JPH09213608A - Method and device for coating photoresist - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simplify the concentration adjustment of photoresist to be reused by separating and recovering both photoresist waste liquid and detergent waste liquid respectively and independently for performing the concentration adjustment and the recovery of detergent. SOLUTION: The photoresist waste liquid in case of coating a glass substrate 2 with a photoresist is guided into a piping 11 by a transfer cock 10 through a drain pipe 8 to be stored in a solvent removing means 12 for separating the solvent. Next, the solvent separated photoresist is concentration-adjusted in a concentration adjusting vessel 14 and after removing any foreign matters to be contained in a photoresist tank 17 and then new photoresist is implanted for securing a specific amount to be reused. On the other hand, any detergent waste liquid recovered from the cup cleaning step is guided into another piping 21 by the transfer cock 10 through the drain pipe 8 to contain the photoresist separated detergent by a photoresist removing means 22 in a detergent tank 24 so as to supplementally implant new thinner solution to be reused. Through these procedures, the recovery of respective detergents can be simplified to accelerate the reuse.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a photoresist coating method and an apparatus thereof, and more particularly to a photoresist coating method and an apparatus used for manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel, for example.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a photoresist coating apparatus used for manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel, a glass substrate forming an envelope of the liquid crystal display panel is fixed on a vacuum chuck, and an appropriate amount of photoresist is applied to the surface of the glass substrate. And then the glass substrate is rotated in a plane including its surface to scatter the photoresist by centrifugal force,
Thus, the photoresist having a uniform film thickness can be applied to the glass substrate surface.

In this case, the photoresist coating apparatus is equipped with
In order to periodically clean the photoresist that adheres to the vacuum chuck and the inner wall of the cover that sufficiently covers the glass substrate and the like fixed to the vacuum chuck, some nozzles for ejecting the cleaning liquid are provided. The photoresist is sufficiently contained in the cleaning liquid after such cleaning.

[0004]

In such a photoresist coating apparatus, in recent years, a large amount of photoresist scattered outside the glass substrate is collected, the concentration of the photoresist is adjusted, and then the photoresist coating apparatus is used. The applicant of the present invention has proposed a method in which a photoresist recovery means for reusing as a photoresist dropped on the glass substrate surface is provided.

However, such a photoresist recovery device has been pointed out to have the following problems.

(1) The recovered photoresist is mixed with a cleaning solution containing the recovered photoresist that has also been recovered, and the photoresist for reuse is obtained from this mixed solution. Since the content ratio of the photoresist in the mixed solution was varied, the concentration adjustment of the reusable photoresist became complicated.

(2) Since the cleaning liquid (MEK, dicyclohexane) containing the recovered photoresist after cleaning and the solvent (PGMEA, ECA) of the photoresist are different, the concentration of the photoresist that can be reused Adjustment was complicated.

Further, when considering the case of reusing the cleaning liquid, the operation of separating only the cleaning liquid from other materials and collecting the cleaning liquid is complicated.

The present invention has been made under such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to make it easy to adjust the concentration of a reusable photoresist, and thus to speed up the reuse of the photoresist. It is to provide a photoresist coating apparatus that can be used.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a photoresist coating method and its apparatus in which the cleaning liquid can be easily reused.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Among the inventions disclosed in the present application, the outline of a representative one will be briefly described.
It is as follows.

Means 1. The photoresist waste liquid is discharged during the photoresist application, and the cleaning liquid waste liquid is discharged during the cleaning of the inside of the device.In the photoresist coating device, a means for separating and collecting the photoresist waste liquid and the cleaning liquid waste liquid, and Means for regenerating the photoresist from the photoresist waste liquid, means for reusing the regenerated photoresist as a photoresist used in the photoresist coating step, means for regenerating the cleaning liquid from the recovered cleaning liquid waste liquid, and regeneration. And a means for reusing the cleaning liquid as a cleaning liquid used in the cleaning step.

Means 2. In the above means 1, the cleaning liquid is made of the same material as the solvent of the photoresist.

According to the photoresist coating apparatus configured as in the means 1, since the photoresist waste liquid and the cleaning liquid waste liquid are separately collected, the concentration adjustment of the photoresist and the recovery of the cleaning liquid are independently performed from the respective waste liquids. It can be carried out. From this, it is possible to easily collect each of them, and to speed up the reuse.

