface of the substrate is supported by the support member by placing the substrate on the substrate mounting table, and a gap is formed between the back surface of the substrate and the upper surface of the substrate mounting table.

  In this state, the adhesion reinforcing agent is supplied to the surface of the substrate by the adhesion reinforcing agent supply unit. In addition, the pressure adjusting mechanism adjusts the pressure in the gap between the back surface of the substrate and the upper surface of the substrate mounting table through a passage formed in the substrate mounting table, and the adhesion reinforcing agent supplied to the surface of the substrate is in the gap. It is prevented from entering. This prevents the back surface of the substrate from being modified from hydrophilic to hydrophobic by the adhesion enhancer.

  A film is formed on the surface of the substrate after the adhesion strengthening process by the adhesion strengthening unit by the film forming unit. Thereafter, the back surface of the substrate is cleaned by the first cleaning unit before the exposure processing by the exposure apparatus.

  In this case, since the back surface of the substrate does not have hydrophobicity, even if a minute droplet adheres to the back surface of the substrate during cleaning of the back surface of the substrate, the droplet can be easily removed. Therefore, it is sufficiently reduced that minute droplets remain on the back surface of the substrate.

  This prevents the back surface of the substrate from being contaminated while the substrate cleaned by the first cleaning unit is transported to the exposure apparatus by the transfer unit. As a result, contamination in the exposure apparatus due to contamination of the back surface of the substrate is prevented, and pattern defects due to contamination of the back surface of the substrate are prevented.

  (2) The support member includes an annular member that closes the outer peripheral portion of the gap by contacting the peripheral edge of the back surface of the substrate, and the pressure adjusting mechanism exhausts the atmosphere in the gap through the passage of the substrate mounting table. An exhaust device that adjusts the pressure in the gap may be included.

  In this case, in the adhesion strengthening unit, the periphery of the back surface of the substrate contacts the annular member by placing the substrate on the substrate mounting table, and a gap is formed between the back surface of the substrate and the upper surface of the substrate mounting table. In addition, the outer periphery of the gap is closed.

  In this state, the atmosphere in the gap is exhausted through the passage of the substrate mounting table by the exhaust device, and the pressure in the gap is adjusted to be negative with respect to the space above the substrate. Thereby, the peripheral part of a board | substrate and an annular member closely_contact | adhere, and a clearance gap becomes a sealed space. As a result, the adhesion reinforcing agent supplied to the surface of the substrate is prevented from entering the gap, and the back surface of the substrate is reliably prevented from being modified from hydrophilic to hydrophobic.

  (3) The support member may include a plurality of support bodies that are dispersedly arranged inside the annular member and support the back surface of the substrate.

  In this case, the area | region except the peripheral part of the back surface of a board | substrate is supported by a some support body by mounting a board | substrate on a board | substrate mounting base. This prevents the central portion of the substrate from being deformed when the pressure in the gap becomes negative with respect to the space above the substrate.

  (4) The support member includes a plurality of supports that support the back surface of the substrate so that at least a part of the outer periphery of the gap is open, and the pressure adjustment mechanism is not inserted into the gap through the passage of the substrate mounting table. You may provide the inert gas supply apparatus which adjusts the pressure in a clearance gap by supplying active gas.

  In this case, in the adhesion strengthening unit, the inert gas is supplied into the gap through the passage of the substrate mounting table by the inert gas supply device in a state where the substrate is mounted on the substrate mounting table, and the pressure in the gap is changed to the substrate. It adjusts so that it may become a positive pressure with respect to the space above. Thereby, the inert gas supplied in the gap flows out from the outer peripheral portion in the open state. As a result, the adhesion reinforcing agent supplied to the surface of the substrate is prevented from entering the gap, and the back surface of the substrate is reliably prevented from being modified from hydrophilic to hydrophobic.

  (5) The pressure adjusting mechanism further includes an annular flow path forming member provided on the upper surface of the substrate mounting table, and the flow path forming member has a gap at an outer peripheral end portion of the substrate mounted on the substrate mounting table. You may have an inner peripheral surface which opposes.

  In this case, when the inert gas is supplied into the gap through the passage of the substrate mounting table by the inert gas supply device, the inert gas supplied into the gap is changed between the outer peripheral edge of the substrate and the inner periphery of the flow path forming member. It flows out from between the surfaces. As a result, the adhesion enhancing agent supplied to the surface of the substrate is in the space between the outer peripheral edge of the substrate and the inner peripheral surface of the flow path forming member, and the gap between the back surface of the substrate and the upper surface of the substrate mounting table. Intrusion is prevented, and the back surface and outer peripheral edge of the substrate are reliably prevented from being modified from hydrophilic to hydrophobic.

  In this case, even when fine droplets adhere to the back surface and the outer peripheral edge of the substrate when cleaning the back surface of the substrate, the droplets can be easily removed. Therefore, it is sufficiently reduced that minute droplets remain on the back surface and the outer peripheral edge of the substrate.

  This prevents the back surface and the outer peripheral edge of the substrate from being contaminated while the substrate cleaned by the first cleaning unit is transported to the exposure apparatus by the transfer unit. As a result, contamination in the exposure apparatus due to contamination of the back surface and outer peripheral edge of the substrate is prevented, and pattern defects due to contamination of the back surface and outer peripheral edge of the substrate are prevented.

  (6) The first cleaning unit may clean the outer peripheral edge of the substrate together with the back surface of the substrate.

  In this case, in the first cleaning unit, the outer peripheral edge is cleaned together with the back surface of the substrate. As a result, the outer peripheral edge of the substrate before the exposure process is kept clean. In addition, since the outer peripheral edge of the substrate is not modified from hydrophilic to hydrophobic, even if a minute droplet adheres to the outer peripheral edge of the substrate during cleaning of the outer peripheral edge of the substrate, the liquid droplet can be easily removed. Can do.

  (7) The first cleaning unit includes a substrate holding unit that holds the substrate substantially horizontally, a rotation driving unit that rotates the substrate held by the substrate holding unit around an axis perpendicular to the substrate, and a substrate holding unit. A processing liquid supply means for supplying the processing liquid onto the surface of the substrate held by the substrate, and the processing liquid supplied on the surface of the substrate after the processing liquid is supplied onto the surface of the substrate by the processing liquid supply means. And an inert gas supply means for supplying an inert gas so as to be removed from the surface of the substrate by moving outward from the center of the substrate.

  In the first cleaning unit, the substrate is held substantially horizontally by the substrate holding means, and the substrate is rotated around an axis perpendicular to the substrate by the rotation driving means. Further, the processing liquid is supplied onto the surface of the substrate by the processing liquid supply means. Then, the inert gas is supplied by the inert gas supply means so that the processing liquid supplied onto the surface of the substrate is removed from the substrate by moving outward from the central portion on the surface of the substrate. .

  As a result, the processing liquid on the surface of the substrate can be integrally moved to the outside of the substrate, so that even when the surface of the substrate is hydrophobic, fine droplets may remain on the surface of the substrate. Is prevented. As a result, contamination in the exposure apparatus due to contamination of the substrate surface is prevented, and pattern defects due to contamination of the substrate surface are prevented.

  (8) At least one of the processing unit and the transfer unit may further include a second cleaning unit that cleans the back surface of the substrate after the exposure processing by the exposure apparatus.

  In this case, the back surface of the substrate is cleaned by the second cleaning unit after the exposure processing by the exposure apparatus in at least one of the processing unit and the transfer unit.

  Even in this case, since the back surface of the substrate does not have hydrophobicity, even if a minute droplet adheres to the back surface of the substrate during cleaning of the back surface of the substrate, the droplet can be easily removed. Therefore, it is sufficiently reduced that minute droplets remain on the back surface of the substrate.

  This prevents the back surface of the substrate from being contaminated while the substrate cleaned by the second cleaning unit is being transported. As a result, contamination in the processing unit due to contamination of the back surface of the substrate is prevented.

  (9) The film forming unit includes a photosensitive film forming unit that forms a photosensitive film on the surface of the substrate before the exposure processing by the exposure apparatus; An antireflection film forming unit that forms an antireflection film on the surface of the substrate before the formation of the film may be included.

  In this case, an antireflection film is formed by the antireflection film forming unit on the surface of the substrate after the adhesion reinforcement processing by the adhesion reinforcement unit. This improves the adhesion of the antireflection film to the surface of the substrate. A photosensitive film is formed on the surface of the substrate on which the antireflection film is formed by the antireflection film forming unit. As a result, standing waves and halation that occur during exposure processing by the exposure apparatus are suppressed.

