US20060172441A1 - Resist application method and device - Google Patents
Resist application method and device Download PDFInfo
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- US20060172441A1 US20060172441A1 US11/396,677 US39667706A US2006172441A1 US 20060172441 A1 US20060172441 A1 US 20060172441A1 US 39667706 A US39667706 A US 39667706A US 2006172441 A1 US2006172441 A1 US 2006172441A1
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- wafer
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- hmds
- processing
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- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 title abstract description 31
- 238000012545 processing Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 156
- 230000002209 hydrophobic effect Effects 0.000 claims abstract description 38
- XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N water Substances O XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims abstract description 37
- 239000012298 atmosphere Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 23
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 9
- 239000000758 substrate Substances 0.000 claims description 56
- 238000010438 heat treatment Methods 0.000 claims description 14
- 238000001704 evaporation Methods 0.000 abstract description 4
- 235000012431 wafers Nutrition 0.000 description 100
- 238000001816 cooling Methods 0.000 description 35
- 239000000126 substance Substances 0.000 description 30
- IJGRMHOSHXDMSA-UHFFFAOYSA-N Atomic nitrogen Chemical compound N#N IJGRMHOSHXDMSA-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 12
- 229910001873 dinitrogen Inorganic materials 0.000 description 10
- 230000007062 hydrolysis Effects 0.000 description 9
- 238000006460 hydrolysis reaction Methods 0.000 description 9
- 239000004065 semiconductor Substances 0.000 description 9
- 239000007789 gas Substances 0.000 description 5
- 238000001179 sorption measurement Methods 0.000 description 5
- 238000006243 chemical reaction Methods 0.000 description 4
- 230000007547 defect Effects 0.000 description 3
- 238000011156 evaluation Methods 0.000 description 3
- 238000004528 spin coating Methods 0.000 description 3
- QGZKDVFQNNGYKY-UHFFFAOYSA-N Ammonia Chemical compound N QGZKDVFQNNGYKY-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- 229910021417 amorphous silicon Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 230000005587 bubbling Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000005530 etching Methods 0.000 description 2
- FFUAGWLWBBFQJT-UHFFFAOYSA-N hexamethyldisilazane Chemical compound C[Si](C)(C)N[Si](C)(C)C FFUAGWLWBBFQJT-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- 230000003301 hydrolyzing effect Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000004519 manufacturing process Methods 0.000 description 2
- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 description 2
- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000005192 partition Methods 0.000 description 2
- 125000005373 siloxane group Chemical group [SiH2](O*)* 0.000 description 2
- 206010021143 Hypoxia Diseases 0.000 description 1
- XUIMIQQOPSSXEZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N Silicon Chemical compound [Si] XUIMIQQOPSSXEZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 229910021529 ammonia Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000012159 carrier gas Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000003795 chemical substances by application Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000003247 decreasing effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000001514 detection method Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000011521 glass Substances 0.000 description 1
- 125000002887 hydroxy group Chemical group [H]O* 0.000 description 1
- 239000011261 inert gas Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000009413 insulation Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000007788 liquid Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229910052757 nitrogen Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000012299 nitrogen atmosphere Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000003960 organic solvent Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000000059 patterning Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000007781 pre-processing Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000002265 prevention Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000004064 recycling Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000005389 semiconductor device fabrication Methods 0.000 description 1
- 229910052710 silicon Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000010703 silicon Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000006884 silylation reaction Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000012546 transfer Methods 0.000 description 1
- AAPLIUHOKVUFCC-UHFFFAOYSA-N trimethylsilanol Chemical compound C[Si](C)(C)O AAPLIUHOKVUFCC-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
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- G—PHYSICS
- G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
- G03F—PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES, e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; MATERIALS THEREFOR; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR
- G03F7/00—Photomechanical, e.g. photolithographic, production of textured or patterned surfaces, e.g. printing surfaces; Materials therefor, e.g. comprising photoresists; Apparatus specially adapted therefor
- G03F7/16—Coating processes; Apparatus therefor
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
- G03F—PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES, e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; MATERIALS THEREFOR; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR
- G03F7/00—Photomechanical, e.g. photolithographic, production of textured or patterned surfaces, e.g. printing surfaces; Materials therefor, e.g. comprising photoresists; Apparatus specially adapted therefor
- G03F7/16—Coating processes; Apparatus therefor
- G03F7/168—Finishing the coated layer, e.g. drying, baking, soaking
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
- H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/02—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/02104—Forming layers
- H01L21/02107—Forming insulating materials on a substrate
- H01L21/02109—Forming insulating materials on a substrate characterised by the type of layer, e.g. type of material, porous/non-porous, pre-cursors, mixtures or laminates
- H01L21/02112—Forming insulating materials on a substrate characterised by the type of layer, e.g. type of material, porous/non-porous, pre-cursors, mixtures or laminates characterised by the material of the layer
- H01L21/02118—Forming insulating materials on a substrate characterised by the type of layer, e.g. type of material, porous/non-porous, pre-cursors, mixtures or laminates characterised by the material of the layer carbon based polymeric organic or inorganic material, e.g. polyimides, poly cyclobutene or PVC
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
- H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/02—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/04—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof the devices having potential barriers, e.g. a PN junction, depletion layer or carrier concentration layer
- H01L21/18—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof the devices having potential barriers, e.g. a PN junction, depletion layer or carrier concentration layer the devices having semiconductor bodies comprising elements of Group IV of the Periodic Table or AIIIBV compounds with or without impurities, e.g. doping materials
- H01L21/30—Treatment of semiconductor bodies using processes or apparatus not provided for in groups H01L21/20 - H01L21/26
- H01L21/31—Treatment of semiconductor bodies using processes or apparatus not provided for in groups H01L21/20 - H01L21/26 to form insulating layers thereon, e.g. for masking or by using photolithographic techniques; After treatment of these layers; Selection of materials for these layers
- H01L21/312—Organic layers, e.g. photoresist
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a resist application method and device for applying a resist to a substrate after the surface of the substrate has been subjected to hydrophobic processing with hexamethyldisilazane.
- HMDS hexamehtyldisilazane
- hydrophobic processing with HMDS enhances adhesion between the resist film and the substrate surface, whereby in the following patterning, the occurrence of unsatisfactory pattern transfer, etc. can be suppressed.
- HMDS which is liquid at the room temperature
- the nitrogen gas containing the HMDS produced by the bubbling is injected to a substrate on a hot plate whose temperature is controlled within a range of 30-100° C. in a tightly closed processing chamber.
- the substrate is cooled at the room temperature, and a certain amount of resist is dropped onto the rotating substrate in an environment whose temperature and humidity are controlled, whereby the resist is applied to the substrate.
- the resist applied to the substrate is dried and solidified by heat processing, and a resist film is formed.
- the resist film thus formed on the substrate is subjected to an exposure step to be patterned into a required shape, as of a wiring pattern or others.
