JP2002096038A - Device for treating substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a treating device for preventing the carrying velocity from being fluctuated when a substrate is carried in/away from a treating part. SOLUTION: This treating device has a carrying mechanism 11 for carrying the substrate 1 and the brush treating parts 28, 29 for subjecting the substrate carried by the mechanism 11 to the prescribed treatment. The mechanism 11 has a lower carrying roller 14 to be brought into contact with the undersurface of the substrate and an upper carrying roller 18 which is disposed at the position opposite to the roller 14 and brought into contact with the top surface of the substrate over the whole length of the width direction for interposing/carrying the substrate in cooperation with the roller 14.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for performing processing such as cleaning while transporting a substrate in a predetermined direction.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in a manufacturing process of a liquid crystal display device or a semiconductor device, there is a process that requires cleaning a glass substrate for a liquid crystal or a semiconductor wafer as a substrate with high cleanliness.

[0003] As a method for cleaning such a substrate,
There are a dip method in which multiple substrates are immersed in the cleaning liquid, and a single-wafer method in which the cleaning liquid is sprayed toward the substrate to wash one by one. Recently, high cleanliness has been obtained and cost-effective single-wafer processing The scheme is increasingly adopted.

A brush cleaning apparatus using a roll-shaped cleaning brush is known as one of the single-wafer systems. This brush cleaning device transports a substrate in a predetermined direction by a transport mechanism, and arranges a plurality of cleaning brushes constituting a processing unit, which are rotated while being in contact with the front and back surfaces of the substrate to be cleaned during the transport. By rotating each cleaning brush while supplying the cleaning liquid, the fine particles adhering to the substrate are cleaned and removed.

According to such a brush cleaning device,
Since the bristles of the brush brush the fine particles attached to the substrate, high cleanliness can be obtained. Incidentally, the substrate has a predetermined thickness, and in order to obtain the cleaning action of the cleaning brush, the peripheral speed of the cleaning brush is set to a speed different from the transport speed of the substrate, usually to a high speed, or one of a pair of upper and lower cleaning brushes. Is rotated in the direction opposite to the substrate transport direction.

Therefore, when the entire length in the width direction of the tip of the conveyed substrate comes into contact with the cleaning brush, the thickness of the substrate and one of the pair of cleaning brushes are rotationally driven in the direction opposite to the direction in which the substrate is conveyed. As a result, it may not be able to smoothly enter between the pair of cleaning brushes.

When the pair of cleaning brushes are driven to rotate in the same direction as the substrate transport direction, the substrate is cleaned by the contact force generated by the difference between the substrate transport speed and the peripheral speed of the cleaning brush. When the rear end of the substrate separates from the cleaning brush, an extruding phenomenon occurs in which the substrate is extruded at a speed higher than the transport speed due to the contact force received from the cleaning brush.

[0008] When such a phenomenon occurs, the transfer speed of the substrate becomes inconsistent, so that uneven cleaning may not occur.

Therefore, conventionally, as shown in FIG.
A transport mechanism for transporting the substrate 1 is provided on the lower drive shaft 2.
A lower transport roller 3 that supports both widthwise ends of the lower surface of
An O-ring 5 provided on the upper drive shaft 4 and in contact with both ends in the width direction of the upper surface of the substrate 1 is constituted by an additional roller 6 attached to the outer peripheral surface. It is performed that the sheet is nipped and conveyed.

Thus, when the substrate 1 to be conveyed enters or separates between a pair of cleaning brushes, the substrate 1 can be conveyed at a constant speed by the clamping force of the O-ring 5 of the additional roller 6. .

[0011]

As described above, the substrate 1 conveyed by the conveyance mechanism has the O-ring 5 attached to the roller 6 only on both ends in the width direction of the upper surface as described above.
Is pressed by. Therefore, the upper surface of the substrate 1 and O
Since the contact area with the ring 5 is small and sufficient contact resistance cannot be obtained, a sufficient clamping force cannot be obtained by the additional roller 6, and the substrate 1 may not be transported smoothly.

In order to carry the substrate 1 smoothly, the O-ring 5 may be strongly pressed against the upper surface of the substrate 1 to increase the contact resistance. However, O-ring 5
If the substrate 1 is strongly pressed against the edge of the substrate 1, the load will be locally concentrated on the substrate 1, which may cause cracks or chips at the edge of the substrate 1.

In particular, as the size of the substrate is increased, the transport speed of the substrate 1 when entering or leaving the pair of cleaning brushes is more likely to fluctuate. The pressure must be increased, and as a result, the substrate is liable to crack or chip.

The present invention provides a substrate processing apparatus capable of preventing a load from locally concentrating on a substrate and preventing a transfer speed from greatly changing when the substrate enters or exits the processing section. It is in.

[0015]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a transport mechanism for transporting a substrate, and a processing unit for performing a predetermined process on the substrate transported by the transport mechanism. A lower transport roller that contacts the lower surface of the substrate, and an upper transport roller that is disposed at a position facing the lower transport roller and contacts the entire length of the upper surface of the substrate in the width direction and sandwiches and transports the substrate with the lower transport roller. An apparatus for treating a substrate, comprising:

The invention according to claim 2 is the substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the lower transport roller and the upper transport roller are driven to rotate at the same peripheral speed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the upper transport roller has a pair of brush portions divided left and right at a central portion in the axial direction, and the brush portions are brought into contact with the substrate in the central portion in the width direction of the substrate. 2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate processing apparatus is provided in a reverse spiral shape that rotates in a direction from the to the end.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the processing section includes a lower cleaning brush and an upper cleaning brush for brush cleaning the upper surface and the lower surface of the substrate, and one of the cleaning brushes is arranged in the direction of transport of the substrate. 2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is driven to rotate in a reverse direction.

According to the present invention, since the upper roller is brought into contact with the entire length of the substrate in the width direction, a large contact resistance can be obtained without applying a local concentrated load to the substrate. The substrate can be transported at a constant transport speed without inviting.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 to 4 show a first embodiment of the present invention. This first embodiment shows a brush cleaning device as a processing device, and this brush cleaning device transports a substrate 1 such as a glass substrate for a liquid crystal device in a direction indicated by an arrow A as shown in FIG. 11 As shown in FIG. 3, the transport mechanism 11 is provided with a plurality of lower transport rollers 14 which are arranged at predetermined intervals in the transport direction of the substrate 1 and are rotatably supported on a gantry 12 via bearings 12a. .

The lower transport roller 14 is connected to the lower drive shaft 13
Having. The lower drive shaft 13 is engaged with a plurality of disk-shaped support rollers 15 of a predetermined width dimension for supporting the width direction of the lower surface of the substrate 1 at predetermined intervals, and at both ends in the width direction of the substrate 1. And a pair of pressing rollers 16 having a portion larger in diameter than the support roller 15 for preventing the meandering.

Above the lower transport roller 14, an upper transport roller 18 is provided with the axis parallel to the lower transport roller 14. The upper transport roller 18 is rotatably provided on the gantry 12 via a bearing 12a.
The upper drive shaft 17 is provided with a pair of brush parts 21 and 22 which are divided into right and left parts at the center in the axial direction. Each of the brush portions 21 and 22 has a brush bristles 24 held by a metal holder 23, and is formed by spirally winding the holder 23 around the upper drive shaft 17.

The brush bristles 24 of the pair of brush portions 21 and 22
The winding direction of the upper drive shaft 17 with respect to FIG.
And the winding direction is the center of the substrate 1 in the width direction when the upper drive shaft 17 is rotated and comes into contact with the substrate 1 conveyed in the direction of arrow A. To rotate in the direction from the end to the end.

As a result, the pair of brush portions 21 and 22 of the upper transport roller 18 transport the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate 1 between the support portion 15 and the pressing portion 16 of the lower transport roller 14 over substantially the entire length in the width direction. In addition to the function, it has a function of discharging dust adhering to the upper surface of the substrate 1 and the brush portions 21 and 22 from the center in the width direction of the substrate 1 to both ends and a function of moving the substrate 1 straight. That is, the upper transport roller 1
If the winding direction is the same in the spiral direction over the entire length without dividing the pair 8 into a pair of brush portions 21 and 22, the substrate 1 cannot be moved in the winding direction and moved straight.
By setting the winding direction of the brush bristles 24 of the pair of brush portions 21 and 22 to be opposite, the substrate 1 can be moved straight.

A pair of first driven gears 25a having the same number of teeth meshing with each other are fitted to one ends of the lower drive shaft 13 and the upper drive shaft 17, respectively. Two driven gears 25b are fitted. The second driven gear 25b meshes with a driving gear 27 that is driven to rotate by a first driving source 26. Accordingly, each of the transport rollers 14 and 18 provided on each of the drive shafts 13 and 17 is moved by the first drive source 26 as shown by an arrow in FIG.
, That is, the lower transport roller 14 is driven clockwise, and the upper transport roller 18 is driven counterclockwise at the same peripheral speed.

