KR102626045B1 - Developer apparatus and developing method - Google Patents

Abstract

The developing device according to the present invention includes a transport unit that horizontally transports a substrate having an exposed photoresist film on its surface with the photoresist film facing upward, a primary supply unit that supplies a developer solution to the upper surface of the substrate and covers it with a liquid film of the developer solution, and a primary supply unit that supplies the upper surface of the substrate with a developer solution film. A secondary supply part that additionally supplies developer solution to the upper surface of the transported substrate is provided downstream of the liquid film forming part in the transport direction. The secondary supply section includes a secondary supply nozzle having a liquid discharge port that discharges the developer onto the upper surface of the substrate, and a gas discharge port disposed close to the liquid discharge port on the downstream side of the primary supply section and on the upstream side of the liquid discharge port, which supplies gas toward the liquid film on the substrate. It has a gas injection nozzle that sprays air to form an air curtain extending in the width direction. When developing a photoresist film formed on the surface of a substrate, further improvement of the in-plane uniformity of the development process can be achieved by additionally supplying a developing solution.

Description

Developing apparatus and developing method {DEVELOPER APPARATUS AND DEVELOPING METHOD}

This invention relates to a developing method and developing apparatus for developing a substrate with a developing solution. The target substrates include various substrates such as glass substrates for liquid crystal displays, semiconductor wafers, glass substrates for PDPs, glass substrates for photomasks, substrates for color filters, substrates for recording disks, substrates for solar cells, and substrates for electronic paper. .

In the substrate manufacturing process, substrate processing technology for forming patterns by photolithography is widely used. The basic processes in this substrate processing technology are a film forming process, a coating process, an exposure process, a developing process, and an etching process. Among these processes, the development process is a process of developing a photoresist layer to form a mask pattern by supplying a developing solution to a substrate on which a thin film and an exposed photoresist layer are laminated.

For example, in the developing device described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2018-120976 (Patent Document 1), a photoresist film is developed by uniformly supplying a developing solution to a substrate that is horizontally transported with the photoresist film facing upward. For parts that require higher developing ability than other parts, the in-plane uniformity of the development process is improved by locally supplying additional developer.

In the above-mentioned prior art, additional supply of developer is performed only in a partial range in the width direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the substrate. However, it is considered effective that the additional supply of the developing solution is performed uniformly, for example, across the entire width direction. The reason is as follows. As development progresses, there is a phenomenon in which photoresist material or oxygen in the air dissolves in the developer liquid film covering the substrate, thereby reducing the developing ability of the developer. This is a factor in the decline in in-plane uniformity of development treatment. This can happen anywhere on the substrate. From this, it is expected that the uniformity of processing will be improved by compensating for this decrease in developing ability by additionally supplying developer solution uniformly across the width direction of the conveyed substrate.

This invention was made in view of the above problems, and aims to provide a technology for developing a photoresist film formed on the surface of a substrate, which can further improve the in-plane uniformity of the development process by additionally supplying a developer. The purpose.

One aspect of the present invention includes a transport unit that transports a substrate having an exposed photoresist film on its surface in a horizontal direction while supporting the photoresist film in a horizontal position, and a developer solution on the upper surface of the substrate supported by the transport unit. a primary supply unit that supplies the upper surface of the substrate with a liquid film of the developer solution, and a secondary supply unit that additionally supplies the developer solution to the upper surface of the transferred substrate on a downstream side of the primary supply unit in the transport direction of the substrate. It is a developing device provided. Here, the secondary supply section includes a secondary supply nozzle having a liquid discharge port for discharging the developer onto the upper surface of the substrate, and a liquid discharge port located downstream from the primary supply section and upstream from the liquid discharge port in the conveyance direction. and a blocking portion disposed in close proximity to regulate the thickness of the liquid film conveyed to a position opposite to the liquid discharge port and suppressing the developer supplied to the substrate from the liquid discharge port from flowing upstream in the conveyance direction. there is.

In addition, another aspect of the invention is a development method for developing a photoresist film on the surface of an exposed substrate with a developer solution, by first supplying the developer solution to the upper surface of the substrate supported in a horizontal position with the photoresist film facing upward, A step of covering the upper surface of the substrate with a liquid film of the developer, a step of horizontally transporting the substrate on which the liquid film is formed, and a liquid discharge port of a secondary supply nozzle disposed above the transported substrate, to the upper surface of the substrate. A process for discharging the developer is provided. In addition, a blocking portion disposed close to the liquid discharge port on an upstream side of the liquid discharge port in the conveyance direction regulates the thickness of the liquid film conveyed to a position opposite to the liquid discharge port, and also regulates the thickness of the liquid film conveyed from the liquid discharge port to the liquid discharge port. The developer supplied to the substrate is prevented from flowing upstream in the conveyance direction.

In the following description, when simply referring to “upstream side”, it refers to the upstream side in the direction of transport of the substrate. In addition, when simply referring to “downstream side”, it refers to the downstream side in the transfer direction of the substrate. When viewed from the transported substrate, the downstream end corresponds to the tip in the transport direction. Moreover, the upstream end corresponds to the rear end in the conveyance direction.

In the invention structured as described above, an additional developer solution is supplied (secondary supply) to the substrate covered with a liquid film from the developer solution supplied primarily. This is expected to further promote development in the liquid film and improve the uniformity of treatment. However, according to the knowledge of the present inventor, sufficient improvement cannot be achieved simply by performing secondary supply of the developer. In particular, the effect of improving uniformity in the direction along the conveyance direction is small. This is thought to be due to the following reasons.

When a developer is secondarily supplied to the developer liquid film covering the substrate, new components of the developer diffuse into the liquid film. For this reason, it is believed that the effect of restoring the developing ability is not only applied to the liquid film at the additional supply location but also to the liquid film surrounding it. When secondary supply is performed while transporting the substrate, when comparing the front end and the rear end of the substrate in the transport direction, new developer is only added to the existing developer that originally formed the liquid film near the front end, whereas after Near the end, a better developer is added to the existing developer that has already been affected by secondary supply. This is believed to be one of the causes of non-uniformity in processing in the conveyance direction, that is, differences in processing results between the side closer to the front end of the substrate and the side closer to the rear end.

