JPH11176818A - Substrate treating equipment and method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide substrate treating equipment of a simple structure with a small foot print and high throughput, and a method of substrate treatment. SOLUTION: A precursor solution is spread on a substrate W from a precursor coating nozzle 25. After that, a mixed solution of xylene and HMDS is supplied from a mixing part 50 to the substrate W. Xylene prevents volatilization of alcohol-based solvent in the precursor solution. HMDS forms ammonia and promotes crosslinking reaction of the precursor. Thereby an SOG film of low density and high insulating property is formed. Thereafter, HMDS is supplied from an HMDS supplying part 32 to the substrate W, and an end portion of the precursor which has no yet reacted is treated. Since a series of treatment can be conducted with a single rotation coating treatment equipment 10, the foot print is reduced, and deterioration in the throughput accompanying substrate carrying can be prevented.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for converting a substance coated on a thin substrate (hereinafter simply referred to as "substrate") such as a semiconductor substrate or a liquid crystal glass substrate into a new substance by a predetermined chemical reaction. And methods.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, SOG (Spin-on-Glass) coating has been performed on a substrate for the purpose of interlayer insulation and flattening. In applying SOG, a process is performed using a precursor which is a precursor of SOG. Hereinafter, a conventional SOG coating procedure using a precursor will be briefly described.

First, a precursor mixed with an alcohol-based solvent is applied on a substrate held in a horizontal posture. This coating process is usually performed in a rotary coating device (spin coater) for coating a photoresist or the like.

[0004] The substrate on which the precursor has been applied is carried out of the rotary coating apparatus by the substrate transfer device, and is carried into the aging chamber. In the aging chamber, an amine (ammonia or an ammonia organic derivative such as TMAH (tetramethylammonium hydroxide)) is supplied as a catalyst to the periphery of the substrate to promote a crosslinking reaction of a precursor on the substrate to form an SOG film (aging). ).

This aging is a process for forcibly polymerizing the precursor, and is performed to increase the polymerization speed of the precursor. That is, when the substrate on which the precursor is applied is left, the alcohol-based solvent is volatilized, and a dense SOG film having a small thickness is formed. S on the substrate
Since the main purpose of forming an OG film is interlayer insulation, S
It is preferable that the insulation of the OG film is high.
When the density of the film increases, the dielectric constant of the substance becomes,
The insulation is not so high. To prevent this, forced polymerization is performed before the alcohol solvent evaporates,
That is, a rough SOG film is formed to enhance its insulation.

[0006] After aging, the substrate transfer device unloads the substrate from the aging chamber and transfers it to the rotary coating apparatus. In the rotary coating apparatus, post-processing such as removal of the catalyst and processing of the end of the unreacted precursor is performed.

[0007]

The conventional substrate processing apparatus for performing the above-described SOG coating needs to have a rotary coating apparatus and an aging chamber, and therefore has a footprint (the substrate processing apparatus occupies a plane). Area) is large. Since the substrate processing apparatus is often installed in a clean room where the temperature and humidity are controlled, it is not preferable to increase the footprint.

In addition, during the SOG coating, the processing is performed while the substrate is being transported between a plurality of processing units, so that the throughput accompanying the substrate transport has been reduced.

Further, when aging is performed, a gas such as ammonia is used, so it is necessary to prevent the gas from leaking out of the aging chamber. For this reason, special equipment for preventing gas leakage, such as provision of a sensor, is required, and the whole substrate processing apparatus is complicated.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has a simple configuration, a small footprint,
Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate processing apparatus and method having high throughput.

[0011]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus for forming an SOG film on a substrate by causing a precursor applied on the substrate to undergo a crosslinking reaction. (A) coating means for coating the substrate with a precursor solution obtained by mixing the precursor in a solvent, and (b) a first treatment liquid that is hardly soluble in the solvent.
And a mixed liquid supply means for supplying a mixed solution obtained by mixing the second processing liquid that generates amines by reacting with the solvent to the substrate coated with the precursor solution.

Further, the invention according to claim 2 is the substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein (c) processing liquid supply means for supplying the second processing liquid to the substrate to which the mixed solution has been supplied, Is further provided.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the substrate processing apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the solvent is an alcohol-based solvent, the first processing liquid is xylene, and the second processing liquid is xylene. The treatment liquid is HMDS, and the amines are ammonia.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing method for forming an SOG film on a substrate by causing a precursor coated on the substrate to undergo a crosslinking reaction.
A coating step of coating the substrate with a precursor solution obtained by mixing the precursor with a solvent, and (b) a first processing liquid that is hardly soluble in the solvent and a second processing of reacting with the solvent to generate amines. And a mixed liquid supply step of supplying a mixed solution obtained by mixing the liquid and the liquid to the substrate coated with the precursor solution.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the substrate processing method according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, (c) a processing liquid supply step of supplying the second processing liquid to the substrate to which the mixed solution has been supplied, Is further provided.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the substrate processing method according to the fourth or fifth aspect, the solvent is an alcoholic solvent, the first processing liquid is xylene, and the second processing liquid is an xylene. The treatment liquid is HMDS, and the amines are ammonia.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. The substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a rotary coating apparatus 10 and a mechanism for supplying a precursor and other processing liquids thereto.

