JP4365192B2 - Transport type substrate processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus used for manufacturing a glass substrate for a liquid crystal panel, and more particularly to a substrate transport type substrate processing apparatus called a flat flow type.

  In the manufacture of a liquid crystal panel, an integrated circuit is formed on the substrate surface by repeatedly performing resist coating, development, etching, and resist stripping on the surface of a large-area glass substrate that is a material. One of the representative processing methods is a substrate transfer method called flat flow, in which various processes are repeatedly performed on the surface of the substrate while transferring the substrate in the horizontal direction.

  For example, in the flat-flow resist stripping process, the stripping solution is supplied to the surface of the substrate that is transported horizontally in a horizontal posture, and then the surface is cleaned with pure water. As the stripping solution, organic stripping solutions that exhibit strong alkalinity when mixed with water, such as amine-based ones, are frequently used. When the surface of the substrate treated with such a stripping solution is washed directly with water, a strong alkaline solution is generated, which causes a stain or the like on the substrate surface. For this reason, it is a common practice to perform substitution cleaning on the substrate surface with an organic solvent not containing an amine such as dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) called a substitution solution between the treatment with the stripping solution and the water washing treatment.

  At the outlet of the replacement zone, in order to prevent the replacement liquid from entering the next washing zone, the treatment liquid remaining on the surface is removed to such an extent that the surface of the substrate is not dried. As this removing device, an air knife type removing device using a slit nozzle that ejects air in a curtain shape is used (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2003-92284 A

  However, when the chemical solution is removed by the air knife, the air pressure cannot be increased because the surface of the substrate is not dried, and there is a problem that a considerable amount of the replacement solution remains on the substrate and is brought into the water washing zone together with the substrate. In the water washing zone, a large amount of pure water is supplied to the surface of the substrate by a shower in order to remove the replacement liquid remaining on the substrate, but the waste water after being used for cleaning is heavily contaminated with the replacement liquid. A large amount of industrial waste that is difficult to process arises, and a rise in processing costs becomes a major problem.

  In order to solve this problem, a water washing zone is composed of two or more chambers, the substrate is roughly cleaned in the former chamber, and the precision cleaning is performed in the latter chamber. In this way, highly polluted wastewater is produced in the former chamber, but the wastewater produced in the latter chamber is less polluted, and the latter wastewater can be purified relatively easily by bacteria. Therefore, the generation amount of highly polluted waste water that is difficult to control is suppressed.

  However, according to such measures, the line length becomes longer and the apparatus becomes larger due to the relation that the flush zone is constituted by two or more chambers. Although two or more chambers are used, a large amount of highly polluted waste water is generated in the former chamber, and the treatment cost is not low. In addition, the amount of washing water used in the latter chamber is large.

  The object of the present invention is to efficiently remove the chemical solution remaining on the substrate with a short line length, greatly reduce the amount of wastewater with high pollution, and reduce the amount of cleaning water used. The object is to provide a transfer type substrate processing apparatus.

In order to achieve the above object, the transport type substrate processing apparatus of the present invention is arranged with a liquid draining means for supplying a chemical solution to the surface of the substrate to be transported and removing the chemical solution remaining on the substrate with an air knife at the outlet portion. In the transport type substrate processing apparatus comprising: the chemical solution processing zone that has been performed; and the shower type water washing zone that sprays and cleans the cleaning water on the surface of the substrate transported from the chemical solution processing zone, the chemical solution processing zone and the shower type A liquid film type cleaning means for supplying cleaning water to the surface of the substrate in the form of a curtain between the water washing zone and a downstream side of the liquid film type cleaning means, and the cleaning water is arranged in a thin film and in the substrate transport direction. A rough cleaning zone is provided, which is combined with a liquid cutting means using a liquid knife that inclines to the upstream side and is ejected onto the surface of the substrate to replace the cleaning liquid remaining on the substrate. The liquid draining means is configured by arranging a plurality of flat nozzles for discharging cleaning water onto a triangular thin film in a direction perpendicular to the substrate transport direction so as to form a liquid knife continuous in the substrate width direction. ing.

