JPH10305256A - Coating device and coating method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress the leakage of an objective material to be removed such as particles in a treating liquid from a filter or foaming phenomenon to a minimum by executing the filtration of the treating liquid at the time of sucking the treating liquid into a pump house. SOLUTION: This coating device is constituted so that a sucking pipe line 72 is connected to the filter 73 in the pump house 63 and on the other hand, a discharge pipe line 74 is connected to a space outside of the filter in the pump house 63 and the filtration of a resist liquid by the filter 73 is executed at the time of sucking the resist liquid to the pump house 63. The pressure difference between primary side and a secondary side of the filter 73 is reduced by sucking at a low speed and the leakage of the particles or the like from the filter or the foaming phenomenon is reduced to a minimum.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a coating apparatus and a coating method for coating a substrate such as a CD with a solvent such as a resist solution or a solution for an anti-reflection film (ARC film).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in a photolithography process in a semiconductor device manufacturing process, a resist coating process for forming a resist film on the surface of a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter, referred to as "wafer") and an exposure process for the wafer after the resist coating are performed. The developing process is performed with.

At present, a spin coating method is mainly used as a method of applying a resist solution or the like to a wafer.
In this spin coating method, a wafer is rotated while being vacuum-sucked by a spin chuck, a resist solution is dropped and supplied to the wafer surface from directly above the center of rotation, and the resist solution is applied from the center of the wafer to the entire area around the wafer by centrifugal force. Is done by spreading out.

In this type of resist coating apparatus, as shown in FIG. 11, a resist solution stored in a tank 201 is sucked by a pump 202 and filtered by a filter 203 to remove particles, gelled resist and the like. The resist solution is supplied to the wafer W through the operation valve 204, the nozzle 205, and the like.

However, in such a resist supply system, a relatively large pressure difference is generated between the primary side and the secondary side of the filter depending on the discharge speed of the resist solution. Particles and gelled resist that have been trapped by the filter pass through the holes of the filter and adhere to the surface of the wafer, causing a defect in the resist film applied to the wafer, resulting in a reduction in yield. .

In recent years, a low-viscosity resist solution or a solvent for an antireflection film (ARC film) mixed with a surfactant has been used in order to respond to increase in diameter and miniaturization of a wafer. When such a low-viscosity liquid material is used, bubbles are easily generated in the liquid after passing through the filter due to the influence of the differential pressure, and the liquid containing such bubbles is applied to the wafer as it is. Defects may appear in the coating film.

[0007]

As described above, in the conventional coating apparatus for applying a processing liquid such as a resist liquid or a solvent for an anti-reflection film (ARC film), the primary side of the filter for filtering the processing liquid is connected to the primary side. Due to the effect of the differential pressure with the secondary side, the removal target in the processing liquid such as particles trapped by the filter is pushed out to the secondary side through the holes in the filter, and bubbles are generated. There is a problem that defects are caused in the coating film of the substrate and the yield is reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and greatly reduces the pressure difference between the primary side and the secondary side of the filter to prevent the leakage of the object to be removed from the processing liquid such as particles into the filter. It is an object of the present invention to provide a coating apparatus and a coating method capable of suppressing a foaming phenomenon to a minimum and thereby effectively suppressing the occurrence of coating unevenness of a processing liquid.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a coating apparatus and a coating method capable of effectively suppressing the occurrence of uneven coating of a processing liquid with a single pump.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a coating apparatus capable of efficiently discharging bubbles generated in a pump chamber.

[0011]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a coating apparatus for supplying a processing liquid and a processing liquid supply source for supplying the processing liquid. A filter, a nozzle for applying a processing liquid to the surface of the substrate to be processed, a pump chamber for sucking the processing liquid from the processing liquid supply source through the filter and discharging the processing liquid toward the nozzle, and a processing for the pump chamber. Control means for controlling a liquid suction speed and a discharge speed of the processing liquid from the pump chamber.

Further, according to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a coating apparatus for supplying a processing liquid, a filter for filtering the processing liquid, and a processing liquid on the surface of the substrate to be processed. A nozzle to be applied, a pump chamber that suctions the processing liquid from the processing liquid supply source through the filter, and discharges the processing liquid toward the nozzle, and a suction rate of the processing liquid into the pump chamber is equal to the processing liquid from the pump chamber. Control means for controlling the discharge speed to be lower than the discharge low speed.

