KR20060033406A - Apparatus for cleaning a slit nozzle - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention is a device for cleaning around the discharge port of the slit nozzle in which the pre-resistance of the photoresist is made. The apparatus has a nozzle cleaning mechanism and a moving mechanism for moving it. The nozzle cleaning mechanism has a cleaning member having an insertion portion into which the discharge portion of the slit nozzle is inserted. The insertion part of the cleaning member is made of rubber material, and the cleaning part and the discharge part of the slit nozzle are squeezed in contact with each other, thereby increasing the cleaning efficiency. In addition, the cleaning member is supported by the elastic member, even if the slit nozzle is located in a displaced state from the correct position, since the cleaning member is moved and corrected position can be prevented from applying excessive force to the slit nozzle.

Slit nozzle, pre-discharge, rubber, elastic member, cleaning, photoresist

Description

Slit nozzle cleaning device {APPARATUS FOR CLEANING A SLIT NOZZLE}

1 is a plan view schematically showing a coating apparatus in which the slit nozzle cleaning apparatus of the present invention is used;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the slit nozzle shown in FIG. 1; FIG.

3 is a plan view showing a preferred example of the slit nozzle cleaning apparatus of the present invention;

4 is a perspective view of the slit nozzle cleaning apparatus with the nozzle cleaning mechanism removed;

5 is a perspective view of the nozzle cleaning mechanism of FIG. 3;

6 is a perspective view of a nozzle cleaning mechanism having another example cleaning member;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II of FIG. 5.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

20: slit nozzle 100: treatment tank

260: cleaning nozzle 280: drying nozzle

300: bracket 400: moving mechanism

500 nozzle cleaning mechanism 520 cleaning member

540: support member 520a: upper layer

520b: lower layer 522a: insertion portion

524a: suction part 560: elastic member

The present invention relates to an apparatus used for manufacturing a flat panel display element, and more particularly, to an apparatus for removing a chemical liquid from around the discharge port of the slit nozzle in which preliminary ejection is applied before applying the photoresist onto the substrate.

Recently, information processing devices have been rapidly developed to have various types of functions and faster information processing speeds. This information processing apparatus has a display device for displaying the operated information. Until now, a cathode ray tube monitor has been mainly used as a display device, but recently, with the rapid development of semiconductor technology, the use of a flat panel display which is light and occupies a small space is increasing.

Among the processes performed to fabricate an element in a flat panel display, an application process is a process of applying a photoresist, such as a photoresist, on a substrate to a exposure light source. In general, the coating process is performed while discharging the photoresist on the substrate while the slit nozzle is moved at a constant speed from one end of the substrate placed on the coating portion to the other end. The preliminary ejection is performed from the slit nozzle before ejecting the photoresist on the substrate so as to uniformly supply the photoresist on the substrate. However, foreign matters such as photoresist remain around the outlet of the slit nozzle due to the preliminary discharge or other causes, and these may act as particles during the process or adversely affect the process.

An object of the present invention is to provide a slit nozzle cleaning apparatus capable of effectively removing a photoresist adhered to a discharge port of a slit nozzle due to a preliminary discharging process.

In order to achieve the above object, the slit nozzle cleaning apparatus of the present invention includes a nozzle cleaning mechanism having a cleaning member having an insertion portion into which the discharge portion of the slit nozzle is inserted, and a moving mechanism for moving the nozzle cleaning mechanism along the discharge portion of the slit nozzle. . The upper surface of the cleaning member which is in contact with the periphery of the discharge port of the slit nozzle is made of a rubber material, and the cleaning member is in contact with the periphery of the discharge port to be squeezed.

In an embodiment, the insertion portion has a predetermined length having the same width as the discharge portion of the slit nozzle and is in surface contact with the peripheral portion of the insertion portion and the discharge port of the slit nozzle. According to another example, one end of the insertion portion is formed to have the same width as the discharge portion of the slit nozzle and is in linear contact with the periphery of the discharge port of the insertion portion and the slit nozzle.

In addition, the cleaning member may be formed with a suction part extending from the insertion part in the longitudinal direction of the slit nozzle and having a vacuum hole for forcibly suctioning foreign substances removed from the periphery of the discharge hole of the slit nozzle.

In addition, the nozzle cleaning mechanism is provided with an elastic member coupled to one surface of the cleaning member so that the cleaning member can be moved with fluidity, even when the slit nozzle is inserted into the inserting part out of position. When the nozzle cleaning mechanism is moved along the discharge portion of the slit nozzle, the cleaning process is performed while the position of the cleaning member is corrected by the elastic member.

In addition, the nozzle cleaning mechanism is further provided with a support member coupled to the movement mechanism and moved by the movement mechanism, wherein the support member has a cylindrical shape having an opening in which the cleaning member is inserted in the center thereof. It is formed wider than the cross section of the cleaning member is inserted into it, the elastic member is coupled vertically to the bottom surface of the cleaning member.

In addition, the apparatus may be provided with a space in which the cleaning member is disposed, and may be provided with a treatment tank in which the upper portion is opened, to the cleaning nozzle and the cleaning nozzle for supplying a cleaning liquid to the cleaning member to clean the cleaning member. A drying nozzle may be further provided to supply a dry gas to the cleaning member cleaned by drying the cleaning member.

The slit nozzle is used in a facility for applying a photoresist on a substrate, and the cleaning device may be a device for removing a photoresist adhered to a discharge port of the slit nozzle in which the photoresist is pre-discharged before performing the coating process.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. The embodiments of the present invention may be modified in various forms, and the scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited by the embodiments described below. This embodiment is provided to more completely explain the present invention to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the shape of the elements in the drawings are exaggerated to emphasize a clearer description.

In the present embodiment, the substrate is for manufacturing a flat panel display device, and the flat display device is a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display (PDP), a vacuum fluorescent display (VFD), a field emission display (FED), Or ELD (Electro Luminescence Display). In this embodiment, the slit nozzle 20 used in the photoresist coating step will be described as an example. However, the technical idea of the present invention is not limited thereto, and the present invention may be used for cleaning around the discharge port of the slit nozzle 20 used in a process other than the coating process.

1 is a plan view schematically showing a coating apparatus in which the slit nozzle 20 cleaning apparatus of the present invention is used. Referring to FIG. 1, the coating facility of the present invention has a slit nozzle 20, an application part 12, a preliminary discharge part 14, and a base 10 in which the cleaning part 16 is sequentially disposed. In the coating unit 12, a coating process is performed while the photoresist such as a photoresist is supplied from the slit nozzle 20 onto the substrate. In the preliminary ejection portion 14, the photoresist is predischarged from the slit nozzle 20 so that the photoresist may be uniformly supplied to the substrate before performing the coating process. In the cleaning unit 16 of the slit nozzle 20, the photoresist adhered to the periphery of the discharge part of the slit nozzle 20, which has been preliminarily discharged, is removed.

Side edges of the base 10 are provided with means for moving the slit nozzle 20 to the applicator 12, the preliminary discharge 14, and the slit nozzle 20 cleaning unit 16. One side edge of the base 10 is provided with a straight first guide rail 32a, and the other side edge of the base 10 opposite thereto is provided with a straight second guide rail 32b. The first guide rail 32a and the second guide rail 32b are arranged in parallel. One end of the slit nozzle 20 is coupled to the first guide rail 32a by the bracket 34a, and the other end of the slit nozzle 20 is coupled to the second guide rail 32b by the bracket 34b. At the end of the first guide rail 32a, a driving unit 36 for horizontally and vertically moving the slit nozzle 20 is installed. As the driving unit 36, a driving assembly including a motor, a belt, a pulley, or the like, or a driving assembly including a motor and a shaft may be used.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the slit nozzle 20 shown in FIG. 1. The slit nozzle 20 supplies the photoresist onto the substrate. The slit nozzle 20 has a rectangular parallelepiped body portion 22 and a discharge portion 24 extending downwardly therefrom, the width of which is gradually reduced, and a discharge port 24a is formed at the end thereof. The slit nozzle 20 is formed to have a length similar to one side of the substrate, the discharge port 24a is formed of a slit.

The preliminary ejection device 14 is disposed in the preliminary ejection unit 14, and the slit nozzle cleaning unit is disposed in the slit nozzle cleaning unit 16. The preliminary discharging device is widely known in the art as disclosed in Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-11463, etc., and thus detailed description thereof will be omitted. Hereinafter, the slit nozzle cleaning apparatus will be described in detail.

Figure 3 is a plan view showing a preferred example of the slit nozzle cleaning apparatus of the present invention, Figure 4 is a perspective view of the slit nozzle 20 cleaning device with the nozzle cleaning mechanism 500 is removed. 3 and 4, the slit nozzle cleaning apparatus includes a treatment tank 100, a moving mechanism 400, and a nozzle cleaning mechanism 500. The treatment tank 100 connects the end portions of the first side wall 102 and the second side wall 104 that face each other, and the ends of the first side wall 102 and the second side wall 104 to each other and faces each other. It has a side wall 106 and a fourth side wall 108. The treatment tank 100 has a generally rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the third side wall 106 and the fourth side wall 108 are formed longer than the first side wall 102 and the second side wall 104. The nozzle cleaning mechanism 500 is disposed in the processing tank 100, and the slit nozzle 20 is moved into the processing tank 100 by the driving unit and cleaned by the nozzle cleaning mechanism 500. Means for cleaning and drying the nozzle cleaning mechanism 500 are provided outside the first side wall 102 of the treatment tank 100. According to one embodiment, the support shaft 220 perpendicular to the bottom surface is provided on the outer side of the first side wall 102, the treatment tank 100 perpendicular to the support shaft 220 at the end of the support shaft 220 The support rod 240 is disposed in a direction facing the combination. The cleaning nozzle 260 and the drying nozzle 280 are sequentially connected to the end of the support rod 240 in a downward direction.

The bracket 300 is coupled to the third side wall 106 of the treatment tank 100. The third side wall 106 is formed with a straight hole 106a long in the longitudinal direction. The bracket 300 has an outer vertical panel 310, an inner vertical panel 320, an upper vertical panel 330, and a lower vertical panel 340. The outer vertical panel 310 is disposed outside the third side wall 106 and the inner vertical panel 320 is disposed inside the third side wall 106. The upper vertical panel 330 connects the upper ends of the outer vertical panel 310 and the inner vertical panel 320. The upper vertical panel 330 is inserted into a straight hole formed in the third side wall 106 and moved in the longitudinal direction of the third side wall 106 by the moving mechanism 400 along the straight hole. The lower vertical panel 340 is disposed in a direction toward the fourth side wall 108 perpendicular to the inner vertical panel 320 from the lower end of the inner vertical panel 320. The nozzle cleaning mechanism 500 is coupled to the upper surface of the lower vertical panel 340.

3 and 4, the moving mechanism 400 is coupled to one end thereof with a screw 440 inserted into the coupling member 480 coupled to the outer vertical panel 310, thereby providing rotational force. It may be a drive assembly consisting of a motor 420 to provide, and a fixing member 460 to which the other end of the screw 440 is coupled. Alternatively, the moving mechanism 400 may be a drive assembly having a motor, pulleys, and a belt.

5 is a perspective view of the nozzle cleaning mechanism 500 of FIG. 3. The nozzle cleaning mechanism 500 has a cleaning member 520, a support member 540, and an elastic member (560 of FIG. 7). The cleaning member 520 is a portion for cleaning the periphery of the discharge port 24a of the slit nozzle 20. The cleaning member 520 has an upper layer portion 520a having an insertion portion 522a and a suction portion 524a formed therein, and a lower layer portion 520b having a rectangular parallelepiped extending therefrom. The upper layer portion 520a has a front portion 522 in which the insertion portion 522a is formed and a rear portion 524 extending laterally and having a suction portion 524a formed therein. The insertion part 522a is formed on the upper surface of the front part 522 so that a predetermined length corresponds to the discharge part 24 of the slit nozzle 20. Both sides of the insertion part 522a are formed in parallel to each other so that the discharge part 24 of the slit nozzle 20 and the cleaning member 520 are in surface contact. The rear part 524 is formed to be inclined downward in a direction away from the front part 522, and the suction part 524a extends from the insertion part 522a in a shape that gradually opens to both sides as it moves away from the insertion part 522a. And is formed in the rear portion 524. Vacuum holes 526 are formed at both sides of the suction part 524a to suck the coating liquid away from the periphery of the discharge port 524a of the slit nozzle 20. This prevents the surrounding environment and the nozzle cleaning mechanism 500 from being contaminated by the coating liquid away from the discharge port 524a of the slit nozzle 20. In the rear part 524 and the lower layer part 520b, a vacuum line 527 is formed to be connected to the vacuum holes 526, and a discharge pipe (not shown) to which a pump is installed is connected to the vacuum line 527.

6 is a perspective view of a nozzle cleaning mechanism 500 having another example cleaning member 520. The cleaning member 520 'of FIG. 6 has an inserting portion 522a' that is different from the insertion portion 522a of the cleaning member 520 of FIG. That is, in the cleaning member 520 'of FIG. 6, the insertion portion 522a' has a shape corresponding to the discharge port of the slit nozzle 20, and gradually widens as it is moved laterally. Accordingly, when the cleaning member 520 'of FIG. 6 is used, the contact portion 522a' of the cleaning member 520 'and the periphery of the discharge port 24a of the slit nozzle 20 are linearly contacted.

When the cleaning member 520 is made of a hard material, since the slit nozzle 20 and the cleaning member 520 are not completely in contact with each other, the photoresist attached around the discharge port 24 ′ of the slit nozzle 20 is not completely removed. There is no problem, such as scratching of the slit nozzle (20). In the present invention, the cleaning member 520 is made of a soft material resistant to organic materials so that the cleaning member 520 can be squeezed in contact with the periphery of the discharge port 24a of the slit nozzle 20. For example, the cleaning member 520 may be made of a polymer material such as rubber. As the rubber, crystal rubber or urethan rubber may be used.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II of FIG. 5. The support member 540 is formed in a cylindrical shape with four inner sidewalls having a rectangular shape. Two opposite sidewalls of the sidewalls of the support member 540 have a bottom plate 542 extending from the bottom thereof in a direction outwardly perpendicular thereto and fixed to the support member 540. The support member 540 has a top surface with an opening in the center. The opening is generally formed in a rectangular shape similar to the lower layer portion 520b of the supporting member 540 and is wider than the cross section of the lower layer portion 520b of the supporting member 540.

The slit nozzle 20 may be moved into the treatment tank 100 in a distorted state from the set position. For example, the slit nozzle 20 may be displaced in the longitudinal direction from the right position, but the discharge port is located on the horizontal plane, or may be twisted in the vertical direction so that both ends of the discharge port may be located at different heights. When the cleaning member 520 is fixed to the support member 540 so that the cleaning member 520 does not flow, if the slit nozzle 20 is twisted in the longitudinal direction, an excessive force is applied to the slit nozzle 20 when the cleaning member 520 moves. This may damage the slit nozzle 20 or the cleaning member 520. In addition, when the slit nozzle 20 is twisted in the vertical direction, cleaning may be incomplete in a partial region in the longitudinal direction. In order to prevent this, the elastic member 560 is coupled to the support member 540. As the elastic member 560, a spring having one end coupled to the bottom surface of the cleaning member 520 and the other end coupled to the lower horizontal panel 340 of the bracket described above may be used. One spring 560 may be provided at the center of the bottom surface of the support member 540, or a plurality of springs may be provided at uniform intervals. When the slit nozzle 20 is placed and cleaned, the springs 560 are preferably kept compressed at a constant pressure. According to the present invention, even if the slit nozzle 20 is moved into the treatment tank 100 in a state in which it is out of position, the cleaning member 520 is forced by the spring to the slit nozzle 20 within a predetermined range. It is possible to wash uniformly in the longitudinal direction without adding.

When the cleaning of the slit nozzle 20 is completed, the nozzle cleaning mechanism 500 is moved so that the cleaning member 520 is positioned under the cleaning nozzle 260 described above, and the cleaning liquid is supplied from the cleaning nozzle 260 to clean it. Cleaning of the member 520 is performed. Thereafter, the nozzle cleaning mechanism 500 is moved so that the cleaning member 520 is positioned under the above-described drying nozzle 280, and a dry gas such as nitrogen gas is supplied from the drying nozzle 280 to clean the cleaning member 520. To dry.

According to the present invention, since the cleaning member is made of a rubber material and the cleaning member and the slit nozzle are squeeze contacted, the photoresist attached around the discharge port of the slit nozzle is effectively removed.

In addition, according to the present invention, since the cleaning member is supported by the elastic body and can be moved in a predetermined region, even if the cleaning member is moved to the treatment tank in a displaced state at the correct position of the slit nozzle, it does not apply excessive force to the slit nozzle and is longitudinally The slit nozzle can be washed uniformly.

Claims (13)

In the apparatus for cleaning a slit nozzle used for manufacturing a flat panel display element, A nozzle cleaning mechanism having a cleaning member having an insertion portion into which the discharge portion of the slit nozzle is inserted; It includes a moving mechanism for moving the nozzle cleaning mechanism along the discharge portion of the slit nozzle, The upper surface of the cleaning member in contact with the discharge port peripheral portion of the slit nozzle, characterized in that made of a rubber material. The method of claim 1, The insertion part has a predetermined length is the same width as the discharge portion of the slit nozzle, the slit nozzle cleaning apparatus, characterized in that the surface contact with the peripheral portion of the discharge port of the insertion portion and the slit nozzle. The method of claim 1, One end of the insertion portion is formed with the same width as the discharge portion of the slit nozzle, the slit nozzle cleaning apparatus, characterized in that the line contact with the peripheral portion of the discharge port of the insertion portion and the slit nozzle. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, And a suction part formed in the cleaning member, the suction part extending from the insertion part in the longitudinal direction of the slit nozzle and having a vacuum hole for forcibly suctioning the foreign substances removed from the periphery of the discharge port of the slit nozzle. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, The nozzle cleaning mechanism further includes an elastic member coupled to one surface of the cleaning member so that the cleaning member can be moved with fluidity. Even when the slit nozzle is inserted into the inserting part out of a fixed position, the cleaning process is performed while the position of the cleaning member is corrected by the elastic member when the nozzle cleaning mechanism is moved along the discharge part of the slit nozzle. Slit nozzle cleaning apparatus, characterized in that. The method of claim 5, The nozzle cleaning mechanism further includes a support member coupled to the movement mechanism and moved by the movement mechanism. The support member has a cylindrical shape having an opening in which the cleaning member is inserted in the center, and the opening is formed wider than a cross section of the cleaning member inserted therein.  And the elastic member is vertically coupled to the bottom surface of the cleaning member. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, The apparatus may further include a treatment tank in which an upper portion of the cleaning member is provided and a space in which the cleaning member is disposed. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, The apparatus further comprises a cleaning nozzle for cleaning the cleaning member by supplying a cleaning liquid to the cleaning member. The method of claim 8, And the apparatus further comprises a drying nozzle for supplying a dry gas to the cleaning member cleaned by the cleaning nozzle to dry the cleaning member. The method of claim 1, The slit nozzle is used in a facility for applying a photoresist on a substrate, The cleaning device is a slit nozzle cleaning device, characterized in that for removing the photoresist adhered to the discharge port of the slit nozzle preliminary ejection of the photoresist before performing the coating process. In the apparatus for cleaning a slit nozzle used for manufacturing a flat panel display element, A nozzle cleaning mechanism having a cleaning member having an insertion portion into which the discharge portion of the slit nozzle is inserted; A moving mechanism for moving the nozzle cleaning mechanism along the discharge portion of the slit nozzle; And Including an elastic member coupled to one surface of the cleaning member so that the cleaning member can be moved with fluidity, Even when the slit nozzle is inserted into the inserting part out of a fixed position, the cleaning process is performed while the position of the cleaning member is corrected by the elastic member when the nozzle cleaning mechanism is moved along the discharge part of the slit nozzle. Slit nozzle cleaning apparatus, characterized in that. The method of claim 11, And a suction part formed in the cleaning member, the suction part extending from the insertion part in the longitudinal direction of the slit nozzle and having a vacuum hole for forcibly suctioning the foreign substances removed from the periphery of the discharge port of the slit nozzle. The method of claim 11, The nozzle cleaning mechanism further includes a support member coupled to the movement mechanism and moved by the movement mechanism, The apparatus further includes a treatment tank providing a space in which the cleaning member is disposed, the upper portion of which is open; And the elastic member is vertically coupled to the bottom surface of the cleaning member.

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