JPH08162405A - Heat-treating method, heating treating device, and treating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To shorten the heating and cooling process time of a workpiece, to uniform the temperature distribution under the surface of a workpiece, and to improve production yield. CONSTITUTION: A heater 23 is embedded in a mounting bed 24 on which a semiconductor wafer W is mounted to make the semiconductor wafer W heatable to a preset temperature. On the outside of the mounting bed 24 is formed a shutter 26 movably face to face to the mounting bed 24 so as to surround the mounting bed 24. There are provided support pins 32 which can move the semiconductor wafer W onto the mounting bed 24 and to the upper position of the mounting bed 24. There is also provided a cooling temperature adjusting body 40 which can advance to and recoil from the semiconductor wafer W placed at the upper position of the mounding bed 24 which is supported by this support pin 32. This enables the cooling temperature adjusting body 40 to move toward the semiconductor wafer W after the semiconductor wafer W subjected to heating on the mounting bed 24 is moved by the support pin 323 to the upper position of the mounting bed 24, thereby cooling the semiconductor wafer W to the preset temperature.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a heat treatment method, a heat treatment apparatus and a treatment apparatus for heating a treatment object and then cooling it to a predetermined temperature to adjust the temperature of the treatment object.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in a semiconductor device manufacturing process, a circuit pattern is reduced on a surface of an object to be processed such as a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as a wafer) by using a photolithography technique, and transferred onto a photoresist. Is being developed.

In this photolithography process,
First, the surface of the wafer is cleaned to remove dust and dirt on the unprocessed wafer, and then heat drying is performed. Immediately after cooling, the wafer is transferred to a resist coating apparatus, and a resist film is coated and formed on the wafer surface by, for example, spin coating. After that, the wafer is transferred to a heating device and subjected to a prebaking process at a predetermined temperature (about 80 ° C.) for a predetermined time in order to evaporate the solvent from the resist film. After that, for example, it is cooled down to room temperature (23 ° C.), conveyed to an exposure device, and subjected to exposure processing. The wafer after the exposure processing is transferred to a heating device and subjected to a baking treatment (a pre-development baking treatment) at a predetermined temperature for a predetermined time. The wafer after the baking process is transferred to a developing device, where it is subjected to a developing process, and then transferred to a heating device again for a predetermined time at a predetermined temperature (50 to 180 ° C.) in a post-baking process (after development). A baking treatment is performed to heat and evaporate the developing solution and the like remaining on the photoresist after development. After that, the wafer is transferred to a cooling device, cooled to room temperature (23 ° C.), that is, the temperature is adjusted, and then transferred to the next step.

As described above, in the photolithography process, the wafer to be processed is heated to a predetermined temperature before the resist application and before and after the development process, and cooled to room temperature before being transferred to the subsequent processes. Since it is necessary to perform treatment, heat treatment of heating and cooling is considered to be an important step.

By the way, in the conventional photolithography process of this type, the heating device and the cooling device are arranged at different positions, and the wafer after the heat treatment is transferred to the cooling device by a transfer means such as a robot. At times, the temperature of the wafer changes due to the effects of self-radiation and cooling due to the surrounding air flow, and the in-plane temperature distribution becomes non-uniform, resulting in non-uniform resist film thickness, uneven development, etc. There was a problem of causing a decline.

[0006] As means for preventing the effects of self-heat dissipation during wafer transfer and cooling due to airflow, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-2920.
The technique described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 3 is known. This JP-A-6-
The technique described in Japanese Patent No. 29203 discloses a heater installed in an upper part of a bake unit to heat a wafer from above without contact, a cooling plate installed in a lower part of the bake unit to cool a wafer, and a bake unit. The heat treatment apparatus is provided with an elevating pin for vertically moving the inside wafer in a horizontally supported state, and an adiabatic shutter installed between the heater and the cooling plate and vertically dividing the closed space in the bake unit into two parts.

[0007]

However, in the conventional heat treatment apparatus of this type, since the wafer is heated by the heater installed at the non-contact position above the wafer, the wafer is heated to a high temperature of 180 ° C., for example. There is a problem that it takes a lot of time to heat to a temperature and a large amount of heat energy is required, and further it is difficult to make the in-plane temperature distribution of the wafer uniform. Also,
Since the heater and the cooling plate are installed in the same unit, there is a problem that both the heater and the cooling plate are thermally affected. This problem is solved when the adiabatic shutter is closed, but when the adiabatic shutter is open,
Both the heater and the cooling plate are subject to the adverse effects of heat. Further, since the heat insulating shutter is pulled out from the state housed in the shutter winding device and moves into the bake unit, particles are generated at the sliding portion between the heat insulating shutter and the bake unit, and the particles adhere to the wafer. However, there is a problem that the product yield is lowered.

