JP3099253B2 - 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 .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the improvement in the degree of integration of semiconductor integrated circuits, multilayer wiring has been developed. In such a multilayer wiring structure, the unevenness of the lower wiring makes it difficult to form the upper wiring. Therefore, a technique for planarizing an interlayer insulating film for insulating the lower wiring and the upper wiring from each other is required.

Conventionally, as a flattening technique for forming an interlayer insulating film, a method using a coated glass (SOG; Spin On Glass) has been known. In this SOG coating method, a solution in which a component (for example, a silanol compound) to be an insulating film and a solvent (for example, ethyl alcohol) are mixed is applied onto a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter, referred to as a wafer) on which a wiring pattern is formed, and heat treatment is performed. This is a technique for forming an insulating film by evaporating a solvent or the like to promote a polymerization reaction. More specifically, as shown in FIG.
A thin SiO2 film 111 is previously formed on the surface of the wafer W on which the "0" has been formed by a plasma CVD method or the like ((a) in the figure), and the wafer W is conveyed and mounted on a spin chuck and rotated at a speed of 2000 to 6000 rpm. The SOG solution 54 is dropped on the wafer W while rotating with
An OG film 113 is applied (FIG. 2B). Next, in a first heat treatment step, the solvent is evaporated by heat-treating (preheating) the wafer W at a temperature of, for example, 100 to 140 ° C. (FIG. 10C), and this is heated to, for example, 4 in a second heat treatment step.
The SOG film 11 is heat-treated at a temperature of 00 ° C.
3 is fired (FIG. 2D).

After that, as shown in FIG. 1E, the SOG film 113 is removed until the surface of the SiO 2 film 111 on the wiring pattern 110 is exposed (etch back process), and an SiO 2 film 114 is formed thereon. Then, through holes are formed in portions of the SiO2 films 111 and 114 on the wiring pattern 110, and a wiring material 115 such as aluminum (Al) is formed.
Embed By this through-hole wiring, the lower wiring pattern formed on the surface of the wafer W and the SiO2 film 114 are formed.
The upper wiring pattern 110 formed thereon is connected to each other.

As a technique for using ozone as a method for removing a resist film, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-29072 discloses a technique.
The techniques described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 4 and JP-A-52-20766 are known.

[0006]

In the step of forming the interlayer insulating film, the wafer W on which the SiO2 film 111 is formed in the step of FIG. 18A is coated with the SOG solution 54 of FIG. Exposed to the air during the transition to the SiO2 film 111 due to contamination in the air.
An organic substance adheres to the surface of the substrate, and the affinity between the SOG solution 54 and the SiO2 film 111 deteriorates due to the influence of the organic substance. Therefore, cracks are likely to occur due to uneven coating of the SOG solution 54 and subsequent heat treatment, and the insulating properties and adhesion of the interlayer insulating film deteriorate.

[0007] This relationship is that after forming a first-layer SOG film in order to obtain a predetermined-thickness SOG film, the SOG film is formed thereon again.
The same applies to the case of so-called twice coating, in which a solution is applied to form a second layer of SOG film, and there is a problem that after the first layer of SOG film is formed, organic substances adhere to the surface.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to remove an organic substance adhering to an object to be processed and to form a laminated coating film having good adhesion even when applied twice. It is an object of the present invention to provide a processing apparatus which can perform the processing .

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention , there is provided a processing apparatus , comprising: applying a coating liquid to an object on which a wiring pattern and a base film are formed on a surface thereof; A coating / drying processing section for forming a coating film, a heat treatment section for heat-treating the object to be processed and firing the coating film, and an interface section for transferring the object to be processed between the coating / drying section and the heat treatment section. In the processing apparatus provided with, a loading / unloading unit for loading / unloading the object to be processed and the object to be processed taken out from the loading / unloading unit to the surrounding oxygen, A surface purification treatment unit that decomposes and removes organic substances adhering to the surface of the target object by exposing to an ozone atmosphere obtained by irradiating ultraviolet light or an ozone atmosphere supplied from an ozone generation device; Covered A coating unit for applying a coating liquid on the surface of the physical body, a pre-baking unit for drying the coating liquid by heating the object to be coated after applying the coating liquid at a predetermined temperature, and the object to be processed after the pre-baking. A cooling processing unit for cooling to a predetermined temperature.

[0010] processor according to claim 2, wherein, in the processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, in the coating processor, a spin chuck for horizontally holding and rotating the workpiece, a bottomed cylinder surrounding the spin chuck A processing cup, and a nozzle transfer arm for selectively moving a supply nozzle of the coating solution onto the spin chuck and the nozzle standby unit, and surrounds the processing cup around a workpiece holding unit of the spin chuck. An inner cup, and an outer cup that accommodates the spin chuck and the inner cup to form a processing space therein, and has a slit shape at an upper opening edge of the outer cup for allowing a cleaning liquid to flow down to the inner surface of the outer cup. A plurality of cleaning liquid discharge holes are formed at appropriate intervals over the entire circumference, and a slit is formed at the upper end of the inner cup to allow the cleaning liquid to flow down to the outer inclined surface of the inner cup. It is characterized in that a plurality form of the cleaning liquid discharge holes at appropriate intervals over the entire circumference.

