JP3014899B2 - Exhaust device for substrate rotary dryer - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an exhaust device, and more particularly to an exhaust device of a rotary drying device for rotating a wet substrate to dry it.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When performing a surface treatment such as a cleaning process on a thin substrate to be processed (hereinafter simply referred to as a substrate) such as a semiconductor substrate or a glass substrate for a liquid crystal, the substrate is immersed in a processing bath. An immersion type substrate processing apparatus is used. In the immersion type substrate processing apparatus, a substrate processing tank for processing a substrate and a substrate drying apparatus for drying the processed substrate are arranged. As this type of substrate drying apparatus, a horizontal axis rotation type substrate rotation drying apparatus is known (Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 4-48622).

[0003] The substrate rotating and drying apparatus includes a rotating body for holding a substrate, and a chamber for covering the rotating body and rotatably supporting a rotating shaft by a bearing. This chamber is provided with a substrate entrance and an intake at the top,
An exhaust port is provided at the bottom. In order to prevent particles generated in the shaft and the bearing from flowing back into the chamber, a shaft exhaust port for exhausting the rotating body in the axial direction is provided near the bearing. An exhaust duct is connected to each exhaust port, and each exhaust duct is connected to a facility exhaust duct.

[0004]

In the above-mentioned conventional configuration,
When the substrate is taken out of the chamber, the substrate entrance is opened and the inside of the chamber is opened to the outside air. However, since air is constantly exhausted from the exhaust port and the inside of the chamber is in a negative pressure state, outside air enters the chamber, and particles contained in the outside air enter the chamber.

An object of the present invention is to reduce particles in a chamber.

[0006]

An exhaust device according to the present invention is an exhaust device for a substrate rotary drying apparatus, which includes a chamber exhaust unit, a shaft exhaust unit, and a stopping unit. The substrate rotary drying device includes a rotation holding unit, a chamber, and a shaft exhaust chamber. The rotation holding unit holds the substrate, and is rotated by rotation of a rotation shaft. The chamber covers the rotation holding unit, and has a substrate entrance that can be opened and closed. The shaft exhaust chamber covers the rotating shaft and communicates with the chamber. The chamber exhaust is
The inside of the chamber is evacuated. The shaft exhaust unit exhausts the inside of the shaft exhaust chamber. The stopping unit stops the exhaust by the chamber exhaust unit and the exhaust by the shaft exhaust unit when the substrate entrance is open.

[0007]

In the exhaust device according to the present invention, the chamber exhaust section exhausts the inside of the chamber, and the shaft exhaust section exhausts the inside of the shaft exhaust chamber. When the substrate entrance is open, the stopping means stops the exhaust by the chamber exhaust unit and the exhaust by the shaft exhaust unit. Here, when the substrate entrance is open and the inside of the chamber is open to the outside air ,
And the exhaust by the shaft exhaust unit is stopped, so that outside air hardly flows into the chamber. Therefore, particles contained in the outside air are less likely to enter the chamber. Therefore, particles in the chamber can be reduced.

[0008]

1, an immersion type substrate processing apparatus 1 to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied includes a loading / unloading section 2, a substrate transfer apparatus 3, a substrate cleaning apparatus 4, a horizontal axis rotating type. And a substrate transfer robot 6. The loading / unloading section 2 is for loading and unloading a carrier C for storing a substrate, and is provided with a substrate transfer robot 10 for transporting the carrier C. Substrate transfer robot 10
Can move up and down and rotate, and can move in the direction indicated by arrow A in FIG. The substrate transfer device 3, the substrate cleaning device 4, and the drying device 5 are arranged side by side in the left-right direction. The substrate transfer robot 6 has a pair of arms 11 for holding a substrate. The substrate transfer robot 6 is movable in the direction indicated by the arrow B, and is movable up and down.
The substrate can be transferred between the devices 3 to 5 by the substrate transfer robot 6. The substrate cleaning apparatus 4 is provided with a substrate cleaning tank 13 made of, for example, quartz glass. In the cleaning tank 13, a substrate holding unit 12 that can move up and down is provided. Further, a plurality of chemical solution storage containers 7a are provided in the substrate cleaning tank 13.
To 7e, a chemical solution corresponding to the processing is supplied.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the drying device 5 has a substantially cylindrical chamber 15, a horizontal shaft-type rotor 16 rotatably provided in the chamber 15, and is detachably attached to the rotor 16. The substrate holding part 19 erected and the substrate holding part 1
A holder elevating unit 20 is provided at the lower part of the chamber 15 so as to be able to move up and down. Chamber 1
The substrate entrance 23 is formed in the upper part of the peripheral wall of 5, and the exhaust port 24 is formed in the lower part of the peripheral wall. Substrate entrance 23
Is closed by a chamber opening / closing lid 18 which can be opened and closed freely. A suction port 26 for taking in outside air is provided at an upper portion of the chamber opening / closing lid 18, and a filter 25 is attached to the suction port 26. Below the filter 25, a static electricity removing device 27 composed of a pair of discharge needles is arranged. The static eliminator 27 applies a high voltage to the discharge needles to discharge them, ionizes the air in the chamber, and removes static electricity generated on the substrate W due to friction with the air during rotation. A duct connection part 15a is formed in the exhaust port 24, and a tank exhaust duct 28 (FIG. 5) is connected to the duct connection part 15a.

As shown in FIG. 3, the rotor 16 has a pair of left and right rotating flanges 31a, 31b arranged to face each other with a space therebetween, and a plurality of connecting members for integrally connecting the rotating flanges 31a, 31b. And a bar 32. The substrate holder 19 is provided between the pair of rotating flanges 31a and 31b.
There are provided a substrate clamp device 21 and a holder clamp device 22 for fixing the plurality of substrates W and the substrate holder 19 held by the above to the rotor 16, respectively.

Rotating shafts 33a and 33b are fixed to the rotating flanges 31a and 31b, respectively. The rotating shaft 33a is supported by a bearing 34a. The bearing 34a is held by a bearing holder 35a fixed to the left side surface of the chamber 15. A positioning ring 38 for positioning the rotor 16 at a reference position (a position where the orientation flat surface of the held substrate W is horizontal downward) is fixed to the tip of the rotating shaft 33a. A positioning hole 38 a is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the positioning ring 38. In this positioning hole 38a,
The positioning member 39a is arranged to oppose, and the tip of the positioning member 39a is engageable. Positioning member 39a
Can be advanced and retracted by the air cylinder 39.

A detection dog 40 is fixed between the bearing 34a and the positioning ring 38. Detection dog 40
Is detected by the photo interrupter 41. When the photo-interrupter 41 is at the reference position,
It is arranged at a position where the detection dog 40 is detected. The right rotation shaft 33b is rotatably supported by a pair of bearings 34b, 34b. The bearings 34b, 34b are provided in the chamber 1
5 is held by a bearing holder 35b fixed to the right side surface. A pulley 42 is fixed to a tip of the rotating shaft 33b. The pulley 42 is connected to the motor 17 via a belt 43.

In the chamber 15, a rotating shaft 33 is provided.
a and 33b are respectively provided in the shaft exhaust chamber 3
6 are formed. The shaft exhaust chamber 36 is formed so as to cover the rotating shaft from the outer peripheral side. The shaft exhaust chamber 36 is connected to a shaft exhaust duct 37. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, a labyrinth seal 44 having a convex cross section for sealing the outer periphery of the rotating shaft 33a is arranged inside the bearing 34a of the bearing holder 35a. An annular pressurized space 45 is formed outside the convex portion of the labyrinth seal 44. In the pressurized space 45, a bearing holder 35a is provided.
The inner peripheral end of the gas supply port 46 which is open on the outer peripheral surface of the is opened. A plurality of communication holes 48 are formed between the pressurized space 45 and the protrusion of the labyrinth seal 44.

A slight gap is formed between the outer peripheral portion of the labyrinth seal 44 and the bearing holder 35a. An annular exhaust space 49 is formed between the bearing 34a and the labyrinth seal 44. This exhaust space 4
In FIG. 9, an inner peripheral end of the gas discharge port 50 which opens on the outer peripheral surface of the bearing holder 35a is open. The gas discharge port 50 is connected to a gas discharge duct 51.

