KR20230038153A - Method and Apparatus for transferring substrate and Method for processing substrate having the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a substrate transfer method and apparatus to easily detach a substrate from a roller after the substrate is transferred and a substrate processing method including the same. According to exemplary embodiments, the substrate transfer method comprises: a step of introducing a substrate into a floating stage equipped to perform a process while transferring the substrate in a floating state; a step of providing a vacuum to the rear surface of the substrate being introduced into the flotation stage to adsorb the rear surface of the substrate to a roller provided in one area of the floating stage; a step of rotating the roller forward so that the substrate adsorbed on the roller is transferred to an alignment section of the floating stage; a step of releasing the vacuum provided to the rear surface of the substrate so that the rear surface of the substrate is detached from the roller; a step of after releasing the vacuum, rotating the roller in reverse within a range where the substrate does not deviate from the alignment section on the floating stage; and a step of after terminating the reverse rotation of the roller, aligning the substrate so that processing can be performed on the floating stage.

Description

Substrate transfer method and apparatus, and substrate processing method including the same {Method and Apparatus for transferring substrate and Method for processing substrate having the same}

The present invention relates to a substrate transfer method and apparatus, and a substrate processing method including the same. More specifically, it relates to a substrate transfer method and apparatus for transferring a substrate in a floating state, and a substrate processing method including the same.

In manufacturing a display device such as a liquid crystal display device or an organic light emitting display device, a process of discharging a liquid chemical to form an alignment layer, a color filter, or the like may be performed on a substrate.

The process of discharging the liquid chemical onto the substrate may be performed in a state in which the substrate is levitating using a levitation stage. The floating stage may include a section for entering a substrate, a section for discharging a liquid chemical onto the substrate, and a section for advancing the substrate.

In the section in which the liquid chemical is discharged onto the substrate, the substrate must be maintained in an aligned state. Therefore, in the section where the substrate is entered, the substrate must be transported to the alignment section in which the substrate is aligned by adsorbing and rotating the roller on the back side of the substrate.

In order to adsorb the roller on the back of the substrate, a vacuum must be applied to the back of the substrate instead of air, and after the substrate is transferred to the alignment section, the vacuum provided to the back of the substrate must be released so that the roller adsorbed on the back of the substrate can be detached. .

If the vacuum is not released, sufficient alignment of the substrate may not be achieved because the back surface of the substrate and the roller are in a state of adsorption.

Accordingly, after aligning the substrates detached from the roller by releasing the vacuum, a process of discharging the chemical solution may be performed by transporting the aligned substrates to a section for discharging the chemical solution.

However, in the prior art, there is a problem in that even after releasing the vacuum, a situation in which the substrate is not detached from the roller due to the frictional force between the back surface of the substrate and the roller does not achieve sufficient alignment of the substrate.

One object of the present invention is to provide a substrate transfer method and apparatus capable of easily detaching a substrate from a roller after transferring the substrate using a roller in a state in which the substrate is raised.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a substrate treatment method capable of easily detaching a substrate from a roller after transferring the substrate using a roller in a state in which the substrate is raised.

A substrate transfer method according to exemplary embodiments for achieving one object of the present invention is to introduce a substrate into a floating stage provided to perform a process while transferring the substrate in a floating state, and the substrate is introduced into the floating stage. A vacuum is applied to the backside of the substrate so that the backside of the substrate is attracted to a roller provided in one area of the lifting stage, and the roller is forwardly rotated so that the substrate adsorbed to the roller is transferred to an alignment section in the lifting stage, After releasing the vacuum provided to the back side of the substrate so that the back side of the substrate is detached from the roller, and after releasing the vacuum, the roller is reversely rotated within a range where the substrate does not deviate from the alignment section on the lifting stage. In this, after the reverse rotation of the roller is finished, the board is aligned so that the process can be performed in the lifting stage.

In example embodiments, a vacuum may be provided to the back surface of the substrate by sensing the substrate introduced into the floating stage.

