JP4339299B2 - Resist coating device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a coating apparatus that forms a coating film on a substrate to be processed in a manufacturing process of, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or a semiconductor device.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a lithography process in a manufacturing process of an LCD or a semiconductor device, a so-called spin coating method is commonly used or frequently used to apply a resist solution on a substrate to be processed (glass substrate, semiconductor substrate). However, in the conventional general spin coating method, the substrate to be processed is spin-rotated at a considerably high speed, so that a large amount of resist solution is scattered out of the substrate by centrifugal force, which is wasted and causes particles. There is a problem. In addition, when the substrate is enlarged, there is a problem that air turbulence is likely to occur due to the high peripheral speed at the outer periphery of the substrate during spin rotation, and the film thickness of the resist film is likely to fluctuate and thus the resolution is liable to decrease.

Therefore, as a new resist coating method that replaces the spin coating method, as shown in FIG. 14, the resist solution R is continuously applied in a thin line shape from the resist nozzle 2 while scanning the resist nozzle 2 on the substrate 1 to be processed. There has been proposed a technique (spinless method) in which the resist solution R is uniformly applied on the substrate 1 with a desired film thickness without causing high-speed rotation by discharging (for example, Patent Document 1). The resist nozzle 2 used in the spinless method has a discharge port with a very small diameter (for example, about 100 μm), and is configured to discharge the resist solution R at a considerably high pressure.
JP 2000-77326 A

  Generally, in the resist nozzle, when the discharge operation is stopped, the resist liquid tends to adhere or remain near the discharge port. If this resist liquid is left as it is and dried and solidified, the resist discharge flow may be hindered during the next coating process. Or may be disturbed or may be a source of particles. Therefore, nozzle cleaning is performed by spraying a cleaning solution or solvent on the vicinity of the discharge port to the resist nozzle that has returned from the discharge operation to the nozzle standby unit that is installed adjacent to the coating processing area, and then flushes the resist. A mechanism is provided.

  However, the conventional nozzle cleaning mechanism as described above cannot not only clean or clean the vicinity of the discharge port of the resist nozzle during the coating process, but also does not have a very high cleaning efficiency. In particular, the fine diameter type resist nozzles used in the spinless method as described above cannot cope with the conventional nozzle cleaning mechanism because the degree of resist adhering to or remaining in the periphery of the discharge port is large.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, and removes the resist solution adhering to or remaining in the vicinity of the discharge port of the resist nozzle cleanly using a waiting interval, and resist coating processing. An object of the present invention is to provide a resist coating apparatus that improves the efficiency and quality of the coating.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a resist coating apparatus that improves the cleaning ability and efficiency for removing dirt in the vicinity of the nozzle outlet.

To achieve the above object, a resist coating apparatus of the present invention, there is provided a resist coating apparatus for applying dropwise resist solution from above on a substrate to be processed, one or a plurality of discharge ports and and a resist liquid inlet port communicating with their discharge port, and the resist nozzle for discharging from the discharge port of the resist solution was introduced from the resist solution inlet provided at a predetermined nozzle standby position, the resist nozzle The resist nozzle is detachably held so as to cover at least a portion near the discharge port with a predetermined gap, and has a drainage portion at a position facing the discharge port of the resist nozzle, and the drainage portion solvent toward the nozzle holder to the open end of the gap is open to the gas space, the discharge port upper part than in the vicinity of the resist nozzle held in the nozzle holder other than A solvent injection nozzle provided in the nozzle holder to inject, connecting the liquid present in the vicinity of the discharge port of the resist nozzle held in the nozzle holder to the drainage portion in order to remove by vacuum suction And a comb-teeth bridge member provided on the inner wall surface of the nozzle holder so that the free end is close to the vicinity of the discharge port of the resist nozzle held by the nozzle holder. When the solvent spray nozzle sprays the solvent onto the resist nozzle, the vacuum means is operated simultaneously to perform vacuum suction.

In the above configuration, since to perform vacuum suction to the vacuum means and at the same time to inject the solvent from the solvent injection nozzle with respect to the resist nozzle waiting at the nozzle waiting position, the discharge opening neighborhood of processing liquid discharge nozzle from solvent injection nozzle The solvent supplied to the upper part passes through the gap along with the air flow from the upper part (upstream), passes through the vicinity of the discharge port, and discharges the processing liquid adhering to or remaining in the vicinity. It is sucked into the club side. Thus, effective wet cleaning is performed in the vicinity of the discharge port of the resist nozzle. Further, the inner wall surface of the nozzle holder is provided with a comb-teeth bridge member so that the free end is close to the vicinity of the discharge port of the resist nozzle held by the nozzle holder. By the action, the treatment liquid adhering to or remaining in the vicinity of the nozzle discharge port is surely removed.