[0011] In the processing apparatus of the present invention, a spin chuck for horizontally rotating the object to be processed while holding the object to be processed, a bottomed cylindrical processing cup surrounding the spin chuck, and a supply of a coating solution are provided. A nozzle transfer arm that selectively moves the nozzle onto the spin chuck and onto the nozzle standby unit is provided, and a connection between the drain port of the processing cup and the pipe is provided.
The nozzle attached to the drain port has a structure in which a jacket member attached to the tip of the pipe is covered and fixed, and the jacket member has a weir with the same inside diameter as the pipe inside the jacket member. to form a liquid reservoir groove along, it is better to adopt a configuration in which a cleaning liquid supply pipe for supplying the cleaning liquid is passed through the walls of the jacket member to the liquid reservoir groove (claim 3).

Further, in the processing apparatus of the present invention, a spin chuck for horizontally rotating the object to be processed while holding the object to be processed, a cylindrical processing cup having a bottom and surrounding the spin chuck, a coating solution, And a nozzle transfer arm for selectively moving the supply nozzle to a position above the spin chuck and the nozzle standby portion. A conductive tape is wound around an arbitrary portion of the application liquid supply pipe to the supply nozzle, and the conductive tape is wound through a conductive wire. to a configuration in which the ground Te is desirable (claim 4).

In the processing apparatus of the present invention, a spin chuck for horizontally rotating the object to be processed while holding the object to be processed, a bottomed cylindrical processing cup surrounding the spin chuck, and a supply of a coating solution A nozzle transfer arm for selectively moving the nozzle onto the spin chuck and onto the nozzle standby unit; the nozzle standby unit temporarily suspends a dummy dispense unit for preventing the supply nozzle from being clogged; The dummy dispensing section includes an annular block forming upper and lower through holes into which the supply nozzle can be inserted, and a drain pipe connected to a lower end of the through hole. And, and, inside the through hole of the annular block, to form an annular reservoir groove with the inner peripheral wall as a weir, in the wall of the annular block,
Forming a cleaning liquid supply flow path communicating with the liquid storage groove, forming a cleaning liquid supplied from the cleaning liquid supply flow path into the liquid storage groove such that the weir can overflow, and the temporary standby unit includes a tank for storing the solvent; Comprising a tank block having a, near the bottom of the tank block, forming a communicating solvent supply flow path, near the insertion position of the supply nozzle in the tank block,
To form a solvent discharge channel communicating with the tank, it is desirable to maintain movable around a reservoir of solvent in the tank constant volume (claim 5).

[0014]

According to the present invention, the base film or the first insulating film on the surface of the object is irradiated with ultraviolet light, for example, so that oxygen (O2) in the processing atmosphere is used as a raw material. (O3) is generated, and at the same time, an oxygen atom radical (O *) is generated to decompose and remove organic substances on the film surface. Then, a coating liquid is applied to the base film or the first insulating film. The affinity between the coating film (first insulating film) of the coating liquid and the above-mentioned underlying film or the affinity between this coating film (second insulating film) and the first insulating film is improved. Uneven coating of the liquid and the occurrence of cracks due to subsequent heat treatment can be prevented, and a laminated coating film having good adhesion can be formed. At this time, by simultaneously heating the object to be processed, the decomposition and removal of organic substances can be promoted.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, even if the coating liquid scattered due to the rotation of the object to be processed adheres to the surface inside the processing cup, it is appropriately washed and removed. Thus, it is possible to avoid the disadvantages of generating particles and disturbing the air flow in the cup, thereby deteriorating the coating uniformity.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the cleaning liquid is supplied from the cleaning liquid supply source to the liquid reservoir through the cleaning liquid supply pipe and gradually overflows the weir, so that the cleaning liquid is supplied to the entire inner peripheral surface of the pipe. Washing can be performed at all times by flowing down uniformly.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent charging of the coating liquid supplied to the coating liquid supply pipe and thus the object to be processed, and to prevent adhesion and mixing of particles due to static electricity.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, in the dummy dispensing section, the cleaning liquid is supplied to the liquid reservoir through the cleaning liquid supply flow path, and the weir is gradually overflowed, so that the cleaning liquid is discharged from the drain pipe. Cleaning can be performed by uniformly flowing down the entire peripheral surface. Further, in the temporary standby section, the solvent is supplied into the tank through the solvent supply flow path, and is allowed to flow out of the solvent discharge flow path, so that the storage amount of the solvent in the tank can be constantly maintained at a constant level. By inserting the supply nozzle into the tank and closing the upper opening with the nozzle body, the space above the solvent liquid level in the tank is filled with the saturated atmosphere of the solvent. Can be prevented from solidifying.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Here, the processing apparatus of the present invention is
A case where the present invention is applied to a G coating / heating device will be described. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the SOG coating / heating apparatus, and FIG. 2 is a plan view of FIG.

The SOG coating and heating apparatus includes a processing unit, for example, an SOG coating and drying processing unit 1 for applying an SOG solution as a coating liquid to an object to be processed, for example, a wafer W, and performing a drying process to form an SOG film (coating film); It comprises a heat treatment section 2 for heat-treating the W and baking the SOG film, and an interface section 3 for transferring the wafer W between the SOG coating / drying section 1 and the heat treatment section 2.

