JPH0864564A - Substrate treater - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a substrate treater, which makes it possible to reduce a load to a drive source as well as makes it possible to prevent excellently also the generation of dusts. CONSTITUTION: One pair of side plates 20 and 20 are arranged separately from each other at by a constant distance and a treating tank is constituted. Through holes are respectively formed in these side plates 20 and 20 at positions opposing to each other on the side plates and water-resisting rolling bearings 30 and 30 are respectively mounted in both through holes and support a driving shaft 6 of a transfer roller 5. In such a way, the roller 5 is rotatably designed to the plates 20 and 20. Moreover, a drive gear G coupled with a driving motor is fixed on one end of the shaft 6 and a substrate 2 put on the roller 5 is transferred by the roller 5 by transmitting the driving force of the driving motor to the roller 5.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a processing liquid such as a cleaning liquid, a developing liquid, and a stripping liquid (hereinafter, simply referred to as a "substrate") such as a semiconductor wafer or a rectangular glass substrate for liquid crystal (hereinafter simply referred to as "substrate"). The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus that supplies a "processing liquid") and performs substrate processing such as cleaning, development and peeling on a substrate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an apparatus for supplying a processing liquid to the surface of a substrate to perform the substrate processing, for example, while the substrate is being conveyed in a horizontal state by a plurality of conveying rollers horizontally arranged in parallel with each other, There is known a substrate processing apparatus that performs a surface treatment of a substrate by supplying a treatment liquid toward the upper surface or both upper and lower surfaces of the substrate by spraying or the like.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a conventional substrate processing apparatus. In the conventional substrate processing apparatus, as shown in the same figure, a pair of side plates 20, 20 are arranged so as to be separated from each other by a certain distance to form a processing tank. These side plates 20, 20 include
Through holes are formed at positions facing each other, and sliding bearings 10 and 10 are attached to the through holes, respectively, to support the drive shaft 6 of the transport roller 5. In this way, the transport roller 5 is rotatable with respect to the side plates 20 and 20. A drive gear G connected to a drive motor is fixed to one end of the drive shaft 6, and the drive force of the drive motor is transmitted to the transport roller 5, so that the transport roller 5 is mounted on the stepped roller 7. It is configured so as to convey the obtained substrate 2.

In the substrate processing apparatus thus constructed,
While the substrate 2 is transported in a horizontal state by the transport roller 5, the processing liquid is supplied toward the upper surface or both upper and lower surfaces of the substrate 2, and the substrate processing is performed on the substrate 2.

[0005]

However, when the sliding type bearings 10 and 10 are used, the substrate 2 is disposed in the processing tank.
Although it is possible to prevent leakage of the processing liquid that is supplied to the device, the load on the drive motor, which is the drive source, becomes large due to the large rotation resistance, and a drive motor with a large output is required. However, there is a problem that the device size and cost increase. Further, there is a problem that dust generated from the sliding type bearings 10, 10 becomes particles and adheres to the substrate 2 to be contaminated.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and it is possible to reduce the load on the drive source and also to prevent dust from satisfactorily. An object is to provide a processing device.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus for supplying a predetermined processing liquid to the surface of a substrate to perform the substrate processing while horizontally supporting and transporting the substrate. In order to achieve the object, a pair of side plates that are disposed to face each other and are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance to form a processing tank for processing a substrate, and a pair of water resistances that are attached to each of the pair of side plates while facing each other. Rolling bearings, and a conveying roller that is arranged in a horizontal state in the processing tank sandwiched between the side plates, and has both ends thereof rotatably supported with respect to the pair of side plates via the rolling bearings. ,have.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the rolling bearing is
Each of them is composed of an outer ring, an inner ring and a cage made of resin, and a rolling element made of stainless steel.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the outer ring, the inner ring and the cage are all formed of a resin having self-lubricating property.

[0010]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, both ends of the conveying roller are rotatably supported by the side plate through water-resistant rolling bearings. Therefore, compared with the conventional example using the sliding bearing, the rotation resistance becomes smaller, and the load on the drive source for rotationally driving the transport roller is reduced. Further, dust is suppressed by using the rolling bearing.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the rolling bearing is composed of the outer ring, the inner ring, the cage and the rolling elements. Of the constituent elements of the rolling bearing, the outer ring, the inner ring and the cage are all made of resin. Therefore, the rotation resistance is reduced, and dust generation is effectively suppressed. Moreover, since the rolling elements are made of stainless steel, rusting due to the treatment liquid is prevented.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the outer ring, the inner ring and the cage are all formed of a resin having self-lubricating property, it is not necessary to use a lubricant, maintenance such as grease up is not required, and rotation resistance is required. Is further reduced, and dust generation can be suppressed more effectively.

[0013]

1 is a schematic perspective view showing an embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. 2 is a partial sectional view of FIG. In this device 1, a pair of side plates 20, 2
0s are arranged to face each other while being spaced apart from each other by a distance larger than the width of the substrate 2, and a processing liquid L such as a cleaning liquid or a developing liquid is supplied to the upper surface of the substrate 2 in the processing bath. Processing is performed. In this device, the substrate 2
In order to supply the treatment liquid L to the upper surface of the pipe 3, a plurality of pipes 3 are horizontally arranged at an upper position in the treatment tank, and a pump (not shown) connected to the pipes 3 is operated to pump the treatment liquid L to the pipe 3. Then, the treatment liquid L is discharged toward the upper surface of the substrate 2 from the holes formed at regular intervals on the lower surface side of each pipe 3.

