JPH11238674A - Heat-treatment device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently control the temperature of a heat-treatment board by stopping the heating of the board to fix the actuation of a temperature control means during the period, until the succeeding substrate to be treated is placed on the board after the preceding substrate to be treated is separated from the board. SOLUTION: A control section 120 maintains nearly constant temperature of a heat treatment board 58 by turning on the power supply to a heater H, when the temperature of the board 58 detected by means of a temperature sensor in a state, where the temperature of the board 58 is stabilized after the power supply to the heater H is turned on is lower than a prescribed value, and when the temperature of the board 58 becomes higher than a prescribed value, turning off the power supply to the heater H. After a wafer W placed on the board 58 is heat-treated, the power supply to the heater H is stopped by temporarily stopping the temperature control during the period until the succeeding wafer W is placed on the board 58, after the preceding wafer W has been separated from the board 58. Therefore, the overheating of the board 58 can be prevented in advance, and the temperature of the board 58 can be controlled efficiently.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a heat treatment apparatus such as a heating apparatus or a cooling apparatus incorporated in a semiconductor manufacturing system for manufacturing a semiconductor device by using, for example, photoengraving technology.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a semiconductor manufacturing system using photoengraving technology, various processing units such as a resist coating unit, a drying unit, and a heating unit are incorporated in one system, and the various processing units are sequentially moved. A series of processing is performed while performing this.

FIG. 8 is a vertical sectional view of a typical heat treatment unit 200.

In this heat treatment unit 200, a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter simply referred to as “wafer”) W is placed on a heat treatment board 20.
1, the wafer W is placed on the heat treatment board 201
Heat treatment by the heat released from the This heat treatment board 2
In FIG. 1, a heater (not shown) is incorporated, and the heat treatment board 201 is heated by heat supplied from the heater. Since the wafer W is easily affected by fluctuations in the heat treatment temperature during the heat treatment, the temperature of the heat treatment board 201 must be accurately controlled. Therefore, the heat treatment board 20
1 is provided with a sensor (not shown) for detecting a temperature, and the control device switches on and off the heater through the stiffness sensor to thereby control the heat treatment board 20.
1 is controlled.

[0005]

By the way, the heat treatment board 201 having the above-mentioned structure has a structure in which the temperature is always kept constant irrespective of whether the wafer W is mounted on the heat treatment board 201 or not. Therefore, if heat treatment is continuously performed on a large number of wafers W, the temperature control of the heat treatment board 201 may be hindered.

That is, when the wafer W is mounted on the heat-treating board 201 whose temperature is stable after the power is turned on, the amount of heat is taken from the surface of the heat-treating board 201 by the wafer W to lower the temperature. The controlled device increases the amount of power to the heater and starts heating. At this time, when the wafer W that has already been subjected to the heat treatment is separated from the heat treatment plate 201 whose temperature is rising due to the heating, the amount of heat applied to the heat treatment plate 201 becomes excessive, and the heat treatment plate 201 is heated.
However, there is a problem that the temperature is too high.

FIG. 9 is a timing chart showing how the temperature of the heat treatment board 201 of the conventional heat treatment unit 200 changes. This, as shown in FIG. 9, in the state of time temperature after power has stabilized t ₀ ~t _4, when the temperature of the heat processing table 201 detected by the temperature sensor becomes T ₁ following the power of the heater is turned on ( time t ₀ ~t _1, t ₂ ~
t ₃ ) On the other hand, when the temperature becomes higher than T ₁ , the power supply of the heater is turned off, and the temperature of the heat treatment board 201 is maintained substantially constant. At time t ₄ , the wafer W
Is placed, the heat quantity is taken away by the wafer W, so that the temperature of the heat treatment board 201 rapidly decreases (from t ₄ to t _4).
5 ).

