TWI837401B - Developing device and developing method - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the invention is to improve the dimensional uniformity of a resist pattern formed in each portion within the plane of a substrate when performing development by supplying a developing liquid onto the substrate having an exposed resist film formed on the surface. The developing device of the invention comprises an airflow forming section which forms an airflow from the outside of a cup toward the inside, a developing liquid supply section which performs development by supplying a developing liquid to the surface of a substrate, a cleaning liquid supply section which supplies a cleaning liquid to the surface of the developed substrate, and an airflow regulating member which is provided separately from the developing liquid supply section and the cleaning liquid supply section and is positioned at a first position so as to selectively cover a portion of the substrate to which the developing liquid was supplied and regulate the airflow formed on the surface of the substrate. By using a movement mechanism, the airflow regulation member is positioned at a second position different from the first position when the cleaning liquid is supplied to the substrate. Alternatively, the first position is a position outside the cup, and the airflow regulation member remains at the first position even when the cleaning liquid is supplied to the substrate.

Description

Developing device and developing method

This invention relates to a display device and a display method.

The process of manufacturing semiconductor devices includes a photolithography step. In the photolithography step, the following steps are performed in order: forming a photoresist film on the surface of a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as "wafer") serving as a substrate, exposing the photoresist film according to a desired pattern, and developing the photoresist film by supplying a developer to form a photoresist pattern. Patent document 1 discloses a device for performing the above-mentioned development, which has a nozzle for supplying a developer to a wafer, and a nozzle for supplying an inert gas for adjusting the temperature to the central portion of the wafer containing the developer. [Known technical document] [Patent document]

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2016-81964

[Identify the problem that the invention is trying to solve]

This case provides a technology that can improve the consistency of the size of the photoresist pattern formed at various locations within the surface of the substrate when supplying a developer to a substrate having a photoresist film formed on the surface to perform development. [Technical means to solve the problem]

The developing device of the present case comprises: a substrate holding portion, which holds a substrate having a photoresist film formed on the surface thereof after exposure; a cup body, which surrounds the substrate held by the substrate holding portion; an airflow forming portion, which forms an airflow from the outside of the cup body toward the inside of the cup body; a developer supply portion, which supplies developer to the surface of the substrate for developing; a cleaning liquid supply portion, which supplies cleaning liquid to the surface of the developed substrate; and an airflow regulating member, which is different from the developer supply portion and the cleaning liquid supply portion. The supply part is separately provided, located at the first position and only covers the part of the substrate that has been supplied with the developer, so as to regulate the airflow formed on the surface of the substrate; Its characteristics are: When the cleaning liquid is supplied to the substrate, the airflow regulating component is located at a second position that is different from the first position with respect to the substrate by a moving mechanism; or the first position is located outside the cup body, and when the cleaning liquid is supplied to the substrate, the airflow regulating component is located at the first position. [Effect of the invention]

According to the present invention, when a developer is supplied to a substrate having a photoresist film formed on its surface for development, the uniformity of the size of the photoresist pattern formed at each location within the surface of the substrate can be improved.

The developing device 1 as one embodiment of the developing device of the present case is described. A wafer W is carried into the developing device 1, and the wafer W is a circular substrate with a photoresist film formed on the surface thereof and is subjected to development processing by supplying a developer to the wafer W and cleaning processing by supplying a cleaning solution. The photoresist film is described in detail as follows: it is exposed in accordance with a desired pattern by irradiating an i-spectrum line (light with a wavelength of 365 nm) from a light source such as a mercury lamp. The photoresist designed to be exposed by an i-spectrum line is sometimes configured such that the exposed area is dissolved by the supply of the developer and the unexposed area is hardened. In such a case, in the temperature range for processing the wafer W, although the lower the temperature, the harder it is to dissolve the exposed area, the harder it is to harden the unexposed area, so the line width of the convex part of the formed photoresist pattern will become thinner. In other words, it will be in a state where development has already been performed.

Then, in order to prevent the droplets generated by the liquid treatment from scattering, the developing device 1 exhausts gas from the cup body described later that contains the wafer W. The exhaust flow formed in the cup body is stronger at the periphery than at the center of the wafer W, so the periphery of the wafer W is relatively low in temperature. The developing device 1 is configured to suppress the temperature unevenness within the surface of the wafer W during development under such conditions, thereby improving the consistency of CD (Critical Dimension) which is the size of the photoresist pattern.

Hereinafter, the developing device 1 will be described with reference to the longitudinal sectional side view of FIG. 1 and the plan view of FIG. 2 . The developing device 1 has a rotating chuck 11 as a substrate holding portion, which absorbs the back center of the wafer W and holds it horizontally; the rotating chuck 11 is connected to a rotating mechanism 13 via a rotating shaft 12. The rotating chuck 11 is configured to rotate freely around a lead straight axis while holding the wafer W through the rotating mechanism 13. The diameter of the wafer W is, for example, 300 mm.

Furthermore, the developing device 1 has a cup body 20, which surrounds the outer ring of the wafer W placed on the rotating chuck 11. The cup body 20 is composed of an outer cup body 21 and an inner cup body 22 arranged on the inner side thereof. The outer cup body 21 is formed in a square tube shape. The inner cup body 22 is formed as follows: the upper side of the cylinder is inclined upward and inward, and the upper side opening is narrower than the lower side opening. If the outer cup body 21 rises due to the lifting mechanism 23, the inner cup body 22 will rise and fall in conjunction with the outer cup body 21. In order to prevent interference with the developer nozzle 41 described later, the cup body 20 will be in the descending position shown by the solid line in Figure 1 when the developer nozzle 41 moves on the wafer W. Then, before the cleaning liquid is supplied, it is moved to the raised position shown by the dotted line in FIG. 1 to prevent the liquid from scattering around due to the rotation of the wafer W during cleaning.

