Substrate heat treatment device and coating equipment

Abstract

The invention discloses a substrate heat treatment device and coating equipment. The substrate heat treatment apparatus comprises: a cavity provided with an openable / closable foundation plate transport port; the hot plate is arranged in the cavity and is used for bearing and heating the substrate; the gas inlet mechanism is used for conveying clean gas into the cavity; the exhaust mechanism is used for exhausting gas in the cavity; the exhaust mechanism comprises a rectifying plate and an exhaust port, the rectifying plate is arranged in the cavity and located above the hot plate, a buffer cavity is defined by the rectifying plate and part of the cavity, the rectifying plate is provided with a plurality of vent holes, and the exhaust port is communicated with the buffer cavity. And the exhaust mechanism is configured to suck gas between the hot plate and the rectifying plate into the buffer cavity through the plurality of vent holes and then exhaust the gas through the exhaust port. According to the substrate heat treatment device, the technical effects that the airflow atmosphere in the substrate heat treatment device is improved, and the risk that a coating layer on the surface of the substrate generates defects during substrate heat treatment is reduced are achieved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of semiconductor equipment, and further to a substrate heat treatment apparatus and coating equipment. Background Technology

[0002] Photolithography is the most critical and repetitive process in the entire semiconductor manufacturing process. The equipment required for photolithography includes coating equipment, exposure equipment, and developing equipment. Coating equipment, as one of the most important pieces of equipment in photolithography, has a significant impact on improving product integration and yield. Coating equipment generally consists of an interface terminal, a substrate transfer module, a coating module, a substrate heat treatment module, and an alignment module.

[0003] The interface is used to load the substrate to be processed and to unload the substrate after coating. The substrate transfer module is used to transfer the substrate between different modules within the coating equipment. The coating module is used to uniformly coat the substrate surface with photoresist. The substrate heat treatment module is used to heat and / or cool the substrate. The alignment module is used to calibrate the position of the substrate before it is transported to the coating module by the substrate transfer module.

[0004] In the prior art, a heat treatment module typically includes several heat treatment devices. These devices include components such as a cavity, a hot plate, a substrate support mechanism, and an exhaust system. The hot plate and substrate support mechanism are located inside the cavity. The substrate support mechanism supports the substrate, the hot plate heats the substrate for heat treatment, and the exhaust system removes impurity gases from the cavity to prevent these gases from causing surface defects on the substrate.

[0005] However, during the heat treatment of the substrate, the operation of the exhaust section will generate airflow above the substrate. The disordered gas flow will cause large-area color differences on the wafer surface macroscopically and roughness differences in different areas of the coating surface microscopically, thereby increasing the risk of defects in the coating on the substrate surface. Summary of the Invention

[0006] To address the aforementioned technical problems, the purpose of this application is to improve the airflow atmosphere within the substrate heat treatment apparatus and reduce the risk of defects in the coating layer on the substrate surface during substrate heat treatment.

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, this application provides a substrate heat treatment apparatus and a coating device.

[0008] In some embodiments, a substrate heat treatment apparatus includes: a cavity with an openable and closable substrate delivery port; a hot plate disposed within the cavity for supporting and heating the substrate; an air inlet mechanism for supplying clean gas into the cavity; and an exhaust mechanism for discharging gas from the cavity. The exhaust mechanism includes a rectifier plate and an exhaust port. The rectifier plate is disposed within the cavity and above the hot plate. The rectifier plate and a portion of the cavity form a buffer cavity. The rectifier plate has a plurality of vent holes. The exhaust port communicates with the buffer cavity. The exhaust mechanism is configured to draw gas between the hot plate and the rectifier plate into the buffer cavity through the plurality of vent holes and then discharge it through the exhaust port.

[0009] In some embodiments, the coating apparatus includes: an interface for loading a substrate to be processed and unloading a substrate after coating; a substrate transfer module for transferring the substrate; a coating module for coating photoresist on the surface of the substrate; and a substrate heat treatment module including several of the above-mentioned substrate heat treatment devices.

[0010] Compared with the prior art, this application improves the airflow atmosphere in the heat treatment apparatus by setting a rectifier plate above the hot plate and allowing the gas in the cavity to enter the buffer cavity upward through the rectifier plate and be discharged from the exhaust port. This makes the airflow above different areas of the substrate surface flow uniformly during the heat treatment of the substrate, thereby reducing the risk of defects in the coating layer on the substrate surface during the heat treatment of the substrate. Attached Figure Description

[0011] The preferred embodiments will now be described in a clear and easy-to-understand manner, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, to further explain the above-mentioned characteristics, technical features, advantages, and implementation methods of this application.

