JP2008186934A - Heat treatment apparatus and heat treatment method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a heat treatment apparatus and a heat treatment method which suppress an unnecessary temperature rise while causing a minimum necessary temperature rise without fail. <P>SOLUTION: A substrate W coated with a coating liquid for a reflection preventive film is placed on a bearing surface 211a of a heat treatment plate 211, and is heated. A nitrogen gas supplied from the vicinity of the periphery of the heat treatment plate 211 to a heat treatment space 230 via a cover 240 flows toward an air exit 266 and comes out of the heat treatment apparatus. A recipe for heat treatment is made up of a plurality of steps. The substrate W is heated at a relatively low temperature at the first step, and then is heated at a relatively high temperature at the next step. The temperature of the heat treatment plate 211 is changed step by step to suppress an unnecessary temperature rise while causing a minimum necessary temperature rise without fail. As a result, the production of a large volume of sublimates from the coating liquid is prevented, and the reflection preventive film having necessary properties is baked certainly. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a heat treatment apparatus and a heat treatment method for performing a predetermined treatment by heating a semiconductor substrate, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device, a glass substrate for a photomask, a substrate for an optical disk (hereinafter simply referred to as “substrate”), The present invention relates to a heat treatment apparatus and a heat treatment method for forming an antireflection film and a lower layer film that generate sublimates during firing.

  Products such as semiconductor devices and liquid crystal displays are manufactured by subjecting the substrate to a series of processes such as cleaning, resist coating, exposure, development, etching, formation of an interlayer insulating film, heat treatment, and dicing. With the rapid progress of microfabrication in recent years, the wavelength of exposure light used in the exposure process has also been shortened, and from conventional ultraviolet rays called g-line and i-line to KrF excimer laser (wavelength 248 nm), ArF excimer lasers (wavelength 193 nm) are becoming mainstream. When performing an exposure process using such an excimer laser, a chemically amplified resist film is formed on the substrate.

  However, if an exposure process is performed by irradiating a substrate on which a chemically amplified resist film is formed by irradiating an excimer laser, the influence of reflection from the ground (standing wave effect) becomes larger than conventional (g-line or i-line). . In order to reduce the influence of such reflection, an antireflection film is formed on the substrate. In particular, the antireflection film formed below the resist film is BARC (Bottom Anti-Reflection Coating). Called.

  When the antireflection film is formed on the substrate, the antireflection film is baked by heat-treating the substrate after the antireflection film coating liquid is uniformly applied on the substrate by a spin coat method or the like. Since the resin component in the coating solution is sublimated during the heat treatment, a large amount of sublimates and volatiles are contained in the exhaust gas. Since such sublimates may deposit on the exhaust pipe and cause clogging or become a source of contamination, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for preventing the precipitation of sublimates by heating the exhaust pipe from the heat treatment unit. Has been.

JP 2005-64277 A

  However, since a considerably large amount of sublimate is generated particularly from the coating solution for the antireflection film, even if the precipitation in the exhaust pipe is prevented as in Patent Document 1, the sublimate is also present in the inside and the periphery of the heat treatment unit. There is a problem that it adheres and becomes a source of contamination. Since such a contamination source cannot be left unattended, it is necessary to frequently perform maintenance (cleaning) for the heat treatment unit that performs the treatment of the antireflection film, which is a factor that significantly reduces the operation efficiency of the apparatus.

  In order to cope with recent microfabrication processes, a technique has been developed in which a coated carbon film (underlayer film) is formed under a resist film and this underlayer film is used as an etching mask. Even when forming such a lower layer film, the lower layer film is baked by heat treatment after applying the lower layer chemical on the substrate. Is known to occur. Therefore, when the lower layer film is baked, the problem of sublimation adherence becomes more serious than that of the antireflection film.

  A large amount of sublimates and volatiles are generated during the baking treatment of the antireflection film and the lower layer film because the heating temperature is high. If the heating temperature is lowered, the amount of sublimates generated can be reduced. However, since the resin component cannot be sufficiently removed, a film having desired characteristics cannot be formed. That is, conventionally, it has been difficult to raise the temperature to a necessary and sufficient level during the heat treatment.

  In addition, in heat treatments other than the baking treatment of the antireflection film and the lower layer film (for example, heat treatment after resist coating and heat treatment after exposure), the minimum necessary temperature rise is ensured while avoiding unnecessary temperature rise. This is not only preferable as a process, but also can reduce power consumption.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides a heat treatment apparatus and a heat treatment method capable of reliably executing a minimum required temperature increase while suppressing an unnecessary temperature increase. Objective.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a first aspect of the present invention is a heat treatment apparatus for heating a substrate to perform a predetermined treatment, a heat treatment plate for placing and heating the substrate on the placement surface, and a substrate on the placement surface. And a temperature control means for changing the temperature of the heat treatment plate in a stepwise manner during the heat treatment period.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the heat treatment apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, a predetermined gas is supplied to a heat treatment space surrounded by the cover covering the upper portion of the heat treatment plate and the cover and the heat treatment plate. Gas supply means, exhaust means for exhausting gas from the heat treatment space, gas supply means to the heat treatment space during the heat treatment period, and gas supply means so that the exhaust flow rate from the heat treatment space changes stepwise. And an air supply / exhaust control means for controlling the exhaust means.

  The invention of claim 3 is the heat treatment apparatus according to the invention of claim 2, wherein the heat treatment plate heats a substrate coated with a chemical solution that forms a film while generating sublimation when heated. The temperature control means sets the temperature of the heat treatment plate in a first period after the substrate is placed on the mounting surface as a first temperature, and sets the temperature of the heat treatment plate in a second period thereafter. The second temperature is higher than the first temperature.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the heat treatment apparatus according to the third aspect of the invention, the supply / exhaust control means is configured to increase the gas supply flow rate and the exhaust flow rate in the second period as compared with the first period. And controlling the gas supply means and the exhaust means.

  The invention of claim 5 is the heat treatment apparatus according to claim 3 or claim 4, wherein the chemical solution is a coating solution for forming an antireflection film, and the substrate coated with the chemical solution is the The antireflection film is baked on the substrate by being heated by the heat treatment plate.

  The invention according to claim 6 is the heat treatment apparatus according to claim 3 or claim 4, wherein the chemical solution is a coating solution for forming an underlayer film, and the substrate coated with the chemical solution is the heat treatment. The lower layer film is baked on the substrate by being heated by the plate.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the heat treatment method for heating a substrate and performing a predetermined treatment, a dividing step of dividing a heat treatment period in which the substrate is placed on the placement surface of the heat treatment plate and heated into a plurality of steps. And a temperature setting step for setting the temperature of the heat treatment plate for each of the plurality of steps.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the heat treatment method according to the seventh aspect of the present invention, gas supply to a heat treatment space surrounded by the heat treatment plate and a cover covering the heat treatment plate is performed at each of the plurality of steps. It further includes a supply / exhaust flow rate setting step of setting a flow rate and an exhaust flow rate from the heat treatment space.

  The invention of claim 9 is the heat treatment method according to the invention of claim 8, wherein the heat treatment plate heats a substrate coated with a chemical solution that forms a film while generating a sublimation when heated. The temperature setting step sets a first temperature in a step corresponding to a first period after the substrate is placed on the mounting surface, and sets a first temperature in a step corresponding to a second period thereafter. A second temperature higher than the first temperature is set.

  Further, the invention of claim 10 is the heat treatment method according to the invention of claim 9, wherein the supply / exhaust flow rate setting step has a higher gas supply flow rate and exhaust flow rate than the step corresponding to the first period. It is set to the step corresponding to this period.

  The invention of claim 11 is the heat treatment method according to claim 9 or claim 10, wherein the chemical solution is a coating solution for forming an antireflection film, and the substrate coated with the chemical solution is the The antireflection film is baked on the substrate by being heated by the heat treatment plate.

  The invention according to claim 12 is the heat treatment method according to claim 9 or claim 10, wherein the chemical solution is a coating solution for forming an underlayer film, and the substrate coated with the chemical solution is the heat treatment. The lower layer film is baked on the substrate by being heated by the plate.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the temperature of the heat treatment plate during the heat treatment period in which the substrate is placed on the placement surface of the heat treatment plate is changed stepwise, the temperature rise is minimized while suppressing unnecessary temperature rise. The necessary temperature increase can be reliably performed.

  According to the invention of claim 2, since the gas supply flow rate to the heat treatment space and the exhaust gas flow rate from the heat treatment space during the heat treatment period are changed stepwise, the minimum necessary supply while suppressing unnecessary gas consumption. Exhaust can be performed reliably.

  According to the invention of claim 3, the temperature of the heat treatment plate in the first period after the substrate is placed on the placement surface of the heat treatment plate is set to the first temperature, and the heat treatment in the second period thereafter. Since the temperature of the plate is set to the second temperature higher than the first temperature, reliable film formation can be performed while preventing the generation of a large amount of sublimates and the like.

  According to the invention of claim 4, since the gas supply flow rate and the exhaust flow rate in the second period are larger than those in the first period, even if the sublimate generation amount increases in the second period, Can be reliably discharged.

  According to the invention of claim 5, the antireflection film can be surely fired while preventing the generation of a large amount of sublimates and the like.

  In addition, according to the invention of claim 6, it is possible to perform reliable firing of the lower layer film while preventing a large amount of sublimates from being generated.

  According to the invention of claim 7, the heat treatment period in which the substrate is placed on the mounting surface of the heat treatment plate and heated is divided into a plurality of steps, and the temperature of the heat treatment plate is set for each of the plurality of steps. The minimum necessary temperature increase can be reliably performed while suppressing the unnecessary temperature increase.

  According to the invention of claim 8, the gas supply flow rate to the heat treatment space surrounded by the heat treatment plate and the cover covering the heat treatment plate and the exhaust flow rate from the heat treatment space are set for each of the plurality of steps. As a result, it is possible to reliably perform the minimum required air supply and exhaust while suppressing unnecessary gas consumption.

  According to the invention of claim 9, the first temperature is set in the step corresponding to the first period after the substrate is placed on the placement surface of the heat treatment plate, and in the second period thereafter. Since the second temperature higher than the first temperature is set in the corresponding step, reliable film formation can be performed while preventing a large amount of sublimates from being generated.

  Further, according to the invention of claim 10, since the gas supply flow rate and the exhaust flow rate that are higher than the step corresponding to the first period are set to the step corresponding to the second period, sublimates are generated in the second period. Even if the amount increases, it can be reliably discharged.

  According to the invention of claim 11, the antireflection film can be surely fired while preventing the generation of a large amount of sublimates and the like.

