JP5092808B2 - Ultraviolet irradiation unit and ultraviolet irradiation treatment device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an ultraviolet irradiation processing apparatus. In particular, the present invention relates to an ultraviolet irradiation unit and an ultraviolet irradiation processing apparatus using an excimer lamp used for cleaning a semiconductor substrate or a liquid crystal substrate in a manufacturing process of a semiconductor substrate or a liquid crystal substrate.

  In recent manufacturing processes of semiconductor substrates and liquid crystal substrates, a dry cleaning method using ultraviolet rays as a method of removing dirt such as organic compounds adhering to the surface of a silicon wafer as a semiconductor substrate or a glass substrate as a liquid crystal substrate. Is widely used. In particular, in a cleaning method using ozone or active oxygen using vacuum ultraviolet light radiated from an excimer lamp, various cleaning apparatuses that perform cleaning more efficiently and in a short time have been proposed. For example, Patent Document 1 is known. Yes.

  FIG. 13 shows a configuration of a conventional ultraviolet irradiation processing apparatus disclosed in the document. According to the conventional ultraviolet irradiation processing apparatus, a porous gas diffusion plate B in which a large number of holes with a diameter of 2 mm are formed on a ceiling portion of the open housing A at a pitch of 3 mm, for example, in a stainless steel plate so as to have an aperture ratio of 40%. Is arranged in parallel with the open surface of the open housing A. The support plate C is formed with a gas supply port CA connected to the space defined by the gas diffusion plate B, and a gas supply duct D is provided on the support plate C so as to cover the gas supply port CA from above. Is provided. A nitrogen gas supply source (not shown) is connected to the gas supply duct D so that clean nitrogen gas (inert gas) is supplied to the space above the gas diffusion plate B through the gas supply duct D and the gas supply port CA. These structures constitute the gas supply means E. In the transfer chamber F, a plurality of conveyor shafts H constituting the transfer mechanism G are rotatably provided in a direction perpendicular to the transfer direction of the workpiece W, and a plurality of conveyor shafts H provided on the respective conveyor shafts H are provided. The workpiece W is transported on the conveyor roller. In addition, an exhaust duct I connected to an exhaust device (not shown) is provided at the bottom of the transfer chamber F so that ozone gas generated inside can be discharged together with nitrogen gas supplied into the transfer chamber F.

  According to the ultraviolet irradiation processing apparatus having the above-described configuration, nitrogen gas is discharged downward from the fine holes of the gas diffusion plate B provided in the lamp house A as shown by the arrows in FIG. The discharged nitrogen gas first collides with the flat surface of the excimer lamp J, changes the flow in the horizontal direction, and flows so as to fall straight from both sides of the excimer lamp toward the surface of the work W. For this reason, the whole is filled with the flow of nitrogen from the periphery of the excimer lamp J to the ultraviolet irradiation space X of the workpiece W, and an inert gas atmosphere in which almost no oxygen is present is maintained. Therefore, the ultraviolet light radiated from each excimer lamp J reaches the ultraviolet irradiation space X without being almost absorbed by oxygen, and the ultraviolet intensity on the surface of the workpiece W is dramatically increased as compared with the conventional case.

JP 2005-197291 A

  By the way, according to the conventional ultraviolet irradiation processing apparatus described above, in order to perform the processing of the workpiece W promptly, the area from the periphery of the excimer lamp J to the ultraviolet irradiation space X between the excimer lamp J and the workpiece W is quickly increased. It is necessary to fill with nitrogen. However, in the conventional ultraviolet irradiation processing apparatus, as shown in FIG. 13, a plurality of excimer lamps J adjacent to each other are arranged at a predetermined interval, so that the internal volume of the open housing A does not have to be increased. I do not get. Therefore, if it is going to fill with the flow of an inert gas from the circumference | surroundings of the several excimer lamp J arrange | positioned inside the open housing A to the ultraviolet irradiation space X of the workpiece | work W, a large amount will pass through the gas supply duct D and the gas supply port CA. There is a problem that it is necessary to supply an inert gas, which increases the cost. Furthermore, since a large amount of inert gas is passed through the fine holes of the gas diffusion plate B, it takes a long time to fill the inert gas around the excimer lamp J. Therefore, the transfer speed of the workpiece W must be reduced. There is a problem that the throughput is reduced.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an ultraviolet irradiation unit capable of quickly filling an inert gas around an excimer lamp and an ultraviolet irradiation processing apparatus including the ultraviolet irradiation unit.