Therefore, in the present invention, the blocking portion is installed upstream from the location where the secondary supply of the developer is performed. As a result, the thickness of the liquid film conveyed to the position opposite the liquid discharge port is regulated, and the developer supplied to the substrate from the liquid discharge port is suppressed from flowing upstream in the conveyance direction. This prevents the secondary supplied developer from spreading to the upstream side, that is, to the rear end side of the substrate. As a result, the unevenness of processing in the above conveyance direction is improved. Additionally, by reducing the thickness of the liquid film immediately before the developer is secondarily supplied, the rate at which the existing developer is mixed into the secondarily supplied developer can be suppressed. As a result, the high developing ability of the secondary supplied developer can be effectively utilized. In this way, the blocking portion has a function of blocking communication between the liquid film formed on the substrate and the newly supplied developer solution.

As described above, in the present invention, in secondary supply of the developer to the developer liquid film formed on the substrate, the thickness of the liquid film conveyed to the position where the developer is secondaryly supplied is reduced on the upstream side, and the secondary supply is further reduced. It prevents the developed developer from leaking upstream. This configuration makes it possible to further improve the in-plane uniformity of development processing.

1A and 1B are diagrams showing a first embodiment of a developing device according to the present invention.
Fig. 2 is a flow chart showing an outline of development processing by this developing device.
3A to 3D are diagrams schematically showing a liquid film formation process by primary supply of a developer.
4A and 4B are diagrams for explaining processing in the second developing unit.
5A and 5B are diagrams for explaining processing in the second developing unit.
6A and 6B are diagrams illustrating the effect of the air knife in this embodiment.
Figure 7 is a diagram for explaining the backflow phenomenon of developer.
8A to 8C are diagrams showing examples of change profiles of gas injection amount.
9A and 9B are diagrams showing main parts of the second embodiment of the developing device according to the present invention.

<First embodiment>

1A and 1B are diagrams showing a first embodiment of a developing device according to the present invention. More specifically, FIG. 1A is a plan view showing the schematic configuration of the developing device 1 of this embodiment, and FIG. 1B is a side cross-sectional view of the developing device 1. In order to uniformly represent the directions in each of the drawings below, an XYZ orthogonal coordinate system is set as shown in FIG. 1A. Here, the XY plane represents the horizontal plane, and the Z direction represents the vertical direction. The (-Z) direction is the direction of gravity.

This developing device 1 transports the substrate S that has been processed in the previous process in the transport direction This is a substrate processing device that performs development processing in the unit 4, rinsing treatment in the rinse unit 5, and drying treatment in the drying unit 6 in this order. As the substrate S, for example, a semiconductor substrate, a glass substrate for various purposes such as a photomask, a display device, or a solar cell can be applied. This developing device 1 can be used for the purpose of developing the exposed photoresist film supported on the surface of these substrates. However, the type or use of the substrate is not particularly limited to these.

Three partition plates 21 to 23 are installed in the middle part of the housing 2, and the interior of the housing 2 is divided into four processing spaces by these. Additionally, a transport passage port 24 for transporting the substrate S is provided in the central portion of each partition plate 21 to 23. The four processing spaces are connected in the conveyance direction (X) by these conveyance passage openings 24. Among them, the first developing unit 3 is placed in the processing space located most upstream, and the second developing unit 4 is placed in the processing space located second from the most upstream side. Additionally, a rinsing unit 5 and a drying unit 6 are arranged in the third and fourth processing spaces, respectively.

Additionally, in the housing 2, an inlet 25 is provided at the upstream end in the conveyance direction X for loading the substrate S processed in the exposure apparatus (not shown). On the other hand, at the downstream end, the substrate S that has undergone the development, rinse, and drying treatments is transported to the next processing device (e.g., a post-bake unit or an etching device that performs a post-bake process after the development treatment). An outlet (26) is installed.

Moreover, inside the housing 2, a substrate transport unit 7 is provided for transporting the substrate S through the transport opening 25, the transport passage port 24, and the transport port 26. This substrate transport unit 7 has a plurality of transport rollers 71 and a transport drive mechanism 72 that drives the transport rollers 71 . As shown in FIG. 1B, the plurality of conveyance rollers 71 are arranged at predetermined intervals along the conveyance path connecting the inlet 25, the conveyance passage opening 24, and the conveyance opening 26. . Each conveyance roller 71 has a rotation axis 711 extending in the horizontal direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction X, that is, the width direction Y of the substrate S, and a plurality of wheels ( 712). The plurality of wheels 712 are arranged at predetermined intervals in the width direction (Y) with respect to the rotation axis 711, and can be supported from the bottom side of the substrate S.

Each rotation shaft 711 is connected to the conveyance drive mechanism 72. Then, when the drive motor (not shown) of the conveyance drive mechanism 72 operates in accordance with an operation command from the control unit 8 that controls the entire device, the rotational driving force generated by the drive motor is transmitted to the rotation shaft 711. Rotate the wheel 712. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1B, the substrate S supported from vertically downward by the wheels 712 is positioned in the first developing unit 3 with its surface (the surface on which the thin film and the resist film are laminated) facing upward in a horizontal position. ), the second developing unit (4), the rinsing unit (5), and the drying unit (6) in that order.

The first developing unit 3 is provided with slit nozzles 31 and 32 disposed above the substrate S transported by the transport roller 71. The slit nozzle 31 has a nozzle body 311 extending in the width direction (Y) and a slit-shaped discharge port 312 extending thinly and long in the width direction (Y) on the lower surface of the nozzle body 311. there is. In addition, the slit nozzle 32 includes a nozzle body 321 extending in the width direction (Y) and a slit-shaped discharge port 322 extending thinly and long in the width direction (Y) on the lower surface of the nozzle body 321. I have it. As shown in FIG. 1A , the nozzle bodies 311 and 321 are longer than the substrate S in the width direction Y. In contrast, the discharge ports 312 and 322 have a width approximately equal to the width dimension of the substrate S. Then, the slit nozzles 31 and 32 are arranged so that the discharge ports 312 and 322 face the upper surface of the substrate S. Among these, the slit nozzle 31 is maintained with its upper end inclined at 45 degrees toward the (-X) direction. The reason for doing this will be explained later.

The slit nozzles 31 and 32 are connected to the developer supply source 81. In accordance with the discharge command from the control unit 8, the developer supply source 81 pressure-feeds the developer to the slit nozzles 31 and 32. Accordingly, the developing solution is supplied to the substrate S conveyed by the conveyance roller 71 from the discharge ports 312 and 322 across the width direction Y. In this first developing unit 3, the substrate S passes under the slit nozzles 31 and 32, so that the developing solution is applied to the entire surface of the substrate S using surface tension. In other words, a paddle-shaped liquid film is formed by the developer. In this way, from the time the developing solution is supplied, the development process for the resist film on the substrate S begins. And the substrate S, which has undergone development processing by the first developing unit 3 in this way, is conveyed to the second developing unit 4.

