JP4483023B2 - Support plate, firing apparatus, substrate firing method, and flat panel display manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a support plate, a baking apparatus, a method of baking a substrate using them, and a method of manufacturing a flat display panel using the baking method.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As shown in FIG. 15, the conventional baking apparatus is arranged at the entrance of the continuous feeding type baking furnace 1, the return conveyor 2 arranged below the baking furnace 1, and the baking furnace 1 and the return conveyor 2. A lifter 3a, 3b and a substrate transfer device (hereinafter referred to as a transfer device) 4 disposed adjacent to the lifter 3a. The firing furnace 1, the return conveyor 2, the lifters 3a and 3b, and the conveying device 4 are each provided with a cylindrical conveying roller 5, and the conveying roller 5 is rotated by a driving device (not shown). The lifters 3a and 3b move up and down.
[0003]
When firing the glass substrate, the heat-resistant support plate 6 is placed on the transport roller 5 of the transport device 4, and then the flat glass substrate 7 is placed on the support plate 6 manually or by a machine. Put. At this time, the center of the substrate 7 and the center of the support plate 6 are aligned as shown in FIG. Thereafter, by driving the transfer device 4 and the lifter 3a, the support plate 6 on which the substrate 7 is placed is transferred, and the substrate 7 carried into the baking furnace 1 is baked in the furnace and sent to the lifter 3b. And the support plate 6 and the board | substrate 7 are returned to the conveying apparatus 4 by the return conveyor 2 and the lifter 3a.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
When the support plate 6 is carried into the firing furnace 1, as shown in FIG. 16, the substrate 7 is placed without protruding from the support plate 6. However, when the substrate 7 is heated and fired in the firing furnace 1 and reaches the lifter 3b at the exit of the firing furnace 1, the substrate 7 is displaced in the transport direction with respect to the support plate 6 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 18, a phenomenon that the substrate 7 protrudes to the outside of the support plate 6 occurs due to the rotational displacement of the substrate 7. Here, the arrows in FIGS. 17 and 18 indicate directions in which the support plate 6 and the substrate 7 are conveyed in the firing furnace 1. If the support plate 6 is lowered by the lifter 3b while the substrate 7 is displaced as described above, the substrate 7 collides with members around the lifter 3b and the substrate 7 is damaged, which is a serious problem. It was.
[0005]
The reason why the substrate shift occurs in such a firing furnace 1 is that air was left between the substrate 7 placed on the support plate 6 and the support plate 6 and was carried into the firing furnace 1. It turned out to be the cause. That is, since the substrate 7 and the support plate 6 have warps and dents, when the air between the substrate 7 and the support plate 6 thermally expands in the firing furnace 1 and the substrate 7 floats on the support plate 6, It is considered that the substrate 7 is displaced or rotated because the thermally expanded air is biased out.
[0006]
In order to prevent such substrate displacement, a method of suppressing the movement of the substrate 7 by using a support plate 6a in which pins 8 are implanted in the peripheral portion as shown in FIG. 19 can be considered. However, in this method, it is difficult to place the substrate 7 on the support plate 6a, the pins 8 come off, the pins 8 become obstructed when the support plate 6a is cleaned, and the substrates 7 having different sizes are placed. There was a problem that the position of the pin 8 had to be changed.
[0007]
Moreover, as shown in FIG. 20, the method of releasing the air between the board | substrate 7 and the support plate 6b by using the support plate 6b provided with the some hole 9 can be considered. However, in this method, the organic component of the paste formed on the substrate 7 evaporates in the firing furnace 1, and the vapor adheres to the surface of the substrate 7 on the side in contact with the support plate 6 b from the hole 9. As a result, there is a problem that stains on the surface of the substrate 7. Further, although the heat radiation from the heater is directly transmitted to the region on the surface of the substrate 7 corresponding to the hole 9 of the support plate 6b, the heat radiation is not directly transmitted to the region on the surface of the substrate 7 in contact with the support plate 6b. For this reason, the surface of the substrate 7 is stained due to a difference in temperature rise value and history between the region in contact with the support plate 6 b on the surface of the substrate 7 and the region facing the hole 9. Sometimes. If, for example, a plasma display panel is configured using a substrate on which such a stain has occurred, there is a problem that display quality is impaired.
