JP2008117857A - Surface processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain desired gas retention and flow conditions irrespective of specifications of a roller conveyer. <P>SOLUTION: A material W to be processed is carried in one direction by the roller conveyer 10. A head 20 having a spout 26 for jetting a processing gas downward is provided above the material W. A container structure 30 is provided below the material W oppositely to the head 20. The container structure 30 has a first container 31 for accommodating part of the roller conveyer 10 and a second container 32 smaller than the first container 31 and accommodated in the first container 31 oppositely to the spout 26. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus for performing surface treatment such as cleaning, surface modification, etching, and film formation by spraying a treatment fluid onto an object to be treated such as a glass substrate or a semiconductor wafer.

For example, Patent Document 1 describes a surface treatment apparatus that includes a head that blows out a processing gas and a roller conveyor disposed below the head. The substrate to be processed is transported by the roller conveyor so as to cross under the head. A container for accommodating a part of the roller conveyor is provided below the head. This prevents the processing gas blown from the head from escaping to the lower side of the roller conveyor and diffusing into the atmosphere.
JP 2005-46832 A

  Since the container described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 is designed to be almost integrated into the roller conveyor, it is necessary to make the size and shape correspond to the specifications of the roller conveyor. Therefore, for example, when controlling the stagnation and flow state of the gas, it is necessary to adjust the gas supply amount, the suction amount, and the like for each specification of the container and the roller conveyor.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances,
(A) a roller conveyor that conveys the workpiece in one direction on one virtual plane;
(B) a head that is disposed on the upper side of the virtual plane and has an ejection port that ejects the processing fluid downward;
(C) a container structure disposed below the virtual plane so as to face the head;
Comprising the container structure,
(A) a first container containing a part of the roller conveyor;
(B) a second container accommodated in the first container so as to be smaller than the first container and opposed to the ejection port;
It is characterized by having.
According to this characteristic configuration, the first container is sized and shaped to match the roller conveyor, while the second container is sized and shaped regardless of the specifications of the roller conveyor, so that the desired stay and flow conditions can be achieved. Can be obtained. Moreover, since it becomes a double container structure, it can prevent reliably that the processing fluid which went around to the lower side of a roller conveyor leaks outside.
A part of the roller conveyor housed in the first container may be further housed in the second container.

The first container is preferably provided with a connection port connected to the fluid discharge duct. Thereby, the fluid in the first container can be discharged from the duct, and the fluid in the second container can be discharged from the duct through the first container.
The first container is preferably provided with a diffusion plate that covers the connection port slightly apart. Thereby, the discharge flow to the duct in the first container can be diffused in the circumferential direction of the diffusion plate.

It is preferable that the upper edge of the first container is disposed in the vicinity of the virtual plane. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the atmospheric gas from being caught in the container or the processing fluid flowing into the container from leaking out between the workpiece and the upper edge of the container.
It is preferable that the upper edge of the second container is disposed in proximity to the virtual plane. Thereby, the pressure loss between the upper edge of the second container and the object to be processed can be increased, and the fluid can be retained in the second container to some extent and can be uniformly discharged to the first container.

The second container may be supported by the first container via a support member.
The second container may be supported by the first container via a height adjustment mechanism so that the height can be adjusted.
A column whose height can be adjusted is erected on the bottom of the first container, and the second container may be supported by the column. Accordingly, the second container can be easily arranged at a predetermined height regardless of the specifications of the first container and the roller conveyor.

The upper surface of the first container may be opened. The upper surface of the second container may be opened.
The head is preferably provided with a cover portion that covers the upper surface opening of the first container. As a result, the processing fluid can be reliably confined between the head and the container structure, and an external atmosphere can be reliably prevented from entering between the head and the container structure.
It is preferable that the one end portion in the one direction of the cover portion and the first container is arranged so as to face each other vertically. By narrowing the distance between the cover portion and the end portion of the first container, it is possible to prevent the external atmosphere from being caught between the head and the container structure together with the object to be processed.
It is preferable that a suction port for sucking in a surrounding fluid is formed in the vicinity of the end portion in one direction of the cover portion. As a result, the processing fluid can be sucked after flowing from the outlet to near the end of the cover. In addition, it is possible to more reliably prevent the atmospheric gas from entering between the head and the container structure.

