JP5372695B2 - Substrate processing equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate processing apparatus avoiding a contact between a substrate and a plate and heating the substrate with a high uniformity. <P>SOLUTION: The substrate processing apparatus 1 includes a drive roller 20 arranged on both sides of the heating plate 10, and a free roller 30 arranged at a section other than both sides of the heating plate 10. Because the substrate 9 is conveyed while being supported on the drive roller 20 and the free roller 30, the contact between the heating plate 10 and the substrate 9 can be avoided. A height position of a rotary shaft of the free roller 30 is not limited by a position of a drive shaft extending from a drive source. Thus, a radius of the free roller 30 and a length of a through-hole for providing the free roller 30 can be set smaller. Therefore, the heating plate 10 can heat the substrate 9 with the high uniformity. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for performing a heat treatment on a substrate.

  In the manufacturing process of a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device, a glass substrate for a PDP, or a substrate for a recording disk, a heat treatment is appropriately performed on the substrate. For example, in a photolithography process of a substrate, after a resist solution is applied to the surface of the substrate, heat treatment is performed on the substrate in order to improve adhesion between the surface of the substrate and the resist. A conventional substrate processing apparatus used for such heat treatment is disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1.

JP 2008-16543 A

  The substrate processing apparatus of Patent Document 1 holds a substrate in a non-contact manner on a plate by discharging gas from a plurality of discharge holes. And the board | substrate is heated, conveying a board | substrate along the upper surface of a plate. However, in such a substrate processing apparatus, it is difficult to increase the distance between the upper surface of the plate and the lower surface of the substrate (the flying height of the substrate). For this reason, when the size of the substrate is large, the plate and the substrate may come into contact with each other due to warpage of the substrate due to heating.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 12, if the through hole 111 is formed in the plate 110 and the driving roller 120 is disposed in the through hole 111 and the substrate 109 is conveyed on the driving roller 120, the plate 110 and The distance G from the substrate 109 can be increased. However, in order to rotate the driving roller 120 disposed in the plane of the plate 110, it is necessary to dispose the driving shaft 121 below the plate 110. For this reason, the radius R of the drive roller 120 must be set large, and accordingly, the dimension D in the transport direction of the through hole 111 must be set large. In such a structure, the unevenness of heating due to the through hole 111 may increase.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus that can prevent contact between a substrate and a plate and can heat the substrate with high uniformity.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a first invention of the present application is a substrate processing apparatus for performing a heat treatment on a substrate, and includes a flat plate-like heating plate and a conveying unit that conveys the substrate along the upper surface of the heating plate. The conveying means is disposed on a side portion of the heating plate, and is disposed on a portion other than the side portion of the heating plate, and a driving roller that actively rotates while contacting an end portion of the substrate, possess a free roller driven to rotate while supporting the lower surface, the at least a portion is positioned higher than the lower surface of the heating plate of the rotary shaft of the free roller is not exposed on the upper surface of the heating plate, and said rotary shaft that it has been placed in.

  A second invention of the present application is the substrate processing apparatus of the first invention, wherein the driving roller actively rotates while supporting the lower surface of the substrate.

  A third invention of the present application is the substrate processing apparatus of the first invention or the second invention, wherein the free roller is rotatably attached to a shaft or a bearing fixed to the heating plate.

  A fourth invention of the present application is the substrate processing apparatus of the first invention or the second invention, wherein the free roller is rotatably attached to a shaft or a bearing fixed to a lower surface of a member constituting the heating plate. ing.

A fifth invention of the present application is the substrate processing apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth inventions, wherein the heating plate includes first heating means for heating the substrate by radiant heat from the upper surface of the heating plate. And second heating means for heating the substrate by ejecting a high-temperature gas from the upper surface of the heating plate.

A sixth invention of the present application is the substrate processing apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth inventions, wherein the free roller is made of resin.

The seventh invention of the present application is the substrate processing apparatus according to any one of the first to sixth inventions, wherein all the free rollers arranged on the heating plate have different positions in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction. To do.
An eighth invention of the present application is the substrate processing apparatus according to any one of the first to seventh inventions, wherein the heating plate has a structure in which an upper plate and a lower plate are laminated in order from the top. The free roller has a rotating shaft rotatably attached via a bearing fixed to the lower surface of the upper plate.

