JPH02242174A - Apparatus for evaluating heat resistance of resist - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to a resist heat resistance evaluation apparatus for photoresists, electron beam resists, etc. used in the production of semiconductor devices, IC devices, etc.

<Prior Art> Semiconductor elements, IC elements, and the like are used in computers, various electrical products, and the like.

Manufacture of such elements is generally carried out by photo-etching.

The method of manufacturing an element by photoetching is to first form an electrode layer on an insulating substrate by a method such as vapor deposition or sputtering, and then apply a photoresist dissolved in a solvent to the electrode layer using a method such as a spin code. Apply.

After applying the photoresist, the photoresist solvent is evaporated through a heat treatment called blibeta.

Next, after covering this photoresist with a photomask and irradiating it with light, or irradiating it with laser light, etc.,
It is developed with a predetermined developer and, for example, if the photoresist is of positive type, the exposed areas are dissolved and a microresist having a predetermined resist pattern, particularly a fine resist pattern, is formed.

After the development is completed, the formed microresist is subjected to a heat treatment called "bost bake" for the purpose of strengthening the etching resistance and evaporating the developer.

When the formation of the microresist is completed, etching is performed using an etching solution to dissolve the electrode layer on which the microresist layer is not formed and form a conductor layer in a predetermined pattern, which is applied to semiconductor devices and IC devices. .

By the way, in order to form a microresist to be applied to photoetching, two heating steps, blibator and boss bake, are performed in the manufacturing process as described above. Therefore, the resist formed and applied to a predetermined resist pattern includes at least this blibator,
Heat resistance higher than the boiling temperature is required.

Such resist heat resistance tests are usually performed by measuring changes in the shape of the resist pattern before and after heating. Conventionally, this measurement was performed using an optical microscope or scanning electron microscope (SEM). This was done by direct observation.

However, since this heat resistance evaluation method involves directly observing the resist pattern with the naked eye, it is not possible to quantitatively measure changes in the shape of the resist pattern, making it difficult to accurately evaluate the heat resistance of the applied resist. cannot be done.

Furthermore, observation by SEM is a destructive test that requires cutting the sample into small sections, and therefore has the problem of being very time-consuming.

In order to solve such problems, the present inventors irradiated a microresist formed on a substrate with coherent light, caused the coherent light to be diffracted by the formed microresist, and removed the diffracted light of orders other than the 0th order. He invented a method for measuring changes in the shape of microresist (resist pattern) by measuring the intensity, and proposed this method earlier (Patent Application No. 1983).
-253262).

According to this method, it is possible to quantitatively measure changes in the shape of microresist from changes in the intensity of diffracted light of coherent light without the need to cut the sample into sections. By measuring the shape change of the microresist, it becomes possible to suitably evaluate the heat resistance of the resist.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) There are several points to keep in mind when evaluating the heat resistance of a resist using the above method.

The above-mentioned method evaluates the heat resistance of the resist by irradiating the heated microresist with coherent light and measuring the shape change based on the change in the intensity of the diffracted light at each temperature.

Therefore, in order to perform accurate heat resistance evaluation, it is naturally necessary that the positional relationship between the sample and the optical system such as a coherent light source or a measuring device for diffracted light intensity is always constant. Therefore,
When a sample is heated at a location other than the sample mounting table, the previous sample and the heated sample need to be placed at exactly the same location on the sample mounting table.

However, the resist pattern of the microresist is very fine, and it is very difficult to fix the sample at this level again at the same location on the sample stage.

In addition, a laser light source is preferably used as the coherent light source, and a photodiode is suitably used as the measuring device.
These methods have a high temperature dependence, and the heat generated during sample heating affects the measurement, making it difficult to accurately evaluate heat resistance.

For example, the guaranteed temperature is 60℃, and the He-Ne laser is 63℃.
If a photodiode with a sensitivity of 0.4 A/W at 3 nm is applied, the measured current is typically 10-5 ~
Since the dark current is about 10-'A, it is necessary to suppress the dark current to about 10-6 to 10-'A in order to perform accurate measurements.

To this end, it is desirable that the ambient temperature during measurement be 40° C. or lower.

Therefore, in order to perform accurate measurements, it is necessary that the heat generated during sample heating does not affect the optical system during measurement.

