JPH1119567A - Wafer treatment device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform the uniform treatment by a treating liquid by supplying the liquid to a wafer uniformly. SOLUTION: After a developer supply nozzle 21 begins to move, a pump for a developer supply source 24 is started earlier by a specified time than the time at which the slit 21a of the developer supply nozzle 21 reaches one of the ends of a base W and a variable valve 25 is rapidly opened to switch an operation from a non-liquid supply state to a liquid supply state. At a time T2 when the slit 21a of the nozzle 21 reaches the other end of the wafer W, the variable valve 25 is gradually closed to switch, step by step, from the liquid supply state to the non-liquid supply state and the pump for the developer supply source 24 is stopped. Thus it is possible to gradually decrease the developer to be discharged from the nozzle 21 to the wafer W side, so that the developer is prevented from being ejected inertially from the inside of an area near the slit 21a of the nozzle 21. Therefore, the formation of an unintentional defective development part on a resist coat is prevented from occurring.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a semiconductor wafer,
The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus that performs various types of liquid processing on a substrate (hereinafter, simply referred to as a “substrate”) such as a glass substrate for a photomask, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display, and a substrate for an optical disk.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional substrate processing apparatus, for example, there is a substrate developing apparatus for performing a developing process on a substrate which has been exposed in advance.

In such a substrate developing apparatus, a substrate having a resist film on which a chip pattern is exposed is horizontally held on a suction chuck. Then, for the substrate in the stationary state,
While discharging the developing solution from a developing solution supply nozzle having a slit-shaped liquid discharging port having a length equal to or greater than the diameter of the substrate disposed above the substrate, the developing solution supply nozzle is kept constant in a direction perpendicular to its longitudinal direction. Move at speed. The developer discharged from the developer supply nozzle onto the substrate is formed on the substrate in a thin film by the surface tension. In this state, the development of the resist on the substrate surface proceeds by keeping the substrate stationary for a certain development time. Thereafter, while the substrate is rotated together with the suction chuck, a cleaning liquid such as pure water is supplied onto the substrate to perform rinsing, and further, the supply of the cleaning liquid is stopped and the rotation is continued to dry the substrate.

[0004] When supplying the developing solution onto the substrate,
The opening and closing valve provided in the middle part of the pipe from the developer supply source to the developer supply nozzle is opened only while the developer supply nozzle passes above the substrate, and the developer is supplied to the substrate at the required timing. Can be done.

[0005]

However, in the substrate developing apparatus as described above, when the discharge of the developer is stopped at the timing when the developer supply nozzle completes the passage above the substrate, the developer is opened and closed by the developer supply source. On the primary side to the valve, the flow of the developer supply can be stopped immediately, but on the secondary side from the opening and closing valve to the developer supply nozzle, due to the inertia of the developer, the vicinity of the slit of the developer supply nozzle In some cases, the developer and the outside air are replaced. Such air may remain as bubbles in the developer supply nozzle, and may not be completely removed from the developer supply nozzle by the next timing when the discharge of the developer is started. If such bubbles are discharged from the developer supply nozzle onto the substrate, the uniform discharge pattern of the developer is disturbed around the air, preventing the formation of a uniform liquid film over the entire surface of the substrate, or Bubbles may be mixed in the liquid film formed on the substrate, or the developer may be deteriorated around the air, resulting in an unintended defective development on the resist film. become.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of uniformly supplying a processing liquid such as a developing solution to a substrate and performing a uniform liquid processing.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, a substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 discharges a processing liquid from above the substrate while holding the substrate substantially horizontally, and performs liquid processing on the substrate. A processing liquid supply nozzle for supplying the processing liquid onto the substrate; a liquid supply pipe for supplying the processing liquid to the processing liquid supply nozzle; Switching means interposed between the liquid supply state to allow the supply of the processing liquid to the processing liquid supply nozzle, and a non-liquid supply state to interrupt the supply of the processing liquid to the processing liquid supply nozzle, Switching speed control means for switching the switching means from the liquid sending state to the non-liquid sending state while controlling the switching speed.

