JP5620530B2 - Substrate processing unit and substrate processing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention can be applied to semiconductor substrates, glass substrates for liquid crystal display devices, substrates for plasma displays, substrates for optical disks, substrates for magnetic disks, substrates for magneto-optical disks, glass substrates for photomasks (hereinafter simply referred to as “substrates”). The present invention relates to a technique for processing.

  As is well known, products such as semiconductors and liquid crystal displays are manufactured by performing a series of processes such as cleaning, resist coating, exposure, development, etching, interlayer insulation film formation, heat treatment, and dicing on the substrate. Has been.

  A substrate processing apparatus that performs these various processes is generally configured by arranging processing units that perform various processes such as a resist film forming process, a developing process, and a heat treatment at predetermined positions.

  By the way, in a processing unit that performs a resist film forming process, a developing process, and the like, a processing process is performed in which a predetermined processing liquid is sequentially discharged and supplied onto a substrate in a predetermined order. For example, in a processing unit (development processing unit) that performs development processing, a developing solution is supplied to the substrate and the developing solution is deposited on the surface of the processing unit to advance the developing reaction on the surface of the substrate. After this, a rinsing solution is supplied to stop the surface development reaction. In some cases, pure water or the like may be supplied prior to the supply of the developer (pre-wet treatment) in order to make the surface state of the substrate easily compatible with the developer. When the developer is dropped on the surface of the substrate with the pre-wet liquid puddle formed and at the same time the substrate is rotated at a high speed, the developer and the pre-wet liquid simultaneously spread over the entire surface of the substrate, and the entire surface of the substrate It is possible to supply the developer uniformly.

  In such a processing unit, a plurality of nozzles (a nozzle for discharging a developing solution and a nozzle for discharging a rinsing solution in the case of a development processing unit) are provided in the processing unit, and the nozzles are arranged in a predetermined order. A series of processes are performed on the substrate by performing the process liquid discharge supply process while exchanging them.

  In general, in such a processing unit, one nozzle is not moved while the other nozzle is moving in order to avoid collision between the nozzles when the nozzles are replaced. In this configuration, since one nozzle waits for completion of movement of the other nozzle, the operation rate of the nozzle is lowered, resulting in a reduction in throughput.

  Incidentally, some processing units include a plurality of processing sets for processing one substrate. Here, it is possible to process a plurality of substrates simultaneously by executing processing in parallel in each processing set. In such a processing unit, one nozzle may be shared among a plurality of processing sets. For example, a development processing unit may have a configuration in which a nozzle for discharging a developer is shared between a plurality of processing sets. In other words, in the processing unit, nozzles provided for each processing set (for example, nozzles for discharging a rinsing liquid) and nozzles shared between the processing sets (for example, nozzles for discharging a developing solution) are provided. Two types of nozzles are arranged.

  In such a configuration, the shared nozzle (shared nozzle) must be moved between processing sets. However, while the other nozzle is moving in any of the processing sets, there is a risk of interfering with the other nozzle, so the shared nozzle cannot be moved. For this reason, the operating rate of the shared nozzle is greatly reduced, and the throughput of the processing unit is also significantly reduced.

  This invention is made in view of the said subject, and provides the technique which can improve the operation rate of a nozzle, avoiding the collision of nozzles in the substrate processing unit which has a some nozzle. Objective.

The invention according to claim 1 is a substrate processing unit for performing a predetermined process on a substrate, and is shared between a plurality of processing sets for executing the predetermined process on one substrate and the plurality of processing sets. The first nozzle for supplying the first processing liquid to the substrate, and the first nozzle by moving the first nozzle along an inter-set movement path formed between the plurality of processing sets. A nozzle drive mechanism that moves between the plurality of processing sets, each of the plurality of processing sets holding a substrate, and a second processing liquid with respect to the substrate held by the holding unit and a second nozzle discharge for supplying the set-transfer paths are formed on the outside of the movement area of the second nozzle, the first to move the set-transfer path Nozzle is moved outside the movement area of the second nozzle, said plurality of processing sets are arranged in a row in a horizontal plane, the set inter-moving paths are defined in a horizontal plane, said first 1 nozzle, the movement along the said set between movement path, the movement between the second a position outside the movement area of the nozzle, the position before SL set the first nozzle starts discharging the predetermined processing liquid It moves to a position where it sees and overlaps along the direction orthogonal to the path.

  A second aspect of the present invention is the substrate processing unit according to the first aspect, wherein the first nozzle is a nozzle for discharging and supplying a developing solution, and the second nozzle is for discharging and supplying a processing liquid for rinsing processing. Nozzle.

  A third aspect of the present invention is the substrate processing unit according to the first or second aspect, wherein the inter-set movement path is formed above a movement area of the second nozzle.

  A fourth aspect of the present invention is the substrate processing unit according to the first aspect, wherein the first nozzle is a nozzle for discharging and supplying a resist film material, and the second nozzle is configured to supply a processing liquid related to a solvent pre-coating process. This is a nozzle for discharging and supplying.

  A fifth aspect of the present invention is the substrate processing unit according to the fourth aspect, wherein an opening for carrying the substrate in and out of the substrate processing unit is formed in the housing wall surface of the substrate processing unit. With the surface as the front, the inter-set movement path is formed on the back side of the housing in the movement area of the second nozzle.

The invention of claim 6 is a substrate processing apparatus that is arranged adjacent to a predetermined external device and performs a series of processing on a substrate, each of which includes one or more substrate processing units that perform predetermined processing on a substrate, A processing unit including a main transport mechanism that transports the substrate to one or more substrate processing units in a predetermined order; and an interface transport mechanism that transports the substrate between the processing unit and the external device, Any one of the one or more substrate processing units is shared between the plurality of processing sets for executing the predetermined processing on one substrate and the plurality of processing sets, and the first processing is performed on the substrates. The first nozzle is moved forward along the inter-set moving path formed between the first nozzle for supplying the liquid and the plurality of processing sets. A nozzle drive mechanism that moves between the plurality of processing sets, each of the plurality of processing sets holding a substrate, and a second processing liquid for the substrate held by the holding unit A second nozzle for supplying and discharging, wherein the movement path between sets is formed outside a movement area of the second nozzle, and the first nozzle moved along the movement path between sets is the second nozzle The plurality of processing sets are arranged in a line in a horizontal plane, the movement path between the sets is defined in a horizontal plane, and the first nozzle is between the sets. the movement along the movement path, a position outside the movement area of the second nozzle, along the direction in which the first nozzle is orthogonal to the position before Symbol set between the moving path for starting discharge the predetermined processing liquid Move to look overlap position.
The invention according to claim 7 is a substrate processing unit that performs a predetermined process on a substrate, and is shared between a plurality of processing sets that execute the predetermined process on a single substrate and the plurality of processing sets. The first nozzle for supplying the first processing liquid to the substrate, and the first nozzle by moving the first nozzle along an inter-set movement path formed between the plurality of processing sets. A nozzle drive mechanism that moves between the plurality of processing sets, each of the plurality of processing sets holding a substrate, and a second processing liquid with respect to the substrate held by the holding unit A second nozzle for discharging and supplying, and the movement path between the sets is formed outside a movement area of the second nozzle, and the plurality of treatment sets are arranged in a line in a horizontal plane. The inter-set movement path is defined in a horizontal plane, and the first nozzle starts to discharge the predetermined processing liquid when the first nozzle moves along the inter-set movement path. It moves to a position that overlaps the position when viewed in a direction orthogonal to the movement path between sets, and the movement path between sets is formed above the movement area of the second nozzle.
The invention of claim 8 is a substrate processing apparatus that is arranged adjacent to a predetermined external device and performs a series of processing on a substrate, each of which includes one or more substrate processing units that perform predetermined processing on a substrate, A processing unit including a main transport mechanism that transports the substrate to one or more substrate processing units in a predetermined order; and an interface transport mechanism that transports the substrate between the processing unit and the external device, Any one of the one or more substrate processing units is shared between the plurality of processing sets for executing the predetermined processing on one substrate and the plurality of processing sets, and the first processing is performed on the substrates. The first nozzle is moved forward along the inter-set moving path formed between the first nozzle for supplying the liquid and the plurality of processing sets. A nozzle drive mechanism that moves between the plurality of processing sets, each of the plurality of processing sets holding a substrate, and a second processing liquid for the substrate held by the holding unit A second nozzle for supplying and discharging, the movement path between sets is formed outside a movement area of the second nozzle, and the plurality of processing sets are arranged in a line in a horizontal plane, An inter-movement path is defined in a horizontal plane, and the first nozzle moves along the inter-set movement path, and the first nozzle starts to discharge the predetermined processing liquid, and the inter-set movement. The inter-set movement path is formed above the movement area of the second nozzle, as viewed in a direction perpendicular to the path.

According to the first to fifth aspects of the present invention, the inter-set movement path that is the movement path when the first nozzle moves between the plurality of processing sets is formed outside the movement area of the second nozzle. Therefore, the first nozzle can be freely moved between the processing sets without considering interference with the second nozzle. Further, the second nozzle can be freely moved even while the first nozzle is moving between the processing sets. Thereby, both the operation rates of the first nozzle and the second nozzle can be improved.

  In particular, according to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to improve the operation rate of the nozzle that discharges and supplies the developing solution and the nozzle that discharges and supplies the processing liquid related to the rinsing process, so that the throughput of the developing process can be improved. it can.

  In particular, according to the invention of claim 4, the operating rate of the nozzle for discharging and supplying the resist film material and the nozzle for discharging and supplying the processing liquid related to the solvent pre-coating process can be improved. Can be improved.

According to the sixth and eighth aspects of the present invention, in the substrate processing unit, both the operating rates of the first nozzle and the second nozzle can be improved, and the throughput of the substrate processing unit can be improved. Thereby, a high throughput substrate processing apparatus can be realized.

It is a top view of a development processing unit. It is a side view of a development processing unit. It is a block diagram which shows the structure regarding the function which performs position control of a nozzle. It is a figure which shows the example of a setting of an interference area. It is a figure which shows the example of a setting of an interference area. It is a figure which shows the flow of the process performed in a development processing unit. It is a figure which shows typically the positional relationship of a developing nozzle and a pure water nozzle. It is a figure which shows typically the positional relationship of a developing nozzle and a pure water nozzle. It is a figure which shows typically the positional relationship of a developing nozzle and a pure water nozzle. It is a figure which shows typically the positional relationship of a developing nozzle and a pure water nozzle. It is a figure which shows typically the positional relationship of a developing nozzle and a pure water nozzle. It is a top view of a resist application processing unit. It is a block diagram which shows the structure regarding the function which performs position control of a nozzle. It is a figure which shows the example of a setting of an interference area. It is a figure which shows the flow of the process performed in a resist application | coating process unit. It is a figure which shows typically the positional relationship of a resist nozzle and a discharge nozzle. It is a figure which shows typically the positional relationship of a resist nozzle and a discharge nozzle. It is a figure which shows typically the positional relationship of a resist nozzle and a discharge nozzle. It is a top view which shows typically the whole structure of a substrate processing apparatus. It is the longitudinal cross-sectional view which looked at the substrate processing apparatus from the arrow Q1 direction. It is the longitudinal cross-sectional view which looked at the substrate processing apparatus from the arrow Q2. It is the longitudinal cross-sectional view which looked at the substrate processing apparatus from the arrow Q3 direction. It is the longitudinal cross-sectional view which looked at the substrate processing apparatus from the arrow Q4 direction. It is a control block diagram of a substrate processing apparatus. It is a figure which shows the flow of the operation | movement which each conveyance mechanism performs repeatedly.

<1. Development unit>
<1-1. Constitution>
An overall configuration of a substrate processing unit (development processing unit 1) according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a plan view of the development processing unit 1. In the drawings referred to in the following description, a common XYZ orthogonal coordinate system is appropriately attached in order to clarify the positional relationship and operation direction of each part.

