JP4043009B2 - Substrate processing apparatus, substrate processing method, and substrate processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize high quality processing of a substrate by suppressing the effect of a holding hand onto the substrate. SOLUTION: A hand H21 for carrying out a processed substrate from the hot plate at a prebake section is provided with suction pads P1-P4 coming into line contact with the lower surface of the substrate with a line width not wider than 2 mm, and supporting pads Ps1 and Ps2. A large quantity of heat is not exchanged between such a hand H21 and a high temperature substrate heated by means of the hot plate. Consequently, the substrate is not affected by undesired thermal effect. More specifically, undesired unevenness does not appear in the exposed and developed resist.

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
  The present invention includes a semiconductor wafer, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display panel, a glass substrate for a plasma display, a glass substrate for a photomask, an optical disk substrate, a magnetic disk substrate, a magneto-optical disk substrate, etc.Base ofThe present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method for processing a plate.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In the manufacturing process of a semiconductor device or a liquid crystal display panel, a photolithography process is performed to form a fine thin film pattern on the surface of a substrate. The photolithography process includes substrate cleaning, substrate drying after cleaning (dehydration baking), resist coating on the substrate surface, resist drying (pre-baking), exposure of a desired pattern, development after exposure, and baking of the resist after development. (Post bake) each step is included.
[0003]
A substrate processing apparatus for performing the processes from the resist coating process to the development process has, for example, a simplified configuration shown in FIG. That is, the substrate is first subjected to a resist coating process by a coater unit, a pre-bake process by a hot plate (HP) and a cool plate (CP), an exposure process by an exposure machine, and a development process by a developing machine. receive.
The substrate is transferred between the units by a substrate transfer mechanism having a hand for holding the substrate. A wet resist is applied to the surface of the substrate before the heat treatment by the hot plate. This wet resist is very sensitive to temperature changes. Therefore, it is known that unevenness occurs due to heat exchange with a hand for transporting the substrate from the coater unit to the hot plate. Since the resist after being baked by the hot plate is not very sensitive to temperature, the resist is not greatly uneven by the transfer of the substrate between the units after the hot plate.
[0004]
In order to suppress heat exchange between the substrate and the hand as much as possible, the hand used for transporting the substrate between the coater and the hot plate should be in contact with only the edge on the back of the substrate. A configuration for holding a substrate has been used. Recently, however, productivity has been improved by producing, for example, a plurality of liquid crystal display panels from a single substrate. For this reason, the size of the substrate to be processed is large, and bending at the center of the substrate cannot be ignored. Therefore, a hand for transporting the substrate from the coater to the hot plate is provided with a support pin for supporting the vicinity of the center of the back surface of the substrate.
[0005]
The contact of the support pins causes unevenness of the resist in the corresponding portion. Therefore, the arrangement of the support pins is changed according to the way of taking the liquid crystal display panel (4 pieces or 6 pieces) and the liquid crystal display. It is necessary to prevent the resist from becoming uneven in the effective pixel area of the panel.
However, since the operation of changing the arrangement of the support pins in this way is complicated, it is inevitable that the productivity is deteriorated particularly in a production factory where substrates of various types of patterns are introduced in one day.
[0006]
In order to solve this problem, as shown in FIG. 20, a configuration in which a simple drying device is arranged between the coater unit and the hot plate has been adopted. The simple drying apparatus is an apparatus that dries the resist by wind drying or reduced pressure drying.
By introducing this simple drying device, it is possible to suppress the unevenness of the resist due to the contact of the support pins when the substrate is transported between the coater unit and the hot plate.
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, it has been found that when this configuration is adopted, the baking process in the hot plate is insufficient. That is, in the simple drying apparatus, drying proceeds from the surface of the resist by the wind drying process or the reduced pressure drying process, so that a dry film is formed on the surface. Due to the presence of this dry film, the progress of the baking process on the hot plate is delayed, resulting in insufficient baking.
[0008]
That is, vapor such as a solvent is generated from the inside of the resist by baking, but the dry film inhibits the dissipation of the vapor. For this reason, the above is left in the resist, resulting in insufficient baking.
When holding a substrate carrying a resist with such baking shortage with a hand and transporting it from a hot plate to a cool plate, a large amount of the substrate is heated between the substrate heated by the hot plate and the hand at room temperature. Heat exchange takes place. As a result, the resist on the portion of the substrate that is in contact with the hand is altered with respect to the resist in other portions.
Therefore, unevenness due to the contact of the hand used for transporting the substrate from the hot plate to the cool plate occurs.
[0009]
  Therefore, the object of the present invention is to solve the above technical problems and suppress the influence of holding by the hand on the substrate, thereby realizing high-quality substrate processing.BaseA plate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method are provided.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention]
  The invention according to claim 1 for achieving the above object includes a first processing section for heating an unexposed substrate on which a resist is coated,thisA second processing unit for cooling the substrate heated by the first processing unit; a first substrate transport mechanism for unloading the substrate from the first processing unit; and a second substrate for unloading the substrate from the second processing unit. The first substrate transport mechanism includes a first substrate support member having a substrate contact portion that makes a line contact with a line width of 2 mm or less on the lower surface of the substrate, and the first substrate support member A hand that holds the substrate by supporting the lower surface of the substrate; and a drive mechanism that moves the hand relative to the first processing unit. The second substrate transport mechanism is A hand having a second substrate support member that contacts and supports the substrate with a line width equal to or greater than the first substrate support member; and a drive mechanism for moving the hand relative to the second processing unit.The driving mechanism of the first substrate transport mechanism moves the hand at a speed slower than the moving speed of the hand by the driving mechanism of the second substrate transport mechanism.
This is a substrate processing apparatus.
  According to this configuration, the substrate holding hand provided in the first substrate transport mechanism for unloading the substrate from the first processing unit has the substrate contact portion that makes line contact with the lower surface of the substrate with a line width of 2 mm or less. The substrate supporting member is configured to support the lower surface of the substrate. Therefore, since the amount of heat exchange between the substrate and the hand can be suppressed to a small amount, the substrate is not adversely affected by the heat exchange. Therefore, if this substrate processing apparatus is applied to a process having particularly severe temperature conditions, high-quality substrate processing can be realized.
  In the configuration of the present invention, since the substrate is heat-treated in the first processing unit, for example, when the substrate after the heat treatment is held by the hand that transports the substrate in an atmosphere at room temperature, the space between the substrate and the hand is There is a large temperature difference. However, in the present invention, the first substrate support member that supports the lower surface of the substrate is configured to suppress heat exchange between the substrate and the hand as much as possible. Will not be exchanged with. Therefore, there is no adverse effect on the substrate after the heat treatment.
  Specifically, the first processing unit is a heat processing unit for performing a pre-bake process in a photolithography process, and the second processing unit is a processing unit for cooling the substrate heated by the first processing unit. . For example, the unexposed substrate coated on the upper surface of the resist may be a substrate that has been subjected to a simple drying process such as a wind drying process or a reduced pressure drying process. In such a substrate, the resist is in a state where a dry film is formed on the surface, and pre-baking by the heat treatment part tends to be insufficient. When such a pre-baked substrate is held with a hand at room temperature, if a large amount of heat is exchanged between the substrate and the hand, clear unevenness occurs in the substrate after exposure and development. However, in the present invention, since the amount of heat exchange between the substrate and the hand is suppressed to be small, the above problems do not occur. Thereby, a good photolithography process can be performed.
  While strict temperature management is required for the substrate processed by the first processing unit, the strict temperature management is not required for the substrate processed by the second processing unit. Therefore, the second substrate transport mechanism that unloads the substrate from the second processing unit includes a second substrate support member that supports the substrate by contacting with a line width greater than that of the first substrate support member provided in the first substrate transport mechanism. Has a hand to have. As a result, the substrate can be held stably.The secondA substrate can be transported at a higher speed than a single substrate transport mechanism. As a result, the substrate transport tact can be shortened, which contributes to an improvement in substrate processing productivity.
[0011]
  the aboveOf the first substrate support memberAs described in claim 2, the substrate contact portion may include a peripheral wall portion that is continuous in a circumferential shape.
