JPH10311676A - Vacuum drying apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To uniformly heat a substrate, prevent uneven drying from being caused, and effectively heat the substrate. SOLUTION: In a vacuum drying apparatus for drying a solvent applied on a substrate 14 in vacuum, there is provided a casing 3 composed of a box shaped lower chamber 1 with an upper part being opened, and a box shaped upper chamber 2 with a lower part being opened, the chamber 2 being mounted on the lower chamber 1. There are further provided a soaking plate 9 disposed in the casing 3, on which plate a support pin 18 is vertically provided for supporting the substrate 14, and a heater 8 disposed the soaking plate 9. A passage 15 is formed among the soaking plate 9, the heater 8, and an inner wall of the casing 3 for vacuum exhaustion.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vacuum drying apparatus, and more particularly, to a vacuum drying apparatus used in a drying process accompanying a color filter in a liquid crystal substrate manufacturing process.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 3 shows a conventional vacuum drying apparatus for receiving a sample (wafer or photomask) which has been subjected to a predetermined process in a previous step in a semiconductor product manufacturing process and drying it in a vacuum. What is known is known.

[0003] Reference numeral 31 in the figure denotes a stage. At an appropriate location on the upper surface of the stage 31, a receiving portion 33 for supporting the sample 32 is provided. A vacuum chamber 35 is provided around the upper surface of the stage 31 with a seal member 34 interposed therebetween. The vacuum chamber 35 covers the entirety of the sample 32 around the stage and keeps the inside thereof in a vacuum state. The vacuum chamber 35 is formed in an appropriate box shape and can be opened and closed in the vertical direction. A through hole is formed in one side wall of the vacuum chamber 35, and a vacuum pump 37 is connected to the through hole via a pipe. Here, by operating the vacuum pump 37 and sucking air in the vacuum chamber 35, the vacuum chamber
The inside of 35 can be made vacuum. A heating lamp 38 is provided on the inner wall of the vacuum chamber 35 corresponding to a position directly above the sample 32. The number 39 indicates the solvent applied to the sample 32.

[0004]

However, in the conventional vacuum drying apparatus, since the sample 32 is heated by the upper heating lamp 38, the heating lamp 38 is transferred to the sample 32 and the substrate is uniformly heated. There was a problem that it was not possible. Also, the vacuum chamber 35 is connected to one side wall of the vacuum chamber 35.
Since the air in the sample 35 is sucked, the solvent applied to the sample 32 dries quickly on the suction side and hardly dries on the opposite side, and there is a problem in that the applied solvent has uneven drying.

Although not shown, in a vacuum drying apparatus used in a drying process associated with the production of a color filter in a liquid crystal substrate production process, a substrate is placed on a heating plate and sequentially sent to a heating plate at a different temperature. Was heated to a predetermined temperature and dried. However, even in such an apparatus, there are problems such as non-uniform heating of the substrate and uneven drying, and insufficient heat insulation on the side opposite to the heated surface, which has problems in safety and protection of the apparatus.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and by improving the heating means for the substrate and the exhaust means in the housing, the substrate can be uniformly heated and the occurrence of uneven drying can be suppressed. It is another object of the present invention to provide a vacuum drying apparatus capable of efficiently heating a substrate.

[0007]

According to the present invention, there is provided a vacuum drying apparatus for drying a solvent applied to a substrate in a vacuum, comprising: a box-shaped lower chamber having an open upper portion; And a box-shaped upper chamber having an opening at the bottom, which constitutes at least a part of the housing together with the box-shaped lower chamber, a heat equalizing plate having an upper portion provided with support pins for supporting the substrate, A vacuum drying processing apparatus, comprising: a heater disposed at a lower portion of a plate; and forming a passage between the heat equalizing plate and the heater and an inner wall of the housing to perform vacuum exhaust.

In the present invention, it is preferable that a heat insulating material is provided below the (first) heater so as to prevent heat from the heater from being transmitted downward. This suppresses the heat from the heater from dispersing downward, and transfers a large amount of heat to the substrate via the heat equalizing plate and the support pins. In addition, this apparatus is safe for an operator to handle, and is preferable in terms of protection of the apparatus.

[0009] In the present invention, it is preferable to provide a second heater covered with a heat insulating material above the box-shaped upper chamber. Thus, the substrate can be efficiently heated from above and below together with the first heater, and the heat dissipating material on the upper portion of the second heater can suppress the heat of the second heater from being dispersed upward.

In the present invention, it is preferable to provide an exhaust port communicating with the passage at a lower side of the housing. Thereby, drying unevenness of the substrate can be suppressed, and handling of the present apparatus becomes easy. Although the exhaust port can be provided on the upper side of the housing, the exhaust port and the exhaust pump are usually connected by a bellows-like connecting member, which is not preferable in terms of handling of the present apparatus.

In the present invention, the diameter of the support pin is about 1
It is preferable that the tip is needle-shaped at about mm.
Further, it is preferable that the support pins be detachable so that substrates having different sizes and numbers can be handled for each lot. Further, it is preferable that the support pins are erected at a position where the heat from the heater does not directly affect the product substrate.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. Here, FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a vacuum drying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic development view of the vacuum drying apparatus of FIG.

Reference numeral 1 in the figure denotes a box-shaped lower chamber whose upper part is opened. The box-shaped lower chamber 1 has a box-shaped upper chamber 2 whose lower part is opened through a part of a heat equalizing plate 9 described later. This box-shaped upper chamber 2
Is provided with a projection 2a for locking a vertical mechanism member described later. The box-shaped lower chamber 1, a part of the heat equalizing plate 9 and the box-shaped upper chamber 2 constitute a housing 3. Between the box-shaped lower chamber 1 and the soaking plate 9;
The sealing between the heat equalizing plate 9 and the box-shaped upper chamber 2 is maintained by heat-resistant O-rings 4a and 4b, respectively.