Further, according to the present invention, the coating apparatus includes a processing liquid supply source for supplying a processing liquid,
A filter for filtering the processing liquid, a nozzle for applying the processing liquid to the surface of the substrate to be processed, and the filter are incorporated. The processing liquid is sucked from the processing liquid supply source through the filter, and the processing liquid is discharged toward the nozzle. And a control means for controlling the suction speed of the processing liquid into the pump chamber to be lower than the discharge speed of the processing liquid from the pump chamber.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the coating apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the pump chamber increases or decreases the internal pressure to suck the processing liquid. And a capacity changing means for changing the capacity so as to perform discharge. In the present invention, when the volume of the pump chamber is increased to reduce the pressure in the pump chamber, the processing liquid is sucked into the pump chamber while being filtered through the filter. When the capacity of the pump chamber is reduced and the pump chamber is pressurized, the filtered processing liquid is discharged toward the nozzle and applied to the substrate to be processed. In the present invention, since the processing liquid is filtered when the processing liquid is sucked into the pump chamber as described above,
The filtration speed does not depend on the discharge speed of the processing liquid but depends on the suction speed of the processing liquid. The discharge speed of the processing liquid is regulated to a value necessary to obtain a desired coating thickness,
The suction speed of the processing liquid can be freely selected within a range in which a required amount of the processing liquid can be sucked in a time interval from the discharge of the processing liquid to the next discharge. Therefore, the suction speed can be set in an extremely low range with respect to the discharge speed. As a result, the pressure difference between the primary side and the secondary side of the filter can be reduced, and the object to be removed in the processing liquid such as particles is removed. Filter leakage and foaming phenomenon can be suppressed to a minimum, and the occurrence of application unevenness of the processing liquid can be effectively suppressed.

Further, in the coating apparatus of the present invention, the capacity changing means for changing the capacity of the pump chamber includes a space in which the filter is housed in the pump chamber and a space in which the filter is not housed. By using a tube diaphragm having a flexible diaphragm that partitions into a, a medium for transmitting pressure to the diaphragm, and a stretchable bellows portion,
It is possible to provide a device in which the variable capacity characteristic of the pump chamber is stable for a long time. Further, as described in claim 7, the pump chamber is provided with a vent which is opened at an upper part of the pump chamber and exhausts the tiredness from the pump chamber, so that the bubbles accumulated in the secondary space of the filter can be appropriately removed. Can be discharged.

Further, since the vent opening of the pump chamber is provided at a position higher than the discharge port of the processing liquid, bubbles are less likely to infiltrate into the processing liquid discharge pipe. The amount of bubbles in the processing liquid supplied to the processing substrate can be reduced.

Further, as described in claim 9, the pump chamber is inclined so that the opening of the vent for venting the pump chamber is located near the apex, so that the opening of the vent for venting foam is located near the opening of the vent for venting foam. The bubbles are concentrated, and the bubbles can be efficiently discharged.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, the processing liquid supplied from the processing liquid supply source is filtered by a filter while being suctioned by a pump. A step of sucking the processing liquid into the pump chamber while passing through the filter at a first flow rate, and a step of sucking the processing liquid in the pump chamber at a second flow rate higher than the first flow rate. A discharge step of discharging toward the nozzle at a flow rate of

In the coating method of the present invention, since the processing liquid is filtered when the processing liquid is sucked into the pump chamber, the differential pressure between the primary side and the secondary side of the filter can be reduced by setting the suction speed low. It is possible to reduce the size, and to minimize the leakage of the filter and the bubbling phenomenon of the object to be removed in the processing liquid such as particles, and it is possible to effectively suppress the occurrence of uneven coating of the processing liquid.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 to 3 are views showing the overall configuration of a coating and developing system 1 for a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter, referred to as a "wafer") employing a coating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 shows the front, FIG. 2 shows the front, and FIG. 3 shows the back.

In the coating and developing processing system 1, a plurality of wafers W as substrates to be processed are loaded into the system from the outside in a wafer cassette CR, for example, in units of 25 wafers, or unloaded from the system. A cassette station 10 for loading and unloading wafers W, and a wafer W one by one in a coating and developing process.
Between a processing station 11 in which various single-wafer processing units for performing predetermined processing are arranged at predetermined positions in a multistage manner, and an exposure apparatus (not shown) provided adjacent to the processing station 11. It has a configuration in which an interface unit 12 for delivering the data is integrally connected.

