JP2012173510A - Organic developing process method and organic developing process device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an organic developing process method and an organic developing process device capable of stabilizing a fine line width in a circuit pattern and improving throughput without using a rinsing liquid and without being influenced by a time difference in an organic developing process.SOLUTION: The developing process device carries out development by supplying a developing solution to the surface of a wafer W after a resist is applied thereon and exposed, and the device includes: a developing nozzle 30 that discharges the developing solution containing an organic solvent simultaneously to the entire surface area of the wafer W; and a gas nozzle 40 that discharges N2 gas for stopping the development and for drying to the entire surface area of the wafer W. After a liquid film of the developing solution containing the organic solvent is simultaneously formed on the entire surface area of the wafer W by discharging the developing solution to the entire surface of the wafer W from the developing nozzle 30, N2 gas is discharged to the entire surface of the wafer W from the gas nozzle 40 to stop the development as well as to remove the developing solution to dry the wafer W.

Description

  The present invention relates to an organic development processing method and an organic development processing apparatus using a developer containing an organic solvent.

  In a semiconductor manufacturing process, for example, a chemical amplification type photoresist is applied onto a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer, the resist film is exposed according to a predetermined circuit pattern, and developed to form a circuit pattern. A lithography process is employed.

  In the photolithography process, an organic development method using a developer containing an organic solvent (also referred to as a negative development method) is performed instead of an alkali development method using an alkali developer (also referred to as a positive development method). (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

  The organic development method is a method in which a pattern is formed by selectively dissolving and removing a region of a resist film having a low light irradiation intensity exposed to a circuit pattern formed on an exposure mask. On the other hand, the alkali developing method is a method of forming a pattern by dissolving and removing a region of a resist film having a high light irradiation intensity exposed to a circuit pattern formed on an exposure mask.

  The pattern forming method described in Patent Document 1 includes a step of forming a resist film with an organic solvent-based developing resist composition containing a resin that reduces solubility in a developer containing an organic solvent, and an organic solvent. After performing a developing process using a developing solution, a cleaning process using a rinsing solution containing a solvent is performed.

JP 2010-152353 A (Claims)

  By the way, as a result of research, the inventors of the present invention have found that in the case of organic development processing, resolution can be achieved only by development processing without performing a washing step using a rinsing liquid after development, and defects are not increased. I found out. On the other hand, it was also found that when the cleaning step with the rinsing liquid is omitted, the line width of the circuit pattern fluctuates and uneven drying occurs.

  Here, with reference to FIG. 12, the development speed in the development time range of 10 to 20 seconds and the development speed in the development time range of 20 to 30 seconds of the organic development method and the alkali development method are as follows. It can be seen that the dissolution rate is faster than that of the alkali developer. In addition, the organic developer maintains a high dissolution rate even after a certain period of time as compared with the alkali developer. That is, in the organic development processing, the influence of the time difference of the development processing is strong, and this tends to be reflected in the in-plane distribution of the line width of the circuit pattern. From this, it is considered that when the washing step using the rinsing solution is omitted, the line width of the circuit pattern fluctuates due to the remaining developer, resulting in uneven drying.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, so that the fine line width of a circuit pattern can be stabilized and the throughput can be improved without using a rinsing solution and without being affected by the time difference of organic development processing. An organic development processing method and an organic development processing apparatus are provided.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, an organic development processing method of the present invention is a development processing method in which a resist is applied to a surface and a developer is supplied to the surface of the substrate after exposure to perform development. A step of simultaneously forming a liquid film of a developer containing an organic solvent over the entire region, a step of supplying a gas to the entire surface of the substrate on which the liquid film is formed, stopping development, and drying the substrate (Claim 1).

  In addition, the organic development processing method of the present invention is a development processing method in which a resist is applied to the surface and a developing solution is supplied to the surface of the substrate after exposure to perform development, and the substrate is held in a horizontal state. A step of forming a liquid film of a developer containing an organic solvent simultaneously on the entire surface of the substrate, and supplying gas to the entire surface of the substrate on which the liquid film is formed to stop development, And a step of performing drying (claim 2).

  In the invention described in claim 1 or 2, the step of forming the liquid film is preferably performed by discharging the developer from the plurality of developer supply nozzles facing the surface of the substrate over the entire surface of the substrate ( Claim 3).

  The step of stopping the development and drying the substrate is preferably performed by discharging gas from the plurality of gas supply nozzles facing the surface of the substrate over the entire surface of the substrate. In this case, the step of stopping the development and drying the substrate may be performed by discharging gas from a plurality of gas supply nozzles over the entire surface of the substrate while the substrate held in a horizontal state is stationary. It is preferable to carry out the process while rotating the substrate around the vertical axis.