Therefore, it is desired to realize a resist heat resistance evaluation apparatus that can solve the above problems and accurately, quickly and easily evaluate the heat resistance of a resist.

An object of the present invention is to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, and it is possible to easily and quantitatively evaluate the heat resistance of a resist. It is an object of the present invention to provide a resist heat resistance evaluation device that can perform accurate measurements without distorting the relationship and being unaffected by heat during heating.

<Means for Solving the Problems> In order to achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention is a resist heat resistance evaluation method in which a microresist formed on a substrate is heated and the heat resistance of the resist is evaluated based on a change in its shape. A measurement unit that includes a coherent light source that irradiates the microresist with coherent light and a measuring device that measures the intensity of diffracted light other than the 0th order of the coherent light that is diffracted by the microresist; Provided is a resist heat resistance evaluation device, comprising: a heating section having a heater for heating; and a transport section transporting the substrate on which the microresist is formed between the measurement section and the heating section. .

A second aspect of the present invention is the resist heat resistance evaluation apparatus according to claim 1, which includes at least irradiation of the coherent light in the measuring section and measurement of the intensity of the diffracted light, temperature control in the heating section, and A resist heat resistance evaluation apparatus is provided, comprising a control section that controls transport of the substrate in the transport section and further processes measurement results of the diffracted light intensity.

<Operation of the invention> The resist heat resistance evaluation device of the present invention heats a microresist having a predetermined pattern, particularly a fine pattern,
The heated microresist is irradiated with coherent light, and the intensity of diffracted light other than the 0th order of this diffracted light is measured.
By performing this measurement at multiple temperatures, changes in the shape of the microresist can be measured from changes in the intensity of the diffracted light.
This is a device that evaluates the heat resistance of a resist based on the temperature at which shape change starts and the degree of shape change, and the measurement section that has a coherent light source and measuring device is separated from the heating section that heats the microresist. , and a transport section that transports the substrate on which the microresist is formed between the two. Moreover, in the second aspect of the present invention,
It has a control section that controls the operation of each section in the measurement section, heating section, and conveyance section and processes the measurement results.

Therefore, according to the resist heat resistance evaluation apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to easily and quantitatively evaluate the heat resistance of a resist without preparing a sample section or the like.

In addition, the resist heat resistance evaluation device of the present invention has a measurement section and a heating section arranged separately, and a substrate on which a microresist is formed is transported between the two in a transportation section, heating the microresist and emitting diffracted light. Since the configuration is configured to perform measurement, there is no adverse effect on the light source and the measuring device due to the heat of the heating device during measurement, and accurate measurement can be performed.

Furthermore, in the resist heat resistance evaluation apparatus of the present invention, the substrate on which the microresist is formed is transported between the heating part and the measurement part in the transport part of the apparatus as described above, so that even if heating-measuring-heating is repeated, the light source In addition, the positional relationship between the measuring device and the sample remains constant without movement, and it is possible to perform the most accurate heat resistance evaluation at all times by performing measurements under a large number of conditions.

Further, in the second aspect, since the control unit is further provided, the operation of each unit, the processing of measurement results, etc. can be automated, and the heat resistance evaluation of the resist can be performed more quickly and easily.

<Embodiments> Hereinafter, a resist resistance evaluation apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail based on preferred embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a basic configuration diagram of a resist heat resistance evaluation apparatus of the present invention.

The resist heat resistance evaluation apparatus 10 of the present invention basically includes a measuring section 12 having a coherent light source such as a laser light source, a measuring device for diffracted light of a microresist such as a photodiode, and a heating section 14 that heats a sample. , and a transport section 16 that holds the sample and transports it between the measurement section 12 and the heating section 14, and in the illustrated example, further includes irradiation of coherent light, measurement of the diffracted light, and temperature control of the heating section 14. , a control section 18 that controls the transportation of the sample, processes measurement results, judges heat resistance evaluation results, and stores these data.

In such a resist pjI evaluation device 10,
A substrate on which a microresist having a fine resist pattern is formed is used as a sample, and this sample is placed on the transfer section 16, transferred to the heating section 14, and heated under predetermined conditions.
The sample is transported to the measurement section 12 by the transport section 16, and the microresist is irradiated with coherent light to remove the 0 of the diffracted light.
Measure the intensity of diffracted light other than the following.

