JPH01227437A - Developing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the drop of a developer from a spray mechanism, to obviate the generation of mists and particles and to execute accurate development treatment by installing an evacuation mechanism near a place supplying at least the developer in a developer supply means. CONSTITUTION:In a developing device in which a body to be treated, on which a photosensitive film is formed, is supplied with a developer from a developer supply means and developed, an evacuation mechanism 32 is mounted near a position supplying at least the developer in the developer supply means. Evacuation nozzles 32a, 32b are set up near the nose 29a of a spray chip 29 and the lower end 30a of a nut 30 in a spray unit 20 feeding the body to be treated with the developer to a spray shape so as to suck mists and a residue. Pans 33 may be fitted at the noses of the evacuation nozzles 32a, 32b as required. The evacuation nozzle 32 in which each nozzle 32a, 32b is collected is connected to a pneumatic type vacuum device 34 in which a supply port 36 is fed with pressure air from a pressure air source 35 and a vacuum is generated by a Venturi effect on the inside.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Purpose of the invention] (Industrial application field) The present invention relates to a developing device.

(Prior Art) Generally, a developing device supplies a developer to a photosensitive film formed on the surface of a semiconductor wafer or the like, and brings the photosensitive film into contact with the developer for a predetermined period of time to perform development.

Here, as an example of a means for supplying the developer, there is a method that supplies the developer in the form of a spray onto a semiconductor wafer or the like. In this spray mechanism ω, as shown in FIG. 5, an orifice (2) is provided in the spray tip (2), and the liquid discharged from the orifice (2) impinges on the slope () and is discharged in the form of a fan-shaped spray liquid. Also, in order to be able to adjust the angle of the spray liquid, the spray tip (2) is attached to the holder (0) via a gasket (0) with a nut (0).

Here, when the developer is supplied using the spray mechanism ω, spray liquid mist or residual liquid may adhere to the tip (C) of the spray tip (C) or the lower end (0) of the nut (■), and these deposits may not drip. < (10) may fall from the spray mechanism (■) onto a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer after the developer supply is completed.1 For example, these droplets < (10) may fall onto the substrate after development or before development. Then, the developing conditions for that part will be different, causing uneven development and defects.

As mentioned above, drops that occur in the spray mechanism ω < (
10) As countermeasures, there are those disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 6G-45943, Japanese Patent Publication No. 60-45944, Japanese Utility Model Application No. 61-12232, and Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 61-27629.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) However, drops attached to the spray mechanism (1)
0) as a measure to prevent the drop of drops.
No. 232 discloses that the lower part of the developer dripping nozzle or
Although it is disclosed that there is a plate, tube, or line at the bottom that guides the dripping liquid to the outside of the wafer, there is a problem that such a configuration makes it difficult to supply the developer to a desired position on the semiconductor wafer. There was a point. Also, JP-A-61-2
Is the developing solution dripping nozzle movable and constructed so that the nozzle escapes after dripping, as in Publication No. 7629?
With this configuration, it is necessary to secure an escape space for the nozzle, which increases the size of the device itself, and there is a problem that droplets may fall during movement. Furthermore, Japanese Patent Publication No. 60-45944 discloses a two-fluid system in which a developer dripping nozzle is provided with a liquid pool, but even with this configuration, the developer droplets from the liquid pool cannot be removed. The drop was not resolved.

Furthermore, as a countermeasure to the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Publication No. 60-45944, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 60-45943, in a two-fluid spray nozzle, after stopping the supply of liquid, the supply of gas is stopped after a certain period of time. With this configuration, only gas is supplied to the semiconductor wafer, etc., which causes problems such as time loss and development unevenness. Furthermore, there is a method in which a blow nozzle for removing droplets is attached to the tip of the spray nozzle, but although this method solves the problem of droplets, it has the problem of generating mist and particles.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a developing device that can prevent liquid from falling from the spray mechanism, eliminate the generation of mist and particles, and perform accurate developing processing.

