JP5123122B2 - Substrate processing apparatus and processing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus and a processing method for processing a substrate with a processing liquid while rotating the substrate while holding the substrate on a rotary table.

  For example, in the manufacturing process of a semiconductor device, there are a film forming process and a photo process for forming a circuit pattern on a substrate such as a disk-shaped semiconductor wafer. In these processes, a substrate is processed by using a so-called spin processing apparatus that holds and rotates the substrate on a rotary table.

  For example, after processing the substrate with a processing solution such as an etching solution that is a chemical solution, the cleaning solution is also cleaned with a cleaning solution such as pure water as the processing solution, and then the rotating table is rotated at a high speed, so that the cleaning solution remaining on the substrate remains. The drying process which removes is performed.

  The spin processing apparatus has a processing tank as is well known, and a cup body is provided in the processing tank. In the cup body, there is provided the rotary table rotated by a drive source. The rotary table is provided with a plurality of holding members for holding the outer peripheral portion of the substrate at predetermined intervals along the circumferential direction, and the substrate is detachably held on the rotary table by these holding members.

  Therefore, the substrate can be processed by holding the substrate on the rotary table, and rotating the rotary table to supply the processing liquid to the substrate. If the rotary table is rotated at a high speed after the processing, the substrate is It can be dried.

  By the way, when the processing liquid for processing the substrate is supplied to the substrate, the processing liquid is jetted and supplied from a nozzle body fixedly disposed above the rotary table. However, if the processing liquid is supplied to the substrate from the fixedly arranged nozzle body, the processing liquid may not be supplied uniformly over the entire surface of the substrate.

Therefore, in order to uniformly supply the processing liquid to the entire surface of the substrate, the nozzle body is provided at the tip of the arm body that is driven to swing above the substrate, and the arm body is swung. A process liquid is supplied to the substrate from the nozzle body while moving the nozzle body in a direction that moves across the substrate. Such prior art is disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example.
JP 2004-55916 A

  If the nozzle body is provided at the tip of the arm body and the processing liquid is supplied from the nozzle body to the substrate while swinging the arm body, the entire surface of the substrate is compared with the case where the nozzle body is fixedly arranged. Thus, the processing liquid can be supplied uniformly.

  However, the substrate that is held by the rotary table and is rotationally driven has a difference in centrifugal force that acts on the processing liquid supplied to the substrate between the central portion and the peripheral portion of the rotation. That is, the centrifugal force acting on the processing liquid is larger in the peripheral portion than in the central portion of the substrate.

  For this reason, the treatment liquid supplied to the periphery of the substrate where the centrifugal force acts greatly becomes shorter in the residence time on the substrate than the treatment liquid supplied to the central portion where the action of the centrifugal force is small. Depending on the difference, the substrate may not be uniformly processed.

  In particular, when the processing liquid is an etching liquid, the residence time of the processing liquid on the substrate may greatly affect the etching amount. Moreover, the etching amount by the etching solution is greatly influenced not only by the retention time of the processing solution, that is, the etching time, but also by the etching temperature.

  However, if the etching solution is supplied while rotating the substrate, the temperature at the peripheral part tends to be lower than the central part due to the difference in peripheral speed between the central part and the peripheral part of the rotating substrate. As a result, the substrate cannot be etched uniformly.

  In the present invention, when the processing liquid is supplied to the substrate while processing the nozzle body in a direction crossing the rotating substrate, the processing liquid can stay in the central portion and the peripheral portion of the substrate in substantially the same time. It is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate processing apparatus and a processing method.

  In the present invention, when the processing liquid is supplied to the substrate while being driven in a direction crossing the rotating substrate, the temperature of the processing liquid can be maintained substantially the same at the central portion and the peripheral portion of the substrate. Another object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus and method.

