JP2019165254A - Development method - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a development method that an air bubble included in liquid can be efficiently ejected out of a substrate.SOLUTION: The development method includes the steps of: rotating, by a rotation holding unit 2, a substrate W around a central part C of the substrate W; starting the discharge of pre-wet liquid from a rinse nozzle 4 to a preset position 42 deviating from the central part C on the rotating substrate W, to cover the central part C by expanded pre-wet liquid immediately after the start of discharge of the pre-wet liquid; and starting, after the discharge of the pre-wet liquid is stopped, the discharge of a developer liquid from a development nozzle 3 onto the rotating substrate W. This enables the generation of a pre-wet liquid flow at the central part C having a small centrifugal force immediately after the discharge. As a result, as compared with the case of starting the discharge of the pre-wet liquid to the central part C, an air bubble included in the pre-wet liquid can be efficiently ejected out of the substrate W.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a developing method for developing a semiconductor substrate, a glass substrate for liquid crystal display, a glass substrate for photomask, a substrate for optical disk, and the like.

  Conventionally, there is a developing device as a substrate processing apparatus. The developing device supplies a developing solution to the substrate on which a photoresist film is formed and a predetermined pattern is exposed to perform a developing process. The developing device includes a rotation holding unit that holds the substrate in a substantially horizontal posture and rotates the substrate around a vertical axis, and various nozzles that supply a prewet liquid, a developer, or a rinsing liquid onto the substrate (for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). The discharge of the pre-wet liquid, the developer, or the rinse liquid is started toward the center portion of the substrate W.

JP 2009-231617 A JP 2009-231619 A

  When a photoresist (hereinafter referred to as “resist”) is processed with a developer, a part of the resist is dissolved and the dissolved product is mixed into the developer. The above-described rotary developing device discharges a fresh developer to the center of the substrate and discharges the developer mixed with dissolved products from the outer edge of the substrate while the developer is evenly spread by the rotation of the substrate. . That is, a fresh developer is discharged to discharge the dissolved product out of the substrate.

  Here, the conventional developing method has the following problems. First, there is a problem that the dissolved product that causes development defects is not sufficiently discharged (that is, washed). For example, if a dissolved product remains between two resist patterns, a development defect that bridges between the two resist patterns occurs. This is due to the fact that the development defect size affecting device performance has been reduced with the miniaturization of the resist pattern, and the inspection size for development defects has become stricter than before. Therefore, in order to sufficiently discharge the resist soluble product, it is necessary to adjust the flow rate, discharge pressure, and time of the developer to be discharged, or to scan the developing nozzle.

  Further, when priority is given to the effect of discharging the dissolved product, for example, if the developer is continuously discharged to the center of the substrate for a long time, there is a problem that the resist pattern becomes thinner from the outer edge to the center of the substrate. In particular, the problem that the resist pattern becomes thin is remarkable at the center of the substrate. The problem that the resist pattern becomes thin has a difference in influence depending on the type of resist as shown in FIG. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the relationship between the resist type corresponding to the light source and the remaining film amount. This figure shows the ratio of the remaining film thickness after development when the film thickness after coating is 1.0. The film thickness is compared with the average value of the entire surface.

  Further, when the pre-wet liquid or the rinse liquid is discharged, if bubbles are included in the liquid held in the central portion of the substrate, the central portion of the substrate may be left on the substrate because the centrifugal force is small. If bubbles remain on the substrate, in the case of a pre-wet liquid, there is a possibility that the development will be insufficient at the remaining bubbles when the developer is discharged. In the case of a rinsing liquid, there is a possibility that rinsing will be insufficient at the remaining bubbles.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a developing method capable of efficiently discharging bubbles contained in the liquid to the outside of the substrate.

