KR100666354B1 - Semiconductor apparatus performing a photo lithographic process - Google Patents

Abstract

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus for a photolithography process having a coating process and a developing process in a semiconductor manufacturing process. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus of the present invention includes an indexer (IND; Index) in which a wafer is loaded and unloaded from a process progress direction. And a first multi-buffer part, a spin coater processing part, a second multi-buffer part, a spin developer processing part, a third multi-buffer part, an edge exposure processing part, and an exposure unit. ) Is arranged. Each of the first to third multi-buffer units includes two buffer units arranged side by side, and the pair of buffer units may be subjected to a predetermined heat treatment on the substrate during the substrate takeover process for entering the substrates into the processing units. Can be configured to

Description

Semiconductor apparatus performing a photo lithographic process

1 is a plan view showing a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus for a photolithography process according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a planar configuration diagram of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus showing an example in which process units of each processing unit are stacked in FIG. 1; FIG.

3 is a side configuration diagram of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus for the photolithography process shown in FIG.

4 is a plan view of the buffer unit;

5 to 7 are planar configuration diagrams of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus for a photolithography process in which the arrangement of each processing unit is variously changed.

* Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings

110: indexer

112: spin coater processing unit

114: spin developer processing unit

116: edge exposure processing unit

120: multi-buffer portion

122: buffer unit

The present invention relates to a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, and more particularly, to a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus for a photolithography process having a coating step and a developing step in a semiconductor manufacturing step.

The semiconductor manufacturing process uses processes to which various methods are applied to form a desired electronic circuit on a substrate such as a semiconductor substrate, a glass substrate, or a liquid crystal panel. In the semiconductor manufacturing process, photolithography is largely composed of a photoresist coating process, an exposure process, and a developing process.

Some of the semiconductor manufacturing steps for existing photolithography processes require baking semiconductor substrate materials, such as substrates, and subsequently cooling them.

For example, photolithographic processing processes in semiconductor manufacturing require baking and cooling, or thermal cycling. In order to produce a high quality substrate suitable for the field of integrated circuits according to the invention, the temperature of the substrate during thermal cycling must be precisely controlled with respect to the temporal temperature profile of the bake and cooling cycles and the uniformity of the temperature across the substrate. .

In general, a method for baking and cooling a substrate in a photolithography process first bakes the substrate at a temperature between 70 degrees and 250 degrees for a time between 30 seconds and 90 seconds. After baking the substrate, the substrate is moved by the carrier robot to a cooling plate cooled to a temperature between 0 degrees and 30 degrees.

However, the above mentioned installation has some disadvantages.

First, baking units (HP (heating plate), CP (cooling plate)) which individually perform heating and cooling treatments in the photolithography processing facility are arranged up and down according to the process progress conditions, and the substrate loading and unloading for each unit is carried out. Is carried out by a transport robot installed in the transport passage. Therefore, it is difficult to manage the tact time due to the heavy load on the transport robot, and the process throughput is lowered because the limit is reached even when the speed of the robot is increased.

Second, in the photolithography processing facility, since the transfer of the substrate between the transfer robots is performed through the buffer plate, the transfer robot takes over or takes over the substrate from the buffer plate, which does not help to reduce the transfer load of the transfer robot. have.

Third, the substrate heated in the heating plate is preferably cooled quickly. However, since the heating plate and the heating plate are provided as separate units, it takes time to take out the substrate from the heating plate and carry it into the cooling plate. As the pattern is further refined, the movement time between units, which has not been a problem in the past, may cause pattern deformation, deterioration of reproducibility, etc., and there is a need for improvement in this regard as well.

Fourth, another problem is that when the transport robot transports the substrate at room temperature immediately after transporting the substrate at a high temperature, a nonuniform temperature change is caused to the substrate at this temperature.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve such a conventional problem, and an object thereof is a semiconductor for a new type photolithography process in which heating and cooling of a substrate may be performed during a substrate takeover process for entering a substrate into each of the processing units. It is to provide a manufacturing apparatus.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus for a new type of photolithography process to shorten the process time and to stabilize the process.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus for a new type photolithography process that can minimize the temperature change of the substrate transferred by the transport robot.