[0008]
Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 21, a method of stopping the sliding of the substrate 7 using a support plate 6c with a raised end is also conceivable. However, when the support plate 6c is cleaned, the end is high. When a cleaning device comprising a rotating brush is used, there is a problem that it is difficult to clean the surface of the support plate 6c and it is difficult to automate. Further, there is a problem that the processing of the support plate 6c becomes expensive.
[0009]
The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and suppresses the displacement of the substrate in the baking furnace, and does not damage the substrate. The substrate transfer device, the baking device, and the plasma display panel are manufactured. It aims to provide a method.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The baking apparatus of the present invention is a baking apparatus for baking a glass substrate used in a flat display panel, and removes air between a support plate and the substrate placed thereon. Air removal means, a firing furnace, and a transport means for transporting the support plate on which the substrate is placed from the air removal means to the firing furnace, and the air removal means is disposed on the support plate. Covering means for covering the peripheral portion of the substrate placed and the portion of the support plate located in the vicinity of the peripheral portion, and suction means connected to the covering means . With this configuration, air between the substrate and the support plate can be removed before the substrate is placed in the baking furnace.
[0011]
The substrate firing method of the present invention is a method for firing a glass substrate used in a flat display panel , wherein the substrate is placed on a support plate, and the peripheral portion of the substrate and the peripheral portion thereof are placed. A portion of the support plate located in the vicinity is covered with covering means, and air is sucked by suction means connected to the covering means to almost eliminate air between the substrate and the support plate, and then the covering is performed. The target means is removed, and then the support plate on which the substrate is placed is carried into a firing furnace and the substrate is fired.
[0012]
Another method for firing the substrate of the present invention is a method of firing a glass substrate used for a flat display panel, on the front surface for mounting said substrate, a groove reaching the side surface is formed, the thickness direction after placing the substrate on the supporting plate is not a hole penetrating in, and carried the supporting plate on which the substrate is placed into the sintering furnace in which firing the substrate.
[0013]
Moreover, the manufacturing method of the flat panel display panel of this invention manufactures a panel using the board | substrate baked by the baking method of these board | substrates.
[0014]
With these substrate firing methods and flat panel display panel manufacturing methods, the support plate and the substrate are carried into a firing furnace in a state where there is almost no air between the support plate and the substrate placed thereon. Can be fired.
[0015]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0016]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a firing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The firing apparatus 10 includes a continuous firing furnace 1, a return conveyor 2 disposed below the firing furnace 1, lifters 3 a and 3 b disposed at the entrance and exit of the firing furnace 1 and the return conveyor 2, and a lifter It is comprised from the conveying apparatus 11 arrange | positioned adjacent to 3a. The firing furnace 1, the return conveyor 2, the lifters 3a and 3b, and the transport device 11 are each provided with a cylindrical transport roller 5. The transport roller 5 is rotated by a driving device (not shown).
[0017]
2 is an arrow view of the transfer device 11 as viewed from the Y direction in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is an arrow view of the transfer device 11 as viewed from the Z direction. These drawings show a state in which a support plate 6 is placed on a plurality of transport rollers 5 provided in the transport device 11 and a glass substrate 7 is placed on the support plate 6. The support plate 6 is a flat plate having a thickness of about 5 mm and a surface roughness of about 6.3 μm, and uses Neoceram (trade name) manufactured by Nippon Electric Glass Co., Ltd. Further, the heat-resistant temperature of the support plate 6 is about 750 ° C. and the thermal expansion coefficient is almost zero, but a material having a thermal expansion coefficient comparable to that of the substrate 7 placed thereon is preferable.
[0018]
A push-up means (support plate bending means) 12 for pushing up and bending the support plate 6 is installed below the transport roller 5 provided in the transport device 11. The push-up means 12 includes a push-up member 12a in which a plurality of convex-shaped members are arranged, and a push-up cylinder 12b for moving the push-up member 12a up and down. The push-up member 12a moves up and down between the transport rollers 5. It is arranged to move. Further, the push-up member 12a has a small width, and is installed at a substantially central portion in the axial direction of the transport roller 5 so as to push up the central portion of the support plate 6 linearly. For this reason, when the support plate 2 is pushed up by the push-up means 12, the support plate 6 is curved from the center to the periphery in the longitudinal direction.
