JP2816510B2 - Liquid supply nozzle - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a liquid supply nozzle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a liquid supply nozzle is arranged so as to face an object to be processed, and is configured to supply a liquid by discharging a predetermined liquid toward the object to be processed.

For example, in a developing device for developing a resist film formed on the surface of a semiconductor wafer in a semiconductor device manufacturing process, a semiconductor wafer to be processed is placed on a so-called spin chuck configured to be capable of high-speed rotation. Deploy. A developing liquid supply nozzle is provided above the spin chuck so as to face the semiconductor wafer, and the developing liquid is discharged from the developing liquid supply nozzle toward the semiconductor wafer to supply the developing liquid. To form a liquid-filled state on the semiconductor wafer in the form of a film, and development is performed.

In such a developing device, if the difference in the supply time of the developing solution within the semiconductor wafer surface is too large, the progress of development becomes uneven and causes uneven development. Need to be supplied. Therefore, for example, JP-A-57-192955, JP-A-58-17444, JP-A-59-50440, JP-A-59-78342, JP-A-59-119450, JP-A-60-140350, JP-A-60-198818, JP-A-61-106027, JP-A-60-1988
Various liquid supply nozzles have been proposed in, for example, JP-A-62-204326.

[0005]

However, in general, in order to supply a developing solution or the like to the entire surface of an object to be processed such as a semiconductor wafer in a short time, for example, the supply pressure of the pressure feeding of the developing solution or the like is increased to discharge the developing solution or the like. The flow rate needs to be increased. For this reason, there is a problem that the discharged developer or the like impacts the surface of the object to be processed such as a semiconductor wafer, and damages the object to be processed such as a semiconductor wafer. In addition, when the supply pressure of the developing solution or the like is increased, gas is dissolved in the developing solution and bubbles are easily generated, and there is a problem that bubbles cause uneven development.
Furthermore, increasing the discharge flow rate increases the amount of waste developer and increases running cost.

The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional situation, and supplies a predetermined liquid to a target object quickly and in a short time without giving an impact to the target object or generating bubbles. It is an object of the present invention to provide a liquid supply nozzle capable of performing processing efficiently with a small amount of liquid.

[0007]

Means for Solving the Problems That is, according to the first aspect of the present invention,
In the liquid supply nozzle that is disposed to face the object to be processed and discharges a predetermined liquid toward the object to be processed, the liquid supply nozzle is provided on the bottom surface of the container-like liquid container and the liquid container. numerous and pore ejecting liquid in the liquid containing portion to the workpiece, is provided at an upper part of the liquid storage portion,
A bubble removal mechanism having an exhaust flow rate adjustment mechanism .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid supply nozzle according to the first aspect.
In the squid, the liquid temperature is set to a desired temperature in the liquid container.
Temperature control mechanism to adjust the temperature
You.

A third aspect of the present invention provides the liquid according to the first or second aspect.
A body feed nozzle liquid supply method using the liquid test
The supply nozzle is positioned between the liquid supply position above the workpiece and the workpiece.
It is possible to move to the side standby position, and in the standby position,
Liquid dispensing part by bubble bleeding mechanism at the same time as me dispensing
It is characterized in that defoaming is performed. The invention according to claim 4 is characterized in that
A processing liquid application device that applies processing liquid to the processing substrate surface.
Te, the processing liquid supply source for supplying the treatment liquid, container-like liquid
A liquid container provided on a bottom surface of the body container and the liquid container.
Many pores for discharging the processing liquid in the container to the object to be processed
A bubble discharge pipe provided above the liquid container.
A liquid supply nozzle provided with
Means for causing a supply nozzle to closely approach the surface of the substrate to be processed
From the processing liquid supply source to the liquid supply nozzle.
Means for pumping a processing liquid, the substrate to be processed and the liquid supply
Move the nozzle relatively to the front of the substrate to be processed.
Means for applying the treatment liquid .
You. According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a treatment liquid applying apparatus according to the fourth aspect.
In the liquid storage nozzle of the liquid supply nozzle,
A temperature control mechanism is provided to adjust the temperature of the processing solution to the desired temperature.
It is characterized by having been done .

