JP2006075776A - Cleaning method and cleaning liquid feeder practicing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cleaning method which prevents a film forming of a cleaning liquid on a material to be washed, and at the same time, enables also the prevention of the back flow of the cleaning liquid and foreign materials on the material to be washed. <P>SOLUTION: In the cleaning method which sprays the cleaning liquid continuously to the material to be washed, a high-pressure cleaning liquid is sprayed to the material to be washed continuously in a flow rate of 14-17 m/sec, and at the same time, the flow rate of the cleaning liquid sprayed continuously increases up to 100-120 m/sec in a cycle of 20-50 c/sec to add strength and weakness to the cleaning liquid. Accordingly, since the strength and weakness added to the cleaning liquid blows out the cleaning liquid sprayed to the material to be washed, no coating film of the cleaning liquid is formed on the material to be washed. Further, since the cleaning liquid is sprayed continuously to the material to be washed, it is possible to flow the cleaning liquid bumped against the material to be washed on the material to be washed always together with the removed foreign materials, and to prevent the back flow on the material to be washed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a cleaning method used in the manufacturing process of liquid crystal panel manufacturing, PDP panel manufacturing, organic EL panel manufacturing, FED panel manufacturing, printed circuit board manufacturing, semiconductor manufacturing, film manufacturing, plate manufacturing and other electronic equipment parts, More specifically, the high-pressure cleaning liquid is continuously sprayed on the object to be cleaned, the strength is added to the cleaning liquid, and the high-pressure cleaning liquid is continuously sprayed on the object to be cleaned. The present invention relates to a cleaning method characterized by spraying a cleaning liquid to which a strength is applied in parallel with spraying of a cleaning liquid onto an object to be cleaned.

  Recent progress in flat panel displays (liquid crystal, PDP, EL, FED, etc.) semiconductors, printed circuit boards, films, electronic equipment parts, etc. has been remarkably advanced. In particular, flat panel display manufacturing processes and highly integrated semiconductor device manufacturing There is a need for more sophisticated ultra-precision cleaning in the process.

  In addition, with the miniaturization and high integration of patterns, the liquid crystal glass, PDP glass, and silicon wafers that are handled are increasing in size. The liquid crystal glass shifts to a diameter of 1870 × 2200 mm, the PDP glass is 2150 × 2350 mm, and the silicon wafer is 300 mm. At present, cleaning accounts for 40 to 60% of all processes, and is a process that plays an important role in improving yield.

  Here, a method of spraying a cleaning liquid onto an object to be cleaned (“watering method”), which has been adopted as one of the conventional cleaning methods, will be described. In this watering method, the cleaning liquid is applied to the object to be cleaned. Is sprayed continuously in a shower type or a spray type at a high pressure, and this method has an advantage that foreign matter adhering to the object to be cleaned can be removed by the liquid pressure of the cleaning liquid.

  However, in this method, since the cleaning liquid is continuously applied to the object to be cleaned, a film of the cleaning liquid is formed on the object to be cleaned, and the collision energy of the cleaning liquid is absorbed and absorbed by the film. A point has been pointed out.

  Therefore, as a method for solving such a problem, a method of spraying a cleaning liquid intermittently, that is, in a pulse manner on an object to be cleaned (“pulse cleaning”) has been proposed.

That is, this pulse cleaning is a method in which the cleaning liquid sprayed onto the object to be cleaned is intermittently performed by opening and closing a valve. According to this method, a film of the cleaning liquid is formed on the object to be cleaned. Can be prevented.
Japanese Patent No. 29429992

  By the way, when the cleaning liquid is continuously sprayed on the object to be cleaned, the cleaning liquid is always applied to the object to be cleaned, so that the cleaning liquid on the object to be cleaned is always pushed away from above the object to be cleaned. As a result, foreign matter and the like separated from the object to be cleaned due to the liquid pressure of the cleaning liquid flows away from the object to be cleaned along with the flow of the cleaning liquid. However, if the cleaning liquid is sprayed intermittently, There will be a moment when the cleaning liquid does not strike, and at this time, the cleaning liquid already sprayed on the object to be cleaned may flow backward. Then, along with the backflow of the cleaning liquid on the object to be cleaned, foreign matter once swept away from the object to be cleaned also flows back, and the situation that the object to be cleaned moves to the next process in this state occurs. Think enough.

  Therefore, the pulse cleaning described above can prevent the coating of the cleaning liquid from being formed on the object to be cleaned, but has a problem that the cleaning liquid and the foreign matter flow backward.

