JPH1124284A - Liquid treating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To quickly supply a large amt. of a treating liquid without adding high injection pressure of the treating liquid to a substrate by using a hollow casing at least a part of which consists of a porous film as a treating liquid supply part. SOLUTION: The easing 41 of a developer supply nozzle 38 is communicated with a developer supply tube 39. Therefore, a developer from a developer supply device is supplied to a hollow part of the casing 41 through the developer supply tube 39. When a wafer is mounted on a spin chuck, the developer supply nozzle 38 is moved to the specified position above the wafer. When the wafer is rotated at least a half round while the developer is supplied from the casing 41, the developer is applied on the wafer. Since the lower face of the casing 41 of the developer supply nozzle 38 consists of a porous film, the developer is injected through lots of developer injection ports. Therefore, the injection pressure of the developer can be decreased, and as a result, generation of microbubbles can be prevented.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a liquid processing apparatus for performing a predetermined process by supplying a liquid to a substrate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in the manufacture of semiconductor devices, a photolithography process for forming a resist pattern on a surface of a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter, referred to as a "wafer") or the like has been performed.

[0005] In the development processing step in the photolithography step, a development processing apparatus is conventionally used. This developing apparatus has a processing liquid supply unit such as a spin chuck for rotating the wafer and a developing liquid supply nozzle, and supplies the developing liquid from the developing liquid supply nozzle while rotating the wafer by the spin chuck. Liquid processing.

[0004] The developer supply nozzle has a substantially rod-like shape formed of a hard synthetic resin, and a plurality of developer outlets are formed in a row on a lower surface thereof. These developer discharge ports are provided over a length corresponding to the diameter of the wafer. When the wafer is subjected to the developing process, the developing solution is applied at least half way around the wafer so that the developer is evenly applied on the wafer, and then the rotation of the spin chuck is stopped and the wafer is allowed to stand still for a while. After that, the wafer is again rotated to shake off the developer,
For example, a cleaning liquid such as pure water is supplied to clean the wafer. In such a development processing step, rapid application of a developing solution is required in order to uniformly develop the wafer. Therefore, in a liquid processing apparatus using a conventional developer supply nozzle having a developer discharge port formed in a line, the developer discharge pressure is increased.

[0005]

However, when the developing solution discharge pressure is high, the surrounding air is entrained, and fine bubbles (hereinafter referred to as "micro bubbles") are generated in the developing solution to be supplied. I do. When the developing solution is applied to the wafer while such microbubbles are present in the developing solution, the portion is not subjected to a predetermined developing process. Also, if the developing solution discharge pressure is high, the impact given to the resist pattern increases, and the resist pattern may be scraped.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, it is necessary to form a large number of discharge ports in the nozzle and lower the discharge pressure of the developer by that amount. However, it is not easy to manufacture a developing apparatus satisfying such conditions. Absent.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides a large amount of processing liquid quickly without applying a high processing liquid discharge pressure to a substrate such as a wafer, thereby generating microbubbles or impact. It is an object of the present invention to provide a new liquid processing apparatus capable of alleviating the problem and to solve the above problems.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus having a processing liquid supply unit for discharging a processing liquid from above a substrate to the substrate, wherein the processing liquid supply unit is at least partially porous. It is characterized by being a hollow cylindrical body formed of a film. According to such a configuration, for example, it is easy to manufacture a processing liquid supply unit such as a developer supply nozzle, and a large amount of processing liquid can be supplied to a substrate such as a wafer due to the presence of a large number of holes formed by a porous film. Therefore, generation of microbubbles can be suppressed. Then, the shock can be alleviated to prevent, for example, the removal of the resist pattern.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the liquid processing apparatus according to the first aspect, a flow path through which a temperature adjusting fluid for adjusting the temperature of the processing liquid flows is provided in the cylinder of the processing liquid supply unit. It is characterized by being provided. According to such a configuration, for example, the structure of the processing liquid supply unit such as the developing liquid supply nozzle is simple, and the processing liquid immediately before discharge is easily supplied to the substrate such as a wafer at a desired temperature.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the liquid processing apparatus according to the first or second aspect, a degassing mechanism for removing gas molecules in the processing liquid is provided in a cylinder of the processing liquid supply unit. It is characterized by. According to such a configuration, the discharged processing liquid can be degassed immediately before.

