JP2007199345A - Treatment method of substrate for electrooptical device, substrate for electrooptical device manufactured by treatment method, electrooptical device and electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a treatment method of a substrate for an electrooptical device preventing mixing of moisture adhering to the substrate in atmosphere of a treatment chamber when the substrate is carried in the treatment chamber of a film deposition device and an etching device. <P>SOLUTION: The treatment method of the substrate for the electrooptical device for film-depositing or etching the substrate carried in the treatment chamber is provided with: a step S2 for preheating the substrate in a spare chamber adjacent to the treatment chamber; and a step S5 for carrying in the preheated substrate from the spare chamber into the treatment chamber and actually heating the substrate up to the treatment substrate temperature in the treatment chamber. The temperature of the substrate in the spare chamber in the step S2 for preheating the substrate is higher than the treatment substrate temperature in the treatment chamber. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing method for an electro-optical device for performing film formation processing or etching processing on a substrate carried into a processing chamber, an electro-optical device substrate manufactured by the processing method, an electro-optical device, and an electronic apparatus.

  As is well known, an electro-optical device, for example, a liquid crystal device is configured by interposing a liquid crystal between two substrates made of a glass substrate, a quartz substrate, etc., and a thin film transistor (Thin Film Transistor, Switching elements such as TFTs (hereinafter referred to as TFT) and pixel electrodes are arranged in a matrix, and a common electrode is arranged on the other substrate, so that the optical characteristics of the liquid crystal layer interposed between the two substrates change according to the image signal. By doing so, it is possible to display an image.

  Further, the TFT substrate and the counter substrate are configured by laminating a thin film having a predetermined pattern, an insulating thin film, or a conductive thin film on, for example, a glass or quartz substrate. Each layer is formed by repeating the film forming process of various films and the etching process of each film.

  In the film forming process of various films on the TFT substrate and the counter substrate, a film forming apparatus such as a low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LP-CVD) apparatus or a sputtering apparatus is used, and in the etching process on the formed film. It is well known that an etching apparatus such as a dry etching apparatus is used.

  When performing the film formation process on the substrate using the various film formation apparatuses described above, or when performing the etching process on the film formed on the substrate using the dry etching apparatus, in the processing chamber of each apparatus, Each treatment is generally performed under high vacuum and high temperature.

  Therefore, it is necessary to raise the temperature of the processing chamber of each apparatus to the processing substrate temperature at which each processing is performed and to reduce the processing pressure to each processing to be a high vacuum, but the processing carried into the processing chamber If moisture adheres to the surface of the target substrate, the moisture evaporates from the substrate due to temperature rise and depressurization. As a result, moisture is mixed into the atmosphere of the processing chamber. There is a problem that the contained film is formed.

In view of such a problem, Patent Document 1 discloses that moisture in a substrate is removed before the substrate is carried into the processing chamber, and moisture generated from the substrate by heating and depressurization after being carried into the processing chamber is inactivated. Proposals have been made for techniques for introducing and removing gas into a processing chamber.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 5-69945

  By the way, when a film formation process is performed on a substrate using a film formation apparatus, for example, a sputtering apparatus, by-products such as a film not formed on the substrate adhere to the inner wall of the processing chamber.

  Further, when a dry etching process is performed on a film formed on a substrate using an etching apparatus, for example, a dry etching apparatus, a by-product adheres to the inner wall of the processing chamber. The by-product attached to the inner wall of the processing chamber is peeled off from the inner wall by reacting and mixing with moisture in the atmosphere of the processing chamber, and becomes particles.

  However, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, an inert gas is introduced after a substrate on which moisture has adhered is carried into the processing chamber, and moisture generated from the substrate is removed during temperature rise and pressure reduction in the processing chamber. When the substrate to which moisture is attached is carried into the processing chamber, the moisture reacts with the by-product, and the by-product peels off from the inner wall of the processing chamber and falls as particles onto the substrate. For this reason, after processing, in order to improve the yield rate of the liquid crystal device, it is necessary to reduce the particles.

  Note that this means that even if the moisture in the substrate is removed before the substrate is carried into the processing chamber, the moisture that could not be removed from the substrate before being carried in due to the temperature rise and pressure reduction in the processing chamber. Same to evaporate.

  The object of the present invention is made by paying attention to the above-mentioned problems. When the substrate is carried into the processing chamber of the film forming apparatus or the etching apparatus, moisture adhering to the substrate is mixed into the atmosphere of the processing chamber. The present invention provides an electro-optical device substrate processing method that prevents the electro-optical device substrate from being damaged, an electro-optical device substrate manufactured by the processing method, an electro-optical device, and an electronic apparatus.

  To achieve the above object, a substrate processing method for an electro-optical device according to the present invention is a processing method for a substrate for an electro-optical device in which a substrate carried into a processing chamber is subjected to film formation or etching. And a step of preheating the substrate in the preparatory chamber connected to the substrate, and the preheated substrate is carried into the processing chamber from the preparatory chamber, and the substrate is heated to a processing substrate temperature in the processing chamber. And the step of preheating the substrate is performed until the temperature of the substrate in the preliminary chamber becomes higher than the temperature of the processing substrate in the processing chamber. To do.

  According to the present invention, when a substrate is carried into the processing chamber from the preliminary chamber in order to perform a film forming process or an etching process on the substrate, moisture from the substrate is mixed into the atmosphere of the processing chamber. In addition to removing the adsorbed and adhering moisture by preheating in the preliminary chamber, it can be prevented by setting the temperature of the substrate in the preliminary chamber higher than the processing substrate temperature of the substrate in the processing chamber. From this, the by-product attached to the inner wall of the processing chamber reacts and mixes with the moisture in the atmosphere of the processing chamber, and is peeled off and dropped from the inner wall and attached to the substrate being processed than before. In addition to being able to reduce, it is possible to prevent a film containing moisture from being formed when a film is formed on the substrate.

  In addition, the step of preheating the substrate is performed under a higher vacuum than the step of main heating the substrate.

  According to the present invention, when a substrate is carried into the processing chamber from the preliminary chamber in order to perform a film forming process or an etching process on the substrate, moisture from the substrate is mixed into the atmosphere of the processing chamber. In addition to removing the adsorbed and adhered moisture by preheating and depressurization in the preliminary chamber, the substrate temperature in the preliminary chamber is set higher than the processing substrate temperature of the substrate in the processing chamber, and the preliminary chamber is set in the processing chamber. It can prevent reliably by setting it as a high vacuum rather than the time of a process. From this, the by-product attached to the inner wall of the processing chamber reacts and mixes with the moisture in the atmosphere of the processing chamber, and is peeled off and dropped from the inner wall and attached to the substrate being processed than before. In addition to being able to reduce, it is possible to prevent a film containing moisture from being formed when a film is formed on the substrate.

  Further, the step of preheating the substrate is performed for the same time as the step of forming the film or etching in the processing chamber, or longer than the step of forming or etching the substrate. It is characterized by being.

  According to the present invention, when the preheating step is performed for the same time as the film forming process or the etching process, moisture from the substrate is mixed into the atmosphere of the processing chamber when the substrate is carried into the processing chamber from the preliminary chamber. This can be prevented, and the substrate can be efficiently carried into the processing chamber from the preliminary chamber in accordance with the film forming process or etching process of the substrate in the processing chamber. In addition, by performing the preheating process for a longer time than the film forming process or the etching process, it is possible to reliably remove moisture attached to the substrate in the preheating process.

