KR101985764B1 - Air conditioner and apparatus for treating substrate the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides an air conditioning apparatus. The air conditioner of the present invention includes a case having an inlet through which air is introduced, an inner space through which air introduced through the inlet is spread, and openings through which air introduced into the inner space is flowed down; A damper installed at the inlet to adjust a flow rate of air; And a diffuser installed between the internal space and the damper so that the airflow passing through the damper is uniformly provided in the internal space.

Description

Air conditioner and substrate processing apparatus having the same {AIR CONDITIONER AND APPARATUS FOR TREATING SUBSTRATE THE SAME}

The present invention relates to an apparatus for processing a substrate.

In general, various processes such as cleaning, deposition, photolithography, etching, and ion implantation are performed to manufacture a semiconductor device. Photolithography processes performed to form patterns play an important role in achieving high integration of semiconductor devices.

A photolithography process is performed to form a photoresist pattern on a semiconductor substrate made of silicon. The photolithography process includes a coating and soft bake process for forming a photoresist film on a substrate, an exposure and development process for forming a photoresist pattern from the photoresist film, and an edge bead for removing edge portions of the photoresist film or pattern. Edge bead removal (hereinafter referred to as 'EBR') process and edge exposure (hereinafter referred to as 'EEW') process, and hard bake process for stabilizing and densifying the photoresist pattern.

Among the substrate processing apparatuses performing the photolithography process, a multi unit arrangement method in which a plurality of processing units are arranged in one chamber is used, and the substrate processing apparatus of such a multi unit arrangement method is a fan filter unit (FFU). An air conditioning apparatus such as the above is installed in the upper chamber, and substrate processing is performed in a downflow state of air from the air conditioning apparatus.

However, as shown in FIG. 1, the air conditioner 2 applied to the conventional multi-unit arrangement substrate processing apparatus 1 provides a downflow in a wide area, and thus does not provide a uniform air flow inside the chamber 3. I can't. That is, the air conditioner 2 has a wind speed deviation phenomenon in which the airflow increases in the duct of the process apparatus 2 as the distance from the supply stage 2a into which air is introduced, and the wind speed increases as the distance from the supply stage 2a increases. Is generated.

As a result, a process deviation occurs between the substrate processed in the left processing unit 4a and the substrate processed in the right processing unit 4b.

An object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioning apparatus capable of uniformly controlling the wind speed.

An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of providing uniform air flow to a process chamber in which a plurality of substrate processing units are disposed.

 The problem to be solved by the present invention is not limited thereto, and other problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a case having an inlet through which air is introduced, an inner space through which air introduced through the inlet is spread, and openings through which air introduced into the inner space flows down; A damper installed at the inlet to adjust a flow rate of air; And a diffuser installed between the internal space and the damper so that the airflow passing through the damper is uniformly provided in the internal space.

In addition, the diffuser may be formed in a plate shape having a plurality of holes.

In addition, the case may provide a buffer space in which airflow temporarily stays between the diffuser and the inlet.

In addition, the case may further include airflow control partitions through which airflows flowing in the internal space collide.

In addition, the airflow control partitions may be installed in a direction orthogonal to the airflow flow direction on the upper inner surface of the case.

In addition, the openings may include a first opening and a second opening located in a straight line in a direction in which air flows, and the first opening may be disposed adjacent to the inlet.

In addition, the height of the airflow control partitions may be longer, gradually shorter, and longer on the side close to the diffuser.

In addition, the case may further include lower partitions installed to be perpendicular to the air flow direction.

In addition, a plate-shaped filter installed in the opening; And a mesh plate installed at the bottom of the filter.

According to another aspect of the invention, a chamber having a processing space; Substrate processing units arranged in a line in the processing space of the chamber; An air conditioning apparatus installed at an upper portion of the chamber and provided with a downdraft to the processing space of the chamber; The air conditioning apparatus includes a case having an inlet through which air is introduced, an inner space through which air introduced through the inlet is diffused, and openings through which air introduced into the inner space flows down; A damper installed at the inlet to adjust a flow rate of air; And a diffuser disposed between the internal space and the damper so that the airflow passing through the damper is uniformly provided in the internal space.

In addition, the opening may be disposed to face the substrate processing unit.

In addition, the diffuser is formed in a plate shape having a plurality of holes, the case may be provided with a buffer space in which air flow temporarily stays between the diffuser and the inlet.

