TW201633435A - Substrate processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The utility model provides a substrate processing apparatus, include: transport mechanism removes towards the downstream side and send the base plate from removing the upstream side that send the direction, treatment fluid blowout nozzle spouts source reason liquid to the surface of being removed the base plate that send by transport mechanism towards the downstream side, and treatment fluid supply portion, supplying with the treatment fluid to treatment fluid blowout nozzle, transport mechanism includes: the 1st removes and send the roller, has along sending the direction of direction quadrature to dispose a plurality of round plate -like element with removing of base plate, and the 2nd remove and send the roller, has the cylindric member that extends along the orthogonal direction, and the 2nd removes and send the roller to set a plurality ofly consecutively towards the downstream side from the blowout position that self -disposable liquid blowout nozzle spouts source reason liquid to the surface of base plate, and the 1st removes and send the roller to remove the downstream side that send the roller and set with bordering on setting a plurality of the 2nd consecutively. Can restrain the substrate surface inequality from this.

Description

Substrate processing device

The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for use in a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display panel (PDP), and an organic light-emitting diode (OLED). A glass substrate for a field emission display (FED), a solar cell panel, a glass/ceramic substrate for a magnetic disk, a semiconductor wafer, and an electronic component ( Various substrates such as a substrate and a printing plate for printing are ejected with various cleaning liquids such as a cleaning liquid, an etching solution, a developing solution, a peeling liquid for peeling off a resist, or a pure water. The substrate is processed.

Conventionally, as such a substrate processing apparatus, a substrate is introduced into a processing chamber by a transfer roller arranged in parallel in a conveying direction of the substrate, and a processing liquid is supplied to the substrate conveyed by the conveying roller. Processing (for example, Patent Document 1).

The substrate transfer apparatus included in the substrate processing apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 is provided in each of the transport rollers in such a manner that the transport roller that is in contact with the substrate has a zigzag shape as a whole in the transport direction of the substrate. With this configuration, the plurality of transport rollers can be uniformly brought into contact with the back surface of the substrate. Therefore, when the surface of the substrate is subjected to development processing or the like, uneven contact of the transport roller is prevented.

Prior art literature

Patent literature

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2013-110195

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, in the substrate transfer apparatus of Patent Document 1, the transfer roller that is in contact with the back surface of the substrate is disposed at a fixed interval with respect to one shaft, and the direction in which the shaft extends is generated on the back surface of the substrate. A non-contact portion that comes into contact with the contact portion that is in contact with the transfer roller. In this case, when the substrate generates heat due to a chemical reaction caused by the treatment liquid supplied to the surface of the substrate, temperature unevenness occurs in the contact portion and the non-contact portion. Then, there is a problem that the temperature of the substrate is uneven, and the unevenness of the transfer roller occurs on the surface of the substrate.

In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of suppressing occurrence of unevenness of the surface of the substrate even when a predetermined processing is performed on the surface of the substrate conveyed by the transfer roller.

[Technical means to solve the problem]

In the first aspect, the substrate processing apparatus includes a transport mechanism that transports the substrate from the upstream side in the transport direction toward the downstream side, and a processing liquid discharge nozzle that transports the transport mechanism toward the downstream side. The surface discharge processing liquid of the substrate; and the processing liquid supply unit that supplies the processing liquid to the processing liquid discharge nozzle, wherein the conveying mechanism includes a first conveying roller having a width orthogonal to a conveying direction of the substrate a plurality of disk-shaped members are disposed in a direction; and the second conveying roller has a cylindrical member extending in the orthogonal direction, and the second conveying roller is configured to eject the nozzle from the processing liquid to the substrate A plurality of discharge positions of the surface discharge processing liquid are continuously disposed on the downstream side, and the first transfer rollers are disposed adjacent to each other on the downstream side of the plurality of second transfer rollers that are continuously disposed.

According to a second aspect of the invention, in the substrate processing apparatus of the first aspect, the second transfer roller is continuously disposed three or more from the discharge position toward the downstream side.

The substrate processing apparatus according to the first aspect or the second aspect, wherein the substrate has an ineffective area at both end portions in the transport direction, and both ends of the cylindrical member are located in the non-effective area .