The SOG coating / drying unit 1 includes a load / unload unit 4 for loading / unloading the wafer W, and a surface purification process for irradiating the surface of the wafer W with ultraviolet light to decompose and remove organic substances attached to the surface. Unit 5, an SOG coating processing unit 6 for applying an SOG solution to the surface of the wafer W, for example, spin coating,
A chemical storage unit 7 for storing an SOG solution or the like used in the G coating processing unit 6; a pre-bake processing unit 8 for heating the wafer W after applying the SOG solution at a predetermined temperature to dry the SOG solution; And a cooling processing unit 9 for cooling the components. A method for activating ozone by irradiating ultraviolet light to remove organic substances is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-290724, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted. A main transfer path 10 is disposed in the center of the SOG coating / drying processing section 1, and a main transfer arm 11 is horizontally (in the X and Y directions in the figure), up and down (in the Z direction in the figure). ) And rotatably (in the direction of the arrow θ in the figure). The processing units 5 to 9 are arranged on both sides of the main transport path 10.

In the load / unload section 4, an unprocessed wafer W on which no SOG film is formed (however, an SiO2 film as a base film is formed on the wiring pattern forming surface by a plasma CVD method). And a carrier cassette 13 for accommodating processed wafers W are arranged in series in the Y direction.
A wafer holding tweezers 14 is provided so as to be movable in the arrangement direction of the carrier cassettes 12 and 13 (horizontal, arrow Y direction in the figure) and movable horizontally (arrow X direction in the figure) and up and down (arrow Z direction in the figure). Have been. This tweezers 14
The tweezers 14 and the main transfer arm 11 (object transfer means) are provided near the one end of the main transfer path 10 of the loading / unloading section 4. A transfer table 15 for transferring the wafer W to and from the transfer table 15 is provided.

As shown in FIG. 3, the surface cleaning processing section 5
An electrothermal heating hot plate 17 using, for example, a nichrome wire heater is provided near the bottom of the processing chamber 16 and an ultraviolet lamp 18 is provided near the ceiling. In this case, the ultraviolet lamp 18 is formed of two ultraviolet lamp bodies 18a (emission wavelength: 184 nanometers (nm)) and 18b (ultraviolet light wavelength: 254 nm) having different ultraviolet emission wavelengths.

An O.sub.2 supply port 16a connected to an oxygen (O.sub.2) supply source 19 is provided on one side wall of the processing chamber 16, and a discharge port 16b is formed on a side wall opposite to the O.sub.2 supply port. The wafer entrance 16c (see FIG. 1) of the processing chamber 16 is hermetically closed by an automatic opening / closing shutter (not shown), and the wafer W is placed on the hot plate 17 by the main transfer arm 11. After that, the wafer entrance 16c is closed by a shutter, and O2 is introduced into the processing chamber 16.

The surface purification processing section 5 thus configured
Can heat the wafer W to a predetermined temperature with a hot plate 17 and irradiate the surface of the wafer W with ultraviolet light from an ultraviolet lamp 18 (specifically, ultraviolet lamp bodies 18a and 18b). In this case, the heating temperature of the wafer W by the hot plate 17 is, for example, 100 ° C., and O2 supplied into the processing chamber 16 is converted into ozone (O3) by ultraviolet rays of an ultraviolet light wavelength of 184 nm of the ultraviolet light lamp body 18a. The ozone is excited and activated by the emission wavelength 254 nm of 18b to generate oxygen atom radicals (O *), which can be used for removing organic substances. This process can be performed within tens of seconds.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the SOG coating section 6 includes a spin chuck 20 for holding the wafer W by vacuum suction and horizontally rotating the wafer W, and a low cylindrical processing cup surrounding the spin chuck 20. 21 and a coating solution such as SO
Nozzle transfer arm 23 for selectively moving G solution supply nozzle 25 onto spin chuck 20 and nozzle standby unit 22
The main part is constituted by an arm moving mechanism 24 for moving the nozzle transfer arm 23.

The lower end of the spin chuck 20 is fixed to a rotation shaft 27 of a motor 26 for rotating the spin chuck 20 and the wafer W at a predetermined rotation speed.

The processing cup 21 has an inner cup 28 concentrically provided so as to surround the periphery of the wafer holding portion 20a of the spin chuck 20, and accommodates the spin chuck 20 and the inner cup 28 to form a processing space therein. And an outer cup 29 to be formed. An exhaust port 30 and a drain port 31 are provided at the bottom of the outer cup 29. Exhaust port 3
An exhaust device (not shown) is connected to 0 via a pipe 32 to exhaust the SOG solution and particles scattered when the SOG solution is applied to the wafer W from the exhaust port 30 together with the atmosphere in the processing unit 6. I can do it.
A waste liquid storage tank (not shown) is connected to the drain port 31 via a pipe 33, and flows down along the inner surface of the outer cup 29 and the inner cup 28 to be collected at the bottom of the outer cup 29. And the like can be discharged and collected from the drain port 31.

The SOG solution shaken off and scattered by the rotation of the wafer W adheres to the surface in the processing cup 21.
If left as it is, it will crystallize and solidify, becoming a particle generation source, and disrupting the air flow inside the cup 21,
Poor coating uniformity. Therefore, it is necessary to wash and remove as appropriate. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, a slit-shaped cleaning liquid discharge hole 35 for allowing a cleaning liquid 34 such as isopropyl alcohol (IPA) to flow down to the inner surface 29a of the outer cup is formed all around the upper opening edge 29b of the outer cup 29. Are formed at appropriate intervals. In addition, the outer inclined surface 2 of the inner cup 28 is provided at the upper end of the inner cup 28.
A plurality of slit-shaped cleaning liquid discharge holes 36 for allowing the cleaning liquid 34 to flow down to 8a are formed at appropriate intervals over the entire circumference. The cleaning liquid discharge holes 35 and 36 communicate with annular liquid reservoirs 37 and 38 formed inside the outer cup 29 and the inner cup 28, respectively. The cleaning liquid 34 is supplied to each of the liquid reservoirs 37 and 38 through the nozzles, so that the cleaning liquid 34 is supplied at appropriate flow rates and temperatures.
Is discharged from the nozzle. The cleaning processing of the processing cup 21 by the flow of the cleaning liquid 34 is performed, for example, every time the SOG solution coating processing for one wafer W is completed. The base member 40 inside the inner cup 28
For a member that is easily corroded by an organic solvent such as cyclohexanone used for cup cleaning, side rinsing, back rinsing, and the like, and is difficult to clean, the surface is subjected to a taffram treatment to improve the chemical resistance. In addition, processing cup 2
1, a tube made of, for example, a fluororesin resistant to cyclohexanone is used as a component to which the SOG solution may adhere, for example, an air pipe such as an air cylinder.

The connecting portion between the exhaust port 30 (drain port 31) of the processing cup 21 and the pipe 32 (33) is provided with a nozzle attached to the exhaust port 30 (drain port 31) as shown in FIG. The structure is such that a jacket member 44 attached to the tip of the pipe 32 (33) is covered and fixed to 42.
The jacket member 44 has a pipe 32 (33)
By providing a weir 45 having the same inner diameter as the above, a liquid reservoir groove 46 is formed along the inner peripheral surface, and a cleaning liquid supply for supplying the cleaning liquid 34 to the liquid reservoir groove 46 through the wall portion of the jacket member 44. A tube 47 is provided. Then, the cleaning liquid 34 is supplied from a cleaning liquid supply source (not shown) to the liquid storage groove 46 through the cleaning liquid supply pipe 47, and the weir 45 gradually overflows, whereby the cleaning liquid 34 is supplied to the pipe 32 (33).
The washing is performed at all times by uniformly flowing down the entire inner peripheral surface of the washing machine.

The SOG solution supply nozzle 25 is connected to an SOG solution storage tank 51 through an SOG supply pipe 50 as shown in FIG. SOG solution storage tank 51
Is connected to a pumping gas supply control device 52 which pumps the SOG solution while controlling the flow rate of helium (He) as a pumping gas into the inside thereof.
The SOG solution 54 in the SOG solution storage tank 51 is supplied to the SOG solution supply nozzle 25 through the SOG supply pipe 50 by opening the on-off valve 53 provided in the middle of the SOG supply pipe 50, and the spin chuck 20 is opened. For example, the liquid is supplied onto the wafer W held in the liquid crystal panel, for example, is dropped. The SOG supply pipe 50 and the pumping gas supply pipe 57 of the pumping gas supply control device 52 are made of a synthetic resin tube, for example, a fluororesin tube in consideration of the chemical resistance to cyclohexanone. The SOG solution storage tank 51 and the pressurized gas supply control device 52 are provided in the chemical storage section 7 next to the SOG coating processing section 6, and the temperature of the SOG solution 54 in the SOG solution storage tank 51 is controlled by the chemical storage section. The temperature is maintained at about 10 ° C. by a temperature control means (not shown) in 7. SOG solution supply nozzle 25
A heat exchanger 55 is provided in the vicinity of the SOG supply pipe 50 as temperature control means for controlling the temperature of the SOG solution 54 to be subjected to the coating process to room temperature of, for example, about 23 ° C. The heat exchanger 55 circulates the temperature-regulated water 56 in the heat exchanger main body 55a that accommodates a part of the SOG supply pipe 50, and passes the temperature-regulated water 56 and the SOG solution 54 through the pipe wall of the pipe 50. Heat exchange. It is desirable to provide a similar temperature control means to the SOG solution supply nozzle 25. A conductive tape 58, for example, is wound around another portion of the SOG supply pipe 50, and the conductive tape 58 is grounded to a main frame 60 of the apparatus for forming an interlayer insulating film via a conductive wire 59. This prevents the SOG solution 54 supplied to the SOG supply pipe 50 and thus the wafer W from being charged, thereby preventing the adhesion and mixing of particles due to static electricity. Further, an antistatic film may be formed on the surface of the SOG supply pipe 50 by coating.

As shown in FIG. 8, the SOG coating processing section 6 is introduced into the processing section main body 6a through a ventilation pipe 64, and cleans the clean air 67 through a filter 65 provided on the ceiling. It is made to flow down, and can be forcibly exhausted by the fan 66 from the bottom. This gives S
The OG coating processing section 6 can always perform processing in a clean atmosphere. In this case, as shown by an imaginary line in FIG. 8, the bottom of the processing section main body 6a and the ventilation pipe 64 are connected to form a circulation pipe, and the temperature controller 70 and the dehumidifier 71 are provided in the circulation pipe. May be circulated and supplied with clean air 67 whose temperature and humidity are adjusted to be constant. Further, an air volume detector (not shown) is provided near the lower surface of the filter 65,
The blowing amount of the clean air 67 can be automatically adjusted.

