JP6142839B2 - Liquid processing method, liquid processing apparatus, storage medium - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid processing method for performing liquid processing on a substrate, a liquid processing apparatus, and a storage medium including a computer program used in the liquid processing apparatus.

  In the semiconductor manufacturing process, when supplying various processing liquids to a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as a wafer) as a substrate, the liquid supplied to the central part of the wafer is transferred to the peripheral part of the wafer by the centrifugal force of the rotation of the wafer. A technique called spin coating is used. In order to improve the wettability of the processing liquid on the wafer surface and reduce the amount of use, prewetting may be performed in which the surface of the wafer is wetted with a processing liquid for pretreatment in advance. In this prewetting, the pretreatment liquid (hereinafter referred to as prewetting liquid) is placed at the center of the wafer in a state where the rotation of the wafer is stopped or the wafer is rotated at a relatively low number of revolutions. A so-called paddle is formed. Then, the wafer is rotated at a relatively high rotational speed, and the prewetting liquid forming the paddle is spin-coated.

  By the way, after performing pre-wetting as described above on a wafer having a resist pattern formed on its surface, a processing liquid for liquid processing may be supplied. FIG. 35 shows a schematic diagram of the wafer W in such a state that the paddle of the prewetting liquid 11 is formed. A large number of grooves 12 are formed in the vertical and horizontal directions of the wafer W as the resist pattern. Each region partitioned by the groove 12 is a formation region 13 of a chip constituting a semiconductor device.

  When the water repellency of the resist film is low, even if the pattern is formed in this way, the paddle of the prewetting liquid 11 supplied to the central portion of the wafer W spreads from the central portion with high uniformity in the circumferential direction. As shown in FIG. In this case, when the rotational speed of the wafer W is increased in order to perform the spin coating, a highly uniform amount of the prewetting liquid 11 is supplied toward the peripheral portion of the wafer W in the circumferential direction. Can be wet.

  However, when the resist film has high water repellency, there is a possibility that a circular paddle cannot be formed. More specifically, in order for the prewetting liquid 11 that has flowed from one chip formation region 13 to the groove 12 to move onto the adjacent chip formation region 13, the step must be overcome, and the step is formed. The water repellency of the wall surface of the resist film is high. Accordingly, when the prewetting liquid 11 supplied to the center portion of the wafer W flows to a position deviated from the center portion due to a fine inclination of the wafer W or the like, it flows from that position along one arrangement direction of the chip formation region. It is difficult to spread from this arrangement direction to other directions. FIG. 36 shows a paddle formed in such a manner that the prewetting liquid 11 flows in the arrangement direction and is biased. In the frame of the dotted line, the groove 12 near the interface of the paddle and the chip formation region 13 are shown enlarged.

  Although increasing the supply amount of the pre-wetting liquid 11 can be considered to prevent such a bias, the pre-wetting liquid 11 is more likely to flow in the direction in which the water repellency has been lowered by being already wet on the wafer W. Similarly, the liquid flow of the prewetting liquid 11 is limited by the unevenness of the pattern and the water repellency, and it is difficult for the prewetting liquid 11 to spread in the other direction from the arrangement direction. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 11 flows, and the shape of the paddle may be further biased when viewed from the center of the wafer W in the circumferential direction.

  If spin coating is performed in a state where the paddle is formed as shown in FIGS. 36 and 37, the prewetting liquid 11 is not supplied to the wafer W or a portion where the supply amount is insufficient is generated. There is a fear. As a result, a portion of the processing liquid that is spin-coated after pre-wetting may not be supplied or a portion with a small supply amount may be generated.

  As described above, since the shape of the paddle of the prewetting liquid 11 is affected by the pattern, the size of the chip formation region 13 may affect the degree of deviation of the paddle. Although not shown in each figure, a resist pattern is also formed in the chip formation region 13, so that the pattern in the formation region 13 may bias the paddle shape. In order to prevent the occurrence of processing defects due to such a pattern, it is necessary to increase the supply amount of the prewetting liquid and the supply amount of the processing liquid.

  Patent Documents 1 and 2 describe a technique for supplying a prewetting liquid to a position off the center of a rotating wafer. However, these Patent Documents 1 and 2 do not describe how to deal with problems caused by the uneven pattern and water repellency. Further, with respect to Patent Document 1, since the rotational speed during supply of the prewetting liquid is as high as 1000 rpm, the supplied liquid does not stay in place but moves quickly to the peripheral edge of the wafer W. Different from the technology.

JP 2010-253403 A JP 2000-155424 A

  The present invention has been made in such circumstances, and the object thereof is to supply a pretreatment liquid for improving the wettability of the surface to the substrate on which the concavo-convex pattern is formed, and then the substrate. It is to provide a technique capable of preventing the occurrence of processing defects in liquid processing.

The liquid processing method of the present invention forms a first ring-shaped liquid pool surrounding a central portion of the substrate with a processing liquid for pretreatment for improving the wettability of the surface of the substrate on which the concavo-convex pattern is formed. A first treatment liquid supply step for supplying the first treatment liquid;
In parallel with the first treatment liquid supply step or after the first treatment liquid supply step, the treatment liquid is filled so that the region surrounded by the liquid reservoir is filled with the pretreatment treatment liquid. A second treatment liquid supply step for supplying the central portion of the substrate;
Next, a treatment liquid extending step of rotating the substrate to expand the liquid pool formed at the center of the substrate to the peripheral edge of the substrate by centrifugal force,
Subsequently, a liquid processing step of supplying a processing liquid for liquid processing to the central part of the rotating substrate and performing the liquid processing by spreading the processing liquid to the peripheral edge of the substrate by centrifugal force,
It is provided with.

  According to the present invention, the pretreatment liquid is supplied so as to form a ring-shaped liquid pool surrounding the center of the surface of the substrate, and the region surrounded by the liquid pool is filled with the processing liquid. The processing liquid is supplied to the central portion of the substrate. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the shape of the liquid pool of the pretreatment liquid formed at the center of the substrate from being disturbed by the influence of the uneven pattern of the substrate, and to spread the liquid pool to the peripheral edge of the substrate. In this case, it is possible to prevent occurrence of a portion where the supply amount of the processing liquid is insufficient. Therefore, when supplying the processing liquid for liquid processing to the substrate after supplying the processing liquid for preprocessing, it is possible to prevent the processing liquid for the liquid processing from being supplied or the occurrence of an insufficient part. As a result, it is possible to suppress the processing from becoming defective.