  Further, in the step of preheating the substrate, the step of monitoring the amount of moisture in the atmosphere of the preliminary chamber and the step of monitoring the amount of moisture in the atmosphere of the processing chamber are provided, After monitoring that the amount of moisture in the atmosphere is less than the amount of moisture in the atmosphere of the processing chamber, the substrate is carried into the processing chamber from the preliminary chamber.

  According to the present invention, when a substrate is carried into the processing chamber from the preliminary chamber in order to perform a film forming process or an etching process on the substrate, moisture from the substrate is mixed into the atmosphere of the processing chamber. In addition to removing the adsorbed and adhering moisture by preheating and depressurization in the preparatory chamber, the substrate temperature in the preparatory chamber is set higher than the processing substrate temperature of the substrate in the processing chamber, and the preparatory chamber is treated more than during processing in the processing chamber. In addition, the amount of moisture in the preliminary chamber atmosphere is monitored to be less than the amount of moisture in the processing chamber atmosphere, and the substrate is transferred from the preliminary chamber to the processing chamber for more reliable prevention. be able to. From this, the by-product attached to the inner wall of the processing chamber reacts and mixes with moisture in the atmosphere of the processing chamber, and is peeled off and dropped from the inner wall to adhere to the substrate being processed. In addition to being able to reduce, it is possible to prevent a film containing moisture from being formed when a film is formed on the substrate.

  The electro-optical device substrate processing method according to the present invention is the electro-optical device substrate processing method in which the substrate carried into the processing chamber is subjected to film formation or etching. And a step of depressurizing the preliminary chamber, and a step of depressurizing the processing chamber into which the substrate is loaded from the preliminary chamber to a processing pressure. The preliminary chamber is performed under a high vacuum in which the pressure in the preliminary chamber is reduced from the processing pressure.

  According to the present invention, when a substrate is carried into the processing chamber from the preliminary chamber in order to perform a film forming process or an etching process on the substrate, moisture from the substrate is mixed into the atmosphere of the processing chamber. Adsorption and adhering moisture can be prevented not only by removing the reduced pressure in the preliminary chamber but also by keeping the preliminary chamber at a higher vacuum than that in the processing chamber. From this, the by-product attached to the inner wall of the processing chamber reacts and mixes with moisture in the atmosphere of the processing chamber, and is peeled off and dropped from the inner wall to adhere to the substrate being processed. In addition to being able to reduce, it is possible to prevent a film containing moisture from being formed when a film is formed on the substrate.

  Further, the step of reducing the pressure in the preliminary chamber is performed by heating until the temperature of the substrate becomes higher than a processing substrate temperature at which the substrate is formed or etched in the processing chamber. To do.

  According to the present invention, when a substrate is carried into the processing chamber from the preliminary chamber in order to perform a film forming process or an etching process on the substrate, moisture from the substrate is mixed into the atmosphere of the processing chamber. In addition to removing the adsorbed and adhering moisture by decompression and preheating in the preliminary chamber, the preliminary chamber is set to a higher vacuum than that in the processing chamber and the substrate in the preliminary chamber is higher than the processing substrate temperature of the substrate in the processing chamber. This can be reliably prevented by setting a high temperature. From this, the by-product attached to the inner wall of the processing chamber reacts and mixes with moisture in the atmosphere of the processing chamber, and is peeled off and dropped from the inner wall to adhere to the substrate being processed. In addition to being able to reduce, it is possible to prevent a film containing moisture from being formed when a film is formed on the substrate.

  Furthermore, the step of reducing the pressure in the preliminary chamber is performed for the same time as the step of forming the film or etching the substrate in the processing chamber, or longer than the step of forming or etching the substrate. It is characterized by being.

  According to the present invention, the process of reducing the pressure in the preliminary chamber is performed at the same time as the film forming process or the etching process, so that when the substrate is carried into the processing chamber from the preliminary chamber, moisture from the substrate is contained in the atmosphere of the processing chamber. Can be prevented, and the substrate can be efficiently carried into the processing chamber from the preliminary chamber in accordance with the film formation processing or etching processing of the substrate in the processing chamber. In addition, by performing the process of reducing the pressure in the preliminary chamber for a longer time than the film forming process or the etching process, moisture adhering to the substrate can be reliably removed in the process of decreasing the pressure in the preliminary chamber. Have

  Further, in the step of depressurizing the preliminary chamber, the preliminary chamber includes a step of monitoring the amount of moisture in the atmosphere of the preliminary chamber, and a step of monitoring the amount of water in the atmosphere of the processing chamber, After monitoring that the amount of moisture in the atmosphere is less than the amount of moisture in the atmosphere of the processing chamber, the substrate is carried into the processing chamber from the preliminary chamber.

  According to the present invention, when a substrate is carried into the processing chamber from the preliminary chamber in order to perform a film forming process or an etching process on the substrate, moisture from the substrate is mixed into the atmosphere of the processing chamber. In addition to removing the adsorbed and adhering moisture by depressurization and preheating in the preliminary chamber, the atmosphere in the preliminary chamber is set to a higher vacuum than in the processing chamber, and the substrate in the preliminary chamber is higher than the processing substrate temperature of the substrate in the processing chamber. The temperature of the substrate is set high, and the moisture content in the auxiliary chamber atmosphere is monitored to be less than the moisture content in the processing chamber atmosphere, and then the substrate is transferred from the preliminary chamber to the processing chamber for more reliable prevention. can do. From this, the by-product attached to the inner wall of the processing chamber reacts and mixes with moisture in the atmosphere of the processing chamber, and is peeled off and dropped from the inner wall to adhere to the substrate being processed. In addition to being able to reduce, it is possible to prevent a film containing moisture from being formed when a film is formed on the substrate.

  An electro-optical device substrate according to the present invention is manufactured by the electro-optical device substrate processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the amount of by-products that are detached and dropped from the inner wall of the processing chamber as particles, and it is possible to prevent a film containing moisture from being formed. In addition, the electro-optical device substrate can be provided, and from this, the reliability can be improved and the electro-optical device substrate with improved yield can be provided.

  An electro-optical device according to the present invention is an electro-optical device in which an electro-optical material is sandwiched between an element substrate in which a plurality of pixel electrodes are formed in a display region and a counter substrate disposed to face the element substrate. The substrate for an electro-optical device according to claim 9 constitutes at least one of the element substrate and the counter substrate.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the amount of by-products that are detached and dropped from the inner wall of the processing chamber as particles, and it is possible to prevent a film containing moisture from being formed. In addition, a substrate constituting at least one of the element substrate and the counter substrate can be provided. Accordingly, there is an effect that it is possible to provide an electro-optical device including an element substrate and a counter substrate with improved reliability and improved yield rate.

  An electronic apparatus according to an aspect of the invention includes the electro-optical device according to claim 10.

  According to the present invention, there is an effect that it is possible to provide an electronic apparatus having an electro-optical device including an element substrate and a counter substrate with improved reliability and improved yield rate.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The substrate for an electro-optical device processed according to the embodiment described below includes an element substrate (hereinafter referred to as a TFT substrate), a substrate facing the TFT substrate (hereinafter referred to as a counter substrate), a TFT substrate, An element substrate will be described as an example of a liquid crystal device having a liquid crystal that is an electro-optical material sandwiched between a counter substrate.

(First embodiment)
First, a plan view of a liquid crystal device having an element substrate processed by the processing method according to the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. .

