JPH0533809B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to a resist developing device, and more particularly to a resist developing device for developing a resist layer formed on a workpiece such as a semiconductor wafer, a semiconductor mask, or an optical disk.

<Prior Art> Conventionally, as this type of resist developing device, there is one described in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 166032/1983. As shown in FIG. 7, this resist developing device discharges a chemical solution to be used for development processing from a discharge means N such as a nozzle onto a semiconductor wafer W housed in a developing tank D, thereby developing a resist on the wafer W. I try to develop layers.

In addition to the so-called developing solution that dissolves the resist layer, the above-mentioned chemical solution includes a pre-treatment solution for removing variations in resist sensitivity due to changes in the wafer W over time prior to release of this developing solution, or This is a post-processing liquid or the like that cleans the wafer W after being discharged.

In addition, with the recent increase in the density of resist patterns, the development conditions, especially the requirements for temperature, have become important.
An electric heater H ₁ is installed in the heater H ₁ , and the temperature inside the developer tank D is maintained at a predetermined value by heating the heater H 1 . It is preheated to a predetermined temperature using a temperature controller T equipped with _H2 . Then, an electric heater _H3 is attached to the liquid supply pipe L of the developer, and the liquid supply pipe L
The temperature of the developer discharged from the discharge means N can be controlled to a set value.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> However, when the electric heaters H ₁ , H ₂ , and H ₃ are used as heat sources for adjusting the ambient temperature in the developer tank D and the temperature of the developer, the electric heaters Although it is possible to suppress the temperature drop due to heat radiation from the developer tank D and the developer to the outside air by heating, it is not possible to suppress the temperature rise due to heat absorption from the outside air. If the temperature was higher than that, there was a fatal problem of loss of control.

In addition, in the resist developing apparatus described above, an electric heater _H3 is attached to the liquid supply pipe L, but the heat capacity of control means (not shown) such as a solenoid valve, a suction valve, and a strainer for controlling the flow of a chemical solution, such as a developer, is Because of this, the temperature control of these control means is inevitably insufficient in the electric heater _H3 , and for example, the temperature of the developer fluctuates greatly between the start and the elapse of a predetermined period of time, which may affect the sensitivity of the developer during development. There is a problem that variations occur.

Therefore, the first object of the present invention is to control the temperature of the developing chamber and the temperature of the chemical solution used for development processing to a desired set temperature with high precision, even when the outside air temperature is higher than the set temperature for development processing. It's about being able to control it.

Furthermore, the second object of the present invention is to control the temperature of control means such as strainers, electromagnetic valves, and suction valves with high accuracy to constantly and accurately control the temperature of chemical solutions such as developer, thereby producing products such as wafers. The aim is to improve the yield.

<Means for Solving the Problems> In order to achieve the above object, the resist developing device of the present invention forms a heat exchange chamber between an inner wall and an outer wall to which a heat medium is supplied, and the inside can be sealed. a developer tank having a structure, a holding means disposed in the developer tank to hold a workpiece, and a release means provided in the developer tank to discharge a chemical solution toward the workpiece held in the holding means. , a heat medium supply means having a refrigeration device that cools the heat medium and a heater that heats the heat medium and supplies the heat medium at a constant temperature to the heat exchange chamber; and a connection between the heat medium supply means and the heat exchange chamber. a heat insulating member that covers a part of the developing tank to form a heat insulating chamber between the developing tank and the part, and a control means disposed within the heat insulating chamber to control supply of the chemical solution to the discharge means. It is characterized by having the following.

<Function> A heat medium at a constant temperature is supplied from the heat medium supply means to the heat exchange chamber between the inner wall and the outer wall of the developer tank. When the temperature of the heat medium is higher than the set temperature, this heat medium supply means cools it with a refrigeration device,
The temperature of the heating medium is lowered; on the other hand, when the temperature of the heating medium is lower than the set temperature, the heating medium is heated with a heater to raise its temperature. Since the heating medium is cooled and heated in this manner, the temperature of the heating medium can be controlled with high precision and quickly. Furthermore, even if the outside air temperature is higher than the temperature set during the development process, the heating medium can be cooled by the refrigeration device, so the temperature inside the developer tank can be controlled to a desired temperature. In this way, the temperature of the developing chamber inside the developer tank can be controlled with high precision to a desired temperature, regardless of the outside temperature, especially when the outside temperature is high. There is no variation in sensitivity.

