JP3402883B2 - Substrate edge processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a glass substrate for a liquid crystal, a glass substrate for a photomask, or a glass substrate for a photomask, on the surface of which a thin film such as a photoresist coating solution, a photosensitive polyimide resin, or a dyeing agent for a color filter is formed. The present invention relates to a substrate edge processing apparatus for substrates such as semiconductor wafers and for removing thin films formed on the edges of these substrates.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a manufacturing process of a liquid crystal display, for example, a rectangular substrate having a surface coated with a resist is subjected to a treatment for dissolving and removing an unnecessary thin film formed on an edge thereof with a solvent. . As an apparatus (substrate edge processing apparatus) for dissolving and removing the unnecessary thin film, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-349729.
The one disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication is known.

The apparatus described in this publication includes a solvent discharge nozzle for supplying a solvent to the side edges of the front surface or front and back surfaces of a substrate held in a horizontal posture, and a solvent provided corresponding to these solvent discharge nozzles. A gas discharge nozzle for blowing outward, a suction means for capturing and sucking the blown solvent, and a moving mechanism for swinging the solvent discharge nozzle and the gas discharge nozzle along the substrate edge are formed. ing.

According to such an apparatus, the nozzles are swung along the edge of the substrate while supplying the solvent and the gas with the edge of the substrate facing the solvent discharge nozzle and the gas discharge nozzle. The unnecessary thin film formed on the edge is sequentially dissolved in the solvent, the solvent containing the dissolved matter is blown off by the air flow from the gas discharge nozzle, and the blown off solvent is sucked by the suction means, so that the edge of the substrate Is in a state of being subjected to thin film removal processing.

[0005]

By the way, in the above-mentioned conventional substrate edge processing apparatus, the solvent supplied to the side edge of the substrate is blown off by the jet air stream from the gas discharge nozzle, but the vertical surface of the edge is removed. Is behind the air flow, and the solvent that has flown into this part is less likely to be blown off by the air flow. Therefore, when the edge treatment is completed and the gas injection from the gas discharge nozzle is stopped, there is a problem that the droplets remain on the edge on the back surface side of the substrate. When such droplets remain, they are dried and become spots, and this spot causes the generation of particles.

Therefore, it is conceivable to increase the suction capacity of the suction means in order to remove the solvent in the shadow portion. In this case, the effective thin film adjacent to the unnecessary thin film due to the formation of a strong air flow by the suction means. Even a small amount is sucked, which causes a thinning of the effective thin film, or a new problem that the effective thin film is pulled and multiple streak lines appear at the edge on the front surface side of the substrate. To do.

Further, the air flow jetted from the gas discharge nozzle collides with the substrate to cause turbulence in the air flow.
The turbulence of the air flow causes a problem that the solvent once blown off reattaches to the effective thin film of the substrate and contaminates the substrate. In order to solve this problem, it is sufficient to stop the gas injection from the gas discharge nozzle, but this causes a new problem that the solvent supplied to the edge of the substrate cannot be reliably removed.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate edge processing apparatus in which a solvent does not remain on the substrate edge.

[0009]

The invention according to claim 1 is
In a substrate edge processing apparatus for removing an unnecessary thin film on an edge of a substrate on which a thin film is formed, a substrate holding means for horizontally holding the substrate and a front surface side edge of the substrate held by the substrate holding means A solvent supply nozzle that supplies a solvent that dissolves the unnecessary thin film, a droplet scraping unit that scrapes the droplets of the solvent that are supplied by the solvent supply nozzle and remain on the rear side edge of the substrate, and the droplet scraping unit. Suction removing means for sucking the aggregated droplets scraped by and removing from the rear surface side edge.

According to the present invention, the unnecessary thin film formed on the edge of the substrate is discharged by discharging the solvent from the discharge port of the solvent supply nozzle to the edge on the front surface side of the substrate while the substrate is held by the substrate holding means. Dissolves in the solvent, the solvent containing the dissolved substance is sucked by the suction removing means, and the insoluble thin film on the edge of the substrate is removed. Then, the droplets formed so as to hang down from the back surface of the substrate are scraped by the droplet scraping means, become aggregated droplets, and the resistance to the airflow increases, and are reliably sucked and removed by the suction removing means. .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the liquid droplet scraping means includes a scraping member having a top portion facing the rear surface side edge of the substrate. To do.

According to the present invention, the droplets formed on the back surface of the substrate are scraped by the scraping member provided so as to face the rear surface side edge of the substrate, whereby a plurality of droplets are collected. Then, the droplets become aggregated droplets, and the volume of the droplets increases, so that the resistance to the air flow increases, and the droplets are peeled off by the air flow and sucked by the suction removing means.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, the scraping member is provided over substantially the entire length of the rear side edge of the substrate, and the droplet scraping means is the scraping member. Is provided with an advancing / retreating means for advancing / retreating with respect to the substrate together with the suction removing means.

According to the present invention, by retracting the advancing / retreating means, the droplets drooping on the back surface of the substrate are scraped by the scraping member in the direction away from the center of the substrate.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, in the second aspect of the invention, the scraping means has a moving means for moving the scraping member together with the suction means along the edge of the substrate. To do.

According to the present invention, by moving the scraping member along with the suction means along the edge of the substrate by the movement of the moving means, the liquid droplets hanging on the back surface of the substrate are scraped by the scraping member.

According to a fifth aspect of the invention, in the invention according to any one of the second to fourth aspects, the liquid droplet scraping means separates the scraping member from a position where the top of the scraping member is close to the back surface of the substrate. It is characterized in that it has an elevating means for elevating and lowering to and from the position.

