Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings an embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail. The embodiments of the present invention may be modified in various forms, and the scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the following embodiments. This embodiment is provided to more fully describe the present invention to those skilled in the art. Thus, the shape of the elements in the figures has been exaggerated to emphasize a clearer description.
The facility of this embodiment is used to perform a photolithography process on a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer or a flat panel display panel. In particular, the equipment of this embodiment is connected to an exposure apparatus and used to perform an application process and a development process on a substrate. Hereinafter, a case where a wafer is used as a substrate will be described.
1 to 11 are schematic views of a substrate processing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a view of the substrate processing equipment 1 from above, FIG. 2 is a view of the equipment 1 of FIG. 1 viewed from the AA direction, and FIG. 3 is a view of the equipment 1 of FIG. 1 viewed from the BB direction. 4 is the figure which looked at the installation 1 of FIG. 1 from the CC direction.
1 to 4, the substrate processing apparatus 1 includes a load port 100, an index module 200, a first buffer module 300, a coating and developing module 400, a second buffer module 500 An exposure pre- and post-processing module 600, and an interface module 700. The load port 100, the index module 200, the first buffer module 300, the application and development module 400, the second buffer module 500, the pre-exposure processing module 600, and the interface module 700, Are sequentially arranged in one direction in a single direction.
Hereinafter, the load port 100, the index module 200, the first buffer module 300, the coating and developing module 400, the second buffer module 500, the pre-exposure processing module 600, 700 are referred to as a first direction 12 and a direction perpendicular to the first direction 12 as viewed from above is referred to as a second direction 14 and a direction in which the first direction 12 and the second And a direction perpendicular to the direction 14 is referred to as a third direction 16.
The wafer W is moved in the state accommodated in the cassette 20. At this time, the cassette 20 has a structure that can be sealed from the outside. For example, as the cassette 20, a front open unified pod (FOUP) having a door in front may be used.
Hereinafter, the load port 100, the index module 200, the first buffer module 300, the coating and developing module 400, the second buffer module 500, the pre-exposure processing module 600, and the interface module ( 700 will be described in detail.
The load port 100 has a mounting table 120 on which a cassette 20 containing wafers W is placed. The mounting table 120 is provided in plural, and the mounting tables 200 are arranged in a line along the second direction 14. In Fig. 1, four placement tables 120 are provided.
The index module 200 transfers the wafer W between the cassette 20 placed on the mounting table 120 of the load port 100 and the first buffer module 300. The index module 200 has a frame 210, an index robot 220, and a guide rail 230. The frame 210 is generally provided in the shape of an empty rectangular parallelepiped, and is disposed between the load port 100 and the first buffer module 300. The frame 210 of the index module 200 may be provided at a lower height than the frame 310 of the first buffer module 300 described later. The index robot 220 and the guide rail 230 are disposed within the frame 210. The index robot 220 is a four-axis drive system in which the hand 221 directly handling the wafer W is movable in the first direction 12, the second direction 14 and the third direction 16, . The index robot 220 has a hand 221, an arm 222, a support 223, and a pedestal 224. The hand 221 is fixed to the arm 222. The arm 222 is provided with a stretchable structure and a rotatable structure. The support base 223 is disposed along the third direction 16 in the longitudinal direction. The arm 222 is coupled to the support 223 to be movable along the support 223. The support 223 is fixedly coupled to the pedestal 224. The guide rails 230 are provided so that their longitudinal direction is arranged along the second direction 14. The pedestal 224 is coupled to the guide rail 230 so as to be linearly movable along the guide rail 230. In addition, although not shown, the frame 210 is further provided with a door opener for opening and closing the door of the cassette 20.
The first buffer module 300 has a frame 310, a first buffer 320, a second buffer 330, a cooling chamber 350, and a first buffer robot 360. The frame 310 is provided in the shape of an inner rectangular parallelepiped and is disposed between the index module 200 and the application and development module 400. The first buffer 320, the second buffer 330, the cooling chamber 350, and the first buffer robot 360 are located within the frame 310. The cooling chamber 350, the second buffer 330, and the first buffer 320 are sequentially disposed in the third direction 16 from below. The second buffer 330 and the cooling chamber 350 are located at a height corresponding to the coating module 401 of the coating and developing module 400 described later and the coating and developing module 400 at a height corresponding to the developing module 402. [ The first buffer robot 360 is spaced apart from the second buffer 330, the cooling chamber 350 and the first buffer 320 by a predetermined distance in the second direction 14.
The first buffer 320 and the second buffer 330 temporarily store the plurality of wafers W, respectively. The second buffer 330 has a housing 331 and a plurality of supports 332. The supports 332 are disposed within the housing 331 and are provided spaced apart from each other in the third direction 16. One wafer W is placed on each support 332. In the housing 331, the index robot 220, the first buffer robot 360, and the developing unit robot 482 of the developing module 402 described later move the wafer W to the support 332 in the housing 331. It has openings (not shown) in the direction in which the index robot 220 is provided, the direction in which the first buffer robot 360 is provided, and the direction in which the developing unit robot 482 is provided so as to be able to carry in or take out. The first buffer 320 has a structure substantially similar to that of the second buffer 330. The housing 321 of the first buffer 320 has an opening in a direction in which the first buffer robot 360 is provided and in a direction in which the application unit robot 432 located in the application module 401 described later is provided. The number of supports 322 provided in the first buffer 320 and the number of supports 332 provided in the second buffer 330 may be the same or different. According to an example, the number of supports 332 provided in the second buffer 330 may be greater than the number of supports 322 provided in the first buffer 320.