  The ultraviolet irradiation unit of the present invention includes a plurality of excimer lamps in which a discharge gas is sealed in a sealed space formed in a discharge vessel and a pair of electrodes are formed on the outer surface of the discharge vessel with the sealed space interposed therebetween. An ultraviolet irradiation unit comprising: a lamp house that surrounds the plurality of excimer lamps and that is open in one direction in the vertical direction; and a gas supply mechanism that supplies an inert gas to the inside of the lamp house. In the house, a space closing body is disposed in a space other than the space occupied by the excimer lamp.

  Further, in the ultraviolet irradiation unit of the present invention, the space closing body is disposed between the excimer lamps adjacent to each other, and a base end portion of the space closing body is fixed to a ceiling portion of the lamp house. And

In recent years, the ultraviolet irradiation unit of the present invention has been required to irradiate ultraviolet rays onto a large-scale object to be processed, and accordingly, the light emission length of the excimer lamp accommodated in the lamp house is increased. It is necessary to do. For example, in the case of irradiating the object to be processed while transporting the object to be processed, the light emission length of the excimer lamp needs to be longer than the total length in the direction orthogonal to the direction of transport of the object to be processed. Is done.
In order to increase the emission length of the excimer lamp, it is necessary to increase the total length of the synthetic quartz glass tube constituting the arc tube. Increasing the length of one excimer lamp is difficult because of problems in manufacturing a synthetic quartz glass tube or in excimer lamp installation, as will be described below.
The problem in manufacturing a synthetic quartz glass tube is that if a synthetic quartz glass tube having a long overall length is made, the synthetic quartz glass tube is distorted or bent, making it difficult to process a lamp with stable characteristics. Further, as the total length of the synthetic quartz glass tube becomes longer, the handling (operability) is lowered, and the synthetic quartz glass tube is easily damaged or broken, resulting in a high-cost lamp.
The problem with excimer lamp installation is that when an excimer lamp with a long length is installed in a lamp house, the excimer lamp bends and the center of the excimer lamp approaches the workpiece, causing uneven UV radiation and When the processing unevenness is caused or the substrate is further bent, the excimer lamp contacts the workpiece and rubs the workpiece surface to cause mechanical damage to the workpiece.
Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, excimer lamps 1A and 1B whose full length is shorter than the total length in the direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the object to be processed are prepared, and the light emitting areas SA of the excimer lamps 1A and 1B are prepared. In general, the light emission length is increased by forming the region Q where the SB overlaps. However, when excimer lamps having relatively short overall lengths are arranged as shown in FIG. 4, an extra space is formed in the direction of the central axis of each of the excimer lamps 1A and 1B.
Therefore, in order to reduce the extra space formed in the direction of the central axis of the excimer lamps 1A and 1B, the ultraviolet irradiation unit of the present invention is such that the space blocker is disposed on the central axis of the excimer lamp. The light emitting areas of the excimer lamps adjacent to each other overlap each other on a virtual straight line perpendicular to the central axis of the excimer lamp.

  Further, the ultraviolet irradiation unit includes a support for fixing the excimer lamp in the lamp house, and both the excimer lamp and the space blocker are fixed to the support. And

  Furthermore, an ultraviolet irradiation processing apparatus according to the present invention includes the ultraviolet irradiation unit and a transport mechanism that transports an object to be processed in a direction orthogonal to the central axis of the excimer lamp.

  According to the ultraviolet irradiation unit of the present invention, since the space closing body is disposed in a space other than the space occupied by the excimer lamp in the lamp house, the volume of the space around the excimer lamp is reduced. Accordingly, the atmosphere around the excimer lamp can be made an inert gas atmosphere without supplying a large amount of inert gas into the lamp house, and the cost required for supplying the inert gas can be reduced. Furthermore, as described above, by reducing the volume of the space around the excimer lamp, the periphery of the excimer lamp can be quickly brought into an inert gas atmosphere, so that the throughput can be improved.

  Furthermore, in the ultraviolet irradiation unit of the present invention, the space closing body is disposed between the excimer lamps adjacent to each other, and the base end portion of the space closing body is fixed to the ceiling portion of the lamp house. The space blocker can be securely fixed inside the lamp house.

