JPH10242092A - Substrate cleaning equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cleaning equipment capable of easily detecting the time for exchanging a cleaning tool. SOLUTION: When a brash arm 20 descends and a cleaning blush 10 comes into contact with a substrate W, a blush retainer 30 relative ascends to the brash arm 30, and the lower end of a drooping part 30c is isolated from a load cell 50. A light from a light emitting part 40a passes the gap, and is received by a photodetecting part 40b. A photosensor 40 detects that the cleaning blush 10 has come into contact with the substrate W. The contact frequency or the contact time which the photosensor 40 has detected are integrated by a counter 60 and a time measuring part 61, respectively. The integrated frequency of contact or the accumulated contact time is compared with a previously determined threshold value, by a comparing part 71. When the frequency of contact or the accumulated contact time is at least the previously determined threshold value, a display part 75 displays that it is a blush exchange time.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate cleaning apparatus for performing cleaning while bringing a cleaning tool such as a cleaning brush into contact with a thin substrate (hereinafter, simply referred to as a "substrate") such as a semiconductor substrate or a liquid crystal glass substrate. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a substrate cleaning apparatus as described above is
While bringing the cleaning brush into contact with the rotating substrate, the cleaning brush is driven from the center of rotation of the substrate to the peripheral edge side,
The cleaning process is performed by discharging particles on the substrate surface. Since this cleaning brush is a contact-type cleaning means, wear and contamination will progress as the cleaning process is repeated. If the degree of wear and contamination of the cleaning brush progresses to some extent, not only does the cleaning effect decrease, but there is also a concern that the contaminated cleaning brush may contaminate the substrate, so the cleaning brush needs to be replaced.

Conventionally, in such a case, an operator of the apparatus visually checks the degree of contamination of the cleaning brush and determines when to replace the cleaning brush.

[0004]

However, if the operator checks the degree of wear and contamination of the cleaning brush every time the cleaning process is performed, the operation becomes extremely complicated. Often, brush replacement is performed regularly. If you replace the cleaning brush regularly, the cleaning effect will not be reduced, but since the operating rate of the cleaning brush during the use period is not always constant, the cleaning brush that is almost unused after replacement will be replaced Sometimes. In such a case, the cost of the entire cleaning process may increase.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide a substrate cleaning apparatus capable of easily detecting a time when a cleaning tool should be replaced.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate cleaning apparatus for performing cleaning while bringing a cleaning tool into contact with a substrate. Detecting means for detecting whether or not there is contact;
(b) integrating means for integrating the number of times or contact time between the substrate and the cleaning tool detected by the detecting means,
(c) display means for performing a display in accordance with the integrated value integrated by the integrating means.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the substrate cleaning apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, there are provided: (d) a comparing means for comparing the integrated value with a predetermined threshold; and (e) a comparing means. And a display control means for displaying a predetermined alarm on the display means when the integrated value is found to be equal to or greater than the threshold value.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate cleaning apparatus for performing cleaning while bringing a cleaning tool into contact with a substrate, wherein (a) load detecting means for detecting a contact load applied to the substrate by the cleaning tool; (b) integrating means for calculating an integrated value of the contact load by the contact time, (c) comparing means for comparing the integrated value with a predetermined threshold, and (d) a result of the comparison by the comparing means. Display means for displaying a predetermined alarm when the integral value is found to be equal to or greater than the threshold value.

[0009]

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

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a main configuration of a substrate cleaning apparatus according to the present invention. This substrate cleaning apparatus has a function of bringing a cleaning brush into contact with the substrate while rotating the substrate, driving the cleaning brush from the center of rotation of the substrate to the peripheral edge side, and discharging particles on the substrate surface.

As shown in FIG. 1, the apparatus for cleaning a substrate includes a brush arm 20 formed in a horizontal direction at an upper end of an arm shaft 21 which is provided upright. The lower end of the arm shaft 21 can be moved in a vertical direction (vertical direction in the figure) by a drive mechanism (not shown), and can be rotated around an axis parallel to the vertical direction. . The brush arm 20 also moves up and down with the vertical movement and rotation of the arm shaft 21.

