KR102385847B1 - Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

The substrate processing apparatus includes an adhesion reinforcing unit 610 for supplying an adhesion reinforcing agent made of an organic material to one surface of the substrate W, and ultraviolet rays on one surface of the substrate W to which the adhesion reinforcing agent is supplied by the adhesion reinforcing unit 610 . It includes an irradiation unit 620 for irradiating light, and a film forming unit for forming a treatment film on one surface of the substrate W by supplying a treatment liquid to one surface of the substrate W irradiated with ultraviolet light by the irradiation unit 620 . The substrate processing method includes the steps of supplying an adhesion reinforcing agent made of an organic material to one surface of the substrate W by the adhesion reinforcing unit 610 and the substrate W to which the adhesion reinforcing agent is supplied by the adhesion reinforcing unit 610 . ) irradiating ultraviolet rays to the one surface, and forming a treatment film on the one surface of the substrate W by supplying a treatment liquid to the one surface of the substrate W irradiated with ultraviolet light by the irradiation unit 620. include

Description

Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method

The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate and a substrate processing method.

In the lithography process in the manufacture of semiconductor devices, etc., a resist film is formed on the to-be-processed surface of a board|substrate by apply|coating a resist liquid on the to-be-processed surface of a board|substrate. In this case, when the resist film is formed in a state where the hydrophilicity of the processing target surface of the substrate is high, the adhesion between the processing target surface of the substrate and the resist film is low. Therefore, there is a possibility that the resist film is peeled off from the to-be-processed surface of the substrate. Therefore, by supplying an adhesion enhancer such as HMDS (hexamethyldisilazane) to the processing target surface of the substrate before formation of the resist film, the hydrophobicity of the processing target surface of the substrate can be increased (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-93952

On the other hand, when the hydrophobicity of the to-be-processed surface of a board|substrate is high, the resist liquid tends to aggregate on the to-be-processed surface at the time of application of a resist liquid. Therefore, depending on the type of the resist liquid, it may not be possible to apply the resist liquid so as to cover a desired area of the surface to be processed. As a result, a resist film cannot be formed properly, and a process defect arises.

An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method capable of appropriately forming a processing film on one surface of a substrate.

(1) A substrate processing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention includes an adhesion reinforcing unit for supplying an adhesion reinforcing agent made of an organic material to one surface of a substrate, and UV irradiation to one surface of the substrate to which the adhesion reinforcing agent is supplied by the adhesion reinforcing unit and a film forming unit for forming a treatment film on one surface of the substrate by supplying a treatment liquid to one surface of the substrate irradiated with ultraviolet light by the irradiation unit.

In this substrate processing apparatus, after the hydrophobicity of one surface of the substrate is increased by supply of the adhesion enhancing agent, the hydrophobicity of one surface of the substrate is adjusted by irradiation of ultraviolet rays. Thereby, when the processing liquid is applied to one surface of the substrate, the contact angle with respect to the processing liquid in one surface of the substrate is controlled to an appropriate range. Thereby, the processing liquid can be appropriately applied to a desired area of one surface of the substrate, and the adhesion between the one surface of the substrate and the processing film can be ensured. Accordingly, it is possible to appropriately form a treatment film on one surface of the substrate.

(2) The organic material may contain hexamethyldisilazane. In this case, the hydrophobicity of one surface of the substrate can be increased while suppressing an increase in cost.

(3) the adhesion strengthening unit supplies the adhesion strengthening agent to one surface of the substrate so that the hydroxyl group on one surface of the substrate changes to a trimethylsiloxy group, and the irradiation unit is configured such that the trimethylsiloxy group on one surface of the substrate is separated into a hydroxyl group and hexamethyldisiloxane; You may irradiate an ultraviolet-ray to one surface of a board|substrate. In this case, the hydrophobicity of one surface of the substrate can be appropriately adjusted.

(4) The processing liquid may contain a photosensitive material. In this case, a photosensitive film made of a photosensitive material can be appropriately formed on one surface of the substrate.

(5) The irradiation unit may adjust the irradiation amount of ultraviolet rays so that the contact angle with respect to the processing liquid on one surface of the substrate is equal to or less than a predetermined value. In this case, the hydrophobicity of one surface of the substrate can be adjusted to a desired degree so that the treatment liquid can be appropriately applied on one surface of the substrate.

(6) The substrate processing apparatus may further include a cooling unit that cools the substrate after the ultraviolet rays are irradiated by the irradiation unit and before the processing film is formed by the film forming unit. In this case, the temperature of the substrate can be adjusted to a temperature suitable for forming the process film. Thereby, a process film can be formed more favorably.

(7) The adhesion strengthening unit includes a mounting unit on which the substrate is placed, and the substrate processing apparatus has a water supply position for transferring the substrate onto the placement unit while holding the substrate, and an external position away from the water supply position Further comprising a transport unit movably installed between You may irradiate an ultraviolet-ray to the board|substrate held by this.

In this case, the adhesion strengthening agent is supplied to the board|substrate mounted on the mounting part, and an ultraviolet-ray is irradiated to the board|substrate conveyed from the mounting part. Thereby, supply of the adhesion strengthening agent to a board|substrate and irradiation of an ultraviolet-ray can be performed efficiently, and a throughput can be improved.

(8) A substrate processing method according to another aspect of the present invention comprises the steps of supplying an adhesion enhancer made of an organic material to one surface of a substrate by an adhesion strengthening unit, It includes the steps of irradiating ultraviolet rays, and forming a treatment film on one surface of the substrate by supplying a treatment liquid to one surface of the substrate irradiated with ultraviolet rays by an irradiator.

According to this substrate processing method, after the hydrophobicity of one surface of the substrate is increased by supply of the adhesion enhancing agent, the hydrophobicity of one surface of the substrate is adjusted by irradiation of ultraviolet rays. Thereby, when the processing liquid is applied to one surface of the substrate, the contact angle with respect to the processing liquid in one surface of the substrate is controlled to an appropriate range. Thereby, the processing liquid can be appropriately applied to a desired area of one surface of the substrate, and the adhesion between the one surface of the substrate and the processing film can be ensured. Accordingly, it is possible to appropriately form a treatment film on one surface of the substrate.

(9) The organic material may contain hexamethyldisilazane. In this case, the hydrophobicity of one surface of the substrate can be increased while suppressing an increase in cost.

(10) The step of supplying the adhesion enhancer includes changing a hydroxyl group on one surface of the substrate to a trimethylsiloxy group, and the step of irradiating ultraviolet light is separating the trimethylsiloxy group on one surface of the substrate into a hydroxyl group and hexamethyldisiloxane. It may include making In this case, the hydrophobicity of one surface of the substrate can be appropriately adjusted.

(11) The processing liquid may contain a photosensitive material. In this case, a photosensitive film made of a photosensitive material can be appropriately formed on one surface of the substrate.

(12) The step of irradiating ultraviolet rays may include adjusting the irradiation amount of ultraviolet rays so that the contact angle with respect to the treatment liquid on one surface of the substrate is equal to or less than a predetermined value. In this case, the hydrophobicity of one surface of the substrate can be adjusted to a desired degree so that the treatment liquid can be appropriately applied on one surface of the substrate.

(13) The substrate processing method may further include a step of cooling the substrate after the step of irradiating the ultraviolet rays and before the step of forming the treatment film. In this case, the temperature of the substrate can be adjusted to a temperature suitable for forming the process film. Thereby, a process film can be formed more favorably.

(14) the substrate conveying method further comprises the step of moving the conveying unit between a watering position for receiving the substrate onto the placing unit of the adhesion strengthening unit while holding the substrate by the conveying unit and an external position away from the watering position, The step of supplying the adhesion strengthening agent includes supplying the adhesion strengthening agent to the substrate placed on the mounting unit, and the step of irradiating ultraviolet rays is held by the transfer unit when the transfer unit holds the substrate and moves from the water supply position to the external position. You may also include irradiating an ultraviolet-ray to the board|substrate used.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, a process film can be formed suitably on one surface of a board|substrate.

