JP3836040B2 - High pressure substrate processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention supplies a developing solution to various substrates (hereinafter simply referred to as “substrate”) such as a semiconductor wafer, a glass substrate for a photomask, a glass substrate for liquid crystal display, a glass substrate for plasma display, and a substrate for an optical disk, and develops it. The present invention relates to a high-pressure substrate processing apparatus in which a high-pressure fluid or a mixture of a high-pressure fluid and a chemical is used as a processing fluid, and the processing fluid is supplied to the substrate and dried at high pressure.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, miniaturization of semiconductor devices has been promoted rapidly, but with this miniaturization, new problems have arisen in substrate processing. For example, when a fine pattern is formed by patterning a resist applied on a substrate, development processing, rinsing processing, and drying processing are performed in this order. Here, in the alkaline development process for developing the resist applied to the substrate, an alkaline aqueous solution is used to remove unnecessary resist, and in the rinsing process, the alkaline aqueous solution is removed (to stop development). A rinsing liquid such as pure water is used, and in the drying process, the rinsing liquid is removed from the substrate by rotating the substrate to apply a centrifugal force to the rinsing liquid remaining on the substrate and drying (spin drying). Of these, in the drying process, the interface between the rinsing liquid and the gas appears on the substrate as the drying progresses, and when this interface appears in the gap between the fine patterns of the semiconductor device, the fine patterns are attracted to each other by the surface tension of the rinsing liquid. There was a problem to collapse.
[0003]
In addition, the collapse of the fine pattern involves fluid resistance when shaking off the rinse liquid, printing pressure generated when the rinse liquid is discharged from the fine pattern, and air resistance and centrifugal force due to high-speed rotation exceeding 3000 rpm. It is believed that
[0004]
In order to solve this problem, a supercritical fluid (hereinafter referred to as “SCF”) having a property of holding a substrate in a pressure vessel and having low viscosity, high diffusibility and no surface tension is introduced into the pressure vessel. Conventionally, a supercritical drying process for supercritical drying of a substrate has been proposed. As the prior art, there is a supercritical drying apparatus described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-223467. This supercritical drying device can hold a substrate that has been subjected to development processing and rinsing processing in a reaction chamber, and with the substrate held, a pump unit is operated to react a certain amount of liquefied carbon dioxide from a cylinder. The pressure of the carbon dioxide in the reaction chamber is automatically controlled with a pressure control bubble and the pressure of the carbon dioxide in the reaction chamber is set to 7.38 to 8 MPa, and the carbon dioxide in the reaction chamber is used as a supercritical fluid. . Thereafter, supercritical carbon dioxide is released from the reaction chamber to reduce the pressure in the reaction chamber and dry the substrate.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, the supercritical drying apparatus described above is an apparatus that performs only a drying process, and the development process and the rinsing process are executed by a different developing apparatus different from the drying apparatus. Therefore, conventionally, in order to perform a series of substrate processing from development processing to drying processing on a substrate, after the development processing and rinsing processing in the developing device, the substrate wet with the rinsing liquid is supercritically dried. It must be transported to the device. This is because if the substrate is naturally dried while being transported from the developing device to the supercritical drying device, the fine patterns are attracted to each other by the surface tension of the rinsing liquid and collapsed, resulting in supercritical drying. This is because it makes no sense to do.
[0006]
However, when the substrate is transported from the developing device to the supercritical drying device with the substrate wet in this way, the rinse liquid accumulated on the substrate may drip or splash during the substrate transport. There is a problem that a device provided along the transport path is contaminated. Further, there arises a problem that particles in the atmosphere are mixed into the rinse liquid accumulated on the substrate during the conveyance of the substrate, or the rinse liquid is contaminated due to dissolution of gas components.
[0007]
In order to solve such problems, a special configuration for preventing the rinsing liquid from dripping or scattering and preventing the rinsing liquid from coming into contact with the atmosphere, for example, an enclosure for storing the substrate in a transport mechanism for transporting the substrate. It is conceivable to provide a member. However, the addition of such a configuration not only increases the complexity and size of the apparatus, but also becomes one of the main factors that increase the apparatus cost.
[0008]
In addition, since the developing device and the supercritical drying device are separate modules, and a transport device for transporting the substrate is required between the two devices, the substrate processing for performing from the development processing to the drying processing. There is also a problem that the apparatus is increased in size and cost. In addition, the conveyance of the substrate from the developing device to the supercritical drying device has been one of the factors that reduce the throughput.
