JPS6119131A - Resist processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To avoid any uneven temperature decline on a substrate to be processed in transit by a method wherein at least two processors among a series of resist processors are made movable from the substrate to be processed. CONSTITUTION:A substrate 3 to be processed which is coated with resist and delivered within a cassette is taken out one by one and forwarded to the position of a specimen stage mechanism 1 to be placed on a rotary specimen stage 2. Next a heater 5 is shifted to the position of mechanism 1 to make a heating housing 15 engage with a housing 8 for heating the substrate 3 by the heater 5. Later the heater 5 is shifted from the mechanism 1 and a refrigerator 6 is advanced to the position of mechanism 1 to make a cooling housing 17 of refrigerator 6 engage with the housing 8 so that refrigerant may be jetted from multiple nozzles 21 to the substrate 3 for rapidly cooling the substrate 3. After finishing the refrigeration, a shutter 22 is closed to block the nozzles 21. When the heating and cooling operations are finished through these procedures, the refrigerator may be shifted.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical field to which the invention pertains] The present invention relates to a resist processing apparatus, and in particular to resist processing for improving resist sensitivity and realizing a resist pattern with uniformity and good dimensional accuracy. Regarding equipment.

[Technical background of the invention and its problems]

Along with the progress of semiconductor technology, including super LSI,
As semiconductor devices have become more highly integrated, a highly accurate micro I4 turn formation technique is required.

On the other hand, in order to use this type of turn forming technology on a mass production line, high speed is required, and various efforts have been made to make the resist more sensitive.

By the way, fine aJ using resist (photoresist, IB resist, X-ray resist, etc.)? The formation of turns is usually done through a resist coating process in which a resist is applied onto a substrate to be processed, a pre-pake process in which the substrate is heated (baked) before development in order to remove the solvent from the applied resist film, and this process. An exposure step for selectively exposing the resist film formed in this manner, a development-rinsing (fixing) step, a scum removal step for removing the residue of the formed resist pattern, and an etching step for etching using the resist pattern as a mask. This is done through steps such as
The present inventors focused on the relationship between the cooling rate of the resist after baking and the sensitivity of the resist, and as a result of repeated research, discovered the following fact. - While the sensitivity of resists that are slowly cooled over time according to conventional gross processing is low,
The sensitivity of the resist increases dramatically. - Based on this fact, we have proposed a method for increasing resist sensitivity by rapidly cooling after pre-baking (heating before development). (Special application 58-587
7) Furthermore, as a result of extensive experiments and research, the present inventors found that
Even with resists that have been subjected to conventional pre-baking and natural cooling, after exposure and before development processing, heat treatment (I-st bake) at a temperature exceeding the glass transition point 'rg of the resist is performed, followed by rapid cooling, resulting in a significant increase in sensitivity. We also found that this occurs. (Tokugansho) Normally, the series of resist processing as described above is
Each step is carried out by transporting the substrate to be processed to each device.

That is, these resist processing devices are, for example, an example of a heating device (open) and a cooling device for resist processing based on the above-mentioned method of increasing the sensitivity of the resist by rapidly cooling it after baking. As shown in the figure. Now, after applying the resist, the substrate 102 to be processed that has been stored in the cassette 101 and transported is placed in the cassette y.
The sheets are taken out one by one from l' 101 and conveyed to the opening 104 through the first four-way control village A 103.

A baking heater 105 is disposed inside the open 104, and the substrate 10.2 to be processed, which has been conveyed by the first belt conveyor 103, is transferred to a second substrate running at a low speed below the heater 105. It is placed on a belt conveyor 106, made to run inside the open 104, and heated at a predetermined temperature for a predetermined time.

The substrate 1 to be processed after the Gribake process has been completed in this way
02 is transferred to the third belt conveyor 107 and carried into the cooling device 108. The cooling device 108 is a cooling chamber 109
The substrate to be processed, which has been carried in by the third belt conveyor 107, is transferred to the fourth belt conveyor 111 which runs at a low speed.
It was then moved to a cooling room and made to run inside a cooling room. During this time, a refrigerant 113 is ejected from a liquid refrigerant chamber 112 provided above the cooling chamber 109 onto the substrate to be processed 102 through a multi-hole nozzle 115 provided in the partition wall 114, rapidly moving the substrate to be processed. Cooling.

After that, the substrate to be processed 102 is transferred to the fifth belt conveyor 11.
6, the sample is transferred to the rotating sample stage 110 and dried by rotation.

Then, they are transferred to a sixth belt conveyor 118 by a vacuum chuck 117, transported to a cassette 119, and sequentially stored in the cassette 119.

