JPH0945659A - Drying module - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a drying module which eliminates a circular defect caused when the foggy mist, of grease or the like, generated inside a machine chamber attached to a spinner treatment tank flows backward so as to be stuck to a wafer. SOLUTION: The structure of a spin drying unit is formed in such a way that the area of an air intake port 2 is expanded to be equal to, or larger than, the area of a wafer 1 so as to be the area or higher of at least an evacuation port 13 on the side of a treatment chamber and the area or higher of an evacuation port 14 on the side of a machine chamber. Thereby, it is possible to prevent an atmosphere at the inside of the machine chamber attached to a spinner treatment tank 4 at the spin drying unit from flowing into the spinner treatment tank 4 which treats the wafer 1.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a drying module in a substrate cleaning apparatus for substrates for liquid crystal display panels and various semiconductor element wafers.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A liquid crystal display panel (LCD) of a simple matrix type using a thin film transistor (TFT) type or a super twisted nematic liquid crystal (STN liquid crystal), a semiconductor element such as LSI, an optical element, a magnetic element, a magneto-optical element, In the production of fine elements such as molecular recognition elements, it is necessary to ensure the cleanliness of the substrate of each element.

For example, an active matrix type liquid crystal display panel (TFT-LCD) using a TFT as a pixel switching means is often used as a light weight, thin and low power consumption color display means which is an alternative to a color CRT and has a small afterimage.

However, since the manufacturing cost of the color TFT-LCD is high, there is an urgent need to develop production equipment with higher productivity and to improve the yield.

10-inch color VGA (640 dots x 48)
0-dot) TFT-LCD has about 100
It is composed of millions of pixels, and if there is disconnection or short circuit of wiring, short circuit between layers, or defective electrical characteristics of the TFT element even at one of these pixels, the color will become linear with the surroundings when illuminated. Defects such as different line defects or locally different point defects occur.

When one panel of TFT substrate is produced from one glass substrate, it is difficult to keep the production yield at a high level, which is one of the factors that hinder the price reduction.

The above-mentioned defects of LCD are often caused by foreign substances adhering to the glass substrate flowing through the production facility.

In order to deal with this problem, a multi-faceted production system for obtaining a plurality of panels of TFT substrates from a single glass substrate is adopted, and a wide margin is obtained by improving the clean level of each manufacturing apparatus and the entire production line. Process design becomes important.

In order to improve the yield, not only the clean level of the production line is improved, but also the operation stability of individual production equipment is ensured, the dust generation is reduced, and the foreign matter from the substrate flowing through the line is removed. It is essential to remove and prevent foreign substances from adhering to the substrate.

In this sense, the substrate cleaning device plays a large role and is positioned as one of the extremely important manufacturing devices on the production line.

The cleaning process in the TFT-LCD manufacturing line includes cleaning of the delivered glass substrate (cleaning of the receiving substrate), cleaning of the substrate before film formation, cleaning of the substrate before resist coating,
Rubbing substrates are cleaned (April 30, 1992, published by Science Forum, supervised by Takashi Shimada, "Liquid Crystal Display Manufacturing Technology Handbook", Chapter 6, Section 4, "Liquid Crystal Glass Cleaning Equipment, pp.331-347).

There is also cleaning for the purpose of removing the processing liquid from the substrate in the wet etching process and the photoresist stripping process.

The same applies to substrates such as wafers in the production of semiconductor devices and other fine devices described above.

[0014]

As described above, in the manufacturing process of a fine device such as a liquid crystal panel, the water and the chemical liquid used for removing or cleaning the impurities (particles etc.) attached due to insufficient cleaning ability. Is insufficiently removed, or dust from the cleaning device or redeposition (contamination) of the removed water or chemicals occurs, the thin films formed by stacking may be corroded or destroyed,
So-called stains such as watermarks and quality deterioration of the laminated thin film itself due to contamination occur, resulting in a large reduction in manufacturing yield.

Among these, there is a problem due to the structure of the manufacturing apparatus, and dust and contamination due to this cause the shape of the formed element as a result even though it is considered that the cleaning effect is sufficient. And will have a great adverse effect on performance.