[0008] Here, the temperature of the heat processing table 201 power between the heater time t ₅ ~t ₇ below T ₁ is heated is kept ON, and it is time t ₆ the heat processing table 201
The wafer W is removed from above. Therefore, the partial heat capacity wafer W is exhausted to absorb heat is reduced, heat processing 201 is likely to be heated, is heated the time t ₆ after the same rate as the time t ₅ ~t _6, the time t ₇ Heating is continued until it becomes. Power of the heater when the temperature of the heat processing table 201 becomes the time t ₇ to be T ₁ is turned off, the heating is to stop, the time a large amount of heat at t ₆ ~t ₇ is a state that does not place the wafer W to be supplied to the heat processing table 201, the amount of heat given during this period appears on the surface of the heat processing table 201 since the time t _7, resulting in heating to a temperature of the heat processing table 201 is a very high temperature. Therefore it has a very high temperature when mounting the subsequent wafer W in the heat processing table 201 at time t _8, occurs adverse effect of the high temperature and the heat treatment for subsequent wafer W. And likewise further provided with the subsequent wafer W and time t ₁₀ ~t _11, since the accumulated amount of heat is very a high temperature the temperature of the time t ₁₁ after the heat processing table 201, the time t ₁₂ ~t ₁₄ Wafer W to be heat treated
Are also exposed to high temperatures. Since it takes a lot of time to cool the heat-treated board 201 once heated to a predetermined temperature, there is a problem that the processing efficiency is reduced and the manufacturing cost is increased.

The present invention has been made to solve such a problem.

That is, an object of the present invention is to provide a heat treatment apparatus capable of efficiently controlling the temperature of a heat treatment board.

[0011]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a heat treatment apparatus in which a substrate to be processed is placed and a temperature of the heat treatment plate is controlled to be constant. Temperature control means, means for sequentially transporting the substrate to be processed onto the heat treatment board, and after the preceding substrate to be processed is separated from the heat treatment board, until the subsequent substrate is placed, Means for fixing the operation of the temperature control means and stopping the heating of the heat treatment board.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a heat treatment apparatus on which a substrate to be processed is mounted, temperature control means for controlling a temperature of the heat treatment panel to be constant, and a substrate to be processed on the heat treatment panel. Means for sequentially transporting, and after the preceding substrate to be processed is separated from the heat-treating board, the operation of the temperature control means is fixed until the subsequent substrate is mounted, and Means for maintaining the temperature of the heat treatment board when the processing substrate is separated.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a heat treatment apparatus on which a substrate to be processed is mounted, temperature control means for controlling a temperature of the heat treatment panel to be constant, and a substrate to be processed on the heat treatment panel. Means for sequentially transporting, after the preceding substrate to be processed is separated from the heat treatment board, until the subsequent substrate to be mounted, fix the operation of the temperature control means, to the heat treatment board Means for reducing the amount of heating.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a heat treatment apparatus on which a substrate to be processed is mounted, temperature control means for controlling a temperature of the heat treatment panel to be constant, and a substrate to be processed on the heat treatment panel. Means for sequentially transporting, after the preceding substrate to be processed is separated from the heat treatment panel, until the subsequent substrate to be mounted, fix the operation of the temperature control means, the heat treatment panel Means for cooling.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a heat treatment apparatus on which a substrate to be processed is mounted, temperature control means for controlling the temperature of the heat treatment panel to be constant, and a substrate to be processed on the heat treatment panel. Means for sequentially transporting, after the preceding substrate to be processed is separated from the heat treatment panel, until the subsequent substrate to be mounted, fix the operation of the temperature control means, the heat treatment panel Means for preheating.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a heat treatment apparatus on which a substrate to be processed is mounted, temperature control means for controlling a temperature of the heat treatment panel to be constant, and a substrate to be processed on the heat treatment panel. Means for sequentially transporting, after the preceding substrate to be processed is separated from the heat treatment panel, until the subsequent substrate to be mounted, fix the operation of the temperature control means, the heat treatment panel Means for preheating after cooling.

