Substrate heating method, substrate heating system, and applying developing system

• US 20060127593A1
• Filed: 02/13/2006
• Published: 06/15/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/04/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
• Original Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
• Inventors: Kitano, Takahiro, Shinya, Hiroshi
• Granted Patent: US 7,223,945 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 427/497
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67098 Apparatus for thermal treatment
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67248 Temperature monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67253 Process monitoring, e.g. flow or thickness monitoring

Abstract

With respect to a substrate on which a resist solution is applied, the inplane uniformity of the quality of a resist film is improved in a heating processing carried out before exposure, and the yields of products are improved. A substrate on which a resist solution is applied is mounted on a heating plate in a processing vessel. Then, a purge gas is supplied into the processing vessel, and heating is started. Above the mounting position of the substrate, a thickness detecting sensor for monitoring the thickness of the resist film formed on the surface of the substrate is provided. When the thickness becomes a predetermined value or less, a control part cause a lift pin to upwardly move so as to increase the distance between the substrate and the heating plate. Thus, the heating value applied to the substrate decreases, and thereafter, only the solvent is volatilized without having a bad influence on a polymer in the resist film.

Claims

1. A substrate heating method for heating a substrate, on which a resist solution is applied, in a processing vessel, the method comprising:

a first step of applying thermal energy to a substrate to volatilize most of a solvent in a resist solution; and

a second step of causing a heating value, which is applied to the substrate for a unit time, to be smaller than that at the first step to volatilize the solvent remaining in a resist film.

2. A substrate heating method as set forth in claim 1, wherein said substrate is arranged on a heating plate, and a distance between the substrate and the heating plate at the second step is longer than that at the first step, so that the heating value applied to the substrate for the unit time at the second step is smaller than that at the first step.

3. A substrate heating method as set forth in claim 1, wherein said substrate is arranged on a heating plate, and

a temperature of the heating plate at the second step is lower than that at the first step, so that the heating value applied to the substrate for the unit time at the second step is smaller than that at the first step.

4. A substrate heating method as set forth in claim 3, wherein the temperature of the heating plate is decreased by decreasing a power supplied to a resistance heating element provided in the heating plate.

5. A substrate heating method as set forth in claim 3, wherein the temperature of the heating plate is decreased by supplying a refrigerant to the heating plate.

6. A substrate heating method as set forth in claim 1, wherein a purge gas is supplied into the processing vessel, and

a temperature of the purge gas at the second step is lower than that at the first step, so that the heating value applied to the substrate for the unit time at the second step is smaller than that at the first step.

7. A substrate heating method as set forth in claim 1, wherein a liquid film of the resist solution is monitored by thickness monitoring means, and the first step is changed to the second step when the amount of decrease of thickness of the liquid film per a unit time is changed to a small value.

8. A substrate heating method as set forth in claim 7, wherein said thickness monitoring means is an optical thickness detecting sensor.

9. A substrate heating method as set forth in claim 7, wherein said thickness monitoring means is solvent concentration detecting means for detecting a concentration of the solvent in the liquid film.

10. A substrate heating method as set forth in claim 1, wherein a timing in changing of a thickness decreasing amount per unit time to a small value with respect to a liquid film of the resist solution is previously grasped, and the first step is changed to the second step in that timing.