JP7405268B2 - Substrate processing equipment and substrate processing method - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method.

In the manufacturing process of semiconductor devices, various liquid treatments are performed on a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as a wafer), which is a substrate. Examples of this liquid treatment include supplying a coating solution such as resist to the surface of the wafer to form a coating film, and supplying a solution for removing the coating film to the peripheral edge of the wafer.

A raised part called a hump due to the coating film may be formed on the peripheral edge of the wafer after the liquid treatment. In Patent Document 1, a resist film is formed on the entire surface of a wafer by spin coating, and the resist film is removed by supplying thinner to the peripheral edge of the rotating wafer. It is described that the formation of humps can be suppressed by setting the number to an appropriate value.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-121045

An object of the present disclosure is to reduce the effort required to detect a protrusion formed by supplying a processing liquid to the peripheral edge of the surface of a substrate.

The substrate processing apparatus of the present disclosure includes a processing liquid supply nozzle that supplies processing liquid to at least the peripheral edge of the surface of the substrate to perform processing;
a stage on which the substrate to which the processing liquid is supplied is placed;
a moving body including a first distance sensor for detecting a distance to the substrate placed on the stage;
a control unit that outputs a control signal;
A first position that is a position near the center of the substrate at the peripheral edge of the substrate upon receiving the control signal , and a second position that is a position closer to the peripheral edge of the substrate than the first position. a moving mechanism that moves the movable body in the lateral direction on the peripheral edge of the substrate so that a height distribution between the two is obtained;
a rotation mechanism that receives the control signal and rotates the stage relative to the movable body in order to obtain each of the height distributions at a plurality of positions spaced apart from each other in a circumferential direction of the substrate;
Equipped with
The moving mechanism raises and lowers the moving body with respect to the stage and outputs information on the amount of elevation,
a first distance between the first distance sensor and a reference height when the mobile body moves laterally, which is calculated based on the information on the amount of elevation; and a detection value by the first distance sensor; an arithmetic unit that obtains the height distribution based on the
A reference height setting section for setting the reference height is provided,
The reference height setting section includes:
the calculation unit; and a second distance sensor provided below the moving path of the moving body and for detecting a second distance to the moving body;
The calculation unit sets the reference height based on the second distance,
The processing liquid supply nozzle is included in the moving body, the second distance is a distance between the processing liquid supply nozzle and the second distance sensor,
The arithmetic unit is
the second distance; the third distance between the first distance sensor and the second distance sensor acquired by the first or second distance sensor; the second distance; The height of the processing liquid supply nozzle when supplying the processing liquid to the substrate is determined based on the information on the amount of elevation when obtaining each of the third distances.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to reduce the effort required to detect a raised portion formed by supplying a processing liquid to a peripheral portion of a surface of a substrate.

FIG. 2 is a side view of a resist film forming module provided in a coating and developing device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the resist film forming module. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a parameter setting procedure in the resist film forming module. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a procedure for setting the parameters. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a procedure for setting the parameters. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a procedure for forming a resist film in the resist film forming module. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a procedure for forming the resist film. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a procedure for forming the resist film. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a procedure for measuring the height distribution of the resist film. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a procedure for measuring the height distribution of the resist film. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a procedure for measuring the height distribution of the resist film. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a procedure for measuring the height distribution of the resist film. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a procedure for measuring the height distribution of the resist film. FIG. 3 is a graph diagram showing an example of the radius height distribution of the resist film. FIG. 3 is a graph diagram showing an example of the height distribution of the peripheral edge of the resist film. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the relationship between the wafer and a region where height distribution is measured. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the coating and developing device. FIG. 3 is a side view of the coating and developing device. FIG. 7 is a graph diagram showing an example of correction of the height distribution of a resist film. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the exposure machine for a normal wafer. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the exposure machine with respect to an abnormal wafer. FIG. 7 is a side view showing another resist film forming module. FIG. 7 is a plan view showing another resist film forming module. It is a graph diagram showing the results of a reference test.

A resist film forming module 1 provided in a coating/developing device 10, which is an embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus of the present disclosure, will be described with reference to a side view in FIG. 1 and a plan view in FIG. 2. A wafer W, which is a circular substrate having a diameter of, for example, 300 mm, is transported to the coating and developing device 10 while being stored in a transport container C called a FOUP (Front Opening Unity Pod) whose interior is sealed. Then, the wafer W is transported to the resist film forming module 1 by a transport mechanism provided in the coating and developing device 10.

First, an overview of the operation of the resist film forming module 1 will be explained. In the resist film forming module 1, a resist is applied as a processing liquid to the entire surface of the wafer W, that is, to an area including at least the peripheral portion of the surface of the wafer W. Then, a resist film is formed. In this resist film forming module 1, while the wafer W is rotating, the position where the resist is supplied moves from the center of the wafer W toward the peripheral edge by movement of the nozzle. That is, the resist, which is the coating liquid, is applied so that the locus of the supply position on the surface of the wafer W forms a spiral.

When the resist supply position reaches the circumferential edge of the wafer W, the movement of the resist supply position is stopped, and when there is no unpainted resist on the wafer W, the resist supply is stopped. Regarding the resist film made of the resist applied in this way, the hump (protrusion) described above is formed at the peripheral edge of the wafer W due to, for example, the viscosity of the resist, and the height of the hump is There may be differences in the circumferential direction of the wafer W.

Correspondingly, in the resist film forming module 1, after forming the resist film, the height distribution of regions separated from each other in the circumferential direction of the wafer W is acquired. More specifically, the height distribution of a region on the radius of the wafer W and a plurality of regions along the radial direction at the peripheral edge of the wafer W that are separated from each other in the circumferential direction of the wafer W from the region on the radius is be obtained. From each of these height distributions, the height of the hump can be detected.

The configuration of the resist film forming module 1 will be described below. The resist film forming module 1 includes a spin chuck 11, a rotation mechanism 12, a pin 13, a lifting mechanism 14, a processing mechanism 2, a fixing table 31, a lower sensor 34, and a standby section 35. There is. The spin chuck 11 is a circular stage having approximately the same size as the wafer W, and the entire back surface of the wafer W overlaps the spin chuck 11 and is held horizontally. A suction hole 30 is provided on the upper surface of the spin chuck 11, and the mounted wafer W is sucked therein.

