JP3254663B2 - Fine particle injection processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a fine particle spraying apparatus suitable for performing processing such as etching and so-called deposition on a workpiece such as a glass substrate or a semiconductor substrate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When manufacturing various functional elements such as a semiconductor integrated circuit, a printed wiring circuit, and a magnetic head, various fine processing is required. For this reason, advanced etching technology and thin film forming technology are required.

As such an etching technique, an ion etching method, a reactive ion etching method, a sand blast method and the like are known. However, the ion etching method has a low processing speed, and the sand blast method has a disadvantage that the surface condition of the surface to be processed is inferior.

[0004] On the other hand, as a thin film forming technique, a sputtering method, a spraying method, a vapor phase growth method and the like are known. However, the sputtering method has a low film-forming rate, the thermal spray method can form a film only on a heat-resistant substrate, and the vapor-phase growth method has a defect that the film-forming rate is slow and cannot be handled without a heat-resistant substrate. .

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the inventors of the present invention mainly used ultrafine particles having an average particle diameter of 0.01 μm to 3 μm with respect to a surface to be processed, as described in JP-A-3-231096. A method of spraying powder to be sprayed at a predetermined angle of incidence was proposed. According to this method, deposition processing can be performed at a high deposition rate with little restriction on the surface to be processed, and a fine pattern can be accurately and rapidly etched.

FIG. 5 shows a schematic configuration of a processing apparatus used in the processing method proposed above. This processing device is roughly divided into an air compressor 1 for supplying compressed air, a mixing chamber 3 for mixing the ultrafine particles 2 with the compressed air sent from the air compressor 1, and an ultrafine particle 2 together with the compressed air.
And a blower 6 that collects and sucks the ultrafine particles 2 from the ejection chamber 5.

In the processing apparatus configured as described above, the compressed air sent from the air compressor 1 is
It is divided into a first air supply pipe 7 and a second air supply pipe 8,
The compressed air diverted to the first air supply pipe 7 is supplied to a filter 9 or an air outlet 10 provided at the bottom of the mixing chamber 3.
From the mixing chamber 3. At this time, the compressed air passes through the ultrafine particles 2, whereby the ultrafine particles 2 are agitated by the air vibrator effect, and a part of the ultrafine particles 2 is formed by the lower surface concave portion 11 a of the dust collector 11 provided in the mixing chamber 3.
Collected near the entrance 12a.

During the stirring, the ultrafine particles 2 are mechanically dispersed by the vibration member 13 provided on the inner bottom surface of the mixing chamber 3, and the air vibrator effect is effectively maintained. In addition, a solenoid valve 15 provided in the middle of the outlet pipe 14 connected to the dust collector 11 and an exhaust pipe 18 connected to the lid 17 of the ultrafine particle supply unit 16 in the upper part of the mixing chamber 3 are provided. The electromagnetic valve 19 provided is controlled so that the open / close state of the electromagnetic valve 19 is reversed at a constant cycle. As a result, the ultrafine particles 2 in the mixing chamber 3 are further disturbed by the pressure difference due to these opening and closing operations.

On the other hand, the compressed air diverted to the second air supply pipe 8 is directly sent to the delivery pipe 12 and becomes a negative pressure by the air flow, so that the ultrafine particles 2 collected near the outlet 8a are collected. It is sucked and mixed with compressed air in the delivery tube 12. Then, a mixture of the compressed air and the ultrafine particles 2 is ejected from the nozzle 20 in the ejection chamber 5 through the delivery pipe 12, and is sprayed on the surface of the workpiece 4 to be machined to perform machining. The used ultrafine particles 2 are returned to the supply unit 16 via the return pipes 21 and 22 connected to the injection chamber 5, and are reused.

[0010]

However, according to the processing apparatus proposed above, the workpiece 4 is moved in two directions perpendicular to each other by the XY stage 23, and the fine particles 2 are ejected from the nozzle 20 to perform the processing. . For this reason, the plane area of the injection chamber 5 needs to be four times the plane area of the largest workpiece, and there is a problem that the injection chamber 5 becomes large.

The nozzle 20 faces downward, and the nozzle 2
The extremely fine particles 2 injected from 0 are the workpiece 4 or the workpiece 4
There is also a problem that the cleaning after processing becomes difficult because the toner accumulates on the holder 24 that supports.

On the other hand, the ultrafine particles 2 ejected from the nozzle 20 are collected by the ultrafine particle supply unit 16 through the return pipes 21 and 22. At this time, since the ultrafine particles 2 are carried by the compressed air simultaneously injected from the nozzle 20, if the amount of the compressed air is small, the ultrafine particles 2 adhere to the inner walls of the return pipes 21 and 22. As a result, the return pipes 21 and 22 may be closed.

In order to solve this problem, a hole may be formed in the injection chamber 5 to introduce outside air. However, in this case, there is a problem that the ultrafine particles 2 aggregate due to moisture contained in the outside air. The size of the ultrafine particles 2 is 0.01 μm to 1 μm.
When it is as small as 0 μm, there is also a problem that the ultrafine particles 2 easily leak from the exhaust fan 6.

[0014]

The present invention has been made in view of such a situation.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a fine particle jet processing apparatus capable of reliably collecting the ultrafine particles injected from the nozzle and reducing the amount of air and the amount of ultrafine particles discharged outside the apparatus. Aim.

[0016]

[0017]

[0018]

[0019]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a fine particle jet processing apparatus including a nozzle for accommodating a workpiece and for jetting the ultrafine particles together with compressed air onto a surface of the workpiece. The injection chamber 5 provided, and a return pipe 2
A fine particle spraying processing apparatus comprising an ultrafine particle supply section 16 via an exhaust pipe 18 and an ultrafine particle supply section 16 connected to the ultrafine particle supply section 16 via an exhaust pipe 18.
, And an exhaust box 52 as an exhaust unit that is connected to a pipe of the air recovery pipe 51 via a filter 53.

[0020] The fine particle jet processing apparatus according to claim 2 is
The air recovery pipe 51 is connected to the return pipe 21.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a fine particle jet processing apparatus.
At the bottom of the injection chamber 5, a scraper 61 as a sliding member for sweeping the ultrafine particles 2 to both sides and a screw 62 as a transport member for transporting the ultrafine particles 2 to the counter-feed tube 21 are provided. Features.

[0022]

[0023]

[0024]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the air discharged from the blower is supplied to the injection chamber through the air recovery pipe, so that the compressed air from the nozzle is supplied to the nozzle. Even when the flow rate is small, a flow sufficient for transporting the ultrafine particles 2 can be created. Air recovery pipe 51
By providing the exhaust box 52 via the filter 53, a part of the excess recovered air injected from the nozzle 20 can be exhausted to the outside. At this time, the ultrafine particles 2 and the exhaust air can be separated by the filter 53.

[0025] In particle blasting apparatus according to claim 2, since the connecting air recovery pipe 51 in the counter-feeding tube 21,
The ultrafine particles 2 in the injection chamber 5 can be effectively conveyed into the return pipe 21.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the ultrafine particles 2 accumulated at the bottom of the injection chamber 5 can be scraped by the scraper 61 and conveyed to the refeed tube 21 by the screw 62. The fine particles 2 can be reliably sent into the counter-feed tube 21 and collected in the ultrafine particle supply unit 16.

[0027]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the fine particle jetting apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG . 1 shows the structure of an embodiment of the first invention.
FIGS. 2 to 4 show the configuration of the embodiment of the second invention. In these figures, portions corresponding to those of the conventional example shown in FIG. 5 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

In FIG. 1, a holder 2 is provided on the upper surface of the injection chamber 5.
4 is fixed, and the workpiece 4 is attached to the holder 24 with the surface to be processed facing downward. The nozzle 20
Is provided upward facing the surface to be processed of the workpiece 4, and is scanned by the XY stage 23 in two orthogonal directions on the same horizontal plane. Further, a vibrator 31 is provided on the inner surface of the bottom of the injection chamber 5. An adjustment valve 33 and an electromagnetic valve 34 are provided in a pipe 32 connecting the compressor 1 and the air supply pipes 7 and 8, and an adjustment valve 35 is provided in the second air supply pipe 8.

On the other hand, a stirring member 36 driven by a motor (not shown) is mounted in the mixing chamber 3, and the lid 17 of the ultrafine particle supply section 16 opens and closes an opening at the lower end of the supply section 16. A conical supply valve 37 is provided so as to be able to move up and down.
6 is urged in a direction to close the opening. Reference numeral 39 denotes a vibrator provided on the delivery pipe 12, and reference numeral 40 denotes
Is a heater for heating the mixing chamber 3.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. It is basically required that the ultrafine particles 2 having an average particle diameter of 0.1 μm to 3 μm are mixed with compressed air in the delivery pipe 12, ejected from the nozzle 20, and sprayed onto the surface of the workpiece 4 to be processed. Specifically, it is the same as the conventional example. In the present embodiment, the workpiece 4 is fixed to the upper part of the injection chamber 5 with the surface to be processed facing downward via the holder 24, and the nozzle 20 is directed upward and the XY stage 23 scans the workpiece 4 in two orthogonal directions. I did it. As a result, the plane area of the injection chamber 5 can be made substantially equal to the plane area of the largest workpiece 4, and the size of the apparatus can be reduced.

Since the workpiece surface of the workpiece 4 faces downward, the ultrafine particles 2 ejected from the nozzle 20 do not accumulate on the workpiece 4 and its holder 24, and cleaning is facilitated. be able to.

According to this embodiment, the size of the injection chamber 5 can be reduced, and the entire apparatus can be reduced in size. XY stage 2
3 can also be reduced in size because only the small and light nozzle 20 needs to be moved. Further, the workpiece 4 and the holder 24
Cleaning becomes easier.

[0034]

[0035]

FIG. 2 shows the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. The feature of this embodiment is that the exhaust port of the exhaust fan 6 and the injection chamber 5 are connected by an air recovery pipe 51, and an exhaust box 52 is attached to a part of the air recovery pipe 51. The exhaust box 52 communicates with the inside of the air recovery pipe 51 via a filter 53, and the coarseness of the filter 53 is, for example, 0.2 μm to 0.5 μm.
m. The inner diameter of the air recovery pipe 51 is equal to or larger than the inner diameter of the return pipes 21, 22 or the exhaust pipe 18.
The inner diameter a is equal to or smaller than the inner diameter of the air recovery pipe 51.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. Injection chamber 5
The air mixed with the ultrafine particles 2 discharged from the apparatus is introduced into the ultrafine particle supply unit 16 through the return pipes 21 and 22.
The air from which the ultrafine particles 2 have been collected in the ultrafine particle supply unit 16 is sent to the air blower 6 via the exhaust pipe 18, and the air discharged from the air blower 6 is again injected into the injection chamber via the air recovery pipe 51. It is led to 5. For this reason, even when the flow rate of the compressed air injected from the nozzle 20 is small, a sufficient air flow for transporting the ultrafine particles 2 can be created.

The exhaust box 52 provided in a part of the air recovery pipe 51 allows a part of the excess recovered air injected from the nozzle 20 to be exhausted to the outside.
Further, the ultrafine particles 2 and the exhaust air can be separated by the filter 53 provided in the exhaust box 52.
For example, the size of the filter 53 is 0.2 μm to 0.5 μm, and the average particle size of the ultrafine particles 2 is 0.01 μm to 10 μm.
Then, the ultrafine particles 2 having a particle diameter larger than the size of the filter 53 are captured by the filter 53 and collected in the injection chamber 5 without being discharged to the outside. Further, the inner diameter of the air recovery pipe 51 is made equal to or larger than the inner diameter of the return pipes 21 and 22 or the inner diameter of the exhaust pipe 18, and the inner diameter of the outlet 52 a of the exhaust box 52 is made equal or smaller than the inner diameter of the air recovery pipe 51. Thereby, the collection efficiency of the ultrafine particles 2 can be improved.