The nozzle standby unit 22 of the SOG coating processing unit 6 includes a nozzle holding unit 76 for holding unused nozzles and a nozzle 25 in use held by the nozzle transfer arm 23 for use in other than the actual coating process. A predetermined amount of the SOG solution 54 is discharged and the altered SOG solution is discarded.
Dummy dispensing section 77 for preventing clogging of 5
And a temporary standby section 78 for temporarily holding the nozzle 25 in use. A side rinse nozzle standby unit 22A for dissolving and removing SOG applied to the peripheral portion of the wafer W is provided on the opposite side of the spin chuck 20 from the nozzle standby unit 22.

The dummy dispensing section 77 is shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, the annular block 79 has an inner and outer dual structure in which a through hole 80 is formed at the top and bottom. The nozzle 25 is inserted into the through hole 80 to discharge the SOG solution 54. It has a structure of discharging through a connected drain pipe 84. The inner member 81 and the drain pipe 84 of the annular block 79 are made of a chemical-resistant material such as a fluororesin. An annular liquid retaining groove 82 having an inner peripheral wall portion left as a weir 83 is formed in the inner member 81, and is used to supply the cleaning liquid 34, for example, IPA, to the liquid retaining groove 82 by penetrating the wall of the annular block 79. A cleaning liquid supply channel 85 is provided. Then, the cleaning liquid 34 is supplied from a cleaning liquid supply source (not shown) to the liquid storage groove 82 through the cleaning liquid supply flow path 85,
By gradually overflowing the weir 83, the cleaning liquid 34 can flow down uniformly over the entire inner peripheral surface of the drainage pipe 84 so that cleaning can be performed. Further, a purge gas introduction passage 86 and a discharge passage 87 are formed symmetrically through the wall at the nozzle insertion position of the annular block 79, and a clean purge gas such as a nitrogen (N 2) gas is formed around the nozzle 25. Is supplied, the dummy dispensing process can be performed in a clean atmosphere.

The dummy dispensing section 77 is also used for cleaning the periphery of the nozzle 25. In this case, for example, as shown in FIG. 9A, a cleaning liquid supply pipe 88 is provided on the side of the nozzle body 25a. By connecting and supplying the cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid supply pipe 88 to the base of the nozzle 25 through the flow path 89 in the nozzle main body 25a and flowing it down, the periphery of the nozzle 25 can be cleaned. As shown in FIG. 10, a tubular jacket 90 is coaxially provided on the outer periphery of the nozzle 25, and the distal end side of the nozzle 25 and the jacket 90 are communicated with each other through a communication passage 90 a, so that the distal end portion of the nozzle 25 By supplying the cleaning liquid, the periphery of the nozzle 25 can be more effectively cleaned.

As shown in FIG. 9 (b), the temporary standby section 78 comprises a tank block 91 having a double inner / outer structure.
A solvent supply channel 93 for supplying an organic solvent such as ethyl alcohol, which is a solvent for SOG, is provided through the wall portion near the bottom portion 91a of the tank block 91 and into the tank 92, and near the insertion position of the nozzle 25. , A solvent discharge flow path 94 is provided. Then, the solvent 95 is supplied from a cleaning liquid supply source (not shown) into the tank 92 through the solvent supply channel 93 and flows out from the solvent discharge channel 94, so that the storage amount of the solvent 95 in the tank 92 is always maintained at a constant amount. It is supposed to be. Therefore, the nozzle 25
Is inserted into the tank 92, and the upper opening 92 a is closed by the nozzle body, so that the space above the solvent liquid surface 95 a in the tank 92 is filled with the saturated atmosphere of the solvent 95, and the tip of the nozzle is temporarily suspended. The solidification of the SOG solution of 25b can be prevented.

The pre-bake processing section 8 is constituted by stacking several stages (here, four stages) of heat treatment units 61 provided with an electrothermal hot plate (not shown) for mounting and heating the wafer W. The wafers W are loaded one by one and heated one by one, and the SOG applied on the wafer surface is heated.
The solution is to be dried. Here, the processing temperature is 100 to 140 ° C., and the processing time is about 1 to 5 minutes.

The cooling processing section 9 is constituted by stacking several (here, two) cooling processing units 62 each having a water-cooled type cool plate (not shown) for mounting and cooling the wafer W thereon. The wafers W heated by the cleaning processing unit 5 and the pre-baking processing unit 8 are loaded one by one into each cooling processing unit 62 and can be cooled to a normal temperature of about 22 ° C., for example.

The main transfer arm 11 is vertically moved, for example, by two.
They are arranged so that they can be driven independently. As shown in FIG. 11, each of the arms 11 has a wafer support frame 68 formed in a partially notched annular shape, and engages with the peripheral edge of the wafer W at three positions, both ends and a base portion of the support frame 68. A claw 69, which is a support member for supporting the lever in a mounted state, is provided. These claws 69 are positioned to prevent the wafer W from shifting during transfer by dropping the wafer W onto the inclined surface 69a on the inner side thereof. By using two such arms, the loading and unloading of the wafer W to and from each of the processing units 5 to 9 can be performed in parallel, and the processing efficiency can be improved. Further, the claws 69 of the main transfer arm 11 are made of polyimide resin having high strength and heat resistance.