Oite to a preferred aspect of the present invention, by the bridge member is constructed of a flexible material, the free ends of the bridge member to deflect to the draining side when subjected to vacuum suction therewith together In addition, the processing liquid can be pulled away from the vicinity of the nozzle discharge port.

  As another preferred embodiment, the solvent injection nozzles may be arranged in a one-to-one correspondence with the discharge ports of the processing liquid discharge nozzles. Preferably, the solvent injection nozzles are staggered on both sides across the discharge port array of the nozzle body. In other words, two solvent spray nozzles respectively corresponding to the discharge ports of the two adjacent processing liquid discharge nozzles may be separately arranged on both sides with respect to the discharge port row of the processing liquid discharge nozzles.

  As another preferred embodiment, in order to thoroughly clean the vicinity of the nozzle discharge port, the direction in which the discharge port is arranged between the processing liquid discharge nozzle and the solvent injection nozzle while injecting the solvent from the solvent injection nozzle Relative movement may be performed in a direction parallel to.

  According to another preferred embodiment, in order to give an atmosphere of solvent vapor to the processing liquid discharge nozzle, the nozzle holder supplies the solvent vapor from a position higher than the discharge port in the vicinity of the discharge port of the processing liquid discharge nozzle. There may be provided a first solvent reservoir for supplying the solvent, and a second solvent reservoir for supplying the vapor of the solvent from a position lower than the outlet near the outlet of the treatment liquid outlet nozzle.

  According to the coating apparatus of the present invention, due to the configuration and operation as described above, the processing liquid adhered or remained in the vicinity of the discharge port while the processing liquid discharge nozzle was waiting at the predetermined nozzle standby position. Can be removed cleanly, and the efficiency and quality of the coating process can be improved. Furthermore, it is possible to improve the cleaning ability and efficiency for removing dirt near the nozzle discharge port.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 shows a coating and developing treatment system as a configuration example to which the resist coating apparatus of the present invention can be applied. This coating / development processing system is installed in a clean room and uses, for example, an LCD substrate as a substrate to be processed, and performs cleaning, resist coating, pre-baking, development, and post-baking in the photolithography process in the LCD manufacturing process. is there. The exposure process is performed by an external exposure apparatus (not shown) installed adjacent to this system.

  This coating and developing system is roughly divided into a cassette station (C / S) 10, a process station (P / S) 12, and an interface unit (I / F) 14.

  A cassette station (C / S) 10 installed at one end of the system has a cassette stage 16 on which a predetermined number, for example, four cassettes C for storing a plurality of substrates G can be placed, and a cassette C on the stage 12. And a transport mechanism 20 for taking in and out the substrate G. The transport mechanism 20 has a means for holding the substrate G, for example, a transport arm, can be operated with four axes of X, Y, Z, and θ, and is transported on the process station (P / S) 12 side described later. And the substrate G can be transferred.

  The process station (P / S) 12 includes, in order from the cassette station (C / S) 10 side, a cleaning process unit 22, a coating process unit 24, and a development process unit 26, a substrate relay unit 23, a chemical solution supply unit 25, and It is provided in a horizontal row via (spaced) the space 27.

  The cleaning process unit 22 includes two scrubber cleaning units (SCR) 28, an upper and lower ultraviolet irradiation / cooling unit (UV / COL) 30, a heating unit (HP) 32, and a cooling unit (COL) 34. Contains.

  The coating process unit 24 includes a resist coating unit (CT) 40, a vacuum drying unit (VD) 42, an edge remover unit (ER) 44, an upper and lower two-stage adhesion / cooling unit (AD / COL) 46, An upper and lower two-stage heating / cooling unit (HP / COL) 48 and a heating unit (HP) 50 are included.

  The development process unit 26 includes three development units (DEV) 52, two upper and lower two-stage heating / cooling units (HP / COL) 54, and a heating unit (HP) 56.