In order to achieve such an object, the present invention has the following configuration.
That is, a developing method for developing a substrate according to the present invention includes a step of rotating the substrate around a central portion of the substrate by a rotation holding unit, and a step on the rotating substrate and deviating from the central portion. Starting pre-wet liquid discharge by a pre-wet nozzle at a pre-wet liquid position set in advance, and covering the center with the spread of the pre-wet liquid immediately after the start of pre-wet liquid discharge; And a step of starting the discharge of the developing solution by the developing nozzle on the rotating substrate after stopping the discharging of the solution.

  According to the developing method of the present invention, it is possible to cause the pre-wet liquid to flow in the central portion where the centrifugal force is small immediately after the start of discharge. Therefore, compared to the case where the discharge of the pre-wet liquid is started at the center, the bubbles contained in the pre-wet liquid can be efficiently discharged out of the substrate, and the development failure due to the remaining bubbles can be prevented. it can. In addition, since the center part is covered with the spread of the pre-wet liquid discharged to the pre-wet position, even if the pre-wet liquid is discharged directly to a position off the center part, the pre-wet process of the center part is executed. it can.

  Further, in the above developing method, after the discharge of the developer is stopped, the discharge of the rinse liquid is started by the rinse nozzle at a preset rinse liquid position on the rotating substrate and deviated from the central portion. In addition, it is preferable that the method further includes a step of covering the central portion with the spread of the rinse liquid immediately after the start of the discharge of the rinse liquid.

  Thereby, the flow of the rinse liquid can be caused in the central portion where the centrifugal force is small immediately after the start of discharge. Therefore, compared with the case where the discharge of the rinsing liquid is started at the center, the bubbles contained in the rinsing liquid can be efficiently discharged out of the substrate, and the rinsing can be prevented from becoming insufficient. Further, since the central portion is covered with the spread of the rinsing liquid discharged to the rinsing liquid position, the rinsing process for the central portion can be executed even if the rinsing liquid is directly discharged to a position off the central portion.

  According to the present invention, a developing method for developing a substrate includes a step of rotating the substrate around a central portion of the substrate by a rotation holding unit, and a developer nozzle on the rotating substrate by a developing nozzle. After stopping the discharge of the developer and the discharge of the developer, the discharge of the rinse liquid is started by the rinse nozzle at a preset rinse liquid position off the central portion on the rotating substrate. And the step of covering the central portion with the spread of the rinsing liquid immediately after the start of the discharge of the rinsing liquid.

  According to the developing method of the present invention, it is possible to cause the rinse liquid to flow in the central portion where the centrifugal force is small immediately after the start of discharge. Therefore, compared with the case where the discharge of the rinsing liquid is started at the center, the bubbles contained in the rinsing liquid can be efficiently discharged out of the substrate, and the rinsing can be prevented from becoming insufficient. Further, since the central portion is covered with the spread of the rinsing liquid discharged to the rinsing liquid position, the rinsing process for the central portion can be executed even if the rinsing liquid is directly discharged to a position off the central portion.

This specification also discloses an invention relating to the following development method.
(1) The developing method includes a step of rotating the substrate around the center portion of the substrate by the rotation holding unit, and a region in the width direction of the liquid column of the developer discharged from the nozzle is deviated from the center of the substrate. A step of starting the discharge of the developer by the developing nozzle at a first preset position on the rotating substrate that is out of the central portion, and the spread of the developer discharged to the first position And covering the central part.
According to the invention described in (1) above, on the substrate that rotates around the center so that the region in the width direction of the liquid column of the developer discharged from the nozzle deviates from the center of the substrate, The developer nozzle starts discharging the developer at a first position that is set in advance and deviated from the position. As a result, it is possible to cause the developer to flow in the central portion where the centrifugal force is small immediately after the start of discharge. For this reason, the dissolved product of the resist can be efficiently discharged out of the substrate as compared with the case where the discharge of the developing solution is started at the center. In addition, the arrival positions of the developer discharged directly from the developing nozzle immediately after the start of discharge are dispersed, and the resist pattern can be suppressed from becoming particularly thin at the center of the substrate, thereby suppressing processing variations.
Further, since the central portion is covered with the spread of the developer discharged to the first position, even if the developer is discharged directly to a position off the center, the development processing of the central portion can be executed.

