KR100887529B1 - A surface treatment apparatus and process for stamp - Google Patents

Abstract

An apparatus for treating stamp surface and a method thereof are provided to uniformly treat a stamp surface of a large area used for large size substrate manufacture by including a heating part capable of hardening a chemical liquid. A jig(5) is installed in a chamber(10), and arranges one or more stamp(1) inside the chamber. A chemical liquid supply part(20) is installed in one side of the chamber, and supplies a chemical liquid to an inner part of the chamber. A heating part(40) is installed in one side of the chamber. The chemical liquid absorbed on a stamp surface by the heating part is hardened. The jig is composed of a plurality of supporting poles, and forms a plurality of load parts in which the stamp is loaded. A plurality of supporting poles is separated with a constant interval, and circulates the chemical liquid.

Description

A surface treatment apparatus and process for stamp

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a stamp surface treatment apparatus and method used in a flat plate printing process for manufacturing a substrate, wherein a jig is installed to surface-treat a pattern of an imprint type stamp used in a flat plate printing process. It is equipped with a chamber and a chemical liquid supply portion and a heating portion for curing the chemical liquid to uniformly treat the large surface area of a large number of stamp surfaces, so that the stamp can be easily separated from the substrate after the pattern of the stamp is transferred to the substrate. The present invention relates to a stamp surface treatment apparatus and method capable of preventing damage to the pattern on the stamp surface and the pattern transferred to the substrate and to significantly extend the life of the stamp.

In general, a substrate used for a plasma display panel (PDP) or a liquid crystal display (LCD), which is a flat panel display (FPD) device, is used in an in-plane printing process. ), It is manufactured through various treatment processes such as etching, stripping, cleaning, thermal treatment, and drying.

Among the above processes, in-plane printing is a micro pattern to be transferred onto a substrate without a complicated photo lithography process, and then a stamp is pressed on the substrate. It is a process of transferring a pattern.

Therefore, the stamp can not only easily distinguish between the etched and non-etched areas by imprint method in the in-plane printing, but also important to repeatedly transfer the fine pattern on the large-area substrate. One of the elements.

The stamp is a structure in which the polymer layer forming the fine pattern is attached to the surface of the GLASS (Back-Plane), and the stamp is pressed to the resin such as thermoplastic polymer applied on the substrate so that the pattern can be imprinted. In addition, ultraviolet rays (UV: Ultra Violet) are irradiated onto the substrate to cure the resin so that a pattern is formed on the substrate.

However, such a conventional stamp causes chemical attraction between the polymer layer of the stamp and the resin when the pattern is transferred onto the substrate and then separated from the cured resin, thereby damaging the pattern formed on the stamp or the pattern transferred onto the substrate. There was a problem, and as the number of times of use of the stamp increased, there was a problem that the uniformity of the pattern formed on the substrate and the like significantly decreased.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a chemical solution supply unit for supplying the chamber and the chemical solution to the surface treatment of the pattern of the imprint stamp used in the flat printing process and By providing a heating unit for thermosetting the chemical liquid, it is possible to uniformly treat the large surface of the stamp surface used for manufacturing a large substrate such as a plasma display panel (PDP) or a liquid crystal display (LCD). It is intended to be.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a stamp surface treatment apparatus and method which can effectively surface a stamp by allowing a chemical solution, which is a release agent supplied in a chamber, to be simultaneously adsorbed onto the entire surface of a plurality of stamps.

According to the present invention, at least one stamp may be disposed in a chamber in which a jig is installed, and a chemical liquid supply unit installed at one side of the chamber so that the chemical liquid may be supplied into the chamber and the chemical liquid adsorbed on the stamp surface may be thermally cured. It is configured to include a heating unit installed on one side of the chamber.

In addition, the jig of the present invention is to be formed of a plurality of stacking compartments each stack the stamp can be stacked, it may be composed of a plurality of supports are arranged spaced apart at regular intervals so that the chemical liquid can be easily circulated. .

Meanwhile, the chemical liquid supply unit of the present invention is installed through one side wall of the chamber, and the chemical liquid supply pipe for supplying the chemical liquid into the chamber, the pump installed in the chemical liquid supply pipe, and the chemical liquid discharged through the chemical liquid supply pipe can be stored. It consists of a chemical storage container installed inside.

