Spin coater and spin coating method

Abstract

To prevent air bubbles from being mixed into a formed coating layer.SOLUTION: A spin coater 1 that applies liquid to a substrate and forms a coating layer on the substrate with the liquid includes: a spinner table 30 including a holding surface 31 that rotatably holds the substrate; a liquid supply nozzle 50 having a discharge port 51 that discharges liquid to the substrate held by the spinner table 30; and a swing motor 60 that moves the liquid supply nozzle 50 from the position where the discharge port 51 faces the substrate held by the spinner table 30 to the position where the discharge port 51 is positioned outside the substrate held by the spinner table 30, in which the liquid discharge start and discharge stop are performed in a state in which the discharge port 51 is positioned outside the substrate held by the spinner table 30.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a spin coater and a spin coating method for applying a liquid onto a substrate to form a coating layer on the substrate with the liquid. [Background technology]

[0002] In order to prevent debris generated during laser processing from adhering to the wafer surface, a protective film made of a water-soluble resin is formed on the wafer surface in advance. A spin coater has been widely used to form the protective film (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2017-216291 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] If air bubbles remain in the formed protective film, it may be difficult to detect the pattern in the subsequent alignment process, which may result in alignment errors.In addition, the air bubbles may not be enough to protect the devices on the wafer.

[0005] Meanwhile, spin coaters are also widely used to coat resist films in the manufacture of photomasks, and residual air bubbles can cause problems such as uneven coating and foaming during baking.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide a spin coater and a spin coating method capable of suppressing the inclusion of air bubbles in the formed coating layer. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problems and achieve the object, the spin coater of the present invention isDisc-shaped A spin coater for applying a liquid for forming a coating layer on a surface of a substrate to the surface of the substrate to form the coating layer on the surface of the substrate, the spin coater comprising: a spinner table including a holding surface for rotatably holding a substrate; a liquid supply nozzle having an outlet for discharging the liquid onto the substrate held by the rotated spinner table; Center of and a moving means for moving the liquid supply nozzle between a position where the discharge port faces the substrate held by the spinner table and a position where the discharge port is positioned outside the substrate held by the spinner table, and the start and stop of discharge of the liquid is performed by moving the liquid supply nozzle between a position where the discharge port faces the substrate held by the spinner table and a position where the discharge port is positioned outside the substrate held by the spinner table. The same position The method is characterized in that the discharge port is positioned in the

[0008] In the spin coating method of the present invention, Disc-shaped A spin coating method for forming a coating layer on a surface of a substrate by applying a liquid for forming the coating layer on the surface of the substrate, the method comprising: a holding step for holding the substrate on a rotatable spinner table; a discharge start step for starting to discharge the liquid with a liquid supply nozzle positioned at a position where an outlet faces the outer side of the substrate held by the spinner table; and a step for rotating the spinner table after the discharge start step, the spinner table rotates, and the outlet is turned on the substrate while the liquid is being discharged from the outlet. Center of a first moving step of moving the liquid supply nozzle to a position facing the substrate, and a second moving step of retracting the liquid supply nozzle to a position where the discharge port is positioned outside the substrate held by the rotated spinner table without stopping the discharge of the liquid after the first moving step is performed; and The discharge port is positioned at the same position as the discharge start step. and a discharge stopping step of stopping the discharge of the liquid.

[0009] In the spin coating method , applicable The movement speed of the liquid supply nozzle in the first movement step may be set to a speed faster than the retraction speed of the liquid supply nozzle in the second movement step. Effect of the Invention

[0010] The present invention has an effect of suppressing the inclusion of air bubbles in the formed coating layer. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view, partially in section, showing an example of the configuration of a spin coater according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a substrate on which a coating layer has been formed by the spin coater shown in FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the flow of the spin coating method according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view that illustrates a holding step of the spin coating method illustrated in FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a plan view that illustrates a discharge start step of the spin coating method illustrated in FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view that illustrates a discharge start step of the spin coating method illustrated in FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a plan view that illustrates a first moving step of the spin coating method illustrated in FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a plan view that illustrates a second moving step of the spin coating method illustrated in FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view that typically illustrates a discharge stopping step of the spin coating method illustrated in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] The form (embodiment) for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the contents described in the following embodiment. Furthermore, the components described below include those that a person skilled in the art can easily imagine and those that are substantially the same. Furthermore, the configurations described below can be appropriately combined. Furthermore, various omissions, substitutions, or modifications of the configurations can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0013] [Embodiment 1] A spin coater according to embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing, in partial cross section, an example of the configuration of the spin coater according to embodiment 1. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a substrate on which a coating layer has been formed by the spin coater shown in Fig. 1.

