JP3534210B2 - Rotary coating device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a semiconductor substrate, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display, a glass substrate for a photomask,
While holding a substrate for optical disks (hereinafter simply referred to as a substrate) in a horizontal posture and rotating it, photoresist, photosensitive polyimide, photosensitive resin such as color filter material, glass solvent, dopant material, etc. on the surface of the substrate The present invention relates to a device for uniformly applying a chemical solution, and more particularly to a technique for cleaning a splash prevention cup that receives a chemical solution scattered during a spin coating process.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A spin coating apparatus of this type is provided with a splash prevention cup for receiving and collecting a chemical solution scattered during spin coating of a chemical solution on a substrate. This shatterproof cup
The tilted guide surface has a downward spread shape that receives the chemical liquid scattered from the substrate and guides it downward, and a cylindrical opening wall connected to the upper end of the tilted guide surface. Between the upper end of the inclined guide surface and the outer peripheral surface of the lower portion of the opening wall, an annular recess for guiding the chemical liquid to return downward is formed, and the chemical liquid that has collided with the inclined guide surface and is scattered upward flows to the substrate side. This is prevented by the annular recess for guiding the chemical liquid turning back.

By the way, when the chemical liquid scattered by the spin coating process adheres to the inner surface of the anti-scattering cup and is dried and solidified, the adhered solid substance is peeled off due to vibration or air flow during the spin process. The dust may float as powdery dust and adhere to the surface of the substrate to be processed to contaminate the substrate. Therefore, it is preferable to regularly wash and remove the chemical liquid adhering to the inner surface of the scattering prevention cup. As a spin coating device equipped with such a mechanism capable of cleaning, for example, Japanese Utility Model 5-1
There is one disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 343.

In a spin coating apparatus having this cleaning mechanism, a large number of cleaning solution discharge holes for supplying cleaning solution from a substantially tangential direction are provided in the circumferential direction at the bottom of an annular recess for guiding the chemical solution to be turned back. The cleaning liquid blown out from each cleaning liquid discharge hole is swirlingly flowed in the circumferential direction in the annular recess and the downwardly extending inclined guide surface for cleaning.

[0005]

However, the conventional spin coating apparatus described above has the following problems.
That is, all the cleaning liquid discharge holes arranged in the circumferential direction are formed so as to face the bottom of the annular recess in a substantially tangential direction and open slightly outward in the radial direction with respect to the bottom of the annular recess. Most of the cleaning liquid discharged from the cleaning liquid discharge hole flows down from the bottom of the annular recess toward the downwardly extending inclined guide surface. Therefore, there is a problem that the cleaning liquid does not easily flow into the inner peripheral surface of the annular recess, and the cleaning effect on the inner peripheral surface cannot be sufficiently obtained.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and by devising the structure of the cleaning liquid discharge hole, the cleaning liquid can be satisfactorily circulated to the annular recess for guiding the chemical liquid turning back. An object of the present invention is to provide a spin coater capable of enhancing the cleaning effect.

[0007]

The present invention has the following constitution in order to achieve the above object. That is, according to the first aspect of the invention, the rotation holding means for rotating the substrate in a horizontal posture, the chemical solution supplying means for supplying the chemical solution onto the substrate, and the rotation holding means are accommodated and the substrate is provided. The anti-scattering cup that receives and collects the chemical solution that has been scattered when the chemical solution is spin-coated onto the anti-scattering cup, and the downward-spreading inclined guide surface that receives the chemical solution that has scattered from the substrate and guides it downward, A cylindrical opening wall continuous with the upper end of this inclined guide surface is provided, and between the upper end of the inclined guide surface and the lower outer peripheral surface of the opening wall, an annular concave portion for guiding the chemical liquid cutting back is formed, and In a spin coating apparatus in which a large number of cleaning liquid discharge holes for supplying a cleaning liquid to the bottom of the annular recess are formed in the circumferential direction, the cleaning liquid discharge holes may be formed in a direction substantially tangential to the bottom of the annular recess. The first cleaning liquid discharge hole for cleaning the inclined guide surface facing the first cleaning liquid discharge hole and the second cleaning liquid discharge hole for cleaning the inner peripheral surface of the annular recess facing the bottom of the annular recess at an angle tighter than the first cleaning liquid discharge hole. The first cleaning liquid ejection hole group and the second cleaning liquid ejection hole group are dispersedly arranged in the circumferential direction of the annular recess.

