KR102204885B1 - Apparatus for treating substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

An embodiment of the present invention provides a method of liquid processing a substrate. The method of liquid treatment of the substrate includes a liquid application step of applying a photoresist onto the substrate by supplying a photoresist to the rotating substrate, wherein the liquid application step includes a first speed to a second speed while the photosensitive liquid is supplied. Including an acceleration step of accelerating the rotational speed of the substrate, wherein the thickness control of the photoresist according to the region of the substrate is performed by controlling an arrival time from the first speed to the second speed according to the viscosity of the photosensitive liquid. do. Accordingly, it is possible to control the thickness of the liquid film for each region according to the viscosity of the photoresist.

Description

Substrate treatment method {Apparatus for treating substrate}

The present invention relates to a method of liquid treating a substrate.

In order to manufacture a semiconductor device, various processes such as cleaning, deposition, photography, etching, and ion implantation are performed. Among these processes, the photographic process sequentially performs coating, exposure, and development steps. The coating process is a process of applying a photosensitive liquid such as a resist to the surface of the substrate. The exposure process is a process of exposing a circuit pattern on a substrate on which a photosensitive film is formed. In the developing process, the exposed area of the substrate is selectively developed.

In general, the coating process is a process of forming a liquid film by coating a photosensitive solution on a substrate. The thickness of the liquid film acts as an important factor in the exposure process and development process performed following the coating process. As a result, various measures have been proposed to control the thickness of the liquid film.

For example, in order to control the thickness of the liquid film, a method of variously controlling the rotation speed of the substrate in the reflow process or the diffusion process performed after the application step of applying a photoresist has been proposed.

However, such a change in the rotational speed caused a slight change in the liquid film thickness, and a variable capable of controlling the liquid film thickness with a larger width is required.

In addition, various types of photoresist used for the substrate are used, and each photoresist has different properties. For example, the photoresists have different viscosities or different adsorption power to the substrate.

For this reason, it is not easy to adjust the thickness of the liquid film formed on the substrate to a large extent, and it is very difficult to control the thickness of a specific portion.

An object of the present invention is to provide a method capable of largely controlling the thickness of a liquid film formed on a substrate.

In addition, the present invention is to provide a method capable of adjusting the thickness corresponding to a liquid film formed by a photosensitive liquid having different properties.

In addition, the present invention is to provide a method of controlling the thickness of a specific region of a liquid film.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a method of liquid processing a substrate. The method of liquid treatment of the substrate includes a liquid application step of applying a photoresist onto the substrate by supplying a photoresist to the rotating substrate, wherein the liquid application step includes a first speed to a second speed while the photosensitive liquid is supplied. Including an acceleration step of accelerating the rotational speed of the substrate, wherein the thickness control of the photoresist according to the region of the substrate is performed by controlling an arrival time from the first speed to the second speed according to the viscosity of the photosensitive liquid. do.

The photoresist is supplied to the first substrate and includes a first liquid having a first viscosity and a second liquid having a second viscosity different from the first viscosity, and according to the control of the arrival time. The amount of change in thickness for each region between the first liquid film due to the first liquid and the second liquid film due to the second liquid may be differently adjusted.

The liquid application step may further include a constant velocity step of maintaining the second speed for a predetermined time while the photoresist is supplied after the acceleration step. In the acceleration step, when the first liquid film is formed, the arrival time is performed for a first time, and when the second liquid film is formed, the arrival time is performed for a second time. When processing the first substrate, the acceleration step The sum of the time required in the constant velocity step and may be equal to the sum of the time required in the acceleration step and the constant velocity step when processing the second substrate.

The first viscosity has a viscosity lower than a reference value, and when the thickness of the liquid film is to be thickened in the edge region of the substrate, the reaching time may be lengthened.

The first viscosity has a viscosity lower than a reference value, and when the thickness of the liquid film is to be thinned in the edge region of the substrate, the arrival time may be shortened.

The second viscosity has a viscosity higher than the reference value,

When it is desired to increase the thickness of the liquid film in the central region of the substrate, the arrival time may be shortened.

The second viscosity has a viscosity higher than a reference value, and when the thickness of the liquid film is to be thinned in the central region of the substrate, the reaching time may be lengthened.

The first viscosity is smaller than the second viscosity, and the arrival time when the first liquid is supplied to the first substrate may be greater than the arrival time when the second liquid is supplied to the second substrate.

The first viscosity may be smaller than the second viscosity, and the arrival time when the first liquid is supplied to the first substrate may be less than the arrival time when the second liquid is supplied to the second substrate.

In addition, the method of liquid treatment of the substrate includes a liquid application step of applying a photoresist to the substrate by supplying a photoresist to the rotating substrate, and stopping the supply of the photosensitive liquid and rotating the substrate to remove the photosensitive liquid applied on the substrate. And a reflow step of reflowing the substrate, wherein the liquid application step includes an acceleration step of accelerating the rotational speed of the substrate from a first speed to a second speed while the photosensitive liquid is supplied, wherein the photoresist is A first liquid having a viscosity of 1 and a second liquid having a viscosity of a second are included, and in the accelerating step, when the first liquid is applied to a first substrate, a time of reaching the second speed from the first speed is determined. It is carried out for a first hour, and when the second liquid is applied to a second substrate, a time to reach the second speed from the first speed is performed for a second time, wherein the first time and the second time are They are different from each other, and the first viscosity and the second viscosity are different.

The liquid application step may further include a constant velocity step of maintaining the second speed for a predetermined time while the photoresist is supplied after the acceleration step. When processing the first substrate, the sum of the time required in the acceleration step and the constant speed step may be equal to the sum of the time required in the acceleration step and the constant speed step when processing the second substrate.

By controlling the first time and the second time, respectively, a thickness change amount for each region between the first liquid film due to the first liquid and the second liquid film due to the second liquid may be differently adjusted.

When the first viscosity has a viscosity lower than a reference value and the thickness of the liquid film is to be thickened in the edge region of the substrate, the first time may be lengthened.

When the first viscosity has a viscosity lower than a reference value and the thickness of the liquid film in the edge region of the substrate is to be thinned, the first time may be shortened.

The second viscosity has a viscosity higher than a reference value, and when the thickness of the liquid film is to be thickened in the central region of the substrate, the second time may be shortened.

When the second viscosity has a viscosity higher than a reference value and the thickness of the liquid film in the central region of the substrate is to be thinned, the second time may be lengthened.

In addition, the method of forming a liquid film on the substrate includes applying a photosensitive liquid to the substrate to apply the photosensitive liquid to the substrate, and accelerating the substrate from a first speed to a second speed while the photosensitive liquid is supplied to the substrate. Including a step, by adjusting the arrival time from the first speed to reach the second speed to adjust the thickness of the liquid film of the photoresist according to the region of the substrate.

When the photoresist has a viscosity higher than the reference value, the thickness of the liquid film in the central region of the substrate may be adjusted by controlling the arrival time.

When the photoresist has a viscosity lower than the reference value, the thickness of the liquid film in the edge region of the substrate may be adjusted by controlling the arrival time.

The method may further include a constant velocity step of maintaining the substrate at the second speed for a predetermined time after the acceleration step while the photoresist is supplied to the substrate.

