JP2008182002A - Device and method for processing substrate, and method for manufacturing display component - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device for processing a substrate capable of smoothly and rapidly conducting a maintenance work while improving an operating ratio and a production efficiency. <P>SOLUTION: Maintenance regions 33-1 and 33-2 are fitted on both left and right sides while holding a processing region 31. Two processing devices 17-1 and 17-2 are moved among the maintenance region 33-1 to a processing region 31 to the maintenance region 33-2 along the same axis of movement by a Y shifter 19. The maintenance regions 33 are fitted at every processing device 17, and are not shared among the two processing devices 17. One processing device 17-1 is moved between the processing region 31 and the maintenance region 33-1 on the left side, and the other processing device 17-2 is moved between the processing region 31 and the maintenance region 33-2 on the right side. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for forming a pattern such as a color filter in a display device.

Conventionally, a substrate processing apparatus places a thin plate-like substrate (work) such as a glass substrate on a stage, performs positioning through the stage, and performs precision patterning on the substrate. When an inkjet head that applies ink by an inkjet method is used as a processing device, it is necessary to appropriately perform setup operations such as head positioning, ink and head replacement operations, and other maintenance operations according to the item to be processed. is there.
Also, a pattern is formed in the vicinity of the replacement position of the inkjet head, and a notch is provided in the surface plate, and the cutout portion of the surface plate is used as a work area to allow access to a carriage, a person, etc. up to the vicinity of the replacement position of the inkjet head An apparatus has been proposed (see, for example, [Patent Document 1]).

JP 2005-181476 A

However, in the conventional pattern forming apparatus, since the shape of the surface plate is generally rectangular, there is a problem that the surface plate becomes an obstacle when accessing a carriage or a person, and the maintenance work of the inkjet head becomes difficult. Further, when the substrate is large, the stage, the surface plate, and the ink jet head unit that support the substrate are also enlarged (for example, several meters), so the above problem is particularly remarkable.
Further, the conventional pattern forming apparatus has a problem that the operation rate and the production efficiency are lowered because the pattern forming process needs to be stopped when performing maintenance work of the inkjet head.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus that can perform maintenance work smoothly and quickly, and improve the operating rate and production efficiency. To do.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, a first invention is a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate, the two processing apparatuses for processing the substrate, and a processing region in which the processing processing is performed by the processing apparatus And a moving device that moves the two processing devices between two maintenance areas in which maintenance processing of the processing device is performed.

  The substrate processing apparatus is an apparatus that performs processing such as pattern formation on a substrate by a processing apparatus such as an inkjet head, a die coat, or a laser irradiation head. The substrate processing apparatus is, for example, a coater, an ink jet apparatus, a laser drawing apparatus, or the like. The substrate to be processed is, for example, a substrate such as a glass substrate or a wafer such as a silicon wafer.

The substrate processing apparatus is provided with a pair of processing apparatuses. The substrate processing apparatus is provided with a processing area and two maintenance areas.
Each processing apparatus includes one or a plurality of processing units or processing units. For example, when the processing apparatus is an inkjet head and uses eight head units as a whole, each of the two processing apparatuses is provided with four head units, and the four head units provided in one processing apparatus are used as the processing side. The four head units provided in the other processing apparatus are used separately on the maintenance side.
The processing area is an area where the processing by the processing apparatus is performed. The maintenance area is an area where maintenance processing of the processing apparatus is performed. When the processing apparatus is an inkjet head, the maintenance process includes setup operations such as positioning of the inkjet head, head replacement, ink replacement, and cleaning. The moving device is a device that moves the two processing devices between the processing region and the two maintenance regions.
Also, maintenance areas are provided on both outer sides of the machining area along the movement direction of the machining apparatus, and the two machining apparatuses are moved between the machining area and the two maintenance areas along the same movement axis. Is desirable. Further, a maintenance device that performs maintenance processing may be provided.