It is a vertical side view of the liquid processing apparatus of 1st Embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is a top view of the said liquid processing apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows the change of the pattern by the process performed using the said liquid processing apparatus. It is a time chart of the rotation speed of the wafer by the liquid processing apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows the surface state of the wafer by the said liquid processing apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows the surface state of the wafer by the said liquid processing apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows the surface state of the wafer by the said liquid processing apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows the surface state of the wafer by the said liquid processing apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows the surface state of the wafer by the said liquid processing apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows the surface state of the wafer by the said liquid processing apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows the surface state of the wafer by the said liquid processing apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows the surface state of the wafer by the said liquid processing apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows the surface state of the wafer by the said liquid processing apparatus. It is a top view of the liquid processing apparatus of 2nd Embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is a top view of the liquid processing apparatus of the 1st modification of the said 2nd Embodiment. It is a side view of the supply nozzle of the said liquid processing apparatus. It is a top view of the liquid processing apparatus of the 2nd modification of the said 2nd Embodiment. It is a top view of the liquid processing apparatus of the 2nd modification of the said 2nd Embodiment. It is a top view of the liquid processing apparatus of 2nd Embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is a top view of the liquid processing apparatus of 2nd Embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic diagram of the wafer which became the liquid processing defect. It is explanatory drawing which shows the surface state of the wafer by the said liquid processing apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows the surface state of the wafer by the said liquid processing apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows the surface state of the wafer by the said liquid processing apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows the surface state of the wafer by the said liquid processing apparatus. It is a vertical side view of the liquid processing apparatus of the 1st modification of the said 3rd Embodiment. It is a top view of the liquid processing apparatus of the 1st modification of the said 3rd Embodiment. It is a side view of the liquid processing apparatus of the 2nd modification of the said 3rd Embodiment. It is a side view of the liquid processing apparatus of the 3rd modification of the said 3rd Embodiment. It is a top view of the application | coating and developing apparatus with which the liquid processing apparatus of the said 1st Embodiment is applied. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the coating and developing apparatus. FIG. It is a schematic longitudinal side view of the coating and developing apparatus. It is an image which shows the result of an evaluation test. It is an image which shows the result of a comparative test. It is a schematic diagram which shows the liquid pool formed in a wafer. It is a schematic diagram which shows the liquid pool formed in a wafer. It is a schematic diagram which shows the liquid pool formed in a wafer.

(First embodiment)
A liquid processing apparatus 2 for a wafer W according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to a longitudinal side view of FIG. 1 and a plan view of FIG. A film made of a water-repellent negative resist is formed on the surface of the wafer W transferred to the liquid processing apparatus 2. The static contact angle of the resist film surface with respect to water is 50 ° or more. In addition, as described in the background art section, a number of grooves 12 that are resist patterns are formed in the resist film, and rectangular chip formation regions 12 partitioned from each other by the grooves 12 are vertically and horizontally on the wafer W in plan view. Are arranged in large numbers. A part of a large number of chip formation regions 12 is enlarged and shown at the tip of a dotted arrow in FIGS. The lower layer film of the resist film is exposed on the bottom surface of the groove 12, and the water repellency of the lower layer film is smaller than the water repellency of the resist film. The diameter of the wafer W is, for example, 300 mm, but is not limited to this size.

  The liquid processing apparatus 2 pre-wets the wafer W with pure water, and then applies a coating liquid containing a shrink material (may be referred to as a shrink liquid for convenience) to form a coating film. The wafer W on which the coating film is formed is transferred to the outside of the liquid processing apparatus 2 and subjected to a heat treatment, and then subjected to a removal process of the coating film. The components constituting the coating film are infiltrated into the resist by the heat treatment, and the openings (grooves or holes) of the resist pattern are reduced. The upper stage in FIG. 3 shows the opening 14 before processing in the liquid processing apparatus 2, and the lower stage in FIG. 3 shows the opening 14 after receiving the heat treatment. The opening 14 is formed in the chip formation region 12. However, the illustration thereof is omitted in FIGS.

  Referring back to FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 21 denotes a spin chuck, which is a substrate holding unit that holds the wafer W horizontally by vacuum-sucking the central portion of the back surface of the wafer W. In the figure, reference numeral 22 denotes a rotation drive mechanism, which is connected to the spin chuck 21 via a shaft portion 23, and rotates the spin chuck 21 around a vertical axis. In the figure, reference numeral 24 denotes a circular plate surrounding the shaft portion 23, and reference numeral 25 denotes a lifting pin penetrating the circular plate 24 up and down. In actuality, three lifting pins 25 are provided, and mediate transfer of the wafer W between the transport mechanism outside the liquid processing apparatus 2 and the spin chuck 21. In the figure, reference numeral 26 denotes an elevating mechanism that elevates the elevating pins 25.

  A cup 3 is provided so as to surround the spin chuck 21. The cup 3 receives the waste liquid that is scattered or spilled from the rotating wafer W, and guides the waste liquid to be discharged to the outside of the liquid processing apparatus 2. In the figure, reference numeral 31 denotes a mountain-shaped guide portion whose cross section is formed in a mountain shape. In the figure, reference numeral 32 denotes a cleaning nozzle that supplies a cleaning liquid, such as pure water, to the peripheral edge of the back surface of the rotating wafer W, and is provided in the mountain-shaped guide portion 31. The cleaning liquid goes around the side surface of the wafer W and cleans the side surface. In the figure, 33 is a vertical guide extending downward from the outer peripheral end of the mountain-shaped guide portion 31. In the figure, 34 is a vertical cylindrical portion that surrounds the outside of the mountain-shaped guide portion 31.

  In the figure, reference numerals 35 and 36 denote an upper guide portion and a lower guide portion, which respectively extend obliquely from the upper edge of the cylindrical portion 34 and the position below the upper edge toward the inside and upward. Reference numeral 37 denotes an opening that opens in the thickness direction of the lower guide 36. An annular and recessed liquid receiving portion 38 is formed on the lower side of the cylindrical portion 34. The cup 3 is formed by the mountain-shaped guide portion 31, the vertical guide 33, the cylindrical portion 34, the upper guide portion 35, the lower guide portion 36 and the liquid receiving portion 38. In the figure, reference numeral 27 denotes a drainage pipe for removing the liquid from the liquid receiving portion 38. In the figure, 28 is an exhaust pipe, which is connected to an exhaust damper (not shown) and exhausts the inside of the cup 3 with a desired exhaust amount.

  In the figure, reference numeral 41 denotes a prewetting liquid supply nozzle which is a pretreatment liquid supply section. In this example, pure water is supplied as a prewetting liquid vertically downward from a circular pore. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 42 denotes a pure water supply source including a pump and the like. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 43 denotes a flow rate adjusting unit, which includes a valve and a mass flow controller, and adjusts the amount of pure water supplied from the pure water supply source 42 to the prewetting liquid supply nozzle 41. In FIG. 1, 44 is a shrink liquid supply nozzle which is a treatment liquid supply section for liquid processing, 45 is a supply source of shrink liquid, and 46 is a flow rate adjustment section, which adjust the liquid to be supplied, the liquid to be stored, and the supply amount, respectively. Except that the liquid is a shrink liquid, it is configured in the same manner as the prewetting liquid supply nozzle 41, the pure water supply source 42, and the flow rate adjusting unit 43.