The rotation mechanism 12 rotates the spin chuck 11 around a vertical axis. The spin chuck 11 is provided with three through holes 15 , and the three pins 13 can be pushed down and out of the surface of the spin chuck 11 through each through hole 15 by an elevating mechanism 14 . By raising and lowering the pins 13, the wafer W is transferred between the conveyance mechanism of the coating and developing device 10 and the spin chuck 11.

The processing mechanism 2 includes a resist supply nozzle 21 , an arm 22 , a moving mechanism 23 , an upper sensor 24 , a resist supply mechanism 25 , and a guide rail 26 . The resist supply nozzle 21 is connected to a resist supply mechanism 25 including a valve, a pump, etc., and discharges resist supplied from the resist supply mechanism 25 at a predetermined flow rate vertically downward. A resist supply nozzle 21 is supported on the distal end side of the arm 22, and the base end side of the arm 22 is connected to a moving mechanism 23. The moving mechanism 23 is accompanied by an arm 22 and a resist supply nozzle 21, and moves horizontally along a guide rail 26, that is, moves laterally. The movement mechanism 23 allows the resist supply nozzle 21, which is a processing liquid supply nozzle, to move between the top of the wafer W and a standby section 35 provided at a position apart to the side of the spin chuck 11. The standby section 35 houses the resist supply nozzle 21, makes it standby, and cleans it.

The above-described moving mechanism 23 includes a lifting mechanism that vertically raises and lowers the arm 22, and the lifting mechanism includes a motor equipped with an encoder. That is, the arm 22 is raised and lowered by the driving force of the motor. The output of the encoder described above is always transmitted to a control section 100, which will be described later. The amount of rotation of the motor corresponds to the amount of elevation of the arm 22, and the control unit 100 can detect the amount of elevation of the arm 22 based on the output of the encoder. Therefore, the output of the encoder corresponds to information on the amount of elevation of the arm 22, the resist supply nozzle 21, and the upper sensor 24, which will be described later.

In addition to the resist supply nozzle 21, an upper sensor 24 that is a first distance sensor is also supported at the tip of the arm 22, and the arm 22, the resist supply nozzle 21 that is a processing liquid supply nozzle, and the upper sensor 24 are movable. The mechanism 23 forms a moving body that moves together. The upper sensor 24 is a reflective distance sensor, which emits light vertically downward from its lower end, and receives reflected light from the irradiated object (in this embodiment, the surface of the wafer W and the fixing table 31 as described later). Based on this, a detection signal corresponding to the distance (difference in height) between the lower end of the upper sensor 24 and the above-mentioned object is output to the control unit 100. Based on the detection signal, the control unit 100 detects the distance between the lower end of the upper sensor 24 and the object.

The arrangement of the resist supply nozzle 21 and the upper sensor 24 will be described in detail. The resist supply nozzle 21 and the upper sensor 24 are arranged so that the resist discharge position and the optical axis position of the irradiated light from the upper sensor 24 (i.e., the position where the distance is measured) are lined up in the horizontal movement direction of the arm 22. It is provided on the arm 22. The resist supply nozzle 21 is provided so as to be able to supply resist along the radius of the wafer W, and the upper sensor 24 is connected to each position along the radius of the wafer W and the upper sensor 24. It is provided so that distance can be measured.

A fixing table 31 and a lower sensor 34 are provided below the movement path of the resist supply nozzle 21 and the upper sensor 24 between the spin chuck 11 and the standby section 35 when viewed from above. The fixing table 31 is provided on a floor 32 on which the resist film forming module 1 is provided. The upper surface 33 of the fixing table 31 is a horizontal surface, and is used to preset a reference height (zero point of height) before obtaining the height distribution of the surface of the wafer W, as will be described later.

A lower sensor 34, which is a second distance sensor, is fixed to the standby section 35 side of the fixed base 31, and the fixed base 31 and the lower sensor 34 are connected to the resist supply nozzle 21 and the upper sensor 24. are lined up in the horizontal movement direction. The lower sensor 34 has the same configuration as the upper sensor 24 except that light is emitted vertically upward from its upper end, and light is emitted from the upper end of the lower sensor 34 and the lower sensor 34. The control unit 100 can detect the distance to the object. Further, the height of the upper end of the lower sensor 34 matches the height of the upper surface 33 of the fixed base 31, and the distance between the lower sensor 34 and the object detected by the lower sensor 34 is This corresponds to the difference in height between the upper surface 33 of and the object. The lower sensor 34 and the control section 100 constitute a reference height setting section.

Next, the control section 100 provided in the coating and developing device 10 will be explained. The control unit 100 is a calculation unit configured by a computer, and includes a program 101 and a memory 102. The program 101 includes a group of steps so as to be able to carry out a series of operations described below in the coating and developing device 10, and the program 101 allows the control section 100 to control each section such as the processing module and the transport mechanism. Outputs control signals and controls operations.

Specifically, the transfer of the wafer W between the processing modules included in the coating and developing apparatus 10 and the operations in each processing module are controlled by the program 101. The operations of the processing module include acquisition of distance parameters by each sensor 24 and 34 in the resist film forming module 1, which will be described in detail later, formation of a resist film, acquisition of the height distribution of the surface of the wafer W, and adjustment of the hump height. This includes detection of the corresponding height and determination of abnormality of the wafer W based on the detected value. The program 101 is stored in a storage medium such as a compact disk, hard disk, or DVD, and installed in the control unit 100. The memory 102 also stores information such as the acquired height distribution of the surface of the wafer W, a reference height set for acquiring this height distribution, and information for setting the reference height, as described below. Distance parameters and the like obtained by the sensors 24 and 34 are stored.

Next, an example of the operation of the resist film forming module 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 13. 3 to 10 are side views showing the operation of each part in the module from before the start of processing on the wafer W to the acquisition of the height distribution on the surface of the wafer W. The light radiated from the upper sensor 24 and the lower sensor 34 when performing the detection is shown by the two-dot chain arrow.

11 to 13 are top views of the wafer W placed on the spin chuck 11, showing the operation of the upper sensor 24 and the wafer W after the resist film is formed. In FIGS. 11 to 13, N indicates a notch at the peripheral edge of the wafer W, and P indicates light emitted from the upper sensor 24 to form an optical axis for distance detection. Therefore, in FIGS. 11 to 13, the position of the light P is shown to indicate the position where distance detection is being performed.

In the following explanation of the operation, each operation process from obtaining distance parameters to forming a resist film will be referred to as step S, and each operation process for obtaining the height distribution at each position after forming the resist film will be referred to as step S. Let it be T. Steps S3 to S6 are the first process for forming a resist film, and step T is the second process.