Further, particularly when forming a chemically amplified resist film, after performing a pre-development baking treatment after the exposure treatment,
If the cooling process is not performed within a short time, there is a problem that the amplification reaction proceeds and the line width and the like formed on the wafer surface is adversely affected. Furthermore, after performing the above baking treatment,
If the time until the cooling process is not constant, the line width may vary from wafer to wafer.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is possible to shorten the heating / cooling processing time of an object to be processed, and to make the in-plane temperature distribution of the object to be processed uniform and improve the product yield. It is an object of the present invention to provide a heat treatment method, a heat treatment apparatus, and a treatment apparatus.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, the heat treatment method according to claim 1 comprises a step of placing an object to be treated on a heating means and heating it to a predetermined temperature, and after the heat treatment, A step of moving the object to be processed to a position above the heating means, and a step of cooling the object to a predetermined temperature by a cooling temperature adjusting means moving toward the object to be processed. To do.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a heat treatment method, in which an object to be treated is placed on a heating means and heated to a predetermined temperature, and after the heat treatment, the object to be treated is moved to a position above the heating means. A step of passing the object to be processed to a cooling temperature adjusting means moving toward the object to be processed, and a step of moving the cooling temperature adjusting means to a position lateral to the heating means to cool it to a predetermined temperature. It is characterized by having.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the heat treatment method, the object to be processed is placed on the heating means and heated to a predetermined temperature, and after the heat treatment, the object to be processed is moved to a position above the heating means. A step of passing the object to be processed to the cooling temperature adjusting means moving toward the object to be processed, and a step of cooling the cooling temperature adjusting means to a predetermined temperature while moving the cooling temperature adjusting means to the side of the heating means. It is characterized by having.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a heat treatment apparatus which has a heating table on which an object to be processed is placed and which is heated to a predetermined temperature.
A shutter that surrounds the mounting table and moves relative to the mounting table to form a processing chamber, and a support member that moves the object to be processed on the mounting table and above the mounting table.
A cooling temperature adjusting body supported by the supporting member and capable of moving back and forth toward the object to be processed.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the heat treatment apparatus, there is provided a mounting table having a heating element on which an object to be processed is placed and heated to a predetermined temperature.
A shutter that surrounds the mounting table and moves relative to the mounting table to form a processing chamber; a first support member that moves the object to be processed onto the mounting table and a position above the mounting table; A cooling temperature adjusting body that is supported by a member and can move back and forth toward the object to be processed, and a cooling temperature adjusting body standby position on the side of the mounting table described above. And a second support member for receiving.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a heat treatment apparatus, which has a heating table on which an object to be processed is placed and which is heated to a predetermined temperature.
A shutter that surrounds the mounting table and moves relative to the mounting table to form a processing chamber, and a support member that moves the object to be processed on the mounting table and above the mounting table.
It is characterized by comprising a cooling temperature adjusting body supported by the supporting member and capable of moving back and forth toward the object to be processed, and a heat insulating plate interposed between the mounting table and the cooling temperature adjusting body. It is what

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a heat treatment apparatus, which has a heating table on which an object to be processed is placed and which is heated to a predetermined temperature.
A shutter that surrounds the mounting table and moves relative to the mounting table to form a processing chamber, and a support member that moves the object to be processed on the mounting table and above the mounting table.
A cooling temperature adjusting body supported by the supporting member and capable of moving back and forth toward the object to be processed, and an air supply means for supplying heat insulating air between the mounting table and the cooling temperature adjusting body. It is characterized by doing.

The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 8 is a mounting table having a heating element on which an object to be processed is placed and heated to a predetermined temperature.
A shutter that surrounds the mounting table and moves relative to the mounting table to form a processing chamber, and a support member that moves the object to be processed on the mounting table and above the mounting table.
A cooling temperature adjusting body supported by the supporting member and capable of moving back and forth toward the object to be processed, and an inert gas provided on the cooling temperature adjusting body and supplying an inert gas toward the object to be processed. And a supply means.

In the present invention, the cooling temperature adjusting body is in the form of a plate which is close to the upper surface or the lower surface of the object to be processed as long as it can move back and forth toward the object to be processed supported by the supporting member. However, it is preferable that it is of a sandwich type that covers the upper and lower surfaces of the object to be processed, and at least the refrigerant is provided at the lower part. In this case, as the refrigerant, for example, a Peltier element or a method of circulating constant temperature water can be used.

The inert gas supply means may be of any form as long as it is provided in the cooling temperature adjusting body and supplies the inert gas toward the object to be treated. For example, a method of supplying an inert gas in a shower shape toward the upper surface side or the lower surface side of the object to be processed can be used. In this case, for example, nitrogen (N ₂ ) gas or purified air can be used as the inert gas.

Further, in the processing apparatus according to the ninth aspect, a heat treatment unit having a heating unit for heating the object to be processed to a predetermined temperature and a cooling unit for cooling the object to be processed, and a resist solution is applied to the object to be processed. A resist processing section having at least one of a coating unit and a developing unit for developing processing; at least first transfer means for transferring the object to be processed between the thermal processing section and the resist processing section; And a second transfer means for transferring the object to be processed only between predetermined units in the heat treatment section.

In this case, it is preferable that the second conveying means has a cooling temperature adjusting function (claim 10).

According to the present invention, after the object to be processed is placed on the heating means (mounting table) and heated to a predetermined temperature, the object to be processed is moved to a position above the heating means by the supporting member, and this state is set. Thus, the cooling temperature adjusting means (cooling temperature adjusting body) can be moved toward the object to be processed to cool the object to be processed to a predetermined temperature.

The object to be processed is cooled not only at a position above the heating means but also at a position lateral to the heating means, so that the heat effect of the heating means is reduced as much as possible and the cooling processing is performed. be able to. Further, by cooling the object to be processed during the movement of the heating means from the upper side to the lateral position, it is possible to perform the cooling processing during the transportation of the object to be processed, and it is possible to improve the throughput.

When the object to be processed is moved to a position above the mounting table and cooled by the cooling temperature adjusting body, a heat insulating plate is interposed between the mounting table and the cooling temperature adjusting body, or heat insulation is performed. By supplying the working air, the heat transferred from the mounting table to the cooling temperature adjusting body can be blocked, and the influence of the heat from the mounting table can be minimized.

By supplying an inert gas from the inert gas supply means toward the object to be processed, the object to be heat-treated is replaced with an inert gas atmosphere and then cooled to a predetermined temperature. Can be adjusted.

In addition to the first transfer means for transferring the object to be processed between the heat treatment section and the resist processing section, there is provided second transfer means for transferring the object to be processed only between predetermined units in the heat treatment section. By being provided, the object to be processed which has been subjected to the heat treatment by the heating unit can be received by the second transporting means and transferred to the cooling unit. Therefore, the object to be heat-treated can be quickly transported to the cooling unit, the thermal effect on the object to be treated can be minimized, and the throughput can be improved. At this time, by providing the second transfer means with a temperature adjusting function, cooling processing can be performed during transfer of the object to be processed,
Further, the throughput can be improved.

