JP2890081B2 - Processing device and processing method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a processing apparatus and a processing method for supplying a processing liquid such as a developing solution to a surface of a processing target such as a semiconductor wafer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional processing apparatus of this type, a processing object such as a semiconductor wafer is held on a rotatable spin chuck, and a processing liquid supply nozzle is provided above the spin chuck so as to face the semiconductor wafer. A processing liquid, for example, a developing liquid is supplied dropwise to the surface of the semiconductor wafer from a nozzle hole provided in the processing liquid supply nozzle, and the spin chuck and the processing liquid supply nozzle are relatively rotated to develop the developing liquid. There is known an apparatus for applying a film on a semiconductor wafer.

[0003] In the processing apparatus configured as described above,
Generally, a standby unit for holding the processing liquid supply nozzle when not in use is provided on a side of the spin chuck. The standby means is formed of, for example, a box-shaped container having an opening for holding the nozzle hole in a non-contact manner.

[0004]

However, the conventional standby means of this type of processing apparatus has a structure in which the nozzle hole is located at the opening and the processing liquid supply nozzle is simply held, so that the developing means is developed in the nozzle hole. Liquid remained, and the remaining developer deteriorated, solidified, and sometimes adhered as particles. When the particles adhere to the processing liquid supply nozzle, there is a problem in that uneven application of the developing solution to the surface of the semiconductor wafer is caused, and the semiconductor wafer is contaminated, thereby deteriorating the quality of the object to be processed. As a means for solving this problem, a method called a dummy dispense in which the deteriorated processing liquid is dropped from the processing liquid supply nozzle in order to prevent the processing liquid deteriorated during standby from remaining in the processing liquid supply nozzle unit can be considered. However, in this method, the flow of the drain liquid of the processing liquid is poor, and the flow tends to overflow or scatter.There is a possibility that particles adhering to the standby means may adhere to the nozzle tip again. Problem arises. In addition, this method is uneconomical because wasteful consumption of the developer increases.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and cleans the leading end of a processing liquid supply nozzle when not in use during standby to uniformly apply a processing liquid to a processing target and to prevent the processing liquid from being applied to the processing target. An object of the present invention is to provide a processing apparatus for preventing contamination of a processing body.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 comprises a holding means for holding an object to be processed, a container having an accommodation space for accommodating a processing liquid, and the accommodation space. A processing liquid supply nozzle having a projection portion in which a number of nozzle holes communicating with the processing liquid supply nozzle are formed in a straight line, and a standby unit disposed on the side of the holding unit for the processing liquid supply nozzle to wait, A cleaning liquid supply means provided in the standby means for supplying a cleaning liquid to the nozzle holes to collectively clean the nozzle holes, and a drying gas supply provided in the standby means for supplying a drying gas to the nozzle holes Means, a supply position of the processing liquid supply nozzle above the holding means,
Anda transport means for transporting between a standby position on the standby unit, the cleaning liquid supply means, comprising a trough-shaped liquid receiving tip may surround the nozzle hole of the processing solution supply nozzle <br The cleaning liquid or the processing liquid is supplied from the cleaning liquid supply means or the processing liquid supply nozzle into the liquid receiving portion, and overflows to clean the tip of the nozzle hole.

[0007] According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, further provided with a gas supply port on the side of the liquid receiver in or liquid receiver, a drying gas supply source to the gas supply port Connected.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the standby means includes an open box-shaped nozzle holder for holding the processing liquid supply nozzle, and an opening of the nozzle holder. In addition, an airtight member that maintains the cleaning atmosphere by contacting the processing liquid supply nozzle when the processing liquid supply nozzle is held by the nozzle holder is provided around the nozzle holder.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, an object to be processed is held.
Holding means, and a treatment liquid is dropped on the surface of the object to be treated.
A processing liquid supply nozzle that arranges many nozzle holes in a straight line
Relative to the surface of the object to be treated
And holding the processing liquid supply nozzle
When it moves to the standby means side located on the side of the holding means,
Next, the processing liquid supply nozzle is connected to the gutter-shaped liquid receiving portion of the standby means.
A step of surrounding the tip of the spill hole, and washing the liquid receiving portion
Supply the liquid or processing liquid and overflow to wash the tip of the nozzle hole.
Cleaning step.

