JPH1157587A - Coating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely prevent a coating from getting thin at the time of coating startup. SOLUTION: The thickness of the coating film at the start of coating can be kept constant in a prescribed desired thickness by utilizing a coating characteristic that the film thickness is thicker as a gap dimension between a nozzle member 19a and the surface of a substrate 2 to be coated made is narrower thereby canceling the thin film part at the start of coating. Since the liquid quantity supplied through a slit 26 from a coating liquid tank 23 is increased by narrowing the gap dimension in accordance with the slow moving action of the coating liquid stopped in a slit 26 to increase the reducing ratio of a liquid well applied and consumed on the substrate 2 and to strongly work the capillary phenomenon in the interval of start coating to reach the desired thickness, the prescribed fixed film thickness is obtained from the starting position of coating. Thus the coating film is surely preventented from being made thin in thickness in the section of starting the as the conventional method.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a process for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device (LCD), a plasma display device (PDP), a semiconductor device, various electronic parts, and the like. The present invention relates to a coating apparatus for pumping various coating liquids by capillary action to form a photoresist film, a color filter material, a planarizing material, an interlayer insulating film, an insulating film, a conductive film, and the like on the substrate surface.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a method of applying a coating liquid on a substrate surface, there are a spin coating method, a blade coating method, a spray coating method, a roll coating method and the like.

In recent years, in a manufacturing process of a liquid crystal display device, a semiconductor device, or the like, a substrate is rotated while being kept horizontal, and a coating liquid is supplied to a central portion thereof to give a centrifugal force to the coating liquid. A spin coating method of uniformly applying a coating liquid from the upper central portion to the outer peripheral portion is widely used.

However, in this spin coating method, the coating solution is spun outward by centrifugal force in combination with the tendency of the substrate to become larger and squarer, so that the coating solution used is not effectively used. And the use efficiency of the coating liquid was poor. Also,
By rotating the rectangular substrate in a horizontal posture, the size of the apparatus is increased as the size of the substrate is increased, and the installation space has to be increased. Furthermore, when a rectangular substrate is rotated at a high speed, turbulence of the air flow easily occurs on the substrate surface. It has been difficult to ensure coating quality such as unevenness and uniformity of coating film thickness.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the spin coating method, that is, a reduction in the use efficiency of the coating liquid, an increase in installation space, and an uneven coating film thickness,
The substrate is held in a vertical position or an inclined position, and the nozzle is moved from the upper end to the lower end of the substrate while discharging the coating liquid from the nozzle in the width direction (left and right direction) of the substrate to the substrate surface. A coating apparatus that applies a coating liquid by applying a coating liquid has been proposed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. Hei 8-24740, “Apparatus for coating liquid on substrate”. This coating apparatus will be described below.

FIG. 14 is a front view showing a schematic configuration of a coating apparatus, and FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in the coating apparatus of FIG.

In FIG. 14 and FIG. 15, this coating apparatus includes a stage 101 for holding a substrate 100 in a vertical (vertical) direction and a coating liquid 10 on a coating surface of the substrate 100.
Nozzle member 103 having a coating liquid tank for supplying the nozzle 2 therein
And a moving means (not shown) for linearly moving the nozzle member 103 downward along the substrate 100. This nozzle member 103 is closed at both ends,
00 is a tubular shape extending in the width direction of the substrate 100.
A slit-shaped coating solution outflow passage 105 penetrating from the inside of the tank to the outside is formed in the width direction of the front wall portion 104 facing the surface to be coated. Further, a front end surface 106 of the front wall portion 104 facing the coated surface of the substrate 100 is disposed so as to be in non-contact with and close to the coated surface of the substrate 100. It is located below the outlet and above the opposite inlet and has its upper end 106
Assuming that b extends the gap 107 between the coated surface of the substrate 100 and the front end face 106 infinitely upward, the coating liquid flowing into the gap 107 through the coating liquid outflow path 105 is at least a capillary. It is located between the reaching height position when ascending due to a phenomenon or the like and the exit of the coating liquid outflow passage 105.

With the above configuration, the coating liquid is poured into the coating liquid tank to a height between the entrance of the coating liquid outflow passage 105 and the lower end 106a of the front end surface 106, and the coating liquid tank is opened to the atmosphere. The coating liquid 102 supplied into the inside flows out of the tank through a coating liquid outflow path 105 at least by a capillary phenomenon, and is formed between the coating surface of the substrate 100 and the front end surface 106 held in the vertical posture by the stage 101. Gap 1 between
07.

The coating liquid that has flowed into the gap 107 moves through the gap 107 to the front end surface 106 due to capillary action or the like.
To the lower end 106a of the front end surface 106.
It does not flow down from 06a. The upward flow of the coating liquid flowing into the gap 107 rises in the gap 107 to the upper end 106b of the front end face 106 due to a capillary phenomenon or the like, but is further restricted by the upper end 106b of the front end face 106. Does not rise. Thus, the substrate 10
In the gap 107 between the surface to be coated and the front end surface 106,
A band-like liquid pool of the coating liquid extending in the width direction of the substrate 100 is formed.

Further, in the state where the liquid pool of the coating liquid is formed, the gap 107 between the coated surface of the substrate 100 and the front end surface 106 is maintained, and the vertical direction of the substrate 100 (the width direction of the substrate 100) is maintained. Nozzle member 1 in the vertical direction a)
03 and the substrate 100 are relatively linearly moved.
0 is to be coated with the coating liquid. At this time, the gap 107 between the coated surface of the substrate 100 and the front end surface 106
Is consumed as it is applied to the surface to be coated of the substrate 100, but due to the atmospheric pressure and the capillary phenomenon applied to the application liquid in the application liquid tank of the nozzle member 103 opened to the atmosphere, A coating liquid having substantially the same consumption amount flows from the coating liquid tank through the coating liquid outflow passage 105 to the gap 1.
07. Therefore, the amount of the coating liquid in the gap 107 at the time of coating is always kept substantially constant.
The coating liquid is continuously applied to the substrate 100 to have a substantially uniform film thickness.

By supplying the coating liquid from the coating liquid tank by capillary action or the like, the gap 107 between the coated surface of the substrate 100 and the front end surface 106 is supplied with the coating.
It has been proposed to keep the amount of liquid pool in the chamber constant so as to make the coating film thickness constant. However, there is a problem that the coating film thickness becomes thin near the start of coating of the coating liquid. Was.

In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-141463, which has attempted to solve the problem of thinning in the vicinity of the coating start region, the thinning is caused by the meniscus curve of the coating liquid formed between the substrate and the nozzle member. Considering the delay of the movement, the movement speed of the meniscus curve is detected, and the nozzle movement speed is increased to maintain this at a steady speed.
Means for controlling the pressure in the tank is provided. However, according to the research of the present inventor, in such a configuration, although thinning at the start of coating is reduced, it is still not enough to control the film thickness at a position near the start of coating to a target film thickness. In addition, there was a problem that the thickness of the applied film was still small near the start of the application.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a coating apparatus which can surely prevent thinning in the vicinity of the start of coating and can achieve a constant film thickness.

[0014]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A coating apparatus of the present invention comprises a nozzle means capable of supplying a coating liquid and a standing substrate to be coated, which are relatively moved along a surface to be coated, while applying a coating liquid by a capillary phenomenon. In a coating apparatus for supplying a coating liquid pumped from a tank from the nozzle means and applying the coating liquid to the surface to be coated of the substrate, the nozzle means is controlled so that the coating film thickness becomes constant in accordance with thinning near the start of coating. Control means for changing at least one of a relative moving speed between the substrate and the substrate to be coated, a gap dimension between the nozzle means and the substrate to be coated, and a liquid level in the coating liquid tank. It is assumed that.

More specifically, when the gap size is controlled to have a constant film thickness even near the start of coating, preferably, the coating apparatus of the present invention is arranged such that the coating surface of the erected substrate is In a coating apparatus that applies a coating liquid pumped up from a coating liquid tank by a capillary phenomenon, a coating liquid tank capable of storing the coating liquid, one end of which is connected to the coating liquid tank, and the other end of which is connected to an external outlet, are inclined. Nozzle means provided with a coating liquid outflow passage extending upward on the front wall portion, moving means for relatively moving the nozzle means and the substrate along the surface to be coated, and moving or approaching the nozzle means and the surface to be coated of the substrate. Gap variable means for moving so as to be separated, and gap variable so as to vary the gap dimension between the nozzle means and the surface to be coated of the substrate in order to keep the coating film thickness constant according to thinning near the start of coating. When you control the means To, and is characterized in that a control means for controlling the moving means so as to relatively move along the coated surface of the nozzle unit and the substrate. More specifically, when the relative movement speed is controlled to have a constant film thickness even near the start of coating, preferably, the coating apparatus of the present invention provides a capillarity phenomenon for the coating surface of the erected substrate. In a coating apparatus that applies the coating liquid pumped up from the coating liquid tank, a coating liquid tank capable of storing the coating liquid, one end of which is connected to the coating liquid tank, and the other end of which is connected to the external outlet, and the diagonally upward. Nozzle means having an extending coating liquid outflow passage disposed on the front wall portion, moving means for relatively moving the nozzle means and the substrate along the surface to be coated, and coating film thickness in accordance with thinning near the start of coating. And control means for varying the relative moving speed of the moving means so that the distance becomes constant. More specifically, when the liquid level in the coating liquid tank is controlled to have a constant film thickness even near the start of coating, preferably, the coating apparatus of the present invention is provided with a coating surface of a standing substrate. In contrast, in a coating apparatus that applies a coating liquid pumped up from a coating liquid tank by capillary action, a coating liquid tank capable of storing the coating liquid, and one end connected to the coating liquid tank and the other end connected to an external outlet. A nozzle means provided on a front wall portion with a coating liquid outflow passage extending obliquely upwardly, a moving means for relatively moving the nozzle means and the substrate along the surface to be coated, and a liquid level in the coating liquid tank Liquid level height detecting means for detecting the liquid level, liquid level height changing means for varying the liquid level of the coating liquid tank, and the coating film thickness being constant in accordance with thinning near the start of coating. And controlling the liquid level height changing means based on the liquid level detected by the liquid level detecting means. Both is characterized in that a control means for controlling the moving means so as to relatively move along the coated surface of the nozzle unit and the substrate. In the above case, the coating liquid tank may be inside the nozzle means or outside.

That is, in order to equalize the vicinity of the start of coating, when the stopped nozzle means starts to move relative to the substrate simultaneously with the start of coating, the amount of the coating liquid consumed on the substrate is reduced. It is desired that the amount of the coating liquid supplied from the coating liquid tank through the slit-shaped coating liquid outflow path is equal.However, as a result of detailed research, This is because it takes a long time for the coating liquid that has stopped in the slit-shaped coating liquid outflow path to move and reach a steady speed because the outflow resistance flowing in the coating liquid outflow path is considerably large. I noticed that. In other words, in the vicinity of the start of coating, the amount of coating liquid flowing out through the slit-shaped coating liquid outflow path is smaller than in the steady state, so that the coating film thickness to be coated becomes thinner. Factor was found.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the film becomes thicker as the gap dimension between the nozzle means and the substrate becomes smaller, and the film becomes thicker as the relative movement speed between the nozzle means and the surface to be coated of the substrate becomes faster.
By using the coating characteristic that the film thickness increases as the liquid level in the coating liquid tank increases, the thinning near the start of coating is canceled out, and the coating thickness near the start of coating is made constant to a predetermined film thickness. . That is, in the vicinity of the coating start position, the gap size is reduced, the relative movement speed is increased, or the coating liquid tank is stopped by the poor movement of the coating liquid stopped in the slit-shaped coating liquid outflow passage. The amount of the coating liquid that is applied to the substrate and consumed by increasing the liquid level inside, and the amount of the coating liquid that is supplied from the coating liquid tank through the slit-shaped coating liquid outflow path And are equal. Accordingly, a desired film thickness can be obtained from the coating start position, and the conventional thinning near the start of coating can be prevented. In this case as well, it takes some time for the coating liquid that has stopped in the slit-shaped coating liquid outflow path to start moving and reach a steady speed, but in the present invention, until the steady speed is reached, If the operation of reaching the steady speed is completed within the time required to move the meniscus curve, which affects the film thickness, a desired film thickness can be obtained from the application start position.

Next, more specifically, the gap size,
When a plurality of control items among the control items of the relative movement speed and the liquid level of the coating liquid are controlled to have a constant film thickness in the vicinity of the start of coating, which has conventionally been reduced in thickness, preferably the present invention The coating apparatus is a coating apparatus that applies a coating liquid pumped up from a coating liquid tank by a capillary phenomenon to a coating surface of an erected substrate. A nozzle means provided on the front wall with a coating liquid outflow path extending obliquely upward with one end communicating with the external outlet and moving the nozzle means and the substrate relatively along the surface to be coated. Moving means, a nozzle means and a gap variable means for moving the coated surface of the substrate so as to approach or separate, a liquid level height detecting means for detecting a liquid level in the coating liquid tank, A liquid level height changing means for changing the liquid level; In accordance with the thinning near the start, the relative movement speed by the moving means, the gap dimension between the nozzle means and the surface to be coated on the substrate, and the liquid detected by the liquid level height detecting means to keep the coating film thickness constant. And control means for controlling each means so as to vary a plurality of control items among the control items of the liquid surface height based on the surface height. Also in the above case, the coating liquid tank may be located outside or inside the nozzle means.

With this configuration, the above-described gap size,
When a plurality of control items of the relative movement speed and the liquid level of the coating liquid are used simultaneously, a more stable thinning prevention effect near the start of coating can be obtained.

Further, the control means in the present invention makes the coating film thickness constant according to the magnitude of the outflow resistance when the coating solution starts moving in the coating solution outflow path, which is the cause of the fluctuation of the coating film thickness. Control as follows.

[0021]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of a coating apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments.

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 shows Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a coating apparatus in FIG.

In FIG. 1, a substrate 2 such as a glass substrate is adsorbed onto a vertical portion of a gantry 1 having a wall-like shape, with the surface to be coated facing outward, with the pedestal 2 facing up. A suction stage 3 for holding the posture is provided. The suction stage 3 is provided with a plurality of elongated concave portions 3a in which suction cups (not shown) as suction members capable of being sucked and retracted are provided at appropriate positions corresponding to the outer peripheral portion of each substrate 2 of a size to be used. The sucker (not shown) is attracted to the substrate 2 by suction, and the sucker (not shown) is drawn into and stored in a predetermined position in the recess 3a to hold the substrate 2. In addition, a suction cup (not shown) as a suction member is provided on the substrate 2.
The reason why the central part of the substrate 2 is not held is that the central part of the substrate 2 is a part where important circuits and the like are arranged, and the temperature is lowered or raised by vacuum suction and release by a suction cup (not shown), and uneven coating is caused. This is to prevent the occurrence of Therefore, the suction cup (not shown) also has an elongated suction cup shape similar to the elongated recess 3a so as to suck only the outer peripheral portion of the substrate 2. Here, the case where the suction stage 3 holds the substrate 2 by suction using a suction cup (not shown) has been described, but the structure is such that the upper, lower, left, and right sides of the substrate 2 are hooked and held by claw-shaped members. Needless to say, it is possible.

Also, four idle gears 4 are respectively rotatably supported by two bearings 5 on each of four corners at upper and lower corners at both ends in the width direction on the front side and the back side of the gantry 1. It has been arranged. The upper ends of the base member 7 are connected to one end of each of the left and right steel belts 6 respectively suspended on the two sets of left and right idle gears 4 located on the upper side. The other ends of the steel belt 6 are connected to upper ends of both ends of the balance weight 8, respectively. Further, lower ends of both ends of a base member 7 are connected to one end of each of the left and right steel belts 6 respectively suspended on two sets of left and right idle gears 4 located at the lower part. The lower ends of the balance weights 8 are respectively connected to the other ends of the steel belts 6 so that the base member 7 is horizontally held on the front side of the gantry 1 and the balance weight 8 is horizontally held on the back side of the gantry 1. While being able to move up and down, each steel belt 6
But two in the vertical direction at both ends in the width direction of the gantry 1.
It is wound via each idle gear 4 of the set. At the center of the base member 7, there is provided a nozzle unit 9 having a width of the substrate 2 and a nozzle unit 10 capable of discharging a coating liquid from the nozzle unit 9. When the base member 7 and the nozzle unit 10 are balanced with the balance weight 8, the gantry 1 is
Are horizontally held between both ends in the width direction of the front and back sides.

The stators 12 of the vertical linear motors 11 are respectively provided at both ends on the front surface side of the gantry 1.
The left and right linear motors 11 are configured to linearly move up and down both ends of the base member 7 on which the nozzle unit 10 is mounted along the respective stators 12 by driving thereof. . The linear motors 11 as the moving means are provided at both ends of the base member 7 and inside each of the steel belts 6 along the respective steel belts 6 provided in the vertical direction, respectively. As shown in the drawing, a stator 12 having a base portion 14 between rail portions 13 at both ends in the width direction, and stators 12 respectively disposed on respective side walls on both sides of both end portions of the base member 7, A slider member 15 slidable on each stator 12 is provided. This slider member 15
Are disposed between the linear guide portions 16 and fitted to the rail portions 13 on both sides in the width direction thereof and guided in the vertical direction.
And a connector 18 connected to both ends of a winding (not shown) of the magnetic circuit unit 17 that generates a magnetic force by excitation by a winding (not shown). The slider member 15 is guided by the rails 13 of the stator 12 by the linear guides 16 and can move up and down by the magnetic force generated by the excitation of the magnetic circuit section 17. This slider member 15 is used for the nozzle unit 1.
The slider member 15 is fixed to the rear side of both ends of the base member 7 on which the base member 7 is mounted.

Here, the both ends of the base member 7 on which the nozzle unit 10 is mounted are moved up and down along each stator 12, but the nozzle unit 10 and the substrate 2 are moved along the surface to be coated. The nozzle unit 10 may be fixed and the substrate 2 may be moved up and down together with the suction stage 3 by a moving means such as a linear motor or a ball screw. As described above, moving the suction stage 3 up and down causes less vibration than moving the nozzle unit 10, and from the viewpoint of preventing uneven coating due to the vibration, the suction stage 3 is moved.
However, if the suction stage 3 is moved up and down, the height of the apparatus is doubled, and the ceiling height of the clean room is limited, so that the installation of the apparatus becomes difficult.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the nozzle unit 10 has a nozzle member 19 serving as a nozzle means capable of discharging a coating liquid from a horizontally elongated nozzle opening 9 opened opposite to the coating surface of the substrate 2. Between the nozzle opening 9 of the nozzle member 19 and the lower position N for cleaning, which is indicated by a dotted line, between the position M facing the surface to be coated of the substrate 2 and the nozzle member 19 with its longitudinal direction as a rotation axis. The nozzle member 19 is moved toward or away from the substrate 2 in order to change the horizontal gap (gap) between the nozzle member rotating mechanism 20 to be moved and the nozzle port 9 of the nozzle member 19 and the surface to be coated of the substrate 2. And a variable gap mechanism 21 that is driven to be freely separated.
The nozzle unit 10 is configured to be replaceable with a nozzle member 19 having a width dimension matching the size of the substrate 2 to be coated.