A horizontal circular plate 14 is provided on the lower side of the rotary chuck 11 around the rotating shaft 12. Reference numeral 15 in the figure is a pin that penetrates the circular plate 14, which is raised and lowered by a lifting mechanism 16 to transfer the wafer W between the unillustrated wafer W transport mechanism and the rotary chuck 11. Furthermore, a liquid receiving portion 24 is provided, which forms a concave portion that surrounds the outer side of the circular plate 14; the liquid receiving portion 24 has a liquid discharge port 25 chiseled out. Furthermore, an annular body 17 is provided on the periphery of the circular plate 14, the upper end of which is close to the back of the wafer W, and is formed into a mountain-shaped longitudinal section in order to guide the falling liquid to the liquid receiving portion 24.

Furthermore, the liquid receiving portion 24 is provided with an exhaust pipe 26 for exhausting gas from the cup body 20; the downstream side of the exhaust pipe 26 is connected to an exhaust portion 28 via a shutoff valve 27. The exhaust portion 28 is, for example, constituted by an exhaust pipe of a factory in which the developing device 1 is installed; by changing the opening of the shutoff valve 27 as an exhaust amount switching portion, the exhaust amount from the exhaust pipe 26 is changed. In this example, the opening of the shutoff valve 27 is changed to achieve either a high exhaust state in which the average exhaust amount per unit time in the cup body 20 is large, or a low exhaust state in which the average exhaust amount per unit time in the cup body 20 is small.

Furthermore, a filter unit 31 is provided above the cup body 20, and the air supplied by the supply pipeline (not shown) is purified by the filter unit 31 and then supplied to the cup body 20. The air supply by the filter unit 31 and the exhaust of the cup body 20 form a downward airflow from the filter unit 31 toward the cup body 20. The filter unit 31 and the air shutoff valve 27 of the cup body 20 constitute an airflow forming part to form an airflow from the outside of the cup body 20 toward the inside of the cup body 20.

The developing device 1 has a developer nozzle 41 as a developer supply unit for supplying developer to the wafer W. For example, the developer nozzle 41 has a discharge port 42, which opens downward and is in the shape of a long slit and extends orthogonally to the moving direction of the developer nozzle 41 described later. The developer nozzle 41 is connected to a developer supply mechanism 44 via a supply pipe 43. The supply mechanism 44 includes, for example, a valve, a mass flow controller, and a developer supply source. Then, the developer nozzle 41 is connected to a moving mechanism 46 via a nozzle arm 45; the moving mechanism 46 can lift and lower the developer nozzle 41 and move it horizontally. Reference numeral 47 in the figure denotes a guide member for horizontally moving the moving mechanism 46; reference numeral 48 in the figure denotes a standby portion on the outer side of the cup body 20 for the developer nozzle 41 to stand by.

Furthermore, a cleaning liquid nozzle 51 is provided in the developing device 1, which is a cleaning liquid supply unit for supplying, for example, pure water as a cleaning liquid to the wafer W, and has a small-diameter discharge port. The cleaning liquid nozzle 51 is connected to a cleaning liquid supply mechanism 53 via a supply pipe 52. The supply mechanism 53 includes, for example, a valve, a mass flow controller, and a cleaning liquid supply source. Then, the cleaning liquid nozzle 51 is connected to a moving mechanism 55 via a nozzle arm 54. By means of the moving mechanism 55, the cleaning liquid nozzle 51 can be raised and lowered and moved horizontally via the nozzle arm 54. Reference numeral 56 in the figure is a guide member for horizontally moving the moving mechanism 55; reference numeral 57 in the figure is a standby portion on the outer side of the cup body 20 for the cleaning liquid nozzle 51 to stand by.

Next, the annular plate 61 provided in the developing device 1 is explained. This annular plate 61 is an airflow regulating component that regulates the airflow on the surface of the wafer W; through its airflow regulation, the temperature distribution within the surface of the wafer W is adjusted, and as mentioned above, the consistency of the CD of the photoresist pattern is improved. The annular plate 61 is configured as a horizontal circular plate body and is provided on the wafer W held by the rotating chuck 11. A circular through hole 62 is chiseled out in the central portion of the annular plate 61. Then, when observed from above, the center of the through hole 62 will overlap with the center of the wafer W, and the edge of the annular plate 61 will overlap with the edge of the wafer W. Therefore, the annular plate 61 is configured as an annular body formed along the circumference of the wafer W, and only covers the periphery of the wafer W when viewed from above. If the diameter of the through hole 62 is too large, the amount of air concentrated in the center of the wafer W through the annular plate 61 will decrease as described later; if the diameter of the through hole 62 is too small, the average air flow rate per unit time that can pass through the through hole 62 will decrease. Therefore, in order to ensure the effect of cooling the center of the wafer W described later, it is better to make the ratio of the diameter of the through hole 62 to the diameter of the wafer W be 0.1~0.33, for example.

The bottom surface of the annular plate 61 is a horizontal surface facing the surface of the wafer W. The inner peripheral side surface of the annular plate 61 forming the through hole 62 and the outer peripheral side surface of the annular plate 61 are formed as vertical surfaces. Therefore, in this annular plate 61, the inner peripheral portion and the outer peripheral portion of the lower side have edges. Furthermore, the hole edge of the through hole 62 of the annular plate 61 will protrude upward to form an annular protrusion 63. In addition, the size of the through hole 62 can be appropriately set, and the annular protrusion 63 can be configured without being provided.

