JPH10242024A - Substrate heat treatment equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To smooth the flowing-in/out of gas in a heat treatment space which is generated when a substrate is made to ascend and descend, by forming a heat treatment space above a substrate mounting plate for heating or cooling a substrate, and arranging a surrounding member along the side wall of the heat treatment space. SOLUTION: A heat treatment space C is formed above a substrate mounting plate 1. A heating means like a heater is built in the space C. From above, balls of fine diameter for holding a substrate W separating a fine interval are buried. Around the balls, a plate surrounding member 3 having an upper aperture 3a larger than the diameter of the substrate mounting plate 1 is arranged along the side wall of the heat treatment space. The substrate mounting plate 1 is retained by posts 5 disposed in upright from the bottom surface of the plate surrounding member 3. Thereby the flowing-in/out of gas in the heat treatment space C which is generated when the substrate W is made to ascend and descend can be smoothed, and uniform heat treatment of the substrate W is enabled.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate heat treatment apparatus for performing a heat treatment or a cooling treatment by placing a substrate in a heat treatment space formed above a substrate placing plate, and more particularly to stabilizing the temperature of the heat treatment space. About technology.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional substrate heat treatment apparatus of this kind,
For example, there is a built-in heating means such as a heater, and a substrate mounting plate for mounting a substrate and heating the substrate to a predetermined temperature, and a substrate mounting plate for loading an unprocessed substrate or unloading a processed substrate. An example includes a lift pin that moves up and down with respect to the mounting plate, and a gas supply unit that supplies an inert gas such as nitrogen to a heat treatment space formed above the substrate mounting plate.

In the device configured as described above, first, the lifting pins are raised. Then, the unprocessed substrate is loaded and placed on the elevating pins, and the elevating pins are lowered to hold the unprocessed substrate in the heat treatment space above the substrate mounting plate. By holding the substrate for a certain time while supplying the inert gas to the heat treatment space in this way, the substrate is subjected to a predetermined heat treatment.

After the substrate is held in the heat treatment space for a certain period of time, the lifting pins are raised, and the processed substrate is carried out of the substrate heat treatment apparatus.

[0005]

However, the prior art having such a structure has the following problems. That is, as described above, when the substrate is loaded / unloaded, the substrate moves up and down with respect to the substrate mounting plate, and this movement acts like a pump. Therefore, when ascending, the surrounding gas flows into the upper part of the substrate mounting plate heated to a certain temperature with turbulence from the side, and when descending, the gas above the substrate mounting plate flows from the side with turbulent flow from the side. Leaked to As a result, the temperature distribution in the heat treatment space formed in the upper portion becomes non-uniform, and the temperature distribution in the substrate mounting plate having the largest direct heat treatment effect on the substrate becomes non-uniform due to turbulence. In addition, there is a problem that the heat treatment of the substrate cannot be performed uniformly.

Particularly, in an excimer process in which exposure is performed by an excimer laser, baking before development (PEB: Post Exposur
In this case, the chemically amplified resist film exposed to a predetermined pattern is subjected to a heat treatment to induce a catalytic reaction of an acid generated by the exposure, thereby promoting a reaction with a developing solution. Therefore,
As described above, when the heat treatment of the substrate becomes non-uniform, the subsequent development processing is adversely affected, and as a result, the resolution and the like are reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and aims to uniformly heat-treat a substrate by smoothly flowing gas into and out of a heat-treatment space generated when the substrate is raised and lowered. It is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate heat treatment apparatus that can perform the heat treatment.

[0008]

The present invention has the following configuration in order to achieve the above object. That is, the substrate heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1 includes a substrate mounting plate for heating or cooling the substrate, and a lifting unit that raises and lowers the substrate with respect to the substrate mounting plate,
In a substrate heat treatment apparatus for performing heat treatment while holding a substrate in a heat treatment space formed above the substrate mounting plate, an enclosing member is provided along a side wall of the heat treatment space. .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the substrate heat treatment apparatus of the first aspect, the surrounding member is formed so as to project from an upper surface of the substrate mounting plate toward the heat treatment space. It is a feature.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the substrate heat treatment apparatus of the first aspect, the substrate heat treatment apparatus further includes gas supply means for supplying gas to the heat treatment space from above the substrate mounting plate. The enclosing member is formed so as to project from the lower surface of the gas supply means toward the heat treatment space.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the substrate heat treatment apparatus of the third aspect, the surrounding member is moved from an upper surface of the substrate mounting plate and a lower surface of the gas supply means to the heat treatment space. It is characterized in that it is formed so as to protrude on the side.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the substrate heat treatment apparatus of the first to fourth aspects, the surrounding member is formed so as to be inclined toward the center of the heat treatment space. It is characterized by having done.

