JP2003161578A - Substrate dryer and substrate drying method using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an energy-efficient substrate dryer that dries a substrate efficiently by reducing air consumption, and also to provide a drying method using the device. <P>SOLUTION: A prismatic air knife nozzle 4 for blowing air over a surface 2a of a substrate 2 is arranged with a longitudinal direction slantingly crossing a substrate feed direction. The air knife nozzle 4 is divided into a first and a second air jet chamber 4c and 4d, and flow controllers 6a and 6b are disposed to control air quantities jetted by the first and second air jet chambers 4c and 4d. When the second air jet chamber 4d faces a trailing corner 2c of the substrate 2, the flow controllers 6a and 6b increase the air quantity for a blow jetted by the second air jet chamber 4d and stop an air jet by the first air jet chamber 4c. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

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 drying a substrate after a wet treatment such as cleaning using an air knife and a drying method using the same, and particularly, to effectively suppress air consumption. The present invention relates to a substrate drying device capable of efficiently drying a substrate and a drying method using the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a manufacturing line for liquid crystal devices and the like, a wet process such as cleaning is performed a plurality of times in a photolithography process or the like, and water draining or drying of a substrate is repeated every time the wet process is performed. . There are various methods for draining and drying, and as a method for continuously performing the wet treatment and the drying step while the substrate is conveyed on the line, there is a substrate drying method using the following air knife.

FIG. 15 shows a plan view of a conventional substrate drying apparatus. 16 is a sectional view taken along line 15-15 in FIG.

In a conventional substrate drying method using an air knife, a substrate drying device 50 as shown in FIGS. 15 and 16 is used. The substrate drying apparatus 50 includes a chamber 50
In the inside of a, the carrying rollers 52 for carrying while carrying both end sides of the substrate 51 are arranged in parallel.
2 is driven by a motor 53 provided outside the chamber 50a to move the substrate 51 after the wet processing to the chamber 50a.
Transport it inside.

In addition, the chamber 50 of the substrate drying apparatus 50
As shown in FIG. 16, air knife nozzles 54 are provided on the surface a of the substrate 51 so as to face each surface 51a of the substrate 51 while being separated from the substrate surface 51a by a predetermined height. The air knife nozzle 54 has a prismatic shape, and
As shown in FIG. 5, the longitudinal direction (E direction in the drawing) is along an oblique direction intersecting the conveyance direction of the substrate 51 (x direction in the drawing) at a predetermined angle y, that is, the z direction in the drawing. It is distributed. The air knife nozzle 54 has a slit 54a formed at its tip along the longitudinal direction.
4a faces the substrate surface 51a.

In the conventional substrate drying apparatus 50 having such a structure, the air 56 jetted from the slit 54a of the air knife nozzle 54 is jetted to the substrate surface 51a where the liquid 55 after the wet treatment remains, thereby the liquid 5
5 is scattered and the surface 51a of the substrate 51 is dried.

[0007]

By the way, in the conventional substrate drying apparatus 50 described above, as shown in FIG. 15, the air knife nozzle 54 is provided with the substrate 51 in order to make the liquid 55 on the substrate 51 run out better. Are arranged in a diagonal direction z with respect to the conveyance direction x. That is, the air knife nozzle 54
By arranging in the diagonal direction z, the moving distance of the liquid 55 facing the vicinity of both ends of the air knife nozzle 54 becomes short, so that the substrate 51 can be effectively dried. At this time,
The liquid 55 on the substrate surface 51a is transferred to the air knife nozzle 54
Because of the air 56 from the
The liquid 55 which moves along the direction orthogonal to the oblique direction z in which the air knife nozzle 54 is arranged and which is not scattered to the outside of the surface of the substrate 51 is finally concentrated on the corner portion 51b which is the last end of drying of the substrate 51.

Therefore, when the substrate drying apparatus 50 is actually used, the liquid 55 remaining on the corners 51b is scattered to surely dry the substrate 51, and the liquid 55 on the corners 51b and the substrate surface are surely dried. Since it is necessary to eject an air ejection force larger than the force acting between the 51a, the surface 51 of the substrate 51
In a, the flow rate A [l / min], for example, 200 [l
/ Min] (when the slit size is 538 x 0.1 mm), the flow rate B [l / min] (A ∠B), for example 400 [l / mi
n] of air was sprayed onto the entire surface 51a of the substrate 51.

As described above, in the conventional substrate drying apparatus 50 using the air knife, the liquid 55 at the corner 51b of the substrate 51 is used.
To scatter the remainder and completely dry the surface of the substrate 51, a much larger amount of air is blown toward the entire surface 51a of the substrate 51 than the amount of air required to dry the inside of the surface 51a of the substrate 51. It was attached and was consuming unnecessary air.

Therefore, the present invention has been proposed in view of such a conventional situation, and a substrate drying apparatus excellent in energy efficiency, which is capable of efficiently drying a substrate while suppressing air consumption, and It is intended to provide a drying method using the same.

