Developing apparatus, developing method and storage medium

• US 8,337,104 B2
• Filed: 02/10/2011
• Issued: 12/25/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/15/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
• Original Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
• Inventors: Takiguchi, Yasushi, Yamamoto, Taro, Arima, Hiroshi, Yoshihara, Kousuke, Yoshida, Yuichi
• Primary Examiner(s): FULLER, RODNEY EVAN
• Application Number:
  US13/024,430
• Publication Number:
  US 20110200952A1
• Time in Patent Office: 684 Days
• Field of Search: 396/611
• US Class Current: 396/611
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/3021 from a wafer supported on a rotating chuck

Abstract

There is provided a developing apparatus and a developing method capable of rapidly forming a liquid film of a developing solution on an entire surface of a substrate while reducing a usage amount of the developing solution. The developing apparatus includes an airtightly sealed processing vessel that forms a processing atmosphere therein; a temperature control plate that is provided within the processing vessel and mounts the substrate thereon; an atmosphere gas supply unit that supplies an atmosphere gas including mist and vapor of a developing solution onto a surface of the substrate within the processing vessel; and a first temperature control unit that controls the temperature control plate to a temperature allowing the atmosphere gas to be condensed on the substrate. Here, an inner wall of the processing vessel is maintained at a temperature at which the atmosphere gas is hardly condensed on the inner wall.

Claims

1. A developing apparatus that develops an exposed substrate, the apparatus comprising:

an airtightly sealed processing vessel that forms a processing atmosphere therein;

a temperature control plate that is provided within the processing vessel and mounts the substrate thereon;

an atmosphere gas supply unit that supplies an atmosphere gas including mist and vapor of a developing solution onto a surface of the substrate within the processing vessel;

a first temperature control unit that controls the temperature control plate to a temperature allowing the atmosphere gas to be condensed on the substrate; and

a temperature setting unit that sets a temperature of the temperature control plate through the first temperature control unit such that a liquid film of the developing solution on the surface of the substrate is formed in a thickness in accordance with a processing recipe,

wherein an inner wall of the processing vessel is maintained at a temperature at which the atmosphere gas is hardly condensed on the inner wall.

2. The developing apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a second temperature control unit that maintains the inner wall of the processing vessel at a temperature at which the vapor is hardly condensed on the inner wall.

3. The developing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the temperature control plate includes an attracting mechanism that attracts the substrate onto a surface of the temperature control plate.

4. The developing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the atmosphere gas includes the vapor of the developing solution without containing the mist of the developing solution.

5. The developing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the atmosphere gas supply unit includes a heating unit that heats the atmosphere gas.

6. The developing apparatus of claim 5, wherein the atmosphere gas is heated to a temperature higher than a saturation temperature of the developing solution in a heating atmosphere by the heating unit.

7. A developing method for developing an exposed substrate, the method comprising:

loading the substrate into an airtightly sealed processing vessel that forms a processing atmosphere therein;

supplying an atmosphere gas including mist and vapor of a developing solution onto a surface of the substrate loaded into the processing vessel;

controlling a temperature control plate, which is provided within the processing vessel and mounts the substrate thereon, to a temperature allowing the atmosphere gas to be condensed on the substrate;

condensing the vapor by mounting the substrate on the temperature control plate and forming a liquid film of the developing solution by the mist and the condensed vapor; and

setting a temperature of the temperature control plate such that the liquid film of the developing solution on the surface of the substrate is formed in a thickness in accordance with a processing recipe,

wherein an inner wall of the processing vessel is maintained at a temperature at which the vapor is hardly condensed on the inner wall.

8. The developing method of claim 7, wherein the atmosphere gas includes the vapor of the developing solution without containing the mist of the developing solution.

9. The developing method of claim 7, further comprising:

heating the atmosphere gas by a heating unit.

10. The developing method of claim 9, wherein the atmosphere gas is heated to a temperature higher than a saturation temperature of the developing solution in a heating atmosphere.

11. A storage medium that stores therein a program to be used in a developing apparatus that develops an exposed substrate within a processing vessel,

wherein the program includes processing steps for implementing a developing method as claimed in claim 7.