JP3454469B2 - Substrate drying 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 substrate drying apparatus, and more particularly to a substrate drying apparatus attached to a substrate to be processed (an object to be dried) such as a semiconductor substrate after a cleaning process and a glass substrate for liquid crystal in a semiconductor manufacturing process. The present invention relates to a substrate drying device that dries droplets.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a semiconductor manufacturing process, a drying process is carried out in order to dry droplets adhering to the surface of a substrate to be processed such as a semiconductor substrate and a glass substrate for liquid crystal after the cleaning process. . As a method for drying the substrate to be processed, for example, a substrate drying apparatus has been developed which sprays a water-soluble alcohol onto a rotating substrate. Such a conventional technique is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-310486. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a conventional substrate drying apparatus that sprays water-soluble alcohol onto such a rotating substrate.

As shown in FIG. 7, a conventional substrate drying apparatus has four arms 44 radially extending around a rotary shaft 42 and a disk-shaped semiconductor substrate 50 (hereinafter referred to as a semiconductor substrate 50) at the tip of the arms 44. , Referred to as a substrate) for holding the outer peripheral edge of the substrate 4
6 and a spin chuck 40 including Then, the spin chuck 40 attaches the substrate 50 to the four arms 4
The substrate 50 is held concentrically on the substrate 4. Further, the spin chuck 40 is provided with a rotary shaft 42 to which an arm 44 extends downward and is connected to the spin chuck 40.
A drive motor (not shown) is connected to the drive motor 2. Therefore,
The spin chuck 40 can be rotated by being driven by a drive motor connected to the rotation shaft 42 and simultaneously rotate the substrate 50.

In the conventional substrate drying apparatus, a nozzle 48 for spraying a gas containing a vapor (vapor) of water-soluble alcohol is arranged above the spin chuck 40. Although not shown, the nozzle 48 is connected to a supply device that mixes and supplies water-soluble isopropyl alcohol vapor and nitrogen gas.

Therefore, the conventional substrate drying device is configured such that the substrate 50
The liquid droplets adhering to the surface of the substrate 50 can be blown off by rotating the and applying a centrifugal force and by blowing a gas containing a vapor of water-soluble alcohol.
In detail, the gas containing the vapor of the water-soluble alcohol sprayed on the surface of the substrate 50 is dissolved in some droplets attached to the surface of the substrate 50 to reduce the surface tension, thereby rotating the substrate 50. Improves the breakage of liquid droplets at times. In this way, the gas containing the vapor of the water-soluble alcohol dissolved in the liquid droplets improves the vapor of the liquid droplet portion and evaporates the liquid droplets together with the alcohol content.

However, in such a conventional substrate drying apparatus, the peripheral portion of the substrate 50 to which a large centrifugal force is applied due to the rotation is dried, and then the liquid is spread from the central portion to the peripheral portion by blowing gas. Therefore, the substrate 50
On the surface of, the unevenness of drying and the watermark were caused. In particular, this defect often occurs in large-sized substrates and is remarkable in rectangular substrates.

In order to solve such a problem, there is known a method in which a dry gas is blown onto the surface of an object to be dried (large or rectangular substrate) to blow off the adhered droplets.
In addition, in a drying method of spraying a dry gas, in order to prevent re-adhesion of mist, a method of sucking the sprayed gas has been developed. As a substrate drying apparatus equipped with a means for sucking the gas thus sprayed,
The applicant of the present application has already filed an application according to JP-A-7-35478. FIG. 8 is a plan view showing another embodiment of the conventional substrate drying apparatus provided with such a means for sucking the blown gas.

As shown in FIG. 8, another embodiment of the conventional substrate drying apparatus provided with a suction means is an article to be dried 70.
The gas pipe 6 installed as a blowing means is installed above and the facing surface orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the object to be dried 70 is inclined.
3 is provided with an air knife 62 communicating with the same. The air knife 62 is provided with injection slits 62a with a minute interval in the anti-conveyance direction, and is also provided with intake ducts 64 arranged in parallel at the front and rear in the conveyance direction for intake. Further, the intake duct 64 is provided with the air knife 62.
The intake ports 64a are opened inside of the respective positions.
Both sides of the air knife 62 and the air intake duct 64 are fixed by mounting fittings 69.

Therefore, in another embodiment of the conventional substrate drying apparatus, the droplets 65 on the object to be dried 70 are blown off by the jet gas jetted from the air knife 62 for rapid drying.
At this time, the mist generated on the surface of the material to be dried 70 is sucked by the intake duct 64 on the side opposite to the conveyance side, and the air knife 62 is further sucked.
The suction duct 64 on the transport side of the suction unit sucks and prevents the mist from reattaching. An exhaust fan 68 is connected to the intake duct 64, and the suction duct 64 sucks the mist and discharges the mist to a predetermined outside.

Therefore, according to another embodiment of the conventional substrate drying apparatus, the droplets can be jetted by the jet gas to perform rapid drying. Further, at this time, the generated mist is sucked by the intake duct, so that the reattachment of the mist can be prevented and the generation of the watermark can be prevented. Further, even after passing through the air knife, air is taken in by the air intake duct, so that the drying can be surely performed.

As described above, in the conventional substrate drying apparatus, the material to be dried is dried by either spraying the water-soluble alcohol on the rotating substrate or spraying the drying gas to blow off the droplets adhering to the substrate surface. Was running.

[0012]

However, in the conventional substrate drying apparatus, in the case of the apparatus for spraying the gas containing the water-soluble alcohol onto the rotating substrate shown in FIG. 7, the droplets are generated by the centrifugal force as described above. Since it spreads to the peripheral portion, there is a problem that unevenness in drying and water marks are generated particularly on a substrate such as a large substrate or a rectangular substrate.

Further, in the conventional substrate drying apparatus, in the case of the apparatus for blowing the drying gas shown in FIG. 8 to blow off the droplets adhering to the surface of the object to be dried, the droplets on the object to be dried are effectively removed. In order to do this, the conveying speed of the dried material is 2.5 m
/ Min or less, spraying speed of about 200 m / s
It is necessary to set the value above a certain level, the throughput (processing time) is slow, and the gas usage is large.

It is an object of the present invention to solve the above problems and to provide a substrate drying apparatus which can reduce the amount of gas used to improve the throughput and can efficiently and effectively dry an object to be dried.

[0015]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the embodiment of the substrate drying apparatus according to the present invention is to be dried.
Conveying means for placing dried matter and conveying it in a predetermined direction, and
While moving close to the surface of the dried food,
Blowing a gas containing water-soluble alcohol vapor
And a spraying means of water-soluble alcohol
It is equipped with a supply means for supplying a gas containing vapor and is dried.
A state in which the dry matter is conveyed by the conveying means and is moving, or
Is sprayed in one of the stopped and transported states
Move the spraying means back and forth and left and right to dissolve water on the surface
To spray gas containing vapor of alcohol
More effectively dry the droplets adhering to the surface of the material to be dried.
In addition, the spraying device is placed in parallel on the top of the transporting device.
Place this parallel surface so that it can be tilted at an angle of 0 ° to 60 °.
To reduce the placement space at the bottom.

[0016] Here, the upper portion of the material to be dried, providing an intake duct for sucking the move with spraying means sprayed on the surface of the material to be dried gas least at one location
Is preferred. In addition, the intake duct is located before and after the blowing means.
It is preferable to dispose two locations in parallel on both sides. Also,
The blowing means and the intake duct are parallel to the top of the conveying means.
Placed at a predetermined angle on the facing surface orthogonal to the transport direction.
It is preferable to install it at an inclination. Also sprayer
The stage is sprayed with gas containing water-soluble alcohol vapor
It is preferably an air knife.

Further , it is preferable to further dispose, on the upper part of the conveying means, a spraying means for draining liquid for draining the material to be dried before performing the drying process by the spraying means.
In addition, the intake duct, together with the conveying means and the blowing means,
It is preferable that the tilt angle is 0 ° to 60 °. Also, the gas containing the water-soluble alcohol vapor,
It is preferable to supply the material to be dried onto the surface of the material via an ejector.

Further, it is preferable that the supply means is formed so as to generate and supply a gas containing the vapor of the water-soluble alcohol by supplying a dry gas into the water-soluble alcohol and bubbling it. As another embodiment of the supplying means, the gas containing water-soluble alcohol vapor is generated and supplied by mixing a dry gas into a mist generated by heating the water-soluble alcohol with a heater. Preferably. Further, as still another embodiment of the supply means, the water-soluble alcohol is atomized by an ultrasonic atomizer, and a vapor of the water-soluble alcohol is contained by mixing a dry gas into the atomized mist. It is preferable that the gas is generated and supplied. Here, the dry gas is preferably nitrogen gas.

Further, the that person direction to the blowing means and the intake duct moving <br/>, it is preferable to provide to drive in the opposite direction to the conveying direction of the conveying means. In addition, spray can with means
The intake duct, is preferably provided to further slide on both sides direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the material to be dried. Further, the material to be dried is preferably a substrate to be processed such as a semiconductor substrate or a glass substrate for liquid crystal.

[0020]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Next, an embodiment of a substrate drying apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a first embodiment of a substrate drying apparatus according to the present invention. Further, FIG. 2 shows A-A shown in FIG.
It is sectional drawing which shows the cross section of a line.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the first embodiment of the substrate drying apparatus according to the present invention, a carrying means (not shown) for carrying the article to be cleaned 1 and the article to be cleaned carried by the carrying means. An air knife 2 for blowing a gas containing a water-soluble alcohol vapor onto the surface of the object 1, and this air knife 2
In parallel with the above, it is provided with intake ducts 4 arranged at two positions in the front and rear of the conveyance direction for intake, and a supply means 10 for supplying the air knife 2 with gas containing a vapor of water-soluble alcohol.

Here, the air knife 2 is arranged above the article to be cleaned 1 and is arranged such that the facing surface orthogonal to the conveying direction of the article to be cleaned 1 is inclined at a predetermined angle. Here, it is desirable that the angle be inclined at 35 ° to 45 °. In addition, the air knife 2 has an injection slit 2a formed with a minute gap in the opposite conveying direction.
Is provided. Further, the air knife 2 is fixed between the intake ducts 4 by providing mounting fittings 9 on both sides.

Further, the intake ducts 4 are arranged at two positions in parallel with the air knife 2 before and after in the conveying direction, and are installed so as to suck the gas containing the vapor of the water-soluble alcohol ejected from the air knife 2. ing. The air intake duct 4 has an air intake port 4a open on the inner side of each of the air knives 2. Further, an exhaust fan 8 is connected to the intake duct 4 via a pipe line 8a.

A supply means 10 for supplying a gas containing a vapor of water-soluble alcohol is connected to the air knife 2 through a conduit 10c. This supply means 10
Is a storage tank 10a for storing water-soluble isopropyl alcohol (hereinafter referred to as IPA), and a pipeline 10c extending from the storage tank 10a and connected to both sides of the air knife 2.
And a pipeline 10b for supplying nitrogen gas to the storage tank 10a. Therefore, in the storage tank 10a, the stored I
Nitrogen gas is supplied into the PA 3 through the conduit 10b and mixed (saturated) to generate a gas containing a vapor of a water-soluble alcohol. Then, this gas is supplied to the air knife 2 through the conduit 10c and sprayed onto the surface of the article to be cleaned 1.

Here, in the substrate drying apparatus according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 2, the air knife 2, the air intake duct 4, and the conveying means (not shown) are tilted at a predetermined angle θ, and the apparatus shown in FIG.
It can be tilted like the one-dot chain line shown in. This substrate drying apparatus can tilt the tilt angle θ within the range of 0 ° to 60 °. In this way, the air knife 2,
By inclining the intake duct 4 and the transfer means at a predetermined angle θ, the installation space at the bottom of the substrate drying apparatus is set from the width B to the width B ′ shown in FIG. Can be reduced to.

When the drying step is executed by the substrate drying apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention thus formed, first, the article to be dried 1 is placed on the carrying means. And
Nitrogen gas is supplied to the supply means 10 via a pipe 10b. As a result, in the storage tank 10, the stored IPA
3 and nitrogen gas are mixed to generate a gas containing a water-soluble alcohol vapor. And this gas is pipe 1
It is supplied to the air knife 2 by 0c and is sprayed toward the surface of the article to be cleaned 1 being conveyed by the conveying means. As a result, the material to be dried 1 is rapidly dried by blowing off droplets by the jet gas jetted from the air knife 2.