The annular plate 61 is connected to a lifting mechanism 65 provided on the outer side of the cup body 20 in a top view through a connecting portion 64. In addition, for the convenience of illustration, the lifting mechanism 65 is shown in FIG1 at an upper position of the cup body 20. The lifting mechanism 65 as a moving mechanism vertically lifts and lowers the annular plate 61 between a lower position (a position shown by a solid line in FIG1 ) and an upper position above the lower position (a position shown by a dotted line in FIG1 ). Since the annular plate 61 is lifted and lowered in this manner, it is a component provided separately from the developer nozzle 41 and the cleaning liquid nozzle 51. This "separate arrangement" means that the annular plate 61 can move independently of the developer nozzle 41 and the cleaning liquid nozzle 51 as in this example, or is fixed relative to the cup body 20 as in the example described later. In other words, the annular plate 61 is not a component that moves with the movement of the developer nozzle 41 and the cleaning liquid nozzle 51 like the nozzle arms 45 and 54.

The height H1 from the surface of the wafer W to the bottom surface of the annular plate 61 at the lower position (the first position) is, for example, 2 mm. When the annular plate 61 is at this lower position, a portion of the air supplied to the top surface of the annular plate 61 by the filter unit 31 will flow outward on the top surface of the annular plate 61, and then be supplied to the cup body 20 that is being exhausted, and be removed. Another portion of the air supplied to the top surface of the annular plate 61 will flow inward on the top surface of the annular plate 61, then pass over the annular protrusion 63, flow into the through hole 62, and merge with the air directly supplied to the through hole 62 from the filter unit 31.

In this way, by allowing air to be introduced into the through hole 62, the amount of air supplied to the center of the wafer W becomes larger, and as a result, the airflow toward the center of the wafer W becomes stronger. Then, by being exposed to such airflow, the temperature of the developer in the center of the wafer W is lowered. In this way, the air supplied to the center of the wafer W passes through the gap between the annular plate 61 and the wafer W to the outer edge of the wafer W by exhausting the gas in the cup body 20. In this way, the airflow is regulated by the action of the annular plate 61, so that the air supplied from the filter unit 31 becomes an airflow concentrated in the center of the wafer W, and further becomes an airflow with a lower height flowing from the center of the wafer W to the periphery of the wafer W.

The height H2 from the surface of the wafer W to the bottom surface of the annular plate 61 in the upper position (second position) is, for example, 200 mm. This upper position is set to a position where the developer nozzle 41, the cleaning liquid nozzle 51, and the nozzle arms 45 and 54 moving on the wafer W will not interfere. When the annular plate 61 is in the upper position, since the distance between the annular plate 61 and the wafer W is relatively long, the air supplied to the top surface of the annular plate 61 will bypass the bottom surface of the annular plate 61 and be supplied to the entire surface of the wafer W as a descending airflow. In other words, the airflow on the surface of the wafer W will be the same as, or approximately the same as, the airflow when the annular plate 61 is not provided. Therefore, when the annular plate 61 is arranged at the upper position, the airflow toward the center portion of the wafer W becomes weaker compared to when the annular plate 61 is arranged at the lower position.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the developing device 1 has a control unit 100 constituted by, for example, a computer. The control unit 100 has a program, and the control signal is sent from the control unit 100 to each unit of the developing device 1 by the program. The supply of the developing liquid from the developing liquid supply mechanism 44, the supply of the cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid supply mechanism 53, the rotation speed of the wafer W rotated by the rotating mechanism 13, the lifting and lowering of the annular plate 61 by the lifting mechanism 65, and the lifting and lowering of the ejector pin 15 by the lifting mechanism 16 are controlled by the control signal. In addition, the movement of the developing liquid nozzle 41 by the moving mechanism 46, the movement of the cleaning liquid nozzle 51 by the moving mechanism 55, and the change of the opening of the air shutoff valve 27 are controlled by the control signal. The above program is written with instructions (each step program) in order to control the actions of each department and perform the processing of the wafer W described later. This program is stored in a computer memory medium, such as a CD, hard disk, MO (magnetic optical disk), memory card, DVD, etc., and then installed in the control unit 100.

Next, referring to the timing chart of FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 to FIG. 6 showing the states of the wafer W and the annular plate 61, an example of the operation of the developing device 1 is described. The timing chart of FIG. 3 shows: the general change of the rotation speed of the wafer W, the time point when the developer D is supplied from the developer nozzle 41, the time point when the cleaning liquid R is supplied from the cleaning liquid nozzle 51, the position of the annular plate 61, and the change of the exhaust volume in the cup body 20 through the exhaust pipe 26. In addition, the processing sequence shown in FIG. 3 is sometimes recorded as "the first processing sequence". Furthermore, in FIG. 4 to FIG. 6, the airflow formed around the wafer W and the annular plate 61 is shown by arrows.

With clean air supplied from the filter unit 31 to the bottom, the cup body 20 exhausting gas at a low exhaust rate, and the annular plate 61 arranged at the upper position, the wafer W is transported to the developing device 1 and held by the rotating chuck 11. Once the developer nozzle 41 moves from the standby portion 48 to one end of the wafer W that is stationary without rotating, the developer nozzle 41 starts to eject the developer D; and the developer nozzle 41 moves horizontally toward the other end of the wafer W while ejecting the developer. A liquid pool (liquid cover) of the developer D is formed on the surface of the wafer W (time t1 in the timing diagram, FIG. 4 ).

Once the developer nozzle 41 reaches the other end of the wafer W and a pool of the developer D is formed on the entire surface of the wafer W, the supply of the developer D from the developer nozzle 41 is stopped, and the developer nozzle 41 retreats to the standby section 48, and the exhaust is turned to high. The exhaust is set to low until the formation of the pool of the developer D is completed because the shaking of the pool of the developer D caused by the large exhaust volume is suppressed, so that the developer D can be placed on each part of the surface of the wafer W very evenly. Then, as described above, at the periphery of the wafer W containing the developer D, exhaust gas in the cup body 20 is used to form an exhaust flow that is stronger (faster) than that at the center of the wafer W, so that the developer D at the periphery of the wafer W becomes a lower temperature.

