JPH0737788A - Substrate development device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To apply developer all over a substrate without waste by making an opening length of a nozzle part smaller than a width of a substrate and by providing a pair of flat surface parts to both ends of the nozzle part. CONSTITUTION:An opening length A of a slit nozzle 20 is a little smaller than a breadthwise direction length B of a substrate 3; however, developer flowing out of the slit nozzle 20 spreads to a side of the substrate 3 due to a flat surface part 24 and is applied all over the substrate 3. In the process, applied developer is hard to protrude from the substrate. The flat surface part 24 is provided to enlarge liquid flowing out of the slit nozzle 20 in widthwise direction by a capillary phenomenon in a clearance between the substrate 3 and the flat surface part 24. Thereby, even if an opening length A of the slit nozzle 20 is smaller than a width of the substrate 3, developer reaches an end part of the substrate 3 without failure. Developer can be applied all over a substrate without waste in this way.

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 developing a substrate exposed in a predetermined pattern 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, a photoetching process is repeatedly performed on a substrate. In the photo etching process, a photoresist (an example of a photosensitive resin) is applied to the substrate by a spin coater or the like, and a predetermined pattern is exposed on the applied substrate. The substrate on which the pattern is exposed is developed with an alkali developing solution by a substrate developing device, and, for example, the photoresist in the exposed portion is removed.

Conventionally, as this type of substrate developing apparatus, there is an apparatus provided with a substrate holding portion for rotating and holding the substrate and a developing solution supply portion for supplying a developing solution to the held substrate. In this substrate developing device, the developer is supplied while rotating the substrate,
A developing solution is uniformly applied with a centrifugal force to perform a developing process.
However, when the developing solution is applied to the rectangular substrate by the substrate developing apparatus utilizing the centrifugal force, the developing solution is accumulated in the four corners of the substrate, the developing solution cannot be applied uniformly, and uneven development is likely to occur.

Therefore, as a substrate developing device for developing a rectangular substrate, a device having a shower nozzle for spraying a developing solution onto the substrate from above and a roller section for placing the substrate and moving it horizontally have already been developed. . In this substrate developing device,
With the developer sprayed from the shower nozzle, the substrate is moved in the horizontal direction to apply the developer onto the upper surface of the substrate.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In the above conventional configuration,
Since the developer is sprayed from above the substrate, the developer is sprayed not only on the substrate but also outside the substrate. Therefore, there arises a problem that the amount of developer consumed in the developing process increases. In order to solve this problem, the present inventor has considered a substrate developing apparatus that moves a liquid supply unit having a nozzle that is long in the width direction of the substrate in the longitudinal direction of the substrate along the upper surface of the rectangular substrate. This substrate developing device applies a developing solution to the entire surface of the substrate by moving the liquid supply unit in parallel with the substrate.

However, in this substrate developing apparatus, due to various errors such as a positioning error when the substrate is held by the substrate holding part and a position error of the substrate holding part, the edge of the liquid supply part may protrude from the substrate or the inside of the substrate. It may get in. When the liquid supply unit protrudes from the substrate, the developer supplied from the liquid supply unit flows out of the substrate. Further, when it enters the inside of the substrate, a region where the developing solution cannot be applied occurs on the substrate. As a result, there arises a problem that the developer is wasted or the developer cannot be applied over the entire surface of the substrate.

An object of the present invention is to enable the developer to be applied to the entire surface of the substrate without waste.

[0008]

A substrate developing apparatus according to the present invention is an apparatus for developing a substrate coated with a photosensitive resin and exposed in a predetermined pattern with a developing solution. This apparatus includes a substrate holding section, a developing solution supply section, and a relative moving means. The substrate holder can hold the substrate horizontally. The developing solution supply section has a nozzle section extending along the upper surface of the substrate and having an opening length shorter than the width of the substrate, and a pair of flat surface sections arranged on the extension lines at both ends of the nozzle section. And the developer is discharged onto the substrate. The relative moving means moves the developing solution supply section relative to the substrate holding section.

[0009]

In the substrate developing apparatus according to the present invention, the substrate holder holds the substrate horizontally. Then, the developing solution supply section discharges the developing solution onto the held substrate. The developer discharged from the nozzle portion spreads outside the nozzle portion due to the capillary phenomenon that occurs in the flat surface portion. Here, even if there is a positional error between the substrate and the developing solution supply section, since the opening length of the nozzle section is shorter than the width of the substrate, the discharged developing solution is less likely to overflow from the substrate. Further, since the pair of flat surface portions are provided at both ends of the nozzle portion, the developing solution is supplied over the entire surface of the substrate. Therefore, the developing solution can be applied to the entire surface of the substrate without waste.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG. 1, a substrate developing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises a developing processing section 1 and a developing solution pressure feeding section 2. The development processing section 1 includes a substrate holding section 4 capable of sucking and holding a rectangular glass substrate 3 by a vacuum chuck, and a developing solution supply section 5 for piling a developing solution on the substrate 3 held by the substrate holding section 4. Is equipped with. The substrate holding unit 4 can be rotated in two stages of high speed and low speed by a rotation mechanism (not shown). A cup 6 is arranged around the substrate holder 4 to prevent the developer and the rinse liquid (pure water) from scattering during rotation.