1 is a schematic plan view of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of a substrate processing apparatus mainly showing a coating processing unit, a developing processing unit, and a washing drying processing unit of FIG. 1 .
FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of a substrate processing apparatus mainly showing a heat treatment unit and a cleaning and drying processing unit of FIG. 1 .
Fig. 4 is a schematic side view mainly showing the carrying unit of Fig. 1;
5 is a view for explaining the change in hydrophobicity of the target surface of the substrate due to the adhesion strengthening treatment and the front exposure treatment.
6 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a specific structural example of the adhesion strengthening processing unit.
7 is an external perspective view showing a specific configuration example of the front exposure processing unit.
8 is a schematic side view showing a specific configuration example of a front exposure processing unit.
9 is a diagram for explaining a configuration example of a control system of a substrate processing apparatus.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of each control unit of FIG. 9 .
It is a schematic side view which shows the structural example of a hydrophobicity adjustment unit.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention is demonstrated, referring drawings. Note that, in the following description, the substrate means a semiconductor substrate, a substrate for a flat panel display such as a liquid crystal display device or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display device, a substrate for an optical disk, a substrate for a magnetic disk, and an optical magnetic disk. It refers to a substrate for a substrate, a substrate for a photomask, or a substrate for a solar cell.

[1] Configuration of substrate processing apparatus

1 is a schematic plan view of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 and 2 and subsequent drawings, arrows indicating the X direction, the Y direction, and the Z direction orthogonal to each other are attached in order to clarify the positional relationship. The X direction and the Y direction are orthogonal to each other in the horizontal plane, and the Z direction corresponds to the vertical direction.

1 , the substrate processing apparatus 100 includes an indexer block 11 , a first processing block 12 , a second processing block 13 , a cleaning drying processing block 14A, and a carrying-in/out block 14B. ) is provided. The interface block 14 is comprised by the washing|cleaning drying process block 14A and the carrying-in/out block 14B. The exposure apparatus 15 is arrange|positioned so that it may adjoin the carrying-in/out block 14B. In the exposure apparatus 15 of this example, the exposure process is performed to the board|substrate W by the liquid immersion method.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the indexer block 11 includes a plurality of carrier mounting units 111 and a conveying unit 112 . On each carrier mounting unit 111 , a carrier 113 for accommodating the plurality of substrates W in multiple stages is mounted. In the conveying unit 112 , a main control unit 114 and a conveying mechanism 115 are provided. The main controller 114 controls various components of the substrate processing apparatus 100 .

The first processing block 12 includes a coating processing unit 121 , a conveying unit 122 , and a heat treatment unit 123 . The application processing unit 121 and the heat treatment unit 123 are provided so as to face each other with the conveyance unit 122 interposed therebetween. The second processing block 13 includes a developing unit 131 , a conveying unit 132 , and a heat treatment unit 133 . The developing unit 131 and the heat treatment unit 133 are provided to face each other with the conveying unit 132 interposed therebetween.

The washing/drying processing block 14A includes washing/drying processing units 161 , 162 and a conveying unit 163 . The washing/drying processing units 161 and 162 are provided so as to face each other with the conveying unit 163 interposed therebetween. The conveyance part 163 is provided with conveyance mechanisms 141 and 142 . A conveyance mechanism 146 is provided in the carry-in/out block 14B. The exposure apparatus 15 is provided with the board|substrate carrying-in part 15a for carrying in the board|substrate W, and the board|substrate carrying-out part 15b for carrying out the board|substrate W.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the substrate processing apparatus 100 mainly showing the application processing unit 121 , the developing processing unit 131 , and the washing drying processing unit 161 of FIG. 1 . As shown in FIG. 2 , in the coating processing unit 121 , coating processing chambers 21 , 22 , 23 , and 24 are provided hierarchically. A coating processing unit (spin coater) 129 is provided in each of the coating processing chambers 21 to 24 . In the developing unit 131 , developing chambers 31 , 32 , 33 , and 34 are hierarchically provided. A developing unit (spin developer) 139 is installed in each of the developing processing chambers 31 to 34 .

Each application processing unit 129 includes a spin chuck 25 holding the substrate W and a cup 27 provided to cover the periphery of the spin chuck 25 . In the present embodiment, two sets of spin chucks 25 and cups 27 are provided in each application unit 129 .

In the coating processing unit 129 , the spin chuck 25 is rotated by a driving device (not shown), and one processing liquid nozzle 28 among the plurality of processing liquid nozzles 28 is moved to the nozzle conveying mechanism 29 . ) moves upward of the substrate W, and the processing liquid is discharged from the processing liquid nozzle 28 . In this example, a resist liquid made of a photosensitive material is used as the processing liquid. A resist film is formed on the substrate W by applying a resist liquid to the to-be-processed surface of the substrate W.

The developing processing unit 139 includes a spin chuck 35 and a cup 37 , similarly to the application processing unit 129 . Further, as shown in Fig. 1, the developing processing unit 139 includes two developing nozzles 38 for discharging the developer and a moving mechanism 39 for moving the developing nozzles 38 in the X direction.

In the developing unit 139, the spin chuck 35 is rotated by a driving device (not shown), and one developing nozzle 38 moves in the X direction to supply a developer solution to each substrate W, After that, while the other developing nozzle 38 moves, the developing solution is supplied to each of the substrates W. As shown in FIG. In this case, by supplying a developing solution to the board|substrate W, the developing process of the board|substrate W is performed.

In the washing/drying processing unit 161 , washing/drying processing chambers 81 , 82 , 83 , and 84 are provided hierarchically. A washing drying processing unit SD1 is provided in each of the washing drying processing chambers 81 to 84 . In the washing-drying processing unit SD1, the washing|cleaning and drying process of the board|substrate W before an exposure process are performed.

FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of the substrate processing apparatus 100 mainly showing the heat treatment units 123 and 133 and the cleaning and drying processing unit 162 of FIG. 1 . As shown in FIG. 3 , the heat treatment unit 123 includes an upper end heat treatment unit 301 and a lower end heat treatment unit 302 . In each of the upper end heat treatment unit 301 and the lower end heat treatment unit 302 , a plurality of heating units (PHP), a plurality of adhesion strengthening processing units (AHP), a plurality of cooling units (CP), and a front surface exposure processing unit (OWE) are provided. this is installed

In heating unit PHP, heat processing of the board|substrate W is performed. In the cooling unit CP, the cooling process of the board|substrate W is performed. In the adhesion strengthening processing unit AHP, the adhesion strengthening process is performed to the board|substrate W. In the front surface exposure processing unit OWE, the front surface exposure processing is performed on the substrate W. The details of the adhesion strengthening treatment and the front exposure treatment will be described later.

The heat treatment unit 133 includes an upper end heat treatment unit 303 and a lower end heat treatment unit 304 . A cooling unit CP, a plurality of heating units PHP, and an edge exposure unit EEW are provided in each of the upper end heat treatment unit 303 and the lower end heat treatment unit 304 .

In the edge exposure part EEW, an exposure process (edge exposure process) is performed in the area|region of the fixed width|variety of the periphery of the resist film formed on the board|substrate W. As shown in FIG. In the upper end heat treatment unit 303 and the lower end heat treatment unit 304 , heating units PHP installed adjacent to each other in the cleaning and drying treatment block 14A are configured to remove the substrate W from the cleaning and drying treatment block 14A. It is configured to be imported.

In the washing/drying processing unit 162 , washing/drying processing chambers 91 , 92 , 93 , 94 , and 95 are provided hierarchically. A washing drying processing unit SD2 is provided in each of the washing drying processing chambers 91 to 95 . In the cleaning and drying processing unit SD2, the cleaning and drying processing of the substrate W after the exposure processing are performed.

4 : is a schematic side view mainly showing the conveyance parts 122, 132, 163 of FIG. As shown in FIG. 4 , the transfer unit 122 has an upper stage transfer chamber 125 and a lower stage transfer chamber 126 . The transfer unit 132 includes an upper transfer chamber 135 and a lower transfer chamber 136 . A transfer mechanism (transfer robot) 127 is installed in the upper transfer chamber 125 , and a transfer mechanism 128 is installed in the lower transfer chamber 126 . A transfer mechanism 137 is provided in the upper transfer chamber 135 , and a transfer mechanism 138 is installed in the lower transfer chamber 136 . Each of the transport mechanisms 127 , 128 , 137 , 138 has hands H1 , H2 for holding the substrate W . The conveyance mechanism 115 conveys the board|substrate W, holding the board|substrate W with the hands H1 and H2.

Between the transfer unit 112 and the upper transfer chamber 125 , the substrate placing units PASS1 and PASS2 are provided, and between the transfer unit 112 and the lower transfer chamber 126 , the substrate placing units PASS3 , PASS4) is installed. Between the upper transfer chamber 125 and the upper transfer chamber 135, substrate placing units PASS5 and PASS6 are provided, and between the lower transfer chamber 126 and the lower transfer chamber 136, a substrate placing unit ( PASS7, PASS8) are installed.