In the cassette station 10, FIG.
As shown in FIG.
At a position 0a, a plurality of wafer cassettes CR, for example, up to four wafer cassettes CR are placed in a line in the X direction (vertical direction in FIG. 1) with their respective wafer entrances facing the processing station 11 side.
The cassette arrangement direction (X direction) and the wafer arrangement direction of the wafers stored in the wafer cassette CR (Z direction;
The wafer carrier 21 (movable in the vertical direction) selectively accesses each wafer cassette CR.

The wafer transfer body 21 is rotatable in the θ direction. As will be described later, an alignment unit (ALIM) belonging to the multi-stage unit of the third processing unit group G ₃ on the processing station 11 side will be described later. And an extension unit (EXT).

As shown in FIG. 1, the processing station 11 is provided with a vertical transfer type main wafer transfer mechanism 22 equipped with a wafer transfer device, and all the processing units are surrounded by one or more sets. Are arranged in multiple stages.

As shown in FIG. 3, the main wafer transfer mechanism 22 is equipped with a wafer transfer device 46 inside a cylindrical support 49 so as to be able to move up and down in the vertical direction (Z direction). The cylindrical support 49 is connected to a rotation shaft of a motor (not shown), and is rotated integrally with the wafer transfer device 46 about the rotation shaft by the rotation driving force of the motor, whereby the wafer transfer is performed. The device 46 is rotatable in the θ direction. Note that the cylindrical support 49 may be configured to be connected to another rotating shaft (not shown) rotated by the motor.

The wafer transfer device 46 includes a plurality of holding members 48 movable in the front-rear direction of the transfer base 47, and the transfer of the wafer W between the processing units is realized by these holding members 48. .

In this example, five processing unit groups G ₁ , G ₂ , G ₃ , G ₄ , G ₅ can be arranged, and the first and second processing unit groups G ₁ , G ₂ the multi-stage unit, disposed on the side (front in FIG. 1) the front of the system, the third multi-stage units of the processing unit group G ₃ is disposed adjacent to the cassette station 10, fourth processing multi-stage unit group G ₄ The units are arranged adjacent to the interface unit 12, and the multi-stage units of the _fifth processing unit group G5 can be arranged on the back side.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the first processing unit group G ₁ , two spinner-type processing units, for example, a coating unit (COT), which place a wafer W on a spin chuck in the cup CP and perform predetermined processing. ) And the developing unit (DEV) are stacked in two stages from the bottom. Second processing even unit group G _2, 2 spinner-type processing units, for example, the coating unit (COT) and a developing unit (DEV) are two-tiered from the bottom in order. These coating units (COT) are disposed in the lower stage because drainage of coating liquid such as a resist liquid and a solvent for an anti-reflection film (ARC film) is troublesome both mechanically and in terms of maintenance. Is preferred. However, it is of course possible to appropriately arrange the upper stage as needed.

As shown in FIG. 3, in the third processing unit group G ₃ , an oven-type processing unit for performing a predetermined process by mounting the wafer W on the mounting table SP, for example, a cooling unit (COL) for performing a cooling process , An adhesion unit (AD) for performing hydrophobic treatment, an alignment unit (ALIM) for performing alignment, an extension unit (EXT), a pre-baking unit (PREBAKE) for performing heat treatment before exposure processing, and a post-exposure unit. Post-baking unit (POBAK)
E) are stacked, for example, in eight stages from the bottom. 4th
Any processing unit group G _4, oven-type processing units, for example, a cooling unit (COL), an extension and cooling unit (EXTCOL), extension unit (EXT), a cooling unit Bok (COL), pre-baking unit (PREBAK
E) and post-baking unit (POBAKE)
Are stacked in order from the bottom, for example, in eight stages.

As described above, the cooling unit (COL) and the extension cooling unit (EXTCOL) having a low processing temperature are arranged in the lower stage, and the baking unit (PREBAKE), the post-baking unit (POBAKE) and the adhesion unit having a high processing temperature are arranged. By arranging the units (AD) in the upper stage, thermal mutual interference between the units can be reduced. Of course, a random multi-stage arrangement may be used.

