KR20230149531A - Substrate processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a substrate processing device capable of in-line operation, and to a substrate processing device capable of efficiently performing a photo process including a coating process, an exposure process, a developing process, and a supercritical process.

Description

Substrate processing apparatus {SUBSTRATE PROCESSING APPARATUS}

The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus that performs a series of processes on a substrate.

To manufacture a semiconductor device or liquid crystal display, various processes such as photolithography, etching, ashing, ion implantation, thin film deposition, and cleaning are performed on the substrate. Among these, the photolithography (photo) process is a process for forming a desired circuit pattern on a substrate, and involves a coating process, an exposure process, and a development process sequentially. In the application process, a photoresist such as photoresist is applied to the substrate. In the exposure process, a circuit pattern is exposed on the substrate on which the photoresist film is formed. In the development process, the exposed area on the substrate is selectively developed. After this, the developer used in the development process is removed from the substrate, and then the substrate is dried.

These substrate processing devices include, for example, an in-line type that is connected to an exposure system and can continuously process the coating process, exposure process, and development process, and a spinner local type that is not connected to an exposure system. There is.

Specifically, the local type substrate processing apparatus is composed of an index unit and a process processing unit including a plurality of process units that process the process, such as a coating unit, a developing unit, and a bake unit. The index unit processes the interface for supply and recovery of substrates between the user and the process unit for the substrate.

Additionally, the in-line type substrate processing apparatus further includes an exposure system along with a local type configuration. That is, the in-line type substrate processing apparatus includes an index unit, a process processing unit, and an exposure system disposed close to the process processing unit. In this case, an interface unit for mutual substrate transfer may be further included between the process processing unit and the exposure system.

Currently, substrate processing devices that perform cleaning and drying using supercritical fluid in photo processes exist only as local types that do not have an interface unit. Therefore, since the substrate that has undergone the coating process and exposure process in a separate facility must be transferred to the corresponding device and then subjected to the development process and supercritical process, there is a disadvantage in terms of production due to the processing time due to the transfer of the substrate.

Republic of Korea Patent No. 10-2037906 (2019.10.23)

The present invention seeks to provide a substrate processing device capable of in-line operation to improve productivity.

Additionally, the present invention is intended to provide a substrate processing device that can efficiently process a substrate.

Additionally, the present invention seeks to provide a substrate processing device that is more advantageous in terms of footprint reduction.

Additionally, the present invention seeks to provide various layouts of a substrate processing device capable of in-line operation.

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

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a substrate processing apparatus that performs a series of processes on a substrate can be provided. The substrate processing apparatus performs a processing process on a substrate and includes a plurality of processing blocks stacked on top of each other in a vertical direction, wherein at least one of the processing blocks is configured to supply a developer solution to develop the substrate. a process chamber; a second process chamber that supplies a coating liquid to form a coating film on the substrate; It may include a transfer chamber that transfers the substrate between the first process chamber and the second process chamber. The first process chamber includes a housing having an interior space; a developing unit provided in the internal space and supplying a developing solution to the substrate; and a supercritical processing unit provided in the internal space and processing the substrate using a supercritical fluid.

In one embodiment, the development unit and the supercritical processing unit may be arranged in a line parallel to the longitudinal direction of the transfer chamber.

In one embodiment, the first process chamber may further include a transfer means for receiving the substrate from the transfer chamber and transferring the substrate within the first process chamber.

In one embodiment, the second process chamber includes an application chamber for supplying a coating liquid to the substrate, and may further include a heat treatment chamber disposed adjacent to the application chamber and performing a heat treatment process on the substrate. there is.

In one embodiment, the first process chamber further includes a heat treatment unit for heat treating the substrate, and the development unit, the supercritical processing unit, and the heat treatment unit are arranged in a line parallel to the longitudinal direction of the transfer chamber. It can be.

In one embodiment, the second process chamber may include a plurality of application units that supply the application liquid to the substrate.

In one embodiment, the second process chamber includes a housing having an interior space; an application unit provided in the internal space and supplying a coating liquid to the substrate; and a heat treatment unit provided in the internal space and heat treating the substrate.

In one embodiment, the coating unit and the heat treatment unit are arranged in a line parallel to the longitudinal direction of the transfer chamber, and the second process chamber receives the substrate from the transfer chamber and processes the substrate within the second process chamber. It may further include a transport means for transporting the substrate.

In one embodiment, the second process chamber includes a housing having an interior space; an application unit provided in the internal space and supplying a coating liquid to the substrate; a supercritical processing unit provided in the internal space and processing the substrate using a supercritical fluid; And it may include a heat treatment unit that heat-treats the substrate.