  According to the present invention, the stagnation and flow state of the processing fluid and the atmospheric gas can be easily controlled by making the second container have a constant size and shape regardless of the specifications of the roller conveyor. Moreover, since it becomes a double container structure, it can prevent reliably that the processing fluid which went around to the lower side of a roller conveyor leaks outside.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a surface treatment apparatus M that uses a large glass substrate W as a workpiece. As the surface processing apparatus M, a so-called remote atmospheric pressure plasma processing apparatus is used in which a processing gas (processing fluid) is converted into plasma in a plasma discharge space at approximately atmospheric pressure and is brought into contact with an object to be processed disposed outside the plasma space. ing. The processing content is, for example, cleaning, but is not limited thereto, and may be surface modification, etching, film formation, or the like.
Here, the approximately atmospheric pressure refers to the range of ^{1.013 × 10 4 ~50.663 × 10 4} Pa, considering the convenience of easier and device configuration of the pressure adjustment, 1.333 × ¹⁰ 4 ~ 10.664 × 10 ⁴ Pa is preferable, and 9.331 × 10 ^{4 to} 10.9797 × 10 ⁴ Pa is more preferable.

The surface treatment apparatus M includes a roller conveyor 10, a plasma treatment head 20, and a container structure 30.
As is well known, the roller conveyor 10 has a large number of shafts 11 and rollers 12. The shafts 11 extend in the front-rear direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 1 and are arranged on the left and right. The rollers 12 are arranged at intervals in the extending direction of the shafts 11. The rollers 12 arranged on the left and right outer sides of the head body 21 to be described later are made of, for example, a corrosion-resistant resin, and the rollers 12 arranged just below the head body 21 are made of, for example, stainless steel.

The substrate W to be processed is placed horizontally on the roller 12 and is conveyed in the left-right direction. The surface PL to be transported of the substrate to be processed W constitutes “1 virtual plane” in the claims.
Step-shaped guides (not shown) for guiding the edge of the substrate W to be processed are provided on the rollers 12 at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the shaft 11 disposed on the left and right outer sides of the head body 21 to be described later. On the other hand, the roller 12 disposed immediately below the head body 21 described later is not provided with the above guide.

  The head 20 includes a head main body 21 and a pair of electrodes 22 and 22 accommodated in the main body 21. One of these electrodes 22, 22 is connected to the power source 1 to be a hot electrode, and the other is electrically grounded to be a ground electrode. Solid dielectrics 23 are provided on the opposing surfaces of these electrodes 22, 22, respectively. A substantially narrow gap 24 is formed between the solid dielectrics 23 and 23 of the pair of electrodes 22 and 22. By supplying a voltage from the power source 1, an electric field is applied between the electrodes 22 and 22 to generate an atmospheric pressure glow discharge, and the gap 24 becomes an atmospheric pressure plasma discharge space.

  A metal plate (electric field shielding member) 25 is provided on the bottom surface of the head main body 21. The metal plate 25 is electrically grounded. Thereby, it is possible to prevent an abnormal discharge such as an arc from flying from the hot electrode to the substrate W to be processed.

  The metal plate 25 is formed with an ejection port 26 connected to the lower end portion of the gap 24. The position of the ejection port 26 in the left-right direction is set so that the shaft 11 of the roller conveyor 10 is not located immediately below the ejection port 26.

  The head 20 is supported on a gantry (not shown) so that its height can be adjusted. Thereby, the gap (working distance) between the ejection port 26 and the substrate to be processed W can be adjusted within a range of, for example, approximately 0 to 15 mm. The working distance is standard, for example, 3.0 mm.

  A processing gas source 2 is connected to the head 20. The processing gas source 2 stores a processing gas (processing fluid) containing components according to the processing purpose. An introduction line 2 a from the processing gas source 2 is connected to the upper end portion of the discharge space 24. As a result, the processing gas is introduced into the discharge space 24 via the introduction line 2a and is turned into plasma. This plasma-ized processing gas is blown downward from the ejection port 26.