First, from the state where the resist supply nozzle 21 is located in the standby section 35 (FIG. 3), it moves to the outside of the standby section 35 by the cooperation of the rising and horizontal movement of the arm 22, and the output of a predetermined encoder and The upper sensor 24 is located on the fixed base 31. Then, light is irradiated from the upper sensor 24, and the distance (third distance) L1 between the upper surface 33 of the fixed base 31 and the lower end of the upper sensor 24 is acquired by the control unit 100 (FIG. 4).

After that, when the arm 22 moves and the resist supply nozzle 21 is located above the lower sensor 34 and at a height that corresponds to the output of a predetermined encoder, the lower sensor 34 irradiates the light P and A distance (second distance) L2 between the upper end of the lower sensor 34 and the lower end of the resist supply nozzle 21 is obtained (FIG. 5). In the examples shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, it is assumed that the positions of the resist supply nozzle 21 and the upper sensor 24 are higher when the distance L2 is obtained than when the distance L1 is obtained. Further, in FIG. 5, the positions of the resist supply nozzle 21 and the upper sensor 24 at the time of obtaining the distance L1 are indicated by dashed lines.

Based on the difference in the outputs of the encoders when acquiring the distance L1 and when acquiring the distance L2, the control unit 100 calculates the difference L3 in the heights of the resist supply nozzle 21 and the upper sensor 24 between when acquiring the distance L1 and when acquiring the distance L2. do. The difference in height between the upper surface 33 of the fixed base 31 and the lower end of the upper sensor 24 when obtaining the distance L2 is the distance L1+height difference L3. As described above, since the heights of the upper surface 33 of the fixed table 31 and the upper end of the lower sensor 34 are the same, the acquired distance L2 is the distance between the upper surface 33 of the fixed table 31 and the lower end of the resist supply nozzle 21. is equal to the difference in height. From the above, the control unit 100 calculates the distance L4 which is the difference in height between the lower end of the resist supply nozzle 21 and the lower end of the upper sensor 24 = distance L1 + height difference L3 - distance L2. Further, the control unit 100 sets a reference height L0 based on the distance L2, and detects the height of the upper sensor 24 with respect to the reference height L0. For example, the height of the lower end of the resist supply nozzle 21 when obtaining the distance L2 is set as the reference height L0 (step S2).

To briefly describe the operations in steps S1 and S2 above, the reference height L0 is set, and the height of the upper sensor 24 and the resist supply nozzle 21 relative to the reference height L0 are detected. It turns out. After step S2, even if the arm 22 moves up and down, the height of the upper sensor 24 and the height of the resist supply nozzle 21 relative to the reference height L0 can be detected based on the output of the encoder.

From step S2 onwards, the upper sensor 24 is horizontally moved onto the center of the wafer W placed on the spin chuck 11 and stationary by the transport mechanism, and the sensor 24 is moved so that the output of the encoder becomes a predetermined value. The upper sensor 24 moves up and down. After that, the upper sensor 24 irradiates the center of the wafer W with light P, and the distance L5 between the center of the wafer W and the lower end of the upper sensor 24 is obtained (step S3, FIG. 6). Then, the resist supply nozzle 21 is moved horizontally so as to be located above the center of the wafer W, and the distance L5 - distance L4 and the preset distance between the resist supply nozzle 21 and the wafer W (referred to as L6) are determined. The difference is calculated, and the resist supply nozzle 21 moves up and down by the amount of this difference. Thereby, the resist supply nozzle 21 is located at a height a distance L6 away from the center of the wafer W (step S4). That is, the height of the resist supply nozzle 21 is determined based on the distance L4 (that is, based on the distances L1 and L2 obtained in steps S1 and S2 and the encoder output at the time of obtaining the distances L1 and L2).

After that, the wafer W rotates at a predetermined number of rotations, and the resist supply nozzle 21 starts discharging the resist R, and the resist supply nozzle 21 starts horizontal movement toward the periphery of the wafer W (step In S5 (FIG. 7), resist R is supplied to the surface of wafer W. When the resist supply nozzle 21 is located on the peripheral edge of the wafer W, the horizontal movement of the resist supply nozzle 21 stops, and when the resist R is applied to the entire surface of the wafer W, the discharge of the resist R stops (see FIG. 8). The resist supply nozzle 21 is raised, the wafer W continues to rotate at a predetermined rotation speed, and the resist R is dried and solidified to form a resist film R1 (step S6).

Thereafter, the rotation of the wafer W is stopped, and the upper sensor 24 is moved to a predetermined height above the center of the wafer W (step T1). The distance (first distance) between the upper sensor 24 and the reference height L0 at this time is L7. Note that, as described above, since the height of the upper sensor 24 with respect to the reference height L0 is detected in step S2, the distance L7 is calculated from the displacement between the encoder output in step S2 and the encoder output in step T1. be done.

Then, as the light P is irradiated from the upper sensor 24 (FIG. 9, left side of FIG. 11), the upper sensor 24 moves horizontally toward the periphery of the wafer W, and the surface of the wafer W and the upper sensor 24 are moved horizontally. A distance (assumed to be L8) is obtained. That is, the distance between each position in the radius of the wafer W and the upper sensor 24 is acquired. When the irradiation position of the light P moves to a predetermined position on the outside of the wafer W, for example (the center of FIGS. 10 and 11), the movement of the upper sensor 24 and the light irradiation are stopped. The height distribution in the radius of the wafer W is calculated from the difference between the distance L7 and the distance L8 (detected value by the upper sensor 24) continuously acquired during the movement of the upper sensor 24 (step T2). The graph in FIG. 14 shows an example of the height distribution.

Thereafter, the spin chuck 11 rotates, and after changing the orientation of the wafer W by 90° clockwise, it comes to rest (right side of FIG. 11, step T3). After that, the upper sensor 24 emits light P, and the upper sensor 24 moves horizontally toward the center of the wafer W, and the distance L8 between the surface of the wafer W and the upper sensor 24 is acquired again. When the irradiation position of the light P moves to a predetermined position on the peripheral edge of the wafer W (left side in FIG. 12), the movement of the upper sensor 24 and the light irradiation are stopped. The height distribution along the radial direction at the peripheral edge of the wafer W is calculated from the difference between the distance L7 and the distance L8 (step T4). The graph in FIG. 15 shows an example of the height distribution.

Subsequently, the spin chuck 11 rotates to change the orientation of the wafer W by 90 degrees clockwise, and then comes to rest (center in FIG. 12, step T5). After that, the upper sensor 24 emits light P, and the upper sensor 24 moves horizontally toward the peripheral edge of the wafer W, and the distance L8 between the surface of the wafer W and the upper sensor 24 is obtained. When the irradiation position of the light P moves to a predetermined position outside the wafer W (right side in FIG. 12), the movement of the upper sensor 24 and the light irradiation are stopped. Based on the difference between distance L7 and distance L8, a height distribution similar to that shown in FIG. 15 is obtained (step T6). Therefore, in this step T6, the height distribution of the wafer W is acquired in the same manner as in step T4, except that the moving direction of the upper sensor 24 is different.

Thereafter, the spin chuck 11 rotates to change the orientation of the wafer W by 90 degrees clockwise, and then comes to rest (left side of FIG. 13, step T7). After that, the upper sensor 24 emits light P and the upper sensor 24 moves horizontally toward the center of the wafer W, and the distance L8 between the surface of the wafer W and the upper sensor 24 is obtained. When the irradiation position of the light P moves to a predetermined position on the periphery of the wafer W (right side in FIG. 13), the movement of the upper sensor 24 and the light irradiation stop, and from the distances L7 and L8, the same as that shown in FIG. The height distribution of the wafer W is obtained (step T8). Therefore, in step T8, the height distribution of the wafer W is obtained in the same way as in step T4 above. Thereafter, the upper sensor 24 is retracted from above the wafer W, and the resist supply nozzle 21 returns to the standby section 35 (step T9). Then, the wafer W is transported out of the resist film forming module 1 by the transport mechanism of the coating and developing device 10.

In this way, in steps T1 to T9, the wafer W is intermittently rotated, and the height distribution is obtained by moving the upper sensor 24 when the wafer W is stationary during such intermittent rotation. . FIG. 16 shows the movement paths of the light P in the above steps T2, T4, T6, and T8 as A1, A2, A3, and A4, respectively, corresponding to the wafer W. The ends of the moving paths A1 to A4 on the outer peripheral side of the wafer W are, for example, 2 mm apart from the peripheral end of the wafer W. Further, the ends of the moving paths A2 to A4 on the center side of the wafer W are, for example, 3 mm farther from the peripheral end of the wafer W. Therefore, the height distribution between the first position 2 mm closer to the center than the peripheral edge of the wafer W and the second position at the peripheral edge of the wafer W is obtained at four positions on the peripheral edge of the wafer W. This means that

The rotation speed of the wafer W in steps T3, T5, and T7 is, for example, 10 rpm. Further, the time required for each step T, that is, the time for the upper sensor 24 to move in each step T as described above, is, for example, 10 seconds for T1, T4, T6, and T8, 152 seconds for T2, and 152 seconds for T3, T5, For example, T7 is 15 seconds and T9 is 5 seconds.

Regarding the height distribution in FIG. 14 acquired in step T2, the peak of the waveform closer to the peripheral edge of the wafer W than a predetermined position (represented as R0) on the peripheral edge of the wafer W is located at the top of the hump. The difference between the peak and the reference height L0 is detected as the height L9 corresponding to the height of the hump. Regarding the height distribution obtained in steps T4, T6, and T8, it is assumed that the peak of the waveform represents the top of the hump, and the difference between the peak and the reference height L0 is the height L9 corresponding to the height of the hump. Detected as . Then, each of these heights L9 is compared with a preset tolerance value. If any of the heights L9 is below the allowable value, the wafer W is determined to have no hump abnormality, and if any of the heights L9 exceeds the allowable value, the wafer W is determined to have a hump abnormality.

Note that the abnormality of the wafer W is determined based on the difference L9 between the reference height L0 and the height of the peak of the waveform of the height distribution. It is also possible to detect the difference in height of the hump, that is, detect the height of the hump itself, and determine whether there is an abnormality based on the detected value.

By the way, in the above step T2, the radius of the wafer W, that is, the height distribution from the center to the periphery of the wafer W is acquired. Therefore, among the height distributions obtained in step T2, the height distribution is closer to the center of the wafer W, that is, the height distribution closer to the center of the wafer W than the height distributions obtained in steps T4, T6, and T8. Based on this, the flatness of the resist film may be detected to determine whether there is an abnormality in the wafer W. Specifically, for example, the difference in height between the highest position and the lowest position in the height distribution on the center side is calculated. If the difference value is within the allowable range, it is assumed that the wafer W has no flatness abnormality (high flatness), and if the difference value is outside the permissible range, the wafer W has a flatness abnormality. (low flatness). The control unit 100 that performs such determination constitutes a determination unit.

Next, the configuration of the coating and developing device 10 will be described with reference to the plan view of FIG. 17 and the side view of FIG. 18. The coating and developing device 10 includes a carrier block D1, a processing block D2, and an interface block D3, which are connected in order in the left-right direction, and the interface block D3 is connected to an exposure machine D4. The carrier block D1 includes a stage 41 for the transport container C, an opening/closing section 42, and a transport mechanism 43 that transports the wafer W to the transport container C via the opening/closing section 42.

The processing block D2 is constructed by stacking layers E1 to E6 in order from the bottom, the layers E1 to E3 are layers for forming a resist film and are configured in the same way, and the layers E4 to E6 are layers for development. They are configured similarly to each other. The hierarchy E1 will be explained as a representative example. A transfer area 51 for the wafer W extending left and right is formed, and a transfer mechanism F1 is provided in the transfer area 51. A hydrophobizing module 52 and a heating module 53 are provided on the rear side of the transport area 51. The hydrophobizing module 52 supplies a processing gas to the surface of the wafer W to perform a hydrophobizing process before forming a resist film. The heating module 53 heats the wafer W on which the resist film has been formed to remove the solvent contained in the resist. On the front side of the transport area 51, a plurality of the resist film forming modules 1 described above are arranged side by side.

Hierarchies E4 to E6 are different from each other except that a developing module is provided instead of the resist film forming module 1, a hydrophobization module 52 is not provided, and a heating module 53 performs PEB (Post Exposure Bake). It has the same configuration as the layers E1 to E3. Note that the transport mechanisms corresponding to the transport mechanism F1 in the floors E2 to E6 are shown as F2 to F6. Further, in the processing block D2, a tower V1 is provided on the carrier block D1 side in the transport area 51 so as to span the floors E1 to E6. The tower V1 comprises a number of transfer modules TRS stacked on top of each other. A transport mechanism 54 is provided for transporting between the transfer modules TRS.