The first buffer robot 360 transfers the wafer W between the first buffer 320 and the second buffer 330. The first buffer robot 360 has a hand 361, an arm 362, and a support base 363. The hand 361 is fixed to the arm 362. The arm 362 is provided in a stretchable configuration so that the hand 361 is movable along the second direction 14. The arm 362 is coupled to the support 363 so as to be linearly movable along the support 363 in the third direction 16. The support base 363 has a length extending from a position corresponding to the second buffer 330 to a position corresponding to the first buffer 320. The support member 363 may be provided longer in the upward or downward direction. The first buffer robot 360 may be provided so that the hand 361 is simply driven in two directions along the second direction 14 and the third direction 16.
The cooling chambers 350 cool the wafers W, respectively. The cooling chamber 350 has a housing 351 and a cooling plate 352. The cooling plate 352 has an upper surface on which the wafer W is placed and a cooling means 353 for cooling the wafer W. [ As the cooling means 353, various methods such as cooling with cooling water and cooling using a thermoelectric element can be used. In addition, the cooling chamber 350 may be provided with a lift pin assembly (not shown) for positioning the wafer W on the cooling plate 352. The housing 351 is provided with an index robot 220 so that the developing robot 482 provided in the index robot 220 and a developing module 402 described later can carry the wafers W into or out of the cooling plate 352 (Not shown) in the direction provided and the direction in which the developing robot 482 is provided. In addition, the cooling chamber 350 may be provided with doors (not shown) for opening and closing the above-described opening.
The coating and developing module 400 performs a process of applying a photoresist on the wafer W before the exposure process and a process of developing the wafer W after the exposure process. The application and development module 400 has a generally rectangular parallelepiped shape. The application and development module 400 has an application module 401 and a development module 402. The application module 401 and the development module 402 are arranged so as to be partitioned into layers with respect to each other. In one example, the application module 401 is located on top of the development module 402.
The application module 401 includes a step of applying a photosensitive liquid such as a photoresist to the wafer W and a heat treatment step such as heating and cooling for the wafer W before and after the resist application step. The application module 401 has a resist application chamber 410, a bake chamber 420, and a transfer chamber 430. The resist application chamber 410, the bake chamber 420, and the transfer chamber 430 are sequentially disposed along the second direction 14. [ The resist application chamber 410 and the bake chamber 420 are positioned apart from each other in the second direction 14 with the transfer chamber 430 interposed therebetween. A plurality of resist coating chambers 410 are provided, and a plurality of resist coating chambers 410 are provided in the first direction 12 and the third direction 16, respectively. In the figure, six resist coating chambers 410 are provided. A plurality of bake chambers 420 are provided in the first direction 12 and the third direction 16, respectively. In the drawing, six bake chambers 420 are provided. Alternatively, however, the bake chamber 420 may be provided in a greater number.
The transfer chamber 430 is positioned in parallel with the first buffer 320 of the first buffer module 300 in the first direction 12. In the transfer chamber 430, a dispenser robot 432 and a guide rail 433 are positioned. The transfer chamber 430 has a generally rectangular shape. The applicator robot 432 includes the baking chambers 420, the resist application chambers 400, the first buffer 320 of the first buffer module 300, and the first of the second buffer module 500 described later. The wafer W is transferred between the cooling chambers 520. The guide rails 433 are arranged so that their longitudinal directions are parallel to the first direction 12. The guide rails 433 guide the applying robot 432 to move linearly in the first direction 12. The applicator robot 432 has a hand 434, an arm 435, a support 436, and a pedestal 437. The hand 434 is fixed to the arm 435. The arm 435 is provided in a stretchable configuration so that the hand 434 is movable in the horizontal direction. The support 436 is provided so that its longitudinal direction is disposed along the third direction 16. The arm 435 is coupled to the support 436 so as to be linearly movable in the third direction 16 along the support 436. The support 436 is fixedly coupled to the pedestal 437 and the pedestal 437 is coupled to the guide rail 433 so as to be movable along the guide rail 433.
