JP6743555B2 - Coating system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a coating system for coating a chemical liquid such as resist.

When a master mold for nanoimprinting is produced, for example, in order to form a pattern on a base material, a step of applying a resist on the base material, drawing a pattern with an electron beam or the like, and developing it is performed.

FIG. 11 shows an outline of a coating system for coating a base material with a chemical liquid such as a resist. The coating system 100 is provided in a coating chamber (not shown) and coats the chemical solution in the bottle 110 on the base material 21 on the stage 20. In the coating system 100, a pump 130 for controlling the discharge amount of the chemical liquid, a filter 140 for capturing foreign substances in the chemical liquid, a valve 150 for controlling the discharge timing of the chemical liquid, and the like are provided to discharge the chemical liquid. The pipe 120 of is connected to these parts.

JP 2003-173953 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-340845

However, in such a conventional coating system, there are many pipe joints, and the pump mechanism and the valve mechanism themselves come into contact with the chemical liquid. Therefore, foreign matter is mixed into the chemical liquid due to the joints of the pipes and dust generated from the pump mechanism and the valve mechanism, which causes a defect. As a result, it has been necessary to clean the coating system and replace the filter periodically or at a necessary timing, which is troublesome and costly.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a coating system and the like that can prevent foreign matter from being mixed into a chemical liquid.

The present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is an application system for applying a chemical liquid, the chemical liquid tube filled with the chemical liquid, a first pressurizing mechanism for controlling the discharge amount of the chemical liquid, and the chemical liquid A second pressurizing mechanism for controlling the discharge timing, and the chemical liquid tube is integrally formed with a liquid reservoir portion for storing the chemical liquid and a nozzle portion for discharging the chemical liquid. are those, wherein the first pressurizing mechanism state, and are not pressing the liquid reservoir from the outside, the second pressing mechanism presses the nozzle portion from the outside to close the nozzle unit , and then releasing the pressure and a coating system characterized capable der Rukoto to open the nozzle portion.

The liquid reservoir portion and the nozzle portion are made of resin.
The liquid reservoir is, for example, a cylinder having a bellows portion on its side surface, and the first pressurizing mechanism presses the liquid reservoir so that the bellows portion contracts.
It is desirable that the nozzle portion has flexibility. It is also desirable to have a stretchable portion.

Further, it is preferable that a cut is provided at an end of the nozzle portion.
It is also preferable that the diameter of the inner peripheral surface at the tip of the nozzle portion is about 4 mm or less.

In the coating system of the present invention, the joint of the pipe can be eliminated by using the chemical liquid tube in which the liquid reservoir portion and the nozzle portion are integrated. Further, since the discharge control is performed by the first pressure mechanism and the second pressure mechanism provided outside, the chemical liquid in the liquid reservoir can be directly discharged onto the base material through the nozzle portion integrated with the liquid reservoir, The chemical solution does not come into contact with these pressurizing mechanisms or the outside air. Further, the liquid medicine tube is disposable, and the liquid medicine tube after use can be replaced with a new liquid medicine tube to always apply the liquid medicine in a clean state. Therefore, it is possible to prevent foreign matter from being mixed in the chemical liquid.

Further, by forming the liquid reservoir portion and the nozzle portion from resin, it becomes easy to integrally form them. By forming the liquid reservoir with a tubular body having a bellows portion, it is possible to easily control the discharge of the chemical liquid by pressing the liquid reservoir. In addition, since the nozzle portion has flexibility, the chemical solution tube can be easily set in the coating system of various modes, and since the nozzle portion has the expansion and contraction portion, it is possible to easily follow various operations of the coating system by the expansion and contraction. ..

Also, by making a cut at the end of the nozzle part and cutting it appropriately, or by making the inner diameter of the tip of the nozzle part about 4 mm or less, it remains at the end part of the nozzle part when the chemical application is interrupted. It is possible to prevent the chemical liquid thus dried from solidifying and mixing into the chemical liquid as a foreign substance.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a coating system or the like capable of preventing foreign matter from being mixed into a chemical liquid.

The figure which shows the outline of the coating system 1. The figure which shows the coating method by the coating system 1. The figure which shows about the exchange of the chemical|medical solution tube 10. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing details of an end portion of a nozzle portion 102. The figure which shows the chemical|medical solution 40 which remains at the edge part of the nozzle part 102. The figure explaining the example which cuts the edge part of the nozzle part 102. The figure which shows the outline of the coating system 1'. The figure which shows the outline of the coating system 1". The figure which shows the example of arrangement|positioning of the arm 30. The figure which shows the outline of the coating system 1a. The figure which shows the outline of the coating system 100.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment]
(1. Coating system 1)
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of a coating system 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The coating system 1 coats the chemical liquid filled in the chemical liquid tube 10 on the base material 21 on the stage 20, and is provided in a coating room (not shown) which is a clean room. In the present embodiment, the chemical solution is a resist that is applied to the base material when the master mold for nanoimprinting is manufactured, and the chemical solution is applied by, for example, a spin coating method, but the invention is not limited to this.

