JPH06114311A - Chemical treatment apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve treatment efficiency by downsizing an apparatus with its reduced floor area and facilitating administration of chemicals. CONSTITUTION:This chemical treatment apparatus is equipped with at least the first tank T1, the second tank T2, the first main pipe C1 for supplying a cleaning liquid, and the second main pipe C2 for discharge; the tanks T1 and T2 are connected respectively with the main pipes C1 and C2 through valves V1, V2, V3, and V4. A treating liquid is supplied from the second tank T2 to the first tank T1 through the first main pipe C1, and a pump P1 is installed which feeds the treating liquid from the first tank T1 to the second tank T2 through the second main pipe C2. When the apparatus is used for cleaning glass bases for optical disks, the third tank T3 is installed additionally in paralell with the second tank T2. In this case, preferably, the first tank T1 is used as a treating tank in which more than one kind of chemical solution is applied to the objects to be treated on after another and the second and third tanks T2, T3 are used as storage tanks for the chemical solutions and water as the cleaning liquid is fed from the first main pipe C1.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus suitable for chemical processing in which different kinds of chemicals are sequentially applied to an object to be processed, such as when cleaning a glass substrate used for producing an optical disk master.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, an optical disk master has a photoresist layer formed on a glass substrate, patterned into predetermined pits on the photoresist layer, and a nickel thin film layer formed thereon by electroless plating. Then, the nickel thin film layer is used as a conductive film to form a nickel plated layer by a usual plating method, and then the nickel layer (nickel thin film layer + nickel plated layer) is peeled off from the glass substrate. After that, the nickel optical disk master thus obtained is used for stamping, but the glass substrate is repeatedly reused after cleaning and removing the photoresist and nickel adhering to the surface.

In this case, as a method of cleaning the glass substrate, it is necessary to completely remove the photoresist and nickel adhering to the surface thereof. Therefore, the glass substrate is usually washed by sequentially dipping it into a nickel removing solution such as ferric chloride solution and a photoresist removing solution such as sodium hydroxide aqueous solution.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of such a glass substrate cleaning apparatus. In the cleaning apparatus of the same figure, the glass substrate 1 to be cleaned is supported by the hanger 42 of the transfer means 41, and the chemical solution tank 43 containing the nickel removing solution, the water cleaning tank 44 containing water, and the photoresist removing solution containing The chemical solution tank 45 is sequentially transferred and cleaned.

[0005]

However, the conventional cleaning apparatus as shown in FIG. 4 requires a cleaning tank for dipping the glass substrate 1 for each type of chemical solution, so that the floor area of the apparatus itself is reduced. The size of the glass substrate 1 is increased, and a transfer means 41 for transferring the glass substrate 1 between the cleaning tanks is required. Therefore, there is a problem that the cleaning device becomes large. In particular, when such a cleaning tank is installed in a clean room, it is desirable to reduce the floor area of the equipment, but if the floor area is limited, the number of glass substrates that can be processed at one time also decreases, and the equipment cleaning There was a problem that the efficiency was lowered.

Further, when dipping the glass substrate into the chemical liquid in the chemical liquid tank, the chemical liquid in the chemical liquid tank will be repeatedly used if the chemical liquid once used has a predetermined capacity or more. In the conventional cleaning device, it was difficult to control the chemical solution capacity. Therefore, the desired cleaning effect cannot be achieved for the glass substrate, which causes a problem in the process after cleaning the glass substrate, resulting in a problem that the quality of the product deteriorates.

The transfer means 41 of the conventional cleaning device is
Since it comes into contact with a chemical liquid that corrodes metals, it has a problem that its life is short and a lot of labor is required for maintenance.

The present invention is intended to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, and has a small floor area and a simple structure as a chemical processing apparatus for applying a chemical solution to an object to be processed, and has a high throughput. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a product that is large in size and easy to manage the chemical solution to be used, and to increase the processing efficiency of the object to be processed.

[0009]

Means for Solving the Problems The inventors of the present invention provide a chemical solution tank for each type of chemical solution, and do not transfer the object to be processed to the chemical solution tank, but sequentially circulate the chemical solution in a processing tank containing the object to be processed. By doing so, it is possible to simplify the device configuration because the means for transferring the object to be processed is unnecessary, and even when it is necessary to wash the object to be processed in the clean room, the type of chemical liquid in the clean room It is no longer necessary to install as many processing tanks as the above, and it suffices to install the processing tanks for storing the objects to be processed. Therefore, it was found that the floor area of the equipment occupying the clean room can be greatly reduced, and the present invention is completed. Came to.

That is, the present invention has at least a first tank and a second tank, a first main pipe capable of supplying a cleaning liquid and a second main pipe for discharging, and each tank has a first tank. The main pipe and the second main pipe are connected via a valve, and the processing liquid is sent from the second tank to the first tank via the first main pipe, and at the same time from the first tank to the second main pipe. Provided is a chemical processing apparatus, which is provided with a pump for sending the processing liquid to the second tank via the.