- Japanese Published Patent Application No. Hei 04-99310 (1992) (pp. 2-3, FIGS. 1 and 2) discloses the method that prior to the HMDS processing, heated nitrogen gas is injected to a substrate to thereby remove water from the substrate surface.
- Japanese Examined Patent Application Publication No. Sho 62-35264 (1987) (pp. 2-3, FIGS. 1-3) discloses the method that the processing from the HMDS processing to the application of the resist is performed in a nitrogen atmosphere.
- Japanese Published Patent Application No. Hei 05-234866 (1993) discloses the method that a plasma processing unit and an HMDS processing unit are disposed in one and the same chamber to thereby remove water on substrate surfaces by plasma processing.
- the internal unit of the resist application device where the above-described resist application is performed is fed with an atmosphere in a clean room through a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filter.
- HEPA High Efficiency Particulate Air
- an atmosphere in a clean room is fed into the internal unit through a chemical filter so as to remove basic substances, such as ammonia, etc., which inactivate the resist.
- HMDS used for the hydrophobic processing before the resist application reacts with water contained in the fed atmosphere of the clean room to be decomposed into siloxane-group substances, such as trimethylsilanol. Resultantly, it is often that the adhesion between the resist and substances is lowered.
- a resist application device which controls the water content of the atmosphere in the HMDS processing unit is also so far known.
- the water contents of the atmosphere before and after the HMDS processing have not been controlled.
- the water contents of the atmosphere have not been especially controlled. Accordingly, re-adsorption of water to the substrate surface, etc. takes place. It cannot be said that the humidity control in the serial processing is sufficient.
- the undesirable influence by the hydrolysis of the HMDS used in the hydrophobic processing on the substrate surface due to the water is not limited to the reduced adhesion between the resist and the substrate as will be described below.
- FIG. 4 is a picture of the foreign substance. The foreign substance was observed by a scanning electronic microscope.
- An object of the present invention is to provide a resist application method and device which can suppress the production of foreign substances on substrate surfaces.
- a resist application method comprising the steps of: thermal processing for evaporating water from the surface of a substrate; making the surface of the substrate hydrophobic with a hydrophobic processing material; and applying a resist onto the substrate, the step of thermal processing to the step of making the substrate surface hydrophobic being performed in a dehumidified atmosphere.
- a resist application method comprising the steps of: thermal processing for evaporating water from the surface of a substrate; making the surface of the substrate hydrophobic with a hydrophobic processing material; and applying a resist onto the substrate, in the step of thermal processing, a temperature of the substrate being above 150° C. including 150° C.
- a resist application device comprising: a thermal processing unit for performing thermal processing to evaporate water from the surface of a substrate in a dehumidified atmosphere; a hydrophobic processing unit for making the substrate surface hydrophobic with a hydrophobic processing material, keeping the dehumidified atmosphere; and a resist application unit for applying a resist onto the substrate.
- the resist application method comprises the steps of: thermal processing for evaporating water from the surface of a substrate; making the surface of the substrate hydrophobic with a hydrophobic processing material; and applying a resist onto the substrate, and the step of the thermal processing to the step of making the substrate surface hydrophobic are performed in a dehumidified atmosphere, whereby the hydrolysis of the hydrophobic processing material to be used in the hydrophobic processing of the substrate surface can be suppressed, and the generation of foreign substances on the substrate surface can be suppressed.
- the substrate surface is made hydrophobic with the hydrophobic processing material while the substrate is being heated, whereby the adhesion between the substrate and the resist can be improved.
- the generation of foreign substances on the substrate surface can be suppressed, and the adhesion between the substrate and the resist is improved, whereby semiconductor devices of high quality can be fabricated with high yields.
- FIG. 1 is an upper side view of the resist application device according to one embodiment of the present invention, which shows a structure thereof.
- FIG. 2 is a flow chart of the steps of the resist application method according to one embodiment of the present invention.
- FIGS. 3A and 3A are views of evaluation results.
- FIG. 4 is a picture of a foreign substance.
- FIG. 1 is an upper side view of the resist application device according to the present embodiment, which shows a structure thereof.
- FIG. 2 is a flow chart of the resist application method according to the present embodiment.
- the resist application device according to the present embodiment will be explained with reference to FIG. 1 .
- the resist application device includes a housing unit 12 which houses a wafer 10 to be coated with a resist; a first thermal processing unit 14 where the wafer 10 is subjected to thermal processing before HMDS processing; a first cooling processing unit 16 where the wafer 10 which has been thermally processed by the first thermal processing unit 14 is cooled; an HMDS processing unit 18 where the surface of the wafer 10 is subjected to hydrophobic processing with HMDS; a second cooling processing unit 20 where the wafer 10 which has been subjected to the hydrophobic processing with HMDS is cooled; and a second thermal processing unit 22 where the wafer which has been coated with the resist is thermally processed arranged adjacent to each other in the stated order.
- An arm moving region 26 where a carrying arm 24 for carrying a wafer 10 to the respective processing units is provided on one sides of the first thermal processing unit 14 , the first cooling processing unit 16 , the HMDS processing unit 18 , the second cooling processing unit 20 and the second thermal processing unit 22 .
- a resist application unit 28 where a resist is applied to the wafer which has been cooled after the HMDS processing is provided in the region opposed to the respective processing units across the arm moving region 26 .
- Partition walls 30 for isolating the respective processing units from each other are provided between the respective processing units and their adjacent one.
- the respective processing units are connected respectively to independent exhaust systems (not shown). Openings (not shown) for letting in and out the wafer 10 by the carrying arm 24 are provided in the partition walls 30 of the respective processing units opposed to the arm moving region 26 .
- the respective processing units are isolated chambers isolated from an atmosphere in a clean room where the resist application device is usually positioned. When the device is operated, dehumidified air, i.e., clean dry air is fed into the first thermal processing unit 14 , the first cooling processing unit 16 , the HMDS processing unit 18 , the second cooling processing unit 20 and the arm moving region 26 .
- Wafers 10 to be coated with a resist are housed in the housing unit 12 , mounted on a carrier 32 .
- the carrying arm 24 is moved in the housing unit 12 and the arm moving region 26 to take the wafer 10 off the carrier 32 and carry the wafer 10 to the respective processing units.
- a hot plate 34 whose temperature can be controlled in the range of, e.g., 40-250° C. is provided in the first thermal processing unit 14 .
- the wafer 10 is thermally processed, the wafer 10 is mounted on the hot plate 34 .
- a cooling plate 36 inside which water whose temperature controlled by, e.g., a thermostat or others is circulated is disposed in the first cooling processing unit 16 .
- the wafer 10 is mounted on the cooling plate 36 .
- a hot plate 38 whose temperature can be controlled in the rage of, e.g., 40-250° C. is disposed in the HMDS processing unit 18 .
- the wafer 10 is mounted on the hot plate 38 .
