JPH05175117A - Cleaner for edge of substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To remove unnecessary thin films on the edge of a rectangular substrate effectively while dissolving them, by providing solvent nozzles for dissolving the unnecessary thin films while discharging a solvent, and by providing gas nozzles for blowing away dissolved materials from the edge of the rectangular substrate to the outside while discharging a gas, and further, by forcing the solvent and gas nozzles to make linear movements relatively to the end edge of the rectangular substrate and along it. CONSTITUTION:A first solvent nozzle for dissolving unnecessary thin films while discharging a solvent on the rear surface of the end edge of a rectangular substrate 1, and a first gas nozzle for blowing away dissolved materials from the end edge of the rectangular substrate 1 to the outside while discharging a gas are provided. On the other hand, on a supporting frame 24, a second solvent nozzle 26b for dissolving the unnecessary thin films while discharging the solvent on the surface of the end edge of the rectangular substrate 1 is provided. Also, on a supporting frame 25, a second gas nozzle 27b for blowing away the dissolved materials from the end edge of the rectangular substrate 1 to the outside while discharging the gas is provided. Further, a main body 18 of a cleaner is moved while making the attitude of the short side of the rectangular substrate 1 parallel with the moving direction of the main body 18, and thereby, the unnecessary thin films are removed while dissolving them.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a glass substrate for a liquid crystal or a glass for a photomask on which a thin film such as a photoresist coating solution, a photosensitive polyimide resin or a dyeing agent for a color filter is formed by spin coating. The present invention relates to a substrate edge cleaning device that discharges a solvent to an edge of a rectangular substrate such as a substrate after the thin film is formed to dissolve and remove an unnecessary thin film on the edge of the rectangular substrate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A rectangular substrate having a thin film as described above is inserted into and removed from a cassette during various processing steps after the thin film is formed on the surface of the rectangular substrate in the manufacturing process or the like. Or it is held by the transport mechanism. At this time,
It is known that when the edge of the rectangular substrate comes into contact with the storage groove in the cassette or the chuck portion of the transport mechanism, the thin film at the edge of the rectangular substrate peels off and becomes a dust source.

In addition, when a part of the thin film that has reached the back surface during spin coating is dried and remains as it is, it contaminates a post-process apparatus, or when a rectangular substrate is tilted during exposure and is partially out of focus. There is a problem in that the yield is reduced. In particular, in recent years, there has been a problem that the degree of integration tends to increase and the yield further decreases.

Therefore, in the final stage of the step of spin-coating the thin film, a treatment for removing the thin film at the edge of the rectangular substrate in advance is performed. As a technique for removing this thin film, for example,
Some of them were disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 58-19350.

According to this conventional example, the solvent is discharged from below the edge of the square substrate while rotating the square substrate after the spin coating at low speed, and the solvent is discharged to the edge side of the square substrate by centrifugal force. As the solvent flows, the solvent dissolves the thin film, and further, the solvent also wraps around the surface side of the edge of the rectangular substrate due to surface tension, and dissolves the thin film formed on the edge of the surface of the rectangular substrate, After that, switch to high-speed rotation, and the droplets are scattered outward from the liquid pool formed by dissolution by centrifugal force to dissolve and remove the thin films formed on both the front and back surfaces on the edge side of the rectangular substrate and the peripheral edge surface. It is configured to do.

Further, according to this conventional example, a hollow pyramid-shaped cover is provided on the upper side of the rectangular substrate on which the spin coating has been completed so as to rotate integrally with the rectangular substrate, and from the top side of the cover. Is also configured so that the solvent is supplied downward and the thin film having a predetermined width is dissolved and removed over the entire circumference of the edge of the surface of the rectangular substrate.

[0007]

However, in the case of the conventional example in which the solvent is discharged from below the edge of the rectangular substrate, the amount of the solvent reaching the corner of the rectangular substrate is higher than that of the other edges. There was a drawback that the solvent was less likely to flow to the surface side at the corners and the thin film could not be sufficiently dissolved.

On the other hand, in the case of a conventional example in which a hollow pyramid-shaped cover is provided on the upper side of a rectangular substrate, the solvent supplied from the top of the cover flows to the side opposite to the rotation direction due to centrifugal force.
The solvent does not flow to one corner side of each side of the rectangular substrate, and the thin film cannot be practically dissolved and removed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to enable the thin film on the edge of the rectangular substrate to be dissolved and removed satisfactorily.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a substrate edge cleaning device of the present invention is a substrate holder for mounting and holding a rectangular substrate having a thin film formed on its surface by spin coating. Means, a solvent nozzle that discharges a solvent onto at least one of the front and back surfaces of the edge of the rectangular substrate held by the substrate holding means to dissolve the unnecessary thin film, and a melt to discharge the melted material into a square shape. A gas nozzle that blows outward of the edge of the substrate, and a moving unit that moves the solvent nozzle and the gas nozzle relatively linearly along the edge of the rectangular substrate are configured.