FIG. 4A schematically shows the nozzle member 19a, and FIG. 4B schematically shows another type of nozzle member 19b. A coating liquid tank 23 for storing a coating liquid 22 is provided in each of the nozzle members 19a and 19b. The coating liquid tank 23 is closed at both ends and extends in the horizontal direction extending in the width direction of the substrate 2. It is configured in an elongated tubular shape. The supply tube 24 shown in FIG. 1 for supplying the coating liquid 22 is connected to the center of the coating liquid tank 23, and the pump 43 mounted on the base member 7 supplies the coating liquid from outside via the supply tube 24. Coating liquid tank 23
It can be supplied inside. Further, a slit 2 is formed as a coating liquid outflow passage which penetrates obliquely upward from the inside of the coating liquid tank 23 to the outside to the front wall 25 facing the coating surface 2a of the substrate 2.
6 are formed in the width direction. Lower end 2 of front end face 27
7 a is formed so as to be located at a height between the nozzle port 9 which is the outlet of the slit 26 and the opening into the coating liquid tank 23 on the opposite side. Further, the nozzle members 19a, 1
The coating liquid tank 23 of FIG. 9b communicates with the inside of the coating liquid tank 23 above the liquid surface of the coating liquid stored therein to pressurize, depressurize, or open the inside to the atmosphere. A pressure setting mechanism (not shown) is connected. The slit 26 is connected between the lower part of the coating solution tank 23 and the nozzle port 9 in a state of being linearly inclined upward and to the left, and the lower end of the slit 26 opens into the coating solution tank 23,
The upper end forms a horizontally elongated nozzle opening 9. Further, the front end surface 27 of the front wall portion 25 facing the application surface 2a of the substrate 2 is not in contact with the application surface 2a of the substrate 2 and has a predetermined gap 2 so that a liquid pool of the application liquid can be formed.
8 so as to be close to each other.

Further, in the nozzle member 19a shown in FIG. 4 (a), the coating solution tank 2 is located within a height range B between the lower end 27a of the front end face 27 and the upper end of the slit 26 opening into the coating solution tank 23.
The liquid level is set so that the coating liquid level in 3 is positioned, and the upper end 27b of the front end surface 27 extends the gap 28 between the coated surface 2a of the substrate 2 and the front end surface 27 infinitely upward. If it is assumed that the coating liquid 22 has flowed into the gap 28, the coating liquid 22 is located at least between the reaching height position at which the coating liquid 22 can rise due to capillary action and the like and the nozzle port 9 which is the exit of the slit 26.

Further, another type of nozzle member 1 shown in FIG.
In 9b, the liquid level is set so that the coating liquid level in the coating liquid tank 23 is located within a height range B between the lower end 27a of the front end face 27 and the upper end of the opening of the slit 26 into the coating liquid tank 23, The front end upper portion 29 of the front end surface 27 from the nozzle port 9 is inclined so as to open upward. In other words, the gap 30 between the coated surface 2a of the substrate 2 and the upper front end surface 29 is widened upward, and the coating liquid 22 flows through the gap 30 through the slit 26 and the nozzle port 9 due to a capillary phenomenon or the like. It has reached the rising liquid level.

Comparing the features of the nozzle members 19a and 19b, the upper end 27b of the front end face 27 is formed at a position lower than the reaching height position where the coating liquid 22 rises due to the capillary phenomenon or the like in the nozzle member 19a. Because
The rising force of the coating liquid 22 due to a capillary phenomenon is inherent, and there is an advantage that the time from the start of coating the coating liquid 22 to the predetermined film thickness reaches earlier than in the case of the nozzle member 19b. That is, in the nozzle member 19a, the thin film thickness range generated at the beginning of the application of the coating liquid 22 depends on the nozzle member 1
There is an advantage that it is narrower than in the case of 9b.

Further, in the nozzle member 19a, the front end face 27 is always wet with the coating liquid 22, so that the coating liquid 22 does not dry, and the cause of the contamination caused by the drying can be suppressed. On the other hand, the nozzle member 1
In 9b, the reaching height position at which the liquid surface of the coating liquid 22 rises along the inclined surface of the front end surface upper portion 29 by capillary action or the like,
At the beginning and end of coating, the liquid level in the tank is not constant due to the difference in the amount of liquid consumed at the beginning and end of coating. Contamination occurs when the inclined surface of the upper surface 29 dries, and particles generated therefrom are mixed into the application liquid 22 and applied, and the quality of the applied film may be deteriorated. In addition, the nozzle member 19b similarly applies to the case where the application surface 2a of another substrate 2 is applied next.
The reaching height position at which the liquid surface of the coating liquid 22 rises on the inclined surface of the front end surface upper portion 29 by capillary action or the like is higher than that of the previous coating by the distance between the application surface 2a of the substrate 2 and the front end surface upper portion 29. The gap 30 is not fixed because it is widened or narrowed. Therefore, in the gap portion where the gap 30 is widened, the liquid level reaching height position is reduced,
The inclined surface of the front end surface upper portion 29 which has been wet with the coating liquid 22 is dried. Contamination occurs in the dried portion, and particles due to the contamination are mixed in the coating liquid 22 and applied, and there is a possibility that the quality of the coating film is reduced.

Further, in the nozzle member 19a, the film thickness of the coating liquid 22 to be applied changes depending on the size of the gap 28 between the coating surface 2a of the substrate 2 and the front end surface 27. However, there is a gap 28 between the elongated nozzle opening 9 and the coating surface 2a of the substrate 2 at both ends of the elongated nozzle opening 9 and at a coating start position and a coating end position. In this case, the difference in the gap 28 is reflected as a difference in the coating film thickness, and the substrate 2
There is a possibility that the coating liquid 22 having a uniform film thickness cannot be applied to the surface 2a to be coated. On the other hand, in the nozzle member 19b, the thickness of the substrate 2 is not constant,
The substrate 2 is warped or the nozzle member 19b is inclined in the gap 30 between the surface to be coated 2a and the elongated nozzle port 9 at both end positions of the elongated nozzle port 9 and at the coating start position and the coating end position. In the case where there is a gap difference at the position, the gap 30 extends upward, so that the gap difference at both ends of the elongated nozzle port 9 is absorbed, and the difference in the coating film thickness hardly occurs. The coating liquid 22 having a uniform film thickness can be applied to the surface 2a to be coated.
In other words, the smaller the size of the gap 30, the thicker the coating film thickness. In this case, the height of the coating liquid 22 reaching the liquid level reaching the gap 30 is also increased, and the liquid level on the inclined surface of the front end face 29 is increased. As the surface rises, the gap size at the liquid surface position also increases, and the gap difference between both ends of the elongated nozzle port 9 is absorbed. Since the gap size at the rising liquid surface position affects the coating film thickness, the smaller the size of the gap 30, the thicker the coating film thickness. However, the gap size at the rising liquid surface position becomes wider and the coating film thickness becomes thinner. As a result, a difference in the coating film thickness hardly occurs, and the coating liquid 22 having a more uniform film thickness can be applied to the coating surface 2a of the substrate 2.

On the other hand, the nozzle member rotating mechanism 20 shown in FIG.
Is controlled by a solenoid valve (not shown) to
An air cylinder 32 that moves the cylinder between an extended position and a contracted position is pivotally supported in a direction indicated by an arrow C so as to be rotatable around a pin 32a at a front portion of the cylinder. The rod end portion 31 is rotatably pin-connected to one end of the arm member 33 to form a link mechanism. The other end of the arm member 33 is perpendicular to the drive shaft 34 in the longitudinal direction. Is fixed so as to be able to transmit rotational power from the motor. The drive shaft 34 is fixed by penetrating a support member 35a that supports a base member 35 extending in the horizontal direction with a predetermined width from below in a horizontal direction. Above the front edge of the base member 35, the longitudinal direction of the nozzle member 19 coincides with the axial direction of the drive shaft 34 in a state where the nozzle port 9 faces the coating surface 2 a of the substrate 2. It is installed so that it is in the direction. FIG. 3 shows a case where the rod tip 31 of the air cylinder 32 is extended.
The nozzle opening 9 of 9 is in a state where it can be applied facing the application surface 2 a of the substrate 2. In contrast, the air cylinder 32
When the rod tip 31 of the nozzle member is shortened,
The nozzle port 9 of 9 faces downward as indicated by a two-dot chain line, and the nozzle member 19 is in a state where it can be cleaned by a nozzle cleaning means (not shown). During this rod shortening, the pin 32
The rod tip 31 is shortened while the air cylinder 32 swings in the direction of the arrow C about the rotation center a.

The variable gap mechanism 21 includes a contact / separation motor 36 such as a stepping motor or a servomotor.
The contact / separation motor 3 is supported by front and rear bearing portions 37 and 38.
6, a ball screw 40 connected to the rotating shaft via a connecting portion 39, and a moving member 41 screwed to the ball screw 40.
The upper end of the moving member 41 is fixed on the lower surface and the nozzle member rotating mechanism 20 is supported so that the front end surface 27 of the nozzle member 19 approaches or separates from the application surface 2 a of the substrate 2. The movable member 41 is freely movable back and forth with the nozzle member 19 and the nozzle member rotating mechanism 20 placed thereon by the rotation of the ball screw 40 by the contact / separation motor 36. Is configured.

In this case, the gap variable mechanism 21 adjusts the gap size within a variation range of the thickness of the substrate 2 as one central portion.
In addition to variations in the thickness of the base member 7, when the taper is present in the width direction of the substrate 2 and there is a difference in the thickness dimension between the left and right ends, the gap variable mechanism 21 is attached to the left and right portions of the base member 7. By arranging the nozzle units, the gap size can be adjusted independently for the left and right sides, and the nozzle members 19 that are long on the left and right sides of the nozzle unit 10 are arranged in parallel in accordance with the widthwise taper due to the difference in thickness at both ends of the width of the substrate 2. It can also be configured so that it can be inclined as an equal gap size at the left and right positions.

FIG. 5A is a diagram showing the relationship between the gap amount between the substrate and the nozzle member and the coating film thickness.

As shown in FIG. 5A, the coating film thickness changes according to a gap (gap amount) 28 between the coating surface 2a of the substrate 2 and the front end surface 27 of the nozzle member 19 having the nozzle port 9. The larger the gap amount, the thinner the applied film thickness.

In FIG. 5A, the characteristic that the coating film thickness changes in accordance with the gap amount, that is, the characteristic of thinning near the start of coating is constant at a desired coating film thickness even near the coating start position. Can be corrected. In other words, changing the gap amount in the vicinity of the coating start position in accordance with the thinning, that is, if the gap amount is constant, the coating thickness changes from a thin film state at the start of coating to a desired coating film thickness. A change in the film thickness state is predicted, and the gap amount at the start of coating is set small according to the film thickness difference between the predicted thin film state and the desired coating film thickness. By increasing the gap amount during coating to control the thinner coating film thickness near the coating start position, it is possible to keep the desired coating film thickness constant near the coating start position. Becomes Also in this case, it takes some time for the coating liquid stopped in the slit 26 to start moving and reach a steady speed, but in the present invention, the coating liquid starts moving in this coating liquid outflow passage. The desired film thickness can be obtained from the coating start position by reducing the gap amount so as to compensate for the thinning due to the outflow resistance at that time.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a schematic control configuration of the coating apparatus of FIG.

In FIG. 6, a numeric keypad for inputting numbers, a power key for inputting power on / off, an application start key, and a speed setting key for manually setting a reference value of the driving speed of the linear motor 11 are used as the operation unit 52 in FIG. Also, a gap setting key for driving the contact / separation motor 36 to adjust the gap 28 or the gap 30 between the coating surface 2a of the substrate 2 and the nozzle port 9, and various settings for setting the substrate size, the coating solution viscosity, the coating film thickness, and the like. It consists of setting keys. The control unit 53 to which the operation unit 52 is connected is connected to the ROM 54 and the RAM 55, and transmits control data used in each control program registered in the ROM 54 to the operation unit 52.
Can be written into the RAM 55 via the control unit 53.

A control unit 53 to which the operation unit 52, the ROM 54, and the RAM 55 are connected is connected to the linear motor 11 via a linear motor drive circuit 56, and the linear motor drive control registered in the ROM 54 is controlled. Based on the program and control data input from the operation unit 52 and corresponding to the linear motor drive control program,
The control unit 53 transmits the control signal to the linear motor drive circuit 5.
6, the linear motor drive circuit 56 drives the linear motor 11 to move the nozzle unit 10 on the base member 7 to a predetermined vertical position with respect to the coating surface 2a of the substrate 2. The control unit 53 receives a linear motor drive control program registered in the ROM 54, inputs from various setting keys such as a substrate size, a coating liquid viscosity, and a coating film thickness, and inputs a coating start key of the operation unit 52. On the basis of the control data corresponding to the linear motor drive control program, the linear motor 11 is driven via the linear motor drive circuit 56 to control the nozzles to run at a predetermined speed so that the nozzles can be applied.

Further, the operation unit 52 and the ROM 54
The control unit 53 to which the RAM 55 is connected is connected to the approach / separation motor 36 via the approach / separation motor drive circuit 57, and receives the approach / separation motor drive control program registered in the ROM 54 and the input from the operation unit 52. The control unit 53 outputs a control signal to the approach / separation motor drive circuit 57 based on control data corresponding to the approach / separation motor drive control program, and the approach / separation motor drive circuit 57 drives the approach / separation motor 36. The nozzle unit 10 on the base member 7 can be controlled to move freely to a predetermined gap position by approaching or separating from the coating surface 2a of the substrate 2. As the control data, the magnitude of the outflow resistance when the coating liquid starts moving in the coating liquid outflow path at the start of coating based on the viscosity of the coating liquid to be applied, the coating speed, the target coating film thickness, etc. The experimental data of whether or not the thin film state is obtained is obtained from the operation unit 52.
Is preliminarily registered in the RAM 55 via the control unit 53, and the control unit 53 performs control based on the contact / separation motor drive control program so as to increase the thickness by the thickness difference between the registered thin film data and the desired film thickness. The contact / separation motor 36 is driven via a contact / separation motor drive circuit 57 at a target gap position between the substrate 2 and the nozzle member 19. In this way, the control unit 53 applies the nozzle member 19 to the substrate 2 so that the thin film in the vicinity of the start of coating is constant at a desired target film thickness. Coating is started with the gap close to the gap, then the gap is gradually widened, and the coating liquid starts moving in the coating liquid outflow passage and the outflow speed becomes a steady state. The configuration is such that the gap is controlled up to the size of the gap at the time.

FIG. 7 shows the relationship between the moving distance at the start of the coating and the film thickness. FIG.

In FIG. 7A, relative moving speeds v1 to v3 of the substrate 2 and the nozzle member 19 along the coating surface 2a.
Satisfies v1 <v2 <v3, and the thin film region becomes wider as the relative movement speed increases. For example, at the relative moving speed v1, the moving distance is up to p1, at the relative moving speed v2, the moving distance is up to p2, and at the relative moving speed v3, the moving distance is up to p3. It is a steady region with a constant film thickness. Therefore, the section to be thinned at the start of coating becomes shorter as the relative movement speed is lower. Therefore, when the coating film thickness is increased, the coating liquid tank 2 is kept in a state where the relative movement speed is low.
The control of other liquid application conditions such as the liquid surface height 3 and the gap size between the substrate 2 and the nozzle member 19 has less influence on the thinning near the start of the application. Controlling the relative movement speed to prevent thinning near the start of coating will be described later in a second embodiment.

In FIG. 7B, the viscosity of the coating solution is 5c.
p, 10 cp, and 15 cp are 5 cp <10 cp <15 c
p, the higher the viscosity, the wider the thin film region. For example, when the viscosity is 5 cp, the moving distance is up to p11, and when the viscosity is 10 cp, the moving distance is up to p12 and the viscosity is 15 p.
In the case of cp, it is a region where the moving distance becomes a thin film up to p13, and thereafter, it becomes a steady region with a constant film thickness according to the liquid viscosity. Therefore, the section where the film is thinned at the start of coating becomes shorter as the liquid viscosity becomes lower. Therefore, when increasing the thickness of the coating film, the coating liquid is controlled with other coating conditions such as the liquid surface height of the coating liquid tank 23 and the gap size between the substrate 2 and the nozzle member 19 while keeping the viscosity of the coating liquid low. The effect on thinning near the start of coating is smaller.

The above-described ROM 54, RAM 55, control unit 5
3. The control means is constituted by the linear motor drive circuit 56 and the contact / separation motor drive circuit 57. The control means controls the nozzle member 19 so that the coating film thickness becomes constant in accordance with the thinning of the coating start section. The contact / separation motor 36 as a gap changing means is controlled so as to change the gap dimension between the substrate 2 and the coating surface 2a of the substrate 2, and the nozzle member 19
The linear motor 11 is controlled as moving means so as to relatively move the substrate 2 along the surface to be coated 2a. That is, the control unit 53 predicts a change in the film thickness to a desired coating film thickness from the thin film state near the start of the coating and cancels the difference between the predicted thin film thickness and the desired coating film thickness. As described above, by increasing the gap amount from the reduced state to the gap amount at the time of normal application, the coating film thickness that becomes thinner near the start of coating is corrected, and the desired coating film thickness is also obtained near the start of coating. It has become.

The operation of the above configuration will be described below. Here, a description will be given of a nozzle member 19a in which a difference in the coating film thickness is likely to appear with a change in the gap dimension.

First, a substrate 2 on which a predetermined coating solution is applied
After being transported by a transport robot (not shown) or the like, the outer peripheral portion of the substrate 2 is positioned at a predetermined position in a state corresponding to the plurality of suction cups of the suction stage 3, and the coated surface of the substrate 2 faces outward. In this state, the substrate 2 is sucked by each suction cup. Furthermore, the substrate 2 is held by pulling each suction cup into a predetermined position in the concave portion 3a of the suction stage 3 and storing it.

Next, the coating solution tank 23 in the nozzle member 19a
A predetermined amount of the coating liquid 22 is supplied to the supply tube 2 at a predetermined supply speed by a pump 43 mounted on the base member 7 in FIG.
Feed via 4. The coating liquid 22 in this coating liquid tank 23
Is preferably supplied while the nozzle unit 10 is stopped. This is because if the coating liquid 22 is supplied to the coating liquid tank 23 during coating, the liquid level of the coating liquid 22 in the coating liquid tank 23 fluctuates, and a wave corresponding to the liquid level whose height changes changes in the nozzle. Mouth 9
This is because there is a possibility that the coating will propagate through the substrate and cause uneven coating.

Further, the control unit 53 together with the nozzle unit 10 moves the base member 7 together with the nozzle unit 10 to move the nozzle port 9 of the nozzle member 19a of the nozzle unit 10 upward or downward to the origin position with respect to the coating surface 2a of the substrate 2. Is moved by the linear motor 11. At this time, RO
The control unit 53 outputs a control signal to the linear motor drive circuit 56 based on the linear motor drive control program registered in the M54 and the control data, so that the linear motor drive circuit 56 drives the linear motor 11. Thus, the nozzle member 19a of the nozzle unit 10 on the base member 7 can be returned to the origin at a predetermined coating start position on the coating surface 2a of the substrate 2. The control data in this case is the registered origin data when the holding position of the substrate 2 is precise,
A predetermined height position may be input data. Further, an origin sensor (not shown) is provided at a coating start position of the coating liquid 22, and the origin sensor (not shown) detects the base member 7 at a predetermined coating start position. Linear motor drive circuit 5 to stop
The drive of the linear motor 11 may be controlled via the controller 6.

