JP2002011399A - Method for coating resist and resist coater - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To coat a resist uniformly without being affected by environment. SOLUTION: In a method for coating the resist in which the resist in an amount to be applied is lifted from a container in which the resist is stored by a rotary roller, and the lifted resist is applied on a material by using an application roller, the viscosity of the resist is measured, and the numbers of revolution of the rotary roller and the application roller are controlled corresponding to the change of the viscosity.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a resist coating method for coating a resist and a technique effective when applied to a resist coater.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional resist coater comprises a container for storing resist, a plurality of rotating rolls, a coating roll for coating the resist, and a roll control unit for controlling the rolls. When the amount of the resist stored in the container for storing the resist becomes small, the resist is replenished with a pump so that a constant amount is always stored in the container.

[0003] Conventional coating (coating) of a resist (for example, a photoresist) is performed by controlling the rotation of a rotating roll provided in a plurality of stages and a coating roll by a roll control unit.

In a conventional resist coater, first, a rotating roll is rotated in a container for storing the resist, and the resist is lifted by utilizing the viscosity of the resist so that the resist is kept around the coating roll. Then, at the same time when the material to be applied passes near the rotating application roll,
A resist is to be applied.

Conventionally, the thickness of a resist applied to a material to be coated is controlled by changing the number of rotations of a rotating roll and a coating roll by a roll control unit to control the amount of resist lifted to the coating roll. It was done.

In the case of applying the resist thickly, the rotation speed of the roll is increased to increase the amount of the resist lifted to the application roll. When making the roll thinner, the rotational speed of the roll is made slower.

[0007]

The viscosity of a resist changes due to various factors in the environment in which it is used. Since the conventional resist coater uses the viscosity of the resist for application as described above, the thickness of the resist becomes non-uniform if there is a difference in the viscosity.

In the conventional resist coater, the viscosity of the resist changes due to heat (internal factors) generated by a pump, a baking furnace, and the like in the apparatus, and changes in season and outside temperature (external factors). At present, no measure has been taken against such a change in viscosity, and there has been a problem that the resist may not be uniformly applied.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems, and provides a technique capable of applying a resist to a uniform thickness without being affected by an environment in which the resist is used. It is in.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Among the inventions disclosed in the present invention, typical ones will be briefly described as follows.

(1) A resist coating method in which a resist corresponding to an application amount is lifted from a container in which the resist is stored by a rotating roller, and the lifted resist is coated on a material to be coated by using a coating roller.
The viscosity of the resist is measured, and the number of rotations of the rotation roller and the application roller is controlled according to the change in the viscosity.

(2) In the resist coating method of (1), the number of rotations of the application roller is constant regardless of a change in viscosity of the resist.

(3) In the resist coating method according to (1), the control of the number of rotations of the rotating roller and the application roller may be such that the measured value of the viscosity of the resist indicates a value higher or lower than a predetermined range value. Is determined, if the count value is high in the determination result, the rotation speed of the rotating roller and the application roller is made slower than a predetermined rotation speed, and if the count value is low in the determination result, the rotation roller and the coating The rotation speed of the roller is made faster than a predetermined rotation speed, and when the count value is within a predetermined range as a result of the determination, the rotation roller and the application roller are set to the predetermined rotation speed.

(4) In the resist coating method according to (3), the control for reducing and increasing the number of rotations of the rotating roller and the application roller is performed by determining the number of rotations in proportion to a change in the viscosity of the resist. .

(5) Unwinding means for unwinding the material to be coated with the resist, pretreatment means for performing a pretreatment for applying the resist to the material to be coated, and applying and fixing the resist on the material to be coated In a resist coater provided with a resist forming means for forming a resist by forming the resist, and a winding means for winding a material to be coated on which the resist is formed, the resist forming means comprises a container for storing the resist, and a container A rotation roller for lifting the resist for the amount of application from the coating roller, an application roller for applying the resist lifted by the rotation roller to the material to be applied, a viscosity measuring unit for measuring the viscosity of the resist in the container, and the viscosity Roller rotation speed control means for controlling the rotation speed of the rotating roller and the application roller in accordance with the change in viscosity measured by the measurement means. .

(6) In the resist coater of (5),
The roller rotation speed control means controls the application roller to a constant rotation speed regardless of a change in the viscosity of the resist.