  According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, reliable firing of the lower layer film can be performed while preventing a large amount of sublimates from being generated.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a plan view of a substrate processing apparatus incorporating a heat treatment apparatus according to the present invention. 2 is a front view of the liquid processing unit of the substrate processing apparatus, FIG. 3 is a front view of the heat treatment unit, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a peripheral configuration of the substrate mounting unit. 1 to 4 have an XYZ orthogonal coordinate system in which the Z-axis direction is the vertical direction and the XY plane is the horizontal plane in order to clarify the directional relationship.

  The substrate processing apparatus of this embodiment is an apparatus that applies an antireflection film or a photoresist film to a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer and performs development processing on the substrate after pattern exposure. In addition, the board | substrate used as the process target of the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on this invention is not limited to a semiconductor wafer, The glass substrate etc. for liquid crystal display devices etc. may be sufficient.

  The substrate processing apparatus of the present embodiment is configured by arranging five processing blocks of an indexer block 1, a bark block 2, a resist coating block 3, a development processing block 4 and an interface block 5 in parallel. An exposure unit (stepper) EXP which is an external device separate from the substrate processing apparatus is connected to the interface block 5. Further, the substrate processing apparatus and the exposure unit EXP of this embodiment are connected to the host computer 100 via a LAN line (not shown).

  The indexer block 1 is a processing block for paying out unprocessed substrates received from outside the apparatus to the bark block 2 and the resist coating block 3 and carrying out processed substrates received from the development processing block 4 to the outside of the apparatus. The indexer block 1 takes a mounting table 11 on which a plurality of carriers C (four in this embodiment) are placed side by side, and takes out an unprocessed substrate W from each carrier C and also transfers a processed substrate W to each carrier C. A substrate transfer mechanism 12 is provided. The substrate transfer mechanism 12 includes a movable table 12a that can move horizontally along the mounting table 11 (along the Y-axis direction), and a holding arm 12b that holds the substrate W in a horizontal posture on the movable table 12a. It is installed. The holding arm 12b is configured to move up and down (in the Z-axis direction) on the movable base 12a, turn in the horizontal plane, and move forward and backward in the turn radius direction. As a result, the substrate transfer mechanism 12 can access the holding arms 12b to the carriers C to take out the unprocessed substrate W and store the processed substrate W. In addition to the FOUP (front opening unified pod) that stores the substrate W in a sealed space, the carrier C may be an OC (open cassette) that exposes the standard mechanical interface (SMIF) pod or the storage substrate W to the outside air. There may be.

  A bark block 2 is provided adjacent to the indexer block 1. A partition wall 13 is provided between the indexer block 1 and the bark block 2 for shielding the atmosphere. In order to transfer the substrate W between the indexer block 1 and the bark block 2, two substrate platforms PASS 1 and PASS 2 on which the substrate W is mounted are stacked on the partition wall 13.

  The upper substrate platform PASS1 is used to transport the substrate W from the indexer block 1 to the bark block 2. The substrate platform PASS1 has three support pins, and the substrate transfer mechanism 12 of the indexer block 1 moves the unprocessed substrate W taken out from the carrier C onto the three support pins of the substrate platform PASS1. Place. Then, the transfer robot TR1 of the bark block 2 described later receives the substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS1. On the other hand, the lower substrate platform PASS <b> 2 is used for transporting the substrate W from the bark block 2 to the indexer block 1. The substrate platform PASS2 is also provided with three support pins, and the transport robot TR1 of the bark block 2 places the processed substrate W on the three support pins of the substrate platform PASS2. Then, the substrate transfer mechanism 12 receives the substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS2 and stores it in the carrier C. In addition, the structure of the board | substrate mounting parts PASS3-PASS10 mentioned later is also the same as the board | substrate mounting parts PASS1 and PASS2.

  The substrate platforms PASS <b> 1 and PASS <b> 2 are provided so as to partially penetrate a part of the partition wall 13. The substrate platforms PASS1 and PASS2 are provided with optical sensors (not shown) for detecting the presence or absence of the substrate W, and the substrate transfer mechanism 12 and the bark block are based on the detection signals of the sensors. It is determined whether or not the second transport robot TR1 can deliver the substrate W to the substrate platforms PASS1 and PASS2.

  Next, the bark block 2 will be described. In order to reduce the influence of reflection (standing wave effect and halation) generated during exposure, the bark block 2 applies an antireflection film to the base of the photoresist film, that is, performs a BARC formation process on the substrate W. It is a processing block for performing. The bark block 2 includes a base coating processing unit BRC that applies a coating liquid as a chemical solution to form an antireflection film on the surface of the substrate W, and two heat treatment towers 21 and 21 that perform heat treatment associated with the coating formation of the antireflection film. And a transfer robot TR1 that transfers the substrate W to the base coating processing unit BRC and the heat treatment towers 21 and 21.

  In the bark block 2, the base coating treatment unit BRC and the heat treatment towers 21 and 21 are arranged to face each other with the transfer robot TR1 interposed therebetween. Specifically, the base coating treatment part BRC is located on the front side of the apparatus, and the two heat treatment towers 21 and 21 are located on the rear side of the apparatus. In addition, a heat partition (not shown) is provided on the front side of the heat treatment towers 21 and 21. By arranging the base coating processing part BRC and the heat treatment towers 21 and 21 apart from each other and providing a thermal partition, the thermal processing towers 21 and 21 are prevented from having a thermal influence on the base coating processing part BRC. .

  As shown in FIG. 2, the base coating processing unit BRC is configured by stacking and arranging three coating processing units BRC1, BRC2, and BRC3 having the same configuration in order from the bottom. If the three coating processing units BRC1, BRC2, and BRC3 are not particularly distinguished, these are collectively referred to as a base coating processing unit BRC. Each of the coating processing units BRC1, BRC2, and BRC3 has a spin chuck 22 that sucks and holds the substrate W in a substantially horizontal posture and rotates the substrate W in a substantially horizontal plane, and an antireflection as a chemical solution on the substrate W held on the spin chuck 22 A coating nozzle 23 that discharges a coating liquid for a film, a spin motor (not shown) that rotationally drives the spin chuck 22, and a cup (not shown) that surrounds the periphery of the substrate W held on the spin chuck 22 are provided. Yes.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the heat treatment tower 21 on the side close to the indexer block 1 includes six hot plates HP1 to HP6 that heat the substrate W after coating and bak the antireflection film, and the heated substrate W. Cool plates CP <b> 1 to CP <b> 3 are provided that cool the substrate to a predetermined temperature and maintain the substrate W at the predetermined temperature. In the heat treatment tower 21, cool plates CP1 to CP3 and hot plates HP1 to HP6 are laminated in order from the bottom. On the other hand, the heat treatment tower 21 on the side far from the indexer block 1 has three adhesion reinforcements for heat-treating the substrate W in a vapor atmosphere of HMDS (hexamethyldisilazane) in order to improve the adhesion between the resist film and the substrate W. The processing units AHL1 to AHL3 are stacked in order from the bottom. In FIG. 3, piping wiring sections and spare empty spaces are assigned to the locations indicated by “x” marks.

  As described above, the coating processing units BRC1 to BRC3 and the heat treatment units (in the bark block 2, the hot plates HP1 to HP6, the cool plates CP1 to CP3, and the adhesion strengthening processing units AHL1 to AHL3) are stacked and arranged in multiple stages. The footprint can be reduced by reducing the occupied space. Further, by arranging two heat treatment towers 21 and 21 in parallel, there is an advantage that maintenance of the heat treatment unit is facilitated and duct piping and power supply equipment necessary for the heat treatment unit need not be extended to a very high position. .

  The hot plates HP1 to HP6 are heat treatment units for heating the substrate W coated with the coating liquid for the antireflection film in the base coating processing unit BRC and baking the antireflection film on the substrate W. The heat treatment apparatus according to the present invention. 7 and 8 are side sectional views showing a schematic configuration of the hot plate HP1. Although the hot plate HP1 will be described here, the same applies to the hot plates HP2 to HP6. The hot plate HP1 includes a lower chamber 210 having a heat treatment plate 211 and a cover 240 configured as an upper chamber.

The heat treatment plate 211 is a disc-shaped heater for placing the substrate W on the placement surface 211a and performing heat treatment, and is constituted by a mica heater, for example. A plurality of (for example, three) proximity balls (not shown) made of a member such as alumina (Al ₂ O ₃ ) are disposed on the surface of the heat treatment plate 211. These proximity balls are arranged in a state in which the upper end protrudes by a minute amount from the placement surface 211a of the heat treatment plate 211, and when the substrate W is placed on the placement surface 211a of the heat treatment plate 211, A minute gap called a so-called proximity gap is formed between the substrate W and the mounting surface 211a. The proximity ball may be omitted and the substrate W may be directly placed on the placement surface 211a of the heat treatment plate 211 in a surface contact state.

  The lower chamber 210 that accommodates the heat treatment plate 211 is provided with a push-up mechanism 220 that places the substrate W on the placement surface 211a or pushes up the substrate W from the placement surface 211a. The push-up mechanism 220 includes a plurality of (three in this embodiment) support pins 221, a support plate 223, and an air cylinder 225. The three support pins 221 are each fixed and erected on the support plate 223. The support plate 223 is connected to the piston of the air cylinder 225 and moves up and down as the air cylinder 225 is driven. The heat treatment plate 211 and the bottom plate of the lower chamber 210 are provided with through holes that are large enough to allow the support pins 221 to be inserted. The three support pins 221 are attached to the support plate 221 when the air cylinder 225 is driven. Go up and down through the through hole. When the air cylinder 225 raises and lowers the support plate 223, the three support pins 221 erected on the support plate 223 move up and down all at once.

  The three support pins 221 are moved up and down by the air cylinder 225 between the processing position shown in FIG. 7 and the standby position shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, when the support pin 221 is lowered to the processing position, the upper end thereof is embedded in the through hole of the heat treatment plate 211. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 8, when the support pin 221 rises to the standby position, the upper end of the support pin 221 protrudes from the mounting surface 211 a of the heat treatment plate 211.

  The cover 240 covers the upper portion of the heat treatment plate 211 during the heat treatment of the substrate W, thereby improving the heating efficiency and collecting sublimation (or volatiles) from the coating liquid of the antireflection film and diffusing it outside the unit. This is to prevent this. The entire cover 240 has a cylindrical shape with an open bottom, and has a double structure composed of an outer cover 243 and an inner cover 246.