[0014] 1 according to the first embodiment applies liquid 2 (shown in FIG. 5) to substrate 200 shown in FIG. 2, and forms coating layer 210 on substrate 200 with liquid 2. Substrate 200 to which liquid 2 is applied by spin coater 1 shown in FIG. 1 is a wafer such as a disk-shaped semiconductor wafer made of silicon as a base material, or an optical device wafer made of sapphire, SiC (silicon carbide), or the like as a base material.

[0015] In the first embodiment, as shown in Fig. 2, a substrate 200 has a surface 202 partitioned by a plurality of mutually intersecting division lines 201, and devices 203 are formed in each region of the surface 202. The devices 203 are integrated circuits such as ICs (Integrated Circuits) or LSIs (Large Scale Integrations), or image sensors such as CCDs (Charge Coupled Devices) or CMOSs ​​(Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductors).

[0016] The substrate 200 is subjected to an ablation process or the like along the division lines 201 by irradiating a laser beam having a wavelength absorbed by the base material along the division lines 201, and is divided into individual devices 203. In the present invention, the substrate 200 onto which the spin coater 1 applies the liquid 2 is not limited to the above-mentioned wafer. In the first embodiment, the substrate 200 is applied with the liquid 2 in a state in which the back surface 204 on the back side of the front surface 202 is attached to a tape 206 having an annular frame 205 attached to its outer periphery, and the substrate 200 is supported by the tape 206 within an opening 208 of the annular frame 205, and a coating layer 210 is formed on the front surface 202.

[0017] The spin coater 1 according to the first embodiment is a device that applies a liquid 2 to a surface 202 of a substrate 200 before ablation processing is performed by irradiation with a laser beam or the like, and forms a coating layer 210 made of the liquid 2 on the surface 202 of the substrate 200. The coating layer 210 is intended to prevent debris generated when ablation processing is performed on the substrate 200 from adhering to the device 203.

[0018] In the first embodiment, the liquid 2 is a water-soluble liquid resin composed of, for example, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) or polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), etc. In the present invention, for example, Hogomax (registered trademark) manufactured by Disco Corporation can be used as the liquid 2.

[0019] As shown in Fig. 1, the spin coater 1 includes a casing 10, an electric motor 20, a spinner table 30, a plurality of clamps 32, a lifting unit 40, a liquid supply nozzle 50, a swing motor 60 as a moving means, a cleaning liquid supply nozzle 70, a swing motor 80 for the cleaning nozzle, and a control unit 100 (not shown). Note that Fig. 1 shows a cutaway view of a portion of the casing 10.

[0020] The casing 10 includes a cylindrical peripheral wall 11, a disk-shaped bottom wall 12 whose outer edge is connected to the lower end of the peripheral wall 11, and legs 13 extending downward from the lower end of the peripheral wall 11. The bottom wall 12 is provided with a drain port 15 that communicates with the inside of a drain hose 14 and is used to drain the liquid 2 inside the casing 10. The casing 10 also includes, in the center of the bottom wall 12, a through hole 16 through which an output shaft 22 of an electric motor 20 passes, and a cylindrical inner peripheral wall 17 erected from the inner edge of the through hole 16. The peripheral wall 11, the bottom wall 12, and the inner peripheral wall 17 are arranged in positions that are coaxial with one another.

[0021] When electric power is supplied to the electric motor 20, the output shaft 22 protruding from the motor body 21 rotates about its axis. In the first embodiment, the electric motor 20 has the output shaft 22 passing through the inner peripheral wall 17 and disposed parallel to the vertical direction. The output shaft 22 is disposed coaxially with the peripheral wall 11, the bottom wall 12, and the inner peripheral wall 17.

