JP2015058370A - Coating device and coating method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a coating device that can suction and discharge minimal coating liquid when draining the liquid or when applying the liquid and a coating method.SOLUTION: A coating device 1, which coats coating liquid L to a base material W, comprises: a coating unit 11 for discharging the coating liquid L to the base material W; a suction unit 17 that suctions the coating liquid L from the coating unit 11; and a supply unit 18 that supplies the coating liquid L to the coating unit 11, and has: a discharging mode where the coating unit 11 continues to discharge the coating liquid L, and the coating unit 11 and the base material W coat the base material W with the coating liquid L while maintaining a coating liquid-connection state, in which the coating unit 11 and the base material W are connected at a connection portion 22 by the coating liquid L; and a liquid draining mode where when the discharging mode is finished, the coating liquid-connection state is released by suction of the coating liquid L forming the connection portion 22 into the coating unit 11. In the liquid draining mode, the coating liquid L forming the connection portion 22 is suctioned into the coating unit 11 by a difference between the quantity of suction of the coating liquid L by the suction unit 17 and the quantity of supply of the coating liquid L by the supply unit 18.

Description

  The present invention relates to a coating apparatus that forms a thin film on a base material by applying a coating liquid from the coating unit to the base material.

  A flat panel display such as a liquid crystal display or a plasma display uses a base material made of glass or the like (referred to as a coated base material) coated with a resist solution. This coating substrate is formed by a coating apparatus that uniformly coats a resist solution. That is, as shown in Patent Document 1, the coating apparatus includes a stage on which a substrate is placed and a coating unit that discharges a resist solution, and the substrate and the coating are applied while discharging the resist solution from the coating unit. By moving the unit relatively, a resist liquid film having a predetermined thickness is formed on the substrate.

  Here, as one of the methods for applying the resist liquid film, as shown in FIG. 6, a non-application area 91 that does not discharge the application liquid is provided in the middle of application, and the application film 92 is formed only at a necessary place. There is a so-called intermittent application in which application is performed intermittently. According to this intermittent application, since the coating film 92 is formed only in a necessary place, the utilization efficiency of the coating liquid can be improved.

  Thus, when providing the non-application area | region 91, the liquid supply of the coating liquid to the application unit 93 is once stopped, and the application unit 93 is passed so that the application unit 93 may pass on the non-application area 91 of the base material W in this state. And the base material W are moved relative to each other, but the coating liquid that has formed the connecting portion 94 between the coating unit 93 and the base material W is dragged on the non-coating area 91, and the film at the end of the coating film There is a possibility that the coating liquid may be applied to a portion where the thickness is uneven or where the coating liquid should not come into contact.

  Therefore, the application unit 93 sucks the application liquid so as to draw the application liquid that has formed the connecting portion 94 into the application unit 93, so that the application liquid is firmly removed before the non-application area 91. Is prevented from being dragged on the non-application area 91.

  In addition, when the formation of the coating film 92 is started, the connecting portion 94 is formed by discharging a coating liquid in an amount capable of forming the connecting portion 94 from the coating unit 93, contrary to the liquid draining. That is, liquid landing is performed. Here, if the discharge amount of the coating liquid at the time of liquid deposition is not too large and is an appropriate amount, the film thickness of the coating start part can be made equal to the film thickness of other parts, and the film is uniform up to the end A thick coating film 92 can be obtained.

JP 2007-83237 A

  However, when the film thickness of the coating film 92 required for performing draining and liquid deposition as described above is thin, a commercially available pump alone cannot control the suction amount and the discharge amount, and a good coating film 92 is obtained. There was a possibility that could not be formed.

  Specifically, when the liquid is drained, the thinner the coating film 92 is, the smaller the amount of the coating liquid that should be sucked when the liquid is drained. However, such a small amount of suction cannot be controlled. When a larger amount of coating liquid is sucked in, air enters the coating unit 93 and the piping from the discharge port of the coating unit 93, and this air is mixed into the coating film 92 when the coating liquid is applied next. There is a possibility that a coating film 92 having a good shape cannot be obtained.

