JPH0638398B2 - Resist developing device - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a resist developing apparatus, and more particularly to a resist developing apparatus for developing a resist layer mounted on an object to be developed such as a semiconductor wafer, a semiconductor mask and an optical disk.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, a resist developing apparatus of this type is described in, for example, JP-A-57-166032, and as shown in FIG. 6, a semiconductor wafer housed in a developing tank (D). The resist layer on the wafer (W) is developed by discharging the chemical solution used for the developing process from the discharging means (N) such as a nozzle to (W).

In addition to the so-called developing solution which dissolves the resist layer, generally, the chemical solution is a pretreatment solution for removing the variation in resist sensitivity due to the aging of the wafer (W) prior to the release of the developing solution, and It is composed of a post-treatment liquid for cleaning the wafer (W) after the developer is discharged.

In addition, because of the recent high density of resist patterns, the requirements for developing conditions, especially the temperature, have become important. Therefore, the developing tank (D) has an electric heater (H ₁ ).
Is attached to maintain the temperature in the developing tank (D) at a predetermined value by heating the heater (H ₁ ). H ₂ ) is attached to the temperature controller (T) so as to be heated to a predetermined temperature in advance, and an electrothermal heater (H ₃ ) is attached to the liquid supply pipe (L) for the developer to supply the liquid supply pipe ( The temperature decrease of the developing solution in L) is suppressed so that the temperature of the developing solution discharged from the discharging means (N) and acting on the wafer (W) can be limited to a set value.

However, when the electrothermal heaters (H ₁ ) (H ₂ ) (H ₃ ) are used as a heat source for adjusting the ambient temperature in the developing tank (D) and the liquid temperature of the developing solution, heating of the heater is performed. Thus, even if the temperature decrease due to heat radiation of the developing tank (D) and the developing solution to the outside air can be suppressed, the temperature rise due to the heat absorption from the outside air cannot be suppressed. Therefore, for example, the outside air temperature is the set temperature for performing the developing process. There was a fatal problem of being out of control at higher than.

On the other hand, in order to solve this problem, if a constant temperature heat medium such as constant temperature water is used as the heat source for adjusting the developing temperature, instead of the electric heater, even when the set value of the developing temperature is higher than the outside air. Even if it is low, it can be considered that it can always be controlled arbitrarily.

FIG. 7 shows that the developing temperature is controlled by using a constant temperature heating medium, and the wall surface surrounding the developing tank (D) has a double wall structure to form the heat exchange chamber (A). Then, while the constant temperature heat medium set at an arbitrary temperature in the constant temperature heat medium generator (B) is circulated in the chamber (A),
A heat exchanger (R) for controlling the temperature of the developing solution is disposed in the generator (B), and a liquid feeding tube (L) for the developing solution is provided in the double tube (X). The temperature of the liquid feed pipe (L) is controlled by a constant temperature heat medium that returns the outer pipe of the heavy pipe (X).

In FIG. 7, (E) is a heater, (C) is an evaporator of a refrigerating apparatus, and (P) is a heat medium pump.

(Problems to be solved by the invention) However, according to the one shown in FIG. 7, the heat exchanger (R) for controlling the temperature of the developer is housed inside the constant temperature heat medium generator (B). Therefore, there is a problem that the generator (B) becomes large in size, and generally, as a chemical solution to be used for the development processing, a pretreatment solution and a posttreatment solution are used in addition to the development solution. However, there is a problem that the generator (B) becomes larger when the heat exchanger for temperature control of the treatment liquid is also housed.

Also, from the outlet of the heat exchanger (R), the liquid transfer pipe (L)
In order to suppress the temperature change of the developing solution due to the outside air in the portion (2), the temperature control means using the double pipe (X) is required, and thus the piping structure becomes large and the cost increases. It was

Further, since the heat exchanger (R) is housed in the generator (B), the actual temperature of the developer discharged from the discharge means (N) via the liquid supply pipe (L), and There was also a problem that the ambient temperature of the developing tank (D) due to the heat exchange chamber (A) varied.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a resist developing apparatus which can control the temperature of the developing chamber and the temperature of the chemical solution used for the developing process to an arbitrary set temperature with high accuracy while making the apparatus compact. .