The substrate processing apparatus moves one of the two processing apparatuses to the processing area, performs processing of the substrate by the processing apparatus, moves the other processing apparatus to the maintenance area, and moves the processing apparatus to the processing apparatus. Perform maintenance processing.
Accordingly, since the maintenance processing of the other processing device is performed while the processing processing is performed by one processing device, it is not necessary to stop the processing processing in order to perform the maintenance processing, thereby improving the operation rate and the production efficiency. be able to.
Further, since the processing device is moved to the maintenance area and the maintenance processing of the processing device is performed, the surface plate does not become an obstacle when accessing a cart or a person, and the maintenance processing can be performed smoothly and quickly.

A second invention is a substrate processing method for processing a substrate, wherein the substrate is processed between a processing area where the processing is performed and two maintenance areas where a maintenance process is performed. A substrate processing method comprising: a moving step of moving one processing apparatus.
The second invention relates to a substrate processing method for processing a substrate.

  3rd invention is a manufacturing method of the display apparatus structural member which manufactures the structural member of a display apparatus using the board | substrate processing method of 2nd invention. The display device constituent member is, for example, an organic EL (Organic ElectroLuminescence) element or a color filter.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, while performing a maintenance work smoothly and rapidly, the board | substrate processing apparatus which makes it possible to improve an operation rate and production efficiency can be provided.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description and the accompanying drawings, the same reference numerals are given to components having substantially the same functional configuration, and redundant description will be omitted.

(1. Configuration of the substrate processing apparatus 1)
First, the configuration of the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of the substrate processing apparatus 1.
The X direction indicates the transport direction of the substrate 3, the Y direction indicates the moving direction of the processing device 17-1 and the processing device 17-2, the width direction of the substrate 3 or the suction plate 4, and the Z direction is the vertical rotation axis. The θ direction indicates the direction of rotation. The X axis, the Y axis, and the Z axis are perpendicular to each other.

  The substrate processing apparatus 1 includes an X-direction moving device 5, a θ-direction rotating device 7, an air levitation device 11, a processing device 17-1 and a processing device 17-2, a Y-direction moving device 19, an alignment camera 21, a gantry 23, and a base 24. Etc.

The substrate processing apparatus 1 is an apparatus that performs processing on the substrate 3 by the processing apparatus 17-1 or the processing apparatus 17-2 to form a fine pitch pattern such as a color filter or an electronic circuit.
The substrate 3 is an object to be processed, and is, for example, a substrate such as a glass substrate, a silicon wafer, or a printed substrate.

  The X-direction moving device 5 is installed at the center of the base 24 in the X direction. The X-direction moving device 5 is a device that supports the substrate 3 and moves it in the X direction and performs positioning in the X direction. The X-direction moving device 5 includes a guide mechanism and a moving actuator. The guide mechanism is, for example, a slider, a slide rail, or an air slide. The moving actuator is, for example, a step motor, a servo motor, or a linear motor.

  The θ-direction rotating device 7 is provided above the X-direction moving device 5 and can move in the X direction. On the upper part of the θ-direction rotating device 7, the suction disk 4 is provided. The θ-direction rotating device 7 performs alignment processing by rotating the substrate 3 adsorbed on the adsorbing board 4 in the θ direction. The θ-direction rotating device 7 is, for example, a free bearing or a direct drive motor.

  The suction disk 4 is a device that sucks and supports the substrate 3. The adsorption of the substrate 3 is performed by reducing the pressure or vacuum of the air between the adsorption plate 4 and the substrate 3 (vacuum, intake air). The suction board 4 is provided with a small hole (not shown) for sucking air.

  The air levitation device 11 is an air float, and is a device that supports the substrate 3 in a non-contact manner by pushing up or sucking the substrate 3 with air pressure. The air levitation device 11 can be composed of a plurality of air float units, a porous plate, and the like. The air levitation device 11 realizes predetermined Z-direction accuracy (relative distance accuracy between the substrate 3 and the processing device 17-1 and the processing device 17-2).

The processing device 17-1 and the processing device 17-2 are devices that perform processing on the substrate 3, and are, for example, an inkjet head unit, a die coat unit, a laser irradiation head unit, or the like. The processing device 17-1 and the processing device 17-2 are similar processing devices.
Each of the processing device 17-1 and the processing device 17-2 includes one or a plurality of processing units or processing units. For example, when the processing device 17-1 and the processing device 17-2 are inkjet heads and eight head units are used as a whole, the processing device 17-1 and the processing device 17-2 are each provided with four head units, Four head units provided in one processing apparatus are used as a processing side, and four head units provided in the other processing apparatus are used separately as a maintenance side.
The processing device 17-1 and the processing device 17-2 are provided on the gantry 23 via the Y-direction moving device 19. The Y-direction moving device 19 performs positioning by moving the processing device 17-1 and the processing device 17-2 in the Y direction.