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the liquid crystal device 100 includes, for example, a TFT substrate 10 in which a thin film such as a plurality of insulating thin films or conductive thin films is laminated on a quartz substrate, a glass substrate, a silicon substrate, and the TFT substrate. For example, a liquid crystal 50 is interposed in an internal space between the counter substrate 20 and a counter substrate 20 in which a plurality of thin films are stacked on a glass substrate or a quartz substrate. The TFT substrate 10 and the counter substrate 20 that are arranged to face each other are bonded together by a sealing material 52.

  A display region 10 h of the TFT substrate 10 that constitutes the display region 40 of the liquid crystal device 100 is formed on the surface of the TFT substrate 10 that is in contact with the liquid crystal 50. In the display area 10h, pixel electrodes (ITO) 9 constituting the pixels and TFTs 30 serving as switching elements connected to the pixel electrodes 9 are arranged in a matrix.

  Further, a counter electrode (ITO) 21 is provided on the entire surface of the counter substrate 20, and a liquid crystal device is provided on a surface side of the counter electrode 21 that is in contact with the liquid crystal 50 at a position facing the display region 10 h of the TFT substrate 10. A display area 20 h of the counter substrate 20 constituting 100 display areas 40 is configured.

  An alignment film 16 that has been subjected to rubbing treatment is provided on the pixel electrode 9 of the TFT substrate 10, and the rubbing treatment is also performed on the counter electrode 21 that is formed over the entire surface of the counter substrate 20. An alignment film 26 is provided. Each alignment film 16, 26 is made of a transparent organic film such as a polyimide film, for example.

  The counter substrate 20 is provided with a light shielding film 53 as a frame for defining the display area 40 by defining and defining the outer periphery of the display area 10 h of the TFT substrate 10 and the display area 20 h of the counter substrate 20 in the pixel area. Yes.

  When the liquid crystal 50 is injected into the space between the TFT substrate 10 and the counter substrate 20 by a known liquid crystal injection method, the sealing material 52 is missing and applied at a part of one side of the sealing material 52. . The missing portion of the sealing material 52 constitutes a liquid crystal injection port 108 for injecting the liquid crystal 50 between the TFT substrate 10 and the counter substrate 20 bonded from the missing portion. The liquid crystal injection port 108 is sealed with a sealing material 109 after the liquid crystal is injected.

  In order to connect the data line driving circuit 101 which is a driver for supplying an image signal to a data line (not shown) of the TFT substrate 10 at a predetermined timing and driving the data line in a region outside the sealing material 52 and an external circuit. The external connection terminal 102 is provided along one side of the TFT substrate 10.

  The scanning line drive circuits 103 and 104 which are drivers for driving the gate electrodes by supplying scanning signals to scanning lines and gate electrodes (not shown) of the TFT substrate 10 at predetermined timing along two sides adjacent to the one side. Is provided. The scanning line driving circuits 103 and 104 are formed on the TFT substrate 10 at a position facing the light shielding film 53 inside the sealing material 52.

  Further, on the TFT substrate 10, wiring 105 connecting the data line driving circuit 101, the scanning line driving circuits 103 and 104, the external connection terminal 102, and the vertical conduction terminal 107 is provided to face the three sides of the light shielding film 53. ing.

  The vertical conduction terminals 107 are formed on the four TFT substrates 10 at the corners of the sealing material 52. Between the TFT substrate 10 and the counter substrate 20, a vertical conductive material 106 having a lower end in contact with the vertical conductive terminal 107 and an upper end in contact with the counter electrode 21 is provided. And the counter substrate 20 are electrically connected.

  Subsequently, regarding the configuration of the processing apparatus used when processing the TFT substrate 10 of the liquid crystal device 100 configured as described above, in the thin film stacking process of the TFT substrate 10, the formed thin film is dry-etched into a predetermined shape. A configuration of a dry etching apparatus that performs processing (hereinafter simply referred to as etching) will be described as an example.

  FIG. 3 is a plan view showing an outline of the configuration of the dry etching apparatus, and FIG. 4 is a view showing the interior of the preliminary chamber and the processing chamber of the dry etching apparatus of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the dry etching apparatus 1 includes a plurality of etching processing chambers (hereinafter simply referred to as processing chambers) 2, a spare chamber 3 in which the plurality of processing chambers 2 are connected, and the spare chamber 3. A substrate carry-in chamber 33 and a substrate carry-out chamber 34, a substrate transfer chamber 35 connected to the substrate carry-in chamber 33 and the substrate carry-out chamber 34, and a plurality of substrates connected to the substrate transfer chamber 35. A main part is constituted by the storage cassette 36. An open / close door 90 is provided between the processing chamber 2 and the spare chamber 3.

  The processing chamber 2 etches a thin film formed on the TFT substrate 10 (hereinafter, the TFT substrate 10 before completion is referred to as a substrate 10p) on which a plurality of thin films are stacked into a predetermined shape using plasma. It is a room.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the processing chamber 2 is disposed in a stage table 5, a cathode 43 disposed on the stage table 5, and an upper portion in the processing chamber 2 that faces the cathode 43. An anode 47, a heater 42 provided inside the stage base 5, and a vacuum pump 44 for reducing the pressure in the processing chamber 2 are provided.

  Although not shown, the processing chamber 2 has a high-frequency power source for applying high-frequency power to the cathode 43 and the anode 47, a supply port for supplying a reaction gas for etching, a discharge port for discharging the reaction gas, A temperature measuring device that measures the substrate temperature of the substrate 10p placed on the stage table 5 using infrared rays, a pressure measuring device that measures the pressure in the processing chamber 2, and the like are also provided.

  The stage table 5 is a table on which the loaded substrate 10p formed from a member having excellent plasma resistance and having the same surface area as that of the substrate 10p is placed. Moreover, the cathode 43 and the anode 47 generate plasma used for etching between the cathode 43 and the anode 47 when high frequency power is applied from a high frequency power source. Further, the heater 42 heats the substrate 10p placed on the stage base 5 to a predetermined processing substrate temperature described later.

  The preliminary chamber 3 is a front chamber before the substrate 10p is carried into the processing chamber 2. In the preliminary chamber 3, for example, an articulated arm 71 that carries the substrate 10 p out of the processing chamber 2 and the like, a stage base 75 on which the substrate 10 p before or after etching is placed, A heater 72 that preliminarily heats the substrate 10p mounted on the stage base 75 to a predetermined temperature, which will be described later, and a vacuum pump 74 that decompresses the interior of the preliminary chamber 3 are provided. The arm 71 also carries the substrate 10p out of the preliminary chamber 3 to the substrate carry-in chamber 33 and the substrate carry-out chamber 34.

  The preliminary chamber 3 also includes a temperature measuring device that measures the substrate temperature of the substrate 10p placed on the stage base 75 using infrared rays, a pressure measuring device that measures the pressure in the preliminary chamber 3, and the like. ing.

  The substrate storage cassette 36 stores a plurality of substrates 10p before or after etching. The substrate transfer chamber 35 also maintains atmospheric conditions during etching for transferring the substrate 10p from the substrate storage cassette 36 to the substrate carry-in chamber 33, or for transferring the substrate 10p from the substrate carry-out chamber 34 to the substrate storage cassette 36. It is a room.

  The substrate 10p is moved between the substrate storage cassette 36 and the substrate transfer chamber 35 and between the substrate transfer chamber 35 and the substrate carry-in chamber 33 and the substrate carry-out chamber 34 by an arm (not shown) other than the arm 71. Is done.

