JP3073034B2 - Liquid processing equipment - 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 processing apparatus for processing an object to be processed, such as a semiconductor wafer, with a chemical for semiconductor processing .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, taking a resist coating or developer coating process in a semiconductor manufacturing process as an example, a chemical solution such as a resist solution or a developing solution serving as a coating solution is controlled at a predetermined temperature to obtain a desired solution. It is known that a uniform film thickness can be obtained and a uniform developing process can be performed.

[0003] In order to control the temperature of this chemical solution, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No.
78981, Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No.
JP-86542, JP-A-60-160614, JP-A-61614
-125017, JP-A-62-183526, JP-A-Hei 1
Japanese Patent Publication Nos. 2141402 and 2-30023. In this type of chemical liquid temperature control structure, a tube made of a fluororesin such as Teflon (registered trademark; tetrafluoroethylene) is generally used as the chemical liquid supply pipe from the viewpoint of chemical resistance and flexibility. Alternatively, a glass tube is used in consideration of chemical resistance.

[0004]

The heat transfer coefficient of a Teflon tube is inferior to that of a metal, glass or the like. Therefore, the heat exchange efficiency between the chemical solution and the temperature control medium passing through the inside and outside of the Teflon tube is reduced, and it becomes difficult to control the temperature of the chemical solution to a desired temperature. Although the heat transfer coefficient can be improved by reducing the thickness of the Teflon tube, there is a problem that the thin tube has a low mechanical strength and is easily broken.

On the other hand, when a glass tube is used as a chemical solution supply tube, the heat transfer coefficient is higher than that of a Teflon tube, but there is a drawback that connection of the glass tube is difficult and the glass tube is easily broken. .

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a temperature control structure for a supply passage for a chemical solution, which has high chemical solution resistance, high heat exchange efficiency, excellent mechanical strength, and easy connection. To provide a liquid processing apparatus having a temperature control section .

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid processing apparatus having a supply passage for supplying a semiconductor processing chemical from a storage section to a processing section of an object to be processed. The supply passage has a portion that branches off as a plurality of parallel supply passages in the middle thereof, and the plurality of parallel supply passages are formed as temperature control sections that are controlled by a temperature control medium. And Liquid processing apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention is to Oite in claim 1, and a passage of the supply passage and the temperature control medium of the semiconductor processing chemical, the inner tube, a coaxial arrangement formed by the outer tube At least the inner tube is formed of a metal having a high heat transfer coefficient, and a thin film having chemical resistance is formed on a surface of the inner tube in contact with the chemical solution for semiconductor processing. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the liquid processing apparatus according to the second aspect , the thin film is formed of Teflon and has a thickness of 0.1 to 0.3 mm.
It is characterized by being. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the liquid processing apparatus according to the second or third aspect , the thin film is formed of a heat-shrinkable tube. The liquid processing apparatus according to the invention described in claim 5 is:
In any one of claims 1 to 4 , a pressure unit for pressurizing and supplying the semiconductor processing chemical liquid is further provided.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a portion in which the supply passage is branched into a plurality of portions and which are parallel to each other is formed as a temperature control portion which is controlled by a temperature control medium. Accordingly, the heat exchange rate can be increased by increasing the surface area of the supply passage in the temperature control section and increasing the contact area between the supply passage and the temperature control medium. As a result, the heat exchange rate is increased without increasing the amount of the semiconductor processing chemical solution remaining in the supply passage, or increasing the fluid resistance by reducing the cross-sectional area of the supply passage in the temperature control section. be able to. According to the second aspect of the present invention, the inner pipe serving as a partition wall between the supply path of the semiconductor processing chemical solution and the path of the temperature control medium formed along the supply path is made of a metal having a high heat transfer coefficient. It is configured as a base. Compared with fluororesin, glass, etc., this metal substrate can ensure higher heat exchange efficiency of the chemical and temperature control medium tubes, and has excellent mechanical strength, and connects the substrates or other tubes along the longitudinal direction. Connection structure becomes simple. Further, a thin film having chemical resistance to the chemical for semiconductor processing is formed on the chemical contact surface side of the metal base. Since this thin film is thin while having chemical resistance, it does not hinder the heat exchange rate.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, the chemical resistant thin film provided on the surface in contact with the semiconductor processing chemical liquid has a thickness of 0.1.
It is made of Teflon of about 0.3 mm. It has been confirmed that a Teflon film in this thickness range has a sufficient heat transfer coefficient and is hardly damaged. According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the chemical-resistant thin film provided on the surface in contact with the semiconductor processing chemical is formed by a heat-shrinkable tube, the tubular thin film is formed into an inner tube. By heat shrinking after being placed on the outer surface of the inner tube, the inner tube can be easily and surely brought into close contact with the outer surface of the inner tube. According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the semiconductor processing chemical is supplied while being pressurized by the pressurizing section, the semiconductor processing chemical can be sprayed and supplied toward the object to be processed.

