Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method

Abstract

To provide a technique advantageous for removing a foreign substance firmly coupled to a substrate.SOLUTION: A substrate processing system comprises: a foreign substance detecting device that detects a foreign substance present in a surface area of a substrate; a foreign substance removing device that removes, with a laser beam, a portion of the surface area of the substrate including the foreign substance detected by the foreign substance detecting device; and a film forming device that forms a film on the surface area from which the portion is removed by the foreign substance removing device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method. [Background technology]

[0002] Articles having microstructures, such as semiconductor devices and MEMS, can be manufactured by transferring a pattern onto a substrate using a lithography apparatus such as a projection exposure apparatus or an imprint apparatus. The presence of foreign matter on the surface region of the substrate can cause defects in the article manufactured by processing the substrate. Patent Document 1 describes forming a pattern on a substrate after removing minute objects adhering to the substrate. At least one of air, water, a chemical solution, and static electricity is used to remove the minute objects. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6139434 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] As described in Patent Document 1, methods that use at least one of air, water, chemical solutions, and static electricity to remove micro-objects make it difficult to remove foreign matter that is firmly bonded to the substrate, such as foreign matter that is embedded in the film of the substrate.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide an advantageous technique for removing foreign matter firmly bonded to a substrate. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] One aspect of the present invention relates to a substrate processing system for processing a substrate, the substrate processing system including: a foreign matter detection device that detects foreign matter present in a surface region of the substrate; a foreign matter removal device that uses laser light to remove a portion of the surface region of the substrate that contains the foreign matter detected by the foreign matter detection device; and a film formation device that forms a film on the surface region from which the portion has been removed by the foreign matter removal device. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] The present invention provides an advantageous technique for removing foreign matter that is firmly bonded to a substrate. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of a substrate processing system according to an embodiment; [Figure 2] 1A and 1B are diagrams schematically showing foreign matter present on the surface region of a substrate and the substrate from which the foreign matter has been removed. [Figure 3] 1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating an example of a process for forming a film on a surface region of a substrate from which a portion containing foreign matter has been removed. [Figure 4] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating another example of a process for forming a film on a surface region of a substrate from which a portion containing foreign matter has been removed. [Figure 5] 1A to 1C are diagrams showing a procedure of a substrate processing method according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims. Although multiple features are described in the embodiments, not all of these multiple features are necessarily essential to the invention, and multiple features may be combined arbitrarily. Furthermore, in the accompanying drawings, the same reference numerals are used to designate the same or similar components, and redundant explanations will be omitted.

[0010] FIG. 1 schematically illustrates the configuration of a substrate processing system 100 according to one embodiment. The substrate processing system 100 is a system for processing a substrate 1, but may also be understood as a substrate processing apparatus. The substrate processing system 100 may include, for example, a foreign matter detection device 10, a foreign matter removal device 20, and a film formation device 30. The foreign matter detection device 10 detects foreign matter 2 present on a surface region SR of the substrate 1. The foreign matter removal device 20 removes a portion of the surface region SR of the substrate 1 that contains the foreign matter 2 detected by the foreign matter detection device 10 using a laser beam 23. Note that removing the foreign matter 2 includes not only complete removal of the foreign matter 2, but also partial removal of the foreign matter 2. The film formation device 30 forms a film 6 on the surface region SR of the substrate 1 from which the portion containing the foreign matter 2 has been removed by the foreign matter removal device 20.

[0011] FIG. 2(a) schematically shows a foreign substance 2 present on the surface region SR of the substrate 1. FIG. 2(b) schematically shows a state in which a portion of the surface region SR of the substrate 1, including the foreign substance 2 detected by the foreign substance detection device 10, has been removed by the laser beam 23. Here, the foreign substance 2 can be removed so that residual matter 9 of the foreign substance 2 does not protrude from a plane including the surface region SR of the substrate 1 (or a virtual plane approximating the surface region SR). When removing the foreign substance 2, debris may be generated by the laser beam 23 directed at the foreign substance 2. Such debris can be discharged by an exhaust system (not shown). In one example, the spot diameter of the laser beam 23 is on the order of several tens of micrometers, and the foreign substance 2 is much smaller than that.

