COATING/DEVELOPING DEVICE AND METHOD

• US 20060201423A1
• Filed: 03/09/2006
• Published: 09/14/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/11/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
• Original Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
• Inventors: Ueda, Issei, Kimura, Yoshio, Matsuoka, Nobuaki, Hayashida, Yasushi, Hayashi, Shinichi, Akimoto, Masami, Ito, Hikaru
• Granted Patent: US 8,408,158 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 118/712
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/162 Coating on a rotating support, e.g. using a whirler or a spinner
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/6715 Apparatus for applying a liquid, a resin, an ink or the like H01L21/67126 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67173 in-line arrangement
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67178 vertical arrangement
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67742 Mechanical parts of transfer devices robots in general in B25J

Abstract

A coating/developing device includes a processing block having a plurality of coating unit blocks stacked and a developing unit block stacked on the coating unit blocks. Each of the unit blocks is provided with a liquid processing unit for coating a liquid chemical on a substrate, a heating unit for heating the substrate, a cooling unit for cooling the substrate and a transfer unit for transferring the substrate between the units. The liquid processing unit is provided with a coating unit for coating a resist liquid on the substrate, a first bottom antireflection coating (BARC) forming unit for coating a liquid chemical for a BARC on the substrate before the resist liquid is coated thereon, and a second BARC forming unit for coating a liquid chemical for the BARC on the substrate after the resist liquid is coated thereon.

Claims

1. A coating/developing device in which a substrate loaded through a carrier into a carrier block is transferred to a processing block where a coating film including a resist film is formed thereon, and is then transferred through an interface block to an exposure device and returned through the interface block to the processing block, the exposed substrate being developed at the processing block and then transferred to the carrier block, wherein:

a) the processing block includes a plurality of coating unit blocks stacked and a developing unit block stacked on the coating unit blocks;

b) each of the unit blocks includes a liquid processing unit for coating a liquid chemical on the substrate, a heating unit for heating the substrate, a cooling unit for cooling the substrate and a transfer unit for transferring the substrate between the units; and

c) the liquid processing unit provided in the coating unit block includes a coating unit for coating a resist liquid on the substrate, a first bottom antireflection coating (BARC) forming unit for coating a liquid chemical for a BARC on the substrate before the resist liquid is coated thereon, and a second BARC forming unit for coating a liquid chemical for the BARC on the substrate after the resist liquid is coated thereon, wherein in each of the coating unit blocks, the processing for forming the coating film including the resist film on the substrate is performed.

2. The device of claim 1, further comprising a control unit for controlling the device such that in case there occurs an abnormality in any one of the coating unit blocks, the substrate is not transferred into the abnormal coating unit block while the substrate is allowed to be transferred into the other coating unit blocks.

3. The device of claim 1, further comprising a first transfer stage group provided on the side of the carrier block in each of the unit blocks, the first transfer stage group including first transfer stages stacked which are used in transferring the substrate between the transfer units of the respective unit blocks;

and a first substrate transfer unit for transferring the substrate between the first transfer stages.

4. The device of claim 3, further comprising a second transfer stage group provided on the side of the interface block in each of the unit blocks, the second transfer stage group including second transfer stages stacked which are used in transferring the substrate between the transfer units of the respective unit blocks;

and a second substrate transfer unit for transferring the substrate between the second transfer stages.

5. The device of claim 3, wherein the first transfer stage group includes a transfer stage for the transfer of the substrate between the carrier block and the processing block.

6. The device of claim 3, wherein there is provided between the processing block and the interface block an auxiliary block provided with a unit for performing a process on the substrate before the exposure process after the coating film is formed thereon and/or before and after the developing process after the exposure process.

7. The device of claim 1, further comprising a second transfer stage group provided on the side of the interface block in each of the unit blocks, the second transfer stage group including second transfer stages stacked which are used in transferring the substrate between the transfer units of the respective unit blocks;

and a second substrate transfer unit for transferring the substrate between the second transfer stages.

8. The device of claim 7, wherein the second transfer stage group includes a transfer stage for the transfer of the substrate between the interface block and the processing block.

9. The device of claim 8, wherein there is provided between the processing block and the interface block an auxiliary block provided with a unit for performing a process on the substrate before the exposure process after the coating film is formed thereon and/or before and after the developing process after the exposure process.

10. The device of claim 1, wherein there is provided between the processing block and the interface block an auxiliary block provided with a unit for performing a process on the substrate before the exposure process after the coating film is formed thereon and/or before and after the developing process after the exposure process.

11. The device of claim 10, wherein the unit provided in the auxiliary block includes at least one of a thickness inspection unit for inspecting a thickness of the coating film formed on the substrate in order to inspect the status of the surface of the substrate;

a cleaning unit for cleaning the substrate before and/or after the exposure process;

a defocus inspection device for detecting misalignment of the pattern caused in the exposure device;

a device for detecting a non-uniform coating of the resist liquid;

a particle detection device for detecting the number of particles adhered to the substrate;

a comet detection device for detecting comets generated on the substrate after the resist coating;

a splash back detection device;

a defect detection device for detecting defects on the substrate;

a residual detection device for detecting resist residuals remaining on the substrate after the developing process;

a poor status detection device for detecting a poor status in the coating and/or the developing;

a line-width measuring device for measuring a line-width of the resist film formed on the substrate; and

an overlap detection device for inspecting an overlap precision between the exposed substrate and a photo mask.

12. The device of claim 11, wherein the exposure device is to perform an exposure in liquid by forming a liquid layer on the surface of the substrate, and

the unit provided in the auxiliary block is the cleaning unit for cleaning the substrate after the substrate is exposed in liquid.

13. The device of claim 12, wherein a coating unit block, for forming a water-repellent protection film on the resist film of the substrate, is further stacked on the coating unit blocks stacked.

14. A coating/developing method employed in the coating/developing device described in claim 1, the method comprising the steps of:

stopping the transfer of the substrate into one of the coating unit blocks while allowing the substrate to be transferred into the other coating unit blocks, in case there occurs an abnormality in the same one of the coating unit blocks.