[0009]

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

First, the overall structure of the developing device of the present embodiment will be described.
This will be described with reference to FIG. A semiconductor wafer 10 as an object to be processed is mounted and fixed on a spin chuck 12 by vacuum suction or the like. The spin chuck 12 can be driven to rotate by driving a motor 14. The motor 14 is composed of a high-performance motor that excels in acceleration, has a flange 16 on the upper side, and is fixed at an appropriate position in the developing device by the flange 16.

The wafer 1 supported on the spin chuck 12
Above 0, a spray nozzle 18 is provided, which is a nozzle for ejecting a developing solution 17 as a semiconductor processing chemical from, for example, a mist from a substantially central position of the wafer 10. A scanner 20 is provided as a moving mechanism of the spray nozzle 18, and the scanner 20 can move the spray nozzle 18 between a jetting position shown in the drawing and a standby position retracted from above the wafer 10.

The system for supplying the developing solution to the spray nozzle 18 includes a developing solution container 22, an N ₂ pressurizing unit 24, and a pipe 26 extending from the developing solution container 22 to the spray nozzle 18. Incidentally, the middle pipe 26, and valves V ₁ of the on-off is provided. The temperature control device 29 for the developer described below is provided in the middle of the pipe 26, and is preferably arranged on the side close to the spray nozzle 18.

Above the semiconductor wafer 10, a cleaning liquid jet nozzle (not shown) for jetting a cleaning liquid for washing away the developing solution 17 on the surface of the semiconductor wafer 10 after the development is completed, and a scanner (not shown). Is provided so as to be movable. Further, on the back side of the semiconductor wafer 10,
A back surface cleaning nozzle (not shown) for ejecting a cleaning liquid for cleaning the back surface of the semiconductor wafer 10 is provided.

Then, after the semiconductor wafer 10 is carried in by a transfer mechanism (not shown) and mounted and fixed on the spin chuck 12, the spray nozzle 18 is moved to the center position of the semiconductor wafer 10 by the scanner 20, and the spin chuck is moved. 12
That while stationary or rotating the semiconductor wafer 10, by spraying supplied puddle toward the semiconductor wafer 10 from the valve V ₁ and opened N ₂ pressure spray nozzle 18 the liquid developer 17, which is temperature control, the predetermined time Perform development processing.

After the development, the semiconductor wafer 10 is rotated at a high speed to shake off the developer 17 on the surface of the semiconductor wafer 10 by centrifugal force. Then, the cleaning liquid jet nozzle (not shown) is moved to jet the cleaning liquid to the surface of the semiconductor wafer 10,
Further, the semiconductor wafer 10 is cleaned and dried by a back surface cleaning nozzle (not shown).

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the temperature control device will be described. [First Embodiment] FIGS. 1 to 3 are explanatory views of an embodiment having a double-pipe type temperature controller. As shown in FIG. 2, the temperature control device 29 includes two Teflon bodies 30 and 32 spaced apart from each other, and connects, for example, four outer tubes 34 between the bodies 30 and 32, and The inner tube 36 is inserted through the inside. On one Teflon body 30, a developer inlet 30a is formed, and a developer passage 30b communicating with the inlet 30a is provided. Similarly,
A developing solution outlet 32a is formed in the other Teflon body 32, and a developing solution passage 32 communicates with the outlet 32a.
b is provided.

