JP3944296B2 - Organic decontamination apparatus and liquid crystal display manufacturing apparatus using the same - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an organic contamination removal apparatus used in a substrate cleaning process, a photoengraving process and the like of a liquid crystal display device.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A liquid crystal display device usually includes a TFT array substrate having a switching element including a thin film transistor (TFT) and a display element controlled through the switching element, a transparent electrode, a color filter, and the like, and is provided between the TFT array substrate. The counter electrode substrate sandwiches the liquid crystal. A general manufacturing method of the TFT array substrate will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, 21 is a glass substrate, 22 is a gate electrode, 23 is a gate insulating film, 24 is an ia-Si film, 25 is an na-Si film, 26 is a pixel electrode, 27 is a source electrode, and 28 is a drain. An electrode 29 indicates a passivation film. First, after the gate electrode 22 is formed of Cr or the like on the glass substrate 21, the gate insulating film 23, the ia-Si film 24, and the na-Si film 25 are continuously formed, and ia- The Si film 24 and the na-Si film 25 are patterned in an island shape. Next, a pixel electrode 26 made of a transparent conductive film such as ITO is formed to form a pattern. Further, the source electrode 27 and the drain electrode 28 are formed, and the unnecessary na-Si film 25 on the channel is removed by dry etching or the like using these as a mask. Then, a passivation film 29 is formed, and the TFT array substrate is formed. Complete.
[0003]
In the manufacturing process of the TFT array substrate as described above, the pre-deposition cleaning apparatus, the photoengraving apparatus, and the like are provided with an organic contamination removing apparatus that removes organic contamination on the substrate surface by UV irradiation. For example, in the pre-deposition cleaning apparatus, the substrate before wet processing is irradiated with UV to improve the wettability of the substrate surface and improve the cleaning processing effect. Also, in the photoengraving apparatus, organic contamination is removed by irradiating the substrate before resist application with UV, thereby improving the adhesion between the deposition film and the resist.
In this UV irradiation for removing organic contamination, in recent years, excimer UV lamps have attracted attention instead of low-pressure mercury UV lamps. Excimer UV uses ultraviolet light having a wavelength of 172 nm, and has higher energy than low-pressure mercury UV having a wavelength of 185 nm, can generate more excited oxygen, and can easily break molecular bonds of organic substances. For this reason, excimer UV has higher organic contamination removal capability than low-pressure mercury UV, and a removal effect equivalent to that of low-pressure mercury UV can be obtained by short-time irradiation. Further, since the removal effect can be obtained even when the irradiation time is short without generating infrared rays, there is an advantage that the film is less damaged. Furthermore, since the organic contamination removal apparatus using the excimer UV lamp can be turned on instantaneously and blinked, the lamp can be turned off when the substrate is not processed.
[0004]
6 and 7 are side views showing a conventional organic contamination removal apparatus using an excimer UV lamp. In the figure, 1 is an excimer UV lamp, 2 is quartz glass forming a window surface, 4 is a substrate to be processed, 5 is a stage on which the substrate to be processed 4 is placed, 6 is a stage 5 and an excimer UV lamp 1 inside. Etc., and an envelope for preventing ultraviolet rays from leaking to the outside, and 15 is a roller for conveying the substrate 4 to be processed. FIG. 6 shows a method in which a large number of excimer UV lamps 1 are arranged on a stationary substrate 4 and the entire surface of the substrate 4 is irradiated at once. FIG. 7 shows a method in which the excimer UV lamp 1 is fixed, the substrate to be processed 4 is moved in the processing chamber by the roller 15, and the entire surface of the substrate to be processed 4 is irradiated with UV.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, the excimer UV lamp 1 has an excellent organic contamination removal effect, but has a problem that it is more expensive than a low-pressure mercury lamp and has a short lamp life. In addition, the excimer UV lamp 1 requires a window surface made of quartz glass 2, and this quartz glass 2 has been one of the causes of high cost. For example, in the method of performing batch irradiation on the entire surface of the substrate to be processed 4 shown in FIG. 6, a large number of excimer UV lamps 1 are required along with the recent increase in size of the substrate, and furthermore, the quartz glass 2 for confining the excimer UV lamp 1 However, there is a problem that the size needs to be increased and the cost is increased. In addition, the method of moving the substrate 4 to be processed in the processing chamber by the roller 15 shown in FIG. 7 has an advantage that the number of excimer UV lamps 1 can be reduced. However, in order to perform UV irradiation on the entire surface of the substrate 4 to be processed. However, the processing chamber is required to be at least twice as large as the substrate to be processed 4 in the processing direction, resulting in a problem that the apparatus area is increased.
[0006]
The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and is capable of irradiating the entire surface of a substrate to be processed with a small number of lamps, and manufacturing an organic contamination removing apparatus and a liquid crystal display apparatus having a small apparatus area. A device is provided.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
An organic contamination removal apparatus according to the present invention has a stage on which a substrate to be processed is placed, a window surface made of quartz glass, which is installed in the vicinity of the stage, and one or more excimer UV lamps are arranged inside. Excimer UV unit, driving means for scanning the excimer UV unit parallel to the surface of the substrate to be processed, a stage and an excimer UV unit are installed inside, and ultraviolet rays emitted from the excimer UV unit leak outside. An enclosure for preventing is provided, and the driving means scans the excimer UV unit at the end of the substrate to be processed later than the central portion of the substrate to be processed .
[0008]
The apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention, a liquid crystal between the TFT array substrate and the counter counter electrode substrate having a display element are controlled through the switching element and the switching element including a thin film transistor on a glass substrate a manufacturing apparatus of a liquid crystal display device sandwiched comprising an organic decontamination apparatus above Kiki mounting, a plurality of processing chambers for cleaning and processing of camera-ready the glass substrate, the organic decontamination apparatus and each processing A substrate transfer robot that moves the glass substrate between the rooms is provided.
[0009]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiment 1 FIG.
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 (a) and 1 (b) are a plan view and a side view showing an organic contamination removing apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is an excimer UV lamp that irradiates ultraviolet rays having a wavelength of 172 nm, 2 is quartz glass, 3 is an excimer UV unit having one or more excimer UV lamps 1 disposed therein, and having a window surface made of quartz glass 2, 4 Is a substrate to be processed. In the present embodiment, a rectangular glass substrate 5 is a stage on which the substrate 4 to be processed is placed horizontally, and an excimer UV unit 3 is installed in the vicinity of the stage 5. Reference numeral 6 denotes an envelope in which the stage 5 and the excimer UV unit 3 are installed to prevent the ultraviolet rays emitted from the excimer UV unit 3 from leaking to the outside. Reference numeral 7 denotes an organic contamination removal apparatus according to the present embodiment. . The organic contamination removing apparatus 7 according to the present embodiment includes driving means (not shown) that scans the excimer UV unit 3 in parallel with the surface of the substrate 4 to be processed placed on the stage 5. Note that the arrows in FIG. 1A indicate the scanning direction of the excimer UV unit 3.
[0010]
The organic contamination removing apparatus 7 according to the present embodiment includes an excimer UV unit 3 in which a single excimer UV lamp 1 that is set slightly longer than the long side of the substrate to be processed 4 is disposed. The substrate 4 is scanned in the direction of the arrow parallel to the substrate surface, and uniform UV irradiation is performed on the entire surface of the substrate 4 to be processed with a small number of lamps. The number of excimer UV lamps 1 arranged in the excimer UV unit 3 is not limited to one, but a plurality of excimer UV lamps 1 may be arranged, but a number smaller than the number necessary for batch irradiation of the entire surface of the substrate to be processed 4 is arranged. As a result, the cost can be reduced as compared with the conventional organic contamination removing apparatus (FIG. 6).
Further, FIG. 2 shows an excimer UV unit 3 in which one excimer UV lamp 1 set slightly longer than the short side of the substrate 4 to be processed is arranged in parallel with the short side of the substrate 4 to be processed. This is an example of scanning in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. In this case, the excimer UV lamp 1 can be shortened, but the excimer UV unit 3 is scanned at a longer distance. The organic contamination removing apparatus according to the present embodiment may employ either of the arrangement methods shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and the same effect can be obtained.
[ 0011 ]
Below, the scanning method of the organic contamination removal apparatus in embodiment of this invention is demonstrated using FIG. 4 (a) is a plan view showing the scanning direction of the excimer UV unit 3 of the organic decontamination apparatus of the present embodiment, FIG. 4 (b), of the substrate 4 as shown in FIGS. 4 (a) FIG contact angle distribution seen in AB direction, FIG. 4 (c) is a diagram showing the switching of the scanning speed of the excimer UV unit 3.
[0012]
The substrate 4 to be processed is normally stored and transported in a state of being accommodated in a cassette, and the outer peripheral portion of the substrate to be processed 4 is more susceptible to external organic contamination than the center portion. This is because, as shown in FIG. 4B , when the contact angle distribution in the substrate to be processed 4 is viewed in the A and B directions, the contact angle of the substrate outer peripheral portions A and B is the contact angle of the central portion C of the substrate. It is also clear from the higher. Therefore, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4 (c) , the scanning speed of the excimer UV unit 3 is switched in the vicinity of the end portions A and B of the substrate 4 to be processed, and is quickly switched in the vicinity of the central portion C. By extending the UV irradiation time in the part, it was possible to obtain a uniform organic contamination removal effect as a whole.