  In addition, when liquid deposition is performed, the thinner the coating film 92 is, the smaller the amount of coating liquid to be ejected at the time of liquid deposition. However, such a small amount of ejection cannot be controlled and is more than necessary. When the coating liquid is discharged, excess coating liquid accumulates on the substrate W, and the thickness of the coating film 92 corresponding to the coating start portion becomes thick, making it impossible to obtain a coating film 92 having a good shape. was there.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a coating apparatus capable of sucking or discharging a small amount of coating liquid at the time of liquid draining or liquid landing.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a coating apparatus of the present invention is a coating apparatus that applies a coating liquid to a substrate, a coating unit that discharges the coating liquid to the substrate, and a suction that sucks the coating liquid from the coating unit. A unit and a supply unit for supplying the coating liquid to the coating unit, and continuously discharging the coating liquid from the coating unit, in a state where the coating unit and the base material are connected by a connecting portion by the coating liquid A discharge mode in which a coating liquid is applied to a substrate while maintaining a certain coating liquid connection state, and the coating liquid connection state is established by sucking a coating liquid forming the connection portion into the coating unit at the end of the discharge mode. A liquid removal mode to be released, and in the liquid removal mode, the difference between the suction amount of the coating liquid by the suction unit and the supply amount of the coating liquid by the supply unit, The coating liquid for forming a binding unit is characterized by sucking in the coating unit.

  According to the coating apparatus, in the liquid draining mode, by sucking the coating liquid forming the connecting portion into the coating unit due to the difference between the suction amount of the coating liquid by the suction unit and the supply amount of the coating liquid by the supply unit. It is possible to control a small amount of liquid removal. Specifically, by simultaneously operating a suction unit and a supply unit that are slightly different in suction amount and supply amount, it is possible to perform suction by the amount obtained by these differences. Therefore, the resolution can be made smaller than when performing the above, and a small amount of coating liquid can be sucked.

  Further, in order to solve the above problems, another aspect of the coating apparatus of the present invention is a coating apparatus that applies a coating liquid to a substrate, the coating unit that discharges the coating liquid to the substrate, and the coating liquid A suction unit for sucking from the coating unit; and a supply unit for supplying the coating liquid to the coating unit. The coating liquid is discharged from the coating unit and the coating unit and the substrate are connected by a connecting portion using the coating liquid. A liquid landing mode for forming a coating liquid connection state that is a state, a discharge mode for continuously applying the coating liquid from the coating unit, and applying the coating liquid to a substrate while maintaining the coating liquid connection state; In the liquid adhering mode, the coating liquid forming the connecting portion is made to be the coating unit by the difference between the suction amount of the coating liquid by the suction unit and the supply amount of the coating liquid by the supply unit. It is characterized by to be discharged from.

  According to the coating apparatus, in the liquid deposition mode, by discharging the coating liquid forming the connecting portion from the coating unit by the difference between the suction amount of the coating liquid by the suction unit and the supply amount of the coating liquid by the supply unit, A very small amount of liquid can be controlled. Specifically, by simultaneously operating a suction unit and a supply unit having slightly different suction amounts and supply amounts, it is possible to discharge the amount obtained by the difference between them. Therefore, the resolution can be made smaller than in the case of performing the above, and a small amount of coating liquid can be discharged.

  The suction unit and the supply unit may be syringe pumps having different inner diameters, and the suction unit and the piston of the supply unit are preferably connected in opposite directions.

  As a result, the suction operation by the suction unit and the supply operation by the supply unit can be synchronized, so that there is no deviation in the timing of control compared to separate control, and a stable amount with a simple configuration The coating liquid can be sucked or discharged.

  Further, in order to solve the above problems, the coating method of the present invention is a coating method in which a coating solution is applied to a substrate, and the coating unit and the substrate are coated by continuously discharging the coating solution from the coating unit. A discharge step of applying the coating liquid to the substrate while maintaining the application liquid connection state, which is a state of being connected by the connection portion by the liquid, and a coating liquid forming the connection portion at the end of the discharge step in the application unit A liquid draining process for releasing the connected state of the coating liquid by sucking, and in the liquid draining process, the suction amount and the coating liquid by the suction operation of sucking the coating liquid from the coating unit are supplied to the coating unit. The coating liquid that forms the connecting portion is sucked into the coating unit according to the difference from the supply amount by the supplying operation.

