KR20060021571A - Photolithography apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a photolithography process facility, wherein an exposure unit, an interface unit, and an application / development apparatus are arranged in-line, wherein the interface unit includes the exposure apparatus and the application / development equipment. And at least two robots for inter-wafer loading and conveying, respectively, wherein the coating / developing apparatus includes a baking apparatus capable of carrying out a post-exposure baking process by directly receiving a wafer brought in from the interface unit. do. According to the present invention, when the exposure apparatus and the application / development apparatus are used in-line, the processing speed is improved in an interface unit that carries and carries wafers between the two apparatuses. In addition, the time required for conveying the wafer from the exposure equipment to the post-exposure baking process equipment can be conveyed at a faster time for each wafer, minimizing the environmental change received by the wafer and reducing contamination by ammonia in the air. It has the effect of improving and stabilizing product quality.

Description

Photolithography Process Equipment {PHOTOLITHOGRAPHY APPARATUS}

1 is a block diagram illustrating a photolithography process facility according to the prior art.

2 is a block diagram illustrating a photolithography process facility according to an embodiment of the present invention.

<Description of Symbols for Major Parts of Drawings>

100; Coating and developing equipment 110, 210, 220; robot

120, 320; Out stage 140; Bake

200; Interface unit 300; Exposure equipment

310; In stage

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to photolithography processing equipment, and more particularly, to photolithography processing equipment capable of stabilizing product quality by reducing wafer transport and delivery time.

The typical semiconductor industry uses several stages of photolithography processes. In each step, a photoresist film (PR) material is deposited on the surface of the silicon wafer, and patterned on the photoresist. This patterned photoresist is used as a mask in subsequent processing steps such as etching, implanting, depositing, engraving, grinding, and the like. This photolithography process is one of the most difficult technologies in the semiconductor industry, and patterns printed on critical layers set the dimensional limits for the entire technology.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of using an in-line exposure apparatus and an application / development apparatus used in a photolithography process among conventional semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional in-line photolithography process facility includes an interface unit for carrying and carrying a wafer between an application / development apparatus 10, an exposure apparatus 30, and two apparatuses 10 and 30 ( 20; Interface Unit). After coating, the wafer before exposure is moved along a path leading to robot 11 (Outbot) → Out stage 12 → Robot 21 (Robot) → In stage 31, and before post-exposure development. The wafer is moved in a path from the out stage 32 to the robot 21 to the in stage 13 to the robot 11 to the bake 14 to the robot 11.

In a conventional photolithography process facility, wafer loading and transfer between the two equipment 10, 30 is performed at the interface unit 20. By the way, this unit 20 is controlled by one of the two equipments 10 and 30 that are controlled separately, usually by the application / development equipment 10, and consists of one robot 21, 21 carries out both wafer loading and conveyance. Therefore, not only is it difficult to operate this robot 21 efficiently, but also it is difficult to process a wafer at regular time intervals. And, in order to increase the output per unit time, excellent performance is required in view of the processing speed that the robot 21 of the interface unit 20 can handle, but is limited by mechanical limitations.

On the other hand, when ultraviolet rays and chemically amplified photoresists are used, the wafers carried from the exposure equipment 30 to the coating / developing equipment 10 are subjected to a chemical amplification process (baking process) in the bake 14 just before they are developed. do. At this time, in order to obtain a constant quality of the photoresist, it is important to manage the time until the wafer is transferred to the bake 14 in the exposure equipment 30. If this time is prolonged, the environmental impact such as the temperature of the wafer is increased, and the ammonia in the air adversely affects the uniformity of the photoresist. If this time is not constant for each wafer, the degree of the influence is changed. This is because disadvantages occur in terms of wafer quality. However, since the wafer after exposure is conventionally transferred through a path from the robot 21 to the stage 13 to the robot 11 to the bake 14 to the robot 11, the wafer is transferred to the bake 14. The transmission time becomes long and it becomes difficult to manage this time constantly, which poses the above-mentioned problem.

