JP2890089B2 - Processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a processing apparatus for supplying a processing liquid such as a developing solution or a cleaning liquid to a surface of an object to be processed such as a semiconductor wafer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as this type of processing apparatus,FIG. 12 and FIG.
13As shown in FIG.
The body is held on a rotatable spin chuck 20 and
On the chuck 20 so as to face the semiconductor wafer W.
The processing liquid supply nozzle 50 is disposed in the
0 through the nozzle holes 51 provided in the semiconductor wafer W
A processing solution, for example, a developing solution L is supplied to the surface, and
Develop the surface of the semiconductor wafer W by rotating the chuck 20
Paddle type development to form a thin liquid layer (paddle) of liquid L
Devices are known. Processing liquid supply nozzle 51 of this device
Are a large number of drops of the developer L on the surface of the semiconductor wafer W.
The nozzle holes 51 are arranged linearly.FIG.
As shown in (a) and (b), the processing liquid supply nozzle 51
Therefore, the developer L is oozed out onto the spin chuck 20.
The speed of the semiconductor wafer W is reduced to about 1/2 at a low speed, for example, 30 rpm.
Rotate and push the developer L supplied on the semiconductor wafer W
Spread the developer uniformly over the surface of the semiconductor wafer W
L can be applied (a liquid level).

[0003]

However, the conventional developing device described above has a problem caused by contact with a processing solution.
Had. That is, in the conventional developing device,
As shown in FIG. 12 , the tip 5 of the processing liquid supply nozzle 50
0a is faced to the wafer W with a small gap from the wafer W, and while the developer L oozes out from the nozzle hole 51 onto the wafer W, the developing solution L is spread by the front end portion 50a.
When the discharge suspension time of the developer L becomes longer, the nozzle tip 50
The developer L on the surface of a is dried and stains adhere to it. The contaminants adhering to the nozzle tip 50a as described above are mixed into the developing solution during the subsequent development processing, which impairs the cleanliness of the processing and reduces the yield. To cope with this problem, at present, a cleaning means such as a solvent bath is provided at a standby position of the processing liquid processing liquid supply nozzle 50 and the like, and the nozzle tip 50a is periodically cleaned, but a complicated mechanism for that purpose is provided. And cost is high.

[0004] The above-mentioned problem arises in addition to the developing device,
Using a liquid, for example, a cleaning liquid, to remove particle contamination on the surface of the wafer W.
This is also a common problem in a cleaning apparatus for removing.
That is, as shown in FIG.
Rotation holding means such as spin, which holds and rotates W horizontally
A chuck 40 and held by the spin chuck 40
The processing liquid, for example, the cleaning liquid is jetted onto the upper surface of the wafer W
And a jet nozzle 41 for jetting out the cleaning liquid.
Bra for cleaning and removing particulate contaminants adhering to the upper surface of EHA W
Since the main part is composed of the brush 42, for example, a brush
Cleaning liquid adheres to the surface of 41 and spin chuck 40 etc.
Then, particle contaminants adhere. When these stains adhere,
Factors that impair the cleanliness of subsequent processing and lower the yield
Becomes

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a processing apparatus capable of preventing contamination of a portion that comes into contact with a processing liquid and significantly improving the cleanliness of processing.

[0006]

To achieve the above object, a processing apparatus according to the present invention holds an object to be processed in a rotatable manner.
Supplying the processing liquid to the object to be processed.
Nozzle and particle contamination adhering to the upper surface of the object
Bra that moves toward and away from the rotation holding means for removal
In a processing apparatus comprising
The hair constituting the fabric and the treatment in the rotation holding means
Features a super-water-repellent layer formed on the holding surface of the body
And

In the processing apparatus according to the present invention, the super-water-repellent layer is provided with tetrafluoroethylene (TFE).
It is desirable to use a composite plating containing -ethylene).

[0008]

According to the present invention, at least the bristle constituting the brush and the rotation holding hand
Super-water-repellent layer is formed on the holding surface of the object to be processed in the step
After processing the object, the brush is
Away from the surface of the brush and the surface of the rotation holding means.
The adhering treatment liquid immediately comes off due to the super water repellency of the super water repellent layer. Therefore, brush and rotation
The processing liquid does not remain on the surface of the holding means or the like, and the cleanliness of the subsequent processing can be maintained high.

