JP2002353125A - Substrate treatment apparatus and method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate treatment apparatus that can easily control the thickness of a resist film or the like, without using large-sized nozzles even for a large-sized substrate, and to provide a substrate treatment method. SOLUTION: Even in the case of a large multiple substrate G, A long nozzle 600 nearly half long the one side of the control G and a short nozzle 60b nearly 1/3 long the one side are used by the control of a control section 71 according to production regions, hence uniformly supplying resist for each product region without deteriorating the precision in the nozzle. In addition, variation in the slit of the nozzle, the diameter of a discharge hole, or the like caused by increasing the nozzle can be suppressed, thus making uniform the film thickness of the resist applied to the product region of the substrate G.

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 and a substrate processing method for applying a resist liquid to a glass substrate used for a liquid crystal display (LCD) or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a process of manufacturing an LCD, a photolithography technique similar to that used for manufacturing a semiconductor device is used to form an ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) thin film and an electrode pattern on a glass substrate for an LCD. Used. In the photolithography technique, a photoresist is applied to a glass substrate, exposed, and further developed.

[0003] In a coating step of coating a resist,
For example, a method in which a resist is supplied to the center of a glass substrate and then the substrate is rotated, and the resist is stretched and applied on the substrate by centrifugal force, or a nozzle for discharging the resist is scanned in the vertical and horizontal directions of the rectangular substrate. And a method of applying a resist on the entire surface of the substrate.

However, the method of scanning in the vertical and horizontal directions of the substrate has a problem in that the nozzles reciprocate on the substrate, thereby causing a portion where the discharged resist overlaps, resulting in an uneven coating film thickness. By using a long slit nozzle corresponding to the length of the long side or the short side of the rectangular substrate, it is not necessary to reciprocate on the substrate, and such a problem has been solved.

[0005]

However, in recent years, glass substrates have tended to be large, with each side being 1 m or more.
When applying a resist to such a large-sized substrate, the slit nozzle needs to be long in accordance with the length of one side of the substrate, which may increase the cost.

In addition, when trying to form a long nozzle,
The processing accuracy and the assembly accuracy of the nozzle are reduced.
As a result, the accuracy of controlling the thickness of the resist to be applied may be reduced.

In view of the above circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing apparatus which can easily control a resist film thickness and the like without using a large nozzle even for a large substrate. It is to provide a processing method.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of reducing the amount of resist used.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention is to provide a first elongated elongate processing liquid for supplying a processing liquid onto a substrate while moving relative to the substrate. A nozzle having a length different from the length of the first nozzle;
Supply of the processing liquid by selectively switching between the first nozzle and the second nozzle, which is a long second nozzle for supplying the processing liquid onto the substrate while relatively moving with respect to the substrate; Means for performing the following.

According to such a configuration, for example, the length of the first nozzle is half the length of one side of the substrate, and the length of the second nozzle is one-third the length of one side of the substrate. With this configuration, even if the substrate is a large-sized substrate, the processing liquid can be uniformly supplied to each product region without lowering the nozzle accuracy. For example, since a decrease in nozzle accuracy and a variation due to an increase in size of the nozzle can be suppressed, the film thickness of the processing liquid applied to the product region of the substrate can be made uniform.

Further, for example, even if the processing liquid supply due to the reciprocating operation of the nozzle may overlap in a region other than the product region, since the region is not a product region, the film thickness of this region is larger than the film thickness in the product region. There is no adverse effect when it grows.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the first nozzle and the second nozzle are elongated in the long side direction of the substrate and relatively move in the short side direction of the substrate. .

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the first nozzle and the second nozzle are elongated in the short side direction of the substrate and relatively move in the long side direction of the substrate. .

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the substrate is placed horizontally, and the direction of the long side of the substrate placed as described above is relatively set with respect to the first nozzle and the second nozzle. The apparatus further includes a mounting portion movable in a short side direction.