  In this case, as described in claim 3, the peripheral wall portion may form an airtight chamber by the peripheral wall portion and the lower surface of the substrate. In this case, the lower surface of the substrate can be adsorbed and held by exhausting the airtight chamber.
  In order to satisfactorily perform such adsorption and hold, and to suppress the amount of heat exchange with the substrate to be small, as described in claim 4, the peripheral wall portion is a wire having a diameter of 0.1 mm to 1.0 mm. It is preferable that the width is in line contact with the lower surface of the substrate.
[0012]
  In the first substrate support member,As described in claim 5,The substrate contact part isA plurality may be provided. In this case, if the extending directions of the plurality of substrate contact portions intersect, the substrate can be stably supported.
  Further, as described in claim 6, the aboveOf the first substrate support memberThe substrate contact portion is preferably made of a material having a thermal conductivity of not more than a predetermined value (for example, 1 W / (m · K) or less, preferably 0.5 W / (m · K)). Thereby, the heat exchange amount between a board | substrate and a board | substrate support member can be suppressed effectively.
[0014]
  the aboveFirstThe substrate transport mechanismFirstUnload the substrate from the processing unit and unprocessed substrateFirstYou may have what has the function to carry in with respect to a process part. In this case, it is preferable that a substrate carrying-in hand and a substrate carrying-out hand are provided, and at least the substrate carrying-out hand is any one of claims 1 to 6.One paragraphIt is preferable that the substrate support member described in is provided.
[0017]
  Claim7As described above, when an airtight chamber is formed between the substrate support member and the lower surface of the substrate (for example, as described in claim 3), an exhaust means for exhausting the airtight chamber is provided. Makes it possible to hold the substrate by suction and to carry the substrate reliably..
[0019]
  Claim8The described invention includes a processing unit that performs processing on a substrate, a plurality of substrate support members, a hand that holds the substrate by supporting the lower surface of the substrate with the plurality of substrate support members, and the above-described hand. A drive mechanism for moving the substrate forward and backward, and a substrate transport mechanism for unloading the substrate from the processor, wherein the plurality of substrate support members are at different positions with respect to the advancing and retracting direction of the hand relative to the processor. Each having a substrate contact portion that contacts the lower surface of the substrate, and the contact area between the substrate contact portion of each substrate support member and the lower surface of the substrate from the front side in the forward / backward direction toward the rear side in the forward / backward direction. As a result, the amount of heat exchange between each substrate support member and the lower surface of the substrate increases from the front side in the forward / backward direction toward the rear side in the forward / backward direction. It is defined as eliminating a substrate processing apparatus according to claim.
[0020]
  According to this configuration, the plurality of substrate support members are arranged at different positions in the advance / retreat direction of the hand of the substrate transport mechanism, and the substrates can be stably held by the plurality of substrate support members. The amount of heat exchange between each substrate support member and the lower surface of the substrate is determined so as to decrease from the front side in the forward / backward direction of the hand toward the rear side in the forward / backward direction.
  More specifically, since the contact area between the substrate support member and the lower surface of the substrate is small on the base end side of the hand, the amount of heat exchange between them is small. On the other hand, since the substrate contact portion and the lower surface of the substrate are in contact with each other over a relatively large area on the front end side of the hand, the substrate can be stably held. In this way, it is possible to suppress the amount of heat exchange between the hand and the substrate while stably holding the substrate. As a result of the substrate being held stably, the substrate can be transported at a high speed, so that the substrate transport tact can be shortened and the productivity of the substrate processing can be improved.
  Claim9As described above, when the processing unit is a heat processing unit that heat-processes the substrate, it advances deeper into the processing unit, and as a result, the advancing and retreating direction that will exist in the processing unit for a long time. The more the substrate support member on the front side, the easier the heat exchange with the substrate, and the less the substrate support member on the rear side in the forward / backward direction, the less the heat exchange with the substrate. The substrate support member on the front side in the advancing / retreating direction has a long residence time in the processing unit, so that the temperature difference with the substrate is small. Conversely, the substrate support member on the rear side in the advancing / retreating direction tends to have a large temperature difference with the substrate It is in. Therefore, by adopting the configuration of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the substrate from being affected by heat from the hand.
[0021]
  The heat treatment section is claimed in claim10As described, heat treatment may be performed on an unexposed substrate having a resist coated on the upper surface. That is, the heat treatment unit may perform a pre-bake process in a photolithography process. In this case, the substrate processed in the heat treatment unit may be one in which a simple drying process is performed on the resist applied on the substrate. Therefore, there is a risk that the pre-baking by the heat treatment unit may be insufficient due to the effect of the dry film formed on the resist surface. Clear resist unevenness does not occur in subsequent substrates.
[0023]
  Claim11As described above, when the substrate contact portion is in contact with the lower surface of the substrate in a linear region, the contact line width of the substrate contact portion of each substrate support member is the forward / backward direction from the front side in the forward / backward direction. What is necessary is just to determine so that it may become narrow as it goes to a direction back side.
  Claim12In the described invention, the plurality of substrate support members are determined such that the thermal conductivity of the substrate contact portion of each substrate support member decreases from the front side in the forward / backward direction toward the rear side in the forward / backward direction. Claims characterized by8Or11It is a substrate processing apparatus as described in any one of these.
[0024]
  Thereby, even if the shape or size of the substrate support member is the same, an appropriate heat exchange state with the substrate can be set in the substrate support member provided in each part of the advance / retreat direction on the hand. Thereby, a board | substrate can be supported stably and the thermal influence from a hand to a board | substrate can be suppressed.
  Claim13The described invention further includes a second processing unit that performs processing on the substrate in addition to the first processing unit that is the processing unit, and besides the first substrate transport mechanism that is the substrate transport mechanism, the first processing unit. 2 further includes a second substrate transport mechanism for unloading the substrate from the processing unit, wherein the second substrate transport mechanism includes a hand having a plurality of substrate support members that contact the lower surface of the substrate and support the substrate; A drive mechanism for moving the hand forward and backward with respect to the second processing unit, and the plurality of substrate support members provided in the second substrate transport mechanism are positions in the forward / backward direction with respect to the second processing unit. The heat exchange amount with the back surface of the substrate is determined equally regardless of8Or12It is a substrate processing apparatus as described in any one of these.
[0025]
For example, the first processing unit executes a process that strictly requires temperature management for the substrate after processing, and the second processing unit executes a process that does not strictly control the temperature for the substrate after processing. To do. Therefore, the plurality of substrate support members provided in the second substrate transport mechanism are determined to have substantially the same amount of heat exchange with the back surface of the substrate, regardless of the position in the forward / backward direction on the hand. As a result, the substrate can be stably held, and the substrate can be conveyed at high speed.
[0026]
  Claim14The invention described in claim 1 is characterized in that the driving mechanism of the first substrate transport mechanism moves the hand at a speed slower than the moving speed of the hand by the driving mechanism of the second substrate transport mechanism.13It is a substrate processing apparatus of description.
  With this configuration, it is possible to prevent a substrate transfer failure caused by the first substrate transfer mechanism.
On the other hand, since the hand of the second substrate transport mechanism can be moved at a high speed, the substrate transport tact can be shortened.
[0027]
  Claim15In the described invention, the first processing unit heats an unexposed substrate on which a resist is applied, and the second processing unit cools the heated substrate. Claims characterized by13Or14It is a substrate processing apparatus of description.
  According to the present invention, a process that requires a strict temperature control to heat a resist on an unexposed substrate and a process that does not require a strict temperature control to cool a substrate heated in the first processing unit. In the case of performing13and14The effect similar to the effect described regarding either of them can be realized.
[0028]
  Claim16The invention according to claim 1, wherein the first processing unit has a hot plate on which a substrate is placed, and the second processing unit has a cool plate on which the substrate is placed.7and15It is a substrate processing apparatus as described in any one of these.