[0012] 3(a) and (b) schematically show an example of a process for forming a film 6 by a film-forming apparatus 30 on a surface region SR of a substrate 1 from which a portion containing foreign matter 2 has been removed by a foreign matter removal apparatus 20. The film-forming apparatus 30 may, for example, deposit an uncured curable composition 5 on the surface region SR of the substrate 1 and cure the curable composition 5 to form a film 6 on the surface region SR. The film-forming apparatus 30 may also locally form a film 6 on the surface region SR of the substrate 1 so as to cover a region 3 from which a portion containing foreign matter 2 has been removed by laser light. The curable composition 5 may be cured by irradiation with curing energy 34 (e.g., light or heat) to form the film 6.

[0013] The substrate processing system 100 may include a control device 40 that controls the foreign matter detection device 10, the foreign matter removal device 20, and the film formation device 30. The control device 40 may be configured, for example, by a PLD (abbreviation for Programmable Logic Device) such as an FPGA (abbreviation for Field Programmable Gate Array), an ASIC (abbreviation for Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a general-purpose or dedicated computer with an embedded program, or a combination of all or part of these.

[0014] The foreign object detection device 10 may be, for example, an interference-type detection device that detects foreign objects 2 based on an image obtained by bringing the underside 19 of an optically transparent member 12 into contact with the surface region SR of the substrate 1 and capturing an image of the surface region SR through the optically transparent member 12. The foreign object detection device 10 configured as an interference-type detection device may include, for example, a first holding unit 11, a second holding unit 13, a light irradiation unit 14, an imaging unit 15, and a processor 16. The first holding unit 11 holds the substrate 1. The second holding unit 13 may be configured to hold the optically transparent member 12 and press the optically transparent member 12 against the substrate 1.

[0015] The light irradiation unit 14 irradiates the surface region SR of the substrate 1 with light through the light-transmitting member 12. The light irradiation unit 14 may include, for example, a light source and an optical system. The imaging unit 15 images interference fringes formed by the surface region SR of the substrate 1 irradiated with light by the light irradiation unit 14 and the light reflected by the lower surface 19 of the light-transmitting member 12. The imaging unit 15 may include, for example, an image sensor and an optical system. The light irradiation unit 14 and the imaging unit 15 may, for example, share part of the optical system.

[0016] If a foreign substance 2 is present in the surface region SR of the substrate 1, the foreign substance 2 may curve or deform the lower surface 19 of the light-transmitting member 12. This may cause the wavefront of light reflected by the lower surface 19 of the light-transmitting member 12 to curve or deform, resulting in the formation of interference fringes on the imaging surface of the image sensor. The processor 16 detects the foreign substance 2 present in the surface region SR of the substrate 1 by processing the image of the interference fringes captured by the imaging unit 15. More specifically, the processor 16 may detect the presence of the foreign substance 2 as well as its location. Here, the location of the foreign substance can be determined by the relative position of the first holding unit 11 (substrate 1) with respect to a reference position of the imaging unit 15 (e.g., the center of the imaging field of view) and the position of the foreign substance 2 within the imaging field of view of the imaging unit 15 with respect to the reference position of the imaging unit 15. The processor 16 may further be configured to detect the size of the foreign substance 2 by processing the image of the interference fringes.

[0017] The foreign matter detection apparatus 10 may be configured to scan the first holding unit 11 with an optical head including a light irradiation unit 14 and an imaging unit 15. Alternatively, the foreign matter detection apparatus 10 may be configured to scan the first holding unit 11 with an optical head including the light irradiation unit 14 and the imaging unit 15. Alternatively, the foreign matter detection apparatus 10 may be configured to scan the optical head including the light irradiation unit 14 and the imaging unit 15 in a first direction and scan the first holding unit 11 in a second direction. This allows the foreign matter detection apparatus 10 to detect foreign matters across the entire surface region SR of the substrate 1. The foreign matter detection apparatus 10 may generate detected foreign matter information including foreign matter detection results (e.g., the position and size of the foreign matter) and provide it to the control device 40. The control device 40 may store the detected foreign matter information in a memory 41. The control device 40 may include a recipe generator 42 that generates control information (a recipe) for controlling the film formation process by the film forming apparatus 30 based on the detected foreign matter information. The control information (recipe) may include information for controlling the placement of the curable composition on the substrate 1 .

[0018] The foreign matter detection device 10 may also detect the foreign matter 2 in other ways. For example, the foreign matter detection device 10 may be configured to detect the foreign matter 2 by irradiating the surface region SR of the substrate 1 with light and detecting the light scattered by the foreign matter 2 that may be present in the surface region SR.

[0019] The foreign matter removal apparatus 20 may include a substrate holding unit 21 that holds the substrate 1 and a laser device 22 that irradiates the foreign matter 2 with laser light 23. The laser device 22 may be, for example, a picosecond laser or a femtosecond laser. The laser device 22 may include, for example, a laser oscillator (e.g., a YAG laser, a CO2 laser, or an excimer laser), a beam expander, and a galvanometer scanner. An Fθ lens may be incorporated into the galvanometer scanner. The foreign matter removal apparatus 20 may also include a positioning mechanism that positions the substrate holding unit 21 (substrate 1) so that the laser light 23 is irradiated onto a portion of the surface region SR of the substrate 1 where the foreign matter 2 is present.

[0020] Based on the detected foreign matter information stored in memory 41, control device 40 can control foreign matter removal device 20 so that laser light 23 is irradiated onto portions of surface region SR of substrate 1 where foreign matter 2 is present. Based on the detected foreign matter information stored in memory 41, control device 40 may also control foreign matter removal device 20 so that laser light, the power of which is controlled according to the size of foreign matter 2 detected by foreign matter detection device 10, is irradiated onto foreign matter 2. Alternatively, foreign matter removal device 20 may acquire detected foreign matter information from control device 40, and control the power of laser light 23 according to the size of foreign matter 2 identified by the detected foreign matter information.

[0021] The film forming apparatus 30 may include, for example, a dispenser 32 and a curing unit 33. As schematically shown in FIG. 3( a), the dispenser 32 may place, supply, or drip uncured curable composition 5 onto a region 3 of the surface region SR of the substrate 1 from which a portion containing foreign matter 2 has been removed by laser light. The dispenser 32 may place, supply, or drip the curable composition 5 onto the substrate 1 in accordance with control information (recipe) generated by a recipe generator 42. The dispenser 32 may place, supply, or drip the curable composition 5 at a position in accordance with the control information (recipe) generated by the recipe generator 42, in a volume in accordance with the control information. As schematically shown in FIG. 3( b), the curing unit 33 irradiates the curable composition 5 with curing energy (e.g., light or heat) 34 to cure the curable composition 5, thereby forming a film 6. The film forming apparatus 30 may form the film 6 over the entire surface region SR of the substrate 1.

[0022] The curable composition 5 is a composition that is cured by curing energy (for example, light or heat). Among these, the photocurable composition that is cured by light contains at least a polymerizable compound and a photopolymerization initiator, and may contain a non-polymerizable compound or a solvent as necessary. The non-polymerizable compound is at least one selected from the group consisting of sensitizers, hydrogen donors, internal mold release agents, surfactants, antioxidants, polymer components, etc. The viscosity of the curable composition 5 (viscosity at 25°C) is, for example, 1 mPa·s or more and 100 mPa·s or less.

