KR20110061308A - Liquid knife for supplying a processing liquid onto a substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A liquid knife for supplying processing solutions to a substrate is provided to uniformly supply processing solutions to the substrate by dividing a buffer space of the liquid knife by a plurality of partitions. CONSTITUTION: A substrate(10) is transferred in a first horizontal direction by a plurality of transferring rollers(20). A slit type inlet(130) is arranged between a top panel and a bottom panel. A channel type first buffer space(132) is connected to the inlet. A plurality of partitions(140) are arranged to divide the first buffer space into plural parts. A slit type outlet(138) supplies processing solutions from the first buffer space to the substrate.

Description

Liquid knife for supplying a processing liquid onto a substrate}

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a liquid crystal knife for supplying a processing liquid onto a substrate. More particularly, the invention relates to a liquid crystal knife for supplying a processing liquid in the form of a knife onto a substrate for processing the substrate in the manufacture of a flat panel display device.

In general, various processing processes for a semiconductor substrate or a glass substrate may be performed sequentially or repeatedly for the manufacture of a semiconductor device or the manufacture of a flat panel display device such as a liquid crystal display device, a plasma display device, or the like.

In particular, the etching, stripping, cleaning, rinsing and drying processes for a large area glass substrate in a process for manufacturing a flat panel display device may be performed using various treatment liquids in a plurality of treatment tanks connected in series. For example, a cleaning process using a cleaning liquid may be performed after the etching or stripping process, and deionized water used as a rinse liquid may be supplied onto the substrate before performing the drying process.

Such treatment liquids may be supplied using a plurality of nozzles or a liquid knives extending in a direction different from, for example, perpendicular to the conveying direction of the substrate.

On the other hand, in recent years, an inclined transfer method for transferring the substrate in a state in which the substrate is inclined at a predetermined angle in order to quickly remove the processing liquid supplied onto the substrate is used. When the substrate is disposed to be inclined as described above, it is preferable that the liquid knives are arranged in parallel with the substrate to have the same inclination angle.

When the inclined transfer method is applied as described above, a problem may occur in that the flow rate supplied from the upper edge portion of the liquid knives is reduced compared to the lower edge portion. In addition, due to the reduced flow rate, the processing liquid may not be sufficiently supplied to the upper edge portion of the substrate, which may cause frequent process failure.

Embodiments of the present invention have an object to provide a liquid knives capable of uniformly supplying the processing liquid onto the substrate.

According to embodiments of the present invention for achieving the above object, in the liquid crystal knife for supplying the processing liquid onto the substrate disposed on the substrate to be transferred in a first direction, the liquid knife is the first direction A lower panel extending in a second direction different from the second panel; and a slit-type inlet connected to the upper surface of the lower panel and extending in the second direction and supplied with the treatment liquid between the lower panel and the inlet. A top panel forming a buffer space in a channel form and a slit outlet for supplying the processing liquid from the buffer space onto the substrate, and a plurality of partition walls disposed in the buffer space to divide the internal space. It may include.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, a second buffer space formed between the buffer space and the outlet and a slit-shaped connecting passage connecting the buffer space and the second buffer space are further disposed between the upper panel and the lower panel. It may be provided.

According to embodiments of the present invention, the upper panel may have a plurality of processing liquid supply ports arranged in the second direction, and the partition walls may be disposed between the processing liquid supply ports.

According to embodiments of the present invention, a dam extending in the second direction may be disposed in the buffer space, and the treatment liquid may flow over the dam in the buffer space.

According to embodiments of the present invention, the second direction may have an inclination angle of about 5 to 10 degrees with respect to the horizontal.

According to embodiments of the present invention, the upper panel may have a plurality of processing liquid supply ports arranged in the second direction, and two partition walls may be formed in the buffer space with a first one of the processing liquid supply ports. It may be arranged to be adjacent to the first and last ports, respectively, inside the last ports.

According to the embodiments of the present invention as described above, the buffer space in the liquid knives can be divided by a plurality of partitions, so that the processing liquid onto the substrate even when the liquid knives are arranged to have a predetermined inclination angle Can be supplied uniformly. Therefore, the processing quality for the substrate can be greatly improved as compared with the conventional case.

The invention is now described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings showing embodiments of the invention. However, the present invention should not be construed as limited to the embodiments described below, but may be embodied in various other forms. The following examples are provided to fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art, rather than to allow the invention to be fully completed.

When an element is described as being disposed or connected on another element or layer, the element may be placed or connected directly on the other element, and other elements or layers may be placed therebetween. It may be. Alternatively, where one element is described as being directly disposed or connected on another element, there may be no other element between them. Terms such as first, second, third, etc. may be used to describe various items such as various elements, compositions, regions, layers and / or parts, but the items are not limited by these terms. Will not.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Also, unless stated otherwise, all terms including technical and scientific terms have the same meaning as would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art having ordinary skill in the art. Such terms, such as those defined in conventional dictionaries, will be construed as having meanings consistent with their meanings in the context of the related art and description of the invention, and ideally or excessively intuitional unless otherwise specified. It will not be interpreted.

Embodiments of the invention are described with reference to cross-sectional illustrations that are schematic illustrations of ideal embodiments of the invention. Accordingly, changes from the shapes of the illustrations, such as changes in manufacturing methods and / or tolerances, are those that can be expected. Accordingly, embodiments of the invention are not to be described as limited to the particular shapes of the areas described as the illustrations, but include deviations in the shapes, and the areas described in the figures are entirely schematic and their shapes. Are not intended to describe the precise shape of the region nor are they intended to limit the scope of the invention.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a liquid knives according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A shown in FIG.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, another liquid knife 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be used to supply a treatment liquid in the form of a knife onto the substrate 10. In particular, in the manufacture of a flat panel display apparatus, a processing liquid may be supplied onto the substrate 10 while transferring the substrate 10 in a first direction to perform a predetermined treatment process on the substrate 10. For example, the liquid knives 100 may supply a cleaning liquid or a rinse liquid onto the substrate 10.

The substrate 10 may be transferred in a first horizontal direction by a plurality of transfer rollers 20. In particular, the substrate 10 may be supported to have a predetermined inclination angle in a direction perpendicular to the first direction in order to facilitate the removal of the processing liquid supplied onto the substrate 10. For example, the substrate 10 may be transferred in the first direction with an inclination angle of about 5 to 10 degrees.

The liquid knives 100 may extend parallel to the surface of the substrate 10. In particular, the liquefied knife 100 may extend in another, for example, vertical, second direction with respect to the first direction, the second direction having an inclination angle of about 5 to 10 degrees with respect to the horizontal. Can have

The liquid knives 100 may include a lower panel 110 and an upper panel 120. In particular, the upper panel 120 may be coupled to an upper surface of the lower panel 110, and the treatment liquid may be supplied between the lower panel 110 and the upper panel 120 to be disposed on the substrate 10. A flow path for inducing the treatment liquid may be formed to be supplied to the.

For example, between the lower panel 110 and the upper panel 120, an inlet 130 having a slit shape through which the treatment liquid is supplied and a first buffer space 132 having a channel shape connected to the inlet 130 are provided. And a slit outlet 138 for supplying the processing liquid onto the substrate 10 from the first buffer space 132.

In addition, a second buffer space 134 may be additionally provided between the first buffer space 132 and the outlet 138 so that the processing liquid may be uniformly supplied onto the substrate 10. The first and second buffer spaces 132 and 134 may be connected to each other by a slit connection passage 136. The second buffer space 134 may have the same shape as the first buffer space 132 and may extend in the second direction. Meanwhile, the inlet 130, the first and second buffer spaces 132 and 134, the connection passage 136, and the outlet 138 may extend in an extension direction of the liquid knives 100, that is, in a second direction. Thus, the treatment liquid in the form of a knife may be supplied onto the substrate 10.

In the first buffer space 132, a plurality of partition walls 140 are disposed to divide the first buffer space 132 into a plurality so that the processing liquid may be uniformly supplied onto the substrate 10. Can be. The partition walls 140 have a function of maintaining a constant supply flow rate of the treatment liquid in the second direction. That is, since the liquefied knife 100 has a predetermined inclination angle, the flow rate of the upper portion of the liquefied knife 100 may be smaller than the flow rate of the lower portion, and the partition walls 140 may sufficiently solve this problem.

A plurality of process liquid supply pipes 30 for supplying the process liquid may be connected to the upper panel 120. In particular, the upper panel 120 may have a plurality of processing liquid supply ports 150 to which the processing liquid supply pipes 30 are connected. The treatment liquid supply ports 150 may be arranged in a line in the second direction, and may be connected to the inlet 130 having a slit shape. The barrier ribs 140 may be disposed between the treatment liquid supply ports 150. That is, the processing liquid supplied through the respective processing liquid supply ports 150 may flow between the partition walls 140, so that the flow rate supplied onto the substrate 10 in the second direction. It can be more uniform.

Meanwhile, a first dam 160 and a second dam 162 extending in the second direction may be disposed in the first and second buffer spaces 132 and 134, respectively. May flow beyond the first and second dams 160 and 162 in the first and second buffer spaces 132 and 134, respectively. This is to allow the treatment liquid to be more uniformly provided on the substrate 10.

FIG. 3 is a schematic enlarged cross-sectional view for describing the first and second buffer spaces of the liquid knives shown in FIG. 2.

Referring to FIG. 3, corner portions formed by surfaces defining the first and second buffer spaces 132 and 134 may be rounded. In addition, upper surfaces of the first and second dams 160 and 162 disposed in the first and second buffer spaces 132 and 134 may be rounded. This is to prevent vortices from being generated while the processing liquid flows inside the first and second buffer spaces 132 and 134, and also to prevent bubbles from being generated in the processing liquid.

4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a liquid knives according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the axle knife 200 according to another embodiment of the present invention may include a lower panel and an upper panel, and a slit type inlet 230 and a channel form may be formed between the lower panel and the upper panel. The first and second buffer spaces 232 and 234, the slit connecting passage 236, and the slit type outlet 238 may be formed.

A plurality of processing liquid supply ports 250 may be provided in the second direction in the upper panel, and the processing liquid may be uniformly supplied onto the substrate 10 in the first buffer space 232. Two partition walls 240 may be disposed. Specifically, in the first buffer space 232, the two partition walls 240 may be formed inside the first and last ports 250A and 250B of the treatment liquid supply ports 250. May be disposed adjacent to the last ports 250A, 250B, respectively. This is because the liquid knives 200 have an inclination angle, so that the flow rate of the processing liquid at the bottom is the highest, the processing liquid flow rate is the smallest at the top, and there is no large change in the central portion. That is, by separating the lower side and the upper side first buffer space 232 of the liquefied knife 200 from the central portion using the partitions 240 to uniformly treat the processing liquid on the substrate 10. Can be supplied by

According to the embodiments of the present invention as described above, the buffer space in the liquid knives can be divided by a plurality of partitions, so that the processing liquid onto the substrate even when the liquid knives are arranged to have a predetermined inclination angle Can be supplied uniformly. Therefore, the processing quality for the substrate can be greatly improved as compared with the conventional case.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims It can be understood that

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a liquid knives according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a schematic enlarged cross-sectional view for describing the first and second buffer spaces of the liquid knife shown in FIG. 2.

4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a liquid knives according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

10 substrate 20 feed roller

100: liquid knives 110: lower panel

120: upper panel 130: entrance

132: first buffer space 134: second buffer space

136: connection passage 138: exit

140: partition wall 150: treatment liquid supply port

160: first dam 162: second dam

Claims (6)

In the liquid knives for supplying the processing liquid onto the substrate disposed on the substrate to be transferred in the first direction, A lower panel extending in a second direction different from the first direction; A slit-type inlet in which the treatment liquid is supplied between the lower panel and coupled to an upper surface of the lower panel, extending in the second direction, a buffer space in a channel form connected to the inlet, and the buffer space An upper panel forming a slit-shaped outlet for supplying a processing liquid onto the substrate; And And a plurality of partition walls disposed in the buffer space for dividing the internal space. According to claim 1, Between the upper panel and the lower panel is further provided with a second buffer space formed between the buffer space and the outlet and a slit-shaped connecting passage connecting the buffer space and the second buffer space Featured knives. The liquid crystal knife according to claim 1, wherein the upper panel has a plurality of processing liquid supply ports disposed in the second direction, and the partition walls are disposed between the processing liquid supply ports. The liquid knife according to claim 1, wherein a dam extending in the second direction is disposed in the buffer space, and the processing liquid flows over the dam in the buffer space. The axle knife according to claim 1, wherein said second direction has an inclination angle of about 5 to 10 degrees with respect to the horizontal. The liquid crystal display of claim 1, wherein the upper panel has a plurality of processing liquid supply ports arranged in the second direction, and two partition walls are located inside the first and last ports of the processing liquid supply ports in the buffer space. Wherein the first and last ports are disposed adjacent to each other.

Images