While stopping the discharge of the developer D by the developer nozzle 41, the annular plate 61 at the upper position is moved to the lower position, and as described above, the air flowing into the through hole 62 of the annular plate 61 forms a relatively strong airflow. By being exposed to this airflow, the temperature of the developer D in the center of the wafer W is reduced. As a result, the temperature of the developer D is consistent between the center and the periphery of the wafer W, so that the entire surface of the wafer W can be developed at a consistent reaction speed (time t2, FIG. 5). Then, the air supplied to the center of the wafer W from the through hole 62 forms an airflow toward the periphery of the wafer W as described above, flows to the outside of the wafer W, and is removed from the cup body 20. Thus, by forming an airflow from the center of the wafer W toward the periphery, the temperature of the entire surface of the wafer W is lowered. Furthermore, since the high exhaust is set, the speed of the airflow is fast, and the temperature of the developer on the entire surface of the wafer W is further lowered. As a result, the development is carried out quickly on the entire surface of the wafer W.

Then, the annular plate 61 returns to the upper position, and then the cleaning liquid nozzle 51 moves from the standby area 57 to the center of the wafer W; while the cleaning liquid R is ejected to the center, the wafer W rotates, and the developer D is removed from the surface of the wafer W. As described above, the air supplied by the filter unit 31 will go from the upper side of the annular plate 61 to the lower side to form a downward airflow toward the wafer W, and is supplied to the entire surface of the wafer W. Through this downward airflow, the atomized developer D and cleaning liquid R are pushed into the cup body 20 to suppress the situation of scattering outside the cup body 20 (time t3, Figure 6). In addition, in order to prevent the droplets from scattering, the exhaust gas in the cup body 20 will continue from when the annular plate 61 is arranged at the lower position, and maintain a high exhaust gas state.

After that, the supply of the cleaning liquid R from the cleaning liquid nozzle 51 is stopped, and the cleaning liquid nozzle 51 returns to the standby area 57. Moreover, the period from the start of the supply of the cleaning liquid R to the stop of the supply of the cleaning liquid R to the wafer W is equivalent to the time when the cleaning liquid is supplied to the substrate. After the supply of the cleaning liquid R is stopped, the wafer W will continue to rotate; the wafer W will stop rotating after the cleaning liquid R is thrown off and the surface of the wafer W is dried. After that, the wafer W will be moved out of the developing device 1.

By means of this developing device 1, the annular plate 61 is arranged at a lower position close to the wafer W in a state where droplets of the developer are formed on the entire surface of the wafer W; by exposing the center of the wafer W to a relatively strong airflow, the temperature in the center is lowered. Thus, the temperature of the developer in the center of the wafer W is consistent with the temperature of the developer in the peripheral part of the wafer W whose temperature is lowered by exhausting air in the cup body 20, so that the reaction between the photoresist and the developer proceeds in the same manner between the center and the peripheral part of the wafer W. As a result, a photoresist pattern with improved CD consistency can be formed in each part of the surface of the wafer W. Furthermore, by exposing the airflow from the center to the peripheral part of the wafer W formed by the annular plate 61 arranged at the lower position, the temperature of the developer on the entire surface of the wafer W is further lowered. Therefore, the development can be performed rapidly. Therefore, since the time from the formation of developer droplets to the start of the cleaning process can be shortened, a higher output can be obtained in the developing device 1.

Next, the second processing sequence in the developing device 1 is described with reference to the timing chart of FIG. 7 , mainly focusing on the differences from the first processing sequence in FIG. 3 . In order to perform this second processing sequence, the developing device 1 is provided with a developer nozzle 49 as shown in FIG. 8 instead of the developer nozzle 41. The developer nozzle 49 has a small-diameter discharge port for locally supplying developer to the wafer W.

In the second processing sequence, before the developer D is supplied to the wafer W, the annular plate 61 is arranged at the lower position. Then, as shown in FIG8 , while the developer D is ejected from the developer nozzle 49 to the center of the wafer W, the wafer W is rotated, and the developer D is diffused to the periphery of the wafer W by the centrifugal force. When the developer D is supplied to the entire surface of the wafer W and a liquid pool is formed, the ejection of the developer D and the rotation of the wafer W are stopped, and the developer nozzle 49 is retreated to the standby portion 48. Then, the annular plate 61 is kept at the lower position, and the development is carried out.

Thus, the second processing sequence is the same as the first processing sequence except for the timing when the annular plate 61 moves to the lower position and the rotation of the wafer W when the developer is supplied. In the timing chart of FIG. 7 , the timing of switching the exhaust is omitted, but the exhaust is switched at the same timing as the first processing sequence, for example.

In the case of performing the second processing sequence described above, the same effect as that of performing the first processing sequence can be obtained. To this point, for the sake of convenience, the period when the developer nozzle spits out the developer to the wafer W is regarded as the developer supply period; the period from the developer nozzle stopping supplying the developer to the wafer W to the start of supplying the cleaning solution to the wafer W is regarded as the liquid pool development period; and the period after the start of supplying the cleaning solution is regarded as the cleaning period. In this second processing sequence, since the annular plate 61 is arranged in the lower position not only during the liquid pool development period but also during the developer supply period, the temperature of the center of the wafer W will be more reliably lowered from the start of development to promote development. Then, by disposing the annular plate 61 in the downward position before the developer is supplied, the temperature of the center portion of the wafer W can be more reliably lowered. In this way, by reliably lowering the temperature of the center portion, the CD of the photoresist pattern can be more reliably uniformed within the surface of the wafer W. However, when the annular plate 61 is not disposed in the downward position during the developer supply as in the first processing sequence, there is an advantage that the setting of the action of the annular plate 61 and the developer nozzle 41 is easier in order to reliably prevent the collision between the annular plate 61 and the developer nozzle 41.

At this point, the reason why the developer nozzle 49 is used instead of the developer nozzle 41 in the second processing sequence is explained: when the developer nozzle 41 is used for development, there will be a difference between the time when the developer is supplied to one end of the wafer W and the time when the developer is supplied to the other end of the wafer W. In the second processing sequence, by placing the annular plate 61 at the lower position when the developer is supplied, the wafer W is exposed to a relatively strong airflow and cooled, so that the development can be carried out quickly. In this state, in order to prevent the CD of the pattern from being different between one end and the other end of the wafer W due to the time difference in the time point of supplying the developer, the developer nozzle 49 is used to diffuse the developer from the center of the wafer W to form a liquid pool.

FIG9 shows a timing chart of the third processing sequence in the developing device 1. The third processing sequence is performed in substantially the same manner as the second processing sequence using the developer nozzle 49. The difference from the second processing sequence is that the annular plate 61 in the lower position is moved to the upper position while the developer discharge from the developer nozzle 49 is stopped. That is, in the third processing sequence, the annular plate 61 is arranged in the lower position only during the developer supply period. As long as the aforementioned effect of lowering the temperature of the center portion of the wafer W can be obtained, the time for which the annular plate 61 is in the lower position can be shortened as in the third processing sequence.

As shown in the first to third processing sequences, the annular plate 61 can be placed in the lower position when the developer is supplied to the wafer W so as to cool the center of the wafer W. That is, the annular plate 61 can be placed in the lower position during the developer supply period (second period) and/or the liquid pool development period (first period).

Furthermore, in the first processing sequence, the developer nozzle 49 may be used to supply the developer. In such a case, as in the second and third sequences, the wafer W may be rotated to form a liquid pool of the developer on the entire wafer W. Furthermore, although it is originally described that the wafer W is rotated when the developer nozzle 49 is used, the wafer W may not be rotated, but the developer may be diffused from the center of the wafer W to the periphery to form a liquid pool by utilizing the wettability of the developer on the surface of the wafer W. Furthermore, as the developer nozzle, in addition to the developer nozzles 41 and 71, for example, a developer nozzle having a discharge port extending along the radial direction of the wafer W and having a slight width may be used. By moving the developer nozzle along the radial direction of the wafer W and supplying the developer to the rotating wafer W, a liquid pool of the developer can be formed on the entire surface of the wafer W. In this way, as long as the developer nozzle can supply the developer to the entire surface of the wafer W (using the rotation of the wafer W when necessary), the developer nozzle is not limited to the developer nozzles 41 and 71 described above.

However, the switching between low exhaust and high exhaust is not limited to the above examples. It is also possible to set the exhaust to high during the developer supply period and low during the liquid pool development period, or to keep the exhaust in high state from the beginning of the developer supply period to the end of the cleaning period. However, as mentioned above, when the developer nozzle 41 is used, it is better to set the exhaust to low during at least the developer supply period in order to prevent the influence of exhaust. Furthermore, during the cleaning period, as mentioned above, it is better to set the exhaust to high to prevent the scattering of droplets.

Furthermore, the switching between low exhaust and high exhaust is not limited to the end time point of the developer supply period or the end time point of the liquid pool development period, but can also be performed at a time point that is staggered from the end time point so that the in-plane temperature distribution of the wafer W is appropriate. However, if the exhaust is switched when the annular plate 61 is in the lower position, the airflow on the surface of the wafer W will change significantly, which may cause the liquid pool of the developer to shake. Therefore, the exhaust is preferably switched when the annular plate 61 is moving between the lower position and the upper position, or when it is in the upper position. Therefore, it is better to switch the exhaust at the time point described in the first processing sequence.

Furthermore, the timing of raising and lowering the annular plate 61 is not limited to the above examples. For example, in the first processing sequence, it is disclosed as an example that it is fixed at the lower position during the liquid pool development period, but it can also be gradually lowered from the upper position to the lower position after the liquid pool development period begins. Similarly, during the developer supply period, it can also be lowered from the upper position to the lower position in the same way. Furthermore, the movement from this upper position to the lower position and the movement from the lower position to the upper position can also be performed in stages. In other words, it can also be that the annular plate 61 is stationary at the middle position between the upper position and the lower position while moving from one of the upper position and the lower position to the other.

However, as described above, the inner peripheral portion and the outer peripheral portion of the bottom surface of the annular plate 61 are respectively ridged. By making the inner peripheral portion of the annular plate 61 ridged in this way, the airflow passing through the through hole 62 of the annular plate 61 located at the lower position is supplied to the center of the wafer W while preventing the airflow from diffusing laterally. In this way, since the airflow is concentratedly supplied to the center of the wafer W without diffusing, the airflow is strengthened, and as a result, the temperature of the developer in the center of the wafer W is promoted to decrease.

Furthermore, although the airflow from the center of the wafer W toward the periphery flows along the bottom surface of the annular plate 61, as described above, since the outer periphery of the bottom surface of the annular plate 61 has an angular shape, the distance between the annular plate 61 and the periphery of the wafer W becomes narrower. Therefore, since the airflow passing over the periphery of the wafer W becomes stronger, the temperature of the developer at the periphery of the wafer W is promoted to decrease.

The annular plate 61 can be appropriately deformed for use in order to make the CD of the pattern more uniform within the surface of the wafer W. The following is an explanation of a modified example of the annular plate 61. The bottom surface of the inner peripheral portion of the annular plate 61 shown in FIG. 10 is configured as a first inclined surface 66, and the first inclined surface 66 is continuous with the inner peripheral surface of the through hole 62, and at the same time, it descends from the inner peripheral surface toward the peripheral side of the annular plate and approaches the wafer W. Since the airflow passing through the through hole 62 flows along the first inclined surface 66, it is suppressed from being excessively concentrated in the center of the wafer W, so the temperature drop of the developer in the center of the wafer W is alleviated.

