JPH01268028A - Development processor for substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To store a developer onto a substrate without using a sealing medium while removing contacts with other members of the developer at the time of development, and to develop the substrate with excellent yield by installing specific spin chuck, development pan, nozzle and moving mechanism. CONSTITUTION:A substrate development processor developing and treating a positive type resist on a substrate 1 has a spin chuck 2 holding the substrate 1 at a horizontal attitude, a development pan 4, which surrounds the outer circumferential section of the substrate 1 held onto the spin chuck 2, is mounted under the state in which there are fine clearances to the periphery of the underside of the substrate 1 and stores a developer on the top face of the substrate 1, a nozzle 3 supplying the upper section of the substrate 1 held onto the spin chuck 2 with the developer, and a moving mechanism relatively moving the development pan 4 and the spin chuck 2 between said state in which there are the fine clearances and the state in which the developer is left onto the substrate 1 by surface tension while separated from the fine clearances. An electric motor 6 is installed to an ascending and descending housing 9 by an air cylinder 8, and the spin chuck 2 is lifted and lowered and shifted.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to a substrate development process for developing a positive resist on a substrate, for example, in a photoresist process for various substrates such as semiconductor substrates and glass substrates for photomasks. Regarding equipment.

<Prior art> The development process for positive resists has a slower development speed than that for negative resists, and the developed pattern is likely to deteriorate due to the pressure of the supplied developer. It is necessary to store the solution and develop it gently.

Conventional substrate development equipment that meets these requirements includes:
Conventionally, one disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 57-45232 is known.

In this conventional example, an annular frame is joined to a substrate mounting table that holds the substrate by suction, and the substrate mounting table and the frame form a recess for storing a developer that is slightly larger than the substrate. The developer is supplied and stored, and when the development process is completed, the substrate R and the frame 4 are vertically separated and the processed developer is discharged.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> However, according to such a conventional configuration, in order to form a recess for storing developer, a seal such as an O-ring is used to bring the substrate mounting table and the frame into close contact. It uses materials,
As this sealing material deteriorates over time, fine particles are separated from the surface of the sealing material and mixed into the developer, and these fine particles adhere to the circuit pattern on the board, causing circuit shorts and disconnections. There were drawbacks.

The present invention was developed in view of the above circumstances, and it is possible to store a developer on a substrate without using a sealing material, and to eliminate contact between the developer and other components during development, thereby improving the yield. The purpose is to enable development.

Means for Solving the Problems> In order to achieve the above objects, the present invention provides a substrate developing apparatus for developing a positive resist on a substrate, comprising: a spin chuck for holding the substrate in a horizontal position; surrounding the outer periphery of the substrate held on the spin chuck, and provided with a minute gap around the bottom surface of the substrate;
a developing dish that stores a developer on the upper surface of the substrate; a nozzle that supplies the developer onto the substrate held on the spin chuck; and a state in which the developing dish and the spin chuck have the minute gap. A movement that moves relative to a state in which the developer is left on the substrate due to surface tension at a distance from it.
1. .

<Operation> According to the above configuration, the spin chuck and the developing plate are brought close to each other with a small gap between them without contacting each other, and in this state, the developing solution is supplied from the nozzle onto the substrate, and the developing solution is After that, with a predetermined amount of developer stored, the spin chuck and the developer tray are separated by a large distance, and a layer of developer of a predetermined thickness is deposited on the entire surface of the substrate. The substrate is formed under tension and developed while maintaining this state. After the development is completed, the spin chuck is rotated to scatter and remove the developer on the substrate, and then the cleaning process begins.

<Example> Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a substrate developing apparatus for developing a positive resist on a semiconductor substrate, and FIG. 2 is a plan view with the minus portion cut away.

The substrate developing device includes a spin chuck 2 that holds the substrate 1 in a horizontal position, a nozzle 3 that supplies a developer onto the substrate 1,
It includes a developing tray 4 that receives and stores the developing solution in cooperation with the substrate 1, and a cup 5 provided to surround the lateral outer periphery of the substrate 1 to prevent scattering of the processing solution.

The spin chuck 2 is attached to the upper end of a rotating shaft 7 driven by an electric motor 6, and although not shown, a suction device W (not shown) is provided on the upper surface of the spin chuck 2.
A suction port connected to the substrate 1 is attached, and the substrate 1 is configured to be able to be held by suction.

Further, the electric motor 6 is attached to a support frame 9 that can be raised and lowered by an air cylinder 8, and the expansion and contraction of the air cylinder 8 moves a guide member 10 connected to the support frame 9 to a guide rail provided upright on the device frame 11. As shown in FIG. It is configured.

The developer supply nozzle 3 is supported in a cantilevered manner on a support shaft 14 that is driven and rotated around a vertical axis by an electric motor 13, and as the electric motor 13 rotates, it draws an arcuate trajectory (horizontally It is configured to be mobile.

The developing tray 4 is formed into an annular shape having an opening whose inner diameter is smaller than that of the orientated flat of the substrate 1. (See Figure 2).

The cylindrical shaft 15 has a bearing boss 1 fixed to the device frame 11.
A drive pulley 20 is rotatably attached to the shaft 7 and is attached to the lower end of the cylindrical shaft 15.
are interlocked and connected via.

The cup 5 for preventing scattering of the processing liquid is composed of an upper cup 5a and a lower cup 5b that can be separated into upper and lower parts, and the entire cup 5 has the following structure.
It is provided in an outer cup 22 that is rectangular in plan view and includes a saucer portion 22a for collecting the processing liquid and a drain port 22b.

The upper cup 5a and the lower cup 5b are each supported by support columns 24 that are raised and lowered by air cylinders 23a and 23b, respectively.
a, 24b via connecting fittings 25a, 25b and support arms 26a, 26b. The pillars 24a and 24b are configured to be guided in their movement by fixed guide rails 27a and 27b.

Further, on the upper surface of the outer cup 22, an upper nozzle for cleaning the substrate 2 which sprays pure water for cleaning above the substrate 1 when the upper cup 5a is raised and separated from the lower cup 5b, and a developing nozzle 2 are provided. A developing plate cleaning nozzle 30 is provided for spraying and supplying pure water for cleaning onto the plate 4.

Further, the lower substrate cleaning nozzle 29 (see FIG. 2) is a nozzle for jetting and supplying purified water for cleaning toward the back surface of the substrate 1 from below the substrate 1, and is similar to the developing nozzle 3. The support shaft is driven and rotated around the vertical axis, allowing it to move horizontally in a circular arc.

With the above configuration, the substrate 1 is subjected to development processing.Next, the development processing operation will be explained using FIGS. 3 to 5.

First, as shown in the side view of the main part of FIG. 3, the substrate 1 is
The substrate 1 is loaded directly above the central opening of the outer cup 22 by a substrate loading mechanism (not shown), and then the air cylinder 8 is extended and the spin chuck 2 is raised to lift the loaded substrate 1.
．． is held by suction from the bottom.

Thereafter, the spin chuck 2 is lowered by shortening the air cylinder 8 and stopped at a position where a minute gap is left between the developing plate 4 and the periphery of the lower surface of the substrate 1.

Next, as shown in the side view of the main part in FIG.
a is raised, the developer supply nozzle 3 is oscillated and moved horizontally above the substrate 1, and the developer 36 is supplied into the developer tray 4, that is, onto the substrate 1.

At this time, the spin chuck 2 and the developing plate 4 are rotated in the same direction at the same extremely low speed so that the entire surface of the substrate 1 comes into contact with the developer more evenly and quickly immediately after the start of supply of the developer 36. You can also do it.

Then, the supply of the developer is stopped when a predetermined amount of the developer has been supplied onto the substrate 1, and then, as shown in the side view of the main part of FIG. Due to the tension, a predetermined thickness of the developer 36 remains on the entire surface of the substrate 1, and the substrate 1 remains stationary for a predetermined period of time for development.

As the development is completed, the spin chuck 2 is further raised, and pure water is jetted onto the top and bottom surfaces of the substrate 1 from the upper nozzle 28 and the lower nozzle 29, which has been moved to a position where the jet nozzle faces the back surface of the substrate 1. At the same time as the supply, the spin chuck 2 is rotated, and the substrate 1 is rotated to scatter and wash (rinse) the developed solution.

At the same time, the developing plate 4 is rotated at high speed while supplying pure water from the developing plate cleaning nozzle 30 to wash the developing plate 4.

After cleaning is completed, the lower cup 5b is raised, and the substrate 1 is rotated and dried by high speed rotation.Then, the spin chuck 2 is raised above the outer cup 22, and the substrate 1 that has undergone the development process is dried. It is carried out by a substrate carrying-out mechanism (not shown).

By repeating the above-mentioned operation once or a plurality of times, the positive resist on the substrate 1 is developed while sequentially supplying the substrate 1.

In the above embodiment, in order to form a layer of the developer 36 on the substrate 1, the spin chuck 2 is raised to raise the substrate 1, but the developing plate 4 is lowered. The structure for relatively moving the substrate 1 and the developing plate 4 is collectively referred to as a moving mechanism.

Further, the shape of the developing tray 4 can be set to a rectangular shape such as a quadrangle or any other arbitrary shape depending on the shape of the substrate 1.

<Effects of the Invention> As explained above, according to the substrate developing device of the present invention,
Since the developer is supplied and stored on the substrate without using a sealant, it is possible to prevent circuit pattern sheets and disconnections caused by deterioration of the sealant, and moreover, the developer is applied to the substrate using surface tension. Since impurities are left on top of the substrate and developed without contacting the developing plate, it is possible to prevent impurities from transferring onto the substrate from the developing plate side, and a layer of developer is stably formed on the entire upper surface of the substrate. Positive resist can be developed with high yield.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the substrate developing device according to the present invention, FIG. 1 is an overall vertical sectional view showing the embodiment of the substrate developing device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway plan view thereof, FIG. 3 is a side view of the main parts showing the substrate carrying process, FIG. 4 is a side view of the main parts showing the developer supply process, and FIG. 5 is a side view of the main parts showing the developing process. 1...Substrate 2...Spin chuck 4...Developing plate 8...Air cylinder

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1) A substrate developing device for developing a positive resist on a substrate, comprising: a spin chuck that holds the substrate in a horizontal position; and an outer peripheral portion of the substrate held on the spin chuck. a developing plate that surrounds the substrate and is provided with a minute gap around the bottom surface of the substrate and stores a developer on the top surface of the substrate; and a nozzle that supplies the developer onto the substrate held on the spin chuck. and a moving mechanism for relatively moving the development plate and the spin chuck between a state where the microgap is present and a state where the developing solution is left on the substrate due to surface tension at a distance from the microgap. Features of the substrate development device.