In the heat treatment apparatus of the first aspect, after the preceding substrate to be processed is separated from the heat treatment board, the operation of the temperature control means is fixed until the subsequent substrate is mounted, A means provided separately from the temperature control means is used. Then, since the heating of the heat treatment plate is controlled to be stopped by using this means, the heat treatment plate is heated when an unnecessarily large amount of heat is supplied even though the substrate to be processed is not placed on the heat treatment plate. As a result of preventing overheating, the temperature of the heat treatment board can be efficiently controlled.

In the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention, the operation of the temperature control means is fixed until the preceding substrate to be processed is placed after the preceding substrate to be processed is separated from the heat processing board, A means provided separately from the temperature control means is used. Then, by using this means, the temperature of the heat treatment board when the preceding substrate to be processed is separated is controlled so as to be maintained, so that the substrate to be processed is not mounted on the heat treatment board more than necessary. As a result, overheating of the heat-treating board caused by supplying a large amount of heat to the heat-treating board is prevented, so that the temperature of the heat-treating board can be efficiently controlled.

In the heat treatment apparatus of the third aspect, after the preceding substrate to be processed is separated from the heat treatment board, the operation of the temperature control means is fixed until the subsequent substrate is mounted, A means provided separately from the temperature control means is used. Since the heating amount to the heat treatment board is controlled to be reduced by using this means, the heat treatment that occurs when an unnecessarily large amount of heat is supplied even though the substrate to be processed is not placed on the heat treatment board As a result of preventing overheating of the board, the temperature of the heat-treated board can be efficiently controlled.

In the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention, the operation of the temperature control means is fixed until a preceding substrate to be processed is placed after the preceding substrate to be processed is separated from the heat processing board, and A means provided separately from the temperature control means is used. Then, since the heat treatment board is cooled by using this means, overheating of the heat treatment board is likely to occur due to supply of an unnecessarily large amount of heat even though the substrate to be processed is not mounted on the heat treatment board. Even in such cases, such overheating is actually prevented before it occurs. As a result, the temperature of the heat treatment board can be efficiently controlled.

In the heat treatment apparatus of the fifth aspect, the operation of the temperature control means is fixed until the preceding substrate to be processed is placed after the preceding substrate to be processed is separated from the heat processing board, A means provided separately from the temperature control means is used. And since the said heat processing board is preheated using this means, even if a large amount of heat is taken off from the heat treatment board by the heat treatment of the preceding processed substrate and the temperature is rapidly lowered, this preheating is performed. As a result, a part of the heat quantity sufficient for performing the heat treatment of the subsequent substrate is supplied in advance. Therefore, a heat treatment failure of the substrate to be processed due to a shortage of heat is prevented beforehand, and the temperature of the heat treatment board can be efficiently controlled.

In the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention, the operation of the temperature control means is fixed until the preceding substrate to be processed is placed after the preceding substrate to be processed is separated from the heat processing board, and A means provided separately from the temperature control means is used. And since the said heat processing board is cooled using this means, even if the to-be-processed board | substrate which precedes and is separated from this heat processing board during the temperature rise of a heat processing board, a heat processing board may be overheated more than necessary. Is prevented. After the cooling, the heat-treating board is pre-heated, so that a sufficient amount of heat is applied in advance to heat-treat the subsequent substrate. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a heat treatment failure of the target substrate due to a shortage of heat. After all, even when the moving timing of the substrate to be processed and the timing of the temperature control of the heat treatment board deviate as a whole, there is a time when the temperature control of the heat treatment board is performed by appropriately performing the above-described cooling and preheating. Since the straightening is performed, the temperature of the heat treatment board can be efficiently controlled.

[0023]

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

FIG. 1 shows a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter, referred to as a COT) provided with a resist coating unit (COT) according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the entire coating and developing processing system 1 of “wafer”).