In particular, in recent years, as the size of the substrate and the miniaturization of elements (10 μm or less) have progressed, the importance of the cleaning process has increased, and at the same time, more advanced cleaning has been required. Therefore, it is important to give sufficient consideration to the structure of manufacturing equipment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining the general structure of a substrate cleaning apparatus, which includes a loader module 16, a cleaning module 17, and a spin dry unit for loading a delivered glass substrate (hereinafter simply referred to as a substrate) into the apparatus. 18, the substrate drying units 19 and 20 are composed of an unloader module.

The spin drying unit 18 and the substrate drying unit 19 constitute a drying module.
Is the air intake.

In the figure, the substrate 1 loaded by the loader module 16 is washed with water by the washing module 17, water attached by the spin dry unit 18 is removed, and the residual water film is dried and removed by the drying unit 19.

The problems of spin drying in the spin dry unit 18 are that water drops and stains are likely to occur in the central part of the substrate, and that water drops bounce and reattach due to the spin chuck holding the substrate. Has been considered.

However, in addition to this, it has been revealed by detailed analysis of the defective portion and contaminants that there is contamination due to the device structure that leads to the defect of the element.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the spin dry unit as seen from above. The substrate 1 transferred from the cleaning module 17 to the substrate transfer table 3 is placed on the arm 7 of the substrate transfer robot 6 and placed in the spinner treatment tank 4. It is installed on the jig 5 inside and the attached water is removed by spin dry processing. After that, it is transferred to the substrate transfer table 3 in the traveling direction by the substrate transfer robot 6 and transferred to the next substrate drying unit 19.

Numeral 8 is a slit for the substrate transfer robot 6 to move, 14 is an air outlet on the machine room side,
The top plate is not shown, and the air intake port 2 is shown only in its position and size.

The spin dry unit 18 is surrounded by the wall of the box-shaped container to prevent danger, and the air intake port 2 is provided on the top plate of the box-shaped container.

The air flow (down flow) flowing from the air intake port 2 prevents the adhesion of impurities to the substrate.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram for explaining the cross-sectional structure of the spinner processing tank in the spin dry unit and the flow of air in the spin dry unit. The spin motor 9 is installed in the spinner processing tank installed in the spin dry unit. A jig 5 to be rotated is installed, and the jig 5 mounts the substrate 1 loaded on the arm 7 of the substrate transfer robot 6 and rotates.

The substrate transfer robot 6 is provided with an elevating device 10 for elevating and lowering by an elevating motor 12 and a horizontal moving device 11
Is carried. The lifting motor 12 and the lifting device 10
The horizontal moving device 11 is shielded from the spinner processing tank 4 by the partition wall 22, but the slit 8 exists in the penetrating portion of the elevating device 10 of the substrate transfer robot 6.

The air flowing in from the air intake port 2 passes through the spinner processing tank 4 and passes through the air outlet / drain port (processing chamber side) 13 of the spinner processing tank 4.

On the other hand, an air exhaust port 14 is also provided on the machine room side, and the air in the machine room is exhausted from the air exhaust port 14.

However, in reality, the air flow is not smoothly discharged by various mechanical equipments installed in the machine room side, and the air discharge capacity from the air discharge port 14 is not sufficient.

Therefore, a part of the air in the machine chamber is taken into the spinner processing tank 4 through the slit 8 and is discharged from the air discharge port / drain port 13 of the spinner processing tank 4.

In the machine room, in order to prevent dust generation and wear of the operating part, grease is applied to the operating part. Therefore, during the spin dry process, an atmosphere containing a mist of mist of grease and other foreign matter in the machine chamber enters the spinner process tank 4 and falls on the surface of the substrate 1 to cause a polymer such as grease on the surface of the substrate 1. Contaminated with substances and dusting substances.

As a result, on the surface of the substrate 1, Al, Cr,
When a functional thin film containing Ta, Ti, W, Mo, Cu, In, Sn, Si, etc. as a component is formed, defects such as peeling of the thin film, generation of holes, and defects, defects that cannot be etched, It causes spots such as watermarks, defective portions having a problem in electro-optical performance, disconnection or short circuit of wiring, and defective performance of TFT.

