JPH09134900A - Edge cleaning device for substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a solvent from remaining in corner sections of a rectangular substrate and the flowing out of an effective coating film from the longer edges of the substrate. SOLUTION: An edge cleaning device for substrate is provided with a supporting table which horizontally holds an angular substrate B, solvent nozzles 46a and 48a which jet a solvent upon the edge of the substrate B held on the supporting table, and an exhaust pipe 45 which sucks the solvent containing dissolved matters together with an air flow and exhausts the sucked air. The edge cleaning device is also provided with nozzle units 4 which respectively treat the shorter and longer edges of the substrate B, nozzle unit moving means which respectively move the units 4 along the edges of the substrate B, and an nozzle unit advancing and retreating means 5 which can advance or retreat the nozzle units 4 so as to control the exhaust by means of the exhaust pipe 45 of the unit 4 on the longer edge side of the substrate B.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate edge cleaning device for cleaning an edge of a substrate having a thin film formed on its surface.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a manufacturing process for manufacturing a substrate incorporating a liquid crystal, a semiconductor or the like, a chemical liquid (photoresist liquid, photosensitive polyimide resin, dyeing agent for a color filter, etc.) is applied to the surface of the substrate, A thin film forming step of forming a thin film on the surface is provided. When the chemical solution is applied in this step, the chemical solution also spreads to the edge portion of the substrate, thereby forming a so-called unnecessary thin film that does not function as a thin film at the edge portion of the substrate. During handling and processing, the material is rubbed and peeled off by various types of processing equipment and becomes a dust source, so it is generally washed and removed after application of the chemical solution.

Conventionally, as for cleaning and removing the above-mentioned unnecessary thin film, the one disclosed by Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-175117 is known. This publication discloses a substrate edge including substrate holding means for holding a rectangular substrate in a horizontal posture, and four nozzle units for processing edges of each side of the rectangular substrate held by the holding means. A cleaning device is described.

Each of the nozzle units has a solvent discharge nozzle for discharging a solvent on the edge of the rectangular substrate, and an exhaust pipe for sucking and discharging the discharged solvent together with the air flow.
By separately moving the wire which is annularly arranged, the wire is simultaneously moved along the edge of the rectangular substrate. Then, while moving the four nozzle units by the circular movement of the wire, the solvent is discharged from the solvent discharge nozzle to wash and remove the unnecessary thin film at the edge of each substrate, and the solvent containing the dissolved substance of the unnecessary thin film is removed. It is designed to be introduced into the exhaust pipe by the air flow.

[0005]

In the conventional substrate edge cleaning apparatus as described above, when the nozzle block passes through the corner of the edge of the rectangular substrate on the most downstream side, the inlet of the exhaust pipe. Since the gas gradually deviates from the edge of the rectangular substrate, the outside air sucked into the exhaust pipe gradually goes directly to the exhaust pipe without passing through the substrate edge, which causes the solvent adhering to the edge. The suction force of the solvent weakens, and after all, after the nozzle block has passed the edge, the solvent remains in spots at the corners of the rectangular substrate.

In order to avoid such inconvenience, conventionally, the nozzle unit is temporarily stopped at the edge of the rectangular substrate, and the suction operation to the exhaust pipe here is performed more than other portions, so that the corner portion is A method was adopted to remove the residual solvent by suction, but with this method, when the nozzle unit on the short side is sucking the corner, the nozzle unit on the long side stops in the middle of the substrate edge. This is a new problem that the thin film formed on the surface of the rectangular substrate moves to the cleaned edge, which re-contaminates the edge due to over-suction of this area. Was occurring.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and prevents the solvent from remaining at the corners of the rectangular substrate, and further, the substrate edge on the long side. It is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate edge cleaning device capable of reliably preventing recontamination of the substrate.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
Substrate holding means for holding a rectangular substrate having a thin film formed on its surface, a solvent discharge nozzle facing the edge of the rectangular substrate and dissolving and removing an unnecessary thin film adhering to this edge with a solvent, and this solvent A nozzle unit provided corresponding to the discharge nozzle and provided with a suction pipe for sucking a solvent containing a dissolved substance, and a moving means for moving the nozzle unit along the edge of the rectangular substrate held by the holding means. In the substrate edge cleaning device including the above, in the nozzle unit, the short side nozzle unit corresponding to the short side of the rectangular substrate and the long side nozzle unit corresponding to the same long side are interlocked with each other. Are formed so that the suction by the suction pipe of the long side nozzle unit does not affect the edge in a state where the short side nozzle unit is located at the cleaning processing end end. It is characterized in that there.

According to the present invention, since the suction by the suction pipe of the long side nozzle unit does not affect the edge while the short side nozzle unit is located at the end of the cleaning process.
Recontamination of the surface side edge portion due to outflow of the effective thin film due to oversuction by the long side nozzle unit is prevented.

According to a second aspect of the invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the long side nozzle unit is retracted with respect to the rectangular substrate, so that suction by the suction tube affects the edge of the rectangular substrate. It is characterized in that it is configured not to give.

According to the present invention, by retracting the nozzle unit on the long side, the nozzle unit is separated from the long side edge of the rectangular substrate, and the influence of external air suction does not affect the rectangular substrate. This prevents the effective thin film from being sucked on the long side of the rectangular substrate.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the long side nozzle unit has an opening / closing valve in the suction pipe or a pipe line connected to the suction pipe, and the opening / closing valve is closed. This is characterized in that the suction by the suction tube does not affect the edge of the rectangular substrate.