As the solvent to be used, in the case of dissolving the photoresist coating solution, ketones such as acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, methyl isobutyl ketone, cyclohexanone and diisobutyl ketone, ethyl acetate, butyl acetate, acetic acid-n-amyl acetate, Esters such as methyl formate, ethyl propionate, dimethyl phthalate, and ethyl benzoate, aromatic hydrocarbons such as toluene, xylene, benzene, and ethylbenzene, carbon tetrachloride, trichloroethylene, chloroform, 1,1,1 -Halogenated hydrocarbons such as trichloroethane, monochlorobenzene, and chloronaphthalene; ethers such as tetrahydrobran, diethyl ether, ethylene glycol monomethyl ether, and ethylene glycol monoethyl ether acetate; Or the like can be used Le formamide or dimethyl sulphoxide. Further, when the dyeing agent is dissolved, warm water of 30 to 60 ° C., lower alcohol such as methanol, ethanol, propanol, acetone, etc. can be used, and the rectangular substrate is mixed with these liquids. A surfactant may be added to improve wetting. As the gas supplied from the gas nozzle, an inert gas such as nitrogen gas or air can be used.

[0012]

According to the structure of the substrate edge cleaning apparatus of the present invention, a rectangular substrate having a thin film uniformly formed on its surface by spin coating is placed and held on the substrate holding means, and the edge of the rectangular substrate is aligned. The solvent nozzle and the gas nozzle are relatively linearly moved by the moving means, and the solvent is discharged from the solvent nozzle to at least one of the front and back surfaces of the rectangular substrate to dissolve the thin film on the edge of the rectangular substrate. By discharging gas from the gas nozzle, the melted material can be blown away and removed from the edge of the rectangular substrate.

[0013]

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

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a substrate edge cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, showing a substrate holding means 2 for holding and holding a rectangular substrate 1 having a thin film formed on its surface by spin coating. A substrate edge cleaning tool 3 is provided on one lateral side, and a substrate edge cleaning device 4 is configured.

As shown in the partially cutaway side view of FIG. 2 and the overall front view of FIG. 3, the motor support base 7 is mounted on the base base B via the first air cylinder 5 and the pair of guides 6 and 6. Is provided so as to be able to move up and down, the first electric motor 8 is provided on the motor support base 7, and the substrate mounting plate 9 for mounting the rectangular substrate 1 on the motor shaft 8a of the first electric motor 8 is provided. The substrate holding means 2 is configured so as to be integrally provided via the hollow cylindrical shaft 10 and to rotate the rectangular substrate 1 placed on the substrate placing plate 9 by 90 °.

The suction holes 11 are formed on the upper surface of the substrate mounting plate 9.
Is formed, and first suction holes 12 that communicate with the suction holes 11 ... Are formed in the substrate mounting plate 9, and further, the intake pipe 14 is provided in the bearing member 13 that rotatably holds the hollow cylindrical shaft 10. And a second communication hole 15 is formed inside, and at the same level as the second communication hole 15, a third communication hole 16 is formed in the hollow cylindrical shaft 10 in the radial direction. O-rings 17, 17 are provided on the inner peripheral surface of the bearing member 13 at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction to form an annular space that connects the second communication hole 15 and the third communication hole 16. The rectangular substrate 1 mounted on the substrate mounting plate 9 is configured to be held by vacuum suction.

The substrate edge cleaning tool 3 comprises a cleaning tool body 18
And moving means 19 for linearly moving it along the edge of the rectangular substrate 1, and position adjusting means 20 for displacing the cleaning tool main body 18 far and far with respect to the edge of the rectangular substrate 1. There is.

The rectangular substrate 1 is mounted on the first box-shaped support frame 21.
The angle-shaped second support frame 22 is attached so that the fixed position can be finely adjusted in the direction approaching or distant from the edge of the, and the fixed position can be finely adjusted in the vertical direction on the second support frame 22. The third support frame 23 is attached, the fourth and fifth support frames 24 and 25 are integrally attached to the third support frame 23, and the end of the rectangular substrate 1 is attached to the third support frame 23. The first solvent nozzle 26a that discharges the solvent to the back surface of the edge to dissolve the unnecessary thin film, and the first gas nozzle 27a that discharges the gas to blow the melted material to the outside of the edge of the rectangular substrate 1 are provided. On the other hand, the fourth support frame 24 is provided with a second solvent nozzle 26b that discharges a solvent onto the surface of the edge of the rectangular substrate 1 to dissolve the unnecessary thin film, and a fifth solvent nozzle 26b.
The supporting frame 25 is provided with a second gas nozzle 27b for discharging gas to blow the melted material outward than the edge of the rectangular substrate 1, and the cleaning tool body for cleaning the edge of the rectangular substrate 1 18 are configured.