  The substrate carry-in chamber 33 is a take-out port for carrying the substrate 10p before etching from the substrate transfer chamber 35 into the preliminary chamber 3, and the substrate carry-out chamber 34 transfers the substrate 10p after etching from the preliminary chamber 3 to the substrate transfer chamber 35. It is a take-out port for carrying it out.

  Next, by using the dry etching apparatus 1 having such a configuration, a thin film formed on the substrate 10p, for example, a polysilicon (P-Si) film constituting the semiconductor layer of the TFT 30 of the TFT substrate 10 is formed in a predetermined manner. The preheating and main heating methods when etching into a shape will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 3, 4, and 5, and the diagram of FIG. 6.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a substrate heat treatment method before etching of the TFT substrate according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the process chamber pressure during each etching process or each film forming process. It is a graph which shows temperature and processing time.

  As shown in FIG. 5, first, in step S <b> 1, the unetched substrate 10 p carried into the substrate carry-in chamber 33 through the substrate transfer chamber 35 from the substrate storage cassette 36 is carried into the preliminary chamber 3 by the arm 71. After that, it is placed on the stage base 75.

  Subsequently, in step S2, the inside of the preliminary chamber 3 is depressurized by the operation of the evacuation pump 74, the inside of the preliminary chamber 3 is brought into a high vacuum state, and the substrate 10p placed on the stage base 75 is heated by the heater 72. Preheated.

  The preheating is performed for removing moisture adhering to the substrate 10p before etching. Further, the preheating of the substrate 10p is not limited to the heater 72, and may be lamp annealing, heating using infrared rays, heating using a nitrogen atmosphere, or the like.

  In the preheating, when the P-Si film formed on the substrate 10p is etched in the processing chamber 2, the substrate 10p has a processing substrate temperature used for etching as shown in FIG. The substrate is heated to a temperature higher than 0 ° C. so that the substrate is not broken. The substrate temperature of the substrate 10p placed on the stage base 75 is measured using infrared rays or the like by the above-described temperature measuring device provided in the preliminary chamber 3.

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 6, the preheating is performed at a temperature higher than about 70 ° C. which becomes the processing substrate temperature in the same time as 300 sec, which is the time for etching the P—Si film of the substrate 10 p in the processing chamber 2. It is good to be heated. This is because the substrate 10p is efficiently carried into the processing chamber 2 from the preliminary chamber 3 in accordance with the etching time of the substrate 10p in the processing chamber 2. In addition, if the preheating is performed for a longer time than 300 seconds, the moisture adhering to the substrate 10p can be removed more reliably.

  Returning to FIG. 5, in the subsequent step S <b> 3, it is determined whether or not the substrate temperature of the substrate 10 p in the preliminary chamber 3 is higher than about 70 ° C. If not, the process returns to step S2, and heating by the heater 72 is performed until the temperature becomes higher than about 70 ° C.

  In step S3, if the substrate temperature is higher than about 70 ° C., the process proceeds to step S4. In step S4, the substrate 10p is placed in the processing chamber 2 via the opened opening / closing door 90. The board 10p carried in by 71 is placed on the stage base 5.

Next, in step S5, when the P-Si film of the substrate 10p is etched in the processing chamber 2 by the evacuation pump 44, as shown in FIG. The pressure is reduced to 00 × 10 ⁻³ Pa, the inside of the processing chamber 2 is brought into a high vacuum state, and the substrate 10 p is fully heated by the heater 42 to about 70 ° C. which is the processing substrate temperature.

  Thereafter, high-frequency power is applied to the cathode 43 and the anode 47 by a high-frequency power source to generate plasma used during dry etching between the cathode 43 and the anode 47. The P—Si film formed on the substrate 10p is etched.

  Thus, in the present embodiment, in the preliminary heating of the substrate 10p in the preliminary chamber 3, the temperature of the substrate 10p is heated to a temperature higher than about 70 ° C., which is the processing substrate temperature during the P-Si film etching. After that, it is shown that the substrate 10p is carried into the processing chamber 2 by the arm 71 from the preliminary chamber 3.

  According to this, when the substrate 10p is carried into the processing chamber 2 from the preliminary chamber 3 in order to etch the P-Si film, moisture from the substrate 10p is mixed into the atmosphere of the processing chamber 2. The water adsorbed and adhered to the substrate 10p is not only removed by preheating in the preliminary chamber 3, but the temperature of the substrate 10p in the preliminary chamber 3 is set higher than the processing substrate temperature of the substrate 10p in the processing chamber 2. This can be prevented.

  Therefore, the by-product adhering to the inner wall of the processing chamber 2 is peeled off and dropped from the inner wall by reacting and mixing with moisture in the atmosphere of the processing chamber 2, and is attached to the substrate 10p being processed. Can be reduced as compared with the prior art.

  A modification will be described below.

  In the present embodiment, the etching of the thin film formed on the substrate 10p has been described by taking the case of etching the P—Si film as an example.

  For example, when etching an AL film that forms a known data line of the TFT substrate 10 formed on the substrate 10p, the temperature of the substrate 10p in the preliminary chamber 3 is as shown in FIG. If the substrate 10p is carried into the processing chamber 2 from the preliminary chamber 3 after being heated in the preliminary chamber 3 to a temperature higher than about 100 ° C., which is the processing substrate temperature, so that the substrate is not broken, it is the same as in the present embodiment. The effect of can be obtained.

  Even in this case, as shown in FIG. 6, as shown in FIG. 6, the AL film on the substrate 10 p is preheated to a temperature higher than about 100 ° C. in the same time as 200 seconds, which is the time for etching in the processing chamber 2. Then, the substrate 10p can be efficiently carried into the processing chamber 2 from the preliminary chamber 3 in accordance with the etching time of the substrate 10p in the processing chamber 2. In addition, if the preheating is performed for a longer time than 200 seconds, the moisture adhering to the substrate 10p can be more reliably removed.

  Further, the present embodiment may be applied not only to etching but also to a film forming process using a sputtering apparatus or the like. In this case, the processing chamber 2 is a film forming processing chamber.

  Specifically, when the AL film is formed using a sputtering apparatus, the temperature of the substrate 10p in the preliminary chamber 3 is higher than about 150 ° C., which is the processing substrate temperature, as shown in FIG. In addition, if the substrate 10p is carried into the processing chamber 2 from the preliminary chamber 3 after being heated to a temperature at which the substrate is not broken, the same effect as the present embodiment can be obtained, and a film can be formed on the substrate 10p. When the film is formed, a film containing moisture can be prevented from being formed.

  Furthermore, even when the ITO film formed on the substrate 10p, for example, forming the pixel electrode 9 of the TFT substrate 10 is formed using a sputtering apparatus, the temperature of the substrate 10p in the preliminary chamber 3 is As shown in FIG. 6, if the substrate 10 p is carried into the processing chamber 2 from the preliminary chamber 3 after being heated to a temperature higher than about 450 ° C. which is the processing substrate temperature and not to break the substrate, the above-described process is performed. The same effect as in the case of the AL film forming process can be obtained.

  Further, even when the AL film and the ITO film are formed, as shown in FIG. 6, the AL film and the ITO film are formed in the same time as 60 seconds, which is the time during which the AL film and the ITO film are formed in the processing chamber 2. In the case of the ITO film, when heated to a temperature higher than about 450 ° C. in the case of the ITO film, the substrate 10p is efficiently placed in the preliminary chamber in accordance with the film forming time of the substrate 10p in the processing chamber 2. 3 can be carried into the processing chamber 2. In addition, when the preheating is performed for a longer time than 60 seconds, moisture attached to the substrate 10p can be removed more reliably.