According to the present invention, by closing the on-off valve, the outside air is not sucked into the exhaust pipe, so that the suction of the outside air by the nozzle unit does not affect the long side edge of the rectangular substrate.

[0014]

1 is a partially cutaway side view showing an embodiment of a rectangular substrate processing apparatus to which a substrate edge cleaning apparatus according to the present invention is applied, and FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof. Is. The rectangular substrate processing apparatus 1 is formed by arranging a spin coater 11, a substrate edge cleaning device 2 and a drying device 15 in series.

The spin coater 11 is for forming a coating film of a chemical solution (a photoresist solution is used in this embodiment) on the surface of the rectangular substrate B. The substrate edge cleaning device 2 is a spin coater. The rectangular substrate B having a thin film formed on its surface by 11 is subjected to edge cleaning processing. The drying device 15 is a rectangular substrate subjected to edge cleaning processing by the substrate edge cleaning device 2. B is dried.

Then, between the spin coater 11 and the substrate edge cleaning device 2, the rectangular substrate B is gripped and conveyed from the spin coater 11 to the substrate edge cleaning device 2 to the substrate edge cleaning device 2. A first transfer robot 16 to be mounted is provided,
Further, a second transfer robot 17 for transferring the rectangular substrate B from the substrate edge cleaning device 2 to the drying device 15 is also provided between the substrate edge cleaning device 2 and the drying device 15. Each of the transfer robots 16 and 17 has a plurality of rotating arms rotatable about a vertical axis, and gripping hands provided at the tips of these rotating arms. Mold substrate B
It is designed to be clamped and conveyed.

Further, a robot cleaning unit 18 for cleaning the grip of the first transfer robot 16 is provided between the spin coater 11 and the substrate edge cleaning device 2, and after the thin film is formed by the spin coater 11. By grasping the rectangular substrate B, the grasping hands contaminated with the chemical solution are cleaned.

The spin coater 11 includes a drive shaft 12 extending in the vertical direction, a rotary table 13 provided on the top of the drive shaft 12, and an annular hood 14 surrounding the outer periphery of the rotary table 13. Then, after mounting the rectangular substrate B on the surface of the rotary table 13, the chemical liquid is dropped and supplied from above toward the center of rotation of the rectangular substrate B, and then the drive shaft 12 is rotated at a high speed. By doing so, the chemical liquid dropped on the surface of the square substrate B rotating at high speed is radially diffused by the centrifugal force from the central portion of the square substrate B, and a thin film is formed on the surface of the square substrate B. .

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing an example of the rectangular substrate B which has been subjected to the thin film forming process by the spin coater 11. As shown in this figure, immediately after the thin film forming process is performed by the spin coater 11, the rectangular substrate B is in a state where the thin film B0 is formed on the front surface, the edge portion, and the rear surface side edge portion. . By the way, of the thin films B0 formed on the rectangular substrate B, the only effective part is the effective thin film B1 in the central portion surrounded by the alternate long and short dash line, and those existing outside the effective thin film B1 are This is a so-called unnecessary thin film B2.

The unnecessary thin film B2 includes a front surface unnecessary thin film B3 formed on the surface side edge of the rectangular substrate B, an edge unnecessary thin film B4 formed on the edge of the square substrate B, and a corner. Mold substrate B
And a back surface side unnecessary thin film B5 formed on the back surface side edge portion (in this specification, the front surface side edge portion, the edge portion, and the back surface side edge portion are collectively referred to as an edge). None of these are related to the function of the rectangular substrate B, and conversely, in the state where such an unnecessary thin film B2 is present, various inconveniences occur in the subsequent processing steps of the rectangular substrate B. In the cleaning device 2, the unnecessary thin film B2 is cleaned and removed with a solvent.

FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway side view showing an embodiment of the substrate edge cleaning device 2, and FIG. 5 is a plan view thereof. As shown in these drawings, the substrate edge cleaning device 2
Is a cleaning unit 2a provided with a nozzle unit 4 for cleaning and removing the unnecessary thin film B2 of the rectangular substrate B by discharging a solvent, and a drive mechanism for moving the nozzle unit 4 along the edge of the rectangular substrate B ( Nozzle unit moving means) 2b.

The cleaning section 2a is provided in a box-shaped support frame 21 provided on the base 20. The support frame 21 has a rectangular shape in plan view and has an open top. The cleaning unit 2 a has a support base 22 provided upright in the center of the bottom of the support frame 21, and four support members 23 (FIG. 4) that support the nozzle unit 4. The support table 22 has a rectangular table 22a on the top thereof on which the rectangular substrate B is placed and which is rectangular in a plan view.
The table 22a is formed in a rectangular shape having a plane shape slightly smaller than that of the rectangular substrate B, and the first transfer robot 16 is provided.
The rectangular substrate B conveyed from the spin coater 11 by (FIG. 1, FIG. 2) has short sides and long sides corresponding to each other on the table 22a, and the side edge portion of the rectangular substrate B is The support 22 is mounted so as to project slightly outward from the edge of the support 22.

The support member 23 is formed by an inverted L-shaped support member including a vertical portion 23a supported by the support frame 21 and a horizontal portion 23b extending horizontally from the top of the vertical portion 23a toward the support base 22. There is. The horizontal portion 23b of the support member 23 is provided with advancing / retreating means 5 for advancing / retreating the nozzle unit 4 with respect to the rectangular substrate B on the table 22a.

A large number of suction holes (not shown) are formed on the surface of the table 22a, and the rectangular substrate B placed on the table 22a is removed from the suction holes by driving a vacuum pump (not shown). Is sucked and fixed on the table 22a.

Then, the nozzle unit 4 is positioned so as to face the edge of the rectangular substrate B placed on the table 22a, and the horizontal portion 23b of the support member 23 is positioned.
Is slidably attached to the top end side of the upper part of the table, and is moved forward and backward with respect to the rectangular substrate B on the table 22a by driving the forward and backward means 5.

On the other hand, a pair of upper and lower guide rails 21a extending in the horizontal direction are provided on the inner wall surface of the support frame 21, and the support member 23 has the pair of guide rails 2a.
It is horizontally movable while being supported by 1a.

The drive mechanism 2b includes a motor support frame 24 provided upright on the base 20, a drive motor 24a supported by the motor support frame 24, and a drive pulley 24b fixed to a drive shaft of the drive motor 24a. It has and. On the other hand, one or two driven pulleys 24c are provided below the four corners of the support frame 21 as shown in FIG. A wire 25 is stretched between the driven pulley 24c and the drive pulley 24b, and the four supporting members 23 are connected to the wire 25. Then, the drive pulley 24b is rotated by driving the drive motor 24a, and this rotation causes the wire 25 to move circularly, and the movement of the wire 25 causes the four supporting members 23 to move along the respective edges of the table 22a. Each of them moves at a constant speed.

The supporting members 23 are positioned so that the mutual distances through the wires 25 are the same.
As the wire 25 moves around by the drive of the drive pulley 24b, the nozzle units 4 move from one end to the other end in a state of facing the respective side edge portions of the rectangular substrate B placed on the table 22a. It is designed to move.

The lower part of each nozzle unit 4 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 5, a flexible tube 26 is connected that has a length that expands and contracts in the movement range of the nozzle unit 4 and that can follow the movement of the nozzle unit 4. The flexible tube 26 is connected at its downstream side to a suction blower 32 via a solvent recovery device 31 (FIG. 8), and the solvent after cleaning the edge portion of the rectangular substrate B by driving the suction blower 32. Are sucked and removed from the nozzle unit 4 through the flexible tube 26.

6 and 7 are partially cutaway perspective views showing an example of the nozzle unit 4 and the advancing / retreating means 5. FIG. 6 shows a state in which the nozzle unit 4 has advanced, and FIG. The state where the unit 4 is retracted is shown. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. First, the advancing / retreating means 5 will be described based on these drawings.
The advancing / retreating means 5 includes a cylinder 51 provided on the horizontal portion 23b of the support member 23, and the support base 2 from the cylinder 51.
The piston rod 52 projects in the direction of 2, and the unit support 53 having an inverted T-shape connected to the tip of the piston rod 52 is formed.

The horizontal portion 23b of the support member 23 has a forked end, and the cylinder 51 is fixed to the support member 23 in a state of being fitted into the base end portion of the gap between the two forks. The pair of horizontal portions 23b have a pair of guide grooves 23c extending in the horizontal direction on the facing surfaces facing each other.

The unit support 53 is composed of a slide plate 54 which extends horizontally while being sandwiched between the pair of horizontal portions 23b, and a standing plate 55 which is provided upright at the center of the slide plate 54. Has been done. The slide plate 54
A pair of width-direction guided ridges 54a corresponding to the guide grooves 23c are provided on both sides of the unit support body while the guided ridges 54a are fitted in the pair of guide grooves 23c. The reference numeral 53 allows the rectangular substrate B mounted on the table 22a to move back and forth.
Further, the slide plate 54 is provided with an exhaust pipe support groove 54c for fitting and supporting an exhaust pipe (suction pipe) 45, which will be described later, at the end portion on the side of the rectangular substrate B.

The slide plate 54 has a bracket 54b on the end surface facing the cylinder 51,
The tip of the piston rod 52 is connected to the bracket 54b. Therefore, the unit support body 53 moves back and forth with respect to the rectangular substrate B by the piston rod 52 protruding and retracting as the cylinder 51 is driven.

Next, the nozzle unit 4 will be described. The nozzle unit 4 includes a nozzle block support 41 having a protrusion 41b extending in a direction orthogonal to the horizontal portion 23b of the support member 23 at the center of the upper surface, and an upper nozzle block 43 supported by the nozzle block support 41. And a lower nozzle block 44, and a pair of upper and lower nozzle blocks 42, and an exhaust pipe 45 connected to the lower portion of the nozzle block support 41. A rear plate 41a is integrally attached to the rear surface (surface on the cylinder 51 side) of the nozzle block support 41, and the rear plate 41a is bolted to the standing plate 55 of the unit support 53 to remove In the state where the cylinder 45 is fitted in the exhaust pipe support groove 54c, the nozzle unit 4 is attached to the unit support body 53.
Is to be fixed.

A substrate fitting groove 41c extending horizontally is formed in the front edge of the nozzle block support 41. The board fitting groove 41c is formed such that its groove width is slightly wider than the thickness of the rectangular board B. The edge portion of the rectangular board B is fitted into the board fitting groove 41c in a non-contact state, and in this state, the board fitting groove 41c moves horizontally with respect to the rectangular board B. . An elongated hole-shaped suction port 41d is provided in the inner part of the board fitting groove 41c over substantially the entire length of the groove, so that the board fitting groove 41c is in communication with the inside of the exhaust pipe 45.