[0011]

A substrate drying apparatus according to the present invention completed in order to achieve the above-mentioned object, is a substrate carrying means for carrying a substrate having a liquid adhered to its surface, and a substrate carrying means for carrying the substrate. An air knife nozzle that is arranged to face the substrate and sprays air onto the surface of the substrate to dry the substrate; and an air amount control means that controls the amount of air jetted from the air knife nozzle. It is divided into a plurality of air ejection chambers facing the substrate surface, and the air amount control means adjusts the amount of air ejected from each air ejection chamber in accordance with the relative position of the air knife nozzle to the conveyed substrate. It is characterized by that. With this configuration,
The amount of air from multiple air injection chambers can be adjusted individually, and the optimal amount of air can be jetted onto the substrate surface according to the relative position of the air knife nozzle with respect to the substrate. Can be dried.

Specifically, the air knife nozzle has a columnar shape and is arranged so that its longitudinal direction intersects with the substrate transport direction at an angle, and the plurality of air injection chambers face the surface of the substrate. Each of them is provided with an air ejection port, and the plurality of air ejection ports are arranged side by side in the longitudinal direction of the air knife nozzle. When facing any of the air injection ports of the chamber, the air amount control means increases only the air injected from the air injection chamber facing the corner so that the liquid remaining in the corner is scattered. It is preferable. With this configuration, the increased air flow rate is applied only to the rear corners of the substrate that require a higher air flow rate, and the in-plane surface of the substrate that does not require a high air flow rate is injected. However, since an appropriate amount of air is sprayed, and the amount of air sprayed onto the substrate can be locally adjusted, the air consumption can be effectively suppressed.

At this time, it is more preferable that air injection is stopped by the air amount control means from the air injection chamber that does not face the above-mentioned corner portion of the substrate. With this configuration, air is ejected only from the air ejection chamber facing the rear corner of the substrate, so that unnecessary air ejection can be suppressed more effectively.

Further, it is preferable that the air injection control is stopped by the air amount control means from the air injection chamber separated from the position facing the substrate surface while the substrate is being conveyed.
As a result, not only the rear corners of the substrate, but also the air is not ejected from the air ejection chamber that does not face the substrate surface during the process from the start to the end of the substrate drying, so that the air can be used effectively and the air consumption can be reduced. The amount can be suppressed very effectively and energy efficiency can be improved.

Here, it is preferable that the air amount control means has a plurality of air supply valves connected to each of the plurality of air injection chambers. This facilitates switching of air injection in each air injection chamber.

Further, the plurality of air injection chambers are formed by being divided by partition plates arranged inside the air knife nozzle along the longitudinal direction of the air knife nozzle, and the partition plates are made movable and conveyed. The volume of the air ejecting chamber facing the substrate can be adjusted by moving in accordance with the area facing the substrate, and the amount of air ejected from the air ejecting chamber facing the substrate is controlled by the air amount control means. It is also preferable that the area is variable according to the facing area. With such a configuration, the size of the air ejection chamber facing the substrate is changed according to the region facing the substrate by the partition plate, and the optimum size according to the region facing the substrate from the air ejection chamber. Since it is possible to inject a large amount of air, it is possible to more accurately adjust and inject the optimal amount of air, and it is possible to make more effective use of air and to minimize air consumption.

A sensor for detecting the relative position of the air knife nozzle with respect to the substrate is preferably provided at a predetermined position with respect to the air knife nozzle. This allows the air amount control means to adjust the amount of air from each air injection chamber based on the information on the relative positional relationship between the air knife nozzle and the substrate detected by the sensor.

Further, a substrate drying method according to the present invention completed to achieve the above-mentioned object is a substrate drying method using the above-mentioned substrate drying apparatus, and is provided on each substrate facing surface of a plurality of air jet chambers. The air knife nozzles are arranged so as to face the substrate so that the plurality of air ejection ports are arranged in a direction intersecting with the substrate transport direction while being inclined, and the substrate is transported by the substrate transport means. When the plurality of air ejection chambers face each other on the surface of the substrate during the transportation of, the air is ejected from each of the plurality of air ejection chambers in an amount necessary to splash the liquid on the substrate surface. Next, when one of the plurality of air ejection chambers faces the rear corner that is the rearmost end of the substrate during transport of the substrate and the remaining air ejection chambers deviate from the positions facing the substrate surface, The air amount control means increases the amount of air injected from the air injection chamber facing the rear corner portion so as to scatter the liquid remaining in the rear corner portion, and stops the air injection from the remaining air injection chambers. It is characterized by that. By adopting such a substrate drying method, an appropriate amount of air is blown to the surface of the substrate that does not require a large amount of air flow, and then one of the plurality of air injection chambers is used When facing the rear corner, the air with the increased air flow is sprayed only to the rear corner of the substrate that requires a higher air flow rate, and the air is ejected from the air injection chamber that does not face the substrate. Since air is not injected, the air consumption can be effectively suppressed.