  The development processing unit 1 performs development processing on the substrate W. The development processing unit 1 mainly includes a plurality (three in this embodiment) of development processing sets 10, a developer supply unit 20 shared between the development processing sets 10, and a developer supply unit. And a pod 30 for receiving the developing nozzle 21 provided in the apparatus 20. Each development processing set 10 is provided along the Y direction in the same processing unit without being partitioned by a partition wall or the like.

  Further, the development processing unit 1 includes a control unit 91 that controls operations of these units. The control unit 91 includes a CPU that executes various processes, a RAM that is a work area for arithmetic processing, a processing recipe (processing that is set in advance (or input from an operator via a user interface such as an operation unit or a display unit)) This is realized by a storage medium (for example, a fixed disk) that stores various information such as a program.

<Development processing set 10>
The development processing set 10 includes a rotation holding unit 11 that holds the substrate W rotatably, a cup 12 that can be moved up and down around the substrate W held by the rotation holding unit 11, and the rotation holding unit 11. And a DIW supply unit 13 for supplying a pure water liquid to the substrate W. That is, the development processing unit 1 includes three each of these members 11, 12, and 13.

  The rotation holding unit 11 holds the substrate W in a horizontal posture and rotates the substrate W around a vertical rotation axis passing through the center of the substrate W. The rotation holding unit 11 is fixed to the upper end of a rotating shaft (not shown) rotated by an electric motor (not shown). In addition, an intake passage (not shown) is formed in the rotation holding unit 11, and the inside of the intake passage is evacuated while the substrate W is placed on the rotation holding unit 11, whereby the lower surface of the substrate W is vacuum-sucked. In addition, the substrate W can be held in a horizontal posture.

  The cup 12 is a dome-shaped member with the tip cut off, and surrounds the substrate W held by the rotation holding unit 11. The cup 12 is connected to a lifting mechanism (not shown) that lifts and lowers the cup 12. The elevating mechanism is constituted by an air cylinder, for example. The elevating mechanism has the cup 12 in the processing position (the position where the upper end of the cup 12 is above the substrate W held by the rotation holding unit 11) and the retracted position (the upper end of the cup 12 is held by the rotation holding unit 11). And a position below the substrate W). In the state of being moved to the processing position, the liquid droplets scattered from the surface of the substrate W held by the rotation holding unit 11 are received by the inner surface of the cup 12. The lifting mechanism is electrically connected to the control unit 91. The controller 91 controls the lifting mechanism to switch the position of the cup 12 between the processing position and the retracted position.

  The DIW supply unit 13 is a functional unit that supplies pure water to the upper surface of the substrate W held by the rotation holding unit 11, and is disposed between the rotation holding unit 11 and an opening 101 described later. However, the DIW supply unit 13 is assumed to be at a height that does not interfere with the hand of an external transport mechanism (which will be described later) inserted from the opening 101.

  The DIW supply unit 13 is connected to a processing supply source (not shown) that stores a predetermined processing liquid (a processing liquid used as a prewetting liquid and a rinsing liquid, and pure water in this embodiment). A pure water nozzle 130 is provided for discharging the treatment liquid toward the surface. The pure water nozzle 130 can be constituted by, for example, a so-called straight nozzle that discharges the supplied processing liquid as it is.

  The pure water nozzle 130 includes an arm 132 extending in the horizontal direction and a discharge unit 131 attached to the tip thereof. Moreover, the arm 132 is attached to the upper end of the rotating shaft 133 extended upward. Further, a rotation mechanism 134 that rotates the rotation shaft 133 is connected. The rotation mechanism 134 is constituted by, for example, a rotation motor.

  The rotation mechanism 134 rotates the rotation shaft 133 to move the pure water nozzle 130 to the processing position S130 (a position where the discharge unit 131 is placed above the center of the substrate W held by the rotation holding unit 11). It is moved between the retracted position T130 (the position at which the discharge unit 131 is located on the side of the rotation holding unit 11). By discharging the rinsing liquid from the pure water nozzle 130 at the processing position S130, the rinsing liquid can be supplied to the surface of the substrate W held by the rotation holding unit 11.

  The rotation mechanism 134 is electrically connected to the control unit 91. The controller 91 controls the rotation mechanism 134 to switch the position of the pure water nozzle 130 between the processing position S130 and the waiting position T130.

  In addition, it is a housing | casing wall surface of the development processing unit 1, Comprising: A conveyance space (For example, the conveyance mechanism (For example, it is the main robot T21 mentioned later, and is described below as an "external conveyance mechanism.") The opening 101 for carrying the substrate W in and out of each rotation holding part 11 is formed on the side facing the movement area). That is, the external transport mechanism can access the rotation holding unit 11 corresponding to the opening 101 by inserting the hand from the opening 101. The opening 101 can be opened and closed by a shutter or the like.

  In each of the three development processing sets 10, each of the components 11, 12, and 13 and the developer supply unit 20 shared between the development processing sets 10 execute development processing on one substrate. Is done. In the following description, when the three development processing sets 10 are particularly distinguished, the first processing set SD1, the second processing set SD2, and the third processing set SD3 are sequentially illustrated along the + Y direction.

<Developer supply unit 20>
The developer supply unit 20 is a functional unit that supplies a predetermined developer to the surface of the substrate W held by the rotation holding unit 11 included in each development processing set 10. And placed on the opposite side.

  The developing solution supply unit 20 includes a developing nozzle 21 that discharges the developing solution toward the substrate W placed on the rotation holding unit 11, and a processing solution supply source that supplies the developing solution to the developing nozzle 21 (not shown). ). A discharge portion 210 is formed near the tip of the developing nozzle 21. A predetermined number (in this embodiment, five) of the discharge unit 210 formed in parallel with the scanning direction (Y direction) of the developing nozzle 21 on the lower surface (the surface facing the substrate W). A discharge hole 220 is formed. The developing nozzle 21 discharges the developing solution from the discharge hole 220 while scanning along the radial direction from the center of the substrate W toward the peripheral edge of the substrate W rotated by the rotation holding unit 11. The developer can be spirally supplied to the surface of the substrate W.

  The developing nozzle 21 is slidably attached to a lateral guide rail 22 disposed horizontally along a direction (Y direction) in which the development processing sets 10 are arranged. The developing nozzle 21 is connected to a Y-axis drive mechanism 23 that moves the developing nozzle 21 along the horizontal guide rail 22. The Y-axis drive mechanism 23 is electrically connected to the control unit 91. The control unit 91 controls the Y-axis drive mechanism 23 to move the developing nozzle 21 along the Y direction. The developing nozzle 21 is slidably attached to a vertical guide rail (not shown) disposed along the vertical direction (Z direction). The developing nozzle 21 is connected to a Z-axis drive mechanism 24 that moves the developing nozzle 21 along the vertical guide rail. The Z-axis drive mechanism 24 is electrically connected to the control unit 91. The controller 91 controls the Z-axis drive mechanism 24 to move the developing nozzle 21 along the Z direction.

  Please refer to FIG. FIG. 2 is a side view of the development processing unit 1. The controller 91 controls the Y-axis drive mechanism 23 to move the developing nozzle 21 between the development processing sets 10 by moving the developing nozzle 21 along the horizontal guide rail 22 (that is, along the Y direction). Let In this case, the control unit 91 moves the developing nozzle 21 on the horizontal plane (moving traveling plane H1) at the first height (AR2, AR6). However, the traveling surface H1 is a moving area of the pure water nozzle 130 (an area where the pure water nozzle 130 moves when the pure water nozzle 130 is moved between the processing position S130 and the retracted position T130. It is formed outside the pure water nozzle movement area A ”(above the pure water nozzle movement area A) (see FIG. 2). This eliminates the need to consider interference with the pure water nozzle 130 when moving the development nozzle 21 between the development processing sets 10.

  Further, the control unit 91 controls the Y-axis drive mechanism 23 to move the developing nozzle 21 along the lateral guide rail 22 (that is, along the Y direction), thereby causing the developing nozzle 21 to move the developing processing set 10. The upper part of the substrate W held by the rotation holding unit 11 is scanned along the radial direction of the substrate W. In this case, the control unit 91 moves the developing nozzle 21 on a horizontal plane (discharge traveling surface H2) at a second height that is lower than the first height (AR4).

  The control unit 91 controls the Z-axis drive mechanism 24 to move the developing nozzle 21 along the vertical direction (that is, along the Z direction), thereby causing the developing nozzle 21 to discharge with the moving traveling surface H1. It is moved between the running surface H2 (AR1, AR3, AR5).

<Pod 30>
Refer to FIG. 1 again. The pod 30 is a functional unit for receiving the standby developing nozzle 21. Note that a mechanism (cleaning pot) for cleaning the lower end surface of the developing nozzle 21 may be provided in the pod 30. The pod 30 is provided corresponding to the rotation holding unit 11 and is arranged adjacent to a predetermined side (in the case of FIG. 1, + Y direction side) of the corresponding rotation holding unit 11. The control unit 91 moves the developing nozzle 21 that has completed the discharge processing of the developer onto the substrate W held by a certain rotation holding unit 11 toward the next substrate W, and then moves the pod corresponding to the rotation holding unit 11. 30 can be temporarily held.

<1-2. Position control of developing nozzle 21 and pure water nozzle 130>
Next, the position control of the developing nozzle 21 and the pure water nozzle 130 will be specifically described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration related to the function of performing the position control of the nozzles 21 and 130.

  The control unit 91 includes a developing nozzle position control unit 41 that is a functional unit related to position control of the developing nozzle 21 and a pure water nozzle position control unit 42 that is a functional unit related to position control of the pure water nozzle 130. . These units may be realized by the control unit 91 executing a predetermined program stored in a storage medium or the like, or may be realized by dedicated hardware.

<Developing nozzle position controller 41>
The development nozzle position control unit 41 includes a processing information acquisition unit 411, a standby position specification unit 412, an interference area specification unit 413, a movement start timing control unit 414, and a development nozzle drive control unit 415.

<Processing information acquisition unit 411>
The processing information acquisition unit 411 stores processing information (development processing information) for each of the substrates W scheduled to be carried into the development processing unit 1 with a computer (for example, “to be described later”) electrically connected to the control unit 91. It is obtained from “main controller 199” (see FIG. 24) of “substrate processing apparatus 100”. The development processing information is information that defines what processing is performed at which position on each substrate W in the development processing unit 1, and in particular, each substrate W is processed in the first processing set SD1 and the second processing. Information (development processing set information) that specifies which of the set SD2 and the third processing set SD3 is used for processing is included.

<Standby position specifying unit 412>
The standby position specifying unit 412 prepares for the developer discharge process for the substrate W for each of the substrates W scheduled to be carried into the development processing unit 1 based on the processing information acquired by the processing information acquisition unit 411. A position (standby position T21) where the developing nozzle 21 is made to wait is specified.

  In specifying the standby position T21, the standby position specifying unit 412 firstly, for each of the substrates W scheduled to be carried into the development processing unit 1, the position at which the developing nozzle 21 starts discharging the developer onto the substrate W ( The discharge start position S21) is specified. Specifically, first, a processing set for processing the substrate W is specified from the development processing set information acquired by the processing information acquisition unit 411. The position of the developing nozzle 21 where the discharge hole 220 is positioned right above the center of the substrate held by the rotation holding unit 11 of the specified processing set, and the position on the discharge running surface H2, is The discharge start position S21 for the substrate W is specified.

  When the discharge start position S21 is specified, the standby position specifying unit 412 specifies the position on the moving traveling surface H1 immediately above the specified discharge start position S21 as the standby position T21 for the substrate W. To do.

  For example, it is assumed that the development processing set information that designates that the development processing set 10 to process a certain substrate W is “second processing set SD2”. In this case, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the standby position specifying unit 412 has a position on the discharge running surface H2 that is directly above the center of the substrate held by the rotation holding unit 11 of the second processing set SD2. The discharge start position S21 for the substrate W is specified. Then, the position immediately above the discharge start position S21 and on the moving traveling surface H1 is specified as the standby position T21 for the substrate W.

