JP2009061381A - Vacuum treating apparatus and vacuum treating method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a coating apparatus capable of drying a coating liquid applied on the surface of a substrate, in a short time without causing wind ripple. <P>SOLUTION: Supporting pins 2 on which a substrate W is placed and a top plate (a flow regulating plate) 3, are provided in a closed container 1, an opening for carrying out the delivery of the substrate W between the closed container 1 and a robot 4 arranged outside is formed on the side surface of the closed chamber 1, the opening is opened or closed by a cover body 7 moving up and down by driving a cylinder unit 6 and the top plate 3 is divided into several pieces, which are separately moved up and down by the cylinder units 12, 13. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vacuum processing apparatus and a vacuum processing method for a coating film applied to a substrate surface.

In order to dry a coating solution applied to a glass substrate or the like to form a film, it is conventionally known that the substrate is placed in a vacuum chamber for a predetermined time.
For example, in Patent Document 1, a current plate is arranged in a sealed container, and in the initial stage, the distance between the substrate having the coating liquid applied to the surface and the current plate is reduced to 1 mm, so that the space between the substrate and the current plate is between. A strong air current spreading outside is generated, and the coating liquid is spread to the peripheral area of the substrate by this air current, and since the coating liquid is biased toward the peripheral edge as it is, the thickness becomes non-uniform. It is disclosed that the distance between the substrate and the rectifying plate is increased to 5 mm when the coating solution is spread to the end.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-168643

  In Patent Document 1, when pressure reduction is started in a state where the space between the substrate and the current plate is narrowed, a strong air current is generated between the substrate and the current plate, and this air current is applied to the central portion of the substrate surface. The coating liquid is spread to the periphery.

  However, in the verification by the present inventors, an airflow that can move the coating liquid is not actually generated. If it occurs, the wind pattern is transferred to the coating film. Rather, it was found that when the space between the substrate and the rectifying plate is increased, turbulent flow is generated at the time of decompression, which causes wind ripples.

  In particular, glass substrates have recently become large in size, and when such a substrate and a current plate are narrowed and dried under reduced pressure, there is no escape space for the solvent that evaporates from the center of the substrate. It is liable to cause poor drying. Also in this case, if the time is sufficient, the central portion of the substrate can be dried, but it is not efficient.

In order to solve the above problems, a decompression processing apparatus according to the present invention has a substrate mounting table and a top plate disposed in a processing chamber connected to the decompression device, and the top plate is divided into a plurality of parts, each of which is lifted and lowered independently. The configuration has a moving mechanism.
Alternatively, a substrate mounting table and a top plate are arranged in a processing chamber connected to a decompression device, a part or all of the top plate is made of a stretchable material, and the top plate has one or more independent ones. It was set as the structure to which the raising / lowering drive part was connected.
And in any structure, it was set as the structure which the center part of the said top plate can raise / lower independently.

  The decompression processing apparatus according to the present invention is a decompression processing apparatus in which a substrate mounting table and a top plate are arranged in a processing chamber connected to the decompression device. .

  The reduced-pressure drying treatment method according to the present invention is a reduced-pressure drying treatment method using a reduced-pressure treatment apparatus in which a substrate mounting table and a top plate are arranged in a treatment chamber connected to a decompression apparatus, and a coating liquid is provided in the treatment chamber. After the substrate coated with is applied, the processing chamber is evacuated in a state where the coating solution on the substrate surface and the top plate are close to each other, and after a predetermined time has elapsed, the distance between the coating solution on the substrate surface and the top plate. Exhaust was continued with a larger value.

  In addition, when the central portion of the top plate can be moved up and down independently with respect to the peripheral portion, after the substrate coated with the coating liquid is put into the processing chamber, the coating liquid on the substrate surface and the top The inside of the processing chamber is evacuated in a state in which the plate is in close proximity, and after a predetermined time has elapsed, the evacuation is continued in a state where the distance between the coating solution on the substrate surface and the central portion of the top plate is increased.

  According to the present invention, the coating liquid applied to the surface of the substrate can be dried (preliminarily dried) in a short time without generating a wind pattern or the like. In particular, even when the substrate is enlarged, it is possible to prevent the drying of the central portion of the substrate from being slower than the peripheral portion.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an internal structure of a decompression processing apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the top plate, FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing a state where the top plate is lowered, and FIG. It is a perspective view of the state where the center part of the rose.