The resist coating chambers 410 all have the same structure. However, the types of the photoresist used in each of the resist coating chambers 410 may be different from each other. As an example, a chemical amplification resist may be used as the photoresist. The resist coating chamber 410 applies a photoresist on the wafer W. [ 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the resist application chamber of FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 5, the resist coating chamber 410 has a housing 411, a support plate 412, a nozzle 413, a home port 440, and a drying unit 450. The housing 411 provides space for processing a wafer. The housing 411 has a cup shape with an open top. The housing 411 is provided in plurality. The housings 411 are arranged in a line along the first direction. The support plate 412 is located in each housing 411 and supports the wafer W. As shown in FIG. The support plate 412 is provided to be rotatable. The nozzle 413 supplies the photoresist onto the wafer W placed on the support plate 412. The nozzle 413 has a circular tube shape and can supply photoresist to the center of the wafer W. [ One side of the housing 411 is disposed with a guide rail 414 for linearly moving the nozzle 413. The guide rail 414 is provided such that its longitudinal direction faces the first direction. The guide rail 414 is connected with the nozzle 413. An actuator (not shown) is provided between the guide rail 414 and the nozzle 413. The nozzle 413 is linearly movable along the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 414 by the driver.
The home port 440 provides a space for the nozzle 413 to which the process does not proceed. The home ports 440 are arranged in a line along the first direction along with the housings 411. The home port 440 is disposed adjacent to the housing 411 positioned at the end of the plurality of housings 411. The home port 440 is provided with a cleaning member (not shown) for supplying a cleaning liquid to the nozzle 413 accommodated in the inner space thereof to remove photoresist remaining on the outer surface of the nozzle 413.
The drying unit 450 removes the cleaning liquid attached to the outer surface of the nozzle 413. The drying unit 450 is disposed between the housings 411. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a drying unit according to the first embodiment of FIG. Referring to FIG. 6, the drying unit 450 dries the cleaning liquid attached to the outer surface of the nozzle 413 using a vacuum pressure. The drying unit 450 has a body 460 and a vacuum member (not shown). The body 460 has a cylindrical shape with an open top. The interior of the body 460 is provided with a space sized to accommodate the nozzle 413. A plurality of suction holes 462 are formed in the inner wall of the body 460. The suction holes 462 are arranged in a ring shape along the circumferential direction of the inner wall of the body 460. A ring-shaped vacuum line 464 communicating with the suction holes 462 is formed in the body 460. The vacuum line 464 is connected to a vacuum member (not shown) to provide a vacuum pressure to each suction hole 462.
7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a process of drying a nozzle using the drying unit of FIG. 6. Referring to FIG. 7, when the cleaning solution attached to the outer surface of the nozzle 413 is removed, the nozzle 413 is vertically disposed so that the discharge surface thereof is not exposed to the outside of the body 460 while the nozzle 413 is accommodated in the body 460. It is moved repeatedly one or more times. At the same time, the suction hole 462 is provided with a vacuum pressure, and the cleaning liquid attached to the outer surface of the nozzle 413 facing the suction hole 462 is vacuum sucked.
8 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a drying unit according to a second embodiment of FIG. 5. Referring to FIG. 8, the drying unit 450 contacts the outer surface of the nozzle 413 to absorb the cleaning liquid attached to the outer surface of the nozzle 413. The drying unit 450 has a body 460 and the absorbing member 470. The body 460 has a cylindrical shape with an open top. The absorbing member 470 is provided inside the body 460. The absorbing member 470 is attached to the inner wall of the body 460. Absorbing member 470 has a cylindrical shape. The absorbing member 470 is provided with a groove 472 into which the nozzle 413 can be inserted. The groove 472 is provided with the same diameter as or slightly smaller than the outer circumferential surface of the nozzle 413.
When absorbing the cleaning liquid attached to the outer surface of the nozzle 413, the nozzle 413 is inserted into the groove 472 of the absorbing member 470 to closely adhere the outer surface of the nozzle 413 to the inner surface of the absorbing member 470. Let's do it. The absorbing member 470 absorbs the cleaning liquid attached to the area in close contact with the nozzle 413. In one example, the absorbing member 470 may be a sponge such as polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) material. During the drying process, the nozzle 413 may be repeatedly moved one or more times in the vertical direction.
9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a drying unit according to a third embodiment of FIG. 5. 9, the drying unit 450 removes the cleaning liquid attached to the outer surface of the nozzle 413 by using a vacuum pressure and an inert gas. The drying unit 450 has a body 460, a vacuum member (not shown), and a gas supply member (not shown). The body 460 has a cylindrical shape with an open top. The interior of the body 460 is provided with a space sized to accommodate the nozzle 413. A suction hole 462 is provided on an inner bottom of the body 460. The suction hole 462 is connected to a vacuum member (not shown). The vacuum member (not shown) provides a vacuum pressure to the suction hole 462. A plurality of injection holes 466 are formed in the inner wall of the body 460. The injection holes 466 are arranged in a ring shape along the circumferential direction of the inner wall of the body 460. The injection hole 466 is formed to be inclined downward in a direction close to the central axis of the body 460. A ring-shaped supply line communicating with the injection holes 466 is formed in the body 460. The supply line 468 is connected to a gas supply member (not shown) to provide an inert gas to each injection hole 466.
10 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a process of drying a nozzle using the drying unit of FIG. 9. Referring to FIG. 10, the nozzle 413 is accommodated in the inner space of the body 460 when the cleaning liquid attached to the outer surface of the nozzle 413 is removed. The suction hole 462 is provided with a vacuum pressure to suck down the cleaning liquid attached to the outer surface of the nozzle 413. At the same time, the injection hole 466 injects an inert gas in a downwardly inclined direction toward the nozzle 413 to move the cleaning liquid downward.