The method includes a pretreatment step of rotating the substrate at the first speed and supplying a pretreatment liquid onto the substrate before coating the photoresist, and stopping the supply of the photoresist after applying the photosensitive liquid. And a reflow step of rotating the substrate at a third speed slower than the first speed, and reflowing the photoresist applied on the substrate on the substrate.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the rotational speed of the substrate is accelerated while the photoresist is applied. Due to this, the thickness of the liquid film can be largely adjusted.

In addition, according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the width of change of the thickness control is different for each region according to the viscosity of the photoresist. Accordingly, it is possible to control the thickness of the liquid film for each region according to the viscosity of the photoresist.

1 is a plan view of a substrate processing facility according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the facility of FIG. 1 viewed from the direction AA.
3 is a cross-sectional view of the facility of FIG. 1 as viewed from a BB direction.
4 is a cross-sectional view of the facility of FIG. 1 as viewed from the CC direction.
5 is a plan view illustrating the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. 1.
6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. 5.
7 is an enlarged perspective view of the nozzle member of FIG. 6.
FIG. 8 is a graph showing a change in a rotation speed of a substrate for each step when a substrate is coated using the apparatus of FIG. 5.
FIG. 9 is a graph showing a change in thickness of a liquid film on a substrate according to a change in arrival time in an acceleration step when the photoresist having a low viscosity of FIG. 8 is applied.
10 is a graph showing a change in thickness of a liquid film on a substrate according to a change in an arrival time in an acceleration step when the photoresist having a high viscosity of FIG. 8 is applied.
11 is a graph showing another embodiment of FIG. 8.
12 is a view showing a coating process according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in more 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 completely describe the present invention to those with average knowledge in the art. Therefore, the shape of the element in the drawings has been exaggerated to emphasize a clearer description.

The equipment 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 equipment of this embodiment may be connected to an exposure apparatus and used to perform a coating process and a developing process on a substrate. The following describes a case where a wafer is used as a substrate as an example.

Hereinafter, a substrate processing facility of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 12.

FIG. 1 is a view of the substrate processing facility viewed from the top, FIG. 2 is a view of the facility of FIG. 1 viewed from the AA direction, FIG. 3 is a view of the facility of FIG. 1 viewed from the BB direction, and FIG. 4 is the facility of FIG. Is a view viewed from the CC direction.

1 to 4, the substrate processing facility 1 includes a load port 100, an index module 200, a first buffer module 300, a coating and developing module 400, and a second buffer module 500. ), a pre-exposure processing module 600, and an interface module 700. The load port 100, the index module 200, the first buffer module 300, the coating and development module 400, the second buffer module 500, the pre-exposure processing module 600, and the interface module 700 Are sequentially arranged in a line in one 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, and the interface module ( The direction in which 700) is arranged is called the first direction 12, the direction perpendicular to the first direction 12 when viewed from above is called the second direction 14, and the first direction 12 and the second 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 integrated pod (FOUP) having a door in the front may be used.

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, and the interface module ( 700) will be described in detail.

The load port 100 has a mounting table 120 on which the cassette 20 in which the substrates W are accommodated is placed. A plurality of placement tables 120 are provided, and the placement tables 200 are arranged in a row along the second direction 14. In FIG. 2, four mounting tables 120 were provided.

The index module 200 transfers the substrate W between the cassette 20 placed on the mounting table 120 of the load port 100 and the first buffer module 300. The index module 200 includes a frame 210, an index robot 220, and a guide rail 230. The frame 210 is provided in a rectangular parallelepiped shape with an empty inside, 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 to be described later. The index robot 220 and the guide rail 230 are disposed in the frame 210. The index robot 220 is driven by four axes so that the hand 221 that directly handles the substrate W can move and rotate in the first direction 12, the second direction 14, and the third direction 16. It has this possible structure. The index robot 220 has a hand 221, an arm 222, a support 223, and a pedestal 224. The hand 221 is fixedly installed on the arm 222. The arm 222 is provided in a stretchable structure and a rotatable structure. The support 223 is disposed along the third direction 16 in its longitudinal direction. The arm 222 is coupled to the support 223 to be movable along the support 223. Support 223 is fixedly coupled to the pedestal 224. The guide rail 230 is provided so that its longitudinal direction is disposed along the second direction 14. The pedestal 224 is coupled to the guide rail 230 so as to be able to move linearly along the guide rail 230. Further, although not shown, a door opener for opening and closing the door of the cassette 20 is further provided on the frame 210.

The first buffer module 300 includes 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 a rectangular parallelepiped with an empty inside, and is disposed between the index module 200 and the coating and developing module 400. The first buffer 320, the second buffer 330, the cooling chamber 350, and the first buffer robot 360 are located in the frame 310. The cooling chamber 350, the second buffer 330, and the first buffer 320 are sequentially disposed along the third direction 16 from below. The first buffer 320 is positioned at a height corresponding to the coating module 401 of the coating and developing module 400 to be described later, and the second buffer 330 and the cooling chamber 350 are applied to a coating and developing module ( It is located at a height corresponding to the developing module 402 of 400). The first buffer robot 360 is positioned to be spaced apart by a predetermined distance from the second buffer 330, the cooling chamber 350, and the first buffer 320 and 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 in the housing 331 and are provided to be spaced apart from each other along the third direction 16. One substrate W is placed on each of the supports 332. In the housing 331, the index robot 220, the first buffer robot 360, and the developing unit robot 482 of the developing module 402 to be described later attach the substrate W to the support 332 in the housing 331. An opening (not shown) is provided in a direction in which the index robot 220 is provided, a direction in which the first buffer robot 360 is provided, and a direction in which the developing unit robot 482 is provided so as to be carried in or out. The first buffer 320 has a structure substantially similar to that of the second buffer 330. However, 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 applicator robot 432 positioned in the application module 401 to be described later is provided. The number of supports 322 provided to the first buffer 320 and the number of supports 332 provided to the second buffer 330 may be the same or different. According to an example, the number of supports 332 provided to the second buffer 330 may be greater than the number of supports 322 provided to 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 363. The hand 361 is fixedly installed on the arm 362. The arm 362 is provided in a stretchable structure 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 able to move linearly in the third direction 16 along the support 363. The support 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 363 may be provided longer than this in an upward or downward direction. The first buffer robot 360 may be provided so that the hand 361 is simply driven only in two axes along the second direction 14 and the third direction 16.

Each of the cooling chambers 350 cools the substrate W. 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 using cooling water or cooling using a thermoelectric element, may be used. In addition, a lift pin assembly (not shown) for positioning the substrate W on the cooling plate 352 may be provided in the cooling chamber 350. The housing 351 includes the index robot 220 so that the developing unit robot 482 provided to the index robot 220 and the developing module 402 to be described later can carry the substrate W into or out of the cooling plate 352. The provided direction and the developing unit robot 482 have an opening (not shown) in the provided direction. In addition, doors (not shown) for opening and closing the above-described opening may be provided in the cooling chamber 350.

The coating and developing module 400 performs a process of applying a photoresist onto the substrate W before the exposure process and a process of developing the substrate W after the exposure process. The coating and developing module 400 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. The coating and developing module 400 has a coating module 401 and a developing module 402. The coating module 401 and the developing module 402 are arranged to be partitioned into layers therebetween. According to an example, the application module 401 is located above the developing module 402.