The second developing unit 4 is provided with an air nozzle 41 and a slit nozzle 42 disposed above the substrate S transported by the transport roller 71. The slit nozzle 42 has a structure substantially equivalent to that of the slit nozzle 31. That is, the slit nozzle 42 includes a nozzle body 421 extending in the width direction (Y) and a slit-shaped discharge port 422 extending thinly and long in the width direction (Y) on the lower surface of the nozzle body 421. has. The slit nozzle 42 is connected to the developer supply source 81. When the developer supply source 81 pressurizes the developer solution to the slit nozzle 42 in accordance with the discharge command from the control unit 8, the developer solution is discharged from the discharge port 422 toward the substrate S transported by the transport roller 71. It is supplied to the substrate (S) in the direction (Y).

At this time, a liquid film formed by the developer has already been formed on the upper surface of the substrate S. Therefore, the slit nozzle 42 has the function of additionally supplying a developer solution to the liquid film on the substrate S. In order to distinguish between these developer supplies, the developer supply for liquid film formation through the slit nozzles 31 and 32 is referred to as “primary supply,” and the additional developer supply through the slit nozzle 42 is referred to as “secondary supply.”

From the viewpoint of reducing environmental load, there is room for reuse of the developer supplied to the substrate S from the first developing unit 3 and the second developing unit 4 that overflows from the substrate S. For example, the overflowed developer is recovered through a recovery path not shown, and regenerated to remove resist materials and dissolved oxygen dissolved in the solution to replenish the chemical components before being returned to the developer source 81. desirable.

An air nozzle 41 that functions as an air knife by spraying gas is disposed adjacent to the slit nozzle 42 for secondary supply in the conveyance direction . The air nozzle 41 includes a nozzle body 411 extending in the width direction (Y) larger than the width of the substrate S, and a slit-shaped discharge port 412 at the bottom thereof that opens toward the upper surface of the substrate S. has.

The air nozzle 41 is connected to the air supply source 83 through a flow rate control mechanism 84 such as a mass flow controller, for example. When the air supply source 83 delivers gas, such as dry air, in accordance with a control command from the control unit 8, the gas is discharged from the discharge port 412 of the air nozzle 41 via the flow rate control mechanism 84. It is sprayed toward the substrate (S). The discharge port 412 is longer than the width of the substrate S along the width direction Y and extends in an elongated slit shape. Therefore, the gas injected from the discharge port 412 is uniformly distributed across the entire width direction of the substrate S in the Y direction and in the Forms an air curtain with a regulated discharge range. The reason for doing this will be explained in detail later.

The rinse unit 5 is provided with a slit nozzle (rinse liquid nozzle) 51 disposed above the substrate S transported by the transport roller 71. The slit nozzle 51 has the same structure as the slit nozzle 31 employed in the first developing unit 3. The discharge port 512 provided on the lower surface of the nozzle body 511 is arranged to face the surface of the substrate S. The slit nozzle 51 is connected to the rinse liquid supply source 82. When the rinse liquid supply source 82 pressurizes the rinse liquid to the slit nozzle 51 in accordance with a discharge command from the control unit 8, the rinse liquid is discharged from the discharge port 512 toward the substrate S conveyed by the conveyance roller 71. The rinse liquid is supplied to the substrate S across the width direction Y. By supplying this rinse liquid, the developer adhering to the surface of the substrate S is washed away along with the dissolved resist component, and the development process is stopped. In this way, the substrate S wet with the rinse liquid is conveyed to the drying section 6.

The drying unit 6 is provided with a pair of air nozzles 61 and 62. The air nozzles 61 and 62 are disposed on the upper and lower sides of the conveyance roller 71, respectively. Additionally, an air supply source 83 is connected to the air nozzles 61 and 62. For this reason, the air supply source 83 operates in accordance with the drying command from the control unit 8 to pump drying air to the air nozzles 61 and 62. If so, curtain-shaped drying air is supplied to the front and back surfaces of the substrate S conveyed by the conveyance roller 71, and the rinse liquid adhering to the substrate S is removed. The substrate S that has undergone the drying treatment in this way is transported from the developing device 1 through the unloading port 26 by the transport roller 71 .

Fig. 2 is a flow chart showing an outline of development processing by this developing device. More specifically, FIG. 2 describes a series of processes performed on one substrate S inputted into the developing device 1. In reality, a plurality of substrates S are sequentially input into the developing device 1, and processing in each part of the device is performed on these substrates S in parallel.

When the substrate S exposed by the exposure device in the previous step is loaded into the developing device 1, the substrate transport unit 7 starts transporting the substrate S in the X direction (step S101). Then, in the first developing unit 3, the developer is first supplied from the slit nozzles 31 and 32 (step S102). As a result, the substrate S on which the developer liquid film P is formed is transported to the second developing unit 4. In the second developing unit 4, curtain-shaped air is blown from the air nozzle 41 onto the liquid film P on the substrate S (step S103), and immediately thereafter, a secondary supply of developer solution is performed from the slit nozzle 42. This is done (step S104).

Thereafter, the substrate S is carried out through a rinsing process in the rinse unit 5 (step S105) and a drying process in the drying unit 6 (step S106) (step S107). Since the details of these processes are public information, description is omitted.

3A to 3D are diagrams schematically showing a liquid film formation process by primary supply of a developer. Primary supply of the developer is performed by slit nozzles 31 and 32 arranged close to each other. As shown in FIG. 3A, the upper end of the upstream slit nozzle 31 is inclined toward the (-X) side, that is, toward the upstream side of the transport direction of the substrate S, and the lower lip of the nozzle body 311 (313) is approximately horizontal. The dotted line shown in FIG. 3A represents the height of the upper surface of the conveyed substrate S. As can be seen from the drawing, the slit nozzle 31 is arranged so that the grip surface 313 is relatively close to the upper surface of the substrate. In contrast, the slit nozzle 32 on the downstream side is arranged in an upright position with the discharge port 322 facing downward. The gap between the discharge port 322 and the upper surface of the substrate is larger than the gap between the discharge port 312 of the slit nozzle 31 and the upper surface of the substrate.

As shown in FIG. 3B, the developer is discharged from the slit nozzle 31 at the timing when the tip Sa of the substrate S passes the position directly below the slit nozzle 31. The discharged developer liquid-tightens the gap between the lip surface 313 and the upper surface of the substrate S by the action of surface tension. In this state, the substrate S is transported in the By reducing the gap between the slit nozzle 31 and the substrate S to make the gap between the lip surface 313 and the upper surface of the substrate S liquid-tight, it is possible to form a uniform liquid film with a relatively small discharge amount of developer.

As shown in FIG. 3C, when the tip Sa of the substrate S passes a position directly below the slit nozzle 32, the developer is supplied from the slit nozzle 32. As a result, the thickness of the liquid film on the substrate S increases. This continues until the rear end Sb of the substrate S passes the position directly below the slit nozzle 32. As a result, as shown in FIG. 3D, the liquid film P can be formed uniformly and with sufficient thickness over the entire upper surface of the substrate S.

In order to supply a sufficient amount of developing solution to develop the resist film satisfactorily, the thickness of the liquid film P needs to be appropriate. However, when attempting to supply a large amount of developer from the beginning in order to form a liquid film P of sufficient thickness, it is necessary to make the distance between the nozzle and the substrate S relatively large. If so, the flow of the developer on the substrate S increases, making it difficult to stably form a continuous and consistent liquid film. As described above, by adopting a method of forming a thin liquid film with the slit nozzle 31 placed close to the substrate S and increasing the thickness of the liquid film by supplying the liquid from the slit nozzle 32, a sufficient thickness can be achieved. It becomes possible to stably form the liquid film P having this.

As shown in FIG. 3D, the horizontal distance D in the , set to be larger than the length Lx of the substrate S in the same direction. In this way, the liquid film P on the substrate S can be transported while keeping it calm. In the meantime, the photoresist film on the substrate S continues to be in contact with the developing solution, so that the development process progresses.

FIGS. 4A, 4B, 5A, and 5B are diagrams for explaining processing in the second developing unit. Development proceeds by transporting the substrate S with the liquid film P formed on the upper surface. At this time, resist materials advantageous from the substrate S and oxygen in the air are gradually dissolved into the developing solution, so that the developing ability of the developing solution gradually decreases. The “development ability” of a developer referred to here is a concept that indicates how the developer can remove a large amount of a resist film. Quantitatively, it is possible to express the developing ability by, for example, the amount of resist that can be dissolved per unit time. As development progresses, the dissolved amount of resist material and oxygen increases, and furthermore, due to a decrease in liquid temperature, etc., it is inevitable that the developing ability of the developer solution decreases with time.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the liquid film P on the substrate S conveyed in a calm state has a profile in which the developing ability decreases toward the side closer to the tip Sa of the substrate S, that is, toward the downstream side in the conveyance direction. I think I have it. This is because, as described above, the developing solution is sequentially supplied from the tip Sa of the conveyed substrate S to the first developing unit 3, and the closer the part to the tip Sa, the more time has elapsed since the supply.

In order to compensate for the decrease in development efficiency resulting from this decrease in development ability, this developing device 1 performs additional supply (secondary supply) of developer solution from the second developing unit 4. As shown in FIG. 4B, at the portion of the substrate S where the developing solution is newly supplied from the slit nozzle 42, it is expected that high developing ability is obtained with the fresh developing solution, as shown by the solid line in the graph at the bottom of FIG. 4B. . However, in reality, as indicated by the dotted line, the new developer mixes with the existing developer in the liquid film P, thereby lowering the developing ability on the substrate S, and further spreading toward the upstream side (left in the drawing). You will have

If the conveyance of the substrate S is continued as is, the proportion of new developer in the liquid film P gradually increases, and the liquid film P comes to have a development ability profile different from that originally intended. This is a factor in the decline in the in-plane uniformity of the development treatment results, especially in the conveyance direction.

In order to solve this problem, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5A, just before the developer is secondaryly supplied from the slit nozzle 42, an air knife is blown into the liquid film P by the air nozzle 41. Do. The blowing of the air knife is performed to block the flow of developer between the upstream and downstream sides of the blowing position, and specifically has the following two effects. First, by reducing the thickness of the liquid film P, it is possible to reduce the rate at which the existing developer, that is, the developer with reduced developing ability, is mixed into the newly supplied developer. As a result, the newly supplied developer can process the substrate S while maintaining its original developing ability.

Second, the newly supplied developer is prevented from flowing upstream beyond the blowing position of the air knife (hereinafter, this phenomenon is referred to as “overflow”). Thereby, fluctuations in the profile of the developing ability on the upstream side before secondary supply of the developer are avoided.

The dotted line in FIG. 5A schematically represents the profile of the development ability at this time. By reducing the mixing of the existing developer into the secondary supply developer and suppressing the overflow of the secondary supply to the upstream side, a profile close to the ideal profile indicated by the solid line is obtained.

Even when the substrate S is transported in this state, as shown in FIG. 5B, the profile near the boundary between the newly supplied developer Ln and the existing developer Lo maintains its original shape. As the substrate S moves, it shifts to the upstream side. For this reason, the development conditions are maintained approximately constant from the front end Sa to the rear end Sb of the substrate S, making it possible to obtain excellent in-plane uniformity in the development process results.

6A and 6B are diagrams illustrating the effect of the air knife in this embodiment. The present inventor verified the effect of the air knife of this embodiment through the following experiment. In the experiment, the test substrate prepared for the experiment was developed under various development conditions using the developing device 1 shown in FIG. 1, and the uniformity of the treatment was evaluated from the development results. As development conditions, there are two cases: (1) only primary supply of developer is performed without using an air knife, (2) primary supply and secondary supply are performed, and (3) in addition to primary supply and secondary supply. A case using an air knife was used.

Figure 6a shows the test board (St) used in the experiment. The test substrate (St) is a rectangular glass substrate with a photoresist film formed on the surface, and a predetermined test pattern (TP) is formed by exposure at five positions (A to E) near the four corners and near the center. . Using a test pattern TP having a line-and-space structure with a predetermined pitch, the pattern line width after development was measured at multiple locations in each pattern, and the deviation (3σ) was determined.

Figure 6b is a diagram showing an example of experimental results. “Position A”, etc. indicates the deviation of the linewidth measurement results within the test pattern (TP) at each position, and “All” on the right indicates the deviation of all linewidth measurement results without distinguishing between each position A to E. Indicates deviation. In the case 1 in which primary supply of the developer is performed, the variation in line widths at each position A to E is relatively large, and the variation throughout is also large. The fact that the overall deviation is greater than the deviation at each position A to E indicates that even for the same pattern, the line width after development differs depending on the position within the substrate.

In case (2) in which secondary supply of developer is added, the deviation at each position A to E is improved, but the overall deviation is not much improved. In other words, performing secondary supply has the effect of suppressing variation in line width in a relatively narrow range within the substrate, but it can be said that it is not necessarily sufficient to suppress variation in a wider range.

