KR20230053905A - Substrate processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A substrate processing device of the present invention includes: a nozzle body including a tip area and a side wall area connected to the tip area; a discharge port installed within the nozzle body and configured to discharge ink from the tip area; and a through hole installed in the nozzle body, and connecting the tip area to the side wall area to absorb ink remaining in the tip area through capillary force.

Description

Substrate processing apparatus {SUBSTRATE PROCESSING APPARATUS}

The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus.

In general, in order to manufacture semiconductors, displays, etc., a substrate processing apparatus is used that performs a predetermined processing process such as processing a chemical liquid (which may be referred to as liquid droplet or ink) on a substrate. The substrate processing apparatus may include an inkjet head for discharging a chemical solution onto a substrate and a reservoir for storing the chemical solution supplied to the inkjet head.

Also, in the substrate processing apparatus, the inkjet head may be configured to discharge the liquid chemical to the substrate while moving in a horizontal direction, and the reservoir may be configured to move in the same direction together with the inkjet head.

Meanwhile, a piezo is installed at the upper end of the inkjet head, and pressure can be controlled through a predetermined signal from the piezo. Due to the applied pressure, a force is applied to the flow inside the nozzle of the inkjet head, and chemical solution (droplets, ink) can be discharged to the outside by the force. In addition, it is known that the discharged chemical solution has a higher viscosity than water and a similar level of surface tension. Due to the characteristics of these fluids, when the chemical liquid is discharged, the chemical liquid may be wetting around the nozzle, and there is a concern that the liquid liquid may lose straightness and be discharged in an oblique direction, and improvement is required.

An object to be solved by the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of improving the linearity of liquid discharge.

The tasks of the present invention are not limited to the tasks mentioned above, and other tasks not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

One aspect of the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention for achieving the above object is a nozzle body including a tip region and a sidewall region connected to the tip region; a discharge port installed in the nozzle body and configured to discharge ink from the tip area; and a through hole installed in the nozzle body and connecting the sidewall area to the tip area to absorb ink remaining in the tip area by capillary force.

A head cleaning unit purging the outlet and the through-hole, wherein the through-hole penetrates all of the sidewall area from the tip area so that the inside of the through-hole is emptied by a purging operation of the head cleaning unit, so that both ends thereof are open. It can be.

The through hole may be bent or bent at least once or more so as to increase a length through which the ink is absorbed.

One or more through holes may be provided along a circumferential surface of the discharge port.

The through holes may be radially arranged along a circumferential surface of the discharge port.

The device may further include a circumferential member provided in the sidewall area and positioned below the through hole to surround the nozzle body.

Details of other embodiments are included in the detailed description and drawings.

The substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention can increase the number of droplet discharge processes and reduce the number of cleaning processes through a simple structural change, thereby improving productivity.

1 is a perspective view illustrating a substrate processing apparatus according to some embodiments of the present invention.
2 is a plan view illustrating a substrate processing apparatus according to some embodiments of the present invention.
3 is a cross-sectional view showing an inkjet head unit of the substrate processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of point A of FIG. 3 illustrating the state in which the inkjet head unit ejects ink onto a substrate.
5 is a bottom view illustrating a nozzle body of the substrate processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a cross-sectional view showing a nozzle of a substrate processing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a cross-sectional view showing a nozzle of a substrate processing apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
8 is a cross-sectional view showing a comparative example of a nozzle in which no through hole is formed.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Advantages and features of the present invention, and methods of achieving them, will become clear with reference to the detailed description of the following embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below and may be implemented in various different forms, only the present embodiments make the disclosure of the present invention complete, and common knowledge in the art to which the present invention belongs. It is provided to completely inform the person who has the scope of the invention, and the present invention is only defined by the scope of the claims. Like reference numbers designate like elements throughout the specification.

When an element or layer is referred to as being "on" or "on" another element or layer, it is not only directly on the other element or layer, but also when another layer or other element is intervening therebetween. All inclusive. On the other hand, when an element is referred to as “directly on” or “directly on”, it indicates that another element or layer is not intervened.