[0009]
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides a high-pressure substrate processing apparatus that is small in size and can perform a series of substrate processing from development processing to drying processing with excellent throughput and low cost. Objective.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has a processing chamber and an opening communicating with the processing chamber, and the hand of the substrate transfer robot accesses the processing chamber through the opening to bring the substrate into the processing chamber. A pressure vessel that can be transported, a gate part that opens and closes the opening, and a substrate outside the pressure vessel, along the substrate transport path by the substrate transport robot, and transports on the transport path toward the processing chamber A developer supply means for supplying a developer to the substrate to be processed, and a high pressure fluid or a mixture of a high pressure fluid and a chemical as a processing fluid introduced into the processing chamber and transported into the processing chamber with the opening closed. And a processing fluid introducing means for drying the formed substrate at a high pressure.
[0011]
In the invention configured as described above, the developer supply means supplies the developer to the substrate transported toward the processing chamber by the substrate transport robot, and the substrate on which the development processing has thus started is subjected to the development processing. Then, it is transferred to the processing chamber. Then, the processing fluid introduction means introduces the processing fluid into the processing chamber, and the developed substrate is dried at high pressure. In this way, development processing is started in parallel with the substrate transfer to the processing chamber by the substrate transfer robot, and high-pressure drying is performed after the substrate transfer to the processing chamber. This eliminates the need for a dedicated device for developing processing, which is essential in the prior art, that is, a developing device, and also eliminates the need for a transport device that transports the substrate in a liquid state between the developing device and the drying device. Become. In addition, since the time from when the substrate is wetted with the developing solution until it is left in the processing chamber is minimized, contamination and natural drying during substrate transportation can be suppressed to the maximum.
[0012]
Here, in order to supply the developer to the substrate, slit nozzles and spray nozzles are provided along the transport path, and the developer is discharged and supplied toward the substrate transported toward the processing chamber on the transport path. Alternatively, it is desirable to use different nozzle configurations according to the type of development object (film to be developed formed on the substrate surface). Also, a plurality of different types of developing solutions may be prepared in advance, and a developing solution to be supplied according to the substrate may be selected in accordance with the type of object to be developed. Development processing can be performed.
[0013]
Further, when the developer is supplied toward the substrate, surplus developer may be generated. However, recovering the surplus developer by the recovery unit and reusing it increases the utilization efficiency of the developer. This is desirable for reducing running costs.
[0014]
Further, a rinsing liquid introducing means may be further provided so that the rinsing liquid is introduced into the processing chamber and the developing solution adhering to the substrate is replaced with the rinsing liquid, and the timing of supplying the rinsing liquid to the processing chamber. By controlling this, it is possible to accurately control the development time.
[0015]
Further, a single rinsing solution may be used, or a plurality of different types may be used. In the latter case, processing is performed according to the type of the developer supplied by the developer supply means. It is preferable to select a rinsing solution to be introduced into the chamber and replace the developer adhering to the substrate with the selected rinsing solution. This is because the rinse treatment can be performed with the most appropriate rinse solution for the developer used for the development treatment. Further, considering the affinity with the high-pressure fluid used at the time of subsequent high-pressure drying, it may be replaced with another rinse solution.
[0016]
Furthermore, if the developer is supplied to the substrate while the substrate is being transported by the hand of the substrate transport robot, the developer may adhere to the hand and become contaminated. Contamination can be eliminated by providing hand cleaning means outside and along the substrate transfer path by the substrate transfer robot. That is, when the contaminated hand moves on the transport path in a direction away from the processing chamber, the hand cleaning means supplies a rinsing liquid toward the hand to rinse the hand. This eliminates the disadvantage that the developer adhering to the hand contaminates the substrate.
[0017]
By the way, as a high-pressure fluid used in the present invention, carbon dioxide is preferable from the viewpoints of safety, cost, and easy supercritical state. In addition to carbon dioxide, water, ammonia, nitrous oxide, ethanol and the like can also be used. The high pressure fluid is used because it has a high diffusion coefficient and can disperse dissolved pollutants in the medium. This is because the fine pattern portion can be further penetrated and the surface tension is not generated. Further, the density of the high-pressure fluid is close to that of a liquid and can contain a much larger amount of additives (drugs) than gas.