The developing solution supply section 5 has a nozzle section 7 extending along the upper surface of the substrate 3 in the lateral direction of the substrate 3 (depth direction in FIG. 1). The nozzle portion 7 is supported on the lower end of the nozzle support arm 8 so as to be rotatable around a horizontal axis. The nozzle support arm 8 is an inverted L-shaped member, and is supported by the moving frame 9 so as to be vertically movable. Moving frame 9
Are movably supported by the movement guide 10. The movement guide 10 extends along the longitudinal direction of the substrate 3 (the left-right direction in FIG. 1). As a result, the nozzle portion 7 can move along the upper surface of the substrate 3 in the longitudinal direction of the substrate 3 and apply the developing solution to the entire surface of the substrate.

As shown in FIG. 2, the nozzle portion 7 is an inverted cross-section member. The nozzle portion 7 is attached to the nozzle support arm 8 with its upper portion slightly inclined in the traveling direction. An angle θ formed by the bottom surface of the nozzle portion 7 and the substrate 3 is, for example, about 5 °. This angle is
The angle may be such that the developer is pulled by the surface tension and does not drip, the range is 1 ° to 30 °, and preferably 3 ° to 10 °.
It should be in the range of °.

A slit nozzle 20 having a downward opening is formed in the nozzle portion 7. In the middle of the slit nozzle 20, a pair of upper and lower liquid reservoirs 21 and 22 are formed. The liquid reservoirs 21 and 22 are for uniformly diffusing the developer supplied from the developer supply pipe 16 (described later) in the longitudinal direction of the nozzle portion 7 (depth direction in FIG. 2). The moving speed of the nozzle part 7 is approximately the same as the outflow speed of the developer flowing out from the tip of the nozzle part 7. As a result, the developing solution is accumulated in a state of being relatively stationary with respect to the substrate 3.

The length of the nozzle portion 7 in the longitudinal direction is, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the lateral direction of the substrate 3 (the lateral direction in FIG. 3).
Is longer than the length B. However, the opening length A of the slit nozzle 20 is slightly shorter than the lateral length B of the substrate 3. The specific opening length A of the slit nozzle 20 is calculated from the length B in the widthwise direction of the substrate 3, the maximum error in rotation of the substrate holding unit 4 at the home position, and the substrate 3 when the substrate 3 is held by the substrate holding unit 4. A value obtained by subtracting the cumulative error X obtained by adding the maximum positioning error (B
A value smaller than −X) [that is, A ≦ (B−X)]. At both ends of the slit nozzle 20, a pair of flat surface portions 24 are arranged on both outer extensions thereof. The length α of the flat surface portion 24 is a value larger than the cumulative error X [that is, α ≧ X], for example, 2 mm. An arc portion 25 is arranged between the flat surface portion 24 and the side surface 26 of the nozzle portion 7, and these are smoothly connected. The radius R of the arc portion 25 is, for example, 5 to 10 mm.

Here, the flat surface portion 24 is provided because the liquid flowing out from the slit nozzle 20 is brought into contact with the substrate 3 and the flat surface portion 24.
The reason is that it spreads in the lateral direction by the capillary phenomenon in the gap between and. Therefore, even if the opening length A of the slit nozzle 20 is shorter than the lateral length B of the substrate, the developing solution can be uniformly applied to the entire surface of the substrate 3. Further, since the circular arc portion 25 is provided so as to be continuous with the flat surface portion 24, as shown in FIG. 4, the developing solution does not sneak on both sides of the nozzle portion 7, and it is difficult for droplets to be formed which may cause dripping.

As shown in FIG. 1, the developing solution pressure-feeding section 2 has a pressure tank 11 for accommodating a poly tank 12 containing a developing solution and hermetically sealed inside. A pressure pipe 13 is opened at the top of the pressure tank 11. An intake / exhaust three-way valve 14 and a regulator 15 are arranged in this order in the middle of the pressurizing pipe 13. The pressurized pipe 13 is supplied with pressurized nitrogen gas from a nitrogen gas source (not shown). The three-way valve 14 supplies / exhausts nitrogen gas. Further, the developer supply pipe 16 reaches near the bottom surface of the plastic tank 12. In the developer supply pipe 16,
A flow meter 17 and a developer supply valve 18 are arranged. The developing solution supply pipe 16 is connected to the nozzle portion 7.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described with reference to the locus of the nozzle portion 7 shown in FIG. When the substrate 3 is placed on the substrate holder 4, the nozzle support arm 8 descends,
The tip of the nozzle portion 7 is arranged so as to face the upper surface slightly inside the base end of the substrate 3. Here, the tip of the nozzle portion 7 is arranged so as to face the inner side of the base end slightly in order to prevent the liquid from dripping from the base end side of the substrate 3. When the nozzle portion 7 is arranged facing the upper surface of the substrate 3, the developing solution supply valve 18 is opened and the developing solution is supplied from the plastic tank 12 to the nozzle portion 7 with the three-way valve 14 switched to the supply side in advance. Then, the moving frame 9 is moved, for example, at a speed at which the developing solution has a relatively stationary speed, and the developing solution is placed on the substrate 3. At the time of this liquid filling, as shown in FIG.
The developer that has flowed out of the substrate 3 is discharged by the flat surface portion 24 onto the substrate 3
Is spread laterally and is applied to the entire surface of the substrate 3.

