JP2009267275A - Stage structure for surface treatment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a stage structure for surface treatment, which allows a treated substrate to be easily separated upward from a mounting surface of a stage. <P>SOLUTION: After a substrate 9 to be treated is mounted on a mounting surface 22 of a stage 21 and is subjected to surface treatment, a gas g2 is ejected through an ejection hole 46 of a nozzle 42 to between the treated substrate 9 and the mounting surface 22 when the treated substrate 9 is lifted by a lifting and lowering mechanism 30. In a planar view, the ejection hole 42 is disposed outside the mounting surface 22. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a stage apparatus for installing a substrate to be processed that is to be surface-treated.

  For example, an apparatus for performing a surface treatment by placing a substrate to be processed, such as a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display, on a stage is known (see Patent Document 1). The stage is provided with lifting pins and suction holes. The elevating pins are projected above the stage, and the substrate to be processed is placed on the elevating pins with a manipulator. Next, the elevating pin is lowered and immersed in the stage. As a result, the substrate to be processed is placed on the upper surface of the stage. Next, the inside of the suction hole is sucked to suck the substrate to be processed on the stage. After that, the processing gas is ejected from the processing gas supply unit above the stage and brought into contact with the substrate to be processed, and surface treatment such as film formation, surface modification (hydrophilization, water repellency, etc.), cleaning, etching, ashing, etc. Do.

  After the surface treatment is completed, an inert gas is introduced into the suction hole to release the suction between the substrate to be processed and the stage. Next, the lifting pins are projected from the stage to lift the substrate to be processed. And a to-be-processed substrate is replaced | exchanged using a manipulator.

In Patent Document 2, an ejection hole is provided in the center of the stage. When the substrate to be processed is moved up and down by the lift pins, the inert gas is ejected from the ejection holes and applied to the central portion of the lower surface of the substrate to be processed. This prevents the substrate to be processed from being bent.
International Publication Number WO2007 / 077765 JP 09-27538 A

  When the substrate to be processed after surface treatment is lifted from the stage by an elevating mechanism such as an elevating pin, if the adsorption release between the substrate to be processed and the stage is insufficient or peeling electrification occurs, the substrate to be processed locally Stress is generated. In particular, when the number of lifting pins is small, local stress increases and the substrate to be processed may be damaged.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is a stage apparatus for setting a substrate to be surface-treated,
A stage having a mounting surface;
A substrate lifting mechanism that lowers the substrate to be processed from above the mounting surface to the mounting surface, and lifts the substrate to be processed after the surface treatment from the mounting surface;
An ejection hole that is disposed on the outer side in plan view from the placement surface and opens toward the edge of the placement surface, and the substrate to be processed from the ejection hole when the substrate to be processed is raised by the substrate lifting mechanism. And a nozzle for blowing gas between the mounting surface and
It is provided with.
As a result, when the substrate to be processed is lifted from the stage mounting surface by the substrate lifting mechanism, gas is blown from the outside between the processing substrate and the mounting surface to assist the substrate to be separated from the mounting surface. it can. Even if the substrate to be processed is peeled and charged, the peeled and charged portion can be easily peeled off from the stage. Therefore, local stress can be prevented from being generated on the substrate to be processed, and the substrate to be processed can be prevented from being damaged.

It is preferable that the ejection hole is gradually expanded toward the tip in a plan view.
Thereby, the gas from the ejection hole can enter a wide range between the substrate to be processed and the mounting surface.

At least one of the upper inner surface and the lower inner surface of the ejection hole has a width along the edge of the placement surface, and is outward from the placement surface and from the lower side toward the tip in the plan view. It is preferable to be inclined.
Accordingly, the gas can be blown out in a planar gas flow along the inner surface, and can be surely introduced between the substrate to be processed and the mounting surface.

The nozzle is preferably adjustable in angle about an axis parallel to the edge of the mounting surface.
As a result, the gas from the nozzle can surely enter between the substrate to be processed and the mounting surface.

The substrate elevating mechanism includes an outer peripheral support portion that is arranged to be movable upward and downward in a plan view of the mounting surface and can support the outer peripheral portion of the substrate to be processed. The nozzle is provided on the outer peripheral support portion. Preferably it is.
As a result, the nozzle can be moved up and down integrally with the outer peripheral support portion. Accordingly, gas can be constantly blown to the lower surface of the substrate to be processed that is being lifted, and it is possible to suppress or prevent the substrate to be processed from being bent by its own weight. Further, it is not necessary to provide a lift pin inside the stage as a lift mechanism. Alternatively, the number of lifting pins can be reduced. Alternatively, when the number of lifting pins is small, it is possible to suppress or prevent the substrate to be processed from bending.