  According to the present invention, a process requiring strict temperature control in which a resist on an unexposed substrate is heated with a hot plate and a strict temperature control in which a substrate heated with the hot plate is cooled with a cool plate. In the case of performing processing that is not necessary.15The effect similar to the effect described in the above can be realized.
[0029]
  Claim17In the described invention, the substrate processing apparatus performs substrate processing for a photolithography process including a substrate cleaning step, a dehydration bake step, a resist coating step, a pre-bake step, a development step, and a post-bake step. The processing section performs the pre-bake process, and the second processing section executes the dehydrated baking process or the post-baking process.13Or14It is a substrate processing apparatus of description.
[0030]
  Prior to the pre-baking step, a simple drying step of performing a simple drying process on the resist applied on the substrate may be provided.
  Claim18The described invention is claimed.17A substrate processing system comprising the substrate processing apparatus and the exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the exposure apparatus receives the substrate on which the pre-bake process has been performed, exposes the pattern on the substrate, and passes the substrate on which the exposure has been completed to the substrate processing apparatus. This is a substrate processing system.
[0032]
  Claim19The described invention includes a substrate processing step of processing a substrate in a processing section, and a plurality of substrate support members, and a hand that holds the substrate by supporting the lower surface of the substrate with the plurality of substrate support members. And a step of unloading the substrate after the substrate processing step from the processing unit by moving the substrate back and forth with respect to the processing unit, wherein the plurality of substrate support members differ with respect to the advancing / retreating direction of the hand relative to the processing unit. Each having a substrate contact portion that contacts the lower surface of the substrate, and the contact area between the substrate contact portion of each substrate support member and the lower surface of the substrate is changed from the front side in the forward / backward direction to the rear side in the forward / backward direction. The amount of heat exchange between each substrate support member and the lower surface of the substrate is changed from the front side in the forward / backward direction toward the rear side in the forward / backward direction. That it is determined to be less What is the substrate processing method according to claim.
[0033]
  In this way, the claim8The effect similar to the effect described regarding this invention can be realized.
  Claim20As described above, the substrate processing step may include a heat treatment step of heat-treating the substrate.
  In this case, the claim21As described above, the heat treatment step may be a step of performing a heat treatment on an unexposed substrate on which a resist is applied.
[0034]
  Claim22The described inventionUnexposed substrate with resist coated on topWithin the first processing unitTo heatBy supporting the lower surface of the substrate with a first substrate processing member and a first substrate support member having a substrate contact portion that makes a line contact with the lower surface of the substrate with a line width of 2 mm or less on the substrate after the first substrate processing step. A step of unloading from the first processing unit by a first hand holding a substrate;The substrate heated in the first processing unitWithin the second processing unitCoolingA second substrate processing step, and a second substrate support member for supporting the substrate after the second substrate processing step with respect to the lower surface of the substrate with a line width wider than that of the first substrate support member. Unloading from the second processing unit with two hands.The first hand unloads the substrate from the first processing unit at a speed slower than the second hand unloads the substrate from the second processing unit.This is a substrate processing method.
[0035]
  Claim23The invention described in claim 1 is characterized in that the substrate contact portion of the first substrate support member includes a circumferential wall portion that is circumferentially continuous.22It is a substrate processing method of description.
  Claim24The invention described in the above is characterized in that the peripheral wall portion forms an airtight chamber by the peripheral wall portion and the lower surface of the substrate.23It is a substrate processing method of description.
  Claim25The invention described in the above is characterized in that the peripheral wall portion is in line contact with the lower surface of the substrate with a line width of 0.1 mm or more and 1.0 mm or less.24It is a substrate processing method of description.
  Claim26The invention described in claim 1, wherein the first substrate support member includes a plurality of the substrate contact portions, and extending directions of the plurality of substrate contact portions intersect with each other.22It is a substrate processing method of description.
  Claim27The invention described in claim 1 is characterized in that the substrate contact portion of the first substrate support member is made of a material having a thermal conductivity equal to or less than a predetermined value.22Or26The substrate processing method according to any one of the above.
  Claim28The described invention includes a first substrate processing step for processing a substrate in a first processing unit, and a substrate after the first substrate processing step by moving a first hand forward and backward with respect to the first processing unit. By unloading the first processing unit from the first processing unit, a second substrate processing step for processing the substrate in the second processing unit, and moving the second hand forward and backward with respect to the second processing unit. A step of carrying out the substrate after the two-substrate processing step from the second processing unit, and the first hand includes a hand having a plurality of substrate support members arranged at different positions with respect to the advancing / retreating direction with respect to the processing unit. The second hand is a hand having a plurality of substrate support members in which the amount of heat exchange with the lower surface of the substrate is set to be equal regardless of the position in the advance / retreat direction with respect to the processing unit. Multiple boards The holding members each have a substrate contact portion that contacts the lower surface of the substrate, and the contact area between the substrate contact portion of each substrate support member and the lower surface of the substrate decreases from the front side in the forward / backward direction toward the rear side in the forward / backward direction. Thus, the amount of heat exchange between each substrate support member and the lower surface of the substrate is determined so as to decrease from the front side in the forward / backward direction toward the rear side in the forward / backward direction. This is a substrate processing method.
[0036]
  In this way, the claim13Effects similar to those described in the described invention can be achieved.
  Claim29The described invention is characterized in that the first hand carries out the substrate from the first processing unit at a speed slower than the speed at which the second hand carries out the substrate from the second processing unit.28It is a substrate processing method of description.
  In this way, the claim14Effects similar to those described with respect to the described invention can be realized.
[0037]
  Claim30In the invention described in (1), the first processing section heats an unexposed substrate having a resist coated on the upper surface, and the second processing sectionthe aboveThe substrate heated by the first processing unit is cooled.28 or 29It is a substrate processing method of description.
  Claimed by this invention15The effect similar to the effect described regarding can be implement | achieved.
  Claim31The invention described in claim 1, wherein the first processing unit has a hot plate on which a substrate is placed, and the second processing unit has a cool plate on which the substrate is placed.Any one of 22-27 and 30The substrate processing method according to claim 1.
[0038]
  Claimed by this invention16The effect similar to the effect described regarding can be implement | achieved.
  Claim32In the described invention, the substrate processing method is a method for a photolithography process including a substrate cleaning step, a dehydration bake step, a resist coating step, a pre-bake step, a development step and a post-bake step, and the first processing unit includes: The pre-baking process is performed, and the second processing unit is configured to perform the dehydration baking process or the post-baking process.28 or 29It is a substrate processing method of description.
[0039]
  In this way, the claim17Effects similar to those described with respect to the described invention are achieved.
  Claim33The substrate processing method according to the present invention is characterized in that the substrate processing method includes an exposure step of exposing a pattern to a substrate on which a pre-bake step has been performed, and the development step is performed on the substrate on which the exposure step has been performed. Claims32The substrate processing method described in 1.
[0040]
  Claimed by this invention18The effect similar to the effect described regarding can be implement | achieved.
[0041]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is an illustrative view showing a configuration of a substrate processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. This substrate processing system is an apparatus for performing a photolithography process on a substrate to be processed such as a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display panel. The substrate processing system includes a cleaning processing unit 1 for cleaning the substrate surface, a dehydration baking unit 2 for drying the substrate after the cleaning process, and a coating processing unit for applying a resist to the substrate surface after the dehydration baking process. 3, a pre-bake processing unit 4 for drying and curing the resist applied to the substrate surface, an exposure processing unit 5 for exposing the pre-baked resist with a desired mask pattern, and development for developing the resist after exposure A processing unit 6 and a post-baking processing unit 7 for baking the resist on the substrate surface after the development processing are provided.
[0042]
Such a substrate processing system includes a substrate processing apparatus and an exposure apparatus. Specifically, a substrate processing apparatus having processing units of a cleaning processing unit 1, a dehydration bake processing unit 2, a coating processing unit 3, a prebake processing unit 4, a development processing unit 6 and a post bake processing unit 7, and an exposure processing unit 5. Are respectively connected to the exposure apparatus. That is, the substrate processing apparatus and the exposure apparatus are connected by an intermediary transport apparatus that transports the substrate processed by the pre-bake processing section 4 to the exposure apparatus, and transports the substrate processed by the exposure apparatus to the development processing section 6. Has been.