A brush holding member 30 is provided inside the brush arm 20. The brush holding member 30 is formed by forming a shaft 30a, a horizontal portion 30b, and a hanging portion 30c in a U shape. The cleaning brush 10 is fixed to the lower end of the shaft 30a. Also, the shaft 30a
The brush arm 20 is guided and supported by a bearing 12 provided on the brush arm 20, and is movable up and down. Therefore, the brush holding member 30 is supported movably in the vertical direction relative to the brush arm 20.

The piston 16 of the air cylinder 15 fixed to the brush arm 20 is in contact with the upper end of the shaft 30a. The air cylinder 15 constantly presses the brush holding member 30 with a constant load. Also,
When the brush holding member 30 is relatively lowered and is located at the lower end of its movable range, the lower end of the hanging portion 30 c of the brush holding member 30 contacts the load cell 50. The load cell 50 is a device that detects a load acting on the load cell 50, and is fixedly installed on the brush arm 20.

That is, as shown in FIG.
In a state where the cleaning brush 10 is separated from the substrate W by the rise of 0, the brush holding member 30 is relatively lowered with respect to the brush arm 20 by the downward pressure from the air cylinder 15 and its own weight, and the load cell 50 It will be in the locked state. This state is a state in which the cleaning brush 10 is not used apart from the substrate W, and is a standby state before and after the cleaning process. Here, strictly speaking, the brush holding member 30
Is pressed downward from the air cylinder 15 by a force larger than the upward force while receiving an upward force by a spring (not shown) provided on the brush arm 20. In this embodiment, the description is simplified. Air cylinder 15
Only the power of

A photo sensor 40 is provided above the side of the load cell 50. The photo sensor 40 includes a light emitting unit 40a and a light receiving unit 40b. The light emitting section 40a always emits light during operation of the apparatus, but the substrate W
When the cleaning brush 10 and the cleaning brush 10 are separated from each other, that is, in a state where the lower end of the hanging portion 30c of the brush holding member 30 is in contact with the load cell 50 (the state of FIG. 1), light from the light emitting section 40a is blocked by the hanging portion 30c. It does not reach the light receiving section 40b.

FIG. 2 is a view for explaining the state of the substrate cleaning apparatus during the cleaning process. During the cleaning process, the brush arm 20 descends, and the cleaning brush 10 comes into contact with the substrate W. When the cleaning brush 10 comes into contact with the substrate W, the brush holding member 30 receives an upward force, and overcomes the force from the air cylinder 15 to rise relatively. When the brush holding member 30 rises relatively to the brush arm 20, the lower end of the hanging portion 30c is
From zero, the light from the light emitting unit 40a passes through the gap between the hanging part 30c and the load cell 50 and reaches the light receiving unit 40b. Thereby, the photo sensor 40 can detect whether or not the substrate W and the cleaning brush 10 are in contact with each other.

Referring back to FIG. 1, a counter 60 and a timer 61 are electrically connected to the photosensor 40.
The counter 60 is a unit that accumulates the number of times that the photo sensor 40 is activated, that is, the number of times that the brush holding member 30 separates from the load cell 50 and the light receiving unit 40b detects light from the light emitting unit 40a. The timer 61 is a means for cumulatively accumulating the time during which the photosensor 40 is activated. In other words, the counter 60 and the timer 61 are integrating means for integrating the number of times and the contact time between the substrate W and the cleaning brush 10, respectively.

Further, a counter 60 and a timer 61 are provided.
Is also connected to the control unit 70 of the substrate cleaning apparatus. The control unit 70 includes a comparison unit 71, and the comparison unit 71
Is a means for comparing a predetermined threshold value with the number of times of contact or the accumulated contact time. Here, the predetermined threshold value is a value that is set and input in advance by the operator according to the type of the cleaning brush 10 and the like, and is a value corresponding to the maximum number of times or the maximum time of use of the cleaning brush 10. The comparison unit 71 compares one of the number of times of contact and the accumulated contact time, and sets and inputs a threshold value according to the comparison object.

