KR20050104203A - Apparatus for treatment works and method of the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A substrate processing system and a substrate processing method are disclosed. Such a substrate processing system includes a loader that takes a substrate from a cassette and takes over the process line, a strip portion for providing a chemical solution on the substrate to perform a strip process, and a surface of the substrate processed by the strip portion. A suction part for spraying and continuously sucking de-ionized water (DI) to remove fluid on the substrate, a cleaning part for cleaning the substrate passing through the suction part, and a drying part for drying the substrate passing through the cleaning part And a straight substrate processing line and an unloader which takes in and discharges the substrate from the straight substrate processing line.

Description

Substrate Processing System and Substrate Processing Method {APPARATUS FOR TREATMENT WORKS AND METHOD OF THE SAME}

The present invention relates to a substrate processing system and a substrate processing method, and more particularly, to a substrate processing system capable of improving space efficiency by shortening line length by reducing equipment required for removing chemical liquids by providing strip equipment with improved suction efficiency. And to a method.

In general, a substrate used for a flat panel display (FPD), a semiconductor wafer, an LCD, a glass for a photo mask, and the like is processed through a series of process lines. That is, photo resist coating (P / R), exposure, development, etching, stripping, cleaning, and drying are performed.

1 shows a substrate processing line performing a strip process. As shown, the substrate processing line first withdraws the substrate from the cassette 1 and transfers the substrate to the loader 2, and the loader 2 supplies the substrate to the strip bath 3.

The strip bath 3 is composed of a plurality, preferably four strip baths.

The substrate supplied into the strip bath 3 is subjected to a stripping process. Subsequently, the substrate is supplied to the chemical neutralization unit 4, and the strip chemical is neutralized by an organic solvent such as isopropanol (IPA) or dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). The purpose of the neutralization is to first neutralize the stripping chemicals, since the stripping chemicals may react with the ultrapure water (DI: De-Ionized Water) in the subsequent cleaning process, which may damage the surface of the thin film on the substrate. It will be cleaned.

Next, the organic solvent that is transferred to the first cleaning unit 6 through the turner 5 and remains on the surface by ultrapure water or the like is removed.

More specifically, the first cleaning unit 6 carries out the cleaning operation by transporting the substrate inside the bath by a conveyor or the like, and spraying ultrapure water on the substrate through the injection nozzle.

In this way, the substrate from which the organic solvent is first removed is transferred to the second cleaning unit 8 through the turner 7. The second cleaning unit 8 has the same structure as the first cleaning unit 6 and may be formed of two shower bass.

The turners 5 and 7 are installed in a dummy in order to transfer the substrate in a 'c' shape in order to secure space efficiency of the strip processing line.

Then, the substrate passing through the second cleaning unit 8 is dried while passing through the Aqua Knife 9 and the Air Knife 10.

The substrate, which has undergone such a process, is transferred to an unloader 11 and transferred to the cassette 1 through a mechanism such as a robot.

However, there is a problem in that the manufacturing cost is increased by the addition of the neutralizing liquid used for the neutralization of the strip chemical liquid required for the process.

In addition, the strip process line is configured in a 'c' shape to secure space efficiency, but there is a limit in the trend of a large-area substrate.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above problems, to provide a substrate processing system and a substrate processing method that can maximize the cost savings by efficiently removing the strip chemical.

In addition, the present invention provides a substrate processing system and a substrate processing method capable of maximizing space efficiency by taking a strip substrate processing line in a straight form.

In order to realize the object of the present invention as described above, the present invention is a loader that takes a substrate from a cassette (Cassette) and takes over to the process line, and a strip portion for providing a chemical solution on the substrate to perform a strip process; Ultrasonic water (DI) is sprayed on the surface of the substrate processed by the strip and suction is continuously sucked to remove the fluid on the substrate and the cleaning unit for cleaning the substrate passing through the suction unit and the cleaning unit It provides a substrate processing system including a straight substrate processing line including a drying unit for drying the substrate passed through, and an unloader that takes in and discharges the substrate from the straight substrate processing line.

Hereinafter, a substrate processing system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

2 is a view schematically showing the structure of a substrate processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in the drawing, the substrate processing system according to the embodiment of the present invention has a so-called standalone type line of I type capable of processing a sufficient substrate even with a shorter length line. It is composed.

The substrate processing system includes a loader 22 which takes a substrate G from a cassette 20 and takes it over to a process line, and strips the substrate G from the loader 22. Process), spray ultra-pure water (DI: De-Ionized Water) onto the stripped substrate (G) and continuously suck it to remove the fluid, clean the substrate (G), and clean the cleaned substrate (G). The straight substrate processing line 21 which performs a series of drying processes, and the unloader 38 which takes in and discharges the board | substrate G from the said linear substrate processing line 21 are included.

