JPH11204430A - Wafer processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a wafer processing device capable of avoiding deterioration of sealing around a lift pin and improving a compliance of the lift pin for the change of temperature. SOLUTION: A vacuum seal 47 for sealing inside of a processing chamber is provided in close contact with the periphery of the lift pin, a sliding member 51 having a pillow ball 53 composing a linear bearing is set, and the lift pin 40 is easily moved sideways following thermal expansion of a heating plate 33.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a coating and developing system for an LCD substrate, and
Alternatively, the present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus that performs a cooling process.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a liquid crystal display (LC) is used.
D) In a device manufacturing process, for example, ITO (Indium Tin Oxi) is formed on an LCD substrate (glass substrate).
de) In order to form a thin film, an electrode pattern and the like, a circuit pattern and the like are reduced and transferred to a photoresist by using a photolithography technique similar to that used in a semiconductor manufacturing process, and a series of development processes are performed. Processing has been applied. For example, after cleaning an LCD substrate, which is an object to be processed, by a cleaning device, the LCD substrate is subjected to a hydrophobic treatment by an adhesion processing device, cooled by a cooling processing device, and then subjected to a photoresist film by a resist coating device. That is, a photosensitive film is formed by coating. Then, the photoresist film is heated by a heat treatment device to perform a baking process (pre-bake), and then a predetermined pattern is exposed by an exposure device, and a developing solution is applied to the exposed LCD substrate by a developing device. After a predetermined pattern is formed, a baking treatment (post-bake) is performed to perform thermal denaturation for polymerization, LCD
This enhances the adhesion between the substrate and the pattern.

In such a processing system, an LCD
Adhesion processing, which is performed to improve the adhesion of the resist solution to the substrate, is performed by supplying HMDS gas to the substrate placed in the processing chamber and performing heat treatment to make the surface of the hydrophilic substrate hydrophobic. This is a process that changes the OH bond, specifically, it can chemically separate the OH bond of the substrate base and remove moisture.

In this adhesion treatment, a substrate is first placed on a mounting table, the processing chamber is evacuated, and HMDS gas is introduced into the processing chamber to apply HMDS to the substrate. After the completion of this process, the HMDS gas is forcibly exhausted by an exhaust mechanism so as to prevent the HMDS atmosphere from being released into the atmosphere, and a replacement gas such as N ₂ gas is introduced into the processing chamber. Has been purged.

When a substrate is carried into the processing chamber, it is mounted on a mounting table by a lift pin driving mechanism as shown in FIG. That is, the upper portions of the plurality of lift pins 103 are inserted into the plurality of holes 102 formed in the heating plate 101 for heating the substrate G. The lower end of the lift pin 103 is attached to a support member 104 that is moved up and down by a drive mechanism (not shown). As a result, when the support member 104 is moved up and down, the lift pins 103 are moved up and down to receive the loaded substrate G and
The substrate G is placed on the top and after the processing is completed, the substrate G is lifted to the unloading position.

[0006] A vacuum seal 105 is provided below the heating plate 101 and around the lift pins 103. The HM in the processing chamber is formed by the vacuum seal 105.
Leakage of DS gas and the like to the outside is prevented.

[0007]

However, in the processing apparatus as shown in FIG. 6, when the temperature of the heating plate 101 for heating the substrate G is increased, the holes 102 are expanded due to the thermal expansion of the heating plate 101. May be shifted. Therefore, conventionally, in order to cope with such a shift in the hole pitch due to the thermal expansion of the heating plate 101, the gap between the hole 102 and the lift pin 103 is increased, and even if the pitch of the hole 102 shifts, the lift pin 1
03 is formed such that it can move up and down. But,
As described above, when the diameter of the hole 102 is increased, the substrate G is not heated at that portion, and thus a problem occurs in that the temperature distribution becomes uneven on the substrate G.