[0043]
The cleaning processing unit 1 supports, for example, a rectangular substrate in the horizontal direction and holds a substrate composed of a plurality of rollers that transport the substrate, and supplies cleaning liquid (chemical solution or pure water) to the held substrate. And a means for supplying a rinsing liquid (pure water) when the chemical liquid is supplied as the cleaning liquid. In addition, the apparatus has gas injection means for blowing off a substrate that has been cleaned by receiving pure water as a cleaning liquid or a substrate that has been cleaned by receiving a rinse liquid. Thereby, the droplet is removed from the substrate. For example, the gas ejecting means has a slit nozzle that blows off the liquid on the substrate by blowing gas from a slit-like opening longer than the width of the substrate.
[0044]
The configuration of the dehydrated bake processing unit 2 will be described later.
The configuration of the coating processing unit 3 will be described later.
The configuration of the prebake processing unit 4 will be described later.
The exposure processing unit 5 exists in the exposure apparatus, receives the substrate after the pre-baking process by the above-described intermediate transfer apparatus, and exposes the mask pattern.
The development processing unit 6 receives the substrate that has been subjected to the exposure processing by the above-described intermediate transfer device, and supplies the developer to the substrate.
[0045]
The configuration of the post-bake processing unit 7 will be described later.
The dehydration bake processing unit 2 includes a hot plate (HP) 21 for evaporating moisture on the substrate surface after the cleaning process and drying, and a cool plate (CP) 22 for cooling the substrate after the heating process to room temperature. Yes. Further, the post-bake processing unit 7 includes a hot plate 71 for baking the resist after the development processing, and a cool plate 72 for cooling the substrate after the heat processing by the hot plate 71 to room temperature.
[0046]
FIG. 2 is an illustrative view for explaining detailed configurations of the coating processing unit 3 and the pre-bake processing unit 4. The coating processing unit 3 applies airflow to the resist nozzle that supplies a resist to the substrate, a coater unit (SC) 31 such as a spin coater having a rotating unit that rotates the substrate supplied with the resist, and the applied resist. A simple drying processing unit 32 having a hermetically sealed chamber for containing a substrate, containing a substrate, exhausting the atmosphere in the chamber and reducing the pressure in the sealed chamber, and a substrate after the simple drying treatment And an end face cleaning processing part (EBR) 33 for removing the resist adhering to the end face. In addition, the simple drying process part 32 may be abbreviate | omitted. The prebake processing unit 4 includes a hot plate 41 for heating and drying the resist applied by the coating processing unit 3, and a cool plate 42 for cooling the substrate after the heat processing by the hot plate 41 to room temperature. ing.
[0047]
In relation to the pre-bake processing unit 4, the substrate is received from the end face cleaning processing unit 33 of the coating processing unit 3, is loaded into the hot plate 41, and the substrate after the heat treatment by the hot plate 41 is transported to the cool plate 42, Further, a transport robot TR2 for paying out the substrate after the cooling process by the cool plate 42 toward the exposure processing unit 5 is provided. The substrate is transported inside the coating processing unit 3 by a dedicated transport mechanism (not shown), and the transport robot TR2 is not involved in this transport.
[0048]
As shown in FIG. 1, a transfer robot TR <b> 1 is provided in association with the dehydrated bake processing unit 2, and a transfer robot TR <b> 3 is provided in association with the post-bake processing unit 7. The transport robot TR1 takes out the cleaned substrate from the cleaning processing unit 1 and carries it to the hot plate 21 of the dehydration bake processing unit 2, takes out the substrate after the heat treatment by the hot plate 21 and carries it to the cool plate 22 to cool it. The substrate after the cooling process by the plate 22 is carried out and transferred to the coating processing unit 3. Similarly, the transfer robot TR3 unloads the processed substrate from the development processing unit 6, loads it into the hot plate 71 of the post-bake processing unit 7, and unloads the substrate after heat treatment by the hot plate 71 to cool it. It carries in to the plate 72 and pays out the board | substrate after the cooling process by the cool plate 72. FIG.
[0049]
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration common to the transport robots TR1, TR2, and TR3. Each of the transfer robots TR1, TR2, and TR3 includes a pair of hands H11, H12; H21, H22; H31, H32 arranged so as to overlap each other. These hands H11, H12; H21, H22; H31, H32 are attached to the base B so as to be able to advance and retreat in the horizontal direction. The base portion B is provided with an advancing / retreating drive mechanism (not shown) for independently advancing and retracting the hands H11, H21, H31 and the hands H12, H22, H32. The base part B is configured to be rotatable about a vertical axis by a rotation drive mechanism (not shown) and to be slidable along a predetermined horizontal direction as necessary. For example, the hands H11, H21, H31; H12, H22, and H32 carry out a substrate that has been processed by one hand from a certain processing unit, and then carry an unprocessed substrate into the processing unit by the other substrate. In addition, the operation is controlled.
[0050]
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration example of the pre-baking processing unit 4. The pre-baking processing unit 4 is configured, for example, by stacking heat processing units 45 in multiple stages in the vertical direction. The heat treatment part 45 is a hot plate or a cool plate. The transfer robot TR2 carries in the unprocessed substrate S and carries out the processed substrate S to the heat treatment units 45 stacked in multiple stages. For example, the transport robot TR2 is configured to be able to travel along a transport path 46 formed in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 4, and its base B can be moved up and down along the vertical direction. ing. Accordingly, the transfer robot TR2 can move the substrate from one heat treatment unit 45 to another heat treatment unit 45. The heat treatment unit 45 may be provided only on one side of the conveyance path 46, but FIG. 4 shows an example in which the heat treatment units 45 are arranged on both sides of the conveyance path 46.
[0051]
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a detailed configuration of the heat treatment section 45. The heat treatment part 45 is used for bringing the substrate S into contact with / separating from the treatment chamber 51, a heat treatment plate (hot plate or cool plate) 52 disposed in the treatment chamber 51, and the heat treatment plate 52. A lift pin 53 and a lift drive mechanism 54 for lifting and lowering the lift pin 53 are provided. In the processing chamber 51, an opening 55 for loading / unloading the substrate S is formed in front of the transfer robot TR2 side. A shutter 56 is provided in association with the opening 55 and is driven by a shutter drive mechanism 57. The opening 55 can be opened and closed by driving the shutter 56. An exhaust duct 59 is connected to the rear of the processing chamber 51 via a damper 58.
[0052]
When the heat treatment plate 52 is a hot plate that heats the substrate S, for example, a heater is charged therein. When the heat treatment plate 52 is a cool plate for cooling the substrate S, for example, a cooling water passage is formed in the heat treatment plate 52, and the temperature-controlled cooling water is provided in the cooling water passage. Is circulated.
When carrying out the heat-treated substrate S from the hot plate 41, the transfer robot TR2 uses one of the hands H21 and H22 (here, it is assumed to be the hand H21). The configuration of the hand H21 is shown in FIG. That is, the hand H21 is formed in a fork shape, for example. That is, the hand H21 has a pair of parallel arm portions 61 and 62. Suction pads P1, P2, P3, and P4 for sucking and holding the lower surface of the substrate S are fixed to the upper surface at the distal end portion and the proximal end portion of these arm portions 61 and 62, respectively. Support pads Ps1 and Ps2 for supporting the substrate S in contact with the lower surface of the substrate S are fixed to the upper surfaces of the arms 61 and 62, respectively. An exhaust passage is connected to the suction pads P1 to P4, and this exhaust passage is connected to exhaust means (not shown) such as a vacuum pump.
