KR20220096195A - Apparatus and method for treating substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides an apparatus for processing a substrate. In one embodiment, a substrate processing method includes: a substrate support unit for supporting a substrate; a liquid supply unit including an EBR nozzle supplying an edge bead removal liquid to remove the edge portion of the substrate where a coated film supported by the substrate support unit is formed; and an edge exhaust unit provided to be positioned adjacent to the EBL nozzle and including a suction nozzle sucking the scattered edge bead removal liquid supplied to the substrate.

Description

Substrate processing apparatus and method {APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR TREATING SUBSTRATE}

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

In order to manufacture a semiconductor device, various processes such as cleaning, deposition, photography, etching, and ion implantation are performed. Among these processes, the photographic process sequentially performs application, exposure, and development steps. The coating process is a process of applying a photosensitive liquid such as a resist to the surface of the substrate. The exposure process is a process of exposing a circuit pattern on a substrate on which a photosensitive film is formed. The developing process is a process of selectively developing an exposed region of the substrate.

In general, the coating process performs a film forming step and an EBR (EBR) step. The film forming step is a step of forming a photosensitive film on the substrate, and the EBR step is a step of exposing the edge portion of the substrate by removing the edge portion of the photosensitive film. In the film formation step, a photoresist is supplied to the center of the substrate to diffuse the photoresist over the entire area of the substrate. In the EBR step, an edge bead removal solution is supplied to the edge portion of the substrate to remove the photoresist film.

The edge bead removal solution used in the EBR step reacts only with organic materials such as the photoresist film. For example, the edge bead removal solution may be a thinner (Thinner).

An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method capable of efficiently processing a substrate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method capable of preventing scattering of a treatment liquid due to liquid treatment at an edge portion of a substrate.

The object of the present invention is not limited thereto, and other objects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

The present invention provides an apparatus for processing a substrate. In an embodiment, a method for processing a substrate includes: a substrate supporting unit supporting a substrate; a liquid supply unit including an EBR nozzle for supplying an edge bead removing liquid so that an edge portion of a substrate having a coating film supported on the substrate supporting unit is removed; and an edge exhaust unit provided to be positioned adjacent to the EBR nozzle and including a suction nozzle for sucking the edge bead removal liquid supplied to the substrate and scattered.

In an embodiment, the liquid supply unit further includes an application nozzle supplying the processing liquid onto the substrate, and the substrate processing apparatus further includes a controller controlling the liquid supply unit and the edge exhaust unit. , the controller supplies the treatment liquid on the substrate to form the coating film, supplies the edge bead removal liquid to an edge portion of the coating film, and, together with the supply of the edge bead removal liquid, connects the suction nozzle to the EBR nozzle The liquid supply unit and the edge exhaust unit may be controlled to suck the edge bead removal liquid supplied to the substrate and scattered by being adjacent to each other.

In an embodiment, the coating film may include a photoresist film or a hard mask film, and the edge bead removal liquid may include a thinner.

In an embodiment, the EBR nozzle is provided movably between a first processing position and a first standby position, and the suction nozzle is provided movably between a second processing position and a second standby position, and the The first process position is a position in which the EBR nozzle faces a first point in the edge region of the substrate, the first standby position is a position out of the first process position, and the second process position is the suction nozzle Among the edge regions of the substrate, the first point may be a position facing a second point in the front along the rotation direction of the substrate, and the second standby position may be a position outside the second process position.

In an embodiment, the EBR nozzle provided in the liquid supply unit and the suction nozzle provided in the edge exhaust unit may be provided to be movable independently of each other.

In an embodiment, the EBR nozzle provided in the liquid supply unit and the suction nozzle provided in the edge exhaust unit may be provided such that the other one is moved dependently according to movement of one.

In an embodiment, the suction port of the suction nozzle may have a larger cross-section toward the bottom.

In an embodiment, the suction nozzle is coupled to an arm having a predetermined length provided to move the suction nozzle between a process position and a standby position, the suction nozzle having a suction port cross-section of the suction nozzle with respect to the arm It may be coupled to be biased to one side.

In an embodiment, the suction nozzle is coupled to an arm having a predetermined length provided to move the suction nozzle between a process position and a standby position, the suction nozzle having a suction port cross-section of the suction nozzle with respect to the arm It may be coupled to be biased in a direction from the edge of the substrate toward the central region of the substrate.

The present invention also provides a method of processing a substrate using a substrate processing apparatus. In an embodiment, supplying a treatment liquid on the substrate to form the coating film, supplying an edge bead removal liquid to an edge portion of the coating film, and supplying the edge bead removal liquid, the suction nozzle to the EBR Positioned adjacent to the nozzle, the edge bead removal liquid supplied to the substrate and scattered is sucked.

In an embodiment, the treatment liquid film may include a photoresist film or a hard mask film, and the edge bead removal liquid may include thinner.

In an embodiment, the EBR nozzle is provided movably between a first processing position and a first standby position, and the suction nozzle is provided movably between a second processing position and a second standby position, and the The first process position is a position where the EBR nozzle faces a first point in the edge region of the substrate W, the first standby position is a position outside the first process position, and the second process position is The suction nozzle is a position facing the second point in the front along the rotation direction of the substrate with respect to the first point in the edge region of the substrate W, and the second standby position is out of the second process position. It can be a location.

In an embodiment according to another aspect of the present invention, a substrate processing apparatus includes: a substrate support unit for supporting a substrate; a liquid supply unit including an application nozzle supplying a processing liquid onto the substrate supported by the substrate support unit, and an EBR nozzle supplying thinner to remove an edge portion of the substrate on which the coating film is formed; an edge exhaust unit provided to be positioned adjacent to the EBR nozzle, the edge exhaust unit including a suction nozzle for sucking the thinner that is supplied to the substrate; A controller further comprising: a controller for controlling the liquid supply unit and the edge exhaust unit, wherein the EBR nozzle is provided movably between a first process position and a first standby position, and the suction nozzle includes a second process position and a second process position provided movably between two standby positions, wherein the first processing position is a position at which the EBR nozzle faces a first point in the edge region of the substrate, and the first standby position is outside the first processing position position, wherein the second process position is a position in which the suction nozzle faces a second point that is forward in a rotation direction of the substrate with respect to the first point among the edge regions of the substrate, and the second standby position is the It is a position out of the second process position, and the controller supplies the processing liquid on the substrate to form the coating film, places the EBR nozzle in the first process position, and supplies the thinner to the edge part of the coating film, , while supplying the thinner, the suction nozzle is positioned at the second process position to suck the edge bead removal liquid supplied to the substrate and scattered, and the liquid supply unit and the edge exhaust unit are controlled.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the substrate can be efficiently processed.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to prevent scattering of the treatment liquid due to the liquid treatment at the edge of the substrate.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, by preventing the scattering of the processing liquid according to the liquid processing at the edge of the substrate, the processing liquid is prevented from penetrating into the interior of the substrate, thereby suppressing the occurrence of defects and improving the yield. have.