[0011]

According to the apparatus of the present invention, the object to be processed in the first tank is processed by putting the object to be processed in the first tank and circulating the processing liquid from the second tank to the first tank. It becomes possible. That is, the material to be treated is placed in the first tank, the chemical solution is placed in the second tank, and the first tank is introduced from the second tank through the first main pipe.
After the chemical solution is injected into the tank of No. 1 and the treatment with the chemical solution is completed, the chemical solution in the first tank can be collected in the second tank through the second main pipe.

In this case, the chemical solution applied to the object to be treated in the first tank can be easily maintained at a predetermined chemical solution capacity by managing the chemical solution stored in the second tank. You can Therefore, it is possible to improve the treatment effect of the chemical liquid on the object to be treated and maintain the finished quality of the object to be treated high.

Further, since the object to be treated is put in the first tank and the chemical solution is circulated and used as described above, the conventional means for transferring the object to the chemical solution tank is unnecessary. The problem of corrosion of the transfer means due to the chemical solution is solved, and the device configuration itself can be simplified.

Further, in the apparatus of the present invention, a plurality of chemical liquid tanks for storing the chemical liquid are connected in parallel with the second tank to the first main pipe and the second main pipe through valves. Therefore, it is possible to sequentially circulate a plurality of types of chemicals from these chemicals to the processing bath.

It is sufficient to provide at least one treatment tank for dipping the material to be treated into the chemical liquid, and it is not necessary to prepare the number of types of the chemical liquid applied to the material to be treated.
It is possible to reduce the floor area of the processing tank. Therefore, like the glass substrate used for the optical disc master,
When the cleaning process is required in the clean room, the floor area of the device in the clean room can be greatly reduced. On the other hand, since a plurality of treatment tanks can be connected in parallel to the first tank to the first main pipe and the second main pipe via valves, these treatment tanks can be used as temporary storage for unprocessed products. It can also be used as a storage tank.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings.

Example 1 FIG. 1 shows a preferred cleaning apparatus for dipping a glass substrate used for producing an optical disc master. In the apparatus shown in the figure, a first tank T1 is provided as a tank for dipping a glass substrate, and a second tank T2 and a third tank T3 are provided as chemical solution tanks for storing a nickel removing solution and a photoresist removing solution, respectively. Have The first tank T1 is connected to the first main pipe C1 via the valve V1 and the second main pipe C2 is connected via the valve V2.
Similarly, the second tank T2 and the third tank T3 are also connected to valves V3 and V4 and valves V5 and V, respectively.
First main pipe C1 and second main pipe C2 with respect to 6
Connected to.

A valve V7 and a valve V8 are provided at both ends of the first main pipe C1 so that water can be supplied as a cleaning liquid from the valve V7 side as shown by an arrow a. A valve V9 is also provided at the end of the second main pipe C2.

A pump P1 for feeding the chemical in the direction of arrow b is provided between the valve V3 and the valve V4 of the pipe connected to the second tank T2, and similarly connected to the third tank T3. A pump P2 that sends the chemical liquid in the direction of arrow c is provided between the valve V5 and the valve V6 of the existing pipe.

Further, the first tank T1 is arranged so that a plurality of glass substrates 1 can be simultaneously subjected to the dipping process as shown in FIG. 3 (a).
As shown in FIG. 3, a groove 2 for supporting the glass substrate 1 is formed inside. The groove 2 supports the glass substrate at the end as shown in an enlarged top view of the vicinity of the groove 2 shown in FIG. 3B so that the chemical solution can reach the end of the substrate 1. ing.

Further, the valve V on the discharge side of the first tank T1
A filter F1 is provided in front of 2, so that insoluble matter in the tank can be removed.

In such an apparatus, the first tank T1
A glass substrate is placed in the first tank T1, and a nickel removing solution and a photoresist removing solution are stored in the second tank T2 and the third tank T3, respectively, and the nickel removing solution is sequentially placed in the first tank T1 as described below. The glass substrate can be washed by circulating the photoresist removing liquid and the photoresist removing liquid. That is, first, the valves V4 and V1 are opened, the other valves are closed, and the second tank T2 to the first tank T are connected in the flow path indicated by the arrow d.
The nickel removing liquid is pressure-fed to No. 1 through the first main pipe C1, and the glass substrate contained in the first tank T1 is subjected to dipping treatment for a predetermined time. Thereafter, the valves V2 and V3 are opened, the other valves are closed, and the nickel removing solution is pressure-fed from the first tank T1 to the second tank T2 through the second main pipe C2 in the flow path indicated by the arrow e, to recover. Next, the valves V7 and V1 are opened, the other valves are closed, and the first valve
Water is injected into the first tank T1 from the main pipe C1 of No. 3, then the valves V2 and V9 are opened, the other valves are closed, and the wash water is discharged through the second main pipe C2.