[0012] Figure 1 This is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a substrate heat treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of this application;

[0013] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A schematic diagram along the direction aa;

[0014] Figure 3 This is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a substrate heat treatment apparatus according to another embodiment of this application;

[0015] Figure 4 This is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a substrate heat treatment apparatus according to another embodiment of this application;

[0016] Figure 5 This is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a substrate heat treatment apparatus according to another embodiment of this application;

[0017] Figure 6This is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a substrate heat treatment apparatus according to another embodiment of this application;

[0018] Figure 7 This is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a substrate heat treatment apparatus according to another embodiment of this application;

[0019] Figure 8 This is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a substrate heat treatment apparatus according to another embodiment of this application; and

[0020] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the layout of a coating apparatus according to an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0021] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application or the prior art, the specific implementation methods of this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings and other implementation methods can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0022] To keep the drawings concise, each drawing only schematically shows the parts relevant to this application, and they do not represent the actual structure of the product. Furthermore, for ease of understanding, in some drawings, only one of the components with the same structure or function is schematically shown, or only one is labeled. In this document, "one" not only means "only one," but can also mean "more than one."

[0023] In this document, it should be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," and "linking" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to fixed connections, detachable connections, or integral connections; they can refer to mechanical connections or electrical connections; they can refer to direct connections or indirect connections through an intermediate medium; and they can refer to the internal connection between two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this application according to the specific circumstances.

[0024] like Figure 1 As shown, this application discloses a substrate heat treatment apparatus 110, which includes a cavity 111, a hot plate 112, an air inlet mechanism 113, and an air outlet mechanism 114.

[0025] In some embodiments, the cavity 111 is provided with an openable and closable substrate delivery port 1111. A heating plate 112 is disposed within the cavity 111 for supporting and heating the substrate 20. An air intake mechanism 113 is used to deliver clean gas, such as nitrogen or CDA (Clean Dry Air), into the cavity 111. An exhaust mechanism 114 is used to exhaust the gas from the cavity 111.

[0026] The exhaust mechanism 114 includes a rectifier plate 1141 and an exhaust port 1142. The rectifier plate 1141 is disposed inside the cavity 111 and located above the hot plate 112. The rectifier plate 1141 and part of the cavity 111 enclose a buffer cavity 1144. The rectifier plate 1141 is provided with several vent holes 1143. The exhaust port 1142 is connected to the buffer cavity 1144. The exhaust mechanism 114 is configured to draw the gas between the hot plate 112 and the rectifier plate 1141 into the buffer cavity 1144 through several vent holes 1143, and then discharge it through the exhaust port 1142.

[0027] This embodiment, by providing a rectifier plate 1141 above the hot plate 112, allows gas in the cavity 111 to enter the buffer cavity 1144 upwards via the rectifier plate 1141 and exit through the exhaust port 1142. This ensures uniform airflow over different areas of the substrate 20 surface during heat treatment, thereby improving the airflow atmosphere within the substrate heat treatment apparatus 110 and reducing the risk of defects in the coating layer on the substrate 20 surface during heat treatment. Furthermore, the rectifier plate 1141 is located above the hot plate 112, with its lower surface corresponding to the upper surface of the substrate 20. The number and diameter of the vent holes 1143 on the surface of the rectifier plate 1141 can be set according to actual process requirements to increase the exhaust efficiency of the exhaust mechanism 114. This facilitates timely extraction of gas from the cavity 111, preventing gas stagnation within the cavity 111 during substrate heat treatment and thus avoiding airflow turbulence, thereby improving the quality of the coating layer on the substrate 20 surface.

[0028] In some embodiments, the air intake mechanism 113 includes an edge air intake 1136 configured to deliver clean gas from the edge region of the hot plate 112 to the center region of the hot plate 112.

[0029] In some embodiments, such as Figure 2 As shown, the air intake mechanism 113 includes three air intake pipes 1131, each of which has a corresponding air intake port 1134. Figure 2The illustration is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to limit the number of air inlet pipes 1131. Air inlet pipe 1131 is connected to air inlet interface 1134, which is used to connect to an air source (not shown in the figure). Edge air inlet 1136 includes several air inlet holes 1135 disposed on air inlet pipe 1131, which are used to deliver clean gas into cavity 111. Figure 1 In the embodiment shown, the air intake pipe 1131 is located on the periphery of the substrate 20, and the height of the air intake pipe 1131 is lower than that of the substrate 20.