[0022] The spinner table 30 includes a holding surface 31 that rotatably holds the substrate 200. The spinner table 30 is formed in a disk shape, and holds the substrate 200 on one surface, the holding surface 31. The holding surface 31 of the spinner table 30 is formed from a porous material such as porous ceramics, and the holding surface 31 is connected to a suction source (not shown). The output shaft 22 of the electric motor 20 is attached to the center of the other surface of the spinner table 30, and the spinner table 30 is arranged coaxially with the output shaft 22.

[0023] The spinner table 30 sucks and holds the substrate 200 placed on the holding surface 31 by sucking the holding surface 31 with a suction source. In the first embodiment, the spinner table 30 sucks and holds the back surface 204 behind the front surface 202 on the holding surface 31 via tape 206, and sucks and holds the substrate 200 with the front surface 202 exposed. The spinner table 30 is rotated about its axis by the output shaft 22 that rotates about the axis of the electric motor 20. The spinner table 30 is rotated about its axis by the output shaft 22 of the electric motor 20, and thus holds the substrate 200 sucked and held on the holding surface 31 in a freely rotatable manner.

[0024] A plurality of clamps 32 are provided at intervals in the circumferential direction on the outer circumferential side of the spinner table 30. The clamps 32 clamp an annular frame 205 that supports the substrate 200 inside an opening 208.

[0025] The lifting unit 40 lifts and lowers the spinner table 30 in the vertical direction. The lifting unit 40 includes a plurality of air cylinders 41. The air cylinder 41 includes a cylinder body 42 attached to the outer circumferential surface of the motor body 21 of the electric motor 20, and an extensible rod 43 provided downward from the cylinder body 42 so as to be freely extendable and retractable.

[0026] The lifting unit 40 lifts the electric motor 20 and the spinner table 30 by extending the telescopic rod 43 from the cylinder body 42. The lifting unit 40 lowers the electric motor 20 and the spinner table 30 by retracting the telescopic rod 43 into the cylinder body 42. In addition, a blocking wall 18 (shown in FIG. 4) is attached to the output shaft 22 of the electric motor 20, which blocks the upper opening of the inner peripheral wall 17 when the spinner table 30 and the electric motor 20 are lowered.

[0027] The liquid supply nozzle 50 has a discharge port 51 for discharging the liquid 2 onto the substrate 200 held by the spinner table 30. The liquid supply nozzle 50 is a pipe to which the liquid 2 is supplied from a liquid supply source (not shown), and includes a vertical extension portion 52 extending along the vertical direction, and a horizontal extension portion 53 extending horizontally from the upper end of the vertical extension portion 52 and having the discharge port 51 facing the substrate 200 held by the spinner table 30 at its tip on the side away from the vertical extension portion 52. The liquid supply nozzle 50 discharges the liquid 2 supplied from the liquid supply source (not shown) from the discharge port 51, and applies the liquid 2 onto the surface 202 of the substrate 200 held by the spinner table 30.

[0028] When power is supplied to the swing motor 60, the swing motor 60 rotates an output shaft (not shown) rotatably supported by the motor body 61 about its axis. The swing motor 60 has the motor body 61 attached to the underside of the bottom wall 12 of the casing 10, and the output shaft attached to the vertical extension portion 52 of the liquid supply nozzle 50. The swing motor 60 rotates the output shaft to swing (move) the liquid supply nozzle 50 about the vertical extension portion 52 between a position where the discharge port 51 faces the substrate 200 held by the spinner table 30 and a position where the discharge port 51 is positioned on the outer periphery side of the substrate 200 held by the spinner table 30.