  According to the above application method, in the liquid draining step, the application for forming the connecting portion by the difference between the suction amount by the suction operation for sucking the coating liquid from the coating unit and the supply amount by the supply operation for supplying the coating liquid to the coating unit. By sucking the liquid into the coating unit, a small amount of liquid can be controlled. Specifically, by simultaneously performing a suction operation and a supply operation in which the suction amount and the supply amount are slightly different, suction of the amount obtained by these differences can be performed. The resolution can be made smaller than when it is performed, and a small amount of coating liquid can be sucked.

  Further, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, another aspect of the coating method of the present invention is a coating method in which a coating liquid is applied to a substrate, and the coating unit and the substrate are discharged by discharging the coating liquid from a coating unit. And a liquid depositing process for forming a coating liquid connection state in which the coating liquid is connected at a connecting portion by the coating liquid, and continuously discharging the coating liquid from the coating unit to apply to the substrate while maintaining the coating liquid connection state. A difference between a suction amount by a suction operation for sucking the coating liquid from the coating unit and a supply amount by a supply operation for supplying the coating liquid to the coating unit in the liquid depositing step. Thus, the coating liquid for forming the connecting portion is discharged from the coating unit.

  According to the coating method, in the liquid depositing process, a coating portion is formed by the difference between the suction amount by the suction operation for sucking the coating liquid from the coating unit and the supply amount by the supply operation for supplying the coating liquid to the coating unit. By discharging the liquid from the coating unit, it is possible to control a very small amount of liquid deposition. Specifically, by simultaneously performing a suction operation and a supply operation in which the suction amount and the supply amount are slightly different, it is possible to discharge the amount obtained by these differences. The resolution can be made smaller than in the case of carrying out, and a small amount of coating liquid can be discharged.

  According to the coating apparatus of the present invention, a small amount of coating liquid can be sucked or discharged when the liquid is drained or when the liquid is deposited.

It is the schematic of the coating device in one Embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic of the application part in this embodiment. It is the schematic which shows operation | movement of the discharge mode by the coating device in this embodiment. It is the schematic which shows operation | movement of the liquid removal mode by the coating device in this embodiment. It is an operation | movement flowchart of the coating method in one Embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic which shows the formation method of the some coating film which has a non-application area | region.

  Embodiments according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a coating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The coating apparatus 1 includes a coating unit 2 that coats the substrate W with a coating solution, a relative movement unit 3 that relatively moves the coating unit 11 and the substrate W included in the coating unit 2 (in this embodiment, the substrate W is transported). And a coating liquid is discharged from the discharge port of the coating unit 11 when the substrate W is being transported immediately below the coating unit 11 by the relative movement unit 3. A coating film is formed using a liquid.

  The coating apparatus 1 further includes a control unit 4 and controls the operation mode of the coating apparatus 1 for coating, the relative movement operation of the coating unit 11 and the substrate W, and the like. Here, the operation mode of the coating apparatus 1 is that the coating liquid is continuously discharged from the coating unit 11 and applied to the base material while maintaining the coating liquid connection state in which the coating unit 11 and the base material W are connected by the coating liquid. There are a discharge mode in which the liquid is applied and a liquid draining mode in which the application liquid connected state is released by sucking the application liquid into the application unit 11 at the end of the discharge mode, which will be described in detail later.

  In the following description, the transport direction of the substrate W is the X-axis direction, and the direction orthogonal to the X-axis direction on the horizontal plane (the longitudinal direction of the coating unit 11) is the Y-axis direction, both the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction. The description proceeds with the orthogonal direction as the Z-axis direction.

  The configuration of the application unit 2 is shown in FIG.

  The application unit 2 includes an application unit 11, an application liquid tank 12, and a liquid draining unit 13.