It is preferable that the surface processing stage device further includes a nozzle lifting mechanism that lifts and lowers the nozzle in conjunction with a lifting operation of the substrate to be processed by the substrate lifting mechanism.
Accordingly, gas can be constantly blown to the lower surface of the substrate to be processed that is being lifted, and it is possible to suppress or prevent the substrate to be processed from being bent by its own weight.

The surface treatment stage device further includes a nozzle angle adjusting mechanism that adjusts the angle of the nozzle about an axis parallel to the edge of the mounting surface in conjunction with the lifting and lowering operation of the nozzle by the nozzle lifting mechanism. It is preferable.
Accordingly, the gas from the nozzle can surely enter between the substrate to be processed and the mounting surface, and the substrate to be processed and the mounting surface can be reliably separated.

It is preferable that a plurality of the nozzles are provided apart in the direction along the edge of the mounting surface.
As a result, the gas can be spread widely between the substrate to be processed and the mounting surface.

  According to the present invention, when the substrate to be processed is lifted from the stage mounting surface by the elevating mechanism, the gas is blown between the substrate to be processed and the mounting surface from the outside, and the substrate to be processed is separated from the mounting surface. Can assist. Even if the substrate to be processed is peel-charged, the peel-charged portion can be easily peeled off from the stage. Therefore, local stress can be prevented from being generated on the substrate to be processed, and the substrate to be processed can be prevented from being damaged.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.
[First Embodiment]
As shown in FIG. 2, the to-be-processed substrate 9 of this embodiment is a glass substrate for flat panel displays, such as a liquid crystal display. The substrate 9 to be processed has a thin plate shape that is rectangular (quadrangle) in plan view.

  1 and 2 show an apparatus 1 for surface-treating a substrate 9 to be processed. The treatment content is not particularly limited and can be applied to various surface treatments such as etching, ashing, surface modification (hydrophilization, water repellency, etc.), film formation, sputtering, and the like. The surface treatment apparatus 1 is constituted by an atmospheric pressure plasma treatment apparatus that performs plasma treatment under substantially atmospheric pressure, but is not particularly limited thereto, and is a vacuum plasma treatment apparatus that performs plasma treatment under a low pressure. Alternatively, surface treatment may be performed without using plasma.

  The surface treatment apparatus 1 includes a treatment head 10 and a stage device 20. The processing head 10 extends in the left-right direction. Although not shown, a movement mechanism is connected to the processing head 10. With this moving mechanism, the processing head 10 can reciprocate in the front-rear direction orthogonal to the paper surface of FIG.

  An electric field applying electrode 11 is accommodated in the processing head 10. The electrode 11 extends in the longitudinal direction of the head 10. A power source 2 is connected to the electrode 11. The power source 2 may output a continuous wave-shaped high-frequency voltage, or may output a pulse-wave voltage.

  Although not shown, a processing gas ejection path is provided inside the processing head 10. The processing gas ejection path uniformly distributes the processing gas g1 supplied from the processing gas source in the left-right direction, and blows it out below the processing head 10.

The component of the processing gas is appropriately selected according to the content of the surface treatment. Examples of the processing gas component include nitrogen, oxygen, clean dry air (CDA), PFC (CF ₄ , C ₂ F ₆ , C ₃ F _8, etc.), SF _{6, and the} like. The processing gas may be composed of only one of these gas components, or may be composed of a mixed gas of two or more gas components. Of course, the processing gas component is not limited to the gas components listed above.

  The stage apparatus 20 includes a stage 21 disposed below the processing head 10 and a substrate lifting mechanism 30 incorporated in the stage 21. The stage 21 is configured by a rectangular (quadrangle) metal disk in plan view. The stage 21 is electrically grounded via the ground line 2b and constitutes a ground electrode.

  By supplying voltage from the power source 2 to the electrode 11, an electric field is applied between the electrode 11 and the stage 21 as a ground electrode, and atmospheric pressure discharge is generated. Thereby, the processing gas g1 blown out from the processing head 10 is turned into plasma.