In the coating and developing system 1, a plurality of wafers W as objects to be processed are loaded into and unloaded from the system in units of, for example, 25 wafer cassettes CR. A cassette station 10 for loading and unloading, a processing station 11 in which various single-wafer processing units for performing predetermined processing on the wafers W one by one in a coating and developing process are arranged at predetermined positions in multiple stages, and An interface unit 12 for transferring a wafer W to and from an exposure apparatus (not shown) provided adjacent to the processing station 11 is integrally connected. In this cassette station 10,
At the position of the positioning projection 20a on the cassette mounting table 20,
A plurality of, 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 wafer carrier 21 that can move in the wafer arrangement direction (Z direction; vertical direction) of the wafers W stored in the wafer CR selectively accesses each wafer cassette CR.

The wafer transfer body 21 is rotatable in the θ direction, and is moved to the third position on the processing station 11 side as described later.
Access to the processing unit group G ₃ of the multi-stage unit section disposed in the alignment unit (ALIM) and an extension unit (EXT).

The processing station 11 is provided with a vertical transfer type main wafer transfer mechanism 22 having a wafer transfer device, around which all processing units are arranged in one or more sets in multiple stages. ing.

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

[0029] In the first processing unit group G _1, the cup C
Two spinner type processing units, for example, a resist coating unit (COT) and a developing unit (DEV), which perform a predetermined process by placing the wafer W on the spin chuck in the P, are stacked in two stages from the bottom. In the second processing unit group G _2, two spinner-type processing units, for example, the resist coating unit (COT) and a developing unit (D
EV) are stacked in two stages in order from the bottom. These resist coating units (COT) are preferably arranged in the lower stage as described above because drainage of the resist solution is troublesome both mechanically and in terms of maintenance. However, it is of course possible to appropriately arrange the upper stage as needed.

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the coating and developing system 1.

In the main wafer transfer mechanism 22, the cylindrical support 4
9, the wafer transfer device 46 is moved vertically (in the Z direction).
It can be moved up and down freely. 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 is provided with a plurality of holding members 48 movable in the front-rear direction of the transfer base 47, and these holding members 48 enable the transfer of the wafer W between the processing units. ing.

As shown in FIG. 1, the coating and developing system 1 has five processing unit groups G ₁ , G ₂ , G
₃ , G ₄ , G ₅ can be arranged, and the multi-stage units of the first and second processing unit groups G ₁ , G ₂ are arranged on the system front (front side in FIG. 1) side, and the third processing unit multistage unit group G ₃ are cassette station 10
, And the multi-stage unit of the _fourth processing unit group G ₄ is disposed adjacent to the interface unit 12,
Multistage unit of the fifth processing unit group G ₅ is capable of being disposed on the rear side.

As shown in FIG. 3, in the third processing unit group G ₃ , an oven-type processing unit for performing a predetermined process by placing the wafer W on a holding table (not shown), for example, a cooling system for performing a cooling process Unit (COL), adhesion unit (AD) for performing so-called hydrophobic treatment for improving the fixability of resist, alignment unit (ALIM) for positioning, extension unit (EXT), heat treatment before exposure processing Prebaking unit (PREBAKE) for performing the heating process and post baking unit (Post Exposure) for performing the heating process after the exposure process
Bake, hereinafter referred to as “PEB”).
It is piled up on the steps. Even the fourth processing unit group G _4,
Oven-type processing units such as a cooling unit (COL), an extension cooling unit (EXTCOL), and an extension unit (EX
T), a cooling unit (COL), a pre-baking unit (PREBAKE), and a post-baking unit (PEB) are stacked, for example, in eight stages from the bottom.

As described above, the cooling unit (COL) and the extension cooling unit (EXTCOL) each having a low processing temperature are arranged in the lower stage, and the prebaking unit (PREBAKE), the postbaking unit (PEB), and the heating unit each having a high processing temperature. By arranging the John 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.

As shown in FIG. 1, the interface unit 12
In the depth direction (X direction), the processing station 11
But has a smaller size in the width direction (Y direction). A portable pickup cassette CR and a stationary buffer cassette BR are arranged in two stages at the front of the interface unit 12, while a peripheral exposure device 23 is arranged at the rear, and a central exposure unit is further arranged at the center. Is provided with a wafer carrier 24. This wafer carrier 24
Moves in the X and Z directions to access both cassettes CR and BR and the peripheral exposure device 23.