[0053]
FIG. 7 is a perspective view for explaining the configuration of the suction pads P1 to P4. The suction pads P1 to P4 include a plate-like main body portion 65 attached to the hand H21, and a peripheral wall portion 66 that is formed upright from the surface of the main body portion 65 and continues in a circumferential shape. The peripheral wall portion 66 has a cylindrical shape and has a thickness of 2 mm or less (preferably 0.1 mm or more and 1.0 mm or less, more preferably 0.5 mm or more and 1.0 mm or less). Accordingly, the peripheral wall portion 66 has a substrate contact portion 66a in contact with the substrate S on its upper surface, and this substrate contact portion 66a is 2 mm or less (preferably 0.1 mm or more and 1.0 mm or less, More preferably, line contact is made with a line width of 0.5 mm or more and 1.0 mm or less. In a state where the substrate contact portion 66a is in contact with the lower surface of the substrate S, the internal space of the peripheral wall portion 66 forms an airtight chamber.
[0054]
In the main body 65, an adsorption port 67 that communicates with the above-described exhaust passage is formed in a portion corresponding to the center of the peripheral wall 66. Therefore, the substrate S can be adsorbed on the hand H21 by exhausting the airtight chamber through the suction port 67 by an exhaust means such as a vacuum pump.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration example of the support pads Ps1 and Ps2. Each of the support pads Ps1 and Ps2 includes a rectangular plate-shaped main body portion 75 and a cross-shaped support wall portion 76 standing on the surface of the main body portion 75. The support wall 76 has a wall thickness of 2 mm or less (preferably 0.1 mm or more and 1.0 mm or less, more preferably 0.5 mm or more and 1.0 mm or less). A substrate contact portion 76a that makes line contact with the lower surface of the substrate S with a line width of (preferably 0.1 mm to 1.0 mm, more preferably 0.5 mm to 1.0 mm) is provided. Since the substrate contact portion 76a is formed in a cross shape, it can be considered that a plurality of linear substrate contact portions are arranged so that the extending directions are orthogonal to each other.
[0055]
The hand H22 that is not used for carrying out the processed substrate S from the hot plate 41 has a configuration substantially similar to that of the hand H21, but the suction pads and support pads provided on the upper surface thereof are: The line width of the contact portion with respect to the lower surface of the substrate is set to be larger than the line width of the contact portion of the support pad of the hand H21, for example, larger than 2 mm here. That is, the suction pad and the support pad Ps on the hand H22 have a substrate contact portion that makes line contact with the lower surface of the substrate with a larger line width than the suction pads P1 to P3 and the support pads Ps1 and Ps2 on the hand H21.
[0056]
The larger the contact area with the substrate, the more stably the substrate can be held. Therefore, a control device (not shown) for controlling the operation of the transfer robot TR2 drives the hand H22 at a higher speed than the hand H21. As a result, the substrate S does not fall off while the hand H21 is being driven, and the hand H22 capable of stably holding the substrate is driven at high speed, so that the substrate transport tact can be shortened. Since the hand H21 needs to be moved at a low speed only when the hand H21 is holding a substrate, when the hand H21 is advanced toward the hot plate 41 in order to carry out the substrate from the hot plate 41, The hand H21 may be moved at high speed.
[0057]
  The transfer robots TR1 and TR3 provided in association with the dehydrated bake processing unit 2 and the post bake processing unit 7 have the same configuration as the transfer robot TR2. However, transfer robot TR1, TR3The suction pads and support pads provided on the upper surfaces of the hands H11, H12; H31, H32 are larger than the line width of the contact portion of the support pad of the hand H21, like the hand H22 of the transport robot TR2. , Each has a substrate contact portion that linearly contacts the lower surface of the substrate S with a line width of 2 mm or more. Therefore, as in the case of the hand H22 of the transport robot TR2, the hands H11, H12; H31, H32 are driven at a higher speed than the speed at which the processed substrate is unloaded from the hot plate 41 by the hand H21. It has become. Thus, the conveyance tact time is shortened.
[0058]
As described above, according to the substrate processing apparatus of this embodiment, the hand H21 for carrying out the processed substrate from the hot plate 41 of the pre-baking processing unit 4 has a line width of 2 mm or less on the lower surface of the substrate. The suction pads P1 to P4 and the support pads Ps1 and Ps2 that are in contact with each other are provided. Therefore, such a hand H21 does not exchange a large amount of heat with the substrate that has reached a high temperature after the heat treatment on the hot plate 41. Therefore, there is no undesirable thermal effect on the substrate. Specifically, undesired unevenness does not occur in the resist after exposure and development processing.
[0059]
Next, the improvement of the hand H21 used for carrying out the substrate from the hot plate 41 will be described with reference to FIG.
The hand H21 enters the processing chamber 51 of the hot plate 41 (heat treatment part) from the tip of the arm parts 61 and 62, and is lifted to the substrate delivery height (the position indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 5) by the lift pins 53. Enter below. Then, after receiving the substrate S from the lift pins 53, the substrate S is moved out of the processing chamber 51 from the base end side. Therefore, the suction pads P <b> 1 to P <b> 4 and the support pads Ps <b> 1 and Ps <b> 2 have a longer residence time in the processing chamber 51 as they are on the front side of the hand 11 with respect to the hot plate 41. For this reason, the suction pad or the support pad located on the front side in the forward / backward direction receives the amount of heat in the processing chamber 51, so that the temperature difference from the substrate S is reduced.
[0060]
Therefore, on the hand H21, it is preferable that the contact area of the suction pad or the support pad with respect to the substrate is increased toward the front side in the forward / backward direction (the tip side of the arm portions 61 and 62).
Specifically, the line width of the substrate contact portion of the suction pads P1, P3 is LA, the line width of the substrate contact portion of the support pads Ps1, Ps2 is LB, and the contact line width at the substrate contact portion of the suction pads P2, P4. If LC is LC, it is preferable that the line width of each contact portion is determined so that the relationship LA> LB> LC is established. Thus, the substrate can be stably held by the suction pads P1, P3 having a large contact line width, and heat exchange between the suction pads P2, P4 having a small contact line width and the substrate can be suppressed. With this configuration, even if the hand H21 is moved at a high speed, the substrate does not drop from the hand H21, and a large amount of heat exchange does not occur between the hand H21 and the substrate.
[0061]
The above-described line widths LA, LB, LC may all be 2 mm or less. For example, only the line width LA (or the line widths LA and LB) is larger than the line width LC, for example, more than 2 mm. The line widths LB and LC (or only the line width LC) may be set to 2 mm or less.
FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration example of a suction pad that can be applied instead of the suction pads P1 to P4. The suction pad in FIG. 9A is configured by forming a rectangular peripheral wall portion 661 in a plan view on a rectangular plate-like main body portion 65 and forming a suction port 67 on the inside thereof. The top surface of the peripheral wall portion 661 is a substrate contact portion 661A that makes line contact with the lower surface of the substrate at a line width of 2 mm or less (preferably 0.1 mm or more and 1.0 mm or less, more preferably 0.5 mm or more and 1.0 mm or less). Is forming. When the substrate contact portion 661A is in contact with the lower surface of the substrate, the internal space of the rectangular peripheral wall portion 661 becomes an airtight chamber. Therefore, the substrate can be sucked and held by the exhaust through the suction port 67.
[0062]
The suction pad shown in FIG. 9B is an example in which a plurality of suction ports 671 are formed inward of a substantially circular peripheral wall portion 66 in plan view.
FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a support pad that can be used in place of the support pads Ps1 and Ps2. FIG. 10A shows a support pad having a configuration in which four wall-like members 761 each having a linear substrate contact portion 761a are arranged on the surface of a rectangular plate-like main body portion 75. The four wall-like members 761 are arranged on a straight line in a plan view, and a pair of the wall-like members 761 are arranged on a straight line that intersects the other pair so as to be substantially orthogonal thereto. In other words, the four wall members 761 are provided on the main body 65 so as to form a substantially cross shape. The substrate contact portion 761a has a line width of 2 mm (preferably 0.1 mm to 1.0 mm, more preferably 0.5 mm to 1.0 mm). With this configuration, the substrate can be stably supported from the lower surface, and large heat exchange with the substrate can be prevented.
[0063]
The support pad shown in FIG. 10 (B) has a plurality of (in this embodiment, five) arcuate wall-like members 762 arranged in a ring shape along one circle circumference on the main body 75. In preparation. The top surface 762a of each arc-shaped wall member 762 has a line width of 2 mm or less (preferably 0.1 mm or more and 1.0 mm or less, more preferably 0.5 mm or more and 1.0 mm or less), and the bottom surface of the substrate. It is comprised so that a line contact may be carried out. With this configuration, the substrate can be stably supported, and a large amount of heat exchange between the substrate and the support pad does not occur.
[0064]
The number of arcuate wall-like members 762 arranged in a circumferential shape may be smaller or larger than the example of FIG. FIG. 10C shows an example in which a larger number of arc-shaped wall members 762 are arranged in a ring shape along one circumference than in the case of FIG.
The suction pads P1 to P4 and the support pads Ps1 and Ps2 and the pads shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 are configured such that at least the substrate contact portion that contacts the lower surface of the substrate is made of a material having low thermal conductivity. Is preferred. Examples of such a material include a resin, a ceramic material, a composite material of a resin and a ceramic material, a composite material having a heat shielding effect in which rubber and metal are laminated, and a composite material in which a resin and a metal are laminated. . Specifically, the following can be exemplified.
[0065]
(A) PEEK (Poly ether ether ketone)
(B) MC Nylon (Mono Cast Nylon)
(C) PI resin (Polyimide resin)
(D) Fluororesin
(E) PP (Polypropylene)
(F) PE (Polyethylene)
(G) UPE (ultra high molecular weight Polyethylene)
(H) HDPE (high density Polyethylene)
(I) PPS (Polyphenylene Sulfide)
(J) Ceramic (alumina, zirconia, etc.)
(K) GFRP (Glass Fiber Reinforced Plastics)
(L) CFRP (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics)
(M) A composite material of a contact portion having poor thermal conductivity such as rubber or resin and a main body having durability such as metal (SUS, aluminum, etc.) and having relatively poor thermal conductivity. Examples of rates are as follows. (Unit: W / (m · K))
PEEK 0.25
MC nylon 0.23
PI resin 0.87
GFRP 0.38
FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing another configuration example of hands that can be used as the hands H11, H12; H21, H22; H31, H32 of the transport robots TR1, TR2, TR3. The hand H includes three arm portions 91, 92, 93 extending in parallel along the forward / backward direction of the hand H. The pair of outer arm portions 91 and 93 are formed longer than the central arm portion 92. The pair of outer arms 91, 93 have substrate regulating members 101, 102, 103, 104 that support the edge of the lower surface while regulating the end surface of the substrate S at the distal end and the base end. It is fixed on the top surface. On the other hand, a suction pad 105 that contacts the back surface of the substrate S and sucks and holds the lower surface of the substrate S is provided at the tip of the central arm portion 91. The configuration of the suction pad 105 is the same as the configuration of the above-described suction pads P1 to P4.
[0066]
In particular, when the hand H shown in FIG. 11 is applied to the hand H21 used to carry out the processed substrate from the hot plate 41 in the transfer robot TR2, the suction pad 105 is attached to the back surface of the substrate S. It is preferable that the line width of the substrate contact portion in contact with the substrate is 2 mm or less (preferably 0.1 mm or more and 1.0 mm or less, more preferably 0.5 mm or more and 1.0 mm or less). Of course, the suction pad 105 having the structure shown in FIG. 9A or FIG. 9B can be applied to the suction pad 105.
[0067]
FIG. 12 is an illustrative view showing another configuration example of the coating processing unit 3. In the above-described embodiment, after the resist is applied by the coater processing unit 31 and then the resist is simply dried by the simple drying processing unit 32, the end surface cleaning processing unit 33 performs cleaning of the end surface of the substrate. . On the other hand, in the example shown in FIG. 12, the order of the end face cleaning process and the simple drying process is reversed.
FIG. 13 shows still another configuration example of the coating processing unit 3. In the configuration of FIG. 13, the end face cleaning process is omitted.
[0068]
In addition, since it is not always necessary to perform the simple drying process in the coating processing unit 3, the coating processing unit 3 may be configured by only the coater processing unit 31.
FIG. 14 is an illustrative view showing another configuration example of the pre-bake processing unit 4. In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the heat treatment units are configured in multiple stages has been described. However, even for a so-called flat-flow bake processing unit in which the heat treatment units are arranged in a plane and the substrate is processed in a progressive manner. The invention can be applied. That is, the flat flow bake processing unit 200 shown in FIG. 14 includes hot plates 201, 202, 203 and a cool plate 204 arranged in order. At least the hot plates 201, 202, and 203 are each housed in a housing. An unexposed substrate with a resist applied on the surface is carried from the entrance conveyor 205 to the hot plate 201. Then, the substrate is sequentially fed to the hot plates 201, 202, 203 and the cool plate 204 at regular intervals by the dedicated transport mechanism. Then, the substrate is transferred from the cool plate 204 to the exit conveyor 206, and the substrate is delivered from the exit conveyor 206 toward the exposure unit.
[0069]
FIG. 15 shows a dedicated transport mechanism provided between the hot plates 201 and 202, between the hot plates 202 and 203, and between the hot plate 203 and the cool plate 204, and used for transporting the substrate between them. It is a top view which simplifies and shows a structure. For example, four swing arms 210 that swing around a vertical axis are provided on the outer sides of a pair of opposing sides of the rectangular substrate S. A suction pad 211 for sucking and holding the lower surface of the substrate S is provided on the upper surface of the tip of the swing arm 210. The substrate S is held by rotating the swing arm 210 so that the suction pads 211 face the back surfaces of the four corners of the substrate S and raising the swing arm 210 in this state. The four swinging arms 210 can move integrally along the direction of the arrow 212, and thereby, between the hot plates 201, 202, 202, 203, and between the hot plate 203 and the cool plate 204, Transport the substrate.
[0070]
In the dedicated transport mechanism that transports the substrate S from the hot plate 203 to the cool plate 204, the suction pad 211 has a substrate contact portion that contacts the lower surface of the substrate S with a line width of 2 mm or less (preferably 0.1 mm or more and 1. 0 mm or less, more preferably 0.5 mm or more and 1.0 mm or less), and is in line contact with the lower surface of the substrate. That is, the suction pad 211 has the structure shown in the above-described suction pads P1 to P4 or FIG. 9A or 9B. Therefore, when the substrate S is unloaded from the hot plate 203 to the cool plate 204, a large amount of heat exchange does not occur between the dedicated transport mechanism and the substrate S.
[0071]
The dedicated transport mechanism reciprocates between the housing in which the hot plate 203 is accommodated and the cool plate 204. When the dedicated transport mechanism is withdrawn from the housing, the suction pad group a Exits from the housing later in time than the group b of the suction pads 211.
Conversely, when the dedicated transport mechanism enters the housing, the suction pad group a enters the housing earlier than the suction pad 211 group b. For this reason, the group a of the pair of suction pads 211 positioned closer to the hot plate 203 receives more heat from the hot plate 203 than the group b of the pair of suction pads 211 positioned closer to the cool plate 204. Therefore, it is preferable that the line width La of the substrate contact portion of the suction pad 211 of group a is set larger than the line width Lb of the substrate contact portion of the substrate suction pad 211 of group b. In this case, the line width La is larger than the line width Lb, and may be larger than 2 mm. With such a configuration, it is possible to stably carry the substrate from the hot plate 203 to the cool plate 204 and to prevent large heat exchange between the substrate S and the dedicated carrying mechanism.
[0072]
Instead of the suction pad 211, a support pad that contacts the back surface of the substrate S and supports the substrate S may be used. Such a support pad may have a configuration like the above-described support pads Ps1 and Ps2, or may have a configuration shown in FIG.
The substrate processing system of FIG. 1 specifically includes a substrate having each processing unit of a cleaning processing unit 1, a dehydration baking unit 2, a coating processing unit 3, a pre-bake processing unit 4, a development processing unit 6, and a post-bake processing unit 7. A processing apparatus and an exposure apparatus having an exposure processing unit 5 exist and are connected by an intermediary transport apparatus, but may be as follows.
