Tokyo Electron Limited

Takeshi Uehara

Tsuyoshi Mizuno

Shouichi Terada

Kazuo Sakamoto

Kazuo Terada

In a substrate treatment method for supplying a coating solution to a substrate with projections and depressions on a front surface thereof to form a coating film on the front surface of the substrate, the coating solution is supplied to the rotating substrate to form a coating film on the front surface of the substrate, and the substrate having the coating film formed thereon is heated to adjust an etching condition of the coating film. Next, the etching solution is supplied to the rotating substrate to etch the coating film, and thereafter the coating solution is supplied to the substrate to form a flat coating film on the front surface of the substrate. Thereafter, the substrate is heated to cure the coating film. This flattens the coating film with uniformity and high accuracy without undergoing a high-load process such as chemical mechanical polishing.

Substrate treatment apparatus and substrate treatment method

A substrate treatment apparatus of the present invention includes: a holding means for rotatably holding a substrate to be treated; a coating solution supply nozzle for supplying a coating solution onto the front surface of the substrate to be treated held on the holding means; a treatment container with an upper surface open for housing them; an exhaust means for exhausting an atmosphere in the treatment container from the bottom; a multiblade centrifugal fan provided on the inner periphery of the treatment container for flowing airflow on a front surface side of the substrate to the exhaust means; and a controller for controlling the number of rotations of the multiblade centrifugal fan corresponding to the number of rotations of the substrate, wherein the number of rotations of the multiblade centrifugal fan is controlled so that turbulent airflow flowing in a circumferential direction on the front surface of the substrate generated due to the rotation of the substrate is corrected to laminar airflow flowing in a radial direction.

Substrate treatment apparatus

It is an object to provide a method for forming a thin film having a uniform thickness so as to follow asperities of a surface of a wafer to be processed and to provide a film-forming device used for the method. The film-forming device includes a treatment chamber for receiving a wafer and isolating the wafer from the air; a solvent-gas-supplying portion for supplying a solvent gas into the treatment chamber; a chuck for rotatably holding the wafer so that the downward-facing surface of the substrate is the surface on which a thin film is formed; a coating-solution-supplying portion for supplying a coating solution as a mist of charged particles toward the surface of the wafer; and a charging portion for charging the wafer with an electrical potential opposite to the charge of the particles.

Method for forming thin film and film-forming device

In the present invention, an insulating material is applied onto a substrate in a coating treatment unit to form a coating insulating film. The substrate is heated in the heating processing unit, whereby the coating insulating film is hardened partway. A brush is then pressed against the front surface of the coating insulating film in a planarization unit and moved along the front surface of the coating insulating film, thereby planarizing the coating insulating film. The substrate is then heated to completely harden the coating insulating film. According to the present invention, the coating film can be planarized without using the CMP technology.

Substrate processing method and program

It is an object to provide a method for forming a thin film which can be uniformly and precisely planarized without a high-loaded process as in a chemical mechanical polishing method and to provide a device used for the method. In a method for forming a thin film on a surface of a-semiconductor wafer as a substrate to be processed by supplying a coating solution to the wafer having asperities on the surface thereof, a thin film of a coating solution is planarized by placing the wafer having the thin film formed on the surface thereof in a solvent gas atmosphere generated in a treatment chamber, then spraying a solvent gas toward the surface of the wafer from a solvent-gas-supplying nozzle and, simultaneously, relatively moving the wafer and/or the solvent-gas-supplying nozzle in directions parallel to each other.

The present invention is a planarization apparatus for planarizing a coating film applied on a substrate before the coating film is hardened, including a contact body such as a brush or sponge brought into contact with a front surface of the coating film on the substrate; and a contact body drive mechanism for pressing the contact body against the front surface of the coating film and moving the contact body along the front surface of the coating film. The contact body is pressed against the coating film before it is hardened, and moved along the front surface of the coating film, whereby the coating film can be planarized to a predetermined film thickness. According to the present invention, the coating film can be planarized without using the CMP apparatus.

Growing community of inventors

Koshi, Japan

Takeshi Uehara