JPH07175223A - Substrate developing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the device setting area and to facilitate the fractional recovery of the processing soln. CONSTITUTION:The substrate developing device 1 is provided with a substrate developing part 2, a substrate cleaning and drying part 3 and a substrate conveying part 4. The substrate developing part 2 has a developing chamber 5 and a part 6 for supplying a developer to the substrate P in the chamber 5. The substrate cleaning and drying part 3 is provided in parallel with the substrate developing part 2 and has a cleaning and drying chamber 30 and a processing part 31 for cleaning and drying the developed substrate P in the chamber 30. The substrate P developed in the developing part 2 is conveyed by the conveying part 4 to the substrate cleaning and drying part.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a developing device, and more particularly, to a substrate developing device for cleaning and drying a substrate after developing it with a developing solution.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in a manufacturing process of a semiconductor or a liquid crystal display device, a substrate is repeatedly developed. The series of development processing includes applying a developing solution to the substrate, cleaning the developing solution from the substrate, and drying the substrate. As a substrate developing device of this type, an actual flat plate 5-4571 is used.
The one disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2 is known. In this substrate developing apparatus, three chambers (developing chamber, cleaning chamber, and drying chamber) are arranged in one row, and a conveying roller for conveying is arranged inside them. In this substrate developing apparatus, first, a substrate is placed in a developing chamber and immersed in a developing solution to supply the developing solution to the surface of the substrate to perform a developing process. Next, the substrate is carried into the cleaning chamber, and the developer attached to the surface of the substrate is washed with the cleaning liquid. Finally, bring the substrate into the drying chamber,
The cleaning solution adhering to the substrate is blown off by an air knife to perform a drying process.

However, the conventional structure requires three independent chambers, that is, the developing chamber, the cleaning chamber and the drying chamber, which causes a problem that the installation area of the apparatus becomes large. On the other hand, an apparatus for performing three processes of developing, cleaning and drying in one chamber is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-1332.
No. 0, JP-A-5-55133 and JP-A-5-55133.
It is disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 15805. In this substrate developing device, a rotary type substrate holder for vacuum-adsorbing the substrate is provided in the spin cup, and a developing solution supply nozzle for supplying a developing solution and a rinsing solution supply nozzle for supplying a rinsing solution are provided on the substrate surface. It is provided in the spin cup. In the substrate cleaning apparatus, the developing solution supply nozzle is arranged to face the surface of the substrate during the developing process, and the developing solution is supplied while rotating the substrate. During the cleaning process, the developing solution supply nozzle is retracted, and the rinse solution supply nozzle is opposed to the substrate surface to supply the rinse solution. During the drying process, the substrate holder is rotated at a high speed to remove the rinse liquid adhering to the substrate.

However, in this structure, since both the developing solution and the cleaning solution are continuously supplied to the substrate in one chamber, it is difficult to separately collect the developing solution and the cleaning solution. Therefore, a complicated structure is required to reuse the developer. An object of the present invention is to reduce the installation area of the apparatus and to facilitate the separation and collection of the processing liquid.

[0005]

A substrate developing apparatus according to the present invention is arranged in chambers independent of each other, and first and second substrate holding means for holding a substrate, respectively.
Developing solution supply means for supplying a developing solution to the substrate held by the substrate holding means, and after the developing solution is supplied to the substrate, the substrate is conveyed from the first substrate holding means to the second substrate holding means. A transporting means, a cleaning liquid supplying means for supplying a cleaning liquid to the substrate held by the second substrate holding means, and a drying process in which the substrate is held and dried by the second substrate holding means after the cleaning liquid is supplied to the substrate. And means.

[0006]

In the substrate developing apparatus according to the present invention, the developing solution is supplied to the substrate held by the first substrate holding means to perform the developing process. The substrate on which the development processing has been completed is first transferred by the transfer means.
The substrate holding means is transported to the second substrate holding means.
Then, the cleaning liquid is supplied to the substrate held by the second substrate holding means to perform the cleaning process. The substrate for which the cleaning process has been completed is dried while being held by the second substrate holding means by the drying means.

