JP3223133U - Cleaning device - Google Patents

Abstract

A cleaning apparatus for efficiently cleaning a plate surface having an arbitrary shape is provided. A plate surface cleaning apparatus having an arbitrary shape, comprising: a main body portion 100 having a concave portion 101 opposed to the plate surface; and supplying a gas and a cleaning liquid to the concave portion 101. A flow passage 102; and a second flow passage 103 that discharges the gas and the cleaning liquid from the recess 101 and depressurizes the atmosphere of the recess 101. In addition, it is preferable that the flow direction of the cleaning liquid with respect to the first flow portion 102 and the second flow portion 103 is configured to be switchable. [Selection] Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a cleaning apparatus.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a substrate processing apparatus that forms on a substrate a coating film to which a transfer pattern formed on a template is transferred.

JP 2012-227318 A

  The technology according to the present invention efficiently cleans the plate surface having an arbitrary shape.

  One aspect of the present invention is a plate surface cleaning apparatus having an arbitrary shape, a main body having a concave portion on which the plate surface is opposed, and a first portion for supplying a gas and a cleaning liquid to the concave portion. A cleaning apparatus comprising: a flow passage portion; and a second flow passage portion that discharges the gas and the cleaning liquid from the concave portion and depressurizes the atmosphere of the concave portion.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to efficiently clean a plate surface having an arbitrary shape.

It is a side view showing typically an example of composition of a transfer device. It is a top view which shows typically an example of a structure of a transfer apparatus. It is (a) perspective view (b) side view which shows typically an example of the composition of the washing device concerning this embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the mode of the flow of the washing | cleaning liquid in a washing | cleaning apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the other shape of the plate as a washing | cleaning target. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the other shape of the plate as a washing | cleaning target. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the other shape of the plate as a washing | cleaning target.

  In the manufacturing process of a semiconductor device, for example, a photolithography process is performed on a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter simply referred to as “wafer”) to form a desired resist pattern on the wafer.

  When forming the resist pattern described above, the resist pattern is required to be miniaturized in order to further increase the integration density of the semiconductor device. In general, the limit of miniaturization in the photolithography process is about the wavelength of light used for the exposure process. For this reason, conventionally, the wavelength of light for exposure processing has been reduced. However, there are technical and cost limitations to shortening the wavelength of the exposure light source, and it is difficult to form a fine resist pattern on the order of several nanometers, for example, only by the method of advancing the wavelength of light. is there.

  Therefore, instead of performing a photolithography process on the wafer, a so-called imprint method is used to form a fine resist pattern on the wafer. In this method, a template having a desired pattern formed on the surface is pressure-bonded to the surface of the resist film formed on the wafer, and then the resist pattern is peeled off to directly transfer the resist pattern to the surface of the resist film. .

  By the way, in the above-described imprint process, a resist pattern is formed on a plurality of wafers. Here, when the imprint process is performed on the wafer with the resist solution or the cleaning solution remaining on the template, there is a possibility that a resist pattern cannot be appropriately formed on the wafer.

  Further, there are a plurality of types of pattern shapes on the template surface used in the imprint process, and it is necessary to appropriately wash and dry each of the plurality of types of templates.

  As described above, in order to appropriately perform the imprint process, it is necessary to appropriately clean and dry the template surface on which a desired pattern is formed regardless of the pattern shape on the template surface. However, in the imprint system described in Patent Document 1, cleaning of the template according to the pattern shape is not considered, and molding is performed by irradiation with ultraviolet rays, so that the resist solution remains on the template. There is no consideration for the case. That is, the cleaning unit provided in the imprint system described in Patent Document 1 has room for improvement.

  The technology according to the present invention efficiently cleans the plate surface having an arbitrary shape. Hereinafter, the cleaning apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In the present specification and drawings, elements having substantially the same functional configuration are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

<Transfer device>
First, the configuration of a transfer device as the above-described imprint system including the cleaning device according to the present embodiment will be described. 1 and 2 are a side view and a plan view, respectively, schematically showing the outline of the configuration of the transfer device 1.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the transfer apparatus 1 is provided with a stage 10 having a horizontal plane. On the stage 10, a carry-in / out area 10a and a processing area 10b are formed.

  On the upper surface of the stage 10, a wafer support portion 11 that supports the wafer W on the upper surface is provided. The wafer support unit 11 supports the wafer W in a state where the processing surface of the wafer W is arranged on the upper side.

