Tokyo Electron Limited

Eiichi Sekimoto

Masatoshi Deguchi

Takeshi Saikusa

Kousuke Yoshihara

Yuji Matsuyama

Suguru Enokida

Kazuhiro Takeshita

Jun Ookura

Kenichi Shigetomi

Hisakazu Nakayama

Takayuki Fukudome

Koichi Asaka

Kazuto Umeki

Masato Hayashi

Hiroshi Shinya

Mitsuhiro Tanoue

Kazuyoshi Mizumoto

Shoichiro Hidaka

Kazuya Iwanaga

Boui Ikeda

Kazuhisa Hayashida

Hiroshi Seko

There is provided a substrate processing apparatus, including: a substrate holding/rotating part configured to hold a substrate on a mounting table and rotate the substrate; a laser irradiation head configured to irradiate a laser beam toward a lower surface of the mounting table; and a controller configured to control at least the rotation of the substrate holding/rotating part and the irradiation of the laser beam. The laser irradiation head is fixed below the mounting table so as to be spaced apart from the mounting table. The controller controls the laser irradiation head to irradiate the laser beam when the mounting table is rotated by the substrate holding/rotating part.

Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method

A substrate processing apparatus includes plural heating modules each including a table on which a substrate is placed to be heated, the substrate having plural heated zones. The table has plural heaters each assigned to heat respective ones of the heated zones. Heat generation of the heaters is controlled independently. A control unit controls the heaters such that integrated quantities of heat of the respective heated zones given by the corresponding heaters from first to second time point are substantially identical to each other in each of the heating modules, and are substantially identical to each other among the heating modules. The first time point is set when a temperature transition profile of the substrate is rising toward a process temperature after placing the substrate on the table under a condition where heat generation of the heaters is stable. The second time point is set after the temperature transition profile reaches the process temperature.

Substrate processing apparatus and method of adjusting substrate processing apparatus

There is provided a substrate processing apparatus, including: a substrate holder configured to hold a substrate with a surface of the substrate on which a concavo-convex pattern is formed oriented upward; a liquid supply unit configured to supply a processing liquid to the substrate held by the substrate holder to form a liquid film at least in a concave portion of the concavo-convex pattern; a heating unit configured to irradiate the substrate held by the substrate holder or the liquid film with a laser beam for heating the liquid film; and a heating controller configured to control the heating unit, wherein the heating controller controls the heating unit to expose the entire concave portion in a depth direction from the processing liquid by irradiating the laser beam onto the substrate or the liquid film from the heating unit.

A thermal treatment apparatus including a hot plate which heats a substrate mounted thereon, in a treatment chamber including a lid body covering a surface to be treated of the substrate mounted on the hot plate, the thermal treatment apparatus includes: a control unit which controls at least a temperature of the hot plate, and a temperature measuring unit which measures a temperature of the lid body, wherein the control unit is configured to perform, when a set temperature of the hot plate is changed, correction of a heating amount by the hot plate for obtaining the set temperature after change, based on the temperature of the lid body measured by the temperature measuring unit.

Thermal treatment apparatus, thermal treatment method, and non-transitory computer storage medium

A temperature control method is used for controlling a temperature of a hot plate, so that a measured temperature of the hot plate conforms to a target temperature thereof, in a heat processing apparatus for performing a heat process on a substrate placed on the hot plate, which is used in a coating/developing system for applying a resist coating onto the substrate to form a resist film and then performing development on the resist film after light exposure. The method includes acquiring adjustment data necessary for adjusting a reaching time defined by a time period for increasing the temperature of the substrate from a first temperature around an initial temperature to a second temperature around the target temperature; and adjusting the target temperature by use of the adjustment data thus acquired, after starting the process on the substrate.

Temperature control for performing heat process in coating/developing system for resist film

A temperature control method for a heat process on a resist film on a substrate includes first and second steps. The first step includes measuring a stepped response waveform of measured temperatures of a substrate at measurement points while changing stepwise each target temperature, then using this result to compose a pulsed response waveform with respect to a change of a pulsed target temperature, then using this result to compose a triangular response waveform with respect to a change of a triangular target temperature, and then using this result to acquire a matrix as relation information showing a relation between the target temperatures and temperatures of the substrate at measurement points. The second step includes acquiring temperature distribution information by use of measured temperatures of the substrate placed on the hot plate, measured at measurement points before adjustment of the target temperatures, and then calculating adjustment information by use of the relation information acquired in the first step and the temperature distribution information, thereby determining adjustment information.

Temperature control for performing heat process on resist film

The present invention relates to a method for heat processing of a substrate having the step of baking a substrate, on which a coating film is formed, at a predetermined high temperature, comprising a first step of increasing the substrate from a predetermined low temperature to a predetermined intermediate temperature lower than a predetermined reaction temperature at which the coating film reacts, a second step of maintaining the substrate at the predetermined intermediate temperature for a predetermined period of time, and a third step of increasing the temperature of the substrate to the predetermined high temperature higher than the predetermined reaction temperature. By temporarily increasing the temperature of the substrate to the intermediate temperature lower than the reaction temperature, maintaining the substrate at this intermediate temperature for the predetermined period of time, and thereafter increasing the temperature of the substrate to the high temperature higher than the reaction temperature when the temperature of the substrate is increased, the temperature within the surface of the substrate can be made uniform when the temperature of the substrate reaches the reaction temperature. Consequently, a chemical reaction due to heat processing of the coating film within the surface of the substrate is performed uniformly.

Method and apparatus for heat processing of substrate

The present invention relates to a method for heat processing a substrate. After a coating film is formed on the substrate, the substrate is baked at a predetermined high temperature. The baking step is performed by first increasing the substrate temperature from a predetermined low temperature to a predetermined intermediate temperature that is lower than a predetermined reaction temperature at which the coating film reacts. Next, a second baking step maintains the substrate at the predetermined intermediate temperature for a predetermined period of time, and is followed by a third step of increasing the temperature of the substrate to the predetermined high temperature that is higher than the predetermined reaction temperature. This results in uniform temperature within the surface of the substrate when the temperature of the substrate reaches the reaction temperature. Consequently, a chemical reaction due to heat processing of the coating film within the surface of the substrate is performed uniformly.

Method for heat processing of substrate

The present invention is a substrate processing apparatus for performing processing of a substrate including: a heat treatment unit provided in a casing of the processing apparatus and having a heating section in which a heat treatment of the substrate is performed; a duct provided on a side part on the heating section side of the casing; and a cooling flow passage provided in the duct for allowing a cooling fluid to flow therethrough. Heat generated from the heating section is prevented from conducting by an air current flowing in the duct, and further the heat is absorbed by the cooling fluid. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the heat from conducting to the outside of the casing.

Substrate processing apparatus

A substrate coated with a coating solution is placed on a heating plate in a processing chamber in which an inert gas is circulating. The substrate is heated on the heating plate while the inert gas is circulating at an extremely small first circulating amount. The substrate is heated further on the heating plate while the inert gas is circulating at a second circulating amount larger than the first circulating amount. Detected is the density of the solvent in the processing chamber. The supply and exhaust amounts of the inert gas are controlled based on the density detected after the start of heating, so that an exhaust amount of the inert gas becomes a predetermined amount for a predetermined period until the solvent density reaches a predetermined density. A necessary control process is performed so that the solvent density reaches the predetermined density when the solvent density has not reached or exceeded the predetermined density after the predetermined period has elapsed. The two-time thermal-process or solvent-density control promotes evaporation of the resist solvent while restricting scattering of a photo-oxidizing agent included in the resist from being promoted beyond the wafer surface, thus achieving coated-film uniformity for the thermal process.

Apparatus and method of thermal processing and method of pattern formation

An exhaust hole has a size covering not only a first region above a hot plate but also a second region surrounding the first region. A plate ember with a plurality of openings is disposed at the mouth of the exhaust hole. The exhaust hole exhausts air from the first region and the second region, even when the heat processing is not performed. Therefore, a solvent volatilized in the first region is also exhausted from the second region and will not leak outside the apparatus.

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Koshi, Japan

Eiichi Sekimoto