  Conveying paths 36, 52, and 58 are provided in the longitudinal direction at the center of each of the process units 22, 24, and 26, and the main conveying devices 38, 54, and 60 move along the respective conveying paths, and each of the process units 22 The unit is accessed to carry in / out or carry the substrate G. In this system, in each of the process units 22, 24, and 26, a spinner system unit (SCR, CT, DEV, etc.) is disposed on one side of the transport paths 36, 52, and 58, and a heat treatment system is disposed on the other side. Units (HP, COL, etc.) are arranged.

  The interface unit (I / F) 14 installed at the other end of the system is provided with an extension (substrate transfer unit) 57 and a buffer stage 56 on the side adjacent to the process station 12, and is transported to the side adjacent to the exposure apparatus. A mechanism 59 is provided.

  FIG. 2 shows a processing procedure in this coating and developing processing system. First, in the cassette station (C / S) 10, the transport mechanism 20 takes out one substrate G from a predetermined cassette C on the stage 12 and transports it to the cleaning process unit 22 of the process station (P / S) 12. It is passed to the device 38 (step S1).

  In the cleaning process section 22, the substrate G is first sequentially carried into an ultraviolet irradiation / cooling unit (UV / COL) 30, subjected to dry cleaning by ultraviolet irradiation in the first ultraviolet irradiation unit (UV), and then subjected to the next cooling unit ( In COL), the temperature is cooled to a predetermined temperature (step S2). This UV cleaning mainly removes organic substances on the substrate surface.

  Next, the substrate G is subjected to a scrubbing cleaning process by one of the scrubber cleaning units (SCR) 28 to remove particulate dirt from the substrate surface (step S3). After the scrubbing cleaning, the substrate G is subjected to dehydration treatment by heating in the heating unit (HP) 32 (step S4), and then cooled to a constant substrate temperature by the cooling unit (COL) 34 (step S5). Thus, the pretreatment in the cleaning process unit 22 is completed, and the substrate G is transferred to the coating process unit 24 by the main transfer device 38 via the substrate transfer unit 23.

  In the coating process unit 24, the substrate G is first sequentially loaded into an adhesion / cooling unit (AD / COL) 46, and undergoes a hydrophobization process (HMDS) in the first adhesion unit (AD) (step S6). The cooling unit (COL) cools to a constant substrate temperature (step S7).

  Thereafter, the substrate G is coated with a resist solution by a resist coating unit (CT) 40, and then subjected to a drying process by a reduced pressure drying unit (VD) 42, and then an edge remover unit (ER) 44 of the periphery of the substrate. Excess (unnecessary) resist is removed (step S8).

  Next, the substrate G is sequentially carried into the heating / cooling unit (HP / COL) 48, and the first heating unit (HP) performs baking after coating (pre-baking) (step S9), and then the cooling unit ( COL) to cool to a constant substrate temperature (step S10). In addition, the heating unit (HP) 50 can also be used for baking after this application | coating.

  After the coating process, the substrate G is transported to the interface unit (I / F) 14 by the main transport device 54 of the coating process unit 24 and the main transport device 60 of the development process unit 26, and is passed from there to the exposure apparatus. (Step S11). In the exposure apparatus, a predetermined circuit pattern is exposed on the resist on the substrate G. After the pattern exposure, the substrate G is returned from the exposure apparatus to the interface unit (I / F) 14. The transport mechanism 59 of the interface unit (I / F) 14 passes the substrate G received from the exposure apparatus to the development process unit 26 of the process station (P / S) 12 via the extension 57 (step S11).

  In the development process section 26, the substrate G is subjected to development processing in any one of the development units (DEV) 52 (step S12), and then sequentially carried into one of the heating / cooling units (HP / COL) 55, Post baking is performed in the first heating unit (HP) (step S13), and then the substrate is cooled to a constant substrate temperature in the cooling unit (COL) (step S14). A heating unit (HP) 53 can also be used for this post-baking.

  The substrate G that has undergone a series of processing in the development process section 26 is returned to the cassette station (C / S) 10 by the transfer devices 60, 54, and 38 in the process station (P / S) 24, where the transfer mechanism 20 Is stored in one of the cassettes C (step S1).

  In this coating and developing treatment system, the present invention can be applied to the resist coating unit (CT) 40 of the coating process unit 24. Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a resist coating unit (CT) 40 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  3 and 4 show the configuration of the main parts of the resist coating unit (CT) 40, the reduced pressure drying unit (VD) 42, and the edge remover unit (ER) 44 in the coating process unit 12. FIG.