By using a TFE-containing composite plating for the super-water-repellent layer, extremely high water-repellency can be obtained. TF
E is polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE: poly-t
It is an oligomer obtained by cleaving the molecular chain of etorafluoru-ethylene), and has a molecular weight of about 1/20 to 1/50 of PTFE. The TFE-containing composite plating layer is obtained by dispersing this oligomer in a sulfamic acid solution using a fluorine-based surfactant and plating the metal surface. TFE-containing composite plating includes TFE-containing zinc composite plating and TFE.
Copper-containing plating. When the water repellency of the TFE-containing composite plating is compared with Teflon (trade name) at a contact angle which is an index of the water repellency, the surface of the super water repellent layer is remarkably large at 173 ° with respect to 110 ° of the surface of the Teflon layer. In addition,
It has been confirmed that this TFE-containing composite plating can be plated on a resin surface in addition to a metal surface such as aluminum or stainless steel.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. First, the processing apparatus of the present invention is applied.
A resist coating / developing apparatus for performing pre-processing will be described.

[0011] As shown in FIG. 1, the resist coating and developing apparatus includes a processing mechanism unit 10 to the object to be processed such as a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter, simply referred to as a wafer) is subjected to various treatments to W processing mechanism is arranged, the processing The loading / unloading mechanism 1 for automatically loading / unloading the wafer W into / from the mechanism unit 10 is generally configured.

The loading / unloading mechanism 1 includes a wafer carrier 2 for storing a wafer W before processing, a wafer carrier 3 for storing a processed wafer W, an arm 4 for holding the wafer W by suction, and an arm 4 for holding the wafer W. A moving mechanism 5 for moving in X, Y (horizontal), Z (vertical) and θ (rotation) directions;
Stage 6 on which wafers are aligned and wafers W are transferred to and from processing mechanism unit 10
And

The processing mechanism unit 10 is provided with a transport mechanism 12 movably along a transport path 11 formed in the X direction from the alignment stage 6. Transport mechanism 1
2 has a main arm 13 which is movable in the Y, Z and θ directions.
Is provided. On one side of the transfer path 11, an adhesion processing mechanism 14 for performing an adhesion process for improving the adhesion between the wafer W and the resist liquid film, and a solvent remaining in the resist applied to the wafer W are heated and evaporated. A pre-bake mechanism 15 for cooling the wafer W and a cooling mechanism 16 for cooling the wafer W subjected to the heat treatment are arranged.
On the other side of the transfer path 11, a developing mechanism 17 (processing apparatus) for applying a processing liquid, for example, a developing liquid to the surface of the wafer W
And a coating mechanism 1 for coating and forming a resist film on the wafer W
8 are arranged.

In the resist coating and developing apparatus configured as described above, first, the unprocessed wafer W is unloaded from the wafer carrier 2 by the arm 4 of the loading / unloading mechanism 1 and placed on the alignment stage 6. . Then
The wafer W on the alignment stage 6 is transferred to the transfer mechanism 12
Of each of the processing mechanisms 14 to 1
8 and is subjected to resist coating and development processing. Then, the processed wafer W is returned to the alignment stage 6 by the main arm 13, further transferred by the arm 4, and stored in the wafer carrier 3.

The processing device 17 is a paddle type developing device. As shown in FIG. 1, a spin chuck 20 for holding the wafer W by suction and vertically and horizontally rotatable, and above the spin chuck 20. Processing liquid supply nozzle 21 for supplying a developing liquid as a processing liquid to the surface of the wafer W, and a standby means disposed on one side of the spin chuck 20 for holding the processing liquid supply nozzle 21 when not in use 22, a rinsing liquid supply nozzle 23 disposed on the other side of the spin chuck 20 for rinsing the wafer surface after development processing, and selectively moving the processing liquid supply nozzle 21 onto the spin chuck 20 and the standby means 22 The main part is constituted by the nozzle moving mechanism 24 that operates.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the processing liquid supply nozzle 21 has a trapezoidal ridge 26 projecting from the lower surface of a rectangular container 25 containing the developer L. A large number of nozzle holes 27 are formed at equal intervals, and the lower surface of the rectangular container 25 and the surface of the ridge portion 26, which are the distal end of the processing liquid supply nozzle 21, excluding the discharge port 27a of the nozzle hole 27. The super water repellent layer 28 is coated. TFE-containing composite plating is used for the super-water-repellent layer 28, and the surface of the processing liquid supply nozzle 21 is directly plated.
The rectangular container 25 is formed to have a length substantially equal to the diameter of the wafer W, and the ridge 26 is formed at the center in the width direction of the rectangular container 25 over the entire length. The length of the protrusion 26 from the lower surface of the rectangular container 25 including the thickness of the super water-repellent layer 28 is, for example, 8 mm.

On the other hand, a lid 2 for airtightly closing the rectangular container 25 via an O-ring 32 is provided at the upper end opening of the rectangular container 25.
A processing liquid supply pipe 30 is connected to the lid 29, and the developing liquid L is supplied under pressure from an unillustrated processing liquid supply source into the rectangular container 25 by an inert gas or the like. I can do it.

In the processing apparatus of this embodiment configured as described above, in order to apply the developing solution to the surface of the wafer W, the developing solution L is previously supplied into the rectangular container 25 of the processing solution supply nozzle 21. Then, the inside of the rectangular container 25 is filled with the developer, and the standby means 22 is kept on standby. And
Spin chuck 20 raised by main arm 13
The wafer W is placed thereon, and the spin chuck 20 is lowered. Next, after the processing liquid supply nozzle 21 is moved in parallel to the vicinity of the center position of the wafer W by the nozzle moving mechanism 24, the spin chuck 20 and the processing liquid supply nozzle 21 are moved up and down relatively, and the processing liquid supply nozzle 21 is moved. The distance between the tip of the nozzle hole and the wafer W is very small, for example, 0.5 mm to 2 mm.
Adjust to be in the range of mm. Then, by supplying the developer L into the rectangular container 25 at a predetermined pressure from the processing solution supply pipe 30, the developer L is supplied to the surface of the wafer so as to ooze out from each nozzle hole 27. Along with this, the wafer W is rotated at a low speed by the spin chuck 20 to about 1/2.
When rotated, the developer L supplied to the surface of the wafer W becomes
In the same manner as in the case of FIG .

Thereafter, the processing liquid supply nozzle 21 is retracted from the surface of the wafer W by the moving mechanism 24, and the standby means 22
Is horizontally moved to above, and then lowered to standby means 22
Held on. In this case, since the super-water-repellent layer 28 is coated on the lower surface of the rectangular container 25, which is the tip of the processing liquid supply nozzle 21, and the surface of the ridge 26, the processing liquid supply nozzle 21 is retracted from the wafer W. For example, the developing solution L which has been in contact with the surface of the front end portion of the processing liquid supply nozzle 21 is immediately separated by the super water repellent action of the super water repellent layer 28. Therefore, the surface of the distal end portion of the processing liquid supply nozzle 21 is always kept clean without being stained. Also, while the processing liquid supply nozzle 21 is on standby, the clean developing solution L in the rectangular container 25 is discharged from the nozzle hole 27 so that the nozzle hole 2
The developer L adhering to the wall of No. 7 is washed away. At the same time, dirt on the standby means 22 side can be washed away,
Reattachment of particles from the standby means 22 to the processing liquid supply nozzle 21 is prevented.

Therefore, the surface of the tip of the processing liquid supply nozzle 21 and the inner surface of the nozzle hole 27 are always kept clean, and in the next step of depositing the developer, dirt is mixed into the developer L. And a clean developer L can always be applied to the surface of the wafer W. This significantly improves the yield. In addition, the super-water-repellent layer 2
8, the developer L is naturally removed by water repellency, so that there is no need to provide a separate nozzle tip cleaning means as in the prior art, so that the structure can be simplified and the apparatus can be downsized. Can be achieved.

It should be noted that the processing liquid supply nozzle 21 is
While the wafer W is held at standby, the wafer W is developed for a predetermined time while the developing solution L is applied, and then a rinsing liquid (for example, pure water) is supplied from the rinsing liquid supply nozzle 23 to rinse the wafer. After that, the rinsing liquid is shaken off, and the process ends.

In the above embodiment, the super-water-repellent layer 28 is formed by directly plating the surface of the processing liquid supply nozzle 21. When it is difficult to directly coat the water repellent layer 28, a thin plate 33 coated with the super water repellent layer 28 is attached to the surface of the processing liquid supply nozzle 21 which is in contact with the developer L, as shown in FIG. You may make it attach. Further, the structure of the processing liquid supply nozzle is not limited to the above, and the same as described above if a super-water-repellent layer is formed on a surface in contact with the processing liquid in all nozzles that supply the processing liquid to the object to be processed. The effect can be demonstrated.