The case may further include airflow control partitions through which airflows flowing in the internal space collide; The airflow control partitions are installed on the upper inner surface of the case in a direction orthogonal to the flow direction of the airflow, and the airflow control partitions have a long height so that the airflow resistance is large in a region far from the diffuser and in the region close to the diffuser. In the intermediate region between the and distant regions, the height may be shortened so that the air flow resistance is small.

In addition, the case may further include lower partitions installed to be perpendicular to the air flow direction.

In addition, a plate-shaped filter installed in the opening; And a mesh plate installed at the bottom of the filter.

In addition, the substrate processing unit may apply a photoresist on a substrate.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the buffer area for the diffusion of airflow flowing through the damper can be secured, and the airflow control partition walls can be adjusted in height to reduce the variation in wind speed between units.

The effects of the present invention are not limited to the above-described effects, and effects that are not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the present specification and the accompanying drawings.

1 is a view showing a non-uniform wind speed in a conventional substrate processing apparatus of a multi-unit batch method.
2 is a view of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention viewed from above.
FIG. 3 is a view of the device of FIG. 2 viewed in the AA direction. FIG.
4 is a view of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. 1 viewed from the BB direction.
5 is a perspective view showing the air conditioner shown in FIG.
FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the air conditioning apparatus shown in FIG. 5.
FIG. 7 is a side cross-sectional view of the air conditioning apparatus shown in FIG. 5.
8 shows a uniform wind speed in the spin processing unit.

As the inventive concept allows for various changes and numerous embodiments, particular embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the written description. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, it should be understood to include all transformations, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention. In the following description of the present invention, if it is determined that the detailed description of the related known technology may obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this application, the terms "comprise" or "have" are intended to indicate that there is a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification, and one or more other features. It is to be understood that the present invention does not exclude the possibility of the presence or the addition of numbers, steps, operations, components, components, or a combination thereof.

Terms such as first and second may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, and in describing the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, the same or corresponding elements are denoted by the same reference numerals regardless of the reference numerals, and duplicates thereof. The description will be omitted.

2 to 4 schematically show a substrate processing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a view showing the substrate processing apparatus 1 from the top. FIG. 3 is the apparatus of FIG. (1) is a view seen from the AA direction, and FIG. 4 is a view seen from the BB direction of the substrate processing apparatus 1 of FIG.

2 to 4, the substrate processing apparatus 1 includes an index unit 100, a buffer unit 300, a process processing unit 400, and an interface unit 700.

 The index unit 100, the buffer unit 300, the process processor 400, and the interface unit 700 are sequentially arranged in one direction.

The direction in which the index unit 100, the buffer unit 300, the process processor 400, and the interface unit 700 are disposed is referred to as a first direction 12. When viewed from the top, the direction perpendicular to the first direction 12 is referred to as the second direction 14, and the direction perpendicular to the first direction 12 and the second direction 14, respectively, is referred to as the third direction 16. This is called.

The wafer W is moved in the state accommodated in the cassette 20. The cassette 20 has a structure that can be sealed from the outside. For example, a front open unified pod (FOUP) having a front door may be used as the cassette 20.

Hereinafter, the index unit 100, the buffer unit 300, the process processor 400, and the interface unit 700 will be described.

(Index part)

The index unit 100 includes a mounting table 120 on which the cassette 20 containing the wafers W is placed. The mounting table 120 may be provided in plural, and the mounting tables 120 may be arranged in a line along the second direction 14. In FIG. 3 four mounting tables 120 are provided.

The index unit 100 transfers the wafer W between the cassette 20 placed on the mounting table 120 and the buffer unit 300. The index unit 100 includes a frame 210, an index robot 220, and a guide rail 230.

The frame 210 is generally provided in the shape of an empty rectangular parallelepiped, and is disposed between the mounting table 120 and the buffer unit 300. The frame 210 of the index unit 100 may be provided at a height lower than that of the frame 310 of the buffer unit 300, which will be described later. The index robot 220 and the guide rail 230 are disposed in the frame 210. The index robot 220 drives four axes so that the hand 221 which directly handles the wafer W can be moved and rotated in the first direction 12, the second direction 14, and the third direction 16. This is a possible structure. The index robot 220 includes a hand 221, an arm 222, a support 223, and a pedestal 224. The hand 221 is fixed to the arm 222. Arm 222 is provided in a stretchable and rotatable structure. The support 223 is disposed in the longitudinal direction along the third direction 16. Arm 222 is coupled to support 223 to be movable along support 223. The support 223 is fixedly coupled to the pedestal 224. The guide rail 230 is provided such that its longitudinal direction is disposed along the second direction 14. The pedestal 224 is coupled to the guide rail 230 to be linearly movable along the guide rail 230. In addition, although not shown, the frame 210 is further provided with a door opener for opening and closing the door of the cassette 20.