  (10) A substrate processing method according to a second aspect of the present invention is a substrate processing method for processing a substrate in a substrate processing apparatus that is disposed adjacent to an exposure apparatus and includes an adhesion strengthening unit, a film forming unit, and a cleaning unit. A step of performing an adhesion strengthening process on the surface of the substrate by the adhesion enhancing unit before the exposure process by the exposure apparatus, and a film forming unit on the surface of the substrate by the film forming unit after the exposure enhancing process by the exposure apparatus after the adhesion strengthening process by the exposure apparatus. And a step of cleaning the back surface of the substrate by a cleaning unit after film formation by the film forming unit and before exposure processing by the exposure device, and a step of transporting the substrate cleaned by the cleaning unit to the exposure device. The step of performing the adhesion strengthening process is performed on the substrate mounting table having a top surface on which the substrate is placed and a passage opening on the top surface. A step of placing the substrate such that a gap is formed between the substrate and the upper surface of the substrate mounting table, a step of supplying an adhesion reinforcing agent to the surface of the substrate placed on the substrate mounting table, and a surface of the substrate. And a step of adjusting the pressure in the gap through the passage so that the supplied adhesion reinforcing agent does not enter the gap.

  In this substrate processing method, the adhesion strengthening process is performed on the surface of the substrate by the adhesion enhancing unit before the exposure process by the exposure apparatus, and the substrate is formed by the film forming unit after the adhesion enhancing process by the adhesion enhancing unit and before the exposure process by the exposure apparatus. A film is formed on the surface of the substrate, and the back surface of the substrate is cleaned by the cleaning unit after the film formation by the film forming unit and before the exposure processing by the exposure apparatus. The substrate cleaned by the cleaning unit is transported to the exposure apparatus and subjected to exposure processing by the exposure apparatus.

  In the step of performing the adhesion strengthening process, a gap is formed between the back surface of the substrate and the upper surface of the substrate mounting table on the substrate mounting table having a top surface on which the substrate is mounted and a passage opening on the upper surface. A substrate is placed on the substrate.

  In this state, the adhesion reinforcing agent is supplied to the surface of the substrate by the adhesion reinforcing agent supply unit. Then, the pressure in the gap between the back surface of the substrate and the upper surface of the substrate mounting table is adjusted through the passage formed in the substrate mounting table, and the adhesion reinforcing agent supplied to the surface of the substrate may enter the clearance. Is prevented. This prevents the back surface of the substrate from being modified from hydrophilic to hydrophobic by the adhesion enhancer.

  Thereby, since the back surface of the substrate does not have hydrophobicity, even when a minute droplet adheres to the back surface of the substrate when the back surface of the substrate is cleaned by the cleaning unit, the droplet can be easily removed. Therefore, it is sufficiently reduced that minute droplets remain on the back surface of the substrate.

  This prevents the back surface of the substrate from being contaminated while the substrate cleaned by the cleaning unit is transported to the exposure apparatus. As a result, contamination in the exposure apparatus due to contamination of the back surface of the substrate is prevented, and pattern defects due to contamination of the back surface of the substrate are prevented.

  In the present invention, it is possible to prevent the adhesion reinforcing agent from entering the back surface of the substrate during the adhesion reinforcement processing on the surface of the substrate. This prevents the back surface of the substrate from being modified from hydrophilic to hydrophobic by the adhesion enhancer.

  A film is formed on the surface of the substrate after the adhesion strengthening treatment. Thereafter, the back surface of the substrate is cleaned before the exposure processing by the exposure apparatus. In this case, since the back surface of the substrate does not have hydrophobicity, even if a minute droplet adheres to the back surface of the substrate during cleaning of the back surface of the substrate, the droplet can be easily removed. Therefore, it is sufficiently reduced that minute droplets remain on the back surface of the substrate.

  This prevents the back surface of the substrate from being contaminated while the cleaned substrate is transported to the exposure apparatus. As a result, contamination in the exposure apparatus due to contamination of the back surface of the substrate is prevented, and pattern defects due to contamination of the back surface of the substrate are prevented.

1 is a plan view of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is one side view of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. It is the other side view of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. It is the schematic side view which looked at the interface block from the exposure apparatus side. It is typical sectional drawing which shows the example of 1 structure of an adhesion strengthening unit. (A) is a typical longitudinal cross-sectional view of the board | substrate mounting plate of FIG. 5, (b) is the top view which looked at the board | substrate mounting plate of FIG. 5 from the upper direction. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state of the clearance space at the time of the board | substrate adhesion reinforcement process by the adhesion reinforcement unit of FIG. It is the side view and schematic plan view which show the structure of a washing | cleaning / drying processing unit. It is the side view and schematic plan view which show the structure of a washing | cleaning / drying processing unit. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which mainly shows the structure of the fluid supply pipe | tube of FIG. (A) is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing the structure in the vicinity of the tip of the fluid supply pipe in FIG. 8, and (b) is a plan view of the tip of the fluid supply pipe as seen from the arrow YA in (a). It is a figure for demonstrating holding | maintenance operation | movement of the board | substrate by a spin chuck. It is a figure for demonstrating holding | maintenance operation | movement of the board | substrate by a spin chuck. It is a side view for demonstrating the surface cleaning process and back surface cleaning process of a board | substrate. It is the side view and top view for demonstrating the bevel cleaning process of a board | substrate. It is a figure which shows an example of the washing | cleaning process and drying process of the substrate surface by the washing | cleaning / drying processing unit of FIG. (A) is a typical longitudinal cross-sectional view of the board | substrate mounting plate which concerns on a modification, (b) is the top view which looked at the board | substrate mounting plate concerning a modification from the upper direction. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state of the crevice space at the time of the adhesion reinforcement process of the board | substrate by the adhesion reinforcement | strengthening unit of a modification.

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

  In the following description, the surface of the substrate on which various patterns such as circuit patterns are formed is referred to as the front surface, and the opposite surface is referred to as the back surface.

(1) Configuration of Substrate Processing Apparatus FIG. 1 is a plan view of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In addition, in FIG. 1 and FIGS. 2 to 4 to be described later, in order to clarify the positional relationship, arrows indicating the X direction, the Y direction, and the Z direction orthogonal to each other are attached. The X direction and the Y direction are orthogonal to each other in the horizontal plane, and the Z direction corresponds to the vertical direction. In each direction, the direction in which the arrow points is the + direction, and the opposite direction is the-direction. Further, the rotation direction around the Z direction is defined as the θ direction.

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

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

  The indexer block 9 includes a main controller (control unit) 30 that controls the operations of the processing blocks 9 to 15, a plurality of carrier platforms 40 and an indexer robot IR. The indexer robot IR is provided with a hand IRH for delivering the substrate W.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  The interface block 15 includes a sending buffer unit SBF, a cleaning / drying processing unit SD1, a sixth central robot CR6, an edge exposure unit EEW, a return buffer unit RBF, a placement / cooling unit PASS-CP (hereinafter abbreviated as P-CP). ), A substrate platform PASS13, an interface transport mechanism IFR, and a cleaning / drying processing unit SD2. The cleaning / drying processing unit SD1 performs cleaning and drying processing of the substrate W before the exposure processing, and the cleaning / drying processing unit SD2 performs cleaning and drying processing of the substrate W after the exposure processing. Details of the cleaning / drying processing units SD1 and SD2 will be described later.

  The sixth central robot CR6 is provided with hands CRH11 and CRH12 (see FIG. 4) for delivering the substrate W up and down, and a hand H1 for delivering the substrate W to the interface transport mechanism IFR. , H2 (see FIG. 4) are provided above and below. Details of the interface block 15 will be described later.

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

  First, the configuration on the + X side of the substrate processing apparatus 500 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, in the antireflection film coating processing unit 50 (see FIG. 1) of the antireflection film processing block 10, three coating units BARC are vertically stacked. Each coating unit BARC includes a spin chuck 51 that rotates while adsorbing and holding the substrate W in a horizontal posture, and a supply nozzle 52 that supplies a coating liquid for an antireflection film to the substrate W held on the spin chuck 51.

  In the resist film coating processing section 60 (see FIG. 1) of the resist film processing block 11, three coating units RES are stacked in a vertical direction. Each coating unit RES includes a spin chuck 61 that rotates while adsorbing and holding the substrate W in a horizontal posture, and a supply nozzle 62 that supplies a coating liquid for a resist film to the substrate W held on the spin chuck 61.

  In the development processing unit 70 of the development processing block 12, five development processing units DEV are stacked one above the other. Each development processing unit DEV includes a spin chuck 71 that rotates by sucking and holding the substrate W in a horizontal posture, and a supply nozzle 72 that supplies the developer to the substrate W held on the spin chuck 71.

  In the resist cover film coating processing section 80 (see FIG. 1) of the resist cover film processing block 13, three coating units COV are vertically stacked. Each coating unit COV includes a spin chuck 81 that rotates while adsorbing and holding the substrate W in a horizontal posture, and a supply nozzle 82 that supplies a coating liquid for the resist cover film to the substrate W held on the spin chuck 81. As a coating solution for the resist cover film, a material having a low affinity with the resist and water (a material having low reactivity with the resist and water) can be used. For example, a fluororesin. The coating unit COV forms a resist cover film on the resist film formed on the substrate W by applying a coating liquid onto the substrate W while rotating the substrate W.