  Hereinafter, another modification will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a modified example in which the moisture content in the atmosphere of the preliminary chamber and the processing chamber is monitored before the substrate is carried into the processing chamber.

  In this embodiment, when the P-Si film is etched, as shown in FIG. 5, in step S3, the temperature of the substrate 10p is heated to a temperature higher than about 70 ° C. which is the processing substrate temperature at the time of etching. Then, in step S4, the substrate 10p is shown to be carried into the processing chamber 2 from the preliminary chamber 3.

  Not only this but between step S3 and step S4, you may have the process of monitoring the moisture content in the atmosphere in the preliminary | backup chamber 3. FIG.

  Specifically, first, in step S3 of FIG. 5, after it is determined that the temperature of the substrate 10p in the preliminary chamber 3 is heated to a temperature higher than about 70 ° C. which is the substrate processing temperature, the step shown in FIG. 7 is then performed. In S <b> 6, as shown in FIG. 4, the amount of water in the atmosphere of the preliminary chamber 3 is measured by the monitoring device 79 provided in the preliminary chamber 3. Further, the amount of moisture in the atmosphere of the processing chamber 2 is measured by the monitoring device 49 provided in the processing chamber 2.

Next, in step S7, the moisture content in the preliminary chamber 3 is the specified moisture content when the treatment chamber 2 is etched, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, the moisture content contained in the treatment pressure 1.00 × 10 ⁻³ Pa, After it is determined whether or not the monitoring is less than 2.00 × 10 ⁻⁴ Pa, if the monitoring is performed less, the process proceeds to step S 4 in FIG. 5 and the substrate 10 p is carried from the preliminary chamber 3 into the processing chamber 2. You may do it.

  According to this, after the moisture content in the atmosphere of the preliminary chamber 3 is monitored to be smaller than the moisture content in the atmosphere of the processing chamber 2, the substrate 10p is carried into the processing chamber 2 from the preliminary chamber 3, It is possible to prevent moisture from being mixed into the atmosphere of the processing chamber 2 from the substrate 10p more reliably than in the present embodiment.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a substrate heat treatment method before etching the TFT substrate according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  In the present embodiment, as compared with the first embodiment described above, the loading of the substrate 10p from the preliminary chamber 3 into the processing chamber 2 is not based on the substrate temperature but on the basis of the pressure. The only difference is that Therefore, only this difference will be described, the same reference numerals are given to the same components as those in the first embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted.

  In the present embodiment, the substrate for the electro-optical device will be described by taking the TFT substrate 10 as an example. The substrate processing method will be described by taking as an example a decompression processing method for the preliminary chamber 3 when the P-Si film formed on the substrate 10p is etched into a predetermined shape.

  As shown in FIG. 8, first, in step S <b> 10, as in the first embodiment, the unetched substrate 10 p carried from the substrate storage cassette 36 to the substrate carry-in chamber 33 via the substrate carrying chamber 35 is preliminarily reserved by the arm 71. After being carried into the chamber 3, it is placed on the stage base 75.

  Subsequently, in step S11, the substrate 72p placed on the stage base 75 is preheated by the heater 72, and the preparatory chamber 3 is depressurized by the operation of the evacuation pump 74, and the preparatory chamber 3 is highly vacuumed. It becomes a state. Note that the decompression in the preliminary chamber 3 is performed in order to remove moisture adhering to the substrate 10p before etching.

In the preliminary chamber 3, when the P—Si film formed on the substrate 10 p is etched in the processing chamber 2, as shown in FIG. 6, the processing pressure at the time of etching is 1.00 × 10 × 10. ^The pressure is reduced from ^-3 Pa. The pressure in the preliminary chamber 3 is measured by the above-described pressure measuring device provided in the preliminary chamber 3.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 6, the decompression process is performed at a processing pressure of 1.00 × 10 ⁻³ at the same time as 300 sec, which is the time for etching the P—Si film of the substrate 10 p in the processing chamber 2. It is better to reduce the pressure than Pa. This is because the substrate 10p is efficiently carried into the processing chamber 2 from the preliminary chamber 3 in accordance with the etching time of the substrate 10p in the processing chamber 2. In addition, if the decompression process is performed for a longer time than 300 seconds, moisture can be more reliably removed from the substrate 10p.

Returning to FIG. 8, in the subsequent step S <b> 12, it is determined whether or not the pressure in the preliminary chamber 3 has been reduced to less than 1.00 × 10 ⁻³ Pa. If not depressurized, the process returns to step S11, and the depressurization process by the operation of the evacuation pump 74 is performed until the depressurization is less than 1.00 × 10 ⁻³ P.

In step S12, if the pressure in the preliminary chamber 3 is reduced to less than 1.00 × 10 ⁻³ Pa, the process proceeds to step S13. In step S13, the substrate 10p is moved as in the first embodiment described above. Then, the arm 71 is loaded into the processing chamber 2 through the opened opening / closing door 90, and the loaded substrate 10 p is placed on the stage base 5.

Next, in step S14, the substrate 10p is fully heated to about 70 ° C., which is the processing substrate temperature, by the heater 42, and the inside of the processing chamber 2 is processed at the processing pressure by the vacuum pump 44 as shown in FIG. The pressure is reduced to a certain 1.00 × 10 ⁻³ Pa, and the inside of the processing chamber 2 becomes a high vacuum state.

  Thereafter, high-frequency power is applied to the cathode 43 and the anode 47 by a high-frequency power source to generate plasma used during dry etching between the cathode 43 and the anode 47. The P—Si film formed on the substrate 10p is etched.

As described above, in the present embodiment, in the decompression process in the preliminary chamber 3, the pressure is reduced from the processing pressure of 1.00 × 10 ⁻³ Pa at the time of etching the P-Si film, and then the arm is removed from the preliminary chamber 3. 71 indicates that the substrate 10p is carried into the processing chamber 2.

  According to this, when the substrate 10p is carried into the processing chamber 2 from the preliminary chamber 3 in order to etch the P-Si film, moisture from the substrate 10p is mixed into the atmosphere of the processing chamber 2. In addition to removing the moisture adsorbed and adhering to the substrate 10p by the decompression process in the preparatory chamber 3, it can be prevented by setting the preparatory chamber 3 at a higher vacuum than during the etching process in the treatment chamber 2. .

  Therefore, the by-product adhering to the inner wall of the processing chamber 2 is peeled off and dropped from the inner wall by reacting and mixing with moisture in the atmosphere of the processing chamber 2, and is attached to the substrate 10p being processed as particles. Can be reduced as compared with the prior art.

  A modification will be described below.

  In the present embodiment, the etching of the thin film formed on the substrate 10p has been described by taking the case of etching the P—Si film as an example.

Not only this, but also in the present embodiment, even when the AL film that is formed on the substrate 10p and constitutes a known data line of the TFT substrate 10, for example, is etched, the pressure in the preliminary chamber 3 is maintained. As shown in FIG. 6, if the substrate 10p is carried into the processing chamber 2 from the preliminary chamber 3 after being depressurized from the processing pressure of 1.00 × 10 ⁻³ Pa, the same effect as in the present embodiment can be obtained. be able to.