  The alignment camera 21 images a predetermined portion (an alignment mark, a pattern, or the like formed on the substrate) of the substrate 3 in order to detect the θ-direction angle and XY coordinates of the substrate 3 attracted and fixed to the θ-direction rotating device 7. Camera. The alignment camera 21 is fixedly supported on the frame 20 of the substrate processing apparatus 1. A plurality of alignment cameras 21 may be provided, or alignment cameras 21 having different fields of view (for example, for high accuracy and coarse accuracy) may be provided.

  A maintenance space 25-1 and a maintenance space 25-2 are provided on both outer sides in the Y direction of the base 24. The Y-direction moving device 19 extends from the maintenance region 33-1 on the maintenance space 25-1 to the processing region 31 on the air levitation device 11 to the maintenance region 33-2 on the maintenance space 25-2. 1 and the processing device 17-2 are moved in the Y direction.

(2. Process control)
Next, process control of the substrate processing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a flow of process control of the substrate processing apparatus 1.
A captured image of the alignment camera 21 is input to the image processing device 37. The image processing device 37 performs a process of extracting the θ direction angle and XY coordinates of the substrate 3 based on the captured image. The stage controller 39 compares the extracted data with predetermined data to calculate their deviation, and calculates the control amount so as to reduce the deviation.

The servo amplifier θ41 sends a control signal to the θ-direction rotating device 7 based on the θ-direction control amount sent from the stage controller 39. The θ direction rotating device 7 performs alignment of the substrate 3 in the θ direction.
The servo amplifier X43 sends a control signal to the X-direction moving device 5 based on the X-direction control amount sent from the stage controller 39. The X direction moving device 5 moves the substrate 3 in the X direction.
The servo amplifier Y45 sends a control signal to the Y-direction moving device 19 based on the Y-direction control amount sent from the stage controller 39. The Y-direction moving device 19 moves the processing device 17-1 and the processing device 17-2 in the Y direction.
The process system 47 adjusts the processing timing of the processing apparatus 17-1 or the processing apparatus 17-2 based on the control amount sent from the stage controller 39.

(3. Operation of substrate processing apparatus 1)
Next, the operation of the substrate processing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the substrate processing apparatus 1.
The substrate processing apparatus 1 sequentially performs each process of a conveyance process (step 101), a correction amount calculation process (step 102), an alignment process (step 103), and a processing process (step 104).

(3-1. Conveyance process: Step 101)
The substrate processing apparatus 1 sucks and fixes a part of the substrate 3 by the suction disk 4 and floats the other part of the substrate 3 by the air levitation device 11 to support it in a non-contact manner. The substrate processing apparatus 1 moves the θ-direction rotating device 7 and the substrate 3 in the X direction by the X-direction moving device 5 and conveys them below the processing apparatus 17-1 or the processing apparatus 17-2.

(3-2. Correction amount calculation process: Step 102)
The substrate processing apparatus 1 images the alignment mark attached to the substrate 3 by the alignment camera 21, and calculates the correction amount in the θ direction, the X direction deviation amount, and the Y direction deviation amount based on the XY coordinates of the alignment mark.

(3-3. Alignment process: Step 103)
The substrate processing apparatus 1 performs alignment processing by rotating the substrate 3 in the θ direction by the θ direction rotating device 7 based on the θ direction correction amount calculated by the processing in step 102.

(3-4. Processing: Step 104)
The substrate processing apparatus 1 performs Y-direction positioning of the processing apparatus 17-1 or 17-2 based on the Y-direction deviation amount, and adjusts the processing start timing and stop timing based on the X-direction deviation amount, The substrate 3 is processed by the processing device 17-1 or the processing device 17-2.

  In order to improve the relative distance accuracy (Z-direction accuracy) between the substrate 3 and the processing device 17-1 or 17-2, the position of the substrate 3 is set on the processing device 17-1 and the processing device 17-2. A sensor for measurement may be provided, and the air pressure of the air levitation device 11 may be controlled by feedback in real time.