According to such a configuration, for example, by fixing the first nozzle and the second nozzle and moving the substrate to supply the processing liquid, the nozzle is moved and the nozzle is moved. Also, the discharge state of the processing liquid from the nozzle is stable, and uniformity of the film thickness can be easily ensured. In particular,
Since the shapes of the first nozzle and the second nozzle are long and have a problem of rigidity, it is possible to secure a uniform film thickness by moving the substrate to perform the coating process.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a space is provided below the mounting portion and moves with the mounting portion, and the space is movable in the space relative to the mounting portion. And a standby unit arranged to wait for the first nozzle and the second nozzle.

According to such a configuration, the moving range of the placing section can be ensured without the placing section interfering with the standby section, whereby the footprint can be reduced.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the apparatus further comprises means for moving the first nozzle and the second nozzle away from the standby unit.

According to such a configuration, the substrate is moved in a horizontal plane while the first nozzle and the second nozzle are kept apart from the standby section and raised, that is, without moving the nozzles. The processing liquid can be supplied.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the apparatus further comprises a lifting pin arranged so as to be able to ascend and descend from the space to the mounting portion, and for transferring the substrate to and from the outside.

According to such a configuration, for example, in a coating and developing processing system that continuously performs coating and developing processing, it is possible to transfer a substrate to and from a processing unit other than a coating processing apparatus, and to perform in-line processing. can do.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, at least one of the first nozzle and the second nozzle is provided in a plurality, and the processing is simultaneously performed on the substrate from the plurality of the first nozzles and the second nozzles. A control unit for controlling supply of the liquid is provided.

According to such a configuration, the processing time is, for example, half, and the coating processing time can be reduced. Even in this case, even if the film thickness of the region on the substrate between the nozzles used simultaneously is not uniform,
Since this area is not a product area, there is no adverse effect.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a supply source for supplying the processing liquid to the first nozzle and the second nozzle, and a supply source disposed in the standby section, the first nozzle and the second nozzle
A storage unit for storing the processing liquid discharged from the nozzle to the outside of the mounting unit, and a unit for returning the processing liquid stored in the storage unit to the supply source.

According to such a configuration, the amount of the processing liquid used can be reduced, and the processing liquid can be reused.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the stand-by portion is disposed so as to be movable in a horizontal direction at a position higher than the height position of the stand-by portion, and is located outside the mounting portion from the first nozzle and the second nozzle. A storage unit for storing the processing liquid discharged to the storage unit, a unit for disposing the storage unit at a position immediately above a standby unit when the placement unit moves, and a processing liquid stored in the storage unit. Means for returning to the supply source.

According to such a configuration, for example, the processing liquid is mixed with the solvent by storing and recovering the processing liquid in a storage unit separate from the standby unit in which the solvent such as thinner is stored. Etc. can be avoided.

According to one aspect of the present invention, when the first nozzle or the second nozzle relatively moves out of the mounting section, the first nozzle or the second nozzle Means for stopping the discharge of the processing liquid by the method.

According to such a configuration, the amount of the processing liquid used can be reduced, and the processing liquid can be reused.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the substrate has a long shape in the short side direction of the substrate, and supplies the processing liquid onto the substrate while relatively moving in the long side direction of the substrate. The third nozzle has a length different from the length of the third nozzle and has a long shape in the short side direction of the substrate, and is processed on the substrate while relatively moving in the long side direction of the substrate. The apparatus further includes a fourth nozzle for supplying a liquid, and a unit for selectively switching between the third nozzle and the fourth nozzle to supply the processing liquid.

According to such a configuration, the third nozzle and the fourth nozzle on the short side can be set to be shorter than, for example, the first and second nozzles on the long side.
Further, it is easy to ensure the uniformity of the film thickness.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the length of a first elongated nozzle for supplying a processing liquid onto a substrate while moving relative to the substrate is different from the length of the first nozzle. A second elongated nozzle having a length and supplying a processing liquid onto the substrate while moving relatively to the substrate, wherein the first nozzle and the second nozzle are selectively connected to each other; To supply the processing liquid.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the first nozzle and the second nozzle have a long shape in the long side direction of the substrate and relatively move in the short side direction of the substrate. .