Between the upper transfer chamber 135 and the transfer unit 163 , a placing buffer unit P-BF1 is provided, and between the lower transfer chamber 136 and the transfer unit 163 , a placing and buffer unit P is provided. -BF2) is installed. In the conveyance part 163, board|substrate mounting part PASS9 and some mounting/cooling part P-CP are provided so that it may adjoin the carrying-in/out block 14B.

An operation of the substrate processing apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 . The carrier 113 in which the unprocessed board|substrate W was accommodated is mounted on the carrier mounting part 111 (FIG. 1) of the indexer block 11. As shown in FIG. The conveyance mechanism 115 conveys the unprocessed board|substrate W from the carrier 113 to board|substrate mounting parts PASS1, PASS3 (FIG. 4). Moreover, the conveyance mechanism 115 conveys the processed board|substrate W mounted on board|substrate mounting part PASS2, PASS4 (FIG. 4) to the carrier 113.

In the first processing block 12 , the transfer mechanism 127 ( FIG. 4 ) transfers the substrate W placed on the substrate mounting unit PASS1 to the adhesion strengthening processing unit AHP ( FIG. 3 ), front surface exposure processing. It is sequentially conveyed to the unit OWE (FIG. 3) and the cooling unit CP (FIG. 3), and the board|substrate W is conveyed to either one of the coating processing chambers 21 and 22 (FIG. 2). In addition, the transfer mechanism 127 transfers the substrate W on which the resist film is formed by the coating processing chamber 21 or the coating processing chamber 22 to the heating unit PHP ( FIG. 3 ) and the substrate mounting unit PASS5 ( FIG. 4 ). ) in order.

In this case, in the adhesion strengthening processing unit AHP, after the adhesion strengthening process is performed to the board|substrate W, in the front surface exposure processing unit OWE, the front surface exposure process is performed to the board|substrate W. Subsequently, in the cooling unit CP, after the substrate W is cooled to a temperature suitable for formation of the antireflection film, in any one of the coating processing chambers 21 and 22, the coating processing unit 129 (FIG. 2) ) to form a resist film on the substrate W. Then, in the heating unit PHP, the heat processing of the board|substrate W is performed, and the board|substrate W is mounted in the board|substrate mounting part PASS5.

Moreover, the conveyance mechanism 127 conveys the board|substrate W after the developing process mounted on board|substrate mounting part PASS6 (FIG. 4) to board|substrate mounting part PASS2 (FIG. 4).

The conveyance mechanism 128 (FIG. 4) transfers the substrate W mounted on the substrate mounting unit PASS3 to the adhesion strengthening processing unit AHP (FIG. 3), the front exposure processing unit OWE (FIG. 3), and cooling. It is sequentially conveyed to the unit CP (FIG. 3), and the board|substrate W is conveyed to either one of the coating processing chambers 23 and 24 (FIG. 2). Moreover, the conveyance mechanism 128 transfers the board|substrate W on which the resist film was formed by the coating processing chamber 23 or the coating processing chamber 24, the heating unit PHP (FIG. 3) and the board|substrate mounting part PASS7 (FIG. 4) ) in order.

Moreover, the conveyance mechanism 128 (FIG. 4) conveys the board|substrate W after the developing process mounted on board|substrate mounting part PASS8 (FIG. 4) to board|substrate mounting part PASS4 (FIG. 4). The processing contents of the substrate W in the coating processing chambers 23 and 24 (FIG. 2) and the lower end heat treatment section 302 (FIG. 3) are the above coating processing chambers 21 and 22 (FIG. 2) and the upper end heat treatment section 302 (FIG. 3). It is the same as the processing content of the board|substrate W in the part 301 (FIG. 3).

In the second processing block 13 , the transfer mechanism 137 ( FIG. 4 ) transfers the substrate W after the resist film formation placed on the substrate mounting unit PASS5 to the edge exposure unit EEW ( FIG. 3 ) and It is sequentially conveyed to the place and buffer part P-BF1 (FIG. 4). In this case, in the edge exposure part EEW, after the edge exposure process is performed to the board|substrate W, the board|substrate W is mounted in the mounting/buffer part P-BF1.

In addition, the conveying mechanism 137 (FIG. 4) is the substrate W after exposure processing by the exposure apparatus 15 from the heating unit PHP (FIG. 3) adjacent to the cleaning drying processing block 14A and after the heat treatment. ) is taken out. The conveying mechanism 137 conveys the substrate W to the cooling unit CP (FIG. 3), and then conveys the substrate W to either one of the developing processing chambers 31 and 32 (FIG. 2), and further, the substrate W is sequentially transferred to the heating unit PHP (FIG. 3) and the substrate mounting unit PASS6 (FIG. 4).

In this case, in the cooling unit CP, after the substrate W is cooled to a temperature suitable for the developing treatment, in the developing processing chamber 31 or the developing processing chamber 32, the substrate ( The developing treatment of W) is performed. Then, in the heating unit PHP, the heat processing of the board|substrate W is performed, and the board|substrate W is mounted in the board|substrate mounting part PASS6.

The conveyance mechanism 138 (FIG. 4) transfers the substrate W after the resist film formation placed on the substrate mounting unit PASS7 to the edge exposure unit EEW (FIG. 3) and the mounting/buffer unit P-BF2 ( 4) in the order shown. In addition, the conveyance mechanism 138 (FIG. 4) is the substrate W after exposure processing by the exposure apparatus 15 from the heating unit PHP (FIG. 3) adjacent to the cleaning drying processing block 14A and after the heat treatment. ) is taken out. The transport mechanism 138 transports the substrate W to the cooling unit CP (FIG. 3), and then transports the substrate W to any one of the developing processing chambers 33 and 34 (FIG. 2), furthermore, the substrate W is sequentially transferred to the heating unit PHP (FIG. 3) and the substrate mounting unit PASS8 (FIG. 4). The processing contents of the substrate W in the developing chambers 33 and 34 and the lower end heat treatment section 304 are described above in the developing treatment chambers 31 and 32 ( Fig. 2 ) and the upper end heat treatment section 303 ( Fig. 3 ). It is the same as the processing content of the board|substrate W in.

In the cleaning and drying processing block 14A, the transfer mechanism 141 (FIG. 1) transfers the substrate W placed on the mounting and buffer units P-BF1 and P-BF2 (FIG. 4) to the cleaning drying processing unit ( 161) to the washing-drying processing unit SD1 (FIG. 2). Then, the conveyance mechanism 141 conveys the board|substrate W from the washing-drying processing unit SD1 to the mounting/cooling part P-CP (FIG. 4). In this case, in the cleaning and drying processing unit SD1 , after the cleaning and drying processing of the substrate W is performed, in the mounting and cooling unit P-CP, the exposure apparatus 15 ( FIG. 1 ) The substrate W is cooled to a temperature suitable for exposure treatment.

The conveyance mechanism 142 (FIG. 1) washes the substrate W after exposure processing placed on the substrate mounting unit PASS9 (FIG. 4), the washing drying processing unit SD2 of the drying processing unit 162 (FIG. 3). return to In addition, the transfer mechanism 142 transfers the substrate W after the cleaning and drying processing from the cleaning and drying processing unit SD2 to the heating unit PHP of the upper end heat treatment unit 303 ( FIG. 3 ) or the lower end heat treatment unit 304 . of the heating unit (PHP) (Figure 3). In this case, in the washing-drying processing unit SD2, after the washing|cleaning and drying process of the board|substrate W are performed, in the heating unit PHP, the post-exposure bake (PEB) process is performed.

In the carry-in/out block 14B, the transfer mechanism 146 ( FIG. 1 ) transfers the substrate W before exposure processing placed on the mounting and cooling unit P-CP ( FIG. 4 ) to the exposure apparatus 15 . It is conveyed to the board|substrate carrying-in part 15a (FIG. 1). Moreover, the conveyance mechanism 146 (FIG. 1) takes out the board|substrate W after an exposure process from the board|substrate carrying out part 15b (FIG. 1) of the exposure apparatus 15, The board|substrate W is a board|substrate mounting part. (PASS9) (FIG. 4).

[2] Adhesion strengthening treatment and front exposure treatment

As described above, in the present embodiment, after the adhesion strengthening processing is performed on the substrate W in the adhesion strengthening processing unit AHP, the entire surface exposure processing of the substrate W is performed in the front surface exposure processing unit OWE. . Thereafter, a resist film is formed on the processing target surface of the substrate W by the coating processing unit 129 .