  The coating unit 11 is a metal block having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and has a slit inside that has a longitudinal direction in the direction (Y-axis direction) perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the substrate W by the relative movement means 3. ing. The coating unit 11 has a discharge port 14 that is an opening of the slit at the lower part. The coating liquid L sent from the coating liquid tank 12 to the coating unit 11 is discharged downward from the discharge port 14 through the slit.

  Further, the discharge port 14 is set at a position in the Z-axis direction so as to be separated from the base material W by a predetermined distance when coating is performed. Here, the application unit 2 is also provided with a drive mechanism (not shown) in the Z-axis direction so that the position of the discharge port 14 in the Z-axis direction can be adjusted.

  The coating liquid tank 12 is a tank that stores a coating liquid to be fed to the coating unit 11 and is connected to the coating unit 11 by piping. The coating liquid L stored in the coating liquid tank 12 is sent to the coating unit 11 by liquid feeding means (not shown). The liquid feeding means may be a general means such as one that applies pressure to the coating liquid L in the coating liquid tank 12 and pushes it out, or one that sucks out the coating liquid L in the coating liquid tank 12 by negative pressure.

  The pipe connecting the coating unit 11 and the coating liquid tank 12 is provided with an opening / closing valve 16 in the middle. When the opening / closing valve 16 is closed, the coating unit 11 and the coating liquid tank 12 The coating liquid L cannot be moved back and forth. This reliably prevents the coating liquid from being accidentally sent from the coating liquid tank 12 when the liquid draining means 13 performs liquid draining.

  The liquid draining means 13 sucks a small amount of the coating liquid L from the coating unit 11 when releasing the state where the coating unit 11 and the substrate W are connected by the coating liquid L (coating liquid connection state). A suction unit 17 and a supply unit 18 are provided. In this description, the operation of releasing the coating liquid connection state is referred to as “liquid draining”.

  The suction unit 17 is a unit that sucks a small amount of the coating liquid L from the coating unit 11, and is a syringe pump having a piston 19 in this embodiment. In a state where the suction unit 17 is connected to the coating unit 11 by a pipe, when the piston 19 moves in the + X-axis direction (right direction in FIG. 2), the volume of the portion that stores the coating liquid L in the suction unit 17 increases. Therefore, the coating liquid L operates to be drawn into the suction unit 17, whereby the coating liquid L in the coating unit 11 is sucked.

  The supply unit 18 is a unit that supplies a small amount of the coating liquid L to the coating unit 11, and is a syringe pump having a piston 20 in this embodiment. In a state where the supply unit 18 is connected to the coating unit 11 by piping, when the piston 20 moves in the + X-axis direction (right direction in FIG. 2), the volume of the portion that stores the coating liquid L in the supply unit 18 decreases. Therefore, the coating liquid L is driven out of the supply unit 18, whereby the coating liquid L is supplied to the coating unit 11.

  Further, the inner diameter of the supply unit 18 is slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the suction unit 17.

  In the present embodiment, the suction unit 17 and the supply unit 18 are connected by piping. The piping connecting the suction unit 17 and the supply unit 18 branches in the middle, and the branched piping is connected to the coating unit 11. It is connected.

  In the present embodiment, the piston 19 and the piston 20 are coupled in opposite directions. In other words, when the piston 19 moves in the direction in which the volume of the suction unit 17 increases, the piston 19 and the piston 20 are connected so that the piston 20 moves in the direction in which the volume of the supply unit 18 decreases at the same time. . Thereby, since the suction operation by the suction unit 17 and the supply operation by the supply unit 18 can be synchronized, there is no deviation in the timing of the control compared to the case where the control is performed separately, and it is stable with a simple configuration. The amount of the coating solution can be sucked.