Even in this case, as shown in FIG. 6, the pressure is reduced to 1.00 × 10 ⁻³ Pa or less in the same time as 200 seconds that is the time during which the AL film of the substrate 10 p is etched in the processing chamber 2. The substrate 10p can be efficiently carried into the processing chamber 2 from the preliminary chamber 3 in accordance with the etching time of the substrate 10p in the processing chamber 2. In addition, when the decompression process is performed for longer than 200 seconds, the moisture of the substrate 10p can be reliably removed.

  Further, the present embodiment may be applied not only to etching but also to a film forming process using a sputtering apparatus or the like. In this case, the processing chamber 2 is a film forming processing chamber.

Specifically, in the case of an AL film forming process using a sputtering apparatus, the pressure in the preliminary chamber 3 is reduced to less than 1.00 × 10 ⁻⁵ Pa, which is the process pressure, as shown in FIG. Then, if the substrate 10p is carried into the processing chamber 2 from the preliminary chamber 3, the same effect as that of the present embodiment can be obtained, and a film containing moisture is formed when the film is formed on the substrate 10p. Can be prevented from being deposited.

Further, even when the ITO film formed on the substrate 10p is formed using a sputtering apparatus, the pressure in the preliminary chamber 3 becomes 1.00 × as shown in FIG. If the substrate 10p is carried into the processing chamber 2 from the preliminary chamber 3 after the pressure is reduced from 10 ⁻² Pa, the same effect as in the case of the above-described AL film formation processing can be obtained.

Further, even when the AL film and the ITO film are formed, as shown in FIG. 6, the AL film and the ITO film are formed in the same time as 60 seconds, which is the time during which the AL film and the ITO film are formed in the processing chamber 2. In the case of 1.00 × 10 ⁻⁵ Pa in the case of ITO, and in the case of the ITO film, if the pressure is reduced to less than 1.00 × 10 ⁻² Pa, the efficiency is adjusted in accordance with the film formation processing time of the substrate 10p in the processing chamber 2. The substrate 10p can be carried into the processing chamber 2 from the preliminary chamber 3 well. Further, if the decompression process is performed for a longer time than 60 seconds, the moisture of the substrate 10p can be more reliably removed.

  Hereinafter, another modification will be described.

In the present embodiment, when the P-Si film is etched, as shown in FIG. 8, after the pressure in the preliminary chamber 3 is reduced from the processing pressure of 1.00 × 10 ⁻³ Pa in step S12. In step S13, the substrate 10p is shown to be carried into the processing chamber 2 from the preliminary chamber 3.

  Not only this but the process of monitoring the moisture content in the atmosphere of the preliminary | backup chamber 3 may be provided between step S12 and step S13.

Specifically, after it is determined in step S12 of FIG. 8 that the pressure in the preliminary chamber 3 has been reduced from the processing pressure of 1.00 × 10 ⁻³ Pa, the same as in the first embodiment described above, 7, the amount of water in the atmosphere of the preliminary chamber 3 is measured by the monitoring device 79 as shown in FIG. 4. Furthermore, the amount of moisture in the atmosphere of the processing chamber 2 is measured by the monitoring device 49.

Next, in step S7, the moisture content in the preliminary chamber 3 is the specified moisture content when the treatment chamber 2 is etched, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, the moisture content contained in the treatment pressure 1.00 × 10 ⁻³ Pa, After it is determined whether or not the monitoring is less than 2.00 × 10 ⁻⁴ Pa, if the monitoring is less, the substrate 10p is carried into the processing chamber 2 from the preliminary chamber 3 as shown in step S13 of FIG. You may make it do.

  According to this, after the moisture content in the atmosphere of the preliminary chamber 3 is monitored to be smaller than the moisture content in the atmosphere of the processing chamber 2, the substrate 10p is carried into the processing chamber 2 from the preliminary chamber 3, It is possible to prevent moisture from the substrate 10p from being mixed into the atmosphere of the processing chamber 2 more reliably than in the present embodiment.

(Third embodiment)
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a substrate heat treatment method before etching a TFT substrate according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the substrate 10p is transferred from the preliminary chamber 3 to the processing chamber 2 based on either the temperature or the pressure of the substrate, as compared with the first and second embodiments described above. The only difference is that it is based on both. Therefore, only this difference will be described, the same reference numerals are given to the same configurations as those in the first embodiment and the second embodiment, and description thereof will be omitted.

  In the present embodiment, the substrate for the electro-optical device will be described by taking the TFT substrate 10 as an example. Further, the substrate processing method will be described by taking as an example a decompression processing method when the P-Si film formed on the substrate 10p is etched into a predetermined shape.

  As shown in FIG. 9, first, in step S <b> 20, the unetched substrate 10 p carried into the substrate carry-in chamber 33 from the substrate storage cassette 36 via the substrate transfer chamber 35 is carried into the preliminary chamber 3 by the arm 71. After that, it is placed on the stage base 75.

  Subsequently, in step S21, the substrate 10p placed on the stage base 75 is preheated by the heater 72. In the preliminary heating, when the P-Si film formed on the substrate 10p is etched in the preliminary chamber 3, as shown in FIG. 6, the temperature is higher than about 70 ° C. which is the processing substrate temperature used for etching. The substrate is heated to a temperature that does not break the substrate.

In subsequent step S22, the inside of the preliminary chamber 3 is depressurized by the operation of the vacuum pump 74, and the inside of the preliminary chamber 3 is brought into a high vacuum state. In the preliminary chamber 3, when the P—Si film formed on the substrate 10 p is etched in the processing chamber 2, as shown in FIG. 6, the processing pressure at the time of etching is 1.00 × 10 × 10. ^The pressure is reduced from ^-3 Pa.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 6, the preheating and the decompression process are performed at about 70 ° C. which becomes the processing substrate temperature in the same time as 300 seconds, which is the time for etching the P—Si film of the substrate 10 p in the processing chamber 2. It is better that the pressure is lower than 1.00 × 10 ⁻³ Pa, which is the processing pressure. This is because the substrate 10p is efficiently carried into the processing chamber 2 from the preliminary chamber 3 in accordance with the etching time of the substrate 10p in the processing chamber 2. In addition, if the preheating and the decompression process are performed for 300 seconds or longer, moisture can be more reliably removed from the substrate 10p.

  In step S23, it is determined whether or not the substrate temperature of the substrate 10p in the preliminary chamber 3 is higher than about 70 ° C. If not, the process returns to step S21, and heating by the heater 72 is performed until the temperature becomes higher than about 70 ° C. In step S23, if the substrate temperature is higher than about 70 ° C., the process proceeds to step S24.

Subsequently, in step S24, it is determined whether or not the pressure in the preliminary chamber 3 has been reduced to less than 1.00 × 10 ⁻³ Pa. If not depressurized, the process returns to step S22, and the depressurization process by the operation of the evacuation pump 74 is performed until the depressurization is lower than 1.00 × 10 ⁻³ P.

In step S24, if the pressure in the preliminary chamber 3 is reduced to less than 1.00 × 10 ⁻³ Pa, the process proceeds to step S25. In step S25, as in the first and second embodiments described above, The substrate 10p is carried into the processing chamber 2 via the opened opening / closing door 90 by the arm 71, and the carried substrate 10p is placed on the stage base 5.

Next, when the P-Si film on the substrate 10p is etched in the processing chamber 2 in step S25, the substrate 10p is fully heated to about 70 ° C., which is the processing substrate temperature, by the heater 42, and the vacuum pump 44 is used. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 6, the processing pressure in the processing chamber 2 is reduced to 1.00 × 10 ⁻³ Pa, and the processing chamber 2 is brought into a high vacuum state.