Further, in the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention, the switching means is an opening / closing valve capable of adjusting a liquid supply amount to the processing liquid supply nozzle in accordance with an opening / closing amount of the valve, and the switching speed control means. However, it is characterized by having an electric motor for driving the valve of the open / close valve.

In a third aspect of the present invention, the electric motor is a stepping motor.

[0010]

FIG. 1 is a view for explaining the structure of a substrate developing apparatus 100 which is an embodiment of the substrate developing apparatus according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, this substrate developing device 10
0 is a substrate processing unit 1 for setting a substrate W to be processed.
0, a developer supply unit 20 for supplying a developer onto the substrate W set in the substrate processing unit 10, and a cleaning liquid supply unit for supplying pure water for rinsing to the substrate W set in the substrate processing unit 10. 30 and a control unit 40 as control means for controlling these operations. Under the control of the control unit 40, the developing process, the rinsing process, and the spinning process are performed on the substrate W sequentially supplied from the outside at appropriate timing. Perform dry processing.

The substrate processing unit 10 includes a vertically movable cup 11
The substrate W is sucked and held in the
Chuck 13 which is connected to and rotates with the substrate W
A lifter pin 14 that supports and raises and lowers the substrate W, and a substrate gripper 15 that grips the substrate W when the developer is filled.
And a lifting drive motor 16 for driving and lifting the lifter pins 14 and the substrate gripping section 15 and a cup lifting section 17 for driving and lifting the cup 11.

The developer supply section 20 is provided with a developer supply nozzle 2.
While the nozzle 1 is moved along the substrate W by the driving of the nozzle horizontal drive unit 22, the developer supplied from the developer supply source 24 by a pump (not shown) is discharged from the developer supply nozzle 21 through the liquid supply pipe 28. Thus, the developer W is loaded on the upper surface of the substrate W. At this time, the flow control unit 27 controls the open / close state of the variable valve 25 which is a switching means interposed in the path of the liquid feed pipe 28 to control the state of discharge of the developer from the developer supply nozzle 21. Note that the nozzle raising / lowering drive unit 23 can raise / lower the developer supply nozzle 21 and the nozzle horizontal drive unit 22, and retreats them upward except when the developer is filled.

The cleaning liquid supply unit 30 includes a nozzle rotation motor 3
The rinsing nozzle 31 is moved to the center position of the rotating substrate W by the rotation drive of 2, and the cleaning liquid supplied from the cleaning liquid supply source 34 is supplied from the tip of the rinsing nozzle 31 to the upper surface of the substrate W to perform the rinsing processing of the substrate W. Do. The nozzle lifting drive unit 33 can raise and lower the rinsing nozzle 31 and the nozzle rotation motor 32, and retracts them upward except during the rinsing process.

The control unit 40 sends control signals to the substrate rotation motor 12 and the elevation drive motor 16 provided in the substrate processing unit 10 to control the substrate rotation motor 12 and the elevation drive motor 1.
6 are operated at appropriate timing. The control unit 40 also sends control signals to the nozzle horizontal drive unit 22, the nozzle elevating drive unit 23, and the flow rate control unit 27 provided in the developer supply unit 20 to send these control signals to the nozzle horizontal drive unit 22, the nozzle elevating drive unit 23, The flow controller 27 is operated at an appropriate timing. Further, the control unit 40 sends a control signal to the nozzle raising / lowering driving unit 33 and the cleaning liquid supply source 34 provided in the cleaning liquid supply unit 30 to send the nozzle raising / lowering driving unit 33
The cleaning liquid supply source 34 is operated at an appropriate timing.

The developing solution supply nozzle 21 is a slit-shaped nozzle, and is supplied from a developing solution supply source 24 via a variable valve 25 by a slit 21a provided at the lower end thereof and having a diameter larger than the diameter of the substrate W. The developer is discharged onto the upper surface of the substrate W in a curtain shape.

The nozzle horizontal drive unit 22 includes a nozzle drive motor 22a, a pulley 22b, and a timing belt 22c.
The rotation of the nozzle drive motor 22a provides
The slit 21a of the developer supply nozzle 21 connected to the timing belt 22c can be moved horizontally while maintaining the slit 21a at a constant height.

