JP2006024588A - Substrate stage device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pusher pin that prevents the lower surface of a substrate from being damaged when the pin is abutted with the lower surface for supporting the substrate. <P>SOLUTION: A substrate stage device is provided with vertically moved pusher members 2a and 2b at, at least, five spots of a substrate stage 125 and delivers and receives a substrate 126 to be treated to and from a robot by supporting the peripheral edge section and central part of the substrate 126 by means of the pusher members 2a and 2b. At least one pusher member 2b which supports the central part of the substrate 126 has a fluid blowing-out port 10 which exerts a floating force to the substrate 126, and exerts the floating force to the substrate 126 with a fluid blown out from the port 10. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate stage device, and more particularly to a substrate stage device on which a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device or the like is placed.

  As a conventional substrate processing apparatus, for example, a glass substrate processing apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal panel is known (for example, Patent Document 1). In this type of substrate processing apparatus, as shown in FIG. 8, an unprocessed liquid crystal substrate is carried into a load lock chamber 60 having a rotation drive stage 65, and the liquid crystal substrate is processed by the rotation drive stage 65. In accordance with the process atmosphere of the process chamber 64, the load lock chamber 60 is controlled to a nitrogen atmosphere, an air atmosphere or the like according to the process atmosphere of the process chamber 64, and then the transfer robot 63 provided in the atmosphere-controlled transfer chamber 62 is used. The liquid crystal substrate is carried into a process stage 61 in a process chamber 64 such as a nitrogen atmosphere or an air atmosphere, and the substrate is irradiated with laser light from a laser irradiation unit 66 to perform process processing. Gates 72, 73, and 74 that are opened when the substrates are loaded and unloaded are disposed at the entrances and exits of the liquid crystal substrates in the chambers 60, 62, and 64, respectively.

  In front of the load lock chamber 60, a cassette station 70 including an unprocessed substrate and a cassette 67 for storing processed substrates and a substrate transfer robot 68 is disposed. The cassette 67 accommodates a rectangular unprocessed substrate and a processed substrate as one of the vertical and horizontal directions.

  The substrate transfer robot 68 that transfers the liquid crystal substrate between the cassette 67 and the load lock chamber 60 and the transfer robot 63 that transfers the liquid crystal substrate between the load lock chamber 60 and the process stage 61 are both two substrates. Are equipped with two hands that can be transported simultaneously. Each hand of the substrate transfer robot 68 delivers the substrate between the cassette 67 and the rotation drive stage 65 of the load lock chamber 60 while keeping the direction accommodated in the cassette 67. Each hand of the transfer robot 63 deployed in a nitrogen atmosphere, an air atmosphere, or the like can be placed with the substrate in both vertical and horizontal directions.

  The process stage 61 in the process chamber 64 incorporates an X and Y drive mechanism that enables a rectangular substrate having long and short sides, that is, vertical and horizontal directions, to be fed in both long and short directions, and a rotating θ-axis mechanism.

  Then, the substrate of the cassette 67 is placed on the rotation drive stage 65 of the load lock chamber 60 by the substrate transport robot 68, and the substrate is placed in either the vertical or horizontal direction, and then received by the transport robot 63, and processed. It is placed on the stage 61 and processed while being fed to the liquid crystal substrate by the X, Y drive mechanism. Here, it is necessary to change the substrate mounting direction, and thus the direction of the process applied to the substrate, to a direction different by 90 ° with respect to the substrate loading direction in the cassette 67, depending on the type of thin film such as a semiconductor formed on the substrate, It depends on the application.

  The substrate that has been processed on the process stage 61 is received by the transfer robot 63 and placed on the rotational drive stage 65, and the substrate is set in either the vertical or horizontal direction, and then the cassette 67 is set by the substrate transfer robot 68. Return to. Thus, a number of substrates are processed one after another.