  Thereafter, high-frequency power is applied to the cathode 43 and the anode 47 by a high-frequency power source to generate plasma used during dry etching between the cathode 43 and the anode 47. The P—Si film formed on the substrate 10p is etched.

Thus, in the present embodiment, in the preliminary heating of the substrate 10p in the preliminary chamber 3, the temperature of the substrate 10p is heated to a temperature higher than about 70 ° C., which is the processing substrate temperature during the P-Si film etching. In the decompression process in the preliminary chamber 3, the substrate 10 p is removed from the preliminary chamber 3 by the arm 71 after being depressurized from a processing pressure of 1.00 × 10 ⁻³ Pa at the time of etching the P—Si film. It was shown that it was carried in.

  According to this, when the substrate 10p is carried into the processing chamber 2 from the preliminary chamber 3 in order to etch the P-Si film, the moisture from the substrate 10p is mixed into the atmosphere of the processing chamber 2. In addition to removing the moisture adsorbed and adhering to the substrate 10p by the decompression process in the preliminary chamber 3, the temperature of the substrate 10p in the preliminary chamber 3 is set higher than the processing substrate temperature of the substrate 10p in the processing chamber 2. At the same time, it is possible to prevent the preliminary chamber 3 from being kept at a higher vacuum than during the etching process in the processing chamber 2.

  Therefore, the by-product adhering to the inner wall of the processing chamber 2 is peeled off and dropped from the inner wall by reacting and mixing with moisture in the atmosphere of the processing chamber 2, and is attached to the substrate 10p being processed. Can be reduced as compared with the first and second embodiments described above.

  A modification will be described below.

  In the present embodiment, the etching of the thin film formed on the substrate 10p has been described by taking the case of etching the P—Si film as an example.

The temperature of the substrate 10p in the preliminary chamber 3 is not limited to this, and the temperature of the substrate 10p in the spare chamber 3 is also shown in FIG. 6, for example, when the AL film that forms a known data line of the TFT substrate 10 is etched. In addition, the preliminary chamber 3 is heated to a temperature higher than about 100 ° C., which is the processing substrate temperature, so that the substrate is not broken, and the pressure in the preliminary chamber 3 becomes the processing pressure as shown in FIG. If the substrate 10p is carried into the processing chamber 2 from the preliminary chamber 3 after the pressure is reduced from 1.00 × 10 ⁻³ Pa, the same effect as in the present embodiment can be obtained.

Even in this case, as shown in FIG. 6, the process is performed until the temperature reaches about 100 ° C. or higher in the same time as 200 seconds, which is the time during which the AL film of the substrate 10 p is etched in the processing chamber 2. When the pressure is reduced to 0.000 × 10 ⁻³ Pa or less, the substrate 10p can be efficiently carried into the processing chamber 2 from the preliminary chamber 3 in accordance with the etching time of the substrate 10p in the processing chamber 2. Moreover, if it is performed for longer than 200 seconds, the moisture of the substrate 10p can be removed more reliably.

  Further, the present embodiment may be applied not only to etching but also to a film forming process using a sputtering apparatus or the like. In this case, the processing chamber 2 is a film forming processing chamber.

Specifically, in the case of an AL film forming process using a sputtering apparatus, the temperature of the substrate 10p in the preliminary chamber 3 is higher than about 150 ° C., which is the processing substrate temperature, as shown in FIG. Then, the substrate is heated to a temperature at which the substrate is not broken, and the pressure in the preliminary chamber 3 is reduced to 1.00 × 10 ⁻⁵ Pa as the processing pressure as shown in FIG. If the substrate 10p is carried into the processing chamber 2 from the above, the same effect as in the present embodiment can be obtained, and when a film is formed on the substrate 10p, a film containing moisture is formed. Can be prevented.

Further, even when the ITO film formed on the substrate 10p is formed using a sputtering apparatus, the temperature of the substrate 10p in the preliminary chamber 3 becomes the processing substrate temperature as shown in FIG. The substrate is heated to a temperature higher than about 450 ° C. so that the substrate is not broken, and the pressure in the preliminary chamber 3 is reduced to a processing pressure of 1.00 × 10 ⁻² Pa as shown in FIG. Then, if the substrate 10p is carried into the processing chamber 2 from the preliminary chamber 3, the same effects as those in the case of the AL film forming process described above can be obtained.

Further, even when the AL film and the ITO film are formed, as shown in FIG. 6, the AL film and the ITO film are formed in the processing chamber 2 for about the same time as 60 seconds. In the case of an ITO film at 150 ° C., it is heated to about 450 ° C., and in the case of an AL film, from 1.00 × 10 ⁻⁵ Pa, in the case of an ITO film, from 1.00 × 10 ⁻² Pa If the pressure is reduced, the substrate 10p can be efficiently carried into the processing chamber 2 from the preliminary chamber 3 in accordance with the film forming time of the substrate 10p in the processing chamber 2. In addition, if it is performed for a longer time than 60 seconds, it is possible to more reliably remove moisture attached to the substrate 10p.

  Hereinafter, another modification will be described.

In this embodiment, when etching the P-Si film, as shown in FIG. 9, in step S23, the temperature of the substrate 10p is heated to a temperature higher than about 70 ° C., which is the processing substrate temperature at the time of etching. In step S24, the substrate 10p is loaded into the processing chamber 2 from the preliminary chamber 3 after the pressure in the preliminary chamber 3 is reduced from the processing pressure of 1.00 × 10 ⁻³ Pa.

  Not only this but between step S24 and step S25, you may have the process of monitoring the moisture content in the atmosphere of the preliminary | backup chamber 3. FIG.

Specifically, first, in step S24 of FIG. 9, after determining that the pressure in the preliminary chamber 3 has been reduced from the processing pressure of 1.00 × 10 ⁻³ Pa, the first and second embodiments described above. Similarly, next, in step S6 shown in FIG. 7, as shown in FIG. 4, the amount of water in the atmosphere of the preliminary chamber 3 is measured by the monitoring device 79. Furthermore, the amount of moisture in the atmosphere of the processing chamber 2 is measured by the monitoring device 49.

Next, in step S7, the moisture content in the preliminary chamber 3 is the specified moisture content when the treatment chamber 2 is etched, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, the moisture content contained in the treatment pressure 1.00 × 10 ⁻³ Pa, It is determined whether or not the monitoring is less than 2.00 × 10 ⁻⁴ Pa. If the monitoring is less, the substrate 10p is transferred from the preliminary chamber 3 to the processing chamber 2 as shown in step S25 of FIG. It may be.

  According to this, after the moisture content in the atmosphere of the preliminary chamber 3 is monitored to be smaller than the moisture content in the atmosphere of the processing chamber 2, the substrate 10p is carried into the processing chamber 2 from the preliminary chamber 3, It is possible to prevent moisture from the substrate 10p from being mixed into the atmosphere of the processing chamber 2 even more reliably than in the present embodiment.

  In the first to third embodiments described above, the electro-optical device substrate has been described by taking the substrate 10p in the middle of forming each thin film in the TFT substrate 10 as an example. It goes without saying that the present invention may be applied to a substrate in the middle of forming each thin film on the counter substrate 20. Furthermore, the substrate is not limited to the electro-optical device, and may be a substrate used for a semiconductor device.

