JP2017130630A - Substrate processing method, storage medium, and development apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technology that unfailingly removes a resist film formed at a bevel part when a periphery part of a wafer provided with the bevel part is developed after exposure.SOLUTION: When a developing solution D is supplied to a wafer W in which a periphery part of the wafer W has been subject to exposure processing, the developing solution D is discharged from a periphery side nozzle 6a to the bevel part of the wafer W with the wafer W rotated around a vertical axis. Next, the developing solution is supplied from a center side nozzle 5 to the wafer W and the wafer W is further rotated to drain off the developing solution D on a surface. Then, the developing solution D is discharged from the periphery side nozzle 6a to the bevel part of the wafer W with the wafer W rotated around the vertical axis. Subsequently, pure water P for removing a melted resist film is supplied to the surface of the wafer W.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for forming a resist pattern by forming a resist coating film on the surface of a substrate and then performing exposure, pattern exposure, and development processing on the periphery of the substrate, and a developing apparatus used in this technique.

  For example, in a photolithography process in a semiconductor device manufacturing process, for example, a resist coating process is performed by applying a resist solution on a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as “wafer”) to form a resist film, and a predetermined pattern mask is used for the resist film. An exposure process for exposing and a developing process for developing the exposed resist film are sequentially performed to form a predetermined resist pattern on the wafer.

On the other hand, when a resist film is applied to the entire surface of the wafer, the resist formed in the peripheral region may adhere to the transfer arm and cause particles. Therefore, there is a case where a step of removing the resist film on the peripheral portion of the wafer is performed. As a method for removing the resist film on the peripheral edge of the wafer, there is an EBR (Edge bead removal) method for removing the resist film by applying a solvent to the peripheral edge of the wafer as described in Patent Document 1, for example. Are known.
In recent years, in order to use a wider area of the wafer, there is a demand for narrowing the removal width at the peripheral edge. However, when removing the peripheral portion of the wafer by the EBR method, it is difficult to supply the solvent only to a narrow region on the peripheral edge of the wafer, and there is a problem that the peripheral state of the resist film is deteriorated.

JP 2010-186774 A

  The present invention has been made under such circumstances, and its purpose is to narrow the width of resist removal at the peripheral portion after applying a resist film to the entire surface of a substrate on which a bevel portion is formed. Another object is to provide a technique capable of reliably removing the resist film formed on the bevel portion.

The substrate processing method of the present invention is a substrate processing method in which a resist pattern is formed on a surface of a substrate, which is a semiconductor wafer, using a resist in which an exposed portion is dissolved in a developer.
Forming a resist film over the entire surface up to the peripheral edge of the bevel portion of the substrate;
Next, a step of exposing the bevel portion of the substrate on which the resist film is formed on the entire surface up to the peripheral edge of the bevel portion;
Then, pattern exposing the surface of the substrate using a pattern mask,
Supplying a developer to the pattern-exposed substrate,
The step of supplying the developer comprises
A first step of supplying the developer to the peripheral portion including the bevel portion of the substrate while rotating the substrate while holding the substrate horizontally on the substrate holding portion, and a second step of supplying the developer to the entire surface of the substrate The process is included.

In the storage medium of the present invention, a resist film is formed on a surface of a substrate, which is a semiconductor wafer, using a resist in which an exposed portion is dissolved in a developer, and the exposed substrate is developed with the developer to be resist A storage medium storing a program used in a substrate treatment apparatus for forming a pattern,
The program is
Forming a resist film over the entire surface up to the peripheral edge of the bevel portion of the substrate;
Next, a step of exposing the bevel portion of the substrate on which the resist film is formed on the entire surface up to the peripheral edge of the bevel portion;
Then, supplying a developer to the substrate on which the surface of the substrate is pattern-exposed using a pattern mask, and supplying the developer,
A first step of supplying the developer to the peripheral portion including the bevel portion of the substrate while rotating the substrate while holding the substrate horizontally on the substrate holding portion, and a second step of supplying the developer to the entire surface of the substrate And a step group is formed so as to execute the substrate processing method.

In the developing device of the present invention, the resist in which the exposed portion is dissolved in the developer is applied to the entire surface until the peripheral edge of the bevel portion is reached, and the exposure of the bevel portion and the pattern exposure of the surface of the substrate are performed. A developing device for supplying a developer to
A substrate holder for horizontally holding the substrate;
A rotation mechanism for rotating the substrate holder around the vertical axis;
A first developer nozzle for supplying a developer to the peripheral portion including the bevel portion of the substrate;
A second developer nozzle for supplying developer to the entire surface of the substrate;
A first step of supplying a developer from a first developer nozzle to a peripheral portion including a bevel portion of the substrate while rotating the substrate while holding the substrate horizontally on the substrate holding portion; and over the entire surface of the substrate And a control unit that executes a second step of supplying the developer from the second developer nozzle.

  The present invention forms a resist film on the entire surface up to the peripheral edge of the bevel portion of the substrate, which is a semiconductor wafer, and then removes the resist film on the peripheral portion of the substrate with a solvent. And the developer is supplied to the peripheral portion including the bevel portion of the substrate. Therefore, since the removal width of the resist film on the peripheral portion on the substrate can be reduced, for example, the effective area of the substrate can be increased. Further, in the developing device, by supplying the developing solution to the peripheral portion including the bevel portion of the substrate in a state where there is no accumulation of the developing solution on the surface of the substrate, the resist film on the bevel portion can be reliably removed.

1 is a perspective view of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view of the substrate processing apparatus concerning an embodiment of the invention. It is a side view which shows a periphery exposure module. It is explanatory drawing which shows the periphery exposure process in the said periphery exposure module. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a developing device. It is explanatory drawing which shows the effect | action of the said developing device. It is explanatory drawing which shows the effect | action of the said developing device. It is explanatory drawing which shows the effect | action of the said developing device. It is explanatory drawing which shows the effect | action of the said developing device. It is explanatory drawing which shows the effect | action of the said developing device. It is explanatory drawing which shows the effect | action of the said developing device. It is explanatory drawing which shows the effect | action of the said developing device. It is explanatory drawing which shows the center side nozzle of the said developing device.

  The substrate processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention is configured by linearly connecting a carrier block S1, a processing block S2, and an interface block S3 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, for example. An exposure station S4 for performing exposure processing on the wafer W is further connected to the interface block S3. The carrier block S1 has a role of carrying a carrier C including a plurality of wafers W, which are substrates, into and out of the apparatus. From the carrier C via the mounting table 111, the opening / closing part 112, and the opening / closing part 112 of the carrier C A transfer arm 113 for transporting the wafer W is provided. The wafer W is formed to have a diameter of 300 mm in which the peripheral edges on the front surface side and the back surface side are chamfered over the entire circumference to form a bevel portion.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the processing block S2 is configured by laminating first to sixth unit blocks B1 to B6 for performing liquid processing on the wafer W in order from the bottom, and each unit block B1 to B6 is substantially the same. It is a configuration. In FIG. 1, the alphabetical characters attached to the unit blocks B1 to B6 indicate the processing type, BCT represents an antireflection film forming process, COT represents a resist film forming process, and DEV represents a developing process. Hereinafter, unit blocks B1 and B2 are referred to as BCT layers B1 and B2, unit blocks B3 and B4 are referred to as COT layers B3 and B4, and unit blocks B5 and B6 are referred to as DEV layers B5 and B6.

  Here, the DEV layer B5, which is a unit block for developing the wafer W, will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the DEV layer B5 includes a main arm A5 that moves in a linear transport region R5 from the carrier block S1 to the interface block S3. Further, on the carrier block S1 side of the transport region R5, a shelf unit U7 configured by a plurality of modules stacked on each other is provided. The transfer of the wafer W between the transfer arm 113 and the main arm A5 is performed via the module of the shelf unit U7 and the transfer arm 114. When the DEV layer B5 is viewed from the carrier block S1 side, a developing device is provided as a coating unit on the right side of the transport region R5, and heat for heating and cooling the wafer W is provided on the left side of the transport region R5. Shelf units U1 to U6 in which the system modules 7 are stacked are provided.

  The other unit blocks are provided with different coating units, and the BCT layers B1 and B2 are provided with an antireflection film coating apparatus for coating the wafer W with an antireflection film in place of the developing device, and the COT layers B3 and B4. Is provided with a resist coating device for coating a resist film on the wafer W in place of the developing device. Further, the shelf unit U6 in the COT layers B3 and B4 is provided with a peripheral exposure module for performing exposure processing on the peripheral portion of the wafer W in place of the thermal system module 7.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the edge exposure module. The peripheral edge exposure module includes a turntable 41 for holding the wafer W horizontally and an exposure part 42 for exposing the peripheral edge of the wafer W to, for example, ultraviolet rays to expose the resist film. The turntable 41 is connected to the moving mechanism 44 via the rotation shaft 43. The moving mechanism 44 includes a rotation mechanism, and rotates the turntable 41 around the vertical axis via the rotation shaft 43. The turntable 41 is configured to be movable forward and backward along a straight line connecting the center of the exposure area of the exposure unit 42 and the rotation center of the turntable 41 by the moving mechanism 44.

  Then, after a resist film is applied to the entire surface of the wafer W, it is transferred to the peripheral exposure module and delivered to the turntable 41. Then, after holding the wafer W, the turntable 41 moves in the horizontal direction and performs positioning. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4, the wafer W moves from the exposure unit 42 toward the bevel unit to a position where ultraviolet rays are irradiated. Thereafter, the wafer W is rotated around the vertical axis while the peripheral edge is irradiated with ultraviolet rays. Thus, the peripheral edge of the circular wafer W is exposed with a constant width, for example, a width of 0.3 mm. In this example, only the resist film formed on the bevel portion is exposed.

Returning to FIG. 2, the interface block S3 is for transferring the wafer W between the processing block S2 and the exposure station S4. The shelf units U8, U9, U10 in which a plurality of modules are stacked on each other, and the transfer arm. 115-117.
Next, the configuration of the coating unit will be described using a developing device as an example. As shown in FIG. 2, the developing device includes four development processing units 11 a, 11 b, 11 c, and 11 d, and the development processing units 11 a to 11 d are arranged on the base 10 in a row in the horizontal direction. Each of the development processing units 11a to 11d has the same configuration, and here, the development processing unit 11a will be described as an example.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the development processing unit 11 a includes a spin chuck 12 a that is a substrate holding unit that holds the wafer W horizontally by vacuum-sucking the center of the back surface of the wafer W. The spin chuck 12a is connected to the rotating mechanism 14a from below through a shaft portion 13a, and can be rotated around the vertical axis by the rotating mechanism 14a. In this example, the wafer W rotates clockwise as viewed from above.

  A circular plate 15a is provided on the lower side of the spin chuck 12a so as to surround the shaft portion 13a with a gap. The circular plate 15a is formed with three through holes at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, and a lift pin 18a is provided in each through hole. The raising / lowering pin 18a is comprised so that it may raise / lower by the raising / lowering mechanism 36a. The wafer W is transferred between the main arm A5 outside the developing device 1 and the spin chuck 12a, which will be described later, by raising and lowering the elevating pins 18a.

  A cup body 21a is provided so as to surround the spin chuck 12a. The cup body 21a receives the drained liquid scattered or spilled from the rotating wafer W, and discharges the drained liquid to the outside of the developing device. The cup body 21a includes a mountain-shaped guide portion 16a having a mountain-shaped cross section around the shaft portion 13a, and an annular vertical wall 17a extending downward from the outer peripheral end of the mountain-shaped guide portion 16a. Is provided. The chevron guide portion 16 a guides the liquid spilled from the wafer W to the lower side outside the wafer W.

  The upper cup body 22a includes a vertical cylindrical portion 25a so as to surround the outer side of the mountain-shaped guide portion 16a, and an upper guide portion 26a extending obliquely from the upper edge of the cylindrical portion 25a toward the inner upper side. Is provided. The lower side of the cylindrical part 25a is provided with a lower cup body 23a in which a ring-shaped liquid receiving part 24a having a concave cross section is formed below the mountain-shaped guide part 16a and the vertical wall 17a. In the liquid receiving portion 24a, a drainage path 28a is connected to the outer peripheral side, and an exhaust pipe 29a is provided on the inner peripheral side of the drainage path 28a so as to protrude from below. The upper cup body 22a is configured to be movable up and down by an elevating mechanism 27a, and is lowered to a lower position indicated by a chain line in FIG. 5 so that the movement of the nozzles is not hindered when each nozzle described later moves above the development processing unit 11a. When the developer and the cleaning liquid are shaken off, the liquid rises to an upper position indicated by a solid line in FIG. 5 in order to suppress scattering of these liquids.