[0019]
As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, a pressing roller (supporting plate pressing means) 13 is disposed in the vicinity of both end portions of the supporting plate 6. When viewed from the Y direction in FIG. It is arranged at a position overlapping the transport roller 5. When the support plate 6 is pushed up by the push-up means 12, the press roller 13 can prevent the end portion of the support plate 2 from rising upward.
[0020]
The firing furnace 1 includes a transport roller 5 that transports the support plate 6, a muffle 14 that forms a heating chamber, a heater 15 that heats the substrate 7 on the support plate 6, a cooling means 16 that cools the heated substrate 7, An air supply means 17 for supplying air into the muffle 14, an exhaust means 18 for exhausting combustion gas in the muffle 14, and a furnace body cover 19 are configured.
[0021]
The lifter 3 a provided on the entrance side of the firing furnace 1 is used to transfer the support plate 6 on which the substrate 7 is placed from the transport device 11 to the firing furnace 1 and from the return conveyor 2 to the transport device 11. . The lifter 3 b provided on the exit side of the firing furnace 1 is for transferring the substrate 7 fired in the firing furnace 1 to the return conveyor 2.
[0022]
Next, a method for firing a substrate using such a firing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 4 to 8 are views for explaining the operation of the conveying device 11, and FIGS. 4, 6 and 8 are views as seen from the Z direction shown in FIG. 1, and FIGS. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along arrow AA shown in FIG. 2.
[0023]
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the support plate 6 is placed on the transport roller 5 of the transport device 11, and both end portions of the support plate 6 are pressed from above by the pressing roller 13. At this time, the support plate 6 is placed horizontally on the transport roller 5. Next, when the push-up cylinder 12b is driven to raise the push-up member 12a, the support plate 6 rises by about 2 mm to 4 mm at the center as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, and is curved convexly upward. . At this time, since the end portion of the support plate 6 is pressed by the pressing roller 13, the amount of bending can be made larger than when the pressing roller 13 is not provided.
[0024]
In this state, when the substrate 7 is manually placed on the support plate 6 so that the central portion of the substrate 7 contacts the tip of the convex portion of the support plate 6 (substantially the central portion of the support plate 6), the substrate 7 is The substrate 7 gradually comes into contact with the support plate 6 while extruding air from the central portion toward both end portions, and finally the substrate 7 is curved along the support plate 6 as shown in FIG. It will be put in the state. When the state shown in FIG. 8 is held for about 30 seconds, the support plate 6 and the substrate 7 are gradually brought into close contact with each other, and the air between the support plate 6 and the substrate 7 is discharged. If this holding time is short, the amount of air discharged is reduced and air remains between the substrate 7 and the support plate 6, and if it is long, there is a problem that the production lead time becomes long. Therefore, this holding time is 30 seconds. About 60 seconds is preferable.
[0025]
Next, the push-up member 12a is lowered to return the support plate 6 to a horizontal position as shown in FIG. By this operation, the support plate 6 and the substrate 7 are displaced relative to each other in the direction of the arrow ab shown in FIG. 8, so that the air between the support plate 6 and the substrate 7 is further discharged. As a result, there is almost no air between the support plate 6 and the substrate 7.
[0026]
After the above operation, the substrate 7 placed on the support plate 6 is transported to the entrance of the firing furnace 1 by the lifter 3a, and is passed through the muffle 14, whereby the substrate 7 is fired. When the fired substrate 7 comes out of the firing furnace 1, there is almost no displacement between the support plate 6 and the substrate 7. And the support plate 6 which mounted the board | substrate 7 which came out from the baking furnace 1 is moved to the lifter 3b, Then, the support plate 6 is conveyed by the return conveyor 2, and it moves to the lifter 3a, and returns to the conveying apparatus 11 from the lifter 3a.
