JP4079579B2 - Wet processing equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem that a particle adheres again by allowing treatment liquid to remain near the center of a substrate that is highlighted according to enlargement in the size of the substrate since plane treatment is carried out to a glass substrate, in a method for performing washing treatment to the substrate that is being conveyed with slant attitude on a substrate conveyance path that is slanted in a surface that orthogonally crosses a conveyance direction as the washing method of the glass substrate. SOLUTION: In a curved state where the center part of a substrate 1 becomes higher, treatment liquid 8 flows and is discharged from the center of the substrate 1 to an end part without stagnation to allow the surface of the substrate 1 to be subjected to chemical liquid or pure water spry treatment, thus eliminating the need for draining the chemical liquid on the front and rear surfaces of the substrate to prevent the chemical liquid after the chemical liquid treatment from being taken out, and at the same time reducing the readhesion of the particle to the surface of the substrate after the pure water spray treatment.

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus, and more particularly to a wet processing apparatus used for etching a substrate surface or cleaning a substrate surface.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, as a glass substrate cleaning method, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 08-039742, a substrate that is being transported in an inclined posture is cleaned on a substrate transport path inclined in a plane orthogonal to the transport direction. The method of processing is shown.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, since this cleaning method is a planar process for glass substrates, the problem of reattachment of particles due to retention of the processing liquid near the center of the substrate, which is close-up as the size of the substrate increases. Was not a solution. Further, in the inclined conveyance path, there is a problem that the substrate load is biased toward the lower conveyance roller and the conveyance stability is not stable.
[0004]
An object of the present invention is to provide a wet processing apparatus capable of solving the problem caused by retention of an etching solution or a cleaning solution near the center of a substrate.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The wet processing apparatus of the present invention is a wet processing apparatus that drops a processing liquid for processing the surface of the substrate onto the surface of the substrate from above the substrate while transporting the substrate, and includes both rollers on both ends of the substrate, An intermediate roller that is sandwiched from the upper and lower sides of the conveyance roller and rotates coaxially with the conveyance roller and slightly larger in diameter than the conveyance roller is disposed only below the substrate, and the central portion of the substrate is located below the substrate The substrate is conveyed by pushing it upward from the curved surface , or provided between the intermediate roller and the conveyance roller, having a smaller diameter than the intermediate roller, and the conveyance An intermediate roller having a diameter larger than that of the roller, which rotates coaxially with the transport roller, is disposed only below the substrate, and pushes the substrate upward from below. The substrate is curved, further comprising an intermediate roller for transporting the substrate, those of the upper and lower intermediate roller other than the transport rollers at both ends of the substrate has a diameter, the transport rollers under both ends of the substrate The diameter of the intermediate roller becomes longer as it approaches the central part of the substrate, and the diameter becomes the maximum length at the central part of the substrate.
[0006]
In the wet processing apparatus described above, the treatment liquid is dropped onto the surface of the substrate by spraying. More specifically, the treatment liquid is dropped onto the surface of the substrate above the substrate. The treatment liquid is sprayed from a plurality of spray nozzles, or the treatment liquid is dropped onto the surface of the substrate by spraying from one spray nozzle provided above the substrate. The spray nozzle may be positioned directly above the central portion of the substrate, and the substrate may be a transparent substrate on which a thin film transistor is mounted.
[0007]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Next, before describing the embodiments of the present invention, the features of the present invention will be described. The wet processing apparatus according to the present invention reduces the reattachment of particles to the substrate by performing chemical treatment and pure water treatment while keeping the substrate curved when the front and back surfaces of the substrate are wet processed in a single wafer manner. However, the operation of draining the liquid from the surface of the substrate after the substrate is subjected to the chemical treatment is unnecessary.
[0008]
That is, a conveyance roller is disposed at both ends of the back surface of the substrate, and is supported by an intermediate roller having a diameter larger than that of the conveyance roller in the middle of the conveyance roller. An upper roller is provided at the front end of the substrate, and the both ends of the substrate are paired with the above-described transport rollers at both ends of the back surface. A spray nozzle for chemical treatment and pure water treatment is attached above the substrate. It has been. The substrate is bent by sandwiching the end of the substrate between the loading roller and the conveying roller, and pressing the center line on the back surface of the substrate with the intermediate roller, and sequentially performing the chemical treatment and the pure water spray treatment while conveying in this state.
[0009]
Next, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state when the wet processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention is cut along with a substrate being transported along a plane perpendicular to the substrate transport direction.
[0010]
First, the conveyance rollers 2 are arranged at both ends of the back surface of the substrate 1 made of a material such as glass, and the substrate 1 is supported by an intermediate roller 3 having a diameter larger than that of the conveyance rollers 2 in the middle of the conveyance rollers 2. In addition to the intermediate roller 3 at the center of the substrate 1, an intermediate roller 4 is provided between both ends of the substrate 1 and the intermediate roller 3. The diameter of the intermediate roller is the intermediate roller at the center of the substrate 1. Each diameter is set so that the diameter of 3 is the largest, and the diameter gradually decreases toward the transport roller 2.
[0011]
In this embodiment, an example in which three intermediate rollers are provided is shown. However, as the intermediate roller, in the case of only the intermediate roller in the central portion of the substrate, the number of even multiples of 4 or more is provided in addition to the intermediate roller in the central portion of the substrate. A case where an intermediate roller is provided is also considered as a modification of the present embodiment.
[0012]
In addition to the transport rollers 2 at both ends of the back surface of the substrate 1, an upper roller 5 is provided at the front surface end portion of the substrate 1, and a plurality of spray nozzles 7 are attached to the spray pipe 6 above the substrate 1. The wet processing apparatus 20 is configured by a combination of these.
[0013]
The substrate 1 is sandwiched between the both ends of the substrate 1 by the loading roller 5 and the transport roller 2, the intermediate roller 3 pushes up the central portion of the back surface of the substrate 1, and the intermediate roller 4 supports the push-up at the central portion of the substrate 1. The substrate 1 is held in a curved shape in which the central portion of the substrate 1 is raised.
[0014]
Although the degree of curvature differs depending on the material of the substrate, in the case of a glass substrate or the like used for a liquid crystal panel, for example, a planar substrate having a size of 680 mm × 880 mm and a thickness of 0.7 mm. The upper limit value for curving is a state in which the central portion of the glass substrate protrudes 70 mm more than when the glass substrate is flat, and the lower limit value for curving is the thickness of the glass substrate to the difference in height of the transport rollers at both ends of the glass substrate. The added value is required.
[0015]
Next, the operation of the wet processing apparatus 20 will be described with reference to FIG.
[0016]
First, the transport roller 2, the intermediate rollers 3, 4 and the loading roller 5 are rotated in the direction of unloading the substrate 1 (any direction perpendicular to the paper surface) by a drive unit (not shown) using a motor and a gear. Then, the substrate 1 is conveyed while maintaining the curved state.
[0017]
Next, the processing liquid 8 is supplied to the spray pipe 6 disposed above the substrate 1, the processing liquid 8 is discharged onto the surface of the substrate 1 by the spray nozzle 7, and chemical liquid processing and pure water spray processing are sequentially performed.
[0018]
As an effect of the present embodiment, first of all, in the cleaning process of the substrate 1, the reattachment of floating particles in the cleaning process liquid due to the stay of the cleaning process liquid on the surface of the substrate 1 can be reduced. That is.
[0019]
The reason is that, since the surface of the substrate 1 is subjected to a pure water spray process in a curved state in which the central part of the substrate 1 is raised, particles generated by the cleaning process from the central part of the substrate 1 to the end part thereof. The treated water containing water flows in the direction of arrow X in the figure without stagnation and is discharged.
[0020]
As a second effect, it is not necessary to drain the chemical solution on the front and back surfaces of the substrate 1 in order to prevent the chemical solution from being taken out after the chemical treatment.
[0021]
The reason for this is that, after the chemical treatment of the substrate 1, the substrate 1 is transported to the washing treatment tank in a curved state where the central portion of the substrate 1 is raised. Discharged.
[0022]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state in which the wet processing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention is cut along with a substrate being transported along a plane orthogonal to the substrate transport direction.
[0023]
First, the transport roller 2 is disposed at both ends of the back surface of the substrate 1, and the substrate 1 is supported by the intermediate roller 3 having a diameter larger than that of the transport roller in the middle of the transport roller 2. An upper roller 5 is provided at the surface end of the substrate 1, and a spray nozzle 17 for chemical treatment and pure water treatment is attached above the central portion of the substrate 1, and a wet treatment apparatus 30 is configured by combining these. Yes.
[0024]
In this embodiment, only the spray nozzle 17 located above the central portion of the substrate 1 is provided above the substrate 1 and the spray nozzle 17 is a nozzle having a large flow rate specification so that particles generated by the cleaning process are included. Since the cleaning water flows from the central portion to the end portion of the substrate 1 without further stagnation than in the first embodiment, the reattachment of particles to the surface of the substrate 1 can be further reduced.
[0025]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, the wet processing apparatus according to the present invention performs the chemical solution processing or the pure water spray processing on the surface of the substrate in a curved state where the central portion of the substrate is raised, so that the processing liquid is in the center of the substrate. Since the liquid flows and is discharged without stagnation from one part to the other, there is no need to remove the chemical solution on the front and back surfaces of the substrate to prevent the chemical solution from being taken out after the chemical treatment, and the particles after the pure water spray treatment Can be reduced on the surface of the substrate.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a wet processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a wet processing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Substrate 2 Conveyance roller 3, 4 Intermediate roller 5 Overlay roller 6 Spray pipe 7, 17 Spray nozzle 8 Treatment liquid 20, 30 Wet treatment device

Claims (8)

  A wet processing apparatus for dropping a processing liquid for processing the surface of the substrate onto the surface of the substrate from above the substrate while transporting the substrate, both ends of the substrate being placed on the upper and lower sides by rollers and transport rollers, respectively. An intermediate roller having a diameter slightly larger than that of the transport roller is disposed only below the substrate, and the center portion of the substrate is pushed upward from the lower side of the substrate to rotate the substrate. A wet processing apparatus which is bent and transports the substrate.   The wet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an inclined portion that supports the curved substrate is formed on the transport roller.   An intermediate roller provided between the intermediate roller and the transport roller and having a diameter smaller than that of the intermediate roller and larger than that of the transport roller. The intermediate roller rotates coaxially with the transport roller, and only below the substrate. 3. The wet processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an intermediate roller that is disposed in the upper surface and bends the substrate upward from the lower side to bend the substrate and transport the substrate. 4. Dropping of the treatment liquid to the surface of the substrate, a wet processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3 is carried out by spraying.   The wet processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the treatment liquid is dropped onto the surface of the substrate by spraying from a plurality of spray nozzles provided above the substrate.   The wet processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the treatment liquid is dropped onto the surface of the substrate by spraying from one spray nozzle provided above the substrate.   The wet processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the one spray nozzle is located directly above a central portion of the substrate. The wet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is a transparent substrate on which a thin film transistor is mounted.

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