The interface section 12 has the same dimensions as the processing station 11 in the depth direction (X direction), but is set smaller in the width direction. And this interface unit 12
A portable pickup cassette CR,
Stationary buffer cassettes BR are arranged in two stages, a peripheral exposure device 23 is arranged on the other side, and a wafer carrier 24 is arranged in the center. The wafer carrier 24 moves in the X and Z directions to access the cassettes CR and BR and the peripheral exposure device 23. The wafer transfer body 24 is configured so as also to be rotatable in the θ direction, wherein the processing station 11 side of the fourth processing unit extension units belonging to the multi-stage units of group G ₄ (EXT) and, further Denotes a wafer transfer table (not shown) on the adjacent exposure apparatus side
Is also accessible.

Further, in the coating and developing system 1, the multi-stage unit of the _fifth processing unit group G5 shown by the broken line can be arranged on the back side of the main wafer transfer mechanism 22 as described above. , The fifth processing unit group G ₅
The multi-stage unit is configured to be able to shift sideways as viewed from the main wafer transfer mechanism 22 along the guide rail 25. Therefore, even when provided as a multi-stage unit of the fifth processing unit group G ₅ shown, by sliding along the guide rail 25, the space portion can be secured, to the main wafer transfer mechanism 22 The maintenance work can be easily performed from behind. Note fifth processing unit group G ₅ of the multi-stage units Bok is not limited to the linear slide shift along such guided rails 25, as indicated by reciprocating rotation dashed-line arrow in FIG. 1, Even if it is configured to be shifted to the outside of the system, it is easy to secure a space for maintenance work on the main wafer transfer mechanism 22.

Next, the coating unit (COT) in this embodiment will be described. 4 and 5 are a schematic sectional view and a schematic plan view showing the entire configuration of the coating unit (COT).

An annular cup C # is disposed at the center of the coating unit (COT), and a spin chuck 52 is disposed inside the cup C #. Spin chuck 5
2 is rotationally driven by a drive motor 54 while the semiconductor wafer W is fixedly held by vacuum suction. The drive motor 54 is disposed in an opening 50a provided in the unit bottom plate 50 so as to be able to move up and down, and via a cap-shaped flange member 58 made of, for example, aluminum, an elevating drive means 60 and an elevating guide means 62 made of, for example, an air cylinder Are combined.

A nozzle 86 for supplying a coating solution such as a resist solution or a solvent for an anti-reflection film (ARC film) to the surface of the semiconductor wafer W is attached to and detached from the tip of a nozzle scan arm 92 via a nozzle holder 100. Mounted as possible. The nozzle scan arm 92 is connected to the unit bottom plate 5.
Guide rail 9 laid in one direction (Y direction) on 0
It is attached to the upper end of a vertical support member 96 that can move horizontally on the top 4, and moves in the Y direction integrally with the vertical support member 96 by a Y-direction drive mechanism (not shown).

The nozzle scan arm 92 can also be moved in the Χ direction perpendicular to the Y direction in order to selectively mount the nozzle 86 in the nozzle standby section 90, and can be moved in the Χ direction by a Χ direction driving mechanism (not shown). It is designed to move. Further, in the nozzle standby section 90, the discharge port of the nozzle 86 is inserted into the port 90a of the solvent atmosphere chamber and is exposed to the solvent atmosphere inside, so that the coating liquid at the nozzle tip does not solidify or deteriorate. A plurality of nozzles 86, 86,... Are provided, and these nozzles can be selectively used according to the type and viscosity of a coating solution such as a resist solution or a solvent for an anti-reflection film (ARC film).

Further, on the guide rail 94, not only a vertical support member 86 for supporting the nozzle scan arm 92 but also a vertical support member 122 for supporting the rinse nozzle scan arm 120 and movable in the Y direction are provided. .
A rinsing nozzle 124 for side rinsing is attached to the tip of the rinsing nozzle scan arm 120. The rinsing nozzle scan arm 120 and the rinsing nozzle 124 are moved by the Y-direction drive mechanism (not shown) to the rinsing nozzle standby position (the position indicated by the solid line) set to the side of the cup CP and the semiconductor wafer W installed on the spin chuck 52. Is translated or linearly moved with a rinse liquid discharge position (position indicated by a dotted line) set immediately above the peripheral portion of the rinsing liquid.