[0018]
The high-pressure fluid in the present invention is a fluid having a pressure of 1 MPa or more. The high-pressure fluid that can be preferably used is a fluid in which high-density, high-solubility, low-viscosity, and high-diffusibility properties are observed, and more preferable is a fluid in a supercritical state or a subcritical state. In order to use carbon dioxide as a supercritical fluid, the temperature may be set to 31 ° C. and 7.1 MPa or more, and in particular, a subcritical (high pressure fluid) or supercritical fluid of 5 to 30 MPa is preferably used in the drying process. More preferably, these treatments are performed at 1 to 20 MPa.
[0019]
In addition to using only the high-pressure fluid as the processing fluid as described above, when the rinse liquid component is incompatible with the high-pressure fluid, it can be an aid for dissolving or uniformly dispersing the rinse liquid component in carbon dioxide. It is preferable to use a compatibilizing agent as the drug, that is, use a mixture of supercritical carbon dioxide and the drug as the processing fluid.
[0020]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of an embodiment of a high-pressure substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the high-pressure substrate processing apparatus of FIG. This high-pressure substrate processing apparatus holds a substrate W rotatably in the pressure vessel 1, that is, in a processing chamber 11. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the pressure vessel 1 has a processing chamber 11 inside thereof, and an opening for allowing the substrate W to be carried into and out of the processing chamber 11 on the side surface thereof. 12 is provided.
[0021]
In addition, a gate portion 2 that opens and closes the opening 12 is disposed in the vicinity of the pressure vessel 1. A gate drive unit 21 is connected to the gate unit 2, and the gate unit 2 is moved up and down by operating the gate drive unit 21 in accordance with an operation command from the control unit 3 that controls the entire apparatus. For example, when the gate part 2 is lowered, the opening part 12 is closed and the inside of the processing chamber 11 becomes airtight. On the other hand, when the gate unit 2 is raised by the gate drive unit 21, the opening 12 is opened as shown in FIG. 1, and the hand 41 of the substrate transfer robot 4 moves to the transfer path 42 indicated by the one-dot chain line in FIG. The process chamber 11 can be accessed by moving along. Then, the hand 41 holding the substrate W moves to the processing chamber 11 and is placed on the spin chuck 51 located in the processing chamber 11 (carrying in the substrate W). Conversely, after the hand 41 receives the substrate W on the spin chuck 51, the substrate W is unloaded from the pressure vessel 1 by retreating from the pressure vessel 1 along the transfer path 42.
[0022]
The spin chuck 51 is disposed in the processing chamber 11, and the lower surface center portion of the substrate W can be sucked and held by a suction port (not shown) provided on the upper surface thereof. The spin chuck 51 is connected to a rotating shaft 52 that is rotated by a motor 53. The spin chuck 51 and the spin chuck 51 are driven in response to the rotation of the motor 53 that receives an operation command from the control unit 3. The held substrate W is integrally rotated in the processing chamber 11. In addition, holding | maintenance of the board | substrate W of the spin chuck 41 is not restricted to adsorption | suction, The structure hold | maintained mechanically may be sufficient.
[0023]
Further, in the pressure vessel 1, as shown in FIG. 1, two through holes 13 and 14 communicating with the processing chamber 11 are provided. Among these through holes, the end of the through hole 13 provided on the ceiling side on the processing chamber 11 side is provided so as to face the center of the upper surface of the substrate W held by the spin chuck 51, and the other end is a valve. They are connected to the rinsing liquid supply unit 61 and the SCF supply unit 71 via V1 and V2, respectively. Therefore, by opening the valve V1 and closing the valve V2 based on the opening / closing command from the control unit 3, the pure water DIW is discharged as the rinsing liquid over the entire upper surface of the substrate W, and the rinsing process for the substrate W can be executed. ing. On the contrary, by closing the valve V1 and opening the valve V2 based on the opening / closing command from the control unit 3, supercritical carbon dioxide is supplied from the SCF supply unit 71 to the processing chamber 11 as a processing fluid, and supercritical drying can be performed. It has become.
[0024]
In this embodiment, pure water DIW is used as the rinse liquid, but the type of the rinse liquid is not limited to this. Further, although SCF of supercritical carbon dioxide is used as a processing fluid, a mixture of supercritical carbon dioxide and a chemical may be introduced into the processing chamber 11 as a processing fluid. It is preferable to use a compatibilizing agent that can be an auxiliary for dissolving or uniformly dispersing the liquid component in SCF, and there is no particular limitation as long as the rinsing liquid component can be compatibilized with SCF, but alcohols such as methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, etc. An alkyl sulfoxide such as dimethyl sulfoxide, which is a so-called surfactant, is preferable.
