KR20160027470A - Apparatus and method for treating substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus for treating a substrate. According to one embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus for treating a substrate performs a printing process in an inkjet scheme. The apparatus for treating a substrate can include: a support unit supporting a substrate; a head unit including one or more heads spraying a process liquid on the substrate supported by the support unit; a gantry coupled with the heads and movable on an upper side of the support unit; a process liquid supply unit storing the process liquid supplied to the heads; and a controller controlling the apparatus for treating a substrate. The controller can include a head controller controlling the heads individually, and a printing controller communicating with the head controller and controlling an independent function with the heads.

Description

[0001] APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR TREATING SUBSTRATE [0002]

The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method using the same.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, liquid crystal display devices have been widely used in display portions of electronic devices such as portable telephones and portable computers. Such a liquid crystal display device is formed by injecting liquid crystal into a space between a black matrix, a color filter, a common electrode, and a color filter substrate on which an alignment film is formed, a thin film transistor (TFT), a pixel electrode and an array substrate on which an alignment film is formed, The image effect is obtained by using the difference in the refractive index of the light along.

As an apparatus for applying a treatment liquid such as an alignment liquid or a liquid crystal on the color filter substrate and the array substrate, an inkjet type coating apparatus is used. Such a coating apparatus includes a head for applying a treatment liquid onto a substrate. At this time, the conventional substrate processing apparatuses are not provided separately from the head control function for controlling each head and the printing control function for controlling the entire coating process, so that the printing control function is dependent on the head control. In the case of the head, various characteristics such as voltage and protocol are provided differently according to various kinds and manufacturers. Therefore, depending on the type of the head, the entire printing control function is affected for the head control.

Embodiments of the present invention aim to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of efficient functional separation control.

The problems to be solved by the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned problems, and the problems not mentioned can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description and the accompanying drawings will be.

The present invention provides a substrate processing apparatus.

The substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a support unit for supporting a substrate, and one or a plurality of heads for ejecting the processing solution onto the substrate supported by the support unit A gantry to which the head is coupled and which is provided so as to be movable on the upper side of the support unit, a processing liquid supply unit in which the processing liquid supplied to the head is stored, and a controller for controlling the substrate processing apparatus , The controller may include a head controller for controlling each of the plurality of heads, and a printing controller for communicating with the head controller and controlling a function independent of the head.

The printing controller may include a head controller controlling the head controller.

The head may include a processing liquid nozzle for ejecting the processing liquid onto the bottom surface thereof and a piezoelectric element for controlling a discharge amount of the processing liquid with the processing liquid nozzle.

The printing controller may further include an operation synchronization control unit for controlling the overall operation of the substrate processing apparatus.

The printing controller may further include a nozzle state diagnostic algorithm controller for diagnosing a state of the process liquid nozzle.

The printing controller may further include a printing pattern control unit for handling patterns to be printed.

The head controller may include an amplifier circuit control unit for controlling amplification circuits connected to the plurality of heads, respectively.

The head controller may further include a nozzle diagnostic circuit control unit for controlling a circuit for diagnosing the state of the process liquid nozzle.

The head controller may further include a piezoelectric element input / output waveform controller for controlling an input / output waveform of the piezoelectric element.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of efficient function separation control.

The effects of the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned effects, and the effects not mentioned can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the present specification and attached drawings.

1 is a schematic view of a substrate processing apparatus.
2 is a perspective view showing the liquid crystal discharge unit of FIG.
Figure 3 is a schematic illustration of the functional separation of the controller.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments of the present invention can be modified in various forms, and the scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the following embodiments. This embodiment is provided to more fully describe the present invention to those skilled in the art. Thus, the shape of the elements in the figures has been exaggerated to emphasize a clearer description.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Each drawing has been partially or exaggerated for clarity. It should be noted that, in adding reference numerals to the constituent elements of the respective drawings, the same constituent elements are shown to have the same reference numerals as possible even if they are displayed on different drawings. In the following description of the present invention, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of the present invention rather unclear.