The invention of claim 4 is the invention of claim 1, 2, or 3.
Wherein the upper surface of the cylindrical body is supported by a frame. According to this configuration, the processing liquid supply unit has the functions and effects of the first to third aspects, and can quickly move the processing liquid supply unit itself, and its structure is also strong.

[0012]

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

FIG. 1 is an overall view of a resist processing apparatus 1 having a developing processing apparatus as a liquid processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. At one end of the resist processing apparatus 1, a cassette station 2 is arranged. A cassette 3 for accommodating the wafer W can be placed on the cassette station 2. On the front side of the cassette 3 on the cassette station 2, a main transfer arm 4 for transferring and positioning the wafer W and a transfer mechanism 5 for transferring the wafer W to the main transfer arm 4 are provided. Various processing apparatuses for performing predetermined processing on the wafer W are arranged on both sides of the transfer path 6 of the main transfer arm 4.

That is, a brush scrubber 7 for cleaning the wafer W taken out of the cassette 3, a water washing device 8 for high pressure jet cleaning of the wafer W, and an adhesion device 9 for making the surface of the wafer W hydrophobic. ,
A cooling processing device 10 for cooling the wafer W to a predetermined temperature, resist coating devices 11 and 11 for coating a resist film on the surface of the rotating wafer W, heating the wafer W after resist application, and heating the exposed wafer W Heat treatment device 12,
Further, the developing devices 13 and 13 according to the present embodiment
Is arranged.

FIG. 2 shows a cross section of the developing device 13, and FIG. 3 shows the same when viewed from above. A drive motor 2 is provided at the center of the developing device 13.
0 is provided. A spin chuck 21 rotatable by the drive motor 20 and capable of moving up and down is provided above the drive motor 20.
The rotation speed of the spin chuck 21 can be freely changed, and the wafer W is horizontally held on the upper surface of the spin chuck 21 by suction.

Around the spin chuck 21, an annular cup 22 made of resin or metal is provided outside the spin chuck 21 so as to surround the spin chuck 21 so as to prevent scattering of a developing solution or a cleaning solution. Have been. The cup 22 is provided with a slope on the inside so as to become narrower toward the upper part. Opening 23 of cup 22
The diameter of the wafer W is set as follows.
It is set to a size that can be stored even if it is lowered inside.

The bottom surface 24 of the cup 22 is provided with a slight inclination, and a drainage pipe 25 is connected to the bottom of the bottom surface 24. An exhaust pipe 26 provided to exhaust the atmosphere in the cup 22 is connected to the opposite side of the drain pipe 25 across the spin chuck 21. An annular wall 27 having a diameter smaller than that of the wafer W is provided on the bottom surface 24 of the cup 22. This annular wall 2
At the upper end of 7, a rectifying plate 28 which is close to the back surface of the wafer W sucked and held by the spin chuck 21 is provided.
The periphery of the current plate 28 is configured to be inclined downward toward the outside. Further, cleaning water jet nozzles 29 for cleaning the back surface of the wafer W are provided outside the spin chuck 21 on the back surface side of the wafer W. These cleaning water injection nozzles 29 are connected to a cleaning water source 31 via cleaning water supply pipes 30, 30. The control unit 32 controls the cleaning water source 31, the drive motor 20, and a cleaning liquid supply device 35 and a developer supply device 40, which will be described later.

On the other hand, a cleaning liquid supply nozzle 33 is disposed on the upper side of the cup 22 and is connected to a cleaning liquid supply device 35 via a cleaning liquid supply pipe 34.

As shown in FIG. 3, the cleaning liquid supply nozzle 33 is provided with a transport rail 36 provided in the developing device 13.
The cleaning liquid supply nozzle 33 gripped by the upper gripping arm 37 can be reciprocated in the direction shown by the reciprocating arrow in FIG.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a developer supply nozzle 38 is provided on the opposite side of the cleaning liquid supply nozzle 33 with the spin chuck 21 interposed therebetween, and developer supply pipes 39 and 39 are provided. Is connected to the developing solution supply device 40 via the. The developer supply nozzle 38 is also gripped by the gripping arm 37 described above. Accordingly, similarly to the cleaning liquid supply nozzle 33, the developer supply nozzle 38 can also reciprocate with respect to the wafer W in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG.