According to a feature of the present invention for achieving the above object, a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus for a photolithography process, the indexer is loaded and unloaded wafer; A plurality of transfer robots installed to transfer wafers to each process unit from one side of the indexer in a process advancing direction; Respective processing units vertically stacked with process units processing the same process on both sides of the transport robot; Located between the processing units and may include a multi-buffer for taking over the substrate between the transfer robot disposed in each of the processing units.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the processing units are divided into a spin coater processing unit, a spin developer processing unit, and an edge exposure processing unit. In the multi-buffer unit, a substrate is transferred to each of the processing units in the process of taking over the substrate. Heat treatment can be made.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the multi-buffer unit has a substrate entrance and exit through which the substrate is loaded / exported, and the first and second plates on which the substrate is loaded / exported through the substrate entrance and the first and second plates are placed. It may be provided with a buffer unit including a transport mechanism for transporting the substrate between the plates.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the first plate and the second plate may be a heating plate for heating the substrate and a cooling plate for cooling the substrate, respectively.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first plate may be disposed adjacent to the substrate entrance through which the substrate is carried in, and the second plate may be disposed adjacent to the substrate entrance through which the substrate is taken out.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the multi-buffer portion may be disposed in the buffer unit is stacked in the longitudinal direction.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the multi-buffer unit may be two side by side the buffer unit in the transverse direction.

According to another aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object, a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus for a photolithography process, the indexer is loaded and unloaded wafer; First, second and third transfer robots installed to transfer the wafer to each process unit in a direction of processing from one side of the indexer; A spin coater processing unit having vertically stacked process units processing a spin coater process on both sides of the first transport robot; A spin developer processing unit in which process units for processing a spin developer process are vertically stacked on both sides of the second transport robot; An edge exposure processing unit having vertically stacked process units for processing an edge exposure process on both sides of the third transfer robot; A first multi-buffer portion for substrate takeover between the indexer and the spin coater processing portion; A second multi-buffer portion for taking over the substrate between the spin coater processor and the spin developer processor; It may include a third multi-buffer for taking over the substrate between the spin coater and the edge exposure processing.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, each of the first, second and third multi-buffer portions may include a first plate for heating the loaded substrate, a second plate for cooling the taken-out substrate, and the first and second plates. And buffer units including a transport mechanism for transporting the substrate.

According to another aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object, a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus for a photolithography process, the indexer is loaded and unloaded wafer; A spin coater processing unit connected to one side of the indexer and vertically stacked with process units for processing a spin coater process on both sides of a first transport robot; A spin developer processing unit connected to one side of the indexer and disposed below the spin coater processing unit, and vertically stacked with process units for processing a spin developer process on both sides of a second transport robot; An edge exposure processing unit connected to one side of the spin developer processing unit and vertically stacked with process units for processing an edge exposure process on both sides of a third transport robot; And a multibuffer unit disposed between the indexer and the spin coater processing unit, the spin coater processing unit and the edge exposure processing unit, the edge exposure processing unit and the spin developer processing unit, and the spin developer processing unit and the indexer. It may include.

The embodiments of the present invention may be modified in various forms, and the scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited by the embodiments described below. These examples are provided to more fully explain the present invention to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the shape of the elements in the drawings and the like are exaggerated to emphasize a clearer description.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. In addition, in the drawings, the same reference numerals are denoted together for components that perform the same function.

1 is a plan view showing a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus for a photolithography process according to an embodiment of the present invention. Arrows shown in the figures schematically indicate wafer processing and travel directions.

Referring to FIG. 1, the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 100 of the present invention vertically arranges the same process units that process the same process on both sides of the transfer robots TR1, TR2, and IFR, and transfers the same. The robots TR1, TR2 and IFR have a structural feature in which a multi-buffer portion for substrate takeover is disposed.