On the contrary, when the cleaning liquid attached to the outer surface of the nozzle 413 is removed, the nozzle 413 may be repeatedly moved one or more times in the vertical direction.
In the above-described second embodiment of the present invention, the drying unit 450 may be provided in the tubular shape of the absorbing member 470 hollow 474 as shown in FIG.
In addition, unlike in the above-described embodiment, the nozzle 413 may optionally be a slit nozzle having a length corresponding to the diameter of the wafer W, and the discharge port is provided as a slit.
In addition, two nozzles 413 for supplying photoresist to each wafer may be provided. Guide rails 414 are provided along the first direction on both sides of the housing 411 arranged in a line, and nozzles 413 are installed on the respective guide rails 414 so that linear movement is possible. In this case, two home ports 440 may be provided, and each home port 440 may be disposed in an area adjacent to the housings 411 disposed at both ends of the plurality of housings 411.
In addition, the drying unit 450 may be disposed between the home port 440 and the housing 411 adjacent thereto. The nozzle 413 cleaned at the home port 440 may be moved to the drying unit 450 without passing through the housing 411 to remove the cleaning liquid remaining in the nozzle 413.
In addition, the home port 440 may be provided with a suction hole 462 and an injection hole 466 to perform both cleaning and drying of the nozzle 413.
In addition, a cleaning member for cleaning the nozzle 413 may be provided in the body 460 of the drying unit 450.
The bake chamber 420 heat-treats the wafer (W). For example, the bake chambers 420 may be a prebake process or a photoresist that heats the wafer W to a predetermined temperature and removes organic matter or moisture from the surface of the wafer W before applying the photoresist. A soft bake process or the like performed after coating on W) is performed, and a cooling process for cooling the wafer W after each heating process is performed. The bake chamber 420 has a cooling plate 421 or a heating plate 422. The cooling plate 421 is provided with a cooling means 423 such as a cooling water or a thermoelectric element. The heating plate 422 is also provided with a heating means 424, such as a hot wire or a thermoelectric element. The cooling plate 421 and the heating plate 422 may be provided in a single bake chamber 420, respectively. Optionally, some of the bake chambers 420 may include only the cooling plate 421, and the other portions may include only the heating plate 422.
The developing module 402 includes a developing process of supplying a developing solution to obtain a pattern on the wafer W to remove a part of the photoresist and a heat treatment process such as heating and cooling performed on the wafer W before and after the developing process . The developing module 402 has a developing chamber 460, a baking chamber 470, and a conveying chamber 480. The development chamber 460, the bake chamber 470, and the transfer chamber 480 are sequentially disposed along the second direction 14. The development chamber 460 and the bake chamber 470 are positioned apart from each other in the second direction 14 with the transfer chamber 480 therebetween. A plurality of developing chambers 460 are provided, and a plurality of developing chambers 460 are provided in the first direction 12 and the third direction 16, respectively. In the drawing, six development chambers 460 are provided. A plurality of bake chambers 470 are provided in the first direction 12 and the third direction 16, respectively. In the drawing, six bake chambers 470 are provided. Alternatively, however, the bake chamber 470 can be provided in greater numbers.
The transfer chamber 480 is positioned in parallel with the second buffer 330 of the first buffer module 300 in the first direction 12. In the transfer chamber 480, the developing robot 482 and the guide rail 483 are positioned. The transfer chamber 480 has a generally rectangular shape. The developing unit robot 482 includes the bake chambers 470, the developing chambers 460, the second buffer 330 and the cooling chamber 350 of the first buffer module 300, and the second buffer module 500. The wafers W are transferred between the second cooling chambers 540. The guide rail 483 is arranged such that its longitudinal direction is parallel to the first direction 12. The guide rail 483 guides the developing robot 482 to linearly move in the first direction 12. The developing sub-robot 482 has a hand 484, an arm 485, a supporting stand 486, and a pedestal 487. The hand 484 is fixed to the arm 485. The arm 485 is provided in a stretchable configuration to allow the hand 484 to move in a horizontal direction. The support 486 is provided so that its longitudinal direction is disposed along the third direction 16. The arm 485 is coupled to the support 486 such that it is linearly movable along the support 486 in the third direction 16. The support 486 is fixedly coupled to the pedestal 487. The pedestal 487 is coupled to the guide rail 483 so as to be movable along the guide rail 483.
The development chambers 460 all have the same structure. However, the types of developers used in the respective developing chambers 460 may be different from each other. The development chamber 460 removes a region of the photoresist on the wafer W irradiated with light. At this time, the area of the protective film irradiated with the light is also removed. Depending on the type of selectively used photoresist, only the areas of the photoresist and protective film that are not irradiated with light can be removed.