In such processing equipment, from the heating device to the cooling device,
The substrate to be processed must be transported, and before rapid cooling is performed, it is difficult to avoid uneven temperature changes on the substrate due to heat dissipation during transportation and heat conduction via the belt conveyor. However, there was a problem in that it was difficult to achieve rapid cooling.

In addition, in conventional resist processing equipment, the substrate to be processed must be sequentially transported to each processing equipment in the resist coating process, exposure process, scum removal process, development process, etc. Mechanism and transport time are obstacles in the resist processing process.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and aims to improve the sensitivity of a resist and shorten the time required to form a resist pattern.

[Summary of the invention]

In order to achieve the above object, the resist processing apparatus of the present invention includes a series of resist processing apparatuses such as a resist coating apparatus, a heating apparatus, a rapid cooling apparatus, an exposure apparatus, a developing apparatus, a scum removal apparatus, an etching apparatus, and a resist stripping apparatus. At least two or more of the devices are movable with respect to the substrate to be processed, and are configured so that at least two or more processes can be performed without transporting the substrate to be processed between devices. There is.

In addition, there is also a Renost processing system in which the heating device and rapid cooling device can be moved to the position of the substrate to be processed, allowing a rapid transition from the heating process to the rapid cooling process without having to transport the substrate to be processed between sub-devices. It is valid.

〔Effect of the invention〕

With this configuration, in the present invention, the time required to transport the substrate to be processed between each processing device is shortened, and the transport mechanism for the substrate to be processed is simplified, thereby reducing the area occupied by the device. It can be made more compact.

In addition, it is possible to reduce the space cost as a device to be introduced into a clean room with high leanness.

Furthermore, according to the above configuration in which the heating device and the rapid cooling device are movable and processing can be performed without transporting the substrate to be processed between sub-devices, the heating process that could not be avoided with conventional resist processing equipment can be avoided. It is possible to eliminate any non-uniform temperature drop of the substrate to be processed during transport when transitioning from the process to the rapid cooling process, and the rapid cooling process can be started promptly. Therefore, the sensitivity of the resist is improved,
Exposure time is also shortened, and resist patterns with good dimensional accuracy can be formed with extremely good workability.

For example, while the conventional resist processing apparatus has a processing speed of about 910 sheets per hour, the resist processing apparatus of the present invention can discolor about 300 sheets per hour, greatly improving work efficiency.

In addition, by making movable heating and cooling devices as well as other devices such as a developing device movable, it is possible to further reduce space costs.

〔Example〕

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

As shown in FIG. 1(a), FIG. 1(b), and FIG. 2, this resist processing apparatus continuously performs a heat treatment process such as a zoli-pake process or a post-pake process, and a subsequent rapid cooling process. sample stage 8'a11
It can be shifted by a shift mechanism 4 to sequentially perform heat treatment and rapid cooling treatment on a substrate 3 to be processed placed on a rotating sample stage 2 provided therein,
Each of the sample stage mechanisms 1 is configured with a heating device t5 and a cooling device, which are arranged so as to be able to be attached to the sample stage mechanism 1.

The sample stage mechanism 1 is composed of a housing 8 having a discharge lower that can be opened and closed at the bottom thereof, and a rotating sample stage 2 disposed inside the housing 8. 1 includes a belt conveyor 10 for taking out a substrate 3 to be processed from a cassette 9 and transporting it to the vicinity of the rotating sample stage 2, and a vacuum chuck 11 for placing the substrate to be processed on the rotating sample stage 2. A transfer mechanism ↓ is provided.

Further, the shift mechanism ± is driven by the motor 13, and the heating device! The cooling device is configured to sequentially transport the cooling device to the position of the sample stage mechanism 1. Note that this is a 14-mineral bearing.

Furthermore, the heating device includes a heating housing 15 formed to engage with the housing 8 of the sample stage mechanism 1.
and a heater 16 disposed on the clay wall of the heating housing, and heat-processes the substrate 3 to be processed under predetermined conditions of temperature, time, and atmosphere.

In addition, the cooling device includes a cooling housing 1 formed to engage with the housing 8 of the sample stage mechanism 1.
7, a liquid refrigerant chamber 18 disposed above the liquid refrigerant chamber 18, and a refrigerant 20 supplied to the liquid refrigerant chamber from the supply line 19 downwardly by a porous nozzle 21 to cool the substrate to be processed below, It is composed of a shutter 22 that closes the porous nozzle 21 and stops the injection when cooling is completed, and a shutter opener 23 that controls opening and closing of the shutter.

Next, the operation of this resist processing apparatus will be briefly explained.