Looking at the configuration of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 100 of the present invention, the wafer is loaded and unloaded (IND; Index) (110), the first multi-buffer portion (120a), spin coater processing unit 112, The second multi-buffer unit 120b, the spin developer unit 114, the third multi-buffer unit 120c, the edge exposure unit 116, and the exposure unit 118 are formed, and the transfer robot TR1 is located at the center of each unit. , TR2, IFR) are arranged. For reference, C1-C4 means a cassette in which the substrates are stored in units of lots.

Referring to FIG. 1, each of the processing units will be described in more detail. In the spin coater processing unit 112, spin coater units SC1-SC4 for applying a photoresist to the surface of the wafer are arranged side by side at two right and left sides. It is composed. The spin developer processing unit 114 includes two spin developer units SD1 to SD4 for developing the exposed wafer, each side by side. The edge exposure processing unit 116 has two edge exposure units (WEE; WEE1, 2) for exposing an unnecessary photoresist applied on the circumferential portion of the wafer, on one side. The exposure unit 118 is connected to the edge exposure processing unit 116.

For example, the process units of the spin coater processing unit 112, the spin developer processing unit 114, and the edge exposure processing unit 116 (spin coater unit SC1-4, spin developer unit DE1-4, and edge exposure unit WEE1). -2)) may be configured to be stacked in a two-stage form as shown in FIG.

Each of the first to third multi-buffer parts 120a, 120b, and 120c includes two buffer units 122 arranged side by side, and as shown in FIG. 3, the pair of buffer units 122 are stacked in a multi-stage fashion. Can be configured.

The buffer unit 122 may be configured to perform a predetermined heat treatment on the substrate in the process of taking over the substrate for entering the substrate into each of the processing units. Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the buffer unit 122 has substrate entrances 124 through which substrates are loaded / exported, and first and second plates on which substrates loaded / exported through the substrate entrances 124 are placed. (126,128) and a transport mechanism 130 for transporting the substrate between the first and second plates.

The first plate 126 may be a hot plate unit (HP) that heat-processes the wafer at 180 degrees to 250 degrees in a uniform state, and the second plate 128 may process the heated wafer at 21 degrees. It may be a cool plate unit (CP; Cooler Plate) to be cooled to 25 degrees, and thus the buffer unit 122 having the first and second plates 126 and 128 may be configured to be stacked two by two. Of course, when the heat treatment is not required to be transferred to the next processing unit according to the process sequence, a general buffer plate BF may be disposed instead of the first plate 126 having the hot plate function and the second plate 128 having the cool plate function. . For example, in the case of the buffer unit 122a of the third buffer unit 120c used as a path transferred from the spin developer processing unit 114 to the edge exposure processing unit 116, and the spin coater processing unit in the spin developer processing unit 114. The case of the buffer unit 122a of the second buffer unit 120b used as the path to be transferred to 112 may correspond to it.

Referring to FIG. 4, the transport mechanism 130 is for moving the substrate located on the first plate 126 to the second plate 128 (or vice versa). The conveying mechanism 130 includes an arm 132 and a moving part 134. The moving part 134 is simple in its construction because it only provides rotation and vertical movement of the arm 132 for transporting the substrate. . Meanwhile, three through holes 129 are formed in the first plate 126 and the second plate 128. Lift pins 129a supporting the rear surface of the substrate are inserted into the through holes 129, respectively. These three lift pins 129a are moved up and down by a lifting mechanism (not shown). The substrate w is up / down by the lift pins.

In the present invention, by using the buffer space used for the substrate takeover between the transfer robots as a space for heating and cooling the substrate and the substrate takeover space, it is possible to maximize the use efficiency of the equipment. In particular, the present invention allows the buffer unit 122 of the multi-buffer unit 120 to share the first plate 126 with the hot plate function and the second plate 128 with the cooling plate function, thereby providing a separate buffer space. The benefits include reduced wafer teaching, increased facility maintenance efficiency and reduced facility footprint.

