TW201347078A - Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

The subject of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method capable of stably holding the substrate and preventing displacement of the substrate when carrying in or carrying out a substrate to be processed for a platform. The solution means includes: a platform (11) mounted thereon a substrate (G) to be processed; plural support pins (16) arranged movably up and down around the platform, and supporting the peripheral part of the substrate to be processed by projecting upward of the platform at an elevating position; and a support pin elevating means (17) for moving the plural support pins up and down. At the rising position of the plural support pins, the plural support pins provided at least on a pair of sides facing each other are arranged so that the height of the support position is of uneven shape along the side of the platform.

Description

Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method

The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method. For example, a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method for performing a predetermined process on a substrate on which a substrate to be processed is applied is placed on a stage.

For example, in the manufacture of a flat panel display (FPD), a circuit pattern is formed by a so-called photolithography technique, which is applied after forming a predetermined film on a substrate to be processed such as a glass substrate. A photoresist (hereinafter referred to as a resist) of the cloth treatment liquid forms a resist film, and the resist film is exposed in accordance with the circuit pattern to perform development processing.

In the formation process of the above-mentioned resist film, after applying a resist agent to a board|substrate, the drying process of the drying of the coating film by pressure reduction is performed.

In the past, as a device for performing such a reduced-pressure drying process, for example, the vacuum drying unit disclosed in Patent Document 1 shown in FIG. 12 is known.

The reduced-pressure drying unit 50 shown in Fig. 12 is configured to close the upper chamber 52 for the lower chamber 51, thereby forming a processing space inside. A stage 53 for placing a substrate to be processed is provided in the processing space. Further, the platform 53 is provided with a plurality of fixing pins 54 for placing the substrate G.

In the vacuum drying processing unit 50, once the substrate G coated with the resist on the surface to be processed is carried in, the substrate G is placed on the stage 53 via the fixing pin 54.

Next, the upper chamber 52 is closed to the lower chamber 51, whereby the substrate G is placed in a processing space in an airtight state.

Next, the environment in the processing space is exhausted from the exhaust port 55 to become a predetermined reduced pressure environment. By maintaining the reduced pressure for a predetermined period of time, the solvent such as the diluent in the resist liquid evaporates to some extent, and the solvent in the resist liquid is gradually released, which does not adversely affect the resist and promotes drying of the resist.

Further, since the pressure-reducing drying unit 50 as described above has almost no gap between the substrate G and the stage 53 via the fixing pin 54, it is difficult to directly place the substrate G by the transfer robot (not shown). On platform 53. Therefore, as shown in Fig. 13 (a), a plurality of support pins 56 that can be raised and lowered with respect to the platform 53 are provided. Then, when the substrate G is placed on the stage 53, the substrate G is temporarily placed on a plurality of support pins 56 disposed at the raised position. Then, as shown in FIG. 13(b), the support G is lowered and moved, and the substrate G is transferred from the support pin 56 to the stage 53 and placed on the stage 53.

[Advanced technical literature] [Patent Literature]

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2000-181079

However, in the vacuum drying unit 50, if the fixing pin 54 or the supporting pin 56 is in the pixel formation region of the substrate, the contact with the pin may be transferred to the resist film, so it is preferable. These pins are peripheral portions of the substrate that support the outside of the pixel formation region.

However, in recent years, the substrate G is increased in size and thickness. Therefore, when the substrate G is placed on the stage 53, when the peripheral edge portion of the substrate is supported by the plurality of support pins 56, the substrate G cannot be stably held. . In other words, as shown in Fig. 14 (a), when the peripheral edge portion of the substrate is supported by the plurality of support pins 56, the central portion Ga of the substrate is lowered downward by its own weight, and the peripheral portion of the substrate is bent under the influence. A portion 60 where the edge of the substrate floats from the support pin 56 is produced.

Further, as described above, the portion 60 where the edge portion of the substrate does not contact the support pin 56 is in accordance with the factor when the substrate G is transferred from the transfer robot (not shown) to the support pin 56 (the plurality of support pins 56 are in contact with each other) The order of the substrates G is different, etc.) Each substrate may be different (refer to FIG. 14(b)). Specifically, when the peripheral edge portion of the substrate G is supported by the support pin 56, the substrate G is bent in the shape shown in FIG. 14( a ) and curved in the shape shown in FIG. 14( b ). That is, the plurality of substrates G processed by the single chip respectively have different curved shapes. Once the substrate G is placed on the platform 53, the substrate G is biased. A problem that the displacement of the substrate G at a predetermined position frequently occurs.

The present invention provides a substrate processing apparatus that performs a predetermined process on a substrate by placing a substrate to be processed on a substrate, and can stably hold the substrate when the substrate is carried in and out of the substrate. A substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method for preventing displacement of a substrate.

In order to solve the above problems, the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention is a substrate processing apparatus that mounts a substrate to be processed on a stage and performs predetermined processing on the substrate to be processed, and is characterized in that the platform is provided with a platform a substrate to be processed; a plurality of support pins configured to be movable up and down around the platform, projecting above the platform at a rising position to support a peripheral portion of the substrate to be processed; and supporting pin lifting means And moving the plurality of support pins up and down, and at a rising position of the plurality of support pins, the plurality of support pins disposed on opposite sides of at least one pair of the platforms are disposed such that a height of the support position is along The sides of the platform are different in uneven shape.

Further, it is preferable that the plurality of support pins have a first support pin and a second support pin having different heights from each other, and the first support pin and the second support pin are alternately arranged along a side of the platform.

Moreover, the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention is a substrate to be processed. a substrate processing apparatus which is placed on a platform and performs a predetermined process on the substrate to be processed, and is characterized in that the platform includes a platform on which the substrate to be processed is placed, and a plurality of support pins are provided to be Lifting the periphery of the platform, protruding to the upper side of the platform at the rising position to support the peripheral portion of the substrate to be processed; and supporting pin height difference forming means for moving the plurality of support pins up and down, and at the rising position, A height difference is formed between the plurality of support pins at a height of the support position, and the support pin height difference forming means is such that the plurality of support pins have a difference in the rising distance, thereby providing at least one pair of the platforms The plurality of support pins on the side of the pair may also have a height at which the support position is formed to be uneven along the sides of the platform.

According to this configuration, when the peripheral edge portion of the substrate to be processed is supported by the plurality of support pins, even if the central portion of the substrate is lowered by its own weight, the peripheral edge portion of the substrate does not become unstable, and the substrate can maintain a constant curved shape.

That is, regardless of the factors when the substrate is transferred to the support pin (the order in which the plurality of support pins are in contact with the substrate, etc.), the substrate processed by the single piece can be held in a state of being similarly bent into a predetermined shape. It prevents displacement when the substrate is placed on the platform.

Further, since the support pin is a peripheral portion of the substrate outside the pixel formation region of the support substrate, the contact with the pin can be prevented from being transferred to the resist film.

Further, it is preferable that an adsorption pad that can be adsorbed to the substrate to be processed is provided at an upper end of the support pin. In this case, a suction means connected to the adsorption pad may be provided.

By providing the adsorption pad at the upper end of the support pin as described above, the peripheral edge portion of the substrate can be surely held, and the peripheral edge portion of the substrate can be bent into a predetermined shape.

Further, it is preferable that the support pin is provided so as to support a peripheral portion of the substrate except for a corner portion of the substrate to be processed.

By thus configuring the corner portion (corner portion) not to be supported by the support pin, the degree of freedom of deformation (bending) of the edge portion of the substrate is not limited.

Further, it is preferable that a peripheral pin portion of the platform is provided with a plurality of fixing pins that support a peripheral portion of the substrate when the substrate to be processed is placed, and the support pin lifting means lowers the plurality of support pins supporting the substrate Moving, whereby the substrate is placed on the platform via the fixing pin.

By thus providing the fixing pin at the peripheral portion of the stage, the displacement of the substrate when it is placed on the stage can be prevented.

Further, in order to solve the above-described problems, the substrate processing method of the present invention is a substrate processing method in which a substrate to be processed is placed on a stage and a predetermined process is performed on the substrate to be processed, and is characterized in that a plurality of support pins are implemented. a step of moving up to protrude above the platform, the plurality of support pins being configured to be movable up and down along the circumference of the platform, and being disposed at a height of the support position on an opposite side of at least one pair of the platforms It will be irregularly shaped along the sides of the platform; the aforementioned substrate is supported from below by a plurality of support pins a step of the peripheral portion; and a step of lowering the plurality of support pins to move the substrate to be processed on the platform.

According to such a method, when the peripheral portion of the substrate to be processed is supported by the plurality of support pins, even if the central portion of the substrate is lowered by its own weight, the peripheral portion of the substrate does not become unstable, and the substrate can be maintained at a constant level. Curved shape.

That is, regardless of the factors when the substrate is transferred to the support pin (the order in which the plurality of support pins are in contact with the substrate, etc.), the substrate processed by the single piece can be held in a state of being similarly bent into a predetermined shape. It prevents displacement when the substrate is placed on the platform.

Further, since the support pin is a peripheral portion of the substrate outside the pixel formation region of the support substrate, the contact with the pin can be prevented from being transferred to the resist film.

Further, it is preferable that the substrate surface is adsorbed by the adsorption pad provided at the upper end of the support pin in the step of supporting the peripheral edge portion of the substrate to be processed from below by the plurality of support pins.

By adsorbing the substrate surface with the adsorption pad provided at the upper end of the support pin as described above, the peripheral edge portion of the substrate can be surely held, and the peripheral edge portion of the substrate can be bent into a predetermined shape.

Further, in the step of supporting the peripheral edge portion of the substrate to be processed from below by the plurality of support pins, the first support pin having a height different from each other along the side of the platform and the aforementioned The second support pin supports the peripheral portion of the substrate to be processed from below.

By forming in this way, the height of the support position can be made uneven along the sides of the aforementioned platform.

Further, in the step of supporting the peripheral edge portion of the substrate to be processed from below by the plurality of support pins, the peripheral portion of the substrate is supported from below in addition to the corner portion of the substrate to be processed.

Since such a corner portion (corner portion) is not supported by the support pin, the degree of freedom of deformation (bending) of the edge portion of the substrate is not restricted.

Further, it is preferable that the plurality of support pins are moved downward, and in the step of placing the substrate to be processed on the platform, a peripheral pin portion of the substrate to be processed is supported by a plurality of fixing pins provided on a peripheral portion of the stage.

By placing the substrate via the fixing pin provided on the peripheral portion of the stage, the displacement of the substrate when the substrate is placed on the stage can be prevented.

According to the present invention, in the substrate processing apparatus in which the substrate to be processed is placed on the stage and the predetermined processing is performed on the substrate, when the substrate is carried in and out of the substrate, the substrate can be stably held to prevent displacement of the substrate. Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method.

1‧‧‧ Coating Process Department

4‧‧‧Resist coating unit

5‧‧‧Decompression drying unit (substrate processing unit)

11‧‧‧ platform

16‧‧‧Support pins

16A‧‧‧Support pin (1st support pin)

16B‧‧‧Support pin (2nd support pin)

17‧‧‧ Pin lifting drive unit (support pin lifting method)

19‧‧‧fixed pin

20‧‧‧pixel forming area

21‧‧‧Vacuum pump (attraction means)

G‧‧‧Glass substrate (substrate to be processed)

Fig. 1 is a plan view showing a coating process unit including a reduced-pressure drying unit as a substrate processing apparatus of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a side view of the coating process portion of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view showing a reduced-pressure drying unit provided in the coating process unit of Fig. 1;

4 is a side view in the short-side direction of the reduced-pressure drying unit provided in the coating process portion of FIG. 1 .

Fig. 5 is a side view showing the longitudinal direction of the reduced-pressure drying unit provided in the coating process unit of Fig. 1 .

Fig. 6 is a plan view showing a part of the coating process portion of Fig. 1 enlarged.

Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a part of the coating process portion of Fig. 1 enlarged.

8 is a side view showing a partial configuration of the reduced-pressure drying unit, and shows a state in which the support pin is raised.

FIG. 9 is a side view showing a partial configuration of the reduced-pressure drying unit, and shows a state in which the support pin is lowered.

Fig. 10 is a flow chart showing the flow of a series of operations of the coating process unit of Fig. 1;

Fig. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a state transition of the operation of the reduced-pressure drying processing unit.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a conventional vacuum drying unit.

FIG. 13 is a side view showing a series of operations of placing a substrate to be processed on a stage in a conventional vacuum drying unit.

FIG. 14 is a side view for explaining a problem in a case where a substrate to be processed is supported by a support pin in a conventional vacuum drying unit.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings. Moreover, the substrate processing apparatus and the substrate processing method of the present invention are, for example, a decompression drying unit that can be applied to a coating process portion of a resist film in which a coating film is formed on a glass substrate of a substrate to be processed in a photolithography technology project.

1 is a plan view showing a coating process portion including a reduced-pressure drying unit as a substrate processing apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side view of the coating process portion of FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the coating process unit 1 is a resist coating unit 4 having a nozzle 3 on the support table 2, and a resist liquid to be applied to the glass substrate G is dried under reduced pressure. The reduced-pressure drying units 5 are arranged in a horizontal row (X direction) in the order of the processing work. A pair of guide rails 6 are laid on the right and left sides of the support base 2, and the substrate G can be transported from the resist coating unit 4 to the reduced-pressure drying unit 5 by a set of transfer arms 7 that move in parallel along the guide rails 6.

The resist application unit 4 has the nozzle 3 as described above, and the nozzle 3 is fixed in a suspended state from the shutter 8 fixed to the support base 2, and has a long slit shape in the substrate width direction (Y direction). Exit (not shown). The nozzle 3 is a resist liquid R that supplies a treatment liquid by a resist liquid supply means (not shown), and the transfer arm 7 can apply a resist from one end to the other end of the substrate G that moves downward through the shutter 8. Liquid R.

Further, the reduced-pressure drying unit 5 has a lower chamber 9 which supports a plate-like platform 11 and a lid-shaped upper chamber 10 which is configured to be airtightly fitted over the lower chamber 9 .

As shown in Fig. 1, the lower chamber 9 has a substantially quadrangular shape, and the above-described stage 11 for horizontally holding and holding the substrate G is disposed at the center portion.

The upper chamber 10 is vertically movable in the Z direction by the upper chamber moving means 12 above the stage 11, and the upper chamber 10 is lowered to be dense with the lower chamber 9 during the vacuum drying treatment. In the closing state, the substrate G placed on the stage 11 is placed in the processing space.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a plurality of exhaust ports 13 (6 in the figure) are provided around the substrate G. The exhaust pipe 14 is connected to each of the exhaust ports 13, and each of the exhaust pipes 14 is connected to the vacuum pump 15. Then, in a state where the upper chamber 10 is placed in the lower chamber 9, the processing space in the chamber can be depressurized to a predetermined degree of vacuum by the vacuum pump 15.

Further, around the platform 11, a plurality of support pins 16 are arranged to be movable up and down, as shown in FIG. 2, which can be provided by a pin lifting drive portion 17 (support pin lifting means) provided under the platform. Lift drive.

The vacuum drying unit 5 described above will be described in more detail with reference to Figs. 3 to 5 . 3 is a plan view of the reduced-pressure drying unit 5, FIG. 4 is a side view in the short-side direction of the reduced-pressure drying unit 5, and FIG. 5 is a side view of the reduced-pressure drying unit 5 in the longitudinal direction.

As shown in FIG. 3, the platform 11 is formed such that its peripheral portion is located inside the peripheral portion of the substrate G. This is because the outer edge of the pixel formation region 20 of the substrate G can be supported by a plurality of support pins 16 disposed around the stage 11. Further, as shown in the enlarged view of Fig. 6, a plurality of concaves are provided in the longitudinal groove at a predetermined interval at the edge of the stage 11. In the portion 11a, a support pin 16 is disposed in the recess 11a.

Further, as shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 7, the adsorption pad 18 which is in contact with the lower surface of the substrate G is provided at the tip end of the support pin 16, and the contact with the substrate G is improved. The adsorption pad 18 is formed of a flexible material (elastomer or the like). Further, the adsorption pad 18 is connected to the vacuum pump 21 (suction means), and is configured to be vacuum-absorbable to the substrate surface.

Further, as described above, the support pin 16 is provided so as to be movable up and down, and the height of the support position of the plurality of support pins arranged along the longitudinal direction of the stage 11 at least in the rising position of the support substrate G is obtained. The uneven shape can be used to forcibly bend the peripheral edge portion of the substrate G into a predetermined shape.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, on the short side of the stage 11, all of the support pins 16A (first support pins) having the same pin height are arranged, as shown in FIG. 5, on the long side of the platform 11. The support pin A and the support pin 16B (second support pin) having a higher height are alternately arranged.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, in the pair of sides on the opposite side in the longitudinal direction (X direction) of the stage 11, the arrangement order of the support pin 16A and the support pin 16B is identical, whereby the substrate G can be made. The peripheral portion is a bilaterally symmetrical curved shape.

Further, the height difference between the support pin 16A and the support pin 16B, the arrangement interval of the support pin 16A and the support pin 16B, the support position of the support pins 16A, 16B from the end surface of the substrate, etc. are determined in advance by simulation or the like. Value to set.

Also, at the four corner portions (corners) of the platform 11, the support pins are not disposed. 16. The four corner portions of the substrate G are formed without being supported by the support pins 16. This is because if the corner portion of the substrate G is supported, the degree of freedom of deformation (bending) of the edge portion of the substrate G is limited.

The support pins 16A and 16B are supported by the first frame 30 whose lower end portion is extended in the horizontal direction, and the first frame 30 is configured to be moved up and down by the pin lifting and lowering drive unit 17. The pin lifting/lowering driving unit 17 is constituted by, for example, a piston shaft portion 17a and a cylinder portion 17b that moves up and down, and the cylinder portion 17b is held by a second frame 31 that is placed in the horizontal direction.

With this configuration, as shown in FIG. 8, when the piston shaft portion 17a rises toward the cylinder portion 17b, the support pin 16 supported by the first frame 30 rises toward the lower chamber 9 and the stage 11, and becomes an acceptable substrate. status. At this time, since the support pin 16A and the support pin 16B having different heights of the support position are alternately arranged in the longitudinal direction of the stage 11, when the substrate G is supported by the support, the peripheral portion thereof is bent into a wave shape. The reason for this is that when the peripheral portion of the substrate is supported by the support pin 16, even if the central portion of the substrate is lowered by its own weight, the peripheral edge portion of the substrate can be intentionally bent into a predetermined shape to stabilize the substrate G. It is indeed placed at a fixed position on the platform 11.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 9, when the piston shaft portion 17a of the pin lifting/lowering driving portion 17 is lowered, the support pin 16 supported by the first frame 30 is lowered, and the upper end thereof is located below the platform 11. Thereby, the state in which the substrate G is supported by the plurality of support pins 16 causes the substrate G to be transferred from the support pin 16 to the stage 11 and the substrate G to be placed on the stage 11 when the support pin 16 is lowered.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, the decompression drying unit 5 is provided with a plurality of fixing pins 19 having a small height (for example, 4 mm) on the stage 11. By providing the plurality of fixing pins 19, when the substrate G is placed on the stage 11, the substrate G does not slide along the land surface, and the substrate G can be placed at a predetermined position.

Next, the operation of the coating processing unit 1 configured as above will be described with reference to Figs. 10 and 11 . FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a flow of a series of operations of the coating processing unit 1. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a flow of a substrate loading operation of the reduced-pressure drying unit 5.

First, when the substrate G is carried and placed on the transfer arm 7, the transfer arm 7 moves on the rail 6 and moves under the shutter 8 of the resist application unit 4. At this time, the resist liquid R is discharged from the nozzle 3 fixed to the shutter 8 to the substrate G that has moved downward, and the resist liquid R is applied from the side of the substrate G to the other side (step S1 of FIG. 10).

Further, when the resist liquid is applied to the entire surface of the substrate G (the coating end position), as shown in FIG. 11(a), the substrate G is carried into the decompression drying unit 5 and disposed in the lower chamber. Above the chamber 9 (step S2 of Fig. 10).

Then, the support pins 16 (the support pins 16A, 16B) are moved upward by the driving of the pin lifting/lowering driving portion 17, and the peripheral portion of the substrate G is supported by the support pins 16 (step S3 of Fig. 10). Further, when the substrate G is supported by the support pin 16, the transfer arm 7 leaves the substrate G and is withdrawn from the decompression drying unit 5.

Here, the peripheral portion in the longitudinal direction of the substrate G is alternately arranged. The support pins 16A and 16B having different support position heights are supported, and thus have a corrugated shape as shown in Fig. 11(b). Further, since the support pins 16A and 16B are the peripheral portions of the support substrate, the center portion of the substrate is lowered by its own weight. However, since the peripheral edge portion of the substrate is forcibly bent into a predetermined shape, the substrate G does not have an unstable shape. Maintain a certain curved shape.

Further, when the peripheral portion of the substrate G is supported by the support pins 16A and 16B, if the vacuum pump 21 is driven, the substrate surface is vacuum-adsorbed by the adsorption pad 18 at the upper end of the pin, whereby the peripheral portion of the substrate can be more reliably bent. The shape is fixed.

Once the substrate G is supported by the support pin 16 as described above, the support pin 16 is moved downward by the driving of the pin lifting drive portion 17 (step S4 of FIG. 10), and the upper end portion thereof is lowered to be lower than the platform 11. Thereby, the substrate G is placed on the stage 11 as shown in FIG. 11(c) (step S5 of FIG. 10).

Here, since a plurality of fixing pins 19 are provided on the peripheral portion of the stage 11, the substrate G does not slide along the deck surface (no displacement) and is placed at a predetermined position.

Once the substrate G is placed on the stage 11, the upper chamber 10 is moved downward by the upper chamber moving means 12, and the upper chamber 10 is closed for the lower chamber 9 (step S6 of Fig. 10). Thereby, as shown in FIG. 11(d), the substrate G is housed in the processing space sealed by the chambers 9, 10.

When the substrate G is housed in the chamber, the vacuum pump 15 is actuated, and the air in the processing space is sucked from the exhaust port 13 via the exhaust pipe 14. At the gas, the air pressure in the processing space is decompressed to a predetermined vacuum state.

When the air pressure in the chamber reaches a predetermined value, the reduced-pressure drying process is performed by the elapse of the predetermined time (step S7 of FIG. 10). Then, once the vacuum drying process is finished, after the chamber returns to the atmospheric state, the upper chamber 10 is moved up by the upper chamber moving means 12 to open the chamber (step S8 of Fig. 10).

Then, the support pin 16 (16A, 16B) is raised to a predetermined height by the driving of the pin lifting/lowering drive unit 17 (step S9 of FIG. 10), and the substrate G is transferred to the transfer arm 7 and is carried out toward the processing of the subsequent stage (Fig. Step S10) of 10.

As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, when the substrate G is placed on the stage 11, the support pin can be placed up and down around the stage 11, and the support pin of the peripheral portion of the substrate G can be temporarily supported at the rising position. 16 is that the height of the support position is formed to be uneven along the longitudinal direction of the stage 11. Therefore, when the peripheral edge portion of the substrate G is supported by the plurality of support pins 16, even if the central portion of the substrate is lowered by its own weight, the peripheral edge portion of the substrate is forcibly bent along the uneven support position. Become an unstable state.

That is, regardless of the factors (the order in which the plurality of support pins 16 are in contact with the substrate G) when the transfer arm 7 transfers the substrate G to the support pin 16, the substrate G processed by the single sheet can be bent in the same manner. It is held in a state of a predetermined shape, and when the substrate G is placed on the stage 11, it can be placed at a predetermined position.

And, of course, because the aforementioned support pin 16 and the fixed pin 19 are supported Since the pixel of the substrate G forms the peripheral portion of the substrate outside the region 20, the contact with the pin can be prevented from being transferred to the resist film.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the support pins 16A and the support pins 16B having different heights at the support positions are alternately arranged along the sides of the stage 11, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the support pins may be further used. 16A, 16B support pins of different support heights, along the side of the platform to make the support height concave and convex.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the support pins 16A and 16B having different support heights are alternately arranged only along the longitudinal direction of the stage 11 (substrate G). However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and may be only along the stage 11 (substrate G). The support pin 16 is disposed in the short side direction or the entire circumference of the stage 11 (substrate G) so that the support height is formed in a concavo-convex shape.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, the height of the support pin 16 of the plurality of support pins 16 is set in advance (the support pins 16A and 16B having different lengths are used), and the support pins are provided. The frame 30 is configured to be raised and lowered by the pin lifting and lowering driving portion 17. However, the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention is not limited to this form.

For example, a lift drive unit (not shown) may be provided in each of the support pins 16, and the lift distance of each pin may be different by each of the lift drive units, and a height difference may be formed at a support position of the plurality of support pins 16. Further, in this case, the support pin height difference forming means is constituted by the plurality of the above-described elevation driving portions.

Further, in the above embodiment, the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention is applied to a reduced-pressure drying unit, but the present invention is not limited thereto and may be applied. Another device that performs a predetermined process on the substrate by placing the substrate to be processed on a platform.

9‧‧‧Lower chamber

11‧‧‧ platform

16‧‧‧Support pins

16A‧‧‧Support pin (1st support pin)

16B‧‧‧Support pin (2nd support pin)

17‧‧‧ Pin lifting drive unit (support pin lifting method)

17a‧‧‧Piston shaft

17b‧‧‧Cylinder Department

18‧‧‧Adsorption pad

19‧‧‧fixed pin

30‧‧‧1st frame

Claims (12)

A substrate processing apparatus is a substrate processing apparatus that mounts a substrate to be processed on a stage and performs predetermined processing on the substrate to be processed, and is characterized in that: the platform includes a platform on which the substrate to be processed is placed; a support pin that is configured to be movable up and down around the platform, protrudes above the platform at a rising position to support a peripheral portion of the substrate to be processed, and a support pin lifting means for moving the plurality of support pins up and down In the rising position of the plurality of support pins, the plurality of support pins disposed on the opposite sides of at least one pair of the platforms are disposed such that the height of the support position is different along the sides of the platform. shape. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of support pins have first support pins and second support pins different in height from each other, and the first support pin and the second support pin are along the aforementioned The sides of the platform are alternately configured. A substrate processing apparatus is a substrate processing apparatus that mounts a substrate to be processed on a stage and performs predetermined processing on the substrate to be processed, and is characterized in that: the platform includes a platform on which the substrate to be processed is placed; a support pin that is configured to be movable up and down around the platform, and protrudes above the platform in a rising position to support the substrate to be processed a peripheral portion; and a support pin height difference forming means for moving the plurality of support pins up and down respectively, and in the ascending position, a height difference is formed between the plurality of support pins at a support position, and the support pin height difference is formed The means is such that the plurality of support pins have a difference in the rising distance, whereby the heights of the plurality of support pin support positions of the at least one pair of opposite sides of the platform are respectively along the platform The sides are different in uneven shape. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein an adsorption pad that can be adsorbed to the substrate to be processed is provided at an upper end of the support pin. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a suction means connected to the adsorption pad. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the support pin is provided so as to support a peripheral portion of the substrate except for a corner portion of the substrate to be processed. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of the first aspect of the present invention, wherein a plurality of fixing pins supporting a peripheral portion of the substrate when the substrate to be processed is placed are provided on a peripheral portion of the stage The support pin lifting and lowering means lowers the plurality of support pins supporting the substrate, whereby the substrate is placed on the platform via the fixing pin. A substrate processing method is a substrate processing method in which a substrate to be processed is placed on a stage, and a predetermined process is performed on the substrate to be processed, The method is characterized in that: a step of moving a plurality of support pins up to protrude above the platform, the plurality of support pins being arranged to be movable up and down along the circumference of the platform, at least one pair of the platforms On the side of the side, the height of the support position is different in a concave-convex shape along the side of the platform; the step of supporting the peripheral portion of the substrate to be processed from below by the plurality of support pins; and the plurality of supports The step of moving the pin down and placing the substrate to be processed on the aforementioned platform. The substrate processing method of claim 8, wherein the step of supporting the peripheral portion of the substrate to be processed from below by the plurality of support pins is provided by an adsorption pad provided at an upper end of the support pin Adsorb the substrate surface. The substrate processing method of claim 8 or 9, wherein the step of supporting the peripheral portion of the substrate to be processed from below by the plurality of support pins is alternately arranged along sides of the platform The first support pin and the second support pin having different heights from each other support the peripheral edge portion of the substrate to be processed from below. The substrate processing method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein in the step of supporting the peripheral portion of the substrate to be processed from below by the plurality of support pins, in addition to the corner portion of the substrate to be processed, from below Supporting the peripheral portion of the substrate. The substrate processing method of claim 8 or 9, wherein the plurality of support pins are moved downwardly before being placed on the platform In the step of processing the substrate to be processed, the peripheral portion of the substrate to be processed is supported by a plurality of fixing pins provided on the peripheral portion of the stage.