An air supply / exhaust block 250 is fixed on the upper side of the outer surface central portion of the outer cover 243. The supply / exhaust block 250 is connected in communication with a gas supply source 255 via an air supply pipe 251. An air supply valve 252 and a flow rate adjustment valve 253 are inserted in the air supply pipe 251. The gas supply source 255 supplies various processing gases (for example, an inert gas such as nitrogen (N ₂ ) gas, helium (He) gas, and argon (Ar) gas, or oxygen (0 ₂ ) gas). In this embodiment, nitrogen gas is supplied. The air supply valve 252 is an on-off valve, and the flow rate adjustment valve 253 is a needle valve that adjusts the flow rate of nitrogen gas passing through the air supply pipe 251. By opening the air supply valve 252, nitrogen gas is supplied from the gas supply source 255 to the air supply / exhaust block 250 through the air supply pipe 251, and the flow rate thereof is adjusted by the flow rate adjustment valve 253.

  An exhaust port 260 is provided inside the air supply / exhaust block 250. The exhaust port 260 is connected to the exhaust unit 265 through an exhaust pipe 261. An exhaust valve 262 and a flow rate adjustment valve 263 are interposed in the exhaust pipe 261. As the exhaust unit 265, for example, an exhaust pump may be provided inside the substrate processing apparatus, or a factory exhaust utility outside the substrate processing apparatus may be used. The exhaust valve 262 is an open / close valve, and the flow rate adjustment valve 263 is a needle valve that adjusts the flow rate of exhaust gas passing through the exhaust pipe 261. By opening the exhaust valve 262 while operating the exhaust unit 265, a negative pressure acts on the exhaust port 260, and the atmosphere around the exhaust port 260 can be exhausted via the exhaust pipe 261. It is adjusted by the adjusting valve 263.

  The inner cover 246 is attached to the outer cover 243 by a plurality of (for example, six) bosses 244. A gap is formed between the inner cover 246 and the outer cover 243. The outer cover 243 can be moved up and down by a lifter 239. When the outer cover 243 moves up and down, the inner cover 246 attached thereto also moves up and down integrally with the outer cover 243. That is, the lifter 239 moves the entire cover 240 up and down between the processing position shown in FIG. 7 and the standby position shown in FIG. As the lifter 239, various known mechanisms such as an air cylinder and a belt driving mechanism can be employed. In addition, at least the vicinity of the air supply / exhaust block 250 of the air supply pipe 251 and the exhaust pipe 261 is configured using a flexible tube or the like so that the cover 240 can be moved up and down.

  When the cover 240 is lowered to the processing position of FIG. 7 by the lifter 239, a heat treatment space 230 surrounded by the inner side of the inner cover 246 and the placement surface 211a of the heat treatment plate 211 is formed. That is, the inner cover 246 is in direct contact with the heat treatment space 230. In the present embodiment, the inner wall surface 246a in contact with the heat treatment space 230 of the inner cover 246 is a tapered surface. Specifically, the exhaust port 266 is opened at the center of the inner cover 246, and the inner wall surface 246a of the inner cover 246 expands from the exhaust port 266 toward the heat treatment plate 211 (that is, the diameter increases toward the lower side). It is a tapered surface.

  The inner cover 246 is formed of stainless steel having excellent strength and heat resistance. The inner wall surface 246a of the inner cover 246 is mirror-finished by electrolytic polishing, and the average surface roughness (Ra) is 1.6 μm or less. A heater 247 is attached to the outer wall surface 246b of the inner cover 246 facing the outer cover 243. As the heater 247, a surface heater such as a silicon rubber heater is used.

  On the other hand, the outer cover 243 provided so as to cover the inner cover 246 is also formed of stainless steel. The outer cover 243 is a member mainly for relaxing heat radiation from the inner cover 246 to the outside. An opening is formed in the upper center of the outer cover 243, and a supply / exhaust block 250 is attached to cover the opening. The atmosphere inside the supply / exhaust block 250 is separated by an exhaust port 260. That is, the exhaust port 266 is covered with the exhaust port 260, and the inside of the exhaust port 260 in the inner space of the air supply / exhaust block 250 serves as an exhaust path, while the outside serves as an air supply path. Are mutually shielded by the atmosphere.

  The outer side of the exhaust port 260 in the inner space of the air supply / exhaust block 250 is connected to the air supply pipe 251, and a gap formed between the inner cover 246 and the outer cover 243 is also connected via the central opening of the outer cover 243. Communicate. Accordingly, the nitrogen gas supplied from the gas supply source 255 to the supply / exhaust block 250 via the supply pipe 251 passes through the central opening of the outer cover 243 (more precisely, around the exhaust port 260 in the central opening). It flows into a gap formed between the inner cover 246 and the outer cover 243. The nitrogen gas further flows along the gap, and is supplied from the peripheral edge of the cover 240 to the heat treatment space 230. That is, the gap between the inner cover 246 and the outer cover 243 is connected from the central opening of the outer cover 243 to the peripheral edge of the cover 240, and the gap between the inner cover 246 and the outer cover 243 at the peripheral edge of the cover 240 is It functions as an annular gas supply port.

  Nitrogen gas supplied from the peripheral portion of the cover 240 flows into the heat treatment space 230 and flows from the peripheral portion of the heat treatment plate 211 toward the central portion (that is, from the outer peripheral side of the substrate W during the heat treatment toward the central portion). . The nitrogen gas flowing into the heat treatment space 230 is collected in the exhaust port 260 through the exhaust port 266 at the upper center of the inner cover 246, and exhausted to the exhaust unit 265 through the exhaust pipe 261. Here, since the atmosphere in the air supply / exhaust block 250 is separated by the exhaust port 260, the air supply airflow and the exhaust airflow are not mixed. In the hot plate HP1, the lower chamber 210 and the cover 240 are housed in a housing (not shown) provided with a shutter for access by the transfer robot TR1, and the entire unit is separated from the vicinity of the transfer robot TR1. Has been.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the transfer robot TR1. FIG. 5A is a plan view of the transfer robot TR1, and FIG. 5B is a front view of the transfer robot TR1. The transfer robot TR1 includes two holding arms 6a and 6b that hold the substrate W in a substantially horizontal posture so as to be close to each other in the vertical direction. The holding arms 6a and 6b have a "C" shape at the top end in a plan view, and a plurality of pins 7 projecting inward from the inner side of the "C" shaped arm to surround the periphery of the substrate W. Supports from below.

  The base 8 of the transfer robot TR1 is fixedly installed on the apparatus base (apparatus frame). On the base 8, a guide shaft 9c is erected and the screw shaft 9a is erected and supported rotatably. A motor 9b that rotationally drives the screw shaft 9a is fixedly installed on the base 8. The lifting platform 10a is screwed onto the screw shaft 9a, and the lifting platform 10a is slidable with respect to the guide shaft 9c. With such a configuration, when the motor 9b rotationally drives the screw shaft 9a, the lifting platform 10a is guided by the guide shaft 9c to move up and down in the vertical direction (Z direction).

  Further, an arm base 10b is mounted on the lifting platform 10a so as to be able to turn around an axis along the vertical direction. A motor 10c for turning the arm base 10b is built in the elevator base 10a. The two holding arms 6a and 6b described above are arranged vertically on the arm base 10b. Each holding arm 6a, 6b is configured to be able to move forward and backward independently in the horizontal direction (in the turning radius direction of the arm base 10b) by a slide drive mechanism (not shown) mounted on the arm base 10b. .

  With such a configuration, as shown in FIG. 5A, the transfer robot TR1 includes two holding arms 6a and 6b that are individually provided on the substrate platforms PASS1 and PASS2 and the heat treatment tower 21, respectively. It is possible to access a coating processing unit provided in the base coating processing unit BRC and substrate mounting units PASS3 and PASS4, which will be described later, and transfer the substrate W between them.

  Next, the resist coating block 3 will be described. A resist coating block 3 is provided so as to be sandwiched between the bark block 2 and the development processing block 4. Between the resist coating block 3 and the bark block 2, an atmosphere blocking partition 25 is also provided. In order to transfer the substrate W between the bark block 2 and the resist coating block 3, two substrate platforms PASS 3 and PASS 4 on which the substrate W is mounted are stacked on the partition wall 25 in the vertical direction. The substrate platforms PASS3 and PASS4 have the same configuration as the substrate platforms PASS1 and PASS2 described above.

  The upper substrate platform PASS3 is used to transport the substrate W from the bark block 2 to the resist coating block 3. That is, the transport robot TR2 of the resist coating block 3 receives the substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS3 by the transport robot TR1 of the bark block 2. On the other hand, the lower substrate platform PASS 4 is used for transporting the substrate W from the resist coating block 3 to the bark block 2. That is, the transport robot TR1 of the bark block 2 receives the substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS4 by the transport robot TR2 of the resist coating block 3.

  The substrate platforms PASS3 and PASS4 are provided partially through a part of the partition wall 25. The substrate platforms PASS3 and PASS4 are provided with optical sensors (not shown) for detecting the presence / absence of the substrate W, and the transfer robots TR1 and TR2 are mounted on the substrate based on detection signals from the sensors. It is determined whether or not the substrate W can be delivered to the placement units PASS3 and PASS4. Further, under the substrate platforms PASS 3 and PASS 4, two water-cooled cool plates WCP for roughly cooling the substrate W are provided above and below the partition wall 25.

  The resist coating block 3 is a processing block for forming a resist film by coating a resist on the substrate W on which the antireflection film is coated and formed in the bark block 2. In the present embodiment, a chemically amplified resist is used as the photoresist. The resist coating block 3 includes a resist coating processing unit SC for coating a resist on the antireflection film coated on the base, two heat treatment towers 31 and 31 for performing heat treatment associated with the resist coating processing, and a resist coating processing unit SC. And a transfer robot TR2 for delivering the substrate W to the heat treatment towers 31, 31.

  In the resist coating block 3, the resist coating processing unit SC and the heat treatment towers 31 and 31 are arranged to face each other with the transfer robot TR2 interposed therebetween. Specifically, the resist coating processing section SC is located on the front side of the apparatus, and the two heat treatment towers 31 and 31 are located on the rear side of the apparatus. A heat partition (not shown) is provided on the front side of the heat treatment towers 31 and 31. By disposing the resist coating processing part SC and the heat treatment towers 31 and 31 apart from each other and providing a thermal partition, the thermal treatment towers 31 and 31 are prevented from having a thermal influence on the resist coating processing part SC. .

  As shown in FIG. 2, the resist coating processing section SC is configured by stacking and arranging three coating processing units SC1, SC2, SC3 having the same configuration in order from the bottom. If the three coating processing units SC1, SC2, and SC3 are not particularly distinguished, they are collectively referred to as a resist coating processing unit SC. Each of the coating processing units SC1, SC2, and SC3 discharges the resist solution onto the spin chuck 32 that sucks and holds the substrate W in a substantially horizontal posture and rotates the substrate W in a substantially horizontal plane, and the substrate W held on the spin chuck 32. A coating motor 33 for rotating the spin chuck 32 (not shown), a cup (not shown) surrounding the periphery of the substrate W held on the spin chuck 32, and the like.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in the heat treatment tower 31 on the side close to the indexer block 1, six heating parts PHP <b> 1 to PHP <b> 6 that heat the substrate W to a predetermined temperature are sequentially stacked from below. On the other hand, in the heat treatment tower 31 on the side far from the indexer block 1, cool plates CP4 to CP9 for cooling the heated substrate W and lowering the temperature to a predetermined temperature and maintaining the substrate W at the predetermined temperature are provided from below. They are arranged in order.

  Each of the heating units PHP1 to PHP6 includes a substrate temporary placement unit that places the substrate W on an upper position separated from the hot plate, in addition to a normal hot plate that places the substrate W and performs heat treatment. The heat treatment unit includes a local transport mechanism 34 (see FIG. 1) for transporting the substrate W between the hot plate and the temporary substrate placement unit. The local transport mechanism 34 is configured to be capable of moving up and down and moving back and forth, and includes a mechanism for cooling the substrate W in the transport process by circulating cooling water.

  The local transport mechanism 34 is installed on the opposite side to the transport robot TR2 across the hot plate and the temporary substrate placement section, that is, on the back side of the apparatus. The temporary substrate placement part opens to both the transport robot TR2 side and the local transport mechanism 34 side, while the hot plate opens only to the local transport mechanism 34 side and closes to the transport robot TR2 side. Yes. Accordingly, both the transport robot TR2 and the local transport mechanism 34 can access the temporary substrate placement portion, but only the local transport mechanism 34 can access the hot plate.

  When the substrate W is carried into each of the heating units PHP1 to PHP6 having such a configuration, the transport robot TR2 first places the substrate W on the temporary substrate placement unit. Then, the local transport mechanism 34 receives the substrate W from the temporary substrate placement unit, transports it to the hot plate, and heats the substrate W. The substrate W that has been subjected to the heat treatment by the hot plate is taken out by the local transport mechanism 34 and transported to the temporary substrate placement unit. At this time, the substrate W is cooled by the cooling function provided in the local transport mechanism 34. Thereafter, the substrate W after the heat treatment transferred to the temporary substrate placement unit is taken out by the transfer robot TR2.

  In this way, in the heating units PHP1 to PHP6, the transfer robot TR2 only delivers the substrate W to the substrate temporary placement unit at room temperature, and does not deliver the substrate W directly to the hot plate. An increase in temperature of the transfer robot TR2 can be suppressed. Further, since the hot plate is opened only on the local transport mechanism 34 side, it is possible to prevent the transport robot TR2 and the resist coating processing unit SC from being adversely affected by the thermal atmosphere leaked from the hot plate. Note that the transfer robot TR2 directly transfers the substrate W to the cool plates CP4 to CP9.

  The configuration of the transfer robot TR2 is exactly the same as that of the transfer robot TR1. Therefore, the transfer robot TR2 has two holding arms individually for the substrate platforms PASS3 and PASS4, a heat treatment unit provided in the heat treatment towers 31 and 31, a coating processing unit provided in the resist coating processing unit SC, and will be described later. The substrate platforms PASS5 and PASS6 can be accessed, and the substrate W can be exchanged between them.

  Next, the development processing block 4 will be described. A development processing block 4 is provided so as to be sandwiched between the resist coating block 3 and the interface block 5. A partition wall 35 for shielding the atmosphere is also provided between the resist coating block 3 and the development processing block 4. In order to transfer the substrate W between the resist coating block 3 and the development processing block 4, two substrate platforms PASS 5 and PASS 6 on which the substrate W is mounted are stacked on the partition wall 35 in the vertical direction. . The substrate platforms PASS5 and PASS6 have the same configuration as the substrate platforms PASS1 and PASS2 described above.

  The upper substrate platform PASS5 is used for transporting the substrate W from the resist coating block 3 to the development processing block 4. That is, the transport robot TR3 of the development processing block 4 receives the substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS5 by the transport robot TR2 of the resist coating block 3. On the other hand, the lower substrate platform PASS 6 is used to transport the substrate W from the development processing block 4 to the resist coating block 3. That is, the transport robot TR2 of the resist coating block 3 receives the substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS6 by the transport robot TR3 of the development processing block 4.

  The substrate platforms PASS5 and PASS6 are provided so as to partially penetrate a part of the partition wall 35. The substrate platforms PASS5 and PASS6 are provided with optical sensors (not shown) for detecting the presence or absence of the substrate W, and the transport robots TR2 and TR3 are mounted on the substrate based on detection signals from the sensors. It is determined whether or not the substrate W can be delivered to the placement units PASS5 and PASS6. Further, below the substrate platforms PASS 5 and PASS 6, two water-cooled cool plates WCP for roughly cooling the substrate W are provided vertically through the partition wall 35.

  The development processing block 4 is a processing block for performing development processing on the substrate W after the exposure processing. The development processing block 4 includes a development processing unit SD that performs development processing by supplying a developing solution to the substrate W on which the pattern has been exposed, two heat treatment towers 41 and 42 that perform heat treatment associated with the development processing, and development. A transfer robot TR3 that transfers the substrate W to the processing unit SD and the heat treatment towers 41 and 42 is provided. The transfer robot TR3 has the same configuration as the transfer robots TR1 and TR2 described above.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the development processing unit SD is configured by stacking five development processing units SD1, SD2, SD3, SD4, and SD5 having the same configuration in order from the bottom. Note that the five development processing units SD1 to SD5 are collectively referred to as the development processing unit SD unless particularly distinguished. Each of the development processing units SD1 to SD5 includes a spin chuck 43 that sucks and holds the substrate W in a substantially horizontal posture and rotates the substrate W in a substantially horizontal plane, and a nozzle that supplies a developer onto the substrate W held on the spin chuck 43. 44, a spin motor (not shown) for rotating the spin chuck 43, a cup (not shown) surrounding the periphery of the substrate W held on the spin chuck 43, and the like.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in the heat treatment tower 41 on the side close to the indexer block 1, five hot plates HP7 to HP11 for heating the substrate W to a predetermined temperature and the heated substrate W are cooled to a predetermined temperature. Cool plates CP <b> 10 to CP <b> 13 are provided that lower the temperature to a predetermined temperature and maintain the substrate W at the predetermined temperature. In this heat treatment tower 41, cool plates CP10 to CP13 and hot plates HP7 to HP11 are laminated in order from the bottom. On the other hand, in the heat treatment tower 42 on the side far from the indexer block 1, six heating parts PHP7 to PHP12 and a cool plate CP14 are stacked. Each of the heating units PHP7 to PHP12 is a heat treatment unit including a temporary substrate placement unit and a local transport mechanism, similarly to the heating units PHP1 to PHP6 described above. However, although the substrate temporary placement portions and the cool plate CP14 of each of the heating portions PHP7 to PHP12 are open on the transport robot TR4 side of the interface block 5, they are closed on the transport robot TR3 side of the development processing block 4. Yes. That is, the transport robot TR4 of the interface block 5 can access the heating units PHP7 to PHP12 and the cool plate CP14, but the transport robot TR3 of the development processing block 4 is not accessible. Note that the transfer robot TR3 of the development processing block 4 accesses the heat treatment unit incorporated in the heat treatment tower 41.

  In addition, two substrate platforms PASS7 and PASS8 for transferring the substrate W between the development processing block 4 and the interface block 5 adjacent to the development processing block 4 are vertically adjacent to the uppermost stage of the heat treatment tower 42. Built in. The upper substrate platform PASS7 is used to transport the substrate W from the development processing block 4 to the interface block 5. That is, the transport robot TR4 of the interface block 5 receives the substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS7 by the transport robot TR3 of the development processing block 4. On the other hand, the lower substrate platform PASS 8 is used to transport the substrate W from the interface block 5 to the development processing block 4. That is, the transport robot TR3 of the development processing block 4 receives the substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS8 by the transport robot TR4 of the interface block 5. The substrate platforms PASS7 and PASS8 are open to both sides of the transport robot TR3 of the development processing block 4 and the transport robot TR4 of the interface block 5.

  Next, the interface block 5 will be described. The interface block 5 is provided adjacent to the development processing block 4 and receives from the resist coating block 3 a substrate W on which a resist coating process has been performed to form a resist film, and is an external device separate from the substrate processing apparatus. The exposure unit EXP is a block that receives the exposed substrate W from the exposure unit EXP and passes it to the development processing block 4. In the interface block 5 of the present embodiment, in addition to the transport mechanism 55 for transferring the substrate W to and from the exposure unit EXP, two edge exposures for exposing the peripheral portion of the substrate W on which the resist film is formed. Units EEW1 and EEW2 and heating units PHP7 to PHP12, a cool plate CP14, and a transfer robot TR4 that delivers the substrate W to the edge exposure units EEW1 and EEW2 are provided in the development processing block 4.

  Edge exposure units EEW1 and EEW2 (when the two edge exposure units EEW1 and EEW2 are not particularly distinguished from each other are collectively referred to as an edge exposure unit EEW), as shown in FIG. 2, the substrate W is sucked in a substantially horizontal posture. A spin chuck 56 that is held and rotated in a substantially horizontal plane, a light irradiator 57 that irradiates light to the periphery of the substrate W held by the spin chuck 56, and the like are provided. The two edge exposure units EEW 1 and EEW 2 are stacked in the vertical direction at the center of the interface block 5. The transfer robot TR4 disposed adjacent to the edge exposure unit EEW and the heat treatment tower 42 of the development processing block 4 has the same configuration as the transfer robots TR1 to TR3 described above.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a return buffer RBF for returning the substrate is provided below the two edge exposure units EEW1 and EEW2, and two substrate platforms PASS9 and PASS10 are vertically moved below the two edge exposure units EEW1 and EEW2. It is provided by laminating. When the development processing block 4 cannot perform the development processing of the substrate W due to some trouble, the return buffer RBF performs the post-exposure heating processing by the heating units PHP7 to PHP12 of the development processing block 4, and then the substrate W Is temporarily stored. The return buffer RBF is configured by a storage shelf that can store a plurality of substrates W in multiple stages. The upper substrate platform PASS9 is used to transfer the substrate W from the transport robot TR4 to the transport mechanism 55, and the lower substrate platform PASS10 transfers the substrate W from the transport mechanism 55 to the transport robot TR4. It is used to pass. Note that the transfer robot TR4 accesses the return buffer RBF.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the transport mechanism 55 includes a movable base 55a that can move horizontally in the Y direction, and a holding arm 55b that holds the substrate W is mounted on the movable base 55a. The holding arm 55b is configured to be capable of moving up and down, turning and moving in the turning radius direction with respect to the movable base 55a. With such a configuration, the transport mechanism 55 transfers the substrate W to and from the exposure unit EXP, transfers the substrate W to the substrate platforms PASS9 and PASS10, and transfers the substrate W to the substrate sending send buffer SBF. Storing and unloading. The send buffer SBF temporarily stores and stores the substrate W before the exposure processing when the exposure unit EXP cannot accept the substrate W, and is configured by a storage shelf that can store a plurality of substrates W in multiple stages. Yes.