In this case, the chemical liquid supply pipe may be configured with a plurality of branch pipes so that the chemical liquid may be supplied branched along a plurality of paths.

In addition, the chemical liquid may be composed of a fluorine-based inert liquid supplied with a carrier solvent is mixed so that it can be easily vaporized and diffused from the chemical storage container in the chamber.

In addition, a circulation means may be further provided inside the chamber so that the chemical liquid is forcedly circulated in the chamber.

In addition, the circulation means may be composed of a blowing fan installed in the upper portion of the chamber so that the gas in the chamber is discharged to the side wall on which the chemical liquid supply unit is circulated.

In addition, the chamber of the present invention is provided with an impurity inflow prevention portion to isolate the stamp disposed on the jig, the impurity inflow prevention portion is a plurality of separators forming an isolation zone and both sides so that the chemical components in the chamber can pass through It consists of a filter that is installed on each separator.

On the other hand, the heating unit of the present invention comprises a heater installed in the upper portion of the chamber adjacent to the discharge port of the blowing fan so that hot air can be easily forced to the stamp surface.

In addition, a vacuum pump may be further provided at one side of the chamber to minimize impurities in the chamber.

In addition, one side of the chamber may be further provided with a purge gas supply unit for supplying an inert purge gas to neutralize the other reactive gas in the chamber does not react.

In addition, one side of the chamber of the present invention is provided with an exhaust pipe so that the gas inside the chamber can be discharged to the outside, the exhaust pipe and the toxic gas collecting member may be installed respectively.

In addition, the stamp surface treatment method of the present invention is a vacuum pumping and purge gas supply step of removing impurities or other reactive gas in the chamber, a chemical liquid supply step of supplying a chemical liquid into the chamber, the supplied chemical liquid is vaporized and disposed in the chamber Chemical liquid vaporization and adsorption step adsorbed on the surface of the stamp, the first residual gas exhaust step of discharging the residual gas in the chamber to the outside through the exhaust pipe, heating the inside of the chamber with a heating portion and forcibly circulating the heat by using a circulation means And a second residual gas exhausting step of discharging the residual gas in the chamber to the outside through an exhaust pipe.

As described above, the present invention makes it possible to uniformly chemically treat a large number of large stamp surfaces used for manufacturing large substrates, such as plasma display elements or liquid crystal displays, so that the pattern of the stamp is transferred to the substrate. The stamp can be easily separated from the substrate, thereby preventing the pattern on the stamp surface and the pattern transferred to the substrate from being damaged.

In addition, the present invention is capable of efficiently and uniformly treating the surface of the stamp with a large area, which can reduce the post-treatment cost of the stamp, and significantly extend the life of the stamp.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of a stamp surface treatment apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows a partial perspective view of the jig 5.

As shown in FIG. 1, the present invention includes a chamber 10, a chemical solution supply unit 20, and a heating unit 40.

In the center of the chamber 10 is provided with a jig (5) in which a plurality of stamps (1) are arranged.

As shown in FIG. 2, the jig 5 has a structure in which a plurality of supports 5b are connected to each other, and is configured such that a plurality of stacking compartments 5a are stacked in a longitudinal direction so that the stamp 1 may be stacked. .

At this time, the jig 5 supports the front, rear, left and right sides of the loading compartment 5a so that the reaction gas in the chamber 10 can be circulated smoothly and adsorbed on the surface of the stamp 1. A skeleton is formed by (5b).

In addition, the lower side of the loading compartment (5a) is arranged so that the support (5b) is spaced at regular intervals so as to support the bottom surface of the stamp (1).

Therefore, what is necessary is just to load the stamp 1 so that it may be settled in the loading bin 5a formed in the jig 5, respectively.

Meanwhile, the chemical liquid supply unit 20 is composed of a chemical liquid supply pipe 22, a pump 24, and a chemical liquid storage container 25.

The chemical liquid supply pipe 22 is a tube for supplying the chemical liquid into the chamber 10 from an external chemical liquid storage unit (not shown), and penetrates through one side wall of the chamber 10 so that the discharge port 23 is inside the chamber 10. It is installed to be located at.

In addition, a pump 24 is installed in the chemical liquid supply pipe 22.