The interface block D3 includes towers V2, V3, and V4 configured by stacking a plurality of modules on top of each other. Although a detailed explanation of the modules included in towers V2 to V4 will be omitted, the modules of tower V2 include delivery modules TRS stacked in multiple stages. Reference numerals 61, 62, and 63 in the figure are transport mechanisms that transfer wafers W between towers V2 and V3, between towers V3 and V4, and between tower V2 and exposure machine D4, respectively.

In the coating and developing device 10, the wafer W is transported from the transport container C to the tower V1 via the transport mechanism 43, and then transported to one of the floors E1 to E3 via the transport mechanism 54. Then, the wafer W is transported by the transport mechanisms F1 to F3 in the order of hydrophobizing module 52→resist film forming module 1→heating module 53→tower V2. As a result, the hydrophobic treatment, the formation of the resist film described above, the acquisition of the height distribution, the detection of the hump height, the abnormality determination of the wafer W, and the heat treatment are sequentially performed. Thereafter, the wafer W is transferred between the towers V2 to V4 by the transfer mechanisms 61 to 63, and transferred to the exposure machine D4, where the resist film is exposed along the circuit pattern.

The exposed wafer W is transferred between towers V2 to V4 by transport mechanisms 61 to 63, carried to floors E4 to E6, and transported in the order of heating module 53 → developing module by transport mechanisms F4 to F6. As a result, PEB and development processing are performed in this order to form a resist pattern. Thereafter, the wafer W is returned to the transport container C via the tower V1 and the transport mechanisms 54 and 43.

According to the coating and developing apparatus 10 described above, the wafer W is rotated by the spin chuck 11 in the resist film forming module 1, and the upper sensor 24 is moved by the moving mechanism 23 and the arm 22. With such a configuration, the height distribution between the center side and the peripheral end side of the wafer W at a plurality of positions spaced apart from each other in the circumferential direction of the wafer W at the peripheral edge of the wafer W is obtained. Therefore, the wafer W on which a resist film has been formed in the resist film forming module 1 is stored in a transport container C, further transported to a measuring device outside the coating and developing device 10, and the wafer W is taken out from the transport container C and placed on the hump. There is no need to measure height. That is, for the coating and developing device 10, less effort is required to obtain the above-mentioned height distribution in order to obtain information about the height of the hump.

Note that if the height of the hump in the resist film is too large, the resist pattern will be used to etch the lower layer provided under the resist film, and when ashing the resist pattern that is no longer needed, the height of the hump will be There is a possibility that ashing may be insufficient. In order to prevent this, if the processing time is lengthened or the intensity of the plasma used for ashing is increased, the damage to the center of the wafer W becomes large. In addition, if the height of the resist film hump is too large, the lower layer of the above-mentioned lower layer film will not be etched enough at the position below the resist film hump, resulting in cases where the recess is not formed where the recess should be formed. There is a risk of In that case, when CMP or cleaning is performed after the etching, the slurry for CMP or the cleaning liquid used for cleaning will not be discharged to the outside of the wafer W through the recess, and may remain on the surface of the wafer W, resulting in defects. Yes.

If the height of the hump is too large as described above, there is a possibility that the yield of semiconductor products manufactured from the wafer W may be reduced. Therefore, acquiring the height distribution of the peripheral edge of the wafer W as described above in the coating/developing device 10 and determining the abnormality of the wafer W requires, for example, various parameters for maintenance and processing of each part of the module. This will encourage adjustment at the appropriate timing, contributing to preventing a decline in the yield of semiconductor products. Note that the acquisition of the height distribution of the wafer W in steps T1 to T8 does not have to be performed for each wafer W, but can be performed once every time a predetermined number of wafers W are processed, or for each lot of wafers W. You may also do so.

In addition, in the resist film forming module 1, by using the distance L2 detected by the lower sensor 34, it is possible to set the reference height L0, detect the height of the resist supply nozzle 21 from the reference height L0, and Detection of the difference in height between the supply nozzle 21 and the upper sensor 24 is performed. That is, by providing the lower sensor 34, these settings and detection operations can be performed automatically. For example, this is advantageous because it requires less effort than the user of the apparatus who uses a jig to measure the distance from the fixed base 31 to set or detect these parameters.

By the way, each of the acquired parameters is stored in the memory 102 of the control unit 100 by performing steps S1 and S2 above once. Since the stored parameters can be used thereafter, steps S1 and S2 do not need to be repeated. Therefore, after performing steps S1 and S2 once, the lower sensor 34 used only in step S2 may be removed from the resist film forming module 1. However, if the configuration of the resist film forming module 1 is changed, such as by replacing the resist supply nozzle 21, or if various parts of the module are adjusted, a deviation may occur between the obtained parameters and the actual values. It is possible that Therefore, it is preferable to permanently install the lower sensor 34 in the module so that each parameter can be updated by executing steps S1 and S2 at an arbitrary timing, such as when starting up the device.

In addition, for steps T1 to T9 for acquiring the height distribution, the rotation speed of the wafer W, the position of the moving body consisting of the upper sensor 24, the arm 22, and the resist supply nozzle 21, the time for implementing the step, etc. are specified for each step. The control unit 100 outputs a control signal according to a recipe that is a set of parameters. For steps S3 to S6 of forming a resist film on the wafer W, similarly to steps T1 to T9, a group of parameters specifying the number of rotations of the wafer W, the position of the moving body, the time for implementing the step, etc. for each step. The control unit 100 outputs a control signal according to a certain recipe. That is, the rotational speed of the wafer W and the position of the movable body in each step S and T are set in advance, and when the time set in advance for one step has elapsed, the process moves to the next step. However, as described above, the height position of the movable body during resist discharge in step S5 is determined from the preset height by the distance L5 detected by the upper sensor 24 as described in FIGS. 6 and 7. It will be changed.

The recipe for executing steps T1 to T9 as described above includes the same parameters as the recipe for executing steps S3 to S6 for forming a resist film. Therefore, the recipe for executing steps T1 to T9 can be created by appropriately diverting or changing the recipe for executing steps S3 to S6, which has the advantage of being easy to create. This is because the mechanism for acquiring the height distribution of the wafer W in steps T1 to T9 uses the spin chuck 11, arm 22, movement mechanism 23, and upper sensor 24 for resist coating in steps S3 to S6. It can be said that this is an advantage. Note that each recipe is stored in the memory 102 of the control unit 100.