  In FIG. 2, reference numeral 51 denotes a support arm that supports the supply nozzles 41 and 44 at the distal end thereof, and can be moved in the horizontal direction by a moving mechanism 52 connected to the proximal end portion. By this movement, the position of the liquid supplied from the supply nozzles 41 and 44 to the wafer W held by the spin chuck 21 is moved along the diameter of the wafer W. In the figure, reference numeral 53 denotes a guide for the moving mechanism 46. In the figure, reference numeral 54 denotes a standby region for waiting the supply nozzles 41 and 44 outside the cup 3, and is provided in the movement path of the supply nozzles 41 and 44.

  The liquid processing apparatus 2 is provided with a control unit 20 that is a computer. A program stored in a storage medium such as a flexible disk, a compact disk, a hard disk, an MO (magneto-optical disk), and a memory card is installed in the control unit 20. The installed program incorporates instructions (each step) to transmit a control signal to each part of the liquid processing apparatus 2 to control its operation. Specifically, operations such as changing the number of rotations of the wafer W by the rotation drive mechanism 22, raising and lowering the lift pins 25, moving the supply nozzles 41 and 44, and adjusting the flow rate of each liquid by the flow rate adjusting units 43 and 46, etc. Controlled by the program.

  A process using the above-described liquid processing apparatus 2 will be described with reference to a timing chart showing a change in the number of rotations of the wafer W in FIG. Each plan view showing the surface of the wafer W is also referred to as appropriate. In each plan view, the display of the groove 12 and the chip formation region 13 is omitted in order to prevent the illustration from becoming complicated. The wafer W is transferred to the liquid processing apparatus 2 by a transfer mechanism (not shown) and transferred to the lift pins 25, and the central portion of the back surface is attracted to the spin chuck 21 and held horizontally. The supply nozzles 41 and 44 move from the standby area 54 onto the wafer W, and the wafer W rotates at, for example, 30 rpm.

  While the rotation of the wafer W is continued, the prewetting liquid 11 is supplied from the prewetting liquid supply nozzle 41 to a position off the center of the wafer W (time t1 in the chart). The distance L1 between the center P1 of the wafer W shown in FIG. 5 and the center P2 of the supply position of the prewetting liquid 11 is, for example, 30 mm. Since the rotation speed of the wafer W is low, the centrifugal force acting on the prewetting liquid 11 supplied to the wafer W is weak, and the prewetting liquid 11 remains at the supplied position. The rotation of the wafer W is continued, and after the supply of the prewetting liquid 11 is started, the wafer W is rotated once. When the ring-shaped paddle (liquid reservoir) 15 is formed on the wafer W by the prewetting liquid 11, the prewetting liquid is obtained. 11 stops (FIG. 6). The paddle 15 is a first ring-shaped liquid reservoir.

  After the supply nozzle 41 moves, the pre-wetting liquid 11 is supplied to the central portion of the wafer W while the wafer W continues to rotate at 30 rpm, and the paddle 16 is formed (FIG. 7). When the supply of the pre-wetting liquid 11 is continued, the paddle 16 spreads over the center of the wafer W, and the outer peripheral edge contacts the inner peripheral edge of the paddle 15, the paddle 16 is applied to the paddle 15 by the surface tension of the paddle 15. The paddles 16 and 15 are integrated to form a circular paddle 17 and the supply of the prewetting liquid 11 is stopped (FIG. 9, time t2).

  In FIG. 7, the paddle 16 is shown to spread evenly on the peripheral edge of the wafer W, that is, in a circular shape, but instead of spreading in this way, as described in the background art section, chip formation is performed. FIG. 10 shows a state where the region 13 extends along the arrangement direction. When the paddle 16 comes into contact with the paddle 15, the surface tension of the paddle 15 receives a force in the direction of forming the ring of the paddle 15, so that the paddle 16 is prevented from flowing out of the paddle 15. Then, the paddle 15 and the paddle 16 are integrated and the supply of the prewetting liquid 11 is continued, so that the area surrounded by the paddle 15 is filled with the prewetting liquid 11 (FIG. 11), and the above FIG. When the circular paddle 17 shown is formed, the supply of the prewetting liquid 11 is stopped. Thus, the paddle 15 has a role of regulating the spread of the prewetting liquid 11 constituting the paddle 16 in order to form the circular paddle 17.

  When the supply of the prewetting liquid 11 from the supply nozzle 41 is stopped as described above, the shrink liquid supply nozzle 44 moves to the center of the wafer W. Then, the rotational speed of the wafer W rises to 2000 rpm, for example (time t3), and the paddle 17 is spread toward the peripheral edge of the wafer W by spin force and spin coated. Since the paddle 17 is circular in plan view, the pre-wetting liquid 11 is supplied with high uniformity in the circumferential direction of the wafer W by this spin coating, and the wettability to the coating liquid (shrink liquid) is improved over the entire surface of the wafer W. Then, the shrink liquid is supplied from the shrink liquid supply nozzle 44 to the center of the wafer W (time t4). As described above, since the entire wafer W is wetted by the prewetting liquid, even if a small amount of the shrink liquid is supplied, the shrink liquid spreads so that there is no unpainted surface on the wafer W, and the entire surface of the wafer W is spread. A coating film 18 is formed on the substrate (FIG. 13).

  After the supply of the shrink liquid is stopped, the rotational speed of the wafer W decreases (time t5), and after the film thickness distribution in the radial direction of the wafer W is adjusted, the rotational speed of the wafer W increases (time t6). ) The coating film 18 is dried. Thereafter, the rotational speed is increased, and the cleaning liquid is supplied from the cleaning nozzle 32 to the back surface and the side surface of the wafer W (time t7). When the supply of the cleaning liquid is stopped after a predetermined time has elapsed, The rotation of W stops, and the coating process on the wafer W ends. Thereafter, the wafer W is unloaded from the liquid processing apparatus 2 by a transfer mechanism (not shown).

  According to this liquid processing apparatus 2, after the paddle 15 made of the prewetting liquid 11 is formed in a ring shape surrounding the center portion of the wafer W, the prewetting liquid 11 fills the area surrounded by the paddle 15. A wet liquid 11 is formed, and a circular paddle 17 in plan view is formed. Then, the rotational speed of the wafer W is increased to spread the prewetting liquid 11 constituting the paddle 17 to the peripheral edge of the wafer W. By performing pre-wetting in this way, the paddle formed at the center of the wafer W spreads out in the circumferential direction due to the size of the chip formation region 13, the shape of the resist pattern, and the water repellency of the resist film. Can be prevented. Accordingly, it is possible to supply the prewetting liquid with high uniformity in the circumferential direction of the wafer W, and to prevent the generation of a region where the prewetting liquid is not supplied on the surface of the wafer W. As a result, the coverage of the wafer W with the shrink liquid can be improved, so that it is possible to suppress the occurrence of a region where the shrink liquid is not supplied or the supply amount is insufficient, thereby improving the yield. In other words, since the shrink liquid can cover the wafer W even if the supply amount of the shrink liquid is small, the processing cost can be reduced.

  In the above example, when the ring-shaped paddle 15 is formed, the prewetting liquid 11 is supplied while the wafer W is rotated once at 30 rpm. That is, it takes 2 seconds to form the paddle 15. Since the paddle 15 can be formed more quickly as the rotational speed of the wafer W when the prewetting liquid 11 is supplied to form the paddle 15, the throughput can be improved. However, if the number of rotations is too large, the prewetting liquid 11 supplied to the wafer W due to centrifugal force is blown off to the outer periphery of the wafer W, and the paddle 15 cannot be formed. That is, when the prewetting liquid 11 is supplied to the center of the wafer W, the shape of the paddle 16 that is the liquid pool cannot be regulated, and a circular paddle cannot be formed. Therefore, the rotational speed of the wafer W when forming the paddle 15 is preferably 60 rpm or less.

  When supplying the prewetting liquid 11 to the center of the wafer W in order to form the paddle 16, the prewetting liquid 11 may be supplied in a state where the rotation of the wafer W is stopped. In the above example, after the paddle 15 is formed, the supply of the prewetting liquid 11 is stopped while the supply nozzle 41 moves onto the center of the wafer W. However, while the supply nozzle 41 moves as such, Alternatively, the prewetting liquid 11 may be supplied.

(Second Embodiment)
A difference between the liquid processing apparatus 61 of the second embodiment and the liquid processing apparatus 2 will be described with reference to FIG. 14 which is a plan view thereof. In this liquid processing apparatus 61, in addition to the prewetting liquid supply nozzle 41, a prewetting liquid supply nozzle 62 configured in the same manner as the supply nozzle 41 is provided. The supply nozzle 62 is connected to the prewetting liquid supply source 42 described with reference to FIG. 1 via a dedicated flow rate adjusting unit 43 (not shown), and supplies the prewetting liquid 11 to the wafer W independently of the supply nozzle 41. be able to. In the figure, reference numeral 63 denotes a support arm that supports the supply nozzle 62. A moving mechanism 64 moves the support arm 63 in the horizontal direction along the guide 53, and can move the supply nozzle 62 independently of the supply nozzle 41. Reference numeral 65 denotes a standby area for the supply nozzle 62.

  In the liquid processing apparatus 61, the supply nozzle 62 is used as a nozzle for forming the paddle 15, and the supply nozzle 41 is used as a nozzle for forming the paddle 16. When performing pre-wetting, the supply nozzle 41 is positioned on the center of the wafer W, and the supply nozzle 62 is positioned at a predetermined position on the wafer W. The position of the nozzle 62 is a position where the center P2 of the position where the liquid is supplied is separated from the center P1 of the wafer W by a distance L1, as described with reference to FIG.

  After the supply nozzles 41 and 62 are positioned as described above, the pre-wetting liquid 11 is supplied in parallel from the supply nozzles 41 and 62 while the wafer W is rotated, and the paddle 15 and the paddle 16 are respectively connected. Form. Thereby, a circular paddle 17 is formed. As described above, since the ring-shaped paddle 15 regulates the spread of the paddle 16 on the wafer W, the amount of liquid from the supply nozzle 41 is formed so that the paddle 15 surrounds the entire circumference of the center of the wafer W. Before the paddle 15 is formed, the paddle 16 is formed in such an amount that the paddle 16 does not wet and spread. Thus, the paddle 17 can be formed quickly by discharging the prewetting liquid 11 from the supply nozzles 41 and 62 in parallel. Accordingly, the liquid processing apparatus 61 has an advantage that the time required for prewetting can be shortened in addition to the above-described effects obtained by the liquid processing apparatus 2.

(First Modification of Second Embodiment)
A liquid processing apparatus 66 that is a first modification of the second embodiment will be described focusing on differences from the liquid processing apparatus 61 with reference to FIG. 15 that is a plan view thereof. The liquid processing device 66 includes a prewetting liquid supply nozzle 62 for forming the paddle 15 as in the case of the liquid processing device 61, but the supply nozzle 62 is supported by the support arm 63 instead of the rotating arm 67. Supported at the tip. FIG. 16 is a side view of the rotating arm 67. The proximal end side of the rotation arm 67 is provided on the support arm 51 and is configured to be rotatable around a vertical rotation axis 68. The distance between the supply nozzles 41 and 62 is changed by the rotation of the rotation arm 67. When pre-wetting is performed, each of the supply nozzles 41 and 62 is positioned, for example, at the position described in the liquid processing apparatus 61 and supplies the liquid in parallel, and the paddle 17 is formed.

  Also in this liquid processing apparatus 66, the same effect as the liquid processing apparatus 61 is acquired. Incidentally, the supply nozzles 41 and 62 may be provided on the support arm 51. That is, the distance between the supply nozzles 41 and 62 may be fixed. However, the position where the distance between the supply nozzles 41 and 62 can be arbitrarily changed as in the liquid processing apparatuses 61 and 66 can easily position the position where the prewetting liquid is supplied according to the water repellency and pattern shape of the wafer W This is advantageous because the shape of the paddle 17 can be prevented from being biased.

(Second Modification of Second Embodiment)
A coating film forming apparatus 71, which is a second modification of the second embodiment, will be described with a focus on differences from the liquid processing apparatus 61 with reference to FIG. The coating film forming apparatus 71 includes a support arm 63 and a moving mechanism 64 in the same manner as the liquid processing apparatus 61. A prewetting liquid supply nozzle 72 is provided at the tip of the supporting arm 63 instead of the prewetting liquid supply nozzle 62. Is provided. The supply nozzle 72 is configured in the same manner as the supply nozzle 62 except for its shape, and includes a prewetting liquid discharge port 73 opened in a slit shape, and supplies the prewetting liquid along the diameter of the wafer W. Can do. This supply nozzle 72 is used to form the paddle 15.

  In the coating film forming apparatus 71, as described in the liquid processing apparatus 61, the prewetting liquid 11 may be supplied in parallel from the supply nozzles 41 and 72, or the paddle 15 is formed and the liquid by the supply nozzle 72 is formed. After the supply is stopped, the supply of the prewetting liquid 11 from the supply nozzle 41 may be started. FIG. 18 shows a state in which the formation of the paddle 15 is completed and the supply of the liquid from the supply nozzle 72 is completed, while the prewetting liquid is supplied from the supply nozzle 41. Since the discharge port 73 of the supply nozzle 72 has a slit shape, the ring diameter of the paddle 15 is large, and the prewetting liquid 11 can be supplied to a relatively wide area while the wafer W rotates once. Therefore, after the paddle 15 is formed, only a small amount of prewetting liquid is supplied from the supply nozzle 41 so as to fill the area surrounded by the paddle 15, so that the paddle 17 can be formed quickly. That is, the coating film forming apparatus 71 has the same effect as the liquid processing apparatus 61, and further has an advantage that throughput can be improved more reliably.

