JPH09213610A - Substrate processing device and method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To use a developer or rinse effectively by a method wherein a cover opposing to a substrate is provided with a feather, which is immersed in a developer or rinse, and at least either one out of the substrate or the feather is turned. SOLUTION: A chuck 11 together with a substrate 1 is turned in one direction thereby evenly pouring a developer 2 into the resist surface of the substrate 1 to turn either the cover 13 or the substrate 1 for agitating the developer 2 between the cover 13 and the substrate 1 so that unreacted developer may be fed to the interface between the resist surface and the developer 2 constantly for the development. After the development, a rinse is poured from a feeding port 14 to turn the cover 13 and the substrate 1 for rinse processing to be spin-dried up for finishing the development. Through these procedures, the development or rinse effect can be enhanced thereby enabling the substrate processing in high precision to be performed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus and method suitable for developing or cleaning a wafer or a substrate used in a liquid crystal display in a semiconductor manufacturing process.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a basic process for manufacturing a substrate or a substrate for a liquid crystal display in a semiconductor manufacturing process, various processing steps are repeatedly performed. Among them are a developing process in which a developing solution is discharged onto the surface of the substrate for processing, a cleaning process in which a cleaning liquid is discharged to wash off the surface of the substrate, and the like.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing an example of a conventional development processing apparatus in a semiconductor manufacturing process. In FIG. 6, reference numeral 1 is a substrate, which is a wafer here. Reference numeral 52 is a chuck for holding the substrate 1 by vacuum suction, and is rotatable by a motor (not shown). 53 is the substrate 1
Is a liquid ejection nozzle for ejecting the developer 2 onto the substrate surface (resist surface).

In this apparatus, the developer 2 is discharged from the liquid discharge nozzle 53 onto the substrate 1 held by the chuck 52, and the substrate 1 is rotated integrally with the chuck 52 to diffuse the developer 2. The developing solution 2 is used for development. Further, the developer 2 after being diffused is
The surface tension that acts between the developing solution 2 and the substrate surface is maintained, that is, the paddle of the developing solution 2 is formed, and the developing process is performed during this period. Here, the normal paddle is formed on the resist thin film having a thickness of about 1 μm so that the thickness d is about 3 to 4 mm (3 to 4 × 10 3 μm) as shown in FIG. Then, the exposed resist thin film is developed by the puddle of the developing solution 2. However, since the reaction between the resist and the developing solution 2 occurs at the interface, the developing solution is mainly diffused to the interface. It takes 60 to 90 seconds to develop because of the rate-controlling, and most of the developer 2 in the part away from the interface is discharged unreacted during the rinsing process. is there. Therefore, in consideration of the amount of the cleaning liquid used during the rinsing process, the processing time, and the amount of the developer 2 to be processed without being reacted, it is expected that the amount of the developer 2 will be reduced to some extent. it can.

[0005]

However, the surface tension of the developer 2 on the surface of the substrate is very large. For this reason,
If the amount of the developer 2 is simply reduced in the conventional development processing method, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, the phenomenon that the puddle of the developer 2 does not reach the periphery of the substrate 1 occurs.

Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG.
A substrate processing apparatus having a structure using is also proposed. In addition,
In FIG. 8, the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 6 and 7 denote the same parts as those in FIGS. 6 and 7. In the apparatus shown in FIG. 8, the lid 54 is formed to have substantially the same plane shape as the substrate 1, and has a hole 55 at the center through which the developing solution 2 can be discharged and supplied. In this structure, the distance β to the substrate 1 is smaller than the height d of the developer 2 (see FIG. 6), that is, (β <d), and the lid 54 is made to face the substrate 1. After being arranged, and then the developing solution 2 is supplied through the supply hole 55, a paddle can be formed between the lid 54 and the substrate 1, and this method enables development in a small amount. Further, in this structure, when the distance β is reduced, the developer 2
It also reduces the amount used. However, in the structure shown in FIG. 8, there is a limit in reducing the distance β between the lid 54 and the substrate 1 to efficiently use the developer 2 existing between the distance β.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to effectively use a liquid for developing or cleaning a substrate so that development or cleaning can be effectively performed in a small amount. Another object of the present invention is to provide a simple substrate processing apparatus and processing method.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, in the apparatus of the present invention, a substrate treatment for developing or cleaning the surface of the substrate with a developing or cleaning liquid discharged onto the substrate. The apparatus is provided with a lid having a blade immersed in the liquid and arranged to face the substrate, and means for immersing the blade in the liquid to rotate at least one of the substrate and the blade. It is configured as follows.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, in the method of the present invention, in the substrate processing method for developing or cleaning the surface of the substrate with a developing or cleaning liquid discharged onto the substrate, A blade immersed in the liquid is provided on a lid arranged to face the substrate, and at least one of the substrate and the blade is rotated to perform development or cleaning while stirring the liquid with the blade. It is a thing.

According to this, when the liquid is poured between the substrate and the lid, the blade is immersed in the liquid, and when one of the substrate and the blade is rotated, the liquid is agitated by the blade and the liquid is transferred to the substrate. Development or cleaning can be performed in a state where the interface with the surface is successively supplied. Thereby, the development or cleaning effect can be improved, and more accurate substrate processing can be performed in a short time.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an example of one embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. In this example, a case of developing a wafer in a semiconductor manufacturing process is taken as an example. In FIG. 1, the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 6 to 8 indicate the same parts as those in FIGS. 6 to 8. Further, in FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 is a substrate, here, a wafer. Reference numeral 11 denotes a chuck for vacuum-sucking the substrate 1, which is rotatable by a motor (not shown).
Reference numeral 13 is a lid, and this lid 13 is formed in a substantially flat shape similar to that of the substrate 1, and has a hole 14 in the center through which the developing solution 2 can be discharged and supplied. Further, a stirring blade 15 is provided on the lower surface of the lid 13 facing the substrate 1, in a state of hanging straight from the lower surface. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the blade 15 has a supply hole 1
8 pieces are provided radially with 4 as the center, but at least one piece or more may be provided.
The lid 13 has a structure capable of reciprocating left and right around a supply hole 14 by a motor (not shown). Further, the dimension γ (see FIG. 1) in which the blades 15 are discharged from the lower surface is smaller than the dimension β (see FIG. 1) when the lid 13 and the substrate 1 are arranged to face each other, and is about half the size []. γ =
(1/2) · β].

Next, the operation of this substrate processing apparatus will be described. First, the centered substrate 1 is transferred onto the chuck 11 and vacuum chucked by the chuck 11.
At this time, the chuck 11 and the lid 13 are sufficiently separated from each other so that the substrate 1 can be transported smoothly. When the adsorption of the substrate 1 onto the chuck 11 is completed, the distance between the substrate 1 and the lid 13 is narrowed by raising the chuck 11 or lowering the lid 13, and the preparation for development is completed.
Next, the developer 2 is pressure-fed by a pump (not shown) or gas pressurization, and is supplied between the lid 13 and the substrate 1 through the supply hole 14. At that time, the lid 13 is reciprocally rotated in the left-right direction by a motor (not shown), and the chuck 11 is rotated together with the substrate 1 in one direction. The developer 2 is evenly distributed on the resist surface of the substrate 1 by each of these rotations. Poured. The supply of the developing solution 2 is stopped when the tip reaches the edge of the substrate 1 (wafer peripheral edge). Then
Due to the surface tension of the developing solution 2, the paddle state is formed in such a manner that the developing solution 2 is held between the lid 13 and the substrate. FIG. 1 shows this state.

Subsequently, development of the resist thin film on the surface of the substrate 1 is started. Also at this time, the lid 13 with the blades 15 or the substrate 1 is rotated to stir the developer 2 between the lid 13 and the substrate 1, and unreacted developer is constantly supplied to the interface between the resist surface and the developer. Then, development is carried out.

After the developing process is completed, the rinse process is started. The rinse process after the development is performed by switching the piping by a three-way valve (not shown) and discharging the rinse liquid from the supply hole 14. Also at this time, the lid 13 and the substrate 1 are rotated.
Then, after the development processing is completed in this way, the substrate 1 is spin-dried, the development is completed, and the substrate 1 is conveyed to the next step with the lid 13 raised or the chuck 11 lowered.

Therefore, in the substrate processing apparatus of this embodiment, the paddle of the developing solution 2 is formed between the substrate 1 and the lid 13, and the substrate 1 or the lid 13 is rotated during the development to develop the paddle-shaped developing solution. Since 2 can be agitated by the blades 15, the unreacted developing solution can be always supplied to the reaction interface, so that the developing solution can be made small and the developing time can be shortened.

Here, the relationship between the developing solution concentration and the resolution limit dimension is shown in FIG. 4, and the relationship between the developing solution concentration and the developing time is shown in FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. As the developer concentration decreases, the resolution limit size decreases, and the resolution of the resist pattern tends to improve.
On the other hand, it can be seen that the time required for development increases as the developer concentration decreases. However, when the processing method of the present invention is used, the developing time can be shortened as described above. A pattern can be formed.

In the above-described embodiment, the blades 15 provided on the lid 13 are disclosed to extend radially from the center of the lid 13, but as shown in FIG. With the structure in which the developer 2 is staggered, the developer 2 can be spread more uniformly when the developer is supplied, and the developer 2 in the paddle can be stirred more efficiently during the development, and The unreacted developer can be efficiently supplied to the reaction interface with the resist, and the development time can be further shortened. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the wafer development processing is performed in the semiconductor manufacturing process has been described. The same can be applied to the case of performing the above or the case of performing the cleaning process of the substrate for the liquid crystal display. Further, when used as a cleaning processing apparatus, it can be applied to a single-wafer cleaning apparatus in which one wafer is rotated and a cleaning liquid is sprayed onto the wafer surface during the rotation. is there.

