JPH1022243A - Substrate carrier - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To protect a substrate against damage due to flexure and to suppress production of particles by preventing uneven drying on the surface of the substrate. SOLUTION: At a position lower than the substrate supporting face where an angular substrate 11 is supported, on one side fringe thereof, by substrate supporting members 10, 10, the angular substrate 11 is supported, on the other side fringe thereof, by substrate supporting members 18, 18. Processing liquid supply members 20, 20 are disposed along the opposite fringe sides of the angular substrate 11 supported by the substrate supporting members 10, 10. Consequently, a restoring force acts in the angular substrate 11 upon flexure to retard variation in the warped state of the substrate due to carriage of the angular substrate 11 or processing liquid supply. Consequently, the tilt of the surface of substrate being fed with the processing liquid is further stabilized and the processing liquid flows uniformly from the fringe side toward the central part at the surface of substrate, thus realizing uniform processing liquid supply over the entire surface of the substrate.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is used in a substrate processing apparatus such as a substrate drying apparatus and the like, and transfers a substrate while supplying a processing liquid to a surface of the substrate such as a glass substrate or a printed board. It relates to a transport device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, when a rectangular substrate is transported from a chemical cleaning section to a drying section, if the surface of the rectangular substrate dries during the transport, the chemical component remains on the surface and stains to generate particles. Cause
A rinsing liquid such as pure water is supplied to the surface of the rectangular substrate to be washed and transported by the substrate transport device. As described above, by simultaneously performing the water cleaning process and the substrate transfer process in each of the chemical cleaning process, the water cleaning process, and the drying process, the processing time can be shortened, and the surface of the square substrate after the chemical cleaning process is reduced. Was transported without drying the substrate.

As a substrate transfer apparatus, for example, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, near the outer peripheral edges of two opposing sides of the rectangular substrate 71 are supported by a pair of substrate supporting members 72, and near the outer peripheral edges orthogonal to these two sides are supported by a pair of substrate supporting members 73. Was being transported. At this time, the substrate transport device supplies pure water to the surface of the rectangular substrate 71 by a pure water nozzle (not shown) disposed at the upper center of the rectangular substrate 71 supported by the substrate supporting members 72 and 73. Cleaning.

As a substrate transfer device, for example, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, both corners of the rectangular substrate 71 facing each other are conveyed while being sandwiched and supported by a pair of substrate support members 74. Also in this case, a pure water nozzle (not shown) is provided at the upper center of the rectangular substrate 71 whose both corners are supported by the substrate support members 74.

Further, as shown in FIG. 14, for example, as shown in FIG. 14, the lower surface of the two outer peripheral edges of two opposing sides of the rectangular substrate 71 is transported while being mounted on the substrate support member 75 over the entire length thereof. I was Also in this case, a pure water nozzle (not shown) is provided at the upper center of the square substrate 71 supported by each substrate support member 75.

[0006]

With the recent increase in size and thinning of substrates, the substrate tends to be bent by its own weight. In addition to this, pure water or the like is placed on the substrate surface to prevent partial drying. In the substrate transfer apparatus that transfers the processing liquid while supplying the processing liquid, the weight of the processing liquid supplied to the surface of the substrate may increase the bending of the substrate, and the substrate may be damaged. there were. For example, in the case of six-point support of the substrate end portion in FIG. 13 is relatively close to the edge, and in the case of four-point support at the edge of the substrate in FIG. 13, the center diagonal portion M of the rectangular substrate 71 is further provided on the rear surface of the substrate in FIG. In the case of six-point support, the center line portion N of the rectangular substrate 71 will bend downward,
If the flexure is large, there is a risk of breakage. Also,
When the processing liquid is supplied during the transfer of the substrate, acceleration acts in the substrate transfer direction, causing a bias in the distribution of the processing liquid on the substrate surface,
This also makes it easier for the substrate to bend.

