JP2022035416A - Etching device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an etching device capable of bringing etchant into uniformly contact with a board to be processed.SOLUTION: An etching device 10 is constituted so as to inject etchant to a circuit board 20 inside an etching chamber 16. The etching chamber 16 comprises conveyance rollers 12 and a rotor 24. The conveyance rollers 12 are constituted so as to convey the circuit board 20 along a conveyance direction by driving force from the driving source. The rotor 24 is a mechanism for rotating the conveyance rollers 12 in a horizontal direction, and has a transmission part 26. The transmission part 26 is arranged inside the rotor 24, and constituted so as to transmit driving force from the driving source to the conveyance rollers 12. Thus, the conveyance rollers 12 convey the circuit board 20 while rotating about the rotor 24.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to an etching apparatus that uniformly etches a substrate to be processed.

Among the circuit boards on which semiconductor elements are mounted, the power module board for power supply has a relatively large amount of heat generation, such as AlN (aluminum nitride), Al ₂ O ₃ (alumina), Si ₃ N ₄ (silicon nitride), etc. Ceramic substrates were often used. Then, an active metal brazing method in which a metal circuit board is joined to one or both main surfaces of this ceramic substrate via a brazing material has been widely adopted in the past. In particular, copper circuit boards have attracted attention because they have low electrical resistance, excellent electrical conductivity, and are inexpensive.

When manufacturing such a power module substrate, a work of processing a brazing material and a metal circuit board into a desired shape may be performed, and an etching process is often used in the work. The etching process is a process of forming a circuit pattern (groove) having a desired shape by patterning a resist material having an etching resistance on a metal circuit board into a desired shape and then etching the metal circuit board.

As the etching apparatus used for the etching process, a single-wafer type apparatus for injecting an etching solution onto a circuit board conveyed by a conveying mechanism such as a roller is generally used (for example, Patent Documents). 1). In recent years, finer pattern processing has been required, and attempts have been made to form a finer circuit by devising an etching device such as adopting a two-fluid nozzle.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2017-160515

It is said that by using a two-fluid nozzle, it is possible to suppress side etching and correspond to a finer circuit design. However, with the conventional etching apparatus, it is difficult to suppress the variation in the etching amount in the circuit board. Specifically, in a circuit board transported in the horizontal direction, there is a problem that the etching amount differs depending on the region in the substrate. In particular, when the circuit pattern (groove) is formed so as to extend not only in one direction but also in a plurality of directions, the etching solution may stay on the substrate even if the etching solution is sprayed from the nozzle. there were.

For the purpose of solving the above-mentioned problems, a process of suppressing variation in the etching amount is performed by performing an etching process a plurality of times by changing the orientation of the circuit board during transportation. However, it is necessary for the worker to perform work such as putting the circuit board into the etching apparatus, collecting it, and adjusting the orientation, which makes the process complicated. Therefore, there has been a demand for an apparatus capable of etching more easily and accurately.

An object of the present invention is to provide an etching apparatus capable of uniformly etching a substrate to be processed.

The etching apparatus according to the present invention is configured to inject an etching solution onto a substrate to be processed in an etching chamber. This etching chamber includes a substrate carrier and a rotating body. The substrate transport unit is configured to transport the substrate to be processed along the transport direction by the driving force from the drive source. The rotating body is a mechanism for rotating the substrate transporting portion in the horizontal direction, and has a transmitting portion. The transmission unit is arranged in the rotating body and is configured to transmit the driving force from the driving source to the substrate transport unit. Therefore, the substrate transport unit transports the substrate to be processed while rotating around the rotating body.

In the etching chamber, the etching solution is sprayed in a state where the substrate to be processed is rotated while being conveyed by the substrate conveying portion. Since the direction in which the etching solution is sprayed changes in the surface of the substrate to be processed, it is possible to prevent the etching solution from staying in the surface of the substrate to be processed. This improves the accuracy of the etching process and enables a uniform etching process.

Further, it is preferable that the transmission unit includes a driving force transmission unit and a driven transmission unit. The driving force transmission unit is a mechanism for transmitting the driving force from the driving source. The driven transmission unit is a mechanism for transmitting a driving force from the driving force transmission unit to the substrate transport unit. The driving force transmission unit is arranged at the center of the plan view in the rotating body. By arranging the driving force transmission unit in this way, it becomes possible to transmit the driving force to the substrate transport unit rotating in the etching chamber.

Further, it is preferable that the substrate transport portion reciprocates the substrate to be processed along the substrate transport path. By reciprocating the substrate to be processed, the etching amount can be adjusted without lengthening the etching chamber, which can contribute to the miniaturization of the etching apparatus.

According to the present invention, it becomes possible to provide an etching apparatus capable of uniformly etching a substrate to be processed.

It is a schematic diagram of the etching apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the transfer mechanism in an etching chamber. It is a figure which shows the structure of the etching chamber. It is a figure which shows the state that a circuit board is conveyed in an etching chamber. It is a figure which shows the etching apparatus which concerns on other embodiment of this invention.

From here, an etching apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 (A) and 1 (B) are views showing an etching apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The etching apparatus 10 includes a transfer roller 12, a cleaning chamber 14, and an etching chamber 16. In this embodiment, the etching process of the circuit board 20 using the etching apparatus 10 is taken as an example.

The transport roller 12 is a roller arranged along the longitudinal direction of the etching apparatus 10, and is configured to mount and transport the circuit board 20. A plurality of transfer rollers 12 are arranged at predetermined intervals, and transfer the circuit board 20 to the cleaning chamber 14 and the etching chamber 16. Further, the configuration for transporting the substrate can be adopted in addition to this, and for example, a transport mechanism such as a belt conveyor may be adopted.

The cleaning chamber 14 is a chamber configured to inject cleaning liquid onto the circuit board 20 conveyed by the transfer roller 12. The cleaning chamber 14 includes spray units 18 at the top and bottom of the transfer roller 12. The spray unit 18 sprays the cleaning liquid onto the circuit board 20 on the transport roller 12. The spray unit 18 has a plurality of nozzles and is configured to evenly inject the cleaning liquid onto the circuit board 20. As the cleaning liquid, city water, pure water, or the like can be used, and additives such as a surfactant may be contained.

The etching chamber 16 is a chamber configured to inject an etching solution onto the circuit board 20 in the subsequent stage of the cleaning chamber 14. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the etching chamber 16 includes a spray unit 22, a rotating body 24, and a transmission unit 26. The spray unit 22 is configured to inject the etching solution onto the circuit board 20 on the transport roller 12. As the etching solution, one containing ferric chloride as a main component is used. The composition of the etching solution may be appropriately adjusted according to the object to be treated.

As shown in FIGS. 1B and 3, the spray unit 22 is arranged above and below the transport roller 12, and injects the etching solution onto both main surfaces of the circuit board 20. The spray unit 22 is provided with a plurality of nozzles 221 for injecting the etching solution, and injects the etching solution onto the circuit board 20. Further, the spray unit 22 may be provided with a drive mechanism such as a slide mechanism or a swing mechanism. By providing the drive mechanism, it becomes possible to more uniformly inject the etching solution onto the circuit board 20.

The rotating body 24 is configured to rotate the transport roller 12 in the horizontal direction in the etching chamber 16. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the rotating body 24 is an annular member arranged between the transport roller 12 and the lower spray unit 22, and the transport roller 12 is mounted on the upper portion. The rotating body 24 is rotated by the rotational force of the drive roller 30 provided on the outer peripheral surface. The rotating body 24 is arranged so as to come into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the drive roller 30, and rotates by transmitting the rotational force of the drive roller 30.

The drive roller 30 is a gear that transmits a rotational force from a drive source (not shown) such as a motor to the rotating body 24. The drive roller 30 is provided at the end of the shaft 301 extending vertically from the lower part of the etching chamber 16. The mechanism for rotating the rotating body 24 is not limited to this configuration.

The transmission unit 26 is configured to transmit the driving force to the transport roller 12 rotating on the rotating body 24 by changing the direction of the rotational force transmitted from the driving source (not shown). The transmission unit 26 includes a drive gear 32, a transmission shaft 34, and a roller drive shaft 36. The drive gear 32 is a bevel gear that rotates in the horizontal direction due to the rotational force of a drive source (not shown). The drive gear 32 is connected to the end of the shaft 321. The shaft 321 is erected substantially vertically from the lower part of the etching chamber 16 and is configured to rotate by the rotational force of the drive source.

The drive gear 32 is arranged at the center of the rotating body 24 in a plan view. By arranging it in the central portion of the rotating body 24, even if the transport roller 12 rotates, the distance from the roller drive shaft 36 does not change, so that the driving force can be transmitted to the transport roller 12. ..

The transmission shaft 34 is a shaft having a first bevel gear 341 and a second bevel gear 342. The transmission shaft 34 extends radially from the central portion of the rotating body 24, and is connected to the roller drive shaft 36 from the drive gear 32 so as to be able to transmit a driving force. The transmission shaft 34 is configured to convert the rotational force in a direction orthogonal to the rotating body of the drive gear 32 and transmit the driving force to the roller transmission shaft 36.

The first bevel gear 341 is provided at the end of the transmission shaft 34 and is arranged so as to mesh with the drive gear 32. The first bevel gear 341 is configured to rotate with a rotating body orthogonal to the rotating body of the drive gear 32 by transmitting the rotational force of the drive gear 32. As a result, the rotational force is converted in the direction orthogonal to the rotating body of the drive gear 32, and the driving force is transmitted to the transmission shaft 34.

The second bevel gear 342 is provided so as to come into contact with the roller drive shaft 36 at the other end of the transmission shaft 34. This makes it possible to transmit the driving force to the roller drive shaft 36 while changing the direction of the rotational force transmitted from the driving gear 32.

The roller drive shaft 36 is a shaft for transmitting the rotational force of the drive source to the transfer roller 12, and is provided on the side portion of the transfer roller 12 so as to be along the arrangement direction of the rollers. The roller drive shaft 36 has a transmission gear 362 in a contact region with the second gear 342. The transmission gear 362 is a helical gear provided at the center of the roller drive shaft 36 in the length direction. Since the second gear 342 and the transmission gear 362 are meshed so as to change the rotation direction, the driving force whose rotation direction is changed is transmitted from the transmission shaft 34, and the roller drive shaft 36 rotates in the axial direction. do.

The roller drive shaft 36 is connected to a roller shaft 38 extending from the end of the transport roller 12. The roller shaft 38 is a shaft provided with a roller gear 381 at an end thereof. The roller gear 381 is a helical gear for converting and transmitting the rotation of the roller drive shaft 36 in the rotation direction of the rollers. The roller gear 381 is configured to mesh with a transmission gear 362 provided on the outer peripheral surface of the roller drive shaft 36, and the rotation direction is changed in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the roller drive shaft 36. As a result, the driving force is transmitted to the roller shaft 38, and the transport roller 12 rotates.

The roller shaft 38 also extends from the other end of the transport roller 12. The roller shaft 38 is supported by the support portion 40. The support portion 40 has a recess 401 formed at a position corresponding to the roller shaft 38. The recess 401 is a groove portion configured to be loosely fitted and supported so that the roller shaft 38 can rotate. In this way, the rotational force is transmitted to the rotating roller 12 while changing the rotational direction of the driving force of the driving source.

Further, the transport roller 12, the roller drive shaft 36, and the support portion 40 are configured to rotate horizontally on the rotating body 24. The roller drive shaft 36 and the support portion 40 are supported by a support pole 42 extending in the vertical direction from the rotating body 24. The support pole 42 stands vertically from the rotating body 24 and is configured to support both ends of the roller drive shaft 36 and both ends of the support portion 40. The support position of the support pole 42 may be changed according to the length of the roller drive shaft 36.

From here, the etching process using the etching apparatus 10 will be described. The circuit board 20 is placed on the transport roller 12 and introduced into the etching apparatus 10. The circuit board 20 is washed with the cleaning liquid while being conveyed to the transfer roller 12 in the cleaning chamber 14.

The circuit board 20 washed in the washing chamber 14 is conveyed to the etching chamber 16 by the transfer roller 12. When the circuit board 20 is transported from the cleaning chamber 14 to the etching chamber 16, the transport rollers 12 of the cleaning chamber 14 and the transport rollers 12 of the etching chamber 16 are transported in the same direction without rotating the rotating body 24. Adjust to be.

The circuit board 20 introduced into the etching chamber 16 is etched by injecting an etching solution while being conveyed by the transfer roller 12. Further, since the rotating body 24 is rotating during the etching process, the circuit board 20 is etched while rotating in the horizontal direction in the etching chamber 16 as shown in FIGS. 4 (A) and 4 (B). .. The rotation speed of the rotating body 24 is preferably adjusted to about 0.5 to 3 rpm. Further, the rotation direction of the rotating body 24 is not limited to one direction, but may be appropriately reversed.