It should be understood that the effects of the present invention are not limited to the above-described effects, and include all effects that can be inferred from the configuration of the invention described in the detailed description or claims of the present invention .

1 is a plan view of a substrate processing facility according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the facility of FIG. 1 viewed from the AA direction.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the facility of FIG. 1 viewed from the BB direction.
4 is a cross-sectional view of the facility of FIG. 1 viewed from the CC direction.
5 is a plan view illustrating the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. 1 .
6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. 5 .
7 and 8 are cross-sectional views illustrating a process of processing the substrate W using the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. 5 .
9 is a plan view of the process of FIG. 8 as viewed from above.
10 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which the suction nozzle sucks the edge bead removal liquid that collides with the outer cup and scatters in the process of FIG. 8 .

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail so that those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains can easily implement them. However, the present invention may be implemented in several different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. In addition, in describing a preferred embodiment of the present invention in detail, if it is determined that a detailed description of a related known function or configuration may unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted. In addition, the same reference numerals are used throughout the drawings for parts having similar functions and functions.

"Including" a certain component means that other components may be further included, rather than excluding other components, unless otherwise stated. Specifically, terms such as “comprise” or “have” are intended to designate that a feature, number, step, action, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification is present, and includes one or more other features or It should be understood that the existence or addition of numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof does not preclude the possibility of addition.

The singular expression includes the plural expression unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In addition, shapes and sizes of elements in the drawings may be exaggerated for clearer description.

Terms such as first, second, etc. may be used to describe various elements, but the elements should not be limited by the terms. The above terms may be used for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another component. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, a first component may be referred to as a second component, and similarly, the second component may also be referred to as a first component.

When a component is referred to as being “connected” or “connected” to another component, it is understood that the other component may be directly connected or connected to the other component, but other components may exist in between. it should be On the other hand, when it is said that a certain element is "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another element, it should be understood that no other element is present in the middle. Other expressions describing the relationship between components, such as "between" and "immediately between" or "neighboring to" and "directly adjacent to", etc., should be interpreted similarly.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical and scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted to have meanings consistent with the context of the related art, and are not to be interpreted in an ideal or excessively formal meaning unless explicitly defined in the present application. .

The equipment of this embodiment may be 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 may be connected to an exposure apparatus and used to perform a coating process and a developing process on a substrate. Hereinafter, a case in which a wafer is used as a substrate will be described as an example.

Hereinafter, a substrate processing facility and a substrate processing apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 10 .

1 is a view of the substrate processing facility viewed from the top, FIG. 2 is a view of the facility of FIG. 1 viewed from the A-A direction, FIG. 3 is a view of the facility of FIG. 1 viewed from the B-B direction, and FIG. 4 is the facility of FIG. is a view viewed from the C-C direction.

1 to 4 , the substrate processing facility 1 includes a load port 100 , an index module 200 , a first buffer module 300 , a coating and developing module 400 , and a second buffer module 500 . ), a pre-exposure processing module 600 , and an interface module 700 . Load port 100, index module 200, first buffer module 300, coating and developing module 400, second buffer module 500, pre-exposure processing module 600, and interface module 700 are sequentially arranged in a line in one direction.

Hereinafter, 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 ( A direction in which 700 is arranged is referred to as a first direction 12 , a direction perpendicular to the first direction 12 when viewed from the top is referred to as a second direction 14 , and the first direction 12 and the second direction A direction each perpendicular to the direction 14 is referred to as a third direction 16 .

The substrate W is moved while being 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 at the front may be used.

Hereinafter, 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) will be described in detail.

The load port 100 has a mounting table 120 on which the cassette 20 in which the substrates W are accommodated is placed. A plurality of mounting tables 120 are provided, and the mounting tables 120 are arranged in a line along the second direction 14 . In FIG. 1, four mounting tables 120 were provided.

The index module 200 transfers the substrate 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 includes a frame 210 , an index robot 220 , and a guide rail 230 . The frame 210 is provided in the shape of a substantially hollow 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 to be described later. The index robot 220 and the guide rail 230 are disposed in the frame 210 . The index robot 220 is a 4-axis drive so that the hand 221 for directly handling the substrate W can be moved and rotated in the first direction 12 , the second direction 14 , and the third direction 16 . It has this possible structure. The index robot 220 has a hand 221 , an arm 222 , a support 223 , and a pedestal 224 . The hand 221 is fixedly installed on the arm 222 . The arm 222 is provided in a telescoping structure and a rotatable structure. The support 223 is disposed along the third direction 16 in its 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 support 224 . The guide rail 230 is provided such that its longitudinal direction is disposed 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 includes 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 a rectangular parallelepiped with an empty interior, 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 positioned in the frame 310 . The cooling chamber 350 , the second buffer 330 , and the first buffer 320 are sequentially disposed along the third direction 16 from the bottom. The first buffer 320 is positioned at a height corresponding to the application module 401 of the coating and developing module 400 to be described later, and the second buffer 330 and the cooling chamber 350 are provided in the coating and developing module (to be described later) ( It is located at a height corresponding to the developing module 402 of the 400). The first buffer robot 360 is positioned to be 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 substrates W, respectively. The second buffer 330 has a housing 331 and a plurality of supports 332 . The supports 332 are disposed in the housing 331 and are provided to be spaced apart from each other along the third direction 16 . One substrate 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 to be described later apply the substrate W to the support 332 in the housing 331 . An opening (not shown) is provided 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 carried in or taken out. The first buffer 320 has a structure substantially similar to that of the second buffer 330 . However, the housing 321 of the first buffer 320 has an opening in the direction in which the first buffer robot 360 is provided and the direction in which the applicator robot 432 positioned in the application module 401 is provided, which will be described later. 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 substrate 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 363 . The hand 361 is fixedly installed on the arm 362 . The arm 362 is provided in a telescoping structure, such 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 in the third direction 16 along the support 363 . The support 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 363 may be provided longer than this in the upward or downward direction. The first buffer robot 360 may simply be provided such that the hand 361 is only biaxially driven along the second direction 14 and the third direction 16 .

The cooling chamber 350 cools the substrate 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 substrate W is placed and cooling means 353 for cooling the substrate W. As the cooling means 353, various methods such as cooling by cooling water or cooling using a thermoelectric element may be used. Also, a lift pin assembly (not shown) for positioning the substrate W on the cooling plate 352 may be provided in the cooling chamber 350 . The housing 351 includes the index robot 220 and the index robot 220 so that the developing unit robot 482 provided in the developing module 402 to be described later can load or unload the substrate W into or out of the cooling plate 352 . The provided direction and the developing unit robot 482 have an opening (not shown) in the provided direction. In addition, doors (not shown) for opening and closing the above-described opening may be provided in the cooling chamber 350 .

