JP2004153033A - Substrate processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus capable of uniformly supplying processing liquid to a surface of a substrate even when the flow rate of the processing liquid supplied to an end on the high-order side in the tilting direction of the substrate is a little when the substrate is supported slantingly and the processing liquid is supplied to the substrate surface to process the substrate. <P>SOLUTION: The apparatus is provided with a pipe 38 for spraying which is arranged in parallel to the high-order side of the substrate, and has a plurality of discharge holes 40 to the overall length along the length to supply the processing liquid to the end on the high-order side in the slanting direction on the surface of the substrate W supported slantingly to a horizontal surface; and a liquid receiving plate 42 which is arranged right below the pipe for spraying in parallel to it, and receives and spreads uniformly the processing liquid discharged from the discharge holes of the pipe for spraying along the high-order end of the substrate to make the processing liquid flow down to the high-order side end part of the substrate. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device, a glass substrate for a plasma display, a printed substrate, and a processing liquid such as an etching solution, a developing solution, a cleaning solution, and a stripping solution to supply etching, developing, The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus that performs processes such as cleaning and peeling.
[0002]
[Prior art]
For example, when an etching process is performed on a substrate such as a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device, the etching solution is sprayed from a shower nozzle onto the surface of the substrate while the substrate is transported in the horizontal direction while being supported in a horizontal position by a roller conveyor. An etching apparatus described above is generally used. However, when the size of the substrate is increased, in an etching apparatus that supports and transports the substrate in a horizontal posture, the etchant easily stays on the surface of the substrate, and therefore, it is difficult to uniformly etch the entire surface of the substrate. There is such a problem.
[0003]
Therefore, in recent years, an apparatus has been proposed in which the substrate is held in an inclined position, and the etching solution flows down on the surface of the substrate so that the etching solution does not stay on the surface of the substrate. As shown in FIG. 4, the etching apparatus includes a roller conveyor configured by arranging a plurality of transport rollers 1 that are inclined and supported with respect to a horizontal plane in a direction perpendicular to the sheet of paper, and an inclined posture by the roller conveyor. And a slit nozzle 2 disposed above an upper edge of the substrate W supported and transported in the tilt direction. The slit nozzle 2 has a slit-shaped discharge port 3 extending in a horizontal direction (a direction orthogonal to the paper surface) orthogonal to the inclination direction of the substrate W. Then, the etching liquid is supplied from the slit-shaped discharge port 3 of the slit nozzle 2 to the upper edge of the substrate W supported in an inclined posture by the roller conveyor, and the etching liquid supplied to the substrate W It flows down along the slope on the upper side, and flows out from the lower side edge of the substrate W. As described above, by flowing the etching solution along the slope on the surface of the substrate W, the etching solution is supplied uniformly to the entire surface of the substrate W, and the entire surface of the substrate W is uniformly etched (for example, And Patent Document 1.).
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-11-74247 (pages 2-4, FIGS. 1 and 2)
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the etching apparatus having the configuration shown in FIG. 4, when the discharge flow rate of the etching liquid from the slit nozzle 2 is sufficiently large, the etching liquid 4 flowing out of the slit-shaped discharge port 3 as shown in FIG. Is supplied to the surface of the substrate W in the form of a strip. However, when the discharge flow rate of the etching liquid from the slit nozzle 2 decreases, liquid cracks occur in the etching liquid 4 flowing out of the slit discharge port 3 as shown in FIG. As a result, there is a problem in that the etchant is not supplied uniformly to the surface of the substrate W, and the uniformity of the etching process cannot be ensured.
[0006]
Such a problem occurs not only in the etching process but also in a process such as development, cleaning, and peeling in which the substrate is processed by supplying the processing liquid to the substrate surface while supporting the substrate in an inclined posture.
[0007]
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and when a substrate is processed by supplying a processing liquid to a substrate surface while supporting the substrate in an inclined position, the upper position of the substrate in the inclination direction is increased. It is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of uniformly supplying the processing liquid to the surface of the substrate even when the flow rate of the processing liquid supplied to the side edge on the side is small.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The invention according to claim 1 is a substrate supporting / transporting means for supporting a rectangular substrate while being inclined with respect to a horizontal plane, and for transporting the substrate in a horizontal direction orthogonal to the inclination direction, and the substrate supporting / transporting means. A processing liquid supply that supplies a processing liquid to an upper edge of the surface of a supported substrate in the direction of its inclination and causes the processing liquid to flow from the upper edge to the lower edge on the substrate surface. Means, the processing liquid supply means is disposed in parallel with the upper side edge of the substrate, and a plurality of discharge ports or slit-shaped discharge ports are formed over the entire length in the length direction. A processing liquid discharging means provided, and a processing liquid discharging means disposed immediately below the processing liquid discharging means in parallel with the processing liquid discharging means and receiving a processing liquid discharged from a discharge port of the processing liquid discharging means, and an upper side edge of the substrate. Spread the processing solution evenly in the direction Wherein the liquid receiving a plate to flow down the process liquid to the upper-side edge portion of the substrate from, in that it has configuration.