In addition, in the adhesion processing apparatus, when the temperature of the heating plate 101 is increased by heating the heating plate 101, the above-described vacuum seal 105 may be worn due to friction with the lift pins 103. Therefore, in order not to cause deterioration of the sealing property,
There is a disadvantage that the vacuum seal 105 must be replaced frequently.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a substrate processing apparatus which does not cause deterioration of the sealing property around the lift pins and improves the followability of the lift pins when the temperature changes. The purpose is to:

[0010]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a first aspect of the present invention is to provide a method for receiving a substrate carried into a processing chamber by lift pins which are inserted through a plate in the processing chamber and raised and lowered by an elevating mechanism. And a substrate processing apparatus that lifts the substrate to a carry-out position in the processing chamber by the lift pins after the processing on the substrate is completed. The substrate processing apparatus is disposed so as to be in close contact with the periphery of the lift pins to seal the processing chamber. And a bearing member provided at a lower end of the lift pin to allow the lift pin to move laterally.

A second invention provides the substrate processing apparatus according to the first invention, wherein the bearing member is a linear bearing provided between a support member of the elevating mechanism and a lower end of a lift pin. .

A third invention provides the substrate processing apparatus according to the first invention or the second invention, wherein the plate is a heating plate for heating a substrate.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to third aspects, a predetermined processing gas is introduced into the processing chamber, and the substrate is subjected to a hydrophobic treatment in the processing chamber. Provide equipment.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fourth aspects, a sliding member having the bearing member is provided at a lower end of the linear pin. Provided is a substrate processing apparatus, characterized in that a holding member for holding the sliding member is fixed so as to allow the sliding member to move laterally and to regulate the maximum amount of movement.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus for performing a heating process, a cooling process, or a hydrophobizing process on a substrate,
A plate disposed below the substrate, for heating or cooling the substrate, a lift pin provided for supporting the substrate, and provided at a lower end of the lift pin. A substrate processing apparatus comprising: a bearing member that allows a lift pin to move laterally.

According to the first invention, at the lower end of the lift pin,
Since a bearing member that allows the lift pin to move to the side is provided, when the temperature of the heating plate rises and the heating plate thermally expands, the lift pin moves to the side following the thermal expansion of the heating plate. can do. Therefore, it is not necessary to enlarge the hole of the heating plate for inserting the lift pins, without causing unevenness in the temperature distribution of the substrate, and without the seal member being worn by friction with the lift pins. There is no need to frequently replace the seal member without deteriorating the seal member. Further, since a seal member is provided around the lift pin so as to be in close contact with the lift pin, leakage of the processing gas in the processing chamber to the outside is effectively prevented.

According to the second aspect, since the bearing member is a linear bearing provided between the support member of the lifting mechanism and the lower end of the lift pin, the lift pin follows the thermal expansion of the heating plate even more. Can move to the side.

According to the third and fourth aspects of the present invention, in the substrate processing apparatus for the hydrophobizing treatment, the sealability around the lift pins is not deteriorated, and the followability of the lift pins when the temperature changes is improved. It can be very good.

According to the fifth invention, at the lower end of the lift pin,
A sliding member that slides with a bearing member is provided,
An extremely simple structure is provided because the holding member that holds the sliding member is fixed to the support member of the lifting mechanism so as to allow the sliding member to move laterally and to limit the maximum amount of movement. Thus, a mechanism for moving the lift pins to the side can be realized.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, in the substrate processing apparatus for the hydrophobic treatment, the substrate processing apparatus for the heating processing, or the substrate processing apparatus for the cooling processing, the lift pins are
Since it is possible to move laterally following the thermal expansion of the heating plate, it is not necessary to increase the size of the hole in the heating plate through which the lift pins are inserted, and the temperature distribution of the substrate does not become uneven.

[0021]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an LCD substrate coating / developing processing system to which the present invention is applied.

This coating / developing processing system includes a cassette station 1 on which a cassette C accommodating a plurality of substrates G is placed, and a plurality of processing units for performing a series of processes including resist coating and developing on the substrates G. And a transport mechanism 3 for transporting the LCD substrate between the cassette C on the cassette station 1 and the processing unit 2. Then, the cassette C is loaded and unloaded at the cassette station 1. The transport mechanism 3 includes a transport arm 11 movable along a transport path 12 provided along the direction in which the cassettes are arranged.
1, the substrate G is transported between the cassette C and the processing unit 2.