In order to solve the above-described problems of the prior art of the present invention, an object of the present invention is to reduce the time required for the transfer and loading of wafers and photolithography process equipment that can ensure the uniformity of the photoresist In providing.

The photolithography process facility according to the present invention for achieving the above object is characterized in that it is possible to reduce the time required for loading and transporting wafers in the interface unit, and to minimize and equalize the environmental impact and ammonia contamination received by the wafer.

Photolithography process equipment according to an embodiment of the present invention that can implement the above features, in the photolithography process equipment in which the exposure equipment, the interface unit and the coating / developing equipment is arranged in an in-line manner, the interface unit is And at least two robots for carrying and transferring wafers between the exposure apparatus and the application / development apparatus, wherein the application / development apparatus is capable of carrying out a post-exposure baking process by directly receiving a wafer brought in from the interface unit. It is characterized by including a baking device.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the exposure apparatus, the in-stage on which the wafer carried from the interface unit is placed; And an out stage on which the wafer conveyed to the interface unit is placed.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the exposure equipment is characterized by using a Deep Ultra Violet light source using ArF (193nm) or KrF (248nm).

In one embodiment of the invention, the coating / developing equipment, the robot for wafer transfer; And an out stage on which the wafer to be transferred from the robot to the interface unit is placed.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the application / development equipment is characterized by applying and developing a chemically amplified photoresist on a wafer.

Photolithography process equipment according to another embodiment of the present invention that can implement the above features, the in-line interface unit for transferring the wafer between the exposure equipment, the coating / developing equipment, and the exposure equipment and the coating / developing equipment in-line In a photolithography process facility arranged in a manner, the interface unit includes a first robot for transferring a wafer carried from the coating / developing equipment to the exposure equipment, and a wafer transferred from the exposure equipment to the coating / developing equipment. A second robot for transporting; The exposure apparatus includes: an in stage on which the wafer to be loaded is placed; An out stage on which the wafer to be conveyed is placed; The application / development apparatus includes: an out stage on which a wafer to be conveyed to the interface unit is placed; A bake for directly carrying a wafer from the interface unit and performing a post-exposure baking process; It characterized in that it comprises a robot for transferring the wafer from the bake.

According to the present invention, when the exposure equipment and the application / development equipment are used in-line, the processing speed is improved in an interface unit that carries and transfers wafers between the two equipments. In addition, the time required for conveying the wafer from the exposure equipment to the post-exposure baking process equipment can be conveyed at a faster time per wafer, minimizing the environmental impact of the wafer and reducing contamination by ammonia in the air. Product quality can be improved and stabilized, and this time can be managed more consistently for each wafer, resulting in more consistent quality.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings a photolithography process equipment according to the present invention will be described in detail.

Advantages over the present invention and prior art will become apparent through the description and claims with reference to the accompanying drawings. In particular, a device for manufacturing a semiconductor device according to the present invention is well pointed out and claimed in the claims. However, the apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor device according to the present invention can be best understood by referring to the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings. Like reference numerals in the drawings denote like elements throughout the various drawings.

(Example)

2 is a block diagram illustrating a photolithography process facility according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 2, the photolithography process equipment of the present invention includes a coating and developing apparatus 100 in which an application process and a developing process are performed, an exposure apparatus 300 in which an exposure process is performed, and an application and development apparatus 100. And the interface unit 200 which carries in and conveys a wafer between the exposure apparatus 300 and the exposure apparatus 300, and is comprised.

The photolithography process equipment of the present invention uses Deep Ultra Violet (DUV), which is KrF (248 nm) or ArF (193 nm) as a light source, and PAG (Photo Acid Generator) which generates acid (H +) by photoresist as a photoresist. Suppose we use a chemically amplified photoresist composed of a resin that forms a physical image.

The exposure apparatus 300 is an apparatus in which an exposure process is performed in which a photoresist-coated wafer is exposed to light having a specific wavelength so that light passing through a mask selectively causes a photochemical reaction of the photoresist in an exposure region. The equipment 300 includes an in stage 310 in which a wafer carried from the interface unit 200 is placed, and an out stage 320 in which a wafer transferred in reverse is placed. Here, the in stage 310 and the out stage 320 serve as a kind of buffer during wafer transfer.

