JP3490582B2 - Substrate 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 substrate processing apparatus for performing a series of processes including heat treatment and chemical treatment on a thin substrate (hereinafter simply referred to as "substrate") such as a semiconductor substrate or a liquid crystal glass substrate. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the processing of substrates, it is important to control the atmosphere, and thus the substrate processing apparatus as described above is usually installed in a clean environment such as a clean room. In particular, the chemical solution processing section (for example, a resist coating processing section for coating a photoresist on the surface of a substrate or a development processing section for developing a substrate after exposure) has a large effect on not only the cleanliness of the atmosphere but also the temperature and humidity. Since it has an influence, it is necessary to strictly control the atmosphere.

Therefore, conventionally, the chemical liquid processing unit is configured to be supplied with air whose temperature and humidity are adjusted and controlled by a temperature / humidity management unit provided outside the apparatus. As such a temperature / humidity management unit, there are a unit installed in a space different from the main body of the device and a unit installed so as to cover the entire upper surface of the device.

[0004]

However, in the case of the temperature / humidity management unit as described above, an installation space for the unit is required, so that the footprint of the substrate processing system as a whole (the area occupied by the substrate processing apparatus in a plane) is required. ) Will become a big factor and hinder the efficient use of the clean room.

Further, since the temperature / humidity management unit is installed outside the apparatus, it is necessary to introduce air whose temperature and humidity are adjusted to the apparatus by a duct. At this time, since a space for the duct is also required, there is a problem that the footprint of the entire substrate processing system is further increased. Further, there is a problem that thermal energy loss occurs due to heat radiation from the duct (or heat absorption from the outside of the duct) and the like, and it becomes difficult to control the temperature of the air in the chemical liquid processing section.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and a substrate capable of stably supplying temperature- and humidity-adjusted air to a chemical treatment unit without increasing the footprint. An object is to provide a processing device.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention of claim 1 is a substrate processing apparatus for performing a series of processes including heat treatment and chemical treatment on a substrate,
(a) a chemical treatment unit for performing the chemical treatment, (b) a heat treatment unit provided vertically above the chemical treatment unit for performing the heat treatment, and (c) the chemical treatment just above the chemical treatment unit. An air conditioning unit that is disposed between the processing unit and the heat treatment unit and that supplies temperature and humidity adjusted temperature and humidity controlled air to the chemical liquid processing unit.

According to a second aspect of the invention, in the substrate processing apparatus according to the first aspect of the invention, (d) a transport path provided in contact with the chemical liquid processing section, the heat treatment section and the air conditioning section, (e) further provided with a substrate transfer device that is movably installed on the transfer path and transfers the substrate to the chemical solution processing section and the heat treatment section, and between the transfer path and the air adjusting section. Air circulation is blocked.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the substrate processing apparatus according to the first or second aspect of the invention, the temperature / humidity adjusted air supplied to the chemical liquid processing section is returned to the air adjusting section, Reuse is performed in the air conditioning unit.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan layout view of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. In addition, in each of FIGS. 1 to 4, an XYZ rectangular coordinate system is attached to clarify the directional relationship. Here, the horizontal plane parallel to the floor surface is the XY plane, and the vertical direction is the Z direction. When the (+ X) direction and the (−X) direction are not distinguished, they are simply referred to as the “X direction” (the same applies to “Y” and “Z”).

As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate processing apparatus includes an indexer ID for loading / unloading a substrate, a transport path R for transporting the substrate, a first processing section group A, and a second processing section group B. It has and.

The indexer ID is provided with a substrate transfer device for placing a substrate storage cassette (not shown) on it and discharging or storing the substrate from the cassette. Then, the indexer ID uses the unprocessed substrate as the first processing unit group A.
And supplies the second processing unit group B and stores the processed substrate. Also, indexer I
A control unit 10 is provided in D, and the control unit 10 manages and controls various operations of the substrate processing robot such as an operation of a substrate transfer robot described later, various heat treatments, chemical solutions, and an air conditioning unit. In FIG. 2, the indexer ID is omitted for convenience of illustration.

On the transfer path R, as shown in FIG. 2, two substrate transfer robots TH and TC are provided. The substrate transfer robots TH and TC are in charge of circulating transfer of substrates between the indexer ID and the processing units included in the first processing unit group A and the second processing unit group B. Here, the substrate transfer robot TC is erected from below in the transfer path R,
Further, the substrate transfer robot TH is suspended from above in the transfer path R at a height different from that of the substrate transfer robot TC. The two substrate transfer robots TH and TC are both movable in the X direction and further in the height direction (Z direction).
It can be driven and rotated.