  These coating system processing unit groups (CT) 40, (VD) 42, and (ER) 44 are arranged in a horizontal row on the support base 60 in the order of processing steps. A pair of guide rails 62, 62 are laid on both sides of the support base 60, and the substrate G is directly transferred between the units by one or a plurality of pairs of transfer arms 64, 64 that translate along the guide rails 62, 62 ( Exchange is possible (without going through the main transfer device 54 on the main transfer path 52 side).

  The vacuum drying unit (VD) 42 includes a tray or shallow container type lower chamber 66 having an open upper surface, and a lid-shaped upper chamber configured to be tightly fitted or fitted to the upper surface of the lower chamber 66. 68. The lower chamber 66 has a substantially rectangular shape, a stage 70 for horizontally placing and supporting the substrate G is disposed at the center, and exhaust ports 72 are provided at the four corners of the bottom surface. An exhaust pipe 74 connected to each exhaust port 72 from below the lower chamber 66 communicates with a vacuum pump (not shown). With the lower chamber 66 covered with the upper chamber 68, the processing space in both the chambers 66, 68 can be depressurized to a predetermined degree of vacuum by the vacuum pump.

  The edge remover unit (ER) 44 includes a stage 76 for horizontally placing and supporting the substrate G, alignment means 78 for positioning the substrate G at a pair of opposite corners, and four sides of the substrate G. There are provided four remover heads 80 and the like for removing excess resist from the peripheral edge (edge). With the alignment means 78 positioning the substrate G on the stage 76, each remover head 80 moves along each side of the substrate G and removes excess resist adhering to the peripheral portion of each side of the substrate. It is designed to dissolve and remove with thinner.

  The resist coating unit (CT) 40 includes a cup-shaped processing container 82 having an open upper surface, a stage 84 that can be moved up and down for horizontally mounting and holding the substrate G in the processing container 82, A nozzle that drives the resist nozzle 150 in the X and Y directions for dropping a resist solution from above on the substrate G on the stage 84 and an elevating drive unit 86 provided below the processing container 82 to raise and lower the stage 84. The scanning mechanism 90, the nozzle maintenance part 91 for maintaining the resist nozzle 150 which is not operating outside the processing container 82, and a controller (not shown) for controlling each part are provided. The nozzle maintenance 91 is provided with a nozzle standby section 152 (184) of an embodiment described later.

  FIG. 5 shows the configuration of the nozzle scanning mechanism 90, and FIG. 6 shows an enlarged external configuration of the resist nozzle 150. In this nozzle scanning mechanism 90, a pair of Y guide rails 94, 94 extending in the Y direction are disposed on both sides of the processing container 82 (not shown in FIG. 5), and between the Y guide rails 94, 94 in the X direction. An X guide rail 96 extending in the Y direction is bridged so as to be movable in the Y direction. A Y-direction drive unit 98 disposed at a predetermined position, for example, one end of the Y guide rail 94 on one side, moves the X guide rail 96 along the Y guide rails 94 and 94 via a transmission mechanism (not shown) such as an endless belt. And is driven in the Y direction. In addition, a carriage (conveyance body) 100 that can be moved in the X direction along the X guide rail 96 by, for example, a self-propelled type or an externally driven type is provided. A resist nozzle 150 is detachably attached to the carriage 100.

  A connecting member 102 that is detachably attached to the carriage 100 is fixedly or integrally formed on the rear portion of the resist nozzle 150. The connecting member 102 in the illustrated example has a cylindrical portion 104 extending in the vertical direction, and a pair of left and right blind holes or counterbore holes 104a (FIG. 6) formed on the outer wall surface of the cylindrical portion 102a are arranged on the carriage 100 side. The tip portions of the pair of left and right nozzle holding arms 100a are detachably fitted from both sides.

  Connected to the upper portion of the resist nozzle 150 is a flexible resist supply pipe 106 communicating with a resist solution supply unit (not shown) including a resist solution container and a pump. Each of the resist supply pipes 106 is provided with an on-off valve (not shown) that can be controlled by a controller.

  Next, the operation of the resist coating unit (CT) 40 of this embodiment will be described.