[0073]
As shown in FIG. 16, the first substrate processing apparatus 811 having the cleaning processing section 1, the dehydration baking processing section 2, the coating processing section 3, and the prebaking processing section 4, the exposure apparatus 812 having the exposure processing section 5, the development processing section 6, A second substrate processing apparatus 813 having a post-bake processing unit 7, a first intermediate transfer apparatus 814 for transferring a substrate between the first substrate processing apparatus 811 and the exposure apparatus 812, a second substrate processing apparatus 813, and an exposure apparatus. 812 is a substrate processing system 810 having a second intermediate transfer device 815 that transfers the substrate to and from 812.
[0074]
In this case, the transfer robot TR2 is applied in the pre-bake processing unit 4 of the first substrate processing apparatus 811.
As shown in FIG. 17, a first substrate processing apparatus 821 having a cleaning processing unit 1, a dehydration bake processing unit 2, a coating processing unit 3, and a prebake processing unit 4, an exposure processing unit 5, a development processing unit 6, and a post bake processing unit 7. The substrate processing system 820 may include a third substrate processing apparatus 822 having a third substrate processing apparatus 822, and a third intermediate transfer apparatus 823 that transfers the substrate between the first substrate processing apparatus 821 and the third substrate processing apparatus 822.
[0075]
Also in this case, the transfer robot TR2 is applied in the pre-bake processing unit 4 of the first substrate processing apparatus.
As shown in FIG. 18, the first substrate processing apparatus 831 having the cleaning processing unit 1, the dehydration baking processing unit 2, the coating processing unit 3, and the prebaking processing unit 4, the exposure device 832 having the exposure processing unit 5, the development processing unit 6, The substrate is transferred between the second substrate processing apparatus 833 having the post-bake processing unit 7, the first substrate processing apparatus 831 and the exposure apparatus 832, and the substrate is transferred between the second substrate processing apparatus 833 and the exposure apparatus 832. A substrate processing system 830 having a fourth intermediate transfer device 834 for transferring the substrate.
[0076]
The fourth intermediate transfer device 834 receives the substrate from the prebake 4 and passes the received substrate to the exposure device 532. Further, the substrate subjected to the exposure processing by the exposure device 532 is transferred to the development processing unit 6.
Also in this case, the transfer robot TR2 is applied in the pre-bake processing unit 4 of the first substrate processing apparatus.
As mentioned above, although several embodiment of this invention was described, this invention can also be implemented with another form. For example, in the above embodiment, the substrate support pad is formed in a cross shape or a ring shape in a plan view, but any other two-dimensional shape may be adopted. Further, the back surface of the substrate may be supported not only by the two-dimensional shape but also by a single linear member (one-dimensional shape).
[0077]
The same applies to the configuration of the suction pad, and it is possible to adopt a structure having a peripheral wall portion of any shape other than a circular ring shape or a rectangular ring shape.
In addition, various design changes can be made within the scope of matters described in the claims.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an illustrative view showing a configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an illustrative view for explaining a detailed configuration of a coating processing unit and a pre-baking processing unit.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration common to transport robots.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration example of a pre-bake processing unit.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a detailed configuration of a heat treatment section.
FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a configuration example of a hand.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view for explaining a configuration example of a suction pad.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of a support pad.
9 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of a suction pad that can be applied in place of the suction pad of FIG.
10 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a support pad that can be used in place of the support pad of FIG. 8. FIG.
FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing another configuration example of the hand of the transfer robot.
FIG. 12 is an illustrative view showing another configuration example of a coating processing unit.
FIG. 13 is an illustrative view showing still another configuration example of the coating processing unit.
FIG. 14 is an illustrative view showing another configuration example of the pre-bake processing unit.
FIG. 15 is a plan view showing a simplified configuration of a dedicated transport mechanism of a flat-flow bake processing unit.
FIG. 16 is an illustrative view showing a configuration example of a substrate processing apparatus that performs the first substrate processing apparatus and the second substrate processing apparatus via the first and second intermediate transfer apparatuses.
FIG. 17 is an illustrative view showing a configuration example of a substrate processing apparatus that performs the first substrate processing apparatus and the third substrate processing apparatus via a third intermediary transfer apparatus.
FIG. 18 is an illustrative view showing still another configuration example of the substrate processing apparatus in which the first substrate processing apparatus and the second substrate processing apparatus are performed via the fourth intermediate transfer apparatus.
FIG. 19 is an illustrative view showing a configuration example of a substrate processing apparatus for executing from a resist coating process to a development process.
FIG. 20 is an illustrative view showing another configuration example of the substrate processing apparatus.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Cleaning processing section
2 Dehydrated bake processing section
3 Application processing section
4 Pre-baking section
5 Exposure processing section
6 Development processing section
7 Post-baking section
21 Hot plate
22 Cool plate
31 Coater processing section
32 Simple drying section
33 End face cleaning section
41 Hot plate
42 Cool Plate
45 Heat treatment section
46 Conveyance path
51 treatment room
52 Heat treatment plate
61, 62 arms
65 Body
66 Perimeter wall
66a Substrate contact part
67 Suction port
67 Adsorption hole
71 hot plate
72 cool plate
75 Body
76 Supporting wall
76a Substrate contact part
91, 92, 93 arms
101, 102, 103, 104 Substrate regulating member
105 Suction pad
200 Bake processing part
201, 202, 203 Hot plate
204 Cool plate
205 Entrance conveyor
206 Outlet conveyor
210 Swing arm
211 Substrate suction pad
661 rectangular peripheral wall
661A board contact area
671 Suction port
761 Wall-shaped member
761a Substrate contact area
762 Arc-shaped wall member
762a Top surface
810, 820, 830 Substrate processing system
811, 821, 831 First substrate processing apparatus
812, 832 exposure apparatus
813,833 Second substrate processing apparatus
814 First intermediate transfer device
815 Second intermediate transfer device
822 Third substrate processing apparatus
823 Third intermediate transfer device
834 Fourth intermediate transfer device
H11, H21, H31, H12, H22, H32 hands
LA, LB, LC Line width
Ps1, Ps2 support pad
P1, P2, P3, P4 Suction pad
TR1, TR2, TR3 Transport robot
S substrate

Claims (33)

A first processing section for heating an unexposed substrate having a resist coated on the upper surface;
A second processing unit for cooling the substrate heated in the first processing unit;
A first substrate transport mechanism for unloading the substrate from the first processing unit;
A second substrate transport mechanism for unloading the substrate from the second processing unit,
The first substrate transport mechanism includes a first substrate support member having a substrate contact portion that makes a line contact with a line width of 2 mm or less on the lower surface of the substrate, and by supporting the lower surface of the substrate with the first substrate support member. A hand for holding the substrate; and a drive mechanism for moving the hand relative to the first processing unit;
The second substrate transport mechanism includes a hand having a second substrate support member that supports the substrate by contacting the lower surface of the substrate with a line width equal to or larger than the first substrate support member, and the hand is used for the second processing. A drive mechanism for moving relative to the part ,
The substrate processing apparatus, wherein the driving mechanism of the first substrate transport mechanism moves the hand at a speed slower than a moving speed of the hand by the driving mechanism of the second substrate transport mechanism. .   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate contact portion of the first substrate support member includes a circumferential wall portion that is continuous in a circumferential shape.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the peripheral wall portion forms an airtight chamber by the peripheral wall portion and a lower surface of the substrate.   4. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the peripheral wall portion is in line contact with the lower surface of the substrate with a line width of 0.1 mm to 1.0 mm.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first substrate support member includes a plurality of the substrate contact portions, and extending directions of the plurality of substrate contact portions intersect with each other.   6. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate contact portion of the first substrate support member is made of a material having a thermal conductivity equal to or less than a predetermined value.   7. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising exhaust means for exhausting gas in an airtight chamber formed between the first substrate support member and a lower surface of the substrate. . A processing unit for processing the substrate;
A plurality of substrate support members, a hand for holding the substrate by supporting the lower surface of the substrate with the plurality of substrate support members, and a drive mechanism for moving the hand forward and backward relative to the processing unit. Including a substrate transport mechanism for unloading the substrate from the section,