[0009]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the substrate processing apparatus of the first aspect, the processing liquid discharging means is formed by forming a plurality of through holes in a pipe at equal intervals in a length direction. And
[0010]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the substrate processing apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the length of the processing liquid supply unit is longer than a dimension of the substrate in the transport direction, and the substrate support / transport unit is provided. The substrate can be reciprocated within the installation range of the processing liquid supply means.
[0011]
In the substrate processing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, the processing liquid discharged from the plurality of discharge ports or the slit-shaped discharge ports of the processing liquid discharge means once flows down onto the liquid receiving plate, and is discharged onto the liquid receiving plate. Is spread evenly in the direction along the upper side edge of the substrate, and then flows down to the upper side edge of the substrate and is supplied to the surface of the substrate, so that it is discharged from the discharge port of the processing liquid discharging means. Even when the flow rate of the processing liquid is small, the processing liquid is uniformly supplied to the surface of the substrate.
[0012]
In the substrate processing apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, even if the processing liquid discharging means has a simple configuration in which a plurality of through holes are formed in the pipe, the processing liquid can be processed on the surface of the substrate by the above-described operation of the liquid receiving plate. The liquid is supplied uniformly.
[0013]
In the substrate processing apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention, the processing liquid is supplied from the processing liquid supply unit onto the surface of the substrate while the substrate is reciprocated within the installation range of the processing liquid supply unit by the substrate supporting / transporting unit. Therefore, the processing liquid is more uniformly and sufficiently supplied to the surface of the substrate.
[0014]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0015]
1 to 3 show one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a side view showing a configuration of a main part of a substrate processing apparatus, for example, an etching apparatus, and FIG. 2 is a component of the etching apparatus. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an etching liquid supply unit, and FIG. 3 is a plan view schematically illustrating a schematic configuration of an etching apparatus.
[0016]
As shown in FIG. 3, the etching apparatus includes a box-shaped processing tank 10 having a substrate carrying-in port 12 and a substrate carrying-out port 14, and for transporting a rectangular substrate W into the processing tank 10. In this example, a roller conveyor 18 in which a plurality of transport rollers 16 are arranged in parallel in the transport direction of the substrate W is provided. Further, an etching liquid supply unit 20 is provided inside the processing bath 10 so as to extend along substantially the entire length of the processing bath 10 in a direction along the transport direction of the substrate W. In addition, a liquid curtain 22 is provided near the substrate carrying-in port 12 of the processing tank 10.
[0017]
The transport roller 16 has a roller shaft 24 as shown in FIG. 1, and the roller shaft 24 rotates while being inclined with respect to a horizontal plane, for example, at an angle of 5 ° to 20 ° with respect to the horizontal plane. It is freely supported (the support mechanism is not shown). A central roller 26 is fixed to the roller shaft 24 at the center, and side rollers 28 and 30 are fixed to both ends, respectively. O-rings 32 for cushioning made of a flexible material such as rubber are fitted on the outer peripheral surfaces of the central roller 26 and the side rollers 28 and 30, respectively. Further, flange portions 34 and 36 are fixed to the roller shaft 24 outside the respective side rollers 28 and 30. The lower surface of the substrate W is supported by the rollers 26, 28, and 30 so that the substrate W is kept in an inclined position, and the lower side edge is brought into contact with the lower flange 34 so as not to slide down. And is supported by a plurality of transport rollers 16.
[0018]
The plurality of transport rollers 16 are rotated forward and backward in synchronization by a drive mechanism (not shown). Then, the substrate W is carried into the processing tank 10 through the substrate carrying-in port 12, supported and transported by the roller conveyor 18, and reciprocated within the processing tank 10 within the installation range of the etching liquid supply unit 20 as necessary. The etching process is performed while the etching is being performed. When the etching process is completed, the substrate is unloaded from the processing tank 10 through the substrate outlet 14.
[0019]
The etching liquid supply unit 20 includes a spray pipe 38 as an etching liquid discharging means, and a liquid receiving plate 42 disposed immediately below and parallel to the spray pipe 38. A plurality of through-holes are formed on the lower surface side of the spray pipe 38 at regular intervals in the length direction, and these through-holes form a discharge port 40 of the etching solution. Although not shown, the spray pipe 38 is connected to the flow path of the etching liquid supply device by piping. The liquid receiving plate 42 receives the etching liquid discharged from the plurality of discharge ports 40 of the spray pipe 38 and spreads the etching liquid evenly in the direction along the upper side edge of the substrate W, and then places the upper surface of the substrate W It has the function of causing the etchant to flow down to the side edges.