[0027]
Thus, before the board | substrate 7 is carried in to the baking furnace 1, since the air between the support plate 6 and the board | substrate 7 is discharged | emitted by the conveying apparatus 11, when the board | substrate 7 came out of the baking furnace 1, A positional shift between the support plate 6 and the substrate 7 can be prevented. As a result, when the substrate 7 is lowered by the lifter 3b, the conventional substrate 7 is not damaged, and the manufacturing yield can be improved.
[0028]
Further, by using the pressing roller 13, the amount of bending of the support plate 6 can be increased. For this reason, when the substrate 7 is placed on the curved support plate 6 and then the support plate 6 is returned to a flat plate shape, the amount of shift between the support plate 6 and the substrate 7 increases. 7 is reliably discharged, and the substrate shift is further less likely to occur.
[0029]
An air cushion can be used as the support plate bending means. For example, a cylindrical air cushion is placed under the support plate 6 along the center line of the support plate 6 with no air inside. Then, after the peripheral edge of the support plate 6 parallel to the air cushion is pressed by the pressing roller 13, the support plate 6 is bent by inflating the air cushion with air. Subsequently, after placing the substrate 7 on the curved support plate 6 and maintaining the state for a while, the air of the air cushion is removed to return the support plate 6 to the original state. It conveys to the baking furnace 1, and the board | substrate 7 is baked. In this case as well, the same effect as when the support plate bending means is the pushing-up means can be obtained.
[0030]
In the embodiment described above, the operation of placing the substrate 7 on the curved support plate 6 is performed manually. A method of performing this operation by a machine is shown in FIG. The firing furnace 1 and the lifters 3a and 3b are the same as in FIG. The substrate holding means 20 for holding the substrate 7 is moved in the arrow cd direction by the drive motor 21 and moved in the arrow ef direction by the drive motor 22. The counterweight 23 reduces the load on the drive motor 22. In order to place the substrate 7 on the support plate 6, first, the substrate holding means 20 holding the substrate 7 is moved in the direction of arrow f, and the substrate 7 is placed on the curved support plate 6. Next, the drive motor 21 is operated to open the substrate holding means 20 left and right, whereby the substrate 7 is curved along the support plate 6 and placed on the support plate 6.
[0031]
Since the substrate 7 can be placed on the support plate 6 using the substrate holding means 20 in this way, the substrate 7 is not handled by hand, so that there is no possibility of dust adhering to the substrate 7 and the cleanliness of the substrate 7 is reduced. Will improve. Further, since the substrate 7 can always be placed on the support plate 6 while maintaining substantially the same positional relationship, the air discharging action between the support plate 6 and the substrate 7 is stabilized, and the reliability for preventing the substrate displacement is increased.
[0032]
10 and 11 are diagrams showing another embodiment, FIG. 10 is a plan view of the exhaust device, and FIG. 11 is a partial sectional view of the exhaust device. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the exhaust device 24 includes a vacuum pump (suction means) 25, a frame-shaped seal member (covering means) 26, and an exhaust pipe 27 connecting the vacuum pump 25 and the seal member 26. It consists of The seal member 26 is in close contact with the periphery of the substrate 7 and the support plate 6. When the vacuum pump 25 is operated in this state, the air between the support plate 6 and the substrate 7 is discharged. Whether or not the air is sufficiently discharged is determined by a vacuum gauge or the like, and when it is determined that the air is sufficiently discharged, the vacuum pump 25 is stopped. Next, after removing the sealing member 26 from the substrate 7, the support plate 6 and the substrate 7 are put into the firing furnace 1. By this method, it is possible to prevent the substrate 7 from being displaced from the support plate 6 in the firing furnace 1.
[0033]
Since the support plate 6 used in the above embodiment has a flat plate shape, the support plate 6 can be obtained at low cost, and the cleaning can be easily performed and maintenance management is easy. Further, since the support plate 6 has no holes, when the substrate 7 is baked, the surface of the substrate 7 corresponding to the holes is not stained.
[0034]
Next, another embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. In these, grooves are provided on the surface of the support plate so as to eliminate the air layer between the support plate and the substrate, which causes the substrate to shift in the firing furnace.
