JPH09213621A - Coating film forming method and its equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the amount of using coating liquid, and make the thickness of a coating film uniform. SOLUTION: Solvent B of resist liquid A is supplied to the surface of a semiconductor wafer W which is horizontally rotated by a spin chuck 51, from a solvent supply nozzle 60. The solvent B is diffused on the whole surface of the semiconductor wafer W, and the resist liquid is dripped on the wafer W surface from a resist liquid supply nozzle 61. When the resist liquid is made to follow the solvent and diffused, a process space 57 is isolated from the outside air, and mist type solvent is supplied to the inside of the process space 57. Thereby evaporation of the solvent in the resist liquid is restricted, and the resist liquid is made to uniformly reach the peripheral part of the semiconductor wafer W, so that the amount of using the resist liquid can be reduced.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a coating film forming method and apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a semiconductor device manufacturing process, a coating liquid, for example, a photoresist liquid is applied to an object to be processed, for example, a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter, referred to as a wafer) such as a silicon substrate, and a circuit pattern or the like is reduced using a photo technique. There is a series of processing steps for exposing the photoresist film and developing it. This processing step is called photolithography.

This processing step is a very important process in high integration of semiconductor devices. In this process, in order to uniformly form a resist film on the surface of an object to be processed such as a wafer, for example, before applying a resist solution. A method in which the solvent of the resist solution is dropped onto the wafer surface, the wafer is rotated to diffuse the solvent onto the wafer surface, and then the resist solution is dropped onto the wafer surface and rotated to follow the solvent and diffuse. Are known (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 61-91655 and 61-150332).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-320999).

[0004]

However, in the conventional coating film forming method of this type, in order to spread the resist solution to the peripheral edge of the wafer, the resist solution A is given a certain volume as shown in FIG. Since the resist solution A has to be supplied, there is a possibility that the tip portion is solidified while the resist solution A reaches the peripheral edge of the wafer W. Therefore,
There is a problem that not only the film thickness becomes non-uniform but also the resist solution cannot be reduced in quantity. In order to remove the solidification of the tip portion of the resist solution, it is conceivable to control the rotation speed of the wafer at a high speed. However, when the wafer W is rotated at a high speed, the peripheral speed of the outermost circumference is increased, and a certain speed or more To become and,
As a parameter other than the moment that the resist tends to spread due to the centrifugal force, the evaporation of the thinner in the resist is disturbed due to the turbulence of the air flow in the upper peripheral portion, and vertical stripe-shaped unevenness occurs at the peripheral edge of the wafer W, resulting in uniform coating. However, there is a problem in that the amount of resist solution used is large in order to remove the unevenness in the peripheral portion of the wafer. In particular, in the current situation where 8-inch and 12-inch wafers are used as semiconductor devices are highly integrated, the number of rotations of the wafer must be reduced as compared with the 6-inch wafer.
It has been difficult to obtain a uniform film thickness as the amount of resist solution used increases.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and a coating film forming method and a coating film forming method capable of forming a coating film having a uniform thickness while using a small amount of a coating liquid such as a resist liquid. The purpose is to provide a device.

[0006]

To achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 provides a step of supplying a solvent of a coating liquid to the surface of an object to be processed, and an object to be processed to which the solvent has been supplied. A step of rotating the solvent to diffuse the solvent over the entire surface of the object to be processed, a step of supplying a coating liquid to the surface of the object to be processed, and shutting off the atmosphere of the object to be treated from the outside air, A step of supplying the solvent therein to suppress the evaporation of the solvent in the coating liquid; and rotating the object to be treated to diffuse the coating liquid over the entire surface of the object to form a coating film. And a step of releasing the atmosphere of the object to be processed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the step of supplying the solvent of the coating liquid to the surface of the object to be processed and the object to be processed to which the solvent has been supplied are rotated to spread the solvent over the entire surface of the object to be processed. And the step of supplying the coating liquid to the surface of the object to be processed, and shutting off the atmosphere of the object to be treated from the outside air, and supplying the solvent to the atmosphere to remove the solvent in the coating liquid. A step of suppressing evaporation, a step of rotating the object to be processed to diffuse a coating liquid over the entire surface of the object to form a coating film, and a step of releasing the atmosphere of the object to be processed. And a step of drying the coating liquid by rotating the object to be treated.