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the substrate has a long shape in the short side direction of the substrate, and supplies the processing liquid onto the substrate while relatively moving in the long side direction of the substrate. The third nozzle has a length different from the length of the third nozzle and has a long shape in the short side direction of the substrate, and is processed on the substrate while relatively moving in the long side direction of the substrate. A fourth nozzle for supplying a liquid is further provided, and the processing liquid is supplied by selectively switching the third nozzle and the fourth nozzle.

Further features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by referring to the accompanying drawings and the description of the embodiments of the present invention.

[0036]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an LCD substrate coating / developing system to which the present invention is applied.

This coating / developing processing system includes a cassette station 1 on which a cassette C accommodating a plurality of substrates G is mounted, and a plurality of processing units for performing a series of processes including resist coating and developing on the substrates G. A processing unit 2 is provided, and an interface unit 3 for transferring a substrate G between the processing unit 2 and an exposure apparatus (not shown). A cassette station 1 and an interface unit 3 are provided at both ends of the processing unit 2, respectively. Are located.

The cassette station 1 includes a transport mechanism 10 for transporting the LCD substrate between the cassette C and the processing section 2. And cassette station 1
, A cassette C is loaded and unloaded. The transport mechanism 10 includes a transport arm 11 that can move on a transport path 10 a provided along the direction in which the cassettes are arranged. The transport arm 11 allows the substrate G to be moved between the cassette C and the processing unit 2.
Is carried out.

The processing section 2 is divided into a front section 2a, a middle section 2b, and a rear section 2c.
2, 13 and 14, and each processing unit is disposed on both sides of these transport paths. Then, relay portions 15 and 16 are provided between them.

The front section 2a has a main transfer device 17 movable along the transfer path 12. On one side of the transfer path 12, two cleaning devices (SCR) 21a and 21b are arranged. On the other side of the transport path 12, an ultraviolet irradiation / cooling unit 25 in which an ultraviolet irradiation device (UV) and a cooling device (COL) are vertically stacked, and two heat treatment devices (HP) are vertically stacked. Heating unit 2
6, and a cooling unit 27 in which two cooling devices (COL) are vertically stacked.

The middle section 2b has a main transfer device 18 movable along the transfer path 13. One side of the transfer path 13 is provided with a resist coating apparatus (CT) 2 according to the present invention.
2. A vacuum drying device (VD) 40 and an edge remover (ER) 23 for removing the resist on the peripheral portion of the substrate G are integrally provided and arranged. Here, after the resist is applied to the substrate G by the resist coating device (CT) 22, the substrate G is conveyed to the reduced-pressure drying device (VD) 40 and dried, and thereafter, the edge portion is removed by the edge remover (ER) 23. A resist removal process is performed. On the other side of the transport path 13, two heating devices (HP)
, A heat treatment / cooling unit 29 in which a heat treatment device (HP) and a cooling treatment device (COL) are vertically overlapped, and an adhesion process for performing a hydrophobic treatment on the substrate surface. An adhesion processing / cooling unit 30 in which a device (AD) and a cooling device (COL) are vertically stacked is arranged.

Further, the rear stage 2c is provided with a main transport device 19 movable along the transport path 14,
On one side, three developing devices (DEV) 24a,
24b and 24c are arranged, and on the other side of the transport path 14, a heat treatment unit 31 in which two heat treatment devices (HP) are vertically stacked, and a heat treatment device (HP)
And a cooling device (COL) are vertically stacked, and two heat treatment / cooling units 32 and 33 are arranged.

The main transporting devices 17, 18, and 19 respectively include an X-axis driving mechanism, a Y-axis driving mechanism in two directions in a horizontal plane,
And a vertical Z-axis drive mechanism.
A rotation drive mechanism that rotates about an axis is provided, and has arms 17a, 18a, and 19a that support the substrate G, respectively.

The processing unit 2 includes cleaning devices (SCR) 21a and 21b, a resist coating device (CT) 22, and developing devices 24a and 24 on one side of the transport path.
b, a liquid supply system unit such as 24c is arranged,
On the other side, only a thermal processing unit such as a heating processing unit or a cooling processing unit is arranged.

Further, a chemical solution supply section 34 is arranged at a portion of the relay sections 15 and 16 on the side where the liquid supply system is arranged, and a space 35 where maintenance is possible is provided.