Here, since the substrate holding means for performing the developing process and the substrate holding means for performing the cleaning process and the drying process are arranged in independent chambers, respectively, the developing solution and the cleaning solution can be easily collected separately. . Moreover, the device is 2
Since it is composed of two chambers, the installation area of the device is small.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG. 1, a substrate developing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises a substrate developing section 2 for developing an exposed rectangular substrate (hereinafter simply referred to as substrate) P coated with a photoresist solution. Mainly includes a substrate cleaning / drying unit 3 arranged side by side in the substrate developing unit 2 and a substrate transporting unit 4 for transporting the substrate P from the substrate developing unit 2 to the substrate cleaning / drying unit 3.

The substrate developing section 2 comprises a box-shaped developing chamber 5
And a developer supply unit 6 arranged in the developing chamber 5.
And a developing solution removing section 7 for removing the developing solution from the developed substrate P. An insertion port 10 and a communication port 11 are formed on both left and right side walls of the developing chamber 5 in FIG. An insertion side shutter 12 is provided at the insertion opening 10 and an intermediate shutter 13 is provided at the communication opening 11 so as to be opened and closed. On the bottom surface of the developing chamber 5, a drainage port 1
4 are formed. The drainage port 14 has a developer recovery valve 15
It is connected to the developing solution supply source 16 via. Further, in the developing chamber 5, a plurality of developing rollers 17 constituting the substrate transporting section 4 are arranged side by side in the horizontal direction. The rotation axis of the developing roller 17 is in the transport direction (left and right direction in FIG. 1).
It is arranged in a direction orthogonal to and is rotationally driven by a drive source (not shown).

The developing solution supply section 6 includes a developing solution discharge nozzle 20.
have. The developing solution discharge nozzle 20 is arranged so as to discharge the developing solution toward the surface of the substrate P, and has a slit nozzle long in the direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the substrate P. The developing solution discharge nozzle 20 has a developing solution supply valve 21.
It is connected to the developing solution supply source 16 via. The developer supply source 16 has a developer reservoir tank and a circulation pump (both not shown) in which fresh developer can be appropriately replenished, and the developer collected from the drain port 14 is also supplied to the developer. It is adapted to be re-supplied to the developing solution discharge nozzle 20 by the source 16.

The developing solution removing section 7 has nitrogen gas nozzles 22 and 23 vertically opposed to each other with a pass line of the substrate P interposed therebetween.
have. Further, the nitrogen gas nozzles 22 and 23 are arranged so as to eject the nitrogen gas toward the front surface and the back surface of the substrate P, respectively. Nitrogen gas nozzle 2
2 and 23 are connected to a nitrogen gas source (not shown) via nitrogen gas supply valves 24 and 25, respectively.

The substrate cleaning / drying unit 3 has a cleaning / drying chamber 30 and a cleaning / drying processing unit 31 arranged in the cleaning / drying chamber 30. The side walls of the cleaning / drying chamber 30 on the left and right sides of FIG. 1 are common to the side walls of the developing chamber 5 on the right side of FIG. 1. A discharge port 32 is formed on the side wall on the outlet side (right side in FIG. 1). The discharge port 32 is provided with an outlet shutter 33 that can be opened and closed.
A drain port 34 is formed on the bottom surface of the cleaning / drying chamber 30. The drainage port 34 is connected to a rinse liquid recovery unit (not shown) via a rinse liquid recovery valve 35. Further, in the cleaning / drying chamber 30, a plurality of cleaning rollers 36 forming the substrate transporting section 4 are arranged side by side in the left-right direction in FIG.

The cleaning / drying processing section 31 includes a substrate holding chuck 40 for sucking and holding the substrate P, and a substrate holding chuck 40.
And a rinse liquid supply unit 41 for supplying a rinse liquid to the substrate P adsorbed and held on the substrate P. The substrate holding chuck 40 is
It has a suction port (not shown) connected to a vacuum source (not shown). The substrate holding chuck 40 can be rotated by a motor 42 and can be vertically moved by an elevating mechanism 43.

The rinse liquid supply unit 41 has a front surface rinse nozzle 44 in which a plurality of nozzles for supplying the rinse liquid are arranged side by side on the front surface of the substrate P, and a back surface for supplying the rinse liquid to the back surface of the substrate P. And a rinse nozzle 45. The surface rinse nozzle 44 is connected to a rinse liquid supply source (not shown) via a surface rinse liquid supply valve 46, and the rear surface rinse liquid supply nozzle 45 is connected to a rinse liquid supply source (not shown).