(Means for Solving Problems) In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is configured as shown in FIG. 1 and has a developing tank (1) holding means for holding a development target (W). And a developing means (2) for releasing a chemical solution to be used in a developing process, the resist developing device including the developing tank (1) ) Has a closed structure that shuts off the internal developing chamber (10) from the outside in a state where the doorway (21) closes the entrance / exit (20) of the object to be developed (W) that is opened on the wall surface of the developing tank (1). A heat exchange chamber (14) facing the developing chamber (10) is formed on the wall surface of the developing tank (1), and a heating source and a cooling source are provided, and a constant temperature heating medium having an arbitrary set temperature is provided. The constant temperature heat medium generator (7) to be generated is formed, and the constant temperature heat medium generator (7) is placed in front of it. A chemical liquid heat exchanger (5) for connecting the heat exchange chamber (14) through pipes (76, 77) and circulating a constant temperature heat medium in the heat exchange chamber (14) while controlling the temperature of the chemical liquid. ) Is attached to the heat exchange chamber (14) so that heat can be exchanged.

(Operation) The constant temperature heat medium generated in the constant temperature heat medium generator (7) is used for the heat exchange chamber (1) surrounding the developing chamber (10).
It is possible to control the ambient temperature of the developing chamber (10) to an arbitrary set temperature according to the temperature condition for the resist by circulating the liquid to the chamber (4), and the chemical liquid heat exchanger attached to the chamber (14). By (5), the temperature of the chemical liquid such as the developing solution to be subjected to the development processing can be adjusted with little variation from the ambient temperature of the developing chamber (10). Therefore, the developing temperature of the development target (W) can be controlled. It is possible to control and maintain an arbitrary set temperature with high accuracy.

(Embodiment) As shown in FIG. 1, a developing tank (1) is supported on the upper part of a frame (100) and a constant temperature heat medium generator (7) is housed below it.

The developing tank (1) is provided with a dome-shaped casing (11) having a double wall structure, a bottom wall (12) and a ceiling plate (13), and forms a developing chamber (10) therein. Due to the double wall structure of the casing (11), the developing chamber (1
0) forming a heat exchange chamber (14) surrounding it.

Further, a support cylinder (15) is provided upright on the bottom wall (12), and inside thereof, a chuck (16) for holding a semiconductor wafer (W) as a developing object is fixedly provided on the upper end thereof. The rotary shaft (17) is rotatably supported, and the ceiling plate (13) holds the wafer (W) held by the chuck (16) and one of the chemical solutions to be subjected to the developing process. The discharging means (2) such as a spray nozzle for discharging the developing solution is provided.

The discharging means (2) is connected to a developer container (3) forming a pressure tank via a liquid sending pipe (6), and the developing solution is discharged from the discharging means (2) to the wafer (W), for example. As shown by the dotted arrow in the figure, it is discharged by injection.

Then, a part of the liquid supply pipe (6) is formed into a coil to form a chemical liquid heat exchanger (5), and the heat exchanger (5) is arranged inside the cylinder of the chamber (14). Of.

The internal volume of the heat exchanger (5) is preferably about 200 to 400 cc or more, which is the amount of the developer used for one development.

A control valve (61) for controlling the flow of the developing solution into the developing chamber (10) and a minute amount of the developing solution in the developing chamber (10) are provided near the discharging means (2) in the liquid feeding pipe (6). A strainer (62) for removing unnecessary dust is interposed.

Next, the constant temperature heat medium generator (7) will be described. In this example, constant temperature water is used as the constant temperature heating medium.

This generator (7) is a thermostatic chamber (70) with a heat insulating structure.
In addition, a heater (71) and an evaporator (72) of a refrigerating apparatus are internally provided, and a strainer (73) is provided near the bottom surface of the constant temperature bath (70) and a heat medium pump (7) is provided.
5) and a liquid supply pipe (76) to connect to a liquid injection port (18) provided at the bottom of the heat exchange chamber (14) and a liquid discharge port (19) provided at the upper part of the heat exchange chamber (14). ) Is connected to the constant temperature bath (70) through the return liquid pipe (77).

The heater (71) and the evaporator (72) installed in the constant temperature bath (70) are operated to detect the room temperature of the developing chamber (10) or the water temperature (heat medium temperature) in the heat exchange chamber (14). However, it is controlled by a controller (8) that compares the temperature with a preset temperature that has been arbitrarily set in advance, and an error occurs at 5 ° C to 40 ° C due to the operation control of the heater (71) and the evaporator (72). A constant temperature water (constant temperature heating medium) of ± 0.1 ° C can be formed.

Further, the condenser (78) in the refrigeration system corresponding to the evaporator (72) is provided in the condensing unit (9) together with the compressor, and the operation control of the evaporator (72) is performed by the compressor. This is done by starting / stopping or controlling the capacity.

In FIG. 1, (20) is a wafer entrance / exit provided in the body (11) of the developing tank (1), and a door (21) is attached to the entrance / exit (20) so as to be freely opened and closed.

Further, (200) is a wafer cassette mounted on a frame (201) provided on the upper surface of the frame (100),
Further, (M) is a chuck (1) installed inside the developing tank (1).
6) A motor for driving the rotating shaft (17), which is linked with the rotating shaft (17) by a belt transmission means (101).

The developing solution sprayed from the nozzle (2) is, for example, a mixture of isobutyl alcohol and ethanol in a ratio of about 50:50, and the developing temperature (° C) of this developing solution and the resist sensitivity ( μc / cm ² ) will change as shown in FIG. Incidentally, in FIG. 5, the vertical axis is represented by a logarithmic scale.

In the case of developing the semiconductor wafer (W) in the above configuration, first, the constant temperature heating medium generator (7) is operated first, and the constant temperature bath (70) and the heat exchange chamber (14) are circulated. The heating medium is controlled to a preset temperature for preset setting.

This set temperature can be arbitrarily set by the input device of the controller (8) and can be accurately controlled to an arbitrarily selected set temperature, and the developing chamber (10) is set by the constant temperature water as described above. The temperature can be maintained reliably.

Then, after the temperature of the constant temperature heat medium circulating in the generator (7) and the heat exchange chamber (14) reaches a set temperature as described above, the semiconductor wafer (W) held on the chuck (16) is The rotation shaft (17) is driven to rotate and the developing solution is ejected from the nozzle (2).

Thus, the developing chamber (10) has the chamber (1
The constant temperature can be preliminarily maintained at a constant temperature by circulating the constant temperature heating medium in 4), and the developing solution is stored in the chamber (1).
Since the temperature can be adjusted to the same temperature as that of the developing chamber (10) by the heat exchanger (5) attached to 4), the first semiconductor wafer (W) can be used at the beginning of development without using a dummy. As a result, reliable development is possible.

Further, the temperature of the developing chamber (10) tends to change due to the injection of the developing solution from the discharging means (2), but since the developing chamber (10) is hermetically sealed, the developing solution is ejected. At the same time, the saturated pressure of the developing solution is reached, and the wall of the developing tank (1) is formed by the heat exchange chamber (14). By this heat exchange chamber (14), the heat entering from the outside can be ignored. There is no temperature change in the room (10)
Since it can be controlled with high precision, the first to Nth wafers (W) can be developed at a constant temperature with high precision, that is, without variations in sensitivity.

Further, since the heat exchanger (5) for controlling the temperature of the developing solution is attached to the heat exchange chamber (14) for controlling the temperature of the developing chamber (10), the developing chamber (10) is controlled. There is no variation between the ambient temperature and the temperature of the developing solution, and therefore the developing temperature on the surface of the wafer (W) can be controlled with high accuracy.

In the above embodiment, only the developing solution was taken as the chemical solution to be used in the developing process, and one heat exchanger (5) for adjusting the temperature of the developing solution was arranged inside the chamber (14). As shown in the figure, a heat exchanger (5a) for controlling the temperature of the developing solution and a heat exchanger (5) for controlling the temperature of the pretreatment solution discharged before the developing solution.
b) and may be disposed inside the chamber (14).

Further, it goes without saying that a heat exchanger (not shown) for controlling the temperature of the post-treatment liquid may be arranged inside the chamber (14).