  In the present embodiment, the connected piston 19 and piston 20 are connected to the linear motion mechanism 21. The linear motion mechanism 21 is a linear motion stage constituted by a ball screw or the like, and the direction in which the linear motion mechanism 21 operates is the same as the direction in which the piston 19 and the piston 20 can operate (X-axis direction). As a result, the piston 19 and the piston 20 move in synchronization by the operation of the linear motion mechanism 21.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the relative moving means 3 is a linear motion mechanism constituted by a linear stage or the like, and moves the mounting portion 31 assembled to the relative moving means 3 in the X-axis direction. Then, the control unit 4 controls the driving of the relative moving unit 3 in a state where the mounting unit 21 has mounted the base material 11, whereby the coating unit 11 and the base material W are relatively moved in the X-axis direction. The coating liquid can be applied to the substrate W by discharging the coating liquid from the discharge port 13 of the coating unit 11 while relatively moving the substrate W below the coating unit 11.

  The placement unit 31 has a mechanism for fixing the substrate W, and the application operation to the substrate W is performed with the substrate W placed on the placement unit 31 and fixed. In the present embodiment, the placement unit 31 has an adsorption mechanism, and operates a vacuum pump (not shown) to generate a suction force on the surface in contact with the substrate W, thereby adsorbing and fixing the substrate W. ing.

  In the present embodiment, the relative movement means 3 moves the substrate W, but the coating unit 11 and the substrate W are relatively moved by moving the coating unit 2 including the coating unit 11. It is also possible to use a form. Furthermore, the relative moving means 3 may be in a form in which the base material W is lifted by air or the like and transported instead of transporting the base material W fixed in the placement unit 31.

  In addition, the base material W is in a strip shape that is long in one direction and both ends are wound by rolls, and the base material W is unwound and taken up by rotating these two rolls. The so-called roll-to-roll form may be used. In this case, the two rolls correspond to the relative movement means 3.

  The control unit 4 includes a computer, a sequencer, and the like, and switches the operation mode of the coating apparatus 1, discharge speed of the coating liquid from the discharge port 14, transport speed of the substrate W (moving speed of the mounting portion 31), direct The operation of the moving mechanism 21 is controlled. Further, the control unit 4 has a storage device that stores various information including a hard disk, a memory such as a RAM or a ROM, and the control data of the ejection speed and the conveyance speed at the time of coating is stored in this storage device. Is done.

  Next, the discharge mode and the liquid draining mode in the coating apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. In addition, the discharge mode in this description refers to the state (mode) in which the coating apparatus 1 performs the discharge operation of the coating liquid L onto the substrate W, and the liquid draining mode refers to the liquid draining mode of the coating apparatus 1 It refers to the state (mode) in which the operation is performed.

  The operation of the coating apparatus 1 in the discharge mode is shown in FIG.

  In the discharge mode, the open / close valve 16 is in an open state, and the coating liquid L can be fed from the coating liquid tank 12 to the coating unit 11. At this time, the liquid draining means 13 does not operate.

  In this state, the coating liquid L is fed from the coating liquid tank 12 to the coating unit 11, whereby the coating liquid L is discharged from the discharge port 14 of the coating unit 11, and the coating liquid L is applied to the substrate W. Done.

  In addition, when the application to the substrate W is started in this discharge mode, first, a small amount of the coating liquid L is discharged from the discharge port 14 to the substrate W to form a connecting portion 22 (so-called bead) by the coating liquid L. Then, the application unit 11 and the substrate W are connected to each other by the application liquid L, and the application liquid is connected. In this description, the operation for forming the connecting portion 22 at the start of coating is called a liquid depositing operation, and the state in which the coating apparatus performs this liquid depositing operation is called a liquid depositing mode.

  In this state where the coating liquid connection state is maintained, the coating unit 11 and the substrate W are relatively moved in the X-axis direction at a predetermined moving speed, and the coating liquid L is discharged from the coating unit 11 at a predetermined discharging speed. By continuing, the continuous coating film by the coating liquid L is uniformly formed on the substrate W.

  Next, the operation of the coating apparatus 1 in the liquid draining mode is shown in FIG. FIG. 4A shows the operation of the coating apparatus 1 immediately after shifting to the liquid draining mode, and FIG. 4B shows the operation of the coating apparatus 1 when performing liquid draining.

