KR20090120571A - Apparatus and method for cleaning a glass - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An apparatus and a method for cleaning a substrate are provided to heat the first cleaning material supplied from a cleaning material supply unit to generate the second cleaning material of a steam state and spray the second cleaning material on the substrate to clean, thereby cleaning the substrate through the first cleaning material with a relatively smaller amount. CONSTITUTION: A method for cleaning a substrate comprises the following steps. The first cleaning material of a liquid state with a predetermined amount is supplied to a heating space(S10). When the first cleaning material with the predetermined amount is supplied to the heating space, the first cleaning material is heated to generate the second cleaning material of a steam state(S20). The second cleaning material is sprayed on the substrate while adjusting spraying pressure of the second cleaning material to clean the substrate(S30).

Description

Substrate cleaning method and apparatus {APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CLEANING A GLASS}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate cleaning method and apparatus, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for cleaning a substrate treated with a chemical process.

In general, a display device, which is one of semiconductor integrated circuit devices, is manufactured by performing a deposition process, an etching process, a photolithography process, a cleaning process, or the like based on a glass substrate.

These processes typically proceed by applying various kinds of chemicals to the substrate. In particular, since the cleaning process is for removing the chemical or foreign matter on the substrate, the substrate is cleaned using a neutral cleaning material such as deionized water (DI) at the end.

If hydrochloric acid (HCl), which is strongly acidic in the previous process, is used as the chemical, chlorine (Cl 2) material remains on the substrate, and in order to remove it, the cleaning process causes the deionized water to be heated to a temperature of about 80 degrees or more. The heating is performed by spraying on the substrate. In this case, in order to remove chlorine (Cl 2) material remaining on the substrate, a relatively excessive amount of deionized water (DI) is required.

That is, the process cost is increased due to the excessive amount of deionized water (DI), a relatively large space is required to heat the deionized water (DI), there is a problem that consumes a lot of energy.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate cleaning method capable of reducing the flow rate of the cleaning material for cleaning the substrate.

Further, another object of the present invention is to provide a substrate cleaning apparatus to which the substrate cleaning method described above is applied.

In order to achieve the above object of the present invention, a substrate cleaning method according to one aspect is disclosed. The first washing in solution is supplied to the heating site by a certain amount. Subsequently, when the first washings are all supplied to the heating place by a predetermined amount, the first washings are heated to generate a second washings in a steam state. Subsequently, the second cleaning material is sprayed onto the substrate while the injection pressure of the second cleaning product is adjusted to clean the substrate.

At this time, the washings are sprayed in a batch along a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the substrate is transferred.

On the other hand, when injecting the second cleaning material to the substrate, a carrier gas for supporting the flow of the second cleaning material is introduced, the injection pressure of the second cleaning material may be adjusted from the pressure of the carrier gas.

In order to achieve the above object of the present invention, the substrate cleaning apparatus according to one feature includes a steam generating unit, a cleaning material supply unit and a cleaning unit. The steam generator is supplied with a first amount of the first washings in a solution state, and heats the first washings to generate a second washings in the steam state. The cleaning material supply unit supplies the first cleaning material to the steam generator. The cleaning unit is connected to the steam generating unit and cleans the substrate by spraying the second cleaning substance on the substrate while adjusting the injection pressure of the second cleaning substance.

The cleaning unit is installed in a lengthwise direction perpendicular to the direction in which the substrate is transported, a plurality of the cleaning unit is formed along the longitudinal direction of the pipe and the pipe in which the second cleaning material flows from the steam generating unit, and flows into the pipe. And spray nozzles for collectively spraying the second cleaning material onto the substrate.

Thus, each of the injection nozzles are formed in the injection hole is larger as the distance away from the center, each of the injection nozzles are connected to the injection holes and the guide for uniformly dispersing the second cleaning material at a predetermined angle Contains wealth.

On the other hand, the substrate cleaning device is connected between the steam generating unit and the cleaning unit, the gas providing unit for providing a carrier gas for assisting the flow of the second cleaning material and installed between the gas providing unit and the cleaning unit And a pressure controller configured to adjust the pressure of the carrier gas in order to adjust the injection pressure of the second cleaning material.

The substrate cleaning apparatus may further include an air injection unit disposed at both sides of the cleaning unit and injecting air into the substrate to define an area in which the second cleaning object is injected.

