TWI670788B - Substrate processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A substrate processing apparatus is configured to carry and process a substrate in a horizontal direction while lifting the substrate, and two nozzles are provided to uniformly and satisfactorily process the substrate. In the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention, the floating portion 3 and the conveyance portion 5 float and convey the substrate W by buoyancy from below. A first processing position and a second processing position are set in a position control area in the substrate conveying path that can accurately control the vertical position of the substrate. The positioning mechanisms 63 and 73 selectively perform the first nozzle 61 to the first processing position. The positioning of a processing position and the positioning of the second nozzle 71 toward the second processing position.

Description

   Substrate processing device   

The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus that applies a processing solution to the upper surface of a substrate while conveying the substrate in a horizontal direction. The substrate includes a semiconductor substrate, a substrate for photomask, a substrate for liquid crystal display, an organic EL (organic electro luminescence) display substrate, and a plasma display. Substrates, substrates for FED (Field Emission Display), substrates for optical disks, substrates for magnetic disks, substrates for magneto-optical disks, and the like.

In the manufacturing steps of electronic components such as semiconductor devices and liquid crystal display devices, there have been substrate processing apparatuses that discharge a processing liquid onto the upper surface of a substrate and process the substrate with the processing liquid. For example, the substrate processing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-227850 (Patent Document 1) is a pump that pumps a substrate while carrying the substrate in a state in which a gas is blown onto the lower surface of the substrate to lift the substrate ) The processing liquid is conveyed to a slit nozzle, and is discharged from the outlet of the slit nozzle to the surface of the substrate to apply the processing liquid to the entirety of the substrate. In addition, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-240550 (Patent Document 2) describes in detail a nozzle which is implemented in response to changes in the state of the discharge port of the slit nozzle and its peripheral portion over time by discharging. Maintenance (maintenance) processing. The maintenance process includes a cleaning process at the tip of the nozzle, and a preliminary discharge process that discharges a predetermined amount of the processing liquid in order to stabilize the discharge amount.

In addition, the substrate processing apparatus described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-013804 (Patent Document 3) has a structure for shortening a tact time when processing a plurality of substrates to improve throughput. Specifically, two nozzles are arranged on the substrate conveyance path, and the two nozzles are alternately adjacent to the substrate and applied. Since the maintenance processing of the other nozzle can be performed while the coating of one nozzle is being performed, the lead time can be shortened compared to a single nozzle configuration in which the coating processing must be interrupted for maintenance processing. In this device, each of the two nozzles is configured to move up and down only between a position where the processing liquid is applied adjacent to the substrate, and a position where the substrate is retracted from the substrate and subjected to maintenance processing, and the pair is retracted to the upper portion. The unit where the nozzle of the position performs maintenance processing moves.

As described above, each of the devices described in Patent Documents 1 to 3 executes a coating process as a process on a substrate while carrying the substrate in a floating state.

For the purpose of providing a plurality of nozzles in a substrate processing apparatus, in addition to considering shortening the lead time as described above, it is also considered to apply, for example, one type of apparatus to apply different types of processing liquids to a substrate. Each of the patent documents described above does not disclose a configuration that can be processed well even in such a case. That is, Patent Documents 1 and 2 do not consider the case where a plurality of nozzles are provided. In addition, the configuration described in Patent Document 3 is specified in order to use two nozzles alternately.

In addition, in order to uniformly and satisfactorily perform substrate processing, it is important to maintain a constant gap between a discharge port of a nozzle that discharges a processing liquid and a substrate upper surface. Therefore, it is necessary to precisely control the vertical position of the nozzle and the substrate at the opposite positions. However, in a transport system that floats and transports a substrate, it is not easy to accurately maintain the vertical position of the substrate over a wide range. In the device described in Patent Document 3 having two nozzles, the positions where the two nozzles face the substrate are greatly different in the direction in which the substrate is transported. For this reason, it is necessary to appropriately control the vertical position of the substrate at each position, and it is difficult to consider high-precision clearance management.

In this way, in a substrate processing apparatus in which one device is provided with two nozzles, in order to perform substrate processing uniformly and well, there is room for improvement in each of the prior arts described above.

The present invention has been developed in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an object thereof is to provide a substrate processing apparatus that transports and processes a substrate in a horizontal direction while lifting the substrate, and can provide two nozzles to uniformly and satisfactorily perform substrate Processing technology.

One aspect of the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention is provided to achieve the above-mentioned object: a conveying section that partially holds the substrate and conveys it toward a predetermined conveying direction; and a floating section that provides buoyancy to the conveyed substrate from below to move the substrate. The substrate is controlled in a horizontal posture, and the position in the vertical direction of the substrate in a position control area in the position control region of the transportation path of the substrate that is a part of the transportation direction is controlled; the first nozzle and the second nozzle each have a discharge processing liquid And a positioning mechanism that moves the first nozzle and positions the plurality of stop positions including the first processing position, and on the other hand, moves the second nozzle and the first nozzle independently and positions the A plurality of stop positions of the second processing position.

Here, the first processing position is a position where the ejection outlet of the first nozzle is disposed adjacent to the upper surface of the substrate located in the position control area; the second processing position is the ejection of the second nozzle. The exit is disposed adjacent to the upper surface of the substrate located in the position control region.

Then, the positioning mechanism selectively performs positioning of the first nozzle to the first processing position and positioning of the second nozzle to the second processing position. Specifically, when positioning the first nozzle at the first processing position, the second nozzle is positioned at a position on the downstream side of the conveying direction from the second processing position, and is positioned at a position where the second nozzle is not. A position interfering with the first nozzle positioned at the first processing position. On the other hand, when positioning the second nozzle at the second processing position, the first nozzle is positioned at an upstream position in the conveying direction from the first processing position, and is positioned at a position where the first nozzle is not. A position that interferes with the second nozzle positioned at the second processing position.

In the invention thus constituted, the substrate can be partially held and conveyed by the conveying portion, and the substrate can be held in a horizontal posture by providing buoyancy to the substrate from the floating portion. A part of the substrate transport path can be used as a position control area, and the position of the substrate in the position control area in the vertical direction can be controlled. Then, by the first nozzle and the second nozzle being selectively adjacent to the upper surface of the substrate facing the position control region, the processing toward the substrate by the two nozzles can be selectively performed.

The positioning of the first nozzle to the first processing position and the positioning of the second nozzle to the second processing position can be selectively performed. As long as it is not necessary to achieve such positioning at the same time, it is possible to allow the space occupied by the first nozzle in the first processing position and the space occupied by the second nozzle in the second processing position to partially overlap. Therefore, the first processing position and the second processing position can be set adjacent to each other in the conveyance direction, and the same position or substantially the same position can also be set as a special case.

Therefore, the length in the carrying direction of the position control area, which should be able to control the position of the substrate in the vertical direction, can be reduced. In other words, even if the position control area guaranteed by the vertical position of the substrate is narrow, it is still possible to move the first nozzle or the second nozzle to the position, and to properly maintain the first nozzle and the second nozzle and The substrate is processed in a gap state.

More specifically, as long as the area where the first nozzle discharge port in the first processing position and the substrate upper surface are located in the substrate transport path, and the second nozzle discharge port and In each of the regions facing the upper surface of the substrate, the position in the vertical direction of the substrate may be appropriately controlled. As long as these areas are adjacent to or overlap each other, the length in the carrying direction of the position control area can be reduced.

The positioning mechanism is capable of positioning the first nozzle at the first processing position, thereby moving the first nozzle to a position upstream of the conveying direction. In addition, the positioning mechanism can position the second nozzle at the second processing position, thereby moving the second nozzle to a downstream position in the conveying direction. That is, the positioning mechanism is capable of moving the first nozzle and the second nozzle in the conveying direction, respectively. Therefore, when the first nozzle is positioned at the first processing position, the second nozzle is retracted to the downstream side, and interference with the first nozzle can be prevented. On the other hand, when the second nozzle is located at the second processing position, the first nozzle is retracted to the upstream side to prevent interference with the second nozzle.

As described above, according to the present invention, the first processing position where the first nozzle is adjacent to the substrate and the processing liquid is discharged toward the substrate, and the second processing position where the second nozzle is positioned adjacent to the substrate and the processing liquid is discharged toward the substrate are adjacent. , Or consistent configuration. Therefore, for a substrate whose posture is controlled by the buoyancy from below, it is only necessary to control the vertical position of the substrate in a part of the area on the conveyance path. In addition, it is possible to prevent nozzles from interfering with each other by selectively facing one of the first nozzle and the second nozzle toward the substrate whose position has been controlled in the vertical direction and retreating the other to the upstream or downstream side. Therefore, the present invention is suitable for a case where two nozzles are provided in a substrate processing apparatus that processes a substrate while carrying the substrate in a horizontal direction while floating the substrate.