An interface 3 adjacent to the SOG coating / drying processing unit 1 and for carrying in / out the wafer W with the heat treatment unit 2 has an intermediate position near the end of the main transfer path 10 having a positioning function. A delivery table 96 is provided. In the interface section 3, a plurality of wafers W are vertically arranged one by one on a movable table 98 facing the heat treatment section 2 and movable in the Y direction (in the drawing, three wafers are shown). Is mounted detachably, and a dummy wafer boat 97a for refilling dummy wafers is mounted in the wafer boat 97,
Further, a transfer mechanism 99 for delivery is provided between the intermediate delivery table 96 and the movable table 98. This delivery transport mechanism 99
Is a transfer path 100 extending in the direction in which the wafer boats 97 are arranged.
And a transfer arm that is provided in the transfer path 100 so as to be movable in the X, Y, Z, and θ directions and transfers the wafer W after the SOG coating and drying processing placed on the intermediate delivery table 96 into the wafer boat 97. 101. An entrance / exit 103 is provided on a side of the interface unit 3, and a worker can enter / exit the interface unit 3 through the entrance / exit 103.

The heat treatment section 2 includes a boat elevator (not shown) on which the wafer boat 97 can be lifted and lowered, and a vertically cap-shaped quartz provided above the boat elevator and accommodating the wafer boat 97 on the boat elevator. Window 104a between the heating furnace device 104 having a heater (not shown) outside the process tube 105 and the moving table 98 in the interface section 3 and the boat elevator.
A boat transfer arm 102 that manages the delivery of the wafer boat 97 through the boat is provided. The heating temperature here is about 400 ° C., and the processing time is about 30 to 90 minutes.

Next, processing steps for forming an interlayer insulating film (SOG film) by the processing apparatus of the present invention configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG.

The loading / unloading section 4 of the SOG coating / drying processing section 1 has a wiring pattern 110 and a SiO2 film on its surface by a plasma CVD apparatus and a wiring pattern forming apparatus (not shown) provided at a place different from this processing apparatus. 1
A predetermined number of wafers W on which the base films 11 are formed are stored in the carrier cassette 12 and supplied. The wafers W are taken out one by one by the tweezers 14 of the load / unload unit 4 and delivered to the main transfer arm 11 via the delivery table 15.

The wafer W is transferred to the main transfer arm 1
First, the substrate is conveyed to the surface purification processing section 5 and irradiated with ultraviolet light by an ultraviolet lamp 18 while being heated to approximately 100 ° C. on a hot plate 17, whereby the bonds between carbon (C) in the SiO 2 film are decomposed. At the same time, for example, O2 is ozonized by the ultraviolet light having the emission wavelength (184 nm) of the ultraviolet lamp body 18a, and oxygen atom radicals (O *) are generated by the ultraviolet light having the emission wavelength (254 nm) of the ultraviolet lamp body 18b. Then, the organic substance 112 attached to the surface of the SiO2 film 111 is ashed (ashed) by a chemical reaction and decomposed and removed by the oxygen atom radicals (FIG. 13A). This surface cleaning treatment is performed very efficiently by the synergistic effect of ultraviolet light irradiation and heating. Thereafter, the wafer W is transferred to the cooling processing unit 9 and cooled to about room temperature (FIG. 2B), and then transferred to the spin chuck 20 of the SOG coating processing unit 6 and rotated at a predetermined rotation speed. Meanwhile, the SOG solution 54 is dropped from the SOG solution supply nozzle 25 on the surface of the SiO2 film 111 and the SOG solution 54 is dropped.
Is applied (FIG. 3C). At this time, the supply nozzle 25
Is the SOG solution 5 while scanning in the radial direction of the wafer W.
4 is added dropwise. Thereafter, the wafer W is transferred to the pre-bake processing unit 8 and heated to, for example, 120 ° C., and the solvent of the SOG solution 54 is evaporated and dried to form the SOG film 113 (FIG. 4D).

After the processing in the SOG coating / drying processing section 1, the wafer W is transferred from the main transfer arm 11 to the transfer arm 101 of the interface section 3 via the intermediate transfer table 96, and is sequentially stored in the wafer boat 97. Is done. Then, when a predetermined number (for example, 50) of wafers W and five dummy wafers are set on the upper and lower portions of the wafer W in the wafer boat 97, the wafer boat 97 is moved by the wafer boat transport arm 102. It is placed on the elevator. Thereafter, the boat elevator rises and the wafer boat 97 is placed in the process tube 105.
Is heated from the outside while the purge gas is introduced into the process tube 105 by the heating furnace device 104, and the SO 2 on the surface of the wafer W held by the wafer boat 97 is
The heat treatment of the G film 113, for example, baking is performed in a lump (FIG. 9E).

After the heat treatment, the wafer boat 97 is taken out of the heat treatment section 2 by the wafer boat transfer arm 102 and returned to the moving table 98 of the interface section 3.
Then, after being transferred to the main transfer arm 11 of the SOG coating / drying processing section 1 by the operation reverse to the above, the load / load
It is delivered to the tweezers 14 at the delivery table 15 of the unloading section 4 and is housed in the carrier cassette 13.

As described above, after the organic substance 112 on the surface of the SiO 2 film 111 is decomposed and removed by irradiating the wafer W with ultraviolet light, the SOG solution 54 is applied to the SiO 2 film 111, so that the SOG solution 54 and the SiO 2 film 111 This improves the affinity of the SOG solution 54 and prevents the occurrence of cracks due to the SOG solution 54 and subsequent drying and baking processes, thereby forming an interlayer insulating film (SiO 2 film) 113 having good insulation and adhesion. it can.

