JP2984963B2 - Semiconductor wafer development method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for developing a semiconductor wafer in a photolithography process for manufacturing a semiconductor device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a photolithography process for manufacturing a semiconductor device, a photoresist is applied to a surface of a semiconductor wafer (resist coating process), a mask pattern is printed on the resist (exposure process), and a photosensitive portion of the resist or non-exposed portion is exposed. The photosensitive section is selectively dissolved in a developer (development step) to form a resist pattern on the wafer surface. Conventionally, this type of developing process includes a spray method in which a developing solution is sprayed on the resist on the wafer surface, a dip method in which the wafer is immersed in the developing solution, a paddle method in which the wafer is placed in a horizontal state and the developing solution is poured thereon. Is used.

[0003]

However, any of the above-mentioned conventional developing methods has a problem that the use of the developer is wasteful and the consumption of the developer is large. Needless to say, the consumption of the developing solution is large in the spray method and the dip method, but the paddle method is not efficient because the developing solution is applied to each wafer. In addition, in these conventional methods, the developing solution easily covers or adheres to the back surface of the wafer or the wafer supporting member,
There is a pollution problem. Further, in the paddle method, there is a problem that it is difficult to spread the developer on the wafer evenly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to reduce the consumption of the developing solution by efficiently depositing the developing solution on the wafer surface and to reduce the amount of the developing solution on the back surface of the wafer and the supporting member. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for developing a semiconductor wafer in which adhesion and contamination of the semiconductor wafer are prevented.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, a method for developing a semiconductor wafer according to the present invention comprises the steps of:
Each surface of a pair of semiconductor wafers is separated by a predetermined gap
In the gap using capillary action.
Each table of the pair of semiconductor wafers is filled with an image liquid.
A surface is immersed in the developer in the gap.

[0006]

The present invention is applied to a gap between a pair of semiconductor wafers facing each other.
When the image liquid is injected, the developer is in the gap due to capillary action.
And spread all over the surface of both wafers.
Then, the developer filled in the gap is filled in the gap by surface tension.
Is held. In this state, the surfaces of both wafers are
The two sheets are immersed in a developer and developed simultaneously.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 and 2 show a developing method according to the first embodiment. In FIG. 1, a pair of semiconductor wafers 10, 1
2 has been subjected to an exposure process in advance, and each surface 1
A mask pattern is baked on the photoresist applied to 0a and 12a. Both semiconductor wafers 1
Numerals 0 and 12 are held by chucks 14 and 16 on back surfaces 10 b and 12 b, respectively, and are supported by wafer supports 22 and 24 via support rods 18 and 20, respectively. The wafer supports 22 and 24 are supported on XY stages 26 and 28, respectively.

According to this embodiment, the XY stages 26, 2
8 or the support rods 18 and 20 are moved or expanded and contracted in the direction of arrow A, and the surfaces 10a and 10a of the semiconductor wafers 10 and 12 are moved.
12a is a predetermined small gap (for example, 1.0 mm) G
The wafers 10 and 12 are opposed to each other in parallel via
Approach. Then, the gap G from above the nozzle 30
The developer D is injected into the inside. Then, the developer D spreads in all directions in the gap G due to capillary action, and finally the developer D
Spread all over the surfaces 10 a and 12 a of the wafers 10 and 12. The developer D filling the gap G in this way is held in the gap G by surface tension. In this state, the surface of the wafer 10, 12 a
, The two sheets are developed simultaneously.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the gap G is filled with the developing solution D by utilizing the capillary phenomenon, so that the developing solution D is efficiently supplied with a small amount of the two wafers 10 and 12.
At the same time on the developing surfaces 10a and 12a. Further, since the developing solution D is held in the gap G by surface tension, the side surfaces and the back surfaces 10b, 12b of the wafers 10, 12 are formed.
It does not wrap around or adhere to the chucks 14, 16 or the like. Therefore, there is no risk of contamination.

A mechanism for rotating the support rods 18, 20 in the direction of arrow B is provided on each of the wafer supports 22, 24, and the wafers 10, 12 are rotated slowly, for example, at a rotation speed of 30 rpm when the developing solution D is injected. Thus, the spread of the developer D in the gap G may be promoted. When such a rotary drive mechanism is provided, after development, the wafers 10 and 12 are separated from each other, and each is driven at a high speed such as 2
Rotate at a rotation speed of 2,000 rpm, and the developer D
You may shake off. Also, as shown in FIG.
Mechanisms for rotating the wafers 8 and 20 in the direction of arrow C are provided on the wafer supports 22 and 24, respectively, and the wafers 10 and 12 are slightly tilted so that the upper portion of the gap G is slightly opened when the developer D is injected. The developer D may easily enter the gap G, and the wafers 10 and 12 may be brought into the parallel state (posture) in FIG. 1 after the injection.

