JPH1083948A - Rotary developing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rotary developing device, which can rotate a substrate in a state that the center of the substrate is made to coincide with the center of rotation of a ratating, stage and can hold cleanly the rear of the substrate. SOLUTION: A plurality of substrate support pins 6 for supporting the rear of a substrate 100 are provided on the annular support part 5 of a rotating stage 2. Moreover, a plurality of substrate holding pins 7 for controlling the horizontal position of the substrate 100 are rotatably mounted to the stage 2 by bearings 8 around the axis in the vertical direction of the stage 8. The plurality of the substrate holding pins 7 are arranged equally at the same distance from the center P of rotation of the stage 2 and are driven by the magnetic forces of a permanent magnet a and an annular magnet and 11. At the time of the delivery of the substrate 100 and after a developing solution is applied on the substrate 100, the outer peripheral surfaces of the pin members of the pins 7 are separated from the outer peripheral end surface of the substrate 100. At the time of the rotation of the substrate 100, the outer peripheral surfaces of the pin members of the pins 7 are made contact with the outer peripheral end surface of the substrate 100 and the substrate 100 is held in the horizontal direction.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a rotary developing apparatus for performing a developing process on a substrate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A rotary developing apparatus is used for developing a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display, a glass substrate for a photomask, and a glass substrate for an optical disk.

In this rotary developing device, a substrate is horizontally held by suction on a suction type spin chuck connected to a vacuum piping line, a developing nozzle is moved above the substrate, and a developing solution is discharged onto the substrate. At this time, since the surface of the substrate is often in a state in which the developing solution is easily repelled, the developing solution is supplied to the photosensitive film on the substrate while the substrate held by the spin chuck is rotated at a low speed in a horizontal posture.

The supplied developer is uniformly spread over the entire surface of the substrate by the rotation of the substrate, and comes into contact with the photosensitive film. The development of the photosensitive film is performed by keeping the substrate stationary for a certain period of time while holding the developing solution on the substrate by the surface tension (liquid level).

Thereafter, a pure water rinsing liquid is supplied to the front surface of the substrate while rotating the substrate at a predetermined speed, and the back surface of the substrate is washed with a back rinsing liquid. After the pure water rinse solution and the back rinse solution are shaken off by the rotation of the substrate, the process is terminated.

In a rotary developing device using such a suction-type spin chuck, strong suction is performed to surely hold and hold a substrate during rotation, so that a suction mark is left on the back surface of the substrate. Further, when cleaning foreign matter such as particles (particles) adhered to the back surface of the substrate with the back rinse liquid, the suction portion and its surroundings cannot be sufficiently cleaned by the spin chuck, and the back surface of the substrate is contaminated with particles.

[0007] If there are adsorption traces or foreign matter adhered to the back surface of the substrate, when the substrates are arranged in multiple stages in the carrier, the adhered material on the back surface of the upper substrate falls downward and contaminates the surface of the lower substrate. May be. In addition, in a case where the coating process of the photosensitive film on the substrate surface and the exposure process are repeated in a process after the development process, if there is a deposit on the back surface of the substrate, a focus abnormality may be caused during the exposure process.

Therefore, there has been proposed a mechanical spin chuck which supports a back surface of a substrate and transmits a rotational force to the substrate while holding an outer peripheral end surface of the substrate. The mechanical spin chuck is mounted on a rotating stage that is driven to rotate in a horizontal position.
A plurality of support pins for vertically supporting the back surface of the substrate, and a plurality of holding pins for contacting an outer peripheral end surface of the substrate to regulate a horizontal position of the substrate and transmit a rotational force to the substrate are provided.

[0009] Between each holding pin and the outer peripheral end face of the substrate,
A slight gap is provided to facilitate loading and unloading of the substrate. When the spin chuck is rotated around a vertical axis, some of the holding pins are pressed against the outer peripheral end surface of the substrate, and the substrate rotates together with the spin chuck with the center of the substrate slightly eccentric from the center of rotation. I do.