[0013]

The operation of the first aspect of the invention is as follows. That is, since the surrounding member was arranged along the side wall of the heat treatment space formed on the upper part of the substrate mounting plate,
It is possible to suppress the occurrence of turbulence when the surrounding gas flows in from the side of the heat treatment space when the substrate is raised and lowered by the elevating means, and the generation of turbulence when the gas flows out to the side of the heat treatment space.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the surrounding member is formed so as to protrude from the upper surface of the substrate mounting plate toward the heat treatment space, so that when the substrate is lifted and lowered by the lifting / lowering means, the side of the substrate mounting plate is opened. It is possible to suppress generation of turbulence when the surrounding gas flows in and generation of turbulence when the gas flows out to the side of the substrate mounting plate. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the temperature distribution of the substrate mounting plate having the largest direct heat treatment action on the substrate from being disturbed.

The operation of the third aspect of the present invention is as follows. That is, since the surrounding member is formed to extend from the lower surface of the gas supply means for supplying gas to the heat treatment space formed on the upper portion of the substrate mounting plate toward the heat treatment space, the side of the gas supply means when the substrate is moved up and down by the elevating means. It is possible to suppress the occurrence of turbulence when the surrounding gas flows in from the side and the occurrence of turbulence when the gas flows out to the side of the gas supply means. Therefore, disturbance of the temperature distribution in the heat treatment space can be suppressed.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, from the lower surface of the gas supply means located on the upper side of the heat treatment space and the upper surface of the substrate mounting plate located on the lower side of the heat treatment space, toward the heat treatment space side. When the substrate is raised and lowered by the lifting and lowering means, turbulence occurs when surrounding gas flows in from the sides of the gas supply means and the substrate mounting plate. Turbulence when gas flows out to the side of the plate can be suppressed. Therefore, disturbance of the temperature distribution in the upper part of the heat treatment space can be suppressed, and disturbance of the temperature distribution of the substrate mounting plate having the largest direct heat treatment effect on the substrate can be suppressed. As a result, disturbance of the temperature distribution in the heat treatment space can be further suppressed.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the surrounding member for suppressing turbulent flow generated when gas flows in from or flows out of the surroundings is inclined toward the center of the heat treatment space. As a result, a rectifying effect can be produced. Therefore, the gas flow is rectified to smoothly flow /
Can be drained.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional side view showing a schematic configuration of a substrate heat treatment apparatus according to an embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged view thereof. In the following description, a substrate heat treatment apparatus that performs heat treatment on a substrate will be described as an example. However, a substrate heat treatment apparatus that cools a substrate to a certain temperature such as room temperature can be similarly performed. It is.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a substrate mounting plate having a slightly larger diameter than the substrate W for mounting the substrate W close to the substrate W and heating the substrate W to a predetermined temperature. The substrate mounting plate 1 has a built-in heating means such as a heater (not shown), and further has a small-diameter ball (not shown) for holding the substrate W at a minute interval (for example, 0.15 mm) from the upper surface thereof. (Omitted) is buried. Around the plate surrounding member 3 having an upper opening 3a larger than the diameter of the substrate mounting plate 1.
Is provided, and the substrate mounting plate 1 is supported by support columns 5 erected from the bottom surface thereof. The plate surrounding member 3 corresponds to the surrounding member of the present invention.

Further, even if the substrate W is not mounted on the substrate mounting plate 1 at a small interval as described above (a so-called proximity method), the lower surface of the substrate W is placed on the upper surface of the substrate mounting plate 1. A configuration in which the components are placed so as to be in close contact (a so-called contact type) may be used.

The plate surrounding member 3 is supported above the outer wall 7 by a support member (not shown), and has an upper opening 3a.
Is supported at a height of a transfer port 9 a formed in the front cover 9. Between the lower surface of the plate surrounding member 3 and the upper surface of the outer wall body 7, a substrate lifting mechanism 11 corresponding to the lifting means of the present invention is provided.

The substrate elevating mechanism 11 includes three support pins 13
Is penetrated in the vertical direction with respect to the substrate mounting plate 1 and is made to retreat to the upper surface. The support pin 13 is a lifting member 15
It is erected on the upper surface of. The elevating member 15 extends rearward through an opening 7 a formed on the rear side surface of the outer wall body 7,
Its end is connected to a U-shaped movable body 19 which is raised and lowered by an air cylinder 17.