The present invention is a processing apparatus for processing with a processing liquid while rotating a substrate,
A rotary table that is driven to rotate while holding the substrate;
An arm body that has a nozzle body that ejects the processing liquid toward the substrate at the tip, and is driven in a direction across the substrate above the rotary table;
The movement speed of the arm body is increased so that the movement speed of the arm body gradually increases when the nozzle body moves from the peripheral part to the central part of the substrate, and the speed gradually decreases when moving from the central part to the peripheral part. Control means for controlling;
A lower surface fluid supply means for supplying a temperature-controlled fluid to the lower surface of the substrate;
The lower surface fluid supply means has a plurality of supply portions that separately supply the fluid at a plurality of locations between the central portion and the peripheral portion of the substrate, and the fluid supplied from each supply portion to the substrate is: In the substrate processing apparatus, the temperature is controlled to increase from the center to the periphery of the substrate.

The present invention is a processing apparatus for processing with a processing liquid while rotating a substrate,
A rotary table that is driven to rotate while holding the substrate;
An arm body having a nozzle body for injecting the processing liquid toward the substrate at the tip, and being driven to swing in a direction in which the nozzle body crosses the substrate above the rotary table;
A lower surface fluid supply means for supplying a temperature-controlled fluid to the lower surface of the substrate;
The lower surface fluid supply means has a plurality of supply portions that separately supply the fluid at a plurality of locations between the central portion and the peripheral portion of the substrate, and the fluid supplied from each supply portion to the substrate is: In the substrate processing apparatus, the temperature is controlled to increase from the center to the periphery of the substrate.

The present invention is a processing method of processing with a processing liquid while rotating a substrate,
Supplying the substrate to a rotary table and rotating the substrate;
Driving a nozzle body for supplying the processing liquid to the upper surface of the substrate in a direction across the substrate;
A step of gradually increasing the moving speed of the nozzle body when the nozzle body moves from the peripheral part of the substrate to the central part, and a step of gradually decreasing the moving speed when moving from the central part to the peripheral part;
A substrate processing method comprising: supplying a temperature-controlled fluid to the lower surface of the substrate; and controlling the temperature of the fluid so as to increase from the central portion to the peripheral portion of the substrate. It is in.

  According to this invention, the moving speed of the nozzle body is controlled to gradually increase when going from the peripheral part of the substrate to the central part and gradually decrease when going from the central part to the peripheral part. More processing liquid can be supplied than the part. Therefore, the processing liquid can stay in the central portion and the peripheral portion of the substrate in substantially the same time, so that the processing of the substrate with the processing liquid can be made uniform.

  According to the present invention, the fluid is supplied to the lower surface of the substrate and the temperature of the fluid is controlled. Therefore, the temperature change caused by the difference in the peripheral speed between the central part and the peripheral part generated on the upper surface of the substrate can be corrected by the fluid supplied to the lower surface of the substrate. Can be prevented.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a spin processing apparatus, which includes a processing tank 1. A cup body 2 is disposed in the processing tank 1. The cup body 2 includes a lower cup 3 provided on the bottom plate of the processing tank 1 and an upper cup 4 provided to the lower cup 3 so as to be movable up and down by a vertical drive mechanism (not shown).

  A plurality of discharge pipes 5 are connected to the bottom wall of the lower cup 3 at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction. These discharge pipes 5 communicate with an exhaust pump 6. The exhaust pump 6 is controlled by the control device 7 to start and stop and to rotate.

  A base plate 8 is disposed on the lower surface side of the cup body 2. An attachment hole 9 is formed in the base plate 8 at a position corresponding to the lower cup 3. The upper end portion of the stator 12 of the control motor 11 constituting the driving means is fitted and fixed in the mounting hole 9. The control motor 11 is controlled by the control device 7 to start and stop and to rotate.

  The stator 12 has a cylindrical shape, and a cylindrical rotor 13 is also rotatably inserted in the stator 12. A cylindrical connecting body 14 is integrally fixed to the upper end surface of the rotor 13 with the lower end surface in contact therewith. A flange 15 having a diameter larger than the inner diameter of the stator 12 is formed at the lower end of the connecting body 14. The flange 15 is slidably in contact with the upper end surface of the stator 12, thereby preventing the rotor 13 from falling off the stator 12 without preventing the rotor 13 from rotating. .