The rotary coating apparatus 10 includes a spin motor 11, a rotary shaft 12, and a turntable 13. The turntable 13 holds the substrate W in a horizontal position, and has a rotation shaft 12 suspended from the center of the lower surface thereof. The rotation shaft 11 is connected to the spin motor 11. The rotation of the spin motor 11 is performed via a rotation shaft 12 on a turntable 13.
And the substrate W held on the turntable 13 is rotated about the vertical direction as an axis. The form of the turntable 13 may be a form for holding the substrate W by suction or a form for holding the substrate W
Any of the forms of gripping the edge portion may be used.

In the rotary coating apparatus 10, a solution in which a precursor is mixed with an alcohol solvent, xylene, HMD
S (hexamethyldisilazane) and xylene and HMD
A mixed solution with S can be supplied. Hereinafter, a mechanism for supplying these will be described.

A solution obtained by mixing a precursor with an alcohol-based solvent is stored in a precursor tank 20 in the substrate processing apparatus. Then, the precursor solution is supplied to a precursor application nozzle 25 by a precursor supply unit 21 connected to a precursor tank 20, and is applied from the precursor application nozzle 25 to the substrate W in a horizontal posture. At this time, the substrate W may be in a rotated state or a stationary state.

It is possible to supply xylene and HMDS to the substrate W alone or to mix them and supply them to the substrate W. The xylene is stored in the xylene tank 40 and is supplied to the substrate W via the xylene supply unit 42 and the processing liquid discharge nozzle 55 when supplying xylene alone to the substrate W. Similarly, HMDS is stored in the HMDS tank 30, and when HMDS alone is supplied to the substrate W, HMDS is used.
It is supplied to the substrate W via the DS supply unit 32 and the processing liquid discharge nozzle 55.

When a mixed solution of xylene and HMDS is supplied to the substrate W, the processing liquid is mixed in the mixing section 50 and supplied to the substrate W from the processing liquid discharge nozzle 55. Xylene and HMD at this time
The mixing ratio of S can be adjusted by the liquid mass flow controllers 41 and 31 that control their flow rates.

In this embodiment, xylene,
Although the HMDS and a mixed solution thereof are supplied from one processing liquid discharge nozzle 55, a plurality of processing liquid discharge nozzles 55 may be provided, and each processing liquid may be supplied from a different discharge nozzle.

Next, a processing procedure in the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a state of substrate processing in the substrate processing apparatus of FIG.

First, a precursor solution is applied from a precursor application nozzle 25 to a substrate W held in a horizontal posture by the turntable 13. At the time when the coating process is completed, the precursor solution layer 1 is on the upper surface of the substrate W as shown in FIG.

After the precursor coating process is completed, a mixed solution of xylene and HMDS is supplied from the mixing section 50 to the upper surface of the substrate W via the processing liquid discharge nozzle 55. At this point, as shown in FIG. 2B, the mixed solution layer 2 is formed above the precursor solution layer 1, and aging is performed.

Here, since xylene in the mixed solution is hardly soluble in alcohol solvents, xylene and alcohol solvents do not mix with each other. As a result, the alcohol-based solvent does not come into direct contact with air during aging, and volatilization of the alcohol-based solvent is suppressed. In other words, xylene serves as a layer for preventing volatilization of the alcohol-based solvent.

On the other hand, HMDS in the mixed solution reacts with the alcohol solvent to generate amines (here, ammonia). That is, the precursor solution layer 1 shown in FIG.
Amines are generated in the vicinity of the interface with the mixed solution layer 2 and the amines act as catalysts to accelerate the crosslinking reaction of the precursor in the precursor solution layer 1 to form an SOG film.

Here, if it is assumed that the reaction of the precursor is left to natural polymerization without suppressing the volatilization of the alcohol solvent in the precursor solution layer 1, the formed SOG
The thickness of the film is small and the density is high. As described above, when the density of the SOG film increases, the insulating property does not become very high. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the crosslinking reaction of the precursor is forcibly promoted while suppressing the volatilization of the alcohol solvent in the precursor solution layer 1. Therefore, the thickness of the formed SOG film is large,
The density also decreases, and as a result, the insulating property of the SOG film can be increased.