  The upper surface of the stage 21 constitutes a placement surface 22. As shown in FIG. 2, the mounting surface 22 has a rectangular shape with the long side directed in the front-rear direction (vertical direction in FIG. 2) and the short side directed in the left-right direction. The substrate 9 to be processed is placed on the placement surface 22. The placement surface 22 is slightly smaller than the substrate 9 to be processed. Thereby, the outer peripheral part of the to-be-processed substrate 9 protrudes outside the mounting surface 22.

  A plurality of suction holes 23 are dispersedly formed on the mounting surface 22. Although detailed illustration is omitted, the suction hole 23 is selectively connected to a suction means such as a suction pump and a pressurized gas source. The suction means sucks the gas inside the suction hole 23. The pressurized gas source supplies pressurized inert gas to the adsorption holes 23. As the inert gas, a rare gas such as helium or argon may be used, nitrogen, oxygen, clean dry air (CDA) or the like may be used, or a gas in which two or more of these gas types are mixed may be used. Good.

  The stage 21 is formed with a plurality of insertion holes 24 dispersedly. The insertion hole 24 passes vertically from the upper surface to the lower surface of the stage 21.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate lifting mechanism 30 has a plurality of lifting pins 31 and a lifting drive unit 32. Each lifting pin 31 is inserted into the insertion hole 24. Lower end portions of the plurality of lifting pins 31 extend downward from the stage 21 and are connected by a connecting board 33. A lifting drive unit 32 is connected to the connecting board 33. The raising / lowering drive part 32 is comprised by the hydraulic actuator etc. FIG. The elevating drive unit 32 moves the elevating pin 31 between the upper position (FIG. 3) and the lower position (FIG. 1). As shown in FIG. 3, in the upper position, the elevating pin 31 protrudes above the stage 21. As shown in FIG. 1, the entire lifting pin 31 enters the insertion hole 24 at the lower position.

  Although not shown, at least a part of the lift pins 31 has a contact adjusting means in which the upper end of the lift pins 31 contacts the lower surface of the substrate 9 without lifting the substrate 9 on the mounting surface 22. (See the above-mentioned Patent Document 1). The contact adjusting means is composed of an elastic body such as a coil spring interposed between the elevating pin 31 and the connecting board 33, for example.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the stage device 20 further includes an outer adsorption release gas injection mechanism 40. The injection mechanism 40 includes an outer adsorption release gas source 41 and a plurality of outer nozzles 42. In the gas source 41, an inert gas is compressed and stored as an outer adsorption release gas. As the inert gas, a rare gas such as helium or argon may be used, nitrogen, oxygen, clean dry air (CDA) or the like may be used, or a gas in which two or more of these gas types are mixed may be used. Good. As the outer adsorption release gas source 41, a gas source common to the inner outer adsorption release gas source for the adsorption hole 23 may be used.

  The outer nozzles 42 are respectively disposed on the left and right sides of the stage 21. The outer nozzle 42 is positioned below the placement surface 22 and is located outside the long side (left and right) edges of the placement surface 22 in plan view. A plurality of outer nozzles 42 are arranged at intervals along the long side edge of the mounting surface 22.

  Each outer nozzle 42 has a cylindrical base portion 44 and a deformed cylindrical ejection portion 45. As shown in FIG. 2, an outer adsorption release gas supply passage 43 extends from the outer adsorption release gas source 41, and the supply passage 43 is branched into a plurality of portions and is connected to the base 44.

As shown in FIG. 1, a jet part 45 is connected to the tip of the base part 44. The ejection portion 45 extends obliquely upward from the outside of the placement surface 22 toward the long side edge of the placement surface 22 in a plan view, and the tip is disposed in the vicinity of the long side edge of the placement surface 22. ing. As shown in FIG. 2, the ejection part 45 has a fan-shaped cylindrical shape. The inside of the ejection part 45 is an ejection hole 46. The width of the ejection hole 46 is gradually expanded toward the tip in plan view. The opening at the tip of the ejection hole 46 has a slit shape along the edge on the long side of the mounting surface 22. As shown in FIG. 4, the upper inner surface 46 a and the lower inner surface 46 b of the ejection hole 46 have a width along the long side edge of the mounting surface 22, and are outside in the plan view from the mounting surface 22. And it inclines upward from the lower side toward the tip.
It is preferable that the outer nozzle 42 can be installed by adjusting the angle around an axis parallel to the edge of the mounting surface 22, and by extension, the inclination angle of the upper and lower inner surfaces 46 a and 46 b of the ejection hole 46 can be adjusted.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the surface treatment apparatus 1 further includes an ionizer 70. The ionizer 70 is installed at a height directly above the stage 21 and above the processing head 10. The ionizer 70 includes a plurality (five in the figure) of ionizer nozzles 71. The ionizer nozzles 71 are arranged downward with a space left and right. The ionizer nozzle 71 contains an ionization electrode (not shown).

