JPH0629204A - Method and apparatus for development of resist - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Object] The present invention relates to a resist developing method and apparatus for developing an exposed resist layer formed on a wafer surface, which enables precise control of a developer temperature and a development distribution after development. An object of the present invention is to provide an improved resist developing method and apparatus. [Structure] The inside of the container 2 of the coating / developing apparatus 1 can form the same atmosphere as in a clean room. The wafer 6 is sucked onto the chuck 4 in the container 2. The exhaust port 10 for exhausting the air in the container 2 is closed to stop the exhaust device (not shown). A developer is supplied from the developer supply device 8 onto the wafer 6 to develop the resist layer on the wafer 6. At this time, the inside of the container 2 is humidified by the humidifying device 12. Since the water vapor pressure in the container 2 rises, the evaporation of moisture in the developer is suppressed, and the heat of vaporization due to evaporation is not taken away, the temperature of the wafer 6 and the temperature of the developer adhering to the wafer 6 do not depend on the location. It is configured to be constant.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a resist developing method and apparatus for developing an exposed resist layer formed on a wafer surface.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, along with the demand for miniaturization of semiconductor devices, a wafer process corresponding to the miniaturization of semiconductor devices is also required in photolithography technology. The process sequence of the wafer process in the photolithography technology will be briefly described. A resist coating process for coating a resist on a wafer, an exposure process for exposing a predetermined pattern on the coated resist, and a development for developing a resist pattern to form a resist pattern. Step, there is an etching step of performing etching using the resist pattern as a mask. In order to deal with the miniaturization of semiconductor devices, improvements and improvements corresponding to the miniaturization are required in each process, but the improvement in the resist developing process is important. This is because no matter how fine a pattern can be exposed, it is impossible to miniaturize a semiconductor device unless a fine exposure pattern can be formed as a resist pattern during development.

The developing method in the developing step of developing a resist to form a resist pattern includes a spray method,
There are dip method, paddle method, and the like. The spray method has a problem that it is difficult to precisely control the developer temperature. Therefore, with the spray method, it is difficult to perform reproducible development on a positive resist which is very sensitive to the temperature of the developer. The developing device by the dip method can compensate the drawbacks by the spray method, but has a problem that continuous continuous processing is difficult. Therefore, development is performed by a paddle method in which a developing solution is dropped onto a wafer coated with a resist and then the wafer is rotated at a low speed to develop.

A conventional developing method by the paddle method will be briefly described. Generally, a developing device that develops a resist is a coating / developing device (coater / developer) integrally formed with a coating device that coats a resist on a wafer. The inside of the container of this coating / developing device can be made to have the same atmosphere as in the clean room.

The wafer on which the exposed resist layer is formed is stored in a container of a coating / developing apparatus. In the container,
A chuck capable of sucking and rotating the wafer is provided, and the wafer is sucked and fixed to the chuck and rotated at a low speed. In this state, the developing solution is supplied from the developing solution supply device onto the wafer to develop the resist layer on the wafer.

[0006]

At this time, in order to prevent the water content of the resist developing solution in the container from evaporating and to prevent the temperature change of the wafer and the developing solution on the wafer due to the heat of vaporization accompanying the evaporation, The exhaust device that exhausts the air inside is stopped. This is to perform reproducible development as much as possible on a positive resist which is very sensitive to the temperature of the developing solution.

However, even if the exhaust device is stopped, the evaporation of water in the resist developing solution occurs, albeit slightly. As the miniaturization of semiconductor devices progresses and the line width of the exposure pattern becomes finer, the temperature distribution of the wafer and the developer on the wafer due to the minute evaporation of the developer is also minute. This makes it difficult to precisely control the temperature of the developing solution corresponding to the pattern, which causes problems such that reproducible development cannot be performed and line width varies due to uneven development in the wafer.

An object of the present invention is to provide a resist developing method and apparatus capable of precisely controlling the developer temperature and improving the development distribution after development.

[0009]

The above object is to provide a resist developing method in which a developing solution is supplied to an exposed resist layer on a wafer surface to develop the resist layer, while the atmosphere around the wafer is humidified. It is achieved by a resist developing method characterized by developing a resist layer.