The coating module 401 includes a process of applying a photoresist, such as a photoresist, to the substrate W, and a heat treatment process such as heating and cooling to the substrate W before and after the resist coating process. The application module 401 has a resist application chamber 410, a bake chamber 420, and a transfer chamber 430. The resist coating chamber 410, the bake chamber 420, and the transfer chamber 430 are sequentially disposed along the second direction 14. Accordingly, the resist coating chamber 410 and the bake chamber 420 are positioned to be spaced apart from each other in the second direction 14 with the transfer chamber 430 interposed therebetween. A plurality of resist application chambers 410 are provided, and a plurality of resist coating chambers 410 are provided in each of the first direction 12 and the third direction 16. In the drawing, an example in which six resist application chambers 410 are provided is shown. A plurality of bake chambers 420 are provided in each of the first direction 12 and the third direction 16. In the drawing, an example in which six bake chambers 420 are provided is shown. However, unlike this, the number of bake chambers 420 may be provided.

The transfer chamber 430 is positioned parallel to the first buffer 320 of the first buffer module 300 in the first direction 12. In the transfer chamber 430, an application unit robot 432 and a guide rail 433 are positioned. The transfer chamber 430 has a generally rectangular shape. The applicator robot 432 is the first of the bake chambers 420, the resist coating chambers 400, the first buffer 320 of the first buffer module 300, and the second buffer module 500 to be described later. The substrate W is transferred between the cooling chambers 520. The guide rail 433 is arranged such that its longitudinal direction is parallel to the first direction 12. The guide rail 433 guides the applicator robot 432 to linearly move 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 fixedly installed on the arm 435. The arm 435 is provided in a stretchable structure to allow the hand 434 to move in the horizontal direction. The support 436 is provided such that its longitudinal direction is disposed along the third direction 16. The arm 435 is coupled to the support 436 so as to be able to move linearly along the support 436 in the third direction 16. The support 436 is fixedly coupled to the support 437, and the support 437 is coupled to the guide rail 433 so as to be movable along the guide rail 433.

All of the resist application chambers 410 have the same structure. However, the types of photoresists used in each resist coating chamber 410 may be different from each other. As an example, a chemical amplification resist may be used as the photo resist. The resist coating chamber 410 is provided as a substrate processing apparatus for coating a photoresist on the substrate W. The substrate processing apparatus 800 performs a liquid application process. 5 is a plan view illustrating the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. 1, and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. 5. 5 and 6, the substrate processing apparatus 800 includes a housing 810, an airflow providing unit 820, a substrate supporting unit 830, a processing container 850, an elevating unit 890, and a liquid supply unit. 840, and a controller 1400.

The housing 810 is provided in a rectangular cylindrical shape having a processing space 812 therein. An opening (not shown) is formed at one side of the housing 810. The opening functions as an inlet through which the substrate W is carried. A door (not shown) is installed in the opening, and the door opens and closes the opening. When the substrate processing process proceeds, the door closes the opening to seal the processing space 812 of the housing 810. An inner exhaust port 814 and an outer exhaust port 816 are formed on the lower surface of the housing 810. The airflow formed in the housing 810 is exhausted to the outside through the inner exhaust port 814 and the outer exhaust port 816. According to an example, the airflow introduced into the processing container 850 may be exhausted through the inner exhaust port 814, and the airflow provided outside the processing container 850 may be exhausted through the outer exhaust port 816.

The airflow providing unit 820 forms a downward airflow in the processing space 812 of the housing 810. The airflow providing unit 820 includes an airflow supply line 822, a fan 824, and a filter 826. The airflow supply line 822 is connected to the housing 810. The air flow supply line 822 supplies external clean air to the housing 810. Filter 826 filters clean air provided from airflow supply line 822. The filter 826 removes impurities contained in air. The fan 824 is installed on the upper surface of the housing 810. The fan 824 is located in a central area on the top surface of the housing 810. The fan 824 forms a downward airflow in the processing space 812 of the housing 810. When clean air is supplied to the fan 824 from the airflow supply line 822, the fan 824 supplies the clean air in a downward direction. According to an example, the fan 824 may supply airflows having different flow rates to the processing space according to the substrate processing step.

The substrate support unit 830 supports the substrate W in the processing space 812 of the housing 810. The substrate support unit 830 rotates the substrate W. The substrate support unit 830 includes a spin chuck 832, a rotation shaft 834, and a driver 836. The spin chuck 832 is provided as a substrate support member 832 supporting a substrate. The spin chuck 832 is provided to have a circular plate shape. The substrate W is in contact with the upper surface of the spin chuck 832. The spin chuck 832 is provided to have a diameter smaller than that of the substrate W. According to an example, the spin chuck 832 may chuck the substrate W by vacuum suctioning the substrate W. Optionally, the spin chuck 832 may be provided as an electrostatic chuck for chucking the substrate W using static electricity. Also, the spin chuck 832 may chuck the substrate W with a physical force.

The rotation shaft 834 and the driver 836 are provided as rotation drive members 834 and 836 that rotate the spin chuck 832. The rotation shaft 834 supports the spin chuck 832 under the spin chuck 832. The rotation shaft 834 is provided so that its longitudinal direction faces up and down. The rotation shaft 834 is provided so as to be rotatable about its central axis. The driver 836 provides a driving force so that the rotation shaft 834 is rotated. For example, the driver 836 may be a motor capable of varying the rotational speed of the rotation shaft. The rotation driving members 834 and 836 may rotate the spin chuck 832 at different rotation speeds according to a substrate processing step.

The processing vessel 850 is located in the processing space 812 of the housing 810. The processing container 850 is provided to surround the substrate support unit 830. The processing container 850 is provided to have a cup shape with an open top. The processing vessel 850 includes an inner cup 852 and an outer cup 862.

The inner cup 852 is provided in a circular cup shape surrounding the rotation shaft 834. When viewed from the top, the inner cup 852 is positioned to overlap the inner exhaust port 814. When viewed from above, the upper surface of the inner cup 852 is provided so that each of the outer and inner regions are inclined at different angles. According to an example, the outer region of the inner cup 852 faces a downwardly inclined direction as the distance from the substrate support unit 830 increases, and the inner region faces an upwardly inclined direction as the distance from the substrate support unit 830. Is provided to A point where the outer region and the inner region of the inner cup 852 meet each other is provided to correspond to the side end of the substrate W in the vertical direction. An area outside the upper surface of the inner cup 852 is provided to be rounded. An area outside the upper surface of the inner cup 852 is provided concave down. An area outside the upper surface of the inner cup 852 may be provided as an area through which the treatment liquid flows.

The outer cup 862 is provided to have a cup shape surrounding the substrate support unit 830 and the inner cup 852. The outer cup 862 has a bottom wall 864, a side wall 866, an upper wall 870, and an inclined wall 870. The bottom wall 864 is provided to have a circular plate shape having a hollow. A recovery line 865 is formed on the bottom wall 864. The recovery line 865 recovers the processing liquid supplied on the substrate W. The treated liquid recovered by the recovery line 865 may be reused by an external liquid recovery system. The sidewall 866 is provided to have a circular cylindrical shape surrounding the substrate support unit 830. The side wall 866 extends in a vertical direction from the side end of the bottom wall 864. Side wall 866 extends upward from bottom wall 864.