Further, although the processing liquid is supplied to the substrate surface, if the substrate is bent or the substrate is not uniformly bent, the processing liquid is conventionally supplied from the center of the substrate. Not only does the processing liquid not reach the upper part of the bent substrate, etc., but depending on the position of the support, the substrate is bent and unevenly inclined, and the flow of the processing liquid supplied is biased. There were portions of the surface where the processing liquid was in contact and portions where the processing liquid was not in contact with the surface, resulting in uneven supply of the processing liquid to the substrate surface. As described above, the processing liquid is not uniformly supplied to the entire surface of the substrate, and the surface of the substrate is partially dried, and the chemical component of the pre-cleaning step remains on the dried portion, and is cleaned later. This also causes a problem that stains cannot be easily removed, and this causes particles. If the transferred substrate is a hydrophobic substrate, such drying unevenness will occur significantly.

In order to prevent such excessive bending of the substrate, a plurality of substrate support members may be provided on the back surface of the substrate. In this case, the back surface of the substrate is contaminated, and There has been a problem that the mechanism of the substrate support member, which is a robot arm, is also complicated. As a countermeasure against the above-mentioned stain, it is conceivable to dispose a plurality of processing liquid supply nozzles over the entire surface of the substrate and to arrange a plurality of nozzles. Of the substrate is further increased, and the substrate is more easily damaged.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate transfer apparatus capable of preventing breakage due to bending of a substrate, preventing drying unevenness on a substrate surface, and suppressing generation of particles. Aim.

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate transport apparatus for transporting a substrate by supporting an edge of the substrate with a substrate support member.
A first support member that abuts and supports the side edge of the side, and a predetermined height different from the abutment height position of the first support member on the two side edges orthogonal to the side edge And a second support member that abuts and supports each position. That is, the second support member abuts on two side edges orthogonal to the side edge supported and supported by the first support member, and the substrate support surface of the side edge supported by the first support member. The substrate is supported at any of the lower surface position and the upper surface position.

According to this configuration, the substrate is given a predetermined amount of bending when the substrate is transported, so that damage due to excessive bending of the substrate can be prevented. In addition, when the substrate is to be supported horizontally as in the prior art, the bending state changes depending on the number of supporting points and the supporting positions of the supporting members. The substrate is made rigid so that there is no change in the flexure state, the substrate support structure can be stably supported without complicating the substrate support structure with fewer substrate support points, and the processing liquid is uniformly supplied to the substrate surface This makes it possible to eliminate problems such as partial drying.

Further, in the substrate transfer apparatus of the present invention, the substrate support member transfers the substrate while supporting the edge of the substrate with the substrate support member. A first support member that is in contact with and supports, and a second support that is in contact with and supports two side edges orthogonal to the side edge at predetermined positions lower than the contact height position of the first support member. And a processing liquid supply member that is disposed along both side edges supported by the first support member and supplies processing liquid along the both sides supported by the first support member, respectively. It is characterized by the following. Further, the substrate transporting device of the present invention is a substrate transporting device that transports an edge of a substrate by supporting the edge with a substrate supporting member, wherein the substrate supporting member is
A first support member that abuts and supports two opposing side edges of the substrate, and two side edges orthogonal to the side edges,
A second support member that abuts and supports each at a predetermined position higher than the abutment height position of the first support member, and is disposed along a substrate width direction of a substrate position supported by the second support member. A processing liquid supply member for supplying a processing liquid along the width direction of the substrate.

According to this configuration, the substrate is flexed moderately, and the substrate is rigidized and supported in a state in which a stress for returning the substrate to the original state is applied. Deflection change is less likely to occur, and damage to the substrate can be prevented, and the state of the inclined surface of the substrate surface is further stabilized, so that the supplied processing liquid flows uniformly from the uppermost portion to the lowermost portion of the substrate surface without unevenness. . This makes it possible to supply the processing liquid uniformly over the entire surface of the substrate, so that it is possible to further reduce the supply amount of the processing liquid, and it is difficult to supply the processing liquid partially in the conventional method. The generation of particles due to such partial drying can be prevented.

Further, preferably, the second support member in the substrate transfer apparatus of the present invention has a position adjusting member for adjusting a vertical supporting position of the substrate to a predetermined height position.