As shown in FIG. 1, the coating system 1 includes a chemical solution tube 10, pressure mechanisms 11 and 12, and the like.

The chemical liquid tube 10 is filled with a chemical liquid (resist) inside. In the present embodiment, the chemical solution tube 10 is arranged above the base material 21 on the stage 20 so that the chemical solution can be easily discharged.

The chemical liquid tube 10 has a structure in which the liquid reservoir portion 101 and the nozzle portion 102 are integrated and continuous, and these are formed of resin. Considering chemical resistance and low risk of foreign substances, resins such as PP (polypropylene), PE (polyethylene), PFTE (polytetrafluoroethylene) and PFA (tetrafluoroethylene/perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer) ) And other fluororesins can be used. However, it is not limited to these.

The liquid reservoir 101 is for storing the chemical liquid in the inner space, and is a cylinder having a bellows portion on the side surface in the present embodiment.

The nozzle portion 102 is for ejecting the chemical liquid from the tip, and is a long tubular portion (for example, about 500 mm to 2000 mm) provided so as to extend from the lower surface of the liquid reservoir portion 101. In this embodiment, the nozzle portion 102 has flexibility and can be deformed.

The method for manufacturing the chemical liquid tube 10 is not particularly limited. For example, the chemical solution tube 10 may be integrally molded using a mold, or the separately formed liquid reservoir portion 101 and the nozzle portion 102 may be bonded.

Further, in order to make the liquid reservoir 101 have a certain degree of hardness to facilitate the discharge control of the chemical liquid described later, the thickness of the side surface of the liquid reservoir 101 should be made larger than the thickness of the side surface of the nozzle portion 102. Is also possible. Similarly, the end portion of the nozzle portion 102 is provided with a certain degree of hardness to stabilize the arrangement of the tip of the nozzle portion 102 when the chemical solution tube 10 is set in the coating system 1. It is also possible to make the thickness larger than the other portion of the nozzle portion 102.

The pressurizing mechanism 11 (first pressurizing mechanism) controls the discharge amount of the chemical liquid, and is provided outside the chemical liquid tube 10. The pressurizing mechanism 11 presses the liquid reservoir 101 from the upper side to send out the chemical liquid in the liquid reservoir 101.

The pressurizing mechanism 12 (second pressurizing mechanism) controls the discharge timing of the chemical liquid, and is provided outside the chemical liquid tube 10. The pressure mechanism 12 can press the nozzle portion 102 from both sides to close it, and release the pressing to open the nozzle portion 102.

A motor or the like can be used for the pressurizing mechanisms 11 and 12, but the present invention is not limited to this. Although not particularly shown, the coating system 1 is also provided with a holder, an arm and the like for holding the liquid reservoir 101 and the nozzle 102.

(2. Coating method by coating system 1)
In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2A, in a state in which the pressing of the nozzle portion 102 by the pressurizing mechanism 12 is released, the pressurizing mechanism 11 is moved downward as shown by the arrow a to move the liquid reservoir 101 to the liquid reservoir 101. Press from above. Then, the bellows portion of the liquid reservoir 101 contracts, and the chemical liquid 40 in the liquid reservoir 101 is sent out and discharged from the tip thereof to the base material 21 through the nozzle portion 102. The discharge amount can be controlled by the descending width of the pressing mechanism 11.

When the discharge of the chemical liquid 40 to the base material 21 is finished, the pressure mechanism 12 is moved to the nozzle portion 102 side as shown by the arrow b, and the pressure mechanism 12 presses the nozzle portion 102 from both sides to close it.

The pressing mechanism 11 is left standing as it is at the lowered position, and when it is time to replace the base material 21 and discharge the chemical liquid 40 again, after the pressing mechanism 12 releases the pressing of the nozzle portion 102. The pressing of the liquid reservoir 101 by the pressurizing mechanism 11 is performed in the same manner as above.

When the above procedure is repeated and the application of the chemical solution to a predetermined number (for example, about 10 sheets) of the base material 21 is completed as shown in FIG. 2B, the chemical solution tube 10 is replaced with a new one.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing replacement of the chemical liquid tube 10. In the present embodiment, a plurality of lines of the coating system 1 are provided in advance in the coating chamber, the chemical solution tube 10 that has completed the chemical solution coating is retracted together with the coating system 1 as shown by an arrow c1, and the remaining coating systems 1 are sequentially arranged. It is moved as shown by arrow c2. Thereby, the chemical solution tube 10 is exchanged for each line.

