Substrate Processing Apparatus Water Content Uniformity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing substrate processing technologies face challenges in maintaining uniform water content in metal-containing resist films during heating processing, leading to non-uniformity in resist patterns due to variations in reaction water amounts across substrates.
Innovation Solution
A substrate processing apparatus with a humidity adjusting mechanism and control device that adjusts the water content and reaction water amount by controlling the accommodation standby time, transfer speed, and residence time within specific units to minimize differences across substrates, using a combination of substrate accommodating and water removing units to maintain consistent conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If substrates are processed sequentially through film forming, exposure, and heat treatment units, then the processing can be completed, but the time period from end of exposure to start of post-exposure baking varies among substrates causing non-uniform water content in the resist film
Solution Approach 1:
The invention introduces a standby section where substrates are accommodated and held at a standardized position before entering the heat treatment unit. This preliminary positioning ensures that all substrates start their heat treatment process at the same reference point, eliminating time variations caused by different travel distances from the exposure unit. The standby section acts as a buffer that standardizes the timing and position of substrates before the critical heat treatment step.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the standby section is positioned far from the heat treatment unit, then substrates have more time to stabilize, but the accommodation standby time increases reducing productivity
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces the mechanical approach of using a long physical distance for stabilization with a controlled environmental approach. The standby section provides a controlled atmosphere with specific temperature and humidity conditions that actively stabilize the water content in the resist film. This allows substrates to be stabilized in a compact space rather than requiring long transport distances, thereby maintaining composition stability while improving productivity.
3Productivity
If the standby section is placed close to the exposure unit, then transfer distance is reduced improving efficiency, but substrates may not have sufficient time to stabilize before heat treatment
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the environmental parameters (temperature and humidity) within the standby section to create optimal conditions for water content stabilization. By controlling these parameters, the system can achieve effective stabilization in a short time period, allowing the standby section to be positioned close to the exposure unit while still ensuring sufficient stabilization time. This parameter control enables both high productivity and composition stability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enhances the dimensional stability of resist patterns by reducing variations in water content and reaction water amounts, resulting in more uniform resist patterns and improved processing efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
a heat treatment unit configured to perform a heating processing on the substrate on which the film is formed and in which an exposure processing is performed on the film
Implementation Method 2
an adjustment controller configured to reduce a difference between substrates in an amount of water that reacts in the film formed on the substrate during the heating processing
Data Source
AI summary
A substrate processing apparatus includes a film forming processing unit configured to form a metal-containing resist film on a substrate; a heat treatment unit configured to perform a heating processing on the substrate on which the film is formed and in which an exposure processing is performed on the film; a developing processing unit configured to perform a developing processing on the film formed on the substrate on which the heating processing is performed; and an adjustment controller configured to reduce a difference between substrates in an amount of water that reacts in the film formed on the substrate during the heating processing.