[0013]
In the present embodiment, the substrate 4 to be processed is placed horizontally on the stage 5, but the substrate 4 to be processed may be held upright and the apparatus can be further downsized.
[ 0014 ]
An example in which the organic contamination removing apparatus 7 according to the present embodiment is used in a liquid crystal display manufacturing apparatus will be described below. A liquid crystal display device usually has a TFT array substrate having a switching element including a thin film transistor on a glass substrate and a display element controlled through the switching element, a transparent electrode, a color filter, and the like. The counter electrode substrate sandwiches the liquid crystal therebetween. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an arrangement example of a photoengraving apparatus which is a liquid crystal display manufacturing apparatus using the organic contamination removing apparatus 7 according to the present embodiment. In the figure, 8 is a scrub cleaning chamber, 9 is a coating chamber, 10 is a developing chamber, 11 is an exposure chamber, 12 is a heating / cooling chamber, 13 is a cassette loader / unloader section for delivering the substrate 4 to be processed, and 14 is organic contamination. It is a substrate transfer robot that moves the substrate to be processed 4 between the removing device 7 and each processing chamber.
Conventionally, the organic contamination removing apparatus 7 according to the present embodiment is provided, and the substrate transport robot 14 carries the substrate into the processing chambers and unloads the processed substrates, thereby transporting the substrate 4 to be processed by the rollers 15. Compared to the case of using the organic contamination removing apparatus (FIG. 7), the manufacturing apparatus of the liquid crystal display device can be downsized. The organic contamination removing apparatus 7 according to the present embodiment can be used as a liquid crystal display manufacturing apparatus in addition to the above-described photoengraving apparatus as well as a pre-deposition cleaning apparatus.
[0015]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the excimer UV unit in which one or more excimer UV lamps are arranged is scanned in parallel to the surface of the substrate to be processed. UV irradiation can be performed on the entire surface of the substrate, so that the cost of the organic contamination removing apparatus can be reduced and the area of the apparatus can be reduced.
[0016]
In addition, since the excimer UV unit is scanned slower than the center of the substrate at the end of the substrate to be processed, the UV irradiation time at the end of the substrate that is susceptible to organic contamination from the outside becomes longer. A uniform organic contamination removal effect can be obtained.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a plan view and a side view showing an organic contamination removing apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
FIGS. 2A and 2B are a plan view and a side view showing an organic contamination removal apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIGS.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an arrangement example of a photoengraving apparatus using the organic contamination removing apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a scanning method of the organic contamination removal apparatus in Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of a general TFT array substrate constituting a liquid crystal display device.
FIG. 6 is a side view showing a conventional organic contamination removing apparatus.
FIG. 7 is a side view showing a conventional organic contamination removing apparatus.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 excimer UV lamp, 2 quartz glass, 3 excimer UV unit,
4 substrate to be processed, 5 stage, 6 envelope, 7 organic contamination removal device,
8 scrub cleaning chamber, 9 coating chamber, 10 developing chamber, 11 exposure chamber,
12 heating / cooling chamber, 13 cassette loader / unloader section,
14 substrate transfer robot, 15 rollers, 21 glass substrate,
22 gate electrode, 23 gate insulating film, 24 ia-Si film,
25 na-Si film, 26 pixel electrode, 27 source electrode,
28 Drain electrode, 29 Passivation film.

Claims (2)

A stage on which a substrate to be processed is placed;
An excimer UV unit installed in the vicinity of the stage, having a window surface made of quartz glass, and having one or more excimer UV lamps disposed therein;
Driving means for scanning the excimer UV unit parallel to the surface of the substrate to be processed;
The stage and the excimer UV unit are installed therein, and an envelope is provided to prevent ultraviolet rays radiated from the excimer UV unit from leaking to the outside . The driving means includes the excimer UV unit and the substrate to be processed. An organic contamination removing apparatus, wherein an end portion is scanned later than the central portion of the substrate to be processed . On a glass substrate an apparatus for producing a liquid crystal display device formed by sandwiching a liquid crystal between the TFT array substrate and the counter counter electrode substrate having a display element are controlled through the switching element and the switching element including a thin film transistor, organic decontamination device of claim 1, the substrate is moved a plurality of processing chambers for cleaning and processing of camera-ready on the glass substrate, the glass substrate between the organic decontamination apparatus and the individual processing chambers An apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device comprising a transfer robot.

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