- HMDS which has been bubbled with nitrogen gas and vaporized in a storage tank (not shown) disposed outside is carried on the nitrogen gas as a carrier gas into the HMDS processing unit 18 .
- a cooling plate 40 inside which water having the temperature controlled by, e.g., a thermostat or others is circulated is disposed.
- the wafer 10 is mounted on the cooling plate 10 .
- a hot plate 42 whose temperature can be controlled in the range of, e.g., 40-250° C. is provided.
- the wafer 10 is mounted on the hot plate 42 .
- the resist application unit 28 there are disposed an application cup 44 in which a resist is applied, and a wafer chuck 46 which is disposed in the application cup 44 and is rotated in horizontal plane, holding the wafer 10 .
- a nozzle (not shown) for dropping a resist onto the wafer 10 held by the wafer chuck 46 is disposed above the wafer chuck 46 .
- the resist application device is characterized mainly by the first thermal processing unit 14 which thermally processes a wafer 10 before the wafer 10 is subjected to the HMDS processing.
- the wafer 10 is heated by the first thermally processing unit 14 before the wafer 10 is subjected to the HMDS processing, whereby water on the surface of the wafer 10 is removed, and the hydrolysis of the HMDS to be used in the hydrophobic processing of the surface can be suppressed.
- the resist application device is characterized also by the hot plate 38 for heating the wafer 10 in the HMDS processing.
- the HMDS processing is made on the wafer which is being heated by the hot plate 38 , whereby the adhesion of the resist film to the wafer 10 can be better.
- the resist application device is characterized also in that while the device is in operation, dehumidified air, i.e., clean dry air is fed into the first thermal processing unit 14 , the first cooling processing unit 16 , the HMDS processing unit 18 , the second cooling processing unit 20 and the arm moving region 26 .
- dehumidified air i.e., clean dry air is fed into the first thermal processing unit 14 , the first cooling processing unit 16 , the HMDS processing unit 18 , the second cooling processing unit 20 and the arm moving region 26 .
- the clean dry air is fed into the processing units into which the wafer 10 is carried, and in the dehumidified atmosphere, the wafer 10 is carried and is subjected to the serial processing, whereby re-adsorption of the water to the surface of the wafer 10 can be suppressed.
- the hydrolytic reaction of the HMDS to be used in the surface hydrophobic processing due to the water can be suppressed.
- the resist application device suppresses the hydrolytic reaction of the HMDS to be used in the hydrophobic processing of the surface of the wafer 10 , whereby the generation of foreign substances which are a cause for inconveniences, such as pattern defects, etc. on the surface of the wafer 10 with the resist developed. Furthermore, the adhesion between the wafer 10 and the resist film can be better. Thus, semiconductor devices of high quality can be fabricated with high yields.
- the clean dry air is not fed into the resist application unit 28 , which does not cause the inconvenience either that a resist film cannot be formed in a uniform thickness.
- the thermal processing is performed only by the hot plate 34 , which is simple heating means without pressure reduction, which can make the device structure simpler in comparison with the device structure in which the heating is performed with a hot plate in a reduced pressure chamber.
- the clean dry air is fed respectively into the first thermal processing unit 14 , the first cooling processing unit 16 , the HMDS processing unit 18 , the second cooling processing unit 20 and the arm moving region 26 .
- the respective processing units are exhausted by the exhaust systems associated respectively therewith to replace atmospheres in the respective processing units and the arm moving region 26 with the clean dry air.
- the clean dry air has, e.g., a ⁇ 60° C. dew point at the atmospheric pressure.
- a flow rate of the fed clean dry air is, e.g., 3 L/min.
- a wafer 10 is taken off the carrier 32 in the housing unit 12 by the carrying arm 24 , carried to the first thermal processing unit 14 and mounted on the hot plate 34 in the first thermal processing unit 14 .
- the wafer 10 is heated by the hot plate 34 in the first thermal processing unit 14 set at, e.g., 225° C. for 60 seconds (Step S 1 ).
- the heating temperature and heating time of the wafer 10 are not limited to 225° C. and 60 seconds and can be suitably set in accordance with various conditions, such as a wafer size, etc. so that water can be removed from the surface of the wafer 10 .
- the heating temperature may be above 100° C. including 100° C.
- the heating temperature of the wafer 10 is set at above 150° C. including 150° C. to thereby evaporate water on the surface of the wafer 10 in a short period of time without failure. With the heating temperature set at 200° C. including 200° C., water on the surface of the wafer 10 can be evaporated in a further shorter period of time without failure.
- the wafer 10 When the wafer 10 has been thermally processed, the wafer 10 is carried by the carrying arm 24 from the first thermal processing unit 14 to the first cooling processing unit 16 , and is mounted on the cooling plate 36 in the first cooling processing unit 16 . At this time, the arm moving region 26 where the wafer is to be moved, and the first cooling processing unit 16 have been fed with the dehumidified clean dry air. Thus, after the thermal processing by the first thermal processing unit 14 , the re-adsorption of water to the surface of the wafer 10 can be suppressed.
- the wafer 10 is cooled by the cooling plate 36 in the first cooling processing unit 16 (Step S 2 ).
- the wafer 10 is cooled until the temperature of the wafer 10 becomes, e.g., 23° C., which is the room temperature.
- the wafer 10 is carried by the carrying arm 24 from the first cooling processing unit 16 to the HMDS processing unit 18 filled with dry nitrogen, and the wafer 10 is mounted on the hot plate 38 in the HMDS processing unit 18 .
- the arm moving region 26 where the wafer 10 is moved is fed with the humidified clean dry air.
- the HMDS which has been vaporized by, e.g., bubbling is carried on nitrogen gas into the HMDS processing unit 18 to expose the surface of the wafer 10 to the vaporized HMDS.
- the wafer 10 is kept heated to, e.g., 110° C. by the hot plate 38 in the HMDS processing unit 18 (Step S 3 ).
- the heating temperature here is not limited to 110° C., and can be, e.g., above 100° C. including 100° C. as long as the re-adsorption of water to the surface of the surface 10 can be suppressed.
- the wafer 10 is carried by the carrying arm 24 from the HMDS processing unit 18 to the second cooling processing unit 20 , and the wafer 10 is mounted on the cooling plate 40 in the second cooling processing unit 20 . Subsequently, the wafer 10 is cooled by the cooling plate 40 in the second cooling processing unit 20 (Step S 4 ). The wafer 10 is cooled until the temperature of the wafer 10 becomes, e.g., 23° C., which is the room temperature.
- the wafer 10 When the cooling processing of the wafer 10 is over, the wafer 10 is carried by the carrying arm 24 from the second cooling processing unit 20 to the resist application unit 28 , the wafer 10 is held by the wafer chuck 46 in the resist application unit 38 .
- Step S 5 a prescribed amount of a resist is dropped onto the surface of the wafer 10 being rotated in horizontal plane by the wafer chuck 46 .
- the resist is thus applied to the surface of the wafer 10 by spin coating (Step S 5 ).
- the atmosphere in the resist application unit 18 is air having the humidity controlled to be, e.g., 45%.
- the temperature of the wafer 10 is controlled to be, e.g., 23° C.
- the atmosphere in the resist application unit 28 where the resist is applied has a suitable amount of water, which permits the resist film to be formed in a uniform thickness.
- the wafer 10 is carried by the carrying arm 24 from the resist application unit 28 to the second thermal processing unit 22 , and the wafer 120 is mounted on the hot plate 42 in the second thermal processing unit 22 . Subsequently, the wafer 10 is heated to about 120° C. by the hot plate 44 in the second thermal processing unit 22 .
- the resist immediately after the application which contains a suitable amount of organic solvent is thus dried and solidified (Step S 6 ).
- the clean dry air which has been fed into the first thermal processing unit 14 , etc. does not have to be fed into the second thermal processing unit 22 .
- the atmosphere in the second thermal processing unit 22 may be the same as that of, e.g., the clean room.
- the heating temperature is not limited to about 120° C. and can be suitably set in accordance with a kind, etc. of the applied resist.
- Step S 7 the application of the resist by the resist application method according to the present embodiment is completed.
- the wafer 10 having the resist thus applied to is carried, mounted on the carrier 32 , to the next step of the exposure etc.
- the clean dry air having the water content controlled to be small is fed into the respective processing units, the wafer 10 is subjected to the thermal processing before the HMDS processing, and the HMDS processing is performed with the wafer 10 being heated, whereby the hydrolysis of the HMDS to be used in the hydrophobic processing of the surface can be suppressed.
- the generation of foreign substances on the surface of the wafer 10 can be suppressed, and also the adhesion between the wafer 10 and the resist can be made better.
- Semiconductor devices of high quality can be fabricated with high yields.
- Japanese Published Patent Application No. Hei 05-315233 (1993) discloses the art that before the HMDS processing, a semiconductor substrate is mounted on a plate heated at 80° C. to be processed for 30 seconds at an about 60 mmHg degrees of vacuum, whereby water is removed from the semiconductor substrate surface.
- the heating temperature of 80° C. it is difficult to remove water from the semiconductor substrate surface without failure for a short period of time even at a reduced pressure.
- water 10 is heated at the above-described high temperature, which makes it possible to removed water from the surface of the wafer 10 .
- the pressure reduction is not necessary for the heat processing, which allows to use simple heating means.
- Japanese Published Patent Application No. Hei 05-315233 (1993) is for improving the adhesion of the resist film, and is quite different from the present invention, which is for suppressing the occurrence of the foreign substances.
- Japanese Published Patent Application No. Hei 05-315233 (1993) neither discloses nor suggests the heating temperature for preventing the occurrence of the foreign substances.
- Wafers coated with a resist by the resist application method according to the present embodiment and the prior art resist application methods were compared for evaluation in numbers of foreign substances detected by a foreign substance detector.
- FIGS. 3A and 3B show pictures of the wafers coated with the resist, which show the results of the detection of foreign substances by the foreign substance detector.
- FIG. 3A is the picture of the wafer coated with the resist by the resist application method according to the present embodiment.
- FIG. 3B is the picture of the wafer coated with the resist by the prior art method.
- scattered points of gray to black indicate foreign substances.
- the numbers indicated below the respective pictures indicate numbers of foreign substances produced due to the hydrolysis of the HMDS with respect to total numbers of the detected foreign substances.
- the number of the foreign substances generated due to the hydrolysis was 0.
- the number of the foreign substances generated due to the hydrolysis of the HMDS was 109 .
- the resist application method according to the present embodiment can drastically decrease the number of foreign substances generated due to the hydrolysis of the HMDS which are to be the cause for pattern defects in the etching in comparison with the prior art method. It has been also found that the total number of the foreign substances detected on the wafer coated with the resist can be smaller.
- the hydrophobic processing was performed by using HMDS, but the hydrophobic processing material to be used in the making the surface hydrophobic is not limited to HMDS.
- the clean dry air has a ⁇ 60° C. dew point in the atmospheric pressure.
- the water content of the clean dry air is not limited to this, and the clean dry air can have a humidity of, e.g., below 20% including 20%.
- the dry clean air is fed into the respective processing units, and the serial processing is performed in the dehumidified atmosphere.
- a gas to be fed into the respective processing unit is not limited to the clean dry air, and any gas can be used as long as the gas is dehumidified.
- an inert gas e.g., nitrogen gas, rare gas or others may be fed. Otherwise, a mixed gas of them may be used.
- the use of the dry clean air is free from the risk of oxygen deficiency accidents which are present in the use of nitrogen gas or others, and has an advantage that safety equipments are not required.
- a resist is applied onto wafers.
- the present invention is not limited to the application of a resist onto wafers and is applicable widely to the resist application onto various substrates, such as semiconductor substrates, glass substrates, etc.
- the resist is applied onto wafers by spin coating.
- the method for applying a resist onto wafers is not limited to the spin coating.
- the serial process up to the application of the resist to the wafer is described.
- the resist application method according to the present invention is incorporated in the semiconductor device fabrication steps to form resist films to be used in forming various patterns, as of insulation layers, wiring layers, etc. of semiconductor devices.
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- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Condensed Matter Physics & Semiconductors (AREA)
- Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
- Computer Hardware Design (AREA)
- Microelectronics & Electronic Packaging (AREA)
- Power Engineering (AREA)
- Exposure Of Semiconductors, Excluding Electron Or Ion Beam Exposure (AREA)
- Photosensitive Polymer And Photoresist Processing (AREA)
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Abstract
The resist application method comprises the steps of: thermal processing for evaporating water from the surface of a wafer 10; making the surface of the wafer 10 hydrophobic with a hydrophobic processing material; and applying a resist onto the wafer 10, and the step of thermal processing to the step of making the surface of the wafer 10 hydrophobic are performed in a dehumidified atmosphere.
Description
- This Application is a divisional of application Ser. No. 10/652,314 filed on Sep. 2, 2003. This application is based upon and claims priority of Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-264105, filed on Sep. 10, 2002, the contents being incorporated herein by reference.
- The present invention relates to a resist application method and device for applying a resist to a substrate after the surface of the substrate has been subjected to hydrophobic processing with hexamethyldisilazane.
- Conventionally in fabricating semiconductor devices, when a resist is applied to a substrate, such as a wafer or others, generally the surface of the substrate is made hydrophobic with hexamehtyldisilazane (HMDS) as pre-processing. HMDS is a good silylation agent, and easily silylates hydroxyl groups on the surface of the silicon substrate, etc. to make the substrate surface hydrophobic.
