JP2020190405A - Vacuum drying device and method for manufacturing solvent collecting member - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a vacuum drying device capable of making a drying state of a solvent uniform in a plane even for a large substrate.SOLUTION: A vacuum drying device for drying a solution on a substrate under reduced pressure, comprises a container accommodating the substrate, a placement table provided in the container for placement of the substrate thereon, and a solvent collecting member which is provided in the container so as to face the substrate placed on the placement table and temporarily collects the solvent in the solution vaporized from the substrate. The solvent collecting member has a plurality of solvent collecting division members which are formed in a flat plate shape having a plurality of openings, and the plurality of solvent collecting division members are joined to each other at respective side ends in a plan view.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present disclosure relates to a method for manufacturing a vacuum drying device and a solvent collecting member.

Patent Document 1 discloses a vacuum drying device that dries a solution on a substrate housed in a chamber under reduced pressure. This vacuum drying device is provided with a solvent collecting plate. The solvent collection plate is made of a mesh plate and temporarily collects the solvent in the solution vaporized from the substrate, and is provided so as to face the substrate in the chamber. In the vacuum drying apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, the solvent collecting plate is provided so that the drying time becomes uniform in the plane of the substrate. In the vacuum drying apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, the net-like plate constituting the solvent collecting plate is composed of expanded metal produced by cold-cutting a steel plate. Further, the net-like plate is composed of one expanded metal, or is composed of a plurality of expanded metals arranged in a horizontal direction.

JP-A-2018-59597

The technique according to the present disclosure provides a vacuum drying apparatus capable of making the drying state of the solvent uniform in the plane even for a large substrate.

One aspect of the present disclosure is a vacuum drying device that dries a solution on a substrate under reduced pressure, and comprises a container for accommodating the substrate, a mounting table provided in the container on which the substrate is placed, and the like. A solvent collecting member is provided in the container so as to face the substrate placed on the above-mentioned table and temporarily collects the solvent in the solution vaporized from the substrate, and the solvent is trapped. The collecting member has a plurality of solvent collecting and dividing members formed in a flat plate shape having a plurality of openings, and the side ends of the plurality of solvent collecting and dividing members are joined to each other in a plan view.

According to the present invention, there is provided a vacuum drying apparatus capable of making the drying state of a solvent uniform in the plane even for a large substrate.

It is a figure for demonstrating the problem of the prior art. It is sectional drawing which shows the schematic structure of the vacuum drying apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is a top view which shows the schematic structure of the vacuum drying apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the attachment structure of the solvent collecting member, and is the partial side view in the vacuum drying apparatus. It is a figure for demonstrating the attachment structure of the solvent collecting member, and is the bottom view of the solvent collecting member and its surroundings in a vacuum drying apparatus. It is an enlarged plan view of the side end portion in the plan view of the divided member. It is an enlarged sectional view of the side end portion of the divided member. It is a figure explaining another example of the joining method of a split member, and is the enlarged sectional view of the side end portion of the split member. It is a figure explaining another example of the joining method of a split member, and is the enlarged plan view of the side end portion of the split member. It is a figure explaining another example of the joining method of a split member, and is the enlarged sectional view of the side end portion of the split member. It is a figure explaining another example of the joining method of a split member, and is the enlarged plan view of the side end portion of the split member. It is a figure explaining still another example of the method of joining a split member, and is the enlarged sectional view of the side end portion of the split member. It is a figure explaining still another example of the method of joining a split member, and is the enlarged plan view of the side end portion of the split member. It is a top view which shows another example of a solvent collecting member.

Conventionally, an organic light emitting diode (OLED: Organic Light Emitting Diode), which is a light emitting diode utilizing light emission of organic EL (Electroluminescence), is known. An organic EL display using such an organic light emitting diode has advantages such as thinness, light weight, low power consumption, and excellent response speed, viewing angle, and contrast ratio. Therefore, it is a next-generation flat. In recent years, it has been attracting attention as a panel display (FPD).