  Through the above process, the substrate processing apparatus 1 sucks and fixes a part of the substrate 3 by the suction disk 4 and floats the other part of the substrate 3 by the air levitation device 11 to support it in a non-contact manner and moves in the X direction. The substrate 3 is transported in the X direction by the device 5, the θ direction rotating device 7 positions the substrate 3 in the θ direction, and the air levitation device 11 processes the substrate 3 while maintaining the Z direction accuracy.

(4. Operations of the processing device 17-1 and the processing device 17-2)
Next, operations of the processing device 17-1 and the processing device 17-2 will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operations of the processing device 17-1 and the processing device 17-2.
5-8 is a figure which shows the flow of operation | movement of the processing apparatus 17-1 and the processing apparatus 17-2. FIG. 5 shows the time of processing by the processing device 17-1. FIG. 6 shows when the machining device 17-1 is retracted. FIG. 7 shows the time of processing by the processing device 17-2. FIG. 8 shows when the machining device 17-2 is retracted.

As shown in FIG. 5, the substrate processing apparatus 1 processes the substrate 3 by the processing apparatus 17-1 moved to the processing region 31 (Step 201 (Step 101 to Step 104 in FIG. 3). Maintenance space. In 25-2, maintenance work is performed on the machining apparatus 17-2 that has been retreated to the maintenance area (step 202).
As shown in FIG. 6, when the substrate processing apparatus 1 finishes the processing by the processing apparatus 17-1, the processing apparatus 17-1 is retracted from the processing area 31 to the maintenance area 33-1 (step 203). The substrate processing apparatus 1 moves the processing apparatus 17-2 from the maintenance area 33-2 to the processing area 31 (step 204).

7, the substrate 3 is processed by the processing device 17-2 moved to the processing region 31 (step 205 (step 101 to step 104 in FIG. 3). Maintenance is performed in the maintenance space 25-1. Maintenance work is performed on the machining device 17-1 that has been retracted to the area (step 206).
As shown in FIG. 8, when the processing by the processing apparatus 17-2 is completed, the substrate processing apparatus 1 retracts the processing apparatus 17-2 from the processing area 31 to the maintenance area 33-2 (Step 207). The substrate processing apparatus 1 moves the processing apparatus 17-1 from the maintenance area 33-1 to the processing area 31 (step 208).

  Thereafter, the substrate processing apparatus 1 repeats the processing from step 201 and step 202. Through the above process, the substrate processing apparatus 1 performs processing by moving one of the two processing apparatuses to the processing area, retreats the other to the maintenance area, and performs maintenance work in the maintenance space.

(5. Effects, etc.)
Maintenance areas are provided on both the left and right sides of the machining area. The two processing devices move between the maintenance area and the processing area along the same movement axis. The maintenance area is provided for each processing apparatus and is not shared by the two processing apparatuses. For example, one machining apparatus moves between the machining area and the left maintenance area, and the other machining apparatus moves between the machining area and the right maintenance area.
Accordingly, since the maintenance processing of the other processing device is performed while the processing processing is performed by one processing device, it is not necessary to stop the processing processing in order to perform the maintenance processing, thereby improving the operation rate and the production efficiency. be able to.
In addition, since the processing device is moved to the maintenance area on the maintenance space and the processing processing of the processing device is performed, the base does not become an obstacle when accessing a cart or a person, and the maintenance processing can be performed smoothly and quickly. .

(6. Substrate processing apparatus 1a according to another embodiment)
Next, a substrate processing apparatus 1a according to another embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 9 is a schematic perspective view of the substrate processing apparatus 1a.

  Maintenance processing of the processing device 17-1 and the processing device 17-2 is performed when the processing device 17-1 and the processing device 17-2 are ink jet heads, such as setup operations such as positioning of the ink jet head, head replacement, ink replacement, and cleaning. Etc. Maintenance processing of the processing device 17-1 and the processing device 17-2 may be performed manually or using a maintenance device.

