JP4887310B2 - Liquid processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid processing apparatus for applying a coating solution such as a resist solution or a developing solution from a coating solution nozzle to a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer or a glass substrate (LCD substrate) for a liquid crystal display.

  The step of forming a resist pattern on a substrate, which is one of the manufacturing processes of a semiconductor device or an LCD substrate, is to form a resist film on a substrate, for example, a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as a wafer), and use a photomask to form the resist film. After the exposure, the development process is performed to perform a series of processes for obtaining a desired pattern. These series of processes are conventionally performed by a coating and developing apparatus.

  This coating / developing apparatus includes a liquid processing apparatus such as a coating unit for coating a resist solution and a developing unit for coating a developer on a wafer after exposure. In order to ensure high throughput, these coating units and A plurality of developing units and the like are provided.

  For example, in a coating unit that coats a resist solution as a coating solution, a cup body is provided so as to surround the periphery of a spin chuck, which is a substrate holding unit, and the resist solution is placed in the approximate center of the wafer held by the spin chuck. By supplying and rotating the spin chuck, processing such as spin coating of the resist solution, swing-off drying, and side rinsing is performed.

  The resist solution is supplied to the wafer by discharging the resist solution supplied from the supply unit from a nozzle (coating solution nozzle). The nozzle is normally kept at a position away from the wafer loading / unloading path so as not to obstruct the wafer loading / unloading operation, and is transported to the center of the wafer held by the spin chuck only when the resist solution is discharged. In many cases, it has a configuration.

  In order to start the discharge of the resist solution immediately after the nozzle is transferred onto the wafer, it is necessary to fill the resist solution up to the vicinity of the nozzle tip. However, when the nozzle is transported in such a state, the resist solution may be dropped at an unintended position during transport. As a result, for example, if a resist solution drops on the peripheral edge of the wafer and spin coating is performed by discharging the resist solution at the center of the wafer without noticing this, a resist film with a non-uniform thickness is formed, resulting in poor exposure. Cause. Further, when the resist solution is dropped on the spin chuck, the adsorption force of the spin chuck may be reduced.

  For such a problem, a suction back valve having a suction chamber is provided in the middle of the supply route of the resist solution to the nozzle, and when the resist solution is not discharged, the suction chamber is expanded by vacuum pressure or the like. A negative pressure is generated, and dripping is prevented by drawing the tip surface of the resist solution from the tip of the nozzle.

  However, bubbles may be formed from the dissolved gas in the resist solution, or the bubbles and the resist solution may expand due to temperature changes in the clean room, and the leading end surface of the drawn resist solution may be pushed out again. It is difficult to completely prevent dripping of the resist solution at a position other than the target.

  In recent years, for the purpose of reducing the types of parts and reducing the weight, it has been studied to share parts of the same type of liquid processing apparatus incorporated in a coating and developing apparatus. As an example of such an approach, for example, a plurality of sets of spin chucks and cup bodies (hereinafter referred to as liquid processing units) are arranged in series in a single housing, and a common nozzle is moved using a nozzle arm common to them. A coating unit that supplies a resist solution to a wafer on each spin chuck has been studied. However, the coating unit having such a configuration has a long moving distance (moving time) of the common nozzle, and accordingly, there is a high probability that the resist solution will be dropped during the movement, and a nozzle that is not used for moving in common. May dry out and cause the resist to stick. Furthermore, the possibility that the resist solution spontaneously drops due to vibration cannot be denied.

Assuming such a case, Patent Literature 1 and Patent Literature 2 describe techniques for monitoring the state of the tip of the nozzle using a camera. The cameras described in these Patent Documents 1 and 2 both acquire image information of the nozzle tip part while supplying the resist solution to the wafer, or immediately before and after that, and analyze the image information. Although it is a technique, there is no description of illumination means as means for reading more accurately when acquiring image information.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-176734 (FIG. 1) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-136015: (FIG. 6)

  By the way, the discharge amount of resist liquid in recent years is small, and the nozzle for discharging the resist liquid tends to be reduced in size accordingly, but the nozzle itself is not damaged even if there is some physical contact during maintenance. It is formed to maintain various strengths. In this case, the portion where the resist flow path is formed has a thick nozzle shape except for the tip of the nozzle. Since there is this thick part, it is necessary to make an optimal adjustment by performing an accurate visual check of the state of the resist solution in the resist flow path and the position and state of the suckback after completion of resist discharge when performing maintenance. It is difficult to do. Also, recent devices have a space-saving structure, and the stacking in the vertical direction has progressed, so that the space for maintenance is narrow and visual confirmation is difficult. For this reason, it is also necessary to provide an imaging means, and it is difficult to accurately read the position of the resist solution inside the nozzle simply by illuminating the nozzle.

  The present invention has been made under such circumstances, and its purpose is to provide means for adjusting the resist state more accurately even when visual adjustment is performed, and a coating solution on a substrate. The present invention provides means for accurately grasping the state of the suck back amount inside the tip of the coating liquid nozzle that supplies the liquid, the state of the tip after discharge, the state of contamination, and the like. Furthermore, this object provides a means that can accurately grasp the state inside the coating liquid nozzle even when the imaging means is used.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a coating film by supplying a coating liquid from a coating liquid supply unit to a surface of a substrate held substantially horizontally by a substrate holding unit and discharging the coating liquid toward the surface of the substrate. In the liquid processing apparatus for performing liquid processing to form a coating liquid nozzle of a cylindrical body formed of a substantially transparent member in which a flow path of the coating liquid supplied from the coating liquid supply section is formed, and the substrate holding section A nozzle transport mechanism configured to transport the coating liquid nozzle configured to be movable above the substrate held by the substrate, and a cylindrical body that is provided in the nozzle transport mechanism and has a flow path for the coating liquid formed by a substantially transparent member. A coating liquid nozzle; and a light source for causing illumination light to enter the coating liquid nozzle. The coating liquid nozzle is a part for allowing the illumination light to enter a part of the outer periphery of the cylindrical body. It has a light incident surface formed in a flat shape. That (claim 1). In this case, a plurality of the coating liquid nozzles may be provided in the nozzle transport mechanism. In this case, the light source may be connected to each of the light incident surfaces provided in each of the plurality of coating liquid nozzles.

  With this configuration, the flow path inside the coating liquid nozzle can be illuminated from the inside of the coating liquid nozzle, so that, for example, the resist liquid suck back position and the suck back amount of the processing liquid flow path inside the coating liquid nozzle The state and the state of the resist solution at the tip of the coating solution nozzle can be accurately confirmed.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the cylindrical portion connected to the light incident surface outside a part of the surface of the coating liquid nozzle converts light incident from the light incident surface downward in the coating liquid nozzle. In order to emit light to the tip of the coating liquid nozzle, a reflective coating for reflecting inward is applied.

