JP3118858B2 - Resist coating apparatus and cleaning method thereof - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a resist coating apparatus, and more particularly, to a resist coating apparatus which can efficiently remove a residual resist adhering to a coating chamber in a short time by using a scattered cleaning liquid.

In recent years, miniaturization of patterns has been increasingly promoted in order to realize high integration of semiconductor devices. In a flat display such as a liquid crystal display device, fine patterning over a large area has been required.

[0003] Accordingly, various fine processing techniques for forming fine patterns have been vigorously developed. Among them, a patterning technique called photolithography (photolithography) centered on photoetching is currently most utilized.

[0004] One of the elemental technologies in the patterning technology by photoetching is a resist. The resist is
The sensitivity have been made study relating to materials like for materials and a light source, in response to miniaturization of the pattern, and how thin and uniform thickness or coating a resist material on a manufacturing <br/> Concrete Technology Has become.

[0005]

2. Description of the Related Art In addition to a rotary resist coater, also called a spin coater, various resist coaters such as a spray resist coater and a roll resist coater are used depending on the application. ing. However, when performing extremely fine patterning, a rotary resist coating apparatus is most often used because a resist film must be formed uniformly and thinly in accordance with the pattern width over a wide area.

Incidentally, the resist is a polymer positive
Regardless of whether it is a negative type or an unpolymerized negative type, it is generally composed of an organic solvent solution of an organic compound having film forming properties. Therefore, in any of the resist coating apparatuses, surplus resist after being controlled to a predetermined coating film thickness adheres and remains everywhere in the apparatus. Such residual resist,
In some cases, it becomes mist-like, and in some cases it becomes granular, and re-adheres to an object to be coated. In addition, when the solvent evaporates after being left for a long time, it becomes hard and sticks, and it is troublesome to remove it.

Therefore, the residual resist is washed away while being constantly moistened with a solvent so as not to harden. FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of an example of a conventional rotary coating apparatus. FIG. 3A is a sectional view, and FIG. 3B is a perspective view of a main part. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an object to be coated, 2 denotes a rotary suction unit, 3
Is a coating chamber, 3a is a liquid receiving wall surface, 3b is a liquid receiving slope, 3c
Is a downflow path, 3d is a drain port, 3e is an exhaust port, 4 is a residual resist, 5 is a cleaning liquid, 8a is an upper discharge port, 8b is a lower discharge port, 9 is a resist, and 10 is a resist coating device.

[0008] The rotary resist coating apparatus 10 has a structure surrounded by a bowl-shaped coating chamber 3 having an open top. At the center of the coating chamber 3, there is provided a table-shaped rotary suction unit 2 which rotates in connection with a motor (not shown) and which is connected to vacuum suction means (not shown). The article to be coated 1 is adsorbed and supported by the rotary adsorbing section 2 so as to rotate.

A flow-down passage 3c is provided in a peripheral portion of the coating chamber 3, and spirally descends downward to continue to a drain port 3d at the bottom. An exhaust port is provided at the bottom of the coating chamber 3.
3e is provided, and the inside of the coating chamber 3 is evacuated.

The article 1 to be coated is a silicon wafer in the case of an element constituting a semiconductor device, and is used in the case of forming a mask for pattern exposure, a display element, or the like.
It is a glass substrate or the like on which a light-shielding film or a conductive film is attached.

When the resist 9 is dropped onto the object 1 from above the center of the coating chamber 3 while the object 1 is supported and rotated by the rotary suction part 2, the resist 9 is moved around by the centrifugal force. Spread thinly. Then, if the viscosity of the resist 9, the drop amount, the rotation speed of the article to be coated 1, and the like are defined,
A resist film having a predetermined thickness is formed.

By the way, the resist 9 which has scattered from the peripheral edge of the article to be coated 1 is vigorously blown off and hits the liquid receiving wall 3a, or flows into the downflow path 3c along the liquid receiving slope 3b. ing. However, the residual resist 4 scattered in this manner gradually becomes more viscous as the solvent evaporates, and becomes difficult to flow down.

Therefore, in the case of a resist coating apparatus in which the coating chamber 3 can be removed and carried, the cleaning liquid is put in a large container, and the removed coating chamber 3 is immersed in the cleaning liquid for 8 hours or 12 hours. It took a long time to wash. In the meantime, the coating operation was performed by replacing the chamber with a spare chamber.

On the other hand, when the application chamber 3 cannot be removed, a plurality of upper discharge ports 8a are provided at appropriate intervals on the back side of the liquid receiving wall surface 3a, and a lower discharge port 8a is provided on the back side of the liquid receiving slope 3b. A plurality of openings 8b are provided at appropriate intervals. Then, a cleaning liquid 5 that sufficiently dissolves the residual resist 4 attached thereto is discharged little by little from these two types of discharge ports 8a and 8b, so that the residual resist 4 flows down to the downflow path 3c without solidifying.