In example embodiments, the vacuum may be provided only in an area adjacent to the area where the roller is provided, and air for lifting the substrate may be provided in the remaining areas.

In exemplary embodiments, the vacuum is provided only in an area adjacent to the area where the roller is provided, but when the vacuum is not provided, the area adjacent to the area where the roller is provided is also provided for lifting of the substrate. Air can be provided.

A substrate processing method according to exemplary embodiments for achieving another object of the present invention is to introduce a substrate into a floating stage provided to perform a process while transferring the substrate in a floating state, and the substrate is introduced into the floating stage. A vacuum is applied to the backside of the substrate so that the backside of the substrate is attracted to a roller provided in one area of the lifting stage, and the roller is forwardly rotated so that the substrate adsorbed to the roller is transferred to an alignment section in the lifting stage, Release the vacuum provided to the back surface of the substrate so that the back surface of the substrate is detached from the roller, and reverse rotate the roller within a range where the substrate does not deviate from the alignment section on the lifting stage after releasing the vacuum, After finishing the reverse rotation of the roller, aligning the substrate so that the process can be performed in the lifting stage, and after aligning the substrate, holding the side surface of the substrate to transfer the substrate along the lifting stage Thereafter, a liquid chemical may be applied on the substrate transported along the floating stage.

In example embodiments, a vacuum may be provided to the back surface of the substrate by sensing the substrate introduced into the floating stage.

In example embodiments, the vacuum may be provided only in an area adjacent to the area where the roller is provided, and air for lifting the substrate may be provided in the remaining areas.

In exemplary embodiments, the vacuum is provided only in an area adjacent to the area where the roller is provided, but when the vacuum is not provided, the area adjacent to the area where the roller is provided is also provided for lifting of the substrate. Air can be provided.

In exemplary embodiments, air and vacuum may be provided to the back surface of the substrate in the floating stage where the liquid chemical is applied.

A substrate transfer method and apparatus according to exemplary embodiments, and a substrate processing method including the same can easily achieve alignment of the substrate because the substrate can be easily detached from the roller after transferring the substrate to the alignment section. will be.

Therefore, since the substrate transfer method and apparatus according to exemplary embodiments and the substrate processing method including the same can apply the chemical solution after sufficiently aligning the substrate, it is possible to minimize the application defect of the chemical solution. .

Therefore, since the substrate transfer method and device according to exemplary embodiments and the substrate processing method including the same can minimize the application defect of the chemical solution, the reliability of the manufacturing process of the display device can be improved.

However, the effects of the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned effects, and may be variously extended without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a substrate processing apparatus applied to a substrate processing method according to exemplary embodiments.
2 is a view for explaining a method of applying a liquid chemical on a substrate among substrate processing methods according to exemplary embodiments.
3 to 5 are schematic diagrams for explaining a substrate transfer method according to exemplary embodiments.

Since the present invention can be applied with various changes and can have various forms, embodiments will be described in detail in the text. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to a specific form disclosed, and should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention. Like reference numbers have been used for like elements in describing each figure. Terms such as first and second may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms. These terms are only used for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. Terms used in this application are only used to describe specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In this application, the terms "comprise" or "consisting of" are intended to designate that there is a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification, but one or more other features It should be understood that it does not preclude the possibility of the presence or addition of numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs. Terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the meaning in the context of the related art, and unless explicitly defined in the present application, they should not be interpreted in an ideal or excessively formal meaning. don't

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numerals are used for the same components in the drawings, and redundant descriptions of the same components are omitted.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a substrate processing apparatus applied to a substrate processing method according to exemplary embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 1 , a substrate processing method according to exemplary embodiments discharges a chemical liquid for forming an alignment layer, a color filter, etc. onto a substrate 11 when manufacturing a display device such as a liquid crystal display device or an organic light emitting display device. It can be applied to carry out the process to be done.