As such, the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 100 of the present invention is conventionally disposed in multiple stages above or below process units (spin coater unit SC, spin developer unit DE, and wafer exposure unit (WEE)). By integrating and disposing the hot plate unit and the cooling plate unit into the multi-buffer unit 120 used as the buffer space, the free space is generated not only in the left and right directions but also in the up and down directions so that the expansion of the process unit is possible. It can save the occupied area.

As indicated by arrows in FIG. 1, the buffer units 122 of the first to third multi-buffer portions 120a to 120c are used for passages for the substrates to be conveyed in the direction of the exposure unit 118 in the indexer 110 direction. It is divided for passage for substrates to be conveyed in the direction of the indexer 110 in the direction of the exposure unit 118. In this way, the entry and exit passages of the substrate are separated to enable efficient operation of the working line.

5 is a modified example of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 100 of the present invention. Looking at the configuration, the process progress direction of the substrate is the first multi-buffer portion 120a, the spin coater 112, and the upper portion of the indexer 110. After passing through the second multi-buffer portion 120b to the edge exposure processing unit 116 disposed on the lower layer, the edge exposure processing unit 116 finishes the edge exposure after the exposure unit 118 is exposed to the third multi-buffer. It has a loop processing process path that returns to the indexer 110 through the portion 120c, the spin developer portion 114 and the fourth multi-buffer portion 120d. Meanwhile, the transfer robots TR1, TR2 and IFR are disposed at the center of each processing unit.

In the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 100a illustrated in FIG. 5, the spin coater processing unit 112 is disposed on the spin developer processing unit 114 so that the substrate is exposed to the edge immediately without passing the spin developer processing unit 114 from the spin coater processing unit 112. It is transferred to the exposure unit 118 through the processing unit 116, so that unnecessary work (transferring the substrate from the spin coater processing unit to the edge exposure processing unit) of the transport robot disposed in the spin developer processing unit 114 can be omitted. It became.

The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 100b illustrated in FIG. 6 changes the directions of the buffer units of the first multi-buffer portion 120a and the fourth multi-buffer portion 120d adjacent to the indexer 110 sideways. By utilizing the space (A) that was not used, there is an advantage that can reduce the installation area by the width.

FIG. 7 is a structural feature of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 100c in which the buffer units 122 of the first to fourth multi-buffer units are arranged one by one. As shown in FIG. 7, since the substrate has only one direction in the form of a loop, the substrate to be conveyed toward the exposure unit 118 from the indexer 110 in the direction of the indexer 110 as shown in FIG. 1. It is possible to reduce the width of the installation because it does not need to be divided for the passage for the substrate and the passage for the substrates to be conveyed in the direction of the indexer 110 in the exposure unit 118 direction.

As such, the present invention can be seen that the number of units to be processed by one carrier robot is significantly reduced compared to the conventional. Therefore, the movement unit and the operation time of the robot are reduced by reducing the processing unit of the transfer robot 170, and unnecessary maintenance is almost unnecessary with a simple algorithm and a sequence structure. In addition, the problem that the speed of the transfer robot should be continuously improved can be replaced by reducing the load to improve the speed, technical limitations.

In addition, the transfer robots transfer (process) only the substrate cooled in the buffer unit, thereby preventing a change in sensitive temperature deviation that occurs during wafer handling. In addition, in the past, the handling parts of all the transport robots were made of a heat-resistant material (high cost) to withstand high temperatures, but in the present invention, the handling parts of the transport robots can be used as materials that are not resistant to heat (the unit cost is relatively low). By doing so, the cost can be reduced.

The above embodiment relates to a semiconductor device used in a photolithography process of semiconductor device manufacture, but the present invention is applicable to other processing systems, and the object to be processed is not limited to a semiconductor wafer, but an LCD substrate, a glass substrate, It can be applied to CD substrates, photomasks, printed substrates, ceramic substrates and the like.

In the above, the configuration and operation of the apparatus according to the present invention is shown in accordance with the above description and drawings, but this is merely an example, and various changes and modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention. .

Such a present invention has the following special effects.

First, since heating and cooling of the substrate are performed in the process of taking over the substrate for entering the processing units, the process time can be shortened and the process can be stabilized.