(Third embodiment)
Next, the liquid processing apparatus 81 according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to the plan view of FIG. The liquid processing apparatus 81 includes a prewetting liquid supply nozzle 82 in addition to the configuration of the coating film forming apparatus 71 described above. The supply nozzle 82 is configured in the same manner as the supply nozzle 62 of the liquid processing apparatus 61 described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 19, 83 is a support arm that supports the supply nozzle 82, 84 is a moving mechanism that moves the support arm in the horizontal direction, and 85 is a standby area of the supply nozzle 82.

  As shown in FIG. 20, the prewetting liquid supply nozzle 82 supplies liquid closer to the periphery of the wafer W than the liquid supply position by the prewetting liquid supply nozzle 72. The distance between the center P3 of the prewetting liquid supply position by the supply nozzle 62 and the center P1 of the wafer W is, for example, 120 mm. The supply nozzle 82 is used to form a ring-shaped paddle on the wafer W, similarly to the supply nozzle 72. This paddle is shown as 86 in the figure.

  The reason for forming the paddle 86 will be described. The amount of the pre-wetting liquid 11 per predetermined area supplied from the central part toward the peripheral part by spin coating decreases as it approaches the peripheral part of the wafer W. Therefore, if the amount of liquid constituting the paddle 17 is small, the supply amount of the prewetting liquid 11 is insufficient at the peripheral portion of the wafer W, and there is a concern that a region where the prewetting liquid 11 is not supplied at the peripheral portion may occur. In particular, in the peripheral portion of the wafer W, the pre-wetting liquid 11 supplied in this way is reduced in the corner portion on the peripheral side of the wafer W in the chip formation region 13 and the water repellency of the resist is high. There is a concern that the prewetting liquid 11 is not supplied because the liquid flow of the liquid 11 becomes specific. FIG. 21 schematically shows a part of the wafer W in which a region not covered with the prewetting liquid 11 is generated.

  Therefore, the paddle 86 is formed, and the pre-wetting liquid 11 of the paddle 86 is spread around the periphery of the wafer W by the rotation of the wafer W. When the pre-wetting liquid 11 in the paddle 17 reaches the peripheral edge of the wafer W, a part or all of the peripheral edge is wetted by the pre-wetting liquid 11 in the paddle 86, so that the pre-wetting liquid 11 in the paddle 17 Consumption at the periphery is reduced. That is, the coverage with the prewetting liquid 11 at the peripheral edge of the wafer W is enhanced. Further, by forming the paddle 86 in this way, it is not necessary to increase the liquid amount of the paddle 17 in order to improve the coverage with the prewetting liquid at the peripheral edge portion. That is, since the amount of the prewetting liquid supplied to the central portion of the wafer W can be suppressed, the throughput can be improved.

  Specifically, an example of the pre-wetting procedure of the liquid processing apparatus 81 will be described. For example, the prewetting liquid 11 is supplied from the supply nozzles 72 and 82 and the wafer W is rotated (FIG. 22). As described in the first embodiment, the rotational speed at this time is a rotational speed of 60 rpm or less capable of forming a liquid pool. When the rotation of the wafer W is continued and the paddles 15 and 86 are formed by rotating the wafer W once from the start of the supply of the prewetting liquid 11, the supply of the prewetting liquid 11 from the supply nozzles 72 and 82 is stopped. Then, the prewetting liquid 11 is supplied to the central portion of the wafer W by the supply nozzle 41, and the paddle 16 is formed. FIG. 22 described above shows the wafer W at this time. As described in the first embodiment, when the paddle 16 spreads and the paddle 17 is formed, the supply of the prewetting liquid 11 from the supply nozzle 41 is stopped (FIG. 23).

  Thereafter, the number of rotations of the wafer W increases, and the paddle 17 and the paddle 86 are spread toward the peripheral edge of the wafer W, respectively. As described above, the peripheral edge of the wafer W is wetted by the pre-wetting liquid 11 of the paddle 86 (FIG. 24). The prewetting liquid 11 in the paddle 17 reaches the peripheral edge in such a state, and even if there is an area not wetted by the prewetting liquid 11 in the paddle 86, the prewetting liquid 11 in the paddle 17 gets wet. (FIG. 25). This prevents a region where the prewetting liquid 11 is not supplied from occurring at the peripheral edge of the wafer W.

  The role of the paddle 86 is to improve the wettability of the peripheral edge before the prewetting liquid 11 of the paddle 17 reaches the peripheral edge of the wafer W as described above. It is not limited to doing. Specifically, the paddle 86 may be formed so as to surround the entire circumference of the central portion of the wafer W until the prewetting liquid 11 of the paddle 17 reaches the region where the paddle 86 is formed. Therefore, for example, the paddle 86 may be formed before the paddle 15 is formed.

(First Modification of Third Embodiment)
About the liquid processing apparatus 91 which is the 1st modification of 3rd Embodiment, centering on difference with said liquid processing apparatus 81, referring FIG. 26 which is the longitudinal side view, and FIG. 27 which is a top view. explain. In the liquid processing apparatus 91, a ring member 92 that is formed along the peripheral edge of the wafer W and covers the peripheral edge is provided. The ring member 92 is formed in a horizontal plate shape, and 93 in the figure is an opening at the center of the ring member 92. In the figure, 94 is an elevating mechanism for elevating and lowering the ring member 92, and elevates and lowers the ring member 92 between a lowered position indicated by a solid line and an elevated position indicated by a chain line in FIG.

  The lowered position is a position when the wafer W is processed, and the raised position is a position that does not hinder delivery of the wafer W to the spin chuck 21. The ring member 92 has a role of suppressing the occurrence of turbulent flow on the peripheral edge of the wafer W when the wafer W rotates at a relatively high rotational speed as described above during the application of the shrink liquid. As a result, irregularities are formed on the peripheral edge of the coating film by the shrink solution, and as a result, the occurrence of defects in the pattern shape is prevented. In FIG. 26, the dotted line arrows indicate the flow of airflow around the ring member 92.

  The ring member 92 is positioned at the lowered position not only when the shrink liquid is applied but also when pre-wetting so that the shrink liquid can be applied promptly. Even if such a ring member 92 is provided, the above-described prewetting liquid supply nozzle 82 is provided on the lower surface of the ring member 92 so that the paddle 86 can be formed on the peripheral edge of the wafer W. The pre-wetting liquid 11 can be supplied to the peripheral edge portion.

  In this example, two supply nozzles 82 are provided, and each supply nozzle 82 can supply the prewetting liquid 11 to a position equidistant from the center of the wafer W. That is, as described with reference to FIG. 22, when the prewetting liquid is supplied from the supply nozzle 82 while the wafer W is rotated once, the prewetting liquid 11 is supplied to be overlapped at the same position on the wafer W. Further, the positions at which the liquid is supplied from the supply nozzles 82 may be separated from each other by a different distance from the center of the wafer W, and a plurality of paddles 86 may be formed concentrically.