  Further, the organic development processing method of the present invention is a development processing method in which a resist is applied to the surface and development is performed by supplying a developing solution to the surface of the substrate after the exposure. In the development processing method, the surface of the substrate faces downward. A step of immersing only the surface of the substrate in a developer containing an organic solvent stored in a storage container and simultaneously forming a liquid film of the developer over the entire surface of the substrate; and A step of supplying a gas to the entire surface of the formed substrate to stop development and to dry the substrate (claim 6).

  Further, the organic development processing method of the present invention is a development processing method in which a resist is applied to the surface and development is performed by supplying a developing solution to the surface of the substrate after the exposure. In the development processing method, the surface of the substrate faces downward. In the step of holding in the state where the surface of the substrate is directed downward, only the surface of the substrate is immersed in a developer containing an organic solvent stored in the storage container, and the entire surface of the substrate is simultaneously A step of forming a liquid film of a developer, and a step of supplying a gas to the entire surface of the substrate on which the liquid film is formed to stop development and dry the substrate. (Claim 7).

  In the invention according to claim 6 or 7, the step of forming the liquid film of the developer may be performed by immersing only the surface of the substrate in the developer while the substrate is stationary. It is preferable to immerse only the surface of the substrate in the developing solution while rotating in a horizontal direction (claim 8).

  Further, in the invention according to claim 6 or 7, the step of stopping the development and drying the substrate is performed by discharging a gas from a plurality of gas supply nozzles facing the surface of the substrate over the entire surface of the substrate. (Claim 9). In this case, the step of stopping the development and drying the substrate may be performed by discharging gas from a plurality of gas supply nozzles over the entire surface of the substrate while the substrate held in a horizontal state is stationary. However, it is preferable to perform the rotation while rotating the substrate around the vertical axis.

  The organic development processing method according to claim 1, wherein a developer supplying means for discharging a developer containing an organic solvent simultaneously over the entire surface of the substrate, and a gas supply for discharging a gas for stopping development and drying over the entire surface of the substrate. And an organic development processing apparatus comprising the means (claim 11).

  The organic development processing method according to claim 2 includes a substrate holding means for holding the substrate in a horizontal state, a developer supplying means for simultaneously discharging a developer containing an organic solvent over the entire surface of the substrate, and an entire surface of the substrate. And a gas supply means for discharging a gas for stopping and drying the development (claim 12).

  13. The organic development processing apparatus according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the developer supply means preferably includes a plurality of developer supply nozzles facing the surface of the substrate (claim 13). The gas supply means preferably includes a plurality of gas supply nozzles opposed to the surface of the substrate. Further, it is preferable to further include a rotation drive mechanism for rotating the substrate holding means around a vertical axis.

  Further, in the organic development processing apparatus according to any one of claims 11 to 15, the developer supply means and the gas supply means may be formed separately, but are preferably a substrate held in a horizontal state. It is better to be provided in the nozzle head that moves relative to and away from the surface of the nozzle.

  The organic development processing method according to claims 6 and 7 includes a substrate holding means for holding the surface of the substrate facing downward, a container for storing a developer containing an organic solvent, and the substrate holding means. A moving mechanism for moving the held substrate and the container relative to and away from each other; and a gas supply means for discharging a gas for stopping development and drying the substrate over the entire surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding means. The present invention is carried out by an organic development processing apparatus (claim 17). In this case, it is preferable that the gas supply means is formed to be movable between the substrate held by the substrate holding means and the container. The gas supply means preferably includes a plurality of gas supply nozzles opposed to the surface of the substrate.

  According to the invention described in claims 1 to 5 and 11 to 16, the organic solvent is simultaneously applied to the entire surface of the substrate by discharging the developer containing the organic solvent simultaneously to the entire surface of the substrate from the developer supply means. After the liquid film of the developer to be contained is formed, the gas can be supplied from the gas supply means to the entire surface of the substrate on which the liquid film is formed to stop development and dry the substrate.

  According to invention of Claims 6-10, 17-19, the image development which contains the organic solvent stored in the storage container in the state hold | maintained in the state which faced the surface of the board | substrate downward by the board | substrate holding means. After immersing only the surface of the substrate in the liquid and forming a liquid film of the developer on the entire surface of the substrate at the same time, the gas is supplied from the gas supply means to the entire surface of the substrate on which the liquid film is formed. While stopping, the substrate can be dried.

  According to the present invention, after forming a liquid film of a developer containing an organic solvent simultaneously on the entire surface of the substrate, gas is supplied from the gas supply means to the entire surface of the substrate on which the liquid film has been formed. By stopping the substrate and drying the substrate, it is possible to stabilize the fine line width of the circuit pattern without using a rinsing solution and without being affected by the time difference of the organic development process, and also improving the throughput. Improvements can be made.