  Such a process stage 61 (substrate stage apparatus) incorporates an X, Y drive mechanism and a θ-axis mechanism. For example, as shown in FIGS. A stage 121, a θ-axis mechanism 122, and a θ-axis stage 123 are provided, and in order to raise and lower the substrate, for example, a first pusher pin raising / lowering driving mechanism 124 shown in FIG. 5 or a second pusher pin raising / lowering driving mechanism 140 shown in FIG. Have one. The X-axis stage 120 and the Y-axis stage 121 have a function of moving the substrate stage 125 on which the substrate 126 is placed through the θ-axis stage 123 in the X and Y directions orthogonal to each other on the semiconductor surface. The θ-axis mechanism 122 has a function of rotating the θ-axis stage 123 and the substrate stage 125 around the central axis, and thus rotating the substrate 126 placed on the substrate stage 125.

  The first pusher pin lifting / lowering drive mechanism 124 (link type) shown in FIG. 5 has a function of moving the substrate 126 up and down with respect to the substrate stage 125 by the lifting device 128 and transferring the substrate 126 by the transfer robot 63. The elevating device 128 moves the lower end of the link member 132 to the left and right in the drawing by a ball screw mechanism 131 that is driven forward and backward by a motor 130 horizontally disposed on the θ-axis stage 123, thereby The arm member 134 is moved up and down along the guide member 133 fixed to the θ-axis stage 123 by the upper end.

  Since a plurality of pusher pins 135 are provided on the arm member 134 so that the substrate stage 125 can be inserted, a pair of pusher pins 135 protrudes from the upper surface of the substrate stage 125 when the arm member 134 is raised, and the substrate 126 is virtually removed. The substrate 126 can be placed on the substrate stage 125 by raising and lowering as indicated by the line. With the substrate 126 raised, the arm of the transfer robot 63 is inserted into the gap above the substrate stage 125, and the substrate 126 is transferred. As shown in FIG. 6, the pusher pins 135 are provided with five (or more) pusher pins 135 at the four corners and one pusher pin 135 at the center.

  The rotation drive stage 65 of the load lock chamber 60 that transfers the substrate using the transfer robot 63 or the substrate transfer robot 68 is also provided with a pusher pin lifting / lowering driving mechanism having the same structure as the pusher pin lifting / lowering driving mechanism 124 (link type). The substrate 126 is moved up and down relative to the substrate stage of the drive stage 65, and the substrate 126 is transferred by the transfer robot 63 or the substrate transfer robot 68.

Further, the second pusher pin drive mechanism 140 (linear motion system) shown in FIG. 7 has a function of moving the substrate 126 up and down with respect to the substrate stage 125 by the lifting device 141 and transferring the substrate 126 by the transfer robot 63. . The lifting device 141 directly lifts and lowers the arm member 144 via a ball screw mechanism 143 by a motor 142 arranged vertically on the θ-axis stage 123. Since a plurality (five or more) of pusher pins 135 are provided on the arm member 144 so as to be able to pass through the substrate stage 125, the pusher pins 135 protrude from the upper surface of the substrate stage 125 when the arm member 144 rises, and the substrate 126 is moved. The substrate 126 can be placed on the substrate stage 125 by being raised and lowered as indicated by a virtual line. With the substrate 126 raised, the arm of the substrate transfer robot 68 is inserted into the gap above the substrate stage 125, and the substrate 126 is transferred.
JP 2002-164407 A

  However, the first and second pusher pin lifting / lowering driving mechanisms 124 and 140 (link method, linear motion method) described above have a structure in which the lower surface of the substrate 126 is abutted and supported by five or more pusher pins 135. Therefore, there is a technical problem that the substrate 126 is easily damaged. In particular, when the large substrate 126 is supported by a small number of pusher pins 135, a problem of damaging the substrate 126 is likely to occur.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional technical problems, and an object of the present invention is to prevent damage by applying a levitation force to a substrate when the substrate is supported by a pusher member. The configuration is as follows.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, pusher members 2a, 2b, and 12b that are driven to move up and down are provided at at least five locations on the substrate stage 125, and the peripheral and central portions of the substrate 126 to be processed are connected to the pusher members 2a, 2b, and 12b. Therefore, in the substrate stage device that supports and exchanges the substrate 126 with the robot,
At least one pusher member 2b, 12b that supports the central portion of the substrate 126 has fluid outlets 10, 12 for applying a levitation force to the substrate 126;
The substrate stage apparatus is characterized in that a floating force is applied to the substrate 126 by the fluid blown out from the fluid outlets 10 and 12.
In the invention of claim 2, the pusher member 2a at the peripheral edge abuts and supports the non-processed area of the substrate 126, and the pusher members 2b and 12b having the fluid outlets 10 and 12 at the center are used for processing the substrate 126. 2. The substrate stage apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the region is abutted and supported.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the at least one pusher member that supports the central portion of the substrate has the fluid outlet for applying a levitation force to the substrate, and is levitated to the substrate by the fluid blown from the fluid outlet. Apply force. Thereby, while preventing the displacement of the substrate by the abutting support by the pusher member at the peripheral portion, the damage of the substrate due to the strong abutting support of the pusher member supporting the central portion of the substrate is effectively suppressed, The remarkable effect that a processed substrate with good quality can be obtained can be obtained.

  According to the second aspect of the invention, the pusher member at the peripheral portion abuts and supports the non-processed region at the peripheral portion of the substrate, and the pusher member having the fluid outlet at the central portion is processed at the central portion of the substrate. Are arranged so as to contact and support. For this reason, the damage of the board | substrate resulting from the contact | abutting support of the pusher member of a peripheral part does not affect the quality of a product.

  A substrate stage apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. The substrate stage device 51 (process stage) includes a θ-axis stage 123 and a substrate stage 125 for processing the substrate 126 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and a pusher member 2 for moving the substrate 126 up and down. (2a, 2b) elevating drive mechanism 1 is provided. The X axis stage 120, the Y axis stage 121, and the θ axis mechanism 122 are not shown. As shown in FIG. 2, the pusher member 2 includes six pusher members 2a (shown in white) at the peripheral portion including the four corners and three pusher members 2b (shown in black) in the central portion. The pusher member 2a at the peripheral edge may have the same structure as the conventional pusher pin 135.

  The arm member 134 is provided with pusher members 2a and 2b, which are a plurality of pusher pins, so that the through holes of the substrate stage 125 can be inserted therethrough. Therefore, a pair of pusher members 2a and 2b formed by raising the arm member 134. Protrudes from the upper surface of the substrate stage 125, and the substrate 126 can be raised to a position indicated by a solid line in FIG. 1 and lowered to place the substrate 126 on the substrate stage 125.

  The pusher member lifting / lowering drive mechanism 1 includes a vertical motor 3 horizontally disposed on the θ-axis stage 123, a pinion 4 attached to the motor shaft of the vertical motor 3, and a rack 5 fixed to the arm member 134. . The pinion 4 is rotated in one direction by the vertical motor 3 to raise the rack 5 and the arm member 134, and the pinion 4 is rotated in the other direction by the vertical motor 3 to rotate the rack 5 and the arm member 134. Is lowered. Therefore, the pusher member raising / lowering drive mechanism 1 has a function of raising and lowering the arm member 134 and thus all the pusher members 2a and 2b by the forward / reverse drive of the vertical motor 3.

  The pusher member 2a at the peripheral portion is disposed so as to abut and support the non-processed region at the peripheral portion of the substrate 126, and the pusher member 2b at the central portion is disposed so as to contact and support the process region at the central portion of the substrate 126. desired. Paying attention to the fact that a non-processed area that is not subjected to the process treatment performed by irradiating the laser beam is present in the periphery of the substrate 126, this non-processed area is abutted and supported by the pusher member 2a at the periphery. As a result, the substrate 126 can be firmly supported without fear of damage due to the contact support of the pusher member 2a, and displacement and dropout of the substrate 126 can be prevented. In addition, the non-process area | region of the board | substrate 126 exists in the four peripheral part of the rectangular-shaped board | substrate 126 with predetermined width (about 5 mm).