  As shown in FIG. 5, each of the development processing units 11 a to 11 d includes a peripheral side nozzle 6 a that is a first developer nozzle that discharges the developer toward the peripheral edge of the wafer W. The peripheral side nozzle 6a is provided in the upper guide part 26a in the upper cup body 22a, for example. Further, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the peripheral nozzle 6 a is configured such that the tip is inclined toward the rotation direction of the wafer W and the developer is discharged from the tangential direction of the wafer W. When the upper cup body 22a is raised to an upper position indicated by a solid line in the drawing, the developer is provided so as to be discharged from a tangential direction toward the bevel portion on the surface side of the wafer W. Returning to FIG. 5, the peripheral nozzle 6a is connected to the developer supply source 62a via the developer supply pipe 61a. In the figure, reference numeral 63a denotes a developer supply unit constituted by, for example, a filter and a pump.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the developing device includes a central nozzle 5 that is a second developer nozzle for supplying the developer to the wafer W and is configured in common to each of the development processing units 11 a to 11 d. ing. As shown in FIG. 5, the central nozzle 5 is connected to a developer supply source 52 via a developer supply pipe 51. The developer supply pipe 51 is provided with a developer supply unit 53 constituted by, for example, a filter and a pump.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the center side nozzle 5 is connected to the tip of the arm 56, and the base end of the arm 56 is connected to a drive mechanism 57 provided on the base 10. In the figure, 58 is a guide rail, which is provided on the base 10 so as to extend in the arrangement direction of the development processing units 11a to 11d. The drive mechanism 57 moves integrally with the arm 56 and the central nozzle 5 along the guide rail 58. Further, the drive mechanism 57 includes a lifting mechanism (not shown) that lifts and lowers the central nozzle 5 via the arm 56. The operation of the drive mechanism 57 is controlled in response to a control signal from the control unit 100.

  Each of the development processing units 11a to 11d includes a rinsing liquid nozzle 3a that supplies a rinsing liquid such as pure water to the wafer W. As shown in FIG. 5, the rinsing liquid nozzle 3a is connected to a rinsing liquid supply source 33a via a rinsing liquid supply path 32a. In the figure, reference numeral 34a denotes a flow rate control unit interposed in the rinse liquid supply path 32a, which includes, for example, a valve and a mass flow controller.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the rinsing liquid nozzle 3a is supported at the tip of an arm 35a extending in the horizontal direction so as to be orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the development processing units 11a to 11d. The base end of the arm 35a is connected to the drive mechanism 36a. The rinsing liquid nozzle 3a moves between an upper region of the wafer W placed on the spin chuck 12a and a nozzle bus (not shown) provided on the side of the development processing unit 11a by the operation of the driving mechanism 36a. In the development processing units 11b to 11d in FIG. 2, the same numbers as those used in the description of the development processing unit 11a are used for portions corresponding to the respective units in the development processing unit 11a, and b, c, d is attached to each.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, each of the development processing units 11a to 11d includes a back surface cleaning nozzle 19a. The back surface cleaning nozzle 19a is connected to a cleaning liquid supply unit (not shown), and supplies a cleaning liquid, for example, pure water, to the back surface of the wafer W that rotates during the development processing to clean the back surface of the wafer W.

  The developing device includes a control unit 100 including a computer. For example, a program stored in a storage medium such as a flexible disk, a compact disk, a hard disk, an MO (magneto-optical disk), and a memory card is installed in the control unit 100. The installed program incorporates instructions (steps) to transmit a control signal to each part of the developing device to control its operation. Here, the program includes a recipe describing a processing procedure. Specifically, the rotation speed of the wafer W is changed by the rotation mechanisms 14a to 14d, the nozzles of the center side nozzle 5, the peripheral side nozzles 6a to 6d, the rinse liquid nozzles 3a to 3d, and the back surface cleaning nozzles 19a to 19d are moved and Operations such as supply / disconnection of processing liquid from each nozzle are controlled by a program.

  Next, the processing of the wafer W in the substrate processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. First, the wafer W transferred by the carrier C is transferred to the processing block S2 by the transfer arm 113 and is then transferred to the BCT layer B1 (B2 ) → COT layer B3 (B4) in this order. The wafer W is subjected to heat treatment by the thermal system module 7 after a resist film is applied to the entire surface by a resist coating apparatus in the COT layer B3 (B4). Next, it is carried into the edge exposure module. In this embodiment, since the process of removing the resist film at the peripheral edge of the wafer W with the solvent is not performed, the resist film is formed up to the peripheral edge of the beveled portion of the wafer W. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the wafer W is rotated in a state in which ultraviolet light is irradiated from the exposure unit 42 to a region of, for example, 0.3 mm from the periphery of the wafer W. Thereby, the peripheral part of the resist film on the surface of the wafer W is exposed with a width of 0.3 mm.

  Thereafter, the wafer W is transferred to the exposure station S4 via the interface block S3. In the exposure station S4, an exposure process for transferring the resist pattern is performed using a pattern mask for the resist film. The exposed wafer W is transferred to the DEV layer B5 (B6) through the interface block S3.

  The operation of the developing device will be described with reference to FIGS. For convenience of explanation, the antireflection film is omitted. The wafer W unloaded from the exposure station S4 is delivered to the main arm A5 of the DEV layer B5 via the interface block S3. Thereafter, the wafer W is placed on the spin chuck 12a by the cooperative action of the main arm A5 and, for example, the lift pins 18a in the development processing unit 11a.

  Subsequently, evacuation of the cup body 21a is started, and then the wafer W is rotated at 100 rpm. Further, the upper cup body 22a is positioned at the upper position, and as shown in FIGS. 6A to 6C, the developer is discharged from the peripheral nozzle 6a toward the bevel portion. As shown in FIG. 6B, the peripheral nozzle 6 a is configured to incline in the rotation direction of the wafer W and to discharge the developer from the tangential direction of the wafer W. Thus, as shown in FIG. 6C, the resist film R formed above the bevel portion over the entire periphery of the peripheral portion of the wafer W (the hatched portion in the resist film R in FIG. 6C). Is developed in advance.

  Thereafter, the supply of the developer discharged from the peripheral side nozzle 6a is stopped and the upper cup body 22a is lowered, and then the center side nozzle 5 moves and is positioned above the center portion of the wafer W. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 7, the rotation speed of the wafer W is reduced to 10 rpm, and the discharge of the developing solution D from the central nozzle 5 toward the wafer W is started while maintaining the rotation speed. Next, the upper cup body 22a is raised to an upper position, and the number of rotations of the wafer W is increased to 1500 rpm as shown in FIG. 8A, and the center side nozzle 5 is discharged from the developer D while the developer D is being discharged. Move in the peripheral direction. As a result, the developer D supplied to the surface of the wafer W spreads toward the periphery of the wafer W, and the entire surface of the wafer W becomes wet with the developer.

  Further, by maintaining the rotation speed of the wafer W, excess developer D is shaken off from the wafer W, received by the cup body 21a, and discharged. At this time, as shown in FIG. 8B, the developer D spreads to the position of the bevel portion of the wafer W due to centrifugal force, but since a horizontal force is applied, the position of the edge on the center side of the wafer W in the bevel portion. Will jump off the bevel part. For this reason, the developer D is supplied to the area of the resist film R formed on the surface of the wafer W that is hatched on the center side of the bevel portion, but the resist film R formed on the bevel portion is developed. The supply amount of the liquid D decreases.

  Thereafter, the supply of the developing solution D is stopped, and further the number of rotations of the wafer W is continuously maintained, so that all the developing solution D is shaken off from the surface of the wafer W as shown in FIG. In the region exposed by the exposure process in the resist film R, acid is generated from the photosensitive agent contained in the resist. Then, when the developing solution D is supplied, the acid and the developing solution react and the resist film R is dissolved. As a result, the dissolved resist film R is shaken off together with the developer D shaken off from the wafer W and removed.

  At this time, the resist film R in the region closer to the center than the bevel portion of the wafer W is sufficiently supplied with the developer D supplied from the center nozzle 5, so that the exposed region is dissolved and removed. . The resist film R above the bevel portion of the wafer W has a small supply amount of the developer D supplied from the center nozzle 5, but before supplying the developer D from the center nozzle 5, the peripheral nozzle 6a. Developer D is supplied. Therefore, the resist film R above the bevel portion of the wafer W is also sufficiently supplied with the developer D, and is dissolved and removed.

  After the developer is shaken off, the rotational speed of the wafer W is lowered to 100 rpm. Thereafter, the upper cup body 22a is lowered to a lower position, and the center nozzle 5 is retracted from above the wafer W. Next, the upper cup body 22a is positioned at the upper position, and the developer D is discharged from the peripheral nozzle 6a toward the bevel portion. As a result, as shown in FIG. 10, the developer is further supplied above the bevel portion over the entire periphery of the peripheral portion of the wafer W. For this reason, even when the resist film R in the bevel portion remains without being developed, the developer D is reliably supplied and the resist film R is removed.

  In the example shown in the drawing, the removal region of the resist film R at the peripheral edge of the wafer W is the resist film R for the entire bevel portion, but is a resist film R that is a part of the bevel portion, that is, a resist film near the peripheral edge. In this case, the resist film R near the center of the wafer W in the bevel portion remains. For example, if the removal width of the resist film R is 0.3 mm, the resist film R near the center of the wafer W in the bevel portion remains. The removal region of the resist film R on the peripheral edge of the wafer W may include the entire bevel portion and a region slightly closer to the center of the wafer W from the bevel portion.

  Returning to the description of the process, after that, the discharge of the developer D from the peripheral side nozzle 6a is stopped and the upper cup body 22a is lowered. Further, the rinsing liquid nozzle 3a moves and is located above the center of the wafer W. After the upper cup body 22a is raised, pure water P, for example, a rinse liquid is discharged from the rinse liquid nozzle 3a and the back surface cleaning nozzle 19a toward the wafer W as shown in FIG. Increase number to 1200 rpm. Further, the supply of pure water P is stopped from the rinse liquid nozzle 3a and the back surface cleaning nozzle 19a, and the rotation speed of the wafer W is increased to 2000 rpm, and the rotation speed is maintained for 15 seconds.

As a result, the pure water P supplied to the center of the wafer W flows toward the periphery of the wafer W and is shaken off as shown in FIG. The dissolved resist film R is almost removed when the developer D is shaken off. However, the pure resist P is supplied to the surface of the wafer W, and the dissolved resist film R remaining on the surface of the wafer W is shaken off. Is removed by washing with pure water P. The pure water P supplied to the back side is also shaken off and removed. As a result, an unexposed region of the resist film R remains on the surface of the wafer W, and a resist pattern is formed.
Thereafter, the upper cup body 22a is lowered and the rinsing liquid nozzle 3a is retracted, and then the wafer W is transferred from the developing device to the shelf unit U7 by the main arm A5, and a predetermined carrier of the carrier block S1 is passed through the transfer arm 113. Returned to.

In the above-described embodiment, the resist film R is formed on the entire surface up to the peripheral edge of the bevel portion of the wafer W, and then the resist film R on the peripheral portion of the wafer W is removed with a solvent. The bevel portion of W is exposed, and the developer D is supplied to the peripheral portion including the bevel portion of the wafer W. Therefore, since the removal width of the resist film R at the peripheral edge on the wafer W can be reduced, for example, the effective area of the wafer W can be increased.
Further, after the developer D on the surface of the wafer W is shaken off, the developer D is supplied from the peripheral nozzle 6 a toward the bevel portion of the wafer W before supplying pure water P for cleaning the surface of the wafer W. Therefore, the resist film R formed above the bevel portion can be removed more reliably, and the residue of the resist film R can be suppressed.

  Further, the wafer W is rotated in a state where the developer D is not supplied from the center side nozzle 5 and the developer D on the surface of the wafer W is shaken off, that is, in a state where there is no liquid reservoir of the developer D on the wafer W. However, the developer D is discharged from the peripheral nozzle 6a toward the bevel portion of the wafer W. Therefore, liquid splashing due to a collision between the developer D supplied to the center side of the wafer W and shaken off from the wafer W and the developer D discharged toward the bevel portion can be prevented.

  The present invention may also be applied to a developing device that supplies the developer D while the wafer W is stationary and forms a liquid pool on the surface of the wafer W. For example, in the developing device shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, as shown in FIG. 13 (a), the central nozzle 51 serving as the second nozzle extends in a range longer than the length of the diameter of the wafer W in the extending direction of the arm 56. A slit 52 is provided, and the developer D is discharged from the slit 52. Then, as shown in FIG. 13B, the center side nozzle 51 is configured to horizontally move in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the slit 52 extends.

  In such a developing device, first, while rotating the wafer W, the developer is discharged from the peripheral nozzle 6a, and the developer D is supplied to the bevel portion extending over the entire surface of the wafer W. Next, the wafer W is stopped, and the central nozzle 51 is moved across the wafer W while discharging the developing solution D from the central nozzle 51 as shown in FIG. As a result, the developer is supplied to the entire surface of the wafer W, and a pool of developer is formed on the surface of the wafer W. Thereafter, the wafer W is rotated to shake off the developer D, and then the developer D is discharged from the peripheral nozzle 6a while rotating the wafer W, and the developer is applied to the bevel portion extending over the entire circumference on the surface side of the wafer W. Supply.

  Even when the developing solution D is supplied while the wafer W is stopped in this manner, when the developing solution D is shaken off by rotating the wafer W, the developing solution is discharged over the bevel. Therefore, the supply amount of the developer is reduced, and the residue of the resist film R tends to remain. Therefore, the developer D is discharged from the peripheral nozzle 6a while rotating the wafer W, and the developer D is supplied to the bevel over the entire circumference of the surface of the wafer W. D can be supplied, and the residue of the resist film R in the bevel portion can be suppressed.

  Further, in order to supply the developing solution D toward the bevel portion over the entire circumference of the wafer W, it is necessary to discharge the developing solution D from the peripheral side nozzle 6a while rotating the wafer W. Accordingly, when the developer D is supplied to the surface of the wafer W from the center nozzle 51 in a state where the developer D is piled on the center side of the wafer W, the developer D to be shaken off by the centrifugal force and the peripheral nozzle There is a risk that the developer D supplied to the bevel from 6a may collide and splash. Accordingly, even in the developing device that supplies the developing solution D to the stationary wafer W, the developing solution D is supplied from the central nozzle 51 to the wafer W before or from the central nozzle 51. Then, after rotating the wafer W and shaking off the developer D, the developer D is supplied to the bevel portion from the peripheral nozzle 6a. By adopting such a configuration, the same effect can be obtained.

Further, the developer D is discharged from the peripheral nozzle 6a toward the bevel portion of the wafer W before the developer D is supplied from the center nozzle 5 and after the developer D on the surface of the wafer W is shaken off. Only one of before and after supplying pure water P for removing the resist film dissolved on the surface of the wafer W may be used.
If the developer is supplied to the surface of the wafer W and the time until the rinsing liquid is supplied is long, droplet spots are easily formed on the surface of the wafer W. Therefore, the developer D may be discharged toward the bevel portion of the wafer W only before the developer D is supplied from the central nozzle 5.

Further, the temperature of the developer D discharged from the peripheral nozzle 6 a may be higher than the temperature of the developer D discharged from the center nozzle 5. When the temperature of the developer D is high, the reaction between the developer D and the resist film is activated. Therefore, by making the temperature of the developer D discharged from the peripheral nozzle 6a higher than the temperature of the developer D discharged from the center nozzle 5, the resist film R and the developer D formed above the bevel portion. Reaction is facilitated and it is easy to dissolve, so that the resist film can be removed more reliably.
Further, the concentration of the developer D discharged from the peripheral nozzle 6 a may be higher than the concentration of the developer D discharged from the center nozzle 5. Since the reaction between the developer D and the resist film R is activated even when the concentration of the developer D is high, the same effect can be obtained.

  Furthermore, after discharging the developing solution D from the peripheral nozzle 6a toward the bevel portion, nitrogen gas may be sprayed onto the developing solution D on the bevel portion. For example, the structure which provided the gas nozzle which discharges nitrogen gas toward the bevel part of the wafer W hold | maintained at the spin chuck 12a is mentioned. Then, the developer may be discharged from the peripheral side nozzle 6a toward the bevel portion, and nitrogen gas may be blown toward the bevel portion. When nitrogen gas is blown onto the developer D, the solvent in the developer D is volatilized, so that its concentration increases. Therefore, the reaction between the developing solution D and the resist film R is activated, and the same effect as when the concentration of the developing solution D discharged from the peripheral side nozzle 6a is increased can be obtained.