  As described above, the moving traveling surface H1 is formed outside the pure water nozzle moving area A. Since the standby position T21 is set on the moving traveling surface H1, the standby position T21 is set regardless of the position of the pure water nozzle 130 (that is, while the pure water nozzle 130 is in the processing position S130). However, the developing nozzle 21 can be moved between the development processing sets 10 without considering interference with the pure water nozzle 130 and moved to the standby position T21. Moreover, it can be made to wait there.

  Further, the standby position T21 and the discharge start position S21 indicate that the developing nozzle 21 is in the Z direction among the plurality of drive shafts (drive shafts along the Y direction and the Z direction in this embodiment). It is in a positional relationship that can be reached by movement of only the drive shaft along. That is, the control unit 91 controls the Z-axis driving mechanism 24 to move the developing nozzle 21 by a predetermined distance along the Z direction (AR3), thereby causing the developing nozzle 21 at the standby position T21 to be discharged to the discharge start position S21. Can be moved to.

<Interference area specifying unit 413>
The interference area specifying unit 413 specifies an interference area Ai between the developing nozzle 21 and the pure water nozzle 130 in the pure water nozzle movement area A. The interference area Ai is an area including an area (entrance area) in which the developing nozzle 21 may enter in the pure water nozzle movement area A. The interference area Ai is defined by receiving a setting input from an operator, for example. However, the interference area Ai is preferably as small as possible, and is preferably set to coincide with the entry area.

  Please refer to FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a setting example of the interference area Ai. 4A is a plan view of the development processing set 10, and FIG. 4B is a side view of the development processing set 10 as viewed from the direction of arrow Q in FIG. 4A. In this embodiment, as described above, the developing nozzle 21 moves on the traveling surface H1 set above the pure water nozzle moving area A when moving between the development processing sets 10 (FIG. 2). Reference), when moving between the development processing sets 10, the development nozzle 21 does not enter the pure water nozzle movement area A. Therefore, the moving area at this time does not form an entry area. On the other hand, the discharge running surface H2 is set below the moving running surface H1, and the discharge start position S21 is located in the pure water nozzle moving area A. Therefore, the developing nozzle 21 is moved from the standby position T21 to the discharge start position. When moving to S21, it enters the pure water nozzle movement area A (entry area a1). In addition, the pure water nozzle moving area A is entered even when scanning the substrate W (entry area a2). Therefore, the operator may set the interference area Ai so as to include these entry areas a1 and a2, for example. For example, a sector-shaped area as shown in FIG. 4 can be set as the interference area Ai.

<Movement start timing control unit 414>
Refer to FIG. 3 again. The movement start timing control unit 414 instructs the development nozzle drive control unit 415 described later to start moving the development nozzle 21 from the standby position T21 to the discharge start position S21 at a predetermined timing. Specifically, the position of the pure water nozzle 130 is monitored when the pure water nozzle 130 that has completed the discharge process of pure water moves from the processing position S130 to the retracted position T130. Then, when it is confirmed that the pure water nozzle 130 has moved out of the interference area Ai specified by the interference area specifying unit 413, an instruction to start moving the developing nozzle 21 is given to the developing nozzle drive control unit 415.

<Developing nozzle drive control unit 415>
The development nozzle drive control unit 415 controls the Y-axis drive mechanism 23 and the Z-axis drive mechanism 24 to move the development nozzle 21. How the developing nozzle drive control unit 415 moves the developing nozzle 21 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

  After the developer supply process for a certain substrate W (for example, the substrate W held by the rotation holding unit 11 of the third processing set SD3) is finished, another substrate W (for example, the rotation holding unit 11 of the second processing set SD2) is finished. When the developer discharge supply process is performed on the substrate W held on the substrate (hereinafter referred to as “processing target substrate W”), the developing nozzle drive control unit 415 moves the developing nozzle 21 by the following control.

  First, the developing nozzle drive control unit 415 acquires the position information of the standby position T21 for the processing target substrate W from the standby position specifying unit 412 and moves the developing nozzle 21 to the standby position T21. Specifically, first, the Z-axis drive mechanism 24 is controlled to raise the developing nozzle 21 on the discharge travel surface H2 to the travel travel surface H1 (AR1). Then, the Y-axis drive mechanism 23 is controlled to cause the developing nozzle 21 to run along the movement path L1 formed on the movement running surface H1 and to move to the standby position T21 of the processing target substrate W (AR2). However, the movement path L1 is a path formed along the Y direction so as to straddle the development processing sets 10. Then, the developing nozzle 21 is put on standby at this position until an instruction from the movement start timing control unit 414 is received.

  Upon receiving a movement start instruction from the movement start timing control unit 414, the development nozzle drive control unit 415 controls the Z-axis drive mechanism 24 to move the development nozzle 21 waiting at the standby position T21 to the discharge start position S21. Move (AR3).

  When the developing nozzle 21 arrives at the discharge start position S21, the control unit 91 causes the developing solution supply unit 20 to start supplying the developing solution to the developing nozzle 21, and causes the rotation holding unit 11 to start rotating the processing target substrate W. Let On the other hand, the development nozzle drive control unit 415 controls the Y-axis drive mechanism 23 to cause the development nozzle 21 to scan the processing target substrate W along the scanning path L2 formed on the ejection travel surface H2 (AR4). However, the scanning path L2 is a path formed along the radial direction from the center of the substrate W toward the periphery, above the substrate W held by the rotation holding unit 11. As a result, the developer is spirally supplied to the surface of the processing target substrate W.

  When the developing nozzle 21 passes the peripheral edge of the processing target substrate W, the control unit 91 causes the developing solution supply unit 20 to stop supplying the developing solution to the developing nozzle 21 and causes the rotation holding unit 11 to rotate the processing target substrate W. Stop. On the other hand, the development nozzle drive control unit 415 moves the development nozzle 21 to the standby position T21 for the substrate W to be processed next. That is, the Z-axis drive mechanism 24 is controlled to raise the developing nozzle 21 from the discharge travel surface H2 to the travel travel surface H1 (AR5), and the Y-axis drive mechanism 23 is further controlled to travel along the travel path L1. Then, the substrate W to be processed next is moved to the standby position T21 (AR6).

  It should be noted that the developer nozzle 21 needs to be temporarily stored in the pod 30 each time the developer discharge process for one substrate W is finished (for example, every time the developer discharge process for one substrate W is finished). When the lower end of the developing nozzle 21 needs to be cleaned by the cleaning mechanism in the pod 30), the developing nozzle drive control unit 415 discharges the developing nozzle 21 that has completed the discharging process of the developing solution to the processing target substrate W. After raising from the surface H2 to the moving traveling surface H1, the Y-axis drive mechanism 23 is controlled to run along the moving path L1, and corresponds to the pod 30 (the rotation holding unit 11 on which the processing target substrate W has been processed). Move to a position above the pod 30). Then, the developing nozzle 21 is lowered by controlling the Z-axis drive mechanism 24 and stored in the pod 30. When the predetermined processing in the pod 30 is completed, the Z-axis drive mechanism 24 is controlled again to raise the developing nozzle 21 accommodated in the pod 30 to the moving traveling surface H1, and further the Y-axis drive mechanism 23 is It is controlled to run along the movement path L1, and is moved to the standby position T21 for the substrate W to be processed next.

<Pure water nozzle position control unit 42>
Refer to FIG. 3 again. The pure water nozzle position control unit 42 includes an interference area specifying unit 421, a movement start timing control unit 422, and a pure water nozzle drive control unit 423.

<Interference area specifying unit 421>
The interference area specifying unit 421 specifies an interference area Bi between the developing nozzle 21 and the pure water nozzle 130 in the moving area of the developing nozzle 21 (hereinafter referred to as “developing nozzle moving area B”). The interference area Bi is an area including an area (entrance area) in which the pure water nozzle 130 may enter in the developing nozzle movement area B. The interference area Bi is defined by receiving a setting input from an operator, for example. However, the interference area Bi is preferably as small as possible, and is preferably set to coincide with the entry area.

  Please refer to FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a setting example of the interference area Bi. However, FIG. 5A is a plan view of the development processing set 10, and FIG. 5B is a side view of the development processing set 10 viewed from the direction of arrow Q in FIG. 5A. In this embodiment, the processing position S130 of the pure water nozzle 130 is located in the developing nozzle movement area B. Therefore, when the pure water nozzle 130 moves from the retracted position T130 to the processing position S130, the developing nozzle moves. Enter area B (entrance area b). Therefore, for example, the operator may set the interference area Bi so as to include these entry areas b. For example, a rectangular parallelepiped area as shown in FIG. 5 can be set as the interference area Bi.

<Movement start timing control unit 422>
Refer to FIG. 3 again. The movement start timing control unit 422 instructs the pure water nozzle drive control unit 423, which will be described later, to start moving the pure water nozzle 130 from the retracted position T130 to the processing position S130 at a predetermined timing. Specifically, when the developing nozzle 21 discharges the developer, the position of the developing nozzle 21 is monitored. Then, when it is confirmed that the developing nozzle 21 has moved out of the interference area Bi specified by the interference area specifying unit 421, an instruction to start moving the pure water nozzle 130 is given to the pure water nozzle drive control unit 423.

<Pure water nozzle drive control unit 423>
The pure water nozzle drive control unit 423 controls the rotation mechanism 134 to move the pure water nozzle 130. How the pure water nozzle drive control unit 423 moves the pure water nozzle 130 will be described with reference to FIG.

  When performing the pre-wet process with respect to the substrate W, the pure water nozzle drive control unit 423 controls the rotation mechanism 134 to move the pure water nozzle 130 that has been retracted to the retreat position T130 to the process position S130. When the pure water nozzle 130 arrives at the processing position S130, the control unit 91 causes the DIW supply unit 13 to start supplying pure water to the pure water nozzle 130. Thereby, the pre-wet process with respect to the board | substrate W is performed. When the pre-wetting process is completed, the pure water nozzle drive control unit 423 controls the rotation mechanism 134 to move the pure water nozzle 130 again to the retracted position T130. And the pure water nozzle 130 is made to stand by in this position until there is an instruction | indication from the movement start timing control part 422.

  Upon receiving a movement start instruction from the movement start timing control unit 422, the pure water nozzle drive control unit 423 drives and controls the rotation mechanism 134 to move the pure water nozzle 130 waiting at the retreat position T130 to the processing position S130. To move. When the pure water nozzle 130 arrives at the processing position S130, the control unit 91 causes the DIW supply unit 13 to start supplying pure water to the pure water nozzle 130. Thereby, the rinse process with respect to the board | substrate W is performed. When the rinsing process is completed, the pure water nozzle drive control unit 423 controls the rotation mechanism 134 to move the pure water nozzle 130 again to the retracted position T130.

<1-3. Development processing>
In the development processing unit 1, development processing for one substrate W is performed in each of the plurality of development processing sets 10. The flow of processing performed in each development processing set 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7 to 11. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a flow of processing performed in the development processing unit 1. 7 to 11 are diagrams schematically showing the positional relationship between the developing nozzle 21 and the pure water nozzle 130 at each stage of the developing process. 7A is a plan view of the development processing set 10, and FIG. 7B is a side view of the development processing set 10 as viewed from the direction of arrow Q in FIG. 7A. The same applies to FIGS. The following processing is performed by the control unit 91 controlling each component of the development processing unit 1.

  An unillustrated external transport mechanism (for example, the main robot T21) carries the substrate W having the exposed resist film formed on the surface through the opening 101 into the development processing unit 1, and a predetermined development processing set 10 (the substrate) When the substrate W is placed on the rotation holding unit 11 of the development processing set 10) to process W, the development processing for the loaded substrate W is started.

  When the substrate W is placed on the rotation holding unit 11, the control unit 91 causes the rotation holding unit 11 to hold the placed substrate W (step S11).

  Subsequently, the control unit 91 causes the DIW supply unit 13 to discharge and supply a prewetting liquid (pure water in this embodiment) onto the substrate W to perform a prewetting process (step S12).