For example, when a glass substrate is cleaned by a substrate cleaning apparatus, the spin dry unit 18 removes the water remaining on the substrate. During and before and after this treatment, a mist-like mist of grease from the machine chamber on the substrate surface is removed. The atmosphere containing the air is lowered, and the surface of the substrate 1 is contaminated with the polymer material.

After this, for example, Al-Ta (Ta: 8 wt)
%, Al: balance), a circular defect is formed in the contaminated portion when the thin film is formed by the sputtering method.

FIG. 8 is a copy diagram of the surface of the sample after exposure and development applied with a resist on the substrate on which a thin film has been formed and observed by an optical microscope. As shown in the drawing, circular defects are found in the contaminated part. It is observed to have formed.

FIG. 9 is a copy of the surface of the sample shown in FIG. 8 which is anodized after etching and stripping the resist, and observed by an optical microscope. The sample was tested for PAN (phosphoric acid, acetic acid, nitric acid). As a result of etching with a mixed solution), removing the resist with monoethanolamine, and anodizing in an ethylene glycol solution, it is shown that the wiring pattern is broken.

FIG. 10 is a copy of a secondary electron image obtained by observing an electron micrograph with a circular defect sample connected to a defective portion tilted, and it can be seen that the surface has a raised shape.

FIG. 11 is a schematic view of a secondary electron image obtained by observing the cross-sectional shape of a circular defect with an electron microscope photograph. In this figure, a tungsten thin film is previously formed on the circular defect portion in order to keep the shape of the defective portion. After being formed on the upper part, the cross-section was processed and observed.

In the figure, a cavity is formed at the interface between the Al-Ta thin film and the glass substrate, and it is observed that the Al-Ta thin film is separated from the glass substrate in this cavity.

As described above, on the surface of the glass substrate which is contaminated with the organic polymer material such as grease, the adhesive force between the glass substrate and the Al-Ta thin film is reduced, and a cavity is formed (peeling).
It is thought that this caused the disconnection of the wiring.

The circular defects which cause the disconnection of the wiring are generated at a high rate (for example, 0.6 / substrate), and the TFT-LC
The yield of D was reduced.

As described above, the conventional cleaning apparatus has a problem that it is difficult to effectively suppress the generation of circular defects.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a drying module which eliminates the above-mentioned conventional problems and eliminates circular defects caused by adhesion of impurities.

That is, according to the present invention, in a manufacturing apparatus composed of a substrate cleaning apparatus having a spin dry unit, an atmosphere in which a substrate in a spinner processing tank contains mist-like mist such as grease in a machine chamber or other foreign matter To improve the flow of air flow in the equipment so that the film does not flow in, defects such as thin film peeling, holes or chips, defects that cannot be etched, stains such as watermarks, and defects with electro-optical performance problems. It is an object of the present invention to prevent the occurrence of defects and to prevent defects such as disconnection and short circuit of wiring and defective performance of semiconductor elements such as TFTs.

[0046]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a drying module comprising at least a spin drying unit and a substrate drying unit, which is installed in a spinner processing tank of the spin drying unit. The airflow of the spin dry unit was improved as follows so that the atmosphere inside the machine chamber would not flow into the spinner processing tank for processing the substrate.

(1) The area S _in of the air intake is expanded to be equal to or larger than the area S _g of the substrate, and at least the total area S _es + S _{em of the} exhaust port (exhaust port area S _es on the processing chamber side and the machine room) Side exhaust port area S _em ) or more.

That is, S _in ≧ S _g , S _in ≧ S _es + S _em (2) The exhaust port area S _em on the machine room side is equal to or larger than the exhaust port area S _es on the spinner process chamber side. .

That is, S _em ≧ S _es (3) The exhaust force P _em on the machine room side is made equal to or more than the exhaust force P _es on the spinner process chamber side.

That is, P _em ≧ P _es (4) The exhaust structure on the side of the spinner processing chamber is not installed on only one side, but the exhaust ports are installed at symmetrical positions about the center of gravity of the substrate. This allows clean air from the air intake to effectively pour into the substrate.

The above-mentioned means can be carried out alone or in combination with other means, and a plurality of combinations are also possible.