5 Center side nozzles 6a-6d Peripheral side nozzles 12a-d Spin chucks 14a-d Rotating mechanism 100 Control unit D Developer R Resist film P Pure water W Wafer

Claims (13)

In a substrate processing method of forming a resist pattern on a surface of a substrate that is a semiconductor wafer using a resist in which an exposed portion is dissolved in a developer,
Forming a resist film over the entire surface up to the peripheral edge of the bevel portion of the substrate;
Next, a step of exposing the bevel portion of the substrate on which the resist film is formed on the entire surface up to the peripheral edge of the bevel portion;
Then, pattern exposing the surface of the substrate using a pattern mask,
Supplying a developer to the pattern-exposed substrate, and supplying the developer.
A first step of supplying the developer to the peripheral portion including the bevel portion of the substrate while rotating the substrate while holding the substrate horizontally on the substrate holding portion, and a second step of supplying the developer to the entire surface of the substrate The substrate processing method characterized by including these processes.   The substrate processing method according to claim 1, wherein the first step is performed in a state where there is no pool of developer on the substrate.   After the second step, the third step of shaking off the developer supplied to the substrate is performed. After the third step, the first step is further performed, and then the entire surface of the substrate is rinsed. The substrate processing method according to claim 1, wherein a fourth step of washing the developer on the surface of the substrate by rotating the substrate and supplying the substrate is performed.   4. The substrate processing method according to claim 1, wherein the temperature of the developer in the first step is higher than the temperature of the developer in the second step. 5.   5. The substrate processing method according to claim 1, wherein the concentration of the developer in the first step is higher than the concentration of the developer in the second step. 6.   Along with the first step, while holding the substrate horizontally on the substrate holding portion and rotating it, nitrogen gas is discharged toward the bevel portion on the surface side of the substrate to increase the concentration of the developer on the surface of the bevel portion. 5. The substrate processing method according to claim 1, further comprising a step. A substrate treatment apparatus for forming a resist film on a surface of a substrate, which is a semiconductor wafer, using a resist in which an exposed portion is dissolved in a developer, and developing the exposed substrate with the developer to form a resist pattern A storage medium storing a program used for
The program is
Forming a resist film over the entire surface up to the peripheral edge of the bevel portion of the substrate;
Next, a step of exposing the bevel portion of the substrate on which the resist film is formed on the entire surface up to the peripheral edge of the bevel portion;
Then, supplying a developer to the substrate on which the surface of the substrate is pattern-exposed using a pattern mask, and supplying the developer,
A first step of supplying the developer to the peripheral portion including the bevel portion of the substrate while rotating the substrate while holding the substrate horizontally on the substrate holding portion, and a second step of supplying the developer to the entire surface of the substrate And a substrate processing method comprising: a step group configured to execute the substrate processing method.   The storage medium according to claim 7, wherein the first step is performed in a state where there is no pool of developer on the substrate. The resist in which the exposed portion is dissolved in the developer is applied to the entire surface until reaching the peripheral edge of the bevel portion, and development is performed to supply the developer to the substrate on which the exposure of the bevel portion and the pattern exposure of the substrate surface have been performed. A device,
A substrate holder for horizontally holding the substrate;
A rotation mechanism for rotating the substrate holder around the vertical axis;
A first developer nozzle for supplying a developer to the peripheral portion including the bevel portion of the substrate;
A second developer nozzle for supplying developer to the entire surface of the substrate;
A first step of supplying a developer from a first developer nozzle to a peripheral portion including a bevel portion of the substrate while rotating the substrate while holding the substrate horizontally on the substrate holding portion; and over the entire surface of the substrate A developing device comprising: a control unit that executes a second step of supplying a developing solution from a second developing solution nozzle.   The developing device according to claim 9, wherein the first step is performed in a state where there is no pool of developer on the substrate.   A temperature control mechanism for adjusting the temperature of the developer supplied from the first developer nozzle is provided, and the temperature of the developer supplied in the first step is higher than the temperature of the developer supplied in the second step. The developing device according to claim 9 or 10,   The developing device according to claim 9, wherein the concentration of the developer supplied in the first step is higher than the concentration of the developer supplied in the second step. A gas supply nozzle for supplying nitrogen gas to the peripheral portion including the bevel portion of the substrate;
The nitrogen gas is supplied from the gas supply nozzle to the peripheral portion including the bevel portion of the substrate while rotating the substrate while holding the substrate horizontally in the substrate holding portion together with the first step. 13. The developing device according to any one of Items 12 to 12.

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