Further, when setting the reference height L0 used to obtain the height distribution in steps T1 to T9, the distance L2 from the resist supply nozzle 21 is detected by the lower sensor 34. The value calculated from the distance L2 is also used to adjust the height of the resist supply nozzle 21 when discharging the resist, and by controlling the nozzle height, the film thickness at each part of the resist film can be highly controlled. Therefore, a desired film thickness can be obtained. In other words, by measuring the distance L2, the reference height L0 can be set to enable measurement of the surface height of the wafer W, and the controllability of the resist film thickness can be improved. Therefore, it is preferable.

Further, in steps T1 to T9, the upper sensor 24 reciprocates over the periphery of the wafer W when the wafer W comes to rest and the next time the wafer W comes to rest. By operating the upper sensor 24 in this manner, unnecessary movement of the upper sensor 24 for obtaining the height distribution can be omitted. This prevents the wafer W from increasing its resting time, thereby suppressing a decrease in throughput.

By the way, in step T2, the height distribution of areas other than the periphery of the wafer W is also obtained, so the height distribution of the wafer W is used to obtain the height distribution of the periphery of the wafer W so that the influence of warping of the wafer W is canceled. The height distribution may be obtained to determine whether there is an abnormality regarding the hump. This will be specifically explained using FIG. 19. The upper part of FIG. 19 shows an example of the height distribution of the radius of the wafer W obtained in step T2. Due to the warpage of the wafer W, this height distribution has a relatively large difference between the center side and the periphery side of the wafer W, and the height of the surface of the wafer W increases toward the periphery, and the reference height It is far from L0.

The control unit 100, which serves as a correction mechanism for warpage, calculates the height of the wafer W at the center of the wafer W and the height of the wafer W at a position R0 closer to the center than the position where the hump is formed at the periphery of the wafer W. Calculate the difference H1. Then, so that the height of the wafer W at the position R0 is equal to the height of the center of the wafer W, the height on the peripheral edge side of the wafer W from the position R0 is corrected by H1. The lower part of FIG. 19 shows the height distribution corrected in this way.

Then, from the corrected height distribution, a height L9 corresponding to the hump height described above is detected, and an abnormality is determined. Regarding the height distribution calculated in steps T4, T6, and T8, the height of the wafer W is corrected by H1, and the height L9 is detected to determine whether there is an abnormality. However, as described above, the spin chuck 11 attracts the mounted wafer W. If the warpage of the wafer W is eliminated by this suction, the above correction may not be performed.

By the way, the control unit 100 is configured to transmit, to the exposure machine D4, information identifying the wafer W, such as an ID, for a wafer W determined to have an abnormal hump height. , processing may be performed based on that information. This will be explained in more detail with reference to FIGS. 20 and 21. In the figure, 71 is a stage on which the wafer W is placed in the exposure machine D4, and 72 in the figure is an exposure head that irradiates the wafer W with light. By moving the stage 71 back and forth and left and right, regions where a large number of chips, which are semiconductor products, are formed within the plane of the wafer W are sequentially exposed.

20 shows a case where a normal wafer W is processed, and FIG. 21 shows a case where an abnormal wafer W is processed. Compared to the case of processing a normal wafer W, when processing an abnormal wafer W, the movement of the stage 71 is restricted, and the chip formation region located closest to the peripheral edge of the wafer W is not exposed. Therefore, the range of exposure to form a pattern is controlled based on the presence or absence of an abnormality on the wafer W in the resist film.

By not exposing the peripheral edge of the wafer W that has been determined to be abnormal as described above, the operating cost of the exposure machine D4 can be reduced and the throughput of the exposure machine D4 can be improved. Note that the resist film exposed by this exposure device D4 may be one formed in the resist film forming module 1 as described above, or may be one formed in the resist film forming module 8 described later. It may also be one that has been subjected to EBR processing.

If the exposure range is not controlled as shown in FIG. 21 and the formation area of each chip is exposed on the abnormal wafer W in the same way as on the normal wafer W, for example, among the semiconductor products manufactured from the abnormal wafer W, , chips manufactured from the formation region closest to the peripheral edge of the wafer W may be regarded as abnormal products. In other words, the chip may be removed from the inspection target, discarded, and excluded from the yield calculation.

Further, the hump is not limited to being formed by supplying the coating liquid in a spiral manner as in the resist film forming module 1. FIG. 22 shows a resist film forming module 8 that forms a resist film in a form different from that of the resist film forming module 1. In each of the layers E1 to E3 of the coating and developing device 10 described above, instead of a plurality of resist film forming modules 1 being provided, resist film forming modules 1 and 8 are provided side by side.

The differences between the resist film forming module 8 and the resist film forming module 1 will be explained. In the resist film forming module 8, a resist is supplied to the center of the wafer W, and by rotating the wafer W, the resist is spread by centrifugal force, and a resist film R1 is formed over the entire surface of the wafer W. Therefore, the resist film R1 is formed by so-called spin coating. A cup 81 is provided to surround the wafer W placed on the spin chuck 11, which is a stage for processing, in order to catch the resist and thinner described later that are scattered from the wafer W during spin coating.

The resist film forming module 8 includes a thinner supply nozzle 83 supported by an arm 82, and the arm 82 moves the upper area of the wafer W by a moving mechanism (not shown) having the same configuration as the moving mechanism 23 that moves the arm 22. and the outside of it. The thinner supply nozzle 83 discharges the thinner 84, which is a processing liquid, onto the peripheral edge of the rotating wafer W after the resist film has been formed, so that the periphery of the wafer W starts from the position where the thinner 84 is discharged on the peripheral edge of the wafer W. The resist film R1 in the region reaching the end is removed. That is, a so-called EBR (Edge Bead Removal) process is performed in which the coating film is removed only at the peripheral edge of the wafer W.

The thinner 84 supplied to the wafer W slightly pushes the dissolved resist toward the center of the wafer W, and thus a hump may be formed in the resist film R1 after the EBR process. The height of this hump may vary in the circumferential direction of the wafer W due to misalignment of the wafer W with respect to the spin chuck 11 or uneven flow of the thinner 84 in the circumferential direction of the wafer W.