The inclined wall 870 extends from the upper end of the side wall 866 in the inner direction of the outer cup 862. The inclined wall 870 is provided to be closer to the substrate support unit 830 as it goes upward. The inclined wall 870 is provided to have a ring shape. The upper end of the inclined wall 870 is positioned higher than the substrate W supported by the substrate support unit 830.

The lifting unit 890 lifts and moves the inner cup 852 and the outer cup 862, respectively. The lifting unit 890 includes an inner moving member 892 and an outer moving member 894. The inner moving member 892 moves the inner cup 852 up and down, and the outer moving member 894 moves the outer cup 862 up and down.

The liquid supply unit 840 supplies a photoresist and a pretreatment liquid onto the substrate W. The liquid supply unit 840 includes a moving member 846 and a nozzle member 1000. The moving member 846 moves the nozzle member 1000 to a process position or a standby position. Here, the process position is a position where the nozzle member 1000 faces the substrate W supported by the substrate support unit 830, and the standby position is a position outside the process position. For example, at the process position, the nozzle member 1000 and the substrate W may be positioned to face each other in a vertical vertical direction.

The moving member 846 moves the nozzle member 1000 in one direction. According to an example, the moving member 846 may linearly move the nozzle member 1000 in one direction. One direction may be a direction parallel to the first direction 12. The moving member 846 includes a guide rail 842 and an arm 844. The guide rail 842 is provided so that the longitudinal direction faces the horizontal direction. The guide rail 842 may have a length direction toward the first direction 12. The guide rail 842 is located on one side of the processing container 850. An arm 844 is installed on the guide rail 842. The arm 844 is moved for a drive member (not shown) provided in the guide rail 842. For example, the driving member may be a linear motor. The arm 844 is provided in a bar shape having a longitudinal direction perpendicular to the guide rail 842 when viewed from the top. A nozzle member 1000 is installed on the lower end of the arm 844. The nozzle member 1000 is moved together with the arm 844.

7 is an enlarged perspective view showing the nozzle member of FIG. 6. Referring to FIG. 7, the nozzle member 1000 discharges a photosensitive liquid and a pretreatment liquid. The nozzle member 1000 includes a support body 1220, a pretreatment nozzle 1240, and an application nozzle 1260. The support body 1220 simultaneously supports the pretreatment nozzle 1240 and the application nozzle 1260. Each of the nozzles 1240 and 1260 is provided so that the discharge port faces a vertical downward direction. When viewed from above, the pretreatment nozzle 1240 and the application nozzle 1260 are arranged in a direction parallel to the moving direction of the nozzle member 1000. According to an example, the pretreatment nozzles 1240 and the application nozzles 1260 may be arranged in a row along one direction, which is a moving direction of the nozzle member 1000. The application nozzle 1260 is provided in plural. The plurality of application nozzles 1260 may be arranged along one direction with the pretreatment nozzle 1240 interposed therebetween. That is, with respect to the moving direction of the nozzle member 1000, a plurality of application nozzles 1260, a second pretreatment nozzle 1240, and a plurality of application nozzles 1260 may be positioned in a line.

The pretreatment nozzle 1240 discharges the pretreatment liquid. The pretreatment liquid may be provided as a liquid having a property close to that of a photosensitive liquid among hydrophilic and hydrophobic. If the photoresist has a hydrophobic property, the pretreatment solution may be provided as a thinner. The pretreatment solution may increase adhesion between the substrate W and the photosensitive solution.

The plurality of application nozzles 1260 discharge a photoresist. Each of the coating nozzles 1260 discharges a photosensitive liquid having the same flow rate. According to an example, a plurality of application nozzles 1260 may be provided on one side of the pretreatment nozzle 1240 and a plurality of application nozzles 1260 may be provided on the other side opposite to the pretreatment nozzle 1240. The same number of coating nozzles 1260 may be arranged symmetrically on each side of the pretreatment nozzle 1240. Each of the coating nozzles 1260 may discharge different types of photoresist. For example, during a process of processing a single substrate W, one of the plurality of coating nozzles 1260 may discharge the photosensitive liquid. The pretreatment nozzle 1240 has a higher discharge end than the application nozzles 1260. This is to prevent the photosensitive liquid from being scattered and attached to the pretreatment nozzle 1240 while the photosensitive liquid is being discharged.

The controller 1400 controls the liquid supply unit 840 and the substrate support unit 830. The controller controls the rotation driving members 834 and 836 so that the rotation speed of the substrate W is varied according to each step according to the pre-wetting step, the liquid application step, the reflow step, and the diffusion step. In addition, the controller 1400 controls the liquid supply unit 840 so that the pretreatment liquid is supplied before the photosensitive liquid is supplied onto the substrate W. According to an example, the controller 1400 may supply the pretreatment liquid onto the substrate W, and then control each nozzle so that any one of the coating nozzles 1260 supplies the photosensitive liquid.

In addition, the controller 1400 may control the moving member 846 so that the pretreatment liquid and the photoresist are supplied to the first supply position, which is the central region of the substrate W. For example, the first supply position may be the center of the substrate W.

Optionally, the pretreatment liquid and the photoresist may be supplied while moving to a second supply position spaced apart from the first supply position.

Next, a process of forming a liquid film on the substrate W using the substrate processing apparatus described above will be described. 8 is a graph showing a rotation speed of a substrate when a substrate is processed using the apparatus of FIG. 5. Referring to FIG. 8, a method of forming a liquid film on the substrate W includes a pretreatment step, a liquid application step, a reflow step, and a diffusion step. The pretreatment step, the liquid application step, the reflow step, and the diffusion step are sequentially performed.

According to the method of forming a liquid film on the substrate W, the substrate W is rotated at a first speed V ₁ in the pretreatment step. The pretreatment nozzle supplies the pretreatment liquid onto the substrate W rotated at the first speed V ₁ . The pretreatment liquid is supplied to the center of the substrate W. The pretreatment liquid is diffused over the entire area of the substrate W to improve adhesion between the surface of the substrate W and the photosensitive liquid.

When the pretreatment step is completed, the liquid application step proceeds. In the liquid application step, a photoresist is supplied on the substrate W to form a photoresist film. The liquid application step has an acceleration step and a constant velocity step. The acceleration step and the constant velocity step are performed sequentially. During the acceleration step and the constant velocity step, the photoresist is continuously supplied to the center of the substrate W.

In the acceleration step, the rotational speed of the substrate W is accelerated from the first speed V ₁ to a second speed V ₂ higher than this. The acceleration step is performed during the arrival time of reaching the second speed V ₂ from the first speed V ₁ . During the arrival time, the speed of the substrate W increases at an equivalent acceleration. 9 is a graph showing the change in the thickness of the liquid film on the substrate according to the change of the arrival time in the acceleration step when the photoresist with low viscosity of FIG. It is a graph showing the change in the thickness of the liquid film on the substrate according to the change of time. 9 and 10, when the viscosity of the photoresist is greater than the reference value, the thickness of the photoresist film in the central region of the substrate W is larger than the thickness of the photoresist film in the edge region of the substrate W as the arrival time is changed. Changes.