The wafer transfer body 24 is also rotatable in the θ direction, and includes an extension unit (EXT) provided in the multi-stage unit of the fourth processing unit group G ₄ on the processing station 11 side and an adjacent exposure unit. The wafer delivery table (not shown) on the apparatus side can also be accessed.

In the coating and developing system 1, the multi-stage unit of the _fifth processing unit group G5 shown by a broken line in FIG. 1 can be arranged on the back side of the main wafer transfer mechanism 22 as described above. The multi-stage unit of the _fifth processing unit group G ₅ is movable in the Y direction along the guide rail 25.
Therefore, even when provided as a multi-stage unit of the fifth processing unit group G ₅ shown, by moving along the guide rail 25, the space portion can be secured, to the main wafer transfer mechanism 22 Maintenance work can be easily performed from behind.

Next, referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the baking unit (PREBA) included in the multistage units of the third and fourth sets G ₃ and G _{4 at} the processing station 11 will be described.
KE), (PEB), cooling unit (COL),
The configuration and operation of a heat treatment unit such as (EXTCOL) will be described.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are a plan view and a sectional view, respectively, showing the structure of the heat treatment unit according to this embodiment. In FIG. 5, the horizontal shielding plate 55 is omitted for illustration.

The processing chamber 50 of this heat treatment unit is formed by both side walls 53 and a horizontal shielding plate 55, and the front side (main wafer transfer mechanism 24 side) and the rear side of the processing chamber 50 become openings 50A and 50B, respectively. ing. A circular opening 56 is formed at the center of the shielding plate 55, and a disk-shaped heat treatment plate 58 is provided in the opening 56 as a mounting table.

The heat treatment board 58 is provided with, for example, three holes 60, and a support pin 62 is inserted in each hole 60 in a loosely fitted state, and each of the indication pins 62 is loaded when the semiconductor wafer W is loaded or unloaded. The wafer W is projected or raised above the surface of the heat treatment board 58 to transfer the wafer W to and from the holding member 48 of the main wafer transfer mechanism 22.

At the outer periphery of the heat treatment board 58, there is provided a shutter 66 made of a ring-shaped strip having a large number of ventilation holes 64 formed at intervals of 2 ° in the circumferential direction. The shutter 66 is normally retracted to a position below the heat treatment plate 58, but rises to a position higher than the upper surface of the heat treatment plate 58 during the heat treatment as shown in FIG.
A ring-shaped side wall is formed between the gas supply system and the cover body 68 so that an inert gas such as a downflow air or a nitrogen gas sent from a gas supply system (not shown) is caused to uniformly flow in the circumferential direction from the ventilation hole 64. Has become.

An exhaust port 6 for exhausting gas generated from the surface of the wafer W during the heating process is provided at the center of the cover 68.
8a is provided, and an exhaust pipe 70 is connected to the exhaust port 68a. The exhaust pipe 70 communicates with a duct 53 (or 54) on the front side of the apparatus (on the main wafer transfer mechanism 22 side) or a duct (not shown).

Below the shielding plate 55, a machine room 74 is formed by the shielding plate 55, both side walls 53 and the bottom plate 72.
8, a support pin arm 80, a shutter arm vertical drive cylinder 82, and a support pin arm vertical drive cylinder 84 are provided.

As shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of, for example, four wafer W guide support projections 86 are provided on the surface of the heat treatment board 58 on which the outer peripheral edge of the wafer W is to be placed. A plurality of small projections (not shown) are provided on the wafer W mounting portion on the upper surface of the heat treatment board 58, and the lower surface of the wafer W is mounted on the top of these small projections. Therefore, a minute gap is formed between the lower surface of the wafer W and the upper surface of the heat treatment plate 58, and the lower surface of the wafer W is prevented from directly contacting the upper surface of the heat treatment plate 58. It is not damaged or damaged.