According to a third aspect of the invention, the step of supplying the solvent of the coating liquid to the surface of the object to be processed and the object to be processed to which the solvent has been supplied are rotated to spread the solvent over the entire surface of the object to be processed. And the step of supplying the coating liquid to the surface of the object to be processed, and the atmosphere of the object to be processed is shielded from the outside air, and the solvent is supplied into the atmosphere to remove the solvent in the coating liquid. A step of suppressing evaporation, a step of rotating the object to be treated, diffusing the coating liquid over the entire surface of the object to form a coating film, and a step of drying air in the atmosphere of the object to be treated. And a supplying step.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the step of supplying the solvent of the coating liquid to the surface of the object to be processed and the object to be processed to which the solvent has been supplied are rotated to spread the solvent over the entire surface of the object to be processed. And the step of supplying the coating liquid to the surface of the object to be processed, and shutting off the atmosphere of the object to be treated from the outside air, and supplying the solvent to the atmosphere to remove the solvent in the coating liquid. A step of suppressing evaporation, a step of rotating the object to be treated, diffusing the coating liquid over the entire surface of the object to form a coating film, and a step of drying air in the atmosphere of the object to be treated. The method is characterized by including a step of supplying and a step of rotating the object to be treated to dry the coating liquid.

In the coating film forming method of the present invention, the step of shielding the atmosphere of the object to be treated from the outside air and supplying the solvent to the atmosphere to suppress the evaporation of the solvent in the coating liquid is the object to be treated. It may be before or after the step of supplying the coating liquid to the surface of.

According to a fifth aspect of the invention, a holding means for holding the object to be processed horizontally rotatably, a coating liquid supplying means for supplying a coating solution to the surface of the object to be processed, and a surface of the object to be processed. And a treatment space for accommodating the object to be treated so that it can be shielded from the outside air, and an atmosphere control means for supplying a mist-like solvent into the treatment space. Characterize.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, a holding means for holding the object to be processed horizontally rotatably, a coating liquid supplying means for supplying a coating solution to the surface of the object to be processed, and a surface of the object to be processed. Solvent supply means for supplying a solvent for the coating liquid, a processing space for accommodating the object to be processed so as to be shieldable from the outside air, an atmosphere control means for supplying a mist-like solvent into the processing space, and the processing space. Atmosphere releasing means for supplying dry air.

In the coating film forming apparatus of the present invention, the processing space may have any structure as long as it can contain the object to be treated so that it can be shielded from the outside air. Either a container for accommodating a holding means for rotating and holding the processing object and a lid for opening and closing the container (claim 7), or the processing space having a loading / unloading port for the processing target object. The container can be composed of a container and a shutter that opens and closes an inlet / outlet of the processing container (claim 8).

The atmosphere control means may have any structure as long as it supplies a mist-like solvent into the processing space. For example, the atmosphere control means communicates with the processing space via the opening / closing means. A structure comprising: a circulation pipe; an air blower provided in the circulation pipe; a solvent tank communicating with the circulation pipe; and a carrier gas supply unit for supplying a carrier gas into the solvent tank. It is possible (claim 9).

The atmosphere releasing means may have any structure as long as it supplies dry air into the processing space. For example, the atmosphere releasing means may be dry air communicating with the processing space via the opening / closing means. It is possible to have a structure including a supply pipe line and an air blowing unit and a dehumidifying unit provided in the dry air supply pipe line (claim 10).

According to the present invention, the solvent of the coating liquid is supplied to the surface of the object to be treated and diffused over the entire surface of the object to be treated, and the coating liquid is diffused over the entire surface of the object to be treated following the solvent. In this case, the atmosphere of the object to be processed is shielded from the outside air, and the solvent is supplied into this atmosphere to suppress the evaporation of the solvent in the coating liquid, thus preventing the solidification of the diffused coating liquid on the tip side. can do. Further, by suppressing the evaporation of the solvent in the coating liquid, the amount of the coating liquid used can be reduced. Therefore, the thickness of the coating film can be made uniform, and the amount of the coating liquid used can be reduced.

Further, after releasing the atmosphere of the object to be processed, the object to be processed is rotated and the coating liquid is dried, whereby the coating film forming process can be speeded up. Furthermore, after diffusing the coating film over the entire surface of the object to be treated,
By supplying dry air into the atmosphere, the coating film forming process can be further speeded up.

