JPH07135137A - Development treatment equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a development treatment method and an equipment wherein the drying of a wafer center part is accelerated at the time of spin drying of the wafer, the number of defective products is reduced, and the drying time is shortened. CONSTITUTION:This equipment is provided with the following; an air jetting nozzle (dry gas jetting nozzle) 2 for spraying dry gas like dry air against a wafer 1, a developer nozzle 3 for spraying developer, a rinsing liquid nozzle 4 for spraying rinsing liquid, a flow rate adjusting valve 5 for adjusting the flow rate of the dry gas to be supplied, a development cup 6 for discharging scattering developer and rinsing liquid, a wafer retainer 7 for mounting the wafer 1, and a retainer rotation driving part 8 for rotating the water retainer 7. Thereby a nozzle driving part 9 for position alignment of three kinds of nozzles 2, 3, 4 with the center of the wafer 1 is constituted, and the dry air spouted from the air jetting nozzle 2 is blown against the center part of the wafer 1 by the control of the nozzle driving part 9.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a developing technique for a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter simply referred to as a wafer) in a photoresist process of a wafer treating process (preceding process) of a semiconductor manufacturing technique, and more particularly to a drying technique thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a developing process after exposing a pattern on a photoresist coated on a wafer includes developing, cleaning and drying, and the developing processing apparatus uses a developing solution or a cleaning solution (rinse solution) for the wafer. A nozzle for spraying the wafer, a rotary drive system for rotating the wafer, and a developing cup for discharging / exhausting the scattered developer or rinse liquid or mist.

Among them, as a drying method after cleaning the wafer, a spin drying method is widely used in which the rinse liquid adhering on the wafer is blown off by rotating the wafer at a high speed. .

This is because the wafer is sucked and fixed according to the center of rotation of the wafer support table installed in the rotary drive system, and the wafer support table is rotated at a high speed, and the centrifugal force generated at that time causes the rinsing to occur. The wafer is dried by scattering the liquid.

[0005]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional technique, the drying method is to scatter the rinse liquid or the like on the wafer by the centrifugal force during the rotation of the wafer. The part has less centrifugal force and is less likely to be dried.

Therefore, there is a problem that bleeding due to the residual rinse liquid occurs in the central portion of the wafer, resulting in defective wafers.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a developing method and apparatus for promoting the drying of the central portion of the wafer during spin drying of the wafer to reduce defective products and shorten the drying time. is there.

The above and other objects and novel features of the present invention will be apparent from the description of this specification and the accompanying drawings.

[0009]

Of the inventions disclosed in the present application, a representative one will be briefly described below.
It is as follows.

That is, the development processing method according to the present invention is
During the spin-drying of the wafer after development and cleaning, a dry gas is blown to the central portion of the wafer.

The development processing apparatus according to the present invention further comprises a dry gas discharge nozzle for spraying a dry gas onto the wafer,
Equipped with a developing solution nozzle that sprays a developing solution, a rinse solution nozzle that sprays a cleaning solution, a flow rate adjustment valve that adjusts the flow rate of the dry gas to be supplied, a developing cup that discharges the scattered developing solution and rinse solution, and the wafer. And a nozzle drive unit that performs center alignment of the wafers of the three types of nozzles with the wafer, and is controlled by the nozzle drive unit. The dry gas discharged from the dry gas discharge nozzle is discharged to the center of the wafer.

[0012]

According to the above-mentioned means, the dry gas discharge nozzle for spraying the dry gas onto the wafer, the nozzle drive unit for centering the dry gas discharge nozzle on the wafer, and the flow rate of the dry gas to be supplied are adjusted. By providing the flow rate adjusting valve for controlling, a proper amount of dry gas can be discharged to the central portion of the wafer at a proper time during the spin drying.

Therefore, even if the central portion of the wafer becomes insufficiently dried within the defined spin drying time,
By blowing a dry gas during the spin drying, it is possible to finish the drying of the central portion of the wafer at the same time as or faster than the outer peripheral portion of the wafer.

Further, since the dry gas discharge nozzle is provided, it is possible to accelerate the drying of the central portion of the wafer.

Therefore, the drying time of the wafer can be set without being restricted by the drying end time of the central portion of the wafer.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a structural conceptual view showing an example of the structure of a development processing apparatus which is an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof.

The structure of the developing processing apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. An air discharge nozzle (dry gas discharge nozzle) 2 for spraying a dry gas such as dry air onto the wafer 1 to be processed. A developing solution nozzle 3 for spraying a developing solution, a rinse solution nozzle 4 for spraying a cleaning solution, a flow rate adjusting valve 5 for adjusting the flow rate of the dry gas to be supplied, the scattering developing solution or rinse solution,
Alternatively, the developing cup 6 for discharging / exhausting the mist, the wafer support base 7 on which the wafer 1 is mounted, and the wafer support base 7
And a nozzle drive unit 9 for aligning the three types of nozzles 2, 3, 4 and the center of the wafer 1 with each other.

Here, the wafer 1 to be processed is adsorbed and fixed so that its central portion coincides with the rotation center of the wafer support base 7. Further, the air discharge nozzle 2 is connected to a dry air supply system (not shown) via a flow rate adjusting valve 5 by a flexible tube 2a.

Further, the air discharge nozzle 2, the developing solution nozzle 3 and the rinse solution nozzle 4 are fixed to the nozzle driving section 9 and can be moved in the horizontal direction under the control of the nozzle driving section 9. Therefore, each nozzle 2, 3, 4
It is possible to perform alignment with the center of the wafer 1.

Next, the operation of the developing processing apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. After the resist (not shown) applied on the wafer 1 is exposed with a pattern, the nozzle driving unit 9 is exposed. By controlling the above, the developing solution nozzle 3 is moved to the central portion of the wafer 1, and development is performed by the developing solution discharged from the developing solution nozzle 3.

Further, the rinse liquid nozzle 4 is moved to the center of the wafer 1 by the control of the nozzle drive unit 9, and cleaning is performed by the rinse liquid discharged from the rinse liquid nozzle 4.

Since the rinse liquid remains on the cleaned wafer 1, the wafer 1 mounted on the wafer support 7 is rotated at high speed by the support rotation drive unit 8.

At this time, the rinse liquid is scattered by the centrifugal force generated by the rotation, and the wafer 1 is gradually dried from the outer peripheral portion thereof. During this drying process,
When the air discharge nozzle 2 is moved to the central portion of the wafer 1 by the control of the nozzle driving unit 9 and the flow rate adjusting valve 5 is opened, dry air is discharged to the central portion of the wafer 1, so that the wafer 1 Since the drying of the central portion is promoted, it becomes the same dry state as the outer peripheral portion.

Therefore, according to the first embodiment, by controlling the flow rate of the dry air, the drying end time of the central portion of the wafer 1 can be freely set, so that the central portion can be completely dried. . Also, due to the effect of promoting drying,
It is possible to shorten the drying time.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 3 is a structural conceptual view showing an example of the structure of a developing processing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a plan view thereof.

The structure of the developing processing apparatus according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. A developing solution nozzle 3 for spraying a developing solution onto the wafer 1 to be processed, a rinse solution nozzle 4 for spraying a cleaning solution, and A developing cup 6 for discharging the scattered developer or rinse solution, a wafer support 7 for mounting the wafer 1, a support eccentric drive unit 10 for eccentricizing the center of the wafer support 7, and the wafer support 7
And a nozzle drive unit 9 for aligning the two types of nozzles 3, 4 and the center of the wafer 1 with each other.

Here, the wafer 1 to be processed is sucked and fixed so that its central portion coincides with the rotation center of the wafer support base 7.

Further, the developing solution nozzle 3 and the rinsing solution nozzle 4 are fixed to the nozzle driving section 9 and can be moved in the horizontal direction under the control of the nozzle driving section 9. Therefore, it is possible to align the nozzles 3 and 4 with the center of the wafer 1.

The support eccentric drive unit 10 has a function of moving the wafer support 7 in the horizontal direction with respect to the mounting surface of the wafer 1. Therefore, when the wafer support base 7 is rotated by the support base rotation drive unit 8,
By using the function of horizontally moving the wafer support base 7 provided in the support base eccentric drive unit 10, the rotation center of the wafer 1 sucked and fixed to the wafer support base 7 can be eccentric.

Next, the operation of the developing treatment apparatus according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. After the resist (not shown) applied on the wafer 1 is exposed with a pattern, the nozzle driving unit 9 is exposed. By controlling the above, the developing solution nozzle 3 is moved to the central portion of the wafer 1, and development is performed by the developing solution discharged from the developing solution nozzle 3.

Further, the rinse liquid nozzle 4 is moved to the central portion of the wafer 1 by the control of the nozzle drive unit 9, and cleaning is performed by the rinse liquid discharged from the rinse liquid nozzle 4.