(7) In the resist coater of (5),
The roller rotation speed control means determines whether the measured value of the viscosity of the resist indicates a value higher or lower than a predetermined range value, and a count value is high based on the determination result of the determination means. Means for lowering the number of rotations of the rotating roller and the application roller below a predetermined number of rotations; and, if the determination result of the determination means indicates that the count value is low, the number of rotations of the rotation roller and the application roller is set to a predetermined number Means for speeding up the rotation roller and the application roller when the count value is within a predetermined range as a result of the determination by the determination means.

(8) In the resist coater of (7),
Means for slowing or increasing the number of rotations of the rotating roller and the application roller are determining means for determining the number of rotations in proportion to the change in viscosity of the resist, and the rotating roller and the applying roller at the number of rotations determined by the determining means. And means for controlling

As described above, by changing the number of revolutions of each roller in accordance with the change in the viscosity of the resist, it is possible to apply the resist to a uniform thickness without affecting the environment.

[0020]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A resist coating method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of a resist coater for realizing the resist coating method according to the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, a resist coater 100 of the present embodiment includes a tape unwinding unit 20 for unwinding a TAB tape (hereinafter simply referred to as a tape) 10 as a material to be coated with a resist, A pre-processing section 30 for applying a pre-processing (cleaning, processing for increasing the adhesive strength, etc.) to the tape 10, a coating section 40 for applying a resist to the tape 10, and drying using infrared rays and hot air. Fixing unit (drying oven)
And a tape winding unit 60 for winding the tape 10 on which the resist is formed.

Next, the resist coater 100 of the present embodiment will be described.
The configuration of the coating section 40 will be described in detail.

FIG. 2 shows a resist coater 10 according to this embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a configuration of a coating unit 40 of No. 0;

The coating section 40 of the present embodiment is similar to that of FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, a transport roller for transporting the tape 10, a resist reservoir 42 for storing a resist 41 applied to the tape 10, and a resist 4 in the resist reservoir 42.
Rollers P1 to P3 (in order from P1 become closer to the resist storage container 42) for picking up the resist 41 and the resist 41 picked up by the
Roller C for applying (coating) the resist 4 provided in the resist storage container 42
1. A viscometer 43 for counting the viscosity of No. 1, a roller rotational speed controller 44 for controlling the rotational speeds of the rotating rollers P1 to P3 and the application roller C based on the count values of the viscometer 43, and a resist 41 to be replenished are pooled. And a resist pool 45 from the resist pool 45 to the resist storage container 42.
And a pump 46 for replenishment.

Here, as the viscometer 43 provided in the resist reservoir 42, for example, a vibration type viscometer using a resonance system by ceramic vibration is used. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and another viscometer may be used.

Each of the rotating rollers P1 to P shown in FIG.
3. Both the application rollers C are rotating in the same direction, and the tape 10 is rotated in the opposite direction to the transport direction. However, this is not limited, and a forward rotation may be used.

Next, the operation of the roller speed controller 44 will be described.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the roller rotation speed control unit 44 of this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 3, the operation of the roller rotation speed control unit 44 of the present embodiment is as follows.
The value of the viscosity of the resist 41 counted by the viscometer 43 is obtained (step 301).

Next, the viscosity value falls within a predetermined range (for example,
The range of the average viscosity of the resist at the time of the current work ± α: α is determined by the type of the resist or the film thickness to be applied).
2).

If the result of determination is that the count value is high, the rotation speed of each of the rotation rollers P1 to P3 and the application roller C is made slower than a predetermined rotation speed (step 303).

If the result of determination is that the count value is low, the rotation speed of each of the rotating rollers P1 to P3 and the application roller C is made faster than a predetermined rotation speed (step 304).

If the result of the determination is that the count value is within the predetermined range, each of the rotating rollers P1 to P3 and the application roller C is controlled at a predetermined rotation speed (step 305).

The control of the number of rotations of the rotating rollers P1 to P3 and the application roller C in steps 303 and 304 (faster or slower) is performed according to the change in the viscosity of the resist 41.

Next, the processing in steps 303 and 304 will be described. FIG. 4 shows steps 303 and 304
3 is a flowchart for explaining the processing of FIG.

In steps 303 and 304, as shown in FIG. 4, first, a change (±%) in the viscosity of the resist is calculated based on the average viscosity during the current operation (step 400).