[0027]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. Here, a case where the heat treatment apparatus according to the present invention is incorporated into a semiconductor wafer coating / developing system will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, the semiconductor wafer coating / developing processing system 1 has a plurality of cassettes 2 for accommodating, for example, a large number of semiconductor wafers W (hereinafter referred to as wafers) as objects to be processed at one end thereof. For example, it has a carrier station 3 configured to be able to carry four wafers, and an auxiliary arm 4 for loading / unloading the wafer W and positioning the wafer W is provided at the center of the carrier station 3. Further, a process station 6 is arranged on the side of the carrier station 3 side of the coating / developing processing system 1. Further, a main arm 5 as a transfer means for transferring the wafer W from the auxiliary arm 4 is provided at the center of the main arm 5 so as to be movable in the length direction thereof. Various processing mechanisms are arranged on both sides. Specifically, as these processing mechanisms, for example, a brush scrubber 7 for brush cleaning the wafer W and a high pressure jet cleaning machine 7A for cleaning the wafer W with high pressure jet water are arranged in parallel, and next to it, the heat treatment apparatus 20 is installed. 2 are stacked and provided, and two developing devices 8 are arranged side by side on the opposite side of the transfer path of the main arm 5.

Further, on the side of the process station 6, as another process station 6A via the connecting unit 9, for example, an adhesion processing apparatus 10 for performing a hydrophobic treatment on a wafer W before applying a photoresist to the photoresist. A cooling device 1 is provided below this.
1 is arranged. On the sides of these devices 10 and 11, another heat treatment device 20 is arranged in a two-row stack.

Further, two resist coating devices 12 for coating the photoresist liquid on the wafer W are provided in parallel on the opposite side of the heat treatment device 20, the adhesion processing device 10, etc. with the transfer path of the main arm 5 interposed therebetween. . An exposure device 14 for exposing a predetermined fine pattern on the resist film via the interface unit 13 is provided on the side of the resist coating device 12.

Next, the heat treatment apparatus will be described in detail. First Embodiment FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view showing the heat treatment apparatus 20 according to the present invention.

The heat treatment apparatus 20 heat-treats the wafer W carried by the main arm 5 to a predetermined temperature, and the wafer W heat-treated by the heat-treatment unit 21 to a predetermined temperature. Temperature, eg room temperature (23 ℃
The standby unit 22 of the cooling temperature adjusting body 40 for cooling (cooling temperature adjustment) to a degree) is provided.

A heating element 23 as a heating means for mounting the wafer W on the heat treatment section 21 and heating it to a predetermined temperature.
The mounting table 24 having the embedded (heater) is a holding member 25.
It is held at. A cylindrical shutter 26 is provided on the outer peripheral side of the mounting table 24 so as to surround the peripheral portion of the mounting table 24 so as to be vertically movable by an elevating cylinder 27, and above the mounting table 24, A cover 2 having an exhaust port 28a connected to an exhaust device (not shown) in the upper center
8 are provided.

In this case, an inward flange 26a is provided at the lower end of the shutter 26 and the lift cylinder 27 is provided.
When the shutter 26 is lifted by driving the shutter 26, the shutter 26 surrounds the mounting table 24 and the processing chamber 30 together with the cover 28 while the inward flange 26a is in close contact with the seal packing 29 mounted on the lower surface of the mounting table holding member 25. And the shutter 26 descends, the shutter 26
The standby portion 22 is passed through the gap between the upper end portion and the lower portion of the cover 28.
The wafer W can be loaded into and unloaded from the mounting table 24 from other locations. When the processing chamber 30 is formed, the space between the upper end of the shutter 26 and the cover 28 is about 1
A gap 31 of about mm is provided, and the air flowing into the processing chamber 30 through the gap 31 is exhausted from the exhaust port 28a. In this way, the air flowing into the processing chamber 30 from the upper periphery of the wafer W is removed from the upper exhaust port 28.
By exhausting air from a, it is possible to prevent the inflowing air from directly contacting the wafer W, so that the heating temperature of the heating process of the wafer W can be made uniform and the heating process of the wafer W can be made uniform. .

Below the mounting table 24, three support pins 32 as a first supporting member that supports the wafer W and moves to a position above the mounting table 24 and above the mounting table 24 are provided with an elevating plate 33. It is erected concentrically on the top. The support pins 32 are formed of a heat insulating member such as ceramics, fluororesin, or synthetic rubber, and an elevating mechanism 34 including a ball screw mechanism connected to the elevating plate 33.
It is configured to be able to move in and out above the mounting table 24 through a through hole 24a provided in the mounting table 24 by the driving.

On the other hand, the cooling temperature adjusting body 40 arranged in the standby portion 22 is mounted on the mounting table 24 by the support pins 32.
Upper cooling piece 41 and lower cooling piece 4 arranged in a sandwich shape to cover the upper and lower surfaces of the wafer W moved to the upper position of
2 and a connecting piece 43 that connects one ends of these cooling pieces 41, 42 are formed in a substantially U-shape in vertical cross section. By forming the U-shape in this way, the thickness in the up-down direction can be reduced, and cantilever support by the connecting piece 43 can be provided, which is convenient for movement and the configuration can be simplified. In addition, a Peltier element 44 as a refrigerant is embedded in the upper cooling piece 41 or the lower cooling piece 42, or both of them, and a heat radiating plate 45 is arranged on the back of the Peltier element 44. Upper cooling piece 4
The lower surface side of 1 and the upper surface side of the lower cooling piece 42 absorb heat to lower the temperature, so that the wafer W can be cooled to a predetermined temperature, for example, room temperature (about 23 ° C.). In place of the Peltier element 44, as shown in FIG.
It is also possible to incorporate 4A and circulate and cool constant temperature water, gas or the like cooled to a predetermined temperature.