In one embodiment, the coating unit, the supercritical processing unit, and the heat treatment unit are arranged in a line parallel to the longitudinal direction of the transfer chamber, and the second process chamber receives the substrate from the transfer chamber and processes the substrate. It may further include a transport means for transporting the substrate within the second process chamber.

In one embodiment, the first process chamber may be placed on one side of the transfer chamber, and the second process chamber may be placed on the other side of the transfer chamber.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, an index module including a load port on which a container containing a substrate is placed and an index robot for transporting the substrate from the container; and a processing module that performs a processing process on the substrate; A substrate processing device may be provided including an interface module connecting an exposure device and the processing module. The index module, the processing module, and the interface module are sequentially arranged in a line, and the processing module performs a process on the substrate and may include a plurality of processing blocks stacked on top of each other in a vertical direction. Each of the processing blocks includes a developing chamber that supplies a developing solution to develop the substrate; an application chamber that supplies a coating liquid to form a coating film on the substrate; a heat treatment chamber that performs a heat treatment process on the substrate; a supercritical processing chamber that supplies supercritical fluid to process the substrate; It may include a transfer chamber that receives the substrate from the index robot and transfers the substrate between the development chamber, the application chamber, the heat treatment chamber, and the supercritical processing chamber.

In one embodiment, the application chamber and the developing chamber may be provided on one side of the transfer chamber, and the heat treatment chamber and the supercritical processing chamber may be provided on the other side of the transfer chamber.

In one embodiment, the application chamber and the heat treatment chamber may be provided on one side of the transfer chamber, and the development chamber and the supercritical processing chamber may be provided on the other side of the transfer chamber.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a photo process including a coating process, an exposure process, a developing process, and a supercritical process can be efficiently performed.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the productivity of the facility can be improved by minimizing the tact time required to transport the substrate.

The effects of the present invention are not limited to the effects described above, and effects not mentioned can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from this specification and the attached drawings.

1 is a plan view showing a substrate processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a side view of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. 1 viewed from the AA direction.
FIG. 3 is a side view of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. 1 viewed from the BB direction.
FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view showing the first process chamber of FIG. 1.
Figure 5 is a plan view showing a substrate processing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 6 is a plan view showing a substrate processing apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 7 is a plan view showing a substrate processing apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 8 is a plan view showing a substrate processing apparatus according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited or restricted by the embodiments.

In order to explain the present invention, its operational advantages, and the purpose achieved by practicing the present invention, preferred embodiments of the present invention are illustrated and discussed with reference to them.

First, the terms used in this application are only used to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention, and singular expressions may include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In addition, in the present application, terms such as "comprise" or "have" are intended to designate the presence of features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof described in the specification, but are not intended to indicate the presence of one or more other It should be understood that this does not exclude in advance the presence or addition of features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

In describing the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of a related known configuration or function may obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description will be omitted.

The present invention relates to a method for efficiently processing substrates by constructing an in-line type substrate processing device that can continuously process the coating process, exposure process, and development process.

1 to 3 show an example of substrate processing equipment according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a view of the substrate processing apparatus 1 viewed from above, FIG. 2 is a view of the device of FIG. 1 viewed from the A-A direction, and FIG. 3 is a view of the equipment of FIG. 1 viewed from the B-B direction.

The substrate processing device 1 includes an index module, a process module, and an interface module. The index module may include a load port 10 and an index unit 20, the processing module may include a buffer unit 30 and a processing unit 40, and the interface module may include an interface unit 50. As shown in Figures 1 to 3, the load port 10, index unit 20, buffer unit 30, processing unit 40, and interface unit 50 are sequentially arranged in one direction. It can be.

Hereinafter, the direction in which the load port 10, index unit 20, buffer unit 30, processing unit 40, and interface unit 50 are arranged is referred to as the first direction 2, and is viewed from the top. At this time, the direction perpendicular to the first direction (2) is called the second direction (4), and the direction perpendicular to the first direction (2) and the second direction (4) is called the third direction (6).

The substrate W may be moved while stored in the cassette 13. The cassette 13 may have a structure that can be sealed from the outside. For example, a Front Open Unified Pod (FOUP) having a door at the front may be used as the cassette 13.

The load port 10 may be provided with a table 12 on which the cassette 13 containing the substrates W is placed, and a plurality of tables 12 may be provided.

The index unit 20 can transfer the substrate W between the cassette 13 placed on the holder 12 of the load port 10 and the buffer unit 30 through the index robot 22. The index unit 20 may include a frame 21, an index robot 22, and a guide rail 23. The frame 21 of the index unit 20 may be provided at a lower height than the frame 31 of the buffer unit 30, which will be described later. The index robot 22 and guide rail 23 are disposed within the frame 21. The index robot 22 has a structure capable of four-axis driving so that the hand that directly handles the substrate W can move and rotate in the first direction (2), the second direction (4), and the third direction (6). You can have The index robot 22 may have a hand, an arm, a support, and a base.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the processing module may perform a processing process on the substrate (W). For example, the processing module may perform a coating process, a developing process, a heat treatment process, and a supercritical process on the substrate W.