  Further, the wafer support unit 11 is configured to be movable in the horizontal direction along the transfer path 12a by a moving mechanism 12 (for example, an air cylinder). With this moving mechanism 12, the wafer W supported by the wafer support 11 is configured to be movable between the carry-in / out area 10a and the processing area 10b.

  A pre-alignment camera (not shown) for performing pre-alignment of the wafer W carried into the transfer apparatus 1 is provided above the wafer support portion 11 in the carry-in / out area 10a. The pre-alignment camera is provided, for example, on a frame (not shown) installed above the stage 10. Note that the number and arrangement of pre-alignment cameras provided in the transfer device 1 can be arbitrarily determined.

  A transfer mechanism 20 is provided above the wafer support 11 in the processing region 10b. The transfer mechanism 20 is provided on a frame (not shown).

  The transfer mechanism 20 forms a desired pattern on the wafer W. As shown in FIG. 1, the transfer mechanism 20 includes a template 21 as a plate to be cleaned according to the present embodiment, a light irradiation unit 22, and a template holding unit 23. The light irradiation unit 22 and the template 21 are arranged on the lower surface of the template holding unit 23 in this order. The transfer mechanism 20 is further provided with an alignment camera (not shown) and a displacement meter (not shown).

  A desired transfer pattern T is formed on the lower surface of the template 21 (in the following description, the transfer pattern T forming surface may be referred to as a “pattern forming surface 21t” as a plate surface). Then, the resist pattern is transferred to the resist solution on the wafer W by pressing the transfer pattern T against the resist solution applied to the surface to be processed of the wafer W by a coating mechanism (not shown). The surface shape of the pattern forming surface 21t can be arbitrarily selected. For example, two or more transfer patterns T may be formed on the pattern forming surface 21t.

  The light irradiation unit 22 irradiates the resist solution applied on the wafer W and pressed by the template 21 with UV light. The UV light passes through the template 21 and is irradiated downward. Then, when the UV light from the light irradiation unit 22 is irradiated, the resist solution is UV-cured and a semi-cured resist film is formed. The resist film is completely cured by heat treatment using a heat treatment apparatus (not shown).

  In addition, the light irradiated from the light irradiation part 22 is not limited to UV light, Other light, for example, visible light, near ultraviolet light, etc. may be sufficient.

  The template holding unit 23 has a moving mechanism 24. The moving mechanism 24 is configured to be able to adjust the height direction position of the template holding unit 23, the rotation direction position around the vertical axis, and the tilt direction position (parallelism of the template 21 with respect to the wafer W).

  A template cleaning mechanism 30 as a cleaning device according to an embodiment of the present invention is disposed below the transfer mechanism 20 in the processing region 10b. The template cleaning mechanism 30 cleans the pattern forming surface 21t of the template 21. The detailed configuration of the template cleaning mechanism 30 will be described later.

  Below the transfer mechanism 20, a template recognition camera (not shown) for detecting a template mark (not shown) formed on the lower surface of the template 21, a release agent with respect to the pattern forming surface 21 t of the template 21. A mold release agent supply mechanism (not shown) for supplying the image and a template inspection camera (not shown) for performing an appearance inspection by imaging the template 21 are further arranged.

  The resist solution for forming the resist pattern may be applied to the surface to be processed of the wafer W inside the transfer apparatus 1 or may be applied outside the transfer apparatus 1. In other words, the coating mechanism (not shown) may be disposed inside the transfer device 1 or may be disposed outside the transfer device 1.

  The transfer device 1 including the template cleaning mechanism 30 according to the present embodiment is configured as described above. In the transfer apparatus 1, the resist solution supplied to the surface to be processed of the wafer W is pressed by the template 21 to form a desired resist pattern on the wafer W.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 1, the template 21 is formed small with respect to the processing region of the wafer W, and in order to form a resist pattern on the entire surface of the wafer W, the template 21 is pressed, UV It is necessary to repeat the light irradiation. However, when the next transfer process is performed in a state where the resist liquid or the cleaning liquid remains on the surface of the template 21, there is a possibility that a resist pattern cannot be appropriately formed in the next transfer process.

  Therefore, the template 21 is cleaned and dried by the template cleaning mechanism 30 every time the template 21 is transferred. Thereby, it is suppressed that a resist liquid and a washing | cleaning liquid remain on the surface of the template 21 in a transfer process, and a transfer process can be performed appropriately.

<Washing device>
Then, the structure of the template washing | cleaning mechanism 30 as a washing | cleaning apparatus concerning this embodiment which performs washing | cleaning and drying of the above-mentioned template 21 is demonstrated. FIG. 3 is a (a) perspective view (b) side view schematically showing an outline of the configuration of the template cleaning mechanism 30.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the template cleaning mechanism 30 has a configuration in which a recess 101 for arranging and cleaning the template 21 is formed on the upper surface of the main body 100. The template 21 is fitted to the upper surface of the main body 100 such that the pattern forming surface 21 t faces the bottom surface 101 a of the recess 101 with respect to the template cleaning mechanism 30. Then, by fitting the template 21 in this way, a cleaning space V that is a semi-enclosed space surrounded by the recess 101 and the template 21 is formed.

  The main body 100 is provided with a fluid supply unit 102 as a first flow passage for supplying a cleaning liquid to the cleaning space V described above. The cleaning liquid supplied to the cleaning space V is discharged to the outside of the template cleaning mechanism 30 through the discharge unit 103 serving as the second flow passage.

  The fluid supply unit 102 has a plurality of cleaning liquid flow holes (not shown) for supplying the cleaning liquid to the cleaning space V on the cleaning space V side, that is, inside the recess 101. As indicated by arrows in FIG. 4, the cleaning liquid flow holes are arranged side by side in a direction orthogonal to the cleaning liquid supply direction in the cleaning space V in order to appropriately supply the cleaning liquid to the entire cleaning space V.

  The fluid supply unit 102 may be configured to be able to further supply gas (for example, air or inert gas) to the cleaning space V in addition to the cleaning liquid. That is, the fluid supply unit 102 may be configured so that the cleaning space V can be cleaned with two fluids.

  The discharge unit 103 is preferably configured symmetrically with the fluid supply unit 102 with respect to the cleaning space V. That is, the discharge unit 103 has a plurality of cleaning liquid flow holes (not shown) for discharging the cleaning liquid from the cleaning space V on the cleaning space V side, that is, inside the recess 101. The cleaning liquid flow holes are arranged side by side in a direction perpendicular to the supply direction of the cleaning liquid from the fluid supply unit 102 in the cleaning space V. When gas is supplied from the fluid supply unit 102 to the cleaning space V, the gas is also discharged from the discharge unit 103 to the outside of the template cleaning mechanism 30.

  In addition, the main body 100 is provided with a gas supply unit 104 for supplying gas (for example, air or inert gas) to the pattern forming surface 21t of the template 21. The gas supplied from the gas supply unit 104 is jetted onto the pattern forming surface 21 t of the template 21 from the gas jet port 105 formed on the upper surface of the main body unit 100.

  Further, the template cleaning mechanism 30 is provided with a suction unit 106 as a cleaning liquid collection unit for suppressing scattering of the cleaning liquid supplied to the cleaning space V when cleaning the template 21 outside the recess 101. The suction unit 106 is connected to a decompression mechanism (not shown) such as a vacuum pump.

  The template cleaning mechanism 30 is provided with a control device 110. The control device 110 is a computer including, for example, a CPU and a memory, and has a program storage unit (not shown). The program storage unit stores a program for controlling the cleaning of the wafer W in the template cleaning mechanism 30. The program storage unit also stores a program for controlling the operation of a drive system such as a transport device to realize the cleaning process in the template cleaning mechanism 30. The program may be recorded on a computer-readable storage medium H and may be installed in the control device 110 from the storage medium H.

  Note that the cleaning process in the template cleaning mechanism 30 may be controlled by the control device (not shown) provided in the transfer device 1 in a manner consistent with the transfer process in the transfer device 1 instead of the control by the control device 110. Good.

<Washing method>
The template cleaning mechanism 30 according to the present embodiment is configured as described above. Next, a method for cleaning the template 21 by the template cleaning mechanism 30 will be described.

  When the transfer process is performed on the wafer W, the template 21 is lowered by the moving mechanism 24 of the transfer mechanism 20 and is fitted to the upper surface of the main body 100 so as to face the bottom surface 101a of the recess 101, thereby cleaning the space. V is formed.

  When the cleaning space V is formed in the recess 101, the discharge unit 103 starts to depressurize the cleaning space V next.

