JP2014054618A - Slit nozzle, coating applicator, and coating application method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently form a chemical-liquid coating film on a substrate having a circular arc edge or particularly a circular substrate at a thickness with less irregular coating.SOLUTION: A slit nozzle 10 including: a slit discharge port 10a; a manifold 10d temporarily storing a chemical liquid before being discharged; and a land portion 10e forming a chemical liquid path from the manifold 10d to the discharge port 10a comprises: a lower lip 54 of a plate shape having a circular arc side surface 54a extending in a circular arc manner and an upper surface 54c having a groove 54b formed in a region adjacent to the circular arc side surface 54a; and an upper lip 56 of a cover shape having a circular arc sidewall 56a extending in a circular arc manner to correspond to the circular arc side surface 54a of the lower lip 54 and a ceiling wall 56b opposed to the upper surface 54c of the lower lip 54. The discharge port 10a and the land portion 10e are formed between the circular arc side surface 54a of the lower lip 54 and the circular sidewall 56a of the upper lip 56, and the manifold 10d is formed between the groove 54b of the upper surface 54c of the lower lip 54 and the ceiling wall 56b of the upper lip 56.

Description

  The present invention relates to a slit nozzle for applying a chemical solution on a substrate, a scanning type coating apparatus using the slit nozzle, and a coating method.

  In a manufacturing process of a flat panel display or a solar cell panel, a scan type coating apparatus or coating method is often used in various scenes where a chemical solution is applied onto a rectangular (particularly large and rectangular) substrate. A scanning-type coating apparatus typically has a long slit nozzle, a chemical solution supply source, a scanning mechanism, and the like. While the chemical solution is discharged from the slit nozzle in a curtain shape, the scanning mechanism causes the slit nozzle and the substrate to By performing a relative scanning movement during the period, a coating film having a constant film thickness is formed on the substrate without blowing chemicals around.

  On the other hand, in a semiconductor device manufacturing process, a spin-type coating apparatus or coating method is often used in various scenes where a chemical solution is coated on a circular substrate, that is, a semiconductor wafer. A spin-type coating apparatus typically includes a spin stage, a dispenser-type nozzle, a chemical solution supply source, a cup, and the like, and a certain amount of chemical solution at the center of the wafer placed on the spin stage in the cup. Is dropped from the nozzle and the wafer is rotated at a high speed integrally with the spin stage to form a coating film having a uniform film thickness on the wafer.

JP2007-208140 JP2011-23669

  Until now, as described above, the spin method has been the mainstream of coating apparatuses or coating methods for semiconductor wafers. However, in the spin method, since most of the chemical liquid dropped on the wafer from the nozzle is shaken off during rotation, the usage efficiency of the chemical liquid is not good. Furthermore, the spin method is suitable for forming a thin coating film of several nm to several μm like a resist film for photolithography, but several tens μm to hundred μm like an interlayer insulating film or a passivation film. Alternatively, it is difficult to form a thicker coating film. For this reason, when such a thick coating film is formed, there is no other way than to deal with it by overcoating, and the production efficiency is not good. Also, the spin method is not suitable for application of a high viscosity resin chemical or adhesive.

  On the other hand, as described above, the scan method can uniformly apply a chemical solution on a rectangular substrate without spilling out of the substrate, and can cope with the formation of a thick insulating film or a high-viscosity chemical solution without difficulty. . However, for a circular substrate such as a semiconductor wafer, the chemical liquid discharged in a curtain shape from the long slit nozzle protrudes outside the wafer except at the central portion of the nozzle. For this reason, the chemical | medical solution which protruded out of the wafer is wasted. Furthermore, the gap between the discharge port of the slit nozzle and the semiconductor wafer cannot be closed from the end of the discharge port to the end of the discharge port at the start position of the application scan. Thus, when the bead of the chemical solution is not formed over the entire length of the discharge port of the slit nozzle at the start position of the application scan, the meniscus of the chemical solution is uniformly and stably formed around the discharge port of the slit nozzle when the application scan is started. However, the coating film on the semiconductor wafer is likely to have non-uniform film thickness or uneven coating.

  The present invention solves the problems of the prior art as described above, and is a film having an arc-shaped edge, in particular, a film on which a chemical solution coating film is efficiently and less unevenly coated on a circular substrate. Provided are a slit nozzle, a coating apparatus, and a coating method that can be formed to a thickness.

  The slit nozzle of the present invention is a slit nozzle comprising a slit-like discharge port, a manifold that temporarily stores a chemical solution before discharge, and a land portion that forms a chemical solution passage from the manifold to the discharge port. A lower lip of a plate having an arc side surface formed on the upper surface and a top surface having a groove formed in a portion adjacent to the arc side surface, and an arc shape corresponding to the arc side surface of the lower lip. An upper lip of a cover body having a circular arc side wall and a ceiling wall continuous with the circular arc side wall, and the discharge port and the land portion between the circular arc side surface of the lower lip and the circular arc side wall of the outer lip. The manifold is formed between the groove on the upper surface of the lower lip and the ceiling wall of the upper lip.

  The slit nozzle having the above-described configuration can be suitably applied to the application of a chemical solution to a substrate having an arc-shaped edge, particularly a circular substrate. That is, before starting the application scan, the arc-shaped discharge port can be opposed to the arc-shaped edge of the substrate with a coating gap of a predetermined distance. This makes it possible to start the application scan by closing the application gap with the bead of the chemical solution from end to end of the discharge port, uniformly stabilize the meniscus around the discharge port during the application scan, and there is no coating unevenness A coating film can be formed. In addition, each of the lower lip and the upper lip is an arc-shaped plate body and a cover body, and the slit nozzle as a whole is a block body, so that it is sturdy and is not easily deformed by external stress. The dimensional accuracy, particularly the dimensional accuracy of the discharge port, can be kept stable.

  A coating apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention is a coating apparatus for coating a chemical solution on a circular substrate, the slit-like discharge port extending in an arc shape with a radius slightly smaller than the radius of the substrate, A manifold that has an outlet extending in an arc shape in parallel with the discharge port, temporarily stores the chemical before discharge, a land portion that forms a chemical passage from the manifold to the discharge port, and both end portions of the land portion in the circumferential direction A slit-like first recovery port formed in the first section, a first discharge port for discharging a chemical solution recovered from the first recovery port, the first recovery port, and the A slit nozzle having a first recovery flow path connecting the first discharge port, a chemical solution supply unit for supplying a chemical solution into the manifold of the slit nozzle, and a chemical solution from the outside to the first discharge port A first suction portion that conditionally provides a vacuum suction force for use, and a relative direction for application scanning between the slit nozzle and the substrate in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the arc string of the discharge port of the slit nozzle. And a control unit that controls operations of the chemical solution supply unit, the first suction unit, and the scanning mechanism so that a coating film of the chemical solution is formed on the substrate. .