The substrate cleaning apparatus has a display unit 75, which is connected to a control unit 70. When the comparing unit 71 determines that the number of times of contact or the accumulated contact time is equal to or more than the threshold, the display unit 7
5 indicates a predetermined alarm. The predetermined alarm may have any form that notifies the operator that it is time to replace the cleaning brush 10.

In the above, since the object to be compared by the comparing unit 71 is either the number of times of contact or the accumulated contact time, the counter 60 and the timer 61 do not necessarily need to have both. Only one of them needs to be provided. For example, when only the counter 60 is provided, the number of contacts between the substrate W and the cleaning brush 10 is a criterion, and when only the timer 61 is provided, the accumulated contact time is a criterion. . Of course, both the counter 60 and the timer 61 may be provided, and both the number of times of contact and the accumulated contact time may be compared by the comparing unit 71.

The brush holding member 30 and the load cell 5
The means for detecting the presence / absence of contact with zero is not limited to the photo sensor 40. For example, the contact is energized at the time of contact, and the brush holding member 30 is separated from the load cell 50 when the energization is interrupted. May be detected.

According to the above-described substrate cleaning apparatus, the number of times of contact between the substrate W and the cleaning brush 10 or the accumulated contact time is used as a criterion. Since a warning to the effect that the cleaning brush 10 should be replaced is displayed, the time when the cleaning brush 10 should be replaced can be easily detected.

Instead of displaying a predetermined alarm on the display 75, the number of contacts accumulated by the counter 60 or the accumulated contact time accumulated by the timer 61 is directly displayed, and the operator can see the value. The time when the cleaning brush 10 should be replaced may be determined. Even in such a case, the operator does not need to check the degree of wear and contamination of the cleaning brush 10 each time, so that the time to replace the cleaning brush 10 can be easily detected. Furthermore, it is not limited to displaying the value of the number of contacts or the accumulated contact time,
They may be displayed graphically.

In the above, the cleaning brush 10 is
The photo sensor 40 detects whether or not the cleaning brush 10 is in contact with the cleaning brush 10 and controls the brush replacement time.
Is affected not only by the time (or the number of times) in contact with the substrate W, but also by the contact load. Therefore, the following management form may be adopted.

That is, as shown in FIG. 1, an integrating means 65 is electrically connected to the load cell 50. As described above, the load cell 50 is a device that detects a load acting on the load cell 50. When the cleaning brush 10 and the substrate W are separated from each other, the load cell 50 detects the sum of the weight of the brush holding member 30 and the force from the air cylinder 15. doing. Here, the force acting on the brush holding member 30 from the air cylinder 15 is delicately adjusted so that the lower end of the hanging portion 30c remains on the load cell 50 even during the cleaning process (the state where the cleaning brush 10 and the substrate W are in contact with each other). When the contact is made, the load detected at that time and the cleaning process (before the cleaning brush 1
The difference between the load detected when the cleaning brush 10 and the substrate W are not in contact with each other is the contact load between the cleaning brush 10 and the substrate W. The integrating means 65 is a means for integrating the contact load between the cleaning brush 10 and the substrate W over time.

FIG. 3 is a view for explaining the concept of integrating the contact load between the cleaning brush 10 and the substrate W over time. The horizontal axis in FIG. 3 indicates time, and the vertical axis indicates the load detected by the load cell 50. When the cleaning brush 10 and the substrate W are not in contact with each other, the load cell 50 detects the value of the load Lc, and this value Lc is the sum of the weight of the brush holding member 30 and the force from the air cylinder 15. When the cleaning brush 10 comes into contact with the substrate W, the load cell 50
The detected load value decreases. At this time, load cell 5
The difference between the load value detected by 0 and the value Lc is the contact load between the cleaning brush 10 and the substrate W, and the integrating means 65 obtains an integrated value obtained by integrating this with time, that is, the area of the hatched portion in FIG. .

The calculated integral value is compared with a predetermined threshold value by the comparing unit 71 of the control unit 70 in the same manner as described above. As a result, when the integrated value is equal to or larger than the predetermined threshold, the display unit 75 displays a predetermined alarm.