  Furthermore, in the ultraviolet irradiation unit of the present invention, the space blocker is disposed on the central axis of the excimer lamp, and the light emitting areas of the excimer lamps adjacent to each other are in relation to the central axis of the excimer lamp. The space formed in the direction of the central axis of the excimer lamp is closed by the space blocker when using excimer lamps with a relatively short overall length because they overlap on an orthogonal virtual straight line, and around the excimer lamp inside the lamp house The volume of the space can be reduced, and ultraviolet rays can be reliably irradiated to the object to be processed having a large area.

  Furthermore, according to the ultraviolet irradiation unit of the present invention, the excimer lamp includes a support for fixing the excimer lamp in the lamp house, and both the excimer lamp and the space closing body are fixed to the support. Therefore, when performing ultraviolet irradiation processing using a common lamp house for a plurality of types of objects to be processed having different widths in the transport direction, the cost required for supplying an inert gas is reduced. In addition, the atmosphere around the excimer lamp can be quickly brought into an inert gas atmosphere.

  Furthermore, according to the ultraviolet irradiation processing apparatus of the present invention, since the transport mechanism for transporting the target object in a direction orthogonal to the central axis of the excimer lamp is provided, the number of excimer lamps necessary for the ultraviolet irradiation process of the target object is provided. Can be reduced.

[First Embodiment]
Below, 1st Embodiment of the ultraviolet irradiation unit of this invention is described using FIGS. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the ultraviolet irradiation unit of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the excimer lamp. FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view of the excimer lamp cut in the central axis direction, and FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view of the excimer lamp cut in a direction orthogonal to the central axis. FIG. 3 shows a view when the ultraviolet irradiation unit of the present invention is viewed from the vertical direction. FIG. 4 is a diagram conceptually showing the arrangement of the excimer lamp, the space blocker, and the object to be processed. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the configuration of the space blocker.

  In the ultraviolet irradiation unit 100, a plurality of excimer lamps 1 are arranged in parallel and spaced apart from each other in a lamp house 5 made of a metal housing having an opening 51 on the lower side in the vertical direction. The gas supply pipe 3 for supplying an inert gas such as nitrogen gas is provided in the ceiling portion 52 of the projector, and the excimer lamp 1 (1B, 1D) and the block-shaped space blocker 2 (2A, 2C) adjacent to each other are provided. Are arranged as described below. Each of the excimer lamps 1 is arranged on the same plane in order to make the distance from the workpiece W uniform. Below the UV irradiation unit 100 in the vertical direction, a transport mechanism 6 including a plurality of rollers 61 for transporting a target object W such as a liquid crystal substrate or a semiconductor substrate in the direction of the arrow in FIG. . In the following, an apparatus including both an ultraviolet irradiation unit and a transport mechanism is referred to as an ultraviolet irradiation processing apparatus.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the excimer lamp 1 includes a flat rectangular tube-shaped discharge vessel 10 made of silica glass, which is a dielectric material, and rounded at four corners. The sealed space S formed inside the discharge vessel 10 is filled with a rare gas such as a xenon gas or a mixture of a rare gas and a halogen gas such as a chlorine gas as a discharge gas. Excimer light with different wavelengths is generated depending on the type of discharge gas. The discharge gas is usually filled at a pressure of about 10 to 100 KPa.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the discharge vessel 10 has a flat wall 11 located on the upper side of the paper and a flat wall 12 located on the lower side of the paper that are spaced apart from each other and extend in parallel. The flat wall 13 located at the right side of the paper and the flat wall 14 located on the right side of the paper surface are spaced apart from each other and extend in parallel. The ends of the flat walls 11 to 14 are connected by the curved portion 15. In such a discharge vessel 10, any of the flat walls 11 and 12 positioned above and below the paper surface forms a light emission surface for emitting ultraviolet rays toward the workpiece W. For example, below the discharge vessel 10 When the object to be processed W is arranged, the flat wall 12 becomes a light emission surface.

