JP2000283652A - Substrate drying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate drying device in which liquid left on a substrate can be removed completely while a degree of cleanness within a drying chamber is being maintained. SOLUTION: A plurality of transporting rollers for use in transporting a substrate are arranged in an evacuation chamber 10 and a liquid draining chamber 20 of which inner sides are continuous from each other. A driving section for the transporting rollers is covered by a driving section cover. An exhaust pipe is connected to a liquid collecting section 11 at the bottom surface of the evacuation chamber 10. An evacuation pipe of the driving section is connected to the bottom surface of the evacuation chamber 10 and an exhaust pipe of the driving section is connected to a rear surface of the evacuation chamber 10 and the pipes are communicated with a space covered by the driving section cover around the driving section. The exhaust pipe and the evacuation pipe at the driving section are connected to a vertical pipe 15 at the rear side of the evacuation chamber 10. An automatic damper is arranged at the upper end of the vertical pipe 15. A ceiling of the liquid draining chamber 20 is formed to be higher than that of the evacuation chamber 10. A fan device 22 is arranged at the upper part of the evacuation chamber 10 and then air knives are arranged at the upper part and the lower part of the transporting passage for the substrate.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate drying apparatus for blowing a stream of air from an air knife to a substrate after cleaning with a liquid to remove the liquid and drying the substrate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a process of manufacturing a glass substrate such as a liquid crystal display or a photomask, or a substrate such as a printed wiring board or a semiconductor wafer, a predetermined processing liquid is supplied to a surface of the substrate and then removed from the substrate. Work is required. For example, in the step of cleaning the substrate, in a substrate cleaning device, after washing by pouring a liquid such as pure water on the surface of the substrate, in a substrate drying device, a gas is sprayed on the surface of the substrate to adhere to the substrate surface. Liquid is being removed.

[0003] As such a substrate drying apparatus, an apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-14819 has been conventionally proposed. Such a substrate drying apparatus has an air knife in a drying chamber, and blows a cleaning liquid by blowing an air flow of an air knife on a surface of a substrate conveyed from the substrate cleaning apparatus into the drying chamber to dry the substrate. In addition, for example, HEPA (High Efficiencyc) which is a high performance filter
A clean unit having a y-Particulate Air) filter is provided, and clean air is blown downward from the clean unit into the drying chamber to form a downflow flow. In addition, a discharge unit is provided at a lower portion of the drying chamber so that the scattered water droplets and mist descend by the downflow flow and are discharged to the outside.

[0004]

In the above-described conventional substrate drying apparatus, a carry-in port and a carry-out port are provided for loading and unloading the substrate into and out of the drying chamber. For this reason, when the air knife is stopped, the pressure in the room decreases, and outside air flows in from the carry-in and carry-out ports. However, even when the substrate drying apparatus is installed in a clean room, the air outside the drying room has a lower cleanness than the drying room. Therefore, when the outside air flows in as described above, the cleanliness of the inside of the drying chamber is reduced, and the substrate may be contaminated.

Further, in the above-mentioned prior art, since the clean unit is disposed on the ceiling on the side of the air knife blowing side, the mist of the cleaning water blown off by the air knife is re-adhered to the substrate by the downflow flow. I do. In particular, since such mist may include washed-out dust, the dust may contaminate the substrate.

[0006] The present invention has been proposed to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art.
An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate drying apparatus capable of completely removing a liquid on a substrate while maintaining cleanliness in a drying chamber.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a substrate drying apparatus having a substrate transfer means and an air knife for removing a liquid on the substrate by an air flow in a drying chamber. Has the following technical features.