According to this embodiment, the ultrafine particles 2 are
The ultrafine particles 2 can be reliably collected in the supply unit 16 because they can be prevented from adhering to the insides 1 and 22. In addition, since no outside air enters the exhaust air, the compressor 1 is provided with a dehumidifying function to reduce the humidity of the compressed air to 5% or less, whereby the aggregation of the ultrafine particles 2 can be prevented. Further, the extremely fine particles 2 can be prevented from leaking to the outside, and the amount of exhaust air discharged to the outside can be minimized.

FIG. 3 shows the configuration of another embodiment of the present invention.
In this embodiment, the air recovery pipe 51 is directly connected to the counter-feed pipe 21, and the ultrafine particles 2 in the injection chamber 5 are dropped by the vibrator 31 at the junction of the air recovery pipe 51 and the counter-feed pipe 21. According to this embodiment, effects similar to those of the above embodiment can be obtained.

FIG. 4 shows the configuration of another embodiment of the present invention.
4, a scraper 61 is provided on the bottom surface 5a of the ejection chamber 5 so as to be reciprocally slidable in the direction of arrow AA by a driving source (not shown). At both ends of the bottom surface 5a, a concave groove 5b is provided in parallel with the scraper 61, and a screw 62 which is rotationally driven by a driving source (not shown) is mounted in the concave groove 5b. Further, one end of a counter-feed tube 63 is connected to each side of the injection chamber 5, and one end of a counter-feed tube 64 is connected to a junction at the other end of the counter tube 63. Further, the other end of the reciprocating tube 64 is connected to the ultrafine particle supply unit 16, and one end of each of the pair of concave grooves 5 b is connected to the reciprocating tube 63.

According to the present embodiment, by moving the scraper 61 in the direction of the arrow AA, the ultrafine particles 2 on the bottom surface 5a are collected in the concave groove 2b, and the screw 62 is rotated so that the refeed tube 63 is rotated. The ultrafine particles 2 can be reliably collected.

[0043]

[0044]

As described above , according to the fine particle jet processing apparatus of the present invention, the air discharged from the exhaust fan is supplied to the injection chamber, so that the ultra fine particles can be reliably supplied to the ultra fine particle supply section. And the leakage of the ultrafine particles to the outside and the occurrence of aggregation can be prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of a fine particle jet processing apparatus according to the first invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of a fine particle jet processing apparatus according to the second invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a schematic configuration of an injection chamber according to another embodiment of the second invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of an injection chamber according to another embodiment of the second invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of an example of a conventional fine particle jet processing apparatus.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B24C 9/00

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] An injection chamber in which a workpiece is housed, and which is provided with a nozzle for injecting ultrafine particles together with compressed air onto a processing surface of the workpiece, and connected to the injection chamber via a return pipe. An ultra-fine particle supply unit, and a fine particle injection processing device including an exhaust fan connected to the ultra-fine particle supply unit via an exhaust pipe, and an air recovery pipe connecting the exhaust fan and the injection chamber. An apparatus for jetting fine particles, comprising: an exhaust portion connected to a pipe of the air recovery pipe via a filter. 2. A particle blasting apparatus of claim 1, wherein the connecting the air recovery pipe in a counter-feeding tube. 3. A fine particle spraying apparatus comprising: a sliding member for sweeping ultrafine particles to both sides at a bottom portion of an injection chamber; and a transport member for transporting the ultrafine particles to a return pipe.