JPH10247621A - Resist treatment method and its system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate the adjustment of film forming condition of a resist treatment system, to accomplish the space saving of a clean room and to increase a throughput, by a method wherein the thickness of a resist film is measured without taking out a wafer to outside of the water treatment system. SOLUTION: The wafer, on which heat treatment is finished using a heating device 15, is carried out from the heating device 15 by a conveying arm 3. At that time, simultaneously with a carry-out process, the thickness of a resist film is measured by a film thickness measuring device 8 provided on the upper part of the carry-in-and-out part 15a of the heating device 15. The condition of formation of the resist film of a resist treatment system can be adjusted immediately based on the result of the above-mentioned measurement.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a method and a processing system for performing a resist process on a substrate to be processed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in a photoresist processing step in a semiconductor manufacturing process, a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter, referred to as a semiconductor wafer).
A resist film is formed by applying a resist solution on the surface of a substrate to be processed (referred to as a "wafer") or the like. In doing so, a resist processing system has been conventionally used.

This resist processing system includes a processing unit as a normal unit, for example, a hydrophobizing process (adhesion process) for improving the fixability of a resist, a coating process for applying a resist solution, and a process after coating the resist solution. Heat treatment for curing the resist film by placing the substrate in a predetermined temperature atmosphere, heat treatment for placing the exposed substrate in a predetermined temperature atmosphere, and supplying a developing solution to the exposed substrate for development. A plurality of processing apparatuses for individually performing each processing such as a development processing are provided, and a wafer as a substrate to be processed is carried in and out of each of the processing apparatuses by a transfer mechanism such as a transfer arm.

The resist film formed on the wafer must have a desired film thickness, and good uniformity of film thickness is required. Therefore, measurement of the thickness of the resist film formed by the resist processing system is required. Conventionally, measurement of the thickness of the resist film has been performed according to the following procedure. First, a resist film is formed on a dummy wafer by a resist processing system. Thereafter, the dummy wafer is housed in a housing such as a carrier, taken out of the resist processing system, and the resist film thickness is measured by a film thickness measuring device installed outside the system. The humidity in the resist coater in the resist treatment system, the rotational speed of the wafer in the resist coater, etc. are adjusted so that the desired resist film thickness is obtained and the film thickness uniformity is improved based on the measurement results. .

[0005]

However, when a dummy wafer is taken out of the resist processing system and the film thickness is measured, the resist processing system is temporarily stopped. Further, since the measurement of the thickness of the resist film needs to be performed periodically, such as for each lot, the throughput is reduced as a result. Further, since the environment of the resist processing system, which resumes operation after completion of the measurement of the resist film thickness, and the system environment for forming the resist film on the dummy wafer are not exactly the same, the measurement result of the film thickness is used as it is. May not be applicable to condition adjustment.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and measures the thickness of a resist film without taking a substrate such as a wafer out of the resist processing system. It is an object of the present invention to provide a resist processing method and a resist processing system capable of adjusting a resist film forming condition of the resist processing system and having a better throughput than conventional ones, and to solve the conventional problems.

[0007]

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a resist coating method for applying a resist liquid on a substrate while rotating the substrate to be processed to form a resist film on the substrate. A method for performing a resist process on a substrate to be processed using a resist processing system including an apparatus, a heating device for heating the substrate to be processed, and a transport device for holding and transporting the substrate to be processed, A first step of setting a substrate to be processed at a predetermined temperature, and a second step of forming a resist film by applying a resist liquid onto the substrate while rotating the substrate at the predetermined temperature. A third step of heating the substrate to be processed on which the resist film is formed, and a fourth step of cooling the heated substrate to a predetermined temperature. And the fourth Between, characterized in that subscribed the step of measuring within the resist film, the resist processing system the thickness of the substrate to be processed, resist processing method is provided. Further, as described in claim 2, after the fourth step, the thickness of the resist film on the substrate to be processed may be measured. According to such a method, the thickness of the resist film on the substrate to be processed can be measured without taking the substrate to be processed out of the resist processing system.

As a result of the measurement of the thickness of the resist film, if the film thickness is not a desired thickness or the uniformity of the film thickness is not within an allowable range, at least the humidity, The rotational speed of the substrate to be processed in the resist coating apparatus, the predetermined temperature of the substrate to be processed in the first step,
Alternatively, either the temperature of the resist solution is adjusted. According to this method, since the thickness of the resist film can be measured inside the resist processing system, there is no need to stop the resist processing system during the film thickness measurement, and the environment in the resist processing system is kept constant. Is kept. Therefore, it is possible to directly use the result obtained by measuring the thickness of the resist film, and it is easy to adjust the conditions for forming the resist film.

A method of measuring the film thickness of the resist film on a stage dedicated to film thickness measurement provided in the resist processing system can be considered. It may be performed while holding the substrate to be processed. Space for installing a stage for film thickness measurement can be omitted, and the whole resist processing system can be expected to be compact. Further, the step of transporting the substrate to be processed to the film thickness measuring stage is not required.

As described in claim 6, the measurement of the thickness of the resist film may be performed on a substrate to be inspected held in the resist processing system. The substrate to be inspected is stored in a container such as a carrier in a resist processing system, and the substrate to be inspected is unloaded from the container by a transport mechanism when measuring the thickness of the resist film. Is also good. In this case, claim 7
The resist film on the inspection target substrate whose film thickness has been measured as described in (1) may be washed away by a resist coating device. The inspection target substrate from which the resist film has been washed away may be stored in a carrier in the processing system and used again in the next inspection of the thickness of the resist film. As a result, the inspection target substrate can be used a plurality of times.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a resist coating apparatus for forming a resist film on a substrate by applying a resist solution on the substrate while rotating the substrate, a heating apparatus for heating the substrate, In a resist processing system having a transfer device for holding and transferring a substrate to be processed, an apparatus for measuring the thickness of a resist film formed on the substrate to be processed is provided.
A resist processing system is provided above the loading / unloading port of the heating device. Usually, after a resist liquid is applied to a substrate to be processed, a heat treatment step is performed to cure the resist liquid. Therefore, by providing the film thickness measurement device above the heat treatment device, the substrate after the heat treatment must pass through or near the film thickness measurement point when being unloaded from the heat treatment device. Become. Therefore, immediately after the heat treatment by the heat treatment device,
In addition, the thickness of the resist film can be measured without moving the substrate to be processed more than necessary, and as a result, the throughput can be improved.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a resist coating apparatus for forming a resist film on a substrate by applying a resist solution on the substrate while rotating the substrate, and a plurality of heating devices for heating the substrate. In a resist processing system including a heating device, a plurality of temperature control devices having a function of cooling at least a substrate to be processed to a predetermined temperature, and a transport device for holding and transporting the substrate to be processed, a heating device and a temperature control device. The control device is stacked in multiple stages, and a film thickness measuring device for measuring the film thickness of the resist film formed on the substrate to be processed is provided above the entrance of the heating device and / or the temperature control device. A resist processing system is provided. Here, the cooling includes forced cooling by circulation of the refrigerant and the like and natural cooling by ambient temperature. With this configuration, the thickness of the resist film can be reduced immediately and without moving the substrate to be processed more than necessary, either after the heat treatment by the heating device or after the temperature adjustment by the temperature control device. Measurement can be performed and throughput can be improved.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, an apparatus for measuring the thickness of the resist film may be provided above the transport path of the substrate to be processed. According to this structure, the thickness of the resist film on the substrate to be processed can be measured during the transfer by the transfer device.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail. FIG. 1 shows a cleaning process for a wafer W, an adhesion process for improving the fixability of a resist, a coating process of a resist solution, an appropriate heating process performed after these processes, and a process of heating the wafer W to a predetermined temperature after the heating process. FIG. 1 shows an overview of a coating and developing system 1 according to the present embodiment in which various processing apparatuses that individually perform processes such as a cooling process, a developing process after exposure, and a heating process are combined as one system.