In the transfer type substrate processing apparatus of the present invention, most of the chemical remaining on the substrate is removed by the rough cleaning zone provided between the chemical processing zone and the shower type water washing zone. Since the liquid draining means for removing the chemical liquid remaining on the substrate with an air knife is disposed at the outlet of the chemical liquid processing zone, the amount of wastewater with a high degree of contamination is reduced. In the rough cleaning zone, a combination of a liquid film type cleaning means and a liquid cutting means using a liquid knife enables a chemical solution to be effectively removed with a much shorter line than a shower and with a small amount of water. For this reason, the generation amount of highly polluted wastewater is drastically reduced. The shower-type water washing zone that follows this becomes a precision washing zone. By performing high-efficiency cleaning in the rough cleaning zone, it is possible to reduce the amount of water in the shower-type water-washing zone, thereby reducing the amount of wastewater with a low degree of contamination. Since the liquid cutting means by the liquid knife in the rough cleaning zone is constituted by a combination of flat nozzles, the effect of removing the cleaning water adhering to the surface of the substrate is particularly high.

In order to reduce the amount of discharged wastewater, it is preferable to dispose a liquid draining means by a liquid knife that ejects cleaning water in a thin film shape to replace the cleaning liquid remaining on the substrate at the outlet of the shower type cleaning zone.

The transfer type substrate processing apparatus of the present invention has a curtain-like cleaning water on the surface of the substrate separately from a liquid draining means by an air knife provided at the outlet of the chemical processing zone between the chemical processing zone and the shower type water washing zone. A rough cleaning zone is provided by combining a liquid film type cleaning means to be supplied to the liquid and a liquid cutting means using a liquid knife composed of a plurality of flat nozzles to eject cleaning water into a thin film to replace the cleaning liquid remaining on the substrate. Thus, the chemical solution remaining on the substrate can be efficiently removed with a small amount of cleaning water. Therefore, the amount of cleaning water used can be reduced, the amount of wastewater with a high degree of contamination can be greatly reduced, and the treatment burden can be reduced. Further, since the rough cleaning zone can be shortened as compared with the shower method, the line length can be shortened.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of the structure of a transfer type substrate processing apparatus showing an embodiment of the present invention.

  The transport type substrate processing apparatus of this embodiment is a resist peeling apparatus for manufacturing a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device. This resist stripping apparatus is configured such that a glass substrate 10 conveyed in a horizontal orientation in a horizontal posture passes through a stripping zone 20, a rough cleaning zone 30, and a precision cleaning zone 40 in order. Each zone is constituted by a chamber. The substrate transport mechanism transports the glass substrate 10 while supporting the glass substrate 10 from below by a large number of transport rollers 50 arranged in the substrate transport direction.

  The peeling zone 20 includes a first shower unit that supplies a peeling liquid to the surface of the substrate 10, a second shower unit 21 that supplies a replacement liquid to the surface of the substrate 10, and the like. At the exit of the peeling zone 20, a pair of upper and lower liquid draining means 22, 22 sandwiching the transport line of the substrate 10 is provided on the downstream side of the shower unit 21. The liquid draining means 22 and 22 are slit nozzles that form air knives, and the air knives are made to incline and collide with the front and back surfaces of the substrate 10 upstream so that the front and back surfaces of the substrate 10 are not dried. And the replacement liquid remaining on the back surface is removed.

  The rough cleaning zone 30 includes a liquid film type cleaning unit 31 that supplies cleaning water to the surface of the substrate 10 in a curtain shape, and liquid draining units 32 and 32 using a liquid knife disposed downstream of the liquid film type cleaning unit 31. It has. The liquid film type cleaning means 31 includes a plurality of flat nozzles provided above the substrate transfer line. The plurality of flat nozzles are mountain-shaped flat nozzles that discharge cleaning water into a triangular thin film, and are arranged in a direction perpendicular to the substrate transport direction to form a curtain-shaped water film continuous in the plate width direction. Yes. The zone length is significantly shorter than the conventionally used shower type water washing zone (previous coarse washing zone).

