JPH10135116A - Substrate exposure system and substrate exposure mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate exposure system which can improve a throughput by shortening a time necessary for exposing a periphery of a semiconductor substrate. SOLUTION: A system includes an exposing light source 10 for emitting a exposure light for the exposure of a semiconductor substrate 60 having positive resist coated thereon, a reflecting mirror 20 for reflecting the light generated from the light source 10, and shielding plates 50 for shielding mainly a central part of light reflected by the reflecting mirror 20. When it is desired to selectively expose a periphery of the semiconductor substrate 60, since the semiconductor substrate 60 is exposed to the light selectively shielded by the shielding plates 50, all the periphery of the substrate 60 can be exposed at a time.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate exposure apparatus and a substrate exposure mechanism, and more particularly, to a substrate exposure apparatus used in a semiconductor manufacturing process.
It is suitable for use in selectively exposing the peripheral portion of a substrate coated with a positive resist in relation to lithography for forming an SI pattern.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a semiconductor manufacturing process, a pattern forming technique using a photosensitive resin is often used. The photosensitive resin includes a negative resist that becomes insoluble in a developing solution when exposed to light, and a positive resist that is easily dissolved in the developing solution when exposed to light.

[0003] In particular, in the case of a positive resist widely used at present, the positive resist often remains in the peripheral portion of the substrate after the pattern is formed unless it is intentionally set as an exposure area. The positive resist remaining in the peripheral portion is easily peeled off by mechanical contact by clamping in a subsequent etching or film forming process, and easily adheres to the device pattern of the substrate.

For this reason, an LSI characterized by a high degree of integration
In a semiconductor device manufacturing process such as the above, there is a possibility that a fatal pattern defect or the like is caused by the peeled-off positive resist, thereby lowering a manufacturing yield. Therefore,
Conventionally, when a positive resist is used, the periphery of the semiconductor substrate 60 is circularly exposed at a constant width during or after the application of the positive resist by the method shown in FIG.

[0005] FIG. 3 shows that the ultraviolet light from the light source 10 is condensed by a convex lens 80, and the opening and closing of the optical path is controlled via a shutter 90 while the substrate support 100
An apparatus for irradiating a part of the peripheral portion of the semiconductor substrate 60 placed thereon, rotating the substrate support 100 continuously or by a constant angle, and exposing the periphery of the semiconductor substrate 60 in a ring with a constant width. Is shown.

[0006]

In the conventional method, the peripheral portion is exposed while the semiconductor substrate 60 is rotated, so that much time is required for the exposure process, and the through-hole is required.
There was a problem that put decreased.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to reduce the exposure time of a substrate and improve the throughput.

[0008]

According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, an exposure apparatus according to the present invention is a substrate exposure apparatus for selectively exposing a peripheral portion of a substrate coated with a positive resist. An exposure light source for emitting light for substrate exposure,
A reflecting mirror that reflects light from the exposure light source, and a shielding plate that mainly shields a central portion of the light reflected by the reflecting mirror, and exposes the substrate with light that is selectively shielded by the shielding plate. It is characterized by doing.

Another feature of the present invention is that
The substrate exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a shielding plate that shields light from the exposure light source is disposed closer to the exposure light source than the substrate, and the shielding plate is moved so that a peripheral portion of the substrate is moved. It is characterized by further comprising adjusting means for adjusting the width of the exposure area to a desired area width.

According to another feature of the present invention, the substrate exposing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of reflecting mirrors for condensing light from the exposure light source, wherein the reflecting mirror is provided on the substrate. Light collecting means for condensing light so that the intensity of the illuminance distribution of light incident on the peripheral portion of the substrate to be exposed has a stronger illuminance distribution than the illuminance of the central portion of the substrate. And

According to another feature of the present invention, in the substrate exposure apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, a substrate support table for fixedly supporting a position of the substrate is provided. Wherein the substrate is fixed on the substrate support.

According to another feature of the present invention, in the substrate exposure apparatus according to claim 4, the exposure light source is disposed above the substrate, and the shielding plate is provided between the exposure light source and the substrate. It is characterized by being arranged between.

A feature of the substrate exposing mechanism of the present invention is that the light from the exposing light source is condensed by a plurality of reflecting mirrors, and the condensed light is incident on a semiconductor substrate for exposure. Wherein the intensity of illuminance distribution of light incident on the semiconductor substrate is higher at a peripheral portion than at a central portion of the semiconductor substrate.

[0014]

Since the present invention comprises the above technical means, the light from the exposure light source is condensed by a condensing device, and the condensed light is applied to the entire surface of the substrate surface or the periphery of the substrate surface, and the same light An area other than the peripheral part of the substrate can be shielded by a shielding plate arranged on the axis, thereby enabling the peripheral part of the semiconductor substrate to be simultaneously exposed during or after the application of the positive resist, The throughput can be improved by shortening the exposure time.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a substrate exposure apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention,
2 shows a main part of a substrate exposure apparatus related to an exposure mechanism for irradiating a peripheral portion of a semiconductor substrate 60 with ultraviolet rays.

The substrate exposure apparatus shown in FIG.
And an elliptical reflecting mirror 20 for reflecting and condensing light emitted from the exposure light source 10 in a desired direction.
Further, at the optical path position of the light reflected by the elliptical reflecting mirror 20, there are provided a shielding plate 50 for shielding the light with a desired pattern, and a semiconductor substrate 60 for receiving exposure by the light passing through the shielding plate 50. Are arranged in order.

The semiconductor substrate 60 is coated with a positive resist for receiving exposure. In addition, the semiconductor substrate 60 is mounted on a substrate support table 100 having a vacuum guide 110.
Above, the surface not exposed is vacuum-adsorbed and its position is fixed.