In case 3 where an air knife is additionally added, not only is the deviation at each position A to E further improved, but the overall deviation is also suppressed. Moreover, the degree is not much different from the deviation at each location A to E. From this, the primary supplied liquid film and the secondary supplied developer are separated by an air knife, in other words, by blocking interference between the two, in-plane uniformity over the entire substrate during development can be improved.

Figure 7 is a diagram for explaining the backflow phenomenon of developer. Below, we will examine another effect of air knife blowing. As described above, it is possible to reduce the thickness of the existing liquid film P by blowing out the air knife. However, the developer in the liquid film P pushed out by the wind pressure of the air knife flows upstream as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 7(a) (hereinafter, this phenomenon is referred to as “backflow”). In this way, on the upstream side of the air knife blowing position, the profile of the developing ability is disturbed due to the developing solution flowing back.

The effects of such disturbance may include a decrease in the developing ability of the liquid film P or an increase in the development ability. For example, when the pattern formed by development requires the removal of a relatively large amount of the resist film, the influence of backflow may act to reduce the development ability.

That is, in a pattern in which a large amount of resist is to be removed, a large amount of the resist material is dissolved in the liquid film P, resulting in a significant decrease in developing ability, as indicated by the solid line in FIG. 7(b). In this state, if a developer with a lower developing ability flows back from the downstream side, the developing ability of the liquid film P further decreases, as indicated by a dotted line. This causes a state that the resist to be removed cannot take, that is, a state of insufficient development.

On the other hand, in patterns where the amount of resist to be removed is relatively small, there is little decrease in development ability, as shown by the solid line in Fig. 7(b). In other words, the developer in the liquid film P maintains a high developing ability. Here, if the developing solution flows back while maintaining high developing ability, the same effect as when the amount of developing solution is increased will cause a gradual decrease in developing ability, as shown by the dotted line, and in some cases, may increase. You can. This causes a so-called excessive development condition in which even the resist that should remain is removed.

In this way, the backflow of the developer in the liquid film P resulting from the blowing of the air knife has an undesirable effect on the development process on the upstream side in any of the above types of patterns. Therefore, it is desirable to suppress this backflow as much as possible. The larger the amount of injection from the air nozzle 41, the larger the amount of developing solution flowing back. Therefore, from this point of view, it is better for the gas injection amount to be small, but if it is too small, overflow of the secondary supplied developer cannot be suppressed.

Excessive flow of the developer within the liquid film may cause a decrease in the uniformity of the treatment. From this, it can be said that the amount of gas sprayed from the air nozzle 41 or its flow rate should be as small as possible in the range that can prevent overflow. In addition, it is natural to avoid emitting a strong air current that exposes the surface of the substrate S. The appropriate value of the gas injection amount can vary depending on various parameters such as the physical properties of the resist material and developer, the type of pattern, and the conveyance speed, so it is necessary to conduct experiments in advance to determine the optimal conditions.

Nevertheless, as long as air knife blowing is performed, it is inevitable that some degree of backflow will occur. In particular, the portion close to the rear end Sb of the substrate S continues to be affected by the backflow for a long time, and the effect accumulates. For this reason, there will be a difference in development processing results between the side closer to the tip Sa.

Considering this, in this embodiment, the amount of gas injected as an air knife cannot be kept constant, and it is more preferable to change the amount of gas over time during the period of processing one substrate S. By doing this, development defects due to backflow can be suppressed.

The appropriate value of the injection amount of gas for the air knife can vary depending on various parameters such as physical properties of the resist material and developer, type of pattern, and conveyance speed. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct experiments in advance to determine optimal conditions. Likewise, since the influence of backflow can change depending on various conditions, the change profile of the injection amount is experimentally determined in advance.

The appropriate profile obtained in this way can be prepared and registered in advance as a processing recipe. When operating the developing device 1, the control unit 8 controls the flow rate control mechanism 84 to change the amount of gas injection from the air nozzle 41 over time according to the processing recipe, thereby achieving the desired processing. is realized.

8A to 8C are diagrams showing examples of change profiles of gas injection amount. In the drawing, time Ts is the time at which gas injection starts for one substrate S, and corresponds to the time at which the tip Sa of the substrate S reaches the blowing position of the air knife. On the other hand, the time Te is the time at which the injection of gas to the same substrate S ends, and corresponds to the time at which the rear end Sb of the substrate S reaches the blowing position of the air knife.

In the example shown in FIG. 8A, the amount of gas sprayed from the air nozzle 41 continuously decreases. As shown by the solid line, a certain amount of exhalation may continue at the time Te, or as shown by the dotted line, the injection may finally be stopped. Additionally, in this example, the change in injection amount is linear with respect to time, but it may be a non-linear change along an appropriate curve.

When spraying is stopped, the overflow prevention effect for the secondary supplied developer is lost. The influence is thought to be small at the rear end Sb of the substrate S. Additionally, in order to avoid insufficient development, there may be cases where it is effective to intentionally inject new developer into the liquid film P. From this, a change profile in which injection is stopped later is also possible.

In the example shown in FIG. 8B, the injection amount changes in steps at a certain time. In this case as well, as shown by the solid line, some degree of exhalation may continue at the time Te, or as shown by the dotted line, the injection may finally be stopped. Additionally, it may represent a change pattern along a curve.

In this way, it is generally considered desirable to have a change mode in which the injection amount of gas decreases over time. This is because the backflow of the developer due to the blowing of the air knife acts in the direction of increasing developing defects, so to suppress this, it is effective to reduce the injection amount.

However, as shown in FIG. 8C, there may be cases where a change mode including an aspect of increasing the injection amount is desirable. For example, this is a case where the pattern density is different between a portion of the substrate S close to the leading end Sa and a portion close to the trailing end Sb. Specifically, in the case where a pattern with a small amount of resist to be removed is placed near the front end Sa of the substrate S, and a pattern with a large amount of resist to be removed is placed on the rear end Sb side, In some cases, insufficient development of the pattern at the rear end can be avoided by increasing the backflow amount of the developer that maintains high development ability.

In this way, the preferred change mode of the injection amount is case-by-case, and it is necessary to adjust it individually according to the specifications of the development process.