[0010]

In the liquid supply nozzle according to the present invention, a large number, for example, several hundreds of pores having a diameter of, for example, about 0.1 to 1.0 mm are provided on the bottom surface of the liquid container. The liquid is supplied to the object to be processed in such a manner that the liquid oozes out from a large number of pores in a band shape with the bottom surface being in close proximity to the object to be processed at a minute interval, for example, about 0.1 to 1.0 mm.

Therefore, an impact is given to the object to be processed,
The predetermined liquid can be quickly supplied to the object to be processed in a short time without generating bubbles, and the processing can be efficiently performed with a small amount of liquid.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a developing device for developing a semiconductor wafer will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the developing apparatus of this embodiment holds a semiconductor wafer 1 as an object to be processed by suction, for example, by a vacuum chuck, and spins the semiconductor wafer 1 at a high speed. A chuck 2 is provided,
Above the spin chuck 2, a liquid supply nozzle 3 is provided.

The liquid supply nozzle 3 is provided with a liquid container 4 having a rectangular container shape and having a length substantially equal to the diameter of the semiconductor wafer 1. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a protrusion 5 is provided at the bottom of the liquid container 4 so as to project toward the semiconductor wafer 1. The projecting portion 5 has pores 6 having a diameter of, for example, about 0.1 to 1.0 mm (0.2 mm in the present embodiment) and a length of about 1 to 10 mm (5 mm in the present embodiment). 1.0
It is about mm (0.6 mm in this embodiment), and is linearly provided in a large number, for example, several hundred (270 in this embodiment). If the length of the nozzle 3 is too short and less than 1 mm, the developer in the container 4 leaks unevenly before it accumulates. If it is too long and the length is more than 10 mm, the resistance becomes too large and the developer seeps out. Speed slows down. Further, a lid 7 is provided on the upper part of the liquid container 4 so as to be able to hermetically close the inside, and a developer supply pipe 8 is connected to the lid 7. The developing solution supply pipe 8 is connected to a developing solution supply source (not shown). The developing solution supply pipe 8 is fed at a predetermined pressure by a gas pressure of an inert gas or the like from the developing solution supply source to a predetermined developing solution in the liquid container 4. It is configured to be able to supply the liquid 8A. In addition,
An air-tight sealing member, for example, an O-ring 9 is provided at a contact portion of the liquid container 4 with the lid 7.

In the developing apparatus of this embodiment having the above-described configuration, the semiconductor wafer 1 that has undergone the photoresist coating step and the exposure step through a predetermined mask pattern is placed on the spin chuck 2 by an automatic transfer device (not shown) or the like. Place. The developing solution 8A is supplied and stored in the liquid container 4 before starting the developing process. At this time, since the fine holes 6 of the protruding portions 5 are as fine as 0.2 mm in diameter, the developing solution 8A does not leak from the liquid supply nozzle 3.

Thereafter, the spin chuck 2 and the liquid supply nozzle 3 are moved up and down relatively, and the distance between the protrusion 5 on the bottom surface of the liquid supply nozzle 3 and the surface of the semiconductor wafer 1 is minute, for example, 0.1 mm to 0.2 mm. Set to be mm.

Then, a predetermined developer is supplied from the developer supply pipe 8 into the liquid container 4 at a predetermined pressure, for example, a low pressure of 0.2 to 0.3 (kg / square centimeter).
After supplying the developing solution to the surface of the semiconductor wafer 1 so as to ooze out from each of the pores 6, the liquid supply nozzle 3 is moved away from the semiconductor wafer 1. At this time, since the developing solution 8A is once supplied from the developing solution supply pipe 8 into the large-volume liquid storage section 4 having a large flow path area, the developing solution 8A travels toward the fine-section fine pores 6.
The liquid is discharged so as to uniformly bleed from several hundred pores 6. Further, since the pressure is fed at a low pressure, the inert gas for the pressure feeding is less likely to be mixed into the developer, and the developer is not spouted vigorously. At the same time, the semiconductor wafer 1 is rotated at a low speed, for example, 30 (rotation /
After about 1/2 rotation in minute), supply is stopped. As a result, the developer can be uniformly applied to the entire surface of the semiconductor wafer 1 with a thin thickness of, for example, about 0.5 mm.

In this way, after the developer is filled on the surface of the semiconductor wafer 1 and subjected to development processing in which the developer is brought into contact with the surface of the semiconductor wafer 1 for a predetermined time, the semiconductor wafer 1 is rotated at a high speed by the spin chuck 2, and the developer is shaken off. A predetermined rinsing liquid (for example, pure water) is supplied from a rinsing liquid supply nozzle (not shown) to perform rinsing, and finally the rinsing liquid is shaken off to complete the processing.

As described above, in the developing apparatus of this embodiment, the pressure is lower, for example, 0.2 to 0.3 (kilogram / square cm), compared with the conventional case where the developer is supplied at 0.8 to 1.0 (kilogram / square centimeter). A predetermined developing solution is supplied into the liquid container 4, and the developing solution is supplied to the surface of the semiconductor wafer 1 so as to ooze out from the large number of pores 6, and the semiconductor wafer 1 is moved at a low speed of, for example, 30 (rotation / minute). The developer is put on the semiconductor wafer 1 by 1/2 rotation.

Therefore, since the semiconductor wafer 1 is given an impact or the liquid container 4 is provided, even if bubbles are present, they rise above the liquid tank, and even if the bubbles are positioned near the nozzle 3, they are 1 mm or less. Since the liquid does not pass through the nozzle diameter, the developer can be quickly supplied to the semiconductor wafer 1 in a short time (1 to 1.5 seconds in this embodiment) without generating bubbles.
Good development processing can be performed. Further, since the developer can be thinly filled, the developer is hardly wasted, so that the developing process is performed with a small amount, for example, about 5 to 30 cc, as compared with the conventional technique that requires about 100 cc of developing solution for one developing process. be able to. Further, since the developer is supplied from the pores 6, it is possible to prevent the developer from undesirably dropping on the semiconductor wafer 1 so-called dropping. Further, since the developing solution is not ejected, air is not entrained after the ejection.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show the structure of another embodiment. In this embodiment, the liquid storage portion side has a wall made of a transparent material, for example, a transparent resin, so that the inside can be visually checked. The liquid container 4a is configured as described above, and the liquid container 4a is provided with a bubble removal mechanism and a temperature control mechanism.

That is, the inner surface of the lid 7a of the liquid storage portion 4a is an inclined surface 10 which is inclined upward toward the center, and a bubble discharge pipe to which an exhaust flow controller 11 is connected at the top. 12 are connected. When bubbles 13 accumulate in the liquid storage portion 4a, the developer is supplied from the developer supply pipe 8 and exhausted from the bubble discharge pipe 12, whereby bubbles can be removed. Have been. At this time, the exhaust flow rate is adjusted by the exhaust flow rate controller 11 so that air does not enter the liquid container 4a through the fine holes 6. This is a phenomenon that when the discharge from the bubble discharge pipe 12 is excessively smooth, the developer in the pores 6 is sucked into the developer flowing in the liquid container 4a (aspirate effect). This is because there may be cases where To prevent this, it is necessary to adjust the discharge flow rate appropriately.

A temperature control pipe 20 for controlling the temperature of the developing solution is provided in the liquid storage section 4a, and a temperature control medium such as a temperature control medium is provided in the temperature control pipe 20 by a temperature control medium circulation mechanism 21. By circulating the temperature control water, the temperature of the developer in the liquid storage unit 4 can be set to a predetermined temperature.