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a first embodiment of an organic development processing apparatus according to the present invention. It is a schematic plan view of the organic development processing apparatus. It is sectional drawing (b) which follows the II line | wire of the bottom view (a) and (a) which shows the developing solution supply nozzle in 1st Embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic side view (a) showing a discharge state of a developer according to the first embodiment and a schematic side view (b) showing a discharge state of a gas. They are an expanded sectional view (a) which shows the liquid film formation state of the developing solution in this invention, an expanded sectional view (b) which shows a gas discharge state, and an enlarged sectional view (c) which shows a dry state. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows 2nd Embodiment of the organic developing processing apparatus which concerns on this invention. Schematic side views (a) and (b) showing the substrate loading operation and the operation before inverting of the inverting mechanism in the second embodiment, schematic front views (c) and (d) showing the inverting operation, and after the substrate is inverted It is a schematic side view (e) which shows operation | movement / carrying-out operation | movement, and II arrow directional view (f) of (d). It is sectional drawing (b) which follows the III-III line of the top view (a) and (a) which shows the gas supply nozzle in 2nd Embodiment. Schematic cross-sectional view (a) showing a liquid film forming step of a substrate in the second embodiment, schematic cross-sectional view (b) showing a development stop / drying step, and enlarged cross-sectional view (c) showing a main part of the development stop / drying step It is. It is a schematic plan view of the wafer used for an evaluation test. It is a graph which shows the relationship between the line | wire width obtained by the evaluation test, and the distance from the center of a wafer. It is a graph which shows the dependence relationship of the line | wire width melt | dissolution rate of organic development and alkali development, and development time.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Here, a semiconductor wafer W (hereinafter referred to as a wafer W), which is a substrate to be processed, is applied with a chemical amplification type photoresist applied by a coating apparatus (not shown), and the wafer W subjected to exposure processing in the exposure apparatus is transferred to the transport means 1. The case of carrying out development processing by transporting to the organic development processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described.

<First Embodiment>
The organic development processing apparatus 10 (hereinafter referred to as the developing apparatus 10) of the first embodiment includes a housing 11, and a wafer W transfer port 12 is provided on one side wall of the housing 11. The wafer W is transferred into the housing 11 by the transfer means 1 shown in FIG. In this case, the transfer means 1 is provided with a substantially horseshoe-shaped arm body 2 surrounding the side periphery of the wafer W, and a plurality, four in this example, are provided on the inner periphery of the arm body 2 to support the periphery of the back surface of the wafer W. The support part 3 is provided.

  A partition plate 13 for partitioning the interior of the housing 11 up and down is provided in the housing 11. The upper side of the partition plate 13 is configured as a processing region 14a for processing the wafer W, and the lower side of the partition plate 13 is configured with a drive region 14b.

  A substrate holding chuck 20 which is a substrate holding unit for placing the wafer W in a horizontal state is provided in the housing 11. The substrate holding chuck 20 is connected to a rotation shaft 21a of a rotation drive motor 21 formed by, for example, a servo motor which is a rotation drive mechanism, and is configured to be rotatable in the horizontal direction by driving of the rotation drive motor 21. . Suction holes 22 are provided at a plurality of locations on the surface of the substrate holding chuck 20, and a suction passage (not shown) communicating with the suction holes 22 is provided on the rotating shaft 21 a, and one end is connected to the suction passage. The other end of the exhaust pipe 23 is connected to a vacuum pump 24 that is an exhaust means. The rotating shaft 21a is rotatably inserted into a through hole 13a provided in the partition plate 13.

  Further, the substrate holding chuck 20 and the rotation drive motor 21 are configured to be movable (elevated and lowered) in the vertical direction by an elevating mechanism 25 formed by, for example, a cylinder or a ball screw mechanism.

  The rotation drive motor 21, the lifting mechanism 25, and the vacuum pump 24 are electrically connected to the control unit 100 and controlled based on a control signal from the control unit 100.

  A flat circular cover body 26 having an opening at the bottom is provided above the substrate holding chuck 20. The cover body 26 moves the cover body 26 up and down via a support member 27, that is, with respect to the substrate holding chuck 20. The contact / separation moving mechanism 28 that moves toward and away is connected. The contact / separation moving mechanism 28 is electrically connected to the control unit 100, and the cover body 26 is configured to be movable toward and away from the substrate holding chuck 20 by a control signal from the control unit 100. An O-ring 29 is fitted to the opening end of the cover body 26, and the cover body 26 descends and comes into close contact with the partition plate 13, so that the airtightness in the cover body 26 is maintained. ing.