Further, in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, the developing tank (1)
By making the casing (11) of the double wall structure,
A heat exchange chamber (14) is formed and the chamber (1
Although the coil-shaped chemical liquid heat exchanger (5) is arranged in the cylindrical inner space of 4), as shown in FIG. 3, either the outer wall surface or the inner wall surface of the developing tank (1A) having a single wall structure can be used. On the other hand,
A heat exchange chamber (14) is formed by winding the pipe (80) in a coil shape and fixing the pipe (80) to the wall surface in a heat conductive and dense manner by using paste solder or an adhesive agent. Inside the coil-shaped heat exchange chamber (14), a pipe (50) having a diameter smaller than that of the pipe (80) forming the chamber (14) is inserted to form a coil shape along the pipe (80). By doing so, the chemical liquid heat exchanger (5) may be formed.

In this case, it is preferable to make the cross section of the pipe (80), for example, a flat elliptical shape to increase the contact area with the wall surface. Also, the body (1) of the pipe (80)
The winding pitch on A) is preferably close, but may be coarse for low cost.

Furthermore, in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 3, the chemical liquid heat exchanger (5) is arranged inside the heat exchange chamber (14), but as shown in FIG. 1
4) The chemical liquid heat exchanger (5) may be coiled around the outside or inside. In this case, as shown in FIG.
0) is preferably added.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, according to the present invention, the developing tank (1) is provided with a doorway (2) for the development target (W) that is opened on the wall surface of the developing tank (1).
0) is closed by the door (21), the developing chamber (1
0) is formed into a closed structure for shutting off from the outside, a heat exchange chamber (14) facing the developing chamber (10) is formed on the wall surface of the developing tank (1), and a heating source and a cooling source are provided. , A constant temperature heat medium generator (7) for generating a constant temperature heat medium of an arbitrary set temperature is formed, and the constant temperature heat medium generator (7) is connected to the heat exchange chamber (14) by pipes (76,
77) and the heat exchange chamber (14)
A constant temperature heat medium is circulated in the heat exchange chamber (1) while a chemical liquid heat exchanger (5) for controlling the temperature of the chemical liquid is provided.
Since it is attached to 4) so that heat can be exchanged, the temperature of the developing chamber (10) can be arbitrarily set and can be maintained at the set temperature with high precision while the size of the entire apparatus can be reduced. It is also possible to prevent variations in the temperature of (10) and the temperature of the chemical solution. Therefore, variations in resist sensitivity due to changes in the development temperature can be suppressed to a minimum, and the product yield of developed objects such as semiconductor wafers can be improved.

Also, since the heat exchanger for the chemical liquid is not housed in the constant temperature heat medium generator (7), the constant temperature heat medium generator (7) can be miniaturized accordingly, and is generally commercially available. A general-purpose heat medium generator can be used as it is. Furthermore, since it is not necessary to control the temperature of the liquid delivery pipe for the chemical liquid by using a double pipe or the like, the piping configuration can be simplified.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory view showing a first embodiment of the developing device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing only a main part of a chemical liquid heat exchanger showing a second embodiment, and a third embodiment of FIG. And FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of only the main part showing the fourth embodiment,
FIG. 5 is a characteristic diagram of the developing temperature of the developing solution and a change in resist sensitivity, FIG. 6 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing a conventional example, and FIG. 7 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing a prior application example. (1) …… Developing tank (2) …… Discharging means (5) …… Chemical solution heat exchanger (W) …… Developing object (7) …… Constant temperature heat medium generator (10) …… Developing chamber (14) ) …… Heat exchange chamber (76) (77) …… Piping (20) …… Inlet / outlet (21) …… Door

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A developing tank (1) is equipped with a means for holding a material to be developed (W), and a chemical solution to be used for development processing is discharged to the material to be developed (W) held by the holding means. A resist developing device provided with a discharging means (2), wherein the developing tank (1) is provided with a door (21) for a doorway (20) of an object (W) to be developed which is opened on a wall surface of the developing tank (1). The inside of the developing chamber (10) is closed to shut off the outside from the outside, and the developing chamber (10) is attached to the wall of the developing tank (1).
Forming a heat exchange chamber (14) facing the room, forming a constant temperature heat medium generator (7) for generating a constant temperature heat medium of an arbitrary set temperature, and providing the constant temperature heat medium. A generator (7) is connected to the heat exchange chamber (14) via pipes (76, 77), and a constant temperature heating medium is circulated in the heat exchange chamber (14) while controlling the temperature of the chemical solution. A resist developing apparatus, wherein a chemical liquid heat exchanger (5) is attached to the heat exchange chamber (14) so that heat can be exchanged.