An ionizing gas is supplied to each ionizer nozzle 71 and ionized. The ion gas g3 is blown out from the ionizer nozzle 71. The ion gas g3 contains both positive ions and negative ions. For example, nitrogen (N ₂ ) is used as an ionization gas.

A method for surface-treating the substrate 9 to be processed using the surface treatment apparatus 1 having the above configuration will be described.
(1) Delivery Step As shown in FIG. 3, the lifting pins 31 are positioned at the upper position, and the substrate 9 to be surface-treated is placed on the lifting pins 31 by the fork-shaped manipulator 4. At this time, the processing head 10 is retracted to a position where it does not interfere with the substrate 9 and the lift pins 31.

(2) Installation Step Next, after the fork-like manipulator 4 is retracted, the lifting pins 31 are lowered to the lower position as shown in FIG. Thereby, the substrate 9 to be processed is placed on the placement surface 22. Further, the inside of the suction hole 23 is sucked, and the substrate 9 to be processed is sucked and fixed to the stage 21.

(3) Surface treatment process Next, the process gas g1 is blown out between the process head 10 and the to-be-processed substrate 9, moving the process head 10 back and forth. Further, a voltage is supplied from the power source 2 to the electrode 11, and an electric field is applied between the electrode 11 and the stage 21. Thereby, the processing gas g1 is turned into plasma. This plasma-ized processing gas comes into contact with the substrate 9 to be processed, and surface treatment is performed.

(4) Release process After the surface treatment is completed, the processing head 10 is retracted to the outside of the stage 21. Further, an inert gas is introduced into the adsorption hole 23. Thereby, the suction of the substrate 9 and the stage 21 around the suction hole 23 is released.

  Simultaneously or before and after the introduction of the inert gas into the adsorption hole 23, the compressed inert gas from the outer adsorption release gas source 41 is introduced into each outer nozzle 42 via the supply path 43. The inert gas g <b> 2 is blown obliquely upward from the blowing portion 45 and is blown to the corner portion formed by the outer peripheral portion of the lower surface of the substrate 9 to be processed and the outer end surface of the stage 21.

(5) Lifting Step Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 4, the lifting pins 31 are raised from the lower position. At this time, the inert gas g <b> 2 from the outer nozzle 42 enters between the substrate 9 and the mounting surface 22 from the outside of the stage 21. As shown in FIG. 5, the flow of the inert gas g <b> 2 becomes a gas flow that diffuses in a planar shape and a fan shape depending on the shape of the ejection holes 46. Therefore, even if the gap between the substrate 9 to be processed and the mounting surface 22 is still narrow, the inert gas g2 can be sufficiently and widely entered. By adjusting the installation angle of the outer nozzle 42 and by adjusting the inclination angle of the upper and lower inner surfaces 46a, 46b of the ejection hole 46, the planar gas flow of the inert gas g2 is changed between the substrate 9 and the mounting surface 22. It is possible to make sure that it enters between. By the plurality of ejection portions 45, the inert gas g <b> 2 can be spread evenly over almost the entire long side direction of the space between the substrate to be processed 9 and the placement surface 22. The pressure of the inert gas g2 can assist the substrate 9 to be moved away from the placement surface 22. Even if the suction release between the substrate to be processed 9 and the mounting surface 22 is insufficient with only the inert gas from the suction hole 23, the substrate to be processed 9 and the mounting surface 22 by the inert gas g2 from the outer nozzle. Can be reliably peeled off. Even if the substrate 9 to be processed is in close contact with the mounting surface 22 by the Coulomb force due to the peeling electrification, the peeled and charged portion can be easily peeled off. Therefore, local stress can be prevented from being generated in the peeled and charged portion of the substrate 9 to be processed, and the substrate 9 to be processed can be prevented from being damaged. In this way, the substrate 9 to be processed can be smoothly lifted from the placement surface 22.

  The time when the inert gas g2 starts to be blown out from the outer nozzle 42 is not limited to before the lift pin 31 starts to rise, and may be set at the same time as the lift pin 31 starts to rise or after the lift pin 31 starts to rise. Accordingly, when the adhesion between the substrate 9 to be processed and the stage 21 is weak, the substrate 9 to be processed can be prevented from sliding off the stage 21 due to the inert gas g2 from the outer nozzle 42.

  Until the substrate 9 to be processed is completely separated from the mounting surface 22, it is preferable to make the lifting speed of the lifting pins 31 as low as possible, for example, about 0.1 to 5 mm / sec. As a result, it is possible to reliably prevent damage to the substrate 9 to be processed due to peeling charging or the like. After the substrate 9 to be processed is completely lifted, the ascending / descending pins 31 may be raised at a relatively high speed, for example, about 5 to 100 mm / sec. Thereby, the time required for the lift can be shortened. By setting it to 100 / sec or less, it is possible to prevent the substrate 9 to be processed from being damaged by the wind pressure at the time of rising.

  When the substrate 9 to be processed is lifted to some extent, the blowing of the inert gas g2 from the outer nozzle 42 is stopped.

(6) Unloading step As shown in FIG. 3, after the substrate 9 to be processed is lifted to the upper position, the substrate 9 on the lift pins 31 is picked up by the fork-shaped manipulator 4 and unloaded.
Thereafter, the steps (1) to (6) are repeated for the new substrate 9 to be processed.

(7) Ion blowing step During operation of the surface treatment apparatus 1, the ionizer 70 is always turned on, and the ion gas g <b> 3 is continuously blown out from the ionizer nozzle 71. The flow rate of the ion gas g3 from each ionizer nozzle 71 is, for example, about 50 slm. By constantly blowing out the ion gas g3, almost the entire surface treatment apparatus 1 is enclosed in an ion atmosphere. As a result, even if peeling electrification occurs when the substrate to be processed 9 is separated from the placement surface 22 in the lift process, it is possible to quickly remove the charge. Therefore, the substrate 9 to be processed can be separated from the placement surface 22 more smoothly. Further, static electricity transmitted from the substrate 9 to be processed to the stage 21 can be prevented from being accumulated in the stage device 20. Therefore, when the surface treatment is continuously performed on the plurality of substrates 9 to be processed, it is possible to prevent the peeling charge amount from being accumulated.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the following embodiments, the same reference numerals are attached to the drawings for the same parts as those already described, and the description thereof is omitted.
[Second Embodiment]
As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the insertion hole 24 is not provided in the stage 21 of the second embodiment. The substrate elevating mechanism 30 does not have the elevating pins 31, but has an outer peripheral support portion 50 instead. As shown in FIG. 7, the outer peripheral support portion 50 has a pair of long side support portions 51 and a pair of short side support portions 52. The long side support portion 51 and the short side support portion 52 are disposed outside the placement surface 22 in plan view. The long side support 51 extends along the long side (left and right) edges of the stage 21. The short side support part 52 extends along the edge on the short side (front and rear) of the stage 21.

  The outer periphery support part 50 is lifted and lowered between the upper position (FIG. 9) and the lower position (FIG. 6) by the lift drive part 32. As shown in FIG. 9, the outer peripheral support portion 50 at the upper position protrudes above the stage 21. As shown in FIG. 6, the outer peripheral support portion 50 at the lower position is flush with the placement surface 22. In the lower position, the upper surface of the outer peripheral support portion 50 may be positioned below the placement surface 22.

As shown in FIG. 8, each long side support portion 51 has a beam 53 and a placement portion 54. The beam 53 is made of metal and extends horizontally along the edge of the stage 21. A mounting portion 54 is provided on the upper surface of the beam 53. The mounting portion 54 is made of a conductive plastic. The outer peripheral portion of the substrate 9 to be processed is placed on the upper surface of the mounting portion 54. The mounting portion 54 made of conductive plastic is electrically grounded via a metal beam 53 and a ground wire 56.
Although not shown in detail, each short side support portion 52 has a beam 53 and a placement portion 54 provided on the upper surface of the beam 53, similarly to the long side support portion 51.

  7 and 8, reference numeral 55 denotes a notch for inserting the fork-like manipulator at the upper position, and the placement part 54 is not provided in the notch 55.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the left and right long side support portions 51 are provided with outer nozzles 42X. As shown in FIG. 7, a plurality of outer nozzles 42 </ b> X are arranged at intervals in the longitudinal direction of the long side support portion 51. The placement portion 54 is not provided at the arrangement position of the outer nozzle 42X.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the outer nozzle 42 </ b> X has a substantially cylindrical shape with the axis line directed up and down. The lower part of the outer nozzle 42 </ b> X constitutes the base 44, and the upper part constitutes the ejection part 45. A screw portion 44 b is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the base portion 44. The screw portion 44 b is screwed into a female screw hole 53 a formed in the beam 53.

  An injection guide hole 44 a is formed inside the base portion 44. The injection guide hole 44a extends vertically along the axis of the outer nozzle 42X. The lower end portion of the injection guide hole 44 a reaches the lower end surface of the outer nozzle 42 </ b> X and opens, and continues to the supply path 43. The injection guide hole 44a is provided with a tapered hole portion 44c that gradually decreases in diameter toward the upper portion in an intermediate portion, and an upper portion of the tapered hole portion 44c has a smaller diameter than a lower portion.

  The ejection part 45 of the outer nozzle 42 </ b> X protrudes above the beam 53. As shown in FIG. 11, the ejection portion 45 has a columnar shape in which one side in the circumferential direction is notched into a partial columnar shape (a section is a fan shape). The partial cylindrical cutout portion of the ejection portion 45 constitutes the ejection hole 46. As shown in FIG. 6, the ejection hole 46 is opened toward the stage 21 side.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the bottom surface of the ejection hole 46 has a partial circular shape (fan shape). The upper end portion of the ejection guide hole 44a is opened at a position corresponding to the center of the partial circle (center of the fan) on the bottom surface of the ejection hole 46.

  The partial cylindrical ejection holes 46 are gradually expanded toward the tip (outer periphery of the outer nozzle 42X) in plan view. An angle θ1 formed by both wall surfaces 46c, 46c of the ejection hole 46 is preferably about θ1 = 100 to 150 °.

  As shown in FIG. 10, a cap portion 47 is formed at the upper end portion of the outer nozzle 42X. The cap portion 47 is circular in plan view (see FIG. 7), and one side portion in the circumferential direction covers the upper end portion of the ejection hole 46. The lower surface of the portion of the cap portion 47 that covers the ejection hole 46 defines an upper inner surface 46 a of the ejection hole 46. The injection hole inner surface 46 a is a slope that is inclined upward as it goes to the outer periphery of the cap portion 47. The angle θ2 formed by the vertical direction and the inner surface 46a of the injection hole is preferably about θ2 = 60 to 90 ° (less than 90 °), for example, θ2 = 75 °.

  The upper end surface of the outer nozzle 42 </ b> X (the upper surface of the cap portion 47) is retracted slightly below the upper surface of the mounting portion 54. Accordingly, the outer peripheral portion of the substrate 9 to be processed does not contact the outer nozzle 42X.

  As shown in FIG. 9, in the transfer process of the second embodiment, the outer peripheral support part 50 is raised to the upper position, and the outer peripheral part of the substrate 9 to be processed is placed on the upper surface of the mounting part 54 by the fork-like manipulator 4. Place. At this time, the fork-like manipulator 4 is passed through the notch 55 of the long side support 51 on one side.

  In the installation process, after the fork-like manipulator 4 is retracted, the outer peripheral support portion 50 is lowered to the lower position and the substrate 9 to be processed is placed on the stage 21 as shown in FIG. Then, the surface treatment process is performed similarly to 1st Embodiment.

  In the release step and the lift step after the surface treatment, the inert gas is blown out from the adsorption hole 23 and the inert gas g2 of the inert gas source 41 is introduced into the injection guide hole 44a of the outer nozzle 42X through the supply path 43. . As shown in FIG. 10, the inert gas g <b> 2 is ejected from the ejection guide hole 44 a into the ejection hole 46 and flows upward along the inner side surface of the inner wall of the ejection hole 46. Then, the contact with the lower surface of the cap portion 47 is changed to the stage 21 side (right side in FIG. 10). Thereafter, the inert gas g2 flows obliquely upward along the lower surface of the cap portion 47 and spreads in a fan shape. As a result, the inert gas g2 is blown out as a planar gas flow that extends obliquely upward and in a fan shape from the ejection portion 45 toward the edge on the long side of the mounting surface 22.

Then, the outer periphery support part 50 is raised. At this time, it is the same as in the first embodiment that the inert gas g2 can assist the removal of the substrate 9 from the mounting surface 22. Further, since the outer peripheral portion of the substrate 9 to be processed comes into contact with the mounting portion 54 made of conductive plastic, even if peeling electrification occurs on the substrate 9 to be processed, the discharge can be performed via the mounting portion 54 to remove the peeling charge. be able to. Therefore, the substrate 9 to be processed can be more easily separated from the placement surface 22.
Since the mounting portion 54 is made of plastic, generation of particles due to contact with the substrate 9 to be processed can be prevented or suppressed.