(Buffer section)

The buffer unit 300 may include a frame 310, a first buffer unit 300a, a second buffer unit 300b, and a cooling chamber 390. The frame 302 is provided in the shape of an empty rectangular parallelepiped, and is disposed between the index unit 100 and the process processor 400. The first buffer unit 300a, the second buffer unit 300b, and the cooling chamber 390 are located in the frame 302. The cooling chamber 390, the second buffer unit 300b, and the first buffer unit 300a may be sequentially disposed along the third direction 16 from below. The first buffer unit 300a is positioned at a height corresponding to the coating processing unit 401 of the process processing unit 400 to be described later, and the second buffer unit 300b and the cooling chamber 390 are the process processing unit 400 to be described later. May be provided at a height corresponding to the development processing unit 402.

Each of the first buffer unit 300a and the second buffer unit 300b may temporarily store a plurality of wafers W. FIG.

The first buffer unit 300a and the second buffer unit 300b have the same configuration. In the present embodiment, the process description of the first buffer unit ends after the description will be described in detail.

(Interface part)

The interface unit 700 transfers the wafer W. The interface unit 700 includes 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 in the frame 710. The first buffer 720 and the second buffer 730 are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance and disposed to be stacked on each other. The first buffer 720 is disposed higher than the second buffer 730.

The interface robot 740 is positioned to be spaced apart from the first buffer 720 and the second buffer 730 in the second direction 14. The interface robot 740 carries the wafer W between the first buffer 720, the second buffer 730, and the exposure apparatus 900.

The first buffer 720 temporarily stores the wafers W on which the process is performed before moving to the exposure apparatus 900. The second buffer 730 temporarily stores the wafers W, which have been processed in the exposure apparatus 900, before they are moved. The first buffer 720 has a housing 721 and a plurality of supports 722. The supports 722 are disposed in the housing 721 and are provided spaced apart from each other along the third direction 16. One support W is placed on each support 722. The housing 721 has an opening in a direction in which the interface robot 740 is provided so that the interface robot 740 can bring the wafer W into or out of the support 722 into the housing 721. The second buffer 730 has a structure similar to the first buffer 720. The interface unit may be provided with only the buffers and the robot as described above without providing a chamber for performing a predetermined process on the wafer.

The first buffer 720 and the second buffer 730 of the interface unit 700 may have the same configuration as the first buffer unit 300a described below.

(Process Processing Unit)

The process processor 400 may perform a process of applying a photoresist on the wafer W before the exposure process and a process of developing the substrate W after the exposure process.

The process processor 400 has a generally rectangular parallelepiped shape. The process processor 400 may include a coating processor 401 and a developing processor 402. The coating processing unit 401 and the developing processing unit 402 may be arranged to partition each other into layers. According to an example, the coating processing unit 401 may be located above the developing processing unit 402.

The coating processing unit 401 may include a process of applying a photoresist such as a photoresist to the wafer W, and a heat treatment process such as heating and cooling of the wafer W before and after the resist application process.

For example, the coating processing unit 401 may include a central passage 490, a main transport robot 5000, and processing units for performing a process of the processing unit. Here, the processing units may include heat treatment units 420 and 430 and spin processing units 410.

The heat treatment unit may include a cooling unit 420 and a baking unit 430, and the spin treatment units may include coating units 410a for an application process. As described above, units suitable for respective process characteristics may be disposed in each of the coating treatment unit 401 and the developing treatment unit 402.

Again, referring to FIGS. 2 to 4, the spin processing unit 410 has a multi unit arrangement structure in which a plurality of coating units 410a are disposed in one chamber CH. In the multi-unit arrangement type spin processing unit 410, an air conditioner 900 is installed above the chamber CH, and a process is performed in a downflow state of air from the air conditioner 900.

For example, although two coating units 410a are disposed in the spin processing unit 410 along the first direction, the coating unit 410a is not limited thereto, and three or more coating units may be disposed. Each application unit 410a may all have the same structure. However, the kind of photoresist used in each coating unit 410a may be different from each other.