The SOG solution 54 is formed on the surface of the SiO 2 film 111.
When it is not possible to apply a thick coating at a time, as shown in FIG. 14, a surface cleaning treatment and a cooling treatment (FIG.
After (b)), an SOG solution coating process and a drying process are performed to first form a first-layer SOG film 113 (I) (FIGS. 3C and 3D). Thereafter, the wafer W is irradiated with ultraviolet light to expose the organic substance 11 on the surface of the first SOG film 113 (I).
2 (in this case, the residual organic matter of the SOG film 113 (I)) is decomposed and removed (FIG. 3E), and the SOG solution coating treatment and the drying treatment are performed again to form the second SOG film 113 (II). (FIGS. (F) and (g)), and by performing a baking process (FIG. (H)), an interlayer insulating film (SiO2 film) 113 having good adhesion and a desired thickness is obtained.

Further, as shown in FIG.
After the drying process of the G film 113 (I) ((d) in the same drawing), a narrowing process is performed ((e) in the same drawing), and thereafter, the wafer W is irradiated with ultraviolet light to make the first-layer SOG film 113. The organic substance 112 on the surface of (I) is decomposed and removed (FIG. 5 (f)), and the SOG solution application processing and the drying processing are performed again to perform the second SOG film 11
3 (II) (FIGS. 9 (g) and 9 (h)), and again performing the baking treatment (FIG. 9 (i)), the interlayer insulating film having the desired thickness with good adhesion. (SiO2 film) 113 can be obtained.

The above embodiment is particularly suitable for forming an inorganic SOG film. In the above embodiment, the base film formed on the surface of the wafer W, that is, the SiO2 film or the undercoat S
Although the case where the OG film is irradiated with ultraviolet light to generate ozone and generate oxygen atom radicals to decompose and remove organic substances in the base film and the undercoating SOG film has been described, particularly when the organic SOG film is formed, Alternatively, ozone can be supplied directly to the surface of the wafer W without using an ultraviolet lamp to decompose and remove organic substances. That is, as shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, an ozone generator 201 using, for example, corona discharge is connected to the processing chamber 16 of the surface purification processing unit 5 via an ozone supply pipe 200, and the ozone generator 201 generates the ozone. The ozone is supplied into the processing chamber 16 to decompose and remove organic substances in a base film (SiO 2 film) and an SOG film (particularly, organic SOG) on the surface of the wafer W. In addition, ozone (O
3) and oxygen atom radicals (O *) react with organic substances,
Since no ion bombardment is applied to the film, organic substances can be removed without adversely affecting the film quality, unlike ion etching. Further, ozone (O3) and oxygen atom radicals remove organic substances remaining in the SOG film,
Since the number of bonds between Si and O is increased, there is no adverse effect on the SOG film.

In FIGS. 16 and 17, the other parts are the same as those in the above embodiment, and the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted.

In the above embodiment, the case where the interlayer insulating film is formed on the semiconductor wafer in which the coating process and the heating process are continuously performed has been described. However, the processing method and apparatus of the present invention are applicable to an LCD substrate or the like. It can be applied to a case where a similar interlayer insulating film is formed, and can be applied only to a coating process. For example, a process is performed on the surface of a target object by carrying the target object into a processing unit through the air. Before the above-described treatment step is performed, the present invention can be applied to a step of positioning the surface of the object to be treated in an ozone atmosphere or a surface purification treatment section by irradiation with ultraviolet rays.

In the case where the object to be processed is carried into the heat treatment apparatus installed at another position after the coating treatment step, if the time until the object is carried into the heat treatment apparatus is long, the SOG has hygroscopicity, In addition, since the organic substance is dissociated in the SOG film, the hygroscopicity is further increased. As a countermeasure for this, for example, hexamethyldisilazane (HMD) is applied to the SOG film of the object after the coating process.
The SOG film may be made hydrophobic by attaching S).

[0054]

In summary, according to the present invention, the following excellent effects can be exhibited. 1) After the organic substances on the surface of the base film or the surface of the first insulating film are decomposed and removed by ozone generated by irradiation with ultraviolet light or the like, a coating liquid is applied to the base film or the first insulating film. The affinity between the coating film (first insulating film) of the liquid and the above-mentioned underlayer film or the affinity between this coating film (second insulating film) and the first insulating film is improved. And the occurrence of cracks due to subsequent heat treatment can be prevented, and a laminated film having a desired thickness and good adhesion can be formed. 2) By irradiating the object with ultraviolet light while heating the object, organic substances on the surface of the base film can be more reliably and decomposed and removed within a short time.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of a first embodiment of a processing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an overall plan view of the apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a surface cleaning section of the apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an SOG coating unit of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a coating liquid supply system of the processing unit in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of the processing unit of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of the processing unit of FIG. 4;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the processing unit of FIG.