By performing this measurement at a number of desired temperatures, changes in the shape of the microresist are measured from changes in the intensity of the diffracted light, and the heat resistance of the resist is evaluated.

A method for measuring changes in the shape of a microresist using such coherent light is described in detail in Japanese Patent Application No. 1983-253262 filed by the present applicant.

Further, as described above, the sample applied to the present invention is a substrate on which a microresist is formed, and examples of the applied substrate include a silicon wafer and a glass plate.

The resist to be measured in the present invention can be measured regardless of whether it is a positive type or a negative type, and is not particularly limited. .

Note that the resist pattern of the microresist is preferably one in which stripe-like patterns are formed at equal intervals in order to facilitate the alignment of the optical axis and to receive diffracted light other than the 0th order without waste.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of the measuring section 12, heating section 14, and conveying section 16 of the resist heat resistance evaluation apparatus 1o of the present invention.

In the illustrated device, the measuring section 12 is arranged above and the heating section 14 is arranged below.

In addition, on the side (toward the back of the figure), there are a transport unit base 19 and a 2
Axial stage 20 and transport arm 24 on which sample 22 is placed
A transport unit 16 is arranged.

In the illustrated example resist heat resistance evaluation apparatus 10, a Z-axis stage 20 supporting a transport arm 24 on which a sample 22 on which a microresist having a fine resist pattern is formed is moved up and down by a transport unit base 19. As a result, the sample 22 is transported to the heating section 14 and the measuring section 12.

Here, the heating unit 14 is supported by a support 50, and the transport unit 16 is supported by an XY axis stage 28 on which a transport unit base 19 is movable in a plane direction on the base 26. on the other hand,
The measurement unit 12 is supported by the base 26 by a support 52.

In other words, the heating section 14 and the transport section 16 are configured to be movable relative to the measurement section 12, and therefore, the sample 22 placed on the transport arm 24 of the transport section 16 is
It is possible to move relative to 2.

In the illustrated example of the apparatus, the measurement unit 12 includes a laser light source 32 that irradiates laser light as coherent light onto an optical surface plate 30 that is supported and fixed to a base 26 by a support 52, and mirrors 34a and 34b that reflect the laser beam in a predetermined direction;
4a and 34b, a mirror 40 that lowers the laser beam and irradiates the micro-resist of the sample 22 from the opening 38 of the optical surface plate 30, and furthermore, a mirror 40 that lowers the laser beam and irradiates the micro-resist of the sample 22 with the laser beam. A photodiode 42 (see FIG. 3) that measures the intensity of the photodiode 42 and a micrometer 44 that adjusts the position of the photodiode 42 in a uniaxial direction are arranged and configured.

In the resist heat resistance evaluation apparatus of the present invention, the laser light source 32 is not particularly limited as long as it has a wavelength to which the applied resist is not sensitive, and various sources such as a He-Ne laser and a semiconductor laser can be used.

The laser light 32a irradiated from the laser light source 32 is
The light is reflected by the mirror 34a, passes through the ND filter 36, the amount of light is adjusted, and is reflected by the mirror 34b, and is reflected by the mirror 40.
The light passes through the opening 38 and enters the microresist formed on the sample 22, which is transported to a predetermined height by the transport section 16.

FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the opening 38 when measuring the diffracted light of the microresist formed on the sample 22.

The laser beam 32a that has been turned down by the mirror 40 is incident on the microresist of the sample 22 that is conveyed to a predetermined position by the conveyance section 16, and is diffracted, and the intensity of the diffracted light other than the 0th order of this diffracted light is Measured by photodiode 42.

The photodiode 42 is supported by a support member 42a with its light-receiving surface facing downward.

The support member 42a is supported by a support member 42b so as to be movable in the directions of arrows a and b, and this support member 42b is attached to the optical surface plate 3.
It is supported by a member 30a fixed to the lower surface of 0.

Further, the support member 42a is urged in the direction of the arrow by means not shown.

On the other hand, a micrometer 44 is arranged on the opposite side of the member 30a from where the photodiode 42 is arranged. The micrometer 44 has a spindle 44a attached to the support member 42.
The spindle 44a is arranged so as to press the end face of the spindle 44a.
The support member 42a is pushed in the direction of arrow a.

Therefore, by adjusting the length of the spindle 44a, the micrometer 44 makes it possible to move the photodiode 42 in the uniaxial direction indicated by arrows a and b, and adjusts the diffracted light reception position of the photodiode 42 with high precision. enable.

In addition, in the resist heat resistance evaluation apparatus 10 of the present invention,
In order to measure the shape of the microresist more accurately, a striped resist pattern with equal intervals is used for the microresist, and the photodiode 42 measures the diffracted light of second and higher orders. preferable.

The photodiode 42 is not particularly limited, and may be a pn photodiode, a pin photodiode, a Schottky photodiode, or a Si photodiode.

Various types of avalanche photodiodes such as Ge and the like can be applied, and there is no particular limitation.

Furthermore, in the present invention, the means for measuring the intensity of diffracted light is not limited to the photodiode 42, and various photodetectors such as phototransistors and electronic circuits incorporating these can be applied.

In the present invention, the measuring section 12 is not limited to the illustrated example, but may be one in which the sample 22 is directly irradiated with the laser light source 32 without a mirror 34a or the like, and the angle at which the mirror 40 is attached can be adjusted. Various types of devices are applicable, such as one configured to adjust the irradiation position of the laser beam 32a by adjusting the fall angle of the laser beam 32a.

In addition, in order to accurately measure the intensity of the diffracted light of the microresist, the measurement unit 12 is equipped with various methods such as a cover.
Preferably, it is shielded from light from the outside.

Further, such a measuring section 12 may include various cooling means such as a cooling fan.

In the resist heat resistance evaluation apparatus 10, a heating section 1 is provided below.
4 is placed.

FIG. 4 shows a diagram with the measuring section 12 in FIG. 2 omitted, and FIG. 5 shows a plan view of the heating section 14.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the heating section 14 is
A hot plate 54 for heating the sample 22 is inserted and fixed into a recess 48 formed in a heating unit base 46 supported by an X-Y axis stage 28 by a column 50, and the hot plate 54 and the heating unit The base 46 has a transport section 16
A clamp pawl insertion groove 58 is formed to correspond to the clamp pawl 56 on which the sample 22 is placed, which is formed on the transport arm 24 of.

In order to improve heating efficiency of the sample 22, the clamp claw insertion groove 58 is preferably set to a depth such that the surface of the hot plate 54 and the surface of the clamp claw 56 are flush with each other when the clamp claw 56 is inserted.

The hot plate 54 is for heating the sample 22, and any known heating means such as various heaters can be used.

In order to more accurately evaluate the heat resistance of the microresist formed on the sample 22, the temperature of such a hot plate 54 must be controlled accurately, and the temperature must be controlled with an accuracy of approximately ±1°C from the set temperature. Preferably, it is possible.

Further, in order to improve the heating efficiency of the sample 22, the hot plate 54 is provided with means for bringing the sample 22 into close contact with each other, such as a suction, so that the hot plate 54 and the sample 22 can be brought into close contact with each other to increase heat transfer. preferable.

The transport unit 16 transports the sample 22, and basically includes a transport unit base 19, a Z-axis stage 20 that is moved up and down on the transport unit base 19, and a sample 22 supported by the Z-axis stage 20.
and a transport arm 24 that supports and transports.

In the resist heat resistance evaluation apparatus 10 of the present invention, the measuring section 12 and the heating section 14 are vertically separated and arranged as described above, and the sample 22 is conveyed to both by the conveying section 16, so that the intensity of the diffracted light can be adjusted. By configuring it to perform measurement and heating,
The heat generated by the heating section 14 does not adversely affect the measurement section 12, making it possible to accurately measure the intensity of the diffracted light, and making it possible to accurately evaluate the heat resistance of the resist.

Moreover, by adopting such a configuration, it is possible to repeatedly perform heating and measurement of the sample 22 with good quality and high accuracy, and it is possible to easily measure the diffracted light intensity of the microresist of the sample 22 at a large number of temperatures. It is possible to quickly and accurately evaluate the heat resistance of a resist.

