JPH01251035A - Developing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate an uneven development and uneven film thickness and to improve the yield and the quality by allowing a ring having some prescribed thickness to adhere closely to the outside peripheral part on a master disk at the time of a pre-processing and development processing. CONSTITUTION:Nozzles 3, 4 for discharging each processing liquid of pre- processing and development processing are placed on the upper part of a master disk 1, and at the time of respective processing, each processing liquid flows out for a prescribed time. At the time of said pre-processing and development processing, a ring 6 having some prescribed thickness is allowed to adhere closely to the outside peripheral part on the master disk 1. Accordingly, even if a variation of the surface state of a resist which is applied onto the master disk 1, or a rotational fluctuation of a turntable 2, or a variance of the state of a chamfer provided on the outermost periphery of the master disk 1 occurs, thickness of the processing liquid existing on the master disk 1 can always be held so as to be above prescribed thickness. In such a way, the master disk 1 with high quality being free from uneven development and uneven film thickness can be manufactured with a high yield.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to the mechanism of a photoresist developing device for the production of signal recording glass masters for video discs, audio discs or data files, etc.

[Conventional technology]

In general, the disc-shaped master is a glass master or the like, and photoresist is first coated on it, and then recording is performed by focusing a laser beam modulated to the signal to be recorded into a minute spot with a recording lens and exposing it. It is done. By developing the master, for example, in the case of a positive photoresist, the portions exposed to the laser beam are melted and a geometric pattern signal is obtained. In addition to recording by laser as described above, the present invention is also applicable to master discs recorded by electron beams. Furthermore, it is also applied to the development of semiconductor wafers by exposing them to ultraviolet light through a mask.

The spinning method is currently widely used as a developing treatment for master discs as described above. A conventional spinning method developing apparatus has a structure as shown in FIG. 2. Normally, the developing process is performed in the order described below.

1) Pretreatment: While rotating the master 1, pure water or a diluted developer solution is discharged from the nozzle 3 and spread over the entire surface of the master by the centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the master.

2) Development Process After pre-processing for a certain period of time, a developer is discharged from the nozzle 4 to perform a development process.

3) Stopping and cleaning processing: After a certain period of time has elapsed since the current @ liquid was discharged, pure water is discharged from the nozzle 5 to stop the current @ liquid and clean the master surface.

4) Drying: After cleaning for a certain period of time, the discharge of pure water is stopped and the turntable 2 is rotated at high speed to dry the master.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, the above-mentioned conventional technology has the following problems. That is, in the pre-treatment and development processing, the processing liquid distributed on the master E is controlled by the amount supplied from the nozzle and the master by the surface tension of the resist applied on the master against the treatment liquid and the centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the master. The amount that flows out from the top is balanced and is held on the master at a certain thickness. Generally, in order to perform uniform development over the entire surface of the master, the thickness of the processing liquid is important, and it is necessary to ensure a certain appropriate thickness. This appropriate thickness varies depending on the viscosity of the processing liquid, the rotational speed of the turn tape, and the material of the resist on the master, but is generally from several tens of micrometers to several hundred micrometers. However, if the processing liquid on the master disk falls below this appropriate thickness,
The following problems occur:

First, in pre-processing, in order for the processing liquid to spread uniformly over the entire surface of the master in the next development process, it is necessary to wet the entire surface of the master with the processing liquid, but the surface tension may be high locally on the master. If there is a part, the processing solution will not spread and the development will not get wet, and the next development process will not be able to develop, resulting in uneven development.

Furthermore, in the development process, the speed at which the processing liquid moves over the master disc is high, and the processing liquid flows out from the master disc without performing a sufficient developing action, so that a predetermined development state may not be achieved. Especially on the surface of the master, new processing liquid is deposited on the inner periphery.
Because the processing solution that has completed its developing action is distributed around the outer periphery,
Uneven development occurs, such as the development state being different between the inner and outer peripheries. In addition, near the discharge port of the processing liquid on the master, the effect of Mfft to prevent the processing liquid from directly corroding the resist surface under high pressure does not work sufficiently, and the amount of etching of the resist film in this area is greater than that in other areas. Significant film thickness unevenness occurred.

The thickness of the processing liquid held on the master disc is determined by changes in the surface condition of the resist applied on the master disc, fluctuations in the rotation of the turntable on which the master disc is set, and even the condition of the chamfer provided on the outermost periphery of the master disc. The thickness varies from master to master due to variations in the thickness, and the thickness often falls below the appropriate thickness, which causes problems such as uneven development and uneven film thickness.

Therefore, the present invention is intended to solve these problems, and its purpose is to eliminate uneven development and film thickness in the developing process, and furthermore, to obtain a product with a uniform degree of development within the surface. The purpose is to improve the yield of the developing process and obtain high-quality products.

[Means to solve the problem]

The developing device of the present invention is characterized in that it includes an a-structure that brings a ring having a certain thickness into close contact with the outer periphery of the master during pre-processing and developing processing.

[Real cone example]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of the development process during the pretreatment and development process in an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, a master disc 1 is fixed on a turntable 2 and is rotating at a low speed. A nozzle 3.4 for discharging each treatment liquid for pre-treatment and development treatment is arranged above this master disk, and each treatment liquid flows out for a certain period of time during each treatment. During this pretreatment and development treatment, a ring 6 having a certain predetermined thickness is brought into close contact with the outer periphery of the master. The ring is
It is manufactured from metals such as stainless steel or plastics such as Teflon, which are not corroded by the processing solutions used in pre-treatment and development processing.The thickness must be at least the appropriate thickness for processing, and in consideration of processability, it is approximately 0.゜1 city・
~20 am, and the inner diameter is larger than the outermost circumference of the information recording area on the master disc.

When processing is performed in this state, first, in pre-processing, the processing liquid discharged from the nozzle accumulates to the thickness of the ring on the master, and when further processing liquid is discharged, it eventually passes over the top surface of the ring due to the centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the master. and flows out of the plane of the master. At this time, even if there is a locally high surface tension area on the master, the entire surface of the master becomes wet due to the liquid pressure of the processing liquid filling the master, and the processing liquid does not spread throughout the next development process, causing the development process to take place. There is no problem of uneven development due to the inability to perform rabbit processing.

Further, in the development process, the processing liquid discharged from the nozzle flows onto the master disc while gradually replacing the processing liquid that filled the master disc during pre-processing. The inflow is lll1! The liquid is developed on the original disk, and the processing liquid after the development process is replaced by a new processing liquid newly supplied from the nozzle as it passes through the upper surface of the ring and flows out of the surface of the original disk. In this state, the processing liquid with development processing ability is uniformly and sufficiently present on the master with a thickness almost the same as the thickness of the ring, so the development processing proceeds uniformly within the surface and no uneven development occurs.

Furthermore, near the processing liquid discharge port, the processing liquid on the master disc becomes a mesh material for the processing liquid discharged from the nozzle at high pressure, so etching does not progress in this area more than in other areas, resulting in uneven film thickness. .

When the development process is completed, the ring is removed from the master, and at the same time, the processing liquid on the master also flows out of the surface of the master, and the ring is moved to the next stop and cleaning process.

〔Effect of the invention〕

In the development processing apparatus of the present invention, during pretreatment and development processing,
By providing a mechanism that brings a ring with a certain predetermined thickness into close contact with the outer periphery of the master, changes in the surface condition of the resist coated on the master, fluctuations in the rotation of the turntable, and changes in the resist applied on the outermost periphery of the master can be prevented. Even if there are variations in the state of the chamfering, the thickness of the processing liquid on the master can always be kept above a certain predetermined thickness, so high-quality masters with no uneven development or film thickness can be produced at a high yield. be able to.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a developing device according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a conventional developing processing device. ■...Master disc 2...Turn table 3...Pre-processing nozzle 4...Development nozzle 5...Pure water nozzle for development stop 6...Ring or more \-J \-1- stomach

Claims (1)

[Claims] A developing device equipped with a developing tank and a turntable for placing and rotating a master disc in the tank, which is equipped with a mechanism that brings a ring having a certain predetermined thickness into close contact with the upper outer periphery of the master disc during development. A developing device characterized by: