JPH09321013A - Foreign matter removing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the foreign matter removing device by which a foreign matter on a work face is surely removed without causing hindrance to the efficiency in the manufacture and inspection of a work. SOLUTION: A clean air is jetted from a nozzle 31 of an air jet section 3 provided to an end of a stage 1 on which a substrate 2 is mounted along a face of the substrate 2 on the stage 1. Then, an air-section section 4 provided to the end of the stage 1 opposite to the air jet section 3 with the substrate 2 in its inside absorbs dust on the face of the substrate 3 together with clean air.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a foreign matter removing device for removing foreign matter such as dust adhering to a work surface.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, the process of manufacturing and inspecting semiconductor elements and liquid crystal panels has been automated and unmanned. Therefore, depending on the shape and size of foreign matter adhered on a target substrate (workpiece), Each process is often performed without noticing their existence.

However, for example, in a liquid crystal panel, when a pattern of a photomask is exposed on a substrate coated with a photoresist to form a fine pattern on the glass substrate, a foreign substance such as dust on the glass substrate. If a pattern is formed in this state, manufacturing defects such as abnormalities in the pattern shape of that part will occur, and the pattern shape formed on the glass substrate will be examined by an optical microscope. Even when conducting inspections such as observation and measurement, if foreign matter such as dust is present at this inspection target point, the pattern shape of that part cannot be confirmed accurately and the inspection result will be abnormal. May occur.

Therefore, conventionally, in order to eliminate these inconveniences, as a pre-process, a substrate (workpiece) is washed with pure water, or a nozzle for ejecting clean air is provided.
Clean air from this nozzle is blown onto a target point on the substrate to remove foreign matters such as dust.

[0005]

However, in the case of cleaning the substrate with pure water, the cleaning process of the substrate is performed each time as a pre-process of the manufacturing or inspection process.
There is a problem in that the work efficiency of these manufacturing and inspections is significantly reduced.

Further, in the case where the nozzle for ejecting clean air is provided, in order to blow the clean air to the target point on the substrate, the stage on which the substrate is placed is moved so that the target point on the substrate is aired by the nozzle. Since it has to be positioned within the spraying range, the manufacturing and inspection processes are interrupted each time such work is performed, and in this case also, the manufacturing and inspection work efficiency is significantly reduced, and further, clean air There is also a problem that dust and the like flying up due to the spraying float around the area and stop, and then adhere to the substrate again.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a foreign matter removing apparatus capable of reliably removing foreign matter on the surface of a work without lowering the work efficiency of manufacturing and inspecting the work. With the goal.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
A stage on which a work is placed, a foreign matter removal medium ejecting unit that is provided at an end of the stage and ejects a foreign matter removal medium along a work surface on the stage, and the foreign matter is removed by sandwiching the work at the stage end. The foreign matter removing medium suction means is provided opposite to the medium ejecting means and sucks the foreign matter on the work surface together with the foreign matter removing medium.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the foreign matter removing medium ejecting means can arbitrarily select an ejection angle of the foreign matter removing medium. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, at least the foreign matter removal medium ejection means of the foreign matter removal medium ejection means and the foreign matter removal medium suction means is movable along the work surface. .

As a result, according to the first aspect of the present invention,
A foreign matter removing medium ejecting means is provided on one side of the stage on which the work is placed, ejects the foreign matter removing medium along the work surface on the stage, and the work is sandwiched at the other end of the stage. The foreign matter removing medium suction means provided opposite to each other sucks the foreign matter on the work surface together with the foreign matter removing medium. As a result, from the state where the work is supplied on the stage and the foreign matter on the work is removed,
Since the manufacturing process such as pattern formation and the process of inspecting the pattern shape can be continuously performed, it is not necessary to interrupt the manufacturing process and the inspection process unnecessarily as in the conventional case, and the situation in which these work efficiency is deteriorated is avoided. It can be avoided. Further, since the foreign matter removed by the foreign matter removal medium is sucked in by the foreign matter removal medium suction means,
It is also possible to prevent foreign matter from floating around the work, stopping, and then reattaching to the work.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the foreign matter removing medium can be sprayed onto the work surface from an optimum angle, the foreign matter on the work surface can be removed more effectively.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, by moving the foreign matter removing medium ejecting means along the work surface, it is possible to strongly blow the foreign matter removing medium from a position close to the work surface. It is possible to reliably remove not only foreign matter that is strongly adhered to but also large and heavy foreign matter.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. (First Embodiment) FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a foreign matter removing apparatus according to the first embodiment.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a stage, on which a substrate (workpiece) 2 to be subjected to a manufacturing process such as pattern formation and an inspection process such as pattern inspection is placed. In this case, the substrate 2 on the stage 1 may be manually supplied, or may be automatically supplied by a transfer device (not shown).

At the end portion of the stage 1, an air injection portion 3 and an air suction portion 4 are arranged opposite to each other with the substrate 2 interposed therebetween. Here, the air injection unit 3 includes a plurality of (four in the illustrated example) nozzles 31 for injecting clean air in the stage 1.
The nozzles 31 are arranged at predetermined intervals along the side edges so that clean air is uniformly ejected from the nozzles 31 along the surface of the substrate 2 on the stage 1. Further, the air suction part 4 is connected to the substrate 2 from each nozzle 31 of the air injection part 3.
The clean air uniformly ejected onto the surface is sucked on average from a suction port (not shown).

In this case, the air injection unit 3 fixes the air injection direction at a predetermined angle with respect to the surface of the substrate 2 on the stage 1 as shown in FIG. 2, and the air intake unit 4 also has a predetermined air intake angle. Fixed at an angle, the air injection part 3
The dust 5 on the surface of the substrate 2 is blown up by injecting clean air from the surface of the substrate 2 at a predetermined angle, and the dust 5 blown up is sucked by the air suction portion 4 provided at an angle that facilitates suction. It has become.

Returning to FIG. 1, air pipes 6 and 7 are connected to the air injection unit 3 and the air suction unit 4, and an air compression source and an air suction (vacuum) not shown are provided via a movable duct 8. Connecting the source. The movable duct 8 here is for causing the movement of the air pipes 6 and 7 to follow the movement of the stage 1.

FIG. 3 shows the air pipe 6 in the air injection part 3.
In this case, clean air compressed by the air compression source 9 is supplied to a branch point 62 through a common pipe 61, and from this branch point 62 to each nozzle 31 of the air injection part 3 a branch pipe 63. Clean air is supplied through. Here, the clean air compressed by the air compression source 9 is collected at one location of the branch point 62 in order to make the amount of clean air ejected from each nozzle 31 of the air ejecting unit 3 constant.

In the foreign matter removing apparatus thus constructed, the substrate 2 is first supplied onto the stage 1. The supply of the substrate 2 on the stage 1 is performed manually or by an operation by an automatic transfer device.

From this state, as shown in FIG. 3, clean air compressed by the air compression source 9 is supplied to the branch point 62 through the common pipe 61, and the clean air is branched from the branch point 62 through the branch pipe 63 to the air injection part 3 Is supplied to each of the nozzles 31.

Then, as shown in FIG. 2, clean air is ejected from the nozzle 31 at a predetermined angle with respect to the surface of the substrate 2 on the stage 1, is sent along the surface of the substrate 2, and the air suction portion 4 is illustrated. Not Inhaled through a suction port (not shown).

As a result, the dust 5 attached on the surface of the substrate 2 is blown up by the clean air ejected from the nozzle 31, and the dust 5 blown up.
Will be removed while being sucked by the air suction part 4.

Therefore, in this way, clean air is jetted along the surface of the substrate 2 on the stage 1 from the nozzle 31 of the air jetting unit 3 provided at the end of the stage 1 on which the substrate 2 is mounted, and the stage is cleaned. The dust 5 on the surface of the substrate 2 is sucked together with the clean air by the air suction portion 4 provided at the one end so as to face the air ejection portion 3 with the substrate 2 interposed therebetween. Since the manufacturing process such as the pattern formation on the substrate 2 and the inspection of the pattern shape can be continuously performed from the state in which 2 is supplied to remove the dust 5 on the substrate 2, the manufacturing process is unnecessary as in the conventional case. The process and the inspection process are not interrupted and it is possible to avoid such a situation that the work efficiency is reduced.
Further, since the dust 5 flying up onto the substrate 2 by blowing the clean air from the nozzle 31 of the air injection unit 3 is sucked by the air suction unit 4, the dust 5 is absorbed by the substrate 2.
It is also possible to avoid floating around, stopping, and adhering again to the substrate 2. (Second Embodiment) In the first embodiment, the case where the air injection direction of the air injection unit 3 with respect to the surface of the substrate 2 on the stage 1 is fixed at a predetermined angle has been described. In the form, the air injection angle of the air injection unit 3 can be arbitrarily selected.