  Subsequently, the cleaning liquid is supplied from the fluid supply unit 102 to the cleaning space V, and cleaning of the pattern forming surface 21t of the template 21 is started. At this time, the two-fluid cleaning of the pattern forming surface 21t of the template 21 may be performed by further supplying gas from the fluid supply unit 102 to the cleaning space V as described above. The supplied cleaning liquid and gas are discharged from the discharge unit 103 to the outside of the template cleaning mechanism 30.

  When the cleaning of the pattern forming surface 21t is completed, the supply of the cleaning liquid from the fluid supply unit 102 is stopped, and then the template 21 is disposed above the gas ejection port 105.

  Subsequently, gas ejection from the gas ejection port 105 is started, and the pattern forming surface 21t is dried by the ejection gas.

  In drying the pattern forming surface 21t, the entire surface of the pattern forming surface 21t can be more efficiently dried by reciprocating the template 21 above the gas ejection port 105.

  When the drying of the pattern forming surface 21t by the gas jet 105 is completed, the gas jet from the gas jet 105 is stopped. The moving mechanism 24 returns the template 21 to the upper side of the template cleaning mechanism 30, specifically, the upper side of the wafer support unit 11, thereby completing a series of cleaning and drying processes in the template cleaning mechanism 30.

<Effects of the cleaning apparatus according to this embodiment>
According to the template cleaning mechanism 30 according to the present embodiment, since the template cleaning mechanism 30 is built in the transfer apparatus 1, inline cleaning can be performed without removing the template 21 from the transfer mechanism 20. It is possible. That is, the template 21 can be more efficiently cleaned in the transfer process, and the time required for cleaning can be shortened.

  Further, according to the template cleaning mechanism 30 according to the present embodiment, the cleaning space V is formed as a semi-enclosed space by the recess 101 and the pattern forming surface 21t, and the cleaning space V is reduced by reducing the pressure from the discharge unit 103 in this state. The sealing is maintained. Then, by supplying the cleaning liquid to the sealed cleaning space V, the gap between the unevenness of the transfer pattern T formed on the template 21 and the flow path of the cleaning liquid can be reduced. The pattern forming surface 21t can be appropriately cleaned along the pattern T.

  Further, as described above, according to the template cleaning mechanism 30 according to the present embodiment, the cleaning liquid is supplied to the entire cleaning space V via the cleaning liquid flow hole (not shown). It can be performed.

  Further, as described above, the cleaning space V is a semi-enclosed space as described above, that is, a narrow gap is formed between the template cleaning mechanism 30 and the template 21. In this state, the surrounding airflow is taken into the cleaning space V from the narrow gap by reducing the pressure from the discharge unit 103.

  As described above, in the cleaning process, an air flow from the outside to the inside of the cleaning space V is formed, so that the cleaning liquid is prevented from being scattered outside the cleaning space V, that is, inside the transfer device 1. Thereby, it is suppressed that the inside of the transfer device 1 is contaminated by the cleaning liquid.

  Further, according to the template cleaning mechanism 30 according to the present embodiment, the suction unit 106 is further provided outside the recess 101, and the mist of the cleaning liquid scattered from the cleaning space V can be sucked and collected. Scattering of the cleaning liquid into the interior can be further appropriately suppressed.

  The fluid supply unit 102 and the discharge unit 103 may be configured to be able to switch the flow direction of the cleaning liquid. That is, the function of the fluid supply unit 102 and the function of the discharge unit 103 may be switched so that the cleaning liquid can be supplied into the cleaning space V from the discharge unit 103 and discharged from the fluid supply unit 102.

  In this way, by configuring the flow direction of the cleaning liquid to be switchable, the cleaning liquid can be more efficiently supplied to the entire cleaning space V, that is, the pattern formation surface along the formed transfer pattern T. 21t can be washed more appropriately.

  In such a case, the flow direction of the cleaning liquid is preferably configured to be switchable by the control device 110. Specifically, it is preferable that the flow direction of the cleaning liquid supplied to and discharged from the cleaning space V can be switched at an arbitrary timing.

  In cleaning the template 21, the pattern forming surface 21t can be more efficiently cleaned by alternately changing the supply port and the discharge port of the cleaning liquid (switching control). That is, the time required for the cleaning process can be shortened.

  Note that, according to the present embodiment, since the fluid supply unit 102 and the discharge unit 103 are configured symmetrically with respect to the cleaning space V as described above, the flow direction of the cleaning liquid is switched. Also, it is possible to appropriately supply the cleaning liquid.