＜Second Embodiment＞

Next, a second embodiment of the developing device according to the present invention will be described. In the above embodiment, the air nozzle 41 disposed adjacent to the upstream side of the slit nozzle 42 for secondary supply of developer forms an air knife. By doing this, the developer that is supplied primarily and constituting the liquid film P is separated from the developer that is supplied secondarily. In contrast, in the developing apparatus of the second embodiment described below, a blade member is disposed in close opposition to the upper surface of the substrate S instead of an air knife. As a result, a portion of the developer constituting the liquid film P is scraped off to regulate the thickness of the liquid film P, and overflow of the secondary supplied developer is suppressed. Additionally, since the configuration of the developing device except for this point is the same as that of the first embodiment, detailed description is omitted.

9A and 9B are diagrams showing main parts of the second embodiment of the developing device according to the present invention. In this embodiment, a blade member 43 is installed in place of the air nozzle. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 9A, the blade member 43 is a flat member extending along the width direction Y adjacent to the upstream side of the slit nozzle 42, that is, the (-X) side. The lower end of the blade member 43 extends in the horizontal direction and is supported so as to closely oppose the upper surface of the conveyed substrate S with a predetermined gap. For example, it can be mounted on the (-X) side of the slit nozzle 42, but a separate support mechanism may be installed. Additionally, the slit nozzle and the blade member may be formed integrally.

As shown in FIG. 9B, the size of the gap between the lower end of the blade member 43 and the upper surface of the substrate S is the thickness of the liquid film P formed on the substrate S by the first developing unit 3. smaller than For this reason, the liquid film P transported together with the substrate S contacts the blade member 43 and is further transported with its film thickness regulated by the size of the gap. In this way, the slit nozzle 42 performs a secondary supply of developer to the liquid film whose thickness has been reduced, thereby suppressing a decrease in developing ability due to mixing of the existing developer. Moreover, even if the secondary supplied developer flows upstream, further spread upstream beyond the blade member 43 is suppressed by the existing developer flowing from the blade member 43 and its lower portion. In other words, overflow can be prevented.

In this embodiment as well, the horizontal distance between the discharge port 322 of the slit nozzle 32 of the first developing unit 3 and the blade member 43 is the length (Lx) of the substrate S in the conveyance direction ) (Figure 3d) is preferable. By doing this, it becomes possible to keep the liquid film P calm after formation of the liquid film P covering the entire substrate S until the liquid film P contacts the blade member 43.

In this way, the same effect as the air knife by the air nozzle 41 in the first embodiment is obtained by the blade member 43 opposed to the substrate S with a small gap. In other words, it is possible to regulate the thickness of the liquid film P when the developer is secondarily supplied and to prevent the secondarily supplied developer from spreading upstream.

＜Others＞

As described above, in the developing device 1 of this embodiment, the substrate transport unit 7 functions as the “transport unit” of the present invention, and the first developing unit 3 and the second developing unit 4 ) functions as the “primary supply section” and “secondary supply section” of the present invention, respectively. And in the second developing unit 4, which is the secondary supply unit, the slit nozzle 42 functions as the “secondary supply nozzle” of the present invention. Additionally, the discharge port 422 of the slit nozzle 42 corresponds to the “liquid discharge port” of the present invention, and the discharge port 412 of the air nozzle 41 corresponds to the “gas discharge port” of the present invention. Additionally, the discharge port 322 of the slit nozzle 32 corresponds to the “liquid discharge port” of the primary supply section in the present invention.

In addition, while the air nozzle 41 in the first embodiment corresponds to the “gas injection nozzle” of the present invention, the blade member 43 in the second embodiment corresponds to the “blocking member” of the present invention. I'm doing it. And, these each function as a “blocking portion” of the present invention. Additionally, the flow rate control mechanism 84 and the control unit 8 are integrated and function as the “injection control unit” of the present invention.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various changes other than those described above can be made without departing from the spirit thereof. For example, in the above embodiment, two slit nozzles 31 and 32 are combined to form a developer liquid film P on the substrate S. However, the configuration for forming the liquid film is not limited to this and is arbitrary. For example, the liquid film may be formed by a single slit nozzle, or the liquid film may be formed by a liquid supply mechanism other than the slit nozzle. For example, the liquid film may be formed without transporting the substrate S in one direction (for example, in a stationary state or in a rotated state).

In addition, in the first embodiment, the air nozzle 41 and the slit nozzle 42 are formed separately, but they may be formed integrally. In this case, the positional relationship between the gas outlet and the liquid outlet, the flow path shape, etc. can be set with a higher degree of freedom. Similarly, the blade member 43 in the second embodiment may be formed integrally with the slit nozzle 42.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the substrate S corresponds to an example of the "substrate" of the present invention, but the "substrate" of the present invention is a substrate other than the substrate S, for example, a semiconductor wafer or a solar cell substrate. etc. are also included.

Moreover, in the above-described embodiment, the substrate S is moved relative to the nozzle by transporting the substrate S directly under the fixedly arranged nozzle. However, even in a developing apparatus that performs development by moving the nozzle while the substrate S is fixed or transported, it is possible to adopt the above method.

As explained above by way of example specific embodiments, in the developing device and developing method according to the present invention, for example, the blocking unit sprays gas toward the liquid film on the substrate at a position close to the liquid discharge port, and the gas It may be configured to form an air curtain extending in the width direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction. According to this configuration, the thickness of the liquid film on the substrate is regulated by blowing out the gas, and it is possible to prevent the newly supplied developer from spreading upstream beyond the point where the gas is blown out. More specifically, it is as follows.

In this configuration, an air curtain extending in the width direction is formed upstream of the position where secondary supply of the developer is performed. This prevents the secondary supplied developer from spreading beyond the gas blowing position to the upstream side, that is, to the rear end side of the substrate. As a result, the unevenness of processing in the above conveyance direction is improved. Additionally, by reducing the thickness of the liquid film by blowing out the gas, the rate at which the existing developer is mixed into the secondary supplied developer can be suppressed. As a result, the high developing ability of the secondary supplied developer can be effectively utilized.

On the other hand, on the upstream side of the blowing position of the air curtain in the transfer direction of the substrate, a phenomenon occurs in which the existing developer constituting the liquid film on the substrate is swept upstream by the wind pressure of the gas. Herein, this phenomenon is referred to as “backflow” of the developing solution.

Here, the degree of decline in the developing ability of the developer in the liquid film is influenced by the pattern to be developed. That is, in patterns where there is a large amount of photoresist film to be removed, the amount of resist material dissolved in the developing solution increases, so the development ability is significantly reduced. In this way, when a developer with reduced developing ability flows back, it mixes with the existing developer and reduces its developing ability. This causes development shortages, especially in patterns where there is a large amount of photoresist film to be removed.