The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of the first aspect to the third aspect, wherein the first conveying roller is continuously disposed in one or more and seven or less in the conveying direction.

The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of the first aspect to the fourth aspect, wherein the processing liquid is a developing solution, and the processing liquid discharging nozzle covers the surface of the substrate with the developing solution liquid.

(Effect of the invention)

According to the first aspect to the fifth aspect of the present invention, a plurality of conveying rollers having a cylindrical member are continuously disposed downstream from the discharge position at which the processing liquid is discharged onto the surface of the substrate, so that even by the conveying roller When the surface of the substrate to be transported is supplied with the processing liquid to perform predetermined processing, it is also possible to suppress the occurrence of unevenness on the surface of the substrate.

Hereinafter, the substrate processing system 1 will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a substrate processing system 1 of the present embodiment. The substrate processing system 1 is a coater/developer device that can connect a plurality of processing devices to perform a series of processes.

The substrate processing system 1 mainly includes: a cleaning device 12, a dehydration bake device 13, a resist coating device 14, a vacuum drying device 15, and a prebake device 16, The exposure device 17, the developing device 18, and the post bake device 19, and the indexer portion 11 perform the entry and exit of the substrate S with respect to the device group.

The cleaning device 12, the dehydration baking device 13, the resist coating device 14, the vacuum drying device 15, the prebaking device 16, and the like are disposed on a line from the indexer portion 11 to the exposure device 17. The developing device 18, the post-baking device 19, and the like are disposed on the return line from the exposure device 17 to the indexer portion 11.

A cassette accommodating a plurality of substrates S is placed on the indexer unit 11. The substrate S taken out from the cassette by the indexer robot disposed in the indexer unit 11 is first cleaned in the cleaning device 12. The substrate S after the completion of the processing in the cleaning device 12 is transferred to the dehydration baking device 13 to perform a dehydration baking treatment. The substrate S subjected to the dehydration baking treatment is then transferred to the resist coating device 14 to perform a resist coating treatment. The substrate S subjected to the resist coating treatment is then transported to the vacuum drying apparatus 15 to evaporate the solvent of the resist liquid applied to the surface of the substrate S by depressurization to dry the substrate S. The substrate S subjected to the reduced-pressure drying is then transferred to the prebaking device 16 and subjected to heat treatment to cure the resist component on the surface of the substrate S. The substrate S subjected to the heat treatment is next conveyed to the exposure device 17 to perform exposure processing.

The substrate S on which these processes have been completed is transported to the developing device 18, and development processing is performed. The substrate S on which the development process has been completed is sent to the post-baking device 19, and heat treatment is performed. Subsequently, the substrate S is housed by the indexer robot into the original cassette placed in the indexer unit 11.

Further, the substrate processing system 1 has a control unit 60 that controls the processing in each processing device and the conveyance of the substrate S. As shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 60 includes, for example, a general computer including a central processing unit (CPU) 61, a read-only memory (ROM) 62, and a random access memory. A (Random-Access Memory, RAM) 63, a memory device 64, and the like are connected to each other via a bus line 65. The ROM 62 stores a basic program or the like, and the RAM 63 is provided as a work area when the CPU 61 performs predetermined processing. The memory device 64 includes a non-volatile memory device such as a flash memory or a hard disk device.

Further, in the control unit 60, the input unit 66, the display unit 67, and the communication unit 68 are also connected to the bus bar 65. The input unit 66 includes various switches, a touch panel, and the like, and receives various input setting instructions such as a recipe from an operator. The display unit 67 includes a liquid crystal display device, a lamp, and the like, and displays various kinds of information based on the control of the CPU 61. The communication unit 68 has a data communication function via a local area network (LAN) or the like. Further, each of the robots and each processing device is connected to the control unit 60 as a control object.

The CPU 61 of the control unit 60 executes the processing program P to control the transport operation of the substrate S and the processing operation in each processing device. The control unit 60 has a function as a transport control unit in the present invention.