The buffer unit 30 may include a frame 31, a first buffer 32, a second buffer 33, a cooling chamber 35, and a first buffer robot 36. The frame 31 is provided in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped with an empty interior, and is disposed between the index unit 20 and the processing unit 40. The first buffer 32, second buffer 33, cooling chamber 35, and first buffer robot 36 may be positioned within frame 31. The cooling chamber 35, the second buffer 33, and the first buffer 32 may be sequentially arranged along the third direction 6 from below. The first buffer robot 36 is positioned at a certain distance from the second buffer 33, the cooling chamber 35, and the first buffer 32 in the second direction 4. The first buffer robot 36 may transfer the substrate W between the first buffer 32 and the second buffer 33.

The first buffer 32 and the second buffer 33 can each temporarily store a plurality of substrates W. The first buffer 32 and the second buffer 33 may have a housing and a plurality of supports. The supports are disposed within the housing and may be spaced apart from each other along the third direction 6. One substrate (W) can be placed on each support. The housing may have an opening (not shown) in a direction in which an index robot 22, a first buffer robot 36, and a processing unit described later are provided so that the substrate W can be loaded into or out of the support within the housing.

The cooling chambers 35 cool the substrates W, respectively. The cooling chamber 35 has a cooling means, and various methods such as cooling using coolant or cooling using a thermoelectric element may be used as the cooling means.

Meanwhile, the buffer unit 30 may also be provided between the processing unit 40 and the interface unit 50.

Processing unit 40 may include processing block B. The processing block B may perform a processing process on the substrate W. A plurality of processing blocks B are provided, and they may be provided stacked on top of each other. According to the embodiment of FIGS. 2 and 3, six processing blocks B may be provided. As an example, six processing blocks B may perform the same process and may have the same structure.

Meanwhile, the processing blocks B provided in each layer may be provided in different structures and perform different processes. Alternatively, at least one processing block (B) among the processing blocks (B) provided in each layer may be provided in a different structure to perform different processes.

1 to 3, the processing block B may include a first process chamber 41, a second process chamber 42, and a transfer chamber 43.

In the processing block B, the first process chamber 41 and the second process chamber 42 may be arranged to face each other with the transfer chamber 43 interposed therebetween.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the first process chamber 41 of FIGS. 1 to 3 .

The first process chamber 41 may perform a development process on the substrate W. The first process chamber 41 may include a housing 110, a development unit 44, and a supercritical processing unit 400.

The housing 110 provides an internal space where the development unit 44 and the supercritical processing unit 400 are disposed. For example, the housing 110 may be provided in a rectangular parallelepiped shape. The housing 110 may include an entrance formed in a direction toward the transfer chamber 43 . The entrance provides a passage through which the substrate W moves.

As an example, one entrance may be formed in an area adjacent to the developing unit 44. Alternatively, the housing 110 may include a plurality of entrances and exits. As an example, entrances may be formed in areas adjacent to the development unit 44 and the supercritical processing unit 400, respectively, and the substrate W is brought into the housing 110 through the entrance adjacent to the development unit 44. and can be taken out of the housing 110 through an entrance adjacent to the supercritical processing unit 400.

The development unit 44 and the supercritical processing unit 400 may be arranged in a line parallel to the longitudinal direction of the transfer chamber 43.

The first process chamber 41 may further include a transport means 600 for transporting the substrate W within the first process chamber 41 .

The transfer means 600 may receive the substrate W from the transfer chamber 43 and transfer the substrate W between the development unit 44 and the supercritical processing unit 400. The transport means 600 may include a transport rail 612 and a transport member 614 that transports the substrate W along the transport rail 612.

The conveyance rail 612 may be provided in a longitudinal direction parallel to the direction in which the development unit 44 and the supercritical processing unit 400 are disposed (first direction 2). As an example, the transfer member 614 may have a base, a body, and a hand. The base is installed to be movable along the conveyance rail 612. The body may be coupled to the base and provided to be rotatable on the base. The hand is coupled to the body, supports the substrate W, and may be provided to be capable of moving forward and backward relative to the body.

The transport means 600 transports the substrate W according to the process sequence within the first process chamber 41 and carries the substrate W into the internal space of the development unit 44 and the supercritical processing unit 400. and can be taken out.

