KR100567236B1 - Substrate Processing Apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a substrate processing apparatus capable of detecting a coating defect on a substrate at an early stage. In the coating unit 14 of the substrate processing apparatus, a stage 3 having a support surface 30 for arranging the rectangular substrate 90 substantially horizontally, and a crosslinked structure extending substantially horizontally above the support surface 30 ( 4) and an imaging unit 23 for imaging the surface of the substrate 90. In the crosslinked structure 4, the nozzle support part 40 with a slit nozzle for discharging the resist is provided, and the resist is applied while scanning the surface of the substrate 90 by the slit nozzle. When the application of the resist is finished, the imaging unit 23 images the surface of the substrate 90 and transmits image data to the determination unit 24. The determination part 24 performs an image recognition process on image data, and determines the application | coating situation whether the coating defects, such as a scratch, generate | occur | produce in the board | substrate 90. FIG.

Substrate treatment device, coating defect, coating unit, imaging unit

Description

Substrate Processing Apparatus

1 is a schematic plan view showing a configuration of a substrate processing apparatus in a first embodiment.

2 is a perspective view showing a coating unit;

3 is a plan view of the coating unit;

4 is a front view of the coating unit;

5 is a side view of the coating unit.

Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an image capturing range of the image capturing unit in the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an image capturing range of the image capturing unit in the second embodiment; FIG.

Fig. 8 is a schematic perspective view showing the structure of the substrate processing apparatus in the third embodiment.

9 is a perspective view showing an outline of a substrate processing apparatus in a fourth embodiment.

10 is a plan view of the main body of the substrate treating apparatus viewed from above;

11 is a front view of the main body;

12 is a side view of the main body;

Fig. 13 is a diagram for explaining the principle of a gap sensor in the fourth embodiment.

Fig. 14 illustrates the principle of a gap sensor in the fifth embodiment.

Fig. 15 is a view showing a substrate on which coating failure occurs due to a stripe scratch.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

1 Substrate Processing Unit 10 Loader

11 Cleaner 12, 13 Transport Robot

14 Coating Unit 14a Coating Equipment

22 Image recognition unit 23 Imaging unit

230, 232 imaging range 24 determination unit

3 stage 30 support surface

4 Cross-linked Structure 40 Nozzle Support

41 Slit Nozzle 42 Gap Sensor

420, 460 CCD 421 Receiver

43, 44 lifting mechanism 46 gap sensor

50 linear motors 52 linear encoders

6 control unit 60 operation unit

61 memory 6a control system

90 Substrate 91 Bad Substrate

BF1, BF2, BF3, BF4 Buffers

TECHNICAL FIELD This invention relates to the technique in the substrate processing apparatus which apply | coats a process liquid to a board | substrate by a slit nozzle.

When a treatment liquid such as a photoresist is applied to the surface of a square substrate (liquid crystal glass substrate, film liquid crystal flexible substrate, photomask substrate, color filter substrate, etc.), a predetermined position on the support The substrate is supported, and scan coating is performed to scan the surface of the substrate while discharging the processing liquid by the slit nozzle. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. Hei 11-165111 proposes a technique related to a substrate processing apparatus for performing scan coating by rotating a ball screw by a motor and moving two moving tables rigidly coupled to both ends of the slit nozzle. It is. Such a technique is particularly effective in the case where the substrate to be processed is large or in the case of a rectangular substrate, since uniform chemical liquid coating by spin coating (a method of applying while rotating the substrate) is difficult.

In such a substrate processing apparatus, coating defects may occur due to the stripe scratches as shown in FIG. This often occurs because the processing liquid at the tip of the nozzle dries while the slit nozzle is waiting, and the processing liquid is not normally discharged from the nozzle at the start of discharging the processing liquid. Since these defective substrates should not be shipped as products, conventionally, in a later step, inspection of the layer of the processing liquid formed by the coating treatment is performed on the substrate after the coating treatment is performed, and the defective substrate is detected and the defective substrate is performed. The substrate is reprocessed or destroyed.

Nevertheless, when the coating failure on the substrate is detected in the inspection step after the completion of the treatment, there is a time-lag until the coating failure is detected after the cause of coating failure occurs. Therefore, even if a cause of coating failure occurs in the substrate processing apparatus, there is a problem in that it is not possible to respond quickly, and the substrates processed therebetween become a defective substrate due to the same cause.

In addition, since the substrate with poor coating is also conveyed by the post-processing performed up to the inspection step, there is a problem that unnecessary processing is performed.

Moreover, in order to solve the said problem, when trying to install the structure for performing the inspection equivalent to the inspection in a post process, for example in the board | substrate processing apparatus, there existed a problem that a device structure was unnecessarily complicated.

This invention is made | formed in view of the said subject, and a 1st objective is to provide the board | substrate processing apparatus which can detect an application | coating defect early and can reduce the waste which arises due to an application | coating defect.

It is a second object of the present invention to provide a substrate processing apparatus which can easily check the processing status without complicating the apparatus configuration.

In order to solve the above problems, the invention of claim 1 is a coating unit for applying a treatment liquid to the surface of the substrate while scanning a rectangular substrate in a predetermined direction, and the substrate coated with the treatment liquid by the coating unit A substrate treating apparatus comprising a conveying means for carrying out from a unit and conveying to a next step according to a predetermined conveying path, wherein the section from the coating unit to the water supply position of the substrate in the next step An image pickup means for picking up a surface image of the substrate on which the treatment liquid is applied, and an application state of the treatment liquid on the substrate based on an image pickup output of the imaging means. Further determining means is provided.

In addition, the invention of claim 2 further includes a buffer for temporarily storing the substrate under processing in the substrate processing apparatus according to the invention of claim 1, in accordance with the determination result of the determination means. The substrate under processing is stored in the buffer.

Further, the invention of claim 3 is a substrate processing apparatus according to the invention of claim 2, comprising a plurality of the buffers, and according to the processing status of the substrate in the processing, from the plurality of buffers during the processing. Select the buffer for storing the substrate.

In the invention of claim 4, the substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the imaging range by the imaging means is part of the surface of the substrate, and the imaging range is the predetermined range. About the direction orthogonal to the direction of, the whole range of the said board | substrate is covered.

In the invention of claim 5, the substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the imaging range includes a start end of scanning coating of the processing liquid in the coating unit.

Moreover, the invention of Claim 6 is a substrate processing apparatus which concerns on the invention of any one of Claims 1-3, The said imaging range contains the edge part of the said board | substrate.

The invention of claim 7 is the substrate processing apparatus according to the invention of claim 6, wherein the imaging range includes a central portion side of the substrate in addition to the vicinity of the end portion.

In the invention according to claim 8, the substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the imaging means is disposed above the support position of the substrate in the coating unit.

The invention of claim 9 further includes a support for supporting a square substrate, a slit nozzle extending in a substantially horizontal direction, a crosslinked structure extending substantially horizontally above the support, and the crosslinked structure on the surface of the substrate. And moving means for moving in a substantially horizontal direction, and discharging a predetermined processing liquid from the slit nozzle to the surface of the substrate while moving the crosslinked structure along the surface of the substrate. A substrate processing apparatus for forming a layer, the substrate processing apparatus further comprising an image pickup means provided above the support, for imaging a surface image on the substrate, and determining the application state of the processing liquid based on the image pickup output of the image pickup means. do.

In the invention of claim 10, in the substrate processing apparatus according to the invention of claim 9, the imaging range by the imaging means is a part of the surface of the substrate, while the imaging range is perpendicular to the predetermined direction. With respect to the entire range of the substrate is covered.

Further, the invention of claim 11 is the substrate processing apparatus according to the invention of claim 9 or 10, wherein the imaging range includes a start end of scanning application of the processing liquid in the coating unit.

In addition, according to the invention of claim 12, in the substrate processing apparatus according to the invention of claim 9 or 10, the image capturing range includes an end portion of the substrate.

Further, the invention of claim 13 is the substrate processing apparatus according to the invention of claim 12, wherein the imaging range includes the center portion side of the substrate in addition to the vicinity of the end portion.

In the invention of claim 14, in the substrate processing apparatus according to the invention of claim 1 or 9, the substrate is a substrate for a flat panel display, and the processing liquid is a resist liquid.

The invention of claim 15 further includes a support for supporting a substrate, a slit nozzle for discharging a predetermined processing liquid to the substrate, a crosslinked structure substantially horizontally extending above the support, and the crosslinked structure of the substrate. A moving means for moving in an approximately horizontal direction along the surface, wherein the moving means scans the surface of the substrate by the slit nozzle while moving the cross-linked structure in the approximately horizontal direction, with respect to the surface of the substrate. A substrate processing apparatus for forming a layer (forming layer) of the predetermined processing liquid, comprising: detecting means for detecting a thickness dimension of the forming layer in a state in which the substrate is supported on the support base, and the forming layer detected by the detecting means And determining means for determining whether the processing for the substrate is good or not, based on the thickness dimension of.

The invention of claim 16 is the substrate processing apparatus according to the invention of claim 15, wherein the detection means is provided at a position facing the surface of the substrate in the cross-linked structure, and between the objects in a predetermined direction. And sensing means for detecting the distance of the sensor and calculating means for calculating the thickness dimension of the formed layer based on the detection result of the sensing means.

Further, the invention of claim 17 is the substrate processing apparatus according to the invention of claim 16, wherein the sensing means is provided with a first distance between the surface of the substrate and the surface of the formation layer before and after the formation layer is formed. The second distance between and is detected, and the calculating means calculates the difference between the first distance and the second distance, thereby calculating the thickness dimension of the formed layer.

Further, the invention of claim 18 is the substrate processing apparatus according to the invention of claim 16 or 17, wherein the sensing means transmits laser light in the predetermined direction, and the laser light reflected by the surface of the object. It is a laser displacement meter that detects the distance between the object and the object by receiving the specularly reflected light in the light receiving element array.

Further, the invention of claim 19 further includes a lifting means for lifting up and down the slit nozzle, and a control means for controlling the lifting means, in the substrate processing apparatus according to the invention of claim 16 or 17. The lifting means is controlled based on the detection result of the sensing means.

Further, the invention of claim 20 is the substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 15 to 17, wherein the detection means transmits laser light in a predetermined direction, and among the laser light, the surface of the formation layer. The first specular reflection reflected by the light and the second specular reflection reflected by the surface of the substrate are simultaneously received on the light receiving element array, and the peaks of the intensity distribution appearing on the light receiving element array by the first specular reflection light; The thickness dimension of the formed layer is detected based on the distance on the light receiving element array from the peak of the intensity distribution appearing on the light receiving element array by the second specular reflection light.

In the invention of claim 21, in the substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 15 to 17, the substrate is a substrate for flat panel display, and the predetermined processing liquid is a resist liquid.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, preferred embodiment of this invention is described in detail, referring an accompanying drawing.

<One. First embodiment>

1 is a conceptual plan view showing the configuration of the substrate processing apparatus 1 in the first embodiment. The substrate processing apparatus 1 is provided as a part of the substrate processing system SYS and includes a control unit 6 for controlling each component in the apparatus, a loader incorporating a substrate to be processed in the apparatus, a cleaner ( 11) the transfer robots 12 and 13 for conveying the substrate in accordance with a predetermined conveyance path, the heat treatment unit HP for heat treating the substrate, the cooling unit CP for cooling the substrate, and the substrate being processed. Buffers BF1 to BF4 stored therein, a coating unit 14 for applying a resist to the surface of the substrate, and a drying unit 15 for preliminary drying of the resist (for example, blow drying, reduced pressure drying, and the like). A titler 16 for giving a title such as a control number to the substrate, a developing device 19, a post-bake apparatus 20 for performing heat treatment, and a substrate that has been processed out of the apparatus. An unloader 21 for carrying out is provided.

The substrate processing apparatus 1 is adjacent to an exposure apparatus (stepper 17) for forming a circuit pattern or the like on a substrate by selective exposure. The board | substrate with which application | coating of the resist mentioned later is completed is given to the stepper 17, and the board | substrate after completion | finish of exposure by this stepper 17 is conveyed by the conveyor 18, and is returned to the substrate processing apparatus 1, and is developed. It is supposed to receive. In addition, although the illustration of the control part 6 is abbreviate | omitted, it is connected so that transmission and reception of each structure and signal in the substrate processing apparatus 1 are possible.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1, the loader 10 first embeds a substrate to be processed and cleans the substrate by the cleaner 11 to remove dirts and the like adhering to the substrate surface. Next, the transfer robot 12 conveys the substrate to the heat treatment unit HP. In the heat treatment unit HP, the substrate is heated to evaporate and dry the cleaning liquid. Next, the heated substrate is conveyed to the cooling unit CP, and cooled to a predetermined temperature. By the above, the pre-application process for apply | coating a resist is complete | finished.

The board | substrate with which the previous process was complete | finished is conveyed to the application | coating unit 14 by the conveyance robot 12, and a resist is apply | coated.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the structure of an application unit 14 which is an embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a plan view of the application unit 14 as viewed from above. 4 and 5 are front and side views of the coating unit 14, respectively.

The coating unit 14 has a stage 3 that functions as a support for placing and supporting the substrate 90 to be processed, and also serves as a base of each of the accompanying mechanisms. The stage 3 is an integral rectangular stone shape, and the upper surface (supporting surface 30) and the side surface are processed into a flat surface.

The upper surface of the stage 3 is a horizontal plane, and is a support surface 30 of the substrate 90. A plurality of vacuum suction holes are distributed and formed on the support surface 30, and the substrate 90 is formed by adsorbing the substrate 90 while the substrate 90 is processed in the substrate processing apparatus 1. Support in a horizontal position.

