KR20050121378A - Apparatus and method for removing edge bead - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an edge bead removal device and method, and more particularly, by performing the EBR process and the OEBR process in the same region as the EBR region of the underlying layer to improve the reproducibility of the inter-layer EBR process to increase the number of net dies and calculate the net die An apparatus and method for removing edge beads for ensuring reproducibility.

The object of the present invention is a nozzle for spraying a thinner for removing edge beads on a substrate on which a predetermined base layer is formed, a nozzle support for supporting the nozzle, a first driver including a motor for driving the nozzle support, and irradiating the substrate. EBR process in the same region as the first light source for generating light, the detector for detecting the EBR region of the base layer with the light emitted from the first light source and reflected from the substrate and the detected EBR region of the base layer It is achieved by the edge bead removal device, characterized in that it comprises a control unit for controlling the first drive unit to implement.

Therefore, the edge bead removal apparatus and method of the present invention improves the inter-layer EBR reproducibility by performing the EBR process and the OEBR process in the same region as the EBR region of the underlying layer, thereby increasing the number of net dies and securing the net die yield reproducibility, In addition to improving the yield, the EBR process defects can be monitored in real time to prevent unnecessary process loss.

Description

Apparatus and method for removing edge bead}

The present invention relates to an edge bead removal device and method, and more particularly, by performing the EBR process and the OEBR process in the same region as the EBR region of the underlying layer to improve the reproducibility of the inter-layer EBR process to increase the number of net dies and calculate the net die An apparatus and method for removing edge beads for ensuring reproducibility.

In recent years, with the rapid development of information media such as computers, semiconductor device manufacturing technology is also rapidly developing. The semiconductor device has been developed in the direction of improving the degree of integration, miniaturization, operating speed and the like. As a result, requirements for microfabrication techniques, such as photolithography processes for improved integration, are becoming more stringent.

Photolithography is a photo technology that transfers a pattern formed on a mask to a substrate and is a key technology that leads to miniaturization and high integration of semiconductor devices. Generally, photolithography processes include coating a photoresist, softbake, aligning and exposing, post exposure baking (PEB), and developing. It is carried out through a series of processes.

The photoresist film is a material having a photoresist that reacts to light with etching resistance when etching the lower layer, and includes a positive photoresist film and a negative photoresist film. The positive photoresist film is removed during development due to a large increase in solubility due to decomposition, molecular chain cleavage, and the like, and is widely used in high-density semiconductor processes due to its strong etching resistance and high resolution. On the other hand, the negative photoresist film is a photoresist film that exhibits a characteristic of being left unremoved during development due to a large increase in molecular weight due to a reaction such as crosslinking in a region exposed to light.

With the miniaturization and high integration of semiconductor devices, the photoresist also requires strict thickness control and uniform coating, and is mainly coated with a spin coating apparatus.

1 is a diagram conceptually showing a state in which an edge bead is formed.

As shown in FIG. 1, since the photosensitive film 20 coated on the upper portion of the substrate 10 is a liquid having fluidity, the substrate 10 is pushed to the edge of the substrate 10 by centrifugal force as the substrate 10 rotates at a high speed. do. The photoresist film pushed to the edge of the substrate 10 is swelled more than other portions of the substrate 10 by surface tension to form an edge bead 30. When the edge bead 30 comes into contact with the substrate cassette or the like during the process, it is buried in the cassette, which acts as a contaminant in a subsequent process. Therefore, after the photoresist film coating process is completed, an edge bead removal process (EBR) to remove the edge beads 30 is performed, and then a subsequent process is performed. The EBR apparatus for the EBR process is generally performed in the photoresist coating apparatus in the track apparatus, but may be performed by a separate EBR apparatus.

2 is a block diagram showing a photoresist coating device including the edge bead removal device according to the prior art.