For example, the transfer member 614 receives the substrate W from the transfer chamber 43, transfers the substrate W to the developing unit 44, and transfers the substrate W for which development processing has been completed by the developing unit 44 ( W) can be returned to the supercritical processing unit 400. The substrate W on which supercritical processing has been completed may be transferred from the supercritical processing unit 400 by the transfer member 614 and then transferred to the transfer chamber 43. While the processing process of the substrate by each processing unit is performed, the transfer member 614 waits outside each processing unit, and the hand of the transfer member 614 is used to load or unload the substrate W into or out of each processing unit. It can move forward and backward with respect to the body.

The developing unit 44 may develop the substrate W by supplying a developing solution to the substrate W. The developing unit 44 may include a developing nozzle that supplies a developing solution and a cleaning nozzle that supplies a cleaning solution. The developing unit 44 may supply a developing solution and/or a cleaning solution to the substrate W. The developing units 44 may have the same structure, but the type of developer used in each developing unit 44 may be different. The developing unit 44 may remove the light-irradiated area of the photoresist on the substrate W. At this time, the light-irradiated area of the protective film may also be removed. Depending on the type of photoresist selectively used, only the areas that are not exposed to light among the areas of the photoresist and the protective film may be removed.

The supercritical processing unit 400 may process the substrate W by supplying supercritical fluid to the substrate W. As an example, the supercritical processing unit 400 may supply a supercritical fluid to the substrate W to dry the substrate W. The supercritical processing unit 400 may be provided adjacent to the development unit 44. Since the development unit 44 and the supercritical processing unit 400 are provided adjacent to each other, the substrate W on which development processing has been performed in the development unit 44 can be directly transferred to the supercritical processing unit 400. Accordingly, the path through which the substrate W is transported in the processing block B is simplified, and the tact time required while transporting the substrate W can be minimized. The substrate W transported from the development unit 44 to the supercritical processing unit 400 may be transported with a developer or cleaning solution remaining on the surface. Accordingly, the substrate W can be prevented from drying while being transported. In addition, the development unit 44 and the supercritical processing unit 400 are disposed inside one housing 110, and the substrate W is transferred to the transfer chamber 43 by the transfer means 600 provided inside the housing 110. Since the substrate W is returned from the development unit 44 to the supercritical processing unit 400 without passing through the substrate W, the environment for the substrate W can be maintained constant. Therefore, deterioration in the quality of the substrate W due to environmental changes can be prevented.

Since the supercritical processing unit 400 creates a high-pressure environment and supplies supercritical fluid, it may occupy a larger area of the device than the development unit 44 or the application unit 46.

Conventionally, when drying the substrate (W) after development treatment, a spin drying method was used in which the substrate (W) is rotated and dried. However, as the patterns formed on the substrate become finer, the existing spin drying method causes a lean phenomenon in which the patterns collapse or bend. However, according to one embodiment of the present invention, after performing development treatment on the substrate W, the substrate W is immediately transferred to the supercritical processing unit 400 with the developer or cleaning solution remaining on the substrate W. This is returned. In the supercritical processing unit 400, supercritical fluid is supplied to the substrate and dried, thereby minimizing the lean phenomenon. In addition, since the substrate W is transported with the developer or cleaning solution remaining on the substrate W, it is possible to prevent the problem of the substrate drying during transport and deteriorating quality. In addition, since the substrate W is transported within a certain environment without passing through the transport chamber 43, it is possible to prevent the problem of quality deterioration due to environmental changes while the substrate is being transported.

Although not shown in detail, the first process chamber 41 may further include an airflow supply unit for forming an airflow inside the housing 110. For example, the airflow supply unit may be a fan filter unit in which a filter and a fan are modularized into one unit. An environment of constant humidity and temperature can be created and maintained inside the housing 110 by the airflow supply unit.

The second process chamber 42 according to the first embodiment of the present invention may include an application chamber. The application chamber may include an application unit 46. The coating unit 46 supplies the coating liquid on the substrate W to form a coating film. The coating film may be a photoresist film or an anti-reflective film.

The second process chamber 42 according to the first embodiment of the present invention may further include a heat treatment chamber. The heat treatment chamber may be provided adjacent to the application chamber. For example, the application chamber and the heat treatment chamber may be arranged side by side along the longitudinal direction of the transfer chamber 43.

The heat treatment chamber may include a heat treatment unit 500.

The heat treatment unit 500 may perform a heat treatment process on the substrate W. The heat treatment process may include a cooling process and a heating process. For example, the heat treatment unit 500 performs a prebake process of removing organic matter or moisture from the surface of the substrate W by heating the substrate W to a predetermined temperature before applying the photoresist, or a prebake process of removing the organic matter or moisture from the surface of the substrate W, or applying the photoresist to the substrate W. ) A soft bake process performed after coating on the substrate W may be performed, and a cooling process for cooling the substrate W may be performed after each heating process. The heat treatment unit 500 includes 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 a post-bake process of heating the substrate W after the development process is performed, and a post-bake process of heating the substrate W before the development process is performed. A cooling process for cooling a heated substrate can be performed.