Similarly, from the third tank T3 to the first tank T
1, the photoresist removing liquid is pressure-fed through the first main pipe C1 to dip the glass substrate in the first tank with the chemical, and then the first tank T1 to the second main pipe C2. The photoresist removing liquid is passed through the third tank T.
Pump to 3 and collect.

Thus, according to this apparatus, the first tank T
By sequentially circulating the chemicals initially contained in the second tank T2 and the third tank T3 without transferring the glass substrate contained in 1, it is possible to dip the substrates with the respective chemicals. Also, during the processing of each chemical,
Since the glass substrate can be washed with water, it is possible to prevent unnecessary contamination between the chemical solutions.

Further, according to this apparatus, the pump P1 or the pump P2 is used to inject the chemical liquid into the first tank T1 for dipping the glass substrate and to collect the chemical liquid from the first tank T1. Therefore, the first tank T1 for dipping the glass substrate and the second tank T1 for storing the chemical solution
The tank T2 or the third tank T3 can be provided on the same floor level. Therefore, it is not necessary to dig any tank down to the floor surface, and it is possible to install at low cost.

Further, since the pipe port provided in each tank is provided in the lower portion of each tank, it is possible to prevent the chemical solution from bubbling or scattering when injecting or collecting the chemical solution.

Embodiment 2 FIG. 2 is also a preferred cleaning device for dipping a glass substrate used for producing an optical disk master. In addition to the apparatus configuration shown in FIG. 1, the apparatus of the same figure further includes a fourth tank T4 as a tank for dipping the substrate, which is provided in parallel with the first tank T1. 4 tank T
4 are provided in the clean room 4 inside the partition wall 3. Similar to the device shown in FIG. 1, filters F1 and F2 are provided in front of the valves V2 and V11 on the discharge side of the first tank T1 and the fourth tank T4, respectively. Insoluble matter in the processing tank can be removed.

In this way, the first tank T1 is used as the processing tank.
By providing two tanks, namely, a fourth tank T4 and a fourth tank T4, the glass substrate to be processed in the other tank is made to stand by while the dipping processing is performed in one tank, and the first tank T1 and the fourth tank T4 are Since dipping processing can be performed alternately, processing efficiency can be improved.

Further, by providing the processing tank in the clean room 4, it becomes possible to perform the exchange work of the chemical liquid with the normal work clothes, and the maintenance of the chemical liquid becomes easy.

The present invention has been specifically described above by taking the glass substrate cleaning apparatus of Examples 1 and 2 as an example.
The apparatus of the present invention is not limited to such a glass substrate cleaning apparatus, but can be applied to various chemical treatments. If necessary, a treatment tank for applying the chemical liquid to the object to be processed and a chemical liquid tank for storing the chemical liquid may be further added.

[0031]

According to the present invention, the chemical treatment apparatus for applying the chemical liquid to the object to be treated is constructed in a simple structure with a small floor area, and the treatment amount is large, and the management of the chemical liquid used is easy. It becomes possible.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment of a glass substrate cleaning apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of another embodiment of the glass substrate cleaning apparatus.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged top view (FIG. 3B) of a treatment tank of the glass substrate cleaning apparatus (FIG. 3A) and a vicinity of a groove in the treatment tank.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a conventional glass substrate cleaning apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 glass substrate 2 groove 3 partition 4 clean room C1, C2 main piping F1, F2 filter P1, P2 pump T1, T4 processing tank T2, T3 chemical liquid tank V1-V11 valve

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. At least a first tank and a second tank, and a first main pipe capable of supplying a cleaning liquid and a second main pipe for discharge, each tank comprising a first main pipe and a second main pipe, respectively. The second main pipe is connected via a valve, the processing solution is sent from the second tank to the first tank via the first main pipe, and the first tank is connected to the first main pipe via the second main pipe. A chemical treatment apparatus characterized in that a pump for feeding the treatment liquid to the second tank is provided. 2. The third tank is arranged in parallel with the second tank to form the first tank.
Is connected to the main pipe and the second main pipe via a valve,
The first tank is a processing tank for sequentially applying a plurality of chemicals to the object to be processed, the second tank and the third tank are chemicals tanks for storing the chemicals, respectively, and the first main pipe The chemical treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein water is supplied as the cleaning liquid. 3. The chemical treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a filter is provided between the first tank and the second main pipe. 4. A treatment tank for sequentially applying a plurality of chemicals to an object to be treated, further comprising a fourth tank in parallel with the first tank, a first main pipe and a second main pipe. The chemical treatment apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, which is connected to the valve via a valve. 5. The chemical processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the processing tank for sequentially applying a plurality of chemicals to the object to be processed is a cleaning tank for a glass substrate for an optical disc master. 6. The chemical treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a pipe port provided in each tank is provided in a lower portion of each tank.