The organic light emitting diode has a structure in which an organic EL layer is sandwiched between an anode and a cathode on a substrate. The organic EL layer is formed by laminating, for example, a hole injection layer, a hole transport layer, a light emitting layer, an electron transport layer, and an electron injection layer in order from the anode side. In forming each layer of these organic EL layers (particularly the hole injection layer, the hole transport layer and the light emitting layer), pixels of each color in which droplets of an organic material are discretely arranged on a substrate by, for example, an inkjet method. A method is used in which a film of an organic material of the pixel is applied to the inside of the bank by discharging it into the bank corresponding to.

A large amount of solvent is contained in the organic material discharged onto the substrate by the inkjet method. Therefore, for the purpose of removing the solvent, a vacuum drying treatment is performed in which the solution on the substrate is dried under reduced pressure.

As a vacuum drying device for performing a vacuum drying process, Patent Document 1 describes a chamber that is airtightly configured and decompressed by an exhaust device, and a solvent that is provided in the chamber so as to face the substrate and volatilizes from an organic material film on the substrate. A device including a solvent collection plate for temporarily collecting the material is disclosed. In the vacuum drying apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, the solvent collecting plate is provided so that the drying time becomes uniform in the plane of the substrate. Further, in the vacuum drying apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, the solvent collecting plate is made of a net-like plate, and this net-like plate is made of expanded metal. Further, Patent Document 1 discloses that the net-like plate is composed of one expanded metal or a plurality of expanded metals arranged in a horizontal direction.

By the way, in recent years, the size of the substrate to be subjected to the vacuum drying treatment has been increasing. In order to dry the solvent on the large substrate using the expanded metal as in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to arrange a plurality of expanded metal Ms in the horizontal direction as shown in FIG. A frame F is usually provided on the peripheral edge of each expanded metal M for the purpose of reinforcement, shape maintenance, and the like. Therefore, when a plurality of expanded metal Ms are arranged as described above, there is a portion P that overlaps the frame F and the substrate W in a plan view. In the portion P, the solvent on the substrate W is less likely to volatilize than in the other portions. Therefore, the portion P may differ from other portions in the in-plane distribution of the solvent in a dry state. That is, the frame F may be transferred to the in-plane distribution of the solvent in a dry state.

Therefore, in the technique according to the present disclosure, a vacuum drying device capable of making the drying state of the solvent uniform in the plane even on a large substrate, that is, transfer of the frame F occurs even on a large substrate. No vacuum drying device is provided.

Hereinafter, a method for manufacturing the vacuum drying apparatus and the solvent collecting member according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In the present specification and the drawings, elements having substantially the same functional configuration are designated by the same reference numerals to omit duplicate description.

2 and 3 are views showing a schematic configuration of a vacuum drying apparatus according to the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view, and FIG. 3 is a top view. In FIG. 2, the illustration of the structure for supporting the solvent collecting member described later is omitted, and in FIG. 3, the illustration of the top plate and the like described later is omitted. 4 and 5 are views for explaining the mounting structure of the solvent collecting member, FIG. 4 is a partial side view of the inside of the vacuum drying device, and FIG. 5 is a view of the solvent collecting member in the vacuum drying device and its surroundings. It is a bottom view.

The vacuum drying device 1 of FIG. 2 is for drying a solution applied on the substrate W by, for example, an inkjet method, in a reduced pressure state. Further, the substrate W to be processed by the vacuum drying apparatus 1 is, for example, a glass substrate for an organic EL display. Further, the substrate W to be processed is a large-sized substrate, and its plane size is, for example, 2.2 m × 2.7 m. In addition, in this specification, "large-sized" means that the plane size is larger than the expanded metal which is produced by cold-cutting a steel plate which is usually distributed in the market.