With this configuration, even if the substrate size, the plate thickness, and the like change, the vertical support position of the substrate can be adjusted by the position adjusting member so that the amount of bending is appropriately adjusted according to the change.

Further, preferably, the amount of deflection of the substrate supported by the first support member and the second support member in the substrate transfer device of the present invention is within the elastic deformation range of the substrate.

With this configuration, if the amount of bending of the substrate is set within the range of elastic deformation of the substrate, the substrate is prevented from being damaged due to excessive bending, and the substrate does not remain bent.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a front view of a substrate drying apparatus including a substrate transfer apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the substrate drying apparatus taken along the line AA ′.

In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a pair of upper and lower guide rails 1 and 1 arranged in parallel and a support frame 3 via a rodless cylinder 2 arranged between them.
Are provided so as to be able to reciprocate in the left-right horizontal direction. On the support frame 3, substrates 4 and 4 for transporting substrates are disposed at predetermined intervals in the horizontal direction. The support members 4 for transporting the substrate are respectively provided with a pair of left and right second guide rails 5 and 5 disposed in parallel in the vertical direction.
Further, it is configured to be able to move up and down via an air cylinder 6 for raising and lowering arranged between them.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the substrate drying apparatus of FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a main part B of FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a main part C of the substrate transfer apparatus of FIG. FIG. 6 is a side view of a main part C of FIG.

In FIGS. 3 to 6, a pair of first support arms 7, 7 provided opposite to each other on the substrate transporting supports 4, 4, respectively. 7 have first connecting arms 8, 8 respectively.
The first air cylinders 9 are connected to each other via the respective first air cylinders 9. The first air cylinders 9 are driven by the individual first air cylinders 9, 9 to drive the pair of first support arms 7, 9. 7 are configured to move in opposite directions along the substrate transport direction D to approach or retract. Each of the pair of first support arms 7, 7 is provided with a pair of first substrate support members 1 in a state of extending downward.
0 are provided, and the rectangular substrates 1 are provided at the lower ends of the pair of first substrate support members 10, respectively.
Support flanges 12 are provided at the same height in the vicinity of one side edge from the back surface. These first substrate supporting members 10, 10 sandwich the opposing two sides of the rectangular substrate 11 from both sides, and support the vicinity of the side edges of these two sides with the respective supporting flanges 12 from the back surface. It is a configuration to do.

A pair of second support arms 13 and 14 provided in parallel and having different lengths on the substrate transporting supports 4 and 4, respectively, and the second support arms 1 and 2
3 and 14 are connected to the second connecting arm 1 respectively.
Each of the second air cylinders 17 is connected to each other via the first and second air cylinders 5, 16, and is driven by the second air cylinders 17.
The other ends of the members 3 and 14 are configured to move in directions opposite to each other perpendicular to the substrate carrying direction D so as to approach or retreat. A second substrate support member 18 is provided at the other end of each of the pair of second support arms 13 and 14 so as to extend downward, and at the lower end of the substrate support member 18. Are the substrate support members 10 and 10 respectively.
Support flanges 19 are provided to receive near the center of two side edges orthogonal to the side edges of the rectangular substrate 11 supported from the back surface. The second substrate supporting members 18, 18 sandwich two opposing sides of the rectangular substrate 11, and support the vicinity of the center of the side edges of these two sides so as to be received by the supporting flanges 19 from the back surface. It is.

At this time, these second substrate support members 1
The substrate supporting surfaces of the side edges supported by the supporting flanges 19, 19 are the supporting flanges 12, 10 of the first substrate supporting members 10, 10.
The side surface of the rectangular substrate 11 is supported at a position lower than the substrate supporting surface at the side edge supported by the rectangular substrate 12 so that the rectangular substrate 11 has a predetermined warp by appropriately lowering the central portion thereof.