The interface unit 3 includes an extension 36 for temporarily holding the substrate when transferring the substrate to and from the processing unit 2, and two buffer stages 37 provided on both sides thereof for disposing a buffer cassette.
And a transport mechanism 38 for loading and unloading the substrate G between these and an exposure apparatus (not shown). Transport mechanism 38
Has a transfer arm 39 movable along a transfer path 38a provided along the direction in which the extensions 36 and the buffer stages 37 are arranged. The transfer arm 39 allows the transfer of the substrate G between the processing unit 2 and the exposure apparatus. Done.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a resist coating apparatus (CT) 22 according to the present invention, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are a side view from the Y direction and a side view from the X direction in FIG. .

The resist coating apparatus (CT) 22 has an X-ray stage having a stage 50 on which a glass substrate G is mounted.
It consists of a Y stage. The stage 50 is provided with a mounting table 56 on which the glass substrate G is mounted by a vacuum chuck mechanism (not shown), and a movement which is provided below the mounting table 56 and supports the mounting table 56 via four support columns 62. And a body 63.

An X motor 46 is fixed to a lower portion of the moving body 63, and the X motor 46 is a rail 4 extending in the X direction.
5. The rail 45 is disposed between a Y motor 47 moving along a rail 41 extending in the Y direction and a slider 54 moving along a rail 55 also extending in the Y direction.
Thus, the substrate G mounted on the mounting table moves in the XY horizontal plane.

The X motor 46 and the Y motor 47
Uses, for example, a voice coil or the like, but is not limited thereto, and the stage 50 may be moved by a belt mechanism.

The main carrier 1
A plurality of elevating pins 58 for transferring the substrate G to and from the substrate 8 are provided. As shown in FIG. 4, the lifting pins 58 can be raised and lowered by the lifting motor 51 via a space S between the mounting table 56 and the moving body 63 and a plurality of through holes 56a formed in the mounting table 56. The transfer is performed while the substrate G is lifted from the mounting table 56.

In the center of the resist coating apparatus (CT) 22, two long long nozzles 60a and short nozzles 60b having different lengths for supplying a resist onto the substrate G are provided in a nozzle standby section. 52 is waiting. The nozzle standby section 52 includes a holding member 44 supported by the vertical support 61.
The space S is fixed at substantially the same height position as the space S. The nozzle standby section 52 is in a solvent atmosphere,
The resist attached to the discharge portion of the nozzle is not solidified.

FIGS. 5, 6, and 7 are a front view, a cross-sectional view, and a plan view seen from below showing the long nozzle 60a. The long nozzle 60a has, for example, almost half the length m of the long side of the substrate G (FIG. 2), while the short nozzle 60b
Has, for example, a length approximately one third of the length m of the long side of the substrate G. A slit 67 for discharging a resist is formed below the long nozzle 60a. Not only the nozzle having the slit 67 but also a nozzle having a plurality of holes 81 shown in FIG. 8 may be used as long as it can discharge the resist. The configuration of the short nozzle 60b is the same as the configuration of the long nozzle 60a except for the length.

The long nozzle 60a and the short nozzle 60b
Above these nozzles, hold these nozzles 60a and 60b,
An elevating arm 59 for elevating is arranged, and this elevating operation is performed by a motor 64.
As shown in FIG. 4, the lifting arm 59 can move up and down from the height of the nozzle standby portion 52 to a position higher than the height of the substrate G placed on the loading table 56, as shown in FIG. I have.

The resist supplied from each of the nozzles 60a and 60b is supplied from a resist supply source 72 to a supply pipe 7 respectively.
5 and 76, and valves 77 and 7 for opening and closing supply pipes 75 and 76.
8 are provided. As the resist supply source 72, for example, a resist tank, a bellows pump, or the like is used.

The positioning control of the stage 50 by the X motor 46 and the Y motor 47, and the valves 77 and 78
Is controlled by the control unit 71. The control unit 71 also controls the long nozzle 6 by the elevating arm 59 based on information on a product area of the substrate G described later.
The selection between 0a and the short nozzle 60b is switched.