The heat treatment unit 500 may include a cooling plate or a heating plate. The cooling plate may be provided with cooling means such as coolant or thermoelectric elements. Additionally, the heating plate may be provided with heating means such as a heating wire or thermoelectric element. The cooling plate and the heating plate may each be provided within one heat treatment unit 500. The cooling plate and heating plate in Figure 1 are provided parallel to the first direction (2). According to one example, the heating plate may be located closer to the application unit 46 compared to the cooling plate. The arrangement of the cooling plate and heating plate in the heat treatment unit 500 may be changed in consideration of footprint or process efficiency. Optionally, some of the heat treatment units 500 may have only cooling plates, and others may have only heating plates.

The transfer chamber 43 may transfer the substrate W between the buffer unit 30, the first process chamber 41, the second process chamber 42, and the interface unit 50. The transfer chamber 43 is provided with its longitudinal direction parallel to the first direction 2. The transfer chamber 43 may be provided with a transfer unit. The transfer unit may transfer the substrate between the first process chamber 41 and the second process chamber 42 . According to one example, the transfer unit has a hand on which the substrate W is placed, and the hand is provided for forward and backward movement, rotation about the third direction 6, and movement along the third direction 6. It can be. A guide rail whose longitudinal direction is parallel to the first direction 2 is provided within the transfer chamber 43, and the transfer unit may be provided to be movable on the guide rail.

The interface unit 50 may transfer the substrate W between the processing unit 40 and the exposure device 60 . The interface unit 50 may include a frame 51, a first buffer 52, a second buffer 53, and an interface robot 54. The first buffer 52, the second buffer 53, and the interface robot 54 are located within the frame 51. The first buffer 52 and the second buffer 53 are spaced a certain distance apart from each other and may be arranged to be stacked on top of each other. For example, the first buffer 52 may be placed higher than the second buffer 53. The interface robot 54 may transport the substrate W between the first buffer 52, the second buffer 53, and the exposure apparatus 60. The interface unit 50 may further include an additional process chamber capable of performing a predetermined additional process before the substrate W is introduced into the exposure apparatus 60 .

The first buffer 52 can temporarily store the substrates (W) on which the process has been performed before they are moved to the exposure apparatus 60, and the second buffer 53 can store the substrates (W) on which the process has been completed in the exposure apparatus 60. W) can be temporarily stored before they are moved.

Figure 5 is a plan view schematically showing a substrate processing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Since the substrate processing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention has the same configuration as the first embodiment of FIG. 1 except for the configuration of the processing block B, description of the same components will be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 5, the processing block B according to the second embodiment of the present invention may include a first process chamber 41', a second process chamber 42, and a transfer chamber 43.

The first process chamber 41' may include a housing 110, a development unit 44, a supercritical processing unit 400, and a heat treatment unit 500. That is, the first process chamber 41' may have the same configuration that further includes a heat treatment unit 500 in the internal space of the first process chamber 41.

The housing 110 provides an internal space where the development unit 44, the supercritical processing unit 400, and the heat treatment unit 500 are disposed. For example, the housing 110 may be provided in a rectangular parallelepiped shape. The housing 110 may include an entrance formed in a direction toward the transfer chamber 43. The entrance provides a passage through which the substrate W moves.

As an example, one entrance may be formed in an area adjacent to the developing unit 44. Alternatively, the housing 110 may include a plurality of entrances and exits. For example, the entrance may be formed in an area adjacent to the development unit 44 and the heat treatment unit 500, and the substrate W is brought into the housing 110 through the entrance adjacent to the development unit 44, It can be taken out of the housing 110 through an entrance adjacent to the heat treatment unit 500.

The development unit 44, the supercritical processing unit 400, and the heat treatment unit 500 may be sequentially arranged in a line parallel to the longitudinal direction of the transfer chamber 43.

The first process chamber 41' may further include a transfer means 600 for receiving the substrate W from the transfer chamber 43 and transferring the substrate W within the first process chamber 41'. there is.

The transfer means 600 receives the substrate W from the transfer chamber 43 and transfers it to the development unit 44 . The substrate W can be transported between the supercritical processing unit 400 and the heat treatment unit 500. The transport means 600 may include a transport rail 612 and a transport member 614 that transports the substrate W along the transport rail 612.