A substrate processing method according to exemplary embodiments may be performed in a state in which the substrate 11 is raised using a floating stage. The levitation stage in the substrate processing apparatus 100 for performing the substrate processing method according to exemplary embodiments includes a section for entering the substrate 11, a section for discharging a liquid chemical onto the substrate 11, and a section for discharging the substrate 11. It may be made of a section that advances.

Accordingly, the levitation stage in the substrate processing method according to exemplary embodiments includes the entry stage 300 provided in the section for entering the substrate 11 and the ejection stage provided in the section for discharging the liquid chemical onto the substrate 11. 200, the advance stage 303 provided in the section for advancing the substrate 11 may be arranged sequentially.

And in the substrate processing method according to exemplary embodiments, since the floating height of the substrate 11 needs to be relatively precisely controlled in the section where the liquid chemical is discharged onto the substrate 11, air is applied to the back surface of the substrate 11. and a vacuum may be provided together. Accordingly, the discharge stage 200 may be provided to lift the substrate 11 by simultaneously providing air injection and vacuum suction to the back surface of the substrate 11 .

In the substrate processing method according to exemplary embodiments, since the substrate 11 needs to be simply lifted in the section where the substrate 11 enters and the section where the substrate 11 moves out, the back surface of the substrate 11 Air can be provided. Accordingly, the entry stage 300 and the exit stage 303 may be provided to lift the substrate 11 by providing an air jet to the back surface of the substrate 11 .

2 is a view for explaining a method of applying a liquid chemical on a substrate among substrate processing methods according to exemplary embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 2 , in a substrate processing method according to exemplary embodiments, a section for discharging a liquid chemical onto a substrate 11 may include a transfer unit 23, a discharging unit 25, and the like in addition to the discharging stage 200. can

As mentioned above, the ejection stage 200 may be provided with air holes through which air is sprayed onto the back surface of the substrate 11 and vacuum holes through which vacuum is sucked. Each of the air holes and vacuum holes may be connected to a member such as an air compressor for dispensing air and a member such as a vacuum pump for vacuum suction.

Accordingly, the substrate 11 transferred to the discharge stage 200 may be lifted by air blowing and vacuum suction from the back side of the substrate 11 .

The transfer unit 23 is for transferring the substrate 11 on which the floating is performed on the discharge stage 200, and may be provided to move along the discharge stage 200 by mainly gripping the side surface of the substrate 11.

Therefore, the transfer unit 23 may include a gripping unit that grips the side surface of the substrate 11 and a guide rail provided on the side surface of the discharge stage 200 to guide the movement of the gripping unit. The transfer unit 23 may be provided on one side or both sides of the substrate 11 .

The discharge unit 25 may be provided to discharge the chemical liquid mainly in an inkjet method. The discharge unit 25 may have a nozzle surface 26 provided with a plurality of nozzles on one surface. A plurality of nozzles provided in the discharge unit 25 may be arranged in a line at regular intervals, and may be provided to discharge the chemical liquid in an amount of units of μg. In addition, the discharge unit 25 may include a number of piezoelectric elements corresponding to the number of nozzles, and thus may be provided to discharge liquid droplets through the nozzle by operation of the piezoelectric elements. The amount of chemical liquid discharged from the nozzle may be independently adjusted by controlling the voltage applied to the piezoelectric elements.

Accordingly, in the substrate processing method according to exemplary embodiments, the liquid chemical may be discharged onto the substrate 11 while transferring the substrate 11 in a floating state.

In addition, in the case of the substrate 11 transferred to the section where the chemical liquid is discharged, if the position is not maintained in an aligned state, the chemical liquid cannot be discharged at the correct position on the substrate 11, and defects may occur.

In the substrate processing method according to exemplary embodiments, the substrate 11 transferred to the section for discharging the chemical solution must be aligned. That is, in the section in which the liquid chemical is discharged onto the substrate 11, the substrate 11 must be kept aligned.

Therefore, an alignment section may be disposed between the section for entering the substrate 11 and the section for discharging the chemical solution. Accordingly, after the substrates 11 entering the section for entering the substrate 11 are aligned in the alignment section, the aligned substrate 11 may be transferred to the section for discharging the chemical solution.

Hereinafter, in the substrate transfer method and the substrate processing method according to exemplary embodiments, a member for transferring the substrate 11 to the alignment section for aligning the substrate 11 provided in the section for entering the substrate 11 will be described.

3 to 5 are schematic diagrams for explaining a substrate transfer method according to exemplary embodiments.

3 to 5, in the section where the substrate 11 enters, it is a member for transferring the substrate 11 to the alignment section in a state in which the substrate 11 is lifted. A roller 31 capable of doing this may be provided. The roller 31 may be provided in one area of the entry stage 300 of the levitation stage.

Therefore, in the section where the substrate 11 is entered, the substrate 11 is transferred to the alignment section by adsorbing the roller 31 on the back surface of the substrate 11 and rotating the roller 31 to which the substrate 11 is adsorbed. It can.

However, since air is provided to the rear surface of the substrate 11 in the section where the substrate 11 is introduced, the rear surface of the substrate 11 will not be absorbed by the roller 31 as shown in FIG. 4 . Air holes 35 capable of supplying air to the back side of the substrate 11 may be provided in the entry stage 300 in the section where the substrate 11 enters.

Further, in the section where the substrate 11 is introduced, when the substrate 11 is introduced into the section where the substrate 11 is introduced, it is necessary to provide a vacuum toward the back surface of the substrate 11 . Accordingly, when the substrate 11 is input, a vacuum is applied toward the back surface of the substrate 11 so that the back surface of the substrate 11 can be absorbed by the roller 31 .

In particular, the vacuum provided to the rear surface of the substrate 11 may not be provided to the entire rear surface of the substrate 11 but only to an area adjacent to the area where the roller 31 is provided. That is, the vacuum is provided only in the area adjacent to the area where the roller 31 is provided, and air for lifting the substrate 11 is provided in the remaining area.

Therefore, in the substrate transfer method and the substrate processing method according to exemplary embodiments, in the entry stage 300 in the section where the substrate 11 is entered, an air hole 35 capable of supplying air to the back side of the substrate 11 ) and, in some cases, vacuum holes 33 capable of supplying vacuum may be provided.

Further, the vacuum is provided only in the area adjacent to the area where the roller 31 is provided, but when the vacuum is not provided, air for the lifting of the substrate 11 is provided even in the area adjacent to the area where the roller 31 is provided. You will be able to.

Therefore, in the substrate transfer method and the substrate processing method according to exemplary embodiments, the air hole 35 for supplying air to the back side of the substrate 11 is provided in the entry stage 300 in the section where the substrate 11 enters. ) may be provided, and the vacuum holes 33 in the area adjacent to the area where the roller 31 is provided may be provided to have a mixed structure to supply air.

Hereinafter, a substrate transfer method and a substrate processing method according to exemplary embodiments will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5 .

First, the substrate 11 on which the previous process has been performed is introduced into the floating stage. That is, the substrate 11 is put into the entry stage 300, which is a section for entering the substrate 11. The introduction of the substrate 11 into the floating stage can be achieved mainly by using a conveying member such as a conveyor or the like.

The substrate 11 introduced into the entry stage 300 may maintain a state of being lifted by air provided on the back surface of the substrate 11 .

In addition, sensing whether the substrate 11 is input from the floating stage to the entry stage 300 is performed. As a result of the sensing, when it is confirmed that the substrate 11 is input to the entry stage 300, a vacuum may be applied to the back surface of the substrate 11.

At this time, the aforementioned vacuum may be provided only in an area adjacent to the area where the roller 31 is provided. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the air hole 33 disposed in the area adjacent to the area where the roller 31 is provided and providing air is changed into a vacuum hole 33 that provides vacuum as shown in FIG. By doing so, a vacuum can be provided to the back surface of the substrate 11 .