A shutter 21 for opening and closing the transfer port 9a;
The lifting member 15 is interlocked and connected via a swing arm 23 that swings in a balance-like manner about a fulcrum P. The lower end of a rectangular leaf spring 25 in a vertical posture with the plate surface facing forward and backward is connected to the front end (left side in the figure) of the swing arm 23 on the side of the transport port 9a. An elevating plate 27 and a shutter 21 are jointly connected to the upper end of the leaf spring 25.
A vertically long guide member 2 is provided on the front surface of the lift plate 27.
The guide member 29 is loosely inserted into a rail 31 provided on the outer wall 7. Swing arm 2
3 is connected to the elevating member 15 by a connection fitting 33. Therefore, the air cylinder 1
7, the support pin 13 and the shutter 2
1 slides up and down in a vertical posture.

A suspension member 35 is connected to the upper end of the movable body 19 and serves as a gas supply unit 39 (gas supply means).
Is suspended. On the upper surface of the gas supply unit 39,
For example, a supply duct 43 for supplying an inert gas such as nitrogen heated to a constant temperature into the supply chamber 41 is provided. The lower surface of the supply chamber 41 is constituted by an inner cover 45 having a number of small holes, and the heat treatment space C formed above the substrate mounting plate 1 is set to a required gas atmosphere. The gas supply unit 39 moves up and down in conjunction with the elevating and lowering of the support pin 13 due to the expansion and contraction of the rod of the air cylinder 17.

A hanging portion 47 corresponding to the surrounding member of the present invention is formed around the lower surface of the inner cover 45 so as to surround the upper side wall of the heat treatment space C. This hanging part 47
Is formed so that its lower end is inclined toward the center of the heat treatment space C, and forms a curved portion 47a. As shown in FIG. 2, the curved portion 47a is bent so as to draw an arc from a portion having a height H (for example, 1 mm) from the lower end toward the center of the heat treatment space C, and has a length that enters the center. Is L
(For example, 1 mm). Further, the upper end of the above-described plate surrounding member 3 is formed to be inclined toward the center of the heat treatment space C in the same manner as the above-mentioned hanging portion 47, and forms a curved portion 3c. When the substrate W is subjected to the heat treatment, the gas supply unit 39 descends with respect to the substrate mounting plate 1. However, excess or deficiency of the inert gas supplied from the gas supply unit 39 is supplied / discharged from the surroundings. Thus, a slight gap d is left between the hanging portion 47 and the plate surrounding member 3.

The height H of the curved portion 3c formed on the plate enclosing member 3 described above depends on the substrate mounting plate 1
It only needs to protrude above the upper surface of the
It may be formed within a range of 5 mm. If the height H is less than 1 mm, it is not possible to suppress the turbulence of the gas flowing in / out when the substrate W is moved up and down. If the height H is more than 5 mm, the resistance becomes extremely large when the gas flows in / out. The above range is preferable because it causes trouble. Further, the height H of the curved portion 47a of the hanging portion 47 is preferably in the above range.
It is preferable that the length L of the curved portion 47a and the length L of the curved portion 3c of the plate surrounding member 3 are formed in the range of 0 mm to 5 mm.

At one portion of the bottom surface of the plate surrounding member 3,
An exhaust port 3b is formed. An exhaust pump (not shown) is connected to the exhaust port 3b, and when the substrate W having the coating film containing the solvent is processed, the generated solvent is supplied to the substrate mounting plate together with the inert gas supplied from the gas supply unit 39. The air is sucked from the peripheral portion of the mounting plate 1 and exhausted.

Next, the operation at the time of heat treatment by the substrate heat treatment apparatus configured as described above will be described. Note that the substrate mounting plate 1 has already been heated to a constant temperature required for heat treatment, and an inert gas heated to a constant temperature is supplied from the gas supply unit 39.
Is set to a constant temperature.

[Loading of Unprocessed Substrate] First, the rod of the air cylinder 17 is extended. Then, the movable body 19 rises, the support pins 13 protrude upward from the upper surface of the substrate mounting plate 1 as shown in FIG. 3, and the gas supply unit 39 rises to lower the shutter 21. In this state, the substrate transfer arm (not shown) on which the unprocessed substrate W is placed enters through the transfer port 9a, and the unprocessed substrate W is placed on the support pins 13 and exits.