[Structure of the invention]

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention provides a developing device that performs development by supplying a developer from a developer supply means to an object to be processed on which a photosensitive film is formed. A feature is that a vacuum mechanism is provided near the position where the liquid is supplied.

(Effect) By providing a vacuum mechanism at least near the position of the developer supply means, it is possible to prevent the liquid from falling from the developer supply means, eliminate the generation of mist and particles, and provide accurate The effect of being able to perform development processing can be obtained.

(Example) Next, an example of the apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

This developing device (11) is a device for developing a pattern after exposing a photoresist coated on an object to be processed, such as a semiconductor wafer (12), and as shown in FIG. It is comprised of a developer supply section (13) that supplies liquid to the object to be processed in a spray form, and a processing section (14) that performs development processing supplied from the supply section (13) to the object to be processed.

The developer supply section (13) is provided with a closed developer tank (16) that stores a developer (15) of, for example, a strong alkaline solution or a flammable organic solvent.

A developer (15) is placed above the developer tank (16).
In order to pressurize the gas, the gas supply pipe (1
9) is connected. Also, the developer tank (16)
A flow conduit (zl) connects the spray unit (20) that supplies the stored developer (15) to an object to be processed, such as a semiconductor wafer (12), and one end of this flow conduit (21) , the developer in the developer tank (16) (
15). A flow meter (22) for controlling the supply amount of the developer (15) is provided at a predetermined position of the flow conduit (21), and an on-off valve (23) is provided at a predetermined position of the flow conduit (21).
) is configured to be able to supply and stop the developer (15). In addition, the flow conduit (21) contains a developer (
15) to a desired temperature.
24) is provided in contact with the spray unit (20). As shown in FIG. 1, the spray unit (20) is provided with a holder (26) having internal piping (25) connected to the flow conduit (21).

Also, the piping (25) of this holder (26) and the packing (
A spray tip (29), provided with an orifice (28) connected via an orifice (27), is attached to the holder (26) in an angle-adjustable manner by means of a nut (30). On the linear extension of the orifice (28) of the spray chip (29), there is a diffusion wall ( 31) is provided.

From the spray unit (20) as described above, the developer (1
When discharging 5), the mist of the developer (15) and drops of residual liquid will be deposited on the tip (29a) which is the liquid pool of the spray tip (29) and the bottom end (which is the liquid pool of the nut (30)).
30a), so the structure is designed to prevent this droplet from adhering. That is, the tip (29a) of the spray tip (29) and the nut (30)
Vacuum nozzles (32a) (32b) are provided near the lower end (30a) of the nozzle to suck in mist and residual liquid. Further, a saucer (33) may be provided at the tip of the vacuum nozzle (32a) (32b) as desired. In this embodiment, the nozzle (32b) near the lower end (30a) of the nut (30) A saucer (33) is provided at the tip of the container to make it easier to collect liquid drops. Each of the above nozzles (32a)
The vacuum nozzle (32) that collects the vacuum nozzles (32b) is connected to a pneumatic vacuum device (34). This pneumatic vacuum device! (34) is a vacuum port (37) that is connected to a vacuum nozzle (32) when pressurized air is supplied from a pressure air source (35) to a supply port (36), and a vacuum is generated by the internal Venturi effect. more inhaled. Further, the gas-liquid mixture evacuated from the vacuum nozzle (32) to the vacuum device I (34) is mixed with the supplied air and exhausted from the exhaust port (38) as a positive-pressure gas-liquid mixture. □The gas-liquid mixture exhausted from this exhaust port (38) is sent to the gas-liquid separator (
39), it is separated into gas and liquid.

The liquid component is discharged from the drain pipe (40), and the gas component is treated by the exhaust treatment device (41). As described above,
A developer supply section (13) is supplied.

Next, the developer (15) supplied from the supply section (13)
) will now be described.