As an example, a chemical amplification resist may be used as the photoresist. The coating unit 410a applies a photoresist on the wafer W. As shown in FIG. The application unit 410a has a pole 411, a support plate 412, and a nozzle 413. Paul 411 has a cup shape with an open top. The support plate 412 is located in Paul 411 and supports the wafer W. The support plate 412 is provided to be rotatable. The nozzle 413 supplies the photoresist onto the wafer W placed on the support plate 412. The nozzle 413 has a circular tubular shape, and can supply the photoresist to the center of the wafer (W). Optionally, the nozzle 413 has a length corresponding to the diameter of the wafer W, and the discharge port of the nozzle 413 may be provided as a slit. In addition, the coating unit 410 may further be provided with a nozzle for supplying a cleaning liquid, such as deionized water, to clean the surface of the wafer W on which the photoresist is applied.

The baking unit 430 heat-treats the wafer W. For example, the bake units 430 may use a prebake process or a photoresist that heats the wafer W to a predetermined temperature and removes organic matter or moisture from the surface of the wafer W before applying the photoresist. A soft bake process or the like performed after coating on W) is performed, and a cooling process for cooling the wafer W after each heating process is performed.

The bake unit 430 has a heating plate 421 and a cooling plate 422. The cooling plate 422 is provided with cooling means 424, such as cooling water or thermoelectric elements.

The cooling unit 420 performs a cooling process of cooling the substrate before applying the photoresist. The cooling unit 420 may include a housing and a cooling plate. The cooling plate may comprise an upper surface on which the wafer W is placed and cooling means for cooling the wafer W. As the cooling means, various methods such as cooling by cooling water or cooling using a thermoelectric element may be used.

The transfer robot 5000 is located in the central passage 490. The transfer unit 5000 conveys the substrates between the processing units that process the substrates.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a processing unit in which the transfer unit 5000 transfers the substrate in the coating processing unit 401 may include a cooling unit 420, a spin processing unit 410, a baking unit 430, and a change buffer module 450. It may include.

5 is a perspective view showing the air conditioner shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the air conditioner shown in FIG. 5, and FIG. 7 is a side cross-sectional view of the air conditioner shown in FIG.

5 to 7, the air conditioner 900 may include a case 910, a damper 920, a diffuser, an airflow control partition 980, and a bottom partition 970.

The case 910 is formed with an inner space 914 through which air injected into the case can be diffused. For example, the case 910 may have a duct shape including a bottom portion and sidewalls extending from the opposite ends of the bottom portion to a first height perpendicular to the bottom portion and a cover covering the sidewalls. The area of the case 910 may be provided equal to or wider than the area occupied by the two coating units 410a disposed along the first direction of the spin processing unit 410. The case 910 may be disposed above the chamber of the spin processing unit.

In one embodiment of the present invention, one side of the case 910 has an inlet 912 through which air is introduced.

The diffuser 930 is installed spaced apart from the inlet 9912 by a predetermined interval. The diffuser 930 may be provided in a plate shape in which a plurality of through holes are formed. Between the diffuser 930 and the inlet 912 is provided a buffer space 938 in which airflow resides. The diffuser 930 serves to buffer the airflow passing through the damper 920 to flow uniformly in the internal space 914.

The damper 920 is installed at the inlet 912 of the case 910 to adjust the air flow rate flowing into the inner space 914 of the case 910.

The air introduced through the inlet 912 of the case 910 is temporarily controlled in the buffer space 938 in front of the diffuser 930 after the flow rate is adjusted through the damper 920, and then through the through holes of the diffuser 930. The inner space 914 of the case 910 flows uniformly.

The bottom of the case 910 has openings 916 through which air introduced into the internal space 914 flows down. The openings 916 include a first opening 916a and a second opening 916b positioned in a straight line in a direction in which airflow flows, and the first opening 916a is disposed adjacent to the diffuser 930. The first opening 916a may be disposed to face the right spin processing unit of the chamber, and the second opening 916b may be disposed to face the left processing unit of the chamber.

The opening 916 is provided with plate-shaped filters 990. The bottom surface of the filter 990 is provided with a mesh plate 992.

The airflow control partitions 980 are installed in the case 910. The airflow control partitions 980 extend in the second direction. The airflow control partitions 980 may be installed to have a predetermined height inside the cover of the case 910. The airflow control partitions 980 may be long on the side close to the diffuser 930, gradually shorter, and longer. In other words, the airflow control partitions 980 have a long height so that the airflow resistance is large in the region close to the diffuser 930 and a height of the airflow resistance is small in the middle region between the near and the far region. It can be shaped to be short.