FIG. 3 shows a developing method according to a second embodiment. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3A, a pair of semiconductor wafers 10 and 12 are opposed to each other in parallel at a predetermined interval, and a double-sided type as shown in FIG. And a suitable amount of the developing solution D is sprinkled on the surfaces 10a and 12a of both wafers 10 and 12. Next, the developing solution discharge plate 32 is removed, and the wafers 10 and 12 are removed.
Are brought closer to each other to reduce the interval between them to a predetermined gap G. Then, the developer D adhering to the wafer surfaces 10a and 12a spreads in all directions in the gap G due to the capillary phenomenon and spreads all over the wafer surfaces 10a and 12a.
Similarly, the gap G is filled with the developer D.

FIG. 4 shows a modification of the second embodiment. While the developer discharge plate 32 in the second embodiment has only the discharge holes 32a on both surfaces,
The developer discharge plate 34 in this modification has discharge holes 3 on both sides.
Not only 4a but also a suction hole 34b is provided. The space inside the developer discharge plate 34 includes a developer supply chamber communicating with the developer introduction port 34c and the respective discharge holes 34a, and a developer discharge chamber communicating with the respective suction holes 34b and the developer discharge port 34d. It is divided into. In the developer discharge plate 34, the developer D discharged from each discharge hole 34a hits the opposed wafer surface, and the rebound liquid is sucked and collected by the suction hole 34b. Therefore, the developing solution D adheres so as to be applied to both the wafer surfaces 10a and 12a.

FIG. 5 shows a modification of the first embodiment. In the above-described first embodiment, the developer D is injected into the gap G between the pair of wafers 10 and 12 by the nozzle 30. In this modified example, a horseshoe-shaped developer discharge pipe that covers the upper half of the gap G is used. The developing solution D is injected into the gap G from a number of discharge holes 36a by using the nozzle 36.

FIG. 6 shows a developing method according to a third embodiment. In this embodiment, the developer D is injected into the gap G between the two wafers 10 and 12 by making the most of the capillary phenomenon. That is, as shown in FIG.
The lower ends of the wafers 10 and 12 are brought into contact with the liquid surface of the liquid reservoir 40 of the developer D, and the developer D is raised from the liquid level into the gap G by capillary action. At this time, in order to improve the distribution of the developer D in the gap G, the wafers 10 and 12 may be gently rotated as shown in FIG.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show a developing method according to a fourth embodiment. In this embodiment, the rinsing after the development is performed by the same wafer support mechanism. Although only a support mechanism for one wafer 10 is shown for convenience of illustration, a similar support mechanism may be provided for the other wafer 12. In the wafer support mechanism of this embodiment, the wafer support 22 is supported by a stage 44 via a horizontal upright drive unit 42.

At the time of development, as shown in FIG. 7, the wafer support 22 and the support rod 18 are tilted horizontally by the horizontal upright drive unit 42, and the wafer 10 is erected vertically. Development is performed according to the method. When the development is completed, the wafer 10 is separated from the wafer 12,
The developer D is shaken off by rotating the developer D at a high speed (for example, 2000 rpm) in the vertical posture. Next, the wafer support 22 and the support rod 18 are vertically raised by the horizontal upright drive unit 42 to level the wafer 10. Then, the cup 48 is lowered from above to the height position of the wafer 10 by the support rod 46 so that the cup 48 surrounds the wafer 10 as shown in FIG. By configuring the cup 48 so that it can be divided into two, the inner diameter of the lower end of the cup 48 is
Even if the diameter is smaller than 0, the wafer 10 can be accommodated in the cup 48. In this manner, with the wafer 10 housed in the cup 48, the rinsing nozzle 50 is lowered from above, and the surface 10 of the wafer 10 is
The rinsing liquid R is discharged toward “a”. Meanwhile, the support rod 18
Through the wafer 10 at an appropriate rotation speed, for example, 2000
Turn at rpm. As a result, the rinsing liquid R is evenly applied to the surface 10a of the wafer 10, and the developing liquid D is washed away. The drainage R 'is collected at the bottom of the cup 48, and then sent from the outlet 48a to a drain tank (not shown) via the drain pipe 52. Note that the developer D may be shaken off in a state where the cup 48 surrounds the wafer 10 as shown in FIG.