At the same time, when the substrate is started to be conveyed, one of the plurality of air ejection chambers faces the front corner of the substrate, which is the frontmost portion of the substrate, and the remaining air ejection chambers face the substrate surface. When ejected from the position facing the front corner, the air injection chamber facing the front corner injects the amount of air required to disperse the liquid on the front corner, and the air is ejected from the remaining air injection chambers. Is more preferably stopped. By adopting such a drying method, air is not ejected not only from the rear corner portion of the substrate but also from the air ejection chamber that does not face the substrate surface during the process from the start to the end of drying of the substrate. The substrate can be effectively used, the air consumption can be suppressed more effectively, and the substrate can be efficiently dried.

On the other hand, another substrate drying method according to the present invention completed to achieve the above-mentioned object is a substrate drying method for drying a substrate by using the above-mentioned substrate drying apparatus, and a partition plate can be moved. The substrate is transported by the substrate transporting means, and the partition plate is moved according to the region facing the transported substrate while the substrate is being transported to adjust the volume of the air jet chamber facing the substrate. The air amount control means changes the amount of air ejected from the air ejection chamber according to the area facing the substrate, and ejects air from the air ejection chamber. By adopting such a substrate drying method, the size of the air jet chamber facing the substrate is changed according to the region facing the substrate by the partition plate, and the size of the air jet chamber is adjusted according to the face facing region from the air jet chamber. Since the optimal amount of air is ejected, the optimal amount of air can be more precisely adjusted and ejected onto the substrate, and the amount of air consumption can be minimized.

[0021]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A first embodiment of a substrate drying apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a substrate drying apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the air knife nozzle when the substrate drying apparatus according to the present embodiment is viewed from the direction of arrow C in FIG. FIG. 3 shows line 3-- in FIG.
3 is a sectional view taken along line 3. FIG.

The substrate drying apparatus of the present invention is provided, for example, in a subsequent stage of a cleaning stage in a series of production lines such as a photolithography process, and the substrate after the wet processing such as cleaning is performed in the cleaning stage is an apparatus. It is one which is continuously dried while being conveyed on the inner line.

In the substrate drying apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of substrates 2 transported from the cleaning stage are supported while being transported into the chamber 1a. The transport roller units 3 are arranged side by side. These transport roller portions 3 are driven by a motor 1b provided on the outer side surface of the chamber 1a, and the substrate 2 after the wet processing is driven.
Are carried into the chamber 1a.

Further, in the chamber 1a of the substrate drying apparatus 1, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, there is provided an air knife nozzle 4 opposed to the substrate surface 2a while being separated from the substrate surface 2a by a predetermined height. Has been. The air knife nozzle 4 has a prismatic shape and its longitudinal direction (F direction in the drawing).
Are arranged so as to extend along a diagonal direction that intersects the conveyance direction of the substrate 2 (X direction in the drawing) at a predetermined angle Y, that is, the Z direction in the drawing. Although the air knife nozzles 4 are generally arranged on both sides of the substrate 2, only the upper surface side will be described below.

In particular, the air knife nozzle 4 in this embodiment is integrally formed with a partition plate 4b which is arranged in parallel with the side surface 4a in the center of the inside, and is divided into two substantially evenly by the partition plate 4b. An injection chamber 4c and a second air injection chamber 4d are formed. The partition plate 4b need not be located at the center of the air knife nozzle 4,
Further, the air knife nozzle 4 may not be integrally formed but may be a separate body. Further, a plurality of partition plates 4b may be arranged to form three or more air injection chambers.

At the tip of the air knife nozzle 4, there is provided a slit-shaped air ejection port 4e formed along the longitudinal direction F, and this air ejection port 4e is conveyed to the substrate 2 to be conveyed.
Are arranged face-to-face with the substrate 2 in the diagonal direction Z. In particular,
The air injection port 4e in the present embodiment includes the first air injection port 4e1 and the second air injection port 4e by the partition plate 4b.
It is divided into two, and these first and second air injection ports 4e
1, 4e2 are respectively the first and second air injection chambers 4c, 4
assigned to each of the d. Although the air injection port 4e is slit-shaped in the present embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this, and a plurality of small holes may be formed in parallel along the longitudinal direction F. Also at this time, the partition plate 4
It suffices that the plurality of small holes be divided into two groups by b and be assigned to the air injection chambers 4c and 4d.