[0023] 4(a) and (b) schematically show another example of a process in which a film 6 is formed by a film-forming apparatus 30 on the surface region SR of the substrate 1 from which a portion containing foreign matter 2 has been removed by the foreign matter removal apparatus 20. The film-forming apparatus 30 may place, supply, or apply a curable composition 5 on the surface region SR of the substrate 1 using a dispenser 32. Thereafter, as schematically shown in FIG. 4(a), the film-forming apparatus 30 may bring a member 35 into contact with the curable composition 5 using an operation unit 36, thereby filling the space between the substrate 1 and the member 35 with the curable composition 5. Thereafter, the film-forming apparatus 30 may cure the curable composition 5 by irradiating curing energy to the curable composition 5 using a curing unit 33, thereby forming a film 6.

[0024] The film forming apparatus 30 may be an imprinting apparatus that uses a mold having a pattern as the member 35 and transfers the pattern to the curable composition 5 on the substrate 1. Alternatively, the film forming apparatus 30 may be a planarizing apparatus that uses a superstrate as the member 35 and forms a planarized film on the substrate 1 using the curable composition 5.

[0025] 5 shows the procedure of a substrate processing method according to one embodiment. The substrate processing method is a method for processing a substrate 1, and can be performed in a substrate processing system 100. It can include a foreign matter detection step S510 for detecting foreign matter 2 present in a surface region SR of the substrate 1, and a foreign matter removal step S520 for removing a portion of the surface region SR of the substrate 1 that includes the foreign matter 2 detected in the foreign matter detection step S510 using laser light 23. The foreign matter detection step S510 is performed by the foreign matter detection device 10, and the foreign matter detection results can be stored in the memory 41 of the control device 40 as detected foreign matter information. The foreign matter removal step S520 can be performed to remove the foreign matter 2 present in the surface region SR of the substrate 1 based on the detected foreign matter information.

[0026] The substrate processing method may also include a film formation step S530 in which a film 6 is formed on the surface region SR of the substrate 1 from which the portion including the foreign matter 2 has been removed in the foreign matter removal step S520. The film formation step S530 may be performed by the film formation apparatus 30. Here, when the film 6 is formed locally on the surface region SR of the substrate 1 so as to cover the region from which the portion including the foreign matter 2 has been removed in the foreign matter removal step S520, the film formation apparatus 30 may operate to form the film 6 in a region identified based on the detected foreign matter information. Alternatively, the film formation apparatus 30 may form the film 6 over the entire surface region SR of the substrate 1.

[0027] The substrate processing method may further include a processing step S540 in which the substrate 1 that has undergone the film formation step S530 is processed to obtain an article. The article may be, for example, a semiconductor device or a MEMS. Here, the substrate 1 has a plurality of shot areas, and the processing step S540 may be performed to obtain an article from a shot area from which the foreign matter 2 has not been removed by the foreign matter removal step S520, among the plurality of shot areas. The processing step S540 may include a step in which the article is obtained from a shot area from which the foreign matter 2 has been removed by the foreign matter removal step S520, among the plurality of shot areas.