[0015]

As described above, in the conventional resist coating apparatus 10, when the coating chamber 3 can be removed, the remaining resist 4 adhered by immersing the coating chamber 3 in the cleaning liquid 5 for a long time is removed. . Since such cleaning work needs to be performed daily for a plurality of resist coating apparatuses 10, it takes time and labor for cleaning, requires a large amount of cleaning liquid 5, and cannot be removed by immersion. There was also a problem from the viewpoint of safety and hygiene due to the washing operation by the above.

On the other hand, when cleaning is performed by discharging the cleaning liquid 5 from the discharge ports 8a and 8b, the residual resist 4 is washed off in a spot pattern along the flow of the cleaning liquid 5 near the respective discharge ports 8a and 8b. However, there is a problem that the entire surface of the liquid receiving wall surface 3a and the entire liquid receiving slope 3b cannot be sufficiently cleaned when the discharge amount of the cleaning liquid 5 is divided.

Therefore, in the present invention, the cleaning jig is supported and rotated by the rotary suction part, and the cleaning liquid discharged from above and below the cleaning jig is scattered by centrifugal force on the liquid receiving wall surface and the liquid receiving slope, so that the cleaning liquid is discharged for a short time. It is an object of the present invention to provide a coating apparatus capable of uniformly cleaning a resist adhered to a coating chamber.

[0018]

Problems mentioned above SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION includes a rotating suction portion for rotating by suction support to be coated kimono resist is Nurigi surrounds the rotating suction part, resist the the object to be coated kimono A coating chamber for adhering residual resist scattered when supplied, and detachable to the rotary suction unit
A cleaning jig, a cleaning liquid for dissolving the residual resist the
A discharge port for discharging the cleaning jig from above and below in a peripheral direction , wherein the cleaning jig has a cross-sectional shape of a peripheral portion inclined in a vertical direction.
And forms a slope, when cleaning the residual resist adhering to the coating chamber, supplying <br/> the cleaning liquid in the cleaning jig for rotating, to scatter the washing liquid to the coating chamber The problem is solved by a resist coating apparatus configured as described above. Also, the cross-sectional shape of the peripheral part is vertical
A cleaning jig having an inclined surface is placed on the rotary suction section,
Supplying a cleaning liquid to the rotating cleaning jig from above and below
The cleaning liquid to the coating chamber.
Cleaning method for resist coating apparatus configured to disperse
Solved by

[0019]

According to the conventional resist coating apparatus, the residual resist adhering to the coating chamber is washed away with the cleaning liquid gradually flowing from the discharge port while being moistened. To remove it.

That is, a cleaning jig similar to the object to be coated is supported by the rotary suction portion and rotated, and the cleaning liquid is supplied from liquid discharge ports provided above and below the peripheral portion. And the cross-sectional shape of the peripheral part may be inclined in the vertical direction.
A wide range of up and down cleaning liquid is provided by the cleaning jig
To scatter into the coating chamber and vigorously hit the liquid receiving wall surface or the liquid receiving slope.

In this case, the remaining resist sticking to the liquid receiving wall surface or the liquid receiving slope is washed while being beaten by the cleaning liquid, so that the remaining resist can be efficiently and completely removed in a short time.

[0022]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of an embodiment of the present invention.
1A is a sectional view, FIG. 1B is an enlarged sectional view of a main part, and FIG.
FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of another embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an object to be coated, 2 denotes a rotary suction unit, 3 denotes a coating chamber, 3a denotes a liquid receiving wall surface, 3b denotes a liquid receiving slope, 4 denotes a residual resist, 5 denotes a cleaning liquid, 6a denotes an upper discharge port, and 6b denotes a lower. The discharge port, 7 is a cleaning jig, and 10 is a resist coating device.

Embodiment 1 In FIG. 1, a resist coating apparatus 10 has a structure in which a rotary suction section 2 is surrounded by a coating chamber 3 as in the conventional case. A liquid receiving wall surface 3a and a liquid receiving slope 3b are provided inside the coating chamber 3, and when a coating object 1 such as a silicon wafer is supported by the rotary suction unit 2 and coated with a resist, it scatters. The remaining resist 4 adheres to the liquid receiving wall surface 3a and the liquid receiving slope 3b and is received,
It is running down.

On the other hand, the upper discharge port 6a is opened upward and the lower discharge port 6b is opened downward, facing the vicinity of the peripheral portion of the article 1 supported by the rotary suction section 2. This outlet 6a,
From 6b, a cleaning liquid 5 that dissolves the residual resist 4 attached to the liquid receiving wall 3a and the liquid receiving slope 3b is discharged, and the coating object 1 is discharged.
Is supplied to the peripheral portion of the sheet.

In cleaning, when the cleaning liquid 5 is discharged from the discharge ports 6a and 6b while rotating the article 1, the cleaning liquid 5 is scattered vigorously by centrifugal force. The cleaning liquid 5 supplied from the upper discharge port 6a flies mainly to wash the liquid receiving wall 3a, and the cleaning liquid 5 supplied from the lower discharge port 6b flies mainly to wash the liquid receiving slope 3b.

Thus, the cleaning liquid 5 is forcibly applied to the liquid receiving wall.
By hitting the remaining resist 4 adhering to the liquid receiving slope 3b and the liquid receiving slope 3b, the washing can be efficiently performed in a short period of time and completely.

Embodiment 2 In the first embodiment, the object 1 is directly used for cleaning, but in the second embodiment, the cleaning jig 7 is used for cleaning more efficiently. ing.

That is, in FIG. 2, the cleaning jig 7
It is made of a disk having an outer diameter almost the same as that of the article 1 to be coated. The central portion swells in a convex shape in cross-section so that the supplied cleaning liquid 5 efficiently scatters from the peripheral portion without flowing to the central portion. Further, the cleaning liquid 5 supplied from the upper discharge port 6a efficiently scatters toward the liquid receiving wall 3a, and the cleaning liquid 5 supplied from the lower discharge port 6b efficiently scatters toward the liquid receiving slope 3b. The cross-sectional shape of the peripheral part has an inclined surface in the vertical direction.
It has a curved shape.

As described above, the use of the cleaning jig 7 makes it possible to remove the residual resist 4 more efficiently than when the object 1 is used as it is for cleaning. This cleaning jig 7
When the resist is applied to a predetermined number of objects to be coated 1 and the residual resist 4 is slightly attached to the liquid receiving wall 3a or the liquid receiving slope 3b, it is supported by the rotary suction unit 2 and rotated. Then, the cleaning liquid 5 is supplied from the upper discharge port 6a and the lower discharge port 6b. Further, if the cleaning jig 7 is attached to and detached from the rotary suction unit 2 by using a robot mechanism or the like, similarly to the article 1 to be coated, the coating apparatus can be automatically cleaned.

[0030]

According to the conventional resist coating apparatus, the residual resist adhering to the inside of the coating chamber is apt to be washed away by dampening it with a cleaning liquid. On the other hand, in the present invention, the residual resist is dispersed by scattering the cleaning liquid. And wash it off.

As a result, it is possible to efficiently and completely remove the residual resist which has been completely adhered in a short time, and the present invention greatly contributes to improvement in the yield and productivity of the resist coating process.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of an embodiment of the present invention, in which (A) is a sectional view and (B) is an enlarged sectional view of a main part.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of another embodiment of the present invention.

3A and 3B are configuration diagrams of an example of a conventional rotary coating apparatus, in which FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view and FIG. 3B is a perspective view of a main part.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Substrate 2 Rotation adsorption part 3 Coating chamber 3a Liquid receiving wall 3b
Liquid receiving slope 4 Residual resist 5 Cleaning liquid 6a Upper discharge port 6b Lower discharge port 7 Cleaning jig

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-58-184725 (JP, A) JP-A-1-218662 (JP, A) JP-A-2-268415 (JP, A) JP-A 64-64 90530 (JP, A) Actually open 63-1130 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01L 21/027 B05C 11/08 G03F 7/16 501

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] A rotating suction portion for rotating by suction support to be coated kimono 1. A resist is Nurigi, surrounds the rotary adsorbing portion, the remaining resist scattered said when the resist is supplied to the object to be coated kimono A coating chamber for attaching, a cleaning jig detachable to the rotary suction unit, and a cleaning solution for dissolving the residual resist around the cleaning jig.
The cleaning jig has a discharge port that discharges from an up-down direction of an edge , and the cleaning jig has a cross-sectional shape of a peripheral portion inclined in a vertical direction.
And none of, when cleaning the residual resist adhering to the coating chamber, the cleaning liquid is supplied to the cleaning jig for rotating, characterized in that to scatter the washing liquid to the coating chamber Resist coating equipment. 2. A method for adsorbing an object to be coated with a resist.
A rotating suction unit for holding and rotating the rotating suction unit.
Enclosure, scattered when resist is supplied to the object to be coated
And a coating chamber for depositing the remaining resist.
A cleaning method for a dist coater, wherein a cross-sectional shape of a peripheral portion is vertically inclined.
Is placed on the rotating suction part, and is washed on the rotating cleaning jig.
By supplying a clean solution from above and below,
Characterized in that the cleaning liquid is scattered to the member.
Cleaning method for resist coating equipment.