An air supply pipe 5a is connected to one side surface of the first air injection chamber 4c for supplying air supplied from a compressor (not shown) in a pressurized state into the first air injection chamber 4c. ing. Then, the first air injection chamber 4c
A flow rate controller 6a for controlling the flow rate of the air supplied into the first air injection chamber 4c via the air supply pipe 5a is arranged between the compressors (not shown). here,
The flow rate controller 6a preferably has a normally used air supply valve, and more preferably,
An air supply valve that can be automatically opened and closed is good. And by having this air supply valve, switching of air injection becomes easy. Such a first air injection chamber 4c
The amount of air to be injected is adjusted by the flow rate controller 6a so that an appropriate amount of air is injected from the first air injection port 4e1.

Similarly, on one side surface of the second air injection chamber 4d, an air supply pipe 5b for supplying the air supplied from the compressor (not shown) in a pressurized state into the second air injection chamber 4d. Are connected. A flow rate controller 6b that controls the flow rate of the air supplied into the second air injection chamber 4d via the air supply pipe 5b is arranged between the second air injection chamber 4d and the compressor (not shown).
The flow rate controller 6b may also have a normally used air supply valve, as in the case of the flow rate controller 6a. Such a second air injection chamber 4d is
The flow rate controller 6b adjusts the amount of air to be jetted so that a proper amount of air is jetted from the second air jet port 4e2.

Further, in the chamber 1a of the substrate drying apparatus 1, the air knife nozzle 4 of the transported substrate 2 is made to face the outer edge portion 4f1 of the side surface 4f of the first air injection chamber 4c on the rear side in the substrate transport direction. A first sensor 7 for detecting the relative position with respect to is arranged. Further, a second sensor 8 for detecting the relative position of the substrate 2 with respect to the air knife nozzle 4 is arranged facing the side surface 4g of the first air injection chamber 4c opposite to the side surface 4f. Similarly, a third sensor 9 for detecting the relative position of the transported substrate 2 to the air knife nozzle 4 is disposed so as to face the side surface 4h of the second air injection chamber 4d on the front side in the substrate transport direction. It

First, second and third sensors 7, 8, 9
In each case, an optical type detector such as a laser or an ultrasonic type detector can be applied. It should be noted that these sensors 7, 8 and 9 may be arranged at the above predetermined positions in the chamber 1a.

Then, by these sensors 7, 8 and 9,
The position of the air knife nozzle 4 with respect to the substrate 2 being conveyed is detected, the flow rate controllers 6a and 6b are operated based on the detected data, and the first and second air ejection chambers 4c and 4d respectively corresponding thereto are operated. The injection air amount is controlled.

The substrate drying apparatus 1 of this embodiment having the above-described structure is used for the substrate 2 after the wet processing as follows.
Is to be dried. 4 to 7 show the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram for explaining a method of drying the substrate 2 using the substrate drying apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of FIG.

First, as shown in FIG. 4, the substrate 2 after the wet processing is carried into the chamber 1a by the carrying roller unit 3 along the carrying direction, that is, the X direction in the drawing. And
When the first sensor 7 senses the substrate 2, the flow rate controller 6a adjusts the optimum flow rate of the pressurized air supplied from the compressor (not shown) into the flow rate controller 6a based on the detection data, and the flow rate is adjusted. The air is jetted from the first air jet port 4e1 of the first air jet chamber 4c to the substrate surface 2a via the air supply pipe 5a. At this time, the flow rate ratio of the air ejected from the first air ejection port 4e1 is the flow rate ratio A / 2 [l / min] necessary for scattering the liquid (droplet) on the front corner portion 2b of the substrate 2. ], For example, 100 [l / min]. Here, since the air is not ejected from the second air ejection chamber 4d which is out of the position facing the substrate 2, unnecessary air ejection is suppressed. In addition, the numerical value of the above specific flow rate is 100 [l
/ Min] is the first and second air ejection ports 4e1, 4e
The slit size of the air injection port 4e that combined 2 is 538
This is the case of × 0.1 mm. Hereinafter, regarding the numerical values of specific flow rate ratios, the air knife nozzle of this slit size is used.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the second sensor 8
When the board 2 is sensed, the flow rate controller 6b similarly adjusts the optimum flow rate of the pressurized air sent from the compressor based on the detected data, and the flow rate-adjusted air moves the air supply pipe 5b. It is jetted from the second air jetting port 4e2 of the second air jetting chamber 4d to the substrate surface 2a. At this time, the flow rate ratio of the air jetted from the second air jet port 4e2 is A / 2 [l / mi which is necessary for splashing the liquid over the half area of the entire surface 2a of the substrate.
n], for example, 100 [l / min]. Here, the 1st and 2nd of the 1st and 2nd injection chamber 4c, 4d
From each of the air injection ports 4e1 and 4e2 of A / 2 [l / m
in], for example, air at a flow rate of 100 [l / min] is ejected, and as a result, when these air ejection amounts are combined, the minimum amount is required to disperse the liquid in the entire substrate surface 2a. Flow rate A [l / min], for example 200
This means that [l / min] of air is sprayed on the substrate surface 2a.

In the conventional substrate drying device 50, the substrate 5 is
Liquid (droplet) 5 remaining on the corner 51b, which is the last end of drying of No. 1
In order to scatter 5, the air having a flow rate B [l / min], which is much larger than the air amount A, for example, 400 [l / min] was sprayed on the entire surface of the substrate 51. on the other hand,
In this embodiment, the substrate transport speed is the same as that of the conventional substrate drying apparatus 5.
If it is assumed that the flow rate is the same as 0, the minimum flow rate ratio A required for liquid scattering on the substrate surface 2a, for example, 200 [l / min]
Will be sprayed on the entire surface 2a. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the air consumption amount can be effectively suppressed.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6, when the second air injection chamber 4d faces the rear corner portion 2c of the substrate 2 and the detection of the second sensor 8 is completed, the detected data is recorded. Based on this, the flow rate controller 6a operates to stop the air injection from the first air injection chamber 4c, and the flow rate controller 6b operates to increase the air flow rate from the second air injection chamber 4d. Flow rate ratio B / 2 [l / min] required to disperse the liquid (droplet) on the rear corner 2c of the substrate 2 from the air ejection port 4e2 of, for example, 200 [l / m
in] is ejected.

In the conventional air knife nozzle 54,
Since the nozzles were not divided, the flow rate ratio B [l / min], for example, 400 [l / m] with respect to the total nozzle length, was used to scatter the liquid (droplet) in the rear corner portion 51b of the substrate 51.
in] was required. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, assuming that the substrate transport speed is the same as that of the conventional substrate drying apparatus 50, air is ejected from the second air ejection chamber 4d having a half nozzle length, so that the air is ejected from the rear corner 2c. In order to make the ejection force per unit length to be as strong as possible in order to scatter liquid (droplets), the required flow rate ratio is B / 2 [l as described above.
/ Min], for example, 200 [l / min]. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the amount of air blown to the rear corner portion 2c can be minimized.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the substrate 2
Since it is possible to locally adjust the amount of air sprayed onto the air, the amount of air consumption can be effectively suppressed. Also,
In this embodiment, it is not necessary to separately provide a nozzle for jetting auxiliary air in order to increase the amount of air jetted only at the rear corner portion 2c, and the amount of air can be adjusted with a simple configuration. Moreover, according to the present embodiment, since the air injection is stopped from the first air injection chamber 4c that does not face the rear corner portion 2c,
Unnecessary air injection can be suppressed more effectively.

Finally, as shown in FIG. 7, when the sensing of the third sensor 9 is completed, the flow rate controller 6b operates based on the detected data and the air from the second air injection chamber 4d is discharged. Injection is stopped. Thus, in this embodiment, the substrate 2 after the wet treatment is dried using the air knife nozzle 4.

As described above, according to the substrate drying method for drying the substrate using the substrate drying apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the first and second air jet chambers 4c, 4 are provided.
The amount of air from d can be individually adjusted by the flow rate controllers 6a and 6b, and an optimal amount of air can be sprayed onto the substrate surface 2a according to the relative position of the air knife nozzle 4 with respect to the substrate 2 to minimize the air consumption. The substrate can be dried efficiently by suppressing it.

More specifically, according to this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, an appropriate amount of air is blown to the entire surface 2a of the substrate 2 which does not require a large amount of air flow, and then, When the second air ejection chamber 4d faces the rear corner 2c of the substrate 2, the flow rate of the air ejected from the second air ejection chamber 4d is increased to generate a strong ejection air. Two
and the rear corner portion 2c of the substrate
Since the air is not ejected from the first air ejection chamber 4c that does not face the above, it is possible to effectively use the air to suppress the air consumption amount and efficiently dry the substrate.

At the same time, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the front corner portion 2 of the substrate 2 is started when the substrate 2 starts to be conveyed.
b to jet air from the first air jet chamber 4c to the liquid in the front corner 2b at a minimum ratio necessary to scatter the liquid (droplets), and stop the air jet from the second air jet chamber 4d. Therefore, air is not ejected from the air ejection chamber that does not face the substrate surface 2a during the entire process from the start to the end of drying of the substrate 2, and the air consumption amount can be suppressed extremely effectively.

Next, a second embodiment of the substrate drying apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a substrate drying apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the air knife nozzle when the substrate drying apparatus according to the present embodiment is viewed in the direction of arrow C in FIG.

Hereinafter, in the substrate drying apparatus 10 according to the second embodiment of the present invention, the transport roller unit 3 as a transport means for transporting the substrate 2 has the same structure as that of the first embodiment.
The description is omitted.

Inside the chamber 10a of the substrate drying apparatus 10, a prismatic air knife nozzle 11 is arranged so as to face the substrate 2 with its longitudinal direction along the diagonal direction Z in FIG. In particular, the air knife nozzle 11 in this embodiment
The first partition plate 12a and the second partition plate 12b, which are arranged parallel to the side surface 11a, are provided inside thereof so as to be movable along the longitudinal direction.