In the adhesion strengthening process, the adhesion strengthening agent which consists of an organic material is supplied to the to-be-processed surface of the board|substrate W. As an organic material, HMDS (hexamethyldisilazane) is used, for example. In this case, since the hydrophobicity of the to-be-processed surface of the board|substrate W becomes high, the adhesiveness of the to-be-processed surface of the board|substrate W and a resist film increases.

On the other hand, in order to properly form the resist film, it is necessary to apply a resist solution so as to cover a desired area of the to-be-processed surface of the board|substrate W (for example, the whole to-be-processed surface). However, the higher the hydrophobicity of the processing target surface of the substrate W, the larger the contact angle with respect to the resist liquid on the processing target surface. If the contact angle with the resist solution is too large, the resist solution may agglomerate on the target surface, resulting in a phenomenon in which the resist solution is not applied to the portion of the target surface to be coated with the resist solution (hereinafter referred to as coating failure). . In particular, when a resist solution having high cohesiveness is used, such coating defects are likely to occur. In that case, the resist film cannot be properly formed on the surface to be processed.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the entire surface exposure treatment is performed after the adhesion strengthening treatment and before the application of the resist solution. In the front exposure process, the ultraviolet-ray is irradiated to the whole to-be-processed surface of the board|substrate W. Thereby, the hydrophobicity of the to-be-processed surface of the board|substrate W can be adjusted.

The reason why the hydrophobicity of the to-be-processed surface of the board|substrate W falls by irradiation of an ultraviolet-ray is considered as follows. 5 : is a figure for demonstrating the change of the hydrophobicity of the to-be-processed surface of the board|substrate W by the adhesion strengthening process and the whole surface exposure process.

Fig. 5(a) shows the chemical formula of HMDS. Fig. 5(b) shows the chemical change on the to-be-processed surface of the board|substrate W by the adhesion strengthening process. Fig. 5(c) shows a chemical change on the to-be-processed surface of the board|substrate W by the whole surface exposure process. In this example, the substrate W is a semiconductor substrate.

As shown in Fig. 5(b) , a large number of hydroxyl groups (-OH) exist on the target surface of the substrate W before the adhesion strengthening treatment. When HMDS is supplied to the target surface of the substrate W by the adhesion strengthening treatment, the HMDS reacts with some hydroxyl groups (-OH). Thereby, a hydroxyl group (-OH) changes to a trimethylsiloxy group (-OSi(CH ₃ ) ₃ ). As a result, the hydrophobicity of the to-be-processed surface of the board|substrate W becomes high.

As shown in FIG. 5(c) , when ultraviolet rays are irradiated to the target surface of the substrate W by the front exposure treatment, water vapor (H ₂ O) in the atmosphere is partially converted to trimethylsiloxy groups (-OSi(CH ₃ ) ₃ ). ) reacts with Thereby, the trimethylsiloxy group (-OSi(CH ₃ ) ₃ ) is separated into a hydroxyl group (-OH) and hexamethyldisiloxane (O[Si(CH ₃ ) ₃ ] ₂ ). Thereby, the hydrophobicity of the to-be-processed surface of the board|substrate W falls.

In the adhesion strengthening treatment, when the supply amount of the adhesion strengthening agent is small, the hydrophobicity of the to-be-processed surface of the board|substrate W increases rapidly. Therefore, it is very difficult to adjust the hydrophobicity of the to-be-processed surface of the board|substrate W to a desired degree at the time of an adhesion strengthening process. On the other hand, in the front exposure process, the hydrophobicity of the to-be-processed surface of the board|substrate W falls depending on the irradiation amount of the ultraviolet-ray with respect to the to-be-processed surface of the board|substrate W (exposure amount of to-be-processed surface). Therefore, the hydrophobicity of the to-be-processed surface of the board|substrate W can be adjusted to a desired degree by adjusting the irradiation amount of an ultraviolet-ray. In this case, it is preferable that the irradiation amount of an ultraviolet-ray is adjusted so that the contact angle with respect to the resist liquid in the to-be-processed surface of the board|substrate W may become a predetermined range.

The inventor investigated the hydrophobicity change of the to-be-processed surface of the board|substrate W in each of the case where only the adhesion strengthening process was performed, and the case where both the adhesion strengthening process and the full surface exposure process were performed. Here, the contact angle with respect to the pure water in the to-be-processed surface of a bare wafer was measured simply. As a result, when only the adhesion strengthening process was performed, the average value of the contact angle with respect to the pure water in the to-be-processed surface of a bare wafer was about 63 degrees. On the other hand, when the entire surface exposure treatment was performed so that the exposure amount of the target surface of the bare wafer was 100 mJ after the adhesion strengthening treatment, the average value of the contact angle with respect to pure water was about 47 degrees. In addition, when the entire surface exposure treatment was performed so that the exposure amount of the target surface of the bare wafer was 300 mJ after the adhesion strengthening treatment, the average value of the contact angle with respect to pure water was about 31 degrees.

As described above, by performing the full-surface exposure treatment after the adhesion strengthening treatment, the contact angle with respect to the pure water on the target surface of the bare wafer could be reduced. Further, by adjusting the irradiation amount of the ultraviolet rays, it was possible to adjust the contact angle with respect to the pure water on the to-be-processed surface of a bare wafer. From these results, it turned out that hydrophobization of the to-be-processed surface of the board|substrate W can be suppressed by performing full surface exposure process after an adhesion strengthening process. Moreover, it turned out that the hydrophobicity of the to-be-processed surface of the board|substrate W can be adjusted by adjusting the irradiation amount of an ultraviolet-ray. Since the relationship between the bare wafer and the pure water is the same as the relationship between the substrate W and the resist liquid, it is possible to control the contact angle of the substrate W with the resist liquid on the target surface of the substrate W by performing the full-surface exposure treatment after the adhesion strengthening treatment. Could know.

[3] Adhesion reinforcement processing unit

6 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a specific structural example of the adhesion strengthening processing unit AHP. The adhesion strengthening processing unit AHP of FIG. 6 includes a plate 205 , a cover 207 , a cover lifting mechanism 209 , a plurality of support pins 243 , and a support pin lifting mechanism 247 .

A plurality of (for example, three) proximity balls 241 are provided on the upper surface of the plate 205 . On the plurality of proximity balls 241 , the substrate W is placed in a horizontal posture. The cover 207 is provided so as to cover the upper side of the substrate W on the plate 205 . The cover 207 is connected to the cover raising/lowering mechanism 209 . The cover raising/lowering mechanism 209 is, for example, an air cylinder, and raises/lowers the cover 207 between an upper position and a lower position. In Fig. 6, the cover 207 is in the downward position. When the cover 207 is in the downward position, an airtight processing space PS is formed between the cover 207 and the plate 205 .

A gas flow path 213 is provided in the cover 207 . One end of a gas supply pipe 261 is connected to the gas flow path 213 . A gas supply unit (not shown) capable of selectively supplying a process gas and an inert gas is connected to the other end of the gas supply pipe 261 . The processing gas contains an adhesion enhancer. The inert gas is, for example, nitrogen gas.

A plurality of (for example, three) through holes 245 are formed so as to penetrate the plate 205 in the vertical direction. A plurality of (for example, three) support pins 243 are respectively inserted into the through holes 245 of the plate 205 . Below the plate 205 , the lower end of each support pin 243 is connected to the support pin lifting mechanism 247 . The support pin raising/lowering mechanism 247 raises/lowers the some support pin 243. A disk-shaped sealing portion 243a is attached to the upper end of each support pin 243 . In the upper end of each through hole 245 of the plate 205, a recess 245a capable of receiving the sealing portion 243a is formed. When the sealing part 243a is in close contact with the bottom surface of the recessed part 245a, the airtightness of the processing space PS is ensured.

A temperature control unit 249 for adjusting the temperature of the substrate W is provided inside the plate 205 . The temperature control unit 249 is, for example, a heater. The temperature control unit 249 heats the substrate W placed on the plate 205 by adjusting the temperature of the plate 205 .

An exhaust slit 251 is formed in the plate 205 so as to extend in the circumferential direction from the outside of the region where the substrate W is placed. In addition, a plurality of exhaust ports 253 are formed so as to communicate with the exhaust slits 251, respectively. An exhaust pipe 255 is connected to the plurality of exhaust ports 253 . A pump 256 is interposed in the exhaust pipe 255 . The gas in the processing space PS passes through the exhaust pipe 255 by the pump 256 and is discharged from the adhesion strengthening processing unit AHP. As a result, the processing space PS is reduced in pressure.

