PHOTORESIST COATING AND DEVELOPING APPARATUS, SUBSTRATE TRANSFER METHOD AND INTERFACE APPARATUS

• US 20110117492A1
• Filed: 11/05/2010
• Published: 05/19/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
• Original Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
• Inventors: Yamada, Yoshiaki, Yamamoto, Yuichi, Kosugi, Hitoshi
• Granted Patent: US 8,376,637 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 430/270.1
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67109 mainly by convection
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67196 characterized by the construction of the transfer chamber
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67201 characterized by the construction of the load-lock chamber

Abstract

A photoresist coating and developing apparatus 1 includes a photoresist film forming unit that forms a photoresist film on a substrate; a heat treatment unit that heats the substrate on which the photoresist film is formed by the photoresist film forming unit; a cooling unit that cools the substrate, on which the photoresist film is formed and which is heated by the heat treatment unit, to normal temperature; a heating unit 61 that heats the substrate, which is cooled to normal temperature by the cooling unit, to a predetermined temperature; a load-lock chamber L1 that unloads the substrate under depressurized atmosphere to expose the photoresist film; and a transfer device 62 that transfers the substrate from the heating unit 61 to the load-lock chamber L1.

Claims

1. A photoresist coating and developing apparatus that forms a photoresist film on a substrate and develops the photoresist film, the apparatus comprising:

a photoresist film forming unit that forms the photoresist film on the substrate;

a heat treatment unit that heats the substrate on which the photoresist film is formed by the photoresist film forming unit;

a cooling unit that cools the substrate, on which the photoresist film is formed and which is heated by the heat treatment unit, to normal temperature;

a heating unit that heats the substrate, which is cooled to normal temperature by the cooling unit, to a predetermined temperature;

a load-lock chamber that unloads the substrate under depressurized atmosphere to expose the photoresist film; and

a transfer unit that transfers the substrate from the heating unit to the load-lock chamber.

2. The photoresist coating and developing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the transfer unit includes a thermostat that maintains a temperature of the substrate transferred within the transfer unit.

3. The photoresist coating and developing apparatus of claim 2, wherein the load-lock chamber includes a temperature measurement unit that measures a temperature of the substrate loaded into the load-lock chamber.

4. The photoresist coating and developing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the load-lock chamber includes a temperature measurement unit that measures a temperature of the substrate loaded into the load-lock chamber.

5. An interface apparatus that unloads a substrate on which a photoresist film is formed in a photoresist coating and developing apparatus to expose the photoresist film and load the substrate after exposure into the photoresist coating and developing apparatus to develop the photoresist film, the interface apparatus comprising:

a heating unit that heats the substrate, on which the photoresist film is formed, heated, and cooled to normal temperature in the photoresist coating and developing apparatus, to a predetermined temperature;

a load-lock chamber that unloads the substrate under depressurized atmosphere to expose the photoresist film; and

a transfer unit that transfers the substrate from the heating unit to the load-lock chamber.

6. The interface apparatus of claim 5, wherein the transfer unit includes a thermostat that maintains a temperature of the substrate transferred within the transfer unit.

7. The interface apparatus of claim 6, wherein the load-lock chamber includes a temperature measurement unit that measures a temperature of the substrate loaded into the load-lock chamber.

8. The interface apparatus of claim 5, wherein the load-lock chamber includes a temperature measurement unit that measures a temperature of the substrate loaded into the load-lock chamber.

9. A substrate transfer method of transferring a substrate, on which a photoresist film is formed, from a photoresist coating and developing apparatus that forms the photoresist film on the substrate and develops the photoresist film to an exposure apparatus that exposes the photoresist film under depressurized atmosphere, the method comprising:

heat-treating the substrate on which the photoresist film is formed by the photoresist coating and developing apparatus;

cooling the substrate, on which the photoresist film is formed and which is heated in the heat-treating process, to normal temperature;

heating the substrate, which is cooled to normal temperature in the cooling process, to a predetermined temperature by a heating unit; and

transferring the substrate from the heating unit to a load-lock chamber positioned between the exposure apparatus which exposes the photoresist film under depressurized atmosphere and the photoresist coating and developing apparatus.

10. The substrate transfer method of claim 9, wherein the transferring process includes maintaining a temperature of the substrate heated in the heating process.

11. The substrate transfer method of claim 10, further comprising:

measuring a temperature of the substrate loaded into the load-lock chamber in the load-lock chamber.

12. The substrate transfer method of claim 11, wherein the measuring process includes determining the predetermined temperature in the heating process based on the temperature of the substrate measured in the load-lock chamber.

13. The substrate transfer method of claim 9, further comprising:

measuring a temperature of the substrate loaded into the load-lock chamber in the load-lock chamber.

14. The substrate transfer method of claim 13, wherein the measuring process includes determining the predetermined temperature in the heating process based on the temperature of the substrate measured in the load-lock chamber.