  Accordingly, the present invention provides a cleaning method in which a cleaning liquid is sprayed on an object to be cleaned, and can prevent a film of the cleaning liquid from being formed on the object to be cleaned, and can also prevent backflow of the cleaning liquid and foreign matter on the object to be cleaned. It is an object to provide a cleaning method that can be prevented.

  The cleaning method of the present invention is characterized in that, in a cleaning method in which a high-pressure cleaning liquid is continuously sprayed onto an object to be cleaned, strength is added to the steady continuous flow of the cleaning liquid sprayed continuously.

  Further, the cleaning method of the present invention is a cleaning method in which a high-pressure cleaning liquid is continuously sprayed on an object to be cleaned, and the cleaning liquid that gives strength to the object to be cleaned in parallel with the spraying of the continuous cleaning liquid. It is characterized by spraying.

  In the cleaning method of the present invention, the high-pressure cleaning liquid is continuously sprayed on the object to be cleaned, and the strength is added to the steady continuous flow of the cleaning liquid sprayed continuously, or in parallel with the continuous spraying of the cleaning liquid. It is characterized by spraying high-pressure cleaning liquid with strength.

  As described above, in the present invention, the strength is added to the cleaning liquid continuously sprayed on the object to be cleaned, or the cleaning liquid is sprayed continuously on the object to be cleaned and in parallel with this. Since the cleaning liquid with strength is sprayed on the object to be cleaned, it is possible to prevent the film of the cleaning liquid from being formed on the object to be cleaned, and the cleaning liquid and foreign matters flow back on the object to be cleaned. Can be effectively prevented.

  In the cleaning method of the present invention, a high-pressure cleaning liquid of 8 MPa to 15 MPa is continuously sprayed on the object to be cleaned at a flow rate of 14 to 17 m / sec, and the flow rate of the continuous continuous flow of the cleaning liquid sprayed continuously. In a cycle of 20 to 50 c / sec and wavely increased to a flow rate of 100 to 120 m / sec.

  In another embodiment of the cleaning method of the present invention, a high-pressure cleaning liquid of 8 MPa to 15 MPa is sprayed onto the liquid to be cleaned at a flow rate of 14 to 17 m / sec, and in parallel with this continuous spraying, a cycle of 20 to 50 c / sec. Then, a high-pressure cleaning liquid of 8 MPa to 15 MPa is sprayed onto the object to be cleaned at a flow rate of 100 to 120 m / sec.

  An embodiment of the cleaning method of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a graph for explaining the cleaning method of the present embodiment. In the figure, the horizontal direction is a time axis. In the figure, A indicates the flow rate of the cleaning liquid sprayed on the object to be cleaned. Therefore, the hatched portion in the figure indicates the amount of the cleaning liquid sprayed on the object to be cleaned.

  That is, in the cleaning method of the present embodiment, a predetermined amount of cleaning liquid is constantly sprayed on the object to be cleaned, and at the same time, a wave strength is added to the steady continuous flow of the cleaning liquid sprayed continuously. It is a feature.

  In this embodiment, a high-pressure cleaning liquid of 8 MPa to 15 MPa is continuously sprayed on the object to be cleaned at a flow rate of 14 to 17 m / sec, and is continuously sprayed at a cycle of 20 to 50 c / sec. The flow rate of the cleaning liquid is increased in a wave manner up to a maximum flow rate of 100 to 120 m / sec.

  Therefore, according to the cleaning method of the present embodiment, since the cleaning liquid is continuously sprayed, the cleaning liquid applied to the object to be cleaned always flows from the object to be cleaned together with the removed foreign matters, etc. A film of the cleaning liquid is formed on the object to be cleaned in order not to flow back on the object to be cleaned, and to periodically add strength to the cleaning liquid and thereby blow away the cleaning liquid sprayed on the liquid to be cleaned. This makes it possible to effectively remove foreign matters and the like attached to the object to be cleaned.

  In addition, it is possible to remove relatively small foreign matters by the continuous flow of the cleaning liquid, and it is possible to remove large foreign matters by the wave flow, so that the foreign matters can be efficiently removed.

  2 to 4 are graphs showing other forms of the present embodiment. That is, in FIG. 1, the strength of the cleaning liquid is continuously increased and the intensity is made the same at regular intervals, that is, the height, amplitude, and frequency of the cleaning liquid waveform are the same. In the form shown in FIG. 2, the frequency is constant, but the wave height is different. In the form shown in FIG. 3, the wave height is the same, but the frequency and amplitude are changed. Furthermore, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the frequency, wave height, and amplitude are different. Further, by adopting these forms, it is possible to remove foreign matters more effectively. That is, in the present invention, it is only necessary to add strength to the continuous flow, and it is not always necessary to add strength at regular intervals, and the strength level does not need to be constant.