[0025]
Thus, in the present embodiment, the “rinsing liquid introducing means” of the present invention is constituted by the rinsing liquid supply section 61 and the valve V1, and the “processing fluid introducing means of the present invention is constituted by the SCF supply section 71 and the valve V2. Is configured. A plurality of through holes 13 and 14 may be provided.
[0026]
The remaining through-holes 14 are connected to the drainage recovery part 81 and the SCF recovery part 82 via valves V3 and V4, respectively. The rinse liquid and SCF introduced into the processing chamber 11 as described above, and the rinse Contaminants and the like generated during the treatment and the supercritical drying treatment can be discharged and collected outside the pressure vessel 1.
[0027]
Further, the developer supply unit 9 and the hand cleaning unit 10 are arranged in series along the transport path 42 across the gate unit 2 outside the pressure vessel 1 configured in this way. More specifically, in the developer supply unit 9, a pair of upper and lower housings are disposed adjacent to the opening 12 of the pressure vessel 1, and a developer supply space is formed therein. Further, openings for passing the substrate W and the hand 41 are respectively provided on both sides of the housing pair, and the hand 41 and the substrate W can reciprocate along the transport path 42 in the developer supply space. ing. In the developer supply space, a slit nozzle 91 is disposed at a position immediately above the transport path 42, and a spray nozzle 92 is attached to the upper housing toward the transport path 42.
[0028]
A first developer supply unit 93 is connected to the slit nozzle 91 via a valve V5. When the valve V5 is opened based on an open / close command from the control unit 3, the first developer supply unit 93 opens the slit nozzle. The alkali developer is pumped as a developer toward the developer 91, and the alkali developer is supplied to the upper surface of the substrate W moving in the developer supply space, so that the development process on the substrate W can be executed.
[0029]
On the other hand, a second developer supply unit 94 is connected to the spray nozzle 92 via a valve V6. When the valve V6 is opened based on an open / close command from the control unit 3, the spray from the second developer supply unit 94 is made. An organic developer such as butyl acetate is pumped toward the nozzle 92 as a developer, and the organic developer is sprayed onto the upper surface of the substrate W moving in the developer supply space to execute development processing on the substrate W. It is possible.
[0030]
Then, the controller 3 controls only one of the valves V5 and V6 according to the type of the substrate W transported along the transport path 42, more specifically, the film material of the resist film formed on the substrate. By opening, development processing can be performed with a developer suitable for the film material.
[0031]
Further, the lower housing 95 has a funnel-shaped cross section as shown in FIG. 1, and it is possible to collect surplus developer from the developer discharged from the slit nozzle 91 or the spray nozzle 92 as described above. And functions as the “recovery unit” of the present invention. The developer collected in this manner is sent to a collection tank and discarded, or reused as necessary.
[0032]
In the hand cleaning unit 10 provided adjacent to the developer supply unit 9 configured as described above, the nozzle 101 is disposed at a position immediately above the conveyance path 42 and a bottom having a funnel-shaped cross section at a lower position. A side housing 102 is arranged. A cleaning liquid supply unit 103 is connected to the nozzle 101 via a valve V 7. When the valve V 7 is opened based on an opening / closing command from the control unit 3, pure water DIW is supplied from the cleaning liquid supply unit 103 toward the nozzle 101. The rinsing liquid is supplied to the hand 41 that is pumped as the rinsing liquid and is moving on the lower housing 102, so that the rinsing cleaning process for the hand 41 can be executed.
[0033]
Next, the operation of the high-pressure substrate processing apparatus configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0034]
3 and 4 are diagrams showing the operation of the high-pressure substrate processing apparatus of FIG. In this high-pressure substrate processing apparatus, the control unit 3 controls each part of the apparatus in conjunction with the operation of the substrate transfer robot 4 in accordance with a program stored in advance in a memory (not shown) of the control unit 3 that controls the entire apparatus. Thus, the development process, the rinse process, and the supercritical drying process, which is a high-pressure drying process, are performed in this order on the substrate W that has undergone the exposure process. The operation is as follows.