  The electrode 22, the solid dielectric 23, the metal plate 25, and the discharge space 24 and the ejection port 26 extend in the front-rear direction (in the direction orthogonal to the plane of FIG. 1). The introduction line 2a on the upper side of the head 20 is provided with a homogenizing unit that makes the processing gas uniform in the front-rear direction. As a result, the processing gas is uniformly introduced in the longitudinal direction of the discharge space 24 and is ejected uniformly from the entire longitudinal direction of the ejection port 26. The length of the ejection port 26 is preferably a length corresponding to the width dimension in the front-rear direction of the substrate W to be processed.

  The head main body 21 is covered with a hood 27. Cover portions 28 are respectively provided on the lower side portions of the left and right side portions of the hood 27. The cover portion 28 has a cover main body 28a that is formed in a horizontal plate shape and extends outward from the hood 27, and an end wall 28b that is suspended from the outer end of the cover main body 28a. The cover portion 28 extends in the front-rear direction (the direction orthogonal to the plane of FIG. 1).

The dimension of the cover part 28 in the left-right direction is, for example, 100 mm or more. Preferably, the outer end wall 28b is set so as to be positioned at substantially the same left-right direction position as the left and right side walls 31a of the first container 31 described later. ing. The distance between the cover main body 28a and the substrate W to be processed is set to be 30 to 50 mm, for example. The distance between the lower end portion of the end wall 28b and the substrate W to be processed is set to be 3 to 5 mm, for example.
When processing the workpiece W having various thicknesses, an interval adjusting plate that can slide up and down is provided on the wall 28b so that the interval between the workpiece W and the workpiece W can be adjusted appropriately.

  A suction part 29 is provided on the inner side of the end wall 28 b of the cover part 28. The suction portion 29 is formed with a suction port 29a opened downward. The suction port 29a extends in the front-rear direction (the direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 1). The suction port 29 a is disposed at a position substantially opposite to the left and right edges of the first container 31 to be described later. The suction part 29 is connected to the exhaust means 4 including a suction pump and the like via the exhaust path 4a.

The container structure 30 will be described.
The container structure 30 is disposed below the substrate transfer surface PL so as to face the head 10. A substrate to be processed W is inserted between the head 10 and the container structure 30.
The container structure 30 includes a first container 31 and a second container 32. The first container 31 has a box shape with a large top opening and extends in the front-rear direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. Although not shown in detail, the first container 31 is connected to and supported by the roller conveyor 20. A part of the shaft 11 and the roller 12 of the roller conveyor 10 are accommodated in the first container 31. Although not shown, recesses through which the roller shaft 11 is passed are formed on the walls at both ends of the first container 31 in the longitudinal direction (the direction orthogonal to the plane of FIG. 1) (see FIG. 2).

The width of the first container 31 in the left-right direction is substantially the same as the width between the outer ends of the left and right cover portions 28, 28 of the head 20. The left and right side walls 31a of the first container 31 are arranged so that the left and right side positions of the left and right side walls 31a are substantially the same as the left and right side positions of the outer end wall 28b of the head cover portion 28, and the walls 31a and 28a are substantially flush with each other. Yes. Between these walls 31a and 28a, a narrow loading / unloading port 5 for loading / unloading the substrate W to be processed is defined. The distance between the upper end portion of the side wall 31a and the substrate transport surface PL is set to be 3 to 5 mm, for example.
Usually, the first container 31 is manufactured so as to meet the specifications of the roller conveyor 10, so the cover portion 28 may be designed and manufactured according to the first container 31.

For example, a duct connection port 31e is provided at the center of the bottom 31b of the first container 31. The fluid discharge duct 6a is connected to the connection port 31e. The duct 6a is connected to the exhaust means 6 including a suction pump or the like. The exhaust unit 6 may use the same exhaust unit as the exhaust unit 4 for the suction port 29 a of the head 20.
The duct connection port 31e is not limited to being disposed at the center portion of the bottom portion 31b of the first container 31, and a plurality of duct connection ports 31e may be provided apart from each other.

  A diffusion plate 34 is placed on the duct connection port 31e. Legs 34 a are provided at the four corners of the diffusion plate 34. The diffusion plate 34 is installed by the legs 34a slightly apart from the bottom 31b of the first container 31 and the duct connection port 31e. The distance between the diffusion plate 34 and the duct connection port 31b is set to about 20 mm, for example.

  The second container 32 is smaller than the first container 31 and is accommodated in the first container 31. The second container 32 has a box shape with an upper opening, and extends in the front-rear direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. The second container 32 is disposed directly below the head body 21. The 2nd container 32 should just be arrange | positioned so that the ejection port 26 may be opposed at least. In the drawing, the left-right width of the second container 32 is substantially the same as or slightly larger than the left-right width of the head main body 21, but may be smaller than the left-right width of the head main body 21, for example, a flange 32f described later. May be such that it is positioned directly below the electrode 22, or may be a width that can be inserted between the two roller shafts 11, 11.

Inside the second container 32, one or a plurality (two in the figure) of the roller shafts 11 located immediately below the head main body 21 are accommodated. The gap between the roller 12 inside the second container and the bottom 32b of the second container 32 is set to be, for example, about 5 to 20 mm. The clearance between the roller 12 in the second container and the left and right side walls 32a of the second container 32 is set to be, for example, about 5 to 20 mm.
As shown in FIG. 2, recesses 32 d extending downward from the upper edge are formed in the walls 32 c at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the second container 32. The roller shaft 11 is passed through the recess 32d.

  As shown in FIG.1 and FIG.2, the flange 32f which protrudes horizontally on the left-right outer side is provided in the upper end part of the left-right side wall 32a of the 2nd container 32. As shown in FIG. The flange 32f is disposed at a height slightly retracted below the upper end portion of the roller 12, and is close to the substrate transport surface PL. The distance between the flange 32f and the substrate transfer surface PL is set to be 3 to 5 mm, for example.

A support structure for the second container 32 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of support columns 33 (support members) are erected on the bottom 31 b of the first container 31. The lower end portion of the support column 33 is fixed to the bottom portion 31b of the first container 31 by a fixing means such as a screw (not shown). The second container 32 is supported on the upper end portions of the columns 33.

  The support | pillar 33 can be expanded-contracted up and down. Thereby, the height of the second container 32 can be adjusted. As a result, the clearance between the flange 32f and the substrate W to be processed can be adjusted. The column 33 constitutes a height adjustment mechanism for the second container 32.

A method for surface-treating the substrate W using the above-described surface treatment apparatus will be described.
The substrate W to be processed is placed on the conveyor roller 12 on the left outer side of the head 20, for example. Then, the roller 12 is rotated. As a result, the substrate W is inserted between the head 20 and the container structure 30 through the left side loading / unloading port 5 and guided below the head main body 21. As the substrate W is transferred, the upper surface openings of the containers 31 and 32 are gradually closed by the substrate W. Along with the substrate transport, the processing gas is introduced into the discharge space 24 to be converted into plasma, and is ejected downward from the ejection port 26.

  Since the entrance / exit 5 is sufficiently narrow, it is possible to suppress the external atmosphere from being caught between the head 20 and the container structure 30 together with the substrate W. Thereby, the uniformity and stability of processing can be secured. Further, since it is not necessary to push the atmospheric gas to the outside by the processing gas, sufficient processing efficiency can be ensured even if the processing gas flow rate is reduced. Furthermore, it is possible to reliably prevent the processing gas from leaking from the inlet / outlet 5 to the outside.

  Until the upper surface of the second container 32 is blocked by the substrate W, the processing gas ejected from the head 20 passes between the roller shafts 11 and 11 directly below the head body 21 and passes through the second container 32. Flows into the inside. As a result, the processing gas can be prevented from diffusing into the atmosphere from the lower side of the conveyor 10. Moreover, since the upper surface openings of the first and second containers 31 and 32 are covered with the head 20 including the cover portion 28, it is possible to prevent the processing gas from diffusing into the upper atmosphere. The processing gas overflowing from the second container 32 flows between the first container 31 and the second container 32. This can more reliably prevent the processing gas from diffusing into the atmosphere. The gas flowing between the first container 31 and the second container 32 is guided to the bottom of the first container 31, sucked into the duct 6 a from the duct connection port 31 e, and discharged from the exhaust means 6. At this time, the diffusion plate 34 can disperse the flow of intake air over the entire circumference in the circumferential direction of the diffusion plate 34. In this way, the flow state in the container structure 30 can be easily controlled.