The plurality of substrate support members are arranged at different positions with respect to the advancing / retreating direction of the hand with respect to the processing unit, and each have a substrate contact portion that comes into contact with the lower surface of the substrate, and the substrate contact portion and the substrate of each substrate support member The lower surface of the substrate and the contact area are determined to decrease from the front side in the forward / backward direction toward the rear side in the forward / backward direction, whereby the amount of heat exchange between each substrate support member and the lower surface of the substrate is The substrate processing apparatus, wherein the substrate processing apparatus is determined so as to decrease from the front side in the forward / backward direction toward the rear side in the forward / backward direction. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the processing unit includes a heat processing unit that heat-processes the substrate. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the heat processing unit performs heat processing on an unexposed substrate having a resist coated on an upper surface thereof. The substrate contact portion is in contact with the lower surface of the substrate in a linear area, and the contact line width of the substrate contact portion of each substrate support member becomes narrower from the front side in the advance / retreat direction toward the rear side in the advance / retreat direction. the substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 8 to 10, characterized in that it is defined as. The plurality of substrate support members are defined such that the thermal conductivity of the substrate contact portion of each substrate support member is reduced from the front side in the forward / backward direction toward the rear side in the forward / backward direction. Item 12. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of Items 8 to 11 . In addition to the first processing unit, which is the processing unit, further includes a second processing unit that performs processing on the substrate,
In addition to the first substrate transport mechanism, which is the substrate transport mechanism, further includes a second substrate transport mechanism for unloading the substrate from the second processing unit,
The second substrate transport mechanism includes a hand having a plurality of substrate support members that contact the lower surface of the substrate and support the substrate, and a drive mechanism for moving the hand forward and backward relative to the second processing unit. Has
The plurality of substrate support members provided in the second substrate transport mechanism have the same amount of heat exchange with the back surface of the substrate regardless of the position in the advance / retreat direction with respect to the second processing unit. the substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 8 to 12, characterized. 14. The substrate processing according to claim 13 , wherein the driving mechanism of the first substrate transport mechanism moves the hand at a speed slower than the moving speed of the hand by the driving mechanism of the second substrate transport mechanism. apparatus. The first processing section heats an unexposed substrate having a resist coated on the upper surface,
The second processing unit substrate processing apparatus according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the is intended for cooling the substrate heated by the first processing unit. The first processing unit has a hot plate on which a substrate is placed,
The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1-7 and 15 the second processing unit is characterized by having a cool plate on which a substrate is mounted. The substrate processing apparatus performs substrate processing for a photolithography process including a substrate cleaning step, a dehydration bake step, a resist coating step, a pre-bake step, a development step, and a post-bake step.
The first processing unit performs the pre-bake process,
The second processing unit, the substrate processing apparatus according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the and executes the Dehaidobeku or said post-baking step. A substrate processing system comprising the substrate processing apparatus according to claim 17 and an exposure apparatus,
An exposure apparatus receives a substrate on which a pre-bake process has been performed, exposes a pattern on the substrate, and passes the substrate on which exposure has been completed to the substrate processing apparatus. A substrate processing step for processing the substrate in the processing section;
The substrate after the substrate processing step is provided by moving a hand holding the substrate forward and backward with respect to the processing unit by supporting the lower surface of the substrate with the plurality of substrate supporting members. A step of carrying out from the processing unit,
The plurality of substrate support members are arranged at different positions with respect to the advancing / retreating direction of the hand with respect to the processing unit, and each have a substrate contact portion that comes into contact with the lower surface of the substrate, and the substrate contact portion and the substrate of each substrate support member The lower surface of the substrate and the contact area are determined to decrease from the front side in the forward / backward direction toward the rear side in the forward / backward direction, whereby the amount of heat exchange between each substrate support member and the lower surface of the substrate is A substrate processing method, wherein the substrate processing method is determined so as to decrease from the front side in the forward / backward direction toward the rear side in the forward / backward direction. The substrate processing method according to claim 19 , wherein the substrate processing step includes a heat treatment step of heat-treating the substrate. 21. The substrate processing method according to claim 20 , wherein the heat treatment step is a step of performing a heat treatment on an unexposed substrate on which a resist is applied. A first substrate processing step of heating an unexposed substrate having a resist coated on the upper surface thereof in the first processing unit;
A first hand that holds the substrate by supporting the lower surface of the substrate with a first substrate support member having a substrate contact portion that makes a line contact with the lower surface of the substrate with a line width of 2 mm or less on the substrate after the first substrate processing step. Unloading from the first processing unit by
A second substrate processing step of cooling the substrate heated in the first processing unit in the second processing unit;
The substrate after the second substrate processing step is processed by the second hand including a second substrate support member that supports the substrate with respect to the lower surface of the substrate with a line width wider than that of the first substrate support member. and a step of carrying out from part only contains,
The substrate processing method, wherein the first hand carries out the substrate from the first processing unit at a speed slower than the speed at which the second hand carries out the substrate from the second processing unit. . The substrate processing method according to claim 22 , wherein the substrate contact portion of the first substrate support member includes a circumferential wall portion that is continuous in a circumferential shape. The substrate processing method according to claim 23 , wherein the peripheral wall portion forms an airtight chamber by the peripheral wall portion and the lower surface of the substrate. 25. The substrate processing method according to claim 24 , wherein the peripheral wall portion is in line contact with the lower surface of the substrate with a line width of 0.1 mm to 1.0 mm. 23. The substrate processing method according to claim 22, wherein the first substrate support member includes a plurality of the substrate contact portions, and extending directions of the plurality of substrate contact portions intersect each other. The board contact portion of the first substrate supporting member is a substrate processing method according to any one of claims 22 to 26, characterized by being composed of a material of a predetermined value or less of thermal conductivity. A first substrate processing step of processing the substrate in the first processing unit;
A step of unloading the substrate after the first substrate processing step from the first processing unit by moving the first hand back and forth with respect to the first processing unit;
A second substrate processing step of processing the substrate in the second processing unit;
And a step of unloading the substrate after the second substrate processing step from the second processing unit by moving the second hand forward and backward with respect to the second processing unit,
For the first hand, a hand having a plurality of substrate support members arranged at different positions with respect to the advancing / retreating direction with respect to the processing unit,
For the second hand, a hand having a plurality of substrate support members in which the amount of heat exchange with the lower surface of the substrate is set to be equal regardless of the position in the advancing / retreating direction with respect to the processing unit,
The plurality of substrate support members of the first hand each have a substrate contact portion that contacts the lower surface of the substrate, and the contact area between the substrate contact portion of each substrate support member and the lower surface of the substrate is from the front side in the advance / retreat direction. The amount of heat exchange between each substrate support member and the lower surface of the substrate is determined to decrease from the front side in the forward / backward direction toward the rear side in the forward / backward direction. A substrate processing method, characterized in that the substrate processing method is set to be reduced. 29. The substrate processing according to claim 28 , wherein the first hand unloads the substrate from the first processing unit at a speed slower than a speed at which the second hand unloads the substrate from the second processing unit. Method. The first processing section heats an unexposed substrate having a resist coated on the upper surface,
The second processing unit is a substrate processing method according to claim 28 or 29, wherein the is intended for cooling the substrate heated by the first processing unit. The first processing unit has a hot plate on which a substrate is placed,
The substrate processing method according to any one of claims 22 to 27 and 30, wherein the second processing unit includes a cool plate on which a substrate is placed. The substrate processing method is a method for a photolithography process including a substrate cleaning step, a dehydration bake step, a resist coating step, a pre-bake step, a development step and a post-bake step,
The first processing unit performs the pre-bake process,
30. The substrate processing method according to claim 28 , wherein the second processing unit is configured to perform the dehydration baking process or the post baking process. 33. The substrate processing method according to claim 32 , wherein the substrate processing method includes an exposure step of exposing a pattern to the substrate on which the pre-bake step has been performed, and the developing step is performed on the substrate on which the exposure step has been performed. Substrate processing method.

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