- The hydrophobic processing with HMDS enhances adhesion between the resist film and the substrate surface, whereby in the following patterning, the occurrence of unsatisfactory pattern transfer, etc. can be suppressed.
- The hydrophobic processing of a wafer surface with HMDS is made as follows.
- First, HMDS, which is liquid at the room temperature, is bubbled with nitrogen gas while being heated. The nitrogen gas containing the HMDS produced by the bubbling is injected to a substrate on a hot plate whose temperature is controlled within a range of 30-100° C. in a tightly closed processing chamber.
- Then, usually the substrate is cooled at the room temperature, and a certain amount of resist is dropped onto the rotating substrate in an environment whose temperature and humidity are controlled, whereby the resist is applied to the substrate. The resist applied to the substrate is dried and solidified by heat processing, and a resist film is formed. The resist film thus formed on the substrate is subjected to an exposure step to be patterned into a required shape, as of a wiring pattern or others.
- In such resist applying step, for better adhesion between the resist and the substrate, various methods have been so far proposed.
- For example, Japanese Published Patent Application No. Hei 04-99310 (1992) (pp. 2-3, FIGS. 1 and 2) discloses the method that prior to the HMDS processing, heated nitrogen gas is injected to a substrate to thereby remove water from the substrate surface.
- Japanese Published Patent Application No. Hei 05-315233 (1993) (Paragraphs 0021-0022, FIG. 2) and Japanese Published Patent Application No. Hei 06-302507 (1994) (Paragraphs 0014-0015, FIG. 1) disclose the method that prior to the HMDS processing, water on the surface of a substrate is removed by reduced pressure processing.
- Japanese Examined Patent Application Publication No. Sho 62-35264 (1987) (pp. 2-3, FIGS. 1-3) discloses the method that the processing from the HMDS processing to the application of the resist is performed in a nitrogen atmosphere.
- Japanese Published Patent Application No. Hei 10-256139 (1998) (Paragraphs 0026-0033, FIG. 1) discloses the method that dry air is caused to flow in a coater cup where a resist is applied, for the purpose of removing humidity around the coater cup and recycling the resist.
- Japanese Published Patent Application No. Hei 05-234866 (1993) discloses the method that a plasma processing unit and an HMDS processing unit are disposed in one and the same chamber to thereby remove water on substrate surfaces by plasma processing.
- The internal unit of the resist application device, where the above-described resist application is performed is fed with an atmosphere in a clean room through a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filter. Recently, in applying a chemically amplified resist used for mass production, an atmosphere in a clean room is fed into the internal unit through a chemical filter so as to remove basic substances, such as ammonia, etc., which inactivate the resist.
- However, in the conventional resist application device, the humidity of an atmosphere in a clean room, which is to be fed into the internal unit, has not been especially controlled.
- Accordingly, HMDS used for the hydrophobic processing before the resist application reacts with water contained in the fed atmosphere of the clean room to be decomposed into siloxane-group substances, such as trimethylsilanol. Resultantly, it is often that the adhesion between the resist and substances is lowered.
- For the prevention of such reaction of HMDS with water in the atmosphere, as described above in connection with the prior art, a resist application device which controls the water content of the atmosphere in the HMDS processing unit is also so far known. However, the water contents of the atmosphere before and after the HMDS processing have not been controlled. For example, in cooling a substrate after the baking prior to the HMDS processing, in transferring the substrate or in cooling the substrate after the HMDS processing, the water contents of the atmosphere have not been especially controlled. Accordingly, re-adsorption of water to the substrate surface, etc. takes place. It cannot be said that the humidity control in the serial processing is sufficient.
- For reducing the undesirable influence by the water before and after the HMDS processing, the method as exemplified by the prior art disclosed in Japanese Examined Patent Application Publication No. Sho 62-35264 (1987) (pp. 2-3, FIGS. 1-3), in which the serial processing from the HMDS processing to the resist application is performed in an atmosphere of nitrogen gas, is known. However, the atmosphere in which the resist application is performed has also the water content decreased, which will make it difficult to form the resist film in a uniform film thickness. Also in consideration of the amount of nitrogen gas required to completely replace the processing chamber and the time required for the replacement, etc., it will be difficult to efficiently apply the resist from the viewpoint of cost and time.
- The undesirable influence by the hydrolysis of the HMDS used in the hydrophobic processing on the substrate surface due to the water is not limited to the reduced adhesion between the resist and the substrate as will be described below.
- Siloxane-group substances produced by the hydrolysis of the HMDS due to the water cause reactions on the surfaces of especially amorphous silicon, etc. Resultantly, after the resist has been patterned, foreign substances are often produced on the surfaces of amorphous silicon, etc.
FIG. 4 is a picture of the foreign substance. The foreign substance was observed by a scanning electronic microscope. - Such foreign substances are sufficiently able to mask the etching, and are one factor for causing defects of the pattern as etched, which has much affected yields of the products.
- An object of the present invention is to provide a resist application method and device which can suppress the production of foreign substances on substrate surfaces.
- According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a resist application method comprising the steps of: thermal processing for evaporating water from the surface of a substrate; making the surface of the substrate hydrophobic with a hydrophobic processing material; and applying a resist onto the substrate, the step of thermal processing to the step of making the substrate surface hydrophobic being performed in a dehumidified atmosphere.
- According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a resist application method comprising the steps of: thermal processing for evaporating water from the surface of a substrate; making the surface of the substrate hydrophobic with a hydrophobic processing material; and applying a resist onto the substrate, in the step of thermal processing, a temperature of the substrate being above 150° C. including 150° C.
- According to further another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a resist application device comprising: a thermal processing unit for performing thermal processing to evaporate water from the surface of a substrate in a dehumidified atmosphere; a hydrophobic processing unit for making the substrate surface hydrophobic with a hydrophobic processing material, keeping the dehumidified atmosphere; and a resist application unit for applying a resist onto the substrate.
- As described above, the resist application method according to the present invention comprises the steps of: thermal processing for evaporating water from the surface of a substrate; making the surface of the substrate hydrophobic with a hydrophobic processing material; and applying a resist onto the substrate, and the step of the thermal processing to the step of making the substrate surface hydrophobic are performed in a dehumidified atmosphere, whereby the hydrolysis of the hydrophobic processing material to be used in the hydrophobic processing of the substrate surface can be suppressed, and the generation of foreign substances on the substrate surface can be suppressed. The substrate surface is made hydrophobic with the hydrophobic processing material while the substrate is being heated, whereby the adhesion between the substrate and the resist can be improved. Thus, the generation of foreign substances on the substrate surface can be suppressed, and the adhesion between the substrate and the resist is improved, whereby semiconductor devices of high quality can be fabricated with high yields.