In this embodiment, the amount of ammonia generated is smaller than when ammonia is supplied from outside the apparatus, and ammonia not contributing to the crosslinking reaction of the precursor is captured by the HMDS in the mixed solution layer 2. Therefore, there is no possibility that ammonia leaks to the outside of the rotary coating apparatus 10. This eliminates the need for special equipment for preventing gas leakage, and can simplify the configuration of the entire substrate processing apparatus.

When the aging is completed, the HMDS supply unit 32 applies the HMD to the substrate W through the processing liquid discharge nozzle 55.
S is supplied, and post-processing is performed. In post-processing, HMD
The alcoholic solvent in the mixed solution layer 2 and the SOG film is removed by S, and the unreacted precursor ends are treated.

When the post-processing is completed, xylene is supplied from the xylene supply unit 42 to the substrate W via the processing liquid discharge nozzle 55, and a rinsing process is performed. This rinsing process is a finishing cleaning process.

According to the above, in addition to the above effects, all of the precursor coating, aging and post-processing can be performed by one rotary coating apparatus 10, so that the footprint can be reduced. .

In forming the SOG film, the substrate W
Since there is no need to transport the substrate, it is possible to prevent a decrease in throughput due to the substrate transport.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above example. For example, instead of xylene, another processing solution that is hardly soluble in an alcohol solvent may be used, or in place of HMDS, another processing solution that reacts with an alcohol solvent to generate amines may be used. good.

In the above-described embodiment, the series of processing is performed in the rotary coating apparatus 10. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other apparatuses having a nozzle, such as a rotary developing apparatus, may be used. It is possible to implement even if.

[0038]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a coating means for coating a substrate with a precursor solution obtained by mixing a precursor with a solvent, a first processing solution which is hardly soluble in the solvent, and And a mixed solution supply means for supplying a mixed solution obtained by mixing a second processing solution that generates amines by reacting with a solvent to a substrate coated with the precursor solution. Can be promoted by amines to form an SOG film. As a result, the footprint can be reduced and the throughput can be increased. Further, amines that do not contribute to the crosslinking reaction are captured by the second processing solution, so that special equipment for preventing leakage of amines is not required, and the configuration of the entire apparatus can be simplified. Furthermore, since the first processing solution can suppress the volatilization of the solvent in the precursor solution, a coarse SOG can be formed, and as a result, the insulation of the SOG can be improved.

According to the second and third aspects of the present invention, the apparatus further comprises a processing liquid supply means for supplying the second processing liquid to the substrate to which the mixed solution has been supplied. Can be treated.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an application step of applying a precursor solution in which a precursor is mixed with a solvent to a substrate, and a step of reacting the first processing solution, which is hardly soluble with the solvent, with the solvent, to react with the solvent. And a mixed liquid supply step of supplying a mixed solution obtained by mixing the second processing liquid for producing a kind to the substrate coated with the precursor solution, thereby obtaining the same effect as the invention of claim 1. Can be.

According to the fifth and sixth aspects of the present invention, the method further comprises a processing liquid supply step of supplying the second processing liquid to the substrate to which the mixed solution has been supplied. Can be treated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a state of substrate processing in the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. 1;

[Description of Signs] 10 rotary coating apparatus 25 precursor coating nozzle 32 HMDS supply section 42 xylene supply section 50 mixing section W substrate

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A substrate processing apparatus for forming a SOG film on a substrate by causing a crosslinking reaction on a precursor applied on the substrate to form an SOG film on the substrate, comprising: (a) mixing a precursor solution obtained by mixing the precursor with a solvent with the substrate; (B) a mixed solution obtained by mixing a first processing solution that is hardly soluble in the solvent and a second processing solution that reacts with the solvent to generate amines; A substrate processing apparatus, comprising: a mixed liquid supply unit configured to supply a coated liquid to the substrate. 2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: (c) processing liquid supply means for supplying the second processing liquid to the substrate to which the mixed solution has been supplied. Processing equipment. 3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the solvent is an alcohol solvent, the first processing liquid is xylene, and the second processing liquid is HMDS, The substrate processing apparatus, wherein the amine is ammonia. 4. A substrate processing method for forming an SOG film on a substrate by causing a crosslinking reaction to a precursor applied on the substrate to form a SOG film on the substrate, comprising: (a) mixing a precursor solution obtained by mixing the precursor with a solvent with the substrate; And (b) a mixed solution obtained by mixing a first processing solution that is hardly soluble in the solvent and a second processing solution that reacts with the solvent to generate amines. And a mixed liquid supply step of supplying the mixed liquid to the coated substrate. 5. The substrate processing method according to claim 4, further comprising: (c) a processing liquid supply step of supplying the second processing liquid to the substrate to which the mixed solution has been supplied. Processing method. 6. The substrate processing method according to claim 4, wherein the solvent is an alcohol-based solvent, the first processing liquid is xylene, and the second processing liquid is HMDS. The substrate processing method, wherein the amine is ammonia.