[0020]
In the etching apparatus having the above-described configuration, when the substrate W after the development processing is carried into the processing tank 10 through the substrate carrying-in port 12, the substrate W is supported by the roller conveyor 18 in an inclined posture. The etching liquid is supplied from the etching liquid supply unit 20 to the surface of the substrate W during the reciprocating movement in the processing tank 10. The etchant supplied from the etchant supply unit 20 to the upper edge of the substrate W in the tilt direction flows down the surface of the substrate W along the slope, and the etchant is supplied to the entire surface of the substrate W. Then, the substrate W is etched. At this time, in the etching liquid supply unit 20, the etching liquid discharged from the plurality of discharge ports 40 of the spray pipe 38 once flows down onto the liquid receiving plate 42, and the upper end of the substrate W on the liquid receiving plate 42 After being spread evenly in the direction along the side, it flows down to the upper edge of the substrate W and is supplied to the surface of the substrate W. Therefore, even if the flow rate of the etchant discharged from the discharge port 40 of the spray pipe 38 is small, the etchant is uniformly supplied to the surface of the substrate W, and the etching process is performed uniformly. When the etching process of the substrate W is completed, the substrate W is carried out of the processing bath 10 through the substrate outlet 14.
[0021]
In the above-described embodiment, the length of the etching solution supply unit 20 is made longer than the dimension of the substrate W in the transport direction, and the etching solution is supplied while the substrate W is reciprocated in the processing bath 10 by the roller conveyor 18. Although the etching solution is supplied from the supply unit 20 to the surface of the substrate W, the substrate W may be transported in one direction without reciprocating in the processing bath 10. May be shorter than the dimension of the substrate W. Further, the length of the etching liquid supply unit 20 is made equal to the size of the substrate W, and the substrate W carried into the processing tank 10 is temporarily stopped while being supported by the roller conveyor 18, and in that state, the etching liquid supply unit is stopped. The etching liquid may be supplied from 20 to the surface of the substrate W to perform the etching process, and after the etching process is completed, the roller conveyor 18 may be driven again to carry out the substrate W from the processing tank 10.
[0022]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the spray pipe 38 having a simple configuration in which only a plurality of through holes are formed in the pipe is used as the etchant discharging means, but a general spray nozzle is used. May be. Further, a slit nozzle having a slit-shaped discharge port may be used. Further, the spray pipe 38 and the spray nozzle or the shower nozzle may be used in combination.
[0023]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the present invention has been described by taking an etching apparatus as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to the etching apparatus, and supports the substrate in an inclined posture and supplies a processing liquid to the substrate surface to process the substrate. , Such as a developing device, a cleaning device, and a peeling device.
[0024]
【The invention's effect】
When the substrate processing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention is used to process a substrate by supporting the substrate in an inclined posture and supplying a processing liquid to the surface of the substrate, an upper edge of the substrate in the inclination direction is provided. Even if the flow rate of the processing liquid supplied to the unit is small, the processing liquid can be uniformly supplied to the surface of the substrate, and therefore, uniformity of the substrate processing can be ensured.
[0025]
In the substrate processing apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, the supply of the processing liquid to the surface of the substrate can be made uniform while simplifying the configuration of the processing liquid discharge unit.
[0026]
In the substrate processing apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention, the processing liquid is supplied from the processing liquid supply unit onto the surface of the substrate while the substrate is reciprocated within the installation range of the processing liquid supply unit by the substrate supporting / transporting unit. Therefore, the processing liquid is more uniformly and sufficiently supplied to the surface of the substrate.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a side view showing an embodiment of the present invention and showing a configuration of a main part of an etching apparatus which is a substrate processing apparatus.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an etching liquid supply unit which is a component of the etching apparatus shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a plan view schematically showing a schematic configuration of an etching apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a side view showing a configuration of a main part of a conventional etching apparatus.
FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a problem in a conventional etching apparatus.
[Explanation of symbols]
W Substrate 10 Processing tank 12 Substrate carrying-in port of processing tank 14 Substrate carrying-out port of processing tank 16 Transport roller 18 Roller conveyor 20 Etching liquid supply unit 24 Roller shaft 26 Central rollers 28, 30 Side rollers 34, 36 Flange 38 Spray Pipe 40 Discharge port 42 Liquid receiving plate

Claims (3)

A substrate supporting / transporting means for supporting the rectangular substrate while being inclined with respect to a horizontal plane, and for transporting the substrate in a horizontal direction orthogonal to the inclination direction,
The processing liquid is supplied to the upper edge of the surface of the substrate supported by the substrate supporting / transporting means in the tilt direction, and the processing liquid is supplied from the upper edge to the lower edge on the substrate surface. Processing liquid supply means for flowing down to the section,
In a substrate processing apparatus provided with
The processing liquid supply means,
A processing liquid discharging means disposed in parallel with the upper side edge of the substrate and formed with a plurality of discharge ports or slit-shaped discharge ports over the entire length in the longitudinal direction,
The processing liquid is disposed immediately below the processing liquid discharging means in parallel with the processing liquid discharging means, and receives the processing liquid discharged from the discharge port of the processing liquid discharging means to evenly distribute the processing liquid in a direction along the upper side edge of the substrate. And a liquid receiving plate for allowing the processing liquid to flow down to the upper edge of the substrate
A substrate processing apparatus characterized by comprising: 2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing liquid discharging means is formed by forming a plurality of through holes in a pipe at regular intervals in a length direction. The length of the processing liquid supply means is made longer than the dimension of the substrate in the transport direction, and the substrate is reciprocated within the installation range of the processing liquid supply means by the substrate supporting / transporting means. Item 3. The substrate processing apparatus according to Item 2.

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