Since the rinse liquid remains on the cleaned wafer 1, the wafer 1 mounted on the wafer support base 7 is rotated at a high speed by the support base rotation drive unit 8.

At this time, the rinse liquid is scattered by the centrifugal force generated by the rotation, and the wafer 1 is gradually dried from the outer peripheral portion thereof. During this drying process,
By the support base eccentric drive unit 10, the wafer support base 7 can be moved in the horizontal direction with respect to the mounting surface of the wafer 1, and the rotation center of the wafer 1 can be changed.

As a result, since the central portion of the wafer 1 is not the center of rotation, the centrifugal force can be applied to the central portion, and the centrifugal force can be adjusted. As a result, it becomes possible to scatter the rinse liquid in the central portion and accelerate the drying.

Therefore, also in the second embodiment, the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained. That is, wafer 1
Since the drying end time of the central part can be freely set, the central part can be completely dried. In addition, the drying time can be shortened due to the effect of promoting drying.

Although the invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described based on the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Needless to say.

For example, the dry gas described in the first embodiment is dry air, but it may be dry gas such as N ₂ .

The means for achieving the object of the present invention are the means for discharging the dry gas described in the first embodiment to the central portion of the wafer and the means for eccentric the rotation center of the wafer described in the second embodiment. It may be a combination.

That is, the means according to the first embodiment and the means according to the second embodiment may be performed simultaneously, or
Alternatively, one of the means may be performed first and the other means may be performed after the time difference.

[0041]

The effects obtained by the typical ones of the inventions disclosed in the present application will be briefly described as follows.
It is as follows.

(1). By providing the dry gas discharge nozzle for discharging the dry gas at the center of the wafer, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of bleeding due to insufficient drying of the center of the wafer. As a result, the occurrence of defective wafers can be reduced.

(2). By providing the dry gas discharge nozzle for discharging the dry gas at the center of the wafer, the drying of the center of the wafer is promoted, and the drying time can be set without being restricted by the time for finishing the drying of the center. Therefore, the drying time can be shortened and the throughput of the developing process can be improved.

(3). Since the center of rotation of the wafer can be eccentric, the same effects as (1) and (2) can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a structural conceptual view showing an example of the structure of a developing processing apparatus which is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an example of the structure of a development processing apparatus which is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a structural conceptual diagram showing an example of a structure of a developing processing apparatus which is another embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an example of the structure of a development processing apparatus which is another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Wafer 2 Air Discharge Nozzle (Dry Gas Discharge Nozzle) 2a Tube 3 Developer Nozzle 4 Rinse Liquid Nozzle 5 Flow Rate Adjustment Valve 6 Development Cup 7 Wafer Support 8 Support Support Rotation Drive 9 Nozzle Drive 10 Support Eccentric Drive

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A development processing method for developing, cleaning and drying a resist by rotating a wafer, comprising spraying a dry gas to the center of the wafer during spin drying after the development and cleaning. Characteristic development processing method. 2. A development processing method for developing, cleaning, and drying a resist by rotating a wafer, wherein a rotation center of the wafer is changed during spin drying after the development and cleaning. Development processing method. 3. A development processing apparatus for developing, cleaning, and drying a resist by rotating a wafer, comprising: a dry gas discharge nozzle for spraying a dry gas onto the wafer; and a developer nozzle for spraying a developing solution. A rinse liquid nozzle for spraying a cleaning liquid, a flow rate adjusting valve for adjusting a flow rate of a dry gas to be supplied, a developing cup for discharging the scattered developing liquid or rinse liquid, a wafer support table on which the wafer is mounted, and the wafer A support base rotation drive unit that rotates a support base, and a nozzle drive unit that aligns the respective three types of nozzles with the center of the wafer, and the dry gas discharge is performed by the control of the nozzle drive unit. A development processing apparatus, wherein dry gas discharged from a nozzle is discharged to the central portion of the wafer. 4. A development processing apparatus for developing, cleaning, and drying a resist by rotating a wafer, comprising a developing solution nozzle for spraying a developing solution, a rinse solution nozzle for spraying a cleaning solution, and the developing solution scattered. And a developing cup for discharging the rinse liquid, a wafer supporting table for mounting the wafer, a supporting table eccentric driving section for eccentricizing the center of the wafer supporting table, and a supporting table rotation driving section for rotating the wafer supporting table, And a nozzle drive unit for aligning the two types of nozzles with the center of the wafer, wherein the rotation center of the wafer is eccentric by the control of the support base eccentric drive unit. Processing equipment.