The first processing section group A and the second processing section group B are provided so as to face each other with the transport path R interposed therebetween. Figure 3
FIG. 3 is a schematic side view layout view of the substrate processing apparatus as viewed in the (−Y) direction from the position III-III in FIG. 1, showing a side structure of the first processing unit group A. As shown in the figure, the first processing unit group A is a multi-stage processing unit in which a heating processing unit row HL, a cooling processing unit row CL, an air conditioning unit F, and a chemical liquid processing unit row LL are arranged in this order from the top so as to overlap in the vertical direction. It is a column. The second processing unit group B has the same configuration as the first processing unit group A. The chemical cabinet CB has a first processing group A and a second processing group B.
Further, it is a base portion of the entire transport path R, and is a space in which a chemical liquid tank for storing a chemical liquid such as a resist or a developing liquid and a waste liquid recovery unit for recovering a waste liquid after processing are arranged.

In the above, a plurality of hot plates (heat processing units) are arranged in the horizontal direction (X direction) in the heat processing unit row HL.
And are arranged two-dimensionally in the vertical direction (Z direction). Similarly, a plurality of cool plates (cooling processing units) are two-dimensionally arranged in the horizontal direction (X direction) and the vertical direction (Z direction) in the cooling processing unit row CL. Here, the hot plate is an oven that heats the substrate, and the cool plate is a cooling plate that cools the heated substrate. Therefore, the hot plate and the cool plate can be regarded as a processing unit that transfers heat to and from the substrate, and in the present specification, these are collectively referred to as a “heat treatment unit”.

Further, a spin coater (rotary resist coating device) is provided in the horizontal direction (X direction) in the chemical solution processing unit row LL.
SC1, SC2 and spin developer (rotary developing device) SD1 are arranged one-dimensionally (see FIG. 2).
The spin coater and the spin developer are processing units that perform predetermined processing while using a resist and a developing solution, respectively, and are collectively referred to as a chemical solution processing unit in this specification.

The air conditioning unit F is arranged directly above the chemical treatment unit row LL and between the chemical treatment unit row LL and the cooling treatment unit row CL. In other words, the air conditioning unit F is arranged so as to be sandwiched between the heat treatment section and the chemical solution treatment section. And the air conditioning unit F
It has a function of supplying fine chemicals (particles) floating in the air and supplying air (temperature and humidity controlled air) whose temperature and humidity are adjusted to each chemical liquid processing section. The structure of the air conditioning unit F will be further described later.

In the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention, since the air conditioning unit F is arranged between the heat treatment section and the chemical solution processing section, it is not necessary to provide a special space for the air conditioning unit F. It is possible to prevent an increase in the footprint of the substrate processing apparatus as a whole. Further, since the air conditioning unit F is located directly above the chemical treatment section and it is not necessary to provide a duct between both treatment sections, thermal energy loss can be reduced and the temperature and humidity are regulated in the chemical treatment section. Air can be stably supplied.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the substrate processing apparatus viewed in the (+ X) direction from the VV position in FIG. Note that FIG.
The thick arrow in the middle indicates the flow of air around the air conditioning unit F. As shown in the figure, at this position, the hot plates HP1, H
P2, HP3, cool plates CP1, CP2, an air conditioning unit F, and a spin coater SC1 are arranged.
Similarly, at this position, hot plates HP4, HP5, HP6, cool plates CP3, CP4, an air conditioning unit F, and a spin coater SC3 are arranged in this order in the second processing unit group B from the top. Two substrate transfer robots TH and TC are provided between both processing unit groups.

The substrate transfer robot TC has an X-direction drive mechanism 2
0 and Z direction (vertical direction) drive mechanism 30, rotation mechanism 40, and arm slide mechanism 50 are provided. The substrate transfer robot TH is also provided with the same drive mechanism as the substrate transfer robot TC except that the X-direction drive mechanism 60 is different. X
Although the directional drive mechanisms 20 and 60 are installed at different positions, they are configured to move the robot in the X direction on the rails by rotating the nut members screwed on the screw shafts forward and backward by the motor. The Z-direction drive mechanism 30 is a drive mechanism that uses bending and stretching drive of a pantograph structure. Further, the rotation mechanism 40 and the arm slide mechanism 50 have a function of rotating the arms of the substrate transfer robots TC and TH in a horizontal plane and a function of moving the arms forward and backward.

The substrate transfer robots TC and TH are provided with the respective drive mechanisms described above to move on the transfer path R and to access the chemical solution processing section and the heat processing section to transfer the substrates to and from the processing sections. It becomes possible to do. In the substrate processing apparatus considered here, the substrate transfer robot TC accesses the chemical processing unit and the cooling processing unit to prevent thermal influence on the substrate processed in the chemical processing unit, and the substrate transfer robot TH Controls to access the heat treatment section and the cooling treatment section.

Next, the structure of the air conditioning unit F will be described. As described above, the air conditioning unit F is located immediately above the chemical treatment unit row LL, that is, the spin coaters SC1 and S.
C2, SC3, SC4, spin developers SD1, SD
2 (see FIG. 2).