Furthermore, the bottom surface of the outer peripheral portion of the annular plate 61 shown in FIG. 11 is configured as a second inclined surface 67, and the second inclined surface 67 is formed to be continuous with a horizontal surface further inward than the outer peripheral portion, and to rise toward the outer edge of the annular plate 61 to be away from the wafer W. By means of the second inclined surface 67, the distance between the peripheral portion of the wafer W and the annular plate 61 is increased to suppress the airflow speed at the peripheral portion of the wafer W, and to alleviate the decrease in the developer temperature at the peripheral portion of the wafer W. Alternatively, the annular plate 61 may be configured to have both the first inclined surface 66 and the second inclined surface 67, as shown in FIG. 12. Furthermore, the first inclined surface 66 and the second inclined surface 67 may be formed to be curved lines when viewed in the longitudinal section of the annular plate 61, or may be formed to be straight lines; FIGS. 10 to 12 show the curved lines.

Furthermore, as far as the annular plate 61 is concerned, as long as it can supply a relatively strong airflow to the center of the wafer W to cool the center, it is not limited to the structure of covering the entire periphery of the wafer W, and the outer diameter of the annular plate 61 can also be smaller than the diameter of the wafer W. Furthermore, the outer diameter of the annular plate 61 can also be larger than the diameter of the wafer W.

FIG. 13 shows a configuration example in which the annular plate 61 is not connected to the lifting mechanism 65 but is fixed relative to the cup body 20. The annular plate 61 is arranged at an appropriate height in order to concentrate the airflow on the center of the wafer W to obtain the aforementioned effect of cooling the wafer W, and is located in a region above the cup body 20 in order not to interfere with the developer nozzle 41 and the cleaning liquid nozzle 51. That is, in this configuration example, the annular plate 61 is located at the first position outside the cup body 20 to cover the wafer W supplied with the developer, and is still located at the first position when the cleaning liquid is supplied to the wafer W.

Furthermore, the ring plate 61 may be raised and lowered in the upper region so as not to interfere with the developer nozzle 41 and the cleaning solution nozzle 51 during the processing of the wafer W. In other words, the first position of the ring plate 61 when the developer is supplied to the wafer W and the first position of the ring plate 61 when the cleaning solution is supplied to the wafer W are not limited to the same position.

Furthermore, as described above, since the airflow on the wafer can be regulated, the airflow regulating member is not limited to being an annular plate. For example, a spray plate 72 may be provided in the developing device 1 to replace the annular plate 61 as an airflow regulating member; the spray plate 72 covers the wafer W and has a plurality of through holes 71 only in the center. FIG. 14 shows a plan view of the spray plate 72. In addition, the peripheral portion of the bottom surface of the spray plate 72 may also be provided with the second inclined surface 67.

The annular plate 61 may also be configured to move between the upper region of the wafer W shown in FIG. 15 and the outer region laterally offset from the upper region. In the example shown in FIG. 15 , in order to perform such movement, the annular plate 61 is connected to a rotating mechanism 73 for rotating the annular plate 61. Then, the annular plate 61 may be placed in the upper region at the time point when it is described as being placed in the lower position in the aforementioned processing sequence, and may be placed in the outer region at the time point when it is described as being placed in the upper position, and the processing may be performed. In this way, the annular plate 61 is not limited to lifting and lowering movement.

However, as mentioned above, the development of the photoresist film exposed by the i-spectrum line is affected by temperature, but the development of the photoresist film exposed by light of a wavelength other than the i-spectrum line is also affected by temperature. Therefore, when developing the photoresist film not exposed by the i-spectrum line, if the ring plate 61 is not used to develop, it is conceivable that the development may be more advanced at the periphery of the wafer W than at the center, depending on factors such as the temperature distribution of the environment in which the developing device is located. In such a case, the ring plate 61 can be used to improve the CD consistency of the photoresist pattern within the surface. That is, although the developing device 1 is suitable for developing a photoresist film by i-spectral exposure, its use is not limited to the development of the photoresist film.

Next, referring to FIG. 16 and FIG. 17 , the developing device 8 is described. As a difference between this developing device 8 and the developing device 1, the following can be cited: a circular plate 81 is provided to replace the annular plate 61 as an airflow regulating member. The diameter of the circular plate 81 is smaller than the diameter of the wafer W, and the center of the circular plate 81 and the center of the wafer W are aligned with each other when viewed from above. Therefore, the circular plate 81 is formed to cover only the center portion of the wafer W. For this developing device 8, the wafer W brought in has a photoresist film formed on the surface that is exposed, for example, by a KrF (krypton fluoride) excimer laser. Therefore, the photoresist film is exposed to light with a wavelength of 248nm. Thus, unlike the photoresist exposed by i-spectrum, the photoresist exposed by KrF excimer laser does not harden the unexposed area due to the supply of developer. Due to this property, the lower the temperature of the wafer W during development, the larger the line width of the convex part of the photoresist pattern. In other words, it will be difficult to perform development.

Regarding the developing device 8, if the processing is performed without the circular plate 81, depending on the temperature distribution of the environment in which the device is located, the development may be more advanced on the peripheral side of the wafer W than on the central side, and the convex part of the photoresist pattern may become thinner. For example, in the developing device 8, the circular plate 81 is raised and lowered for processing by any of the processing sequences, such as the first to third processing sequences. That is, during the supply period of the developer and/or the liquid pool development period, the circular plate 81 is arranged in the lower position. In this way, the airflow from the filter unit 31 toward the center of the wafer W is shielded and regulated, so that the temperature of the center is increased to promote the development. As a result, the consistency of the CD of the photoresist pattern in each part of the surface of the wafer W can be improved.