  First, the substrate G before coating processing is carried into the resist coating unit (CT) 40 by the main transport device 54 (FIG. 1) on the main transport path 52 side. In the resist coating unit (CT) 40, the stage 84 is lifted up to a position where the stage 84 comes out from the upper surface opening of the processing container 82 by the elevation drive unit 86, and the substrate G is transferred onto the stage 84 by the main transport device 54. In order to hold the substrate G, for example, a vacuum suction means (not shown) may be provided on the upper surface of the stage 84.

  When the substrate G is placed on the stage 84, the lift drive unit 86 lowers the stage 84 to a predetermined position in the processing container 82, and the resist coating process for the substrate G is executed at that position.

  More specifically, the nozzle scanning mechanism 90 moves the registration nozzle 150 from the nozzle standby unit 152 (184) of the nozzle maintenance unit 91 to the inside of the processing container 82, and above the substrate G placed on the stage 84. Scan in the XY direction. During scanning, the resist nozzle 150 is supplied with the resist solution from the resist solution supply unit via the resist supply pipe 106, and the resist solution R is discharged from each discharge port 110d with a fine diameter discharge flow at a predetermined pressure and flow rate. Drip towards.

  Also in this embodiment, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, the substrate G is scanned from end to end with a right-angle zigzag scanning pattern, and adjacent drop lines on the substrate G are connected in the line width direction. A resist coating film that covers the entire upper surface (surface to be processed) of G can be formed.

  When the nozzle scanning of the coating process as described above is completed, the resist discharge operation of the resist nozzle 150 is stopped, and the nozzle of the nozzle maintenance unit 91 so that the nozzle scanning mechanism 90 moves the resist nozzle 150 out of the processing container 82. Transfer to standby unit 152 (184). In the nozzle standby section 152 (184), even if the resist remains in the vicinity of the ejection port 110d of the resist nozzle 150, the nozzle standby section 152 (184) is washed away by wet cleaning as will be described later.

  On the other hand, in the processing container 82, the lift drive unit 86 raises the stage 84 to a position above the opening of the upper surface of the processing container 82 in order to carry out the substrate G after the resist nozzle 150 is retreated. Immediately thereafter, the transfer arms 64 and 64 receive the substrate G from the stage 84 and transfer it to the adjacent vacuum drying unit (VD) 42.

  Next, the configuration and operation of the nozzle standby unit 152 according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 8 shows a sectional structure of the resist nozzle 155 and the nozzle standby portion 152 according to the first embodiment.

  In FIG. 8, the resist nozzle 150 has a nozzle body 110 connected to the resist supply pipe 106. The nozzle body 110 includes an inlet 110a for introducing a resist solution from the end of the resist supply pipe 106, a buffer chamber 110b for temporarily storing the introduced resist solution, and one piece extending vertically downward from the bottom surface of the buffer chamber 110b. Or it has the some discharge flow path 110c and the small diameter discharge port 110d provided in the terminal of each discharge flow path 110c. On the outer surface of the nozzle body 110, both side surfaces 110e and 110f parallel to the arrangement direction of the discharge ports 110d are formed in a tapered shape so as to become gradually narrower (the width becomes narrower) toward the discharge port 110d.

  In FIG. 8, the nozzle standby part 152 has a nozzle holder 154 in which a recess 154 a for receiving the resist nozzle 88 is formed on the upper surface. The recess 154a of the nozzle holder 154 has a taper shape that allows the main body 110 of the resist nozzle 150 to enter completely except for the flange 150a. A drain port 156 facing the ejection port 110d of the resist nozzle 150 is formed in the vertical direction at the center of the bottom of the recess 154a.

  Grooves 154b extending radially from the edge of the recess 154a are formed on the upper surface of the nozzle holder 154. The nozzle body 110 is inserted into the recess 154 a and the flange portion 150 a is placed on the upper surface of the nozzle holder 154, so that the resist nozzle 150 is attached to the nozzle holder 154. In this nozzle mounting state, the discharge port 110d of the resist nozzle 150 faces the drain port 156, and a gap 158 having a substantially constant interval (width) is formed between the tapered side surfaces 110e and 110f of the nozzle body 110 and the inner wall surface of the recess 154a. The upper end of the gap 158 communicates with the groove 154b on the upper surface of the nozzle holder 154.

  The drain port 156 communicates with an ejector device (not shown) formed of a pneumatic vacuum device via the drain pipe 160. An on-off valve 162 that can be controlled by a controller is provided in the middle of the drain pipe 160. When the resist nozzle 150 is mounted on the nozzle holder 154 and the on-off valve 162 is opened and the ejector device is operated, the vacuum suction force from the ejector device is recessed in the nozzle holder 154 via the drain pipe 160. 154a or fluid passage 158. Due to this vacuum suction force, outside air flows into the fluid passage 158 from the groove 154 b on the upper surface of the nozzle holder 154, and the inflowed air flow flows downward in the tapered fluid passage 158, It passes in front of the discharge part, exits to the drain port 156, and is discharged from the drain port 156 to the drain pipe 160.

  In the illustrated configuration example, the fluid passage 158 in the nozzle holder 154 is refracted (155) toward the center of the recess 154a at the lowest end position. As a result, the air flow that has vigorously descended in the fluid passage 158 from above collides from the left and right in the vicinity of the nozzle discharge port 110d by bending the path toward the center portion at the refracting portion 155 at a relatively steep angle. And a large fluid pressure can be exerted in the vicinity of the nozzle discharge port 110d.

  Inside the nozzle holder 154, one or a plurality of solvent spray nozzles 164 for cleaning the discharge part of the resist nozzle 150 are provided. In the illustrated configuration example, each solvent injection nozzle 164 includes a solvent injection port formed in the middle of the tapered inner wall surface of the recess 154a, for example. A solvent supply unit (not shown) including a solvent container and a pump is connected to each solvent injection nozzle 164 via a solvent passage 168 formed in the nozzle holder 154 and a solvent supply pipe 170. A buffer chamber 168 a is provided in the middle of the solvent passage 168. When the solvent supply unit pumps a solvent such as thinner S to each solvent injection nozzle 164 via the solvent supply pipe 170 and the solvent passage 168, the solvent S is injected from each solvent injection nozzle 164.

  In the resist nozzle 150, when a plurality of discharge ports 110d of the nozzle body 110 are provided in a row, it is preferable to arrange the same number of solvent spray nozzles 164 in a one-to-one correspondence with the discharge ports 110d in terms of cleaning efficiency. More preferably, as shown in FIG. 9, the solvent injection nozzles 164 are arranged in a staggered manner with respect to the discharge port array of the nozzle body 110, that is, two solvent injections respectively corresponding to the two adjacent discharge ports 110d. The nozzles 164 may be arranged separately on both sides with respect to the ejection port array. By adopting such a staggered arrangement, not only the pitch interval of the solvent injection nozzles 164 is increased and the design / production is facilitated, but the cleaning efficiency is further improved.

  When the solvent S is sprayed from the solvent spray nozzle 164 in order to clean the vicinity of the discharge port 110d of the resist nozzle 150, simultaneously with this, the ejector device is operated as described above to vacuum from the drain pipe 160 side to the fluid passage 158 side. You may exert a suction force. Then, the solvent S ejected from each solvent ejection nozzle 164 descends the fluid passage 158 together with the air flow from the upstream, hits the vicinity of the discharge port 110d of the resist nozzle 150 from the refracting portion 155 at the lower end of the passage, and in the vicinity thereof. The adhering or remaining resist is sucked in to the drain tube 160 side. In this manner, wet cleaning can be performed in the vicinity of the discharge port 110d of the resist nozzle 150.

  In this wet cleaning, in order to clean the vicinity of the discharge port 110d of the resist nozzle 150 more thoroughly, it is preferable that a relative reciprocal movement is performed between the resist nozzle 150 and the solvent spray nozzle 164 in parallel with the nozzle arrangement direction. You can let them. In order to perform this relative reciprocal movement, for example, the recess 154a of the nozzle holder 154 is formed larger (longer) than the main body 110 of the resist nozzle 150 in the same direction, and the nozzle scanning mechanism 90 is used for the nozzle of the carriage 100. The resist nozzle 150 may be reciprocated in the same direction by the support arm 100a. Alternatively, the inside of the nozzle holder 154 may be formed as a cavity, and the solvent injection nozzle 164 may be provided in the cavity so as to be movable in parallel with the nozzle arrangement direction, and may be reciprocated by an appropriate actuator.

  After completion of the wet cleaning as described above, vacuum drying may be performed by continuing vacuum suction on the ejector device side for a while even if the solvent injection of the solvent injection nozzle 164 is stopped.

