KR101191102B1 - Apparatus and method for treating substrates - Google Patents

Abstract

The substrate processing apparatus includes a fluid injection unit for drying the substrate by injecting a drying gas into the chamber and the substrate. An upper exhaust port for exhausting gas in the process space is formed on the upper surface of the chamber, and the upper exhaust port is formed adjacent to the first end of the fluid injection section at the top of the fluid injection section. A plurality of lower exhaust ports are formed on the bottom surface of the chamber, and the lower exhaust ports are positioned in the lower portion of the fluid ejection portion and adjacent to the fluid ejection portion along the length direction of the fluid ejection portion. Each position of these upper and lower exhaust ports is a position set through the test of the drying process of the substrate. Accordingly, since the gas inside the chamber can be quickly exhausted, the substrate processing apparatus can improve the drying efficiency and the yield of the product.

Description

Substrate processing apparatus and method {APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR TREATING SUBSTRATES}

The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for processing a substrate, and more particularly, to a substrate processing apparatus and a method for manufacturing a substrate used for a flat panel display device.

Liquid crystal display (LCD) is a flat panel display that displays information by using the change in the light transmittance of the liquid crystal according to the applied voltage, due to various advantages such as small size / light weight, wide viewing angle, low power consumption, etc. Its use is gradually increasing.

The manufacturing process of the LCD is largely a TFT process for forming a thin film transistor (hereinafter referred to as TFT) substrate, a color filter process for forming a color filter substrate, an assembly process for bonding the TFT substrate and the color filter substrate, and It is divided into a module process that combines the backlight and the LCD panel. In the assembly process, the TFT mother substrate on which the unit cells for the TFT substrate are formed and the CF mother substrate on which the unit cells for the color filter substrate are formed are bonded and cut to form an LCD panel.

The LCD panel thus formed is subjected to a process of attaching polarizers to the upper and lower surfaces, respectively. However, when the LCD panel surface is adhered to a foreign material before the polarizer is attached, the polarizer is covered on the foreign material, so that a defect occurs.

To prevent this, a cleaning process for removing foreign matter adhering to the surface of the LCD panel is added. In the cleaning process, the surface of the LCD panel is cleaned using a cleaning liquid, and then a dry gas is sprayed to dry the LCD panel. The air knife sprays dry gas in the width direction corresponding to one side of the LCD panel to dry the LCD panel.

The chamber in which the drying process is performed is provided with exhaust ports for exhausting the drying gas injected in the drying process to the outside. However, the positions of these exhaust ports are arbitrarily set without taking into account the efficiency of the drying process, thereby lowering the exhaust efficiency.

An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of improving the yield of a product.

Moreover, an object of this invention is to provide the method of processing a board | substrate using said substrate processing apparatus.

A substrate processing apparatus according to one feature for realizing the above object of the present invention comprises a chamber, a transfer unit, and at least one fluid ejection portion.

The chamber provides a process space in which the substrate is dried. The transfer unit is installed in the process space, the substrate is seated, and transfers the substrate. The fluid spray unit is disposed above or below the transfer unit in the process space, and sprays a dry gas onto the substrate seated on the transfer unit to dry the substrate.

The chamber has a top surface and a bottom surface. An upper exhaust port is formed in the upper surface of the chamber to exhaust the gas in the process space, and the upper exhaust port is formed adjacent to the first end of the fluid ejection portion at the upper portion of the fluid ejection portion. A plurality of lower exhaust ports are formed on the bottom surface of the chamber to exhaust the gas in the process space, and the lower exhaust ports are positioned in the lower portion of the fluid ejection portion and adjacent to the fluid ejection portion along the length direction of the fluid ejection portion.

A substrate processing method according to one feature for realizing the above object of the present invention is as follows. First, the substrate is introduced into the chamber and seated in the transfer unit. A drying gas is sprayed on the substrate being moved by the transfer unit to dry the substrate, and at the same time exhaust the gas inside the chamber. Here, the dry gas is provided by a fluid injector which is installed above or below the transfer unit. The gas exhaust inside the chamber is made through an upper exhaust port formed on the upper surface of the chamber and a plurality of lower exhaust ports formed on the bottom surface of the chamber. The upper exhaust port is provided adjacent to the first end of the fluid ejection portion. The plurality of lower exhaust ports are provided adjacent to the fluid ejection section along the length direction of the fluid ejection section. Each position of the upper exhaust opening and the lower exhaust opening is set through a test of the drying process of the substrate.