Next, the calculated change in viscosity (±
%), The rotation of the rotation roller P1 closest to the resist storage container 42 is slowed or speeded up (step 40).
1).

Next, the controller waits for one rotation of the rotating roller P1 (step 402), and slows or speeds up the rotation of the rotating roller P2 according to the calculated change in viscosity (step 403).

Next, the controller waits for one rotation of the rotating roller P2 (step 404), and slows or speeds up the rotation of the rotating roller P3 according to the calculated change in viscosity (step 405).

Next, the control waits for one rotation of the rotating roller P3 (step 406), and slows or speeds up the rotation of the application roller C according to the calculated change in viscosity (step 407).

In this embodiment, steps 303,
In the process 304, the number of rotations of each of the rollers P1 to P3 and C is finely controlled (stepless control) in proportion to the change in the viscosity of the resist 41, but the present invention is not necessarily limited to this. The number of rotations of each of the rollers P1 to P3, C is set to a plurality of stages (3, 5 stages, etc.) according to the counted value of the viscosity of the resist
Switching control may be performed.

In this embodiment, all the rollers P1 to P3 and C are controlled in accordance with the change in the viscosity of the resist 41. However, the present invention is not limited to this. When a material is used, the rotation of the application roller C may be controlled at a fixed value without controlling the rotation.

This is because even if the change in the amount of the resist lifted by the one-stage rotary roller due to the change in the viscosity of the resist is small, the amount of the resist 41 to be lifted can be converted into a plurality of (here, three) rotary rollers. The change is greater. The non-uniformity of the conventional film thickness is considered to be caused mainly by the rotating roller portion. For this reason, it is considered that, in particular, in the case of a resist material having a small change in viscosity, it is possible to perform uniform application without controlling the rotation speed of the application roller, which is one step.

As described above, by changing the rotation speed of each roller according to the change in the viscosity of the resist caused by various factors (internal factors and external factors) in the environment in which the resist coater is used, the resist coater can be used. The resist can be applied to a uniform thickness without being affected by the use environment.

(Example 1) Next, a specific example of the above-described resist coating method of the present embodiment is shown in Example 1 and will be described.

In the first embodiment, the tape 1
0, a copper foil of 18 μm / adhesive layer of 12 μm / polyimide substrate of 125 μm was used, and a film thickness of 3.0 μm (error ± 0.
The case of applying a photoresist (AZ-8100: Clariant Japan KK) of 1 μm or less is shown.
The working conditions are as follows.

Conveyance speed of material to be coated: 1.5 m / min Clearance between coating roll C and tape: 95 μm Number of rotations (rpm) of each roll: 8.5 for P1, 6.5 for P2.
5, P3: 8.5, C: 6.5 Forward rotation Average value of resist at the time of current work: 27 cP (30 ° C.),
α = 0 (1) When the viscosity of the resist changes to 28 cP under the above conditions: The fact that the viscosity increased by 1 cP from 27 cP means that the change in the viscosity is about 4% higher than the average value of the resist at the time of the current work. It is now.

At this time, in order to apply the photoresist to a uniform thickness, the rotation speeds of the rotation rollers P1 to P3 and the rotation speed of the application roller C are respectively slowed down (about 4%) by the roller rotation speed control unit 44. Is controlled as follows. That is, the rotation speed of P1 is approximately 8.2 (rpm), the rotation speed of P2 is approximately 6.2 (rpm), the rotation speed of P3 is approximately 8.2 (rpm),
The rotation speed of C is about 6.2 (rpm).

(2) Under the above conditions, the viscosity of the resist becomes 2
When changed to 6.5 cP: viscosity is 0.5 from 27 cP
The decrease in cP means that the change in viscosity was about 2% lower than the average value of the resist at the time of the current operation.

At this time, in order to apply the photoresist to a uniform thickness, the rotation speed of the rotation rollers P1 to P3 and the rotation speed of the application roller C are respectively increased by the change amount (about 2%) by the roller rotation speed control unit 44. Is controlled as follows. That is, the rotation speed of P1 is 8.7 (rpm), the rotation speed of P2 is 6.6 (rpm), the rotation speed of P3 is 8.7 (rpm), and the rotation speed of C is 6.6 (rpm). Become.

As shown in (1) and (2), by controlling each roller according to the change in the viscosity of the resist, it becomes possible to apply the resist to a uniform thickness.