The development chamber 460 has a housing 461, a support plate 462, and a nozzle 463. The housing 461 has a cup shape with an open top. The support plate 462 is located in the housing 461 and supports the wafer (W). The support plate 462 is rotatably provided. The nozzle 463 supplies the developer onto the wafer W placed on the support plate 462. The nozzle 463 has a circular tube shape and can supply developer to the center of the wafer W. [ Alternatively, the nozzle 463 may have a length corresponding to the diameter of the wafer W, and the discharge port of the nozzle 463 may be provided as a slit. Further, the developing chamber 460 may further be provided with a nozzle 464 for supplying a cleaning liquid such as deionized water to clean the surface of the wafer W to which the developer is supplied.
The bake chamber 470 heat-treats the wafer W. For example, the bake chambers 470 are heated after each bake process and a hard bake process that heats the wafer W after the post-baking process that heats the wafer W before the developing process is performed, and after the developing process is performed. And a cooling step of cooling the finished wafer. The bake chamber 470 has a cooling plate 471 or a heating plate 472. The cooling plate 471 is provided with a cooling means 473 such as a cooling water or a thermoelectric element. Or the heating plate 472 is provided with a heating means 474 such as a hot wire or a thermoelectric element. The cooling plate 471 and the heating plate 472 may be provided in one bake chamber 470, respectively. Optionally, some of the baking chambers 470 may have only a cooling plate 471 and others may have only a heating plate 472.
As described above, in the application and development module 400, the application module 401 and the development module 402 are provided to be separated from each other. In addition, the application module 401 and the development module 402 may have the same chamber arrangement as viewed from above.
The second buffer module 500 is provided as a passage through which the wafer W is transported between the application and development module 400 and the pre-exposure processing module 600. In addition, the second buffer module 500 performs a predetermined process on the wafer W, such as a cooling process or an edge exposure process. The second buffer module 500 includes a frame 510, a buffer 520, a first cooling chamber 530, a second cooling chamber 540, an edge exposure chamber 550, and a second buffer robot 560 I have. The frame 510 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape. The buffer 520, the first cooling chamber 530, the second cooling chamber 540, the edge exposure chamber 550, and the second buffer robot 560 are located within the frame 510. The buffer 520, the first cooling chamber 530, and the edge exposure chamber 550 are disposed at a height corresponding to the application module 401. The second cooling chamber 540 is disposed at a height corresponding to the development module 402. The buffer 520, the first cooling chamber 530, and the second cooling chamber 540 are sequentially arranged in a row along the third direction 16. The buffer 520 is disposed along the first direction 12 with the transfer chamber 430 of the application module 401. [ The edge exposure chamber 550 is spaced a certain distance in the second direction 14 from the buffer 520 or the first cooling chamber 530.
The second buffer robot 560 transfers the wafer W between the buffer 520, the first cooling chamber 530, and the edge exposure chamber 550. A second buffer robot 560 is positioned between the edge exposure chamber 550 and the buffer 520. The second buffer robot 560 may be provided in a structure similar to that of the first buffer robot 360. The first cooling chamber 530 and the edge exposure chamber 550 perform subsequent processing on the wafers W on which the processing is performed in the coating module 401. The first cooling chamber 530 cools the wafer W on which the process is performed in the application module 401. The first cooling chamber 530 has a structure similar to the cooling chamber 350 of the first buffer module 300. The edge exposure chamber 550 exposes an edge of the wafers W on which the cooling process is performed in the first cooling chamber 530. The buffer 520 temporarily stores the wafer W before the wafers W having been processed in the edge exposure chamber 550 are transferred to the pretreatment module 601 described later. The second cooling chamber 540 cools the wafers W before the wafers W having been processed in the post-processing module 602 described later are transferred to the developing module 402. The second buffer module 500 may further have a buffer added to the height corresponding to the development module 402. In this case, the wafers W processed in the post-processing module 602 may be temporarily stored in the added buffer and then transferred to the developing module 402.
When the exposure apparatus 900 performs the liquid immersion exposure process, the exposure before and after processing module 600 may process a process of applying a protective film that protects the photoresist film applied to the wafer W during the liquid immersion exposure. In addition, the pre and post-exposure processing module 600 may perform a process of cleaning the wafer W after the exposure. In addition, when the coating process is performed using the chemically amplified resist, the pre-exposure treatment module 600 may process the post-exposure bake process.
The pre-exposure post-processing module 600 has a pre-processing module 601 and a post-processing module 602. The pretreatment module 601 performs a process of processing the wafer W before performing the exposure process, and the post-processing module 602 performs a process of processing the wafer W after the exposure process. The pre-processing module 601 and the post-processing module 602 are arranged so as to be partitioned into layers with respect to each other. In one example, the pretreatment module 601 is located on top of the aftertreatment module 602. The preprocessing module 601 is provided at the same height as the application module 401. The post-processing module 602 is provided at the same height as the developing module 402. The pretreatment module 601 has a protective film application chamber 610, a bake chamber 620, and a transfer chamber 630. The protective film application chamber 610, the transfer chamber 630, and the bake chamber 620 are sequentially disposed along the second direction 14. The protective film application chamber 610 and the bake chamber 620 are positioned apart from each other in the second direction 14 with the transfer chamber 630 therebetween. A plurality of protective film application chambers 610 are provided and are arranged along the third direction 16 to form layers. Alternatively, a plurality of protective film application chambers 610 may be provided in the first direction 12 and the third direction 16, respectively. A plurality of bake chambers 620 are provided and are disposed along the third direction 16 to form layers. Alternatively, a plurality of bake chambers 620 may be provided in the first direction 12 and the third direction 16, respectively.