[0028] The present specification and drawings include the following disclosure. (Item 1) A substrate processing system for processing a substrate, a foreign matter detection device for detecting foreign matter present on the surface area of ​​the substrate; a foreign matter removal device that removes a portion of the surface area of ​​the substrate that includes the foreign matter detected by the foreign matter detection device using a laser beam; a film forming device for forming a film on the surface area from which the portion has been removed by the foreign matter removing device; A substrate processing system comprising: (Item 2) the film-forming device deposits an uncured curable composition on the surface region and cures the curable composition to form the film; 2. The substrate processing system according to item 1, (Item 3) the film forming device locally forms the film on the surface region so as to cover the region of the surface region from which the portion has been removed by the laser light. 3. The substrate processing system according to item 2, (Item 4) the film forming device forms the film by bringing a member into contact with the curable composition and then curing the curable composition. 4. The substrate processing system according to item 2 or 3, (Item 5) the film forming apparatus is an imprint apparatus that uses a mold having a pattern as the member and transfers the pattern to the curable composition on the substrate; 5. The substrate processing system according to item 4, (Item 6) the film forming apparatus is a planarization apparatus that uses a superstrate as the member and forms a planarization film on the substrate using the curable composition; 5. The substrate processing system according to item 4, (Item 7) the foreign object detection device detects the size of the foreign object; the foreign matter removal device irradiates the foreign matter with laser light whose power is controlled according to the size; 7. The substrate processing system according to any one of items 1 to 6, (Item 8) the foreign matter detection device brings a light-transmitting member into contact with the surface region of the substrate, and detects the foreign matter and the size of the foreign matter based on an image obtained by capturing an image of the surface region through the light-transmitting member. 8. The substrate processing system according to item 7, (Item 9) the foreign matter detection device brings a light-transmitting member into contact with the surface region of the substrate, and detects the foreign matter based on an image obtained by capturing an image of the surface region through the light-transmitting member. 7. The substrate processing system according to any one of items 1 to 6, (Item 10) a control device that controls the foreign matter removal device based on a position where the foreign matter is detected by the foreign matter detection device so that the portion including the foreign matter is removed by the laser light, 10. The substrate processing system according to any one of items 1 to 9, wherein: (Item 11) The foreign matter removal device includes a picosecond laser or a femtosecond laser. 11. The substrate processing system according to any one of items 1 to 10, (Item 12) A substrate processing method for processing a substrate, comprising: a foreign matter detection step of detecting foreign matter present on the surface region of the substrate; a foreign matter removal step of removing a portion of the surface region of the substrate that includes the foreign matter detected in the foreign matter detection step by using a laser beam; a film forming step of forming a film on the surface region from which the portion has been removed in the foreign matter removing step; A substrate processing method comprising: (Item 13) Further comprising a processing step of processing the substrate that has undergone the film forming step to obtain an article. Item 13. The substrate processing method according to item 12. (Item 14) the substrate has a plurality of shot areas; In the processing step, the article is obtained from a shot area from which the foreign matter has not been removed by the foreign matter removal step, among the plurality of shot areas. Item 14. The substrate processing method according to item 13, (Item 15) the substrate has a plurality of shot areas; the processing step includes a step of obtaining the article from a shot region from which the foreign matter has been removed by the foreign matter removal step, among the plurality of shot regions. Item 14. The substrate processing method according to item 13, (Item 16) In the film forming step, an uncured curable composition is placed on the surface region, and the curable composition is cured to form the film. 16. The substrate processing method according to any one of items 12 to 15, (Item 17) In the film forming step, the film is locally formed on the surface region so as to cover the region of the surface region from which the portion has been removed by the laser light. 17. The substrate processing method according to item 16, (Item 18) In the film-forming step, the film is formed by bringing a member into contact with the curable composition and then curing the curable composition. 18. The substrate processing method according to item 16 or 17, (Item 19) In the foreign matter detection step, a size of the foreign matter is detected, In the foreign matter removal step, the foreign matter is irradiated with a laser beam whose power is controlled according to the size. 19. The substrate processing method according to any one of items 12 to 18, (Item 20) the foreign matter detection step includes bringing a light-transmitting member into contact with the surface region of the substrate, and detecting the foreign matter and detecting the size of the foreign matter based on an image obtained by capturing an image of the surface region through the light-transmitting member. 20. The substrate processing method according to item 19,

[0029] The invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the following claims are appended to apprise the public of the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A substrate processing system for processing a substrate, a foreign matter detection device for detecting foreign matter present on the surface area of ​​the substrate; a foreign matter removal device that removes a portion of the surface area of ​​the substrate that includes the foreign matter detected by the foreign matter detection device using a laser beam; a film forming device for forming a film on the surface area from which the portion has been removed by the foreign matter removing device; A substrate processing system comprising:

2. the film-forming device deposits an uncured curable composition on the surface region and cures the curable composition to form the film; The substrate processing system according to claim 1 .