A first intermediate bracket 30 is attached to each of the third and fourth support frames 23 and 24 by a circular hole 28 and an arcuate elongated hole 29 so that the attachment angle can be changed. Middle bracket 30
A second intermediate bracket 32 is attached to the second intermediate bracket 32 so that the fixing position can be adjusted in the vertical direction by the vertical elongated holes 31, 31, and the first solvent nozzle 26a is held by the lower second intermediate bracket 32. At the same time, the second solvent nozzle 26b is held by the upper second intermediate bracket 32, and the ejection angle of the solvent with respect to the edge of the rectangular substrate 1 and the distance between the front surface and the back surface of the rectangular substrate 1 are adjusted. It is configured to be able to.

A third intermediate bracket 35 is attached to each of the third and fifth support frames 23 and 25 by a circular hole 33 and an arcuate elongated hole 34 so that the attachment angle can be changed. Intermediate bracket 35
A fourth intermediate bracket 37 is attached to the fourth intermediate bracket 37 by horizontally elongated holes 36, 36 so that the fixing position can be adjusted in the horizontal direction. Further, the fourth intermediate bracket 37 is provided with vertically elongated holes 38, 38. A fifth intermediate bracket 39 is attached so that the fixing position can be adjusted in the vertical direction, the first gas nozzle 27a is held by the lower fifth intermediate bracket 39, and the fifth intermediate bracket 39 is fixed by the upper fifth intermediate bracket 39. The second gas nozzle 27b is held, and the gas discharge angle and the discharge position of the gas relative to the edge of the rectangular substrate 1 and the distance between the front surface and the back surface of the rectangular substrate 1 can be adjusted.

A mounting base 42 is provided on the base B through a pair of guides 40, 40 and a second air cylinder 41 so that the mounting base 42 can be driven and moved in a direction toward and away from the rectangular substrate 1 for cleaning. A state in which the cleaning tool main body 18 is displaced far away from the edge of the rectangular substrate 1 and the cleaning tool main body 18 is moved along the long side edge of the rectangular substrate 1 and a short side edge thereof is moved. The position adjusting means 2 so that it can be switched to a moving state by
0 is configured.

A main pulley 43 and a follower pulley 44 are attached to the mount 42, and both pulleys 43, 4 are attached.
4 around which the belt 45 is wound and the driving pulley 43
The second electric motor 46 is interlocked and connected to the belt 45, and the first support frame 21 is integrally attached to the belt 45, and is guided to move linearly via the guide 47. The moving means 19 is configured to move linearly along the edge of the rectangular substrate 1.

An exhaust passage forming member 48 is provided on the third support frame 23.
The exhaust passage forming member 48 is provided with an exhaust port 49 having an outward expansion at the first and second solvent nozzles 26a and 26b and the first and second gas nozzles 27a and 27b. And the exhaust passage forming member 4
An exhaust pipe 50 connected to an exhaust means (not shown) is connected to 8 to suck and discharge the gas and the melted material blown away by the gas, and the blown-out melted material unexpectedly reaches the outer surface of the rectangular substrate 1. It is configured so as to be surely prevented from scattering and adhering.

A solvent supply pipe 51 connected to the exhaust pipe 50 and the first and second solvent nozzles 26a and 26b, respectively.
a, 51b, and first and second gas nozzles 27
gas supply pipes 52a and 5 connected to a and 27b, respectively
2b is made of a flexible material so as to allow the cleaning tool body 18 to move.

With the above configuration, as shown in the schematic plan view of FIG. 4A, the rectangular substrate 1 having a thin film formed on its surface by spin coating is held by the substrate holding means 2, and the rectangular substrate 1 is held. The short side of the rectangular parallelepiped is parallel to the moving direction of the cleaning tool main body 18, and in that state, the cleaning tool main body 18 is moved while discharging the solvent and gas, and both sides of the rectangular substrate 1 on the front and back sides and the periphery thereof are surrounded. The unnecessary thin film on the end face is dissolved and removed. The shaded area C in the figure
The portion where the unnecessary thin film is dissolved and removed is shown.

Next, as shown in the schematic plan view of FIG. 4B, the rectangular substrate 1 is rotated by 90 ° so that the long side of the rectangular substrate 1 is parallel to the moving direction of the cleaning tool body 18. In addition, the position adjusting means 20 moves the cleaning tool main body 18 to a predetermined position approaching the rectangular substrate 1, and in that state, the cleaning tool main body 18 is ejected while discharging the solvent and gas in the same manner as in the case described above. By moving, the unnecessary thin films on the front and back surfaces on the long side of the rectangular substrate 1 and on the peripheral end surface are dissolved and removed. Further, while rotating 90 °, the cleaning tool body 18 is moved to a predetermined position by the position adjusting means 20, and in the same manner, the unnecessary thin films on the front and back surfaces and the peripheral end surface of the remaining short side portion and long side portion are dissolved and removed.
The unnecessary thin film around the entire edge of the rectangular substrate 1 is dissolved and removed.

