JP3175394U - Degassing device for treatment liquid - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide a degassing device that adjusts the temperature optimally for processing while quickly removing dissolved gas contained in various processing liquids that cause defects in a liquid processing unit.
A processing liquid deaeration apparatus incorporated in a pipe for supplying a processing liquid for performing a liquid processing on a substrate is provided with a processing liquid supply port 21 and a discharge port 29 from the supply port side. A liquid flow path 25A connected to the discharge port side by a plurality of gas permeable membrane tubes 25, a casing 20 that at least surrounds the liquid flow path and sealed, and an exhaust pipe 24a for exhausting the inside of the casing An exhaust port 24 to be connected, a heat transfer member 26 provided between the supply port and the discharge port and disposed through the gas permeable membrane tube, and a Peltier element for adjusting the temperature of the heat transfer member 27, a temperature sensor 30 that detects the temperature of the processing liquid in the vicinity of the discharge port, and a control unit 19 that controls the Peltier element so that the temperature becomes a set temperature.
[Selection] Figure 2

Description

  The present invention provides a deaeration that is provided in the middle of a pipe of a liquid processing apparatus for supplying a processing liquid to a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer or a glass substrate (FPD substrate) for a liquid crystal display to perform processing. Relates to the device.

  The process of forming a resist pattern on a substrate, which is one of the manufacturing processes of a semiconductor device or an FPD substrate, includes, for example, forming a resist film on a semiconductor substrate, exposing the resist film using a photomask, and then developing the resist film Are performed by a series of steps for obtaining a desired pattern, and these series of steps are conventionally performed by a coating and developing apparatus.

  Various processing liquids are used in the coating device and the developing device. For example, a resist solution or thinner is used in the coating device, and a developer or pure water is used in the developing device. These treatment liquids are supplied when automatically supplied from a factory or by connecting a supply tank filled with the treatment liquid.

  These treatment liquids often contain gas (nitrogen, oxygen, air) dissolved in the treatment liquid, regardless of the type of treatment liquid, and removing these dissolved gases can treat the substrate. In terms of performance, it is preferable to reduce defects in the processed substrate. In order to remove the dissolved gas in the piping of the supply line between such a request and the discharge nozzle that discharges to the substrate in order to solve the above problem, a deaeration device is provided in the middle of the piping (for example, Patent Documents) 1).

  In the technique described in Patent Document 1, a liquid flow path that connects an inlet and an outlet formed by a gas permeable membrane material in the middle of a liquid supply pipe for supplying a processing liquid is provided, and the liquid flow path It is equipped with a deaeration module (deaeration device) that is hermetically sealed in a vacuum chamber and becomes negative pressure. The inside of the vacuum chamber is exhausted by suction means such as a vacuum pump connected to a vacuum suction source.

  Further, in order to suppress the temperature change of the processing liquid generated in the vacuum chamber, the liquid whose temperature is adjusted is circulated in the chamber, and the gas oozing out from the gas permeable membrane is dissolved in the liquid and discharged. It is known to remove the dissolved gas in the treatment liquid desired and stabilize the temperature of the treatment liquid (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-150009 (FIGS. 1 to 3) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-162118 (FIG. 1)

  However, recent coating and developing apparatuses are required to have high productivity, and high process accuracy is required along with efficient processing of processing units, and process reproducibility in liquid processing is required. For this purpose, the dissolved gas in the processing liquid supplied to the liquid processing unit is quickly and surely removed so as not to cause defects that cause coating unevenness during film formation due to gas foaming and development failure due to foaming. There must be. Furthermore, miniaturization of the apparatus is required and it must be highly reliable.

  The present invention has been made under such circumstances, and its purpose is to quickly and reliably remove dissolved gases contained in various processing liquids supplied to a liquid processing unit in a high-productivity system and An object of the present invention is to provide a processing liquid deaeration apparatus having a structure capable of quickly and reliably adjusting and changing temperature.

  For this reason, the present invention provides a processing liquid degassing apparatus incorporated in the middle of a pipe for supplying a processing liquid for performing a liquid processing on a substrate, and includes a processing liquid supply port and a discharge port. A liquid flow path connected to the discharge port side by a plurality of gas permeable membrane tubes, a casing that surrounds and seals at least the liquid flow path, and an exhaust pipe for exhausting the interior of the casing An exhaust port to be connected; a heat transfer member provided between the supply port and the exhaust port and disposed through the gas permeable membrane tube; and a temperature for adjusting the temperature of the heat transfer member A temperature control unit; a temperature detection unit that detects the temperature of the processing solution in the vicinity of the discharge port; and a control unit that controls the temperature control unit so that the temperature becomes a set temperature. Features.