  In the coating apparatus having the above-described configuration, before starting the coating scan, the arc-shaped discharge port of the slit nozzle is provided with a predetermined coating gap from one end to the other end of the circular substrate with a coating gap of a predetermined distance. It can be opposed to each other. As a result, the coating gap is closed from end to end of the discharge port with a bead of a chemical solution, and then the application scan is started, so that the meniscus is uniformly stabilized around the discharge port during the application scan, and there is no application unevenness. A film can be formed. A slit-like first recovery port is formed in the first section at both ends of the land portion in the circumferential direction, and the first suction portion causes the first recovery port and the first discharge port to pass through the first recovery port. Since the chemical solution immediately before discharge can be collected at any time from the collection port, the application of the chemical solution in that section can be interrupted at the timing when the first section comes out of the substrate during the application scan. Thereby, chemical | medical solution use efficiency can be improved.

  A coating apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention is a coating apparatus for coating a chemical solution on a circular substrate, the slit-like discharge port extending in an arc shape with a radius slightly smaller than the radius of the substrate, A manifold having an outlet extending in an arc shape in parallel with the discharge port, and temporarily storing a chemical solution before discharge, a land portion forming a chemical solution passage from the manifold to the slit discharge port, and both ends of the land portion in the circumferential direction A slit-shaped first recovery port formed in the first section of the unit, a first discharge port for discharging a chemical solution recovered from the first recovery port, and the first recovery port A first recovery flow path connecting the first discharge port; and a slit-shaped second formed in a second section adjacent to the inside of the first section outside the center of the land portion in the circumferential direction. With two recovery ports A slit nozzle having a second discharge port for discharging the chemical solution recovered from the second recovery port, and a second recovery flow path connecting the second recovery port and the second port; And a chemical supply section for supplying the chemical liquid into the manifold of the slit nozzle, and a vacuum suction force for collecting the chemical liquid is conditionally applied to the discharge ports of the first and second ports independently from the outside. A scanning mechanism for performing a relative movement for application scanning between the slit nozzle and the substrate in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the arc string of the discharge port of the slit nozzle and the first and second suction portions And a chemical solution supply unit, the first and second suction units, and a control unit that controls the operation of the scanning mechanism so that a chemical solution coating film is formed on the substrate.

  In the coating apparatus having the above-described configuration, before starting the coating scan, the arc-shaped discharge port of the slit nozzle is provided with a predetermined coating gap from one end to the other end of the circular substrate with a coating gap of a predetermined distance. It can be opposed to each other. As a result, the coating gap is closed from end to end of the discharge port with a bead of a chemical solution, and then the application scan is started, so that the meniscus is uniformly stabilized around the discharge port during the application scan, and there is no application unevenness. A film can be formed. A slit-like first recovery port is formed in the first section at both ends of the land portion in the circumferential direction, and the first suction portion causes the first recovery port and the first discharge port to pass through the first recovery port. Since the chemical solution immediately before discharge can be collected at any time from the collection port, the application of the chemical solution in that section can be interrupted at the timing when the first section of the slit nozzle comes out of the substrate during the coating scan. Furthermore, a slit-like second recovery port is formed in a second section adjacent to the first section of the land portion in the circumferential direction, and the second recovery flow path and the second discharge port are formed by the second suction portion. Since the chemical solution immediately before the discharge can be collected at any time through the second collection port, the application of the chemical solution in that section can be interrupted at the timing when the second section comes out of the substrate during the coating scan. Thereby, the chemical use efficiency can be further improved.

  A coating apparatus according to a third aspect of the present invention is a coating apparatus for applying a chemical solution on a circular substrate, and includes a slit-like discharge port extending in an arc shape with a radius slightly smaller than the radius of the substrate, A slit nozzle having an outlet extending in an arc shape in parallel with the discharge port, and temporarily storing a chemical solution before discharge; and a land portion forming a chemical solution passage from the manifold to the discharge port; and Relative movement for application scanning between the slit nozzle and the substrate in a horizontal direction orthogonal to the arc string of the discharge nozzle of the slit nozzle and a chemical supply section for supplying the chemical into the manifold When the discharge port of the slit nozzle protrudes outside the substrate, the chemical solution discharged from the protruding portion is reused in the vicinity of the discharge port. Has a discharge chemical recovery unit which allows to recover, as a coating film of the chemical liquid is formed on the substrate, the chemical supply unit, a control unit for controlling the operation of the discharge liquid chemical recovery unit and said scanning mechanism.

  In the coating apparatus configured as described above, when the discharge port of the slit nozzle protrudes from the substrate during the coating scan, the discharge chemical solution recovery mechanism can reuse the chemical solution discharged from the protruding portion in the vicinity of the discharge port. Therefore, the chemical use efficiency can be improved as much as possible.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a coating method in which the discharge port of a slit nozzle having a slit-like discharge port extending in an arc shape with a radius slightly smaller than the radius of a circular substrate is extended from one end to the other end of the substrate. And a second step of forming a bead of a chemical solution in the gap, while discharging a chemical solution from the discharge port of the slit nozzle, and an arc string of the discharge port A third step of forming a chemical coating film on the substrate by performing a relative scanning movement between the slit nozzle and the substrate in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the substrate.

  According to the slit nozzle, the coating apparatus, or the coating method of the present invention, the chemical film coating film can be efficiently and coated on the substrate having the arc-shaped edge, particularly the circular substrate, by the above-described configuration and operation. The film can be formed with less unevenness.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the coating device in one Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the principal part during the application | coating scanning in the said coating device. It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance structure of the slit nozzle seen from diagonally upward. It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance structure of the said slit nozzle seen from diagonally downward. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view about the AA line of FIG. It is a cross-sectional perspective view about the BB line of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance structure of the lower lip seen from diagonally upward. It is a perspective view which shows the structure inside the lower lip seen from diagonally upward. It is a perspective view which shows the structure inside the upper lip seen from diagonally downward. It is a cross-sectional view about the CC line of FIG. It is a partial expanded sectional view which shows the state around the slit nozzle just before the start of application | coating scanning. It is a partial expanded sectional view which shows the state around the slit nozzle during application | coating scanning. It is an approximate top view showing typically some steps of application scanning in an embodiment. It is an approximate top view showing typically some steps of application scanning in an embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the state in the slit nozzle (around lower lip) in the one stage of application | coating scanning. It is a perspective view which shows the state in the slit nozzle (around lower lip) in the one stage of application | coating scanning. It is a perspective view which shows the state in the slit nozzle (around lower lip) in the one stage of application | coating scanning. It is a perspective view which shows the state in the slit nozzle (around lower lip) in the one stage of application | coating scanning. It is a schematic plan view which shows the application | coating scanning system which does not perform chemical | medical solution collection | recovery at all on the way. It is a perspective view which shows one modification which divides | segments the discharge port of the circular arc of a slit nozzle into a some area. It is a partial expanded sectional view which shows the modification of the manifold structure in a slit nozzle. It is a perspective view which shows the modification which applies the slit nozzle of this invention with respect to the board | substrate which is not circular. It is a side view which shows the structure (state at the time of the application | coating scanning start) of the discharge chemical | medical solution collection | recovery mechanism in one Example. It is a side view which shows the structure (state at the time of completion | finish of application | coating scanning) of the said discharge chemical | medical solution collection | recovery mechanism. It is a schematic plan view which shows the structure of the principal part of the said discharge | emission chemical | medical solution collection | recovery mechanism. It is a partial cross section perspective view which shows the structure of the chemical | medical solution receiver in the said discharge chemical | medical solution collection | recovery mechanism. It is a schematic plan view which shows the effect | action of the said discharge | emission chemical | medical solution collection | recovery mechanism in steps. It is a schematic plan view which shows the effect | action of the said discharge | emission chemical | medical solution collection | recovery mechanism in steps.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[Configuration of the entire coating apparatus]

  1 and 2 show the configuration of a coating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the entire apparatus, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a main part of the apparatus during application scanning.