[0018]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When the liquid is poured between the substrate and the lid, rotating either the substrate or the blade causes the liquid to be agitated by the blade, and this liquid is continuously supplied to the interface with the substrate surface for development or cleaning. Therefore, it is possible to improve the development or cleaning effect and perform more accurate substrate processing in a short time.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of one embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of a lid alone in the same apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view showing a modified example of the lid alone.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a relationship between a developer concentration and a resolution limit size.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a relationship between developer concentration and developing time.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing an example of a conventional development processing apparatus.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a problem of the conventional device.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing another example of a conventional development processing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 substrate (wafer) 2 developing solution 13 lid 14 supply hole 15 blade

Claims (26)

[Claims] 1. A substrate processing apparatus for developing or cleaning the surface of a substrate with a developing or cleaning liquid discharged onto a substrate, comprising a blade immersed in the liquid and facing the substrate. A substrate processing apparatus, comprising: a lid arranged; and means for immersing the blade in the liquid to rotate at least one of the substrate and the blade. 2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for ejecting the liquid in the center of the substrate between the substrate and the lid. 3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a plurality of the blades are provided radially from the center of the lid. 4. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the blades are provided so as to be offset in the same direction by an angle θ with respect to radiation from the center of the lid. 5. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is rotated in one direction and the blades are reciprocally rotated. 6. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a wafer for a semiconductor device is used as the substrate. 7. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a substrate for a liquid crystal display is used as the substrate. 8. A substrate processing apparatus for developing the surface of a substrate with a developing liquid discharged onto a substrate, a lid arranged to face the substrate, and a center of the lid fixed to the lid. And a plurality of blades that are radially provided from the lid and are immersed in the liquid when the lid faces the substrate, and the substrate is rotated in one direction and the lid is reciprocally rotated integrally with the blade. And a means for ejecting the liquid between the substrate and the lid from substantially the center of the lid. 9. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein a wafer for a semiconductor device is used as the substrate. 10. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the blades are provided so as to be displaced in the same direction by an angle θ with respect to radiation from the center of the lid. 11. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein a substrate for a liquid crystal display is used as the substrate. 12. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the blades are provided so as to be offset in the same direction by an angle θ with respect to radiation from the center of the lid. 13. A substrate processing apparatus for cleaning the surface of a substrate with a cleaning liquid discharged onto a substrate, comprising: a lid arranged to face the substrate, and a center of the lid fixed to the lid. And a plurality of blades that are radially provided from the lid and are immersed in the liquid when the lid faces the substrate, and the substrate is rotated in one direction and the lid is reciprocally rotated integrally with the blade. And a means for ejecting the liquid between the substrate and the lid from substantially the center of the lid. 14. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein a wafer for a semiconductor device is used as the substrate. 15. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the blades are provided so as to be offset in the same direction by an angle θ with respect to radiation from the center of the lid. 16. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein a substrate for a liquid crystal display is used as the substrate. 17. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the blades are provided so as to be displaced in the same direction by an angle θ with respect to radiation from the center of the lid. 18. In a substrate processing method of developing or cleaning the surface of a substrate with a developing or cleaning liquid discharged onto a substrate, a blade immersed in the liquid is arranged to face the substrate. A substrate processing method provided on a lid, wherein at least one of the substrate and the blade is rotated to perform development or cleaning while stirring the liquid with the blade. 19. The substrate processing method according to claim 18, wherein the liquid is discharged from the center of the substrate between the substrate and the lid. 20. The substrate processing method according to claim 19, wherein a plurality of the blades are provided radially from the center of the lid. 21. The substrate processing method according to claim 20, wherein the blades are provided so as to be offset in the same direction by an angle θ with respect to radiation from the center of the lid. 22. The substrate is rotated in one direction and the blades are reciprocally rotated.
4. The substrate processing method according to 1. 23. The substrate processing method according to claim 18, wherein a wafer for a semiconductor device is used as the substrate. 24. The substrate processing method according to claim 18, wherein a substrate for a liquid crystal display is used as the substrate. 25. In a substrate processing method for developing the surface of a substrate with a developing liquid discharged onto a substrate, a lid disposed facing the substrate is provided with a blade immersed in the liquid, The liquid is discharged from the approximate center of the lid between the substrate and the lid, the substrate is rotated in one direction, and the lid is reciprocally rotated integrally with the blade to stir the liquid with the blade. A method for processing a substrate, which is characterized in that development is performed. 26. In a substrate processing method for cleaning the surface of a substrate with a cleaning liquid discharged onto a substrate, a lid disposed facing the substrate is provided with a blade immersed in the liquid, The liquid is discharged from the approximate center of the lid between the substrate and the lid, the substrate is rotated in one direction, and the lid is reciprocally rotated integrally with the blade to stir the liquid with the blade. A method of processing a substrate, characterized in that the substrate is cleaned while being cleaned.