  Electrodes 17 and 18 are disposed on the flat walls 11 and 12, respectively. The electrodes 17 and 18 are formed to have a thickness of, for example, 0.1 μm to several tens of μm by printing or vapor-depositing a corrosion-resistant metal such as gold, silver, copper, nickel, or chromium on the flat walls 11 and 12. It covers almost the entire area of the flat walls 11 and 12 in the width direction. When the flat wall 12 serves as a light emitting surface, the electrode 18 positioned below is formed to have light transmittance by printing or vapor-depositing the above metal in a lattice shape. The light emitting region SA is a region sandwiched between the electrodes 17 and 18 in the sealed space S in the discharge vessel 10 as indicated by a broken line in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an ultraviolet reflecting film 16 made of, for example, silica particles and alumina particles is formed on the inner surface 11 a of the flat wall 11 on the side far from the workpiece W. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the ultraviolet reflecting film 16 extends to the curved portion 15 continuous at both ends of the flat wall 11 and the inner surfaces of the flat walls 12 to 14. As for the ultraviolet reflective film 16, it is preferable that the content rate of a silica particle is 30-99 mass%, and the content rate of an alumina particle is 1-70 mass%.

The ultraviolet irradiation unit of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG.
In the lamp house 5, a plurality (four in the example shown in FIG. 3) of excimer lamps 1A to 1D and the same number of the space closing bodies 2A to 2D as the excimer lamps 1A to 1D are provided. 2D is located on the central axis X of each of the excimer lamps 1A to 1D, and the excimer lamps 1A to 1D and the space blockers 2A to 2D are alternately arranged in a direction orthogonal to the central axis X of the excimer lamps 1A to 1D. Specifically, they are arranged as follows.

  In the excimer lamps 1A and 1B, one end of the excimer lamp 1A located near the side wall of the lamp house 5 extends beyond the other end of the excimer lamp 1B adjacent to the excimer lamp 1A, but exceeds one end of the excimer lamp 1B. Arranged so that there is no. The light emitting area SA of the excimer lamp 1A and the light emitting area SB of the excimer lamp 1B overlap with each other in the area indicated by Q in FIG. On one end side of the excimer lamp 1A, a space not occupied by the excimer lamp 1A is formed, and a space closing body 2A is disposed in the space.

  The excimer lamps 1B and 1C are arranged such that the other end of the excimer lamp 1B extends beyond one end of the excimer lamp 1C adjacent to the excimer lamp 1B, but does not exceed the other end of the excimer lamp 1C. The light emitting region SB of the excimer lamp 1B and the light emitting region SC of the excimer lamp 1C overlap in a region indicated by Q in FIG. On the other end side of the excimer lamp 1B, a space not occupied by the excimer lamp 1B is formed, and the space closing body 2B is disposed in the space.

  The excimer lamps 1C and 1D are arranged so that one end of the excimer lamp 1C extends beyond the other end of the excimer lamp 1D adjacent to the excimer lamp 1C, but does not exceed one end of the excimer lamp 1D. The light emitting region SC of the excimer lamp 1C and the light emitting region SD of the excimer lamp 1D overlap in a region indicated by Q in FIG. On one end side of the excimer lamp 1C, a space not occupied by the excimer lamp 1C is formed, and a space closing body 2C is disposed in the space. On the other end side of the excimer lamp 1D located near the side wall of the lamp house 5, a space not occupied by the excimer lamp 1D is formed, and a space closing body 2D is arranged in the space.

  In this way, in the ultraviolet irradiation unit 100, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, each of the excimer lamps 1A to 1D is arranged in a direction in which each central axis X is orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the workpiece W. The light emitting areas SA to SD in the excimer lamps 1A to 1D adjacent to each other are arranged so as to overlap on a virtual straight line K orthogonal to the central axes of the excimer lamps 1A to 1D. By doing so, as shown in FIG. 4, even if the total length in the direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the target object W is longer than the total length of each of the excimer lamps 1A to 1D, the target object By irradiating the ultraviolet rays emitted from the excimer lamps 1A to 1D over the entire length in the direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of W, the surface treatment of the workpiece W can be reliably performed, and the workpiece W Since it is not necessary to produce an excimer lamp having a long length corresponding to the entire length, there is an advantage that the excimer lamp can be easily manufactured.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, gas supply mechanisms 3 </ b> A to 3 </ b> H for supplying an inert gas around the excimer lamps 1 </ b> A to 1 </ b> D are arranged above the excimer lamps 1 </ b> A to 1 </ b> D in the vertical direction. ing. Each of the gas supply mechanisms 3A to 3H is formed of a tubular member having a rectangular cross section, and a plurality of openings 31A to 31H for blowing out the inert gas are separated from each other sequentially in the longitudinal direction of the gas supply mechanisms 3A to 3H. Inert gas is blown out uniformly from the openings 31A to 31H. The inert gas is supplied in order to prevent the ultraviolet light emitted from the excimer lamps 1A to 1D from being absorbed by oxygen present in the lamp house 5, and for example, nitrogen gas or the like is preferably used. .