The processing section 2 is divided into a front section 2a and a rear section 2b.
6, and each processing unit is disposed on both sides of these transport paths. A relay unit 17 is provided between these.
Is provided.

The front section 2a is provided with a main transport unit 18 movable along the transport path unit 15,
On one side, two sets of heating processing units 21 stacked in two layers vertically, and an adhesion processing unit 22 and a cooling unit 23 provided above and below adjacent thereto are arranged, and on the other side, Cleaning unit 24
And a development processing unit 25.

On the other hand, the rear section 2b is
The main transport device 19 that can move along the path is provided, and on one side of the transport path unit 16, three sets of heat treatment units 28 that are stacked in two stages are arranged, and the other of the transport path unit 16 is On the side, a resist coating unit 26 and a peripheral resist removing unit 27 for removing the resist in the peripheral portion of the substrate G are arranged. Heating unit 2
Reference numeral 8 denotes pre-baking for stabilizing the resist, post-exposure baking after exposure, and post-baking after development. Note that an interface unit 30 for transferring the substrate G to and from an exposure apparatus (not shown) is provided at the rear end of the rear stage unit 2b.

The relay section 17 is provided with a cooling processing unit 29 having a two-tier structure at a position adjacent to the heating processing unit 28, and at a position opposed to the cooling processing unit 29, A transfer device approach path 82 is provided.

The main transfer device 18 transfers the substrate G to and from the arm 11 of the transfer mechanism 3, and loads and unloads the substrate G to and from each processing unit in the former stage 2a.
Further, it has a function of transferring the board G to and from the relay section 17. The main transfer device 19 transfers the substrate G to and from the relay unit 17, and loads and unloads the substrate G to and from each of the processing units in the subsequent unit 2 b, and further transfers the substrate G to and from the interface unit 30. Has the function of performing

By consolidating and integrating the processing units in this way, space can be saved and processing efficiency can be improved.

In the coating / developing processing system configured as described above, the substrate G in the cassette C is transported to the processing section 2, where the substrate G is first cleaned by the cleaning unit 24, After being heated and dried in one of the components 21, it is subjected to hydrophobic treatment in an adhesion processing unit 22 in order to enhance the fixability of the resist, cooled in a cooling unit 23, and then coated with a resist in a resist coating unit 26 to remove peripheral resist. Substrate G in unit 27
Excess resist on the periphery of the substrate is removed. Then, the substrate G
Is subjected to a pre-baking process in one of the heat treatment units 28, cooled in a cooling unit 29, and then conveyed to an exposure device via an interface unit 30, where a predetermined pattern is exposed. Then, it is carried in again via the interface unit 30 and subjected to post-exposure bake processing in one of the heat processing units 28. After that, the substrate G cooled by the cooling unit 29 is developed by the developing unit 25 to form a predetermined circuit pattern. The developed substrate G is stored in a predetermined cassette on the cassette station 1 by the main transfer device 18 and the transfer mechanism 3.

Next, the adhesion processing unit 22 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of the adhesion processing unit according to the present embodiment.

This adhesion processing unit 22
As shown in FIG. 2, a housing 31 is provided. Inside the housing 31, a processing chamber 32 for performing adhesion processing on the substrate G is provided.
Are formed. Under the processing chamber 32, a substrate G
A heating plate 33 for heating the plate is arranged with its surface horizontal. The heating plate 33 is provided with a heater (not shown), and can be set to a desired temperature.

A plurality of spacers 34 are provided on the surface of the heating plate 33, and the substrate G is held by the spacers 34. That is, the proximity method is adopted, and the substrate G is heated by heat radiation from the heating plate 33 while avoiding direct contact between the heating plate 33 and the substrate G. Thereby, contamination of the substrate G from the heating plate 33 is prevented. A support member 35 is screwed to each spacer 34, and the substrate G is supported by the support member 35.

A gas supply pipe 36 is connected to the processing chamber 32, and HMDS gas as a processing gas and N ₂ gas as a replacement gas are selectively passed through the gas supply pipe 36 by a valve 37. Any of these gases is supplied into the processing chamber 32.