Cylinder mechanisms 13a and 13b made of pistons are attached to the first and second partition plates 12a and 12b from both ends of the air knife nozzle 11, respectively. The cylinder mechanisms 13a and 13b move in parallel to the longitudinal direction of the air knit nozzle 11, that is, in the direction I in the figure, and the first and second partition plates 12a and 12b follow the movement of the cylinder mechanisms 13a and 13b. At this time,
In the air knife nozzle 11, the air injection chamber 11b is formed by being partitioned by the first and second partition plates 12a and 12b.

The cylinder mechanisms 13a and 13b correspond to the area facing the front surface 2a of the substrate 2 to be transported, with respect to the transportation speed of the substrate 2, after the time when a sensor described later faces the substrate 2 is detected. Is controlled by a drive control unit (not shown) so as to move at a predetermined speed. Thereby, the first
The volume of the air injection chamber 11b partitioned by the second partition plates 12a and 12b is adjusted according to the area facing the substrate surface 2a.

At the tip of the air knife nozzle 11,
Air injection slit 11c formed along the longitudinal direction
The air injection slit 11c is also partitioned by the first partition plate 12a and the second partition plate 12b to form the air injection port 11d. The air injection port 11d is assigned to the air injection chamber 11b. The air injection port 11d has a volume changeable air injection chamber 1
With 1b, the opening size is partitioned and changed by the first partition plate 12a and the second partition plate 12b, and a predetermined amount of air is jetted.

On one side of the air knife nozzle 11, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the first air supply pipe 14a, the second air supply pipe 14b, and the third air supply pipe 14c for supplying the pressurized air supplied from the compressor (not shown) into the nozzle are arranged in the longitudinal direction. Are connected in parallel along.

The air injection chamber 1 is provided between the air knife nozzle 11 and the compressor (not shown) via the first, second and third air supply pipes 14a, 14b and 14c.
A flow rate controller 15 that controls the flow rate of air supplied to the inside of 1b is arranged. Here, the flow controller 15
It is preferable that the air supply valve has a normally used air supply valve, and more preferably an air supply valve that can be automatically opened and closed. And by having this air supply valve, switching of air injection becomes easy.

The flow rate controller 15 adjusts the amount of air injected into the air injection chamber 11b, and switches the built-in air supply valve (not shown) so as to control the first, second and third air supply pipes 14a. , 14b, 14c, the optimum air supply pipe is selected, and air is sent into the air injection chamber 11b.

In the chamber 10a of the substrate drying apparatus 10, the relative position of the conveyed substrate 2 to the air knife nozzle 11 is set so as to face the outer edge portion 11a1 of the side surface 11a of the air knife nozzle 11 which is the rear side in the substrate conveying direction. A first sensor 16 for sensing is arranged. Also, a side surface 11e of the air knife nozzle 11 opposite to the side surface 11a.
A second sensor 17 for detecting the relative position of the substrate 2 with respect to the air knife nozzle 11 is arranged facing the. The first and second sensors 16 and 17 may have the same configuration as the sensors 7, 8 and 9 of the first embodiment.

Then, by these sensors 16 and 17,
The position of the air knife nozzle 11 with respect to the transported substrate 2 is detected, and based on the detected data, the flow rate controller 15 causes the first, second and third air supply pipes 14 to operate.
An optimum air supply pipe is selected from a, 14b, and 14c, and the amount of air injected from the air injection chamber 11b is adjusted through the air supply pipe.

The substrate drying apparatus 10 of the present embodiment configured as described above is for drying the substrate after the wet treatment as follows. 10 to 14 show the substrate 2 in the substrate drying device 10 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the method by which is dried.

First, the substrate 2 after the wet treatment is carried into the chamber 10a along the carrying direction X by the carrying roller unit 3. Then, as shown in FIG. 10, when the first sensor 16 senses the substrate 2, the cylinder mechanisms 13a and 13b respectively start moving in the direction I in the figure based on the detected data, and the substrate surface 2a. The partition plate 12 is provided with an air injection chamber 11b having a predetermined size that is matched with the area facing the
a, 12b. At the same time, the flow rate controller 15 selects the first air supply pipe 14a, and the front corner 2b of the substrate surface 2a is connected via this air supply pipe 14a.
The air is injected at an optimum flow rate that fits the area of.

While the substrate 2 continues to be conveyed, the cylinder mechanisms 13a and 13b also move along the partition plates 12a and 12b in the direction I in the drawing at a predetermined speed relative to the substrate conveying speed to move inside the substrate surface 2a. The volume of the air injection chamber 11b is changed according to the area facing each other. At the same time, as shown in FIG. 11, based on the substrate detection by the second sensor 17, the flow rate controller 15 adjusts the air of the optimum flow rate to the area of the facing substrate surface 2a, and this adjustment is performed. Air is injected through the optimum air supply pipe to the air injection chamber 11
Spray from b. At this time, the flow controller 1
5 is for selecting the optimum air supply pipe connected to the air injection chamber 11b from the air supply pipes 14a, 14b, 14c. For example, in the case of FIG. 11, the second air supply pipe 14b is To be selected.