  With this configuration, light incident on the coating nozzle can be reliably deflected to downward light passing through the inside of the coating liquid nozzle.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the coating liquid nozzle includes a light guide member for guiding the illumination light from the light source toward the coating liquid nozzle, and the light guide member is connected to the light incident surface. It is characterized by doing. In the case where a plurality of coating liquid nozzles are provided, a single light guide member is provided between the plurality of coating liquid nozzles and the light source (Claim 6), or a plurality of light guiding illumination lights from the respective light sources. It is good also as a structure which has this light guide member (Claim 7).

  By configuring the light guide member in this manner, illumination light can be made incident on each coating liquid nozzle by a single light source for a plurality of coating liquid nozzles. Further, by using a plurality of light guide members, it is not necessary to turn on the light source of the coating liquid nozzle that does not need to be illuminated, and the light source can be selectively used.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, the nozzle transport mechanism includes an imaging unit that images a state of the coating liquid inside and outside the coating liquid nozzle and a state of the coating liquid discharged from the coating liquid nozzle, and the imaging unit captures an image. When performing, one of the plurality of coating liquid nozzles is turned on, including any light source that enters the coating liquid nozzle used when discharging the coating liquid onto the substrate.

  By combining the imaging means with such a structure, the brightness and darkness of the image data obtained by the imaging means becomes fine, and as a result, the accuracy of the image data is improved. From this, it becomes easy to use as image processing data for automation not only by visual inspection but also by grasping the accurate state of the coating liquid nozzle by the imaging means.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the liquid processing apparatus according to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the liquid processing apparatus includes a nozzle bus that is located by moving the nozzle transport mechanism and that dispenses the coating liquid from the coating liquid nozzle, Is performed by the nozzle bath.

  With this configuration, the lighting is sequentially turned on at the position where dummy dispensing is performed, and the state of the coating liquid nozzle before, during, and after discharge, the state before and after the discharge of the processing liquid inside the coating liquid nozzle, and the liquid The tip position can be confirmed.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to accurately grasp the state around the tip of the processing liquid nozzle of the coating process provided in the narrow and dim space and perform a predetermined response, thereby applying the coating due to the state of the processing liquid. Problems related to the uniformity of the film thickness can be solved beforehand. In addition, it is possible to perform an early treatment by accurately grasping a problem with a liquid dripping that may occur during the treatment. Furthermore, the state of the treatment liquid applied to the substrate can be confirmed.

  An embodiment in which the liquid processing apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a coating unit for applying a resist solution to a wafer will be described. First, the outline of the configuration of the coating unit according to the embodiment will be described. FIG. 1A is a schematic plan view of the coating unit 1, and FIG. 1B is a longitudinal sectional view thereof. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing the relationship between the liquid processing section 2 in the coating unit 1 and the supply unit 7 that supplies the coating liquid to the liquid processing section 2.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the coating unit 1 according to the present embodiment includes three liquid processing units 2a arranged in a row in a horizontal direction (Y direction in the drawing) in a flat box-shaped housing 30. 2b, 2c, a plurality of nozzles 10 for supplying a coating solution such as a resist solution and thinner to the liquid processing units 2a, 2b, 2c, a nozzle transport mechanism 10a for transporting the nozzles 10, and a nozzle A nozzle bath 14 for waiting 10 and an edge bead remover (EBR) mechanism 6 for removing the peripheral portion of the resist film applied to the wafer W.

  The liquid processing unit 2 (2a, 2b, 2c) has a common configuration, and a spin chuck 41 as a substrate holding unit and a cup body 5 which is installed on the spin chuck 41 so as to surround the wafer W. And. Hereinafter, the configuration of the liquid processing unit 2 will be described.

  The spin chuck 41 plays a role as a substrate holding part for sucking and attracting the center part on the back surface side of the wafer W and holding it horizontally. As shown in FIG. 2, the spin chuck 41 is connected to a drive mechanism (spin chuck motor) 43 through a shaft portion 42, and is configured to be able to rotate and move up and down while holding the wafer W. On the side of the spin chuck 41, an elevating pin 44 connected to an elevating mechanism 44a is provided so as to be able to move up and down while supporting the back surface of the wafer W, and cooperates with a transfer means (transfer arm A3) described later. The wafer W loaded from the outside of the housing 30 can be transferred by the action. In addition, 30a shown in FIG.1 (b) is the entrance / exit of the wafer W formed in the housing | casing 30 wall surface which faces a conveyance means.

  The cup body 5 serves to prevent the mist scattered by rotating the wafer W during spin coating or the like from being scattered in the housing 30 and discharging it to the outside of the coating unit 1. The cup body 5 has a donut-like appearance, and the inside thereof has a structure as shown in FIG.

  The internal structure of the cup body 5 will be described. Inside the doughnut-shaped cup body 50, a ring-shaped first ring member 51 and a second ring member 52 which are inclined as shown in FIG. The gap between the ring members 51 and 52 is a gas flow path 51a through which a gas containing mist scattered from the wafer W flows. The second ring member 52 is attached so as to be positioned below the peripheral edge of the wafer W held by the spin chuck 41, and the upper surface thereof is bent in a “shape”. An end plate 53 extending downward is provided on the outer end surface of the second ring member 52 so as to enter the liquid receiving portion 54 at the bottom of the cup body 50. As a result, a part of the resist solution scattered from the wafer W is guided to the liquid receiving part 54 along the surfaces of the second ring member 52 and the end plate 53 as a drain.

  The lower part of the cup body 50 is a liquid receiving part 54, for example, two exhaust ports 55 for exhausting the airflow flowing through the cup body 5 at the bottom, and the resist accumulated in the liquid receiving part 54. A drain port 56 is provided for draining the liquid drain. The exhaust port 55 is connected to an exhaust duct (not shown), and the exhaust duct connected to the exhaust port 55 of each liquid processing unit 2a, 2b, 2c is connected to an exhaust power facility outside the housing 30. .

  Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the exhaust port 55 extends upward in the liquid receiving portion 54, and has an overflow prevention wall 54 a for preventing drain overflow from the liquid receiving portion 54 to the exhaust port 55. It is composed. The drain port 56 is also connected to a drain pipe (not shown) so that the drain can be discharged out of the coating unit 1.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1B, a filter unit 31 is attached to the ceiling portion of the housing 30 facing the cup body 5, and for example, by supplying clean air from the filter unit 31 at a predetermined flow rate, A downflow of clean air is formed in the housing 30. A part of the clean air is exhausted from an exhaust unit (not shown) provided in the housing 30, but the remaining clean air is taken into the cup body 5 and is indicated by an arrow in the cross-sectional view of the cup body 5 in FIG. 2. An airflow as shown is formed and discharged from the exhaust port 55.