  In the resist cover film removal processing section 90 (see FIG. 1) of the resist cover film removal block 14, three removal units REM are vertically stacked. Each removal unit REM includes a spin chuck 91 that rotates while adsorbing and holding the substrate W in a horizontal posture, and a supply nozzle 92 that supplies a peeling liquid (for example, a fluororesin) to the substrate W held on the spin chuck 91. The removal unit REM removes the resist cover film formed on the substrate W by applying a stripping solution onto the substrate W while rotating the substrate W.

  The method for removing the resist cover film in the removal unit REM is not limited to the above example. For example, the resist cover film may be removed by supplying a stripping solution onto the substrate W while moving the slit nozzle above the substrate W.

  On the + X side in the interface block 15, an edge exposure unit EEW and three cleaning / drying processing units SD2 are stacked in a vertical direction. The edge exposure unit EEW includes a spin chuck 98 that rotates by attracting and holding the substrate W in a horizontal posture, and a light irradiator 99 that exposes the periphery of the substrate W held on the spin chuck 98.

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

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

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

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

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

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

  FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of the interface block 15 as viewed from the exposure apparatus 16 side. As shown in FIG. 4, in the interface block 15, on the −X side, a feed buffer unit SBF and three cleaning / drying processing units SD1 are stacked. In the interface block 15, an edge exposure unit EEW is disposed at the upper part on the + X side.

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

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

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

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

  On the carrier mounting table 40 of the indexer block 9, a carrier C that stores a plurality of substrates W in multiple stages is loaded. The indexer robot IR takes out the unprocessed substrate W stored in the carrier C using the hand IRH. In the present embodiment, the untreated substrate W has hydrophilicity on the front surface, back surface, and outer peripheral edge.

  Thereafter, the indexer robot IR rotates in the ± θ direction while moving in the ± X direction, and places the unprocessed substrate W on the substrate platform PASS1.

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

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

  The unprocessed substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS1 is received by the first central robot CR1 of the antireflection film processing block 10. The first center robot CR1 carries the substrate W into the antireflection film heat treatment units 100 and 101. In the adhesion enhancing unit AHL (FIG. 3) of the heat treatment units 100 and 101 for the antireflection film, an adhesion enhancing agent is supplied to the surface of the substrate W (adhesion enhancing process). The detailed configuration of the adhesion reinforcement unit AHL and the adhesion reinforcement process will be described later.

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

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

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

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

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

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

  The substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS7 is received by the fourth central robot CR4 of the resist cover film processing block 13. The fourth central robot CR4 carries the substrate W into the resist cover film coating processing unit 80. In this resist cover film coating processing section 80, a resist cover film is applied and formed on the substrate W on which the resist film has been applied and formed by the coating unit COV. By forming the resist cover film, even if the substrate W comes into contact with the liquid in the exposure device 16, the resist film is prevented from coming into contact with the liquid, and the resist components are prevented from eluting into the liquid. .

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  If the exposure apparatus 16 has a sufficient processing speed, the substrate W is transported from the cleaning / drying processing unit SD1 to the placement / cooling unit P-CP without storing and storing the substrate W in the sending buffer unit SBF. May be.

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

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

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

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

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

(3) Adhesion Strengthening Unit As described above, in the adhesion strengthening unit AHL of FIG. As a result, the surface of the substrate W is modified from hydrophilic to hydrophobic. Thereby, the adhesion between the surface of the substrate W and the antireflection film is improved. Hereinafter, the configuration and operation of the adhesion reinforcement unit AHL will be described in detail.

(3-1) Configuration of Adhesion Strengthening Unit The configuration of the adhesion strengthening unit AHL will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a configuration example of the adhesion strengthening unit AHL.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the adhesion reinforcing unit AHL includes an adhesion reinforcing agent vaporization device 910 and an adhesion reinforcing agent supply device 920. The adhesion reinforcing agent vaporizer 910 and the adhesion reinforcing agent supply device 920 are connected via a pipe 911. A valve 912 is inserted in the pipe 911.

  The adhesion enhancer vaporizer 910 includes a storage container and a heating device. In this storage container, an adhesion enhancing agent is stored. The heating device heats the adhesion enhancing agent stored in the storage container. Thereby, the adhesion reinforcing agent heated by the heating device is vaporized.

  In the present embodiment, a hydrophobic material that hydrophobizes the surface of the substrate W is used as the adhesion enhancer. As such a hydrophobic material, for example, HMDS (hexamethyldisilazane) or a low-molecular material can be used.

  The adhesion reinforcing agent supply device 920 has a processing chamber 921. On one side surface of the processing chamber 921, a loading / unloading port 922 for loading and unloading the substrate W is formed. A shutter 923 for opening and closing the loading / unloading port 922 is provided inside one side surface of the processing chamber 921. The shutter 923 is moved up and down by the shutter driving mechanism 924 to open and close the loading / unloading port 922.

  A substrate mounting mechanism 930 is provided at substantially the center in the processing chamber 921. The substrate placement mechanism 930 includes a substrate placement plate 931 supported by a plurality of support columns 931c. The substrate placement plate 931 heats the substrate W placed on the upper surface to a predetermined temperature. The substrate W is placed on the substrate placement plate 931 so that the surface faces upward.

  A plurality of lifting pins PI are provided so as to penetrate the substrate mounting plate 931 in the vertical direction. The plurality of lift pins PI are supported in an upright posture by a pin support member 932, and the pin support member 932 is held by a pin driving device 934 so as to be lifted and lowered.

  A plurality of through-holes 931a penetrating in the vertical direction are formed in the substrate mounting plate 931. One end of a pipe 991 is connected to these through holes 931a. The other end of the pipe 991 is connected to the first exhaust device 990.

  A cylindrical support member 940 is provided on the ceiling surface of the processing chamber 921 so as to be movable up and down. A pipe 911 is connected to the upper end of the support member 940, and a lid 941 is provided at the lower end of the support member 940. The internal space of the lid 941 communicates with the internal space of the support member 940. Thereby, when the valve 912 inserted in the pipe 911 is in an open state, the internal space of the lid 941 communicates with the storage container of the adhesion reinforcing agent vaporizer 910 through the support member 940 and the pipe 911.

  Inside the lid 941, a rectifying plate 942 having a plurality of pores on the entire surface is attached. The current plate 942 is disposed so as to face the substrate W placed on the substrate placement plate 931.

  An exhaust port 929 is formed on the bottom surface of the processing chamber 921. One end of a pipe 981 is connected to the exhaust port 929. The other end of the pipe 981 is connected to the second exhaust device 980. By operating the second exhaust device 980, the atmosphere in the processing chamber 921 is exhausted.

  Here, the structure of the substrate mounting plate 931 and its peripheral members will be described in detail. 6A is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of the substrate mounting plate 931 in FIG. 5, and FIG. 6B is a plan view of the substrate mounting plate 931 in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, a plurality (10 in this example) of spherical PUs are dispersedly arranged in the region excluding the peripheral edge on the upper surface of the substrate mounting plate 931. Yes. More specifically, the plurality of spherical bodies PU are fitted into a plurality of recesses formed on the upper surface of the substrate mounting plate 931.

  The substrate mounting plate 931 is formed with a plurality of (three in this example) through-holes 931a penetrating in the vertical direction and a plurality of (three in this example) pin holes 931b penetrating in the vertical direction. Yes.

  An annular member 935 is attached to the periphery of the upper surface of the substrate mounting plate 931. Further, an annular regulating piece 936 having a trapezoidal longitudinal section is attached to the upper surface of the annular member 935.

  The outer diameters of the annular member 935 and the restriction piece 936 are both equal to the outer diameter of the substrate placement plate 931. On the other hand, the inner diameter of the annular member 935 is smaller than the inner diameter of the restriction piece 936. Thereby, as shown in FIG.6 (b), the area | region inside the upper surface of the annular member 935 is exposed.

  The thickness of the annular member 935 is substantially equal to the height (minute height mt) of the plurality of spheres PU when the upper surface of the substrate placement plate 931 is used as a reference. Thereby, when the substrate W is placed on the substrate placement plate 931, the peripheral edge of the back surface of the substrate W abuts the exposed region on the upper surface of the annular member 935 over the entire circumference. Moreover, the area | region except the peripheral part of the back surface of the board | substrate W contact | abuts to the several spherical body PU. Thereby, the back surface of the substrate W is supported by the annular member 935 and the plurality of spherical bodies PU. In this state, a gap space BS corresponding to a minute height mt is formed between the back surface of the substrate W and the top surface of the substrate mounting plate 931.

  As described above, the first exhaust device 990 is connected to the plurality of through holes 931 a of the substrate mounting plate 931 through the pipe 991. In the present embodiment, the atmosphere in the gap space BS is exhausted to the outside by the first exhaust device 990 during the adhesion reinforcement processing of the substrate W by the adhesion reinforcement unit AHL.

  FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a state of the gap space BS during the adhesion strengthening process of the substrate W by the adhesion strengthening unit AHL of FIG. As indicated by the one-dot chain line arrow in FIG. 7, during the adhesion strengthening process, the atmosphere of the gap space BS is exhausted by the first exhaust device 990 through the through hole 931 a and the pipe 991. As a result, the pressure in the gap space BS is adjusted to be negative with respect to the space above the substrate W, and the peripheral edge of the back surface of the substrate W that contacts the top surface of the annular member 935 is in close contact with the annular member 935.

  In the present embodiment, as the material for the annular member 935 and the restriction piece 936, for example, a polyimide resin or a tetrafluoroethylene resin having heat resistance and elasticity can be used.

(3-2) Operation of Adhesion Strengthening Unit The operation of the adhesion strengthening unit AHL having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. The operation of each component of the adhesion strengthening unit AHL described below is controlled by the main controller 30 in FIG. 1 or the local controller LC provided in the antireflection film heat treatment units 100 and 101 in FIG.

  First, when the substrate W is carried into the adhesion strengthening unit AHL, the support member 940 and the lid 941 in FIG. 5 are raised, and the pin driving device 934 raises the pin support member 932. As a result, the upper end portions of the plurality of lifting pins PI protrude upward from the upper surface of the substrate mounting plate 931. Further, the shutter 923 is lowered by the shutter driving mechanism 924 in FIG. 5, and the carry-in / out port 922 is opened.

  In this state, the substrate W is carried into the processing chamber 921 by the first central robot CR1 of FIG. The substrate held by the hand CRH1 of the first center robot CR1 is placed on the plurality of lifting pins PI.

  Next, the pin driving device 934 lowers the pin support member 932. Thereby, the plurality of lifting pins PI are lowered, and the upper ends of the plurality of lifting pins PI are accommodated in the substrate placement plate 931. Thereby, the substrate W is placed on the substrate placement plate 931. At this time, the outer peripheral end portion of the substrate W descends along the inner side surface of the regulating piece 936. Thereby, the alignment of the substrate W is performed on the substrate mounting plate 931. Further, when the hand CRH1 leaves the processing chamber 921, the shutter 923 is raised and the loading / unloading port 922 is closed.

  Subsequently, in a state where the substrate W is placed on the substrate placement plate 931, the first exhaust device 990 of FIGS. 5 to 7 performs the atmosphere of the gap space BS between the substrate W and the substrate placement plate 931. Exhaust. As a result, the pressure in the gap space BS is adjusted to be a negative pressure compared to the pressure in the space above the substrate W. Further, the support member 940 and the lid 941 are lowered. In this state, the substrate W on the substrate mounting plate 931 is heated to a predetermined temperature.

  Next, the valve 912 inserted in the pipe 911 in FIG. 5 is opened. Thereby, the adhesion reinforcing agent vaporized by the adhesion reinforcing agent vaporizer 910 in FIG. 5 is sent to the support member 940 of the adhesion reinforcing agent supply apparatus 920. Then, the adhesion reinforcing agent is supplied to the surface of the substrate W through the plurality of pores of the rectifying plate 942 provided in the lid 941, and the surface of the substrate W is subjected to a hydrophobic treatment (adhesion strengthening treatment). Further, the second exhaust device 980 of FIG. 5 operates during the adhesion strengthening process. As a result, the adhesion enhancing agent supplied from the lid 941 is exhausted to the outside through the exhaust port 929 and the pipe 981.

  At the end of the adhesion strengthening process, the valve 912 is closed and the support member 940 and the lid 941 are raised. Then, the operation of the first exhaust device 990 is stopped.

  Subsequently, the pin driving device 934 raises the pin support member 932. Accordingly, the substrate W that has been subjected to the adhesion strengthening process is lifted by the plurality of lifting pins PI. Further, the shutter 923 is lowered by the shutter driving mechanism 924, and the loading / unloading port 922 of the processing chamber 921 is opened. Thereafter, the substrate W is unloaded from the adhesion enhancing unit AHL by the first center robot CR1 of FIG.

  In the adhesion strengthening unit AHL, when the adhesion strengthening process is performed on the substrate W, the back surface of the substrate W is supported by a plurality of spherical bodies PU, and the peripheral portion of the back surface of the substrate W is supported by the annular member 935. Is done. The atmosphere of the gap space BS between the back surface of the substrate W and the top surface of the substrate mounting plate 931 is exhausted by the first exhaust device 990. As a result, the pressure in the gap space BS is adjusted to be a negative pressure with respect to the space above the substrate W, and the peripheral edge of the back surface of the substrate W is in close contact with the upper surface of the annular member 935.

  Thereby, when the adhesion reinforcing agent is supplied from the lid 941 to the substrate W, the adhesion reinforcing agent is prevented from going around to the back side of the substrate W. As a result, the rear surface of the substrate W is prevented from being modified from hydrophilic to hydrophobic.

(4) Cleaning / Drying Processing Unit Next, the cleaning / drying processing unit SD1 will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. 8 and 9 are a side view and a schematic plan view showing the configuration of the cleaning / drying processing unit SD1. FIG. 9 schematically shows some components of the cleaning / drying processing unit SD1. The cleaning / drying processing unit SD2 has the same configuration as the cleaning / drying processing unit SD1.

  In the present embodiment, the cleaning / drying processing units SD1 and SD2 include a casing (not shown), and the following components are provided inside the casing.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the cleaning / drying processing unit SD1 includes a spin chuck 600 that holds and rotates the substrate W horizontally. The spin chuck 600 includes a spin motor 200, a rotating shaft 210, a disc-shaped spin plate 520, a plate support member 510, magnet plates 614 a and 614 b, and a plurality of chuck pins 615.

  A spin motor 200 is provided above the cleaning / drying processing unit SD1. The spin motor 200 is supported by a motor support member 200s. The motor support member 200 s has a through hole 200 h extending in the vertical direction, and is attached to the motor fixing portion 290. The motor fixing unit 290 is attached to the casing of the cleaning / drying processing unit SD1 (not shown).

  A rotating shaft 210 having a cylindrical shape is provided so as to extend downward from the inside of the spin motor 200. The rotating shaft 210 functions as an output shaft of the spin motor 200 and has an inner diameter of about 20 mm.

  A plate support member 510 is attached to the lower end of the rotating shaft 210. As will be described later, the plate support member 510 has a cylindrical shape. The spin plate 520 is supported horizontally by the plate support member 510. When the rotation shaft 210 is rotated by the spin motor 200, the spin plate 520 is rotated around the vertical axis together with the plate support member 510.

  A fluid supply pipe 400 is inserted through the through hole 200h of the motor support member 200s, the rotation shaft 210 of the spin motor 200, and the plate support member 510. The cleaning liquid and the gas can be supplied onto the substrate W held by the spin chuck 600 through the fluid supply pipe 400. Details of the structure of the fluid supply pipe 400 and its peripheral members will be described later.

  A plurality (five in this example) of chuck pins 615 are provided at equiangular intervals with respect to the rotation shaft 210 at the peripheral edge of the spin plate 520. The number of chuck pins 615 is desirably five or more. The reason will be described later.

  Each chuck pin 615 includes a shaft portion 615a, a pin support portion 615b, a holding portion 615c, and a magnet 616. A shaft portion 615a is provided so as to penetrate the spin plate 520, and a pin support portion 615b extending in the horizontal direction is connected to a lower end portion of the shaft portion 615a. A holding portion 615c is provided so as to protrude downward from the tip portion of the pin support portion 615b. Further, a magnet 616 is attached to the upper end portion of the shaft portion 615a on the upper surface side of the spin plate 520.

  Each chuck pin 615 can rotate around the vertical axis about the shaft portion 615a, the closed state where the holding portion 615c abuts on the outer peripheral end portion of the substrate W, and the holding portion 615c from the outer peripheral end portion of the substrate W. It can be switched to an open state in which they are separated. In this example, each chuck pin 615 is closed when the N pole of the magnet 616 is inside, and each chuck pin 615 is opened when the S pole of the magnet 616 is inside.

  Magnet plates 614 a and 614 b are arranged above the spin plate 520 along the circumferential direction around the rotation shaft 210. The magnet plates 614a and 614b have an S pole on the outside and an N pole on the inside. The magnet plates 614a and 614b are lifted and lowered independently by the magnet lifting mechanisms 617a and 617b, respectively, and between the upper position higher than the magnet 616 of the chuck pin 615 and the lower position substantially equal to the magnet 616 of the chuck pin 615. Moving.

  Each chuck pin 615 is switched between an open state and a closed state by raising and lowering the magnet plates 614a and 614b. Details of operations of the magnet plates 614a and 614b and the chuck pin 615 will be described later.