According to the present invention described above, the upper exhaust openings and the lower exhaust openings are positioned through a drying process test of the substrate. As a result, the gas inside the chamber is quickly exhausted, so that drying efficiency and product yield can be improved.

1 is a side view schematically showing a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating the first air knife and the transfer unit illustrated in FIG. 1.
3 is a perspective view of the chamber shown in FIG. 1.
4 is a partial cutaway perspective view of the chamber shown in FIG. 1.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail a preferred embodiment of the present invention. In the drawings, the same reference numerals are used to designate the same or similar components throughout the drawings. In the following description of the present invention, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of the present invention rather unclear.

1 is a side view schematically showing a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a plan view showing a first air knife and the transfer unit shown in FIG.

1 and 2, the substrate processing apparatus 100 sprays a dry gas onto the substrate 10 cleaned by a cleaning apparatus (not shown) to dry moisture remaining on the substrate 10.

The substrate processing apparatus 100 may include a chamber 110, a substrate transfer unit 220, and first and second air knives 130 and 140. The chamber 110 provides a space in which the drying process of the substrate 10 is performed, and the substrate inlet 112a and the substrate 10 through which the substrate 10 is introduced into both sidewalls 112 and 113 facing each other. Substrate outlets 113a drawn out of the chamber 110 are formed, respectively.

The substrate transfer unit 120 is installed in the chamber 110. The substrate transfer unit 120 is installed in the chamber 110 and transfers the substrate 10 introduced into the chamber 110.

Specifically, the substrate transfer unit 120 may include a plurality of transfer shafts 121 and a plurality of rollers 122. The transfer shafts 121 are disposed below the substrate 10 on a path through which the substrate 10 is transferred. Each conveying shaft 121 extends in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the substrate 10, and the conveying shafts 121 are disposed parallel to each other along the conveying direction of the substrate 10. Both ends of the transfer shafts 121 are rotatably supported by a bearing member (not shown). Hereinafter, for convenience of description, a conveying direction of the substrate 10 is referred to as a first direction, and a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the substrate 10 on the plane of the substrate 10 is referred to as a second direction.

Each conveying shaft 121 is coupled with a plurality of rollers 122 in contact with the substrate 10. The rollers 122 are spaced apart from each other in the longitudinal direction of the transfer shaft 121 of the substrate 10, and are fitted to the outer circumferential surface of the transfer shaft 121. Each roller 122 has a ring shape and rotates together with the transfer shaft 121.

The transfer shafts 121 are connected to a power transmission member (not shown) such as a belt-pulley assembly or a gear assembly, and the power transmission member is connected to a drive member (not shown) such as a motor to receive a driving force. When the transfer shafts 122 and the rollers 124 are rotated by the driving member and the power transmission member, the substrate 10 seated on the substrate transfer unit 120 may have a lower surface and rollers ( The friction between 124 and the rotational force of the rollers 124 is conveyed in the first direction.

One end of each of the transfer shafts 121 is provided with a rotation drive unit 123. The rotation driver 123 may include a plurality of pulleys 123a, a driving motor 123b, and a plurality of belts 123c. The pulley 123a is coupled to the first end of the transfer shaft 121, and a pulley 123b adjacent to the drive motor 123b of the plurality of pulleys 123b is connected to the drive motor 123b. The drive motor 123b generates a rotational force to provide the rotational force to the connected pulley 123a, and the pulley connected to the drive motor 123b provides the rotational force to the connected transfer shaft 121 to provide the rotational shaft 121. Rotate

Two pulleys adjacent to each other among the plurality of pulleys 123a are connected to each other by the belt 123c. The belts 123c connect the plurality of pulleys 123a to each other to transmit rotational force provided from the pulley connected to the driving motor 123b to the adjacent pulley. Accordingly, the plurality of pulleys 123a rotates, and the plurality of transfer shafts 121 rotates by the rotational force of the plurality of pulleys 123a. In addition, the plurality of pulleys 121a and the plurality of belts 123c are also installed at the second ends of the transfer shafts 121.

The first air knife 130 is installed above the substrate transfer unit 120, and the second air knife 140 is installed below the substrate transfer unit 120. The first and second air knives 130 spray a dry gas, for example, air, onto the substrate 10 to dry the substrate 10.

The first and second air knives 130 and 140 are disposed to face each other, and a drying gas is sprayed toward the substrate 10 to dry the substrate 10. In this embodiment, the first and second air knives 130 and 140 inject the dry gas in a direction opposite to the moving direction of the substrate 10.

The first and second air knives 130 and 140 have a rod shape extending in the second direction, are disposed diagonally, and have a width corresponding to one side of the substrate extending the drying gas in the second direction. Discharged integrally. The plurality of transfer shafts 121 of the substrate transfer unit 120 are removed in an area where the first and second air knives 130 and 140 are located.

3 is a perspective view of the chamber shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the chamber shown in FIG. 1.

2 and 3, the bottom surface 111 and the top surface 114 of the chamber 110 include a plurality of exhaust ports 111a, 111b, 111c for exhausting the dry gas introduced into the chamber 10. 111d, 111e, 114a are formed.

Specifically, the plurality of exhaust ports 111a, 111b, 111c, 111d, 111e, and 114a include an upper exhaust port 111a and a plurality of lower exhaust ports 111a, 111b, 111c, 111d, and 111e.

The upper exhaust port 114a is formed on the upper surface 114a of the chamber 10 and is positioned adjacent to the first ends of the first and second air knives 130 and 140. The upper exhaust port 114a is positioned at the front end of the first and second air knives 130 and 140 based on the injection directions of the first and second air knives 130 and 140.

The upper exhaust port 114a communicates with the first exhaust line 141, and the first exhaust line 141 is connected with the exhaust device 150. The exhaust device 150 provides an exhaust pressure for exhausting the dry gas in the chamber 110.

The upper exhaust of the chamber 110 is made by the upper exhaust port 114a and the first exhaust line 141. That is, the dry gas in the chamber 110 flows into the first exhaust line 141 through the upper exhaust port 114a and flows along the first exhaust line 141 through the exhaust device 150. Ejected to the outside.

For reference, in FIG. 3, reference numeral NP denotes positions of the first and second air knives 130 and 140.

2 and 4, the plurality of lower exhaust ports 111a, 111b, 111c, 111d and 111e may include first to fifth lower exhaust ports 111a, 111b, 111c, 111d and 111e. The first to fifth lower exhaust ports 111a, 111b, 111c, 111d, and 111e are positioned along the first and second air knives 130 and 140, and the first and second air knives 130 and 140. It is located at the front end of the first and second air knife 130, 140 based on the injection direction of the). In this embodiment, since the first and second air knives 130 and 140 are arranged diagonally, the first to fifth lower exhaust ports 111a, 111b, 111c, 111d and 111e are also arranged diagonally.

In detail, the first and second lower exhaust ports 111a and 111b are positioned adjacent to the first ends of the first and second air knives 130 and 140, and are spaced apart from each other in the first direction. The third lower exhaust port 111c and the fourth lower exhaust port 111d are positioned adjacent to a central portion of the first and second air knives 130 and 140, and the first and second air knives 130 and 140. Are arranged diagonally. The fifth lower exhaust part 111e is disposed adjacent to the second ends of the first and second air knives 140.

The first to fifth lower exhaust ports 111a, 111b, 111c, 111d, and 111e communicate with the plurality of sub exhaust lines 142. The plurality of sub exhaust lines 142 correspond to the first to fifth lower exhaust ports 111a, 111b, 111c, 111d, and 111e one-to-one, and are connected to the second exhaust line 143. The second exhaust line 143 is connected to the exhaust device 150.

The lower exhaust of the chamber 110 may include the first to fifth lower exhaust ports 111a, 111b, 111c, 111d, and 111e, the plurality of sub exhaust lines 142, the second exhaust line 143, and the By the exhaust device 150. That is, the dry gas in the chamber 110 flows into the plurality of sub exhaust lines 142 through the first to fifth lower exhaust ports 111a, 111b, 111c, 111d, and 111e and then the second exhaust line. 143 flows through the second exhaust line 143 and is discharged to the outside through the exhaust device 150.

On the other hand, each of the sub exhaust line 142 is provided with a flow control unit 143 for adjusting the flow rate in the sub exhaust line 142, the flow control unit 143 to the gauge 143a and the exhaust damper (143b) Is done.

For reference, in FIG. 4, reference numeral NP denotes positions of the first and second air knives 130 and 140.

In this embodiment, the positions of the first to fifth lower exhaust ports 111a, 111b, 111c, 111d and 111e and the upper exhaust port 114a are optimal positions determined through testing. In particular, openings 112a and 113a through which the substrate 10 enters and exits are formed in the chamber 110, and the inside of the chamber 110 is not maintained at a vacuum pressure. Therefore, since the local vacuum pressure is generated only at the portion where the exhaust ports 111a, 111b, 111c, 111d, 111e, and 114a are formed, the position is more important than the exhaust flow rate. The positions of the exhaust ports 111a, 111b, 111c, 111d, 111e, and 114a reflect this characteristic, and the exhaust efficiency depends on the position.

As such, the substrate processing apparatus 100 is provided with the exhaust ports 111a, 111b, 111c, 111d, 111e, and 114a at an optimal position determined through testing, thereby improving drying efficiency of the substrate 10. The yield of the product can be improved.

Although described with reference to the embodiments above, those skilled in the art will understand that the present invention can be variously modified and changed without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the claims below. Could be.

100 substrate processing apparatus 110 chamber
120: substrate transfer unit 130, 140: air knife
150: exhaust device

Claims (7)

A chamber providing a process space in which the substrate is dried;
A transfer unit installed in the process space, on which the substrate is mounted, and transferring the substrate; And
At least one fluid injector disposed in an oblique line at an upper portion or a lower portion of the transfer unit and spraying a dry gas onto a substrate seated on the transfer unit to dry the substrate;
The chamber may comprise:
An upper surface having an upper exhaust port formed adjacent to a first end of the fluid ejection portion at an upper portion of the fluid ejection portion to exhaust gas in the process space; And
A bottom surface having a plurality of lower exhaust ports positioned adjacent the fluid ejection portion in a length direction of the fluid ejection portion below the fluid ejection portion for exhausting gas in the process space;
The upper exhaust port and the lower exhaust port are provided at the front end of the fluid injection unit based on the injection direction of the fluid injection unit for injecting the dry gas,
The plurality of lower exhaust ports,
First and second lower exhaust ports positioned adjacent to a first end of the fluid ejection portion and spaced apart from each other in a moving direction of the substrate;
Third and fourth lower exhaust ports positioned adjacent to a central portion of the fluid injector and spaced apart from each other in an arrangement direction of the fluid injector; And
And a fifth lower exhaust port positioned adjacent to the second end of the fluid ejection portion opposite the first end of the fluid ejection portion. The method of claim 1,
And the positions of the upper exhaust port and the lower exhaust port are optimal positions set through a drying process test of the substrate. The method of claim 1,
A first exhaust line communicating with the upper exhaust port;
A sub exhaust line communicating with the plurality of lower exhaust ports and provided one-to-one correspondence with the plurality of lower exhaust ports;
A second exhaust line connected to the sub exhaust line; And
And an exhaust device connected to the first and second exhaust lines and providing a negative pressure to the first and second exhaust lines. 4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The fluid injection unit is provided with a plurality,
The plurality of fluid injection unit is provided on each of the upper and lower portions of the transfer unit, the substrate processing apparatus, characterized in that disposed facing each other. Introducing a substrate into the chamber and seating the substrate in the transfer unit; And
Injecting a dry gas onto the substrate being moved by the transfer unit to dry the substrate, and at the same time exhausting the gas inside the chamber,
The dry gas is provided by a fluid injector which is installed above or below the transfer unit,
Gas exhaust inside the chamber is made through an upper exhaust port formed on the upper surface of the chamber and a plurality of lower exhaust ports formed on the bottom surface of the chamber,
The upper exhaust port is provided adjacent to the first end of the fluid ejection portion,
The plurality of lower exhaust ports are provided adjacent to the fluid ejection portion along the length direction of the fluid ejection portion,
The upper exhaust port and the lower exhaust port are provided at the front end of the fluid ejection portion based on the ejection direction of the fluid ejection portion,
The fluid ejection portion is disposed diagonally with respect to the upper surface of the substrate,
The plurality of lower exhaust ports may include first to fifth lower exhaust ports,
The first and second lower exhaust ports are provided to be spaced apart from each other in the moving direction of the substrate and adjacent to the first end of the fluid ejection portion.
The third and fourth lower exhaust ports are provided to be adjacent to the central portion of the fluid injection portion spaced apart from each other in the arrangement direction of the fluid injection portion,
And said fifth lower exhaust port is provided adjacent to a second end of said fluid ejection portion opposite said first end. The method of claim 5,
And the dry gas is provided to the substrate in the form of an air curtain. The method according to claim 5 or 6,
The position of the upper exhaust port and the lower exhaust port is a substrate processing method, characterized in that the optimum position calculated by the drying process test of the substrate.

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