Cooling temperature adjusting body 4 constructed as described above
0 is connected to an air cylinder 46 for horizontal movement via a rod 46a connected to the connecting piece 43. By driving this air cylinder 46, the cooling temperature adjusting body 40 is moved to the wafer W above the mounting table 24. It is configured to be able to move forward and backward. In this case, the cooling temperature adjusting body 40
As shown in FIG. 4, the lower cooling piece 42 is provided with a slit 47 for avoiding interference with the three support pins 32 and allowing the support pins 32 to move forward and backward. By providing the slit 47 in this way, the cooling temperature adjusting body 40 is moved toward the wafer W moved to a position above the mounting table 24 by the support pins 32, and the upper cooling piece 41 and the lower portion are formed on the upper and lower surfaces of the wafer W. The cooling temperature of the wafer W can be adjusted by bringing the cooling pieces 42 close to each other. At this time, since the wafer W is thermally shielded from the mounting table 24 by the lower cooling piece 42, there is no risk of being affected by heat from the mounting table 24.

In the first embodiment, the cylindrical shutter 26 is moved up and down to form the processing chamber 30 and the mounting table 24 is opened to the outside. However, instead of moving the shutter 26 up and down. Alternatively, the cover 28 and the mounting table 24 are moved up and down together with the up and down movement of the shutter 26, and the processing chamber 3
You may make it form 0. Instead of the cylindrical shutter 26, a wafer loading / unloading opening may be provided on the side wall of the container that houses the mounting table 24, and the opening / closing opening may be used. Further, in the above-described first embodiment, the cooling temperature adjusting body 40 is moved while the wafer W is supported by the support pins 32, and the wafer W and the cooling temperature adjusting body 40 are moved.
And the cooling temperature control are performed in a non-contact state with each other, but as shown by an imaginary line in FIG.
It is also possible to support the wafer W by the spacers 48 provided on the upper surface of and to control the cooling temperature in the proximity state.

Second Embodiment FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of the heat treatment apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a V-V arrow view of FIG.

The second embodiment is a case in which the heat from the mounting table 24 is more surely prevented from affecting the cooling temperature adjusting body 40 when the cooling temperature of the wafer W after the heat treatment is adjusted. is there. That is, the mounting table 2 is provided from the outside of the shutter 26, for example, from the side facing the standby position of the cooling temperature adjusting body 40.
4 and the cooling temperature adjusting body 40 move back and forth between the heat insulating plate 5
0 is arranged, and when the heat insulating plate 50 is moved forward, the slit 47 provided in the lower cooling piece 42 of the cooling temperature adjusting body 40 is closed with the remaining three support pins 32 and other portions. The slit 47a thus formed is provided. And
By inserting the heat insulating plate 50 between the mounting table 24 and the cooling temperature adjusting body 40 and moving it forward by a moving mechanism (not shown), and positioning the support pin 32 in the slit 47a of the heat insulating plate 50, the cooling temperature adjusting body 40 In this case, the portion communicating with the presence of the slit 47 is narrowed as much as possible so that the mounting table 24 and the wafer W whose cooling temperature is controlled are shut off from each other.

By interposing the heat insulating plate 50 between the mounting table 24 and the cooling temperature adjusting body 40 as described above, the heat transfer from the mounting table 24 to the cooling temperature adjusting body 40 can be surely blocked. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the wafer W after the heat treatment from being affected by the heat from the mounting table 24 during the cooling temperature control.

In the second embodiment, the heat insulating plate 50 is used.
Although the case where the heat insulating plate 50 is disposed at a position facing the standby position of the cooling temperature adjusting body 40 has been described, the disposing position of the heat insulating plate 50 does not necessarily have to face the standby position of the cooling temperature adjusting body 40. If a slit 47a that does not interfere with the support pin 32 when moving is provided, the slit 47a may be provided at any position, for example, it may be provided at a position orthogonal to the paper surface of FIG.
In addition, in the second embodiment, the other parts are the same as those in the first embodiment, and therefore, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

Third Embodiment FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional view of a third embodiment of the heat treatment apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view showing a main part of the third embodiment.

In the third embodiment, the heat from the mounting table 24 is more surely prevented from affecting the cooling temperature adjusting body 40 when the cooling temperature of the wafer W after the heat treatment is adjusted. This is the case. That is, an air supply nozzle 60 (air supply means) connected to an air supply source (not shown) is provided at one of opposite positions on the outer side of the shutter 26 on the plane between the mounting table 24 and the cooling temperature adjusting body 40. An air suction pipe 61 connected to an exhaust device (not shown) is provided on the other side, and the air is supplied from the air supply nozzle 60 between the mounting table 24 and the cooling temperature adjusting body 40 at room temperature or cooled. Adiabatic air layer 62 in the form of a sheet is sucked between the mounting table 24 and the cooling temperature adjusting body 40 by sucking the adiabatic air from the air suction pipe 61.
This is the case when it is formed. In this case, as shown in FIG. 8, the air supply nozzle 60 formed in a slit shape.
The heat insulating air layer 62 can be easily formed into a sheet by forming the injection port 60a and the suction port 61a of the air suction pipe 61 into a flat arc shape similar to the outer peripheral surface of the shutter 26.

As described above, by forming the heat insulating air layer 62 between the mounting table 24 and the cooling temperature adjusting body 40, the heat of the mounting table 24 is transferred to the cooling temperature adjusting body 40 side. Can be prevented. Since the temperature of the mounting table 24 is lowered by the insulating air, when the next wafer W is heat-treated, the next wafer W is placed on the mounting table 24 after the temperature of the mounting table 24 reaches a predetermined temperature. It is preferable to carry it. Since the other parts of the third embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment, the same parts are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

Fourth Embodiment FIG. 9 is a schematic sectional view showing a main part of a fourth embodiment of the heat treatment apparatus according to the present invention.

In the fourth embodiment, an inert gas cooled to room temperature or cooled is supplied from the cooling temperature adjuster 40 toward the wafer W to replace the wafer W before the cooling temperature control with the inert gas atmosphere. That is the case. That is, the lower surface side of the upper cooling member 41 of the cooling temperature adjusting member 40, an inert gas such as nitrogen (not shown) (N ₂₎ to form the N ₂ gas supply passage 70 that connects to a source of gas, the N ₂ gas by providing a large number of nozzle hole 71 at appropriate intervals in the supply passage 70, the N ₂ gas flowing from the N ₂ gas supply source to the N ₂ gas supply passage 70, toward the wafer W before being cooled temperature control This is the case when it is supplied in the form of a shower.