[0035]
In the initial state of the high-pressure substrate processing apparatus, the gate unit 2 is closed and all the valves V1 to V7 are closed. When the substrate transport robot 4 that holds the substrate W on the hand 41 moves to the front of the high-pressure substrate processing apparatus, the gate drive unit 21 is activated to raise the gate unit 2, thereby opening the opening 12. It becomes a state. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the substrate transport robot 4 moves the hand 41 toward the processing chamber 11 along the transport path 42 to place the substrate W on the hand 41 in the processing chamber 11. (Substrate W is carried in).
[0036]
Further, development processing is started in parallel with the loading operation of the substrate W. That is, in the carry-in operation, the substrate W held by the hand 41 passes through the hand cleaning unit 10 and the developer supply unit 9 together with the hand 41 in this order, but the substrate W moves to the developer supply unit 9. Then, either one of the valves V5 and V6 is selectively opened according to the type of the development object (exposed resist film) on the substrate W to start development processing. Then, the supply of the developer is continued until the substrate W completely passes through the developer supply space, and the developer is applied to the entire upper surface of the substrate W. In the drawing, the valve V5 is opened and the alkali developing solution is selectively discharged from the slit nozzle 91 to execute the alkali developing process on the substrate W. Of course, when the developing process is performed with the organic developer, Then, the developing process for the substrate W may be performed by opening the valve V6 and supplying an organic developer such as butyl acetate from the spray nozzle 92 toward the substrate W in the form of a spray.
[0037]
When the substrate W coated with the developer is thus transported to the processing chamber 11 and set on the spin chuck 51, the substrate transport robot 4 moves the empty hand 41 in the direction opposite to that during transport along the transport path. To the robot body (not shown), and waits for the next substrate transfer command. In this embodiment, when the hand 41 is returned as described above, the hand 41 is rinsed and cleaned by the hand cleaning unit 10. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, while the hand 41 is moving the hand washing unit 10 along the transfer path 42 to the robot body side (right side in the figure), the valve V7 is opened and pure water DIW is opened. Is supplied from the nozzle 101 toward the hand 41 as a rinsing liquid, and the rinsing cleaning process for the hand 41 is executed. Therefore, the developer attached to the hand 41 when the developing process is performed is removed by washing, and the substrate can be held in a clean state even when the substrate is held thereafter, and contamination of the substrate is reliably prevented. can do. In addition, you may make it add the drying part which dries the hand 41 by which the rinse washing was carried out as needed.
[0038]
On the other hand, when the hand 41 moves backward from the processing chamber 11, the gate driving unit 21 operates to lower the gate unit 2, thereby closing the opening 12 and bringing the processing chamber 11 into an airtight state. Then, after a predetermined development time has elapsed after the development processing has been started as described above, the motor 53 is operated to rotate the substrate W together with the spin chuck 51. Further, the rinsing liquid pumped from the rinsing liquid supply unit 61 by opening the valve V1 is introduced into the processing chamber 11 to start the rinsing process for the substrate W, and the draining from the processing chamber 11 is started by opening the valve V3. To do. As a result, the developing solution adhering to the substrate W is replaced with the rinsing solution, and the developing process is stopped. Therefore, the development time can be accurately controlled by controlling the timing of supplying the rinse liquid by the control unit 3.
[0039]
When the rinsing process is completed, the valves V1 and V3 are closed to stop the introduction of the rinsing liquid into the processing chamber 11 and the drainage recovery from the processing chamber 11, while the valves V2 and V4 are opened to introduce the SCF into the processing chamber 11. And SCF recovery is performed to perform the supercritical drying process. Here, the valve V4 is a pressure regulating valve, and the pressure in the processing chamber 11 is maintained at a predetermined value by the valve V4. While supplying SCF from the SCF supply unit 71 to the processing chamber 11, the pressure and temperature in the processing chamber 11 are recovered to the SCF recovery unit 82 via the valve V4, and then the valves V2 and V4 are closed. The introduction of SCF is stopped and the substrate W is dried by recovering the SCF from the processing chamber 11 to the SCF recovery unit 82 to dry the substrate W, but initially the valve V4 is closed to process the SCF. After sealing in the chamber 11, the introduction of SCF is stopped by closing the valves V 2 and V 4 as described above, and the valve V 4 is opened and the SCF in the processing chamber 11 is collected in the SCF collection unit 82 for supercritical drying. You may make it perform.