With this configuration, the stage 50 on which the substrate G is mounted moves in a horizontal plane while the long nozzle 60a or the short nozzle 60b is lifted from the nozzle standby section 52 by the lifting arm 59. A resist is supplied to the G surface.

Next, a series of processing steps of the coating and developing system described above will be described.

Referring to FIG. 1, a substrate G in a cassette C is transported to a processing section 2, and the processing section 2 firstly loads a front stage 2a.
UV irradiation / cooling unit 25 UV irradiation device (U
The surface modification / cleaning process is performed in V), and after that, the unit is cooled by the cooling device (COL), and then scrubber cleaning is performed in the cleaning units (SCR) 21a and 21b.
After being heated and dried by one of the heat treatment apparatuses (HP) arranged in the former stage 2a, it is cooled by one of the cooling units (COL) of the cooling unit 27.

Subsequently, the glass substrate G is conveyed to the middle section 2b, where it is subjected to a hydrophobizing treatment (HMDS treatment) in the upper adhesion processing device (AD) of the unit 30 in order to enhance the fixability of the resist, and to a lower cooling step. After being cooled by the apparatus (COL), the wafer is carried into a resist coating apparatus (CT) 22, where a resist coating process is performed.

When the resist coating process by the resist coating device (CT) 22 is completed, the substrate G is dried by a reduced pressure drying device (VD) 40 and then the edge of the substrate G is removed by an edge remover (ER) 23. Remove the excess resist adhering to the four edges.

Thereafter, a pre-baking process is performed in one of the heat treatment apparatuses (HP) disposed in the middle section 2b, and the unit 2
Cooled by the lower cooling device (COL) of 9 or 30;
It is conveyed from the relay section 16 to the exposure device (not shown) by the main conveyance device 19 via the interface section 3, where a predetermined pattern is exposed. Then, the substrate G is again carried in via the interface unit 3 and, if necessary, is subjected to post-exposure bake processing in one of the heat treatment apparatuses (HP) in the subsequent stage unit 2c, and then to the development processing unit (DEV) 24a , 24b, and 24c.

Development units (DEV) 24a, 24
b and 24c, the processed substrate G is subjected to post-baking in one of the heat treatment devices (HP) in the subsequent stage 2c, and then subjected to a cooling device (COL). ), And is cooled by the main transfer devices 19, 18, 17
Then, the sheet is stored in a predetermined cassette on the cassette station 1 by the transport mechanism 10.

Next, the resist coating apparatus (C
The operation in T) 22 will be described.

When the substrate G is mounted on the mounting table 56, the stage 50 moves to a predetermined start position indicated by a chain line in FIG. Then, as shown in FIG. 9, when a resist is applied to the glass substrate G having two product areas, that is, G1 and G2 indicated by broken lines, for example, the long nozzle 60a is selected and held by the elevating arm 59 to hold the substrate G Is raised and lowered to a position higher than the height position.

Then, as shown, the stage 50 on which the substrate G is placed is placed such that the long nozzles 60a are located at the corresponding positions in the order of →→→ corresponding to the regions G1 and G2.
The resist is applied to the entire surface of the substrate G by the movement of.

Here, when the long nozzle 60a is not located outside the mounting table 56, that is, on the substrate G, the supply of the resist from the long nozzle 60a is stopped by controlling the opening and closing of the valve 77 based on the position control of the stage 50. Like that. As a result, the amount of resist used can be reduced, and energy can be saved.

Further, as shown in FIG.
Similarly, when the resist is applied to the surface, that is, the glass substrates G1 to G4 indicated by the broken lines, the resist is applied to the entire surface of the substrate G in the order of →→→ by the long nozzle 60a.

On the other hand, for example, the glass substrates G1 to G3 indicated by broken lines on three surfaces as shown in FIG.
When applying the resist to the short nozzle 60b, the short nozzle 60b is selected. Then, the stage 50 on which the substrate G is placed is moved so that the short nozzles 60b are positioned at the positions corresponding to the regions G1, G2, and G3 in the order of →→→→→. A resist is applied.

Further, as shown in FIG.
Similarly, when the resist is applied to the surface, that is, the glass substrates G1 to G9 indicated by the broken lines, the resist is applied to the entire surface of the substrate G in the order of →→→→→ by the short nozzle 60b.