In this embodiment, a substrate processing apparatus for applying a treatment liquid to an object by an inkjet method for ejecting droplets will be described. The object liquid may be a color filter (CF) substrate or a thin film transistor (TFT) substrate of a liquid crystal display panel. The liquid may be a liquid crystal, an alignment liquid, red (R) Green (G), or blue (B) ink. As the alignment liquid, polyimide may be used.

The alignment liquid can be applied to the entire surface of the color filter (CF) substrate and the thin film transistor (TFT) substrate, and the liquid crystal can be applied to the entire surface of the color filter (CF) substrate or the thin film transistor (TFT) substrate. The ink may be applied to the interior area of the black matrix arranged in a lattice pattern on a color filter (CF) substrate.

The substrate processing apparatus 1 of this embodiment is an apparatus for applying liquid crystal (liquid crystal) to a substrate by an inkjet method for ejecting droplets.

The substrate may be a color filter (CF) substrate or a thin film transistor (TFT) substrate of a liquid crystal display panel, and the liquid crystal may be applied to an entire surface of a color filter (CF) substrate or a thin film transistor (TFT) substrate.

1 is a view showing a substrate processing apparatus of an inkjet method. 1, the substrate processing apparatus 1 includes a liquid crystal discharge unit 10, a substrate transfer unit 20, a loading unit 30, an unloading unit 40, a liquid crystal supply unit 50, and a main controller 90 ). The liquid crystal discharge portion 10 and the substrate transfer portion 20 are arranged in a line in the first direction I and can be positioned adjacent to each other. A liquid crystal supply part 50 and a main control part 90 are disposed at positions facing the substrate transfer part 20 with the liquid crystal discharge part 10 as a center. The liquid crystal supply part 50 and the main control part 90 may be arranged in a line in the second direction II. The loading unit 30 and the unloading unit 40 are disposed at positions facing the liquid crystal discharge unit 10 with the substrate transfer unit 20 as a center. The substrate transfer section 20 includes a transfer robot 25. [ The transfer robot 25 transfers the substrate S between the loading section 30, the liquid crystal discharging section 10, and the unloader section 40. The loading section 30 and the unloading section 40 may be arranged in a line in the second direction II.

Here, the first direction I is an arrangement direction of the liquid crystal discharge portion 10 and the substrate transfer portion 20, the second direction II is a direction perpendicular to the first direction I on the horizontal plane, (III) is a direction perpendicular to the first direction (I) and the second direction (II).

The substrate to which the liquid crystal is to be applied is brought into the loading section 30. The substrate transferring unit 20 transfers the substrate loaded into the loading unit 30 to the liquid crystal discharging unit 10. The liquid crystal discharge portion 10 receives the liquid crystal from the liquid crystal supply portion 50 and discharges the liquid crystal onto the substrate by an inkjet method. When the liquid crystal discharge is completed, the substrate transfer section 20 transfers the substrate from the liquid crystal discharge section 10 to the unloading section 40. The substrate coated with the liquid crystal is taken out of the unloading portion 40. The main control unit 90 controls the overall operations of the liquid crystal discharge unit 10, the substrate transfer unit 20, the loading unit 30, the unloading unit 40, and the liquid crystal supply unit 50.

2 is a perspective view showing the liquid crystal discharge unit of FIG. 2, the liquid crystal discharging portion 10 includes a base B, a supporting unit 100, a gantry 200, a gantry moving unit 300, a processing liquid supply unit 450, a head moving unit 500, An individual head control unit (not shown), a cleaning unit 600, a liquid discharge amount measurement unit 700, an inspection unit 800, and a controller 900. The base (B) may be provided in a rectangular parallelepiped shape having a constant thickness. On the upper surface of the base (B), a supporting unit (100) is disposed.

