JP3158276B2 - Coating film 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 an apparatus for processing a coating film applied to a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a method for forming an interlayer insulating film of a semiconductor device, there are a CVD method, a thermal oxidation method, and the like, and another method called a sol-gel method. This method can be performed, for example, using TEOS (tetraethoxysilane; Si (C
A coating solution in which a colloid of 2 H5 O) 4) is dispersed in an organic solvent such as an ethyl alcohol solution is applied to the surface of a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter simply referred to as a wafer), and the coating film is gelled and dried to form silicon oxide. This is a technique for obtaining a film, which is described in JP-A-8-162450 and JP-A-8-59362.

FIG. 7 schematically shows the state of denaturation of a coating film in this method. First, when a coating liquid is applied to a wafer, TEOS particles or colloid 100 is dissolved in solvent 2.
In this state, the TEOS is condensed and hydrolyzed by heating, for example, by heating the coated film to gel the coated film, and the network of TEOS 300 is heated. The structure is formed (FIG. 7
(B)). Then, the solvent in the coating film is replaced with another solvent 400 in order to remove the water in the coating solution (FIG. 7).
(See (c)) and then drying to obtain a coating film of a silicon oxide film. In the solvent replacement step shown in FIG. 7C, in addition to the purpose of removing water, a solvent having a smaller surface tension than ethyl alcohol is used, and when the solvent evaporates, a large force is applied to the TEOS network structure. There is also a purpose of suppressing the collapse of the film structure by preventing it from being added.

If the wafer on which the coating solution is applied is left as it is, gelation proceeds and a silicon oxide film is formed. However, it is necessary to leave the wafer for a long time, for example, overnight. Is not suitable. For this reason, the present inventors are studying heating the coating film as one of the techniques for promoting gelation of the coating film.

[0005]

When the wafer on which the coating film is formed is heated to, for example, about 100.degree. C. and gelled, the organic solvent evaporates from the coating film, and a predetermined film thickness and film quality can be obtained. Will be gone. Therefore, the present inventor puts a wafer in a closed container, and supplies a component of a solvent of the coating film, for example, a saturated vapor of ethylene glycol, into the closed container to suppress evaporation of ethylene glycol from the coating film. Are considering.

In this case, for example, by generating a saturated steam of ethylene glycol at 100 ° C. and supplying the steam at 100 ° C. in a closed container at 100 ° C., the evaporation of ethylene glycol can be suppressed. However, if the temperature of the gas decreases in the middle of the pipe to the closed container, dew condensation occurs and saturated vapor cannot be obtained in the closed container, and the solvent component (ethylene glycol in this case) evaporates from the wafer. If the temperature of the saturated vapor of ethylene glycol is higher than that in the closed container, the temperature of the saturated vapor drops in the closed container. is there. When a droplet adheres to the wafer, the film thickness at that portion changes, and the uniformity of the film thickness decreases. Therefore, it is necessary to devise a method for forming an atmosphere of saturated vapor in the processing vessel, including temperature control of the source of the saturated vapor of the solvent component.

The present invention has been made under such circumstances, and an object thereof is to suppress evaporation of a solvent component from a coating film when gelling particles or colloids in the coating film. An object of the present invention is to provide a coating film processing apparatus capable of obtaining a thin film having a predetermined thickness, for example, an interlayer insulating film.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to a method of forming a coating material comprising a starting material as a film forming component and a colloid dispersed in a solvent. In a coating film processing apparatus for gelling, a sealed container in which the substrate is accommodated, heating means for heating the inside of the sealed container, and gas for supplying a vapor of the component of the solvent into the sealed container A supply path, an exhaust path for exhausting gas in the closed container, and a gas supply path provided in the gas supply path in the vessel wall of the closed container,
A gas dispersion chamber having a plurality of gas supply ports opened in the closed container so as to supply the gas in the gas supply path in a closed container in a dispersed manner, and a temperature adjusted to substantially the same temperature as in the closed container; A solvent vapor generating section that is heated to a temperature slightly higher than the temperature in the gas dispersion chamber and generates saturated vapor of a solvent component containing an amount sufficient to become saturated vapor at the temperature in the closed container. It is characterized by.