That is, the invention according to claim 1 is characterized in that the drying chamber is provided with a fan unit for blowing clean air into the interior of the drying chamber, and the drying chamber has water droplets generated by liquid removed from the substrate. And a discharge means for discharging mist, a damper for adjusting the air pressure in the drying chamber is provided in the drying chamber, and the air knife is controlled so that the air pressure in the drying chamber is maintained at a more positive pressure than the external air pressure. Operation of
It has a control means for controlling the degree of opening of the damper in response to the stop. According to the first aspect of the present invention, even when the pressure in the drying chamber is reduced due to the stoppage of the air knife, the pressure in the chamber can be adjusted by the damper to maintain the pressure more positive than the outside. Therefore, indoor pollution due to intrusion of outside air is prevented.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the substrate drying apparatus according to the first aspect, the drying chamber has a high portion having a high ceiling and a low portion having a low ceiling, and the loading port of the substrate is provided with the entrance. The lower port side is provided, the substrate carry-out port is provided at the higher port section side, the fan unit is provided at an upper portion of the higher port section, and the air knife has a blowout section at the lower port side. In addition, it is characterized by being disposed at an angle. According to the second aspect of the present invention,
Since the fan unit is provided at the upper part of the high-order part, the blown air flows in one direction from top to bottom as a laminar flow, and is less likely to be turbulent. Further, the air cleaned by the HEPA filter or the like built in the fan unit has its moisture removed by an air knife inclined toward the lower part, and is blown onto the cleaned surface of the substrate. Therefore, mist including dust does not re-adhere to the substrate and is not contaminated.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the substrate drying apparatus of the second aspect, the discharge means has an exhaust pipe, and an exhaust port is provided in the lower portion below the transfer means, The exhaust pipe is connected to the exhaust port. According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the ceiling is low in the low portion, the mist generated by blowing air from the air knife is exhausted from the exhaust port by laminar flow from the high portion to the bottom. Immediately discharged through the pipe, it is hard to stay. Therefore, the air containing the mist does not come into contact with the substrate having a high degree of cleanliness that has passed through the air knife and moved to the high-order portion side.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the substrate drying apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, the transporting means comprises a plurality of transport rollers arranged in parallel, and an end portion of the transport roller. And a cover that partitions the space on the transport roller side and the space on the drive unit side is provided at a position that covers the drive unit, and the drying chamber has a drive unit configured in the drying chamber. An exhaust pipe is connected to the space on the driving unit side. According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the drive unit of the transport roller is covered with the cover,
The surrounding air is exhausted to the outside by an exhaust pipe. For this reason, fine dust generated by abrasion and dust generated by scattering of lubricating oil, etc. from the components of the driving unit do not move to the substrate side being transported by the transporting rollers, thereby preventing contamination of the substrate. You.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the substrate drying apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the drying chamber has a sensor for detecting a pressure difference between an indoor air pressure and an external air pressure. And the sensor is connected to the control means. According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the drying chamber can always be maintained at a positive pressure than the outside based on the detection value of the sensor. Therefore, the invasion of outside air is prevented, and the indoor pollution is prevented. Can be.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS (1) Configuration of the Embodiment An embodiment corresponding to the invention described in claims 1 to 4 is shown in FIG.
This will be described below with reference to FIGS.

1-1. Overall Configuration In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a drying chamber 1 in which an exhaust chamber 10 and a liquid draining chamber 20 are continuously connected is installed on a gantry 2. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the exhaust chamber 10 has a substrate entrance 10 a, and the liquid draining chamber 20 has a substrate exit 20 a. Also,
Inside the exhaust chamber 10 and the drain chamber 20, a transport roller 30 for transporting the substrate is arranged in the width direction of the drying chamber 1. The plurality of transport rollers 30 are provided in parallel with the transport direction of the substrate.

1-2. Configuration of Drive Unit of Transport Roller Both ends of the shaft of the transport roller 30 are rotatably supported by bearings 31. A first helical gear 30a is attached to one end of the transport roller 30. In the drying chamber 1, a shaft 32 in the substrate transport direction is provided near the side surface of the transport roller 30 on the first helical gear 30 a side.
Is provided. The shaft 32 is provided with a second helical gear 32a that engages with the first helical gear 30a of each transport roller 30. As shown in FIG. 4, a motor 32b is installed outside the drying chamber 1 near the shaft 31, and the shaft 32 is rotated by a belt drive using the motor 32b as a driving source.

Further, inside the drying chamber 1, a drive unit cover 33 that covers the drive unit such as the bearing 31 of the transport roller 30, the first helical gear 30a, and the shaft 32 is provided over the entire area in the moving direction of the substrate. It is provided in parallel with the inner wall of the drying chamber 1 throughout. The drive unit cover 33 covers only the drive unit of the transport roller 30 and thus has a small width, and the shaft of each transport roller 30 passes through the drive unit cover 33 in a rotatable manner.