Further, a gas exhaust pipe 38 is connected to the processing chamber 32, and an exhaust pump 39 is provided in the gas exhaust pipe 38. Therefore, H in the processing chamber 32
The MDS gas or the N ₂ gas is exhausted by an exhaust pump 39 through an exhaust pipe 38.

A plurality of lift pins 40 are provided so as to be able to move up and down through a plurality of holes 41 of the heating plate 33. The lower part of these lift pins 40 is
And is supported in contact with the support member 42 which is moved up and down by. Thus, when the support member 42 is raised by the lifting mechanism 43, the lift pins 40 are raised to receive the loaded substrate G, and then slightly lowered to be placed on the heating plate 33, and to perform the adhesion process. After the end, the substrate G is raised again to lift the substrate G to the unloading position.

This will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. FIG.
FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view showing a lift pin shown in FIG. 2 in an enlarged manner.

The lift pin 40 is composed of an upper member 40a through which the hole 41 of the heating plate 33 is inserted, and a lower member 40b into which the lower part of the upper member 40a is fitted and which comes into contact with the support member 42. In the hole 41 of the heating plate 33, a plurality of slide members 45 for inserting and sliding the upper member 40a of the lift pin 40 are fitted.
Below the sliding member 45, a cylindrical ring member 46 with a bottom is attached, and a bottom portion 46a of the ring member 46 is used for tightly sealing the upper member 40a of the lift pin 40. A vacuum seal 47 is attached.

As shown in FIG. 4, the vacuum seal 47 has a base 47a fitted in a hole in the bottom 46a of the ring member 46, and a lift pin 4 bent from the base 47a.
Lip 4 for tightly sealing the upper member 40
6a. Thereby, H in the processing chamber 32 is
Leakage of MDS gas or the like to the outside is prevented.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, a circular sliding member 51 is provided at the lower end of the lower member 40b of the lift pin 40. A holding member 52 that holds the sliding member 51 on its side and upper part is fixed.

The upper wall 52a of the holding member 52 is provided with a hole 52b through which the lower member 40b of the lift pin 40 is inserted. The hole 52b is provided in the lower member 40b of the lift pin 40.
Does not interfere with the lower member 40b when moving laterally. Also, the side wall 52c of the holding member 52
As shown in FIG. 5, when the sliding member 51 moves to the side, the sliding member 51 has a space that allows the lateral movement, and also has a function of restricting the maximum movement of the sliding member 51. Has become.

A pillow ball 53 forming a linear bearing is fitted on the upper surface of the sliding member 51 in cooperation with the upper wall 52a of the holding member 52, and a supporting member is mounted on the lower surface of the sliding member 51. A pillow ball 53 forming a linear bearing in cooperation with 42 is fitted. As shown in FIG. 5, three pillow balls 53 are provided on the upper surface and the lower surface of the sliding member 51, respectively.

As described above, since the sliding member 51 having the pillow ball 53 constituting the linear bearing is provided at the lower end of the lift pin 40, when the temperature of the heating plate 33 is raised and The lift pins 40 can easily move to the side following the thermal expansion of the heating plate 33.

Therefore, it is not necessary to increase the diameter of the hole 41 of the heating plate 33 for inserting the lift pin 40, and the diameter of the lift pin 40 is extremely small, for example, 1 mm.
The thickness can be set to about 2 mm, which can effectively prevent unevenness in the temperature distribution of the substrate G, and can prevent inconveniences such as the traces of the lift pins 40 being transferred to the substrate G. Furthermore, since the lift pins 40 can easily move to the side following the thermal expansion of the heating plate 33, the vacuum seal 47 does not wear due to friction with the lift pins 40, and the deterioration of the vacuum seal 47 is reduced. There is no need to frequently replace the vacuum seal 47 without inviting.

The above description has been given of the adhesion processing unit 22. However, since the heating plates of the heating processing units 21 and 28 which do not use a processing gas also have the same structure as that of the adhesion processing unit 22, The present invention is also applicable to the units 21 and 28, and in this case also, the lift pins can easily move to the side following the thermal expansion of the heating plate. The cooling processing unit 29 also has the same structure as the adhesion processing unit, and the substrate G is cooled by the cooling plate without using the processing gas. The invention is applicable. In this case, when the cooling plate thermally contracts due to cooling, the lift pins can easily move to the side following the contraction of the cooling plate. Note that the processing gas is not used in the heating processing unit and the cooling processing unit, so the vacuum seal 47 is not necessarily required.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible. For example, a so-called pin proximity method in which the substrate G is held at a predetermined distance from the heating plate 33 by the lift pins 40 without using the support member 35 shown in FIG. 2 may be used.