For example, if the height of the interior space is H, the two airflow control partitions close to the diffuser 930 have a height in the range of 45-55% of the H height, and the next three airflow control partitions have a height of 30- H. It has a height in the range of 40%, and the next two airflow control bulkheads have a height in the range of 20-30% of the H height. And the final airflow control bulkhead has a height in the range of 45-55% of the H height. For reference, assuming that H is 10 cm, the 45-55% range means 4.5 to 5.5 cm.

In this structure, as the amount of air flowing into the inner space is small, the airflow control partition 980 on the inflow side buffers and generates vortex airflow, and then the airflow control partition 980 is shortened, and the vortex flow filter 990. It acts as an airflow guide to pass through.

8 shows a uniform wind speed in the spin processing unit.

In the air conditioner having the above-described structure, as shown in FIG. 8, when the average wind speed is 0.317 ± m / s, the deviation between units is 0.005 m / s (80% improvement compared to the existing air conditioner), and the uniformity of the wind speed in the unit is ± 0.01m / With s (50% improvement) the wind speed uniformity can be significantly improved.

The above description is merely illustrative of the technical idea of the present invention, and those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains may make various modifications and changes without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are not intended to limit the technical idea of the present invention but to describe the present invention, and the scope of the technical idea of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. The protection scope of the present invention should be interpreted by the following claims, and all technical ideas within the equivalent scope should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the present invention.

900: air conditioning unit 910: case
920: damper 930: diffuser
980: airflow control bulkhead

Claims (16)

A case having an inlet through which air is introduced, an inner space through which air introduced through the inlet is diffused, and openings through which air introduced into the inner space flows down;
A damper installed at the inlet to adjust a flow rate of air; And
A diffuser installed between the internal space and the damper so that the airflow passing through the damper is uniformly provided in the internal space;
The case is
Airflow control partitions are installed on the upper inner surface of the case in a direction orthogonal to the flow direction of the air flow so that the air flow flowing in the inner space,
The airflow control partitions
The height of the airflow resistance is greater in the region near and far away from the diffuser so that the height is longer in the middle region between the near region and the far region, and the airflow resistance becomes smaller toward the middle region from the near or far region. An air conditioning apparatus, which is shaped such that its height is gradually shortened. The method of claim 1,
The diffuser
An air conditioning apparatus having a plate shape having a plurality of through holes. The method of claim 2,
The case is
And a buffer space in which airflow temporarily stays between the diffuser and the inlet. delete delete The method of claim 1,
The openings
A first opening and a second opening located in a straight line in a direction in which air flows;
And the first opening is disposed adjacent to the inlet. delete The method of claim 2,
The case is
Air conditioning apparatus further comprises a bottom partition wall is installed in the lower portion orthogonal to the air flow direction. The method of claim 2,
A plate-shaped filter installed in the opening; And
The air conditioner further comprises a mesh plate installed at the bottom of the filter. A chamber having a processing space;
Substrate processing units arranged in a line in the processing space of the chamber;
An air conditioning apparatus installed at an upper portion of the chamber and provided with a downdraft to the processing space of the chamber;
The air conditioning device
A case having an inlet through which air is introduced, an inner space through which air introduced through the inlet is diffused, and openings through which air introduced into the inner space flows down;
A damper installed at the inlet to adjust a flow rate of air; And
A diffuser installed between the internal space and the damper so that the airflow passing through the damper is uniformly provided in the internal space;
The case is
Airflow control partitions through which airflows flowing in the internal space collide;
The airflow control partitions
Is installed in the direction orthogonal to the air flow direction on the upper inner surface of the case,
The air flow resistance is greater in the region near and far away from the diffuser so that the height is longer in the middle region between the near region and the far region, and the air flow resistance becomes smaller toward the middle region from the near or far region. A substrate processing apparatus that is shaped so that its height gradually shortens. The method of claim 10,
And the opening is disposed to face the substrate processing unit. The method of claim 10,
The diffuser
It is made of a plate shape having a plurality of through holes,
The case is
And a buffer space in which airflow temporarily stays between the diffuser and the inlet. delete The method of claim 12,
The case is
The lower portion of the substrate processing apparatus further installed to be orthogonal to the air flow direction. The method of claim 12,
A plate-shaped filter installed in the opening; And
The substrate processing apparatus further comprises a mesh plate installed at the bottom of the filter. The method of claim 12,
The substrate processing unit applies a photoresist on a substrate.

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