The nozzle 86 is connected via a coating liquid supply pipe 88 to a coating liquid supply device disposed in the lower chamber of the coating unit (COT).

As shown in FIG. 6, the coating liquid supply device sucks the coating liquid through a tank 71 storing the coating liquid and a suction pipe 72 from the tank 71, and for example, PTFE or polymer contained in the pump chamber. A filter-integrated bellows pump 75 for filtering through a filter 73 (for example, having a hole diameter of 0.1 μm or less) made of polyethylene or the like and discharging to a discharge pipe 74, and a flow path between the discharge pipe 74 of the bellows pump 75 and the nozzle 86 And a valve 76 that opens and closes.

FIG. 7 shows a bellows pump 75 with an integrated filter.
The details are shown below. As shown in FIG.
For example, a tube flam pump that absorbs and discharges a coating liquid by changing the pressure in the pump chamber 63 by changing the volume of the chamber is adopted. The pump chamber 63 is provided in a substantially columnar shape, and the inner wall around the pump chamber 63 has an elastic film 6 of a tube fram 64 made of, for example, PFA filled with a fluid (liquid).
4a. The inner wall surface around the pump chamber 63 is a bellows portion 6 of the tube fram 64.
The expansion and contraction of the pump chamber 63 causes the pump chamber 63 to change its capacity and pressure.

The bellows section 65 is driven to expand and contract with high precision by the power of a motor, for example, a stepping motor 66, and the expansion and contraction operation timing and expansion and contraction speed, that is, the suction and discharge timings of the application liquid and the suction and discharge speed are set by a controller (not shown). Is controlled according to the following. An encoder 69 is connected to the stepping motor 66, and feeds back an operation amount of the stepping motor 66 to the controller. Reference numeral 67 denotes a light transmission type sensor.
Shutter member 68 attached to the movable support portion 68 of FIG.
The initial position or the end position of the expansion and contraction of the bellows portion 65 is detected by interfering with the position a. The detection signal is output to the controller so that the stepping motor 6
6 is provided.

Here, the suction pipe 72 for introducing the coating liquid into the pump chamber 63 is connected to the pump chamber 63 in a state where a large number of holes formed in the peripheral surface of the tip end are opened in the filter 73. On the other hand, the discharge pipe 74 is connected to the pump chamber 63 in a state where it is opened in a space outside the filter. That is, this filter integrated type bellows pump 7
In 5, the coating liquid passes through the filter 73 in the suction process due to the reduced pressure in the pump chamber 63, and is filtered. When the pump liquid is pressurized in the pump chamber 63, the filtered coating liquid is discharged. ing. Note that ball-type check valves (not shown) for preventing backflow are provided near openings of the suction pipe 72 and the discharge pipe 74, respectively.

Examples of the filter 73 include a filter having a porous or fibrous cylindrical molded body made of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) or high-molecular polyethylene as a filter element. The average pore size of the pores of the filter element is desirably, for example, 0.05 μm or less.

The fluid sealed in the tube flam 64 is desirably a liquid such as Teflon oil or other oil, or even pure water. By enclosing the liquid in the tube fram 64, it is possible to suppress the secular change in the volume in the tube fram 64 as compared with the case where gas is sealed, and to stabilize the expansion / contraction displacement characteristics of the inner wall around the pump chamber for a long time. be able to. For the elastic film 64a of the tube flam 64, for example, a tetrafluoroethylene-perfluoroargyvinyl ether copolymer (PFA) or the like can be used.

The filter-integrated tube pump is provided with a vent 31 for removing bubbles, which is opened in a space outside the filter in the pump chamber 63. A height difference h is provided between the opening of the vent 31 and the opening of the discharge pipe 74, and bubbles generated in the pump chamber 63 are discharged from the discharge pipe 74.
And stays at a position higher than the opening, and is discharged therefrom by a vent 31 for removing bubbles. This makes it difficult for bubbles to enter the discharge pipe 74,
The amount of bubbles in the coating liquid supplied to the coating liquid can be reduced. In addition, a valve (not shown) is connected to the vent 31 for defoaming, and every time the tank 71 is replaced, for example, the valve is opened so that the foam accumulated in the upper part of the pump chamber 63 can be discharged.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9, such a filter-integrated tube pump has a one-degree angle with respect to the horizontal level so that the opening position of the vent 31 for removing bubbles is at the highest position. It is desirable to arrange them at an angle of 20 degrees from. By doing so, the bubbles 32 in the pump chamber 63 are concentrated near the opening of the vent 31 for removing bubbles, and it is possible to discharge the bubbles efficiently.