According to the present invention, the component of the solvent from the solvent vapor generating section, for example, the saturated vapor of ethylene glycol is slightly cooled in the gas dispersion chamber adjusted to the same temperature as the inside of the closed vessel, so that it is ensured. Saturated vapor is introduced into the closed container, so that evaporation of the solvent from the coating film is suppressed, and there is no possibility that the vapor becomes droplets and adheres to the substrate. In this case, the airtight container may be provided with a heating plate for mounting and heating the substrate, and the gas dispersion chamber may be formed in the heating plate.

Another aspect of the present invention is to gel the particles or colloid in a coating film on a substrate coated with a coating solution in which particles or colloid of a starting material of a film forming component are dispersed in a solvent. In the coating film processing apparatus, a sealed container in which the substrate is accommodated, a heating means for heating the inside of the sealed container, and a gas supply path for supplying a vapor of the solvent component into the sealed container, An exhaust path for exhausting gas in the closed vessel, storing a solution of the solvent component, bubbling the solution with a carrier gas, and vaporizing the solvent component in the closed vessel through the gas supply path. A first storage tank for supplying the solution to the first storage tank, and first temperature adjusting means for adjusting the solution in the first storage tank to a predetermined temperature.
A second storage tank for replenishing the first storage tank with the solution when the amount of the solution in the first storage tank decreases, and bringing the solution in the second storage tank to a predetermined temperature. And a second temperature adjusting means for adjusting the temperature. According to the present invention, since the temperature of the solution of the solvent component can be controlled with high accuracy, the vapor of the solvent component can be guided into the closed container while being adjusted to a predetermined temperature. In the above invention, an alkaline gas for promoting gelation may be supplied into the closed container.

[0011]

FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing the entire configuration of an example of a coating film forming apparatus to which a coating film processing apparatus according to the present invention is applied. Reference numeral 11 denotes an input / output port for a wafer serving as a substrate. The transfer arm 12 takes out the wafer W from the cassette C placed on the cassette stage CS and transfers it to the main arm 13. On one side of the transport path (guide rail) 14 of the main arm 13, a coating unit 2, an aging unit 3 which forms a coating film processing apparatus which is a main part of the present embodiment, and a solvent replacement unit 4 are arranged in this order. Are arranged. Processing units U1 to U4 are also arranged on the other side of the transport path 14, and for these processing units U1 to U4, a hydrophobic treatment, a cooling treatment, and a coating film are applied to the substrate before the application liquid is applied to the substrate. A unit for performing a heat treatment (bake treatment) after the formation is assigned to each.

The operation of the embodiment using this coating film forming apparatus will be described. FIG. 2 schematically shows the flow of the coating film forming process in order. The unprocessed wafer W taken out of the cassette C of the cassette stage CS by the main arm 13 is stored in the coating unit 2. Then, the coating liquid T is dropped on the surface of the wafer W in a state where the inside of the coating unit 2 is filled with, for example, the vapor of the solvent (see FIG. 2A). The coating solution used here is obtained by dispersing colloids or particles of TEOS, which is a metal alkoxide, in a solvent containing, for example, ethylene glycol and ethyl alcohol, which are organic solvents, and further, water and a small amount of hydrochloric acid. Ethylene glycol remains as a solvent even after the evaporation of ethyl alcohol with a low vapor pressure to adjust the viscosity of the coating solution to the optimum value at the time of coating (ethylene glycol has a high vapor pressure) and the film is reduced. There is a role such as to suppress.

