JP2558490B2 - Development device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a developing device.

(Prior Art) In general, a developing device supplies a developing solution to a photosensitive film formed on a surface of a semiconductor wafer or the like, and the photosensitive film is supplied for a predetermined time.
Development is carried out by contacting with a developing solution.

Here, as an example of the means for supplying the developing solution, there is a means for supplying the developing solution in a spray form to a semiconductor wafer or the like. This spray mechanism (1) is provided with an orifice (3) on a spray tip (2) as shown in FIG. 5, and the liquid discharged from this orifice (3) hits a slope (4) and has a fan-shaped spray shape. Is discharged as. The spray tip (3) is attached to the holder (5) via the packing (6) with the nut (7) so that the angle of the spray liquid can be adjusted.

When the developer is supplied by the spray mechanism (1), mist of spray liquid or residual liquid may adhere to the tip (8) of the spray tip (2) and the lower end (9) of the nut (7). In some cases, these deposits become drops (10) and drop from the spray mechanism (1) onto a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer after the supply of the developing solution is completed. For example, if the drips (10) drop on the substrate after the development or before the development, the development conditions of the portion are different, which causes uneven development and defects.

As measures against the drips (10) generated in the spray mechanism (1) as described above, Japanese Patent Publication No. 60-45943 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 60-459.
44, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 61-12232, and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-27629.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, as a measure for preventing the drips (10) attached to the spray mechanism (1) from falling off, the actual construction of Sho 61-2223
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2 discloses that a plate, a tube, or a line that guides the liquid that drops to the outside of the wafer is provided below or below the nozzle for developing liquid droplets. There is a problem that it becomes difficult to supply the desired position. Further, as in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-27629, it is constructed such that the nozzle under the developing liquid drop can be moved so that the nozzle escapes after the dropping. With such a construction, it is necessary to secure an escape space for the nozzle. There is a problem that the device itself becomes large and drops are dropped during movement. Further, Japanese Patent Publication No. 60-45944 discloses a two-fluid type in which a liquid drop portion nozzle is provided with a liquid pool portion. However, even with such a configuration, the developer drops from the liquid pool portion The drop was not resolved.

In addition, as a countermeasure for the above Japanese Patent Publication No. 60-45944, Japanese Patent Publication No. 60
In the two-fluid spray nozzle as disclosed in JP-A-45943, the supply of gas is stopped after a certain period of time after the supply of liquid is stopped. With such a configuration, only gas is supplied to a semiconductor wafer or the like. Will be done,
There is a problem that time loss and uneven development occur. Further, there is a spray nozzle having a blow nozzle attached to the tip of the spray nozzle to remove drips. This method solves the problem of drips but has a problem of generating mist and particles.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and provides a developing device capable of preventing liquid from dropping from a spray mechanism, eliminating the generation of mist and particles, and performing an accurate developing process.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention relates to a developing device which supplies a developing solution from a spray unit to an object to be processed on which a photosensitive film is formed to perform development, in which the developing solution is above the object to be processed. In the constitution, the developer is sprayed toward the object to be processed by spraying toward the diffusion wall, and a suction nozzle for sucking the developer remaining below the spray unit is provided. It is characterized in that it is provided in the vicinity of the lowermost portion on the spraying side of the developing solution and in the vicinity of the lowermost portion on the diffusion wall side.

A tray for receiving the developer may be provided at the tip of the suction nozzle.

(Function) According to the present invention, uneven development can be eliminated by supplying the developing solution in a spray form to the object to be processed. Further, since the developer that has become less likely to adhere to the outer surface of the spray unit is sucked by the suction nozzles in the vicinity of the lowermost portion on the spraying side of the developing solution and in the vicinity of the lowermost portion on the diffusion wall side, respectively, Can prevent the liquid from falling.

(Embodiment) Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

The developing device (11) is a device for developing after exposing a pattern to a target object, for example, a photoresist applied on a semiconductor wafer (12), and as shown in FIG. It is composed of a developing solution supply section (13) for supplying to the object to be processed in a spray form, and a processing section (14) for performing the developing process supplied from the supply section (13) to the object to be processed.