The substrate developing apparatus 1 has a developing controller 50 and a cleaning / drying controller 51 shown in FIG. The development control unit 50 and the cleaning / drying control unit 51 have a CPU,
It is composed of a microcomputer including a ROM and a RAM. The development control unit 50 includes the entrance shutter 12,
Intermediate shutter 13, developing roller 17, developer supply valve 2
1, a developer recovery valve 15, and nitrogen gas supply valves 24 and 25 are connected to each other. Further, various sensors for detecting the transfer position of the substrate P in the developing chamber 5 and other input / output units are also connected to the developing control unit 50.

The cleaning / drying control unit 51 is a development control unit 50.
It can communicate with both directions. The cleaning / drying control unit 51 includes an outlet shutter 33, a cleaning roller 36, a motor 4
2, the elevating mechanism 43, the front surface rinse liquid supply valve 46, the back surface rinse liquid supply valve 47, and the rinse liquid recovery valve 35 are connected. Further, the cleaning / drying control unit 51 is also connected to various sensors for detecting the transfer position of the substrate P in the cleaning / drying chamber 30 and other input / output units.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described. In the substrate developing unit 2, the developing control unit 50 is configured as shown in FIGS.
The control shown in is performed. First, in step S1, initial setting is performed. In step S2, the process waits for a substrate loading instruction from the previous process step. When a substrate loading instruction is issued, the process proceeds to step S3. In step S3, the entrance shutter 12 is opened. In step S4, the developing roller 17 starts rotating and the substrate P is loaded. In step S5, the substrate P
It waits for the tip of to reach below the developer supply nozzle 20. When the substrate P reaches below the developing solution supply nozzle 20, the process proceeds to step S6. In step S6, the developing solution supply valve 21 is opened. As a result, the developing solution is supplied onto the substrate P. In step S7, the developer recovery valve 15 is opened. As a result, the excess developer of the discharged developer is recovered by the developer supply source 16 and reused.

In step S8, the process waits for the rear end of the substrate P to pass under the developer supply nozzle 20. When the rear end of the substrate P passes below the developer supply nozzle 20, the process proceeds to step S9. In step S9, the developer supply valve 21
Is closed to stop the supply of the developer, and the subsequent step S10
Then, the rotation of the developing roller 17 is stopped. In step S11, the elapse of time T is awaited. During this time T, the developing solution is applied to the substrate P.
It is the time required from the time of application to the end of development. When the time T has elapsed, the process proceeds to step S12. In step S12, it is checked whether or not the drying process in the subsequent substrate cleaning / drying unit 3 is completed. This is determined by a drying completion signal (described later) output from the cleaning / drying control unit 51. If it is determined that the drying process is completed, the process proceeds to step S13.

In step S13, the intermediate shutter 13 is opened. In step S14, the nitrogen gas supply valves 24 and 25 are opened. In step S15, rotation of the developing roller 17 is started. As a result, the nitrogen gas from the nitrogen gas nozzles 22 and 23 is blown onto the substrate P, and the developer is removed from the substrate P. In step S16, it waits for the rear end of the transported substrate P to pass below the intermediate shutter 13.
When the substrate P passes under the intermediate shutter 13, the process proceeds to step S17 and the intermediate shutter 13 is closed. In step S18, the rotation of the developing roller 17 is stopped. In step S19, the developer recovery valve 15 is closed, and step S
Return to 2.

In the substrate cleaning / drying unit 3, the cleaning / drying control unit 51 performs the control shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. Here, initial setting is performed in step P1. In step P2, the opening of the intermediate shutter 13 is waited for. When the intermediate shutter 13 opens, the process proceeds to step P3. In step P3, the cleaning roller 36 starts rotating. Then, in step P4, it waits for the transported substrate P to arrive at the substrate holding position.

When the substrate P reaches the substrate holding position, the process proceeds to step P5, the intermediate shutter 13 is closed, and the rotation of the cleaning roller 36 is stopped in step P6. Step P7
Then, the transported substrate P is attracted to the substrate holding chuck 40. Then, in step P8, the substrate holding chuck 40 is raised by the elevating mechanism 43. In step P9, the rinse liquid supply valves 46 and 47 are opened, and in step P10, the rinse liquid recovery valve 35 is opened. Then, Step P11
Then, the motor 42 is rotated at a low speed (for example, 30 rpm) for a predetermined time to clean the substrate P. When the cleaning operation by the low speed rotation is completed, the process proceeds to step P12. Step P
At 12, both rinse liquid supply valves 46 and 47 are closed. This completes the cleaning process.