[0052]

The specific operation of the present invention by carrying out each of the above means will be disclosed as shown in the following table.

(1) Table 1 shows that S _in ≧ S _g , S _in ≧ S _es +
This is the improvement effect due to S _em .

[0054]

[Table 1]

In Table 1, ∘ indicates that no circular defect was generated, Δ indicates that it was not clear whether or not a circular defect occurred, and x indicates that a circular defect occurred. This also applies to each of the following tables.

However, S _em = S _es , P _em = P _es , the exhaust system on the spinner processing chamber side is asymmetric with respect to the center of gravity of the substrate. P _em is the exhaust force on the machine room side, and P _es is the exhaust force on the spinner side.

(2) Table 2 shows the improvement effect by _setting S _em ≧ S _es .

[0058]

[Table 2]

However, S _in = S _es + S _em , P _em = P _es ,
The exhaust system on the spinner process chamber side is asymmetric with respect to the center of gravity of the substrate.

(3) Table 3 shows the improvement effect by _setting P _em ≧ P _es .

[0061]

[Table 3]

However, S _in ≧ S _es + S _em , S _em = S _es ,
The exhaust system on the spinner process chamber side is asymmetric with respect to the center of gravity of the substrate.

(4) Table 4 shows the improvement effect by installing the exhaust port at the position symmetrical about the center of gravity of the substrate without installing the exhaust structure at the spinner processing chamber side on only one side.

[0064]

[Table 4]

However, S _in = S _es + S _em , P _em = P _es ,
S _em = S _es , in the asymmetric exhaust, the exhaust system on the process chamber side is asymmetric with respect to the center of gravity of the substrate, and the symmetrical exhaust is symmetric with respect to the center of gravity of the substrate.

[0066]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[Embodiment 1] FIG. 1 is a plan view for explaining a first embodiment of a spin dry unit constituting a drying module according to the present invention, in which 1 is a glass substrate constituting a liquid crystal panel (hereinafter, simply referred to as substrate). 2) air intake port, 3 substrate transfer table, 4 spinner processing tank, 5 spinner substrate mounting jig (hereinafter simply referred to as jig), 6
Is a substrate transfer robot, 7 is an arm of the substrate transfer robot 6, 8 is a slit formed in a partition wall (see FIG. 2) for moving the substrate transfer robot 6, and 14 is an air exhaust port (machine (Exhaust port on chamber side), 18 indicates the entire spin dry unit.

In the figure, the substrate 1 transferred by the substrate transfer table 3 from the cleaning module 17 described in FIG. 5 is placed on the arm 7 of the substrate transfer robot 6 and the jig 5 inside the spinner processing tank 4 is loaded. Is installed in.

In the spinner processing tank 4, the attached water is removed by spin dry processing in which the jig is rotated. afterwards,
It is transferred to the substrate transfer table 3 in the traveling direction by the substrate transfer robot 6 and transferred to the next substrate drying unit 19.

The spin dry unit 18 is surrounded by the wall of the box-shaped container to prevent danger, and the air intake port 2 is provided in the top plate 23 (see FIG. 2) of the box-shaped container. Reference numeral 14 is an air outlet on the machine room side, the top plate is not shown, and the air inlet 2 is shown only in its position and size.

The air flow (down flow) flowing from the air intake port 2 prevents impurities from adhering to the substrate.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view for explaining the cross-sectional structure of the spinner treatment tank and the air flow in the spin dry unit in the first embodiment of the spin dry unit constituting the drying module according to the present invention, and 8 is the substrate. A slit formed in a partition wall for the transfer robot 6 to move, 9 is a spin motor, 10 is an elevating device, 11 is a horizontal moving device, 12 is an elevating motor, and 13 is an air discharge port (treatment) on the spinner treatment tank side. (Tank side exhaust port), 14 is an air exhaust port formed on the machine room side (machine room side exhaust port), 15 is a floor, 18 is a spin dry unit, 22 is a partition wall, 23 is a top plate, and the same reference numerals as in FIG. Corresponds to the same part.

In the figure, the spin dry unit 18
A spin motor 9 is installed in the spinner processing tank 4 installed in
The jig 5 which is rotated by is placed, and the jig 5 is placed on the arm 7 of the substrate transfer robot 6 and the substrate 1 loaded therein is placed and rotated.

The substrate transfer robot 6 is driven by a lifting motor 12 and a horizontal moving device 11 to lift and lower the substrate 1.
Is carried. The lifting motor 12 and the lifting device 10
The horizontal moving device 11 is shielded from the spinner processing tank 4 by the partition wall 22, but the slit 8 exists in the penetrating portion of the elevating device 10 of the substrate transfer robot 6.

The air flowing in from the air intake port 2 passes through the spinner processing tank 4 and passes through the air discharge port / drain port (processing chamber side exhaust port) 13 of the spinner processing tank 4.

On the other hand, an air exhaust port 14 is also provided on the machine room side, and the air in the machine room is exhausted from the air exhaust port 14.

The size of the substrate 1 (area S
_g ) is 360 mm × 460 mm, the area (S _in ) of the air intake 2 is equal to or larger than the area (S _g ) of the substrate 1, and the area (S _em ) of the machine chamber side exhaust port 14 is the process chamber side exhaust port 13
The area (S _es ) is equal to or larger than that.

The area of the air intake port 2 (S _in ) is calculated from the total area of the exhaust ports (the sum of the area of the machine chamber side exhaust port 14 (S _em ) and the processing chamber side exhaust port 13 (S _es )). I made it bigger.

As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate 1 carried into the spin dry unit 18 by the carrier table 3 from the direction of arrow A is moved by the arm 7 of the substrate carrier robot 6 to the jig 5 installed in the spinner processing tank 4. Placed on.

The jig 5 sucks and holds the substrate 1 and is rotated by the spin motor 9. By this rotation, the excess water adhering to the substrate 1 is removed. After removing water by this rotation (spin dry), the rotation of the jig is stopped, and the arm of the substrate transfer robot 6 takes it out of the jig 5 again and carries it to the next substrate drying unit 19 (FIG. 5).

FIG. 1 shows a state during spin dry processing. The air intake 2 is installed on the top plate 23 above the spinner processing tank 4 in which the jig 5 on which the substrate 1 is placed is installed. The size (area) S _in of the opening is larger than the area S _{q of the} substrate 1.

An air intake port 2'is also provided above the substrate transfer table 3 arranged on both sides of the spinner processing tank 4.

As shown in FIG. 2, the machine chamber side exhaust port 14
(S _em ) is equal to or larger than the area (S _es ) of the exhaust port 13 on the processing chamber side, the air sucked from the air intake port 2 during the spin process is as shown by the arrow in the figure. Then, it flows down almost vertically to the substrate 1.

The spinner processing tank 4 includes a spin motor 9, a lifting device 10 for the substrate transfer robot 6, a horizontal moving device 11 and a lifting motor 12 in a machine room defined by a partition wall 22.
Etc. are installed, but they are not completely isolated because there is the slit 8 for moving the substrate transfer robot 6 provided in the partition wall 22.

According to the structure of this embodiment, however, the atmosphere in the machine room does not flow backward from the slit 8 into the spinner processing room, and the mist of mist of grease generated in the machine room and other foreign matter are generated on the substrate. It does not pollute 1.

When the effect of this embodiment is compared with the prior art, as shown in "1)" of Table 2, the prior art causes disconnection of the Al-Ta thin film, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 10.
According to the present embodiment, as compared with the circular defects described in 1 above, which occurred at a ratio of 0.6 / substrate, such circular defects were not generated as shown in “2)” of Table 2. I was not able to admit.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the atmosphere containing the mist-like mist such as grease generated in the machine room and other foreign matter does not flow into the spinner-treated layer, so that the foreign matter and the like are not attached. Defects such as peeling of thin film, holes or chips, defects that cannot be etched, spots such as watermarks and defects that have a problem with electro-optical performance are prevented from occurring, and wiring breaks and short circuits, TFTs
It is possible to prevent defects such as poor performance of the semiconductor element.

