JPH03108313A - Resist developer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make the developing conditions of the title device uniform by bringing a lid provided with a developing solution supplying mechanism and sucking mechanism nearer to a space above a wafer. CONSTITUTION:When a wafer 34 is subjected to rinsing and spindrying after development, a developing solution supplying lid 21 and the side face sections 31 of developing tanks move upward and the bottom sections 32 of the developing tanks move downward. In addition, a spin chuck 33 rotates. Then the sections 31 and 32 move downward and the processed wafer 34 is lifted up and carried out of a development processing tank by a wafer carrying arm 37. When such arrangement is made, the entire surface of the water 34 can be dipped in a developing solution in a short time and the uniformity of developing conditions can be improved. Moreover, the consumption of the developing solution can be reduced.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a semiconductor integrated circuit device (hereinafter referred to as LSI).
Photosensitive polymers (
The present invention relates to a developing device for (hereinafter referred to as resist).

(Prior Art) Conventionally, spray development, paddle development, dip development, and the like are known as methods for developing a resist that forms a pattern in a lithography process for LSI manufacturing.

FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a resist developing device used in such a conventional dip developing method.

In this figure, 1 is a wafer having a resist to be developed; 2 is a spin chuck that vacuum-chucks the wafer 1;
3 is a developer tank, and this developer tank 3 is provided with a developer supply port 4 and a waste solution discharge port 5. 6 is a drain pulp that closes the discharge port 5 when the developer tank 3 is filled with developer; 7 is a ring-shaped stopper that prevents the developer from seeping onto the back surface of the wafer 1; and 8 is a rinse liquid dripping nozzle. Further, 9 is a spin cup that receives the developer and rinse liquid that are scattered when the spin chuck 2 rotates. This spin cup 9 has a waste liquid discharge port 10 and an exhaust port 11, and moves upward during development and descends when loading and unloading the wafer 1. Reference numeral 12 denotes a transfer arm that transfers the wafer 1 when the spin cup 9 descends. The conveyor arm 12 includes a conveyor belt 13 and a guide 14. This guide 14 moves vertically and horizontally with respect to the wafer transport direction.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the resist developing device having the above configuration, since the developer is supplied from the dip forming tank, the wafer-shaped semiconductor circuit board (hereinafter referred to as wafer) is Since each part is sequentially immersed in the developer, the development time differs.

In other words, when forming a circuit pattern on a wafer using resist, it is necessary to ensure the same pattern dimensions over the entire wafer area, and to do so, it is essential to equalize the development conditions over the entire wafer area. It is. However, in this respect, the conventional resist developing device has a short development time.
In other words, there is a problem in that there are differences in development conditions, which cause differences in circuit pattern dimensions on the wafer.

The present invention eliminates the above problems, places the lid close to above the wafer, which is the object to be developed, and furthermore, sucks the developer from the center of the lid when supplying the developer, thereby increasing the developer supply time. It is an object of the present invention to provide a resist developing apparatus that can shorten the time required for developing a wafer and make the developing conditions uniform over the entire wafer area.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a developing device for forming a pattern using a resist, which includes a developing tank capable of filling a developing solution, A developer supply mechanism and a lid having a suction mechanism are placed close together above the objects to be developed placed in the tank during wafer development, so that a uniform developer layer can be formed on the wafer surface in a short time. It is something.

(Function) According to the present invention, as configured as described above, the developer supply time can be shortened, development conditions can be made uniform, and the amount of developer consumed can be reduced. In particular, it is easy to apply to large diameter wafers (6 inches or more).

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a top view of the lid of a resist developing device showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a back view of the lid of the resist developing device,
FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line A--A in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a piping diagram of the suction section of the resist developing device.

As shown in these figures, 21 is a developer supply lid, 22 is a suction part, 23 is a developer supply part, 24 is a groove for passing the developer formed inside the lid, and 25 is arranged in a circumferential manner. This is a developer supply hole. Further, 26 is a support member for vertically moving the developer supply lid 21 up and down using an air cylinder or the like.

As shown in FIG. 3, the developer supply section 23 has two systems.
Improves developer supply efficiency. Note that the developer supply lid 2
The material No. 1 is limited only by its resistance to the developer used. For example, 5tlS (Spec.
cial tlse 5tainless 5teel
) or fluororesin. When supplying the developer, as shown in FIG. 3, the suction section 22 is made negative pressure and the developer is supplied from the developer supply hole 25. At this time, there is a risk that the developer may also be sucked into the suction section 22, so it is desirable to create a negative pressure using a combination chamber 27 and to provide a mist trap tank 28, as shown in FIG. That is, a vacuum state is created by the combination 27 by flowing dry air a, and the suction section 22 is brought into negative pressure. Then, a mixture of the dry air a and the developer liquid sucked from the suction section 22 is sent to the mist trap tank 28, where it is separated into gas and liquid into an exhaust gas C and a waste liquid d.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the supply of developer and the development state in the resist development tank of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a process diagram illustrating the wafer processing operation of the development tank.

In these figures, 31 is a side surface of the developer tank, 32 is a bottom surface of the developer tank, and these have inclined surfaces 31a and 32a in the vertical direction. The developer supply lid 21, the side surface 31 and the bottom surface 32 of the developer tank are combined to form a developer tank. When the side surface 31 of the developer tank is raised and the bottom surface 32 of the developer tank is lowered, a space 36 is created in which the developer and rinse liquid are drained, and these liquids are smoothly drained along the slopes 31a and 32a. 33 is a spin chuck that attracts and fixes the wafer 34 and is rotated by a motor (not shown).

Reference numeral 35 is a ring-shaped stopper for preventing the developer from getting around to the back surface of the wafer 34 during development.

In FIG. 5, the developer supply lid 21 and the wafer 3 indicated by D
The separation distance from the wafer 3 depends on the viscosity of the developer used and the wafer 3.
It can be selected as appropriate depending on the surface tension of the exposed resist coated on No. 4. Reduce the separation distance (approximately 5-
(below), the amount of developer used can be reduced.

Next, the operation of the developing tank will be explained in order with reference to FIG.

First, the state of the developing tank during developer supply and development is as shown in FIG. 6(a).

Next, when the development is completed and the wafer 34 is rinsed and spin-dried, the developer supply lid 21 and the side surface 31 of the developer tank are raised, as shown in FIG. The bottom portion 32 is lowered and the spin chuck 33 is rotated.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6(c), the side surface 31 of the developer tank is
Then, the bottom part 32 is lowered, and the processed wafer 34 is lifted up by the wafer transfer arm 37 and carried out from the developing tank. Similarly, when carrying in the wafer 34,
is carried into the developing tank by the wafer carrying arm 37.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments,
Various modifications are possible based on the spirit of the present invention, and these are not excluded from the scope of the present invention.

(Effects of the Invention) As described in detail above, according to the present invention, the developer supply mechanism and the lid having the suction mechanism are placed close to each other above the wafer, so that the entire wafer can be immersed in the developer in a short time. This makes it possible to achieve the following effects.

(1) Uniformity of development conditions can be improved.

(2) The amount of developer consumed can be reduced.

(3) It is easy to apply to large diameter wafers (6 inches or more).

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a top view of the lid of a resist developing device showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a back view of the lid of the resist developing device,
3 is a sectional view taken along the line A-A in FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a piping diagram of a suction section of a resist developing device showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a developing solution in a resist developing treatment tank of the present invention. 6 is a process diagram illustrating the wafer processing operation of the developing tank, and FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional view of a conventional resist developing apparatus. 21... Developer supply lid, 22... Suction part, 23...
・Developer supply part, 24...Groove for passing the developer formed inside the lid, 25...Developer supply hole, 26...Support, 27...Combin, 28...Mist・trap·
Tank, 31... Side part of developer tank, 31a, 32a.
... Inclined surface, 32 ... Bottom of developer tank, 33 ... Spin chuck, 34 ... Wafer, 35 ... Ring-shaped stopper, 36 ... Space, 37 ... For wafer transport arm. Figure 1

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A developing device for forming a pattern using a resist, which includes a developing tank capable of filling a developing solution, and a developing solution supply mechanism and a developing device disposed above an object to be developed disposed in the developing tank. A resist developing device characterized in that a lid having a suction mechanism is installed in close proximity to the wafer during development to form a uniform developer layer on the wafer surface in a short time.