A pair of traveling rails 31a extending substantially in parallel in the horizontal direction are fixedly installed at both end portions of the supporting surface 30 which sandwich the arrangement area (the area where the substrate 90 is disposed) of the substrate 90. . The running rail 31a guides the movement of the crosslinked structure 4 together with the support blocks 31b fixed to both ends of the crosslinked structure 4 (prescribes a moving direction in a predetermined direction), The crosslinked structure 4 is supported above the support surface 30.

Above the stage 3, the bridge | crosslinking structure 4 extended substantially horizontally in the both side parts of this stage 3 is provided. The crosslinked structure 4 mainly consists of the nozzle support part 40 which makes carbon fiber resin aggregate, and the elevating mechanisms 43 and 44 which support both ends.

The slit nozzle 41 and the gap sensor 42 are attached to the nozzle support part 40.

A slit nozzle 41 extending in the horizontal Y direction is connected to a discharge mechanism (not shown) including a pipe for supplying a chemical liquid (resist liquid) to the slit nozzle 41 and a pump for resist. The resist liquid is sent to the slit nozzle 41 by a resist pump and the surface of the substrate 90 is scanned to thereby resist the resist liquid in a predetermined region (hereinafter referred to as a "resist coating region") on the surface of the substrate 90. Discharge.

The gap sensor 42 is attached to the nozzle support portion 40 of the cross-linked structure 4 at a position opposite to the surface of the substrate 90, and has an existence (eg, a substrate (for example) in a predetermined direction (-Z direction). 90) and the distance (gap) between the resist film) is detected, and the detection result is transmitted to the controller 6.

The gap sensor 42 is attached to the nozzle support portion 40 so as to be in the vicinity of the slit nozzle 41 and is formed between the gap sensor 42 and the lower object (eg, the surface of the substrate 90 or the surface of the resist film). The difference (gap) is measured. Specifically, the gap sensor 42 is a light source that irradiates laser light downward (substrate direction) and a light receiving element that receives reflected light downward, and detects the distance between the object and the object present downward from the reflected light. .

In this way, the slit nozzle 41 and the gap sensor 42 are attached to the nozzle support portion 40, thereby fixing their relative positional relationship. Therefore, the substrate processing apparatus 1 can detect the distance between the surface of the board | substrate 90 and the slit nozzle 41 based on the measurement result of the gap sensor 42. FIG. Moreover, although the substrate processing apparatus 1 in this embodiment is equipped with two gap sensors 42, the number of the gap sensors 42 is not limited to this, Furthermore, many gap sensors 42 are provided. You may do it. In addition, although not shown, the coating unit 14 includes a cleaning mechanism including a cleaning nozzle for discharging a solvent for cleaning the slit nozzle 41, and the cleaning nozzle has a slit nozzle 41 as necessary. Is washed.

The lifting mechanisms 43 and 44 are divided into both sides of the slit nozzle 41, and are connected to the slit nozzle 41 by the nozzle support 40. The elevating mechanisms 43 and 44 are also used to adjust the posture in the YZ plane of the slit nozzle 41 while raising and lowering the slit nozzle 41 in a translational manner.

On both ends of the cross-linked structure 4, a pair of AC coreless linear motors (hereinafter, simply referred to as "linear motors") 50 disposed separately on both sides of the stage 3 are fixedly installed.

The pair of linear motors 50 each includes a stator (stator, 50a) and a mover 50b, and moves the crosslinked structure 4 in the X-axis direction by electronic interaction between the stator 50a and the mover 50b. It is a motor that generates a driving force to make. In addition, the movement amount and the movement direction by each linear motor 50 are controllable according to the control signal from the control part 6. As shown in FIG.

The pair of linear encoders 52 arranged on the left and right of the stage 3 have a scale part and a detector (not shown), and detect the relative positional relationship between the scale part and the detector to the control part 6. send. The scale part is fixed to the stage 3, and the detector is fixed to the vicinity of each linear motor 50 fixed to the bridge structure 4. Therefore, the control part 6 can detect the position of each linear motor 50 based on the detection result in each linear encoder 52, and position-control each linear motor 50 based on the detection result. You can do it.

Further, the coating unit 14 includes an image recognition unit 22 composed of the imaging unit 23 and the determination unit 24.

An imaging unit (two-dimensional CCD camera) 23 is attached above the stage 3 and picks up a two-dimensional image of the surface of the substrate 90 after the treatment liquid is applied. In addition, the imaging unit 23 transmits the captured image data to the determination unit 24.

The determination unit 24 is provided inside the stage 3, and performs image recognition processing on the image data (imaging output) transmitted from the imaging unit 23, thereby applying the application state of the resist formed on the substrate 90. Determine. The determination result is also sent to the control unit 6 of the substrate processing apparatus 1.

The coating unit 14 starts the resist coating process by conveying the board | substrate 90 in which the application | coating process was complete | finished by the conveyance robot 12. As shown in FIG.

First, the stage 3 adsorbs and supports the board | substrate 90 at a predetermined position on the support surface 30. Subsequently, the lifting mechanisms 43 and 44 move the gap sensor 42 attached to the nozzle support 40 at a predetermined altitude higher than the thickness of the substrate 90 (hereinafter referred to as 'measurement height'). At this time, the control part 6 provides a control signal to each of the lifting mechanisms 43 and 44 based on the detection result of each rotary encoder 442 provided in each of the lifting mechanisms 43 and 44, thereby providing a gap. The position of the sensor 42 is controlled.

When the gap sensor 42 is set at the measurement height, the linear motor 50 moves the bridge structure 4 in the X direction, thereby moving the gap sensor 42 to the upper portion of the resist coating region. At this time, the control part 6 controls the position of the gap sensor 42 by providing the control signal of the linear motor 50 based on the detection result of the linear encoder 52, respectively.

Next, the gap sensor 42 starts measuring the gap with the resist coating area. When the measurement is started, the linear motor 50 moves the crosslinked structure 4 so that the gap sensor 42 scans the resist coating area and transmits the measurement result during scanning to the control unit 6.

When scanning by the gap sensor 42 is complete | finished, the control part 6 is based on the measurement result from the gap sensor 42, and the attitude | position in the YZ plane of the slit nozzle 41 is a suitable posture (slit nozzle 41). ) And the position of the nozzle support portion 40 in which the interval between the resist application area and the resist application area is an appropriate interval for applying the resist, hereinafter referred to as a "suitable posture", is calculated, and each lift is based on the calculation result. The control signals are provided to the spheres 43 and 44. Based on the control signal, the respective lifting mechanisms 43 and 44 move the nozzle support 40 in the Z-axis direction, and adjust the slit nozzle 41 to an appropriate position. Moreover, the linear motor 50 moves the crosslinked structure 4 to move the slit nozzle 41 to the discharge start position.

When the slit nozzle 41 moves to the discharge start position, the control unit 6 provides a control signal to the linear motor 50 and a resist pump (not shown). Based on the control signal, the slit nozzle 41 scans the surface of the substrate 90 by the linear motor 50 moving the crosslinked structure 4 in the -X direction, and the slit nozzle 41 is scanned. The resist is sent to the slit nozzle 41 by operating the pump for resist in the middle, and the slit nozzle 41 discharges a resist to a resist application | coating area | region. As a result, a layer of resist is formed on the surface of the substrate 90.

When the slit nozzle 41 moves to the discharge end position, the control unit 6 provides a control signal to the linear motor 50 and the resist pump. Based on the control signal, the resist pump stops discharging the resist from the slit nozzle 41, and the linear motor 50 moves the crosslinked structure 4 to the initial position.

When the coating process of the resist is completed, the image capturing unit 23 captures an image of the surface of the substrate 90 to which the resist is applied, and transmits it to the determination unit 24. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an imaging range 230 of the imaging unit 23 with respect to the substrate 90. As shown in Fig. 6, the imaging range 230 is set to include an end region of the substrate 90 and an end region of the resist application region 231 (near the position where the application of the resist is started).

This is because the coating failure due to scratching as shown in Fig. 15 mainly occurs at the start of resist coating as described above, so that it occurs near the end of the substrate or near the position where the coating of resist is started. This is because such a coating failure can be efficiently detected by inspecting a lot of these areas selectively.

In this way, the imaging range 230 is a part of the surface of the substrate 90 in the scanning direction (X-axis direction) of the slit nozzle 41, while the direction perpendicular to the scanning direction of the slit nozzle 41 (Y-axis direction). By covering the whole range of the surface of the board | substrate 90, since the data amount of an image can be reduced compared with the case of imaging the image of the front surface of a board | substrate, image recognition processing can be speeded up. In addition, the resolution of the imaging unit 23 can be improved.

When the imaging by the imaging unit 23 ends, the determination unit 24 performs image recognition processing on the image data, determines the application state of the resist liquid on the substrate 90, and determines the determination result. To send. In such image processing and determination processing, for example, the resist coating portion is relatively dark, and the coating defect portions such as scratching portions of the coating are relatively bright, so that the light receiving data of each pixel is set to a predetermined threshold value brightness. By binarization, the degree of diffusion of the bright part in the image can be determined by determining the pixel number limit.

In this way, the application state of the resist liquid on the substrate 90 is determined in accordance with the image data of the imaging unit 23 provided in the coating unit 14, and after the series of processing in the substrate processing apparatus 1 is completed, Compared with the case where the separate inspection process is performed, the coating failure of the substrate 90 can be detected early.

As a result of the determination by the determination unit 24, when the coating failure of the substrate 90 was not detected (the inspection result is normal), the substrate processing apparatus 1 performs predetermined processing on the substrate 90 as follows. Do it.

First, the stage 3 stops the adsorption of the substrate 90. Subsequently, the transfer robot 12 picks up the substrate 90 from the support surface 30, takes it out of the coating unit 14, and conveys it to the drying unit 15. The drying unit 15 performs preliminary drying of the resist applied to the substrate 90 by, for example, vacuum drying.

Next, the heat treatment unit HP pre-bakes the substrate 90, and the cooling unit CP cools the substrate 90 after the prebaking to a predetermined temperature. Further, prebaking is a heat treatment performed after applying a resist on a substrate, for evaporation of the residual solvent in the coating film, and for enhancing adhesion between the coating film and the substrate. In addition, the conveyance robot 12 also conveys the substrate 90 therebetween.

In the cooling unit CP, the board | substrate 90 after completion of prebaking is conveyed to the titler 16 by the conveyance robot 13, and is conveyed to the stepper 17 after a control number is provided. An exposure process is performed. Furthermore, while being conveyed by the conveyor 18, the developing process by the developing device 19 and the post-baking process by the post-baking apparatus 20 are performed, and the unloader 21 is carried out of the apparatus.

On the other hand, when the coating failure of the board | substrate 90 is detected by the determination part 24 (an inspection result is abnormal), the substrate processing apparatus 1 performs the process with respect to the board | substrate 90 as follows. In addition, the substrate 90 in which coating defect was detected is called "bad substrate 91" hereafter.

First, the defective substrate 91 is subjected to the processing up to the cooling treatment after prebaking similarly to the normal substrate 90.

The defective substrate 91 on which the cooling process after prebaking is completed is conveyed to the buffer BF1 or BF2 by the conveyance robot 13.

In this way, the defective substrate 91 is stored in the buffer and further separated without being conveyed to a post process such as an exposure process, thereby reducing unnecessary processing on the substrate requiring reprocessing.

Moreover, the control part 6 controls the coating unit 14 which wash | cleans the slit nozzle 41 of the coating unit 14. As shown in FIG. First, the lifting mechanisms 43 and 44 and the linear motor 50 are controlled to move the slit nozzle 41 to the cleaning position corresponding to the cleaning mechanism. Next, while the cleaning nozzle discharges the chemicals, the nozzle tip of the slit nozzle 41 is scanned to clean the slit nozzle 41.

In this way, when the coating failure is detected, the slit nozzle 41 which is the main cause of the coating failure is automatically cleaned, thereby efficiently processing the substrate processing apparatus 1 in a state where coating failure occurs. Can be recovered. Moreover, the method of cleaning the slit nozzle 41 is not limited to the method mentioned above, A different structure and method may be used.

Moreover, the control part 6 controls the conveyance robot 12 so that it may convey to the buffer BF3 or BF4 until the coating unit 14 completes the washing process of the slit nozzle 41. FIG.

When the cleaning process of the slit nozzle 41 is finished, the transfer robot 12 conveys the substrate 90 stored in the buffer BF3 or BF4 to the application unit 14, and the application unit 14 applies resist coating. Resume processing. In addition, the defective substrate 91 conveyed to the buffers BF1 and BF2 is conveyed by a resist stripping step, and is reused after peeling off an incompletely applied resist.

In this way, by stopping the transfer of the substrate to the coating unit 14 in the state of poor coating, the generation of the substrate that becomes poor in coating can be reduced. Therefore, unnecessary processing can be reduced. In addition, when the coating failure is detected, the substrates are stored in different buffers depending on whether or not the coating process is completed, so that the processing status of each of the stored substrates can be identified. Can be started.

After the resist coating process is resumed, the substrate processing apparatus 1 performs a predetermined process as in the case where the inspection result is normal.

As mentioned above, the substrate processing apparatus 1 installs the image recognition part 22 in the coating unit 14, and inspects a coating defect, compared with the case where a separate inspection process is performed at the time of completion of a series of processes. Poor coating can be detected.

In addition, since the substrate processing apparatus 1 can prevent the defective substrate from being conveyed to a later step by storing the substrate in which the coating failure occurs in the buffer, unnecessary processing can be reduced.

In addition, by selecting a buffer for storing each substrate based on the processing state of the substrate at the time when the coating failure is detected, the processing can be appropriately resumed for the stored substrate. In addition, when a coating defect is detected again after resuming a process, you may make it notify a worker by an alarm. In that case, the worker stops carrying in the board | substrate from the loader 10, and performs a replacement operation of a nozzle. In addition, an automatic replacement function of the nozzle may be provided.

Further, the substrate processing apparatus 1 can reduce the data amount of the image data on the substrate surface by appropriately setting the imaging range of the imaging unit 23, so that the inspection can be performed efficiently.

In addition, in this embodiment, in order for the imaging part 23 to image, it is necessary to illuminate the board | substrate surface to the extent which can be imaged, but when the coating liquid is a photosensitive material, this illumination does not expose the photosensitive material. It is necessary to have a degree of intensity or a wavelength which does not sensitize, and illumination is performed in the range.

<2. Second Embodiment>

In the first embodiment, the imaging range of the imaging section 23 is set as a range including the end region of the substrate and the end region of the resist coating region. Shortage, or 'nozzle blockage', etc., is also contemplated. Therefore, as the imaging range of the imaging section 23, it may be set to include the region of the center portion of the substrate.

Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an image capturing range 232 in the image capturing section 23 of the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment constructed in accordance with this principle. The image capturing range 232 includes an area of the center portion of the substrate 90 in addition to the image capturing range 230 shown in FIG. 6.

The imaging unit 23 of the substrate processing apparatus 1 in the present embodiment picks up image data of the imaging range 232 and transfers the image data to the determination unit 24. The judging section 24 performs image recognition processing on the image data as in the first embodiment, and determines whether there is a coating failure.

As described above, the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment obtains the same effects as those of the first embodiment, and detects a coating defect in which scratches are generated near the center of the substrate. It is possible to carry out an accurate inspection. Furthermore, like the imaging section 23 of the present embodiment, when imaging a plurality of partial regions of the surface of the substrate 90, the imaging section 23 can be moved relative to the substrate 90. You may image.

<3. Third embodiment>

8 is a diagram showing a third embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, in the first embodiment, the gap sensor 42 attached to the nozzle support part 40 is fixed to the longitudinal direction of the nozzle support part 40, that is, the moving direction (scanning direction) of the nozzle support part 40. A movable mechanism (not shown) for moving the gap sensor 42 is provided while being movable in a direction orthogonal to the Y axis direction.

The gap sensor 42 measures a gap with an existence below, and in the first embodiment, the slit nozzle 41 (not shown in FIG. 8) attached to the nozzle support 40 before the coating operation. And the space | interval with the resist application | coating area | region of the board | substrate 90 were measured, and application | coating was performed by controlling the lifting mechanism 43, 44 (not shown in FIG. 8) so that the space | interval may become an appropriate space | interval. In the third embodiment, after performing the above-described operation as in the first embodiment, furthermore, during application, that is, the nozzle support portion 40 moves in the -X direction to discharge the coating liquid from the slit nozzle 41. While there is a gap, the gap sensor 42 located behind the moving direction as viewed from the nozzle support portion 40 performs the reciprocating movement in the Y direction and the -Y direction as indicated by the arrow A in the figure, and performs the measurement operation. . That is, while the nozzle support part 40 is moving in the -X direction in FIG. 8 and performing application | coating, the measurement of the full width of the board | substrate 90 with respect to the direction orthogonal to the scanning direction of the nozzle support part 40 is performed.

As a result, the measurement result shows that the place where the coating liquid on the surface of the substrate 90 is applied is at an interval to the upper surface of the coating film, and if there is an uncoated area, it is at an interval up to the substrate upper surface measured beforehand. do. Therefore, when the measurement result and the positional information in the X direction of the gap sensor 42 at the time of measurement are combined, an image showing the distribution of the coating film on the surface of the substrate 90 (a pseudo image created from a numerical value indicating the interval, hereinafter ' Pseudo image 'is obtained, and similarly to the above-described embodiment, the determination unit 24 performs an image recognition process on the pseudo image to determine whether or not it is applied.

Also in this case, if there is an uncoated portion B which is not coated due to clogging or the like in the width direction of the slit nozzle 41, the uncoated portion B is shown as a gap sensor as shown in FIG. The movement route of (42) crosses, and the determination part 24 can reliably detect the presence of the uncoated portion B. Moreover, in this embodiment, the gap sensor 42 for gap detection between the board | substrate 90 and the slit nozzle 41 is used also for imaging (the acquisition of a pseudo image) of the surface image which shows the unapplied part B. Moreover, in FIG. It is not necessary to provide a dedicated sensor (for example, the imaging unit 23 in the above embodiment).

Furthermore, like the gap sensor 42 in the present embodiment, an imaging means for imaging the surface image showing the uncoated portion B may be separately provided while moving along the slit nozzle 41. In addition, also in this embodiment, when the coating liquid is a photosensitive material, the light source which irradiates the laser beam of the gap sensor 42 is the intensity | strength of the grade which the photosensitive material does not sensitize, or when this coating liquid is a photosensitive material, or It needs to be a wavelength which does not sensitize, and a light source is used in the range.

<4. Fourth embodiment>

<4.1 Explanation of Configuration>

The substrate to be processed 1 in the above embodiment constitutes a part of the substrate processing system SYS. However, it is also possible to implement the present invention by considering the coating unit (coating device) 14 of the substrate processing apparatus 1 in the above embodiment as a substrate processing apparatus.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing an outline of the coating device 14a in the fourth embodiment constructed based on this principle. 10 is a plan view of the main body 2 of the coating device 14a as viewed from above. 11 and 12 are front and side views of the main body 2, respectively.

The coating device 14a is roughly divided into a main body 2 and a control system 6a. A rectangular glass substrate for manufacturing a screen panel of a liquid crystal display device is used as the substrate 90 to be processed, and the surface of the substrate 90 In the process of selectively etching the formed electrode layer or the like, it is configured as a substrate processing apparatus for applying a resist liquid to the surface of the substrate 90. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the slit nozzle 41 is configured to discharge the resist liquid onto the substrate 90. Further, the coating device 14a can be modified and used as a device for applying not only a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device but also a processing liquid (chemical liquid) to various substrates for flat panel displays in general.

FIG. 13 shows the principle of the laser displacement gauge used in the gap sensor 42. FIG. The gap sensor 42 includes a CCD (generally, a light receiving element array 420) and a light receiving lens 421, and emits (lights) the laser light in a predetermined direction from a light transmitting portion (not shown). The laser light (incident light) emitted from the light projecting part is reflected on the surface SF1 of the existence, and the specularly reflected light in the reflected laser light is received by the CCD 420 through the light receiving lens 421.

Here, in the gap sensor 42, the positional relationship between the light projecting section, the reference plane SF0, and the CCD 420 is already known, and the firing direction of the laser light emitted by the light projecting section and the focal position of the light receiving lens 421 are also known. Already known. Therefore, the gap sensor 42 is based on the principle of triangulation from the intensity distribution (indicative of the light receiving position on the CCD 420) on the CCD 420 of the received laser light, based on the principle of the triangulation method (SF0) and the surface of the existence ( It has the function of detecting the distance (gap, D) between SF1).

In this way, the gap sensor 42 receives the specularly reflected light from the laser light reflected from the surface of the object and detects the distance between the object and, for example, the resolution compared to the case where the diffuse reflected light is received. Since it can improve, the distance between the surface of an object and an object can be measured accurately.

The control system 6a includes an arithmetic unit 60 for processing various data according to a program, and a storage unit 61 for storing a program or various data therein, and the control unit 6 in the first to third embodiments. It has almost the same function as). Moreover, the front surface is provided with the operation part 62 for inputting the instruction | indication which an operator requires with respect to the coating device 14a, and the display part 63 which displays various data.

The control system 6a is connected to each mechanism attached to the main body 2 by a cable (not shown), and the stage 3 and the crosslinked structure 4 are based on signals from the operation unit 62 and various sensors. , The lifting mechanisms 43 and 444 and the linear motor 50 are controlled.

In particular, in this embodiment, the control system 6a controls the attitude | position and height of the slit nozzle 41 with respect to the board | substrate 90 based on the detection result of the gap sensor 42, and the Based on the detection result, the thickness dimension of the resist film formed on the surface of the substrate 90 is calculated, and based on the calculated thickness dimension, it is determined whether or not the resist coating process is applied to the substrate 90. Moreover, the determination result is displayed on the display unit 63.

As a specific configuration of the control system 6a, the storage unit 61 includes a RAM for temporarily storing data, a read only ROM, a magnetic disk device, and the like, and includes a portable magnetic disk, a memory card, or the like. May be a storage medium, a reading device, or the like. In addition, although the operation part 62 is a button and switches (including a keyboard, a mouse, etc.) etc., it may be provided as the function of the display part 63 like a touch panel display. The display unit 63 corresponds to a liquid crystal display or various lamps.

<4.2 Explanation of Operation>

Next, operation | movement of the coating device 14a which is a substrate processing apparatus in this embodiment is demonstrated. In the coating apparatus 14a, the resist coating process is started by conveying the board | substrate 90 to a predetermined position by an operator or a conveyance mechanism not shown. Moreover, the instruction for starting a process may be input by the operator operating the operation part 62 at the time when conveyance of the board | substrate 90 is completed.

First, the stage 3 adsorbs and supports the board | substrate 90 at a predetermined position on the support surface 30. Subsequently, the lifting mechanisms 43 and 44 move the gap sensor 42 attached to the nozzle support portion 40 to the measurement altitude based on the control signal from the control system 6a.

When the gap sensor 42 is set at the measurement altitude, the linear motor 50 moves the gap sensor 42 to the upper portion of the resist coating area by moving the crosslinked structure 4 in the X direction. Here, the resist coating region is a region for applying the resist liquid on the surface of the substrate 90. The resist coating region is a region except a region of a predetermined width along the edge of the entire surface of the substrate 90. At this time, the control system 6a controls the position of the gap sensor 42 in the X-axis direction by providing a control signal to each linear motor 50 based on the detection result of the linear encoder 52.

Next, the gap sensor 42 starts the measurement of the gap between the surface of the substrate 90 and the slit nozzle 41 in the resist coating region of the surface of the substrate 90. When the measurement is started, the linear motor 50 moves the cross-linked structure 4 further in the X direction so that the gap sensor 42 scans the resist coating area and transfers the measurement result during the scanning to the control system 6a. . At this time, the control system 6a stores the measurement result of the gap sensor 42 in the storage unit 61 in association with the horizontal position detected by the linear encoder 52.

When the crosslinked structure 4 passes above the substrate 90 in the X direction, and the scanning by the gap sensor 42 is completed, the control system 6a stops the crosslinked structure 4 at that position, and the gap sensor Based on the detection result from (42), the position of the nozzle support part 40 whose attitude | position in the YZ plane of the slit nozzle 41 becomes an appropriate posture is calculated, and each lifting mechanism 43, based on the calculation result is calculated. 44 to provide a control signal. Each lifting mechanism 43, 44 moves the nozzle support part 40 in the Z-axis direction based on the control signal, and adjusts the slit nozzle 41 to an appropriate position.

Thus, in the coating device 14a, in order to realize uniform application | coating of a resist liquid, since the distance between the slit nozzle 41 and the surface of the board | substrate 90 needs to be adjusted precisely, the control system 6a is a gap sensor. The lifting mechanisms 43 and 44 are controlled based on the detection result of (42).

Further, the linear motor 50 moves the crosslinked structure 4 in the -X direction, thereby moving the slit nozzle 41 to the discharge start position. Here, the discharge start position is a position in which the slit nozzle 41 almost follows one edge of the resist coating region.

When the slit nozzle 41 moves to the discharge start position, the control system 6a provides the control signal to the linear motor 50 and the resist pump (not shown). Based on the control signal, the linear motor 50 moves the cross-linked structure 4 in the -X direction so that the slit nozzle 41 scans the surface of the substrate 90 and during the scanning of the slit nozzle 41. By operating the resist pump, the resist liquid is sent to the slit nozzle 41, and the slit nozzle 41 discharges the resist liquid to the resist coating area. As a result, a layer of a resist liquid is formed on the surface of the substrate 90.

When the slit nozzle 41 moves to the discharge end position, the control system 6a provides the control signal to the resist pump, the lifting mechanisms 43 and 44, and the linear motor 50. Based on the control signal, the resist pump stops discharging the resist liquid from the slit nozzle 41, and the lifting mechanisms 43 and 44 move the gap sensor 42 to the measurement altitude.

Next, as the linear motor 50 moves the crosslinked structure 4 in the X direction, the gap sensor 42 scans the resist coating region, measures the gap with the resist film formed on the substrate 90, and then controls the control system ( To 6a). The control system 6a measures the difference between the value of the gap (distance between the surface of the substrate 90) measured before applying the resist and the value of the gap (distance between the surface of the resist film) measured after applying the resist. By calculating, the thickness dimension of the resist film formed on the substrate 90 is calculated.

Furthermore, according to the calculated thickness dimension, by comparing with a predetermined value set as a range of allowable thickness dimensions, it is judged whether or not the coating process performed on the substrate 90 is satisfactory, and the determination result is displayed on the display portion 63. Display.

This makes it possible to quickly determine whether or not the treatment liquid layer (resist film) is formed on the surface of the substrate 90, and therefore, for example, based on the determination result displayed on the display portion 63, for example, an operator. Etc. can respond quickly to the processing situation. In addition, since the said determination can be performed only by providing the gap sensor 42, inspection can be performed easily, without unnecessarily complicating an apparatus structure.

Further, in the inspection using the gap sensor 42, abnormality detection in the X-axis direction can be mainly performed. For example, the resist liquid is not applied (lack of the resist liquid), and the discharge start position and the discharge end position are not. It is possible to detect an abnormality that a thick film phenomenon occurs at the end position of the coating. Such an abnormality is more likely to occur in the substrate 90 to be processed in the same state than that in which the respective substrates 90 occur. It is generated. Therefore, the effect by responding quickly like the coating device 14a is large. In addition, when an abnormality is detected in the processing on the substrate 90 by the determination, not only the determination result is displayed but also the recovery process is automatically performed such as stopping the processing and performing nozzle cleaning according to the degree. You may also do it.

When the inspection of the resist film is completed, the stage 3 stops the adsorption of the substrate 90, and the operator or the transport mechanism picks up the substrate 90 from the support surface 30 and transfers it to the next processing step.

As described above, in the coating device 14a, before and after applying the resist liquid, scanning is performed by the gap sensor 42, and the distance between the surface of the substrate 90 and the resist film By detecting the distance between the surface and calculating the difference, the thickness of the resist film formed on the surface of the substrate 90 is calculated to determine whether the processing for the substrate 90 is satisfactory. After forming a layer of the processing liquid on the surface of the substrate, it is possible to quickly determine whether or not the condition is good, so that it is possible to respond quickly when an abnormal state occurs. In addition, since a sensor dedicated to resist film thickness measurement is not required, the inspection can be performed easily without complicating the device configuration.

In addition, the control system 6a controls the lifting mechanisms 43 and 44 for raising and lowering the slit nozzle based on the detection result of the gap sensor 42, thereby detecting the attitude and height of the slit nozzle 41 and the resist film thickness. Can be used as the gap sensor 42, and in order to separately detect the height position of the slit nozzle, it is possible to simplify the device configuration without providing a dedicated configuration.

<5. Fifth Embodiment>

In the fourth embodiment, the difference between the value of the gap (distance from the surface of the substrate 90) measured before the resist coating and the value of the gap (distance from the surface of the resist film) measured after the resist coating are obtained. Although it has been explained that the coating film is judged to be good or not by detecting the thickness of the resist film, the method of detecting the thickness of the resist film is not limited thereto, and the thickness of the resist film may be directly detected.

Fig. 14 is a view for explaining the principle of the gap sensor 46 in the fifth embodiment constructed based on such a principle. In addition, since the structure of the coating apparatus 14a in 5th Embodiment except the gap sensor 46 is substantially the same as that of 4th Embodiment, description is abbreviate | omitted.

As shown in Fig. 14, the gap sensor 46 is a laser displacement meter including a CCD 460 and a light receiving lens 461, similarly to the gap sensor 42 in the fifth embodiment, and the gap sensor 42. ) Has the same function. Further, the gap sensor 46 simultaneously CCDs the first reflected light (laser light reflected from the surface SF2) and the second reflected light (laser light reflected from the surface SF3) of the emitted laser light (incident light). 460 and the distance δ above the CCD 460 between the peak of the intensity distribution appearing on the CCD 460 by the first reflected light and the peak of the intensity distribution appearing on the CCD 460 by the second reflected light. On the basis of this, it has a function of detecting the distance d between the surface SF2 and the surface SF3. That is, the gap sensor 46 is a thickness dimension of the resist film directly (the distance d when the surface SF2 is the surface of the resist film formed on the surface of the substrate 90 and the surface SF3 is the surface of the substrate 90). )) Can be detected.

The detected thickness dimension of the resist film is transmitted to the control system 6a, and the determination by the control system 6a is performed similarly to the fourth embodiment.

By the above, also in the coating apparatus 14a in 5th Embodiment, the effect similar to 4th Embodiment can be acquired. In addition, since the gap sensor 46 directly detects the thickness dimension of the resist film, the control system 6a does not need to calculate the thickness dimension of the resist film, and the computation amount in the coating device 14a can be reduced.

<6. Variant>

As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, A various deformation | transformation is possible.

For example, in the above first to third embodiments, the place where the image recognition unit 22 is to be installed is not limited to the application unit 14. For example, the image recognition part 22 is independently provided in the predetermined position above the conveyance path | route of the board | substrate 90 in the substrate processing apparatus 1, and the conveyance robot 12 has the image recognition part 22 in it. You may make it convey the board | substrate 90 after resist coating to the downward position of. In addition, when the transfer robot 12 takes out the board | substrate 90 from the application | coating unit 14, it may stop once, and it may make it image and test in between. That is, in the application unit 14, the image recognition unit 22 is provided at any place as long as it is a section up to the water supply position of the substrate 90 from the coating unit 14 to the next step (the drying unit 15 in the example of FIG. You may also do it.

In addition, in the said 1st thru | or 3rd embodiment, the imaging part 23 and the determination part 24 of the image recognition part 22 do not necessarily need to be provided in the same place. For example, the imaging unit 23 may be provided in the application unit 14 and the determination unit 24 may be provided in the control unit 6.

In addition, in the said 1st thru | or 3rd embodiment, although the imaging range of the imaging part 23 is not limited to the whole surface of a board | substrate but the range with high probability of a scratch, the imaging range of the imaging part 23 is It is good also as a whole surface of a board | substrate, and the image recognition process may be selectively performed only in the range where the determination part 24 is imaged with the said image data, and is highly likely to produce a scratch.

In the first to third embodiments, the substrate processing apparatus 1 has been described as an apparatus for performing a series of processing (not only a coating process but also a developing process) for the substrate, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The same can be applied to the substrate processing apparatus that performs the bay independently. In that case, since inspection can be performed in the substrate processing apparatus 1, it is not necessary to provide a separate inspection process with respect to the board | substrate which the process in the substrate processing apparatus 1 complete | finished.

Further, in the fourth and fifth embodiments, for example, the distance between the surface of the resist film and the reference plane SF0 using a gap sensor having a function of detecting the reflected light from two surfaces at the same time. And the distance between the surface of the substrate and the reference plane SF0 may be simultaneously obtained by one scan, and the difference may be calculated to detect the thickness dimension of the resist film.

In addition, in the said 4th and 5th embodiment, although the determination result about the application | coating process was made to display on the display part 63, the means which confirms a determination result is not limited to this. For example, printing may be performed by a printer or the like, or when a position where an operator is located is separated, for example, a means of transmitting a determination result to a remote place via a network or generating a warning sound may be used.

In the invention described in claims 1 to 8, it is provided in any one of the sections from the coating unit to the water supply position of the substrate in the next step, to the imaging output of the imaging means for imaging the surface image of the substrate coated with the processing liquid. On the basis of this, by determining the application state of the processing liquid on the substrate, it is possible to detect a poor coating on the substrate earlier than in the case where a separate inspection step is provided after the series of processing is completed.

In the invention described in claim 2, the processing on the substrate can be stopped when the coating failure is detected by storing the substrate under processing in a buffer based on the determination result of the determination means, thereby reducing unnecessary processing. .

In the invention described in claim 3, the processing status of each stored substrate can be identified by selecting a buffer for storing the processing substrate from among the plurality of buffers according to the processing status of the substrate under processing.

In the inventions described in Claims 4 and 10, the imaging range by the imaging means is a part of the surface of the substrate, while the imaging range covers the entire range of the substrate in the direction orthogonal to the predetermined direction, thereby providing good efficiency. You can check.

In the invention described in Claims 5 and 11, the imaging range includes the start end of the scanning coating of the processing liquid in the coating unit, so that the position where scratches are likely to occur can be imaged, so that an efficient inspection can be performed.

In the inventions described in Claims 6 and 12, since the imaging range includes near the end of the substrate, the position where scratches are likely to occur can be captured, so that an efficient inspection can be performed.