  The larger the diameter of the wafer W, the more easily the turbulent flow is generated on the peripheral portion of the rotating wafer W. Therefore, the configuration of the liquid processing apparatus 91 is effective for processing a wafer W having a diameter of 450 mm, for example. . However, the configuration of the liquid processing apparatus 91 can also be applied when processing a wafer W having a diameter smaller than 450 mm, for example, a wafer W having a diameter of 300 mm.

(Second Modification of Third Embodiment)
A liquid processing apparatus 95 that is a second modification of the third embodiment will be described focusing on differences from the liquid processing apparatus 81 of the third embodiment with reference to FIG. 28 that is a side view thereof. In FIG. 28, illustration of the cup 3 is omitted. In the liquid processing apparatus 95, a pipe temperature adjusting unit 96 is provided in a pipe connecting each of the supply nozzles 41, 72, and 82 and the flow rate adjusting unit 43 corresponding to each nozzle. Each pipe temperature adjustment unit 96 includes a heater, and can individually adjust the temperature of the prewetting liquid flowing through each pipe.

  By making the temperature of the pre-wetting liquid supplied from each supply nozzle different from each other, the temperature in the radial direction of the wafer W immediately after the pre-wetting and immediately before supplying the shrink liquid can be made different at each location. it can. Depending on the temperature of the wafer W, the fluidity of the shrink processing liquid changes and the film thickness changes. That is, the temperature of each prewetting liquid can be adjusted as described above, the temperature in the radial direction of the wafer W can be adjusted, and the thickness of the coating film in each part in the radial direction can be adjusted. Therefore, by performing an experiment before processing the wafer W, the temperature of each prewetting liquid is obtained so that the uniformity of the film thickness of each part becomes high, and the prewetting adjusted to such a temperature is obtained. The liquid can be supplied to the wafer W to improve the uniformity of the film thickness.

  As described above, the temperatures of the three prewetting liquids supplied from the three supply nozzles do not have to be different from each other, and any two of the three prewetting liquids may have different temperatures. Further, when only two supply nozzles are provided as in the liquid processing apparatus 61 of the second embodiment, the temperatures of the prewetting liquids supplied from the two supply nozzles may be different from each other.

(Third Modification of Third Embodiment)
FIG. 29 shows a side view of a liquid processing apparatus 101 which is a third modification of the third embodiment. Also in FIG. 29, the above-described parts such as the cup 3 are not shown. As a difference between the liquid processing apparatus 101 and the liquid processing apparatus 81 of the third embodiment described above, the prewetting liquid supply nozzle 41 is provided to be inclined. When viewed from the side, the angle θ between the supply direction of the prewetting liquid from the supply nozzle 41 and the horizontal plane is 45 °, for example. FIG. 29 shows a state in which the pre-wetting liquid is supplied from each supply nozzle and the paddle is formed as described in FIG. 20 of the third embodiment. 20 shows the positional relationship between the supply nozzles 72 and 82 changed.

  The liquid processing apparatus 101 is also processed in the same procedure as the liquid processing apparatus 81. When supplying the prewetting liquid from the prewetting liquid supply nozzle 41 to the central portion of the wafer W, the supply nozzle 41 is inclined, so that the prewetting liquid 11 supplied to the surface of the rotating wafer W is supplied to the supply nozzle 41. As shown in FIG. 29, it is supplied in a relatively wide range in the lateral direction due to the momentum of discharge from. Then, the supply of the prewetting liquid 11 from the supply nozzle 41 is continued, the paddle 16 due to the prewetting liquid 11 spreads out and the outer end thereof contacts the paddle 15, and the above-described paddle 17 is formed. By discharging the prewetting liquid obliquely from the supply nozzle 41 in this way, the liquid flow of the prewetting liquid 11 supplied to the central portion of the wafer W stops in a region where the surface of the wafer W has high water repellency. The paddle 17 can be formed more reliably.

  By the way, the prewetting liquids supplied from the respective prewetting liquid supply nozzles may be different types of prewetting liquids. As each prewetting liquid, a liquid that does not damage the resist pattern on the surface of the wafer W is used. More specifically, when a plurality of types of prewetting liquids are used, these liquids come in contact with each other on the wafer W, but are mixed with each other so as to reduce the concentration. If the energy generated when mixing is large, the damage may occur. Therefore, a liquid having low energy and high compatibility with each other is used. Since the prewetting liquid is intended to wet the surface of the wafer W, a liquid having a relatively good wettability on the surface of the wafer W, that is, a surface tension is selected. As an example, when pure water is used as one of the prewetting liquids as described above, IPA (isopropyl alcohol) is used as the other prewetting liquid.

  An example of processing using two types of prewetting liquid will be described. For example, in the coating film forming apparatus 71 of the second modified example of the second embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 17 and 18, water is discharged from the prewetting liquid supply nozzle 41 and IPA is discharged from the prewetting liquid supply nozzle 72. And For example, the wafer W is rotated while supplying the prewetting liquid (IPA) from the prewetting liquid supply nozzle 72 to the center of the wafer W, and the entire wafer W is wetted by IPA by spin coating. Thereafter, as described with reference to FIGS. 17 and 18, the paddle 15 made of IPA is formed by the supply nozzle 72, and the prewetting liquid which is pure water is supplied to the central portion of the wafer W surrounded by the paddle 15 by the supply nozzle 41. To do. Since this pure water has already been supplied with IPA on the surface of the wafer W and its water repellency is lowered, the pure water spreads in a circular shape so as to suppress the deviation in the circumferential direction. Then, the paddle 17 described above is formed by being mixed with the IPA constituting the paddle 15. Since the pre-wetting liquid, which is pure water, spreads in a circular shape as described above, the paddle 17 is also prevented from having a shape deviated from the circular shape, so that a sufficient amount of the pre-wetting liquid is supplied to the entire wafer W. Can do.

  Each of the above-described embodiments and modifications thereof can be combined with each other. For example, the pre-wetting liquid supply nozzle 82 described in the third embodiment may be provided in the liquid processing apparatus 2 of the first embodiment. Further, in forming the ring-shaped paddles 15 and 86, in each of the above embodiments, the pre-wetting liquid is discharged from each supply nozzle while rotating the wafer W. However, the supply nozzle having a ring-shaped discharge port is provided. If it is used, it is not necessary to rotate the wafer W.

  The present invention can suppress variations in the supply amount of the prewetting liquid in the circumferential direction of the substrate, not only when the coating film is formed on the circular substrate but also when the coating film is formed on the rectangular substrate. This is effective because it can prevent a region where the prewetting liquid is not sufficiently supplied to the substrate. In forming the ring-shaped liquid reservoir, for example, a pre-wetting liquid may be supplied while moving the nozzle along the side of the rectangular substrate by a moving mechanism to form a rectangular ring-shaped liquid reservoir. . After that, the prewetting liquid is supplied to the center of the substrate, and the region surrounded by the liquid reservoir is filled with the prewetting liquid to form a rectangular liquid reservoir (paddle) corresponding to the paddle 17 described above. . Thus, the liquid reservoir of the prewetting liquid formed in the central portion of the substrate is not limited to a circle but may be rectangular as long as the prewetting liquid can be sufficiently supplied to the entire substrate.