First, after applying the resist, the substrates to be processed that have been stored in the cassette 9 and transported are taken out one by one, transported to the position of the sample stage mechanism 1 by the belt conveyor 10, and then placed on the vacuum chuck and transferred to the rotating sample. Place it on stand 2.

Next, the heating device is shifted by the shift mechanism ± to the position of the sample stage mechanism 1, and the heating housing 15 is engaged with the housing 8, as shown in FIG. 1(a). (At this time, the discharge lower provided at the bottom of the housing 8 remains closed.) Then, by rotating the rotating sample stage 2 at a predetermined rotation speed, the substrate to be processed is rotated, and the heater 16 is turned on. Heat for a specified period of time.

Thereafter, the shift mechanism moves the heating device parallel to the sample stage mechanism, and then the cooling device is advanced to the position of the sample stage mechanism 1, as shown in FIG. 1(b), and the housing 8 The cooling housing 17 of the cooling device engages with the cooling housing 17 of the cooling device, and rotation of the rotating sample stage is started. At the same time, the shutter 22 is opened by the shutter opener 23, and the refrigerant is injected from the porous nozzle 21 onto the substrate to be processed that is rotating on the rotating sample stage 2. Cool rapidly. The refrigerant that is no longer needed reaches the bottom of the housing 8 and is discharged from the discharge lower that opens under its own weight. When the cooling is completed, the shutter 22 is closed again by the shutter opener 23 to close the porous nozzle 21. Then, the rotation of the rotating sample stage 2 is continued for a predetermined period of time in order to dry the substrate 3 to be processed on the cooling ridge as necessary.

In this way, when cooling and drying are completed, the cooling device is shifted by the shift mechanism 4, and the substrate to be processed is
is again under the predetermined transport sequence.

It is stored in the cassette 9 by the transfer mechanism 12.

By using such a resist processing apparatus, the 52 steps of heating and rapid cooling can be easily and quickly performed on the substrate to be processed without transporting the substrate, and the sensitivity of the resist can be improved. j) Exposure time can be shortened, and a resist pattern with good dimensional accuracy can be obtained in a short time.

Regarding the shift mechanism, in addition to the horizontal shift shown in the embodiment, as shown in FIG. It is also possible to use a rotary shifter, such as a rotary shifter, which transports the cherry blossoms to the ship.

In addition, the cooling device is not limited to the 'shower set' shown in the example, but may also include a spray set using one or more nozzles, a cooling plate type, etc., which do not transport the substrate to be processed. Various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit.

In addition, this resist processing apparatus performs a heat treatment process before exposure, that is, a pre-pake process, and a rapid cooling process that follows this process, as well as a heat treatment process by changing the set temperature of the heater.
It can also be used in a post-bake process, which is a heat treatment process after exposure, and a rapid cooling process that follows this.

[Other embodiments of the invention]

Next, other embodiments according to the present invention are shown in FIGS. 4(a) and 4(a).
b) As shown in the figure.

This resist processing apparatus is obtained by adding a movable development processing apparatus 1 to the apparatus shown in the above embodiment.
The fourth (a) diagram shows one using a horizontal shift mechanism;
The figure (b) uses a rotary shift mechanism.

The heating device, cooling device, shift mechanism, and sample stage mechanism are the same as those in the previous embodiment. The procedure is adopted, and then the development processing device 26 is shifted by the shift mechanism ± (25 in FIG. 4(b)) to engage the sample stage mechanism 1 and development processing is performed. There is.

Note that the structure of the development processing device (color) is similar to the cooling device shown in the above embodiment, and a trap is installed so that the developer and rinse solution are sequentially supplied from the supply line instead of the refrigerant. The only difference is that

After the development process has been performed in this way, the substrate to be processed is dried by closing the shutter and driving the rotating sample stage, and is then stored in the closet 9 again by the transfer mechanism. Ru.

In this apparatus, the heating process, cooling process, and development process after exposure are performed continuously, and the working efficiency is greatly improved.

Furthermore, a more efficient resist processing apparatus using a combination of horizontal shift and rotational shift is shown in FIG.

This apparatus sequentially supports a plurality of heating devices, cooling devices, and development processing devices 26 on a shift mechanism 30, and shifts these at a predetermined period in the direction of arrow B. The aim is to efficiently process a large number of substrates simultaneously by arranging them at predetermined intervals.

Here, the substrate 3 to be processed, which has been accommodated in the carry-in cassette 31, is placed on the donut-shaped transfer belt conveyor 33 by the carry-in belt conveyor 32. (The transfer mechanism from the carry-in cassette 31 to the transfer belt conveyor 33 is omitted.)The substrate to be processed placed on the transfer belt conveyor 33 is transferred to a host conveyor (not shown). In accordance with the instructions, an empty sample stage mechanism 1 is selected and placed on the rotating sample stage of the sample stage mechanism 1 by the lead-in/out belt conveyor 34 provided in each sample stage mechanism.