As shown in FIG. 2, there is a vacuum chuck 102 supporting the substrate W by vacuum adsorption inside the main body 100 having an open top, and the vacuum chuck 102 and the rotating part 106. The rotary shaft 104 connecting the vacuum chuck 102 is connected. On the upper part of the main body, there is a photoresist injection nozzle unit 108 for supplying a photoresist film on the substrate W and an EBR nozzle unit 110 for spraying thinner for removing edge beads formed at the edge of the substrate W. Formed. The photoresist injection nozzle unit 108 and the EBR nozzle unit 110 are formed to be movable in the vertical direction. The lower part of the main body has an uncoated photosensitive film, a thinner and a discharge part 112 for discharging contaminants in the main body.

Looking at the operation of the photoresist coating device including the edge bead removal device having such a configuration, if the rotary shaft 104 is rotated in conjunction with the rotating part 106 after fixing the substrate (W) by vacuum suction on the vacuum chuck 102 The substrate W placed on the vacuum chuck 102 also rotates. Subsequently, when the rotational speed of the substrate W is increased and maintained at a constant speed, the photosensitive film spray nozzle unit 108 and the EBR nozzle unit 110 move downward, and a predetermined amount of the photosensitive film is transferred through the nozzle unit 108. It is supplied on the substrate W. At this time, the rotating unit 106 serves to rotate the substrate (W) at a high speed at a constant speed, and the photosensitive film is uniformly spread and coated on the substrate (W) by centrifugal force.

In the EBR nozzle unit 110, a thinner, which is a solvent for dissolving the photosensitive film, is sprayed to remove edge beads formed at the edge of the substrate W. The thinner and contaminants scattered by the thinner and centrifugal force discharge the 112. Is discharged through.

When the photoresist film is coated on the substrate W, the photoresist injection nozzle unit 108 and the EBR nozzle unit 110 move upward, and when the rotation of the vacuum chuck 102 stops, the substrate W coated with the photoresist film is next processed. The coating process, including the EBR process, is completed by transferring to.

Another method for removing the edge bead 30 may be an optical edge bead removal (OEBR) process. The OEBR process is a method of removing the photoresist by separately exposing only the edge portion to remove the edge bead 30 formed on the edge of the substrate. The OEBR device is typically present in a track device.

In the EBR process, the precision and shape of the EBR process are determined by the degree to which the substrate is placed on the vacuum chuck 102 of the EBR apparatus. However, the accuracy is usually low, about 1 mm. That is, since the shape and the precision are different each time the multiple layers are stacked on the substrate and the EBR process is performed, the number of net dies calculated on the substrate is reduced due to the inconsistency of the EBR regions between the layers, and There is a problem that the reproducibility is difficult to secure and the yield of semiconductor elements is lowered.

Accordingly, the present invention is to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, by improving the reproducibility of the inter-layer EBR process by performing the EBR process and the OEBR process in the same region as the EBR region of the base layer to increase the number of net dies and net It is an object of the present invention to provide an edge bead removal apparatus and method for ensuring die yield reproducibility.

The object of the present invention is a nozzle for spraying a thinner for removing edge beads on a substrate on which a predetermined base layer is formed, a nozzle support for supporting the nozzle, a first driver including a motor for driving the nozzle support, and irradiating the substrate. EBR process in the same region as the first light source for generating light, the detector for detecting the EBR region of the base layer with the light emitted from the first light source and reflected from the substrate and the detected EBR region of the base layer It is achieved by the edge bead removal device, characterized in that it comprises a control unit for controlling the first drive unit to implement.

The object of the present invention includes coating a photoresist film on a substrate on which a predetermined underlayer is formed, detecting an EBR region of the underlayer, and performing an EBR process on the same region as the EBR region of the underlayer. It is also achieved by the edge bead removal method characterized in that.

Details of the above object and technical configuration of the present invention and the effects thereof according to the present invention will be more clearly understood by the following detailed description with reference to the drawings showing preferred embodiments of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a block diagram of the edge bead removal device according to the present invention showing an example of the case where the EBR device and the OEBR device is present separately.