[Heat treatment] The rod of the air cylinder 17 is contracted. Then, the movable body 19 descends, and the support pins 13 retreat below the upper surface of the substrate mounting plate 1 as shown in FIG. At the same time, the gas supply unit 39 is lowered, and the shutter 21 is raised. Then, the substrate W is mounted close to the upper surface of the substrate mounting plate 1 and held in the heat treatment space C. At this time, the gas containing the inert gas in the heat treatment space C flows out to the surroundings because the substrate W and the gas supply unit 39 descend, but the curved portion 3c of the plate surrounding member 3
The outflowing gas is rectified by the curved portion 47a of the hanging portion 47. Then, the generation of turbulence is suppressed, and the outflow of gas is performed smoothly, so that the temperature distribution in the upper and lower portions of the heat treatment space C can be prevented from being disturbed. Therefore, the heat treatment space C
Is stabilized, and the temperature distribution of the substrate mounting plate 1 having the largest heat treatment effect on the substrate W can be stabilized. As a result, by placing the substrate W close to the substrate mounting plate 1 for a certain period of time, the heat treatment can be uniformly performed on the surface.

In particular, the present invention is suitable for processing a substrate W coated with a chemically amplified resist used in an excimer process in which non-uniform heat treatment in a pre-development bake greatly affects resolution and the like.

[Replacement of Substrate] The substrate W is placed in the heat treatment space C.
After a predetermined time elapses after holding the substrate W, the substrate W is unloaded and an unprocessed substrate W is loaded. Specifically, FIG.
Then, the rod of the air cylinder 17 is extended from the state shown in FIG. 3 to raise the processed substrate W (see FIG. 3). At the same time, the gas supply unit 39 moves up, and the shutter 21 moves down. At this time, since the processed substrate W and the gas supply unit 39 rise, the surrounding gas flows into the heat treatment space C, but flows in by the curved portion 3c of the plate surrounding member 3 and the curved portion 47a of the hanging portion 47. The gas is rectified.
Then, the generation of turbulence is suppressed, the gas is smoothly introduced, and the temperature distribution in the upper and lower portions of the heat treatment space C can be prevented from being disturbed. Therefore, the temperature distribution of the heat treatment space C can be stabilized, and the temperature distribution of the substrate mounting plate 1 having the largest heat treatment effect on the substrate W can be stabilized. As a result, the unprocessed substrate W can be carried in while the temperature distribution in the heat treatment space C and the temperature distribution of the substrate mounting plate 1 are stabilized, so that the substrate W is transferred to the substrate mounting plate 1 for a certain time. By placing in close proximity,
The heat treatment can be uniformly performed in the plane, and the heat treatment can be performed under the same conditions by holding a new substrate W in the heat treatment space C for the same time as the previously processed substrate W. Therefore, when sequentially processing a plurality of substrates, the same heat treatment can be applied to each substrate.

The upper end of the plate enclosing member 3 may be replaced with a curved portion formed linearly inclined toward the center of the heat treatment space C instead of the curved portion 3c curved as described above. As shown in FIG. 4, an overhang 3 formed by simply extending from the upper surface of the substrate mounting plate 1 to the heat treatment space C side.
d may be used. In this case, it is not possible to obtain the rectifying effect as much as the curved portion 3c described above, but it is possible to suppress the occurrence of turbulence when gas flows in / out. Therefore, substantially the same effects as described above can be obtained.

Further, the bent portion 47a of the gas supply portion 39 may not be formed with the curved portion 47a but may be formed so as to protrude toward the heat treatment space C like the protruding portion 3d.

Further, in the above embodiment, the curved portions 47a and 3c are formed on both the plate surrounding member 3 and the inner cover 45, but may be formed on only one of them. When formed only on the plate enclosing member 3, turbulence occurs when surrounding gas flows in from the side of the substrate mounting plate 1 when the substrate W is moved up and down, and gas is generated on the side of the substrate mounting plate 1. It is possible to suppress the occurrence of turbulence when flowing out. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the temperature distribution of the substrate mounting plate 1 having the largest direct heat treatment effect on the substrate W from being disturbed. Further, in the case where only the inner cover 45 is formed, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of turbulence when the surrounding gas flows in / out from the side of the inner cover 45 when the substrate W is moved up and down. In any of these cases, turbulence when gas flows into / out of the heat treatment space C can be suppressed, so that substantially the same effects as described above can be obtained.

Further, in the above embodiment, the vertical interval of the substrate W and the vertical interval of the gas supply unit 39 are the same, but the vertical interval of the gas supply unit 39 is set to
May be larger than the vertical interval.

The above-described substrate heat treatment apparatus includes a gas supply section 39 for supplying an inert gas to the heat treatment space C from above.
However, when the reaction during the heat treatment does not adversely affect the substrate W or when it is desired to avoid the influence of the gas flow generated by the inert gas, as shown in FIG.
There is no need to deploy. In the case of such a configuration, the projecting portion 3d may be formed in the plate surrounding member 3 or the above-described curved portion 3c may be formed.

In the above-described embodiment, the plate surrounding member 3 is disposed to be spaced apart from the substrate mounting plate 1 by a predetermined distance to the side, but as shown by a dotted line in FIG. It may be disposed in close contact with one side surface. Although not shown, an overhang may be formed at the periphery of the upper surface of the substrate mounting plate 1 separately from the plate surrounding member 3.

The curved portions 3c and 47a and the overhanging portions 3d
Does not need to be formed continuously over the entire circumference, and for example, even when divided by a slit-shaped opening, substantially the same effect as described above can be obtained.

[0040]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to suppress the turbulent flow when the surrounding gas flows in / out from the side of the heat treatment space when the substrate is moved up and down. In addition, the inflow / outflow of gas can be performed smoothly. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the temperature distribution in the heat treatment space from being disturbed due to the turbulence, and to make the temperature distribution in the heat treatment space uniform. As a result, heat treatment of the substrate can be performed uniformly. In particular, it is possible to realize a substrate heat treatment apparatus suitable for use in an excimer process that is easily affected by the temperature distribution of the pre-development bake.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of turbulence when the surrounding gas flows in / out from the side of the substrate mounting plate when the substrate is moved up and down, and the gas inflow can be suppressed. / The outflow can be performed smoothly. Therefore,
It is possible to prevent the temperature distribution in the heat treatment space formed above the substrate mounting plate having the largest heat treatment effect on the substrate from being disturbed, and to make the temperature distribution of the substrate mounting plate uniform. As a result, heat treatment of the substrate can be performed uniformly.

According to the third aspect of the invention, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of turbulence when the surrounding gas flows in / out from the side of the gas supply means when the substrate is moved up and down. Outflow can be performed smoothly. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the temperature distribution in the heat treatment space from being disturbed.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, turbulence in the upper and lower portions of the heat treatment space can be suppressed, and disturbance in the temperature distribution in the upper portion of the heat treatment space can be suppressed. Can be prevented from disturbing the temperature distribution of the substrate mounting plate, which has the largest heat treatment effect on the substrate. Therefore, disturbance of the temperature distribution in the heat treatment space can be further suppressed. As a result, the heat treatment on the substrate can be performed more uniformly.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the rectification effect can be generated by inclining the surrounding member, the flow of the gas is rectified and the gas flows smoothly.
Can be drained. Therefore, disturbance of the temperature distribution in the heat treatment space can be further suppressed, and the heat treatment of the substrate can be performed more uniformly.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional side view showing a schematic configuration of a substrate heat treatment apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged view showing a state at the time of substrate transfer.

FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged view showing a modification.

FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged view showing another modification.

[Explanation of symbols]

 W: substrate 1: substrate mounting plate 3: plate surrounding member (surrounding member) 3c: curved portion 3d: projecting portion 11: substrate elevating mechanism (elevating means) 13: support pin 21: shutter 39: gas supply portion (gas) Supply means) 45 ... Internal cover 47 ... Hanging part (surrounding member) 47a ... Curved part

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A heat treatment space formed on an upper portion of the substrate mounting plate, comprising: a substrate mounting plate for heating or cooling the substrate; and elevating means for elevating the substrate with respect to the substrate mounting plate. A substrate heat treatment apparatus for performing a heat treatment while holding a substrate, wherein a surrounding member is disposed along a side wall of the heat treatment space. 2. The substrate heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the surrounding member is formed so as to project from an upper surface of the substrate mounting plate toward the heat treatment space. 3. The substrate heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising gas supply means for supplying gas from above the substrate mounting plate to the heat treatment space.
The substrate heat treatment apparatus, wherein the surrounding member is formed so as to protrude from the lower surface of the gas supply means toward the heat treatment space. 4. The substrate heat treatment apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the surrounding member is formed so as to protrude from an upper surface of the substrate mounting plate and a lower surface of the gas supply means toward the heat treatment space. Heat treatment equipment. 5. The substrate heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the surrounding member is formed so as to be inclined toward a central portion of the heat treatment space.