In this mechanical spin chuck, since the substrate is supported at a predetermined height on the rotary stage by a plurality of support pins, a gap exists between the substrate and the rotary stage. Therefore, the entire back surface of the substrate can be cleaned with the back rinse solution, and no contamination of the back surface of the substrate occurs.

[0011]

However, in the above-mentioned mechanical spin chuck, the developing solution laid on the substrate is easily spilled down along the holding pins in contact with the outer peripheral end surface of the substrate. As a result, the developer on the substrate becomes uneven, and the developing process becomes non-uniform. Also, it becomes necessary to supply additional developer to make up for the spilled developer,
The consumption of the developer will increase.

Furthermore, since the substrate is rotated with the center of the substrate slightly eccentric from the center of rotation, vibration due to imbalance of the load may occur, and the vibration may affect other substrate processing units. In addition, since some of the plurality of holding pins are in contact with the outer peripheral end face of the substrate, the end faces of the substrate and the holding pins are rubbed when the substrate is taken out, so that particles are easily generated. In particular, in the case where the end face of the substrate bites into the holding pin due to the rotation of the substrate, there is a possibility that the substrate may be transported poorly or the substrate may be damaged.

An object of the present invention is to provide a rotary developing device that can rotate a substrate while keeping the center of the substrate coincident with the center of rotation, and can keep the back surface of the substrate clean. .

Another object of the present invention is to provide a rotary developing device capable of taking out a substrate smoothly without generating particles and keeping the back surface of the substrate clean.

[0015]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a rotary developing device for holding a substrate in a horizontal posture, and for rotating the substrate holding means about a vertical axis. And a developer supply means for supplying a developer onto the substrate held by the substrate holding means. The substrate holding means is distributed and arranged at a position equidistant from the rotation center of the rotation member and a rotating member which is rotated and driven in a horizontal posture by the rotation driving means, and abuts on the outer peripheral end surface of the substrate to hold the substrate in the horizontal direction. A plurality of holding members movable between a substrate holding position and a substrate open position separated from an outer peripheral end surface of the substrate; and a plurality of holding members driven to the substrate holding position when the rotation member is rotationally driven by the rotation driving means, and developed. Driving means for driving the plurality of holding members to the substrate open position when the rotation member is stopped after the supply of the developing solution onto the substrate by the liquid supply means.

In the rotary developing device according to the first aspect of the present invention, the rotary member of the substrate holding means is driven to rotate about the axis in the vertical direction by the rotary driving means, and the developing solution is placed on the substrate held by the substrate holding means. The developer is supplied by the supply unit. The plurality of holding members are driven to the substrate holding position by the driving means when the rotation member is rotationally driven by the rotation driving means. Thereby, the plurality of holding members contact the outer peripheral end surface of the substrate to hold the substrate in the horizontal direction. In this case, since the plurality of holding members are arranged at positions equidistant from the rotation center of the rotating member, the center of the substrate exactly matches the rotation center. This prevents generation of vibration due to the eccentricity of the center of the substrate from the center of rotation.

When the rotating member stops after the developing solution is supplied onto the substrate by the developing solution supply means, the plurality of holding members are driven to the substrate open position by the driving means. Thereby, the plurality of holding members are separated from the outer peripheral end surface of the substrate. In this state, the developing process is performed by keeping the substrate stationary for a certain period of time. At this time, since the plurality of holding members are separated from the outer peripheral end surface of the substrate, the developer supplied onto the substrate does not spill down along the plurality of holding members. Therefore, the developer is uniformly held on the substrate, and uniform development can be performed. Further, the consumption of the developer is reduced.

A rotary developing device according to a second aspect of the present invention comprises:
In the configuration of the rotary developing device according to the present invention, the driving means drives the plurality of holding members to the substrate open position when loading and unloading the substrate into and from the substrate holding means.