  A guard 618 is provided outside the spin chuck 600 to receive the cleaning liquid scattered from the substrate W. The guard 618 has a rotationally symmetric shape with respect to the rotation axis 210 of the spin chuck 600. Further, the guard 618 is moved up and down by a guard lifting mechanism 618a. The cleaning liquid received by the guard 618 is drained or collected by a draining device or a collecting device (not shown).

  Outside the guard 618, three or more (three in this example) substrate transfer mechanisms 620 are arranged at equiangular intervals around the rotation shaft 210 of the spin chuck 600. Each substrate transfer mechanism 620 includes a lifting / lowering rotation drive unit 621, a rotation shaft 622, an arm 623, and a holding pin 624. A rotation shaft 622 is provided so as to extend upward from the ascending / descending rotation drive unit 621, and an arm 623 is connected so as to extend in the horizontal direction from the upper end portion of the rotation shaft 622. A holding pin 624 for holding the outer peripheral end of the substrate W is provided at the tip of the arm 623.

  The rotating shaft 622 performs a lifting / lowering operation and a rotating operation by the lifting / lowering driving unit 621. Thereby, the holding pin 624 moves in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction.

  A cleaning brush 630 for cleaning the outer peripheral edge and the back surface of the substrate W held by the spin chuck 600 is provided below the cleaning / drying processing unit SD1. The cleaning brush 630 has a substantially cylindrical shape, and a groove 635 having a V-shaped cross section is formed on the outer peripheral surface. The cleaning brush 630 is held by a brush holding member 631. When the brush holding member 631 is driven by the brush moving mechanism 632, the cleaning brush 630 moves in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction.

  A cleaning nozzle 633 is attached to a portion of the brush holding member 631 in the vicinity of the cleaning brush 630. A liquid supply pipe (not shown) to which a cleaning liquid is supplied is connected to the cleaning nozzle 633. The discharge port of the cleaning nozzle 633 is directed to the periphery of the cleaning brush 630, and the cleaning liquid is discharged from the discharge port toward the periphery of the cleaning brush 630. In this example, pure water is used as the cleaning water, for example.

(5) Details of Fluid Supply Pipe Details of the structure of the fluid supply pipe 400 and its peripheral members in FIG. 8 will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11. FIG. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view mainly showing the structure of the fluid supply pipe 400 of FIG. FIG. 11A is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing the structure in the vicinity of the tip of the fluid supply pipe 400 of FIG. 8, and FIG. 11B is a view of the fluid supply pipe 400 viewed from the arrow YA of FIG. It is a top view of a front-end | tip part.

  As described above, the fluid supply pipe 400 is inserted through the motor support member 200s, the spin motor 200, the rotating shaft 210, and the plate support member 510.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the fluid supply pipe 400 is curved above the motor support member 200s and extends in the horizontal direction. In the following description, the end portion of the straight pipe portion extending in the vertical direction is referred to as a front end portion, and the end portion of the straight pipe portion extending in the horizontal direction is referred to as a rear end portion.

  In the fluid supply pipe 400, a first flange FR1 is integrally formed in the vicinity of the curved portion of the straight pipe portion extending in the vertical direction. A second flange FR2 is integrally formed at the rear end.

  The first flange FR1 is fixed to the motor support member 200s, and the second flange FR2 is fixed to the pipe fixing portion 280. The tube fixing unit 280 is attached to the housing of the cleaning / drying processing unit SD1 (not shown).

  Thereby, the fluid supply pipe 400 is fixed to the housing of the cleaning / drying processing unit SD1 by the pipe fixing portion 280, the motor support member 200s, and the motor fixing portion 290.

  As described above, the spin motor 200 is supported by the motor support member 200s. Thus, the fluid supply pipe 400 is attached to the motor support member 200s, so that the positional relationship between the fluid supply pipe 400 and the spin motor 200 is maintained even when the spin motor 200 operates. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the displacement of the fluid supply pipe 400 from occurring.

As shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B, the fluid supply pipe 400 includes one gas supply pipe 420 and a plurality (six in this example) of cleaning liquid supply pipes 430 inside the guide pipe 410. Is housed. The gas supply pipe 420 is used to supply gas (N ₂ gas in this example) to the substrate W. The cleaning liquid supply pipe 430 is used to supply a cleaning liquid (pure water in this example) to the substrate W.

  In the present embodiment, the guide tube 410 is made of stainless steel and has an outer diameter of about 18 mm. The gas supply pipe 420 and the cleaning liquid supply pipe 430 are made of fluorine resin such as PTFE (tetrafluoroethylene resin) and PFA (tetrafluoroethylene / perfluoroalkoxyethylene copolymer), and have outer diameters of about 6 mm and about 5 mm, respectively. Have

  Inside the guide tube 410, one gas supply tube 420 is arranged so that its axis is along the axis of the guide tube 410 while being surrounded by the six cleaning liquid supply tubes 430. Here, the inner diameter of the guide pipe 410 is substantially equal to the sum of the outer diameter of the gas supply pipe 420 and the value obtained by doubling the outer diameter of the cleaning liquid supply pipe 430. In this case, the plurality of cleaning liquid supply tubes 430 are in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the gas supply tube 420 and the inner peripheral surface of the guide tube 410, respectively.

  In this case, when the fluid supply pipe 400 is manufactured, one gas supply pipe 420 and six cleaning liquid supply pipes 430 are inserted into the guide pipe 410 so that the gas supply pipe 420 can be easily formed at the center of the guide pipe 410. And accurately positioned.

  As shown in FIG. 11A, the distal ends of the cleaning liquid supply tube 430 and the gas supply tube 420 protrude from the distal end portion of the guide tube 410. Thereby, for example, when the cleaning liquid is supplied from the cleaning liquid supply pipe 430 to the substrate W, the cleaning liquid discharged from the cleaning liquid supply pipe 430 is prevented from adhering to the guide pipe 410. This prevents the cleaning liquid adhering to the metal guide tube 410 from falling on the surface of the substrate W and causing metal contamination (metal contamination) on the substrate W.

  The peripheral members at the tip of the fluid supply pipe 400 will be described. As described above, in this example, the rotating shaft 210 has an inner diameter of about 20 mm, and the guide tube 410 has an outer diameter of about 18 mm. Accordingly, a gap GA of about 1 mm is formed between the rotating shaft 210 and the guide tube 410 in a state where the fluid supply tube 400 is attached to the motor support member 200s and the tube fixing portion 280 of FIG.

  A plate support member 510 having a substantially cylindrical shape is attached to the rotating shaft 210 in the vicinity of the distal end portion of the fluid supply pipe 400. An inner peripheral surface 510h of the plate support member 510 is formed in a step shape along the axis.

  When the plate support member 510 is attached to the rotating shaft 210, the cylindrical pad fixing piece 512 is fitted into the gap between the inner peripheral surface 510 h of the plate supporting member 510 and the outer peripheral surface of the rotating shaft 210. Is screwed to the screw receiving portion 511 of the plate support member 510. As a result, the plate support member 510 is securely fixed to the tip of the rotating shaft 210.

  A flange 510F is formed near the lower end of the plate support member 510. The spin plate 520 is fixed to the rotating shaft 210 by screwing the flange 510F and the spin plate 520.

  Returning to FIG. 10, the second flange FR2 is formed at the rear end of the fluid supply pipe 400 as described above. The second flange FR2 is fixed to the tube fixing portion 280.

  Here, in the vicinity of the rear end portion of the fluid supply pipe 400, a supply pipe fixing section 490 that fixes the one gas supply pipe 420 and the six cleaning liquid supply pipes 430 to each other and to the guide pipe 410 is provided.

  In the supply pipe fixing portion 490, for example, the gas supply pipe 420 and the cleaning liquid supply pipe 430 are fixed to each other by fusion processing or an adhesive. The gas supply pipe 420 and the cleaning liquid supply pipe 430 are fixed to the guide pipe 410 using an adhesive sheet or the like.

  The positional relationship among the guide pipe 410, the gas supply pipe 420, and the cleaning liquid supply pipe 430 is fixed by the supply pipe fixing portion 490. Thereby, the position accuracy of each of the supply pipes 430 and 420 in the vicinity of the tip of the fluid supply pipe 400 is improved.

  One gas supply pipe 420 and six cleaning liquid supply pipes 430 inserted into the guide pipe 410 extend from the rear end of the guide pipe 410 to the outside. The rear end portion of the gas supply pipe 420 extending from the rear end portion of the guide tube 410 is connected to a gas supply device (not shown). The rear end of the cleaning liquid supply pipe 430 extending from the rear end of the guide pipe 410 is connected to a cleaning liquid supply device (not shown).

By N ₂ gas is supplied to the gas supply pipe 420 from the gas supply apparatus, N ₂ gas is supplied to the substrate W. In addition, pure water is supplied to the substrate W by supplying pure water from the cleaning liquid supply device to the cleaning liquid supply pipe 430.