  The indexer block 1, the bark block 2, the resist coating block 3, the development processing block 4 and the interface block 5 are always supplied with clean air as a downflow, and the process is caused by the rising of particles and airflow in each block. To avoid the negative effects of. In addition, the inside of each block is kept at a slightly positive pressure with respect to the external environment of the apparatus to prevent entry of particles and contaminants from the external environment.

  The indexer block 1, the bark block 2, the resist coating block 3, the development processing block 4 and the interface block 5 described above are units obtained by mechanically dividing the substrate processing apparatus of the present embodiment. Each block is assembled to an individual block frame (frame body), and the substrate processing apparatus is configured by connecting the block frames.

  On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the transport control unit for transporting the substrate is configured separately from the block that is mechanically divided. In the present specification, such a transport control unit for transporting a substrate is referred to as a “cell”. One cell is configured to include a transfer robot in charge of substrate transfer and a transfer target unit to which the substrate can be transferred by the transfer robot. Each of the substrate placement units described above functions as an entrance substrate placement unit for receiving the substrate W in the cell or an exit substrate placement unit for delivering the substrate W from the cell. That is, the transfer of the substrate W between the cells is also performed via the substrate mounting portion. Note that the transfer robot constituting the cell includes the substrate transfer mechanism 12 of the indexer block 1 and the transfer mechanism 55 of the interface block 5.

  The substrate processing apparatus of the present embodiment includes six cells: an indexer cell, a bark cell, a resist coating cell, a development processing cell, a post-exposure bake cell, and an interface cell. The indexer cell includes a mounting table 11 and a substrate transfer mechanism 12, and has the same configuration as the indexer block 1 which is a mechanically divided unit. The bark cell includes a base coating processing unit BRC, two heat treatment towers 21 and 21, and a transfer robot TR1. This bark cell also has the same configuration as the bark block 2, which is a mechanically divided unit. Further, the resist coating cell includes a resist coating processing unit SC, two heat treatment towers 31 and 31, and a transfer robot TR2. This resist coating cell also has the same configuration as the resist coating block 3, which is a mechanically divided unit.

  On the other hand, the development processing cell includes a development processing unit SD, a heat treatment tower 41, and a transport robot TR3. As described above, the transfer robot TR3 cannot access the heating units PHP7 to PHP12 and the cool plate CP14 of the heat treatment tower 42, and the heat treatment tower 42 is not included in the development processing cell. In this respect, the development processing cell is different from the development processing block 4 which is a mechanically divided unit.

  The post-exposure bake cell includes a heat treatment tower 42 located in the development processing block 4, an edge exposure unit EEW located in the interface block 5, and a transport robot TR 4. That is, the post-exposure bake cell extends over the development processing block 4 and the interface block 5 which are mechanically divided units. Thus, since one cell is comprised including the heating parts PHP7 to PHP12 and the transfer robot TR4 for performing the post-exposure heat treatment, the substrate W after the exposure is quickly carried into the heating parts PHP7 to PHP12 and subjected to the heat treatment. It can be performed. Such a configuration is suitable when a chemically amplified resist that needs to be heat-treated as soon as possible after pattern exposure is used.

  The substrate platforms PASS7 and PASS8 included in the heat treatment tower 42 are interposed for transferring the substrate W between the transfer robot TR3 of the development processing cell and the transfer robot TR4 of the post-exposure bake cell.

  The interface cell includes a transport mechanism 55 that transfers the substrate W to and from an exposure unit EXP that is an external device. This interface cell is different from the interface block 5 which is a mechanically divided unit in that the interface cell does not include the transport robot TR4 and the edge exposure unit EEW. The substrate platforms PASS9 and PASS10 provided below the edge exposure unit EEW are interposed for the transfer of the substrate W between the post-exposure bake cell transfer robot TR4 and the interface cell transfer mechanism 55.

  Next, the control mechanism of the substrate processing apparatus of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an outline of the control mechanism. As shown in the figure, the substrate processing apparatus of the present embodiment includes a control hierarchy including three levels of a main controller MC, a cell controller CC, and a unit controller. The hardware configuration of the main controller MC, cell controller CC, and unit controller is the same as that of a general computer. That is, each controller stores a CPU that performs various arithmetic processes, a ROM that is a read-only memory that stores basic programs, a RAM that is a readable and writable memory that stores various information, and control applications and data. A magnetic disk or the like is provided.

  One main controller MC in the first hierarchy is provided for the entire substrate processing apparatus, and is mainly responsible for management of the entire apparatus, management of the main panel MP, and management of the cell controller CC. The main panel MP functions as a display for the main controller MC. In addition, various commands can be input to the main controller MC from the keyboard KB. The main panel MP may be configured by a touch panel, and input work may be performed from the main panel MP to the main controller MC.

  The second-level cell controller CC is individually provided for each of the six cells (indexer cell, bark cell, resist coating cell, development processing cell, post-exposure bake cell, and interface cell). Each cell controller CC is mainly in charge of substrate transport management and unit management in the corresponding cell. Specifically, the cell controller CC of each cell sends information that the substrate W has been placed on a predetermined substrate placement unit to the cell controller CC of the adjacent cell, and the cell controller CC of the cell that has received the substrate W. Transmits / receives information that information indicating that the substrate W has been received from the substrate platform is returned to the cell controller CC of the original cell. Such transmission / reception of information is performed via the main controller MC. Each cell controller CC gives information to the transfer robot controller TC that the substrate W has been loaded into the cell, and the transfer robot controller TC controls the transfer robot to circulate the substrate W in the cell according to a predetermined procedure. Transport. The transfer robot controller TC is a control unit realized by a predetermined application operating on the cell controller CC.

  In addition, as a unit controller of the third hierarchy, for example, a spin controller PC and a bake controller BC are provided. The spin controller PC directly controls spin units (coating processing unit and development processing unit) arranged in the cell in accordance with instructions from the cell controller CC. Specifically, the spin controller PC adjusts the rotation speed of the substrate W by controlling the spin motor of the spin unit, for example. The bake controller BC directly controls a heat treatment unit (hot plate, cool plate, heating unit, etc.) disposed in the cell in accordance with an instruction from the cell controller CC. For example, the bakecell bake controller BC that manages the hot plate HP1 controls the heat treatment plate 211, the air cylinder 225, the air supply valve 252, the flow rate adjustment valve 253, the exhaust valve 262, the flow rate adjustment valve 263, and the lifter 239, and the heat treatment plate The temperature of 211, the supply / exhaust to the heat treatment space 230, and the like are adjusted.

  A host computer 100 connected to the substrate processing apparatus via a LAN line is positioned as a higher-level control mechanism of the three-level control hierarchy provided in the substrate processing apparatus (see FIG. 1). The host computer 100 is a CPU that performs various arithmetic processes, a ROM that is a read-only memory that stores basic programs, a RAM that is a readable and writable memory that stores various information, and a magnetic that stores control applications and data. It has a disk and the like, and has the same configuration as a general computer. The host computer 100 is normally connected with a plurality of substrate processing apparatuses of this embodiment. The host computer 100 passes a recipe describing the processing procedure and processing conditions to each connected substrate processing apparatus. The recipe delivered from the host computer 100 is stored in a storage unit (for example, a memory) of the main controller MC of each substrate processing apparatus.

  The exposure unit EXP is provided with a separate control unit that is independent from the control mechanism of the substrate processing apparatus. That is, the exposure unit EXP does not operate under the control of the main controller MC of the substrate processing apparatus, but performs independent operation control by itself. However, such an exposure unit EXP also performs operation control according to the recipe received from the host computer 100, and the substrate processing apparatus performs processing synchronized with the exposure processing in the exposure unit EXP.

  Next, the operation of the substrate processing apparatus of this embodiment will be described. The processing procedure described below is executed by the control mechanism of FIG. 6 controlling each unit in accordance with the description contents of the recipe received from the host computer 100.

  First, an unprocessed substrate W is loaded into the indexer block 1 by AGV or the like while being stored in the carrier C from the outside of the apparatus. Subsequently, the unprocessed substrate W is dispensed from the indexer block 1. Specifically, the substrate transfer mechanism 12 of the indexer cell (indexer block 1) takes out an unprocessed substrate W from a predetermined carrier C and places it on the upper substrate platform PASS1. When an unprocessed substrate W is placed on the substrate platform PASS1, the transfer robot TR1 of the bark cell receives the substrate W using one of the holding arms 6a and 6b. Then, the transfer robot TR1 transfers the received unprocessed substrate W to any of the coating processing units BRC1 to BRC3. In the coating processing units BRC1 to BRC3, a coating liquid for forming an antireflection film (BARC in the present embodiment) on the surface of the substrate W is spin-coated as a chemical liquid. After the coating process is completed, the substrate W is transferred to one of the hot plates HP1 to HP6 by the transfer robot TR1.

  Here, the description is continued assuming that the substrate W on which the coating solution for the antireflection film has been spin-coated is transferred to the hot plate HP1, but the same applies to the case where the substrate W is transferred to the hot plates HP2 to HP6. When the transport robot TR1 carries the substrate W into the hot plate HP1, the cover 240 is raised to the standby position of FIG. 8 by the lifter 239, while the three support pins 221 are lowered to the processing position of FIG. Their upper ends are embedded in the heat treatment plate 211. In this state, the transfer robot TR1 advances the holding arm 6a (or 6b) holding the substrate W above the heat treatment plate 211. Subsequently, the three support pins 221 are moved up to the standby position in FIG. 8 by driving the air cylinder 225 and receive the substrate W from the transport robot TR1. Then, after the transfer robot TR1 retracts the holding arm 6a from the hot plate HP1, the three support pins 221 are lowered to the processing position by the air cylinder 225, whereby the substrate W is placed on the mounting surface 211a of the heat treatment plate 211. Is placed. Further, the cover 240 is also lowered to the processing position of FIG. 7 by the lifter 239, and as a result, a heat treatment space 230 surrounded by the cover 240 and the heat treatment plate 211 is formed.