Next, the operation of the above-described filter-integrated tube pump will be described.

In this embodiment, the application liquid is filtered by the filter 73 during the suction of the application liquid into the pump chamber 63.
That is, as shown in FIG.
6 is driven to extend the bellows portion 65 of the tube flam 64 in the direction of the arrow, so that the inner wall surface around the pump chamber 63 is in a non-expanded (non-projecting) state, and the pressure in the pump chamber 63 is reduced to the atmospheric pressure. The coating liquid inside is sucked into the pump chamber 63 through the suction pipe 72. At this time, the suction pipe 72
Since a large number of holes formed in the peripheral surface of the tip end are opened inside the filter 73, the coating liquid passes through the filter 73 and is sucked into the pump chamber 63, thereby filtering the coating liquid. Done.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 8, the stepping motor 66 is driven to compress the bellows portion 65 of the tube frame 64, and the inner wall surface around the pump chamber 63 is expanded and protruded to reduce the capacity in the pump chamber 63. By lowering the pressure, the pressure in the pump chamber 63 is increased, and the filtered application liquid in the pump chamber 63 is discharged from the discharge pipe 74 and supplied to the wafer W through the valve 76 and the nozzle 86.

Here, the discharge speed of the coating liquid is defined as a value necessary to obtain a desired coating thickness, whereas the suction speed is the time from the discharge of the coating liquid until the next discharge. The interval can be freely selected within a range in which a required amount of the coating liquid can be sucked. For example, the discharge amount (discharge speed) per second of the coating liquid is about 2 cc, and the discharge time is 1
When the time interval until the next application liquid discharge is about 1 minute, about 2 cc of the application liquid is pumped into the pump chamber 6 in about 1 minute.
3, the suction speed of the application liquid is much slower than the discharge speed.

In the above embodiment, the coating liquid supply apparatus in which the filter for coating liquid filtration and the pump are integrated has been described. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the pump and the filter are separated from each other in position. It is also possible to configure. In this application liquid supply device, the filter 173 is connected and arranged through a pipe 172 on the upstream side of the pump 175. As the pump 175, in addition to the bellows pump shown in FIG. 7, any pump capable of individually adjusting and controlling the suction speed and the discharge speed of the application liquid may be used. Downstream of the pump 175 is a valve 176
When the valve 176 is opened, the application liquid discharged from the pump 175 is
From the surface of the wafer W.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the application liquid is filtered when the application liquid is sucked into the pump chamber 63, and the required amount of the liquid is slowly sucked in until the next liquid discharge is performed. (1) The pressure difference between the primary side and the secondary side of the filter 73 can be greatly reduced by one pump (without connecting the pump before and after the filter). Therefore, it is possible to effectively prevent the leakage of the particles and the gelled coating solution into the filter, and at the same time, it is possible to minimize the foaming phenomenon of the coating solution, thereby preventing the coating film from being defective and improving the yield. Can be planned.

Further, the present invention is also applicable to an apparatus for applying a resist solution or another processing solution to a substrate other than a semiconductor wafer, for example, an LCD substrate.

[0055]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention,
Since the processing liquid is filtered when the processing liquid is sucked into the pump chamber, the differential pressure between the primary side and the secondary side of the filter can be reduced by setting the suction speed to be low. It is possible to minimize the leakage of the filter and the bubbling phenomenon of the object to be removed in the processing liquid, and it is possible to effectively suppress the occurrence of uneven coating of the processing liquid.
With one pump, it is possible to realize a coating apparatus that can effectively suppress the occurrence of coating unevenness of the processing liquid.

Further, according to the present invention, the use of a liquid-filled bellows-equipped tube fram makes it possible to reduce the secular change in the capacity of the tube fram as compared with a gas-filled tube fram, and to reduce the capacity fluctuation in the pump chamber. Long-term stabilization of characteristics can be achieved.

