JP2013233496A - Deaerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a deaerator capable of removing bubbles of a prescribed size or larger affecting a post-process, from a liquid resin supplied onto a member to be coated.SOLUTION: A deaerator is composed to remove bubbles in a liquid resin P in a liquid resin tank 4 by getting through a filter part 130 disposed in a buffer tank 120 using a first pump 110 to store the liquid resin in the tank 120. When the liquid resin P is supplied to the buffer tank 120, the liquid resin P is filtered by getting through the filter body 140 of the filter part 130 and at that time, the bubbles of a prescribed size or larger are effectively removed.

Description

  In the present invention, for example, when a sheet is attached to the surface of a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer, the air bubbles in the liquid resin are disposed in a piping path of a liquid resin supply device that supplies the sheet with a liquid resin to be attached to the substrate. The present invention relates to a defoaming apparatus for removing water.

  Semiconductor wafers, which are used as materials for semiconductors and electronic components, are obtained by slicing cylindrical ingots made of raw materials such as silicon with a wire saw to obtain a disk-shaped material, which is then ground to a predetermined thickness. ing. By the way, a workpiece such as a wafer material obtained by slicing in this way often has undulation, warpage, etc., and therefore, a flat surface can be obtained by coating one side of the workpiece with a liquid resin. The process which forms is performed. In order to coat the workpiece with the liquid resin, for example, the liquid resin is supplied to a sheet placed on a flat surface, and the workpiece is pressed against the liquid resin so that one side is coated with the liquid resin. Then, a method of curing the liquid resin is employed. Then, by grinding the workpiece on the basis of the flat sheet surface, it is possible to finally form both sides of the workpiece flat and uniformly. Conventionally, as an apparatus for supplying a liquid resin to one surface of a workpiece, for example, Patent Document 1 is known.

JP 2009-148866 A

  However, when bubbles are included in the liquid resin supplied to the sheet as described above, the liquid resin is coated and cured on the workpiece, and when the workpiece is ground on the basis of a flat sheet surface, In the part where the bubbles are present and the part where the bubbles are not present, the pressing force applied during grinding becomes non-uniform, which may cause a problem that the ground surface of the workpiece cannot be processed flat. In this case, the allowable bubble size is, for example, about 100 μm. Therefore, when bubbles having a size of 100 μm or more are included in the liquid resin, such a problem is remarkably generated.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and the main technical problem thereof is, for example, from a liquid resin supplied to a member to be coated such as a sheet to be adhered to a workpiece as described above, for subsequent processing. An object of the present invention is to provide a defoaming apparatus capable of removing bubbles having a predetermined size or more that are affected.

  The present invention is arranged in a piping path of a liquid resin supply device that supplies liquid resin from a discharge nozzle to the surface of a member to be coated, and the piping path from the liquid resin tank in which the liquid resin is stored toward the discharge nozzle A defoaming device for removing bubbles present in the liquid resin conveyed inside the defoaming device, the defoaming device being disposed in the piping path and a buffer tank for storing the liquid resin, the liquid resin tank A first pump that sends the liquid resin to the buffer tank, and a filter unit that is disposed in the buffer tank and removes bubbles contained in the liquid resin. The filter unit has a predetermined size. A cylindrical portion having a cylindrical shape formed of a mesh-like member having a mesh opening and having an opening on one end face and the other end face closed; and a flange portion projecting radially on the outer peripheral edge of the opening; Have The filter main body and a holding frame that holds the filter main body and can be disposed in the buffer tank, and the holding frame is larger than the cylindrical portion of the filter main body and smaller than the flange portion. A top plate having holes, a bottom plate located below the top plate, and a side plate connecting the top plate and the bottom plate, and when the holding frame holds the filter body, The tube portion of the filter body is inserted into the hole from above the top plate, the filter body is held in a state where the flange portion is placed on the top surface of the top plate, and the holding frame holds the filter body. In the state, the bottom plate is positioned below a predetermined distance from the other end surface of the filter body, and the liquid resin transported in the piping path of the filter body held by the holding frame in the buffer tank The filter from the opening When the air flows into the body and passes through the mesh member forming the filter body, bubbles are removed and stored in the buffer tank, and the liquid resin stored in the buffer tank is defoamed. It is conveyed to the said discharge nozzle by the 2nd pump arrange | positioned by the piping path | route between an apparatus and the said discharge nozzle.

  According to the present invention, when the first pump is activated and the liquid resin is supplied from the liquid resin tank into the buffer tank, the liquid resin passes through the filter body of the filter portion in the buffer tank and is filtered. Sometimes bubbles in the liquid resin are effectively removed. Since the filter main body is formed of a cylindrical portion in which a net-like member is formed in a cylindrical shape, the passage area of the liquid resin can be increased and clogging is unlikely to occur. The bubbles to be removed in this case refer to bubbles of a predetermined size or more that affect subsequent processing.

  In the present invention, the holding frame is disposed in the buffer tank, and the bottom plate is inclined in one direction, and a side opening that opens toward the inner wall side of the buffer tank is formed at the downstream end of the bottom plate in the inclined direction. The side opening and the inner wall of the buffer tank face each other with a predetermined distance, and the liquid resin that has passed through the filter body and dropped onto the upper surface of the bottom plate is formed from the upper surface of the bottom plate. It is preferable to pass through the side opening and to be stored in the bottom of the buffer tank through the inner wall of the buffer tank.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that the holding frame is disposed in the buffer tank by suspension means that suspends the upper part of the buffer tank.

  In the present invention, the mesh member forming the filter body preferably has a mesh size of 500 μm or less.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, there exists an effect that the defoaming apparatus which can remove the bubble more than the predetermined magnitude | size which affects subsequent processing from the liquid resin supplied on a to-be-coated member is provided.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the liquid resin supply apparatus provided with the defoaming apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a side view of the defoaming device concerning one embodiment. It is a perspective view of the filter main body which comprises the filter part of the defoaming apparatus. It is the (a) perspective view and (b) side view of the holding frame which comprise the filter part of the defoaming device. It is a side view which shows the modification of one Embodiment.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 schematically shows an entire liquid resin supply apparatus including a defoaming apparatus 1 according to an embodiment. This liquid resin supply device supplies the liquid resin P from the discharge nozzle 5 to the surface Wa of the member W to be coated such as a sheet adhered to a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 3 denotes a piping path. A liquid resin tank 4 is connected to the upstream end of the piping path 3, and a discharge nozzle 5 is connected to the downstream end. A defoaming device 1 according to an embodiment including the first pump 110 and the buffer tank 120 and the second pump 2 are arranged in the middle of the piping path 3 from the upstream side toward the downstream side. ing.

  The liquid resin P is stored in the liquid resin tank 4, and the liquid resin P is sent to the buffer tank 120 by the operation of the first pump 110, and a predetermined amount is stored in the buffer tank 120. In the buffer tank 120, a filter unit 130 for removing bubbles contained in the liquid resin P is detachably accommodated.

The defoaming device 1 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
The filter unit 130 includes a filter main body 140 and a holding frame 150 that holds the filter main body 140 in the buffer tank 120. As shown in FIG. 3, the filter main body 140 is formed of a net-like member 141 such as a metal mesh having an opening having a predetermined size, and has an opening 142 on one end face and a cylinder having the other end face closed. A cylindrical portion 143 having a shape and a flange portion 145 protruding in the radial direction on the outer peripheral edge of the opening 142 are provided. The size of the mesh member 141 forming the cylindrical portion 143 of the filter main body 140 is determined by processing after the liquid resin P is supplied to the member to be coated W (for example, pasting the member W to be coated via the liquid resin P). The size is such that bubbles of a predetermined size or larger that affect the grinding of the attached semiconductor wafer or the like are not allowed to pass through, for example, 500 μm or less.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the holding frame 150 is sized so that the filter main body 140 is disposed therein, is formed in a substantially U shape by a plate material, is positioned on the upper side, and is disposed horizontally. A top plate 151, a bottom plate 155 positioned below the top plate 151, and a side plate 158 connecting the top plate 151 and the bottom plate 155. In the center portion of the top plate 151, a through hole 152 into which the cylindrical portion 143 of the filter main body 140 can be inserted and which is smaller than the flange portion 145 is formed. Although the top plate 151 and the bottom plate 155 extend at right angles to the side plate 158, as shown in FIG. 4B, the bottom plate 155 is not parallel to the top plate 151, and one side of the side plate 158. It inclines toward the other side edge 158b from the edge 158a.