According to an example, when the viscosity of the photoresist is greater than the reference value, the longer the arrival time, the thinner the thickness of the photoresist film in the central region of the substrate W, and the shorter the arrival time, the more the photoresist in the central region of the substrate W. The thickness of the film becomes thicker. Therefore, when the viscosity of the photoresist is greater than the reference value, the thickness of the photoresist film in the central region of the substrate W can be changed by controlling the arrival time.

Therefore, when the viscosity of the photoresist is greater than the reference value, and when the thickness of the liquid film is to be thickened in the central region of the substrate W, the arrival time is shortened and the thickness of the liquid film is reduced in the central region of the substrate W. In this case, the arrival time is controlled longer.

On the contrary, when the viscosity of the photoresist is less than the reference value, the thickness of the photoresist film in the edge region of the substrate W is significantly changed compared to the thickness of the photoresist film in the central region of the substrate W as the arrival time is changed.

According to an example, when the viscosity of the photoresist is less than the reference value, the longer the arrival time, the thicker the photoresist film is in the edge region of the substrate W, and the shorter the arrival time, the more the photoresist at the edge region of the substrate W. The thickness of the film becomes thinner. Therefore, when the viscosity of the photoresist is smaller than the reference value, the thickness of the photoresist film in the edge region of the substrate W can be changed by controlling the arrival time.

Therefore, when the viscosity of the photoresist is smaller than the reference value, and when the thickness of the liquid film is to be thickened in the edge region of the substrate W, the arrival time is controlled to be long, and the thickness of the liquid film is reduced in the edge region of the substrate W. In this case, the arrival time is shortened.

For example, the reference value may be 90 cP.

In the constant velocity step, the rotational speed of the substrate W is maintained at the second speed V ₂ for a certain period of time. According to an example, the sum of the time required for the acceleration step and the time required for the constant velocity step may have a constant value. Therefore, when the arrival time is short, the constant velocity step may take relatively long, and when the arrival time is long, the constant velocity step may take relatively short.

When the liquid application step is completed, the reflow step proceeds. In the reflow step, the rotational speed of the substrate W is greatly reduced from the second speed V ₂ to a slower third speed V ₃ . For example, the third speed V ₃ may be a speed slower than the first speed V ₁ . The time from the second speed (V ₂ ) to the third speed (V ₃ ) may be shorter than the time from the first speed (V ₁ ) to the second speed (V ₂ ) in the acceleration step. Accordingly, the photoresist provided on the substrate W may be reflowed to move in a direction closer to the center of the substrate W.

When the reflow step is completed, the diffusion step proceeds. In the diffusion step, the rotational speed of the substrate W is greatly increased from the third speed V ₃ to a fourth speed V ₄ which is faster than this. For example, the fourth speed V ₄ may be a faster speed than the second speed V ₂ . The time from the third speed (V ₃ ) to the fourth speed (V ₄ ) may be shorter than the time from the first speed (V ₁ ) to the second speed (V ₂ ) in the acceleration step. Accordingly, the photoresist provided on the substrate W may be moved in a direction away from the center of the substrate W.

Next, a method of forming a liquid film on each of the first substrate and the other second substrate using the above-described method will be described. It will be described that the first liquid film is applied to the first substrate by supplying a first liquid, which is one of the photosensitive liquids, and the second liquid film is applied to the second substrate by supplying the other second liquid.

According to an example, the first liquid has a first viscosity, and the second liquid has a second viscosity higher than the first viscosity. The first viscosity may be lower than the reference value, and the second viscosity may be higher than the reference value.

According to an embodiment, in the acceleration step in the application process by supplying the first liquid film to the first substrate, the arrival time is adjusted to the first time to adjust the thickness of the first liquid film in the edge region of the first substrate.

During the application process by supplying the second liquid to the second substrate, in the acceleration step, the arrival time is adjusted to the second time to adjust the thickness of the second liquid film in the central region of the substrate.

According to an example, the sum of the time taken in the acceleration step and the constant velocity step when processing the first substrate and the sum of the time taken in the acceleration step and the constant velocity step when processing the second substrate may be equally provided.

According to the above-described embodiment, it has been described that the coating treatment step includes an acceleration step and a constant velocity step, and the acceleration step and the constant velocity step are sequentially performed. However, as shown in FIG. 11, only the acceleration step may be performed in the coating treatment step. In the coating process, the rotational speed of the substrate is accelerated from the first speed (V ₁ ) to the second speed (V ₂ ), and when it reaches the second speed (V ₂ ), it is immediately reduced to the third speed (V ₃ ). The reflow step can be performed.

In addition, when the liquid film is applied on the substrate, the rotational speed of the substrate W is accelerated from the first speed (V ₁ ) to the second speed (V ₂ ), but the thickness of the region of the liquid film that varies depending on the viscosity of the liquid used is increased. It was described as controlling. At this time, it has been described that the photoresist is supplied to the center of the substrate W. However, as shown in FIG. 12, the photoresist is supplied while being moved from the center of the substrate W to a position spaced from it, so that the thickness of the central region of the liquid film can be reduced.

Referring back to FIGS. 1 to 4, the bake chamber 420 heats the substrate W. For example, the bake chambers 420 heat the substrate W to a predetermined temperature before applying the photoresist to remove organic matter or moisture from the surface of the substrate W, or use a photoresist as a substrate ( A soft bake process or the like performed after coating on W) is performed, and a cooling process or the like of cooling the substrate W is performed after each heating process. The bake chamber 420 has a cooling plate 421 or a heating plate 422. The cooling plate 421 is provided with cooling means 423 such as cooling water or a thermoelectric element. Further, the heating plate 422 is provided with a heating means 424 such as a hot wire or a thermoelectric element. The cooling plate 421 and the heating plate 422 may be provided in one bake chamber 420, respectively. Optionally, some of the bake chambers 420 may have only the cooling plate 421 and some of the bake chambers 420 may have only the heating plate 422.

The developing module 402 is a developing process in which a part of the photoresist is removed by supplying a developer to obtain a pattern on the substrate W, and a heat treatment process such as heating and cooling performed on the substrate W before and after the developing process. Includes. The developing module 402 has a developing chamber 460, a bake chamber 470, and a transfer chamber 480. The developing chamber 460, the bake chamber 470, and the transfer chamber 480 are sequentially disposed along the second direction 14. Accordingly, the developing chamber 460 and the bake chamber 470 are positioned to be spaced apart from each other in the second direction 14 with the transfer chamber 480 interposed therebetween. A plurality of developing chambers 460 are provided, and a plurality of developing chambers 460 are provided in each of the first direction 12 and the third direction 16. In the drawing, an example in which six developing chambers 460 are provided is shown. A plurality of bake chambers 470 are provided in each of the first direction 12 and the third direction 16. In the drawing, an example in which six bake chambers 470 are provided is shown. However, unlike this, the bake chamber 470 may be provided in a larger number.