(6) Substrate Holding Operation The substrate W holding operation by the spin chuck 600 will be described. 12 and 13 are diagrams for explaining the holding operation of the substrate W by the spin chuck 600. FIG.

  First, as shown in FIG. 12A, the guard 618 moves to a position lower than the chuck pin 615. Then, the holding pins 624 of the plurality of substrate transfer mechanisms 620 (FIG. 8) pass below the guard 618 and move below the spin plate 520. The substrate W is placed on the plurality of holding pins 624 by the sixth central robot CR6 (FIG. 1).

  At this time, the magnet plates 614a and 614b are in the upper position. In this case, the magnetic force lines B of the magnet plates 614a and 614b are directed from the inside to the outside at the height of the magnet 616 of the chuck pin 615. Thereby, the south pole of the magnet 616 of each chuck pin 615 is attracted inward. Therefore, each chuck pin 615 is opened.

  Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 12B, the plurality of holding pins 624 rise while holding the substrate W. As a result, the substrate W moves between the holding portions 615c of the plurality of chuck pins 615.

  Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 13C, the magnet plates 614a and 614b move to the lower position. In this case, the N pole of the magnet 616 of each chuck pin 615 is attracted inward. Thereby, each chuck pin 615 is closed, and the outer peripheral end portion of the substrate W is held by the holding portion 615c of each chuck pin 615. Each chuck pin 615 holds the outer peripheral end of the substrate W between adjacent holding pins 624. Therefore, the chuck pin 615 and the holding pin 624 do not interfere with each other. Thereafter, the plurality of holding pins 624 move outward from the guard 618.

  Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 13D, the guard 618 moves to a height that surrounds the substrate W held by the chuck pins 615. And the washing | cleaning process and drying process of the board | substrate W are performed in order.

(7) Cleaning Process and Drying Process When the substrate W is transported to the cleaning / drying processing unit SD1, the surface of the substrate W faces upward. In the cleaning / drying processing unit SD1, cleaning processing and drying processing are performed on the substrate W whose surface is directed upward.

  Specifically, in the cleaning / drying processing unit SD1, as the cleaning process, a front surface cleaning process for cleaning the front surface (upper surface) of the substrate W, a back surface cleaning process for cleaning the back surface (lower surface) of the substrate, and an outer peripheral edge of the substrate W A bevel cleaning process for cleaning the part (bevel part) is performed, and then a drying process for the substrate W is performed.

  FIG. 14 is a side view for explaining the front surface cleaning process and the back surface cleaning process for the substrate W, and FIG. 15 is a side view and a plan view for explaining the bevel cleaning process for the substrate W.

  In the surface cleaning process of the substrate W, pure water DIW is supplied to the surface of the substrate W through the fluid supply pipe 400 while the substrate W is rotated by the spin chuck 600 as shown in FIG. The pure water DIW spreads over the entire surface of the substrate W by centrifugal force and scatters outward. Thereby, dust or the like adhering to the surface of the substrate W is washed away. Further, a part of the components of the resist cover film on the substrate W is eluted in the pure water DIW and washed away.

  In the back surface cleaning process of the substrate W, the cleaning brush 630 moves below the substrate W while the substrate W is rotated by the spin chuck 600 as shown in FIG. Then, the cleaning brush 630 moves between the lower part of the central part and the lower part of the peripheral part of the substrate W in a state where the upper surface of the cleaning brush 630 and the rear surface of the substrate W are in contact. Pure water is supplied from the cleaning nozzle 633 to the contact portion between the substrate W and the cleaning brush 630. As a result, the entire back surface of the substrate W is cleaned by the cleaning brush 630 and contaminants attached to the back surface of the substrate W are removed.

  During the bevel cleaning process for the substrate W, as shown in FIGS. 15A and 15B, the magnet plate 614a is disposed at the lower position and the magnet plate 614b is disposed at the upper position. In this state, the substrate W is rotated by the spin chuck 600.

  In this case, each chuck pin 615 is closed in the outer region R1 (see FIG. 15B) of the magnet plate 614a, and each chuck in the outer region R2 of the magnet plate 614b (see FIG. 15B). The pin 615 is opened. That is, the holding portion 615c of each chuck pin 615 is maintained in contact with the outer peripheral end of the substrate W when passing through the outer region R1 of the magnet plate 614a, and passes through the outer region R2 of the magnet plate 614b. At this time, the substrate W is separated from the outer peripheral end portion.

  In this example, at least four of the five chuck pins 615 are located in the outer region R1 of the magnet plate 614a. In this case, the substrate W is held by at least four chuck pins 615. Thereby, the stability of the substrate W is ensured.

  In this state, the cleaning brush 630 moves between the holding portion 615c of the chuck pin 615 and the outer peripheral end portion of the substrate W in the outer region R2. Then, the groove 635 of the cleaning brush 630 is pressed against the outer peripheral end of the substrate W. Pure water is supplied to the contact portion between the cleaning brush 630 and the substrate W from the cleaning nozzle 633 (FIG. 8). As a result, the entire outer peripheral edge of the substrate W is cleaned, and contaminants attached to the outer peripheral edge of the substrate W are removed.

  Note that pure water may be supplied to the surface of the substrate W through the cleaning liquid supply pipe 430 in FIG. 8 during the bevel cleaning process. In that case, the bevel cleaning process and the surface cleaning process can be performed simultaneously. Further, a back surface cleaning brush for cleaning the back surface of the substrate W may be provided separately from the cleaning brush 630, and the back surface cleaning brush may be brought into contact with the back surface of the substrate W during the bevel cleaning process. In that case, the bevel cleaning process and the back surface cleaning process can be performed simultaneously. Alternatively, the bevel cleaning process, the front surface cleaning process, and the back surface cleaning process may be performed simultaneously.

  After the front surface cleaning process, the back surface cleaning process, and the bevel cleaning process, a drying process of the substrate W is performed. In this case, the magnet plates 614a and 615b are arranged at the lower position, and the substrate W is held by all the chuck pins 615. In this state, the substrate W is rotated at a high speed by the spin chuck 600. Thereby, the pure water adhering to the substrate W is shaken off, and the substrate W is dried (shake-off drying).

Here, as described above, in the cleaning / drying processing unit SD1 of FIG. 8, it is possible to supply pure water to the surface of the substrate W from the fluid supply pipe 400 and to supply N ₂ gas. Is possible.

  Therefore, in the cleaning / drying processing unit SD1, the surface of the substrate W may be cleaned and dried as follows.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of the cleaning process and the drying process on the surface of the substrate W by the cleaning / drying processing unit SD1 of FIG.

  Here, in this example, it is assumed that the cleaning liquid supply pipe 430 in FIG. 10 is connected to a cleaning liquid supply device (not shown) that can supply a chemical liquid and a rinse liquid. In this example, the chemical solution is, for example, BHF (buffered hydrofluoric acid), DHF (dilute hydrofluoric acid), hydrofluoric acid, hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, nitric acid, phosphoric acid, acetic acid, oxalic acid, hydrogen peroxide water, ammonia, or the like. An aqueous solution or a mixed solution thereof. The rinse liquid refers to an organic solvent such as pure water, carbonated water, ozone water, magnetic water, reduced water (hydrogen water) or ionic water, or IPA (isopropyl alcohol).

  As described in the example of FIG. 14A, first, the chemical solution is supplied to the surface of the substrate W through the fluid supply pipe 400 while the substrate W is rotated by the spin chuck 600. In this case, the chemical solution spreads over the entire surface of the substrate W by centrifugal force and scatters outward. As a result, the entire surface of the substrate W is washed away by the chemical solution.

  After a predetermined time has elapsed, the supply of the chemical liquid to the substrate W is stopped, and the rinse liquid is supplied from the fluid supply pipe 400 to the substrate W. Thereby, the chemical solution on the substrate W is washed away.

  Thereafter, the rotation speed of the substrate W is decreased. As a result, the amount of the rinsing liquid shaken off by the rotation of the substrate W is reduced, and the liquid layer L of the rinsing liquid RIN is formed on the entire surface of the substrate W as shown in FIG. The liquid layer L may be formed on the entire surface of the substrate W by stopping the rotation of the substrate W.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 16B, N ₂ gas is discharged from the fluid supply pipe 400. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 16C, the rinse liquid RIN at the center of the substrate W moves to the peripheral edge of the substrate W, and the liquid layer L exists only at the peripheral edge of the substrate W.

  Next, by increasing the rotation speed of the substrate W, a large centrifugal force acts on the liquid layer L on the substrate W. Thereby, the liquid layer L on the substrate W can be reliably removed.

(8) Effects (8-1)
If minute droplets adhere to the back surface of the substrate W during the back surface cleaning process of the substrate W, the adhered droplets may not be able to be shaken out even by performing shake-off drying using centrifugal force. This is because only a small centrifugal force corresponding to the mass of a minute droplet works. This phenomenon is likely to occur particularly when the back surface of the substrate W is hydrophobic. Therefore, when cleaning the back surface of the substrate W, the back surface of the substrate W preferably has hydrophilicity.

  Therefore, in the adhesion strengthening unit AHL of FIG. 5, when the adhesion reinforcing agent is supplied from the lid 941 to the substrate W, the adhesion reinforcing agent is prevented from going around the back side of the substrate W. This prevents the rear surface of the substrate W from being modified from hydrophilic to hydrophobic.

  Therefore, in the cleaning / drying processing unit SD1 of FIG. 8, even if a minute droplet adheres to the back surface of the substrate W during the back surface cleaning process of the substrate W, the minute droplet remains on the back surface of the substrate W during the swing-off drying. Is sufficiently reduced.

  This prevents the back surface of the substrate W from being contaminated with particles in the external atmosphere while the substrate W after the cleaning process is transported from the cleaning / drying processing unit SD1 to the exposure apparatus 16. As a result, contamination in the exposure apparatus 16 due to contamination of the back surface of the substrate W is prevented, and pattern defects due to contamination of the back surface of the substrate W are prevented.

(8-2)
As shown in FIGS. 16A to 16C, the cleaning / drying processing unit SD1 stops the rotation of the substrate W and forms the liquid layer L of the rinse liquid RIN on the entire surface of the substrate W. The surface of the substrate W can be dried by increasing the rotational speed of the substrate W while discharging N ₂ gas from the fluid supply pipe 400 to the center of the substrate W.

  In this case, since the liquid layer L formed on the surface of the substrate W can be integrally moved to the outside of the substrate W, even if the surface of the substrate W has hydrophobicity, a minute amount is formed on the surface of the substrate W. The droplets are prevented from remaining. As a result, contamination in the exposure apparatus 16 due to contamination of the surface of the substrate W is prevented, and pattern defects due to contamination of the surface of the substrate W are prevented.

(8-3)
As described above, in the adhesion enhancing unit AHL of FIG. 5, the rear surface of the substrate W is prevented from being modified from hydrophilic to hydrophobic.

  Thereby, even when the back surface cleaning process is performed on the substrate W after the exposure processing by the exposure apparatus 16 by the cleaning / drying processing unit SD2, it is sufficiently reduced that minute droplets remain on the back surface of the substrate W during the dry drying. Is done.

  This prevents the back surface of the substrate W from being contaminated by particles in the external atmosphere while the substrate W after the cleaning processing is transported from the cleaning / drying processing unit SD2 to the development processing block 12 of FIG. . As a result, development failure due to contamination of the back surface of the substrate W is prevented.

(9) Modification (9-1)
In said embodiment, contact | adherence reinforcement | strengthening unit AHL may have the following structures instead of the structure of FIGS. Hereinafter, the configuration of the adhesion strengthening unit AHL according to the modified example will be described while referring to differences from the adhesion enhancing unit AHL of FIGS.

  Also in the adhesion strengthening unit AHL of this example, the substrate placement plate 931 is accommodated in the processing chamber 921 of FIG.

  Details of the structure of the substrate mounting plate 931 and its peripheral members will be described. FIG. 17A is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of a substrate mounting plate 931 according to a modified example, and FIG. 17B is a plan view of the substrate mounting plate 931 according to the modified example as viewed from above.

  As shown in FIGS. 17A and 17B, a plurality (10 in this example) of spherical PUs are dispersedly arranged in the region excluding the peripheral edge on the upper surface of the substrate mounting plate 931. Yes. More specifically, the plurality of spherical bodies PU are fitted into a plurality of recesses formed on the upper surface of the substrate mounting plate 931.

  The substrate mounting plate 931 is formed with a plurality of (three in this example) through-holes 931a penetrating in the vertical direction and a plurality of (three in this example) pin holes 931b penetrating in the vertical direction. Yes.

  An annular flow path forming member 938 is attached to the periphery of the upper surface of the substrate mounting plate 931. The outer diameter of the flow path forming member 938 is equal to the outer diameter of the substrate mounting plate 931, and the thickness (height) of the flow path forming member 938 is the height of the sphere PU relative to the upper surface of the substrate mounting plate 931 and the substrate W. It is set so as to be larger than the total value of the thickness.

  Further, a plurality of (three in this example) guide pins 937 are provided on the upper surface of the substrate mounting plate 931 so as to be close to the inner peripheral surface of the flow path forming member 938 inside the flow path forming member 938. ing. The guide pins 937 have a substantially conical shape, and are used for positioning the substrate W when the substrate W is placed on the substrate placement plate 931. The thickness (height) of the guide pin 937 is set to be larger than the total value of the height of the sphere PU with respect to the upper surface of the substrate mounting plate 931 and the thickness of the substrate W.

  Further, in the adhesion strengthening unit AHL according to the modification, an inert gas supply device 990X is used instead of the first exhaust device 990 of FIGS. The other end of the pipe 991 connected to the through hole 931a of the substrate mounting plate 931 is connected to the inert gas supply device 990X.

  In the adhesion enhancing unit AHL, when the substrate W is placed on the substrate placement plate 931, the back surface of the substrate W is supported by a plurality of spheres PU. Thereby, a gap space BS corresponding to a minute height mt is formed between the back surface of the substrate W and the top surface of the substrate mounting plate 931.

  At this time, a part (three places in this example) of the outer peripheral edge of the substrate W comes into contact with the guide pins 937. Further, a portion of the outer peripheral end portion of the substrate W that does not contact the guide pin 937 is separated from the inner peripheral surface of the flow path forming member 938 and faces the inner peripheral surface of the flow path forming member 938. Thereby, a gas flow path FS is formed between the outer peripheral end of the substrate W and the inner peripheral surface of the guide pin 937.

In this modification, an inert gas such as N ₂ gas is supplied to the gap space BS by the inert gas supply device 990X during the adhesion reinforcement processing of the substrate W by the adhesion reinforcement unit AHL.

  FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram showing a state of the gap space BS during the adhesion strengthening process of the substrate W by the adhesion strengthening unit AHL of the modified example. As indicated by the one-dot chain line arrow in FIG. 18, during the adhesion strengthening process, the inert gas supply device 990 </ b> X supplies the inert gas to the gap space BS through the through hole 931 a and the pipe 991.

  The inert gas supplied into the gap space BS flows around the outer peripheral end of the substrate W and flows out above the substrate W through the gas flow path FS. As a result, the pressure in the gap space BS is adjusted to be positive with respect to the space above the substrate W, and the inert gas is released from the outer peripheral end of the substrate W toward the space above the substrate W. .

  From the above, in the adhesion enhancing unit AHL of this example, the adhesion enhancing agent is prevented from wrapping around the back side of the substrate W when the adhesion enhancing agent is supplied from the lid 941 to the substrate W. This prevents the rear surface of the substrate W from being modified from hydrophilic to hydrophobic.

  Further, since the inert gas flows through the gas flow path FS formed by the outer peripheral end of the substrate W and the flow path forming member 938 during the adhesion strengthening process, the adhesion reinforcing agent adheres to the outer peripheral end of the substrate W. This is also prevented. This prevents the outer peripheral end of the substrate W from being modified from hydrophilic to hydrophobic.

  As a result, the remaining of the droplets on the back surface and the outer peripheral edge of the substrate W after the cleaning processing by the cleaning / drying processing unit SD1 is sufficiently reduced. As a result, contamination in the exposure apparatus 16 due to contamination of the back surface and outer peripheral end portion of the substrate W is prevented, and pattern defects due to contamination of the back surface and outer peripheral end portion of the substrate are prevented.

  In the adhesion strengthening unit AHL according to this modification, the flow path forming member 938 is not necessarily provided on the substrate mounting plate 931. In this case, the inert gas supplied to the gap space BS by the inert gas supply device 990 </ b> X flows out to the space outside the substrate W from between the outer peripheral end portion of the substrate W and the upper surface of the substrate placement plate 931. Thereby, when the adhesion reinforcing agent is supplied from the lid 941 to the substrate W, the adhesion enhancing agent is prevented from wrapping around the back side of the substrate W. This prevents the rear surface of the substrate W from being modified from hydrophilic to hydrophobic.

  In this example, as the flow path forming member 938 and the guide pin 937, for example, a polyimide resin or a tetrafluoroethylene resin having heat resistance and elasticity can be used.

(9-2)
A resist film may be directly formed on the surface of the substrate W. In this case, before the resist film is formed by the resist film coating unit 60, the adhesion strengthening process is performed on the surface of the substrate W by the adhesion strengthening unit AHL. This improves the adhesion between the surface of the substrate W and the resist film.