The configuration of the space blocking bodies 2A to 2D will be described below. For convenience, only the configuration of the space blocking body 2A will be described, but the space blocking bodies 2B to 2D have the same configuration as the space blocking body 2A.
As shown in FIG. 5, the space closing body 2A includes a rod-like body 21A attached to the ceiling 52 of the lamp house 5, a bottomed cylindrical body 22A that covers the periphery of the rod-like body, the rod-like body 21A, and the It is comprised by the fixing member 23A which fixes 22 A of bottomed cylindrical bodies. The rod-like body 21A has a proximal end fixed to the ceiling portion 52 of the lamp house 5, and a bottomed screw hole 211A is formed on the distal end side located near the workpiece W. The bottomed cylindrical body 22A has an open base end that contacts the ceiling portion 52, and an opening 222A through which the fixing member 23A is inserted at the center of the bottom plate portion 221A. The fixing member 23A includes a rod-like screw portion 231A that is screwed into the screw hole 211A of the rod-like body 21A, and a flange portion 232A that extends continuously in a hook shape from the screw portion 231A.

  The space blocking bodies 2A to 2D are manufactured as follows. The bottomed cylindrical body 22A covers the periphery of the rod-shaped body 21A and is arranged so that the base end of the bottomed cylindrical body 22A is in contact with the inner surface of the lamp house 5, and is fixed from the opening 222A of the bottomed cylindrical body 22A. The screw portion 231A of the member 23A is inserted, and the screw portion 231A is screwed into the screw hole 211A of the rod-like body 21A until the flange portion 232A of the fixing member 23A comes into contact with the distal end portion of the bottomed cylindrical body 22A. Is formed by. The shape of the space closing body 2A is not particularly limited, but preferably has a rectangular parallelepiped shape in order to reduce the volume of the region not occupied by the excimer lamp inside the lamp house 5. Further, since the bottomed cylindrical body and the fixing member are exposed in the space in the lamp house 5, it is preferable that the bottomed cylindrical body and the fixing member are made of a material excellent in ultraviolet light resistance and ozone resistance. It is composed of alumite treated ceramics and the like.

  In the ultraviolet irradiation unit of the present invention, the front end surface of each space blocking body 2A to 2D (the front end surface of the bottomed cylindrical body) is processed more than the plane including the light emitting surface of each excimer lamp 1A to 1D. It is preferable that it is arranged closer to the body W and closer to the upper side in the vertical direction than the plane including the tip surface located on the lower side in the vertical direction of the lamp house 5. By doing so, the volume of the space other than the space occupied by each of the excimer lamps 1A to 1D in the internal space of the lamp house 5 can be reduced, and moreover, the space blocking bodies 2A to 2D are covered. There is no worry that the processing body W collides.

  According to the ultraviolet irradiation unit of the present invention as described above, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the space blocker is arranged in a space other than the space occupied by the excimer lamps 1 </ b> A to 1 </ b> D inside the lamp house 5. Therefore, the volume of the extra space in the lamp house 5 is reduced. Therefore, since the interior space of the lamp house 5 can be made an inert gas atmosphere by supplying a small amount of inert gas, the cost required for supplying the inert gas can be reduced, and the lamp house 5 can be reduced. It is possible to quickly fill the interior space with the inert gas.

  In particular, as shown in FIG. 1, in order to improve the throughput in an ultraviolet irradiation processing apparatus having a transport mechanism, the atmosphere in the lamp house 5 becomes an air atmosphere after the processed object W is transported. In consideration of the above, when the object to be processed is located immediately below the opening 51 of the lamp house 5, it is necessary to quickly change the atmosphere in the lamp house 5 to an inert gas atmosphere. Therefore, when the object to be processed W is located directly below the opening 51 of the lamp house 5 by reducing the space other than the space occupied by the excimer lamp 1 inside the lamp house 5 as in the present invention. Since the lamp house 5 can be quickly filled with the inert gas, the throughput is significantly improved as compared with the ultraviolet irradiation unit according to the comparative example.

