Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 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 to the following embodiments. This embodiment is provided to more fully describe the present invention to those skilled in the art. Thus, the shape of the elements in the figures has been exaggerated to emphasize a clearer description.
The facilities of this embodiment can be used to perform a photolithography process on a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer or a flat panel display panel. In particular, the apparatus of this embodiment can be used to perform a coating process and a developing process on a substrate, which is connected to an exposure apparatus. Hereinafter, a case where a wafer is used as a substrate will be described as an example.
2 to 9 are schematic views illustrating a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a view of the substrate processing apparatus viewed from above, FIG. 3 is a view of the apparatus of FIG. 2 viewed from the AA direction, FIG. 4 is a view of the apparatus of FIG. 2 viewed from the BB direction, In the CC direction.
2 to 5, the substrate processing apparatus 1 includes a load port 100, an index module 200, a first buffer module 300, a coating and developing module 400, a second buffer module 500 An exposure pre- and post-processing module 600, and an interface module 700. The load port 100, the index module 200, the first buffer module 300, the application and development module 400, the second buffer module 500, the pre-exposure processing module 600, and the interface module 700, Are sequentially arranged in one direction in a single direction.
Hereinafter, the load port 100, the index module 200, the first buffer module 300, the coating and developing module 400, the second buffer module 500, the pre-exposure processing module 600, 700 are referred to as a first direction 12 and a direction perpendicular to the first direction 12 as viewed from above is referred to as a second direction 14 and a direction in which the first direction 12 and the second And a direction perpendicular to the direction 14 is referred to as a third direction 16.
The substrate W is moved in a state accommodated in the cassette 20. At this time, the cassette 20 has a structure that can be sealed from the outside. For example, as the cassette 20, a front open unified pod (FOUP) having a door at the front can be used.
Hereinafter, the load port 100, the index module 200, the first buffer module 300, the application and development module 400, the second buffer module 500, the pre-exposure processing module 600, 700 will be described in detail.
The load port 100 has a mounting table 120 on which the cassette 20 accommodating the substrates W is placed. A plurality of mounts 120 are provided, and the mounts 200 are arranged in a line along the second direction 14. [ In Fig. 2, four placement tables 120 are provided.
The index module 200 transfers the substrate W between the cassette 20 placed on the table 120 of the load port 100 and the first buffer module 300. The index module 200 has a frame 210, an index robot 220, and a guide rail 230. The frame 210 is provided generally in the shape of an inner rectangular parallelepiped and is disposed between the load port 100 and the first buffer module 300. The frame 210 of the index module 200 may be provided at a lower height than the frame 310 of the first buffer module 300 described later. The index robot 220 and the guide rail 230 are disposed within the frame 210. The index robot 220 is moved in the first direction 12, the second direction 14 and the third direction 16 so that the hand 221 that directly handles the substrate W can be moved and rotated in the first direction 12, the second direction 14, . The index robot 220 has a hand 221, an arm 222, a support 223, and a pedestal 224. The hand 221 is fixed to the arm 222. The arm 222 is provided with a stretchable structure and a rotatable structure. The support base 223 is disposed along the third direction 16 in the longitudinal direction. The arm 222 is coupled to the support 223 to be movable along the support 223. The support 223 is fixedly coupled to the pedestal 224. The guide rails 230 are provided so that their longitudinal direction is arranged along the second direction 14. The pedestal 224 is coupled to the guide rail 230 so as to be linearly movable along the guide rail 230. Further, although not shown, the frame 210 is further provided with a door opener for opening and closing the door of the cassette 20.
The first buffer module 300 has a frame 310, a first buffer 320, a second buffer 330, a cooling chamber 350, and a first buffer robot 360. The frame 310 is provided in the shape of an inner rectangular parallelepiped and is disposed between the index module 200 and the application and development module 400. The first buffer 320, the second buffer 330, the cooling chamber 350, and the first buffer robot 360 are located within the frame 310. The cooling chamber 350, the second buffer 330, and the first buffer 320 are sequentially disposed in the third direction 16 from below. The second buffer 330 and the cooling chamber 350 are located at a height corresponding to the coating module 401 of the coating and developing module 400 described later and the coating and developing module 400 at a height corresponding to the developing module 402. [ The first buffer robot 360 is spaced apart from the second buffer 330, the cooling chamber 350 and the first buffer 320 by a predetermined distance in the second direction 14.
The first buffer 320 and the second buffer 330 temporarily store a plurality of substrates W, respectively. The second buffer 330 has a housing 331 and a plurality of supports 332. The supports 332 are disposed within the housing 331 and are provided spaced apart from each other in the third direction 16. One substrate W is placed on each support 332. The housing 331 is constructed so that the index robot 220, the first buffer robot 360 and the developing robot 482 of the developing module 402 described later mount the substrate W on the support 332 in the housing 331 (Not shown) in the direction in which the index robot 220 is provided, in the direction in which the first buffer robot 360 is provided, and in the direction in which the developing robot 482 is provided, so that the developing robot 482 can carry it in or out. The first buffer 320 has a structure substantially similar to that of the second buffer 330. The housing 321 of the first buffer 320 has an opening in a direction in which the first buffer robot 360 is provided and in a direction in which the application unit robot 432 located in the application module 401 described later is provided. The number of supports 322 provided in the first buffer 320 and the number of supports 332 provided in the second buffer 330 may be the same or different. According to one example, the number of supports 332 provided in the second buffer 330 may be greater than the number of supports 322 provided in the first buffer 320.
