JPH08257524A - Spin coating machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To remove waste liquid sticking to the inside of a cup simply and sufficiently. CONSTITUTION: A spin chuck 6 is rotated at a high speed, an air current, etc., are straightened by a flow straightening plate 9, a chemical liquid is spread evenly on a glass substrate G to control the thickness of a coating film, and waste liquid is evaporated, received in a cup 1, and discharged from a waste liquid outlet 4. When the application of the chemical liquid on the glass substrate G is finished, a cup cover 7 and the flow straightening plate 9 is lifted by the elevation of a cup cover operation arm 8 to open a cup 1. Every time when a given number of the glass substrates G are treated, a valve 5 is closed to block the waste liquid outlet 4. Washing liquid is supplied from a washing liquid supply nozzle 10 to fill the cup 1 with the washing liquid. After the passage of a given time, the valve 5 is opened, and the washing liquid in the cup 1 is discarded to remove the waste liquid sticking to the inner wall of the cup 1, the flow straightening plate 9, and the lower surface of the cup cover 7.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a spin coater for self-cleaning the inside of a cup.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, a spin coater drops a chemical solution on a glass substrate sucked and held by a spin chuck in a fixed amount, and rotates the glass substrate at a high speed with a current plate positioned on the opposite surface of the glass substrate. This is a device for uniformly applying a chemical solution onto a substrate. Then, when the glass substrate is rotated at a high speed, excess chemical liquid is scattered and becomes waste liquid and adheres to the cup.If the waste liquid is left as it is, the waste liquid remaining in the cup dries and peels off. , Adheres to the glass substrate as dust and causes defects. Further, even if the dust does not adhere as dust, even if the rectifying plate on the facing surface of the glass substrate is not sufficiently cleaned, it affects the coating film thickness, causes defects, and lowers the yield. Therefore, it is necessary to regularly remove the waste liquid adhering to the inside of the cup.

In the conventional self-cleaning in a cup, a cleaning liquid is dropped from a cleaning liquid supply nozzle which is installed in the cup separately from the chemical liquid supply nozzle or which is installed separately from the chemical liquid supply nozzle to apply the chemical liquid. Similarly, the spin chuck is rotated at a high speed to scatter the cleaning liquid into the cup, thereby removing the chemical liquid adhering to the cup.

[0004]

However, even if the cleaning liquid is spattered in the cup by rotating the spin chuck at a high speed, the cleaning liquid does not spread uniformly, so that a part of the waste liquid adhering to the cup is removed. It cannot be done and remains.

For this reason, conventionally, the cup must be disassembled and cleaned at regular intervals so that the yield may not be reduced due to the remaining chemical solution, and the handling is complicated.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a spin coater capable of easily and sufficiently removing the waste liquid adhering to the inside of the cup.

[0007]

A spin coater of the present invention has a chuck for adsorbing and holding a substrate and rotating it at a high speed, a disposal port for discarding waste liquid, a cup for accommodating the chuck together with the substrate, and the disposal. An opening / closing means for opening / closing the mouth, and a cleaning liquid supply nozzle for supplying a cleaning liquid to the cup are provided, and the waste opening is closed by the opening / closing means.
The cleaning liquid is supplied to the cup from the cleaning liquid supply nozzle, the interior of the cup is filled with the cleaning liquid, and the waste liquid adhering to the cup is removed.

[0008]

According to the present invention, the waste port is closed by the opening / closing means, the cleaning liquid is supplied from the cleaning liquid supply nozzle into the cup, and the inside of the cup is filled with the cleaning liquid to remove the waste liquid adhering to the inside of the cup.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the spin coater of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a cup, which is internally formed with a storage portion 2 having an open top surface, and the bottom surface of the storage portion 2 is a tapered surface 3 having a shape descending outward.
The waste liquid / exhaust port 4 as a waste port is formed from the lowermost surface of the taper surface 3 of the storage section 2. Further, the waste liquid / exhaust port 4 is provided with an opening / closing valve 5 as an opening / closing means for opening / closing the waste liquid / exhaust port 4.

Then, inside the storage portion 2 of the cup 1,
A spin chuck 6 that detachably holds the glass substrate G is rotatably provided.

Further, a cup cover 7 is detachably attached to an opening in the upper portion of the storage portion 2 of the cup 1, and a cup cover opening / closing arm 8 is attached to the cup cover 7 to move the cup cover opening / closing arm 8 up and down. Is opened and closed at
A current plate 9 facing the spin chuck 6 is attached to the lower surface of the cup cover 7.