The solution applied to the substrate W to be treated is composed of a solute and a solvent, and the component to be dried under reduced pressure is mainly a solvent. Many of the organic compounds contained in the solvent have a high boiling point, for example, 1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone (boiling point 220 ° C., boiling point 8 ° C.), 4 −tert-Butylanisole (4-tert-Butylanisole, boiling point 222 ° C, melting point 18 ° C), Trans-Anethole (boiling point 235 ° C, melting point 20 ° C), 1,2-dimethoxybenzene (1,2-Dimethoxybenzene) , Boiling point 206.7 ℃, boiling point 22.5 ℃), 2-Methoxybiphenyl (boiling point 274 ℃, boiling point 28 ℃), phenyl ether (boiling point 258.3 ℃, boiling point 28 ℃), 2-ethoxynaphthalene (2- Ethoxynaphthalene, boiling point 282 ° C, boiling point 35 ° C), Benzyl Phenyl Ether (boiling point 288 ° C, melting point 39 ° C), 2,6-Dimethoxytoluene (boiling point 222 ° C, melting point 39 ° C), 2-Propoxynaphthalene (boiling point 305 ° C, melting point 40 ° C), 1,2,3-Trimethoxybenzene (boiling point 235 ° C, melting point 45 ° C), cyclohexylbenzene, Boiling point 237.5 ° C, melting point 5 ° C), dodecylbenzene (boiling point 288 ° C, boiling point -7 ° C), 1,2,3,4-tetramethylbenzene (1,2,3,4-tetramethylbenzene, boiling point 203 ° C, Melting point 76 ° C) and the like. In some cases, these high boiling point organic compounds are blended in a solution in combination of two or more.

The vacuum drying device 1 includes a chamber 10 and a mounting table 20, and is connected to an exhaust device 30.

The chamber 10 is a container configured to be decompressible and is made of a metal material such as stainless steel. The chamber 10 has a square tubular main body 11 having openings at the top and bottom, a top plate 12 attached to the upper side of the main body 11, and a bottom plate 13 attached to the lower side of the main body 11.

The main body 11 is provided with an carry-in / out port (not shown) for carrying in / out the substrate W into the chamber 10 on the side surface thereof.
The top plate 12 closes the upper opening of the main body 11 and supports the solvent collecting member 40 described later.

The bottom plate 13 closes the opening on the lower side of the main body 11. A mounting table 20 is arranged at the center of the upper surface of the bottom plate 13. Further, the bottom plate 13 is provided with an exhaust port slit 13a so as to surround the outer periphery of the mounting table 20, and the exhaust device 30 is connected to the exhaust port slit 13a via an exhaust pipe 31. The inside of the chamber 10 of the vacuum drying device 1 can be depressurized through the exhaust port slit 13a.

The mounting table 20 is for mounting the substrate W. The mounting table 20 is provided with an elevating pin (not shown) so as to penetrate the mounting table 20. The elevating pin is for passing the substrate W from the outside of the chamber 10 to the substrate transfer device (not shown) inserted into the chamber 10. This elevating pin is configured to be able to move up and down freely by an elevating mechanism (not shown).

The exhaust device 30 is composed of a vacuum pump, specifically, for example, a turbo molecular pump and a dry pump are connected in series in this order from the upstream side.
An automatic pressure control valve (APC (Adaptive Pressure Control) valve) 32 is provided in a portion of the exhaust pipe 31 between the exhaust port slit 13a and the exhaust device 30. In the vacuum drying device 1, the degree of vacuum in the chamber 10 at the time of vacuum exhaust can be controlled by adjusting the opening degree of the APC valve 32 while the vacuum pump of the exhaust device 30 is operated.
In order to control the degree of vacuum by the APC valve 32, a pressure gauge (not shown) for measuring the pressure in the chamber 10 is provided in the vacuum drying device 1. The measurement result of the pressure gauge is input to the APC valve 32 as an electric signal.

Further, the vacuum drying device 1 has a control unit (not shown). This control unit is, for example, a computer equipped with a CPU, a memory, or the like, and has a program storage unit (not shown). The program storage unit stores a program that controls the vacuum drying process in the vacuum drying device 1. The program may be recorded on a storage medium readable by a computer, and may be installed on the control unit from the storage medium. Part or all of the program may be realized on a dedicated hard wafer (circuit board).

Further, in the vacuum drying device 1, a solvent collecting member 40 that temporarily collects the solvent in the solution vaporized from the substrate W placed on the mounting table 20 faces the substrate W in the chamber 10. It is arranged so as to. Specifically, the solvent collecting member 40 temporarily collects the solvent vaporized from the solution applied on the substrate W by the inkjet method. By providing the solvent collecting member 40 in the chamber 10, the solvent concentration in the atmosphere in the chamber 10 can be adjusted.

As shown in FIG. 3, the solvent collecting member 40 has a plurality of solvent collecting and dividing members (hereinafter, may be abbreviated as “dividing member”) 41. The dividing member 41 is a flat plate-like member having a plurality of openings, that is, a net-like member. The openings are, for example, through holes penetrating in the vertical direction, and are formed in a grid pattern in a plan view. Then, the solvent collecting member 40 is formed by joining the side ends of each of the plurality of divided members 41 in a plan view. The method of joining the dividing member 41 will be described later.
Each of the dividing members 41 is formed of a material having good thermal conductivity, such as a metal material such as stainless steel, aluminum, or copper.

The split member 41 is thin, and its thickness is, for example, 0.05 mm to 0.2 mm. Further, the horizontal dimension of the solvent collecting member 40 formed by joining the plurality of dividing members 41 to each other is substantially the same as the horizontal dimension of the substrate W. However, the horizontal dimension of the solvent collecting member 40 may be larger than the horizontal dimension of the substrate W in order to increase the adsorption amount of the vaporized solvent.
Further, since the divided member 41 has a large aperture ratio of 60% to 90% and is thin as 0.05 to 0.2 mm as described above, the heat capacity per unit area in a plan view is small. In the following, it is assumed that the heat capacities of the divided members 41 per unit area are the same.
In the example of the figure, the number of the dividing members 41 is 3, but the number is not limited to this, and may be 2 or more.

As shown in FIG. 2, the solvent collecting member 40 is a structure above the solvent collecting member 40 and is the structure closest to the solvent collecting member 40. The top plate 12 and the substrate on the mounting table 20 It is supported in a position between W. Further, the solvent collecting member 40 is supported by the top plate 12 so as to face the substrate W on the mounting table 20, that is, substantially parallel to the substrate W on the mounting table 20. The solvent collecting member 40 is supported at an intermediate position between the top plate 12 and the substrate W on the mounting table 20, specifically, at a position where the distance to the substrate W is, for example, 75 mm.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the solvent collecting member 40 is supported by the top plate 12 via the frame 50 as a frame and the legs 51. For example, the solvent collecting member 40 is fixed to the square tubular frame 50 by welding or the like, and the ear portion 50a provided on the outside of the frame 50 is screwed to the leg portion 51 extending downward from the top plate 12. The solvent collecting member 40 is supported by the top plate 12 by fixing with or the like. The solvent collecting member 40 is supported so that the frame 50 is not located in a region facing the substrate W, that is, there is no portion where the frame 50 and the substrate W overlap in a plan view.

The frame 50 and the legs 51 are formed of a metal material such as stainless steel.
Further, the frame 50 and the legs 51 are located on the opposite side of the substrate W with the solvent collecting member 40 in between. Therefore, when viewed from the substrate W side, the solvent collecting member 40 is not covered by the frame 50 and the legs 51, so that the flow of the vaporized solvent from the substrate W toward the solvent collecting member 40 flows from the substrate W to the frame 50 and the legs. It is not inhibited by the part 51.

Subsequently, an example of a method for manufacturing the solvent collecting member 40 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG. 6 is an enlarged plan view of a side end portion of the dividing member 41 in a plan view (hereinafter, may be abbreviated as “side end portion”), and FIG. 7 is a side end portion of the dividing member 41. It is an enlarged sectional view. Note that FIG. 6 shows a state before joining, and FIG. 7 shows a state after joining.

The method for producing the solvent collecting member 40 includes, for example, the following dividing member manufacturing step and joining step.

(Divided member manufacturing process)
In this step, a plurality of divided members 41 are produced. Specifically, in this step, a plate material made of a material having good thermal conductivity such as stainless steel, aluminum, and copper is drilled by, for example, laser processing or plasma etching, and as shown in FIG. A large number of square through holes 41a in a plan view are formed as openings. By repeating this process, that is, by performing this process for each of the plurality of plate materials, a plurality of divided members 41 are produced. The above-mentioned drilling process is performed so that a portion where the through hole 41a is not provided, that is, a joining margin 41b is formed at the side end portion of the plate material. The joining margin 41b is provided to facilitate joining of the dividing members 41 to each other.

