JPH04155848A - Resist treater - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To increase the transfer speed of a material to be treated and to make it possible to contrive the improvement of a throughput by a method wherein a resist treater is provided with a plurality of treating units and a transfer mechanism for carrying-in or carrying-out the material to be treated in or from these units and a servo motor is used for the drive part of the transfer mechanism. CONSTITUTION:In a drive part of a transfer unit 12, an AC servo motor 12c is used for a drive source of an X drive part 12b which moves a wafer tweezers 12a in a direction X. When the tweezers 12a is inserted under the lower part of a semiconductor wafer 10, a stage pin 16a is made to descend and the wafer 10 on the pin 16a is delivered to the tweezers 12a. After this, the wafer 10 is transferred in order to prescribed treating units 11a to 11f and a prescribed treatment is performed. When the length in the direction X of a treatment part 2 is long, the transfer distance of the wafer 10 using the tweezers 12a becomes longer. As the motor 12c is used for the drive source of the drive part 12b, a large acceleration/deceleration torque can be generated and a high- speed response is possible. A throughput is improved as the whole resist treater 1.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Purpose of the invention] (Industrial application field) The present invention relates to a resist processing apparatus.

(Prior Art) Generally, in the manufacturing process of a semiconductor device, a fine circuit pattern of the semiconductor device is formed by photolithography using a photoresist.

- Therefore, each step of such photolithography,
For example, resist coating process, developing process, baking process,
Several processing units that carry out cooling processes etc.
Conventionally, resist processing apparatuses have been used which are constructed by combining a transport mechanism for carrying objects to be processed (for example, semiconductor wafers) into and out of these processing units.

Such a resist processing apparatus conventionally uses, for example, an easily controllable stepping motor as a drive source for a transport mechanism that transports a semiconductor wafer or the like.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) However, in recent years, semiconductor wafers have tended to have larger diameters, such as 8 inches, and in response to this, each resist processing unit in resist processing equipment has also become larger. There is a tendency to

For this reason, in a resist processing apparatus in which a plurality of resist processing units are arranged, the overall size of the apparatus becomes large, and the transport distance by the transport mechanism for loading and unloading semiconductor wafers and the like becomes long. As a result, the time required for transportation increases, and the balance between the throughput of each processing unit (this throughput hardly changes depending on the size of the semiconductor wafer) and the transportation time is lost, and the throughput of the resist processing apparatus as a whole decreases. There was a problem.

The present invention has been made in response to such conventional circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a resist processing apparatus that can increase the conveyance speed of objects to be processed and improve throughput compared to the prior art.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) That is, the resist processing apparatus of the present invention includes a plurality of processing units and a transport mechanism for carrying objects to be processed into and out of these processing units. In the processing device,
The present invention is characterized in that a servo motor is used for at least a part of the drive unit of the transport mechanism.

(Function) In the resist processing apparatus of the present invention having the above-mentioned configuration, at least a part of the drive section of the conveyance mechanism that carries in and carries out the object to be processed includes:
Since a servo motor capable of generating large acceleration/deceleration torque and high-speed response is used, the conveyance speed of the object to be processed can be increased compared to the conventional method. As a result, even if the transfer distance is long in a resist processing apparatus that processes large objects such as 8-inch diameter semiconductor wafers, the transfer time can be shortened, increasing the throughput in each processing unit. It becomes possible to balance the amount of time and the transportation time, and the throughput of the resist processing apparatus as a whole can be improved.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example in which the present invention is applied to a resist processing apparatus for performing resist processing on a semiconductor sea urchin 11 having a diameter of 8 inches will be described with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the resist processing apparatus 1 is constructed by arranging a processing section 2 and a loader section 3, which are each configured separately, in the horizontal direction (X direction in the figure) and connecting them. There is.

The processing unit 2 includes processing units 11a to llf that perform a series of resist processing for photolithography on an object to be processed, such as a semiconductor wafer 10, and a transport unit that transports the semiconductor wafer 10 to these processing units lla to llf. It is constructed by combining units 12.