Hereinafter, the configuration of the developing device 18 as an example of the substrate processing apparatus will be described with reference to the drawings. 3 is a schematic side view showing a configuration of a developing device 18 according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view showing a configuration of the developing device 18. In addition, in FIG. 4, the description of some symbols is abbreviate|omitted by space.

The developing device 18 includes a transport mechanism 20 that transports the substrate S along the transport direction AR1, a processing chamber 181 that performs development processing on the substrate S, and a processing liquid ejection nozzle that ejects the developer L as a processing liquid on the surface of the transported substrate S. 182. The processing liquid supply unit 185 that supplies the developing solution L to the processing liquid discharge nozzle 182. In the following description, unless otherwise indicated, the upstream side in the conveyance direction of the substrate S is simply referred to as "upstream side", and the opposite side is referred to as "downstream side".

The processing chamber 181 has a processing space inside, and an inlet for carrying in the substrate S processed in the exposure device 17 is provided at an upstream end portion of the processing chamber 181. Further, at the downstream end portion of the processing chamber 181, a transfer port for carrying out the completed substrate S to the post-baking device 19 is provided. Further, on the bottom surface of the processing chamber 181, a discharge mechanism (not shown) for discharging the processing liquid used in the processing chamber is provided.

The processing liquid discharge nozzle 182 is disposed in the processing space of the processing chamber 181, and discharges the processing liquid to the surface of the substrate S that is transported toward the downstream side by the transport mechanism to be described later. The treatment liquid discharge nozzle 182 is a so-called slit nozzle that extends in the orthogonal direction (Y-axis direction) orthogonal to the conveyance direction AR1 and on the lower surface (the surface facing the substrate S). A discharge port having slits elongated in the orthogonal direction is formed. The size of the discharge port in the orthogonal direction is substantially the same as the dimension of the substrate S in the orthogonal direction. Then, the developer L is ejected from the discharge port in a curtain shape, and the developer L is supplied to the surface of the substrate S.

The discharge port of the substrate S and the processing liquid discharge nozzle 182 is disposed at a predetermined interval, and the substrate S is placed directly under the discharge port, so that the entire upper surface of the substrate S is in a state in which the developer L is applied by the surface tension ( That is, the state of the puddle of the developer L is formed. The development process is performed by transporting the surface of the substrate S with the developer L applied thereto. As such a developing solution L, normal temperature tetramethylammonium Hydroxide (TMAH) or the like can be used.

The processing liquid supply unit 185 includes a processing liquid storage unit 184 that stores the developing solution L, and a pipe 183 that connects the processing liquid storage unit 184 and the processing liquid discharge nozzle 182, and supplies the developing liquid L to the processing liquid discharging nozzle 182. A pump or the like can be used for the liquid supply from the processing liquid storage unit 184 to the processing liquid discharge nozzle 182. In addition, when the processing liquid storage unit 184 is realized by a pressurized tank, the pressurized liquid tank can be pressurized, and the developing liquid L can be transported to the processing liquid discharge nozzle 182 via the pipe 183. No pump is needed.

The transport mechanism 20 includes a plurality of transport rollers and a drive unit that drives the transport roller to rotate, and transports the substrate S from the upstream side to the downstream side in the transport direction AR1 in the processing chamber 181. The plurality of transport rollers include a plurality of first transport rollers 21, and a plurality of disk-shaped members 211 arranged in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction AR1 of the substrate S, and a plurality of second transport rollers 22 having positive A cylindrical member 221 extending in the direction of intersection. A known motor or the like can be used as the drive unit, and is controlled by the control unit 60.

The first transport roller 21 has a rotating shaft 23 extending in the orthogonal direction and a plurality of disk-shaped members 211 arranged along the longitudinal direction of the rotating shaft 23 . The rotating shaft 23 is coupled to a driving unit (not shown). In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, six disk-shaped members 211 are attached along the longitudinal direction of the rotating shaft 23. In addition, the drive unit is driven in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 60, whereby the first transport roller 21 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow AR2 around the rotation shaft 23.

