JP2020181948A - Heat treatment apparatus and heat treatment method - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a heat treatment apparatus and a heat treatment method capable of performing heat treatment of a substrate quickly and with high accuracy.SOLUTION: In a heat treatment apparatus 100, a substrate W is placed on a heat treatment plate 10, and the placed substrate W is heat-treated. At a beginning of the heat treatment, a heater 11 operates according to an initial operating condition stored in a storage unit 51 for a certain period of time from a time when the substrate W is placed on the heat treatment plate 10. Further, a change in the temperature of the heat treatment plate 10 during a certain period from the time when the substrate W is placed is detected. The initial operating condition stored in the storage unit 51 is changed so that the detected temperature change is made to come closer to a reference waveform.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a heat treatment apparatus and a heat treatment method for heat-treating a substrate.

Conventionally, FPD (Flat Panel Display) substrates, semiconductor substrates, optical disk substrates, magnetic disk substrates, photomagnetic disk substrates, photomask substrates used in liquid crystal display devices or organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display devices, etc. , A heat treatment apparatus is used to heat various substrates such as a ceramic substrate or a substrate for a solar cell.

In the heat treatment apparatus, for example, the substrate is supported on a plate member held at a preset temperature (hereinafter referred to as a set temperature), so that the substrate is heat-treated. The set temperature is changed according to the content of processing for the substrate.

For example, in the temperature changing system described in Patent Document 1, the temperature of the bake plate portion can be raised or lowered by adjusting the driving state of the heater layer included in the bake plate portion (plate member). It is possible.

Patent No. 5658083

By the way, when an untreated substrate is placed on a plate member held at a set temperature, the temperature of the plate member changes under the influence of the temperature of the substrate. Therefore, when the substrate is placed on the plate member, it is desirable to quickly return the temperature of the plate member to the set temperature.

The temperature change of the plate member when the untreated substrate is placed can be predicted to some extent. Therefore, in a heat treatment apparatus, operating conditions for returning the temperature of the plate member to a set temperature after the substrate is placed on the plate member are usually predetermined. However, depending on the temperature of the space where the heat treatment device is provided or individual differences of the heat treatment device, it is difficult to quickly return the temperature of the plate member to the set temperature even if the heat treatment device is operated according to predetermined operating conditions. In some cases. In this case, the heat treatment of the substrate cannot be performed with high accuracy.

An object of the present invention is to provide a heat treatment apparatus and a heat treatment method that enable heat treatment of a substrate to be performed quickly and with high accuracy.

(1) The heat treatment apparatus according to the first invention is a heat treatment apparatus that heat-treats a substrate, and heat-treats the plate member on which the substrate is placed and the substrate mounted on the plate member through the plate member. A heat treatment unit, a storage unit that stores the operating conditions of the heat treatment unit for a certain period from the time when the substrate is placed on the plate member, and an operation control unit that operates the heat treatment unit according to the operating conditions stored in the storage unit. The temperature detector that detects the temperature of the plate member and the temperature change detected by the temperature detector when the heat treatment unit operates according to the operating conditions are stored in the storage unit so as to approach a predetermined reference waveform. It is provided with a condition change unit that changes the operating conditions.

In the heat treatment apparatus, a substrate is placed on a plate member, and heat treatment is performed on the placed substrate. In the initial stage of this heat treatment, the heat treatment unit operates according to the operating conditions stored in the storage unit for a certain period from the time when the substrate is placed on the plate member. In addition, a change in the temperature of the plate member is detected. The operating conditions stored in the storage unit are changed so that the detected temperature change approaches the reference waveform.

As a result, when a plurality of substrates are sequentially heat-treated, the heat-treated section operates according to the operating conditions changed during the previous heat treatment at the initial stage of each heat treatment. As a result, the temperature change of the plate member immediately after the substrate is placed on the plate member approaches the reference waveform as compared with the previous heat treatment.

In this way, the temperature change of the plate member immediately after the substrate is placed on the plate member is gradually and appropriately corrected. Therefore, the temperature of the plate member immediately after the substrate is placed is quickly adjusted to an appropriate temperature for heat treatment of the substrate.

Further, according to the above configuration, even if the temperature around the heat treatment apparatus changes, the operating conditions are changed according to the temperature change. Therefore, the heat treatment of the substrate is appropriately performed without being affected by the temperature change around the heat treatment apparatus. As a result, the heat treatment of the substrate can be performed quickly and with high accuracy.

(2) The operating conditions include the values of one or more control parameters, and the condition changing unit contains the values of one or more control parameters stored in the storage unit so that the detected temperature change approaches the reference waveform. At least one of them may be changed.

In this case, the temperature of the plate member immediately after the substrate is placed can be appropriately adjusted by a simple process of changing the value of at least one of the one or a plurality of control parameters.

(3) The heat treatment unit is configured to enable PID control, and one or more control parameters return the temperature of the plate member to the processing temperature for processing the substrate from the time when the substrate is placed on the plate member. It may include at least one of a proportional parameter, an integral parameter and a differential parameter of PID control for the purpose.

In this case, the temperature of the plate member immediately after the substrate is placed can be appropriately adjusted by changing at least one of the values of the proportional parameter, the integral parameter, and the differential parameter.

(4) One or more control parameters may include an upper limit of the output of the heat treatment unit.

In this case, by changing the upper limit of the output of the heat treatment section, the temperature of the plate member immediately after the substrate is placed can be appropriately adjusted.

(5) The condition changing unit sets a preset arrival time from the time when the substrate is placed on the plate member to the time when the temperature detected by the temperature detector returns to the processing temperature for processing the substrate. The operating conditions may be changed so as to approach the time.