  Next, the cleaning liquid supply means used for carrying out the cleaning method of this embodiment having such characteristics will be described. FIG. 5 shows the configuration of one form of the cleaning liquid supply means used for the cleaning method of this embodiment. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a cleaning liquid supply means.

  The cleaning liquid supply means 1 has an injection nozzle 4 for spraying the cleaning liquid onto the object to be cleaned, and a pump 3 for supplying a high-pressure cleaning liquid to the injection nozzle 4. Between the pump 3 and the injection nozzle 4, a cylinder 2 for adding wave strength to the cleaning liquid sprayed from the injection nozzle 4 is arranged, so that the cycle of the cleaning liquid sprayed on the object to be cleaned is cycled. It is possible to add strength. In the figure, reference numerals 13a and 13b denote transport hoses for transporting the cleaning liquid.

  Here, the cylinder 2 will be described with reference to FIG. 6. The cylinder 2 includes a cylinder body 7 and a piston 8 that can reciprocate in the cylinder body 7.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the piston 8 has an enlarged outer diameter at both end portions to form an enlarged portion 801, and a predetermined interval width in the vicinity of the central portion along the longitudinal direction. A groove 802 is formed in the circumferential direction. Further, a clearance 803 formed shallower than the groove 802 is formed continuously in the circumferential direction continuously from the groove 802.

  On the other hand, a moving space 701 in which the enlarged portion 801 of the piston 8 can move by a predetermined range is formed inside the cylinder body 7, and communicates with the moving space 701 in the longitudinal direction of the cylinder body 6. A driving air supply port 702 is formed in each of the both end walls. In use, an air supply means 6 such as a compressor is connected to the drive air supply port 702 (see FIG. 5), whereby air is alternately supplied to the drive air supply port 702 into the drive space 701 of the cylinder body 7. By supplying the air, the piston 8 can be reciprocated in the longitudinal direction by the air pressure, and the movement is limited to a range in which the enlarged portion 801 can move in the moving space 701. 6 and 7, reference numeral 9 denotes a sealing O-ring.

  Next, a cleaning liquid injection port 703 is formed at an arbitrary position on the side wall of the cylinder body 7 and is disposed so as to face the cleaning liquid injection port 703. A cleaning liquid discharge port 704 connected to the cleaning liquid spray nozzle 4 is formed. A transfer hose 13 a connected to the cleaning liquid supply pump 3 is connected to the cleaning liquid injection port 703, and a transfer hose 13 b connected to the spray nozzle 4 is connected to the cleaning liquid discharge port 704.

  Therefore, by using this cylinder 7, when the groove 802 in the piston 8 is not in communication with the cleaning liquid inlet 703 and the cleaning liquid discharge port 704, a small amount of cleaning liquid is always supplied to the cleaning liquid injection nozzle 4 through the clearance 803. In addition, when the groove 802 in the piston 8 communicates with the cleaning liquid inlet 703 and the cleaning liquid discharge port 704 by the movement of the piston 8, the amount of cleaning liquid supplied to the injection nozzle 4 is increased. The cleaning liquid which is interposed periodically has a wave strength.

  Note that the cleaning liquid injection port 703 and the cleaning liquid discharge port 704 are not necessarily paired, and may be formed at a plurality of locations. The number of the injection nozzles 4 connected to the cylinder 2 is not necessarily one, and a plurality of injection nozzles may be provided.

  Next, the operation of the cleaning method using the cleaning liquid supply apparatus 1 configured as described above will be described. In FIGS. 9 and 10, 11 is an object to be cleaned, and 12 is a conveyor for transporting the object to be cleaned. It is a conveyance means. The transport unit 12 includes a housing 1201, a plurality of transport rollers 1202 rotatably provided on the housing 1201, and a drive unit (not shown) such as a motor for rotating the transport roller 1202. ), The roller 1202 is rotated by driving the driving means, and thereby the object to be cleaned placed on the roller 1202 can be conveyed.

  Further, in this embodiment, the injection nozzle 4 is a long object having a cavity 401 inside, and as shown in a cross-sectional view in the longitudinal direction in FIG. The injection hole 402 is provided, and a supply port 403 to which the cleaning liquid transfer hose 13b is connected is provided on the side wall. Can be injected.

  In the cleaning method of this embodiment, the position of the piston 8 is adjusted so that the groove 802 formed in the piston 8 does not communicate with the cleaning liquid inlet 703 and the cleaning liquid discharge port 704. Is supplied at a high pressure of 8 MPa to 15 MPa, whereby a small amount of cleaning liquid is sprayed from the spray nozzle 4 to the object to be cleaned 11 conveyed by the conveying means 12 through the clearance 803.