The first buffer robot 360 transfers the substrate W between the first buffer 320 and the second buffer 330. The first buffer robot 360 has a hand 361, an arm 362, and a support base 363. The hand 361 is fixed to the arm 362. The arm 362 is provided in a stretchable configuration so that the hand 361 is movable along the second direction 14. The arm 362 is coupled to the support 363 so as to be linearly movable along the support 363 in the third direction 16. The support base 363 has a length extending from a position corresponding to the second buffer 330 to a position corresponding to the first buffer 320. The support member 363 may be provided longer in the upward or downward direction. The first buffer robot 360 may be provided so that the hand 361 is simply driven in two directions along the second direction 14 and the third direction 16.
The cooling chamber 350 cools the substrate W, respectively. The cooling chamber 350 has a housing 351 and a cooling plate 352. The cooling plate 352 has an upper surface on which the substrate W is placed and a cooling means 353 for cooling the substrate W. [ As the cooling means 353, various methods such as cooling with cooling water and cooling using a thermoelectric element can be used. In addition, the cooling chamber 350 may be provided with a lift pin assembly (not shown) for positioning the substrate W on the cooling plate 352. The housing 351 is provided with an index robot 220 so that the developing robot 482 provided in the index robot 220 and a developing module 402 to be described later can carry the substrate W into or out of the cooling plate 352 (Not shown) in the direction provided and the direction in which the developing robot 482 is provided. Further, the cooling chamber 350 may be provided with doors (not shown) for opening and closing the above-described opening.
The application and development module 400 performs a process of applying a photoresist on the substrate W before the exposure process and a process of developing the substrate W after the exposure process. The application and development module 400 has a generally rectangular parallelepiped shape. The application and development module 400 has an application module 401, a development module 402, and an exhaust assembly 900. The application module 401 and the development module 402 are arranged so as to be partitioned into layers with respect to each other. According to one example, the application module 401 is located on top of the development module 402.
The application module 401 includes a process of applying a photosensitive liquid such as a photoresist to the substrate W and a heat treatment process such as heating and cooling for the substrate W before and after the resist application process. The application module 401 has a resist application chamber 410, a bake chamber 420, and a transfer chamber 430. The resist application chamber 410, the bake chamber 420, and the transfer chamber 430 are sequentially disposed along the second direction 14. [ The resist application chamber 410 and the bake chamber 420 are positioned apart from each other in the second direction 14 with the transfer chamber 430 interposed therebetween. A plurality of resist coating chambers 410 are provided, and a plurality of resist coating chambers 410 are provided in the first direction 12 and the third direction 16, respectively. In the figure, six resist coating chambers 410 are provided. A plurality of bake chambers 420 are provided in the first direction 12 and the third direction 16, respectively. In the drawing, six bake chambers 420 are provided. Alternatively, however, the bake chamber 420 may be provided in a greater number.
The transfer chamber 430 is positioned in parallel with the first buffer 320 of the first buffer module 300 in the first direction 12. In the transfer chamber 430, a dispenser robot 432 and a guide rail 433 are positioned. The transfer chamber 430 has a generally rectangular shape. The applicator robot 432 is connected to the bake chambers 420, the resist application chambers 400, the first buffer 320 of the first buffer module 300, and the first buffer module 500 of the second buffer module 500 And transfers the substrate W between the cooling chambers 520. The guide rails 433 are arranged so that their longitudinal directions are parallel to the first direction 12. The guide rails 433 guide the applying robot 432 to move linearly in the first direction 12. The applicator robot 432 has a hand 434, an arm 435, a support 436, and a pedestal 437. The hand 434 is fixed to the arm 435. The arm 435 is provided in a stretchable configuration so that the hand 434 is movable in the horizontal direction. The support 436 is provided so that its longitudinal direction is disposed along the third direction 16. The arm 435 is coupled to the support 436 so as to be linearly movable in the third direction 16 along the support 436. The support 436 is fixedly coupled to the pedestal 437 and the pedestal 437 is coupled to the guide rail 433 so as to be movable along the guide rail 433.
The resist coating chambers 410 all have the same structure. However, the types of the photoresist used in each of the resist coating chambers 410 may be different from each other. As an example, a chemical amplification resist may be used as the photoresist. The resist coating chamber 410 applies a photoresist on the substrate W. [ The resist coating chamber 410 has a housing 411, a support plate 412, and a nozzle 413. The housing 411 has a cup shape with an open top. The support plate 412 is located in the housing 411 and supports the substrate W. [ The support plate 412 is rotatably provided. The nozzle 413 supplies the photoresist onto the substrate W placed on the support plate 412. The nozzle 413 has a circular tube shape and can supply photoresist to the center of the substrate W. [ Alternatively, the nozzle 413 may have a length corresponding to the diameter of the substrate W, and the discharge port of the nozzle 413 may be provided as a slit. In addition, the resist coating chamber 410 may further be provided with a nozzle 414 for supplying a cleaning liquid such as deionized water to clean the surface of the substrate W to which the photoresist is applied.