  In the first to third embodiments described above, the processing method in the case of using a film forming apparatus or a dry etching apparatus has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and after processing on the inner wall of the apparatus, Any apparatus may be used as long as it is an apparatus used for a process in which a by-product is attached.

  Furthermore, in the first to third embodiments described above, the single-wafer processing method for processing the substrates 10p one by one has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and a plurality of substrates 10p are processed. Even if it is applied to the method, the same effect as this embodiment can be obtained.

  The liquid crystal device 100 in which the substrate processed by the processing method of the above-described embodiment is used is not limited to the illustrated example described above, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. Of course. For example, the above-described liquid crystal device has been described by taking an active matrix type liquid crystal display module using an active element (active element) such as a TFT (thin film transistor) as an example. An active matrix type liquid crystal display module using active elements (active elements) may be used.

  The electro-optical device may be a display device that forms elements on a semiconductor substrate, for example, LCOS (Liquid Crystal On Silicon). In LCOS, a single crystal silicon substrate is used as an element substrate, and a transistor is formed on a single crystal silicon substrate as a switching element used for a pixel or a peripheral circuit. In addition, a reflective pixel electrode is used for the pixel, and each element of the pixel is formed below the pixel electrode.

  In addition, the electro-optical device has a display device in which a pair of electrodes are formed on the same layer of a substrate on one side, for example, IPS (In-Plane Switching), or a pair of electrodes on one substrate via an insulating film. It may be a display device FFS (Fringe Field Switching) formed.

  If a substrate processed by the processing method described in the first to third embodiments is used for these electro-optical devices, an electro-optical device having improved reliability and improved yield rate compared to the conventional one is provided. be able to.

  Furthermore, examples of the electronic apparatus in which the liquid crystal device of the present invention is used include a projection display device, specifically, a projector. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a configuration of a projector in which three liquid crystal devices of FIG. 1 are arranged.

  As shown in the figure, in the projector 1100, for example, three (100R, 100G, 100B) liquid crystal devices 100 are disposed as light valves for RGB.

  In the projector 1100, when projection light is emitted from a lamp unit 1102 of a white light source such as a metal halide lamp, light components R, G, and R corresponding to the three primary colors of RGB are obtained by three mirrors 1106 and two dichroic mirrors 1108. The light is divided into B and led to the light valves 100R, 100G, and 100B corresponding to the respective colors.

  At this time, in particular, the B light is guided through a relay lens system 1121 including an incident lens 1122, a relay lens 1123, and an exit lens 1124 in order to prevent light loss due to a long optical path.

  The light components corresponding to the three primary colors modulated by the light valves 100R, 100G, and 100B are synthesized again by the dichroic prism 1112, and then projected as a color image on the screen 1120 via the projection lens 1114.

  If the liquid crystal device 100 using the substrate processed by the processing method described in the first to third embodiments is used for the projector 1100, the projector has improved reliability and the yield rate is improved compared to the conventional one. 1100 can be provided.

1 is a plan view of a liquid crystal device including an element substrate that is processed by a processing method according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Sectional drawing cut | disconnected along the II-II line | wire in FIG. The top view which shows the outline of a structure of a dry etching apparatus. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the inside of a preliminary chamber and a processing chamber of the dry etching apparatus of FIG. 3. The flowchart which shows the heat processing method of the board | substrate before the etching of the TFT substrate which shows 1st Embodiment of this invention. The table | surface which shows the pressure of the process chamber in the case of each etching process or each film-forming process, process substrate temperature, and process time. The flowchart which shows the modification which monitors the moisture content of a preliminary | backup chamber and a processing chamber before carrying in a board | substrate in a processing chamber. The flowchart which shows the heat processing method of the board | substrate before the etching of the TFT substrate which shows 2nd Embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which shows the heat processing method of the board | substrate before the etching of the TFT substrate which shows 3rd Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a projector in which three liquid crystal devices of FIG. 1 are arranged.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 2 ... Processing chamber, 3 ... Preliminary chamber, 9 ... Pixel electrode, 10 ... TFT substrate, 10h ... Display area, 10p ... Substrate, 20 ... Counter substrate, 50 ... Liquid crystal, 100 ... Liquid crystal device, 1100 ... Projector.

Claims (11)

In the processing method of the substrate for the electro-optical device, in which the substrate carried into the processing chamber is subjected to film formation processing or etching processing,
A step of preheating the substrate in a preliminary chamber connected to the processing chamber;
The preheated substrate is carried into the processing chamber from the preliminary chamber, and the substrate is heated to the processing substrate temperature in the processing chamber;
Comprising
The method of processing a substrate for an electro-optical device, wherein the step of preheating the substrate is performed until a temperature of the substrate in the preliminary chamber becomes higher than a temperature of the processing substrate in the processing chamber.   The method for processing a substrate for an electro-optical device according to claim 1, wherein the step of preheating the substrate is performed under a higher vacuum than the step of heating the substrate.   The step of preheating the substrate is performed for the same time as the step of forming or etching the substrate in the processing chamber or longer than the step of forming or etching the substrate. The method for processing a substrate for an electro-optical device according to claim 1 or 2. In the step of preheating the substrate, the step of monitoring the amount of moisture in the atmosphere of the preliminary chamber, and the step of monitoring the amount of moisture in the atmosphere of the processing chamber,
After monitoring that the amount of water in the atmosphere of the preliminary chamber is less than the amount of water in the atmosphere of the processing chamber, the substrate is carried into the processing chamber from the preliminary chamber. The method for processing a substrate for an electro-optical device according to claim 1. In the processing method of the substrate for the electro-optical device, in which the substrate carried into the processing chamber is subjected to film formation processing or etching processing,
A step of depressurizing a preparatory chamber connected to the processing chamber into which the substrate is loaded;
A step of reducing the processing chamber in which the substrate is loaded from the preliminary chamber to a processing pressure;
Comprising
The method of processing a substrate for an electro-optical device, wherein the step of reducing the pressure in the preliminary chamber is performed under a high vacuum in which the pressure in the preliminary chamber is reduced from the processing pressure.   The step of reducing the pressure in the preliminary chamber is performed by heating until the temperature of the substrate becomes higher than a processing substrate temperature at which the substrate is subjected to a film formation process or an etching process in the processing chamber. Item 6. A method for processing a substrate for an electro-optical device according to Item 5.   The step of depressurizing the preliminary chamber is performed for the same time as the step of forming the film or etching the substrate in the processing chamber, or longer than the step of forming or etching the substrate. The method for processing a substrate for an electro-optical device according to claim 5 or 6. In the step of depressurizing the preliminary chamber, the step of monitoring the amount of water in the atmosphere of the preliminary chamber, and the step of monitoring the amount of water in the atmosphere of the processing chamber,
After monitoring that the amount of water in the atmosphere of the preliminary chamber is less than the amount of water in the atmosphere of the processing chamber, the substrate is carried into the processing chamber from the preliminary chamber. The method for processing a substrate for an electro-optical device according to claim 5.   An electro-optical device substrate manufactured by the electro-optical device substrate processing method according to claim 1. In an electro-optical device in which an electro-optical material is sandwiched between an element substrate in which a plurality of pixel electrodes are formed in a display region and a counter substrate disposed to face the element substrate.
The electro-optical device according to claim 9, wherein the electro-optical device substrate constitutes at least one of the element substrate and the counter substrate.   An electronic apparatus comprising the electro-optical device according to claim 10.

Images