KR20110035101A - An apparatus for etching a glass wafer having the function of removing residual etching solution - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An apparatus for etching a glass wafer with a residual etching solution eliminating function is provided to eliminate a residual etching solution by spraying high pressure gas to an etching solution spraying unit. CONSTITUTION: A glass wafer(1) is loaded on a substrate fixing part(110). An etching solution spraying part(120) equipped with a plurality of nozzles(123) is located on the upper side of the glass wafer. The etching solution spraying unit sprays an etching solution toward the glass wafer. An etching solution supplying part(140) supplies the etching solution to the etching solution spraying part. A gas supplying part(130) supplies gas to the etching solution spraying part in order to emit remained etching solution to the outside.

Description

Glass substrate etching equipment with residual etching solution removal function {AN APPARATUS FOR ETCHING A GLASS WAFER HAVING THE FUNCTION OF REMOVING RESIDUAL ETCHING SOLUTION}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a glass substrate etching apparatus having a function of removing residual etching liquid, and more particularly, to remove the etching liquid remaining in the etching liquid nozzle and the supply unit by using a gas to process the surface of the glass substrate due to the pre-fall of the remaining etching liquid. The present invention relates to a glass substrate etching apparatus having a residual etching solution removal function capable of preventing defects.

Glass substrates for display panels, including TFT-LCD bonding panels, are processed to have a thin thickness through mechanical polishing or chemical etching to reduce the weight and thickness of the panel. In recent years, as the demand for slimming of display panels increases, the use of chemical etching which is more productive and thinner than mechanical polishing is increasing.

Etching methods of glass substrates include a deeping method and a spray method. Among them, the dipping method is to immerse the glass in the etching bath containing the etching solution to etch the surface of the glass, and a method of improving the fluidity of the etching solution by generating bubbles in the lower portion of the etching bath has been used. This dipping method is easy to process a plurality of glass substrates at the same time has the advantage of very high productivity, but the disadvantage that the surface quality of the processed glass substrate is not good because the reactants formed on the glass substrate surface is not removed during processing have.

In the spray method, etching is performed by spraying etching liquid on both surfaces of the glass substrate, and the etching liquid is sprayed by arranging the glass substrate in an upright position between a plurality of nozzles provided on the left and right sides along a predetermined processing path. In this spray method, the etching liquid having a high kinetic energy is evenly sprayed on the surface of the glass substrate, and the etching liquid flows along the surface, so that the reaction product is removed and the new etching liquid is supplied quickly. The uniformity has the advantage of obtaining excellent surface quality. However, the conventional spray method has a disadvantage in that productivity is remarkably lowered because it is a method of processing by arranging glass substrates one by one in an etching space between nozzles.

In order to solve the productivity problem of the conventional spray method, the present applicant has proposed an upper spray type etching apparatus through the "glass substrate etching apparatus and the glass thin plate manufactured by the etching apparatus" of Patent No. 10-0860294. have.

As shown in FIG. 1, the etching apparatus arranges a plurality of glass substrates 1 in an upright state by a cassette 10 and arranges a plurality of nozzles 20 installed on the glass substrate 1. The etching liquid sprayed downward through the liquid droplets is agglomerated on the glass surface to form a laminar flow, and flows along the glass substrate 1 to etch the surface.

Since the upper spray etching apparatus is etched through the collision and flow of the sprayed etching solution, not only the surface quality of the etched glass substrate 1 is excellent, but also the plurality of glass substrates 1 can be processed simultaneously. Productivity is also high.

The conventional etching apparatus described above has a structure in which a nozzle head 30 connected through an etching solution reservoir and a conduit is positioned on an upper portion of the glass substrate 1, and a plurality of nozzles 20 are mounted on the nozzle head 30. When the etching of the set of glass substrates 1 is completed and the supply of the etchant is stopped, the etchant which has not been injected remains in the nozzle 20 and the nozzle head 30. The remaining etchant may be received in a stagnant state inside the nozzle head 30, and a part of the etching liquid may flow out through the nozzle 20.

By the way, although the leaked etching solution is suspended in the condensed state in the nozzle 20, when a predetermined amount or more condensation occurs, the etching liquid is separated from the nozzle 20 by its own weight and falls into the lower etching space. As shown in FIG. 2, a problem arises in that unwanted etching is performed on a portion of the glass substrate positioned in the etching space while flowing away from the surface of the glass substrate. Since the etching rate of the etching solution is usually about 2 to 10 μm per minute, even if the time elapsed before the injection of the etching solution is about 10 seconds, an incorrect etching portion is formed at a depth of about 0.3 to 2 μm, thereby preventing processing defects. Will cause.