  The filter unit 130 is arranged with the filter body 140 on the bottom side of the tube unit 143 and is inserted into the through hole 152 from above the top plate 151 of the holding frame 150, and the flange unit 145 is placed on the top surface of the top plate 151. Configured. The tube portion 143 of the filter main body 140 is disposed between the top plate 151 and the bottom plate 155, and the opening 152 on one end surface side of the tube portion 143 is disposed on the upper side and the other end surface closed. The bottom plate 155 is located a predetermined distance below the lower end surface on the side.

  The buffer tank 120 has, for example, a rectangular tube shape that opens upward, and the holding frame 150 is inserted and accommodated in the buffer tank 120 from the upper opening with the bottom plate 155 disposed on the lower side. At the pair of side edges of the top plate 151 of the holding frame 150, arms (suspending means) 159 that extend upward and then bend outward and extend outward are fixed, respectively, as shown in FIG. The holding frame 150 is suspended in the buffer tank 120 by hooking the arm 159 to the upper edge of the buffer tank 120. In this case, the filter unit 130 is disposed in an upper half region in the buffer tank 120, and the liquid resin P is stored below the filter unit 130 in the buffer tank 120.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the bottom plate 155 of the holding frame 150 is inclined while descending in one direction in a state where the holding frame 150 in which the filter main body 140 is accommodated is disposed in the buffer tank 120. A side opening 157 that opens to the inner wall 121 side of the buffer tank 120 is formed at the downstream end (lower end) in the inclination direction. 4B, the side opening 157 is a space between the side edge 151a of the top plate 151 and the side edge 155a of the bottom plate 155, and the side opening 157 and the inner wall 121 of the buffer tank 120. Are opposed to each other with a predetermined distance.

  The piping path 3 includes an upstream piping 31 from the liquid resin tank 4 where the first pump 110 is disposed to the buffer tank 120 and a buffer tank 120 where the second pump 2 is disposed to the discharge nozzle 5. It is divided into downstream piping 35. The opening at the downstream end of the upstream pipe 31 is positioned immediately above the opening 142 of the filter body 140, and the liquid resin P sucked from the liquid resin tank 4 by the operation of the first pump 110 is the opening. 142 is supplied into the tube portion 143 of the filter main body 140. The upstream end of the downstream pipe 35 is connected to the bottom of the buffer tank 120, and the liquid resin P stored in the buffer tank 120 is sent to the discharge nozzle 5 by the operation of the second pump 2. The second pump 2 is of a type that sucks and discharges a certain amount of liquid resin, such as a bellows pump.

  The above is the liquid resin supply apparatus including the defoaming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. According to the apparatus, the first pump 110 is operated and the liquid resin P in the liquid resin tank 4 is connected to the upstream pipe 31. Then, it is supplied into the filter main body 140 of the filter unit 130. The liquid resin P passes through the cylindrical portion 143 formed of the mesh member 141 of the filter main body 140 and falls onto the upper surface of the bottom plate 155 of the holding frame 150. The liquid resin dropped on the upper surface of the bottom plate 155 flows down along the upper surface of the inclined bottom plate 155, passes through the side opening 157, and adheres to the inner wall 121 of the buffer tank 120 facing the side opening 157. Then, it flows down along the inner wall 121 and is stored in the bottom of the buffer tank 120.

  When supplying the liquid resin P to the surface Wa of the member to be coated W, by operating the second pump 2, a certain amount of the liquid resin P is conveyed to the discharge nozzle 5, and the member to be coated is discharged from the discharge nozzle 5. Dropped onto the surface Wa of W and supplied. The arrows other than the lead lines with reference numerals in FIGS. 1 and 2 indicate the flow of the liquid resin P.