  This process will be specifically described with reference to FIG. First, the pure water nozzle position controller 42 controls the rotation mechanism 134 to move the pure water nozzle 130 from the retracted position T130 to the processing position S130 (AR11). When the pure water nozzle 130 arrives at the processing position S130, the control unit 91 drops a predetermined amount of pure water as a pre-wet liquid from the pure water nozzle 130 toward the center of the substrate. At this time, the substrate W is rotated on the rotation holding unit 11 at a low speed. As a result, a puddle liquid pool (paddle-like prewet liquid layer) is formed at the center of the substrate surface. As shown in FIG. 4, while the pure water nozzle 130 is discharging and supplying the pre-wet liquid to the substrate W, the developing nozzle position control unit 41 drives and controls the Y-axis drive mechanism 23. Then, the developing nozzle 21 is moved to the standby position T21 specified for the substrate W, and is standby at the position.

  When the prewetting process is completed, the control unit 91 causes the developer supply unit 20 to discharge and supply the developer onto the substrate W (step S13). When the discharge and supply of the developer is completed, the control unit 91 causes the DIW supply unit 13 to discharge and supply the rinse liquid (pure water in this embodiment) to perform the rinse process (step S14).

  These processes will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. First, as shown in FIG. 8, the pure water nozzle position controller 42 controls the rotation mechanism 134 to move the pure water nozzle 130 that has finished discharging the prewet liquid from the processing position S130 to the retracted position T130. (AR12). On the other hand, when the movement start timing control unit 414 confirms that the pure water nozzle 130 has moved out of the interference area Ai, the movement start timing control unit 414 instructs the development nozzle drive control unit 415 to start the movement of the development nozzle 21. In response to this instruction, the development nozzle drive control unit 415 starts moving the development nozzle 21 that has been waiting at the standby position T21 toward the discharge start position S21 (AR13).

  As shown in FIG. 9, when the developing nozzle 21 arrives at the discharge start position S <b> 21, the control unit 91 causes the developing solution supply unit 20 to start supplying the developing solution to the developing nozzle 21 and causes the rotation holding unit 11 to The substrate W is started to rotate. On the other hand, the development nozzle drive control unit 415 controls the Y-axis drive mechanism 23 to cause the development nozzle 21 to travel along the scanning path L2 formed on the ejection travel surface H2 to scan the upper surface of the substrate W ( AR14). Thereby, the developer is spirally supplied to the surface of the substrate W.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 10, when the movement start timing control unit 422 confirms that the developing nozzle 21 that scans the substrate W has moved out of the interference area Bi, the movement start timing control unit 422 sends a pure water nozzle drive control unit 423 a pure water. An instruction is given to start the movement of the water nozzle 130. In response to this instruction, the pure water nozzle drive control unit 423 starts moving the pure water nozzle 130 retracted at the retracted position T130 toward the processing position S130 (AR15).

  As shown in FIG. 11, when the developing nozzle 21 passes the periphery of the processing target substrate W, the control unit 91 causes the developing solution supply unit 20 to stop supplying the developing solution to the developing nozzle 21 and causes the rotation holding unit 11 to The rotation of the processing target substrate W is stopped. Further, the developing nozzle drive control unit 415 moves the developing nozzle 21 to the standby position T21 for the substrate W to be processed next (AR15). On the other hand, as described above, the pure water nozzle drive control unit 423 starts moving the pure water nozzle 130 to the processing position S130 in accordance with an instruction from the movement start timing control unit 422. As shown in FIG. 11, when the pure water nozzle 130 arrives at the processing position S130, the control unit 91 discharges and supplies a predetermined amount of pure water as a rinse liquid from the pure water nozzle 130 toward the substrate. This stops the development reaction on the substrate surface. When the discharge of the rinse liquid is finished, the pure water nozzle drive control unit 423 drives and controls the rotation mechanism 134 again, and moves the pure water nozzle 130 from the processing position S130 to the retracted position T130.

  Refer to FIG. 6 again. When the process of step S14 ends, the control unit 91 rotates the rotation holding unit 11 to scatter the rinsing liquid on the substrate surface by centrifugal force (step S15). Thereby, the drying process of the board | substrate W is performed. However, at this time, the cup 12 is raised and placed at the processing position, and the rinse liquid splashed from the substrate surface is received by the inner surface thereof. When the predetermined time has elapsed, the rotation is stopped.

  When the process of step S15 ends, the control unit 91 causes the rotation holding unit 11 to release the holding state of the substrate W. Then, an external transport mechanism (not shown) carries the substrate W out of the development processing unit 1 through the opening 101.

<1-4. effect>
According to the above configuration, the movement path (movement path L1) when the development nozzle 21 moves between the plurality of development processing sets 10 is formed outside the movement area (pure water nozzle movement area A) of the pure water nozzle 130. The Therefore, the development nozzle 21 can be freely moved between the development processing sets 10 regardless of the position of the pure water nozzle 130. Further, the pure water nozzle 130 can be freely moved even while the developing nozzle 21 is moving between the development processing sets 10. As a result, it is possible to improve both the operating rates of the developing nozzle 21 and the pure water nozzle 130 and improve the throughput of the developing process.

  Further, according to the above configuration, the standby position T21 for waiting the developing nozzle 21 is set to a position that can be reached only by movement along one drive axis to the discharge start position S21. Therefore, discharge starts from the standby position T21. The time required for the movement to the position S21 can be shortened. That is, the time from when the pure water nozzle 130 moves outside the interference area Ai to when the developing nozzle 21 arrives at the discharge start position S21 can be shortened.

  Further, according to the above configuration, when the interference areas Ai and Bi are defined in the movement areas of the nozzles 21 and 130, respectively, and when one nozzle moves outside the interference area defined in the movement area of the nozzles. Then, the movement of the other nozzle is started. According to this configuration, since the nozzles do not interfere with each other, the nozzles can be safely replaced. In addition, the nozzles can be quickly replaced as compared with the configuration in which the movement of the other nozzle is started after one nozzle arrives at the retracted position. The effect of improving the throughput of the processing unit can be obtained by reducing the time required to replace the nozzles.

  For example, since the movement of the developing nozzle 21 is started when the pure water nozzle 130 moves outside the interference area Ai defined in the movement area (pure water nozzle movement area A), the developing nozzle 21 is quickly moved. The developing nozzle 21 can be replaced. Accordingly, the supply timing of the developer is not delayed, and the developer can be supplied to the substrate surface before the surface tension of the pre-wet liquid pool formed on the substrate is broken and spread like a beard. It becomes. This makes it possible to spread the developer uniformly over the entire substrate surface and prevent the occurrence of defects.

  Further, for example, since the movement of the pure water nozzle 130 is started when the developing nozzle 21 moves outside the interference area Bi defined in the moving region (developing nozzle moving area B), the pure water nozzle 130 is quickly moved. The developing nozzle 21 can be replaced. Accordingly, the supply timing of the rinse liquid is not delayed, and the rinse liquid can be discharged and supplied before the developer accumulated on the substrate is dried. This prevents the occurrence of defects.

  In the above-described configuration, the retreat position T130 of the pure water nozzle 130 is provided at a position outside the cup 12 that is removed from above the substrate W in plan view. However, the present invention is not limited to this. When the rinsing liquid is supplied from the pure water nozzle 130 after the developing solution is supplied to the substrate W by the nozzle 21, it is located above the substrate W in plan view and is out of the interference area Bi with the developing nozzle 21. You may make it provide the retracting position T130 of the pure water nozzle 130 in a position. In this way, the pure water nozzle 130 can be moved to the processing position S130 on the substrate W sooner after the developer is supplied, and the rinsing liquid is more reliably before the developer supplied on the substrate is dried. Can be discharged and supplied.

  Further, in the above configuration, the developer discharge start position S21 of the developing nozzle 21 is set to a position that coincides with the center of the substrate W on the discharge running surface H2, and the standby position of the developing nozzle 21 in order to avoid interference with the pure water nozzle 130. Although T21 is the position that coincides with the center of the substrate W on the moving traveling surface H1, it is not limited to this. That is, when the developer discharge start position from the developing nozzle 21 to the substrate W is performed from the peripheral edge of the substrate W and is moved to the center of the substrate W due to a difference in processing process, the developing solution 21 is supplied. The developer discharge start position S21 is set to a position that coincides with the peripheral edge portion of the substrate W on the discharge running surface H2, and the standby position T21 of the developing nozzle 21 is set to a position that matches the peripheral edge portion of the substrate W on the moving running surface H1, An interference region with the pure water nozzle 130 may be set.

<2. Resist application unit>
<2-1. Constitution>
An overall configuration of a substrate processing unit (resist coating processing unit 2) according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 is a plan view of the resist coating unit 2.

  The resist coating unit 2 performs a resist film coating process on the substrate W. The resist coating processing unit 2 mainly includes a plurality (three in this embodiment) of resist coating processing sets 50 and a resist film material supply unit 60 shared between the resist coating processing sets 50. Prepare. Each resist application processing set 50 is provided along the Y direction in the same processing unit without being partitioned by a partition wall or the like.

  Further, the resist coating unit 2 includes a control unit 92 that controls the operations of these units. The control unit 92 is realized by a CPU that executes various types of processing, a RAM that is a work area for arithmetic processing, a storage medium that stores various types of information such as preset processing recipes, and the like.

<Resist application processing set 50>
The resist coating processing set 50 includes a rotation holding unit 51 that rotatably holds the substrate W, a cup 52 that can be moved up and down around the substrate W held by the rotation holding unit 51, and the rotation holding unit 51. And a processing liquid supply unit 53 for supplying various processing liquids to the held substrate W. That is, the resist coating unit 2 includes three of each of these members 51, 52, and 53.

  The configuration of the rotation holding unit 51 is the same as that of the rotation holding unit 11, and the configuration of the cup 52 is the same as that of the cup 12.

  The processing liquid supply unit 53 is a functional unit that supplies various processing liquids to the upper surface of the substrate W held by the rotation holding unit 51, and is disposed between the rotation holding unit 51 and an opening 501 described later. . However, the processing liquid supply unit 53 is assumed to be at a height that does not interfere with a hand of an external transport mechanism (which will be described later) inserted from the opening 501.

  The processing liquid supply unit 53 includes a discharge nozzle 530 that discharges the processing liquid toward the surface of the substrate W. The discharge nozzle 530 includes an arm 533 extending in the horizontal direction, and a first processing liquid discharge unit 531 and a second processing liquid discharge unit 532 attached to the tip of the arm 533. The 1st process liquid discharge part 531 is connected with the process liquid supply source (illustration omitted) which stored the coating liquid before solvent. Further, the second processing liquid discharge section 532 is connected to a processing liquid supply source (not shown) that stores a rinse liquid for edge rinsing. With this configuration, the discharge nozzle 530 functions as a nozzle for supplying a pre-solvent coating liquid (pre-solvent coating liquid) toward the surface of the substrate W, and rinses for edge rinsing toward the peripheral edge of the substrate W. It also functions as a nozzle (EBR nozzle) that supplies liquid. The arm 533 is attached to the upper end of a rotating shaft 534 extending upward. Further, a rotation mechanism 535 that rotates the rotation shaft 534 is connected. The rotation mechanism 535 is constituted by a rotation motor, for example.

  The rotation mechanism 535 rotates the rotation shaft 534 to move the discharge nozzle 530 to the first processing position S531 (above the center of the substrate W on which the first processing liquid discharge unit 531 is held by the rotation holding unit 51). And a retracted position T530 (a position where the first processing liquid discharge part 531 and the second processing liquid discharge part 532 are placed on the side of the rotation holding part 51). Further, the second processing liquid is moved between the second processing position (the position where the second processing liquid discharge unit 532 is placed above the edge of the substrate W held by the rotation holding unit 51) and the retreat position T530. By discharging the pre-solvent coating liquid from the first processing liquid discharge section 531 at the first processing position S531, the pre-solvent coating liquid can be supplied to the surface of the substrate W held by the rotation holding section 51. In addition, the rinsing liquid can be supplied to the periphery of the substrate W held by the rotation holding unit 51 by discharging the rinsing liquid from the second processing liquid discharge unit 532 at the second processing position S532.

  The rotation mechanism 535 is electrically connected to the control unit 91. The control unit 91 controls the rotation mechanism 535 to switch the position of the discharge nozzle 530 between the first processing position S531 and the retracted position T530 and between the second processing position S532 and the retracted position T530. .

  In addition, it is a housing | casing wall surface of the resist application | coating process unit 2, Comprising: A conveyance space (For example, the conveyance mechanism (For example, it is the main robot T21 mentioned later. The opening 501 for carrying the substrate W in and out of each rotation holding part 51 is formed on the surface on the side of the movement area). That is, the external transport mechanism can access the rotation holding unit 51 corresponding to the opening 501 by inserting the hand from the opening 501.

  In each of the three resist coating processing sets 50, each of the components 51, 52, 53 and the resist film material supply unit 60 shared between the resist coating processing sets 50 are used for one substrate. A resist film coating process is performed. In the following description, when the three resist coating processing sets 50 are particularly distinguished, they are sequentially denoted as a first processing set SC1, a second processing set SC2, and a third processing set SC3 along the + Y direction.

<Resist film material supply unit 60>
The resist film material supply unit 60 is a functional unit that supplies a predetermined resist film material to the surface of the substrate W held by the rotation holding unit 51 included in each resist coating processing set 50. It is arranged at a position opposite to the opening 501.

  The resist film material supply unit 60 includes one or more (for example, eight) resist nozzles 61 that discharge the resist film material toward the substrate W placed on the rotation holding unit 51. The resist nozzle 61 is constituted by, for example, a straight nozzle.

  Each of the eight resist nozzles 61 is connected to a processing liquid supply source (not shown) via a processing liquid supply pipe (not shown). It should be noted that resist film materials having different types and concentrations are respectively stored in the processing liquid supply sources to which the resist nozzles 61 are connected. Accordingly, resist film materials having different types and concentrations can be discharged from each of the one or more resist nozzles 61. The processing liquid supply pipe is configured to be movable so as to allow movement of the resist nozzle 61.

  The eight resist nozzles 61 are placed on a nozzle placement portion 62 disposed on the base portion 63. The base portion 63 is slidably attached to a first lateral guide rail 631 that is disposed horizontally along the direction (Y direction) in which the resist coating processing sets 50 are arranged. The base portion 63 is connected to a base portion drive mechanism 632 that moves the base portion 63 along the first lateral guide rail 631. The base unit driving mechanism 632 is electrically connected to the control unit 92.

  The controller 92 controls the base drive mechanism 632 to move the base 63 along the first lateral guide rail 631 (that is, along the Y direction) (AR63). Thereby, the base part 63 is moved to a position facing any resist coating processing set 50 among the plurality of resist coating processing sets 50. However, the first horizontal guide rail 631, which is a movement path when the resist nozzle 61 is moved between the resist coating processing sets 50, is a moving area of the processing liquid supply unit 53 (the discharge nozzle 530 is moved to the first processing position S531, the second processing position S531). This is an area where the discharge nozzle 530 moves when moving between the processing position S532 and the retreat position T530, and is hereinafter referred to as a “processing liquid supply unit moving area C”) (the casing of the resist coating processing unit 2). Of the wall surfaces, when the surface on which the opening 501 is formed is the front surface, it is formed on the rear side of the housing of the processing liquid supply unit moving area C). More specifically, the processing liquid supply unit moving area C is on the rear side of the casing, and the base unit 63 moving along the first horizontal guide rail 631 does not interfere with the processing liquid supply unit moving area C. It is formed at a position separated from. This eliminates the need to consider interference with the discharge nozzle 530 when the resist nozzle 61 is moved between the resist coating processing sets 50.

  On the base portion 63, the above-described eight resist nozzles 61 are placed adjacently along a predetermined direction (here, the Y direction), and placed on the nozzle placement portion 62. A gripping portion 64 that grips and moves the placed resist nozzle 61 is disposed.

  The nozzle mounting portion 62 is slidably attached to a second lateral guide rail 621 disposed horizontally on the base portion 63 along the direction (Y direction) in which the resist nozzles 61 are arranged. In addition, the nozzle mounting portion 62 is connected to a nozzle mounting portion driving mechanism 622 that moves the nozzle mounting portion 62 along the second lateral guide rail 621. The nozzle placement unit drive mechanism 622 is electrically connected to the control unit 92.

  The control unit 92 controls the nozzle mounting unit drive mechanism 622 to move the nozzle mounting unit 62 along the second horizontal guide rail 621 (that is, along the Y direction on the base unit 63), Any resist nozzle 61 among the eight resist nozzles 61 can be moved directly below the center of the beam portion of the support portion 641 described later (AR62). As a result, an arbitrary resist nozzle 61 among the eight resist nozzles 61 can be held by the pickup unit 643 described later.

  The grip portion 64 includes a gate-shaped support portion 641 fixed on the base portion 63 so as to straddle the nozzle placement portion 62, and an extendable grip arm 642 attached to the center of the beam portion of the support portion 641. A pickup unit 643 attached to the tip of the grip arm 642. Connected to the grip arm 642 is a first drive mechanism 644 that expands and contracts along the vertical direction and a second drive mechanism 645 that expands and contracts along the horizontal direction (X direction) perpendicular to the lateral guide rail 621. Has been. The drive mechanisms 644 and 645 are electrically connected to the control unit 92.

  The control unit 92 controls the first drive mechanism 644 to expand and contract the grip arm 642 along the Z direction, thereby causing the pickup unit 643 to move to the beam portion center position (origin position) of the support unit 641 and the nozzle mounting. It moves between the height position (pickup position) of the resist nozzle 61 mounted on the mounting portion 62. The eight registration nozzles placed on the nozzle placement part 62 are lowered by lowering the pickup part 643 from the origin position to the pickup position, gripping the resist nozzle 61 located immediately below, and raising it again to the origin position. Of the 61, the resist nozzle 61 positioned immediately below the origin position can be picked up by the pickup unit 643. Further, the pick-up portion 643 holding the resist nozzle 61 is lowered from the origin position to the pick-up position, and the resist nozzle 61 holding the pick-up position is released, so that the resist nozzle 61 held is mounted on the nozzle. It can be placed on the placement part 62.

  Further, the control unit 92 controls the second drive mechanism 645 to expand and contract the grip arm 642 along the X direction. Accordingly, the pickup unit 643 is positioned above the center of the origin position and the substrate W (that is, the substrate W held by the rotation holding unit 51 of the resist coating processing set 50 where the nozzle mounting unit 62 is located at the opposite position). (AR642). When the pickup portion 643 is placed at the upper center position of the substrate W, the resist nozzle 61 held by the pickup portion 643 is placed at a processing position S61 described later. The resist film material can be supplied onto the upper surface of the substrate W by discharging the resist film material from the resist nozzle 61 at the processing position S61.

<2-2. Position control of resist nozzle 61>
Next, the position control of the resist nozzle 61 will be specifically described with reference to FIG. FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a configuration relating to a function for controlling the position of the resist nozzle 61.

  The control unit 92 implements a registration nozzle position control unit 71 that is a functional unit related to the position control of the registration nozzle 61. Further, a discharge nozzle position control unit 72 that is a functional unit that controls the position of the discharge nozzle 530 by controlling the rotation mechanism 535 is realized. These components may be realized by the control unit 92 executing a predetermined program stored in a storage medium or the like, or may be realized by dedicated hardware.

<Registration nozzle position controller 71>
The registration nozzle position control unit 71 includes a processing information acquisition unit 711, a standby position specification unit 712, an interference area specification unit 713, a movement start timing control unit 714, and a registration nozzle drive control unit 715.

<Processing information acquisition unit 711>
The processing information acquisition unit 711 stores processing information (resist film coating formation processing information) for each of the substrates W scheduled to be carried into the resist coating unit 2 (for example, a computer electrically connected to the controller 92 (for example, , Obtained from “main controller 199” (see FIG. 24) of “substrate processing apparatus 100” described later. The resist film coating formation processing information is information that defines what processing is performed at which position on each substrate W in the resist coating processing unit 2, and in particular, each substrate W is set to the first processing set SC1. , Information for specifying which of the second processing set SC2 and the third processing set SC3 is to be processed (resist coating processing set information) is included. In addition, information (recipe information) that specifically defines what processing is performed on each substrate W is included. As described above, since the resist film materials having different types and concentrations are discharged from each of the eight resist nozzles 61, it is necessary to select the resist nozzle 61 according to the type of the resist film material to be used for the processing. There is. Therefore, as the recipe information, information that specifies which of the eight resist nozzles 61 included in the resist film material supply unit 60 is to be used for processing the substrate W is included.

<Standby position specifying unit 712>
The standby position specifying unit 712 performs a resist film material discharge process on the substrate W for each of the substrates W scheduled to be carried into the resist coating unit 2 based on the processing information acquired by the processing information acquisition unit 711. The position (standby position T61) where the resist nozzle 61 is waited for is specified.

  In specifying the standby position T61, the standby position specifying unit 712 first, for each of the substrates W scheduled to be carried into the resist coating unit 2, the resist nozzle 61 discharges the resist film material to the substrate W. (Processing position S61) is specified. Specifically, first, a processing set for processing the substrate W is specified from the resist coating processing set information acquired by the processing information acquisition unit 711. Then, the position directly above the center of the substrate held by the rotation holding unit 51 of the specified processing set is specified as the processing position S61 for the substrate W.

  When the processing position S61 is specified, the standby position specifying unit 712 sets the perpendicular intersection where the perpendicular line dropped from the specified processing position S61 to the first horizontal guide rail 631 intersects the first horizontal guide rail 631 to the substrate W. Is identified as a standby position T61. As described above, the control unit 92 extends the gripping arm 642 in a direction perpendicular to the first lateral guide rail 631 (+ X direction) in a state where the registration nozzle 61 is gripped by the pickup unit 643, thereby picking up the pickup unit 643. The resist nozzle 61 held by the nozzle is moved to the processing position S61. Here, the position of the registration nozzle 61 held by the pickup unit 643 (that is, the pickup unit 643 at the origin position) immediately before extending the holding arm 642 in the + X direction becomes the standby position T61.

  For example, it is assumed that the resist coating processing set 50 for processing a certain substrate W is designated by the resist coating processing set information as “third processing set SC3”. In this case, the standby position specifying unit 712 specifies the position directly above the center of the substrate held by the rotation holding unit 51 of the third processing set SC3 as the processing position S61 for the substrate W, as shown in FIG. To do. Then, a perpendicular intersection point where the perpendicular line dropped from the processing position S61 to the first horizontal guide rail 631 intersects the first horizontal guide rail 631 is specified as the standby position T61 for the substrate W.

  As described above, the first lateral guide rail 631 is formed outside the processing liquid supply unit moving area C. Since the standby position T61 is set on the first lateral guide rail 631, regardless of the position of the discharge nozzle 530 (that is, the discharge nozzle 530 is in the first processing position S531, the second processing position S532). The resist nozzle 61 is moved between the resist coating processing sets 50 and moved to a predetermined standby position T61 without considering the interference with the discharge nozzle 530 (even during any of the above). Can do. Moreover, it can be made to wait there.

  Further, the standby position T61 and the processing position S61 indicate that the resist nozzle 61 has an X of the plurality of drive shafts (drive shafts along the X direction, the Y direction, and the Z direction in this embodiment). It is in a positional relationship that can be reached by moving only the drive shaft along the direction. That is, the control unit 92 controls the second drive mechanism 645 and moves the registration nozzle 61 at the standby position T61 to the processing position S61 only by extending the gripping arm 642 in the + X direction (AR642). Can be made.

<Interference area specifying unit 713>
The interference area specifying unit 713 specifies an interference area Ci between the resist nozzle 61 and the discharge nozzle 530 in the processing liquid supply unit moving area C. The interference area Ci is an area including an area (entrance area) in which the resist nozzle 61 may enter in the processing liquid supply unit moving area C. The interference area Ci is defined by receiving a setting input from an operator, for example. However, the interference area Ci is preferably as small as possible, and is preferably set to coincide with the entry area.

  Refer to FIG. FIG. 14 is a plan view of the resist coating treatment set 50, showing an example of setting the interference area Ci. In this embodiment, as described above, the resist nozzle 61 moves along the first horizontal guide rail 631 disposed outside the processing liquid supply unit moving area C when moving between the resist coating processing sets 50. Therefore, the resist nozzle 61 does not enter the processing liquid supply unit moving area C when moving between the resist coating processing sets 50 (see FIG. 1). Therefore, the moving area at this time does not form an entry area. On the other hand, since the processing position S61 of the resist nozzle 61 is located in the processing liquid supply part moving area C, the resist nozzle 61 enters the processing liquid supply part moving area C when moving from the standby position T61 to the processing position S61. (Entrance area c). Therefore, the operator may set the interference area Ci so as to include the entry area c, for example. For example, a sector-shaped area as shown in FIG. 14 can be set as the interference area Ci.

<Movement start timing control unit 714>
Refer to FIG. 13 again. The movement start timing control unit 714 instructs a registration nozzle drive control unit 715 (described later) to start moving the registration nozzle 61 from the standby position T61 to the processing position S61 at a predetermined timing. Specifically, the position of the discharge nozzle 530 is monitored when the discharge nozzle 530 that has finished discharging the pre-solvent coating liquid moves from the first processing position S531 to the retracted position T530. Then, when it is confirmed that the ejection nozzle 530 has moved out of the interference area Ci specified by the interference area specifying unit 713, the registration nozzle drive control unit 715 is instructed to start moving the registration nozzle 61.

<Registration nozzle drive control unit 715>
The resist nozzle drive control unit 715 controls each drive mechanism provided in the resist film material supply unit 60 to move the resist nozzle 61. How the resist nozzle drive control unit 715 moves the resist nozzle 61 will be described with reference to FIG.

  After the resist film material is discharged and supplied to a certain substrate W, the resist for another substrate W (for example, a substrate W (hereinafter referred to as a “processing target substrate W”) held by the rotation holding unit 51 of the third processing set SC3). When performing the film material discharge supply process, the resist nozzle drive control unit 715 moves the resist nozzle 61 by the following control.

  First, the resist nozzle drive control unit 715, based on the processing information about the substrate W1 acquired by the processing information acquisition unit 711, among the eight resist nozzles 61 provided in the resist film material supply unit 60, A resist nozzle 61 (hereinafter referred to as “selected resist nozzle 61”) to be used for the processing is specified.

  Subsequently, the registration nozzle drive control unit 715 acquires the position information of the standby position T61 for the processing target substrate W from the standby position specifying unit 712, and moves the processing registration nozzle 61 to the standby position T61. Specifically, the base unit driving mechanism 632 is controlled to make the base unit 63 a predetermined processing set (a processing set specified by the processing set information as a processing set for processing the processing target substrate W. Here, Move to a position facing the third processing set SC3) (AR61). At the same time, the nozzle placement portion drive mechanism 622 is controlled to place the nozzle so that the selected registration nozzle 61 is located directly below the center of the beam portion of the support portion 641 (that is, directly below the origin position of the pickup portion 643). The placement unit 62 is moved (AR24).

  Subsequently, the registration nozzle drive control unit 715 controls the one drive mechanism 644 to cause the pickup unit 643 to pick up the selected registration nozzle 61. As a result, the selected resist nozzle 61 is placed at the standby position T61 for the processing target substrate W. The registration nozzle drive control unit 715 causes the selected registration nozzle 61 to wait at this position until an instruction from the movement start timing control unit 714 is received.

  Upon receiving a movement start instruction from the movement start timing control unit 714, the registration nozzle drive control unit 715 controls the second drive mechanism 645 to extend the grip arm 642 in the + X direction and waits at the standby position T61. The selected registration nozzle 61 is moved to the processing position S61 (AR642).

  When the selected resist nozzle 61 arrives at the processing position S61, the control unit 92 causes the resist film material supply unit 60 to start supplying the resist film material to the selected resist nozzle 61. As a result, the resist film material is discharged from the resist nozzle 61, and the resist film material is supplied to the surface of the processing target substrate W.

  When a predetermined amount of resist film material is supplied to the processing target substrate W, the control unit 92 causes the resist film material supply unit 60 to stop supplying the resist film material to the selected resist nozzle 61. On the other hand, the resist nozzle drive control unit 715 places the selected resist nozzle 61 on the nozzle placing unit 62, and for the substrate W to be processed next, the resist nozzle 61 to be used for processing the substrate W Move to the standby position T61 for W.

<2-3. Resist film coating process>
In the resist coating unit 2, a resist film coating process is performed on one substrate W in each of the plurality of resist coating sets 50. The flow of processing performed in each resist coating processing set 50 will be described with reference to FIGS. 15 and 16 to 18. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a flow of processing performed in the resist coating processing unit 2. 16 to 18 are diagrams schematically showing the positional relationship between the resist nozzle 61 and the discharge nozzle 530 in each stage of the resist film coating process. 16 (a) is a plan view of the resist coating treatment set 50, and FIG. 16 (b) is a side view of the resist coating treatment set 50 as viewed from the direction of arrow Q in FIG. 16 (a). The same applies to FIGS. 17 to 18. The following process is performed by the control unit 92 controlling each component of the resist coating unit 2.

  An external transfer mechanism (not shown) (for example, the main robot T21) carries the substrate W into the resist coating unit 2 through the opening 501 and a predetermined resist coating processing set 50 (a resist coating processing set for processing the substrate W). 50), the resist film coating and forming process for the loaded substrate W is started.

  When the substrate W is placed on the rotation holding unit 51, the control unit 92 causes the rotation holding unit 51 to hold the placed substrate W (step S21).

  Subsequently, the control unit 92 causes the processing liquid supply unit 53 to discharge and supply the solvent pre-coating liquid onto the substrate W to perform the solvent pre-coating process (step S22).

  This process will be specifically described with reference to FIG. First, the discharge nozzle position controller 72 controls the rotation mechanism 535 to move the discharge nozzle 530 from the retracted position T530 to the first processing position S531 (AR21). When the discharge nozzle 530 arrives at the first processing position S531, the control unit 92 causes a predetermined amount of the solvent pre-application liquid to be dropped from the first processing liquid discharge unit 531 toward the center of the substrate. Then, the rotation holding unit 51 rotates the substrate W at a predetermined speed. Thereby, the solvent pre-coating liquid is supplied to the entire substrate surface. As shown in FIG. 16, while the discharge nozzle 530 is discharging and supplying the pretreatment liquid to the substrate W, the resist nozzle position control unit 71 includes each drive mechanism of the resist film material supply unit 60. And a predetermined resist nozzle 61 (which is a resist nozzle 61 to be used for processing the substrate W, hereinafter referred to as “selected resist nozzle 61”) is moved to the standby position T61 specified for the substrate W, Waiting at this position.

  When the supply process of the pre-solvent coating solution is completed, the control unit 92 causes the resist film material supply unit 60 to discharge and supply a predetermined resist film material onto the substrate W (step S23).

  This process will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. First, as shown in FIG. 17, the control unit 92 drives and controls the rotation mechanism 535 to move the discharge nozzle 530 that has finished discharging the pre-solvent coating liquid from the first processing position S531 to the retracted position T530 ( AR22). On the other hand, when the movement start timing control unit 714 confirms that the ejection nozzle 530 has moved out of the interference area Ci, the movement start timing control unit 714 instructs the registration nozzle drive control unit 715 to start moving the processing registration nozzle 61. In response to this instruction, the registration nozzle drive control unit 715 starts moving the selected registration nozzle 61 that has been waiting at the standby position T61 toward the processing position S61 (AR23).

  As shown in FIG. 18, when the selected resist nozzle 61 arrives at the processing position S61, the controller 92 causes the resist film material supply unit 60 to drop the resist film material from the selected resist nozzle 61 toward the substrate. Thus, a resist film is applied and formed on the surface of the substrate W. When the resist film material discharge supply process for the substrate W is completed, the resist nozzle drive control unit 715 controls the second drive mechanism 645 and the first drive mechanism 644 to place the selected resist nozzle 61 on the nozzle placement unit 62. Place it in place. Further, the resist nozzle 61 to be used for processing the substrate W to be processed next is moved to the standby position T61 for the substrate W.

  Refer to FIG. 15 again. When the process of step S23 ends, the control unit 92 causes the processing liquid supply unit 53 to perform an edge rinse process (step S24). Specifically, the discharge nozzle position control unit 72 controls the rotation mechanism 535 to move the discharge nozzle 530 from the retracted position T530 to the second processing position S532. When the discharge nozzle 530 arrives at the second processing position S532, the control unit 92 causes the edge processing rinse liquid to be discharged from the second processing liquid discharge unit 532 toward the peripheral edge of the substrate W. As a result, the rinsing liquid is supplied near the periphery of the substrate W, and the resist film formed in the region having a predetermined width from the periphery of the substrate W is removed.

  When the process of step S24 ends, the control unit 92 causes the rotation holding unit 51 to release the holding state of the substrate W. Then, an external transport mechanism (not shown) carries the substrate W out of the resist coating unit 2 through the opening 501.

<2-4. effect>
According to the above configuration, the movement path (first horizontal guide rail 631) when the resist nozzle 61 moves between the plurality of resist coating processing sets 50 is the movement area (processing liquid supply part movement area C) of the discharge nozzle 530. Arranged outside. Therefore, the resist nozzle 61 can be freely moved between the resist application processing sets 50 regardless of the position of the discharge nozzle 530. Further, even when the resist nozzle 61 is moving between the resist coating processing sets 50, the discharge nozzle 530 can be freely moved. Thereby, it is possible to improve both the operation rates of the resist nozzle 61 and the discharge nozzle 530.

  Further, according to the above configuration, the standby position T61 for waiting the registration nozzle 61 is set to a position that can be reached only by movement along one drive axis to the processing position S61. Therefore, from the standby position T61 to the processing position S61. The time required to move to can be shortened. That is, it is possible to shorten the time from when the discharge nozzle 530 moves outside the interference area S3 to when the registration nozzle 61 arrives at the processing position S61.

  Further, according to the above configuration, the interference area Ci is defined in the movement area (processing liquid supply part movement area C) of the discharge nozzle 530, and when the discharge nozzle 530 moves outside the interference area Ci, the registration nozzle 61 Start moving. According to this configuration, since the discharge nozzle 530 and the resist nozzle 61 do not interfere with each other, the nozzles can be safely replaced. In addition, the nozzles can be quickly replaced as compared with the configuration in which the movement of the resist nozzle 61 is started after the discharge nozzle 530 arrives at the retracted position T530. Accordingly, the supply timing of the resist film material is not delayed, and the resist film material can be discharged and supplied before the solvent pre-coating liquid supplied on the substrate is dried.

  In the above configuration, the perpendicular intersection point where the perpendicular line dropped from the processing position S61 to the first horizontal guide rail 631 intersects the first horizontal guide rail 631 is specified as the standby position T61 of the resist nozzle 61 for the substrate. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a position that is out of the interference area Ci and above the substrate on the vertical line may be specified as the standby position T61 of the resist nozzle 61. In this way, the resist nozzle 61 can be moved to the processing position S61 earlier, and the resist film material can be discharged and supplied before the pre-solvent coating solution supplied onto the substrate dries more reliably. .