As will be described later, a heater H formed of a nichrome wire or the like is built in the inside of the heat treatment panel 58, and the heat generated by applying a current to the heater H causes the heat treatment panel 58 to reach a predetermined temperature. It is supposed to be maintained.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a control system of the heat treatment unit according to the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 6, a heater H provided in the heat treatment board 58, a temperature sensor St for detecting the temperature of the heat treatment board 58, and a drive system of the main wafer transfer mechanism 22 for transferring the wafer W to the heat treatment unit. 110 and heat treatment board 58
A wafer sensor Sw for detecting whether or not the wafer W is mounted thereon is connected to the control unit 120, and is controlled by the control unit 120 as a whole.

Next, the operation when this heat treatment unit is used as a heat treatment unit such as a baking unit (PREBAKE) or a drying unit will be described below. First, the wafer W is taken out from the wafer cassette CR set on the mounting table 20 by the wafer carrier 21, and then the wafer W is transferred from the wafer carrier 21 to the main wafer transport mechanism 22.
Is transferred to the wafer W. The main wafer transfer mechanism 22 transfers and sets the received wafer W into a resist coating unit (COT), where the wafer W is coated with a resist. Next, the main wafer transfer mechanism 22 takes out the wafer W from the inside of the resist coating unit (COT) and transfers it to the inside of the heat treatment unit.
The wafer W is set on 8.

On the other hand, the power supply to the heater H in the heat treatment panel 58 is started at the same time as the power supply to the heat treatment unit is turned on.
After a predetermined time, the heat treatment board 58 is maintained at a predetermined temperature.

Next, how to control the temperature of the heat treatment panel 58 of this heat treatment unit will be described. FIG. 7 is a timing chart showing a state of control of the heat treatment board 58 according to the present embodiment.

Some time after the power of the heater H is turned on, the temperature of the heat treatment plate 58 is stabilized (time t _{0 to} t ₄ ). In this state, when the temperature of the heat processing table 58 detected by the temperature sensor St is T ₁ or less will be powered on the heater H (time _{t 0 ~t 1, t 2 ~t} 3), whereas the temperature T ₁ When the temperature becomes higher, the power of the heater H is turned off, and the temperature of the heat treatment panel 58 is maintained substantially constant.

When the wafer W is placed on the heat treatment plate 58 at the time t ₄ , the amount of heat is taken away by the wafer W, so that the temperature of the heat treatment plate 58 rapidly decreases (t ₄ to t _4).
5 ).

When the temperature of the heat treatment plate 58 falls below T ₁ , the power of the heater H is turned on.

[0055] At this time, the temperature of the heat processing table 58 so wafer W from the surface of the heat processing table 58 absorbs heat is in a state below corresponding to T _1, the left power of the heater H is turned on for a while The state is maintained.

On the other hand, at time t ₆ , the control unit 120 issues a signal to the drive system 110 of the main wafer transfer mechanism 22 to carry out the heat-treated wafer W from the heat treatment board 58.

At the same time, the temperature control performed before time t ₆ is temporarily stopped, and the power supply to the heater H is stopped. Even if the heating by the heater H is stopped at this time t ₆ , the temperature of the heat treatment panel 58 is supplied during the time t _{5 to} t ₆ and the temperature of the heat treatment panel 58 continues to rise with the accumulated heat, but the time t ₆ to t ₆
because it is not heated at t _7, the accumulation of heat is small.
For this reason, the temperature of the heat treatment plate 58 is no longer rises to the extent that slightly beyond the T _2, begin the descent. This becomes lowered at the time of starting to the time t _8, the subsequent wafer W is temperature T ₂
It is placed on a heat treatment plate 58 at a slightly lower temperature.
Heat treatment is performed at a temperature slightly lower than ₂ . Similarly,
During the subsequent heat treatment of the wafer W, the heat treatment plate 58 is heated only for the time period t _{9 to} t ₁₀ , and thereafter, the residual heat is applied to T _2.
More increased to slightly higher temperatures, further subsequent wafer W is placed when it is a temperature slightly lower than T ₂ by began to descend. Therefore, heat processing 58 does not lead to to a temperature significantly exceeding the temperature T ₂ be subjected to heat treatment continuously wafer W. Therefore, the wafer W placed on the heat treatment board 58 and subjected to the heat treatment is not exposed to a high temperature exceeding the temperature T ₂ .

The present invention is not limited to the contents of the above embodiment.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the control unit 12 is disposed between the time when the preceding wafer W is removed from the heat treatment board 58 and the time when the succeeding wafer W is not mounted.
0, and the power supply to the heater H is also turned off. However, the heat treatment panel 58 is cooled during the non-mounting of the wafer W, the amount of heat supplied from the heater is reduced, and conversely, the preheating is performed. Alternatively, preheating may be performed after cooling once. What kind of operation should be performed during the non-mounting of the wafer W may be appropriately selected in consideration of the heating capacity of the heater, the delay time until the amount of heat appears on the heat treatment board, the transfer speed of the wafer W, and the like. One or two or more of the above may be combined and appropriately selected.

Further, in the above embodiment, the coating and developing system 1 for the wafer W has been described as an example. However, it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to other processing apparatuses, for example, an LCD substrate processing apparatus. No.

[0061]

As described above in detail, according to the first aspect of the present invention, after the preceding substrate to be processed is separated from the heat-treating board, it is not necessary for the subsequent substrate to be mounted. Meanwhile, the operation of the temperature control means is fixed, and means provided separately from the temperature control means is used. Then, since the heating of the heat treatment plate is controlled to be stopped by using this means, the heat treatment plate is heated when an unnecessarily large amount of heat is supplied even though the substrate to be processed is not placed on the heat treatment plate. As a result of preventing overheating, the temperature of the heat treatment board can be efficiently controlled.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, after the preceding substrate to be processed is separated from the heat-treating board, the operation of the temperature control means is continued until the subsequent substrate is mounted. It is fixed, and means provided separately from this temperature control means is used. Then, by using this means, the temperature of the heat treatment board when the preceding substrate to be processed is separated is controlled so as to be maintained, so that the substrate to be processed is not mounted on the heat treatment board more than necessary. As a result, overheating of the heat-treating board caused by supplying a large amount of heat to the heat-treating board is prevented, so that the temperature of the heat-treating board can be efficiently controlled.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, after the preceding substrate to be processed is separated from the heat-treating board, the operation of the temperature control means is continued until the subsequent substrate is mounted. It is fixed, and means provided separately from this temperature control means is used. Since the heating amount to the heat treatment board is controlled to be reduced by using this means, the heat treatment that occurs when an unnecessarily large amount of heat is supplied even though the substrate to be processed is not placed on the heat treatment board As a result of preventing overheating of the board, the temperature of the heat-treated board can be efficiently controlled.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, after the preceding substrate to be processed is separated from the heat-treating board, the operation of the temperature control means is continued until the subsequent substrate is mounted. It is fixed, and means provided separately from this temperature control means is used. Then, since the heat treatment board is cooled by using this means, overheating of the heat treatment board is likely to occur due to supply of an unnecessarily large amount of heat even though the substrate to be processed is not mounted on the heat treatment board. Even in such cases, such overheating is actually prevented before it occurs. As a result, the temperature of the heat treatment board can be efficiently controlled.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, after the preceding substrate to be processed is separated from the heat-treating board, the operation of the temperature control means is continued until the subsequent substrate is mounted. It is fixed, and means provided separately from this temperature control means is used. And since the said heat processing board is preheated using this means, even if a large amount of heat is taken off from the heat treatment board by the heat treatment of the preceding processed substrate and the temperature is rapidly lowered, this preheating is performed. As a result, a part of the heat quantity sufficient for performing the heat treatment of the subsequent substrate is supplied in advance. Therefore, a heat treatment failure of the substrate to be processed due to a shortage of heat is prevented beforehand, and the temperature of the heat treatment board can be efficiently controlled.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, after the preceding substrate to be processed is separated from the heat-treating board, the operation of the temperature control means is continued until the subsequent substrate is mounted. It is fixed, and means provided separately from this temperature control means is used. And since the said heat processing board is cooled using this means, even if the to-be-processed board | substrate which precedes and is separated from this heat processing board during the temperature rise of a heat processing board, a heat processing board may be overheated more than necessary. Is prevented. After the cooling, the heat-treating board is pre-heated, so that a sufficient amount of heat is applied in advance to heat-treat the subsequent substrate. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a heat treatment failure of the target substrate due to a shortage of heat. After all, even when the moving timing of the substrate to be processed and the timing of the temperature control of the heat treatment board deviate as a whole, there is a time when the temperature control of the heat treatment board is performed by appropriately performing the above-described cooling and preheating. Since the straightening is performed, the temperature of the heat treatment board can be efficiently controlled.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a front view of the coating and developing system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the coating and developing processing system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a configuration of a heat treatment unit according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a heat treatment unit according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a control system of the heat treatment unit according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a timing chart showing an operation state of the heat treatment unit according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a vertical sectional view of a conventional heat treatment unit.