[0040]
When a series of processes from the development process to the drying process is completed in this way, the rotation of the spin chuck 51 is stopped and the pressure is reduced to the atmospheric pressure, and then the valve V4 is closed and the gate unit 2 is raised to allow the substrate W to be carried out. In such a state, a substrate transfer command is given to the substrate transfer robot 4. Then, the substrate transport robot 4 that has received this transport command receives the substrate W from the spin chuck 51, carries it out of the high-pressure substrate processing apparatus, and transports it to the next step. Each time the next pre-development substrate W is transported by the substrate transport robot 4, the series of operations described above are executed to perform development processing, rinsing processing, and drying processing on each substrate W.
[0041]
As described above, according to the high-pressure substrate processing apparatus according to this embodiment, not only the SCF is introduced into the processing chamber 11 to perform supercritical drying, but also the substrate transfer robot 4 can transfer the substrate to the processing chamber 11. Development processing can be performed in parallel, and a series of processing from development processing to supercritical drying processing can be performed in the same apparatus. This eliminates the need for a dedicated device (developing device) for performing development processing, which is essential in the prior art, and eliminates the need for a transport device for transporting the substrate in a liquid state between the developing device and the drying device. The apparatus cost can be greatly reduced, and the apparatus for executing a series of processes from the development process to the supercritical drying process can be reduced in size.
[0042]
Further, in the above apparatus, the developer is supplied to the substrate W immediately before it is carried into the processing chamber 11, and the substrate transfer step between the rinsing process and the supercritical drying process is not necessary. Of course, problems such as liquid dripping associated with the accumulation of liquid and complication of the conveying apparatus, which are more problematic, can be significantly suppressed, and the throughput is also greatly improved.
[0043]
Further, in the conventional developing apparatus, since the developing process and the rinsing process are performed in the same chamber, the developer and the rinsing liquid are mixed in the chamber, and it is difficult to collect and reuse the developer. On the other hand, in this embodiment, since only the developer is supplied in the developer supply unit 9 and the excess developer is collected by the lower housing 95, the developer can be reused efficiently. It is possible to reduce the running cost.
[0044]
In the conventional developing apparatus, the splash guard is provided so as to surround the periphery of the substrate in order to prevent the processing liquid from being scattered around the apparatus when the rinsing process is performed. However, according to the present embodiment, the rinsing process is performed. Is performed in the sealed processing chamber 11, the processing chamber 11 also functions as a splash guard and has an efficient configuration.
[0045]
In addition, this high-pressure substrate processing apparatus can perform a series of processing from development processing to supercritical drying processing in the same apparatus, so when arranging a plurality of modules in a semiconductor manufacturing factory, a liquid crystal manufacturing factory, etc. However, it can be arranged flexibly and rationally with respect to the factory layout or existing equipment.
[0046]
Further, in the above embodiment, the slit nozzle 91 and the spray nozzle 92 are provided along the transport path 42, and the developer is selectively discharged toward the substrate W transported toward the processing chamber 11 on the transport path 42. Since it is configured to supply, the supply method and type of developer can be selected according to the type of development object (the material of the resist film formed on the substrate surface) and the like. Development processing can be performed.
[0047]
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications other than those described above can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, two types of developing solutions are selectively used, whereas a single rinsing solution is used. For example, as shown in FIG. A rinse solution may be selectively used corresponding to the developer supplied to the substrate W. That is, in the high-pressure substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG. 5, pure water DIW is supplied from the rinsing liquid supply unit 61a as the rinsing liquid to the substrate W by selectively opening the valve V1a corresponding to the alkaline developer, while organic development. It is also possible to supply isopropyl alcohol (IPA) from the rinsing liquid supply unit 61b to the substrate W as a rinsing liquid by selectively opening the valve V1b corresponding to the liquid.
[0048]
Further, in the high-pressure substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG. 5, after the process of supplying pure water DIW from the rinsing liquid supply unit 61a to the substrate W as a rinsing liquid is completed, for example, with an inert and low vapor pressure including an organic solvent. A pure water DIW on the substrate W may be replaced by supplying a solvent having an affinity for supercritical carbon dioxide, for example, a fluorocarbon chemical. This eliminates the need to use a compatibilizer in the SCF.
[0049]
In the above-described embodiment, the rinsing liquid is supplied from the rinsing liquid supply units 61, 61a, 61b to the processing chamber 11 to perform the rinsing process. However, the chemical is mixed with the SCF alone or the SCF. In the case where the processing fluid has a rinsing function, the “processing fluid introducing means” of the present invention can be configured not only to provide the supercritical drying function but also to perform the rinsing function without providing the rinsing liquid supply unit 61. .