  Inside the nozzle holder 154, an upper solvent reservoir 172 and a lower solvent reservoir 174 for providing an atmosphere of solvent vapor from above and below in the vicinity of the discharge port of the resist nozzle 150 are also provided. The upper solvent reservoir 172 is formed in a groove shape above the tapered inner wall surface of the recess 154a, and a solvent supply unit (not shown) is provided via the solvent passage 176 and the solvent supply pipe 178 in the nozzle holder 154. More solvent, such as thinner S, is drawn. The lower solvent reservoir 174 is formed in a groove shape on the inner wall surface of the flow path of the drain port 156, and is supplied from a solvent supply unit (not shown) via the solvent passage 180 and the solvent supply pipe 182 in the nozzle holder 154. A solvent such as thinner S is drawn.

  In the nozzle discharge port cleaning as described above, the solvent S is drawn into the upper solvent reservoir 172 together with, or instead of, the solvent injection from the solvent injection nozzle 164, and the solvent vapor is supplied from the upper solvent reservoir 172 to the fluid passage 158. It is also possible to supply The solvent vapor from the upper solvent pool 172 is also attached or remains in the vicinity of the discharge port 110d of the resist nozzle 150 through the fluid passage 158 together with the air flow from the upstream by the vacuum suction force. It can contribute to removing the resist.

  During the standby time after cleaning the nozzle discharge port, the on-off valve 162 of the drain pipe 160 is closed to draw the solvent into the lower solvent reservoir 174, and the solvent vapor rising from here is supplied to the vicinity of the discharge port of the upper resist nozzle 150. It's okay. Further, the solvent is also drawn into the upper solvent reservoir 172, and the solvent vapor rising from there is diffused into the fluid passage 158, so that the vicinity of the discharge port 110d of the downstream resist nozzle 150 in the fluid passage 158 is located upstream. It can be substantially blocked from outside air.

  FIG. 10 shows a cross-sectional structure of the nozzle standby portion 184 according to the second embodiment. In the drawing, parts having substantially the same configuration or function as those of the nozzle standby part 152 in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  The nozzle standby portion 184 is characterized in that a comb-like bridge member 186 is provided at the lower end portion of the tapered inner wall surface of the recess 154 a of the nozzle holder 154 or the upper end portion of the drain port 156. When the resist nozzle 150 is held by the nozzle holder 184, the leading end or free end of the bridge member 186 comes close to the vicinity of the ejection port 110 d of the resist nozzle 150.

  As shown in FIG. 11, when a plurality of discharge ports 110d of the nozzle body 110 are provided in a row, it is preferable that the same number of bridge members 186 are arranged in a one-to-one correspondence with the discharge ports 110d in terms of cleaning efficiency. More preferably, as shown in FIG. 11, the bridge members 186 are arranged in a staggered manner with respect to the discharge port array of the nozzle body 110, that is, two bridge members 186 respectively corresponding to the two adjacent discharge ports 110d. It is good also as a structure which divides and arrange | positions to both sides with respect to a discharge outlet row | line | column. By adopting such a staggered arrangement configuration, the pitch interval of the bridge members 186 is increased, which facilitates design and production and does not hinder the flow path.

  When the resist nozzle 150 that has finished the nozzle ejection operation is attached to the nozzle standby portion 184, the free end of each bridge member 186 is located at the bottom of the nozzle holder 154 as shown in FIG. It contacts the resist solution R adhering or remaining in the vicinity of 110d. By this bridging, the resist solution R easily moves from the vicinity of the discharge port 110d through the bridge member 186 to the nozzle holder 154 side.

  The bridge member 186 is preferably made of a solvent resistant material, and more preferably a flexible material. As shown in FIG. 13, when vacuum suction is applied from the drain tube 160 side, the flexible bridge member 186 bends toward the drain port 156 side, and the resist solution R is applied to the resist nozzle 150 together with its free end. It can be guided from the vicinity of the discharge port 110d. Due to the guiding effect of the bridge member 186, the resist adhering to or remaining in the vicinity of the discharge port 110d can be more effectively and efficiently removed.

  The present invention is particularly suitable when applied to a fine-diameter nozzle that discharges a resist liquid (treatment liquid) in the above-described embodiment with a fine diameter. However, it can be applied to various treatment liquid discharge nozzles having arbitrary discharge ports.