The bake chamber 420 heat-treats the substrate W. In the bake chamber 420, the substrate is heated to a predetermined temperature so as to change the surface property of the substrate W before applying the photoresist, and a treated liquid film such as a pressure-sensitive adhesive is formed. After the photoresist is coated on the substrate W, the photoresist film is heat-treated in a reduced-pressure atmosphere.
The bake chamber 420 includes a cooling plate 422 and a heating unit 421. The cooling plate 422 cools the substrate W heated by the heating unit 421. The cooling plate 422 is provided in the form of a circular plate. Inside the cooling plate 422, cooling means such as cooling water or a thermoelectric element are provided. For example, the cooling plate 422 can cool the heated substrate W to room temperature.
The heating unit 421 heats the substrate W in a process atmosphere. The process atmosphere may be a reduced-pressure atmosphere lower than normal pressure. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the heating unit of Fig. Referring to FIG. 6, the heating unit 800 includes a housing 810, a support plate 820, and a heater 830.
The housing 810 is located at one side of the cooling plate 422. The housing 810 provides a processing space 812 for heating the substrate W therein. The processing space 812 is provided with an external and shielded space. An exhaust hole 814 is formed in the bottom surface of the housing 810. An exhaust assembly 900 is connected to the exhaust hole 814.
The support plate 820 is located in the processing space. The support plate 820 is provided in the form of a circular plate. The upper surface of the support plate 820 is provided in a region where the substrate W is seated. A plurality of pin holes (not shown) are formed on the upper surface of the support plate 820. Each of the pin holes is spaced apart along the circumferential direction of the support plate 820. The pinholes are spaced at equal intervals from each other. Each pin hole is provided with a lift pin (not shown). The lift pins (not shown) are provided to move up and down. For example, pinholes may be provided in three.
The heater 830 heats the substrate W placed on the support plate 820 to a preset temperature. The plurality of heaters 830 are provided, and they are located in different areas in the support plate 820. [ Each heater 830 is located on the same plane. Each heater 830 heats different areas of the support plate 820. The areas of the support plate 820 corresponding to the respective heaters 830 are provided to the heating zones. For example, the heating zones may be fifteen. For example, the heater 830 may be a thermoelectric element or a hot wire.
2 to 5, the developing module 402 includes a developing process for supplying a developing solution to obtain a pattern on the substrate W to remove a part of the photoresist, and a developing process for removing a portion of the photoresist on the substrate W And a heat treatment process such as heating and cooling performed on the substrate. The development module 402 has a development chamber 460, a bake chamber 470, and a transfer chamber 480. The development chamber 460, the bake chamber 470, and the transfer chamber 480 are sequentially disposed along the second direction 14. The development chamber 460 and the bake chamber 470 are positioned apart from each other in the second direction 14 with the transfer chamber 480 therebetween. A plurality of developing chambers 460 are provided, and a plurality of developing chambers 460 are provided in the first direction 12 and the third direction 16, respectively. In the drawing, six development chambers 460 are provided. A plurality of bake chambers 470 are provided in the first direction 12 and the third direction 16, respectively. In the drawing, six bake chambers 470 are provided. Alternatively, however, the bake chamber 470 can be provided in greater numbers.
The transfer chamber 480 is positioned in parallel with the second buffer 330 of the first buffer module 300 in the first direction 12. In the transfer chamber 480, the developing robot 482 and the guide rail 483 are positioned. The delivery chamber 480 has a generally rectangular shape. The development robot 482 is connected to the bake chambers 470 and the development chambers 460 and the second buffer 330 and the cooling chamber 350 of the first buffer module 300 and the second buffer module 500, And the second cooling chamber 540 of the second cooling chamber 540. The guide rail 483 is arranged such that its longitudinal direction is parallel to the first direction 12. The guide rail 483 guides the developing robot 482 to linearly move in the first direction 12. The developing sub-robot 482 has a hand 484, an arm 485, a supporting stand 486, and a pedestal 487. The hand 484 is fixed to the arm 485. The arm 485 is provided in a stretchable configuration to allow the hand 484 to move in a horizontal direction. The support 486 is provided so that its longitudinal direction is disposed along the third direction 16. The arm 485 is coupled to the support 486 such that it is linearly movable along the support 486 in the third direction 16. The support table 486 is fixedly coupled to the pedestal 487. The pedestal 487 is coupled to the guide rail 483 so as to be movable along the guide rail 483.
The development chambers 460 all have the same structure. However, the types of developers used in the respective developing chambers 460 may be different from each other. The development chamber 460 removes a region of the photoresist on the substrate W where light is irradiated. At this time, the area of the protective film irradiated with the light is also removed. Depending on the type of selectively used photoresist, only the areas of the photoresist and protective film that are not irradiated with light can be removed.