  The pusher member 2b that supports the central portion of the substrate 126 includes a fluid outlet 10 that applies a levitation force to the substrate 126 as shown in FIGS. A levitation force can be applied to 126. The levitation force due to the fluid blown out from the fluid outlet 10 may be large enough to cause the substrate 126 to float in a non-contact state, but not less than the extent that the upper end surface of the pusher member 2b contacting the substrate 126 is not damaged. I just need it.

  Specifically, the pusher member 2b is formed of a cylindrical member as shown in FIG. 3, and the lower end of the pusher member 2b is connected to the fluid supply source via the flexible pipe 6 as shown in FIG. 7 is connected. 8 is an on-off valve provided in the pipe 6. In addition, an annular soft member 9 is fixed to the upper end portion of the pusher member 2b so that the substrate 126 is not damaged. The soft member 9 is made of nylon, for example. The upper end opening of the soft member 9 constitutes the fluid outlet 10. The fluid supply source 7 shown in FIG. 1 is adapted to supply nitrogen, but it is also possible to provide air or other gas, or liquid. Note that at least one pusher member 2b that supports the central portion of the substrate 126 may be provided. The soft member 9 is also fixed to the upper end of the pusher member 2a at the peripheral edge.

Next, the operation will be described.
Now, it is assumed that the pusher members 2a and 2b are lowered and the unprocessed substrate 126 is transferred to the position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 1 by the transfer robot 63 shown in FIG. From this state, the pusher members 2a and 2b are raised by the elevating drive mechanism 1, and the lower surface of the substrate 126 is supported by the upper ends of the pusher members 2a and 2b. At this time, the on-off valve 8 is opened in advance, and the fluid from the fluid supply source 7 is blown out from the fluid outlet 10 of the pusher member 2b at the center through the pipe 6. By applying a levitation force to the substrate 126 by the fluid blown out from the fluid outlet 10, the pusher member 2 b at the central portion is in a state where the soft member 9 of the pusher member 2 a at the peripheral portion abuts and supports the lower surface of the substrate 126. Supports the lower surface of the substrate 126 while applying a levitation force.

  Thus, the substrate 126 is supported by all the pusher members 2a and 2b without damaging the processing region in the center portion of the substrate 126 due to the pressure contact of the pusher member 2b in the center portion. Even when the floating force due to the fluid blown out from the fluid outlet 10 is weak and the central portion of the substrate 126 is in contact with the pusher member 2b, only a part of the load of the substrate 126 is applied to the pusher member 2b in a state where the floating force is applied. And in contact with the soft member 9, it is possible to satisfactorily prevent the processing region at the center of the substrate 126 from being damaged. The levitation force on the substrate 126 acts in a state in which the substrate 126 is bent and deformed by its own weight and the peripheral portion thereof is in contact with and supported by the pusher member 2a, so that all the pusher members 2a and 2b are actuated. In the state in which the heights of the pusher members 2b are substantially equal, the damage due to the contact of the pusher member 2b in the center with the substrate 126 is well prevented.

  When the substrate 126 is supported by the pusher members 2a and 2b, the hand of the transfer robot 63 is retracted. Subsequently, when the pusher members 2 a and 2 b are lowered by the elevating drive mechanism 1, the pusher members 2 a and 2 b are immersed from the upper surface of the substrate stage 125, so that the unprocessed substrate 126 is placed on the upper surface of the substrate stage 125. Placed. Thereafter, the on-off valve 8 is closed, and the blowing of fluid from the fluid outlet 10 is stopped.

  The substrate 126 placed on the substrate stage 125 irradiates the substrate 126 with laser light from the laser irradiation unit 66 shown in FIG.