The pump 24 is a tube pump for quantitatively supplying a liquid using an elastic tube, and a pump in which a general tube using a fluorine-based or silicon-based compound having strong chemical resistance properties that can withstand chemical components can be used.

The pump 24 is not limited to a tube pump, and a flow control valve may be used.

In addition, the chemical liquid supply pipe 22 may be formed with a plurality of branch pipes 27 so that the chemical liquid 90 can be simultaneously supplied to various positions inside the chamber 10, the branch pipe 27 of the chemical liquid 90 Opening and closing valves 28 may be provided respectively to control the flow.

Branch pipe 27 may be installed on the one side wall of the chamber 10 spaced apart at regular intervals in the longitudinal direction.

Meanwhile, the chemical storage container 25 is a portion in which the chemical liquid 90 supplied through the chemical liquid supply pipe 22 is stored, and is installed at one side wall inside the chamber 10, and is disposed at the outlet 23 of the branch pipe 27. A plurality of each is installed so as to correspond.

On the other hand, the chemical liquid 90 is a resin such as a thermoplastic polymer coated on the surface of the substrate and the polymer layer forming the pattern of the stamp 1 after the pattern of the stamp 1 is transferred to the surface of the substrate. A fluorine-based inert component is used as a releasing agent so that this can be easily separated.

At this time, the chemical liquid 90 stored in the chemical storage container 25 is supplied with a carrier solvent (Carrier Solvent) is mixed and supplied to be easily vaporized, it is supplied quantitatively by the tube pump (24).

The chemical solution 90 is preferably such that the mixing ratio of the inert gas and the carrier solvent is maintained at a ratio of about 1: 9, but may be changed depending on the chemical component.

The heating unit 40 is to heat the inside of the chamber 10 so that the chemical liquid 90 adsorbed on the surface of the stamp 1 can be chemically bonded to the polymer layer and thermally cured. It is preferable.

The heating unit 40 may be a ceramic heater, an infrared ray heater, a halogen heater, or the like that is generally used.

Therefore, the chemical liquid 90 stored in the chemical storage container 25 is vaporized together with the carrier solvent and adsorbed onto the surface of the stamp 1 loaded in the loading compartment 5a of the jig 5, and then thermally cured. The stamp 1 is to be surface treated.

On the other hand, one side of the chamber 10 may be provided with a vacuum pump 60 to suck the impurities in the chamber 10 to be discharged to the outside and to maintain the inside of the chamber 10 in a vacuum, purge gas (Purge gas) Purge gas supply unit 70 for supplying) may be installed.

The purge gas is an inert gas used to neutralize impurities or other reactive gases (such as O 2 or H 2 O) present in the chamber 10 to not react, and a gas such as nitrogen (N 2) may be used.

Therefore, the chamber 10 is not only discharged to the outside by the vacuum pump 60 and the purge gas and other impurities supplied therein, the inside is formed in a nitrogen (N₂) atmosphere, impurities or other reactivity in a low vacuum state It can be kept clean in the absence of gas.

Meanwhile, the jig 5 having the stamp 1 loaded thereon may be installed inside the impurity inflow prevention part 38 forming a separate isolation area 35 in the chamber 10.

The impurity inflow prevention part 38 includes a plurality of separators 30 installed inside the chamber 10 and separators 30 on both sides so that the isolation zone 35 of the space where the jig 5 can be installed is formed. It is composed of a filter 36 which is installed at each.

Filter 36 may be a commonly used high efficiency filter (High Efficiency Particulate Arrestance Filter).

Hepa filter is a high-performance dust collection filter, and prevents fine dust or foreign matter from penetrating into the isolation zone 35 of the impurity inflow prevention unit 38.

Meanwhile, the chamber 10 may further include a circulation means 50 to circulate the reaction gas therein in one direction.

The circulation means 50 circulates the reaction gas in the chamber 10 in one direction to force the reaction gas to be uniformly adsorbed on the surface of the stamp 1, as well as the heat of the heating part 40 to the chamber 10. As to allow uniform diffusion to the inside, a blowing fan may be used.

The blowing fan is installed on the upper side of the chamber 10 so that the reaction gas sucked through the suction port 56 is discharged through the discharge port 57 to the side wall of the chamber 10 where the chemical liquid supply unit 20 is installed and forced to circulate. .

Blowing fan is connected to the drive motor 55, it is preferable that the suction port 56 and the discharge port 57 is arranged horizontally, the heating unit 40 is installed so as to be adjacent to the discharge port (57).

Meanwhile, an exhaust pipe 80 having an exhaust fan 85 is formed in the lower portion of the chamber 10 to discharge the reaction gas or residual gas in the chamber 10, and the exhaust pipe 80 collects toxic gas. It is preferable that the poisonous gas collecting member 86 is provided.

As the toxic gas collecting member 86, an adsorption tower capable of adsorbing toxic gases may be used.

In addition, the chamber 10, the chemical liquid supply pipe 20, the heating unit 40, the circulation means 50, the jig 5, etc., it is preferable that a Teflon coating is formed so as not to be corroded by the reaction gas.

Therefore, the chemical liquid 90 vaporized from the chemical storage container 25 and diffused throughout the chamber 10 is forced to circulate in one direction by the circulation means 50 as shown by the arrow, and is also installed in the separator 30. After passing through the filter 36 on one side and entering the isolation zone 35, the filter 1 is discharged into the chamber 10 again through the filter 36 on the other side, so that the stamp 1 has a surface in which impurities are removed. Will be dealt with.

In this case, the chemical liquid 90 is adsorbed on the surface of the stamp 1 and thermoset, thereby forming an inert coating film on the surface of the stamp 1.

Therefore, chemical attraction generated between the polymer layer forming the pattern of the stamp 1 and the resin applied to the substrate can be prevented.

In other words, after the substrate is pressed with the stamp 1 in the flat plate manufacturing process, the pattern of the stamp 1 is transferred to the resin of the substrate, and then the pattern of the stamp 1 and the pattern transferred to the substrate are easily separated from each other. It will be possible to prevent damage.

Hereinafter, the stamp surface treatment method of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 3.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a stamp surface treatment method of the present invention.

As shown, the operation process is a vacuum pumping and purge gas supply step (S10), chemical liquid supply step (S20), chemical liquid vaporization and adsorption step (S30), the first residual gas exhaust step (S40), heating and circulation step ( S50) and the secondary residual gas exhausting step S60.

First, in the vacuum pumping and purge gas supplying step (S10), when the vacuum pump 60 and the purge gas supply unit 70 are installed in the chamber 10, impurities inside the chamber 10 are removed to clean the inside of the chamber 10. As a step of maintaining the environment, the operation of the vacuum pump 60 and purge gas supply may be repeatedly performed in a low vacuum state.

The chemical liquid supply step (S20) is a step of storing the chemical liquid 90 mixed with the carrier solvent in the chemical liquid storage container 25 quantitatively through the chemical liquid supply pipe 22.

Meanwhile, the chemical liquid vaporization and adsorption step (S30) is a step in which the chemical liquid 90 stored in the chemical liquid storage container 25 is vaporized and diffused inside the chamber 10 to be adsorbed onto the surface of the stamp 1, wherein the circulation means 50 is The reaction gas may be diffused quickly and uniformly inside the chamber 10.

Meanwhile, the first residual gas exhausting step S40 is a step of discharging the residual gas inside the chamber 10 to the outside through the exhaust pipe 80 using the exhaust fan 85.

The heating and circulation step S50 operates the heating part 40 and the circulation means 50 so that the chemical liquid 90 adsorbed on the surface of the stamp 1 can be effectively thermally cured. By diffusing, the temperature uniformity in the chamber 10 is ensured.

Therefore, the chemical liquid 90 adsorbed on the surface of the stamp 1 is thermally cured and stably adsorbed.

The secondary residual gas exhausting step S60 is a step of finally exhausting the residual gas existing inside the chamber 10, and may be repeatedly performed several times in parallel with the purge gas supply.

Therefore, the present invention can effectively and uniformly adsorb the chemical liquid 90 to the surface of the stamp 1 having a large number of large areas, and also maintain the temperature uniformity in the chamber 10, so that the chemical liquid adsorbed onto the surface of the stamp 1 ( By heat curing 90) uniformly, the uniformity of the surface treatment of the stamp 1 can be ensured.

As described above, the above embodiments are merely described as examples for convenience of description and are not intended to limit the scope of the claims.

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a stamp surface treatment apparatus of the present invention;

2 is a partial perspective view of a jig provided in the stamp surface treatment apparatus of the present invention,

3 is a flowchart illustrating a stamp surface treatment method of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

1: stamp 5: jig

5a: loading compartment 5b: support

10: chamber 20: chemical supply unit

22: chemical supply pipe 23: outlet

24: pump 25: chemical storage container

27: branch pipe 28: on-off valve

30: separator 35: containment

36: filter 38: impurity inflow prevention part

40: heating part 50: circulation means

55: drive motor 56: inlet

57: discharge port 60: vacuum pump

70: purge gas supply unit 80: exhaust pipe

85: exhaust fan 86: poisonous gas capture member

90: chemical

Claims (13)

A chamber in which the jig is embedded such that at least one stamp can be placed; A chemical solution supply unit installed at one side of the chamber so that the chemical solution is supplied into the chamber; And A heating unit installed at one side of the chamber such that the chemical liquid adsorbed on the stamp surface can be thermally cured; Stamp surface treatment apparatus configured to include. The method of claim 1, The jig has a plurality of stacking compartments for stacking the stamps, respectively, is formed, the stamp surface treatment characterized in that consisting of a plurality of supports are arranged spaced apart at regular intervals so that the chemical can be easily circulated Device. The method of claim 1, The chemical liquid supply unit, A chemical solution supply pipe installed through one side wall of the chamber to supply the chemical solution into the chamber; A pump installed in the chemical supply pipe; And A chemical storage container installed inside the chamber to store the chemical liquid discharged through the chemical supply pipe; Stamp surface treatment apparatus comprising a. The method of claim 3, wherein The chemical liquid supply pipe is stamp surface treatment apparatus, characterized in that consisting of a plurality of branch pipes so that the chemical liquid can be supplied branched along a plurality of paths. The method of claim 4, wherein The chemical solution is a stamp surface treatment apparatus, characterized in that the fluorine-based inert liquid is supplied with a mixture of carrier solvent to be easily vaporized and diffused from the chemical storage container in the chamber. The method of claim 1, Stamp surface treatment apparatus further comprises a circulation means in the chamber so that the chemical liquid is forced to circulate in the chamber. The method of claim 6, The circulation means is a stamp surface treatment apparatus, characterized in that the blowing fan is installed on the upper side of the chamber so that the gas in the chamber is discharged to the side wall on which the chemical liquid supply unit is circulated. The method of claim 7, wherein The chamber is provided with an impurity inflow prevention portion to isolate the stamp disposed on the jig, wherein the impurity inflow prevention portion is provided on each of the two separators to pass through the plurality of separators forming the isolation zone and the chemical components in the chamber. Stamp surface treatment apparatus comprising a filter to be installed. The method of claim 8, The heating unit is a stamp surface treatment apparatus, characterized in that the heater is installed in the upper portion of the chamber adjacent to the discharge port of the blowing fan so that hot air can be easily forced to the stamp surface. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, Stamp surface treatment apparatus further comprises a vacuum pump on one side of the chamber. The method of claim 10, The stamp surface treatment apparatus of one side of the chamber further comprises a purge gas supply unit for supplying an inert purge gas to neutralize the other reactive gas in the chamber does not react. The method of claim 11, One side of the chamber is provided with an exhaust pipe so that the gas inside the chamber to be discharged to the outside, the exhaust pipe and the stamp surface treatment apparatus, characterized in that the exhaust fan and toxic gas collecting member is installed respectively. Vacuum Pumping and Purge gas supply step to remove impurities or other reactive gas in the chamber; A chemical liquid supplying step of supplying a chemical liquid into the chamber; Chemical liquid vaporization and adsorption step in which the supplied chemical liquid is vaporized and adsorbed onto a surface of a stamp disposed in the chamber; A first residual gas exhausting step of discharging the residual gas in the chamber to the outside through an exhaust pipe; A heating and circulation step of heating the inside of the chamber with a heating unit and forcibly circulating hot air by using a circulation means; And A second residual gas exhausting step of discharging the residual gas in the chamber to the outside through an exhaust pipe; Stamp surface treatment method comprising a.

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