In the substrate processing system having such a structure, the cassette 20 is disposed on one side of the line to deposit the substrate G. Subsequently, the substrate G deposited on the cassette 20 is sequentially taken out by a transfer mechanism such as a robot and transferred to the loader 22.

The substrate processing line 21 is provided with a chemical solution on the substrate G supplied by the loader 22 to perform a strip process, and a strip portion 24 and the strip portion 24 processed. Ultrasonic water (DI: De-Ionized Water) is sprayed on the surface of the substrate G and continuously sucked to remove the fluid on the substrate G, and the substrate passed through the suction unit 28 ( The cleaning part 30 which wash | cleans G), and the drying part 36 which dry the board | substrate G which passed the said washing part 30 are included.

In more detail, the strip part 24 performs a stripping process of treating the surface by providing strip liquid to the substrate G transferred from the loader 22. This strip portion 24 preferably consists of two baths 25, 26, which are arranged with a large number of nozzles of high power compared to the conventional strip equipment, which allows the substrate to pass through the two baths. (G) Remove the photoresist remaining on the surface.

As described above, the substrate G treated with the chemical liquid in the strip part 24 passes through the suction part 28 and remains on the surface of the substrate by the injection and suction of de-ionized water (DI WATER) (strip liquid). + Ultrapure water + foreign matter) can be removed.

This suction part 28 preferably has a structure in which cleaning liquid injection and suction are simultaneously performed as shown in FIG.

In more detail, the suction part 28 is provided with a bath 40 and an interior of the bath 40 to prevent the cleaning liquid from flowing out of the bath 40. 48), a pair of injection nozzles 50 and 52 for spraying the cleaning liquid onto the substrate G to remove foreign substances, and a cleaning liquid sprayed and provided between the pair of injection nozzles 50 and 52 at atmospheric pressure. It includes a suction module 54 to suck by the suction force due to the difference.

In the suction device having such a structure, the substrate (G) enters the inside of the bath (40) through the inlet port (42) formed on one side of the bath 40 in a state loaded on the conveyor 46, and after the cleaning treatment It is to be discharged to the outside of the bath 40 through the outlet (44).

The pair of spray nozzles 50 and 52 have a conventional structure, and are disposed above a predetermined distance from the substrate G to spray the cleaning liquid toward the upper surface of the substrate G.

The strip liquid or foreign matter on the substrate G is separated from the substrate G by the impact energy due to the injection of the cleaning liquid as described above, and is discharged to the outside by the suction module 54.

In addition, the pair of injection nozzles 50 and 52 are disposed to face each other, and are inclined at an angle toward each other. Therefore, the cleaning liquid sprayed from the pair of spray nozzles 50 and 52 is concentrated on the local region on the substrate G, so that the fluid on the substrate can be effectively removed by the suction module 54.

The suction module 54 is preferably installed in a direction crossing the conveyor 46 passing through the inside of the bath 40 so as to suck the cleaning liquid over the entire surface of the substrate G.

In more detail, as shown in FIG. 4, the suction module 54 is formed in the body 59 and the body 59 to compress the gas to form a low pressure around the gas as a flow. The suction port 62 which is formed at the bottom of the flow path 60 and the body 59 to communicate with the gas flow path 60 to suck the cleaning liquid from the substrate G by the suction force caused by the pressure difference between the gas flow path 60 and the gas flow path 60. ).

In the suction module having such a structure, the body 59 has a substantially rectangular hexahedral shape. In addition, a gas flow path 60 is formed in the longitudinal direction therein, and the gas flow path 60 is formed inside the body 59 by a molding method or the like.

The gas flow path 60 is connected to a compressor (not shown) installed outside. Therefore, when the compressor is driven, gas passes through the gas flow path 60.

In addition, a suction port 62 is formed at the bottom of the body 59, and the suction port 62 is formed along the longitudinal direction. The suction port 62 has an upper portion communicating with the gas flow passage 60 and a lower portion opening to the outside of the body 59.

Therefore, when gas passes through the gas flow path 60, the interior of the gas flow path 60 becomes a low pressure state due to the rapid flow of gas by Bernoulli's theorem, and the suction port 62 enters the gas flow path 60. In comparison, since the pressure is relatively high, the suction force is generated, so that the cleaning liquid of the substrate G can be sucked.

In this case, the distance between the pair of injection nozzles 50 and 52 and the suction module 54 may be appropriately adjusted in consideration of whether the substrate thin film is damaged by the reaction of the strip chemical and the cleaning liquid.

Again, referring to FIG. 2, as described above, the substrate G passing through the suction part 28 is transferred to the cleaning part 30.

The cleaning unit 30 may be preferably composed of two cleaning baths 32 and 34, and each of the cleaning baths 32 and 34 is provided with high-pressure injection nozzles, although not shown in the drawing.

Therefore, the cleaning process may be performed only by the two cleaning baths 32 and 34 by the injection nozzle with improved mechanical power.

In addition, the drying unit 36 preferably includes an air knife (Air Knife) 36. The air knife 36 is dried by spraying air at a high pressure in a compressed state to remove water droplets or foreign matter remaining on the substrate.

The substrate G finally dried in the drying unit 36 may be discharged to the outside by the unloader 38.

Through the above process, the substrate G is subjected to a series of processes such as stripping, suction, cleaning, and drying.

The treatment process by the substrate processing system as described above proceeds in the following order.

That is, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 to 4 and 8, the substrate treating process may include providing a substrate G on which a thin film is formed (S100), and transferring the substrate G to a strip bath, thereby remaining. The first step (S200) of reacting with the photoresist to perform a strip process, and the ultra-pure water (DI WATER) is continuously sprayed onto the substrate (G) stripped in the first step (S200) while the ultrapure water is continuously sucked A second step S220 of removing the stripping liquid of G), a third step S240 of cleaning the substrate G, and a fourth step S300 of drying and unloading the cleaned substrate G; It includes.

In the substrate processing step, in the substrate providing step (S100), the substrate is taken out from the cassette 20 disposed on one side of the line, and the extracted substrate is transferred to a loader by a transfer mechanism such as a robot. Transfer.

In the first step S200, a stripping process for removing the photoresist remaining on the surface of the transferred substrate is performed.

That is, the substrate G transferred from the loader 22 to the strip portion 24 passes through two baths 25 and 26 and undergoes a first strip process and a second strip process.

In this process, the chemical liquid is injected from the strip equipment having a conventional structure, and the chemical liquid is provided to the substrate G to react with the photoresist remaining on the substrate G. As a result, the photoresist on the substrate G is peeled off, and only a pattern of a certain shape remains.

In the second step S220, the chemical liquid is removed from the substrate stripped in the strip step S200.

That is, the substrate G treated with the chemical liquid in the strip part 24 enters the inside of the bath 40 through the inlet 42 formed at one side of the bath 40 in a state loaded on the conveyor 46.

Subsequently, the substrate G passes through a pair of injection nozzles 50 and 52. At this time, a cleaning liquid is injected from the pair of injection nozzles 50 and 52 toward the upper surface of the substrate G. The strip chemical liquid, the cleaning liquid, and the foreign matter on the substrate G may be separated from the substrate G by the impact energy due to the injection of.

At this time, the suction module 54 is disposed between the pair of injection nozzles (50, 52) can quickly suck the fluid on the substrate (G).

In more detail, as the fluid passes through the gas flow path 60 formed inside the body 59 of the suction module 54, low pressure is formed around the suction port 62.

In this case, the suction port 62 has an upper portion communicating with the gas flow passage 60 and a lower portion opening to the outside of the body 59.

Therefore, when gas passes through the gas flow path 60, the interior of the gas flow path 60 becomes a low pressure state due to the rapid flow of gas by Bernoulli's theorem, and the suction port 62 enters the gas flow path 60. In comparison, since the pressure is relatively high, the suction force is generated to suck the fluid on the substrate G.

The suction of the fluid by the suction module 54 causes the strip chemical to react with the De-Ionized Water (DI) to give no room for damaging the surface of the thin film on the substrate. Ensure stable processing.

The substrate G, which has undergone such a process, is transferred to the cleaning unit 30, and the third step S240 is performed, and then the fourth step S300 for drying and unloading is performed. That is, the substrate G, which has undergone the cleaning process, passes through the air knife 36 of the drying unit 36. At this time, the substrate G is compressed by the compressed air injected from the air knife 36. Moisture and foreign matter remaining in the phase can be removed.

Meanwhile, another preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. As shown, there is a difference in the substrate processing system according to the present embodiment further comprising a transfer unit 71 for transferring the substrate on the substrate processing line. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the transfer unit 71 transfers the substrate to the substrate processing line.

In more detail, the rail 72 is disposed on the upper layer of the substrate processing line 21, and the transfer unit 71 is slidably provided on the rail 72. And this transfer unit 71 can transfer a board | substrate to a predetermined position by placing a board | substrate and moving back and forth along the rail 72. FIG.

That is, the transfer unit 71 accumulates the substrate and reaches the upper position of the loader 73 disposed on one side of the substrate processing line 21 to deposit the substrate G on the loader 73.

The substrate G seated on the loader 73 is transferred to the strip port 74 of the substrate processing line 21, and the surface of the substrate G is passed by the strip liquid while passing through the strip part 74. The photoresist remaining in the stripe is stripped.

The substrate G, which has passed through the strip portion 74, is first removed by the suction method from the strip liquid remaining on the surface while passing through the suction portion 75, and finally cleaned by the cleaning portion 76.

The substrate passing through the cleaning unit 76 is dried while passing through the air knife 77 of the drying unit 77.

In this manner, the substrate passing through the substrate processing line 21 is transferred to the unloader 79. Then, the unloader 79 is transported and stored in the cassette 70 by a mechanism such as a robot.

The substrate processing system arranged as described above may also be arranged in a structure as shown in FIG. That is, the cassette 80 may be disposed on the side of the substrate processing line 82 and the transfer unit 86 may be disposed on the rail 84 disposed on the upper layer.

On the other hand, Fig. 7 shows another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the drawing, the substrate processing system that has shortened its length by improving suction efficiency has an advantage of reducing an installation area, and can be installed in an in-line method by using this advantage.

That is, by placing the substrate processing line 21 on one side of the process line or inspection line 98 is equipped with equipment, etc., the substrate can be processed on the in-line line.

The substrate processing line 21 includes a strip 92, a suction 93, a cleaning 94, and a drying unit 95 in the same manner as in the above-described embodiments.

Subsequently, the substrate is transferred through the loader 91 disposed at the entrance side and supplied to the loader 97 of the inspection line 98 through the unloader 96 disposed at the exit side.

The loader is transferred to the process line or the inspection line 98 through the loader 97, and a predetermined process is performed. The discharged to the outside through the unloader 99 may be stored in the cassette 90.

As such, the substrate processing system and method according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention have the following advantages.

First, there is an advantage of maximizing cost reduction by efficiently removing the stripping liquid with only ultrapure water without using a neutralizing agent to neutralize the stripping chemical.

Second, by placing the strip substrate processing line in the form of a straight line can maximize the space efficiency, there is an advantage that can meet the trend of the large-area substrate.

Third, by selecting the substrate processing line in various ways such as stand-alone, in-line, etc. can improve the selectivity and diversity of the design.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims, the detailed description of the invention, and the scope of the accompanying drawings. In addition, it is natural that it belongs to the scope of the present invention.

1 is a diagram schematically showing a conventional substrate processing system.

2 schematically illustrates a substrate processing system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a side sectional view showing the internal structure of the suction portion shown in Fig. 2;

4 is a perspective view showing the suction module shown in FIG.

5 schematically illustrates a substrate processing system according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 6 is a schematic illustration of a substrate processing system according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a schematic illustration of a substrate processing system according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a flow chart showing a substrate processing method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (9)

A loader that takes over the substrate from the cassette and takes over the process line; The strip portion for providing a chemical solution on the substrate to perform a strip (Strip) process and the injection of ultra-pure water (DI: De-Ionized Water) to the surface of the substrate processed by the strip portion and continuously sucked to remove the fluid on the substrate A straight substrate processing line including a suction part, a cleaning part for cleaning the substrate passing through the suction part, and a drying part for drying the substrate passing through the cleaning part; And an unloader that takes in and discharges the substrate from the straight substrate processing line. The substrate processing system of claim 1, wherein the straight substrate processing line may be inlined with other equipment that inspects the substrate or performs another process. 2. The substrate processing system of claim 1, further comprising a transfer to take the substrate from the cassette and to take over the substrate to the loader, and to transfer the substrate over the straight substrate processing line. The substrate processing system of claim 3, wherein the cassette is disposed in a direction parallel to the substrate transfer direction with respect to the unloader, or disposed in a direction perpendicular to the substrate transfer direction. The substrate processing system of claim 1, wherein the suction unit comprises a pair of injection nozzles for injecting a cleaning liquid onto the substrate, and a suction module provided between the fluid injection nozzles to suck fluid on the substrate. Providing a substrate having a thin film formed thereon; A first step of performing a strip process by injecting a strip chemical onto the substrate and reacting with a photoresist on the substrate; A second step of sucking to remove the fluid on the substrate by continuously sucking while spraying de-ionized water (DI; DI) on the stripped substrate in the first step; A third step of cleaning the substrate and And a fourth step of drying the substrate. 7. The method of claim 6, wherein said first step passes through two strip baths to complete said strip process. The substrate of claim 6, wherein the second step is performed by a pair of injection modules for respectively injecting a cleaning liquid onto a substrate, and a suction module provided between the pair of injection modules to suck fluid on the substrate. Treatment method. The method of claim 8, wherein the distance between the injection module and the suction module is adjusted in consideration of whether the thin film is damaged due to the reaction of the strip chemical liquid and the cleaning liquid.