  When shifting from the discharge mode to the liquid draining mode, first, the on-off valve 16 is closed as shown in FIG. Thereby, the feeding of the coating liquid L from the coating liquid pump 12 to the coating unit 11 is stopped, and the discharge of the coating liquid L from the discharge port 14 is stopped.

  In this way, the application unit 11 and the base material W move relative to each other in the X-axis direction in a state where the application liquid L is not discharged from the discharge port 14, so that the non-application area is formed on the base material W as shown in FIG. 91 is formed. However, as shown in FIG. 4A, the connecting portion 22 remains between the coating unit 11 and the base material W only when the opening / closing valve 16 is closed, and the coating unit 11 and the base material remain as they are. When W is relatively moved, there is a risk that the coating liquid L for forming the connecting portion 22 is dragged onto the substrate W.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4B, the liquid draining means 13 operates, and the coating liquid L that has formed the connecting portion 22 is sucked into the coating unit 11 to release the coating liquid connected state (liquid). Cut).

  Specifically, when the linear motion mechanism 21 moves in the + X-axis direction, the piston 19 and the piston 20 move in the + X-axis direction, and the coating liquid L is sucked into the suction unit 17 and simultaneously from the supply unit 18. The coating liquid L is extruded.

  At this time, as described above, the inner diameter of the supply unit 18 is slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the suction unit 17. Accordingly, when the piston 19 and the piston 20 move the same distance, the supply amount of the coating liquid L to the coating unit 11 by the supply unit 18 is smaller than the suction amount of the coating liquid L from the coating unit 11 by the suction unit 17. For this reason, when the piston 19 and the piston 20 move in the + X-axis direction, the liquid draining means 13 works so as to suck the coating liquid L of the difference between the suction amount and the supply amount.

  Further, since the on-off valve 16 is in the closed state when the liquid is drained, the suction of the coating liquid L does not act on the coating liquid tank 12 and works efficiently to release the coating liquid connected state.

  Here, the suction of the coating liquid L by combining the suction unit 17 and the supply unit 18 as in the present invention makes it possible to suck a small amount of the coating liquid.

For example, when the suction unit 17 has an inner diameter of 20 mm, the supply unit 18 has an inner diameter of 18 mm, and the minimum control amount (resolution) of the linear motion mechanism 21 is 1 μm, the suction unit 17 alone sucks the coating liquid L. Is the minimum control amount (resolution) of 0.1πmm ³ , and the minimum control amount of the supply of the coating liquid L by the supply unit 18 alone is 0.081π mm ³ .

On the other hand, when the suction unit 17 and the supply unit 18 are combined as in this embodiment, the minimum control amount for suction of the coating liquid L is 0.1π−0.081π = 0.19πmm, which is the difference between the two. ³

  By thus combining the suction unit 17 and the supply unit 18 having slightly different inner diameters and suctioning the coating liquid L based on the difference between them, the suction of the coating liquid L is temporarily controlled by the suction unit 17 or the supply unit 18 alone. Thus, it is possible to control the suction of a coating solution much smaller than the minimum control amount. As a result, the suction of a very small amount of coating liquid L can also be controlled. Therefore, the coating liquid L is excessively sucked from the coating unit 11 and air is entrained into the coating unit 11 from the discharge port 14, and the subsequent coating operation is performed. It is possible to release the coating liquid connected state without fear of adversely affecting the coating liquid.

  In addition, by combining the suction unit and the supply unit having slightly different inner diameters in this way, it is also possible to control the discharge of a small amount of coating liquid in the liquid depositing operation. Specifically, contrary to the above configuration, by making the inner diameter of the supply unit slightly larger than the inner diameter of the suction unit, it is far from the minimum control amount when controlling the discharge of the coating liquid with a single supply unit. In addition, the discharge of a small amount of coating liquid can be controlled.

  In this embodiment, a small amount of coating is applied to the coating unit 11 by moving the piston 19 and the piston 20 of the liquid draining means 13 in the −X axis direction (the direction opposite to the moving direction when performing the liquid draining operation). The liquid L is fed.

