JP2547783Y2 - Substrate surface treatment equipment - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

This invention is based on the concept that a thin plate-like substrate (hereinafter simply referred to as "substrate") such as a flat panel or a glass substrate for a liquid crystal is carried into a processing station one by one, and is subjected to a development treatment or a corrosion treatment and a film removal. The present invention relates to an apparatus for performing a surface treatment such as a treatment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A surface treatment apparatus of this type has been conventionally known, for example, from Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-26112 proposed by the present applicant.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-246319 (hereinafter referred to as Conventional Example 1) and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-246319 (hereinafter referred to as Conventional Example 2) are known. Conventional example 1
A roll conveyor that transports the substrate, a processing tank that stores the processing liquid and forms a processing station, a collection tank that collects the processing liquid overflowing from the processing tank, and a circulating unit that circulates the collected processing liquid to the processing tank. Comprising
The substrate is configured to be immersed in a processing bath for surface treatment. Further, Conventional Example 2 is provided with a processing station for supplying a processing liquid to the substrate to perform a surface treatment, and the processing station includes a rotating plate on which the substrate is mounted and rotated, and a process capable of moving up and down around the rotating plate. A tank frame member is provided, a plate-shaped processing tank is formed by both, the substrate is stopped in the dish-shaped processing tank, surface processing is performed while rotating a rotating plate, and the processing liquid stored in the processing tank is a substrate. It is configured to be replaced every time a single wafer is processed.

[0003]

The prior art 1 has a structure in which the processing liquid is stored in a processing tank constituting a processing station, and the processing liquid overflowing from the processing tank is recovered and circulated in a recovery tank. In addition to consuming a large amount of processing solution, the processing solution becomes fatigued with the passage of time, and a slight difference in the finish occurs depending on the production lot. However, in recent years, further uniform processing has been demanded, and such a small difference that has been conventionally allowed is no longer allowed. Conventional example 2
In this configuration, the processing liquid is stored in a dish-shaped processing tank and is replaced every time a substrate is processed. Therefore, the processing liquid is less consumed, and there is no variation among the production lots as described above.
Since the surface treatment is performed while rotating the substrate, especially when a large and rectangular substrate is treated, the flow rate of the treatment liquid is different between the central portion and the peripheral portion of the substrate, and the process unevenness is likely to occur. The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and while suppressing the consumption of the processing solution, a small difference in processing for each lot due to fatigue of the processing solution and a difference between the central portion and the peripheral portion of one substrate. It is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate surface treatment apparatus which does not cause the above processing unevenness.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a substrate surface treatment apparatus for supplying a processing liquid to a thin rectangular substrate to perform a surface treatment on the substrate. A roll conveyor in which a number of transfer rollers are arranged in parallel with each other so as to be transferred along a transfer path, and a substrate lift that can be moved up and down with respect to the transfer path to transfer a substrate to and from the roll conveyor by ascending and descending. A support, a sealing material that forms a processing bath together with the substrate in close contact with the upper surface of the substrate raised by the substrate lifting support, and a processing liquid supply nozzle that supplies a processing liquid to the substrate that forms the processing bath. And a drainage tank disposed below the substrate forming the processing tank and receiving a processing liquid flowing down from the processing tank when the substrate is separated from the sealing material. A.

[0005]

According to the present invention, the substrate transferred by the roll conveyor is passed to the substrate lifting support, to form a processing tank with the sealing material and the substrate by the upper <br/> temperature of substrate lifting support,
Since the processing liquid can be supplied from the processing liquid supply nozzle to the substrates in the processing tank and the processed processing liquid can be discharged through the drain tank, the processing liquid can be supplied to each substrate. It is possible to exchange.

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional front view of a surface treatment device devised prior to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof. Equipment This is a processing station 10 to a surface treatment by supplying a processing liquid Q into a thin rectangular substrate W, formed by and a roll conveyor 1 for loading and unloading the substrate W to the processing station 10.

The roll conveyor 1 is composed of a plurality of transport rollers 2 which support the lower surfaces of the right and left ends of the substrate W and horizontally transport the substrates W.
The transport rollers 2a disposed to the left and right of the axis 0 are provided so as to be able to move back and forth in the axial direction, and are configured to retreat when the substrate W is delivered to the processing station 10. A substrate aligning member 4 is provided so as to be freely retractable and parallel to the retractable transport roller 2a. When the substrate W is unloaded from the processing station 10, the pins 5 of the substrate aligning member 4 are connected to the substrate W. Are arranged so that the positions of the substrates W are aligned by contacting the left and right ends of the substrate W.

The processing station 10 includes a processing tank body 11A which is disposed below the transport roller 2a and forms a processing tank 11, and four processing tanks which are attached to the processing tank body 11A so as to be able to move up and down and form a substrate lifting and lowering support member 16. , And a processing liquid supply nozzle 20 disposed above the processing tank body 11A.
The substrate W is transferred between the processing tank 11 and the substrate W, and the surface treatment is performed by depositing the substrate W in the processing tank 11.

The processing tank body 11A has a substrate W inside.
Are divided into an upper half portion and a lower half portion by a support plate 12 which supports the peripheral portion of the base member. Guide rollers 13 for attaching and detaching the substrate W are attached to four places of the upper half peripheral wall 11a, and the lower half bottom wall is provided. 1
A drain port 14 is opened in 1b. A large rectangular drain port 12a is opened at the center of the support plate 12, and the substrate W is brought into contact with and separated from a ceiling 15 fixed to the support plate 12,
By supplying the processing liquid Q from the processing liquid supply nozzle 20 onto the substrate W, the processing liquid Q is stored in the processing tank 11 in the upper half.
And the surface of the substrate W is treated. When the substrate W after the surface treatment is lifted by the pins 16a, the drainage port 12a is opened, and the used processing liquid Q is discharged.

In other words, this apparatus forms a shallow dish-shaped processing tank 11 by the upper half peripheral wall 11a, the support plate 12, the ceiling 15, and the substrate W.
The substrate W is attached to and detached from the support plate 12 through the
By opening and closing a, the processing liquid Q is exchanged for a new liquid every time the substrate W is processed. In addition,
Reference numeral 17 in FIG. 1 denotes a column supporting the thin substrate W, and reference numeral 18 in FIG. 2 denotes an exhaust port for reducing the pressure in the lower half of the processing tank body 11A to enhance the sealing property between the substrate W and the sealing 15. Reference numeral 19 denotes N used to release the decompression seal.
_Two gas supply ports. In order to promote the surface treatment, if necessary, for example, an ultrasonic generator or the like may be provided in the treatment tank main body 1.
1A.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the processing liquid supply nozzle 20. The processing liquid supply nozzle 20 is configured to circulate constant temperature water H around the liquid supply pipe 21 and supply the processing liquid Q at a predetermined temperature into the processing tank 11. Further, a suck-back mechanism (not shown) is connected to the liquid supply pipe 21 so as to prevent the processing liquid Q remaining at the tip 21a of the liquid supply pipe 21 from being inadvertently dropped.

[0012] The operation will be briefly described above KiSo location below. First, the substrate W is loaded by the roll conveyor 1 and stopped above the processing station 10. Board lifting support pin 1
6a is lifted to receive the substrate W from the transport roller 2a, and the transport roller 2a is retracted. Next, the substrate lifting and lowering support pins 16a are lowered to land the substrate W on the ceiling 15, and the lower half of the processing tank body 11A is depressurized to ensure sealing. Thereafter, the processing liquid Q is supplied into the upper half portion (processing tank 11) of the processing tank body 11A to perform the surface treatment of the substrate W.

After finishing the surface treatment for a certain period of time, N ₂ gas is supplied to the lower half of the processing tank body 11A to release the reduced pressure,
The substrate W is raised by the substrate lifting / lowering support pins 16a, and the substrate W is aligned by the substrate
Hand over to The drainage port 12a is opened by the rise of the substrate W, and the exhaustion processing liquid Q flows down from the drainage port 12a and is discharged from the drain port 14. Hereinafter, similarly, the surface treatment of the substrate W is sequentially performed. The substrate W that has been subjected to the surface treatment in this manner is carried out by the roll conveyor 1, and the surface treatment liquid remaining on the surface of the substrate W is drained by a not-shown air knife for drainage, and then a series of steps such as washing and drying are performed. Is performed.