According to the present embodiment, since the developing solution D does not flow into the back surface 10b of the wafer 10, the chuck 14 and the like in the developing process, the front surface 10a of the wafer 10 is
Only the back surface need not be cleaned. That is, the contact of the developer with the wafer can be made only on the processing surface of the wafer.

The preferred embodiment has been described above.
The present invention is in no way limited to the above examples,
Various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the technical idea. For example, in the first to third embodiments described above,
The developer D is injected into the gap G from above with the pair of wafers 10 and 12 standing upright. According to such a vertical injection method, the developer D can reach the lower part of the gap G at a relatively high speed by its own weight in addition to the capillary phenomenon. However, it is also possible to inject the developing solution D into the gap G between the wafers 10 and 12 in a state where the wafers 10 and 12 are inclined or substantially horizontal.

[0019]

As described above, the semiconductor wafer of the present invention is used.
According to the eha developing method, a pair of semiconductor wafers are brought into close proximity to each other.
And fill the gap with developer using capillary action
The developer efficiency is very high
It is possible to save a lot of liquid consumption and
Since the image liquid does not flow to the back side of the wafer, support members, etc.
Pollution can be prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing a developing method according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view showing a modified example of a method of injecting a developer in the developing method according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic side view illustrating a developing method according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view showing a modified example of a method of injecting a developer in a developing method according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic side view showing another modification of the method of injecting a developer in the developing method according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a schematic side view illustrating a developing method according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a schematic side view showing a developing step in a developing method according to a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a schematic side view showing a rinsing step in a developing method according to a fourth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10, 12 semiconductor wafer 14, 16 chuck 18, 20 support rod 22, 24 wafer support 30 nozzle 32, 34 developer discharge plate

Claims (9)

(57) [Claims] 1. A surface of a pair of semiconductor wafers to be developed is opposed to each other via a predetermined gap, and the gap is filled with a developer using a capillary phenomenon. A method for developing a semiconductor wafer, comprising immersing a surface in the developer in the gap. 2. The pair of semiconductor wafers facing each other.
Characterized in that the developer is injected into the gap from the side.
The method for developing a semiconductor wafer according to claim 1. 3. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein a side surface of a gap between said pair of semiconductor wafers is formed.
Arranging the developer discharging means so as to cover a part thereof,
A plurality of developer solution discharging means provided side by side in the circumferential direction
From the discharge port in the gap between the pair of semiconductor wafers.
3. The semiconductor according to claim 2, wherein an image liquid is injected.
Body wafer development method. 4. An injection port in said gap when said developer is injected.
Hold the pair of semiconductor wafers so that the vicinity
Tilt, and after injecting the developing solution, the pair of semiconductor wafers
4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the parallel state is set.
Semiconductor wafer developing method described above. 5. A pair of semiconductor wafers to be developed.
Face each other at a predetermined interval, and
The developer discharging member having a discharge hole is connected to the pair of semiconductor wafers.
C and inserted into the middle of the pair of semiconductor wafers from the discharge port.
Sprinkle the developer on each surface of Eha, then
After extracting the developer discharging member, the pair of semiconductors
Reducing the distance between the body wafers to the predetermined gap
2. The method for developing a semiconductor wafer according to claim 1, wherein 6. Before the semiconductor wafer is rebounded from the semiconductor wafer.
The suction hole for sucking and collecting the developing solution is provided with the developing solution.
The semiconductor according to claim 5, which is provided on both surfaces of the discharge member.
Body wafer development method. 7. Opposite to each other via said predetermined gap.
The lower ends of the pair of semiconductor wafers are placed in the developer pool.
The developer solution by capillary action
2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the space is raised in the gap.
Semiconductor wafer developing method described above. 8. The developing solution on a surface of the semiconductor wafer.
In order to promote the spread of
8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the rotation is performed at a rotation speed.
A semiconductor wafer developing method according to any one of the above. 9. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising :
Place the pair of semiconductor wafers in place to shake off the developing solution.
9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the rotation is performed at a constant rotation speed.
A method for developing a semiconductor wafer according to any one of the preceding claims.