The coating and developing apparatus 100 includes a coating process of coating a photoresist on a wafer in a spin method, and an exposed portion of the wafer exposed by the exposure apparatus 300 using an alkaline solution, that is, a developer, such as TMAH (Tetramethyl Ammoniaum Hydroxide). It is a device that develops a process to reproduce the final pattern by using a chemical reaction due to the difference in solubility between the unexposed portion and the unexposed portion. The equipment 100 includes an out stage 120 on which a wafer conveyed to the interface unit 200 is placed, and a robot 110 for transferring the wafer on which the coating process is completed to the out stage 120. The out stage 310 serves as a kind of buffer during wafer transfer.

On the other hand, the degree of integration of the semiconductor device is improved by the resolution of the photoresist itself and the resolution of the light source. The resolution of the light source is improved along with the shortening of the light source and requires the development and high sensitivity of the photoresist corresponding to the shortening of the light source. Meeting these demands is the Deep Ultra Violet (DUV) and chemically amplified photoresist. In chemically amplified photoresist, resin is produced by the acid (H +) generated by thermal energy during the post-exposure baking (PEB) process by PAG (Photo Acid Generator) generating acid (H +) ions by exposure. (resin) has a step of changing to a structure that is well soluble in the developer. Accordingly, the application and development apparatus 100 of the present invention includes a bake 140 for a post exposure bake (PEB) process of a chemically amplified photoresist.

The interface unit 200 is a unit disposed between the two devices 100 and 300 to transfer and load wafers between the two devices 100 and 300. Here, the interface unit 200 is the first robot 210 for transferring the wafer from the coating and developing equipment 100 to the exposure equipment 300, and vice versa from the exposure equipment 300 to the coating and developing equipment 100. A second robot 220 for transferring the wafer is included. As such, since the robots 210 and 220 are separately disposed in any one movement path of the wafer, the wafer movement time required for the loading and carrying can be reduced.

The operation of the photoresist processing equipment configured as described above will be described based on the movement path of the wafer.

The wafer before the exposure after coating is unloaded from the chamber (not shown) where the coating process is actually performed by the robot 110 and moved to the out stage 120. In this case, it is assumed that a chemically amplified photoresist is coated on the wafer. The wafer in the out stage 120 is transferred by the first robot 210 of the interface unit 200 to the in stage 310 of the exposure equipment 300. At this time, since the first robot 210 is only responsible for transferring the wafer from the coating and developing equipment 100 to the exposure equipment 300 and is not involved in transferring the wafer in the reverse direction, the time required for wafer transfer is reduced. . The wafer transferred to the in stage 310 of the exposure apparatus 300 is actually loaded into a chamber (not shown) where the exposure process is to be performed and subjected to the exposure process. In summary, the wafer before exposure is transferred through a path from the robot 110 to the out stage 120 to the first robot 210 to the in stage 310.

The wafer subjected to the exposure process in the exposure apparatus 300 is transferred to the out stage 320. The wafer transferred to the out stage 320 is transferred by the second robot 320 of the interface unit 200 and immediately transferred to the bake 140. Here, too, the second robot 320 is responsible only for wafer transfer from the exposure equipment 300 to the coating and developing equipment 100, and does not participate in the wafer transfer in the reverse direction, thereby reducing the time required for wafer transfer. do.

Wafers coated with chemically amplified photoresist do not fully oxidize even after exposure. Accordingly, the post-exposure wafer is subjected to a post-exposure baking (PEB) process in the bake 140 to amplify the acid (H +) generated in the previous exposure process to cause a difference in solubility in the resin of the photoresist. On the other hand, the bake 140 in which the post-exposure baking process is performed should have no sufficient capacity to process a wafer brought in from the second robot 220 due to its large wafer processing capability.

