JPH06163344A - Washing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a washing apparatus which eliminates deposited dust efficiently without damaging a pellicle membrane. CONSTITUTION:A reticle 31. fixed to a conveying arm 17 is carried through a conveying port 12a of a housing 12. From an air knife 14, which is provided inside the housing 12 in proximity to the surface of the reticle 31, a nitrogen (N2) gas is jetted uniformly over the surface of the reticle 31, thereby removing dust deposited on a pellicle membrane 32 arranged on the surface of the reticle 31. Further, from an exhaust port 13 formed inside the housing 12, dust removed with the nitrogen (N2) gas is discharged. Therefore, dust deposited on the pellicle membrane 32 is efficiently removed by causing no damage to the pellicle membrane 32.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cleaning device for removing dust adhering to a protective film called a pellicle film formed on a reticle used in an exposure process in the manufacturing process of semiconductor devices and liquid crystal display devices.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 7 shows a reticle 1 having a pellicle film 2 formed thereon. 7 (1) is a sectional view and FIG. 7 (2) is a plan view. The reticle 1 is a so-called mask in which a wiring pattern 4 is formed on a glass substrate by using a light-shielding material such as chrome. Reticle 1
A pellicle film 2 made of, for example, nitrocellulose and having a thickness of several tens of μm is disposed on both surfaces of. The pellicle film 2 is arranged so as to cover the entire surface of the wiring pattern 4, that is, the entire shaded portion shown in FIG. 7 (2). Further, the pellicle film 2 is arranged with a space of about several mm from the reticle 1 by the metal frame 3.
By providing the pellicle film 2 in this way, dust is prevented from directly adhering to the surface of the reticle 1 on which the wiring pattern 4 is formed, and the wiring pattern is short-circuited by the dust being transferred as a wiring pattern during exposure. Can be reduced.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the role of the pellicle film 2 during exposure. FIG. 8 (1) shows a case where the pellicle film 2 is not used, and FIG. 8 (2) shows a case where the pellicle film 2 is used. As shown in FIG. 8A, when dust 5 adheres to the surface of the reticle 1 on which the wiring pattern 4 is formed, when exposure is performed using the lens 6,
The image formation point S formed by the dust 5 is formed on the lens 6 side surface 7a of the substrate 7 formed by transferring the wiring pattern. Therefore, the short circuit of the wiring pattern 4 due to the dust 5 occurs, and the substrate 7 becomes a defective product, which reduces the productivity of the semiconductor device or the liquid crystal display device.

On the other hand, when the pellicle film 2 is used as shown in FIG. 8B, the pellicle film 2 is formed on the entire surface of the wiring pattern 4 of the reticle 1, and the dust 5 is on the pellicle film 2. Adhere to. When exposure is performed in such a state, the image formation point S due to the dust 5 is formed at a point beyond the substrate 7. Therefore, the adverse effect of the dust 5 can be reduced, and the productivity can be improved.

However, depending on the size of the dust 5 attached on the pellicle film 2, even if the pellicle film 2 is provided, the wiring pattern 4 may be short-circuited. In general, there is no effect when the thickness is several tens to several hundreds of μm, but a short circuit occurs when the thickness is several hundreds μm or more. Therefore, it is necessary to remove dust having a size of several hundred μm or more.

The removal of dust having a size of several hundred μm or more is carried out by using the air gun 8 shown in FIG. Dust was removed from the air gun 8 by a filter,
For example, nitrogen (N ₂ ) gas is injected. The operator takes out the reticle 1 on which the pellicle film 2 is formed from the exposure apparatus, and blows nitrogen (N ₂ ) gas to the dust-attached portion or the entire pellicle film 2 with the air gun 8 to remove the dust. All of these operations are carried out manually.

[0007]

As described above, all the dust removal work is performed manually, and the exposure process is temporarily interrupted, which is troublesome and reduces work efficiency. Occurs. Further, since it is performed by hand, the very thin pellicle film 2 may be damaged by the air gun 8 or by hand. If the pellicle film 2 is damaged, it can be replaced, but there is a problem in that it costs money and takes time. Further, since it is taken out from the exposure apparatus having high cleanliness, there arises a problem that dust floating during attachment / detachment is attached or dust removed is redeposited.

An object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning device capable of efficiently removing deposits on the surface without damaging the protective film.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a housing having an opening formed in one side wall surface and a wiring pattern made of a light-shielding material are formed on the surface of a substrate made of a light-transmitting material to improve the light-transmitting property. A reticle having a protective film formed at a distance from a surface is provided in the vicinity of at least one surface of a reticle carried in and out of the housing, and carrying means for carrying in and out of the housing from the opening, A cleaning device, comprising: a gas flow ejecting means for ejecting a gas flow onto the surface.

Further, the present invention is characterized by comprising exhaust means provided in the housing for exhausting the gas flow ejected from the gas flow ejecting means.

[0011]

According to the present invention, the reticle having the protective film, such as a pellicle film, formed thereon is carried in by the conveying means from the opening formed in the housing. When the reticle is carried in, a gas flow is ejected from the gas flow ejection means onto the surface of the reticle, and the deposits attached to the surface of the protective film of the reticle are blown away and removed. Therefore,
The deposits are removed mechanically and efficiently, and it is possible to reduce the damage to the very thin protective film and reduce the cost and time required for the replacement of the protective film.

Further, since the ejected gas is exhausted by the exhaust means, the removed adhered substances are also sucked and discharged to the outside of the housing, so that reattachment to the protective film can be prevented.

Further, by integrating this cleaning device with the exposure device, it is possible to remove the adhered substances without taking out the reticle from the exposure device having a high degree of cleanliness, and it is possible to further reduce the adherence of dust. Become.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a cleaning device 11 which is an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a side view in which the side surface is cut away, and FIG. 2 is a plan view in which the upper surface is cut out. The cleaning device 11 is formed so as to be covered by the housing 12. The housing 12 is formed with a transfer port 12a, which is an opening, and an insertion hole 12b.
A reticle 31 having a pellicle film 32, which will be described later, is loaded into and unloaded from the transport port 12a. Insertion hole 12
A screw 15 for fixing an air knife 14, which will be described later, is inserted into b. Further, on the inner surface 12c of the housing 12, nitrogen (N
₂ ) A plurality of exhaust ports 13 for exhausting gas are formed. From the exhaust port 13, the air knife 14
The dust removed by is sucked and discharged together with the nitrogen (N ₂ ) gas.

The air knife 14 is pressurized to a suitable pressure supplied from the pipe 16, and the nitrogen to which dust is removed (N ₂₎ by blowing gas into the pellicle film 32, which blow off dust, carry The reticle 31 is fixed to the surface of the reticle 31 by a screw 15 inserted into an insertion hole 12b formed in the housing 12. As shown in FIG. 1, in the cleaning device 11 of the present embodiment,
Pellicle film 32 formed on both surfaces of reticle 31
So that the pellicle films 32 can be processed simultaneously.
Two air knives 14 are provided corresponding to the above.
The cleaning device 11 having such a configuration is used in the exposure device 2 described later.
It is formed integrally with 1.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a schematic structure of the exposure apparatus 21, and FIG. 4 is a side view thereof. Exposure device 21
Is a work storage unit 24 including a work cassette 22, which stores a work, that is, a substrate formed by transferring a wiring pattern, a transfer arm 23 for transferring the work, an XY stage 25, and dust detection. Device 27, reticle case 28, cleaning device 11 described above, reticle 3
A transport arm 17 for transporting 1, a projection lens 29,
And an exhaust means 30.

The exhaust means 30 of the exposure apparatus 21 is provided with, for example, a HEPA (High Efficiency Particle Air) filter, and the inside of the apparatus 21 is kept at an optimum cleanliness level. A work stored in the work cassette 22 is installed on the XY stage 25. This work is installed by the transfer arm 23. The X-
The Y stage 25 can be moved in two directions of the direction X and the direction Y by the motors 26X and 26Y, and delicate alignment is performed by this adjustment.

Above the XY stage 25, the cleaning device 11, the dust detection device 27, the reticle case 28, the projection lens 29, and the transfer arm 17 for transferring the reticle 31 are arranged. . Dust detection device 27
Is a means for detecting whether or not dust is attached on the pellicle film 32 formed on the reticle 31 by, for example, a light scattering method. The reticle case 28 is the reticle 3
It is a case that stores 1. Further, the projection lens 29 is
A lens used when transferring the wiring pattern formed on the reticle 31 to a work set on the XY stage 25. By moving the lens 29 in the vertical direction, focusing is performed. Transfer the wiring pattern. Reticle case 28, dust detection device 27,
In addition, the loading and unloading of the reticle 31 in the cleaning device 11, the transport between these devices, and the transport on the exposure path are
It is carried out by being fixed to the transfer arm 17 and scanning on the transfer path T.

As shown in FIG. 2, the transfer arm 17 has two elongated rod-shaped tip portions 17a. The reticle 31 is fixed to the transfer arm 17 as follows. A plurality of convex portions 18 are formed on the tip portion 17a. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the reticle 31 has a recess 19 formed in a portion where no pattern is formed and in a portion corresponding to the convex portion 18. The reticle 31 is fixed to the transfer arm 17 by fitting the corresponding protrusions 18 and recesses 19 respectively. Therefore, the reticle 31 is prevented from sliding down from the transport arm 17 due to some shaking or the like. Further, since the two tip portions 17a of the transfer arm 17 are formed with a space therebetween, the pellicle film 32 formed on the pattern of the reticle 31 is not damaged,
Further, the exposure process can be carried out without any problem.

FIG. 5 is a view showing the reticle 31 on which the pellicle film 32 is formed. FIG. 5 (1) is a sectional view,
FIG. 5B is a plan view. The reticle 31 is a so-called mask in which a wiring pattern 34 is formed on a glass substrate by using a light-shielding material such as chrome. A pellicle film 32 having a thickness of several tens of μm and made of, for example, nitrocellulose is arranged on both surfaces of the reticle 31. The pellicle film 32 is arranged so as to cover the entire surface of the wiring pattern 34, that is, the entire shaded portion shown in FIG. Further, the pellicle film 32 has a metal frame 33.
Therefore, the reticle 31 and the reticle 31 are arranged with a space of about several mm. By providing the pellicle film 32 in this manner, it is possible to prevent dust from directly adhering to the surface of the reticle 31 on which the wiring pattern 34 is formed, and reduce a short circuit of the wiring pattern caused by the transfer of dust during exposure. be able to. As described above, the reticle 31 is provided with a plurality of recesses 19 for fixing the reticle 31 to the transfer arm 17 in a portion where the wiring pattern 34 is not formed.

When the dust detection device 27 determines that dust is attached, the cleaning device 11 removes the attached dust. The reticle 31 fixed to the transfer arm 17 is carried into the cleaning device 11 through the transfer port 12 a of the cleaning device 11. If the reticle 31 is completely carried into the cleaning device 11, together with the nitrogen (N ₂₎ gas is injected from the air knife 14, a plurality of nitrogen outlet 13 cleaning device 11 from the (N ₂₎ gas Is discharged. Further, by pulling out the transfer arm 17 from the cleaning device 11, the air knife 14 moves the pellicle film 32.
Since the entire surface is scanned uniformly, dust attached on the pellicle film 32 can be uniformly blown off. The dust blown off is discharged together with the nitrogen (N ₂ ) gas from a plurality of exhaust ports 13 provided, so that the pellicle film 32 is provided.
It is prevented from reattaching to.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing the operation of the cleaning process. At step a1, the reticle 31 is transported by the transport arm 17. In step a2, the pellicle film 3 of the reticle 31 is removed by the dust detection device 27.
It is determined whether or not dust is attached to the top of the 2. If dust is attached, the process proceeds to step a4, and if no dust is attached, the process proceeds to step a3. In step a3,
The reticle 31 is arranged on the exposure path for performing the exposure processing by the transport arm 17, and the exposure processing is performed. At step a4, the cleaning device 11 removes the attached dust. When the removal process ends, the process returns to step a2, and the dust detection device 27 detects the presence or absence of dust again.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the cleaning device 11 is provided with the air knife 14 and the exhaust port 13,
Further, the reticle 31 having the pellicle film 32 formed thereon is fixed to the transfer arm 17 and carried into the cleaning device 11, where the cleaning process is performed. Further, the cleaning device 11 is an exposure device 21.
It is integrated with. Therefore, dust can be removed mechanically and without damaging the pellicle film 32. Further, since two air knives 14 are provided corresponding to the pellicle films 32 formed on both surfaces of the reticle 31, dust can be efficiently removed.

Further, the removed dust is discharged from the exhaust port 13, and since the cleaning device 11 is integrated with the exposure device 21 having a high degree of cleaning, floating dust is attached and The removed dust will not reattach.

[0025]

As described above, according to the present invention, the reticle on which the protective film is formed is carried into the housing from the opening of the housing by the transporting means, and the deposit adhered to the protective film by the gas flow jetting means is removed. It is blown away and removed. Therefore, the adhered matter can be removed mechanically and efficiently, and damage to the protective film can be reduced.

Further, according to the present invention, since the removed adhered matter is discharged to the outside of the housing by the exhaust means, it is possible to prevent the adhered matter from re-adhering to the protective film and efficiently and surely remove it. It will be possible. Further, the wiring pattern can be exposed with one mask and one scan, and the attached matter can be easily removed even with a mask for mirror projection used in a large liquid crystal display panel or the like. Is possible.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view in which a side surface of a cleaning device 11 according to an embodiment of the present invention is cut away.

FIG. 2 is a plan view in which a top surface of a cleaning device 11 is cut off.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of an exposure device 21.

4 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of an exposure device 21. FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a reticle 31 on which a pellicle film 32 is formed.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation of a cleaning process.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a reticle 1 on which a pellicle film 2 is formed.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the role of the pellicle film 2 during exposure.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a conventional cleaning method.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Cleaning Device 12 Housing 12a Transport Port 13 Exhaust Port 14 Air Knife 17 Transport Arm 31 Reticle 32 Pellicle Film 34 Wiring Pattern

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification code Internal reference number FI Technical display location H01L 21/304 341 G 8831-4M (72) Inventor Yasutaka Aoyama 22 Nagaike-cho, Abeno-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka No.22 Sharp Co., Ltd.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A housing in which an opening is formed on one side wall surface, and a wiring pattern made of a light-shielding material on the surface of a substrate made of a light-transmitting material, and a light-transmitting protective film is spaced from the surface. A transport means for loading and unloading a reticle formed by opening the reticle into the housing through the opening and at least one surface of the reticle loaded into the housing are provided in proximity to the surface, and a gas flow is applied to the surface. A cleaning device comprising: a gas flow jetting unit for jetting. 2. The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising exhaust means provided inside the housing, for exhausting gas ejected from the gas flow ejecting means.