3. the film forming device locally forms the film on the surface region so as to cover the region of the surface region from which the portion has been removed by the laser light.

3. The substrate processing system according to claim 2.

4. the film forming device forms the film by bringing a member into contact with the curable composition and then curing the curable composition.

3. The substrate processing system according to claim 2.

5. the film forming apparatus is an imprint apparatus that uses a mold having a pattern as the member and transfers the pattern to the curable composition on the substrate; 5. The substrate processing system according to claim 4.

6. the film forming apparatus is a planarization apparatus that uses a superstrate as the member and forms a planarization film on the substrate using the curable composition; 5. The substrate processing system according to claim 4.

7. the foreign object detection device detects the size of the foreign object; the foreign matter removal device irradiates the foreign matter with laser light whose power is controlled according to the size; The substrate processing system according to claim 1 .

8. the foreign matter detection device brings an optically transparent member into contact with the surface region of the substrate, and detects the foreign matter and the size of the foreign matter based on an image obtained by capturing an image of the surface region through the optically transparent member. The substrate processing system according to claim 7 .

9. the foreign matter detection device brings a light-transmitting member into contact with the surface region of the substrate, and detects the foreign matter based on an image obtained by capturing an image of the surface region through the light-transmitting member. The substrate processing system according to claim 1 .

10. a control device that controls the foreign matter removal device based on a position where the foreign matter is detected by the foreign matter detection device so that the portion including the foreign matter is removed by the laser light, 10. The substrate processing system according to claim 1, wherein the substrate processing system comprises: a first processing unit;

11. The foreign matter removal device includes a picosecond laser or a femtosecond laser.

10. The substrate processing system according to claim 1, wherein the substrate processing system comprises: a first processing unit;

12. A substrate processing method for processing a substrate, comprising: a foreign matter detection step of detecting foreign matters present on the surface region of the substrate; a foreign matter removal step of removing a portion of the surface region of the substrate that includes the foreign matter detected in the foreign matter detection step by using a laser beam; a film forming step of forming a film on the surface region from which the portion has been removed in the foreign matter removing step; A substrate processing method comprising:

13. Further comprising a processing step of processing the substrate that has undergone the film forming step to obtain an article. The substrate processing method according to claim 12 .

14. the substrate has a plurality of shot areas; In the processing step, the article is obtained from a shot area from which the foreign matter has not been removed by the foreign matter removal step, among the plurality of shot areas. The substrate processing method according to claim 13 .

15. the substrate has a plurality of shot areas; the processing step includes a step of obtaining the article from a shot region from which the foreign matter has been removed by the foreign matter removal step, among the plurality of shot regions. The substrate processing method according to claim 13 .

16. In the film-forming step, an uncured curable composition is placed on the surface region, and the curable composition is cured to form the film. The substrate processing method according to claim 12 .

17. In the film forming step, the film is locally formed on the surface region so as to cover the region of the surface region from which the portion has been removed by the laser light.

17. The substrate processing method according to claim 16.

18. In the film-forming step, the film is formed by bringing a member into contact with the curable composition and then curing the curable composition.

17. The substrate processing method according to claim 16.

19. In the foreign matter detection step, a size of the foreign matter is detected, In the foreign matter removal step, the foreign matter is irradiated with a laser beam whose power is controlled according to the size.

19. The substrate processing method according to claim 12, wherein the substrate is heated to a temperature of 1000.degree.

20. the foreign matter detection step includes bringing a light-transmitting member into contact with the surface region of the substrate, and detecting the foreign matter and detecting the size of the foreign matter based on an image obtained by capturing an image of the surface region through the light-transmitting member.

20. The substrate processing method according to claim 19.

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