The coating and developing module 400 performs a process of applying a photoresist on the substrate W before the exposure process and a process of developing the substrate W after the exposure process. The application and development module 400 generally has a rectangular parallelepiped shape. The application and development module 400 includes an application module 401 and a development module 402 . The application module 401 and the developing module 402 are arranged to be partitioned between each other in layers. According to an example, the application module 401 is located above the developing module 402 .

The application module 401 includes a process of applying a photoresist such as a photoresist to the substrate W and a heat treatment process such as heating and cooling on the substrate W before and after the resist application process. 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 . Accordingly, the resist application chamber 410 and the bake chamber 420 are spaced 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 are provided in each of the first direction 12 and the third direction 16 . In the drawing, an example in which six resist application chambers 410 are provided is shown. A plurality of bake chambers 420 are provided in each of the first direction 12 and the third direction 16 . In the drawing, an example in which six bake chambers 420 are provided is shown. However, alternatively, a larger number of the bake chambers 420 may be provided.

The transfer chamber 430 is positioned in parallel with the first buffer 320 of the first buffer module 300 in the first direction 12 . An applicator robot 432 and a guide rail 433 are positioned in the transfer chamber 430 . The transfer chamber 430 has a generally rectangular shape. The applicator robot 432 includes a bake chamber 420 , a coating and developing module 400 , a first buffer 320 of the first buffer module 300 , and a buffer 520 of a second buffer module 500 to be described later. ) to transfer the substrate W between them. The guide rail 433 is disposed so that its longitudinal direction is parallel to the first direction 12 . The guide rail 433 guides the applicator 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 fixedly installed on the arm 435 . The arm 435 is provided in a telescoping structure so that the hand 434 is movable in the horizontal direction. The support 436 is provided such 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 to be movable along the guide rail 433 .

The resist application chambers 410 all have the same structure. However, the types of photoresists used in each resist application chamber 410 may be different from each other. As an example, a chemical amplification resist may be used as the photoresist. The resist application chamber 410 is provided as a substrate processing apparatus for applying a photoresist on the substrate W. A substrate processing apparatus 800 is provided as an example of the resist application chamber 410 . The substrate processing apparatus 800 performs a liquid application process.

FIG. 5 is a plan view illustrating the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. 1 , and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. 5 . 5 and 6 , the substrate processing apparatus 800 includes a housing 810 , an airflow providing unit 820 , a spin chuck 830 provided as a substrate support unit, a processing vessel 850 , and an elevating unit 890 . ), a liquid supply unit 900 , an edge exhaust unit 960 , and a controller 880 .

The housing 810 is provided in a rectangular cylindrical shape having a space 812 therein. An opening (not shown) is formed at one side of the housing 810 . The opening functions as an inlet through which the substrate W is carried in and out. A door is installed in the opening, and the door opens and closes the opening. When the substrate processing process is performed, the door closes the opening to seal the inner space 812 of the housing 810 . An inner exhaust port 814 and an outer exhaust port 816 are formed on the lower surface of the housing 810 . The airflow formed in the housing 810 is exhausted to the outside through the inner exhaust port 814 and the outer exhaust port 816 . According to an example, the airflow provided in the processing vessel 850 may be exhausted through the inner exhaust port 814 , and the airflow provided outside the processing vessel 850 may be exhausted through the outer exhaust port 816 .

The airflow providing unit 820 forms a descending airflow in the inner space of the housing 810 . The airflow providing unit 820 includes an airflow supplying line 822 , a fan 824 , and a filter 826 . An airflow supply line 822 is connected to the housing 810 . The airflow supply line 822 supplies external air to the housing 810 . The filter 826 filters 826 the air provided from the airflow supply line 822 . The filter 826 removes impurities contained in the air. The fan 824 is installed on the upper surface of the housing 810 . A fan 824 is located in a central region on the top surface of the housing 810 . The fan 824 forms a downdraft in the interior space of the housing 810 . When air is supplied to the fan 824 from the airflow supply line 822 , the fan 824 supplies air in a downward direction.

The spin chuck 830 supports the substrate W in the inner space of the housing 810 . The spin chuck 830 rotates the substrate W. The spin chuck 830 includes a chucking plate 832 , a rotation shaft 834 , and a driver 836 . The chucking plate 832 serves as a substrate support plate for supporting the substrate. The chucking plate 832 is provided to have a circular plate shape. The substrate W is in contact with the upper surface of the chucking plate 832 . The chucking plate 832 is provided to have a diameter smaller than that of the substrate W. According to an example, the chucking plate 832 may chuck the substrate W by vacuum sucking the substrate W. Optionally, the chucking plate 832 may be provided as an electrostatic chuck for chucking the substrate W using static electricity. In addition, the chucking plate 832 may chuck the substrate W by a physical force.

The rotation shaft 834 and the driver 836 are provided as rotation drive members 834 and 836 for rotating the chucking plate 832 . The rotating shaft 834 supports the chucking plate 832 under the chucking plate 832 . The rotation shaft 834 is provided so that the longitudinal direction thereof faces the vertical direction. The rotating shaft 834 is provided to be rotatable about its central axis. The actuator 836 provides a driving force to rotate the rotation shaft 834 . For example, the driver 836 may be a motor capable of varying the rotation speed of the rotation shaft.

The processing vessel 850 is located in the interior space 812 of the housing 810 . The processing vessel 850 provides a processing space therein. The processing container 850 is provided to have a cup shape with an open top. The processing vessel 850 includes an inner cup 852 and an outer cup 862 .

The inner cup 852 is provided in a circular plate shape surrounding the rotation shaft 834 . When viewed from above, the inner cup 852 is positioned to overlap the inner vent 814 . When viewed from above, the upper surface of the inner cup 852 is provided such that its outer and inner regions are respectively inclined at different angles. According to an example, the outer region of the inner cup 852 faces a downward sloping direction as it moves away from the spin chuck 830 , and the inner region of the inner cup 852 faces an upward sloping direction as it moves away from the spin chuck 830 . do. A point where the outer region and the inner region of the inner cup 852 meet each other is provided to correspond to the side end of the substrate W in the vertical direction. An area outside the upper surface of the inner cup 852 is provided to be rounded. The upper surface outer region of the inner cup 852 is provided concave downwards. An area outside the upper surface of the inner cup 852 may be provided as an area through which the treatment liquid flows.

The outer cup 862 is provided to have a cup shape surrounding the spin chuck 830 and the inner cup 852 . The outer cup 862 has a bottom wall 864 , a side wall 866 , and a sloped wall 870 . The bottom wall 864 is provided to have a circular plate shape having a hollow. A return line 865 is formed in the bottom wall 864 . The recovery line 865 recovers the processing liquid supplied on the substrate W. The treatment liquid recovered by the recovery line 865 may be reused by an external liquid recovery system. The sidewall 866 is provided to have a circular cylindrical shape surrounding the spin chuck 830 . The side wall 866 extends in a direction perpendicular to the side end of the bottom wall 864 . A sidewall 866 extends upwardly from the bottom wall 864 .

The inclined wall 870 extends from the top of the sidewall 866 in an inward direction of the outer cup 862 . The inclined wall 870 is provided to be closer to the spin chuck 830 as it goes upward. The inclined wall 870 is provided to have a ring shape. The upper end of the inclined wall 870 is positioned higher than the substrate W supported by the spin chuck 830 .

The lifting unit 890 moves the inner cup 852 and the outer cup 862 up and down, respectively. The lifting unit 890 includes an inner moving member 892 and an outer moving member 894 . The inner moving member 892 moves the inner cup 852 up and down, and the outer moving member 894 moves the outer cup 862 up and down.

The liquid supply unit 900 supplies various types of liquids on the substrate W. According to an example, the liquid supply unit 900 may supply a processing liquid, an edge bead removing liquid, and a cleaning liquid on the substrate W.

The liquid supply unit 900 includes a film forming unit 920 and an EVR unit 940 . The film forming unit 920 performs a film forming process of forming a coating film. The film forming unit 920 forms a coating film on the substrate W. The film forming unit 920 supplies a processing liquid on the substrate W. The film forming unit 920 includes a guide member 922 , an arm 924 , and an application nozzle 926 . The guide member 922 and the arm 924 move the application nozzle 926 to the process position and the standby position. Here, the process position is a position where the application nozzle 926 faces the substrate W, and the standby position is defined as a position out of the process position. The guide member 922 includes a guide rail 922 that moves the arm 924 in the horizontal direction. The guide rail 922 is located on one side of the processing vessel. The guide rail 922 is provided so that the longitudinal direction thereof faces the horizontal direction. According to an example, the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 922 may be provided to face a direction parallel to the first direction. An arm 924 is installed on the guide rail 922 . The arm 924 may be moved by a linear motor provided inside the guide rail 922 . The arm 924 is provided to face a longitudinal direction perpendicular to the guide rail 922 when viewed from above. One end of the arm 924 is mounted on the guide rail 922 . An application nozzle 926 is provided on the bottom surface of the other end of the arm 924 . Optionally, the arm 924 may be rotated by being coupled to a rotation shaft whose longitudinal direction faces the third direction.

The EBR unit 940 performs an EBR process (Edge Bead Removal). The EBR unit 940 removes an edge bead of an edge portion of the coating film formed on the substrate W. The EBR unit 940 exposes the edge portion of the substrate W from the coating film. The EBR unit 940 includes a guide member 942 , an arm 944 , and an EBR nozzle 946 . The EBR unit 940 may further include a cleaning nozzle (not shown). The guide member 942 and the arm 944 of the EBR unit 940 may be provided to have the same or similar shapes as the guide member 922 and the arm 924 of the film forming unit 920 . The guide member 942 and the arm 944 of the EBR unit 940 are drivable independently of the liquid film forming unit 920 . The guide member 942 and the arm 944 move the EBR nozzle 946 to the process position and the standby position. Here, the process position is a position where the EBR nozzle 946 faces the edge region of the substrate W, and the standby position is defined as a position out of the process position. The detailed description of the guide member 942 and the arm 944 of the EBR unit 940 is replaced with the description of the guide member 922 and the arm 924 of the film forming unit 920 described above.

The EBR nozzle 946 discharges the edge bead removal liquid on the coating film. The EBR nozzle 946 is fixedly coupled to the bottom surface of the arm 944 . The EBR nozzle 946 is provided so that its discharge port faces in a downwardly inclined direction. When viewed from the side, the EBR nozzle 946 may be provided in a direction in which its discharge port approaches the edge portion of the substrate W as its outlet goes down. The EBR nozzle 946 supplies the edge bead removal liquid to the edge portion of the substrate W.

For example, the treatment liquid for forming the coating film may be an organic material, and the edge bead removal liquid may be a liquid capable of reacting with the organic material. The treatment liquid may be a photoresist such as a photoresist, and the edge bead removal liquid may be a thinner.

A cleaning nozzle (not shown) supplies the cleaning liquid to the exposed area of the substrate W from which the edge portion coating film is removed by the edge bead removal liquid. A cleaning nozzle (not shown) supplies various types of cleaning liquid. A plurality of cleaning nozzles (not shown) may be provided, and each nozzle supplies a different type of cleaning solution. A cleaning nozzle (not shown) is fixedly coupled to the bottom surface of the arm 944 . Each cleaning nozzle (not shown) is located on one side of the EBR nozzle 946 . For example, in the first direction, the EBR nozzle 946 may be located at the front end, and the cleaning nozzles (not shown) may be located at the rear end. The cleaning solution is ammonia (NH ₃ ), hydrogen peroxide (H ₂ O ₂ ), and a chemical mixed with pure water. In addition, the cleaning solution is hydrochloric acid (HCl), hydrogen peroxide (H ₂ O ₂ ), and a chemical mixed with pure water.

The edge exhaust unit 960 performs an EBR process (Edge Bead Removal), and when the EBR nozzle 946 supplies the edge bead removal solution to the substrate W, it is scattered from the substrate W. Aspirate the edge bead removal solution.

The edge exhaust unit 960 includes a guide member 962 , an arm 964 , and a suction nozzle 966 . The guide member 962 and the arm 964 of the edge exhaust unit 960 may be provided to have the same or similar shape as the guide member 922 and the arm 924 of the film forming unit 920 . The guide member 962 and the arm 964 of the edge exhaust unit 960 are drivable independently of the film forming unit 920 . Also, the guide member 962 and the arm 964 of the edge exhaust unit 960 may be driven independently of the EVR unit 940 . The guide member 962 and the arm 964 move the suction nozzle 966 to the process position and the standby position. Here, the process position is a position where the suction nozzle 966 faces the edge region of the substrate W, and the standby position is defined as a position out of the process position. The detailed description of the guide member 962 and the arm 964 of the edge exhaust unit 960 is replaced with the description of the guide member 922 and the arm 924 of the film forming unit 920 described above.

The suction nozzle 966 sucks the edge bead removal liquid scattered from the substrate (W). The suction nozzle 966 is fixedly coupled to the bottom surface of the arm 964 . The suction nozzle 966 may have a larger cross-section as the suction port goes down. In one example, the suction nozzle 966 is coupled with respect to the arm 964, the suction port cross-section of the suction nozzle 966 is coupled to a position biased to one side. The direction in which the suction nozzle 966 is deflected is from the edge of the substrate to the central region of the substrate. When the suction nozzle 966 is positioned biased relative to the arm 964 , interference with the outer cup 862 constituting the processing vessel 850 can be minimized.

