Photocopying – Projection printing and copying cameras – With developing
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-28
2001-11-06
Adams, Russell (Department: 2851)
Photocopying
Projection printing and copying cameras
With developing
C396S311000, C118S052000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06313903
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a resist coating and developing unit for forming a resist film on a substrate, developing a substrate that has been exposed, and forming a desired pattern on the developed substrate.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a fabrication process for a semiconductor device, the photolithography process is used. In the photolithography process, resist solution is coated on a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer. With a photo-mask, the resist film is exposed. The exposed resist film is developed. Thus, a resist mask having a desired pattern is formed on the substrate.
The photolithography process is performed by a system of which a coating and developing unit
1
A and an exposing unit
1
B are connected as shown in FIG.
13
. When a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as wafer) is processed, the coating and developing unit
1
A comprises a loading and unloading portion
11
, a transferring arm
12
, a coating and developing portion
13
, and an interface portion
14
. The loading and unloading portion
11
loads and unloads a wafer carrier C to/from the coating and developing unit
1
A. The transferring arm
12
removes a wafer from the carrier C placed at the loading and unloading portion
11
. The coating and developing unit
1
A is connected to the exposing unit
1
B. When a wafer W is transferred to the coating and developing portion
13
through the transferring arm
12
, the coating and developing portion
13
forms a resist film on the wafer W. The resultant wafer W is transferred to the exposing unit
1
B. The exposing unit
1
B exposes the resist film. Thereafter, the resultant wafer W is returned to the coating and developing portion
13
. The coating and developing portion
13
develops the resist film on the wafer W. The resultant wafer W is returned to the carrier C.
After the processed wafer W has been accommodated to the carrier C, the operator or automatic transferring robot transfers the carrier C from the loading and unloading portion
11
to an inspecting unit
15
. The inspecting unit
15
inspects the line width of the resist pattern formed on the wafer W, the overlap of the resist pattern and base pattern, coating irregularity of resist, developing defect, and so forth. When the inspected result of the wafer W is acceptable, the wafer W is transferred to the next process. When the inspected result of the wafer W is unacceptable, the wafer W is transferred to a cleaning unit
16
. Since a plurality of devices are formed as a plurality of layers on the wafer W, the wafer W is loaded and unloaded to/from the coating and developing system several ten times. Thus, the cleaning unit
16
uses a plurality of kinds of chemicals corresponding to the processes. The wafer W is immersed with a relevant solution. Thus, the resist is dissolved and removed. Consequently, the wafer W is regenerated to the pre-state of the coating and developing processes. Thereafter, the wafer W is transferred to the coating and developing system. In the coating and developing system, the same processes are performed.
In the coating and developing unit, a monitor wafer is used besides a product wafer. After a resist film is formed on the monitor wafer, the monitor wafer is transferred from the loading and unloading portion
11
to the inspecting unit
15
. The inspecting unit
15
inspects the film thickness of the resist film on the monitor wafer so as to adjust the number of rotations of a spin chuck of the resist solution coating unit. After the film thickness of the monitor wafer has been inspected, the monitor wafer is transferred to the cleaning unit
16
. The cleaning unit
16
dissolves and removes the resist film on the monitor wafer. Thus, the monitor wafer is recycled.
However, since a carrier C is transferred from the conventional coating and developing system to the inspecting unit
15
and wafers W accommodated in the carrier C are removed and inspected one by one in the inspecting unit
15
. Thus, the throughput of the system is low. In addition, when the resist coating unit is adjusted with a monitor wafer, it is transferred from the coating and developing system to the inspecting unit. After the film thickness of the resist film of the monitor wafer is inspected, the resist film is manually cleaned and removed and then the resultant wafer is returned to the coating and developing system. Thus, the operator should walk between the coating and developing system and the external inspecting unit. In addition, the operator should manually clean the monitor wafer. Thus, in the conventional system, the operator should perform troublesome operations. Moreover, it is difficult to automatically perform such operations.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a technology that allows a developing unit and an inspecting unit to process and inspect product substrates and monitor substrate with high throughput and automatically.
A first aspect of the present invention is a coating and developing unit for coating resist on a substrate and developing the resist exposed by a exposing unit connected to the coating and developing unit, the coating and developing unit comprising a carrier loading and unloading portion for loading and unloading a carrier that accommodates a plurality of substrates, a coating portion for coating resist on a substrate removed from a carrier transferred from said carrier loading and unloading portion, a developing portion for developing the resist on the substrate exposed by said exposing unit and forming a predetermined resist pattern, transferring means for transferring the substrate among said carrier loading and unloading portion, said coating portion, and said developing portion, a pattern inspecting portion for inspecting a resist pattern formed on the substrate and determining whether or not the resist pattern is acceptable, and a separating means for separating a substrate determined as an unacceptable substrate by said pattern inspecting portion from a substrate determined as an acceptable substrate.
A second aspect of the present invention is a coating and developing unit for coating resist on a substrate and developing the resist exposed by a exposing unit connected to the coating and developing unit, the coating and developing unit comprising a carrier loading and unloading portion for loading and unloading a carrier that accommodates a plurality of substrates, a coating portion for coating resist on a substrate removed from a carrier transferred from said carrier loading and unloading portion, a developing portion for developing the resist on the substrate exposed by said exposing unit and forming a predetermined resist pattern, a transferring means for transferring the substrate among said carrier loading and unloading portion, said coating portion, and said developing portion, a monitor substrate accommodating portion for accommodating a monitor substrate, a film thickness measuring portion for measuring the film thickness of resist on the monitor substrate and determining whether or not the film thickness of the resist is proper, and a means for causing said transferring means to transfer the monitor substrate accommodated in said monitor substrate accommodating portion to said coating portion and said transferring means to transfer the monitor substrate with resist coated by said coating portion to said film thickness measuring portion.
A third aspect of the present invention is a coating and developing unit for coating resist on a substrate and developing the resist exposed by a exposing unit connected to the coating and developing unit, the coating and developing unit comprising a carrier loading and unloading portion for loading and unloading a carrier that accommodates a plurality of substrates, a coating portion for coating resist on a substrate removed from a carrier transferred from said carrier loading and unloading portion, a developing portion for developing the resist on the substrate exposed by said exposing
Adams Russell
Nguyen Hung Henry
Rader & Fishman & Grauer, PLLC
Tokyo Electron Limited
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