  In the substrate processing apparatus 1a, the base 26-1 and the base 26-2 are provided in the maintenance space 25-1 and the maintenance space 25-2, respectively. The base 26-2 and the base 26-2 are provided with a maintenance unit 28-1 and a maintenance unit 28-2 via a Y-direction moving device 27-1 and a Y-direction moving device 27-2, respectively.

  The maintenance unit 28-1 and the maintenance unit 28-2 are devices that perform maintenance of the processing device 17-1 and the processing device 17-2, respectively. The maintenance unit 28-1 and the maintenance unit 28-2 are, for example, cleaning units. The maintenance unit 28-1 and the maintenance unit 28-2 are movable on the base 26-1 and the base 26-2 along the Y-direction moving device 27-1 and the Y-direction moving device 27-2, respectively.

  The maintenance unit 28-1 performs maintenance processing of the processing apparatus 17-1 that has been retracted to the maintenance area 33-1. The maintenance unit 28-2 performs maintenance processing of the processing device 17-2 that has been retracted to the maintenance area 33-2.

  Thus, in the board | substrate processing apparatus 1a, since the maintenance process of a processing apparatus is performed by a maintenance unit, a manual operation | work can be reduced.

  The preferred embodiments of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to such examples. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes or modifications can be conceived within the scope of the technical idea disclosed in the present application, and these are naturally within the technical scope of the present invention. Understood.

Schematic perspective view of substrate processing apparatus 1 The figure which shows the flow of the process control of the substrate processing apparatus 1 Flow chart showing the operation of the substrate processing apparatus 1 Flow chart showing the operation of the processing device 17-1 and the processing device 17-2. The figure which shows the flow of operation | movement of the processing apparatus 17-1 and the processing apparatus 17-2 (at the time of the processing by the processing apparatus 17-1) The figure which shows the flow of operation | movement of the processing apparatus 17-1 and the processing apparatus 17-2 (at the time of evacuation of the processing apparatus 17-1) The figure which shows the flow of operation | movement of the processing apparatus 17-1 and the processing apparatus 17-2 (at the time of the processing by the processing apparatus 17-2) The figure which shows the flow of operation | movement of the processing apparatus 17-1 and the processing apparatus 17-2 (at the time of retraction | saving of the processing apparatus 17-2) Schematic perspective view showing a substrate processing apparatus 1a according to another embodiment

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ......... Substrate processing device 3 ......... Substrate 4 ......... Suction board 5 ......... X direction moving device 7 ......... θ direction rotating device 11 ......... Air levitation device 17-1, 17-2 ... ... Processing device 19 ......... Y-direction moving device 20 ......... Frame 21 ......... Alignment camera 23 ......... Gantry 24 ......... Base 25-1, 25-2 ......... Maintenance space 26-1, 26- 2 .... Base 27-1, 27-2 .... Y direction moving device 28-1, 28-2 .... Maintenance unit 37 .... Image processing device 39 .... Stage controller 41 ..... Servo amplifier θ
43 ......... Servo Amplifier X
45 ......... Servo amplifier Y
47 ... Process system

Claims (7)

A substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate,
Two processing devices for processing the substrate;
A moving device that moves the two processing devices between a processing region in which processing by the processing device is performed and two maintenance regions in which maintenance processing of the processing device is performed;
A substrate processing apparatus comprising: The two maintenance areas are provided on both outer sides of the processing area along the moving direction of the processing apparatus,
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the moving device moves the two processing devices between the processing region and the two maintenance regions along the same movement axis.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a maintenance apparatus that performs maintenance processing of the processing apparatus. A substrate processing method for processing a substrate,
A moving step of moving two processing devices for processing the substrate between a processing region in which processing is performed and two maintenance regions in which maintenance processing is performed;
A substrate processing method comprising: The two maintenance areas are provided on both outer sides of the processing area along the moving direction of the processing apparatus,
The substrate processing method according to claim 4, wherein the moving step moves the two processing apparatuses between the processing region and the two maintenance regions along the same movement axis.   The maintenance process is performed on the other processing apparatus in the maintenance area while one of the two processing apparatuses performs the processing process in the processing area. The substrate processing method according to claim 4 or 5.   The manufacturing method of the display apparatus structural member which manufactures the structural member of a display apparatus using the board | substrate processing method in any one of Claim 4-6.

Images