[Embodiment 2] FIG. 3 is a plan view for explaining a second embodiment of the spin dry unit constituting the drying module according to the present invention, in which 21 is an air intake port, and FIG.
The same reference numerals correspond to the same parts.

Also in this embodiment, the size (area) is 360 mm.
The present invention is applied to a spin dry unit corresponding to a substrate 1 of × 460 mm.

Further, FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining the cross-sectional structure of the spinner treatment tank and the air flow in the spin dry unit in the second embodiment of the spin dry unit which constitutes the drying module according to the present invention. Is a filter for removing foreign matter, and the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 3 and 2 correspond to the same portions.

Since the basic construction of the spin dry unit of this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In FIG. 3, the area S _in of the air intake port 21 is equal to or larger than the area S _g (360 mm × 460 mm) of the substrate, and the air intake port 21 is further provided with a filter 21a for removing foreign matters.

Further, the area of the exhaust port 14 on the mechanical side (S _em )
_Is equal to or larger than the area (S _es ) of the exhaust port 13 on the processing chamber side. As a means for enlarging the area of the mechanical side exhaust port 14, the number of the exhaust ports 14 was increased, and the installation position was arranged in a well-balanced manner with respect to the position of the air intake port 21.

Then, as shown in FIG. 4, in order to efficiently pass the air flow inside the spinner processing layer 4 from the air intake port 21 to the processing chamber side exhaust port 13 without forming a turbulent flow, the processing chamber side A plurality of exhaust ports 13 are arranged symmetrically about the center of gravity of the substrate 1.

With such a structure, turbulence does not occur in the air flow flowing down the spinner treatment tank, and sufficient air flows in from the air intake port 21, so that the atmosphere in the machine room is treated by the spinner treatment. It is possible to prevent the water removed from the substrate 1 from being mixed in the tank 4 and being reattached to the substrate 1 by rebounding.

Further, the air intake 21 is slit 8
By expanding to the vicinity of the upper part, clean air can be positively introduced into the machine room. Therefore, the atmosphere in the machine chamber is suppressed from being mixed with the atmosphere in the spinner processing tank 4.

By providing the foreign matter removing filter 21a at the air intake port 21, foreign matter in the clean room in which the substrate cleaning apparatus is installed is prevented from adhering to the cleaned substrate, and the cleanliness of the substrate is improved. It can be further enhanced.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the atmosphere containing the mist-like mist such as grease generated in the machine room and other foreign matter does not flow into the spinner-treated layer. Defects such as peeling of thin film, holes or chips, defects that cannot be etched, stains such as watermarks, and defects that have problems with electro-optical performance are prevented from occurring, and wiring breaks and short circuits, TFTs
It is possible to prevent defects such as poor performance of the semiconductor element.

In each of the above embodiments, the size of the substrate is 360 mm × 460 mm, but the size is not limited to this, and a larger size, for example, 550 mm.
mm x 650 mm substrate, or 360 mm x 4
It goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to substrates having a size smaller than 60 mm.

[0100]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The air flow inside the spin dry unit is improved, and the atmosphere inside the machine room adjacent to the spinner processing bath is prevented from mixing into the spinner processing bath. The mist-like mist of grease generated in the machine chamber and other dust particles are not attached to the flowing substrate, and the moisture and the chemical liquid removed from the substrate are prevented from reattaching to the substrate.

As a result, it is possible to prevent defects such as peeling, punching, and chipping of the thin film formed on the substrate, defects that remain unetched, stains such as watermarks, and defects that affect electro-optical performance. , Wiring disconnection or short circuit,
It is possible to suppress the occurrence of defects due to poor performance of semiconductor elements such as TFTs and LSIs and other fine elements.

The present invention is particularly effective when applied to a TFT-LCD panel manufacturing apparatus.
It can be similarly applied to a manufacturing apparatus for semiconductor elements such as I, optical elements, magnetic elements, magneto-optical elements, molecular recognition elements, etc., and a significant effect can be expected in improving the manufacturing yield of those elements. .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view illustrating a first embodiment of a spin dry unit that constitutes a drying module according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a cross-sectional structure of a spinner processing tank and a flow of air in the spin dry unit in the first embodiment of the spin dry unit that constitutes the drying module according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view illustrating a second embodiment of the spin dry unit that constitutes the drying module according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a cross-sectional structure of a spinner treatment tank and a flow of air in the spin dry unit in a second embodiment of the spin dry unit that constitutes the drying module according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a general structure of a substrate cleaning apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the spin dry unit as seen from above.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating a cross-sectional structure of a spinner processing tank in a spin dry unit and a flow of air in the spin dry unit.

FIG. 8 is a copy of the surface of the sample after exposure and development of the resist coated on the substrate on which the thin film has been formed, observed with an optical microscope.

9 is a copy diagram of the surface of the sample shown in FIG. 8 in a state of being anodized after etching the sample to remove the resist, with an optical microscope.

FIG. 10 is a copy of a secondary electron image obtained by observing an electron micrograph with a sample of a circular defect connected to a defective portion tilted.

FIG. 11 is a schematic view of a secondary electron image obtained by observing a cross-sectional shape of a circular defect with an electron micrograph.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Glass Substrate Constituting Liquid Crystal Panel 2 Air Intake Port 3 Substrate Transfer Table 4 Spinner Processing Tank 5 Spinner Substrate Placement Tool 6 Substrate Transfer Robot 7 Substrate Transfer Robot Arm 8 As a Partition for the Substrate Transfer Robot 6 to Move Slits formed 9 Spin motor 10 Lifting device 11 Horizontal moving device 12 Lifting motor 13 Spinner Air exhaust port formed on the processing tank side (exhaust port on the processing tank side) 14 Air exhaust port formed on the machine room side (exhaust on the machine room side) Mouth) 15 Floor 16 Loader module 17 Cleaning module 18 Spin dry unit 19 Substrate drying unit 20 Unloader module 21 Air intake (after improvement) 21a Foreign matter removing filter 22 Partition wall 23 Top plate.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Hideaki Yamamoto 3300 Hayano, Mobara-shi, Chiba Pref. Electronic Device Division, Hitachi, Ltd.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A cleaning module, a spin dry unit and a substrate drying unit, wherein the spin dry unit is provided with a spinner processing chamber and a substrate transfer robot for loading / unloading a substrate into / from the spinner processing chamber via a partition wall. The box-shaped container is housed in an air intake port formed on the top plate of the box-shaped container, the exhaust port formed on the bottom surface of the box-shaped container on the spinner processing chamber side, and the machine chamber side. In a drying module having a machine room side exhaust port formed on the bottom surface of the substrate, the area of the air intake port is S _in and the area of the substrate is S in
_q , where the area of the spinner processing chamber side exhaust port is S _es and the machine room side exhaust port area is S _em , S _in ≧ S _q and S _in ≧ S _es + S _em are set. Drying module. 2. A cleaning module, a spin dry unit and a substrate drying unit, wherein the spin dry unit is provided with a spinner processing chamber and a substrate transfer robot for loading / unloading a substrate into / from the spinner processing chamber via a partition wall. The box-shaped container is housed in an air intake port formed on the top plate of the box-shaped container, the exhaust port formed on the bottom surface of the box-shaped container on the spinner processing chamber side, and the machine chamber side. In a drying module having a machine room side exhaust port formed on the bottom surface of Sem, where the machine room side exhaust port area is S _em and the spinner processing chamber side exhaust port area is S _es , S _em ≧ S _es A drying module characterized by being set to. 3. A cleaning module, a spin dry unit and a substrate drying unit, wherein the spin dry unit is provided with a spinner processing chamber and a substrate transfer robot for loading / unloading a substrate into / from the spinner processing chamber via a partition wall. The box-shaped container is housed in an air intake port formed on the top plate of the box-shaped container, the exhaust port formed on the bottom surface of the box-shaped container on the spinner processing chamber side, and the machine chamber side. in the drying module with and formed on the bottom machine chamber side outlet, the machine chamber side of the exhaust force P _em, when the exhaust force of the spinner side of the processing chamber was P _es, set to P _em ≧ P _es A drying module characterized in that 4. The drying module according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the exhaust port on the spinner processing chamber side is installed at a symmetrical position with respect to the center of gravity of the substrate.