  The decompression processing apparatus is provided with a support pin 2 and a top plate (rectifying plate) 3 for placing the substrate W in the sealed chamber 1. The hermetic chamber 1 is formed with an opening 5 for transferring the substrate W to and from the robot 4 disposed outside on the side surface, and the opening 5 is opened and closed by a lid 7 that moves up and down by driving of the cylinder unit 6. ing.

  Further, an exhaust port 8 connected to a vacuum pump is provided on the ceiling portion of the sealed chamber 1, and a drain port 9 is provided on the bottom surface.

  The support pin 2 penetrates the hot plate 10 and is moved up and down by a cylinder unit 11 provided outside. In the illustrated example, the hot plate 10 is provided, but the hot plate 10 is not necessarily required.

  The top plate 3 is divided into a plurality of pieces. FIG. 2 shows a case where the circular portion is divided into a central portion 3a and an outer portion 3b. However, the shape of the division is not limited to this, and the central portion may not be circular. The top plate may be divided into three or more. The central portion 3 a is moved up and down by the cylinder unit 12, and the outer portion 3 b is moved up and down by the cylinder unit 13.

In another aspect, the top plate 3 is made of a stretchable material, and the top plate 3 is provided with one or a plurality of lifting drive units. In FIG. 5, the central portion 3 a of the top plate 3 is moved up and down by the cylinder unit 12, and the outer portion 3 b is moved up and down by the cylinder unit 13.
Examples of the stretchable material include resins such as rubber and plastic, and flexible metal plates such as SUS.

Further, in another form, the top plate 3 is configured such that a part thereof, for example, a central portion or a peripheral portion can be opened and closed, and the top plate 3 is combined by a hinge and opened and closed like a door. The substrate-like solvent evaporation can be promoted.

  In the above, in order to preliminarily dry the coating solution applied to the surface of the substrate W, the lid 7 is opened by driving the cylinder unit 6 and the substrate 4 is supported in the sealed chamber 1 by the robot 4 as shown in FIG. Place on the pin 2 and close the lid 7.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3, the top plate 3 is pushed down so that the distance between the substrate W and the top plate 3 is about 5 to 30 mm, and the inside of the sealed chamber 1 is decompressed. By setting the distance between the substrate W and the top plate 3 to about 5 to 30 mm, turbulence is not generated between the substrate W and the top plate 3. However, since the volume between the substrate W and the top plate 3 is small, the solvent in the coating solution is particularly difficult to volatilize at the center of the substrate.

Therefore, in the present invention, the cylinder unit 12 is driven when the coating film is preliminarily dried until a certain amount of time elapses and no wind ripples are generated, and only the central portion 3a of the top plate is moved as shown in FIG. The solvent vapor that has accumulated in the central portion is released to the upper space through the opening formed by raising the central portion 3a and then recovering from the exhaust port 8 or to the outside. Although the space | interval of the board | substrate W and the top plate 3a at this time changes also with board | substrate sizes, it is desirable that it is about 9-70 mm.
It is also possible to raise the central portion 3a and the outer portion 3b at the same time, thereby increasing the volume between the substrate W and the top plate 3 to promote the evaporation of the solvent.

Further, in the above method, the means for first pushing down the top plate 3 is described, but conversely, a method of raising the substrate W can be taken. Specifically, the substrate W is placed on the support pins 2 in the sealed chamber 1, the lid 7 is closed, and then the cylinder unit 11 is driven to raise the substrate W together with the support pins 2 so that the substrate W and the top plate are moved. 3 is set to about 5 to 30 mm, and the inside of the sealed chamber 1 is depressurized (in this case, the top plate 3 may not be provided. In this case, the distance between the ceiling portion in the sealed chamber 1 and the substrate W is It may be kept at about 5 to 30 mm). Next, when the coating film is preliminarily dried until a certain amount of time elapses, the cylinder unit 11 is driven, and the substrate W is lowered together with the support pins 2, so that the solvent vapor accumulated in the central portion is reached. Is allowed to escape to the upper space, and is further recovered from the exhaust port 8 or released to the outside. Although the space | interval of the board | substrate W and the top plate 3 (or ceiling part) at this time changes also with board | substrate sizes, it is desirable that it is about 9-70 mm.