Although first, second, etc. are used to describe various elements, components and/or sections, it is needless to say that these elements, components and/or sections are not limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element, component or section from another element, component or section. Accordingly, it goes without saying that the first element, first element, or first section referred to below may also be a second element, second element, or second section within the spirit of the present invention.

Terminology used herein is for describing the embodiments and is not intended to limit the present invention. In this specification, singular forms also include plural forms unless specifically stated otherwise in a phrase. As used herein, "comprises" and/or "comprising" means that a stated component, step, operation, and/or element is present in the presence of one or more other components, steps, operations, and/or elements. or do not rule out additions.

1 is a perspective view showing a substrate processing apparatus according to some embodiments of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a substrate processing apparatus according to some embodiments of the present invention. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a comparative example of a nozzle in which no through hole is formed.

First, referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 , a substrate processing apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a base 110, a substrate support unit 120, a gantry unit 130, a gantry moving unit 140, and an inkjet It may include a head unit 150 , a head moving unit 160 , a liquid crystal discharge amount measurement unit 170 , a nozzle inspection unit 180 and a head cleaning unit 190 .

Prior to the description, the substrate (S) of this embodiment may be a transparent substrate (S) including a glass substrate (S) to manufacture a display device. As another example, if the present embodiment is applied to a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device, a wafer including a silicon wafer may be used as the substrate (S).

In addition, the droplets mentioned in this embodiment may be referred to as liquid crystal, liquid medicine, or ink. In addition, the liquid droplet may be an organic material of polyimide for forming an organic alignment layer or an inorganic material such as silicon oxide for forming an inorganic alignment layer. However, the type of droplet is not limited to the above example. For example, it is mentioned that other fluids having an orientation mechanism may be used as droplets, and conductive ink may be used when the present embodiment is used for manufacturing a semiconductor device.

The base 110 may be provided in a rectangular parallelepiped shape having a certain thickness. A substrate support unit 120 may be disposed on the upper surface of the base 110 .

The substrate support unit 120 may include a support plate 121 on which the substrate S is placed. The support plate 121 may be a plate having the same/similar shape as that of the substrate S, eg, a rectangular plate. An area of the substrate support unit 120 may be larger than that of the substrate S. A rotation drive member 122 may be connected to the lower surface of the support plate 121 . The rotation driving member 122 may be a rotation motor. The rotational driving member 122 rotates the support plate 121 around a central axis of rotation perpendicular to the support plate 121 .

When the support plate 121 is rotated by the rotation driving member 122 , the substrate S may be rotated by the rotation of the support plate 121 . When the long side direction of the cell formed on the substrate S on which the droplets are to be applied is directed toward the second direction 20, the rotational driving member 122 rotates the substrate so that the long side direction of the cell faces the first direction 10. can

The support plate 121 and the rotation driving member 122 may be linearly moved in the first direction 10 by the linear driving member 123 . The linear driving member 123 includes a slider 124 and a guide member 125 . The rotation driving member 122 is installed on the upper surface of the slider 124 .

The guide member 125 extends long in the first direction 10 at the center of the upper surface of the base 110 . A linear motor (not shown) may be incorporated in the slider 124 , and the slider 124 is linearly moved along the guide member 125 in the first direction 10 by the linear motor (not shown).

The gantry unit 130 is provided above the path along which the support plate 121 is moved. The gantry unit 130 is spaced apart from the upper surface of the base 110 in an upward direction, and the longitudinal direction of the gantry unit 130 is disposed toward the second direction 20 . The gantry moving unit 140 linearly moves the gantry unit 130 in the first direction 10 . The gantry moving unit 140 includes a first moving unit 141 and a second moving unit 142 .

The first moving unit 141 is provided at one end of the gantry unit 130 and the second moving unit 142 is provided at the other end of the gantry unit 130 . The first moving unit 141 slides along the guide rail 221 provided on one side of the base 110, and the second moving unit 142 slides along the guide rail 222 provided on the other side of the base 110. While sliding, the gantry unit 130 is linearly moved in the first direction 10 .