[0029] The cleaning liquid supply nozzle 70 has a cleaning liquid outlet 71 that supplies a cleaning liquid (e.g., pure water) to the substrate 200 held by the spinner table 30. The cleaning liquid supply nozzle 70 is a pipe to which a cleaning liquid is supplied from a cleaning liquid supply source (not shown), and includes a vertical extension portion 72 extending vertically, and a horizontal extension portion 73 that extends horizontally from the upper end of the vertical extension portion 72 and has a cleaning liquid outlet 71 at its tip on the side away from the vertical extension portion 72 that faces the substrate 200 held by the spinner table 30. The cleaning liquid supply nozzle 70 discharges the cleaning liquid supplied from the cleaning liquid supply source (not shown) from the cleaning liquid outlet 71, and supplies the cleaning liquid onto the surface 202 of the substrate 200 held by the spinner table 30.

[0030] When power is supplied to the cleaning nozzle swing motor 80, the motor body 81 rotates an output shaft (not shown) rotatably supported by the motor body 81 about its axis. The cleaning nozzle swing motor 80 has the motor body 81 attached to the underside of the bottom wall 12 of the casing 10, and the output shaft attached to the vertical extension portion 72 of the cleaning liquid supply nozzle 70. The cleaning nozzle swing motor 68 rotates the output shaft to swing (move) the cleaning liquid supply nozzle 70 about the vertical extension portion 72 between a position where the cleaning liquid discharge port 71 faces the substrate 200 held by the spinner table 30 and a position where the cleaning liquid discharge port 71 is positioned on the outer periphery side of the substrate 200 held by the spinner table 30.

[0031] The control unit 100 controls each of the above-mentioned components constituting the spin coater 1. In other words, the control unit 100 causes the spin coater 1 to execute the operation of applying the liquid 2 to the substrate 200. The control unit 100 is a computer having an arithmetic processing device having a microprocessor such as a CPU (central processing unit), a storage device having a memory such as a ROM (read only memory) or a RAM (random access memory), and an input / output interface device.

[0032] The arithmetic processing device of the control unit 100 performs arithmetic processing according to a computer program stored in the storage device, and outputs control signals for controlling the spin coater 1 to the above-mentioned components of the spin coater 1 via the input / output interface device. The control unit 100 is also connected to a display unit constituted by a liquid crystal display device or the like for displaying the state and images of the processing operation, an input unit used by an operator to register coating conditions, etc. The input unit is constituted by at least one of a touch panel provided on the display unit, a keyboard, etc.

[0033] Next, the spin coating method according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 3 is a flow chart showing the flow of the spin coating method according to the first embodiment. The spin coating method according to the first embodiment is a method for applying liquid 2 to a surface 202 of a substrate 200 by a spin coater 1 to form a coating layer 210 on the surface 202 of the substrate 200. As shown in Fig. 3, the spin coating method according to the first embodiment includes a holding step 1001, a discharge start step 1002, a first movement step 1003, a coating step 1004, a second movement step 1005, and a discharge stop step 1006.

[0034] (holding step) Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view that typically shows the holding step of the spin coating method shown in Fig. 3. The holding step 1001 is a step in which the substrate 200 is held by the rotatable spinner table 30.

[0035] In the holding step 1001, the spin coater 1 starts when the operator registers coating conditions in the control unit 100 and the control unit 100 receives an instruction to start the coating operation from the operator. In the holding step 1001, the control unit 100 of the spin coater 1 controls the swing motors 60, 80 to position the nozzles 50, 70 at positions where the discharge ports 51, 71 are positioned on the outer periphery side of the spinner table 30, as shown in Fig. 4, and controls the lifting unit 40 to extend the extendable rod 43 of the air cylinder 41 to position the spinner table 30 upward.

[0036] In a holding step 1001, in the spin coater 1, the back surface 204 of the substrate 200 is placed on the holding surface 31 via the tape 206. In the holding step 1001, in the spin coater 1, the control unit 100 controls the suction source to suction-hold the back surface 204 of the substrate 200 on the holding surface 31, and the annular frame 205 is clamped by the clamp 32.

[0037] (Discharge start step) Fig. 5 is a plan view that typically shows the discharge start step of the spin coating method shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view that typically shows the discharge start step of the spin coating method shown in Fig. 3. The discharge start step 1002 is a step that starts discharging the liquid 2 in a state where the liquid supply nozzle 50 is positioned at a position where the discharge port 51 faces the outside of the substrate 200 held by the spinner table 30.