In this case, the temperature of the plate member immediately after the substrate is placed can be appropriately adjusted based on the arrival time and the set time.

(6) In the condition change part, the temperature value detected by the temperature detector at a specific time within a certain period from the time when the substrate is placed on the plate member corresponds to the specific time in the reference waveform. The operating conditions may be changed so as to approach the temperature value.

In this case, the temperature of the plate member immediately after the substrate is placed can be appropriately adjusted based on the temperature value of the plate member.

(7) The condition changing unit may change the operating conditions so that the overshoot amount or the undershoot amount with respect to the set temperature for heat-treating the substrate, which is generated in the waveform of the detected temperature, becomes small.

In this case, the temperature of the plate member immediately after the substrate is placed can be appropriately adjusted based on the overshoot amount or the undershoot amount with respect to the set temperature.

(8) The heat treatment method according to the second invention is a heat treatment method for heat-treating a substrate, in which a step of placing the substrate on a plate member and a heat treatment by a heat treatment section by passing the plate member through the placed substrate are performed. A step of storing the operating conditions of the heat treatment unit for a certain period from the time when the substrate is placed on the plate member in the storage unit, and a step of operating the heat treatment unit according to the operating conditions stored in the storage unit. The step of detecting the temperature of the plate member by the temperature detector and the change in temperature detected by the temperature detector when the heat treatment unit operates according to the operating conditions are stored in the storage unit so as to approach a predetermined reference waveform. Includes steps to change the operating conditions.

In the heat treatment method, a substrate is placed on the plate member, and the placed substrate is heat-treated. In the initial stage of this heat treatment, the heat treatment unit operates according to the operating conditions stored in the storage unit for a certain period from the time when the substrate is placed on the plate member. In addition, a change in the temperature of the plate member is detected. The operating conditions stored in the storage unit are changed so that the detected temperature change approaches the reference waveform.

As a result, when a plurality of substrates are sequentially heat-treated, the heat-treated section operates according to the operating conditions changed during the previous heat treatment at the initial stage of each heat treatment. As a result, the temperature change of the plate member immediately after the substrate is placed on the plate member approaches the reference waveform as compared with the previous heat treatment.

In this way, the temperature change of the plate member immediately after the substrate is placed on the plate member is gradually and appropriately corrected. Therefore, the temperature of the plate member immediately after the substrate is placed is quickly adjusted to an appropriate temperature for heat treatment of the substrate.

Further, according to the above method, even if the temperature around the heat treatment apparatus changes, the operating conditions are changed according to the temperature change. Therefore, the heat treatment of the substrate W is appropriately performed without being affected by the temperature change around the heat treatment apparatus. As a result, the heat treatment of the substrate can be performed quickly and with high accuracy.

(9) The operating conditions include the values of one or more control parameters, and the step of changing the operating conditions is one or more stored in the storage unit so that the detected temperature change approaches the reference waveform. It may include changing the value of at least one of the control parameters.

In this case, the temperature of the plate member immediately after the substrate is placed can be appropriately adjusted by a simple process of changing the value of at least one of the one or a plurality of control parameters.

According to the present invention, the heat treatment of the substrate can be performed quickly and with high accuracy.

It is a schematic side view which shows the structure of the heat treatment apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the temperature change of a heat treatment plate when heat treatment is performed sequentially on a plurality of substrates. It is a figure which shows an example of the initial operation condition set for each of a plurality of set temperatures. It is a figure for demonstrating the concrete change example of the initial operation condition. It is a flowchart which shows an example of a temperature adjustment process. It is a flowchart which shows an example of a temperature adjustment process. It is a schematic block diagram which shows an example of the substrate processing apparatus which includes the heat treatment apparatus of FIG.

Hereinafter, the heat treatment apparatus and the heat treatment method according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the substrate is an FPD (Flat Panel Display) substrate, a semiconductor substrate, an optical disk substrate, a magnetic disk substrate, a magneto-optical disk, which is used in a liquid crystal display device, an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display device, or the like. A substrate, a substrate for a photomask, a ceramic substrate, a substrate for a solar cell, or the like. In the following description, a heat treatment apparatus that heat-treats a substrate will be described as an example of the heat treatment apparatus.

(1) Configuration of Heat Treatment Device FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing a configuration of a heat treatment device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the heat treatment apparatus 100 includes a heat treatment plate 10, an active cooling plate 20, a passive cooling plate 30, an elevating device 40, and a control device 50.

The heat treatment plate 10 is a metal heat transfer plate having a flat cylindrical shape, and has a flat upper surface and a lower surface. The upper surface of the heat treatment plate 10 is configured so that the substrate W to be heat-treated can be placed, and has an outer diameter larger than the outer diameter of the substrate W. A plurality of proximity balls or the like that support the lower surface of the substrate W are provided on the upper surface of the heat treatment plate 10. In FIG. 1, the substrate W placed on the heat treatment plate 10 is shown by a alternate long and short dash line.

The heat treatment plate 10 is provided with a heater 11 and a temperature sensor 19. The temperature sensor 19 detects the temperature of the upper surface of the heat treatment plate 10 and outputs a detection signal corresponding to the detected temperature to the temperature acquisition unit 55 described later.

The heater 11 is composed of, for example, a mica heater or a Peltier element. A heat generating drive unit 13 is connected to the heater 11. The heat generation drive unit 13 drives the heater 11 so that, for example, the temperature of the heat treatment plate 10 is maintained at a preset temperature (set temperature) for heat treatment of the substrate W. Further, the heat generating drive unit 13 drives the heater 11 so that the temperature of the heat treatment plate 10 rises or falls, for example.