<3. Substrate processing equipment>
The development processing unit 1 and the resist coating processing unit 2 described above are mounted, for example, on the substrate processing apparatus 100 in which processing units for performing processing such as coating processing, heat treatment, and development processing on the substrate W are arranged at predetermined positions. The substrate processing apparatus 100 on which the development processing unit 1 and the resist coating processing unit 2 are mounted will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 19 is a plan view schematically showing the overall configuration of the substrate processing apparatus 100. 20, FIG. 21, FIG. 22 and FIG. 23 are longitudinal sectional views of the substrate processing apparatus 100 as seen from the directions of the arrows Q1, Q2, Q3 and Q4 shown in FIG. FIG. 24 is a control block diagram of the substrate processing apparatus 100. FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating a flow of operations repeatedly performed by each of the transport mechanisms included in the substrate processing apparatus 100.

<3-1. Control system>
First, the control system of the substrate processing apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIG. The substrate processing apparatus 100 includes a control unit (first to fourth controllers 191 to 194 and a main controller 199) that controls operations of the respective constituent units 110, 120, and 130, which will be described later, and an operation unit and a display unit that are user interfaces. (Both are not shown). The control unit is also connected to an exposure apparatus EXP disposed adjacent to the substrate processing apparatus 100 through a LAN line (not shown).

  Each of the first controller 191 to the fourth controller 194 and the main controller 199 includes a CPU that executes various processes, a RAM that is a work area for arithmetic processing, and a preset user interface (or an operation unit, a display unit, and the like). This is implemented by a storage medium (for example, a fixed disk) that stores various information such as a processing recipe (processing program) input by an operator via

  The first controller 191 to the fourth controller 194 control each component described later independently of each other. The first controller 191 controls the transport mechanism (ID robot T10) of the ID unit 110. The second controller 192 controls the transport mechanism (main robot T21) of the upper substrate processing row 201 and the processing units provided in the upper substrate processing row 201 (excluding the processing units provided in the PEB processing unit row 211d). The third controller 193 controls the transport mechanism (main robot T21) of the lower substrate processing row 201 and the processing units provided in the lower substrate processing row 201 (excluding the processing units provided in the PEB processing unit row 211d). The fourth controller 194 controls the transport mechanism (PEB robot T31 and IF robot T32) of the IF unit 130 and the processing unit (heat treatment unit P-HP) included in the PEB processing unit row 211d.

  Each of the second controller 192 and the third controller 193 controls the development processing unit 1 and the resist coating processing unit 2 included in the substrate processing row 201. That is, in the substrate processing apparatus 100, each of the controllers 192 and 193 corresponds to the control units 91 and 92 described above.

  The main controller 199 comprehensively controls the four controllers 191 to 194 to perform a series of processing processes (resist application, exposure, heat treatment, development, etching, etc.) performed on the substrate W by the substrate processing apparatus 100. A series of processing processes) is comprehensively managed. Specifically, by controlling the cooperation of a plurality of transport mechanisms T10, T21, T31, and T32 included in the substrate processing apparatus 100, the processing units in which order the substrates W discharged from the ID unit 110, which will be described later, are displayed. (And thus to which processing set) it is managed to carry in. Further, various processing information (for example, development processing information, resist film coating processing information, etc.) is given to each of the four controllers 191 to 194, and specific processing performed on each substrate W in each processing unit. The content of various processes. Further, each transport mechanism is controlled so that the substrate W paid out from the ID unit 110 is carried into each processing unit or the exposure apparatus EXP in the same order as being carried out from the carrier C.

<3-2. Configuration and operation of each part>
Next, the configuration and operation of the substrate processing apparatus 100 will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. The substrate processing apparatus 100 is an apparatus for performing a series of processes such as a coating process, a heat treatment, and a development process on the substrate W before and after the exposure process. The substrate processing apparatus 100 mainly includes an indexer unit (ID unit) 110, a processing unit 120, and an interface (IF unit) 130, and these units 110, 120, and 130 are arranged in this order. Further, an exposure apparatus EXP separate from the substrate processing apparatus 100 is connected to the −Y side of the IF unit 130.

<ID part 110>
The ID unit 110 delivers the substrate W to the carrier C that accommodates a plurality of substrates W. The ID unit 110 includes a carrier mounting table 111 on which a plurality (four in this embodiment) of carriers C are mounted in a row and a mechanism (ID robot) T10 for transporting the substrate W. In addition to the FOUP (front opening unified pod) that stores the substrate W in a sealed space, the carrier C may be an OC (open cassette) that exposes the standard mechanical interface (SMIF) pod or the storage substrate W to the outside air. There may be. The ID robot T10 transports the substrate W between the carrier C mounted on the carrier mounting table 111 and the PASSs 1a and 1b.

  Between the ID unit 110 and the processing unit 120 (more specifically, between the ID unit 110 and each substrate processing row 201 described later), the substrate W between the main robot T21 and the ID robot T10 The placement units (PASS1a, PASS1b) used for delivery are stacked and arranged (see FIGS. 19 and 21).

  Refer to FIG. The ID robot T10 successively transfers the unprocessed substrates accommodated in the carrier C to the PASS 1a. This unprocessed substrate W is received by the main robot T21 via the PASS 1a. Further, the ID robot T10 receives the processed substrate placed on the PASS 1b by the main robot T21 and stores it in the carrier C.

  Although not shown in FIG. 25, in a configuration in which a plurality (two in this case) of substrate processing rows 201 are stacked as in this embodiment (see FIG. 21), the ID The robot T10 sequentially accesses the PASS 1a and PASS 1b provided for each substrate processing row 201.

<Processing unit 120>
The processing unit 120 includes a plurality (two in this embodiment) of substrate processing rows 201 arranged in a stacked manner. The substrate processing row 201 constitutes a processing row connecting the ID unit 110 and the IF unit 130, and is disposed to face each other across the mechanism (main robot T21) for transporting the substrate W and the transport space of the main robot T21. In addition, two processing blocks (a heat treatment block 21 that mainly performs heat treatment on the substrate W and a liquid processing block 22 that mainly performs liquid processing for supplying a predetermined processing liquid to the substrate W) are provided.

  The heat treatment block 21 will be described with reference to FIGS. 19 and 20. The heat treatment block 21 includes a plurality of unit rows 211 arranged adjacent to each other.

  The unit row 211 (first unit row 211a) arranged on the side closest to the ID unit 110 has a plurality of (in this embodiment, five) processing units (specifically, 1). Heat treatment unit P-HP, two adhesion strengthening treatment units P-AHP, and two cooling units CP).

  The heat treatment unit P-HP is a processing unit that heat-processes the substrate W. The temporary placement unit 251 for temporarily placing the substrate W, the hot plate 252 that heat-processes the substrate W, and the temporary placement unit 251. And a local transport mechanism 253 for transporting the substrate W between the hot plate 252 and the hot plate 252. The flow of processing executed here is as follows. When the main robot T21 places the substrate W on the temporary placement unit 251, the local transport mechanism 253 transfers the substrate W from the temporary placement unit 251 to the hot plate 252. Then, the hot plate 252 is heated and the substrate W placed thereon is heat-treated. When the heat treatment is completed, the local transport mechanism 253 again transfers the substrate W from the hot plate to the temporary placement unit 251, and the substrate W placed on the temporary placement unit 251 is taken out by the main robot T21. The temporary placement unit 251 may have a function of cooling the substrate W placed thereon.

  The adhesion strengthening processing unit P-AHP is a processing unit that performs a process (adhesion strengthening process) for improving the adhesion between the substrate surface and the resist film, and is placed on the hot plate that heat-treats the substrate W and the hot plate. Supply means for supplying an adhesion reinforcing agent to the surface of the substrate W. When the main robot T21 places the substrate W on the hot plate, the substrate W is heated by the hot plate. On the other hand, the vaporized adhesion reinforcing agent is discharged and supplied toward the surface of the substrate W. The adhesion reinforcing agent is liquefied on the surface of the substrate W that has been heated, whereby the adhesion reinforcing agent is applied to the surface of the substrate W. When the adhesion strengthening process is completed, the substrate W placed on the hot plate is taken out by the main robot T21.

  The cooling unit CP is a processing unit including a cold plate that cools the substrate W. When the main robot T21 places the substrate W on the cold plate adjusted to a predetermined cooling temperature, heat flows from the substrate W to the cold plate, thereby cooling the substrate W. When the cooling process is completed, the substrate W placed on the cold plate is taken out by the main robot T21.

  The unit row 211 (second unit row 211b) arranged adjacent to the IF unit 130 side of the first unit row 211a includes a plurality of (in this embodiment, five) heat treatment units P-HP arranged in a stacked manner. Is provided.

  The unit row 211 (third unit row 211c) arranged on the IF unit 130 side of the second unit row 211b includes an edge exposure unit EEW that exposes the peripheral portion of the substrate W. On the lower side, a plurality of buffers (feed buffer BF) arranged in a stack may be provided.

  The unit row 211 (PEB processing unit row 211d) arranged on the IF unit 130 side of the third unit row 211c includes a plurality (three in this embodiment) of heat treatment units P-HP arranged in a stacked manner. Prepare. In the heat treatment unit P-HP arranged in the unit row 211d, heat treatment (PEB (post-exposure-bake) processing) performed subsequent to exposure is performed. In addition, a placement unit (feed PASS / return PASS) used for delivery of the substrate W between the main robot T21 and the PEB robot T31 is disposed above the PEB processing unit row 211d.

  The liquid processing block 22 will be described with reference to FIGS. 19 and 22. The liquid processing block 22 includes a plurality of unit rows 221 arranged in a stacked manner.

  The unit row 221 (development unit row 221a) arranged at the uppermost stage includes a plurality (two in this embodiment) of development processing units 1 arranged adjacent to each other. The configuration of the development processing unit 1 and the flow of processing executed here are as described above.

  The unit row 221 (resist unit row 221b) arranged below the developing unit row 2211 includes a plurality (two in this embodiment) of resist coating processing units 2 arranged adjacent to each other. The configuration of the resist coating unit 2 and the flow of processing executed here are as described above.

  Refer to FIG. The main robot T21 moves the unprocessed substrate W received from the ID robot T10 through the PASS 1a along the transfer space while facing each of the processing units provided in the heat treatment block 21 and the liquid processing block 22 Are conveyed in a predetermined order. For example, the cooling unit CP, the adhesion reinforcement processing unit P-AHP, the resist coating processing unit 2, the heat treatment unit P-HP, the cooling unit CP, and the edge exposure unit EEW are conveyed in this order. As a result, a series of processes including a cooling process, an adhesion strengthening process, a resist film coating process, a heating process, a cooling process, and an edge exposure process are performed on the substrate W in this order (before) processing).

  The main robot T21 sends the substrate W taken out from the edge exposure unit EEW (the substrate after pretreatment) and places it on the PASS. This substrate W is received by the PEB robot T31 via the feed PASS.

  Further, the main robot T21 moves the substrate W (the substrate after PEB processing) received from the PEB robot T31 via the return PASS along the transfer space, and each processing unit provided in the heat treatment block 21 and the liquid processing block 22 Then, it is conveyed again in a predetermined order. For example, the development processing unit 1, the heat treatment unit P-HP, and the cooling unit CP are conveyed in this order. As a result, a series of processes including a development process, a heating process, and a cooling process are performed on the substrate W in this order (post-processing).

  The main robot T21 places the substrate W (post-processed substrate) taken out from the cooling unit CP on the PASS 1b. This substrate W is received by the ID robot T10 via the PASS 1b.

<IF unit 130>
The IF unit 130 will be described with reference to FIGS. 19 and 23. The IF unit 130 delivers the substrate W between the processing unit 120 and the exposure apparatus EXP. The IF unit 130 includes two transport mechanisms (PEB robot T31 and IF robot T32) as interface transport mechanisms.

  Between the PEB robot T31 and the IF robot T32, a placement unit (IF feeding PASS, IF returning PASS) used for delivery of the substrate W between these two transport mechanisms is stacked. Further, a buffer BF is arranged below (or above) the IF sending PASS and IF returning PASS. The buffer BF is a processing unit that temporarily stores the substrate W in the apparatus, and can store a plurality of substrates W.