  Next, the configuration of the coating liquid nozzle 10 (hereinafter referred to as the nozzle 10) and its transport mechanism will be described. The nozzle 10 serves to supply a resist solution to the surface of the wafer W held by the spin chuck 41. FIG. 3A is a perspective view showing a detailed configuration of the nozzle 10 and the nozzle arm 11 that holds the nozzle 10. The coating unit 1 according to the present embodiment includes, for example, ten types of resist solutions having different concentrations and components, and a thinner for easily spreading the resist solution on the wafer W (hereinafter, these are collectively referred to as a coating solution). 11 nozzles 10 are provided so that can be supplied. As shown in FIG. 3A, each nozzle 10 (described with reference numerals 1 to 11 in FIG. 3) may be any substantially transparent member, and is formed of quartz or a transparent or translucent resin. For example, it is a cylindrical body shaped like a pen tip, and its base portion can be attached to the nozzle head portion 11 a of the nozzle arm 11. A flow path is formed inside each nozzle 10 so that the coating liquid supplied from the nozzle arm 11 side can be discharged from the tip of the nozzle 10 toward the wafer W. In FIG. 1A and FIG. 2, the number of nozzles 10 is omitted for convenience of illustration.

  As shown in FIG. 1A, the nozzle transport mechanism 10 a includes a nozzle arm 11 that holds the nozzle 10, a base 12 that supports the nozzle arm 11, a rail 13 that forms a travel path of the base 12, and a rail 13. And a mechanism for moving the base 12 above.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the nozzle arm 11 includes a nozzle head portion 11a that holds eleven nozzles 10 and an arm portion 11b that supports the nozzle head portion 11a. The base of the nozzle 10 described above can be inserted into the lower surface of the tip of the nozzle head portion 11a, and each nozzle 10 can be held by simply inserting the base of the nozzle 10. As a result, the eleven nozzles 10 are arranged in a line with the tip portions facing downward, and are arranged so that their arrangement direction coincides with the conveying direction of the nozzles 10 shown in FIG. On the other hand, a supply pipe 71 of a supply unit 7 to be described later is connected to the base side of the nozzle head portion 11a so that the coating liquid can be supplied to the nozzle 10 through the nozzle head portion 11a.

  The arm portion 11 b is a support member interposed between the nozzle head portion 11 a and the base 12 so that the nozzle 10 can be transported above a substantially central portion of the wafer W held by the spin chuck 41. The base 12 serves as a slider that moves the nozzle arm 11. The base 12 includes a lifting mechanism (not shown), and the base of the arm portion 11b is attached to the lifting mechanism. Accordingly, the nozzle arm 11 can freely move up and down in the Z direction shown in FIG. The rail 13 is laid on the side of the liquid processing unit 2 in parallel with the arrangement direction of the liquid processing units 2a, 2b, and 2c. Here, the coating unit 1 includes a nozzle bath 14 for placing the nozzle 10 on standby when the coating liquid is not supplied, and the rail 13 has the nozzle bath 14 and the liquid processing unit 2a farthest from the nozzle bath 14. The base 12 has a length that allows the base 12 to be moved between positions where the coating liquid can be supplied to the wafer W held on the wafer W. The nozzle bath 14 has a thinner atmosphere so that the resist solution does not dry while the nozzle 10 is on standby.

  Further, the mechanism for moving the base 12 is, for example, a winding belt (not shown) arranged along the rail 13 is wound around a conveyor belt (not shown) that fixes the base 12 and a motor is wound around one of the winding axes. The drive mechanism 15 (see FIG. 4) is connected, and the base 12 can be moved to a desired position by adjusting the rotation direction and the rotation speed of the winding shaft. Yes. The mechanism for moving the base 12 may be a ball screw mechanism.

  With the above configuration, by moving the base 12 on the rail 13, the nozzles 10 held in a line are connected on the straight line connecting the nozzle bath 14 and the substantially central portion of the liquid processing units 2a, 2b, and 2c. Can be transported. As a result, even if the wafer W is held in any of the liquid processing units 2a, 2b, and 2c, the nozzle 10 that supplies a desired coating liquid is adjusted by adjusting the stop position of the base 12 to the wafer. The coating liquid can be supplied to the wafer W from that position by moving it to substantially above the center of W.

  Next, the EBR mechanism 6 will be described. The EBR mechanism 6 serves to supply a rinsing liquid for removing the resist film to the peripheral portion of the wafer W in order to prevent peeling of the peripheral portion of the resist film applied to the wafer W. Each EBR mechanism 6 provided in each liquid processing unit 2 has a substantially common configuration. As shown in FIG. 1A, an EBR arm 61 that holds a nozzle that discharges rinse liquid, A base 62 that moves the EBR arm 61, a rail 63 that forms a travel path of the base 62, and an EBR nozzle bus 64 that places the nozzle 10 and waits when the rinse liquid is not supplied.

  Next, the configuration of the supply unit 7 that supplies the coating liquid to the nozzle 10 will be described with reference to FIG. The supply unit 7 supplies, for example, a supply tank (not shown) in which a coating liquid is stored and a gas supplied to the supply tank and pressurizes the supply tank toward the coating unit 1. Are provided in a number corresponding to the type of the coating liquid.

  Each coating liquid supply mechanism 70 includes an air operated valve 72 for switching supply / disconnection of the coating liquid, and a suck back valve 73 for drawing the coating liquid from the tip of the nozzle 10 when the coating liquid is not supplied. Are connected to each nozzle 10 via a supply pipe 71 so that ten types of resist solution and thinner can be switched and supplied. In FIG. 2, for convenience of illustration, a coating liquid supply mechanism 70 for supplying thinner is connected to the second nozzle 10 from the left as viewed in the figure, but actually, as shown in FIG. It is connected to the nozzle 10 with the sixth symbol 6 from the left. This is because when the nozzle 10 for supplying the thinner supplied each time before the application of the resist solution and the resist solution supplied after the thinner supply are moved in this order to the center of the wafer W, the average of the base 12 is obtained. This is to minimize the moving distance.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the coating unit 1 and the supply unit 7 are connected to a control unit 9 that performs overall control of the operation of each device. Note that the control unit 9 also has a function of controlling the overall operation of the coating and developing apparatus including the coating unit 1 according to the present embodiment.

  Based on the above configuration, the operation of applying the resist solution to the wafer W by the application unit 1 will be briefly described. The wafer W loaded into the housing 30 from any one of the three loading / unloading ports 30a by the external transport means is supported on the back side by the lift pins 44, and is lifted by retracting the transport means out of the housing 30. By lowering the pin 44, the pin 44 is transferred to the spin chuck 41 of the liquid processing unit 2 corresponding to the carried-in / out port 30a.

  And the nozzle conveyance mechanism 10a is operated, the nozzle arm 11 made to stand by on the nozzle bus | bath 14 is lifted, and it conveys to the Y direction of FIG. Next, when the nozzle 10 for supplying thinner reaches a position substantially above the center of the wafer W, the movement of the nozzle arm 11 is stopped, and the nozzle arm 11 is lowered at that position. Then, after supplying the thinner from the nozzle 10 onto the stationary wafer W, the nozzle arm 11 is moved so that the supply nozzle 10 for the resist solution to be applied in the processing is positioned substantially above the center of the wafer W. In parallel with this moving operation, the spin chuck 41 is rotated at a high speed, for example, and a resist solution is supplied onto the rotating wafer W, stopped and spread in the radial direction of the wafer W.