The transfer chamber 480 is positioned parallel to the second buffer 330 of the first buffer module 300 in the first direction 12. In the transfer chamber 480, a developing unit robot 482 and a guide rail 483 are positioned. The transfer chamber 480 has a generally rectangular shape. The developing unit robot 482 includes the baking chambers 470, the developing chambers 460, the second buffer 330 and the cooling chamber 350 of the first buffer module 300, and the second buffer module 500. Transfer the substrate (W) between the second cooling chamber 540 of. 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 unit robot 482 to linearly move in the first direction 12. The developing unit robot 482 has a hand 484, an arm 485, a support 486, and a pedestal 487. The hand 484 is fixedly installed on the arm 485. The arm 485 is provided in a stretchable structure to allow the hand 484 to move in the horizontal direction. The support 486 is provided such that its longitudinal direction is disposed along the third direction 16. The arm 485 is coupled to the support 486 so as to be linearly movable in the third direction 16 along the support 486. The support 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.

All of the developing chambers 460 have the same structure. However, the types of developing solutions used in each developing chamber 460 may be different from each other. The developing chamber 460 removes a region irradiated with light among the photoresist on the substrate W. At this time, the region irradiated with light in the protective film is also removed. Depending on the type of photoresist that is selectively used, only the areas of the photoresist and the protective layer that are not irradiated with light may be removed.

The developing chamber 460 has a container 461, a support plate 462, and a nozzle 463. The container 461 has a cup shape with an open top. The support plate 462 is located in the container 461 and supports the substrate W. The support plate 462 is provided rotatably. The nozzle 463 supplies a developer onto the substrate W placed on the support plate 462. The nozzle 463 has a circular tubular shape and may supply a developer to the center of the substrate W. Optionally, 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 as a slit. In addition, a nozzle 464 for supplying a cleaning solution such as deionized water may be further provided in the development chamber 460 to clean the surface of the substrate W supplied with the developer solution.

The bake chamber 470 heats the substrate W. For example, the bake chambers 470 have 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 heating after each bake process. A cooling process or the like of cooling the resulting substrate W is performed. The bake chamber 470 has a cooling plate 471 or a heating plate 472. The cooling plate 471 is provided with cooling means 473 such as cooling water or a thermoelectric element. Alternatively, a heating means 474 such as a hot wire or a thermoelectric element is provided on the heating plate 472. 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 the cooling plate 471 and some of the bake chambers 470 may have only the heating plate 472.

As described above, in the coating and developing module 400, the coating module 401 and the developing module 402 are provided to be separated from each other. In addition, when viewed from above, the application module 401 and the developing module 402 may have the same chamber arrangement.

The second buffer module 500 is provided as a passage through which the substrate W is transported between the coating and developing module 400 and the pre-exposure processing module 600. In addition, the second buffer module 500 performs a predetermined process such as a cooling process or an edge exposure process on the substrate W. 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. 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 in 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 developing 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. When viewed from the top, the buffer 520 is disposed along the transfer chamber 430 of the application module 401 and the first direction 12. The edge exposure chamber 550 is disposed to be spaced apart from the buffer 520 or the first cooling chamber 530 by a predetermined distance in the second direction 14.

The second buffer robot 560 transports the substrate W between the buffer 520, the first cooling chamber 530, and the edge exposure chamber 550. The 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 similar structure to the first buffer robot 360. The first cooling chamber 530 and the edge exposure chamber 550 perform a subsequent process on the substrates W on which the process was performed in the coating module 401. The first cooling chamber 530 cools the substrate W on which the process was performed in the coating 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 edges of the substrates W on which the cooling process has been performed 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 transferred to the pretreatment module 601 to be described later. The second cooling chamber 540 cools the substrates W before the substrates W processed in the post-processing module 602 to be described later are transferred to the developing module 402. The second buffer module 500 may further have a buffer added to a height corresponding to the developing module 402. In this case, the substrates W processed by the post-processing module 602 may be temporarily stored in an added buffer and then transferred to the developing module 402.

When the exposure apparatus 900 performs an immersion exposure process, the pre-exposure processing module 600 may process a process of applying a protective film to protect the photoresist film applied to the substrate W during immersion exposure. In addition, the pre-exposure processing module 600 may perform a process of cleaning the substrate W after exposure. In addition, when the coating process is performed using a chemically amplified resist, the pre-exposure processing module 600 may process the post-exposure bake process.

The pre-exposure processing module 600 includes 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 performing the exposure process, and the post-processing module 602 performs a process of processing the substrate W after the exposure process. The pre-treatment module 601 and the post-treatment module 602 are arranged to be partitioned into layers therebetween. According to one example, the pre-processing module 601 is located above the post-processing module 602. The pretreatment 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 includes 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. Accordingly, the protective film application chamber 610 and the bake chamber 620 are positioned to be spaced apart from each other in the second direction 14 with the transfer chamber 630 interposed therebetween. A plurality of protective film application chambers 610 are provided, and are disposed along the third direction 16 to form layers with each other. Optionally, a plurality of protective film application chambers 610 may be provided in each of the first direction 12 and the third direction 16. A plurality of bake chambers 620 are provided, and are disposed along the third direction 16 to form layers with each other. Optionally, a plurality of bake chambers 620 may be provided in each of the first direction 12 and the third direction 16.

The transfer chamber 630 is positioned parallel to the first cooling chamber 530 of the second buffer module 500 in the first direction 12. A pretreatment robot 632 is located in the transfer chamber 630. The transfer chamber 630 has a generally square or rectangular shape. The pretreatment robot 632 is 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 to be described later. Transfer the substrate W. The pretreatment robot 632 has a hand 633, an arm 634, and a support 635. The hand 633 is fixedly installed on the arm 634. The arm 634 is provided in a stretchable structure and a rotatable structure. The arm 634 is coupled to the support 635 to allow linear movement along the support 635 in the third direction 16.

The protective film application chamber 610 applies a protective film to protect 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 an open top. The support plate 612 is located in the housing 611 and supports the substrate W. The support plate 612 is provided rotatably. The nozzle 613 supplies a protective liquid for forming a protective film onto the substrate W placed on the support plate 612. The nozzle 613 has a circular tubular shape, and a protective liquid can be supplied to the center of the substrate W. Optionally, the nozzle 613 may have a length corresponding to the diameter of the substrate W, and a discharge port of the nozzle 613 may be provided as a slit. In this case, the support plate 612 may be provided in a fixed state. The protective liquid contains a foamable material. As the protective solution, a photoresist and a material having a low affinity for water may be used. 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 heats the substrate W on which the protective film is applied. 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 cooling water or a thermoelectric element. Alternatively, a heating means 624 such as a hot wire or a thermoelectric element is provided on the heating plate 622. The heating plate 622 and the cooling plate 621 may be provided in one bake chamber 620, respectively. Optionally, some of the bake chambers 620 may have only the heating plate 622 and some of the bake chambers 620 may have only the cooling plate 621.

The post-treatment module 602 has a cleaning chamber 660, a post-exposure bake chamber 670, and a transfer 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 bake chamber 670 are positioned to be spaced apart from each other in the second direction 14 with the transfer chamber 680 interposed therebetween. A plurality of cleaning chambers 660 are provided, and may be disposed along the third direction 16 to form layers with each other. Optionally, a plurality of cleaning chambers 660 may be provided in each of the first direction 12 and the third direction 16. After exposure, a plurality of bake chambers 670 are provided, and may be disposed along the third direction 16 to form layers with each other. Optionally, after exposure, a plurality of bake chambers 670 may be provided in the first direction 12 and the third direction 16, respectively.