In the fourth embodiment, the case where the N ₂ gas supply passage 70 and the injection port 71 are provided in the upper cooling piece 41 of the cooling temperature adjusting body 40 to supply the N ₂ gas to the upper surface of the wafer W will be described. However, the N ₂ gas supply passage 70 and the injection port 71 may be similarly provided on the upper surface side of the lower cooling piece 42 to supply the N ₂ gas to the lower surface of the wafer W as well. Further, purified air or other inert gas may be supplied instead of the N ₂ gas.

With the above-described structure, the wafer W which has been subjected to the heat treatment is cooled to N ₂ before the cooling temperature is adjusted.
Gas can be supplied to replace the high temperature atmosphere with a low temperature inert gas atmosphere. Therefore, the temperature of the surface of the wafer W that has been subjected to the heat treatment can be adjusted in advance under a low temperature in the same atmosphere, so that the in-plane temperature distribution of the wafer W can be made more uniform. Further, the wafer W can be cooled at high speed by the N ₂ gas discharge air flow, and the processing time to the target cooling temperature can be shortened.

Since the other parts of the fourth embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment, the same parts are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

Fifth Embodiment FIG. 10 is a schematic side view showing an operation mode of the main part of the fifth embodiment of the heat treatment apparatus according to the present invention.

The fifth embodiment is a case where the cooling process can be shortened. That is, the cooling temperature adjusting body 40
Upper cooling piece 41 and / or lower cooling piece 42 of wafer W
This is a case in which the interval between and is narrowed so that the cooling temperature control can be promoted. In this case, in order to smoothly carry out the wafer W after the cooling temperature adjustment, according to the present invention, the upper cooling piece 41 and the lower cooling piece 42 of the cooling temperature adjusting body 40 are formed as separate bodies. An expandable cylinder device 80 is interposed between brackets 41a, 42a protruding from one end of each of the upper cooling pieces 4 and 41.
The distance between the first cooling piece 42 and the lower cooling piece 42 is adjustable.

With this structure, the wafer W
10 (a), the cylinder device 80 is contracted to reduce the distance between the upper cooling piece 41 and the lower cooling piece 42, that is, the distance between the wafer W and the cooling pieces 41, 42. The cooling temperature control process can be performed. Also,
After the cooling temperature adjustment, as shown in FIG. 10B, the cylinder device 80 is extended to widen the gap between the wafer W and the cooling pieces 41 and 42, and then, between the wafer W and the lower cooling piece 42. The main arm 5 can be inserted into and the wafer W supported by the support pins 32 can be transferred to the main arm 5.

Sixth Embodiment FIG. 11 is a schematic sectional view showing a sixth embodiment of the heat treatment apparatus according to the present invention.

In the sixth embodiment, the cooling temperature of the wafer W can be adjusted at a position other than the upper position of the mounting table 24, and the wafer W after the cooling temperature is adjusted at the standby position of the cooling temperature adjusting body 40.
This is the case when it is possible to deliver.

In this case, the standby portion 2 of the cooling temperature adjusting body 40
2, the support pin 3 disposed below the mounting table 24a.
Similarly to 2 (first support pin), a lift plate 3 that moves up and down by a lift mechanism 34a formed by a ball screw mechanism.
A delivery means is formed by providing three second support pins 32a, which are second support members standing up in a concentric shape, on the upper surface of the third support member 3.

As described above, the second support pins 32 for delivering the wafer W are provided in the standby portion 22 of the cooling temperature adjusting body 40.
By arranging a so that it can move up and down, the heat treatment unit 2
After the wafer W, which has been heat-treated at 1 and moved to a position above the mounting table 24 by the rise of the first support pins 32, is received by the cooling temperature adjusting body 40, the cooling temperature adjusting body 40 is moved to the standby unit 22. Then, the cooling temperature of the wafer W can be adjusted. At this time, if the cooling temperature adjustment is started while the cooling temperature adjusting body 40 is moved to the standby unit 22, the cooling temperature adjustment time can be shortened. After the cooling temperature adjustment is completed, the elevating mechanism 34a is driven to move the second support pins 32a toward the cooling temperature adjusting body 40, and the main arm is supported while the wafer W on the lower cooling piece 42 is supported. The wafer W can be delivered to the wafer 5.

Therefore, according to the sixth embodiment, since the cooling temperature of the wafer W after the heat treatment is adjusted at a place apart from the upper position of the mounting table 24, the influence of heat from the mounting table 24 can be reduced. Therefore, the uniformity of the in-plane temperature distribution of the wafer W can be further enhanced. Further, the wafer W to be heated next can be immediately placed on the mounting table 24 to start the heating process.

Next, the heat treatment method of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

* Heat Treatment Method A Heat treatment method A is a method of subjecting the wafer W to heat treatment and cooling temperature adjustment treatment using the heat treatment apparatus of the first to fifth embodiments. The first embodiment will be described below as a typical example. First, as shown in FIG. 12A, the wafer W is mounted on the mounting table 24 of the heat treatment section 21 and embedded in the mounting table 24. The generated heater 23 is made to generate heat or is made to generate heat in advance, and a predetermined temperature (50 to 18
The wafer W is heat-treated at 0 ° C. (heating step).
At this time, the air flowing into the processing chamber 30 through the gap 31 between the shutter 26 and the cover 28 is exhausted from the exhaust port.

Next, as shown in FIG. 12B, the support pins 32 are raised to move the wafer W to a position above the mounting table 24 (moving step). At this time, the shutter 26 is lowered to open the upper side of the mounting table 24. Next, FIG.
As shown in (c), the cooling temperature adjusting body 40 waiting in the standby unit 22 is moved toward the wafer W supported by the support pins 32, and the upper cooling piece 41 and the lower cooling piece 4 are moved.
The wafer W is positioned between the two and the Peltier device (see FIG.
(Not shown in FIG. 1) or is energized in advance, and the wafer W is kept for a predetermined time until a predetermined temperature (room temperature: 23 ° C.) is reached.
Is cooled (cooling temperature adjusting step).

