JPH11233475A - Substrate cleaning device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a brush from dropping from a substrate end part even at the time of cleaning the substrate of a different type. SOLUTION: A substrate cleaning device has a holding means 12c holding a substrate 11 to be cleaned, a brush 13 which brush-cleans the surface of the substrate 11, and brush driving parts 14 and 17 driving the brush 13. The substrate cleaning device 10 is provided with an auxiliary holding means 16 for preventing the brush 13 which brush-cleans the surface of the substrate 11 held by the holding means 12C from dropping from the end part of the substrate 11.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a substrate cleaning apparatus for cleaning a substrate, and more particularly to a substrate cleaning apparatus for performing a brush cleaning.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when cleaning a substrate used in a liquid crystal display device or the like, for example, a rectangular substrate, a roll-type brush cleaning is generally adopted in many cases. However, in such a roll-type brush cleaning, the space occupied by the cleaning portion needs to be about twice as large as the size of the substrate, so that the entire cleaning apparatus becomes large and the cleaning mechanism itself becomes complicated. , And the cost increases. Also,
Since it is difficult to make the brush uniformly contact the entire surface of the rectangular substrate, the cleaning effect varies. Further, in a production line in which a semiconductor wafer, which is a normal circular substrate, and a square substrate are mixed, it is necessary to prepare separate cleaning devices for the circular substrate and the square substrate, respectively. There was a problem that the cost would be high.

On the other hand, a method of cleaning a rectangular substrate using a so-called rotation and revolving brush cleaning, which is widely used for cleaning a circular substrate, is also conceivable. Such rotation and revolution type brush cleaning is performed by, for example, a substrate cleaning apparatus having a configuration as shown in FIG. In FIG. 7, a substrate cleaning apparatus 1 supports a substrate 2 to be cleaned horizontally and drives the substrate 4 to rotate in the horizontal direction, and supports a brush 4 above the substrate support 3 and rotates and revolves. The apparatus includes a brush driving unit 5 for supplying a cleaning liquid to the substrate 2 supported on the substrate supporting unit 3.

[0004] The substrate support 3 includes a substrate rotating spindle motor 3a and a rotating shaft 3b of the spindle motor 3a.
The suction head 3c is adapted to hold the substrate 2 to be cleaned by suction by an appropriate method.

[0005] The brush driving unit 5 is provided with a turning shaft 5a movably and vertically rotatable beside the substrate supporting unit 3, and
A vertically moving slider 5b attached to the lower end of the turning shaft 5a, a vertically moving driving cylinder 5c for driving the vertically moving slider 5b in the vertical direction, and a driven timing pulley 5d, a driving timing belt 5e, And a turning drive motor 5g connected via a drive timing pulley 5f. The turning shaft 5a is moved by the vertical drive cylinder 5c and the turning drive motor 5g.
It can be moved up and down and turned.

[0006] Further, the brush driving unit 5 has a pivot shaft 5.
The brush unit 7 is provided at the upper end of the block a. The brush unit 7 is integrally fixed to the upper end of the turning shaft 5a and extends above the substrate support portion 3, and is attached to a free end of the brush unit base 7a via a bracket 7b. Brush rotation driving motor 7c and rotation shaft 7 of brush rotation driving motor 7c
d.

The supply pipe 6 is configured to spray pure water for cleaning, a chemical solution, a rinsing solution, or the like onto the surface of the substrate 2 supported by the substrate support 3. .

According to the substrate cleaning apparatus 1 having such a configuration, the brush 4 of the brush unit 7 is held in a state where the substrate 2 is sucked and held by the suction head 3 c of the substrate support 3.
The rotating shaft 5a of the brush driving unit 5 is moved down by the vertical movement driving cylinder 5c so that the brush contacts the surface of the substrate 2. Then, with the brush 4 in contact with the surface of the substrate 2, pure water for cleaning, a chemical solution or a rinsing liquid is jetted from the supply pipe 6, and the substrate rotation spindle motor 3 a and the brush rotation drive motor 7 c rotate. Then, the brush turning drive motor 5g rotates. As a result, while the substrate 2 rotates, the brush 4 rotates by the brush rotation drive motor 7c and revolves, that is, moves outward from the center of the substrate 2, for example, by the brush rotation drive motor 5g. Thus, the brush 4 contacts the entire surface of the substrate 2 and cleans the substrate surface by its rotation.