Next, a developing solution supply system using the liquid supply nozzle 3 having the above-described structure will be described with reference to FIG.

As described above, the liquid supply nozzle 3
3 of developer supply pipe 8, bubble discharge pipe 12, and temperature control pipe 20
There are two systems of piping. Among these pipes, the temperature control pipe 20 is connected to a temperature control medium circulation mechanism 21, and a jacket 30 for controlling the temperature of the developer in the developer supply pipe 8 is provided on the way. . Further, one end of the developer supply pipe 8 is connected to a developer supply source 31 that accommodates the developer 31a,
In the developer supply pipe 8, in order from the developer supply source 31 side,
A gas-liquid separator 32 for removing air bubbles, a flow meter 33 for measuring a flow rate, a filter 34 for removing particles, the above-described jacket 30, and an air operation valve 35 are provided. Further, a nitrogen gas supply source 36 is connected to the developer supply source 31. From the nitrogen gas supply source 36, a nitrogen gas for pressurization is supplied to the developer supply source 31, and the developer 31a is supplied to a liquid supply nozzle. 3 is transmitted. The vent passages of the gas-liquid separator 32 and the filter 34 are connected to the pit 38.

The bubble discharge pipe 12 is connected to the pit 38 via the air operation valve 39 and the above-mentioned exhaust gas flow controller 11.

In the home position of the liquid supply nozzle 3, there is provided a nozzle bath 40 which contains a solvent and is configured to control the internal atmosphere. That is, the nozzle bath 40 is provided with a nitrogen gas supply source 41.
And a nitrogen gas supply pipe 43 inserted through a control valve 42. The nitrogen gas supply pipe 43 is configured to control the vapor pressure in the nozzle bath 40 by supplying nitrogen gas. When the liquid supply nozzle 3 is inserted into the upper part of the nozzle bath 40, the developer concentration in the passage of the liquid supply nozzle 3 is kept substantially constant.

The drain pipe 44 of the nozzle bath 40 is
It is connected to a waste liquid pit 45. In addition, nozzle bath 4
The zero vent pipe 46 is connected to a waste liquid pit 45 via a liquefier 47. An air blow nozzle 48 faces a side opening of the liquefier 47. The air blow nozzle 48 is connected to a dry air supply source 49 and has a dry air supply pipe 5 inserted through a control valve 50.
1 is connected. It should be noted that the control valve 42 of the nitrogen gas supply pipe 43 and the control valve 50 of the dry air supply pipe 51 are configured to work together.

Next, a configuration of a control system and the like will be described with reference to FIG.

The drive shaft 2 a of the spin chuck 2 is connected to the drive shaft of an AC servomotor 60, and the periphery of the spin chuck 2 is surrounded by a cup 61. The spin chuck 2 is formed in a disk shape from a material, for example, a fluorine-based resin, and has an opening (not shown) for a vacuum chuck on an upper surface thereof. AC servo motor 60
Are electrically connected to a controller 62, and the controller 62 controls the start / stop and the rotation speed. The controller 62 is backed up by the computer system 63.

The air operation valve 35 inserted in the developer supply pipe 8 is connected to an exhaust mechanism 64, and the air operation valve 35 and the exhaust mechanism 64 are controlled by a controller 62. It is configured. Further, the air operation valve 39 inserted in the bubble discharge pipe 12 is also configured to be controlled by the controller 62.

The liquid supply nozzle 3 is provided with a drive mechanism 65 for moving the liquid supply nozzle 3 to a home position, a developer supply position on the semiconductor wafer 1, or the like. Also, the controller 62
It is configured to be controlled by

FIG. 7 shows the arrangement of the above-described devices.
The liquid supply nozzle 3 is configured to be movable by a drive mechanism 65 between a developer supply position on the semiconductor wafer 1 (the position shown in FIG. 7) and a nozzle bath 40 provided at a home position. Further, in the figure, reference numeral 70 denotes a rinse nozzle for supplying a rinse liquid to the semiconductor wafer 1.

In the developing device of this embodiment having the above-described configuration, a predetermined processing program is stored in the memory of the computer system 63 in advance, and the following processing is performed according to the processing program, for example.

That is, when the semiconductor wafer 1 is placed on the spin chuck 2 by an automatic transfer device or the like, first,
The semiconductor wafer 1 is suction-held by operating the vacuum chuck.

Next, the drive mechanism 65 is started, and the liquid supply nozzle 3 inserted into the nozzle bath 40 at the home position is moved up and slid in the horizontal direction to be positioned above the center of the semiconductor wafer 1. Thereafter, the liquid supply nozzle 3 is lowered to set the distance between the liquid supply nozzle 3 and the semiconductor wafer 1 to, for example, 0.5 mm.

Thereafter, the developing solution 31a in the developing solution supply source 31 is changed by the nitrogen gas pressure from the nitrogen gas supply source 36.
The liquid is supplied toward the liquid supply nozzle 3. At this time, the air operation valve 35 is opened, and the inside of the developer supply pipe 8 between the air operation valve 35 and the liquid supply nozzle 3 is set to the atmospheric pressure.

Then, as described above, the developing solution 31a is supplied to the surface of the semiconductor wafer 1 such that the developing solution 31a uniformly oozes out from the many pores 6. At this time, the developer 31a is controlled by temperature-controlled water circulated from the temperature control medium circulation mechanism 21 or the like.
Is set to a predetermined temperature, for example, a range from room temperature to ± 0.2 ° C.

At the same time, the motor 60 is started, and the spin chuck 2 is rotated at a low speed, for example, about 1/2 rotation at 30 rpm. As a result, the developer 31a spreads over the entire surface of the semiconductor wafer 1, and the developer 31a is uniformly applied.

Thereafter, the shut-off valve (not shown) of the nitrogen gas supply source 36 is closed, and the air operation valve 35 of the developer supply pipe 8 and the air operation valve 39 of the bubble discharge pipe 12 are closed. Then, the liquid supply nozzle 3 is retracted to the nozzle bath 40 at the home position.

In this manner, the developer 31a is applied to the semiconductor wafer 1, and after a predetermined development time, for example, 60 seconds, the spin chuck 2 is rotated at a high speed of, for example, 300 rpm, and the developer on the semiconductor wafer 1 is rotated. 31a is shaken off by centrifugal force. Then, in this state, the rinsing nozzle is made to face the semiconductor wafer 1 and a rinsing liquid is ejected toward the semiconductor wafer 1 to perform rinsing.

Finally, nitrogen gas is blown from a nozzle (not shown) toward the semiconductor wafer 1 rotating at a high speed, the semiconductor wafer 1 is dried, and the semiconductor wafer 1 is unloaded from the spin chuck 2 by an automatic transfer mechanism or the like.

The bubble removal in the liquid container 4a is performed by opening the air operation valve 39 of the bubble discharge pipe 12. Such bubble removal can be performed simultaneously with the so-called dummy dispensing. Here, the dummy dispense refers to the developer 31 a in the passage of the liquid supply nozzle 3.
Is performed not for the purpose of supplying to the semiconductor wafer 1 but for discharging it to the outside. In particular, in the case of a type of liquid such as a resist liquid whose liquid concentration tends to change, the processing interval is increased. In such a case, it is performed at regular intervals.
In this way, the liquid dispensing section 4 is simultaneously provided with the dummy dispensing.
If the bubble removal in a is performed, the bubble removal can be performed without time loss or waste of the developer 31a or the like.

In this embodiment having the above-described structure, the same effects as those of the above-described embodiment can be obtained, and the temperature of the developer in the liquid container 4a can be controlled. Can be performed. In addition, when air bubbles accumulate in the liquid container 4a, the air bubbles can be easily found visually, and the air bubble can be easily removed.