Further, since the plurality of disk-shaped members 211 constituting the first conveying roller 21 have the same diameter, the substrate S is horizontally supported on the outer circumferential surface of the disk-shaped member 211. Further, since the disk-shaped members 211 are arranged at substantially the same interval with respect to the rotating shaft 23, the deflection of the substrate S can be suppressed and supported.

When the first transport roller 21 is continuously disposed in the transport direction AR1 of the substrate S, the position in contact with the substrate S is different from that of the adjacent first transport roller 21, and therefore includes two types of first transport rollers 21, that is, 6 The structure of the disk-shaped member 211 and the structure including the five disk-shaped members 211 are two. In addition, it is preferable to adopt the above configuration in order to eliminate the problem that the disc-shaped members 21 of the adjacent first transport rollers 21 are in contact with each other at the same position of the substrate S. However, this configuration is not necessary from the viewpoint of transporting the substrate S. .

The second transport roller 22 has a cylindrical member 221 that extends in a direction (Y-axis direction) orthogonal to the transport direction of the substrate S. More specifically, the second transport roller 22 has a rotating shaft 23 that extends in the orthogonal direction similarly to the first transporting roller 21, and a cylindrical member that is attached to the rotating shaft 23 and whose outer peripheral surface abuts against the back surface of the substrate S. 221. Since the driving of the second conveying roller 22 is the same as that of the first conveying roller 21, the description thereof will be omitted. The cylindrical member 221 has substantially the same diameter as the disk-shaped member 211. Therefore, even when the first conveyance roller 21 and the second conveyance roller are disposed in combination as described later, the substrate S can be conveyed substantially horizontally.

Next, the arrangement of the first transport roller 21 and the second transport roller 22 in the processing space of the processing chamber 181 will be described in detail.

In the processing chamber 181, the developing liquid L is ejected from the processing liquid discharge nozzle 182 to the upper surface of the substrate S conveyed by the conveying mechanism 20 in a curtain shape. In FIG. 3, the position where the developing liquid L is ejected onto the substrate S in a curtain shape and the developing solution L contacts the substrate S is shown as the discharge position CP. At the upper surface of the substrate S that has passed through the discharge position CP, the developer L is applied to the liquid to start the development process.

In the processing chamber 181, the second transport roller 22 is continuously disposed at a plurality of discharge positions CP from the processing liquid discharge nozzle 182 to the surface of the substrate S to discharge the developer L as the processing liquid toward the downstream side in the transport direction. In FIG. 3, three second conveyance rollers 22 are disposed continuously (adjacently) from the discharge position CP toward the downstream side. However, the number of the second transport rollers 22 that are continuously disposed is not limited thereto, and it is only necessary to continuously arrange at least two or more second transport rollers 22, and it is more preferable to continuously continue from the discharge position CP toward the downstream side. There are more than 3. Thereby, the occurrence of unevenness can be suppressed more effectively.

In general, a conveyance roller having a cylindrical member like the second conveyance roller 22 is expensive as a conveyance roller having a disk-shaped member like the first conveyance roller 21 . Therefore, in order to suppress the occurrence of unevenness due to the development processing and to reduce the number of the second transport rollers 22, the maximum number of the second transport rollers 22 that are continuously disposed is preferably six. In addition, the maximum number of continuous distributions may be determined in consideration of the occurrence of unevenness and cost from the viewpoint of the type of the treatment liquid and the like.

In the present embodiment, the first transport roller 21 is disposed adjacent to the downstream side of the three second transport rollers 22 that are continuously disposed from the discharge position CP. Specifically, seven first conveying rollers 21 are continuously disposed. In addition, although the illustration is omitted, a plurality of second conveyance rollers 22 are continuously disposed adjacent to each other on the downstream side of the seven first conveyance rollers 21 continuously.

In other words, three second transport rollers 22 are continuously disposed from the discharge position CP, and seven first transport rollers 21 are continuously disposed on the downstream side thereof, and two or more of them are continuously disposed on the downstream side thereof. The second transport roller 22 is provided. By alternately, the second roller group 223 including the second transport roller 22 and the first roller group 213 including the first transport roller 21 are alternately disposed from the discharge position CP at which the developer L is ejected from the upper surface of the substrate S. The unevenness due to the development process generated on the substrate S is suppressed. In addition, the first conveyance roller 21 may be disposed on the upstream side of the discharge position CP. In addition, it is preferable that the first conveyance rollers 21 constituting the first roller group 213 are continuously disposed one or more and seven or less with respect to the conveyance direction AR1. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of unevenness and to reduce the cost of the conveying roller.