As shown in FIG. 3, the edge bead removing apparatus of the present invention is composed of an EBR unit 200 and an OEBR unit 300, and the EBR unit 200 and the OEBR unit 300 are controlled through a control unit 218. It has a structure that can send and receive data. As shown in FIG. 3, the EBR unit 200 and the OEBR unit 300 may configure separate EBR units and OEBR units, respectively. In addition, one edge bead removal device in which the EBR unit 200 and the OEBR unit 300 are combined may be configured. In addition, the edge bead removal device may be present in addition to the photoresist coating device in the track device.

The EBR unit 200 includes a first vacuum chuck 204 for supporting the substrate W1 and a rotation shaft for supporting the first vacuum chuck 204 and connecting with a rotating means (not shown) for rotating the substrate. A first light source 206, a first optical system 208, and a detector 210 for measuring the EBR area of the sub-layer present on the substrate W1 are present. It is configured to include. In detecting the EBR region of the underlying layer, the first light source 206 generates light having a wavelength different from that of the exposure light source or is included in the optical system 208 to prevent the photosensitive film from being exposed and removed. Through to select the light of a wavelength different from the light source for exposure.

In addition, the EBR unit 200 includes a nozzle 212 for injecting thinner, a nozzle supporter 214, a first driver 216 including a motor for driving the nozzle supporter, and a controller 218. do.

When the substrate W1 is not a circular rectangular substrate, for example, a glass substrate of a liquid crystal display device, the reciprocating motion of the nozzle 212 and the nozzle support 214 rather than the rotation of the substrate W1 by the rotating shaft 202. It is more preferable to remove the edge beads by.

In addition, in the process of spraying the thinner, the thinner may move to the center of the substrate and be removed to the photoresist of the pattern portion. Therefore, the edge bead removal device may spray deionized water and high pressure clean dried air (CDA). It is possible to include a cleaning part. In particular, in the case of a rectangular substrate such as a glass substrate of a liquid crystal display device, it is preferable to perform an EBR process while reciprocating the nozzle 212 and the nozzle support 214 without rotating the substrate W1. Since it is likely to move to the center of the substrate, it is useful to provide the cleaning section.

The OEBR unit 300 may include an optical fiber for selectively exposing only the edge region of the second light source 304, the predetermined second optical system 306, and the substrate W2 to generate an exposure light source necessary for performing the OEBR process ( 308 and a second driver 302 including a motor for performing an OEBR process by reciprocating the optical fiber 308 based on the signal transmitted from the controller 218. When the OEBR unit 300 performs a process in a separate device from the EBR unit 200, there is a second vacuum chuck 310 and a second rotating shaft 312 for supporting the substrate W2. The exposure area in the OEBR process is set equal to the EBR area of the underlying layer transferred from the control unit 218 or by setting a predetermined offset, for example, 1 mm or less, to expose the photosensitive film P2 on the substrate W2. Remove the edge beads that were not removed in the EBR process.

4 is a flowchart of an edge bead removal method according to the present invention. Hereinafter, an edge bead removal method according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

First, the substrate W1 on which the predetermined base layer is formed is transferred to the coating apparatus in the track apparatus to coat the photosensitive film P1 (S100).

Next, the EBR region of the underlayer formed on the substrate W1 is detected (S101). The light irradiated onto the substrate to detect the EBR region of the underlying layer uses a wavelength different from the wavelength for exposure so that the photoresist film does not react and is removed during development. The light emitted from the first light source 206 passes through the first optical system 208 and is reflected by the substrate W1 to be introduced into the detector 210. The EBR region of the underlying layer is detected by image processing the light introduced into the detector 210.

In the substrate W1, an underlayer formed in a previous process is present, and the EBR region of the underlayer is detected by distinguishing a pattern composed of the underlayer from a material such as silicon or glass constituting the substrate.

Next, the EBR area is set (S102). The EBR region is the same as the EBR region of the underlayer, and the data related to the EBR region of the underlayer detected by the detector is transmitted to the controller 218, and the controller 218 controls the first driver 216.

Next, an EBR process is performed on the same region as the detected EBR region of the underlayer (S103). Based on the data on the EBR area of the underlayer detected by the detector 210, the controller 218 adjusts a motor included in the first driver 216 to apply thinner to the same area as the EBR area of the underlayer. Spray to remove edge beads. Although not shown in the drawing, it is preferable to spray the thinner by installing a nozzle on the lower portion of the substrate W1.