In the above-described embodiment, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a developing device has been described. However, the liquid supply nozzle of the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. If it is a device to supply, for example,
The present invention can be applied to any apparatus such as an apparatus for supplying a resist solution to a semiconductor wafer. In the above embodiment,
Although the example in which the developer is spin-coated has been described, the spin-coating may be performed by relatively moving and scanning the wafer and the nozzle in one direction.

[0046]

As described above, according to the liquid supply nozzle of the present invention, a predetermined liquid can be quickly and quickly applied to a processing object without giving an impact to the processing object or generating bubbles. In addition to being able to supply, the processing can be efficiently performed with a small amount of liquid.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view showing a vertical cross section of the liquid supply nozzle shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a vertical cross section of the liquid supply nozzle shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a main configuration of a developing device using the liquid supply nozzle illustrated in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a main configuration of a developing device using the liquid supply nozzle illustrated in FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a main configuration of a developing device using the liquid supply nozzle illustrated in FIG. 3;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Semiconductor wafer 2 Spin chuck 3 Liquid supply nozzle 4 Liquid accommodating part 5 Projection part 6 Micropore 7 Lid 8 Developer supply pipe 9 O-ring

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Yuji Matsuyama 2655 Tsukurei, Kikuyo-cho, Kikuchi-gun, Kumamoto Prefecture Inside Tokyo Electron Kyushu Co., Ltd. (72) Tetsuro Nakahara 2655 Tsukurei, Kikuyo-cho, Kikuchi-gun, Kumamoto Electron Kyushu Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yoshio Kimura 2655 Tsukure, Kikuyo-cho, Kikuchi-gun, Kumamoto Prefecture Tokyo Electron Kyushu Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-57-208134 (JP, A) JP-A-63- 211627 (JP, A) JP-A-63-245924 (JP, A) JP-A-2-82249 (JP, A) JP-A-3-1341 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) H01L 21/027 B05B 1/14

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A liquid supply nozzle that is disposed to face a processing target and discharges a predetermined liquid toward the processing target. The liquid supply nozzle includes a container-like liquid storage portion and a bottom surface of the liquid storage portion. , a number of the pores for discharging the liquid in the liquid containing portion to the workpiece, is provided at an upper part of the liquid storage portion, the exhaust flow rate adjusting mechanism
A liquid supply nozzle comprising: (2) 2. The liquid supply nozzle according to claim 1, wherein
A temperature controller for adjusting the temperature of the liquid to a desired temperature in the liquid container;
A liquid supply nozzle provided with a joint mechanism. (3) Use of the liquid supply nozzle according to claim 1 or 2
Liquid supply method, Position the liquid supply nozzle at a liquid supply position above the object to be processed.
And a standby position beside the object to be processed.
At the machine position, the bubble dispensing mechanism is
Liquid supply characterized by removing bubbles from the liquid storage section.
Method. (4) Processing liquid that applies processing liquid to the substrate surface to be processed
A coating device, A processing liquid supply source for supplying the processing liquid, A container-shaped liquid storage portion, and a bottom provided on the liquid storage portion.
Ejecting the processing liquid in the liquid container to the object to be processed.
Numerous pores and air bubbles provided at the top of the liquid container
A liquid supply nozzle having a bubble removal mechanism having a discharge pipe, The liquid supply nozzle is closely opposed to the surface of the substrate to be processed.
Means to make The processing liquid is supplied from the processing liquid supply source to the liquid supply nozzle.
Means for pumping The substrate to be processed and the liquid supply nozzle are relatively moved.
Means for applying the treatment liquid to the surface of the substrate to be treated
When, A treatment liquid application device, comprising: (5) The treatment liquid application device according to claim 4.
hand, The temperature of the processing liquid is stored in the liquid storage section of the liquid supply nozzle.
Temperature adjustment mechanism to adjust the temperature to the desired temperature
A processing liquid application device characterized by the above-mentioned.