1‧‧‧ coating device (substrate processing device)

2‧‧‧ Input Transfer Department

3‧‧‧Floating Table Department (Floating Department)

4‧‧‧ Output Transfer Department

5‧‧‧Substrate handling department

6‧‧‧The first coating agency

7‧‧‧Second coating mechanism

9‧‧‧ control unit

10‧‧‧ abutment

21, 41, 101, 111‧‧‧ roller conveyor

22, 42‧‧‧ Rotation and lifting drive mechanism

31‧‧‧ Entrance floating workbench

32‧‧‧Coating workbench (workbench)

33‧‧‧Exit floating workbench

34‧‧‧Lift pin driving mechanism

35‧‧‧Floating control mechanism (buoyancy generating mechanism)

36, 38‧‧‧ Lifting drive mechanism

37‧‧‧ Foreign body detection agency

51‧‧‧Chuck (Transportation Department)

51L, 51R‧‧‧ chuck member

52‧‧‧Adsorption and walking control mechanism

60‧‧‧first nozzle unit

61‧‧‧first nozzle

63, 73‧‧‧ positioning agencies

65‧‧‧first maintenance unit

70‧‧‧Second nozzle unit

71‧‧‧Second Nozzle

75‧‧‧Second Maintenance Unit

81L, 81R, 84L, 84R ‧‧‧ walking guide (support mechanism)

82L, 82R, 85, 88L, 88R‧‧‧ linear motor

83L, 83R, 86, 89L, 89R‧‧‧ Optical Ruler

87L, 87R‧‧‧ walking guide

100‧‧‧input conveyor

102, 112‧‧‧Rotary drive mechanism

110‧‧‧output conveyor

311‧‧‧lift pin

331‧‧‧Support shaft

361‧‧‧ plate member

362‧‧‧shaft receiving member

363‧‧‧Actuator

364‧‧‧movable member

365‧‧‧ Leverage

365a‧‧‧One end

365b‧‧‧ the other end

365c‧‧‧cam follower

365d‧‧‧swing axis

371‧‧‧light projection department

372‧‧‧Light receiving section

373‧‧‧shading plate

373a‧‧‧horizontal position

373b‧‧‧Vertical part

511, 736, 737, 766, 767

512‧‧‧ base

513‧‧‧ support

631‧‧‧beam member (first support)

632, 633‧‧‧ post members (first support)

651, 751‧‧‧ liquid tank

652‧‧‧Preparing ejection roller (first recovery department)

653‧‧‧Nozzle cleaner (first cleaning department)

654, 754‧‧‧ Maintenance Control Agency

661, 731, 761‧‧‧ beam members (second support)

662, 663, 732, 733, 762, 763‧‧‧ pillar members (second support)

711‧‧‧Spit Out

734, 735‧‧‧ Lifting mechanism

752‧‧‧Preparing ejection roller (second recovery section)

753‧‧‧Nozzle cleaner (second cleaning section)

764‧‧‧board

D‧‧‧ diameter of beam spot (point diameter, beam diameter)

Dt‧‧‧carrying direction

F‧‧‧Coated film

G‧‧‧ Clearance

L‧‧‧ Beam

L1‧‧‧First light

L2‧‧‧Second Light

R‧‧‧ landing position

Rc‧‧‧Position control area

X1‧‧‧ length

X2‧‧‧ overlap

X3, X4‧‧‧ distance

W‧‧‧ substrate

Wf‧‧‧ substrate top surface

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of a coating apparatus as a first embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the coating apparatus as viewed from above.

FIG. 3 is a plan view with the coating mechanism removed from FIG. 2.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line A-A in Fig. 2.

5A and 5B are schematic diagrams showing the structure of a lifting driving mechanism.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a flow of a coating process performed by the coating apparatus.

FIG. 7A to FIG. 7D are schematic diagrams showing the positional relationship of each part during the processing.

8A to 8D are schematic diagrams showing the positional relationship of each part during the processing.

9A to 9C are schematic diagrams showing a variation example of a substrate carrying operation.

FIG. 10A and FIG. 10B are schematic diagrams for explaining the advantages of bringing the application positions of two nozzles close to each other.

11A and 11B are schematic diagrams showing the structure of a foreign object detection mechanism.

12A to 12D are schematic views showing the structure of a light shielding plate.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing a state of penetration of a light beam accompanying substrate transfer.

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing a change in the amount of light received by the light receiving unit as the substrate is transported.

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram showing a positional relationship in a case where a range of foreign object detection on a substrate is known.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the flow of a foreign object detection process.

Figs. 17A and 17B are diagrams showing examples in which a beam path and a conveying direction are not orthogonal.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of a coating apparatus as a first embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus of the present invention. This coating apparatus 1 refers to a slit coater that applies the coating liquid to the upper surface Wf of the substrate W that is carried in a horizontal posture from the left-hand side to the right-hand side in FIG. 1. In addition, in the following figures, in order to clarify the arrangement relationship of the various parts of the device, the transport direction of the substrate W is referred to as the "X direction", and the horizontal direction from the left-hand side to the right-hand side in Fig. 1 is referred to as "+ X direction" ", And the opposite direction is called" -X direction ". In addition, the front side of the device in the horizontal direction Y orthogonal to the X direction is referred to as "-Y direction", and the back side of the device is referred to as "+ Y direction". Furthermore, the up and down directions in the vertical direction Z are referred to as "+ Z direction" and "-Z direction", respectively.

First, the outline of the structure and operation of the coating apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 1, and the more detailed structure of each section will be described later. In addition, the basic structure or operation principle of the coating device 1 is common to those described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-227850 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-240550 previously disclosed by the applicant of the present application. Therefore, in this specification, detailed descriptions about the structures in which the coating device 1 can be applied are the same as those described in known literatures, and the structures can be easily understood from the descriptions of these literatures, and the main explanations are omitted. The features that characterize this embodiment will be described.

In the coating apparatus 1, the input conveyor 100, the input transfer unit 2, the stage stage 3, and the output transfer unit 4 are moved along the conveying direction Dt (+ X direction) of the substrate W. The output conveyors 110 are arranged adjacent to each other in this order. As described in detail below, a transport path for the substrate W extending in a substantially horizontal direction is formed by these and other factors. In the following description, when the positional relationship is displayed in association with the conveyance direction Dt of the substrate W, the "upstream side in the conveyance direction Dt of the substrate W" may be simply referred to as "upstream side", and The "downstream side in the conveyance direction Dt of the substrate W" is simply referred to as the "downstream side". In this example, viewed from a certain reference position, the (-X) side system corresponds to the "upstream side", and the (+ X) side system corresponds to the "downstream side".

The substrate W to be processed is carried into the input conveyor 100 from the left-hand side in FIG. 1. The input conveyor 100 includes a roller conveyor 101 and a rotation drive mechanism 102 that rotationally drives the roller conveyor 101. The substrate W is conveyed to the downstream side in a horizontal posture by the rotation of the roller conveyor 101, in other words, it is conveyed toward the (+ X direction). The input transfer section 2 includes a roller conveyor 21 and a rotation and elevation driving mechanism 22 having a function of rotationally driving the roller conveyor 21 and a function of raising and lowering the roller conveyor 21. When the roller conveyor 21 is rotated, the substrate W can be further moved (+ X direction). The vertical position of the substrate W can be changed by lifting and lowering the roller conveyor 21. The effect achieved by the lifting of the roller conveyor 21 will be described later. With the input transfer section 2, the substrate W can be transferred from the input conveyor 100 to the floating table section 3.

The floating table section 3 is provided with a flat plate-shaped table divided into three along the substrate conveyance direction Dt. That is, the floating table section 3 includes an inlet floating table 31, a coating table 32, and an outlet floating table 33. The upper surfaces of these tables form a part of the same plane with each other. A plurality of matrix-shaped ejection holes are provided on the upper surfaces of the inlet floating table 31 and the outlet floating table 33, respectively, and the ejection holes eject the compressed air supplied from the floating control mechanism 35. . The substrate W can be supported in a horizontal posture in a state where the substrate W is floated by the buoyancy provided by the air flow ejected from the ejection hole, in other words, in a state where the lower surface of the substrate W is spaced from the upper surface of the table. The distance between the lower surface of the substrate W and the upper surface of the table can be set to, for example, 10 micrometers to 500 micrometers.

On the other hand, on the upper surface of the coating table 32, ejection holes for ejecting compressed air and suction holes for sucking air between the lower surface of the substrate and the upper surface of the table are alternately arranged. By controlling the ejection amount of the compressed air from the ejection hole and the suction amount from the suction hole by the floating control mechanism 35, the distance between the lower surface of the substrate W and the upper surface of the coating table 32 can be precisely controlled. Thereby, the vertical position of the upper surface Wf of the substrate W above the coating table 32 can be controlled to a predetermined value. As a specific configuration of the floating table unit 3, for example, those described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-227850 can be applied.

Furthermore, a lift pin (not shown) is provided in the entrance floating table 31, and a lift pin driving mechanism 34 for raising and lowering the lift pin is provided in the floating table section 3. These structures will be described later.

The substrate W carried into the floating table section 3 through the input transfer section 2 is given a pushing force (+ X direction) by the rotation of the roller conveyor 21, and is transferred to the inlet floating table 31 on. Although the entrance floating table 31, the coating table 32, and the exit floating table 33 support the substrate W in a floating state, they do not have a function of moving the substrate W in a horizontal direction. The substrate W in the floating table section 3 is conveyed by the substrate conveying section 5 disposed below the inlet floating table 31, the coating table 32, and the outlet floating table 33.