The processing section (14) has an object to be processed, such as a semiconductor wafer (1
2) Chuck (42) so that it can be fixed by vacuum suction
is provided. This chuck (42) is engaged with a spin motor (43) and can be rotated as desired. A cylindrical processing tank with a bottom is configured to surround the semiconductor wafer (12) placed on the chuck (42). This processing tank has an upper cup with an open top (
44), and a lower cup (45) that is continuous with the upper cup (44) and has a U-shaped cross section.
The bottom has a drain port (46) on the outside and an exhaust port (46) on the inside.
47) are connected to each other, and a separation wall (48) is provided at a predetermined position to separate these drained liquid and exhaust gas. In addition, the lower cup (45) contains a semiconductor wafer (12).
The inner cup (49) is fixed to form an exhaust flow path to prevent the drained liquid from splashing back to the back surface of the cup and to prevent the drained liquid from flowing into the exhaust port (47). Further, an upper cup (44) and a lower cup (45) are provided so that the semiconductor wafer (12) can be loaded into and taken out of the chuck (42).
They are each independently movable up and down by a lifting mechanism (not shown).

Processing section (14) and developer supply section (13) as described above
A developing device (11) is constituted by the above. Next, the operation of the developing device (11) will be explained.

First, the upper cup (44) and lower cup (45) constituting the processing tank are lowered to a lower state by a lifting mechanism (not shown), respectively. Here, the object to be processed, such as a semiconductor wafer (12), is transported by a transport mechanism (not shown), such as a handling arm, etc.
is conveyed onto the chuck (42). This transported semiconductor wafer (12) is vacuum-chucking with a chuck (42), and the upper cup (44) and lower cup (45) are raised to a predetermined position to form a processing tank. (43), while rotating the semiconductor wafer (12) at, for example, about 11,000 rpm, the developer (1) is sprayed from the spray unit (20) toward the semiconductor wafer (12).
5), for example, for 0.3 seconds.

After this, the rotation speed is set to about 30 rpm, for example,
The spray is applied for about a second, and then the rotation is stopped and development is carried out for a predetermined period of time, for example, 60 seconds. The developer (15) is sprayed by the spray unit (20) by supplying a gas such as nitrogen (18) pressurized by the pressure adjustment valve (17) to the developer tank (16) from the gas supply pipe (19). do.

As a result, the developer (15) stored in the developer tank (16) is pushed out to the flow pipe (21), and the on-off valve (2
3) in the open state, the flow rate is adjusted by the flow meter (22), and the developer (15) whose temperature is controlled to the desired temperature by the temperature adjustment mechanism (24) is sprayed into the spray unit (2).
0). The supplied developer (15) is passed through the orifice (28) of the spray chip (29) to the diffusion wall (
21), and this diffusion wall (31) spreads the developer (15).
is supplied to the semiconductor wafer (12) as a fan-shaped spray liquid. At this point, the supply of the developer (15) is stopped, and at the same time, the developer (15) attached to the spray unit (20) is stopped.
) Remove remaining liquid, etc. That is, the spray unit (20
) and a vacuum nozzle (32a) installed near the tip (29a) of the spray tip (29) of the
) The pneumatic vacuum device (34) connected to the vacuum nozzle (32), which is a collection of vacuum nozzles (32b) installed near the lower end (30a) of (32b) to evacuate and suck in the gas-liquid mixture containing residual liquid and the like. The gas-liquid mixture inhaled here is separated into gas and liquid by the gas-liquid separation device (39), the liquid is discharged from the exhaust pipe (40), and the gas is transferred to the exhaust treatment device I (41).
Processing is performed by

Next, after the development time has elapsed, the semiconductor wafer (12) is
The semiconductor wafer (12) is rotated and a rinsing liquid such as pure water is supplied from a rinsing liquid supply nozzle (not shown) to perform a rinsing operation.After this, the supply of the rinsing liquid is stopped and the semiconductor wafer (12) is rotated to perform drying. Let's do it. Development processing of the semiconductor wafer (12) is performed as described above.