In this way, as shown in FIG. 12, while the substrate 2 is being transported, the volume of the air injection chamber 11b is changed by the movement of the partition plates 12a and 12b in accordance with the area facing the substrate surface 2a. The air is ejected from the air ejection chamber 11b at a flow rate proportionate to the area facing the substrate 2 while the temperature is changed. Here, each partition plate 12a, 12b moves to the outermost part in the air knife nozzle 11, and the air injection chamber 11b
Of the air injection chamber 11 when the entire surface of the substrate faces the substrate surface 2a.
The flow rate ratio injected from b is, for example, A [l / min],
For example, it is set to 200 [l / min].

The air supply pipe of the flow rate controller 15 may be selected as long as the air supply pipe connected to the air injection chamber 11b whose volume is changed is selected. As described above, the plurality of air supply pipes are selected. It is not limited to selecting one air supply pipe from the plurality of air supply pipes.
Of course, a plurality of air supply pipes connected to 1b may be selected.

Then, as shown in FIG. 13, when the sensing of the second sensor 17 is completed, the flow rate controller 15 is activated and the air jetted from the air jet chamber 11b is discharged to the substrate 2
The amount of liquid (droplet) on the rear corner 2c is increased to a flow rate required to be scattered, and the liquid is sprayed through the third air supply pipe 14c.

At this time, the liquid (droplet) on the rear corner 2c
In order to scatter, the flow rate ratio of the air injected from the air injection chamber 11b is adjusted to the following amount. That is,
In the conventional substrate drying apparatus, in order to scatter the liquid (droplets) at the corners of the substrate, air having a flow rate ratio B [l / min], for example 400 [l / min], is used with respect to the total length L of the air knife nozzle. I had to fire it from a nozzle. On the other hand, in the substrate drying apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, in order to scatter the liquid (droplets) at the corners with the same ejection force per unit length as this, the substrate transportation speed is set to the substrate transportation speed of the conventional substrate drying apparatus 50. Assuming that the velocity is the same as the velocity, if the total length of the air knife nozzle in the longitudinal direction is L and the length of the air injection chamber 11b in the longitudinal direction is m, then B × m / L [l / mi
n] (m∠L), for example, 400 × m / L [l / min]
A flow rate of (m∠L) is sufficient, and air consumption is suppressed compared to the conventional case.

Finally, as shown in FIG. 14, when the air knife nozzle 11 moves out of the position facing the substrate 2, the flow rate controller 15 shifts to the adjustment end mode, and the air injection from the air injection chamber 11b is stopped. It More specifically, the flow rate controller 15 stores a program that the substrate 2 conveyed at a predetermined substrate conveyance speed comes to a position where it does not face the air knife nozzle 11 after a predetermined time elapses after detection by the first sensor 16. Not controlled by the drive control unit. Therefore, when the predetermined time has passed, the flow rate controller 15 enters the termination mode. Thus, in this embodiment, the substrate 2 after the wet treatment is dried by using the air knife nozzle 11.

As described above, according to the substrate drying method of drying the substrate using the substrate drying device 10 according to the second embodiment of the present invention, the air injection chamber 11 facing the substrate 2 is provided.
While changing the size of b according to the region facing the substrate 2 by the first and second partition plates 12a and 12b, the optimum air amount corresponding to the facing region from the air injection chamber 11b to the substrate 2 is obtained. Since the air is ejected, it is possible to more accurately adjust the optimal air amount for the substrate 2 and eject the air, and it is possible to minimize the air consumption amount.

[0063]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, the amount of air from a plurality of air injection chambers is individually adjusted,
An optimal amount of air can be sprayed on the substrate surface according to the relative position of the air knife nozzle to the substrate, the amount of air consumption can be effectively suppressed, and the substrate can be dried efficiently, and a substrate drying device with excellent energy efficiency And a drying method using the same.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a substrate drying apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an air knife nozzle of the substrate drying apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 3-3 in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining a step of the drying method in the substrate drying method using the substrate drying apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining one step of the drying method in the substrate drying method using the substrate drying apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram for explaining one step of the drying method in the substrate drying method using the substrate drying apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram for explaining one step of the drying method in the substrate drying method using the substrate drying apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a substrate drying apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing an air knife nozzle of a substrate drying apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram for explaining one step of the drying method in the substrate drying method using the substrate drying apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram for explaining one step of the drying method in the substrate drying method using the substrate drying apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram for explaining one step of the drying method in the substrate drying method using the substrate drying apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram for explaining one step of the drying method in the substrate drying method using the substrate drying apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram for explaining one step of the drying method in the substrate drying method using the substrate drying apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a plan view showing a conventional substrate drying apparatus.