  The temperature of the heat treatment plate 211 is increased according to the control by the bake controller BC. The bake controller BC raises the temperature of the heat treatment plate 211 so as to satisfy the processing conditions described in the recipe. Further, during the heat treatment of the substrate W, nitrogen gas is supplied from the gas supply source 255 to the heat treatment space 230, and the atmosphere in the heat treatment space 230 is exhausted to the exhaust unit 265 through the exhaust port 266. Thereby, in the heat treatment space 230, an air flow is formed such that nitrogen gas supplied from the vicinity of the peripheral edge of the heat treatment plate 211 flows toward the exhaust port 266. The bake controller BC controls the supply valve 252, the flow rate adjustment valve 253, the exhaust valve 262 and the flow rate adjustment valve 263 according to the recipe, and adjusts the supply flow rate and exhaust flow rate of nitrogen gas to the heat treatment space 230. The following Table 1 is a part of the recipe executed in the present embodiment, and is a description part regarding the heating temperature condition and the supply / exhaust flow rate of the hot plate HP1.

  As shown in Table 1, the heat treatment period of the hot plate HP1 is divided into two steps. Here, the “heat treatment period” in the hot plate HP1 is a period in which the substrate W is placed on the placement surface 211a of the heat treatment plate 211. More specifically, the support pins 221 are lowered to place the placement surface. This is a period from when the substrate W is placed on 211a to when the support pins 221 rise again to push the substrate W up from the placement surface 211a. In the present embodiment, the coating liquid for forming the antireflection film is applied as a chemical solution to the surface of the substrate W, and the substrate W is heated in two stages by dividing the 90-second heat treatment period into two steps. I am doing so. That is, the recipe describes a first step of 60 seconds at which the temperature of the heat treatment plate 211 is 180 ° C. and a second step of 30 seconds at 230 ° C. According to the description of this recipe, the bake controller BC sets the temperature of the heat treatment plate 211 to 180 ° C. for the first 60 seconds (first period) of the 90-second heat treatment period, and then continues for 30 seconds (second period). Performs two-stage temperature control at 230 ° C.

  In the recipe, the gas supply flow rate and the exhaust flow rate are set to “small” in the first step corresponding to the first period, and the gas supply flow rate and the exhaust flow rate are set to “small” in the second step corresponding to the second period. "Large" is described. In accordance with the description of this recipe, the bake controller BC has a nitrogen gas supply flow rate to the heat treatment space 230 “small” in the first period, and a nitrogen gas supply flow rate to the heat treatment space 230 in the second period. The air supply valve 252 and the flow rate adjustment valve 253 are controlled so as to be large. Similarly, according to the description of the recipe, the bake controller BC has the exhaust flow rate from the heat treatment space 230 “small” in the first period, and the exhaust flow rate from the heat treatment space 230 is larger in the second period “ The exhaust valve 262 and the flow rate adjustment valve 263 are controlled so as to be “large”.

  By the temperature control and supply / exhaust control as described above, the temperature of the heat treatment plate 211 and the supply / exhaust flow rate to the heat treatment space 230 change as shown in FIG. 9A shows a change in temperature of the heat treatment plate 211, FIG. 9B shows a change in the supply flow rate of nitrogen gas to the heat treatment space 230, and FIG. 9C shows a change in the exhaust flow rate from the heat treatment space 230. Show. The “heat treatment time” is the time after the substrate W is placed on the placement surface 211a of the heat treatment plate 211. More specifically, the support pin 221 is lowered and the substrate W is placed on the placement surface 211a. Is the elapsed time since.

  The heat treatment plate 211 maintains 180 ° C. for 60 seconds under the control of the bake controller BC, and then raises the temperature to 230 ° C. and maintains the temperature for 30 seconds. Since the substrate W placed on the placement surface 211a of the heat treatment plate 211 is heated to almost the same temperature as the heat treatment plate 211, the substrate W is first heated at 180 ° C. for 60 seconds and then heated at 230 ° C. for 30 seconds. Become. By this heat treatment, the solvent and the resin component are volatilized or sublimated from the coating liquid for the antireflection film, and the antireflection film is baked on the substrate W.

  Here, the conventional baking process of the antireflection film is performed at 200 ° C. or higher, and the heating temperature of 180 ° C. in the first period is slightly lower as the baking temperature of the antireflection film. For this reason, although a sufficient baking process cannot be performed, volatilization or sublimation of components from the coating solution occurs. However, the amount of volatilization or sublimation when the substrate W is heated to 180 ° C. is significantly smaller than when the substrate W is heated to 200 ° C. or higher. If the volatilization amount or the sublimation amount is small, adhesion to the internal mechanism of the hot plate HP1 hardly occurs.

  After the solvent and the resin component are removed from the coating solution to some extent by the heat treatment at 180 ° C., the substrate W is heated to 230 ° C. By the heat treatment at 230 ° C. in the second period, the antireflection film is sufficiently baked, and the antireflection film having desired characteristics is baked. Since the solvent and resin components are removed from the coating liquid to some extent by the heat treatment at 180 ° C. in the first period, even if the temperature is increased to 230 ° C. in the second period, the volatilization generated from the coating liquid compared to the conventional case. The amount or sublimation amount is small. For this reason, component adhesion to the internal mechanism of the hot plate HP1 can be suppressed also in the second period.

  Further, in the heat treatment space 230, an air flow is formed such that nitrogen gas supplied from the vicinity of the peripheral edge of the heat treatment plate 211 through the cover 240 flows toward the exhaust port 266, and application of an antireflection film is performed. Volatiles and sublimates generated from the liquid are discharged to the outside of the unit of the hot plate HP1 by this nitrogen gas flow. The nitrogen gas supply flow rate to the heat treatment space 230 is larger in the second period than in the first period, and the exhaust gas flow rate from the heat treatment space 230 is larger in the second period than in the first period. That is, the flow rate of the airflow formed in the heat treatment space 230 is larger in the second period than in the first period. In the second period in which the temperature of the substrate W is raised to 230 ° C., the amount of volatilization or sublimation from the coating solution per unit time is larger than that in the first period of 180 ° C., but it is formed in the heat treatment space 230. Since the flow rate of the generated airflow is larger in the second period than in the first period, the volatile matter and sublimate can be surely discharged to the outside of the hot plate HP1 even if the generation amount increases. Component adhesion to the internal mechanism of the plate HP1 can be reliably suppressed.

  Further, the exhaust port 266 is opened above the center of the inner cover 246, and the inner wall surface 246a of the inner cover 246 is tapered so as to expand from the exhaust port 266 toward the heat treatment plate 211. Accordingly, the flow of nitrogen gas smoothly flows along the heat treatment space 230, and the occurrence of a stay portion of the air flow in the heat treatment space 230 is suppressed. As a result, the sublimate generated from the coating solution for the antireflection film is also smoothly discharged from the exhaust port 260 along with the air flow, improving the recovery efficiency of the sublimate, and the sublimate to the internal mechanism of the hot plate HP1. Adhesion can be prevented more effectively.

  Further, since the inner wall surface 246a of the inner cover 246 is a smooth surface (average surface roughness is 1.6 μm or less) by electrolytic polishing, adhesion of sublimate to the inner wall surface 246a is more effectively prevented. Become.

  Further, a heater 247 is attached to the outer wall surface 246b of the inner cover 246, and the inner cover 246 is heated to a predetermined temperature by the heater 247. For this reason, it is more effectively prevented that the sublimate deposits and adheres to the inner wall surface 246a of the inner cover 246. The heating temperature of the inner cover 246 by the heater 247 may be any temperature that can suppress the precipitation of sublimated matter.

  In addition, by making the inner wall surface 246a of the inner cover 246 into a tapered surface, the airflow staying portion is eliminated from the heat treatment space 230, so that convection in the heat treatment space 230 is also suppressed, and the in-plane surface of the substrate W during the heat treatment is reduced. Improved temperature distribution uniformity. For this reason, even if supply / exhaust of a larger flow rate than before is performed in the second period, it is possible to prevent the in-plane temperature distribution uniformity of the substrate W from being impaired.

  When the antireflection film is formed on the substrate W after the heat treatment time of 90 seconds has elapsed while effectively collecting the sublimate generated from the coating liquid as described above, the baking process is completed, and the cover 240 is completed. Rises to the standby position, and the three support pins 221 also rise to the standby position. When the three support pins 221 are lifted, as shown in FIG. 8, the substrate W placed on the placement surface 211a of the heat treatment plate 211 is pushed up by the support pins 221 and separated from the placement surface 211a. It becomes. As a result, the heat supply to the substrate W supported by the three support pins 221 is stopped, and the substrate temperature starts to gradually decrease.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9C, the exhaust flow rate at the time when the heat treatment period ends and the cover 240 rises to the standby position is further increased than in the second period. This is because a sublimate or the like floating in the heat treatment space 230 is scattered outside the hot plate HP1 (peripheral space where the transfer robot TR1 is disposed) and diffused throughout the substrate processing apparatus to become a contamination source. This is to prevent this. In other words, when the cover 240 is raised to the standby position, exhaust air is exhausted from the exhaust port 266 at a very large flow rate, so that floating matter in the inner space of the cover 240 is strongly sucked from the exhaust port 266 and discharged. Thus, it is possible to prevent the sublimate from leaking out of the hot plate HP1.

  The transport robot TR1 unloads the substrate W from the hot plate HP1 when a predetermined waiting time has elapsed after the substrate W after the firing process has been pushed up from the placement surface 211a by the support pins 221. The procedure in which the transport robot TR1 carries the substrate W out of the hot plate HP1 is the reverse of the above carry-in procedure. That is, the transfer robot TR1 advances the holding arm 6a (or 6b) below the substrate W supported by the support pins 221, and then the three support pins 221 are lowered to the processing position, whereby the substrate W is held by the holding arms. Passed to 6a. Thereafter, the transfer robot TR1 retracts the holding arm 6a from the hot plate HP1, whereby the unloading of the substrate W is completed. It is preferable that the waiting time after the substrate W is pushed up is a time until the temperature of the substrate W is lowered to such a level that no sublimate is generated.