The variable valve 25 is connected to the developer supply nozzle 21 from the developer supply source 24 in accordance with the opening / closing amount of a valve provided therein.
The opening / closing valve is capable of adjusting the amount of the developer supplied to the opening / closing valve. The electric motor 26 is a stepping motor that drives a valve of the variable valve 25, and is digitally controlled by the flow control unit 27. The flow control unit 27 controls the variable valve 25 via the electric motor 26,
Is switched between a liquid supply state in which the supply of the developer to the developer supply nozzle 21 is permitted and a non-liquid supply state in which the supply of the developer to the developer supply nozzle 21 is shut off. Further, when switching the variable valve 25 from the liquid sending state to the non-liquid sending state,
The switching speed is controlled. That is, the operating speed of the electric motor 26 is adjusted to gradually switch the valve of the variable valve 25 from the open state to the closed state.

The outline of the operation of the substrate developing apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1 will be described. First, the substrate W transported to the substrate processing unit 10 by a transport arm of an external device (not shown).
The substrate W is placed on the suction chuck 13 and sucked to complete the setting of the substrate W. Next, the suction chuck 13 is switched to the suction release state, the lifter pins 14 are raised, and the substrate W is raised. Then, the developer supply nozzle 21 is moved above the substrate W while discharging the developer from a position on the near side of one end of the substrate W to a position beyond the other end of the substrate W to move the substrate W
The entire surface is filled with a developer. Next, when the liquid level of the developing solution is completed, the substrate W is kept stationary for a certain period of time for development. Next, when the development is completed, the suction chuck 1
Immediately after switching 3 to the suction state, the lifter pins 14 are lowered to suction-hold the substrate W on the suction chuck 13 again. At the same time, the cup 11 is raised, and the rotation of the suction chuck 13 and the substrate W is started. Next, the rinsing nozzle 31 is moved to a position above the center of the substrate W, and the supply of the cleaning liquid is started to start the rinsing process. Next, even after the rinsing process is completed, the rotation of the substrate W is maintained while the rotation of the substrate W is maintained, and the process proceeds to a spin dry process in which the cleaning liquid is shaken off. Next, when the spin dry process is completed, the rotation of the substrate W is stopped, and the substrate W is brought into the suction release state. At the same time, the cup 11 is lowered. Finally, the processed substrate W is carried out by the external transfer arm, and the next substrate W is loaded or the substrate processing is completed.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the details of the operation of the variable valve 25 when the developer is filled. After the developer supply nozzle 21 starts moving from the retracted position shown in FIG. 1, the developer supply is performed at a time T0 which is earlier by a fixed time than the time T1 when the slit 21a of the developer supply nozzle 21 reaches one end above the substrate W. The drive of the pump of the source 24 is started, and at the same time, the operation of the electric motor 26
Is instantaneously released and is switched at high speed from the non-liquid sending state to the liquid sending state. Slit 21a of developer supply nozzle 21
At the time T2 when the motor reaches above the other end of the substrate W, the electric motor 2
6, the variable valve 25 is gradually closed by adjusting the operation speed, and the liquid supply state is gradually switched to the non-liquid supply state.
The pump of the developer supply source 24 is stopped. The times T1, T2 during which the slit 21a passes through the edge of the substrate W are:
The determination is made based on the output of a sensor (not shown) that detects the position of the developer supply nozzle 21. As mentioned above,
By gradually closing the variable valve 25, the developing solution discharged from the developing solution supply nozzle 21 can be gradually reduced, and the developing solution pops out from the inside near the slit 21a of the developing solution supply nozzle 21 by inertia. Can be prevented. That is, when the supply of the developer is stopped, the slit 2
In the vicinity of 1a, the inside developer and the outside air are replaced to prevent bubbles from being mixed into the developer supply nozzle 21, and the uniform discharge pattern of the developer is disturbed around the bubbles and uniform over the entire surface of the substrate. Liquid film formation is hindered,
Prevents bubbles from being mixed into the liquid film formed on the substrate, or prevents the developer from deteriorating around the bubbles, and prevents unintended defective development on the resist film. it can. The times T1 and T2 during which the slit 21a passes above the edge of the substrate W are determined based on the output of a sensor (not shown) for detecting the position of the developer supply nozzle 21.