[0038] In the discharge start step 1002, the control unit 100 of the spin coater 1 controls the lifting unit 40 to retract the extendable rod 43 of the air cylinder 41 to position the spinner table 30 downward. In the discharge start step 1002, the control unit 100 of the spin coater 1 controls the electric motor 20 to rotate the spinner table 30 and the substrate 200 held by the spinner table 30 about the axis. In the first embodiment, in the discharge start step 1002, the electric motor 20 of the spin coater 1 rotates the spinner table 30 and the substrate 200 held by the spinner table 30 in one direction 3 about the axis.

[0039] In the discharge start step 1002, the control unit 100 of the spin coater 1 controls the liquid supply source to supply liquid 2 to the liquid supply nozzle 50 with the liquid supply nozzle 50 positioned at a position where the discharge port 51 faces the outside of the substrate 200 held by the spinner table 30, as shown in Fig. 5. In the discharge start step 1002, the spin coater 1 starts discharging the liquid 2 from the discharge port 51 of the liquid supply nozzle 50, as shown in Fig. 6. For this reason, in the discharge start step 1002, before starting discharging the liquid 2 from the discharge port 51, any gas that has entered the liquid supply nozzle 50 is discharged from the discharge port 51 together with the liquid 2, to remove the gas from inside the liquid supply nozzle 50.

[0040] In the first embodiment, the spin coater 1 rotates the spinner table 30 at a rotation speed of 10 rpm or more and 30 rpm or less in the discharge start step 1002. However, in the present invention, the spin coater 1 does not need to rotate the spinner table 30 about the axis in the discharge start step 1002.

[0041] (First movement step) Fig. 7 is a plan view that shows a schematic diagram of a first movement step of the spin coating method shown in Fig. 3. The first movement step 1003 is a step of moving the liquid supply nozzle 50 to a position where the discharge port 51 faces the surface 202 of the substrate 200 while discharging the liquid 2 from the discharge port 51 after the discharge start step 1002 is performed.

[0042] In a first movement step 1003, the control unit 100 of the spin coater 1 controls the swing motor 60 while discharging the liquid 2 from the discharge port 51 to move the liquid supply nozzle 50 from the position shown by the dotted line in Fig. 7 at the time of the discharge start step 1002 to a position shown by the solid line in Fig. 7 where the discharge port 51 faces the center of the front surface 202 of the substrate 200 held on the spinner table 30. In the first embodiment, in the first movement step 1003, the discharge port 51 of the liquid supply nozzle 50 is moved at a speed of 20 mm / sec or more and 30 mm / sec or less.

[0043] (Application step) The coating step 1004 is a step of forming a coating layer 210 on the surface 202 of the substrate 200 held on the spinner table 30. In the coating step 1004, the control unit 100 of the spin coater 1 controls the liquid supply source to continue discharging the liquid 2 from the discharge port 51 while controlling the electric motor 20 to rotate the spinner table 30 about its axis. Note that in the present invention, in the coating step 1004, the spin coater 1 may oscillate the liquid supply nozzle 50 by the oscillating motor 60 so that the discharge port 51 moves along the surface 202 of the substrate 200 while rotating the spinner table 30 about its axis.

[0044] In the coating step 1004, the liquid 2 coated on the surface 202 of the substrate 200 flows from the center toward the outer periphery on the surface 202 of the substrate 200 due to centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the spinner table 30, and is coated over the entire surface 202 of the substrate 200. The liquid 2 that falls from the outer edge of the surface 202 of the substrate 200 flows down onto the bottom wall 12 of the casing 10, and is discharged through the drain port 15 and the drain hose 14.

[0045] In the coating step 1004, the spin coater 1 rotates the spinner table 30 about its axis while discharging the liquid 2 from the discharge port 51 for a predetermined time. Note that in the first embodiment, in the coating step 1004, the spin coater 1 rotates the spinner table 30 in one direction 3 about its axis.