In the above-described embodiment, the substrate edge cleaning device is configured separately from the spin coating device for forming a thin film using a photoresist coating liquid or the like so that the throughput can be improved. For example, it may be incorporated in the spin coater so that the substrate holding means of the spin coater is also used as the substrate holding means 2 of the substrate edge cleaning device.

In the above embodiment, the cleaning tool main body 18 is moved with respect to the substrate holding means 2. However, the cleaning tool main body 18 is fixed and the substrate is held with respect to the cleaning tool main body 18. The means 2 may be configured to move,
In short, the first and second solvent nozzles 26a, 26
b, and the first and second gas nozzles 27a, 2
What is necessary is just to configure 7b and the rectangular substrate 1 so as to linearly move relative to each other.

Further, two cleaning tool main bodies 18 are provided so as to be movable in a direction orthogonal to each other, one for the long side and the other for the short side to dissolve and remove unnecessary thin films at both ends of the long and short edges. After that, the rectangular substrate 1 may be rotated by 180 ° to dissolve and remove the unnecessary thin films at the remaining long and short edges. In this case, the position adjusting means 20 described above is unnecessary.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the solvent is discharged to both the front and back surfaces of the edge of the substrate. For example, the solvent is supplied to the lower side of the rotatably held rectangular substrate 1, For a square substrate 1 on which a thin film is formed by spin coating in a back surface cleaning type spin coating device configured to dissolve and remove a thin film formed around the back surface of the square substrate 1, a square substrate The solvent is ejected only to the front surface side of the edge of No. 1, or the solvent is ejected only to the back surface side of the edge of the rectangular substrate 1 and wraps around the front side by surface tension. For example, the solvent may be discharged onto at least one of the front and back surfaces of the edge of the rectangular substrate 1.

When the solvent is discharged to both the front and back surfaces of the rectangular substrate 1 as in the above-described embodiment, the following case is compared with the case where the solvent is discharged to only one side and wrap around by the surface tension. Has a special effect. In other words, when the solvent is discharged to each of the front and back sides, it is not necessary to consider the wraparound by the surface tension, so that the solvent does not have to be discharged at a gentle flow rate to each of the front and back surfaces of the substrate. .. Therefore, when the solvent is discharged onto the substrate, the solvent is not accumulated on the substrate surface, and fresh solvent is supplied one after another, so that the thin film can be efficiently removed at the edge of the substrate in a short time. Therefore, at the edge on the substrate surface side, there is no possibility that the thin film slightly inside the edge will be swollen by the solvent and the film thickness uniformity on the substrate surface will be reduced.

Further, at a position close to the initial position of the cleaning tool body 18 of the mounting base 42, the tip ends of the first and second solvent nozzles 26a and 26b moved to the initial position are brought into contact with and attached thereto. A contact member for transferring and removing the solvent droplets may be provided (see Japanese Patent Application No. 3-24476).

[0033]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the substrate edge cleaning apparatus of the present invention, the solvent nozzle and the gas nozzle are arranged along the edge of the rectangular substrate without rotating the rectangular substrate. The solvent moves in a straight line relative to the thin film dissolved by the solvent and blows away the melted material to the outside of the edge of the rectangular substrate.Therefore, the solvent is supplied as in the conventional example in which the rectangular substrate is rotated and centrifugal force is used. It is possible to surely avoid the occurrence of unevenness, and it is possible to favorably remove the thin film on the edge of the rectangular substrate.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a substrate edge cleaning device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the entire partially cutaway structure.

FIG. 3 is an overall front view.

FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view illustrating an edge cleaning operation of a substrate.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Rectangular substrate 2 ... Substrate holding means 19 ... Moving means 26a ... 1st solvent nozzle 26b ... 2nd solvent nozzle 27a ... 1st gas nozzle 27b ... 2nd gas nozzle

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A substrate holding means for placing and holding a square substrate having a thin film formed on its surface by spin coating, and at least one of front and back surfaces of an edge of the square substrate held by the substrate holding means. A solvent nozzle that discharges a solvent to one side to dissolve the unnecessary thin film, a gas nozzle that discharges a gas to blow the melted material outward beyond the edge of the rectangular substrate, the solvent nozzle and the gas nozzle A substrate edge cleaning device comprising: a moving unit that relatively linearly moves along an edge of the substrate.