The transfer chamber 630 is positioned in parallel with the first cooling chamber 530 of the second buffer module 500 in the first direction 12. In the transfer chamber 630, a pre-processing robot 632 is located. The transfer chamber 630 has a generally square or rectangular shape. The pretreatment robot 632 is provided between the protective film applying chambers 610, the bake chambers 620, the buffer 520 of the second buffer module 500, and the first buffer 720 of the interface module 700 described later. The wafer W is transferred. The preprocessing robot 632 has a hand 633, an arm 634, and a support 635. The hand 633 is fixed to the arm 634. The arm 634 is provided with a retractable structure and a rotatable structure. The arm 634 is coupled to the support 635 so as to be linearly movable along the support 635 in the third direction 16.
The protective film applying chamber 610 applies a protective film on the wafer W to protect the resist film during the liquid immersion exposure. The protective film application chamber 610 has a housing 611, a support plate 612, and a nozzle 613. The housing 611 has a cup shape with its top opened. The support plate 612 is located in the housing 611 and supports the wafer (W). The support plate 612 is rotatably provided. The nozzle 613 supplies a protective liquid for forming a protective film onto the wafer W placed on the support plate 612. The nozzle 613 has a circular tubular shape and can supply a protection liquid to the center of the wafer W. As shown in FIG. Optionally, the nozzle 613 has a length corresponding to the diameter of the wafer W, and the discharge port of the nozzle 613 may be provided as a slit. In this case, the support plate 612 may be provided in a fixed state. The protective liquid includes a foamable material. The protective liquid may be a photoresist and a material having a low affinity for water. For example, the protective liquid may contain a fluorine-based solvent. The protective film applying chamber 610 rotates the wafer W placed on the support plate 612 and supplies the protective liquid to the center area of the wafer W. FIG.
The baking chamber 620 heat-treats the wafer W on which the protective film is applied. The bake chamber 620 has a cooling plate 621 or a heating plate 622. The cooling plate 621 is provided with a cooling means 623 such as a cooling water or a thermoelectric element. Or heating plate 622 is provided with a heating means 624, such as a hot wire or a thermoelectric element. The heating plate 622 and the cooling plate 621 may be provided in a single bake chamber 620, respectively. Optionally, some of the bake chambers 620 may have only the heating plate 622, while others may only have the cooling plate 621.
The post-processing module 602 has a cleaning chamber 660, a post-exposure bake chamber 670, and a delivery chamber 680. The cleaning chamber 660, the transfer chamber 680, and the post-exposure bake chamber 670 are sequentially disposed along the second direction 14. Accordingly, the cleaning chamber 660 and the post-exposure baking chamber 670 are positioned apart from each other in the second direction 14 with the transfer chamber 680 therebetween. A plurality of cleaning chambers 660 are provided and may be disposed along the third direction 16 to form layers. Alternatively, a plurality of cleaning chambers 660 may be provided in the first direction 12 and the third direction 16, respectively. A plurality of post-exposure bake chambers 670 are provided and may be disposed along the third direction 16 to form layers. Alternatively, a plurality of post-exposure bake chambers 670 may be provided in the first direction 12 and the third direction 16, respectively.
The transfer chamber 680 is positioned in parallel with the second cooling chamber 540 of the second buffer module 500 in the first direction 12 as viewed from above. The transfer chamber 680 has a generally square or rectangular shape. A post processing robot 682 is located in the transfer chamber 680. The post-processing robot 682 includes cleaning chambers 660, post-exposure bake chambers 670, a second cooling chamber 540 of the second buffer module 500, and a second of the interface module 700 described below. The wafer W is transported between the buffers 730. The postprocessing robot 682 provided in the postprocessing module 602 may be provided with the same structure as the preprocessing robot 632 provided in the preprocessing module 601. [
The cleaning chamber 660 cleans the wafer W after the exposure process. The cleaning chamber 660 has a housing 661, a support plate 662, and a nozzle 663. The housing 661 has a cup shape with an open top. The support plate 662 is located in the housing 661 and supports the wafer W. As shown in FIG. The support plate 662 is rotatably provided. The nozzle 663 supplies the cleaning liquid onto the wafer W placed on the support plate 662. As the cleaning liquid, water such as deionized water may be used. The cleaning chamber 660 supplies the cleaning liquid to the center region of the wafer W while rotating the wafer W placed on the support plate 662. Optionally, while the wafer W is being rotated, the nozzle 663 can be moved linearly or rotationally from the center region of the wafer W to the edge region.