Subsequently, the wafer W is rotated at a high speed while the inside of the coating unit 2 is filled with the solvent vapor, and the coating liquid in which the TEOS sol is dispersed in the solvent is spread on the wafer surface to form the coating film F. (See FIG. 2B). Next, wafer W
Is placed on the heating plate 31 of the aging unit 3, and is closed by the lid 33. At that time, the wafer W is heated to a predetermined temperature (for example, about 100 ° C.) by the heating plate 31.
Then, a vapor of ethylene glycol, which is a component of the solvent, is introduced into the aging unit 3 to suppress the evaporation of the solvent in the coating film, thereby gelling the coating film (FIG. 2).
(C)).

Next, the solvent replacement of the gelled coating film is performed in the solvent replacement unit 4 using ethyl alcohol, HMDS (hexamethyldisilane) and heptane (see FIG. 2 (d)). Thereby, the water in the coating film is replaced with ethyl alcohol. Further, the hydroxyl groups in the coating film are removed by HMDS. Further, the solvent in the coating film is replaced with heptane. The reason for using heptane is to reduce the force applied to the porous structure, that is, the network structure of TEOS by using a solvent having a small surface tension so that the structure does not collapse. Then the wafer W
Is baked in a baking unit for one minute, for example. Thus, an interlayer insulating film made of a silicon oxide film is formed on the surface of wafer W.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show a schematic view of an example of the aging unit (coating film processing apparatus) 3 and a plan view of the inside thereof, respectively. As shown in FIG. 3, the aging unit 3 includes a heating plate 31 on which a wafer W is placed.
A heating means including a heater 32 incorporated in the heating plate 31, a lid 33 which constitutes a processing container 30 which is closely attached to a peripheral portion of the heating plate 31 via a sealing member 34 and is hermetically sealed together with the heating plate 31; Exhaust passage 3 opening at the center of lid 33
5 is provided. Note that it is preferable to provide a heating means also for the lid 33. A plurality of, for example, fifteen gas inlets 36 are dotted and open along the outer periphery of the wafer W mounted on the heating plate 31 (see FIG. 4). The aging unit 3 is provided with, for example, three lifting pins 37 for raising and lowering the wafer W between the heating plate 31 and a position above the heating plate 31.

The heating plate 31 is configured so as to have a large heat capacity, so that temperature fluctuation due to heat conversion does not occur as much as possible. For example, the heating plate 31 is made of aluminum coated with ceramics such as SiC, and has a thickness of, for example, 4 cm, though not particularly limited.
Thereby, the heating plate 31 is maintained at a substantially constant temperature during the gelation process.

A solvent vapor generator 5 having a heating bubbler for generating a solvent vapor of a predetermined temperature to be supplied into the closed vessel 30 is provided at a gas inlet 36 of the closed vessel 30 with a gas supply path 51.
Connected through. In the middle of the gas supply path 51,
A gas dispersion chamber 57 is provided in the heating plate 31 so as to uniformly supply the solvent vapor to the plurality of gas inlets 36.
The gas dispersion chamber 57 is provided in a ring shape along the outer periphery of the wafer W mounted on the heating plate 31, and the gas supply path 51 on the solvent vapor generation unit 5 side is branched, for example, The branch passages are connected at two locations diametrically opposed to each other in the container 30. (See FIG. 4). Therefore, the temperature in the gas dispersion chamber is substantially the same as the temperature of the heating plate 31, that is, the temperature of the gelling treatment. In addition, the gas supply path 5
1 is provided with a valve V0 and a heating means, for example, a tape heater 51a.

The solvent vapor generator 5 includes a bubbling tank (first storage tank) 52 for storing a solvent 50 such as ethylene glycol, and a carrier gas such as N 2 supplied from a bubbling gas supply device (not shown). Gas supply pipe 53 for bubbling by blowing
A water level sensor 54 for detecting the water level of the solvent 50, a heater 55 for heating the solvent 50 to a predetermined temperature, for example, a temperature slightly higher than the temperature of the closed container 30, and a solvent 55 heated by the heater. A temperature sensor 56 for detecting a temperature and a pressure release pipe 57 provided with a valve V1 for opening the inside of the tank 52 to the atmosphere when replenishing the solvent are provided.

The temperature of the solvent detected by the temperature sensor 56 is fed back to a control unit (not shown), and the control unit controls on / off switching of the heater 55. Therefore, the heater 55 and the temperature sensor 56 have a function as a first temperature adjusting unit. Further, the solvent water level detected by the water level sensor 54 is also fed back to a controller (not shown), and the solvent is replenished to the bubbling tank 52 based on the control of the controller as described later.

The solvent vapor generating section 5 has an opening / closing valve V2 in the middle and a temperature control reserve tank (second storage) connected to a bubbling tank 52 through a communication section 61 through which a solvent can flow. (Tank) 62 is provided. This temperature control reserve tank 62 is used for a spare solvent 6 such as ethylene glycol.
0 is stored, and is connected through a pipe 63 to a pressurizing section 80 for pressurizing the inside of the temperature control reserve tank. The opening / closing of the valve V2 and the on / off operation of the pressurizing unit 80 are controlled and switched by the control unit. The pressurizing means blows pressurized air into, for example, the temperature control spare tank to pressurize the inside of the tank, and when the replenishment of the solvent into the bubbling tank 52 is stopped, the pressurized air in the tank is naturally exhausted to release the pressurization. It has become.

The temperature control reserve tank 62 includes a water level sensor 64, a heater 65, and a temperature sensor 66, like the bubbling tank 52. Heater 65 and temperature sensor 66
Has a function as a second temperature adjusting means, and the solvent 60 in the temperature control reserve tank is heated and kept at the same temperature as the solvent 50 in the bubbling tank by the temperature adjusting means and a control unit (not shown). . The solvent 60 in the temperature control reserve tank
When the water level sensor 64 detects that the water level has dropped, the water is replenished from a replenishment tank 72 connected to the temperature control reserve tank 62 under the control of a control unit (not shown). I have. Although not shown, a depressurizing pipe is also provided in the temperature control spare tank 62.

The replenishment tank 72 and the temperature control reserve tank 62
They are connected to each other by a pipe 73 via a pump P such as a peri pump. The drive of the pump P is controlled by a control unit (not shown), so that the solvent 70 such as ethylene glycol in the tank is supplied to the temperature control reserve tank 62.

Next, the operation of the aging unit 3 having the above configuration will be described. First, when the wafer W transferred from the coating unit 2 is placed on the heating plate 31, the lid 33 is closed. At this time, in order to promote gelation of the coating film, the wafer W
Is heated to, for example, about 100 ° C. by the heater 32.
On the other hand, the solvent 50 in the bubbling tank is heated and held by the heater 55 and the temperature sensor 56 so as to have a temperature slightly higher than the temperature in the closed container, that is, approximately the same temperature as the wafer W (for example, about 100 ° C.). The term "slightly higher temperature" as used herein means, for example, 1 ° C.
The temperature is high only by 5 ° C., and if it is too high, the temperature is not completely lowered in the gas dispersion chamber 57 and is supplied into the closed container, where the temperature is lowered and dew condensation occurs.

Then, a carrier gas such as N 2 is blown into the solvent 50 stored in the bubbling tank through a bubbling gas supply pipe 53. As a result, a vapor of the solvent component at a temperature t1 ° C. slightly higher than the same temperature (for example, about 100 ° C.) as in the closed container is generated. It is sufficient that the vapor of the solvent component contains a vapor that becomes saturated at a temperature in the closed container, for example, 100 ° C., and does not reach the saturated vapor at t1 ° C. (It is not possible to obtain complete saturated vapor by bubbling. Difficult), relative temperature of ethylene glycol is 100%
Any state that is close to is acceptable. This vapor passes through the gas supply path 51 and is heated by a heater 51a wound around the gas supply path 51.
, And is sent to the gas dispersion chamber 57 provided inside the heating plate 31.