Even in this case, the substrate W and the cleaning brush 1
The integrated value of the contact load with 0 is used as a criterion, and when the integrated value is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value, a warning that the cleaning brush 10 should be replaced is displayed on the display unit 75. Can be easily detected when it should be replaced.

When the integrated value of the contact load is used as a criterion, the lower end of the hanging portion 30c may be separated from the load cell 50 in order to prevent an excessive force from acting on the substrate W during cleaning. (Same state as shown in FIG. 2). In this case, however, an accurate integrated value of the contact load cannot be obtained, but the adjustment of the force of the air cylinder 15 is easy. Further, a dedicated load detecting device for detecting a contact load between the substrate W and the cleaning brush 10 may be provided separately from the load cell 50.

If the integrated value of the contact load is employed as a criterion for determining when to replace the cleaning brush 10, the value accurately reflects the degree of wear of the cleaning brush 10, so that the brush can be replaced more efficiently. Can be.

On the other hand, when the number of times of contact between the substrate W and the cleaning brush 10 or the accumulated contact time is used as a criterion by using the photo sensor 40, the brush replacement time is detected without contacting the brush holding member 30. can do. Since the force acting on the brush holding member 30 from the air cylinder 15 is very precisely controlled, using non-contact detecting means for the brush holding member 30 makes maintenance of the brush arm 20 complicated. There is no concern about

[0032]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the detecting means for detecting whether the substrate and the cleaning tool are in contact with each other, and the substrate and the cleaning tool detected by the detecting means. It is necessary to directly check the degree of wear and contamination of the cleaning tool because it has an integrating means for integrating the number of times or the contact time of the cleaning tool and a display means for displaying according to the integrated value integrated by the integrating means. As a result, the time when the cleaning tool should be replaced can be easily detected.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a comparing means for comparing the integrated value with a predetermined threshold value, and when the integrated value is found to be not less than the threshold value as a result of the comparison by the comparing means. And display control means for displaying a predetermined alarm on the display means, so that it is possible to easily detect the time when the cleaning tool should be replaced.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, a load detecting means for detecting a contact load applied to the substrate by the cleaning tool, an integrating means for calculating an integrated value of the contact load based on a contact time, A comparison means for comparing the predetermined value with a predetermined threshold, and a display means for displaying a predetermined alarm when the integration value is found to be equal to or greater than the threshold as a result of the comparison by the comparison means. The same effect as the second aspect can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a main part configuration of a substrate cleaning apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a state of the substrate cleaning apparatus during a cleaning process.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a concept of integrating a contact load between a cleaning brush and a substrate with time.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Cleaning brush 40 Photosensor 50 Load cell 60 Counter 61 Timekeeping unit 65 Integrating means 70 Control unit 71 Comparison unit 75 Display unit W Substrate

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A substrate cleaning apparatus for performing cleaning while bringing a cleaning tool into contact with a substrate, comprising: (a) detecting means for detecting whether the substrate and the cleaning tool are in contact with each other; Integrating means for integrating the number of times or contact time between the substrate and the cleaning tool detected by the means, and (c) display means for performing a display according to the integrated value integrated by the integrating means. A substrate cleaning apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. 2. The substrate cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: (d) comparing means for comparing the integrated value with a predetermined threshold; and (e) a result of the comparison by the comparing means, wherein the integrated value is And a display control means for displaying a predetermined alarm on the display means when it is determined that the value is equal to or larger than the threshold value. 3. A substrate cleaning apparatus for performing cleaning while bringing a cleaning tool into contact with a substrate, comprising: (a) load detecting means for detecting a contact load applied to the substrate by the cleaning tool; An integrating means for calculating an integrated value based on the contact time; (c) a comparing means for comparing the integrated value with a predetermined threshold; and (d) a result of the comparison by the comparing means, wherein the integrated value is not less than the threshold. And a display means for displaying a predetermined alarm when it is determined that the substrate cleaning apparatus has the above-mentioned condition.