According to the first to eighth inventions of the present application, since the substrate is supported by the free roller, the contact between the substrate and the heating plate can be prevented. Further, the height position of the rotary shaft of the free roller is not limited to the position of the drive shaft extending from the drive source. For this reason, the radius of a free roller can be set small. Therefore, the heating plate can heat the substrate with high uniformity. Further, the radius of the free roller can be set smaller.

  In particular, according to the second invention of the present application, since the substrate is supported by the driving roller and the free roller, the contact between the substrate and the heating plate can be further prevented.

  In particular, according to the third invention of the present application, even if the heating plate expands, the relative position between the free roller and the heating plate hardly changes. For this reason, the dimension of the clearance gap between a heating plate and a free roller can be designed small. Therefore, the heating plate can heat the substrate more uniformly.

  In particular, according to the fourth invention of the present application, the rotating shaft and the bearing are not exposed on the upper surface of the heating plate. For this reason, the heating plate can heat the substrate more uniformly.

In particular, according to the fifth invention of the present application, the substrate can be heated more uniformly and efficiently by the radiant heat from the upper surface of the heating plate and the gas ejected from the upper surface of the heating plate.

In particular, according to the sixth invention of the present application, it is possible to prevent the free roller and the substrate from slipping and the substrate from being damaged.

In particular, according to the seventh invention of the present application, it is possible to prevent the free roller from hitting the same position of the substrate a plurality of times. Therefore, uneven heating of the substrate by the free roller can be further suppressed.

It is a perspective view of a substrate processing apparatus. It is a top view of a substrate processing apparatus. It is the longitudinal cross-sectional view of the substrate processing apparatus seen from the III-III position in FIG. It is a top view of a heating plate. It is the longitudinal cross-sectional view of the heating plate seen from the VV position in FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a free roller and the site | part of the vicinity. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the free roller which concerns on a modification, and the site | part of the vicinity. It is a perspective view of the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on a modification. It is the figure which showed the drive roller which concerns on a modification. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the drive roller and free roller which concern on a modification, and the site | part of the vicinity. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the drive roller and free roller which concern on a modification, and the site | part of the vicinity. It is the figure which showed the drive roller which has a drive shaft under the plate.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

<1. Substrate Processing Apparatus According to One Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a substrate processing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a top view of the substrate processing apparatus 1. FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the substrate processing apparatus 1 as viewed from the position III-III in FIG. In the following description, the direction in which the substrate 9 is transported is referred to as “transport direction”, and the horizontal direction orthogonal to the transport direction is referred to as “width direction”. In each drawing of the present application, the conveyance direction and the width direction are indicated by arrows.

  The substrate processing apparatus 1 heat-treats the substrate 9 after resist application in a photolithography process for selectively etching the surface of a rectangular glass substrate 9 (hereinafter simply referred to as “substrate 9”) for a liquid crystal display device. It is a device for performing. In the manufacturing process of the substrate 9, a plurality of substrate processing apparatuses 1 are arranged in the transport direction. The substrate 9 is subjected to heat treatment while being transported on the plurality of substrate processing apparatuses 1.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the substrate processing apparatus 1 includes a heating plate 10. The heating plate 10 is a plate for heating the substrate 9 conveyed along the upper surface thereof. The heating plate 10 is formed in a substantially rectangular flat plate shape. As shown enlarged in FIG. 3, the heating plate 10 has a structure in which an upper plate 11, a lower plate 12, a heater 13, and a pressing plate 14 are laminated in order from the top.

  The upper plate 11, the lower plate 12, and the pressing plate 14 are made of a metal such as aluminum, for example. The holding plate 14 plays a role of holding the heater 13 with the lower plate 12. The heater 13 is a thin plate-like heating element. The heater 13 is formed by, for example, stainless steel etching, but may be formed of other materials. The heater 13 is connected to a predetermined power supply device (not shown).

  When a current is supplied from the power supply device to the heater 13, the heater 13 generates heat according to its resistance. The heat generated from the heater 13 is conducted to the lower plate 12 and the upper plate 11 to raise the temperature of the lower plate 12 and the upper plate 11. The substrate 9 transported on the heating plate 10 receives the radiant heat from the upper surface of the upper plate 11 and is heated.