  Next, in this state, air is periodically and alternately supplied to both of the drive air supply ports 702 formed in the cylinder body 7, thereby causing the piston 8 to reciprocate. Then, as the piston 8 moves, the groove 802 communicates with the cleaning liquid injection port 703 and the cleaning liquid discharge port 704 and the amount of cleaning liquid supplied to the spray nozzle 4 increases, so that the groove 802, the cleaning liquid injection port 703, and the cleaning liquid are increased. The cleaning liquid sprayed on the object to be cleaned through the spray nozzle 4 has a wave intensity with the peak when the discharge port 704 is completely in communication.

  Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to always spray the cleaning liquid onto the object to be cleaned and to periodically apply strength to the cleaning liquid. At this time, by changing the moving speed of the piston 8, and by changing the communication ratio between the groove 802, the cleaning liquid inlet 703 and the cleaning liquid outlet 704, that is, the groove 802, the cleaning liquid inlet 703 and the cleaning liquid outlet. Since it is possible to easily change the frequency, wave height, and amplitude of the cleaning liquid waveform by providing a case where it does not completely communicate with 704, the strength of the cleaning liquid as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4 can be easily achieved. It is.

  In addition, as a method of adding strength to the washing liquid sprayed continuously, it is not always necessary to use the cylinder described above, and a rotary supply gun may be used. 8 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the structure of the rotary supply gun 31. In the rotary supply gun 31, the inside of the main body 32 in which the cleaning liquid supply path 33 and the cleaning liquid discharge path 34 are formed. In addition, a drive unit 35 in which the cleaning liquid conveyance path 36 is formed radially is inserted rotatably. A clearance 37 with a predetermined interval is formed on the outer peripheral side of the drive unit 35 and the inner peripheral side of the main body 32. With this configuration, the cleaning liquid supplied from the cleaning liquid supply path 33 is always supplied to the spray nozzle from the cleaning liquid discharge path 34 through the clearance 37, whereby the cleaning liquid is continuously sprayed onto the object to be cleaned.

  At the same time, when the cleaning liquid transport path 36 communicates with the cleaning liquid supply path 33 and the cleaning liquid discharge path 34 in the course of rotation of the drive unit 35, the cleaning liquid transport path is transferred to the cleaning liquid supplied to the spray nozzle via the clearance 37. Since the cleaning liquid via 36 is superposed and this superposed cleaning liquid is supplied only when the cleaning liquid transport path 36 is completely in communication with the cleaning liquid supply path 33 and the cleaning liquid discharge path 34, The cleaning liquid sprayed on the cleaning object 11 is a wave to which strength is added in a wave manner. Therefore, even when this rotary type supply gun 31 is used, it is possible to obtain the same effect as when the cylinder is used.

  At this time, the frequency, wave height, and amplitude of the cleaning liquid waveform can be easily changed by changing the rotation speed of the driving unit 35 and by not forming the diameter of the cleaning liquid transport path 36 formed in the driving unit 35 to be the same. Therefore, even when the supply gun 31 is used, the strength of the cleaning liquid as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4 can be easily obtained.

  Next, another embodiment of the cleaning method of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 13 is a graph for explaining the cleaning method of the present embodiment. In the figure, the horizontal direction is the time axis.

  In the cleaning method of the present embodiment, a predetermined amount of cleaning liquid is continuously sprayed onto the object to be cleaned at a high pressure, and in parallel with this spraying, the strength of the wave is dynamically increased using a separate spray nozzle. The attached cleaning liquid can be sprayed on the liquid to be cleaned at a high pressure.

  That is, in FIG. 13, B indicates the cleaning liquid that is continuously sprayed, and A indicates the cleaning liquid sprayed with wave intensity, and in this embodiment, the flow rate is always 14 to 17 m / sec. The cleaning liquid is sprayed on the liquid to be cleaned at a high pressure of 8 MPa to 15 MPa. In parallel, the cleaning liquid having a flow rate of 100 to 120 m / sec at a cycle of 20 to 50 c / sec is cleaned at a high pressure of 8 MPa to 15 MPa. I'm spraying things.