In this embodiment, the transport unit 12 is provided so as to run in the center of the housing.
On one side (lower part of FIG. 1), a resist coating processing unit lla and a developing processing unit 11b are installed in parallel, and on the other side (upper part of FIG. A processing section such as a post-bake processing unit 11C1lld, and a post-exposure bake unit lle and a cooling temperature control processing unit llf configured to be stacked in two stages are provided.

Each of these processing units lla to llf has 8
It is configured to be able to process semiconductor wafers with a diameter of 4 inches, and therefore the processing section 2 is larger than that of an apparatus that processes semiconductor wafers with a diameter of 4 inches or 6 inches.
The length in the X direction is set to be long.

In addition, in this embodiment, the post-hake processing unit) 11c
, lld and post-exposure bake unit ll
If three heating processing units (hot plates) are provided, and their heating mechanisms, such as resistance heaters, are equipped with ) is set to have a large capacity (for example, 1500 W each).

Therefore, in order to prevent excessive current from flowing when the power is turned on (when the heater is at low temperature and has low electrical resistance), the power supplied to the heater is gradually increased and set to steady power.

That is, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, a controller 100 that supplies power to the heater and each processing unit 11C%
Switches SWI, SW2, and SW3 are inserted between the heaters 11d and 11e, respectively, and these are turned on sequentially at time intervals as shown in Figure 4, or the current flowing through each heater is measured to determine the steady current. A predetermined value Is close to the value
Wait for the voltage to drop to , then turn it on one after another. Or the fifth
As shown in the figure, the controller 100 and each processing unit l-11c
, lld, and 11e, a power variable mechanism 101 is inserted,
As shown in Figure 6, the supplied power is increased in steps at predetermined time intervals, or by measuring the current and waiting for the current to drop to a predetermined value, and then increasing the supplied power in steps to set steady power. is configured to do so.

With this configuration, excessive current will flow when the power is turned on,
It is possible to prevent electrical troubles from occurring.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the transport unit 12 is provided with a plurality of, for example, two wafer tweezers 12a, which are vertically overlapped, for supporting and transporting the semiconductor wafer 10. These wafer tweezers 12a are
For example, it is formed in an arc shape, is configured to support the peripheral edge of the back surface of the semiconductor wafer 10, and is configured to be movable in the x, y, z, and θ directions.

Among the drive units of this transport unit 12, a servo motor controlled by digital control, such as an ACC thermomotor 12c, is used as a drive source for an X drive unit 12b that moves the wafer tweezers 12a in the X direction. Note that the X drive section 12b is composed of, for example, a drive mechanism using a hole screw or a drive mechanism using a belt.

Please note that the other drive units, Y drive unit, Z drive unit, and θ drive unit, use a stepping motor as a drive source. In the case of a stepping motor, vibration is likely to occur because it rotates or has a step shape. The effect of this vibration cannot be ignored when driving at low speeds, so if AC servo motors are used for these drive parts, smooth driving force can be obtained even at low speeds, suppressing the occurrence of vibrations. can do.

On the other hand, on the loader part 3, a wafer cassette (transport jig) 13 configured to accommodate 10 or a plurality of semiconductor wafers, for example 25, is placed and moved in the vertical direction (Z direction). A plurality of cassette mounting sections 14, for example four, configured as shown in FIG.

The loader part 3 is also provided with a transport mechanism 15 for loading and unloading the semiconductor wafers 10 into and out of the wafer cassette 13 using wafer tweezers 15a that are movable in the X, Y, and θ directions. .

Further, in this embodiment, the loader part 3 is provided with a transport mechanism 1.
5 and the semiconductor wafer 10 between the transport unit 12
The wafer receiver uses a drive mechanism (not shown), such as a stepping motor or an AC
It is configured to be movable up and down by a servo motor and a ball screw, and two stage pins 16a configured to be able to support the semiconductor wafer 10 are provided above the stage pins 16a. In addition,
These stage pins 16a are configured such that their intervals can be changed by a drive mechanism (not shown), such as an air cylinder.