  On the other hand, in the ultraviolet irradiation unit of the comparative example as shown in FIG. 6, the space blocker is disposed in the spaces TA to TD other than the space occupied by the excimer lamps 1 </ b> A to 1 </ b> D inside the lamp house 5. Therefore, if a large amount of inert gas is not supplied to the space in the lamp house 5, the space in the lamp house 5 cannot be made an inert gas atmosphere, which increases the cost. Since it takes a long time to fill the space with the inert gas, the throughput decreases.

[Second Embodiment]
Below, 2nd Embodiment of the ultraviolet irradiation unit of this invention is described using FIGS. 7-8. This embodiment is preferably applied when the total length in the direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the object to be processed is relatively short. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the second embodiment of the ultraviolet irradiation unit of the present invention. FIG. 8 shows a view when the ultraviolet irradiation unit shown in FIG. 7 is viewed from the vertical direction. 7 and 8, the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 1 to 5 are assigned to portions common to those in FIGS. 1 to 5.

  The ultraviolet irradiation unit 200 includes a plurality of excimer lamps 1 </ b> A to 1 </ b> C arranged in parallel and spaced apart from each other inside a lamp house 5 formed of a metal housing having an opening on the lower side in the vertical direction. 5 is provided with gas supply pipes 3A to 3F for supplying an inert gas such as nitrogen gas, and block-shaped space closing bodies 2A and 2B are disposed between adjacent excimer lamps. Yes. Each of the excimer lamps 1 </ b> A to 1 </ b> C has a light emitting surface arranged on the same plane in order to equalize the distance from the object to be processed.

  The space closing bodies 2A to 2B are fixed to the ceiling portion 52 of the lamp house 5 in the same manner as in FIG. 5, and the front end surfaces of the space closing bodies 2A to 2B (the front end surfaces of the bottomed cylindrical bodies) are It is closer to the object to be processed than the plane including the light emission surface of each of the excimer lamps 1 </ b> A to 1 </ b> C, and further upward in the vertical direction than the plane including the tip surface located on the lower side of the lamp house 5. It is preferable to arrange | position.

  As shown in FIG. 8, in the ultraviolet irradiation unit of the present invention, a plurality of excimer lamps 1 </ b> A to 1 </ b> C are arranged so as to be spaced apart from each other at equal intervals and their central axes are arranged in parallel. Above the excimer lamps 1A to 1C in the vertical direction, gas supply mechanisms 3A to 3F for supplying an inert gas around the excimer lamps 1A to 1C are arranged.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the space blocking bodies 2 </ b> A to 2 </ b> B are arranged in spaces other than the space occupied by the excimer lamps 1 </ b> A to 1 </ b> C that inevitably exist between the excimer lamps 1 </ b> A to 1 </ b> C adjacent to each other. ing. Thus, in the second embodiment of the ultraviolet irradiation unit of the present invention, each of the excimer lamps 1A to 1C and each of the space blocking bodies 2A is orthogonal to the central axis of each of the excimer lamps 1A to 1C. To 2B are alternately arranged.

  That is, in the ultraviolet irradiation unit 200, since the insulation distance from the power supply side electrode cannot be ensured, it is impossible to make the excimer lamps 1A to 1C extremely close to each other and the excimer lamps adjacent to each other. A space is inevitably formed between 1A and 1C. As described above, by disposing the space blocking bodies 2A to 2B in the spaces inevitably formed between the excimer lamps 1A to 1C adjacent to each other, the above-described first embodiment of the ultraviolet irradiation unit of the present invention is achieved. Similarly, the volume of the space other than the space occupied by the excimer lamps 1A to 1C in the lamp house 5 can be reduced. Therefore, since the interior space of the lamp house 5 can be made an inert gas atmosphere by supplying a small amount of inert gas, the cost required for supplying the inert gas can be reduced, and the lamp house 5 can be reduced. It is possible to quickly fill the interior space with the inert gas.