Next, a method of forming a coating film by applying a processing liquid to the substrate W using the above-described substrate processing apparatus and removing the edge bead will be described. 7 and 8 are cross-sectional views illustrating a process of processing the substrate W using the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. 5 . 9 is a plan view of the process of FIG. 8 as viewed from above. And FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which the suction nozzle sucks the edge bead removal liquid that collides with the outer cup during the process of FIG. 8 . It will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 10 .

According to one example, the coating film forming step is a step of forming a coating film on the substrate (W), the EBR step is a step of removing the edge bead of the edge portion of the treatment liquid film, and the cleaning treatment step is the substrate from which the edge bead is removed It may be a step of cleaning the area of (W).

When the coating film forming step proceeds, the application nozzle 926 is moved to the process position. The substrate W is rotated, and the application nozzle 926 supplies the processing liquid to the center of the substrate W. The processing liquid supplied to the center of the substrate W is diffused over the entire area of the substrate W by centrifugal force. When the predetermined amount is supplied from the application nozzle 926, the supply of the treatment liquid is stopped, and the application nozzle 926 is moved to the standby position. When the coating film is formed on the substrate W, an EBR step is performed.

As the EBR phase proceeds, the EBR nozzle 946 and the edge exhaust unit 960 are moved to the process position. The suction nozzle 966 of the edge exhaust unit 960 is located in front of the EBR nozzle 946 in the process position. The front expressed above is a reference according to the rotational direction of the substrate, and as the substrate W rotates, when a point of the edge of the substrate W moves from the first position to the second position, a position that arrives later in time is defined forward. The substrate W is rotated, and the EBR nozzle 946 supplies the edge bead removal liquid toward the edge portion of the substrate W. The EBR nozzle 946 discharges the edge bead removal liquid in a direction in which the substrate W rotates downward. In addition, the EBR nozzle 946 may discharge the edge bead removal liquid in a direction from the center of the substrate W toward the side end toward the bottom. Accordingly, it is possible to primarily prevent the edge bead removal liquid from flowing from the edge portion of the substrate W toward the center. In addition, the suction nozzle 966 located in front of the EBR nozzle 946 sucks the scattered edge bead removal liquid. As the suction nozzle 966 sucks the edge bead removal liquid scattered from the substrate W, the edge bead removal liquid that can penetrate into the coating film of the substrate W is sucked into the suction nozzle 966, resulting in a defect suppression and, consequently, the yield can be improved.

When the cleaning treatment step is performed after the EBR step, the cleaning solution is supplied to the exposed area of the substrate W exposed by the edge bead removal solution.

In this embodiment, it has been described that the edge bead of the substrate W is removed in the process of forming the photoresist film on the substrate W. As shown in FIG. However, the liquid film formed on the substrate W is not limited to the photosensitive liquid, and various liquid films such as a hard mask are applicable.

In the present embodiment, the EBR nozzle 946 and the suction nozzle 966 are coupled to different arms to be movable independently of each other, but according to the design, the EBR nozzle 946 and the suction nozzle 966 are one unit. It is coupled to the arm, and any one of the suction nozzle 966 and the EBR nozzle 946 may be provided to be movable depending on the movement of the other one.

Referring back to FIGS. 1 to 4 , the bake chamber 420 heats the substrate W. As shown in FIG. For example, the bake chambers 420 heat the substrate W to a predetermined temperature before applying the photoresist to remove organic matter or moisture from the surface of the substrate W or apply the photoresist to the substrate ( A soft bake process, etc. performed after coating on W) is performed, and a cooling process of cooling the substrate W is performed after each heating process. The bake chamber 420 has a cooling plate 421 or a heating plate 422 . The cooling plate 421 is provided with cooling means 423 such as cooling water or a thermoelectric element. The heating plate 422 is also provided with heating means 424 such as a hot wire or thermoelectric element. The cooling plate 421 and the heating plate 422 may be provided in one bake chamber 420 , respectively. Optionally, some of the bake chambers 420 may include only the cooling plate 421 , and other portions may include only the heating plate 422 .

The developing module 402 includes a developing process for removing a part of the photoresist by supplying a developer solution to obtain a pattern on the substrate W, and a heat treatment process such as heating and cooling performed on the substrate W before and after the developing process. includes The developing module 402 has a developing chamber 460 , a bake chamber 470 , and a transfer chamber 480 . The development chamber 460 , the bake chamber 470 , and the transfer chamber 480 are sequentially disposed along the second direction 14 . Accordingly, the development chamber 460 and the bake chamber 470 are spaced apart from each other in the second direction 14 with the transfer chamber 480 interposed therebetween. A plurality of development chambers 460 are provided, and a plurality of development chambers 460 are provided in each of the first direction 12 and the third direction 16 . In the drawing, an example in which six developing chambers 460 are provided is shown. A plurality of bake chambers 470 are provided in each of the first direction 12 and the third direction 16 . In the drawing, an example in which six bake chambers 470 are provided is shown. However, alternatively, a larger number of bake chambers 470 may be provided.

The transfer chamber 480 is positioned in parallel with the second buffer 330 of the first buffer module 300 in the first direction 12 . A developing unit robot 482 and a guide rail 483 are positioned in the transfer chamber 480 . 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 substrate W is transferred between the second cooling chambers 540 of the The guide rail 483 is disposed so that its longitudinal direction is parallel to the first direction 12 . The guide rail 483 guides the developing unit robot 482 to move linearly in the first direction 12 . The developing unit robot 482 has a hand 484 , an arm 485 , a support 486 , and a pedestal 487 . The hand 484 is fixedly installed on the arm 485 . The arm 485 is provided in a telescoping structure so that the hand 484 is movable in the horizontal direction. The support 486 is provided such that its longitudinal direction is disposed along the third direction 16 . Arm 485 is coupled to support 486 to be linearly movable in third direction 16 along support 486 . The support 486 is fixedly coupled to the support 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 type of developer used in each of the developing chambers 460 may be different from each other. The developing chamber 460 removes a region irradiated with light from the photoresist on the substrate W. At this time, the region irradiated with light among the protective film is also removed. Only a region to which light is not irradiated among regions of the photoresist and the passivation layer may be removed according to the type of the selectively used photoresist.

The developing chamber 460 has a container 461 , a support plate 462 , and a nozzle 463 . The container 461 has a cup shape with an open top. The support plate 462 is positioned in the container 461 and supports the substrate W. The support plate 462 is provided rotatably. The nozzle 463 supplies the developer onto the substrate W placed on the support plate 462 . The nozzle 463 has a circular tubular shape, and may supply a developer to the center of the substrate W. Optionally, the nozzle 463 may have a length corresponding to the diameter of the substrate W, and the outlet of the nozzle 463 may be provided as a slit. In addition, a nozzle 464 for supplying a cleaning solution such as deionized water to clean the surface of the substrate W to which the developer is additionally supplied may be further provided in the developing chamber 460 .

The bake chamber 470 heats the substrate W. For example, in the bake chambers 470 , a post-bake process of heating the substrate W before the development process is performed, a hard bake process of heating the substrate W after the development process is performed, and heating after each bake process A cooling process for cooling the wafer is performed. The bake chamber 470 has a cooling plate 471 or a heating plate 472 . The cooling plate 471 is provided with cooling means 473 such as cooling water or a thermoelectric element. Alternatively, the heating plate 472 is provided with heating means 474 such as a heating wire or thermoelectric element. The cooling plate 471 and the heating plate 472 may be respectively provided in one bake chamber 470 . Optionally, some of the bake chambers 470 may include only a cooling plate 471 , and some may include 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. Also, when viewed from above, the application module 401 and the developing module 402 may have the same chamber arrangement.

The second buffer module 500 is provided as a passage through which the substrate 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, such as a cooling process or an edge exposure process, on the substrate W. 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 . 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 positioned in 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 developing module 402 . The buffer 520 , the first cooling chamber 530 , and the second cooling chamber 540 are sequentially arranged in a line along the third direction 16 . When viewed from the top, the buffer 520 is disposed along the transfer chamber 430 and the first direction 12 of the application module 401 . The edge exposure chamber 550 is spaced apart from the buffer 520 or the first cooling chamber 530 by a predetermined distance in the second direction 14 .

The second buffer robot 560 transfers the substrate W between the buffer 520 , the first cooling chamber 530 , and the edge exposure chamber 550 . The 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 a subsequent process on the wafers W that have been processed in the application module 401 . The first cooling chamber 530 cools the substrate W on which the process is performed in the application module 401 . The first cooling chamber 530 has a structure similar to that of the cooling chamber 350 of the first buffer module 300 . The edge exposure chamber 550 exposes the edge of the wafers W on which the cooling process has been performed in the first cooling chamber 530 . The buffer 520 temporarily stores the substrates W before the substrates W, which have been processed in the edge exposure chamber 550 , are transferred to the pre-processing module 601 , which will be described later. The second cooling chamber 540 cools the wafers W before the wafers W, which have been processed in the post-processing module 602 to be described later, are transferred to the developing module 402 . The second buffer module 500 may further include a buffer added to a height corresponding to that of the developing module 402 . In this case, the wafers W that have been processed in the post-processing module 602 may be temporarily stored in an added buffer and then transferred to the developing module 402 .

When the exposure apparatus 1000 performs an immersion exposure process, the pre-exposure processing module 600 may perform a process of applying a protective layer protecting the photoresist layer applied to the substrate W during immersion exposure. In addition, the pre-exposure processing module 600 may perform a process of cleaning the substrate W after exposure. In addition, when the coating process is performed using the chemically amplified resist, the pre-exposure processing module 600 may perform a post-exposure bake process.

The pre-exposure processing module 600 includes a pre-processing module 601 and a post-processing module 602 . The pre-processing module 601 performs a process of treating the substrate W before performing the exposure process, and the post-processing module 602 performs a process of treating the substrate W after the exposure process. The pre-processing module 601 and the post-processing module 602 are arranged to be partitioned between each other in layers. According to an example, the pre-processing module 601 is located above the post-processing module 602 . The pretreatment 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 pre-processing module 601 has a protective film application chamber 610 , a bake chamber 620 , and a transfer chamber 630 . The passivation layer application chamber 610 , the transfer chamber 630 , and the bake chamber 620 are sequentially disposed along the second direction 14 . Accordingly, the passivation layer application chamber 610 and the bake chamber 620 are spaced apart from each other in the second direction 14 with the transfer chamber 630 interposed therebetween. A plurality of passivation film application chambers 610 are provided and are arranged along the third direction 16 to form a layer on each other. Optionally, a plurality of passivation film application chambers 610 may be provided in each of the first direction 12 and the third direction 16 . A plurality of bake chambers 620 are provided and are arranged along the third direction 16 to form a layer on each other. Optionally, a plurality of bake chambers 620 may be provided in each of the first direction 12 and the third direction 16 .

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 . A pre-processing robot 632 is located in the transfer chamber 630 . The transfer chamber 630 has a generally square or rectangular shape. The pre-processing robot 632 is installed between the protective film application 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 to be described later. The substrate W is transferred. The pretreatment robot 632 has a hand 633 , an arm 634 , and a support 635 . The hand 633 is fixedly installed on the arm 634 . The arm 634 is provided in a telescoping structure and a rotatable structure. The arm 634 is coupled to the support 635 so as to be linearly movable in the third direction 16 along the support 635 .

The passivation film application chamber 610 applies a passivation film for protecting the resist film on the substrate W during 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 an open top. The support plate 612 is positioned in the housing 611 and supports the substrate W. The support plate 612 is provided rotatably. The nozzle 613 supplies a protective liquid for forming a protective film onto the substrate W placed on the support plate 612 . The nozzle 613 has a circular tubular shape, and may supply the protective liquid to the center of the substrate W. Optionally, the nozzle 613 may have a length corresponding to the diameter of the substrate W, and the outlet 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 comprises a foaming material. As the protective liquid, a material having a low affinity for photoresist and water may be used. For example, the protective liquid may contain a fluorine-based solvent. The protective film application chamber 610 supplies the protective liquid to the central region of the substrate W while rotating the substrate W placed on the support plate 612 .

The bake chamber 620 heat-treats the substrate 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 cooling means 623 such as cooling water or a thermoelectric element. Alternatively, the heating plate 622 is provided with heating means 624 such as a heating wire or thermoelectric element. The heating plate 622 and the cooling plate 621 may be provided in one bake chamber 620 , respectively. Optionally, some of the bake chambers 620 may include only a heating plate 622 , and some may include only a cooling plate 621 .

The post-processing module 602 has a cleaning chamber 660 , a post-exposure bake chamber 670 , and a transfer 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 bake chamber 670 are spaced apart from each other in the second direction 14 with the transfer chamber 680 interposed therebetween. A plurality of cleaning chambers 660 may be provided and may be disposed along the third direction 16 to form a layer on each other. Optionally, a plurality of cleaning chambers 660 may be provided in each of the first direction 12 and the third direction 16 . A plurality of post-exposure bake chambers 670 may be provided, and may be disposed along the third direction 16 to form a layer on each other. Optionally, a plurality of post-exposure bake chambers 670 may be provided in each of the first direction 12 and the third direction 16 .

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 when viewed from the top. The transfer chamber 680 has a generally square or rectangular shape. A post-processing robot 682 is located within the transfer chamber 680 . The post-processing robot 682 includes the cleaning chambers 660 , the post-exposure bake chambers 670 , the second cooling chamber 540 of the second buffer module 500 , and the second of the interface module 700 to be described later. The substrate W is transferred between the buffers 730 . The post-processing robot 682 provided in the post-processing module 602 may be provided in the same structure as the pre-processing robot 632 provided in the pre-processing module 601 .

The cleaning chamber 660 cleans the substrate 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 positioned in the housing 661 and supports the substrate W. The support plate 662 is provided rotatably. The nozzle 663 supplies a cleaning solution onto the substrate W placed on the support plate 662 . As the cleaning solution, water such as deionized water may be used. The cleaning chamber 660 supplies the cleaning liquid to the central region of the substrate W while rotating the substrate W placed on the support plate 662 . Optionally, while the substrate W is rotated, the nozzle 663 may move linearly or rotationally from the center region of the substrate W to the edge region.

After exposure, the bake chamber 670 heats the substrate W on which the exposure process has been performed using deep ultraviolet rays. In the post-exposure bake process, the substrate W is heated to amplify the acid generated in the photoresist by exposure to complete the change in the properties of the photoresist. Post exposure bake chamber 670 has heating plate 672 . The heating plate 672 is provided with heating means 674 such as a hot wire or thermoelectric element. The post-exposure bake chamber 670 may further include a cooling plate 671 therein. The cooling plate 671 is provided with cooling means 673 such as cooling water or a thermoelectric element. In addition, optionally, a bake chamber having only the cooling plate 671 may be further provided.

As described above, in the pre-exposure processing module 600 , the pre-processing module 601 and the post-processing module 602 are provided to be completely separated from each other. In addition, the transfer chamber 630 of the pre-processing module 601 and the transfer chamber 680 of the post-processing module 602 may be provided to have the same size, so that they completely overlap each other when viewed from the top. In addition, the passivation layer application chamber 610 and the cleaning chamber 660 may be provided to have the same size and to completely overlap each other when viewed from above. In addition, the bake chamber 620 and the post-exposure bake chamber 670 may have the same size and may be provided to completely overlap each other when viewed from the top.

The interface module 700 transfers the substrate W between the pre-exposure processing module 600 and the exposure apparatus 1000 . The interface module 700 includes 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 positioned in the frame 710 . The first buffer 720 and the second buffer 730 are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance and are arranged to be 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 pre-processing module 601 , and the second buffer 730 is positioned at a height corresponding to the post-processing module 602 . When viewed from the top, the first buffer 720 is disposed in a line along the first direction 12 with the transfer chamber 630 of the pre-processing module 601 , and the second buffer 730 is the post-processing module 602 . The transfer chamber 630 and the first direction 12 are positioned to be arranged in a line.

The interface robot 740 is positioned to be spaced apart from the first buffer 720 and the second buffer 730 in the second direction 14 . The interface robot 740 transfers the substrate W between the first buffer 720 , the second buffer 730 , and the exposure apparatus 1000 . The interface robot 740 has a structure substantially similar to that of the second buffer robot 560 .

The first buffer 720 temporarily stores the substrates W, which have been processed in the pre-processing module 601 , before they are moved to the exposure apparatus 1000 . In addition, the second buffer 730 temporarily stores the substrates W that have been processed in the exposure apparatus 1000 before they are moved 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 to be spaced apart from each other along the third direction 16 . One substrate W is placed on each support 722 . The housing 721 includes the interface robot 740 and the pre-processing robot 632 in the direction and pre-processing robot ( 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 an opening (not shown) in the direction in which the interface robot 740 is provided and the direction in which the post-processing robot 682 is provided. As described above, only the buffers and the robot may be provided in the interface module without providing a chamber for performing a predetermined process on the wafer.

Next, an example of performing the process using the above-described substrate processing facility 1 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 takes out the substrate W from the cassette 20 and transfers it to the second buffer 330 .

The first buffer robot 360 transfers the substrate W stored in the second buffer 330 to the first buffer 320 . The applicator robot 432 takes out the substrate W from the first buffer 320 and transports it to the bake chamber 420 of the applicator module 401 . The bake chamber 420 sequentially performs pre-baking and cooling processes. The applicator robot 432 takes out the substrate W from the bake chamber 420 and transports it to the resist coating chamber 410 . The resist coating chamber 410 applies photoresist on the substrate W. After that, when a photoresist is applied on the substrate W, the applicator robot 432 transfers the substrate W from the resist application chamber 410 to the bake chamber 420 . The bake chamber 420 performs a soft bake process on the substrate W.

The applicator robot 432 takes out the substrate W from the bake chamber 420 and transports it to the first cooling chamber 530 of the second buffer module 500 . A cooling process is performed on the substrate W in the first cooling chamber 530 . The substrate W, which has been processed 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 an edge region of the substrate W. The substrate W that has been processed in the edge exposure chamber 550 is transferred to the buffer 520 by the second buffer robot 560 .

The pre-processing robot 632 takes out the substrate W from the buffer 520 and transports it to the protective film application chamber 610 of the pre-processing module 601 . The passivation film application chamber 610 applies a passivation film on the substrate W. Thereafter, the pre-processing robot 632 transfers the substrate W from the passivation film application chamber 610 to the bake chamber 620 . The bake chamber 620 performs heat treatment such as heating and cooling on the substrate W.

The pre-processing robot 632 takes out the substrate W from the bake chamber 620 , and transports it to the first buffer 720 of the interface module 700 , and then is transported from the first buffer 720 to the exposure apparatus 1000 . . The exposure apparatus 1000 performs an exposure process, for example, an immersion exposure process, on the first surface of the wafer. When the exposure process for the substrate W is completed in the exposure apparatus 1000 , the interface robot 740 transfers the substrate W from the exposure apparatus 1000 to the second buffer 730 .

The post-processing robot 682 takes out the substrate W from the second buffer 730 and transports it to the cleaning chamber 660 of the post-processing module 602 . The cleaning chamber 660 performs a cleaning process by supplying a cleaning solution to the surface of the substrate W. When the cleaning of the substrate W using the cleaning solution is completed, the post-processing robot 682 immediately takes out the substrate W from the cleaning chamber 660 and transports the substrate W to the bake chamber 670 after exposure. After exposure, the cleaning solution attached to the substrate W is removed by heating the substrate W in the heating plate 672 of the bake chamber 670 , and at the same time, the acid generated in the photoresist is amplified to amplify the photoresist. The change in the properties of the resist is completed. The post-processing robot 682 transports the substrate W from the post-exposure bake chamber 670 to the second cooling chamber 540 of the second buffer module 500 . Cooling of the substrate W is performed in the second cooling chamber 540 .

The developing unit robot 482 takes out the substrate W from the second cooling chamber 540 and transfers it to the bake chamber 470 of the developing module 402 . The bake chamber 470 sequentially performs post-baking and cooling processes. The developing unit robot 482 takes out the substrate W from the bake chamber 470 and transfers it to the developing chamber 460 . The developing chamber 460 supplies a developer onto the substrate W to perform a developing process. Thereafter, the developing unit robot 482 transfers the substrate W from the developing chamber 460 to the bake chamber 470 . The bake chamber 470 performs a hard bake process on the substrate W.

The developing unit robot 482 takes out the substrate W from the bake chamber 470 and transports it to the cooling chamber 350 of the first buffer module 300 . The cooling chamber 350 performs a process of cooling the substrate W. The index robot 360 transfers the substrate W from the cooling chamber 350 to the cassette 20 . Unlike this, the developing unit robot 482 takes out the substrate W from the bake chamber 470 and transports it to the second buffer 330 of the first buffer module 300, and then the cassette (W) by the index robot 360. 20) can be transported.

The controller 880 may control the substrate processing apparatus. The controller 880 may control components of the substrate processing apparatus 800 to process the substrate according to the setting process as described above. In addition, the controller 880 includes a process controller including a microprocessor (computer) that controls the substrate processing apparatus, a keyboard through which an operator performs command input operations, etc. to manage the substrate processing apparatus, and operation status of the substrate processing apparatus A user interface comprising a display, etc., which visualizes and displays the , that is, a storage unit in which the processing recipe is stored may be provided. Further, the user interface and the storage unit may be connected to the process controller. The processing recipe may be stored in a storage medium among the storage units, and the storage medium may be a hard disk, a portable disk such as a CD-ROM or DVD, or a semiconductor memory such as a flash memory.

The above detailed description is illustrative of the present invention. In addition, the above description shows and describes preferred embodiments of the present invention, and the present invention can be used in various other combinations, modifications, and environments. That is, changes or modifications are possible within the scope of the concept of the invention disclosed herein, the scope equivalent to the written disclosure, and/or within the scope of skill or knowledge in the art. The written embodiment describes the best state for implementing the technical idea of the present invention, and various changes required in the specific application field and use of the present invention are possible. Accordingly, the detailed description of the present invention is not intended to limit the present invention to the disclosed embodiments. Also, the appended claims should be construed to include other embodiments.

900: liquid supply unit 920: film forming unit
926: application nozzle 940: Evial unit
946: evial nozzle 960: edge exhaust unit

Claims (13)

a substrate support unit for supporting the substrate;
a liquid supply unit including an EBR nozzle for supplying an edge bead removing liquid so that an edge portion of a substrate having a coating film supported on the substrate supporting unit is removed;
and an edge exhaust unit provided to be positioned adjacent to the EBR nozzle and including a suction nozzle for sucking the edge bead removal liquid supplied to the substrate and scattered. The method of claim 1,
The liquid supply unit,
Further comprising an application nozzle for supplying a treatment liquid on the substrate,
The substrate processing apparatus further includes a controller controlling the liquid supply unit and the edge exhaust unit,
The controller supplies the processing liquid on the substrate to form the coating film, and supplies the edge bead removal liquid to the edge part of the coating film,
With the supply of the edge bead removal liquid, the suction nozzle is positioned adjacent to the EBR nozzle to suck the edge bead removal liquid supplied to the substrate and scattered;
A substrate processing apparatus controlling the liquid supply unit and the edge exhaust unit. 3. The method of claim 2,
The coating film includes a photosensitive film or a hard mask film,
The edge bead removal liquid is a substrate processing apparatus comprising a thinner. According to claim 1,
The EBR nozzle is provided movably between a first process position and a first standby position,
the suction nozzle is provided movably between a second process position and a second standby position;
the first process position is a position where the EBR nozzle faces a first point in the edge region of the substrate, and the first standby position is a position outside the first process position;
The second process position is a position in which the suction nozzle faces a second point in the front along the rotation direction of the substrate with respect to the first point in the edge region of the substrate, and the second standby position is the second process position A substrate processing unit that is out of position. According to claim 1,
and the EBR nozzle provided in the liquid supply unit and the suction nozzle provided in the edge exhaust unit are movable independently of each other. According to claim 1,
and wherein the EBR nozzle provided in the liquid supply unit and the suction nozzle provided in the edge exhaust unit are provided such that the other one is moved dependently according to one movement. According to claim 1,
A substrate processing apparatus in which a cross section of the suction port of the suction nozzle is formed to be larger as it goes down. According to claim 1,
the suction nozzle is coupled to an arm having a predetermined length provided to move the suction nozzle between a process position and a standby position;
The suction nozzle is coupled to the arm so that an end face of the suction port of the suction nozzle is biased to one side. According to claim 1,
the suction nozzle is coupled to an arm having a predetermined length provided to move the suction nozzle between a process position and a standby position;
and wherein the suction nozzle is biasedly coupled to the arm in a direction in which an end face of a suction port of the suction nozzle is directed from an edge of the substrate toward a central region of the substrate. In the method of processing a substrate using the substrate processing apparatus of claim 1,
Forming the coating film by supplying a processing liquid on the substrate, and supplying an edge bead removal liquid to an edge portion of the coating film,
A substrate processing method for sucking the edge bead removal liquid supplied to the substrate by locating the suction nozzle adjacent to the EBR nozzle together with the supply of the edge bead removal liquid. 11. The method of claim 10,
The coating film includes a photosensitive film or a hard mask film,
The edge bead removal solution is a substrate processing method comprising a thinner. 11. The method of claim 10,
The EBR nozzle is provided movably between a first process position and a first standby position,
the suction nozzle is provided movably between a second process position and a second standby position;
the first process position is a position where the EBR nozzle faces a first point in the edge region of the substrate, and the first standby position is a position outside the first process position;
The second process position is a position in which the suction nozzle faces a second point in the front along the rotation direction of the substrate with respect to the first point in the edge region of the substrate, and the second standby position is the second process position A method of processing a substrate that is an out-of-position position. a substrate support unit for supporting the substrate;
a liquid supply unit including an application nozzle supplying a processing liquid onto the substrate supported by the substrate support unit, and an EBR nozzle supplying thinner to remove an edge portion of the substrate on which the coating film is formed;
an edge exhaust unit provided to be positioned adjacent to the EBR nozzle, the edge exhaust unit including a suction nozzle for sucking the thinner that is supplied to the substrate;
Further comprising a controller for controlling the liquid supply unit and the edge exhaust unit,
The EBR nozzle is provided movably between a first process position and a first standby position,
the suction nozzle is provided movably between a second process position and a second standby position;
the first processing position is a position in which the EBR nozzle faces a first point in the edge region of the substrate, the first standby position is a position outside the first processing position;
The second process position is a position in which the suction nozzle faces a second point in the front along the rotation direction of the substrate with respect to the first point in the edge region of the substrate, and the second standby position is the second process position out of location,
The controller supplies the treatment liquid on the substrate to form the coating film, positions the EBR nozzle at the first process position, and supplies the thinner to the edge portion of the coating film,
With the supply of the thinner, the suction nozzle is positioned at the second process position to suck the thinner supplied to the substrate and scattered,
A substrate processing apparatus controlling the liquid supply unit and the edge exhaust unit.

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