  The outer nozzle 42 rises together with the outer peripheral support portion 50. Even after the substrate 9 to be processed is completely separated from the stage 21, the inert gas g <b> 2 is continuously blown out from the outer nozzle 42. Therefore, the inert gas g2 continues to hit the lower surface of the substrate 9 to be processed. The gas pressure of the inert gas g2 can prevent the central portion of the substrate 9 to be bent from bending downward.

Thereafter, the unloading step is executed, and the above steps are repeated for the new substrate 9 to be processed, as in the first embodiment.
In the second embodiment, the substrate lifting mechanism 30 also serves as the nozzle lifting mechanism 80 of the third embodiment described later.

[Third Embodiment]
As shown in FIG. 12, in the third embodiment, a nozzle angle adjustment mechanism 60 is connected to the outer nozzle 42. The angle adjustment mechanism 60 includes a rotation drive unit 61 formed of a stepping motor and the like, and a transmission unit 62 formed of a gear train that connects the drive shaft of the drive unit 61 and the outer nozzle 42. By this angle adjusting mechanism 60, the outer nozzle 42 is rotated around an axis 63 parallel to the long side edge of the mounting surface 22.

As shown in FIG. 13A, the outer nozzle 42 is further connected to a nozzle lifting mechanism 80. The nozzle elevating mechanism 80 includes an elevating drive unit 81 made of a hydraulic or electric actuator or the like, and a transmission unit 82 made of an extendable rod or the like that connects the elevating drive unit 81 and the nozzle 42. As shown in FIG. 13B, the outer nozzle 42 is moved up and down by the lifting mechanism 60.
The raising / lowering driving unit 81 may use a common driving unit with the raising / lowering driving unit 32 of the substrate raising / lowering mechanism 30.

  The nozzle angle adjustment mechanism 60 and the nozzle lifting mechanism 60 are driven in synchronization with the substrate lifting mechanism 30. As a result, the outer nozzle 42 is raised and lowered in conjunction with the raising and lowering of the substrate 9 to be processed. Specifically, when the elevating pin 31 rises from the lower position to the upper position, the outer nozzle 42 rotates in a direction in which the inclination with respect to the horizontal direction becomes smaller while rising integrally with the elevating pin 31. Thereby, the inert gas g <b> 2 from the outer nozzle 42 can be reliably introduced between the substrate 9 to be processed and the mounting surface 22. Therefore, the to-be-processed substrate 9 and the mounting surface 22 can be reliably separated.

After the substrate 9 to be processed has moved away from the placement surface 22 to some extent, the outer nozzle 42 may be lifted together with the lifting pins 31 and the inclination angle of the outer nozzle 42 may be maintained at a constant angle. At this time, it is preferable that the inert gas g2 from the outer nozzle 42 is continuously blown out. Thereby, the bending of the substrate 9 to be processed can be suppressed or prevented.
When the degree of bending of the substrate 9 to be processed changes due to rigidity or thermal stress in the previous process, it can be dealt with by adjusting the inclination angle of the outer nozzle 42.
When the raising / lowering pin 31 is lowered from the upper position, the outer nozzle 42 may be operated in the reverse manner to the above-described raising.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made.
For example, the number and arrangement interval of the outer nozzles 42 and 42X can be set as appropriate. The outer nozzles 42 and 42 </ b> X are not limited to be provided per edge of the stage 21, and may be provided only one. The outer nozzles 42 and 42X may be provided not on the long side edge of the stage 21 but on the short side edge, or on the long side edge and the short side edge. Good. The outer nozzles 42 and 42 </ b> X may be provided only at one edge of the stage 21, may be provided at three edges of the stage 21, or may be provided at four edges of the stage 21.

The first to third embodiments may be combined with each other. For example, the board | substrate raising / lowering mechanism 30 may be provided with both the raising / lowering pin 31 of 1st Embodiment, and the outer periphery support part 50 of 2nd Embodiment. The outer nozzle 42X provided in the outer periphery support part 50 of 2nd Embodiment may be rotated in response to raising / lowering of the to-be-processed substrate 9 similarly to 3rd Embodiment.
In the second embodiment, the ejection hole 46 of the outer nozzle 42X has an upper inner surface 46b, and a gas g2 is applied to the inner surface 46b from below to form an oblique planar gas flow. However, instead of this, the ejection hole may have a lower inner surface, and a gas plane g2 may be applied to the lower inner surface from above to form an oblique planar gas flow.