In contrast, in patterns where the amount of photoresist film to be removed is small, the amount of resist material dissolved in the developing solution is small, so the decline in development ability is suppressed. In this way, if the developer that has maintained its developing ability flows backwards and mixes with the existing developer, the same effect as when the amount of the liquid is increased will occur, causing overdevelopment (excessive development), especially in patterns where the amount of photoresist film to be removed is small. do.

By increasing or decreasing the injection amount of gas as necessary, it is possible to control the amount of secondary supplied developer flowing into the liquid film beyond the gas blowing position and the degree of backflow of the developer in the liquid film on the upstream side. This makes it possible to control the degree of progress of the phenomenon. That is, by changing the gas injection amount over time as the process progresses, it becomes possible to improve the uniformity of the process in the direction along the transport direction of the substrate.

For example, the injection amount can be changed according to a predetermined treatment recipe. How the developing ability of the developer in the liquid film changes and how the influence of the secondary supplied developer appears on the liquid film can vary depending on various conditions. For this reason, for example, if a processing recipe is created in advance based on experiments and the change mode of the injection amount is determined based on it, the processing results under the same developing conditions can be made stable.

As a specific change in the injection amount, for example, the injection amount may be decreased over time, or, for example, the gas injection amount for one substrate may be finally set to zero. The developer swept upstream by the jet of gas acts in the direction of increasing developing defects, and its influence gradually accumulates. From this, it is generally believed that developing defects can be reduced by changing the injection amount to lower it.

Additionally, for the liquid discharge port that discharges the developer for primary supply, the shortest distance to the gas discharge port may be made larger than the length of the substrate in the conveyance direction. According to this configuration, during transportation, there is a period during which the liquid film can be maintained calmly in a state without external factors that disturb the liquid film on the substrate, making it possible to proceed satisfactorily and stably with the development process using the liquid film. do.

In addition, for example, the blocking portion is provided close to the liquid discharge port and extends in the width direction perpendicular to the conveying direction, and the blocking member whose lower end extends horizontally is formed on the upper surface of the conveyed substrate, and the liquid film is formed on the substrate. You may face them with a gap smaller than the thickness. According to this configuration, the blocking member contacts the liquid film and regulates the thickness of the liquid film passing through the gap. At the same time, the blocking member prevents the newly supplied developer from spreading upstream beyond the gap.

In this case, with respect to the liquid discharge port that discharges the developer for primary supply, the shortest distance between the liquid discharge port and the blocking member may be greater than the length of the substrate in the conveyance direction. According to this configuration, during transportation, there is a period during which the liquid film can be maintained calmly in a state without external factors that disturb the liquid film on the substrate, making it possible to proceed satisfactorily and stably with the development process using the liquid film. do.

Also, for example, the blocking member may be installed on the side of the secondary supply nozzle that is upstream in the conveyance direction. According to this configuration, it is easy to keep the distance between the blocking member and the liquid discharge port of the secondary supply nozzle constant, and it becomes unnecessary to separately install a mechanism to support the blocking member.

The gas from the gas injection nozzle may be sprayed uniformly across the entire width direction of the substrate. By doing this, the uniformity of processing in the width direction can be improved. Specifically, it is possible to suppress development unevenness from occurring due to the existing developer or newly supplied developer being swept away by the gas flowing in the width direction.

Also, for example, the secondary supplied developer may be discharged uniformly across the entire width direction of the substrate. By doing this, the uniformity of processing in the width direction can be improved. Specifically, the occurrence of development unevenness in the width direction can be suppressed.

Additionally, while transporting the substrate at a constant speed, the formation of the liquid film, regulation of its thickness, and secondary supply of the developer may be performed sequentially. According to this configuration, processing of each part of the substrate can proceed at a constant processing pitch regardless of position, making it possible to realize uniform development processing.

This invention can be applied to all developing technologies in which development is performed by supplying a developer to a substrate having an exposed photoresist film.

1 development unit
3 First developing department (primary supply department)
4 Second developing section (secondary supply section)
7 Substrate transfer unit (transfer unit)
8 Control unit (injection control unit)
41 Air nozzle (gas injection nozzle, blocking part)
42 slit nozzle (secondary feed nozzle)
43 Blade member (blocking member, blocking part)
84 Flow control mechanism (injection control unit)
322 discharge port (of slit nozzle 32) (liquid discharge port of primary supply)
412 (of air nozzle 41) discharge port (gas discharge port)
422 Discharge port (liquid discharge port) (of slit nozzle 42)
P amulet
S substrate
X conveying direction
Y width direction

Claims (20)