[0030] It should be noted that, during the flow of clean gas inside the inlet pipe 1131, the clean gas is sequentially supplied to the cavity 111 through each inlet port 1135 along its flow direction. Therefore, the stability of the gas flow rate of each inlet port 1135 is greatly affected by the length of the inlet pipe 1131. The longer the inlet pipe 1131, the more uneven the gas flow rate of different inlet ports 1135 may be. In this embodiment, by setting multiple inlet pipes 1131 and multiple inlet interfaces 1134 inside the cavity 111, each inlet pipe 1131 is independently supplied with clean gas through its corresponding inlet interface 1134, which can effectively reduce the length of each inlet pipe 1131, thereby making the gas flow rate of different inlet ports 1135 more uniform.

[0031] In some embodiments, the air inlets 1135 are arranged sequentially along the gas flow direction in the air inlet pipe 1131, and the spacing between adjacent air inlets 1135 gradually decreases along the gas flow direction, and / or the diameter of the air inlets 1135 gradually increases along the gas flow direction. Figure 2 In the embodiment shown, the spacing between adjacent air inlets 1135 gradually decreases along the gas flow direction.

[0032] This embodiment, by reducing the distance between adjacent air inlets 1135 or increasing the diameter of the air inlets 1135, can prevent excessive leakage of clean gas at the front end of the air inlet pipe 1131 (the side near the connecting part 1133), resulting in no clean gas flowing out of the air inlet 1135 at the rear end of the air inlet pipe 1131 (the side away from the connecting part 1133), thereby ensuring that the air inlet pipe 1131 uniformly supplies clean gas into the cavity 111 along its length. Figure 2 In the embodiment shown, the three air inlet pipes 1131 are of the same length, and the air inlet holes 1135 of the different air inlet pipes 1131 are arranged in the same way, so that the three air inlet pipes 1131 provide clean gas evenly to the cavity 111 on the outer periphery of the hot plate 112.

[0033] In some embodiments, the air intake mechanism 113 further includes a connecting portion 1133, the two ends of which are respectively connected to the air intake pipe 1131 and the air intake interface 1134.

[0034] In some embodiments, see Figure 1 The cavity 111 includes an upper cavity 1113 and a lower cavity 1112. The substrate delivery port 1111 is closably located between the upper cavity 1113 and the lower cavity 1112. The upper cavity 1113 is located above the lower cavity 1112. The upper cavity 1113 is used to accommodate the rectifier plate 1141, and the lower cavity 1112 is used to accommodate the hot plate 112.

[0035] In some embodiments, such as Figure 1 and Figure 3 As shown, the intake pipe 1131 is disposed on the inner circumferential side of the lower cavity 1112, and the intake pipe 1131 is configured to be between the outer side of the hot plate 112 and the inner side of the lower cavity 1112.

[0036] In some embodiments, refer again Figure 1 The height of the air inlet 1135 is configured to be lower than the upper surface of the hot plate 112, and the opening direction of the air inlet 1135 is configured to face upwards. (See again...) Figure 3 The height of the air inlet 1135 is configured to be no lower than the upper surface of the hot plate 112, and the opening direction of the air inlet 1135 is configured to face the inside of the cavity 111. In this embodiment, the air inlet 1135 uniformly sprays clean gas upward or inward into the interior of the cavity 111. After the clean gas mixes with the sublimation produced by heating the coating layer of the substrate 20, it enters the buffer cavity 1144 through the vent 1143 of the rectifier plate 1141, and then is discharged from the exhaust port 1142. It should be noted that in the above embodiment, the upper cavity 1113 is configured as a cover structure with an opening facing downward, and the inner side of the upper cavity 1113 cooperates with the rectifier plate 1141 to form the buffer cavity 1144.

