JPH11288868A - Resist developing apparatus and method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize a resist developing apparatus which is used in a photolithographic technique developing process, wherein in-surface development uniformity is ensured at all times. SOLUTION: A resist developing device is equipped with a fixing structure 2 which fixes a substrate 1 possessed of an exposed resist layer, a magnetic field generating means 9 which generates a magnetic field is provided to the fixing structure 2, a magnetic field is generated to be applied onto the substrate 1 when the substrate 1 is developed, whereby ions contained in a developing solution 3 applied on the primary surface of the substrate 1 are so controlled and moved to make the substrate 1 uniform in development reaction speed through its primary surface. A magnetic field or an electric field is applied to a developing solution applied to the substrate, when the substrate is subjected to a development process, as it is, fixed to a chuck, whereby ions contained in a developing solution are accelerated, so that developing times can be shortened.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a developing device mainly used for paddle developing when a semiconductor element is manufactured by photolithography using a large-sized substrate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a liquid crystal display device in which a thin film transistor (hereinafter abbreviated as TFT) array using amorphous silicon (hereinafter abbreviated as a-Si) and a liquid crystal are combined has been commercialized as a flat panel display. I have.

Here, there is a tendency that the TFT array is made into a large-sized substrate, and a multi-panel such as a four-panel or six-panel panel is used to improve the investment efficiency and increase the number of products to be produced. Despite the growing demand for photolithography technology,
At present, the warpage and expansion / contraction of the glass cannot be controlled, and depend on the magnification correction of the exposure machine.

[0004] First, a photolithography step in a current TFT array manufacturing process will be described.

[0005] First, there is a pre-coating cleaning step of cleaning the main surface of the glass substrate with pure water, followed by a dehydration bake step of removing moisture immediately after the cleaning, and then, a close contact between the resist and the main surface of the substrate. There is an adhesion process for improving the performance.

[0006] Next, there is a resist coating step of applying a resist by spin coating to a specified film thickness and then performing an edge remover for removing the resist attached to portions other than the main surface of the substrate.

[0007] Thereafter, there is a pre-bake step of soft-baking the applied resist, followed by an exposure step of performing exposure using a mask.

[0008] These processes are continuously performed at once because dust enters in the middle of each of the above-mentioned processes, causing a pattern abnormality.

Next, the process proceeds to a developing step of developing the resist (this step will be described later in detail), and after performing development, finally, post-baking is performed to solidify the resist shape patterned in the developing step. .

In the above-mentioned development step, development by wet etching of a positive resist, which is currently the mainstream, in particular, development is performed by applying a developer on a semiconductor wafer by utilizing the surface tension of the developer. Next, the so-called stationary paddle spin development will be described.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a conventional resist developing apparatus for performing a stationary paddle spin development in the order of processing steps.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a substrate with an exposed resist, 2 denotes a chuck as a fixing mechanism for fixing the substrate 1, 3 denotes a developing solution, 4 denotes a nozzle for ejecting the developing solution 3, 5
Is a nozzle for jetting pure water.

The chuck 2 has a casing 8 made of an Al material whose surface is anodized. The casing 8 has a hollow disk-shaped substrate fixing portion 8a.
And a cylindrical shaft portion 8b are integrally formed, a small hole 8c for sucking a substrate is formed on the upper surface of the substrate fixing portion 2, and a rotating drive system and a vacuum exhaust system (not shown) are formed in the shaft portion 8b. Are connected. Then, the substrate 1 is moved to the substrate fixing portion 8a.
The substrate 1 is suction-fixed to the chuck 2 by evacuating the inside of the casing 8 when mounted on the chuck 8, and the chuck 2 is rotated together with the substrate 1 as necessary.

The development process is roughly divided into three steps: a development step shown in FIG. 3A, a rinsing step shown in FIG. 3B, and a drying step shown in FIG.

In the developing step shown in FIG. 1A, the substrate 1 is fixed by the chuck 2 so that the main surface of the substrate 1 is horizontal, and the TMAH
The developing solution 3 having a concentration of 2.38% is dripped while moving the nozzle 4 so that the developing solution 3 is uniformly applied from the nozzle 4 to the entire substrate 1 at a height of 1.5 mm. After that, it is kept stationary for about 120 seconds until the exposed portion is developed.