  In the liquid resin P supplied to the member W to be coated, the liquid resin P passes through the filter part 130, so that bubbles of the predetermined size or more are not included. That is, when the liquid resin supplied from the upstream side pipe 31 into the filter main body 140 of the filter unit 130 passes through the cylindrical part 143 formed of the mesh member 141, bubbles of a predetermined size or more are removed, and the buffer is in that state. It is stored in the tank 120.

  In the present embodiment, the liquid resin P that has passed through the filter main body 140 falls on the bottom plate 155 of the holding frame 150. However, since the bottom plate 155 is inclined, the impact of the drop is alleviated and the generation of bubbles is suppressed. In addition to this, the liquid resin P falling from the bottom plate 155 does not fall directly on the liquid resin P stored at the bottom of the buffer tank 120, but travels along the inner wall 121 of the buffer tank 120 to the liquid level of the liquid resin P stored. The generation of bubbles is also suppressed by this slow flow state.

  Therefore, bubbles are unlikely to exist in the liquid resin P stored in the buffer tank 120, and the liquid resin P without bubbles is supplied to the member W to be coated. In order to prevent bubbles from being generated in this way, the distance between the lower end surface of the filter body 140 and the bottom plate 155 and the distance between the tip of the bottom plate 155 and the inner wall 121 of the buffer tank 120 are generated. It is set to an appropriate distance that is difficult to perform.

  Note that the mesh size of the mesh member 141 forming the cylindrical portion 143 of the filter main body 140 is 500 μm or less, for example, but whether the mesh size affects subsequent processing such as grinding. If the allowable bubble size is, for example, 100 μm, the mesh member 141 having a size below 100 μm is used.

  According to the present embodiment, the liquid resin P passes through and is filtered, and the filter main body 140 of the filter unit 130 that removes bubbles of a predetermined size or more during this time is configured by the cylindrical tube portion 143. Therefore, for example, compared to a case where a simple mesh filter is provided in the middle of the piping path 3, the area of the portion through which the liquid resin P passes is much larger. In general, this type of filter is clogged over time. For example, clogging is more likely to occur when the liquid resin P is an ultraviolet curable type or a thermosetting type. However, the filter main body 140 of the present embodiment is cylindrical and clogging is difficult to occur because the area of the portion through which the liquid resin P passes is large. As a result, the replacement cycle of the filter main body 140 is lengthened and the maintainability is good. It becomes.

  Regarding the replacement of the filter, when a simple mesh filter is provided in the middle of the piping path 3 as described above, the filter is removed from the pipe and a new filter is attached. In the case of the embodiment, the filter main body 140 is only in a state in which the flange portion 145 is placed on the top plate 151 of the holding frame 150. It can be done quickly and easily. Therefore, also in this respect, the maintainability can be improved. Moreover, since the buffer tank 120 and the filter part 130 of the defoaming apparatus 1 of this embodiment do not require a complicated structure, they can be implemented at low cost.

  FIG. 5 shows a modification of the above embodiment. In this case, the buffer tank 120 is provided with a plurality (three) of liquid level sensors 161 to 163 for detecting the amount of liquid resin P stored in the vertical direction. The operation of the first pump 110 is controlled by the control means 170 in accordance with the detection status of these liquid level sensors.

  That is, the liquid level sensor, in order from the top, the first liquid level sensor 161 that detects that the liquid resin P has reached the upper limit of the storage amount, and the second that detects that the liquid resin P has decreased to an amount that requires replenishment. Liquid level sensor 162 and a third liquid level sensor 163 that detects that the amount of storage is further reduced and is not supplied into the buffer tank 120 are provided.

  In this configuration, the control unit 170 performs the following control. That is, the first pump 110 is operated to supply and store the liquid resin P in the buffer tank 120. When the liquid level is detected by the first liquid level sensor 161, the first pump 110 is turned on. The supply of the liquid resin into the buffer tank 120 is stopped. As the second pump 2 is operated and the liquid resin P is supplied to the member W to be coated, the liquid resin P in the buffer tank 120 decreases, and the liquid level is detected by the second liquid level sensor 162. Then, the first pump 110 is operated, and the liquid resin P is replenished in the buffer tank 120 until the liquid level is detected by the first liquid level sensor 161.

  By repeating the above operation, the liquid resin P in the liquid resin tank 4 will eventually disappear, and therefore it is detected that the second liquid level sensor 162 needs to be replenished, and even if the first pump 110 is operated. The liquid resin P is not replenished in the buffer tank 120, and only the storage amount is reduced. In this situation, the liquid level is detected by the third liquid level sensor 163, and thereby it is confirmed that the liquid resin P in the liquid resin tank 4 has disappeared. When a detection signal from the third liquid level sensor 163 is received, for example, if a warning sound is generated or a warning lamp is turned on, it is immediately possible that the liquid resin P in the liquid resin tank 4 has disappeared. As a result, the operation of replenishing the liquid resin P into the liquid resin tank 4 can be performed accurately.

  In the case of the configuration of FIG. 5, the bottom plate 155 has a downward inclination direction opposite to the liquid level sensors 161 to 163 side, and the side opening 157 is an inner wall opposite to the liquid level sensors 161 to 163 side. The holding frame 150 is disposed in the buffer tank 120 so as to face the surface 122 so that the liquid level detection by the liquid level sensors 161 to 163 is reliably performed without being affected by the liquid resin P falling from the bottom plate 155. ing.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Defoaming device 2 ... 2nd pump 3 ... Piping path 4 ... Liquid resin tank 5 ... Discharge nozzle 110 ... 1st pump 120 ... Buffer tank 121,122 ... Inner wall 130 of buffer tank ... Filter part 140 ... Filter body 141 ... Net-like member 142 ... Opening part 143 ... Cylindrical part 145 ... Flange part 150 ... Holding frame 151 ... Top plate 152 ... Top plate through hole 155 ... Bottom plate 158 ... Side plate 159 ... Arm (suspending means)
P ... Liquid resin W ... Member to be coated Wa ... Surface of the member to be coated

Claims (4)

It is arranged in a piping path of a liquid resin supply device that supplies liquid resin from the discharge nozzle to the surface of the coated member, and is transported in the piping path from the liquid resin tank in which the liquid resin is stored toward the discharge nozzle. A defoaming device for removing bubbles present in the liquid resin,
The defoaming device comprises:
A buffer tank that stores the liquid resin; a first pump that is disposed in the piping path and sends the liquid resin from the liquid resin tank to the buffer tank; and is disposed in the buffer tank and included in the liquid resin. And a filter part for removing bubbles
The filter section
It is formed from a mesh member having an opening of a predetermined size, and has a cylindrical shape with an opening on one end face and a closed end on the other end, and projects radially in the outer periphery of the opening. A filter main body having a flange portion, and a holding frame that holds the filter main body and can be disposed in the buffer tank, and the holding frame is larger than the cylindrical portion of the filter main body. A top plate having a through-hole smaller than the flange, a bottom plate positioned below the top plate, and a side plate connecting the top plate and the bottom plate, and the holding frame holds the filter body When inserting, the cylindrical portion of the filter body is inserted into the through hole from above the top plate, the filter body is held in a state where the flange portion is placed on the top surface of the top plate, and the holding frame In the state that the filter main body is held Bottom plate is positioned at a predetermined distance below the other end face,
The liquid resin transported in the piping path flows into the filter body from the opening of the filter body held by the holding frame in the buffer tank, and forms the filter body. When passing through the member, bubbles are removed and stored in the buffer tank,
The liquid resin stored in the buffer tank is transported to the discharge nozzle by a second pump disposed in a piping path between the defoaming device and the discharge nozzle. apparatus. When the holding frame is disposed in the buffer tank, the bottom plate is inclined in one direction, and a side opening that opens toward the inner wall of the buffer tank is formed at the downstream end of the bottom plate in the inclined direction. The side opening and the buffer tank inner wall face each other with a predetermined distance,
The liquid resin that has passed through the filter body and dropped onto the top surface of the bottom plate passes through the side opening from the top surface of the bottom plate, and is stored in the bottom of the buffer tank along the inner wall of the buffer tank. The defoaming device according to claim 1. The defoaming device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the holding frame is disposed in the buffer tank by suspension means that suspends the upper part of the buffer tank.   The defoaming device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a mesh size of the mesh member forming the filter body is 500 µm or less.

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