The transfer arm 24 is for placing and supporting the sample 22, and
It is supported by an axis stage 20 and conveys a sample 22 by moving the Z-axis stage 20 up and down on a conveyance unit base 19. In the illustrated example, there are two clamp claws 56 for placing the sample 22. The sample 22 is placed and supported in the diametrical direction.

This clamp claw 56 is formed with a step-like mounting portion 60 as shown in FIG. 6 in order to suitably place the sample 22 thereon. In addition, in order to hold the sample 22 more suitably,
The height of the stepped portion of the mounting section 60 is the same as the thickness of the sample 22, and when the sample 22 is placed on the clamp claw 56,
It is preferable that the sample 22 be lightly sandwiched between the stepped portions of the mounting portion 60.

Such a transport arm 24 is supported by the Z-axis stage 20.

In the illustrated example, the Z-axis stage 20 is
A convex portion 64 is formed to be fitted into the opening 62 of 9, and a nut 68 that forms a means for vertically moving the conveyance arm 24 together with a drive shaft 66 of the conveyance unit base 19 is formed in the convex portion 64.
is placed.

The transport unit base 19 supports the above-mentioned two-axis stage 20,
It is fixed to the X-Y axis stage 28 and has an opening 62 into which the convex part 64 of the Z-axis stage 20 is fitted as described above, and the nut 68 disposed in this opening 62. A drive shaft 66 is disposed to be screwed into the drive shaft 66 .

That is, in the illustrated device, the drive shaft 66 is rotated by a drive source (not shown), so that
As the Z-axis stage 20 moves up and down along the opening 62, the transfer arm 24 moves up and down, and the sample 22 is transferred to the measuring section 1.
2 and the heating section 14.

As a drive source for the drive shaft 66, a high precision motor such as a pulse motor is used.

The resist heat resistance evaluation apparatus 10 of the present invention measures changes in the shape of the microresist by irradiating the microresist of the sample 22 with a laser beam and measuring the intensity of the diffracted light, so it is possible to measure changes in the shape of the microresist under each heating condition. So, sample 22
If the position of the sample 22 when it is transported to the measurement unit 12 is out of alignment, the intensity of the diffracted light cannot be accurately measured.

Therefore, the drive source for the drive shaft 66 is required to be as accurate as possible.

Note that in order to perform accurate measurements, it is of course preferable that the error in the transport position of the sample 22 in the transport section 16 is small, but the error is preferably within ±0.1 m.
m or less, and the transport section 16 needs to be configured to satisfy this condition.

In the resist heat resistance evaluation apparatus 10 of the present invention, the means for conveying the conveyance arm 24 (sample 22) in the conveyance section 16 is not limited to the method using the drive shaft 66 as described above, but may be a rack and pinion, wire drive, etc. There is no particular limitation on the method, as long as it has a structure that can suitably support the transport arm 24 and can obtain the necessary precision.

Further, the shape of the transport arm 24 is not limited to the illustrated example, and any shape that can reliably support the sample 22 may be used.
Various types of devices are applicable, such as a ring-shaped member that supports the sample 22 and a device that has three or more clamp claws 56.

As described above, the heating section 14 and the conveying section 16 are supported and fixed to the XY axis stage 28.

This X-Y axis stage 28 is configured to be movable in the plane direction on the base 26, so by moving this X-Y axis stage 28, the heating section 14 and the conveying section 16 are moved on the base 26. Eight movements are possible on the table 26.

Here, as mentioned above, the measurement unit 12 is connected to the base 2 by the support 52.
6 is supported and fixed.

Therefore, by moving the X-Y axis stage 28,
The sample 22 placed on the transfer arm 24 of the transfer unit 16 is moved relative to the measurement unit 12, and the laser beam 32a on the sample 22 is moved by the movement of the X-Y axis stage 28.
It becomes possible to adjust the irradiation position.

In the illustrated example, the heating unit 14 is also supported by the X-Y axis stage 28, so when the transfer arm 24 is lowered to heat the sample 22, the sample 22 is always placed at the center of the hot plate 54. be done.

As a method for moving the X-Y axis stage 28, various known methods such as rack and binion, drive shaft, etc. can be applied.

In the second aspect of the present invention, the resist heat resistance evaluation apparatus 10 includes a measuring section 12, a heating section 1, and a heating section 1, as shown in FIG.
4 and the transport section 16, and also includes a control section 18 that processes measurement results.