On the substrate to be processed 3 placed on the sample stage mechanism 1, a fourth (
a) According to the procedure explained in FIG. A series of resist processing consisting of a processing step and a (drying step) is performed.

Then, the substrate 3 to be processed after these processes is transferred to the delivery/input belt conveyor 34 and transferred again to the transfer belt conveyor 3.
3, and is further stored in a carry-out cassette 36 via a carry-out belt conveyor 35.

By repeating the above cycle in sequence, loading and unloading, heating treatment, cooling treatment, and development treatment are performed simultaneously on a large number of sample table mechanisms (24 in Figure 5). This enabled the work efficiency to be significantly improved.@ This resist processing equipment is equipped with a heating device, a cooling device, and a development processing device as movable processing devices. It is also possible to incorporate other processes (resist coating, exposure, scum removal, etching, resist stripping, etc.) without departing from the purpose of making the apparatus movable without being transported during the resist processing process.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1(a) and 1(b) are side views of a resist processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the same apparatus, and FIG.
4(a) and 4(b) are views showing a resist processing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a view showing a modification of the shift mechanism in the same apparatus. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a resist processing apparatus according to still another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a conventional resist processing apparatus. 101... cassette), 102... substrate to be processed, 10
3'...First belt conveyor, 104...Open, 105...Heater, 106...Second belt conveyor, 107...Third belt conveyor, 108...
- Cooling device i, 109... Cooling chamber, 110... Rotating sample stand, 111... Fourth belt conveyor, 112...
... Liquid refrigerant chamber, 113 ... Refrigerant, 114 ... Partition wall, 115 ... Porous nozzle, 116 ... Fifth belt conveyor, 117 ... Vacuum chuck, 118 ... Sixth belt Conveyor, 119...Cassette, 1...
Sample stage mechanism, 2... Rotation area sample stage, 3... Substrate to be processed, ±... Shift mechanism, Dan... Heating device, Dan... Cooling device, 7... Discharge port, 8...・Housing, 9...
Cassette, 10... Belt conveyor, 11... Vacuum chuck, Upper l... Transfer mechanism, 13... Motor, 1
4...Bearing, 15...Heating nozzle, 16
...Heater, 17...Nothing for cooling, 18.
...Liquid refrigerant chamber, 19... Supply line, 20... Cooling i, 21... Porous nozzle, 22... Shutter, 2
3...Shutter switch, 24...Motor, 25.
...F11 rotation shift mechanism, and J...development processing device, 3
0...Shift a structure, 31...Cassette for carrying in, 32
... Belt conveyor for carrying in, 33... Belt conveyor for transfer, 34... Input/output belt conveyor, 35...
- Belt conveyor for m output, 36...cassette for unloading. Figure 2 Figure 4(b)

Claims (6)

[Claims] (1) A resist device that applies a resist onto a substrate to be processed, a heating device that heats the substrate to be processed on which the resist is applied, a cooling device that cools the heated substrate to be processed, and a resist device that selectively cools the formed resist film. At least two of the following devices are installed on the substrate to be processed: an exposure device that exposes the substrate to light, a development device, a scum removal device, an etching device that etches and removes the substrate using the formed resist pattern as a mask, and a resist stripping device that removes the resist pattern. The substrate can be moved between devices without having to transport the substrate to be processed between devices.
A resist processing apparatus characterized by being able to perform processing using these apparatuses. (2) At least two of the devices are a heating device and a cooling device, and the substrate to be processed can be quickly transferred from the heating step to the rapid cooling step without transferring the substrate between the two devices. A resist processing apparatus according to claim (1). (3) At least two of the devices include a heating device, a cooling device, and a development processing device, and the substrate to be processed can be sequentially transferred from a heating process to a cooling process and a development process without transporting the substrate between these devices. A resist processing apparatus according to claim (1), characterized in that: (4) At least two of the movable devices are moved by a horizontal shift mechanism, a rotary shift mechanism, or a combination of both. The resist processing apparatus according to any one of item 3). (5) the at least two movable devices are movable to the position of the sample stage mechanism on which the substrate to be processed is placed;
Claims (1) to (4) are characterized in that the method includes a transport mechanism for transporting the substrate to be processed between a cassette containing the substrate to be processed and the sample stage mechanism. The resist processing device according to any one of the above. (6) A patent characterized in that a plurality of the movable devices are sequentially arranged via a shift mechanism, so that simultaneous processing can be performed on a plurality of substrates to be processed. A resist processing apparatus according to any one of claims (1) to (5).