According to the present invention, the top of the liquid droplet scraping member is brought close to the back surface of the substrate in synchronization with the retreat of the advancing / retreating means or the movement of the moving means, so that the liquid droplet drooping on the back surface of the substrate is scraped up. It is scraped by the member.

[0019]

1 is a schematic plan view showing an example of a substrate processing apparatus to which a substrate edge processing apparatus according to the present invention is applied, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. Is.
As shown in these figures, the substrate processing apparatus 1 includes an annular hood 2 that surrounds the outer periphery of a substrate B, a substrate support that supports and rotates the substrate B within the annular hood 2, and raises and lowers it as necessary. It has a basic configuration including a mechanism 3, a coating liquid supply means 4 for supplying a coating liquid to the surface of the substrate B supported by the substrate support mechanism 3, and a substrate edge processing device 5.

Examples of the substrate B include a glass substrate for liquid crystal, a glass substrate for photomask, a semiconductor wafer and the like. Further, as the coating liquid,
A photoresist solution, a photosensitive polyimide resin, and a dye for a color filter are used. Then, the substrate edge processing device 5 removes the unnecessary thin film formed on the edge of the surface of the substrate B due to the coating liquid.

The annular hood 2 is composed of a flat container having an open upper side, and has a circular bottom plate 21, an annular groove portion 22 radially extending on an outer peripheral edge portion of the bottom plate 21, and an outer peripheral edge portion of the annular groove portion 22. An annular weir portion 23 is provided so as to project obliquely upward from the above portion with an upper constriction. The bottom portion of the annular groove portion 22 is positioned lower than the bottom plate 21, and the upper edge portion of the annular dam portion 23 is positioned higher than the bottom plate 21. The annular weir 2 is formed on the bottom plate 21.
A substrate housing space 20 surrounded by 3 is formed, and the substrate B to be processed is housed in the substrate housing space 20.

A drain pipe 221 is connected to an appropriate position of the annular groove portion 22. The coating liquid is supplied from the coating liquid supply means 4 to the substrate B, and the excess amount of the substrate B rotated by the rotation is captured by the annular weir portion 23 and collected in the annular groove portion 22, and then the drain pipe 221. It is designed to be discharged to the outside of the system through the.

The substrate support mechanism 3 includes a support shaft 31 that vertically penetrates the center portion of the bottom plate 21 of the annular hood 2, a horizontal rotation support plate 32 fixed to the upper end of the support shaft 31, and the above-mentioned structure. It is provided with a rotary lifting mechanism 33 (FIG. 2) provided below the support shaft 31. The rotation elevating mechanism 33 has a drive means (not shown) incorporated therein, and drives the drive means to rotate or elevate the support shaft 31.

The rotation support plate 32 has the substrate B placed on the surface thereof in a state in which the movement in the circumferential direction is restricted,
For example, the substrate B is supported by the rotary support plate 32 in a state of being vacuum-adsorbed, and when the substrate B is supplied to or discharged from the rotary support plate 32, the rotary lifting mechanism as shown by the solid line in FIG. When the substrate B is rotated, it is pushed up to the upper position by the rise of the support shaft 31 by driving 33, and when the substrate B is rotated, it is pulled down to the lower part in the substrate storage space 20 as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. And board B
Is rotated by the rotary drive of the rotary elevating mechanism 33 while being loaded in the substrate storage space 20 by the lowering of the rotary support plate 32.

The coating liquid supply means 4 is provided with a vertical shaft 41 provided upright in the vicinity of the annular hood 2, a rotary arm 42 rotatably supported around the vertical shaft 41, and the rotary arm. Coating liquid discharge nozzle 43 provided at the tip of 42
Is equipped with. The discharge port of the coating liquid discharge nozzle 43 is directed downward. The rotating arm 42 is switchable between a coating liquid supply position where the coating liquid discharge nozzle 43 faces the central portion of the substrate B on the rotation support plate 32 and a standby position which is deviated to the side of the annular hood 2. There is. Further, the coating liquid stored in the coating liquid tank 44 is supplied to the coating liquid discharge nozzle 43 by driving the coating liquid pump 45.

According to the configuration of the substrate processing apparatus 1, the substrate B, which has been subjected to the predetermined processing in the previous step, is set on the rotation support plate 32 located at the upper position, and then rotated by the rotation lifting mechanism 33. By lowering the support plate 32, the rotary support plate 32 is lowered to the lower position shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 2, whereby the substrate B is loaded in the substrate storage space 20.

In this state, the rotating arm 42 of the coating liquid supply means 4 (FIG. 1) is rotated clockwise about the vertical axis 41 so that the coating liquid discharge nozzle 43 faces the central portion of the substrate B, and The coating liquid discharge nozzle 43 is driven by driving the coating liquid pump 45.
The coating liquid is discharged from the substrate and is supplied to the central portion of the surface of the substrate B. Then, the support shaft 31 is rotated by driving the rotary elevating mechanism 33. Then, the coating liquid discharged onto the surface of the substrate B diffuses in the radial direction of the substrate B due to the centrifugal force, whereby a uniform thin film is formed on the surface of the substrate B by the coating of the coating liquid.

Then, the excess coating liquid jumping outward from the edge portion of the substrate B is captured by the annular weir portion 23 of the annular hood 2, flows downward and flows in the annular groove portion 22, and from the drain pipe 221. Out of the system. Then, after a lapse of a predetermined time, the rotation of the substrate B is stopped, the support shaft 31 is raised by driving the rotation lifting mechanism 33, and the substrate B is pushed up to the upper position. At this time, a thin film of the coating liquid is formed on the entire surface of the substrate B.