The conveying rail 612 may be provided in a longitudinal direction parallel to the direction in which the development unit 44, the supercritical processing unit 400, and the heat treatment unit 500 are disposed (first direction 2). The transfer member 614 may have a base and a hand. The base is installed to be movable along the conveyance rail 612. The body may be coupled to the base and provided to be rotatable on the base. The hand is coupled to the body, supports the substrate W, and may be provided to be capable of moving forward and backward relative to the body.

The transport means 600 transports the substrate W according to the process sequence within the first process chamber 41', and the internal space of the development unit 44, the supercritical processing unit 400, and the heat treatment unit 500. The substrate (W) can be delivered.

For example, the transfer member 614 receives the substrate W from the transfer chamber 43, transfers the substrate W to the developing unit 44, and transfers the substrate W for which development processing has been completed by the developing unit 44 ( W) can be returned to the supercritical processing unit 400. The substrate W on which supercritical processing has been completed may be transferred from the supercritical processing unit 400 by the transfer member 614 and then transferred to the heat treatment unit 500. The substrate W that has undergone heat treatment by the heat treatment unit 500 may be transferred to the transfer chamber 43 by the transfer member 614 . While the processing process of the substrate by each processing unit is performed, the transfer member 614 waits outside each processing unit, and the hand of the transfer member 614 is used to load or unload the substrate W into or out of each processing unit. It can move forward and backward with respect to the body.

Since the configurations of the development unit 44, the supercritical processing unit 400, and the heat treatment unit 500 are the same as those described in the first embodiment, detailed description will be omitted. However, in the heat treatment unit 500 of FIG. 5, a cooling plate and a heating plate are provided parallel to the second direction 4. According to one example, the cooling plate may be located closer to the transfer chamber 43 compared to the heating plate. In some cases, the cooling plate and the heating plate may be arranged parallel to the first direction 2 as shown in FIG. 1.

The second process chamber 42 may include a plurality of application units 46 . According to the embodiment of FIG. 5 , the second process chamber 42 may include three application units 46 . Although not shown in detail, the second process chamber 42 may further include a transport means for transporting the substrate W between each coating unit 46 within the second process chamber 42 . Although not shown in detail, the second process chamber 42 may further include an airflow supply unit for forming an airflow within the second process chamber 42. For example, the airflow supply unit may be a fan filter unit in which a filter and a fan are modularized into one unit. An environment of constant humidity and temperature can be created and maintained inside the second process chamber 42 by the airflow supply unit.

The application units 46 may have the same structure, but the type of application liquid used in each application unit 46 may be different. The coating film may be a photoresist film or an anti-reflective film.

The number of application units 46 may be greater than the number of development units 44 . This is because the time to perform the development process in the development unit 44 is shorter than the time to perform the application process in the application unit 46. Accordingly, the number of development units 44 that do not perform the development process can be reduced and the footprint can be prevented from excessively increasing.

Meanwhile, in the embodiment of FIG. 5, the second process chamber 42 shows an example in which a plurality of application units 46 are disposed within one housing, but the second process chamber 42 includes a plurality of application units 46. ) may be provided in a configuration where each is disposed within an individual housing. For example, the second process chamber 42 may include a plurality of application chambers.

Figure 6 is a plan view schematically showing a substrate processing apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

Since the substrate processing apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention has the same configuration as the first embodiment of FIG. 1 except for the configuration of the processing block B, description of the same components will be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 6, the processing block B according to the third embodiment of the present invention may include a first process chamber 41', a second process chamber 42', and a transfer chamber 43.

The first process chamber 41' is the same as the second embodiment of FIG. 5.

The second process chamber 42' may include a housing, an application unit 46, and a heat treatment unit 500.

The housing provides an internal space where the application unit 46 and the heat treatment unit 500 are disposed. For example, the housing may be provided in a rectangular parallelepiped shape. The housing may include an entrance formed in a direction toward the transfer chamber 43. The entrance provides a passage through which the substrate W moves.

As an example, one entrance may be formed in an area adjacent to the application unit 46. Alternatively, the housing may include a plurality of entrances and exits. As an example, the entrance may be formed in an area adjacent to the application unit 46 and the heat treatment unit 500, respectively, and the substrate W is brought into the housing through the entrance adjacent to the application unit 46, and the heat treatment unit ( It can be taken out of the housing through an entrance adjacent to 500).

The application unit 46 and the heat treatment unit 500 may be arranged in a line parallel to the longitudinal direction of the transfer chamber 43.

The second process chamber 42' may further include a transfer means for receiving the substrate W from the transfer chamber 43 and transferring the substrate W within the second process chamber 42'. The transfer means may receive the substrate W from the transfer chamber 43 and transfer the substrate W between the coating unit 46 and the heat treatment unit 500. The transfer means provided in the second process chamber 42' may have the same configuration as the transfer means 600 described above.