The adhesion strengthening process in adhesion strengthening processing unit AHP is demonstrated, referring FIG. 6 . Here, the operation of the adhesion strengthening processing unit AHP installed in the upper end heat treatment unit 301 of FIG. 3 will be described.

First, with the cover 207 in the upper position, the conveyance mechanism 127 of FIG. 4 conveys the board|substrate W above the plate 5. As shown in FIG. When the plurality of support pins 243 rise, the substrate is transferred from the transport mechanism 127 to the plurality of support pins 243 . When the support pin 243 descends, the substrate W is placed on the plurality of proximity balls 241 .

After the airtight processing space PS is formed by moving the cover 207 to the downward position, the pump 256 discharges the gas from the processing space PS. As a result, the processing space PS is reduced in pressure. In addition, the temperature of the substrate W on the plate 205 is adjusted by the temperature controller 249 .

In this state, the processing gas is supplied to the processing space PS through the gas supply pipe 261 and the gas flow path 213 . Thereby, the adhesion strengthening agent is apply|coated to the to-be-processed surface of the board|substrate W. The processing gas flowing out of the substrate W passes through the exhaust pipe 255 and is discharged from the adhesion strengthening processing unit AHP. Subsequently, the inert gas is supplied to the processing space PS through the gas supply pipe 261 and the gas flow path 213 . Accordingly, the processing gas in the processing space PS is replaced with the inert gas.

After that, the operation of the pump 256 is stopped, and the cover 207 is moved to the upper position. In addition, as the plurality of support pins 243 rise, the substrate W is transferred from the plurality of proximity balls 241 to the plurality of support pins 243 . The conveyance mechanism 127 of FIG. 4 receives the board|substrate W from the some support pin 243, and carries it out from the close_contact|adherence reinforcement processing unit AHP.

[4] Front exposure processing unit

7 and 8 are an external perspective view and a schematic side view showing a specific configuration example of the front exposure processing unit OWE. As shown in FIG. 7 , the front exposure processing unit OWE includes a light output unit 300 , a substrate moving unit 400 , and a carry-in/out unit 500 . The substrate moving unit 400 includes a casing 410 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. In the following description, as indicated by an arrow in FIG. 7 , a direction parallel to the horizontal plane and directed from one surface of the casing 410 to the other is referred to as a front, parallel to the horizontal plane and from the other surface of the casing 410 . The direction toward one side is called the rear. Further, a direction parallel to the horizontal plane and orthogonal to the front and rear is called a width direction.

The light output unit 300 is installed to extend in the width direction, and is mounted on the upper center of the casing 410 . A carry-in/out unit 500 is installed at the rear of the light output unit 300 . The carry-in/out unit 500 includes a cover member 510 , a cover drive unit 590 , and a support plate 591 . The support plate 591 is fixed to the casing 410 in a horizontal posture. A cover driving unit 590 is mounted on the lower surface of the support plate 591 . The cover member 510 is installed below the cover driving unit 590 . An opening 412 is formed on the upper surface of the rear portion of the casing 410 . The cover driving unit 590 moves the cover member 510 in the vertical direction. Thereby, the opening 412 is closed or opened.

As shown in FIG. 8 , the light output unit 300 includes a casing 310 , an ultraviolet lamp 320 , and an inert gas supply unit 330 . In Fig. 8, the casing 310 is indicated by a dashed-dotted line. In the casing 310 , the ultraviolet lamp 320 and the inert gas supply unit 330 are accommodated.

The ultraviolet lamp 320 and the inert gas supply unit 330 are installed to extend in the width direction, respectively. In this example, as the ultraviolet lamp 320, a xenon excimer lamp that generates vacuum ultraviolet rays with a wavelength of 172 nm is used. The ultraviolet lamp 320 may be any lamp that generates vacuum ultraviolet rays having a wavelength of 230 nm or less, and other excimer lamps or deuterium lamps may be used instead of the xenon excimer lamp.

An emitting surface 321 is formed on the lower surface of the ultraviolet lamp 320 . When the ultraviolet lamp 320 is turned on, vacuum ultraviolet rays are emitted from the emission surface 321 downward. The vacuum ultraviolet rays emitted from the ultraviolet lamp 320 have a band-shaped cross section orthogonal to the traveling direction (in this example, the vertical direction).

A plurality of injection holes (not shown) are formed in the inert gas supply unit 330 downward. During the exposure treatment of the substrate W, the inert gas supply unit 330 injects the inert gas downward through the plurality of injection holes. Thereby, the oxygen concentration in the space between the emission surface 321 of the ultraviolet lamp 320 and the board|substrate W can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the attenuation of the vacuum ultraviolet rays irradiated to the substrate (W).

In the casing 410 of the substrate moving unit 400 , a water supply mechanism 420 , a local transport mechanism 430 , an inert gas supply unit 450 , and an illuminance sensor SE1 are provided. The water supply mechanism 420 includes a plurality of lifting pins 421 , a pin supporting member 422 , and a pin lifting and lowering drive unit 423 .

A plurality of lifting pins 421 extending in the vertical direction are respectively mounted on the pin support member 422 . The pin lifting/lowering drive unit 423 supports the pin support member 422 to be movable in the vertical direction. The plurality of lifting pins 421 are disposed below the opening 412 . By the pin lifting/lowering drive unit 423 , the upper ends of the plurality of lifting pins 421 move between a water supply position above the opening portion 412 and a standby position lower than a local transfer hand 434 , which will be described later.

The local transport mechanism 430 includes a transport shaft 431 , a transport shaft motor 432 , a pair of guide rails 433 , a local transport hand 434 , and a pair of hand support members 435 . The feed shaft motor 432 is provided in the front of the casing 410 . The transfer shaft 431 is installed so as to extend backward from the transfer shaft motor 432 . The feed shaft 431 is, for example, a ball screw, and is connected to the rotation shaft of the feed shaft motor 432 .

A pair of guide rails 433 are installed on the inner lower surface of the casing 410 so as to extend in the front-rear direction parallel to each other. A pair of hand support members 435 are installed on the pair of guide rails 433 to be movable in the front and rear directions, respectively. In Fig. 8, only one guide rail 433 and one hand supporting member 435 are shown. A local transfer hand 434 is supported by a pair of hand support members 435 . The local transfer hand 434 is connected to the transfer shaft 431 through a connecting member (not shown). A plurality of holes (not shown) into which the plurality of lifting pins 421 of the water supply mechanism 420 can be respectively inserted are formed in the local transfer hand 434 . The substrate W is placed on the local transfer hand 434 .

The transfer shaft 431 is rotated by the transfer shaft motor 432 . Thereby, the local conveying hand 434 moves in the front-back direction between the rear position which is rearward from the light output part 300 and the front position which is front from the light output part 300. As shown in FIG. In addition, in Fig. 8, the local carrying hand 434 in the rear position is indicated by a solid line, and the local carrying hand 434 in the front position is indicated by the two-dot chain line.

In a state in which a band-shaped vacuum ultraviolet ray is emitted from the ultraviolet lamp 320 , the local transfer hand 43 moves from the front position to the rear position at a constant moving speed, so that the vacuum ultraviolet ray is directed from one end of the substrate W to the other end. It is injected Thereby, vacuum ultraviolet rays are irradiated to all regions of the upper surface of the substrate W.

The inert gas supply unit 450 is installed at the rear of the casing 410 so as to extend in the width direction. A plurality of injection holes are formed in the inert gas supply unit 450 , and the inert gas is injected from the plurality of injection holes.

In the casing 410, an illuminance sensor SE1 is further provided. The illuminance sensor SE1 is provided at a position opposite to the emission surface 321 of the light output unit 300 . The illuminance sensor SE1 includes a light-receiving element such as a photodiode, and detects the illuminance of the light irradiated to the light-receiving surface of the light-receiving element. Here, illuminance is the power of the light irradiated per unit area of a light receiving surface. The unit ^of illuminance is represented by "W/m2", for example. Illuminance sensor SE1 is raised/lowered between an upper position and a lower position by the sensor drive part (not shown). Illuminance sensor SE1 is an upper position. WHEREIN: Illuminance of the vacuum ultraviolet-ray which should be irradiated to the board|substrate W is detected.

The exposure amount is predetermined for each substrate W or for each type of substrate W based on the processing contents of the substrate W. The predetermined exposure amount is stored in advance in the front surface exposure control part 52 mentioned later as a preset exposure amount before the exposure process of the board|substrate W. The set exposure amount is, for example, a value in which the contact angle with respect to the resist liquid on the to-be-processed surface of the board|substrate W becomes a predetermined range.