The control unit 18 of the resist heat resistance evaluation device 10 includes a measurement unit 12,
It is connected to the heating section 14 and the conveying section 16, and when the heat treatment conditions (heating temperature, heating time) of the sample 22 are input from the outside using various manual means (even if there are many input heat treatment conditions), The heating temperature, heating time, etc. in the heating section 14 are controlled according to the heat treatment conditions, and the sample 22 after heating is
, the transport position in the measuring section 12, and the like.

Further, the control unit 18 controls the irradiation of the laser beam 32a and the measurement of the diffracted light intensity in the measurement unit 12.

Also, during this measurement, the control unit 18 controls the temperature by raising the temperature of the hot plate to the next heating temperature in the heating unit 14.

Further, when the measurement of the diffracted light intensity in the measurement unit 12 is completed, the control unit 18 causes the transport unit 16 to transfer the sample 22 to the heating unit 14.
The sample 22 is heated under the following heat treatment conditions.

The data measured by the measurement unit 12 is sequentially transmitted to the control unit 1.
8 and processed, and when all the measurements of the diffracted light under the manually set conditions are completed, changes in the shape of the microresist are measured from changes in the intensity of the diffracted light, and the heat resistance of the resist is evaluated.

Note that such a control section 18 may control the movement of the X-Y stage 28 to adjust the irradiation position of the laser beam 32a on the sample 22, and may also control the measurement section 12. The arrangement may be such that the position of the light-receiving surface of the photodiode 42 is automatically adjusted using the micrometer 44.

Further, a storage device for storing the obtained data, such as a floppy disk device, may be connected to the control section 18, and the data manually inputted before the floppy disk can be read to determine the heat resistance of a more suitable resist. It may be configured so that evaluation can be performed.

In addition, in the resist heat resistance evaluation apparatus 10 of the present invention,
The operation control and data processing by the control unit 18 are not limited to those described above, and the control unit 18 may perform control/data processing such as posting on a CRT, connecting to other processing devices, etc. as necessary. good. Further, in the present invention, it goes without saying that the heat resistance of the resist can be evaluated not only automatically by the control unit 18 but also manually.

FIG. 7 shows a flowchart for evaluating the heat resistance of a resist using the resist heat resistance evaluation apparatus 10 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and an example of its operation and operation control will be described.

First, an operator places a sample 22 on a substrate, on which a microresist having a predetermined resist pattern is formed, on the clamp claw 56 of the transport arm 24 .

Next, the operator causes the control unit 18 to control the hot plate 54.
Enter the preheating temperature, recording file name, measurement mode selection, and heat treatment conditions for the sample 22, and turn on the start switch.

When the start switch is turned on, the control section 18 confirms the preheating temperature, and the temperature of the hot plate 54 of the heating section 14 is controlled to the preheating temperature.

Next, the control unit 18 confirms the file name of the data to be measured, and also confirms whether the measurement mode is automatic or manual.

When this confirmation is completed and the automatic measurement mode is selected, the hot plate 54 of the heating section 14 is set to the temperature condition of the first measurement according to the manually entered heat treatment conditions, and the temperature is controlled. will be carried out.

When the hot plate 54 reaches a predetermined temperature, the transfer section 16
The transfer arm 24 is lowered, and the sample 22 comes into contact with the hot plate 54, preferably by suction or the like, and the sample 22 is heated for a predetermined period of time.

When the heating is finished, the transfer arm 24 rises and the measuring section 1
2, the laser beam 32a is irradiated from the laser light source 32, enters the microresist of the sample 22, is diffracted, and this diffracted light is transmitted to the photodiode 42.
The intensity of diffracted light of orders other than 0, preferably second or higher orders, is measured.

This measurement data is immediately transferred to the control unit 18, processed, and stored on a floppy disk.

On the other hand, during the -th measurement of the diffracted light, the hot plate 54 of the heating section 14 is set to the temperature conditions for the second measurement, and temperature control is performed.

When the first measurement of the diffracted light is completed and the temperature of the hot plate 54 is raised to the second temperature condition, the transfer arm 24 is lowered again to bring the hot plate 54 and the sample 22 into contact for a predetermined time, and the same process is carried out. The diffracted light is measured.