Here, for example, when the short nozzle 60b is not located outside the mounting table 56, that is, on the substrate G, the supply of the resist from the short nozzle 60b is stopped by controlling the opening and closing of the valve 78 based on the position control of the stage 50. I try to make it. As a result, the amount of resist used can be reduced, and energy can be saved.

As described above, even if the substrate G is a large-sized substrate having a plurality of substrates, the long nozzle 60a having a length approximately half of one side of the substrate G and the approximately three- Since the short nozzle 60b having a length of one-half is used, the resist can be supplied uniformly for each product area without deteriorating the accuracy of the nozzle. That is, for example, it is possible to suppress variations in the nozzle slit 67 (FIG. 7) and the diameter of the discharge hole 81 (FIG. 8) due to enlargement of the nozzle. The film thickness can be made uniform.

Also, for example, in the region between the product regions G1 and G2 shown in FIG. 9, that is, in the region 80 other than the product region, even if the resist supply by the reciprocating operation of the long nozzle 60a may overlap, Is not a product region, so there is no adverse effect even if the film thickness of this region 80 increases. The same applies to the substrates shown in FIGS.

Further, in the present embodiment, by supplying the resist while fixing the nozzle 60a or 60b, the discharge state of the resist from the nozzle is stabilized and the film thickness can be easily uniformed as compared with the case where the nozzle is moved. Nature can be secured. In particular, since the shapes of the nozzles 60a and 60b are long and have a problem of rigidity, it is possible to make the film thickness uniform by moving the substrate G and performing the coating process.

Further, by providing the space S between the mounting table 56 and the moving body 63 on the stage 50, the moving space can be secured without the stage 50 interfering with the nozzle standby section 52, thereby reducing the footprint. Can be done.

FIG. 13 is a plan view showing a resist coating apparatus according to another embodiment. In FIG. 13, the same components as those in FIG. 2 corresponding to the above embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals.

In this embodiment, in addition to the long nozzle 60a and the short nozzle 60b, a second long nozzle 70a having a length almost half the length n of the short side of the glass substrate G, A second short nozzle 70b having a length substantially one-third of the side length n; and a second short nozzle 70b disposed on the short side of the substrate G.
Is waiting in the nozzle standby unit 53.

With such a configuration, when the resist is applied to the glass substrate G having four product regions, that is, G1 to G4 indicated by broken lines as shown in FIG. A resist is applied to the entire surface of the substrate G in the order of →.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
When the resist is applied to the surface, that is, the glass substrate G1 to G9 indicated by the broken line, the short nozzle 60b is
A resist is applied to the entire surface of the substrate G in the order of →→→→.

When the product area has two or three surfaces, the long nozzle 60a or the short nozzle 60b for the long side is used as described with reference to FIG. 9 or FIG.

As described above, the second long nozzle 70a and the short nozzle 70b of this embodiment are different from the long nozzle 60 on the long side.
Since the length is shorter than the length a and the short nozzle 60b, the uniformity of the film thickness can be further easily ensured.

FIG. 16 is a diagram schematically showing a mechanism for collecting the resist not supplied onto the substrate.

The resist collecting mechanism 90 is provided with a discharge port 86 for discharging the resist to the nozzle standby section 52 or 53. The discharge port 86 is connected to a resist supply source via a valve 89, a pipe 87, a filter 88 and the like. 72.

When the resist is supplied to the substrate G, the resist is discharged to the standby section 52 while the substrate G is moving, even when the nozzle 60a is not at a position directly above the substrate G. When a predetermined number of coating processes of the substrate G are completed, the valve 89 is opened according to a command from the control unit 71 to collect the resist in the resist supply source 72. This can also reduce the amount of resist used, and can reuse the resist.

FIG. 17 is a view schematically showing a resist collecting mechanism according to still another embodiment. In the resist collecting mechanism 91, a container 92 for storing the resist is disposed at a position higher than the height position of the standby section 52 so as to be movable in the horizontal direction. The container 92 is provided with a discharge port 94 for discharging the resist. The discharge port 94 is connected to the resist supply source 72 via a valve 93, a pipe 95, a filter 96, and the like.