Next, a processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. Processing apparatus of this embodiment, in the cleaning apparatus for removing particles contaminants on the surface of the wafer W, 5, 6
As shown in rotation to rotate the wafer W is horizontally held
A spin chuck 40 as a holding means, and a jet nozzle 41 for jetting a processing liquid, for example, a cleaning liquid into a jet stream on the upper surface of the wafer W held by the spin chuck 40
And moved to and from the spin chuck 40 in order to clean and remove particle contamination adhering to the upper surface of the wafer W using a cleaning liquid.
The moving brush 42 forms a main part. A processing cup 43 is provided around the spin chuck 40 so as to surround the wafer holding portion 40a. The processing cup 43 is for preventing scattering of the cleaning liquid and the like, and is moved up and down by an elevating device (not shown), so that the spin chuck 40 is opened from the upper opening 43a.
Of the wafer holding portion 40a can come and go.

In this type of apparatus, when cleaning the surface of the wafer W on which the circuit pattern is formed, a vacuum chuck type spin chuck is used to clean the surface on which the circuit pattern is not formed. A spin chuck (Bernoulli chuck) that attracts the wafer W by the Bernoulli effect is used. Spin chuck 40 shown in FIG.
Is the latter, that is, a Bernoulli chuck, and as shown in FIG. 7 , an inert gas (for example, N2 gas) is passed from the center of the chuck upper surface to the outer periphery through the rotary shaft 44 of the hollow tube structure.
Or the like, and a negative pressure is applied between the lower surface of the wafer W and the upper surface of the chuck by the Bernoulli effect so that the wafer W
Is to be sucked. A support claw 45 for holding the wafer W with a predetermined gap between the upper surface of the chuck and the wafer W in order to secure a flow path of the working gas is provided at a peripheral edge of the wafer holding portion 40a of the spin chuck 40 in a circumferential direction. They are provided at appropriate intervals.

When cleaning the wafer W with this cleaning apparatus, first, the processing cup 43 is lowered, and the wafer W is placed on the holding claws 45 of the spin chuck 40 by the wafer transfer arm 13 or the like with the circuit pattern surface thereof facing down. After the temporary placement, the N 2 gas flows out from the working gas supply source (not shown) between the upper surface of the chuck and the lower surface of the wafer W through the rotating shaft 44, and the wafer W is suction-held on the support claws 45 by the Bernoulli effect. Thereafter, the spin chuck 40 is driven to rotate the wafer W, the brush 42 or the jet nozzle 41 is moved above the wafer W, and the cleaning liquid (often pure water) is applied from the jet nozzle 41 to the upper surface of the rotating wafer W. Water is used) or brush 4
2 is rotated and scanned to remove the particle contamination adhering to the upper surface of the wafer W.

Therefore, in this type of cleaning apparatus, dirt adheres to all of the main components, that is, the spin chuck 40, the jet nozzle 41, the brush 42, and the processing cup 43. Since the cleaning liquid containing dirt flows down from the wafer W in the spin chuck 40, the surface of the peripheral claw, particularly the surface of the support claw 45, is easily stained. Since the jet nozzle 41 vigorously sprays the cleaning liquid toward the wafer W, the cleaning liquid rebounds on the upper surface of the wafer W to generate a mist containing dirt, and the dirt easily adheres to the nozzle surface. The brush 42 is in direct contact with the surface of the wafer W to be cleaned and removes particle contaminants. Further, the inner surface of the processing cup 43 is easily soiled due to the structure for preventing the washing liquid from scattering. If the cleaning process is repeated while these components remain dirty, the particle contaminants are re-adhered to the surface of the wafer W to be cleaned, thereby lowering the yield. It needs to be kept clean.

However, the cleaning device is composed of many components and the structure of each part is complicated, so that the cleaning operation is extremely complicated. Moreover, the stained wafer W
Due to the nature of the apparatus for cleaning the apparatus, even if the cleaning is performed once, the above-mentioned parts will be stained immediately, and the apparatus must be cleaned frequently. In this case, the operation efficiency of the device is significantly reduced.