  A nozzle body 50 having a developer supply nozzle 30 as a developer supply means and a gas supply nozzle 40 as a gas supply means is mounted on the lower surface of the top plate 26a of the cover body 26. In this case, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the nozzle body 50 has, for example, an octagonal shape having a corner 51 inscribed in a circle having the same diameter or more as the diameter of the wafer W placed on the substrate holding chuck 20. A plurality of developer supply nozzles 30 (hereinafter referred to as development nozzles 30) and a gas supply nozzle 40 (hereinafter referred to as gas nozzles 40) are provided on the lower surface of the nozzle head 52, for example. Alternating dots are provided. The nozzle head 52 does not necessarily have an octagonal shape, and may be, for example, a polygon other than an octagon or a circle.

  Among these, the developing nozzle 30 is connected to a developer flow path 31 provided in the nozzle head 52. The developer flow path 31 is connected via a developer supply pipe 32 to a developer supply source 33 for a developer containing an organic solvent. The developer supply pipe 32 is provided with a flow rate control unit 34A including a valve and a mass flow controller and a temperature control unit 35. As the developer containing the organic solvent used in this embodiment, for example, polar solvents such as ketone solvents, ester solvents, alcohol solvents, amide solvents, ether solvents, and hydrocarbon solvents are used. In this embodiment, a developer containing butyl acetate which is an ester solvent is used.

  On the other hand, the gas nozzle 40 is connected to a gas flow path 41 provided in the nozzle head 52. The gas flow path 41 is connected to a gas supply source 43 through a gas supply pipe 42. The gas supply pipe 42 is provided with a flow rate control unit 34B including a valve and a mass flow controller. In addition, as gas used by a present Example, inert gas, such as nitrogen (N2) gas, clean air, etc. are used, for example, N2 gas which is inert gas is used in this embodiment.

  The flow rate control units 34A, 34B and the temperature control unit 35 are electrically connected to the control unit 100, and the developer is set to a predetermined temperature, for example, 23 ° C. based on a control signal from the control unit 100. A predetermined amount, for example, 80 mL to 600 mL is discharged, and N2 gas is formed to be discharged by a predetermined amount, for example, 5 to 50 L / min.

  The nozzle body 50 formed as described above is configured so as to be movable toward and away from the substrate holding chuck 20 together with the cover body 26, and is lowered from the developing nozzle 30 while approaching the substrate holding chuck 20. By discharging the developer, a liquid film of the developer is simultaneously formed on the entire surface of the wafer W placed on the substrate holding chuck 20. Further, after forming a liquid film of the developer on the entire surface of the wafer W, N2 gas is discharged from the gas nozzle 40 to supply N2 gas to the entire surface of the wafer W to stop development, and at the same time The developer on the W surface can be removed and dried. Note that when the developer is discharged from the developing nozzle 30, the developer holding liquid film can be uniformly formed over the entire surface of the wafer W by rotating the substrate holding chuck 20. Further, by rotating the substrate holding chuck 20 when supplying the N2 gas to the entire surface of the wafer W, the N2 gas can be uniformly supplied to the entire surface of the wafer W, and the developer removal and drying time can be reduced. Shortening can be achieved.

  Next, an operation mode and a developing method of the developing device according to the first embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. First, the wafer W is transferred into the housing 11 by the transfer means 1, and the wafer W is positioned above the substrate holding chuck 20. Then, the substrate holding chuck 20 is raised by driving the lifting mechanism 25, and the wafer W is sucked and held on the substrate holding chuck 20 by the suction operation. Thereafter, the conveying means 1 moves backward.

  In a state where the wafer W is held on the substrate holding chuck 20, the contact / separation moving mechanism 28 is driven, and the nozzle body 50 including the developing nozzle 30 and the gas nozzle 40 is lowered together with the cover body 26, and approaches the upper surface of the wafer surface. Move to position eg 30mm. At this time, the elevating mechanism 25 can be driven to adjust the distance between the surface of the wafer W and the nozzle body 50.

  Next, a developing solution D containing an organic solvent set at a predetermined temperature, for example, 23 ° C. is discharged from the developing nozzle 30 to the entire surface of the wafer W, for example, for 10 to 30 seconds, and simultaneously the developing solution D is applied to the entire surface of the wafer W. A liquid film is formed. At this time, as shown in FIG. 4A, by rotating the substrate holding chuck 20 (for example, 10 to 1000 rpm), the liquid film of the developer is simultaneously applied to the entire surface of the wafer W placed on the substrate holding chuck 20. Form. When the state in which the liquid film of the developer D is formed is enlarged, as shown in FIG. 5A, the soluble part of the resist is dissolved in the developer D, and the insoluble part remains, so that the circuit pattern C Is formed. In this state, the dissolved product d is mixed in the developer D.

