KR20080056855A - Apparatus and method for treating substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

A substrate processing apparatus is provided to improve airtightness of a process chamber and avoid a leakage of fume by driving rotation of a roll brush in a contactless method using magnetic force. A space for performing a substrate treatment process is prepared in a housing. A substrate transfer member(14) for transferring a substrate is disposed in the housing. A roll brush comes in contact with a substrate transferred in the housing by the substrate transfer member during a process to remove foreign substances on the surface of the substrate. From the outside of the housing, a driving assembly supplies driving force for rotating the roll brush. The driving assembly includes a first magnet plate rotated by a driving motor(120) and a second magnet plate coupled to one end of the roll brush in the housing wherein the second magnet plate moves in combination with the first magnet plate by magnetic force. The roll brush can include an upper roll brush for removing foreign substances on the upper surface of the substrate during a process and a lower roll brush for removing foreign substances on the lower surface of the substrate during a process.

Description

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

1 is a side view of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view viewed from the top after cutting along the line AA ′ of FIG. 1.

3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB ′ shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the first and second magnetic plates illustrated in FIG. 1.

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

1: substrate processing apparatus 100: drive chamber

10: process room 110: outer wall

12 housing 120 drive motor

14 substrate transfer member 130 roll brush

16: injection nozzle

18: roll brush

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus and method, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for processing a process for removing foreign matter from a substrate.

Typical substrate processing apparatuses process substrates such as wafers used in semiconductor integrated circuit chip fabrication and glass substrates used in flat panel display fabrication. Among these, the wet processing apparatus treats the substrate using various kinds of chemicals, organic solvents, and ultrapure water on the substrate. For example, substrate cleaning apparatuses used in the field of flat panel display manufacturing remove foreign matter remaining on glass substrates.

A general substrate cleaning apparatus includes a process chamber and a drive chamber. The process chamber includes a housing, a substrate transfer member, and a substrate cleaning member. The housing provides a space therein for performing the process of cleaning the substrate. The substrate transfer member transfers the substrate in the housing during the process. In addition, the substrate cleaning member removes foreign matter remaining on the processing surface of the substrate that is moved inside the housing by the substrate transfer member during the process. The substrate cleaning member includes a spray nozzle and a roll brush. The spray nozzle sprays the cleaning liquid onto the processing surface of the substrate. The roll brush is installed perpendicular to the moving direction of the substrate. Rollbrushes include brushes and shafts. The brush is inserted into the shaft and rotated. The brush contacts the substrate during the process and rotates at high speed to remove foreign matter on the substrate surface. The drive chamber provides a driving force for driving the substrate transfer member and the roll brush described above.

However, since the roll brush is rotated at a high speed by the rotation of the shaft penetrating the side wall of the process chamber during the process, the airtightness of the process chamber is lowered by the through holes in the side wall for installation of these shafts. In particular, since the fume generated from the treatment liquid used in the process leaks out of the process chamber through these through holes, the leaked fume contaminates and corrodes the facility and lowers the stability of the working environment.

In addition, in the substrate processing apparatus having the above-described structure, a large amount of particles are generated, resulting in a decrease in process efficiency. That is, since the shafts are fastened and rotated in the bearings installed in the through holes, a large amount of particles are generated by friction between the bearings and the shafts by the driving of the shafts during the process. Such particles not only contaminate the equipment but also contaminate the surface of the substrate on which the process is performed in the process chamber, thereby reducing the yield of the substrate treating process.

In order to solve the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus and method for improving the process efficiency.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a substrate processing apparatus and method for improving the stability of the working environment.

Moreover, an object of this invention is to provide the substrate processing apparatus and method which improve the airtightness of the process chamber in which a substrate processing process is performed.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a substrate processing apparatus and method for preventing contaminants generated in a drive chamber rotating a shaft outside the process chamber from contaminating the inside of the process chamber.

A substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention for achieving the above object is a housing for providing a space for performing a substrate processing process therein, a substrate transfer member disposed inside the housing for transferring the substrate, the substrate transfer member during the process A roll brush for removing foreign substances on the surface of the substrate in contact with the substrate moved inside the housing, and a driving assembly providing a driving force for the rotation of the roll brush outside the housing, wherein the driving assembly includes a driving motor. And a first magnet plate rotated by the driving motor, and a second magnet plate coupled to one end of the roll brush in the housing and interlocked with the first magnet plate by a magnetic force.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the substrate processing apparatus has a drive chamber provided with the drive motor and the first magnet plate therein and a process chamber provided with the roll brush and the second magnet plate therein, the drive chamber and The process chamber is partitioned by an outer wall.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the roll brush includes a top roll brush for removing foreign matters from the upper surface of the substrate during the process and a bottom roll brush for removing foreign matters from the lower surface of the substrate during the process. Device.

The substrate processing method according to the present invention for achieving the above object is to process the substrate using a roll brush to remove foreign substances on the surface of the substrate by rotating in contact with the substrate during the process, the rotation of the roll brush is made by magnetic force .

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the substrate processing method is a process in which a drive chamber having a drive motor for rotating the first magnetic plate therein is provided in the roll brush is provided with a second magnetic plate rotated by the first magnetic plate The compartments are made by partitioning each other.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein but may be embodied in other forms. Rather, one embodiment introduced herein is provided so that the disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the spirit of the invention to those skilled in the art. In addition, in the present embodiment, a wet cleaning apparatus for cleaning a glass substrate for flat panel display manufacturing has been described as an example, but the present invention can be applied to any substrate processing apparatus for treating a substrate using a processing liquid.

(Example)

1 is a side view of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view seen from the top after cutting along the line AA ′ shown in FIG. 1. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB ′ shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the first and second magnetic plates illustrated in FIG. 1.

1 to 3, an apparatus for treating substrate 1 according to the present invention includes a process room 10 and a driving room 20. The process chamber 10 performs a substrate treatment process, and the drive chamber 20 generates a driving force for performing the substrate treatment process of the process chamber 10.

The process chamber 10 includes a housing 12, a substrate transfer member 14, an injection member 16, and a roll brush 18. The housing 12 provides a space for processing the substrate s by using the processing liquid therein. At least one housing 12 is installed. If a plurality of housings 12 is provided, each housing 12 is disposed adjacent to each other to perform a series of substrate processing processes. The housing 12 is sealed so that the treatment liquid used in the process and the fume generated from the treatment liquid do not leak out of the housing 12. Then, one side of the housing 12 is provided with a substrate inlet 12a through which the substrate s is carried in, and the other side of the housing 12 is provided with a substrate outlet 12b through which the substrate s is carried out. do. In addition, the lower portion of the housing 12 is provided with a drain line 12c for draining the processing liquid used in the process.

The substrate transfer member 14 transfers the substrate s in the housing 12 and between the housings 12 during the process. The substrate transfer member 14 includes a shaft 14a, a roller 14b, and a motor (not shown). A plurality of shafts 14a are provided. The shafts 14a are installed in a direction X perpendicular to the conveyance direction Y of the substrate s. The rollers 14b are arranged at equal intervals on each shaft 14a to support the bottom surface of the substrate s during the process. The motor rotates the shaft 14a at a constant speed during the process. The injection member 16 supplies the processing liquid toward the substrate s moved by the substrate transfer member 14 during the process. As the injection member 16, a plurality of nozzles are used.

The roll brush 18 contacts the substrate s during the process and rotates at a high speed to remove foreign substances on the substrate surface. The roll brush 18 includes an upper roll brush for removing foreign substances on the upper surface of the substrate s and a lower roll brush for removing foreign substances on the lower surface of the substrate s. The roll brush 18 includes a shaft 18a, a brush 18b, and a bearing 18c. The shaft 18a is disposed in the direction Y perpendicular to the transport direction X of the substrate s in the housing 12. Brush 18b is fitted to shaft 18a. The bearing 18c is provided at one end of the shaft 18a. The bearing 18c supports one end of the shaft 18a so that the shaft 18a is rotatable. The bearing 18c is preferably made of a material having high wear resistance and corrosion resistance to prevent the generation of fine contaminants such as particles due to the rotation of the shaft 18a during the process. For example, the bearing 18c is made of a fluorine resin-based material such as PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene), PFA (Perfluoroalkoxy), PVDF (Polyvinylidene fluoride) or the like.

The drive chamber 20 provides a driving force for rotating the roll brush 18. The driving chamber 20 includes an outer wall 110 and a driving assembly 120 provided inside the outer wall 110. The outer wall 110 is disposed adjacent to the housing 12. The interior of the outer wall 110 has a space that is completely isolated from the housing 12. The driving assembly 120 is installed inside the outer wall 110. Therefore, during the process, the process chamber 10 and the driving chamber 20 are not affected by each other by particles, fumes, and other contaminants. In particular, the particles generated when the driving assembly 120 is driven are blocked from moving to the process chamber 10 by the outer wall 110.

The drive assembly 120 rotates the roll brush 18 in a non-contact manner during the process. The drive assembly 120 includes a driving motor 122, a first magnetic plate 124, and a second magnetic plate 126. The driving motor 122 and the first magnet plate 124 are provided in the drive chamber 20, and the second magnet plate 126 is provided in the process chamber 10. The driving motor 122 rotates the first magnet plate 124. The second magnetic plate 126 is provided at the other end of the roll brush 18. At this time, the first magnetic plate 124 is installed to face the second magnetic plate 126. The first magnetic plate 124 and the second magnetic plate 126 are linked to each other by magnetic force.

Here, the first magnetic plate 124 and the second magnetic plate 126 have the same structure. That is, referring to FIG. 4, each of the first magnet plate 124 and the second magnet plate 126 is provided with a plurality of magnets M. Referring to FIG. In this case, the magnets M provided in the first magnet plate 124 and the magnets M provided in the second magnet plate 126 are disposed to face each other. Therefore, the first magnetic plate 124 and the second magnetic plate 126 are interlocked with each other by the magnets M provided in each.

In the present embodiment, a method of rotating the roll brush 18 in a non-contact manner by providing two magnetic plates 124 and 126 having the same structure as each other is described as an example. The shape and number of magnets can be changed and modified in various ways. For example, as another embodiment of the present invention, the second magnetic plate 126 is a belt drive using a belt or pulley or a drive method by a plurality of gears, not a method directly rotated by the drive motor 122. Can be rotated in a manner. In addition, the first magnetic plate 124 and the second magnetic plate 126 may have different structures, in which case the arrangement and shape of the magnets provided in each may be modified according to the structure of the magnetic plates.

When the process of the substrate processing apparatus 1 mentioned above is started, the board | substrate s is carried in in the housing 12 of the process chamber 10 through the board | substrate delivery opening 12a. The loaded substrate s is moved at a constant speed inside the housing 12 by the substrate transfer member 14. The injection member 16 sprays the treatment liquid onto the moved substrate s to remove foreign substances remaining on the surface of the substrate s. The roll brush 18 is in contact with the substrate s to clean foreign substances remaining on the surface of the substrate s. At this time, the rotation of the roll brush 18 is made in a non-contact manner by the magnetic force. That is, when the first magnet plate 124 is rotated by the rotation of the drive motor 122 of the drive assembly 130, the magnets M provided in each of the first magnet plate 124 and the second magnet plate 126 are rotated. As a result, the first magnet plate 124 is interlocked so that the shaft 18b is rotated, and the brush 18a is rotated by the rotation of the shaft 18b. The roll brush 18 that is rotated removes foreign matter attached to the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate s. The substrate s on which the foreign substance is removed from the substrate s by the brush 18a is carried out to the outside of the housing 12 through the substrate outlet 12b and moved to the process chamber 4 to perform a subsequent process.

As described above, the substrate processing apparatus 1 and the method according to the present invention are in a non-contact manner by the rotation of the roll brush 18 which contacts the substrate s during the process and removes foreign substances on the surface of the substrate s. Driven by Therefore, contaminants generated by the driving of the driving assembly 120 installed in the driving chamber 20 during the process are prevented from contaminating the process chamber 10, thereby improving the efficiency of the substrate processing process.

In addition, in the substrate processing apparatus 1 and the method according to the present invention, the process liquid used in the process chamber 10 and the fume generated from the process liquid leak out of the process chamber 10 during the process, thereby ensuring stability of the working environment. This prevents it from falling. In addition, the present invention prevents the fumes from being generated inside the process chamber 10 to leak into the drive chamber 20 and contaminate and corrode components in the drive chamber 20.

The foregoing detailed description illustrates the present invention. In addition, the foregoing description shows and describes preferred embodiments of the present invention, and the present invention can be used in various other combinations, modifications, and environments. That is, changes or modifications may be made within the scope of the concept of the invention disclosed in this specification, the scope equivalent to the disclosed contents, and / or the skill or knowledge in the art. The above-described embodiments illustrate the best state for implementing the technical idea of the present invention, the use of other inventions such as the present invention in other state known in the art, and the specific fields of application and uses of the invention. Various changes required are also possible. Accordingly, the detailed description of the invention is not intended to limit the invention to the disclosed embodiments. Also, the appended claims should be construed to include other embodiments.

As described above, the substrate processing apparatus and method according to the present invention drives the driving force for the rotation of the roll brush in a non-contact manner by magnetic force, thereby improving the airtightness of the process chamber to prevent leakage of fumes generated during the process This prevents contamination of the equipment, improves the stability of the working environment, and improves the efficiency of the substrate processing process by minimizing the generation of particles.

Claims (5)

In the apparatus for processing a substrate, A housing providing a space for performing a substrate processing process therein; A substrate transfer member disposed inside the housing and transferring the substrate; A roll brush which contacts with the substrate moved inside the housing by the substrate transfer member to remove foreign substances on the surface of the substrate; It includes a drive assembly for providing a driving force for the rotation of the roll brush on the outside of the housing, The drive assembly, Drive motor, A first magnetic plate rotated by the drive motor, and And a second magnetic plate coupled to one end of the roll brush in the housing and interlocked with the first magnetic plate by a magnetic force. The method of claim 1, The substrate processing apparatus, A drive chamber provided with the drive motor and the first magnetic plate therein; It has a process chamber provided with the roll brush and the second magnetic plate therein, And the drive chamber and the process chamber are partitioned by outer walls. The method according to claim 1 or 2, The roll brush, An upper roll brush for removing foreign substances on the upper surface of the substrate during the process; Substrate processing apparatus comprising a lower roll brush for removing foreign matter on the lower surface of the substrate during the process. In the method of processing a substrate, Process the substrate using a roll brush to remove foreign substances on the surface of the substrate by rotating in contact with the substrate during the process, wherein the roll brush is rotated by a magnetic force. The method of claim 4, wherein The substrate processing method, A substrate processing method comprising: a driving chamber having a driving motor for rotating a first magnetic plate therein; a process chamber having a second magnetic plate rotated by the first magnetic plate by being installed in the roll brush; .

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