Further, in the invention described in claim 2, the rotation holding means for rotating the substrate in a horizontal posture, the chemical solution supplying means for supplying the chemical solution onto the substrate, and the rotation holding means are housed. Along with this, there is provided a splash prevention cup that receives and collects the splashed chemical solution when the chemical solution is spin-coated on the substrate, and the splash prevention cup receives the chemical solution splashed from the substrate and guides it downward. Surface and a cylindrical opening wall connected to the upper end of the inclined guide surface, and a ring-shaped concave portion for guiding the chemical liquid cutting back is formed between the upper end of the inclined guide surface and the lower peripheral surface of the opening wall. In addition, in the spin coating apparatus in which a large number of cleaning liquid discharge holes for blowing the cleaning liquid to the bottom of the annular recess are formed in the circumferential direction, the cleaning liquid discharge hole is formed with a radius relative to the bottom of the annular recess. A first cleaning liquid discharge hole for cleaning the inclined guide surface, which is open toward the outer side, and a second cleaning liquid discharge hole for cleaning the inner peripheral surface of the annular recess, which is open toward the inner side in the radial direction with respect to the bottom of the annular recess. The first cleaning liquid discharge hole group and the second cleaning liquid discharge hole group are dispersedly arranged in the circumferential direction of the annular recess.

[0009]

The operation of the present invention is as follows. That is,
According to the invention of claim 1, the cleaning liquid blown out from the first cleaning liquid discharge hole mainly flows from the bottom of the annular recess toward the inclined guide surface side, and while flowing swirling, the cleaning liquid flows down along the inclined guide surface. The area of the inclined guide surface is cleaned from the bottom of the annular recess. On the other hand, the cleaning liquid from the second cleaning liquid discharge hole, which faces the bottom of the annular recess at an angle tighter than that of the first cleaning liquid discharge hole, is deflected toward the rotation center side of the rotation holding means and blown out from the cleaning liquid from the first cleaning liquid discharge hole. Therefore, the cleaning liquid swirls and flows mainly along the entire bottom of the annular recess, and the area of the inner peripheral surface of the annular recess is sufficiently cleaned.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the cleaning liquid spouted from the first cleaning liquid discharge hole which is opened radially outward with respect to the bottom of the annular recess is mainly directed to the inclined guide surface side from the bottom of the annular recess. By flowing and flowing down, the area of the inclined guide surface is cleaned. On the other hand, the cleaning liquid spouted from the second cleaning liquid discharge hole that is open radially inward of the bottom of the annular recess flows and flows from the bottom of the annular recess toward the center of rotation of the rotation holding means. The inner peripheral surface area of the is thoroughly cleaned.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. <First Embodiment> FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a main part of a spin coating apparatus according to the first embodiment, FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway plan view of a shatterproof cup, and FIG. 3 is a main part of a shatterproof cup. FIG. 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, this spin coating apparatus is
Spin chuck 1 that holds a substrate W by suction and horizontally rotates
And a chemical solution supply nozzle 2 arranged above the center of the spin chuck 1 to supply a chemical solution such as a photoresist to the surface of the substrate W, and a scattering prevention cup 3 arranged so as to surround the spin chuck 1 and the substrate W. And so on. Also,
A straightening sloping plate 4 for rectifying the exhaust flow in the cup 3 is arranged and fixed below the substrate W, and a drain recovery drain 5a for discharging the recovered excess chemical liquid and the inside of the cup 3 are provided below the scattering prevention cup 3. Is provided with an exhaust port 5b.

On the inner peripheral wall of the splattering prevention cup 3, there is formed a downward sloping guide surface 6 which receives the chemical liquid scattered outward by the centrifugal force from the outer peripheral edge of the substrate W at the time of spin coating and guides it downward. At the same time, the upper end opening of the shatterproof cup 3 is provided with a cylindrical opening wall 7 continuous with the upper end of the inclined guide surface 6. Between the upper end of the inclined guide surface 6 and the outer peripheral surface of the lower portion of the opening wall 7, an annular concave portion 8 for guiding the chemical liquid turning back is formed. The annular concave portion 8 is for preventing the chemical liquid scattered upward due to the collision with the inclined guide surface 6 from moving to the substrate W side, and is formed in a smoothly curved inner surface shape.