  Subsequently, the spin chuck 41 is rotated at a low speed, the film pressure of the spin-coated resist film is made uniform, and then the coated resist solution is shaken and dried by rotating again at a high speed. During this time, the nozzle transport mechanism 10a moves the nozzle arm 11 along a path opposite to the above-described path, and causes the nozzle 10 that has completed the supply of the coating liquid to stand by in the nozzle bus 14.

  On the other hand, the corresponding EBR mechanism 6 is operated for the wafer W that has been shaken and dried, and the rinse liquid nozzle is conveyed from the EBR nozzle bus 64 to the peripheral portion of the wafer W, where the rinse liquid is applied, and spin After removing the resist film applied to the peripheral edge of the wafer W by rotating the chuck 41, the rinse liquid is shaken and dried in the same manner as in the case of the resist film to complete a series of liquid processing.

  After the rinsing liquid nozzle is retracted to the EBR nozzle bus 64, the wafer W on which the resist film is formed is transferred to the transfer means in the reverse order to that at the time of loading, and unloaded from the coating unit 1. In this way, the wafers W are sequentially transferred to each liquid processing unit 2 at intervals of, for example, 24 seconds in accordance with the transfer cycle of the wafer W determined by the coating and developing apparatus, and the same processing is performed. In addition, after the nozzle 10 finishes the discharge of the coating liquid (thinner and resist liquid) onto the wafer W in one liquid processing unit 2, for example, the nozzle 10 is retreated to the nozzle bus 14 located at one end of the coating unit 1 to dry the resist liquid. Is suppressed.

  In addition to the configuration described above, the coating unit 1 according to the present embodiment is capable of dripping or dropping the coating liquid from the tip of the nozzle 10 and the nozzle during conveyance from the nozzle bath 14 to the position where the coating liquid is supplied. When the 10 tip portion is soiled, it has a function of optically imaging this and executing a coping operation corresponding to each event. Details of these functions will be described below.

  Here, in the present embodiment, “drip” means a state in which the coating liquid is exposed below the tip surface of the nozzle 10, and “dropping” means that the coating liquid has grown from the tip surface as a result of this dripping. Means a state in which the nozzle tip is separated, and the dirt on the nozzle tip means a foreign matter adhering to the tip of the nozzle 10 or a fixed substance of the processing liquid. An example is shown in FIG. FIG. 13A shows a state after proper ejection, and the ejected resist solution R is drawn into the coating solution nozzle 10 by an appropriate suck back amount l, for example, 1.5 mm. FIG. 13 (b) shows a state of dripping or poor suck back, and a liquid pool is formed at the tip of the nozzle. FIGS. 13C and 13D show the resist solution R adhering to the tip of the nozzle, which is a defect that occurs when the rebound speed or suckback speed is high when the liquid discharge speed during processing is high. FIG. 13E shows a phenomenon in which the droplet DP that is discharged when the resist solution R is dropped is temporarily interrupted and discharged.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, the nozzle arm 11 of the nozzle transport mechanism 10a has a function of optically imaging the dripping and dripping of the coating liquid inside and outside the tip of the nozzle 10 and the dirt at the tip of the nozzle 10. A camera 17 such as a CCD camera, for example, which is an imaging means for capturing an image of the nozzle 10 held by the nozzle head portion 11 a from the side by an image sensor is fixed via a fixing member 18. This camera 17 is substantially orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the nozzles 10 held by the nozzle head portion 11a as shown in FIG. 3A so that the tip of each nozzle 10 can be imaged without being shaded by each other. The nozzle 10 is imaged from the direction. Further, the camera 17 includes, for example, a wide-angle lens, and is set so that the tip portions of all the nozzles 10 arranged in a line are stored in the imaging region and each tip portion is focused. The image pickup means may be an image sensor, and may of course be a C-MOS type other than the CCD.

  FIG. 7 illustrates the structure of one of the plurality of nozzles 10 embodying the present invention. Although the nozzle 10 is an integral molding having a flow path 105 therethrough, it can be seen that the functioning parts are divided into a light source introduction part 101 having two roles and a flow path illumination part 102 part. The illumination light incident and introduced into the light source introduction unit 101 is provided by the light guide member 104 illustrated in FIG. The illumination light source 103 of the nozzle, which is a light source that is irradiated toward the light guide member 104, for example, an LED lamp that irradiates visible light having a relatively long wavelength up to yellow, orange, or red, is irradiated. Light passes through the light guide member 104 and enters the nozzle 10 from a light incident surface 101 a (hereinafter referred to as a D-cut surface 101 a) formed in a flat shape of the light source introduction unit 101. One side portion of the light source introduction unit 101 is a D-cut D-cut surface 101a having a transparent surface or a semi-transparent surface, and a surface where the light guide unit end of the light guide member 104 and the nozzle 10 are in contact with each other. In this structure, light is easily transmitted. The surface of the cylindrical portion other than the flat D-cut surface of the light source introducing portion 101 is provided with a reflective coating 101b. This is a metal film coating or metal film deposition that can be covered with a shell that reflects inward so that light does not diffuse outside the nozzle 10 in parallel with the incident direction from the transparent member, for example, it can be covered by a specular metal or reflected inward. Is given. A metal film coating may also be applied to the upper surface side where the nozzle 10 is attached to the nozzle arm 11. In the nozzle 10 shown in FIG. 7, the light source introduction part 101 is formed in a large diameter cylindrical shape and the flow path illumination part 102 is formed in a cylindrical shape having a smaller diameter than the light source introduction part 101. May be formed to have the same diameter as the light source introducing portion 101.

  The light guide member 104 is made of a transparent member that easily allows light to pass, such as quartz, a glass fiber bundle, or a transparent or translucent resin, and the transparent member is covered with an outer reflective shell such as a mirror metal so that light does not leak. Alternatively, a reflective film 104a such as a metal film coating or metal film deposition that can be reflected inward is provided. FIG. 3C shows a view of the light guide member 104 connected to the plurality of nozzles 10. In this case, a plurality of illumination light sources 103 may be provided and connected to the plurality of nozzles 10 by a single light guide member 104, or a pair of each of the nozzles 10 may be provided. As shown in FIG. However, the light guide unit 104 may be provided separately.

