Substrate processing method and substrate processing apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12042813-B2
Application number	US-202017133647-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 24, 2020
Priority date	Dec 27, 2019
Publication date	Jul 23, 2024
Grant date	Jul 23, 2024

Abstract

A substrate processing method includes a liquid film forming step of forming a liquid film, a liquid film heat retaining step of keeping the liquid film warm, a gas phase layer forming step of forming a gas phase layer which holds the processing liquid on a center portion of the liquid film, an opening forming step of forming an opening in the center portion of the liquid film by excluding the processing liquid held by the gas phase layer, a substrate rotating step of rotating the substrate around a rotation axis, and an opening expanding step of expanding the opening, while a state in which the gas phase layer is formed on an inner circumferential edge of the liquid film is maintained, by moving the irradiation region toward a circumferential edge portion of the substrate while the liquid film heat retaining step and the substrate rotating step are performed.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A substrate processing method, comprising:
a liquid film forming step of supplying a processing liquid to an upper surface of a substrate which is horizontally held and has a pattern formed on the upper surface and forming a liquid film of the processing liquid on the upper surface of the substrate;
a vapor layer forming part forming step of forming a vapor layer between the processing liquid and the upper surface of the substrate at a center portion of the upper surface of the substrate and forming a vapor layer forming part, in which the liquid film is held, on the vapor layer by radiating light to the center portion of the upper surface of the substrate from above the liquid film and heating a heating region which is set on the center portion of the upper surface of the substrate and is not set at an outer circumferential portion of the upper surface of the substrate;
a substrate rotating step of forming the vapor layer forming part in an annular shape having a hole formed in the liquid film inside by rotating the substrate, in which the vapor layer forming part is formed on the center portion of the upper surface, around a vertical rotation axis passing through the center portion of the substrate; and
a vapor layer forming part moving step of moving the annular vapor layer forming part toward an outer circumference of the substrate by moving the heating region toward the outer circumference of the substrate to expand an outer circumference of the vapor layer forming part and to expand the hole in parallel with the substrate rotating step.

2. The substrate processing method according to claim 1 , wherein the vapor layer forming part forming step comprises a step of forming the vapor layer forming part by radiating light to the center portion of the upper surface of the substrate and heating a first heating region which is set on the center portion of the upper surface of the substrate and is not set at the outer circumferential portion of the upper surface of the substrate, and
an auxiliary heating step of assisting heating of the vapor layer forming part by radiating light to the upper surface of the substrate and heating a second heating region on the upper surface of the substrate of which at least a part does not overlap the first heating region in a rotation direction of the substrate is further comprised in parallel with the vapor layer forming part moving step.

3. The substrate processing method according to claim 2 , wherein the vapor layer forming part moving step comprises a step of moving at least one of the first heating region and the second heating region toward the outer circumference of the substrate.

4. The substrate processing method according to claim 3 , wherein the vapor layer forming part moving step comprises a step of moving both the first heating region and the second heating region toward the outer circumference of the substrate.

5. The substrate processing method according to claim 1 , wherein the vapor layer forming part moving step comprises a spraying step of spraying a gas toward a spraying region set inside an inner circumference of the vapor layer forming part.

6. The substrate processing method according to claim 5 , wherein the spraying region is set on an upstream side in a rotation direction of the substrate with respect to the heating region.

7. The substrate processing method according to claim 5 , wherein:
the spraying region is smaller than the heating region, and
the entire spraying region is disposed inside an outer edge of the heating region.

8. The substrate processing method according to claim 5 , further comprising a spraying region moving step of moving the spraying region toward the outer circumference of the substrate in parallel with the spraying step.

9. The substrate processing method according to claim 8 , wherein:
the spraying step comprises a first spraying step of spraying a gas toward a first spraying region set inside the inner circumference of the vapor layer forming part, and a second spraying step of spraying a gas toward a second spraying region set inside the inner circumference of the vapor layer forming part and separated from the first spraying region in a rotation direction of the substrate in parallel with the first spraying step, and
the spraying region moving step comprises a first spraying region moving step of moving the first spraying region toward the outer circumference of the substrate in parallel with the first spraying step, and a second spraying region moving step of moving the second spraying region toward the outer circumference of the substrate in parallel with the second spraying step.

10. The substrate processing method according to claim 1 , further comprising a step of forming the hole in the liquid film of the vapor layer forming part by spraying a gas onto the liquid film of the vapor layer forming part and partially excluding the processing liquid in parallel with the substrate rotating step.

11. The substrate processing method according to claim 1 , wherein the light radiated to the heating region has a wavelength which is able to be transmitted through the processing liquid.

12. The substrate processing method according to claim 1 , wherein an outer circumference of the vapor layer formed in the vapor layer forming part forming step is positioned more inside than the outer circumferential portion of the upper surface of the substrate.

13. A substrate processing apparatus, comprising:
a substrate holding unit which horizontally holds a substrate having a pattern formed on a surface thereof;
a substrate rotating unit which rotates the substrate held by the substrate holding unit around a vertical rotation axis which passes through a center portion of the substrate;
a processing liquid supply unit which has a processing liquid nozzle and supplies a processing liquid from the processing liquid nozzle to an upper surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding unit;
a lamp heater which has a light emitting part, is provided to be smaller than the substrate held by the substrate holding unit when seen from above, and radiates light from the light emitting part toward the upper surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding unit;
a heating region moving unit which moves a heating region heated by radiation of light by the lamp heater on the upper surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding unit within the upper surface of the substrate;
a spraying unit which has a gas nozzle having a gas discharge port and sprays a gas from the gas nozzle onto the upper surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding unit; and
a controller which controls the substrate rotating unit, the processing liquid supply unit, the lamp heater, the heating region moving unit, and the spraying unit,
wherein the controller is programmed to perform a liquid film forming step of supplying the processing liquid to the upper surface of the substrate, which is the surface, with the processing liquid supply unit and forming a liquid film of the processing liquid on the upper surface of the substrate, a vapor layer forming part forming step of forming a vapor layer between the processing liquid and the upper surface of the substrate at a center portion of the upper surface of the substrate and forming a vapor layer forming part, in which the liquid film is held, on the vapor layer by radiating light to the center portion of the upper surface of the substrate from above the liquid film with the lamp heater and heating a heating region which is set on the center portion of the upper surface of the substrate and is not set at an outer circumferential

Assignees

• Screen Holdings Co Ltd

Inventors

• Abe Hiroshi
• Ota Takashi
• Ishizu Takaaki
• Kobayashi Kenji
• Muramoto Ryo
• Negoro Sei
• Okutani Manabu
• Sakai Wataru

Classifications

• H10P72/7624

  characterised by the mechanical construction of the susceptor, stage or support · CPC title

• H10P72/7618

  characterised by a movable susceptor, stage or support, others than those only rotating on their own vertical axis, e.g. susceptors on a rotating carrousel · CPC title

• H10P72/0448

  Apparatus for applying a liquid, a resin, an ink or the like · CPC title

• H10P72/0436

  mainly by radiation · CPC title

• H10P72/0432

  mainly by conduction · CPC title