Next, the positional relationship between the second transport roller 22 and the substrate S will be described. FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view for explaining a positional relationship between the second transport roller 22 and the substrate S.

The substrate S has an ineffective region 33 at both end portions in the conveyance direction AR1, and has an effective region 30 at the center portion. The effective area 30 is an area used for processing in a post-process or the like, in which it is necessary to prevent occurrence of unevenness due to development processing. On the other hand, the non-effective area 33 refers to an area surrounding the effective area 30, and is an area that is not used in a post process or the like. Therefore, even if unevenness due to development processing occurs in the non-effective area 33, the quality of the product or the like does not cause a problem. Further, the non-effective area 33 is not necessarily the area surrounding the effective area 30. For example, a configuration may be adopted in which only the area of both ends of the substrate S in the transport direction is the ineffective area 33.

In the present embodiment, the both end positions 225 of the cylindrical member 221 of the second transport roller 22 are in the range of the width dimension D of the non-effective area 33 of the substrate S in the orthogonal direction. As described above, the length dimension of the cylindrical member 221 in the Y-axis direction is longer than the effective region 30 of the substrate S in the Y-axis direction, and is shorter than the length dimension of the substrate S in the Y-axis direction, whereby two of the cylindrical members 221 The end position 225 is located within the inactive area 33. Therefore, since the cylindrical member 221 of the second transport roller 22 is in contact with the support in the effective region 30 of the substrate S, the occurrence of temperature variation in the effective region 30 can be suppressed with respect to heat generated by the development process. Thereby, generation of unevenness on the surface of the substrate S can be suppressed.

As described above, in the above-described embodiment, the arrangement of the first transport roller 21 having the plurality of disk-shaped members 211 and the second transport roller 22 having the cylindrical member 221 is opposed to the substrate S The plurality of second transport rollers 22 are continuously disposed downstream of the discharge position CP from the discharge position CP, and the first transport roller 21 is provided with a plurality of second transport rollers 22 continuously. The downstream side is disposed adjacent to each other, whereby the substrate S is transported by the second transport roller 22 in the transport section where the unevenness of heat generated by the development process is most likely to occur. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the temperature deviation caused by the conveyance roller, and it is possible to suppress the occurrence of uneven development of the substrate S.

Next, an etching apparatus 48 as a second embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. 6 . Further, the configuration different from the developing device 18 of the first embodiment is only a nozzle that ejects an etching liquid as a processing liquid. The other structures are the same, the same reference numerals are used, and the description is omitted.

The etching device 48 has a spray nozzle 40 that ejects a high-temperature etching liquid onto the upper surface of the substrate S. In the spray nozzle 40, a high-temperature etching liquid is supplied from the processing liquid storage unit 184 via the pipe 183, and when the etching liquid is discharged to the substrate S, a chemical reaction occurs on the upper surface of the substrate S to cause an increase in temperature. Therefore, similarly to the first embodiment, the plurality of second transport rollers 22 are continuously disposed downstream from the discharge position CP at which the etching liquid is discharged to the substrate S. Further, on the downstream side of the second transport roller 22, a plurality of first transport rollers 21 are disposed adjacent to each other. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of uneven etching of the substrate S.

Although the embodiments have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above, and various modifications can be made.

For example, in the above embodiment, one processing liquid discharge nozzle is used, but the number is not limited thereto, and a plurality of processing liquid discharge nozzles may be used. For example, two slit nozzles may be used, and the present invention is also effective in the case where a slit nozzle and a spray nozzle are used in combination. At this time, it is preferable that the second conveyance roller 22 is disposed from a position at which the heat is generated by a chemical reaction by discharging the treatment liquid onto the substrate.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the development processing and the etching processing have been described as an example, but this is merely an example of the present invention. For example, the present invention is also effective in other substrate processing such as a peeling treatment.

In the above-described embodiment, the example of the horizontal transfer substrate has been described. However, the present invention is also effective, for example, in a transport mechanism that transports in a state of being inclined with respect to the transport direction of the substrate.

The present invention has been described in detail, but the description is merely illustrative in all aspects, and the invention is not limited thereto. It is to be understood that numerous modifications, not illustrated, may be devised without departing from the scope of the invention. Further, the respective structures described in the above embodiments can be combined as appropriate without being contradictory to each other.

1‧‧‧Substrate processing system
11‧‧‧Indexer
12‧‧‧cleaning device
13‧‧‧ Dehydration baking device
14‧‧‧Resist coating device
15‧‧‧Decompression drying device
16‧‧‧Pre-bake device
17‧‧‧Exposure device
18‧‧‧Developing device
19‧‧‧After baking device
20‧‧‧Transportation agency
21‧‧‧1st conveying roller
22‧‧‧2nd transfer roller
23‧‧‧Rotary axis
30‧‧‧Active area
33‧‧‧Inactive area
40‧‧‧ spray nozzle
48‧‧‧ etching device
60‧‧‧Control Department
61‧‧‧CPU
62‧‧‧ROM
63‧‧‧RAM
64‧‧‧ memory device
65‧‧‧ Busbar
66‧‧‧ Input Department
67‧‧‧Display Department
68‧‧‧Communication Department
181‧‧‧Processing room
182‧‧‧Processing liquid spray nozzle
183‧‧‧Pipe
184‧‧‧Processing liquid storage department
185‧‧‧Processing Liquid Supply Department
211‧‧‧round plate members
213‧‧‧1st roll group
221‧‧‧Cylindrical members
223‧‧‧2nd roll group
225‧‧‧ Both ends
AR1‧‧‧Transport direction
AR2‧‧‧ arrow
CP‧‧‧ spout position
D‧‧‧Width size
L‧‧‧ developer
P‧‧‧Processing program
S‧‧‧Substrate

1 is a schematic plan view of a substrate processing system. Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a control unit. 3 is a schematic side view showing a configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. 4 is a schematic plan view showing a configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. 5 is a schematic plan view for explaining a positional relationship between a second transfer roller and a substrate. FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view showing a configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to a second embodiment.

21‧‧‧1st conveying roller

22‧‧‧2nd transfer roller

23‧‧‧Rotary axis

181‧‧‧Processing room

182‧‧‧Processing liquid spray nozzle

211‧‧‧round plate members

221‧‧‧Cylindrical members

AR1‧‧‧Transport direction

S‧‧‧Substrate

Claims (5)

A substrate processing apparatus includes: a transport mechanism that transports a substrate from an upstream side toward a downstream side in a transport direction; a processing liquid discharge nozzle that ejects a processing liquid onto a surface of the substrate that is transported toward the downstream side by the transport mechanism; and a processing liquid The supply unit supplies the processing liquid to the processing liquid discharge nozzle, and the conveying mechanism includes: a first conveying roller having a plurality of disk-shaped members arranged in a direction orthogonal to a conveying direction of the substrate; And a second conveying roller having a cylindrical member extending in the orthogonal direction, wherein the second conveying roller is downstream from a discharge position at which the processing liquid is discharged from the processing liquid discharge nozzle to the surface of the substrate A plurality of the first transport rollers are disposed adjacent to each other on the downstream side of the plurality of second transport rollers that are continuously disposed. The substrate processing apparatus according to the first aspect of the invention, wherein the second transfer roller is continuously disposed three or more from the discharge position toward the downstream side. The substrate processing apparatus according to the first or second aspect of the invention, wherein the substrate has an ineffective area at both end portions in the transport direction, and both ends of the cylindrical member are located in the inactive area Inside. The substrate processing apparatus according to the first aspect of the invention, wherein the first conveying roller is continuously disposed in one or more and seven or less in the conveying direction. The substrate processing apparatus according to the first or second aspect of the invention, wherein the processing liquid is a developing solution, and the processing liquid discharge nozzle coats a surface of the substrate with the developing solution.