  In addition, a plurality of jet ports 10 a are formed on the upper surface of the heating plate 10 to jet nitrogen gas heated toward the lower surface of the substrate 9. The plurality of jet nozzles 10 a are arranged on the upper surface of the heating plate 10 in the form of equidistant lattice points.

  FIG. 4 is a top view of the heating plate 10. FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the heating plate 10 as viewed from the position VV in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, an internal flow path 10 b for sending nitrogen gas to the plurality of jet nozzles 10 a is formed inside the heating plate 10. In the present embodiment, the space surrounded by the groove formed on the lower surface of the upper plate 11 and the upper surface of the lower plate 12 is the internal flow path 10b. The internal flow path 10b is extended from the introduction port 10c formed on the lower surface side of the heating plate 10 to each of the ejection ports 10a so as not to overlap the free roller 30 while branching into a plurality.

  An air supply pipe 15a for supplying nitrogen gas to the internal flow path 10b is connected to the introduction port 10c. The upstream end of the air supply pipe 15a is connected to a nitrogen gas supply source 15b. Further, an open / close valve 15c and a heater 15d are interposed in the air supply pipe 15a.

  When the on-off valve 15c is opened, compressed nitrogen gas is supplied from the nitrogen gas supply source 15b to the supply pipe 15a. The nitrogen gas is heated by the heater 15d and then introduced into the internal flow path 10b through the introduction port 10c. Then, the nitrogen gas sent to each outlet 10a through the internal channel 10b is jetted upward from the plurality of jets 10a and blown to the lower surface of the substrate 9. The substrate 9 transported on the heating plate 10 receives heat from the heated nitrogen gas and is heated.

  As described above, the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment includes the first heating unit that heats the substrate 9 by the radiant heat from the upper surface of the heating plate 10 and the substrate by ejecting high-temperature nitrogen gas from the upper surface of the heating plate 10. And a second heating means for heating 9. For this reason, the board | substrate 9 can be heated uniformly and efficiently rather than the case where the board | substrate 9 is heated only with radiant heat.

  Returning to FIGS. Four drive rollers 20 are arranged on both sides of the heating plate 10 (left and right sides in the conveyance direction of the substrate 9) so as to be equally spaced in the conveyance direction. Each drive roller 20 is disposed inside a recess 10 d formed on the side surface of the heating plate 10.

  The drive shaft 21 of each drive roller 20 is rotatably supported by frames 22 arranged on the left and right sides of the heating plate 10. The frame 22 is a separate member from the heating plate 10. A motor 23 serving as a drive source for the drive roller 20 is disposed outside the frame 22. An endless belt 24 is stretched around the drive shaft 21 of each drive roller 20 and the drive shaft 23 a of the motor 23. When the motor 23 is operated, the driving force generated from the motor 23 is transmitted to each driving roller 20 via the endless belt 24. Thereby, each drive roller 20 rotates actively in the same direction. The substrate 9 supported on the drive roller 20 is transported in the transport direction by the rotation of the drive roller 20.

  On the other hand, a plurality of free rollers 30 are arranged at portions other than both side portions of the heating plate 10. In the present embodiment, four free rollers 30 are arranged at equal intervals in the width direction, and four rows of the free rollers 30 are arranged at equal intervals in the transport direction. That is, in the present embodiment, a total of 16 free rollers 30 are arranged at equal intervals in the transport direction and the width direction.

  FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of the free roller 30 and the vicinity thereof. As shown in FIG. 6, the upper plate 11 of the heating plate 10 is formed with a through hole 10 e for securing a space for arranging the free roller 30. The upper part of the free roller 30 is located above the upper surface of the upper plate 11. Further, the lower plate 12, the heater 13, and the pressing plate 14 are formed with through holes 10f having a dimension in the width direction larger than that of the through holes 10e.

  The rotating shaft 31 of the free roller 30 is fixed to the lower surface of the upper plate 11 with bolts 31a. The free roller 30 is rotatably attached to the rotary shaft 31 via a bearing 32. The free roller 30 is not connected to a drive source such as a motor. For this reason, the free roller 30 does not actively rotate. The free roller 30 is rotated in accordance with the movement of the substrate 9 while supporting the lower surface of the substrate 9.