Next, the developer supply nozzle 38 will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 4, the developer supply nozzle 38 includes a frame part 40 and a hollow cylindrical part 41. The lower surface of the cylindrical body 41 is formed of a porous film, and has a large number of developing solution discharge ports 41a for discharging the developing solution onto the wafer W.

FIG. 5 shows a cross section of the developing solution supply nozzle 38, and a developing solution supply pipe 39 communicates with the cylindrical portion 41 of the developing solution supply nozzle 38. With this configuration, the developing solution from the developing solution supply device 40 is supplied to the hollow portion of the cylindrical body 41 via the developing solution supply pipes 39, 39. A temperature control pipe 43 is disposed in the cylindrical body 41, and a temperature control fluid circulating in the temperature control pipe 43, for example, water set to a predetermined temperature flows and circulates. The developer can be adjusted to a desired temperature.

The developing device 13 according to the present embodiment
Is formed as described above. Next, the operation and effect will be described. First, the wafer W is placed in the spin chuck 2
1, the developer supply nozzle 38 is connected to the wafer W
Move to the upper predetermined position. And the cylindrical body 41
While supplying the developing solution from the wafer W, as shown in FIG.
Is rotated at least half a turn, the developer is applied onto the wafer W.

At this time, the cylindrical portion 4 of the developer supply nozzle 38
Since the lower surface of 1 is formed of a porous film, the developing solution is discharged onto the wafer W from a number of developing solution discharge ports 41a as shown in FIG. Therefore, a larger amount of developing solution can be supplied than before, so that the developing solution discharge pressure can be kept lower than before. As a result, entrainment of the surrounding air can be suppressed, and generation of microbubbles can be prevented. In addition, since the developing solution discharge pressure is low, the impact on the resist pattern on the wafer W can be reduced, and the resist pattern can be prevented from being scraped.

Further, since the lower surface of the cylindrical portion 41 is formed of a porous film, it is easy to manufacture the developing solution supply nozzle 38 having such a large number of developing solution discharge ports 41a. In addition, since the temperature control pipe 43 is provided in the cylindrical portion 41, the temperature of the developer immediately before the discharge can be controlled.

Since the cylindrical portion 41 for supplying the developing solution to the wafer W is supported by the frame portion 40, the developing solution supply nozzle 38 can follow the quick operation of the gripping arm 37 and ， Strengthen the structure. Therefore, more efficient development processing can be performed.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above by way of examples, the present invention is not limited to these examples, but can take various forms. That is, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the temperature control pipe 43 is provided in the cylindrical portion 41 has been described. However, in the cylindrical portion 41, a deaeration module 50 as a deaeration mechanism described later may be provided. . The developing device 55 provided with the deaeration module 50 will be described below. In the following description, components having substantially the same functions and configurations as those described above will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the degassing module 50 is connected via a connection pipe 51 to a vacuuming mechanism (not shown) provided outside the developing device 55. The degassing module 50 is made of a material that allows only gas molecules to pass therethrough and prevents liquid molecules from entering. According to the degassing module 50, by operating the vacuuming mechanism, gas molecules existing in the cylindrical body portion 41 can be removed immediately before the discharge of the developer. Therefore, no bubbles are present in the developer discharged from the developer discharge port 41a, and in combination with the above-described decrease in the developer discharge pressure,
A uniform development process without development unevenness can be performed on the wafer W.

In the above embodiment, the substrate is the wafer W, but the present invention can be applied to an LCD substrate. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the processing liquid supply unit is embodied as the developer supply nozzle 38 for supplying the developing liquid. However, it is needless to say that the processing liquid supply unit for supplying various processing liquids can be applied. Further, the developing apparatus 57 may be configured to include a plurality of other processing liquid supply units, for example, four developing liquid supply units.

FIG. 10 shows a plan view of a developing apparatus 57 according to another embodiment having such four developing solution supply nozzles 38. In the developing device 57, transport rails 36 are provided opposite to each other in the longitudinal direction of the developing device 57 with the wafer W interposed therebetween. On the transport rails 36, 36, the developer supply nozzle 3 is provided.
A suspension frame 60 for suspending and supporting the slide rails 8 is configured to be slidable on the transport rails 36, 36.