In this way, when measurements under all setting conditions are completed, the output method and calculation method are input to the control unit 18, and the heat resistance of the resist applied to the sample 22 is evaluated based on the obtained data and past data. will be held and posted.

As above, the resist heat resistance evaluation apparatus of the present invention has been described in detail based on the preferred embodiment shown in the attached drawings, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and within the scope of the gist of the present invention. Of course, various changes and improvements may be made.

<Effects of the Invention> The resist heat resistance evaluation device of the present invention irradiates a heated microresist with coherent light, measures the intensity of the diffracted light other than the 0th order, performs this measurement at a large number of temperatures, and calculates the diffraction A device that measures changes in the shape of a microresist based on changes in light intensity and evaluates the heat resistance of the resist,
It has a measuring section having a coherent light source and a measuring device, and a transporting section that is arranged separately from a heating section that heats a microresist and transports a sample on which a microresist is formed on a substrate between the two.

Therefore, according to the resist heat resistance evaluation apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to easily and quantitatively evaluate the heat resistance of a resist without preparing a sample section or the like.

In addition, the resist heat resistance evaluation device of the present invention is arranged such that the measurement section and the heating section are arranged separately, and the sample is transported between the two by the transport section to heat the microresist and measure the diffracted light. Because of this structure, there is no adverse effect on the light source and measuring instrument due to the heat of the heating device during measurement, making it possible to perform accurate measurements, and also to repeatedly and continuously perform measurements under a large number of temperature conditions. .

Furthermore, in the resist heat resistance evaluation apparatus of the present invention, since the sample is transported between the heating part and the measurement part in the transport part of the apparatus as described above, even if heating-measurement-heating is repeated, the light source and the measuring device are The positional relationship with the sample remains constant without movement.
Even when measurements are performed under multiple temperature conditions, accurate heat resistance evaluations can always be made.

In addition, in the second aspect, since there is a control unit that controls each operation and processes data, it is possible to automate the operation of each unit, processing of measurement results, etc., and more quickly and easily evaluate the heat resistance of resist. can be done.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a basic configuration diagram of a resist heat resistance evaluation apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the resist heat resistance evaluation apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the measuring section of the resist heat resistance evaluation apparatus shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the resist heat resistance evaluation apparatus shown in FIG. 2, with the measuring section omitted. 5 is a plan view of the heating section of the resist heat resistance evaluation apparatus shown in FIG. 2. FIG. Figure N6 is a partially enlarged view of the conveyance section of the resist heat resistance evaluation apparatus shown in Figure 2. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation and control method of the resist heat resistance evaluation apparatus of the present invention. Explanation of symbols 10... Resist heat resistance evaluation device, 12... Measuring section, 14... Heating section, 16.
...Transportation unit, 18...Control unit, 19...Transportation unit base, 20...Z-axis stage, 22...Sample, 24...
Transfer arm, 26... Base, 28... X-Y axis stage, 30... Optical surface plate, 32... Laser light source, 32g... Laser light, 3
4a 34b, 40---mirror 36...ND filter, 38...opening, 42...
・Photodiode, 44...Micrometer, 46...Heating part base, 48...Concave part, 50.5
2... Support column, 54... Hot plate, 56... Clamp claw, 58... Clamp claw insertion groove, 60... Placement part, 62... Opening part, 64...
...Protrusion, 66...Drive shaft, 68...Nut F work G -

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A resist heat resistance evaluation device that heats a microresist formed on a substrate and evaluates the heat resistance of the resist based on changes in its shape, which includes: a coherent light source that irradiates coherent light onto the microresist; a measuring section having a measuring device for measuring the intensity of diffracted light other than the zero-order of the coherent light; a heating section having a heater for heating the microresist; and a heating section between the measuring section and the heating section. 1. A resist heat resistance evaluation apparatus, comprising: a transport section that transports the substrate on which a microresist is formed. (2) The resist heat resistance evaluation apparatus according to claim 1, comprising at least irradiation of the coherent light in the measurement section and measurement of the intensity of the diffracted light, temperature control in the heating section, and transportation of the substrate in the transportation section. What is claimed is: 1. A resist heat resistance evaluation apparatus, comprising: a control section that controls the measurement results of the diffracted light intensity;