(4. End of nozzle 102)
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing details of the end portion of the nozzle portion 102. Although the nozzle portion 102 is illustrated in a simplified manner in FIG. 1 and the like, the end portion of the nozzle portion 102 is actually an ultrafine diameter of a predetermined length (for example, the diameter of the inner peripheral surface is as shown in FIG. 4mm or less) is continuous to the tip, or it is tapered as shown in Fig. 4(b) and the tip has an extremely small diameter (for example, the diameter of the inner peripheral surface is about 4mm or less). Is possible.

As shown in FIG. 4C, it is possible to expand the end portion in a reverse taper shape to increase the diameter of the tip, and it is easy to discharge the chemical liquid 40. In this case, the discharge of the chemical liquid 40 is finished as described above. The chemical liquid 40 at the end portion is almost completely discharged, and while the chemical liquid application is interrupted, the chemical liquid 40 remaining on the inner peripheral surface is dried and solidified as shown in FIG. When ejecting, there is a risk of becoming foreign matter.

On the other hand, in the case of FIG. 4A, the chemical liquid 40 is retained at the end as shown in FIG. 5B due to the effect of surface tension or the like until the chemical liquid 40 is discharged and is discharged again. The drying of 40 can be suppressed, and the above-mentioned generation of foreign matter can be prevented. This also applies to the case of FIG.

In order to prevent foreign matter from entering the chemical liquid 40, it is effective to cut the end of the nozzle portion 102 each time. That is, when the chemical liquid 40 is discharged again after the discharge of the chemical liquid 40 as described above, the end portion of the nozzle portion 102 is cut and used as shown by the dotted line in FIG. 6A. As a result, it is possible to always use the end portion of the nozzle portion 102 in a fresh state and prevent the above-mentioned foreign matter from mixing into the chemical liquid 40.

A tool such as a cutter can be used to cut the nozzle portion 102, but it is desirable to bring no tool into the coating chamber as much as possible in order to avoid dust generation that causes foreign matter. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6B, it is possible to provide a notch 1021 on the side surface of the end portion of the nozzle portion 102 so that the nozzle portion 102 can be separated by hand.

As described above, in the coating system 1 of the present embodiment, by using the chemical liquid tube 10 in which the liquid reservoir 101 and the nozzle portion 102 are integrated, it is possible to eliminate the joint between the pipes. Further, since the ejection control is performed by the pressurizing mechanisms 11 and 12 provided outside, the chemical liquid 40 in the liquid reservoir 101 can be directly ejected onto the base material 21 through the nozzle portion 102 integrated with the liquid reservoir 101. The chemical liquid 40 does not touch these pressurizing mechanisms 11 and 12 or the outside air. Further, the drug solution tube 10 is disposable, and the drug solution tube 10 after use can be replaced with a new drug solution tube 10 to always apply the drug solution 40 in a clean state. Therefore, it is possible to prevent foreign matter from mixing into the chemical liquid 40. The chemical solution tube 10 after use can be washed and reused in a factory or the like, and the washing in this case is also easy.

Further, by forming the liquid reservoir portion 101 and the nozzle portion 102 from resin, it becomes easy to integrally form them. Further, since the nozzle portion 102 has flexibility, the chemical solution tube 10 can be easily set in the coating system of various modes.

Further, by providing a notch 1021 at the end of the nozzle portion 102 and appropriately cutting and using it, or by making the inner diameter of the tip of the nozzle portion 102 to be an ultra-fine diameter of about 4 mm or less, the nozzle portion 102 can be It is possible to prevent the chemical liquid 40 remaining on the end portions from drying and solidifying and mixing into the chemical liquid 40 as a foreign substance.

However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when the end portion of the nozzle portion 102 has a shape as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the chemical liquid 40 may leak from the tip of the nozzle portion 102 without closing the nozzle portion 102. When there is no pressure mechanism, the pressure mechanism 12 can be omitted.

Further, as shown in the coating system 1'of FIG. 7, the nozzle portion 102 may be arranged so that a convex portion 104 is formed upward. As a result, even if air flows from the tip of the nozzle portion 102 into the chemical liquid 40 in the nozzle portion 102, it can be stopped at the portion 104, and the air can flow into the liquid reservoir portion 101 and the discharge control becomes unstable. Can be prevented.

Further, as shown in the coating system 1″ of FIG. 8, a part of the nozzle portion 102 of the chemical liquid tube 10′ may be a stretchable portion 105 that is bent like a spring. In this case, the arm 30 in which the nozzle portion 102 is set is It can follow various operations of the coating system, such as when moving.

For example, FIG. 9A shows an example in which a plurality of arms 30 are radially arranged around the stage 20, and in this case, one arm 30 is moved toward the center of the stage 20 as shown in FIG. 9B. The nozzle 40 is moved to align the tip of the nozzle portion 102 with the center of the stage 20 for discharging the chemical liquid, and the chemical liquid 40 is discharged. When exchanging the chemical solution tube 10 ′, the arm 30 is returned to the original position and another arm 30 is moved toward the center of the stage 20 in the same manner as above. When the expandable part 105 expands and contracts during the movement of the arm 30, the nozzle part 102 can follow the movement of the arm 30.

In addition, for example, the liquid reservoir 101 is arranged in a separate chamber, but the nozzle 102 may be configured to follow various operations of the arm 30 and the like in the coating chamber. The bending shape of the expansion/contraction portion 105 is not limited to the spring shape. In the examples of FIGS. 8 and 9, the nozzle portion 102 is held in the arm 30 by passing the nozzle portion 102 through the tubular holding portion 31, but the configuration of the arm 30 is not particularly limited.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The second embodiment will mainly describe differences from the first embodiment, and the same points will be denoted by the same reference numerals in the drawings and the like, and description thereof will be omitted.

[Second Embodiment]
FIG. 10: is a figure which shows the outline of the coating system 1a which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. The coating system 1a is different from the first embodiment in the configurations of the chemical liquid tube 10a and the pressurizing mechanism 11a.

That is, the liquid reservoir 101a of the chemical liquid tube 10a is not a cylindrical body having the bellows-shaped side surface as described above, but a bag-shaped one. Further, the inner empty portion of the liquid reservoir 101a is tapered toward the nozzle portion 102, so that the chemical liquid in the liquid reservoir portion 101a can be easily delivered to the nozzle portion 102, and the chemical liquid 40 can be prevented from staying. ..

Further, the pressurizing mechanism 11a is provided outside the liquid medicine tube 10a, and presses the liquid reservoir 101a from both sides to send out the liquid medicine 40 in the liquid reservoir 101a. A motor or the like can be used for the pressing mechanism 11a as described above, but the present invention is not limited to this.

The method of applying the chemical liquid 40 in the application system 1a is substantially the same as described above. However, at the time of discharging the chemical liquid 40, the pressure mechanism 11a is moved to the liquid reservoir 101a side as shown by an arrow d while the pressure of the nozzle portion 102 by the pressure mechanism 12 is released, and the liquid reservoir 101a is removed. Press from both sides. Then, the chemical liquid 40 in the liquid reservoir 101a is sent out and discharged from the tip thereof to the base material 21 through the nozzle portion 102. The discharge amount can be controlled by the moving width of the pressurizing mechanism 11a.

The same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained in the second embodiment. Further, since the liquid reservoir 101a is in the shape of a bag, there is an advantage that the liquid medicine tube 10a can be easily transported without taking up space. On the other hand, the first embodiment has an advantage that the discharge amount of the chemical liquid 40 can be easily controlled by forming the liquid reservoir 101 into a tubular body having a bellows portion on its side surface and pressing the bellows portion so as to shrink the bellows portion.

The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the examples. It is obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes or modifications can be conceived within the scope of the technical idea disclosed in the present application, and it is obvious that they also belong to the technical scope of the present invention. Understood.

1, 1', 1", 1a, 100; coating system 10, 10', 10a; chemical solution tubes 11, 11a, 12; pressurizing mechanism 20; stage 21; substrate 30; arm 31; holding part 40; chemical solution 101 , 101a; liquid reservoir portion 102; nozzle portion 104; convex portion 105; stretchable portion 110; bottle 120; piping 130; pump 140; filter 150; valve 1021; notch

Claims (7)

An application system for applying a chemical solution,
A drug solution tube filled with drug solution,
A first pressurizing mechanism for controlling the discharge amount of the chemical liquid;
A second pressurizing mechanism for controlling the discharge timing of the chemical liquid;
Equipped with,
The chemical liquid tube is one in which a liquid reservoir portion for storing the chemical liquid and a nozzle portion for discharging the chemical liquid are integrally formed,
It said first pressurizing mechanism state, and are not pressing the liquid reservoir from the outside,
It said second pressure mechanism, coating systems the nozzle portion is pressed from the outside to close the nozzle unit, and by releasing the pressure and said can der Rukoto to open the nozzle portion. Wherein the nozzle portion and the liquid reservoir portion, according to claim 1 Symbol placement coating system, characterized in that it is formed of a resin. The liquid reservoir is a tubular body having a bellows portion on a side surface,
The said 1st pressurization mechanism presses the said liquid storage part so that the said bellows part may shrink, The coating system of Claim 1 or Claim 2 characterized by the above-mentioned. The said nozzle part has flexibility, The coating system in any one of Claim 1 to 3 characterized by the above-mentioned. The coating system according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the nozzle portion has a stretchable portion. The coating system according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein a notch is provided at an end portion of the nozzle portion. The coating system according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , wherein the inner peripheral surface at the tip of the nozzle portion has a diameter of about 4 mm or less.

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