As described above, a band-shaped vacuum ultraviolet ray is scanned from one end to the other end of the substrate W at a constant speed. In that case, the exposure amount of the to-be-processed surface of the board|substrate W can be adjusted by controlling the moving speed of the board|substrate W. For example, the exposure amount can be decreased by increasing the moving speed of the substrate W, and the exposure amount can be increased by lowering the moving speed of the substrate W.

In the present embodiment, the illuminance of the vacuum ultraviolet ray is detected in advance by the illuminance sensor SE1 before the entire surface exposure process of the substrate W, and the moving speed of the substrate W is adjusted based on the detection result. Thereby, the exposure amount of the to-be-processed surface of the board|substrate W is adjusted to the set exposure amount.

The entire surface exposure processing in the front surface exposure processing unit OWE will be described with reference to FIG. 8 . Here, the operation of the front surface exposure processing unit OWE installed in the upper end heat treatment unit 301 of FIG. 3 will be described.

First, in a state in which the opening 412 of the casing 410 is closed by the cover member 510 , the inert gas is supplied into the casing 410 from the inert gas supply unit 450 . Thereby, the oxygen concentration in the casing 410 is kept lower than 1%, for example.

Next, while the opening 412 is opened by raising the cover member 510, the some raising/lowering pin 421 of the water supply mechanism 420 is raised. Thereby, the upper ends of the several lifting pins 421 move from a standby position to a water supply position. In that state, the board|substrate W in a horizontal orientation is inserted in the horizontal direction between the cover member 510 and the opening part 412 by the conveyance mechanism 127 of FIG. is witty Subsequently, the plurality of lifting pins 421 of the water supply mechanism 420 are lowered. Thereby, the upper end of the plurality of lifting pins 421 moves from the water supply position to the standby position, and the substrate W in the horizontal posture is transferred from the plurality of lifting pins 421 to the local transfer hand 434 . Subsequently, the opening 412 is closed by the lowering of the cover member 510 .

Next, the local transfer hand 434 is moved from the rear position to the forward position. At this time, the ultraviolet lamp 320 is in a light-off state. Therefore, the substrate W is not exposed. Next, the ultraviolet lamp 320 is switched from the off state to the on state. In addition, an inert gas is supplied into the casing 410 from the inert gas supply unit 330 .

Subsequently, the local transfer hand 434 is moved from the forward position to the rear position. The moving speed at this time is adjusted based on the illuminance of the vacuum ultraviolet ray previously detected by the illuminance sensor SE1. Thereby, as mentioned above, the to-be-processed surface of the board|substrate W is exposed with the set exposure amount. After that, the ultraviolet lamp 320 is switched from the on state to the off state. In addition, the supply of the inert gas by the inert gas supply unit 330 is stopped.

Next, while the opening 412 is opened by raising the cover member 510, the some raising/lowering pin 421 of the water supply mechanism 420 is raised. As a result, the substrate W is transferred from the local transfer hand 434 to the plurality of lifting pins 421 , and the substrate W is moved above the opening 412 . In that state, the board|substrate W is received by the conveyance mechanism 127 of FIG. 4, and is carried out from the front surface exposure processing unit OWE.

[5] Control system

9 is a diagram for explaining a configuration example of a control system of the substrate processing apparatus 100 . As shown in FIG. 9 , the substrate processing apparatus 100 includes, in addition to the main control unit 114 , the adhesion strengthening control unit 51 , the front exposure control unit 52 , the film forming control unit 53 , the developing control unit 54 , and the edge It includes an exposure control unit 55 , a washing drying control unit 56 , a heating/cooling control unit 57 , and a conveyance control unit 58 . The main control unit 114 includes the adhesion strengthening control unit 51 , the front exposure control unit 52 , the film forming control unit 53 , the developing control unit 54 , the edge exposure control unit 55 , the washing drying control unit 56 , and the heating and cooling control unit. By controlling 57 and the conveyance control part 58, the operation|movement of the substrate processing apparatus 100 is collectively controlled.

The adhesion reinforcement control part 51 controls the operation|movement of the adhesion reinforcement processing unit group G1. The adhesion strengthening processing unit group G1 includes a plurality of adhesion strengthening processing units AHP of FIG. 3 . The front exposure control unit 52 controls the operation of the front exposure processing unit group G2. The front surface exposure processing unit group G2 includes a plurality of front surface exposure processing units OWE of FIG. 3 . The film-forming control part 53 controls the operation|movement of the application|coating processing unit group G3. The application processing unit group G3 includes a plurality of application processing units 129 of FIG. 2 . The developing control section 54 controls the operation of the developing processing unit group G4. The developing processing unit group G4 includes a plurality of developing processing units 139 in FIG. 2 .

The edge exposure control part 55 controls the operation|movement of the edge exposure part group G5. The edge exposure part group G5 includes a plurality of edge exposure parts EEW of FIG. 3 . The washing/drying control unit 56 controls the operation of the washing/drying processing unit group G6. The washing-drying processing unit group G6 includes a plurality of washing-drying processing units SD1 of FIG. 2 and a plurality of washing-drying processing units SD2 of FIG. 3 . The heating/cooling control unit 57 controls the operation of the heat treatment unit group G7. The heat treatment unit group G7 includes a plurality of heating units PHP and a plurality of cooling units CP of FIG. 3 , and a plurality of mounting and cooling units P-CP of FIG. 4 . The conveyance control part 58 controls the operation|movement of the conveyance mechanism group G8. The transport mechanism group G8 includes the transport mechanisms 115 , 142 , 141 , 146 of FIG. 1 and the transport mechanisms 127 , 128 , 137 , 138 of FIG. 4 .

In the example of FIG. 9 , a plurality of control units are provided to correspond to various processing contents, but the substrate processing apparatus 100 may be divided into a plurality of processing regions, and a control unit may be provided for each processing region. In addition, the operation of the entire substrate processing apparatus 100 may be controlled only by the main control unit 114 .

Fig. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of each control unit in Fig. 9; Here, the operation with respect to one board|substrate W conveyed by the conveyance mechanisms 127 and 137 of FIG. 4 is demonstrated. The same operation|movement is performed also about the board|substrate W conveyed by the conveyance mechanisms 128 and 138 of FIG.

First, the conveyance control unit 58 controls the conveying mechanisms 115 and 127 of FIG. 4 to transfer the unprocessed substrate W in the carrier 113 to any one of the adhesion strengthening processing units of the upper end heat treatment unit 301 of FIG. 3 . (AHP). The adhesion reinforcing control unit 51 controls the adhesion reinforcing processing unit AHP to which the substrate W is conveyed to perform adhesion reinforcing processing of supplying an adhesion reinforcing agent to the to-be-processed surface of the substrate W (step S1).

Next, the conveyance control part 58 controls the conveyance mechanism 127 of FIG. 4, and exposes the board|substrate W after the adhesion strengthening process from the adhesion strengthening processing unit AHP to the front surface of the upper end heat treatment part 301 of FIG. It is conveyed to the processing unit OWE. The front surface exposure control unit 52 controls the front surface exposure processing unit OWE to which the substrate W is conveyed, and performs a front surface exposure process of irradiating the target surface of the substrate W with ultraviolet rays (step S2).

Next, the conveyance control unit 58 controls the conveyance mechanism 127 to cool the substrate W after the front surface exposure treatment from the front surface exposure processing unit OWE to any one of the upper end heat treatment units 301 of FIG. 3 . It is returned to the unit (CP). The heating/cooling control part 57 controls the cooling unit CP to which the board|substrate W was conveyed, and cools the board|substrate W (step S3).

Next, the conveyance control unit 58 controls the conveyance mechanism 127 to transfer the cooled substrate W from the cooling unit CP to any one of the application processing units 21 and 22 of FIG. 2 . 129). The film-forming control unit 53 controls the coating processing unit 129 to which the substrate W is conveyed, and forms a resist film by coating a resist solution on the to-be-processed surface of the substrate W (step S4).

Next, the transfer control unit 58 controls the transfer mechanism 127 to transfer the resist film-formed substrate W from the application processing unit 129 to any one heating unit ( PHP). The heating/cooling control part 57 controls the heating unit PHP to which the board|substrate W was conveyed, and heats the board|substrate W (step S5).