In each of the levels E1 to E3, the wafer W processed by the resist film forming module 8 is transported to the resist film forming module 1 by the transport mechanisms F1 to F3, and steps T1 to T9 described above are executed. The wafer W is transported through the coating/developing device 10 along the same transport route as described above, except that the wafer W is transported between the resist film forming modules in the floors E1 to E3. Therefore, the transport mechanisms F1 to F3 transport the resist film forming module 1 from the resist film forming module 8 without passing through the transport container C. Therefore, even if the coating and developing device 10 is configured to include the resist film forming module 8, there is no need to transport the wafer W to an external measuring device after forming the resist film, so the height distribution can be measured as described above. It is possible to reduce the effort required to obtain the information.

When the above-mentioned resist film forming module 8 is installed in the apparatus, the resist film forming module 1 does not include the resist supply nozzle 21, and can be a module dedicated to inspection for obtaining the height distribution. In such a module dedicated to inspection, the upper sensor 24 is not limited to moving in a straight line between the center side and the peripheral edge side of the wafer W, but for example, as shown in FIG. It may be moved. 85 in the figure is a rotation mechanism to which the base end side of the arm 22 is connected and for rotating the arm 22 around a vertical axis, and 86 in the figure is a lifting mechanism that raises and lowers the rotation mechanism 85. In the configuration example shown in FIG. 23, the height distribution is obtained in the same manner as in the examples shown in FIGS. 13 to 15, except that the locus of movement of the upper sensor 24 is different.

Furthermore, when the resist film forming module 1 is an inspection-only module that is not provided with the nozzle 21, in step S2, instead of irradiating light from the lower sensor 34 to the resist supply nozzle 21, for example, the arm 22 is irradiated with light to measure the distance. A height that is a predetermined distance away from the detected distance may be determined as the reference height L0.

In addition, in the case of using such a test-only module, for example, the upper sensor 24 irradiated with light is raised and lowered with respect to the fixed base 31, and the height at which the distance L1 becomes a desired value is set as the reference height L0, Thereafter, the height of the upper sensor 24 relative to this reference height L0 may be detected from the output of the encoder. In other words, if the resist supply nozzle 21 is not provided, there is no need to obtain the height of the resist supply nozzle 21 with respect to the reference height L0, so there is no need to provide the lower sensor 34 for detecting the nozzle 21 in the module. Often, the reference height L0 may be set without using the lower sensor 34.

Further, in the case of a test-only module, the arm 22 may not move up and down, and the upper sensor 24 may only move horizontally. Then, the distance L7 between the arbitrarily set reference height L0 and the upper sensor 24 is obtained by using, for example, a jig, and from this distance L7 and the distance L8 between the wafer W detected by the upper sensor 24, the wafer The height distribution of W may also be obtained. In such a configuration, since there is no displacement in the height of the upper sensor 24, the height distribution of the wafer W can be obtained without using the output of the encoder.

By the way, when forming a resist film and acquiring height distribution in the resist film forming module 1, as step S1 shown in FIG. Although the distance L1 is obtained, the distance L1 may be obtained by making the upper sensor 24 face the lower sensor 34 and irradiating the lower sensor 34 with light. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide the fixing base 31. Further, when obtaining the distance L1 by facing the upper sensor 24 and the lower sensor 34 in this manner, the distance L1 may be obtained by irradiating light from the lower sensor 34 to the upper sensor 24. Further, in the above example, the heights of the resist supply nozzle 21 and the upper sensor 24 are changed between when step S1 is executed and when step S2 is executed, but the heights may be the same.

In addition, in the example described above, the height distribution of the wafer W is acquired at four positions on the periphery of the wafer W, but the number of positions to be acquired is not limited to four, and it is possible to acquire the height distribution at more or fewer positions. It may also be obtained by location. However, as described above, the height of the hump varies in the circumferential direction of the wafer W, so the rotation of the wafer W is used to obtain the height distribution at a plurality of positions. In addition, in the example described above, the height distribution is obtained at the peripheral edge of the wafer W from a position near the center of the wafer W to the peripheral edge of the wafer W, but this is not processed by the resist film forming module 8. In some cases, the hump is formed closer to the center of the wafer W than to the peripheral edge. Therefore, the height distribution up to the peripheral edge of the wafer W is not obtained, and the height distribution between the position closer to the center of the wafer W and the position closer to the center than the peripheral edge of the wafer W at the peripheral edge of the wafer W is not obtained. The height distribution may be obtained.

Although we have described an example in which the height distribution is obtained and abnormalities are determined for a wafer W on which a resist film is formed, for a wafer W on which a coating film other than a resist film such as an antireflection film or an insulating film is formed, The height distribution may be obtained and an abnormality may be determined using the procedure described above. Furthermore, by moving the nozzle that discharges the coating liquid from the peripheral edge of the wafer W toward the center while the wafer W is being rotated, a ring-shaped coating film is formed on the peripheral edge of the wafer W. In the annular coating film, a hump may be formed at a position closer to the center of the wafer W. Even for a wafer W on which such a coating film is formed, the height distribution can be obtained and an abnormality can be determined by the procedure described above.

Although the substrate processing apparatus has shown an example of a configuration in which a resist film, which is a coating film, is formed and developed, it is not limited to such a configuration. It may be a configuration. Further, the upper sensor 24 and the lower sensor 34 may be any sensor as long as it can measure the distance to an object that is distant from each sensor. Therefore, the distance sensor is not limited to the optical distance sensor described above, and for example, an ultrasonic distance sensor may be used.

Note that the embodiments disclosed this time should be considered to be illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The embodiments described above may be omitted, replaced, modified, or combined in various ways without departing from the scope and spirit of the appended claims.

(Reference test)
A coating film is formed on the wafer W, and the height of the hump of the coating film is measured by using a spectroscopic ellipsometry film thickness measuring device and the upper sensor 24 moving over the wafer W in the same way as the resist film forming module 1. Measurements were made using the constructed test equipment. The film thickness measuring device described above was configured to measure the surface of the wafer W at intervals of 10 μm, and the test device was configured to be able to measure distances at intervals of 0.1 μm during movement. Then, the actual height of the hump on the wafer W measured using the film thickness measuring device and testing equipment is measured by observing the cross section using X-SEM (cross-sectional scanning electron microscopy), and the film thickness is determined. The accuracy of the measurement results using the measuring instruments and test equipment was confirmed.