Further, processing liquid supply members 20, 20 are provided on the first substrate support members 10, 10, respectively.
Square substrate 11 supported by first substrate support members 10
Are arranged along the longitudinal direction of the side edges of the respective members.
Each of these processing liquid supply members 20, 20 is formed of a cylindrical body, both ends of which are sealed, and a plurality of discharge ports from which the processing liquid is discharged are provided at predetermined intervals (for example, 4 mm) in the longitudinal direction. I have. Each of these discharge ports is opened so that the processing liquid is discharged toward the edge of the rectangular substrate 11,
The processing liquid is supplied evenly along the both edges of the rectangular substrate 11 via the processing liquid supply pipes 20a connected at the central portions of the processing liquid supply members 20, 20, respectively. Further, these processing liquid supply members 20, 20 are supported and fixed to the first substrate support members 10, 10, respectively, by fixtures or the like.
The processing liquid supply pipes 20a are connected to the processing liquid supply members 20, 20 with a margin so that the liquids 0, 10 can move.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the second substrate support members 18, 18 are provided at the distal ends of the second support arms 13, 14 at positions where the vertical support position of the rectangular substrate 11 can be adjusted. An adjusting member 21 is provided. This position adjusting member 2
Reference numeral 1 denotes a second substrate supporting member 18 provided with a supporting flange 19 at its lower end, which receives the vicinity of the center of the side edge of the rectangular substrate 11 from below. After the screw 22b is loosened and the fixing position of the cylindrical member is adjusted, the screw 22b is tightened to fix the cylindrical member of the second substrate supporting member 18. 11 can be optimally adjusted. The deflection of the rectangular substrate 11 is as follows.
It is necessary that the rectangular substrate 11 is adjusted to be within an elastic limit range where the substrate is not damaged, and that the processing liquid has a uniform bending so as to flow uniformly on the substrate surface. Specifically, the substrate support member 1
The bending amount of the rectangular substrate 11 supported by 0 and 18 is set to about 1 to 30 mm (5 mm in the present embodiment) as shown in FIGS. The amount of bending depends on the substrate area and its thickness, and also on the material of the substrate, and the optimum amount of bending of the rectangular substrate 11 is selected within the elastic limit range. For example, 550mm x 6 with 1.1mm thickness
In the case of a rectangular substrate having a size of 50 mm, a bending amount of about 15 mm is the elastic limit. Further, in the case of a rectangular substrate having a size of 550 mm × 650 mm and a soft material having a thickness of about 0.7 mm, there is a case where the bending amount of about 30 mm reaches an elastic limit.

Further, these substrate support members 10, 18
A substrate holding means 23 as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 is provided at a predetermined position of the transfer path of the rectangular substrate 11 according to the above. The rectangular substrate 11 is placed on the substrate holding means 23 and fixed. While rotating the substrate 11, while blowing out nitrogen gas from the gas nozzle 24 to the center of the rectangular substrate 11,
The processing liquid on the square substrate 11 is shaken off by centrifugal force and dried. At this time, by driving the air cylinder 25, the ejection port of the gas nozzle 24 is
The gas nozzle 24 is configured to rotate so as to face the side.

The substrate fixing mechanism of the substrate holding means 23 includes:
A substrate mounting arm 26 configured in a cross shape is provided, and substrate support pins 27 that support the corner rear surface side of the rectangular substrate 11 are provided at each end of the substrate mounting arm 26, and Positioning pins 28 for positioning the four corners of the rectangular substrate 11 with two pins are provided. A rotating shaft is provided on the back side of the central portion of the substrate mounting arm 26, and this rotating shaft is connected to the drive shaft of the electric motor 29 shown in FIG.

The processing liquid is supplied to the rodless cylinder 2, the lifting / lowering cylinder 6, the first air cylinder 9, the second air cylinder 17, the first substrate support member 10, the second substrate support member 18 and the like. A substrate transport device is configured by adding the member 20, and transports the rectangular substrate 11, for example, from a chemical liquid cleaning processing unit to a drying processing unit while supplying a rinse solution such as pure water to the surface thereof for cleaning. is there.