(Joining process)
In this step, the plurality of divided members 41 are connected by joining the side ends of each of the plurality of divided members 41 in a plan view. As a result, the solvent collecting member 40 is manufactured.
The joining of the dividing members 41 is performed by, for example, laser welding. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, the dividing member 41 is joined by laser welding with the side end faces of the joining margin 41b provided on the side end portion of the dividing member 41 abutting each other. As shown in FIG. 7, a welded portion L is formed between the divided members 41 by the laser welding, and the divided members 41 are joined to each other by the welded portion L. Laser welding is performed on both the upper and lower surfaces of the dividing member 41, for example.
The length L of one side of the through hole 41a in the plan view square is, for example, 1 mm, and the width between the through holes 41a in the plan view (hereinafter, may be referred to as “line width”) W2 is, for example, 1 mm. The width W1 of the joining margin 41b is, for example, 0.15 mm or more and 1 mm or less. Therefore, the width W1 of the bonding margin 41b is approximately 1/100 to 1/50 of the width of the lower surface portion which is not covered with the expanded metal M of the conventional frame F _{W 0} (see FIG. 1).

Subsequently, the vacuum drying process using the vacuum drying device 1 will be described.
In the vacuum drying process using the vacuum drying device 1, first, the substrate W to which the solution is applied by the inkjet method is placed on the mounting table 20.
Next, the dry pump of the exhaust device 30 is operated to exhaust the inside of the chamber 10 under reduced pressure. Decompression and exhaust by the dry pump is performed until the pressure in the chamber 10 becomes, for example, 10 Pa.
At the time of this decompression exhaust, the gas in the chamber 10 is cooled by the adiabatic expansion. Even if the gas in the chamber 10 is cooled in this way, the temperature of the substrate W hardly changes from the room temperature of 23 ° C. due to the large heat capacity of the substrate W and the like. However, the temperature of the solvent collecting member 40 having a small heat capacity decreases.

After that, the turbo molecular pump of the exhaust device 30 is operated, and the exhaust gas is further reduced in pressure. Along with this decompression exhaust, the temperature of the solvent collecting member 40 decreases as described above, and becomes below the dew point (for example, 8 to 15 ° C.) at the pressure in the chamber 10 at that time.
Further, the temperature of the solvent collecting member 40 is maintained below the dew point of the solvent at the pressure in the chamber 10 at each time point until the evaporation of the solvent on the substrate W is completed.
Therefore, the solvent vaporized from the substrate W is collected with high efficiency by the solvent collecting member 40, so that the concentration of the gaseous solvent in the chamber 10 is kept low. Therefore, the solvent on the substrate W can be quickly removed.

Even after the removal of the solvent on the substrate W is completed, the exhaust by the turbo molecular pump of the exhaust device 30 is continued. This is to remove the solvent collected by the solvent collecting member 40 from the solvent collecting member 40.
For example, by continuing the exhaust with the turbo molecular pump until a predetermined time elapses after the turbo molecular pump is operated, the drying step of the solvent collecting member 40 for removing the solvent from the solvent collecting member 40 is completed.

After the drying step of the solvent collecting member 40 is completed, the exhaust device 30 is stopped. Then, after the pressure in the chamber 10 is returned to the atmospheric pressure, the substrate W is carried out from the chamber 10. This completes the vacuum drying process using the vacuum drying device 1.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the solvent collecting member 40 is provided in the chamber 10 so as to face the substrate W on the mounting table 20, and since the substrate W is large, the solvent is trapped. The collecting member 40 has a plurality of divided members 41 formed in a flat plate shape having a plurality of openings. Then, the solvent collecting member 40 joins the side ends of each of the plurality of divided members 41 in a plan view. Therefore, in a plan view, there is no overlapping portion between the frame 50 and the substrate W. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, even if the substrate W is large, the dry state of the solvent can be made uniform in the plane.
Incidentally, in plan view, but the bonding margin 41b of the dividing member 41 is overlapped with the substrate W, the width W1 of the bonding margin 41b is approximately the width W ₀ of the bottom surface portion that is not covered with the expanded metal M of the conventional frame F It is 1/100 to 1/50, which is narrow. Therefore, the bonding margin 41b has little effect on the in-plane distribution of the solvent in the dry state.

Further, in the present embodiment, since the side end faces of the split members 41 are butted against each other and the split members 41 are joined, the distance from the split member 41 to the substrate W on the mounting table 20 becomes equal between the split members 41. .. Therefore, the dry state of the solvent can be made more uniform in the plane.

When the side end faces of the split members 41 are butted against each other and the split members 41 are joined by laser welding as in the present embodiment, the width W1 of the joining margin 41b of the split members 41 may be 0.15 mm or more. By setting the width W1 of the joining margin 41b to 0.15 mm or more, the split member 41 can be welded without creating a gap between the split members 41 and without damaging the split member 41 during laser welding. It is possible to obtain a high-strength solvent collecting member 40.

Further, when the side end faces of the dividing members 41 are butted against each other and the divided members 41 are joined by laser welding as in the present embodiment, the width W1 of the joining margin 41b of the dividing members 41 may be 1 mm or less.

Table 1 shows the relationship between the width W1 of the joining margin 41b of the dividing member 41 and the in-plane temperature range (difference between the maximum value and the minimum value) of the solvent collecting member 40. Specifically, Table 1 shows the above relationship when the solvent collecting member 40 is the coldest. In Table 1, "◎" means that the temperature range is less than 2 ° C, "○" means that the temperature range is 2 ° C or more and less than 3 ° C, and "x" means 3 ° C or more. Means that. Further, each condition other than the width W1 of the welding margin 40b when the results in Table 1 are obtained is as follows.
Measurement range: Range of ± 140 mm from the joint in the lateral direction (width direction) of the joint margin 41b Number of measurement points: 12 points Plane size of solvent collecting member 40: 600 mm × 300 mm
Plane size of the dividing member 41: 300 x 300 mm
Thickness of dividing member 41: 0.1 mm
Material of the dividing member 41: Length of one side of the through hole 41a of the stainless dividing member 41 L: 1.3 mm
Line width of the dividing member 41: 0.1 mm to 0.2 mm
Aperture ratio of split member 41: 76% to 87%
Distance from solvent collecting member 40 to mounting table 20: 70 mm
Distance from mounting table 20 to top plate 12: 150 mm

As shown in Table 1, by setting the width W1 of the bonding margin 41b to 1 mm or less, the in-plane temperature range of the solvent collecting member 40 can be set to less than 3 ° C., and further, the width W1 of the bonding margin 41b can be set to less than 3 ° C. By setting the temperature to 0.2 mm or less, the in-plane temperature range of the solvent collecting member 40 can be set to less than 2 ° C. That is, the solvent collecting member 40 can be uniformly cooled by setting the width W1 of the bonding margin 41b to 1 mm or less, and further, the solvent collecting member 40 can be uniformly cooled by setting the width W1 of the bonding margin 41b to 0.2 mm or less. The collecting member 40 can be cooled more uniformly.

Although the description in Table 1 is omitted, the in-plane average temperature of the solvent collecting member 40 does not change significantly depending on the width of the welding margin 41b, and if the aperture ratio of the dividing member 41 is the same, the solvent is used. The in-plane average temperature of the collecting member 40 was substantially the same.

Unlike the above example, when the width W1 of the joining margin 41b of the dividing member 41 is made larger than 1 mm, after laser welding, the joining margin 41b is additionally processed to join a through hole equivalent to the through hole 41a. It may be formed in 41b. The through hole of the joining margin 41b is formed, for example, so that the opening ratio is the same in the region where the joining margin 41 is formed in the dividing member 41 and the other region.