  Thus, the substrate 9 is conveyed along the upper surface of the heating plate 10 while being supported on the driving roller 20 and the free roller 30. That is, in the present embodiment, the drive roller 20 and the free roller 30 constitute a transport unit that transports the substrate 9.

  The distance between the upper surface of the heating plate 10 and the lower surface of the substrate 9 is determined according to the dimensions of the upper plate 11, the rotating shaft 31, and the free roller 30. For this reason, the space | interval of the heating plate 10 and the board | substrate 9 can be taken larger than the case where the board | substrate 9 is levitated from the heating plate 10 only by blowing of gas. Even if the substrate 9 is warped due to heating, at least the position of the free roller 30 maintains the distance between the heating plate 10 and the substrate 9. Thereby, contact with the heating plate 10 and the board | substrate 9 is suppressed.

  Moreover, the free roller 30 arrange | positioned in parts other than the side part of the heating plate 10 is not connected to drive sources, such as a motor. For this reason, the height position of the rotation shaft 31 of the free roller 30 is not limited to the position of the drive shaft extending from the drive source. Therefore, the rotation shaft 31 of the free roller 30 can be arranged at a high position, and thereby the radius of the free roller 30 can be set small. If the radius of the free roller 30 is set small, the dimension in the transport direction of the through hole 10e formed in the upper plate 11 can also be set small. Thereby, the heating nonuniformity of the board | substrate 9 by the through-hole 10e can be suppressed, and the board | substrate 9 can be heated with high uniformity.

  In particular, as shown in FIG. 6, the thickness of the heating plate 10 is d1, the distance between the upper surface of the heating plate 10 and the lower surface of the substrate 9 is d2, the radius of the free roller 30 is d3, and the radius of the rotating shaft 31 is d4. Sometimes, it is preferable that the relationship d1 + d2> d3-d4 is established. If such a dimensional relationship is established, at least a part of the rotating shaft 31 of the free roller 30 is disposed at a position higher than the lower surface of the heating plate 10. Thereby, the radius of the free roller 30 can be set smaller.

  Moreover, the free roller 30 of this embodiment is attached to the rotating shaft 31 fixed to the heating plate 10 itself. For this reason, even if the heating plate 10 expands due to the temperature rise, the relative position between the heating plate 10 and the free roller 30 hardly changes. For this reason, the dimension of the clearance gap between the inner surface of the through-hole 10e and the free roller 30 can be designed small. Thereby, the heating nonuniformity of the board | substrate 9 by the through-hole 10e can further be suppressed.

  In particular, the rotating shaft 31 of the present embodiment is fixed to the lower surface of the upper plate 11. For this reason, on the upper surface of the heating plate 10, members for attaching the free roller 30 (here, the rotating shaft 31 and the bolt 31a) are not exposed. For this reason, the heating plate 10 can heat the substrate 9 more uniformly.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the free roller 30 has an arc shape in which the end surface of the free roller 30 swells outward in a cross section perpendicular to the conveying direction. Thereby, the contact area between the end surface of the free roller 30 and the lower surface of the substrate 9 is suppressed, and the substrate 9 is heated more uniformly.

  The drive roller 20 and the free roller 30 are formed of a resin having high heat resistance and high wear resistance. As such a resin, for example, polyether ether ketone (PEEK) can be used. Further, the drive roller 20 and the free roller 30 may be formed of a metal such as stainless steel. However, in order to prevent the roller and the substrate 9 from slipping and the substrate 9 from being damaged, it is preferable that the drive roller 20 and the free roller 30 are formed of resin.

<2. Modification>
Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

  In the above embodiment, the free roller 30 is rotatably attached to the fixed rotation shaft 31. However, the free roller 30 is formed integrally with the rotation shaft 31 and rotates together with the rotation shaft 31. It may be. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the bearing 32 may be fixed to the lower surface of the upper plate 11, and the free roller 30 integrated with the rotating shaft 31 may be rotatably attached to the bearing 32.

  In the above embodiment, the plurality of free rollers 30 are arranged at regular intervals in the conveyance direction and the width direction. However, the intervals in the conveyance direction and the width direction of the free rollers 30 are not necessarily constant. Good.

  In the above embodiment, four free rollers 30 are arranged in the transport direction at the same position in the width direction, but the positions in the width direction of these free rollers 30 may be different. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the positions in the width direction of all the free rollers 30 arranged on the heating plate 10 may be different. In this way, it is possible to prevent the free roller 30 from hitting the same position of the substrate 9 a plurality of times in one substrate processing apparatus 1. Therefore, uneven heating of the substrate 9 by the free roller 30 can be further suppressed.

  In the above embodiment, the driving roller 20 is in contact with the lower surface of the substrate 9. However, the driving roller 20 that is in contact with the upper surface of the substrate 9 may be further arranged. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, the pair of drive rollers 20 may rotate while sandwiching the substrate 9 from above and below. In this way, the substrate 9 can be transported more reliably.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 10, a free roller 30 is also disposed on the side of the heating plate 10, and a driving roller 20 is disposed above the free roller 30, and the substrate 9 is placed between the free roller 30 and the driving roller 20. You may make it clamp an edge part. In addition, as shown in FIG. 11, the drive roller 20 may be rotated about an axis extending vertically while contacting the end surface of the substrate 9.

  In the above embodiment, the drive roller 20 is disposed only on both sides of the heating plate 10, but the drive roller 20 may be disposed only on one side of the heating plate 10. Further, the drive roller 20 may be further disposed at a portion other than the side portion of the heating plate 10.

  Moreover, in said embodiment, nitrogen gas was discharged from the several jet nozzle 10a, However, Instead of nitrogen gas, you may discharge other gas, such as clean air. However, in order to prevent an unintended chemical reaction from occurring on the surface of the substrate 9, it is preferable to use an inert gas such as nitrogen gas.

  In the above embodiment, the plurality of jet nozzles 10a are arranged at regular intervals in the transport direction and the width direction. However, the intervals in the transport direction and the width direction of the jet nozzles 10a may not be constant. Good.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the substrate 9 is heated by the radiant heat from the heating plate 10 and the blowing of nitrogen gas, but it is not always necessary to have such two types of heating means. . For example, the substrate 9 may be heated only by radiant heat without ejecting gas from the upper surface of the heating plate 10.

  The substrate processing apparatus 1 described above is a device that performs heat treatment on a rectangular glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device. However, the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention includes a semiconductor wafer, a glass substrate for PDP, and a recording disk. A heat treatment may be performed on another substrate such as an industrial substrate.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Substrate processing apparatus 9 Substrate 10 Heating plate 10a Spout 10b Internal flow path 10c Inlet 10d Recess 10e Through hole 10f Through hole 11 Upper plate 12 Lower plate 13 Heater 14 Holding plate 20 Drive roller 23 Motor 30 Free roller 31 Rotating shaft 32 bearing

Claims (8)

A substrate processing apparatus for performing a heat treatment on a substrate,
A flat heating plate;
Transport means for transporting the substrate along the upper surface of the heating plate;
With
The conveying means is
A driving roller disposed on a side of the heating plate and actively rotating while contacting an end of the substrate;
A free roller that is disposed in a portion other than the side portion of the heating plate and rotates while supporting the lower surface of the substrate;
I have a,
The free rotation axis of the roller is not exposed on the upper surface of the heating plate, and at least a portion of said rotary shaft, said heating plate substrate processing apparatus that is disposed at a position higher than the lower surface of the. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The drive roller is a substrate processing apparatus that actively rotates while supporting the lower surface of the substrate. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein
The substrate processing apparatus, wherein the free roller is rotatably attached to a shaft or a bearing fixed to the heating plate. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein
The said free roller is a substrate processing apparatus rotatably attached to the axis | shaft or bearing fixed to the lower surface of the member which comprises the said heating plate.   A substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein
  The heating plate is
    First heating means for heating the substrate by radiant heat from the upper surface of the heating plate;
    A second heating means for heating the substrate by ejecting a high-temperature gas from the upper surface of the heating plate;
A substrate processing apparatus.   A substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein
  The free roller is a substrate processing apparatus formed of resin.   A substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
  The substrate processing apparatus in which the positions of all the free rollers arranged on the heating plate are different from each other in the direction orthogonal to the transport direction.   A substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
  The heating plate has a structure in which an upper plate and a lower plate are laminated in order from the top,
  The free processing roller is a substrate processing apparatus in which a rotation shaft is rotatably attached via a bearing fixed to a lower surface of the upper plate.

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