As such, when separate robots 210 and 220 take charge of the wafers in the interface unit 200 and the processing capacity of the bake 140 becomes sufficient, the post-exposure baking process may be performed on the wafers within a certain time without being delayed. It becomes possible. Therefore, the wafer impact time is long and the environmental impact of the wafer due to irregularities is minimized. In addition, the time required for exposure to ammonia in the air is shortened to minimize the change in the critical dimension of defects and patterns caused by neutralizing the ammonia and acid (H +) in the air before amplifying the acid (H +) generated in the exposure process. Or rarely happen.

The wafer subjected to the post-exposure baking process is transferred to a chamber (not shown) where the developing process is actually performed by the robot 110, and the desired pattern formation is caused by chemical reaction due to the difference in solubility generated between the exposed and non-exposed areas by the developer. Is reproduced. In summary, the wafer after exposure is transferred to a path leading to the out stage 320 → the second robot 200 → the bake 140 → the robot 110.

Although the embodiments have been described with respect to a photoresist processing equipment using a DUV light source and a chemically amplified photoresist, it can be applied to other photolithography processing equipment using a different light source and a photoresist suitable for the same.

The foregoing detailed description illustrates the present invention. In addition, the foregoing description merely shows and describes preferred embodiments of the present invention, and the present invention can be used in various other combinations, modifications, and environments. And, it is possible to change or modify within the scope of the concept of the invention disclosed in this specification, the scope equivalent to the written description, and / or the skill or knowledge in the art. The above-described embodiments are for explaining the best state in carrying out the present invention, the use of other inventions such as the present invention in other state known in the art, and the specific fields of application and uses of the present invention. Various changes are also possible. Accordingly, the detailed description of the invention is not intended to limit the invention to the disclosed embodiments. Also, the appended claims should be construed to include other embodiments.

 As described in detail above, according to the present invention, when the exposure equipment and the coating / developing equipment are used in-line in the semiconductor manufacturing process equipment, the processing speed is improved in the interface unit that carries and carries the wafer between the two equipment. have. In addition, the time required for conveying the wafer from the exposure equipment to the post-exposure baking process equipment can be conveyed at a faster time per wafer, minimizing the environmental impact of the wafer and reducing contamination by ammonia in the air. Product quality can be improved and stabilized, and this time can be managed more consistently for each wafer, resulting in more consistent quality.

Claims (6)

In a photolithography process facility in which an exposure apparatus, an interface unit, and an application / development apparatus are arranged in-line, The interface unit includes at least two robots each for carrying and transferring wafers between the exposure equipment and the application / development equipment, The application / development apparatus includes a baking apparatus capable of performing a post-exposure baking process by directly receiving a wafer carried from the interface unit. The method of claim 1, The exposure equipment, An in stage on which a wafer carried in from the interface unit is placed; And An out stage on which the wafer conveyed to the interface unit is placed; Photolithography process equipment comprising a. The method according to claim 1 or 2, The exposure equipment is a photolithography process facility using a deep ultra violet light source using ArF (193nm) or KrF (248nm). The method of claim 1, The applicator / developing equipment, A robot for wafer transfer; And An out stage on which a wafer to be transferred from the robot to the interface unit is placed; The photolithography process equipment further comprises. The method according to claim 1 or 4, The application / development equipment is a photolithography process facility characterized by applying and developing a chemically amplified photoresist on a wafer. In a photolithography process facility wherein an exposure apparatus, an application / development apparatus, and an interface unit for transferring a wafer between the exposure apparatus and the application / development apparatus are arranged in-line, The interface unit includes a first robot for transferring a wafer carried from the coating / developing equipment to the exposure equipment and a second robot for transferring a wafer transferred from the exposure equipment to the coating / developing equipment; The exposure apparatus includes: an in stage on which the wafer to be loaded is placed; An out stage on which the wafer to be conveyed is placed; The application / development apparatus includes: an out stage on which a wafer to be conveyed to the interface unit is placed; A bake for directly carrying a wafer from the interface unit and performing a post-exposure baking process; A robot for transferring a wafer from the bake; And photolithography processing equipment.

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