[0035]
FIG. 12 is an example of a support plate, FIG. 12 (a) is a plan view, and FIG. 12 (b) is a side view. In the support plate 28 shown in FIG. 12, a cross-shaped groove 29 is formed along the center line. The groove 29 reaches the side surface of the support plate 28 and is formed using sandblast. The thickness of the support plate 28 is about 5 mm, the depth of the groove 29 is about 200 μm, and its width is about 40 mm. When the substrate 7 having a thickness of 2.8 mm is placed on the support plate 28 at the position indicated by the two-dot chain line, the substrate 7 is fired into the firing furnace and the substrate 7 is fired. If present, even if the air expands due to thermal expansion, the air is discharged through the groove 29 before the substrate shift occurs, so that the substrate shift does not occur. As a result of the experiment, no substrate displacement occurred.
[0036]
FIG. 13 shows an example in which grooves having other shapes are provided. FIG. 13A is a plan view, and FIG. 13B is a side view. In the support plate 30, two grooves 31 having a depth of about 200 μm and a width of about 40 mm are formed in a direction parallel to the short side. The number of grooves is two in this example, but more may be formed. Although the substrate 7 was placed on the support plate 30 and the substrate 7 was fired in a firing furnace, no substrate displacement occurred.
[0037]
FIG. 14 shows another example. On the surface of the support plate 32, grooves made up of a large number of recesses 33 are formed using sandblasting. The surface connecting the tops of the convex portions is formed into a planar shape. With such a configuration, the expanded air between the support plate 32 and the substrate 7 can be smoothly discharged through the recess 33. For this reason, the substrate shift in the firing furnace does not occur.
[0038]
When using a support plate with holes penetrating in the thickness direction, there is a problem that the substrate surface is stained as described above, but when using a support plate as shown in FIGS. Since the depth of the groove is small, the material evaporated from the paste formed on the substrate does not easily enter the groove, thereby preventing the substrate from being stained. In addition, since the difference in the history of temperature rise is unlikely to occur between the area of the substrate surface facing the groove of the support plate and the area in contact with the support plate, the substrate surface may be stained accordingly. It is suppressed. In fact, the substrate was not stained in the above-described experiment. In addition, the groove | channel should just be formed so that it may be discharged | emitted through a groove | channel when the air between a board | substrate and a support plate thermally expands, The shape is not limited to the cross shape etc. which were mentioned above.
[0039]
When the depth of the groove is too small, the action of exhausting air between the substrate and the support plate is weakened, and the substrate is displaced in the firing furnace. Further, if the depth of the groove is too large, there arises a problem that the substrate is stained or the strength of the support plate is lowered. Therefore, by setting the depth of the groove to 10 μm to 1000 μm, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of a stain on the substrate surface and the substrate displacement.
[0040]
As described above, it is possible to provide a firing method capable of eliminating substrate displacement during firing by a simple method of forming grooves in a support plate, realizing high reliability and stable firing.
[0041]
Next, the results when the firing apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1 is used for manufacturing a plasma display panel will be described.
[0042]
For example, a plasma display panel is provided with a plurality of display electrodes composed of two parallel electrodes on a glass substrate, a front plate having a dielectric layer covering the display electrodes, and a data electrode on another glass substrate. And barrier ribs are alternately provided, and a back plate provided with a phosphor so as to cover the data electrode is disposed between the barrier ribs, and the display electrode and the data electrode cross each other. A discharge space formed between the front plate and the back plate is filled with a rare gas such as neon or xenon. A rare gas discharge is caused between the two electrodes constituting the display electrode, and the phosphor is lit by the ultraviolet rays generated at that time to perform display.
[0043]
Here, the baking apparatus provided with the pushing-up means 12 was used when baking the front plate. The substrate 7 to be fired is made of glass, has a thickness of about 2.8 mm, a size of 980 mm × 554 mm, a display electrode is formed on the surface of the substrate 7, and a dielectric layer covering the display electrode has a thickness of 40 μm. It is formed with a thickness of about. The support plate 6 is bent 3 mm upward on the center line parallel to the short side, the substrate 7 is placed thereon, and the state shown in FIG. 8 is held for 30 seconds, and then the support plate 6 is returned to a flat plate shape, and then the substrate 7 was carried into the firing furnace 1. In the firing furnace 1, the temperature was raised to 600 ° C., and it took about 150 minutes from putting the substrate 7 into the firing furnace 1 until leaving the firing furnace 1. At this time, the positional displacement between the support plate 6 and the substrate 7 hardly occurred in the firing furnace 1, and the substrate 7 was not damaged when moved from the firing furnace 1 to the return conveyor 2 by the lifter 3 b. In the conventional method, about 10% of the substrate is damaged, and according to the present invention, it is possible to almost certainly prevent the substrate from being damaged by the lifter 3b.