[0018]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this embodiment, a case where the coating film forming apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a resist liquid coating / developing processing system for a semiconductor wafer will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, the resist solution coating / developing system described above includes a first cassette 1a for accommodating an unprocessed object such as a semiconductor wafer W (hereinafter referred to as a wafer) and a processed wafer W. The second cassette 1b for accommodating the
a front surface of the wafer W, which is provided adjacent to the cassette station 4 and is provided with a cassette station 4 provided with tweezers 2 for carrying the wafer W to and from which the wafer W is carried in and out; A coating processing unit 10 for forming a resist film on the wafer, a development processing unit 20 disposed between the coating processing unit 10 and an exposure unit W for developing the exposed wafer W, and The wafer W, which is disposed between the development processing section 20 and the interface section 30A and coated, is irradiated with ultraviolet light from a light source through a predetermined mask member M to form a predetermined circuit pattern on the resist film. An exposure device 40 (exposure processing unit) that exposes the main part is configured.

At the central portions of the coating processing section 10 and the development processing section 20, linear conveying paths 5 are laid, respectively, and a conveying mechanism 6 capable of moving the conveying paths 5 is provided. The transfer mechanism 6 is provided with a wafer transfer arm 7 which is movable in the X and Y directions and the vertical direction (Z direction) in a horizontal plane and is rotatable (θ).

In the coating processing section 10, the transfer mechanism 6
On one side along the side edge of the transport path 5 of the
1. Adhesion unit 12a for executing the hydrophobic treatment process
The adhesion unit / cooling unit 12 and the bake unit 13 (first heat treatment unit), which are provided by stacking the cooling unit 12b and the cooling unit 12b, are arranged adjacent to each other in a row. Further, on the other side of the transport path 5, the jet water cleaning section 14 and the number of, for example, two resist solutions (specifically, a normal resist solution and an antireflection resist solution) are spin-coated. Forming devices, for example, resist coating devices 15 are arranged in a row so as to be adjacent to each other, and the resist coating device 15 and the bake unit 13 are arranged to face each other via the transport path 5. Thus, the transport path 5
By arranging the bake unit 13 and the resist coating device 15 so as to be separated from each other via the via, it is possible to prevent the heat of the bake unit 13 from being transferred to the resist coating device 15, and to prevent thermal influence during the resist coating process. Can be prevented from receiving.

As shown in FIG. 2, the resist coating apparatus 15 has a mounting table which is vertically movable and horizontally rotatable in a processing container 50 which forms a closed processing chamber which is separated from the atmosphere of the coating processing section 10. 51 (spin chuck) is provided. In this case, the processing container 50 is an outer container 52 in which an upper surrounding portion surrounding the outer periphery of the wafer W is vertically movable.
The inner container 53 that forms the bottom of the processing container 50 and the lid 54 that closes the upper opening of the outer container 52 form the main part.

The outer container 52 has a cylindrical outer container body 52a which surrounds the wafer W on the spin chuck 17, and a cylindrical movable member which is vertically movably attached to the outer container body 52a. It is composed of a wall 52b,
The movable wall 52b can be moved up and down with respect to the outer container body 52a by an elevator arm (not shown).

The inner container 53 preferably has a cylindrical wall 53 on the upper surface of a bottom portion 53a inclined outward so that drainage can flow.
The inner container body 53c provided with a protruding b and the rotating body 53e which is rotatably arranged on the upper end of the cylindrical wall 53b in the horizontal plane via the bearing 53d and is connected to the spin chuck 51 and rotated. It is configured. This rotating body 53
A cylindrical hanging wall 53f is provided at a lower portion of the peripheral edge of e so as to project downward, and the processing container 50 is provided at an appropriate position on the hanging wall 53f.
A plurality of communication ports 53g communicating with the exhaust port 55 and the drainage port 56 at the lower part of is formed.