[0050]
In the above embodiment, the developer supply unit 9 and the hand cleaning unit 10 are arranged along the transport path 42 with respect to the pressure vessel 1. However, the arrangement order of the developer supply unit 9 and the hand cleaning unit 10 is changed. Needless to say, it may be replaced.
[0051]
Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the rinsing process is started and the rotation of the spin chuck 51 is started. However, the rotation may be started from the middle of introducing the rinsing liquid or from the middle of the SCF introduction process. You may comprise so that it may rotate only during the rinse process, or only during the SCF introduction process.
[0052]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, in the same apparatus, a developing solution is supplied to the substrate in parallel with the substrate transport robot transporting the substrate toward the processing chamber, and the developing process is started. After the substrate is transferred to the processing chamber, a processing fluid is introduced into the processing chamber, and the substrate in the processing chamber is dried at high pressure. This eliminates the need for a dedicated device for developing processing, which is essential in the prior art, that is, a developing device, and also eliminates the need for a transport device that transports the substrate in a liquid state between the developing device and the drying device. Become. As a result, the apparatus according to the present invention can be reduced in size, and the apparatus cost can be greatly reduced. Further, since it is not necessary to transport the substrate from the developing device to the drying device, the throughput can be greatly improved as compared with the conventional technique in which the substrate is transported between the developing device and the drying device.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of an embodiment of a high-pressure substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the high-pressure substrate processing apparatus of FIG.
3 is a diagram showing an operation of the high-pressure substrate processing apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG.
4 is a diagram showing an operation of the high-pressure substrate processing apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of another embodiment of the high-pressure substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 ... Pressure vessel
2 ... Gate part
3. Control unit
4 ... Board transfer robot
9 ... Developer supply section
10 ... Hand washing part
11 ... Processing chamber
12 ... Opening
41 ... Hand of substrate transfer robot
42 ... transport route
61, 61a, 61b ... Rinse solution supply unit (rinse solution introduction means)
71 ... SCF supply section (processing fluid introduction means)
91 ... Slit nozzle
92 ... Spray nozzle
95 ... Lower housing (collection part)
V1a, V1b, V1 ... Valve (rinse solution introduction means)
V2 ... Valve (Processing fluid introduction means)
W ... Board

Claims (8)

A pressure chamber having a processing chamber and an opening communicating with the processing chamber, through which the hand of the substrate transfer robot can access the processing chamber and transfer the substrate to the processing chamber; ,
A gate for opening and closing the opening;
A developer supply unit that supplies the developer to the substrate that is disposed outside the pressure vessel and along the substrate transfer path by the substrate transfer robot and is transferred toward the processing chamber on the transfer path. When,
A processing fluid introduction means for introducing a high-pressure fluid or a mixture of a high-pressure fluid and a chemical into the processing chamber as a processing fluid in a state where the opening is closed, and drying the substrate transported into the processing chamber at a high pressure; A high-pressure substrate processing apparatus. 2. The high-pressure substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the developer supply unit includes a slit nozzle that discharges the developer toward a substrate that is transported toward the processing chamber on the transport path. 3. The high-pressure substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the developer supply unit includes a spray nozzle that discharges the developer in a spray form toward a substrate that is transported toward the processing chamber on the transport path. . 4. The high pressure according to claim 1, wherein the developer supply means can supply a plurality of different types of developers to the substrate, and selects a developer to be supplied according to the substrate. 5. Substrate processing equipment. 5. The high-pressure substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the developer supply means includes a recovery unit that recovers excess developer out of the developer supplied toward the substrate. The high-pressure substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a rinsing liquid introducing unit that introduces a rinsing liquid into the processing chamber and replaces the developer adhering to the substrate with a rinsing liquid. A plurality of different types of rinsing liquids can be introduced into the processing chamber, and the rinsing liquid to be introduced into the processing chamber is selected according to the type of the developing liquid supplied by the developing solution supply means, and the substrate The high-pressure substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a rinsing liquid introduction unit that replaces the developing solution adhering to the selected rinsing liquid. The rinsing liquid is supplied to the hand that is arranged outside the pressure vessel and along the substrate transfer path by the substrate transfer robot and moves in a direction away from the processing chamber on the transfer path. The high-pressure substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising hand cleaning means for rinsing the substrate.

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