The active cooling plate 20 is arranged at a position below the heat treatment plate 10 and at a predetermined distance from the lower surface of the heat treatment plate 10. The active cooling plate 20 has an upper surface facing the heat treatment plate 10. A heat conductive sheet (not shown) having a high thermal conductivity is provided on the upper surface of the active cooling plate 20.

The active cooling plate 20 is provided with a cooling mechanism 21. The cooling mechanism 21 is composed of, for example, a cooling water passage or a Peltier element formed in the active cooling plate 20. A cooling drive unit 22 is connected to the cooling mechanism 21. The cooling drive unit 22 drives the cooling mechanism 21 so that the temperature of the upper surface of the active cooling plate 20 is lower than the temperature of the heat treatment plate 10.

The passive cooling plate 30 is supported by the elevating device 40 in a space between the heat treatment plate 10 and the active cooling plate 20 (see the white arrows in FIG. 1). The passive cooling plate 30 is a metal disc-shaped member having an upper surface and a lower surface. The upper surface of the passive cooling plate 30 faces the lower surface of the heat treatment plate 10, and the lower surface of the passive cooling plate 30 faces the upper surface of the active cooling plate 20. A heat conductive sheet (not shown) having a high thermal conductivity is provided on the upper surface of the passive cooling plate 30.

The elevating device 40 is composed of, for example, an air cylinder. An elevating drive unit 41 is connected to the elevating device 40. The elevating drive unit 41 drives the elevating device 40 so that, for example, the passive cooling plate 30 is in contact with the active cooling plate 20. In this case, the passive cooling plate 30 is cooled by the active cooling plate 20. Further, the elevating drive unit 41 drives the elevating device 40 so that, for example, the passive cooling plate 30 is in contact with the heat treatment plate 10. In this case, the heat treatment plate 10 is cooled by the passive cooling plate 30.

The control device 50 controls the operation of each component of the heat treatment device 100 including the heat generation drive unit 13, the cooling drive unit 22, and the elevating drive unit 41. Details of the control device 50 will be described later. The heat treatment apparatus 100 is further provided with a delivery mechanism (not shown) for delivering the substrate W between the heat treatment plate 10 and an external device (for example, a transfer robot) of the heat treatment apparatus 100. ..

(2) Heat Treatment of a plurality of Substrates W in the Heat Treatment Device 100 In the heat treatment device 100 of FIG. 1, the plurality of substrates W are sequentially heat-treated at a set temperature according to the content of each heat treatment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a temperature change of the heat treatment plate 10 when heat treatment is sequentially performed on a plurality of substrates W.

In the graph shown in FIG. 2, the vertical axis represents the temperature of the heat treatment plate 10 and the horizontal axis represents time. Further, the temperature change of the heat treatment plate 10 is shown by a thick solid line. In this example, the content of the heat treatment is changed for each of the three substrates W for the nine substrates W. Therefore, the set temperature of the heat treatment plate 10 is changed for each of the three substrates W.

Specifically, during the period of time points t1 to t2, the three substrates W are sequentially heat-treated while the temperature of the heat treatment plate 10 is maintained at the set temperature of 90 ° C. Further, during the period from the time points t3 to t4, the three substrates W are sequentially heat-treated while the temperature of the heat treatment plate 10 is maintained at the set temperature of 115 ° C. Further, in the period of time points t5 to t6, the three substrates W are sequentially heat-treated while the temperature of the heat treatment plate 10 is maintained at the set temperature of 140 ° C.

When the untreated substrate W is placed on the heat treatment plate 10 held at the set temperature, the temperature of the heat treatment plate 10 drops from the set temperature as shown by the white arrows in FIG. The amount of temperature decrease of the heat treatment plate 10 in this case varies depending on the set temperature. The higher the set temperature, the larger the amount of temperature decrease, and the lower the set temperature, the smaller the amount of temperature decrease.

After the substrate W is placed on the heat treatment plate 10, if the temperature of the heat treatment plate 10 continues to deviate from the set temperature, the substrate W can be accurately subjected to a predetermined heat treatment. Can not. Therefore, after the untreated substrate W is placed on the heat treatment plate 10, control is performed to quickly return the temperature of the heat treatment plate 10 to the set temperature and stabilize it at the set temperature.

Specifically, in this example, PID (proportional integral differentiation) control is performed on the heater 11 based on the detection signal of the temperature sensor 19. Further, the upper limit of the output of the heater 11 is adjusted.

For each of the plurality of set temperatures, the operating conditions of the heat treatment apparatus 100 for returning the temperature of the heat treatment plate 10 to the set temperature can be obtained by simulation, experiment, or the like. Therefore, in the heat treatment apparatus 100, the operating conditions (hereinafter, referred to as initial operating conditions) of the heater 11 for a certain period from the time when the substrate W is placed on the heat treatment plate 10 are set in advance for each of the plurality of set temperatures. Set.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of initial operating conditions set for each of a plurality of set temperatures. The initial operating conditions of FIG. 3 include the values of the PID control parameters for the heater 11. Further, the initial operating condition includes the value of the upper limit parameter indicating the upper limit of the output of the heater 11. In FIG. 3, the upper limit parameter is described as "heater upper limit". The value of the upper limit parameter is represented by, for example, the ratio (%) of the upper limit of the allowable output to the rated output of the heater 11.

According to the example of FIG. 3, the initial operating conditions corresponding to the set temperature of 90 ° C. include the proportional parameter “0.4”, the integral parameter “15”, the differential parameter “3” and the upper limit parameter “80 (%)”. .. The initial operating conditions corresponding to the set temperature of 115 ° C. include the proportional parameter "0.3", the integral parameter "15", the differential parameter "3", and the upper limit parameter "90 (%)". Further, the initial operating conditions corresponding to the set temperature of 140 ° C. include the proportional parameter "0.2", the integral parameter "15", the differential parameter "3" and the upper limit parameter "100 (%)".

By the way, depending on the temperature of the space in which the heat treatment apparatus 100 is provided, the preset initial operating conditions may not always be appropriate. Further, it is assumed that a plurality of heat treatment devices 100 are used to perform a common heat treatment on a plurality of substrates W as in the substrate processing apparatus 400 (FIG. 7) described later. In this case, there are usually individual differences between the plurality of heat treatment devices 100. Therefore, if the initial operating conditions common to the plurality of heat treatment devices 100 are set, it may not be possible to perform ideal temperature adjustment in each heat treatment device 100.

Therefore, in the heat treatment apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, each time the substrate W is heat-treated, the temperature change of the heat treatment plate 10 for a certain period from the time when the substrate W is placed becomes an ideal reference waveform. The initial operating conditions are changed to get closer. The reference waveform is determined so that the temperature of the heat treatment plate 10, which is lowered by the placement of the substrate W, quickly returns to the set temperature and becomes stable. Further, the reference waveform is determined for each set temperature based on, for example, the configuration of the heat treatment plate 10 and the heat generation capacity of the heater 11.

For example, it is assumed that a reference waveform corresponding to the set temperature of 90 ° C. and the overshoot amount with respect to the set temperature of 90 ° C. is set is set. For example, when the first substrate W in FIG. 2 is heat-treated at a set temperature of 90 ° C., the heat treatment apparatus 100 operates according to predetermined initial operating conditions. In this case, when a large overshoot occurs in the temperature change of the heat treatment plate 10, the initial operating conditions corresponding to the set temperature of 90 ° C. are changed so that the overshoot amount approaches 0. After that, when the second substrate W is heat-treated at the set temperature of 90 ° C., the heat treatment apparatus 100 operates according to the changed initial operating conditions. As a result, the temperature change of the heat treatment plate 10 immediately after the substrate W is placed on the heat treatment plate 10 approaches the reference waveform as compared with the heat treatment of the first substrate W. Therefore, during the heat treatment of the second substrate W, after the substrate W is placed on the heat treatment plate 10, the temperature of the heat treatment plate 10 is set faster and more accurately than during the heat treatment of the first substrate W. Returned to.

Further, when the second substrate W is heat-treated at the set temperature of 90 ° C. and overshoot occurs again due to the temperature change of the heat treatment plate 10, the set temperature is set to 90 ° C. so that the overshoot amount further approaches 0. The corresponding initial operating conditions are changed again. After that, when the third substrate W is heat-treated at the set temperature of 90 ° C., the heat treatment apparatus 100 operates according to the changed initial operating conditions. As a result, the temperature change of the heat treatment plate 10 immediately after the substrate W is placed on the heat treatment plate 10 approaches the reference waveform as compared with the heat treatment of the second substrate W. Therefore, during the heat treatment of the third substrate W, after the substrate W is placed on the heat treatment plate 10, the temperature of the heat treatment plate 10 is set faster and more accurately than during the heat treatment of the second substrate W. Returned to.

In the example of FIG. 2, the temperature of the heat treatment plate 10 changes each time the heat treatment of the substrate W is performed for the initial operating conditions corresponding to the set temperatures of 115 ° C. and 140 ° C. The initial operating conditions are changed according to the above.

As described above, each time the substrate W is heat-treated, the initial operating conditions are changed according to the actual temperature change of the heat treatment plate 10. In this case, the accuracy of the heat treatment improves as the heat treatment of the substrate W is repeated. Further, according to the above control, when the heat treatment common to the plurality of substrates W is performed by using the plurality of heat treatment devices 100, it is possible to suppress the variation of the heat treatment with respect to the substrate W among the plurality of heat treatment devices 100. Will be done.

(3) Specific Example of Change of Initial Operating Condition FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a specific example of change of the initial operating condition. In the graph shown in the upper part of FIG. 4, the vertical axis represents temperature and the horizontal axis represents time. Further, in the graph, an example of the temperature change of the heat treatment plate 10 detected by the temperature sensor 19 of FIG. 1 during the heat treatment of one substrate W is shown by a thick solid line. The waveform indicated by this thick solid line is called a real waveform. Further, in the graph shown in the upper part of FIG. 4, a predetermined reference waveform corresponding to the set temperature of the heat treatment of this example is shown by a alternate long and short dash line.

In this example, it is assumed that the heat treatment plate 10 is held at the set temperature value α at the time point t0, and then the substrate W is placed on the heat treatment plate 10 at the time point t10 and the heat treatment is started. The reference waveform decreases from the set temperature value α to a value β lower than the value α from the time point t10 to the time point t11, and rises from the value β to the value α from the time point t11 to the time point t12. Further, after the time point t12, the reference waveform is held at the value α. The amount of overshoot of the reference waveform with respect to the value α is 0. In the following description, the time from the time t10 when the substrate W is placed on the heat treatment plate 10 to the time t12 when the reference waveform returns to the set temperature value α is referred to as a set time.

In the upper example of FIG. 4, the actual waveform deviates greatly from the reference waveform. Specifically, the actual waveform descends from the set temperature value α to the value γ lower than the value β from the time point t10 to the time point t11, and from the value γ to the value α from the time point t11 to the time point t13 before the time point t12. It is rising. Further, a large overshoot occurs with respect to the value α in the actual waveform immediately after the time point t13. As a result, the actual waveform is not stable until a relatively long time elapses after the elapse of time point t12.

In order to change the initial operating conditions, for example, the value γ of the actual waveform at a predetermined time point (in this example, the time point when the reference waveform takes the minimum value) t11 in the period from the time point t10 to the time point t12 is acquired. .. The acquired value γ is compared with the value β of the reference waveform at time point t11. Further, the time pr from the time point t10 to the time point t13 when the actual waveform returns to the value α is acquired. In the following description, the time pr corresponding to this actual waveform is referred to as the arrival time. Further, the overshoot amount OS of the actual waveform with respect to the value α, which occurs immediately after the time point t13, is acquired.

When the value γ of the actual waveform at the time point t11 is outside the predetermined allowable range for the value of the actual waveform, the actual waveform deviates significantly from the reference waveform. Therefore, it is desirable to change the initial operating conditions. Therefore, when the value γ of the actual waveform at the time point t11 is out of the permissible range and the value γ is lower than the value β, the initial operating conditions are changed so that the amount of heat supplied to the heat treatment plate 10 becomes large. As a result, the value of the actual waveform approaches the value of the reference waveform. On the other hand, when the value γ of the actual waveform at the time point t11 is out of the permissible range and the value γ is higher than the value β, the initial operating conditions are changed so that the amount of heat supplied to the heat treatment plate 10 becomes small. As a result, the value of the actual waveform approaches the value of the reference waveform.

Further, when the arrival time pr is outside the predetermined allowable range for the arrival time, the actual waveform deviates significantly from the reference waveform. Therefore, it is desirable to change the initial operating conditions. Therefore, when the arrival time pr is out of the permissible range and the arrival time pr is shorter than the set time, the initial operating conditions are changed so that the amount of heat supplied to the heat treatment plate 10 becomes small. As a result, the arrival time pr approaches the set time. On the other hand, when the arrival time pr is out of the permissible range and the arrival time pr is longer than the set time, the initial operating conditions are changed so that the amount of heat supplied to the heat treatment plate 10 becomes large. As a result, the arrival time pr approaches the set time.

Further, when the acquired overshoot amount OS exceeds a predetermined allowable range for the overshoot amount OS, the actual waveform deviates significantly from the reference waveform. Therefore, it is desirable to change the initial operating conditions. Therefore, when the overshoot amount OS exceeds the permissible range, the initial operating conditions are changed so that the amount of heat supplied to the heat treatment plate 10 becomes small. As a result, the overshoot amount OS becomes smaller.

In the graph shown in the lower part of FIG. 4, the vertical axis represents the output of the heater 11 and the horizontal axis represents time. Further, in the graph, the output waveform of the heater 11 controlled according to the preset initial operating conditions is shown by a thick solid line. This output waveform corresponds to the actual waveform shown in the upper graph of FIG. In this example, the output of the heater 11 is held at a constant value SP from the time point t0 to the time point t10. After that, the output of the heater 11 increases at the time point t10 and is adjusted by PID control based on the initial operating conditions.

Here, in order to reduce the amount of heat supplied to the heat treatment plate 10, for example, by greatly changing the value of the proportional parameter of PID control, the output of the heater 11 is as shown by the white arrow a13 in FIG. The waveform may be lowered as a whole. Alternatively, for example, by changing the upper limit parameter to a small value, the upper limit value MP of the output of the heater 11 may be lowered as shown by the white arrow a14 in FIG.

On the other hand, when increasing the amount of heat supplied to the heat treatment plate 10, for example, by changing the value of the proportional parameter of PID control to a small value, the output waveform of the heater 11 is shown by the white arrow a15 in FIG. Should be raised overall. Alternatively, for example, by significantly changing the upper limit parameter, the upper limit value MP of the output of the heater 11 may be increased as shown by the white arrow a16 in FIG.

(4) Control device 50
As shown in FIG. 1, the control device 50 includes a storage unit 51, a heat generation control unit 52, a cooling control unit 53, an elevating control unit 54, a temperature acquisition unit 55, and a condition change unit 56 as functional units. The control device 50 is composed of a CPU (central processing unit), a RAM (random access memory), and a ROM (read-only memory). Each of the above functional units is realized by the CPU executing a computer program (a program for temperature adjustment processing described later) stored in a ROM or another storage medium. Note that some or all of the functional components of the control device 50 may be realized by hardware such as an electronic circuit.

The storage unit 51 stores preset initial operating conditions for each of the plurality of set temperatures. The heat generation control unit 52 is a heat generation drive unit based on a detection signal output from the temperature sensor 19 so as to operate according to the initial operating conditions stored in the storage unit 51 at the initial stage of the heat treatment of the substrate W by the heat treatment plate 10. 13 is controlled. The cooling control unit 53 controls the cooling drive unit 22 so that the active cooling plate 20 is cooled while the power of the heat treatment apparatus 100 is turned on. The elevating control unit 54 controls the elevating device 40 so that the passive cooling plate 30 comes into contact with the heat treatment plate 10 when the set temperature of the heat treatment plate 10 is lowered.

The temperature acquisition unit 55 acquires the temperature of the heat treatment plate 10 based on the detection signal output from the temperature sensor 19. More specifically, the temperature acquisition unit 55 acquires a change in temperature by sampling the detection signal output from the temperature sensor 19 at regular intervals.

The condition changing unit 56 changes the initial operating conditions stored in the storage unit 51 so that the temperature change acquired by the temperature acquisition unit 55 approaches a predetermined reference waveform.