A first brush cleaning unit 28 and a second brush cleaning unit 29 as processing units are provided at two places in the middle of the transport mechanism 11, respectively. The upper transport roller 14 and the lower transport roller 18 are disposed on the upstream and downstream sides of the brush cleaning units 28 and 29, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 4, each brush cleaning section 28,
29 has a lower drive shaft 31 and an upper drive shaft 32. The lower drive shaft 31 and the upper drive shaft 32 are rotatably supported by the gantry 12 via bearings 12a with their axes parallel in the vertical direction at predetermined intervals.

The lower cleaning brush 3 is provided on each of the drive shafts 31 and 32.
3 and an upper cleaning brush 34 are provided. The pair of drive shafts 1 and 32 are arranged at intervals where the brush bristles 33a and 34a contact each other when the substrate 1 is not present between the cleaning brushes 33 and 34. This state is shown in FIG.

A third driven gear 35 is fitted to one end of each of the drive shafts 31 and 32. A pair of third driven gears 3
5 is a support shaft 3 rotatably supported by the gantry 12 therebetween.
6a is engaged with the intermediate gear 36 fitted to the gear 6a. A fourth driven gear 37 is fitted to the other end of the lower drive shaft 31. The fourth driven gear 37 meshes with a driving gear 39 that is driven to rotate by a second driving source 38.

Thus, when the second drive source 38 operates, the lower cleaning brush 33 and the upper cleaning brush 34 are driven to rotate in different directions with respect to the transport direction of the substrate 1.

In this embodiment, both the lower cleaning brush 33 and the upper cleaning brush 34 of the first brush cleaning section 28 are driven to rotate counterclockwise as indicated by arrows in FIG.
The lower cleaning brush 33 and the upper cleaning brush 34 of the second brush cleaning unit 29 are both driven to rotate clockwise.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 39 denotes a support for rotatably disposed on the upstream side of the first brush cleaning section 28 and on the downstream side of the second brush cleaning section 29 for supporting a substrate to be conveyed. Roller.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, each of the brush cleaning units 28 and 29 is provided with a nozzle body 40 for spraying a processing liquid toward the upper surface and the lower surface of the substrate 1 to be conveyed.

According to the processing apparatus having such a configuration, the substrate 1 is transported in the direction of arrow A with the upper and lower surfaces sandwiched by the lower transport roller 14 and the upper transport roller 18 of the transport mechanism 11. The substrate 1 is transported by the rotational force received in accordance with the rotation direction of the lower cleaning brush 33 and the upper cleaning brush 34 when the substrate 1 enters the first brush cleaning unit 28 and the second cleaning unit 29 or is sent out. The speed may fluctuate greatly.

However, the transport mechanism 11 for transporting the substrate 1 has the lower transport roller 14 and the upper transport roller 18, and the upper transport roller 18 is in contact with the entire upper surface of the substrate 1 in the width direction. That is, the substrate 1 is conveyed with the entire length in the width direction sandwiched between the support portion 15 of the lower conveyance roller 14 and the pair of brush portions 21 and 22 of the upper conveyance roller 18. The substrate 1 is nipped and conveyed with a sufficiently large nipping force because the entire length in the width direction is nipped.

Therefore, when the substrate 1 enters the first and second brush cleaning units 28 and 29 or is sent out from the brush cleaning units 28 and 29, each of the brush cleaning units 2
8 and 29, the support portion 15 and the brush portions 21 and
2 prevents the transfer speed of the substrate 1 from greatly changing due to the holding force caused by the pinching force. That is, the substrate 1 is sent to the brush cleaning units 28 and 29 at a substantially constant transport speed, and is sent out from the brush units 28 and 29.
It is possible to prevent unevenness in cleaning of the substrate 1 in each of the brush portions 28 and 29.

When the substrate 1 is fed into and out of each of the brush portions 28 and 29, a pair of brushes of the upper transport roller 18 is used to obtain a pinching force for transporting the substrate 1 at a constant transport speed. The portions 21 and 22 are brought into contact over the entire length of the substrate 1 in the width direction.

Therefore, a large clamping force (transport force) can be obtained for the entire substrate 1 without increasing the contact force per unit length with the substrate 1. That is, since a large load is not locally applied to the substrate 1 in order to obtain a large clamping force, it is possible to prevent the substrate 1 from being cracked or chipped.

The pair of brush portions 21 and 22 provided on the upper conveying roller 18 are spirals in the opposite direction, and come into contact with the substrate 1 to be conveyed while rotating. Rotate in the direction from to the end.

