JP4032244B2 - Continuous processing method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a continuous processing apparatus and a continuous processing method for continuously performing processing in an arbitrary combination of a plurality of types of processing on a processing target surface of an object to be processed.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As an object to be processed, for example, a wafer used for a liquid crystal display is taken as an example. This wafer is, for example, a silicon wafer, and various sizes exist depending on the size of the liquid crystal display. For example, a silicon substrate used for a small liquid crystal display is often cut out from a wafer having a maximum size of 12 inches, for example.
Such a wafer substrate requires a large process processing apparatus and a factory in order to perform various process processes.
In a conventional manufacturing apparatus of this type of liquid crystal display, plasma is formed while supplying a mixed gas to the terminal portion of the liquid crystal panel, so that the alignment film and insulating film of the terminal portion are selectively removed. (For example, Patent Document 1).
Moreover, in order to peel off the resist pattern formed in such a board | substrate, the board | substrate washing | cleaning apparatus is used (for example, patent document 2).
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-8-254676 (first page, FIG. 1)
[Patent Document 2]
JP-A-6-291098 (first page, FIG. 1)
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, with the techniques of Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 described above, it is not possible to continuously process a plurality of types of processing on the surface of the object to be processed, such as a wafer substrate. In order to perform multiple types of processing on the surface of a wafer substrate, multiple types of processing devices must be arranged side by side, and the wafer substrate must be transferred between the devices each time the processing changes using a transfer device. I must. For this reason, a conveying apparatus is required between the processing apparatuses, and the apparatus cannot be increased in size, and a plurality of types of processes cannot be efficiently processed on the surface of the object to be processed.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a continuous processing apparatus and a continuous processing method that can solve the above-described problems and can continuously and efficiently perform a plurality of types of processing on the surface to be processed of the object to be processed, thereby reducing the size of the apparatus. The purpose is to do.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
  The continuous processing method of the present invention is a continuous processing method for continuously performing a plurality of types of processing on the surface to be processed of the object to be processed. A rotation operation step for rotating the processing target surface of the body, and a plurality of types of processing units are arranged in a circular shape, and the atmospheric pressure or a pressure near atmospheric pressure is applied to the processing target surface of the target object. A processing step of performing processing by an arbitrary processing unit of the plurality of types of processing units for performing different processing in each of the plurality of types of processing units, the intervals between the plurality of types of processing units around the rotation center of the rotation operation unit. The rotation operation unit is positioned at the center of the unit arrangement unit, and the plurality of types of processing units are provided on the surface to be processed of the object to be processed and the rotation operation unit. It includes a cleaning processing unit that cleans the mounting surface, a drying processing unit, a surface modification processing unit, a liquid agent processing unit, and an annealing processing unit. It has a moving operation part for advancing to the process target surface side of the mounted object to be processed and retracting after the process.
[0013]
According to such a configuration, in the rotation operation step, the target object is held on the mounting surface, and the processing target surface of the target object is rotated.
In the processing step, a plurality of types of processing units are arranged in a circular shape. In this processing step, processing can be performed by a plurality of types of processing units for performing different processing on the processing target surface of the object to be processed under atmospheric pressure or pressure near atmospheric pressure.
[0014]
As a result, the plurality of types of processing units are arranged in a circular shape, and the plurality of types of processing units rotate any of the plurality of types of processing units while rotating the mounting surface with respect to the processing target surface of the target object. The combination process is performed.
Since the plurality of types of processing units are arranged in a circular shape around the rotation operation unit, the continuous processing apparatus can be downsized despite having a plurality of types of processing units. The rotation operation unit rotates the mounting surface while holding the processing object on the mounting surface, so that the processing object can continuously perform a plurality of types of processing using any processing unit of a plurality of types of processing units. It can be applied efficiently.