1-3. Configuration of Exhaust Chamber Further, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a liquid collecting part 11 that is recessed downward is formed on the bottom surface of the exhaust chamber 10. One end of an exhaust pipe 12 is connected to the rear end of the liquid collecting section 11,
On the inner bottom of the liquid collecting section 11, the drainage liquid dropped there is the exhaust pipe 1
An inclination is provided so as to flow into the second. Exhaust pipe 12
Constitutes a U-shaped trap for gas-liquid separation as a whole. A discharge pipe 12 a for discharging the separated waste liquid is connected to the lowest part of the exhaust pipe 12.

One end of a drive unit exhaust pipe 13 is connected to the bottom surface of the exhaust chamber 10, and a drive unit exhaust pipe 14 is connected to the back surface. These drive unit exhaust pipes 13 and 14 communicate with the space around the drive unit covered by the drive unit cover 33. A drain pipe 14a is connected to the drive section exhaust pipe 14 on the rear side.

Further, behind the exhaust chamber 10, a vertical pipe 1 is provided.
5 are provided. The other end of the exhaust pipe 12 is connected to the lower end of the vertical pipe 15, and the exhaust pipe 13 is
And the other end of the exhaust pipe 14 is connected to the upper front surface.

1-4. Configuration of Auto Damper An auto damper 16 is provided at the upper end of the vertical tube 15. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the auto damper 16 has a circular plate-like lid 16a for closing the vertical pipe 15, and when the lid 16a is in the horizontal direction, it is in a fully closed state, and when it is in the vertical direction, Is fully opened. The mechanism for rotating the lid 16a includes a shaft 16b, a bearing 16c, a driving unit 16
d and the connecting portion 16e. The shaft 16b is attached in the diameter direction of the lid 16a.

Two bearing portions 16c are provided at positions opposed to the vertical tube 15 in the radial direction, and rotatably support both ends of the shaft 16b. The driving unit 16d includes the connecting unit 16
e, the shaft 16b
The cover 16a is opened and closed by rotating the motor. For example, an electric motor, a hydraulic or air motor, or the like is used.

1-5. Configuration of Drainage Chamber On the other hand, an air knife 21 and a fan unit 22 are arranged in the drainage chamber 20. As shown in FIG. 9, the air knives 21 are provided above and below the substrate transport path, and are disposed obliquely with respect to the direction of travel of the substrate. The ceiling of the drain chamber 20 is formed higher than the ceiling of the exhaust chamber 10, and a fan unit 22 is provided above the drain chamber 20. The fan unit 22 includes a fan that forms a downward airflow, a HEPA filter that prevents inflow of dust and the like, and the like.

1-6. Configuration of Control Circuit Further, the operations of the air knife 21 and the auto damper 16 are controlled by a control circuit (not shown). This control circuit is connected to a driving section (not shown) of the air knife 21 and a driving section 16d of the automatic damper 16, and the air knife 2
When the air knife 21 is stopped, the automatic damper 16 is set to open, and when the air knife 21 is stopped, the automatic damper 16 is closed.

(2) Operation of this Embodiment The operation and effect of this embodiment having the above configuration are as follows.
It is as follows. That is, as shown in FIG. 9, the substrate B cleaned with the cleaning liquid is carried into the exhaust chamber 10 from the carry-in port 10 a by the transport roller 30. Then, in the process of moving the substrate B toward the liquid draining chamber 20, the air flow of the activated air knife 21 is blown, so that the cleaning liquid on the substrate B is blown off. The cleaned airflow from the fan unit 22 is blown onto the surface of the substrate from which the moisture has been removed by the air knife.

Since the fan unit 22 is provided at a position higher than the exhaust chamber 10, the air flow moves toward the exhaust chamber 10 and becomes laminar from top to bottom. And
Water droplets and mist generated by being blown off from the substrate B descend by the airflow of the fan unit 22 and flow to the liquid collecting unit 11. The mist and water droplets flowing into the liquid collecting section 11 flow into the exhaust pipe 12 to be separated into gas and liquid, and the discharged liquid is discharged to the outside from the discharge pipe 12a.
Flows to Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the air around the driving unit covered by the driving unit cover 33 is driven by the driving unit exhaust pipe 1.
The condensed liquid discharged through 3 and 14 is discharged to discharge pipe 1
It is discharged to the outside via the drain pipe 2a and the drain pipe 14a.

During the removal of the cleaning liquid by the operation of the air knife 21, the drive unit 16d opens the automatic damper 16 based on the control signal from the control circuit.
Exhaust is promoted. After the cleaning liquid is removed, the substrate B is carried out of the carry-out port 20a by the carrying roller 30 and the air knife 21 is stopped. At this time, the driving unit 16d activates the auto damper 16 based on a control signal from the control circuit. Since it is closed, the air pressure in the exhaust chamber 10 and the liquid drain chamber 20 is maintained at a more positive pressure than the external air pressure.

Therefore, even after the substrate B is unloaded,
Inflow of outside air from the carry-in port 10a and the carry-out port 20a is prevented, and the room is kept clean. Thereafter, even when the cleaning liquid for the next substrate B is removed, the contamination of the substrate B is prevented.

The auto damper 16 has a cover 16
The degree of opening / closing can be adjusted by the amount of rotation of “a”, but the degree to which the lid 16 a is closed to obtain a positive pressure depends on the flow rate from the fan unit 22. However, the laminar flow from the fan unit 22 is effective to keep the room at a positive pressure even when the air knife 21 is stopped and to prevent the dust accumulated in the lower part of the room from rolling up. . Therefore, taking into account the amount of air necessary to form a laminar flow and the amount of air leaking from the substrate carrying-out port 20a, the carrying-in port 10a, and the exhaust pipe 12, the automatic damper 1 is used.
6, the amount of rotation of the cover 16a is determined.

(3) Effects of the Embodiment According to the above-described embodiment, the interior of the exhaust chamber 10 and the drain chamber 20 is maintained at a positive pressure to prevent the invasion of the outside air. Therefore, contamination of the substrate can be prevented, the quality is stabilized, and the yield is improved.

Further, since the purified air flow from the fan unit 22 is blown onto the cleaned surface of the substrate B after the moisture is removed by the air knife 21, the mist containing dust adheres to the substrate B again. There is no contamination.

The air flow from the fan unit 22 flows from the high ceiling side of the liquid drainage chamber 20 to the exhaust chamber 10 with a low ceiling, and becomes a laminar flow from top to bottom. The generated water droplets and mist are efficiently discharged without staying in the exhaust chamber 10.

The bearing 31, the first helical gear 30a, the shaft 32, and the like, which constitute the driving unit of the transport roller 30, are covered by the driving unit cover 33, so that the fine parts generated by the wear of the component parts. Dust generated by scattering of dust or lubricating oil does not move to the side of the substrate B being transported, so that contamination of the substrate B is prevented.

(4) Other Embodiments The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and the size, shape, number, etc. of each member can be changed as appropriate. For example, as an embodiment corresponding to the fourth aspect of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 9, a differential pressure sensor 40 is provided near the carry-out port 20a in the liquid draining chamber 20, and the differential pressure sensor 20 is a control circuit. It is also possible to connect to. In this case, the control circuit controls the internal pressure to be more positive than the external pressure in accordance with the differential pressure between the internal pressure and the external pressure detected by the differential pressure sensor 20.
The setting is made so as to control the drive unit 16d of the automatic damper 16.

According to this configuration, when the difference between the indoor air pressure and the external air pressure detected by the differential pressure sensor 40 falls below a predetermined value, the automatic damper 16 is closed and the fan is closed. By driving the fan of the unit 22 to increase the internal pressure, the inside of the room can be maintained at a positive pressure compared to the outside, and the inflow of outside air can be prevented. Further, since the pressure in the room can always be kept constant based on the detection value from the differential pressure sensor 40, it is possible to prevent water droplets and mist from re-adhering to the substrate due to generation of turbulence.

The open / closed state of the auto damper 16 is not limited to one of the fully open state and the fully closed state since the lid 16a is provided rotatably about the shaft 16b. In other words, the degree of opening and closing can be finely adjusted by changing the angle of the lid 16a by adjusting the amount of rotation of the shaft 16b by the driving unit 16d according to a control signal from the control circuit.