The developing solution supply section (13) is provided with a sealed developing solution tank (16) for storing, for example, a developing solution (15) of a strong alkaline solution or a flammable organic solvent. In order to pressurize the developing solution (15) above the developing solution tank (16),
A gas supply pipe (19) is connected so that a gas pressurized by the pressure regulating valve (17), for example, nitrogen (18) is supplied.
The developer (1) stored in the developer tank (16) is
Up to the spray unit (20) for supplying 5) to the object to be processed, for example, a semiconductor wafer (12), a flow conduit (21) is provided, and one end of this flow conduit (21) has a developer tank (16). It is immersed in the developer (15). Above flow conduit (2
A flow meter (22) for controlling the supply amount of the developing solution (15) is provided at a predetermined position of 1), and the opening and closing valve (23) can further supply and stop the developing solution (15). It is configured like this. Further, the flow conduit (21) is provided with a temperature adjusting mechanism (24) in contact with the spray unit (20) so that the developer (15) can be adjusted to a desired temperature. As shown in FIG. 1, the spray unit (20) has an internal pipe (25) so as to connect with the flow conduit (21).
A holder (26) is provided which has been removed. Further, a holder (26) is provided with a nut (30) so that an angle of a spray tip (29) provided with an orifice (28) connected to a pipe (25) of the holder (26) through a packing (27) can be adjusted. ) Is installed. On the linear extension of the orifice (28) of the spray tip (29), a diffusion wall (a sloped surface) is formed so that the developer (15) supplied from the orifice (28) is formed into a spray shape, that is, a spray shape. 3
1) is provided. When the developer (15) is discharged from the spray unit (20) as described above, drops due to the mist and residual liquid of the developer (15) are generated, but the tip (29a) and the nut (30) which are the liquid pool of the spray tip (29). ) May adhere to the lower end (30a), which is a liquid pool, and is configured to prevent the adhesion of these drops. That is,
Spray tip (29) tip (29a) and nut (3
Near the lower end (30a) of (0), vacuum suction nozzles (32a) (32b) are provided so as to suck mist and residual liquid.
If desired, a tray (33) may be provided at the tip of the vacuum nozzles (32a) (32b). In this embodiment, the nozzle (32b) near the lower end (30a) of the nut (30). A saucer (33) is provided at the tip of the to make it easier to collect liquid drops.
The vacuum drawing nozzle (32), which is a collection of the nozzles (32a) (32b), is connected to a pneumatic vacuum device (34).
In this pneumatic vacuum device (34), pressure air is supplied to the supply port (36) from the pressure air source (35), a vacuum is generated by the Venturi effect inside, and it is connected to the vacuuming nozzle (32). Inhaled through the vacuum port (37). The gas-liquid mixture that has been evacuated by the vacuum device (34) from the vacuum nozzle (32) is mixed with the supply air and is exhausted from the exhaust port (38) as a positive-pressure gas-liquid mixture. The gas-liquid mixture exhausted from the exhaust port (38) is separated into a gas and a liquid by the gas-liquid separator (39), the liquid component is discharged from the drain pipe (40), and the gas component is It is treated by the exhaust treatment device (41). As described above, the developing solution supply section (13) is supplied.

Next, the developer (15) supplied from the supply section (13).
The processing section (14) for processing will be described.

The processing section (14) includes an object to be processed, such as a semiconductor wafer (1
A chuck (42) is provided so that it can be vacuum-adsorbed and solidified. The chuck (42) is engaged with the spin motor (43) and is rotatable as desired. A cylindrical processing tank having a bottom is configured so as to surround the semiconductor wafer (12) placed on the chuck (42).
This processing tank has an upper cup (44) whose upper side is open, and a lower cup (4) having a U-shaped cross section continuous with the upper cup (44).
5) consists of and. On the bottom surface of the lower cup (45), a drain port (46) is connected to the outside and an exhaust port (47) is connected to the inside, and a separation wall ( 48) is provided. Further, in the lower cup (45), an exhaust flow path is formed so as to prevent the liquid from splashing back to the back surface of the semiconductor wafer (12) and to prevent the liquid from flowing into the exhaust port (47). The inner cup (49) is fixed. Further, the upper cup (44) and the lower cup (45) are independently movable up and down by an elevator mechanism (not shown) so that the semiconductor wafer (12) can be carried in and out of the chuck (42). Processing unit as described above (14)
A developing device (11) is constituted by the developing solution supply section (13). Next, the operation of the developing device (11) will be described.

First, the upper cup (44) and the lower cup (45) that constitute the processing tank are lowered by an elevating mechanism (not shown) to bring them to a lower state. Here, the object to be processed, for example, the semiconductor wafer (12) is transferred onto the chuck (42) by a transfer mechanism (not shown) such as a handling arm. The conveyed semiconductor wafer (12) is vacuum-sucked by the chuck (42) and the upper cup (44) and the lower cup (45) are raised to form a processing tank at a predetermined position. Next, the spin motor (43) rotates the semiconductor wafer (12) at, for example, about 1000 rpm, and sprays the developing solution (15) from the spray unit (20) toward the semiconductor wafer (12) for, for example, 0.3 seconds. After this, the rotation speed is set to about 30 rpm, for example,
After spraying for about one second, rotation is stopped and development is performed for a predetermined time, for example, 60 seconds. The spray of the developer (15) by the spray unit (20) is performed by supplying the gas pressurized by the pressure adjusting valve (17) such as nitrogen (18) to the developer tank (16) from the gas supply pipe (19). To do. As a result, the developer (15) stored in the developer tank (16) is pushed out into the flow conduit (21), the on-off valve (23) is opened, and the flow rate is adjusted by the flow meter (22). In addition, the developer (1) whose temperature is controlled by the temperature control mechanism (24)
Supply 5) to the spray unit (20). The supplied developer (15) is sprayed from the orifice (28) of the spray chip (29) to the diffusion wall (21), and the developer (15) is used as a fan-shaped spray liquid on the diffusion wall (31) to form a semiconductor wafer. Supply to (12). Here, the supply of the developing solution (15) is stopped, and at the same time, the residual solution of the developing solution (15) attached to the spray unit (20) is removed. That is, the vacuum suction nozzle (32a) installed near the tip (29a) of the spray tip (29) of the spray unit (20) and the vacuum suction nozzle installed near the lower end (30a) of the nut (30). (32b)
By operating the pneumatic vacuum device (34) connected to the vacuum drawing nozzle (32) where and collect, each nozzle (32a) (32
Evacuate in b) and inhale the gas-liquid mixture containing residual liquid. The gas mixture sucked here is separated into a gas and a liquid by a gas-liquid separator (39), and the liquid is discharged from an exhaust pipe (40).
The gas is treated by the exhaust treatment device (41).

Next, after the development time has elapsed, the semiconductor wafer (12) is again.
Is rotated, and a rinse liquid such as pure water is supplied from a rinse liquid supply nozzle (not shown) to perform a rinse operation. After that, the supply of the rinse liquid is stopped, and the semiconductor wafer (12) is rotated to dry it. To do. The development processing of the semiconductor wafer (12) is executed as described above.

As described above, according to this embodiment, it is possible to remove the liquid adhering to the spray unit by evacuation, solve the problem of liquid drop from the spray unit, and prevent liquid drops from scattering around. It is possible to eliminate defects and defects such as drop of drops and generation of mist in the developing process without generation of mist.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and the object to be processed may be an LCD substrate or the like instead of a semiconductor wafer, and may be any object as long as it is subjected to development processing. Further, the developer may be supplied not by a spray unit but by any means capable of delivering a liquid such as a nozzle, and the discharged liquid may not be a developer but may be pure water used as a rinse liquid. Even when the photoresist is applied to the semiconductor wafer, the same effect as that of the above embodiment can be obtained by vacuuming the residual liquid. Further, the timing of evacuation of the residual liquid or the like may be performed during spraying of the developing solution, or may be a general one using a vacuum pump or the like as a vacuum source for evacuation, but the developing solution is usually strongly alkaline. Since it is a solution or a flammable organic solvent and has a high risk, it is desirable to use a pneumatic vacuum device with excellent continuous processing.
It goes without saying that the number of rotations of the chuck and the supply amount of the developing solution may be arbitrarily selected as the developing method.

Further, another embodiment of the spray unit will be described.

This spray unit (50), as shown in FIG.
A vacuum nozzle (51a) is formed inside the spray tip (52), and the tip (52a) of this spray tip (52).
An opening of the vacuuming nozzle (51a) is provided in the.
Further, the nut (53) attaches the spray tip (52) to the holder (55) by tightening it with the lock nut (54), the rotation of the nut (53) is not necessary, and the lower end of the nut (53) The vacuum drawing nozzle (51b) is also provided in (53a). Each of the above vacuum drawing nozzles (51a) (51b) includes a spray tip (52), a nut (53), and a lock nut (5).
4), the space (57) surrounded by the packing (56) and the holder (55) is assembled, and the vacuum suction nozzle (51) is attached to the nut (53) so as to connect to the space (57).
By vacuuming with this vacuum nozzle (51),
Drops are removed.

When the spray unit is configured as described above, the same effects as those of the first embodiment described above can be obtained, and further, since it is not necessary to provide an external nozzle, alignment of the nozzle is unnecessary, and Since the number of elements is reduced, the spray unit can be downsized and the operation stability of the spray unit is improved.

Furthermore, in order to maintain the developing solution at a desired set temperature as a temperature adjusting means for the developing solution, it is desirable to adjust the temperature just before supplying the developing solution to the outside. As this means, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, a developing solution flow conduit (58) is formed in a coil shape, and a water jacket (59) made of a material such as SUS so as to surround the coil flow conduit (58). Is provided, and the constant temperature water whose temperature is controlled by the temperature controller (60) in the water jacket (59) is circulated. Further, from the water jacket (59) to the spray unit (61), a double pipe structure is used, and the inner pipe is used as a flow conduit (58) for the developer, and a material such as rubber is used to surround the flow conduit (58). The outer tube (62) is made of, and the temperature controller (6
Circulate the constant temperature water adjusted in 0). In this way, by performing two-stage indirect temperature control with a water jacket and double pipes with constant temperature water, the temperature of the developer can be adjusted up to the spray unit, so the temperature change of the developer can be prevented and development at the desired temperature can be achieved. A liquid can be provided. Further, this temperature control method can be appropriately applied not only to the developer but also to the temperature control of the photoresist in the photoresist coating apparatus, for example.

(Effect) As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the generation of mist and particles and improve the product yield.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a spray unit for explaining an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a developing device using the spray unit of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is another embodiment of FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an example, FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the temperature control mechanism of FIG. 2, and FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a conventional example. 11 …… Developer, 12 …… Semiconductor wafer 13 …… Developer supply section, 14 …… Developer processing section 20 …… Spray unit, 32 …… Vacuum nozzle 33 …… Saucepan, 34 …… Pneumatic vacuum equipment

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Kazuo Ogio 2655 Tsukyu, Kikuyo-cho, Kikuchi-gun, Kumamoto Prefecture, inside of Tel Kyushu Co., Ltd. (56) Reference JP 62-114225 (JP, A) JP 59 -46164 (JP, A) JP 61-49422 (JP, A) JP 56-32724 (JP, A) Actually opened 58-6512 (JP, U) Actually opened 60-158734 (JP, U) )

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A developing device for developing by supplying a developing solution from a spray unit to an object to be processed having a photosensitive film formed thereon, wherein the developing solution is jetted toward a diffusion wall above the object to be processed. Accordingly, the developer is sprayed and supplied to the object to be processed, and a suction nozzle for sucking the developer remaining below the spray unit is provided at the bottom of the spray side of the developer. A developing device provided in the vicinity and in the vicinity of the lowermost portion on the diffusion wall side. 2. The developing device according to claim 1, wherein a tray for receiving the developing solution is provided at the tip of the suction nozzle.