JPS635523A - Coating and developing equipment for resist material - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the floor space of the title coating and developing equipment by a method wherein at least exceeding two stages out of four component stages i.e. a stage for feeding wafers, a stage for spincoating wafers with resist or developing wafers, a stage for heat treating wafers and a stage for receiving wafers are vertically arranged to be connected in the vertical direction. CONSTITUTION:A coating equipment is arranged with a stage 3a setting up a carrier 2a containing wafers 1 to be coated with resist on the topmost step; a stage 3b equipped with a spincoater 5 on the third step; a stage 3c equipped with a hot plate 6 for prebaking wafers 1 on the second step; and a stage 3d setting up another carrier 2b to receive wafers 1 on the first step. In such a constitution, respective stages are connected in the vertical direction while fork lifts 4a, 4b, 4c are respectively provided between the stage 3a and 3b, 3b and 3c, 3c and 3d in the vertical direction to lower the wafers 1.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a semiconductor device manufacturing apparatus, and particularly to a resist material coating and developing apparatus.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 3, a resist material coating and developing apparatus includes a portion 23 for delivering the wafer 18 from a carrier 19a, a spin coater 20 for spin coating the wafer with resist. A hot plate 21 for heat-treating a wafer coated with resist, a portion 24 for receiving the wafer on a carrier 19b, and the like are arranged in a horizontal line, and a wafer transport structure 22a is provided between each component.

It had a structure in which 22b and 22c were connected.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The conventional resist material coating and developing apparatus described above has a section for sending out the wafer, a section for spin-coating the resist material on the wafer, a section for heat-treating the wafer, and a section for applying the resist material to the wafer. Since it has a structure in which the receiving parts are arranged horizontally in a row, it has the disadvantage of requiring a large floor space.

[Differences between the invention and the prior art] In contrast to the conventional resist material coating and developing apparatus described above, the present invention controls the flow of the wafer from when the wafer is sent out from the carrier, is coated or developed, and is received by the carrier again. The device has an original structure in that it is vertically oriented to significantly reduce the floor space of the device.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention has a part for sending out the wafer, a part for spin-coating or developing a resist material on the wafer, a part for heat-treating the wafer, and a part for receiving the wafer. The resist material coating and developing apparatus is characterized in that at least two of the four constituent parts are arranged one above the other and connected in the vertical direction.

[Example] Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Example 1) FIG. 1(a) is a side view of one embodiment of the present invention.

This coating machine has a stage 3a on the top stage where a carrier 2a containing a wafer 1 for resist coating is set, a stage 3b equipped with a spin coater 5 on the third stage, and a hot plate 6 for pre-evaluating the wafer. The mounted stage 3C is placed on the second stage, and the stage 3d for setting the carrier 2b for receiving the wafer is placed on the first stage, and the stages 38 to 3d are connected vertically, and between each stage Forklift 4a transports the wafer between stages 3a and 3b, forklift 4b transports the wafer between stages 3b and 3C, and stages 3C and 3.
Each of the forklifts 4C is equipped with a forklift 4C for transporting the wafers between d and d. The hot plate 6 is equipped with a mechanism 8 for lifting the wafer from the hot plate. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 1(b), each forklift 4a.

41), fork 7a, 7b attached to 4C
, 7c enter under the wafer 1 and enable the wafer to be transported.

In the embodiment, the wafer 1 in the carrier 2a is set on a spin coater 5 by a forklift 4a, and a resist material is applied thereto. Next, the forklift 4b
After being set on the hot plate 6 and prebaked by the forklift 4C, the receiving carrier 2b is
The resist material is then transported to the substrate, and the coating of the resist material is completed.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 2 is a side view of Embodiment 2 of the present invention. This embodiment is a resist developing device, with a stage 11a on which a carrier 10a is set as the top stage, a stage 11b on which a developing device 13 is mounted, a stage 11c on which a hot plate 14 for boost beta is mounted, and a receiving carrier 10b. The stage 11d to be set is arranged at the lower stage in the order in which it is set, and one forklift 16 for transporting the wafer is provided between the stages in the vertical direction of each stage.

In this embodiment, the intervals between the forks 17a and 17b1 and 17b and 17c are constant, and the stages 11a and lld are equipped with mechanisms 12a and 12b for moving the carrier up and down, so that the wafer at any position in the carrier can be transported. It is now possible to do so. This has the advantage of allowing only one forklift to be used.

The wafer in the carrier 10a set on the stage 11a is set in the developing device 13 by a forklift 16, then transported to the hot plate 14, post-baked, and then stored in the carrier 10b.

In each of the embodiments, the components of the subsequent stage were arranged vertically in the empty space below the component of the previous stage, but the components of the latter stage were arranged in the empty space above the component of the previous stage and arranged vertically May be arranged. In addition, in the example, all the constituent parts were arranged vertically, but for the constituent parts of the - section, for example, only the first and second stages may be arranged vertically and connected in the vertical direction. You can. In this case, it is possible to reduce the floor area by the number of components arranged in the vertical direction.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, the present invention provides a coating and developing device for resist material, which includes a section for delivering a wafer, a section for performing treatment to improve the adhesion between the resist material and the wafer, and a section for applying the resist material to the wafer by spin coating or By arranging all or part of the developing area, the wafer heat treatment area, and the wafer receiving area vertically, the floor area of the resist material coating @ equipment can be kept extremely small. effective.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1(a) is a side view of a resist material coating device for explaining one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1(b) is a plan view showing the relationship between a wafer and a fork for transporting the wafer. Second
FIG. 3 is a side view of a developing device for explaining an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a side view of a conventional coating machine for explaining a conventional resist material coating device. 1.9... Wafer 2a, 2b, 10a, 10b... Carrier 3a
, 3b, 3c, 3d, lla, 11b, l
lc, 11d...Stage 4a, 4b, 4C, 1
6...Forklift 5...Spin coater 6.14...Hot plate 7a, 7b, 7c, 17a, 17b, 17c
m...Fork 8.15...Wafer lifting mechanism 12a, 12b...Carrier vertical movement mechanism 13...
・Developing device

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) In a resist material coating and developing apparatus having a part for sending out a wafer, a part for spin coating or developing a resist material on the wafer, a part for heat-treating the wafer, and a part for receiving the wafer, the four component parts are as follows: 1. A resist material coating and developing device, characterized in that at least two constituent parts of the above are arranged one above the other and connected in the vertical direction.