  A through hole 3 a is formed in the lower cup 3 at a portion corresponding to the rotor 13, and the connecting body 14 projects into the cup body 2 from the through hole 3 a. A turntable 16 is attached to the upper end of the connecting body 14. At the periphery of the turntable 16, six (two only shown) columnar holding members 17 are rotatably provided by a drive mechanism (not shown) at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction, in this embodiment at intervals of 60 degrees. ing.

  A support pin 18 having a tapered surface is provided on the upper end surface of the holding member 17 at a position eccentric from the rotation center of the holding member 17. A semiconductor wafer W as a substrate is supplied to the turntable 16 so that the lower surface of the peripheral edge is in contact with the tapered surface of the support pin 18. If the holding member 17 is rotated in this state, the support pins 18 are eccentrically rotated, so that the semiconductor wafer W supplied to the rotary table 16 is held by the support pins 18.

  The rotary table 16 is covered with a turbulent flow prevention cover 21. The turbulent flow prevention cover 21 has an outer peripheral wall 22 that covers the outer peripheral surface of the turntable 16 and an upper surface wall 23 that covers the upper surface. The outer peripheral wall 22 has a small diameter portion 22a on the upper side and a large diameter portion 22b on the lower side. Is formed. The turbulent flow prevention cover 21 prevents the turbulent flow from occurring on the upper surface of the rotary table 16 when the rotary table 16 is rotated. The upper surface of the upper cup 4 is open, and a ring-shaped member 25 is provided on the inner peripheral surface thereof.

  When the unprocessed semiconductor wafer W is supplied to the turntable 16 or the dried semiconductor wafer W is taken out, the upper cup 4 is lowered as described later.

  An opening 31 is formed in the upper wall of the processing tank 1. The opening 31 is provided with a fan / filter unit 32 such as ULPA or HEPA. The fan / filter unit 32 further cleans the air in the clean room and introduces it into the processing tank 1, and the amount of clean air introduced is controlled by the controller 7 of the drive unit 33 of the fan / filter unit 32. To do it. That is, the supply amount of clean air into the processing tank 1 can be controlled by controlling the rotational speed of the fan (not shown) of the fan / filter unit 32 by the driving unit 33.

  An entrance / exit 34 is formed on one side of the processing tank 1. The entrance / exit 34 is opened and closed by a shutter 35 provided on one side of the processing tank 1 so as to be slidable in the vertical direction. The shutter 35 is driven by a cylinder 36 that operates with compressed air. That is, the cylinder 36 is provided with a control valve 37 for controlling the flow of compressed air, and the control valve 37 is switched by the control device 7 so that the shutter 35 can be moved up and down. ing.

  A cylindrical fixed shaft 41 is inserted into the rotor 13 of the control motor 11. At the upper end of the fixed shaft 41, a nozzle head 43 that protrudes from the through hole 42 formed in the rotary table 16 to the upper surface side of the rotary table 16 is provided.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the nozzle head 43 has a circular planar shape, and is formed in a hollow shape in which the upper surface is an inclined surface that is inclined downward from the central portion toward the peripheral portion, and the lower surface is open. First to third lower nozzle bodies 44a to 44c as supply portions are provided at positions corresponding to the central portion of the lower surface of the substrate W, positions corresponding to the midway portion in the radial direction, and positions corresponding to the peripheral portion, respectively. ing.

  That is, one first lower nozzle body 44a is provided at the center, and the second and third lower nozzle bodies 44b and 44c are provided at a predetermined interval in the circumferential direction, in this embodiment at an interval of 45 degrees. . The first to third lower nozzle bodies 44a to 44c constitute the lower surface fluid supply means of this embodiment. A plurality of first lower nozzle bodies 44 a may be provided at the center of the nozzle head 43.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, one end of first to third supply pipes 45a to 45c is connected to each of the first to third lower nozzle bodies 44a to 44c. First to third temperature control units 46a to 46c and first to third flow rate control valves 47a to 47c are provided in the middle of the supply pipes 45a to 45c, respectively, and the other end is a fluid. Then, it is connected to a supply source 48 of nitrogen gas. The fluid may be an etching solution or pure water.