  Thus, by moving the piston 19 and the piston 20 in the opposite direction to the case of liquid drainage, the coating liquid is pushed out from the suction unit 17, and the supply unit 18 is smaller than the amount pushed out from the suction unit. (That is, in the liquid deposition mode, the suction unit 17 functions as a supply unit, and the supply unit 18 having an inner diameter smaller than the suction unit 17 functions as a suction unit in the liquid deposition mode). Therefore, in the liquid deposit mode, the liquid draining means 13 works to supply the coating liquid L to the coating unit 11. Thereby, the supply amount of the coating liquid L can be precisely controlled even when the liquid depositing operation is performed.

  Further, it is possible to prevent the possibility of exceeding the movable range of the linear motion mechanism 21 due to the liquid draining operation being repeatedly performed and the piston 19 and the piston 20 moving only in the + X-axis direction.

  On the other hand, using the fact that it is possible to control the discharge of a very small amount of coating liquid as described above, for example, a part with a small thickness in the coating film, for example, in addition to performing the liquid deposition operation If this occurs, the coating film may be replenished later to adjust the film thickness.

  Next, FIG. 5 shows an operation flow of a coating method on the substrate W by the coating apparatus 1.

  First, in a state where the coating unit 11 is positioned above the coating start position of the substrate W, a liquid depositing operation is performed, and a small amount of the coating liquid L is fed to the coating unit 11, whereby the discharge port of the coating unit 11. The connection part 22 is formed between 14 and the base material W, and it will be in a coating liquid connection state (step S1). In addition, in this description, the process of performing the liquid deposition operation is referred to as a liquid deposition process.

  At this time, in this embodiment, as described above, a small amount of the coating liquid L is fed to the coating unit 11 by moving the piston 19 and the piston 20 of the liquid draining means 13 in the −X axis direction. In this way, by moving the piston 19 and the piston 20 in the direction opposite to that in the case of liquid removal, the liquid draining means 13 is operated so as to supply the coating liquid L to the coating unit 11, and the coating liquid L at the time of liquid deposition is reduced. The supply amount can be precisely controlled. Note that a small amount of the coating liquid L may be fed to the coating unit 11 by feeding the coating liquid L from the coating liquid tank 12 without using the liquid draining means 13.

  Next, the open / close valve 16 is opened (step S2).

  Next, the application unit 11 and the substrate W are relatively moved in the X-axis direction at a predetermined movement speed while maintaining the application solution connection state, and at the same time, the application solution L is sent from the application solution tank 12 to the application unit 11. Then, the coating liquid L is discharged from the discharge port 14 at a predetermined discharge speed (step S3). Thereby, a continuous coating film having a predetermined film thickness is formed on the substrate W. In this description, the step of discharging the coating liquid L to the substrate W while maintaining the coating liquid connection state is referred to as a discharging step in this description.

  Next, after a coating film having a predetermined width is formed by the discharge process, the opening / closing valve 16 is closed (step S4) and the piston 19 and the piston 20 are moved to the + X axis when forming the terminal portion of the coating film. By moving in the direction, the suction operation and the supply operation of the coating liquid L are simultaneously performed as described above, and a very small amount of the coating liquid 22 forming the connecting portion 22 is sucked into the coating unit 11 by the difference between them. Thereby, a coating liquid connection state is cancelled | released. That is, liquid draining is performed (step S5). In addition, in this description, the process of draining liquid is called a liquid draining process.

  When the application to the substrate W is subsequently performed after the discharge step and the liquid draining step are performed in this manner (step S6), the application unit 11 and the substrate are not discharged with the application unit 11 discharging the application liquid L. By moving relative to W, a non-application area having a predetermined width is formed (step S7), and thereafter, the operation of steps S1 to S5 is performed to form a new application film.

  By repeatedly performing the discharge process and the liquid draining process in this manner, a plurality of coating films can be formed on the substrate W without dragging the coating liquid W at the coating film terminal portion. The number of coating films is not limited to a plurality, and may be only one.

  With the above coating apparatus and coating method, it is possible to suck or discharge a small amount of coating liquid when the liquid is drained or when the liquid is deposited.