In step P13, the motor 42 is rotated at a high speed (for example, 2000 rpm) for a predetermined time to shake off the cleaning liquid to dry the substrate P. In Step P14, the substrate holding chuck 40 is lowered by the elevating mechanism 43. In Step P15, the suction holding of the substrate P by the substrate holding chuck 40 is released. In Step P16,
The rotation of the cleaning roller 36 is restarted. Step P17
Then, the exit shutter 33 is opened. As a result, the substrate P moves to the right in FIG. 1 and passes through the discharge port 32. In Step P18, the process waits for the rear end of the substrate P to pass under the exit shutter 33, and when the substrate P passes under the exit shutter 33, the process proceeds to Step P19. In Step P19, the rotation of the cleaning roller 36 is stopped. Further, the exit shutter 33 is closed in step P20, a drying completion signal is output to the development control unit 50 in step P21, and the process returns to step P2. The developing controller 50 determines the output of this drying completion signal in step S12 of FIG.

Since the developing process and the cleaning / drying process are separately performed in the chambers 5 and 30 here,
The developer and rinse can be easily recovered separately. Also,
The installation area of the device can be reduced to about two-thirds as compared with the case where development, cleaning and drying processes are performed separately. Other Embodiments (a) As shown in FIG. 7, a spin cup type substrate developing section 2a and a substrate cleaning / drying section 3a may be adopted.

Here, the substrate developing section 2a has a spin cup 5a, a substrate holding section 40a, and a rotation driving motor 42a. The substrate cleaning / drying unit 3a is provided in parallel with the substrate developing unit 2a, and the spin cup 30a and the substrate holding unit 4 are provided.
0 and a rotation drive motor 42. A substrate transfer robot 4a for transferring the substrate P is arranged between the substrate developing unit 2a and the substrate cleaning / drying unit 3a. (B) When the substrate development processing time is longer than the cleaning / drying processing time, as shown in FIG. 8, the substrate cleaning / drying section 3 is sandwiched between the substrate developing sections 2b and 2c. Good.

Here, the substrates P which have undergone the development processing are alternately conveyed to the cleaning / drying processing section 3 for cleaning / drying processing,
The substrate for which the cleaning / drying process has been completed is discharged upward or in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction. In this case, the development, washing and drying processes conventionally performed in 6 chambers can be performed in 3 chambers, and the installation area of the device can be further reduced. (C) The present invention can be applied to a structure for developing a circular substrate instead of the structure for developing a rectangular substrate.

[0026]

In the substrate developing apparatus according to the present invention, since the substrate developing section and the substrate cleaning / drying section are arranged in parallel, the installation area of the apparatus is small, and the developing solution and the cleaning solution are collected separately. And can be reused easily.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic vertical sectional view of a substrate developing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of its control system.

FIG. 3 is a control flowchart of a development control unit.

FIG. 4 is a control flowchart of a development control unit.

FIG. 5 is a control flowchart of a cleaning / drying control unit.

FIG. 6 is a control flowchart of a cleaning / drying control unit.

FIG. 7 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1 of another embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1 of still another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 substrate developing device 2, 2a, 2b, 2c substrate developing part 3, 3a substrate cleaning / drying part 5, developing chamber 5a spin cup 6 developing solution supply part 30 cleaning / drying chamber 30a spin cup 31 cleaning / drying processing part

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A substrate developing apparatus for supplying a developing solution to a substrate to perform development processing, and then supplying a cleaning solution to the substrate to clean and dry the substrate, which are arranged in chambers independent of each other and hold the respective substrates. First and second substrate holding means, a developing solution supply means for supplying a developing solution to the substrate held by the first substrate holding means, and the developing solution is supplied to the substrate, and then the first substrate A transport unit that transports the substrate from the substrate holding unit to the second substrate holding unit, a cleaning liquid supply unit that supplies a cleaning liquid to the substrate held by the second substrate holding unit, and a substrate after the cleaning liquid is supplied to the substrate. A substrate developing device comprising: a drying unit that dries while holding the second substrate holding unit.