As explained above, according to this embodiment, it is possible to remove the liquid adhering to the spray unit by vacuuming, which solves the problem of liquid falling from the spray unit, and also prevents liquid droplets from scattering around. There was no generation of mist during the development process. It becomes possible to eliminate defects and defects such as falling drops and generation of mist.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and the object to be processed may be anything other than a semiconductor wafer, such as an LCD substrate, as long as it can be developed, and the device that supplies the developer may be a spray unit. Any device that discharges a liquid, such as a nozzle, may be used, and the liquid to be discharged may not be a developer, but may be pure water used as a rinsing liquid.For example, when applying photoresist to a semiconductor wafer, residual liquid may be used. The same effect as in the above embodiment can be obtained by evacuating the above. Furthermore, the timing of vacuuming the remaining liquid may be done while the developer is being sprayed, or it may be done using a general vacuum source such as a vacuum pump, but usually the developer is Since it is an alkaline solution or a flammable organic solvent and is highly dangerous, it is desirable to use a pneumatic vacuum device that can perform continuous processing.

It goes without saying that the number of rotations of the chuck, the amount of developer supplied, etc. as the developing method may be arbitrarily selected as appropriate.

Furthermore, other embodiments of the spray unit will be described.

As shown in FIG. 3, this spray unit (50)
A vacuum nozzle (51a) is formed inside the spray tip (52), and a tip (
The six-pronged nut (53), in which the opening of the vacuum nozzle (51a) is provided, is connected to the lock nut (54).
) to attach the spray tip (52) to the holder (55), there is no need to rotate the nut (53), and the lower end (53a) of the nut (53) also has a vacuum nozzle (51b). It is provided. Each of the vacuum nozzles (51a) (51b) has a spray tip (5
2), a space (57) surrounded by a nut (53), a locking nut (54), a packing (56), and a holder (55) is assembled, and a vacuum nozzle (51) is connected to this space (57). It is attached to the nut (53). By vacuuming with this vacuum nozzle (51),
Drops, etc. are removed.

If you configure the spray unit as above.

Not only can the same effects as the first embodiment described above be obtained, but also, since there is no need to provide an external nozzle, there is no need to align the nozzle, and the number of components is reduced, so the spray unit This makes it possible to reduce the size of the spray unit and improve the stability of the spray unit's operation.

Furthermore, in order to maintain the developer at a desired set temperature as a temperature control means for the developer, it is desirable to adjust the temperature of the developer to the point just before supplying it to the outside. As a means for this, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, a developer flow conduit (58) is formed in a coil shape, and a water jacket (59) made of a material such as SUS is placed around the coiled flow conduit (58). and
Inside this water jacket (59) there is a temperature controller (60)
It is configured to circulate constant-temperature water whose temperature is controlled by The water jacket (59) to the spray unit (61) has a double-tube structure, with the inner tube serving as a flow conduit (58) for the developer, and the flow conduit (58) being surrounded by a material such as rubber. It consists of an outer tube (62) made of
2) Constant temperature water whose temperature is controlled by a temperature controller (60) is circulated inside.

In this way, by performing two-stage indirect temperature control using a water jacket with constant temperature water and a double pipe, it is possible to control the temperature of the developer up to the spray unit, which prevents temperature changes in the developer and allows development to be performed at the desired temperature. liquid can be provided. Further, this temperature control method can be appropriately applied not only to the developer but also to, for example, the temperature control of the photoresist in a photoresist coating apparatus.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a spray unit for explaining one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a developing device using the spray unit shown in FIG. An explanatory diagram of an example, FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the temperature control mechanism of FIG. 2, and FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a conventional example.

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a developing device that performs development by supplying a developer from a developer supply means to an object to be processed on which a photosensitive film is formed, a vacuum mechanism is provided at least in the vicinity of a position of the developer supply means to which the developer is supplied. A developing device characterized by: