JP2648124B2 - Chemical coating device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a chemical liquid applying apparatus for applying a chemical liquid to a wafer, which is a semiconductor substrate, by dropping the liquid onto a wafer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a lithography process in the manufacture of a semiconductor device, a developing solution, which is a chemical solution, is dropped on a resist surface of a wafer in order to develop a pattern transferred to a resist film of the wafer, and the pattern is developed. . Various measures and improvements have been made to the chemical liquid coating apparatus used for the development so as not to cause uneven development and distortion of the pattern shape.

FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b) are perspective views showing an example of a conventional chemical liquid applicator. As shown in FIG. 2A, for example, this type of chemical liquid application device drops a chemical liquid from a pipe-shaped nozzle 14a and scatters the dropped chemical liquid by the rotation of a chuck 15 by centrifugal force to cause the chemical liquid to drop on the surface of the wafer 16. The chemical was applied in a uniform thickness.

FIG. 2 (b) shows another chemical liquid applying apparatus.
As shown in FIG.
A large amount of the chemical is dropped in a certain area, and the chuck 15 is rotated to quickly apply the chemical to the wafer 16 with a uniform thickness.

[0005]

In the above-mentioned conventional chemical liquid applicator, although the range in which the chemical liquid is dropped is large or small,
Since the wafer is rotated so that the dropped chemical is uniformly spread on the wafer surface and the chemical is scattered by the centrifugal force, there is a disadvantage that a part of the chemical flows out of the wafer and is wasted. This has the disadvantage that expensive chemicals are discarded and operation costs increase.

[0006] In addition to the above-described apparatus, a method of spraying the entire surface of a stationary wafer with a spray nozzle is also conceivable. Therefore, it is undeniable that the chemical solution is sprayed out of the wafer. Also, with this method, it is difficult to apply a chemical solution uniformly on the entire surface of the wafer, and as a result, a new problem that causes uneven development is caused.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a chemical liquid applying apparatus capable of uniformly applying a chemical liquid without scattering the liquid outside the wafer.

[0008]

A feature of the present invention is that a plurality of holes for ejecting a chemical solution are formed at equal intervals on a plurality of circumferences from the center of the tip portion to the outside, and are formed at the center. A chemical liquid applying apparatus including a rotating cylindrical nozzle, and an interval adjusting mechanism for adjusting an interval between the disk-shaped semiconductor wafer to which the chemical is applied and the nozzle. Preferably, the inner and outer walls at the tip of the nozzle have a spherical surface.

[0009]

1 (a) and 1 (b) are a partial sectional view and an enlarged view of a tip portion of a nozzle showing an embodiment of a chemical solution applying apparatus according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, in this chemical liquid applying device, a plurality of holes 1b for ejecting a chemical liquid are formed at equal intervals S on a plurality of circumferences from a center of a tip portion 1a toward an outer side and are formed at the center. The apparatus includes a rotating cylindrical nozzle 1, and an interval adjusting mechanism 2 for adjusting an interval between the nozzle 1 and a disk-shaped wafer 16 to which a chemical solution is applied.

The rotary joint 3 for connecting the chemical supply pipe 7 and the nozzle 1 has a structure in which the flange of the chemical supply pipe 7 and the packing 6 are in water-tight contact with each other, and the nozzle 1 can be rotated by a ball bearing. The pulley at the rear end of the nozzle 1 is rotated by a motor 5 via a timing belt 4.

An interval adjusting mechanism 2 for adjusting the interval between the nozzle 1 and the wafer 16 rotates a nut meshing with a feed screw 10 below the post 9 supporting the bracket 8 via a gear, so that the nozzle 1 moves up and down. The structure can be adjusted. The shaft of the gear meshing with the gear of the nut is connected to a handle (not shown) or a motor for rotation.

As shown in FIG. 1 (b), the outer wall and inner wall of the tip 1a of the nozzle 1 are spherically shaped so that the chemical solution which is pumped at a constant pressure and jets out from the hole 1b comes out perpendicular to the surface of the hole 1b. It is desirable to have a surface. Then, the distance H between the nozzle 1 and the wafer 16 is adjusted by the distance adjusting mechanism 2 so that the chemical droplet ejected from the outermost hole 1b at the tip 1a of the nozzle 1 becomes the scattering distance L and drops on the outermost circumference of the wafer 16. Is to set. Of course, the interval H is set so that the scattering distance changes due to the centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the nozzle 1 and the chemical droplet does not scatter outside the wafer 16. On the other hand, the rotation speed of the nozzle 1 is suppressed to be low so that the scattering angle of the medicine droplet due to the centrifugal force does not change.

As described above, by providing the nozzle 1 having the hole 1b for spraying the chemical droplet on the entire surface of the wafer 16 and the interval adjusting mechanism 2 for adjusting the interval between the wafer 16 and the tip 1a of the nozzle 1, the chemical is ejected. Holes 1b are arranged at equal intervals S and the nozzle 1 is rotated so that the wafer 1
Chemical solution can be dripped evenly over the entire surface of 6 and can be applied uniformly. In addition, there is no chemical liquid scattered outward from the wafer 16, and the supplied chemical liquid can be saved by 10% or more.

[0014]

As described above, according to the present invention, a nozzle having a plurality of holes for simultaneously spraying chemical drops over the entire surface of a wafer and being rotatable, a wafer for setting a scattering range within the wafer surface, and a tip portion 1a of the nozzle are provided. With the provision of the interval adjusting mechanism 2 for adjusting the distance between the wafers, there is an effect that the chemical liquid can be effectively consumed without being scattered outside the wafer, and the chemical liquid can be uniformly applied to the entire surface of the wafer.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of a chemical liquid application device of the present invention and an enlarged view of a tip portion of a nozzle.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of a conventional chemical liquid application device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 14a, 14b Nozzle 1a Tip 1b Hole 2 Spacing Adjustment Mechanism 3 Rotary Joint 4 Timing Belt 5 Motor 6 Packing 7 Chemical Supply Pipe 8 Bracket 9 Post 10 Feed Screw 15 Chuck 16 Wafer

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] A plurality of holes for ejecting a chemical solution are formed at equal intervals on a plurality of circumferences from a center of a tip portion to an outer side, and a cylindrical nozzle which rotates around the center; A chemical liquid coating device, comprising: a gap adjusting mechanism that adjusts a gap between the disc-shaped semiconductor wafer on which the liquid is applied and the nozzle. 2. The chemical liquid applicator according to claim 1, wherein the inner and outer walls at the tip of the nozzle have a spherical surface.