The lid 54 is formed in a dome shape having a rotary shaft 54c rotatably suspended in a horizontal plane via a bearing 54b on a suspension arm 54a. The rotor 53e is airtightly contacted via a seal member 54d such as an O-ring provided on the peripheral surface,
In this contact state, a closed processing space 57 is formed, and the rotational force from the rotating body 53e is transmitted to the lid 54. The lid 54 can be vertically moved by a suspension arm 54a that is vertically moved by an elevator mechanism (not shown). The lid 54 is rotatably connected to a solvent supply tube penetrating the rotation shaft 54c and connected to a solvent supply source (not shown) and a resist solution supply tube connected to a resist solution supply source (not shown). A first solvent supply passage 58 and a resist liquid supply passage 59 are provided, and the first solvent supply passage 58 and the resist liquid supply passage 5 are provided.
A solvent supply nozzle 60 and a resist solution supply nozzle 61, which are respectively connected to the nozzles 9, are provided integrally with the lid 54 so as to be rotatable. Further, in the lid 54, a second solvent supply passage 62 and a dry air supply passage 63 which are rotatably connected to the circulation pipe 71 and the dry air supply pipe 81 through the rotary shaft 54c. Is provided.

In this case, the circulation pipe 71 is connected to the second solvent supply passage 62 and the exhaust port 55, and the liquid in the exhaust is introduced into the circulation pipe 71 in order from the exhaust port 55 side. A gas-liquid separator 72 for separating, a blower fan 73, a filter 74, and an on-off valve 75 are provided. Further, between the blower fan 73 and the filter 74 of the circulation pipe 71, a discharge pipe 77 connected to a tank 76 containing a solvent of the resist liquid A, that is, a thinner B is connected. The tank 76 is connected to a carrier gas supply source (not shown) via a carrier gas supply pipe 78 (carrier gas supply means), and the carrier gas supplied from the carrier gas supply source into the thinner B in the tank 76, for example, The thinner B flows into the circulation pipe 71 by the He gas, is formed into a mist by the air flowing in the circulation pipe 71, and is supplied into the processing space 57 of the processing container 50. It is formed. In this case, He gas is used as the carrier gas, but N2 gas, Ar gas or the like can be used instead of He gas.

Further, the dry air supply line 81 is connected to a dehumidifying means, for example, a dehumidifier 86 via an opening / closing valve 82, a filter 83, a blower fan 84 and a temperature controller 85, and a dry air supply mechanism 80 (atmosphere) And a dehumidifier 86 of the dry air supply mechanism 80.
The air dehumidified to a predetermined humidity, for example, 40% or less by the temperature controller 85 is set to a predetermined temperature, for example, room temperature (about 23 ° C.), and the processing space 57 of the processing container 50 is set.
It is configured to be supplied into.

On the other hand, in the development processing section 20, two bake sections 21 for chemically sensitizing the resist film after exposure are provided on one side along the side edge of the transport path 5 of the transport mechanism 6.
The (second heat treatment parts) are arranged adjacent to each other in a line.
Further, on the other side of the transport path 5, a number of, for example, two developing units 22, for example, a developing processing unit that spin-coats a developing solution is arranged adjacent to the bake unit 21. In this way, by arranging the bake unit 21 and the developing unit 22 so as to face each other in the state of being separated via the transport path 5, it is possible to prevent the heat of the bake unit 21 from being transferred to the developing unit 22, and to perform the developing process. In this case, thermal influence can be prevented.

Further, the exposure apparatus 40 is connected to the development processing section 20 through an interface section 30A having a delivery table 31A for delivering the wafer W, and the exposure apparatus 40 is connected to the development processing section 20. Is provided with a wafer mounting table 41 and a light irradiation means (not shown). A cassette 43 for accommodating a mask member M disposed on the upper surface of the wafer W placed on the wafer mounting table 41 is disposed on one side of the exposure apparatus 40. The cassette 43 and the wafer mounting table 41 are arranged. A mask member transfer arm 42 for transferring the mask member M between the and is provided rotatably (θ) in the X, Y and Z directions. Further, in the exposure apparatus 40, a wafer transfer arm 44 that transfers the wafer W between the exposure apparatus 40 and the interface section 30A arranged between the development processing section 20 is provided in the X, Y directions, and Z direction. It is provided so that it can rotate and rotate (θ).

Next, processing steps of the wafer W in the resist solution coating / developing processing system configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 1 and 4.

First, the unprocessed wafer W placed in the cassette station 4 is received from the cassette 1a by the transfer tweezers 2 and transferred to the delivery mounting table 3 to center the wafer W. Next, the brush cleaning unit 1
1 to carry out brush cleaning, and jet water cleaning unit 14
After carrying out cleaning with jet water, it is carried to the adhesion part 12a and heated, and subjected to a hydrophobic treatment for improving the adhesion between the wafer W and the resist.

The wafer W that has been subjected to the hydrophobic treatment is cooled by the cooling unit 12.
After being cooled in b, the lid 54 is conveyed to the inside of the processing container 50 with the lid 54 moved upward and held by the spin chuck 51 by, for example, vacuum adsorption. Then, after the wafer transfer arm 7 is retracted, the solvent, for example, thinner B is dropped from the solvent supply nozzle 60, the wafer W is rotated by the rotation of the spin chuck 51, and the thinner is diffused over the entire surface of the wafer W. Simultaneously with the diffusion of the thinner, the resist solution A is dropped from the resist solution supply nozzle 61 onto the wafer surface. At the same time, the lid 54 descends to seal the processing container 50 to form the processing space 57, and at the same time, the mist-like thinner supplied into the circulation pipe 71 serves as the second solvent supply passage 6.
2 is supplied into the processing space 57, and in this state, the resist solution is diffused over the entire surface of the wafer W. After the resist solution is diffused over the entire surface of the wafer W, the atmosphere control means 70
At the same time, the on-off valve 75 of the dry air supply mechanism 80 is opened to supply the dry air into the processing space 57 and release the thinner atmosphere in the processing space 57. At this time, without supplying the dry air into the processing space 57, the lid 54
The thinner atmosphere in the processing space 57 may be released by moving the above. Simultaneously with the release of the atmosphere, the resist film is formed by shaking off and drying.
The wafer W coated with the resist solution in this manner is again transported to the baking section 13 and baked to evaporate the solvent in the resist film.

In the resist coating method described above, the lid 54 is lowered to form the processing space 57 after the resist drops, and the mist-like thinner is supplied into the processing atmosphere. As shown in FIG. Alternatively, after the thinner is diffused, the lid may be lowered to form the processing space 57, and the mist-like thinner may be supplied into the processing space 57. That is, it suffices that the mist-like thinner is supplied and filled in the processing atmosphere when the resist liquid A is diffused.

The wafer W which has been subjected to the above-mentioned coating process is transferred to the delivery table 31 of the interface unit 30 and received by the wafer transfer arm 7 of the development processing unit 20, and then transferred to the interface unit 30A. After being transported to the mounting table 31A and aligned therewith, it is transported onto the mounting table 41 by the transport arm 43 of the exposure device 40, and the light from the light source is irradiated through the mask member M to reduce and project a predetermined pattern. Exposed. Then, the exposed wafer W is transferred to the baking section 21 of the development processing section 20 by the wafer transfer arm 7 through the interface section 30A and baked, and then transferred to the development section 22 and subjected to the development processing. To be done. The wafer W thus developed is again transported to the bake unit 21 and post-baked to enhance the pattern strength.

The wafer W developed as described above
After being transferred to the delivery mounting table 3 of the cassette station 4, it is transferred to the cassette 1b that contains the wafer W that has been processed by the transfer tweezers 2 and the processing is completed.

In the above-described embodiment, the processing container 50 forming the processing space 57 constitutes an outer container 52 having a vertically movable upper enclosure surrounding the outer periphery of the wafer W and a bottom portion of the processing container 50. The case where the inner container 53 and the lid 54 that closes the upper opening of the outer container 52 are described has been described, but the structure of the processing container 50 does not necessarily have to be such a structure, and is shown in FIG. 3, for example. As described above, the processing space 57 is provided on one side with an opening 50a for loading / unloading the wafer W.
The processing container 50A may be provided with a shutter 50b and a shutter 50b that is driven by a driving unit such as a cylinder (not shown) to open and close the opening 50a. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 90 is an outer container, reference numeral 91 is an inner container, and other parts are the same as those in the above-described embodiment, and therefore, the same portions are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted.

Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the processing apparatus according to the present invention is applied to the coating / developing processing system of a semiconductor wafer has been described.
It is needless to say that the present invention can also be applied to a case where a resist solution is applied to an object to be processed such as a CD substrate and exposed and developed.