The graph of FIG. 24 shows the results of this reference test. The horizontal axis (X-axis) of the graph shows the hump height (unit: Å) measured by the X-SEM, and the vertical axis (Y-axis) of the graph shows the height of the hump measured by the test equipment and film thickness measuring device. The height of the hump (unit: Å) is shown. In the graph, the results obtained by the test device are shown by white dots, and the results obtained by the film thickness measuring device are shown by hatched points. The solid lines and dotted lines in the graph are approximate straight lines of the results obtained by the test device and the film thickness measuring device, respectively.

The approximate straight line of the test device was Y=0.9877X, and the approximate straight line of the film thickness measuring device was Y=0.3671X. Therefore, according to this reference test, it can be seen that the height of the hump can be measured with high accuracy according to the resist film forming module 1 described above. Note that the accuracy of the hump height of the film thickness measuring device was low because the measurement interval on the wafer W surface was relatively large, and the height of the top of the hump was not measured, resulting in a position deviated from the top. This is thought to be due to the fact that the height was measured.

10 Coating and developing device 11 Spin chuck 21 Resist supply nozzle 22 Arm 23 Moving mechanism 24 Upper sensor 12 Rotating mechanism

Claims (10)

a processing liquid supply nozzle that supplies processing liquid to at least the peripheral edge of the surface of the substrate to perform processing;
a stage on which the substrate to which the processing liquid is supplied is placed;
a moving body including a first distance sensor for detecting a distance to the substrate placed on the stage;
a control unit that outputs a control signal;
A first position that is a position near the center of the substrate at the peripheral edge of the substrate upon receiving the control signal , and a second position that is a position closer to the peripheral edge of the substrate than the first position. a moving mechanism that moves the movable body in the lateral direction on the peripheral edge of the substrate so that a height distribution between the two is obtained;
a rotation mechanism that receives the control signal and rotates the stage relative to the movable body in order to obtain each of the height distributions at a plurality of positions spaced apart from each other in a circumferential direction of the substrate;
Equipped with
The moving mechanism raises and lowers the moving body with respect to the stage and outputs information on the amount of elevation,
a first distance between the first distance sensor and a reference height when the mobile body moves laterally, which is calculated based on the information on the amount of elevation; and a detection value by the first distance sensor; an arithmetic unit that obtains the height distribution based on the
A reference height setting section for setting the reference height is provided,
The reference height setting section includes:
the calculation unit; and a second distance sensor provided below the moving path of the moving body and for detecting a second distance to the moving body;
The calculation unit sets the reference height based on the second distance,
The processing liquid supply nozzle is included in the moving body, the second distance is a distance between the processing liquid supply nozzle and the second distance sensor,
The arithmetic unit is
the second distance; the third distance between the first distance sensor and the second distance sensor acquired by the first or second distance sensor; the second distance; A substrate processing apparatus that determines a height of the processing liquid supply nozzle when supplying the processing liquid to the substrate based on information on the lifting amount when obtaining each third distance . The processing liquid is a coating liquid for forming a coating film,
On the rotating substrate, a first process is performed in which the processing liquid supply nozzle is moved by the moving mechanism so that the supply position of the coating liquid is moved from the center of the substrate toward the peripheral edge of the substrate,
2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a second process for obtaining height distributions at the plurality of positions is performed on the substrate that has been subjected to the first process. A control section that outputs a control signal is provided,
The first processing and the second processing each include a plurality of steps performed successively,
3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein each step is performed by outputting the control signal based on a recipe set for the rotation speed of the substrate, the position of the movable body, and the time for implementing the step. The processing liquid is a removal liquid that removes a film formed on the entire surface of the substrate placed on a processing stage different from the stage, in a limited manner at the peripheral edge of the substrate,
2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a transport mechanism that transports the substrate from the processing stage to the stage without passing through a transport container that is sealed with the substrate stored therein. Obtaining the height distribution at the plurality of positions includes:
Intermittent rotation of the substrate by the rotation mechanism;
2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first distance sensor is moved in a lateral direction by the movement mechanism when the substrate is at rest during the intermittent rotation period. 6. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the first distance sensor reciprocates over the peripheral edge of the substrate between when the substrate is stationary and the next time the substrate is stationary. 2. The substrate according to claim 1, wherein the first distance sensor acquires a distance between the first distance sensor and the center of the substrate, and a correction mechanism is provided for correcting the height distribution based on the distance. Processing equipment. One of the plurality of height distributions acquired by the first distance sensor is a height distribution extending from the center to the periphery of the substrate,
2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a determination unit that determines whether or not there is an abnormality in the substrate based on the height distribution on the center side of the substrate in the height distribution. a step of supplying a processing liquid to at least the peripheral edge of the surface of the substrate using a processing liquid supply nozzle to perform processing;
placing the substrate supplied with the processing liquid on a stage;
a step of detecting a distance between the moving body and the substrate placed on the stage using a first distance sensor included in the moving body;
The moving body is moved laterally on the peripheral edge of the substrate by a moving mechanism, and the movable body is moved to a first position on the peripheral edge of the substrate near the center of the substrate, and a position closer to the center of the substrate than the first position. a step of obtaining a height distribution between a second position that is a position on the peripheral edge side of the substrate;
rotating the stage with respect to the movable body using a rotation mechanism, and obtaining the height distribution at a plurality of positions spaced apart from each other in the circumferential direction of the substrate;
a step of raising and lowering the movable body with respect to the stage by the moving mechanism and outputting information on the amount of elevation;
A first distance between the first distance sensor and a reference height when the mobile body moves in the horizontal direction, which is calculated by the calculation unit based on the information on the amount of elevation, and a first distance between the first distance sensor and the first distance sensor. a step of obtaining the height distribution based on the detected value;
The reference height is set by the reference height setting section including the calculation section and a second distance sensor provided below the moving path of the moving object for detecting a second distance to the moving object. The process of setting the
setting the reference height based on the second distance by the calculation unit;
Equipped with
The processing liquid supply nozzle is included in the moving body, the second distance is a distance between the processing liquid supply nozzle and the second distance sensor,
The calculation unit calculates the second distance, the third distance between the first distance sensor and the second distance sensor acquired by the first or second distance sensor, and the second distance. determining the height of the processing liquid supply nozzle when supplying the processing liquid to the substrate, based on information on the lifting amount when obtaining the second distance and the third distance, respectively. A substrate processing method. The processing liquid is a resist that forms a resist film on the substrate, or a removal liquid that selectively removes a portion of the resist film formed on the entire surface of the substrate that is formed on the peripheral edge of the substrate,
10. The substrate processing method according to claim 9 , further comprising the step of controlling an exposed range for forming a pattern in the resist film based on the height distribution.

Images