(9-3)
In the cleaning / drying processing units SD1 and SD2, the back surface and the outer peripheral edge of the substrate W are cleaned by the cleaning brush 630. The cleaning of the back surface and the outer peripheral edge of the substrate W is performed by discharging a liquid mixture of liquid and gas. You may carry out using a fluid nozzle. Moreover, you may perform the washing | cleaning of the back surface and outer peripheral edge part of the board | substrate W using the ultrasonic nozzle which incorporates a high frequency vibrator. When the ultrasonic nozzle is used, the cleaning liquid in an ultrasonic vibration state is supplied to the back surface and the outer peripheral end of the substrate W.

(9-4)
The number of cleaning / drying processing units SD1, SD2, coating units BARC, RES, COV, development processing unit DEV, removal unit REM, heating unit HP, cooling unit CP and mounting / cooling unit P-CP is the number of each processing block. You may change suitably according to a processing speed.

  In the first embodiment, the cleaning / drying processing units SD1 and SD2 are arranged in the interface block 15. At least one of the cleaning / drying processing units SD1 and SD2 is the resist cover film removal shown in FIG. It may be arranged in the block 14. Alternatively, a cleaning / drying processing block including at least one of the cleaning / drying processing units SD1 and SD2 may be provided between the resist cover film removal block 14 and the interface block 15 shown in FIG.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the exposure apparatus 16 that performs the exposure process of the substrate W by the immersion method is provided as an external apparatus of the substrate processing apparatus 500 is described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the substrate is not used. An exposure apparatus that performs W exposure processing may be provided as an external apparatus of the substrate processing apparatus 500.

(9-5)
In the above description, the cleaning / drying processing units SD1 and SD2 are provided in the substrate processing apparatus 500. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the cleaning / drying processing units SD1 and SD2 may be provided in other substrate processing apparatuses. The cleaning / drying processing units SD1 and SD2 may be used alone.

(9-6)
In the above description, an example in which ten spherical PUs are distributed on the upper surface of the substrate placement plate 931 has been described. In this regard, the number of spheres PU provided on the upper surface of the substrate placement plate 931 is not limited to ten. For example, the number of the plurality of spheres PU may be nine or eight.

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

  In the above embodiment, the processing blocks 10 to 14 are examples of processing units, the interface block 15 is an example of a delivery unit, an antireflection film coating processing unit 50, a resist film coating processing unit 60, and a resist cover film. The coating application unit 80 is an example of a film forming unit.

  Further, the substrate mounting plate 931 is an example of a substrate mounting table, the plurality of through holes 931a is an example of a passage, the gap space BS is an example of a gap, and the plurality of spheres PU and the annular member 935 are support members. It is an example, and the adhesion reinforcing agent vaporizer 910, the pipe 911, the support member 940, the lid 941 and the current plate 942 are examples of the adhesion reinforcing agent supply unit.

  Further, the first exhaust device 990 and the inert gas supply device 990X are examples of pressure adjustment mechanisms, the plurality of spheres PU are examples of a plurality of supports, and the first exhaust device 990 is an example of an exhaust device. The cleaning / drying processing unit SD1 is an example of the first cleaning unit and the cleaning unit.

  Further, the spin motor 200 is an example of a rotation driving unit, and the rotating shaft 210, the disk-shaped spin plate 520, the plate support member 510, the magnet plates 614a and 614b, and the plurality of chuck pins 615 are examples of the substrate holding unit. The gas supply pipe 420 is an example of an inert gas supply means, the cleaning liquid supply pipe 430 is an example of a processing liquid supply means, and the cleaning / drying processing unit SD2 is an example of a second cleaning unit. Further, cleaning liquid, chemical liquid and rinsing liquid are examples of the processing liquid.

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

  The present invention can be used for processing various substrates.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 9 Indexer block 10 Antireflection film processing block 11 Resist film processing block 12 Development processing block 13 Resist cover film processing block 14 Resist cover film removal block 15 Interface block 16 Exposure apparatus 50 Antireflection film coating processing part 60 Resist film Application processing part 80 Resist cover film application processing part 200 Spin motor 210 Rotating shaft 420 Gas supply pipe 430 Cleaning liquid supply pipe 500 Substrate processing apparatus 510 Plate support member 520 Spin plate 614a, 614b Magnet plate 615 Chuck pin 910 Adhesion strengthening agent vaporization Device 911 Piping 931 Substrate mounting plate 931a Through hole 935 Ring member 938 Flow path forming member 940 Support member 941 Lid 942 Current plate 990 First exhaust device 99 Enhanced X inert gas supply device AHL adhesion unit BS interspace PU spheres SD1, SD2 cleaning / drying processing unit

Claims (10)

A substrate processing apparatus disposed adjacent to an exposure apparatus,
A processing unit for processing the substrate;
Provided adjacent to one end of the processing unit, and a transfer unit for transferring the substrate between the processing unit and the exposure apparatus,
The processing unit includes: a film forming unit that forms a film on the surface of the substrate before the exposure process by the exposure apparatus; and an adhesion strengthening unit that performs an adhesion strengthening process on the surface of the substrate before the film formation by the film forming unit. Including
At least one of the processing section and the transfer section includes a first cleaning unit that cleans the back surface of the substrate after the film formation by the film formation unit and before the exposure processing by the exposure apparatus,
The adhesion strengthening unit is
A substrate mounting table having a top surface on which the substrate is mounted and having a passage opening in the upper surface;
A support member that supports the back surface of the substrate so that a gap is formed between the back surface of the substrate and the top surface of the substrate mounting table;
An adhesion reinforcing agent supply unit for supplying an adhesion reinforcing agent to the surface of the substrate placed on the substrate placing table;
A substrate processing comprising: a pressure adjusting mechanism that adjusts the pressure in the gap through the passage so that the adhesion reinforcing agent supplied to the surface of the substrate by the adhesion reinforcing agent supply unit does not enter the gap. apparatus. The support member includes an annular member that closes the outer periphery of the gap by contacting the peripheral edge of the back surface of the substrate,
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pressure adjustment mechanism includes an exhaust device that adjusts the pressure in the gap by exhausting the atmosphere in the gap through the passage of the substrate mounting table. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the support member includes a plurality of support bodies that are dispersedly arranged inside the annular member and support the back surface of the substrate. The support member includes a plurality of supports that support the back surface of the substrate so that at least a part of the outer peripheral portion of the gap is in an open state;
The said pressure adjustment mechanism is provided with the inert gas supply apparatus which adjusts the pressure in the said clearance gap by supplying an inert gas in the said clearance gap through the said channel | path of the said substrate mounting base. Substrate processing equipment. The pressure adjusting mechanism further includes an annular flow path forming member provided on the upper surface of the substrate mounting table,
5. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the flow path forming member has an inner peripheral surface facing the outer peripheral end of the substrate mounted on the substrate mounting table with a gap. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the first cleaning unit cleans the outer peripheral edge of the substrate together with the back surface of the substrate. The first cleaning unit includes
Substrate holding means for holding the substrate substantially horizontally;
A rotation driving means for rotating the substrate held by the substrate holding means around an axis perpendicular to the substrate;
Treatment liquid supply means for supplying a treatment liquid onto the surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding means;
After the processing liquid is supplied onto the surface of the substrate by the processing liquid supply means, the processing liquid supplied onto the surface of the substrate is removed from the surface of the substrate by moving outward from the center of the substrate. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an inert gas supply unit configured to supply an inert gas. 8. The substrate according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the processing unit and the transfer unit further includes a second cleaning unit that cleans a back surface of the substrate after the exposure processing by the exposure apparatus. 9. Processing equipment. The film forming unit includes:
A photosensitive film forming unit for forming the photosensitive film on the surface of the substrate before the exposure processing by the exposure apparatus;
2. An antireflection film forming unit that forms an antireflection film on the surface of the substrate after the adhesion strengthening process by the adhesion strengthening unit and before the formation of the photosensitive film by the photosensitive film forming unit. The substrate processing apparatus in any one of -8. A substrate processing method for processing a substrate in a substrate processing apparatus that is disposed adjacent to an exposure apparatus and includes an adhesion strengthening unit, a film forming unit, and a cleaning unit,
A step of performing an adhesion strengthening process on the surface of the substrate by the adhesion strengthening unit before the exposure process by the exposure apparatus; and a surface of the substrate by the film forming unit after the adhesion strengthening process by the adhesion strengthening unit and before the exposure process by the exposure apparatus. Forming a film on
Cleaning the back surface of the substrate by the cleaning unit after the film formation by the film formation unit and before the exposure processing by the exposure apparatus;
A step of transporting the substrate after cleaning by the cleaning unit to the exposure apparatus,
The step of performing the adhesion strengthening process includes:
The substrate is placed on the substrate platform having an upper surface on which the substrate is placed and having a passage opening on the upper surface so that a gap is formed between the back surface of the substrate and the upper surface of the substrate platform. Process,
Supplying an adhesion enhancing agent to the surface of the substrate mounted on the substrate mounting table;
And a step of adjusting the pressure in the gap through the passage so that the adhesion enhancing agent supplied to the surface of the substrate does not enter the gap.

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