Further, two centering guides 17 for aligning the semiconductor wafer 10 are provided above the stage pins 16a.

The centering guide 17 has an arcuate inner side formed to match the outer shape of the semiconductor wafer 10, and is configured to be opened and closed by a drive mechanism (not shown), such as an air cylinder, to thereby align the semiconductor wafer 10 by holding it there. ing. Then, the semiconductor wafer 10 is carried in between these centering guides 17 in an open state, and the semiconductor wafer 10 is placed in a predetermined position in the stage bin 16a by closing these centering guides 17 (moving in a direction to narrow the gap). It is configured so that it can be positioned.

Next, the operation of the resist processing apparatus 1 having the above configuration will be explained.

First, the wafer cassette 13 containing the semiconductor wafers 10 is placed on the mounting table of the cassette mounting section 14 using a robot, for example, a handling arm.

Then, the wafer tweezers 15a of the transport mechanism 15 are made to correspond to, for example, the wafer cassette 13, and inserted into the lower part of the semiconductor wafer 1° in the corresponding wafer cassette 13. After that, the wafer tweezers 15a are inserted into the lower part of the semiconductor wafer 1° in the corresponding wafer cassette 13. wafer tweezers 1.
A semiconductor wafer 10 is supported on 5a. In addition, Ueno＼
The tweezers 15a attract and hold the back surface of the semiconductor wafer 10 using, for example, a vacuum chuck.

Next, the wafer tweezers 1 supporting the semiconductor wafer 10 are
The wafer tweezers 15a are moved in the X direction and pulled out from inside the wafer cassette 13, and then the wafer tweezers 15a are rotated in the θ direction and positioned above the stage pins 16. Note that, at this time, the stage pins 16 are set in advance to an initial state (a state in which the stage pins 16 are in the lowered position and the gap between the stage pins 16 is open) and is on standby.

Thereafter, the stage pin 16a is raised and the semiconductor wafer 10 is transferred from the wafer tweezers 15a onto the stage pin 16a. At this time, the stage pin 16a and the wafer tweezers 15a pass each other in the vertical direction so that the wafer tweezers 15a passes between the two stage pins 16a.

Then, the stage pin 16a is further raised to move the semiconductor wafer 10 to the previously opened center link guide 1.
Here, the centering guide 17 is closed and the semiconductor wafer 110 is positioned at a predetermined position on the stage pin 16a.

Nao, at this time, the stage pin 16a is also closed at the same time.

This is because the wafer tweezers 12a of the transfer unit 12 that transfers the wafer, or the wafer tweezers 12a of the transfer unit 12, are formed approximately in an annular shape to hold the outer periphery of the semiconductor wafer 10, and the opening for inserting the stainless pin 16a formed at the tip thereof is narrow. This is to prevent interference between the stage pins 16a and the wafer tweezers 12a. Once, the shape of Ueno 1 pin center 12a (shape of opening for inserting stage pin 16a)
In some cases, the closing operation of the stage pin 16 may not be performed.

Next, the stage pin 16a is raised to a predetermined height that allows the semiconductor wafer \10 to be transferred to the wafer tweezers 12a, and the stage pin 16a is waited there.

When the wafer tweezers 12a are inserted under the semiconductor wafer 10, the stage pins 16a are lowered and the semiconductor wafer 10 on the stage pins 16a is transferred to the wafer tweezers 12H.

Semiconductor wafer 1 passed to wafer tweezers 12a
0 is then sequentially subjected to predetermined processing Uni-Solutions 111a to 111a.
f and is subjected to predetermined processing.