[0037] In some embodiments, such as Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown, the cavity 111 includes an upper cavity 1113, a lower cavity 1112, and an inner cover 1115. The substrate conveying port 1111 is closably located between the upper cavity 1113 and the lower cavity 1112. The upper cavity 1113 is located above the lower cavity 1112. The lower cavity 1112 is used to accommodate the hot plate 112. The inner cover 1115 is located inside the upper cavity 1113 and is constructed as a downward-opening cover structure. A rectifier plate 1141 is disposed at the opening 1116 of the inner cover 1115. The rectifier plate 1141 and the inner cover 1115 enclose a buffer cavity 1144. An air inlet pipe 1131 is disposed on the inner circumferential side of the upper cavity 1113. Furthermore, in some other embodiments, such as... Figure 6 As shown, the upper cavity 1113 is provided with a pipeline channel 1121, and the air inlet pipe 1131 is provided in the pipeline channel 1121 to deliver clean gas to the inside of the cavity 111.

[0038] In some embodiments, refer again Figure 4 The height of the air intake 1135 is configured to be no lower than the lower surface of the fairing 1141, and the opening direction of the air intake 1135 is configured to face downwards. (See again...) Figure 5 and Figure 6 The height of the air inlet 1135 is configured to be lower than the lower surface of the rectifier plate 1141, and the opening direction of the air inlet 1135 is configured to face the inside of the cavity 111. In this embodiment, the air inlet 1135 uniformly sprays clean gas downward or inward into the interior of the cavity 111. After the clean gas mixes with the sublimation generated after the coating layer of the substrate 20 is heated, it enters the buffer cavity 1144 through the vent hole 1143 of the rectifier plate 1141, and then is discharged from the exhaust port 1142.

[0039] In some embodiments, the cavity 111 further includes a lifting mechanism 1114, which is used to drive the lower cavity 1112 and / or the upper cavity 1113 to rise and fall. The lifting mechanism 1114 is configured to separate the lower cavity 1112 and the upper cavity 1113 with a preset distance during loading or unloading of the substrate 20 to open the substrate transport port 1111, and to close the lower cavity 1112 and the upper cavity 1113 during heat treatment of the substrate 20 to close the substrate transport port 1111. In addition, the substrate heat treatment apparatus 110 also includes a substrate lifting mechanism 115, which includes a plurality of ejector pins and ejector pin lifters that vertically penetrate the hot plate 112. The ejector pin lifters are used to drive the ejector pins to move up and down relative to the hot plate 112 to lift the substrate 20.

[0040] In some embodiments, such as Figure 7 and Figure 8 As shown, a preset gap 1117 exists between the outer surface of the inner cover 1115 and the inner surface of the upper cavity 1113. The preset gap 1117 is connected to the air inlet 1134 to form the aforementioned edge air inlet 1136. Figure 7 In the illustrated embodiment, the opening direction of the edge air inlet 1136 is configured to face downwards, corresponding to the outer peripheral side of the hot plate 112. Figure 8 In the illustrated embodiment, the opening direction of the edge air inlet 1136 is configured to face the inside of the cavity 111, and the end of the edge air inlet 1136 is lower than the lower surface of the rectifier plate 1141, so that during heat treatment, clean gas is delivered from the edge region of the hot plate 112 to the central region of the hot plate 112 through the edge air inlet 1136.

[0041] In some embodiments, the exhaust pressure of the exhaust mechanism 114 is 60 Pa to 200 Pa, preferably 75 Pa. The gas flow rate of the intake mechanism 113 is 5 L / min to 20 L / min, preferably 10 L / min.

[0042] like Figure 9As shown, this application also discloses a coating apparatus 10, which includes an interface terminal 12, a substrate transfer module 13, a coating module 14, and a substrate heat treatment module 11. The interface terminal 12 is used to load a substrate 20 to be processed and to unload a substrate 20 after coating. The substrate transfer module 13 is used to transfer the substrate 20 between different modules within the coating apparatus 10. The coating module 14 is used to coat the surface of the substrate 20 with photoresist. The substrate heat treatment module 11 includes several substrate heat treatment devices 110 as described in any of the above embodiments, used to heat treat the substrate 20.

[0043] In some embodiments, the coating apparatus 10 further includes a centering module 15 for calibrating the position of the substrate 20 before the substrate transfer module 13 transports the substrate 20 to the coating module 14. Furthermore, the substrate heat treatment module 11 includes several substrate cooling devices 120 for cooling the substrate 20 after heat treatment.

[0044] It should be noted that the above embodiments can be freely combined as needed. The above are merely preferred embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, several improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the principles of this application, and these improvements and modifications should also be considered within the scope of protection of this application.