The coating and developing system 1 includes a mounting section 2 on which a plurality of cassettes C, which are storage bodies for storing a plurality of wafers W, are aligned and mounted, and a cassette C mounted on the mounting section 2. And a transfer mechanism 4 that takes out the wafer W from the inside and transfers it to a transfer arm 3 as a transfer device. The transfer mechanism 4 moves on a transfer path 5 provided along the direction in which the cassettes C are aligned. It is movable. Various processing apparatuses for performing predetermined processing on the wafer W are disposed on both sides of each of the transfer paths 7 and 8 of the two transfer arms 3 and 6. Further, between the transfer path 7 and the transfer path 8, a substrate mounting section 9 is arranged.

Further, in order to clean the surface of the wafer W taken out of the cassette C, a brush cleaning apparatus 10 for performing brush cleaning while rotating the wafer W, a water cleaning apparatus 11 for performing high-pressure jet cleaning on the wafer W, and a wafer W An adhesion processing device 12 for improving the fixability of the resist by hydrophobizing the surface of the wafer, cooling devices 13 and 16 for cooling the wafer W to a predetermined temperature, and a resist coating device 14 for applying a resist liquid to the surface of the rotating wafer W. Heating devices 15 and 19 for heating the wafer W after the application of the resist solution and for heating the wafer W after the exposure, and a developing process for supplying the developing solution to the surface of the exposed wafer W while rotating the wafer W to perform the developing process. The device 17 is arranged. Above the heating device 15, a film thickness measuring device 18 is provided. Each of these processes is integrated to a certain extent, and the installation space is reduced and the processing efficiency is improved by integrating the processes into appropriate processing devices. The loading and unloading of the wafer W to and from each of these processing apparatuses is performed by the two transfer arms 3 and 6 described above. These various devices and the like are arranged in the casing 20.

The resist coating device 14 has the structure shown in FIG. 2 in its casing 14a. That is, a spin chuck 22 for holding the wafer W in a horizontal state by vacuum is provided in a cup 21 for accommodating the wafer W, and the spin chuck 22 is provided with a pulse motor or the like provided below the cup 21. It is rotatable by the drive mechanism 23 of. The rotation speed is also controlled by the control device 24.
Can be controlled arbitrarily. Cup 21
The inside atmosphere is exhausted from the center of the bottom of the cup 21 by exhaust means (not shown) such as a vacuum pump installed outside. The resist solution and the solvent are
The liquid is discharged to a drain tank 26 installed below the cup 21 through a drain pipe 25 provided at the bottom of the cup.

The resist liquid discharged onto the wafer W is discharged from a resist liquid discharge nozzle N.
The nozzle N is held by the nozzle holder 31. A predetermined resist solution is supplied to the resist solution discharge nozzle N from a resist solution supply source R such as a resist solution tank provided outside through a resist solution supply tube 41. A filter 42 is interposed in the tube 41 to remove impurities such as particles. Also, the supply of the resist solution itself
This is performed by a supply mechanism 43 such as a bellows pump, so that a fixed amount of resist liquid is discharged.

The nozzle holder 31 has a forward path 35 formed by a tube for circulating a temperature control fluid.
a, a return path 35b is provided, and by flowing a temperature control fluid supplied from the outside through the forward path 35a from the forward path 35a to the return path 35b, the resist liquid flowing in the resist liquid supply tube 41 is maintained at a constant temperature and discharged. Care is taken that the resist solution to be used always has a predetermined temperature.

On the other hand, the solvent from the solvent supply source T such as a solvent tank is supplied to the solvent nozzle S through a solvent tube 45 by a supply mechanism 44 such as a pump. In order to maintain the solvent flowing in the solvent tube 45 at a predetermined temperature, a forward path 36 composed of a tube for flowing a temperature control fluid is provided.
a, a return path 36b is provided.

As described above, the nozzle holder 31 holding the resist liquid discharge nozzle N and the solvent nozzle S as a set.
Is moved to a predetermined position on the wafer W by the scan arm 37a of the scan mechanism 37. The scan arm 37a moves three-dimensionally, that is, in the X direction, the Y direction,
It is configured to be able to move in the Z direction.

Further, a chamber 51 is provided at an upper portion in the casing 14a constituting the outer wall of the resist coating device 14 itself.
Are formed. The air whose temperature and humidity have been adjusted by the temperature and humidity adjusting device 52 is supplied into the chamber 51 through a high-performance filter 54. The temperature / humidity adjusting device 52 is controlled by the control device 24. Then, the cleaned down flow is discharged from the discharge port 55 of the chamber 51 into the cup 21. The atmosphere in the resist coating device 14 is exhausted from an exhaust port 56 provided separately.

Adhesion processing device 12, cooling device 1
3, the heating device 15 has a stacked configuration as shown in FIGS. That is, a cooling device 13 for cooling the wafer W to a predetermined temperature is installed in a lower stage, and an adhesion process for improving the fixability of the resist by hydrophobizing the surface of the wafer W on the cooling device 13. The apparatus 12 is stacked, and a heating apparatus 15 for heating the wafer W after the resist liquid is applied by the resist coating apparatus 14 and curing the applied resist liquid is stacked on the adhesion processing apparatus 12. Have been.

The wafer W loading / unloading ports 12a of the adhesion processing device 12, the cooling device 13, and the heating device 15,
13a, 15a are all set on the front side of each processing apparatus, that is, on the side of the transport path 7, and these loading / unloading ports 12a, 1
The transfer arm 3 is installed at a position facing 3a and 15a. The transfer arm 3 is provided with three tweezers 3a, 3b, 3c for directly holding the wafer W in the vertical direction, and these three tweezers 3a, 3b, 3c, respectively.
Is slid in the direction along the base 3d, that is, in the X direction. The base 3d itself can be freely moved in the vertical direction, that is, in the Z direction, by an elevating column 60 that supports the transfer arm 3. Therefore, the tweezers 3 of the transfer arm 3
The wafers W held by a, 3b, and 3c can be carried in and out of the adhesion processing device 12, the cooling device 13, and the heating device 15. The transfer arm 3 itself is rotatable in the θ direction by an appropriate drive mechanism.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a film thickness measuring device 18 is located above the carry-in / out port 15a of the heating device 15.
Is provided. An optical sensor head 18a is attached to the tip of the film thickness measuring device 18.
A light beam of an appropriate frequency is emitted downward from the sensor head 18a, that is, toward the surface of the wafer W. The thickness of the resist film formed on the wafer W is measured by the reflected light of the irradiated light reflected on the surface of the wafer W. The measurement data is stored in the control device 2
4 to be used for correcting the conditions for forming the resist film.

The coating and developing system 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention has the above-mentioned configuration. For example, a transfer robot (not shown) is used to measure the thickness of a resist film on a substrate to be processed. When a carrier C containing a certain dummy wafer W is placed on the placing section 2, the transfer mechanism 4 takes out the wafer W in the carrier C and transfers it to the transfer arm 3.
The transfer arm 3 sequentially transfers and loads the received wafer W to the brush cleaning device 10 and the water cleaning device 11. The brush cleaning device 10 and the water cleaning device 11 perform a predetermined cleaning process on the wafer W. After the process is completed, the transfer arm 3 retrieves the processed wafer W and transfers it to the adhesion processing device 12. To load. The wafer W, the surface of which has been made hydrophobic by the adhesion processing device 12, is loaded into the cooling device 13 again by the transfer arm 3 and set to a predetermined temperature. Thereafter, the wafer W is transferred by the transfer arm 3 to the resist coating device 14, where the wafer W is supplied with a resist solution while being rotated and subjected to resist processing. When the resist coating process is completed, the wafer W is unloaded from the resist coating device 14 by the transfer arm 3 and transferred to the heating device 15. Then, by performing a predetermined heat treatment, the resist liquid is cured to form a resist film.

The wafer W after the heating process is carried out of the heating device 15 by the transfer arm 3. At this time, the loading / unloading port 15
The film thickness of the resist film is measured by a film thickness measuring device 18 provided above “a”. The resist film thickness measurement point is
It can be set arbitrarily as long as it is on the X axis when the wafer W is unloaded from the heating device 15. The number of measurement points is not particularly limited in the present invention, but is, for example, about five. The measurement distance is set so that the wafer W
If the adjustment is performed on the surface of the wafer W when unloaded from the wafer 5a, there is no need to move the transfer arm 3 in the Z direction when measuring the film thickness, which is more preferable in terms of simplifying the measurement process. If the measurement distance cannot be adjusted on the surface of the unloaded wafer W as described above, the wafer W after the heating process is transferred from the heating device 15 by the transfer arm 3 to the X-axis.
After the film is sufficiently pulled out in the direction, it is lifted in the Z direction until it enters the range of the film thickness measurement distance, and the thickness of the resist film is measured while moving in the X direction again.

According to the coating and developing system 1 according to the above embodiment, the thickness of the resist film can be measured without carrying the wafer W out of the coating and developing system 1. Therefore, the step of carrying the wafer W out of the coating and developing system 1 for measuring the thickness of the resist film can be omitted, and the coating and developing system 1 does not need to be stopped when measuring the film thickness. This leads to an improvement in throughput. Further, since the measurement of the thickness of the resist film is performed inside the coating and developing system 1, the environment inside the system is kept constant, and the measurement result of the thickness of the resist film can be directly used. In addition, it is easy to adjust the conditions for forming the resist film.

Since the film thickness of the resist film formed on the wafer W is measured while the transfer arm 3 is holding the wafer W, it is used exclusively for mounting the wafer W when measuring the film thickness. Space is not required. This makes it possible to add a film thickness measuring step without increasing the overall size of the coating and developing system 1. In addition, it is not necessary to add a special transfer step for measuring the thickness of the resist film on the wafer W. Further, since a film thickness measuring device conventionally provided outside the coating and developing processing system 1 is not required, the space in a clean room can be reduced.

In the above embodiment, the film thickness measuring device 18
Is provided above the loading / unloading port 15a of the heating device 15, and the wafer W
Although about five points are located on a straight line in the X direction carried out from the wafer 5, in this type of measurement, about 25 points on the wafer W are used as measurement points, and as shown in FIG. The measuring device 18 is connected to the entrance 15 of the heating device 15.
It can be proposed that five are arranged side by side above a. By doing so, it is possible to measure 5 × 5 = 25 film thicknesses by simply performing the same steps as the measurement in the above embodiment. Furthermore, if the transfer arm 3 is rotated in the θ direction, the film thickness of the resist film at more locations can be measured, and a more detailed film thickness measurement result can be obtained.
In addition, the film thickness measuring device 18 according to the above embodiment is of an optical type, but a contact needle method may be used instead.

The measurement of the thickness of the resist film on the wafer W is not limited to after the heating process by the heating device 15 as in the above embodiment, but may be after the cooling process by the cooling device 13 after the heating process. Similarly to the case after the heating process, the wafer W after the cooling process is carried out of the cooling device 13 by the transfer arm 3, and at this time, at the same time as the carrying out process of the wafer W, the wafer W Provided film thickness measuring device 1
In step 8, the thickness of the resist film can be measured.
Also, the film thickness measuring device 18 is provided above the transfer path 7 or the transfer path 8 (not shown), and the thickness of the resist film is measured while the wafer W is transferred by the transfer arms 3 and 6. Good.

After the measurement of the thickness of the resist film, the wafer W is again carried into the resist coating device 14 by the transfer arm 3, where the wafer W is rotated and a solvent is supplied from the solvent nozzle S to remove the resist film. . Then, the wafer W from which the resist film has been removed may be returned to the carrier C by the transfer mechanism 4 and stored until the next measurement of the thickness of the resist film.
As a result, the wafer W for measuring the film thickness can be used a plurality of times, which eliminates the need for a wafer which has been conventionally prepared for each measurement of the film thickness of the resist film, leading to cost reduction. The resist film formed on the wafer W may be removed by a resist stripper (not shown) using a resist stripper in addition to the resist coater 14 as described above. Good.

As a result of the measurement of the thickness of the resist film, as shown in FIG. 6, the thickness of the resist film 70 formed on the wafer W is within an allowable range (upper limit film thickness tmax to lower limit film thickness tmi).
In the case of n), there is no need to adjust the conditions for forming the resist film in the coating and developing treatment system 1. However, when the resist film 70 exceeds the upper limit film thickness tmax as shown in FIG. When the thickness of the film 70 is less than the lower limit thickness tmin, at least one of the wafer temperature immediately before the application of the resist liquid or the temperature of the resist liquid discharged from the resist liquid discharge nozzle N is adjusted by means described later. . As a result, conditions for forming a resist film having a desired film thickness can be obtained.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 9, when the resist film 70 formed on the wafer W is thicker at one point than the upper limit of the allowable range and is thinner at the other point than the lower limit of the allowable range, First, the uniformity of the film thickness is improved by changing at least the number of rotations of the wafer W during the application of the resist solution or by adjusting the humidity in the resist coating apparatus. And the above upper limit film thickness tma
At least one of the temperature of the wafer immediately before the application of the resist liquid and the temperature of the resist liquid discharged from the resist liquid discharge nozzle N is adjusted in the same manner as in the case of exceeding x or lower than the lower limit film thickness tmin. This makes it possible to obtain the conditions for forming a resist film having a desired film thickness and good film thickness uniformity.

The temperature of the wafer immediately before the application of the resist solution can be adjusted by the cooling device 13, and the temperature of the resist solution discharged from the resist solution discharge nozzle N is controlled by the temperature control fluid supplied to the nozzle holder 31. Can be adjusted. The number of rotations of the wafer W during the application of the resist solution can be adjusted by a driving mechanism 23 such as a pulse motor controlled by the control device 24, and the humidity in the resist coating device 14 is also controlled by the control device 24. The temperature and humidity can be adjusted by the temperature and humidity adjusting device 52.

As described above, after the adjustment of the coating and developing system 1, the thickness of the resist film may be measured again to confirm the details of the adjustment. At this time, the wafer W for film thickness measurement stored in the cassette C may be used for the previous film thickness measurement of the resist film. Further, the measurement of the thickness of the resist film and the adjustment of the coating and developing system 1 based on the measurement result may be repeatedly performed until the thickness and uniformity of the thickness of the resist film fall within an allowable range.

In the above embodiment, the substrate to be processed is embodied as a wafer. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a glass substrate for LCD may be used.

[0038]

According to the resist processing method of the present invention, the thickness of the resist film can be measured without carrying the substrate to be processed out of the resist processing system. Therefore, the step of carrying out the substrate to be processed outside the resist processing system for measuring the thickness of the resist film can be omitted. At the same time, there is no need to stop the resist processing apparatus, which leads to an improvement in throughput. In particular, according to the resist processing method of the present invention, since the measurement of the thickness of the resist film is performed inside the resist processing apparatus, it is possible to directly use the measurement result and to form the resist film. Condition adjustment becomes easy. According to the resist processing method of the present invention, when measuring the thickness of the resist film, a dedicated space for mounting the substrate to be processed is not required, so that the film size can be increased without increasing the size of the entire resist processing system. A thickness measurement step can be added. In addition, it is not necessary to add a special transport step for measuring the thickness of the resist film on the substrate to be processed. Further, according to the resist processing method of the present invention, it is not necessary to carry the substrate to be measured into the resist processing system every time the thickness of the resist film is measured. Improvement can be expected. In particular, according to the seventh aspect, the substrate to be measured for film thickness measurement can be used a plurality of times, and a plurality of substrates to be processed which have conventionally been prepared for each film thickness measurement of the resist film become unnecessary.
It leads to cost reduction.

According to the resist processing system of the present invention, a film thickness measuring device which is conventionally provided outside the resist processing system is not required, so that the space in a clean room can be saved. Further, the processing methods of claims 1 to 7 can be suitably implemented, which contributes to high throughput.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a coating and developing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view schematically showing a configuration of a resist coating apparatus incorporated in the coating processing system of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory side view of the resist film thickness measuring apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a resist film thickness measuring apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing another example of a resist film thickness measuring apparatus.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of a cross section showing a film formation state when a resist film is formed on a wafer using the coating and developing system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is an explanatory cross-sectional view showing a film formation state when a resist film is formed on a wafer using the coating and developing processing system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is an explanatory cross-sectional view showing a film formation state when a resist film is formed on a wafer using the coating and developing processing system of FIG. 1;

9 is an explanatory view of a cross section showing a film formation state when a resist film is formed on a wafer using the coating and developing processing system of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 coating / developing processing system 3, 6 transfer arm 7, 8 transfer path 13 cooling device 14 resist coating device 15 heating device 15a loading / unloading 18 film thickness measuring device 23 drive mechanism 24 control device 52 temperature / humidity adjusting device 70 resist film N resist solution Discharge nozzle S Solvent nozzle W Wafer

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A resist coating apparatus for applying a resist liquid on a substrate while rotating the substrate to form a resist film on the substrate, a heating apparatus for heating the substrate to be processed, and holding the substrate to be processed. A resist process for a substrate to be processed using a resist processing system having a transport device for transporting the substrate to be processed, wherein a first step of setting the temperature of the substrate to be processed to a predetermined temperature; A second step of forming a resist film by applying a resist solution on the substrate while rotating the substrate set at a temperature, and a third step of heating the substrate on which the resist film is formed When,
A fourth step of cooling the substrate to be heated after heating to a predetermined temperature, wherein the thickness of the resist film on the substrate to be processed is changed between the third and fourth steps. A resist processing method, characterized by adding a step of measuring in the resist processing system. 2. A resist coating apparatus for applying a resist solution onto a substrate while rotating the substrate to form a resist film on the substrate, a heating device for heating the substrate to be processed, and holding the substrate to be processed. A resist process for a substrate to be processed using a resist processing system having a transport device for transporting the substrate to be processed, wherein a first step of setting the temperature of the substrate to be processed to a predetermined temperature; A second step of forming a resist film by applying a resist solution on the substrate while rotating the substrate set at a temperature, and a third step of heating the substrate on which the resist film is formed When,
A fourth step of cooling the heated substrate to a predetermined temperature to a predetermined temperature, wherein after the fourth step, the thickness of the resist film on the substrate to be processed is reduced in the resist processing system. A resist processing method, comprising a step of measuring. 3. Based on the result of measuring the thickness of the resist film, at least the humidity in the resist coating device, the rotation speed of the substrate to be processed in the resist coating device, and the predetermined temperature of the substrate to be processed in the first step. 3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising adjusting the temperature of the resist solution. 4. When the measured thickness of the resist film is larger than the upper limit of the allowable range at one point on the substrate to be processed and smaller than the lower limit of the allowable range at another point on the substrate to be processed, And / or changing at least one of the humidity of the substrate or the rotation speed of the substrate to be processed in the resist coating apparatus, and changing at least one of the predetermined temperature of the substrate to be processed and the temperature of the resist liquid in the first step. The resist processing method according to claim 3. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the measurement of the thickness of the resist film is performed while the transfer device is holding the substrate to be processed.
The resist processing method according to claim 1. 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the measurement of the thickness of the resist film is performed on a substrate to be inspected held in a resist processing system. The resist processing method as described above. 7. The resist processing method according to claim 6, further comprising the step of washing off the resist film on the inspection target substrate whose film thickness has been measured in a resist coating device. 8. A resist coating apparatus for forming a resist film on a substrate by applying a resist liquid on the substrate while rotating the substrate, a heating device for heating the substrate, and holding the substrate. A resist processing system having a transport device for transporting the substrate and a film thickness measuring device for measuring the thickness of the resist film formed on the substrate to be processed, provided above the loading / unloading port of the heating device. The resist processing system. 9. A resist coating apparatus for applying a resist liquid on a substrate while rotating the substrate to be processed to form a resist film on the substrate; a plurality of heating devices for heating the substrate to be processed; In a resist processing system having a plurality of temperature control devices having a function of cooling a substrate to a predetermined temperature and a transfer device for holding and transferring a substrate to be processed, a heating device and a temperature control device are stacked in multiple stages. A resist processing system, characterized in that a film thickness measuring device for measuring the film thickness of a resist film formed on a substrate to be processed is provided above a loading / unloading port of the heating device and / or the temperature control device. 10. A resist coating apparatus for applying a resist liquid on a substrate while rotating the substrate to form a resist film on the substrate, a heating apparatus for heating the substrate to be processed, and holding the substrate to be processed. A resist processing system having a transport device for transporting the resist film, wherein a film thickness measuring device for measuring the thickness of the resist film formed on the substrate to be processed is provided above the transport path of the transport means. Resist processing system.