The post-exposure bake chamber 670 heats the wafer W on which the exposure process is performed using far ultraviolet rays. The post-exposure bake process heats the wafer W to amplify an acid generated in the photoresist by exposure to complete the property change of the photoresist. The post-exposure bake chamber 670 has a heating plate 672. The heating plate 672 is provided with a heating means 674 such as a hot wire or a thermoelectric element. The post-exposure bake chamber 670 may further include a cooling plate 671 therein. The cooling plate 671 is provided with a cooling means 673 such as a cooling water or a thermoelectric element. Further, a bake chamber having only the cooling plate 671 may be further provided.
As described above, the pre-processing module 601 and the post-processing module 602 in the pre-exposure processing module 600 are provided to be completely separated from each other. The transfer chamber 630 of the preprocessing module 601 and the transfer chamber 680 of the postprocessing module 602 are provided in the same size and can be provided so as to completely overlap each other when viewed from above. Further, the protective film application chamber 610 and the cleaning chamber 660 may be provided to have the same size as each other and be provided so as to completely overlap with each other when viewed from above. Further, the bake chamber 620 and the post-exposure bake chamber 670 are provided in the same size, and can be provided so as to completely overlap each other when viewed from above.
The interface module 700 transfers the wafer W between the pre-exposure processing module 600 and the exposure apparatus 900. The interface module 700 has a frame 710, a first buffer 720, a second buffer 730, and an interface robot 740. The first buffer 720, the second buffer 730, and the interface robot 740 are located within the frame 710. The first buffer 720 and the second buffer 730 are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance and are stacked on each other. The first buffer 720 is disposed higher than the second buffer 730. The first buffer 720 is positioned at a height corresponding to the preprocessing module 601 and the second buffer 730 is positioned at a height corresponding to the postprocessing module 602. The first buffer 720 is arranged in a line along the first direction 12 with the transfer chamber 630 of the preprocessing module 601 while the second buffer 730 is arranged in the postprocessing module 602, Are arranged in a line along the first direction 12 with the transfer chamber 630 of the transfer chamber 630. [
The interface robot 740 is spaced apart from the first buffer 720 and the second buffer 730 in the second direction 14. The interface robot 740 carries the wafer W between the first buffer 720, the second buffer 730, and the exposure apparatus 900. The interface robot 740 has a structure substantially similar to that of the second buffer robot 560.
The first buffer 720 temporarily stores the wafers W processed in the pretreatment module 601 before they are moved to the exposure apparatus 900. The second buffer 730 temporarily stores the wafers W processed in the exposure apparatus 900 before moving to the post-processing module 602. The first buffer 720 has a housing 721 and a plurality of supports 722. The supports 722 are disposed within the housing 721 and are provided spaced apart from each other in the third direction 16. One support W is placed on each support 722. The housing 721 is a direction and pretreatment robot provided with an interface robot 740 so that the interface robot 740 and the pretreatment robot 632 can carry or unload the wafer W into the support 722 into the housing 721. 632 has an opening (not shown) in the direction provided. The second buffer 730 has a structure substantially similar to that of the first buffer 720. However, the housing 4531 of the second buffer 730 has openings (not shown) in the direction in which the interface robot 740 is provided and in the direction in which the post-processing robot 682 is provided. The interface module may be provided with only the buffers and the robot as described above without providing a chamber for performing a predetermined process on the wafer.
Next, an example of performing the process using the substrate processing equipment 1 described above will be described.
The cassette 20 in which the wafers W are accommodated is placed on the mounting table 120 of the load port 100. The door of the cassette 20 is opened by the door opener. The index robot 220 removes the wafer W from the cassette 20 and transports the wafer W to the second buffer 330.
The first buffer robot 360 carries the wafer W stored in the second buffer 330 to the first buffer 320. The application robot 432 takes the wafer W from the first buffer 320 and transfers the wafer W to the bake chamber 420 of the application module 401. The bake chamber 420 sequentially performs the prebaking and cooling processes. The application part robot 432 removes the wafer W from the bake chamber 420 and transfers it to the resist application chamber 410. The resist coating chamber 410 applies a photoresist on the wafer W. [ After the photoresist is applied onto the wafer W, the application robot 432 transfers the wafer W from the resist application chamber 410 to the bake chamber 420. The bake chamber 420 performs a soft bake process on the wafer W. [
The applicator robot 432 removes the wafer W from the bake chamber 420 and transfers the wafer W to the first cooling chamber 530 of the second buffer module 500. A cooling process is performed on the wafer W in the first cooling chamber 530. The wafer W on which the process is performed in the first cooling chamber 530 is transferred to the edge exposure chamber 550 by the second buffer robot 560. The edge exposure chamber 550 performs a process of exposing the edge region of the wafer W. The wafer W, which has been processed in the edge exposure chamber 550, is transferred to the buffer 520 by the second buffer robot 560.
The pretreatment robot 632 removes the wafer W from the buffer 520 and transports the wafer W to the protective film applying chamber 610 of the pretreatment module 601. The protective film applying chamber 610 applies a protective film on the wafer (W). The pretreatment robot 632 then transfers the wafer W from the passivation coating chamber 610 to the bake chamber 620. The bake chamber 620 performs heat treatment on the wafer W such as heating and cooling.
The preprocessing robot 632 removes the wafer W from the baking chamber 620 and transfers the wafer W to the first buffer 720 of the interface module 700. The interface robot 740 carries the wafer from the first buffer 720 to the inversion unit 840 of the processing module 800. The inversion unit 840 inverts the wafer so that the first surface (pattern surface) of the wafer faces downward. The inverted wafer is loaded on the spin chuck 810, and the loaded wafer is chucked by the fin members 811a, 811b.
Inert gas such as nitrogen gas is injected into the first surface of the wafer through the injection holes 852 formed in the support plate 812 of the spin chuck 810, and then deionized water is injected into the first surface of the wafer through the injection holes 852. Rinse liquid such as is injected. The rinse liquid may be injected along with the gas to the first surface of the wafer through the injection holes 852. Upon injection of gas and / or rinse liquid onto the first side of the wafer, the spin chuck 810 may be rotated or otherwise not rotated. The rinse liquid injection unit 860 injects the rinse liquid onto the second surface of the wafer.
The wafer is then transferred from the processing module 800 to the first buffer 720 by the interface robot 740 and then to the exposure apparatus 900 from the first buffer 720. The exposure apparatus 900 performs an exposure process, for example, a liquid immersion exposure process, on the first surface of the wafer. When the exposure process is completed on the wafer W in the exposure apparatus 900, the interface robot 740 transfers the wafer W to the second buffer 730 in the exposure apparatus 900.
The post-processing robot 682 removes the wafer W from the second buffer 730 and transports the wafer W to the cleaning chamber 660 of the post-processing module 602. The cleaning chamber 660 supplies a cleaning liquid to the surface of the wafer W to perform a cleaning process. After the cleaning of the wafer W using the cleaning liquid is completed, the post-processing robot 682 immediately removes the wafer W from the cleaning chamber 660 and transports the wafer W to the post-exposure bake chamber 670. In the heating plate 672 of the bake chamber 670 after the exposure, the cleaning liquid adhered to the wafer W is removed by heating the wafer W, and at the same time, the acid generated in the photoresist is amplified, thereby The property change of the resist is completed. The post-processing robot 682 carries the wafer W from the post-exposure bake chamber 670 to the second cooling chamber 540 of the second buffer module 500. Cooling of the wafer W is performed in the second cooling chamber 540.
The developing unit robot 482 removes the wafer W from the second cooling chamber 540 and transfers the wafer W to the baking chamber 470 of the developing module 402. The bake chamber 470 sequentially performs the post bake and cooling process. The developing robot 482 takes the wafer W from the bake chamber 470 and transfers it to the developing chamber 460. [ The developing chamber 460 supplies a developing solution on the wafer W to perform a developing process. The developing robot 482 then transfers the wafer W from the developing chamber 460 to the bake chamber 470. [ The bake chamber 470 performs a hard bake process on the wafer W. [
The developing unit robot 482 removes the wafer W from the bake chamber 470 and transports the wafer W to the cooling chamber 350 of the first buffer module 300. The cooling chamber 350 performs a process of cooling the wafer (W). The index robot 360 carries the wafers W from the cooling chamber 350 to the cassette 20. In contrast, the developing unit robot 482 removes the wafer W from the bake chamber 470 and transports the wafer W to the second buffer 330 of the first buffer module 300, and then the cassette ( 20).
The following exemplifies various modifications of the substrate processing facility 1 described above.
The application and development module 400 may include only one module instead of the application module 401 and the development module 402 partitioned into layers. In this case, the application chamber, the development chamber, the bake chamber, and the transfer chambers may be provided in one module. In this case, the first buffer 320 and the first buffer robot 360 may not be provided to the first buffer module 300.
In addition, the second buffer module 500 may not be provided, and the pre-exposure processing module 600 and the coating and developing module 400 may be disposed adjacent to each other.
In addition, the pre-exposure before and after processing module 600 may include only one module instead of the pre-processing module 601 and the post-processing module 602 partitioned into layers. In this case, in one module, the protective film applying chamber 610, the bake chamber 620, the cleaning chamber 660, and the post-exposure bake chamber 670 may all be provided.
In addition, the cleaning chamber 660 may be further provided with a nozzle for supplying a dry gas in addition to the nozzle for supplying a cleaning liquid. In this case, the cleaning liquid attached to the wafer W may be removed before the wafer W is heated in the baking chamber 670 after exposure.
In addition, when the exposure apparatus 900 performs the process by a method other than the liquid immersion exposure method, the pre-exposure processing module 600 may not be provided.
In addition, the edge exposure chamber 550 may be provided to the interface module 700. In addition, the edge exposure process may be performed after the process of applying a protective film on the wafer, between the exposure process and the process of cleaning the wafer, or may be performed between the post-exposure bake process and the development process.
In the above-described embodiment, the drying unit 450 of the present invention has been described as being provided to an apparatus for supplying a photoresist. However, the drying unit 450 may be applied to various apparatuses such as a developing process and a cleaning process for treating a substrate using a nozzle as well as a photoresist.