  By comprising in this way, it can adjust to setting temperature, monitoring the temperature of a process liquid in the middle of the process liquid flowing. Further, since the temperature control means is provided in the heat transfer member for adjusting the temperature, the heat transfer response becomes faster and the temperature can be adjusted quickly and accurately. Moreover, since the fluidity | liquidity of a process liquid is improved with temperature, the deaeration effect can be improved.

  Furthermore, the supply port of the treatment liquid of the degassing apparatus of the present invention has a porous member having a plurality of orifice holes through which the treatment liquid is passed.

  By comprising in this way, when the process liquid supplied passes an orifice hole, a pressure falls by an orifice effect and dissolved gas can be made to foam. Thus, the foamed gas quickly exits the permeable membrane and is exhausted while passing through the gas permeable membrane tube.

  The porous member of the present invention is configured to be detachable from the supply port. With this configuration, the hole diameter of the orifice hole varies depending on the viscosity of the processing liquid to be degassed and the type of chemical liquid. When changing the processing liquid, the porous member should be replaced with an optimum one depending on the conditions. Can do.

  Further, the gas permeable membrane tube of the present invention has one end connected to a supply manifold provided on the supply port side and the other end connected to a discharge manifold provided on the discharge port side, and the supply manifold and the discharge manifold In the housing.

  With this configuration, when a plurality of gas permeable membrane tubes are provided on the manifold, the deaeration is smoothly performed because the tubes are prevented from contacting each other and the deaeration area is not affected.

  Further, the temperature detecting means of the deaeration device of the present invention is provided in the discharge manifold.

  By configuring in this way, the discharge manifold is provided at a position that is not separated from the distance from the heat transfer member, so that the temperature adjustment means can be controlled by detecting a more accurate temperature.

   By using the degassing apparatus of the present invention configured as described above, the dissolved gas contained in the various processing liquids supplied to the liquid processing unit in the high-productivity system can be quickly and surely removed, and the processing liquid Temperature adjustment and change can be performed quickly and reliably.

It is a schematic block diagram of a piping circuit provided with the deaeration apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the deaeration apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is the expanded sectional view (a) which shows the attachment state of the porous member in this invention, and the perspective view (b) of a multinomial member. It is a front view which shows the heat-transfer member in this invention.

  DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the best embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a piping circuit of a resist processing unit, for example, a liquid processing unit for a semiconductor substrate. A resist processing unit for forming a resist film on the surface of a substrate W that is a substrate to be processed includes a chuck 9 that holds the substrate W by suction and is configured to be rotatable, and a processing cup 8 that surrounds the chuck 9. Further, a resist nozzle 7 for supplying a resist solution toward the surface of the substrate W held on the chuck 9 and a solvent such as thinner for removing the resist film on the peripheral portion of the substrate W after the resist solution is formed are supplied. And an EBR (edge bead remover) nozzle 18 and a back rinse nozzle 16 for supplying a thinner for washing away dirt on the back surface of the substrate W toward a predetermined position on the back surface.

  Next, the configuration details of the resist solution supply piping circuit and the thinner supply piping circuit, which are processing solutions supplied to the resist processing unit of FIG. 1, will be described. One end of the resist solution supply piping circuit is provided with a resist tank 1 storing supply of the resist solution, and the other is provided with a resist nozzle 7 for supplying the resist solution toward the surface of the substrate W. It has been.

  The arrangement between the resist tank 1 and the resist nozzle 7 will be described in order from the resist tank 1. A supply pump 2 that absorbs and discharges the resist solution, a resist filter 3 for filtering foreign matter in the resist solution, The resist degassing apparatus 5 according to the present invention, which can degas the dissolved gas in the resist solution, which will be described in detail later, and can also adjust the temperature of the resist solution, the resist supply valve 6 for opening and closing the supply of the resist solution, A resist supply pipe 4 connects the resist nozzles 7 in an arrangement in which the resist nozzles 7 are arranged.

  The thinner supply piping circuit is provided with a thinner tank 10 at one end, and the other is provided with an EBR nozzle 18 for supplying thinner for removing the resist solution at the peripheral edge of the substrate W coated with the resist solution, and the substrate W. In order to prevent the back surface of the substrate from being soiled by the resist solution, a back rinse nozzle 16 for cleaning the back surface by applying a thinner is provided.