Next, the desired pattern is transferred to the substrate W2 through the exposure process using the substrate W2 on which the EBR process is completed, and then the substrate W2 on which the exposure process is completed is transferred to the OEBR unit 300 (S104).

Then, an OEBR process of exposing the photosensitive film P2 on the substrate W2 is performed by passing the light emitted from the second light source 304 through a predetermined second optical system 306 and then entering the optical fiber 308. (S105). The OEBR process completely removes the edge bead and the photoresist film at the edge of the substrate that are not removed in the EBR process. The controller 218 determines the OEBR region based on the EBR region data of the underlying layer received from the detector 210 and drives the second driver 302 to perform an OEBR process. In the OEBR region, it is preferable to set the same region as the EBR region or set an offset of 1 mm or less.

As such, by performing the EBR process and the OEBR process in the same region as the EBR region of the underlayer, the yield of semiconductor devices can be improved by increasing the number of net dies and securing the net die calculation reproducibility by securing EBR reproducibility between layers. In addition, EBR failures can be monitored in real time, avoiding unnecessary process losses.

Although the present invention has been shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments as described above, it is not limited to the above-described embodiments and those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Various changes and modifications will be possible.

Therefore, the edge bead removal apparatus and method of the present invention improves the inter-layer EBR reproducibility by performing the EBR process and the OEBR process in the same region as the EBR region of the underlying layer, thereby increasing the number of net dies and securing the net die yield reproducibility, In addition to improving the yield, the EBR process defects can be monitored in real time to prevent unnecessary process loss.

1 conceptually illustrates a state in which edge beads are formed.

Figure 2 is a block diagram showing a photoresist coating device including the edge bead removal device according to the prior art.

Figure 3 is a block diagram showing an edge bead removal apparatus according to the present invention.

4 is a flow chart of the edge bead removal method according to the present invention.

Claims (10)

In the edge bead removal device, A nozzle for spraying a thinner for removing edge beads on a substrate on which a predetermined underlayer is formed; A nozzle supporter for supporting the nozzle; A first driver including a motor for driving the nozzle support; A first light source for generating light for irradiating the substrate; A detector for detecting an EBR region of the base layer by light reflected from the substrate after being emitted from the first light source; And Control unit for controlling the first driving unit to perform an EBR process in the same region as the detected EBR region of the underlayer Edge bead removal apparatus comprising a. The method of claim 1, And the first light source generates light having a wavelength different from that of the exposure light source. The method of claim 1, The edge bead removal device further comprises a cleaning unit for removing the thinner moving to the center of the substrate. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, The edge bead removal device further comprises an OEBR unit, wherein the control unit performs an OEBR process in the same region as the EBR region of the underlayer detected in the EBR process. The method of claim 4, wherein The OEBR unit A second light source for generating an exposure light source required for the OEBR process; An optical fiber for selectively exposing only the edges of the substrate to the light generated by the second light source; And A second driver for driving the optical fiber based on the signal transmitted from the controller Edge bead removal apparatus comprising a. In the edge bead removal method, Coating a photosensitive film on a substrate on which a predetermined underlayer is formed; Detecting an EBR region of the underlayer; And Performing an EBR process in the same region as the EBR region of the underlayer; Edge bead removal method comprising a. The method of claim 6, Detecting the EBR region of the base layer Irradiating a measurement light source having a wavelength different from a wavelength of an exposure light source for exposing the photosensitive film to the substrate; Receiving and reflecting light reflected from the substrate; And Setting an EBR region of the underlayer based on the image processed data Edge bead removal method comprising a. The method of claim 6, The EBR process removes edge beads by spraying thinner through a reciprocating nozzle while the substrate is stopped. The method of claim 8, Edge substrate removal method characterized in that the substrate is a rectangular glass substrate. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 9, And performing an OEBR process in the same region as the detected EBR region of the substrate under which the EBR process has been performed.