In the inventions described in Claims 7 and 13, the imaging range includes the center portion of the substrate in addition to the edge portion, so that even if scratches are generated only on the center portion of the substrate, application defects can be detected, thereby improving detection accuracy. have.

In the invention described in claim 8, the imaging means is disposed above the support position of the substrate in the coating unit, whereby the coating failure can be detected early.

In the inventions described in claims 9 to 14, it is not necessary to provide a coating inspection step by determining the coating state of the processing liquid based on the imaging output of the imaging means.

In the inventions described in claims 15 to 21, based on the thickness dimension of the formation layer detected by the detection means, it is determined whether the processing for the substrate is good or not, after forming a layer of the processing liquid on the surface of the substrate. Since good or bad judgment can be performed, it can respond quickly to a processing situation.

In the invention as set forth in claim 16, the detection means is attached to a position facing the surface of the substrate in the cross-linked structure, and based on the detection result of the sensing means for detecting the distance between the objects in a predetermined direction, By calculating the thickness dimension, the inspection can be easily performed without complicating the device configuration.

In the invention as set forth in claim 18, the sensing means transmits the laser light to the object, and receives the specular reflection light out of the laser light reflected by the surface of the object by the light receiving element array, thereby detecting the distance between the object and the laser light. By the type displacement meter, the distance between the object and the object can be detected with high accuracy.

In the invention described in claim 19, the control means controls the lifting means based on the detection result of the sensing means, so that it is not necessary to provide a configuration for separately detecting the distance between the slit nozzle and the surface of the substrate. It can be simplified.

In the invention described in claim 20, the measuring means receives the first specularly reflected light reflected by the surface of the formation layer and the second specularly reflected light reflected by the surface of the substrate at the same time on the light receiving element array, By calculating the thickness dimension of the formation layer based on the distance in the light receiving element array from the peak of the intensity distribution appearing on the light receiving element array and the peak of the intensity distribution appearing on the light receiving element array by the second specular reflection light. Can be reduced.

Claims (21)

A coating unit for applying a treatment liquid to the surface of the substrate while scanning a rectangular substrate in a predetermined direction; In the substrate processing apparatus provided with the conveyance means which carries out the board | substrate with which the said process liquid was apply | coated by the said coating unit from the said coating unit, and conveys it to the next process according to a predetermined | prescribed conveyance path | route, Imaging means which is provided in any one of the sections from the coating unit to the water position of the substrate in the next step, and images the surface image of the substrate to which the treatment liquid is applied; Determination means for determining an application state of the processing liquid on the substrate based on the imaging output of the imaging means; And a buffer for temporarily storing the substrate under processing, wherein the substrate under processing is stored in the buffer in accordance with a determination result of the determining means. delete The method of claim 1, A substrate processing apparatus comprising a plurality of the buffers, and the buffer for storing the substrates in the processing is selected from among the plurality of buffers in accordance with the processing condition of the substrate in the processing. The method according to claim 1 or 3, And the imaging range by the imaging means is a part of the surface of the substrate, while the imaging range covers the entire range of the substrate in a direction orthogonal to the predetermined direction. The method according to claim 1 or 3, And an imaging range by said imaging means includes a starting end of scanning application of said processing liquid in said coating unit. The method according to claim 1 or 3, And an image capturing range by the image capturing means includes an end portion of the substrate. The method of claim 6, And the imaging range includes a central portion of the substrate in addition to the end portion. The method according to claim 1 or 3, And the image pickup means is disposed above the support position of the substrate in the coating unit. A support for supporting a square substrate, A bridge structure supporting a slit nozzle extending in a substantially horizontal direction and extending substantially horizontally above the support, Moving means for moving the cross-linked structure in a substantially horizontal direction along the surface of the substrate, A substrate processing apparatus for forming a layer of the processing liquid on the surface by discharging the processing liquid from the slit nozzle to the surface of the substrate while moving the crosslinked structure along the surface of the substrate. It is provided above the said support stand, and further provided with the imaging means which image | photographs the surface image on the said board | substrate, The imaging range by the imaging means is a part of the surface of the substrate, while the imaging range covers the entire range of the substrate in the direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the slit nozzle. And a coating state of the processing liquid is determined based on the imaging output of the imaging means. delete A support for supporting a square substrate, A bridge structure supporting a slit nozzle extending in a substantially horizontal direction and extending substantially horizontally above the support, Moving means for moving the cross-linked structure in a substantially horizontal direction along the surface of the substrate, A substrate processing apparatus for forming a layer of the processing liquid on the surface by discharging the processing liquid from the slit nozzle to the surface of the substrate while moving the crosslinked structure along the surface of the substrate. An image pickup means provided above the support, for picking up a surface image on the substrate so as to include a start end of scanning coating of the processing liquid in the substrate processing apparatus; And a coating state of the processing liquid is determined based on the imaging output of the imaging means. The method according to claim 9 or 11, And the imaging range includes an end portion of the substrate. The method of claim 12, And the imaging range includes a central portion of the substrate in addition to the end portion. delete delete delete A support for supporting a substrate, A crosslinked structure extending substantially horizontally above the support; A slit nozzle provided in the crosslinked structure and discharging a processing liquid to the substrate; Elevating means for elevating the crosslinked structure with respect to the support; Moving means for moving said cross-linked structure along a surface of said substrate in a substantially horizontal direction, In the substrate processing apparatus for forming the layer (forming layer) of the processing liquid on the surface of the substrate by scanning the surface of the substrate by the slit nozzle while the moving means moves the cross-linked structure in the substantially horizontal direction. In; Detection means for detecting a thickness dimension of the formation layer in a state where the substrate is supported by the support; Judging means for judging whether or not the processing for the substrate is satisfactory, based on the thickness dimension of the formation layer detected by the detecting means; The detection means, A first distance between the surface of the substrate and a second distance between the surface of the formed layer by detecting a distance between the surface of the substrate in a position opposite to the surface of the substrate in the crosslinked structure; Sensing means for detecting each, Calculating means for calculating a thickness dimension of the formed layer based on a detection result of the sensing means; Control means for controlling the lifting means based on the first distance detected by the sensing means to adjust a distance between the slit nozzle and the substrate; The calculating means, And calculating a thickness dimension of the formed layer by calculating a difference between the first distance and the second distance. The method of claim 17, The sensing means detects the distance between the object by transmitting the laser light in the predetermined direction and receiving the specularly reflected light in the laser light reflected by the surface of the object with a light receiving element array. Substrate processing apparatus, characterized in that the laser displacement meter. delete The method of claim 17, The detection means transmits the laser light in a predetermined direction to simultaneously display the first specular light reflected by the surface of the formation layer and the second specular light reflected by the surface of the substrate on the light receiving element array. Based on the distance on the light receiving element array between the peak of the intensity distribution appearing on the light receiving element array by the first specular reflection light and the peak of the intensity distribution appearing on the light receiving element array by the second specular reflection light, And a thickness dimension of the formed layer. The method according to any one of claims 1, 9, 11, 17, And said substrate is a substrate for a flat panel display, and said processing liquid is a resist liquid.

Images