On the surface of the material to be dried 1, mist is generated when the droplets 5 are blown off by the air knife 2. This mist is sucked by two air intake ducts 4 arranged in parallel with the air knife 2 in the front and rear in the transport direction,
It is prevented from reattaching to the surface of the article to be dried 1. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, by inclining the air knife 2, the intake duct 4, and the conveying means at a predetermined angle θ, the droplets attached to the surface of the article to be dried 1 flow along the inclination. Easy to remove.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, since the gas containing the vapor of the water-soluble alcohol is jetted by the air knife 2 onto the surface of the material to be dried 1 to be conveyed, this gas is dried. The upper droplets can be blown off and dried quickly. Further, according to the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, since the entire device can be tilted at a predetermined angle, the arrangement space can be reduced as compared with the conventional device shown in FIG. In addition to being able to perform, effective drying can be performed.

Next, a second embodiment of the substrate drying apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a second embodiment of the substrate drying apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the operation of the substrate drying apparatus shown in FIG. Further, FIG. 5 is a plan view showing still another operation of the substrate drying apparatus shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, in the second embodiment of the substrate drying apparatus according to the present invention, as in the first embodiment, a conveyance means (not shown) for conveying the article to be cleaned 1 is provided. An air knife 2 for blowing a gas containing a water-soluble alcohol vapor onto the surface of the article to be cleaned 1 conveyed by this conveying means, and two air knives arranged in parallel with the air knife 2 in the front and rear direction in the conveying direction. The air intake duct 4 and the supply means 20 for supplying the gas containing the vapor of the water-soluble alcohol to the air knife 2 are provided.

Here, the air knife 2 is arranged above the object to be cleaned 1 and is arranged such that the facing surface orthogonal to the conveying direction of the object to be cleaned 1 is inclined at a predetermined angle. Here, it is desirable that the angle be inclined at 35 ° to 45 °. In addition, the air knife 2 has an injection slit 2a formed with a minute gap in the opposite conveying direction.
Is provided. Further, unlike the first embodiment, the air knife 2 is provided so as to be movable in the front-back and left-right directions shown in FIG. Therefore, when the gas containing the vapor of the water-soluble alcohol is sprayed onto the surface of the object to be cleaned 1, the air knife 2 moves in the front-rear, left-right direction and sprays the gas, so that the processing time can be shortened.

Further, the intake ducts 4 are arranged at two positions in parallel with the air knife 2 in the front and rear of the carrying direction so as to suck in the mist generated by the gas containing the vapor of the water-soluble alcohol ejected from the air knife 2. It is installed in. The air intake duct 4 has an air intake port 4a open on the inner side of each of the air knives 2. In addition, the intake duct 4
An exhaust fan 8 is connected to the pipe via a pipe line 8a. Unlike the first embodiment, the intake duct 4 is formed so as to be driven simultaneously with the operation of the air knife 2.

A supply means 20 for supplying a gas containing a water-soluble alcohol vapor is connected to the air knife 2 through a conduit 20e. This supply means 20
Is different from the first embodiment, a storage tank 20a for storing the IPA 3, a pipeline 20e extending from the storage tank 20a and connected to both sides of the air knife 2, and a pipeline 20e.
Ejector 22 to be installed in the middle of the
2, a pipeline 20d for supplying nitrogen gas, a pipeline 20c for supplying nitrogen gas to the storage tank 20a, and a heater 20b arranged at the bottom of the storage tank 20a for heating.

Therefore, the stored I is stored in the storage tank 20a.
Nitrogen gas is supplied to the steam generated by heating PA3 by the heater 20b through the conduit 20c. As a result, in the storage tank 20a, the vapor of IPA3 and the nitrogen gas are mixed (saturated) to generate a gas containing the vapor of the water-soluble alcohol. Then, this gas is supplied to the air knife 2 through the conduit 20e and sprayed onto the surface of the article to be cleaned 1. At this time, the ejector 22 is attached to the conduit 20e, and the conduit 20d is connected to the ejector 22. Therefore, the gas containing the vapor of the water-soluble alcohol is supplied to the air knife 2 by generating a negative pressure (vacuum) in the ejector 22 by supplying the nitrogen gas to the conduit 20d at a predetermined speed.

Here, in the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the air knife 2, the intake duct 4, and the conveying means (not shown) are arranged at a predetermined angle. Can be tilted. Therefore, in the second embodiment, the installation space of the device can be reduced as in the first embodiment.

When the drying process is executed by the second embodiment of the substrate drying apparatus according to the present invention thus formed, there are two drying methods. First, in the first method, the material to be dried 1 is placed on the upper part of the transport means, and the material to be dried 1 placed by the transport means is transported to a predetermined position and stopped.
Then, as described above, IPA3 and nitrogen gas are mixed in the supply means 20 to generate a gas containing the vapor of the water-soluble alcohol. This gas is supplied to the air knife 2 via the ejector 22 and is ejected onto the surface of the article to be dried 1. At this time, the air knife 2 and the intake duct 4 are
As shown in FIG. 4, it moves from a predetermined position in a direction opposite to the conveyance direction of the article to be cleaned 1 (rearward direction shown in FIG. 3) and blows gas to a predetermined range. Then, when the air knife 2 and the intake duct 4 move within a predetermined range and the blowing is completed, the air knife 2 and the intake duct 4 return to their original positions and stand by. At the same time, the carrying means again carries the article to be cleaned 1 and carries it to the position of the surface not sprayed by the air knife 2 and stops.
After that, by repeating the above-mentioned operation, the material to be dried 1
Sprays the liquid droplets by the spray gas sprayed from the air knife 2 to dry quickly. Further, on the surface of the material to be dried 1, mist is generated when the droplets 5 are blown off by the air knife 2. This mist is sucked by the two intake ducts 4 arranged in parallel with the air knife 2 and prevented from reattaching to the surface of the material to be dried 1. Also,
As in the prior art shown in FIG. 2, by tilting the air knife 2, the air intake duct 4, and the conveying means at a predetermined angle, the droplets adhering to the surface of the material to be dried 1 flow along the tilt. Easy to remove.

On the other hand, in the second method, similarly to the first method, the gas containing the vapor of the water-soluble alcohol is generated in the supply means 20 and is supplied to the air knife 2. Then, the article to be dried 1 is placed on the upper part of the conveying means and conveyed in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 5 (forward direction shown in FIG. 3). An air knife 2 is attached to the surface of the material to be dried 1 thus conveyed.
The gas ejected from is sprayed. At this time, the air knife 2 and the intake duct 4 spray gas while reciprocating in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 5 (the left-right direction shown in FIG. 3). As a result, the material to be dried 1 is rapidly dried by blowing off droplets by the spray gas sprayed from the air knife 2. Further, on the surface of the material to be dried 1, mist is generated when the droplets 5 are blown off by the air knife 2. This mist is sucked by the two intake ducts 4 arranged in parallel with the air knife 2 and prevented from reattaching to the surface of the material to be dried 1. Further, similarly to the prior art shown in FIG. 2, by inclining the air knife 2, the air intake duct 4, and the conveying means at a predetermined angle, the droplets attached to the surface of the article to be dried 1 are inclined along the inclination. It flows and becomes easy to remove.

As described above, according to the second embodiment, the gas containing the vapor of the water-soluble alcohol can be injected onto the surface of the material to be dried so that the entire apparatus can be inclined at a predetermined angle. Therefore, the same effect as the first embodiment can be obtained.

Further, according to the second embodiment, the air knife and the air intake duct are formed so as to be movable in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction so that the drying process can be executed. be able to.

Next, with reference to FIG. 6, a third embodiment of the substrate drying apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail. Figure 6
[FIG. 8] is a plan view showing a third embodiment of a substrate drying apparatus according to the present invention. Here, the constituent elements other than the supply means 30 and the liquid cutting air knife 6 in the third embodiment are the same constituent elements as in the second embodiment, and the same reference numerals are given to the same constituent elements. , Duplicate description will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 6, in the third embodiment of the substrate drying apparatus according to the present invention, as in the second embodiment, a transport means (not shown) for transporting the article to be cleaned 1 is provided. An air knife 2 for blowing a gas containing a water-soluble alcohol vapor onto the surface of the article to be cleaned 1 conveyed by this conveying means, and two air knives arranged in parallel with the air knife 2 in the front and rear direction in the conveying direction. And an intake duct 4 for

The third embodiment is different from the second embodiment in that the object to be cleaned 1 is drained before the gas containing the vapor of the water-soluble alcohol is sprayed by the air knife 2. An air knife 6 is provided. The liquid cutting air knife 6 is installed in front of the air knife 2 in the opposite direction of travel, and is provided so that the object to be cleaned 1 can be dried with a short throughput (processing time) by performing liquid cutting in advance.