In the above-described apparatus , the substrate W is supported by the column 17, so that the weight of the substrate W, the weight of the surface treatment liquid applied to the substrate W, and the differential pressure caused by reducing the pressure in the lower half of the processing tank body 11A. This prevents the substrate W from being bent downward due to the above-mentioned factors. However, if the substrate W can be supported while preventing such downward bending only by the pin 16a, the support 17 is not necessarily required. Conversely, the substrate W
Is large size (for example, 500 mm or more in length, 500 mm or more in width, 1.0 mm or more in thickness), the substrate W is supported not only by the pillars 17 but also by the pins 16 a to prevent such bending. You may do so. Further, the processing liquid supply nozzle 20 is not limited to the type shown in FIG. 3, and for example, a slit-shaped nozzle, a nozzle having a plurality of holes opened in a tube, or the like may be used. Further, if a temperature control means for controlling the temperature of the processing solution is provided around the processing tank 10, more preferable surface treatment can be performed. The smaller the depth from the substrate surface to the liquid surface of the processing liquid Q supplied into the upper half part of the processing tank body 11A is as small as several mm (for example, 1 to 2 mm), the further the consumption of the processing liquid can be further reduced. Needless to say.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of another surface processing apparatus devised prior to the present invention. Equipment This is a support plate 12 for supporting the substrate W by opening a circular drain port 12a, different from the one point with a fixed circular sealing 15 is ahead, as in the previous device in other respects It is configured.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a further configuration devised prior to the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional front view of another surface treatment apparatus, and FIG. Equipment of this processing bath 11 itself is shallow dished,
A constant temperature water circulation pipe 22 is attached to the lower surface thereof, and is configured to maintain the processing liquid Q at a predetermined temperature. A gutter portion 24 is integrally formed on the outer periphery of the processing tank 11 so that the overflowed processing liquid Q is collected by the gutter portion 24. In this device , the drain port 12
a also serves as a drain port 14. The drain port 14 is provided with an on-off valve 14a. The on-off valve 14a is opened and closed in conjunction with the elevating operation of the substrate elevating and lowering support pins 16a. It is configured such that Q is exchanged for a new liquid every time the substrate W is processed. In addition, the support pillar 17 for supporting the substrate W is omitted, and the lowered pin 16a is used. Further, an exhaust port 18 for achieving reduced pressure sealing,
The air supply port 19 is not required. It should be noted that, earlier in other respects instrumentation
The configuration is the same as the device.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a further configuration devised prior to the present invention .
It is a vertical front view of another surface treatment apparatus. Equipment of this processing bath itself 11 is shallow dished, substrate lifting support is made from the chuck 26, and is deposited can configured to in the processing bath 11 holding the substrate W on the upper surface of the chuck 26 . The lower surface of the chuck 26 is formed as a valve body, and the processing tank 1
The drain port 12a opened in the bottom wall 11b is closed. Reference numeral 25 denotes a sealing of the drainage port 12a. Further, a drainage recovery tank (not shown) is disposed below the processing tank 11, and the other points are configured in the same manner as the previous apparatus .

FIG. 8 is a vertical sectional front view of the surface treatment apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the processing tank 11 has a rectangular processing tank frame member 31 disposed above the roll conveyor 1, a ceiling 32 fixed to the lower surface of the processing tank frame member 31, and a lower surface of the sealing 32. Substrate W
Consisting of Also, the lower roll conveyor 1 is disposed Haiekiso 35, the chuck 26 is attached vertically movably to the drainage tank 35, and is configured to pass the substrate W between the roll conveyor 1 . In this embodiment, the inner peripheral surface of the ceiling 32 corresponds to the drainage port 12a. That is, the substrate W is lifted by the chuck 26 and
And close the drainage port 12a.
The substrate W is subjected to surface treatment by storing a processing liquid therein. Then, the used processing liquid Q is replaced every time the substrate W is processed. Other points are the same as those of the previous device .

[0019]

[Effect of the invention] In the present invention is passed to the substrate the substrate elevating support conveyed by rolls conveyor to form a processing tank with the sealing material and the substrate by increasing the substrate lifting support, the substrate of the treatment tank The processing liquid is supplied from the processing liquid supply nozzle to perform the surface treatment of the substrate. Therefore, it is only necessary to form a processing tank having a capacity necessary for the surface treatment of one substrate. The consumption of liquid can be reduced, and the processing liquid after processing is drained.
Since the processing liquid can be discharged through the tank , the processing liquid can be exchanged for a new liquid for each substrate, and there is no small difference in processing for each lot due to fatigue of the processing liquid, and Since the substrate is not rotated, there is an effect that unevenness between the central portion and the peripheral portion of one substrate does not occur.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional front view of a surface treatment device devised prior to the present invention.

2 is a plan view of the surface treatment apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a processing liquid supply nozzle.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of another surface treatment device devised prior to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional front view of still another surface treatment device devised prior to the present invention.

6 is a plan view of the surface treatment apparatus.

FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional front view of still another surface treatment device devised prior to the present invention.

8 is a vertical sectional front view of a surface treatment apparatus according to actual施例of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Roll conveyor, 2a ... Transport roller , 1 ... Processing tank , 20 ... Processing liquid supply nozzle, 26 ... Substrate lifting / lowering support,
32: sealing, 35: drainage tank, W: substrate, Q: processing liquid.

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] In a substrate surface treatment apparatus for performing a surface treatment of a substrate by supplying a treatment liquid to a thin rectangular substrate, a large number of transport rollers are connected to each other so as to transport the substrate along a predetermined transport path. A roll conveyer arranged in parallel, a substrate elevating and lowering support member that can move up and down with respect to the transport path, and that transfers the substrate to and from the roll conveyor by elevating and lowering, and an upper surface of the substrate raised by the substrate elevating and lowering support member A sealing material that forms a processing bath together with the substrate, a processing liquid supply nozzle that supplies a processing liquid to the substrate that forms the processing bath, and a substrate disposed below the substrate that forms the processing bath. A liquid drainage tank for receiving a processing liquid flowing down from the processing tank when separated from the sealing material; and a substrate surface treatment apparatus.