  According to the developing method of the present invention, it is possible to efficiently discharge the bubbles contained in the pre-wet liquid to the outside of the substrate as compared with the case where the discharge of the pre-wet liquid is started at the center, resulting from the remaining bubbles. Development failure can be prevented. In addition, bubbles contained in the rinsing liquid can be efficiently discharged out of the substrate compared to when the discharge of the rinsing liquid is started at the center, and the rinsing can be prevented from becoming insufficient.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a developing device according to an embodiment. 1 is a plan view of a developing device according to an embodiment. It is a figure of the image development process which shows an example of the rotational speed of a board | substrate, and the discharge timing of each process liquid. (A), (b) is a figure for demonstrating a pre-process, (c)-(e) is a figure for demonstrating a main image development process. (A), (b) is a figure for demonstrating a main image development process, (c), (d) is a figure for demonstrating a washing | cleaning process. (A) is the figure which compared the resist dimension (line | wire width) at the time of discharging from a center part, and discharging from a center part, (b) is a figure which shows the measurement position of (a). . It is a figure of the development process which shows an example of the rotational speed of the board | substrate which concerns on a modification, and the discharge timing of each process liquid. It is a figure which shows the method which remove | deviates from the center part which concerns on a modification, and discharges. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the resist kind corresponding to a light source, and the amount of remaining films.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the developing device according to the embodiment, and is a plan view of the developing device according to the embodiment.

[Configuration of developing device]
Please refer to FIG. The developing device 1 includes a rotation holding unit 2 that holds the substrate W in a substantially horizontal posture, a developing nozzle 3 that discharges a developing solution, and a rinsing nozzle 4 that discharges a rinsing solution. The rinse nozzle 4 corresponds to the rinse nozzle and the pre-wet nozzle of the present invention.

  The rotation holding unit 2 includes a spin chuck 5 that holds the substrate W so as to be rotatable about the vertical axis AX1, and a rotation drive unit 6 that rotates the spin chuck 5 about the vertical axis AX1. For example, the spin chuck 5 holds the substrate W by vacuum-sucking the back surface of the substrate W. The rotation drive unit 6 is configured by a motor or the like. The vertical axis AX1 and the central portion C of the substrate W substantially coincide with each other when the substrate W is viewed from above.

  A cup 7 surrounding the rotation holding unit 2 is provided on the side of the rotation holding unit 2. The cup 7 is configured to move up and down by a drive unit (not shown).

  The developer nozzle 3 includes a plurality of (for example, five) discharge ports 3a arranged in a line in the X direction that is the moving direction (see an enlarged view surrounded by a broken line in FIG. 1). Accordingly, since the developer is widely discharged, the developer can be quickly applied to the entire surface of the substrate W. On the other hand, the rinse nozzle 4 has one discharge port 4a.

  The arm 9 supports the developing nozzle 3 as shown in FIG. The developing nozzle moving unit 11 moves the developing nozzle 3 to a predetermined position and height via the arm 9. As shown in FIG. 2, the developing nozzle moving unit 11 includes a horizontal moving unit 11 a that moves the developing nozzle 3 in the X direction, and an elevating unit 11 b that moves the developing nozzle 3 in the Z direction. The horizontal moving part 11a supports the elevating part 11b so as to be movable in the X direction, and the elevating part 11b supports the arm 9.

  The arm 13 supports the rinse nozzle 4 as shown in FIG. The rinse nozzle moving unit 15 moves the rinse nozzle 4 to a predetermined position and height via the arm 13. That is, the rinse nozzle moving unit 15 rotates and moves the rinse nozzle 4 around the vertical axis AX2, and moves the rinse nozzle 4 up and down in the Z direction. The rinse nozzle moving unit 15 supports the arm 13 so as to be rotatable around the vertical axis AX2, and supports the arm 13 so as to be movable in the Z direction.