The support unit 100 has a support member 110, a rotation drive member 120, and a linear drive member 130. The support member 110 has a support plate 112, support pins 114, and an insulation plate 118. The support plate 110 may be a rectangular plate. The support plate 112 may include a heating member 116. The support plate 112 can heat and level the substrate S when the process liquid is supplied to the substrate S. The heating member 116 may be provided on the upper surface of the support plate 112. Alternatively, the heating element 116 may be embedded in the interior of the support plate 112. In one example, the heating member 116 may be provided as a hot wire. Alternatively, the heating element 116 may be provided with various types of heat sources. The support pins 114 are provided to protrude upward from the upper surface of the support plate 112. The support pins 114 support the substrate S. The support pin 114 is provided so as to be movable up and down. Thus, the support pins 114 can adjust the height of the substrate S. [ The height of the support pin 114 can be adjusted so that it is easy to exchange the substrate S with the transfer robot 25. [ The insulating plate 118 may be provided corresponding to the support plate 112. The insulating plate 118 is coupled to the lower surface of the support plate 112. The heat insulating plate 118 can prevent the temperature rise due to the lower heating member 116 of the support plate 112 from being conducted to other substrate processing apparatuses.

The rotation driving member 120 is connected to the lower surface of the support member 110. The rotation drive member 120 may be a rotary motor. The rotation drive member 120 rotates the support member 110 around a rotation center axis perpendicular to the support plate 100. When the support member 110 is rotated by the rotation drive member 120, the substrate S can be rotated by the rotation of the support member 110. [ When the long-side direction of the cell formed on the substrate to which the liquid crystal is to be applied faces the second direction II, the rotation driving member 120 can rotate the substrate such that the long-side direction of the cell is in the first direction I.

The support member 110 and the rotation driving member 120 can be linearly moved in the first direction I by the linear driving member 130. [ The linear driving member 130 includes a slider 132 and a guide member 134. The rotation driving member 120 is provided on the upper surface of the slider 132. [ The guide member 134 is elongated in the first direction I in the center of the upper surface of the base B. A linear motor (not shown) may be incorporated in the slider 132 and the slider 132 is linearly moved in the first direction I along the guide member 134 by a linear motor (not shown).

The gantry 200 is provided at an upper portion of a path through which the support member 110 is moved. The gantry 200 is disposed upwardly away from the upper surface of the base B and the gantry 200 is arranged such that its longitudinal direction is in the second direction II.

The gantry moving unit 300 moves the gantry 200 in a first direction I or moves the gantry 200 in such a direction that the longitudinal direction of the gantry 200 is inclined in the first direction I . The gantry drive unit 300 includes a first drive unit 310 and a second drive unit 320. The second drive unit 320 is provided at one end of the gantry 200 serving as a rotation center, and the first drive unit 310 is provided at the other end of the gantry 200.

The first drive unit 310 includes a guide rail 315 and a slider 317. The guide rail 315 is disposed in the other side edge portion of the upper surface of the base B about the guide member 134 of the support unit 100 with its longitudinal direction facing the first direction I. A slider 317 is movably coupled to the guide rail 315. The slider 317 is coupled to the bottom surface of the gantry. The slider 317 may include a linear motor (not shown). The slider 317 linearly moves in the first direction I along the guide rail 315 by the driving force of a linear motor (not shown).

The second drive unit 320 is positioned symmetrically with the first drive unit 310 about the center axis of the gantry. Since the second drive unit 320 has the same configuration as the first drive unit 310, a description thereof will be omitted.

The head 400 discharges the treatment liquid onto the substrate S. A plurality of heads 400 may be provided. In the present embodiment, three heads 410, 420, and 430 are provided, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The heads 400 may be arranged in a line in a row in the second direction II and coupled to the gantry 200. The head 400 is linearly moved in the longitudinal direction of the gantry 200 by the head moving unit 500 in the second direction II and is also moved by the gantry moving unit 300 in the third direction III Can be moved. The head 400 is movable by the head moving unit 500 and the gantry moving unit 300 to the process position and the standby position. Wherein the process position is a position where the head is opposed to the substrate, and the standby position is a position where the head is out of the process position. According to one example, the standby position may be a position in which the head is opposed to the preliminary ejection unit, the cleaning unit, and the inspection unit.