Further, according to the present invention, by providing a vent for opening bubbles in the space outside the filter in the pump chamber, the bubbles accumulated in the secondary space of the filter can be appropriately discharged.

Further, according to the present invention, a height difference is provided between the opening of the vent for venting the pump chamber and the opening of the processing liquid discharge pipe, and the opening of the vent for venting the pump chamber is located at a higher position. With the provision, the bubbles hardly enter the processing liquid discharge pipe, and the amount of bubbles in the processing liquid supplied to the substrate to be processed can be reduced.

Further, according to the present invention, by arranging the pump chamber at an angle so that the opening of the vent for venting the pump chamber is located near the apex, the foam concentrates near the opening of the vent for venting the foam. In addition, it is possible to efficiently discharge bubbles.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the overall configuration of a semiconductor wafer coating and developing processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing the configuration of the coating and developing system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a rear view showing the configuration of the coating and developing processing system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the overall configuration of a coating unit in the coating and developing processing system of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the configuration of the coating unit of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of a coating liquid supply device in the coating unit of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a state of the filter-integrated bellows pump of FIG. 6 at the time of suction;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a state of the filter-integrated bellows pump of FIG. 6 at the time of discharge.

FIG. 9 is a view showing a method of arranging the bellows pump integrated with a filter of FIG. 6;

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another configuration of a coating liquid supply device in the coating unit of FIG. 4;

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a configuration of a resist supply device of a conventional resist coating device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 W semiconductor wafer 31 foam vent 63 pump chamber 64 bellows 65 bellows 66 stepping motor 71 tank 72 suction pipe 73 filter 74 discharge pipe 75: Bellows pump with integrated filter 86: Nozzle

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code FI H01L 21/30 564D

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A processing liquid supply source for supplying a processing liquid, a filter for filtering the processing liquid, a nozzle for applying a processing liquid to the surface of a substrate to be processed, and a processing liquid being sucked from the processing liquid supply source through the filter. A pump chamber that discharges the processing liquid toward the nozzle; and a control unit that controls a suction speed of the processing liquid into the pump chamber and a discharge speed of the processing liquid from the pump chamber. Coating equipment. 2. A processing liquid supply source for supplying a processing liquid, a filter for filtering the processing liquid, a nozzle for applying a processing liquid to a surface of a substrate to be processed, and a processing liquid being sucked from the processing liquid supply source through the filter. A pump chamber that discharges the processing liquid toward the nozzle; and a control unit that controls the suction speed of the processing liquid to the pump chamber to be lower than the discharge speed of the processing liquid from the pump chamber. A coating device, comprising: A processing liquid supply source for supplying the processing liquid; a filter for filtering the processing liquid; a nozzle for applying the processing liquid to the surface of the substrate to be processed; A pump chamber that sucks the processing liquid through the filter and discharges the processing liquid toward the nozzle, such that a suction speed of the processing liquid into the pump chamber is lower than a discharging speed of the processing liquid from the pump chamber. A coating apparatus, comprising: a control unit for controlling. 4. The coating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pump chamber has a capacity changing unit that changes a capacity so as to perform suction and discharge of a processing liquid by increasing and decreasing an internal pressure. Characteristic coating device. 5. The coating apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the variable capacity means partitions the pump chamber into a space accommodating the filter and a space not accommodating the filter, and a flexible membrane. A medium for transmitting pressure to the tube, and a tube fram having an expandable and contractable bellows portion. 6. The coating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the filter is disposed between the processing liquid supply source and the pump chamber. 7. The coating apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a vent that opens in an upper part of the pump chamber and exhausts air from the pump chamber. 8. The coating apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the opening of the vent is provided at a position higher than a discharge port of the pump chamber. 9. The coating apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the pump chamber is inclined so that the vent opens near the top of the pump chamber. 10. A method in which a processing liquid supplied from a processing liquid supply source is filtered by a filter while being suctioned by a pump, and the filtered processing liquid is applied to a substrate to be processed through a nozzle. A suction step of sucking into the pump chamber while passing through the filter at a first flow rate; and a discharge step of discharging the processing liquid in the pump chamber toward the nozzle at a second flow rate higher than the first flow rate. A coating method characterized by the above-mentioned. 11. The coating method according to claim 10, wherein, in the suction step, the processing liquid is filtered by passing the processing liquid through a filter disposed in the pump chamber.