  Next, the nozzle body 50 is moved to a proximity position, for example, 30 mm above the wafer surface. In this state, while rotating the substrate holding chuck 20 at a rotational speed of 500 to 3000 rpm, for example, 1000 rpm, N 2 gas is supplied from the gas nozzle 40 to the entire surface of the wafer W at a flow rate of 5 to 50 L / min, for example, 5 L / min for 5 to 30 seconds. Discharge (see FIG. 4B). Thus, after the liquid film of the developer D is formed, when N2 gas is discharged over the entire surface of the wafer W while rotating the wafer W, due to the impact of the discharge and the centrifugal force due to the rotation of the wafer W, As shown in FIGS. 5B and 5C, the N 2 gas spreads from the central portion toward the peripheral portion of the wafer W, and the developer D in which the dissolved product d is mixed is efficiently discharged to the outside. Thus, the developer D in the recesses of the circuit pattern C is reliably discharged (removed).

  After the development processing is completed as described above, the wafer W on the substrate holding chuck 20 is received from the substrate holding chuck 20 to the transfer means 1 by the operation opposite to the above operation, and is transferred from the inside of the housing 11 by the transfer means 1. It is carried out.

  According to the first embodiment, the developing nozzle 30 supplies a developing solution to the entire surface of the wafer W at the same time to form a liquid film, and then supplies N 2 gas to the entire surface of the wafer W, thereby Development can be stopped simultaneously on the entire surface. Therefore, the line width of the circuit pattern can be stabilized.

  In the first embodiment, the case where the wafer W is rotated when the developer is discharged from the developing nozzle 30 to the entire surface of the wafer W to form the developer film on the wafer surface has been described. If the developer discharged from the developing nozzle 30 is discharged over the entire surface of the wafer W, the wafer W does not necessarily have to be rotated.

  In the above embodiment, each nozzle body 50 of the developing nozzle 30 is connected to the developer supply source 33 via the common developer flow path 31, and the same amount of developer is discharged from each nozzle body 50. However, the developer flow path communicating with the nozzle body 50 may be partitioned into, for example, a central portion and an outer peripheral portion, and the developer may be discharged separately. In this way, a liquid film of the developer can be formed more uniformly over the entire surface of the wafer W.

Second Embodiment
Next, a second embodiment of the organic development processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the organic development processing apparatus 10 </ b> A (hereinafter referred to as the development apparatus 10 </ b> A) of the second embodiment is a substrate holding unit that holds the surface of the wafer W in a state of facing downward in a housing (not shown). A substrate holding chuck 20A, a developing solution storage container 60 (hereinafter referred to as a container 60) for storing a developing solution D containing an organic solvent, and the wafer W held by the substrate holding chuck 20A and the container 60 are relatively disposed. A gas supply nozzle that is a gas supply means for discharging a gas for stopping development and drying a substrate, for example, nitrogen (N2) gas, over the entire surface of the wafer W held by the substrate holding chuck 20A. 40A (hereinafter referred to as gas nozzle 40A). Further, the developing device 10A includes a transfer arm 70 that receives the wafer W from a transfer unit (not shown) and reverses the front and back surfaces of the wafer W, and transfers the wafer W that is turned upside down by the transfer arm 70 to the substrate holding chuck 20A. It is configured to be possible.

  In this case, as shown in FIG. 7, the transfer arm 70 is provided with an upper horizontal shaft 73 at the upper end of the base 71 via a link member 72 that can be rotated and expanded in the horizontal direction, and along the upper horizontal shaft 73. A wafer holding portion 74 that can be advanced and retracted in the horizontal direction toward the outside is provided. Further, the transfer arm 70 includes a reversing mechanism 75 having a reversing motor (not shown), and the reversing mechanism 75 allows the wafer holder 74 to be rotated 180 degrees with respect to the upper horizontal shaft 73, that is, reversible. Is formed.

  As shown in FIG. 7 (f), the wafer holding unit 74 has a substantially horseshoe-shaped tip, and is configured to hold the center of the back surface of the wafer W by, for example, vacuum suction. In this case, the horseshoe-shaped portion of the wafer holding portion 74 is provided with a plurality of suction holes 74a at appropriate intervals along the circumferential direction, and piping (not shown) provided with an open / close valve (not shown). ) Through an adsorption source such as a vacuum pump (not shown).

  In the transfer arm 70 configured as described above, the wafer holding unit 74 extends in the horizontal direction from the state shown in FIG. 7A and receives and holds the wafer W from the transfer means (not shown) (FIG. 7B). )), The reversing mechanism 75 causes the wafer holder 74 to rotate 180 degrees with respect to the upper horizontal shaft 73 to reverse the front and back surfaces of the wafer W (see FIGS. 7C to 7E).