Further, a cleaning liquid supply nozzle 10 for supplying a cleaning liquid is provided on the storage portion 2 of the cup 1, and a chemical liquid supply nozzle 11 is provided as shown in FIG.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described.

First, when supplying a chemical solution to the glass substrate G, as shown in FIG. 2, the glass substrate G is conveyed and held by suction by the spin chuck 6, and the chemical solution supply nozzle 11 is moved into the cup 1. The glass substrate G near the center,
The chemical liquid is supplied from the chemical liquid supply nozzle 11 onto the glass substrate G, the chemical liquid supply nozzle 11 is again moved to the outside of the cup 1, the cup cover opening / closing arm 8 is lowered, and the cup cover 7 opens the storage portion 2 of the cup 1. Is closed and the current plate 9 is opposed to the glass substrate G.

Then, in this state, the spin chuck 6 is rotated at a high speed with a predetermined profile, the air current is rectified by the current plate 9 to uniformly spread the chemical liquid on the glass substrate G to control the coating film thickness, and the waste liquid is discharged. The extra chemical solution that becomes
It is stored in the cup 1 and discharged from the waste liquid / exhaust port 4.

Further, when the application of the chemical liquid on the glass substrate G is completed, the cup cover opening / closing arm 8 is moved up, the cup cover 7 and the flow regulating plate 9 are moved up, and the cup 1 is opened.

When the spin chuck 9 is rotated at a high speed, excess chemical liquid scatters and adheres to the inner wall of the cup 1, the rectifying plate 9 and the lower surface of the cup cover 7.

Therefore, every time a certain number of glass substrates G are processed, the inside of the cup 1 is self-cleaned.

For this cleaning, the on-off valve 5 is closed and the waste liquid
The exhaust port 4 is closed. Then, the cleaning liquid is supplied from the cleaning liquid supply nozzle 10 installed in the cup cover 7, and the cup 1
Fill the inside with cleaning liquid. Further, after a lapse of a certain time, the opening / closing valve 5 is opened, and the cleaning liquid in the cup 1 is discarded through the waste liquid / exhaust port 4, so that the waste liquid attached to the inner wall of the cup 1, the rectifying plate 9, and the lower surface of the cup cover 7 is discharged. To remove.

With the simple structure as described above, the chemical liquid adhering to the inside of the cup can be easily removed, and the yield and the operating rate can be improved.

According to the above-described embodiment, the waste liquid / exhaust port 4 is closed, the cleaning liquid is supplied from the cleaning liquid supply nozzle 10, and the inside of the cup 1 is filled with the cleaning liquid, whereby the inner wall of the cup 1, the straightening plate 9, and The chemical liquid adhering to the lower surface of the cup cover 7 can be removed. In particular, with respect to the current plate 9 on the opposite surface of the glass substrate G, the attached chemical liquid can be removed without a dedicated cleaning liquid supply nozzle that is structurally difficult to install.

Since the chemical solution does not remain in the cup 1, the chemical solution does not adhere to the glass substrate G as dust and does not adversely affect the coating film thickness, and the yield can be improved.

Further, since it is not necessary to periodically disassemble and clean the cup 1, it is possible to reduce the number of times of handling a dangerous solvent and to improve the operation rate.

[0025]

According to the spin coater of the present invention, by closing the waste port and filling the inside of the cup with the cleaning liquid, the waste liquid attached to the cup can be easily and sufficiently removed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing self-cleaning of a cup of an embodiment of a spin coater of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the same cup cover when opened.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 cup 4 waste liquid / exhaust port as waste port 6 spin chuck 5 open / close valve as opening / closing means 10 cleaning liquid supply nozzle G glass substrate

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A chuck that holds a substrate by suction and rotates at a high speed, a cup that has a waste port that discards waste liquid, and a cup that houses the chuck together with the substrate, an opening / closing unit that opens and closes the waste port, and the cup. A cleaning liquid supply nozzle for supplying a cleaning liquid to the cup, the waste opening is closed by the opening / closing means, the cleaning liquid is supplied to the cup from the cleaning liquid supply nozzle, and the inside of the cup is filled with the cleaning liquid and adhered to the cup. A spin coater characterized by removing the waste liquid produced.