  Next, FIG. 8A shows the behavior of light incident from the D-cut surface 101a of the light source introduction unit 101. FIG. The incident light is diffused and reflected off the inside of the nozzle by the reflective coating 101b applied to the outer surface of the light source introducing portion 101. After the light is converted downward in the nozzle 10 and passes toward the tip side, it is emitted from the coating liquid discharge port of the nozzle. Is emitted. (The movement of the light is indicated by arrows.) As a result, the inside of the nozzle is illuminated by light, the position of the coating liquid end in the nozzle, the presence or absence of the coating liquid dripping at the nozzle tip, and the state of the coating liquid discharge port becoming dirty Can be clarified. By imaging this state with the camera 17, it is possible to accurately detect the internal state of the nozzle 10 and the contamination state of the nozzle tip. Further, by turning on the illumination light during the processing of the wafer W, it is possible to apply spot light in the wafer direction to the coating liquid discharge position. Further, as shown in FIG. 8 (b), the light incident surface is inclined and the light output surface from the radial light guide member 104A having a shape in which the light is guided radially is formed on the slope. Also good.

  Next, another embodiment of the attachment of the light source will be described. Since the configuration of the nozzle 10 is the same as described above, the description thereof is omitted. As shown in FIG. 9, a light source 103A, for example, an LED may be directly provided at a position facing each D-cut surface 101a of the plurality of nozzles 10. In this manner, when a pair of light sources (which may include the light guide member 104) is arranged with respect to the nozzle 10, illumination light of only the specific nozzle 10 can be turned on. In addition, the illumination light can be switched on and turned on sequentially, and there is an advantage that the nozzles can be easily identified. Details of the switching will be described later. In this case, a reflective member may be provided so as to surround the periphery of the light source 103A so that light does not leak.

  By providing the illumination means in the nozzle 10 in this manner, it can be used when adjusting the discharge position of the coating liquid and performing adjustment after replacement of the nozzle parts by periodic maintenance of the coating apparatus. Also, as the stacking progresses from DEV layer B1 to TCT layer B4, which is the liquid processing unit of the coating and developing apparatus, the height of each liquid processing unit is suppressed and the depth is increased in order to suppress the height. The nozzle is dark and difficult to see due to its high mechanical density structure. For this reason, it is required to accurately check the discharge position and the nozzle state that affect the coating uniformity. In such a case, if the illumination means in the case of this embodiment is used, a more accurate nozzle state can be confirmed.

  Next, a procedure for checking the state will be described. This illuminating means collectively refers to the illumination light source 103 (103A) and the light guide member 104 described above.

  First, the case where the state of the nozzle at the time of maintenance is confirmed will be described. A glass substrate used for maintenance is carried into the processing unit 2 of FIG. 2 and the substrate is rotated at a low rotation. Next, the nozzle arm 11 is moved with the illumination means functioning at this time, and any one of the plurality of nozzles 10 is moved to the center position to be a reference position with respect to the center of the substrate. Here, the state in which the illumination means is functioned is a state in which the illumination light source 103 (103A) is turned on, and a state in which incident light is emitted from the tip of the nozzle 10. It is visually confirmed whether or not the processing liquid is discharged from the nozzle 10 moved to the center position and discharged at the center position of the substrate. Further, as the state of the nozzle tip, it is possible to easily confirm the discharge state at the time of discharge, the liquid running out state after discharge, and the suck back state. When the center position is deviated, since the distance between the plurality of nozzles is determined, the position data of each nozzle is corrected by feeding back to the position data of other nozzles from the design value.

  As for the state of the nozzle tip, the state before and after the discharge can be confirmed by switching the state of each nozzle 10 to the discharge designation of the processing liquid. If the liquid drop at the tip of the processing liquid is poor, the air operated valve 72 is adjusted, or if the amount of liquid drawn is small, the suck back valve 73 is adjusted. Even in such a case, the state of the nozzle can be directly and clearly confirmed without depending on the environment in the coating apparatus.

  Next, a description will be given of a case where, for example, a CCD type camera 17 is provided as an imaging means for imaging the state of the nozzle 10 in a normal substrate processing state. As shown in FIG. 2, the camera 17 is connected to the controller 9 described above via an A / D converter (not shown). The control unit 9 determines that dripping or dripping of the coating liquid from the tip portion of each nozzle 10 has occurred based on the imaging result acquired from the camera 17, and based on the determination result, the control unit 9 applies a predetermined amount to the nozzle transport mechanism 10a and the like. A function for executing a treatment operation is further provided. Details of these functions will be described below.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram for explaining the relationship between each device of the coating unit 1 and the supply unit 7 and the control unit 9. For example, the control unit 9 includes a main control unit 9a that performs overall control of the entire coating / developing apparatus including the coating unit 1 according to the present embodiment, image processing necessary for determination of dripping or dripping of the coating liquid, And a dripping judgment unit 9b for judging that these events have occurred based on the processing result.

  The main control unit 9 a is configured as a computer including a central processing unit (CPU) 90 and a program storage unit 91. The program storage unit 91 operates each device in the coating unit 1 and the supply unit 7 based on the information on the dripping or dripping occurrence of the coating liquid independently determined by the dripping determination unit 9b. It stores a computer program (indicated as “a program for coping operation” and “a program for maintenance management”) having a group of steps for executing coping operations and maintenance management. The program storage unit 91 includes storage means such as a hard disk, a compact disk, a magnet optical disk, a memory card, and the like.

  The main control unit 9a further performs maintenance based on the counter 92 for counting the number of times of dripping at each nozzle 10 as maintenance management information, and the number of times of dripping occurring at the counter 92. And a set value storage unit 93 that stores a threshold value (denoted as “maintenance management threshold value”) that serves as a reference value for determining whether or not it is necessary. The counter 92 is configured by, for example, a rewritable flash memory, and the set value storage unit 93 is configured as a part of a hard disk or the like that configures the program storage unit 91 described above, for example.

  The dripping determination unit 9b is configured as a microcontroller including a CPU (not shown) and a program storage unit 94, for example. The program storage unit 94 is composed of, for example, a ROM, a RAM, and the like. The program storage unit 94 performs image processing on image information acquired from the camera 17 to obtain an imaging result for determining the occurrence of dripping or the like. It plays a role of storing a computer program (indicated as “an image processing program” and “a dripping determination program”) having a group of steps for determining the occurrence of drooling.

  The dripping determination unit 9b further stores a temporary memory 95 for temporarily storing past imaging results in order to determine the occurrence of dripping of the coating liquid, and a set value for storing a threshold value that is a reference for the occurrence of dripping. And a storage unit 96. The temporary memory 95 is configured by, for example, a rewritable flash memory, and the set value storage unit 96 is configured as a part of a ROM or the like that configures the above-described program storage unit 94, for example.

  The main control unit 9a is connected to the camera 17, the drive mechanism 15 of the nozzle transport mechanism 10a, the coating liquid supply mechanism 70, the air operated valve 72, and the suck back valve 73, and the result of determining the occurrence of liquid dripping or the like. Based on the above, these devices are operated, and a predetermined coping operation can be executed. The light source 103 for illuminating the nozzle 10 is also connected to the main control unit 9a via a power supply unit (not shown), and illuminates the nozzle 10 intermittently in synchronization with the timing at which imaging is performed by the camera 17, for example. It is configured as follows.