9 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of the processing unit of FIG. 4;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of the processing unit of FIG. 4;

11 is a plan view showing a main transfer arm of the apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view showing a series of processing steps which are the basis of the processing method of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a sectional view showing a series of processing steps according to the processing method of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view showing a series of processing steps by a processing method according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is an overall perspective view showing another embodiment of the processing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view showing a surface cleaning section of the apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view showing a series of processing steps according to a conventional processing method.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 SOG coating / drying processing part 2 Heat treatment part (heating means) 3 Interface part 4 Load / unload part 5 Surface purification processing part (surface purification means) 6 SOG coating processing part (coating processing part) 11 Main transfer arm (object to be processed) (Transporting means) 17 Hot plate (heating means) 21 Processing cup 28 Inner cup 29 Outer cup 31 Drain port 35, 36 Cleaning liquid discharge hole 44 Jacket member 45 Weir 46 Liquid storage groove 47 Cleaning liquid supply pipe 50 SOG supply pipe (Coating liquid supply Piping) 54 SOG solution (coating solution) 58 Conductive tape 59 Conductor 77 Dummy dispensing part 78 Temporary standby part 79 Annular block 80 Through hole 82 Liquid storage groove 83 Weir 84 Drainage pipe 85 Cleaning liquid supply flow path 91 Tank block 92 Tank 93 solvent supply flow path 94 solvent discharge flow path 95 solvent 110 wiring pattern 111 iO2 film (base film) 113 SOG film (coating film) 201 ozone generator W semiconductor wafer (workpiece)

Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Hidemin Yaegashi 2-3-1 Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Tokyo Electron Limited (72) Inventor Takahide Fukuda 2655 Tsukure, Kikuyo-cho, Kikuchi-gun, Kumamoto Prefecture Tokyo Electron Kyushu Corporation Kumamoto Office (56) References JP-A-5-226482 (JP, A) JP-A-2-140926 (JP, A) JP-A-4-32232 (JP, A) JP-A-4-352456 (JP, A) JP-A-4-122026 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01L 21/316 H01L 21/31

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] A coating and drying section for applying a coating solution to a workpiece having a wiring pattern and a base film formed on a surface thereof and drying the coating to form a coating; A processing unit comprising: a heat treatment unit for firing the object; and an interface unit for transferring the object to be processed between the coating and drying unit and the heat treatment unit. The loading / unloading section to be carried out and the object to be processed taken out from the loading / unloading section are turned into an ozone atmosphere obtained by irradiating the surrounding oxygen with ultraviolet light or an ozone atmosphere supplied from an ozone generator. A surface treatment section for decomposing and removing organic substances adhering to the surface of the object to be exposed, a coating section for applying a coating solution to the surface of the object after the surface purification treatment, and Of the above A prebake processing unit by heating the body at a predetermined temperature to dry the coating solution,
A processing unit for cooling the object after prebaking to a predetermined temperature. 2. The processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the coating processing section holds the object to be processed and horizontally rotates the spin chuck, a cylindrical processing cup surrounding the spin chuck, and a coating apparatus. A nozzle transfer arm for selectively moving a liquid supply nozzle onto the spin chuck and onto the nozzle standby unit; an inner cup surrounding the processing object holding unit of the spin chuck; And an outer cup that accommodates the inner cup and forms a processing space inside, and a slit-shaped cleaning liquid discharge hole for allowing the cleaning liquid to flow down to the inner surface of the outer cup around the upper opening edge of the outer cup. A plurality of slit-shaped cleaning liquid discharge holes for allowing the cleaning liquid to flow down to the outer inclined surface of the inner cup are formed all around the upper end of the inner cup. Ri processing apparatus being characterized in that a plurality formed at appropriate intervals. 3. A processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the coating processing section holds a workpiece to be rotated horizontally while holding the object to be processed, a cylindrical processing cup having a bottom that surrounds the spin chuck, and a coating apparatus. A nozzle transfer arm for selectively moving the liquid supply nozzle onto the spin chuck and onto the nozzle standby unit is provided, and the connection between the drain port of the processing cup and the pipe is connected to a nozzle attached to the drain port, A structure in which a jacket member attached to the tip of the pipe is covered and fixed, and the jacket member is formed with a weir having the same inner diameter as the pipe to form a liquid storage groove along the inner peripheral surface, and A processing apparatus, comprising: a cleaning liquid supply pipe for supplying a cleaning liquid to a liquid storage groove through a wall of a jacket member. 4. The processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the coating processing section holds the object to be processed and horizontally rotates the object, a bottomed cylindrical processing cup surrounding the spin chuck, and a coating apparatus. A nozzle transfer arm for selectively moving a liquid supply nozzle onto the spin chuck and onto the nozzle standby section; winding a conductive tape around an arbitrary portion of a coating liquid supply pipe to the supply nozzle; A processing device, which is grounded via a ground. 5. The processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the coating processing section horizontally rotates the spin chuck while holding the object to be processed, a low-cylindrical processing cup surrounding the spin chuck, and a coating step. A nozzle transfer arm for selectively moving a liquid supply nozzle onto the spin chuck and the nozzle standby unit; the nozzle standby unit includes a dummy dispense unit for preventing the supply nozzle from being clogged; The dummy dispensing section is connected to an annular block forming upper and lower through holes into which the supply nozzle can be inserted, and a lower end of the through hole. And a drainage pipe to be formed, and an annular liquid storage groove having an inner peripheral wall as a weir is formed inside the through hole of the annular block, and the liquid groove is formed on the wall of the annular block. A cleaning liquid supply flow path through which the cleaning liquid supplied from the cleaning liquid supply flow path into the liquid storage groove forms a weir so that the weir can overflow; and the temporary standby unit has a tank block having a tank for storing a solvent. In the vicinity of the bottom of the tank block, a solvent supply flow path communicating with the inside of the tank is formed, and near the insertion position of the supply nozzle in the tank block, a solvent discharge flow path communicating with the inside of the tank. A processing apparatus characterized by being formed so as to be able to maintain a fixed amount of a solvent in a tank.