Claims

1. A substrate heat treatment apparatus, characterized in that, include: The cavity is equipped with an openable and closable ground substrate delivery port; A hot plate, disposed within the cavity, is used to support and heat the substrate; An air intake mechanism is used to deliver clean gas into the cavity; An exhaust mechanism is used to discharge gas from the cavity; wherein, The exhaust mechanism includes a rectifier plate and an exhaust port. The rectifier plate is disposed in the cavity and located above the hot plate. The rectifier plate and part of the cavity form a buffer cavity. The rectifier plate is provided with a plurality of vent holes. The exhaust port is connected to the buffer cavity. The exhaust mechanism is configured to: draw the gas between the hot plate and the rectifier plate into the buffer cavity through the plurality of vent holes, and then discharge it through the exhaust port.

2. The substrate heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The air intake mechanism includes an edge air intake, which is configured to deliver clean gas from the edge region of the hot plate to the center region of the hot plate.

3. The substrate heat treatment apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that, The air intake mechanism includes: The cavity includes several air inlet pipes and several air inlet ports, each air inlet pipe being connected to one of the air inlet ports, the air inlet ports being used to connect to an air source, and the edge air inlet including several air inlets disposed on the air inlet pipes, the air inlets being used to deliver clean gas into the cavity.

4. The substrate heat treatment apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that, The air inlets are arranged sequentially along the gas flow direction in the air inlet pipe, and the distance between adjacent air inlets gradually decreases along the gas flow direction, and / or the diameter of the air inlets gradually increases along the gas flow direction.

5. The substrate heat treatment apparatus according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that, The cavity includes an upper cavity and a lower cavity. The substrate delivery port is closable and located between the upper cavity and the lower cavity. The upper cavity is located above the lower cavity. The upper cavity is used to accommodate the rectifier plate, and the lower cavity is used to accommodate the hot plate.

6. The substrate heat treatment apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that, The air intake pipe is disposed on the inner circumferential side of the lower cavity, and the air intake pipe is configured between the outer side of the hot plate and the inner side of the lower cavity.

7. The substrate heat treatment apparatus according to claim 6, characterized in that, The height of the air inlet is configured to be lower than the upper surface of the hot plate, and the opening direction of the air inlet is configured to be upward. Alternatively, the height of the air inlet is configured to be no less than the upper surface of the hot plate, and the opening direction of the air inlet is configured to face the inside of the cavity.

8. The substrate heat treatment apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that, The cavity includes an inner cover located within the upper cavity, and the inner cover is constructed as a cover structure with an opening facing downwards. The rectifier plate is disposed at the opening of the inner cover, and the rectifier plate and the inner cover form a buffer cavity. The air intake pipe is disposed on the inner circumferential side of the upper cavity. Alternatively, the upper cavity may have a pipe channel inside, and the air intake pipe may be located within the pipe channel.

9. The substrate heat treatment apparatus according to claim 8, characterized in that, The height of the air intake is configured to be no less than the lower surface of the rectifier plate, and the opening direction of the air intake is configured to be downward. Alternatively, the height of the air intake is configured to be lower than the lower surface of the rectifier plate, and the opening direction of the air intake is configured to face the inside of the cavity.

10. The substrate heat treatment apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that, The cavity includes an upper cavity, a lower cavity, and an inner cover. The substrate delivery port is closably located between the upper cavity and the lower cavity. The upper cavity is located above the lower cavity. The lower cavity is used to accommodate the hot plate. The inner cover is located in the upper cavity and is constructed as a cover structure with an opening facing downwards. The rectifier plate is disposed at the opening of the inner cover. The rectifier plate and the inner cover surround to form a buffer cavity. The air intake mechanism includes an air intake interface, and there is a preset gap between the outer side of the inner cover and the inner side of the upper cavity. The preset gap is connected to the air intake interface to form the edge air intake.

11. The substrate heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The exhaust pressure of the exhaust mechanism is 60Pa-200Pa; And / or the gas flow rate of the intake mechanism is 5L / min-20L / min.

12. A coating apparatus, characterized in that, include: The interface end is used to load the substrate to be processed and unload the substrate after the coating process is completed. Substrate transmission module, used for transmitting substrates; A coating module for coating photoresist onto the surface of a substrate; A substrate heat treatment module includes several substrate heat treatment apparatuses as described in any one of claims 1 to 11.

Images