Further, at the lower position of these pipes 3,
A plurality of conveying rollers 5 are continuously arranged in a horizontal state. Each of the transport rollers 5 has a drive shaft 6, and a pair of stepped rollers 7, 7 are fixed inside both ends of the transport roller 5 so as to correspond to both sides of the substrate 2. The stepped roller 7 includes a small wheel 7a and a guide wheel 7.
b, and the small wheels 7a support both sides of the substrate 2, while the guide wheels 7b prevent the substrate 2 from meandering.

Both ends of the drive shaft 6 are rotatably supported by the rolling bearings 30 with respect to the side plates 20 and 20, respectively. That is, through holes are formed in the pair of side plates 20, 20 at positions facing each other, and a pair of rolling bearings 30, 30 are attached to both through holes,
By inserting both ends of the drive shaft 6 of the carrying roller 5 into the rolling bearings 30, 30, the carrying roller 5 is supported rotatably with respect to the side plates 20, 20 in a horizontal state.

FIG. 3 is a view showing the rolling bearing 30. The rolling bearing 30, as shown in FIG.
1, an inner ring 32, a cage 33, and a rolling element 34. The rolling element 34 is a spherical body made of stainless steel, is loosely inserted between the outer ring 31 and the inner ring 32, and has a cage 3
Mutually held at 3. In addition, the outer ring 31, the inner ring 32
The cage 33 and the cage 33 are both formed of a resin having a small friction coefficient and having self-lubricating properties, such as polyacetal. Therefore, as compared with the sliding bearing 10 used in the conventional example, the rotation resistance becomes smaller and the conveyance roller 5
It is possible to reduce the load on the drive motor that is a drive source for rotating the motor, and as a result, it is possible to use a drive motor having a smaller output, and to reduce the device size and cost. Further, by using the rolling bearing 30, dust generation can be suppressed. Further, since the rolling elements 34 are made of stainless steel, it is possible to prevent corrosion due to the treatment liquid L and suppress the generation of rust.

In the device 1, the rolling bearing 30
Is exposed to the treatment liquid L during the substrate treatment, the rolling bearing 3
Although 0 is required to have water resistance, since the rolling elements 34 are made of stainless steel as described above, rust hardly occurs, and the outer ring 31, the inner ring 32 and the cage 33 are made of polyacetal. Since it is not necessary to use a lubricant such as grease, that is, it can be used as a non-grease, the water resistance can be used without any problem. It is also possible to use a resin such as high-density polyethylene or Teflon instead of polyacetal.

Returning to FIG. 2, the description will be continued. In the figure, reference numeral G is a drive gear fixed to one end of the drive shaft 6, and when a drive motor (not shown) connected to this drive gear G is operated, the drive force of the drive motor is changed by the drive roller 6. And the carrying roller 5 carries the substrate 2 placed on the carrying roller 5 in the direction of arrow A (FIG. 1). Therefore, in this apparatus 1, the drive motor is operated to convey the substrate 2 in the horizontal direction in the direction of the arrow A by the conveyance roller 5, while the pump is activated to supply the processing liquid L toward the upper surface of the substrate 2. Thus, the substrate processing on the substrate 2 is continuously executed.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the roller bearing 30 configured as described above rotatably supports the conveying roller 5 with respect to the side plates 20 and 20, so that the rotation resistance is prevented. Can be reduced, and as a result, the load on the drive motor, which is the drive source, can be reduced. Further, dust generation can be effectively suppressed.

In the above embodiment, the spherical rolling element 34 is used.
However, other than this, a roller bearing in which the rolling elements 34 are “rollers” may be used.

Further, the above embodiment is the substrate processing apparatus 1 of the type that supplies the processing liquid L only to the upper surface of the substrate 2.
The present invention can be applied not only to this type of apparatus but also to an apparatus that supplies the processing liquid L to the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate to perform the substrate processing.

[0022]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, since both end portions of the conveying roller are rotatably supported with respect to the side plate through the water-resistant rolling bearings, respectively.
It is possible to reduce the rotation resistance, reduce the load on the drive source for rotationally driving the transport roller, and also prevent dust generation well.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the rolling bearing is composed of the outer ring, the inner ring and the cage, all of which are made of resin, and the rolling element made of stainless steel, so that the rolling resistance can be further reduced. The load on the drive source can be further reduced, and dust can be effectively prevented.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the outer ring, the inner ring and the cage are all formed of a resin having self-lubricating property, it is not necessary to use a lubricant, and maintenance such as grease up is not necessary and rotation is possible. The resistance can be further reduced, the load on the drive source can be further reduced, and dust generation can be prevented more effectively.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a rolling bearing.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a conventional substrate processing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Substrate processing device 2 Substrate 5 Conveying roller 20 Side plate 30 Rolling bearing 31 Outer ring 32 Inner ring 33 Cage 34 Rolling element

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A substrate processing apparatus for performing substrate processing by supplying a predetermined processing liquid to the surface of a substrate while horizontally supporting and transporting the substrate. A pair of side plates forming a processing tank to be performed, a pair of water-resistant rolling bearings attached to each of the pair of side plates while facing each other, and in a horizontal state in the processing tank sandwiched between the side plates. A substrate processing apparatus, which is disposed, and has both end portions thereof, and a transport roller rotatably supported by the pair of side plates via the rolling bearing. 2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rolling bearing is composed of an outer ring, an inner ring and a cage, all of which are made of resin, and a rolling element made of stainless steel. 3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein each of the outer ring, the inner ring and the cage is made of a resin having a self-lubricating property.