Here, since the flat surface portion 24 is provided, even if the opening length A of the slit nozzle 20 is smaller than the width of the substrate 3, the developer is surely spread to the end portion of the substrate 3. That is, here, since the opening length A of the slit nozzle 20 is smaller than the value obtained by subtracting the cumulative error X from the short-side length B of the substrate, for example, as shown by the dotted line in FIG. Even if the nozzle portion 7 moves diagonally from the end to the end, the loci of both ends of the slit nozzle 20 indicated by the chain double-dashed line do not deviate from the substrate 3. In addition, the length α of the flat surface portion 24
Is larger than the cumulative error X, the flat surface portion 24 shown by the dotted line
Trajectories at both ends of do not enter the inside of the substrate 3. As a result, the developing solution from the slit nozzle 20 always flows and is applied to the entire surface of the substrate 3.

Further, since the arc portion 25 is provided here, the developer along the flat portion 24 does not become a drop at the end of the nozzle portion 7, and the drop of the developer due to the formation of the drop is prevented. . When the moving frame 9 reaches the end of the substrate 3, the three-way valve 14 is switched to the exhaust side, and the developer supply valve 18 is closed to stop the supply of the developer. Then, the nozzle portion 7 is retracted obliquely upward. At this time, the angle raised obliquely upward is equal to the angle θ of the tip of the nozzle portion 7.
Here, the nozzle part 7 is retracted obliquely upward because when the nozzle part 7 is horizontally moved as it is, the developing solution once deposited on the substrate 3 is drawn by the nozzle part 7 and is moved downward from the end of the substrate 3. Because it hangs down. Note that this angle is the angle θ
The angle may be different.

After the nozzle portion 7 is slanted upward and drained, the nozzle portion 7 is lifted slightly inside the inner circumference of the cup 6. Then, the nozzle portion 7 is moved to the outside of the cup 6 and further lowered to stand by outside the cup 6. After a lapse of a predetermined time, the substrate holding unit 4 moves the substrate 3
Is rotated at a high speed to shake off the developing solution deposited on the substrate 3. At this time, the developing solution shaken off from the substrate 3 is scattered only in the cup 6. As a result, the nozzle portion 7 waiting outside the cup 6 is not contaminated by the developing solution. When the shaking off of the developing solution is completed, the substrate is rinsed (cleaned) by a pure water supply nozzle (not shown). At the time of this rinse, the substrate 3 is rotated at a low speed by the substrate holder 4. When the rinsing is completed, the substrate 3 is rotated at a high speed by the substrate holder 4 to drain and dry. When the drainage drying is completed, the holding by the substrate holding unit 4 is released, and the substrate 3 is transported to the next step by a transport mechanism (not shown).

[Other Embodiments] (a) Instead of the circular arc portion 25, C machining, straight line cutting, or machining with a curved surface other than a circular arc may be adopted. (B) The present invention may be implemented using a circular substrate.

[0022]

In the substrate developing apparatus according to the present invention, since the opening length of the nozzle portion is shorter than the width of the substrate, the discharged developing solution is hard to overflow the substrate. Moreover, since the pair of flat surface portions is provided at both ends of the nozzle portion, the developing solution is supplied over the entire surface of the substrate. Therefore, the developer can be applied to the entire surface of the substrate without waste.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a substrate developing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of a nozzle portion.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a nozzle portion.

FIG. 4 is a partial front view of a nozzle portion.

FIG. 5 is a schematic side view showing a movement trajectory of a nozzle portion.

FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view showing a movement trajectory of a nozzle portion.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Development Processing Section 3 Substrate 4 Substrate Holding Section 7 Nozzle Section 9 Moving Frame 10 Moving Guide 20 Slit Nozzle 24 Flat Surface Section

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A substrate developing device for developing a substrate coated with a photosensitive resin and exposed to a predetermined pattern with a developing solution, the substrate holding portion capable of holding the substrate horizontally, and an upper surface of the substrate. A nozzle portion having an opening length shorter than the width of the substrate, and a pair of flat surface portions arranged on the extension line at both ends of the nozzle portion,
A substrate developing apparatus comprising: a developing solution supply unit that discharges the developing solution onto the substrate; and a relative movement unit that relatively moves the developing solution supply unit with respect to the substrate holding unit.