a transport unit that transports a substrate having an exposed photoresist film on its surface in a horizontal direction while supporting it in a horizontal position with the photoresist film facing upward;
a primary supply unit that supplies a developer solution to the upper surface of the substrate supported by the transport unit and covers the upper surface of the substrate with a liquid film of the developer solution;
A secondary supply unit that additionally supplies the developer to the upper surface of the transferred substrate on a downstream side of the primary supply unit in the transport direction of the substrate.
Equipped with
The secondary supply unit,
a secondary supply nozzle having a liquid discharge port for discharging the developer to the upper surface of the substrate;
In the conveyance direction, it is disposed close to the liquid discharge port on a downstream side of the primary supply part and on an upstream side of the liquid discharge port, and regulates the thickness of the liquid film conveyed to a position opposite to the liquid discharge port, It has a blocking portion that suppresses the developer supplied from the discharge port to the substrate from flowing upstream in the conveyance direction,
The blocking portion has a gas injection nozzle that sprays gas toward the liquid film on the substrate from a gas discharge port disposed close to the liquid discharge port, and forms an air curtain extending in a width direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction by the gas. do,
The primary supply unit has a liquid discharge port that discharges the developer solution to the upper surface of the substrate transported by the transport unit, and the shortest distance between the liquid discharge port of the primary supply unit and the gas outlet is in the transport direction. A developing device that is greater than the length of the substrate. a transport unit that transports a substrate having an exposed photoresist film on its surface in a horizontal direction while supporting it in a horizontal position with the photoresist film facing upward;
a primary supply unit that supplies a developer solution to the upper surface of the substrate supported by the transport unit and covers the upper surface of the substrate with a liquid film of the developer solution;
A secondary supply unit that additionally supplies the developer to the upper surface of the transferred substrate on a downstream side of the primary supply unit in the transport direction of the substrate.
Equipped with
The secondary supply unit,
a secondary supply nozzle having a liquid discharge port for discharging the developer to the upper surface of the substrate;
In the conveyance direction, it is disposed close to the liquid discharge port on a downstream side of the primary supply part and on an upstream side of the liquid discharge port, and regulates the thickness of the liquid film conveyed to a position opposite to the liquid discharge port, It has a blocking portion that suppresses the developer supplied from the discharge port to the substrate from flowing upstream in the conveyance direction,
The blocking portion has a blocking member provided close to the liquid discharge port and extending in a width direction perpendicular to the conveying direction, and the lower end of the blocking member extends horizontally, and is disposed with respect to the upper surface of the substrate to be transported. A developing device in which primary supply units are opposed to each other with a gap smaller than the thickness of the liquid film formed on the substrate. In claim 2,
The developing device, wherein the blocking member is installed on an upstream side of the secondary supply nozzle in the conveyance direction. In claim 2 or claim 3,
The primary supply unit has a liquid discharge port that discharges the developer solution to the upper surface of the substrate transported by the transport unit, and the shortest distance between the liquid discharge port of the primary supply unit and the blocking member is in the transport direction. A developing device that is greater than the length of the substrate. a transport unit that transports a substrate having an exposed photoresist film on its surface in a horizontal direction while supporting it in a horizontal position with the photoresist film facing upward;
a primary supply unit that supplies a developer solution to the upper surface of the substrate supported by the transport unit and covers the upper surface of the substrate with a liquid film of the developer solution;
A secondary supply unit that additionally supplies the developer to the upper surface of the transferred substrate on a downstream side of the primary supply unit in the transport direction of the substrate.
Equipped with
The secondary supply unit,
a secondary supply nozzle having a liquid discharge port for discharging the developer to the upper surface of the substrate;
In the conveyance direction, gas is injected toward the liquid film on the substrate from a gas discharge port disposed close to the liquid discharge port on a downstream side of the primary supply section and on an upstream side of the liquid discharge port, in a width direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction. a gas injection nozzle forming an extending air curtain;
A developing apparatus having an injection control unit that controls an injection amount of the gas from the gas injection nozzle, wherein the injection control unit changes the injection amount of the gas with respect to one of the substrates over time. In claim 5,
A developing device, wherein the injection control unit changes the injection amount according to a predetermined processing recipe. In claim 5,
A developing device, wherein the injection control unit reduces the injection amount over time. In claim 5 or claim 7,
The developing apparatus, wherein the injection control unit finally sets the injection amount of the gas to one of the substrates to zero. In claim 1 or claim 5,
The developing device, wherein the gas injection nozzle sprays the gas uniformly across the entire width direction of the substrate. In claim 5 or claim 7,
The primary supply unit has a liquid discharge port that discharges the developer solution to the upper surface of the substrate transported by the transport unit, and the shortest distance between the liquid discharge port of the primary supply unit and the gas outlet is in the transport direction. A developing device that is greater than the length of the substrate. According to any one of claims 1 to 3, claim 5, and claim 7,
The developing device, wherein the secondary supply nozzle discharges the developer uniformly across the entire width direction of the substrate orthogonal to the conveyance direction. In the developing method of developing the photoresist film on the surface of the exposed substrate using a developing solution,
A step of initially supplying a developer solution from a primary supply unit to the upper surface of the substrate supported in a horizontal position with the photoresist film facing upward, and covering the upper surface of the substrate with a liquid film of the developer solution;
A step of transporting the substrate on which the liquid film is formed in a horizontal direction;
A process of discharging the developer onto the upper surface of the substrate from a liquid discharge port of a secondary supply nozzle disposed above the conveyed substrate.
Equipped with
A blocking portion disposed close to the liquid discharge port on an upstream side of the liquid discharge port in the transport direction of the substrate regulates the thickness of the liquid film transported to a position opposite to the liquid discharge port, and also regulates the thickness of the liquid film transferred from the liquid discharge port to the liquid discharge port. Suppressing the developer supplied to the substrate from flowing upstream in the conveyance direction,
The blocking portion has a gas injection nozzle that sprays gas toward the liquid film on the substrate from a gas discharge port disposed close to the liquid discharge port, and forms an air curtain extending in a width direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction by the gas. do,
The primary supply section has a liquid discharge port that discharges the developer solution to the upper surface of the substrate to be transported, and the shortest distance between the liquid discharge port of the primary supply section and the gas discharge port is longer than the length of the substrate in the transport direction. Great, how to develop. In claim 12,
The developing method, wherein the blocking unit sprays gas toward the liquid film on the substrate at a position proximate to the liquid discharge port, and forms an air curtain extending in a width direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction by the gas. In the developing method of developing the photoresist film on the surface of the exposed substrate using a developing solution,
A step of initially supplying a developer from a primary supply unit to the upper surface of the substrate supported in a horizontal position with the photoresist film facing upward, and covering the upper surface of the substrate with a liquid film of the developer;
A step of transporting the substrate on which the liquid film is formed in a horizontal direction;
A process of discharging the developer onto the upper surface of the substrate from a liquid discharge port of a secondary supply nozzle disposed above the conveyed substrate.
Equipped with
A blocking portion disposed close to the liquid discharge port on an upstream side of the liquid discharge port in the transport direction of the substrate regulates the thickness of the liquid film transported to a position opposite to the liquid discharge port, and also regulates the thickness of the liquid film transferred from the liquid discharge port to the liquid discharge port. Suppressing the developer supplied to the substrate from flowing upstream in the conveyance direction,
The blocking portion is provided close to the liquid discharge port and extends in a width direction perpendicular to the conveying direction, and includes a blocking member whose lower end extends horizontally, with respect to the upper surface of the conveyed substrate, to block the liquid film formed on the substrate. A development method that involves opposing each other with a gap smaller than the thickness. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 14,
A developing method in which formation of the liquid film, regulation of the thickness of the liquid film by the blocking unit, and secondary supply of the developer solution are sequentially performed while transporting the substrate at a constant speed. In the developing method of developing the photoresist film on the surface of the exposed substrate using a developing solution,
A step of initially supplying a developer to the upper surface of the substrate supported in a horizontal position with the photoresist film facing upward, and covering the upper surface of the substrate with a liquid film of the developer;
A step of transporting the substrate on which the liquid film is formed in a horizontal direction;
A step of spraying gas toward the liquid film on the conveyed substrate to form an air curtain extending in a width direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the substrate;
A process of secondary supplying the developer to the upper surface of the substrate from which the gas was emitted.
Equipped with
Changing the injection amount of the gas to one of the substrates over time,
Developing method. In claim 16,
A developing method that reduces the injection amount over time. In claim 16 or claim 17,
A developing method in which formation of the liquid film, injection of the gas, and secondary supply of the developer solution are sequentially performed while transporting the substrate at a constant speed. delete delete

Images