  The horizontal movement part 11a, the raising / lowering part 11b, and the rinse nozzle moving part 15 are comprised with a motor etc. FIG. Further, the developing nozzle 3 may rotate around the vertical axis like the rinse nozzle moving unit 15. In addition, the rinse nozzle 4 may move in the X direction like the horizontal movement unit 11a. Further, the horizontal moving unit 11a may be configured to move in at least one of the X direction and the Y direction.

  Returning to FIG. A developing solution is supplied to the developing nozzle 3 from a developing solution supply source 17 through a developing solution pipe 19. The on-off valve V1 and the pump P1 are interposed in the developer pipe 19. The on-off valve V1 supplies and stops the developer, and the pump P1 sends the developer to the developing nozzle 3.

  The rinse liquid is supplied to the rinse nozzle 4 from the rinse liquid supply source 21 through the rinse liquid pipe 23. The on-off valve V2 and the pump P2 are interposed in the rinse liquid pipe 23. The on-off valve V2 supplies and stops the rinse liquid, and the pump P2 sends the rinse liquid to the rinse nozzle 4. In this embodiment, since the same rinse liquid and pre-wet liquid are used, the pre-wet liquid is also discharged from the rinse nozzle 4.

  The developing device 1 includes a control unit 31 configured by a central processing unit (CPU) and the like, and an operation unit 33 for operating the developing device 1. The control unit 31 controls each component of the developing device 1. The operation unit 33 includes a display unit such as a liquid crystal monitor, a storage unit such as a ROM (Read-only Memory), a RAM (Random-Access Memory), and a hard disk, and an input unit such as a keyboard, a mouse, and various buttons. I have. Various conditions for development processing are stored in the storage unit.

[Developer operation]
Next, the operation of the developing device 1 will be described. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the developer nozzle 3 develops the developer at a preset position 41 on the substrate W rotating around the central portion C (vertical axis AX1) and deviating from the central portion C. Starts to discharge. As a result, the developer can flow in the central portion C where the centrifugal force is small immediately after the start of discharge. For this reason, the dissolved product of the resist can be efficiently discharged out of the substrate W as compared with the case where the discharge of the developer to the central portion C is started. Further, the arrival position of the developer discharged directly by the developing nozzle 3 immediately after the start of discharge is dispersed, and in particular, it is possible to suppress the resist pattern from becoming thin at the center C of the substrate W.

  Further, since the central portion C is covered with the spread of the developer discharged to the position 41, even if the developer is discharged directly to the position 41 off the center portion C, the development processing of the central portion C is executed. it can. If the central portion C cannot be covered with the spread of the developer discharged at the position 41, for example, the central portion C cannot be developed.

  The position 41 corresponds to the first position of the present invention. A position 42 described later corresponds to a pre-wet liquid position (second position) of the present invention, and a position 43 described later corresponds to a rinse liquid position (third position) of the present invention.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram of the developing process showing an example of the rotation speed of the substrate W and the discharge timing of each processing liquid. In this embodiment, the development process includes a pre-process (t0 to t3), a main development process (t3 to t10), and a cleaning process (t10 to t12). The main development process (t3 to t10) includes a developer discharge process (t3 to t8) and a time adjustment process (t8 to t10).

  In this embodiment, a rinse liquid is used as the pre-wet liquid, and pure water such as deionized water (DIW) is used, for example. Therefore, the pre-wet liquid is discharged from the rinse nozzle 4. Further, in FIGS. 4A to 4E and FIGS. 5A to 5D, the pre-wet liquid is denoted by Lpre, the developer is denoted by Ldev, and the rinse liquid is denoted by Indicated by Lrin.

  In FIG. 1, the substrate W is transported onto the rotation holding unit 2 by a transport robot (not shown). A photoresist film RF is formed on the substrate W, and a predetermined pattern is exposed. The rotation holding unit 2 holds the back surface of the substrate W. In FIG. 2 and the like, the resist film RF is not shown.

  3, the rotation holding unit 2 rotates the substrate W around the central portion C of the substrate W. The substrate W is rotated at about 20 rpm. Further, the rinse nozzle moving unit 15 moves the rinse nozzle 4 from a standby position outside the cup 7 to a predetermined position above the substrate W. That is, the rinse nozzle moving unit 15 moves the rinse nozzle 4 to a position 42 above the substrate W that is separated from the center C by a preset distance D2 (see FIG. 2).

  At time t1, the rinse nozzle 4 starts to discharge the pre-wet liquid onto the rotating substrate W (specifically, on the resist film). That is, as shown in FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, the pre-wetting is performed by the rinse nozzle 4 at a preset position 42 off the central portion C of the substrate W before the discharge of the developer is started. Start discharging liquid. Since the pre-wet liquid that has arrived on the substrate W has deviated from the central portion C, the pre-wet liquid flows from the outside of the central portion C toward the central portion C immediately after the start of ejection. As described above, since the flow is generated immediately after the start of discharge, it is possible to efficiently remove bubbles and the like from the central portion C to which centrifugal force is difficult to be applied, compared to the case of direct discharge to the central portion C.

  A supplementary explanation of why air bubbles remain in the vicinity of the central portion C will be supplemented. At the position where the pre-wet liquid is directly discharged, for example, bubbles are pressed from the top to the substrate W side. When the pressed position is the center C, the pressing is continued at the same position. Further, the centrifugal force is small near the center C. Accordingly, for example, bubbles attached to the substrate W tend to remain in the central portion C. The same applies to the developer and the rinse solution.

  At time t2, the discharge of the pre-wet liquid by the rinse nozzle 4 is stopped. Then, the rinse nozzle moving unit 15 moves the rinse nozzle 4 from above the substrate W to the standby position. In addition, in order to perform the washing | cleaning process (t10-t12), the rinse nozzle 4 may be waiting on the spot. Further, the developing nozzle moving unit 11 moves the developing nozzle from a standby position outside the cup 7 to a predetermined position above the substrate W. The developing nozzle moving unit 11 moves the developing nozzle 3 to a position 41 above the substrate W that is separated from the center C by a predetermined distance D1 (see FIG. 2).

  The pre-wet liquid on the substrate W spreads from the center C to the outer edge E of the substrate W and is held on the substrate W. Note that excess pre-wet liquid on the substrate W may be discharged to the outside of the substrate W.

  At a time point t3 at the start of the main development process, the developing nozzle 3 starts to discharge the developer onto the rotating substrate W. That is, as shown in FIG. 4C and FIG. 4D, the developer nozzle 3 starts to discharge the developer at a preset position 41 that is off the center C of the substrate W. Since the wettability on the substrate W is improved by the pre-wet liquid, the developer that has arrived on the substrate W tends to spread. Also, depending on the type of resist, when the developer is directly discharged onto the resist film, the reaction proceeds at the portion in contact with the developer, resulting in spiral irregularities. However, when the developer is applied via the pre-wet liquid, the reaction is relaxed, and the above-described unevenness is suppressed.

  The pre-wet liquid is gradually replaced with the developer. Further, since the developing solution has arrived on the substrate W, the predetermined pattern of the resist film by the developing solution is dissolved, and a dissolved product is generated in the developing solution.

  At time t4, the rotation holding unit 2 increases the rotation speed of the substrate W to about 1000 rpm. As a result, the developer is discharged out of the substrate W as shown in FIG. Thereby, the dissolved product of the generated photoresist is efficiently discharged out of the substrate W. At time t5, the rotation holding unit 2 lowers the rotation speed of the substrate W to about 700 rpm. At time t5, the developing nozzle 3 is moved from the position 41 to the outer edge E side of the substrate W by the developing nozzle moving section 11 as shown in FIG. Further, by discharging the developer to the substrate W while discharging the new developer, the dissolved product is removed and replaced with the new developer.

