KR20070066171A - Apparaturs for treating substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

A substrate processing apparatus is provided to prevent damage of a switching unit due to movement of an upper chamber or lower chamber when an internal space is decompressed. A substrate is seated on a lower chamber(110), and an upper chamber(120) is detachably coupled to the lower chamber to provide a space isolated from an exterior together with the lower chamber. A switching unit(130) moves up and down to the upper chamber or the lower chamber. The upper chamber or the lower chamber has a support tip(122) protruding in a lateral direction. The switching unit has a bracket(136) receiving the support tip.

Description

Substrate processing apparatus {apparaturs for treating substrate}

1 is a front view schematically showing a conventional substrate processing apparatus;

2 is a front view schematically showing a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention;

3 and 4 are views showing an operating state of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

100 substrate processing apparatus 110 lower chamber

120: upper chamber 122: support tip

130: opening and closing unit 132: drive shaft

134: drive unit 136: bracket

The present invention relates to an apparatus for processing a substrate, and more particularly, to an apparatus for processing a substrate in a reduced pressure state.

Photolithography is a photolithography process widely used to form a desired pattern on a substrate such as a silicon wafer or glass using a light-sensitive photoresist, which is indispensable for manufacturing semiconductors. It is treated as one of the indispensable processes.

The photographing process is a technique of forming a pattern in such a manner that a mask having a desired pattern is placed on an arbitrary film coated with a photosensitive agent, and then irradiated with ultraviolet rays, the pattern is transferred from the mask to a material called a photosensitive agent and developed with a developer. .

Since the photosensitive agent in a viscous liquid state is normally used at the said process, in order to obtain a thin and uniform film | membrane, the photosensitive agent is coated by a method like spin coating. Therefore, after the coating operation is completed, prior to arranging the mask, as a preliminary work, the solvent of the photosensitive agent must be removed through a temporary drying process called soft baking in a pressure reduction dryer. The additional solvent removal operation is performed to improve the bonding property between the lower film quality and the photosensitive agent.

1 is a front view schematically showing a conventional substrate processing apparatus 1.

The substrate processing apparatus 1 includes a lower chamber 10, an upper chamber 20, an opening and closing unit 30, and a vacuum unit 40.

When the wafer W is seated on the upper surface of the lower chamber 10, the internal space 14 is closed by the upper chamber 20 positioned above the lower chamber 10. The upper chamber 20 may move up and down by the movement of the fastener 36 installed on the side of the upper chamber 20.

The clamp 36 is formed with a hole in which a thread is formed on the inner circumferential surface, and a thread is formed on the outer circumferential surface of the drive shaft 32. Therefore, the clamp 36 can move by the rotation of the drive shaft 32.

After the interior space 14 is closed, a vacuum atmosphere is formed in the interior space 14 by discharging the gas in the interior space 14 to the outside through the vacuum line 42 by the vacuum pump 44. The drying process can be carried out.

However, in the conventional substrate processing apparatus 1, when a vacuum atmosphere is formed in the internal space 14, the upper chamber 12 is compressed while the sealing member 12 positioned between the upper chamber 12 and the lower chamber 11 is compressed. Can move vertically downwards.

When the upper chamber 12 is moved vertically downward, the clamp 36 coupled to the side of the upper chamber 12 is also forcibly moved vertically downward by the upper chamber 12. Accordingly, the screw formed on the inner circumferential surface of the fastener 36 and the thread formed on the outer circumferential surface of the drive shaft 32 may be worn by forcibly vertically moving the fastener 36 configured to move by rotation, which causes frequent equipment replacement. do.

An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of extending the replacement cycle by preventing the wear of the parts.

Still other objects of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.

According to the present invention, an apparatus for processing a substrate includes a lower chamber on which the substrate is seated, an upper chamber detachable from the lower chamber, and together with the lower chamber to provide an internal space isolated from the outside with respect to the substrate, the upper chamber. Or an opening / closing unit capable of moving the lower chamber up and down, wherein the upper chamber or the lower chamber has a supporting tip protruding laterally, and the opening and closing unit is insertable with the supporting tip and It has a bracket with an insert larger than its height.

The opening and closing unit further includes a drive shaft extending in the vertical direction and a screw thread is formed on the outer circumferential surface, the drive unit for rotating the drive shaft, the bracket is formed on the inner peripheral surface to form a screw thread corresponding to the drive shaft, the bracket is By the rotation of the drive shaft can be moved up and down along the drive shaft.

The bracket is a moving part moving along the drive shaft, a mounting part projecting in a direction substantially perpendicular to the drive shaft from the moving part, and the support tip may be seated, and is positioned to face the seating part, and the support tip is the It includes a departure prevention portion that can prevent the departure in the opposite direction of the seating portion, wherein the insertion portion may be located between the seating portion and the release preventing portion.

The apparatus may further include a vacuum unit capable of forming a vacuum atmosphere in the inner space.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4. Embodiment of the present invention may be modified in various forms, the scope of the present invention should not be construed as limited to the embodiments described below. This embodiment is provided to explain in detail the present invention to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the shape of each element shown in the drawings may be exaggerated to emphasize a more clear description.

In the present embodiment, the wafer W is described as an example, but the present invention is not limited thereto and may be applied to various kinds of substrates such as glass substrates.

2 is a front view schematically showing a substrate processing apparatus 100 according to the present invention.

The substrate processing apparatus 100 includes a lower chamber 110, an upper chamber 120, an opening and closing unit 130, and an exhaust unit 140.

The upper portion of the lower chamber 110 is provided with a space in which the wafer W is seated, and a plurality of exhaust holes 111 are formed around the wafer W. The vacuum unit 140 to be described later is connected to the exhaust hole 111.

The upper chamber 120 is positioned to face the lower chamber 110 and is detachably installed from the lower chamber 110. When the upper chamber 120 is seated in the lower chamber 110, an internal space 14 is formed on the wafer W. The inner space 14 is a space for isolating the wafer W from the outside in order to perform a pressure-drying process for the wafer W.

The sealing member 112 is installed on the bottom surface of the upper chamber 120 in contact with the lower chamber 110 in order to isolate the wafer W from the outside. The sealing member 112 is provided to maintain the airtight (sealing) of the inner space, in this embodiment is installed O-ring (O-ring). Unlike the present embodiment, the sealing member 112 may be installed on the upper surface of the lower chamber 110 in contact with the upper chamber 120.

Side of the upper chamber 120 is provided with a support tip 122 for moving the upper chamber 120 up and down. Support tips 122 are provided on both sides of the upper chamber 120, the support tips 122 are inserted into the insertion portion of the bracket 136 to be described later. Unlike the present embodiment, the support tip 122 may be provided on the lower chamber 110.

The opening / closing unit 130 includes a drive shaft 132, a drive unit 134, and a bracket 136. The opening / closing unit 130 may move the upper chamber 120 up and down to open and close the internal space 114 above the wafer (W).

The bracket 136 has a moving part 136a, a seating part 136b, and the departure prevention part 136c.

The moving part 136a is a portion extending in the vertical direction, and a hole is formed in the moving part 136a, and a thread is formed in the inner circumferential surface of the hole. The moving unit 136a may move up and down according to the rotation of the drive shaft 132 which will be described later.

The mounting portion 136b may protrude in a direction substantially perpendicular to the driving shaft 132 from the lower end of the moving portion 136a, and the support tip 122 may be mounted on the upper surface of the mounting portion 136b.

The departure preventing part 136c protrudes from the upper end of the moving part 136a in a direction substantially perpendicular to the drive shaft 132 and is positioned to face the seating part 136b. The departure prevention part 136c may prevent the support tip seated on the upper surface of the seating part 136b from being separated in the opposite direction of the seating part 136b.

An insertion part 136d through which the support tip 122 can be inserted is formed between the seating part 136b and the departure preventing part 136c, and the support tip 122 is inserted into the insertion part 136d. It is seated at 136b. At this time, the insertion portion 136d should be formed larger than the height of the support tip 122, which will be described later.

The moving part 136a of the bracket 136 is located on the drive shaft 132. The drive shaft 132 extends up and down, and a thread is formed on the outer circumferential surface of the drive shaft 132 to correspond to the thread formed in the hole of the moving part 136a. Therefore, when the drive shaft 132 rotates, the moving unit 136a may move up and down, and the bracket 136 may move up and down by the moving unit 136a. The driving unit 134 is connected to one end of the driving shaft 132. The driving unit 134 rotates the drive shaft 132 to move the bracket 136 up and down.

The vacuum unit 140 is connected to the exhaust hole 111. The vacuum unit 140 includes a vacuum line 142, a vacuum pump 144. The vacuum line 142 serves as a passage for discharging the gas in the interior space 114 to the outside to form a vacuum atmosphere in the interior space 114. The vacuum pump 144 is connected to one end of the vacuum line 142 and is provided to lower the pressure in the inner space 114.

Hereinafter, an operation method of the substrate processing apparatus 100 according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. 3 and 4 are views showing an operating state of the substrate processing apparatus 100 according to the present invention.

When the wafer W is supplied by the transfer robot (not shown), the upper chamber 120 is raised to open the internal space 114, and the wafer W is seated on the lower chamber 110 by the transfer robot. Let's do it. In order to raise the upper chamber 120, the driving shaft 132 is rotated by the driving unit 134, and the bracket 136 moves upward according to the rotation of the driving shaft 132.

As shown in FIG. 3, when the wafer W is seated, the transfer robot is removed from the lower chamber 110 and the upper chamber 120 is lowered to maintain the airtightness of the internal space 114. When the upper chamber 120 is lowered, the drive shaft 132 is rotated in the opposite direction as when the upper chamber 120 is raised, and the bracket 136 moves downward in accordance with the rotation of the drive shaft 132. The support tip 122 is seated on the seating portion 136b of the bracket 136 by the mass of the upper chamber 120, and the support tip 122 moves downward as the bracket 136 moves down. The bottom surface of the upper chamber 120 is seated on the lower chamber 110.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the upper chamber 120 is seated on the lower chamber 110, the support tip 122 rotates without stopping the drive shaft 132 from the upper surface of the seating portion 136b. It is to be inserted into the insertion portion (136d) in a predetermined distance apart state. As described above, since the insertion portion 136d is formed larger than the height of the support tip 122, the support tip 122 is spaced apart from the upper surface of the seating portion 136b by the rotation of the drive shaft 132. It may be inserted into the insertion portion 136d.

Next, after forming a vacuum atmosphere in the internal space 114 by the vacuum pump 144, a drying process is performed. When the gas in the inner space 114 is discharged to the outside using the vacuum line 142 and the vacuum pump 144, the upper chamber 120 is moved further downward than the initial position located on the lower chamber 110. Since the support tip 122 is installed to be spaced apart from the seating portion 136b by a predetermined distance, the thread formed on the outer circumferential surface of the drive shaft 132 or the inner circumferential surface of the bracket 136 may be prevented from being worn.

In the present exemplary embodiment, the upper chamber 120 is moved up and down by the opening / closing unit 130, so that the inner space 114 is opened and closed. However, the lower chamber 110 is moved up and down, so that the inner space 114 is moved. This can be opened and closed. When the lower chamber 110 moves up and down, the support tip 122 may be installed at the side of the lower chamber 110, and the vacuum unit 140 may be installed in the upper chamber 120.

According to the present invention, the replacement cycle of the parts can be extended by preventing the wear of the parts.

Claims (4)

In the apparatus for processing a substrate, A lower chamber on which the substrate is seated; An upper chamber detachable from the lower chamber and providing an inner space isolated from the outside with respect to the substrate together with the lower chamber; It includes an opening and closing unit that can move the upper chamber or the lower chamber up and down, The upper chamber or the lower chamber has a support tip that projects laterally, The opening and closing unit is a substrate processing apparatus, characterized in that the support tip is inserted, the bracket having an insert larger than the height of the support tip. The method of claim 1, The opening and closing unit, A drive shaft extending in the vertical direction and having a thread formed on an outer circumferential surface thereof; Further comprising a driving unit for rotating the drive shaft, The bracket has a hole formed in the inner peripheral surface to form a screw thread corresponding to the drive shaft, the bracket is a substrate processing apparatus, characterized in that to move up and down along the drive shaft by the rotation of the drive shaft. The method of claim 1, The bracket, A moving unit moving along the drive shaft; A seating part protruding from the moving part in a direction substantially perpendicular to the driving shaft and on which the support tip is seated; Positioned so as to face the seating portion, the support tip includes a departure prevention portion that can prevent the departure in the opposite direction of the seating, And the insertion portion is located between the seating portion and the detachment preventing portion. The method of claim 1, The device, And a vacuum unit capable of forming a vacuum atmosphere in the internal space.

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