  The liquid cutting means 32, 32 using the liquid knife are provided above and below the substrate transfer line, and each includes a plurality of flat nozzles. The plurality of flat nozzles are mountain-shaped flat nozzles that discharge cleaning water onto a triangular thin film, and are arranged in a direction perpendicular to the substrate transport direction so as to form a liquid knife continuous in the plate width direction. Then, the liquid knife is made to incline and collide with the front surface and back surface of the substrate 10 upstream, thereby replacing the cleaning water remaining on the front surface and back surface of the substrate 10 with new cleaning liquid.

  The precision cleaning zone 40 has substantially the same structure as a conventionally used shower-type water cleaning zone (precise cleaning zone in the subsequent stage), and a shower unit 41 that spreads a large amount of cleaning water over the surface of the substrate 10 over a wide area. I have. At the outlet of the precision cleaning zone 40, liquid draining means 42, 42 by a liquid knife are provided. Similarly to the liquid draining means 32, 32, the liquid cutting means 42, 42 using a liquid knife is composed of a plurality of mountain-shaped flat nozzles provided above and below the substrate transfer line. By inclining and colliding with the front and back surfaces upstream, the cleaning water remaining on the front and back surfaces of the substrate 10 is replaced with new cleaning water and removed.

  Next, functions of the transport type substrate processing apparatus of the present embodiment will be described.

  While the glass substrate 10 passes through the peeling zone 20, a large amount of peeling liquid is supplied to the surface of the substrate 10 from a shower unit or the like. Thereby, the resist adhering to the surface of the substrate 10 is dissolved and removed. Subsequently, the replacement liquid is supplied from the shower unit 21 to the surface of the substrate 10. Then, the replacement liquid remaining on the front and back surfaces of the substrate 10 at the outlet is removed by the air knife type liquid draining means 22 and 22.

  The substrate 10 exiting the peeling zone 20 subsequently enters the rough cleaning zone 30. In the rough cleaning zone 30, the cleaning water is supplied to the surface of the substrate 10 at a high density as the substrate 10 passes through the cleaning water ejected in a curtain form from the liquid film type cleaning means 31. Thereafter, the cleaning water adhering and remaining on the front and back surfaces of the substrate 10 is removed by the liquid knife type liquid draining means 32 and 32.

  The liquid knife formed by the liquid draining means 32, 32 collides with the surface of the glass substrate 10 to be conveyed while being inclined in the counter direction like an air knife. As a result, the cleaning water adhering to the front and back surfaces of the glass substrate 10 is efficiently removed according to the same principle as that of the air knife, but a small amount of water is applied to the front and back surfaces of the glass substrate 10 regardless of the strength of the liquid knife. Since the cleaning water remains evenly distributed, there is no possibility of drying the front and back surfaces of the glass substrate 10 unlike an air knife.

  In addition, the liquid draining means 32, 32 is configured by a combination of flat nozzles, and a large striking force can be obtained with a smaller flow rate than when a liquid knife is formed with a slit nozzle. For this reason, the effect of removing the washing water adhering to the front surface and the back surface of the glass substrate 10 is particularly high, and the amount of water used is small, and the economy is excellent.

  The substrate 10 that has exited the rough cleaning zone 30 subsequently enters the precision cleaning zone 40. In the precision cleaning zone 40, the surface of the substrate 10 is precisely cleaned as the substrate 10 passes through the shower of cleaning water ejected from the shower unit 41. At the outlet, the cleaning water adhering and remaining on the front and back surfaces of the substrate 10 is removed by the liquid knife type liquid draining means 42 and 42. The advantages of the liquid knife type liquid draining means 42 are as described above.

  According to the water washing process in which the rough cleaning zone 30 and the precision cleaning zone 40 are combined, in the rough cleaning zone 30, most of the substitution liquid remaining on the front surface and the back surface of the substrate 10 is replaced with the cleaning water. As a result, wastewater contaminated with a high concentration by the replacement liquid is generated. However, in the rough cleaning zone 30, the cleaning is performed by the combination of the liquid film type cleaning means 31 and the liquid knife type liquid draining means 32, 32, so that the cleaning water is used in comparison with the case where the rough cleaning is performed in the shower. The amount can be greatly reduced. Specifically, it can be reduced to about 1/5. For this reason, the amount of wastewater with a high degree of pollution is greatly reduced.