According to the photoresist coating apparatus configured as in the means 2, since the cleaning liquid and the solvent of the photoresist are made of the same material, the cleaning liquid (solvent) and the material of the photoresist alone are not included. Therefore, it is possible to easily collect each of them, and to speed up the reuse. Further, the cleaning liquid can be easily reused.

[0016]

1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a photoresist coating method and apparatus according to the present invention.

The photoresist coating apparatus shown in FIG.
It is composed of a photoresist coating means 1 and a photoresist collecting means 2. Hereinafter, each means will be sequentially described.

Photoresist coating means 1 First, there is a vacuum chuck 3 which serves as a base on which a transparent glass substrate 2 constituting an envelope of a liquid crystal display panel is mounted. A plurality of holes are formed in the surface of the vacuum chuck 3, and the pressure is reduced by, for example, a vacuum pump (not shown) through the holes, so that the transparent glass substrate 2 on the vacuum chuck 3 can be fixedly mounted by suction. ing.

The vacuum chuck 3 and the transparent glass substrate 2 fixedly mounted on the vacuum chuck 3 are covered with a rotary cup 4 on the lower side and a rotary cup lid on the upper side. 5 are arranged.

The rotary cup 4 is formed integrally with a shaft 3A body that supports the vacuum chuck 3, and the shaft body 3A penetrates the rotary cup 4 and can be rotated about its axis by a mechanism (not shown). Has become.

The rotating cup lid 5 is moved upward when the glass substrate 2 is placed on the vacuum chuck 3, and is moved downward after the glass substrate 2 is placed so that the glass substrate 2 is placed on the glass substrate 2. It is supposed to be close. The vertical movement of the rotary cup lid 5 is performed by driving a shaft 5A provided on an extension of the shaft of the vacuum chuck 3 by a mechanism (not shown).

Further, the rotary cup lid 5 is provided with a side surface portion which is bent toward the rotary cup 4 on the outer periphery thereof.
When the rotary cup lid 3 descends, it forms a substantially sealed space together with the rotary cup 4.
A rectifying plate 6 is provided on the surface of the rotating cup lid 3 facing the glass substrate 2. The function of the current plate 6 will be described in detail later.

The vacuum chuck 3, the rotary cup 4, and the rotary cup lid 5 having the above-described structure are integrated with each other to move around the shafts 3A and 5A of the vacuum chuck 3 and the rotary cup lid 5. It is designed to rotate at about 1000 rpm. By this rotation, the photoresist dropped on the surface of the glass substrate 2 is scattered by the centrifugal force, and the photoresist having a uniform film thickness can be applied to the surface of the glass substrate 2.

Further, a rotating cup cover 7 is provided so as to cover the rotating vacuum chuck 3, the rotating cup 4, and the rotating cup lid 5, and a drain pipe 8 is provided around the rotating cup cover 7. It is formed integrally. The drain pipe 8 rotates the glass substrate 2 and, for example, when the photoresist dropped on the surface thereof is scattered, the photoresist scattered over the surface of the glass substrate 2 is removed from the rotating cup 4 and the rotating cup. It serves as a guide tube that is guided from the gap with the lid 5 and is recovered as it is.

Inside the rotary cup 4 and the rotary cup cover 5, several nozzles 9 for ejecting the cleaning liquid are arranged, and the cleaning liquid from this nozzle 9 is also collected through the drain pipe 8. It has become.

Photoresist collecting means 2 (1) When the photoresist is applied to the glass substrate 2 mounted and fixed on the vacuum chuck 3, the collected photoresist waste liquid is first passed through the drain pipe 8 to the switching cock. It is guided to one pipe 11 side of the two pipes branched by 10, and is stored in the solvent removing means 12.

In this case, the switching cock 10 may be constructed so as to be manually switched after confirming that the photoresist coating process is performed, and the glass substrate 2 which is always present in the photoresist coating process. Needless to say, the sensor may be detected by some kind of sensor and automatically switched based on the detection signal.

In the solvent removing means 12, the solvent is separated by, for example, vacuum distillation or an ultrafiltration membrane, and the solvent is stored in the container 13.

Then, the photoresist from which the solvent has been separated is guided to the concentration adjusting tank 14, and an appropriate amount of the thinner fresh liquid is injected from the thinner fresh liquid tank 15 into the concentration adjusting tank 14 to adjust the concentration. I'm supposed to get a photoresist.

This photoresist is used in the filter 1
After the foreign matter is removed via 6, it is guided to the photoresist tank 17, and an appropriate amount of new photoresist is injected from the new photoresist tank 18 into this photoresist tank 17, thereby ensuring a substantially predetermined amount. To get better photoresist.

Further, the photoresist accumulated in the photoresist tank 17 is guided to the photoresist coating means 1 side as required and used as a photoresist dropped on the surface of the glass substrate 2. .

(2) The cleaning liquid waste liquid recovered by the cup cleaning process which is regularly performed between the photoresist coating processes which are continuously performed, is drained through the drain pipe 8.
First, it is guided to the other pipe 21 side of the two pipes branched by the switching cock 10 and stored in the photoresist removing means 22.

In this case, the switching cock 10 may be constructed so as to manually switch after confirming that the cup cleaning step is performed, or the glass substrate 2 which does not exist in the cup cleaning step. It goes without saying that the absence may be detected by some sensor and automatically switched based on the detection signal.

The photoresist removing means 22 is also provided.
The photoresist is separated by, for example, vacuum distillation, atmospheric distillation, or an ultrafiltration membrane, and the photoresist is stored in the container 23.

The cleaning liquid from which the photoresist has been separated is guided to the cleaning liquid tank 24, and this cleaning liquid tank 24
By supplementally injecting an appropriate amount of thinner fresh liquid from the thinner fresh liquid tank 25, the cleaning liquid secured to a substantially predetermined amount can be obtained.

Further, the cleaning liquid accumulated in the cleaning liquid tank 24 is guided to the photoresist coating means 1 side as required and used as a cleaning liquid for cleaning the photoresist coating means 1. .

FIG. 2 is a flow chart briefly showing the waste liquid flow path in the photoresist coating apparatus described above.

In the figure, the collected waste liquid is taken out from the photoresist coating means (step 1) (step 2). The collected waste liquid is branched and guided depending on whether it is the waste liquid collected in the photoresist process or the waste liquid collected in the cleaning process.

The waste liquid collected in the photoresist process is regenerated into a photoresist having a predetermined concentration by the photoresist regenerating mechanism (step 3) (step 4), and the regenerated photoresist is replenished with a new photoresist (step 4). 5) It is designed to be accumulated in a prescribed amount.

Then, this photoresist is used in the photoresist coating step in the photoresist coating means when necessary.

The waste liquid recovered in the cleaning process is regenerated into a cleaning liquid from which the photoresist has been removed by the cleaning liquid regenerating mechanism (step 6) (step 7), and the regenerated cleaning liquid is replenished with a new cleaning liquid (step 7). ) It is designed to be accumulated in a prescribed amount.

Then, this cleaning solution is, when necessary,
It is used in the cleaning process in the photoresist coating means.

According to the photoresist coating apparatus configured as described above, since the photoresist waste liquid and the cleaning liquid waste liquid are separately collected, the concentration adjustment of the photoresist and the recovery of the cleaning liquid are performed independently from each waste liquid. You can From this, it is possible to easily collect each of them, and to speed up the reuse.

In the above-described embodiment, the above effect can be obtained even if the cleaning liquid and the solvent of the photoresist are made different materials as in the conventional case. In particular, the cleaning liquid and the solvent of the photoresist are made the same material. May be.

In this case, since the cleaning liquid (solvent) and the photoresist are the only materials and no other materials are contained, the respective materials can be easily recovered and the reuse can be speeded up. become able to. In addition, the cleaning liquid can be easily reused.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing another embodiment of the photoresist coating apparatus according to the present invention.

In this embodiment, the portion corresponding to the side surface of the rotary cup lid 5 is improved, and the drain pipe 8A for guiding the photoresist waste liquid and the drain pipe 8B for guiding the cleaning liquid waste liquid are separately provided. is there.

That is, the photoresist exhaust outlet 30 is formed on the side surface 5A of the rotary cup lid 3, and the drain pipe 8A for guiding the photoresist waste liquid is formed on the extension line of the photoresist exhaust outlet 30A. . Then, the gap between the end of the side surface of the rotary cup lid 5 and the rotary cup 4 is made to function as the cleaning liquid exhaust outlet 30B,
A drain pipe 8B for guiding the cleaning liquid waste liquid is formed on an extension of the cleaning liquid exhaust port 30B.

In this way, the drain pipe 8A for separately guiding the photoresist waste liquid and the cleaning liquid waste liquid,
8B can be provided by utilizing the difference in viscosity between the photoresist waste liquid and the cleaning liquid waste liquid.