[0044]
In addition, this invention can be used in the process of manufacturing not only a plasma display panel but flat type display panels, such as an electroluminescent panel (EL panel).
[0045]
【The invention's effect】
In the present invention, when a substrate is placed on a support plate and fired in a firing furnace, the air between the substrate and the support plate is discharged before the support plate and the substrate are carried into the firing furnace. Alternatively, by using a support plate provided with a groove that can discharge air between the substrate and the support plate during the firing of the substrate, there is no substrate shift in the firing furnace, and the substrate is stably fired. And the productivity of substrate baking can be improved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a firing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view in the Y direction in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view in the Z direction in FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the transport device. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the transport device. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the transport device. 8 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the transport device. FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a device for placing the substrate on the support plate. FIG. 10 is another diagram for removing air between the substrate and the support plate. FIG. 11 is a partial cross-sectional view showing another means for removing air between the substrate and the support plate. FIG. 12 is a plan view and a side view of the support plate according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a plan view and a side view of a support plate according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 14 is a side view of a support plate according to another embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 16 is a plan view showing a state in which the substrate is placed on the support plate. Fig. 17 is a plan view showing a state of the substrate when the support plate and the substrate come out of the firing furnace. 18 is a plan view showing the state of the substrate when the support plate and the substrate come out of the firing furnace. FIG. 19 is a plan view for explaining the structure of the support plate for preventing the substrate from shifting. FIG. 21 is a plan view for explaining another structure of the support plate for preventing it. FIG. 21 is a cross-sectional view for explaining another structure of the support plate for preventing substrate displacement.
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Baking furnace 3a, 3b Lifter 5 Conveying rollers 6, 28, 30, 32 Support plate 7 Substrate 10 Firing apparatus 11 Conveying apparatus 12 Pushing means 13 Pressing roller 20 Substrate holding means 24 Exhaust apparatus 25 Vacuum pump 26 Seal members 29, 31 Groove 33 recess

Claims (6)

A firing apparatus for firing a glass substrate used in a flat display panel, an air removing means for removing air between a support plate and the substrate placed thereon, and firing A furnace, and a conveying means for conveying the support plate on which the substrate is placed from the air removing means to the firing furnace , wherein the air removing means is provided on the substrate placed on the support plate. A firing apparatus comprising covering means for covering a peripheral edge and a portion of the support plate located in the vicinity of the peripheral edge, and suction means connected to the covering means .   A support plate on which the substrate is placed when firing a glass substrate used in a flat display panel, and a groove reaching the side surface is formed on the surface on which the substrate is placed, and penetrates in the thickness direction. Support plate without holes. The support plate according to claim 2 , wherein the groove has a depth of 10 to 1000 μm.   A method of firing a glass substrate used in a flat display panel, wherein the substrate is placed on a support plate, and a peripheral portion of the substrate and a portion of the support plate located in the vicinity of the peripheral portion And the cover means, and the suction means connected to the cover means sucks air to substantially eliminate the air between the substrate and the support plate, and then removes the cover means. A method for firing a substrate, wherein the support plate on which the substrate is placed is carried into a firing furnace and the substrate is fired.   A method of firing a glass substrate used in a flat display panel, wherein a groove reaching the side surface is formed on a surface on which the substrate is placed, and the support plate has no holes penetrating in the thickness direction. A method for firing a substrate, wherein after the substrate is placed, the support plate on which the substrate is placed is carried into a firing furnace and the substrate is fired. The process according to claim 4, wherein flat display panel to produce a panel with a substrate that is fired by a firing method of the substrate according to claim 5.

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