The heat treatment apparatus 100 includes an operation unit (not shown). By operating the operation unit, the user can store the initial initial operating conditions and the reference waveform in the storage unit 51 for each set temperature. That is, the user can set the initial operating conditions and the reference waveform for each of the plurality of set temperatures.

(5) Temperature Adjustment Process The change of the initial operating condition stored in the storage unit 51 is performed by the control device 50 of FIG. 1 executing the following temperature adjustment process. 5 and 6 are flowcharts showing an example of the temperature adjustment process. The temperature adjustment process is started when the power of the heat treatment apparatus 100 is turned on.

First, the heat generation control unit 52 and the elevating control unit 54 of FIG. 1 control the heat generation drive unit 13 or the elevating drive unit 41 so that the temperature of the heat treatment plate 10 is maintained at the set temperature value (step S10). Here, the value of the set temperature of the heat treatment plate 10 is given to the control device 50 from the outside of the heat treatment device 100, for example.

Next, the heat generation control unit 52 determines whether or not the substrate W is placed on the heat treatment plate 10 (step S11). This determination is made based on, for example, whether or not a signal indicating that the substrate W has been placed on the heat treatment plate 10 is received from the outside of the heat treatment apparatus 100. Alternatively, when the heat treatment apparatus 100 is provided with a sensor for detecting the presence or absence of the substrate W on the heat treatment plate 10, the heat generation control unit 52 may make the above determination based on the output of the sensor.

When the substrate W is not placed on the heat treatment plate 10, the heat generation control unit 52 and the elevating control unit 54 return to the process of step S10. On the other hand, when the substrate W is placed on the heat treatment plate 10, the heat generation control unit 52 reads the initial operating conditions corresponding to the current set temperature from the storage unit 51 of FIG. 1 (step S12).

Next, the heat generation control unit 52 adjusts the temperature of the heat treatment plate 10 by controlling the heat generation drive unit 13 based on the read initial operating conditions and the output of the temperature sensor 19 (step S13). At this time, the temperature acquisition unit 55 acquires a change in the temperature of the heat treatment plate 10 during the heat treatment of the substrate W (step S14).

After that, when the heat treatment of the substrate W is completed, the condition changing unit 56 determines that the arrival time pr (FIG. 4) in the heat treatment is outside the predetermined allowable range for the arrival time pr based on the acquired temperature change. It is determined whether or not there is (step S15). The permissible range used in step S15 may be the set time. That is, the permissible range used in step S15 may be set so as to allow only the arrival time pr to match the set time.

When the arrival time pr is out of the permissible range, the condition changing unit 56 calculates the difference between the arrival time pr in the heat treatment and the set time of the reference waveform (step S16). On the other hand, when the arrival time pr is within the allowable range, the condition changing unit 56 determines that the temperature value at a specific time point during the heat treatment is out of the predetermined allowable range for the temperature value based on the acquired temperature change. It is determined whether or not the temperature is (step S17). The permissible range used in step S17 may be the temperature value of the reference waveform at a specific time point. That is, the permissible range used in step S17 may be set so as to allow only the actual temperature value at a specific time point to match the temperature value of the reference waveform.

When the temperature value is out of the permissible range, the condition changing unit 56 calculates the difference between the acquired temperature value at a specific time point and the temperature value of the reference waveform based on the acquired temperature change (step S18). .. On the other hand, when the temperature value is within the permissible range, the condition changing unit 56 determines whether or not the overshoot amount OS during the heat treatment is outside the predetermined permissible range for the overshoot amount OS ( Step S19). The permissible range used in step S19 may be 0. That is, the permissible range used in step S19 may be set to allow only the absence of an overshoot.

When the overshoot amount OS is out of the permissible range, the condition change unit 56 calculates the difference between the acquired overshoot amount OS and the overshoot amount of the reference waveform based on the acquired temperature change (step). S20). On the other hand, when the overshoot amount OS is within the permissible range, the heat generation control unit 52 and the elevating control unit 54 return to the process of step S10.

After any of the processes of steps S16, S18, and S20 described above, the condition changing unit 56 determines the parameter to be changed among the initial operating conditions based on the calculated difference in time, temperature value, or overshoot amount. (Step S21). For example, the condition changing unit 56 determines a parameter to be changed according to the calculated difference level. Specifically, the condition changing unit 56 determines the proportional parameter of the PID control as a parameter to be changed when the difference level is high. Further, the condition changing unit 56 determines the upper limit parameter as a parameter to be changed when the difference level is low.

Next, the condition changing unit 56 changes the parameter to be changed according to a predetermined method (step S22). For example, the condition changing unit 56 changes the value of the parameter determined as the change target by a predetermined value. As a result, the initial operating conditions stored in the storage unit 51 are changed. After that, the heat generation control unit 52 and the elevating control unit 54 return to the process of step S10.

In the above temperature adjustment process, some processes of steps S15, S17, and S19 may be omitted. In this case, the difference calculation process (process of any of steps S16, S18, and S20) associated with the omitted process is also omitted.

(6) Effect In the above heat treatment apparatus 100, the substrate W is placed on the heat treatment plate 10, and the heat treatment is performed on the placed substrate W. At the initial stage of this heat treatment, the heater 11 operates according to the initial operating conditions stored in the storage unit 51 for a certain period from the time when the substrate W is placed on the heat treatment plate 10. Further, a change in the temperature of the heat treatment plate 10 is detected. The initial operating conditions stored in the storage unit 51 are changed so that the detected temperature change approaches the reference waveform.

As a result, when the plurality of substrates W are sequentially heat-treated, the heater 11 operates according to the initial operating conditions changed during the previous heat treatment at the initial stage of each heat treatment. As a result, the temperature change of the heat treatment plate 10 immediately after the substrate W is placed on the heat treatment plate 10 approaches the reference waveform as compared with the previous heat treatment.

In this way, the temperature change of the heat treatment plate 10 immediately after the substrate W is placed on the heat treatment plate 10 is gradually and appropriately corrected. Therefore, the temperature of the heat treatment plate 10 immediately after the substrate W is placed is quickly adjusted to an appropriate temperature for performing the heat treatment of the substrate W.

Further, according to the above configuration, even if the temperature around the heat treatment apparatus 100 changes, the initial operating conditions are changed according to the temperature change. Therefore, the heat treatment of the substrate W is appropriately performed without being affected by the temperature change around the heat treatment apparatus 100. As a result, the heat treatment of the substrate can be performed quickly and with high accuracy.

(7) Substrate processing apparatus including the heat treatment apparatus 100 of FIG. 1 FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram showing an example of a substrate processing apparatus including the heat treatment apparatus 100 of FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, the substrate processing device 400 is provided adjacent to the exposure device 500, and includes a control unit 410, a coating processing unit 420, a developing processing unit 430, a heat treatment unit 440, and a substrate transporting device 450. The heat treatment unit 440 includes a plurality of heat treatment devices 100 of FIG. 1 that heat-treat the substrate W, and a plurality of cooling plates (not shown) that perform only a cooling treatment on the substrate W.

The control unit 410 includes, for example, a CPU and a memory, or a microcomputer, and controls the operations of the coating processing unit 420, the developing processing unit 430, the heat treatment unit 440, and the substrate transfer device 450.

The substrate transport device 450 transports the substrate W between the coating processing unit 420, the development processing unit 430, the heat treatment unit 440, and the exposure device 500 when the substrate W is processed by the substrate processing device 400.

The coating treatment unit 420 forms a resist film on one surface of the untreated substrate W (coating treatment). The coating process W on which the resist film is formed is exposed by the exposure apparatus 500. The development processing unit 430 develops the substrate W by supplying a developing solution to the substrate W after the exposure processing by the exposure apparatus 500. The heat treatment unit 440 heat-treats the substrate W before and after the coating process by the coating process unit 420, the development process by the development process unit 430, and the exposure process by the exposure apparatus 500.

The coating processing unit 420 may form an antireflection film on the substrate W. In this case, the heat treatment unit 440 may be provided with a processing unit for performing an adhesion strengthening treatment for improving the adhesion between the substrate W and the antireflection film. Further, the coating processing unit 420 may form a resist cover film on the substrate W to protect the resist film formed on the substrate W.

As described above, the temperature adjustment process is performed in the plurality of heat treatment devices 100 of the heat treatment unit 440. As a result, it is possible to perform uniform heat treatment on a plurality of substrates W with high accuracy. Further, even when a common heat treatment is performed on a plurality of substrates W by a plurality of heat treatment devices 100 having individual differences from each other, it is possible to perform a uniform heat treatment on the plurality of substrates W with high accuracy. ..

(8) Other Embodiments (a) In the above-described embodiment, the heat treatment apparatus 100 having a configuration for heating and a configuration for cooling the heat treatment plate 10 has been described, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The heat treatment apparatus 100 does not have to have a configuration for cooling the heat treatment plate 10 (in the above example, the active cooling plate 20, the passive cooling plate 30, and the elevating device 40).

(B) In the above embodiment, the example in which the heat treatment plate 10 is a metal heat transfer plate has been described, but the heat treatment plate 10 may be a ceramic heat transfer plate. In this case, examples of the ceramics forming the heat transfer plate include aluminum nitride (AlN) and alumina (Al ₂ O ₃ ).

(C) In the heat treatment apparatus 100, the upper surface of the heat treatment plate 10 may be divided into a plurality of regions, and a configuration for heating the portions may be provided so as to correspond to each region. That is, the heater 11 and the heat generating drive unit 13 may be provided for each of the plurality of regions of the heat treatment plate 10. Alternatively, a heater 11 may be provided for each of the plurality of regions of the heat treatment plate 10, and the heat generating drive unit 13 may be configured to be able to independently drive the plurality of heaters 11.

In this case, the storage unit 51 may store the initial operating conditions for each of the plurality of regions of the heat treatment plate 10. Further, the condition changing unit 56 changes a plurality of parameters of the initial operating conditions corresponding to at least a part of the regions so that the temperature change of the plurality of regions of the heat treatment plate 10 during the heat treatment approaches the reference waveform. You may. With such a configuration, it becomes possible to perform more detailed temperature adjustment for a plurality of regions on the upper surface of the heat treatment plate 10. In this case, the change in temperature acquired during the heat treatment of the substrate W for one of the plurality of regions may be used as the reference waveform.

(D) In the above embodiment, the heat treatment apparatus 100 performs heat treatment on the substrate W, but the heat treatment apparatus 100 may be configured to perform only cooling treatment on the substrate W. In this case, the heat treatment plate 10 of FIG. 1 is provided with a cooling mechanism 21 for lowering the temperature of the upper surface of the heat treatment plate 10 instead of the heater 11, for example.

When the substrate W is cooled, the heat treatment plate 10 is held at a set temperature lower than that of the substrate W in the initial state. Therefore, when the substrate W is placed on the heat treatment plate 10 at the start of the cooling process, the temperature of the heat treatment plate 10 receives the heat of the substrate W and rises from the set temperature.

When the cooling mechanism 21 is composed of a Peltier element, the temperature on the heat treatment plate 10 can be adjusted by controlling the driving state of the Peltier element in the same manner as in the example of the above embodiment. Therefore, in this example, the initial operating conditions are set so that the temperature of the heat treatment plate 10 is rapidly lowered to the set temperature.

In this case, the condition changing unit 56 determines that the arrival time of the actual waveform from the time when the substrate W is placed on the heat treatment plate 10 until the temperature of the heat treatment plate 10 reaches the set temperature is a reference corresponding to the arrival time. Change the initial operating conditions so that it approaches the set time of the waveform. Further, the condition changing unit 56 changes the initial operating conditions so that the temperature value of the actual waveform at a specific time point during the cooling process approaches the temperature value of the reference waveform. Further, the condition changing unit 56 changes the initial operating conditions so that the undershoot amount of the temperature change of the heat treatment plate 10 with respect to the set temperature becomes small.

(E) In the above embodiment, the value of the proportional parameter among the values of the PID control parameters for the heater 11 is changed in order to bring the actual waveform closer to the reference waveform, but the present invention is not limited to this. In order to bring the actual waveform closer to the reference waveform, the value of the integral parameter among the values of the PID control parameters may be changed, or the value of the differential parameter may be changed.

(9) Correspondence relationship between each component of the claim and each element of the embodiment The example of correspondence between each component of the claim and each element of the embodiment will be described below. In the above embodiment, the heat treatment apparatus 100 is an example of the heat treatment apparatus, the heat treatment plate 10 is an example of a plate member, the heater 11 and the heat generation drive unit 13 are examples of the heat treatment unit, and the initial operating conditions are the operating conditions. An example, the storage unit 51 is an example of a storage unit, the heat generation control unit 52 is an example of an operation control unit, the temperature sensor 19 is an example of a temperature detector, and the temperature acquisition unit 55 and the condition change unit 56 are examples. This is an example of the condition change part.

As each component of the claim, various other elements having the structure or function described in the claim can also be used.

10 ... heat treatment plate, 11 ... heater, 13 ... heat generation drive unit, 19 ... temperature sensor, 20 ... active cooling plate, 21 ... cooling mechanism, 22 ... cooling drive unit, 30 ... passive cooling plate, 40 ... lifting device, 41 ... Elevating drive unit, 50 ... control device, 51 ... storage unit, 52 ... heat generation control unit, 53 ... cooling control unit, 54 ... elevating control unit, 55 ... temperature acquisition unit, 56 ... condition change unit, 100 ... heat treatment device, 400 ... Substrate processing device, 410 ... Control unit, 420 ... Coating processing unit, 430 ... Development processing unit, 440 ... Heat treatment unit, 450 ... Substrate transfer device, 500 ... Exposure device, W ... Substrate

Claims (9)

A heat treatment device that heat-treats a substrate.
The plate member on which the substrate is placed and
A heat treatment unit that heat-treats the substrate placed on the plate member through the plate member,
A storage unit that stores the operating conditions of the heat treatment unit for a certain period from the time when the substrate is placed on the plate member, and a storage unit.
An operation control unit that operates the heat treatment unit according to the operating conditions stored in the storage unit,
A temperature detector that detects the temperature of the plate member and
A condition changing unit that changes the operating conditions stored in the storage unit so that the temperature change detected by the temperature detector when the heat treatment unit operates according to the operating conditions approaches a predetermined reference waveform. A heat treatment device equipped with. The operating conditions include the values of one or more control parameters.
The first aspect of the present invention, wherein the condition changing unit changes at least one value of the one or more control parameters stored in the storage unit so that the detected temperature change approaches the reference waveform. Heat treatment equipment. The heat treatment unit is configured so that PID control is possible.
The one or more control parameters are the proportional parameter, the integral parameter and the integral parameter of the PID control for returning the temperature of the plate member to the processing temperature for processing the substrate from the time when the substrate is placed on the plate member. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 2, which comprises at least one of the differential parameters. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the one or more control parameters include an upper limit of the output of the heat treatment unit. The condition changing unit is set in a preset time from the time when the substrate is placed on the plate member to the time when the temperature detected by the temperature detector returns to the processing temperature for processing the substrate. The heat treatment apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the operating conditions are changed so as to approach the time. In the condition changing unit, the temperature value detected by the temperature detector at a specific time within a certain period from the time when the substrate is placed on the plate member corresponds to the specific time in the reference waveform. The heat treatment apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the operating conditions are changed so as to approach the temperature value of the portion to be subjected to. The condition changing unit changes the operating condition so that the overshoot amount or the undershoot amount with respect to the set temperature for heat-treating the substrate, which is generated in the waveform of the detected temperature, becomes small. 6. The heat treatment apparatus according to any one of 6. A heat treatment method that heat-treats a substrate.
The step of placing the substrate on the plate member,
A step of performing heat treatment by the heat treatment section through the plate member on the substrate placed above,
A step of storing the operating conditions of the heat treatment unit in the storage unit for a certain period from the time when the substrate is placed on the plate member, and
A step of operating the heat treatment unit according to the operating conditions stored in the storage unit, and
A step of detecting the temperature of the plate member by a temperature detector and
A step of changing the operating conditions stored in the storage unit so that the temperature change detected by the temperature detector when the heat treatment unit operates according to the operating conditions approaches a predetermined reference waveform. Including heat treatment method. The operating conditions include the values of one or more control parameters.
The step of changing the operating conditions is to change at least one value of the one or more control parameters stored in the storage unit so that the detected temperature change approaches the reference waveform. The heat treatment method according to claim 8, which includes.

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