  This coating apparatus is configured as a scanning type coating apparatus that applies a chemical solution onto a circular substrate such as a semiconductor wafer W using a slit nozzle. The chemical solution used in this coating apparatus is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include a resist, a material solution for an interlayer insulating film, a material solution for a passivation film, a high-viscosity resin-based chemical solution, and an adhesive.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the coating apparatus includes an arc-shaped slit nozzle 10, a chemical solution supply unit 12, a chemical solution recovery unit 14, a scanning mechanism 16, and a control unit 18. The slit nozzle 10 has a slit-like discharge port 10a extending in an arc shape at the lower end portion thereof, and when performing application scanning on the semiconductor wafer W, the liquid solution is a laminar flow having a circular cross section from the discharge port 10a. It is comprised so that may be discharged.

  The chemical liquid supply unit 12 stores a chemical liquid container 20 that stores the chemical liquid, a liquid feed pump 22 that pumps out the chemical liquid from the chemical liquid container 20, and a chemical liquid supply pipe that sends the chemical liquid pumped out from the liquid feed pump 22 to the slit nozzle 10. 24, and a regulator 26 and an on-off valve 28 provided in the middle of the chemical solution supply pipe 24.

  The chemical recovery unit 14 includes two systems of suction units 30A and 30B. The first suction part 30A is provided in the middle of the first branch recovery pipe 34A and a first branch recovery pipe 34A connected to a pair of first discharge ports 32A provided at both ends of the rear surface of the slit nozzle 10. A first open / close valve 36A, a common recovery pipe 38 that connects the other end of the first branch recovery pipe 34A to the chemical liquid container 20, and a suction pump 40 and a filter 42 provided in the middle of the common recovery pipe 38. Yes.

The second suction part 30B includes a second branch recovery pipe 34B connected to a pair of second discharge ports 32B provided on the back surface of the slit nozzle 10 adjacent to the inside of the first discharge port 32A, A second on-off valve 36B provided in the middle of the two-branch recovery pipe 34B, the above-mentioned common recovery pipe 38 that connects the other end of the second branch recovery pipe 34B to the chemical solution container 20, and provided in the middle of the common recovery pipe 38. The suction pump 40 and the filter 42 are used. In addition, it is preferable to seal the chemical solution container 20 and fill the space above the liquid level with, for example, N ₂ gas so that the chemical solution in the chemical solution container 20 does not come into contact with air.

  The scanning mechanism 16 causes relative movement for coating scanning between the slit nozzle 10 and the semiconductor wafer W. As shown in FIG. 2, the scanning mechanism 16 in this embodiment includes a stage 46 for horizontally mounting and holding a semiconductor wafer W in a cup 44 having an opening on the upper surface, and a slit nozzle 10 for performing application scanning. And a gantry-type scanning section 48 that moves in a predetermined horizontal scanning direction (X direction) above 46. Here, the scanning direction (X direction) is set in a horizontal direction orthogonal to the arc string of the discharge port 10a of the slit nozzle 10. The stage 46 has an upper surface (wafer mounting surface) smaller than the semiconductor wafer W so that the peripheral portion of the semiconductor wafer W protrudes. The stage 46 also includes a lift pin mechanism (not shown) for loading / unloading the semiconductor wafer W by moving a plurality of lift pins up and down. A drain port 45 is provided at the bottom of the cup 44 for collecting the chemical liquid that has fallen without being applied onto the semiconductor wafer W.

  The scanning unit 48 includes a gate-type support 50 that horizontally supports the slit nozzle 10 and a scanning drive unit 52 that moves the support 50 straight in the scanning direction (X direction). The scanning drive unit 52 is configured by, for example, a linear motor mechanism with a guide or a ball screw mechanism. The joint portion 53 that connects the support 50 and the slit nozzle 10 is provided with a lifting mechanism (not shown) with a guide for changing or adjusting the height position of the slit nozzle 10. By adjusting the height position of the slit nozzle 10, the distance interval between the ejection port 10 a of the slit nozzle 10 and the surface of the semiconductor wafer W on the stage 46 can be arbitrarily set or adjusted.

The control unit 18 includes a CPU, a memory, and various interfaces, and each unit in the apparatus, particularly the chemical solution supply unit 12, the chemical solution recovery unit 14 (first and second suction units 30 </ b> A and 30 </ b> B), and the scanning mechanism 16. Controls individual operations and the operation (sequence) of the entire apparatus. The scanning mechanism 16 is provided with position sensors (not shown) for detecting the position of the slit nozzle 10 at a plurality of locations. The control unit 18 can monitor the current position of the slit nozzle 10 based on position information obtained from the position sensors while controlling the position of the slit nozzle 10 through the scanning mechanism 16.

[Configuration of slit nozzle]

  Next, the configuration of the slit nozzle 10 in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  3 to 6 show the overall configuration of the slit nozzle 10. 3 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of the slit nozzle 10 as viewed obliquely from above, FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of the slit nozzle 10 as viewed from diagonally below, and FIG. 5 is a view taken along line AA in FIG. FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view, and FIG. 6 is a sectional perspective view taken along line BB in FIG.

  The slit nozzle 10 integrally couples a lower lip 54 made of an arc-shaped plate body and an upper lip 56 made of an arc-shaped cover body that is slightly larger than the lower lip 54. The material of the lower lip 54 and the upper lip 56 is preferably a rigid body with excellent workability, such as stainless steel or aluminum. In this embodiment, the arc shape of the lower lip 54 and the upper lip 56 is a semicircle having a central angle of 180 °, and the entire slit nozzle 10 is a semicircular unit.

  On the upper surface of the slit nozzle 10, a chemical solution inlet 10b is formed in the vicinity of the center of the arc-shaped (semicircle) edge (FIG. 3). A terminal or outlet of the chemical liquid supply pipe 24 is connected to the chemical liquid inlet 10b (FIGS. 1 and 2). On the lower surface of the slit nozzle 10, there is formed a lip tip portion 10c projecting downward in a taper shape along the arc-shaped (semicircle) edge (FIG. 4). A slit-like discharge port 10a is formed at the tip (lower end) of the lip tip 10c.