Therefore, even if dust adheres to the upper surface of the substrate 1 or transfers from the upper surface of the substrate 1 to the brush portions 21 and 22, the dust is transferred to the pair of brush portions 21 and Since the substrate 1 is sent to both ends in the width direction of the substrate 1 along the rotation direction of the substrate 22, it is possible to prevent dust from adhering and remaining on the upper surface of the substrate 1, and
Can go straight.

The pair of cleaning brushes 31 and 32 of each of the brush cleaning units 28 and 29 are driven to rotate in the same rotation direction (the direction opposite to the direction in which the substrate 1 is transported). When 1 is carried out, these brush bristles 33a, 34a are arranged at intervals at which they come into contact.

Therefore, when the substrate 1 is transported from between the pair of cleaning brushes 33 and 34, the cleaning brushes 33 and 3
Since the brush bristles 33a and 34a of the fourth brush rub against each other, dust adhering to these brush bristles can be efficiently removed.

FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 9 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. These embodiments are modifications of the processing unit. The processing unit according to the second embodiment is a jet cleaning in which the cleaning liquid is jetted toward the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate 1 by the high-pressure nozzle 41 toward the upper and lower surfaces. Part 4
The processing unit according to the third embodiment is a draining unit 44 that drains the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate 1 by injecting high-pressure air with a pair of air knives 43.

In these processing units, the transport mechanism 11
Even if the substrate 1 conveyed by the substrate receives the force of the cleaning liquid jetted from the jet cleaning unit 42 or the high-pressure air jetted from the air knife 43, the transfer speed of the substrate 1 can be prevented from greatly changing. 1 can be washed and dried uniformly.

In the first embodiment, a pair of brushes is provided on the upper transport roller of the transport mechanism so that the substrate is sandwiched between the lower transport roller. Instead of the brush portion, a roll-shaped sponge may be provided, and the point is that any structure may be used as long as the entire length in the width direction can be clamped without damaging the substrate.

Although the lower transport roller has a plurality of disk-shaped support rollers provided at predetermined intervals, the lower transport roller may be in the form of a roll contacting the entire lower surface of the substrate in the width direction instead of the disk-shaped support roller. The roller only needs to be able to prevent the substrate from bending downward due to the pressing force received from the upper transport roller.

[0048]

According to the present invention, the upper conveying roller is brought into contact with the entire length of the substrate in the width direction.

As a result, a large contact resistance can be obtained by the lower repelling roller and the upper transport roller without applying a local concentrated load to the substrate, so that the substrate can be brought into contact with the upper transport roller without causing cracking or chipping of the substrate. The sheet can be conveyed at a constant conveying speed while being held between the lower conveying rollers.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of a processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a first brush cleaning unit of the processing apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing a lower transport roller and an upper transport roller.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing a brush cleaning unit.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a jet cleaning unit as a processing unit according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a water draining unit as a processing unit showing Keita according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing a conventional substrate transport structure.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Substrate 11 ... Transport mechanism 14 ... Lower transport roller 18 ... Upper transport roller 21, 22 ... Brush part 28 ... First cleaning brush part 29 ... Second cleaning brush part 33 ... Lower cleaning brush 34 ... Upper cleaning brush

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H01L 21/68 H01L 21/68 A F term (Reference) 3B116 AA02 AB16 BA02 BA08 BA15 BB24 BB25 CC03 3F033 BA01 BB01 BC03 5F031 CA02 CA05 GA53 MA23 PA20

Claims (4)

[Claims] A transport mechanism configured to transport a substrate; and a processing unit configured to perform a predetermined process on the substrate transported by the transport mechanism. The transport mechanism includes a lower transport roller that contacts a lower surface of the substrate; An apparatus for processing a substrate, comprising: an upper transfer roller disposed at a position facing the lower transfer roller and in contact with the entire length of the upper surface of the substrate in the width direction to pinch and transfer the substrate with the lower transfer roller. 2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the lower transport roller and the upper transport roller are driven to rotate at the same peripheral speed. 3. The upper conveying roller has a pair of brush portions divided into right and left portions at a central portion in an axial direction, and these brush portions are moved from a central portion in a width direction of the substrate to an end portion by contact with the substrate. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate processing apparatus is provided in a reverse spiral shape that rotates in a direction toward the substrate. 4. The processing section includes a lower cleaning brush and an upper cleaning brush for brush cleaning the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate, and one of the cleaning brushes rotates in a direction opposite to a transport direction of the substrate. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is driven.
A substrate processing apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims.