KR100240210B1 - A coating apparatus provide with a supply port cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to enable an appropriate coating film having a predetermined thickness without wasting the coating liquid when the application head in the air is operated.

According to the present invention, a coating film is formed on the substrate W by supplying the coating liquid from the supply port 24 while relatively moving the application head 20 and the substrate W having the slit-shaped supply port 24. In the coating device, the wiping member 66 of the head cleaner 60 supplied with the solvent by the solvent supply means 80 is sealed with the supply port 24 and the sealing member 50 of the coating head 20. It moves while making contact with the part 51, and melt | dissolves the coating liquid of the semi-solidified state or solidified state which exists in the supply port 24 of the application | coating head 20, and the sealing part 51 of the sealing member 50 with a solvent. At the same time, the coating liquid can be normally supplied from the supply port 24 by wiping with the wiping member 66.

Description

Coating device

1 is a perspective view of an applicator according to one embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a side cross-sectional view of the main portion of the coating head employed in the coating apparatus shown in FIG.

3 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of the coating apparatus of the present invention.

4 is a view for explaining the contact state of the coating head and the sealing member of the coating apparatus of the present invention.

5 is a view for explaining the contact state of the coating head, the sealing member and the head cleaner of the coating apparatus of the present invention.

6 is a perspective view of a conventional coating device.

7 is a perspective view of a scraping member employed in a conventional coating apparatus.

* Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings

10: stage (substrate holding means) 11: mounting part

14 through-hole 20 coating head (coating liquid supply means)

21, 22: opposing wall 24: supply port

30: horizontal head moving means (first moving means)

40: head vertical movement means (third movement means)

50: sealing member 51: sealing part

52: holding unit 60: head cleaner

61 support 62 guide plate

63: supply roller 64: cold roller

65: winding motor 66: wiping member

70: cleaner moving means (second moving means)

80: solvent supply means 90: control unit

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a coating apparatus for forming a coating film such as a photoresist liquid on various substrates such as a semiconductor wafer or a glass substrate of a liquid crystal display.

Conventionally, a coating apparatus of this kind has a stage 101 for vacuum suctioning the substrate W and a slit-shaped supply port moving along the substrate W on the stage 101 as shown in FIG. A coating head 103 having a 102, and moving the coating head 103 at a constant speed while feeding the coating liquid from the slit-shaped supply port 102 so as to form a coating film on the substrate W; It is.

Moreover, the solvent port 104 in which the solvent S for drying prevention is accommodated is moved up and down in the standby position of the terminal side of the application head 103 in the movement direction, and the formation operation of a coating film is carried out. When the application head 103, which has completed its operation, is moved to the standby position, the solvent port 104 is raised so that the supply port 102 side of the application head 103 is disposed in the solvent atmosphere, Drying of the coating liquid present is prevented.

In addition, in the case where the solvent port 104 is not provided, when the waiting time becomes long, the coating liquid existing in the supply port 102 of the coating head 103 is dried to supply the coating liquid from the supply port 102. In order to prevent this problem, for example, as shown in Fig. 7, the scraping member 105 made of resin or the like is placed at the standby position, and immediately before the coating head 103 is operated to form a coating film. The scraping member 105 is moved along the supply port 102 of the application head 103 so as to scrape off the semi-solidified liquid in the supply port 102 and the solidified state of the supply liquid. Supply of the coating liquid from 102 becomes possible.

In the coating device described above, in the case where the supply port 102 side of the coating head 103 is arranged in the solvent atmosphere of the solvent port 104, drying is performed inside from the supply port 102 of the coating head 103. Since the solvent for prevention penetrates and the coating liquid dilutes in the vicinity thereof, it is necessary to discharge the coating liquid immediately before forming the coating film to discharge the mixed portion of the solvent. In addition, the receiving part becomes necessary and there is a problem that the coating liquid is wasted.

In addition, in the case where the scraping member 105 is used to scrape the semi-solidified state or the solidified state of the coating liquid from the supply port 102 of the application head 103, the supply port is increased when the waiting time of the application head 103 is increased. (102) Since the coating liquid inside is also partially in a semi-solidified state or a solidified state, the coating liquid may not be completely scraped, and as a result, there is a problem that it is difficult to form a normal coating film.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and in the case of forming a coating film on a substrate by operating an atmospheric coating head, the coating is made so that an appropriate coating film having a predetermined thickness can be formed without waste of the coating liquid. It is an object to provide a device.

A coating apparatus according to claim 1, comprising: a coating apparatus supplying means having a substrate holding means for holding a substrate, and a slit-shaped supply port for supplying a coating liquid to the substrate; And a first moving means for relatively moving the substrate holding means and the coating liquid supplying means so that the surface of the substrate and the supply hole are relatively moved, and the contacting of the supply port is possible and the cleaning of the supply port is possible. Cleaning means having a long member for feeding, a feed roller wound out of the long member, and a winding roller for pulling the long member out of the feed roller, and the feed port and the long member While contacting the member, the second moving means for relatively moving the coating liquid supply means and the cleaning means, and a solvent ( (Iii) solvent supply means for supplying;

In the coating device according to claim 1, before the coating liquid is supplied from the supply port of the coating liquid supply means to the substrate to form a coating film on the surface of the substrate, the second moving means makes contact with the long member of the supply port and the cleaning means. Since the coating liquid supplying means and the cleaning means are moved relatively, and the long-shaped member supplied with the solvent by the solvent supplying means wipes the supply port, the coating liquid in the semi-solidified state or the solidified state attached to the periphery of the supply port Of is surely removed.

The coating apparatus of Claim 2 is a coating apparatus of Claim 1 WHEREIN: The sealing member which closes and closes the said supply port, when the said board | substrate holding means and the said coating liquid supply means are in a standby state, the said supply port and the said sealing And a third moving means for relatively moving said coating liquid supplying means and said sealing member in a contacting / separating direction with the members facing each other.

In the coating device according to claim 2, when the substrate holding means and the coating liquid supplying means are in the standby state, the coating liquid supplying means and the sealing member are brought close to each other by the third moving means to seal the supply port of the coating liquid supplying means. Since it is closed by a member, drying of a coating liquid is prevented.

In the coating apparatus of Claim 3, the coating apparatus of Claim 2 WHEREIN: The said cleaning means further has a guide plate, The supply roller is provided in one surface side of the said guide plate, and the other surface side of the said guide plate. The winding roller is installed on the winding roller, and the long-shaped member drawn out from the supply roller on one surface side is reversed at the distal end of the guide plate and wound around the winding roller on the other surface side. The sealing member and the cleaning means are relatively moved while contacting the sealing member and the long member.

In the applicator according to claim 3, the elongate member drawn out from the supply roller on one side of the guide plate is reversed at the distal end of the guide plate to be wound on the winding roller on the other side, and the second moving means is sealed. Since the sealing member and the cleaning means are relatively moved while the member is in contact with the elongate member, not only the cleaning of the supply port but also the cleaning of the sealing member is performed at the same time.

The coating device of Claim 4 is a coating device of Claim 2 or Claim 3 WHEREIN: The said sealing member is formed with an elastic member, and is provided with the sealing part which can contact the said supply port.

In the coating apparatus of Claim 4, since the sealing part which contacts a supply port is formed with the elastic member, a supply port closes elastically and is clogged, and drying of a coating liquid is reliably prevented.

1 is an overall perspective view showing an embodiment of a coating apparatus according to the present invention.

The coating device includes a stage 10 for adsorbing and holding a substrate W, a coating head 20 for supplying a coating liquid such as a photoresist liquid and the like onto the substrate W adsorbed and held in a stage 10. A head horizontal moving means 30 for moving the head 20 along the substrate W, a head vertical moving means 40 for moving the coating head 20 in the vertical direction perpendicular to the surface of the substrate W; A sealing member 50 constituting the headrest provided on the end side of the application head 20 in the moving direction, a head cleaner 60 as cleaning means provided on the end side such as the sealing member 50, and a head cleaner ( Cleaner moving means (70) for moving the 60 in contact with the application head (20) and the sealing member (50), and solvent supply means (80) for supplying a solvent to the head cleaner (60).

The stage 10 is described later by a mounting portion 11 formed in the center portion and the head horizontal moving means 30 formed on both sides of the placing portion 11 in order to place the substrate W thereon. The guide rails 12 and 13 which move the sliding bodies 32 and 33 are provided. In the mounting portion 11, a plurality of through holes 14 penetrating in the vertical direction are formed. The board | substrate W is mounted on the mounting part 11 of the said stage 10 by the conveyance robot not shown, and is vacuum-sucked from the lower surface side through the through-hole 14, and is mounted on the mounting part 11 It is supposed to be fixed at.

As shown in FIG. 2, the coating head 20 has a pair of opposing walls 21 and 22 facing each other, and has a supply path 23 for coating liquid therein and a supply path on the lower surface thereof. The slit-shaped supply port 24 continuous to 23 is configured to open, and is arranged in the width direction of the substrate W. As shown in FIG. In addition, a feed pipe 25 is provided in the central portion of the upper surface of the coating head 20, and a coating liquid such as a photoresist liquid is applied at a constant pressure from a coating liquid supply tank (not shown) through the feeding pipe 25. It is intended to be fed into the head 20.

The head horizontal moving means 30 moves on the rails 12 and 13 at both side ends of the stage 10, and is provided with a base 31 that is spread out in the width direction below the stage 10, and the base portion. Sliding parts 32 and 33 which are bent upwards on both sides of 31, and upper ends are bent inward to each other, and are central parts of the base 31 and are bored in the same direction as the rails 12 and 13 are provided. A screw shaft 34 screwed to the female screw and a coating head moving motor 35 which are fixedly mounted to a main body frame (not shown) and whose rotating shaft is connected to the screw shaft 34 are provided. As a result, when the application head moving motor 35 rotates and the screw shaft 34 rotates, the base 31 moves in the front-back direction so that the sliding bodies 32, 33 move the rails 12, 13) Move the phase.

The head vertical moving means 40 includes support bodies 41 and 42 for holding and supporting fixed shafts 26 and 27 protruding from both longitudinal ends of the coating head 20, and upper surfaces of the support members 41 and 42. Screw shafts 43 and 44 which are respectively screwed to the female screws installed through and penetrated downward from the front end, and whose front ends are axially supported by the sliding bodies 32 and 33, and the sliding body 32 by a frame not shown. And 33, the application head lifting motors 45 and 46 made of a stepping motor and the like, each of which is fixedly mounted to the screw shafts 43 and 44, respectively. As a result, when the application head lift-up motors 45 and 46 rotate and drive simultaneously, and the screw shafts 43 and 44 rotate, the support heads 41 and 42 are raised and lowered relative to the sliding bodies 32 and 33, thereby applying the application head 20. ) Moves up and down.

자 형상인 장척모양의 유지부재(52)로 구성되어 있어서, 봉지부(51)의 공급구(24)와의 대향면이 스테이지(10)의 재치부(11)상의 기판(W)과 대략 같은 평면에 위치하도록 하고 기판(W)의 폭방향을 따라 설치되어 있다. 상기 봉지부(51)는, 공급구(24)의 양끝에 대해서도 확실히 닫아 막기 위해서 그 길이방향의 치수가 슬릿모양의 공급구(24)의 치수와 같거나 그 치수보다도 다소 커지도록 형성되어 있고, 도포헤드(20)의 공급구(24)를 봉지부재(50)의 봉지부(51)에 직접 눌러 붙임에 의해 공기를 차단하여 공급구(24)에 존재하는 도포액의 건조를 방지한다.The encapsulation member 50 encapsulates the supply port 24 by pressing and attaching the supply port 24 of the application head 20, preferably a long encapsulation portion 51 formed of an elastic material such as silicone rubber. And a cross section made of an inelastic member, such as a resin or a metal, which is held in a state in which the portion facing the supply port 24 of the coating head 20 of the sealing portion 51 is exposed.

It is composed of a long-shaped holding member 52 having a shape of a magnet, and the opposing surface of the encapsulation portion 51 with the supply port 24 is substantially the same plane as the substrate W on the mounting portion 11 of the stage 10. It is located along the width direction of the board | substrate W, and is located. The encapsulation portion 51 is formed such that its lengthwise dimension is equal to or slightly larger than that of the slit-shaped supply port 24 in order to close the both ends of the supply port 24 securely. The air is blocked by directly pressing the supply port 24 of the application head 20 to the encapsulation portion 51 of the encapsulation member 50 to prevent drying of the coating liquid present in the supply port 24.

Moreover, even if the supply port 24 of the application head 20 is not pressed against the sealing part 51 of the sealing member 50, if the following is carried out, the supply port 24 will be opened by the sealing part 51 similarly to the above. It can close and prevent drying of a coating liquid. That is, the supply port 24 of the coating head 20 has a slight gap to face the sealing portion 51, and only a small amount of the coating liquid is leaked from the supply opening 24 to the sealing portion 51. A dry film is formed. This film covers the supply port 24, and as a result, air is cut off and drying of the coating liquid present in the supply port 24 is prevented.

The head cleaner 60 includes a support 61, a guide plate 62 protruding horizontally forward from the support 61, and an upper surface side (one surface side) of the guide plate 62. And a winding roller 64 installed at a position near the support roller 63 and a lower surface side of the guide plate 62 and a guide roller 62 provided at a position close to the support roller 61, and for rotating the winding roller 64. The winding motor 65 which consists of a stepping motor etc. as a drive means, and the elongate wiping member 66 wound around the supply roller 63 are provided.

The wiping member 66 is made of a long material made of a felt tetrafluoroethylene ethylene polymer material or the like, and is wound out of the supply roller 63 by being wound by the winding roller 64, and at the same time, the guide plate ( The direction is reversed at the distal end of 62 so as to move along both sides of the guide plate 62. In addition, the guide plate 62 is positioned so that the wiping member 66 on the lower surface side is positioned at a height in contact with the sealing portion 51 of the sealing member 50. Further, the tip portion of the guide plate 62 is formed in a rounded shape so as not to interfere with the direction change of the wiping member 66. You may install a roller instead of this round shape.

The cleaner moving means 70 is screwed to the female screw in the horizontal direction provided through the support 61, and is connected to the screw shaft 71 arranged along the width direction of the substrate W, and to the body frame, not shown. The fixed shaft is composed of a wiping motor 72 made of a stepping motor or the like connected to the screw shaft 71, and the head is rotated by the rotation of the screw shaft 71 by the rotational driving of the wiping motor 72. The cleaner 60 reciprocates between the retracted position of one end side and the other end side. Moreover, although the part of the wiping member 66 overlaps the edge part of the sealing member 50 as shown in the figure at the retracting position of the head cleaner 60, it may be totally separated from the sealing member 50. As shown in FIG.

The solvent supply means (80) contains a solvent tank (81) installed at an upper position of the head cleaner (60) by storing a solvent suitable for wiping the coating liquid, and the solvent in the solvent tank (81) for the wiping member (66). The supply pipe 82 to be discharged to the side), the supply pipe 82 which is connected to the distal end of the supply pipe 82 and supplies the solvent to the wiping member 66, and is installed in the middle of the supply pipe 82 Thus, the transfer valve 84 excluding the supply port 83 for supplying the solvent of the solvent tank 81 is provided.

3 is a block diagram showing a main control configuration of the coating apparatus configured as described above. The control unit 90 includes a CPU 92 for performing overall control of the operation of the apparatus, a ROM 92 for storing a predetermined control program therefor, and a RAM for temporarily storing data generated during control processing ( 93).

That is, the CPU 92 inputs a predetermined signal from a start switch SW (not shown), a position sensor, or the like, whereby the motor drive circuits 35a, 45a, 46a, 65a, 72a, and the valve drive circuit 84a are provided. Each control of the coating head moving motor 35, the coating head lifting motors 45 and 46, the winding motor 65, the wiping motor 72, and the solenoid valve 84 is controlled through the "

In addition, although not shown, the CPU 91 controls the transfer robot that transfers the substrate W through the transfer robot drive circuit, and sets the substrate W on the stage 10 through the vacuum device drive circuit. It is to control the vacuum device to hold the adsorption.

The coating apparatus configured as described above operates as follows. First, based on the instruction of the control unit 90, when the substrate W is placed on the stage 10 by the transport robot, the substrate W is sucked and held on the stage 10 by a vacuum apparatus. The application head 20 is set to a predetermined height position on the substrate W by driving the application head lift motors 45 and 46, and the front end of FIG. 1 is driven by the application of the application head moving motor 35.始 端) Move at a constant speed in the direction of the arrow.

At the same time as the start of movement of the coating head 20, the coating liquid is supplied from the coating liquid tank (not shown) to the inside of the coating head 20 at a constant pressure, and the coating head 20 is applied from the supply port 24 to the coating liquid. Is moved to the end position while supplying on the substrate W at a constant supply pressure. Thereby, a coating film is formed on the board | substrate W, and the board | substrate W in which this coating film was formed is conveyed by a conveyance robot to the next process. Thereafter, the next substrate W is sequentially placed on the stage 10 to be adsorbed and held, and the coating head 20 returns to the start position to form a coating film on the substrate W as described above.

When the forming operation of the coating film is completed, the coating head 20 is moved to the position of the sealing member 50 in the standby position by driving the coating head moving motor 35, and then the driving of the coating head lifting motors 45 and 46 is performed. As a result, the supply port 24 descends to the position where the sealing portion 51 of the sealing member 50 is lightly pressed as shown in FIG. Thereby, the air supply is blocked by the sealing part 51 of the supply port 24, and drying of the coating liquid which exists in the supply port 24 is prevented. In this state, the coating head 20 waits until the formation operation of the next coating film.

When a command for forming the next coating film from the control unit 90 is issued, the coating head 20 in contact with the sealing portion 51 of the sealing member 50 is driven by the application head lifting motors 45 and 46. By moving upward from the position of the sealing member 50, the supply port 24 stops at the same height position as the wiping member 66 located in the upper surface side of the guide plate 62 of the head cleaner 60. As shown in FIG.

On the other hand, when the forming instruction is issued, the solenoid valve 84 of the solvent supply means 80 is operated, and the valve is opened through the supply pipe 82 and the supply port 83 from the solvent tank 81. Supply to wiping member (66). Then, the winding motor 65 is driven while the solvent is supplied, and the wiping member 66 is wound around the winding roller 64. As a result, the wiping member 66 supplied with the solvent is disposed on both the upper and lower surfaces of the guide plate 62. At this point, the valve of the solenoid valve 84 is closed to stop the supply of the solvent. Moreover, the solvent supplied to the wiping member 66 is absorbed by the wiping member 66 at the supply position.

Subsequently, the wiping motor 72 is driven so that the head cleaner 60 at the retracted position on one end side reciprocates between the other end side. At this time, the wiping member 66 on the upper surface side of the guide plate 62 is in a position to contact the supply port 24 of the application head 20, and the wiping member 66 on the lower surface side of the guide plate 62 is located. ) Is in a position to contact the encapsulation portion 51 of the encapsulation member 50, so that the head cleaner 60 is provided with a wiping member 66 as shown in FIG. It moves in the state which contacted both the 24 and the sealing part 51 of the sealing member 50. FIG.

Therefore, even when the coating liquid adheres to the supply port 24 of the coating head 20 and the sealing portion 51 of the sealing member 50 in the semi-solidified state or the solidified state while the coating head 20 is waiting. The coating liquid is dissolved by the solvent supplied to the wiping member 66, and is wiped by the wiping member 66 by friction, so that the supply port 24 of the coating head 20 and the sealing member ( Both of the sealing portions 51 of 50) are cleaned at the same time. In addition, since the wiping member 66 is disposed along the guide plate 62 surface, the wiping member 66 is in contact with the supply port 24 of the application head 20 and the sealing portion 51 of the sealing member 50. It is in the state pressed lightly with respect to the guide plate 62, and the cleaning of the supply port 24 and the sealing part 51 can be performed reliably.

When the head cleaner 60 reciprocates to return to the original evacuation position or when the reciprocating motion ends, the application head lifting motors 45 and 46 and the application head moving motor 35 are driven to apply the application head 20. D drops to the predetermined height position and returns to the start position, whereby the forming operation of the coating film on the substrate W is started. The coating head 20 is prevented from drying of the coating liquid of the supply port 24 by the sealing member 50 in the air, and before the start of forming the coating film, the supply port 24 is opened by the head cleaner 60. Since it is cleaned, the coating liquid is normally supplied from the supply port 24 to form a coating film having a predetermined thickness on the substrate W. FIG.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the coating film is formed on the substrate W by moving the coating head 20 relative to the substrate W. However, the substrate W is stored with the coating head 20 settled. ) May be moved, or both the coating head 20 and the substrate W may be moved in opposite directions to each other. That is, the coating head 20 and the board | substrate W should just move relatively.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the cleaning of the supply port 24 of the application head 20 and the encapsulation portion 51 of the sealing member 50 is performed with respect to the application head 20 and the sealing member 50 with a head cleaner. Although it is performed by moving the 60, it is comprised so that the head cleaner 60 may be fixed and the coating head 20 and the sealing member 50 can be moved, or the head cleaner 60 and the coating head ( 20) and the sealing member 50 may be comprised so that a movement to the opposite direction may mutually be carried out. That is, the head cleaner 60, the application head 20, and the sealing member 50 should just move relatively.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the application head 20 is moved up and down by the application head lift motors 45 and 46, but instead of this configuration, the sealing member 50 can be moved up and down. The configuration is good. According to this, as in the case of the said embodiment, in the air, the sealing part 51 of the sealing member 50 can prevent drying of the coating liquid which exists in the supply port 24 of the coating head 20, Before the start of forming the coating film, both the supply port 24 of the coating head 20 and the sealing portion 51 of the sealing member 50 are simultaneously cleaned by the wiping member 66 of the head cleaner 60. It becomes possible. In other words, the coating head 20 and the sealing member 50 may be configured to move relatively in the contacting and separating direction.

As described above, according to the coating apparatus of claim 1, the long-shaped member supplied with the solvent by the solvent supply means wipes the supply port, thereby removing the semi-solidified or solidified coating liquid adhered to the supply port. It can remove reliably and can supply a coating liquid normally from a supply port. In addition, as in the conventional coating apparatus, since the discharge of the mixing portion caused by mixing the solvent for preventing drying in the supply port is also unnecessary, there is an effect that it is not necessary to waste the coating liquid.

According to the coating apparatus according to claim 2, when the substrate holding means and the coating liquid supplying means are in the standby state, the coating liquid supplying means closes the supply port with the sealing member to prevent drying of the coating liquid around the supply port. Can be prevented.

According to the coating apparatus of Claim 3, since the 2nd moving means makes the sealing member and the cleaning means relatively move while contacting the sealing member and the elongate member, the supply port of the coating liquid supply means and the sealing member are changed from both sides. Can be cleaned at the same time.

According to the coating apparatus of Claim 4, since the sealing part which contacts a supply port is formed with the elastic member, drying of a coating liquid can be prevented effectively.

Claims (4)

A coating apparatus for forming a coating film on the surface of a substrate, comprising: a substrate holding means for holding a substrate, coating liquid supply means having a slit-shaped supply port for supplying a coating liquid to the substrate, a surface of the substrate and the supply port The first moving means for relatively moving the substrate holding means and the coating liquid supplying means so as to move relatively, and the supply port is in contact with, and has a long shape for cleaning the supply port. A cleaning means having a member, a supply roller wound around the long member, and a winding roller which pulls the long member from the supply roller, and the coating liquid while contacting the supply port and the long member. Second moving means for relatively moving the supply means and the cleaning means, and solvent supply means for supplying a solvent to the elongate member Applicator having a. The coating liquid supply according to claim 1, wherein when the substrate holding means and the coating liquid supplying means are in a standby state, the sealing member which closes and closes the supply opening, and the supply opening and the sealing member face each other. And a third moving means for relatively moving the means and the sealing member in the contacting and separating direction. The said cleaning means further has a guide plate, The supply roller is provided in the one surface side of the said guide plate, The winding roller is provided in the other surface side of the said guide plate, The elongate member drawn out from the supply roller is reversed at the distal end of the guide plate to be wound around the winding roller on the other side, and the second moving means includes the encapsulating member and the elongate member. And the sealing member and the cleaning means are relatively moved while being in contact. 4. An applicator according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the encapsulation member is formed of an elastic member and provided with an encapsulation portion which is in contact with the supply port.

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