The development chamber 460 has a container 461, a support plate 462, and a nozzle 463. The container 461 has a cup shape with its top opened. The support plate 462 is located in the container 461 and supports the substrate W. The support plate 462 is rotatably provided. The nozzle 463 supplies the developer onto the substrate W placed on the support plate 462. The nozzle 463 has a circular tube shape and can supply developer to the center of the substrate W. [ Alternatively, the nozzle 463 may have a length corresponding to the diameter of the substrate W, and the discharge port of the nozzle 463 may be provided with a slit. Further, the developing chamber 460 may further be provided with a nozzle 464 for supplying a cleaning liquid such as deionized water to clean the surface of the substrate W to which the developer is supplied.
The bake chamber 470 heat-treats the substrate W. For example, the bake chambers 470 may include a post-bake process for heating the substrate W before the development process is performed, a hard bake process for heating the substrate W after the development process is performed, And a cooling step for cooling the wafer. The bake chamber 470 has a cooling plate 471 or a heating plate 472. The cooling plate 471 is provided with a cooling means 473 such as a cooling water or a thermoelectric element. Or the heating plate 472 is provided with a heating means 474 such as a hot wire or a thermoelectric element. The cooling plate 471 and the heating plate 472 may be provided in one bake chamber 470, respectively. Optionally, some of the bake chambers 470 may have only a cooling plate 471, while the other may have only a heating plate 472. [ Since the bake chamber 470 of the developing module 402 has the same configuration as the bake chamber 420 of the application module 401, detailed description thereof will be omitted.
As described above, in the application and development module 400, the application module 401 and the development module 402 are provided to be separated from each other. In addition, the application module 401 and the development module 402 may have the same chamber arrangement as viewed from above.
The exhaust assembly 900 exhausts the bake chambers of the application module 401 and the bake chambers 420 and 470 of the development module 402, respectively. Prior to describing the exhaust assembly 900, the development module 402 is defined as a first group 910 stacked below the application module 401, and the application module 401 is placed on top of the development module 402 And the two stacked bake chambers 420 of the first group 910 are defined as a first chamber 912 and a second chamber 914 and the second group 910 And the plurality of stacked bake chambers 470 of the first chamber 920 are defined as the third chambers 922. [ The first chamber 912, the second chamber 914, and the plurality of third chambers 922 may be sequentially stacked in a downward direction.
Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view of the exhaust assembly of Figure 2; 7, the exhaust assembly 900 includes an integrated exhaust duct 930, a branch exhaust duct 940, a pressure reducing member 950, a connecting member 960, and a sealing member 970. The integrated exhaust duct 930 is connected in parallel to the first chamber 912 and the second chamber 914. The pressure-reducing member 950 decompresses the integrated exhaust duct 930. The pressure-reducing member 950 is installed near the end of the integrated exhaust duct 930. The pressure-reducing member 950 is positioned downstream of the branch point of the branch exhaust duct 940 with respect to the exhaust direction in the integrated exhaust duct 930. The branch exhaust duct 940 branches off from the integrated exhaust duct 930. The branch exhaust duct 940 is connected to the plurality of third chambers 922 in parallel. The first chamber 912 and the second chamber 914 are depressurized through the integrated exhaust duct 930 and the plurality of third chambers 922 are depressurized through the branch exhaust duct 940. According to one example, the pressure-reducing members 950 may be located closer to the first group 910 than to the second group 920. [
The connecting member 960 connects each of the chambers 912, 914, 922 to the integrated exhaust duct 930 and the branch exhaust duct 940. The depressurizing pressure provided from the depressurizing member 950 is transmitted to each chamber by the connecting member 960. [ The interior atmosphere of each of the chambers 912, 914 and 922 is exhausted to the integrated exhaust duct 930 and the branch exhaust duct 940 through the connecting member 960. [ The connecting member 960 connects the first chamber 912 and the second chamber 914 to the integrated exhaust duct 930 and connects the plurality of third chambers 922 to the branch exhaust duct 940. The connecting member 960 includes a plurality of individual ducts. The individual ducts 962, 964, and 966 are provided in a one-to-one correspondence with the number of the chambers 912, 914, 922. Each of the individual ducts 962, 964, 966 has the same shape. An internal passageway is formed in each of the individual ducts 962, 944, and 966, and the inner atmosphere of the chambers 912, 914, and 922 is exhausted to the respective exhaust ducts 930 and 940 through the inner passageway. According to one example, the connecting member 960 includes a first individual duct 962, a second individual duct 964, and a third individual duct 966. The first individual duct (962) and the second individual duct (964) connect the first module to the integrated exhaust duct (930). The first individual duct 962 connects the first chamber 912 and the integrated exhaust duct 930 and the second individual duct 964 connects the second chamber 914 and the integrated exhaust duct 930. The third individual duct 966 connects the second group 920 to the branch exhaust duct 940. Each third individual duct 966 connects the third chambers 922 to the branch exhaust duct 940, respectively.
A sealing member 970 seals a gap between each individual duct 962, 964, 966 and each exhaust duct 930, 940. A sealing member 970 is positioned between each individual duct 962, 944, 966 and each exhaust duct 930, 940. The sealing member 970 may be made of a material including elasticity.