[0015]
  The above configurationIsA plurality of types of processing units are arranged at intervals around the rotation center of the rotation operation unit, and the rotation operation unit is positioned at the center of the unit arrangement unit, When the processing unit performs processing on the processing target surface, a moving operation unit for advancing to the processing target surface side of the target object mounted on the rotation operation unit and retracting after processing is provided. It is characterized by having.
[0016]
According to such a configuration, the unit arrangement unit arranges a plurality of types of processing units at intervals with the rotation center of the rotation operation unit as the center. The rotation operation unit is located at the center of the unit arrangement unit. Each of the multiple types of processing units has a moving operation unit for advancing to the processing target surface side of the target object mounted on the rotation operation unit and retracting after processing when processing the processing target surface. is doing.
As a result, the plurality of types of processing units in the unit placement unit can be advanced to the processing target surface side and retracted.
[0017]
  The above configurationofThe plurality of types of processing units include a cleaning processing unit, a drying processing unit, a surface modification processing unit, a liquid agent processing unit, and an annealing processing unit..
  According to such a configuration, the plurality of types of processing units include at least a cleaning process, a drying process, a surface modification process, a liquid agent process, and an annealing process, and these processes are continuously performed in an arbitrary order. Can do.
[0018]
  The above configurationofThe cleaning processing unit cleans the processing target surface of the object to be processed and the mounting surface of the rotation operation unit..
According to such a configuration, the cleaning processing unit can clean the processing target surface of the object to be processed and the mounting surface of the rotation operation unit. As a result, it is possible to always cleanly clean the processing target surface and the rotation operation unit.
[0019]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of the continuous processing apparatus of the present invention.
The continuous processing apparatus 10 includes a plurality of types of processing units 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, a rotation operation unit 20, and a control unit 100.
The continuous processing apparatus 10 continuously performs a plurality of types of processing on the processing target surface 31 of the workpiece 30 in an arbitrary order using an arbitrary processing unit among the plurality of types of processing units 11 to 18. It is an apparatus for performing efficiently.
The object 30 is a wafer substrate that is a raw material for forming a liquid crystal display, for example. The object 30 is circular, for example, and a wafer substrate used for a liquid crystal display can be produced by dividing the circular object 30 into a plurality of parts.
The surface of the workpiece 30 is a processing target surface 31.
[0020]
A structural example of the rotation operation unit 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 2 shows a side surface of the rotation operation unit 20.
The rotation operation unit 20 shown in FIG. 2 is also called a spin coater, and has a stage 40 and a motor 49. For example, an electric motor can be used as the motor 49. The motor 49 can continuously rotate the stage 40 along the rotation direction R about the rotation center CL.
[0021]
The mounting surface 41 of the stage 40 is configured to detachably mount the back surface 43 of the workpiece 30. The back surface 43 is a surface opposite to the processing target surface 31.
The processing target surface 31 is a surface for performing a plurality of types of processing described later. The motor 49 is operated under the control of the control unit 100.
The stage 40 has, for example, a circular shape as shown in FIG. The area of the mounting surface 41 of the stage 40 is larger than the area of the workpiece 30.
[0022]
Next, a plurality of types of processing units 11 to 18 shown in FIG. 1 will be described.
For example, eight types of processing units shown in FIG. 1 are provided in the example of FIG. The processing units 11 to 18 are arranged in a circular shape, for example, at the same angle with respect to the unit arrangement portion 50 around the rotation center CL. The angle at which each unit is arranged is 45 degrees.
In the example of FIG. 1, a cleaning processing unit 11, an atmospheric pressure plasma processing unit 12, an air supply processing unit 13, a gas supply processing unit 14, a drying processing unit 15, a liquid agent processing unit 16, an annealing (firing) processing unit 17, a liquid agent processing. The units 18 are arranged in the order of rotation R.
Next, structural examples of these processing units 11 to 18 will be sequentially described.
[0023]
3 and 4 show structural examples of the cleaning processing unit 11 and the gas supply processing unit 14 shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a plan view of the cleaning processing unit 11 and the gas supply processing unit 14, and FIG. 4 is a side view of the cleaning processing unit 11 and the gas supply processing unit 14.
As shown in FIG. 1, the stage 40 of the rotation operation unit 20 is arranged concentrically at the center of the unit arrangement unit 50. The unit arrangement part 50 is, for example, a ring-shaped member.
[0024]
The structure of the cleaning processing unit 11 will be described with reference to FIGS.
The cleaning processing unit 11 has a pure water discharge nozzle 60 and a pure water container 61. The pure water discharge nozzle 60 can supply pure water stored in the pure water storage unit 61 to the processing target surface 31 of the target object 30.
The movement control unit 63 can advance the pure water discharge nozzle 60 along the A direction and retract it along the A1 direction. As this movement control unit 63, for example, a motor, a linear guide, and a structure having a feed screw can be adopted.
When the motor is operated according to a command from the control unit 100, the feed screw is rotated, and the pure water discharge nozzle 60 is advanced in the A direction along the linear guide or retracted in the A1 direction. The A direction and the A1 direction are radial directions of the workpiece 30.
[0025]
Next, the structure of the gas supply processing unit 14 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 will be described.
The gas supply processing unit 14 includes a nozzle 70, an ozone gas storage unit 71, and a movement operation unit 73. The movement operation unit 73 can be the same as the movement operation unit 63. The nozzle 70 advances in the B direction or retracts in the B1 direction by the operation of the moving operation unit 73. The B direction and the B1 direction are radial directions of the workpiece 30.
The ozone gas stored in the ozone gas storage unit 71 can be ejected from the nozzle 70. This ejected ozone gas is blown against the pure water exiting from the pure water discharge nozzle 60, whereby ozone water can be produced. This ozone water cleans the surface 31 to be treated. The movement operation units 63 and 73 operate according to a command from the control unit 100.
[0026]
Next, FIGS. 5 and 6 show structural examples of the atmospheric pressure plasma processing unit 12 shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a plan view of the atmospheric pressure plasma processing unit 12, and FIG. 6 is a side view of the atmospheric pressure plasma processing unit 12.
The atmospheric pressure plasma processing unit 12 includes an atmospheric pressure plasma processing apparatus 80 and a moving operation unit 81. The movement operation unit 81 may have the same structure as the movement operation unit 63 shown in FIG.
The atmospheric pressure plasma processing apparatus 80 includes a first electrode 83, a second electrode 84, and a dielectric 85. A first electrode 83 is disposed on one surface of the dielectric 85, and a second electrode 84 is disposed on the other surface of the dielectric 85. The second electrode 84 has an opening 89. The first electrode 83 is connected to a high frequency AC power source 86A. The high frequency AC power supply 86A and the second electrode 84 are grounded.
[0027]
By supplying high frequency AC power from the high frequency AC power supply 86A to the first electrode 83, a plasma discharge region 86 is formed in the opening 89 of the second electrode 84 by so-called creeping discharge. A mixed gas is supplied to the plasma discharge region 86 from a gas supply unit 87. The mixed gas is a mixed gas of a carrier gas and a reactive gas. As the carrier gas, for example, He is used, and as the reaction gas, for example, CF.₄Can be used.
As a result, in the plasma discharge region 86, the reactive active species of the reactive gas are generated, so that the excited active species performs a liquid repellent treatment (water repellent treatment) on the processing target surface 31 of the object 30. Or it can apply under the pressure of atmospheric pressure vicinity.
The movement operation unit 81 has a function of causing the atmospheric pressure plasma processing apparatus 80 to advance in the C direction or retract in the C1 direction. The C direction and the C1 direction are radial directions of the workpiece 30. The movement operation unit 81 and the gas supply unit 87 operate according to a command from the control unit 100.
[0028]
Next, a structural example of the air supply processing unit 13 shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 7 is a plan view of the air supply processing unit 13, and FIG. 8 is a side view of the air supply processing unit 13.
7 and 8, the air supply processing unit 13 has an air nozzle 90 and an air accommodating portion 91. The high-pressure air stored in the air storage portion 91 can be blown against the processing target surface 31 through the air nozzle 90. Thereby, for example, moisture remaining on the processing target surface 31 can be blown off by jetting the high-pressure air.
The air nozzle 90 can be advanced in the D direction or retracted in the D1 direction by the operation of the movement operation unit 94. The D direction and the D1 direction are radial directions of the workpiece 30. The movement operation unit 94 and the air storage unit 91 operate according to a command from the control unit 100.
[0029]
Next, with reference to FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, the structural example of the drying process unit 15 shown in FIG. 1 is demonstrated. FIG. 9 is a plan view of the drying processing unit 15, and FIG. 10 is a side view of the drying processing unit 15.
As shown in FIG. 10, the drying processing unit 15 includes a nozzle 101, a movement operation unit 103, and a hot air generation unit 104. The movement operation unit 103 advances the nozzle 101 in the E direction or retracts it in the E1 direction. The E direction and the E1 direction are radial directions of the workpiece 30.
[0030]
The hot air generating unit 104 supplies hot air to the nozzle 101 side so that the nozzle 101 supplies hot air to the processing target surface 31 of the workpiece 30. As a result, it is possible to dry ozone water and other liquids remaining on the processing target surface 31.
The movement operation unit 103 and the hot air generation unit 104 operate according to a command from the control unit 100.
[0031]
Next, referring to FIGS. 11 and 12, a structural example of the liquid agent processing unit 16 will be described. FIG. 11 is a plan view of the liquid agent processing unit 16, and FIG. 12 is a side view of the liquid agent processing unit 16.
The liquid agent processing unit 16 as shown in FIG. 12 has a liquid discharge nozzle 111, a liquid agent container 113, and a movement operation unit 114. The movement operation unit 114 advances the liquid discharge nozzle 111 in the F direction or retracts in the F1 direction.
The liquid agent stored in the liquid agent storage unit 113 is supplied to the processing target surface 31 through the liquid discharge nozzle 111. The movement operation unit 114 and the liquid agent storage unit 113 operate according to commands from the control unit 100. By supplying the liquid agent 120 to the processing target surface 31, a liquid repellent supply process (water repellent process) can be performed. The liquid agent 120 may be a resist or the like.
[0032]
Next, an example of the structure of the annealing unit 17 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 13 is a plan view of the annealing unit 17, and FIG. 14 is a side view of the annealing unit 17.
As shown in FIG. 14, the annealing unit 17 includes a high temperature generation unit 130 and a movement operation unit 131. The movement operation unit 131 moves the high temperature generation unit 130 in the G direction or retreats in the G1 direction. The G direction and the G1 direction are radial directions of the workpiece 30. The movement operation unit 131 and the high temperature generation unit 130 are operated according to a command from the control unit 100.
The high temperature generation unit 130 is a heater that generates high heat by, for example, a lamp heater. As a result, the high temperature generator 130 can perform an annealing (firing) process on the processing target surface 31.
[0033]
Next, another liquid agent processing unit 18 will be described with reference to FIGS. 15 and 16.
The liquid agent processing unit 18 has the same structure as the liquid agent processing unit 16 shown in FIG. The liquid treatment unit 18 includes a liquid discharge nozzle 141, a movement operation unit 144, and a liquid agent storage unit 143. The liquid agent stored in the liquid agent storage unit 143 can be supplied to the processing target surface 31 through the liquid discharge nozzle 141. The movement operation unit 144 can advance along the H direction of the liquid discharge nozzle 141 or retract along the H1 direction.
[0034]
The liquid agent storage unit 143 stores, for example, a lyophilic solution. The lyophilic liquid in the liquid agent storage unit 143 can be subjected to a lyophilic supply process (hydrophilic process) on the processing target surface 31 by being discharged and supplied from the liquid discharge nozzle 141 to the processing target surface 31.
The liquid agent storage unit 143 may store a resist or the like and apply the resist or the like from the liquid discharge nozzle 141.
The movement operation unit in each processing unit described above can be operated according to a command from the control unit 100, but the structure of each movement operation unit can be the same.
[0035]
FIG. 18 shows an example of the liquid crystal display device 235, which shows one pixel. A structural example of the liquid crystal display device 235 will be briefly described here.
The liquid crystal display device 235 includes a TFT array substrate 256, a color filter substrate 240, and a liquid crystal layer 250. The TFT array substrate 256 is obtained by forming a TFT 258 that is a liquid crystal driving switching element and a display electrode 252 on the processing target surface 31 of the object 30 that is a glass substrate.
[0036]
In the color filter substrate 240, a color filter 244 and a protective film 246 are formed on a glass substrate 242. A common electrode 248 is formed on the protection 246.
One liquid crystal layer 250 is formed by injecting liquid crystal into the gap after the TFT array substrate 256 and the color filter substrate 240 are bonded together using a sealing material. A voltage is applied between the display electrode 252 and the common electrode 248. As a result, rearrangement of the liquid crystal molecules 251 occurs, and light is transmitted or blocked. By performing this operation for each pixel of the liquid crystal display device 235, the liquid crystal display device can display an image.
The display electrode 252 and the common electrode 248 are made of ITO (Indium Tin Oxide), which is a transparent conductive film.
[0037]
Next, an example of the continuous processing method of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
The continuous processing method shown in FIG. 17 continuously performs a plurality of types of processing on the processing target surface 31 of the workpiece 30 in FIG. This continuous processing method has a preprocessing step ST1, a rotation operation step ST2, and a processing step ST3.
In pre-processing step ST1 of FIG. 17, a pattern for forming liquid repellency and a pattern for forming lyophilic liquid are pre-processed in advance on the processing target surface 31 of the target object 30 shown in FIGS. Formed as.
[0038]
Next, the process proceeds to the rotation operation step ST2 shown in FIG.
In the rotation operation step ST2, the workpiece 30 is mounted on the mounting surface 41 of the stage 40 by a load / unload device for the workpiece (not shown). The object 30 is held on the mounting surface 41 of the stage 40. The processing target surface 31 of the workpiece 30 is upward in this example. The stage 40 rotates around the rotation center CL by the operation of the motor 49. In the example of FIG. 2, the rotation center CL passes through the center of the stage 40 and the center of the workpiece 30.
[0039]
Next, the process proceeds to process step ST3 in FIG.
In the processing step ST3, as an example of arbitrary types of combination processing, a cleaning processing step ST10, a drying processing step ST11, a lyophilic processing step ST12, a lyophobic processing step ST13, a liquid agent application step ST14, a drying processing step ST15, and annealing. Processing step ST16 is included.
In the cleaning processing step ST10, the processing target surface 31 of the target object 30 shown in FIG. 2 is cleaned with ozone water.
[0040]
3 and 4, in the cleaning process step ST10, the pure water discharge nozzle 60 of the cleaning processing unit 11 advances in the A direction. At the same time, the nozzle 70 of the gas supply processing unit 14 advances in the B direction. Pure water in the pure water storage unit 61 is discharged from the pure water discharge nozzle 60 toward the processing target surface 31. The ozone gas in the ozone gas storage part 71 is ejected from the nozzle 70.
[0041]
As a result, ozone gas is sprayed onto pure water to form ozone water and is supplied to the processing target surface 31. In this case, the workpiece 30 is continuously rotated in the rotation direction R together with the stage 40. The ozone water can be cleaned over the entire processing target surface 31 and the mounting surface 41 of the stage 40 can be cleaned at the same time. The mounting surface 41 can always be cleaned and cleaned at the same time.