Further, when the holder is transferring the processed semiconductor wafer 10, if the processed semiconductor wafer 10 is supported by either one of the wafer tweezers 12a provided in the upper and lower stages, the holder will transfer the processed semiconductor wafer The semiconductor wafer 10 is transferred to the stage pin 16a.

That is, the wafer tweezers 12a are advanced to position the processed semiconductor wafer 10 on the stage pins 16a, and then the stage pins 16a are raised to support the semiconductor wafer 10 on the stage pins 16a.
By retracting the tweezers 12a, the processed semiconductor wafer 10 is transferred to the stage pins 16a.

The processed semiconductor wafer 10 that has been passed to the stage pin 16a is then positioned by the centering guide 17 by an operation opposite to that described above.
The receiver is passed from the stage pin 16a to the urchin/'% tweezers 15a of the transport mechanism 15, and then a predetermined urchin/X
It is housed in a cassette 13.

By repeating such a series of operations, each semiconductor wafer \10 in the wafer cassette 13 is sequentially subjected to a predetermined process. When all the semiconductor wafers 10 in the Uni/X cassette 13 have been processed, this wafer cassette 13 is taken out and a new wafer cassette 13 is brought in.

That is, in the resist processing apparatus 1 of this embodiment described above, each of the processing units l-118 to llf is set to be large in size so as to be able to process the semiconductor wafer 1 having a diameter of 8 inches. The length in the X direction is longer than, for example, an apparatus that processes semiconductor wafers with a diameter of 4 inches or 6 inches. Therefore, the distance that the semiconductor wafer 10 is transported by the wafer tweezers 12a becomes longer, but in this embodiment, a large acceleration/deceleration torque is generated in the drive source of the X drive unit 12b that moves the wafer tweezers 12a in the X direction. Since the AC servo motor 12c, which is capable of high-speed response and high-speed response, is used, it is possible to achieve higher-speed conveyance than when using a stepping motor, and the throughput in each processing unit 11a to 11f is improved by reducing the conveyance time. It becomes possible to maintain a balance, and the throughput of the resist processing apparatus 1 as a whole can be improved. Further, since the AC servo motor 12c does not use a brush, the amount of dust generated can be suppressed, and each process can be performed in a clean atmosphere. Furthermore, since problems caused by brush wear and brush replacement are eliminated, maintainability is improved and the reliability of the device can be increased. Furthermore, since the AC servo motor rotates in an analog manner, it rotates smoothly even at low speeds, and does not generate vibrations like a stepping motor. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the adverse effect that would be exerted on each processing unit if this vibration were to occur, thereby enabling high-quality resist processing. Furthermore, smooth acceleration at the start of the conveying operation, smooth deceleration at the time of stopping, and highly accurate positioning are also possible.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the resist processing apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to increase the transport speed of the object to be processed and improve the throughput compared to the conventional method.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a resist processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the main part configuration of FIG. 1, FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an example of control of the heat treatment mechanism, FIG. 5 is a diagram showing another example of the configuration of the heat treatment mechanism, and FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining another example of control of the heat treatment mechanism. It is. 1... Resist processing device, 2... Processing section, 3... Part of loader, 10... Semiconductor sea urchin l\, lla to 11f... processing unit, 12
...Transfer unit, 12a...Wafer tweezers, 12b...X drive unit, 12C...
...ACC thermomotor, 1B...Wafer cassette, 14...Cassette mounting section, 15...
・Transport mechanism, 15a...Wafer tweezers, 1
6...The wafer receiver is the transfer mechanism, 16a...
・Stage pin, 17...Centering guide. Applicant: Tokyo Electron Co., Ltd. Applicant: Tokyo Electron Kyushu Co., Ltd. Agent: Patent attorney: Sasa Suyama - (1 other person) Figure 3 Figure 4

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) In a resist processing apparatus equipped with a plurality of processing units and a transport mechanism for carrying objects to be processed into and out of these processing units, a servo motor is used for at least a part of the drive unit of the transport mechanism. A resist processing device characterized by: