TW201334110A - Wet treating apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A wet treating apparatus that includes a process room that comprises a first gate through which a substrate enters and a second gate through which the substrate exits; a moving table that is equipped to be moved up and down in the process room and on which the substrate is placed; a plurality of supporters connected to the moving table; a driving unit that is equipped to move the moving table up and down by being connected to at least one of the supporters; a fixed table that is fixedly disposed to face the moving table and through which at least one of the supporters passes; and a plurality of protection members that are disposed between the fixed table and the moving table, surround each of the supporters, and are equipped to be expanded and contracted.

Description

Wet processing equipment

The present invention relates to wet processing equipment and, more particularly, to a wet processing apparatus for treating a surface of a substrate by a wet processing method.

A substrate for a display device including a thin film transistor and a substrate for a semiconductor device are subjected to a surface treatment process for removing a ruthenium oxide film from the surface of the substrate or for planarizing a surface of the ruthenium film.

The surface treatment process is performed by applying a treatment liquid such as an etchant onto the surface of the substrate.

In a wet processing apparatus, the processing chamber performing the process may be contaminated by the processing liquid. Therefore, equipment installed in the processing chamber may be susceptible to corrosion. Therefore, the equipment installed in the processing chamber performing the process needs to be formed of a material having high corrosion resistance and high chemical resistance. This situation excessively increases the cost of equipment and, due to material limitations, certain equipment such as complex elevated systems may not be installed in the processing chamber.

The present invention provides a wet processing apparatus in which an elevated processing facility having long durability can be installed at a low cost.

The present invention provides a wet processing apparatus comprising: a processing chamber including a first door through which a substrate enters and a second door through which the substrate exits; a mobile station equipped to be up and down in the processing chamber Moving and having the substrate placed thereon; a plurality of supports coupled to the mobile station; a drive unit configured to be coupled to at least one of the supports Moving the mobile station up and down; a fixed table fixedly disposed in the processing chamber and facing the mobile station, and at least one of the support members passes through the fixed table; and a plurality of protective members, And disposed between the fixed table and the mobile station, surrounding each of the support members, and equipped to extend and contract.

The fixed station may be located between the mobile station and the drive unit.

The stationary station can include a first stationary station located between a bottom surface of the processing chamber and the mobile station.

The stationary station can include a second stationary station between the upper surface of the processing chamber and the mobile station.

The support member can include at least one first support member coupled to a lower surface of the mobile station.

The support member can include at least one second support member coupled to an upper surface of the mobile station.

The support that is not connected to the drive unit is a guide.

The fixing table can be combined with the side walls of the processing chamber in a sealed manner.

The first door and the second door may be disposed perpendicular to each other.

The wet processing process may further include a wet processing unit installed in the processing chamber and supplying processing liquid onto the substrate.

As described above, according to the present invention, since the support member and the drive unit forming the raising system for moving the moving table up and down can be protected from the treatment solution, it is not necessary to have high corrosion resistance and high chemical resistance by use. Expensive materials to form these constituent elements, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost of the wet processing equipment.

Also, the durability of the elevated system in the wet processing apparatus can be increased.

Also, even if the wet processing unit is installed in the processing chamber, the lifting system can be installed in the processing chamber.

The upper and/or bottom surface of the processing chamber can be protected from the dispersion of the processing solution.

Since the treatment liquid is collected by the first fixed stage, the discharge of the treatment liquid is smooth and the treatment of the treatment liquid is easy, thereby reducing environmental pollution.

The above described features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following description.

The invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a wet processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the wet processing apparatus according to the current embodiment includes a processing chamber 20, a moving stage 40, and a first fixing stage 51. The mobile station 40 and the first fixed stage 51 are disposed in the processing chamber 20.

The processing chamber 20 may be a chamber for wet processing the substrate 10, and includes a first door 21 through which the substrate 10 enters and a second door 22 through which the substrate 10 exits. The first door 21 and the second door 22 may be disposed in a direction perpendicular to each other. In an embodiment of the invention, the first door 21 is disposed on the upper side of the side wall of the processing chamber 20, and the second door 22 is disposed directly below the first door 21. However, the invention is not limited thereto, that is, the second door 22 can be placed at The upper side of the side wall of the chamber 20, and the first door 21 can be disposed directly below the second door 22. Also, the first door 21 may be formed on the upper side of the side wall of the process chamber 20, and the second door 22 may be disposed on the lower side of the other side wall of the process chamber 20. Also, the first door 21 may be disposed on a lower side of the side wall of the process chamber 20, and the second door 22 may be disposed on an upper side of the other side wall of the process chamber 20.

Although not shown, a fan filter unit (not shown) may be mounted on the outer area of the processing chamber 20. The fan-shaped screening program unit maintains the inner region of the process chamber 20 clean and prevents particles from adhering to the surface of the substrate 10 by performing ventilation.

The substrate 10 is placed on a moving stage 40 in the processing chamber 20.

2 is a perspective view of an example of the mobile station 40 of FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the mobile station 40 can include a frame 41. The frame 41 includes: a first frame 411 and a second frame 412 extending parallel to each other in the X direction, the X direction being a horizontal moving direction X1 of the substrate 10; and a third frame 413 and a fourth frame 414 in the Y direction The upper side extends in parallel with each other, and the Y direction is a direction perpendicular to the horizontal moving direction X1 of the substrate 10. The first to fourth frames 411 to 414 are combined to form a substantially quadrangular shape. The third frame 413 located on the edge of the horizontal moving direction X1 is positioned lower than the other frames, so that the substrate 10 can easily enter the processing chamber 20. Although not illustrated, when the substrate 10 is ejected in a direction different from the entry direction, the fourth frame 414 together with the third frame 413 may also be positioned lower than the first frame 411 and the second frame 412.

A support roller 43 that supports a side surface of the substrate 10 is mounted on the upper surfaces of the first frame 411 and the second frame 412. Moreover, the support roller 43 can Mounted on the fourth frame 414, the fourth frame 414 is disposed on the other edge of the horizontal movement direction X1.

As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of support bars 421 are disposed by separating predetermined gaps on the first frame 411 and the second frame 412. A plurality of driving rollers 422 that are separated by a predetermined gap are coupled to each of the support bars 421. Two edges of each of the support bars 421 are embedded in the first frame 411 and the second frame 412, respectively. Gears (not shown) are mounted on both edges of each of the support bars 421. A helical gear is mounted on one of the first frame 411 and the second frame 412, and the helical gear is rotated by an additional drive unit (not shown). When the helical gear is rotated by the driving unit, the support rod 421 is rotated by the transmission of power from the helical gear, and thus, the support roller 422 also rotates. As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate 10 is placed on the driving roller 422, and the substrate 10 is movable in the horizontal moving direction X1 by the rotation of the driving roller 422.

A plurality of supports 44 are coupled to the moving table 40, and an extendable and collapsible protective member 45 is formed to surround the outside of each of the supports 44.

The moving table 40 is movable up and down by the movement of the support member 44, that is, in FIG. 2, moving upward and downward (or extending and contracting movement) in the Z direction of the support member 44. At this time, when the extension and the contraction length between the pair of support members 44 on the edge located in the Y direction and the pair of support members 44 on the other edge in the Y direction are different, the moving stage 40 can be inclined by a predetermined angle θ And, therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, the substrate 10 placed on the mobile station 40 can also be tilted from the first position P1 to the second position P2. In this case, due to the support roller 43 on the first frame 411 (see Fig. 2), the base The board 10 may not drop further. The tilt of the mobile stage 40 is very useful for handling large substrates, and is also useful for discharging treated liquid from the surface of the substrate 10.

In the wet processing apparatus of FIG. 1, a wet processing unit 30 for applying a processing liquid onto a surface of the substrate 10 is provided in the processing chamber 20. The wet processing unit 30 can be applied to at least one processing liquid that cleans or etches the surface of the substrate 10, and can be designed to inject the processing liquid to the linearly reciprocating movement in the horizontal direction along the surface of the substrate 10. A linear blade on the surface of the substrate 10, or a spray unit designed to spray all or part of the surface of the substrate 10 through at least one nozzle.

The drive unit 60 is mounted on the underside of the process chamber 20. The first support 44a is coupled to the drive unit 60. The upper end of the first support member 44a is combined with the lower surface of the moving table 40. The drive unit 60 simultaneously or partially raises (or lowers) the first support 44a, and thus, the mobile stage 40 can be raised (or lowered) in the process chamber 20. The drive unit 60 and the first support 44a can be cylindrical devices or motor and gear devices.

The first fixed stage 51 facing the mobile station 40 is located in the processing chamber 20. The first fixing table 51 is disposed between the moving table 40 and the bottom surface 24 of the processing chamber 20.

The drive unit 60 is disposed between the first fixed stage 51 and the bottom surface 24 of the process chamber 20, and thereby, the first support 44a connected to the drive unit 60 is connected to the mobile stage 40 through the first fixed stage 51. The first support member 44a is mounted such that the elevated movement of the first support member 44a is not interrupted by the first fixed table 51.

The first support member 44a is surrounded by the first protective member 45a. The first protective member 45a is formed to extend or contract downward. The first protective member 45a may be formed of a synthetic resin material having high chemical resistance to prevent the first support member 44a from being affected by the treatment liquid ejected from the wet processing unit 30. Therefore, in the wet processing apparatus of Fig. 1, according to the current embodiment, the first support member 44a located between the mobile station 40 and the first fixed stage 51 is in a state of being sealed by the first protective member 45a from the treatment liquid. . The first protective member 45a may be formed in the shape of a bellows.

The first fixing table 51 can be combined with the side wall of the processing chamber 20 and sealed. Therefore, the driving unit 60 and the portion of the first support 44a located under the first fixing table 51 can be protected from the treatment liquid. Although not shown, the drainage system may be combined with the first fixing table 51 such that the treatment liquid descending toward the bottom surface 24 of the processing chamber 20 is collected on the first fixing table 51 and smoothly discharged to the outside.

In the present invention, since the first support member 44a and the drive unit 60 are protected from the treatment liquid, it is not necessary to form the first support member 44a and the drive unit 60 from expensive high corrosion resistance and high chemical resistance materials, thereby The manufacturing cost is reduced and the durability of the first support member 44a and the drive unit 60 is increased. Also, although the wet processing unit 30 is installed in the processing chamber 20, elements for raising the moving table 40, such as the first support 44a and the driving unit 60, may be installed in the processing chamber 20.

In the state of the wet processing apparatus of FIG. 1, the substrate 10 enters the processing chamber 20 through the first door 21. At this time, the moving stage 40 is located on the upper portion of the processing chamber 20 to house the substrate 10. After that, the mobile station 40 faces the processing room. The lower portion of 20 is lowered, and the wet processing with respect to the surface of the substrate 10 is performed by the wet processing unit 30. Thereafter, the substrate 10 is discharged from the processing chamber 20 through the second door 22. The wet processing unit 30 can be located on the upper portion of the processing chamber 20. In this case, when the mobile station 40 is placed on the upper portion of the processing chamber 20, a wet process can be performed. When the wet treatment is completed, the treatment liquid remaining on the surface of the substrate 10 may be removed by the tilting process described above, or by additionally installing an air knife unit or a wet processing unit 30 to spray air onto the surface of the substrate 10.

4 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a wet processing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. The second fixing table 52 is mounted between the moving table 40 and the upper surface 23 of the processing chamber 20. The drive unit 60 is located between the second fixed stage 52 and the upper surface 23 of the processing chamber 20. The second support member 44b is coupled between the mobile station 40 and the drive unit 60. Therefore, the second support 44b connected to the drive unit 60 is connected to the mobile station 40 through the second fixed stage 52. The second support 44b is mounted such that the elevated movement (or contraction movement) of the second support 44b is not interrupted by the second fixed stage 52.

The second support 44b is surrounded by the second protective member 45b. The second protective member 45b is formed to extend downward and contract upward. The second protective member 45b may be formed of a synthetic resin material having high chemical resistance to protect the second support member 44b from the treatment liquid. Therefore, in the wet processing apparatus of FIG. 4, the second support 44b located between the moving stage 40 and the second fixing stage 52 is sealed by the second protective member 45b from the treatment liquid. The second protective member 45b may be formed in the shape of a bellows.

The second fixing table 52 can be attached to the side of the processing chamber 20 in a sealed manner wall. Accordingly, the portion of the drive unit 60 and the second support 44b above the second fixed stage 52 can be protected from the processing liquid and/or the highly corrosive atmosphere in the processing chamber 20. This wet processing method is the same as the wet processing method described with reference to Fig. 1, and thus, detailed description thereof will not be repeated.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a wet processing apparatus according to still another embodiment of the present invention. The first fixed stage 51 is further mounted to the wet processing apparatus of FIG. 4 between the mobile station 40 and the bottom surface 24 of the processing chamber 20. Therefore, the treatment liquid overflowing onto the bottom surface 24 of the processing chamber 20 can be collected on the first fixing table 51.

A plurality of first supports 44a are mounted on a lower surface of the moving table 40, and an edge of the first support 44a may extend through the first fixing table 51 to the bottom surface 24 of the processing chamber 20. The first support member 44a is not coupled to the drive unit 60, but is implemented as a guide bar that guides the mobile station 40 to have a stable elevated movement. Therefore, when the drive unit 60 is located on the upper portion of the process chamber 20, the mobile stage 40 can be stably moved up and down. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, that is, an additional driving unit (not shown) may be installed under the first fixing table 51 and the first supporting member 44a may be connected to the driving unit. Also, in FIG. 5, the driving unit 60 located on the upper portion of the processing chamber 20 may be located below the first fixing table 51, and the second supporting member 44b may serve as a guide.

The first support member 44b is surrounded by the first protective member 45a as in the first support member 44a in FIG. 1, and thus, detailed description thereof will not be repeated.

6 is a schematic plan view of the mobile station 40, and the mobile station 40 has four support members (a first support member 44a and a second support member 44b) at four corners.

That is, in FIG. 6, the first support point 441 and the third support point 443 may be located on two corners adjacent to the horizontal movement direction X1 (the substrate enters and exits along the same), and the second support point 442 and the fourth The support points 444 can be located on two corners opposite the first support point 441 and the third support point 443, respectively. The first support member 44a and the second support member 44b described above are mounted on the first to fourth support points 441 to 444.

According to the present invention, the first support member 44a and the second support member 44b of Fig. 5 are mounted to the first to fourth support points 441 to 444 by a combination of the structures described above.

For example, the support on the first support point 441 may have the same structure as the first support 44a, and the support on the second to fourth support points 442 to 444 may have the same structure as the second support 44b structure. At this time, the driving unit may be connected to the first support 44a by being disposed on the lower portion of the processing chamber, or may be connected to the second support 44b by being disposed on the upper portion of the processing chamber. Also, in this case, the other first support member 44a may be further disposed on the second to fourth support points 442 to 444.

Alternatively, the support on the first support point 441 may have the same structure as the second support 44b, and the support on the second to fourth support points 442 to 444 may have the same structure as the first support 44a. At this time, as described above, the driving unit may be connected to the first support 44a by being disposed on the lower portion of the processing chamber, or connected to the second support 44b by being disposed on the upper portion of the processing chamber. Also, in this case, the other first support member 44a may be further disposed on the first support point 441.

Also, the first support member 44a can be disposed at the first support point 441 and The three support points 443 are disposed on the second support point 442 and the fourth support point 444. At this time, the driving unit may be connected to the first support 44a by being disposed on the lower portion of the processing chamber, or connected to the second support 44b by being disposed on the upper portion of the processing chamber. Also, in this case, the other first support member 44a may be further disposed on the second support point 442 and the fourth support point 444.

At least one of the first support point 441 and the support on the third support point 443, which is adjacent to the horizontal movement direction X1 along which the substrate enters and exits, is configured as the first support 44a. Therefore, the possibility of interference of the movement of the substrate with the support when the substrate is horizontally moved on the moving stage 40 can be minimized.

As described above, in the wet processing apparatus according to the present invention, the installation of the wet processing unit 30 in the processing chamber 20 is not necessary. For example, the wet processing unit 30 can be mounted in another processing chamber that is connected to the processing chamber. In this case, the process chamber 20 is exposed to a corrosive atmosphere, and thus, as described above, the substrate lift system can be protected from the corrosive atmosphere.

Although the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention, those skilled in the art Various changes in form and detail can be made in the present invention.

Although the present invention has been disclosed in the above embodiments, it is not intended to limit the invention, and any one of ordinary skill in the art can make some modifications and refinements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The scope of the invention is defined by the scope of the appended claims.

10‧‧‧Substrate

20‧‧‧Processing room

21‧‧‧ first door

22‧‧‧ second door

23, 24‧‧‧ surface

30‧‧‧ Wet processing unit

40‧‧‧Mobile Station

41‧‧‧Frame

411‧‧‧ first frame

412‧‧‧ second frame

413‧‧‧ third frame

414‧‧‧Fourth framework

421‧‧‧Support rod

422‧‧‧ drive roller

43‧‧‧Support roller

44‧‧‧Support

44a‧‧‧First support

44b‧‧‧second support

441‧‧‧ first support point

442‧‧‧second support point

443‧‧‧ third support point

444‧‧‧fourth support point

45‧‧‧Protection components

45a‧‧‧First protective member

45b‧‧‧Second protective component

51‧‧‧First fixed station

52‧‧‧Second fixed station

60‧‧‧ drive unit

X, Y, Z‧‧ Direction

X1‧‧‧ horizontal moving direction

θ‧‧‧Predetermined angle

P1‧‧‧ first position

P2‧‧‧ second position

1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a wet processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a perspective view of an example of the mobile station of FIG. 1 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a schematic view showing a tilted state of a substrate on the mobile station of FIG. 2.

4 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a wet processing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a wet processing apparatus according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 6 is a schematic plan view of a mobile station having four supports.

10‧‧‧Substrate

20‧‧‧Processing room

21‧‧‧ first door

22‧‧‧ second door

23, 24‧‧‧ surface

30‧‧‧ Wet processing unit

40‧‧‧Mobile Station

44a‧‧‧First support

45a‧‧‧First protective member

51‧‧‧First fixed station

60‧‧‧ drive unit

Claims (10)

A wet processing apparatus comprising: a processing chamber including a first door through which a substrate enters and a second door through which the substrate exits; a mobile station configured to move up and down in the processing chamber and The substrate is placed thereon; a plurality of supports coupled to the mobile station; a drive unit configured to move the mobile station up and down by being coupled to at least one of the supports; a fixed table Fixedly disposed in the processing chamber and facing the mobile station, and at least one of the support members passes through the fixed table; and a plurality of protective members disposed on the fixed station and the mobile station Between, around each of the supports, and equipped to extend and contract. The wet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the fixed stage is located between the mobile station and the drive unit. The wet processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the fixing station comprises a first fixing station between a bottom surface of the processing chamber and the mobile station. The wet processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the fixing station comprises a second fixing station between an upper surface of the processing chamber and the moving stage. The wet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein The support member includes at least one first support member coupled to a lower surface of the mobile station. The wet processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the support comprises at least one second support coupled to an upper surface of the mobile station. The wet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the support member not connected to the drive unit is a guide. The wet processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the fixing table and the side wall of the processing chamber are combined in a sealed manner. The wet processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the first door and the second door are disposed perpendicular to each other. The wet processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising a wet processing unit installed in the processing chamber and supplying a processing liquid onto the substrate.