According to the above configuration, first, for example, the undried rectangular substrate 11 which has been subjected to the chemical cleaning treatment is supported by the supporting flange 12 of the first substrate supporting member 10 at two locations on each of two opposing sides. The two sides orthogonal to the two sides are supported by the support flange 19 of the second substrate support member 18 at a position lower than the two sides supported by the support flange 12 of the first substrate support member 10. In a state where the rectangular substrate 11 has a predetermined bending as shown in FIG.
It is transported while being supported at six points so as to be sandwiched from one side. At this time, simultaneously, the processing liquid is uniformly discharged from the discharge ports of the processing liquid supply members 20, 20 over the longitudinal direction of both edges of the rectangular substrate 11. At this time, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the rectangular substrate 11 is uniformly bent and rigidified, and the processing liquid flows along the moderately inclined surface without unevenness. In this case, since the direction in which the plurality of discharge ports are formed side by side and the direction in which the substrate is transported are orthogonal, the supply of the processing liquid is not offset.

Next, the rectangular substrate 1 is moved up to the substrate holding means 23.
After transporting 1, the rectangular substrate 11 is lowered by shortening the rod of the air cylinder 5 for lifting and lowering, and the rectangular substrate 11 is placed on the support pins 27. Thereafter, each of the air cylinders 9 and 17 is driven to drive the substrate support members 10 and 18 respectively.
Is retracted from each side edge of the rectangular substrate 11, and the air cylinder 5 for elevating is extended to ascend to a predetermined position. Further, by driving the cylinder 25, the nozzle of the gas nozzle 24 is erected so as to face the square substrate 11, and while the square substrate 11 is rotating, nitrogen is discharged from the nozzle of the gas nozzle 24 to the surface side of the square substrate 11. The rectangular substrate 11 is to be dried by ejecting the gas. After such a drying process, the substrate holding means 2 is operated by the reverse operation of the above-described case.
The rectangular substrate 11 is taken out from 3 and transported to a post-processing step.

Therefore, the first substrate supporting members 10, 1
The other side edge of the rectangular substrate 11 is supported by the second substrate support members 18 at a position below the substrate supporting surface of the side edge of the rectangular substrate 11 supported by the first substrate support, and the first substrate support Since the processing liquid supply members 20, 20 are respectively disposed along both side edge sides of the rectangular substrate 11 supported by the members 10, 10, a stress that returns to the inside of the rectangular substrate 11 due to bending acts. Since the rectangular substrate 11 is made rigid and the substrate warp state hardly changes due to the transport of the rectangular substrate 11 and the supply of the processing liquid, damage due to excessive bending of the substrate can be prevented, and the processing liquid is supplied. The state of the inclined surface of the substrate surface to be formed is further stabilized, and the processing liquid flows uniformly from the side edge to the center of the substrate surface, so that the processing liquid can be uniformly supplied to the entire surface of the substrate. Therefore, the supply amount of the processing liquid can be reduced, and the generation of particles due to uneven drying due to the difficulty in contacting the processing liquid can be prevented.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view schematically showing a main part of a substrate transfer apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 10 is a front view of a main part of FIG. 0, and members having the same functions and effects as in FIGS. 1 to 9 are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS.
The other two side edges of the rectangular substrate 11 are supported by the second substrate support members 18 at positions lower than the substrate supporting surfaces at both side edges of the rectangular substrate 11 supported by the substrate supporting members 10, 10. Thus, the rectangular substrate 11 is supported in a state in which the central portion of the rectangular substrate 11 is curved downward and warped (a state protruding downward),
In addition, the processing liquid supply members 20 and 20 extend along both side edges of the rectangular substrate 11 supported by the first substrate support members 10 and 10.
However, in the present embodiment shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the second substrate is located at a position above the substrate supporting surfaces at both side edges of the rectangular substrate 11 supported by the first substrate supporting members 10, 10. The other side edges of the rectangular substrate 11 are supported by the substrate supporting members 18a, 18a of the rectangular substrate 11 so that the central portion of the rectangular substrate 11 is curved upward and warped (upward convex state). The difference is that the processing liquid supply member 20 is disposed along the ridge that is the uppermost part of the rectangular substrate 11 that is supported and disposed in an upwardly convex state. At this time, the processing liquid supply member 20 is connected to the second substrate support members 18a and 18a.
a is disposed along the width direction of the substrate at the center position of the substrate (including the vicinity of the center position of the substrate), and the processing liquid is supplied along the width direction of the substrate at the center position of the substrate (the ridge). It is configured. Further, the processing liquid supply member 20 includes:
The rectangular substrate 11 is arranged in parallel with the ridge of the rectangular substrate 11 while being suspended from above by a fixing bracket (not shown).