  In this embodiment, the developer, the pre-wet liquid and the rinsing liquid that have started to be ejected at a position deviated from the central portion C do not flow in a river shape or a streak shape, but rotate substantially on the entire surface of the substrate W. It flows so as to spread, and is then discharged out of the substrate W.

  At time t6, the rotation holding unit 2 lowers the rotation speed of the substrate W to about 200 rpm. At time t6, the developing nozzle 3 is moved from the outer edge E side to the position 41 by the developing nozzle moving unit 11 while discharging the developing solution from the developing nozzle 3. That is, the developing nozzle 3 is reciprocally scanned in the radial direction of the substrate W during a period from time t5 to time t7. Further, since the substrate W is rotated at a low speed, the amount of developer discharged outside the substrate W is reduced.

  Note that the scan is reciprocal in the present embodiment, but only the forward path may be used. In this case, in the return path, the discharge is stopped and the developing nozzle 3 is moved. The scanning may be performed not only once but a plurality of times. Further, it is not necessary to return to the position 41 when performing reciprocal scanning. Further, the scan may be performed so as not to pass above the central portion C.

  At time t7, the rotation holding unit 2 further lowers the rotation speed of the substrate W to about 30 rpm. As a result, the developer discharged to the outside of the substrate W is further reduced, and as shown in FIG. 5B, a preset amount of the liquid layer LL held on the substrate W by rotation and surface tension is formed. The

  At time t8, the discharge of the developer from the developing nozzle 3 is stopped. The substrate W is continuously rotated, and a predetermined amount of developer is held on the substrate W. At time t8, the dissolved product is sufficiently discharged out of the substrate W, and until the time t10, the total of the main development steps (t3 to t10) is obtained so that a resist film having a desired dimensional pattern is obtained. Processing time is adjusted.

  At time t9, the rotation holding unit 2 increases the rotation speed of the substrate W to about 100 rpm. Thereby, a centrifugal force is applied to the developer on the substrate W.

  Note that the developer nozzle moving unit 11 moves the developing nozzle 3 from the position 41 to the standby position between time points t8 and t10. The rinse nozzle moving unit 15 moves the rinse nozzle 4 from the standby position to a predetermined position above the substrate W. The rinse nozzle moving unit 15 moves the rinse nozzle 4 to a position 43 that is a predetermined distance D3 away from the center C of the substrate W (see FIG. 2).

  At time t10 at the beginning of the cleaning process, the rotation holding unit 2 further increases the rotation speed of the substrate W to about 1000 rpm. In addition, the rinse nozzle 4 starts discharging the rinse liquid onto the rotating substrate W. That is, as shown in FIGS. 5C and 5D, the rinse nozzle 4 starts to discharge the rinse liquid at a preset position 43 that is out of the center C of the substrate W. As a result, the developer is discharged out of the substrate W, and the developer on the substrate W is gradually replaced with the rinse solution.

  At time t11, the discharge of the rinse liquid by the rinse nozzle 4 is stopped. Further, the rotation holding unit 2 further increases the rotation speed of the substrate W to about 1800 rpm, shakes the rinse liquid on the substrate W out of the substrate W, and dries the substrate W. At time t12, the rotation holding unit 2 stops the rotation of the substrate W. The substrate W may be dried by applying an inert gas such as nitrogen to the substrate W.

  Thus, the development process is completed. The rotation holding unit 2 releases the holding of the substrate W. A transport robot (not shown) unloads the substrate W after the development process.

  According to the present embodiment, the developing nozzle 3 starts to discharge the developer at a preset position 41 on the substrate W rotating around the central portion C and out of the central portion C. As a result, the developer can flow in the central portion C where the centrifugal force is small immediately after the start of discharge. For this reason, the dissolved product of the resist can be efficiently discharged out of the substrate as compared with the case where the discharge of the developer to the central portion C is started. Further, the arrival position of the developer discharged directly from the developing nozzle 3 immediately after the start of the discharge is dispersed, and in particular, the resist pattern can be suppressed from being thinned at the central portion C of the substrate W, and processing variations can be suppressed.