The transfer chamber 680 is positioned parallel to the second cooling chamber 540 of the second buffer module 500 and in the first direction 12 when 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 includes cleaning chambers 660, post-exposure bake chambers 670, a second cooling chamber 540 of the second buffer module 500, and a second of the interface module 700 to be described later. The substrate W is transported between the buffers 730. The post-processing robot 682 provided in the post-processing module 602 may be provided in the same structure as the pre-processing robot 632 provided in the pre-processing 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 provided rotatably. The nozzle 663 supplies a cleaning liquid onto the substrate W placed on the support plate 662. Water such as deionized water may be used as the cleaning liquid. The cleaning chamber 660 supplies a cleaning solution 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 rotated, the nozzle 663 may linearly move or rotate from the center area to the edge area of the substrate W.

After exposure, the bake chamber 670 heats the substrate W on which the exposure process has been performed using far ultraviolet rays. In the post-exposure bake process, the substrate W is heated to amplify the acid generated in the photoresist by exposure to complete the change in the properties of the photoresist. After exposure, the 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. After exposure, the bake chamber 670 may further include a cooling plate 671 therein. The cooling plate 671 is provided with cooling means 673 such as cooling water or a thermoelectric element. In addition, optionally, a bake chamber having only the cooling plate 671 may be further provided.

As described above, in the pre-exposure processing module 600, the pre-processing module 601 and the post-processing module 602 are provided to be completely separated from each other. In addition, the transfer chamber 630 of the pre-treatment module 601 and the transfer chamber 680 of the post-treatment module 602 are provided in the same size, and may be provided to completely overlap each other when viewed from above. In addition, the protective film coating chamber 610 and the cleaning chamber 660 may be provided to have the same size and may be provided to completely overlap each other when viewed from the top. In addition, the bake chamber 620 and the post-exposure bake chamber 670 may have the same size and may be provided to completely overlap each other when viewed from above.

The interface module 700 transfers the substrate W between the exposure processing module 600 and the exposure apparatus 900 before and after exposure. The interface module 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 are disposed to be stacked on each other. The first buffer 720 is disposed higher than the second buffer 730. The first buffer 720 is located at a height corresponding to the pre-processing module 601, and the second buffer 730 is disposed at a height corresponding to the post-processing module 602. When viewed from the top, the first buffer 720 is arranged in a line along the transfer chamber 630 of the pretreatment module 601 and the first direction 12, and the second buffer 730 is the post-processing module 602 The transfer chamber 630 and the first direction 12 are positioned to be arranged in a line.

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 transports 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 the second buffer robot 560.

The first buffer 720 temporarily stores the substrates W processed by the preprocessing module 601 before they are moved to the exposure apparatus 900. In addition, the second buffer 730 temporarily stores the substrates W that have been processed in the exposure apparatus 900 before they are moved 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 in the housing 721 and are provided to be spaced apart from each other along the third direction 16. One substrate W is placed on each of the supports 722. The housing 721 includes a direction and a pretreatment robot ( 632 has an opening (not shown) in the direction 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 a direction in which the interface robot 740 is provided and a direction in which the post-processing robot 682 is provided. As described above, only buffers and a robot may be provided to the interface module without providing a chamber for performing a predetermined process on the substrate W.

Next, an example of performing a process using the substrate processing equipment 1 described above will be described.

The cassette 20 in which the substrates W are accommodated is placed on the mounting table 120 of the load port 100. The door of the cassette 20 is opened by the door opener. The index robot 220 takes out the substrate W from the cassette 20 and transports it to the second buffer 330.

The first buffer robot 360 transports the substrate W stored in the second buffer 330 to the first buffer 320. The coating unit robot 432 takes out the substrate W from the first buffer 320 and transports the substrate W to the baking chamber 420 of the coating module 401. The bake chamber 420 sequentially performs pre-baking and cooling processes. The applicator robot 432 takes out the substrate W from the baking chamber 420 and transports the substrate W to the resist coating chamber 410. The resist application chamber 410 applies a photoresist onto the substrate W. Thereafter, when the photoresist is applied on the substrate W, the application unit robot 432 transfers 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 applicator robot 432 takes out the substrate W from the baking chamber 420 and transports it 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 on which the process has been performed in the first cooling chamber 530 is transferred 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 on which the process is completed in the edge exposure chamber 550 is transported to the buffer 520 by the second buffer robot 560.

The pretreatment robot 632 takes out the substrate W from the buffer 520 and transfers it to the protective film application chamber 610 of the pretreatment module 601. The protective film application chamber 610 applies a protective film on the substrate W. Thereafter, the pretreatment robot 632 transfers the substrate W from the protective film application chamber 610 to the bake chamber 620. The bake chamber 620 performs heat treatment such as heating and cooling on the substrate W.

The pretreatment robot 632 takes out the substrate W from the bake chamber 620 and transfers it to the first buffer 720 of the interface module 700. The interface robot 740 transfers the substrate W 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 processed surface of the substrate W. When the exposure process of the substrate W is completed in the exposure apparatus 900, the interface robot 740 transports the substrate W to the second buffer 730 in the exposure apparatus 900.

The post-processing robot 682 takes out the substrate W from the second buffer 730 and transfers it to the cleaning chamber 660 of the post-processing module 602. The cleaning chamber 660 performs a cleaning process by supplying a cleaning solution to the surface of the substrate W. When cleaning of the substrate W using the cleaning solution is completed, the post-processing robot 682 immediately takes out the substrate W from the cleaning chamber 660 and transfers the substrate W to the bake chamber 670 after exposure. After exposure, the cleaning liquid adhered to the substrate W is removed from the heating plate 672 of the baking chamber 670 by heating the substrate W, and at the same time, the acid generated in the photoresist is amplified to provide a photoresist. The change in the properties of the resist is completed. The post-processing robot 682 transfers the substrate W from the bake chamber 670 to the second cooling chamber 540 of the second buffer module 500 after exposure. Cooling of the substrate W is performed in the second cooling chamber 540.

The developing unit robot 482 takes out the substrate W from the second cooling chamber 540 and transports the substrate W to the baking chamber 470 of the developing module 402. The bake chamber 470 sequentially performs post bake and cooling processes. The developing unit robot 482 takes out the substrate W from the baking chamber 470 and transports it to the developing chamber 460. The developing chamber 460 performs a developing process by supplying a developer onto the substrate W. Thereafter, the developing unit robot 482 transports 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 developing unit robot 482 takes out the substrate W from the baking chamber 470 and transports 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 transports the substrate W from the cooling chamber 350 to the cassette 20. In contrast, the developing unit robot 482 takes out the substrate W from the baking chamber 470 and transports it to the second buffer 330 of the first buffer module 300, and then by the index robot 360, the cassette ( 20) can be transported.

810: housing 820: airflow providing unit
830: substrate support unit 840: liquid supply unit
850: processing vessel 890: elevating unit
1400: controller

Claims (23)

In the method of liquid processing a substrate,
Including a liquid application step of applying a photoresist on the substrate by supplying a photoresist to the rotating substrate,
The liquid application step includes an acceleration step of accelerating the rotational speed of the substrate from a first speed to a second speed while the photosensitive liquid is supplied,
Controlling the thickness of the photoresist according to the region of the substrate is performed by controlling an arrival time from the first speed to the second speed according to the viscosity of the photosensitive liquid,
The photoresist is supplied to a first substrate and includes a first liquid having a first viscosity and a second liquid supplied to a second substrate different from the first substrate and having a second viscosity different from the first viscosity,
A substrate processing method of differently controlling an amount of change in thickness for each region of the substrate viewed from above between the first liquid film by the first liquid and the second liquid film by the second liquid according to the control of the arrival time. delete The method of claim 1,
The liquid application step further comprises a constant velocity step of maintaining the second speed for a predetermined time while the photoresist is supplied after the acceleration step. The method of claim 3,
The acceleration step,
When forming the first liquid film, the arrival time is performed for a first time,
When forming the second liquid film, the arrival time is performed for a second time,
A method of processing a substrate, wherein the sum of the time taken in the acceleration step and the constant velocity step when processing the first substrate is equal to the sum of the time taken in the acceleration step and the constant velocity step when processing the second substrate. The method of claim 1,
The first viscosity has a viscosity lower than the reference value,
When it is desired to increase the thickness of the first liquid film in the edge region of the substrate, the arrival time is lengthened,
The reference value is,
As the arrival time is changed, a change in thickness of the first liquid film in a central region of the substrate and a change in thickness of the first liquid film in an edge region of the substrate have the same viscosity. The method of claim 1,
The first viscosity has a viscosity lower than the reference value,
In the case of thinning the thickness of the first liquid film in the edge region of the substrate, the arrival time is shortened,
The reference value is,
As the arrival time is changed, a change in thickness of the first liquid film in a central region of the substrate and a change in thickness of the first liquid film in an edge region of the substrate have the same viscosity. The method of claim 1,
The second viscosity has a viscosity higher than the reference value,
When it is desired to increase the thickness of the second liquid film in the central region of the substrate, the arrival time is shortened,
The reference value is,
As the arrival time is changed, a change in thickness of the second liquid film in a central region of the substrate and a change in thickness of the second liquid film in an edge region of the substrate have the same viscosity. The method of claim 1,
The second viscosity has a viscosity higher than the reference value,
In the case of thinning the thickness of the second liquid film in the central region of the substrate, the arrival time is lengthened,
The reference value is,
As the arrival time is changed, a change in thickness of the second liquid film in a central region of the substrate and a change in thickness of the second liquid film in an edge region of the substrate have the same viscosity. The method according to claim 3 or 4,
The first viscosity is smaller than the second viscosity,
A substrate processing method wherein the arrival time when the first liquid is supplied to the first substrate is greater than the arrival time when the second liquid is supplied to the second substrate. The method according to any one of claims 3 or 4,
The first viscosity is smaller than the second viscosity,
A substrate processing method wherein the arrival time when the first liquid is supplied to the first substrate is smaller than the arrival time when the second liquid is supplied to the second substrate. In the method of liquid processing a substrate,
A liquid application step of applying a photoresist to the substrate by supplying a photoresist to the rotating substrate;
A reflow step of stopping supply of the photoresist and rotating the substrate to reflow the photoresist applied on the substrate on the substrate,
The liquid application step includes an acceleration step of accelerating the rotational speed of the substrate from a first speed to a second speed while the photosensitive liquid is supplied,
The photosensitive liquid includes a first liquid having a first viscosity and a second liquid having a second viscosity,
In the accelerating step, when the first liquid is applied to the first substrate, a time to reach the second speed from the first speed is performed for a first time, and the second substrate is different from the first substrate. When the liquid is applied, the arrival time from the first speed to the second speed is performed for a second time,
The first time and the second time are different from each other,
The first viscosity and the second viscosity are different,
A substrate processing method of controlling the first time and the second time to differently control the amount of change in thickness for each area of the substrate viewed from the top between the first liquid film by the first liquid and the second liquid film by the second liquid . The method of claim 11,
The liquid application step further comprises a constant velocity step of maintaining the second speed for a predetermined time while the photoresist is supplied after the acceleration step. The method of claim 12,
A method of processing a substrate, wherein the sum of the time taken in the acceleration step and the constant velocity step when processing the first substrate is equal to the sum of the time taken in the acceleration step and the constant velocity step when processing the second substrate. delete The method of claim 11,
The first viscosity has a viscosity lower than the reference value,
When it is desired to increase the thickness of the first liquid film in the edge region of the substrate, the first time is lengthened,
The reference value is,
As the arrival time is changed, a change in thickness of the first liquid film in a central region of the substrate and a change in thickness of the first liquid film in an edge region of the substrate have the same viscosity. The method of claim 11,
The first viscosity has a viscosity lower than the reference value,
In the case of thinning the thickness of the first liquid film in the edge region of the substrate, the first time is shortened,
The reference value is,
As the arrival time is changed, a change in thickness of the first liquid film in a central region of the substrate and a change in thickness of the first liquid film in an edge region of the substrate have the same viscosity. The method of claim 11,
The second viscosity has a viscosity higher than the reference value,
When it is desired to increase the thickness of the second liquid film in the central region of the substrate, the second time is shortened,
The reference value is,
As the arrival time is changed, a change in thickness of the second liquid film in a central region of the substrate and a change in thickness of the second liquid film in an edge region of the substrate have the same viscosity. The method of claim 11,
The second viscosity has a viscosity higher than the reference value,
In the case of thinning the thickness of the second liquid film in the central region of the substrate, the second time is lengthened,
The reference value is,
As the arrival time is changed, a change in thickness of the second liquid film in a central region of the substrate and a change in thickness of the second liquid film in an edge region of the substrate have the same viscosity. In the method of forming a liquid film on a substrate,
Applying a photoresist to the substrate to apply and process the photoresist onto the substrate,
Accelerating the rotational speed of the substrate from a first speed to a second speed while the photoresist is supplied to the substrate,
The thickness of the liquid film of the photoresist is adjusted according to the area of the substrate viewed from the top by adjusting the arrival time from the first speed to the second speed,
When the photoresist has a viscosity higher than the reference value, the thickness of the liquid film in the central region of the substrate is controlled by controlling the arrival time,
When the photoresist has a viscosity lower than the reference value, the arrival time is controlled to adjust the thickness of the liquid film in the edge region of the substrate,
The reference value is,
As the arrival time is changed, the amount of change in the thickness of the liquid film of the photoresist in the central region of the substrate and the amount of change in the thickness of the liquid film of the photosensitive liquid in the edge region of the substrate have the same viscosity. delete delete The method of claim 19,
The above method,
And a constant velocity step of maintaining the substrate at the second speed for a predetermined time after the acceleration step while the photoresist is supplied to the substrate. The method of claim 22,
The above method.
A pretreatment step of rotating the substrate at the first speed and supplying a pretreatment solution onto the substrate before coating the photoresist;
After the photoresist is applied, the supply of the photoresist is stopped, the substrate is rotated at a third speed slower than the first speed, and the photoresist applied on the substrate is reflowed on the substrate. The method of processing a substrate further comprising the step of.

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