[0046] (Second movement step) Fig. 8 is a plan view showing a schematic diagram of the second movement step of the spin coating method shown in Fig. 3. The second movement step 1005 is a step of retreating the liquid supply nozzle 50 to a position where the discharge port 51 is positioned on the outer periphery side of the substrate 200 held by the spinner table 30, without stopping the discharge of the liquid 2, after the first movement step 1003 is performed.

[0047] In the second movement step 1005, the control unit 100 of the spin coater 1 controls the swing motor 60 to move the liquid supply nozzle 50 from the position shown by the dotted line in Fig. 8 in the coating step 1004 to the position shown by the solid line in Fig. 8 where the discharge port 51 is positioned on the outer periphery side of the substrate 200 held by the spinner table 30, without stopping the discharge of the liquid 2 from the discharge port 51. In the first embodiment, in the second movement step 1005, the retraction speed of the discharge port 51 of the liquid supply nozzle 50 is set to a speed of 3 mm / sec or more and 10 mm / sec or less, that is, a speed slower than the movement speed of the discharge port 51 in the first movement step 1003.

[0048] Thus, in the first embodiment, the spinner table 30 rotates about the axis during at least the first movement step 1003 and the second movement step 1005. Also, in the first embodiment, the movement speed of the discharge port 51 of the liquid supply nozzle 50 in the first movement step 1003 is set to a speed faster than the retraction speed of the discharge port 51 of the liquid supply nozzle 50 in the second movement step 1005.

[0049] Furthermore, in the second movement step 1005, the spin coater 1 rotates the spinner table 30 in one direction about the axis, which is the same direction as in the first movement step 1003. However, in the present invention, in the second movement step 1005, the spin coater 1 may rotate the spinner table 30 in another direction 4 (shown in FIG. 8) that is opposite to the one direction 3 of the first movement step 1003 about the axis.

[0050] Furthermore, in embodiment 1, the position of the liquid supply nozzle 50 in which the discharge port 51 is positioned on the outer periphery of the substrate 200 held by the spinner table 30 in the second movement step 1005 is the same as the position of the liquid supply nozzle 50 in which the discharge port 51 faces the outside of the substrate 200 held by the spinner table 30 at the start of the first movement step 1003, but in the present invention, these positions may be different from each other.

[0051] Furthermore, in the present invention, if the spinner table 30 has not been rotated around its axis in the discharge start step 1002 and the first movement step 1003, the spinner table 30 may be rotated around its axis during the second movement step 1005 to perform the coating step 1004, or the spinner table 30 may be rotated around its axis after the second movement step 1005 is performed to perform the coating step 1004.

[0052] In the present invention, the coating step 1004 may be omitted. That is, in the spin coater 1 and spin coating method of the present invention, when the discharge port 51 that discharges the liquid 2 from the outer periphery side of the substrate 200 reaches the center of the substrate 200 in the first movement step 1003, the discharge port 51 may immediately be moved to the outside of the outer periphery of the substrate 200 in the second movement step 1005, thereby completing the coating of the coating layer 210.

[0053] (Discharge stop step) Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view that typically shows the discharge stopping step of the spin coating method shown in Fig. 3. The discharge stopping step 1006 is a step of stopping the discharge of the liquid 2 after the second movement step 1005 is carried out.

[0054] In discharge stop step 1006, after second movement step 1005 is performed, that is, when discharge port 51 is positioned outer circumferentially of substrate 200 held by spinner table 30, control unit 100 of spin coater 1 controls the liquid supply source to stop the supply of liquid 2 to liquid supply nozzle 50 and stop the discharge of liquid 2 from discharge port 51, as shown in Fig. 9. In this way, the spin coater 1 starts and stops discharging liquid 2 with discharge port 51 positioned outer circumferentially of substrate 200 held by spinner table 30.

[0055] The liquid 2 applied to the surface 202 of the substrate 200 is dried to form a coating layer 210 made of the water-soluble resin contained in the liquid 2 on the surface 202 of the substrate 200 .

[0056] The applicant of the present application has discovered that the cause of air bubbles being mixed into the formed coating layer 210 is that, when liquid 2 is dripped onto coating layer 210, air gets caught between the coating layer 210 and the dripped droplet of liquid 2, causing air bubbles to be mixed in, and that when the ejection of liquid 2 begins, the ejection is not stable and gas within the liquid supply nozzle 50 is mixed into liquid 2 as air bubbles.