At the bottom of the box-shaped lower chamber 1 constituting a part of the housing 3, a column 6 for supporting a storage member 5 having an open top is provided upright. The storage member 5 is provided with a film-shaped first heater 8 via a heat insulating material 7 made of Teflon. A heat equalizing plate 9 is mounted on the housing member 5 and the heater 8. Here, the heat equalizing plate 9
A heat-resistant O-ring is provided on the surface of the
10 are buried. An exhaust port 12 is provided on the outer peripheral edge of the surface of the heat equalizing plate 9. A substrate 14 is supported on the heat equalizing plate 9 via a large number of support pins (proxy pins) 13 arranged at substantially equal intervals. The support pin
13 is replaceable and has a diameter of about 1 mm and a needle-like tip.

The storage member 5, the heat insulating material 7, the heater 8 and the heat equalizing plate 9 are respectively laminated, and a passage (manifold) 15 is formed between them and the inner wall surface of the housing 3. This passage
Reference numeral 15 communicates with the exhaust port 12 of the heat equalizing plate 9. The passage 15 is connected to an exhaust pump via a bellows-like pipe 16. A second heater 17 is provided above the box-shaped upper chamber 2, and the heater 17 is covered with a heat insulating material 18 made of Teflon. It should be noted that reference numeral 19 in the drawing denotes a notch 19 which is engaged with the projection 2a of the box-shaped upper chamber 2.
a vertical mechanism member having a.

In the vacuum drying apparatus having such a configuration, the box-shaped upper chamber 2 is first opened, and the substrate 14 coated with the solvent is placed on the support pins 13 before the vacuum drying processing. Further, after closing the box-shaped upper chamber 2, the bellows-shaped pipe 16 is closed.
The inside of the housing 3 is evacuated through an exhaust pump (not shown) via the.

According to the vacuum drying apparatus having the above configuration, the following effects can be obtained. (1) Since the heat from the first heater 8 is transmitted to the substrate 14 via the heat equalizing plate 9 and a large number of support pins 13 arranged at equal intervals, the conventional substrate 14 There is no transfer to the substrate 14, and the substrate 14 can be heated uniformly.

(2) A plurality of exhaust ports 12 are provided on the outer peripheral edge of the surface of the heat equalizing plate 9, and the storage member 5, the heat insulating material 7, the heater 8 and the heat equalizing plate 9 are respectively laminated, and A passage 15 is provided between the inner wall surfaces of the exhaust port 3, and the passage 15 is connected to the exhaust port
Since it is configured to communicate with the substrate 12, exhaust around the substrate 14 can be performed evenly over the entire surface of the substrate, thereby suppressing drying unevenness of the substrate.

(3) A heat insulating material 7 is provided on the back surface of the first heater 8 for heating the substrate 14, so that the heat from the heater 8 is prevented from being transmitted downward and the substrate 14 is heated. Cover the upper part of the other second heater 17 with a heat insulating material 18,
Since the heat from the heater 17 is suppressed from being transmitted upward, the substrate 14 can be efficiently heated. In addition, for the same reason, the safety of an operator who handles the present apparatus can be ensured, and it is preferable in terms of protection of the present apparatus.

(4) An exhaust port is provided on the lower side of the housing 3 and the exhaust port is exhausted by an exhaust pump through a bellows-like pipe 16, so that workability is good. In addition,
In the above embodiment, the case where Teflon is used as the heat insulating material is described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and any material having heat insulating properties and low power generation may be used. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the exhaust port of the housing is provided at the lower portion has been described. However, the exhaust port may be provided at the upper portion of the housing.

In the above embodiment, the case where a part of the heat equalizing plate is used as a part of the housing has been described. However, the housing is composed of a box-shaped lower chamber and a box-shaped upper chamber. May be completely stored in the housing.

[0022]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, by improving the heating means for the substrate and the exhaust means in the housing, the smoothness of the substrate is not impaired and the occurrence of drying unevenness is prevented. It is possible to provide a vacuum drying apparatus capable of suppressing the temperature and heating the substrate efficiently.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a vacuum drying apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic development view of the vacuum drying processing apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a conventional vacuum processing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Box-shaped lower chamber, 2 ... Box-shaped upper chamber, 3 ... Housing, 4 ... O-ring, 5 ... Storage member, 7, 18 ... Insulation material, 8, 17 ... Heater, 9 ... Heat equalizing plate, 12 ... Exhaust port, 14… substrate, 15… passage, 16… piping.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A vacuum drying apparatus for drying a solvent applied to a substrate in a vacuum, comprising: a box-shaped lower chamber having an open top; and a box-shaped lower chamber mounted on the box-shaped lower chamber. A box-shaped upper chamber having an opening at the bottom, constituting a part of the housing, a heat equalizing plate having an upper portion provided with support pins for supporting the substrate, and a heater disposed below the heat equalizing plate A vacuum drying apparatus, wherein a vacuum passage is formed by forming a passage between the heat equalizing plate and the heater and the inner wall of the housing. 2. The vacuum drying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a heat insulating material is provided below the heater to prevent heat from the heater from being transmitted downward. 3. The vacuum drying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a heater covered with a heat insulating material is provided above the box-shaped upper chamber. 4. The vacuum drying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an exhaust port communicating with the passage is provided at a lower side of the housing.