In this case, since the plurality of holding members are separated from the outer peripheral end surface of the substrate when the substrate is loaded and unloaded, it is possible to prevent the outer peripheral end surface of the substrate from rubbing against the plurality of holding members to generate particles. In addition, since the outer peripheral end surface of the substrate does not bite into the plurality of holding members, defective transport of the substrate and breakage of the substrate are prevented.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a rotary developing device comprising:
Alternatively, in the configuration of the rotary developing device according to the second invention, the driving means drives the plurality of holding members by magnetic force. In this case, particles are not generated due to friction between members.

A rotary developing device according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the rotary developing device according to the first, second, or third aspect, wherein each of the plurality of holding members is arranged around a vertical rotation axis. A supporting portion rotatably attached to the rotating member, and a holding portion provided eccentrically with respect to a rotation axis of the supporting portion so as to abut on an outer peripheral end surface of the substrate as the supporting portion rotates. It is a thing.

In this case, the holding portion can be easily moved between the substrate holding position and the substrate releasing position by rotating the support portion. A rotary developing device according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the rotary developing device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the substrate holding means is disposed on the rotating member to support the back surface of the substrate. The cleaning apparatus further includes a plurality of support members, further includes a cleaning liquid discharge unit that has a discharge port disposed substantially at the center of the rotating member of the substrate holding unit and discharges the cleaning liquid to the back surface of the substrate.

In this case, since the substrate is supported at a predetermined height on the rotating member by the plurality of supporting members, there is a gap between the substrate and the rotating member. Therefore, the entire back surface of the substrate can be sufficiently cleaned by the cleaning liquid discharged from the discharge port of the cleaning liquid discharging means.

[0024]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a rotary developing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view of a main part of the rotary developing device of FIG.

In FIG. 1, the rotation holding unit 1 includes a circular plate-shaped rotation stage 2. The rotating stage 2 includes a motor 3
Is horizontally fixed to the tip of the shaft 4 and is driven to rotate around a vertical axis.

An annular support 5 is fixed to the upper surface of the rotary stage 2, and a plurality of substrate support pins 6 for supporting the back surface of the substrate 100 are provided on the annular support 5. A plurality of substrate holding pins 7 for regulating the horizontal position of the substrate 100 are attached to the rotary stage 2 by bearings 8 so as to be rotatable about a vertical axis. As shown in FIG. 2, the plurality of substrate holding pins 7 are equally spaced from the rotation center P of the rotation holding unit 1 in FIG. A rod-shaped permanent magnet 9 described below is attached to a lower portion of each substrate holding pin 7. An annular wall 10 is provided around the periphery of the rotary stage 2.
Is provided.

An annular magnet 11 is provided below the rotary stage 2. The annular magnet 11 is provided with a magnet support member 12 provided to be vertically movable by a driving device (not shown).
It is fixed to.

The rotary stage 2 has a plurality of through holes 1.
3 are formed. An elevating pin 14 is disposed below these through holes 13 so as to be able to move up and down by an air cylinder (not shown). When the substrate 100 is transferred to and from a substrate transfer device (not shown), the lifting pins 14 rise through the through-holes 13 of the rotary stage 2 and contact the back surface of the substrate 100 to move the substrate 100 upward. Push up.

The shaft 4 of the motor 3 is formed of a hollow body, and has a back rinse nozzle 15 for back surface cleaning inside.
Is inserted. The back rinse nozzle 15 penetrates the rotary stage 2 and protrudes to the back surface side of the substrate 100. A cup 16 is arranged around the rotation holding unit 1 so as to be vertically movable.

A developing nozzle 17 for discharging a developing solution is provided above the rotation holding unit 1 so as to be movable in the vertical and horizontal directions. The developing nozzle 17 stands by at a position deviated from above the substrate 100 before and after the developing process, and moves above the central portion of the substrate 100 during the developing process.

A series of operations such as rotation and stop of the motor 3, raising and lowering of the magnet support member 12, discharging of the developing solution from the developing nozzle 17, and discharging of the back rinsing solution from the back rinsing nozzle 15 are performed by the control unit 18. Controlled.