  Supplement the effect. FIG. 6A is a diagram comparing the resist dimensions (line width) after development when the developer is discharged to the center C and when the developer is discharged to the position 41 removed from the center C. FIG. . Both perform a reciprocating scanning operation. FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating the measurement position in FIG.

  According to FIG. 6A, when the ink is discharged to the central portion C, the resist size in the central portion C and its vicinity is deeply recessed with respect to the average value. On the other hand, when the center portion C is removed and discharged, the dent is shallower than that. The resist dimension range (maximum value-minimum value) in the plane of the substrate W is 2.3 nm when discharged to the central portion C, and 1.2 nm when the central portion C is removed. The in-plane variation (3σ) is 1.2 nm when discharged to the central portion C, and 1.0 nm when the central portion C is removed. That is, the in-plane variation is not greatly different, but the development processing difference is locally large at the central portion C.

  Further, since the central portion C is covered by the spread of the developer discharged to the position 41, even if the developer is discharged directly to a position off the center portion C, the development processing of the central portion C can be executed. .

  Further, after the central portion C is covered with the developing solution, the developing nozzle 3 is moved to the outer edge portion E side of the substrate W by the nozzle moving portion 11 while discharging the developing solution by the developing nozzle 3. Since the position on the substrate W directly discharged by the developer nozzle 3 is moved, a force different from the developer flowing by centrifugal force is applied, so that the dissolved product can be discharged more efficiently.

  In addition, the pre-wetting liquid (rinsing liquid in this embodiment) is started to be discharged from the rinse nozzle 4 to a preset position 42 on the rotating substrate W and deviated from the center C, and discharged to the position 42. The center C is covered with the spread of the pre-wet liquid. The start of the discharge of the developer is performed after the discharge of the pre-wet liquid is stopped.

  Thereby, the flow of the pre-wet liquid can be caused in the central portion where the centrifugal force is small immediately after the start of discharge. Therefore, compared with the case where the discharge of the pre-wet liquid is started at the central portion C, the bubbles contained in the pre-wet liquid can be efficiently discharged out of the substrate W, and development failure due to the remaining bubbles is prevented. be able to. Further, since the central portion C is covered with the spread of the pre-wet liquid discharged to the position 42, even if the pre-wet liquid is discharged directly to the position 42 off the central portion C, the pre-wet liquid in the central portion C is covered. Processing can be executed.

  In addition, after stopping the discharge of the developer, the rinse nozzle 4 starts to discharge the rinse liquid at a preset position 43 on the rotating substrate W and deviated from the center C, and is discharged to the position 43. The center C is covered with the spread of the rinse solution.

  Thereby, the flow of the rinse liquid can be caused in the central portion C where the centrifugal force is small immediately after the start of the discharge. Therefore, compared with the case where the discharge of the rinsing liquid is started at the central portion C, the bubbles contained in the rinsing liquid can be efficiently discharged out of the substrate W, and the rinsing can be prevented from becoming insufficient. . Further, since the central portion C is covered with the spread of the rinse liquid discharged to the position 43, the rinse processing of the central portion C is performed even if the rinse liquid is directly discharged to the position 43 outside the central portion C. it can.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be modified as follows.

  (1) In each of the above-described embodiments, after the rotation of the substrate W is lowered and the developer layer LL is formed on the substrate W, the following operation is performed in order to reduce dissolved products (development defects). May be. That is, the liquid formed on the substrate W by temporarily increasing the rotational speed while the developer is being discharged to the preset position 41 deviated from the central portion C as shown at time points t71 to t73 in FIG. The layer LL is discharged out of the substrate W, and the liquid layer LL is formed again. This operation may be performed once or a plurality of times. Thereby, the dissolved product of the photoresist can be discharged out of the substrate W more efficiently.

  (2) In each of the above-described embodiments and modification (1), the developing nozzle 3 includes a plurality of discharge ports 3a, but the number of discharge ports 3a may be one. Further, the discharge port 3a of the developing nozzle 3 may be slit-shaped.

  (3) In each of the above-described embodiments and modifications, the rinse nozzle 4 includes one discharge port 4a. However, the discharge port 4a includes a plurality of (for example, five) discharge ports 4a. Also good.

  (4) In each example and each modification described above, the same liquid is used as the rinsing liquid and the pre-wetting liquid, but the rinsing liquid and the pre-wetting liquid may be different from each other. Although the pre-wet liquid is discharged by the rinse nozzle 4, a plurality of discharge ports 4a may be provided, and the rinse liquid and the pre-wet liquid may be discharged from separate discharge ports 4a. In addition to the rinse nozzle 4, a pre-wet liquid nozzle may be provided, and the rinse nozzle 4 may be moved individually. Further, the nozzle may include a plurality of discharge ports, and the pre-wet liquid, the developer, and the rinse liquid may be discharged from separate discharge ports.

  (5) In each of the above-described embodiments and modifications, the pre-wet liquid is discharged to the position 42 and the rinse liquid is discharged to the position 43. That is, the pre-wet liquid and the rinse liquid are discharged to the same position. However, they may be discharged to different positions. Further, the pre-wet liquid and the rinsing liquid are discharged without moving from the positions, but may be reciprocally scanned like a developer. The rinse liquid may be scanned together with an inert gas such as nitrogen to dry the substrate W.

  (6) In each of the above-described embodiments and modifications, the prewetting liquid, the developer, and the rinsing liquid may be discharged to a preset position where at least one of the liquids is out of the central portion C. That is, it is not necessary to discharge to a position deviating from the central portion C at all. Further, if the pre-wet process is unnecessary, the pre-process in FIG. 3 may be omitted. Further, the substrate treatment with the pre-wet liquid or the rinse liquid may be performed independently.

  (7) In each of the above-described embodiments and modifications, the developing nozzle 3 having a plurality of discharge ports 3a has a central portion C on the extension of the row of the discharge ports 3a as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. However, the central portion C may not exist on the extension. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the developing nozzle 3 may be arranged so that the central portion C exists in a direction intersecting with the direction in which the rows are formed. That is, the discharge of the developer may be started at a position removed from the central portion C in FIG. And you may scan like an arrow.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Developing apparatus 2 ... Rotation holding part 3 ... Developing nozzle 3a ... Discharge port 4 ... Rinse nozzle 4a ... Discharge port 11 ... Developing nozzle moving part 15 ... Rinse nozzle moving part 31 ... Control part 41-43 ... Position C ... Center part E ... Outer edge LL ... Liquid layer Lpre ... Pre-wet liquid Ldev ... Developer Lrin ... Rinse liquid W ... Substrate

Claims (3)

A development method for performing development processing on a substrate,
Rotating the substrate around the center of the substrate by the rotation holding unit;
Pre-wet liquid discharge is started by a pre-wet nozzle at a pre-wet liquid position that is set on the rotating substrate and deviated from the center, and immediately after the pre-wet liquid discharge starts, Covering the center with a spread;
A step of starting the discharge of the developer by the developing nozzle on the rotating substrate after stopping the discharge of the pre-wet liquid;
A developing method characterized by comprising: The developing method according to claim 1,
After stopping the discharge of the developer, immediately after the start of the discharge of the rinse liquid, the discharge of the rinse liquid is started by the rinse nozzle at the preset rinse liquid position on the rotating substrate and deviated from the central portion. The developing method further comprising the step of covering the central portion with the spread of the rinse liquid. A development method for performing development processing on a substrate,
Rotating the substrate around the center of the substrate by the rotation holding unit;
A step of starting the discharge of the developer by the developing nozzle on the rotating substrate;
After stopping the discharge of the developer, immediately after the start of the discharge of the rinse liquid, the discharge of the rinse liquid is started by the rinse nozzle at the preset rinse liquid position on the rotating substrate and deviated from the central portion. Covering the center with a spread of rinse liquid from
A developing method characterized by comprising:

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