The bearing holder 35b has the same configuration, and the left and right gas supply ports 46 are connected to a nitrogen gas source via a gas supply pipe 47 and a gas supply valve 55 as shown in FIG. ing. The left and right gas discharge ducts 51 join the tank exhaust duct 28. A tank exhaust damper 52 is arranged on the way downstream of the junction of the tank exhaust duct 28.

The two shaft exhaust ducts 37 on both sides merge on the way, and a shaft exhaust damper 53 and a blower 54 are arranged on the way downstream from the merged portion. The dampers 52 and 53 are for opening and closing the tank exhaust duct 28 and the shaft exhaust duct 37, respectively. The blower 54
The shaft exhaust chamber 36 is exhausted. By providing the blower 54, the pressure in the shaft exhaust chamber 36 can be made higher than that in the chamber 15. These ducts 2
8, 37 are independently connected to the facility exhaust duct.

The substrate processing apparatus 1 has a control unit 60 composed of a microcomputer shown in FIG. Control unit 6
0 is connected to the air cylinder 39, the motor 17, the tank exhaust damper 52, the shaft exhaust damper 53, the static eliminator 27, the gas supply valve 55, and other input / output units. Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described with reference to a control flowchart shown in FIG. 7 and a timing chart shown in FIG.

When the carrier C containing the substrate is placed on the substrate loading / unloading section 2, the carrier C is loaded into the substrate transfer device 3 by the substrate transfer robot 10. The substrate transfer device 3 collectively receives a plurality of substrates from the carrier C and holds them by the arm 11 of the substrate transfer robot 6.
Then, the plurality of received substrates are transferred to the substrate holder 12 of the substrate cleaning tank 13. Here, a cleaning process is performed on the substrate. When the cleaning is completed, the substrate transfer robot 6 receives the substrate from the substrate holder 12 and carries the substrate to the drying device 5.

In the drying device 5, when the transported substrate is detected (Step S1), the opening / closing lid 18 is opened (Step S2). Then, the holder holding unit 1 is moved by the holder lifting unit
9 is lifted, and the substrates are collectively received from the arm 11 of the substrate transfer robot 6. At this time, the damper 52,
53 are both closed. When the substrate is received by the substrate holder 19, the holder 19 is lowered by lowering the holder raising / lowering part 20, and the substrate is arranged at a predetermined position. Then, the substrate and the holder 19 are clamped by the clamp devices 21 and 22 (step S3). When the clamping is completed, the air cylinder 39 is retracted, and the positioning ring 38
Is disengaged from the positioning member 39a and the rotor 16 is changed from the locked state to the unlocked state (step S
4).

Then, a predetermined current is supplied to the motor 17 to rotate the rotor 16 at the first speed (for example, 1000 rpm) (step S5). Subsequently, the exhaust dampers 52 and 53
Are opened together (step S6). Further, the gas supply valve 55 is opened to supply nitrogen gas around the labyrinth seal 44 (Step S7). Also, slightly later, the static electricity removing device 27 is turned on (step S8).

Here, when the gas supply valve 55 is opened,
The pressurized space 45 is filled with pressurized nitrogen gas through the gas supply port 46, and further enters the labyrinth seal 44 through the communication hole 48. A part of the invading nitrogen gas flows along the outer periphery of the labyrinth seal 44 to the exhaust space 49 and another part flows to the shaft exhaust chamber 36. The nitrogen gas flowing into the exhaust space 49 is discharged to the gas exhaust duct 51 via the gas outlet 50. Then, they join the tank exhaust duct 28 and are discharged to the facility exhaust duct via the tank exhaust damper 52. The nitrogen gas flowing to the shaft exhaust chamber 36 is
It is discharged to the shaft exhaust duct 37 together with the air inside the chamber. Then, the air is discharged to the equipment exhaust duct via the shaft exhaust damper 53 and the blower 54.

After a lapse of a predetermined time, the second speed (for example, 1200
(rpm), and the rotor 16 is rotated at a third speed (for example, 1500 rpm) after a predetermined time (step S10). After a predetermined drying time has elapsed, the rotor 16 is moved to the positioning speed (for example, 10 rpm).
m) (step S11), and the static electricity removing device 27 is turned off (step S12). Next, the tank exhaust duct 28 is closed by the damper 52 (Step S).
13). When the photo interrupter 41 detects the detection dog 40 (Step S14), the motor 17 is stopped to stop the rotation of the rotor 16 (Step S1).
5). Subsequently, the shaft exhaust duct 37 is closed by the damper 53 (Step S16), and the gas supply valve 55 is closed to stop supplying the nitrogen gas (Step S17). This allows
The pressure in the chamber becomes substantially the same as the atmospheric pressure. Then, the air cylinder 39 advances, and the positioning member 3 is attached to the positioning ring 38.
9a is engaged. Thereby, the rotor 16 is locked at the reference position (step S18).

When the rotor 16 is locked at the reference position, the opening / closing lid 18 is opened (step S19), and each clamp device 2 is opened.
The holding | maintenance of the board | substrate and the holder 19 clamped by 1 and 22 is released. Then, the holder 19 is raised to a predetermined delivery position by raising the holder lifting unit 20 (step S20).
Transfer the substrates to 1 at once.

The dried substrate is further transferred to the substrate transfer device 3 by the substrate transfer robot 6, and the substrate is stored in the carrier C in the substrate transfer device 3. The carrier C is transferred from the substrate transfer device 3 to the carry-in / carry-out unit 2 by the substrate transfer robot 10. Here, since the pressurized nitrogen gas is supplied from the outer peripheral side of the labyrinth seal 44, the particles generated in the bearings 34a and 34b do not flow to the chamber 15 side. In addition, when the substrate enters and exits, the tank exhaust duct 28 and the shaft exhaust duct 3
7 is closed by the dampers 52 and 53 to stop the exhaust, so that the inside of the chamber 15 becomes substantially at atmospheric pressure. As a result, outside air hardly flows into the chamber 15 from the substrate entrance 23. Therefore, particles contained in the outside air are unlikely to enter the chamber. Furthermore, since the static electricity removing device 27 is provided below the filter 25 to ionize the gas inside, the static electricity generated on the substrate due to the contact with air during rotation can be reliably removed.

Since the present invention does not require a magnetic fluid seal unlike the prior art, the structure can be simplified and the cost can be reduced. [Other Embodiments] In the above embodiment, the gas exhaust duct 51 connected to the gas exhaust port 50 joins the tank exhaust duct 28. However, even if the gas exhaust duct 51 joins the shaft exhaust duct 37 having a higher negative pressure. Good. Further, it may be independently connected to the facility exhaust duct.

[0026]

In the exhaust device according to the present invention, when the substrate entrance is open and the inside of the chamber is open to the outside air,
Since the exhaust by the chamber exhaust unit and the exhaust by the shaft exhaust unit are stopped, outside air hardly flows into the chamber. Therefore, particles contained in the outside air are less likely to enter the chamber. Therefore, particles in the chamber can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a substrate processing apparatus employing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a drying device.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view thereof.

FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view of a bearing holder.

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view showing an exhaust duct.

FIG. 6 is a control block diagram of the substrate processing apparatus.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a part of the control flow.

FIG. 8 is a timing chart showing the operation timing.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Substrate processing apparatus 5 Drying apparatus 15 Chamber 28 Bath exhaust duct 36 Shaft exhaust chamber 37 Shaft exhaust duct 52 Bath exhaust damper 53 Shaft exhaust damper

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] A rotation holder configured to hold a substrate and rotate by rotation of a rotation shaft; a chamber having an openable / closable substrate entrance and covering the rotation holder; and a chamber covering the rotation shaft and communicating with the chamber. An exhaust device for a substrate rotary drying apparatus, comprising: a shaft exhaust chamber; a chamber exhaust unit that exhausts the inside of the chamber; a shaft exhaust unit that exhausts the inside of the shaft exhaust chamber; and wherein the substrate entrance is open. , The chamber exhaust unit
And a stopping means for stopping exhaust by the shaft exhaust unit and exhaust by the shaft exhaust unit.