[0010] The invention according to claim 5 is the invention according to claim 4.
After cleaning the tip of the nozzle hole, supply the processing liquid
Dry gas is supplied to the nozzle hole of the nozzle
The method further comprises a step of drying the tip.

The invention described in claim 6 is the invention according to claim 4 or 5.
In the above-mentioned invention, the tip of the nozzle hole of the processing liquid supply nozzle is
Surround with the liquid receiving part and open the processing liquid supply nozzle
Airtight to maintain the cleaning atmosphere with a box-shaped nozzle holder
It is characterized by holding.

[0012]

According to the present invention configured as described above,
By supplying the cleaning liquid to a large number of nozzle holes provided in a straight line to the processing liquid supply nozzle in a standby state after the processing of the processing body, the tip of the nozzle hole can be collectively cleaned. Further, by supplying a drying gas to the nozzle hole, the tip of the nozzle hole after cleaning can be dried uniformly and quickly.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. This embodiment is applied to a resist coating and developing apparatus.

As shown in FIG. 1, the resist coating and developing apparatus includes a processing mechanism unit 10 provided with a processing mechanism for performing various processings on an object to be processed, for example, a semiconductor wafer W (hereinafter, simply referred to as a wafer); Loading / unloading mechanism 1 for automatically loading / unloading wafer W into / from processing mechanism unit 10
And the main part is constituted.

The loading / unloading mechanism 1 includes a wafer carrier 2 for storing a wafer W before processing, a wafer carrier 3 for storing a processed wafer W, an arm 4 for holding the wafer W by suction, and an arm 4 for holding the wafer W. A moving mechanism 5 for moving in X, Y (horizontal), Z (vertical) and θ (rotation) directions;
Stage 6 on which wafers are aligned and wafers W are transferred to and from processing mechanism unit 10
And

The processing mechanism unit 10 is provided with a transfer mechanism 12 movably along a transfer path 11 formed in the X direction from the alignment stage 6. Transport mechanism 1
2 has a main arm 13 which is movable in the Y, Z and θ directions.
Is provided. On one side of the transfer path 11, an adhesion processing mechanism 14 for performing an adhesion process for improving the adhesion between the wafer W and the resist liquid film, and a solvent remaining in the resist applied to the wafer W are heated and evaporated. A pre-bake mechanism 15 for cooling the wafer W and a cooling mechanism 16 for cooling the heated wafer W are provided.
On the other side of the transfer path 11, a developing mechanism 17 (processing apparatus) for applying a processing liquid, for example, a developing liquid, to the surface of the wafer W is provided.
And a coating mechanism 1 for coating and forming a resist film on the wafer W
8 are provided.

In the resist coating and developing apparatus configured as described above, first, the unprocessed wafer W is unloaded from the wafer carrier 2 by the arm 4 of the loading / unloading mechanism 1 and is placed on the alignment stage 6 for positioning. Is done. Next, the wafer W on the alignment stage 6 is
It is held by the main arm 13 of the transport mechanism 12, transported to each of the processing mechanisms 14 to 18, and subjected to resist coating and development processing. Then, the processed wafer W is stored in the main arm 1.
The wafer is returned to the alignment stage 6 by 3, further transferred by the arm 4, and stored in the wafer carrier 3.

Next, the processing device 17 of the present invention will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, the processing apparatus of the present invention comprises a holding means for holding a wafer W by suction and holding it vertically and horizontally rotatable, for example, a spin chuck 20.
And a processing liquid supply nozzle 21 that is moved above the spin chuck 20 to supply a developing liquid as a processing liquid to the surface of the wafer W, and a processing liquid supply that is disposed on one side of the spin chuck 20 and is not used. Standby means 2 for holding nozzle 21
3, a rinsing liquid supply nozzle 24 disposed on the other side of the spin chuck 20 for rinsing the wafer W after the development processing, and a processing liquid supply nozzle 21 are selectively moved onto the spin chuck 20 and the standby unit 23. The main part is constituted by the transport means, for example, the nozzle moving mechanism 25.