Although not shown in detail, the second process chamber 42' may further include an airflow supply unit for forming an airflow within the second process chamber 42. For example, the airflow supply unit may be a fan filter unit in which a filter and a fan are modularized into one unit. An environment of constant humidity and temperature can be created and maintained inside the second process chamber 42' by the airflow supply unit.

Since the configuration of the application unit 46 and the heat treatment unit 500 is the same as that described in the first embodiment, detailed description will be omitted.

Figure 7 is a plan view schematically showing a substrate processing apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

Since the substrate processing apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention has the same configuration as the first embodiment of FIG. 1 except for the configuration of the processing block B, description of the same components will be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 7, the processing block B according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention may include a first process chamber 41", a second process chamber 42", and a transfer chamber 43.

The positions of the first process chamber 42" and the second process chamber 42" in the processing block B according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention may be opposite to those of the previously described embodiments. Contrary to what is shown in FIG. 7, the positions of the first process chamber 42" and the second process chamber 42" may be the same as the previously described embodiments.

The first process chamber 41" may include a housing, a development unit 44, a supercritical processing unit 400, and a heat treatment unit 500. The first process chamber 41" is shown in FIG. 5. In the first process chamber 41', the development unit 44, the supercritical processing unit 400, and the heat treatment unit 500 are arranged in opposite directions, and the heating plate and cooling plate of the heat treatment unit 500 are oriented in the first direction. It may have the same configuration as (2) except that it is placed side by side. At this time, the heating plate may be located closer to the supercritical processing unit 400 than the cooling plate. In some cases, the cooling plate and the heating plate may be arranged parallel to the second direction 4 as shown in FIG. 5 .

The second process chamber 42" may include a housing, a coating unit 46, a supercritical processing unit 400, and a heat treatment unit 500. The second process chamber 42" is shown in FIG. 5. Except that in the first process chamber 41', the developing unit 44 is replaced by the application unit 46, and the heating plate and cooling plate of the heat treatment unit 500 are arranged parallel to the first direction 2. It may have the same configuration. At this time, the heating plate may be located closer to the supercritical processing unit 400 than the cooling plate. In some cases, the cooling plate and the heating plate may be arranged parallel to the second direction 4 as shown in FIG. 5 .

Meanwhile, in the first to fourth embodiments of the present invention, the transport means provided inside the first process chamber and the second process chamber may be omitted, and the transport means provided inside the first process chamber 41 and the second process chamber 41 may be omitted. (42) Transfer of the substrate W inside may also be performed by a transfer unit provided in the transfer chamber 43.

Figure 8 is a plan view schematically showing a substrate processing apparatus according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

Since the substrate processing apparatus according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention has the same configuration as the first embodiment of FIG. 1 except for the configuration of the processing block B, description of the same components will be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 8, the processing block B according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention may include a transfer chamber 43, a development chamber, an application chamber, a supercritical processing chamber, and a heat treatment chamber.

The development chamber includes a development unit 44, the application chamber includes an application unit 46, the supercritical processing chamber includes a supercritical processing unit 400, and the heat treatment chamber includes a heat treatment unit 500.

A developing unit 44 and a coating unit 46 may be placed on one side of the transfer chamber 43, and a supercritical processing unit 400 and a heat treatment unit 500 may be placed on the other side. For example, the application unit 46 may be disposed closer to the buffer unit 30 than the development unit 44, and the heat treatment unit 500 may be disposed closer to the buffer unit 30 than the supercritical processing unit 400. .

Hereinafter, the configurations of the development unit 44, the coating unit 46, the supercritical processing unit 400, and the heat treatment unit 500 are the same as those described in the first embodiment, and thus their description will be omitted.

Meanwhile, the arrangement of the development unit 44, the coating unit 46, the supercritical processing unit 400, and the heat treatment unit 500 is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 8, and the footprint of the substrate processing apparatus 1 It may be changed considering process sequence, process efficiency, etc. For example, the positions of the application unit 46 and the heat treatment unit 500 within the processing block B shown in FIG. 8 may be changed.

As described above, according to embodiments of the present invention, an in-line type substrate processing apparatus 1 including a supercritical processing unit can be provided. In particular, the substrate W is transported by minimizing the movement of the transfer unit within the transfer chamber 43 and simplifying the path along which the substrate W is transferred in the processing block B constituting one layer within the processing unit 40. The tact time required to do this can be minimized. For example, while the transfer unit reciprocates once in the section from the buffer unit 30 to the interface unit 50, the coating process, exposure process, and development process on the substrate W may all be performed sequentially. Additionally, according to some embodiments, entry to some of the processing units provided in the processing block B of the transfer unit may be omitted.