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing the substrate B immediately after the thin film is formed by the substrate processing apparatus 1.
As shown in this figure, immediately after the thin film forming process is performed by the substrate processing apparatus 1, the substrate B is in a state where the thin film B0 is formed on the front surface, the edge portion, and the back surface side edge portion. There is. The reason why the thin film is formed on the edge portion other than the surface of the substrate B and the edge portion on the back surface side is that the coating liquid supplied to the surface of the substrate B wraps around.

By the way, of the thin film B0 formed on the substrate B, the only effective portion is the effective thin film B1 in the central portion surrounded by the alternate long and short dash line, and the effective thin film B1 exists outside the effective thin film B1. The so-called unnecessary thin film B2.

The unnecessary thin film B2 is a surface unnecessary thin film B3 formed at the front surface side edge of the substrate B, an edge unnecessary thin film B4 formed at the edge of the substrate B, and a back surface side of the substrate B. The unnecessary thin film B5 on the back surface side formed on the edge does not relate to the function of the substrate B. On the contrary, in the state where such an unnecessary thin film B2 is present, various processes are performed in subsequent substrate B processing steps. Therefore, the unnecessary thin film B2 is cleaned and removed by the substrate edge processing apparatus 5 according to the present invention. In this specification, the front surface side edge, the edge portion, and the back surface side edge are collectively referred to as an edge.

The substrate edge processing apparatus 5 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 2, the pair of nozzle decks 5 whose front ends are externally fitted to the edge of the substrate B and which are provided to face each other
1 and a pair of nozzle deck advancing / retreating means 55 for advancing / retreating the nozzle deck 51 with respect to the substrate B. The nozzle deck advancing / retreating means 55 is composed of a link mechanism 56 whose tip side is connected to the nozzle deck 51, and a drive section 57 for operating the link mechanism 56 and swinging the board B in parallel. The link mechanism 56 is configured to perform a predetermined link motion by driving the portion 57.

Each of the link mechanisms 56 is formed such that two of four equal-length link arms 56a are pivotally supported so as to be bendable. Each of the link arms 56a is pivotally supported by the nozzle deck 51 on the tip side of each two links, and the base end side of the link arms 56a is connected to the drive section 57.
By the bending and stretching movements by the driving of, the substrate B is moved forward and backward with respect to the upper position.

The nozzle deck 51 is a rotary lifting mechanism 3
3 is driven to set the same height as the substrate B located at the upper position (solvent supply position). Further, the length dimension of the nozzle deck 51 is set to be slightly longer than the long side of the substrate B, and it is possible to cope with the entire length of the edge of the substrate B by one advance / retreat operation by the nozzle deck advance / retreat means 55. It is like this.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of the liquid droplet scraping means 9. First, the nozzle deck 51 will be described with reference to this drawing. The nozzle deck 51 is composed of a suction pipe (suction removing means) 52 that extends in the horizontal direction, and a solvent supply pipe 53 that is provided in parallel to the front upper portion (left side in FIG. 4) of the suction pipe 52. Droplet scraping means 9 is provided below the suction pipe 52 so as to face the solvent supply pipe 53. A suction port 54 extending in the longitudinal direction is formed on the front surface of the suction tube 52 (the surface facing the substrate B) so as to face the edge of the substrate B.

In the suction pipe 52, as shown in FIG.
Suction branch pipes 52a are connected to the bottoms of both side ends, and flexible pipes 52b are connected to the suction branch pipes 52a. The downstream end of the flexible tube 52b is connected to a suction blower 59 via a predetermined pipe and a buffer tank 59a,
By driving the suction blower 59, the outside air is sucked into the suction port 5
4, the suction branch pipe 52a, the flexible pipe 52b, the buffer tank 59a, and the suction blower 59.
It is designed to be led out of the system through. The buffer tank 59a is used for gas-liquid separation of the suctioned substance sucked by the suction pipe 52, and the solvent separated here is separately extracted from the buffer tank 59a to remove the outside air from which the solvent has been removed. Only the suction blower 59 is discharged out of the system.

The solvent supply pipe 53 has a solvent supply nozzle 53a in the lower portion of which a plurality of discharge openings 53b (FIG. 8) are formed at equal pitches in the longitudinal direction. The unnecessary thin film B2 formed on the edge of the substrate B is dissolved by the discharge of the solvent from the discharge port 53b.

Next, the control of the edge processing of the substrate B will be described. In the present embodiment, the suction blower 59
A first control valve 81 (FIG. 1) is provided on the upstream side of. By closing the first control valve 81, the suction operation by the suction pipe (suction removing means) 52 is stopped even when the suction blower 59 is driven. Further, in the present embodiment, the suction blower 59 is always operated during the operation of the substrate processing apparatus 1, and the suction pipe 52 switches between suction and suction stop by the opening / closing operation of the first control valve 81 by the drive signal from the control device 80. I am trying to do it.

The solvent supply pipe 53 has a nitrogen gas N inside.
A nitrogen pipe for introducing the solvent is provided, and the solvent in the solvent tank 61 is pushed out by the pressure of the nitrogen gas N supplied into the solvent tank 61 via this pipe, whereby the solvent is discharged from the coating liquid discharge nozzle 43. It has become so. A regulator 62 is provided in the nitrogen pipe, and a pressure gauge 63 is provided on the regulator 62. The pressure gauge 63 controls the pressure of the nitrogen gas N. In addition, the solvent tank 61 is provided with a safety valve 64 that opens when the internal pressure becomes abnormally high, thereby ensuring safety.

In the present embodiment, a second control valve 82 is provided immediately downstream of the solvent tank 61, and by opening / closing this second control valve 82, the supply and stop of the supply of the solvent to the solvent supply pipe 53. The operation to switch between and can be performed. Then, in the present embodiment, the supply of the solvent to the solvent supply pipe 53 and the switching of the supply stop are switched by the opening / closing operation of the second control valve 82 by the drive signal from the control device 80.

Therefore, the suction port 54 of the nozzle deck 51
By opening the second control valve 82 and the first control valve 81 with (FIG. 4) fitted on the edge of the substrate B, the solvent in the solvent tank 61 is supplied with the solvent. The unnecessary thin film B of the substrate B is supplied to the inside of the pipe 53 and is discharged from the discharge port 53b of the solvent supply nozzle 53a toward the front surface side edge of the substrate B.
After 2 is removed by washing, it is sucked into the suction pipe 52 along with the outside air and discharged to the outside of the system.

As the above solvent, those capable of dissolving the coating liquid are used. If the coating liquid is a photoresist liquid, the solvent is acetone, ketones such as methyl ethyl ketone,
Esters such as ethyl acetate and butyl acetate, toluene,
Aromatic hydrocarbons such as xylene and benzene and halogenated hydrocarbons such as carbon tetrachloride and trichloroethylene are used. When the coating liquid is a dyeing agent, the solvent is 30 to 60 ° C hot water, methanol, ethanol,
Lower alcohols such as propanol, ethyl cellosob acetate (ECA), ethyl cellosolve (EC), propylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate (PG
MEA), polyhydric alcohols such as propylene glycol monomethyl ether (PGME), and acetone are used.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the substrate B as seen obliquely from below immediately after the cleaning process with only the solvent without using the droplet scraping means 9. As shown in this figure, when the edge of the substrate B is washed only with the solvent discharged from the solvent supply pipe 53 without using the liquid droplet scraping means 9, the solvent supplied to the edge on the front surface side of the substrate B is removed. The air flow of the outside air flowing into the suction pipe 52 is sucked into the suction pipe 52, but the vertical surface (edge portion) of the edge is behind the air flow, and the solvent attached to this portion is sucked by the air flow. Therefore, when the nozzle deck 51 is retracted to end the edge processing, the solvent remaining on the edge portion wraps around to the rear surface side edge, and a plurality of droplets B6 are formed in this portion. And remains. If such a droplet B6 remains on the back surface side edge of the substrate B, it will be dried and become a stain later, and this stain will cause the generation of particles.

Therefore, in the present invention, the liquid droplet scraping means 9 is employed to remove the liquid droplet B6 formed on the rear surface side edge of the substrate B so as to complete the substrate edge cleaning processing. There is. The droplet scraping means 9 according to the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, has a connection plate 90a extending forward from the lower edge of the suction pipe 52 of the nozzle deck 51, and this connection plate. It is composed of a liquid droplet scraping rod (scraping member) 90 fixed to the front edge of 90a.

The diameter of the droplet scraping rod 90 is set larger than the thickness of the connecting plate 90a, and the connecting plate 90a is fixed by welding or the like over the entire length in the longitudinal direction, whereby the droplet scraping rod 90 is scraped. The top of the approaching rod 90 is in a state of projecting above the upper surface of the connecting plate 90a. A gap into which the substrate B is fitted is formed between the top of the droplet scraping rod 90 and the lower surface of the solvent supply pipe 53, and the substrate B is moved forward by the nozzle deck 51.
The diameter of the liquid droplet scraping rod 90 is such that a slight space is formed between the top of the liquid droplet scraping rod 90 and the back surface of the substrate B in a state where the edge of the liquid droplet scraping rod 90 is fitted into the space. And the mounting position is set. Further, the droplet scraping rod 90 is provided in a state of being slightly inclined in the horizontal direction with respect to the edge of the substrate B.

6A and 6B are explanatory views for explaining the operation of the substrate edge processing apparatus 5. FIG. 6A is a state immediately after the solvent discharge to the edge of the substrate B is completed, and FIG. 6B is a nozzle. Deck 5
1 is being pulled back, (C) is the nozzle deck 5
1 shows the state of being pulled back, respectively. In FIG. 6, a cross-sectional view of the droplet scraping means 9 is shown on the left side of the paper surface, and a positional relationship between the edge of the substrate B and the droplet scraping rod 90 is shown in a plan view on the right side thereof.

First, by the advancement of the nozzle deck 51, the edge of the substrate B is fitted into the suction port 54 of the nozzle deck 51 until the state shown in FIG. And the second control valve 82 (FIG. 1) is opened, and the solvent is discharged from the solvent supply nozzle 53a by these opening.
And the discharged solvent is sucked into the suction pipe 52,
This removes the unnecessary thin film, and then the second control valve 8
The closing of 2 is performed. Therefore, in the state shown in (a) of FIG. 10, the solvent that has not been sucked into the suction pipe 52 remains in the droplet B6 at the rear surface side edge of the substrate B.

In this state, by pulling back the nozzle deck 51 (moving it to the right), the droplet B6 formed on the back surface of the substrate B is scraped by the droplet scraping rod 90. Since the droplet attracting rod 90 is slightly inclined with respect to the edge of the substrate B, each droplet B
6 is guided by this inclination and collected in one direction,
The aggregated droplet B6a has a large volume. This aggregate droplet B6
Since a has a larger volume, the resistance of the a to the air flow increases, so that the air is sucked into the suction pipe 52 by being peeled off from the end edge portion by the air flow toward the inside of the suction pipe 52 (indicated by a white arrow). To be done.

Therefore, when the nozzle deck 51 is pulled back to the storage position, as shown in FIG.
The liquid droplet B6 is completely removed from the rear surface side edge of the substrate B.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a second embodiment of the liquid droplet scraping means 9a, and FIG. 8 is a partially cutaway enlarged perspective view thereof. Further, FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 7. As shown in these drawings, the liquid droplet scraping means 9a of the second embodiment has a casing 91 fixed to the lower surface of the suction pipe 52, an actuator 93 composed of a hydraulic cylinder incorporated in this casing 91, and this casing 91. It is provided with a droplet scraping member 96 which is operated by the actuator 93. In this embodiment, the droplet scraping member 96 is made of stainless steel.
The casing 91 has a rectangular box shape having substantially the same width as the suction pipe 52 and extending over the entire length in the longitudinal direction thereof, and has an actuator support portion 92 protruding downward at the center thereof. The actuator 93 is mounted in the actuator support portion 92 with the piston rod 93a protruding upward.

The droplet scraping member 96 is composed of a connecting plate 96a protruding from the surface of the casing 91 facing the substrate B toward the substrate B, and a pair of left and right protruding from both ends of the connecting plate 96a toward the casing 91. Bracket part 96
b, and the scraping ridge 96c projecting upward in the longitudinal direction at the tip of the connecting plate 96a.
It consists of The connecting plate 96a is connected to the solvent supply pipe 53.
The width dimension is set so as to project in the direction of the center of the substrate B from the tip of the substrate.

On the other hand, inside the casing 91, a horizontal rod 95 is provided which penetrates the walls at both ends and is rotatable about its own axis, and the pair of bracket portions 96b is provided on the horizontal rod 95. It is fixed. Therefore, the liquid droplet scraping member 96 is adapted to rotate around the axis of the horizontal rod 95 together with the horizontal rod 95.

Then, in the substantially central portion of the horizontal rod 95,
A connecting rod 94 having a connecting elongated hole 94a extending toward the piston rod 93a and extending horizontally on the tip side is fixed. Such connecting rod 94
Is connected to the piston rod 93a via a pin 93b fitted in the connecting elongated hole 94a. Therefore,
The connecting rod 94 is rotated around the horizontal rod 95 every time the piston rod 93 a is retracted from the actuator 93, whereby the droplet scraping member 96 is moved by the horizontal rod 9.
It is designed to rotate about 5.

The casing 91 has a connecting plate 96.
The end face on the a side has a convex arcuate surface 91a centered on the axis of the horizontal rod 95, and the connecting plate 96a is centered on the axis on a surface facing the arc surface 91a, and It has a concave circular arc surface 96d whose radius is slightly larger than that of the convex circular arc surface 91a, whereby the connecting plate 96a is rotated in a state where both circular arc surfaces 91a and 96d are in sliding contact. .

On the front end side of the surface of the connecting plate 96a, a scraping protrusion 96c is provided so as to extend upward along the entire length in the longitudinal direction. In the present embodiment, the scraping protrusion 96c is formed in a semicircular shape in a sectional view as shown in FIG. 9, and the upper end edge of the nozzle deck 51 projects toward the substrate B. It is arranged to face the back surface of B in a state of being slightly separated. Further, in the present embodiment, the scraping protrusions 96c are set to have an angle so as to be slightly inclined with respect to the edge of the substrate B mounted on the rotation support plate 32.

The operation amount of the piston rod 93a is set so that the scraping ridge 96c is retracted and retracted within a range in which the scraping ridge 96c is separated from the substrate B and lightly presses the back surface of the substrate B. There is. Therefore, by projecting the nozzle deck 51 toward the substrate B supported by the rotation support plate 32, the scraping protrusions 96c are formed in a state where the front surface side edge of the substrate B is located below the solvent supply nozzle 53a. The upper end edge of the scraping ridge 96c is moved upward by the depression of the piston rod 93a by driving the actuator 93 so as to face the back surface of the substrate B. By retracting the deck 51, the scraping protrusions 96c are retracted in a state of being close to the back surface of the substrate B.

Further, in the second embodiment, the drive unit 5 of the nozzle deck advancing / retreating means 55 is controlled from the control device 80 (FIG. 1).
7 and the drive signal is output toward the actuator 93 of the droplet scraping means 9a, whereby the drive unit 57 and the actuator 93 are driven or stopped. Specifically, when the edge cleaning of the substrate B by the solvent discharge is completed and the suction pipe 52 is retracted, the control device 80 outputs a drive signal for retracting the suction pipe 52 to the drive unit 57, and In synchronization with this, a drive signal for lowering the piston rod 93a is output to the actuator 93. Therefore, when the nozzle deck 51 retracts, the scraping protrusion 9 caused by the lowering of the piston rod 93a.
As a result of the ascending of 6c, the upper edge thereof approaches the rear surface side edge of the substrate B, and the scraping protrusion 9 is maintained in the state where this proximity is maintained.
Since 6c retreats, this retreat causes the droplet B6 formed on the back surface side edge of the substrate B to be scraped.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view for explaining the operation of the substrate edge processing apparatus 5, where (a) is the state immediately after the end of the solvent discharge to the edge of the substrate B, and (b) is the nozzle. The state where the deck 51 is being pulled back, and (c) shows the state where the nozzle deck 51 is pulled back. In addition,
In FIG. 10, the liquid droplet scraping means 9a is arranged on the left side of the paper surface.
Is shown, and the right side of the same shows the positional relationship between the edge of the substrate B and the scraping protrusion 96c in a plan view.