  Therefore, according to the cleaning method of the present embodiment, since the cleaning liquid is continuously sprayed as in the above-described embodiment, the cleaning liquid applied to the object to be cleaned is always covered with the removed foreign matters and the like. In order to spray the cleaning liquid that flows from above the cleaning object and does not flow back onto the cleaning object, and in addition to this continuous cleaning liquid spray, periodically sprayed on the cleaning liquid In order to blow off the cleaning liquid thus formed, no film of the cleaning liquid is formed on the object to be cleaned, so that foreign matters adhering to the object to be cleaned can be effectively removed.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the configuration of the cleaning liquid supply means used for carrying out the cleaning method of the present embodiment. When the cleaning method of the present embodiment is performed, a continuous flow for continuously injecting the cleaning liquid is shown. An injection nozzle 24a and a wave flow injection nozzle 24b that jets the cleaning liquid in a wave manner are provided. The cleaning liquid supply pump 23 and the continuous flow injection nozzle 24a are connected by a cleaning liquid transport hose 25 so that the cleaning liquid can be continuously injected from the continuous flow injection nozzle 24a, and the wave flow is performed while the cylinder 22 is interposed. The spray nozzle 24b and the cleaning liquid supply pump 23 are connected by the conveying hoses 27a and 27b, so that the cleaning liquid can be sprayed in a wave-like manner from the wave flow spray nozzle 24b. In parallel, the liquid to be cleaned can be sprayed with a cleaning liquid that is dynamically waved.

  In addition, this embodiment is characterized in that the cleaning liquid sprayed with wave intensity is performed in parallel with the continuous spraying of the cleaning liquid, and the other effects are the same as the above-described embodiments. A duplicate description is omitted.

  Further, the cylinder 22 to be used can be implemented by using the cylinder 7 or the structure having the clearances 803 and 37 in the supply gun 31 as described above.

  Furthermore, also in the present embodiment, a plurality of injection nozzles 24a and 24b may be provided.

  In the cleaning method of the present invention, in the cleaning method in which the cleaning liquid is continuously sprayed on the object to be cleaned at a high pressure, the cleaning liquid to be sprayed continuously is periodically subjected to wave intensity, or in parallel with the continuous spraying of the cleaning liquid. This is characterized by spraying the cleaning liquid with the strength of the wave, thereby preventing the coating of the cleaning liquid on the object to be cleaned and preventing the cleaning liquid from flowing back on the object to be cleaned. In addition to manufacturing processes such as liquid crystal panel manufacturing, PDP panel manufacturing, organic EL panel manufacturing, FED panel manufacturing, printed circuit board manufacturing, semiconductor manufacturing, film manufacturing, plate manufacturing, and other electronic equipment parts, cleaning processes It is applicable to all of the above.

It is a graph for demonstrating 1st Example of the washing | cleaning method of this invention. It is a graph for demonstrating the other form in 1st Example of the washing | cleaning method of this invention. It is a graph for demonstrating the other form in 1st Example of the washing | cleaning method of this invention. It is a graph for demonstrating the other form in 1st Example of the washing | cleaning method of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the structure of the washing | cleaning-liquid supply means used in order to implement 1st Example of the washing | cleaning method of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the cylinder used in order to implement 1st Example of the washing | cleaning method of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the cylinder used in order to implement 1st Example of the washing | cleaning method of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the rotary type supply gun used in order to implement 1st Example of the washing | cleaning method of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the effect | action of the washing | cleaning-liquid supply apparatus used in order to implement 1st Example of the washing | cleaning method of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the effect | action of the washing | cleaning-liquid supply apparatus used in order to implement 1st Example of the washing | cleaning method of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating an injection nozzle. It is a figure for demonstrating the structure of the washing | cleaning liquid supply means used in order to implement 2nd Example of the washing | cleaning method of this invention. It is a graph for demonstrating 2nd Example of the washing | cleaning method of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1, 21 Cleaning liquid supply means 2, 22 Cylinder 3, 23 Pump 4, 24a, 24b Injection nozzle 6 Air supply means (compressor)
7 Cylinder body 701 Moving space 702 Drive air supply port 703 Cleaning liquid injection port 704 Cleaning liquid discharge port 8 Piston 801 Enlarged part 802 Groove 9 O-ring 11 Object to be cleaned 12 Transport means 13a, 13b, 25, 27a, 27b Cleaning liquid transport hose 31 Rotary type supply gun 32 Main body 33 Cleaning liquid supply path 34 Cleaning liquid discharge path 35 Drive section 36 Cleaning liquid conveyance path 37 Clearance

Claims (2)

In a cleaning method in which a high-pressure cleaning liquid is sprayed continuously on an object to be cleaned,
A cleaning method characterized by adding strength to a steady continuous flow of the cleaning liquid sprayed continuously. In a cleaning method in which a high-pressure cleaning liquid is sprayed continuously on an object to be cleaned,
In parallel with this continuous spraying of the cleaning liquid, a cleaning liquid having a strength applied thereto is sprayed onto the object to be cleaned.

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