The processing gas comes into contact with the surface of the substrate W as the substrate W passes just below the ejection port 26. Thereby, the surface treatment of the substrate W is performed. The processing gas is divided into left and right from the ejection port 26, and flows in the passage between the head 20 and the substrate W toward the left and right outer sides. And it is sucked from the suction port 29a and discharged through the exhaust passage 4a.
External atmospheric gas is also sucked from the suction port 29a. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the atmospheric gas from entering the inside of the head 1.
In a state where the upper surface opening of the second container 32 is closed by the substrate W, the gap between the substrate W and the flange 32f of the container 32 is extremely narrow, so that a pressure loss can be generated there. The internal gas can be uniformly discharged between the first container 31 and the second container 32 while staying in the container 32 to some extent.

The first container 31 is connected and fixed to the roller conveyor 20 and is usually manufactured by a conveyor manufacturer in accordance with the specifications of the roller conveyor 20. On the other hand, the second container 32 can be designed and manufactured so as to obtain a desired gas retention and gas flow state without being restricted by the specifications of the roller conveyor 20.
Since the height of the second container 32 can be adjusted by the extendable strut 33, the second container 32 can be easily positioned at a predetermined height regardless of the depth of the bottom 31b of the first container 31, and the flange 32f and the object to be processed The gap with the substrate W can be set to a narrow and constant size. This makes it easier to control the stagnation and flow state of the gas.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made.
For example, the second container 32 is not limited to be supported from below by the support column 33, and the end wall 32c or the side wall 32a may be supported by being connected to the first container 31 via a bracket or the like. The height of the second container 32 may be adjustable by adjusting the mounting height of the bracket.
The fluid discharge duct 6 a may be connected to the second container 32 instead of the first container 31 or in addition to the first container 31.
The diffusion plate 34 may be omitted.
The processing fluid may be a fluid and is not limited to gas, and may be, for example, a mist-like liquid (mist) or a particulate solid, or a mixed fluid thereof.
The present invention is not limited to plasma treatment, and can also be applied to etching or ashing using ozone or hydrofluoric acid vapor (hydrofluoric acid vapor or mist), thermal CVD using silicon-containing raw material vapor or mist, or the like.
The present invention is applicable to various surface treatments such as etching, ashing, film formation, cleaning, and surface modification.

  The present invention is applicable to surface treatment such as cleaning of a substrate in a manufacturing process of a flat panel display (FPD) of a semiconductor device, a liquid crystal television or a plasma television, for example.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a surface treatment apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view of the 2nd container of the said surface treatment apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

M Surface treatment device W Substrate (object to be treated)
PL substrate transfer surface (1 virtual plane)
6a Fluid discharge duct 10 Roller conveyor 11 Roller shaft 12 Roller 20 Head 26 Outlet 27 Hood 28 Cover portion 28b End wall 29a Suction port 30 Container structure 31 First container 31a Side wall 31e Duct connection port 32 Second container 33 Column (high) Adjustment mechanism, support member)
34 Diffuser

Claims (9)

(A) a roller conveyor that conveys the workpiece in one direction on one virtual plane;
(B) a head that is disposed on the upper side of the virtual plane and has an ejection port that ejects the processing fluid downward;
(C) a container structure disposed below the virtual plane so as to face the head;
Comprising the container structure,
(A) a first container containing a part of the roller conveyor;
(B) a second container accommodated in the first container so as to be smaller than the first container and opposed to the ejection port;
A surface treatment apparatus comprising:   The surface treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second container is supported by the first container through a height adjustment mechanism so that the height can be adjusted.   2. The surface treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a support column capable of height adjustment is erected on a bottom portion of the first container, and the second container is supported by the support column.   The surface treatment apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein an upper edge of the second container and / or an upper edge of the first container are disposed in proximity to the virtual plane.   The surface treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first container is provided with a connection port connected to a fluid discharge duct.   The surface treatment apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the first container is provided with a diffusion plate that covers the connection port slightly apart. Upper surfaces of the first and second containers are opened;
The surface treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the head is provided with a cover portion that covers an upper surface opening of the first container.   8. The surface treatment apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the cover portion and the end portions in the one direction of the first container are disposed so as to face each other vertically.   The surface treatment apparatus according to claim 8, wherein a suction port for sucking a surrounding fluid is formed in the vicinity of the end portion in the one direction of the cover portion.

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