  Inside the slit nozzle 10, there is an outlet extending in a circular arc shape (semicircle) in parallel with the discharge port 10a, and a manifold 10d for temporarily storing the chemical solution introduced from the chemical solution introduction port 10b before discharge, and the manifold 10d A land portion 10e that forms a chemical liquid passage from the outlet to the discharge port 10a is provided (FIG. 5).

  7 to 10 show the configurations of the lower lip 54 and the upper lip 56. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of the lower lip 54 as viewed from diagonally above, FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the lower lip 54 as viewed from diagonally above, and FIG. 9 is an upper lip as viewed from diagonally below 54 is a perspective view showing the configuration inside 54, and FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC in FIG.

  The lower lip 54 includes an arc side surface 54a extending in an arc shape (semicircle), an upper surface 54c in which a groove 54b is formed in an arc shape (semicircle) in a portion adjacent to the arc side surface, and a back side of the arc side surface 54a ( A semi-tapered shape formed on the arcuate (semicircle) edge of the lower surface 54e of the arc side surface 54a, that is, the lower surface 54e facing the upper surface 54c; 54f (FIGS. 4 to 8). The semi-tapered protrusion 54f constitutes one side of the lip tip 10c (FIGS. 4 and 5). The side wall 54g on the outer peripheral side of the groove 54b is lower than the upper surface 54c (FIGS. 5 and 7).

  The upper lip 56 has an arc side wall 56a extending in an arc shape (semicircle) corresponding to the arc side surface 54a of the lower lip 54 and a flat ceiling wall continuous with the arc side wall 56a corresponding to the upper surface 54c of the lower lip 54. 56b and a semi-tapered protrusion 56c formed at the lower end of the arc side wall 56a (FIG. 9). The semi-tapered protrusion 56c constitutes the other one side portion of the lip tip 10c (FIGS. 4 and 5).

  The lower lip 54 and the upper lip 56 having such a configuration are abutted against each other so that the upper lip 56 covers the lower lip 54, and are fixed together by a plurality of fastening bolts (not shown). At that time, shims (plate pieces) 58 that define the gap width of the discharge port 10a are inserted between both ends of the back surface 54c of the lower lip 54 and the inner wall of the back surface of the upper lip 56 (FIG. 4).

  Thus, in the slit nozzle 10 in which the lower lip 54 and the upper lip 56 are integrally coupled, the discharge port 10a and the land portion 10e are formed between the arc side surface 54a of the lower lip 54 and the arc side wall 56a of the upper lip 56. A manifold 10 d is formed between the groove 54 b of the lower lip 54 and the ceiling wall 56 b of the upper lip 56. An outlet of the manifold 10d is formed between the outer peripheral side wall 54g of the groove 54b and the ceiling wall 56b of the upper lip 56 (FIG. 5).

As shown in FIG. 10, the gap width in the radial direction of the discharge port 10a and the land portion 10e is the maximum at the center of the arc, and gradually decreases toward both ends of the arc. From another viewpoint, the gap width between the discharge port 10a and the land portion 10e is substantially the same at any position on the arc in the scanning direction (X direction). Mechanically, the radius of the arc (semicircle) of the arc side wall 56 a of the upper lip 56 is slightly larger than the radius of the arc (semicircle) of the arc side surface 54 a of the lower lip 54. The center O ₅₆ of the former arc and the center O ₅₄ of the latter arc are offset by a predetermined distance in a direction (X direction) in which the radial gap width is largest at the center of the arc.

  The lower lip 54 is provided with a chemical solution recovery line for collecting the chemical solution flowing down from the manifold 10d in the slit nozzle 10 in the middle of the land portion 10e so as not to go to the discharge port 10a in the following configuration. Yes.

As shown in FIG. 7, the arc side surface 54a of the lower lip 54 (or the discharge port 10a), with respect to the solution discharge / collection function, a pair of first section E _A of the circular arc at both ends, a pair of adjacent the inner first It is divided into two sections E _B and the remaining third section E _M. In the first and second sections E _A and E _B , slit-shaped first and second recovery ports 60A and 60B are formed that extend in an arc shape from end to end of each section, respectively. On the other hand, the third section E _M comprising a circular arc central portion, the recovery port is not formed.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the back surface 54d of the lower lip 54 is provided with a pair of first discharge ports 32A for collecting a chemical solution at both ends thereof, and adjacent to the first discharge port 32A. A pair of second discharge ports 32B for collecting the chemical solution is provided inside. In the lower lip 54, a groove-shaped first recovery flow path 62A that connects the first recovery port 60A and the first discharge port 32A, and a groove that connects the second recovery port 60B and the second discharge port 32B. And a tunnel-like second recovery flow path 62B are formed.

Since the slit nozzle 10 in this embodiment is configured by integrally connecting the lower lip 54 of the plate body and the upper lip 56 of the cover body as described above, the slit-like discharge port 10a extending in an arc shape is compared. It can be formed by simple processing. Further, each of the lower lip 54 and the upper lip 56, and further, the entire slit nozzle 10 as an assembly thereof is an arcuate (semi-circular) plate body or a cover body or block body, so that it is sturdy. It is difficult to deform with respect to the stress, and the dimensional accuracy of each part (particularly, the discharge port 10a) in the nozzle can be kept stable.

[Operation of coating device and slit nozzle]

  Next, the action of the coating apparatus in this embodiment (particularly the action of the slit nozzle 10) will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 11A is a partially enlarged sectional view showing a state around the slit nozzle 10 immediately before the start of coating scanning, FIG. 11B is a partially enlarged sectional view showing a state around the slit nozzle 10 during coating scanning, and FIGS. 12A and 12B are views of coating scanning. FIG. 13A to FIG. 13D are perspective views showing states in the slit nozzle (around the lower lip) at each stage of coating scanning.

  The semiconductor wafer W to be processed is loaded onto the stage 46 by an external transfer device such as a transfer robot (not shown). The lift pin mechanism on the stage 46 side receives the loaded semiconductor wafer W with the lift pins, and then lowers the lift pins to place the semiconductor wafer W on the upper surface of the stage 46 (loading).

  When the loading of the semiconductor wafer W is completed, under the control of the control unit 18, the scanning mechanism 16 operates the scanning drive unit 52 of the scanning unit 48 and the lifting mechanism of the joint unit 53 to start coating scanning of the slit nozzle 10. Move to position. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 11A and FIG. 12A (a), the discharge port 10a of the slit nozzle 10 extends from one end to the other end of the semiconductor wafer W on the stage 46, that is, in the scanning direction (X direction). In FIG. 2, the application gap G of a predetermined distance S (for example, 100 μm to several mm) is opposed to the upstream half (semicircle) edge portion.