Therefore, in the substrate transfer method and the substrate processing method according to exemplary embodiments, when sensing that the substrate 11 is introduced from the floating stage to the entry stage 300, vacuum only in the area adjacent to the area where the roller 31 is provided. may be provided, and air may be continuously provided in the remaining areas.

In this way, as a vacuum is applied to the back surface of the substrate 11 in an area adjacent to the area where the roller 31 is provided, the back surface of the substrate 11 may be absorbed by the roller 31 .

In addition, the roller 31 may also be driven when it is confirmed that the substrate 11 is introduced into the entry stage 300 as a result of sensing whether or not the substrate 11 is introduced into the entry stage 300 in the lifting stage.

In the substrate transfer method and substrate processing method according to exemplary embodiments, when it is confirmed that the substrate 11 is input to the entry stage 300, a vacuum is provided to the back of the substrate 11, and the roller 31 that can be driven.

One area of the entry stage 300 provided with the roller 31 may be a front end of the entry stage 300 based on the transfer direction of the substrate 11 .

As mentioned above, the back surface of the substrate 11 is adsorbed to the roller 31 by vacuum, and the substrate 11 can be transported to the alignment section by providing a driving force so that the roller 31 rotates forward. .

Subsequently, when the substrate 11 is transferred to the alignment section, the vacuum applied to the back surface of the substrate 11 is released. Accordingly, the substrate 11 may be detached from the roller 31 . That is, in the substrate transfer method and the substrate processing method according to exemplary embodiments, the vacuum provided to the back surface of the substrate 11 may be released so that the back surface of the substrate 11 is detached from the roller 31 .

And, in the substrate transfer method and substrate processing method according to exemplary embodiments, the configuration can be changed to release the vacuum and provide air in the area adjacent to the area provided with the roller 31 providing the vacuum at the same time. will be. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the configuration of the vacuum hole 33 disposed in the area adjacent to the area where the roller 31 is provided and providing vacuum is changed to the air hole 33 providing air as shown in FIG. Air can be provided to the back surface of the substrate 11 by doing so.

In other words, the vacuum is provided only in the area adjacent to the area where the roller 31 is provided, but when the vacuum is not provided, the air for the lifting of the substrate 11 is also provided in the area adjacent to the area where the roller 31 is provided. that can be provided.

However, a situation in which the back surface of the substrate 11 is not easily detached from the roller 31 occurs frequently even when the vacuum is released and air is supplied to the back surface of the substrate 11 even in the area where the vacuum is released. there is.

This is because when the roller 31 is adsorbed on the back side of the substrate 11 and rotates, the pressure value (absolute value) for the vacuum provided to the back side of the substrate 11 is This is because it is somewhat larger than the pressure value (absolute value) for the air supplied as well as releasing the vacuum to be desorbed.

In fact, when the roller 31 is adsorbed on the back side of the substrate 11 and rotates, the pressure value for the vacuum provided to the back side of the substrate 11 is about -15 kPa, whereas the roller 31 from the back side of the substrate 11 ) is detached, and since the pressure value for the supplied air is about 5 kPa, the vacuum is released and even though air is supplied to the back surface of the substrate 11 even in the area where the vacuum is released, the roller 31 ), a situation in which the back surface of the substrate 11 is not easily detached occurs frequently.

Therefore, in the substrate transfer method and the substrate treatment method according to exemplary embodiments, the roller 31 may be reversely rotated after releasing the vacuum provided to the substrate 11 . That is, while releasing the vacuum, the roller 31 is driven in the opposite direction relative to the transfer direction of the substrate 11 . In this case, the distance at which the substrate 11 is transferred in a direction opposite to the original transfer direction may be within a range that does not deviate from an alignment section in the floating stage.