[0009]

However, in such a substrate cleaning apparatus 1, when cleaning a substrate such as a circular semiconductor wafer, the substrate surface is rotated by the rotation and revolution of the brush 4 as described above. The entire substrate can be uniformly cleaned. However, when the rectangular substrate is cleaned, as shown in FIG. 8, since the external shape of the rectangular substrate 8 is square or rectangular, the vicinity of the center of each side is large. Since the brush 4 enters the inside, a region where the substrate does not exist (shown by oblique lines in FIG. 8) occurs in the movement range of the rotation and revolution of the brush 4. For this reason, in such an area, the brush 4 falls off the substrate, and in some cases, the surface of the rectangular substrate 8 is damaged,
There is a problem that the substrate cleaning apparatus 1 may be broken. Further, in the above-mentioned region, the brush 4 is brought into contact with the edge of the rectangular substrate 8 by the brush 4, so that the brush 4 wears quickly, uneven wear occurs, or dust due to such abrasion causes the rectangular substrate 8 to adhere to the rectangular substrate 8. There was a problem that it could be contaminated. The above problem is not limited to the case of a rectangular substrate, but also applies to a deformed substrate having irregularities in its outer shape.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate cleaning apparatus which prevents a brush from falling off from an end of a substrate even when cleaning a deformed substrate.

[0011]

According to the first object of the present invention, there is provided a holding means for holding a substrate to be cleaned,
In a substrate cleaning apparatus having a brush for brush cleaning the surface of the substrate and a brush driving unit for driving the brush, a brush for brush cleaning the surface of the substrate held by the holding means is provided at an edge of the substrate. This is achieved by a substrate cleaning apparatus provided with auxiliary holding means for preventing the substrate from falling off.

According to this structure, the auxiliary holding means is provided so that the brush for cleaning the surface of the substrate held by the holding means with the brush does not fall off the edge of the substrate. For this reason, the brush driven by the brush driving unit
In the vicinity of the edge of the substrate, the auxiliary holding means
Driving is performed smoothly without falling off the substrate. Therefore, the entire surface of the substrate is uniformly cleaned. Further, since the brush does not fall off the substrate, the edge of the substrate is not damaged.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a holding means for holding a substrate to be cleaned, a brush for brush-cleaning the surface of the substrate, and a brush driving unit for driving the brush. In a substrate cleaning apparatus, the present invention is achieved by a substrate cleaning apparatus that brush-cleans a surface of a substrate with an area equal to or more than half of a surface of the brush that contacts the substrate.

According to this structure, the brush is formed in such a size that the entire brush does not fall off from the edge of the substrate. Therefore, even if a part of the brush protrudes outside from the edge of the substrate, Since the other part of the brush is in contact with the surface of the substrate, the brush is prevented from falling off.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. still,
Since the embodiments described below are preferred specific examples of the present invention, various technically preferred limitations are added.
The scope of the present invention is not limited to these embodiments unless otherwise specified in the following description.

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a first embodiment of a substrate cleaning apparatus for cleaning a substrate to which the present invention is applied. In FIG. 1, a substrate cleaning apparatus 10 supports a substrate to be cleaned, for example, a rectangular substrate 11 horizontally, and supports a substrate support portion 12 that is driven to rotate in the horizontal direction, and a brush 13 above the substrate support portion 12. A brush driving unit 14 for rotating and revolving, and a substrate 1 supported on a substrate supporting unit 12
And a supply pipe 15 for supplying a cleaning liquid to the cleaning liquid.

The substrate supporting portion 12 includes a substrate rotating spindle motor 12a, an adapter unit 16 serving as auxiliary holding means detachably attached to a rotating shaft 12b of the spindle motor 12a,
Suction head 12c as holding means mounted inside
The suction head 12c sucks and holds the rectangular substrate 11 to be cleaned by an appropriate method. Note that the substrate support portion 12 is provided with the adapter unit 1.
Except for 6, the configuration is the same as that of the substrate support 3 in the substrate cleaning apparatus 1 shown in FIG.

Here, the adapter unit 16 is configured as shown in FIGS. That is, the adapter unit 16 has, for example, a circular outer shape, and has, on its upper surface, a concave portion 16 a having a shape corresponding to the rectangular substrate 11. The suction head 12c is mounted in the recess 16a. This recess 16a
Is formed such that the surface of the rectangular substrate 11 sucked and held by the suction head 12c has a depth such that it is flush with or substantially flush with the upper surface of the adapter unit 16. The adapter unit 16 is made of a material such as metal or resin. Preferably, the outer shape and the edge of the concave portion 16a are chamfered or rounded to prevent abrasion of the brush described later.

The brush driving unit 14 is provided on a side of the substrate supporting unit 12 so as to be vertically movable and rotatable.
a vertical slider 14b attached to the lower end of the rotary shaft 14a, a vertical drive cylinder 14c for driving the vertical slider 14b in the vertical direction, and a driven timing pulley 14d at the lower end of the rotary shaft. A turning drive motor 14g connected via a belt 14e and a drive timing pulley 14f. The turning shaft 14a can be moved up and down and turned by the vertically moving drive cylinder 14c and the turning drive motor 14g. It has become.

Further, the brush driving section 14 has a brush unit 17 at the upper end of the turning shaft 14a. The brush unit 17 includes a brush unit base 17a integrally fixed to the upper end of the rotating shaft 14a and extending above the substrate support portion 12, and a brush unit base 17
a of the brush rotation drive motor 17c attached to the free end of the brush rotation drive motor 17c via the bracket 17b, and the brush 1 attached to the rotation shaft 17d of the brush rotation drive motor 17c.
And 3.

The supply pipe 15 is configured to inject cleaning pure water, a chemical solution, a rinsing liquid, or the like onto the surface of the rectangular substrate 11 supported by the substrate support portion 12. is there.

The brush drive unit 14, brush unit 17 and supply pipe 15 have the same configuration as the brush drive unit 5, brush unit 7 and supply pipe 6 in the conventional substrate cleaning apparatus 1 shown in FIG.

A substrate cleaning apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
0 is configured as described above. When the rectangular substrate 11 is cleaned, the cleaning is performed as follows. First,
Recess 16a of adapter unit 16 of substrate support 12
The rectangular substrate 11 is inserted thereinto, and is suction-held by the suction head 12c. Then, in this state, the turning shaft 14a of the brush driving unit 14 is moved down by the vertical driving cylinder 14c so that the brush 13 of the brush unit 17 comes into contact with the surface of the substrate 11. Then, in a state where the brush 13 is in contact with the surface of the substrate 11, pure water for cleaning, a chemical solution or a rinsing liquid is jetted from the supply pipe 15, and
The substrate rotation spindle motor 12a and the brush rotation drive motor 17c rotate, and the brush rotation drive motor 14
g rotates.

As a result, the rectangular substrate 11 is rotated, and at the same time, the brush 13 is rotated by the brush rotation drive motor 17c and revolved by the brush rotation drive motor 14g, that is, moves outward from the center of the substrate 11, for example. Thus, the brush 13 contacts the entire surface of the substrate 11 and cleans the substrate surface by its rotation.

At this time, the rectangular substrate 11 is accommodated in the concave portion 16a of the adapter unit 16 so that the surface of the rectangular substrate 11 and the concave portion 16a of the adapter unit 16 are accommodated.
Are substantially the same or substantially the same plane, thereby defining a circular surface as a whole. Therefore, the brush 1
Since the brush 13 is always in contact with the circular surface defined by the rectangular substrate 11 and the adapter unit 16 in the same manner as in the case of cleaning a circular substrate during the cleaning by rotation and revolution of 3, the brush 13 is cleaned. Can be performed smoothly, that is, uniformly, and the brush 13 does not protrude outward from the edge of the rectangular substrate 11 and fall off.
Therefore, when the rectangular substrate 11 is washed, the brush 13 does not fall off from the edge of the substrate, so that the substrate surface is not damaged or the substrate cleaning device 10 is not damaged. The brush 13 is not worn by hitting the brush.

Further, the substrate cleaning apparatus 10 can be easily and inexpensively constructed by simply adding the adapter unit 16 to the conventional substrate cleaning apparatus 1 shown in FIG. Therefore, when cleaning a circular substrate, the adapter unit 16 is removed from the rotating shaft 12b of the substrate rotating spindle motor 12a, and the suction head 12c is
2b. This configuration is the same as that of the conventional substrate cleaning apparatus 1 shown in FIG. As described above, in a production line in which the rectangular substrates 11 and the circular substrates are mixed, it is possible to easily cope with substrates of any shape by attaching and detaching the adapter unit 16.

FIG. 4 shows the configuration of a second embodiment of a substrate cleaning apparatus for cleaning a substrate according to the present invention.
4, the substrate cleaning apparatus 20 has substantially the same configuration as the substrate cleaning apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1, except that there is no adapter unit 16 and a large brush 21 is provided instead of the brush 13. That is.

Here, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the large brush 21 is attached to the suction head 12c of the substrate support portion 12.
The rectangular substrate 11 is formed so as to have such a size that the entire rectangular substrate 11 does not fall off from the periphery of the rectangular substrate 11 when the rectangular substrate 11 is fixed and held. Particularly, as shown on the left side in FIG. 5, the large brush 21 comes into contact with the rectangular substrate 11 near the center of each side of the rectangular substrate 11, that is, near the position where the length in the radial direction is the shortest. The size of the large brush 21 is selected so that the surface of the rectangular substrate 11 is brush-washed with an area of half or more of the surface to be cleaned.

Accordingly, since the brush is the large brush 21, the rotation of the rectangular substrate 11 causes a part of the large brush 21 to be in a region near the center of each side of the rectangular substrate 11, that is, a position where the length in the radial direction is the shortest. In the vicinity, even if it protrudes outside from the end of the rectangular substrate 11, other parts of the large brush 21
Because it is in contact with the surface of the rectangular substrate 11, the large brush 2
1 is prevented from falling off. As described above, since the large brush 21 contacts the surface of the rectangular substrate 11 in a stable state, more uniform cleaning can be performed.

Further, in the substrate cleaning apparatus 20,
The substrate cleaning apparatus 20 according to the present embodiment can be configured by simply replacing the brush 4 with the large brush 21 in the conventional substrate cleaning apparatus 1 shown in FIG. Therefore, the substrate cleaning apparatus 20 can be configured easily and at low cost. Therefore, even with the conventional substrate cleaning apparatus 1 using a rotating and revolving brush for cleaning a circular substrate, the rectangular substrate 11 is cleaned simply by replacing the brush 4 with the large brush 21, and the cleaning is performed as it is. In the state,
Cleaning of circular substrates such as semiconductor wafers is also possible. Also,
In a production line in which a circular substrate and a rectangular substrate 11 are mixed, a single substrate cleaning apparatus 20 can be used to support substrates of any shape as they are.

In the area near the center of each side of the rectangular substrate 11, that is, near the position where the length in the radial direction is the shortest, the area of the large brush 21 that is in contact with the rectangular substrate 11 is at least half the area of the rectangular shape. When the size of the large brush 21 is selected so that the surface of the substrate 11 is brush-cleaned, the rectangular brush 11 is stably maintained even in a region near the center of each side of the rectangular substrate 11. , So that more uniform cleaning is performed.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the rectangular substrate 11 is used as the substrate to be cleaned has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this case. Obviously, the invention can be applied.

[0033]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a substrate cleaning apparatus in which a brush is prevented from falling off from an end of a substrate even when cleaning a deformed substrate.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing a configuration of a first embodiment of a substrate cleaning apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view of an adapter unit in the substrate cleaning device of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the adapter unit of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view showing a configuration of a second embodiment of the substrate cleaning apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged plan view showing a relationship between a substrate and a large brush in the substrate cleaning apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a relationship between the substrate of FIG. 5 and a large brush.

FIG. 7 is a schematic side view showing a configuration of an example of a conventional substrate cleaning apparatus.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged plan view showing movement of a brush when a rectangular substrate is cleaned by the substrate cleaning apparatus of FIG. 7;

[Explanation of symbols]

10, 20 ... substrate cleaning device, 11 ... square substrate,
12 ... substrate support, 13 ... brush, 14 ...
Brush drive unit, 15: supply pipe, 16: adapter unit, 17: brush unit, 21: large brush.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A substrate cleaning apparatus comprising: holding means for holding a substrate to be cleaned; a brush for cleaning the surface of the substrate with a brush; and a brush driving unit for driving the brush. An apparatus for cleaning a substrate, further comprising auxiliary holding means for preventing a brush for cleaning the surface of the substrate from falling off from an edge of the substrate. 2. The substrate cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the height of the upper surface of the substrate and the upper surface of the auxiliary holding means are the same or substantially the same. 3. The substrate cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said auxiliary holding means is configured to be detachable. 4. The substrate cleaning apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said auxiliary holding means is configured to be detachable. 5. A substrate cleaning apparatus comprising: holding means for holding a substrate to be cleaned; a brush for cleaning the surface of the substrate with a brush; and a brush driving unit for driving the brush. A substrate cleaning apparatus characterized in that the surface of the substrate is brush-cleaned with an area equal to or more than half of a contact surface.