In this case, the second embodiment described with reference to FIG. 1 is used. Then, in such a foreign matter removing apparatus, the air injection unit 3 is configured as shown in FIG.

In the figure, reference numeral 32 is an air injection unit body,
In the air ejecting portion main body 32, the air suction portions 4 are arranged to face each other along the side edge of the stage 1 shown in FIG. An air supply block 34 is rotatably supported by the air ejection unit main body 32 via a support portion 33.
A plurality of (four in the illustrated example) nozzles 31 for injecting clean air are arranged at predetermined intervals in the air supply block 34, and each of the nozzles 31 is adjusted by adjusting the rotation angle of the air supply block 34. A uniform clean air can be ejected from the nozzle 31 to the surface of the substrate 2 on the stage 1 at a predetermined air ejection angle.

In this case, the rotation operation of the air supply block 34 may be performed manually, or a drive source such as a motor (not shown) may be connected to the rotation support portion 33 of the air supply block 34, as shown in FIG. As shown, the air injection angle may be changed frequently while injecting clean air from each nozzle 31.

Reference numeral 35 is an air supply port to which clean air is supplied through an air pipe. By doing so, the rotation angle of the air supply block 34 is manually adjusted to set the air ejection angle of each nozzle 31 with respect to the surface of the substrate 2 on the stage 1 to be in an optimum state. Clean air can be blown onto the surface of the substrate 2 from an optimum angle, and the dust 5 on the surface of the substrate 2 can be removed more effectively.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the rotation angle of the air supply block 34 is frequently changed while injecting clean air from each nozzle 31 of the air supply block 34 using a drive source such as a motor (not shown). Let By doing so, a strong and weak wind pressure repeatedly acts on the dust 5 attached to the surface of the substrate 2, so that the dust 5 swings on the substrate 2 in accordance with the change in the wind pressure, and this swing causes the dust 5 to move against the dust 5. The peeling effect is increased and the dust 5 can be effectively removed. In this case, the hatched area in the drawing is the area of clean air ejected from the nozzle 31, and the dust 5 on the surface of the substrate 2 is removed in this area. (Third Embodiment) In the above-described first and second embodiments, the air injection portion 3 having the air supply block 34 is fixed to the side edge of the stage 1.
In the embodiment, the air injection part 3 is movable with respect to the air suction part 4.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 6, the air injection unit 3 frequently changes the air injection angle while injecting clean air from the nozzle 31 by a drive source such as a motor (not shown). The air injection unit 3 is movable along the surface of the substrate 2 in the direction of the arrow shown.

In this way, the movement of the air injection part 3 along the surface of the substrate 2 makes it possible to strongly blow clean air to the surface of the substrate 2 from a position close to the surface of the substrate 2. In combination with the effect of strength, it is possible to surely remove not only the dust 5 firmly attached to the surface of the substrate 2 but also the large and heavy dust 5. (Fourth Embodiment) FIG. 7 shows a schematic configuration of a foreign matter removing apparatus according to the fourth embodiment.

In the figure, reference numeral 41 denotes a stage on which a substrate (workpiece) 42 to be subjected to a manufacturing process such as pattern formation and an inspection process such as pattern inspection is placed.

An air injection part 43 and an air suction part 44 are arranged in a V shape above the stage 41, and the air injection part 43 and the air suction part 44 are integrated into the substrate 4.
The cylinder 45 can be linearly moved along the two surfaces by using it as a drive source.

In this case, the air injection portion 43 and the air suction portion 44, which are arranged in a V shape, inject clean air from the air injection portion 43 to a local portion on the substrate 42, and the dust 5 rising from the local portion. Is sucked by the air suction portion 44.

Here, the V-shaped angles of the air injection portion 43 and the air suction portion 44 are set to optimum angles for blowing up and sucking in the dust 5 on the surface of the substrate 2. This angle may be arbitrarily adjusted, but in particular, the incident angle of the air injection unit 43 on the surface of the substrate 42 is 60 °.
The range of 10 ° before and after is preferable. Further, in order to improve the efficiency of injecting and inhaling clean air in the air ejecting unit 43 and the air inhaling unit 44, respective covers may be provided. In this case, a strip-shaped air injection port may be formed in the cover of the air injection unit 43, and a regulator may be provided for each to make the pressure of the injected air uniform. Of course, a regulator may be provided on the side of the air suction portion 44 to balance the pressure of the air to be ejected.

In this way, as shown in FIG. 8, the air injection portion 43 and the air suction portion 44 are simultaneously brought close to the surface of the substrate 42, and clean air is strongly blown from a position close to the surface of the substrate 2 and the substrate 2 Since the clean air from the surface can be sucked by the air suction portion 44,
Also in this case, it is possible to surely remove not only the dust 5 that is firmly attached to the surface of the substrate 2 but also the dust 5 that is large and heavy.

In the above description, the air injection part 43 and the air suction part 44 are arranged in a V shape, but for example, the air injection part 43 and the air suction part 44 are arranged vertically to the surface of the substrate 42. You may do it. In addition, as a drive source of the air injection unit 43 and the air suction unit 44,
Instead of the cylinder 45, a combination of a motor and a belt can be used. (Fifth Embodiment) In the fifth embodiment, the first
The valve element 10 shown by the broken line in the drawing is inserted into the common pipe 61 connected to the air compression source 9 in the air pipe shown in FIG. 3 described in the above embodiment. As the valve body 10, for example, an electromagnetic valve is used, and the opening / closing operation is repeated at a minute time interval by a control signal given from the outside.

When clean air is ejected from the air ejecting section 3 as shown in FIG. 2, the dust 5 on the work 2 is separated and removed from the work 2 by the spray output of the clean air at this time. It However, depending on the dust 5, the adherence to the work 2 may be strong and the dust 5 may not be separated from the work 2 at a level of the clean air output. In such a case, the valve body 10 is opened / closed at minute time intervals, and the clean air from the air injection unit 3 is intermittently applied. Then, the dust pressure on the workpiece 2 is intermittently applied with the wind pressure by the clean air at minute time intervals, so that the dust 5 is swung on the workpiece 2 and is strongly attached to the workpiece 2. Even if there is, you will be able to reliably blow it away.

[0038]

As described above, according to the present invention, the steps such as the pattern formation and the pattern shape inspection are continuously performed from the state in which the work is supplied on the tage to remove the foreign matter on the work. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the manufacturing process and the inspection process from being interrupted unnecessarily, and it is possible to avoid such a situation that the work efficiency is lowered. Further, since the foreign matter removed by the foreign matter removal medium suction means is sucking the foreign matter that has risen up by blowing the foreign matter removal medium, it is possible to prevent the foreign matter from floating around the work, stopping, and adhering again to the work.

Further, since the foreign matter removing medium can be sprayed from the optimum angle with respect to the work surface, the foreign matter on the work surface can be removed more effectively. Further, by moving the foreign matter removing medium ejecting means along the work surface, it is possible to strongly blow the foreign matter removing medium from a position close to the work surface. It is possible to reliably remove even large and heavy foreign matter.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an air pipe in an air injection unit according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an air injection unit used in a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the fourth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Stage, 2 ... Substrate, 3 ... Air injection part, 31 ... Nozzle, 32 ... Air injection part main body, 33 ... Support part, 34 ... Air supply block, 35 ... Air supply port, 4 ... Air suction part, 5 ... Dust, 6, 7 ... Air piping, 61 ... Common piping, 62 ... Branching point, 63 ... Branching piping, 8 ... Movable duct, 9 ... Air compression source, 41 ... Stage, 42 ... Substrate, 43 ... Air injection section, 44 … Air intake part, 45… Cylinder.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A stage on which a work is placed, foreign matter removal medium ejecting means for ejecting the foreign matter removal medium along the surface of the work on the stage, and the work at the end of the stage. A foreign matter removing device, comprising: a foreign matter removing medium suction means that is provided so as to face the foreign matter removing medium ejecting means, and that sucks the foreign matter on the work surface together with the foreign matter removing medium. 2. The foreign matter removing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the foreign matter removing medium ejecting means can arbitrarily select an ejection angle of the foreign matter removing medium. 3. The foreign matter removing medium ejecting means and the foreign matter removing medium suction means, at least the foreign matter removing medium ejecting means is movable along the work surface. Foreign matter removing device.