  By the way, this invention is not restricted to being applied to apply | coating shrink liquid. For example, a pattern may be further formed by immersion exposure on a resist film on which a resist pattern is formed. In that case, a chemical solution for forming a water-repellent protective film may be applied to cover the resist film before immersion exposure. Even in such a case, the present invention can be applied. Further, the resist film is not limited to the negative type and may be a positive type.

  Subsequently, the coating and developing apparatus 111 to which the liquid processing apparatus 2 of the first embodiment is applied will be described. 30 to 32 are a plan view, a perspective view, and a schematic longitudinal side view of the coating and developing apparatus 111, respectively. The coating and developing apparatus 1 is configured by connecting a carrier block D1, a processing block D2, and an interface block D3 in a straight line. The exposure apparatus D4 is connected to the interface block D3. In the following description, the arrangement direction of the blocks D1 to D3 is the front-rear direction. Further, a place where the wafer W is placed in the coating / developing apparatus 111 is a module. The carrier block D1 has a role of applying a carrier C including a plurality of wafers W and carrying the carrier C in and out of the developing device 1. The carrier block D1 has a carrier 112, an opening / closing part 113, and an opening / closing part 113. And a transfer mechanism 114 for transporting the wafer W from.

  The processing block D2 is configured by laminating first to seventh unit blocks B1 to B7 for performing liquid processing on the wafer W in order from the bottom. For convenience of explanation, “BCT” is a process for forming a lower antireflection film on the wafer W, “COT” is a process for forming a resist film on the wafer W, and a process for forming a resist pattern on the exposed wafer W is performed. “DEV” and processing for reducing the opening of the resist pattern by the shrink solution may be expressed as “shrink”, respectively. In this example, as shown in FIG. 31, two BCT layers, COT layers, and DEV layers are stacked from the bottom. The wafer W is transferred and processed in parallel in the same unit block. Moreover, the shrink layer is laminated | stacked on these layers.

  Here, the shrink layer B7, which is the seventh unit block as a representative of the unit blocks, will be described with reference to FIG. A plurality of shelf units U are arranged in the front-rear direction on one of the left and right sides of the conveyance region 115 from the carrier block D1 to the interface block D3. On the other side of the left and right sides, a shrink liquid processing module 116 and a film removal module 117, which are liquid processing modules, are provided side by side in the front-rear direction. The shrink liquid processing module 116 corresponds to the liquid processing apparatus 2 described above. The film removal module 117 is configured in substantially the same manner as the shrink liquid processing module, supplies pure water to the wafer W, and peels off the coating film. The shelf unit U includes a heating module. In the transfer area 115, a transfer arm F7 which is a transfer mechanism of the wafer W is provided.

  The other unit blocks B1 to B6 are configured in the same manner as the unit block B7 except that the processing liquid supplied to the wafer W is different. The unit blocks B1 and B2 include an antireflection film forming module instead of the shrink liquid processing module 116, and the unit blocks B3 and B4 include a negative resist film forming module instead of the shrink liquid processing module 116. The unit blocks B5 and B6 include a developing module for developing the resist film. In FIG. 32, the transfer arms of the unit blocks B1 to B6 are shown as F1 to F6.

  On the carrier block D1 side in the processing block D2, a tower T1 that extends vertically across the unit blocks B1 to B7 and a transfer arm 118 that is a transfer mechanism that can be moved up and down to transfer the wafer W to the tower T1. And are provided. The tower T1 is configured by a plurality of modules stacked on each other, and the modules provided at the respective heights of the unit blocks B1 to B7 are wafers between the transfer arms F1 to F7 of the unit blocks B1 to B7. W can be handed over. As these modules, actually, a delivery module TRS provided at the height position of each unit block, a temperature control module CPL for adjusting the temperature of the wafer W, a buffer module for temporarily storing a plurality of wafers W, And a hydrophobizing module for hydrophobizing the surface of the wafer W. In order to simplify the description, the hydrophobic treatment module, the temperature control module, and the buffer module are not shown.

  The interface block D3 includes towers T2, T3, and T4 extending up and down across the unit blocks B1 to B7, and is a transfer mechanism that can be moved up and down to transfer the wafer W to and from the tower T2 and the tower T3. Interface arm 119, interface arm 120 which is a transfer mechanism that can be moved up and down to transfer wafer W to tower T2 and tower T4, and wafer W to be transferred between tower T2 and exposure apparatus D4. An interface arm 121 is provided.

  The tower T2 includes a delivery module TRS, a buffer module for storing and retaining a plurality of wafers W before exposure processing, a buffer module for storing a plurality of wafers W after exposure processing, and a temperature for adjusting the temperature of the wafers W. Although the adjustment module and the like are stacked on each other, illustration of the buffer module and the temperature adjustment module is omitted here. The towers T3 and T4 are also provided with modules, but the description thereof is omitted here.

  A transport path of the wafer W in the system including the coating / developing apparatus 111 and the exposure apparatus D4 will be described. The wafer W is transferred from the carrier C by the transfer mechanism 114 to the transfer module TRS0 of the tower T1 in the processing block D2. The wafer W is transferred from the delivery module TRS0 to the unit blocks B1 and B2. For example, when the wafer W is transferred to the unit block B1, among the transfer modules TRS of the tower T1, the transfer module TRS1 corresponding to the unit block B1 (the transfer module capable of transferring the wafer W by the transfer arm F1). The wafer W is transferred from the TRS0. When the wafer W is transferred to the unit block B2, the wafer W is transferred from the TRS0 to the transfer module TRS2 corresponding to the unit block B2 among the transfer modules TRS of the tower T1. Delivery of these wafers W is performed by a delivery arm 118.

  The wafer W thus distributed is transported in the order of TRS1 (TRS2) → antireflection film forming module → heating module → TRS1 (TRS2), and then the transfer module TRS3 corresponding to the unit block B3 by the transfer arm 118; It is distributed to the delivery module TRS4 corresponding to the unit block B4.

  The wafer W thus distributed is transferred in the order of TRS3 (TRS4) → resist film forming module COT → heating module → tower T2 delivery module TRS. The wafer W transferred to the delivery module TRS is carried into the exposure apparatus D4 through the tower T3 by the interface arms 119 and 121. The exposed wafer W is transferred between the towers T2 and T4 by the interface arm 120 and transferred to the transfer modules TRS5 and TRS6 of the tower T2 corresponding to the unit blocks B5 and B6, respectively. After that, it is delivered to the delivery modules TRS51 and TRS61 corresponding to the unit blocks B5 and B6 of the heating module → development module → tower T1.