The upper nozzle block 43 is fixed to the projection 41b of the nozzle block support 41, and the lower nozzle block 44 is fixed to the lower surface of the exhaust pipe 45 by bolts.

About half of the upper nozzle block 43 projects forward from the tip side of the nozzle block support body 41 in an overhang shape while being fixed to the protrusion 41b by screws. An upper solvent passage 46 extending in the width direction and an upper gas passage 47 parallel to the solvent passage 46 are formed inside the overhang-shaped protruding portion. The upper gas passage 47 is positioned ahead of the upper solvent passage 46. Both ends of these two passages 46 and 47 are closed.

The upper solvent passage 46 is communicated with a plurality of upper solvent nozzles 46a extending vertically downward. The discharge ports of these upper solvent nozzles 46a are set in a spot shape (circular shape in this embodiment), and are positioned so as to face a portion of the front side unnecessary thin film B3 (FIG. 3) of the rectangular substrate B near the substrate center. Has been done.

In the upper gas passage 47, the rectangular substrate B
A plurality of upper gas nozzles 47a that are inclined obliquely downward toward the edge side of the are communicated. The discharge ports of these upper gas nozzles 47a are also set in spots. The angle of the upper gas nozzle 47a is set so that the discharge area of the gas discharged from these upper gas nozzles 47a is closer to the center of the rectangular substrate B than the solvent adhesion area of the upper solvent nozzle 46a. Has been done. In this embodiment, nitrogen gas is used as the gas.

Further, the lower nozzle block 44 has a lower solvent passage 48, which communicates with the lower solvent passage 48, and
The lower solvent nozzle 48a whose discharge port faces the backside unnecessary thin film B5 of the rectangular substrate B, the lower gas passage 49, and the lower gas passage 49 communicate with each other, and the gas discharge region is formed by the lower solvent nozzle 48a. Lower gas nozzle 49 that is inclined so as to be closer to the center of the rectangular substrate B than the adhesion region.
a is provided. The discharge ports of the lower solvent nozzle 48a and the lower gas nozzle 49a are also set in spot shapes.

The upper surface of the upper nozzle block 43 has a first joint 46 communicating with the upper solvent passage 46.
b, a second joint 47b communicating with the upper gas passage 47 is screwed, and a lower surface of the lower nozzle block 44 is communicated with a third joint 48b communicating with the lower solvent passage 48 and a lower gas passage 49. Done 4th
The joint 49b is screwed, and the solvent is supplied to the upper solvent passage 46 and the lower solvent passage 48, and the gas is supplied to the upper gas passage 47 and the lower gas passage 49 via the joint 49b.

Specifically, a relay manifold 411 (FIG. 6) for relaying the solvent from the solvent supply source and the gas from the gas supply source is provided on the slide plate 54, and the relay manifold 411 and the first joint 46b are provided. , The second joint 47b, the third joint 48b, and the fourth joint 49b, the upper solvent pipe 46c, the upper gas pipe 47c, the lower solvent pipe 48c and the lower gas, respectively. It is connected by a pipe 49c.

As shown in FIG. 8, a solvent storage tank 33 and a high-pressure nitrogen cylinder 35 are provided at appropriate places in the factory. Are being supplied. Specifically, high-pressure nitrogen gas is supplied to the solvent storage tank 33, and the solvent in the solvent storage tank 33 is sent out by this gas pressure.

A first solenoid valve 34 is provided immediately downstream of the solvent storage tank 33, and the opening / closing operation of the first solenoid valve 34 causes the upper solvent nozzles 46a and the lower solvent nozzles 48a of each nozzle block 42 to simultaneously discharge the solvent. Are supplied or stopped. Further, a second solenoid valve 36 is provided immediately downstream of the high-pressure nitrogen cylinder 35, and a valve opening operation of the second solenoid valve 36 allows nitrogen to be supplied to the upper gas nozzle 47a and the lower gas nozzle 49a of each nozzle block 42 via the relay manifold 411. Gas is supplied.

The lower end of the exhaust pipe 45 is connected to the flexible tube 26. As shown in FIG. 8, the downstream end of the flexible tube 26 has an opening / closing valve 3
0 and the solvent recovery device 31 are connected to the suction blower 32. By driving the suction blower 32, a negative pressure is created in the exhaust pipe 45, whereby the outside air is sucked into the suction port 41.
It is adapted to be introduced into the exhaust pipe 45 through d.

The nozzle block support 41 is provided with a measurement hole for pressure measurement, and a pressure measurement pipe 410 is connected to this measurement hole. This pressure measuring pipe 41
An unillustrated pressure gauge is connected to the tip of 0, and the pressure inside the exhaust pipe 45 is constantly measured by this pressure gauge. By this measurement, the outside air suction state of the suction port 41d can be monitored.

In this embodiment, each solvent nozzle 46a, 4a
As the solvent discharged from 8a and used for dissolving and removing the unnecessary thin film, acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, which is suitable for dissolving the photoresist liquid as a chemical liquid,
Ketones such as methyl isobutyl ketone, cyclohexanone, and diisobutyl ketone; esters such as ethyl acetate and butyl acetate; aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene, toluene, xylene; halogenation of carbon tetrachloride, trichloroethylene, chloroform, etc. Hydrocarbons and ethers such as tetrahydrobran, diethyl ether and ethylene glycol monomethyl ether are preferably used.

According to the structure of the substrate edge cleaning device 2 described above, first, as shown in FIG. 5, each support member 23 is moved to the corner of the table 22a that does not interfere with the rectangular substrate B. In this state, the spin coater 11 (FIGS. 1 and 2)
The rectangular substrate B on which the thin film forming process is completed is carried into the substrate edge cleaning device 2 by the first transfer robot 16 and placed on the table 22a. Square substrate B is the table 22
In the state of being attached to a, each edge of the rectangular substrate B protrudes outward from the table 22a (a state indicated by a chain double-dashed line in FIG. 5).

In this state, each support member 23 is moved in the direction of the arrow (FIG. 5) by driving the drive mechanism 2b. Then, from the time when the substrate fitting groove 41c of the nozzle block support 41 starts to be fitted onto the corner portion (cleaning processing start end) of the edge of the rectangular substrate B, the upper solvent nozzle 46a of the nozzle unit 4 is started.
And the relay manifold 411 to the lower solvent nozzle 48a.
The solvent is supplied through the upper gas nozzle 47.
Gas is fed into the a and lower gas nozzles 49a.

Then, each solvent nozzle 46a, 48a
The solvent is ejected from the rectangular substrate B toward the front and back side edges of the rectangular substrate B (FIGS. 6 and 8), and the gas is ejected from the gas nozzles 47a and 49a toward the area where the solvent is attached. The unnecessary thin film B2 (FIG. 3) of the mold substrate B is formed by each solvent nozzle 46.
While being dissolved in the solvent discharged from a and 48a, the solvent in which the thin film is dissolved is blown toward the outside of the rectangular substrate B by the gas discharged from the gas nozzles 47a and 49a. Then, the unnecessary thin film B2 at the edge of the square substrate B is sequentially removed by the movement of the nozzle unit 4, and when the nozzle unit 4 reaches the other end of the square substrate B, the first thin film of the edge of the square substrate B is removed. The first cleaning process is completed.

Such cleaning process is preferably repeated twice or more by the reciprocating movement of the nozzle unit 4 by the forward and reverse driving of the driving mechanism 2b. Each gas nozzle 47
The solvent blown off by the gas from a, 49a
It is captured by the suction port 41d and is sucked into the exhaust pipe 45 which is in a negative pressure by driving the suction blower 32 (FIG. 8),
It is recovered by the solvent recovery device 31.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view for explaining the action of removing the unnecessary thin film by discharging the solvent and the gas.
Is a state in which the side edge portion of the rectangular substrate B is fitted into the suction port 41d of the substrate fitting groove 41c, and (b) is the solvent and gas discharged from the front and back of the side edge portion of the rectangular substrate B from each nozzle. Each state is shown.

First, in the state shown in FIG. 9A, the side edge portion of the rectangular substrate B is fitted into the suction port 41d, whereby the front surface unnecessary thin film B3 and the back surface unnecessary portion formed on the side edge portion. A part of the thin film B5 on the edge side is in a state of having entered the suction port 41d. In this state, the discharge port of the upper solvent nozzle 46a faces the boundary portion between the front surface unnecessary thin film B3 and the effective thin film B1, and the upper gas nozzle 4
The discharge port 7a faces a portion slightly closer to the center of the rectangular substrate B than the boundary portion. Also, the lower solvent nozzle 4
The discharge port 8a faces the rightmost end of the back surface side unnecessary thin film B5, and the discharge port of the lower gas nozzle 49a faces a portion closer to the center of the rectangular substrate B than the solvent discharge point of the lower solvent nozzle 48a. doing.

When the solvent is discharged from the solvent nozzles 46a and 48a and the gas is discharged from the gas nozzles 47a and 49a in the state shown in FIG.
(B), the solvent discharged from the solvent nozzle 46a collides with the unnecessary thin film B3 on the front surface side of the rectangular substrate B,
As a result, the surface-side unnecessary thin film B3 is dissolved in the solvent, and the solvent in which the thin film is dissolved is blown off toward the suction port 41d by the gas obliquely discharged from each of the gas nozzles 47a and 49a toward the edge portion side. While being blown off, the solvent also dissolves the solvent on the edge side of the unnecessary thin film B3 on the surface side. Then, a part of the solvent blown off wets the edge of the rectangular substrate B, so that the edge unnecessary thin film B
4 is dissolved and removed.

On the other hand, the solvent discharged from the lower solvent nozzle 48a collides with the right end portion of the back side unnecessary thin film B5 and dissolves the thin film in this portion. The solvent that dissolves the thin film is blown off toward the edge by the gas discharged from the lower gas passage 49, and the back surface unnecessary thin film B5 on the edge is dissolved and removed even while the solvent is moving. The solvent in which the thin film is dissolved is introduced into the suction port 41d.

Further, each of the nozzles 46a, 48a, 47
Since the suction blower 32 (FIG. 8) is driven in synchronization with the discharge of the solvent and the gas from a and 49a, the suction port 41
An air flow indicated by a white arrow is generated in d, and the solvent in which the thin film is dissolved is sucked into the exhaust stack 45 by this air flow and is recovered by the solvent recovery device 31.

By the way, after the edge of the rectangular substrate B is cleaned by the reciprocating motion of the nozzle unit 4 a plurality of times,
In many cases, spot-like residual liquid droplets B6 as shown in FIG. 10 are generated at the corners of the rectangular substrate B (ends of the cleaning process). When the nozzle unit 4 passes through the corner portion on the most downstream side of the edge and moves away from the rectangular substrate B, the suction port 41d of the substrate fitting groove 41c causes the residual droplet B6 to move to the edge of the rectangular substrate. Therefore, the outside air introduced into the suction port 41d gradually goes toward the suction port 41d without passing through the substrate edge B, thereby weakening the suction force of the solvent adhering to the edge. Therefore, it is considered that after the nozzle unit 4 has passed the edge, the residual liquid droplet B6 remains at the corner of the rectangular substrate B.

Therefore, in the present invention, after the edge cleaning of the rectangular substrate B is completed, the solvent nozzles 46a,
The nozzle block 42 is moved to the corner portion of the edge of the rectangular substrate B in a state where the discharge of the solvent from 48a is stopped, the drive motor 24a is stopped for a predetermined time, and the suction blower 32 drives the suction port 41d. The residual liquid droplet B6 (FIG. 10) formed at the corner of the rectangular substrate B is sucked and removed by the suction of the outside air.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an example of a control system for edge processing of the rectangular substrate B. The control means 3 stores a program for edge processing of the rectangular substrate B, and based on this program, the drive motor 24a,
A drive signal is output to the first electromagnetic valve 34, the second electromagnetic valve 36, the cylinder 51, and the suction blower 32 at preset timings.

Further, the control means 3 has an edge cleaning processing control means and an end edge cleaning control means (not shown) inside. The edge cleaning processing control means causes the solvent to be discharged from the solvent nozzles 46a and 48a while moving the nozzle unit 4 from the cleaning processing start end of the edge of the rectangular substrate B toward the cleaning processing end end, and contains the dissolved substance. A control signal is output so that the solvent is sucked into the exhaust pipe 45, and the end end cleaning control means performs the suction operation by the exhaust pipe 45 while the nozzle unit 4 is temporarily stopped at the cleaning process end end. The control signal is output so as to stop the solvent discharge from the solvent nozzles 46a and 48a while continuing.

Specifically, the drive signal output from the control means 3, which is provided at an appropriate position of the substrate edge cleaning device 2, drives the drive motor 24a to move the nozzle unit 4 to drive the blower drive signal. The suction blower 32 is driven by this so that the outside air is sucked from the suction port 41d of each nozzle unit 4, and the solvent in the solvent storage tank 33 causes the solvent in the solvent storage tank 33 to open when the first solenoid valve 34 is opened by the drive signal. Nitrogen gas is discharged from the solvent nozzles 46a and 48a, and nitrogen gas is discharged from the gas nozzles 47a and 49a of each nozzle unit 4 by opening the second electromagnetic valve 36 in response to a valve opening drive signal. Further, the piston rod 52 is driven by the drive signal from the control means 3 to the cylinder 51.
Are coming and going.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory view showing the edge processing of the rectangular substrate B by the nozzle unit 4, and FIG. 12A shows the nozzle unit 4 which has completed the edge processing of the rectangular substrate B positioned at the standby position. The state (b) is a state in which the nozzle unit 4 moving on the short side of the rectangular substrate B is processing the edge corner portion,
(C) shows a state in which the nozzle unit 4 moving on the long side of the rectangular substrate B is processing the edge corners. Hereinafter, the edge processing of the rectangular substrate B will be described with reference to FIG. 12 and FIG.

First, when the substrate edge cleaning device 2 is operated, a drive signal for driving the blower is output from the control means 3 to the suction blower 32, whereby the suction blower 32 operates the substrate edge cleaning device 2. The drive is kept running while it is running.

Then, the rectangular substrate processing apparatus 1 is operated,
When the rectangular substrate B is mounted on the table 22a by the operation, the control means 3 outputs a drive signal for opening the first electromagnetic valve 34 and the second electromagnetic valve 36 and drives the drive motor 24a. Is output, and each nozzle unit 4 located at the standby position (a) ((a) in FIG. 12) is moved to each edge of the rectangular substrate B by the forward and reverse winding of the wire 25 by the drive of the drive motor 24a. It reciprocates along the edge of the rectangular substrate B, and the edge of the rectangular substrate B is cleaned. Then, after reciprocating a predetermined number of times, the nozzle unit 4 is returned to the standby position (a). From this state, the processing of the corner portion of the rectangular substrate B is started.

That is, the drive motor 24a is driven to rotate the wire 25 in the clockwise direction, and each nozzle unit 4 starts moving. When a predetermined number of drive pulses are supplied to the drive motor 24a, the nozzle unit 4 that moves along the short side of the square substrate B has a corner portion of the square substrate B (the short side corner position (( b)), the drive motor 2
4a is temporarily stopped. Nozzle unit 4 on the long side
As shown in (b) of FIG. 12, the state has reached the position of the intermediate portion of the edge (long side intermediate position (c)).

At the same time as the drive motor 24a is stopped, the first solenoid valve 34 and the cylinder 51 of the long side nozzle unit 4 are both stopped and the piston rod 52 is stopped.
A backward drive signal is output. As a result, as shown in FIG. 12B, the nozzle unit 4 on the short side is in the state of being positioned at the corner of the rectangular substrate B, but is positioned at the long side intermediate position (c). The nozzle unit 4 on the long side is separated from the edge of the rectangular substrate B.

In the state shown in FIG. 12B, the discharge of the solvent from the solvent nozzles 46a and 48a is interrupted. Therefore, the corner of the rectangular substrate B (the end of the cleaning process)
The residual liquid droplet B6 (FIG. 10) formed on the
The residual liquid formed in the corners of the rectangular substrate B is introduced into the exhaust pipe 45 (FIG. 8) by jetting gas from 7a and 49a and sucking outside air by driving the suction blower 32. The droplet B6 is removed.

At this time, since the long side nozzle unit 4 located at the long side intermediate position (c) is separated from the edge of the rectangular substrate B, the suction blower 32 is driven and the gas is blown. The influence of the air flow toward the exhaust tube 45 generated by the injection of gas from the nozzles 47a and 49a does not affect the edges, and therefore the effective thin film B1 (FIG. 3) formed in the central portion of the rectangular substrate B is on the front surface side. There is no problem of flowing out to the edge, and recontamination of the surface side edge is reliably prevented.

Then, when the predetermined time set by the timer in the control means 3 has elapsed, or when the removal of the residual droplet B6 is confirmed by a sensor (not shown) or the like, the control means 3 causes the drive motor 24a to operate. A drive signal for driving the motor is output toward the wire 25, which causes the wire 25 to circulate counterclockwise. When the nozzle unit 4 on the long side reaches the corner of the rectangular substrate B, the control unit 3 drives the drive motor 2
A drive signal for stopping the drive is output toward 4a, whereby the nozzle unit 4 on the long side opposes to the corner portion (d) on the long side corresponding to the corner of the rectangular substrate B in a state of being separated.

Next, a drive signal for projecting the piston rod 52 is output from the control means 3 to the cylinder 51, and the projection of the piston rod 52 causes the nozzle unit 4 on the long side to rotate at the corner position (b) on the short side. The state is shown in FIG. 12C in which the die substrate B is close to the corner. Then, this state is continued for a predetermined time as in the case of the nozzle unit 4 on the short side, and the corner portion of the rectangular substrate B (cleaning processing end end)
The residual liquid droplet B6 formed in 1 is sucked and removed.

Then, the drive motor 24a is driven, and the counterclockwise rotation of the wire 25 by this causes each nozzle unit 4 to move, and when they return to the standby position (a), the control means 3 directs them toward the drive motor 24a. 1 outputs the drive signal for stopping the drive, and each nozzle unit 4 is positioned at the standby position (a) by stopping the drive motor 24a.
Returning to the state (2) of 2, the edge processing of the rectangular substrate B in which the residual droplets B6 at the corners of the rectangular substrate B are also removed is completely completed.

In the substrate edge cleaning apparatus of the present invention, as described above in detail, the nozzle unit 4 is provided with the advancing / retreating means 5,
Since the nozzle unit 4 can be moved forward and backward with respect to the rectangular substrate B by driving the forward / backward moving unit 5, the nozzle unit 4 targeted for the short side of the rectangular substrate B has a corner portion of the rectangular substrate B. While the residual liquid droplet B6 is being removed by suction, the nozzle unit 4 intended for the long side can be retracted from the rectangular substrate B by the advancing / retreating means 5, whereby the long side The inconvenience that the nozzle unit 4 sucks the effective thin film B1 of the square substrate B and recontaminates the surface side edge portion of the square substrate B from which the unnecessary thin film is once removed is surely prevented, and the end of the square substrate B It is extremely effective for perfect edge treatment.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and the following embodiments can be applied. (1) In the above-described embodiment, the cleaning process for the corner of the rectangular substrate B is performed after the nozzle unit 4 is once returned to the standby position (a) after the cleaning process for the edge is completed. Move the nozzle unit 4 again to the short side corner position (b),
After that, the long-side nozzle unit 4 is moved to the long-side intermediate position (c) to clean the respective corners. Instead of this, the nozzle is used during the normal edge cleaning process. When the unit 4 approaches the corner (the end of the cleaning process), the solvent discharge from the solvent nozzles 46a and 48a may be interrupted to perform the corner processing.
By doing so, it becomes possible to shorten the time of the cleaning process.

(2) In the above embodiment, the advancing / retreating means 5 is applied, and the nozzle unit 4 is configured to be capable of advancing / retreating with respect to the rectangular substrate B by the driving of the advancing / retreating means 5, whereby the long side Although the nozzle unit 4 is prevented from sucking the effective thin film B1 of the rectangular substrate B, the present invention is not limited to the provision of the advancing / retreating means 5, and the suction blower 32 from each flexible tube 26. An on-off valve may be provided in the middle of the pipeline leading to, and the outside air may be sucked or stopped from the suction port 41d of the nozzle unit 4 by opening / closing the opening / closing valve.

(3) In the above embodiment, the nozzle block 42 is provided with the upper nozzle block 43 and the lower nozzle block 44, but the present invention is limited to the case where the pair of nozzle blocks 42 is provided vertically. However, at least only the upper nozzle block 43 may be provided. By doing so, the edge portion on the front surface side of the rectangular substrate B where a large amount of unnecessary thin film is formed is cleaned, and further, the unnecessary thin film on the edge portion on the back surface side is also removed by the solvent spilled from the surface to the back surface.

(4) In the above embodiment, the nozzle block 42 is provided with the gas nozzles 47a and 49a in addition to the solvent nozzles 46a and 48a.
It is not essential to provide 7a and 49a, and even if not provided, the solvent is sucked and removed as the outside air is sucked from the suction port 41d. However, when the gas nozzles 47a and 49a are provided, the unnecessary thin film on the edge can be reliably removed.

(5) In the above embodiment, ketones, esters, aromatic hydrocarbons, halogenated hydrocarbons, ethers, etc. are used as the solvent, but a dyeing agent is used as a thin film agent. 30 to 60 ° C if
Hot water, lower alcohols such as methanol, ethanol and propanol, and ketones such as acetone can be used.