The processing liquid supply nozzle 21 is formed to have substantially the same length as the diameter of the wafer W, and has a rectangular container 26 having a storage space for storing the developer M, and a downward direction from the bottom of the rectangular container 26. A rectangular container 26 is hermetically closed via a protruding portion 27, a plurality of nozzle holes 22 formed in the protruding portion 27 linearly at appropriate intervals, and an O-ring 28. And a cover 29 that can be opened and closed. A processing liquid supply pipe 30 is connected to the lid 29, and a predetermined developing liquid L is supplied into the rectangular container 26 at a predetermined pressure by an inert gas from a processing liquid supply source (not shown).
Can be supplied by pressure feeding (see FIG. 2).

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the standby means 23 has an open box-shaped nozzle holder 3 for holding the nozzle hole 22 of the processing liquid supply nozzle 21 at the opening 32 and holding it.
1 and a gutter-shaped liquid receiving portion 34 disposed inside the opening side of the nozzle holder 31 for cleaning the processing liquid adhering to the nozzle holes 22. In this case, the processing liquid supply nozzle 2 is provided on the upper surface around the opening of the nozzle holder 31.
A sealing member for hermetic sealing, for example, an O-ring 33, which comes into contact with the holding member 1 is provided around the holding member. A slope is formed in the bottom 35 of the nozzle holder 31 from one end to the other end of the bottom 35, and a cleaning liquid discharge port 36 is provided at a lower portion of the bottom 35. On the other hand, the liquid receiving portions 34 are provided on both end walls in the longitudinal direction of the nozzle holder 31 so as to surround the tip portion of the nozzle hole (specifically, the tip portion of the nozzle hole 22 and the protruding portions 27 on both sides thereof). U-shaped groove 37
And a plurality of small drain holes 38 are formed in the bottom 37a thereof at appropriate intervals. Further, a cleaning liquid supply port 39 and a dry gas supply port 44 which are open to the liquid receiving section 34 are provided on both side walls in the longitudinal direction of the nozzle holder 31. The cleaning liquid supply means 39 is connected to the cleaning liquid supply port 39. That is, the tank 41 that stores the cleaning liquid L (for example, pure water) is connected to the cleaning liquid supply port 39 via the pump 40. Further, a drying gas supply unit is connected to the drying gas supply port 44. That is, the dry gas supply port 44 is connected to a dry gas supply source 43 such as a nitrogen gas (N2 gas) via a fan 42.

In the processing apparatus of the present invention configured as described above, in order to apply the developing solution to the surface of the wafer W,
The developing solution is supplied to the rectangular container 26 of the processing liquid supply nozzle 21 in advance to fill the rectangular container 26 with the developing solution, and the standby means 23 waits. Then, the wafer W is placed on the spin chuck 20 raised by the main arm 13, and the spin chuck 20 is lowered.

Next, after the processing liquid supply nozzle 21 is horizontally moved to near the center position of the wafer W by the nozzle moving mechanism 25, the spin chuck 20 and the processing liquid supply nozzle 21 are moved.
Are relatively moved up and down so that the distance between the tip end of the nozzle hole of the processing liquid supply nozzle 21 and the wafer W is minute, for example, 0.1 mm.
It is set to be in the range of mm to 1.5 mm. Then, by supplying a predetermined developing solution from the processing liquid supply pipe 30 into the rectangular container 26 at a predetermined pressure, the developing solution is supplied to the surface of the wafer W in a band shape so as to ooze out from each nozzle hole 22. Along with this, the wafer W is
When the rotor is rotated about 1/2 turn at a low speed, the spin chuck 2
0 and the processing liquid supply nozzle 21 relatively move horizontally, and the developer supplied to the surface of the wafer W is
It is spread while being exuded by. This allows
The developer can be applied uniformly and thinly on the surface of the wafer W.