Further, the second substrate supporting members 18a, 18a
As in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 described above, it is also possible to have a position adjusting member 21 for adjusting the vertical support position of the rectangular substrate 11. Also in this case, even if the substrate size, the plate thickness, and the like change, the rectangular substrate 11 is adjusted by the position adjusting member 21 so that the amount of bending is appropriately adjusted according to the change.
Can be adjusted in the vertical direction.

Further, the bending amount of the rectangular substrate 11 supported by the first substrate supporting members 10, 10 and the second substrate supporting members 18a, 18a is the same as in the embodiment shown in FIGS. It is within the elastic deformation range of the rectangular substrate 11.
Also in this case, the rectangular substrate 11 does not remain bent while preventing the rectangular substrate 11 from being damaged due to excessive bending.

With this configuration, first, for example, the undried rectangular substrate 11 that has been subjected to the chemical cleaning process is supported by the supporting flanges 12 of the first substrate supporting member 10 at two locations on each of two opposing sides. The two sides orthogonal to the two sides are each set at a position higher than the two sides supported by the support flange 12 of the first substrate support member 10 (various settings are made according to the substrate area, the plate thickness, and the like. In the 5mm height position)
The substrate is supported by the supporting flange 19a of the substrate supporting member 18a so that the rectangular substrate 11 has a predetermined bending (convex upward) as shown in FIG. While supporting at 6 points. At this time, simultaneously, the processing liquid is uniformly discharged from the discharge port of the processing liquid supply member 20 over the longitudinal direction of the ridge portion of the rectangular substrate 11. At this time, the processing liquid supplied from the processing liquid supply member 20 flows from the uppermost ridge of the rectangular substrate 11 to the lower left and right side edges.
Further, at this time, the rectangular substrate 11 is uniformly bent to be rigid, and the processing liquid flows along the appropriate inclined surface without offset. In this case, since the direction in which the plurality of discharge ports are formed side by side is orthogonal to the substrate transfer direction, the supply of the processing liquid does not deviate.

Next, the rectangular substrate 1 is moved up to the substrate holding means 23.
After transporting 1, the rectangular substrate 11 is lowered by shortening the rod of the air cylinder 5 for lifting and lowering, and the rectangular substrate 11 is placed on the support pins 27. Thereafter, each of the air cylinders 9 and 17 is driven to drive the substrate support members 10 and 18 respectively.
a is retracted from each side edge of the rectangular substrate 11, the elevating air cylinder 5 is extended, and is raised to a predetermined position. Further, by driving the cylinder 25,
The nozzle of the square substrate 11 is formed by erecting the nozzle of the gas nozzle 24 so as to face the rectangular substrate 11 side, and ejecting nitrogen gas from the nozzle of the gas nozzle 24 to the surface side of the rectangular substrate 11 while rotating the rectangular substrate 11. Drying is to be done. After such a drying process, the substrate holding means 2 is operated by the reverse operation of the above-described case.
The rectangular substrate 11 is taken out from 3 and transported to a post-processing step.

As described above, since the processing liquid is supplied from the processing liquid supply member 20 in the direction along the ridge, which is the uppermost part, with the rectangular substrate 11 protruding upward, the substrate is bent. As a result, the rectangular substrate 11 is made rigid by applying a stress that tends to return to the inside of the rectangular substrate 11, and the substrate warp state hardly changes due to the transport of the rectangular substrate 11 and the supply of the processing liquid. In addition to being able to prevent damage, the state of the inclined surface of the substrate surface to which the processing liquid is supplied is further stabilized, and the processing liquid flows uniformly from the center of the substrate surface to both side edges.
The processing liquid can be uniformly supplied over the entire surface of the substrate. Therefore, it is possible to further reduce the supply amount of the processing liquid, and to prevent the generation of particles due to uneven drying due to the difficulty in contacting the processing liquid.