In this embodiment, the rotation holding section 1 corresponds to the substrate holding means, the motor 3 corresponds to the rotation driving means, and the developing nozzle 17 corresponds to the developing solution supply means. The rotary stage 2 corresponds to a rotating member, and the substrate holding pins 7 correspond to a holding member. Further, the permanent magnet 9, the annular magnet 11, and the control unit 18 constitute a driving unit. Further, the substrate support pins 6 correspond to a support member, and the back rinse nozzle 15 corresponds to a cleaning liquid discharging unit.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the board holding pin 7. As shown in FIG. 3, the substrate holding pin 7 is
1. cylindrical (rod-shaped) pin member 22, connecting shaft 2
3 and the magnet storage section 24. The pin member 22 is provided eccentrically with respect to the center of the support 21 on the upper surface of the support 21. The magnet housing part 24 is fixed to a lower part of the support part 21 via a connecting shaft part 23. The rod-shaped permanent magnet 9 is housed in the magnet housing 24.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are views for explaining the operation of the substrate holding pins 7, wherein FIG. 4A is a partial cross-sectional view of the substrate holding pins 7 and the periphery thereof, and FIG. It is a top view.

At the time of delivery of the substrate 100 and after the filling of the developing solution, as shown in FIG. 4A, the annular magnet 11 is positioned below the rotary stage 2 at a distance. At this time, the line of magnetic force B formed by the annular magnet 11 is directed from the outside of the rotary stage 2 toward the center at the height where the permanent magnet 9 is installed. Therefore, the N pole of the permanent magnet 9 is attracted in a direction toward the center of the rotary stage 2.
As a result, as shown in FIG.
Is rotated in the direction of arrow X, and the outer peripheral surface of the pin member 22 is separated from the outer peripheral end surface of the substrate 100.

When the substrate 100 rotates, the annular magnet 11 rises and approaches the rotary stage 2 as shown in FIG. Therefore, the S pole of the permanent magnet 9 is
Is attracted to the N pole. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 5B, the substrate holding pin 7 rotates in the direction of arrow Y, the outer peripheral surface of the pin member 22 contacts the outer peripheral end surface of the substrate 100, and the substrate 100 is held in the horizontal direction. Is done.

Next, the operation of the rotary developing device of FIG. 1 during the developing process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, as shown in FIG. 5, the annular magnet 11 is raised and the substrate 100 is horizontally held by the plurality of substrate holding pins 7 (Step S1). At this time, since the plurality of substrate holding pins 7 are arranged at the same distance from the rotation center of the rotary stage 2, the center of the substrate 100 is
(The rotation center of the substrate 100).

Thereafter, the rotation holding unit 1 is driven to rotate by the motor 3, and the substrate 100 rotates at a low speed around the vertical axis (step S2). In this state, the developing nozzle 17
Is discharged onto the substrate 100 from the substrate (step S
3). By the rotation of the substrate 100, the developer is uniformly spread over the entire surface of the substrate 100.

Thereafter, the rotation of the rotation holding unit 1 is stopped (step S4). When the rotation of the substrate 100 is stopped, as shown in FIG. 4, the annular magnet 11 descends, and the substrate holding pins 7 are opened (Step S5). In this case, the pin member 22 of the substrate holding pin 7 is separated from the outer peripheral end surface of the substrate 100, so that the developing solution laid on the substrate 100 does not fall down along the pin member 22. In this state, the developer is stopped for a certain time (step S6). Thus, development of the photosensitive film on the substrate 100 proceeds.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the ring magnet 11 is raised, and the substrate 100 is held in the horizontal direction by the substrate holding pins 7 (step S7). Then, the rotation holding unit 1 is driven to rotate by the motor 3, and the substrate 100 rotates at a predetermined speed (step S8). A pure water rinsing liquid is supplied onto the substrate 100 from a pure water supply nozzle (not shown), and the surface of the substrate 100 is rinsed with pure water.
00 is cleaned (step S9).