  When the process is completed, the processed substrate 126 on the substrate stage 125 is transferred to the transfer robot 63. The substrate 126 on the substrate stage 125 can be transferred to the transfer robot 63 by the reverse operation to that described above. That is, the pusher members 2a and 2b are raised by the elevating drive mechanism 1 and the lower surface of the substrate 126 is supported by the upper ends of the pusher members 2a and 2b in a state where the fluid is blown out from the fluid outlet 10. When the processed substrate 126 has risen to the position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 1, the hand of the transfer robot 63 is inserted into the gap between the substrate 126 and the substrate stage 125. Next, the substrate 126 is transferred to the transfer robot 63 by lowering the substrate 126 relatively. The central pusher member 2b may support at least one location in the central portion of the substrate 126, and may be equipped with only one.

  FIG. 4 shows another structural example of the pusher member 12b at the center. For the pusher member 12b, the tubular member 11 is integrally attached to the pusher member 12b having the same structure as the pusher member 2a at the peripheral edge. The upper end opening of the cylindrical member 11 constitutes a fluid outlet 12, and the fluid supply source 7 is connected to the lower end of the cylindrical member 11 via a flexible pipe 6. The on-off valve 8 is not shown. In addition, an annular soft member 9 is fixed to the upper end of the cylindrical member 11 to prevent damage caused by the upper end of the cylindrical member 11 being in direct contact with the substrate 126 while the fluid outlet 12 is at a high position. can do.

  Thus, a fluid such as nitrogen from the fluid supply source 7 is introduced into one end portion of the cylindrical member 11 through the pipe 6 and blown out from the fluid outlet 12 at the other end of the cylindrical member 11, so that Similarly to the case where the fluid is blown out from the fluid outlet 10 of the pusher member 2b, a levitation force can be applied to the substrate 126 by the fluid blown out from the fluid outlet 12, so that the same action as in the first embodiment is achieved. Obtainable. According to this structural example, it is possible to simply configure the pusher member 12b having a conventional structure by adding the fluid blowing device including the cylindrical member 11, the pipe 6, the fluid supply source 7, and the like. In addition, when the levitation force due to the fluid blown from the fluid outlet 12 cannot be obtained for some reason, the substrate 126 is supported by the soft member 9 of the pusher member 12b.

  By the way, the substrate stage apparatus 51 of the above embodiment is the process stage 61 in the process chamber 64. However, the substrate stage apparatus 51 is a rotary drive stage 65 that supports the peripheral portion and the central portion of the substrate 126 to be processed with pusher pins. May be.

The front view which shows the principal part of the substrate stage apparatus which concerns on 1 embodiment of this invention in a partial cross section. The top view which similarly shows the substrate stage of a substrate stage apparatus. Sectional drawing which similarly shows the pusher member of a center part. The figure which shows the other structural example of the pusher member of a center part. The front view which shows the conventional substrate stage apparatus. The top view which similarly shows the substrate stage of a substrate stage apparatus. The front view which shows the other conventional substrate stage apparatus. The top view which shows the outline of the processing apparatus of the conventional board | substrate.

Explanation of symbols

1: Lifting drive mechanism 2a, 2b, 12b: Pusher member 10, 12: Fluid outlet 51: Substrate stage device 120: X-axis stage 121: Y-axis stage 122: θ-axis mechanism 123: θ-axis stage 125: Substrate stage 126 :substrate

Claims (2)

Pusher members (2a, 2b, 12b) that are driven to move up and down are provided in at least five locations of the substrate stage (125), and pusher members (2a, 2b, 12b) are provided at the peripheral and central portions of the substrate (126) to be processed. In the substrate stage apparatus for transferring the substrate (126) to and from the robot supported by
At least one pusher member (2b, 12b) supporting the central portion of the substrate (126) has a fluid outlet (10, 12) for applying a levitation force to the substrate (126),
A substrate stage apparatus, wherein a floating force is applied to a substrate (126) by a fluid blown from a fluid outlet (10, 12). The pusher member (2a) at the peripheral portion abuts and supports the non-processed region of the substrate (126), and the pusher members (2b, 12b) having the fluid outlets (10, 12) at the central portion are supported by the substrate (126). The substrate stage apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing region is abutted and supported.

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