  Since the substrate W carried out of the hot plate HP1 is not cooled sufficiently to the next step (resist coating step), it is transferred to one of the cool plates CP1 to CP3 by the transfer robot TR1 and cooled. At this time, the substrate W may be cooled by the cool plate WCP. The cooled substrate W is placed on the substrate platform PASS3 by the transport robot TR1.

  Further, dehydration treatment may be performed before applying the coating solution for the antireflection film. In this case, first, the transfer robot TR1 transfers the unprocessed substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS1 to any one of the adhesion reinforcement processing units AHL1 to AHL3. In the adhesion strengthening processing units AHL1 to AHL3, the substrate W is simply subjected to heat treatment (dehydration bake) for dehydration without supplying HMDS vapor. The substrate W that has been subjected to the heat treatment for dehydration is taken out by the transport robot TR1, transported to one of the cool plates CP1 to CP3, and cooled. The cooled substrate W is transported to one of the coating processing units BRC1 to BRC3 by the transport robot TR1, and the coating liquid for the antireflection film is spin-coated. Thereafter, the substrate W is transferred to one of the hot plates HP1 to HP6 by the transfer robot TR1, and a base antireflection film (BARC) is formed on the substrate W by heat treatment. The operation of the hot plates HP1 to HP6 at this time is the same as described above. Thereafter, the substrate W taken out from the hot plate by the transport robot TR1 is transported to one of the cool plates CP1 to CP3, cooled, and then placed on the substrate platform PASS3.

  When the substrate W is placed on the substrate platform PASS3, the resist coating cell transport robot TR2 receives the substrate W and transports it to one of the coating processing units SC1 to SC3. In the coating processing units SC1 to SC3, a resist is spin-coated on the substrate W on which the antireflection film is formed. In addition, since precise substrate temperature control is required for the resist coating process, the substrate W may be transported to any one of the cool plates CP4 to CP9 immediately before the substrate W is transported to the coating processing units SC1 to SC3.

  After the resist coating process is completed, the substrate W is transferred to one of the heating units PHP1 to PHP6 by the transfer robot TR2. When the substrate W is heated by the heating units PHP1 to PHP6, the solvent component in the resist is removed, and a resist film is formed on the substrate W. Thereafter, the substrate W taken out from the heating units PHP1 to PHP6 by the transport robot TR2 is transported to one of the cool plates CP4 to CP9 and cooled. The cooled substrate W is placed on the substrate platform PASS5 by the transport robot TR2.

  When the substrate W on which the resist coating process is performed and the resist film is formed is placed on the substrate platform PASS5, the transfer robot TR3 of the development processing cell receives the substrate W and places it on the substrate platform PASS7 as it is. Put. Then, the substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS7 is received by the post-exposure bake cell transport robot TR4 and carried into one of the edge exposure units EEW1 and EEW2. In the edge exposure units EEW1 and EEW2, the peripheral edge of the substrate W is exposed. The substrate W that has undergone the edge exposure process is placed on the substrate platform PASS9 by the transport robot TR4. The substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS9 is received by the interface cell transport mechanism 55, carried into the exposure unit EXP, and subjected to pattern exposure processing. Since a chemically amplified resist is used in the present embodiment, an acid is generated by a photochemical reaction in the exposed portion of the resist film formed on the substrate W. In addition, before carrying in the exposure unit EXP, the board | substrate W which complete | finished edge exposure process may be carried in to cool plate CP14 by the conveyance robot TR4, and you may make it perform a cooling process.

  The exposed substrate W for which the pattern exposure processing has been completed is returned from the exposure unit EXP to the interface cell again, and is placed on the substrate platform PASS10 by the transport mechanism 55. When the exposed substrate W is placed on the substrate platform PASS10, the post-exposure bakecell transport robot TR4 receives the substrate W and transports it to any of the heating units PHP7 to PHP12. In the heating parts PHP7 to PHP12, the product generated by the photochemical reaction at the time of exposure is used as an acid catalyst to advance a reaction such as crosslinking / polymerization of the resin of the resist, and the solubility in the developer is locally changed only in the exposed part. Post exposure bake is performed. The substrate W that has been subjected to the post-exposure heat treatment is cooled by being transported by a local transport mechanism (a transport mechanism in the heating units PHP7 to PHP12: see FIG. 1) having a cooling mechanism, and the chemical reaction is stopped. Subsequently, the substrate W is taken out from the heating units PHP7 to PHP12 by the transfer robot TR4 and placed on the substrate platform PASS8.

  When the substrate W is placed on the substrate platform PASS8, the transport robot TR3 of the development cell receives the substrate W and transports it to one of the cool plates CP10 to CP13. In the cool plates CP10 to CP13, the substrate W that has been subjected to the post-exposure heat treatment is further cooled and accurately adjusted to a predetermined temperature. Thereafter, the transport robot TR3 takes out the substrate W from the cool plates CP10 to CP13 and transports it to any of the development processing units SD1 to SD5. In the developing units SD1 to SD5, a developing solution is supplied to the substrate W to advance the developing process. After the development process is finished, the substrate W is transferred to one of the hot plates HP7 to HP11 by the transfer robot TR3, and then transferred to one of the cool plates CP10 to CP13.

  Thereafter, the substrate W is placed on the substrate platform PASS6 by the transport robot TR3. The substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS6 is placed on the substrate platform PASS4 as it is by the transfer robot TR2 of the resist coating cell. Further, the substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS4 is stored in the indexer block 1 by being placed on the substrate platform PASS2 as it is by the transfer robot TR1 of the bark cell. The processed substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS2 is stored in a predetermined carrier C by the substrate transfer mechanism 12 of the indexer cell. Thereafter, the carrier C storing the predetermined number of processed substrates W is carried out of the apparatus, and a series of photolithography processes are completed.

  As described above, at the time of baking the antireflection film, the bake controller BC sets the temperature of the heat treatment plate 211 in the first period in the heat treatment period to 180 ° C., and then sets the temperature of the heat treatment plate 211 in the second period thereafter. The temperature of the heat treatment plate 211 during the heat treatment period is changed stepwise. For this reason, the substrate W coated with the coating solution for the antireflection film is first heated to 180 ° C., and the solvent and the resin component are volatilized or sublimated little by little from the coating solution. Here, if the substrate W on which the coating liquid is applied as in the prior art is suddenly heated to 200 ° C. or higher, a large amount of volatile substances and sublimates may be generated and attached to the internal mechanism of the hot plate HP1. In the present embodiment, by setting the temperature of the heat treatment plate 211 in the first period to 180 ° C., unnecessary heating of the substrate W is suppressed, and a large amount of solvent and resin components are volatilized or sublimated from the coating solution all at once. The total amount of the solvent and the resin component contained in the coating liquid is reliably reduced while preventing this. Therefore, in the initial stage of the heat treatment period, it is possible to reliably remove the solvent and the resin component from the coating liquid while preventing component adhesion to the internal mechanism of the hot plate HP1.

  Subsequently, the substrate W from which the solvent and resin components have been reduced to some extent from the coating solution is heated to 230 ° C., and the antireflection film is reliably baked. Even if the substrate W is continuously heated at 180 ° C., it is impossible to form an antireflection film having necessary characteristics (even if it can be formed, it is impossible for a long time to be processed in reality). The antireflection film having desired characteristics is baked by heating to 230 ° C. in the second period. That is, by setting the temperature of the heat treatment plate 211 in the second period to 230 ° C., the minimum necessary temperature increase to the substrate W can be reliably performed. Even if the substrate W is heated to 230 ° C., a certain amount of volatilization or sublimation does not occur because a certain amount of solvent or resin component has already been removed from the coating solution in the first period.

  In addition, during the baking process of the antireflection film, the nitrogen gas supply flow rate to the heat treatment space 230 and the exhaust gas flow rate from the heat treatment space 230 in the second period are higher than those in the first period by the control of the bake controller BC. Has been. That is, the bake controller BC also changes the nitrogen gas supply flow rate and the exhaust flow rate during the heat treatment stepwise. In the second period in which the heating temperature is higher than that in the first period, the amount of volatile matter or sublimate generated from the coating solution per unit time is increased. By increasing the exhaust flow rate, the generated volatile matter and sublimation can be reliably discharged from the hot plate HP1 and can be prevented from adhering to the internal mechanism.

  While the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention can be modified in various ways other than those described above without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, a coating liquid for forming an antireflection film (BARC in the present embodiment) is applied to the surface of the substrate W in the coating processing units BRC1 to BRC3, and the substrate W is applied to the hot plates HP1 to HP1. Although the antireflection film was baked by heating with HP6, instead of this, a coating solution for forming a lower layer film as a chemical solution was applied to the surface of the substrate W, and the substrate W was heated to hot plates HP1 to HP6. The lower layer film may be fired on the substrate W by heating at. The underlayer film was developed as an etching mask that can be used in recent microfabrication processes, and is a coated carbon film (SOC: Spin on Carbon Hard Mask) formed under the resist film. The characteristics of the lower layer of the coated carbon film are that it has a low reflectance and a high etching resistance.

  In the process of forming the lower layer film having such characteristics, the lower layer film chemical (coating solution for forming the lower layer film) is applied to the surface of the substrate W by the same method as the antireflection film, and the substrate W is A component other than carbon is heated to burn and a carbon film having a minimum impurity content is baked. Although depending on the type of chemical used, the lower layer film is usually fired at a higher temperature than the antireflection film (BARC). As a result of burning off components other than carbon during the firing process of the lower layer film, a large amount of sublimates (above the firing of the antireflection film) is generated. For this reason, when baking the lower layer film, the bake controller BC controls the hot plate HP1 according to the recipe shown in Table 2 below.

  Similar to the recipe in Table 1 regarding the baking treatment of the antireflection film, the heat treatment period of the hot plate HP1 is divided into two steps. However, the recipe in Table 2 describes a first step of 60 seconds at which the temperature of the heat treatment plate 211 is 220 ° C. and a second step of 30 seconds at 300 ° C. Also in the recipe of Table 2, the gas supply flow rate and the exhaust flow rate are set to “small” in the first step corresponding to the first period, and the gas supply flow rate and the exhaust gas are set in the second step corresponding to the second period. It is described that the flow rate is “large”. When baking the lower layer film, the bake controller BC raises the temperature of the heat treatment plate 211 according to the recipe of Table 2 and controls the air supply valve 252, the flow rate adjustment valve 253, the exhaust valve 262, and the flow rate adjustment valve 263. In addition, the supply flow rate and exhaust flow rate of nitrogen gas to the heat treatment space 230 are adjusted.

  Even in this case, during the baking process of the lower layer film as in the above embodiment, the baking controller BC sets the temperature of the heat treatment plate 211 in the first period in the heat treatment period to 220 ° C., and the heat treatment in the second period thereafter. The temperature of the plate 211 is 300 ° C., and the temperature of the heat treatment plate 211 during the heat treatment period is changed stepwise. By setting the temperature of the heat treatment plate 211 in the first period to 220 ° C., unnecessary heating of the substrate W is suppressed, and a large amount of solvent or resin component is volatilized or sublimated from the coating solution at a stretch. The total amount of solvent and resin components contained in the coating liquid is reliably reduced. Therefore, in the initial stage of the heat treatment period, it is possible to reliably remove the solvent and the resin component from the coating liquid while preventing component adhesion to the internal mechanism of the hot plate HP1.

  Subsequently, the substrate W from which the solvent and resin components have been reduced to some extent from the coating solution is heated to 300 ° C., and the lower layer film is reliably baked. Even if the substrate W is continuously heated at 220 ° C., it is impossible to form a lower layer film having the necessary characteristics. By heating the substrate W to 300 ° C. in the second period, the lower layer film having desired characteristics can be baked. Done. That is, by setting the temperature of the heat treatment plate 211 in the second period to 300 ° C., the minimum required temperature increase to the substrate W can be surely executed. Even if the substrate W is heated to 300 ° C., a certain amount of volatilization or sublimation does not occur because a certain amount of solvent or resin component has already been removed from the coating solution in the first period.

  Further, even during the baking process of the lower layer film, the nitrogen gas supply flow rate to the heat treatment space 230 and the exhaust flow rate from the heat treatment space 230 in the second period are larger than those in the first period by the control of the bake controller BC. Has been. That is, the bake controller BC also changes the nitrogen gas supply flow rate and the exhaust flow rate during the heat treatment stepwise. In the second period in which the heating temperature is higher than that in the first period, the amount of volatile matter or sublimate generated from the coating solution per unit time is increased. By increasing the exhaust flow rate, it is possible to reliably discharge volatiles and sublimates generated in the same manner as the baking treatment of the antireflection film from the hot plate HP1 and prevent adhesion to the internal mechanism.

  Further, the heat treatment technique according to the present invention is effective for firing various coatings in which a large amount of sublimates are generated during the heat treatment, and is not limited to the above-described antireflection film or lower layer film. Can be suitably used for a photoresist film in which a large amount of is generated, a color resist film used for a color filter, and the like. By dividing the heat treatment period of the recipe when baking these coatings into a plurality of steps and changing the temperature of the heat treatment plate during the heat treatment stepwise, unnecessary temperature increase is performed as in the above embodiment. It is possible to reliably carry out the minimum necessary temperature rise while suppressing the occurrence of the problem and prevent the sublimate from adhering to surely fire the coating. Further, by gradually changing the nitrogen gas supply flow rate and the exhaust gas flow rate during the heat treatment period, it is possible to more reliably prevent the attachment of sublimates and the like.

  Further, the heat treatment technology according to the present invention is limited to a hot plate that heats a substrate coated with a chemical solution that forms an antireflection film or an underlayer film while generating a sublimation when heated, and performs a baking process of the film. However, the present invention can be applied to the heating units PHP1 to PHP6 for heating the substrate W coated with a resist and the heating units PHP7 to PHP12 for heating the substrate W after exposure. The heat treatment period of the recipe when performing these heat treatments is divided into a plurality of steps, and the temperature of the heat treatment plate during the heat treatment period is changed stepwise so that the minimum necessary rise is achieved while suppressing unnecessary temperature rise. The temperature can be reliably implemented and the process optimized. Further, the nitrogen gas supply flow rate and the exhaust flow rate during the heat treatment period may be changed stepwise. However, if the temperature of the heat treatment plate is changed during the heat treatment period, the in-plane temperature distribution of the substrate W is likely to be non-uniform at that moment. In the heat treatment after resist coating or the heat treatment after exposure, if the in-plane temperature distribution of the substrate becomes nonuniform, the resist film thickness and the pattern line width may also become nonuniform. In this regard, if the anti-reflection film or the lower layer film is baked, even if the in-plane temperature distribution of the substrate W is slightly non-uniform, the processing result is not greatly affected, and the heat treatment technique according to the present invention is applied. Is preferable.

  When these contents are summarized, the heat treatment technique according to the present invention can be applied to various heat treatment apparatuses that perform a predetermined treatment by heating a substrate. Then, the heat treatment period of the recipe when performing the heat treatment is divided into a plurality of steps, and the temperature of the heat treatment plate during the heat treatment period is changed stepwise by setting the plate temperature for each step. It is possible to reliably execute the minimum required temperature increase while suppressing the temperature. As a result, the process can be optimized and the power consumption can be reduced. In addition, by setting the nitrogen gas supply flow rate and exhaust flow rate for each step and changing the air supply / exhaust flow rate during the heat treatment step by step, the minimum necessary supply / exhaust can be ensured while suppressing unnecessary gas consumption. Can be executed.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the heat processing period of the recipe at the time of heat-processing was divided | segmented into two steps, the division | segmentation number is not limited to two, It shall be arbitrary numbers two or more be able to. Even when the heat treatment period of the recipe is divided into three or more, the temperature of the heat treatment plate is set for each step, and the gas supply flow rate to the heat treatment space and the exhaust flow rate from the heat treatment space are set as described above. The same effect as the embodiment can be obtained. Further, the plate temperature and the supply / exhaust flow rate to be set can be arbitrarily set in each step. For example, the temperature of the heat treatment plate may be set to decrease stepwise, contrary to the above embodiment.

  In the above embodiment, the heat treatment plate 211 of the hot plate HP1 is a mica heater. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a plate having a heat pipe structure may be used.

  Further, the gas supplied from the gas supply source 255 is not limited to nitrogen gas, and other inert gas such as argon or helium may be supplied. However, it is preferable to use nitrogen gas from the viewpoint of cost.

  The substrate to be processed by the heat treatment apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to a semiconductor wafer, and may be a liquid crystal glass substrate.

  Moreover, the structure of the substrate processing apparatus incorporating the heat treatment apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to the form shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, and various modifications are possible.

It is a top view of the substrate processing apparatus incorporating the heat processing apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a front view of the liquid processing part of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. It is a front view of the heat processing part of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which shows the periphery structure of the substrate mounting part of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the conveyance robot of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the outline of the control mechanism of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. It is side sectional drawing which shows schematic structure of a hotplate. It is side sectional drawing which shows schematic structure of a hotplate. It is a figure which shows plate temperature and an air supply / exhaust flow rate.

Explanation of symbols

211 Heat treatment plate 211a Mounting surface 230 Heat treatment space 240 Cover 243 Outer cover 246 Inner cover 250 Air supply / exhaust block 255 Gas supply source 260 Exhaust port 265 Exhaust part 266 Exhaust port BC bake controller BRC1 to BRC3 Application processing unit TR1 Transport robot HP1 to HP6 Hot plate W substrate

Claims (12)

A heat treatment apparatus that heats a substrate and performs a predetermined treatment,
A heat treatment plate for placing and heating the substrate on the placement surface;
Temperature control means for stepwise changing the temperature of the heat treatment plate during the heat treatment period in which the substrate is placed on the placement surface;
A heat treatment apparatus comprising: The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
A cover that covers the top of the heat treatment plate;
Gas supply means for supplying a predetermined gas to a heat treatment space surrounded by the cover and the heat treatment plate;
Exhaust means for exhausting gas from the heat treatment space;
Supply / exhaust control means for controlling the gas supply means and the exhaust means so that the gas supply flow rate to the heat treatment space and the exhaust flow rate from the heat treatment space during the heat treatment period change stepwise;
A heat treatment apparatus further comprising: The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 2,
The heat treatment plate heats a substrate coated with a chemical that forms a film while generating a sublimate by being heated,
The temperature control means sets the temperature of the heat treatment plate in a first period after the substrate is placed on the mounting surface as a first temperature, and sets the temperature of the heat treatment plate in a second period thereafter. A heat treatment apparatus, wherein the second temperature is higher than the first temperature. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 3, wherein
The heat treatment apparatus characterized in that the supply / exhaust control means controls the gas supply means and the exhaust means so that the gas supply flow rate and the exhaust flow rate in the second period are larger than those in the first period. In the heat treatment apparatus according to claim 3 or 4,
The chemical solution is a coating solution for forming an antireflection film,
A heat treatment apparatus, wherein an antireflective film is baked on a substrate coated with the chemical solution by heating the substrate with the heat treatment plate. In the heat treatment apparatus according to claim 3 or 4,
The chemical solution is a coating solution for forming an underlayer film,
A heat treatment apparatus, wherein a substrate coated with the chemical solution is heated by the heat treatment plate, whereby a lower layer film is baked on the substrate. A heat treatment method for performing a predetermined treatment by heating a substrate,
A dividing step of dividing the heat treatment period in which the substrate is placed on the placement surface of the heat treatment plate and heating the substrate into a plurality of steps;
A temperature setting step for setting the temperature of the heat treatment plate for each of the plurality of steps;
A heat treatment method comprising: The heat treatment method according to claim 7,
A supply / exhaust flow rate setting step for setting a gas supply flow rate to the heat treatment space surrounded by the heat treatment plate and a cover covering the heat treatment plate and an exhaust flow rate from the heat treatment space is further provided for each of the plurality of steps. The heat processing method characterized by the above-mentioned. The heat treatment method according to claim 8, wherein
The heat treatment plate heats a substrate coated with a chemical solution that forms a film while generating a sublimate by being heated,
The temperature setting step sets the first temperature in a step corresponding to a first period after the substrate is placed on the mounting surface, and sets the first temperature in a step corresponding to a second period thereafter. A heat treatment method, wherein a second temperature higher than the temperature of 1 is set. The heat treatment method according to claim 9, wherein
In the heat supply / exhaust flow rate setting step, a gas supply flow rate and an exhaust flow rate that are larger than the step corresponding to the first period are set in the step corresponding to the second period. In the heat processing method of Claim 9 or Claim 10,
The chemical solution is a coating solution for forming an antireflection film,
A heat treatment method, wherein an antireflective film is baked on the substrate by heating the substrate coated with the chemical solution on the heat treatment plate. In the heat processing method of Claim 9 or Claim 10,
The chemical solution is a coating solution for forming an underlayer film,
A heat treatment method, wherein a substrate coated with the chemical solution is heated by the heat treatment plate, whereby a lower layer film is baked on the substrate.

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