16 shows a cross-sectional view taken along the line 15-15 in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1,10 Substrate drying device 2 substrates 2c rear corner 3 Transport roller section 4,11 Air knife nozzle 4b, 12a, 12b Partition plate 4c First air injection chamber 4d Second air injection chamber 4e, 11d Air injection port 5a, 5b, 14a, 14b, 14c Air supply pipe 6a, 6b, 15 Flow controller 7,8,9,16,17 sensor 50 Substrate drying device 51 substrate 51b corner 54 Air knife nozzle

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) G02F 1/1333 500 G02F 1/1333 500 // H01L 21/304 651 H01L 21/304 651G 651L

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A substrate transfer means for transferring a substrate having a liquid adhered to the surface thereof, and an air knife arranged to face the substrate transferred by the substrate transfer means and for injecting air onto the surface of the substrate to dry the substrate. A nozzle, and an air amount control means for controlling an air injection amount from the air knife nozzle, wherein the air knife nozzle is divided into a plurality of air injection chambers each facing the surface of the substrate, and the air amount A substrate drying apparatus, wherein the control unit adjusts the amount of air ejected from each of the air ejection chambers, according to the relative position of the air knife nozzle with respect to the conveyed substrate. 2. The air knife nozzle has a columnar shape, and is arranged so that its longitudinal direction intersects with the substrate transport direction at an angle, and the plurality of air ejection chambers have a surface of the substrate. Air jet ports are provided to face each other, and the plurality of air jet ports are located side by side in the longitudinal direction of the air knife nozzle, and the corner portion which is the last end of drying of the transported substrate is the plurality of air jet ports. When facing any one of the air ejection ports of the ejection chamber, the air amount control means only ejects the air ejected from the air ejection chamber facing the corner portion to remove the liquid remaining in the corner portion. The substrate drying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the amount is increased so as to be scattered. 3. The substrate drying apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the air injection control unit stops the air injection from the air injection chamber that does not face the corner of the substrate. 4. The substrate drying method according to claim 1, wherein the air injection control is stopped by the air amount control means from the air injection chamber that is out of a position facing the substrate surface. apparatus. 5. The substrate drying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the air amount control means has a plurality of air supply valves connected to each of the plurality of air injection chambers. apparatus. 6. The plurality of air injection chambers are formed by being divided by partition plates arranged inside the air knife nozzle along the longitudinal direction of the air knife nozzle, and the partition plates are movable. The volume of the air ejection chamber facing the substrate can be adjusted by moving according to a region facing the substrate to be conveyed, and the amount of air ejected from the air ejection chamber facing the substrate is
2. The substrate drying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the air amount control means is variable according to a region facing the substrate. 7. A sensor for detecting the relative position of the air knife nozzle with respect to the substrate is provided at a predetermined position with respect to the air knife nozzle. Or a substrate drying apparatus as described above. 8. A substrate drying method using the substrate drying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of air ejection ports provided in each of the plurality of air ejection chambers facing the substrate are arranged in a substrate transfer direction. The air knife nozzles are arranged so as to face the substrate so as to be aligned in a direction intersecting with each other at an angle, and the substrate is transported by the substrate transporting means. When each of the ejection chambers faces each other, an amount of air required to disperse the liquid on the substrate surface is ejected from each of the plurality of air ejection chambers, and then the substrate is conveyed during the transfer of the substrate. When any one of the plurality of air injection chambers faces the rearward corner which is the last end of drying, and the remaining air injection chambers are out of the position where they face the substrate surface, the air amount control means By means of the The air to be injected from the injection chamber,
A method of drying a substrate, characterized in that the amount of liquid remaining in the rear corner portion is increased so as to be scattered, and the air injection from the remaining air injection chamber is stopped. 9. At the start of transporting the substrate, any one of the plurality of air ejection chambers faces a front corner portion of the substrate, which is the frontmost portion of the substrate, and the remaining air ejection chambers face the substrate surface. When it is out of the facing position, it injects an amount of air necessary to disperse the liquid on the front corner from the air injection chamber facing the front corner, and from the remaining air injection chamber. 9. The air injection of is stopped.
The substrate drying method described. 10. A substrate drying method using the substrate drying apparatus according to claim 1 or 6, wherein the partition plate is movably provided, and the substrate is conveyed by the substrate conveying means, and the substrate is conveyed. While moving the partition plate in accordance with the region facing the substrate to be transported, while adjusting the volume of the air injection chamber facing the substrate, by the air amount control means, from the air injection chamber A method for drying a substrate, characterized in that the amount of air to be jetted is changed in accordance with a region facing the substrate, and air is jetted from the air jet chamber.