The sealing member 970 also alters the open area of the internal passageway of each individual duct 962, 964, 966. The sealing member 970 adjusts its opening area so that the same reduced pressure is delivered in each chamber. The sealing member 970 changes its open area so that the open areas of the inner passages of the first group 910 and the inner passages of the second group 920 are different from each other. According to one example, the sealing member 970 can change the opening area so that the inner passage opening area of the second group 920 is larger than the inner passage opening area of the first group 910. [
8 is a front view showing the sealing member of Fig. 8, the sealing member 970 includes a plurality of adjustment members. The adjustment members are provided in a number corresponding one-to-one with the individual ducts. The adjustment members are provided to have a ring shape. Each adjustment member can be provided with different sizes of inner diameters depending on the position. The above-mentioned open area can be provided in the size of the inner diameter of each regulating member. According to one example, the sealing member 970 includes a first adjusting member 972, a second adjusting member 974, and a plurality of third adjusting members 976. The first regulating member 972 is located between the first individual duct 962 and the integrated exhaust duct 930 and the second regulating member 974 is located between the second individual duct 964 and the integrated exhaust duct 930 . The first adjustment member 972 changes the opening area of the first individual duct 962 to the first area D1 and the second adjustment member 974 changes the opening area of the second individual duct 964 to the second area D1, To the area D2. According to one example, the second individual duct 964 can be located farther away from the first individual duct 962 relative to the pressure-reducing member 950. The second adjustable member 974 may have a larger inner diameter than the first adjustable member 972. Accordingly, the second area D2 can be provided larger than the first area D1.
The third adjustment member 976 is positioned between the third individual ducts 966 and the branch exhaust duct 940, respectively. The third adjustment member 976 changes the open area of the third individual duct 966 to the third area D3. According to an example, the third adjustment members 976 may be provided in the same shape as each other. Accordingly, the plurality of third individual ducts 966 may have an open area of the third area D3. The third area D3 may be provided larger than the second area D2. This is because the distance between the third chamber and the decompression member is longer than the distance between the first chamber 912 and the decompression member 950 or the distance between the second chamber 914 and the decompression member 950. Accordingly, the reduced pressure delivered to the third chambers 922 is smaller than that of the first chamber 912 and the second chamber 912. The third area D3 is provided to be larger than the first area D1 and the second area D2 so that the reduced pressure transferred in the third chamber 922 is transmitted to the first chamber 912 and the second chamber 914, It is possible to adjust the pressure to be the same as the reduced pressure to be delivered to the inside.
Further, the third chambers 922 are located so that the distance to the pressure-reducing member 950 is out of a preset distance. This makes the difference in the reduced pressures transmitted to the third chambers 922 very small. Accordingly, the chambers 922 of the second group 920 may be provided with third adjusting members 976 having the same inner diameter. Alternatively, the third area D3 may be provided differently depending on the positions of the third chambers 922 and the third individual duct 966. [
According to the above-described exhaust assembly 900, the chambers provided in the first group 910 are provided with a large opening area according to the distance apart from the pressure-reducing member 950, and the chambers provided in the second group 920 are provided with the pressure- (950) and the open area is the same regardless of the spaced distance. Accordingly, the same reduced pressure is delivered to each chamber, and the atmosphere of the chambers can be kept the same.
In the above-described embodiment, the sealing member 970 is described as being located between the individual ducts 962, 964, and 966 and the exhaust ducts 930 and 940. 9, the sealing member 970 may be positioned within the individual ducts 962, 964, 966 to change the open area of the internal passageways of each individual duct 962, 964, 966.
2 to 5, the second buffer module 500 is provided as a path through which the substrate W is transferred between the coating and developing module 400 and the pre- and post-exposure processing module 600. The second buffer module 500 performs a predetermined process on the substrate W such as a cooling process or an edge exposure process. The second buffer module 500 includes a frame 510, a buffer 520, a first cooling chamber 530, a second cooling chamber 540, an edge exposure chamber 550, and a second buffer robot 560 I have. The frame 510 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape. The buffer 520, the first cooling chamber 530, the second cooling chamber 540, the edge exposure chamber 550, and the second buffer robot 560 are located within the frame 510. The buffer 520, the first cooling chamber 530, and the edge exposure chamber 550 are disposed at a height corresponding to the application module 401. The second cooling chamber 540 is disposed at a height corresponding to the development module 402. The buffer 520, the first cooling chamber 530, and the second cooling chamber 540 are sequentially arranged in a row along the third direction 16. The buffer 520 is disposed along the first direction 12 with the transfer chamber 430 of the application module 401. [ The edge exposure chamber 550 is spaced a certain distance in the second direction 14 from the buffer 520 or the first cooling chamber 530.
The second buffer robot 560 carries the substrate W between the buffer 520, the first cooling chamber 530, and the edge exposure chamber 550. A second buffer robot 560 is positioned between the edge exposure chamber 550 and the buffer 520. The second buffer robot 560 may be provided in a structure similar to that of the first buffer robot 360. The first cooling chamber 530 and the edge exposure chamber 550 perform a subsequent process on the wafers W that have been processed in the application module 401. The first cooling chamber 530 cools the substrate W processed in the application module 401. The first cooling chamber 530 has a structure similar to the cooling chamber 350 of the first buffer module 300. The edge exposure chamber 550 exposes its edge to the wafers W that have undergone the cooling process in the first cooling chamber 530. The buffer 520 temporarily stores the substrate W before the substrates W processed in the edge exposure chamber 550 are transported to the preprocessing module 601 described later. The second cooling chamber 540 cools the wafers W before the wafers W processed in the post-processing module 602 described below are conveyed to the developing module 402. The second buffer module 500 may further have a buffer added to the height corresponding to the development module 402. In this case, the wafers W processed in the post-processing module 602 may be temporarily stored in the added buffer and then transferred to the developing module 402. [
The pre- and post-exposure processing module 600 may process a process of applying a protective film for protecting the photoresist film applied to the substrate W during liquid immersion exposure, when the exposure apparatus 900 performs the liquid immersion exposure process. In addition, the pre- and post-exposure processing module 600 may perform a process of cleaning the substrate W after exposure. In addition, when the coating process is performed using the chemically amplified resist, the pre- and post-exposure processing module 600 can process the post-exposure bake process.
The pre-exposure post-processing module 600 has a pre-processing module 601 and a post-processing module 602. The pre-processing module 601 performs a process of processing the substrate W before the exposure process, and the post-process module 602 performs a process of processing the substrate W after the exposure process. The pre-processing module 601 and the post-processing module 602 are arranged so as to be partitioned into layers with respect to each other. According to one example, the preprocessing module 601 is located on top of the post-processing module 602. The preprocessing module 601 is provided at the same height as the application module 401. The post-processing module 602 is provided at the same height as the developing module 402. The pretreatment module 601 has a protective film application chamber 610, a bake chamber 620, and a transfer chamber 630. The protective film application chamber 610, the transfer chamber 630, and the bake chamber 620 are sequentially disposed along the second direction 14. The protective film application chamber 610 and the bake chamber 620 are positioned apart from each other in the second direction 14 with the transfer chamber 630 therebetween. A plurality of protective film application chambers 610 are provided and are arranged along the third direction 16 to form layers. Alternatively, a plurality of protective film application chambers 610 may be provided in the first direction 12 and the third direction 16, respectively. A plurality of bake chambers 620 are provided and are disposed along the third direction 16 to form layers. Alternatively, a plurality of bake chambers 620 may be provided in the first direction 12 and the third direction 16, respectively.
The transfer chamber 630 is positioned in parallel with the first cooling chamber 530 of the second buffer module 500 in the first direction 12. In the transfer chamber 630, a pre-processing robot 632 is located. The transfer chamber 630 has a generally square or rectangular shape. The preprocessing robot 632 is connected between the protective film application chambers 610, the bake chambers 620, the buffer 520 of the second buffer module 500 and the first buffer 720 of the interface module 700, The substrate W is transferred. The preprocessing robot 632 has a hand 633, an arm 634, and a support 635. The hand 633 is fixed to the arm 634. The arm 634 is provided with a retractable structure and a rotatable structure. The arm 634 is coupled to the support 635 so as to be linearly movable along the support 635 in the third direction 16.
The protective film applying chamber 610 applies a protective film for protecting the resist film on the substrate W during liquid immersion exposure. The protective film application chamber 610 has a housing 611, a support plate 612, and a nozzle 613. The housing 611 has a cup shape with its top opened. The support plate 612 is located in the housing 611 and supports the substrate W. [ The support plate 612 is rotatably provided. The nozzle 613 supplies a protective liquid for forming a protective film onto the substrate W placed on the supporting plate 612. The nozzle 613 has a circular tube shape and can supply the protective liquid to the center of the substrate W. [ Alternatively, the nozzle 613 may have a length corresponding to the diameter of the substrate W, and the discharge port of the nozzle 613 may be provided with a slit. In this case, the support plate 612 may be provided in a fixed state. The protective liquid includes a foamable material. The protective liquid may be a photoresist and a material having a low affinity for water. For example, the protective liquid may contain a fluorine-based solvent. The protective film application chamber 610 supplies the protective liquid to the central region of the substrate W while rotating the substrate W placed on the support plate 612.
The bake chamber 620 heat-treats the substrate W coated with the protective film. The bake chamber 620 has a cooling plate 621 or a heating plate 622. The cooling plate 621 is provided with a cooling means 623 such as a cooling water or a thermoelectric element. Or heating plate 622 is provided with a heating means 624, such as a hot wire or a thermoelectric element. The heating plate 622 and the cooling plate 621 may be provided in a single bake chamber 620, respectively. Optionally, some of the bake chambers 620 may have only the heating plate 622, while others may only have the cooling plate 621.
The post-processing module 602 has a cleaning chamber 660, a post-exposure bake chamber 670, and a delivery chamber 680. The cleaning chamber 660, the transfer chamber 680, and the post-exposure bake chamber 670 are sequentially disposed along the second direction 14. Accordingly, the cleaning chamber 660 and the post-exposure baking chamber 670 are positioned apart from each other in the second direction 14 with the transfer chamber 680 therebetween. A plurality of cleaning chambers 660 are provided and may be disposed along the third direction 16 to form layers. Alternatively, a plurality of cleaning chambers 660 may be provided in the first direction 12 and the third direction 16, respectively. A plurality of post-exposure bake chambers 670 are provided and may be disposed along the third direction 16 to form layers. Alternatively, a plurality of post-exposure bake chambers 670 may be provided in the first direction 12 and the third direction 16, respectively.
The transfer chamber 680 is positioned in parallel with the second cooling chamber 540 of the second buffer module 500 in the first direction 12 as viewed from above. The transfer chamber 680 has a generally square or rectangular shape. A post processing robot 682 is located in the transfer chamber 680. The post-processing robot 682 is connected to the cleaning chambers 660, post-exposure bake chambers 670, the second cooling chamber 540 of the second buffer module 500, and the second And transfers the substrate W between the buffers 730. The postprocessing robot 682 provided in the postprocessing module 602 may be provided with the same structure as the preprocessing robot 632 provided in the preprocessing module 601. [
The cleaning chamber 660 cleans the substrate W after the exposure process. The cleaning chamber 660 has a housing 661, a support plate 662, and a nozzle 663. The housing 661 has a cup shape with an open top. The support plate 662 is located in the housing 661 and supports the substrate W. [ The support plate 662 is rotatably provided. The nozzle 663 supplies the cleaning liquid onto the substrate W placed on the support plate 662. As the cleaning liquid, water such as deionized water may be used. The cleaning chamber 660 supplies the cleaning liquid to the central region of the substrate W while rotating the substrate W placed on the support plate 662. Optionally, while the substrate W is rotating, the nozzle 663 may move linearly or rotationally from the central region of the substrate W to the edge region.
The post-exposure bake chamber 670 heats the substrate W subjected to the exposure process using deep UV light. The post-exposure baking step heats the substrate W and amplifies the acid generated in the photoresist by exposure to complete the property change of the photoresist. The post-exposure bake chamber 670 has a heating plate 672. The heating plate 672 is provided with a heating means 674 such as a hot wire or a thermoelectric element. The post-exposure bake chamber 670 may further include a cooling plate 671 therein. The cooling plate 671 is provided with a cooling means 673 such as a cooling water or a thermoelectric element. Further, a bake chamber having only the cooling plate 671 may be further provided.
As described above, the pre-processing module 601 and the post-processing module 602 in the pre-exposure processing module 600 are provided to be completely separated from each other. The transfer chamber 630 of the preprocessing module 601 and the transfer chamber 680 of the postprocessing module 602 are provided in the same size and can be provided so as to completely overlap each other when viewed from above. Further, the protective film application chamber 610 and the cleaning chamber 660 may be provided to have the same size as each other and be provided so as to completely overlap with each other when viewed from above. Further, the bake chamber 620 and the post-exposure bake chamber 670 are provided in the same size, and can be provided so as to completely overlap each other when viewed from above.
The interface module 700 transfers the substrate W between the exposure pre- and post-processing module 600 and the exposure apparatus 900. The interface module 700 has a frame 710, a first buffer 720, a second buffer 730, and an interface robot 740. The first buffer 720, the second buffer 730, and the interface robot 740 are located within the frame 710. The first buffer 720 and the second buffer 730 are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance and are stacked on each other. The first buffer 720 is disposed higher than the second buffer 730. The first buffer 720 is positioned at a height corresponding to the preprocessing module 601 and the second buffer 730 is positioned at a height corresponding to the postprocessing module 602. The first buffer 720 is arranged in a line along the first direction 12 with the transfer chamber 630 of the preprocessing module 601 while the second buffer 730 is arranged in the postprocessing module 602, Are arranged in a line along the first direction 12 with the transfer chamber 630 of the transfer chamber 630. [
The interface robot 740 is spaced apart from the first buffer 720 and the second buffer 730 in the second direction 14. The interface robot 740 carries the substrate W between the first buffer 720, the second buffer 730 and the exposure apparatus 900. The interface robot 740 has a structure substantially similar to that of the second buffer robot 560.
The first buffer 720 temporarily stores the substrates W processed in the preprocessing module 601 before they are transferred to the exposure apparatus 900. The second buffer 730 temporarily stores the processed substrates W in the exposure apparatus 900 before they are transferred to the post-processing module 602. The first buffer 720 has a housing 721 and a plurality of supports 722. The supports 722 are disposed within the housing 721 and are provided spaced apart from each other in the third direction 16. One substrate W is placed on each support 722. The housing 721 is movable in the direction in which the interface robot 740 is provided and in the direction in which the interface robot 740 and the preprocessing robot 632 transfer the substrate W to and from the support table 722, 632 are provided with openings (not shown) in the direction in which they are provided. The second buffer 730 has a structure substantially similar to that of the first buffer 720. However, the housing 4531 of the second buffer 730 has an opening (not shown) in the direction in which the interface robot 740 is provided and in a direction in which the postprocessing robot 682 is provided. The interface module may be provided with only buffers and robots as described above without providing a chamber to perform a predetermined process on the wafer.