Since the photoresist waste liquid has a high viscosity, it easily adheres to the side surface 5A of the rotary cup lid 5 and is easily guided to the photoresist exhaust port 30A as it is, whereas the cleaning liquid waste liquid has a large viscosity. Since it has low viscosity, it is easily guided to the cleaning liquid exhaust outlet 30B as it is after colliding with the side surface of the rotary cup lid 5.

In the case of such a configuration, the switching cock 10 as shown in FIG. 1 is not required, and the respective collecting means can be constructed in completely different systems.

The photoresist coating device described above is used for manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel.
It is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to those used for manufacturing other electronic components.

[0053]

As is apparent from the above description,
According to the photoresist coating method and the apparatus therefor of the present invention, the concentration adjustment of the reusable photoresist is simplified, and therefore the reuse of the photoresist can be speeded up. Also, the cleaning liquid can be easily reused.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a photoresist coating method and its apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart briefly showing a waste liquid flow path in the photoresist coating method and the apparatus thereof according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing another embodiment of the photoresist coating apparatus according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Photoresist coating means, 9 ... Nozzle, 10 ...
... switching cock, 12 ... solvent removing means, 14 ... concentration adjusting tank, 15 ... thinner new solution tank, 17 ... photoresist tank, 22 ... photoresist removing means,
24 ... Cleaning liquid tank.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── --- Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Akio Nakamura 3300 Hayano, Mobara-shi, Chiba Hitachi, Ltd. Electronic Device Division (72) Inventor Kenji Kageyama 3-11-5 Nihonbashihonmachi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo Kanto Within the Chemicals Co., Ltd. (72) Kenji Oshiro, 3-11-5 Nihonbashihonmachi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo Within Kanto Chemical Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Kiyoto Mori 1-7-1 Inari, Soka City, Saitama Kanto Chemical Co., Ltd. Company Central Research Institute

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A photoresist coating method in which a photoresist waste liquid is discharged during photoresist coating, and a cleaning liquid waste liquid is drained during cleaning of the inside of the apparatus, and cleaning is performed using the same solvent as the photoresist solvent. In addition to the steps of collecting and recovering the photoresist waste liquid and the cleaning liquid waste liquid respectively, the step of regenerating the photoresist from the recovered photoresist waste liquid, and the regenerated photoresist as the photoresist used in the photoresist coating process. A photoresist coating method comprising: a step of reusing, a step of regenerating a cleaning liquid from the recovered cleaning liquid waste liquid, and a step of reusing the regenerated cleaning liquid as a cleaning liquid used in the cleaning step. 2. In a photoresist coating apparatus in which a photoresist waste liquid is discharged during photoresist coating and a cleaning liquid waste liquid is discharged during cleaning inside the apparatus, the photoresist waste liquid and the cleaning liquid waste liquid are separately collected. Means, means for regenerating the photoresist from the recovered photoresist waste liquid, means for reusing the regenerated photoresist as a photoresist used in the photoresist coating step, and regeneration of the cleaning liquid from the recovered cleaning liquid waste liquid A photoresist coating apparatus comprising: a unit; and a unit for reusing the regenerated cleaning liquid as a cleaning liquid used in a cleaning process. 3. The photoresist according to claim 2, wherein the means for separating and recovering the photoresist waste liquid and the cleaning liquid waste liquid are means for selecting a recovery route according to the time of photoresist application and the time of cleaning. Coating device. 4. The means for separating and recovering the photoresist waste liquid and the cleaning liquid waste liquid, respectively, is configured so that the photoresist waste liquid and the cleaning liquid waste liquid are guided to different recovery paths depending on the viscosity difference between the photoresist waste liquid and the cleaning liquid waste liquid. The photoresist coating apparatus according to claim 2. 5. The photoresist coating apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the cleaning liquid is made of the same material as the solvent of the photoresist. 6. The photoresist coating method according to claim 1, which is applied in manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel. 7. The photoresist coating apparatus according to claim 2, which is applied in manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel. 8. A photoresist coating apparatus in which a photoresist waste fluid is discharged during photoresist coating and a cleaning fluid waste fluid is drained during cleaning inside the apparatus. In a photoresist coating apparatus, a cleaning fluid and a photoresist solvent used during the cleaning. And the same, and the waste liquid of the cleaning liquid and the waste liquid of the photoresist are separately collected, and then recycled and reused.