A first ring member 9 and a second ring member 10 are externally fitted and attached to the outer peripheral portion of the opening wall 7 in a close contact state and welded and fixed to each other. The first ring member 9 is formed with an annular cleaning liquid supply passage 12 having a cleaning liquid inlet 11 for injecting a cleaning liquid such as acetone under pressure, and
The second ring member 10 has a plurality of circumferential positions (three positions in the present embodiment) through the through holes 13, and the cleaning liquid supply flow passages 12 therethrough.
An annular cleaning liquid distribution flow path 14 is formed in communication with.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cleaning liquid distribution flow channel 14 is provided outside the annular recess 8, and the cleaning liquid distribution flow channel 14 and the bottom of the annular recess 8 are substantially formed. A large number of first cleaning liquid ejection holes 15 and second cleaning liquid ejection holes 16 that communicate horizontally are provided alternately in the circumferential direction.

As shown in FIG. 4, the first cleaning liquid discharge hole 15 is formed so as to face the bottom of the annular recess 8 in a substantially tangential direction, and the second cleaning liquid discharge hole 16 is formed to the first.
It is formed so as to face the bottom of the annular recess 8 at an angle slightly larger than the cleaning liquid discharge hole 15. Thus, the annular recess 8
First cleaning liquid discharge hole 15 which is substantially tangential to the bottom of the
The cleaning liquid spouted from the main portion flows from the bottom of the annular concave portion 8 toward the inclined guide surface 6 side, and flows down along the inclined guide surface 6 while swirling and flowing, so that the region of the inclined guide surface 6 from the bottom portion of the annular concave portion 8 is discharged. To wash. On the other hand, the cleaning liquid from the second cleaning liquid discharge hole 16 which faces the bottom of the annular recess 8 at a tighter angle than the first cleaning liquid discharge hole 15 is slightly deflected toward the center of the spin chuck more than the cleaning liquid from the first cleaning liquid discharge hole 15. The cleaning liquid is mainly discharged from the annular recess 8
Swirling and flowing along the entire bottom of the annular recess 8
a will be thoroughly washed.

<Second Embodiment> FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main portion of a spin coating apparatus according to the second embodiment, that is, a cleaning liquid blowing-out portion as viewed from below. The feature of this embodiment is that the first cleaning liquid ejection hole 25 for cleaning the inclined guide surface and the second cleaning liquid ejection hole 26 for cleaning the inner peripheral surface of the annular recess face the annular recess 8 at substantially the same angle. , First cleaning liquid discharge hole 25
Is set to the outer side in the radial direction with respect to the bottom of the annular recess 8, and the position where the second cleaning liquid discharge hole 26 is opened to the annular recess 8 is set in the radial direction with respect to the bottom of the annular recess 8. It is set from the inside. The other structure is the same as that of the first embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted here.

According to the present embodiment, the first cleaning liquid discharge hole 25 opened radially outward from the bottom of the annular recess 8.
The cleaning liquid spouted from the main portion flows from the bottom of the annular concave portion 8 toward the inclined guide surface 6 side, and flows down along the inclined guide surface 6 while swirling and flowing, so that the region of the inclined guide surface 6 from the bottom portion of the annular concave portion 8 is discharged. To wash. On the other hand, the cleaning liquid from the second cleaning liquid discharge hole 26, which is opened from the inner side in the radial direction with respect to the bottom of the annular recess 8, flows mainly from the bottom of the annular recess 8 toward the center of the spin chuck. The surface 8a will be thoroughly cleaned.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments,
Modifications can be made as follows. (1) As shown in FIG. 6, a first cleaning liquid discharge hole 35 for cleaning the inclined guide surface is formed so as to face the bottom of the annular recess 8 in a substantially tangential direction, and for cleaning the inner peripheral surface of the annular recess. The second cleaning liquid discharge hole 36 is formed to face the bottom of the annular recess 8 at an angle slightly larger than the first cleaning liquid discharge hole 35, and the position where the first cleaning liquid discharge hole 35 opens in the annular recess 8 is defined by the annular recess 8. The position is set to the outer side in the radial direction with respect to the bottom, and the position where the second cleaning liquid discharge hole 36 opens in the annular recess 8 is set to the position inward from the bottom of the annular recess 8 in the radial direction.

(2) In each of the above-mentioned embodiments, the first cleaning liquid discharge hole 15 (25, 35) and the second cleaning liquid discharge hole 16 (26, 26).
36) are alternately arranged in the circumferential direction, but the second cleaning liquid discharge holes 16 (26, 36) may be arranged at intervals of a plurality of the first cleaning liquid discharge holes 15 (25, 35). Good. Further, it is also possible to give different amounts to the amount of cleaning liquid by making the diameters of the first cleaning liquid discharge holes 15 (25, 35) and the second cleaning liquid discharge holes 16 (26, 36) different.

[0021]

As is apparent from the above description, the present invention has the following effects. That is, according to the spin coating apparatus of claim 1, the cleaning liquid is rationally supplied from the cleaning liquid discharge hole groups having different blowing angles, so that not only the inclined guide surface but also the upper end of the inclined guide surface is provided. The cleaning liquid can be sufficiently flown into the entire annular concave portion for guiding the chemical liquid turning back connected to, and the splash prevention cup can be efficiently cleaned.

Further, according to the second aspect of the present invention, since the cleaning liquid is blown out from the cleaning liquid discharge hole groups which are respectively opened to the outer side and the inner side in the radial direction with respect to the bottom of the annular recess, Similar to the invention described in claim 1, not only the inclined guide surface but also the entire annular recess can be sufficiently cleaned.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a spin coating apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway plan view of the scattering prevention cup.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of a main part of a shatterproof cup.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a cleaning liquid blowing portion as viewed from below.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a cleaning liquid blowing portion of the spin coating apparatus according to the second embodiment as seen from below.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a cleaning liquid blowing-out portion of a spin coating device according to another embodiment as seen from below.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Spin chuck (rotation holding means) 2 ... Chemical solution supply nozzle (chemical solution supply means) 3… Shatterproof cup 6… Inclined guide surface 7… Opening wall 8 ... Annular recess 15, 25, 35 ... First cleaning liquid discharge hole 16, 26, 36 ... Second cleaning liquid discharge hole W ... Substrate

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-5-251327 (JP, A) JP-A-7-163933 (JP, A) Jikkyo 5-1343 (JP, Y2) (58) Field (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B05C 11/08

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A rotation holding means for rotating a substrate while holding it in a horizontal position, a chemical solution supplying means for supplying a chemical solution onto the substrate, and a rotation holding means for accommodating the chemical solution on a substrate. An anti-scattering cup for receiving and collecting the chemical liquid scattered at the time, and in the anti-scattering cup, an inclined guide surface having a downward spread shape for receiving the chemical liquid scattered from the substrate and guiding it downward, and an upper end of the inclined guide surface. And a cylindrical opening wall connected to each other, and between the upper end portion of the inclined guide surface and the lower outer peripheral surface of the opening wall, an annular recess for guiding the chemical liquid cutback is formed downward, and at the bottom of this annular recess. In a spin coating device in which a large number of cleaning liquid discharge holes for supplying a cleaning liquid are provided in the circumferential direction, the cleaning liquid discharge holes are inclined guide surface cleaning facing the bottom of the annular recess in a substantially tangential direction. Of the first cleaning liquid discharge hole and a second cleaning liquid discharge hole for cleaning the inner peripheral surface of the annular recess facing the bottom of the annular recess at an angle tighter than the first cleaning liquid discharge hole. And a second cleaning liquid discharge hole group are dispersedly arranged in the circumferential direction of the annular recess. 2. A rotation holding means for rotating a substrate while holding it in a horizontal posture, a chemical solution supplying means for supplying a chemical solution onto the substrate, and a rotation holding means for accommodating the chemical solution on the substrate. An anti-scattering cup for receiving and collecting the chemical liquid scattered at the time, and in the anti-scattering cup, an inclined guide surface having a downward spread shape for receiving the chemical liquid scattered from the substrate and guiding it downward, and an upper end of the inclined guide surface. And a cylindrical opening wall connected to each other, and between the upper end portion of the inclined guide surface and the lower outer peripheral surface of the opening wall, an annular recess for guiding the chemical liquid cutback is formed downward, and at the bottom of this annular recess. In a spin coating apparatus in which a large number of cleaning liquid discharge holes for supplying and supplying a cleaning liquid are formed in the circumferential direction, an inclined plan in which the cleaning liquid discharge holes are opened radially outward with respect to the bottom of the annular recess A first cleaning liquid discharge hole for cleaning the surface and a second cleaning liquid discharge hole for cleaning the inner peripheral surface of the annular recess, which is open inward in the radial direction with respect to the bottom of the annular recess. And a second cleaning liquid discharge hole group are dispersedly arranged in the circumferential direction of the annular recess.