-
FIG. 1 is an upper side view of the resist application device according to one embodiment of the present invention, which shows a structure thereof. -
FIG. 2 is a flow chart of the steps of the resist application method according to one embodiment of the present invention. -
FIGS. 3A and 3A are views of evaluation results. -
FIG. 4 is a picture of a foreign substance. - The resist application method and device according to one embodiment of the present invention will be explained with reference to
FIGS. 1 and 2 .FIG. 1 is an upper side view of the resist application device according to the present embodiment, which shows a structure thereof.FIG. 2 is a flow chart of the resist application method according to the present embodiment. - [1] The Resist Application Device
- The resist application device according to the present embodiment will be explained with reference to
FIG. 1 . - The resist application device according to the present embodiment includes a
housing unit 12 which houses awafer 10 to be coated with a resist; a firstthermal processing unit 14 where thewafer 10 is subjected to thermal processing before HMDS processing; a firstcooling processing unit 16 where thewafer 10 which has been thermally processed by the firstthermal processing unit 14 is cooled; anHMDS processing unit 18 where the surface of thewafer 10 is subjected to hydrophobic processing with HMDS; a secondcooling processing unit 20 where thewafer 10 which has been subjected to the hydrophobic processing with HMDS is cooled; and a secondthermal processing unit 22 where the wafer which has been coated with the resist is thermally processed arranged adjacent to each other in the stated order. - An
arm moving region 26 where a carryingarm 24 for carrying awafer 10 to the respective processing units is provided on one sides of the firstthermal processing unit 14, the firstcooling processing unit 16, theHMDS processing unit 18, the secondcooling processing unit 20 and the secondthermal processing unit 22. A resistapplication unit 28 where a resist is applied to the wafer which has been cooled after the HMDS processing is provided in the region opposed to the respective processing units across thearm moving region 26. -
Partition walls 30 for isolating the respective processing units from each other are provided between the respective processing units and their adjacent one. The respective processing units are connected respectively to independent exhaust systems (not shown). Openings (not shown) for letting in and out thewafer 10 by the carryingarm 24 are provided in thepartition walls 30 of the respective processing units opposed to thearm moving region 26. The respective processing units are isolated chambers isolated from an atmosphere in a clean room where the resist application device is usually positioned. When the device is operated, dehumidified air, i.e., clean dry air is fed into the firstthermal processing unit 14, the firstcooling processing unit 16, theHMDS processing unit 18, the secondcooling processing unit 20 and thearm moving region 26. -
Wafers 10 to be coated with a resist are housed in thehousing unit 12, mounted on acarrier 32. The carryingarm 24 is moved in thehousing unit 12 and thearm moving region 26 to take thewafer 10 off thecarrier 32 and carry thewafer 10 to the respective processing units. - A
hot plate 34 whose temperature can be controlled in the range of, e.g., 40-250° C. is provided in the firstthermal processing unit 14. When thewafer 10 is thermally processed, thewafer 10 is mounted on thehot plate 34. - A cooling
plate 36 inside which water whose temperature controlled by, e.g., a thermostat or others is circulated is disposed in the firstcooling processing unit 16. When thewafer 10 is subjected to the cooling processing, thewafer 10 is mounted on thecooling plate 36. - A
hot plate 38 whose temperature can be controlled in the rage of, e.g., 40-250° C. is disposed in theHMDS processing unit 18. When thewafer 10 is subjected to the HMDS processing, thewafer 10 is mounted on thehot plate 38. HMDS which has been bubbled with nitrogen gas and vaporized in a storage tank (not shown) disposed outside is carried on the nitrogen gas as a carrier gas into theHMDS processing unit 18. - In the second
cooling processing unit 20, a coolingplate 40 inside which water having the temperature controlled by, e.g., a thermostat or others is circulated is disposed. When thewafer 10 is subjected to the cooling processing, thewafer 10 is mounted on thecooling plate 10. - In the second
thermal processing unit 22, as in the firstthermal processing unit 14, ahot plate 42 whose temperature can be controlled in the range of, e.g., 40-250° C. is provided. When thewafer 10 is subjected to the thermal processing, thewafer 10 is mounted on thehot plate 42. - In the resist
application unit 28, there are disposed anapplication cup 44 in which a resist is applied, and awafer chuck 46 which is disposed in theapplication cup 44 and is rotated in horizontal plane, holding thewafer 10. A nozzle (not shown) for dropping a resist onto thewafer 10 held by thewafer chuck 46 is disposed above thewafer chuck 46. - As described above, the resist application device according to the present embodiment is characterized mainly by the first
thermal processing unit 14 which thermally processes awafer 10 before thewafer 10 is subjected to the HMDS processing. Thewafer 10 is heated by the firstthermally processing unit 14 before thewafer 10 is subjected to the HMDS processing, whereby water on the surface of thewafer 10 is removed, and the hydrolysis of the HMDS to be used in the hydrophobic processing of the surface can be suppressed. - The resist application device according to the present embodiment is characterized also by the
hot plate 38 for heating thewafer 10 in the HMDS processing. The HMDS processing is made on the wafer which is being heated by thehot plate 38, whereby the adhesion of the resist film to thewafer 10 can be better. - The resist application device according to the present embodiment is characterized also in that while the device is in operation, dehumidified air, i.e., clean dry air is fed into the first
thermal processing unit 14, the firstcooling processing unit 16, theHMDS processing unit 18, the secondcooling processing unit 20 and thearm moving region 26. The clean dry air is fed into the processing units into which thewafer 10 is carried, and in the dehumidified atmosphere, thewafer 10 is carried and is subjected to the serial processing, whereby re-adsorption of the water to the surface of thewafer 10 can be suppressed. Thus, the hydrolytic reaction of the HMDS to be used in the surface hydrophobic processing due to the water can be suppressed. - As described above, the resist application device according to the present embodiment suppresses the hydrolytic reaction of the HMDS to be used in the hydrophobic processing of the surface of the
wafer 10, whereby the generation of foreign substances which are a cause for inconveniences, such as pattern defects, etc. on the surface of thewafer 10 with the resist developed. Furthermore, the adhesion between thewafer 10 and the resist film can be better. Thus, semiconductor devices of high quality can be fabricated with high yields. - The clean dry air is not fed into the resist
application unit 28, which does not cause the inconvenience either that a resist film cannot be formed in a uniform thickness. - In the first
thermal processing unit 14, the thermal processing is performed only by thehot plate 34, which is simple heating means without pressure reduction, which can make the device structure simpler in comparison with the device structure in which the heating is performed with a hot plate in a reduced pressure chamber. - [2] The Resist Application Method
- Next, the resist application method according to the present embodiment will be explained with reference to
FIGS. 1 and 2 . - First, the clean dry air is fed respectively into the first
thermal processing unit 14, the firstcooling processing unit 16, theHMDS processing unit 18, the secondcooling processing unit 20 and thearm moving region 26. Concurrently therewith, the respective processing units are exhausted by the exhaust systems associated respectively therewith to replace atmospheres in the respective processing units and thearm moving region 26 with the clean dry air. The clean dry air has, e.g., a −60° C. dew point at the atmospheric pressure. A flow rate of the fed clean dry air is, e.g., 3 L/min. - Then, the processing started (Step S0).
- Next, a
wafer 10 is taken off thecarrier 32 in thehousing unit 12 by the carryingarm 24, carried to the firstthermal processing unit 14 and mounted on thehot plate 34 in the firstthermal processing unit 14. - Then, the
wafer 10 is heated by thehot plate 34 in the firstthermal processing unit 14 set at, e.g., 225° C. for 60 seconds (Step S1). The heating temperature and heating time of thewafer 10 are not limited to 225° C. and 60 seconds and can be suitably set in accordance with various conditions, such as a wafer size, etc. so that water can be removed from the surface of thewafer 10. For example, the heating temperature may be above 100° C. including 100° C. The heating temperature of thewafer 10 is set at above 150° C. including 150° C. to thereby evaporate water on the surface of thewafer 10 in a short period of time without failure. With the heating temperature set at 200° C. including 200° C., water on the surface of thewafer 10 can be evaporated in a further shorter period of time without failure. - When the
wafer 10 has been thermally processed, thewafer 10 is carried by the carryingarm 24 from the firstthermal processing unit 14 to the firstcooling processing unit 16, and is mounted on thecooling plate 36 in the firstcooling processing unit 16. At this time, thearm moving region 26 where the wafer is to be moved, and the firstcooling processing unit 16 have been fed with the dehumidified clean dry air. Thus, after the thermal processing by the firstthermal processing unit 14, the re-adsorption of water to the surface of thewafer 10 can be suppressed. - Subsequently, the
wafer 10 is cooled by the coolingplate 36 in the first cooling processing unit 16 (Step S2). Thewafer 10 is cooled until the temperature of thewafer 10 becomes, e.g., 23° C., which is the room temperature. - After the cooling processing of the
wafer 10 is completed, thewafer 10 is carried by the carryingarm 24 from the firstcooling processing unit 16 to theHMDS processing unit 18 filled with dry nitrogen, and thewafer 10 is mounted on thehot plate 38 in theHMDS processing unit 18. At this time, thearm moving region 26 where thewafer 10 is moved is fed with the humidified clean dry air. Thus, after the thermal processing by the firstthermal processing unit 14, the re-adsorption of water to the surface of thewafer 10 can be suppressed. - Next, the HMDS which has been vaporized by, e.g., bubbling is carried on nitrogen gas into the
HMDS processing unit 18 to expose the surface of thewafer 10 to the vaporized HMDS. During this processing, thewafer 10 is kept heated to, e.g., 110° C. by thehot plate 38 in the HMDS processing unit 18 (Step S3). The heating temperature here is not limited to 110° C., and can be, e.g., above 100° C. including 100° C. as long as the re-adsorption of water to the surface of thesurface 10 can be suppressed. - When the HMDS processing is over, the
wafer 10 is carried by the carryingarm 24 from theHMDS processing unit 18 to the secondcooling processing unit 20, and thewafer 10 is mounted on thecooling plate 40 in the secondcooling processing unit 20. Subsequently, thewafer 10 is cooled by the coolingplate 40 in the second cooling processing unit 20 (Step S4). Thewafer 10 is cooled until the temperature of thewafer 10 becomes, e.g., 23° C., which is the room temperature. - When the cooling processing of the
wafer 10 is over, thewafer 10 is carried by the carryingarm 24 from the secondcooling processing unit 20 to the resistapplication unit 28, thewafer 10 is held by thewafer chuck 46 in the resistapplication unit 38. - Then, a prescribed amount of a resist is dropped onto the surface of the
wafer 10 being rotated in horizontal plane by thewafer chuck 46. The resist is thus applied to the surface of thewafer 10 by spin coating (Step S5). During this operation, the atmosphere in the resistapplication unit 18 is air having the humidity controlled to be, e.g., 45%. The temperature of thewafer 10 is controlled to be, e.g., 23° C. Thus, the atmosphere in the resistapplication unit 28 where the resist is applied has a suitable amount of water, which permits the resist film to be formed in a uniform thickness. - When the resist application is completed, the
wafer 10 is carried by the carryingarm 24 from the resistapplication unit 28 to the secondthermal processing unit 22, and the wafer 120 is mounted on thehot plate 42 in the secondthermal processing unit 22. Subsequently, thewafer 10 is heated to about 120° C. by thehot plate 44 in the secondthermal processing unit 22. The resist immediately after the application, which contains a suitable amount of organic solvent is thus dried and solidified (Step S6). The clean dry air which has been fed into the firstthermal processing unit 14, etc. does not have to be fed into the secondthermal processing unit 22. The atmosphere in the secondthermal processing unit 22 may be the same as that of, e.g., the clean room. The heating temperature is not limited to about 120° C. and can be suitably set in accordance with a kind, etc. of the applied resist. - Then, the
wafer 10 is carried by the carryingarm 24 from the secondthermal processing unit 22 to thehousing unit 12, and thewafer 10 is mounted on thecarrier 32. Thus, the application of the resist by the resist application method according to the present embodiment is completed (Step S7). - The
wafer 10 having the resist thus applied to is carried, mounted on thecarrier 32, to the next step of the exposure etc. - As described above, according to the present embodiment, the clean dry air having the water content controlled to be small is fed into the respective processing units, the
wafer 10 is subjected to the thermal processing before the HMDS processing, and the HMDS processing is performed with thewafer 10 being heated, whereby the hydrolysis of the HMDS to be used in the hydrophobic processing of the surface can be suppressed. Thus, the generation of foreign substances on the surface of thewafer 10 can be suppressed, and also the adhesion between thewafer 10 and the resist can be made better. Semiconductor devices of high quality can be fabricated with high yields. - Japanese Published Patent Application No. Hei 05-315233 (1993) discloses the art that before the HMDS processing, a semiconductor substrate is mounted on a plate heated at 80° C. to be processed for 30 seconds at an about 60 mmHg degrees of vacuum, whereby water is removed from the semiconductor substrate surface. However, at the heating temperature of 80° C., it is difficult to remove water from the semiconductor substrate surface without failure for a short period of time even at a reduced pressure.
- In the present embodiment,
water 10 is heated at the above-described high temperature, which makes it possible to removed water from the surface of thewafer 10. In the present embodiment, the pressure reduction is not necessary for the heat processing, which allows to use simple heating means. - The art disclosed in Japanese Published Patent Application No. Hei 05-315233 (1993) is for improving the adhesion of the resist film, and is quite different from the present invention, which is for suppressing the occurrence of the foreign substances. Japanese Published Patent Application No. Hei 05-315233 (1993) neither discloses nor suggests the heating temperature for preventing the occurrence of the foreign substances.