Therefore, an appropriate drive mechanism (not shown)
As a result, the suspension frame 60 moves, so that the developer supply nozzle 3 supported by the suspension frame 60 is moved.
8 also freely moves in the direction shown by the reciprocating arrow in the drawing in the developing device 57, and the four developer supply nozzles 38 can scan the wafer W. Therefore, the developer can be supplied to the entire surface of the wafer W during this scanning.

On one side of the developing device 57, a storage container 62 capable of storing four developer supply nozzles 38 in parallel is provided. The inside of the storage container 62 is always filled with an atmosphere of a solvent of the developing solution in order to prevent the developing solution discharge port 41 a of the cylindrical portion 41 of the developing solution supply nozzle 38 from drying.

The developing device 57 is constructed as described above. According to the developing device 57, the developer supply nozzle 38 is connected to the wafer W through the suspension frame 60.
While moving upward, the developer supply nozzles 38 can supply the developer to the wafer W from the developer discharge port on the lower surface of the cylindrical body portion 41 while scanning the upper side of the wafer W with a large interval therebetween. Thus, the developer can be applied onto the wafer W without rotating the wafer W.

Since the four developing solution supply nozzles 38 apply the developing solution to the wafer W while widening the interval therebetween, the developing solution can be quickly supplied to the wafer W. After the supply of the predetermined developing solution to the wafer W is completed, each of the developing solution supply nozzles 38 is stored in the storage container 62 in parallel via the hanging frame 60. At this time, as shown in FIG. 11, the four developer supply nozzles 38 can be accommodated in the accommodating container 62 with a narrow interval therebetween. Therefore, despite the presence of the four developer supply nozzles 38, the developer can be stored without taking up space for storage.

[0035]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is easy to manufacture the processing liquid supply section, and because of the presence of a large number of holes, even if the discharge pressure of the developing liquid is set lower than in the past, a large amount of the processing liquid can be produced. A processing liquid can be supplied. Therefore, the generation of microbubbles can be prevented by setting the discharge pressure of the processing liquid low, and the impact on the substrate can be reduced as compared with the related art. According to the second aspect of the present invention, the flow path through which the temperature adjusting fluid flows can be provided in the cylinder of the processing liquid supply unit with a simple structure.
The processing liquid adjusted to a desired temperature can be supplied to the wafer. According to the third aspect of the present invention, the gas molecules present in the processing liquid immediately before discharge can be degassed and removed by the degassing mechanism provided in the cylinder of the processing liquid supply unit. Therefore, the yield can be improved.
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the upper surface of the processing liquid supply section is supported by the frame, it is possible to quickly move the gripping arm, for example, when gripping and moving the processing liquid supply section with the gripping arm. The processing liquid supply unit can follow, and the structure is also strong.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a resist processing apparatus having a developing processing apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the developing device according to the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the developing apparatus of FIG. 2 as viewed from above.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a developer supply nozzle in the developing apparatus of FIG. 2 as viewed from below.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the developer supply nozzle of FIG.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a state in which a developing solution is applied to a wafer by the developing solution supply nozzle of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a developing solution is discharged from a developing solution supply nozzle in FIG. 4;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a developer supply nozzle in a developing apparatus according to another embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a plan view of a developing apparatus having the developing solution supply nozzle of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a plan view illustrating a state in which a developing solution is applied by a developing apparatus according to another embodiment.

11 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a developer supply nozzle is accommodated in the development processing apparatus of FIG. 11;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Resist processing apparatus 13 Developing apparatus 22 Cup 38 Developing solution supply nozzle 39 Developing solution supply pipe 40 Frame part 41 Cylindrical part 43 Temperature control piping W Wafer

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An apparatus provided with a processing liquid supply unit for discharging a processing liquid from above a substrate to the substrate, wherein the processing liquid supply unit is a hollow cylinder at least partially formed of a porous film. A liquid processing apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. 2. The liquid processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a flow path through which a temperature adjusting fluid for adjusting the temperature of the processing liquid flows is provided in the cylinder. 3. The liquid processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a degassing mechanism for removing gas molecules in the processing liquid is provided in the cylinder. 4. The liquid processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the upper surface of the cylindrical body is supported by a frame.