  The arrangement from the thinner tank 10 to the EBR nozzle 18 and the back rinse nozzle 16 will be described in order from the thinner tank 10. A thinner filter 12 for filtering foreign substances in the thinner liquid, and a thinner in detail which will be described later. Thinner degassing apparatus 14 according to the present invention, which can degas the dissolved gas and adjust the temperature of the thinner, and the supply circuit is branched into two to open and close the thinner supply. The EBR valve 17 serving as a valve and the back rinse valve 15 are arranged in an arrangement, and the thinner supply pipe 13 connects between them. The thinner tank 10 is connected to a pressurized gas pipe 11 for pressurizing the inside of the tank and feeding the thinner.

  Since the resist deaeration processing apparatus 5 and the thinner deaeration processing apparatus 14 to which the present invention is applied have the same configuration, the inside of the resist deaeration processing apparatus 5 is specifically described with reference to FIG. explain.

  The resist degassing device 5 has a structure surrounded by the housing 20. With the arrangement described above, the supply port 21 for taking in the resist solution before degassing provided on one side of the housing 20 and the degassing provided on the other side are completed. The supply port 21 and the discharge port 29 at both ends are connected to the resist supply pipe 4. The exhaust port 24 is connected to an exhaust pipe 24a connected to a suction means (not shown) for creating a negative pressure atmosphere inside.

  Next, the internal structure of the housing 20 will be described. The supply manifold 23 communicates with one of the supply ports 21 at both ends, and the discharge manifold 28 communicates with the other discharge port 29 side. The supply manifold 23 and the discharge manifold 29 have substantially the same shape, and have a storage structure for storing a predetermined amount of resist solution. For example, the supply manifold 23 and the discharge manifold 29 have a hollow shape having a conical shape or a cylindrical shape.

  A plurality of tube-shaped gas permeable membrane tubes 25 are connected between the supply manifold 23 and the discharge manifold 29 to form a liquid flow path 25A. The gas permeable membrane tube 25 is a tube through which a liquid, for example, constituted by a hollow fiber membrane having an outer diameter of 2 mm and an inner diameter of 1.5 mm, and the resist solution is dissolved when passing through the tube. Can be diffused into the housing 20 in a negative pressure atmosphere through the hollow fiber membrane.

  Further, a heat transfer member 26 is provided between the supply manifold 23 and the discharge manifold 29 so as to penetrate through the plurality of gas permeable membrane tubes 25. 2 is a line indicating the outer diameter of the through hole 26a through which the gas permeable membrane tube 25 passes, and the dotted line indicates the gas permeable membrane tube 25 penetrating into the through hole 26a. The heat transfer member 26 may be a member having good thermal conductivity or a material that conducts heat to the gas permeable membrane tube 25. For example, if it is a metal, it is copper, aluminum or a metal alloy.

  At both ends of the heat transfer member 26, for example, a Peltier element 27 which is a temperature adjusting means for giving the temperature of the heat transfer member 26 is provided. For example, when it is desired to set the temperature of the resist solution to 23 ° C., the temperature is set by the temperature adjusting means. As an example, in FIG. 4, a plurality of through holes 26 a are arranged in a circular shape in the heat transfer member 26 and the gas permeable membrane tube 25 is passed through, and a Peltier element is arranged near the center of the concentric through holes 26 a. It is a front view. The through holes 26a do not have to be arranged concentrically, and there is no problem even if the Peltier elements 27 are arranged on one side and placed on the other side.

  The Peltier element 27 is electrically connected to a control unit 19 for controlling the temperature of the Peltier element 27. Further, the discharge manifold 28 is provided with a temperature sensor 30 which is a temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the resist solution passing through the gas permeable membrane tube 25, and this temperature sensor 30 is electrically connected to the control unit 19. Has been. Thereby, since the temperature of the heat transfer member 26 can be appropriately controlled, the set temperature of the resist solution supplied to the substrate W can be set to a desired temperature. Similarly, the thinner deaerator can be always set to 23 ° C., for example, so that the thinner is not affected by the temperature inside the device or the temperature change of the clean room.

  Next, FIG. 3 will be described. FIG. 3A is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the supply port 21 provided in the housing 20. A porous member 22 having a plurality of orifice holes 22 a is incorporated at a position on the inlet side of the joint 40, the housing 20, and the supply manifold 23 for connecting the resist supply pipe 4 and the housing 20.

  As will be described later, the porous member 22 is detachably attached to the supply port 21 of the housing 20, and as shown in FIG. 3B, for example, a cylindrical fluororesin member has a diameter of several millimeters. Are opened in a lotus root shape. Since the porous member 22 has different hole diameters of the orifice holes 22a depending on the viscosity of the liquid to be degassed and the chemical liquid type, the porous member 22 can be replaced with an optimum one depending on the conditions when the treatment liquid is changed. .

  In this case, the supply port 21 is formed in a step shape having a small-diameter portion 21 a on the inner side of the housing 20 and a large-diameter portion 21 b on the outer side of the housing 20. A female screw portion 21c is provided. The supply port 21 is formed by a joint body 44 that constitutes a joint 40 having a first male screw portion 41 in which the multi-member member 22 is inserted into the large-diameter portion 21b of the supply port 21 formed in this way and screwed to the female screw portion 21c. It is designed to be detachably mounted inside.

  The joint 40 has a first male screw portion 41 at one end, a second male screw portion 42 at the other end, and a cylindrical joint main body having a mounting hole 43 into which the distal end portion of the supply pipe 4 can be inserted. 44 and a female pipe portion 47a and an opening portion that are rotatably attached to a cylindrical body 45 integral with the supply pipe 4 into which the distal end portion of the supply pipe 4 is inserted via a bearing 46, and are screw-coupled to the second male screw portion 42. And a cap nut 47 provided with a packing 47b.

  When the multi-member 22 is removed from the supply port 21 and replaced after the multi-member 22 is attached to the supply port 21 as shown in FIG. The screw connection between the cap nut 47 and the joint body 44 is released, and the supply pipe 4 is removed from the joint body 44. Next, after releasing the screw connection between the joint body 44 and the supply port 21 and removing the joint body 44 from the housing 20, the polynomial member 22 is removed from the supply port 21 and replaced with another polynomial member 22. Can do.

  For example, when the diameter of the supply port 21 is several mm, the orifice hole 22a provided in the multinomial member 22 is about 1/10 of the diameter of the orifice hole 22a. The viscosity, flow rate, liquid supply pressure, etc. Depending on the conditions, several are provided.

  In the piping circuit of the resist processing unit in which the resist degassing device 5 and the thinner degassing device 14 configured as described above are incorporated, the resist solution and the thinner are supplied to the substrate W while being degassed. Since there is no foaming at the tip of the nozzle and the occurrence of coating spots due to foaming is suppressed and the temperature adjustment means is incorporated inside, the fluidity of the processing liquid changes by raising the liquid temperature of the degassing target Deaeration is promoted.

  The present invention can be applied to a development processing apparatus, an antireflection film coating processing apparatus, and a cleaning processing apparatus in addition to a semiconductor substrate resist coating processing apparatus. Further, the present invention can also be applied to a liquid processing apparatus that supplies a processing liquid onto various flat plates such as a glass substrate.

W substrate 4 resist supply piping 5 resist degassing device 13 thinner supply piping 14 thinner degassing device 19 control unit 20 housing 21 supply port 22 porous member 22a orifice hole 23 supply manifold 24 exhaust port 24a exhaust tube 25 gas permeable tube membrane 25A Liquid flow path 26 Heat transfer member 26a Through hole 27 Peltier element (temperature control means)
28 Discharge manifold 29 Discharge port 30 Temperature sensor (temperature detection means)
40 fittings

Claims (5)

In a processing liquid deaeration device incorporated in the middle of a pipe for supplying a processing liquid for performing a liquid processing on a substrate,
A liquid flow path comprising a treatment liquid supply port and a discharge port, and connected from the supply port side to the discharge port side by a plurality of gas permeable membrane tubes;
A housing that surrounds and seals at least the liquid flow path;
An exhaust port connected to an exhaust pipe for exhausting the interior of the housing;
A heat transfer member disposed between the supply port and the discharge port and disposed through the gas permeable membrane tube;
Temperature control means for adjusting the temperature of the heat transfer member;
Temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the treatment liquid in the vicinity of the discharge port;
A control unit for controlling the temperature adjusting means so that the temperature becomes a set temperature;
A degassing device for a processing solution, comprising:   The processing liquid deaeration apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a porous member having a plurality of orifice holes provided in the supply port to allow the processing liquid to flow therethrough.   The said porous member is comprised with respect to the said supply port so that attachment or detachment is possible, The deaeration apparatus of the process liquid of Claim 2 characterized by the above-mentioned.   The plurality of gas permeable membrane tubes have one end connected to a supply manifold provided on the supply port side and the other end connected to a discharge manifold provided on the discharge port side, and the supply manifold and the discharge manifold are connected to each other. The apparatus for degassing a processing liquid according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is provided inside the casing.   The apparatus for degassing treatment liquid according to claim 4, wherein the temperature detection means is provided in the discharge manifold.

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