  The template cleaning mechanism 30 may clean the template 21 by passing the cleaning liquid through the cleaning space V as described above, or fill the recess 101 with the cleaning liquid and immerse the template 21 in the cleaning liquid. It may be done by. Furthermore, for example, an ultrasonic vibrator that applies vibration to the inner surface of the concave portion 101 may be installed to oscillate the template 21 during cleaning.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the case where the template 21 has the convex transfer pattern T with respect to the concave portion 101 has been described as an example. However, as illustrated in FIG. Alternatively, the template 21 having the concave transfer pattern T may be cleaned with respect to the concave portion 101.

  In the above description, the cleaning device according to the present embodiment is used as a cleaning mechanism for the template 21 in the transfer device 1. However, the cleaning device can be used for any other device. For example, the cleaning device 130 may be employed as a cleaning mechanism for the plate 121 on which slit nozzles N having an arbitrary surface shape are formed as shown in FIG. Further, for example, the cleaning device 230 may be employed as a cleaning mechanism for the plate 221 in which the multi-point discharge port M having an arbitrary surface shape is formed as shown in FIG.

  As described above, the cleaning apparatus according to the present embodiment can perform cleaning by forming the cleaning space V by fitting the plate as the cleaning target to the upper surface, and the surface shape of the plate is as described above. Can be arbitrarily selected. In this way, it is possible to clean plates having various surface shapes only by fitting the plates without changing the configuration of the cleaning device.

  Further, as described above, the cleaning apparatus according to the present embodiment has a compact configuration so that cleaning can be performed in-line in an arbitrary apparatus (transfer apparatus 1 in the present embodiment). Can be adopted.

  It should be thought that embodiment disclosed this time is an illustration and restrictive at no points. The above-described embodiments may be omitted, replaced, and modified in various forms without departing from the scope and spirit of the appended claims.

The following configurations also belong to the technical scope of the present invention.
(1) A plate surface cleaning apparatus having an arbitrary shape,
A main body having a concave portion facing the plate surface;
A first flow passage for supplying gas and cleaning liquid to the recess;
And a second flow passage that discharges the gas and the cleaning liquid from the recess and depressurizes the atmosphere of the recess.
According to the above (1), the plate surface having an arbitrary shape can be efficiently cleaned. At this time, since the cleaning area in the cleaning apparatus can be maintained in a reduced pressure atmosphere, the cleaning liquid can be prevented from being scattered in the cleaning apparatus, and the cleaning liquid can be supplied to the entire surface of the plate. Cleaning can be performed.

(2) The cleaning apparatus according to (1), further including a cleaning liquid collecting unit that collects the cleaning liquid scattered from the recess.
According to the above (2), since the mist of the cleaning liquid scattered from the concave portion to the outside can be collected, it is possible to prevent the atmosphere from being contaminated by the cleaning liquid.

(3) The flow direction of the cleaning liquid with respect to the first flow portion and the second flow portion is configured to be switchable,
The cleaning apparatus according to (1) or (2), further including a control unit that switches and controls functions of the first flow unit and the second flow unit.
According to (3), since the flow direction of the cleaning liquid with respect to the plate surface can be switched, the cleaning of the plate surface can be performed more efficiently.

(4) The cleaning apparatus according to any one of (1) to (3), further including a gas ejection port that ejects gas to the plate surface outside the concave portion.
According to said (4), the plate surface can be dried appropriately.

(5) The cleaning device according to any one of (1) to (4), further including a vibration element that applies vibration to the inner surface of the recess outside the recess.
According to the above (5), the plate surface can be more effectively cleaned by performing the cleaning process while applying vibration to the cleaning liquid by the ultrasonic vibrator.

21 Template 30 Template cleaning mechanism 100 Main body portion 101 Recess portion 102 Fluid supply portion 103 Discharge portion T Transfer pattern

Claims (5)

An apparatus for cleaning a plate surface having an arbitrary shape,
A main body having a concave portion facing the plate surface;
A first flow passage for supplying gas and cleaning liquid to the recess;
And a second flow passage that discharges the gas and the cleaning liquid from the recess and depressurizes the atmosphere of the recess. The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a cleaning liquid collection unit that collects the cleaning liquid scattered from the recess. The flow direction of the cleaning liquid with respect to the first flow portion and the second flow portion is configured to be switchable,
The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit that switches and controls functions of the first flow unit and the second flow unit. The cleaning apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a gas ejection port that ejects gas to the plate surface outside the concave portion. The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a vibration element that applies vibration to the inner surface of the concave portion outside the concave portion.

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