On the bottom surface of the head 400, a plurality of process liquid nozzles (not shown) for ejecting the process liquid are provided. For example, each of the heads may be provided with 128 or 256 treatment liquid nozzles (not shown). The treatment liquid nozzles (not shown) may be arranged in a line at intervals of a predetermined pitch. The treatment liquid nozzles (not shown) can discharge the liquid crystal in an amount of ㎍ unit.

Each of the heads 400 may be provided with a number of piezoelectric elements corresponding to the processing liquid nozzles (not shown), and the amount of liquid droplets to be discharged from the processing liquid nozzles (not shown) Can be independently controlled by control.

The treatment liquid supply unit 450 includes a storage tank 451, a supply line 452, a pressure control line 453, and a filter member 454. The storage tank 451 stores the processing liquid to be supplied to the head unit 400. The treatment liquid is maintained at a constant water level in the storage tank 451. If the level of the processing liquid is not constant, the pressure of the processing liquid moving to the head unit 400 becomes different, and the volume of the processing liquid discharged to the substrate S becomes uneven. In order to prevent this, the processing liquid is supplied to the storage tank 451 as much as the processing liquid is moved to the head unit 400 so that the level of the processing liquid can be maintained constant. However, even if the processing liquid is not supplied to the head unit 400, the processing liquid may be vaporized, so that the level of the processing liquid may not be maintained constant. The supply line 452 connects the storage tank 451 and the head unit 400. The pressure control line 453 may apply positive pressure and negative pressure to adjust the pressure inside the storage tank 451 to a vacuum according to the process. The filter member 640 blocks the process liquid in the storage tank 610 from vaporizing and moving out of the storage tank 610.

The head moving unit 500 includes a first moving unit 520 and a second moving unit 540. The first moving unit 520 moves the individual head 400 in the longitudinal direction of the gantry in a first direction I and the second moving unit 540 moves the individual head 400 in the third direction III ).

The first moving unit 520 includes guide rails 522a and 522b, sliders 524a and 524b, and a moving plate 526. [ The guide rails 522a and 522b may be elongated in the first direction I and spaced in the third direction III on the entire surface of the gantry 200. [ Sliders 524a and 524b are movably coupled to the guide rails 522a and 522b, and a linear driver may be incorporated in the sliders 524a and 524b. For example, the linear actuator may be a linear motor (not shown). The moving plate 526 is coupled to the sliders 524a and 524b. The upper region of the moving plate 526 is coupled to the upper slider 524a and the lower region of the moving plate 526 is coupled to the lower slider 524b. The moving plate 526 linearly moves in the first direction I along the guide rails 522a and 522b by a driving force of a linear motor (not shown). As the heads 400 are individually moved along the first direction I, the distance between them can be adjusted.

The second moving unit 540 includes a guide member 542 and a slider 544. The guide member 542 is engaged with the moving plate 526 of the first moving unit 520 and guides the linear movement of the slider 544 in the third direction III. The slider 544 is coupled to the guide member 542 so as to be linearly movable, and the linear actuator is incorporated in the slider 544. For example, the linear actuator may be a linear motor (not shown). The head 400 is coupled to the slider 544 and is moved in the third direction III by the linear movement of the slider 544 in the third direction III.

The cleaning unit 600 cleans the head. The cleaning unit 600 provides a negative pressure to the discharge end of the head 400 to remove the treatment liquid remaining in the discharge end. For example, the cleaning unit 600 may be a suction nozzle.

The liquid discharge amount measurement unit 700 measures the liquid discharge amount of the nozzle heads 410, 420, and 430. Specifically, the liquid discharge amount measurement unit 700 measures the amount of liquid crystal discharged from all the nozzles (not shown) for each of the nozzle heads 410, 420, and 430. It is possible to macroscopically check the abnormality of the nozzles (not shown) of the nozzle heads 410, 420 and 430 through measurement of the liquid crystal discharge amount of the nozzle heads 410, 420 and 430.

The inspection unit 800 confirms whether or not the individual nozzles provided to the heads 410, 420, and 430 through the optical inspection are abnormal. When the inspection unit 800 determines that there is an abnormality in the unspecified treatment liquid nozzle as a result of checking the abnormality of the macroscopic nozzle, the inspection unit 900 checks the abnormality of the individual treatment liquid nozzle, You can proceed with the full examination.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the functional separation of the controller 900. FIG. The controller 900 controls the substrate processing apparatus. The controller 900 has a printing controller 910 and a head controller 920. The controller 900 separates and controls the functions independent of the heads 410, 420 and 430 with the printing controller 910 and the functions dependent on the heads 410, 420 and 430 with the head controller 920. As a result, the printing controller 910 can be standardized to standardize the interface with the head controller 920. At this time, the printing controller 910 and the head controller 920 can communicate using a field bus (EtherCAT, RS485, etc.). In addition, the printing controller 910 can standardize the interface with the host controller. The printing controller 910 can communicate with the host controller using Ethernet (Ethernet, Ethernet / IP, etc.). In this case, for example, the host controller may be the main controller 90. The characteristics of the head, such as the voltage and the protocol, differ depending on the type of the head, and the amplification circuit corresponding to the characteristics is also different. Therefore, when the functions of the head controller and the printing controller are not separated, the entire controller must be changed according to the type of the head. However, according to the present invention, as the printing controller 910 is standardized, it may not be influenced by the type of the head and its characteristics. Therefore, it may not be influenced by the change of the head. Only the head controller 920 can be newly developed or separately produced, and accordingly, the process cost can be reduced. In addition, it is possible to minimize changes in new developments and to respond more quickly when an error occurs in a code or a circuit.

The printing controller 910 has a head controller control unit 911, a motion synchronization control unit 912, a printing pattern control unit 913, and a nozzle state diagnosis algorithm control unit 914. The head controller control section 911 controls the head controller 920. The operation synchronization control unit 912 can control the execution timing of each operation. For example, the gantry moving unit 300 may receive the state of the encoder according to the moving direction and the moving speed of the gantry moving unit 300 and send a firing trigger signal. The printing pattern control unit 913 controls patterns to be printed on the substrate S. Within the substrate S, a plurality of cells each having a different area and from which the process liquid is discharged can be provided. At this time, a plurality of cells provided inside the substrate S may be provided in different numbers, sizes, and positions for each substrate processing process. The printing pattern control unit 913 receives the information such as the number of cells, the size, the position, the discharge amount of the processing liquid, the discharging position, the moving speed of the gantry moving unit 300, and the moving direction according to the substrate processing process, Thereby controlling the treatment liquid nozzles (not shown). At this time, the printing pattern control unit 913 can be provided as a pattern parameter. Further, it is possible to control the amount of the processing liquid discharged per unit area, and to control so that the amount of the processing liquid discharged per unit area differs depending on the size of a plurality of cells provided in different sizes within the substrate S have. The nozzle condition diagnosis algorithm control unit 914 can determine the state of the process liquid nozzle according to the nozzle condition diagnosis algorithm for diagnosing the state of the process liquid nozzle and provide the information to the head controller 920. [

The head controller 920 controls the functions dependent on the heads 410, 420, and 430. A head controller 920 is electrically coupled to each of the heads 410, 420, and 430 and applies a control signal to each of the heads 410, 420, The head controller 920 has an amplifier circuit control section 921, a nozzle diagnostic circuit control section 922, a piezoelectric element input / output waveform control section 923, and a temperature control section 924. The amplifier circuit control unit 921 can control amplification circuits connected to the heads 410, 420 and 430, respectively. The nozzle diagnostic circuit control unit 922 controls a circuit for diagnosing the state of the process liquid nozzle. The piezoelectric element input / output waveform controller 923 controls the voltage applied to the piezoelectric elements to adjust the droplet discharge amount of the process liquid nozzles (not shown). The temperature controller 924 can adjust the temperature of the process liquid supplied to the process liquid nozzles. For example, the temperature control unit 924 may monitor the temperature of the processing liquid supplied to the respective processing liquid nozzles. In addition, the head controller 920 can control the supply of the processing liquid to the heads 410, 420, and 430, the pressure of the processing liquid storage unit, the discharge amount of each nozzle, and the like. The head controller 920 can adjust the discharge amount of some or all of the process liquid nozzles (not shown) during the process.

In the above embodiment, the printing controller 910 and the head controller 920 each have four control units. Alternatively, however, the printing controller 910 and the head controller 920 may each have a different number of controls. In addition, the plurality of functions can be combined and controlled by one control unit, and can be further divided and controlled. In addition, the functions included in the printing controller 910 in this embodiment are exemplary and may include other various functions necessary for controlling the printing process without being directly affected by the head. In addition, the functions included in the head controller 920 in the present embodiment are exemplary and may include various other functions required to control functions directly affecting the head.

The foregoing detailed description is illustrative of the present invention. In addition, the foregoing is intended to illustrate and explain the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and the present invention may be used in various other combinations, modifications and environments. That is, it is possible to make changes or modifications within the scope of the concept of the invention disclosed in this specification, within the scope of the disclosure, and / or within the skill and knowledge of the art. The embodiments described herein are intended to illustrate the best mode for implementing the technical idea of the present invention and various modifications required for specific applications and uses of the present invention are also possible. Accordingly, the detailed description of the invention is not intended to limit the invention to the disclosed embodiments. It is also to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover further embodiments.

1: substrate processing apparatus
100: support unit
200: Gantry
300: Gantry moving unit
400: head
500: head moving unit
600: cleaning unit
800: Inspection unit
900: controller
910: Printing controller
920: Head controller

Claims (16)

1. A substrate processing apparatus for performing a printing process by an inkjet method,
A support unit for supporting the substrate;
A head unit including one or a plurality of heads for spraying a treatment liquid onto the substrate supported by the support unit;
A gantry coupled to the head and provided to be movable on the support unit;
A processing liquid supply unit for storing the processing liquid supplied to the head; And
And a controller for controlling the substrate processing apparatus,
The controller comprising:
A head controller for controlling each of the plurality of heads; And
And a printing controller communicating with the head controller and controlling a function independent of the head. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the printing controller includes a head controller control unit for controlling the head controller. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
The head
A treatment liquid nozzle for discharging the treatment liquid onto a bottom surface thereof; And
And a piezoelectric element for controlling a discharge amount of the process liquid with the process liquid nozzle. The method of claim 3,
Wherein the printing controller further comprises an operation synchronization control section for controlling the overall operation of the substrate processing apparatus. 5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the printing controller further comprises a nozzle state diagnostic algorithm controller for diagnosing a state of the process liquid nozzle. 6. The method of claim 5,
Wherein the printing controller further comprises a printing pattern control unit for handling patterns to be printed. The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the head controller includes an amplification circuit control unit that controls amplification circuits connected to the plurality of heads, respectively. 8. The method of claim 7,
Wherein the head controller further comprises a nozzle diagnostic circuit controller for controlling a circuit for diagnosing the state of the process liquid nozzle. 9. The method of claim 8,
Wherein the head controller further comprises a piezoelectric element input / output waveform controller for controlling an input / output waveform of the piezoelectric element. A method of processing a substrate using a substrate processing apparatus that performs a printing process by an inkjet method, the method comprising: ejecting a processing liquid onto a substrate with one or a plurality of heads, And standardizing an independent function of the head to standardize the interface. 11. The method of claim 10,
Wherein the head includes a treatment liquid nozzle for discharging the treatment liquid to a bottom surface thereof and a piezoelectric element for controlling a discharge amount of the treatment liquid with the treatment liquid nozzle. 12. The method of claim 11,
Wherein the independent function of the head includes a function of controlling the overall operation of the substrate processing apparatus. 13. The method of claim 12,
Wherein the independent function of the head further includes a function of controlling a nozzle state diagnosis algorithm for diagnosing a state of the processing liquid nozzle. 14. The method of claim 13,
Wherein the independent function of the head further comprises a printing pattern control unit for handling patterns to be printed. 15. The method of claim 14,
Wherein the function dependent on the head includes a function of controlling an input / output waveform of the piezoelectric element. 16. The method of claim 15,
Wherein the function dependent on the head further includes a function of controlling a circuit for diagnosing the state of the process liquid nozzle.

Images