The sliding member 51 at the lower end of the lift pin 40
A linear bearing is provided between the sliding member and the supporting member 42 which is raised and lowered by the lifting mechanism. However, without using the linear bearing, a material such as a slippery resin such as Teflon or engineering plastic (for example, (Molecular polyethylene) or the like, and the sliding member itself may play a role of sliding.

[0047]

As described above, according to the first aspect, the lift pins can move to the side following the thermal expansion of the heating plate. There is no need to enlarge the hole, no unevenness in the temperature distribution of the substrate is caused, and the seal member does not wear due to friction with the lift pins, and the seal member is not deteriorated. There is no need to change parts frequently. Further, since a seal member is provided around the lift pin so as to be in close contact with the lift pin, leakage of the processing gas in the processing chamber to the outside is effectively prevented.

According to the second aspect, since the bearing member is a linear bearing provided between the support member of the lifting mechanism and the lower end of the lift pin, the lift pin further follows the thermal expansion of the heating plate. Can move to the side.

According to the third and fourth aspects of the present invention, in the substrate processing apparatus for the hydrophobizing treatment, the sealability around the lift pins is not deteriorated, and the followability of the lift pins when the temperature changes is improved. It can be very good.

According to the fifth aspect, a mechanism for moving the lift pins to the side can be realized with an extremely simple structure.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, in the substrate processing apparatus for the hydrophobic treatment, the substrate processing apparatus for the heating processing, or the substrate processing apparatus for the cooling processing, the lift pins are
Since it is possible to move laterally following the thermal expansion of the heating plate, it is not necessary to increase the size of the hole in the heating plate through which the lift pins are inserted, and the temperature distribution of the substrate does not become uneven.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an LCD substrate coating / developing processing system to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the adhesion processing unit according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged schematic cross-sectional view showing a lift pin shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of an IV part shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a view as seen from the line VV in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a schematic sectional view of a lift pin used in a conventional adhesion processing unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 22 Adhesion processing device 32 Processing chamber 33 Heating plate (plate) 40 Lift pin 40a Upper member 40b Lower member 42 Support member 43 Lifting mechanism 47 Vacuum seal (seal) Member) 51: Sliding member 52: Holding member 53: Pillow ball (linear bearing) G: LCD substrate

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A substrate loaded into a processing chamber is received by a lift pin that is inserted into a plate in the processing chamber and lifted by a lifting mechanism, and is placed on the plate. After the processing on the substrate is completed, the lift pin is used. What is claimed is: 1. A substrate processing apparatus for lifting a substrate to a carry-out position in a processing chamber, comprising: a sealing member disposed so as to be in close contact with a periphery of the lift pin to seal the processing chamber; And a bearing member that allows movement toward the substrate processing apparatus. 2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the bearing member is a linear bearing provided between a supporting member of the lifting mechanism and a lower end of a lift pin. 3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plate is a heating plate for heating a substrate. 4. The substrate processing according to claim 1, wherein a predetermined processing gas is introduced into the processing chamber, and the substrate is subjected to a hydrophobic treatment in the processing chamber. apparatus. 5. A sliding member having the bearing member and slidably provided at a lower end of the lift pin. The supporting member of the lifting mechanism allows the sliding member to move laterally and reduces the amount of movement. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a holding member for holding the sliding member is fixed so as to regulate the maximum. 6. A substrate processing apparatus for performing a heating process, a cooling process, or a hydrophobizing process on a substrate, the plate processing device being disposed below the substrate for heating or cooling the substrate; A substrate provided with a lift pin for supporting the substrate, the lift pin being provided so as to be able to be inserted and raised by a lifting mechanism, and a bearing member provided at a lower end of the lift pin and allowing the lift pin to move laterally. Processing equipment.