[0042]
After the processing target surface 31 is cleaned, the pure water discharge nozzle 60 in FIG. 4 is retracted in the A1 direction, and the nozzle 70 is also retracted in the B1 direction.
In addition, since the to-be-processed object 30 is rotating with the stage 40, even if the pure water discharge nozzle 60 and the nozzle 70 are small things, it is the point of what is called spin coating, and ozone water is made to cover the whole surface 31 to be processed. There is an advantage that the entire surface of the processing target surface 31 can be completely cleaned by being supplied over the entire surface. Therefore, the size of the pure water discharge nozzle 60 and the nozzle 70 can be reduced.
[0043]
Next, the process proceeds to the drying process step ST11 shown in FIG.
In the drying processing step ST11, the drying processing unit 15 shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 is used. The nozzle 101 of the drying processing unit 15 advances in the E direction. As a result, the nozzle 101 faces the processing target surface 31. When the hot air generating unit 104 sends the hot air to the nozzle 101 side, the hot air is supplied to the processing target surface 31. Since the remaining ozone water used in the cleaning processing step ST10 completely evaporates from the processing target surface 31, the processing target surface 31 can be reliably dried.
[0044]
After performing such a drying process, the nozzle 101 is retracted in the E1 direction. In this case, since the workpiece 30 can be rotated together with the stage 40, the nozzle 101 can be dried over the entire surface to be processed 31 by using a rod-like or line-like member as shown in FIG. . That is, the nozzle 101 does not need to be formed over the entire area of the processing target surface 31 and can be reduced in size.
[0045]
Next, the process proceeds to the liquid repellent treatment step ST12 shown in FIG.
In the lyophilic processing step ST12, the atmospheric pressure plasma processing unit 12 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 is used. The atmospheric pressure plasma processing apparatus 80 of the atmospheric pressure plasma processing unit 12 is advanced in the direction C by the operation of the moving operation unit 81. In this state, the atmospheric pressure plasma processing apparatus 80 comes to a position facing the processing target surface 31.
[0046]
When the high frequency AC power supply 86 </ b> A supplies high frequency AC power to the first electrode 83, a plasma discharge region 86 is formed in the opening 89 of the second electrode 84. A mixed gas is supplied to the plasma discharge region 86 from a gas supply unit 87. As a result, the plasma discharge region 86 becomes reactive gas (O₂Plasma) excited active species are generated. The generated excited active species can be subjected to so-called lyophilic treatment (hydrophilic treatment) over the entire surface to be treated 31.
[0047]
At this time, since the object 30 and the stage 40 are rotating, even if the area of the plasma discharge area 86 is small, the lyophilic process can be performed over the entire surface to be processed 31. In particular, as shown in FIG. 5, the atmospheric pressure plasma processing apparatus 80 can adopt a so-called rod-like or line-like form, so that the atmospheric pressure plasma processing apparatus 80 can be downsized.
[0048]
FIG. 19 shows a procedure for forming the display electrode 252 of the liquid crystal display device 235 of FIG. 18 as a specific example.
In FIG. 19A, the pattern forming film 200 made of a photosensitive resin is already formed on the processing target surface 31 side of the object 30 in the preprocessing step ST1 shown in FIG. A lyophilic film 211 is formed on the surface of the pattern forming film 200 made of the photosensitive resin at the lyophilic processing position 210 by the atmospheric pressure plasma processing apparatus 80 shown in FIG.
[0049]
Next, the process proceeds to the liquid repellent treatment step ST13 shown in FIG.
In the liquid repellent treatment step ST13, the atmospheric pressure plasma treatment unit 12 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 is used. CF₄As shown in FIG. 19B, the liquid repellent treatment portion 230 is formed by the plasma.
Next, in the liquid agent application step ST <b> 14, the liquid agent processing unit 18 applies the lyophilic liquid agent 103 onto the lyophilic film 211. The lyophilic liquid is, for example, ITO (Indium Tin Oxide).
[0050]
Next, the process proceeds to the drying process step ST15 shown in FIG.
In the drying processing step ST15, the drying processing unit 15 shown in FIG. 10 is used similarly to the drying processing step ST11. The point of this drying process is the same as that of the drying process step ST11.
The processing target surface 31 thus dried is annealed by annealing step ST15 as shown in FIG. 19C. In the annealing step ST16, the annealing unit 17 shown in FIG. 14 is used.
[0051]
When the high temperature generator 130 advances in the G direction, the high temperature generator 130 faces the processing target surface 31. When heat from the high temperature generating unit 130 is applied to the processing target surface 31, for example, a lyophilic film 103A called a pattern film is baked between the pattern forming films 200 as shown in FIG. Thereby, the liquid repellent portion 230 shown in FIG. 19B is removed, and the pattern forming film 200 is removed.
In this manner, the film 103A illustrated in FIG. 19D is formed on the processing target surface 31 as the display electrode 252.
[0052]
The liquid discharge nozzle 141 shown in FIG. 16 and the high-temperature generating unit 130 shown in FIG. 14 are both substantially line-shaped or rod-shaped members. Even when a line-shaped or bar-shaped member is employed as described above, the processing target surface 31 rotates together with the stage 40, so that high-temperature processing and liquid agent application processing can be performed over the entire processing target surface 31.
From the above, each of the processing units 11 to 18 shown in FIG. 1 can perform the types of processing to be performed on the processing target surface 31 of the object 30 in any combination. When each processing is performed, the processing unit to be processed advances to a position facing the processing target surface 31 of the target object 30, and when the processing is completed, the processing unit can be retracted in the opposite direction again. .
Moreover, the processing units 11 to 18 are arranged in a circular shape in the ring-shaped unit arrangement portion 50. The stage 40 is arranged at the center position of the unit arrangement unit 50.
[0053]
From this, the continuous processing apparatus 10 can be reduced in size as viewed from the plane of FIG. 1 as compared to arranging a plurality of processing apparatuses in a line shape. In addition, various types of processing can be sequentially performed on the processing target surface 31.
The continuous processing apparatus 10 of the present invention can greatly reduce the installation space compared to arranging a plurality of types of processing units in a straight line. The continuous processing apparatus 10 can continuously and efficiently perform a plurality of types of processing on the processing target surface 31 of the workpiece 30. In particular, the process after surface modification, so-called lyophilic treatment or lyophobic treatment is stabilized. In addition, since a plurality of types of processing are continuously performed on the object to be processed, there is no need to provide a transfer device between the processing units, which is conventionally required, and no transfer time for transferring the object to be processed. The yield when the continuous processing apparatus 10 processes the surface to be processed can be improved. Once the object to be processed is set for the stage, a plurality of types of processes can be continuously performed on the object to be processed in any combination or in any order.
The cleaning unit 11 shown in FIG. 1 can easily produce ozone water simply by mixing pure water and ozone. In addition, the cleaning unit 11 can perform pure water cleaning if ozone is not mixed with pure water.
[0054]
As shown in FIG. 1, the processing units of the continuous processing apparatus 10 are preferably arranged with respect to the unit arrangement unit 50 at intervals of the same angle around the rotation center CL. In this way, by arranging the processing units at the same angle, the processing units can be easily exchanged, and the processing type change, expandability, and maintainability in the continuous processing apparatus 10 are improved.
[0055]
However, the present invention is not limited to this, and each processing unit may be made variable in accordance with the shape and size of each processing unit, rather than every same angle in the unit arrangement unit 50. Also in this case, as long as each processing unit faces the rotation center CL, there is no restriction on the angle.
In addition, when each processing unit in FIG. 1 is at the outer peripheral position (position in the unprocessed operation state) of the unit arrangement unit 50, it is preferable that the processing unit can be isolated by an opening / closing shutter in order to prevent the influence from the rotation operation unit 20.
[0056]
The continuous processing apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the combination of the processing units shown in FIG. 1, but it is of course free to increase or decrease the number, change the type, or change the arrangement order.
Examples of types of processing that can be performed by the continuous processing apparatus of the present invention include water cleaning, ozone cleaning, liquid draining, lyophilic processing, lyophobic processing, ashing processing, etching processing, liquid film forming processing, drying processing, annealing processing, and the like. It is.
[0057]
In the continuous processing apparatus of the present invention, since a plurality of types of processing are continuously performed on the processing target surface, it is not necessary to clean the object to be processed and remove dust and the like between each processing.
In the embodiment of the present invention, the type of the object to be processed is not limited to the silicon wafer, but may be other types, for example, a glass substrate or other types. The object to be processed can be used for a liquid crystal display device, an organic electroluminescence (EL) device, and other types of display devices. The object to be processed may be a ceramic substrate or a plastic substrate in addition to the glass substrate.
The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the claims.
A part of each configuration of the above embodiment can be omitted, or can be arbitrarily combined so as to be different from the above.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the entire continuous processing apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a side view showing a structural example of a rotation operation unit of a continuous processing apparatus.
FIG. 3 is a plan view showing an example of a cleaning processing unit and a gas supply processing unit of the continuous processing apparatus.
FIG. 4 is a side view of a cleaning processing unit and a gas supply processing unit.
FIG. 5 is a plan view of a liquid repellent treatment unit.
FIG. 6 is a side view of a liquid repellent treatment unit.
FIG. 7 is a plan view of an air supply processing unit.
FIG. 8 is a side view of the air supply processing unit.
FIG. 9 is a plan view of a drying processing unit.
FIG. 10 is a side view of a drying processing unit.
FIG. 11 is a plan view of a liquid treatment unit.
FIG. 12 is a side view of a liquid agent processing unit.
FIG. 13 is a plan view of an annealing unit.
FIG. 14 is a side view of an annealing unit.
FIG. 15 is a plan view of a liquid treatment unit.
FIG. 16 is a side view of the liquid treatment unit.
FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing an example of the continuous processing method of the present invention.
FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a structure of one pixel of a liquid crystal display device as an example.
FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of steps formed by the continuous processing method of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Continuous processing apparatus, 11 ... Cleaning processing unit, 12 ... Liquid repellent processing unit, 13 ... Air supply processing unit, 14 ... Gas supply processing unit, 15 ... Drying processing unit , 16 ... Liquid treatment unit, 17 ... Annealing treatment unit, 18 ... Liquid treatment unit, 20 ... Rotation operation part, 30 ... Object to be treated, 31 ... Surface to be treated, 40 ... Stage, 50 ... Unit placement section, 100 ... Control section

Claims (1)

It is a continuous processing method for continuously performing a plurality of types of processing on a processing target surface of an object to be processed,
A rotation operation step of holding the object to be processed on a mounting surface and rotating the object surface of the object to be processed;
The plurality of types of processing units are arranged in a circular shape, and the plurality of types of processing units for performing different processing on the processing target surface of the object to be processed under atmospheric pressure or pressure near atmospheric pressure, respectively. anda processing step of performing processing by any processing unit,
A unit arrangement unit that arranges the plurality of types of processing units at intervals around the rotation center of the rotation operation unit, and the rotation operation unit is positioned at the center of the unit arrangement unit;
The plurality of types of processing units include a cleaning processing unit, a drying processing unit, a surface modification processing unit, a liquid processing unit, and an annealing processing unit for cleaning the processing target surface of the object to be processed and the mounting surface of the rotation operation unit. A moving operation unit for advancing the processing target surface mounted on the rotation operation unit to the processing target surface side and retracting after processing when performing processing on the processing target surface. Have each,
A continuous processing method characterized by the above.

Images