When the circuit board 20 is transported to the end of the transport roller 12, the transport roller 20 is rotated in the opposite direction to transport the circuit board 20 in the opposite direction. The transfer roller 12 is controlled by a control unit of the etching apparatus 10, and changes the transfer direction of the transfer roller 12 by reversing the rotation direction of the drive source. By controlling the transfer roller 12, the circuit board 20 can be reciprocated along the arrangement direction of the transfer rollers 12. Therefore, the etching time can be easily adjusted without lengthening the etching chamber.

The circuit board 20 etched for a predetermined time is transferred from the etching chamber 16 to the cleaning chamber 14. In this case, the transport direction of the transfer roller 12 is set to the cleaning chamber 14, and the rotating body 24 is rotated so that the direction of the transfer roller 12 of the etching chamber 16 is the same as the direction of the transfer roller 12 of the cleaning chamber 14. The circuit board 20 conveyed from the etching chamber 16 to the cleaning chamber 14 is cleaned by injecting a cleaning liquid. Further, when the circuit board is transported from the cleaning chamber 14 to the outside of the etching apparatus 10, the circuit board 20 is recovered by a worker or a robot arm.

By arranging the transfer roller 12 and the rotating body 24 in the etching chamber 16, the circuit board 20 can be rotated while being transferred by the transfer roller 12. By transporting the circuit board 20 in this way, the circuit board 20 can be uniformly brought into contact with the etching solution. Further, although a groove forming a circuit pattern is formed on the surface of the circuit board 20, the etching solution may stay on the surface of the substrate depending on the forming direction of the groove. However, by rotating the circuit board 20, the direction in which the etching solution is sprayed onto the circuit board 20 changes, so that it is possible to supply a new etching solution without the etching solution staying on the substrate surface. Become.

The transport roller 12 transmits the driving force via the transmission unit 26 even while the rotating body 24 is rotating. In particular, since the drive gear 32 is arranged in the center of the plane of the rotating body 24, the distance between the drive gear 32 and the roller drive shaft 36 does not change even during the rotation of the rotating body 24, so that the drive gear 32 is driven via the transmission shaft 34. Can transmit power. Therefore, even if the transport roller 12 is rotated by the rotating body 24, the driving force can be transmitted to the roller drive shaft 36.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the etching apparatus having one etching chamber has been described as an example, but the etching apparatus according to the present invention may include a plurality of etching chambers. For example, it is also possible to connect two etching chambers 161 and 162 as shown in FIG. The etching process is performed by rotating the transport roller 12 in the horizontal direction in each etching shamba. Further, by providing the cleaning chamber 14 in the subsequent stage of the etching chamber 162, the etching process can be performed without changing the transport direction (arrow direction in the drawing) of the circuit board 20.

Up to this point, the etching process of a circuit board has been described as an example, but the etching apparatus according to the present invention can be used for other than metal etching of a circuit board or the like. For example, it can be applied to an etching process for the purpose of reducing the thickness of a glass substrate. It is also important to improve the uniformity of the in-plane plate thickness in the etching process of the glass substrate. In particular, when the target plate thickness is as thin as about 0.1 mm, it is very useful to make the in-plane plate thickness of the glass substrate uniform.

The description of the embodiments described above should be considered exemplary in all respects and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is indicated by the claims, not by the embodiments described above. Furthermore, the scope of the invention is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims.

10-Etching device 12-Transfer roller 14-Cleaning chamber 16-Etching chamber 20-Circuit board 22-Spray unit 24-Rotating body 26-Transmission part 32-Drive gear 34-Transmission shaft 36-Roller drive shaft

Claims (3)

An etching apparatus configured to inject an etching solution onto a substrate to be processed in an etching chamber.
The etching chamber includes a substrate transfer unit that transports a substrate to be processed along a transport direction by a driving force from a drive source.
A rotating body configured to rotate the substrate carrier in the horizontal direction, and
Equipped with
The substrate transport unit has a transmission unit that is arranged in the rotating body and is configured to transmit a driving force to the substrate transport unit.
An etching apparatus characterized in that the substrate to be processed is conveyed while rotating around the rotating body. The transmission unit includes a driving force transmission unit to which a driving force from the driving source is transmitted, and a driving force transmission unit.
A driven transmission unit that transmits driving force from the driving force transmission unit to the substrate transport unit, and
Equipped with
The etching apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the drive transmission unit is arranged in a central portion in a plan view in the rotating body. The etching apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the substrate transport unit reciprocates the substrate to be processed along a substrate transport path.

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