The outer tube 34 has an inner diameter of 12 mm and an outer diameter of 14 mm as shown in FIG.
(1 mm thick) Teflon tube.
The Teflon tube 34 as an outer tube is connected and fixed by welding / pure bonding at the positions A (eight places) shown in the figure so that the Teflon tubes 34 communicate with the passages 30b and 32b of the Teflon bodies 30 and 32, respectively. Have been.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, the inner pipe 36 is formed of a metal pipe having an inner diameter of 4 mm and an outer diameter of 6 mm, for example, an Al pipe 38a, and a thin film formed on the outer surface of the Al pipe 38a. For example, a Teflon tube 38b which is an example of a fluororesin. The thickness of the Teflon tube 38b is preferably 0.1 to 0.3 mm, and in this embodiment, the thickness is 0.2 mm. When a Teflon tube thinner than the above thickness range is used, the heat transfer coefficient is good, but the heat transfer coefficient is good, but the tube is easily broken. Conversely, when a thick Teflon tube is used, the heat transfer coefficient is deteriorated. In this embodiment, since the outer surface of the Al pipe 38a is covered with the Teflon tube 38b, the outer surface of the Al pipe 38a is easily and reliably adhered to the outer surface of the Al pipe 38a by thermally contracting the Teflon tube 38b. It becomes possible.

Temperature-regulated water is supplied into each of the four inner tubes 36, and a developer passes between the inner tube 36 and the outer tube 34. The temperature of the developing solution is 20 to 23 ° C.
In this embodiment, the temperature of the developer is adjusted to 23 ° C. Therefore, for example, temperature control water of 23 ° C. is used as the temperature of the temperature control water flowing through the inner pipe 36, and the flow rate thereof is set to, for example, 1.2 liter / min.

Next, the operation will be described.

When the pressurized N ₂ gas is supplied to the inside of the developer container 22, the developer is supplied to the pipe 26 from the developer container 22. Then, before the developer reaches the spray nozzle 18, it always flows inside the temperature control device 29 having the above-described structure.

When the developing solution flowing through the pipe 26 reaches the developing solution inlet 30a of the Teflon body 30, the developing solution passes through the passage 30a inside the Teflon body 30 and is branched into four paths. It passes between the outer tube 34 and the inner tube 36 and is led to the developing solution outlet 32a through the passage 32b of the other Teflon body 32. During this time, the temperature-controlled water flowing inside the inner tube 36 causes
It will be set to a constant temperature of 3 ° C. That is, the inner tube 3
The temperature-adjusted water flowing through 6 exchanges heat with a developer flowing therethrough through an Al pipe 38a and a thin-film Teflon tube 38b, and the temperature of the developer is the set temperature of the temperature-adjusted water. The temperature will be adjusted to 23 ° C. At this time, A
Since the pipe 38a is made of metal, it has a high heat conductivity, and the Teflon tube 38b is formed as thin as about 0.2 mm, so that the heat conductivity is not hindered and efficient heat exchange is realized. It is possible to do.

The area in contact with the developing solution flowing between the inner tube 36 and the outer tube 34 is entirely the Teflon tube 34.
And 38b, so it has chemical resistance,
Deterioration of the tube can be reliably prevented.

In particular, by adopting a structure in which the temperature-regulated water is passed through the inside of the double tube and the developer is passed through the outside as in this embodiment, the inner tube 36 is made of Teflon on the outer surface of the Al pipe 38a. The tube 38b may be disposed, and such a configuration is such that after extrapolating a Teflon tube 38b having an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the Al pipe 38a, the Teflon tube 38
There is an effect that can be easily realized by thermally shrinking b.

The double-pipe type temperature control device may have a structure in which a developing solution is supplied into the inner pipe 36 and temperature-controlled water is supplied between the inner pipe 36 and the outer pipe 34. However, in this case, it is necessary to coat the inner surface of the inner tube 36 with the Teflon tube 38b. [Second Embodiment] The second embodiment shows an example in which a supply passage for a semiconductor processing chemical and a passage for a temperature control medium are arranged in parallel, and in particular, an assembly structure of each passage is formed by laminating members. ing.