As shown in FIG. 10, a cover 50 may be provided above the inside of the exhaust chamber 10, and the vertical pipe 15 may be connected to the cover 50. With such a configuration, a part of the mist generated and raised in the exhaust chamber 10 can be efficiently and quickly discharged, so that the re-adhesion of the mist to the substrate B can be more reliably prevented. . Further, as shown in FIG. 11, between the upper part of the upper air knife 21 and the partition of the exhaust chamber 10 and the liquid drain chamber 20, a diagonal cover 60 that blocks the air flow from the liquid drain chamber 20 to the exhaust chamber 10 is provided. It is also possible to provide.

The exhaust pipe according to the above embodiment,
The number of drain pipes can be freely increased or decreased at the design stage, and a plurality of dampers can be installed. The shape of the damper is such as to open and close a single plate-shaped lid, and also to adjust the flow rate of passing air by changing the angle of a plurality of blades, and to inflate the airbag like a pinch valve. Thereby, the passage may be opened and closed. further,
As long as the driving unit can drive the transport roller 30,
Any configuration may be used.

[0038]

According to the present invention as described above, it is possible to provide a substrate drying apparatus capable of completely removing the liquid on the substrate while maintaining the cleanliness of the drying chamber.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing a configuration of one embodiment of a substrate drying apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an internal configuration of an exhaust chamber in the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing an internal configuration of a liquid drainage chamber in the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a perspective side view of an exhaust chamber in the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the exhaust chamber in the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a rear view of the exhaust chamber in the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the fully closed state of the automatic damper in the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a transparent side view showing a fully opened state of the automatic damper in the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a simplified diagram showing the flow of exhaust and drainage in the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a simplified diagram showing another embodiment of the substrate drying apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a simplified diagram showing another embodiment of the substrate drying apparatus of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Drying chamber 2 ... Stand 10 ... Exhaust chamber 10a ... Carry-in port 11 ... Liquid collection part 12 ... Exhaust pipe 12a ... Discharge pipe 13, 14 ... Drive part exhaust pipe 14a ... Drain pipe 15 ... Vertical pipe 16 ... Auto damper 16a ... Lid 16b Shaft 16c Bearing 16d Driving unit 16e Connecting unit 20 Drainage chamber 20a Carry-out port 21 Air knife 22 Fan unit 30 Transport roller 30a First helical gear 31 Bearing 32 ... Shaft 32a ... Second helical gear 32b ... Motor 33 ... Drive cover 40 ... Differential pressure sensor 50 ... Cover

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 3L113 AA01 AB10 AC20 AC31 AC45 AC46 AC48 AC49 AC50 AC52 AC57 AC63 AC67 AC72 AC73 AC75 AC76 AC83 BA34 CA10 DA04 DA09 DA24

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A substrate drying apparatus comprising: a substrate transfer means in a drying chamber; and an air knife for removing a liquid on the substrate by an air flow, wherein the drying chamber blows clean air into the drying chamber. A discharge unit for discharging water droplets and mist generated by the liquid removed from the substrate is connected to the drying chamber, and a damper for adjusting the atmospheric pressure in the room is provided in the drying chamber; A substrate drying apparatus, comprising: a control unit that controls the degree of opening of the damper in accordance with the operation / stop of the air knife so that the air pressure in the drying chamber is maintained at a more positive pressure than the external air pressure. . 2. The drying chamber has a high portion with a high ceiling and a low portion with a low ceiling, a loading port for the substrate is provided on the low portion side, and a loading port for the substrate is connected to the high portion. The fan unit is provided on an upper portion of the high portion, and the air knife is disposed so as to be inclined such that a blowout portion is on the low portion side. Item 2. A substrate drying apparatus according to Item 1. 3. The exhaust means has an exhaust pipe, and an exhaust port is provided below the transport means in the lower part, and the exhaust pipe is connected to the exhaust port. The substrate drying apparatus according to claim 2, wherein 4. The transport unit has a plurality of transport rollers arranged in parallel, and a drive unit configured at an end of the transport roller, wherein the drying chamber has a space on the transport roller side. A cover for partitioning the drive unit side space is provided at a position covering the drive unit, and an exhaust pipe is connected to the drive unit side space in the drying chamber. 4. The substrate drying device according to any one of items 3. 5. The drying chamber is provided with a sensor for detecting a pressure difference between an indoor air pressure and an external air pressure, and the sensor is connected to the control means. 5. The substrate drying apparatus according to any one of 4.