[0038]

EXAMPLE An experiment on the state of the resist film when the processing atmosphere in the processing space 57 in the processing container 50 is changed will be described. First, when 0.2 ml and 0.6 ml of resist solution was dropped and the wafer W was rotated at 5000 rpm for 5 seconds without supplying a mist-like thinner into the processing atmosphere, the results shown in FIG. 7 were obtained. . As a result, the resist film thickness at the center of the wafer is 8000 to 8750.
Å, but the resist film thickness at the wafer edge is 70
It was found that it was less than 00Å, the difference was 1750 to 1000Å, and moreover, a vertical stripe pattern was generated at the peripheral portion of the wafer, and the resist film thickness became uneven. Further, it was found that when the discharge amount of the resist liquid was 0.2 ml, the resist liquid did not spread over the entire surface of the wafer and solidified inside the peripheral portion.

Next, a mist-like thinner is supplied into the processing atmosphere, 0.4 ml of the resist solution is dropped in this atmosphere, the rotation speed of the wafer W is set to 2000 rpm, and the rotation time is set to 3 sec, 4 sec, 5 sec, respectively. 6 sec
And 7 sec, the results shown in FIG. 8 were obtained. As a result, in the shortest rotation time of 3 seconds, the resist film thickness in the central portion of the wafer is 12000-12.
400 Å, whereas the resist film thickness at the wafer edge is 10,000 to 11000 Å, and the film thickness difference is 1400
It was as large as ~ 2000Å, but the processing time was 4s.
In the case of ec to 7 seconds, the difference in film thickness between the wafer central portion and the wafer peripheral portion could be reduced. It should be noted that a slight unevenness was generated in the central portion of the wafer, which is considered to be due to the center of the vortex (tornado) of the air flow supplied into the processing atmosphere.

Therefore, when the resist liquid is diffused on the surface of the wafer W, a solvent of the resist liquid, for example, a thinner is supplied into the processing atmosphere in a mist form so that the resist liquid can be supplied without increasing the rotation speed of the wafer W. It can be applied uniformly, and the resist solution can be made small. Further, since the rotation speed of the wafer W can be slowed down, it is suitable for resist coating processing of, for example, an 8-inch wafer or a 12-inch wafer. Further, since the drainage can be reduced, it is possible to prevent clogging of the drain.

[0041]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the coating liquid is diffused over the entire surface of the object to be treated by following the solvent of the coating liquid, the atmosphere of the object to be treated is shielded from the outside air. At the same time, since the solvent is supplied to this atmosphere to suppress the evaporation of the solvent in the coating liquid, it is possible to prevent the diffused coating liquid from solidifying on the tip side and reduce the amount of the coating liquid used. You can Therefore, the thickness of the coating film can be made uniform, and the amount of the coating liquid used can be reduced.

After releasing the atmosphere of the object to be processed, the object to be processed is rotated and the coating liquid is dried.
It is possible to shorten the time for coating film formation processing. Furthermore, after diffusing the coating film over the entire surface of the object to be processed, supplying dry air into the atmosphere further shortens the coating film formation processing time. Therefore, the throughput of coating film formation can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of an example of a resist solution coating / developing system for a semiconductor wafer, which is equipped with the coating film forming apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of the coating film forming apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view showing another embodiment of the coating film forming apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a resist coating process for a semiconductor wafer.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating another embodiment of a semiconductor wafer resist coating process.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a state in which a resist film is formed on the surface of a semiconductor wafer.

FIG. 7 is a graph showing a relationship between a resist film thickness and a wafer diameter when a mist-like thinner is not supplied into a processing atmosphere.

FIG. 8 is a graph showing a relationship between a resist film thickness and a wafer diameter when a mist-like thinner is supplied into a processing atmosphere.

[Explanation of symbols]

 W Semiconductor Wafer (Processing Object) A Resist Solution (Coating Solution) B Thinner (Solvent) 50, 50A Processing Container 50a Opening 50b Shutter 51 Spin Chuck (Holding Means) 52 Outer Container 53 Inner Container 54 Lid 57 Processing Space 60 Solvent Supply nozzle 61 Resist liquid supply nozzle 70 Atmosphere control mechanism (atmosphere control means) 71 Circulation pipeline 73 Blower fan 75 Open / close valve (opening / closing means) 76 Thinner accommodating tank 77 Discharge pipe 78 Carrier gas supply pipe 80 Dry air supply mechanism (atmosphere release) Means) 81 dry air supply conduit 82 open / close valve (open / close means) 84 blower fan

Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification number Office reference number FI technical display location H01L 21/30 567

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A step of supplying a solvent of a coating liquid to the surface of an object to be processed, a step of rotating the object to be processed to which the solvent has been supplied to diffuse the solvent over the entire surface of the object to be processed, A step of supplying a coating liquid to the surface of the object to be processed, a step of blocking the atmosphere of the object to be processed from the outside air, and supplying the solvent into the atmosphere to suppress evaporation of the solvent in the coating solution; And a step of rotating the object to be processed to diffuse a coating liquid over the entire surface of the object to form a coating film, and a step of releasing the atmosphere of the object to be processed. And a method for forming a coating film. 2. A step of supplying a solvent for a coating liquid to the surface of an object to be processed, a step of rotating the object to be processed to which the solvent has been supplied to diffuse the solvent over the entire surface of the object to be processed, A step of supplying a coating liquid to the surface of the object to be processed, a step of blocking the atmosphere of the object to be processed from the outside air, and supplying the solvent into the atmosphere to suppress evaporation of the solvent in the coating solution; A step of rotating the object to be processed to diffuse a coating liquid over the entire surface of the object to form a coating film; a step of releasing an atmosphere of the object to be processed; And a step of drying the coating liquid by rotating the coating liquid. 3. A step of supplying a solvent of a coating liquid to the surface of an object to be processed, a step of rotating the object to be processed to which the solvent has been supplied to diffuse the solvent over the entire surface of the object to be processed, A step of supplying a coating liquid to the surface of the object to be processed, a step of blocking the atmosphere of the object to be processed from the outside air, and supplying the solvent into the atmosphere to suppress evaporation of the solvent in the coating solution; A step of rotating the object to be treated, diffusing the coating liquid over the entire surface of the object to form a coating film, and a step of supplying dry air into the atmosphere of the object to be treated,
A method for forming a coating film, comprising: 4. A step of supplying a solvent of a coating liquid to the surface of an object to be processed, a step of rotating the object to be processed to which the solvent has been supplied to diffuse the solvent over the entire surface of the object to be processed, A step of supplying a coating liquid to the surface of the object to be processed, a step of blocking the atmosphere of the object to be processed from the outside air, and supplying the solvent into the atmosphere to suppress evaporation of the solvent in the coating solution; A step of rotating the object to be processed to diffuse a coating liquid over the entire surface of the object to form a coating film; a step of supplying dry air into the atmosphere of the object to be processed; A step of rotating the target object to dry the coating liquid,
A method for forming a coating film, comprising: 5. A holding means for horizontally rotating the object to be processed, a coating solution supplying means for supplying a coating solution to the surface of the object to be processed, and a solvent of the coating solution to the surface of the object to be processed. Forming a coating film, comprising: a solvent supply means for controlling the object to be treated, a processing space for accommodating the object to be shielded from the outside air, and an atmosphere control means for supplying a mist-like solvent into the processing space. apparatus. 6. A holding means for holding the object to be processed horizontally rotatably, a coating solution supplying means for supplying a coating solution to the surface of the object to be processed, and a solvent of the coating solution to the surface of the object to be processed. Solvent supply means, a processing space for accommodating the object to be treated so as to be shielded from the outside air, an atmosphere control means for supplying a mist-like solvent into the processing space, and an atmosphere for supplying dry air into the processing space. A coating film forming apparatus comprising: a releasing unit. 7. The coating film forming apparatus according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the processing space is provided with a container for accommodating an object to be processed and holding means for rotationally holding the object to be processed, and a lid for opening and closing the container. A coating film forming apparatus comprising: 8. The coating film forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the processing space has a processing container having a loading / unloading port for the object to be processed, and a shutter for opening / closing the loading / unloading port of the processing container. A coating film forming apparatus comprising: 9. The coating film forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the atmosphere control means includes a circulation conduit communicating with the processing space via an opening / closing means, and a blowing means provided in the circulation conduit. And a solvent tank communicating with the circulation line, and a carrier gas supply unit for supplying a carrier gas into the solvent tank. 10. The coating film forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the atmosphere releasing means is provided in the dry air supply pipeline communicating with the processing space through the opening / closing means, and the dry air supply pipeline. An apparatus for forming a coating film, comprising: an air blower and a dehumidifier.