Then, after the cooling temperature control of the wafer W, that is, the heat treatment is completed, a main arm (not shown) is inserted below the wafer W supported by the support pins 32, and the main arm of the wafer W is moved. Received and transported to the next processing step.

The heat treatment method A is the case where the first embodiment is representative, but when heat treatment is performed by the heat treatment apparatus of the second embodiment and the third embodiment, a cooling temperature adjusting step is performed. A heat insulating plate 50 is interposed between the mounting table 24 and the cooling temperature adjusting body 40, or a heat insulating air layer 62 is provided.
To form. When heat treatment is performed by the heat treatment apparatus of the fourth embodiment, an inert gas such as N ₂ gas is supplied to the wafer W before the heat treatment of the wafer W to cool the wafer W. The surface is replaced with an inert gas atmosphere.
When heat treatment is performed by the heat treatment apparatus of the fifth embodiment, the cylinder device 80 is contracted during the cooling temperature control step to narrow the gap between the upper cooling piece 41 and the lower cooling piece 42, and to cool the cooling piece. After the temperature control, the cylinder device 80 is extended to widen the gap between the upper cooling piece 41 and the lower cooling piece 42, and the main arm is inserted below the wafer W supported by the support pins 32 to move the wafer W. I will receive it.

Heat Treatment Method B The heat treatment method B is a case where the wafer W is heat-treated by using the heat treatment apparatus of the sixth embodiment. First, as shown in FIG. Are placed on the mounting table 24 of the heat treatment section 21 in the same manner as the heat treatment method A. In this state, the heater 23 embedded in the mounting table 24 is caused to generate heat or is made to generate heat in advance, and the wafer W is subjected to heat treatment at a predetermined temperature (50 to 180 ° C.) for a predetermined time (heating step).

Next, the first support pins 32 are raised to move the wafer W to a position above the mounting table 24 (moving step).
At this time, the shutter 26 is lowered to open the upper side of the mounting table 24. Next, as shown in FIG. 13, the cooling temperature adjusting body 40 waiting in the waiting section 22 is moved toward the wafer W supported by the first supporting pins 32, and the cooling temperature adjusting body 40 is moved. The wafer W is received. Then, as shown in FIG. 13, after the cooling temperature adjusting body 40 is moved to the standby unit 22, a Peltier element (not shown) is energized or previously energized, and a predetermined temperature (room temperature: 23 The wafer W is cooled until the temperature reaches (° C.) (cooling temperature adjusting step).

After the cooling temperature control of the wafer W, that is, the heat treatment is completed, the second support pins 32a are raised to support the wafer W, and the main arm 5 is inserted below the wafer W to receive the wafer W. , The main arm 5 is retracted from the standby section 22 and is transported to the next processing step (see FIG. 13).

Heat Treatment Method C Heat treatment method C is a case where the wafer W is heat-treated using the heat treatment apparatus of the sixth embodiment.
In the step of heating the wafer W,
This is a case where the Peltier device (not shown) is energized or previously energized when the wafer W is received at 0 and moved to the standby unit 22, and the wafer W is cooled (cooling temperature adjustment).
In the heat treatment method C, the other heat treatments and the wafer transfer process are the same as those of the heat treatment method B, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

Seventh Embodiment FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a semiconductor wafer coating / developing processing system to which the processing apparatus of the seventh embodiment of the present invention is applied, FIG.
5 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the main parts of the processing apparatus of the seventh embodiment.

As in the case shown in FIG. 1, the semiconductor wafer coating / developing processing system 1 is configured such that, for example, a plurality of cassettes 2 accommodating a large number of wafers W can be mounted on one end side thereof. The carrier station 3 is provided with an auxiliary arm 4 for loading / unloading the wafer W and positioning the wafer W in the center of the carrier station 3. Further, a process station 6 is arranged on the side of the carrier station 3 side of the coating / developing processing system 1. Further, the central portion is provided so as to be movable in the length direction (X direction), a direction (Y direction) orthogonal to the length direction, and a vertical direction (Z direction) and rotatable (θ), and A main arm 5 as a first transfer means for transferring the wafer W from the auxiliary arm 4 is provided, and one side of the transfer path of the main arm 5 has the brush scrubber 7 and the high-pressure jet cleaning machine 7 described above.
A, the heat treatment section 100 in which the heating unit 21A and the cooling unit 11A are stacked and provided is arranged, and two developing devices 8 (developing units) are arranged in parallel on the other side. In this case, three heating units 21A are arranged on one cooling unit 11A to form the heat treatment section 100.

On the other hand, on the side of the process station 6, as another process station 6A via the connection unit 9, for example, an adhesion processing apparatus 10 for performing a hydrophobic treatment on the wafer W before applying the photoresist to the photoresist. Is provided. Two rows of heat treatment units 100, each having one heating unit 21A and three heating units 21A stacked on each other, are arranged on the side of the adhesion device 10.

Two resist coating devices 12 (coating units) for coating the photoresist liquid on the wafer W are arranged on the opposite side of the heat treatment section 100 and the adhesion processing device 10 with the transfer path of the main arm 5 interposed therebetween. It is set up. The resist coating device 12 and the developing device 8 constitute a resist processing section. The interface unit 1 is provided on the side of the resist coating device 12.
An exposure device 14 and the like for exposing a predetermined fine pattern to the resist film via the 3 are provided.

Further, on the side opposite to the main arm 5 of the heat treatment section 100, there is provided a sub-arm 90 as a second transfer means for receiving the wafer W which has been heated by the heating unit 21A and transferring it to the cooling unit 11A. X, Y, Z
It is provided to be movable in the direction and rotatable (θ).
The sub-arm 90 has a cooling temperature adjusting function. That is, similar to the cooling temperature adjusting body 40 described above, the upper cooling piece 41 and the lower cooling piece 42 are formed into a substantially U-shaped vertical cross-section by connecting one ends with the connecting piece 43. Alternatively, for example, a Peltier element 44 is embedded in the lower cooling piece 42 or both as cooling means. The heat generated from the Peltier element 44 is radiated toward the upper and lower spaces by a radiator (not shown) and the cooling piece itself.

In this case, the sub arm 90 is moved in the X direction along a transport path (not shown), for example, in the Z direction by the ball screw mechanism 91, and is heated by the air cylinder (not shown) in the heating unit 21A or the cooling unit. It is configured to be able to move forward and backward (Y direction) with respect to 11A.

As shown in FIG. 15, the heating unit 21A forms a processing chamber having a loading / unloading port 21a for the main arm 5 on one side and a loading / unloading port 21b for the sub arm 90 on the other side. 21c, the above-mentioned heat treatment apparatus 2
As in the case of the heat treatment unit 21 of No. 0, a heating element 23 (heater) as a heating means for mounting the wafer W and heating it to a predetermined temperature.
It is equipped with a mounting table 24 in which Further, below the mounting table 24, three support pins 32 penetrating the mounting table 24 and supporting the wafer W are configured to be able to move in and out above the mounting table 24 by driving an elevating mechanism (not shown). Has been done. A shutter 26A is openably and closably provided at the loading / unloading port 21a and the loading port 21b. Further, an exhaust port 28a is provided on the top of the housing 21c.

The cooling unit 11A has a loading / unloading port 11a for the main arm 5, similar to the heating unit 21A.
Further, a mounting table 24 having a coolant passage 11d as a cooling means for mounting the wafer W and cooling it to a predetermined temperature is provided in a housing 11c having a carry-in port 11b of the sub-arm 90. Further, similarly to the heating unit 21A, the support pin 32A is configured to be able to move in and out above the mounting table 24 by driving an elevating mechanism (not shown). A shutter 26B is openably and closably provided at the carry-in / carry-out port 11a and the carry-in port 11b.

Next, an operation mode of the processing apparatus of the present invention configured as described above will be described. The wafer W exposed by the exposure device 14 is transferred to the heating unit 21A by the main arm 5 and subjected to a heating process at a predetermined temperature for a predetermined time. After the heating process is completed, the support pins 32 are lifted and the wafer W is moved above the mounting table 24. At this time, the shutter 26A is lowered and the exit 21 is carried out.
b is opened, the sub-arm 90 receives the wafer W supported by the support pins 32, retracts, and descends to be loaded into the cooling unit 11A from the opened loading port 11b of the cooling unit 11A. At the time of this transfer, by energizing the Peltier element 44, the wafer W can be cooled during the transfer. The sub arm 90 is the cooling unit 1
After the wafer W is transferred to the support pins 32A protruding above the mounting table 24 of 1A, the wafer W is retracted from the cooling unit 11A.

After the sub-arm 90 retracts, the shutter 26A of the cooling unit 11A moves up to close the carry-in port 11b, and the support pins 32A move down to place the wafer W on the mounting table 32A. In this state, the mounting table 32A
The wafer W is cooled to a predetermined temperature, for example, room temperature (23 ° C.) by the refrigerant flowing in the refrigerant passage 11d buried in the.

Therefore, the heat-treated wafer W is
Since the sub-arm 90 immediately transfers the wafer W to the cooling unit 11A, the wafer W of the heating unit 21A is overheated when the main arm 5 is transferring another wafer W or the reception timing of the wafer W is delayed for some reason. It is possible to prevent thermal influence such as being placed in a state. In particular, when a pattern is formed by using a chemically amplified resist film, it is preferable in that the line width of the pattern of the wafer W can be prevented from being adversely affected such that the line width is not uniform.

Other Embodiments 1) In the seventh embodiment, the case where the heating unit 21A and the cooling unit 11A are vertically stacked is described, but the heating unit 21A and the cooling unit 11A are indispensable. Need not be arranged in the vertical direction, but may be arranged in the horizontal direction. Further, the heating unit 21A and the cooling unit 11A can be provided in any number as needed. Further, in the seventh embodiment, the sub arm 9
Peltier element 4 as a cooling temperature adjusting function provided in 0.
Although 4 is used, cooling means other than the Peltier element 44 may be used, and the heat insulating plate 50, the heat insulating air layer 62 and the like described in the second to fifth embodiments may be applied. .

2) In the above embodiment, the case where the heat treatment method and apparatus of the present invention are applied to the coating / developing processing system for semiconductor wafers has been described. However, the heating and cooling temperatures of semiconductor wafers in other processing steps / processing systems It goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to those that perform the tone processing. It can also be applied to heat treatment of LCD substrates, CDs, etc. other than semiconductor wafers.

[0081]

As described above, according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

1) After the object to be processed is placed on the heating means (mounting table) and heated to a predetermined temperature, the object to be processed is moved to a position above the heating means, and the object to be processed is cooled by the cooling temperature adjusting body. Since it can be cooled to a predetermined temperature, it is possible to shorten the heating and cooling processing time of the object to be processed, and to make the in-plane temperature distribution of the object to be processed uniform and improve the product yield. .

2) By performing the cooling process of the object to be processed not only at the position above the heating means (mounting table) but also at the transfer position on the side of the heating means, the thermal effect of the heating means can be minimized. The cooling process can be performed. Further, by cooling the object to be processed during the movement from above the heating means to the delivery position, it is possible to perform the cooling processing during the transportation of the object to be processed, and it is possible to improve the throughput.

3) When the object to be processed is moved to a position above the mounting table and cooled by the cooling temperature adjusting body, a heat insulating plate is interposed between the mounting table and the cooling temperature adjusting body, or heat insulation is performed. By supplying the working air, in addition to the above 1), the heat transferred from the mounting table to the cooling temperature adjusting body can be blocked, and the influence of the heat from the mounting table can be minimized. .

4) By supplying an inert gas from the inert gas supply means toward the object to be processed, the object to be heat-treated in addition to the above 1) is replaced with an inert gas atmosphere and then cooled. Then, the temperature can be adjusted to a predetermined temperature, and the in-plane temperature of the object to be processed can be made more uniform.