The substrate exposure apparatus shown in FIG.
A part of the reflected light is shielded by a shielding plate 50 disposed closer to the exposure light source 10 than the semiconductor substrate 60, and the reflected light obtained by reflecting light from the elliptical reflecting mirror 20 is coated with a positive resist. The peripheral portion of the semiconductor substrate 60 is irradiated with a predetermined exposure area width.

As a result, the entire peripheral portion of the semiconductor substrate 60 can be simultaneously exposed at one time, so that the exposure time can be shortened and the throughput can be improved as compared with the conventional method.

Further, in the substrate exposure apparatus of the present embodiment, the shielding plate 50 disposed above the semiconductor substrate 60 is indicated by a solid line and a dot-dash line by a moving mechanism (not shown). It is configured to be able to move up and down between the positions b. As a result, the substrate exposure apparatus of the present embodiment can adjust the width of the exposure area around the semiconductor substrate 60 to a predetermined area width.

That is, as shown in FIG.
Is located at the position a, the width of the exposure area at the peripheral portion of the semiconductor substrate 60 suctioned and fixed on the substrate support table 100 by vacuum is a ′. Further, when the shielding plate 50 is at the position b, the exposure area width b 'can be set to be wider than the exposure area width a', and it is possible to freely set the desired exposure area width.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a substrate exposure apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. As in the embodiment shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a main part of a substrate exposure apparatus related to an exposure mechanism for irradiating.

The configuration of the substrate exposure apparatus shown in FIG.
The light beam from 0 is reflected by the plurality of elliptical reflecting mirrors 30 and 20 and the plane reflecting mirror 40. Then, similarly to the first embodiment, by irradiating the semiconductor substrate 60 via the shielding plate 50 disposed above the semiconductor substrate 60, the reflected light is partially shielded (substrate shielding area). 55)
Then, the peripheral portion of the semiconductor substrate 60 coated with a positive resist is irradiated with a predetermined exposure region width.

In the substrate exposure apparatus shown in FIG. 2, since a plurality of elliptical mirrors 30, 20 and a plane reflecting mirror 40 are arranged,
The intensity of the illuminance distribution of the light beam irradiated on the semiconductor substrate 60 differs depending on the position on the semiconductor substrate 60. That is, light is collected so that the peripheral portion has a stronger illuminance distribution than the illuminance at the central portion of the semiconductor substrate 60.

In the case of the substrate exposure apparatus of the second embodiment, similarly to the substrate exposure apparatus of the first embodiment, the peripheral portion of the semiconductor substrate 60 can be exposed simultaneously at one time. The illuminance at the periphery can be increased. Thus, even in the case of the substrate exposure apparatus of the present embodiment, the semiconductor substrate 60 can be exposed in a short time, and the throughput can be further reduced.

Further, similarly to the substrate exposure apparatus of the first embodiment, the shielding plate 50 disposed above the semiconductor substrate 60 can be moved up and down.
It is possible to easily adjust the width of the exposure area at the periphery of 0 to a predetermined area width.

[0027]

As described above, according to the present invention, the luminous flux from the exposure light source is applied to the entire surface of the substrate or the peripheral portion of the substrate,
Since the area other than the peripheral part of the substrate is shielded by the shielding plate arranged on the same optical axis, the peripheral part of the semiconductor substrate can be exposed at the same time during or after the application of the positive resist, so that the exposure time is reduced. Can be shortened,
Throughput can be greatly improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a main part of a substrate exposure apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates a second embodiment of the present invention and is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a substrate exposure apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a substrate exposure apparatus showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Exposure light source 20 Elliptical reflecting mirror 30 Elliptical reflecting mirror 40 Planar reflecting mirror 50 Shielding plate 55 Substrate shielding area 60 Semiconductor substrate 70 Optical fiber 80 Convex lens 90 Shutter 100 Substrate support 110 Vacuum guide

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A substrate exposure apparatus for selectively exposing a peripheral portion of a substrate coated with a positive resist, comprising: an exposure light source for emitting light for exposing the substrate; and a reflection for reflecting light from the exposure light source. A substrate exposure apparatus, comprising: a mirror; and a shielding plate for mainly shielding a central portion of light reflected by the reflecting mirror, and exposing the substrate with light selectively shielded by the shielding plate. 2. The substrate exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a shielding plate that shields light from the exposure light source is disposed closer to the exposure light source than the substrate, and the shielding plate is moved, A substrate exposure apparatus further comprising adjusting means for adjusting the width of an exposure area at a peripheral portion of the substrate to a desired area width. 3. The substrate exposure apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a plurality of reflectors for condensing light from the exposure light source;
The reflecting mirror condenses light so that the intensity of illuminance distribution of light incident on the substrate is higher than the intensity of illuminance at the center of the substrate. A substrate exposure apparatus further provided. 4. The substrate exposure apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a substrate supporter for fixedly supporting a position of the substrate, wherein the substrate is provided on the substrate supporter. A substrate exposure apparatus fixed to a substrate. 5. The substrate exposure apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the exposure light source is disposed above the substrate, and the shielding plate is disposed between the exposure light source and the substrate. Substrate exposure equipment. 6. A substrate exposing mechanism for condensing light from an exposure light source by a plurality of reflecting mirrors and for exposing the collected light to a semiconductor substrate for exposure, wherein an illuminance distribution of the light incident on the semiconductor substrate is provided. A substrate exposure mechanism, wherein intensity is higher at a peripheral portion than at a central portion of the semiconductor substrate.