In the rinsing step shown in FIG.
The chuck 2 is rotated at a speed of about 150 rpm while the developer is fixed to the chuck 2 to remove the accumulated developer 3.

Next, with the check 2 rotated, pure water is sprayed from the nozzle 5 onto the main surface of the substrate 1 in a shower shape to stop the development reaction of the resist.

In the drying step shown in FIG.
Then, the rotation of the chuck 2 is increased to about 1500 rpm, and the moisture on the substrate 1 is removed by centrifugal force.

[0019]

In the conventional paddle development, if the size of the substrate 1 is 470 mm × 370 mm or less,
The variation in processing accuracy is small, and can be suppressed to a range of variation of 0.5 μm or less.

However, in the conventional paddle development, the development speed is determined only by the reaction at the interface between the developer and the resist, the heat circulation by the reaction, and the diffusing power of the reactant. If the size is larger than 470 mm × 370 mm, unevenness of the developing solution is apt to occur, and the accuracy of variation cannot be suppressed below 0.5 μm, and the accuracy of variation increases.

For example, a 13.1 inch XGA (extend
In order to produce an ed video graphics array), it is necessary to use a substrate with a size of 370 x 470 mm or more, but if the uniformity of XGA line width is not about 0.5 μm, Although it will appear as display unevenness, in the prior art, development variation occurs, resulting in a variation in the range of about 1.2 μm, which is not suitable for practical use.

Therefore, in order to maintain the in-plane uniformity of a substrate having a large size of 370 × 470 mm or more, in the prior art, development is performed twice, or TMAH
This is done by changing the density, but this has a problem in terms of productivity, such as an increase in man-hours and an increase in cost.

[0023]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A resist developing apparatus and a manufacturing method according to the present invention generate a magnetic field or an electric field on a substrate during development. This promotes the movement of ions in the developing solution on the main surface of the substrate by a magnetic field or an electric field, so that the reaction between the resist and the developing solution becomes more active, and the entire surface of the main surface of the substrate becomes active. The reaction rate can be controlled.

With this function, even if the glass substrate becomes large, there is no need to change the production tact of the developing device.
Further, the uniformity of the resist line width patterned on the main surface of the resist substrate can be reduced to a processing accuracy range of 0.5 μm or less without incurring a cost increase such as changing the TMAH concentration of the developing solution twice. Can be suppressed.

[0025]

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a resist developing apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention in the order of processing steps, and a portion corresponding to the prior art shown in FIG. The same reference numerals are given.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a substrate with an exposed resist, 2 denotes a mechanism for fixing the substrate 1 (hereinafter referred to as a chuck), 3 denotes a developing solution, 4 denotes a nozzle for ejecting a developing solution 3, and 5 denotes a nozzle. A nozzle that jets pure water. Each of the nozzles 4 and 5 has such a size as to cross the front and rear width of the substrate 1.

The first embodiment is characterized by the structure of the chuck 2 described above. That is, the chuck 2 has a casing 8 in which a hollow disk-shaped substrate fixing portion 8a and a cylindrical shaft portion 8b are integrally formed, and a disk-shaped permanent magnet 9 is disposed inside the casing 8. ing. In addition, an electromagnet can be used instead of the permanent magnet 9 of this example.

The casing 8 is made of a material which does not block a magnetic field.
(For example, ceramics)
A small hole 8c for sucking a substrate is formed on the upper surface of the substrate, and a rotary drive system and a vacuum exhaust system (not shown) are connected to the shaft portion 8b. Then, when the substrate 1 is placed on the substrate fixing portion 8a, the inside of the casing 8 is evacuated so that the substrate 1 is suction-fixed to the chuck 2, and the chuck 2 is rotated together with the substrate 1 if necessary. It is supposed to be.

A drive shaft 10 is fixed to the permanent magnet 9, and a rotary drive system separate from the casing 8 is connected to the drive shaft 10 so that the permanent magnet 9 is independent of the casing 8. It can rotate.

Next, a developing process using the resist developing device will be described.

The developing process is roughly divided into a developing process shown in FIG. 1A, a rinsing process shown in FIG. 1B, and a drying process shown in FIG.