  Further, the present invention can be applied to any application that supplies a processing liquid onto a substrate to be processed using a processing liquid discharge nozzle. For example, a system that discharges and supplies a processing liquid in a stationary state without being a scanning type. It is also applicable to. In addition to the resist solution, the processing solution in the present invention may be a liquid such as an interlayer insulating material, a dielectric material, or a wiring material. The substrate to be processed in the present invention is not limited to an LCD substrate, but may be a semiconductor wafer, a CD substrate, a glass substrate, a photomask, a printed substrate, or the like.

It is a top view which shows the structure of the application | coating development processing system which can apply the resist coating apparatus of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the process in the application | coating development processing system of embodiment. It is a top view which shows the structure of the principal part of the coating system processing unit group in the coating development processing system of embodiment. It is a front view which shows the structure of the principal part of the coating system processing unit group in the coating development processing system of embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the nozzle scanning mechanism contained in the resist application unit of embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance structure of the resist nozzle in embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows typically the resist coating system in the resist coating unit of embodiment. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the structure of the nozzle standby part by a 1st Example. It is a figure which shows typically the arrangement configuration of the solvent injection nozzle in the nozzle standby part of an Example. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the structure of the nozzle standby part by a 2nd Example. It is a figure which shows typically the arrangement configuration of the bridge member in the nozzle standby part of a 2nd Example. It is a fragmentary sectional enlarged view which shows typically one effect | action of the bridge member in the nozzle standby part of a 2nd Example. It is a fragmentary sectional enlarged view which shows typically one effect | action of the bridge member in the nozzle standby part of a 2nd Example. It is a figure which shows typically the resist coating method by a spinless method.

Explanation of symbols

40 resist coating unit (CT)
88 resist nozzle 90 nozzle scanning mechanism 92 nozzle cleaning section
93 Nozzle standby section 106 Resist supply pipe 150 Resist nozzle 152 Nozzle standby section 154 Nozzle holder 155 Refraction section 156 Drain port 158 Fluid passage 164 Solvent injection nozzle 172 Solvent reservoir 174 Solvent reservoir 184 Nozzle standby section
186 Bridge member

Claims (7)

A resist coating apparatus for applying dropwise resist solution from above on a substrate to be processed,
And a one or a plurality of discharge ports and the resist liquid inlet port communicating with their discharge port, and the resist nozzle for discharging from the discharge port of the resist solution was introduced from the resist solution inlet,
A position that is provided at a predetermined nozzle standby position, detachably holds the resist nozzle so as to cover at least a portion near the discharge port of the resist nozzle with a predetermined gap, and faces the discharge port of the resist nozzle A nozzle holding body that has a drainage part and opens an opening end of the gap other than the drainage part to a gas space;
A solvent injection nozzle provided in the nozzle holder for injecting a solvent toward a portion above the vicinity of the discharge port of the resist nozzle held by the nozzle holder;
A vacuum means connected to the drainage part to remove the liquid existing near the discharge port of the resist nozzle held by the nozzle holder by vacuum suction ;
Have a teeth-like bridge member comb provided on the inner wall surface of the nozzle holder such that the free end is close to the discharge opening neighborhood of the resist nozzle held in the nozzle holder,
When the solvent spray nozzle sprays the solvent onto the resist nozzle, simultaneously with this, the vacuum means is operated to perform vacuum suction.
Resist coating device. The resist coating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the bridge member is made of a flexible material. 3. The resist coating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the solvent spray nozzle is disposed in a one-to-one correspondence relationship with the discharge port of the resist nozzle. 4. The resist coating apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the two solvent spray nozzles respectively corresponding to the two adjacent ejection ports of the resist nozzle are separately arranged on both sides with respect to the ejection port array of the resist nozzle. . The causes relative movement in a direction parallel to the array direction of the discharge port between from solvent injection nozzle and the resist nozzle while injecting a solvent and the solvent injection nozzle, in any one of claims 1-4 The resist coating apparatus as described. The nozzle holder is, according to any one of claims 1 to 5 having a first solvent reservoir for supplying the vapor of the solvent from the discharge port higher than near the discharge port of the resist nozzle Resist coating equipment. The nozzle holder is, according to any one of claims 1 to 6 having the resist second solvent reservoir near the discharge port for supplying solvent vapor from a position lower than the discharge port of the nozzle Resist coating equipment.

Images