However, the airflow regulating member is not limited to a plate; for example, a block with a relatively large thickness may also be used. Furthermore, the gas supplied to the wafer W is not limited to air, and may be an inert gas such as nitrogen. As long as the gas can be supplied to the outside of the cup body 20 to form an airflow from the outside of the cup body 20 toward the wafer W in the cup body 20, it is not limited to being supplied from above the wafer through the filter unit 31. However, in order to suppress the scattering of droplets, it is better to supply from above the wafer W so as to reliably form a downward airflow. Furthermore, in the above-mentioned examples, the annular plate 61 is raised and lowered relative to the wafer W, but the cup body 20, the rotary chuck 11 and the rotary mechanism 13 may be connected to the lifting mechanism, so that the wafer W is raised and lowered relative to the annular plate 61. In other words, when the annular plate 61 is not fixed relative to the cup body 20, it is sufficient to be configured so that the annular plate 61 moves between a lower position and an upper position that is relatively different from the lower position with respect to the wafer W. Furthermore, in each processing sequence, the supply of the developer is stopped after the liquid pool is formed; however, the supply of the developer may be continued until just before the supply of the cleaning liquid, and the annular plate 61 may be raised and lowered during the supply.

Furthermore, the embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative in all respects and are not intended to be limiting. The embodiments described above may be omitted, replaced, altered, or combined with each other without departing from the scope and spirit of the accompanying patent applications.

The tests conducted in connection with the technology of the present case are described. As evaluation test 1, a wafer W having a diameter of 300 mm was processed using the aforementioned developing device 1. In this process, an annular plate 61 was placed above the wafer W while the wafer W was in contact with the developer. Then, after the process, the CD of the photoresist pattern was measured at each position along the radius of the wafer W. To be more specific, the CD is the line width of the convex portion constituting the photoresist pattern. Furthermore, as comparison test 1, a test substantially the same as that of evaluation test 1 was conducted, and the CD was obtained. However, in this comparison test 1, the annular plate 61 was not placed above the wafer W while the wafer W was in contact with the developer. The CD obtained from the evaluation test 1 and the comparative test 1 are multiplied by the calibration value to make the maximum value in the comparative test 1 1.00 for easy comparison, and the standardized CD is obtained. The calibration value at this time is "1/the maximum value data in the comparative test 1", and the data of the evaluation test 1 are also multiplied by this calibration value to calculate the standardized CD.

The curve graph of FIG18 shows the results of the evaluation test 1 and the comparative test 1. The curve graph shows the distance from the center of the wafer W (unit: mm) on the horizontal axis and the standardized CD on the vertical axis. As shown in this curve graph, when the difference between the standardized CD at the center of the wafer W and the standardized CD at the periphery is compared between the evaluation test 1 and the comparative test 1, the difference in the evaluation test 1 is smaller. In other words, the consistency of CD within the surface of the wafer W is higher in the evaluation test 1 than in the comparative test 1, so this test result shows the effect of the present technology.

1: Development device 11: Rotating chuck 12: Rotating shaft 13: Rotating mechanism 14: Circular plate 15: Ejector 16: Lifting mechanism 17: Ring 20: Cup 21: Outer cup 22: Inner cup 23: Lifting mechanism 24: Liquid receiving part 25: Liquid discharge port 26: Exhaust pipe 27: Air shut-off valve 28: Exhaust part 31: Filter unit 41: Developer nozzle 42: Discharge port 43: Supply pipe 44: Supply mechanism 45: Nozzle arm 51: Cleaning liquid nozzle 52: Supply pipe 53: Supply mechanism 54: Nozzle arm 57: Standby unit 61: Annular plate 62: Through hole 63: Annular protrusion 64: Connecting unit 65: Lifting mechanism 100: Control unit H1, H2: Height W: Wafer 46: Moving mechanism 47: Guide 48: Standby unit 55: Moving mechanism 56: Guide t1~t3: Time D: Developer R: Cleaning solution 49: Developer nozzle 66: First inclined surface 67: Second inclined surface 71: Through hole 72: Spray plate 73: Rotating mechanism 8: Developer 81: Circular plate

[Figure 1] A longitudinal sectional side view showing an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] A plan view of the aforementioned developing device. [Figure 3] A timing diagram showing an example of processing by the aforementioned developing device. [Figure 4] An explanatory diagram showing the state of a wafer processed by the aforementioned developing device. [Figure 5] An explanatory diagram showing the state of a wafer processed by the aforementioned developing device. [Figure 6] An explanatory diagram showing the state of a wafer processed by the aforementioned developing device. [Figure 7] A timing diagram showing another example of processing by the aforementioned developing device. [Figure 8] An explanatory diagram showing the state of a wafer processed by the aforementioned developing device. [Figure 9] A timing diagram showing another example of processing by the aforementioned developing device. [Fig. 10] A longitudinal sectional side view showing a variation of the annular plate provided in the aforementioned display device. [Fig. 11] A longitudinal sectional side view showing another variation of the aforementioned annular plate. [Fig. 12] A longitudinal sectional side view showing yet another variation of the aforementioned annular plate. [Fig. 13] A longitudinal sectional side view showing another example of the aforementioned display device. [Fig. 14] A top view showing an example of an airflow regulating member other than the annular plate. [Fig. 15] An explanatory diagram showing another example of the movement of the annular plate. [Fig. 16] A longitudinal sectional side view of a display device having another airflow regulating member. [Fig. 17] A plan view of the aforementioned display device having another airflow regulating member. 【Figure 18】A curve graph showing the results of the evaluation test.