When gradually closing the variable valve 25,
There is also a method of linearly decreasing the opening amount of the variable valve 25 as shown by a solid line. However, as shown by a dashed line, the rate of decrease of the opening amount of the valve provided on the variable valve 25 is initially reduced, and then gradually. It is also possible to increase the rate of decrease of the opening amount.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the above embodiment, a stepping motor is used as the electric motor 26, but this can be replaced with a servo motor or a speed control motor.

In the above embodiment, the substrate developing device 1
At 00, although the discharge of the developing solution is gradually reduced at the end of the developing process to prevent air from being mixed into the slit 21a, the above-described method can be applied to a coating apparatus for a resist or the like. That is, in the coating processing apparatus, at the end of the coating processing, the discharge speed of the coating liquid is gradually reduced by using the same adjustment mechanism as the variable valve 25 and the electric motor 26, so that the slit or the nozzle for discharging the coating liquid is used. It is possible to prevent the occurrence of coating failure due to air being mixed into the inside.

[0024]

As is apparent from the above description, claim 1
In the apparatus, a processing liquid supply nozzle that supplies the processing liquid on the substrate, a liquid supply pipe that supplies the processing liquid to the processing liquid supply nozzle, and is interposed in a path of the liquid supply pipe,
Switching means for switching between a liquid sending state allowing supply of the processing liquid to the processing liquid supply nozzle and a non-liquid sending state for interrupting the supply of the processing liquid to the processing liquid supply nozzle; and Switching speed control means for switching from the liquid sending state to the non-liquid sending state while controlling the switching speed, so that the switching means is gradually switched from the liquid sending state to the non-liquid sending state, The processing liquid discharged from the processing liquid supply nozzle toward the substrate can be gradually reduced.
Therefore, the momentum of the processing liquid discharged from the processing liquid supply nozzle toward the substrate can be gradually reduced, and it is possible to prevent the processing liquid from jumping out from the inside near the discharge port of the processing liquid supply nozzle by inertia. Therefore, it is possible to effectively prevent the inside of the processing liquid supply nozzle from being replaced with the internal processing liquid and the outside air near the discharge port of the processing liquid supply nozzle, thereby effectively preventing air bubbles from entering the processing liquid supply nozzle.

Further, in the substrate processing apparatus according to the second aspect, the switching means is an opening / closing valve capable of adjusting an amount of liquid sent to the processing liquid supply nozzle in accordance with an opening / closing amount of the valve. Since the electric motor for driving the opening / closing valve is provided, the state of the switching means can be easily switched, and the amount of liquid sent to the processing liquid supply nozzle can be easily adjusted.

Further, in the substrate processing apparatus according to the third aspect, since the electric motor is a stepping motor, the driving amount of the on-off valve can be precisely controlled digitally, and bubbles are generated in the processing liquid supply nozzle. Can be effectively prevented from mixing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a substrate developing apparatus that is an embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a graph illustrating an operation of the substrate developing device of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Substrate processing apparatus 10 Substrate processing part 20 Developer supply part 21 Developer supply nozzle 24 Developer supply source 25 Variable valve 26 Electric motor 27 Flow rate control part 28 Liquid supply pipe 30 Cleaning liquid supply part 40 Control part

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A substrate processing apparatus for performing processing on a substrate by discharging a processing liquid from above the substrate while holding the substrate substantially horizontally, wherein the processing liquid supplies the processing liquid onto the substrate. A supply nozzle; a liquid supply pipe that supplies the processing liquid to the processing liquid supply nozzle; and a liquid supply that is interposed in a path of the liquid supply pipe and allows the supply of the processing liquid to the processing liquid supply nozzle. Switching means for switching between a state and a non-liquid sending state in which the supply of the processing liquid to the processing liquid supply nozzle is interrupted, and controlling a switching speed of the switching means from the liquid sending state to the non-liquid sending state. A substrate processing apparatus, comprising: switching speed control means for switching. 2. The switching means is an opening / closing valve capable of adjusting an amount of liquid supplied to the processing liquid supply nozzle in accordance with an opening / closing amount of the valve. The switching speed control means drives a valve of the opening / closing valve. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an electric motor that performs the following. 3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said electric motor is a stepping motor.