[0040]

As described above, according to the present invention, the central portion of the substrate is appropriately lowered or raised to provide the substrate with a predetermined warp, so that damage due to excessive bending of the substrate can be prevented. it can. Also, since the substrate is warped by appropriately lowering or raising the center of the substrate, and the processing liquid supply member is disposed along the top of the warped substrate,
Since the substrate warping state is unlikely to change due to the transfer of the substrate or the supply of the processing liquid, a uniform flow of the processing liquid is generated from the uppermost part to the lowest part of the warped substrate, and the processing liquid is supplied while suppressing the supply amount of the processing liquid. The processing liquid can be applied uniformly over the entire surface of the substrate without stagnation. As a result, drying unevenness on the substrate surface can be prevented, and generation of particles can be suppressed.

Conventionally, in order to horizontally support a substrate, more substrate support points are required, for example, a substrate support point is also provided at the center of the back surface of the substrate. Since the board has a certain amount of warpage by lowering or raising it moderately, it is only necessary to support the edge of the board,
The number of substrate supporting points can be reduced, for example, the substrate supporting point at the center of the substrate rear surface becomes unnecessary, and dirt on the substrate rear surface can be suppressed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a rear view of a substrate drying device including a substrate transfer device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the substrate drying apparatus taken along the line AA ′ of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the substrate drying apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a main part B of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a main part C of FIG. 2;

6 is a side view of a main part C of the substrate drying apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a partial perspective view showing a supporting state of a rectangular substrate including an example of a position adjusting member in the substrate transfer device of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view schematically showing a main part of the substrate transfer device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a front view of a main part of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view schematically showing a main part of a substrate transfer apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a front view of a main part of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a conventional rectangular substrate supported at six points by a substrate support member.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a conventional rectangular substrate at a four-point support state by a substrate support member.

FIG. 14 illustrates another conventional square substrate 6 formed by another substrate supporting member.
It is a perspective view which shows a point support state.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Rodless cylinder 6 Lifting cylinder 7 First support arm 8 First connection arm 9 First air cylinder 10 First substrate support member 11 Rectangular substrate 12, 19, 19a Support flange 13, 14 Second Support arm 15, 16 Second connection arm 17 Second air cylinder 18, 18a Second substrate support member 20 Processing liquid supply member 20a Processing liquid supply pipe 21 Position adjustment member 22a Fixing member 22b Screw

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A substrate transport apparatus for transporting an edge of a substrate by supporting the edge by a substrate support member, wherein the substrate support member contacts and supports two opposite side edges of the substrate. A second supporting member that abuts and supports the supporting member and two side edges orthogonal to the side edge at predetermined height positions different from the abutting height position of the first supporting member. A substrate transfer device comprising: 2. A substrate transport apparatus for transporting an edge of a substrate by supporting the edge with a substrate support member, wherein the substrate support member contacts and supports two opposite side edges of the substrate. A support member, and a second support member that abuts and supports two side edges orthogonal to the side edge at predetermined height positions lower than the abutment height position of the first support member. And a processing liquid supply member that is disposed along both side edges supported by the first support member and supplies processing liquid along both side edges supported by the first support member, respectively. A substrate transfer device characterized by the above-mentioned. 3. A substrate transport apparatus for transporting an edge of a substrate while supporting the edge with a substrate support member, wherein the substrate support member contacts and supports two opposite side edges of the substrate. A support member, and a second support member that abuts and supports two side edges orthogonal to the side edge at predetermined height positions higher than the abutment height position of the first support member. A processing liquid supply member disposed along a substrate width direction at a substrate position supported by the second support member and configured to supply a processing liquid along the substrate width direction. apparatus. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second support member has a position adjusting member for adjusting a vertical support position of the substrate to a predetermined height position. Substrate transfer device. 5. The substrate according to claim 1, wherein a deflection amount of the substrate supported by the first support member and the second support member is within an elastic deformation range of the substrate. Transport device.