Further, the third embodiment differs from the second embodiment in that the IP stored by the ultrasonic atomizer 30b is stored.
It is provided with a supply means 30 for generating water vapor of water-soluble alcohol by atomizing A3 and mixing it with nitrogen gas. The supply means 30 stores a storage tank 30a for storing IPA3, and I for supplying IPA3 to the storage tank 30a.
The PA supply unit 30g, a conduit 30e extending from the storage tank 30a and connected to both sides of the air knife 2, and this conduit 30
The ejector 32 mounted in the middle of e, the pipeline 30d for supplying nitrogen gas to the ejector 32, and the storage tank 30a
The pipe line 30c for supplying nitrogen gas to the tank and the IP stored in the storage tank 30a by ultrasonic waves arranged at the bottom of the storage tank 30a.
An ultrasonic atomizer 30b for atomizing A3 is provided.

Therefore, the stored I is stored in the storage tank 30a.
PA3 is atomized by the ultrasonic atomizer 30b, and nitrogen gas is supplied thereto through the conduit 30c. As a result, in the storage tank 30a, the mist (vapor) of IPA3 and the nitrogen gas are mixed (saturated) to generate gas containing the vapor of the water-soluble alcohol. Then, this gas is supplied to the air knife 2 through the conduit 30e and is sprayed onto the surface of the article to be cleaned 1. At this time, the ejector 32 is attached to the conduit 30e.
Is attached to the ejector 32 and the conduit 30d is attached.
Are connected. Therefore, the gas containing the vapor of the water-soluble alcohol is supplied to the air knife 2 by generating a negative pressure (vacuum) in the ejector 32 by supplying the nitrogen gas to the conduit 30d at a predetermined speed.

When the drying process is performed by the substrate drying apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention thus formed, the IPA 3 is supplied in the supplying means 30 as described above.
And nitrogen gas are mixed to generate a gas containing a vapor of a water-soluble alcohol. This gas is ejector 32
It is supplied to the air knife 2 through the and is jetted to the surface of the article to be dried 1. At this time, the air knife 2 and the intake duct 4
Is similar to the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5,
The drying process is performed by making the front, rear, left, and right directions movable by two methods. Here, the material to be dried 1 is an air knife 2
Before spraying the surface with the
The liquid is drained by. Therefore, the material to be dried 1 can be minimized like the liquid droplet 5 shown in FIG. 6 by the liquid cutting air knife 6 before being conveyed to the position of the air knife 2.

As described above, according to the third embodiment, since the air knife and the intake duct are movably provided as in the second embodiment, the same effect as that of the second embodiment is obtained. Obtainable.

Further, according to the third embodiment, a liquid draining air knife is further provided in front of the air knife to improve the liquid running out of the dried object, so that the treatment is performed as compared with the second embodiment. The time can be further shortened, and an effective drying process can be performed.

Although the embodiments of the substrate drying apparatus according to the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and can be modified within the scope of the invention. For example, although the embodiment in which the intake ducts are provided on both sides of the air knife has been described in detail, the present invention is not limited to this, and only the air knife may be installed for drying. Further, although the embodiment of the air knife that moves forward, backward, leftward and rightward has been described in detail, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, it may be moved in an oblique direction to blow gas onto the surface of the object to be dried.

[0049]

As described above, according to the substrate drying apparatus of the present invention, the gas containing the vapor of the water-soluble alcohol is sprayed onto the surface of the material to be dried to dry it, so that the liquid running out is improved and the transportation of the prior art is performed. Faster speed (about 30% faster)
Can be transported and uses less blowing gas (3
It can be reduced by about 0%).

Further, according to the substrate drying apparatus of the present invention, since the entire apparatus can be tilted at a predetermined angle, it is possible to tilt the object to be dried even near the vertical, not only improving the drying effect. It is possible to improve the footprint (reduction of the installation space).

Further, according to the substrate drying apparatus of the present invention, since the drying efficiency is improved, the throughput (processing time) can be improved by increasing the transfer speed, and the running cost can be reduced by reducing the flow rate of the blowing gas. become.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a first embodiment of a substrate drying apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a section taken along the line AA shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a second embodiment of the substrate drying apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the operation of the substrate drying apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing still another operation of the substrate drying apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a third embodiment of a substrate drying apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a conventional substrate drying apparatus.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing another embodiment of the conventional substrate drying apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Dried items 5 droplets 4 intake duct 4a intake port 2 air knife 2a Slit for jetting 9 Mounting bracket 8 blower 8a pipeline 3 IPA 10 Supplying means 10a storage tank 10b, 10c pipeline

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-7-35478 (JP, A) JP-A-10-180205 (JP, A) JP-A-10-189529 (JP, A) Actual Kaihei 2-137039 (JP , U) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01L 21/304 F26B 21/00

Claims (16)

(57) [Claims] 1. A carrying means for placing an article to be dried and carrying it in a predetermined direction, and a gas which is close to the surface of the article to be operated and moves forward, backward, leftward and rightward and which contains a vapor of a water-soluble alcohol. A spraying means for spraying, and a supply means for supplying a gas containing a vapor of the water-soluble alcohol to the spraying means, and a state in which the material to be dried is transported by the transporting means or is transported and stopped. Adhered to the surface of the material to be dried by moving the spraying means in any one of the following states in the front-rear and left-right directions and spraying a gas containing the vapor of the water-soluble alcohol onto the surface of the material to be dried. together to effectively dry the droplets, the spraying means are arranged in parallel above the conveying means
Provide the parallel surface of the lever so that it can be tilted at an angle of 0 ° to 60 °
Substrate drying device characterized by reducing the layout space at the bottom . 2. The substrate drying apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the drying means is transferred to an upper portion of the object to be dried.
A substrate drying apparatus, wherein at least one intake duct for moving the air to move and blow the gas onto the surface of the object to be dried is provided. 3. The substrate drying apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the intake ducts are arranged at two positions in parallel on both front and rear sides of the spraying means. 4. The substrate drying apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the spraying unit is disposed in parallel with an upper portion of the transport unit and is installed with a facing surface that is orthogonal to the transport direction inclined at a predetermined angle. Substrate drying device characterized in that 5. The substrate drying apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the spraying unit and the air intake duct are arranged in parallel with each other on an upper portion of the transfer unit, and the facing surfaces orthogonal to the transfer direction are inclined at a predetermined angle. Substrate drying device characterized by being installed as. 6. The substrate drying apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the spraying unit is an air knife that sprays a gas containing the water-soluble alcohol vapor. 7. The substrate drying apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a spraying means for draining liquid is provided on an upper portion of the transporting means for draining the material to be dried before the drying processing is performed by the spraying means. A substrate drying device characterized in that it is further arranged. 8. The substrate drying apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 5, the intake duct, said conveying means and blowing means DOO
Substrate drying apparatus being characterized in that disposed to be inclined at an angle of monitor 0 ° to 60 °. 9. The substrate drying apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the gas containing the vapor of the water-soluble alcohol is supplied to the surface of the object to be dried via an ejector. 10. The substrate drying apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the supply unit generates a gas containing the vapor of the water-soluble alcohol by supplying a dry gas into the water-soluble alcohol and bubbling the dry gas. A substrate drying apparatus characterized in that it is formed so as to supply. 11. The substrate drying apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the supply unit includes a vapor of the water-soluble alcohol by mixing a dry gas into a mist generated by heating the water-soluble alcohol with a heater. A substrate drying device, characterized in that it is formed so as to generate and supply a gas. 12. The substrate drying apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the supply unit atomizes the water-soluble alcohol with an ultrasonic atomizer, and mixes a dry gas into the atomized mist. A substrate drying apparatus, which is formed so as to generate and supply a gas containing the water-soluble alcohol vapor. 13. The substrate drying apparatus according to claim 10 or 12 , wherein the drying gas is nitrogen gas. 14. The substrate drying apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein a direction in which the spraying means and the intake duct move is provided so as to be driven in a direction opposite to a transport direction of the transport means. Substrate drying device. 15. The substrate drying apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the spraying unit and the intake duct are provided so as to further slide in both side directions orthogonal to the transport direction of the material to be dried. Substrate drying device. 16. The substrate drying apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the object to be dried is a substrate to be processed such as a semiconductor substrate and a glass substrate for liquid crystal.