1: Display device

11: Rotating chuck

12: Rotation axis

13: Rotating mechanism

14: Round plate

15: Top needle

16: Lifting mechanism

17: Ring body

20: Cup body

21: Outer cup body

22: Inner cup body

23: Lifting mechanism

24: Liquid contact part

25: Drain port

26: Exhaust pipe

27: Air shut-off valve

28: Exhaust section

31: Filter unit

41: Developer nozzle

42: Spit out

43: Supply pipe

44: Supply organization

45: Nozzle arm

48: Standby Department

51: Detergent nozzle

52: Supply pipe

53: Supply organization

54: Nozzle arm

57: Standby Department

61: Ring plate

62: Perforation

63: Ring-shaped protrusion

64:Connection part

65: Lifting mechanism

100: Control Department

H1,H2:Height

W: Wafer

Claims (16)

A developing device comprises: a substrate holding portion, holding a substrate having a photoresist film formed on the surface thereof after exposure; a cup body, surrounding the substrate held by the substrate holding portion; an airflow forming portion, forming an airflow from the outside of the cup body toward the inside of the cup body; a developer supply portion, supplying developer to the surface of the substrate for developing; a cleaning liquid supply portion, supplying cleaning liquid to the surface of the developed substrate; and an airflow regulating member, which is different from the developer The developer supply unit and the cleaning liquid supply unit are separately arranged, located at the first position and only covering the part of the substrate that has been supplied with the developer liquid, for regulating the airflow formed on the surface of the substrate; its characteristics are: by means of a moving mechanism, when the cleaning liquid is supplied to the substrate, the airflow regulating component is located at a second position that is different from the first position relative to the substrate; the second position is a position above the first position. As in claim 1, the imaging device, wherein the airflow regulating member has a through hole to guide the airflow toward the cup body into the center of the substrate. As in claim 2, the imaging device, wherein the airflow regulating member is a ring-shaped body formed along the outer periphery of the substrate. As in claim 3, the bottom surface of the annular body has a first inclined surface, the first inclined surface is continuous with the inner peripheral surface forming the through hole, and approaches the substrate as it moves from the inner peripheral surface toward the peripheral side of the annular body. As in claim 2, the bottom surface of the peripheral portion of the airflow regulating member has a second inclined surface, and the second inclined surface moves away from the substrate as it moves toward the periphery of the airflow regulating member. As in claim 1, the developing device, wherein the photoresist film is a photoresist film exposed by i-spectrum. A developing device comprises: a substrate holding portion, holding a substrate having a photoresist film formed on the surface thereof after exposure; a cup body, surrounding the substrate held by the substrate holding portion; an airflow forming portion, forming an airflow from the outside of the cup body toward the inside of the cup body; a developer supply portion, supplying developer to the surface of the substrate for developing; a cleaning liquid supply portion, supplying cleaning liquid to the surface of the developed substrate; and an airflow regulating member, which is separately provided from the developer supply portion and the cleaning liquid supply portion and is located at the first The airflow regulating component is located at a second position which is different from the first position for the substrate when the cleaning liquid is supplied to the substrate by a moving mechanism; or the first position is located outside the cup body, and the airflow regulating component is located at the first position when the cleaning liquid is supplied to the substrate; the airflow regulating component only covers the center of the substrate. As in claim 1, the display device includes the moving mechanism. The developing device of claim 8, wherein the airflow regulating member is located at the first position during the first period from when the developing liquid supply unit ends supplying the developing liquid to the substrate to when the cleaning liquid supply unit starts supplying the cleaning liquid to the substrate. As in claim 9, the developing device, wherein the airflow regulating member is located at the second position during the second period in which the developing liquid supplying section supplies the developing liquid to the substrate. As in claim 10, the imaging device, wherein the airflow forming unit includes an exhaust volume switching unit to switch the average exhaust volume per unit time in the cup body; the exhaust volume switching unit performs an action so that the exhaust volume in the first period is greater than that in the second period. As in claim 8, the developing device, wherein the airflow regulating member is located at the first position during the second period when the developing liquid supplying section supplies the developing liquid to the substrate. As in claim 12, the developing device, wherein the airflow regulating member is located at the first position before the developing liquid supply unit starts to supply the developing liquid to the substrate. The developing device of claim 12, wherein the airflow regulating member is located at the second position during the first period from when the developing liquid supply unit ends supplying the developing liquid to the substrate to when the cleaning liquid supply unit starts supplying the cleaning liquid to the substrate. A developing method includes the following steps: a step of holding a substrate having a photoresist film formed on the surface thereof and having been exposed by a substrate holding portion; a step of surrounding the substrate held by the substrate holding portion with a cup body; a step of forming an airflow from the outside of the cup body to the inside of the cup body by an airflow forming portion; a step of supplying a developing liquid to the surface of the substrate by a developing liquid supply portion for developing; a step of supplying a cleaning liquid to the surface of the developed substrate by a cleaning liquid supply portion; and a step of supplying a cleaning liquid to the surface of the substrate by a cleaning liquid supply portion. The airflow regulating member provided separately from the developer supply section and the cleaning liquid supply section and located at the first position only covers the part of the substrate supplied with the developer and regulates the airflow formed on the surface of the substrate; and the airflow regulating member is located at a second position different from the first position relative to the substrate by a moving mechanism when the cleaning liquid is supplied to the substrate; the second position is a position above the first position. A developing method includes the following steps: a step of holding a substrate having a photoresist film formed on the surface thereof after exposure by a substrate holding portion; a step of surrounding the substrate held by the substrate holding portion with a cup body; a step of forming an airflow from the outside of the cup body toward the inside of the cup body by an airflow forming portion; a step of supplying a developing liquid to the surface of the substrate by a developing liquid supply portion for developing; a step of supplying a cleaning liquid to the surface of the developed substrate by a cleaning liquid supply portion; and a step of supplying a cleaning liquid to the surface of the substrate after development by an airflow regulating portion which is separately provided from the developing liquid supply portion and the cleaning liquid supply portion and is located at a first position. The step of regulating the airflow formed on the surface of the substrate by covering only the part of the substrate supplied with the developer; and the step of positioning the airflow regulating component at a second position which is relatively different from the first position for the substrate when the cleaning liquid is supplied to the substrate by a moving mechanism, or positioning the airflow regulating component at the first position when the cleaning liquid is supplied to the substrate when the first position is outside the cup body; the step of regulating the airflow includes the following steps: covering only the central part of the substrate by the airflow regulating component.

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