Therefore, a super-water-repellent layer is previously coated on the easily contaminated portions of the above-mentioned components constituting the cleaning device. That is, as shown in FIG. 8 , the spin chuck 40 is provided on the holding side of the wafer W, that is, the surface portion and the support claws 45.
Is coated with a super water-repellent layer 28 in advance. Further, as shown in FIG. 9 , the entire surface of the jet nozzle 41 including the support arm 48 is coated with the super-water-repellent layer 28. In addition, the brush 42 is configured as shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), the entire surface of the bristles 49, the brush body 47 and the arm 46 is coated with the super water repellent layer 28. Further, as shown in FIG. 11 , the entire inner surface of the processing cup 43 is coated with the super water repellent layer 28.

As described above, by coating the super-water-repellent layer 28 on portions where the cleaning liquid is likely to be contaminated by the cleaning liquid, it is possible to prevent the cleaning water from adhering to these portions and to prevent the generation of dirt. Can be prevented. Of the above components, the bristles 49 of the brush 42 are originally most likely to be soiled, but the surface of a large number of implanted bristles 49 is also coated with the superhydrophobic layer 28, so that the superhydrophobic layer 28 itself The washing water is completely water-repelled and removed by the synergistic action of the super-water-repelling action of the above and the water-repelling action of the air between the hairs 49, so that the generation of stains on this portion can be effectively prevented. As described above, since the main part of the cleaning device is kept clean, the frequency of the cleaning operation can be reduced, and the operation efficiency can be significantly improved.

In this embodiment, the case where the super-water-repellent layer 28 is coated on the easily contaminated portions of the main components of the cleaning apparatus has been described. It is desirable to coat the super-water-repellent layer 28 as much as possible where possible. Also, when a vacuum chuck spin chuck is used instead of the Bernoulli chuck, it is desirable to coat the surface of the wafer holding portion with the super water repellent layer 28.

In the above embodiment, the case where the object to be processed is a semiconductor wafer has been described. However, the non-processed object is not necessarily limited to a semiconductor wafer. For example, processing is performed on an LCD substrate, a ceramic substrate, or the like. It is also applicable to things.

[0032]

As described above, according to the processing apparatus of the present invention, the following effects can be obtained because of the configuration described above.

According to the processing apparatus of the present invention, at least
Workpiece in the hair and the rotation holding means stages constituting the brush
By forming a super water repellent layer on the holding surface of the
Processing liquid remains on the surface of the
Since the occurrence of dirt can be prevented , the cleanliness of the processing can be maintained high, and the yield can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing a resist coating and developing apparatus .

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a main part of the resist coating and developing apparatus .

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a main part of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a processing liquid supply in the resist coating and developing apparatus.
It is principal part sectional drawing which shows an example of a nozzle .

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of an embodiment of the processing apparatus of the present invention.
You .

FIG. 6 is a side view of a main part of FIG . 5 ;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a main part of FIG . 5 ;

8 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of FIG.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of a main part of FIG . 5 ;

10 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of FIG . 5 and an enlarged cross-sectional view of a part A thereof.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of a main part of FIG . 5 ;

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a processing state of a paddle type developing device .

13 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part showing a processing state of the processing apparatus of FIG . 12 ;

[Explanation of symbols]

 28 super water-repellent layer 40 spin chuck (rotation holding means) 41 jet nozzle 42 brush 45 holding claw 46 arm 47 brush body 49 bristle W semiconductor wafer (object to be processed)

Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Tomoko Hamada 2655 Tsukure, Kikuyo-cho, Kikuchi-gun, Kumamoto Prefecture Tokyo Electron Kyushu Co., Ltd. Kumamoto Office (56) References JP-A-3-157158 (JP, A) JP-A-5 JP-A-5-251389 (JP, A) JP-A-4-249342 (JP, A) JP-A-57-7039 (JP, U) JP-A-63-93634 (JP, U) ) Hikaru Hei 2-132933 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) H01L 21/304 H01L 21/027 B08B 1/00

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A rotation holding device for rotatably holding an object to be processed.
Means, a nozzle for supplying a processing liquid to the object, and
In order to remove particulate contaminants adhering to the upper surface of the workpiece,
A brush that moves toward and away from the rotation holding means.
At least the bristles constituting the brush and the rotation holding hand
A super water-repellent layer is provided on the holding surface of the object to be processed in the step.
A processing device characterized by being formed. 2. A processing apparatus according to the first aspect superhydrophobic layer is tetrafluoroethylene-containing composite plated layer.