  Here, the slit nozzle 10 is filled with a chemical solution in the manifold 10d and the land 10e therein by a priming process performed in advance in a nozzle standby portion (not shown) adjacent to the cup 44, and the discharge nozzle 10a. There is also a chemical film around it. When the slit nozzle 10 arrives at the coating scanning start position on the semiconductor wafer W in that state, a chemical solution bead BM is formed on the semiconductor wafer W along the coating gap G in an arc shape from end to end of the discharge port 10a. The In this way, the application gap G is closed without any gap by the bead BM of the chemical solution.

  Next, the scanning mechanism 16 operates the scanning drive unit 52 of the scanning unit 48 to move the slit nozzle 10 at a constant speed so as to cross the upper part of the semiconductor wafer W from the coating scanning start position in the scanning direction (X direction). Let On the other hand, the chemical liquid supply unit 12 turns on the on-off valve 28 and the liquid feed pump 22 (FIG. 1), and starts supplying the chemical liquid to the manifold 10d of the slit nozzle 10. Thus, application scanning is started. In addition, the chemical | medical solution collection | recovery part 14 is maintaining the OFF state at the time of the start of application | coating scanning. That is, the on-off valves 36A and 36B and the suction pump 40 of the first and second suction units 30A and 30B are kept off.

  When the application scanning is started as described above, as shown in FIG. 11B and FIG. 12B (b), the slit nozzle 10 discharges the chemical liquid in a laminar flow having a circular cross section (semicircle), and in the scanning direction. A chemical coating film RM is formed with a constant film thickness in a region that moves horizontally in the (X direction) and passes by the slit nozzle 10 on the semiconductor wafer W. At this time, inside the slit nozzle 10, as shown in FIG. 13A, the chemical liquid overflowing from the manifold 10d to the land portion 10e flows down to the discharge port 10a over the entire arc (semicircle).

  Note that, as shown in FIG. 11B, the lip tip 10c during application scanning has the lower lip 54 in front and the upper lip 56 in the rear when focusing on the moving direction of the slit nozzle 10 itself. From another point of view, that is, when attention is focused on before and after coating scanning for forming the coating film RM on the semiconductor wafer W, the upper lip 56 is on the upstream side and the lower lip 54 is on the downstream side.

  Soon after the start of the application scan, both ends of the ejection port 10a of the slit nozzle 10 protrude outside the semiconductor wafer W as shown in FIG. The chemical solution (shaded portion in FIG. 12) discharged from both end portions of the discharge port 10a that protrudes from the semiconductor wafer W falls to the bottom of the cup 44 without being applied onto the semiconductor wafer W.

In this embodiment, the control unit 18 performs the first recovery of the chemical solution recovery unit 14 at the timing when the first section E _A (that is, the first recovery port 60A) at both ends of the discharge port 10a completely comes out of the semiconductor wafer W. The suction unit 30A is turned on. That is, the suction pump 40 and the on-off valve 36A are turned on, and a vacuum suction force for collecting the chemical solution is applied to the first discharge port 32A of the lower lip 54. Thus, among the chemical liquid overflowing from the manifold 10d to the land portion 10e, the chemical liquid flows down the first section E _A of the end portions is sucked into the inner depths in the first recovery port 60A of the middle, the first recovery flow passage 62A Then, the liquid is discharged (recovered) from the first discharge port 32A to the chemical liquid recovery unit 14 side. Since the chemical solution collected by the chemical solution collection unit 14 is not in contact with air, it can be reused as it is and may be returned to the chemical solution container 20.

Thus, as shown in (d) of FIG. 12B, first section E _A at both ends of the discharge port 10a that out of the semiconductor wafer W will not eject liquid chemical, while moving over the semiconductor wafer W The second and third sections E _B and E _M of the discharge port 10a continue to discharge the chemical solution. FIG. 13B shows the internal state of the slit nozzle 10 at this time.

Thereafter, the control unit 18 is at the timing when the second section E _B (that is, the second recovery port 60B) of the intermediate portion of the discharge port 10a completely comes out of the semiconductor wafer W, and this time the second suction of the chemical solution recovery unit 14 is performed. Turn on section 30B. That is, the on-off valve 36B is turned on, and a vacuum suction force for collecting the chemical is applied to the second discharge port 32B of the lower lip 54. Thus, among the overflowing liquid medicine to the land portion 10e from the manifold 10d, chemical liquid flows down the second section E _B of the intermediate portion is sucked into the innermost second recovery port 60B of the middle, second recovery flow passage 62B Then, the liquid is discharged (recovered) from the second discharge port 32B to the chemical liquid recovery unit 14 side. Note that the first suction unit 30A is kept on. Thus, as shown in (e) of FIG. 12B, the second section E _B intermediate portion not only the first section E _A at both ends of the discharge port 10a becomes not discharge the chemical, third section including a central portion Only E _M continues to discharge the chemical until the end. FIG. 13C shows the internal state of the slit nozzle 10 at this time.

Then, the control unit 18 turns off the chemical solution supply unit 12 (the liquid supply pump 22 and the on-off valve 28) at the timing when the third section E _{M at} the center of the discharge port 10a completely comes out of the semiconductor wafer W. . Then, since no new chemical liquid is supplied to the manifold 10d of the slit nozzle 10, the chemical liquid does not flow down from the manifold 10d to the land portion 10e, and as shown in FIG. 12B (f), which section or position of the discharge port 10a No chemical will be discharged from the top. FIG. 13D shows the internal state of the slit nozzle 10 at this time.

  Immediately after that, the control unit 18 controls the scanning mechanism 16 to stop the scanning movement of the slit nozzle 10. In addition, after the chemical solution supply unit 12 is turned off, the chemical solution recovery unit 14 (first and second suction units 30A and 30B) is also returned to the off state.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the coating gap G of the predetermined distance S is separated from the edge portion of the upstream half (semicircle) of the semiconductor wafer W in the scanning direction (X direction) before the coating scanning is started. Thus, the discharge port 10a of the slit nozzle 10 is opposed, and the coating gap G is closed with a bead BM of a chemical solution in an arc shape from end to end of the discharge port 10a. As a result, when coating scanning is started, a meniscus of the chemical solution is uniformly and stably formed around the discharge port 10a of the slit nozzle 10, and the coating film RM without coating unevenness is formed in the region where the slit nozzle 10 passes on the semiconductor wafer. Is formed.

  Further, since the arc-shaped discharge port 10a of the slit nozzle 10 is formed with a constant gap width over the entire arc in the scanning direction (X direction), the flow rate is uniform over the entire arc during coating scanning. Discharge chemicals. Thereby, the film thickness of the coating film RM can be made uniform over the entire area of the semiconductor wafer W.

Further, in this embodiment, a chemical solution recovery line (60A, 62A, 32A, 60B, 62B, 32B) is provided inside the slit nozzle 10 (lower lip 54), and a chemical solution recovery unit 14 (first) is provided outside the slit nozzle 10. 1 and second suction parts 30A, 30B). Thus, dividing the arc-shaped discharge port 10a of the slit nozzle 10 first section E _A of both end portions in the circumferential direction, the third section E _M of the second section E _B and the central portion of the intermediate portion. When starting the application scan, the chemical solution is discharged from all the sections E _A , E _B , and E _M of the discharge port 10a, and at the timing of going out of the semiconductor wafer W from the middle to the final stage of the application scan. second interval E _B from the outside, that the first section E _a inward, stops discharge of the chemical liquid in each section in order of the third section E _M. As a result, the amount of the chemical liquid that is not applied onto the semiconductor wafer W and falls to the bottom of the cup 44 (wasted) can be reduced, and the chemical usage efficiency can be improved.

Incidentally, when the chemical solution supply unit 12 is turned off at the timing when the discharge port 10a of the slit nozzle 10 completely goes out of the semiconductor wafer W without performing any chemical solution recovery during the application scanning, as shown in FIG. In addition, the amount of chemicals not applied doubles. Specifically, the chemical use efficiency in this comparative example is about 78%. On the other hand, the chemical use efficiency in the embodiment is about 89%.

[Other Embodiments or Modifications]

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications or changes or other embodiments are possible within the scope of the technical idea. is there.

  For example, in the scanning mechanism 16, a method of moving the semiconductor wafer W while fixing the slit nozzle 10 in the scanning direction (X direction), or a method of moving both the slit nozzle 10 and the semiconductor wafer W is possible.

In the chemical solution recovery line provided inside the slit nozzle 10, the discharge port 10a of the slit nozzle 10 can be divided into any number of sections in the circumferential direction. For example, in order to simplify the chemical recovery line, by omitting the intermediate section E _B, it may be divided into the sections E _M including the section E _A and the central portion of the both end portions. Alternatively, in order to further improve the chemical use efficiency, it is possible to increase the number of sections as shown in FIG. 15, for example.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the chemical liquid recovery line (60A, 62A, 32A, 60B, 62B, 32B) is provided on the lower lip 54, thereby effectively using the block body of the lower lip 54. However, as another embodiment, the upper lip 56 is bulky, but it is also possible to provide a chemical solution recovery line (60A, 62A, 32A, 60B, 62B, 32B) on the upper lip 56.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 16, it is possible to remove the wall (54g) on the outer peripheral side of the groove 54b provided on the upper surface 54c of the lower lip 54 and form the outlet at the lower end of the manifold 10d.

  In the above embodiment, a circular semiconductor wafer is used as a substrate to be processed. However, for example, as shown in FIG. 17, the slit nozzle of the present invention is also applied to a substrate K having a shape in which a pair of opposite sides are parallel arcs and another pair of opposite sides is a straight line. 10 ′ can be preferably used. In this case, when the central angle of the arc is less than 180 °, that is, when the arc is inferior, the discharge port 10a ′ of the slit nozzle 10 ′ has the same poor shape.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, when the discharge port 10a of the slit nozzle 10 is divided into a plurality of sections E _A , E _B , and E _M and application scanning is started, all the sections E of the discharge port 10a of the slit nozzle 10 are started. _A chemical solution is discharged from _A , E _B , E _M and at the timing when it goes out of the semiconductor wafer W from the middle stage to the final stage of the coating scan, the second section E _B from the outside in the circumferential direction, that is, from the first section E _A to the inside. and as to stop the discharge of the chemical liquid in each section in order of the third section E _M, collecting the chemicals of the discharge just before. For this purpose, a chemical recovery line (60A, 62A, 32A, 60B, 62B, 32B) is provided inside the slit nozzle 10 (lower lip 54), and the chemical recovery unit 14 (first and second suction) is provided outside the slit nozzle 10. Part 30A, 30B).

As another embodiment, when the discharge port 10a of the slit nozzle 10 protrudes outside the semiconductor wafer W, the chemical solution discharged from any protruding portion [10a] is collected so as to be reusable in the vicinity of the discharge port 10a. It is also possible to provide an ejected chemical solution recovery mechanism 63. In this case, it is not necessary to divide the discharge port 10a of the slit nozzle 10 into a plurality of sections E _A , E _B , E _M , and a chemical solution recovery line (60A, 62A, 32A, 60B, 62B, 32B), a chemical solution recovery unit 14 (first and second suction portions 30A, 30B) and the cup 44 can be omitted.

  As shown in FIGS. 18A, 18B, and 19, the discharged chemical recovery mechanism 63 extends in an arc shape in a horizontal plane on a movable base 64 that moves in the scanning direction (X direction) together with the slit nozzle 10. A pair of chemical solution receivers 66A and 66B are attached so as to be rotatable in line symmetry. In FIG. 18A and FIG. 18B, one (front) chemical solution receiver 66B is not shown for convenience of illustration.

  More specifically, the movable base 64 is coupled to the scanning drive unit 52 of the scanning unit 48. On the movable base 64, a pair of turning drive units 68A and 68B are coaxially arranged in the vertical direction via a support 65, and a chemical solution is passed through these turning drive units 68A and 68B via horizontal turning arms 70A and 70B. Receivers 66A and 66B are coupled to each other.

  As shown in FIGS. 18A and 18B, these chemical liquid receivers 66A and 66B have slits whose upper end surfaces are slightly lower than the semiconductor wafer W placed on the stage 46 in the vertical (height) direction. The discharge port 10a of the nozzle 10 is opposed. Further, as shown in FIG. 19, these chemical liquid receivers 66A and 66B have the same radius of curvature as the discharge port 10a of the slit nozzle 10 and have a central angle of about 90 ° (1/4 round). A second position, i.e., a forward movement position (in FIG. 19), which is formed in a circular arc and completely overlaps the first position, i.e., the backward movement position (FIG. 19 (a)), which does not overlap the discharge port 10a of the slit nozzle 10 at all. (c)) (with a rotation angle of about 90 °).

  As shown in FIGS. 19 and 20, the chemical liquid receivers 66 </ b> A and 66 </ b> B include an opening 72 on the upper surface formed from the end to the end of the arc, a groove 74 extending vertically downward from the opening 72, and the groove 74. And a suction discharge port 76 connected to the bottom. The suction outlet 76 is connected to a vacuum source, for example, a suction pump (not shown) via a vacuum pipe 78. The chemical solution discharged from the discharge port 10a of the slit nozzle 10 outside the semiconductor wafer W is sucked into the openings 72 or the groove portions 74 of the chemical solution receivers 66A and 66B facing the discharge port 10a immediately below the discharge port 10a. It is sent from the outlet 76 through the vacuum pipe 78 to the suction pump side. The outlet side of the suction pump is connected to a chemical solution recovery tank (not shown).

Further, as shown in FIG. 20, the chemical solution receivers 66 </ b> A and 66 </ b> B are formed with a flange portion 80 extending radially inward and outward from the opening 72, and on the upper surface of the flange portion 80 at a constant interval from the end of the arc. And a plurality of gas outlets 82 through which a shielding gas such as N ₂ gas is jetted upward. These gas outlets 82 are connected to a shield gas supply source (not shown) via a manifold 84, an internal gas flow path (not shown), a gas inlet 86 and a gas supply pipe 88.