In addition, since the control means for controlling the chemical solution supplied to the release means is placed in a heat insulating chamber surrounded by a heat insulating member, the control means is not affected by external heat and does not emit or emit heat. There is no absorption, so the temperature of the drug solution is controlled at a constant temperature.

Further, when a developer is injected into a closed developing tank, the developer evaporates, but immediately reaches a saturation pressure and no longer evaporates, thereby preventing a temperature drop. Therefore, highly accurate temperature control within the developer tank is possible.

<Examples> The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to illustrated examples.

In FIG. 1, 500 is a developing tank, and 7 is a heat medium supply means.

The developer tank 500 described above has an inner wall 511a and an outer wall 5.
11b, and a bottom portion 512, forming a heat exchange chamber 14f between the inner wall 512a and the outer wall 512b.
and a top portion 513 forming a heat exchange chamber 14g between the inner wall 513a and the outer wall 513b. One end of the body 511 is supported by a column 502 on the base plate 501, and the other end of the body 511 is connected to the base plate 501 by an opening/closing damper 509. The bottom portion 512 is fixed to a guide member 504 that is fitted into the column 502 so as to be movable up and down. A through hole 544 is provided in the center of the bottom portion 512, and the support tube 15 passing through the through hole 544 is fixed to the base plate 501 via the cases of the pneumatic cylinders 589, 589. A wafer W as a workpiece is attached to a chuck 516 as a holding means fixed to the upper part of a rotating shaft 517 passing through the support tube 15. The rotating shaft 17 is rotated by a motor M. The bottom portion 512 is fixed to the tip of the piston rod 590 of the pneumatic cylinder 589, and by operating the pneumatic cylinder 589, the bottom portion 512
12 is designed to be able to move in the vertical direction with respect to the support tube 15 and chuck 516. A bellows 591 is attached to the upper part of the support cylinder 15 and the periphery of the through hole 544 at the center of the lower end of the bottom part 512 to seal the through hole 544. on the other hand,
A ring-shaped seal member 51 is provided at the upper end of the bottom portion 512.
3 is fixed, and this sealing member 513 is attached to the bottom part 51.
2 by a pneumatic cylinder 589 and brought into close contact with the annular groove 503 on the lower end surface of the body 511, so that the bottom 512 and the body 511 can be brought into close contact with each other in a gas-tight manner. On the other hand, heat exchange coils 600a, 600b, 600c, and 600d are arranged inside the body portion 511, through which a chemical solution or nitrogen gas passes. This heat exchange coil 600a, 600
b, 600c, and 600d are connected to chemical solution nozzles 2a, 2b, and 2c shown in FIG. 3, and a nozzle 2e for spouting drying nitrogen gas, respectively. These nozzles 2a, 2b, 2c, and 2d are provided on the top portion 513.

On the other hand, a case 601 covering the top portion 513 is attached to the body portion 511 so as to be openable and closable via a hinge 650 (see FIG. 2). This case 60
A heat insulating member 602 made of non-dust-generating polystyrene foam or the like is adhered to the inner surface of 1. However,
Although not shown, glass wool may be bonded to the inner surface of the case 601 as a heat insulating member, and the surface of the glass wool may be coated with aluminum foil to prevent dust from coming out of the glass wool. A heat insulating chamber 603 is formed between the heat insulating member 602 and the top portion 513. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, this heat insulating chamber 603 has a bracket 800 fixed to the top 513.
A strainer 801, a valve 802 for the chemical liquid, and a suction valve 803 for preventing the chemical liquid from dripping when the chemical liquid is closed are attached to the container. Then, the valves 802, 803 are brought into contact with a pipe 876 through which the heat medium passes, which is connected to the heat medium outlet 706 provided at the center of the top portion 513, to exchange heat between the valves 802, 803 and the heat medium. and
The temperature of the chemical solution can be controlled to the same temperature as the heating medium. That is, this piping 876 comes into contact with the valves 802 and 803 and functions as a heat exchanger. In addition, in Figure 3, 9
00 is a transparent window.

On the other hand, the heat medium supply means 7 includes a heat medium pump 75, a strainer 73, a heater 71, and a refrigeration device 55 in a heat medium tank 70 having an adiabatic structure that accommodates a heat medium (for example, water). The heat medium pump 75 is connected to the heat exchange chamber 14f via a liquid sending pipe 76.
The liquid drain port 706 provided at the top of the heat exchange chamber 14g on the top portion 513 connects to the liquid injection port 701 provided at the bottom of the heat medium tank 70 via a liquid return pipe 77.
is connected to.

Evaporator 72 and heater 7 of the refrigeration device 55
The operation No. 1 is controlled by a controller 8 that detects the indoor temperature of the developing chamber 10 or the water temperature in the heat exchange chambers 14f, 14e, 14g, etc. and compares it with a preset temperature set arbitrarily. 5°C to 5°C by controlling the operation of the evaporator 72
It is possible to form a heating medium of water at a constant temperature of 40°C with an error of ±0.1°C.

Also, a condenser 78 corresponding to the evaporator 72
is a condensing unit 9 together with a compressor 58.
The operation of the evaporator 72 is controlled by the compressor 5.
This is done by turning on/off or controlling the capacity of 8.

In the above configuration, as shown in FIG. 1, the wafer W is
is set in the chuck 516, and the pneumatic cylinder 5
89,589 to raise the bottom portion 512,
The body portion 511 and the bottom portion 512 are brought into close contact with each other via a seal member 513.

Next, the refrigeration device 55 or heater 71 of the heat medium supply means 7 is operated to cool or heat the heat medium circulating between the heat medium tank 70 and the heat exchange chambers 14f, 14e, and 14g, and control the temperature to a preset temperature. . This set temperature can be arbitrarily set and accurately controlled by the controller 8. Developer tank 5
The developing chamber 10 inside 00 is surrounded by heat exchange chambers 14i, 14e, and 14g in which a heating medium at a constant temperature circulates, so that the temperature is controlled to be constant and heat can be prevented from entering or releasing from the outside.

Next, when the semiconductor wafer W held in the chuck 516 is rotated by driving the rotating shaft 517,
The developer is injected from the nozzles 2a, 2b, and 2c.

At this time, the developing chamber 10 is maintained at a constant temperature in advance by circulating a heating medium at a constant temperature, and the developer is supplied to the heat exchange coil 6 attached to the chamber 14e.
The temperature is controlled to be the same as that of the developing chamber 10 by 00a, 600b, and 600c. In addition, the valves 802 and 803 (see FIG. 4) in the heat insulating chamber 603 are brought into contact with a pipe 876 through which the heat medium passes and are maintained at the same temperature as the heat medium, and in the heat insulating space 603 surrounded by the heat insulating material 602. , the temperature of the chemical solution passing through the valves 802 and 803 is controlled to the same desired temperature as that of the heating medium without being affected by external thermal influences.

Further, when the developer is injected from the discharge means 2a, 2b, 2c, the temperature of the developing chamber 10 tends to change due to its evaporation, but since the developing chamber 10 is sealed, the inside of the developing chamber 10 is , Immediately after the developer is injected, the pressure of the developer reaches its saturation pressure, the developer no longer evaporates, and a temperature drop is prevented.

In this way, the temperature of the heat medium is controlled by cooling or heating the heat medium with the cooling device 55 or the heater 71, and the heat exchange chambers 14e, 14f through which the heat medium passes between the inner wall and the outer wall of the developer tank 500 are provided. ,14g
Therefore, the temperature of the developing chamber 10 can be controlled to the desired set temperature with high precision and quickly, regardless of the external temperature conditions, especially even when the external temperature is higher than the set temperature. , without using a dummy, it is possible to develop each of the required number of wafers W from the first wafer W without variations in sensitivity.

Further, heat exchange coils 600a, 600b, 600c for controlling the temperature of the developer are provided in the heat exchange chamber 14e for controlling the ambient temperature of the developing chamber 10, and valves 802, 80 for controlling the chemical solution are provided.
3 is placed in a heat insulating chamber 603 surrounded by a heat insulating member 602, and the valves 802 and 803 are brought into contact with the pipe 876 through which the heat medium passes, so that there is no variation in the temperature of the developer. , the development temperature on the surface of the wafer W can be controlled with high precision.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, a pipe 876 through which a heating medium passes
is connected to a box-shaped heat exchanger 980, and valves 802, 803 and a strainer (not shown) are brought into close contact with this box-shaped heat exchanger 980 to efficiently transfer heat between the heat medium and these devices. to exchange heat,
Further, the pipe 902 through which the chemical solution passes and the heat medium pipe 76 are brought into contact over a long distance to exchange heat between the chemical solution and the heat medium.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, a heating medium coil 951 is disposed within a heat insulating chamber 603 to control the temperature within the heat insulating chamber 603 with high precision. Although not shown, the coil 951 may be provided with fins.

<Effects of the Invention> As is clear from the above, the resist developing device of the present invention forms a heat exchange chamber between the inner wall and the outer wall to which a heat medium is supplied, and also has a developing tank having a structure in which the inside can be sealed. and a heat medium supply means having a refrigeration device and a heater to supply a heat medium at a constant temperature to the heat exchange chamber, so that the temperature of the developing chamber can be set to an arbitrary set temperature, such as a temperature lower than the outside temperature. It can be controlled with high precision, and therefore the yield of products such as wafers can be improved.

Further, in the resist developing device of the present invention, a part of the developer tank is covered with a heat insulating member to form a heat insulating chamber between the part and the heat insulating member, and a solenoid valve, a suction valve, etc. Since the control means is arranged, the temperature of the chemical solution can be controlled with high precision, and therefore the yield of the product can be improved.

Furthermore, since the resist developing device of the present invention has a closed structure, even if the developer is sprayed inside the developing tank,
The saturation pressure is immediately reached, preventing evaporation and preventing a drop in temperature, thus allowing highly accurate temperature control.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a partially sectional front view of a resist developing device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view of the resist developing device, FIG. 3 is a plan view of the resist developing device, and FIG. FIG. 2 is a side view of the valve and piping arranged in the heat insulating chamber, FIGS. 5 and 6 are explanatory views of main parts of each modification, and FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a conventional resist developing device. 2a, 2b, 2c...discharge means, 7...heat medium supply means, 500...developing tank, 516...holding means, 602
...insulation member, 603...insulation chamber.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A developing tank 500 having a structure in which a heat exchange chamber is formed between an inner wall and an outer wall to which a heat medium is supplied, and the inside thereof can be sealed; a holding means 516 for holding the piece; and a holding means 5 provided in the developer tank 500;
The heat exchange chamber is provided with discharge means 2a, 2b, and 2c for discharging the chemical solution toward the workpiece held by the heat exchange chamber 16, a refrigeration device for cooling the heat medium, and a heater for heating the heat medium to maintain a constant temperature in the heat exchange chamber. A heating medium supplying means 7 for supplying a heating medium, piping 76, 77, 876 connecting the heating medium supplying means 7 and the heat exchange chamber, and a part covering a part of the developing tank 500 and between the part. A resist characterized by comprising: a heat insulating member 602 forming a heat insulating chamber 603; and control means 802 and 803 disposed within the heat insulating chamber 603 to control the supply of chemical liquid to the discharge means 2a, 2b, and 2c. Developing device. 2. The resist developing device according to claim 1, wherein a heating medium coil 951 is installed in the heat insulating chamber 603 to improve temperature accuracy in the heat insulating chamber 603. 3 The control means 802, 803 and the piping 87
6 or the heat exchanger 980,
Claim 1: Heat exchange is performed between the heat medium flowing through the piping 876 or the heat exchanger 980 and the control means 802, 803 to adjust the temperature of the control means 802, 803. The resist developing device described in . 4. The resist developing device according to claim 1, wherein a pipe leading the chemical solution to the discharge means 2a and a pipe leading the heat medium are brought into contact for a predetermined length.