When supplying the resist to the substrate G, first, as shown in FIG.
2 and then the substrate G is moved to start the coating process as shown in FIG. Then, as shown in FIG. 4C, even when the nozzle 60a is not at a position directly above the substrate G, the resist is discharged to the container 92 as it is. Then, the coating process is completed, the valve 93 is opened, and the resist contained in the container 92 is collected by the resist supply source.

Thus, the amount of the resist used can be reduced. Further, by storing and collecting the resist in a container 92 different from the standby section 52 in which the solvent such as thinner is stored, adverse effects such as mixing of the resist with the solvent can be avoided.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications are possible.

For example, as shown in FIG. 19, two long nozzles 60a may be prepared and the resist may be supplied from these long nozzles 60a.

Thus, the coating processing time can be reduced to, for example, half, and the processing time can be reduced. Even in this case, even if the film thickness of the region on the substrate between the two nozzles used at the same time is not uniform, there is no adverse effect because the region is not a product region. Similar effects can be obtained by preparing three short nozzles 60b, for example.

In each of the above embodiments, the long nozzle and the two short nozzles are provided. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and three or more nozzles having different lengths are provided, and a finer product area is provided on the substrate. You may make it correspond.

Further, the present invention does not provide the long nozzle 60a and the short nozzle 60b arranged in the long side direction of the substrate, but provides only the long nozzle 70a and the short nozzle 70b arranged in the short side direction of the substrate. Can also be implemented.

Further, in each of the above embodiments, the coating process is performed by fixing the nozzle and moving the glass substrate. However, the process can be performed by fixing the glass substrate and moving each nozzle. Not even.

[0095]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Even for a large substrate, it is possible to precisely control the resist film thickness and the like without using a large nozzle. Further, according to the present invention, the amount of resist used can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an LCD substrate coating / developing processing system to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a resist coating apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view in the Y direction of the resist coating device shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the resist coating apparatus shown in FIG. 2 in the X direction.

FIG. 5 is a side view of a nozzle according to one embodiment.

6 is a sectional view of the nozzle shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the nozzle shown in FIG. 5 as viewed from below.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a nozzle according to another embodiment as viewed from below.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a resist application sequence in the case of two chamfers.

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a resist application sequence in the case of four chamfers.

FIG. 11 is a plan view showing a resist application sequence in the case of three chamfers.

FIG. 12 is a plan view showing a resist application sequence in the case of 9 chamfers.

FIG. 13 is a plan view of a resist coating apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a plan view showing a resist application sequence in the case of four chamfers according to another embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a plan view showing a resist application sequence in the case of 9 chamfers according to another embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram showing a resist collecting mechanism according to one embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a schematic view showing a resist collecting mechanism according to another embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram for explaining the operation of the resist recovery mechanism shown in FIG.

FIG. 19 is a plan view in the case of simultaneously applying by two nozzles.

[Explanation of symbols]

 G ... Glass substrate S ... Space 22 ... Resist coating device 46 ... X motor 47 ... Y motor 50 ... Stage 51 ... Elevation motor 52 ... Nozzle standby unit 53 ... Second nozzle standby unit 56 ... Placement table 58 ... Elevation pin 59 ... Lifting arm 60a, 70a Long nozzle 60b, 70b Short nozzle 64 Motor 71 Control unit 72 Resist supply source 77, 78 Valve 90, 91 Resist collection mechanism 92 Container

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) B05D 7/00 G03F 7/16 501 G03F 7/16 501 H01L 21/30 564C F-term (Reference) 2H025 AA00 AB17 EA04 4D075 AC06 AC84 CA47 DA06 DB13 DC22 DC24 EA45 4F041 AA02 AA06 4F042 AA02 AA07 AB00 CB02 ED05 ED12 5F046 JA02

Claims (16)