  In this case, for example, lighting of the plurality of nozzles 10 is sequentially performed, and the coating liquid is ejected from the nozzles 10 that are lit at that time, and imaging from the start to the end of ejection is performed. As a result, the disturbance light when other nozzles in the vicinity are illuminated can be eliminated, so that only the state of a specific nozzle can be accurately imaged and analyzed. In imaging in the maintenance mode, the coating liquid is sequentially discharged from the nozzle 10 in the nozzle bath 14 shown in FIG. 1A, which is a position where dummy dispensing is performed in advance. When imaging during process processing, which will be described in detail later, it is necessary to determine the state of the nozzles used with the highest priority. The lighting of the illumination light source 103 is switched to the nozzle 10 and the state of each nozzle 10 is imaged. By doing so, the illumination light source 103 is not always turned on, so that the heat from the illumination light source 103 is prevented from being stored, and the influence on the process may be reduced.

  A display operation unit 8 is further connected to the control unit 9, and the display operation unit 8 plays a role of displaying various types of guidance to the user based on instructions from the main control unit 9a.

  Next, the liquid dripping from the tip of the nozzle 10 that occurs during the application processing operation will be described. The contents of the determination based on the image processing and imaging results executed by the dripping determination unit 9b will be described. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the state of the tip of the nozzle 10 where dripping has occurred. DP in the figure represents a droplet of the coating liquid related to the liquid dripping. FIG. 5B shows a state where the degree of dripping is small, and FIG. 5C shows a state where the degree of dripping is large.

  The dripping determination unit 9b acquires image information from the camera 17 at intervals of, for example, 200 ms. The image information is converted from an analog image captured by the camera 17 into an 8-bit digital signal having a predetermined resolution capable of displaying, for example, 256 gradations. Then, for the acquired image information, the projection shape of the droplet DP on the imaging surface is specified by specifying the boundary between the droplet DP and the surrounding space based on, for example, a gradation difference. Since the droplet DP has a shape obtained by cutting off a part of the sphere due to the surface tension, the above-described projected shape is an arc as shown in FIGS. 5B and 5C.

  Therefore, the dripping determination unit 9b calculates the curvature C at the lower end P of the droplet DP shown in FIG. 5 as an imaging result, and determines the degree of dripping based on the magnitude of this curvature. That is, when the calculated value of curvature C is small, it is determined that the degree of dripping is small as shown in FIG. 5B, and when it is large, the degree of dripping is large as shown in FIG. 5C. . In the set value storage unit 96, reference information for determining the degree of dripping is stored in advance as a threshold value, and the dripping determination unit 9b calculates the curvature C calculated from the threshold value (reference information) and the image information. Based on the result of comparison with (imaging result), the presence or absence of dripping and the size of the dripping occurred are determined.

The set value storage unit 96 according to the present embodiment stores the first curvature C ₁ and the second curvature C ₂ (C ₁ <C ₂ ) as threshold values, and the curvature C of the imaging result. When the result of comparing these threshold values with “C <C ₁ ”, no dripping occurred, and when “C ₁ <C <C ₂ ”, small dripping (hereinafter referred to as small dripping) In the case of “C ₂ <C”, it is determined that a large liquid dripping (hereinafter referred to as a large liquid dripping) has occurred.

As described above, when the image of the nozzle 10 is captured using the wide-angle lens, as a result of distortion in the captured image, the curvature is obtained after performing image processing for correcting this distortion in the dripping determination unit 9b. C may be calculated, or a value reflecting this distortion may be stored in advance in the _first curvature C ₁ and the second curvature C ₂ as threshold values. Alternatively, the radius of curvature (= 1 / C) may be calculated instead of the curvature C, and the above determination may be made using this as the imaging result. In this case, the degree of dripping increases as the calculated radius of curvature decreases.
Further, the method for identifying the size of the liquid dripping is not limited to the above-described one. For example, the boundary between the droplet DP and the surrounding space and the nozzle 10 is determined based on the gradation difference of the image acquired from the camera 17. The area of the droplet DP projection image that is defined and determined from the number of pixels included in the boundary is defined as an imaging result, and the imaging result and a threshold value (reference information) stored in advance in the set value storage unit 96 It may be configured to determine whether or not the dripping has occurred and the size thereof.

  Here, since the plurality of nozzles 10 are held in the nozzle arm 11 of the nozzle transport mechanism 10a according to the present embodiment, when the light source is paired with the nozzles, the nozzle 10 is instructed by a command from the control unit 9. By picking up an image while sequentially turning on and turning on the illumination, it is identified which of the nozzles 10 is dripping. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 9, if the light source 103 </ b> A has a single structure for a plurality of nozzles 10, a technique for identifying the nozzle 10 in which dripping has occurred is, for example, that the acquired image information is represented on an XY coordinate And the nozzle 10 is identified based on the position where the dripping is confirmed. Also, as shown in FIG. 3, identification information such as numbers is attached to each nozzle 10 in advance, and an image of the captured identification information and image information corresponding to each of the above-described identification information (for example, a set value storage unit) Nozzle 10 in which dripping has occurred may be identified by matching with (No. 96).

  When it is determined that dripping has occurred based on the above procedure, the dripping determination unit 9b identifies the degree of dripping (small dripping, large dripping) and the nozzle 10 where dripping has occurred. Is output to the main controller 9a.

  The main control unit 9a is configured to execute a predetermined coping operation and an operation related to maintenance management based on information indicating the occurrence of dripping or dripping obtained from the dripping determination unit 9b. This operation monitors the tip of each nozzle 10 even while the nozzle arm 11 is moving, and details thereof will be described later.

  Based on the above configuration, the action of the coating unit 1 relating to the determination of dripping or dripping of the coating liquid from the tip of the nozzle 10 and the coping operation thereof will be described. In the following description of the flowchart, dripping and dripping are collectively referred to as “drip” for convenience, and are classified into three levels: “small dripping”, “large dripping”, and “dripping”. Will be described.

  First, the operation of determining the occurrence of dripping in the dripping determination unit 9b will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of the operation. When the application / development apparatus starts operation (start), the dripping judgment unit 9b detects the tip of the nozzle 10 during a predetermined period such as the timing of performing dummy dispensing or the timing of executing the process processing. Image information is acquired (step S101), and it is determined whether or not dripping has occurred based on the determination method described above (step S102). If no dripping has occurred (step S102; NO), for example, the system waits for a predetermined time of 200 ms (step S106), and repeats the operations of obtaining image information and determining dripping (steps S101 to S102).