  Thus, in the discharged chemical recovery mechanism 63, the slit nozzle 10 is positioned at a position protruding from the semiconductor wafer W by the shield gas being jetted upward from the gas outlet 82 around the openings 72 of the chemical receivers 66 </ b> A and 66 </ b> B. The chemical liquid discharged from the discharge port 10a is sucked into the opening 72, that is, into the groove 74 through the atmosphere of the shielding gas without touching the air in the atmosphere, and is collected so as to be reusable. It has become. It is also possible to provide a gas outlet 82 on the inner wall of the groove 74 so that the groove 74 is filled with the shielding gas.

  21A and 21B, the operation of the discharged chemical recovery mechanism 63 in this embodiment will be described in more detail. The operation of the discharged chemical recovery mechanism 63 is all controlled by the control unit 18 (FIG. 1).

  Also in this embodiment, when the slit nozzle 10 arrives at the coating scanning start position on the semiconductor wafer W in the coating scanning, the chemical solution is formed on the semiconductor wafer W along the coating gap G in an arc shape from end to end of the discharge port 10a. The bead BM is formed. In this way, the application gap G is completely closed with the chemical bead BM (FIG. 11A).

  Next, the scanning mechanism 16 operates the scanning drive unit 52 of the scanning unit 48 to move the slit nozzle 10 at a constant speed so as to cross the upper part of the semiconductor wafer W from the coating scanning start position in the scanning direction (X direction). Let On the other hand, the chemical liquid supply unit 12 turns on the on-off valve 28 and the liquid feed pump 22 (FIG. 1), and starts supplying the chemical liquid to the manifold 10d of the slit nozzle 10. In this way, application scanning is started as shown in FIG.

  At this time, in the discharged chemical recovery mechanism 63, the base 62 moves together with the slit nozzle 10 in the same direction at the same speed. On the other hand, when the application scanning is started, the chemical liquid receivers 66A and 66B are symmetrically reversed in the reverse direction from the backward movement position ((a) in FIG. 19) to the forward movement position ((c) in FIG. 19). The rotational movement, that is, one chemical liquid receiver 66A starts a counterclockwise rotational movement and the other chemical liquid receiver 66B starts a clockwise rotational movement at the same rotational speed.

  Soon after the start of the coating scan, as shown in FIG. 21A (b), when both ends of the discharge port 10a of the slit nozzle 10 protrude outside the semiconductor wafer W even slightly, the protruding end portions [10a] The chemical liquid discharged from the semiconductor wafer W is removed from the semiconductor wafer W and collected by being sucked into the openings 72 or the grooves 74 of the chemical liquid receivers 66A and 66B.

  Thus, as shown in (c) of FIG. 21A and (d), (e) of FIG. 21B, the range of the discharge port [10a] that protrudes from the semiconductor wafer W at the slit nozzle 10 as the coating scan progresses. Although it expands from both ends toward the central portion, all the chemical liquid discharged from the protruding portion [10a] is collected by being sucked into the openings 72 or the groove portions 74 of the chemical liquid receivers 66A and 66B.

  When the central portion of the discharge port 10a of the slit nozzle 10 comes out of the semiconductor wafer W, as shown in FIG. 21B (f), the chemical receivers 66A and 66B reach the forward position, and the discharge port All of the chemical liquid discharged from the entire area 10a is collected by being sucked into the opening 72 or the groove 74 of the chemical liquid receivers 66A and 66B. At this timing, the chemical liquid supply unit 12 stops the supply of the chemical liquid to the slit nozzle 10, and the discharged chemical liquid recovery mechanism 63 stops the rotational movement of the chemical liquid receivers 66A and 66B.

  As described above, in this embodiment, all or most of the chemical liquid discharged from the slit nozzle 10 and not applied to the semiconductor wafer W can be recovered by the discharged chemical liquid recovery mechanism 63 so as to be reusable. Thereby, the chemical use efficiency can be improved to nearly 100%.

  In the above-described discharged chemical recovery mechanism 63, the configuration or operation of each part is an example, and various modifications are possible. For example, the groove 74 of the chemical solution receivers 66A and 66B may be replaced with a porous material. Alternatively, the means for forming an atmosphere of shield gas around the discharge port 10a of the slit nozzle 10 and the opening 72 of the chemical liquid receivers 66A and 66B may be configured as an independent unit.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Slit nozzle 10a Discharge port 10b Chemical liquid inlet 10c Lip tip part 10d Manifold 10e Land part 12 Chemical liquid supply part 14 Chemical liquid recovery part 16 Scanning mechanism 18 Control part 20 Chemical liquid container 30A, 30B Suction part 32A, 32B Discharge port 54 Lower lip 56 Upper lip 60A, 60B, 60C Chemical liquid recovery port 62A, 62B Recovery flow path 63 Discharged chemical liquid recovery mechanism 66A, 66B Chemical liquid receiver 72 Opening 82 Gas jet

Claims (26)