[Third Embodiment]
Below, 3rd Embodiment of the ultraviolet irradiation unit of this invention is described using FIGS. 9-11. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the ultraviolet irradiation unit. FIG. 10 is a perspective view when a part of the ultraviolet irradiation unit is viewed obliquely from above. In FIGS. 9 and 10, the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 1 to 5 are assigned to portions common to FIGS. 1 to 5. FIG. 11 is a view for explaining the configuration of the excimer lamp support. FIG. 12 is a perspective view for explaining thinning lighting.

  In the ultraviolet irradiation unit 300, the specifications of the lamp house 5 are often unified, and the lamp house 5 is used in common for processing a plurality of types of objects to be processed W regardless of the size of the object to be processed W. In general, it is used. The size of the lamp house 5 and the number of excimer lamps 1 accommodated in the lamp house 5 are determined according to the plurality of types of workpieces W having the largest width in the transport direction. Therefore, when the width of the workpiece W in the transport direction is smaller than the width of the lamp house in that direction, several excimer lamps 1 are removed from the support 7 and so-called thinning lighting is performed.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 12, the thinning-out lighting is performed so that the excimer lamp 1 is not supported by the supports 7D and 7E located on the right side of the excimer lamp 1C, and as shown in FIG. This is performed by fixing the space closing bodies 20A and 20B having substantially the same volume as the lamp 1 to the supports 7D and 7E, respectively. The third embodiment of the ultraviolet irradiation unit of the present invention is particularly effective when performing such thinning lighting.

  In the ultraviolet irradiation unit shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, a plurality of excimer lamps 1 </ b> A to 1 </ b> C are separated from each other in parallel inside a lamp house 5 formed of a metal housing having an opening 51 on the lower side in the vertical direction. In addition, the lamps 5 are fixed to the supports 7 </ b> A to 7 </ b> C, and the ceiling 52 of the lamp house 5 is provided with gas supply pipes 3 </ b> A to 3 </ b> F for supplying an inert gas such as nitrogen gas. On the right side of the excimer lamp 1C on the paper surface of FIG. 10, block-shaped space closing bodies 20A and 20B are respectively fixed to the supports 7D and 7E so as to be parallel to the excimer lamps 1A to 1C. In each of the excimer lamps 1A to 1C, in order to make the distance from the object to be processed W uniform, the respective light emission surfaces are arranged on the same plane.

  The space closing bodies 20A and 20B have the same volume as the excimer lamp 1, and are rod-shaped members made of, for example, metal or wood. Excimer lamps 1 </ b> A to 1 </ b> C and space blocking bodies 20 </ b> A and 20 </ b> B do not need to be arranged in separate zones as shown in FIG. 10. For example, the excimer lamps 1A to 1C and the space closing bodies 20A and 20B are arranged in the order of the excimer lamp 1A, the space closing body 20A, the excimer lamp 1B, the space closing body 20B, and the excimer lamp 1C from the left side in FIG. May be.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the support 7A includes a first holding member 71A attached to one end portion 10A of the excimer lamp 1A and a second holding member 72A attached to the other end portion 10B of the excimer lamp 1A. ing. The first holding member 71A includes a fixing portion 711A that extends parallel to the tube axis of the excimer lamp 1A, and a protruding portion 712A that extends in a direction perpendicular to the fixing portion 711A continuously from the fixing portion 711A. A bottomed hole 714A for inserting one end of the excimer lamp 1A is formed in the tip surface 713A of the fixing portion 711A.

  The second holding member 72A is formed by a series of pillar portions 722A, 723A, and 724A having a U-shaped cross section, and a frame body portion 721A arranged to surround the other end of the excimer lamp 1A; The pressing portion 725A is connected to the frame portion 721A so as to be rotatable around the column portion 724A. The pressing portion 725A is formed by a base portion 726A connected to the end portion of the column portion 724A and a protruding portion 727A continuously extending in the vertical direction of the base portion 726A, and a plate having a C-shaped cross section. A spring 728A is fixed to the protrusion 727A.