  In the precision cleaning zone 40, most of the replacement liquid remaining on the front and back surfaces of the substrate 10 has already been replaced, so that the degree of contamination of the waste water is low and the generation amount is also small. The low-contamination wastewater generated here can be easily purified by biological treatment with bacteria or the like. Incidentally, wastewater treatment with a high degree of contamination occurring in the rough cleaning zone 30 is performed as follows. Generally, it is collected and treated as a waste liquid by a private processor.

  About the discharge conditions of the washing water in the liquid film type washing | cleaning means 31, 1-2 L / min per 100 mm of substrate widths is preferable. If the discharge amount of cleaning water is small, the cleaning effect is insufficient. When the amount is too large, the water cost increases unnecessarily, and the burden on the liquid knife type liquid draining means 32 disposed on the downstream side increases.

  The discharge amount of the cleaning water in the liquid knife type liquid draining means 32, 42 is preferably 1.5 to 3 L / min per 100 mm of the substrate width. When the amount is small, the liquid draining property is deteriorated. When the amount is large, the residual liquid after the liquid is drained increases, and the liquid cost increases. The inclination angle of the liquid knife with respect to the substrate surface in the liquid draining means 32, 42 is preferably 30 to 50 degrees. When this inclination angle is too small, a large amount of mist is scattered in the discharge direction, and reattachment and uniformity are problematic. When it is too large, the liquid drainage property is deteriorated, and the backflow of the discharged liquid becomes a problem. By setting these conditions, an ideal film thickness of 0.05 to 0.2 mm is ensured as the remaining liquid amount on the substrate surface after the liquid is drained.

  The above embodiment is an example of application to a resist stripping apparatus, but other than this, it can be applied to a wet process that requires a water washing process after a chemical process, such as an etching apparatus or a developing apparatus. Further, the stripping solution and the replacement solution are used in the stripping zone 10, but the replacement solution may not be necessary. In this case, the stripping solution is replaced by the rough cleaning zone 30 and the precision cleaning zone 40.

It is structure explanatory drawing of the conveyance type substrate processing apparatus which shows one Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Substrate 20 Stripping zone 21 Shower unit 22 Liquid cutting means with air knife 30 Coarse cleaning zone 31 Liquid film type cleaning means 32 Liquid cutting means with liquid knife 40 Precision cleaning zone (shower type water washing zone)
41 Shower unit 42 Liquid draining means with liquid knife 50 Conveying roller

Claims (2)

A chemical solution processing zone in which a chemical solution is supplied to the surface of the substrate to be transported and a liquid draining means for removing the chemical solution remaining on the substrate with an air knife is disposed at the outlet, and the surface of the substrate transported from the chemical solution processing zone In the transport type substrate processing apparatus having a shower type water washing zone for spraying and cleaning water on the surface of the substrate, the cleaning water is curtained between the chemical treatment zone and the shower type water washing zone. A liquid film type cleaning means to be supplied and a cleaning liquid which is disposed on the downstream side of the liquid film type cleaning means and which is left on the substrate after being sprayed on the surface of the substrate by inclining the cleaning water in the form of a thin film and upstream in the substrate transport direction the rough cleaning zone of a combination of a liquid removal means by a liquid knife replacing provided, the liquid cutting means, a plurality of flat nozzles for discharging washing water into a thin film of a triangle, is continuous in the substrate width direction liquid Conveying type substrate processing apparatus configured by arranging in a direction perpendicular to the substrate conveying direction to form a IF.   2. The transportable substrate according to claim 1, wherein a liquid cutting means using a liquid knife is disposed at the outlet of the shower-type cleaning zone to eject cleaning water into a thin film and replace the cleaning liquid remaining on the substrate. Processing equipment.

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