Further, the width of the joining margin 41b of the dividing member 41 may be different in the plane of the solvent collecting member 40. For example, when a panel having a plurality of surfaces is taken from the substrate W, the width of the joining margin 41b of the dividing member 41 differs between the portion overlapping and the portion not overlapping with each panel in the substrate W on the mounting table 20 in a plan view. You may do so. Specifically, the width W1 of the joining margin 41b may be increased in the portion overlapping the boundary between the panels in the substrate W and decreased in the portion not overlapping in the plan view. More specifically, the width W1 of the joining margin 41b may be increased in the portion overlapping the boundary between the coating regions of the solution in the panel in the substrate W and decreased in the portion not overlapping in the plan view. Good. As a result, at least the portion of the solvent collecting member 40 facing the panel in the substrate W can be uniformly cooled while maintaining the strength of the solvent collecting member 40.

8 and 9 are views for explaining another example of the joining method of the dividing member 41.
The side ends of the dividing member 41 may be joined to each other as follows. That is, as shown in FIG. 8, the upper surface of the joining margin 41b provided at the side end of one dividing member 41 and the lower surface of the joining margin 41b provided at the side end of the other dividing member 41 are brought into contact with each other. The split member 41 may be joined by spot welding in this state. By the spot welding, a welded portion S is formed between the divided members 41, and the divided members 41 are connected to each other by the welded portion S as shown in FIG.

When such joining is performed, the area of the portion where the joining margin 41b of the dividing member 41 and the substrate W overlap is reduced in a plan view, so that the dry state of the solvent can be made more uniform in the plane.

In this example as well, the width of the joining margin 41b of the dividing member 41 may be different in the plane of the solvent collecting member 40.

10 and 11 are diagrams for explaining another example of the method of joining the dividing member 41.
As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the side ends of the dividing member 41 may be joined to each other by using the joining component J1. Specifically, a screw formed in the joining margin 41b of the dividing member 41 so that the insertion holes 41c of the screw J11 communicate with each other so that the joining margins 41b of the dividing member 41 are brought into contact with each other and inserted into the communicating insertion hole 41c. The dividing member 41 may be joined by the J11 and the nut J12 screwed into the screw J11.

Even with this joining method, the area of the portion where the joining margin 41b of the dividing member 41 and the substrate W overlap is small in a plan view, so that the dry state of the solvent can be made more uniform in the plane.

In this example as well, the width of the joining margin 41b of the dividing member 41 may be different in the plane of the solvent collecting member 40.

12 and 13 are views for explaining still another example of the method of joining the dividing member 41.
The joining component J2 used for joining the side ends of the dividing member 41 may be as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13. The joining component J2 is arranged on the upper surface and the lower surface of the dividing member 41 so as to straddle the two dividing members 41 in a state where the side end faces of the dividing member 41 having no joining margin 41b (see FIG. 6) are butted against each other. It has a flat plate member J21 to be installed. Further, the joining component J2 is a screw that penetrates the flat plate member J21 arranged on the upper surface of the dividing member 41, the through hole 41a of one dividing member 41, and the flat plate member J21 arranged on the lower surface of the dividing member 41. It has a J22 and a nut J23 screwed into a screw J22. Further, the joining component J2 includes a flat plate member J21 arranged on the upper surface of the dividing member 41, a through hole 41a of the other dividing member 41, and a screw J24 penetrating the flat plate member J21 arranged on the lower surface of the dividing member 41. , With a nut J25 screwed into the screw J24.
With the side end faces of the dividing member 41 abutting against each other, the flat plate member J21 arranged on the upper and lower surfaces of the dividing member 41 so as to straddle the two dividing member 41 is formed by using screws J22 and nut J23 and screws J24 and J24. By sandwiching, the dividing member 41 is joined.

In this joining method, since the dividing member 41 is not provided with the joining margin 41, the dry state of the solvent can be made more uniform in the plane. Further, since the distance from the dividing member 41 to the substrate W on the mounting table 20 is equal between the dividing members 41, the dry state of the solvent can be made more uniform in the plane.
However, even when the joining component J2 is used, a joining margin may be provided in the dividing member 41.

In the above description, it is assumed that the heat capacities of the divided members 41 per unit area in the plan view are the same. However, the heat capacities of the divided members 41 may be different from each other.

For example, the heat capacity of each dividing member 41 may differ depending on the portion of the substrate W facing the dividing member 41. Specifically, for example, as shown in FIG. 14, a dividing member 41 ₁ facing the substrate central portion, with the dividing member 41 ₂ facing the substrate corners, it may have different the heat capacity. More specifically, the heat capacity of the dividing member 41 ₁ facing the substrate central portion may be smaller than the heat capacity of the dividing member 41 ₂ facing the substrate periphery.

The smaller the heat capacity, the easier it is to cool and the higher the adsorption capacity of the solvent. Therefore, by using the dividing members 41 having different heat capacities as described above, the drying time of the solvent tends to be longer than that at the corners of the substrate. The solvent from the center of a certain substrate can be collected with high efficiency. Therefore, since the timing at which the drying of the solution on the substrate W is completed can be made equal at the center portion of the substrate and the corner portion of the substrate, the drying state of the solvent can be further made uniform in the plane.

The heat capacity per unit area of the dividing member 41 in a plan view can be changed by adjusting the opening ratio and the plate thickness of the dividing member 41. Specifically, for example, the heat capacity can be reduced by increasing or decreasing the aperture ratio.

The line width L2 of the dividing member 41 may not be constant in the plane, and may be thickened only at the welded portion of the frame 50. Specifically, the line width of the portion of the dividing member 41 to be welded to the frame 50 may be 0.2 mm, and the line width of the other portion may be 0.1 mm. As a result, it is possible to reliably prevent the split member 41 from being damaged during welding of the split member 41 and the frame 50. When the line widths are different in the plane of the dividing member 41 in this way, the area of the solvent collecting member 40 where the line width is narrow and the solvent adsorption effect is high is larger than the area where the substrate W is mounted on the mounting table 20. The area should be large, and the former area should cover the entire latter area.

It should be considered that the embodiments disclosed this time are exemplary in all respects and not restrictive. The above-described embodiment may be omitted, replaced, or changed in various forms without departing from the scope of the appended claims and the gist thereof.

1 Vacuum drying device 10 Chamber 20 Mounting table 40 Solvent collecting member 41 Solvent collecting and dividing member W Substrate

Claims (10)

A vacuum drying device that dries the solution on the substrate under reduced pressure.
A container for accommodating the substrate and
A mounting table provided in the container on which the substrate is mounted, and
A solvent collecting member provided in the container so as to face the substrate placed on the above-mentioned stand and temporarily collecting the solvent in the solution vaporized from the substrate is provided.
The solvent collecting member is
It has a plurality of solvent collecting and dividing members formed in a flat plate shape having a plurality of openings.
A vacuum drying device for joining the side ends of each of the plurality of solvent collecting and dividing members in a plan view. The vacuum drying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the joining of the side ends of each of the plurality of solvent collecting and dividing members in a plan view is performed by laser welding. The vacuum drying apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the bonding margin at the side end of the solvent collecting and dividing member is 0.15 mm or more and 1 mm or less. The vacuum drying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the side ends of each of the plurality of solvent collecting and dividing members are joined by spot welding in a plan view. The vacuum drying apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the upper surface of one of the side ends of the solvent collecting and dividing members adjacent to each other and the lower surface of the other side end are welded. The vacuum drying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the side ends of each of the plurality of solvent collecting and dividing members are joined to each other in a plan view by using the joining parts. The vacuum drying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the bonding margins at the side ends of the solvent collecting and dividing member are different in the plane of the solvent collecting member. The vacuum drying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the heat capacities per unit area of each of the plurality of solvent collecting and dividing members are different from each other. A frame body to which the solvent collecting member is fixed is provided.
The vacuum drying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the solvent collecting member is supported so that the frame body is not located in a region facing the substrate. A method for manufacturing a solvent collecting member that temporarily collects a solvent in a solution vaporized from a solution on a substrate.
A process of forming a plurality of openings in each of a plurality of plate materials to form a plurality of solvent collecting and dividing materials, and
A method for producing a solvent collecting member, which comprises a step of joining the side ends of each of the plurality of solvent collecting and dividing members in a plan view and connecting the plurality of solvent collecting and dividing members.

Images