(6) In the above embodiment, the high-pressure nitrogen filled in the high-pressure cylinder is used as the discharge gas, but an inert gas such as helium or argon may be used instead of nitrogen.

[0079]

According to the invention described in claim 1, the nozzle unit includes a short side nozzle unit corresponding to the short side of the rectangular substrate and a long side nozzle unit corresponding to the same long side. So that the suction by the suction pipe of the long side nozzle unit does not affect the edge while the short side nozzle unit is located at the cleaning processing end end. Since it is configured, with the short side nozzle unit located at the end of the cleaning process,
The suction by the suction pipe of the long side nozzle unit does not affect the edge, and it is possible to reliably prevent recontamination of the surface side edge portion due to the outflow of the effective thin film due to excessive suction by the long side nozzle unit. it can.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the long side nozzle unit is configured to retreat with respect to the rectangular substrate so that suction by the suction tube does not affect the edge of the rectangular substrate. Since the nozzle unit on the long side retracts, the nozzle unit separates from the long side edge of the square substrate, and the influence of the outside air suction does not affect the square substrate. The effective thin film is no longer sucked on the long side, and recontamination of the surface side edge portion due to the outflow of the effective thin film due to excessive suction can be reliably prevented.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the long side nozzle unit has an opening / closing valve in the suction pipe or a pipe line connected to the suction pipe, and the suction pipe is formed by closing the opening / closing valve. Since the suction does not affect the edge of the rectangular substrate, the outside air is not sucked into the exhaust pipe by closing the open / close valve, and the influence of outside air suction by the nozzle unit is square. Since it does not reach the long-side edge portion of the substrate, recontamination of the surface-side edge portion due to outflow of the effective thin film due to oversuction can be reliably prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway side view showing an embodiment of a rectangular substrate processing apparatus to which a substrate edge cleaning apparatus according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the rectangular substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing an example of a rectangular substrate on which a thin film forming process has been performed by a spin coater.

FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway side view showing an embodiment of a substrate edge cleaning device.

5 is a plan view of the substrate edge cleaning device shown in FIG. 4. FIG.

FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing an example of a nozzle unit and advancing / retreating means, showing a state in which the nozzle unit has advanced.

FIG. 7 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing an example of a nozzle unit and advancing / retreating means, showing a state in which the nozzle unit is retracted.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an action of removing an unnecessary thin film by discharging a solvent and a gas. FIG. 9A is a state in which a side edge portion of a rectangular substrate is fitted into a suction port of a substrate fitting groove,
(B) shows the state in which the solvent and the gas are discharged from the respective nozzles to the front and back of the side edge portion of the rectangular substrate.

FIG. 10 is a partial perspective view of a rectangular substrate showing a state in which residual droplets formed on the surface corner are formed.

11 is a block diagram showing an example of a control system for edge processing of the rectangular substrate B. FIG.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory view showing the processing of the corner portion of the rectangular substrate by the nozzle unit, and FIG. 12A is a state in which the nozzle unit which has completed the edge processing of the rectangular substrate is located at the standby position,
In (b), the nozzle unit moving along the short side of the rectangular substrate is processing the edge corner, and in (c), the nozzle unit moving along the long side of the rectangular substrate removes the edge corner. The respective processing states are shown.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Rectangular substrate processing device 2 Substrate edge cleaning device 2a Cleaning part 21 Support frame 22 Support stand 22a Table 23 Support member 23a Vertical part 23b Horizontal part 2b Drive mechanism 24a Drive motor 24b Drive pulley 24c Driven pulley 25 Wire 26 Flexible tube 3 Control Means 31 Solvent Recovery Device 32 Suction Blower 33 Solvent Storage Tank 34 First Solenoid Valve 35 High Pressure Nitrogen Cylinder 36 Second Solenoid Valve 4 Nozzle Unit 41 Nozzle Block Support 41d Suction Port 42 Nozzle Block 43 Upper Nozzle Block 44 Lower Nozzle Block 5 Reciprocating Means 51 Cylinder 52 Piston Rod 53 Unit Support B Square Substrate B0 Thin Film B6 Residual Droplet

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A substrate holding means for holding a rectangular substrate having a thin film formed on a surface thereof, and a solvent discharge for facing and removing an unnecessary thin film adhering to the edge of the rectangular substrate with a solvent. A nozzle unit and a nozzle unit provided corresponding to the solvent discharge nozzle, the nozzle unit including a suction pipe for sucking a solvent containing a dissolved substance, and the nozzle unit along the edge of the rectangular substrate held by the holding means. In the substrate edge cleaning device provided with a moving means for moving, the nozzle unit includes a short side nozzle unit corresponding to the short side of the rectangular substrate and a long side nozzle unit corresponding to the same long side. Are formed so as to be interlocked with each other, and the suction by the suction pipe of the long side nozzle unit does not affect the edge while the short side nozzle unit is located at the cleaning processing end end. A substrate edge cleaning device, characterized in that 2. The long side nozzle unit is configured to be retracted with respect to the rectangular substrate so that suction by the suction tube does not affect an edge of the rectangular substrate. The substrate edge cleaning device according to claim 1. 3. The long side nozzle unit has an opening / closing valve in the suction pipe or a pipe line connected to the suction pipe, and when the opening / closing valve is closed, suction by the suction pipe is an edge of a rectangular substrate. The substrate edge cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the substrate edge cleaning device is configured so as not to affect the above.