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the air conditioning unit F. The air conditioning unit F includes a fan 70, a temperature / humidity controller 80, and a filter 90. The temperature / humidity control unit 80 includes a refrigerator 81, a heater 82, and a humidifier 83. The temperature of the air taken in from above by the rotation of the fan 70 is adjusted by the refrigerator 81 and the heater 82, and the humidity is adjusted by the humidifier 83. At this time, temperature / humidity adjustment is performed based on a signal detected by a temperature / humidity sensor (not shown) provided in the chemical liquid processing unit so that the air supplied to the chemical liquid processing unit has a predetermined temperature and humidity. . The air whose temperature and humidity have been adjusted passes through the filter 90 to remove particles, and then is sent out below the air conditioning unit F. As a filter used for the filter 90, a hepa filter (HEPA, High efficiency particulat
e air-filter) and ULPA (Ultra low penetration air-f) when higher cleanliness is required.
ilter) should be used.

Returning to FIG. 4, the air conditioning unit F takes in outside air from the opening W2 in the drawing in the substrate processing apparatus. The portion at the position W1 in the figure is closed. That is, the air conditioning unit F and the transport path R
The flow of air to and from
Does not take in air from the transport path R.

In the transfer path R, the substrate transfer robot T
Particles may be generated because C and TH are moving, and the temperature of the air may be increased due to heat radiation from the plurality of heat treatment units. In the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention, since the air conditioning unit F does not take in air from the transfer path R, the air conditioning unit F does not take in air that contains particles or whose temperature has risen. The load on the air conditioning unit F can be reduced.

The temperature-humidity-adjusted air supplied from the air conditioning unit F to the spin coater SC1 (or spin coater SC3) forms a downflow (one-way flow from the upper side to the lower side) in the spin coater SC1. , Rises through the opening W3, merges with the air that has flowed in through the opening W2, is taken into the air conditioning unit F again, and is reused.

In this way, the air whose temperature and humidity have already been adjusted is reused, so that it is possible to reduce the thermal energy loss and the load on the air adjustment unit F. Become.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments.
For example, the substrate transfer robot is not limited to two units, and may be one unit, and the drive mechanism thereof may be a known drive mechanism such as a belt feed mechanism using a pulley and a belt.

The filter used in the filter 90 may further include a chemical adsorption filter for adsorbing ammonia gas or the like.

[0031]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the chemical solution processing section for performing the chemical solution processing, the heat treatment section provided vertically above the chemical solution processing section for performing the heat treatment, and the chemical solution processing are provided. The air conditioner, which is disposed directly above the chemical treatment unit and between the chemical treatment unit and the heat treatment unit, and which includes an air conditioning unit for supplying temperature and humidity regulated air whose temperature and humidity are regulated to the chemical treatment unit. It is not necessary to provide a special space for the part, and it is possible to prevent an increase in the footprint of the substrate processing apparatus as a whole. Further, since the air conditioning unit is located directly above the chemical treatment unit and it is not necessary to provide a duct for guiding the temperature and humidity controlled air between both treatment units, thermal energy loss can be reduced and the chemical treatment unit can be reduced. Air whose temperature and humidity have been adjusted can be stably supplied.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, between the liquid adjusting section, the heat treating section and the air adjusting section, between the conveying path in which the substrate conveying apparatus is movably installed and the air adjusting section. Since the air flow is blocked, the air on the transfer path that contains particles due to the movement of the substrate transfer device or the temperature of the transfer path whose temperature has risen due to the heat treatment section is not taken into the air adjustment section. Can be reduced.

Further, according to the third aspect of the invention, since the temperature and humidity controlled air supplied to the chemical liquid processing section is returned to the air conditioning section and reused in the air conditioning section, thermal energy loss is caused. It is possible to reduce the load and the load on the air adjusting unit.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan layout view of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG.

3 is a schematic side view layout view of the substrate processing apparatus as viewed in the (−Y) direction from the position III-III in FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the substrate processing apparatus viewed from the VV position in FIG. 1 in the (+ X) direction.

5 is a configuration diagram of an air conditioning unit F. FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

HL heat treatment section line CL cooling processing line LL Chemical treatment line F Air conditioning unit TC, TH substrate transfer robot R transport path

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01L 21/02 H01L 21/027 H01L 21/68

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A substrate processing apparatus for performing a series of processing including heat treatment and chemical processing on a substrate, comprising: (a) a chemical processing section for performing the chemical processing; and (b) a vertical direction of the chemical processing section. A heat treatment unit provided above and performing the heat treatment, and (c) arranged directly above the chemical liquid treatment unit and between the chemical liquid treatment unit and the heat treatment unit, and adjusting the temperature and humidity in the chemical liquid treatment unit. An air conditioning unit for supplying the controlled temperature and humidity controlled air. 2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein (d) a transfer path provided in contact with the chemical processing section, the thermal processing section and the air conditioning section, and (e) movable on the transfer path. And a substrate transfer device that transfers a substrate to the chemical solution processing unit and the heat treatment unit, and air flow is blocked between the transfer path and the air adjusting unit. And a substrate processing apparatus. 3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the temperature / humidity adjusted air supplied to the chemical liquid processing unit is returned to the air adjusting unit and is reused in the air adjusting unit. A substrate processing apparatus characterized by the above.