Since the temperature of the vapor of the solvent component flowing into the gas dispersion chamber 57 is slightly higher than the temperature of the gas dispersion chamber 57 as described above, the vapor is cooled somewhat in the gas dispersion chamber and becomes supersaturated. Further, since the temperature of the gas dispersion chamber 57 is substantially the same as the temperature of the closed vessel 30, the vapor of the solvent component which has become supersaturated in the gas dispersion chamber 57 may cause dew condensation in the gas dispersion chamber in some cases. At the temperature, the solvent component becomes a saturated or nearly saturated vapor. Since the solvent vapor saturated or nearly saturated at the temperature of the closed vessel 30 is introduced into the closed vessel, no dew condensation of the solvent component occurs inside the closed vessel 30.

Since the vapor of the solvent component is dispersed in the gas dispersion chamber 57, the plurality of gas inlets 36 provided along the circumference of the ring-shaped gas dispersion chamber 57 as described above.
, The vapor of the solvent component is uniformly introduced into the closed container.

When the amount of the solvent 50 in the bubbling tank is reduced and the lowering of the water level is detected by the water level sensor 54 (FIG. 5).
(Refer to (a)), the valve V of the communication portion 61 connecting the bubbling tank 52 and the extra temperature control tank 62 is opened by a control device (not shown), and the pressurizing portion 80 is operated to add pressure inside the extra temperature control tank. Pressed. As a result, the solvent 60 in the extra temperature control tank is refilled into the bubbling tank through the communication portion 61 (see FIG. 5B). And when the water level of the solvent 50 in the bubbling tank reaches a predetermined water level,
This is detected by the water level sensor 54, and the valve V in the communication unit 61 is closed by a control device (not shown), and the operation of the pressurizing unit 80 is stopped, and the supply of the solvent to the bubbling tank 50 is stopped. After the valve V closes and the pressurizing unit 80 stops, the pressurized air in the temperature control reserve tank is naturally exhausted.

If the water level of the solvent 50 in the bubbling tank is not controlled to always be constant at a high position using the water level sensor 54 as in this embodiment, N
The time during which bubbles generated in the solvent 50 by bubbling of a carrier gas such as 2 become short in the solvent, and the concentration of the solvent component in the bubbles decreases without being saturated. In order to prevent this, in the present embodiment, as described above, the level of the solvent 50 in the bubbling tank is controlled to be always high, so that the bubbles generated by bubbling are sufficiently brought into contact with the solvent. ing.

Here, the solvent 60 in the temperature control spare tank is heated and held at the same temperature as the solvent 50 in the bubbling tank by the heater 65 and the temperature sensor 66 in advance.
When the solvent is replenished from the temperature control spare tank 62 to the bubbling tank 50, the solvent 50 in the bubbling tank is refilled.
Temperature does not drop.

In this embodiment, as described above, the solvent temperature is controlled so as not to decrease when the solvent is replenished to the bubbling tank 50.
The temperature of the solvent 50 in the bubbling tank temporarily drops due to the replenishment of the solvent. When the vapor of the solvent component saturated with the carrier gas such as N2 at the lower temperature rises to the higher temperature of the gas dispersion chamber 57 and the temperature of the closed vessel 30, the solvent vapor saturated at the temperature of the closed vessel is obtained. Will be gone. In order to prevent this, in the present embodiment, the temperature control spare tank 62 is also heated and maintained at the same temperature as the bubbling tank 52 by the heater 65 and the temperature sensor 66 as described above. Instead of heating the extra temperature control tank 62 to a predetermined temperature, the solvent flowing therethrough in the communication part 61 connecting the extra temperature control tank 62 and the bubbling tank 52 is heated to the same temperature as the bubbling tank 52 by a heater or the like. You may do so.

When the water level sensor 64 detects a decrease in the water level due to a decrease in the amount of the solvent 60 in the extra temperature control tank, a communication unit (pipe) for connecting the extra temperature control tank 62 and the replenishment tank 72 by a control device (not shown). 73), the pump P provided on the way is operated, and the replenishment tank 72
Is replenished with the solvent. When the water level of the solvent 60 in the temperature control reserve tank reaches a predetermined water level, this is detected by a water level sensor 64, and the operation of the pump P is stopped by a control device (not shown), and the temperature control reserve tank 62 Is stopped.

According to the above-described embodiment, the solvent vapor generating section 5 heats the gas to a temperature slightly higher than the temperature of the gas dispersion chamber 57, that is, the closed vessel 30, and includes an amount sufficient to become saturated vapor in the closed vessel. Since the vapor is generated and introduced into the closed vessel via the gas dispersion chamber 57, the vapor of the solvent component is cooled in the gas dispersion chamber to be in a supersaturated state, and a part corresponding to the supersaturation of the solvent component is formed. In some cases, the condensed water is removed from the solvent vapor, so that
At this temperature, a vapor is obtained in which the solvent component is just saturated.
And since the vapor is introduced into the closed container, dew condensation is prevented from occurring on the wafer surface in the closed container while preventing the organic solvent from evaporating from the coating film during the gelation treatment, so that uniformity is obtained. A coating film having a thickness of, for example, an interlayer insulating film such as a silicon oxide film is obtained.

Further, according to the above-described embodiment, since the vapor of the solvent component is dispersed by the gas dispersion chamber 57 and uniformly introduced into the closed container, a coating film having a more uniform film thickness, in particular, a silicon oxide film Is obtained.

Further, according to the above-described embodiment, since the solvent is appropriately replenished from the temperature control reserve tank 62 to the bubbling tank 52, the water level of the solvent 50 in the bubbling tank is always maintained at a high position. As a result, the foam generated by the heat treatment is sufficiently retained in the solvent 50, and the solvent 60 in the temperature control spare tank is also heated and maintained at the same temperature as the solvent 50 in the bubbling tank. Even when the solvent is refilled into the bubbling tank 52 from 62, the temperature of the solvent 50 in the bubbling tank is always maintained at a temperature slightly higher than the temperature of the closed vessel 30. Accordingly, steam at a temperature slightly higher than that and containing the amount of saturated steam in the closed vessel is always introduced into the gas dispersion chamber, and the extra solvent component in the steam is dewed in the gas dispersion chamber 57. Since the solvent component is removed, a vapor that is just or nearly saturated with the solvent component at the temperature of the closed container 30 is always introduced into the closed container.

In the above, the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiment, but can be variously modified. For example, the solvents 50 and 60 in each tank may be heated by surrounding the bubbling tank 52 and the temperature control reserve tank 62 with a resistance heater or the like. Any configuration may be used as long as the temperature can be detected, and the gas inlet 36 opening to the heating plate 31 may be formed in a slit shape. The substrate to be processed is not limited to a wafer, but may be a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display.

As in the case of the aging unit 3A shown in FIG. 6, ammonia gas may be supplied into the closed vessel 30 together with the solvent vapor. In this case, for example, a commercially available ammonia water 90 (approximately 30% by weight) is put into an alkaline storage tank 92, and the ammonia gas is blown into the ammonia water via an ammonia gas supply pipe 93, thereby forming an ammonia gas containing 100% water vapor. Is generated. Then, the ammonia gas containing the 100% water vapor may be joined to the gas supply path 51 via the pipe 91. At that time, in order to prevent the temperature of the solvent vapor introduced into the gas dispersion chamber 57 from being carelessly lowered, the ammonia water 90 in the alkaline storage tank is heated and held at the same temperature as the bubbling tank 52 by the heater 95 and the temperature sensor 96. The ammonia gas is supplied to the gas dispersion chamber 57 at the same temperature as the solvent vapor. According to the configuration of FIG. 6, ammonia gas is used as an alkaline catalyst for T.
Since it acts on EOS to promote gelation, the gelation process is completed more quickly, and the throughput is improved.

[0037]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the solvent from evaporating from the coating film during the gelling treatment and to prevent the formation of dew on the surface of the substrate to be treated in the closed container. Therefore, a thin film having a uniform thickness, for example, an interlayer insulating film can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an overall schematic configuration of an example of a coating film forming apparatus to which a coating film processing apparatus according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a flow of a coating film forming process using the coating film forming apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a schematic vertical sectional view showing an example of the coating film processing apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the inside of a closed container of the coating film processing apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view for explaining a state when a solvent is replenished to a storage tank in the coating film processing apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view showing another example of the coating film processing apparatus.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing a state of denaturation of a coating film in a sol-gel method.

[Explanation of symbols]

 F Coating film P Pump T Coating liquid V Open / close valve W Semiconductor wafer (substrate) 2 Coating unit 3, 3A Aging unit (Coating film processing device) 30 Sealed container 31 Heating plate 32 Heater 33 Cover 34 Seal member 35 Exhaust path 36 Gas introduction Port 37 Lifting pin 5 Solvent vapor generator 50, 60, 70 Solvent (ethylene glycol) 51 Gas supply path 52 Bubbling tank (first storage tank) 53 Bubbling gas supply pipe 54, 64 Water level sensor 55 Heater (First temperature) Adjusting means) 56 temperature sensor (first temperature adjusting means) 57 gas dispersion chamber 61 communication part 62 temperature control spare tank (second storage tank) 63, 73, 91 piping 65 heater (second temperature adjusting means) 66 temperature sensor (second temperature adjusting means) 72 replenishment tank 80 pressurizing section 90 ammonia water 92 alkali 95 distillate tank 93 the ammonia gas supply line heater 96 temperature sensor 4 solvent replacement unit

Continuing from the front page (72) Inventor Yasunari Katayama 2655 Tsukusada, Kikuyo-cho, Kikuchi-gun, Kumamoto Prefecture Inside the Kumamoto Office of Tokyo Electron Kyushu Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yoji Mizutani 5-3-6 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo (56) References JP-A-11-26443 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01L 21/31 H01L 21/316 H01L 21/768

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A coating film for gelling particles or colloid in a coating film on a substrate coated with a coating solution in which particles or colloid of a starting material of a film forming component are dispersed in a solvent. In the processing apparatus, a sealed container accommodating the substrate, heating means for heating the inside of the sealed container, a gas supply path for supplying a vapor of the component of the solvent into the sealed container, An exhaust path for exhausting the gas, and a hermetic container provided in the middle of the gas supply path in the vessel wall of the hermetic container and dispersing and supplying the gas in the gas supply path into the hermetic container. A gas dispersion chamber having a plurality of gas supply ports opened therein and having a temperature adjusted to substantially the same temperature as the inside of the closed vessel; and a temperature slightly higher than the temperature in the gas dispersion chamber, and a temperature inside the closed vessel. Into saturated steam A solvent vapor generating unit for generating a vapor of a solvent component containing a sufficient amount of the solvent. 2. The coating film processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the closed container includes a heating plate for mounting and heating the substrate, and the gas dispersion chamber is formed in the heating plate. 3. A coating film for gelling the particles or colloid in a coating film on a substrate coated with a coating liquid in which particles or colloid of a starting material of a film forming component are dispersed in a solvent. In the processing apparatus, a sealed container accommodating the substrate, heating means for heating the inside of the sealed container, a gas supply path for supplying a vapor of the component of the solvent into the sealed container, An exhaust path for exhausting the gas, storing a solution of the solvent component, bubbling the solution with a carrier gas, and supplying a vapor of the solvent component into the closed container via the gas supply path. A first storage tank, a first temperature adjusting means for adjusting a solution in the first storage tank to a predetermined temperature, and a first temperature adjustment means for reducing the amount of the solution in the first storage tank. 1
A second storage tank for replenishing the solution in the storage tank, and a second temperature adjusting means for adjusting the solution in the second storage tank to a predetermined temperature. Coating film processing apparatus. 4. The vapor of a solvent component is ethylene glycol-
The coating film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the coating film forming apparatus comprises: 5. The coating film processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for supplying an alkaline gas for promoting gelation into the closed container.