JPH028294Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] This invention relates to an automatic developing device used in a developing process in photolithographic work necessary for manufacturing semiconductor devices.

The photolithography process consists of a resist coating process, a mask alignment exposure process, and a development process, and the current process consists of development, rinsing, and drying processes. An automatic developing device is a device devised to automatically and continuously process the above-mentioned developing, rinsing, and drying steps.

FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a conventional automatic developing device.
FIG. 2 shows a perspective view for explaining the positional relationship of each part in FIG. 1. Note that the upper cover 1 and the lower cover 2 are not shown in FIG. The operating procedure of this automatic developing device is to remove the upper cover 1, place the sample on the vacuum chuck 4, and place it on the vacuum chuck 4.
For example, a wafer (not shown) is placed and fixed, and the upper cover 1 is covered. Next, the rotary table 5 is rotated by the motor 6.
The developer led through the pipe 7 while rotating the
A rinsing liquid and a drying nitrogen gas (each not shown) are sequentially sprayed onto the wafer in the form of a mist using the spray nozzle 3. 8 shows the flow of the fog.
Further, the times for development, rinsing, and drying are set by an external timer (not shown).

Here, the relationship between the amount of developer jetted from the spray nozzle 3 and the development time is shown in FIG. 3, and the relationship between the development time and the width of the pattern is shown in FIG. From FIGS. 3 and 4, it is clear that in order to form a narrow pattern, the development time must be shortened, and to do so, the amount of developer ejected from the spray nozzle 3 must be increased. I understand.

Recent semiconductor devices include GaAsS.BD (Gallium Arsenide Schottky Barrier Diode) for microwave communication, which is especially used in ultra-high frequency bands.
GaAsFET (gallium arsenide field effect transistor) requires technology to form patterns of several μm to submicron. However, when an automatic developing device is used in a photolithography process that requires the formation of such ultra-fine patterns, the amount of developer ejected from the spray nozzle 3 must be increased as described above. However, in the conventional automatic developing apparatus, when the amount of developer ejected is increased, droplets 9 of the developer accumulate on the inner ceiling of the upper cover 1 and fall onto the wafer as shown in FIG. When these droplets 9 fall onto the wafer, they cause defects such as uneven development and pinholes, which is one of the causes of lowering the yield of submicron formation.

This invention was made to eliminate the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks. This idea will be explained in detail below.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of an automatic developing device showing an embodiment of this invention, and the same reference numerals as in FIG. 1 indicate the same components. In this embodiment, a rotary plate 13 is provided on the inner ceiling of the upper cover 1, and this is driven by a motor 11 to a gear 1.
It is characterized in that it rotates via 2A and 12B, and is further provided with an anti-reflection plate 14.
The operating procedure of the automatic developing apparatus according to this invention is almost the same as that of the conventional apparatus: the upper cover 1 is removed, a sample to be developed, such as a wafer, is placed and fixed on the vacuum chuck 4, and the upper cover 1 is placed on the vacuum chuck 4. Next, while rotating the rotary table 5 and the rotary plate 13 by the motors 6 and 11, the developer, rinse liquid, and drying nitrogen gas (not shown) guided through the pipe 7 are sprayed onto the wafer by the spray nozzle 3. Spray it in the form of a mist. Further, the development, rinsing, and drying times are set using an external timer as in the conventional method.

Here, in the conventional apparatus, the drops 9 accumulate on the inner ceiling part of the upper cover 1 and fall onto the wafer, but in the apparatus according to this invention, a rotary plate 13 is provided on the inner ceiling part of the upper cover 1. Therefore, the drops 9 will accumulate on the rotary plate 13. However, since the rotary plate 13 is rotated by the motor 11, the drops 9 accumulated on the rotary plate 13 are blown away by the centrifugal force of the rotation in the direction of the arrow in the figure, that is, in the direction of the side surface of the upper cover 1, so that they fall onto the wafer. Drop 9 will no longer fall. Furthermore, in this invention, an anti-reflection plate 14 is provided to prevent the blown droplets 9 from falling when they hit the side surface of the upper cover 1 and fall. The droplets 9 that hit the side surface and bounced back hit the anti-reflection plate 14, travel downward along the side surface of the upper cover 1 or the inside of the anti-reflection plate 14, and are discharged to the outside of the apparatus through the discharge pipe 10.

The distances H, A, and B between the rotating plate 13 and the antireflection plate 14 shown in FIG. 6 can be appropriately selected depending on the number of rotations of the rotating plate 13, the viscosity of the developer used, and the like.

In the above embodiments, an automatic developing device has been described, but it goes without saying that this invention can be applied to spray-type etching devices and various cleaning devices.

As described above, when using the automatic developing device of this invention, it is possible to prevent defects in the developing process due to falling drops of developer unlike in conventional devices, thereby improving yield and making it possible to form ultra-fine patterns. Benefits can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a sectional view of a conventional automatic developing device, Fig. 2 is a perspective view for explaining the positional relationship of each part of the conventional automatic developing device, and Figs. A graph showing the relationship between the ejection amount and the developing time, and between the pattern width and the developing time. Figure 5 is a sectional view of an automatic developing device showing an embodiment of this invention. Figure 6 shows the positional relationship between the rotary plate and the anti-reflection plate. FIG. In the figure, 1 is an upper cover, 2 is a lower cover, 3 is a spray nozzle, 4 is a vacuum chuck, 5 is a rotating table, 6,
11 is a motor, 7 is a pipe, 8 is a flow of mist from a spray nozzle, 9 is a drop, 10 is a discharge pipe, 12A, 12B are gears, 13 is a rotating plate, 14
is an anti-reflection plate. Note that the same reference numerals in the figures indicate the same or corresponding parts.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] In a device that develops wafers placed on a rotary table below by spouting out the liquid and gas necessary for development from a spray nozzle installed on the ceiling, the droplets generated on the ceiling are directed toward the sides by centrifugal force. An automatic developing apparatus characterized in that a rotating plate for blowing off the liquid is provided, and an anti-reflection plate for preventing reflection of droplets blown off by the centrifugal force is provided below the rotating plate and on an inner surface of the apparatus.