- (Evaluation Result)
- Wafers coated with a resist by the resist application method according to the present embodiment and the prior art resist application methods were compared for evaluation in numbers of foreign substances detected by a foreign substance detector.
-
FIGS. 3A and 3B show pictures of the wafers coated with the resist, which show the results of the detection of foreign substances by the foreign substance detector.FIG. 3A is the picture of the wafer coated with the resist by the resist application method according to the present embodiment.FIG. 3B is the picture of the wafer coated with the resist by the prior art method. In the wafer pictures, scattered points of gray to black indicate foreign substances. The numbers indicated below the respective pictures indicate numbers of foreign substances produced due to the hydrolysis of the HMDS with respect to total numbers of the detected foreign substances. - In the case of the present embodiment, of the
total number 16 of the detected foreign substances, the number of the foreign substances generated due to the hydrolysis was 0. In contrast to this, in the case of the prior art method, of the total number 184 of the detected foreign substances, the number of the foreign substances generated due to the hydrolysis of the HMDS was 109. - Based on the results shown in
FIGS. 3A and 3B , it has been found that the resist application method according to the present embodiment can drastically decrease the number of foreign substances generated due to the hydrolysis of the HMDS which are to be the cause for pattern defects in the etching in comparison with the prior art method. It has been also found that the total number of the foreign substances detected on the wafer coated with the resist can be smaller. - [Modifications]
- The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment and can cover other various modifications.
- For example, in the above-described embodiment, the hydrophobic processing was performed by using HMDS, but the hydrophobic processing material to be used in the making the surface hydrophobic is not limited to HMDS.
- In the present embodiment, the clean dry air has a −60° C. dew point in the atmospheric pressure. However, the water content of the clean dry air is not limited to this, and the clean dry air can have a humidity of, e.g., below 20% including 20%.
- In the present embodiment, the dry clean air is fed into the respective processing units, and the serial processing is performed in the dehumidified atmosphere. However, a gas to be fed into the respective processing unit is not limited to the clean dry air, and any gas can be used as long as the gas is dehumidified. In place of the clean dry air, an inert gas, e.g., nitrogen gas, rare gas or others may be fed. Otherwise, a mixed gas of them may be used. The use of the dry clean air is free from the risk of oxygen deficiency accidents which are present in the use of nitrogen gas or others, and has an advantage that safety equipments are not required.
- In the above-described embodiment, a resist is applied onto wafers. However, the present invention is not limited to the application of a resist onto wafers and is applicable widely to the resist application onto various substrates, such as semiconductor substrates, glass substrates, etc.
- In the above-described embodiment, the resist is applied onto wafers by spin coating. However, the method for applying a resist onto wafers is not limited to the spin coating.
- In the above-described embodiment, the serial process up to the application of the resist to the wafer is described. However, it is possible that the resist application method according to the present invention is incorporated in the semiconductor device fabrication steps to form resist films to be used in forming various patterns, as of insulation layers, wiring layers, etc. of semiconductor devices.
Claims (2)
1. A resist application device comprising:
a thermal processing unit for performing thermal processing to evaporate water from the surface of a substrate in a dehumidified atmosphere;
a hydrophobic processing unit for making the substrate surface hydrophobic with a hydrophobic processing material, keeping the dehumidified atmosphere; and
a resist application unit for applying a resist onto the substrate.
2. A resist application device according to claim 1 , wherein
the hydrophobic processing unit further comprises a heating means.
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US11/396,677 US20060172441A1 (en) | 2002-09-10 | 2006-04-04 | Resist application method and device |
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JP2002-264105 | 2002-09-10 | ||
JP2002264105A JP2004103850A (en) | 2002-09-10 | 2002-09-10 | Method and device for applying resist |
US10/652,314 US7053008B2 (en) | 2002-09-10 | 2003-09-02 | Resist application method and device |
US11/396,677 US20060172441A1 (en) | 2002-09-10 | 2006-04-04 | Resist application method and device |
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US10/652,314 Division US7053008B2 (en) | 2002-09-10 | 2003-09-02 | Resist application method and device |
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US11/396,677 Abandoned US20060172441A1 (en) | 2002-09-10 | 2006-04-04 | Resist application method and device |
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JP4543794B2 (en) * | 2004-07-09 | 2010-09-15 | 国立大学法人東北大学 | Flat member conveying device |
US8383323B2 (en) * | 2006-09-13 | 2013-02-26 | Samsung Austin Semiconductor, L.P. | Selective imaging through dual photoresist layers |
KR100798277B1 (en) * | 2006-10-16 | 2008-01-24 | 동부일렉트로닉스 주식회사 | The fabricating method of semiconductor device |
JP5434800B2 (en) * | 2010-06-01 | 2014-03-05 | 東京エレクトロン株式会社 | Hydrophobic treatment method and hydrophobic treatment device |
JP6317547B2 (en) * | 2012-08-28 | 2018-04-25 | 株式会社Screenホールディングス | Substrate processing method |
JP6104786B2 (en) * | 2013-12-16 | 2017-03-29 | 東京エレクトロン株式会社 | Substrate processing method and substrate processing apparatus |
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US20010003964A1 (en) * | 1999-12-17 | 2001-06-21 | Takahiro Kitano | Coating film forming apparatus and coating unit |
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JPS6235264A (en) | 1985-08-08 | 1987-02-16 | Matsushita Electric Ind Co Ltd | Flow velocity detecting device |
JP2952993B2 (en) | 1990-08-17 | 1999-09-27 | 日本電気株式会社 | Adhesion strengthening treatment equipment |
JPH05234866A (en) | 1992-02-19 | 1993-09-10 | Nec Corp | Semiconductor manufacturing apparatus and manufacture of semiconductor device |
JP2797839B2 (en) | 1992-05-12 | 1998-09-17 | 日本電気株式会社 | Semiconductor substrate surface treatment equipment |
JPH06302507A (en) | 1993-04-09 | 1994-10-28 | Oki Electric Ind Co Ltd | Pattern formation |
JPH10256139A (en) | 1997-03-17 | 1998-09-25 | Hitachi Ltd | Photo resist coater |
-
2002
- 2002-09-10 JP JP2002264105A patent/JP2004103850A/en active Pending
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2003
- 2003-09-02 US US10/652,314 patent/US7053008B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
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US6458208B1 (en) * | 1997-08-19 | 2002-10-01 | Tokyo Electron Limited | Film forming apparatus |
US6332724B1 (en) * | 1999-09-03 | 2001-12-25 | Tokyo Electron Limited | Substrate processing apparatus |
US20040026031A1 (en) * | 1999-11-02 | 2004-02-12 | Smith John Stephen | Methods and apparatus for fluidic self assembly |
US20010003964A1 (en) * | 1999-12-17 | 2001-06-21 | Takahiro Kitano | Coating film forming apparatus and coating unit |
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