Tokyo Electron Limited

Yukihiko Esaki

Takahiro Kitano

Masateru Morikawa

Masami Akimoto

Norihisa Koga

Kazuhiro Takeshita

Nobukazu Ishizaka

Hirofumi Ookuma

Shinji Kobayashi

A coating film forming apparatus for forming a film by applying a coating solution to a substrate, which is provided with a cassette section, coating unit, developing unit, pre-treatment/post-treatment units and a main arm for transferring the substrate between the respective units. In the coating unit, provided is a coating section in which a resist is applied on the substrate in a manner of single stroke by intermittently moving the substrate in a Y-direction and by moving a nozzle in an X-direction, and provided is a reduced-pressure drying section for drying under reduced pressure the substrate after being applied, and further provided is equipment for removing the coating film adhered to a periphery of the substrate. Additionally, when the reduced-pressure drying section is arranged outside the coating unit, the main arm is covered with a cover so that the inside thereof is under a solvent atmosphere.

Coating film forming apparatus and coating unit

A method of forming a film of a coating solution on a substrate includes steps of moving a coating solution discharge member relative to a substrate while a coating solution is being discharged from the coating solution discharge member to the surface of the substrate, and changing a discharge direction of the coating solution to an outer peripheral portion of the substrate to make the amount of application to the outer peripheral portion smaller than that to other portions. This can reduce the amount of application to the outer peripheral portion of the substrate, thereby making it possible to restrain protuberance of the coating solution at the outer peripheral portion of the substrate caused by surface tension. Consequently, a coating film which is uniform also at the outer peripheral portion on the substrate is formed.

Method of forming film

The present invention is a film forming unit for discharging a coating solution from a coating solution discharge nozzle toward a substrate to form a layer on a surface of the substrate, which has a supply flow path for supplying a cleaning fluid to a discharge flow path continuing to a discharging port of the coating solution discharge nozzle. When the cleaning fluid is positively supplied directly to the discharge flow path of the coating solution discharge nozzle, the supply pressure of the cleaning fluid as well as the capability of cleaning is added. Therefore, further effective cleaning is attained in compare with the conventional case where a coating solution discharge nozzle is simply dipped into a cleaning fluid. In consequence, even when the discharging port of the nozzle is minute, it is possible to perfectly remove the contamination. This allows the discharge pressure to remain constant so as to form a uniform coating layer on the substrate.

Film forming unit

A coating area of wafer W is divided into, for example, three regions. The wafer W and/or a supply nozzle are driven in a predetermined coating direction and/or a coating direction such that coating start positions of the adjacent divided regions are not next to each other and/or the coating is not continuously performed in order of a coating end position and a coating start position when the coating end position of one region of the adjacent divided regions and the coating start position of the other region are adjacent to each other, whereby forming a liquid film of a resist liquid for each divided region of the surface of wafer W. As a result, a phenomenon, in which the resist liquid is drawn to the coating start position, so as to increase the film thickness of this portion, occurs in only the corresponding region. Resultantly, uniformity of an inner surface of the film thickness can be improved.

Coating film forming apparatus and coating film forming method

The present invention is a film forming unit for applying a coating solution to a substrate to form a coating film on the substrate, which has a heating and/or cooling member brought into direct or indirect contact with said substrate for changing a temperature of at least a peripheral portion of the substrate. By changing the temperature of a perimeter portion of the substrate by means of it, a temperature of the coating solution applied on the substrate can be changed. Consequently, surface tension of the coating solution decreases or increases, and swelling of the coating solution occurring at the substrate perimeter portion and reduction in film thickness can be prevented. As a result, a coating film with a predetermined film thickness is formed also on the perimeter portion of the substrate, thus making it possible to enhance yield.

An apparatus includes a holding portion for holding a substrate, a nozzle, provided to face the substrate held by the holding portion, for discharging a solution to the substrate, a driver for moving the nozzle along a surface of the substrate relatively with respect to the substrate while the solution is being discharged to the surface of the substrate from the nozzle, a mask unit covering a portion other than a film formation area of the substrate and including a mask member for catching the solution from the nozzle, and a cleaner provided in the mask unit. The coating solution can be supplied to the surface of the substrate in a way similar to a picture drawn with a single stroke of a brush. A cleaning unit for cleaning the mask member does not need to be provided separately, leading to the facilitation of cleaning and a reduction in space.

Coating film forming apparatus

The present invention includes a current plate which is arranged above a substrate in a chamber. A pressure inside the chamber is reduced by exhaust means and drying processing is performed on, for example, a coating solution on the substrate. On a peripheral portion of an underneath surface of the current plate, formed is a ring-shaped protrusion corresponding to a peripheral portion of the substrate. A protruding portion of a coating solution at the peripheral portion of the substrate is made flat by air current generated when the pressure is reduced, and consequently a coating film with a uniform film thickness as a whole is formed on the substrate.

Substrate processing unit and processing method

Method of forming film and apparatus thereof

The present invention is a film forming unit for forming a film on a substrate by supplying a coating solution on the substrate from a discharge nozzle, including moving means for moving the discharge nozzle, wherein the moving means comprises a supporting member for supporting the discharge nozzle, a moving member for moving the supporting member, a guide shaft passing through bearing portion which is formed in the supporting member, and an air supply mechanism for supplying air to a space between the bearing portion and the guide shaft. The discharge nozzle discharges the coating solution while moving along the guide shaft. On the substrate the coating solution is applied along the locus of the discharge nozzle movement. Since air is supplied to the space between the bearing portion and the guide shaft, the supporting member can be made to be in the state of floating relative the guide shaft. As a result, even if the discharge nozzle moves at high speed, the discharge of the coating solution is prevented from being disturbed so that the predetermined coating of the coating solution is performed precisely.

Growing community of inventors

Kikuchi-gun, Japan

Yukihiko Esaki