According to such a substrate cleaning method and apparatus, the first cleaning material supplied from the cleaning material supply unit is heated to generate a second cleaning material in a steam state, and the second cleaning material in the steam state is sprayed onto the substrate to be cleaned. Thereby, the said board | substrate can be cleaned through the said 1st washing | cleaning material of a relatively small flow volume. That is, the process cost can be reduced by reducing the amount of the first cleaning material used.

In addition, it is possible to save not only the space for heating the first cleaning matter, but also the energy consumed.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail a substrate cleaning method and apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. As the inventive concept allows for various changes and numerous embodiments, particular embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the text. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to the specific disclosed form, it should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention. In describing the drawings, similar reference numerals are used for similar elements. In the accompanying drawings, the dimensions of the structures are shown in an enlarged scale than actual for clarity of the invention.

Terms such as first and second may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, the first component may be referred to as the second component, and similarly, the second component may also be referred to as the first component.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this application, the terms "comprise" or "have" are intended to indicate that there is a feature, number, step, action, component, part, or combination thereof described on the specification, and one or more other features. It is to be understood that the present invention does not exclude the possibility of the presence or the addition of numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

On the other hand, unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Terms such as those defined in the commonly used dictionaries should be construed as having meanings consistent with the meanings in the context of the related art and shall not be construed in ideal or excessively formal meanings unless expressly defined in this application. Do not.

1 is a configuration diagram schematically showing a substrate cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a perspective view showing in detail the cleaning portion of the substrate cleaning apparatus shown in Figure 1, Figure 3 is shown in Figure 2 It is the figure which looked at the cleaned part from the front.

1, 2 and 3, the substrate cleaning apparatus 1000 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a cleaning material supply unit 100, a steam generator 200, and a cleaning unit 300. .

The cleaning material supply unit 100 supplies the first cleaning material c in a solution state that maintains a normal temperature by a predetermined amount. Here, the first cleaning material (c) is a material for removing chemicals from the substrate (G) which are variously used in the manufacturing process of the integrated circuit device for the substrate (G). In this case, the substrate G may be a glass substrate used to manufacture a display device or a semiconductor substrate used to manufacture a semiconductor device. On the other hand, the first cleaning material (c) is an example of neutral deionized water (DI) that can prevent the chemical reaction with the chemical.

In this case, when the first cleaning material (c) made of deionized water (DI) uses a chemical of strong acid such as hydrochloric acid (HCl) for the substrate (G) in the previous process, the chlorine may be used on the substrate (G). As the (Cl2) material remains, it is necessary to heat it to a high temperature of about 80 degrees or more in order to effectively remove it.

Thus, the steam generator 200 is connected to the cleaning material supply unit 100. The steam generator 200 receives the first cleaning material c in a solution state from the cleaning material supply unit 100. The steam generator 200 substantially heats the supplied first cleaning material c to a high temperature of about 80 degrees or more.

As a result, the steam generating unit 200 generates the second washings s in a steam state by heating the first washings c. The second cleaning material s has a feature in which the overall contact area is wider than that of the first cleaning material c aggregated in a solution state as the molecules are dispersed. That is, when a predetermined contact area is required for cleaning the substrate G, the second cleaning material s may be used in a relatively smaller amount than the first cleaning material c in a solution state.

The washing unit 300 is connected to the steam generating unit 200. The washing unit 300 receives the second washing material s in a steam state from the steam generating unit 200. The cleaning unit 300 removes and cleans the chemical from the substrate G by spraying the supplied second cleaning material s in the steam state on the substrate G by controlling the injection pressure thereof.

Thus, the substrate cleaning apparatus 1000 may include a gas providing unit 700 connected between the steam generating unit 200 and the cleaning unit 300, and between the gas providing unit 700 and the cleaning unit 300. It further includes a pressure regulator 800 installed.

The gas providing unit 700 provides a carrier gas N to assist the flow of the second cleaning material s. The carrier gas N may include an inert gas such as nitrogen (N 2) or argon (Ar) from which reactivity is excluded.

The pressure adjusting unit 800 adjusts the pressure of the carrier gas (N) to adjust the injection pressure of the second cleaning material (s). This is because it is easier to adjust the pressure of the carrier gas N than to directly adjust the injection pressure of the second cleaning material s.

The cleaning unit 300 is fixed at one position, and the substrate G is transferred by the plurality of rollers 10. That is, the cleaning unit 300 cleans the substrate G while transferring the substrate G by the rollers 10.

The cleaning unit 300 may be installed inside the separate process chamber 20, unlike the cleaning material supply unit 100 and the steam generator 200. This is to prevent leakage to the outside while receiving the second cleaning material s injected from the cleaning part 300 to the substrate G.

Therefore, the first cleaning material (c) supplied from the cleaning material supply unit 100 is heated to generate the second cleaning product s in a steam state, and the second cleaning product in the steam state thus generated ( By spraying s) onto the substrate G for cleaning, the substrate G can be cleaned through the first cleaning material c at a relatively low flow rate. That is, the process cost can be reduced by reducing the amount of the first cleaning material (c) used.

In addition, not only a space for heating the first cleaning material c, but also energy consumption may be saved.

On the other hand, the cleaning unit 300 includes a pipe 310 and the injection nozzle 320. The pipe 310 is installed long along any width of the substrate (G). Specifically, the pipe 310 is installed along a width perpendicular to the transfer direction of the substrate (G). The second cleaning material s in a steam state flows into the pipe 310 from the steam generator 200.

The spray nozzles 320 are provided in plural at regular intervals along the longitudinal direction of the substrate G. The injection nozzles 320 receive the second cleaning material s in a steam state introduced into the pipe 310 and spray the batch nozzles on the substrate G at once.

As such, the cleaning unit 300 installs the pipe 310 along a width perpendicular to the transfer direction of the substrate G, and then, the cleaning nozzle 300 is formed on the substrate G through the spray nozzles 320. By spraying 2 washing | cleaning material s, the said board | substrate G can be wash | cleaned at once in the middle of the said board | substrate G conveying.

Hereinafter, the structure of the spray nozzles will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion A of FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a view of the injection nozzle 320 of the cleaning unit 300 shown in FIG. 4 as viewed from below.

4 and 5, each of the spray nozzles 320 may be formed to uniformly spray the second cleaning material s in a steam state at an end portion of the spray nozzles 320 along the width thereof. 2 comprises a guide portion 322 for uniformly dispersing the cleaning material (s) at a predetermined angle.

The guide part 322 may have a tapered surface from the center to the outside so as to guide the second cleaning material s to the outside from the center where the second cleaning material s is substantially introduced from the pipe 310. 323). In this case, a plurality of dispersing protrusions (not shown) may be formed at the end of the guide part 322 to further disperse the second cleaning part 300.

Each of the spray nozzles 320 may be separated from the center to the outside so that the second cleaning material s flowing from the pipe 310 is sprayed to the substrate G in a uniform amount along the width thereof. Injection holes 324 are formed to increase in size.

This is because the second cleaning material s first flows into the center of the injection nozzle 320 from the pipe 310. That is, since the injection of the second cleaning material s can be made more easily than the outer portion at the center of the injection nozzle 320, the injection holes 324 form a larger outer portion than at the center. .

As such, the spray nozzle 320 uniformly supplies the second cleaning material s to the substrate G through the guide part 322 and the spray holes 324 in a uniform amount along the width thereof. Can spray

On the other hand, the substrate cleaning apparatus 1000 further includes an air injection unit 400 installed at both sides of the cleaning unit 300 in the process chamber 20. The air injection unit 400 is specifically installed adjacent to the inlet or the outlet of the process chamber.

The air injection unit 400 prevents the second cleaning material s injected from the cleaning unit 300 from leaking out from the inlet or the outlet of the process chamber 20 to the outside. ) To define the area to be injected.

To this end, the air injection unit 400 injects the air (a) received from the outside inclined in the direction in which the cleaning unit 300 is installed at the inlet or outlet of the process chamber 20 to the substrate (G). can do.

In addition, the substrate cleaning apparatus 1000 further includes a flow rate control unit 500 connected between the cleaning material supply unit 100 and the steam generator 200. The flow rate controller 500 adjusts the flow rate of the first cleaning product c in a solution state for generating the second cleaning product s in a steam state in the steam generator 200.

That is, the first cleaning material c is controlled by supplying only the predetermined amount of the first cleaning material c to the steam generator 200 through the flow rate control part 500 from the cleaning material supply part 100. This serves to prevent waste.

Hereinafter, a method of substantially cleaning the substrate G by using the substrate cleaning apparatus 1000 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 6.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method of cleaning a substrate using the substrate cleaning apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

1 and 6, in order to clean the substrate G, first, the first cleaning material c in a solution state is supplied to the steam generator 200 installed at a heating place (S10).

At this time, the flow rate is controlled through the flow rate control unit 500 so that the first cleaning material c is supplied to the steam generator 200 only by a predetermined amount.

Subsequently, when the first cleaning material c is supplied to the steam generator 200 only by a predetermined amount, the first cleaning material c is heated through the steam generating unit 200 to clean the second steam in the state of steam. Generate water (s) (S20). The second cleaning material s has a structure in which molecules are dispersed, and thus has a larger contact area than the first cleaning material c. That is, the second cleaning material s may be used in an amount smaller than the first cleaning material c for a constant contact area.

Subsequently, the substrate G is cleaned by controlling the injection pressure of the second cleaning material s in a steam state on the substrate G through the cleaning part 300 (S30). In this case, the cleaning unit 300 is sprayed in a batch along the width perpendicular to the transport direction of the substrate (G). As a result, the substrate G may be cleaned at a time according to the transfer of the substrate G.

Therefore, by using the second cleaning material s in a steam state for cleaning the substrate G, the flow rate of the first cleaning material c for generating the second cleaning material s can be reduced. Can be.

7 is a front view of the cleaning part of the substrate cleaning apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 7, the substrate cleaning apparatus 1100 according to another embodiment of the present invention includes a cleaning unit 600 formed of a pipe 610.

The pipe 610 is installed long along a certain width of the substrate (G). In the pipe 610, injection holes 612 are formed to collectively spray the second cleaning material s in a steam state along the width of the substrate G.

As a result, the cleaning unit 600 may reduce the cost for manufacturing it by a simple process such as the injection hole 612.

Although the detailed description of the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, those skilled in the art or those skilled in the art will have the idea of the present invention described in the claims to be described later. It will be understood that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope of the present invention.

The present invention described above is relatively heated by heating the first cleaning material supplied from the cleaning material supply unit to generate a second cleaning product in a steam state, and spraying the second cleaning product in the steam state generated on the substrate to clean the substrate. It can be used in an apparatus for cleaning the substrate through the first cleaning of a small flow rate.

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

FIG. 2 is a perspective view specifically showing a cleaning unit of the substrate cleaning apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

3 is a front view of the cleaning unit shown in FIG. 2.

4 is an enlarged view of a portion A of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a view of the spray nozzle of the cleaner shown in FIG. 4 as viewed from below. FIG.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method of cleaning a substrate using the substrate cleaning apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

7 is a front view of the cleaning part of the substrate cleaning apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

c: first wash s: second wash

G: substrate 20: process chamber

100: cleaning material supply unit 200: steam generating unit

300: cleaning unit 310: piping

320: injection nozzle 400: air injection unit

500 flow rate control unit 1000 substrate cleaning apparatus

Claims (8)

Supplying a predetermined amount of the first washings in a solution state to a heating place by a predetermined amount; Heating the first rinse when the first rinse is supplied to the heating place by a predetermined amount to generate a second rinse in a steam state; And And spraying the second cleaning material onto the substrate while adjusting the spraying pressure of the second cleaning material to clean the substrate. The method of claim 1, wherein in the spraying of the second cleaning material on the substrate, the second cleaning material is sprayed collectively along a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the substrate is transported. . The method of claim 1, wherein when injecting the second cleaning material into the substrate, a carrier gas is introduced to assist the flow of the second cleaning material, and the injection pressure of the second cleaning product is adjusted from the pressure of the carrier gas. Substrate cleaning method characterized in that. A steam generator which receives the first cleaning material in a solution state by a predetermined amount and heats the first cleaning material to generate a second cleaning material in a steam state; A cleaning material supply unit supplying the first cleaning material to the steam generator; And And a cleaning unit connected to the steam generator and configured to clean the substrate by spraying the second cleaning substance onto a substrate while adjusting the injection pressure of the second cleaning substance. The method of claim 4, wherein the cleaning unit A pipe installed to extend in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the substrate is transferred, and the second cleaning material flowing from the steam generator; And And a plurality of spray nozzles formed along the longitudinal direction of the pipe and spraying the second cleaning material flowing into the pipe onto the substrate. The method of claim 5, wherein each of the injection nozzles are formed in the injection hole is larger as the distance from the center to the outside, each of the injection nozzles are connected to the injection holes and uniformly the second cleaning material at a predetermined angle And a guide portion for dispersing. The method of claim 4, wherein A gas providing unit connected between the steam generating unit and the washing unit and providing a carrier gas to assist the flow of the second washing unit; And And a pressure adjusting unit disposed between the gas providing unit and the cleaning unit to adjust the pressure of the carrier gas in order to adjust the injection pressure of the second cleaning object. The substrate cleaning apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising an air injection unit provided at both sides of the cleaning unit to inject air into the substrate to define an area in which the second cleaning object is injected.

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