The present invention is to solve the problems described above, by removing the etching liquid remaining in the nozzle and the supply portion when the injection of the etching liquid is stopped through the pressure and discharge of the gas to prevent the etching defect of the glass substrate due to the falling of the residual etching liquid It is an object of the present invention to provide a glass substrate etching apparatus having a residual etching liquid removal function.

The present invention for achieving the above object, the glass substrate is fixed to the substrate fixture; An etching liquid spraying machine installed to be positioned above the glass substrate disposed in the etching space by the substrate fixing tool and having a plurality of nozzles for discharging the etching liquid toward the glass substrate; An etchant supply unit supplying an etchant to the etchant ejector; A gas supply unit supplying a gas to the etching liquid injector and ejecting the gas together with the remaining etching liquid to the outside through the nozzle; And at least one valve installed at a supply pipe connected between the etchant sprayer, the etchant supply unit, and the gas supply unit to selectively supply the etchant or gas to the etchant ejector. .

In the etching apparatus of the present invention described above, the etching liquid injector may be configured to spray the supplied etching liquid in a predetermined range in the form of droplets toward the glass substrate surface.

In addition, the etching liquid injector may be made of a low pressure discharge so as to pour the supplied etching liquid to the upper end of the glass substrate to flow down.

The etchant spraying apparatus includes a distribution pipe connected through the etching solution supply unit and the gas supply unit and a supply pipe, and a plurality of nozzle heads transversely connected at predetermined intervals along a side surface of the distribution pipe, and the nozzles are provided at the nozzle head at predetermined intervals. It can be made of a structure.

The etchant supply unit may include an etchant storage tank for accommodating the etchant, an etchant supply pipe connected between the etchant storage tank and the distribution pipe, and an etchant pump installed in the etchant supply pipe to pump the etchant into the etchant sprayer.

The gas supply unit may include a gas tank in which gas is stored therein, a gas pump connected to the gas tank to pressurize and supply gas, and a gas supply pipe connected between the gas tank and the distribution pipe.

In addition, the etching apparatus of the present invention is preferably configured to further include a gas injector which is provided below the etching liquid spraying machine, and sprays gas toward the etching liquid spraying machine to remove the etching liquid remaining outside.

In this case, the gas injector includes an air supply pipe connected to the gas supply unit, a plurality of injection heads transversely connected to the air supply pipe at predetermined intervals along side surfaces thereof, and a plurality of gas nozzles installed in the injection head. Can be.

In addition, the injection head is disposed in a direction parallel to the nozzle head of the etching liquid injector, is installed to be located below the space between the adjacent nozzle head, the gas nozzle is installed in a direction inclined to one side toward the nozzle More preferred.

According to the present invention as described above has the following advantages.

(1) By supplying a high-pressure gas into the etching liquid spraying machine before or after the etching of the glass substrate, the etching liquid remaining inside the etching liquid spraying machine and around the nozzles is completely discharged and removed, whereby the residual etching liquid is injected into the glass substrate to be put into the etching space. By preventing the surface defects that occur due to the drop has the effect of improving the product productivity and quality.

(2) By spraying a high-pressure gas to the etchant sprayer through a gas injector to remove the etchant remaining on the outside of the etchant sprayer, it is possible to more effectively prevent surface defects of the glass substrate due to the dropping of the remaining etchant to further improve product productivity and quality. There is an effect that can be improved.

The objects, features and advantages of the present invention described above will become more apparent from the following detailed description. Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

3 is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of a glass substrate etching apparatus having a residual etching solution removal function according to the present invention, Figure 4 is a view showing a residual etching solution removal state in the etching apparatus of the present invention shown in FIG. It is a cross section.

As illustrated, the glass substrate etching apparatus of the present invention includes at least one substrate fixing tool 110 on which at least one glass substrate 1 is mounted, and a glass substrate 1 disposed by the substrate fixing tool 110. Etching liquid sprayer 120 is spaced apart at a predetermined interval on the upper portion of), the etching liquid supply unit 140 for supplying the etching liquid to the etching liquid spraying machine 120, and the gas supply unit 130 for supplying gas to the etching liquid spraying machine 120 It is configured to include.

The glass substrate 1 may be disposed at various angles, but the etching liquid sprayed from the top is evenly sprayed on the two adjacent glass substrates 1, and the sprayed etching liquid is uniform on both surfaces of each glass substrate 1. It is preferable to be placed upright in a vertical direction so that it can flow down.

The substrate fixing tool 110 is to fix the glass substrate 1 to be disposed at predetermined intervals in the etching space, and may be moved into and out of the etching space by a general transfer device (not shown).

The substrate fixing tool 110 may be formed in various structures, but in this embodiment, the glass substrate 1 is formed of a rectangular frame cassette in which the glass substrate 1 is disposed. In this case, the substrate fixing tool 110 may have a structure in which a plurality of grooves are formed in which side end portions of the glass substrate 1 are inserted and fixed at predetermined intervals therein, and an inner side thereof is formed on the side end surface of the glass substrate 1. It may be made of a structure that is pressed close to provide a fixing force. In any case, the substrate fixing tool 110 is preferably made of a structure that supports the glass substrate 1, but can minimize the contact area.

The etching liquid injector 120 is to spray the etching liquid 2 to the upper portion of the glass substrate 1 arranged on the lower side to be etched, the distribution pipe communicating with the etching liquid supply unit 140 and the gas supply unit 130 And a plurality of nozzle heads 122 horizontally connected at predetermined intervals along the side surface of the distribution pipe 121, and a plurality of nozzles 123 connected to the lower portions of the nozzle heads 122, respectively. .

In the illustrated embodiment illustrated an etching liquid injector 120 having a structure in which the distribution pipe 121 and the nozzle head 122 are connected in a ladder form, but the structure of the etching liquid injector 120 in the present invention is limited thereto. The etching solution or the gas supply part 130 is provided with a plurality of nozzles 123 installed in a predetermined shape on the glass substrate 1, and supplied from the etching solution supply part 140 to each nozzle 123. It can be made of a variety of structures having a pipeline for delivering the gas supplied from the).

The nozzle 123 is provided with a downwardly formed injection hole 124, although not shown in detail, the injection hole 124 ejects the etching solution or gas to the outside, in particular the etching solution in the droplet state, and also at a predetermined angle It is formed in the form of ejection so that it may be distributed in a range.

The etchant supply unit 140 is to supply an etchant such that one side of the etchant sprayer 120, in the illustrated structure, is connected to the distribution pipe 121 and sprayed through the nozzle 123. ) Is stored in the etchant storage tank 141, the etchant storage tank 141 connected between the etchant storage tank 141 and the distribution pipe 121, and provided in the etchant supply pipe 144 to the etchant sprayer 120. An etchant pump 142 for pumping the etchant and an etchant valve 143 installed at the front end of the etchant pump 142 of the etchant supply pipe 144 to be opened and closed to supply and shut off the etchant.

The gas supply unit 130 is connected to one side of the etching liquid sprayer 120, for example, the distribution pipe 121, and supplies a gas to be sprayed through the nozzle 123, thereby through the etching liquid sprayer 120. The etchant remaining in the gas is discharged together with the gas, a gas tank 131 for storing the gas therein, a gas pump 132 connected to the gas tank 131 to supply the pressurized gas, and the gas tank 131 and a gas supply pipe 134 connected between the distribution pipe 121 and a gas valve 133 installed in the gas supply pipe 134 to be opened and closed to supply and block gas.

Meanwhile, in the illustrated embodiment, the gas supply unit 130 is configured to supply or block the gas stored in the gas tank 131 according to the opening and closing of the gas valve 133, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The supply unit 130 may have various structures for supplying gas at a pressure capable of discharging the residual etching solution. For example, when using the air as the gas, it may be made of a structure having a pump for directly supplying the external air directly to the etching liquid sprayer 120 without a separate gas tank 131.

In the illustrated embodiment, the etching solution valve 143 and the gas valve 133 are separately provided in the etching solution supply unit 140, but in some cases, the etching solution or the gas may be formed using one direction switching valve. Alternatively, it may be made of a structure that is supplied to the etching liquid injector 120.

Referring to the operation of the etching solution supply apparatus of the present invention configured as described above are as follows.

First, the process of etching the glass substrate 1 will be described. When the glass substrate 1 to be processed is located in the etching space below the etching liquid injector 120, the etching liquid pump 142 is operated and the etching liquid valve 143 is opened so that the etching liquid in the etching liquid storage tank 141 is connected to the etching liquid supply pipe ( 144 is supplied to the etching liquid injector 120. The supplied etchant is transferred to each nozzle head 122 through the distribution pipe 121, and is injected downward through each nozzle 123 of the nozzle head 122.

A part of the etching solution sprayed in this way is reflected and dropped after colliding with the surface of the glass substrate 1, and the other part flows down the surface of the glass substrate (1). As a result, the surface of the glass substrate 1 is etched by the etching solution. At this time, a uniform etching flow is formed along the glass substrate 1 so that the supply of the new etching solution is smoothly performed, and the reaction product is also smoothly removed by the injection pressure of the etching solution. 1) A workpiece can be obtained. In addition, since a plurality of glass substrate (1) is processed at the same time as the dipping method, it is possible to implement high productivity.

After the etching of the glass substrate 1 is performed as described above, even after the supply of the etchant is interrupted, the non-ejected etchant remains in the etchant injector, and the gas supply unit 130 is operated to remove it.

That is, before the glass substrate 1 is introduced into the etching space, the gas valve 133 is opened, and the high pressure gas stored in the gas tank 131 is supplied into the etching liquid sprayer 120 through the gas supply pipe 134. . The supplied gas is transferred to each nozzle head 122 through the distribution pipe 121, and is injected to the outside through each nozzle 123 of the nozzle head 122. At this time, the etching solution 2 remaining in the inside of the distribution pipe 121 and the nozzle head 122 and the inside and outside of the nozzle 123 is forcibly discharged and removed by the high pressure gas.

Since the etching liquid remaining in the etching liquid injector 120 is removed by the gas as described above, when the glass substrate 1 to be processed is put back into the etching space, processing of the surface of the glass substrate 1 due to the drop of the residual etching liquid is performed. Defects can be prevented.

5 is a cross-sectional view showing a second embodiment of a glass substrate etching apparatus according to the present invention.

The illustrated second embodiment is configured to more effectively remove the etching liquid remaining on the outside of the etching liquid injector 120. The etching liquid injector 120 is disposed on the substrate fixing tool 110 in the same manner as in the first embodiment. ) Is installed, and the etching liquid supply unit 140 and the gas supply unit 130 for selectively supplying the etching liquid and the gas to the etching liquid sprayer 120, respectively, are made of a structure, the gas in the lower portion of the etching liquid sprayer 120 Injector 150 is additionally installed.

The gas injector 150 removes the etching liquid 2 remaining outside by spraying gas toward the periphery of the nozzle 123 of the etching liquid injector 120, and has various structures according to the arrangement of the nozzles 123. Although it may be made, in the present embodiment has been illustrated that a substantially trapezoidal pipe structure to correspond to the structure of the etching liquid injector 120.

That is, the gas injector 150 includes a plurality of injection heads 152 at predetermined intervals along the side surface of the air supply pipe 151 connected through the gas tank 131 and the injection air supply pipe 135 of the gas supply unit 130. ) Is laterally connected, and a plurality of gas nozzles 153 are installed in each injection head 152. The injection air supply pipe 135 may be provided with a separate air supply valve 136, as shown in some cases, the etching liquid supply pipe 144, gas supply pipe 134, injection through one direction switching valve The air supply pipe 135 may be configured to be selectively opened and closed.

Since the gas injector 150 should be installed so as not to interfere with the etching liquid injection of the etching liquid injector 120, each spray head 152 is parallel to the nozzle head 122 of the etching liquid injector 120, and each nozzle It is installed to be located below the space between the adjacent nozzle heads 122, not directly below the head 122. Accordingly, the gas nozzle 153 is upward, but installed in a direction inclined to one side toward the nozzle 123.

In the etching apparatus of the second embodiment, the gas supply valve is supplied to the etching liquid injector 120 to remove the etching liquid remaining therein, as in the first embodiment. 136 is opened to supply gas from the gas tank 131 to the gas injector 150.

Accordingly, the supplied gas is sprayed upward through the spray head 152 to blow off the etchant remaining in and around the nozzle 123. Therefore, there is an advantage that the processing failure of the glass substrate 1 due to the pre-fall of the remaining etching solution is more effectively prevented.

Meanwhile, in the above-described embodiment, the present invention is exemplarily described in the upper spray type etching apparatus for spraying the etching liquid at a high pressure on the upper portion of the glass substrate 1, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The etching apparatus of the method of supplying etching liquid from the upper part of the glass substrate 1 including the upper discharge type etching apparatus which discharges etching liquid at low pressure from the upper part of (1), and flows etching liquid along the glass substrate 1, Can be applied.

The present invention described above is not limited to the above-described embodiment and the accompanying drawings, and various substitutions, modifications, and changes are possible within the scope without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention. It will be evident to those who have knowledge of.

1 is a perspective view showing a conventional upper spray type glass substrate etching apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a state diagram showing the occurrence of defects due to the residual etching solution in the conventional etching apparatus shown in FIG.

3 is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of a glass substrate etching apparatus having a residual etching solution removal function according to the present invention.

4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state of removing the residual etching solution in the etching apparatus of the present invention shown in FIG.

5 is a block diagram showing a second embodiment of the glass substrate etching apparatus with a residual etching solution removal function according to the present invention.

Description of the Related Art

1: glass substrate 2: etching solution

110 substrate fixing tool 120 etching liquid spray

121: distribution pipe 122: nozzle head

123: nozzle 130: gas supply unit

131: gas tank 132: gas pump

133: gas valve 134: gas supply pipe

135: injection air supply pipe 136: air supply valve

140: etching solution supply unit 141: etching solution storage tank

142: etching liquid pump 143: etching liquid valve

144: etching solution supply pipe 150: gas injector

151: supply air distribution pipe 152: injection head

153: gas nozzle

Claims (9)

A substrate fixture on which a glass substrate is mounted; An etching liquid spraying machine installed to be positioned above the glass substrate disposed in the etching space by the substrate fixing tool and having a plurality of nozzles for discharging the etching liquid toward the glass substrate; An etchant supply unit supplying an etchant to the etchant ejector; A gas supply unit supplying a gas to the etching liquid injector and ejecting the gas together with the remaining etching liquid to the outside through the nozzle; And And at least one valve installed in a supply pipe connected between the etchant ejector, the etchant supply unit, and the gas supply unit to selectively supply an etchant or gas to the etchant ejector. The method of claim 1, The etching liquid injector is a glass substrate etching apparatus having a residual etching liquid removing function, characterized in that to spray the supplied etching liquid at a predetermined range in a droplet state toward the glass substrate surface. The method of claim 1, The etching liquid injector is a glass substrate etching apparatus having a residual etching liquid removing function, characterized in that the low-pressure discharge to pour the supplied etching liquid to the upper end of the glass substrate to flow down. The method of claim 1, The etchant spraying apparatus includes a distribution pipe connected through the etching solution supply unit and the gas supply unit and a supply pipe, and a plurality of nozzle heads transversely connected at predetermined intervals along a side surface of the distribution pipe, and the nozzles are provided at the nozzle head at predetermined intervals. A glass substrate etching apparatus having a residual etching solution removal function, characterized in that. The method of claim 4, wherein The etchant supply unit includes an etchant storage tank for containing an etchant, an etchant supply pipe connected between the etchant storage tank and the distribution pipe, and an etchant pump installed in the etchant supply pipe to pump the etchant into the etchant sprayer. A glass substrate etching apparatus having an etching liquid removal function. The method of claim 1, The gas supply unit includes a gas tank in which gas is stored therein, a gas pump connected to the gas tank to supply pressurized gas, and a gas supply pipe connected between the gas tank and the distribution pipe. A glass substrate etching apparatus having an etching liquid removal function. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, And a gas injector disposed below the etching liquid injector, and spraying gas toward the etching liquid injector to remove the remaining etching liquid from the outside. The method of claim 7, wherein The gas injector includes an air supply distribution pipe connected to the gas supply unit, a plurality of injection heads horizontally connected to the air supply distribution pipe along a side portion at predetermined intervals, and a plurality of gas nozzles installed in the injection head. A glass substrate etching apparatus having a residual etching solution removal function. The method of claim 8, The injection head is disposed in a direction parallel to the nozzle head of the etching liquid injector and is installed to be located below the space between neighboring nozzle heads, wherein the gas nozzle is installed in a direction inclined toward one side toward the nozzle A glass substrate etching apparatus having a residual etching solution removal function.

Images