  The first to third temperature controllers 46a to 46c are controlled in temperature by the controller 7, and the first to third flow rate control valves 47a to 47c are controlled by the controller 7 in the amount of nitrogen gas supplied. Is done.

  Accordingly, the temperature-controlled nitrogen gas is supplied to the first to third lower nozzle bodies 44a to 44c. For example, nitrogen gas whose temperature is controlled to 20 ° C. by the first temperature control unit 46a is supplied to the first lower nozzle body 44a, and 25% is supplied to the second lower nozzle body 44b by the second temperature control unit 46b. Nitrogen gas whose temperature is controlled to 0 ° C. is supplied. Further, the third lower nozzle body 44c is supplied with nitrogen gas whose temperature is controlled to 30 ° C. by the third temperature controller 46c.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an opening 49 is formed in the upper surface wall 23 of the turbulent flow prevention cover 21 at a position facing the first to third lower nozzle bodies 44 a to 44 c. Through this opening 49, the nitrogen gas sprayed from each of the lower nozzle bodies 44a to 44c can reach the lower surface of the semiconductor wafer W.

  Above the semiconductor wafer W held on the turntable 16, an upper nozzle body 51 is arranged as a first processing liquid supply means for supplying a processing liquid to the upper surface of the semiconductor wafer W during the cleaning process. The upper nozzle body 51 is attached to an attachment member 53 provided at the tip of an arm body 52 arranged horizontally.

  The base end of the arm body 52 is connected to the upper end portion of the rotating shaft 55 arranged with the axis line vertical. The lower end of the rotation shaft 55 is connected to the output shaft 57 of the rotation drive source 56. The rotational drive source 56 controls the rotational angle and rotational speed of the rotational shaft 55 by the control device 7 as described later.

  That is, the upper nozzle body 51 provided at the tip of the swinging arm body 52 is held by the rotary table 16 as shown by a swing locus indicated by an arrow R in FIG. From the direction, it is driven to swing between the center O and the outside of the other end in the radial direction. 01 is a point where the swing locus R of the upper nozzle body 51 intersects one radial end of the outer periphery of the semiconductor wafer W, C is a point intersecting the center of the semiconductor wafer W, and the other radial end of the outer periphery of the semiconductor wafer W. Assuming that the point intersecting with is 02, the rocking speed at that time gradually increases from the peripheral part of the semiconductor wafer W toward the central part, that is, from 01 to C, as shown in FIG. When heading toward the periphery, that is, when heading from C to 02, control is performed so as to gradually decelerate.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the upper nozzle body 51 has a first liquid supply pipe 63a to which a first liquid supply source 61 for supplying an etching liquid as a processing liquid is connected at one end, and a processing liquid at one end. The other end of the second liquid supply pipe 63b to which the second liquid supply source 62 for supplying the pure water W is connected is connected. A fourth flow rate control valve 64a and a fourth temperature control unit 65 for controlling the temperature of the etching solution supplied to the upper nozzle body 51 are provided in the middle of the first liquid supply pipe 63a. A fifth flow control valve 64b is provided in the middle of the liquid supply pipe 63b.

The flow rate of the etching solution and pure water supplied to the upper surface of the semiconductor wafer W by the fourth and fifth flow rate control valves 64a and 64b and the temperature control of the etching solution by the fourth temperature control unit 65 are controlled by the control device 7. This is performed by the control signal.

Next, an operation when the upper surface of the semiconductor wafer W is etched by the processing apparatus having the above configuration will be described.
If the semiconductor wafer W is supplied and held on the turntable 16, the turntable 16 is rotated. If the semiconductor wafer W is rotated, the etching liquid is supplied from the upper nozzle body 51 and at the same time, the arm body 52 provided with the upper nozzle body 51 is swung. As shown in FIG. 6, the swing speed of the arm body 52 at this time is gradually increased when going from the peripheral part of the semiconductor wafer W toward the central part, and is gradually decelerated when reaching the central part after reaching the central part.