Further, the nozzle member 19a is moved by the ball screw 40 and the moving member 41 driven by the contact / separation motor 36 so as to move to the predetermined gap dimension between the coating surface 2a of the substrate 2 and the nozzle port 9 of the nozzle member 19a. Nozzle port 9
Is moved toward or away from the application surface of the substrate 2. At this time, based on the contact / separation motor drive control program registered in the ROM 54 and its control data, the control unit 53 outputs the output control signal to the contact / separation motor drive circuit 57, and the contact / separation motor drive circuit 57 By driving the contact / separation motor 36, the nozzle member 19a on the base member 7
Is moved to a predetermined proximity gap position with respect to the coating surface 2a of the substrate 2 as shown in FIG. The control data in this case is based on various coating conditions such as the viscosity of the coating liquid 22, the target coating film thickness, the coating speed, and the liquid level, and the magnitude of the outflow resistance when the coating liquid starts moving in the coating liquid outflow path. Gap data (predetermined gap position data) set and registered in consideration of compensating for the thin film near the start of coating in accordance with the above may be used, or coating may be started based on these various coating conditions. The gap data may be manually input from the operation unit 52 with reference to the experimental gap data in consideration of compensating for the thin film near the time. When the nozzle member 19a is moved to the target gap position, the pressure setting mechanism is operated to operate the coating liquid tank 23.
The coating liquid 22 is applied between the coating surface 2a of the substrate 2 and the front end surface 27 of the nozzle member 19a by a dispensing operation such as raising the internal pressure to atmospheric pressure or temporarily increasing the pressure.
Is pumped up from the inside of the coating liquid tank 23 by capillary action, and a liquid pool is formed.

Further, when the start key of the operation section 52 is operated to apply a predetermined coating film thickness on the coating surface 2a of the substrate 2, the inside of the coating liquid tank 23 is opened to the atmosphere by the pressure setting mechanism and the ROM 54 is opened. Linear motor drive control program and its control data registered in the
The control unit 53 outputs the output control signal to the linear motor drive circuit 56 based on the contact / separation motor drive control program and the control data, and the linear motor drive circuit 56 drives the linear motor 11 to drive the base member 7. The nozzle unit 10 is moved downward with respect to the coating surface 2a of the substrate 2 together with the nozzle unit 10, and a desired gap is controlled while controlling the gap in the direction of increasing the gap dimension between the substrate 2 and the nozzle member 19a based on the registered gap data. The coating is performed with a constant film thickness.

At this time, the control loop by the control unit 53 is an open loop, and the RAM 55 is controlled based on various coating conditions such as a target coating film thickness, a coating solution viscosity, and a gap size.
The gap data between the substrate 2 and the nozzle member 19a is calculated by increasing the thickness of the thin film data (experimental data) in the vicinity of the coating start position registered in the above and the desired target film thickness. The control unit 53 obtains the gap data (experimental data) registered in the RAM 55 or sets the gap data (experimental data) in the target gap position based on the predetermined gap data. The nozzle member 19a is sequentially moved by driving the contact / separation motor 36 through the intermediary. In this manner, in the coating start section from the time of starting the coating to the time when the desired film thickness is obtained, the control unit 53 moves the nozzle member 19a closer to the coating surface 2a of the substrate 2 while performing the nozzle running to perform the coating. Control is performed so as to separate from the state, and the film thickness in the coating start section is compensated to have a constant film thickness.

In this nozzle traveling, first, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 8B, the time from the proximity gap position shown in FIG. 8A to the position shown in FIG.
Nozzle member 19a up to the predetermined gap position for application shown in FIG.
The controller 53 controls the drive of the contact / separation motor 36 so as to move the nozzle member 19a so as to separate the nozzle member 19a. Thereafter, as shown in FIGS. 8C to 8E, the nozzle member 19a is moved downward to apply the same meniscus curve D to the same film thickness.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, the thin film near the start of the coating is used by using the coating characteristics that the film thickness increases as the gap dimension between the nozzle member 19 and the coating surface 2a of the substrate 2 becomes smaller. Thus, the applied film thickness in the vicinity of the start of the application can be made constant at a predetermined film thickness by canceling the components. In the application start section from the time of the application start to the desired film thickness, only the poor movement of the application liquid stopped in the slit 26,
By reducing the gap size, the reduction ratio of the liquid pool applied and consumed on the substrate 2 is increased, and the capillary action is strongly performed, so that the amount of liquid supplied from the coating liquid tank 23 through the slit 26 is increased. Therefore, a desired constant film thickness can be obtained from the coating start position, and it is possible to prevent thinning near the start of coating as in the related art.

Also, as in the conventional spin coating method, the substrate 2
Since the substrate 2 is not erected horizontally and the substrate 2 is erected, the installation space can be reduced, and the coating solution is surrounded by the centrifugal force of rotating the substrate 2 as in the conventional spin coating method. The coating liquid supplied by capillary action is applied to the substrate 2 while moving the nozzle member 19 along the surface to be coated of the substrate 2 by the linear motor 11 on the substrate 2 instead of shaking. The coating liquid can be saved on the surface to be coated.

(Embodiment 2) In the first embodiment, the substrate 2
The case where the gap between the substrate 2 and the nozzle member 19 is controlled to control the gap size between the substrate 2 and the nozzle member 19 by controlling the gap size between the substrate 2 and the nozzle member 19 is described. This is a case where the film thickness is controlled to be constant even near the start of coating.

FIG. 5B is a diagram showing the relationship between the relative moving speed between the substrate and the nozzle member and the coating film thickness.

As shown in FIG. 5B, there is a characteristic that the coating film thickness changes linearly in accordance with the coating speed which is the relative movement speed between the substrate 2 and the nozzle member 19. Accordingly, the thickness of the applied film increases accordingly. This is because, for example, the curve D of the meniscus formed in the upper end 27b of the front end face 27 in FIG. The reason for this is that when the nozzle traveling speed is slowed down (the radius of curvature is small), the film thickness becomes thin.

In FIG. 5B, the characteristic that the coating film thickness changes in accordance with the relative moving speed, that is, the characteristic of thinning near the start of coating is kept constant at the desired coating film thickness even near the start of coating. Can be corrected as follows. In other words, the relative moving speed is changed in accordance with the thinning in the coating start section from the time of starting the coating until the desired film thickness is obtained. That is, if the relative moving speed is constant, the thin film thickness near the start of the coating is applied. From this, the desired coating film thickness is obtained, but the change in the thin film thickness state is predicted, and the moving speed at the start of coating is determined according to the film thickness difference between the predicted thin film state and the desired target film thickness. After increasing the speed, the relative movement speed is reduced from the high-speed state to the normal speed, by controlling so as to correct the coating film thickness that becomes thinner near the start of coating, the desired film thickness from the time of starting this coating. It is possible to keep the desired coating film thickness constant even in the coating start section up to the point. In this case as well, it takes a certain amount of time for the coating liquid stopped in the slit 26 to start moving and reach the steady speed,
In the present invention, a desired film thickness is obtained from the coating start position by increasing the relative movement speed so as to compensate for the thinning caused by the outflow resistance when the coating liquid starts moving in the coating liquid outflow path. Is obtained.

The control configuration of the second embodiment is different from that of FIG.
ROM 54, RAM 55, control unit 53, linear motor drive circuit 56, and contact / separation motor drive circuit 57 are similar in that control means is configured. The coating surface 2 between the nozzle member 19 and the substrate 2 is adjusted so that the thinned portion of the coating start section until the coating thickness becomes small and the coating film thickness becomes constant.
The difference is that the linear motor 11 as a moving means is controlled so as to change the relative moving speed (coating speed) along the line a. In other words, if the relative movement speed is constant, the desired coating film thickness is obtained from the thin film state near the start of coating, but the control unit 53 predicts this change in film thickness, and In order to cancel the difference in film thickness between the desired film thickness and the desired film thickness, the relative movement speed is set to a high speed state and then reduced to the coating speed during normal coating, so that the film thickness from the start of coating to the desired film thickness is obtained. By correcting the thinner coating film thickness in the coating start section, a desired constant coating film thickness can be obtained even near the start of coating.

The operation of the above configuration will be described below. Here, the nozzle member 19b having the front end surface upper portion 29 of the inclined surface will be described as an example.

First, the substrate 2 on which a predetermined coating solution is applied
After being transported by a transport robot (not shown) or the like, the periphery of the substrate 2 is positioned at a predetermined position in a state corresponding to the plurality of suction cups of the suction stage 3, and each suction cup (not shown) transfers the substrate 2 The surroundings are absorbed and held. Further, a predetermined amount of the coating liquid 22 is stored in the coating liquid tank 23 in the nozzle member 19b.
Is supplied through the supply tube 24 at a predetermined supply speed by the pump 43 mounted on the base member 7 in FIG.
Further, the control means 53 controls the nozzle unit 10 to move the nozzle port 9 of the nozzle member 19b upward or downward to the origin position with respect to the surface of the substrate 2 to be coated.
At the same time, control is performed so that the base member 7 is moved by the linear motor 11. Further, the control unit 53 adjusts the coating surface of the substrate 2 and the front end surface 27 based on various coating conditions such as the viscosity of the coating liquid, the coating speed and the liquid level so that the target coating film thickness is obtained. Gap data is obtained by calculating a predetermined gap dimension with the nozzle port 9, or gap data is obtained by selecting from registered experimental data. Based on the gap data, the control unit 53 moves the nozzle member 19b toward or away from the substrate 2 via the ball screw 40 or the like by driving the contact / separation motor 36. At this time, the coating surface 2a of the substrate 2 and the nozzle member 1
Between the front end face 27b and the front end face 9b, the coating liquid is formed by capillary action by operating the pressure setting mechanism to bring the pressure in the coating liquid tank 23 to atmospheric pressure or temporarily increasing the pressure. The liquid is collected from the tank 23 to form a liquid pool.

Next, when the start key of the operation unit 52 is operated to apply the target coating film thickness on the coating surface 2a of the substrate 2, the pressure setting mechanism opens the coating liquid tank 23 to the atmosphere. At the same time, the drive of the linear motor 11 is started downward at a predetermined high speed via the control unit 53 and the linear motor drive circuit 56, and thereafter, the linear motor 11 is driven so as to gradually reduce the speed to the normal application speed. The coating is performed at a predetermined target film thickness even at a position near the start of coating on the coating surface 2a.

That is, the control loop by the control unit 53 is an open loop, and the thin film near the start of coating registered in the RAM 55 is registered based on various coating conditions such as the target coating film thickness, the viscosity of the coating liquid, and the gap size. Data (experimental data)
The substrate 2 is made thicker by the thickness difference between the substrate 2 and the desired target thickness.
The relative movement speed of the nozzle member 19b is calculated to obtain the speed data, or the relative movement speed data (experimental data) registered in the RAM 55 is stored, and the relative movement speed is controlled by the predetermined speed data. The unit 53 drives the linear motor 11 via the linear motor drive circuit 56 to move the nozzle member 19b downward according to the linear motor drive control program. In this way, in the coating start section from the coating start point to the desired film thickness, the control unit 53 controls the nozzle traveling speed to decrease from the high speed to the normal coating speed, and controls the thin film in the coating start section. Replenish to make a constant film thickness.

At this time, first, in the nozzle traveling, the liquid surface reaching distance x from the nozzle orifice 9 at the start of coating shown in FIG. 9A may increase in a steady state of coating due to a capillary phenomenon or the like. So that it is lower than the height y
The nozzle member 19b is positioned with respect to the substrate 2. When the application is started by lowering the nozzle member 19b relative to the substrate 2, the liquid level of the front end upper portion 29 of the nozzle member 19b starts to rise, and thereafter, as shown in FIG. As a result, the steady state of the application is obtained, and thus the meniscus curve D comes within a predetermined liquid surface reaching distance y from the nozzle port 9 at the time of the normal application on the front end surface upper portion 29 of the nozzle member 19b. The control unit 53 controls the drive of the linear motor 11 to move the nozzle member 19b downward so that the nozzle traveling speed is reduced from the high speed to the normal application speed. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 9 (c), the coating is applied to the same film thickness with the same meniscus curve D at the predetermined liquid surface reaching distance y while moving the nozzle member 19b downward.

FIG. 9 shows the relationship between the relative movement speed (coating speed) of the nozzle member 19b and the substrate 2 and the coating film thickness at this time.
(D). In FIG. 9D, the result of the present embodiment is indicated by a solid line, and the result of the configuration of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H08-141463 described above as a comparative example is indicated by a broken line. The scale 1 indicates a steady state value.

In the comparative example, after the start of coating, the moving speed of the nozzle member is temporarily increased from the steady speed so that the moving speed (not shown) of the meniscus curve is constant, and the moving speed of the meniscus curve is kept constant. Accordingly, the moving speed of the nozzle member is also returned to the steady speed. As a result, the coating film thickness rises relatively steeply at the beginning of coating, but even when the movement speed of the meniscus curve becomes constant and the movement speed of the nozzle member returns to the steady speed, the coating film thickness is still steady. It can be seen that the value of the state has not been reached, and the tendency to form a thin film remains. This is because even when the movement speed of the meniscus curve is in a steady state, the speed of the coating solution in the coating solution outflow path of the nozzle member has not yet reached the steady speed due to the outflow speed when the coating solution starts moving. It is. Thereafter, the speed of the coating liquid in the coating liquid outflow passage of the nozzle member gradually increases, and when the speed reaches a steady state, the coating film thickness also becomes a steady state value. It can be seen that the formation remains in a considerably wide range.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, from the start of the application, the thinning due to the outflow resistance when the application liquid starts moving in the application liquid outflow path of the nozzle member is compensated. In addition, the relative movement speed is higher than that of the comparative example. In the comparative example, even when the moving speed of the meniscus curve becomes constant and the moving speed of the nozzle member is returned to the steady speed (point L1 in FIG. 9D), the coating of the nozzle member is performed in the present embodiment. Since the speed of the coating liquid in the liquid outflow path has not reached the steady speed due to the flowing speed when the coating liquid starts moving, the coating speed is still maintained higher than the coating speed in the steady state. Therefore, in the initial stage of coating, the coating thickness continues to rise more sharply than in the comparative example and reaches the steady-state coating thickness faster than in the comparative example. Then, the position where the velocity of the coating liquid in the coating liquid outflow passage of the nozzle member reaches a steady state (L2 in FIG. 9D).
In (point), the application speed is controlled to be a steady state speed. As a result, in the present embodiment, the film thickness in the steady state is reached much faster than in the comparative example,
The range of occurrence of thinning at the start of coating is significantly reduced.

As described above, according to the second embodiment, the thin film portion near the start of the coating is compensated for by using the coating characteristic of increasing the film thickness as the relative movement speed between the nozzle member 19 and the substrate 2 increases. Thus, the coating thickness near the start of coating can be made constant at a predetermined thickness. By increasing the relative movement speed in the coating start section from the start of the coating to the desired film thickness, the amount of the coating liquid consumed on the substrate 2 is increased. Since the movement of the coating solution that has been stopped inside the film is improved, it is possible to obtain a desired constant film thickness from the coating start position, and it is possible to prevent thinning near the time of the start of coating as in the related art.

(Embodiment 3) In the first embodiment, the case where the gap size is controlled to make the film thickness constant even in the coating start section will be described. In the third embodiment, the liquid level is controlled in the application liquid tank so that the film thickness is constant even in the application start section.

FIG. 5C is a diagram showing the relationship between the liquid level in the coating liquid tank and the coating film thickness.

As shown in FIG. 5C, the coating film thickness changes according to the liquid level in the coating liquid tank. That is, the higher the liquid level in the coating liquid tank, the thicker the coating film thickness, and the lower the liquid level height, the thinner the coating film thickness.

In FIG. 5C, the characteristic in which the coating film thickness changes in accordance with the liquid surface height, and the characteristic of thinning in the coating start section from the start of coating until the desired film thickness is obtained is shown in FIG. Even at the position, correction can be made so as to be constant at a desired target film thickness. In other words, the liquid level height is changed in accordance with the thinning in the coating start section, that is, if the liquid level height is constant, the state changes from a thin film state near the start of coating to a desired target film thickness. Predicts the change in the thin film thickness state, and after increasing the liquid level at the start of coating according to the film thickness difference between the predicted thin film state and the desired target film thickness, a predetermined high By controlling the liquid level from the liquid level to the liquid level at the time of normal application to correct the coating film thickness that becomes thin in this application start section, it is also desirable in this application start section. It is possible to make the target film thickness constant.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a coating apparatus according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. Members having the same functions and effects as in FIGS. Omitted.

In FIG. 10, a liquid reservoir 61 having no gas layer is formed in a nozzle member 60 as a nozzle means capable of supplying the coating liquid 22, instead of the coating liquid tank 23. The liquid reservoir 61 is connected to the nozzle port 9 located diagonally above via a slit 62a as a coating liquid outflow passage, and one end of a coating liquid supply pipe 62b is provided below the liquid reservoir 61. Are connected. The other end of the coating liquid supply pipe 62b is connected to the bottom of an external coating liquid tank 63 capable of storing a predetermined amount of the coating liquid 22. A coating liquid supply pipe 65 is connected to an upper lid 64 of the external coating liquid tank 63.
2 can be supplied, and the flow rate of the coating liquid 22 can be adjusted by the valve 66. Further, the external coating liquid tank 63 communicates with the inside of the external coating liquid tank 63 at a portion above the liquid level of the coating liquid stored therein, and pressurizes, depressurizes, or opens the inside to the outside. Pressure setting mechanism (not shown) is connected.

The external coating liquid tank 63 contains the coating liquid 22.
Each liquid level sensor 67 including a plurality of optical sensors as liquid level height detecting means for detecting the liquid level height is sequentially arranged in the height direction. Below the external coating liquid tank 63, a tank height changing means 68 as a liquid level height changing means capable of changing the height of the external coating liquid tank 63 is provided. A control means 69 is provided between the liquid level sensor 67 and the tank height changing means 68, and the control means 69 determines a thin film amount in a coating start section from a coating start time to a desired film thickness. It is configured to control the tank height varying means 68 based on the liquid level detected by each liquid level sensor 67 as a liquid level detecting means so that the applied film thickness becomes constant by canceling. I have.

FIG. 11 is a partially exploded perspective view showing a specific structure of the tank height changing mechanism of FIG. 10, and FIG.
FIG.

11 and 12, three guide shafts 82 are erected and fixed between a lower plate 80 and an upper plate 81, and these three guide shafts 82 are respectively movable plates 83 Are guided by three guide shafts 82 between the lower plate 80 and the upper plate 81 while penetrating through the ball bushings 84 fixed thereto, and are configured to be vertically movable. In order to prevent dust from the outside, bellows 85 are provided around the respective guide shafts 82 between the upper plate 81 and the movable plate 83 so as to be freely expandable and contractable. Guide shaft 82 and linear actuator 75
A movable bellows 86 is provided between the movable member 83 and the cylindrical member 80a that covers the guide shafts 82 and the linear actuator 75 so as to expand and contract. Also, the movable plate 83
A stopper 87 is provided between the upper plate 81 and the upper plate 81 at the center of the lower surface of the movable plate 83. The linear actuator 75 is fixed upward to a fixing member 89 erected on the lower plate 80 so that the tip of the actuator section 88 of the linear actuator 75 abuts on the stopper 87. In this case, the distal end of the actuator section 88 is configured to be able to move up and down freely, and the movable plate 83 is configured to be able to move up and down as the distal end moves up and down.

A tank fixing member 91 is fixed to a side surface of the movable plate 83 via a mounting plate 90, and the tank fixing member 91 is formed in a substantially C shape. The outer peripheral portion of the external coating liquid tank 63 can be inserted into the substantially C-shaped hole 91a. After the external coating liquid tank 63 is inserted into the substantially C-shaped hole 91a, a click-type lock mechanism 92 is used. The external coating liquid tank 63 can be fixed by reducing the diameter of the substantially C-shaped hole 91a. The mounting plate 90 has a substantially C-shaped hole 91 a of the tank fixing member 91.
The two round bars 93 are fixed so as to protrude at the lower position of the hole.
When the external coating liquid tank 63 is inserted into 1a, it serves as a stopper to perform positioning in the height direction.

Further, on the lower surface side of the tank fixing member 91, three liquid level sensors 67 are disposed at predetermined intervals in the height direction via a mounting plate 94. Each liquid level sensor 67 in this case is a reflection type optical sensor, and the container of the external coating liquid tank 63 is a transparent container, and the reflectance of the light emitted from the light projecting portion of the optical sensor is the reflection of the liquid in the transparent container. The presence or absence of the liquid in the transparent container can be determined depending on whether or not the light emitted from the light projecting unit returns to the light receiving unit. Further, a coating liquid supply pipe 6 is provided on an upper lid 64 provided above the external coating liquid tank 63.
5 and a communication pipe 95 that connects the inside and the outside of the tank to each other, and the bottom of the external coating liquid tank 63 is connected to the other end of the coating liquid supply pipe 62 b having one end connected to the nozzle member 60. Are linked.

Further, the movable plate 83 is provided with respective breathing holes 96 for communicating the inside of the bellows 86 located below the movable plate 83 and the inside of each bellows 85 located above the movable plate 83, respectively. The movable plate 83 can be moved up and down smoothly. Also, a proximity sensor 97 for detecting the height position of the origin of the movable plate 83
Is provided, and the movable plate 8 by the proximity sensor 97 is provided.
By the detection of 3, the control unit 71 determines that the position is the height of the origin. Further, the tubular member 80a is provided with an inlet 98a and an outlet 98b for nitrogen gas, and a connector 99 electrically connected to the linear actuator 75. Note that the above-described tank height changing mechanism in FIG. 10 is used by being mounted on the base member 7 in FIG.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a schematic control configuration of the coating apparatus of FIG. 10. Members having the same functions and effects as those of FIG. 6 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

In FIG. 13, a control unit 71 to which the operation unit 52 is connected is connected to the ROM 72 and the RAM 73, and writes control data used in each control program registered in the ROM 72 from the operation unit 52 to the RAM 73. It is possible. The operation unit 52 and the ROM
The control unit 71 to which the RAM 72 and the RAM 73 are connected is connected to an actuator 75 as a tank height changing unit 68 via a linear actuator driving circuit 74,
A linear actuator drive control program connected to each liquid level sensor 67 and registered in the ROM 72;
Based on control data input from the operation unit 52 and corresponding to the linear actuator drive control program, based on the liquid level position of the coating liquid 22 detected by the liquid level sensor 67, the control unit 71 Output to the linear actuator drive circuit 74, and the actuator drive circuit 74 drives the linear actuator 75 to set the height position of the external coating liquid tank 63 to a constant target film thickness by replenishing the thin film near the start of coating. In consideration of this, the external coating liquid tank 63 is moved so as to be lowered from the target liquid level position to the height position during normal coating.

The control data in this case is based on various coating conditions such as the viscosity of the coating liquid 22, the target coating film thickness, the coating speed, and the gap amount, taking into account the compensation of the thin film near the start of coating. It may be set and registered liquid level data (predetermined liquid level position data), or an experiment considering compensating the thin film near the start of coating based on these various coating conditions. The liquid level height data may be manually input from the operation unit 52 with reference to the liquid level height data.

That is, based on the viscosity of the coating liquid to be coated, the coating speed and the gap size, and the target coating film thickness,
Experimental data that happens in advance in what kind of a thin film state at the time of application start, via a control unit 71 from the operation unit 52 RAM 7
3 so that the thickness is increased by the thickness difference between the registered thin film data and the desired thickness.
The linear actuator 75 is driven via the linear actuator drive circuit 74 so as to raise the external coating liquid tank 63 to the target liquid level position based on the linear actuator drive control program. In this way, the control unit 71 moves the linear actuator 75 from a predetermined extension position (the target liquid level position) during normal coating so that the thin film near the start of coating is kept at a desired target film thickness. Is controlled to contract to the length position.

The above-described ROM 54, RAM 55, control unit 5
3. Linear motor drive circuit 56, contact / separation motor drive circuit 5
7 and a linear actuator drive circuit 74 constitute a control means. The control means cancels the thin film portion in the application start section so that the applied film thickness becomes constant at the target film thickness. The linear motor 75 controls a linear actuator 75 as a liquid level changing means for changing the liquid level, and moves the nozzle member 19 and the substrate 2 relative to each other along the surface 2a.
1 is controlled. In other words, if the liquid level is constant, the desired target film thickness is obtained from the thin film state at the start of coating, but the control unit 53 predicts this change in film thickness, and In order to compensate for the difference in film thickness between the target film thickness and the desired film thickness, normal coating is performed after setting the high liquid level position in consideration of compensating the thin film portion near the start of coating to obtain a constant target film thickness. By lowering to the liquid level position at the time of coating, the thickness of the coating film that becomes thinner near the start of coating is corrected, and the desired target film thickness is also kept constant near the start of coating.

The operation of the above configuration will be described below.

First, the substrate 2 to be coated with a predetermined coating liquid
After being transferred by a transfer robot (not shown) or the like, the substrate 2 is positioned at a predetermined position in a state corresponding to a plurality of suction cups (not shown) of the suction stage 3, and the substrate 2 is moved by a suction cup (not shown). Is absorbed and held. Further, a predetermined amount of the coating liquid 22 is replenished to the external coating liquid tank 63 by the pump 43. This replenishment is performed until the liquid level sensor 67 at the uppermost position detects the liquid level.

Next, the base member 7 together with the nozzle unit 10 is moved by the linear motor 11 to move the nozzle port 9 of the nozzle member 60 of the nozzle unit 10 upward or downward to the origin position with respect to the coating surface of the substrate 2. Move linearly. Further, the nozzle member 60 is moved to and away from the substrate 2 by a motor
6 is moved so as to approach or separate via a ball screw 40 or the like.

At this time, the pressure in the external coating liquid tank 63 is set to atmospheric pressure or temporarily between the coating surface 2a of the substrate 2 and the front end surface of the nozzle member 60 by operating the pressure setting mechanism. The coating liquid 22 is pumped up from the external coating liquid tank 63 and the liquid storage part 61 by a capillary action by a dispensing operation such as increasing the pressure to form a liquid pool.
The movable plate 83 is stopped at the origin position together with the external coating liquid tank 63 by detecting the position of the movable plate 83 by the proximity sensor 97, and the liquid surface height position of the coating liquid 22 in the external coating liquid tank 63 is predetermined. Origin position.

Further, when the start key of the operation section 52 is operated in order to apply a predetermined coating film thickness on the coating surface 2a of the substrate 2, the inside of the external coating liquid tank 63 is opened to the atmosphere by the pressure setting mechanism. The controller 71 further moves the linear motor 11 downward through the linear motor drive circuit 56,
While being driven at a predetermined application speed according to the gap size, the control unit 71 causes the actuator unit 88 of the linear actuator 75 to protrude upward to raise the movable plate 83 and move to a predetermined high liquid level position. By lowering the external coating liquid tank 63 from the position where the external coating liquid tank 63 is raised to the liquid level position at the time of the normal coating, the coating liquid is uniformly applied to the coating surface 2a of the substrate 2 at a predetermined target film thickness from the start of the coating. Is performed.

At this time, the control loop by the control unit 53 is an open loop, and based on various coating conditions such as a target coating film thickness, a viscosity of the coating solution, a gap size, and a relative moving speed (coating speed). The height of the liquid in the external coating liquid tank 63 is calculated by increasing the liquid level in the external coating liquid tank 63 so as to increase the thickness by the difference between the thin film data (experimental data) at the start of coating registered in the RAM 55 and the desired higher film thickness. Or have the liquid level height data (experimental data) registered in the RAM 55, and at a predetermined high position of the external coating liquid tank 63 based on the height data, the control unit 53 drives the linear actuator. The linear actuator 75 is driven via the linear actuator drive circuit 74 by the control program to cause the actuator section 88 to protrude upward and raise the movable plate 83. Rutotomoni, so that the lift the external coating solution tank 63. In this manner, in the coating start section from the time of starting the coating until the desired film thickness is reached, the control unit 5
3 is a coating start section in which the nozzle is moved to perform coating while controlling the height of the external coating liquid tank 63 from the above-mentioned high position to the position for normal coating. To make a desired constant film thickness.

As described above, according to the third embodiment, the thin film portion in the coating start section is compensated for by using the coating characteristics in which the film thickness increases as the liquid level in the external coating liquid tank 63 increases. Thus, the applied film thickness in the application start section can be made constant at a predetermined film thickness. In this application start section, the liquid surface height in the external coating liquid tank 63 is increased by an amount corresponding to the poor movement of the coating liquid stopped in the slit 26, so that the coating liquid passes through the slit 26 from the coating liquid tank 23. Since the supplied liquid amount can be increased, a desired constant film thickness can be obtained from the coating start position, and the conventional thinning in the coating start section can be prevented. In addition, the uniformity of the applied film thickness is better in the thinning prevention control by the liquid level according to the third embodiment than in the first embodiment.

Therefore, according to the first to third embodiments, since the film thickness can be controlled as described above, the film thickness uniformity in the vicinity of the coating start portion, which was conventionally incomplete, can be further improved. Can be improved.

In addition, it is possible to perform high-speed coating, which conventionally cannot be adopted because the region where the film thickness is non-uniform becomes long and the thin film region enters the effective region of the substrate. As a result, the throughput of the substrate is increased because the coating time is reduced.

Furthermore, it has become possible to use a high-viscosity coating solution which could not be adopted because a region where the film thickness is not uniform conventionally becomes long and a thin film region enters the effective region of the substrate. it can. As a result, the degree of freedom with respect to the use of the coating liquid is improved, and the film thickness that can be formed by coating can be widened.

In the first and second embodiments, the coating liquid tank 23 is provided inside the nozzle member 19, but an external coating liquid tank may be provided outside the nozzle member 19. In this case, maintenance can be easily performed with an external coating liquid tank. In the third embodiment, the external coating liquid tank 63 is provided outside the nozzle member 60.
However, an internal coating liquid tank may be provided in the nozzle member 60. In this case, a float is provided in the internal coating liquid tank, and a float moving means for moving the float up and down is provided, and the float is submerged in the coating liquid by the float moving means to raise the liquid level, or The float can be raised outside the coating liquid to lower the liquid level.
In other words, the float moving means is controlled by the control means 71 to replenish the thin film in the vicinity of the start of coating with the liquid level height detected by the liquid level sensor 67 as a reference so as to achieve a constant target film thickness. Alternatively, the float may be submerged in the coating liquid or the float may be taken out of the coating liquid to control the liquid level.

In the first embodiment, the case where the gap size is controlled to make the film thickness constant even in the coating start section will be described. In the second embodiment, the relative movement speed is controlled to make the constant film thickness even in the coating start section. In the third embodiment, the case where the liquid level is controlled so as to have a constant film thickness even in the coating start section has been described. At least any two control condition items among the surface height control condition items may be controlled so that the film thickness is constant even in the application start section. That is, the change in the coating film thickness that becomes thinner near the start of the coating is determined by the substrate 2
Of the coating thickness due to the gap size between the nozzle member 19 and the substrate, change in the coating thickness due to the relative movement speed between the substrate 2 and the nozzle member 19, and coating thickness due to the liquid level in the external coating liquid tank 63 , It is possible to surely prevent the thinning in the vicinity of the start of the application, and to achieve a constant applied film thickness.

In the first to third embodiments, the linear motor 11 is used as the application moving mechanism.
An application moving mechanism using a ball screw, an application moving mechanism using a pinion and a rack, an application moving mechanism using a wire, a pulley, and a motor may be used.

[0102]

As described above, according to the present invention, as the gap size between the nozzle means and the surface of the substrate to be coated is narrower, the coating characteristics are increased so that the film thickness is increased, and the relative movement speed between the nozzle means and the substrate is increased. Using the coating characteristics to make the film thicker, and furthermore, the coating characteristics to make the film thicker as the liquid level of the coating solution is higher, the thin film portion near the start of coating is canceled out and the coating film thickness near the start of coating is reduced. It can be made constant to a predetermined target film thickness.

Further, since the substrate is erected without supporting the substrate horizontally as in the conventional spin coating method, the installation space can be reduced. The coating liquid supplied by capillary action is applied to the standing substrate by moving the nozzle means in the coating direction instead of applying the coating liquid around the substrate with the centrifugal force of rotating the substrate. In order to apply to the surface to be coated,
The coating solution can be saved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a schematic configuration of a coating apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a schematic configuration of the linear motor of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of a nozzle unit of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 4A and 4B are schematic diagrams showing a schematic cross-sectional configuration of the nozzle member of FIG. 1, wherein FIGS. 4A and 4B show different types, respectively.

FIG. 5A shows a gap amount between a substrate and a nozzle member;
FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a coating film thickness and FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a relative movement speed between a substrate and a nozzle member and a coating film thickness;
(C) is a diagram showing the relationship between the coating liquid level in the coating liquid tank and the coating film thickness.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic control configuration of the coating apparatus of FIG. 1;

7A and 7B show a relationship between a coating film thickness and a moving distance in the vicinity of the start of coating, wherein FIG. 7A shows a case where a parameter is a relative moving speed between a substrate and a nozzle member, and FIG. FIG.

8 (a) to 8 (e) are schematic diagrams showing respective coating operations with respect to the schematic sectional configurations of the substrate and the nozzle member of FIG. 4, respectively.

9 (a) to 9 (c) show Embodiment 2 of the present invention, respectively.
7A and 7B are schematic diagrams illustrating each coating operation with respect to the schematic cross-sectional configuration of the substrate and the nozzle member in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a coating apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a partially exploded perspective view showing a specific configuration of the variable tank height mechanism of FIG.

FIG. 12 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line XX of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a schematic control configuration of the coating apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 14 is a front view showing a schematic configuration of a coating apparatus by the present applicant.

FIG. 15 is a sectional view taken along line AA in the coating apparatus of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Substrate 3 Suction stage 9 Nozzle port 10 Nozzle unit 11 Linear motor 19, 19a, 19b, 60 Nozzle member 21 Variable gap mechanism unit 22 Coating liquid 23 Coating liquid tank 26, 62a Slit 27 Front end surface 29 Front end surface upper part 36 Contacting / separating motor Reference Signs List 40 ball screw 41 moving member 67 liquid level sensor 52 operation unit 53, 71 control unit 54, 72 ROM 55, 73 RAM 56 linear motor drive circuit 57 approach / separation motor drive circuit 61 liquid reservoir 62b coating liquid supply pipe 63 external coating liquid Tank 68 Tank height varying means 69 Control means 74 Linear actuator drive circuit 75 Linear actuator 88 Actuator section

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code FI H01L 21/00 H01L 21/00

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A nozzle means capable of supplying a coating liquid, and a coating liquid pumped up from a coating liquid tank by a capillary phenomenon while relatively moving a standing substrate to be coated along a coating surface. A coating device that supplies the coating solution from the nozzle means and the coating surface of the substrate so that the coating film thickness becomes constant according to the thinning near the start of coating. A coating apparatus, comprising: a control unit that changes at least one of a moving speed, a gap dimension between the nozzle unit and a surface to be coated of a substrate, and a liquid level in the coating liquid tank. 2. A coating apparatus for applying a coating liquid pumped up from a coating liquid tank by capillary action to a coating surface of a standing substrate, comprising: a coating liquid tank capable of storing the coating liquid; A nozzle means having one end communicating with the tank and the other end communicating with the external outlet and extending obliquely upward and disposed on the front wall portion; Moving means for moving; a gap variable means for moving the nozzle means and the surface to be coated of the substrate so as to approach or separate from each other; and A control for controlling the gap changing means so as to change a gap dimension between the nozzle means and the surface to be coated of the substrate, and controlling a moving means so as to relatively move the nozzle means and the substrate along the surface to be coated. Means Coating apparatus characterized by. 3. An application apparatus for applying an application liquid pumped up from an application liquid tank by capillary action to an application surface of an upright substrate, comprising: an application liquid tank capable of storing the application liquid; A nozzle means having one end connected to the tank and the other end connected to the external outlet and extending obliquely upward and having a coating liquid outflow passage provided on the front wall portion; A coating apparatus, comprising: moving means for moving; and control means for varying a relative moving speed of the moving means so that a coating film thickness becomes constant in accordance with thinning near the start of coating. 4. An application apparatus for applying an application liquid pumped up from an application liquid tank by capillary action to an application surface of a standing substrate, comprising: an application liquid tank capable of storing the application liquid; A nozzle means having one end communicating with the tank and the other end communicating with the external outlet and extending obliquely upward and disposed on the front wall portion; Moving means for moving; liquid level height detecting means for detecting the liquid level in the coating liquid tank; liquid level height changing means for changing the liquid level in the coating liquid tank; The liquid level control means is controlled based on the liquid level detected by the liquid level detecting means so that the coating film thickness becomes constant in accordance with the thinning in the vicinity, and the nozzle means To control the moving means so that the substrate and the substrate move relatively along the surface to be coated Means for coating. 5. An application apparatus for applying an application liquid pumped up from an application liquid tank by capillary action to an application surface of an erected substrate, comprising: an application liquid tank capable of storing an application liquid; A nozzle means having one end communicating with the tank and the other end communicating with the external outlet and extending obliquely upward and disposed on the front wall portion; Moving means for moving, a gap variable means for moving the nozzle means and the coated surface of the substrate so as to approach or separate from each other, a liquid level detecting means for detecting a liquid level in the coating liquid tank, A liquid level height changing means for changing the liquid level of the coating liquid tank; and a relative moving speed by the moving means, the nozzle, in order to keep the coating film thickness constant in accordance with thinning near the start of coating. The gap size between the means and the substrate And control means for controlling each means so as to vary a plurality of control items among the control items of the liquid level based on the liquid level detected by the liquid level detecting means. Coating device. 6. The control unit controls the coating film thickness to be constant in accordance with the magnitude of the outflow resistance when the coating liquid starts moving in the coating liquid outflow passage from the coating liquid tank to the external outlet. The coating device according to claim 1.