First, in the state shown in FIG. 10A, the solvent that has not been sucked into the suction tube 52 remains as droplets B6 at the rear side edge of the substrate B. .

In this state, the actuator 93 is driven and the piston rod 93a descends. Then, the horizontal rod 95 is connected via the pin 93b and the connecting rod 94.
Rotates in the clockwise direction about its own axis, whereby the droplet scraping member 96 integrated with the horizontal rod 95 also rotates in the clockwise direction, and as shown in FIG. 96
The top edge of c is close to the back side edge of the substrate B.

In this state, by pulling back the nozzle deck 51 (moving it to the right), the droplet B6 formed on the back surface of the substrate B is scraped. Since the scraping protrusions 96c are slightly inclined with respect to the edge of the substrate B, each droplet B6 is guided by this inclination and collected in one direction, and a large volume of collected droplets. It becomes B6a. Since the volume of the aggregated droplets B6a increases as the volume increases, the resistance to the air flow increases, so that the air flow toward the inside of the suction pipe 52 (indicated by a white arrow) is peeled off from the end portion of the suction pipe. Suctioned into 52.

Therefore, when the nozzle deck 51 is pulled back to the storage position, as shown in FIG.
The liquid droplet B6 is completely removed from the rear surface side edge of the substrate B.

As described in detail above, the substrate edge processing apparatus 5 of the present invention drops liquid droplets on the lower portion of the nozzle deck 51 so as to face the rear edge of the substrate B mounted on the rotation support plate 32. A scraping member 96 is provided, and when the discharge of the solvent from the solvent supply pipe 53 is completed, the droplet scraping member 96 is rotated so that the scraping protrusion 96c at the leading end is brought close to the rear surface side edge of the substrate B. Since the nozzle deck 51 is pulled back in this state, the plurality of droplets B6 remaining on the back surface of the substrate B are attracted by the attracting protrusions 96c, thereby forming a large-volume aggregate droplet B6a. Is
This aggregated droplet B6a is sucked into the suction pipe 52. Thus, according to the substrate edge processing apparatus 5 of the present invention, conventionally,
Droplet B remaining on the back surface of substrate B that was difficult to remove by suction
Since 6 can be removed reliably, it is extremely effective in the cleaning process so that no solvent remains on the edge of the substrate B.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 11 shows the liquid droplet scraping means 9b of the third embodiment.
FIG. The droplet scraping means 9b of this embodiment is basically configured similarly to the droplet scraping means 9a of the second embodiment, but the droplet scraping means 9 is used.
The dimension in the longitudinal direction is set shorter than a. Instead, the droplet scraping means 9a can be moved along the edge of the substrate B by a drive mechanism (not shown).

The droplet scraping means 9b is the nozzle deck 5
10, a casing 910 of the same length dimension fixed to the lower surface of the casing 10, and a droplet scraping member 960 operated by an actuator installed in the casing 910. Further, the nozzle deck 510 is composed of the suction pipe 520 and the solvent supply pipe 530 similar to those in the second embodiment, and the suction port 540 communicated with the inside of the suction pipe 520 between the solvent supply pipe 530 and the droplet scraping member 960. Are formed. The solvent supply pipe 530 is provided with a solvent supply nozzle 530a similar to that of the second embodiment.

The droplet scraping member 960 can be rotated around the horizontal rod 950 by driving an actuator, and its mechanism is the same as that of the second embodiment. Further, the casing 910 is provided with one suction branch pipe 52a connected to the suction blower 59 (FIG. 1) through a flexible tube 52b on the bottom surface, and the suction blower 59 is driven to suck outside air through the suction port 540. Tube 520
It is designed to be sucked in.

The liquid droplet scraping member 960 includes a connecting plate 960a projecting from the surface of the casing 91 facing the substrate B toward the substrate B and left and right parts projecting from both ends of the connecting plate 960a toward the casing 910. It comprises a pair of bracket portions 960b and a scraping ridge 960c projecting upward at the tip of the connecting plate 960a so as to extend upward in the longitudinal direction. The connecting plate 960a
Has a width dimension so as to project toward the center of the substrate B from the tip of the solvent supply pipe 530.

The casing 910 is fixed to the upper end of the inverted L-shaped support base 58. The support pedestal 58 is movable along the edge of the substrate B by a drive mechanism (not shown) provided in the lower portion thereof, and the edge of the substrate B faces the suction port 540 by this movement. And is scanned by the suction port 540. Moreover, the supply of the solvent to the solvent supply pipe 530 is also configured in the same manner as in the second embodiment.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory view for explaining the operation of the third embodiment. (A) shows a state in which the nozzle deck 510 is reciprocating along the edge of the substrate B, and (b) shows The liquid droplet B6 at the edge of the substrate B is being scraped by the scraping protrusions 960c, (C) is the liquid droplet B6 being scraped to the corner of the substrate B, and (D) is the scraping state. Ridge 9
The state where the removal of the droplet B6 by 60c is completed is shown.

First, the nozzle deck 510 is initially set in FIG.
As indicated by the chain double-dashed line in (a) of 2, the scraping protrusions 96
0c is lowered to the standby position (a state similar to that shown in FIG. 10A). From this state, the nozzle deck 510 is moved in the direction of the edge of the substrate B, and the solvent is supplied from the solvent supply nozzle 530a to the edge of the substrate B to reciprocate, thereby cleaning the edge of the substrate B. To be executed.

When the nozzle deck 510 has been reciprocated a predetermined number of times, the nozzle deck 510 is once returned to the cleaning start position X as shown in FIG.
By raising the raking ridge 960c, as shown in FIG.
The same state as shown in (b) of. In this state, the nozzle deck 510 is moved toward the other corner of the substrate B. By doing so, the droplet B6 formed on the rear surface side edge of the substrate B is scraped by the scraping protrusion 960c to form a collective droplet B6a. Then, the aggregated droplets B6a that have grown to a predetermined size during the movement of the nozzle deck 510 are appropriately sucked into the suction pipe 520.

At the time when the scraping ridge 960c arrives at the other corner of the substrate B, as shown in FIG. 12C, the grown aggregate droplet B6a has the suction tube 5 at the corner.
It is in a state of being easily protruded and protruding in the direction of 20.
Then, as shown in FIG.
When 60c passes through the corner of the substrate B, the aggregated droplets B6a are scraped off by the scraping protrusions 960c and the suction pipe 52
A state in which all the droplets B6 that have been sucked into 0 and formed on the edge on the back surface side of the substrate B have been removed.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but the following embodiments can be adopted.

(1) In the second and third embodiments described above, the droplet scraping means 9a, 9b are connected to the droplet scraping members 96, 960 by the actuator 93 so as to be rotatable around the horizontal rod 95. As a result, the rear surface of the substrate B supported by the rotation support plate 32 and the scraping protrusion 9
6c and 960c are adjusted in the distance between the tops of the droplets 6c and 960c. Instead of providing the droplet scraping means 9a, the droplet scraping rod 90 of the first embodiment is provided below the suction pipe 52. Alternatively, the distance between the back surface of the substrate B and the top of the droplet scraping rod 90 may be adjusted by setting the height position of the substrate B by driving the rotation lifting mechanism 33 instead.

(2) In the above embodiment, the solvent supply pipe 53 supplies the solvent only to the front surface side edge of the substrate B. However, the solvent supply pipe 53 targets the rear surface side edge of the substrate B. A tube may be provided so that the solvent may be supplied also to the back surface of the substrate B. By doing so, the back surface side unnecessary thin film B due to the coating liquid sneaking up on the back surface of the substrate B
5 is surely dissolved.

(3) In the above embodiment, only the solvent supply pipes 53, 530 are provided in the nozzle decks 51, 510, but in addition to the solvent supply pipes 53, 530, a gas supply pipe and a gas discharge nozzle. May be provided to blow off the solvent supplied to the edge by the gas discharged from the gas discharge nozzle toward the inside of the suction pipe 52.

(4) Substrate edge processing apparatus 5 of the above embodiment
Is mainly a glass substrate for a liquid crystal, a glass substrate for a photomask, or a substrate B such as a semiconductor wafer, on the surface of which a thin film such as a photoresist coating liquid, a photosensitive polyimide resin, a dyeing agent for a color filter is formed. It is applied to remove the unnecessary thin film B2 formed on the edge of the substrate B. However, the present invention is not limited to the use only for removing the unnecessary thin film, and is supplied to the edge of the substrate B before development. The developing solution is regarded as a solvent, and the developing solution can be suitably applied to the so-called development accelerating processing in which the edge portion of the substrate B is developed.

(5) In the above-described second embodiment, after the cleaning process of the pair of opposite edges of the substrate B is completed, the nozzle deck 51 is retracted, and the substrate B is rotated 90 ° in this state. After that, the nozzle deck 51 can be advanced again to perform the cleaning process on the other pair of opposite edges. By doing this,
When the substrate B is mounted on the rotation support plate 32 once, the four edges of the substrate B are cleaned.

(6) In the above embodiment, the liquid droplet scraping rod 90 and the scraping protrusions 96c, 96c are made of metal such as stainless steel. However, instead of being made of metal, they are made of synthetic resin. Good. Alternatively, a woven cloth or a sponge having a liquid absorbing performance may be applied. A material having such a liquid absorption performance is scraped off and the protrusions 96c, 96
When applied to 0c, the wiping function for the droplet B6 is improved, and the droplet B6 is absorbed by the wiping function, so that the droplet B6 can be removed more reliably.

(7) In the above embodiment, the droplet scraping rod 90 and the scraping protrusions 96c, 960c.
Has its top close to the back surface of the rectangular substrate B, but if the back surface side edge of the substrate B does not interfere with contact with another object, the droplet scraping rod 90
The tops of the above may be lightly contacted with the back surface of the substrate B. By doing so, the effect of scraping the droplet B6 by the droplet scraping rod 90 or the like is improved.

[0081]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate holding means for holding the substrate horizontally, and a solvent for supplying a solvent for dissolving the unnecessary thin film to the front side edge of the substrate held by the substrate holding means. A supply nozzle, a liquid droplet scraping unit that scrapes liquid droplets of the solvent that are supplied by the solvent supply nozzle and remain on the rear surface side edge of the substrate, and suction of the aggregate liquid droplets that are scraped by the liquid droplet scraping unit. Since it has a suction removing means for removing the solvent from the back side edge, the solvent is discharged from the discharge port of the solvent supply nozzle to the front side edge of the substrate while the substrate is held by the substrate holding means. By discharging,
The unnecessary thin film formed on the edge of the substrate is dissolved in the solvent, the solvent containing the dissolved substance is sucked by the suction removing means, and the insoluble thin film on the edge of the substrate is removed.

Since the droplets formed so as to hang down from the back surface of the substrate are scraped by the droplet scraping means, it is possible to surely remove the solvent which has been difficult to be completely removed by the suction process in the past. It becomes possible to remove it, which is convenient for surely preventing generation of particles due to drying of the solvent remaining on the edge of the substrate.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the liquid droplet scraping means is provided on the back surface of the substrate because it has the scraping member having the apex facing the back surface side edge of the substrate. The droplet is attracted by the attracting member,
As a result, a plurality of droplets are aggregated into aggregated droplets, the volume of which is increased, the resistance to the airflow is increased, and the droplets are peeled off by the airflow to be sucked by the suction removal means to ensure the droplets. Effective in removing.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the scraping member is provided over substantially the entire length of the rear surface side edge of the substrate, and the droplet scraping means includes the scraping member together with the suction removing means. Since there is an advancing / retreating means for advancing / retreating with respect to the substrate, by retracting the advancing / retreating means, the droplets drooping on the back surface of the substrate are scraped by the scraping member in the direction away from the center of the substrate. Is effective for surely removing.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, the scraping means has the moving means for moving the scraping member together with the suction means along the edge of the substrate. By moving the attracting member along the edge of the substrate together with the suction means, the droplets drooping on the back surface of the substrate are attracted by the attracting member, which is effective for surely removing the droplets.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, the liquid droplet scraping means has a lifting means for moving the scraping member up and down between a position where the top of the scraping member is close to the back surface of the substrate and a position where the scraping member is separated. Therefore, by bringing the top of the liquid droplet scraping member close to the back surface of the substrate in synchronization with the retreat of the advancing / retreating means or the movement of the moving means, the liquid droplet drooping on the back surface of the substrate is surely scratched by the scraping member. You will get closer.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing an example of a substrate processing apparatus to which a substrate edge processing apparatus according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a substrate B immediately after a thin film is formed by the substrate processing apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of a liquid droplet scraping unit.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a substrate immediately after being subjected to edge cleaning processing with only a solvent without using a liquid droplet scraping means, as viewed from obliquely below.

6A and 6B are explanatory diagrams for explaining the operation of the substrate edge processing apparatus. FIG. 6A is a state immediately after the solvent discharge to the edge of the substrate is finished, and FIG. 6B is a nozzle deck being pulled back. In a certain state, (c) shows the state where the nozzle deck is pulled back.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a second embodiment of a droplet scraping unit.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged perspective view of a partially cutaway portion of the liquid droplet scraping means shown in FIG.

9 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the substrate edge processing apparatus, where (a) is a state immediately after the solvent discharge to the edge of the substrate is finished, and (b) is a nozzle deck being pulled back. In a certain state, (c) shows the state where the nozzle deck is pulled back.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a third embodiment of a droplet scraping unit.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the droplet scraping means of the third embodiment, in which (a) shows a state in which the nozzle deck is reciprocating along the edge of the substrate B, (b) ) Is a state in which the liquid droplets at the edge of the substrate B are being scraped by the scraping ridges, (c) is a state in which the liquid droplets are being scraped to the corners of the substrate, and (d) is the scraping ridges. Each of the states shows that the removal of the droplets by is completed.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Substrate processing equipment 2 ring hood 3 Substrate support mechanism 4 Coating liquid supply means 5 Substrate edge processing equipment 51 nozzle deck 52 Suction tube 53 Solvent supply pipe 53a Solvent supply nozzle 54 Suction port 55 Nozzle deck advance / retreat means 9,9a, 9b Droplet scraping means 90 Liquid droplet scraping rod (scraping member) 91,910 Casing 93 Actuator 94 Connecting rod 95 horizontal rod 96,960 Droplet scraping member 96a connecting plate B board B2 unnecessary thin film B6 droplet

Continuation of the front page (56) Reference JP-A-7-297120 (JP, A) JP-A-7-47324 (JP, A) JP-A-52-29832 (JP, A) JP-A-6-163389 (JP , A) JP-A-8-124819 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01L 21/027 G03F 7/16

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A substrate edge processing apparatus for removing an unnecessary thin film on an edge of a substrate having a thin film formed on the surface thereof, wherein the substrate holding means holds the substrate horizontally, and the surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding means. A solvent supply nozzle for supplying a solvent for dissolving the unnecessary thin film to a side edge, and a liquid droplet scraping means for scraping a droplet of the solvent supplied by the solvent supply nozzle and remaining on the rear surface side edge of the substrate, A substrate edge processing apparatus comprising: a suction removing unit that sucks the aggregated liquid droplets scraped by the liquid droplet scraping unit and removes the collected liquid droplets from the rear surface side edge. 2. The substrate edge processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the droplet scraping means includes a scraping member having a top portion facing a rear surface side edge of the substrate. Edge processing device. 3. The substrate edge processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the scraping member is provided over substantially the entire length of the rear surface side edge of the substrate, and the droplet scraping means includes the scraping member. A substrate edge processing apparatus, characterized by having advancing / retreating means for advancing / retreating with respect to a substrate together with suction / removal means. 4. The substrate edge processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the scraping unit has a moving unit that moves the scraping member along with the suction unit along the edge of the substrate. Edge processing device. 5. The substrate edge processing apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the liquid droplet scraping means has a position where the top of the scraping member is close to the back surface of the substrate.
A substrate edge processing apparatus, comprising: a raising / lowering means for raising / lowering between a separated position.