  That is, the peripheral portion of the semiconductor wafer W has a larger centrifugal force acting on the etching solution supplied to the upper surface of the semiconductor wafer W than the central portion. Therefore, the etching solution supplied to the peripheral portion of the semiconductor wafer W is discharged from the upper surface of the semiconductor wafer W at a faster rate than the etching solution supplied to the central portion.

  Therefore, the swing speed of the arm body 52 provided with the upper nozzle body 51 for supplying the etching solution to the upper surface of the semiconductor wafer W is gradually increased when moving from the peripheral portion to the center portion of the semiconductor wafer W as described above. By gradually decelerating when reaching the peripheral part after reaching the central part, the supply amount of the etching solution supplied to the peripheral part can be increased rather than the central part of the semiconductor wafer W.

  Accordingly, even if the centrifugal force acting on the etching solution supplied to the peripheral portion of the semiconductor wafer W is larger than the centrifugal force acting on the etching solution supplied to the central portion, the arm body in the peripheral portion is easily removed. By supplying the etchant with the oscillation speed of 52 being slower at the periphery than the center, the time of the etching action received from the etchant can be made substantially the same as that of the center. As a result, the peripheral portion and the central portion of the semiconductor wafer W can be etched with substantially the same etching amount.

  When etching is performed by supplying an etching solution to the upper surface of the semiconductor wafer W, nitrogen gas whose temperature is controlled is supplied to the lower surface. That is, nitrogen gas whose temperature is controlled is supplied from the first to third lower nozzle bodies 44 a to 44 c provided on the nozzle head 43 to the lower surface of the semiconductor wafer W.

  The temperature of the nitrogen gas supplied from the first lower nozzle body 44a to the central portion of the lower surface of the semiconductor wafer W is about 20 ° C., and the temperature of the nitrogen gas supplied from the second nozzle body 44b to the midway portion in the radial direction is The temperature of the nitrogen gas supplied from the third nozzle body 44c to the peripheral portion in the radial direction is about 30 ° C. That is, the temperature of the nitrogen gas supplied to the lower surface is gradually increased from the center to the periphery of the semiconductor wafer W.

  Normally, when the semiconductor wafer W is rotationally driven, the temperature of the peripheral part having a high peripheral speed is lower than the temperature of the central part due to the difference in peripheral speed between the central part and the peripheral part. The temperature correction is performed so that the temperature difference due to the difference in the peripheral speed between the central portion and the peripheral portion of the rotating semiconductor wafer W is eliminated by gradually increasing the temperature of the nitrogen gas from the central portion to the peripheral portion. be able to.

  When the semiconductor wafer W is etched, the etching rate depends on the temperature of the etching solution. However, the etching rate is reduced by preventing the temperature difference caused by the nitrogen gas supplied to the lower surface of the semiconductor wafer W. It is possible to prevent a difference from occurring.

  That is, by controlling the swing speed of the upper nozzle body 51 that supplies the etching liquid to the upper surface of the semiconductor wafer W and controlling the temperature of the nitrogen gas supplied to the lower surface of the semiconductor wafer W, the upper surface of the semiconductor wafer W is controlled. Etching can be performed uniformly over the entire surface.

  When the etching process is performed by supplying the etching liquid to the upper surface of the semiconductor wafer W in this way, pure water is supplied to the upper nozzle body 51 to rinse the upper surface of the semiconductor wafer W.

  When the rinsing process is completed, the rotary table 16 is rotated at a higher speed than before, and a drying process is performed to remove pure water remaining on the upper surface of the semiconductor wafer W by centrifugal force. This process ends.

  In the above embodiment, the arm body is swung, but the arm body may be linearly moved. In this case, the upper nozzle body provided at the tip of the arm body may be driven so as to pass through the central portion on the substrate or may be driven so as not to pass through the central portion.

  In the above embodiment, nitrogen gas is supplied to the lower surface of the semiconductor wafer while controlling the temperature. However, when removing the dirt on the back surface of the semiconductor wafer, an etching solution, a cleaning solution, or the like is applied to the back surface of the semiconductor wafer. A liquid may be supplied.