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the developing device 10 </ b> A includes a contact / separation moving mechanism 28 </ b> A that is disposed at an upper portion in a housing (not shown) and formed by, for example, a ball screw mechanism or a timing belt mechanism, and a contact / separation movement mechanism. The rotary drive motor 21A formed by, for example, a servo motor, which is a rotary drive mechanism, is connected to the lower portion of the elevating bracket 28b that is movable in the vertical direction by 28A. A substrate holding chuck 20A is connected downward to the lower end portion of the rotation shaft 21a of the rotation drive motor 21A, and is configured to be rotatable in the horizontal direction by driving the rotation drive motor 21A. Similarly to the substrate holding chuck 20 of the first embodiment, the substrate holding chuck 20A is provided with suction holes (not shown) at a plurality of locations on the surface of the substrate holding chuck 20A, and the rotation shaft 21a has suction holes. A suction passage (not shown) communicating with the suction passage is provided, and the other end of an exhaust pipe (not shown) whose one end is connected to the suction passage is connected to a vacuum pump (not shown) which is an exhaust means.

  The rotation drive motor 21A, the contact / separation moving mechanism 28A and the vacuum pump (not shown) are electrically connected to the control unit 100 and controlled based on a control signal from the control unit 100.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the container 60 is formed in a box shape having an open upper end, and is installed in a horizontal state by a support base (not shown). Both ends of a circulation pipe 62 are connected to communication ports 61a and 61b provided on upper portions of opposing side walls of the container 60. A filter 63 and a circulation pump 64 are provided in the circulation pipe 62, and circulation is also performed. A temperature control unit 65 is provided for setting the temperature of the developer D containing the organic solvent flowing through the pipe line 62 to a constant temperature. In addition, a drain port 66 is provided at the bottom of the container 60, and a drain pipe 68 having a drain valve 67 interposed is connected to the drain port 66.

  A cup 80 is disposed on the outer periphery of the container 60. The cup 80 includes a bottomed cylindrical lower cup body 81 that surrounds the outer periphery of the container 60 and the lower side, and an upper cup body 82 that is movable along the inner peripheral surface of the lower cup body 81 on the opening side. It is configured. In this case, the upper cup body 82 includes a flat cylindrical base portion 83 that is movable along the inner peripheral surface of the lower cup body 81 on the opening side, an inclined portion 84 that is bent at the upper end of the flat cylindrical base portion 83, The inward flange portion 85 is bent from the upper end of the inclined portion 84 toward the container 60 side. The upper cup body 82 is connected to a cup lifting mechanism 87 via a support member 86 connected to the outside of the flat cylindrical base 83 of the upper cup body 82, and the upper cup body 82 is connected by the cup lifting mechanism 87. Is configured to be movable up and down.

  Further, the gas nozzle 40A is provided in the nozzle body 50A. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, the nozzle body 50A is an octagonal flat nozzle having a corner 51 inscribed in a circle having the same diameter or more as the diameter of the wafer W attracted and held by the substrate holding chuck 20A. A head 52A is provided, and a plurality of gas nozzles 40A are provided in the form of dots on the upper surface of the nozzle head 52A. The gas nozzle 40A is connected to a gas flow path 41 provided in the nozzle head 52A, and the gas flow path 41 is connected to an N 2 gas supply source 43 via a gas supply pipe. The gas supply pipe 42 is provided with a flow rate control unit (not shown) including a valve and a mass flow controller. The nozzle head 52A does not necessarily have an octagonal shape, and may be, for example, a polygon other than an octagon or a circle.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the nozzle head 52 </ b> A including the gas nozzle 40 </ b> A formed as described above is vertically moved by the contact / separation moving mechanism 28 </ b> B that is suspended from the lower portion of the movable base 91 that is movable along the guide rail 90. It is connected to a lifting bracket 28c that is movable in the direction. The movable base 91 is formed so as to be movable on the guide rail 90 by a driving means such as a ball screw mechanism or a timing belt mechanism (not shown) and is driven based on a control signal from the control unit 100. Accordingly, the position can be moved between a position between the wafer W held by the substrate holding chuck 20 </ b> A and the container 60 and a standby position outside the container 60.

  Next, an operation mode and a developing method of the developing device according to the second embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. First, the transfer arm 70 receives the wafer W transferred by a transfer means (not shown) with the surface of the wafer W facing up. In the transfer arm 70 that has received the wafer W, the reversing mechanism 75 causes the wafer holder 74 to rotate 180 degrees with respect to the upper horizontal shaft 73 to reverse the front and back surfaces of the wafer W (FIG. 7C to FIG. 7). e)).

  In a state where the wafer W is inverted by the transfer arm 70, the wafer holding portion 74 of the transfer arm 70 moves to the substrate holding chuck 20A side, and the substrate holding chuck 20A enters the inside of the substantially horseshoe-shaped wafer holding portion 74 (see FIG. 7 (e), see the two-dot chain line). In this state, the vacuum holding of the substrate holding chuck 20A is started at the same time or immediately before the vacuum holding of the wafer holding unit 74 is released, and the back side of the wafer W is sucked and held by the substrate holding chuck 20A. Thereafter, the substrate holding chuck 20 </ b> A is moved above the container 60.