  The wafers W of these transfer modules TRS51 and 61 are transferred to the transfer module TRS71 corresponding to the unit block B7 by the transfer arm 118, and transferred in the order of the shrink liquid processing module 116 → the heating module, and pre-wetting and coating as described above. Film formation and heating are performed in order. Thereafter, the wafer W is transferred to the film removal module 117 and the coating film is removed. Thereafter, the wafer W is transferred to the transfer module TRS72 corresponding to the unit block B7 and returned to the carrier C via the transfer mechanism 114.

(Evaluation test)
As an evaluation test, pre-wetting was performed on the wafer W by the liquid processing apparatus 2 according to the procedure described in the first embodiment, and then a coating film was formed by spin coating. As a comparative test, a coating film was formed by pre-wetting the wafer W in the same manner as in the evaluation test except that the ring-shaped liquid reservoir 15 was not formed. On the surface of the wafer W processed in each test, as described in the embodiment, a large number of chip forming regions 13 are formed by a resist pattern, and patterns are also formed in the chip forming regions 13.

  FIG. 33 is an image of the wafer W showing the result of the evaluation test, and FIG. 34 is an image of the wafer W showing the result of the comparison test. As is clear by comparing these images, in the comparative test, radial streaks are formed from the central portion of the wafer W toward the peripheral portion. This is due to coating spots on the coating film, resulting in poor coating. However, such application spots were not formed on the wafer W in the evaluation test. Therefore, the effect of the present invention was confirmed.

W Wafer 11 Pre-wet liquid 12 Groove 13 Chip formation area 15, 16, 17 Paddle 2 Liquid processing apparatus 20 Control unit 22 Rotation drive mechanism 41 Pre-wet liquid supply nozzle 44 Shrink liquid supply nozzle

Claims (17)

A first treatment liquid for improving the wettability of the surface of the substrate on which the concavo-convex pattern is formed is supplied so as to form a first ring-shaped liquid pool surrounding the central portion of the substrate. A treatment liquid supply step;
In parallel with the first treatment liquid supply step or after the first treatment liquid supply step, the treatment liquid is filled so that the region surrounded by the liquid reservoir is filled with the pretreatment treatment liquid. A second treatment liquid supply step for supplying the central portion of the substrate;
Next, a treatment liquid extending step of rotating the substrate to expand the liquid pool formed at the center of the substrate to the peripheral edge of the substrate by centrifugal force,
Subsequently, a liquid processing step of supplying a processing liquid for liquid processing to the central part of the rotating substrate and performing the liquid processing by spreading the processing liquid to the peripheral edge of the substrate by centrifugal force,
A liquid treatment method comprising:   The liquid processing method according to claim 1, wherein a region having a static contact angle with respect to water of 50 ° or more is formed on a surface of the substrate before the pretreatment liquid is supplied.   3. The liquid according to claim 1, wherein the first processing liquid supply step includes a step of supplying a pretreatment liquid to the substrate while rotating the substrate at a rotation speed of 60 rpm or less. Processing method. A third treatment liquid supply step of forming a second ring-shaped liquid reservoir with a pretreatment liquid in a region outside the region where the first ring-shaped liquid reservoir is formed on the substrate;
The second ring-shaped liquid pool is formed before the processing liquid for preprocessing reaches the outer region from the center of the substrate by the processing liquid spreading step. 4. The liquid treatment method according to any one of 3.   The third treatment liquid supply step includes a step of supplying the treatment liquid to the substrate from a treatment liquid supply unit for pretreatment provided in a rectification member for rectifying the airflow on the surface of the substrate. The liquid processing method according to claim 4, wherein:   Including a step of adjusting at least two of the processing liquids respectively supplied to the substrate from the first processing liquid supply unit, the second processing liquid supply unit, and the third processing liquid supply unit to different temperatures. The liquid treatment method according to claim 1, wherein the liquid treatment method is a liquid treatment method.   7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second processing liquid supply step includes a step of rotating the substrate and supplying a pretreatment processing liquid obliquely to the substrate from the processing liquid supply unit. The liquid processing method as described in any one. A substrate holding portion for horizontally holding a substrate having a concavo-convex pattern formed on the surface;
A rotation mechanism for rotating the substrate held by the substrate holding unit;
A processing liquid supply unit for liquid processing for supplying a processing liquid for liquid processing to the central part of the substrate to the substrate;
A pretreatment liquid supply unit for supplying a pretreatment liquid for improving the wettability of the substrate to the central portion of the surface of the substrate and a region surrounding the central portion;
A first treatment liquid supply step for supplying the treatment liquid for pretreatment so as to form a first ring-shaped liquid reservoir surrounding the central portion of the substrate, and the first treatment liquid supply step in parallel. Alternatively, after the first processing liquid supply step is performed, the second processing liquid is supplied to the central portion of the substrate so as to fill the region surrounded by the liquid reservoir with the processing liquid for preprocessing. A processing liquid supply step, and then a processing liquid spreading step for rotating the substrate to expand a liquid reservoir formed at the center of the substrate to the peripheral edge of the substrate by centrifugal force, and subsequently the rotating substrate A liquid processing step of supplying a processing liquid for liquid processing to the central portion and spreading the processing liquid to the peripheral edge of the substrate by centrifugal force to perform liquid processing; ,
A liquid processing apparatus comprising:   The liquid processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein a region having a static contact angle with respect to water of 50 ° or more is formed on a surface of the substrate before the pretreatment liquid is supplied.   The liquid processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the first processing liquid supply step supplies the processing liquid to the substrate while rotating the substrate at a rotation speed of 60 rpm or less.   The pretreatment processing liquid supply section includes a first processing liquid supply section that supplies a processing liquid to a region surrounding the central portion of the substrate, and a second processing liquid supply section that supplies the processing liquid to the central portion of the substrate. The liquid processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the liquid processing apparatus comprises:   The liquid processing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the first processing liquid supply unit includes a slit-shaped processing liquid discharge port. The control signal is output so that a third treatment liquid supply step for forming a second ring-shaped liquid reservoir in the outer region is performed rather than a region where the first ring-shaped liquid reservoir is formed,
13. The second ring-shaped liquid pool is formed before the processing liquid reaches the outer region from the center of the substrate by the processing liquid spreading step. The liquid processing apparatus according to one. A rectifying member for rectifying the airflow on the surface of the substrate is provided,
The liquid processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein a third processing liquid supply unit for forming the second ring-shaped liquid pool is provided in the rectifying member.   A temperature adjusting unit for adjusting at least two of the processing liquids supplied to the substrate from the first processing liquid supply unit, the second processing liquid supply unit, and the third processing liquid supply unit to different temperatures. The liquid processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the liquid processing apparatus is provided.   16. The liquid according to claim 8, wherein in the second processing liquid supply step, the substrate is rotated and the processing liquid is discharged obliquely with respect to the substrate from the processing liquid supply unit. Processing equipment. A storage medium storing a computer program used in a liquid processing apparatus that performs liquid processing on a substrate,
A storage medium characterized in that the program includes steps for executing the liquid processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

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