[0057] As described above, in the spin coater 1 according to the first embodiment, the start and stop of discharging the liquid 2 is performed with the discharge port 51 positioned on the outer periphery side of the substrate 200 held by the spinner table 30, so that the liquid 2 into which the gas inside the liquid supply nozzle 50 at the start of discharging has entered as air bubbles is discharged on the outer periphery side of the substrate 200 held by the spinner table 30, and the liquid 2 can be continuously and stably discharged and supplied onto the substrate 200. As a result, the spin coater 1 according to the first embodiment has the effect of being able to suppress the inclusion of air bubbles in the liquid 2 discharged onto the substrate 200 and to suppress the inclusion of air bubbles in the formed coating layer 210.

[0058] The spin coating method according to the first embodiment starts discharging the liquid 2 in a state where the discharge port 51 is positioned on the outer periphery of the substrate 200 held by the spinner table 30 in a discharge start step 1002, and stops discharging the liquid 2 in a state where the discharge port 51 is positioned on the outer periphery of the substrate 200 held by the spinner table 30 in a discharge stop step. As a result, the spin coating method according to the first embodiment has the effect of being able to supply the liquid 2 continuously and stably discharged onto the substrate 200, being able to prevent air bubbles from being mixed into the liquid 2 discharged onto the substrate 200, and being able to prevent air bubbles from being mixed into the formed coating layer 210.

[0059] Furthermore, in the spin coater 1 and spin coating method of embodiment 1, the movement speed of the outlet 51 of the liquid supply nozzle 50 in the first movement step 1003 is set to a speed faster than the retraction speed of the outlet 51 of the liquid supply nozzle 50 in the second movement step 1005, so that even if the spinner table 30 is rotating, the outlet 51 is quickly positioned over the center of the substrate 200, and the liquid 2 can be applied to the entire surface 202 of the substrate 200.

[0060] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0061] 1 Spin coater 2 liquid 30 Spinner Table 31 Holding surface 50 Liquid supply nozzle 51 Discharge port 60 Swing motor (means of movement) 200 Substrates 210 Covering layer 1001 Hold Step 1002 Discharge start step 1003 First movement step 1005 Second Movement Step 1006 Discharge stop step

Claims

1. A spin coater for applying a liquid, which will be dried to form a coating layer on a surface of a disk-shaped substrate, to the surface of the substrate, thereby forming the coating layer on the surface of the substrate, a spinner table including a holding surface that rotatably holds the substrate; a liquid supply nozzle having a discharge port for discharging the liquid onto the substrate held by the rotating spinner table; a moving means for moving the liquid supply nozzle between a position where the discharge port faces the center of the substrate held by the spinner table and a position where the discharge port is positioned outside the substrate held by the spinner table, A spin coater in which the start and stop of discharging the liquid are performed in a state in which the discharge port is positioned at the same position outside the substrate held by the spinner table.

2. A spin coating method for forming a coating layer on a surface of a disk-shaped substrate by applying a liquid that will be dried to form a coating layer on the surface of the substrate, the method comprising the steps of: a holding step of holding the substrate on a rotatable spinner table; a discharge start step of starting to discharge the liquid in a state where a liquid supply nozzle is positioned at a position where a discharge port faces the outside of the substrate held by the spinner table; a first moving step in which, after the discharge start step is performed, the spinner table rotates and the liquid supply nozzle is moved to a position where the discharge port faces the center of the substrate while discharging the liquid from the discharge port; a second movement step of retracting the liquid supply nozzle to a position where the discharge port is positioned outside the substrate held by the rotated spinner table without stopping the discharge of the liquid after the first movement step is performed; a discharge stopping step of stopping the discharge of the liquid from the discharge port positioned at the same position as in the discharge starting step, after the second moving step is performed.

3. 3. The spin coating method according to claim 2, wherein a moving speed of the liquid supply nozzle in the first moving step is set to a speed faster than a retracting speed of the liquid supply nozzle in the second moving step.

Images