The inkjet head unit 150 may be coupled to the gantry unit 130 by the head moving unit 160 . The inkjet head unit 150 may linearly move in the second direction 20 (which may be the longitudinal direction of the gantry unit 130) by the head moving unit 160, or may linearly move in the third direction 30. there is. Also, the inkjet head unit 150 may rotate with respect to the head moving unit 160 around an axis parallel to the third direction 30 .

The inkjet head unit 150 may be disposed above the substrate support unit 120 to eject liquid droplets onto the substrate S disposed on the substrate support unit 120 . A plurality of inkjet head units 150 may be provided. Referring to FIG. 1 , three inkjet head units 150 may be provided, for example, a first head unit 150A, a second head unit 150B, and a third head unit 150C. The plurality of inkjet head units 150 may be coupled to the gantry unit 130 in a line in the second direction 20 .

Briefly, the inkjet head unit 150 may include a nozzle 151 . The inkjet head unit 150 may generate small droplets (DLs in FIG. 4). For example, the inkjet head unit 150 may eject liquid droplets by means of a piezo device, that is, by pressure.

However, referring to FIG. 8 , the periphery of the nozzle NZ (for example, the tip region 152A, see FIGS. 4 and 8 ) due to the surface tension and/or viscosity of the droplet (liquid) is wetting ( 8, see 'WT') may occur. Then, the droplet may be dragged to the wetting area and may deviate from the set position. When the discharged droplet is dragged to the wetting area and loses straightness, the droplet tends to be discharged in an oblique direction. Due to the oblique discharge, it is difficult for droplets to land on a set point on the substrate, which may cause defects.

However, in this embodiment, a through hole 154 absorbing by capillary force may be formed to improve the straightness of the liquid droplet DL by reducing the wetting phenomenon, which will be described later with reference to FIG. 4 and the like. .

The head moving unit 160 may be provided in each inkjet head unit 150 . In this embodiment, since three inkjet head units 150A, 150B, and 150C are described as an example, three head moving units 160 may also be provided to correspond to the number of heads. Unlike this, a single head moving unit 160 may be provided, and in this case, the inkjet head unit 150 may move integrally instead of individually.

The liquid crystal ejection amount measuring unit 170 measures the liquid droplet ejection amount of the inkjet head unit 150 . The liquid crystal discharge amount measurement unit 170 may be disposed on one side of the substrate support unit 120 on the base 110 .

The liquid crystal ejection amount measurement unit 170 may measure the amount of liquid crystal ejected from all nozzles 151 for each inkjet head unit 150 . By measuring the amount of discharged liquid crystal from the inkjet head unit 150, it is possible to macroscopically check whether or not all nozzles of the inkjet head unit 150 have abnormalities. That is, if the liquid crystal ejection amount of the inkjet head unit 150 is out of the standard value, it can be seen that at least one of the inkjet head units 150 has a problem.

By the gantry moving unit 140 and the head moving unit 160, the inkjet head unit 150 is moved in the first direction 10 and the second direction 20 and positioned above the liquid crystal discharge amount measurement unit 170. can do. The head movement unit 160 may move the inkjet head unit 150 in the third direction 30 to adjust a vertical distance between the inkjet head unit 150 and the liquid crystal discharge amount measuring unit 170 .

The nozzle inspection unit 180 may check whether individual nozzles provided in the inkjet head unit 150 have abnormalities through an optical inspection. As a result of checking whether or not there is an abnormality in the macroscopic nozzle 151 by the liquid crystal discharge amount measuring unit 170, when it is determined that there is an abnormality in the unspecified nozzle 151, the nozzle inspection unit 180 determines the abnormality in the individual nozzle 151. A total inspection of the nozzle 151 may be performed while checking the presence or absence.

The nozzle inspection unit 180 may be disposed on one side of the substrate support unit 120 on the base 110 . The inkjet head unit 150 may be moved in the first direction 10 and the second direction 20 by the gantry moving unit 140 and the head moving unit 160 and positioned above the nozzle inspection unit 180. there is. The head movement unit 160 may move the inkjet head unit 150 in the third direction 30 to adjust a vertical distance between the inkjet head unit 150 and the nozzle inspection unit 180 .

The head cleaning unit 190 may perform a purging process and a suction process. The purging process is a process of ejecting some of the droplets accommodated in the inkjet head unit 150 at high pressure. The suction process is a process of suctioning and removing liquid droplets remaining on the nozzle surface of the inkjet head unit 150 after the purging process.

Meanwhile, the substrate processing apparatus 100 may further include a liquid crystal supplying apparatus 210 .

The liquid crystal supply device 210 may be installed on the top and/or side of the gantry unit 130 . The liquid crystal supply device 210 may include a liquid crystal supply module 211 and a pressure control module 212 .

The liquid crystal supply module 211 and the pressure control module 212 may be coupled to the gantry unit 130 . The liquid crystal supply module 211 may be a reserve, may have a predetermined space, and may supply liquid crystal to the inkjet head unit 150 . As mentioned above, the pressure control module 212 is a positive pressure or negative pressure can be provided.

Hereinafter, an inkjet head unit 150 capable of reducing/preventing a wetting phenomenon will be described with reference to drawings.

3 is a cross-sectional view of the inkjet head unit of the substrate processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of A in FIG. 5 is a bottom view illustrating the nozzle body of the substrate processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

3 to 5 , in the inkjet head unit 150, each of a first head unit 150A, a second head unit 150B, and a third head unit 150C may include a nozzle 151. . Illustratively, the nozzle 151 may include a nozzle body 152 , a discharge port 153 and a through hole 154 .

Briefly, this embodiment may form a configuration/structure for preventing droplets remaining in the tip region 152A of the nozzle body 152, which will be described later.

For example, the substrate processing apparatus 100 does not always supply droplets through the nozzle 151 when manufacturing the substrate S. This is because when manufacturing the substrate S placed on the support plate 121 of the substrate support unit 120, the substrate S after the process is discharged and the substrate S to be newly manufactured is introduced, so that the substrate S This is because the liquid droplet discharge of the nozzle 151 is temporarily stopped during replacement.

Also, in a state in which liquid droplet discharge is stopped, the inside of the liquid crystal supply module 211 may be in a negative pressure state. Accordingly, the droplet may achieve a state in which no pressure is received from the pressure control module 212 . Then, discharge of the liquid droplets is suddenly stopped, and some of them may remain in the tip region 152A.

In the substrate processing apparatus 100 of the present embodiment, after the manufacturing process of the substrate S is performed, while the process of replacing the substrate S is repeated, the liquid droplets remaining in the tip region 152A of the nozzle 151 It is possible to reduce the loss of discharge straightness due to

However, according to a modified example of the embodiment, remaining liquid droplets may be removed through a suction device such as a vacuum pump. However, productivity can be improved by omitting the pump and making simple structural changes. Illustratively, unlike the conventional case in which a cleaning process such as a purging operation is performed after 10 droplet discharge processes (after manufacturing 10 substrates), the liquid droplet discharge process may be performed after 11 to 15 times. That is, by delaying the period in which linearity of droplet discharge is lost, the number of droplet discharge processes can be increased and the number of cleaning processes can be reduced, thereby improving productivity.

Specifically, referring to FIG. 4 , the nozzle body 152 may include a tip region 152A constituting a bottom surface of the nozzle body 152 and a sidewall region 152B connected to the tip region 152A to form a circumferential surface. can

The discharge port 153 passes through the nozzle body 152 in a vertical direction and communicates with the liquid crystal supply module 211 to supply liquid droplets to the inkjet head unit 150 . That is, the discharge port 153 is configured to discharge droplets (ink) from the tip region 152A.

The through hole 154 may be provided to prevent liquid droplets from wetting around the discharge port 153 in the tip region 152A (refer to 'WT' in FIG. 8 ). For example, the through hole 154 is installed in the nozzle body 152 and connects the sidewall region 152B from the tip region 152A to absorb ink remaining in the tip region 152A by capillary force. .

In addition, the through hole 154 may be spaced apart from the discharge port 153 and does not communicate with the discharge port 153 to supply droplets. In particular, the through hole 154 is emptied by the purging operation of the head cleaning unit 190, that is, the through hole 154 is purged so that the cleaning operation can be performed together, from the tip area 152A to the side wall area ( 152B) may be opened at both ends.

Referring to FIG. 5 , one or more through holes 154 may be provided along the circumferential surface of the outlet 153 . The through holes 154 may be radially arranged along the circumferential surface of the discharge port 153 . The number of through holes 154 may be set according to the area and/or shape of the tip region 152A.

The through hole 154 may be bent or bent at least once or more so as to increase the length at which liquid droplets are absorbed, that is, to increase the amount of liquid droplets absorbed by the nozzle 151 having the same size. Illustratively, as shown in FIG. 4 , the through hole 154 may be bent two or more times, and thus may have a structure in which an internal length is increased compared to a straight structure. However, it is not limited thereto and may have a linear structure. In addition, a circumferential member 155 surrounding the nozzle body 152 may be further provided, which will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7 .

However, in this embodiment, another embodiment is possible by combining any one or more of the first to third embodiments and known technologies. Hereinafter, a modified example of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, and overlapping descriptions of the same components performing the same function will be omitted.

6 is a cross-sectional view showing a nozzle of a substrate processing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a nozzle of a substrate processing apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention. With reference to FIGS. 6 and 7 , differences from those described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5 will be mainly described.

First, referring to FIG. 6 , the through hole 154 may have a structure that penetrates in a straight line without forming a structure that is bent or bent. In addition, the opening point in the side wall region 152B may be located adjacent to the region where the step is formed in the nozzle body 152 . However, it is not limited thereto. In addition, the through hole 154 may have a curved structure, unlike a straight line structure. That is, various configuration changes are possible as long as they do not conflict with the present embodiment.

Referring next to FIG. 7 , the substrate processing apparatus 100 of this embodiment may further include a circumferential member 155 .

The circumferential member 155 surrounds the nozzle body 152, and is provided on the sidewall region 152B of the nozzle body 152, and is positioned below the through hole 154 to surround the nozzle body. This is to be configured so that droplets sucked through the through-hole 154 can stay in the through-hole 154, but can support the droplets according to a modified example of the embodiment.

In addition, according to a modified example of the embodiment, a cover (not shown) may be further provided to open and close the through hole 154 located at the upper end of the through hole 154, that is, the side wall region 152B. The cover has one end made of a fixed end and the other end made of a free end, which closes the upper end of the through hole 154 in normal times and opens the through hole 154 by pressure during the purging operation, A cleaning operation may be performed.

The substrate processing apparatus 100 according to this embodiment can increase the number of droplet discharge processes and reduce the number of cleaning processes through a simple structural change such as the through hole 154, thereby improving productivity. .

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the above and accompanying drawings, those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains can implement the present invention in other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features. You will understand that there is Therefore, the embodiments described above should be understood as illustrative in all respects and not limiting.

100: substrate processing device 110: base
120: substrate support unit 130: gantry unit
140: gantry moving unit 150: inkjet head unit
151: nozzle 152: nozzle body
153: discharge port 154: through hole

Claims (6)

a nozzle body including a tip region and a side wall region connected to the tip region;
a discharge port installed in the nozzle body and configured to discharge ink from the tip area; and
and a through-hole installed in the nozzle body and connecting the sidewall region to the tip region to absorb ink remaining in the tip region by capillary force. According to claim 1,
Further comprising a head cleaning unit purging the discharge port and the through hole,
The through-hole is opened at both ends through all of the sidewall region from the tip region so that the inside is emptied by a purging operation of the head cleaning unit. According to claim 2,
The through-hole is passed through a structure that is bent or bent at least one time to increase a length through which the ink is absorbed. According to claim 1,
At least one through hole is provided along a circumferential surface of the discharge port. According to claim 4,
The through-holes are radially arranged along the circumferential surface of the discharge port. According to claim 1,
The substrate processing apparatus further includes a circumferential member provided in the sidewall region and positioned below the through hole to surround the nozzle body.

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