5) In addition to the first transfer means for transferring the object to be processed between the heat treatment section and the resist processing section, there is provided second transfer means for transferring the object to be processed only between predetermined units in the heat treatment section. By providing the heat-treated object to be processed, the object to be processed can be quickly conveyed to the cooling unit, the thermal effect on the object to be processed can be minimized, and the throughput can be improved. . Further, by providing the second transfer means with a temperature adjusting function, it is possible to perform the cooling process during the transfer of the object to be processed, and it is possible to further improve the throughput.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a semiconductor wafer coating / developing processing system to which a heat treatment apparatus of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view showing a first embodiment of a heat treatment apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of a cooling temperature adjuster according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing a mounting table and a cooling temperature adjusting body according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view of a second embodiment of a heat treatment apparatus according to the present invention.

6 is a view on arrow VV of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional view of a third embodiment of the heat treatment apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view showing a main part of a third embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the main parts of a fourth embodiment of the heat treatment apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic side view showing an operation mode of the main part of the fifth embodiment of the heat treatment apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a schematic sectional view showing a sixth embodiment of the heat treatment apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory view showing an example of the heat treatment method of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a schematic plan view showing another example of the heat treatment method of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a semiconductor wafer coating / developing processing system to which the processing apparatus of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 15 is a schematic sectional view showing a main part of the processing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

5 Main Arm (First Transfer Means) 11A Cooling Unit 21 Heat Treatment Section 21A Heating Unit 22 Standby Section 23 Heater (Heating Body) 24 Placement Table (Heating Means) 26 Shutter 30 Processing Chamber 32 Support Pin (Supporting Member, First) 32a 2nd support pin (2nd support member) 40 Cooling temperature control body 42 Peltier element 50 Thermal insulation plate 60 Air supply nozzle (air supply means) 62 Insulation air layer 70 N ₂ Gas supply passage 71 Nozzle 90 sub-arm (second transfer means) 100 heat treatment section W semiconductor wafer (object to be processed)

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification number Internal reference number FI Technical indication location H01L 21/324 D (72) Inventor Koji Harada 2655 Tsukyu, Kikuyo-cho, Kikuchi-gun, Kumamoto Prefecture Tokyo Electron Kyushu Kumamoto office

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A step of placing an object to be processed on a heating means to heat it to a predetermined temperature, a step of moving the object to be treated above the heating means after the heat treatment, and the object to be processed. And a step of cooling the object to be processed to a predetermined temperature by a cooling temperature adjusting means moving toward. 2. A step of placing an object to be processed on a heating means and heating it to a predetermined temperature, a step of moving the object to be treated above the heating means after the heat treatment, and the object to be processed. And a step of passing the object to be processed to a cooling temperature adjusting means that moves toward, and a step of moving the cooling temperature adjusting means to a position lateral to the heating means and cooling to a predetermined temperature. Heat treatment method. 3. A step of placing an object to be processed on a heating means and heating it to a predetermined temperature, a step of moving the object to be treated above the heating means after the heat treatment, and the object to be processed. Heat treatment characterized by including a step of passing the object to be cooled to the cooling temperature adjusting means, and a step of cooling the cooling temperature adjusting means to a predetermined temperature while moving the cooling temperature adjusting means to the side of the heating means. Method. 4. A mounting table having a heating element for mounting an object to be processed thereon and heating it to a predetermined temperature, a shutter surrounding the mounting table and forming a processing chamber by moving relative to the mounting table, A support member that moves the object to be processed to a position above the mounting table and above the mounting table, and a cooling temperature adjusting body that can be moved back and forth toward the object to be processed supported by the support member. A heat treatment apparatus characterized by. 5. A mounting table having a heating element for mounting an object to be processed thereon and heating it to a predetermined temperature, a shutter surrounding the mounting table and moving relative to the mounting table to form a processing chamber, A first supporting member that moves the object to be processed to a position above the mounting table and above the mounting table; a cooling temperature adjusting body that is movable back and forth toward the object to be processed supported by the supporting member; A heat treatment apparatus, comprising: a second support member which is provided at a cooling temperature adjusting body standby position on a side of the mounting table and receives the object to be processed from the cooling temperature adjusting body. 6. A mounting table having a heating element for mounting an object to be processed thereon and heating it to a predetermined temperature, a shutter surrounding the mounting table and moving relative to the mounting table to form a processing chamber, A support member that moves the object to be processed to a position above the mounting table and above the mounting table, a cooling temperature adjusting body that can be moved back and forth toward the processing object that is supported by the support member, and the mounting table described above. And a heat insulating plate interposed between the cooling temperature adjusting body and the cooling temperature adjusting body. 7. A mounting table having a heating element for mounting an object to be processed thereon and heating it to a predetermined temperature, a shutter which surrounds the mounting table and which moves relative to the mounting table to form a processing chamber, A support member that moves the object to be processed to a position above the mounting table and above the mounting table, a cooling temperature adjusting body that can be moved back and forth toward the processing object that is supported by the support member, and the mounting table described above. An air supply unit for supplying heat insulating air between the cooling temperature adjusting body and the cooling temperature adjusting body. 8. A mounting table having a heating element for mounting an object to be processed thereon and heating it to a predetermined temperature, a shutter surrounding the mounting table and moving relative to the mounting table to form a processing chamber, A support member that moves the object to be processed to a position above the mounting table and above the mounting table, a cooling temperature adjusting body that can move back and forth toward the object to be processed supported by the supporting member, and the cooling temperature adjustment An inert gas supply means that is provided on the body and supplies an inert gas toward the object to be processed. 9. A heat treatment unit having a heating unit for heating an object to be processed to a predetermined temperature and a cooling unit for cooling the object to be processed, a coating unit for applying a resist solution to the object to be processed, and a developing unit for development processing. At least one
A resist processing section having one, at least a first transporting means for transporting the object to be processed between the thermal processing section and the resist processing section, and the object to be processed only between predetermined units in the thermal processing section. A second transport means for transporting the. 10. The processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the second conveying means has a cooling temperature adjusting function.