The above description is merely an illustrative explanation of the technical idea of the present invention, and various modifications and variations will be possible to those skilled in the art without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention. Accordingly, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are not intended to limit the technical idea of the present invention, but rather to explain it, and the scope of the technical idea of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. The scope of protection of the present invention should be interpreted in accordance with the claims below, and all technical ideas within the equivalent scope should be construed as being included in the scope of rights of the present invention.

41: first process chamber
42: second process chamber
43: transfer chamber
44: Development unit
46: application unit
110: housing
400: Supercritical processing unit
500: heat treatment unit
600: conveyance means
612: Conveyance rail
614: Conveyance member

Claims (14)

In a device for processing a substrate,
Performing a processing process on a substrate, comprising a plurality of processing blocks stacked on top of each other in the vertical direction,
At least one of the processing blocks is:
a first process chamber that develops the substrate by supplying a developer;
a second process chamber that supplies a coating liquid to form a coating film on the substrate;
A transfer chamber that transfers the substrate between the first process chamber and the second process chamber,
The first process chamber,
a housing having an interior space;
a developing unit provided in the internal space and supplying a developing solution to the substrate; and
A substrate processing device comprising a supercritical processing unit provided in the internal space and processing the substrate using a supercritical fluid.
According to paragraph 1,
A substrate processing apparatus wherein the developing unit and the supercritical processing unit are arranged in a line parallel to the longitudinal direction of the transfer chamber.
According to paragraph 2,
The first process chamber,
A substrate processing apparatus further comprising a transfer means for receiving the substrate from the transfer chamber and transferring the substrate within the first process chamber.
According to paragraph 1,
The second process chamber,
an application chamber for supplying a coating liquid to the substrate;
A substrate processing apparatus comprising a heat treatment chamber disposed adjacent to the application chamber and performing a heat treatment process on the substrate.
According to paragraph 3,
The first process chamber,
Further comprising a heat treatment unit for heat treating the substrate,
The development unit, the supercritical processing unit, and the heat treatment unit are arranged in a line parallel to the longitudinal direction of the transfer chamber.
According to clause 5,
The second process chamber,
Comprising a plurality of application units,
The coating unit is a substrate processing device that supplies a coating liquid to the substrate.
According to clause 5,
The second process chamber,
a housing having an interior space;
an application unit provided in the internal space and supplying a coating liquid to the substrate; and
A substrate processing device comprising a heat treatment unit provided in the internal space and heat treating the substrate.
In clause 7,
The application unit and the heat treatment unit are arranged in a line parallel to the longitudinal direction of the transfer chamber,
The second process chamber,
A substrate processing apparatus further comprising a transfer means for receiving the substrate from the transfer chamber and transferring the substrate within the second process chamber.
According to clause 5,
The second process chamber,
a housing having an interior space;
an application unit provided in the internal space and supplying a coating liquid to the substrate;
a supercritical processing unit provided in the internal space and processing the substrate using a supercritical fluid; and
A substrate processing device including a heat treatment unit for heat treating the substrate.
According to clause 9,
The application unit, the supercritical processing unit, and the heat treatment unit are arranged in a line parallel to the longitudinal direction of the transfer chamber,
The second process chamber,
A substrate processing apparatus further comprising a transfer means for receiving the substrate from the transfer chamber and transferring the substrate within the second process chamber.
According to paragraph 1,
The first process chamber is disposed on one side of the transfer chamber,
The second process chamber is a substrate processing device disposed on the other side of the transfer chamber.
An index module including a load port on which a container containing a substrate is placed and an index robot that transports the substrate from the container; and
a processing module that performs a processing process on the substrate;
It includes an interface module connecting an exposure device and the processing module,
The index module, the processing module, and the interface module are sequentially arranged in a line,
The processing module is,
Performing a process on the substrate and comprising a plurality of processing blocks stacked on top of each other in the vertical direction,
Each of the processing blocks is:
a developing chamber that supplies a developing solution to develop the substrate;
an application chamber that supplies a coating liquid to form a coating film on the substrate;
a heat treatment chamber that performs a heat treatment process on the substrate;
a supercritical processing chamber that supplies supercritical fluid to process the substrate;
A substrate processing device comprising a transfer chamber that receives a substrate from the index robot and transfers the substrate between the developing chamber, the coating chamber, the heat treatment chamber, and the supercritical processing chamber.
According to clause 12,
The application chamber and the development chamber are provided on one side of the transfer chamber,
A substrate processing device wherein the heat treatment chamber and the supercritical processing chamber are provided on the other side of the transfer chamber.
According to clause 12,
The application chamber and the heat treatment chamber are provided on one side of the transfer chamber,
A substrate processing apparatus wherein the development chamber and the supercritical processing chamber are provided on the other side of the transfer chamber.

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