  Refer to FIG. The PEB robot T31 places the substrate W (the preprocessed substrate) received from the main robot T21 via the feed PASS on the IF feed PASS. However, when the substrate W cannot be placed on the IF feed PASS (for example, when the processing speed of the exposure apparatus EXP cannot catch up with the processing speed of the processing unit 120 and the preprocessed substrate W cannot be loaded into the exposure apparatus EXP). The PEB robot T31 temporarily stores the received substrate W in the buffer BF, and after placing the substrate W in the IF feed PASS again, places the substrate W stored in the buffer BF on the IF feed PASS. Go.

  On the other hand, the IF robot T32 receives the substrate W placed on the IF feed PASS and places it on the delivery unit of the exposure apparatus EXP. The pre-processed substrate W placed on the delivery unit of the exposure apparatus EXP is subjected to exposure processing by the exposure apparatus EXP and returned to the delivery unit again.

  The IF robot T32 receives the substrate W (substrate after the exposure processing) placed on the delivery unit of the exposure apparatus EXP and places it on the IF return PASS.

  On the other hand, the PEB robot T31 receives the substrate W placed on the IF return PASS and carries it into the thermal processing unit P-HP arranged in the PEB processing unit row 211d. More specifically, it is placed on the temporary placement part 251 of the heat treatment unit P-HP. The substrate W placed on the temporary placement unit 251 is transferred onto the hot plate 252 by the local transport mechanism 253, and is subjected to heat treatment (PEB treatment). The processed substrate W is again transferred onto the temporary placement unit 251 by the local transport mechanism 253. Thereby, a series of processes of the exposure process and the PEB process are performed on the substrate W in this order.

  In addition, the PEB robot T31 takes out the substrate W (the substrate after the PEB processing) placed on the temporary placement unit 251 of the heat treatment unit P-HP arranged in the PEB processing unit row 211d, and places it on the return PASS. This substrate W is received by the main robot T21 via the return PASS and subjected to post-processing. However, when the substrate W cannot be placed on the return PASS (for example, when trouble occurs in the development processing unit 1 and the unit cannot accept the substrate W), the PEB robot T31 places the taken substrate W in the buffer BF. After the substrate W is temporarily stored and the substrate W can be placed on the return PASS again, the substrate W stored in the buffer BF is placed on the return PASS.

  With the above configuration and operation, a series of processing such as coating processing, heat treatment, development processing, and the like before and after the exposure processing is performed.

<3-3. effect>
In the substrate processing apparatus 100 according to the above embodiment, the operation rate of the two types of nozzles can be improved in the development processing unit 1 and the resist coating processing unit 2. Further, replacement of two types of nozzles (replacement of the development nozzle 21 and the pure water nozzle 130 in the development processing unit 1 and replacement of the discharge nozzle 530 and the resist nozzle 61 in the resist coating processing unit 2) is performed safely and quickly. Can do. Thereby, the overhead time concerning nozzle replacement is shortened, and the throughput of the processing units 1 and 2 is improved. As a result, the high throughput substrate processing apparatus 100 is realized.

<4. Modification>
In the development processing unit 1 according to the above embodiment, pure water is used as the processing liquid used as the pre-wet liquid and the rinsing liquid. However, for example, a solution containing a surfactant other than pure water is used as the processing liquid. It may be adopted. Moreover, you may comprise a pre-wet liquid and a rinse liquid with a different kind of process liquid. In particular, in the latter case, the nozzle for discharging and supplying the pre-wet liquid and the nozzle for discharging and supplying the rinsing liquid may be provided separately without sharing one nozzle.

  Further, the developing nozzle 21 according to the above-described embodiment may be configured by a so-called straight nozzle that discharges the supplied processing liquid to the center of the substrate W as it is. In this case, the developer is dropped from the developing nozzle 21 positioned above the center of the substrate W, and at the same time, the substrate W is rotated at a high speed by the rotation holding unit 11. Then, the pre-wet liquid pool formed by the pre-wet process and the developer are mixed and spread over the entire substrate surface. In this state, the substrate W may be kept stationary for a predetermined time and the development reaction of the substrate surface may be advanced.

  Although the number of the development processing sets 10 included in the development processing unit 1 according to the above-described embodiment and the number of the resist coating processing sets 50 included in the resist coating processing unit 2 are all three, all the numbers are three. Not limited to individual.

  Further, in the above, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a processing unit that performs development processing and a processing unit that performs resist film coating processing has been described. However, the present invention performs processing using a plurality of nozzles. It is applicable to various processing units to be performed.

  Further, the unit configuration and arrangement of the heat treatment block 21 and the liquid treatment block 22 included in the substrate processing apparatus 100 according to the above embodiment are not limited to those described above. Further, the number of development processing units 1 and resist coating processing units 2 included in the liquid processing block 22 is not limited to four.

  In the above embodiment, the exposure apparatus EXP is disposed adjacent to the substrate processing apparatus 100. However, various other apparatuses may be disposed adjacent to each other.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Development processing unit 2 Resist coating processing unit 10 Development processing set 11,51 Rotation holding part 13 DIW supply part 20 Developer supply part 21 Development nozzle 22 Horizontal guide rail 23 Y-axis drive mechanism 24 Z-axis drive mechanism 30 Pod 41 Development nozzle Position control unit 42 Pure water nozzle position control unit 50 Resist application processing set 53 Processing liquid supply unit 60 Resist film material supply unit 61 Resist nozzle 62 Nozzle placement unit 63 Base unit 64 Grip units 91 and 92 Control unit 130 Pure water nozzle 411 Processing information acquisition unit 412 Standby position specifying unit 413, 421 Interference area specifying unit 414, 422 Movement start timing control unit 415 Development nozzle drive control unit 423 Pure water nozzle drive control unit 530 Discharge nozzle 531 First treatment liquid discharge unit 532 Second Processing Liquid Discharge Unit 535 Rotation Mechanism 100 Substrate Processing Apparatus A Pure water nozzle moving area B Developing nozzle moving area C Processing liquid supply unit moving area Ai, Bi, Ci Interference area H1 Moving traveling surface H2 Discharge traveling surface W Substrate

Claims (8)

A substrate processing unit for performing a predetermined process on a substrate,
A plurality of processing sets each for executing the predetermined processing on one substrate;
A first nozzle that is shared among the plurality of processing sets and supplies a first processing liquid to the substrate;
A nozzle drive mechanism for moving the first nozzle between the plurality of processing sets by moving the first nozzle along an inter-set movement path formed between the plurality of processing sets;
With
Each of the plurality of processing sets is
Holding means for holding the substrate;
A second nozzle for discharging and supplying a second processing liquid to the substrate held by the holding means;
With
The inter-set movement path is formed outside the movement area of the second nozzle,
The first nozzle moved along the movement path between the sets moves outside the movement area of the second nozzle;
The plurality of treatment sets are arranged in a line in a horizontal plane;
The movement path between the sets is defined in a horizontal plane,
The first nozzle, the movement along the said set between movement path, the second a position outside the movement area of the nozzle, the position before SL set the first nozzle starts discharging the predetermined processing liquid A substrate processing unit, wherein the substrate processing unit moves to a position overlapped when viewed in a direction orthogonal to the intermediate movement path. The substrate processing unit according to claim 1,
The substrate processing unit, wherein the first nozzle is a nozzle for discharging and supplying a developing solution, and the second nozzle is a nozzle for discharging and supplying a processing solution for rinsing. The substrate processing unit according to claim 1 or 2,
The substrate processing unit, wherein the movement path between sets is formed above a movement area of the second nozzle. The substrate processing unit according to claim 1,
The substrate processing unit, wherein the first nozzle is a nozzle for discharging and supplying a resist film material, and the second nozzle is a nozzle for discharging and supplying a processing liquid related to a solvent pre-coating process. The substrate processing unit according to claim 4,
Of the housing wall surface of the substrate processing unit, the surface on which the opening for carrying the substrate in and out of the substrate processing unit is formed as a front surface, and the movement path between the sets is a movement area of the second nozzle. A substrate processing unit formed on the back side of the housing. A substrate processing apparatus that is arranged adjacent to a predetermined external device and performs a series of processing on a substrate,
A processing unit including one or more substrate processing units each performing predetermined processing on a substrate, and a main transport mechanism that transports the substrates to the one or more substrate processing units in a predetermined order;
An interface transport mechanism for transporting a substrate between the processing unit and the external device;
With
Any of the one or more substrate processing units is
A plurality of processing sets each for executing the predetermined processing on one substrate;
A first nozzle that is shared among the plurality of processing sets and supplies a first processing liquid to the substrate;
A nozzle drive mechanism for moving the first nozzle between the plurality of processing sets by moving the first nozzle along an inter-set movement path formed between the plurality of processing sets;
With
Each of the plurality of processing sets is
Holding means for holding the substrate;
A second nozzle for discharging and supplying a second processing liquid to the substrate held by the holding means;
With
The inter-set movement path is formed outside the movement area of the second nozzle,
The first nozzle moved along the movement path between the sets moves outside the movement area of the second nozzle;
The plurality of treatment sets are arranged in a line in a horizontal plane;
The movement path between the sets is defined in a horizontal plane,
The first nozzle, the movement along the said set between movement path, the second a position outside the movement area of the nozzle, the position before SL set the first nozzle starts discharging the predetermined processing liquid A substrate processing apparatus, wherein the substrate processing apparatus moves to an overlapping position when viewed along a direction orthogonal to the intermediate movement path.   A substrate processing unit for performing a predetermined process on a substrate,
  A plurality of processing sets each for executing the predetermined processing on one substrate;
  A first nozzle that is shared among the plurality of processing sets and supplies a first processing liquid to the substrate;
  A nozzle drive mechanism for moving the first nozzle between the plurality of processing sets by moving the first nozzle along an inter-set movement path formed between the plurality of processing sets;
With
  Each of the plurality of processing sets is
  Holding means for holding the substrate;
  A second nozzle for discharging and supplying a second processing liquid to the substrate held by the holding means;
With
  The inter-set movement path is formed outside the movement area of the second nozzle,
  The plurality of treatment sets are arranged in a line in a horizontal plane;
  The movement path between the sets is defined in a horizontal plane,
  By the movement of the first nozzle along the inter-set movement path, the position where the first nozzle starts to discharge the predetermined processing liquid and the position where the first nozzle overlaps when viewed along the direction orthogonal to the inter-set movement path Move and
  The substrate processing unit, wherein the movement path between sets is formed above a movement area of the second nozzle.   A substrate processing apparatus that is arranged adjacent to a predetermined external device and performs a series of processing on a substrate,
  A processing unit including one or more substrate processing units each performing predetermined processing on a substrate, and a main transport mechanism that transports the substrates to the one or more substrate processing units in a predetermined order;
  An interface transport mechanism for transporting a substrate between the processing unit and the external device;
With
  Any of the one or more substrate processing units is
  A plurality of processing sets each for executing the predetermined processing on one substrate;
  A first nozzle that is shared among the plurality of processing sets and supplies a first processing liquid to the substrate;
  A nozzle drive mechanism for moving the first nozzle between the plurality of processing sets by moving the first nozzle along an inter-set movement path formed between the plurality of processing sets;
With
  Each of the plurality of processing sets is
  Holding means for holding the substrate;
  A second nozzle for discharging and supplying a second processing liquid to the substrate held by the holding means;
With
  The inter-set movement path is formed outside the movement area of the second nozzle,
  The plurality of treatment sets are arranged in a line in a horizontal plane;
  The movement path between the sets is defined in a horizontal plane,
  By the movement of the first nozzle along the inter-set movement path, the position where the first nozzle starts to discharge the predetermined processing liquid and the position where the first nozzle overlaps when viewed along the direction orthogonal to the inter-set movement path Move and
  The substrate processing apparatus, wherein the movement path between sets is formed above a movement area of the second nozzle.

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