Next, the conveyance control unit 58 controls the conveyance mechanisms 127 and 137 to transfer the heated substrate W from the heating unit PHP to the edge exposure unit EEW of the upper end heat treatment unit 303 of FIG. 3 . return to The edge exposure control part 55 controls the edge exposure part EEW to which the board|substrate W was conveyed, and performs an edge exposure process on the board|substrate W (step S6).

Next, the conveyance control part 58 controls the conveyance mechanisms 137 and 141, and transfers the board|substrate W after an edge exposure process from the edge exposure part EEW to any one of the cleaning and drying processing part 161 of FIG. It is conveyed to washing|cleaning drying processing unit SD1. The washing/drying control unit 56 controls the washing/drying processing unit SD1 to which the substrate W is conveyed to perform washing and drying processing on the substrate W (step S7).

Next, the conveyance control part 58 controls the conveyance mechanism 141, and the board|substrate W after washing|cleaning and drying processing is carried out from the washing-drying processing unit SD1 in any one of the mounting/cooling part P- of FIG. CP). The heating/cooling control part 57 controls the mounting/cooling part P-CP to which the board|substrate W was conveyed, and cools the board|substrate W (step S8).

Next, the conveyance control part 58 controls the conveyance mechanism 146, and carries in the board|substrate W after cooling into the exposure apparatus 15 of FIG. 1 from the mounting/cooling part P-CP (step S9). ). After exposure processing is performed on the substrate W in the exposure apparatus 15 , the transfer control unit 58 controls the transfer mechanisms 146 and 142 to transfer the substrate W after exposure processing from the exposure apparatus 15 . It is carried out (step S10), and the board|substrate W is conveyed to any one washing/drying processing unit SD2 of the washing/drying processing part 162 of FIG. The washing/drying control unit 56 controls the washing/drying processing unit SD2 to which the substrate W is conveyed to perform washing and drying processing on the substrate W (step S11).

Next, the transfer control unit 58 controls the transfer mechanism 142 to transfer the substrate W after cleaning and drying processing from the cleaning and drying processing unit SD2 to any one of the upper end heat treatment units 303 of FIG. 3 . It is conveyed to the heating unit (PHP). The heating/cooling control part 57 controls the heating unit PHP to which the board|substrate W was conveyed, and performs a PEB process on the board|substrate W (step S12).

Next, the conveyance control part 58 controls the conveyance mechanism 137, and conveys the board|substrate W after PEB processing to any one cooling unit CP of the upper end heat processing part 303 of FIG. The heating/cooling control part 57 controls the cooling unit CP to which the board|substrate W was conveyed, and cools the board|substrate W (step S13).

Next, the transfer control unit 58 controls the transfer mechanism 137 to transfer the cooled substrate W to any one of the developing processing units 139 of the developing chambers 31 and 32 of FIG. 2 . The developing control unit 54 controls the developing processing unit 139 to which the substrate W is conveyed to perform a developing process on the substrate W (step S14).

Next, the conveyance control unit 58 controls the conveying mechanisms 137 , 127 , and 115 to return the developing substrate W from the developing unit 139 to the carrier 113 of FIG. 1 . Thereby, the process of an example of the board|substrate W is complete|finished.

[6] Effects

In the substrate processing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment, the adhesion strengthening agent made of an organic material is supplied to the processing target surface of the substrate W in the adhesion strengthening processing unit AHP, and then to the front exposure processing unit OWE. In this case, ultraviolet rays are irradiated to the to-be-processed surface of the board|substrate W. In this case, after increasing the hydrophobicity of the to-be-processed surface of the board|substrate W by supply of the adhesion strengthening agent, the hydrophobicity of the to-be-processed surface of the board|substrate W is adjusted by irradiation of an ultraviolet-ray. Thereby, the contact angle with respect to the resist liquid in the to-be-processed surface of the board|substrate W is controlled to the suitable range at the time of the subsequent application|coating of a resist liquid. Accordingly, the occurrence of coating defects can be prevented, and the resist solution can be appropriately applied to a desired region of the to-be-processed surface of the substrate W. Moreover, the adhesiveness of the to-be-processed surface of the board|substrate W and a resist film can be ensured. As a result, a resist film can be appropriately formed on the to-be-processed surface of the board|substrate W.

Moreover, in this embodiment, the hydroxyl group on the to-be-processed surface of the board|substrate W changes to a trimethylsiloxy group by the adhesion strengthening process, and the trimethylsiloxy group on one surface of the board|substrate W by the whole surface exposure process after that is a hydroxyl group and a hexa isolated as methyldisiloxane. Thereby, the hydrophobicity of the to-be-processed surface of the board|substrate W can be adjusted suitably.

[7] Other examples of adhesion strengthening processing unit and front exposure processing unit

In the above embodiment, although the adhesion strengthening processing and the front exposure processing are respectively performed in the adhesion strengthening processing unit (AHP) and the front surface exposure processing unit (OWE) which are separate from each other, the adhesion strengthening processing and the entire surface exposure processing are performed in one unit. Both may be done. 11 is a schematic side view showing a structural example of a hydrophobicity adjustment unit for performing an adhesion strengthening treatment and a front exposure treatment. The hydrophobicity adjusting unit 600 of FIG. 11 is provided, for example, in each of the upper end heat treatment unit 301 and the lower end heat treatment unit 302 of FIG. 3 .

The hydrophobicity adjusting unit 600 of FIG. 11 includes a housing 601 , an adhesion strengthening part 610 , a light outputting part 620 , and a local conveying mechanism 630 . The adhesion reinforcing unit 610 and the light emitting unit 620 are installed in the housing 601 , respectively. The adhesion reinforcing unit 610 has the same configuration as the adhesion reinforcing processing unit AHP of FIG. 6 , and includes a plate 205 and a cover 207 , and includes various other components not shown. The adhesion reinforcing unit 610 supplies the adhesion reinforcing agent to the substrate W in the airtight processing space.

The light output unit 620 has the same configuration as the light output unit 300 of FIG. 8 and emits vacuum ultraviolet rays. The local transport mechanism 630 has the same configuration as the local transport mechanism 430 in FIG. 8 , and includes a feed shaft 431 , a feed shaft motor 432 , a pair of guide rails 433 , and a local transport hand 434 . ) and a pair of hand support members 435 . The local transfer hand 434 moves between a water supply position for transferring the substrate W to the adhesion strengthening unit 610 and an external position outside the adhesion strengthening unit 610 . In Fig. 11, a local transfer hand 434 in an external position is shown.

The adhesion strengthening process and the whole surface exposure process in the hydrophobicity adjustment unit 600 of FIG. 11 are demonstrated. Here, the operation of the hydrophobicity adjustment unit 600 installed in the upper end heat treatment unit 301 of FIG. 3 will be described. First, the conveyance mechanism 127 of FIG. 4 carries the board|substrate W into the housing 601, and delivers the board|substrate W to the local conveyance hand 434 located in an external position. The local transfer hand 434 moves from the external position to the capital position, and the substrate W is transferred from the local transfer hand 434 to a support pin 243 (see FIG. 6 ) not shown. Then, the local conveyance hand 434 is retracted to an external position, and while the board|substrate W is mounted on the plate 205 by the support pin 243, the cover 207 moves to a downward position. Thereafter, in the adhesion strengthening unit 610 , the adhesion strengthening processing is performed in the same manner as in the adhesion strengthening processing unit AHP of FIG. 6 .

When the adhesion strengthening process is finished, an inert gas is supplied into the housing 601 by an inert gas supply unit (not shown). Subsequently, the local transfer hand 434 is moved to the capital position, and the substrate W is transferred from a support pin 243 (refer to FIG. 6 ) not shown in the figure to the local transfer hand 434 . Then, the local transfer hand 434 moves from the water supply position to the external position while the light output unit 620 emits the vacuum ultraviolet rays downward. Thereby, vacuum ultraviolet ray is irradiated to the whole to-be-processed surface of the board|substrate W to which the adhesion strengthening agent was supplied. In this case, it is preferable that the illuminance of vacuum ultraviolet ray is detected in advance by the illuminance sensor SE1 (refer FIG. 8) not shown, and the moving speed of the board|substrate W is adjusted based on the detection result.

In this way, in the hydrophobicity adjustment unit 600 of FIG. 11 , the adhesion strengthening process and the front surface exposure process are sequentially performed within the common housing 601 . Thereby, compared to the case where the adhesion strengthening processing unit AHP and the front surface exposure processing unit OWE are provided separately, the adhesion strengthening process and the front surface exposure process can be performed efficiently, and the throughput can be improved. Moreover, since both the adhesion strengthening process and the front exposure process can be implemented in a small space, the size reduction of the substrate processing apparatus 100 becomes possible.