In the developing step shown in FIG. 1A, the main surface of the resist substrate 1 is fixed by the chuck 2 so that
The developer 3 having the MAH concentration of 2.38% is dripped while moving the nozzle 4 so as to uniformly spread from the nozzle 4 over the entire substrate 1 at a height of 1.5 mm.

After that, while the casing 8 is stopped without moving, only the permanent magnet 9 inside the casing 8 is alternately switched between right rotation and left rotation in a time sharing manner. However, the casing 8 is kept stopped, and remains stationary for about 120 seconds until the exposed portion of the substrate 1 is developed.

At the time of the development, a magnetic field is generated on the substrate 1 by the permanent magnet 9 as shown by a broken line in FIG.
In addition, since the permanent magnet 9 is rotated left and right, the magnetic field changes and ions in the developing solution 3 on the main surface of the substrate 1 are forcibly moved. For this reason, the reaction between the resist and TMAH is promoted, and the reaction becomes more active, so that the reaction speed can be controlled over the entire main surface of the substrate 1. In particular, since the amount of the developer 3 to be applied to the outer edge portion is somewhat smaller than the central portion of the substrate 2, the acceleration of the reaction tends to be slow in the related art. Is larger than that in the central portion, so that the reaction is easily promoted, and as a result, uniform development is performed on the entire surface of the substrate 1.

In the rinsing step of FIG. 1B, the rotation of the permanent magnet 9 is stopped, the nozzle 4 is retracted from the upper surface of the main surface of the substrate 1, and then the chuck 2 is fixed while the substrate 1 is fixed to the chuck 2. Is rotated at a speed of about 150 rpm to remove the accumulated developing solution 3, and subsequently, the pure water is sprayed from the nozzle 5 onto the main surface of the substrate 1 in a shower shape to wash the resist, thereby stopping the resist developing reaction. .

In the drying step shown in FIG. 1C, spraying of pure water from the nozzle 5 is stopped, and rotation of the chuck 2 is set to 1500.
At a high speed of about rpm, the moisture of the substrate 1 is removed by centrifugal force.

As described above, in the first embodiment, FIG.
As shown in (a), while the substrate 1 during development is fixed to the chuck 2, a magnetic field is generated to move ions in the developing solution 3 on the main surface of the substrate 1. The reaction between the substrate 1 and TMAH becomes more active, and the reaction rate can be controlled over the entire main surface of the substrate 1.

Therefore, even if the size of the substrate 1 is increased, or if the resist film is formed thick on a large substrate, or if the ratio of the unexposed portion is increased by design, the production time of the developing device is reduced. Processing accuracy with resist line width uniformity patterned on the main surface of the substrate 1 of 0.5 μm or less without changing the pattern and increasing the cost such as twice development or changing the TMAH concentration of the developing solution. In the range of variation. In the first embodiment, the magnetic field is generated from the bottom surface side of the substrate 1. However, for example, a permanent magnet is arranged above the substrate 1, and the magnetic field is generated from the upper surface of the developer on the main surface of the substrate 1. A similar effect can be obtained by generating a magnetic field.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a resist developing apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention in the order of steps.

In the second embodiment, the mechanical structure of the chuck 2 is the same as that of the prior art shown in FIG. 3, but the casing 8 of the chuck 2 is electrically grounded while the substrate 1 Is provided with an electrode terminal 7 which comes into contact with the developing solution 3 which is ejected from the nozzle 4 and is applied to the substrate 1 without contacting the electrode terminal 7. The electrode terminal 7 has a voltage of 100 V or less and a current value of 0.1 mA. A DC power supply 12 capable of flowing the following electric field is connected, and is connected to a drive system (not shown) so as to be movable in the horizontal direction along the surface of the substrate 1. In addition, the electrode terminal 7 is also formed in a plate shape having a dimension that crosses the front-rear width of the substrate 1.

Next, a developing process using the resist developing device will be described.

As in the first embodiment, the development process is roughly divided into three steps, a development step shown in FIG. 2A, a rinsing step shown in FIG. 2B, and a drying step shown in FIG. Split.

In the developing step shown in FIG.
A whose surface is anodized so that its main surface is horizontal
l Fix with material chuck 2 and TMAH concentration 2.38
% Of the developing solution 3 from the nozzle 4 to the entire resist substrate 1.
The developer 3 is dripped while moving the nozzle 4 so as to be evenly distributed at a height of 5 mm.