The substrate transfer unit 5 includes a chuck 51 that supports the substrate W from below by partially abutting the peripheral edge portion of the lower surface of the substrate W. The substrate conveyance unit 5 is further provided with a suction and running control mechanism 52 having a function of suctioning and holding the substrate W by applying a negative pressure to a suction pad provided at a support portion on the upper end of the chuck 51. And a function of reciprocating the chuck 51 in the X direction. In a state where the chuck 51 has held the substrate W, the lower surface of the substrate W is positioned higher than the upper surface of each stage of the floating stage portion 3. Therefore, the substrate W maintains the horizontal posture as a whole by the buoyancy provided from the floating table portion 3 while holding and holding the peripheral portion by the chuck 51.

When the chuck 51 holds the substrate W carried in from the input transfer section 2 to the floating table section 3 and moves the chuck 51 in the (+ X) direction in this state, the substrate W can be floated from the entrance The top of the table 31 is conveyed above the exit floating table 33 via the top of the coating table 32. The transferred substrate W is delivered to the output transfer unit 4 that is disposed on the (+ X) side of the exit floating table 33.

The output transfer section 4 includes a roller conveyor 41 and a rotation and elevation driving mechanism 42 having a function of rotationally driving the roller conveyor 41 and a function of raising and lowering the roller conveyor 41. When the roller conveyor 41 is rotated, a pushing force in the (+ X) direction can be applied to the substrate W, and the substrate W can be further transported along the transport direction Dt. The vertical position of the substrate W can be changed by lifting and lowering the roller conveyor 41. The effect achieved by the lifting of the roller conveyor 41 will be described later. With the output transfer section 4, the substrate W can be transferred from the exit floating table 33 to the output conveyor 110.

The output conveyor 110 includes a roller conveyor 111 and a rotation driving mechanism 112 that rotationally drives the roller conveyor 111. By the rotation of the roller conveyor 111, the substrate W is further transported (+ X direction), and is finally sent out of the coating apparatus 1. In addition, although the input conveyor 100 and the output conveyor 110 may be provided as a part of the structure of the coating apparatus 1, they may be separate from the coating apparatus 1. As another example, a substrate delivery mechanism of another unit provided on the upstream side of the coating apparatus 1 may be used as the input conveyor 100. In addition, a substrate storage mechanism of another unit provided on the downstream side of the coating apparatus 1 can also be used as the output conveyor 110.

On the transport path of the substrate W transported in this manner, two sets of coating mechanisms for applying the coating liquid to the upper surface Wf of the substrate W are arranged. Specifically, a first coating mechanism 6 is provided above the inlet floating table 31, and a second coating mechanism 7 is provided above the outlet floating table 33. The first coating mechanism 6 includes a first nozzle 61 belonging to a slit nozzle and a first maintenance unit 65 for performing maintenance on the first nozzle 61. The second coating mechanism 7 includes a second nozzle 71 belonging to a slit nozzle and a second maintenance unit 75 for performing maintenance on the second nozzle 71. The first nozzle 61 and the second nozzle 71 are supplied with a coating liquid from a coating liquid supply unit (not shown), and the coating liquid is discharged from a discharge port that opens downward to the lower portion of the nozzle. The coating liquids supplied to the first nozzle 61 and the second nozzle 71 may be the same as each other or different from each other.

The first nozzle 61 can be moved and positioned in the X direction and the Z direction by the positioning mechanism 63. Similarly, the second nozzle 71 can be moved and positioned in the X direction and the Z direction by the positioning mechanism 73. With the positioning mechanisms 63 and 73, the first nozzle 61 and the second nozzle 71 can be selectively positioned at the coating position (the position shown by the dotted line) above the coating table 32. The coating liquid can be discharged from the nozzle positioned at the coating position, and can be applied to the substrate W transferred between the coating liquid and the coating table 32. In this way, the coating liquid can be applied to the substrate W.

The first maintenance unit 65 is provided with: a vat 651 for storing a cleaning liquid for washing the first nozzle 61; a pre-ejecting roller 652; a nozzle cleaner 653; and a maintenance control mechanism 654, It is used to control the operation of the preliminary ejection roller 652 and the nozzle cleaner 653. The second maintenance unit 75 is provided with a liquid tank 751 for storing cleaning liquid for washing the second nozzle 71, a preliminary discharge roller 752, a nozzle cleaner 753, and a maintenance control mechanism 754 for controlling the preliminary discharge The operation of the roller 752 and the nozzle cleaner 753. As a specific configuration of the first maintenance unit 65 and the second maintenance unit 75, for example, a configuration described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-240550 can be applied.

In a state where the first nozzle 61 is positioned at the first preliminary discharge position, the coating liquid can be discharged from the discharge outlet of the first nozzle 61 to the upper surface of the preliminary discharge roller 652. The first preliminary discharge position refers to a position above the preliminary discharge roller 652 such that the discharge opening of the first nozzle 61 faces the first nozzle 61 on the upper surface of the preliminary discharge roller 652. The first nozzle 61 is positioned at the first preliminary discharge position before positioning to the coating position, and discharges a predetermined amount of the coating liquid from the discharge outlet and performs a preliminary discharge process. By performing the preliminary discharge processing on the first nozzle 61 before moving to the coating position in this manner, the discharge of the coating liquid at the coating position can be stabilized from this initial stage.

The pre-discharge roller 652 is rotated by the maintenance control mechanism 654, and the discharged coating liquid can be mixed into the cleaning liquid stored in the liquid tank 651 and recovered. In the state where the first nozzle 61 is positioned above the nozzle cleaner 653 (first cleaning position), the nozzle cleaner 653 can be washed away while moving toward the Y direction while discharging the cleaning liquid. The outlet of the first nozzle 61 and the coating liquid around it.

The positioning mechanism 63 can position the first nozzle 61 at the first standby position. The first standby position refers to a position lower than the first cleaning position, and is a position where the lower end of the nozzle is accommodated in the first nozzle 61 in the liquid tank 651. When the coating process using the first nozzle 61 is not performed, the first nozzle 61 is positioned at the first standby position. Although not shown, a standby pod may be provided to prevent the first nozzle 61 positioned at the first standby position from drying the coating liquid in the discharge port.

The same applies to the second nozzle 71. Specifically, the second nozzle 71 is positioned at a second preliminary ejection position facing the upper surface of the preliminary ejection roller 752, and the preliminary ejection process is performed by the second nozzle 71. In a state where the second nozzle 71 is located at the second cleaning position above the nozzle cleaner 753, the second nozzle 71 can be cleaned by the nozzle cleaner 753. Then, when the coating process using the second nozzle 71 is not performed, the second nozzle 71 is positioned at the second standby position.

In FIG. 1, the first nozzle 61 located at the first preliminary discharge position is displayed by a solid line, and the first nozzle 61 located at the first cleaning position is displayed by a dotted line. The second nozzle 71 located at the second preliminary discharge position is displayed by a solid line, and the second nozzle 71 located at the second standby position is displayed by a dotted line. Although not shown, the first standby position corresponding to the first nozzle 61 and the second cleaning position corresponding to the second nozzle 71 can be similarly defined.

In this way, the first coating mechanism 6 is disposed more upstream than the coating position, and the positioning mechanism 63 moves the first nozzle 61 to the coating position above the coating table 32 as required, and the first The substrate 61 is coated with the nozzle 61. The first maintenance unit 65 is disposed further upstream than the application position. The first preliminary ejection position among the stop positions of the first nozzle 61 in the first maintenance unit 65 is set at the most downstream side and closer to the application position, and the first cleaning position and the first standby position are set at a ratio The first preliminary ejection position is further upstream.

On the other hand, the second coating mechanism 7 is disposed further downstream than the coating position, and the positioning mechanism 73 moves the second nozzle 71 to the coating position above the coating table 32 as needed, and the The second nozzle 71 is applied to the substrate W. The second maintenance unit 75 is disposed further downstream than the application position. The second preliminary ejection position among the stop positions of the second nozzle 71 in the second maintenance unit 75 is set at the most upstream side and closer to the application position, and the second cleaning position and the second standby position are set at a ratio The second preliminary ejection position is further downstream.

In other words, the first coating mechanism 6 and the second coating mechanism 7 may be configured to be symmetrical to the YZ plane across the coating position. In addition, it is not necessary to have a complete symmetry of the shape of each portion between the first coating mechanism 6 and the second coating mechanism 7, and the configuration of each portion may be changed as necessary.

When the first maintenance unit 65 is located on the upstream side from the coating position and the second nozzle 71 is positioned at the coating position, the first maintenance unit 65 is set at, for example, the first maintenance unit 65 and the first nozzle positioned at the first preliminary discharge position. 61 does not interfere with the position of the second nozzle 71. Since the first cleaning position and the first standby position are farther from the application position than the first preliminary discharge position, the first nozzle 61 located at these positions does not interfere with the second nozzle 71 located at the application position.

Similarly, when the second maintenance unit 75 is positioned further downstream than the coating position and the first nozzle 61 is positioned at the coating position, the second maintenance unit 75 is positioned at the second maintenance unit 75 and the first The two nozzles 71 do not interfere with the position of the first nozzle 61. Since the second cleaning position and the second standby position are farther from the application position than the second preliminary discharge position, it is possible to avoid interference between the second nozzle 71 located at these positions and the first nozzle 61 located at the application position.

In this way, the application positions of the first nozzle 61 and the second nozzle 71 are common, and the nozzles cannot be positioned at the application position at the same time. In addition, the coating position corresponding to the first nozzle 61 and the coating position corresponding to the second nozzle 71 do not necessarily need to be completely the same, and the positions may be different in the transport direction Dt of the substrate W. There are also cases where the first nozzle 61 and the second nozzle 71 have greatly different shapes. In this case, the application positions need not be exactly the same. However, as long as the liquid injection position of the coating liquid discharged from the first nozzle 61 on the substrate W and the liquid injection position of the coating liquid discharged from the second nozzle 71 on the substrate W are approximately the same in the conveying direction Dt, or It is at least partially overlapped, and the respective application positions can be considered to be substantially the same.

Even if there is a difference between the coating position corresponding to the first nozzle 61 and the coating position corresponding to the second nozzle 71, the space occupied by the first nozzle 61 in the coating position corresponding to the nozzle, the second nozzle When at least a part of the space occupied by the coating position corresponding to the nozzle 71 overlaps, the two nozzles cannot be positioned at the coating position at the same time. Therefore, the same concerns as when the application position is the same are required.

The positioning mechanisms 63 and 73 are controlled so as to selectively position the first nozzle 61 and the second nozzle 71 at the application position, thereby avoiding interference at such application positions. Then, since the moving path of the first nozzle 61 is limited to the area on the upstream side from the coating position, and the moving path of the second nozzle 71 is limited to the area on the downstream side from the coating position, no two will occur outside the coating position. Nozzle interference.

In addition, the coating device 1 is provided with a control unit 9 for controlling the operations of various parts of the device. Although the illustration is omitted, the control unit 9 is provided with: a memory means for memorizing a predetermined control program or various data; a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and other arithmetic means; The control program is executed to cause each part of the device to perform a predetermined action; and interface means are used for information exchange with a user or an external device.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the coating apparatus as viewed from above. FIG. 3 is a plan view with the coating mechanism removed from FIG. 2. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A in FIG. 2. Hereinafter, a specific mechanical configuration of the coating apparatus 1 will be described with reference to these drawings. With regard to several mechanisms, a more detailed structure can be understood by referring to the description in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-227850. Note that the description of the rollers included in the input conveyor 100 and the like has been omitted in FIGS. 2 and 3.

First, the first coating mechanism 6 and the second coating mechanism 7 will be described. The first coating mechanism 6 includes a first nozzle unit 60 including a first nozzle 61 and a first maintenance unit 65 described above. On the other hand, the second coating mechanism 7 includes a second nozzle unit 70 including a second nozzle 71 and a second maintenance unit 75 described above. In addition, as described above, the first coating mechanism 6 and the second coating mechanism 7 basically have a structure symmetrical to the YZ plane. Therefore, the structure of the second coating mechanism 7 shown in FIG. 4 is representatively described here, and the description of the first coating mechanism 6 is omitted.

The second nozzle unit 70 of the second coating mechanism 7 has a bridge structure as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4. Specifically, the second nozzle unit 70 has a Y-direction beam member 731 that is supported by a pair of pillar members 732 and 733 erected upward from the base 10 and extends above the floating table portion 3 in the Y-direction. Structure of both ends. The column member 732 is provided with an elevating mechanism 734 constituted by, for example, a ball screw mechanism, and the (+ Y) side end portion of the beam member 731 is supported by the elevating mechanism 734 so as to be able to be raised and lowered freely. Further, an elevating mechanism 735 constituted by, for example, a ball screw mechanism is attached to the column member 733, and the (-Y) side end portion of the beam member 731 is supported by the elevating mechanism 735 so as to be freely elevable. By interlocking the elevating mechanisms 734 and 735 in accordance with a control command from the control unit 9, the beam member 731 can move in the vertical direction (Z direction) in a state of a horizontal posture.

A second nozzle 71 is attached to the lower portion of the center of the beam member 731 so that the discharge port 711 faces downward. Therefore, the movement of the second nozzle 71 in the Z direction can be achieved by the lifting mechanisms 734 and 735 being operated.

The column members 732 and 733 are configured to be movable on the base 10 in the X direction. Specifically, a pair of walking guides 81L and 81R extending in the X direction are mounted on each of the upper surfaces of the (+ Y) side and (-Y) side end surface of the base 10. The column member 732 is a travel guide 81L that is engaged with the (+ Y) side through a slider 736 attached to a lower portion thereof. The slider 736 is freely movable in the X direction along the travel guide 81L. Similarly, the column member 733 is engaged with the travel guide 81R on the (-Y) side by a slider 737 attached to the lower portion thereof, and is free to move in the X direction.

The column members 732 and 733 can be moved in the X direction by linear motors 82L and 82R. Specifically, the magnet modules of the linear motors 82L and 82R are installed as a stator on the base 10 in the X direction, and a coil module is installed as a mover. Respective lower portions of the pillar members 732 and 733. When the linear motors 82L and 82R are actuated by a control command from the control unit 9, the entire second nozzle unit 70 can move in the X direction. Accordingly, the second nozzle 71 can be moved in the X direction. The X-direction positions of the pillar members 732 and 733 can be detected by the linear scales 83L and 83R provided near the sliders 736 and 737.

In this way, the second nozzle 71 is moved in the Z direction by the movement of the lifting mechanisms 734 and 735, and the second nozzle 71 is moved in the X direction by the linear motors 82L and 82R. That is, by controlling these mechanisms by the control unit 9, positioning of the second nozzle 71 to each stop position (application position, second preliminary ejection position, etc.) can be achieved. Accordingly, the elevating mechanisms 734, 735, the linear motors 82L, 82R, and the control unit 9 controlling these and the like are integrated into one and have a function as the positioning mechanism 73 of FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 2, the first nozzle unit 60 also has: column members 632 and 633, which are respectively mounted on the walking guides 81L and 81R; and a beam member 631 which is supported by the column members 632 and 633 and A first nozzle 61 is installed at the lower center. The structure of the pillar members 632 and 633 is also the same as that of the pillar members 732 and 733 described above.

In this way, the first nozzle unit 60 and the second nozzle unit 70 are mounted on the same traveling guides 81L and 81R, and are movable in the X direction, respectively. In addition, regarding the linear motors 82L and 82R that move the first nozzle unit 60 and the second nozzle unit 70 in the X direction, a magnet module as a stator is shared between the first nozzle unit 60 and the second nozzle unit 70, and A coil module as a mover is individually provided in the first nozzle unit 60 and the second nozzle unit 70.

As described above, the first nozzle unit 60 positions the first nozzle 61 at the coating position and various positions on the upstream side from the coating position, and the second nozzle unit 70 positions the second nozzle 71 At the application position and at various positions on the upstream side from the application position. Then, by selectively performing the positioning of the first nozzle 61 to the coating position and the positioning of the second nozzle 71 to the coating position, interference between the two nozzles can be avoided. With such an operation state, the supporting device and the driving mechanism can be partially shared between the first nozzle unit 60 and the second nozzle unit 70 in the coating apparatus 1. This makes it possible to suppress an increase in the size of the device by providing two nozzles, and to reduce the cost of the device.

Next, the first maintenance unit 65 and the second maintenance unit 75 will be described. Although the first maintenance unit 65 and the second maintenance unit 75 have a shape roughly symmetrical to the YZ plane, the structure of the substrate is common. Therefore, the structure of the second maintenance unit 75 shown in FIG. 4 is representatively described here, and the description of the other first maintenance unit 65 is omitted. For the detailed structure of these units, refer to, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-240550.

As described above, the second maintenance unit 75 has a structure in which the preliminary discharge roller 752 and the nozzle cleaner 753 are stored in the liquid tank 751. Although not shown in FIG. 4, the second maintenance unit 75 is provided with a maintenance control mechanism 754 for driving the preliminary discharge roller 752 and the nozzle cleaner 753. The liquid tank 751 is supported by a beam member 761 extending in the Y direction, and both ends of the beam member 761 are supported by a pair of column members 762 and 763. A pair of pillar members 762 and 763 are attached to both ends in the Y direction of a plate 764 extending in the Y direction.

A pair of walking guides 84L and 84R are provided below the both ends in the Y direction of the plate 764 on the base 10 and extend in the X direction. Both ends of the plate 764 in the Y direction are engaged with the walking guides 84L and 84R through the sliders 766 and 767. Therefore, the second maintenance unit 75 can move in the X direction along the walking guides 84L and 84R. A linear motor 85 is provided below the (-Y) direction end of the plate 764. The linear motor 85 may also be disposed below the (+ Y) direction end portion of the plate 764, or may be disposed below the both ends in the Y direction, respectively.

In the linear motor 85, a magnet module system is provided on the base 10 as a stator extending in the X direction, and a coil module system is mounted on the second maintenance unit 75 as a mover. By operating the linear motor 85 in accordance with a control command from the control unit 9, the entire second maintenance unit 75 can move in the X direction. The X-direction position of the second maintenance unit 75 can be detected by an optical ruler 86 provided near at least one of the slider 766 and the slider 767.

As shown in FIG. 2, the first maintenance unit 65 also includes a beam member 661 and column members 662 and 663. The first maintenance unit 65 is mounted on the travel guides 84L and 84R below the column members 662 and 663. As described in the description of the nozzle unit, the two maintenance units 65 and 75 are arranged on the upstream side and the downstream side via the coating position and do not interfere with each other. Therefore, a part of the supporting mechanism and the driving mechanism can be shared in this way. .

The first maintenance unit 65 and the second maintenance unit 75 can move in the X direction, respectively. However, in the operation of the coating apparatus 1 of this embodiment described later, there is no state in which the first maintenance unit 65 or the second maintenance unit 75 is moved in the X direction. However, the first maintenance unit 65 or the second maintenance unit 75 can be moved in accordance with a control instruction from a user, for example, when performing maintenance of the entire device or replacement of parts. This movement can also be performed manually by an operator, and the linear motor 85 is not necessary.

Next, the structure of the chuck 51 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. The chuck 51 has a shape symmetrical to each other in the XZ plane, and includes a pair of chuck members 51L and 51R that are arranged in the Y direction in a spaced manner. Among the pair of chuck members 51L and 51R, the chuck member 51L disposed on the (+ Y) side is supported by a travel guide 87L provided on the base 10 so as to be able to travel in the X direction. Specifically, the chuck member 51L includes a base portion 512 having two horizontal plate portions provided at different positions along the X direction, and a connection portion connecting the plate portions. . Sliding pieces 511 are respectively provided below the two plate portions of the base portion 512, and the sliding piece 511 is engaged with the walking guide 87L, so that the base portion 512 can walk along the walking guide 87L toward the X direction.

Support portions 513 and 513 are provided on the upper portions of the two plate portions of the base portion 512. The support portions 513 and 513 extend upward, and a suction pad (not shown) is provided on the upper end portion thereof. When the base portion 512 moves in the X direction along the walking guide 87L, the two support portions 513 and 513 move in the X direction together with this. In addition, the two plate portions of the base portion 512 are separated from each other, and these plate portions can also have a structure that functions as an integrated base portion by moving in the X direction while maintaining a certain distance. . As long as the distance is set according to the length of the substrate, substrates of various lengths can be supported.

The chuck member 51L is movable in the X direction by a linear motor 88L. That is, the magnet module of the linear motor 88L is provided on the base 10 as a stator extending in the X direction, and the coil module is mounted as a mover on the lower portion of the chuck member 51L. By operating the linear motor 88L in accordance with a control command from the control unit 9, the chuck member 51L can move in the X direction. The X-direction position of the chuck member 51L can be detected by an optical ruler 89L.

Similarly, the chuck member 51R provided on the (-Y) side includes a base portion 512 having two plate portions and a connection portion, and support portions 513 and 513. However, the shape is a shape symmetrical to the XZ plane with the chuck member 51L. Each plate portion is engaged with the travel guide 87R by the slider 511, respectively. The chuck member 51R is movable in the X direction by a linear motor 88R. That is, the magnet module of the linear motor 88R is provided on the base 10 as a stator extending in the X direction, and the coil module is mounted as a mover on the lower portion of the chuck member 51R. By operating the linear motor 88R in accordance with a control command from the control unit 9, the chuck member 51R can move in the X direction. The X-direction position of the chuck member 51R can be detected by an optical ruler 89R.

The control unit 9 performs such position control so that the chuck members 51L and 51R always become the same position in the X direction. Thereby, the pair of chuck members 51L and 51R can be moved as the chuck 51 which is integrally formed in appearance. Compared with the case where the chuck members 51L and 51R are mechanically coupled, interference between the chuck 51 and the floating table portion 3 can be easily avoided.

As shown in FIG. 3, the four support portions 513 are arranged corresponding to the four corners of the substrate W to be held, respectively. That is, the two support portions 513 and 513 of the chuck member 51L hold the upstream side end portion and the downstream side end portion located on the (+ Y) side peripheral edge portion of the substrate W and in the conveying direction Dt, respectively. On the other hand, the two support portions 513 and 513 of the chuck member 51R hold the upstream side end portion and the downstream side end portion located on the (-Y) side peripheral edge portion of the substrate W in the conveying direction Dt, respectively. The suction pads in each support portion 513 are supplied with a negative pressure as required, whereby the four corners of the substrate W can be sucked and held from below by the chuck 51.

The substrate W can be conveyed by moving the chuck 51 while holding the substrate W in the X direction. In this way, the mechanism (not shown) for supplying negative pressure to the linear motors 88L, 88R, the respective support portions 513, and the control unit 9 for controlling these can integrally have the adsorption and running control mechanism as shown in FIG. 52 features.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 4, the chuck 51 has held the lower surface of the substrate W above the upper surface of each table of the floating table portion 3, that is, the inlet table 31, The substrate W is conveyed in a state where the upper surfaces of the coating table 32 and the exit floating table 33 are further above. Since the chuck 51 only maintains a portion of the substrate W that is closer to the outer peripheral portion in the Y direction than the central portion facing each of the inlet floating table 31, the coating table 32, and the outlet floating table 33, Therefore, the center portion of the substrate W is bent downward with respect to the peripheral portion. The floating table portion 3 has a function of controlling the vertical position of the substrate W to maintain a horizontal posture by providing buoyancy to the central portion of the substrate W.

The exit floating table 33 in each of the tables of the floating table section 3 can be lower and higher than the upper surface of the chuck 51 on the upper surface of the floating table 33. It moves up and down between upper positions which are higher than the upper surface position of the chuck 51. For this purpose, the exit floating table 33 is supported by the elevating driving mechanism 36.

5A and 5B are schematic diagrams showing the structure of a lifting driving mechanism. A pair of support shafts 331 and 331 extend downward from the lower surface near the ends in the Y direction of the exit floating table 33. The lift driving mechanism 36 supports the exit floating table 33 by supporting the support shafts 331 and 331. Specifically, the lift driving mechanism 36 includes a plate member 361 fixed to the base 10. Then, a plurality of shaft receiving members 362 are provided near the upper portion of the plate member 361 and near both ends in the Y direction so that the support shafts 331 and 331 can move up and down. An actuator 363 that generates a driving force in a vertical direction is attached to a lower portion of the center of the plate member 361.

The actuator 363 is coupled with a movable member 364 that moves up and down by a driving force of the actuator. Then, one end portion 365a of one of the two lever members 365 and 365 that can swing freely is attached to the movable member 364. The other end portions 365b of the lever members 365 and 365 extend to the outside in the Y direction from the positions directly below the support shafts 331 and 331, and are swingably attached to the plate member 361 by the swing shaft 365d.

A cam follower 365c is mounted near the other end portion 365b of the upper surface of each lever member 365 and directly below the support shaft 331. The cam follower 365c abuts the lower end of the support shaft 331 to support the exit floating table 33. In this way, the vertical position of the upper surface of the exit floating table 33 can be determined by the position of the cam follower 365c.

As shown in FIG. 5A, in a state where the movable member 364 is positioned in a lower position by the actuator 363, each lever member 365 has its one end portion 365a positioned lower than the other end portion 365b. In this state, the position of the upper surface of the table 33 by the exit prescribed by the cam follower 365c is lower than the position of the upper surface of the chuck 51 shown by the broken line in FIG. 5A. In the state where the substrate W is mounted, the peripheral edge portion of the substrate W can be held by the chuck 51, and the center portion can be lifted from the outlet 33 by the buoyancy from the outlet floating table 33. A state where the upper surface is floating. Even if the suction holding by the chuck 51 has been released, the peripheral edge portion of the substrate W is still placed on the chuck 51, and this point is unchanged.

As shown in FIG. 5B, when the movable member 364 is positioned at the upper position by the actuator 363, one end portion 365a of each lever member 365 rises to a position higher than the other end portion 365b. Each lever member 365 swings around a swing shaft 365d on the other end 365b side, and the cam follower 365c pushes the support shaft 331 upward. As a result, the upper surface of the exit floating table 33 will come in and out above the upper surface of the chuck 51. As long as the chuck 51 does not attract and hold the substrate W in the state in which the substrate W is placed, the substrate W can be supported upward by the buoyancy from the floating table 33 at the exit, and the support by the chuck 51 will be supported. Lifted.

In the lift driving mechanism 36, the displacement amount in the up-down direction of the movable member 364 by the actuator 363 can be converted into a smaller displacement amount by the lever member 365 and transmitted to the support shaft 331. In other words, the lever member 365 amplifies the displacement of the movable member 364 with a magnification smaller than 1 and transmits it to the support shaft 331. Thereby, the support shaft 331 which needs a slight displacement can be lifted by relatively simple control.

Further, the two supporting shafts 331 which are differently positioned in the Y direction are moved up and down by the driving force of one actuator 363. In such a configuration, for example, when the two support shafts 331 are driven by different actuators, in principle, the support shaft does not occur due to the difference in the timing of the operation of the actuators. The uneven timing of 331 rise.

A plurality of lift driving mechanisms 36 are provided in different positions in the X direction. For example, the lift driving mechanism 36 is provided near each end near the upstream end and near the downstream end of the exit floating table 33, and the lift driving mechanism 36 can be operated simultaneously to maintain the horizontal posture. The exit floating table 33 is raised and lowered. Even if there is a slight unevenness in the lifting sequence of the actuator between the plurality of lifting driving mechanisms 36, the lifting amount of the support shaft 331 will still be smaller than the displacement amount of the actuator 363, so the outlet can be floated. The disturbance of the posture of the lifting table 33 is suppressed to be small.

Moreover, as shown in FIG. 3, the floating table portion 3 of the coating apparatus 1 is provided with a foreign matter detecting mechanism 37 for preventing foreign matter on the substrate W from contacting the nozzle and damaging the substrate or the nozzle. The structure and operation of the foreign object detection mechanism 37 will be described later.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 3, the (-Y) side end portion and the (+ Y) side end portion of the inlet floating table 31 are provided with a plurality of lifting pins 311 at different positions in the X direction. By lifting the lifting pin lifting mechanism 34 (FIG. 1) of the lifting table portion 3 to drive the lifting pin 311, the lifting pin 311 will be raised and lowered between a retracted position and a protruding position. The position below the upper surface of the floating table 31 is a position protruding further upward than the upper surface of the inlet floating table 31. An example of the operation using the lift pin 311 will be described later.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a flow of a coating process performed by the coating apparatus. 7A to 7D and Figs. 8A to 8D are schematic diagrams showing the positional relationship of each part during the processing. Here, the flow of operation will be described as an example of a case where the coating process using the first nozzle 61 is performed in accordance with a processing recipe given to the control unit 9 in advance. The coating process is realized by the control unit 9 executing a control program determined in advance so that each part of the apparatus performs a predetermined operation.

When the coating process is not performed, the first nozzle 61 is positioned at the first standby position, and the second nozzle 71 is positioned at the second standby position, and the discharge of the coating liquid is stopped. Then, the first nozzle 61 used for the coating process is moved to the first preliminary discharge position to execute the preliminary discharge process (step S101). In addition, the ejection of the compressed air in the floating table section 3 is started, and preparation is made so that the carried-in substrate W can be floated. When the first nozzle 61 discharges a predetermined amount of the coating liquid toward the preliminary discharge roller 652 in the first preliminary discharge position, the discharge amount of the coating liquid from the first nozzle 61 can be stabilized. Furthermore, the cleaning process of the first nozzle 61 may be performed before the preliminary discharge process.

Next, the loading of the substrate W into the coating apparatus 1 is started (step S102). As shown in FIG. 7A, the substrate W to be processed is placed on the input conveyor 100 by another processing unit on the upstream side, a transfer robot, or the like. By rotating the roller conveyor 101, the substrate W can be conveyed in the (+ X) direction. At this time, the first nozzle 61 performs a preliminary discharge process at the first preliminary discharge position. The chuck 51 is positioned further downstream than the inlet floating table 31.

As shown by the dotted line in FIG. 7A, the input transfer unit 100 and the input transfer portion that has been positioned on the upper surface of the roller conveyor 21 at the same height position as the roller conveyor 101 of the input conveyor 100 By interlocking the substrate W, the substrate W can be transported to the upper part of the table 31 that is lifted by the inlet that provides buoyancy to the substrate W by the ejection of compressed air. At this time, the upper surface of the inlet floating table 31 is positioned lower than the upper surface of the roller conveyor 21, and the substrate W becomes the upstream end portion (the rear end portion in the moving direction) and is loaded on the roller The state of the conveyor 21. Accordingly, the substrate W does not slide and move on the entrance floating table 31.

When the substrate W is carried into the entrance floating table 31 in this way, the lift pin 311 provided on the entrance floating table 31 is positioned at an upper end than the entrance floating table 31 by the lift pin driving mechanism 34. The upper surface protrudes further upward. As a result, as shown in FIG. 7B, the substrate W, more specifically, both ends in the Y direction of the substrate W abutted by the lift pins 311 will be supported upward.

Then, the chuck 51 moves in the (-X) direction, and moves to the conveyance start position directly below the substrate W (step S103). Since both ends in the Y direction of the substrate W are supported upward by the lifting pins 311, it is possible to avoid contact between the chucks 51 entering the substrate W and the substrate W. According to this state, as shown in FIG. 7C, the substrate W can be transferred to the chuck 51 by lowering the upper surface of the roller conveyor 21 and the lifting pin 311 below the upper surface of the chuck 51 (step S104). The chuck 51 sucks and holds the peripheral edge portion of the substrate W (step S105).

Thereafter, the substrate W can be transported in a state where the peripheral portion is held by the chuck 51 and the central portion is maintained in a horizontal posture by floating the table portion 3. The foreign object detection process is started earlier than this (step S106). By moving the chuck 51 in the (+ X) direction, the substrate W can be transported to the coating start position (step S107). At the same time, the movement positioning from the first preliminary discharge position of the first nozzle 61 to the application position is performed (step S108).

As shown in FIG. 7D, the coating start position refers to the position on the downstream side (the leading side in the moving direction) of the substrate W to the position of the substrate W that has been positioned directly below the first nozzle 61 of the coating position. . In addition, there are many cases where the end of the substrate W is not coated with a coating liquid as a blank area. In such a case, the position where the downstream end portion of the substrate W has advanced only a length of the blank area from the position directly below the first nozzle 61 becomes the coating start position.

When the first nozzle 61 is positioned at the coating position, the coating liquid discharged from the discharge port is deposited on the upper surface Wf of the substrate W. As shown in FIG. 8A, by carrying the substrate W at a constant speed by the chuck 51 (step S109), the coating operation of applying the coating liquid to the upper surface Wf of the substrate W by the first nozzle 61 can be performed. Thereby, the coating film F of a certain thickness by the coating liquid is formed on the substrate upper surface Wf.

In order to form a good-quality coating film F, it is important to make the gap between the outlet of the lower end of the first nozzle 61 and the upper surface Wf of the substrate W constant. Even in the coating table 32 capable of precise position control of the substrate W, the gap can be stably coated by setting the coating position in a region Rc where particularly high position accuracy can be achieved. As the length in the conveying direction of this region Rc, as long as it is at least longer than the opening length of the discharge port, good coating can be performed in principle.

The coating operation is continued until the substrate W is transferred to the end position where the coating is to be completed (step S110). When the substrate W reaches the end position (YES in step S110), as shown in FIG. 8B, the first nozzle 61 is separated from the application position and returned to the first preliminary ejection position (step S111). Then, the preliminary ejection process is executed again. When the chuck 51 reaches the downstream end of the substrate W at the transport end position on the output transfer section 4, the movement of the chuck 51 is stopped, and the suction hold is released. Then, the lifting of the roller conveyor 41 of the transfer section 4 is started in order (step S112), and the lifting of the exit floating table 33 is started (step S113).

As shown in FIG. 8C, the substrate W is separated from the chuck 51 by the roller conveyor 41 and the exit floating table 33 rising above the upper surface of the chuck 51. In this state, it is possible to apply a pushing force to the substrate W in the (+ X) direction by rotating the roller conveyor 41. When the substrate W is moved in the (+ X) direction, the substrate W can be moved further toward the (+ X) direction by the linkage of the roller conveyor 41 and the roller conveyor 111 of the output conveyor 110 ( Step S114), and finally sends it to the downstream unit. When there is a next substrate to be processed, the same processing as described above is repeated (step S115), and if not, the processing ends. At this time, the first nozzle 61 returns to the first standby position.

As long as the substrate W held by the chuck 51 is transported further downstream than the inlet floating table 31, the next unprocessed substrate W can be stored in the inlet floating from the roller conveyor 101 of the input conveyor 100. From workbench 31. As shown in FIG. 8B, the next substrate W can be carried in advance to the roller conveyor 101 during the transportation of the substrate W in progress. If there is no effect on the coating process, the next substrate W may be carried in during the coating process shown in FIG. 8A. As shown in FIG. 8C, at the time point when the substrate W is separated from the chuck 51 by the rise of the roller conveyor 41 and the exit floating table 33, it is possible to return the chuck 51 to the conveyance start position. Of the chuck 51.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8D, the new substrate W can be held by moving the chuck 51 to the conveyance start position with the chuck pin 311 supporting the substrate W which has been reloaded in the same manner as described above.于 夹 盘 51。 In the chuck 51. Thereby, the state shown in FIG. 7C is achieved for the new substrate W. In FIG. 6, in order to explain the processing flow, a new substrate is carried in after the substrate has been carried out. However, as described above, these can be repeatedly performed in time, thereby shortening the lead time.

The reason for raising the exit floating table 33 together with the roller conveyor 41 during the operation at the time of carrying out the substrate is as follows. That is, the purpose of providing a pushing force in the conveying direction Dt in order to carry the substrate W out of the chuck 51 that has reached the conveyance end position can be achieved even with a configuration in which only the roller conveyor 41 is raised. . However, even if the upstream side (front end side in the moving direction) of the substrate W is separated from the chuck 51 by the rise of the roller conveyor 41, the downstream side (rear end side in the moving direction) of the substrate W becomes The state of being placed on the supporting portion 513 of the chuck 51. Since the roller conveyor 41 abuts only on a limited area of the lower surface of the substrate W, the propulsive force that can be given to the substrate W is also limited.

Therefore, the friction between the lower surface of the substrate W and the support portion 513 of the chuck 51 may become resistance, which may cause the substrate W to be carried out by the roller conveyor 41 to fail. In addition, damage to the substrate W caused by the support portion 513 slidingly rubbing the lower surface of the substrate W may occur. In order to avoid these problems beforehand, in this embodiment, the exit floating table 33 is also raised together with the roller conveyor 41. By doing so, it is possible to start the conveyance by the roller conveyor 41 with the chuck 51 reliably separated from the lower surface of the substrate W. Since the substrate W provided by the exit floating table 33 is supported in a floating state, resistance during carrying out is extremely small.

The reason why the roller conveyor 41 of the output transfer section 4 starts to rise (step S112), and then the rise of the exit floating table 33 (step S113) is started is based on the following reason. At the point in time when the adsorption and holding of the substrate W by the chuck 51 is released, and the substrate W is separated from the chuck 51 by the rise of the exit table 33, as long as the roller conveyor 41 does not abut against The substrate W and the substrate W are in a state of being supported by the buoyancy of the floating table 33 only at the exit and cannot be restricted from moving in the horizontal direction. For this reason, the substrate W may be moved in an unintended direction by slight tilt or vibration.

The roller W 41 is brought into contact with the substrate W earlier than the substrate W is separated from the chuck 51 by the rise of the floating table 33 by the exit, so that the displacement of the substrate W can be prevented. Furthermore, it is only necessary to satisfy the requirement that the roller conveyor 41 abut on the substrate W before the substrate W is separated from the chuck 51 by the exit floating table 33. It is not necessary to set the start timing of the rise of the roller conveyor 41 and the exit floating table 33 as described above. Depending on the difference in the amount of movement or the movement speed, the rise start timing may be different from the above.

In the substrate processing apparatus of the prior art, the substrate transferred to the exit floating table is separated from the chuck and the exit floating table by a lift pin. This is because it is assumed that the robot of the external transfer robot enters the gap formed between the substrate thus formed and the floating table in order to transfer the substrate. In a configuration in which there is no structure above the exit floating table, the substrate can be carried out in this way.

On the other hand, in the coating apparatus 1 of this embodiment, a second nozzle unit 70 and a second maintenance unit 75 are newly arranged above the exit floating table 33. Therefore, in order to secure a space for lifting the substrate above the exit floating table 33, for example, the second nozzle unit 70 and the second maintenance unit 75 may be retracted upward when the substrate is carried out. Alternatively, the arrangement positions of these units can be set in advance. However, such a change will bring disadvantages such as the complication of the device configuration, the increase in the production time due to the movement of the moving distance, and the like.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the substrate W is separated from the chuck 51 by the roller conveyor 41 and the exit floating table 33 rising and supporting the substrate W slightly upward. Then, the substrate W can be supplied to the horizontal direction (conveying direction Dt) by the rotation of the roller conveyor 41 while suppressing the mechanical resistance while floating and supporting by the floating table 33 at the exit. With the driving force, the substrate W is carried out. Thereby, the second nozzle unit 70 and the second maintenance unit 75 can be arranged adjacent to the substrate conveyance path, and there is no need to retreat when the substrate is carried out. Moreover, the substrate carrying-out direction does not necessarily need to be the same direction as the carrying direction Dt during coating, and the substrate W may be carried out in a direction different from the carrying direction Dt as necessary.

Figs. 9A to 9C are schematic diagrams showing a variation example of the carrying operation of the substrate. In the operation example described above, the substrate W carried into the inlet floating table 31 is supported upward by the lifting pins 311, so that the chuck 51 can enter the space below the substrate W. On the other hand, as described below, the same effects can be obtained even in the case where the inlet floating table 31 is configured to be able to be raised and lowered. That is, as shown in FIG. 9A, when the substrate W is carried into the entrance floating table 31, the entrance floating table 31 is raised in advance by a newly provided lift driving mechanism 38 so that its upper surface becomes a roller. The upper surface of the conveyor 21 is approximately the same height. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 9B, the board | substrate W can be conveyed up to the entrance floating stage 31 in the state of a horizontal attitude.

According to this state, as shown in FIG. 9C, the roller conveyor 21 and the inlet floating table 31 are lowered, and the state can be moved to a state where the lower surface of the substrate W has been held by the chuck 51. This state is the same as the state shown in FIG. 7C, and thereafter, the substrate W can be transported and coated in the same manner as described above. As the elevating driving mechanism 38, for example, the same configuration as the elevating driving mechanism 36 shown in FIG. 5 can be applied.

The coating process using the first nozzle 61 has been described above. In this coating process, the first nozzle 61 is moved from the first preliminary ejection position to the coating position in accordance with the carrying in of the substrate W, and a coating operation is performed. When the processing of one substrate is completed, the first nozzle 61 returns to the first preliminary ejection position. Therefore, when a plurality of substrates W are continuously processed, the first nozzle 61 is reciprocated between the first preliminary ejection position and the application position in synchronization with the substrate conveyance. During this period, the first nozzle 61 may be cleaned if necessary.

The first preliminary discharge position is set upstream of the application position, and the first washing position and the first standby position are set upstream of the first preliminary discharge position. Therefore, the moving distance of the first nozzle 61 from the application position to the first preliminary ejection position can be made shorter than the moving distance to the other stop positions. This helps to suppress an increase in the production time caused by the reciprocating movement of the first nozzle 61 between the application position and the first preliminary ejection position. It should be noted that the time required for the reciprocating movement may be the same length as the time required for the completion of the processing to remove the substrate and the new unprocessed substrate. Even further shortening does not affect the overall production time.

If it is necessary to minimize the time required for the reciprocating movement of the first nozzle 61 between the coating position and the first preliminary discharge position, as long as it does not interfere with the second nozzle positioned at the coating position, the first A maintenance unit 65 may be disposed on the downstream side (the side closer to the coating position).

Furthermore, in the above description, while the coating process by the first nozzle 61 is being performed, the second nozzle 71 is stationary at the second standby position and is in a standby state. However, even during standby, it is effective to periodically perform a cleaning process in order to prevent adhesion of the coating liquid, or to perform a preliminary discharge process for a subsequent coating process. In this embodiment, all of the second preliminary discharge position, the second cleaning position, and the second standby position set with respect to the second nozzle 71 are positions that have been retracted from the application position to the downstream side. Then, the first nozzle unit 60 and the second nozzle unit 70 support the nozzles by independent supporting mechanisms of the travel guides 81L and 81R on the common base. Therefore, in the execution of the coating process by the first nozzle 61, even if the second nozzle has moved between the various stop positions, it is possible to avoid the influence of the coating process on the coating process.

The same applies to the coating process using the second nozzle 71. In this case, when the second nozzle 71 is reciprocated between the coating position and the second preliminary discharge position on the downstream side, the coating process for a plurality of substrates can be performed. During this period, the first nozzle 61 does not interfere with the coating process performed by the second nozzle 71, but can be positioned at any one of the first preliminary discharge position, the first cleaning position, and the first standby position. , Or move between the positions of the first preliminary ejection position, the first washing position, and the first standby position.

When the configuration or size of the main part between the first nozzle 61 and the second nozzle 71 is common, the first maintenance unit 65 and the second maintenance unit 75 can be formed in a shape and arrangement symmetrical to the application position. In such a configuration, the coating process performed by the first nozzle 61 and the coating process performed by the second nozzle 71 can be performed in the same processing sequence.

As described above, in the coating apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the coating process can be performed by selectively positioning the first nozzle 61 and the second nozzle 71 at approximately the same coating position. When the first nozzle 61 is positioned at the application position, the second nozzle 71 is retracted further downstream than the application position. On the other hand, when the second nozzle 71 is positioned at the application position, the first nozzle 61 is retracted to an upstream side from the application position. With this configuration, the following advantages can be obtained.

The floating conveyance system that supports the substrate by providing buoyancy from below can support the main part of the substrate to be processed in a non-contact manner. For this reason, it is effective in the manufacturing process of the precision component which the contamination of a board | substrate causes a problem. On the other hand, it is not easy to control the vertical position of the substrate with high accuracy. In particular, it is very difficult to achieve high-precision position control over a wide range. When such a transfer system is used for substrate transfer for coating processing, in order to make the thickness of the formed coating film constant and uniform, it is necessary to accurately manage the gap between the nozzle and the substrate.

FIG. 10A and FIG. 10B are schematic diagrams for explaining the advantages of bringing the application positions of two nozzles close to each other. As shown in FIG. 10A, a case where the application position corresponding to the first nozzle 61 and the application position corresponding to the second nozzle 71 are relatively close is considered. In this case, in the portion where the substrate W passes through the coating table 32, an area where the gap G between the lower end of the nozzle and the upper surface Wf of the substrate is appropriately controlled, that is, the position control area Rc is in the conveying direction Dt. Set it to be relatively narrow to solve it. If the coating positions of the two nozzles are the same, the position control area Rc can be a degree of adding several margins to the opening size of the discharge port in the conveying direction Dt, and the position can be achieved only within the limit range. Just control it.

On the other hand, as shown in the comparative example of FIG. 10B, a case where the application position corresponding to the first nozzle 61 and the application position corresponding to the second nozzle 71 are widened in the conveying direction Dt is considered. In this case, it is necessary to further expand the position control region Rc, or to adjust the position of the substrate W at two different locations on the coating table 32. Such position control becomes complicated, and it is easy to become a high cost in terms of implementation. Based on the above, it can be said that by making the application positions of the two nozzles close or consistent, it is possible to alleviate the requirements for vertical position control of the substrate W on the coating table 32, and to simplify the device configuration and control.

In addition, even in the case where the range in which the vertical position of the substrate W can be managed with high precision in the floating table unit 3 is determined in advance, it is still necessary to set the range corresponding to the first range so that it can be contained within the range. The application position of the nozzle 61 and the application position corresponding to the second nozzle 71 may be sufficient. Setting the coating position in accordance with the width of the position control region Rc that can be achieved in this way is more easy in design than expanding the position control region Rc corresponding to the setting of the coating position.