Further, the above object is to provide a container for accommodating a wafer on which an exposed resist layer is formed, a chuck for adsorbing and rotating the wafer in the container, and a container provided above the chuck in the container. A resist developing device for developing a resist layer on the wafer, the device comprising: a developing solution supplying device for supplying a developing solution onto the wafer attracted to the chuck; and humidifying the inside of the container. The present invention is achieved by a resist developing device including a humidifying device.

[0011]

According to the present invention, by humidifying the inside of the container of the developing device, the developer is less likely to evaporate during development and the heat of vaporization is not taken away, so that the temperature of the developer can be precisely controlled. A good resist pattern with improved development distribution after development can be realized.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A resist developing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The resist developing apparatus according to this embodiment is a resist coating / developing apparatus 1 integrated with a resist coating apparatus. The wafer 6 is surrounded by the cover 3 in the container 2 capable of forming an atmosphere similar to that of a clean room.
A chuck 4 for adsorbing and rotatably supporting is provided. A developer supply device 8 for supplying a developer to the resist on the surface of the wafer 6 is provided above the wafer 6 attracted by the chuck 4.

An exhaust port 10 is provided on the lower wall surface of the container 2 so that the air in the container 2 can be discharged from the container 2 by an exhaust device (not shown). A humidifying device 12 that humidifies the atmosphere in the container 2 is attached to the wall surface of the container 2 above the wafer 6. The humidifying device 12 is, for example, a device that ultrasonically oscillates water, atomizes it, and discharges it into the atmosphere to humidify it.

Next, a resist developing method using the resist developing apparatus according to this embodiment will be described. The resist developing method according to this embodiment is a developing method based on the paddle method.
The inside of the container 2 of the resist coating / developing apparatus 1 of this embodiment can be formed in the same atmosphere as in a clean room. The wafer 6 on which the exposed resist layer is formed is adsorbed on the chuck 4 in the container 2. In order to prevent the water content of the developer from evaporating in the container 2, the container 2
The exhaust port 10 for exhausting the air therein is closed to stop an exhaust device (not shown). A developer is supplied from the developer supply device 8 onto the wafer 6 to develop the resist layer on the wafer 6.

At this time, the inside of the container 2 is humidified by the humidifying device 12 so as to prevent evaporation of water in the developing solution. By doing so, the water vapor pressure in the container 2 rises, the evaporation of water in the developing solution is suppressed, and the heat of vaporization due to evaporation is not taken away. Therefore, the temperature of the wafer 6 and the temperature of the developing solution attached to the wafer 6 are suppressed. Is constant regardless of location. Therefore, it becomes possible to precisely control the temperature of the developing solution in the formation of a finer element, and it is possible to perform reproducible development. Further, it is possible to reduce the development unevenness in the wafer 6 and to make the line width uneven. It can be reduced.

As described above, according to the resist developing apparatus and the resist developing method of this embodiment, by humidifying the inside of the container of the developing apparatus, the developing solution is less likely to evaporate during development and the heat of vaporization is taken away. Therefore, the temperature of the developer can be precisely controlled, the distribution of development after development can be improved, and a fine resist pattern can be realized. The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made.

For example, although the present invention is used for developing the resist by the paddle method in the above-mentioned embodiments, the present invention can be applied to the development by another method, for example, the developing method using a spray method.

[0018]

As described above, according to the present invention, by humidifying the inside of the container of the developing device, the developer is less likely to evaporate during development and the heat of vaporization is not deprived. Precise control becomes possible, the development distribution after development can be improved, and a fine resist pattern can be realized.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a resist developing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Coating / developing device 2 ... Container 3 ... Cover 4 ... Chuck 6 ... Wafer 8 ... Developer supply device 10 ... Exhaust port 12 ... Humidification device

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A resist developing method for developing a resist solution by supplying a developing solution to an exposed resist layer on a wafer surface, wherein the resist layer is developed while humidifying an atmosphere around the wafer. And a resist developing method. 2. A container for accommodating a wafer on which an exposed resist layer is formed, a chuck for adsorbing and rotating the wafer in the container, and a chuck provided in the container above the chuck for developing liquid. A resist developing device for developing the resist layer on the wafer, comprising: a developer supply device that supplies the wafer attracted to the chuck; and a humidifying device that humidifies the inside of the container. A resist developing device characterized by the above.