  Next, the contact / separation moving mechanism 28A is driven to immerse only the surface of the wafer W held by the substrate holding chuck 20A in the developer D containing the organic solvent stored in the container 60 for a predetermined time, for example, 20 seconds. Then, a liquid film of the developer is simultaneously formed on the entire surface of the wafer W.

  Next, the contact / separation moving mechanism 28A is driven to move the wafer W held by the substrate holding chuck 20 above the container 60 and hold it in a horizontal state. Simultaneously with or after the rising of the wafer W, the movable base 91B is moved along the guide rail 90 by driving of the driving means, and the nozzle head 52A is placed between the wafer 60 and the container 60 held by the substrate holding chuck 20A. The gas nozzle 40 is positioned so as to face the surface of the wafer W. At this time, the upper cup body 82 surrounds the upper portion of the container 60 and the periphery of the nozzle head 52 </ b> A by driving the cup lifting mechanism 87. In this state, while rotating the substrate holding chuck 20A at a rotational speed of 500 to 3000 rpm, for example, 1000 rpm, N 2 gas is supplied from the gas nozzle 40A to the entire surface of the wafer W at a flow rate of 5 to 50 L / min, for example, 5 L / min for 5 to 30 seconds. Discharge. Thus, after the liquid film of the developer D is formed, when N2 gas is discharged over the entire surface of the wafer W while rotating the wafer W, due to the impact of the discharge and the centrifugal force due to the rotation of the wafer W, , N2 gas spreads from the center to the periphery of the wafer W, the developer D containing the dissolved product d is efficiently discharged to the outside, and the developer D in the recesses of the circuit pattern C is surely Discharged (removed).

  After the development processing is completed as described above, the wafer W held by the substrate holding chuck 20A by the reverse operation to the above operation is received by the transfer arm 70 from the substrate holding chuck 20A, and is turned upside down by the transfer arm 70. After the surface is reversed to the upper surface side, it is transported by a transport means (not shown).

  In the second embodiment, the case where the nozzle head 52A including the gas nozzle 40A is attached to the movable base 91 that moves on the guide rail 90 has been described. However, the movement of the nozzle head 52A is not necessarily limited to this structure. For example, a structure that can be moved between the wafer W and the container 60 and an outer position of the container 60 by an arm that can pivot in the horizontal direction may be used.

  According to the second embodiment, after immersing only the surface of the wafer W in the developer D stored in the container 60, the developer is simultaneously supplied to the entire surface of the wafer W to form a liquid film. By supplying N 2 gas over the entire surface of the wafer W, development can be stopped simultaneously on the entire surface of the wafer W. Therefore, the line width of the circuit pattern can be stabilized. In the second embodiment, the developer D stored in the container 60 is subjected to removal of impurities by the filter 63 via the circulation pipe 62, and the temperature is adjusted by the temperature control unit 65 to be developed again. It can be used and waste of the developer can be reduced.

(Evaluation test)
Next, an evaluation test based on whether or not N2 gas is discharged after a developer containing an organic solvent is supplied to the wafer to form a developer film is described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 10, after supplying a developer containing an organic solvent to the surface of a 300 mm wafer W to form a liquid film, N2 gas is discharged to the center of the wafer W at a flow rate of 5 L / min for 3 seconds. When the upper limit and the lower limit of the line width at an arbitrary position on the outer periphery from the center of the wafer W when N2 gas was not discharged were examined, the results shown in FIG. 11 were obtained.

  As a result, as shown in FIG. 11, when N2 gas is discharged, the development of the N2 gas discharge region stops more rapidly and the line width fluctuates than when N2 gas is not discharged. Thereby, by discharging N2 gas over the entire surface of the wafer W, the line width in the wafer surface can be controlled.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, After forming the liquid film of the developing solution containing an organic solvent simultaneously in the whole region of a substrate surface, the substrate surface whole region It can be applied to all organic development processes in which gas is supplied to, and development is stopped and dried.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the substrate to be processed is the semiconductor wafer W has been described. However, the present invention can also be applied to organic development processing of another substrate other than the semiconductor wafer such as an FPD substrate.

W Wafer (Substrate)
20, 20A substrate holding chuck (substrate holding means)
21, 21A Rotation drive motor (rotation drive mechanism)
28, 28A, 28B contact / separation moving mechanism 30 developer nozzle (developer supply means)
40,40A gas nozzle (gas supply means)
50, 50A Nozzle body 52, 52A Nozzle head 60 Container (developer storage container)
100 Control unit

Claims (19)

In a development processing method in which a resist is applied to the surface and development is performed by supplying a developer to the surface of the substrate after exposure,
Forming a liquid film of a developer containing an organic solvent simultaneously on the entire surface of the substrate;
Supplying gas to the entire surface of the substrate on which the liquid film is formed, stopping development, and drying the substrate;
An organic development processing method comprising: In a development processing method in which a resist is applied to the surface and development is performed by supplying a developer to the surface of the substrate after exposure,
A step of holding the substrate in a horizontal state;
Forming a liquid film of a developer containing an organic solvent simultaneously on the entire surface of the substrate;
Supplying gas to the entire surface of the substrate on which the liquid film is formed, stopping development, and drying the substrate;
An organic development processing method comprising: In the organic development processing method of Claim 1 or 2,
The step of forming the liquid film is performed by discharging the developer from the plurality of developer supply nozzles facing the surface of the substrate over the entire surface of the substrate. In the organic development processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The organic development processing method, wherein the step of stopping the development and drying the substrate is performed by discharging a gas from a plurality of gas supply nozzles facing the surface of the substrate over the entire surface of the substrate. In the organic development processing method of Claim 4,
The organic development processing method characterized in that the steps of stopping the development and drying the substrate are performed while rotating the substrate held in a horizontal state around a vertical axis. In a development processing method in which a resist is applied to the surface and development is performed by supplying a developer to the surface of the substrate after exposure,
With the surface of the substrate facing downward, only the surface of the substrate is immersed in a developer containing an organic solvent stored in a storage container, and the liquid film of the developer is simultaneously spread over the entire surface of the substrate. Forming, and
Supplying gas to the entire surface of the substrate on which the liquid film is formed, stopping development, and drying the substrate;
An organic development processing method comprising: In a development processing method in which a resist is applied to the surface and development is performed by supplying a developer to the surface of the substrate after exposure,
Holding the surface of the substrate facing downward;
With the surface of the substrate facing downward, only the surface of the substrate is immersed in a developer containing an organic solvent stored in a storage container, and the liquid film of the developer is simultaneously spread over the entire surface of the substrate. Forming, and
Supplying gas to the entire surface of the substrate on which the liquid film is formed, stopping development, and drying the substrate;
An organic development processing method comprising: In the organic development processing method according to claim 6 or 7,
An organic development processing method, wherein the step of forming a liquid film of the developer is performed while rotating the substrate about a vertical axis. In the organic development processing method according to claim 6 or 7,
The organic development processing method, wherein the step of stopping the development and drying the substrate is performed by discharging a gas from a plurality of gas supply nozzles facing the surface of the substrate over the entire surface of the substrate. In the organic development processing method according to claim 9,
The organic development processing method, wherein the steps of stopping the development and drying the substrate are performed while rotating the substrate about a vertical axis. In a development processing apparatus for developing by supplying a developer to the surface of the substrate after the resist is applied and exposed to the surface,
A developer supply means for simultaneously discharging a developer containing an organic solvent over the entire surface of the substrate;
Gas supply means for discharging a gas for stopping development and drying over the entire surface of the substrate;
An organic development processing apparatus comprising: In a development processing apparatus for developing by supplying a developer to the surface of the substrate after the resist is applied and exposed to the surface,
Substrate holding means for holding the substrate in a horizontal state;
A developer supply means for simultaneously discharging a developer containing an organic solvent over the entire surface of the substrate;
Gas supply means for discharging a gas for stopping development and drying over the entire surface of the substrate;
An organic development processing apparatus comprising: The organic development processing apparatus according to claim 11 or 12,
The organic development processing apparatus, wherein the developer supply means includes a plurality of developer supply nozzles facing the surface of the substrate. The organic development processing apparatus according to any one of claims 11 to 13,
The organic developing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the gas supply means includes a plurality of gas supply nozzles facing the surface of the substrate. The organic development processing apparatus according to any one of claims 12 to 14,
An organic development processing apparatus, further comprising a rotation driving mechanism for rotating the substrate holding means around a vertical axis. The organic development processing apparatus according to any one of claims 11 to 15,
An organic development processing apparatus, wherein the developer supply means and the gas supply means are provided in a nozzle head that moves relative to and away from the surface of the substrate held in a horizontal state. In a development processing apparatus for developing by supplying a developer to the surface of the substrate after the resist is applied and exposed to the surface,
Substrate holding means for holding the surface of the substrate facing downward;
A container for storing a developer containing an organic solvent;
A moving mechanism for moving the substrate held by the substrate holding means and the container relative to and away from each other;
A gas supply means for discharging a gas for stopping development and drying the substrate over the entire surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding means;
An organic development processing apparatus comprising: The organic development processing apparatus according to claim 17, wherein
The organic development processing apparatus, wherein the gas supply means is formed movably between the substrate held by the substrate holding means and the container. The organic development processing apparatus according to claim 17 or 18,
The organic developing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the gas supply means includes a plurality of gas supply nozzles facing the surface of the substrate.

Images