A slit nozzle comprising a slit-shaped discharge port, a manifold that temporarily stores a chemical solution before discharge, and a land portion that forms a chemical solution passage from the manifold to the discharge port,
A lower lip of a plate having an arc side surface extending in an arc shape and an upper surface in which a groove is formed in a portion adjacent to the arc side surface;
An arc side wall extending in an arc shape corresponding to the arc side surface of the lower lip, and an upper lip of the cover body having a ceiling wall facing the upper surface of the lower lip,
The discharge port and the land portion are formed between an arc side surface of the lower lip and an arc side wall of the upper lip, and the manifold is formed between a groove portion on the upper surface of the lower lip and the ceiling wall of the upper lip. Formed,
Slit nozzle. The lower lip is
A slit-like first recovery port formed in the first section at both ends of the arc side surface;
A first discharge port for collecting a chemical solution provided on the back side or the top side of the back side of the arc side surface;
The slit nozzle according to claim 1, further comprising: a first recovery channel that connects the first recovery port and the first discharge port. The lower lip is
A slit-like second recovery port formed in a second section adjacent to the inside of the first section outside the center of the arc side surface;
A second discharge port for collecting a chemical solution provided on the back surface or the top surface;
The slit nozzle according to claim 2, further comprising: a second recovery flow path that connects the second recovery port and the second discharge port.   The slit nozzle according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a gap width of the discharge port is maximum at the center of the arc and gradually narrows toward both ends of the arc.   The arc nozzle shape of the said discharge outlet is a slit nozzle as described in any one of Claims 1-4 which is a semicircle.   The slit nozzle according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a lower end portion of the arc side surface of the lower lip and a lower end portion of the arc side wall of the upper lip constitute a lip tip portion protruding in a tapered shape. An application device for applying a chemical solution on a circular substrate,
A slit-like discharge port extending in an arc shape with a radius slightly smaller than the radius of the substrate; an outlet extending in an arc shape parallel to the discharge port; a manifold that temporarily stores a chemical before discharge; and the discharge port from the manifold. Recovered from a land portion that forms a chemical solution passage to the outlet, a slit-like first recovery port formed in a first section at both ends of the land portion in the circumferential direction, and the first recovery port A slit nozzle having a first discharge port for discharging a chemical solution, and a first recovery flow path connecting the first recovery port and the first discharge port;
A chemical solution supply unit for supplying the chemical solution into the manifold of the slit nozzle;
A first suction section that conditionally provides a vacuum suction force for collecting a chemical solution from the outside to the first discharge port;
A scanning mechanism for performing a relative movement for coating scanning between the slit nozzle and the substrate in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the arc string of the discharge port of the slit nozzle;
A coating apparatus comprising: a chemical solution supply unit, a first suction unit, and a control unit that controls operations of the scanning mechanism such that a chemical solution coating film is formed on the substrate.   8. The control unit according to claim 7, wherein the control unit starts the suction operation of the first suction unit at a timing at which the first recovery port completely comes out of the substrate in the middle or end of the coating scan. Coating device.   The coating apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the control unit stops the chemical solution supply operation of the chemical solution supply unit at a timing at which a central portion of the discharge port completely comes out of the substrate.   The coating device according to claim 9, wherein the control unit stops the suction operation of the first suction unit and the movement operation of the scanning mechanism after stopping the chemical solution supply operation of the chemical solution supply unit. An application device for applying a chemical solution on a circular substrate,
A slit-like discharge port extending in an arc shape with a radius slightly smaller than the radius of the substrate, an outlet extending in an arc shape parallel to the discharge port, a manifold for temporarily storing a chemical before discharge, and the slit from the manifold Recovered from a land portion that forms a chemical liquid passage to the discharge port, a slit-like first recovery port formed in a first section at both ends of the land portion in the circumferential direction, and the first recovery port. A first discharge port for discharging the chemical solution, a first recovery flow path connecting the first recovery port and the first discharge port, and the outer side from the center of the land portion in the circumferential direction. A slit-like second recovery port formed in the second zone adjacent to the inside of the first zone, a second discharge port for discharging the chemical solution recovered from the second recovery port, The second recovery port; A slit nozzle having a second recovery flow passage that connects the serial second port,
A chemical solution supply unit for supplying the chemical solution into the manifold of the slit nozzle;
First and second suction sections that conditionally provide vacuum suction force for collecting chemicals to the discharge ports of the first and second ports independently from the outside,
A scanning mechanism for performing a relative movement for coating scanning between the slit nozzle and the substrate in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the arc string of the discharge port of the slit nozzle;
A coating apparatus comprising: the chemical solution supply unit, the first and second suction units, and a control unit that controls the operation of the scanning mechanism such that a chemical solution coating film is formed on the substrate.   The control unit starts the suction operation of the first suction unit at a timing at which the first recovery port completely comes out of the substrate in the middle or final stage of the coating scan, and the second recovery port The coating apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the suction operation of the second suction unit is started at a timing at which the second suction part completely comes out of the substrate.   The said control part is a coating device of Claim 12 which stops the chemical | medical solution supply operation | movement of the said chemical | medical solution supply part at the timing which the center part of the discharge outlet of the said slit nozzle comes out of the said board | substrate completely.   The application according to claim 13, wherein the control unit stops the suction operation of the first and second suction units and the movement operation of the scanning mechanism after stopping the chemical solution supply operation of the chemical solution supply unit. apparatus.   The controller is configured to make the discharge port of the slit nozzle face one end of the substrate across a predetermined gap from one end to the other and form a bead of a chemical solution in the gap, and then the chemical solution supply unit and the The coating apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the coating scanning is started by controlling a scanning mechanism.   The applicator according to any one of claims 7 to 15, wherein a gap width of the discharge port of the slit nozzle is maximum at the center in the circumferential direction and gradually decreases toward both ends in the circumferential direction.   The coating apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 16, wherein an arc shape of the discharge port of the slit nozzle is a semicircle. An application device for applying a chemical solution on a circular substrate,
A slit-like discharge port extending in an arc shape with a radius slightly smaller than the radius of the substrate; an outlet extending in an arc shape parallel to the discharge port; a manifold that temporarily stores a chemical before discharge; and the discharge port from the manifold. A slit nozzle having a land portion that forms a chemical liquid passage to the outlet;
A chemical solution supply unit for supplying the chemical solution into the manifold of the slit nozzle;
A scanning mechanism for performing a relative movement for coating scanning between the slit nozzle and the substrate in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the arc string of the discharge port of the slit nozzle;
When the discharge port of the slit nozzle protrudes outside the substrate, a discharge chemical solution recovery unit that recovers the chemical solution discharged from the protruding portion so as to be reusable in the vicinity of the discharge port;
A coating apparatus comprising: a chemical solution supply unit, a discharge chemical solution recovery unit, and a control unit that controls operations of the scanning mechanism such that a chemical solution coating film is formed on the substrate. The ejected chemical recovery unit
A movable base that moves in the horizontal direction together with the slit nozzle at a position lower than the substrate;
A pair of chemical receivers that are attached to the movable base so as to be capable of rotating in line symmetry and have an arcuate upper surface opening having the same radius of curvature as the discharge port of the slit nozzle,
The swivel drive unit for rotating the pair of chemical solution receivers between a first position that does not overlap the discharge port of the slit nozzle at all and a second position that overlaps completely. Coating device. The ejected chemical recovery unit
A groove extending vertically downward from the upper surface opening in the chemical receiver;
The coating apparatus according to claim 19, further comprising: a vacuum source connected to a bottom of the groove portion.   The discharge chemical solution recovery unit includes means for forming a shield gas atmosphere that shields the chemical solution discharged from the discharge port from the ambient air between the discharge port of the slit nozzle and the chemical solution receiver. The coating apparatus according to claim 19 or 20, which has the coating apparatus.   The coating apparatus according to any one of claims 18 to 21, wherein an arc shape of the discharge port of the slit nozzle is a semicircle. A first discharge nozzle having a slit-like discharge port extending in an arc shape with a radius slightly smaller than the radius of a circular substrate is opposed to one end of the substrate with a predetermined gap from end to end. Process,
A second step of forming a bead of a chemical solution in the gap;
While discharging a chemical solution from the discharge port of the slit nozzle, a relative scanning movement is performed between the slit nozzle and the substrate in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the arc string of the discharge port, and And a third step of forming a coating film of the chemical solution. The discharge port of the slit nozzle is divided into a plurality of sections in the circumferential direction,
When starting the third step, the chemical solution is discharged from all the sections of the discharge port,
Stopping the discharge of the chemical solution in each section in order from the outer side to the inner side in the circumferential direction at the timing of going out of the substrate from the top of the substrate from the middle to the end of the third step,
The coating method according to claim 23.   24. In the third step, when the discharge port of the slit nozzle protrudes outside the substrate, the chemical liquid discharged from the protruding portion is collected so as to be reusable in the vicinity of the discharge port. The coating method as described.   The coating method according to any one of claims 23 to 25, wherein the arc shape of the discharge port of the slit nozzle is a semicircle.