After that, the processing liquid supply nozzle 21 is retreated from the surface of the wafer W by the nozzle moving mechanism 25, is horizontally moved to a position above the nozzle holder 31 of the standby means 23, and is lowered to be on the nozzle holder 31. And is held. At this time, since the O-ring 33 is interposed between the nozzle holder 31 and the processing liquid supply nozzle 21, the processing liquid supply nozzle 21 is maintained in a cleaning atmosphere. The tip of the nozzle hole 22 of the processing liquid supply nozzle 21 is surrounded by a U-shaped groove 37 of the liquid receiving portion 34. In this state, when the cleaning liquid supply source is connected to the cleaning liquid supply port 39 and the cleaning liquid L is supplied from the cleaning liquid tank 41 into the liquid receiving section 34 by operating the pump 40, the cleaning liquid L is supplied to the liquid receiving section 34. While contacting the tip of the nozzle hole while overflowing,
The degraded and solidified processing liquid adhering to the tip of the nozzle hole is washed away and flows to the bottom 35 of the nozzle holder 31. Therefore, the processing liquid adhering to the nozzle holes 22 of the processing liquid supply nozzle 21 can be washed at once, so that the processing liquid supply nozzle 21 has no particles adhered from the nozzle holder 31 side, and the next processing In the liquid deposition step, the wafer W
A clean processing liquid can be uniformly applied to the surface of the wafer W, and contamination of the wafer W can be prevented. Also,
Since the tip of the nozzle hole is cleaned while the processing liquid supply nozzle 21 is on standby, the processing of the wafer W can be performed efficiently.

When the supply of the cleaning liquid is stopped after the cleaning, the cleaning liquid in the liquid receiving portion 34 flows down from the small drainage hole 38 to the bottom 35 of the nozzle holding member 31 and then is discharged.
6 to an external predetermined place. After the cleaning, a drying gas supply source 43 is connected to the drying gas supply port 44, and a drying gas (N2 gas) is supplied into the liquid receiving portion 34 by driving the fan 42, so that the cleaned nozzle hole tip. The unit is quickly dried and can be prepared for the next processing step by the processing liquid supply nozzle 21. Note that while the processing liquid supply nozzle 21 is held by the standby unit 23 and is on standby, the wafer W on which the developer is applied is rinsed by the rinse liquid (for example, pure water) supplied from the rinse liquid supply nozzle 24. Is performed, the rinsing liquid is shaken off, and the process ends.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the dry gas is supplied from the dry gas supply port 44 opened to the liquid receiving portion 34 has been described. However, such a structure is not necessarily required, and as shown in FIG. A dry gas passage 46 is provided along both side walls 45 in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the holding body 31, and a plurality of dry gas supply ports 47 opening from the dry gas passage 46 toward the side of the liquid receiving portion 34. A structure may be provided in a straight line at appropriate intervals. With this configuration, the drying gas is uniformly supplied to the entire nozzle, and the tip of the nozzle hole can be washed and uniformly dried. In this case, the dry gas supply port 47 is connected to the liquid receiving section 34.
However, the dry gas supply ports 47 need not always be provided on both sides of the liquid receiving portion 34, and may be provided only on one side.

In FIG. 4, the other parts are the same as those in the first embodiment, and the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted.

In the above embodiment, the cleaning liquid is supplied to the liquid receiving portion 3.
4, the tip of the nozzle hole is washed by overflow of the cleaning liquid L. However, the processing liquid M contained in the rectangular container 26 of the processing liquid supply nozzle 21 is received instead of the cleaning liquid L. It is also possible to clean the tip of the nozzle hole by supplying it into the section 34 and overflowing it in the same manner as described above. When drying after washing is not required, the dry gas supply port 44 or the dry gas supply port 47 may not be provided.

In the above embodiment, the case where the object to be processed is a semiconductor wafer has been described. However, the object to be processed is not necessarily limited to a semiconductor wafer.
The present invention can also be applied to a glass substrate, a printed circuit board, or the like to which a processing liquid is similarly applied. Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the processing apparatus is applied to the resist coating and developing apparatus has been described. However, it is needless to say that the processing apparatus can be applied to an apparatus for performing, for example, an etching liquid coating processing, a magnetic liquid coating processing, etc. It is.

[0030]

As described above, the processing apparatus and processing method of the present invention have the following effects.

1) During the standby time of the processing liquid supply nozzle after the processing step, the processing liquid adhering to the nozzle holes can be washed at a time, and the supply of the processing liquid in the subsequent processing steps can be made uniform. In addition, contamination of the object to be processed can be prevented.

2) Since the drying gas is supplied toward the nozzle hole of the processing liquid supply nozzle after cleaning, the tip of the nozzle hole after cleaning can be dried uniformly and quickly, and the processing operation of the object to be processed can be performed. It can be performed efficiently.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing an embodiment in which a processing apparatus of the present invention is applied to a resist coating and developing apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing an example of a main part of the processing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional perspective view showing an example of a standby unit according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a main part of another embodiment of the processing apparatus of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 20 spin chuck (holding unit) 21 processing liquid supply nozzle 22 nozzle hole 23 standby unit 25 nozzle moving mechanism (conveying unit) 26 rectangular container 27 protrusion 31 nozzle holder 32 opening 33 airtight O-ring (seal member) 34 liquid Receiving part 37 U-shaped groove 39 Cleaning liquid / dry gas supply port 40 Pump (cleaning liquid supply means) 41 Cleaning liquid tank (cleaning liquid supply means) 42 Fan (dry gas supply means) 43 Dry gas supply source (dry gas supply means) 44 Drying Gas supply port 46 Dry gas passage 47 Dry gas supply port L Cleaning liquid M Developing liquid (processing liquid) W Semiconductor wafer (workpiece)

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. A processing method comprising: holding means for holding an object to be processed; a container having an accommodation space for accommodating a processing liquid; and a projection having a large number of nozzle holes communicating with the accommodation space formed in a straight line. A liquid supply nozzle, a standby unit disposed on a side of the holding unit for the processing liquid supply nozzle to wait, and a nozzle hole provided in the standby unit for cleaning the nozzle hole collectively. A cleaning liquid supply unit for supplying a cleaning liquid to the nozzle hole provided in the standby unit and supplying a drying gas to the nozzle hole; a supply position of the processing liquid supply nozzle above the holding unit; anda transport means for transporting between a standby position on the means, the cleaning liquid supply means comprises a trough-shaped liquid receiving part capable of enclosing the tip of the nozzle hole of the processing solution supply nozzle, the cleaning fluid Supply means or From management solution supply nozzle and overflow the cleaning liquid is supplied or treatment liquid in the liquid receiving portion and adapted to wash the nozzle hole tip processing apparatus characterized by. 2. A provided with a gas supply port on a side of the liquid receiving part or in the liquid receiving portion, formed by connecting the drying gas supply source to the gas supply port, the processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the . 3. The standby means includes an open box-shaped nozzle holder for holding a processing liquid supply nozzle, and the processing liquid supply nozzle is held in the opening of the nozzle holder by the nozzle holder. The processing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising an airtight member that abuts the airtight member to maintain a cleaning atmosphere. 4. A holding means for holding an object to be processed;
A large number of nozzle holes for dropping the processing liquid on the surface of the processing object are straight
Horizontally move the processing liquid supply nozzles
Te, a step of depositing a treatment liquid to the surface of the object to be processed, the upper
The processing liquid supply nozzle is disposed beside the holding means.
To the waiting means side, and the gutter-like liquid of the waiting means
A process to surround the tip of the nozzle hole of the processing liquid supply nozzle in the receiving part
And supplying the cleaning liquid or the processing liquid to the liquid receiving section and overflowing.
Cleaning the tip of the nozzle hole by using
A processing method characterized by the following. 5. After washing the nozzle hole tip, the treatment liquid subjected
Dry gas is supplied to the nozzle hole of the supply nozzle
The method further comprises a step of drying the tip of the hole.
The processing method according to claim 4. 6. The processing liquid supply nozzle is provided with
Enclosed in the receiving part and the processing liquid supply nozzle is open box shape
Airtight to maintain the cleaning atmosphere with the nozzle holder
The processing method according to claim 4, wherein the processing is performed.