  If dripping has occurred (step S102; YES), the nozzle 10 in which dripping has occurred is identified (step S103), and the three items of “Liquid dripping”, “Liquid dripping”, and “Drip” are selected. A level corresponding to an event occurring from the level is specified (step S104). Then, the dripping information on the nozzle 10 where the dripping has occurred and the level of the dripping is output (step S105), and the operation returns to the operation of acquiring the image information of the tip of the nozzle 10 again (step S101).

  According to the present embodiment, there are the following effects. The camera 17 optically images the state of the tip of the nozzle 10 in accordance with the movement of the nozzle 10 that is moved by the nozzle transport mechanism 10a, so that dripping or dripping of the coating liquid occurs at the moving nozzle 10. This can be imaged. Then, according to the event that occurs, for example, when dripping occurs, the nozzle 10 is retreated to the nozzle bath 14 and the intermediate bath 16, and dummy dispensing is performed to discharge the coating solution therein, or the coating solution is dropped. If this happens, an appropriate coping operation for stopping the liquid treatment can be executed. As a result, in the case where dripping of the coating liquid at a position other than the target can be prevented in advance, the occurrence of defective products can be prevented and the yield can be improved. Even if it has not been prevented, it is possible to immediately take appropriate measures such as wiping off the dropped coating solution if the coating and developing device is automatically stopped. Can be stopped.

  In particular, in the present embodiment, a plurality of, for example, ten nozzles 10 are held on the nozzle arm 11 of the nozzle transport mechanism 10a, and these nozzles 10 are moved simultaneously. Thus, the nozzle 10 and the nozzle transport mechanism 10a are shared. For this reason, the probability of occurrence of dripping or dripping of the coating liquid during the movement of the nozzle 10 is higher than when the number of nozzles 10 is one or when the nozzles 10 of the liquid processing units 2 are not shared. Therefore, the illumination means according to the present embodiment improves the imaging accuracy for imaging the state of the processing liquid in the nozzle 10 and the state of the processing liquid at the tip of the nozzle 10 and enables accurate state detection. By improving the detection accuracy of the state of the processing liquid in the nozzle 10, the effect of yield improvement and loss reduction obtained by the above-described coping operation is further enhanced.

  Further, since the camera 17 is attached to the nozzle transport mechanism 10a, for example, a mechanism for independently moving the camera 17 is not required, and the apparatus cost can be reduced. However, the camera 17 is attached to a moving mechanism independent of the nozzle conveying mechanism 10a, and the movement of these moving mechanisms is synchronized so that the state of the tip portion is imaged in accordance with the movement of the nozzle 10 being conveyed. Of course, it may be.

  Further, by using the camera 17 as an optical imaging means, it is possible to obtain an imaging result such as the curvature of the droplet DP indicating the size of the liquid dripping from the captured image information. As a result, it is possible to grasp not only the presence / absence of dripping, but also its size, and the timing of performing the dummy dispensing is after the application of the coating liquid when the dripping is small, and before the coating when large. The coping action according to the urgency of the event that has occurred can be executed. As a result, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the efficiency of the process processing as much as possible, such as occurrence of a waiting time during execution of dummy dispensing.

  Further, for example, by providing the intermediate bus 16 between the three liquid processing units 2 for performing the dummy dispense by retracting the nozzle 10 without crossing the other spin chuck 41, the retreat destination is Compared with the case where only the nozzle bath 14 is provided, the moving distance can be shortened, and the risk of dripping and dripping can be reduced.

  In addition, when the dripping or dripping is displayed on the display / operation unit 8 or when the dripping is small, the number of occurrences is counted, and if the number exceeds the predetermined number, the maintenance is necessary. Or the like on the display / operation unit 8, the operator or the person in charge of maintenance can immediately take necessary measures.

  The method for optically imaging the state of the tip of the nozzle 10 is not limited to imaging visible light with the camera 17. For example, the thermal image of the tip of the nozzle 10 may be converted into image information by an infrared camera, and the presence or absence of dripping or dripping may be imaged. In this case, instead of the LED lamp, for example, the tip of the nozzle 10 may be illuminated with a light source that emits infrared rays or near infrared rays. The application of the camera 17 that images the nozzle 10 is not limited to the use of only the dripping monitoring shown in the embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, the case where ten nozzles 10 are moved by the nozzle transport mechanism 10a has been described, but the number of nozzles 10 is not limited to a plurality, and may be one, for example. Further, the number of the liquid processing units 2 is not limited to the example illustrated in the embodiment, and the present invention is applied to a case where the nozzle 10 and the nozzle transport mechanism 10a are provided one by one in one housing 30. Can do.

  Further, a dummy substrate that is not subjected to actual process processing may be transported in the apparatus for the purpose of adjusting the wafer W transport position before starting the operation of the coating and developing apparatus. When such a dummy substrate is used, for example, the illumination unit and the camera 17 according to the present embodiment may be used for checking and adjusting the nozzle position. When the illumination unit and the camera 17 are used for such a purpose, the light emitted from the light source 19 may be switched to white light so that the operator can easily check visually.

  Next, an example in which the above-described coating unit 1 is applied to a coating and developing apparatus will be briefly described. FIG. 10 is a plan view of a system in which an exposure apparatus is connected to the coating and developing apparatus, and FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the system. FIG. 12 is a longitudinal sectional view of the system. This apparatus is provided with a carrier block S1, and a transfer arm C takes out the wafer W from the hermetic carrier 100 mounted on the mounting table 100a, transfers it to the processing block S2, and transfers it from the processing block S2. C is configured to receive the processed wafer W and return it to the carrier 100.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the processing block S2 is a first block (DEV layer) B1 for performing development processing in this example, and a processing for forming an antireflection film formed on the lower layer side of the resist film. The second block (BCT layer) B2, the third block (COT layer) B3 for applying the resist film, and the fourth block for forming the antireflection film formed on the upper layer side of the resist film (TCT layer) B4 is laminated in order from the bottom.

  The second block (BCT layer) B2 and the fourth block (TCT layer) B4 are respectively a coating unit 1 according to this embodiment for applying a chemical solution for forming an antireflection film by spin coating, and this coating unit. 1 is provided between a processing unit group of a heating / cooling system for performing pre-processing and post-processing of the processing performed in 1, and between the coating unit 1 and the processing unit group, and a wafer W is transferred between them. It comprises transfer arms A2 and A4 to be performed. The third block (COT layer) B3 has the same configuration except that the chemical solution is a resist solution.

  On the other hand, with respect to the first block (DEV layer) B1, as shown in FIG. 12, development units are stacked in two stages in one DEV layer B1. In the DEV layer B1, a transfer arm A1 for transferring the wafer W to the two-stage development unit is provided. That is, the transport arm A1 is shared by the two-stage development unit.