  The present invention can be used for manufacturing, for example, a flat panel display (FPD).

It is front sectional drawing which follows the II line | wire of FIG. 2 which shows the surface treatment apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention in the state of a surface treatment process. It is a top view of the stage apparatus of the said surface treatment apparatus which follows the II-II line of FIG. It is front sectional drawing shown in the state of the said surface treatment apparatus delivery process or carrying out process. It is front sectional drawing which expands and shows the periphery of the stage outer end of the initial stage of a lift process. It is a top view which expands and shows the periphery of the stage outer end of the initial stage of a lift process. It is front sectional drawing in alignment with the VI-VI line of FIG. 7 which shows the surface treatment apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention in the state of a surface treatment process. It is a top view of the stage apparatus of the surface treatment apparatus of 2nd Embodiment which follows the VII-VII line of FIG. It is sectional drawing of the outer periphery support part of the surface treatment apparatus of 2nd Embodiment which follows the VIII-VIII line of FIG. It is front sectional drawing shown in the state of a delivery process or a carrying out process of the surface treatment apparatus of 2nd Embodiment. It is a front sectional view which shows the nozzle of a 2nd embodiment and which meets a XX line of Drawing 11. It is a plane sectional view of the above-mentioned nozzle which meets the XI-XI line of Drawing 10. It is a top view which shows 3rd Embodiment of this invention. (A) is front sectional drawing which shows the stage outer end periphery in the surface treatment process of 3rd Embodiment. (B) is front sectional drawing which shows the stage outer end periphery in the initial stage of the lift process of 3rd Embodiment with a continuous line, and shows the state before a lift with a virtual line.

Explanation of symbols

g1 Processing gas g2 Outside adsorption release gas g3 Ion gas 1 Surface treatment device 9 Substrate 10 Processing head 20 Stage device 21 Stage 22 Placement surface 30 Substrate lifting mechanism 31 Lifting pin 40 Outside adsorption release gas injection mechanism 41 Outside adsorption release gas Source 42 Outer nozzle 46 Ejection hole 46a Upper inner surface 46b Lower inner surface 50 Outer peripheral support portion 60 Nozzle angle adjustment mechanism 63 Axis 80 Nozzle lifting mechanism

Claims (8)

A stage device for setting a substrate to be surface-treated,
A stage having a mounting surface;
A substrate lifting mechanism that lowers the substrate to be processed from above the mounting surface to the mounting surface, and lifts the substrate to be processed after the surface treatment from the mounting surface;
An ejection hole that is disposed on the outer side in plan view from the placement surface and opens toward the edge of the placement surface, and the substrate to be processed from the ejection hole when the substrate to be processed is raised by the substrate lifting mechanism. And a nozzle for blowing gas between the mounting surface and
A surface treatment stage device comprising:   The surface treatment stage device according to claim 1, wherein the ejection holes are gradually expanded toward the tip in a plan view.   At least one of the upper inner surface and the lower inner surface of the ejection hole has a width along the edge of the placement surface, and is outward from the placement surface and from the lower side toward the tip in the plan view. The surface treatment stage device according to claim 1, wherein the surface treatment stage device is inclined.   The surface treatment stage device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the nozzle is adjustable in angle about an axis parallel to the edge of the mounting surface.   The substrate elevating mechanism includes an outer peripheral support portion that is arranged to be movable upward and downward in a plan view of the mounting surface and can support the outer peripheral portion of the substrate to be processed. The nozzle is provided on the outer peripheral support portion. The stage device for surface treatment according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the stage device is for surface treatment.   6. The surface processing stage device according to claim 1, further comprising a nozzle lifting mechanism that lifts and lowers the nozzle in conjunction with a lifting operation of the substrate to be processed by the substrate lifting mechanism. .   7. A nozzle angle adjusting mechanism for adjusting the angle of the nozzle about an axis parallel to the edge of the mounting surface in conjunction with the raising / lowering operation of the nozzle by the nozzle raising / lowering mechanism. The stage device for surface treatment as described in 1.   The surface treatment stage device according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the nozzles are provided apart from each other in a direction along an edge of the placement surface.

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