As shown in FIG. 5, this temperature control device has a temperature control water passage formed in parallel above and below a developer passage. This structure includes a body plate 40, a water jacket 42, a separator 44, a center plate 4
6, the separator 44, the water jacket 42, and the body plate 40 are laminated in that order. The upper and lower walls of the temperature control water passage are formed by the body plate 40 and the separator 44, respectively, and the side walls are formed by the water jacket 42. The separator 44 is provided on a metal plate such as an Al plate 44a and a developer contact side thereof, for example, a Teflon sheet 44 to be coated.
b. The thickness of the Al plate 44a and the Teflon sheet 44b is the same as the Al pipe 38a in the first embodiment.
And the thickness can be set substantially the same as the thickness of the Teflon tube 38b. The body plate 40 and the water jacket 42 are made of, for example, Al.

The center plate 46 is made of, for example, a fluororesin which is resistant to chemicals so as to come into contact with the developing solution, and is configured as shown in FIG. 6, for example. That is, a recess 52 serving as a passage for the developing solution is formed inside the O-ring groove 50 for ensuring liquid tightness. The concave portion 52 is composed of, for example, four parallel linear concave portions 52a and a curved concave portion 52b connecting ends of the adjacent linear concave portions 52a, and the developer supplied from an inlet 54a at one end of the concave portion 52 is provided. Flows meandering along the straight concave portion 52a and the curved concave portion 52b, and is discharged from the outlet 54b at the other end. The back side of the center plate 46 has a similar structure. The passage of the temperature control water is also provided in the recess 52 of the center plate 46.
And can be configured to meander.

Even with the temperature control device having such a structure, the first
As in the embodiment, the Al plate 44a and the Teflon sheet 4
The heat exchange between the temperature-regulated water and the developer can be efficiently achieved via the separator 44 composed of 4b. Further, in the second embodiment, since the developing solution flows in a meandering manner and the heat exchange action can be realized during the meandering time, there is an effect that the heat exchange can be realized for a sufficient time in a relatively short length region. In addition, since the passage for the temperature control water and the developing solution can be configured by stacking the above-described various members, the assembly cost can be reduced.

FIG. 7 shows the center plate 4 in FIG.
6 shows an example in which another center plate 60 is used in which the upper and lower partitions of the developer passage are removed.

FIG. 8 shows an example in which a passage for the developer is provided above and below the passage for the temperature control water. In this case, the body plate 70 and the jacket 72 are made of a chemical-resistant liquid, for example, fluororesin, and the center plate 74 is made of Al or the like because it only contacts the temperature-regulated water. Further, the Teflon sheet 44b of the separator 44 is disposed on the side that comes into contact with the developer. [Third Embodiment] In the third embodiment, a processing liquid supply passage is provided in a spiral shape so as to surround the passage of the temperature control medium, and heat is exchanged.

As shown in FIG. 9, a Teflon tube is coated on the outer surface of the A1 pipe, and the inner side of the inner pipe 80 through which the temperature control water as the temperature control medium flows. And an outer tube 81 made of Teflon. The inner wall of the outer tube 81 has a tip portion connected to the inner tube 8.
The protrusion 81a that comes into contact with the surface of the inner tube 80 in a liquid-tight manner is provided in a spiral shape, and the gap between the outer tube 81 and the inner tube 80 forms a band-shaped spiral flow channel 81b. That is, the developer supplied from a developer inlet 82 provided at one end of the outer tube 81 is temperature-controlled while spirally flowing through the flow path 81b, and a developer outlet 83 provided at the other end.
Is led to.

A hollow body 84 is disposed inside the inner tube 80 with both ends supported by support members 85.
At both ends of the inner tube 80, lids 88 and 89 provided with a temperature control water inlet 86 and a temperature control water outlet 87, respectively, are attached in a liquid-tight manner using a seal member such as an O-ring. The hollow body 84 allows the temperature-regulated water to effectively contact the wall surface of the inner pipe 80,
This is provided to improve heat exchange.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention.

The above embodiment, the present invention shows an example of application to a developing apparatus for a semiconductor wafer, resist coating apparatus, the side rinse apparatus, each type of liquid processing instrumentation <br/> location of the cleaning device or the like Can be similarly applied. As the chemical-resistant thin film formed on the surface of the metal substrate as a partition wall between the chemical solution and the temperature control medium, a fluororesin such as Teflon (trade name) is most suitable. Heat resistance can be ensured, and it is possible to set various temperature control temperatures within this heat resistant temperature range. However, as the chemical resistance of the film, not necessarily limited to fluorine resin, silicone over emissions, etc., it is possible to apply various members having chemical resistance to the semiconductor processing liquid.
On the other hand, the metal substrate is not limited to Al as in the above embodiment, and various metals having a high heat transfer coefficient, such as SUS and Cu, can be used.

[0035]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the surface area of the supply passage in the temperature control section can be increased, and the contact area between the supply passage and the temperature control medium can be increased. Therefore, it is possible to increase the heat exchange rate without increasing the amount of the semiconductor processing chemical solution retained in the supply passage or increasing the fluid resistance by reducing the cross-sectional area of the supply passage in the temperature control section. it can. Claim 2
According to the invention described in the above, a chemical resistant liquid provided with an inner tube serving as a partition wall that separates a passage for a semiconductor treatment chemical and a passage for a temperature control medium on a side in contact with a metal base having a high heat transfer coefficient and a chemical. By constituting with a thin film having the property, while ensuring a high heat exchange rate between the chemical solution and the temperature control medium, excellent in mechanical strength,
In addition, it is possible to realize a liquid processing apparatus including a semiconductor processing chemical liquid temperature control unit that does not deteriorate due to the chemical liquid. According to the third aspect of the invention, it has been confirmed that the chemical-resistant thin film provided on the surface in contact with the semiconductor processing chemical liquid has a sufficient heat transfer coefficient and is hardly damaged. Claim
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the tubular thin film is arranged on the outer surface of the inner tube and then thermally contracted, whereby the thin film can be easily and surely brought into close contact with the outer surface of the inner tube. According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to spray and supply the semiconductor processing chemical toward the object to be processed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a double tube serving as a developer temperature control unit in a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a temperature control unit in the first embodiment device.

FIG. 3 is a left side view of the temperature control unit shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a schematic explanatory view of a developing device which is an overall configuration of the first embodiment apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a laminated structure type temperature control device as a second embodiment device.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the center plate shown in FIG.

7 is a cross-sectional view of the temperature control device in which upper and lower partitions of a center plate in FIG. 5 are deleted.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a laminated structure type temperature control device in which a channel for a chemical solution is formed above and below temperature control water.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a double-pipe structure type temperature control device as a third embodiment device.

[Explanation of symbols]

34 Outer tube (Teflon tube) 36 Inner tube 38a Al pipe 38b Teflon tube 44 Separator 44a Al plate 44b Teflon sheet
TE033201

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A liquid processing apparatus comprising a supply path for supplying a semiconductor processing chemical from a storage section to a processing section of an object to be processed, wherein the supply path branches in the middle thereof as a plurality of parallel supply paths. A liquid processing apparatus, comprising: a plurality of supply passages, wherein the plurality of parallel supply passages are formed as a temperature control unit that controls temperature using a temperature control medium. Wherein Oite to claim 1, and a passage of the supply passage and the temperature control medium of the semiconductor processing chemical, and an inner tube, a coaxial arrangement formed by the outer tube, the heat transfer at least the inner tube A liquid processing apparatus comprising: a metal having a high efficiency; and a thin film having chemical resistance is formed on a surface of an inner tube of the inner tube that comes into contact with the chemical liquid for semiconductor processing. 3. The liquid processing apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the thin film is formed of Teflon and has a thickness of 0.1 to 0.3 mm. 4. The method of claim 2 or claim 3, wherein the thin film liquid processing apparatus characterized by being formed by a heat-shrinkable tubing. 5. In any of claims 1 to 4, the liquid processing apparatus according to claim further comprising a pressure portion for supplying pressurized the semiconductor processing chemicals.