Next, an example of performing the process using the above-described substrate processing apparatus 1 will be described.
The cassette 20 in which the wafers W are accommodated is placed on the mount 120 of the load port 100. [ The door of the cassette 20 is opened by the door opener. The index robot 220 removes the substrate W from the cassette 20 and transfers it to the second buffer 330.
The first buffer robot 360 carries the substrate W stored in the second buffer 330 to the first buffer 320. The application robot 432 removes the substrate W from the first buffer 320 and transfers the wafer W to the bake chamber 420 of the application module 401. The bake chamber 420 sequentially performs a pre-bake and a cooling process. The application part robot 432 removes the substrate W from the bake chamber 420 and transfers it to the resist application chamber 410. The resist coating chamber 410 applies a photoresist on the substrate W. [ Then, when the photoresist is applied onto the substrate W, the application part robot 432 carries the substrate W from the resist application chamber 410 to the bake chamber 420. The bake chamber 420 performs a soft bake process on the substrate W.
The application robot 432 removes the substrate W from the bake chamber 420 and transfers the substrate W to the first cooling chamber 530 of the second buffer module 500. A cooling process is performed on the substrate W in the first cooling chamber 530. [ The substrate W processed in the first cooling chamber 530 is transported to the edge exposure chamber 550 by the second buffer robot 560. The edge exposure chamber 550 performs a process of exposing an edge region of the substrate W. [ The substrate W having been processed in the edge exposure chamber 550 is transferred to the buffer 520 by the second buffer robot 560.
The preprocessing robot 632 takes the substrate W from the buffer 520 and transfers it to the protective film application chamber 610 of the preprocessing module 601. The protective film applying chamber 610 applies a protective film on the substrate W. [ Thereafter, the pre-processing robot 632 carries the substrate W from the protective film application chamber 610 to the bake chamber 620. The bake chamber 620 performs a heat treatment on the substrate W such as heating and cooling.
The preprocessing robot 632 takes the substrate W out of the bake chamber 620 and transfers it to the first buffer 720 of the interface module 700. The interface robot 740 carries the wafer from the first buffer 720 to the inversion unit 840 of the processing module 800. The inversion unit 840 inverts the wafer so that the first side (pattern side) of the wafer faces downward. The inverted wafer is loaded on the spin chuck 810, and the loaded wafer is chucked by the pin members 811a and 811b.
An inert gas such as nitrogen gas is injected onto the first surface of the wafer through the injection holes 852 formed in the support plate 812 of the spin chuck 810 and then is injected into the first surface of the wafer through the injection holes 852 with deionized water The rinsing liquid is sprayed. The rinse liquid may be sprayed onto the first side of the wafer through the injection holes 852 with the gas. Upon injection of the gas and / or rinse liquid to the first side of the wafer, the spin chuck 810 may be rotated and otherwise not rotated. Then, the rinse liquid spray unit 860 sprays rinsing liquid onto the second surface of the wafer.
The wafer is then transferred from the processing module 800 to the first buffer 720 by the interface robot 740 and then transferred from the first buffer 720 to the exposure apparatus 900. The exposure apparatus 900 performs an exposure process, for example, a liquid immersion exposure process, on the first surface of the wafer. When the exposure process for the substrate W is completed in the exposure apparatus 900, the interface robot 740 carries the substrate W from the exposure apparatus 900 to the second buffer 730.
The postprocessing robot 682 takes the substrate W from the second buffer 730 and transfers it to the cleaning chamber 660 of the postprocessing module 602. The cleaning chamber 660 supplies a cleaning liquid to the surface of the substrate W to perform a cleaning process. After the cleaning of the substrate W using the cleaning liquid is completed, the post-processing robot 682 immediately removes the substrate W from the cleaning chamber 660 and transports the substrate W to the post-exposure bake chamber 670. The cleaning liquid adhered on the substrate W is removed by heating the substrate W in the heating plate 672 of the post-exposure bake chamber 670 while the acid generated in the photoresist is amplified, The property change of the resist is completed. The post-processing robot 682 carries the substrate W from the post-exposure baking chamber 670 to the second cooling chamber 540 of the second buffer module 500. Cooling of the substrate W in the second cooling chamber 540 is performed.
The developing robot 482 takes the substrate W from the second cooling chamber 540 and transfers it to the bake chamber 470 of the developing module 402. [ The bake chamber 470 sequentially performs post bake and cooling processes. The developing sub-robot 482 takes the substrate W from the bake chamber 470 and transfers it to the developing chamber 460. The development chamber 460 supplies a developer onto the substrate W to perform a development process. The developing robot 482 carries the substrate W from the developing chamber 460 to the bake chamber 470. [ The bake chamber 470 performs a hard bake process on the substrate W.
The development robot 482 takes the substrate W from the bake chamber 470 and transfers it to the cooling chamber 350 of the first buffer module 300. [ The cooling chamber 350 performs a process of cooling the substrate W. [ The index robot 360 carries the substrate W from the cooling chamber 350 to the cassette 20. The development robot 482 removes the substrate W from the bake chamber 470 and transports the substrate W to the second buffer 330 of the first buffer module 300, 20). ≪ / RTI >