  Thereafter, the substrate is heated by the pot plate 10 and the pre-dried coating film is baked to form a coating film.

  In the illustrated example, the cylinder unit is shown as a drive source for raising and lowering the top plate, but a motor or a combination of a motor and a cylinder unit may be used. For example, the central portion 3a may be moved up and down by a motor, and the outer portion 3b may be moved up and down by a cylinder unit. Moreover, the timing of raising and lowering the top plate may be triggered by a contact point of a vacuum gauge other than the passage of time. Furthermore, it is desirable that the joints between the divided top plates are such that air is not exchanged between the upper and lower sides of the top plate in the initial drying process for suppressing wind ripples.

  The top plate may be slowly raised in conjunction with the drying of the coating film, or may be raised at a stretch using time or the degree of vacuum as a trigger. Further, the top plate may be raised all at once or may be divided.

The top plate may be divided not only into two parts but also into three parts, four parts, or more. Further, the opening pattern of the top plate may be opened not only in the middle but also in a punching shape to release the solvent vapor. Further, the top plate may be formed of a flexible film and may be deformed into a convex shape or a concave shape by raising and lowering each driving unit. Further, the top plate may be inclined with respect to the substrate to release the solvent vapor.

  Further, the decompression apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to being applied only to the drying process. For example, in a steam hot plate, in order to replace excess steam gas at the end of the process, the center of the top plate is opened and exhausted. In the case of a vacuum spin coating apparatus, the present invention can also be applied to the case where the center of the top plate is opened at the end of the process and air is introduced to spin dry the substrate.

Sectional drawing which shows the internal structure of the decompression processing apparatus which concerns on this invention Top view of the top plate The same figure as FIG. 1 which shows the state which the whole top plate fell. The same figure as FIG. 1 which shows the state which the center part of the top plate rose The same figure as FIG. 4 showing another embodiment

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Sealed chamber, 2 ... Support pin, 3 ... Top plate (rectifier plate), 3a ... Center part of top plate, 3b ... Outer part of top plate, 4 ... Robot, 5 ... Opening, 6 ... Cylinder unit, 7 ... Door, 8 ... exhaust port, 9 ... drain port, 10 ... hot plate, 11, 12, 13 ... cylinder unit, W ... substrate.

Claims (8)

A decompression processing apparatus in which a substrate mounting table and a top plate are arranged in a processing chamber connected to a decompression device, wherein the top plate is divided into a plurality of parts, and each has a lifting mechanism independently. Processing equipment. The decompression processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the elevating mechanism of the top plate is controlled by a processing recipe. In the decompression processing apparatus in which the substrate mounting table and the top plate are arranged in a processing chamber connected to the decompression device, a part or all of the top plate is made of a stretchable material, and the top plate has one or more An independent lifting drive unit is connected to the decompression apparatus. A decompression processing apparatus in which a substrate mounting table and a top plate are disposed in a processing chamber connected to the decompression device, wherein the top plate is configured to be partially openable and closable. In the said decompression processing apparatus, the center part of the said top plate can be moved up and down independently, The decompression processing apparatus of any one of Claims 1-3 characterized by the above-mentioned. The decompression processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein a central portion of the top plate can be opened and closed independently. A reduced-pressure drying method using a reduced-pressure processing apparatus in which a substrate mounting table and a top plate are arranged in a processing chamber connected to a reduced-pressure apparatus, and after a substrate coated with a coating liquid is introduced into the processing chamber, the substrate surface The processing chamber is evacuated in a state where the coating solution and the top plate are close to each other, and after a predetermined time has elapsed, the evacuation is continued in a state where the distance between the coating solution on the substrate surface and the top plate is increased. A vacuum drying treatment method. A reduced-pressure drying method using the reduced-pressure processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein after a substrate coated with a coating solution is placed in a processing chamber, the coating solution on the substrate surface The processing chamber is evacuated in a state where the top plate and the top plate are close to each other, and after a predetermined time has elapsed, the evacuation is continued in a state where the distance between the coating solution on the substrate surface and the central portion of the top plate is increased. A vacuum drying treatment method.

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