As described above, in the substrate transfer method and the substrate processing method according to exemplary embodiments, air is supplied to the back surface of the substrate 11 while releasing the vacuum provided to the back surface of the substrate 11, and the roller 31 reversely rotates. By driving to do so, it is possible to alleviate the frictional force between the substrate 11 and the roller 31. Therefore, in the substrate transfer method and substrate processing method according to exemplary embodiments, the substrate 11 can be easily detached from the roller 31 through the relaxation of the frictional force between the substrate 11 and the roller 31. will be.

In the substrate transfer method and substrate processing method according to exemplary embodiments, while releasing the vacuum provided to the back surface of the substrate 11, air is supplied to the back surface of the substrate 11 and the roller 31 is reversely rotated. Even in this case, it can be achieved by sensing whether the substrate 11 enters the alignment section.

In addition, air is provided to the back surface of the substrate 11 while releasing the vacuum provided to the back surface of the substrate 11, and the roller 31 reversely rotates to relieve the frictional force between the substrate 11 and the roller 31. After the substrate 11 is detached from the roller 31 through this, reverse rotation of the roller 31 may be terminated.

Subsequently, after the reverse rotation of the roller 31 is finished, the position of the substrate 11 is aligned. The above-mentioned alignment is to achieve whether the substrate 11 is positioned correctly when a subsequent process of discharging a liquid chemical onto the substrate 11 is performed. Particularly, the above-mentioned alignment is mainly to hit the corner of the substrate 11 so that the side surface of the substrate 11 can be properly positioned and gripped in the transfer part 23 of the discharge stage 200 .

Subsequently, in the substrate processing method according to exemplary embodiments, after aligning the substrate 11 in the alignment section, the side surface of the substrate 11 is gripped using the transfer unit 23 to lift the substrate 11 from the floating stage. It is transported along the ejection stage 200 and the chemical solution may be applied on the substrate 11 transported along the floating stage.

After applying the chemical solution on the substrate 11, the substrate 11 may be transferred to a subsequent process along the advance stage 303 of the floating stage.

As described above, since the substrate transfer method and the substrate processing method according to exemplary embodiments can apply the chemical solution after sufficiently aligning the substrate 11 , it is possible to minimize the application defect of the chemical solution.

A substrate transfer method and apparatus according to exemplary embodiments, and a substrate processing method including the same may be more actively applied to the manufacture of display devices.

Although the above has been described with reference to preferred embodiments of the present invention, those skilled in the art can variously modify and change the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention described in the claims below. You will understand that you can.

11: substrate 23: transfer unit
25: discharge part 26: nozzle surface
31: roller 33: vacuum hole
35: air hole
100: substrate processing device
200: discharge stage
300: entry stage
303: advancement stage

Claims (3)

In the substrate transfer device including a lifting stage provided to perform a process while transferring the substrate in a raised state,
In the lifting stage, an entry stage provided in a section for advancing the substrate, a discharge stage provided in a section for discharging a liquid chemical onto the substrate, and an advance stage provided in a section for advancing the substrate are sequentially arranged. ,
In one area of the entry stage, as a member for transferring the substrate to an alignment section in a state in which the substrate is lifted, a roller capable of adsorbing and rotating on the back surface of the substrate may be provided, and
The entry stage is provided with air holes for supplying air to the back surface of the substrate, and supplying vacuum to the back surface of the substrate only when the substrate enters from among the air holes so that the back surface of the substrate can be absorbed by the roller. The substrate conveying device is provided, but the vacuum is provided only in an area adjacent to the area where the roller is provided, and air for lifting the substrate is provided in the remaining areas. According to claim 1,
The vacuum is provided only in an area adjacent to the area where the roller is provided, but when the vacuum is not provided, air for the lifting of the substrate is provided even in an area adjacent to the area where the roller is provided. A substrate transfer device that does. According to claim 1,
Further comprising a sensing unit provided to sense the introduction of the substrate into the entrance stage, wherein when the sensing unit senses the substrate introduced into the lifting stage, a vacuum is provided only in an area adjacent to an area in which the roller is provided, , A substrate transfer device characterized in that air is continuously provided in the remaining area.

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