KR101292802B1 - apparatus for attaching substrates of flat plate display element - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a substrate adhering apparatus for a flat panel display panel, which comprises: an upper chamber for forming an adhered space of a substrate; A substrate chuck provided in the upper chamber for attaching the first substrate by an electrostatic force and an adhesive force and allowing the first substrate to fall freely as the electrostatic force is lost; A lower chamber which is in contact with the upper chamber to form a cementing space of the substrate; And a lifter for lifting the lower chamber toward the upper chamber side. The present invention can solve the problem of unevenness on the display panel due to residual static electricity generated when the electrostatic chuck is used. In addition, since the electric safety problem hardly occurs, it can exhibit high stability and efficiency, and can be manufactured at a lower cost than the electrostatic chuck.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a substrate chuck,

1 is a schematic view showing a substrate adhering apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a plan view showing a substrate chuck in a substrate bonding apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a side cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the substrate chuck in the substrate bonding apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4A to 4B are simplified views showing a substrate chuck according to another embodiment of the present invention.

** Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings *

100: substrate bonding device

10: frame

20: upper chamber

24: substrate chuck

25: unit substrate chuck

40: lower chamber

60 lifter

The present invention relates to a substrate bonding apparatus of a flat panel display panel, and more particularly, to a substrate chuck and a substrate bonding apparatus using the same, which are provided to attach a substrate in a manufacturing process of a flat panel display panel.

As the information society has developed, demands for display devices have been increasing in various forms. Recently, various flat panel display devices such as LCD (Liquid Crystal Display Device), PDP (Plasma Display Panel), ELD (Electro Luminescent Display) and VFD (Vacuum Fluorescent Display) have been studied and some of them have already been widely used in real life .

Among them, the LCD is superior in image quality to a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) and is widely used for a portable image display device because of its advantages of light weight, thinness and low power consumption.

The LCD is formed by injecting a liquid crystal between a TFT (Thin Film Transistor) substrate on which electrodes are formed and a CF (color filter) substrate coated with a phosphor. A sealer is provided on the outer circumferential surface of both substrates to prevent leakage of the liquid crystal material, and a spacer is disposed between the substrates to maintain a gap between the substrates at predetermined intervals.

Therefore, in manufacturing an LCD, it is essentially necessary to manufacture a TFT substrate and a CF substrate, then to bond both substrates together and to inject a liquid crystal material into a space therebetween. It is one of the important processes.

In general, the substrate laminating process is performed by a substrate laminating apparatus composed of an upper chamber and a lower chamber in which the inside can be formed in a vacuum state. The prior art for such a laminating apparatus is disclosed in International International Publication No. WO 2003/091970 filed by Shin-Etsu Engineering Co., Ltd., "Device for joining flat panel substrates ", and the like.

On the other hand, the above-described conventional techniques and the adhesion of the substrates according to the patents are accomplished by pressing the array substrate and the color filter substrate against each other using pressure. To this end, the substrate laminating apparatus includes two electrostatic chucks (ESC) arranged on the upper and lower sides so as to face each other, and the substrates are bonded to the electrostatic chucks. Then, the two electrostatic chucks are brought close to each other while maintaining the parallelism precisely, and then the two substrates are cemented together.

Such a substrate laminating apparatus is most often constructed by forming the substrate in a vacuum atmosphere when the substrates are bonded together. Therefore, when the initial substrate is loaded, the inside of the substrate cementing apparatus is in an atmospheric pressure state. Therefore, the substrate is adsorbed using a vacuum adsorber, and then the substrate is bonded using an electrostatic chuck when the inside of the substrate cementing apparatus is evacuated. That is, two different physical forces are used to support the substrate. Prior art for such a substrate bonding apparatus is disclosed in International Publication No. " WO 2004/097509 " filed by Fujitsu Co., Ltd., " Joint Substrate Manufacturing Apparatus ", International Publication No. " WO 2003 " filed by Shin-Etsu Engineering Co., Ltd. / 091970 "," Attaching Device for Substrates for Flat Panels ", and the like.

On the other hand, an electrostatic chuck used in a substrate adhesion apparatus is most commonly used for supporting a substrate in a semiconductor manufacturing process and a display panel manufacturing process. Prior art techniques for substrate adhesion using the electrostatic chuck and the electrostatic chuck include International Publication No. WO 2004/084298 filed by Tokyo Electron Co., Ltd., a substrate holding mechanism using an electrostatic chuck, and a manufacturing method thereof, Can be referred to.

The electrostatic chuck is mainly made of ceramics made of alumina sintered body or alumina spray, and an electrode plate connected to a direct current power source is interposed in the electrostatic chuck so that the substrate is attracted by an electrostatic force generated by a high voltage applied from a direct current power source.

However, the use of such an electrostatic chuck has a number of problems. That is, since the DC power is continuously supplied to the electrostatic chuck when the substrate is bonded, the power consumption is large, and when the substrate is attracted by the static electricity, the static electricity due to the electrostatic chuck electrode pattern causes stains on the liquid crystal display panel And a safety problem due to accumulation of electrostatic force may occur.

In addition, since the electrostatic chuck has a precise mechanical and electrical structure, its manufacturing cost is high. In the case of the electrostatic chuck coated with the polyimide film, the polyimide film coated on the surface of the electrostatic chuck by the particles of the substrate may be damaged when the substrate is broken during the process.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and provides a substrate chuck and a substrate bonding apparatus using the same, which can be attached to the substrate by using a pressure-sensitive adhesive rubber and a small electrostatic chuck complementing the same. There is a purpose.

The substrate bonding apparatus according to the present invention for achieving the above object comprises an upper chamber for forming a bonding space of the substrate; A substrate chuck provided in the upper chamber for attaching the first substrate by an electrostatic force and an adhesive force and allowing the first substrate to fall freely as the electrostatic force is lost; A lower chamber which is in contact with the upper chamber to form a cementing space of the substrate; And a lifter for elevating the lower chamber to the upper chamber side.

The upper chamber may include an exhaust unit forming a bonding environment of the substrate in the bonding space; And a substrate adsorption device for adsorbing the first substrate to enter the bonding space and transferring the first substrate to the substrate chuck.

The substrate chuck comprises: a plurality of unit substrate chucks forming the substrate chuck; A unit electrostatic chuck provided in the unit substrate chuck and generating an electrostatic force for adsorbing the first substrate; And an adhesive rubber provided adjacent to the unit electrostatic chuck to form an adhesive force to assist the adhesion of the unit electrostatic chuck.

The unit electrostatic chuck may include a lower electrode of an aluminum material series; A tungsten ceramic layer formed on an upper surface of the lower electrode; And an electrode layer of a conductive material provided between the lower electrode and the ceramic layer.

The said adhesive rubber is manufactured by hardening an addition-reaction-curable silicone rubber composition based on the organopolysiloxane containing the alkenyl group which a silicon atom couple | bonds, an addition reaction catalyst, etc. as a main component.

The adhesive rubber generates an adhesive force smaller than that of the substrate by the electrostatic force generated by the unit electrostatic chuck.

A substrate chuck according to the present invention for achieving the above object is a substrate chuck for attaching a substrate in a process space for fixing the substrate, the substrate chuck is a plurality of unit substrate chuck to form the substrate chuck And a unit rubber that generates an electrostatic force for adsorbing the substrate to the unit substrate chuck, and an adhesive rubber provided adjacent to the unit electrostatic chuck to form an adhesive force to assist adhesion of the unit electrostatic chuck.

The unit electrostatic chuck may include a lower electrode of an aluminum material series; A tungsten ceramic layer formed on an upper surface of the lower electrode; And an electrode layer of a conductive material provided between the lower electrode and the ceramic layer.

The said adhesive rubber is manufactured by hardening an addition-reaction-curable silicone rubber composition based on the organopolysiloxane containing the alkenyl group which a silicon atom couple | bonds, an addition reaction catalyst, etc. as a main component.

The adhesive rubber generates an adhesive force smaller than that of the substrate by the electrostatic force generated by the unit electrostatic chuck.

Hereinafter, a substrate chuck according to the present invention and a substrate adhering apparatus using the same will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In describing the present invention, the defined terms are defined in consideration of the function of the present invention, and should not be understood in a limiting sense of the technical elements of the present invention.

1 is a schematic view showing a substrate adhering apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in the drawing, the substrate bonding apparatus 100 according to the present invention includes a frame 10, which forms an outer shape and on which respective components to be described later are mounted, (CF substrate or CF substrate) P1 is attached to the upper chamber 20 and a lower chamber 40 is provided to be raised and lowered below the upper chamber 20 and to which a second substrate (CF substrate or TFT substrate) And a lifter 60 provided at a lower portion of the frame and lifting the lower chamber 40 with respect to the upper chamber 20.

The frame 10 forms an outer shape of the substrate adhering apparatus 100 and supports and fixes the respective components. The frame 10 includes a plurality of pillars 12 (see FIG. 1) in which the upper chamber 20 is spaced upward from the lower chamber 40 And the pillars 12 are fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the base 14 on which the lifter 60 is fixed while forming the lower portion of the frame 10. A separate beam (not shown) and struts (not shown) may be additionally provided between the pillars 12 to reinforce the strength of the pillars 12.

The upper chamber 20 is in close contact with the lower chamber 40 to form a bonding space, to form a bonding environment, the upper chamber body 21 and the outer side of the upper chamber body 21 to form a bonding space It is provided in the exhaust section 31 to form a bonding environment through the exhaust of the bonding space.

A plurality of fixing protrusions 29 protruding outwardly of the upper chamber body 21 and fixed to the respective columns 12 of the frame 10 are formed at the outer peripheral edge of the upper chamber body 21, do. On the other hand, a joining groove 22 for forming a joining space is formed on the lower surface of the upper chamber body 21, and a substrate chuck 24 for attaching the first substrate P1 to the joining groove 22 is provided.

An alignment camera 23 for adjusting the relative positions of the first substrate P1 and the second substrate P on the outer circumferential surface of the upper surface of the upper chamber body 21, A substrate adsorption device 35 for adsorbing and elevating the first substrate P1 is provided.

The substrate adsorption apparatus 35 includes a plurality of adsorption fins 35b provided through the upper chamber body 21 and the substrate chuck 24 and a plurality of adsorption fins 35b provided outside the upper chamber body 21, And an attracting pin actuating member 35a for raising and lowering the attracting pin actuating member 35a. Here, the suction pin 35b is formed in the shape of a hollow tube and is connected to the exhaust unit 31 to be described later. When vacuum pressure is formed inside the suction pin 35b by the exhaust unit 31, And is configured to adsorb the substrate P1.

In addition, the substrate chuck 24 includes a plurality of unit substrate chucks 25 in a matrix form, and is provided in the unit substrate chuck body 25 and the unit substrate chuck body 25 forming the unit substrate chuck 25. A unit electrostatic chuck 26 for generating an electrostatic force for adsorbing the first substrate P1 and an adhesive rubber 27 provided adjacent to the unit electrostatic chuck 26 to assist the adhesion of the unit electrostatic chuck 26. (See FIG. 2). The substrate chuck 24 will be described in detail with reference to the drawings after the description of the substrate sticking apparatus 100.

The exhaust unit 31 includes an exhaust pipe 32 for forming a low vacuum pressure in a joint space formed by the joining recess 22 of the upper chamber body 21 and a lower chamber 40 to be described later, And a high vacuum pump (Turbo Molecular Pump, TMP) 36 is connected to the high vacuum exhaust pipe 34 to form a high vacuum.