As described above, the invention made by the present inventor is:
Although specifically described based on the embodiment, the present invention
It is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be variously modified without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0054]

The effects obtained by the representative inventions among the inventions disclosed in the present invention will be briefly described.
It is as follows.

The use environment of the resist coater is affected by changing the number of revolutions of each roller in accordance with the change in the viscosity of the resist caused by various factors (internal factors, external factors) in the environment in which the resist coater is used. It is possible to apply the resist to a uniform thickness without the need.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a configuration of a resist coater that realizes a resist coating method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a coating unit of the resist coater according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a roller rotation speed control unit according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining processing of steps 303 and 304 shown in FIG. 3;

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 tape 20 tape unwinding unit 30 pretreatment unit 40 coating unit 41 resist 42 resist storage container 43 viscometer 44 roller rotation speed control unit 50 resist fixing unit 60 tape winding unit 100 resist coater

Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Ryoichi Koizumi 3-1-1, Sukekawa-cho, Hitachi-shi, Ibaraki F-term in the electric wire plant of Hitachi Cable, Ltd. (reference) 2H025 AA18 BJ06 EA04 EA10 4D075 AC26 AC72 AC94 AC96 DA03 EA45 4F040 AA22 AB06 AC01 BA24 DA07 DA15 5F046 JA01 JA19

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A resist coating method comprising: lifting a resist for a coating amount from a container storing the resist by a rotating roller; and coating the lifted resist on a material to be coated using a coating roller. A method of coating a resist, comprising measuring the viscosity of the resist and controlling the number of rotations of a rotating roller and an application roller according to the change in the viscosity. 2. The resist coating method according to claim 1, wherein said application roller has a constant rotation speed irrespective of a change in viscosity of the resist. 3. The resist coating method according to claim 1, wherein the control of the number of rotations of the rotating roller and the application roller includes determining whether the measured value of the viscosity of the resist indicates a value higher than a predetermined range value. Judge whether it shows a low value,
When the count value is high in the determination result, the rotation speed of the rotating roller and the application roller is made slower than a predetermined rotation speed, and when the count value is low in the determination result, the rotation speed of the rotation roller and the application roller is set to the predetermined rotation speed. A method of coating a resist, wherein the rotation speed is higher than the rotation speed, and when the count value is within a predetermined range as a result of the determination, the rotation roller and the application roller are set to a predetermined rotation speed. 4. The resist coating method according to claim 3, wherein the control for reducing and increasing the number of rotations of the rotating roller and the application roller is performed by determining a number of rotations proportional to a change in the viscosity of the resist. A method of coating a resist, which is performed. 5. An unwinding means for unwinding a material to be coated with a resist, a pretreatment means for performing a pretreatment for coating the resist on the material to be coated, and applying and fixing the resist on the material to be coated. In a resist coater comprising a resist forming means for forming a resist by means of a resist, and a winding means for winding up the material to be coated on which the resist is formed, the resist forming means comprises a container for storing the resist, and a container for storing the resist. A rotating roller for lifting the resist corresponding to the amount of application, an application roller for applying the resist lifted by the rotating roller to a material to be applied, a viscosity measuring unit for measuring the viscosity of the resist in the container, and the viscosity measurement Roller rotation speed control means for controlling the rotation speed of the rotating roller and the application roller in accordance with the change in viscosity measured by the means. Resist coater, characterized. 6. A resist coater according to claim 5, wherein said roller rotation speed control means controls said application roller to a constant rotation speed regardless of a change in viscosity of the resist. 7. The resist coater according to claim 5, wherein said roller rotation speed control means determines whether said measured viscosity value of said resist indicates a value higher or lower than a predetermined range value. Determining means for determining whether the count value is high in the determination result of the determining means, a means for lowering the rotation speed of the rotating roller and the application roller below a predetermined number of rotations, and the count value is low in the determination result of the determining means. In the case, means for increasing the number of rotations of the rotating roller and the application roller faster than a predetermined number of rotations, and when the count value is within a predetermined range according to the determination result of the determination means, the rotation roller and the application roller are set to a predetermined number. A resist coater comprising: means for setting the number of rotations. 8. The resist coater according to claim 7, wherein the number of rotations of the rotating roller and the application roller is reduced.
Or the speeding up means, comprising a determining means for determining the number of rotations in proportion to the change in viscosity of the resist, and means for controlling the rotating roller and the application roller at the number of rotations determined by the determining means. Resist coater.