  In that case, if the upper surface of the semiconductor wafer is etched, the temperature of the liquid supplied to the back surface is controlled as in the above embodiment, so that not only the upper surface but also the lower surface is uniformly etched over the entire surface. be able to.

  Further, the substrate is not limited to a semiconductor wafer, and may be a rectangular glass substrate used for a liquid crystal display panel. Further, the processing performed on the substrate is not limited to etching processing, and processing using other chemicals. In short, the present invention can be applied to the case where it is desired to make the time during which the processing liquid acts in the central portion and the peripheral portion of the substrate the same or when the temperature is desired to be the same.

  In order to achieve uniform processing by the processing liquid, either the control of the swing speed of the upper nozzle body that supplies the processing liquid to the upper surface of the substrate or the temperature control that supplies the temperature-controlled fluid to the lower surface. Even if only one is performed, an effect can be obtained.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The schematic block diagram of the processing apparatus which shows one embodiment of this invention. The top view of the nozzle head provided with the upper nozzle body. FIG. 3 is a vertical step view of the nozzle head shown in FIG. 2. The piping system figure of the 1st thru | or 3rd lower nozzle body. The piping system diagram of an upper nozzle body. The graph which shows the change of the rocking | fluctuation speed of the upper nozzle body rock | fluctuated and driven in the direction which crosses over a semiconductor wafer. Explanatory drawing of the rocking | fluctuation locus | trajectory of the upper nozzle body in the direction crossing over a semiconductor wafer.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Processing tank, 7 ... Control apparatus, 16 ... Rotary table, 17 ... Holding member, 43 ... Nozzle head, 44a-44c ... 1st thru | or 3rd lower nozzle body (supply part), 46a-46c ... 1st thru | or 3rd temperature control part, 48 ... supply source, 51 ... upper nozzle body, 52 ... arm body, 61 ... 1st liquid supply source, 62 ... 2nd liquid supply source.

Claims (3)

A processing apparatus for processing with a processing liquid while rotating a substrate,
A rotary table that is driven to rotate while holding the substrate;
An arm body that has a nozzle body that ejects the processing liquid toward the substrate at the tip, and is driven in a direction across the substrate above the rotary table;
The moving speed of the arm body is controlled so that the moving speed of the arm body gradually increases when the nozzle body moves from the peripheral part to the central part of the substrate, and gradually decreases when the nozzle body moves from the central part to the peripheral part. Control means;
A lower surface fluid supply means for supplying a temperature-controlled fluid to the lower surface of the substrate;
The lower surface fluid supply means has a plurality of supply portions that separately supply the fluid at a plurality of locations between the central portion and the peripheral portion of the substrate, and the fluid supplied from each supply portion to the substrate is: The substrate processing apparatus, wherein the temperature is controlled so as to increase from the center to the periphery of the substrate. A processing apparatus for processing with a processing liquid while rotating a substrate,
A rotary table that is driven to rotate while holding the substrate;
An arm body having a nozzle body for injecting the processing liquid toward the substrate at the tip, and being driven to swing in a direction in which the nozzle body crosses the substrate above the rotary table;
A lower surface fluid supply means for supplying a temperature-controlled fluid to the lower surface of the substrate;
The lower surface fluid supply means has a plurality of supply portions that separately supply the fluid at a plurality of locations between the central portion and the peripheral portion of the substrate, and the fluid supplied from each supply portion to the substrate is: The substrate processing apparatus, wherein the temperature is controlled so as to increase from the center to the periphery of the substrate. A processing method of processing with a processing liquid while rotating a substrate,
Supplying the substrate to a rotary table and rotating the substrate;
Driving a nozzle body for supplying the processing liquid to the upper surface of the substrate in a direction across the substrate;
A step of gradually increasing the moving speed of the nozzle body when the nozzle body moves from the peripheral part of the substrate to the central part, and a step of gradually decreasing the moving speed when moving from the central part to the peripheral part;
A substrate processing method comprising: supplying a temperature-controlled fluid to the lower surface of the substrate; and controlling the temperature of the fluid so as to increase from the central portion to the peripheral portion of the substrate. .

Images