FIG. 9 is a timing chart showing an operation state of a conventional heat treatment unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 W Wafer 58 Heat treatment board H Heater St Temperature sensor Sw Wafer sensor 22 Main wafer transfer mechanism 110 Drive system 120 Control unit

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A heat treatment board on which a substrate to be processed is mounted, temperature control means for controlling the temperature of the heat treatment board to be constant, a means for sequentially transporting the substrate to be processed on the heat treatment board, and the heat treatment board After the preceding substrate to be processed is separated from
Means for fixing the operation of the temperature control means and stopping the heating of the heat treatment board until a subsequent substrate to be processed is mounted. 2. A heat treatment board on which a substrate to be processed is mounted, temperature control means for controlling the temperature of the heat treatment board to be constant, a means for sequentially transporting the substrate to be processed on the heat treatment board, and the heat treatment board After the preceding substrate to be processed is separated from
Means for fixing the operation of the temperature control means until a subsequent substrate to be mounted is mounted, and for maintaining the temperature of the heat treatment board when the preceding substrate to be processed is separated. A heat treatment apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. 3. A heat treatment board on which a substrate to be processed is mounted, temperature control means for controlling the temperature of the heat treatment board to be constant, means for sequentially transporting the substrate to be processed on the heat treatment board, and the heat treatment board After the preceding substrate to be processed is separated from
Means for fixing the operation of the temperature control means and reducing the amount of heat applied to the heat treatment board until a subsequent substrate to be processed is mounted. 4. A heat treatment board on which a substrate to be processed is mounted, temperature control means for controlling the temperature of the heat treatment board to be constant, means for sequentially transporting the substrate to be processed onto the heat treatment board, and the heat treatment board After the preceding substrate to be processed is separated from
Means for fixing the operation of the temperature control means and cooling the heat treatment board until a subsequent substrate to be processed is mounted. 5. A heat treatment board on which a substrate to be processed is mounted, temperature control means for controlling the temperature of the heat treatment board to be constant, means for sequentially transporting the substrate to be processed on the heat treatment board, and the heat treatment board After the preceding substrate to be processed is separated from
Means for fixing the operation of the temperature control means and preheating the heat treatment board until a subsequent substrate to be processed is mounted. 6. A heat treatment board on which a substrate to be processed is mounted, temperature control means for controlling the temperature of the heat treatment board to be constant, means for sequentially transporting the substrate to be processed onto the heat treatment board, and the heat treatment board After the preceding substrate to be processed is separated from
A heat treatment apparatus comprising: means for fixing the operation of the temperature control means until the subsequent substrate to be mounted, cooling the heat treatment board, and then preheating the heat treatment board.