After the pure water rinse solution and the back rinse solution are shaken off by the rotation of the substrate 100, the rotation of the substrate 100 is stopped (step S10). After the end of the developing process, as shown in FIG. 4, the annular magnet 11 descends, and the substrate holding pins 7 are opened (step S11). Lifting pin 14
Rises through the through hole 13 of the rotary stage 2, contacts the back surface of the substrate 100, and further pushes the substrate 100 upward. In this state, the transfer of the substrate 100 to a substrate transfer device (not shown) is performed.

As described above, in the rotary developing apparatus of this embodiment, since the back surface and the outer peripheral end surface of the substrate 100 are held in a point contact state or a line contact state, the entire back surface of the substrate 100 is cleaned. It is possible to do. As a result, particles on the back surface of the substrate 100 are significantly reduced.

When the developing solution is filled, the substrate holding pins 7
Since the pin member 22 is separated from the outer peripheral end surface of the substrate 100, the developer does not spill down along the pin member 22. As a result, the developer is uniformly held on the surface of the substrate 100, a uniform development process is performed, and the consumption of the developer is reduced.

Further, when the substrate 100 rotates,
And the center of rotation exactly coincide with each other, so that vibration due to imbalance of the load does not occur. Therefore, stable rotation processing is performed.

When the substrate 100 is carried in and carried out, the pin member 22 of the substrate holding pin 7 is separated from the outer peripheral end surface of the substrate 100. Therefore, the outer peripheral end surface of the substrate 100 rubs against the pin member 22 of the substrate holding pin 7 to generate particles. In addition to preventing the occurrence of the occurrence, the substrate 100 is prevented from being erroneously transported and the substrate 100 from being damaged by the pin members 22 of the substrate holding pins 7.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a rotary developing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a main part of the rotary developing device of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a substrate holding pin in the rotary developing device of FIG.

4A and 4B are a partial sectional view and a plan view showing a state where a pin member of a substrate holding pin is separated from an outer peripheral end surface of the substrate.

5A and 5B are a partial cross-sectional view and a plan view showing a state where a pin member of a substrate holding pin is in contact with an outer peripheral end surface of the substrate.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation during a developing process in the rotary developing device of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Rotation holding part 2 Rotation stage 3 Motor 4 Shaft 6 Substrate support pin 7 Substrate holding pin 9 Permanent magnet 11 Ring magnet 15 Back rinse nozzle 17 Developing nozzle 21 Support part 22 Pin member

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A substrate holding means for holding a substrate in a horizontal posture; a rotation driving means for driving the substrate holding means to rotate around a vertical axis; and a developer on a substrate held by the substrate holding means. And a developing solution supply unit that supplies the developer, wherein the substrate holding unit is a rotation member that is driven to rotate in a horizontal posture by the rotation drive unit, and is distributed and arranged at a position equidistant from a rotation center of the rotation member. A plurality of holding members movable between a substrate holding position for holding the substrate in the horizontal direction by contacting the outer peripheral end surface of the substrate and a substrate opening position separated from the outer peripheral end surface of the substrate; and The plurality of holding members are driven to the substrate holding position when the rotation member is rotationally driven, and the plurality of holding members are stopped when the rotation member is stopped after supply of the developing solution onto the substrate by the developing solution supply unit. And a driving unit for driving the substrate to the substrate open position. 2. The rotary developing device according to claim 1, wherein said driving means drives said plurality of holding members to said substrate open position when loading and unloading a substrate to and from said substrate holding means. . 3. The driving device according to claim 1, wherein the driving unit drives the plurality of holding members by magnetic force.
The rotary developing device as described in the above. 4. Each of the plurality of holding members includes: a support portion attached to the rotation member so as to be rotatable around a vertical rotation axis; and an outer periphery of the substrate with the rotation of the support portion. The rotary developing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: a holding portion provided eccentrically with respect to the rotation axis of the support portion so as to contact an end surface. 5. The substrate holding means further includes a plurality of support members disposed on the rotating member to support a back surface of the substrate, and the substrate holding means is disposed substantially at the center of the rotating member of the substrate holding means. The rotary developing device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a cleaning liquid discharging unit having a discharge port and discharging a cleaning liquid onto the back surface of the substrate.