Second, since the transfer robot installed in each processing unit transfers only the cooled substrate, the temperature change of the transferred substrate can be minimized.

Third, the substrate transfer operation of the transfer robot installed in the transfer passage is reduced by half compared to the existing one, and accordingly, the tact time management is easy and the process throughput can be improved.

Claims (10)

In a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus for a photolithography process: An indexer into which the wafer is loaded and unloaded; A plurality of transfer robots installed to transfer wafers to each process unit from one side of the indexer in a process advancing direction; Respective processing units vertically stacked with process units processing the same process on both sides of the transport robot; A multi-buffer unit positioned between the processing units and configured to take over a substrate between transfer robots disposed in each of the processing units; The processing unit is divided into a spin coater processing unit, a spin developer processing unit and an edge exposure processing unit, In the multi-buffer portion, the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus for a photolithography process characterized in that the substrate is heat-treated in the process of taking over the substrate for entering each of the processing units. The method of claim 1, The multi-buffer portion A substrate having entrances to and from the substrate, the first and second plates on which the substrates to be carried in and out of the substrate are placed, and a transfer mechanism for transferring the substrates between the first and second plates. A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus for a photolithography process comprising a buffer unit. The method of claim 2, The first plate and the second plate is a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus for a photolithography process, characterized in that each of the heating plate for heating the substrate and the cooling plate for cooling the substrate. The method of claim 2, The first plate is disposed adjacent to the substrate entrance through which the substrate is carried in, and the second plate is disposed adjacent to the substrate entrance through which the substrate is carried out, so that the substrate is loaded into the first plate and heated, and then to the second plate. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus for the photolithography process characterized by being carried out and carried out in a cooled state. The method of claim 1, The multi-buffer portion The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus for the photolithography process, characterized in that the buffer units are stacked in the longitudinal direction. The method of claim 1, The multi-buffer portion A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus for a photolithography process, characterized in that the two buffer units are arranged side by side in the lateral direction. In a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus for a photolithography process: An indexer into which the wafer is loaded and unloaded; First, second and third transfer robots installed to transfer the wafer to each process unit in a direction of processing from one side of the indexer; A spin coater processing unit having vertically stacked process units processing a spin coater process on both sides of the first transport robot; A spin developer processing unit in which process units for processing a spin developer process are vertically stacked on both sides of the second transport robot; An edge exposure processing unit having vertically stacked process units for processing an edge exposure process on both sides of the third transfer robot; A first multi-buffer portion for substrate takeover between the indexer and the spin coater processing portion; A second multi-buffer portion for taking over the substrate between the spin coater processor and the spin developer processor; And a third multi-buffer portion for taking over the substrate between the spin coater processing unit and the edge exposure processing unit. The method of claim 7, wherein Each of the first, second, and third buffer portions A photolithography comprising a first plate for heating a substrate to be loaded, a second plate for cooling the substrate to be transported, and a transport mechanism for transporting the substrate between the first and second plates. Semiconductor manufacturing apparatus for the process. In a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus for a photolithography process: An indexer into which the wafer is loaded and unloaded; A spin coater processing unit connected to one side of the indexer and vertically stacked with process units for processing a spin coater process on both sides of a first transport robot; A spin developer processing unit connected to one side of the indexer and disposed below the spin coater processing unit, and vertically stacked with process units for processing a spin developer process on both sides of a second transport robot; An edge exposure processing unit connected to one side of the spin developer processing unit and vertically stacked with process units for processing an edge exposure process on both sides of a third transport robot; And The indexer and the spin coater processing unit, the spin coater processing unit and the edge furnace light processing unit, the edge exposure processing unit and the spin developer processing unit and the multi-buffer unit for the substrate takeover mutually installed between the index developer and the indexer Semiconductor manufacturing apparatus for a photolithography process comprising a. The method of claim 9, The multi-buffer portion A photolithography comprising a first plate for heating a substrate to be loaded, a second plate for cooling the substrate to be transported, and a transport mechanism for transporting the substrate between the first and second plates. Semiconductor manufacturing apparatus for the process.

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