[Claims] An elongate first nozzle for supplying a processing liquid onto the substrate while moving relative to the substrate; a first nozzle having a length different from the length of the first nozzle; A long second nozzle for supplying the processing liquid onto the substrate while moving relative to the substrate, and selectively switching between the first nozzle and the second nozzle to supply the processing liquid. A substrate processing apparatus comprising: 2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first nozzle and the second nozzle are elongated in a long side direction of the substrate and are relatively long in a short side direction of the substrate. A substrate processing apparatus, wherein 3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first nozzle and the second nozzle are long in a short side direction of the substrate and are relatively long in a long side direction of the substrate. A substrate processing apparatus, wherein 4. One of claims 1 to 3
In the substrate processing apparatus described in the paragraph, the substrate is placed horizontally, and the substrate is placed in the long side direction and the short side direction relative to the first nozzle and the second nozzle. A substrate processing apparatus further comprising a movable mounting section. 5. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the space is disposed below the placement unit and moves together with the placement unit; and a space in the space relative to the placement unit. A substrate processing apparatus, further comprising: a standby unit movably arranged to wait for the first nozzle and the second nozzle. 6. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising: means for moving the first nozzle and the second nozzle away from the standby unit. 7. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising an elevating pin arranged so as to be able to ascend and descend from the space to the mounting portion, and transferring the substrate to and from the outside. A substrate processing apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. 8. One of claims 1 to 7
In the substrate processing apparatus described in [1], at least one of the first nozzle and the second nozzle is provided in a plurality, and the processing liquid is simultaneously supplied onto the substrate from the plurality of the first nozzles or the second nozzles. A substrate processing apparatus provided with a control unit that performs control as described above. A substrate processing apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. 9. A method according to claim 5, wherein
In the substrate processing apparatus described in the paragraph, a supply source that supplies the processing liquid to the first nozzle and the second nozzle; and a supply source that is disposed in the standby unit and is arranged from the first nozzle and the second nozzle. A substrate processing apparatus, further comprising: a storage unit that stores a processing liquid discharged to the outside of the mounting unit; and a unit that returns the processing liquid stored in the storage unit to the supply source. 10. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the first processing unit is disposed so as to be movable in a horizontal direction at a position higher than a height position of the standby unit. Means for accommodating the processing liquid discharged from the nozzle and the second nozzle to the outside of the mounting section, and means for disposing the storing means at a position immediately above the standby section when the mounting section moves And a means for returning the processing liquid stored in the storage means to the supply source. 11. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first nozzle or the second nozzle relatively moves out of the mounting portion. And a means for stopping the discharge of the processing liquid by the first nozzle or the second nozzle. 12. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the processing liquid has a long shape in a short side direction of the substrate, and applies a processing liquid onto the substrate while relatively moving in a long side direction of the substrate. A third nozzle to be supplied, the third nozzle having a length different from the length of the third nozzle, having a long shape in a short side direction of the substrate, and moving relatively in a long side direction of the substrate. Substrate processing, further comprising: a fourth nozzle for supplying a processing liquid thereon; and means for selectively switching between the third nozzle and the fourth nozzle to supply the processing liquid. apparatus. 13. A long first nozzle for supplying a processing liquid onto a substrate while relatively moving with respect to the substrate, the first nozzle having a length different from the length of the first nozzle, An elongated second nozzle for supplying the processing liquid onto the substrate while relatively moving with respect to the substrate, and selectively switching between the first nozzle and the second nozzle to supply the processing liquid. A substrate processing method, comprising supplying. 14. The substrate processing method according to claim 13, wherein the first nozzle and the second nozzle have a long shape in a long side direction of the substrate, and are relatively long in a short side direction of the substrate. A substrate processing method. 15. The substrate processing method according to claim 13, wherein the first nozzle and the second nozzle have a long shape in a short side direction of the substrate, and are relatively long in a long side direction of the substrate. A substrate processing method. 16. The substrate processing method according to claim 14, wherein the processing liquid has a long shape in a short side direction of the substrate, and moves the processing liquid on the substrate while relatively moving in a long side direction of the substrate. A third nozzle for supplying, the third nozzle having a length different from the length of the third nozzle, having a long shape in a short side direction of the substrate, and moving relatively in a long side direction of the substrate; A substrate processing method, further comprising a fourth nozzle for supplying a processing liquid thereon, wherein the processing liquid is supplied by selectively switching the third nozzle and the fourth nozzle.