The excimer lamp 1A is fixed to the support 7 as follows. After the one end portion 10A of the excimer lamp 1A is inserted into the bottomed hole 714A provided in the first holding member 71A, the second end portion 10B of the excimer lamp 1A is surrounded by the frame body portion 721A. While the holding member 72A is disposed, the pressing portion 725A is rotated in the circumferential direction of the column portion 724A, and the end surface of the other end portion 10B of the excimer lamp 1A is pressed by the leaf spring 728A. The pressing portion 725A restricts rotation in the circumferential direction by engaging a protrusion (not shown) formed at the end of the column portion 722A with a notch (not shown) provided in the base portion 726A. And fixed to the frame body portion 721A. The excimer lamp 1A is pressed against the bottom of the bottomed hole 714A by the repulsive force generated by the leaf spring 728A, and the width of the bottomed hole 714A and the frame body part 721A is substantially equal to the width of the excimer lamp 1A. Thus, the movement in the tube axis direction and the tube axis orthogonal direction is reliably restricted.
The supports 7B to 7E have the same configuration as the above-described support 7A, and the excimer lamps 1B and 1C and the space closing bodies 20A and 20B are fixed as described above.

  In the ultraviolet irradiation unit, when the excimer lamps 1A to 1E are fixed to all of the supports 7A to 7E, the target object W is irradiated with ultraviolet rays to perform the processing of the target object W. In some cases, the object to be processed W is irradiated with ultraviolet rays while any of the excimer lamps 1A to 1E is removed from any one of the supports 7A to 7E. In the latter case, according to the ultraviolet irradiation unit 300 of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 10, the space blocking bodies 20A and 20B are fixed to the supports 7D and 7E on which the excimer lamp 1 is not installed. Therefore, an extra space inside the lamp house 5 can be reduced. Therefore, according to the ultraviolet irradiation unit 300, the interior space of the lamp house 5 can be made an inert gas atmosphere with a small amount of inert gas, as in the ultraviolet irradiation units 100 and 200 of the first embodiment described above. The cost required for supplying the inert gas can be reduced.

It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the ultraviolet irradiation unit of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of an excimer lamp. The figure when the ultraviolet irradiation unit is seen from the vertical direction is shown. It is a figure which shows notionally arrangement | positioning of an excimer lamp, a space obstruction | occlusion body, and a to-be-processed object. It is a figure which shows the structure of a space obstruction | occlusion body. It is a figure which shows notionally the ultraviolet irradiation unit of a comparative example. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of 2nd Embodiment which concerns on the ultraviolet irradiation unit of this invention. The figure when the ultraviolet irradiation unit shown in FIG. 7 is seen from the vertical direction is shown. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of 3rd Embodiment which concerns on the ultraviolet irradiation unit of this invention. It is a perspective view when a part of ultraviolet irradiation unit is seen from diagonally upward. It is a figure for demonstrating the structure of the support body of an excimer lamp. It is a perspective view for demonstrating thinning lighting. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the conventional ultraviolet irradiation processing apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Excimer lamp 2 Spatial closure body 3 Gas supply mechanism 5 Lamp house 6 Conveyance mechanism 7 Support body 20 Spatial closure body W To-be-processed object K Virtual line X Excimer lamp central axis

Claims (4)

A plurality of excimer lamps in which a discharge gas is sealed in a sealed space formed in the discharge vessel and a pair of electrodes are formed on the outer surface of the discharge vessel with the sealed space interposed therebetween, and the plurality of excimer lamps An ultraviolet irradiation unit comprising a lamp house that is open in one direction in the surrounding vertical direction, and a gas supply mechanism for supplying an inert gas to the inside of the lamp house,
An ultraviolet irradiation unit, wherein a space blocker is disposed in a space other than the space occupied by the excimer lamp and the gas supply mechanism in the lamp house.   The said ultraviolet irradiation unit WHEREIN: The said space obstruction | occlusion body is arrange | positioned between the said excimer lamps which mutually adjoin, The base end part of the said space obstruction | occlusion body is being fixed to the ceiling part of the said lamp house. The ultraviolet irradiation unit according to 1.   In the ultraviolet irradiation unit, the space blocker is disposed on the central axis of the excimer lamp, and the light emitting areas of the excimer lamps adjacent to each other are on a virtual straight line orthogonal to the central axis of the excimer lamp. The ultraviolet irradiation unit according to claim 1, which overlaps with each other. An ultraviolet irradiation unit comprising the ultraviolet irradiation unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3 and a conveyance mechanism for conveying an object to be processed in a direction orthogonal to a central axis of the excimer lamp. Processing equipment.

Images