  Further, the processing block S2 is provided with a shelf unit U5 as shown in FIGS. 10 and 12, and the wafer W from the carrier block S1 is one transfer unit of the shelf unit U5, for example, a second block (BCT layer). It is sequentially transported to the corresponding delivery unit CPL2 of B2 by a first delivery arm D1 that can be raised and lowered provided in the vicinity of the shelf unit U5. The transfer arm A2 in the second block (BCT layer) B2 receives the wafer W from the transfer unit CPL2 and transfers it to each unit (antireflection film unit and heating / cooling processing unit group). Thus, an antireflection film is formed on the wafer W.

  Thereafter, the wafer W is transferred into the third block (COT layer) B3 via the transfer unit BF2, the transfer arm D1, the transfer unit CPL3 of the shelf unit U5, and the transfer arm A3, thereby forming a resist film. . Further, the wafer W is transferred to the transfer unit BF3 in the shelf unit U5 through the transfer arm A3 → the transfer unit BF3 of the shelf unit U5 → the transfer arm D1. The wafer W on which the resist film is formed may further have an antireflection film formed in the fourth block (TCT layer) B4. In this case, the wafer W is transferred to the transfer arm A4 via the transfer unit CPL4, and after the antireflection film is formed, it is transferred to the transfer unit TRS4 by the transfer arm A4.

  On the other hand, on the upper part in the DEV layer B1, a shuttle arm E, which is a dedicated transfer means for directly transferring the wafer W from the transfer unit CPL11 provided in the shelf unit U5 to the transfer unit CPL12 provided in the shelf unit U6. Is provided. The wafer W on which the resist film and further the antireflection film are formed is transferred from the transfer units BF3 and TRS4 to the transfer unit CPL11 via the transfer arm D1, and from there to the transfer unit CPL12 of the shelf unit U6 by the shuttle arm E. It is directly conveyed and taken into the interface block S3. In FIG. 12, the delivery unit to which CPL is attached also serves as a cooling unit for temperature control, and the delivery unit to which BF is attached also serves as a buffer unit on which a plurality of wafers W can be placed.

  Next, the wafer W is transferred by the interface arm B to the exposure apparatus S4, where a predetermined exposure process is performed, and then placed on the transfer unit TRS6 of the shelf unit U6 and returned to the processing block S2. The returned wafer W is subjected to development processing in the first block (DEV layer) B1, and is transferred to the transfer table TRS1 of the shelf unit U5 by the transfer arm A1. After that, the first delivery arm D1 is transported to the delivery platform within the access range of the delivery arm C in the shelf unit U5, and is returned to the carrier 100 via the delivery arm C. In addition, in FIG. 10, U1-U4 is the thermal system unit group which laminated | stacked the heating part and the cooling part, respectively.

It is the top view (a) and longitudinal cross-sectional view (b) which show the coating unit which concerns on this invention. It is the block diagram which showed the liquid processing part in the said coating unit, and the supply unit which supplies a coating liquid. It is the perspective view (a) which shows the state which attached the coating liquid nozzle which supplies a coating liquid to a nozzle arm, its sectional drawing (b), and the bottom view (c) of a coating liquid nozzle part. It is a block diagram which shows the electric constitution of the said application | coating unit. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the state of the liquid dripping of the said coating nozzle front-end | tip part, (a) is a side view of the front-end | tip part of a coating liquid nozzle, (b), (c) is an I section enlarged view of (a), respectively. FIG. 6 is a side view showing a state in which the dripping is small and a state in which the dripping is in progress. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the flow of the operation | movement which judges generation | occurrence | production of dripping. It is a perspective view which shows a part of said coating liquid nozzle in a cross section. It is sectional drawing of another state which shows the direction in which the incident light goes to a nozzle front-end | tip. It is a schematic bottom view (a) which shows the state where the light source is connected to each of a some nozzle part, and the expanded sectional view (b) which follows the II-II line of (a). It is a top view which shows embodiment of the application | coating and developing apparatus to which the said application | coating unit is applied. It is a perspective view of the said coating and developing apparatus. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the said application | coating and developing apparatus. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the state from which the said coating liquid nozzle tip differs. It is a bottom view in the case of providing a plurality of light guide members in the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DP Droplet W Wafer 1 Coating unit 2, 2a, 2b, 2c Liquid processing unit 8 Display operation unit 9 Control unit 9a Main control unit 9b Liquid dripping judgment unit 10 Nozzle 10a Nozzle transport mechanism 11 Nozzle arm 11a Nozzle head unit 11b Arm unit 17 Camera 41 Spin chuck (substrate holder)
90 Central processing unit (CPU)
91 Program storage unit 92 Counter 93 Setting value storage unit 94 Program storage unit 95 Temporary memory 96 Setting value storage unit 101 Light source introduction unit 101a D cut surface (light incident surface)
101b Reflective film 102 Channel illumination unit 103, 103A Illumination light source 104 Light guide member 104A Radial light guide member 105 Channel

Claims (9)

In a liquid processing apparatus for performing liquid processing to form a coating film by supplying a coating liquid from a coating liquid supply section to a surface of a substrate held substantially horizontally by a substrate holding section and discharging the coating liquid toward the surface of the substrate.
A cylindrical coating liquid nozzle formed of a substantially transparent member in which a flow path of the coating liquid supplied from the coating liquid supply unit is formed;
A nozzle transport mechanism for transporting the coating liquid nozzle configured to be movable above the substrate held by the substrate holding unit;
A light source for making illumination light incident inside the coating solution nozzle;
With
The coating liquid nozzle has a light incident surface formed in a flat shape as a portion for entering the illumination light on a part of an outer periphery of a cylindrical body.   The liquid processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the nozzle transport mechanism includes a plurality of the coating liquid nozzles.   A cylindrical portion connected to the light incident surface outside a part of the surface of the coating liquid nozzle converts light incident from the light incident surface downward in the coating liquid nozzle to the tip of the coating liquid nozzle. The liquid processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a reflective coating for reflecting the light toward the inside.   The coating liquid nozzle includes a light guide member for guiding the illumination light from the light source toward the coating liquid nozzle, and the light guide member is connected to the light incident surface. The liquid processing apparatus according to any one of 1 to 3.   The liquid processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the light source is connected to each of the light incident surfaces provided in each of the plurality of coating liquid nozzles.   The liquid processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein one light guide member is provided between the plurality of coating liquid nozzles and the light source.   The liquid processing apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a plurality of light guide members that guide illumination light from the light sources, respectively, between the plurality of coating liquid nozzles and the light source.   The nozzle transport mechanism includes imaging means for imaging the state of the coating liquid inside and outside the coating liquid nozzle and the state of the coating liquid ejected from the coating liquid nozzle, and when performing imaging with the imaging means, the plurality of coating liquids 8. The light source of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein one of the light sources including a light source that enters the coating liquid nozzle used when discharging the coating liquid onto the substrate is turned on. Liquid processing equipment.   9. The apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a nozzle bath for moving the nozzle transport mechanism to dummyly dispense the coating liquid from the coating liquid nozzle, wherein the imaging by the imaging unit is performed by the nozzle bus. Liquid processing equipment.

Images