  In the above description, the supply unit 18 is provided separately from the coating liquid tank 12, and a small amount of liquid is removed depending on the difference between the supply amount of the coating liquid by the supply unit 18 and the suction amount of the coating liquid by the suction unit 17. Although liquid deposition is controlled, the liquid feeding mechanism from the coating liquid tank 12 is also used as a supply unit without providing the coating unit 18 separately, and the amount of liquid fed therefrom and the amount of suction by the suction unit 17 are Depending on the difference, a small amount of liquid draining and liquid deposit control may be performed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Application | coating apparatus 2 Application | coating part 3 Relative moving means 4 Control part 11 Application | coating unit 12 Application liquid tank 13 Liquid draining means 14 Discharge port 16 Opening / closing valve 17 Suction unit 18 Supply unit 19 Piston 20 Piston 21 Direct acting mechanism 22 Connection part 31 Mount Part 91 Non-application area 92 Application film 93 Application unit 94 Connection part L Application liquid W Base material

Claims (5)

A coating apparatus for applying a coating liquid to a substrate,
A coating unit for discharging the coating liquid onto the substrate;
A suction unit for sucking a coating liquid from the coating unit;
A supply unit for supplying a coating liquid to the coating unit;
With
A discharge mode in which the coating liquid is continuously discharged from the coating unit, and the coating liquid is applied to the base material while maintaining the coating liquid connection state in which the coating unit and the base material are connected to each other by the connection portion using the coating liquid. When,
A liquid draining mode for releasing the application liquid connection state by sucking the application liquid forming the connection portion into the application unit at the end of the discharge mode;
In the liquid draining mode, the coating liquid forming the connecting portion is sucked into the coating unit by the difference between the suction amount of the coating liquid by the suction unit and the supply amount of the coating liquid by the supply unit. Application equipment. A coating apparatus for applying a coating liquid to a substrate,
A coating unit for discharging the coating liquid onto the substrate;
A suction unit for sucking a coating liquid from the coating unit;
A supply unit for supplying a coating liquid to the coating unit;
With
A liquid deposition mode for forming a coating liquid connection state in which the coating liquid is discharged from the coating unit and the coating unit and the base material are connected by a connection portion by the coating liquid;
A discharge mode in which the coating liquid is continuously discharged from the coating unit and the coating liquid is applied to the base material while maintaining the coating liquid connection state;
In the liquid deposition mode, the coating liquid forming the connecting portion is discharged from the coating unit based on a difference between the suction amount of the coating liquid by the suction unit and the supply amount of the coating liquid by the supply unit. Application equipment.   The suction unit and the supply unit are syringe pumps having different inner diameters, and the pistons of the suction unit and the supply unit are connected in opposite directions to each other. The coating apparatus as described. An application method for applying a coating liquid to a substrate,
A discharging step of continuously applying the coating liquid from the coating unit, and applying the coating liquid to the substrate while maintaining the coating liquid connection state in which the coating unit and the base material are connected by the connecting portion of the coating liquid; ,
A liquid draining step for releasing the coating liquid connection state by sucking the coating liquid forming the connecting portion into the coating unit at the end of the discharge process;
In the liquid draining step, the coating liquid that forms the connecting portion is determined by the difference between the suction amount by the suction operation of sucking the coating liquid from the coating unit and the supply amount by the supply operation of supplying the coating liquid to the coating unit. A coating method comprising sucking into a coating unit. An application method for applying a coating liquid to a substrate,
A liquid depositing step for forming a coating liquid connection state in which the coating liquid is discharged from the coating unit and the coating unit and the base material are coupled by a coupling portion of the coating liquid;
A discharge step of continuously applying the coating liquid from the coating unit and applying the coating liquid to the base material while maintaining the coating liquid connection state;
In the liquid depositing step, the coating liquid forming the connecting portion is determined by the difference between the suction amount by the suction operation of sucking the coating liquid from the coating unit and the supply amount by the supply operation of supplying the coating liquid to the coating unit. A coating method comprising discharging from a coating unit.

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