After that, the electrode terminal 7 is moved so as to be in contact with the developing solution 3 mounted on the resist substrate 1, and then a voltage is applied by the DC power supply 12. In this case, if a voltage higher than necessary is applied to the developer 3, electrolysis occurs, so the voltage is usually set in the range of 1 to 20 V, although it differs depending on the material of the developer 3. Then, the chuck 2 is kept stationary for about 120 seconds until the image is developed.

At the time of this development, the developing solution 3
Is applied, a voltage is applied to the developing solution 3 on the main surface of the substrate 1 and the ions are forcibly moved, so that the reaction between the resist and TMAH is promoted and the reaction becomes more active. Thus, the reaction speed can be controlled over the entire main surface of the substrate 1.

In the rinsing step of FIG. 2B, first, the voltage applied to the electrode terminals 7 is turned off, and the electrode terminals 7 are connected to the substrate 1.
The nozzle 4 is also retracted from the upper surface of the main surface of the substrate 1 while being retracted from the upper surface position of the main surface.

Then, while the substrate 1 is fixed to the chuck 2, the chuck is rotated at a speed of about 150 rpm to remove the accumulated developer 3.

Next, pure water is sprayed from the nozzle 5 onto the main surface of the substrate 1 in a shower form to wash the resist, thereby stopping the resist development reaction.

In the drying step shown in FIG. 2C, after the spray of pure water from the nozzle 5 is stopped, the rotation of the chuck 2 is accelerated to remove the moisture of the substrate 1 by centrifugal force.

In the first embodiment, the check 2 ′ has a double structure, and a magnetic field is applied to move the ions in the developer. However, the resist substrate 1 can be stopped even if the chuck 2 ′ does not have a double structure. In this state, a magnetic field may be applied from the upper part to the lower part of the main surface of the resist substrate 1.

In the first and second embodiments, the TMAH concentration is set to 2.38% and the developing time is set to 120 seconds in the developing step. However, the present invention is not limited to this.
If the MAH concentration is 2% or more, the same effect of the present invention can be obtained. It goes without saying that the development time also varies depending on the process. Further, the rotation speed in the rinsing step is set to 150 rpm. However, the rotational speed is not limited to this value as long as the developing solution 3 can be removed and pure water can be replaced with the developing solution 3 on the substrate 1. Further, the rotation speed in the drying step is set to 1500 rpm, but the rotation speed is not limited to this value as long as pure water can be removed and the substrate 1 can be dried.

[0052]

According to the present invention, the movement of ions in the developing solution is promoted by generating a magnetic field or an electric field with respect to the developing solution on the substrate while the substrate during development is fixed to the chuck. The development time can be shortened.
For this reason, even when the size of the substrate is large, the area of the unexposed portion or the difference in the resist film thickness, uniform development over the entire surface of the substrate is performed without changing the production tact and directly increasing the material cost. Can be performed.

Therefore, it has become possible to carry out development processing with high accuracy in which the uniformity of the resist line width patterned on the main surface of the substrate is 0.5 μm or less.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a resist developing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention in the order of developing steps.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a resist developing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention in the order of development steps;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional resist developing apparatus in the order of developing steps.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Resist substrate, 2 ... Chuck, 3 ... Developer, 4 ... Nozzle for jetting developer, 5 ... Nozzle for jetting pure water, 7 ... Electrode terminal, 8 ... Casing, 9 ... Permanent magnet.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A resist developing apparatus used in a developing process of a photolithography technique, comprising a fixing mechanism for fixing a substrate having an exposed resist, and a magnetic field generating means for generating a magnetic field in the fixing mechanism. A resist developing device, comprising: 2. The resist developing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the fixing mechanism has a double structure, and a permanent magnet or an electromagnet is disposed in a case that rotates while fixing the substrate. Resist developing device. 3. A resist developing apparatus used in a developing step of a photolithography technique, characterized by comprising means for generating an electric field with respect to a developing solution applied to a substrate having an exposed resist. Resist developing device. 4. When there is an exposed resist on the main surface of the substrate, the substrate is fixed to a chuck with the main surface facing upward, and after a developer is poured on the main surface, a magnetic field or an electric field is applied. A resist developing method characterized by generating and developing.