[8] Another embodiment

In the above embodiment, an adhesion enhancer made of HMDS is used as the organic material, but if it is possible to increase the hydrophobicity of the substrate W, an adhesion enhancer made of another organic material such as TMSDMA (trimethylsilyldimethylamine) may be used.

In the above embodiment, the adhesion strengthening treatment and the front exposure treatment are performed on the to-be-processed surface of the substrate W before formation of the resist film, but the same treatment may be performed before formation of the other treatment films. For example, before the formation of the antireflection film for reducing standing waves or halation generated during exposure processing, the surface to be processed of the substrate W may be subjected to adhesion strengthening processing and front exposure processing. In this case, the treatment liquid for an antireflection film can be appropriately applied to a desired area of the to-be-processed surface of the substrate W while ensuring the adhesiveness of the to-be-processed surface of the board|substrate W and the antireflection film. Alternatively, before the formation of a treatment film made of an inducing self-organizing material for forming a fine pattern by DSA (Directed Self Assembly) technology, adhesion strengthening treatment and full-surface exposure treatment are performed on the target surface of the substrate W do.

[9] Correspondence between each element in the claims and each element in the embodiment

Hereinafter, although the example of correspondence of each element of a claim and each element of embodiment is demonstrated, this invention is not limited to the following example.

In the above embodiment, the substrate processing apparatus 100 is an example of the substrate processing apparatus, the adhesion strengthening processing unit (AHP) is an example of the adhesion strengthening part, the light output parts 300 and 620 are examples of the irradiation part, and the application process The unit 129 is an example of a film forming part, and the cooling unit CP is an example of a cooling part. In addition, the housing 601 is an example of a housing, the plate 205 is an example of a mounting part, and the local conveyance hand 434 is an example of a conveyance part.

As each component of the claim, various other elements having the structure or function described in the claim may be used.

Claims (14)

An adhesion reinforcing unit for supplying an adhesion reinforcing agent made of an organic material to one surface of the substrate;
an irradiator for irradiating vacuum ultraviolet rays in an atmosphere in which oxygen concentration is maintained lower than 1% on the one surface of the substrate to which the adhesion strengthening agent is supplied by the adhesion strengthening part;
and a film forming unit for forming a treatment film on the one surface of the substrate by supplying a treatment liquid to the one surface of the substrate irradiated with vacuum ultraviolet light by the irradiation unit,
wherein the irradiation unit pre-adjusts the irradiation amount of vacuum ultraviolet rays before supply of the treatment liquid by the film forming unit so that a contact angle with respect to the treatment liquid on the one surface of the substrate in the film forming unit is equal to or less than a predetermined value. processing unit. The method according to claim 1,
The said organic material contains hexamethyldisilazane, The substrate processing apparatus. An adhesion reinforcing unit for supplying an adhesion reinforcing agent made of an organic material to one surface of the substrate;
an irradiating unit for irradiating vacuum ultraviolet rays to the one surface of the substrate to which the adhesion reinforcing agent is supplied by the adhesion reinforcing unit;
and a film forming unit for forming a treatment film on the one surface of the substrate by supplying a treatment liquid to the one surface of the substrate irradiated with vacuum ultraviolet light by the irradiation unit,
The organic material includes hexamethyldisilazane,
The adhesion strengthening unit supplies the adhesion strengthening agent to the one surface of the substrate so that the hydroxyl group on the one surface of the substrate changes to a trimethylsiloxy group,
The irradiation unit irradiates a vacuum ultraviolet ray to the one surface of the substrate in an atmosphere in which the oxygen concentration is maintained lower than 1% so that the trimethylsiloxy group on the one surface of the substrate is separated into a hydroxyl group and hexamethyldisiloxane. 4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The processing liquid includes a photosensitive material. 4. The method according to claim 3,
wherein the irradiation unit pre-adjusts the irradiation amount of vacuum ultraviolet rays before supply of the treatment liquid by the film forming unit so that a contact angle with respect to the treatment liquid on the one surface of the substrate in the film forming unit is equal to or less than a predetermined value. processing unit. 4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
and a cooling unit for cooling the substrate after the vacuum ultraviolet rays are irradiated by the irradiation unit and before the processing film is formed by the film forming unit. An adhesion reinforcing unit for supplying an adhesion reinforcing agent made of an organic material to one surface of the substrate;
an irradiating unit for irradiating ultraviolet rays to the one surface of the substrate to which the adhesion reinforcing agent is supplied by the adhesion reinforcing unit;
and a film forming unit for forming a treatment film on the one surface of the substrate by supplying a treatment liquid to the one surface of the substrate irradiated with ultraviolet light by the irradiation unit,
The adhesion strengthening unit includes a mounting unit on which the substrate is placed,
Further comprising a conveying unit movably installed between a water supply position for transferring the substrate on the mounting unit while holding the substrate and an external position of the adhesion strengthening unit,
The adhesion reinforcing unit supplies an adhesion reinforcing agent to the substrate mounted on the mounting unit,
The irradiating unit irradiates an ultraviolet ray to the substrate held by the conveying unit when the conveying unit holds the substrate and moves from the water supply position to the external position. supplying an adhesion strengthening agent made of an organic material to one surface of the substrate by the adhesion strengthening unit;
irradiating a vacuum ultraviolet ray by an irradiator to the one surface of the substrate to which the adhesion reinforcing agent is supplied by the adhesion reinforcing unit;
and forming a treatment film on the one surface of the substrate by supplying a treatment liquid to the one surface of the substrate irradiated with vacuum ultraviolet light by the irradiator,
In the step of irradiating the vacuum ultraviolet rays, the oxygen concentration is 1% before the step of forming the treatment film so that the contact angle with the treatment liquid on the one surface of the substrate becomes less than or equal to a predetermined value in the step of forming the treatment film. A method for processing a substrate, comprising pre-adjusting an irradiation amount of vacuum ultraviolet rays in an atmosphere maintained at a lower level. 9. The method of claim 8,
The said organic material contains hexamethyldisilazane, the substrate processing method. supplying an adhesion strengthening agent made of an organic material to one surface of the substrate by the adhesion strengthening unit;
irradiating a vacuum ultraviolet ray by an irradiator to the one surface of the substrate to which the adhesion reinforcing agent is supplied by the adhesion reinforcing unit;
and forming a treatment film on the one surface of the substrate by supplying a treatment liquid to the one surface of the substrate irradiated with vacuum ultraviolet light by the irradiation unit,
The organic material includes hexamethyldisilazane,
The step of supplying the adhesion strengthening agent includes changing a hydroxyl group on the one surface of the substrate to a trimethylsiloxy group,
In the step of irradiating the vacuum ultraviolet rays, the vacuum ultraviolet rays are irradiated to the one surface of the substrate in an atmosphere in which the oxygen concentration is maintained lower than 1% so that the trimethylsiloxy group on the one surface of the substrate is separated into a hydroxyl group and hexamethyldisiloxane. A method for processing a substrate, comprising: 11. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10,
The processing liquid includes a photosensitive material. 11. The method of claim 10,
In the step of irradiating the vacuum ultraviolet rays, the irradiation amount of the vacuum ultraviolet rays before the step of forming the treatment film is such that the contact angle with the treatment liquid on the one surface of the substrate becomes less than or equal to a predetermined value in the step of forming the treatment film. A method of processing a substrate comprising preconditioning. 11. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10,
and cooling the substrate after the step of irradiating the vacuum ultraviolet rays and before the step of forming the treatment film. supplying an adhesion strengthening agent made of an organic material to one surface of the substrate by the adhesion strengthening unit;
irradiating ultraviolet rays by an irradiator to the one surface of the substrate to which the adhesion enhancer is supplied;
forming a treatment film on the one surface of the substrate by supplying a treatment liquid to the one surface of the substrate irradiated with ultraviolet light by the irradiator;
a step of moving the conveying unit between a watering position for transferring the substrate onto the mounting unit of the adhesion reinforcing unit while holding the substrate by the conveying unit and an external position of the adhesion reinforcing unit;
The step of supplying the adhesion strengthening agent comprises supplying the adhesion strengthening agent to the substrate mounted on the mounting unit,
wherein the step of irradiating the ultraviolet ray includes irradiating the ultraviolet ray to the substrate held by the transfer unit when the transfer unit holds the substrate and moves from the capital position to the external position.

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