The lower chamber 40 is in close contact with the upper chamber 20 to form a cohesion space and is adjusted to align the first substrate P1 and the second substrate P while being raised and lowered toward the upper chamber 20 And a lower chamber body 41 provided below the frame 10 and adapted to be lifted and lowered by the lifter 60.

A lower chuck 43 for attaching the second substrate P to be inserted is provided on the upper surface of the lower chamber body 41 and a lower chuck 43 is provided on the lower surface of the upper chamber body 21 There is provided a sealing member 42 for holding the airtightness of the joining groove 22 in contact therewith. The lower chuck 43 is preferably provided with an electrostatic chuck (ESC) for attaching the second substrate P by electrostatic force.

The second substrate P attached to the lower surface of the lower chamber body 41 may be attached to the lower chuck 43 or the second substrate P attached to the lower chuck 43 may be attached to the lower chuck 43 A substrate elevating device 45 for separating the substrates is provided. Such a substrate lifting device 45 is provided with a plurality of lifting pins 45b provided through the lower chamber body 41, and provided to the outside of the lower chamber body 41 to elevate a plurality of lifting pins 45b. A pin actuator 45a is provided.

The lifter 60 moves the lower chamber 40 toward and away from the upper chamber 20 so that the lower chamber 40 and the upper chamber 20 form a cemented space. And a lifting device 64 installed on the upper surface of the base 14 for lifting and descending the lifting plate 62. The elevating device 62 is provided with a plurality of slide columns 12 provided on the slide column 12, .

Here, the elevating device 64 includes an elevating motor 65 for generating power, a speed reducer 65a for dialing and decelerating the direction of the power generated by the elevating motor 65, And an elevating member (66) for converting the lift plate (62) into a power for lifting the lift plate (62).

Hereinafter, the substrate chuck provided with the upper chamber in the above-described substrate laminating apparatus will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a substrate chuck in a substrate cohesive apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing an internal structure of a substrate chuck in a substrate cohesive apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in the figure, the substrate chuck according to the present invention includes a plurality of unit substrate chucks 25 coupled in a matrix form, and includes a unit substrate chuck body 25 forming a unit substrate chuck 25, A unit electrostatic chuck 26 provided in the unit electrostatic chuck 26 for generating an electrostatic force for attracting the first substrate P1 and a pressure sensitive adhesive unit 26 provided adjacently to the unit electrostatic chuck 26, And a rubber (27).

Here, the unit substrate chuck body 25 may be made of a metal or a non-metal material. It is preferable that the unit substrate chuck body 25 is processed to have a good flatness uniformity on one side to which the first substrate P1 is attached, Each mounting groove 25a in which the adhesive rubber 27 is mounted is formed.

The unit electrostatic chuck 26 is used for fixing the substrate by an electrostatic force using capacitance and voltage. The unit electrostatic chuck 26 has a lower electrode 26a made of aluminum (Al) and at least two ceramic layers 26b formed on the upper surface thereof And an electrode layer 26c having a conductive material interposed therebetween is formed between the lower electrode 26a and the ceramic layer 26b.

The ceramic layer 26b is made of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) or aluminum nitride (AlN), and the electrode layer 26c is mainly made of tungsten W. The ceramic layer 26b is formed on the lower electrode 26a. And the electrode layer 26c are formed by plasma spraying.

However, since the cold spray method has recently been proposed, the ceramic layer 26b and the electrode layer 26c can be formed by various spraying methods in the future.

The adhesive rubber 27 is provided adjacent to the outer periphery of the unit electrostatic chuck 26 and is provided to assist the adhesion of the unit electrostatic chuck 26. It is preferable that the adhesive rubber 27 is provided so as to have a smaller adhering force than that of the unit electrostatic chuck 26.

That is, when the electrostatic force of each unit electrostatic chuck 26 disappears while the first substrate P1 is attached to the substrate chuck 24, the first substrate P1 may be caused by the weight of the first substrate P1. It is provided to be separated from the adhesive rubber 27 of each end critical measure (25).

The adhesive rubber 27 may include an organopolysiloxane (10 to 75 parts by weight) containing an alkenyl group bonded with a small amount of silicon atoms, an organohydrogenpolysiloxane (5 to 30 parts by weight) and an addition reaction catalyst, By weight of the addition reaction curable silicone rubber composition.

In this case, the adhesive rubber 27 may be manufactured by forming the outer shape of the adhesive rubber directly by compression molding, injection molding, injection molding or the like. Since the method of manufacturing the adhesive rubber 27 is a well-known technique, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The adhesive rubber 27 may be circularly arranged on the outer circumferential surface of the unit electrostatic chuck 26, but may be formed in a rectangular or arcuate shape as shown in FIGS. 4A to 4B, if necessary .

Accordingly, the operation of the substrate sticking apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to embodiments. Each element mentioned below should be understood with reference to the above description and drawings.

First, a first substrate P1 and a second substrate P are supplied between the upper chamber 20 and the lower chamber 40 by the substrate sticking apparatus 100 according to the present invention. The first substrate P1 is moved to the substrate chuck 24 by the attracting pin 35b while being attracted by the attracting pin 35b of the substrate attracting device 35 provided in the upper chamber body 21, And is attached to the chuck 24.

As the second substrate P is supplied, the second substrate P is attached to the lower chuck 43 by the lifting pin 45b and the lifting pin actuator 45a provided on the lower chamber body 41. It is attached to the lower chamber body (41).

When the first and second substrates P1 and P are attached to each other, the lower chamber body 41 is adjusted in position and the lower chamber 40 is lifted up to the upper chamber 20 side by the lifter 60 do.

The lower chamber 40 is moved up and down by the lifter 60 and the upper surface of the lower chamber 40 is brought into close contact with the lower surface of the upper chamber 20 while the first substrate P1 and the second substrate P Is formed on the outer circumferential surface thereof.

At this time, the upper chamber body 21 and the lower chamber body 41 maintain the airtight state by the sealing member 42 provided on the upper surface of the lower chamber body 41. Subsequently, the gas remaining in the cohesive space is exhausted to the outside of the substrate cohesive apparatus 100 by the exhaust pipe 32 of the exhaust unit 31, the high vacuum exhaust pipe 34 and the high vacuum pump 36, And the second substrate (P), the vacuum state is controlled in a high vacuum state.

The second substrate P attached to the lower chamber 40 is raised and lowered by the lift pin 45b of the substrate elevating device 45 and the first substrate P attached to the substrate chuck 24 of the upper chamber 20 The first substrate P1 is separated from the substrate chuck 24 while the bonding force of the unit electrostatic chuck 26 is lost and falls freely to the upper portion of the second substrate P so that the first substrate P1 and the second substrate P overlap each other It is maintained in a losing state.

That is, each of the unit electrostatic chucks 26 provided on each unit substrate chuck 25 of the substrate chuck 24 and the first substrate P1 supported on the adhesive rubber 27 are supported by the unit electrostatic chuck 26, The adhesive force of the adhesive rubber 27 is overcome by the self weight of the first substrate P1 and the adhesive rubber 27 is detached from the adhesive rubber 27 and dropped onto the second substrate P. [

Thereafter, the exhaust part 31 supplies N2 gas into the joint space through the exhaust pipe 32 to raise the pressure in the joint space higher than the high vacuum state. At this time, the inside of the first substrate (P1) and the second substrate (P) maintains a high vacuum state and is fixed while being more closely adhered by the pressure in the laminating space as the N2 gas is supplied. Thereafter, the first substrate (P1) and the second substrate (P) are tightly coupled through another UV (ultraviolet) irradiation process.

Meanwhile, when the above process is completed, the lower chamber 40 is lowered by the lifter 60, and the joint space formed by the upper chamber 20 and the lower chamber 40 is opened. At this time, the first substrate P1 and the second substrate P are held by the lift pins 45b of the substrate elevating device 45 of the lower chamber 40. [

The first substrate P1 and the second substrate P supported by the lift pins 45b are discharged to the outside of the substrate cementing apparatus 100 by a separate substrate discharging device The process of laminating the first substrate P1 and the second substrate P is completed.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is clearly understood that the same is by way of illustration and example only and is not to be taken by way of limitation, The present invention may be modified in various ways. Therefore, modifications of the embodiments of the present invention will not depart from the scope of the present invention.

As described above, according to the substrate chuck and the substrate bonding apparatus using the same according to the present invention, it is possible to solve the problem of staining on the display panel due to the residual static electricity generated when using the electrostatic chuck. In addition, since the electric safety problem hardly occurs, it can exhibit high stability and efficiency, and can be manufactured at a lower cost than the electrostatic chuck.

Claims (10)

An upper chamber for forming a bonding space of the substrate; A substrate chuck provided in the upper chamber for attaching the first substrate by an electrostatic force and an adhesive force and allowing the first substrate to fall freely as the electrostatic force is lost; A lower chamber which is in contact with the upper chamber to form a cementing space of the substrate; And And a lifter for elevating the lower chamber to the upper chamber side. The substrate chuck includes a plurality of unit substrate chucks forming the substrate chuck and unit electrostatic chucks provided on the unit substrate chuck and generating electrostatic force for adsorbing the first substrate, The unit electrostatic chuck includes a lower electrode of an aluminum material series, a ceramic layer formed on an upper surface of the lower electrode, and a tungsten material electrode layer formed of a conductive material provided between the lower electrode and the ceramic layer. Cementing device. The method of claim 1, wherein the upper chamber, An exhaust unit forming a bonding environment of the substrate in the bonding space; And a substrate adsorption device for adsorbing the first substrate to enter the bonding space and transferring the first substrate to the substrate chuck. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the substrate chuck, And an adhesive rubber provided adjacent to the unit electrostatic chuck to form an adhesive force to assist the adhesion of the unit electrostatic chuck. delete The method of claim 3, wherein the adhesive rubber, A substrate bonding apparatus characterized by producing an organopolysiloxane containing an alkenyl group bonded to a silicon atom, an addition reaction catalyst, and the like as a main component to cure an addition reaction curable silicone rubber composition. The method of claim 3, wherein the adhesive rubber, Substrate bonding apparatus, characterized in that for generating an adhesion smaller than the adhesion of the substrate by the electrostatic force generated by the unit electrostatic chuck. In the substrate chuck to attach the substrate in the process space for fixing the substrate, The substrate chuck is composed of a plurality of unit substrate chucks forming the substrate chuck, the unit electrostatic chuck generating electrostatic force for adsorbing the substrate to the unit substrate chuck, and the unit electrostatic chuck provided adjacent to the unit electrostatic chuck. It is provided with an adhesive rubber for forming an adhesive force to assist the adhesion of the chuck, The unit electrostatic chuck includes a lower electrode of an aluminum material series, a ceramic layer formed on an upper surface of the lower electrode, and a tungsten material electrode layer formed of a conductive material provided between the lower electrode and the ceramic layer. chuck. delete The method of claim 7, wherein the adhesive rubber, A substrate chuck produced by curing an addition reaction curable silicone rubber composition mainly comprising an organopolysiloxane containing an alkenyl group bonded to a silicon atom, an addition reaction catalyst, and the like. The method of claim 7, wherein the adhesive rubber, A substrate chuck characterized in that it generates an adhesion smaller than the adhesion of the substrate by the electrostatic force generated by the unit electrostatic chuck.

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