Next, the foreign object detection mechanism 37 in the coating apparatus 1 will be described. The foreign object detection mechanism 37 is used to detect a foreign object attached to the upper surface of the substrate W carried on the coating table 32 or a foreign object is sandwiched between the substrate W and the coating table 32. The local substrate W is partially raised. The purpose of the foreign object detection mechanism 37 is to avoid the collision of the foreign substance on the substrate W or the substrate W raised by the foreign substance with the first nozzle 61 or the second nozzle 71, or the coating layer caused by the incorporation of the foreign substance. Problems such as deterioration of quality have not occurred before.

11A and 11B are schematic diagrams showing the structure of a foreign object detection mechanism. More specifically, FIG. 11A is a plan view showing the foreign object detection mechanism 37 and its surroundings, and FIG. 11B is a plan view thereof. As shown in FIG. 11A and FIG. 11B, the foreign object detection mechanism 37 is provided with a light projection section 371 that emits a light beam L along the upper surface of the substrate W on the coating table 32 in a substantially horizontal direction, and a light receiving section 372, which The light beam L is received on its light path; and the light shielding plate 373 is attached to the chuck 51. As the light source of the light projection section 371, for example, a laser diode can be used, and the lighting thereof is controlled by the control unit 9. The output signal output by the light receiving unit 372 according to the amount of received light is sent to the control unit 9.

The direction of the light beam L emitted from the light projection section 371 is the (-Y) direction, and the optical axis position of the light beam L in the X direction is above the coating table 32 and is higher than the first nozzle positioned at the coating position. The opening position of the discharge port of 61 or the second nozzle 71 is located further upstream. In other words, it refers to a position on the upstream side from the liquid injection position R, which is the position where the coating liquid discharged from these nozzles is initially deposited on the substrate W of the substrate W. Furthermore, it is necessary to prevent the light beam L from being scattered or blocked by the first nozzle 61 and the second nozzle 71 positioned at the application position.

As shown in FIG. 11B, the position of the optical axis of the light beam L in the Z direction refers to a position across the beam spot of the light beam L as the upper surface Wf of the substrate W to be transported. It is preferable that the upper surface Wf of the substrate W passes near the center of the beam spot. In order to establish such conditions for substrates of various thicknesses, it is preferable to have a structure of being mounted on the base 10 in a state where the height of the light projecting section 371 and the light receiving section 372 can be adjusted.

12A to 12D are schematic views showing the structure of a light shielding plate. In FIGS. 12A to 12D, the light beam L is shown by the cross section of its beam spot. The diameter of the beam spot is indicated by the symbol D. The cross-sectional shape of the beam spot of the light beam L is not limited to a circle, but is arbitrary.

The light-shielding plate 373 refers to a member formed of a material that is not transparent to the light beam L, such as a metal plate. As shown in FIG. 12A, the light shielding plate 373 has a substantially L-shape having a horizontal portion 373a and a vertical portion 373b. The horizontal portion 373a is from the downstream side (opening end in the moving direction) of the chuck member 51R on the (-Y) side. The support portion 513 on the side) extends in the (+ X) direction, and the vertical portion 373b extends from the front end of the (+ X) side in the (+ Z) direction. Among them, the vertical portion 373b is effective as a light shielding portion, and the horizontal portion 373a has a function to arrange the vertical portion 373b at an appropriate position. Therefore, it is the vertical portion 373b that requires light shielding.

The chuck member 51R is configured to hold the substrate W in a state where the (+ X) side end portion of the substrate W protrudes from the (+ X) side end surface of the support portion 513 by only a length X1. The horizontal portion 373a is positioned lower than the lower surface of the substrate W and extends horizontally. The vertical portion 373b covers the (+ X) side end of the substrate W protruding from the chuck member 51R when viewed from the Y direction. The way of the front part extends upwards. Here, the amount of overlap between the substrate W and the light shielding plate 373 when viewed from the Y direction is indicated by the symbol X2. This overlap amount X2 is set to zero or more.

As shown in FIG. 12B, the position of the light path of the light beam L in the Z direction is adjusted so that the substrate W being conveyed partially shields the light beam L, and a part of the light beam L on the upper surface Wf side of the substrate W is not blocked by the substrate W The position that can be received by the light receiving unit 372. Then, as shown in FIG. 12C, the vertical portion 373b of the light shielding plate 373 has a width and a height that only temporarily temporarily shields the light beam L when crossing the light path of the light beam L. The shape of the light shielding plate 373 is arbitrary as long as the requirements are satisfied.

Further, as shown in FIG. 12D, when the substrate W is thin, a case where a part of the light beam L passes under the substrate W may occur. In order to allow the foreign object detection mechanism 37 to detect foreign objects even in such a case, as shown in FIG. 12D, it is preferable that the horizontal portion 373 a does not block light passing under the substrate W.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing a state of penetration of a light beam accompanying substrate transfer. FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing a change in the amount of light received by the light receiving unit as the substrate is conveyed. As shown in the column (a) of FIG. 13, at time T0 when the chuck 51 for transporting the substrate W is located farther upstream than the coating table 32, the light beam L is not blocked by any member. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 14, the amount of received light at time T0 is maximized.

As shown in the column (b) in FIG. 13, when the (+ X) side end surface of the light shielding plate 373 covers the light path of the light beam L, the light shielding of the light beam L by the light shielding plate 373 starts. The amount of received light gradually decreases from this time T1. As shown in column (c) of FIG. 13, when the light shielding plate 373 completely shields the light beam L at time T2, the amount of received light becomes minimum. While the complete light-shielding of the light beam by the light-shielding plate 373 continues, the amount of received light stays at the lowest level.

As shown in the column (d) in FIG. 13, the time T3 when the amount of received light passes from the (-X) side end face of the light-shielding plate 373 to the light path of the light beam L starts to increase again. Since a part of the light beam L is also shielded by the substrate W, the increase in the amount of received light is slow. Finally, after time T4 when the end surface of the (-X) side of the light shielding plate 373 is completely separated from the light path of the light beam L, the light beam L receives only light shielding by the substrate W. Therefore, as long as the upper surface of the substrate W is flat, the amount of light received by the light-receiving portion 372 should be between the maximum light amount in the fully penetrating state (times T0 to T1) and the minimum light amount in the fully light-shielding state (times T2 to T3). More stable.

On the other hand, if foreign matter adheres to the upper surface Wf of the substrate W, or the upper surface Wf of the substrate W is raised by the foreign object on the lower surface side, as shown by the dotted line in FIG. 14, the amount of received light is temporarily displayed Larger sharp drop. The presence of a foreign object can be detected by detecting a sharp decrease in the effective light amount during a period in which the received light amount should be stable. The presence of foreign objects acts in a direction that reduces the amount of received light.

In the case where the light shielding plate 373 is not provided, the light beam L in the full transmission state receives the light shielding by the portion made of the substrate W, and the amount of received light gradually decreases. The magnitude of the amount of light received by the substrate W after being shielded varies depending on the thickness of the substrate W or the positional relationship with the light beam L in the Z direction, and it is difficult to grasp in advance. In addition, since the actual detection signal includes noise, it is difficult to determine at which point the changed detection signal is stable. In other words, it is not possible to specify the transition time from the transition state to the steady state at the start of detection. For this reason, it is not possible to appropriately decide from which point in time the foreign object detection should start, and the transitional changes may be misidentified as foreign objects, or foreign objects that should be detected are overlooked.

When the light shielding plate 373 is provided, the light receiving unit 372 can obtain the light amount in the full transmission state and the light amount in the full light blocking state. In this process, it is possible to check whether the light projecting section 371 and the light receiving section 372 are operating correctly. For example, if the light axis of the light projecting section 371 deviates or stray light is incident on the light receiving section 372, the change in the amount of received light will be greatly different from the original.

In addition, at the time point when the received light amount is changed from the minimum light amount to the increase, light shielding by the light beam L formed by the substrate W is started. It can be judged that the effective reduction of the amount of received light thereafter is caused by foreign matter. Therefore, in principle, foreign object detection can be performed after time T3. If the influence of noise and the like is considered, it can be said that as long as the time T4 at which the influence of light shielding by the light shielding plate 373 completely disappears, more stable foreign object detection can be performed.

As shown in FIG. 12D, when the situation where the light beam L enters the lower surface of the substrate W is also considered, and it is necessary to know the time T4 when the received light amount is stable, the value after subtracting the value X2 from the value X1 in FIG. 12A (X1-X2) may be larger than the spot diameter D of the light beam L. In this way, since the period in which the amount of received light becomes constant after the time T3 has elapsed, the time T4 can be grasped. For example, when the beam diameter D is about 1 millimeter, X1 can be set to 5 mm, and X2 can be set to about 0 mm to 0.5 mm.

The value X2 can also be zero in principle. However, it is difficult to adjust the value strictly to zero, and it is not practical because it does not have the advantage of doing so. When there is only a slight gap between the front end of the substrate W and the light shielding plate 373 when viewed from the Y direction, the light leakage is detected to temporarily increase the amount of received light after time T3. Such light leakage will hinder the detection of foreign objects after stabilization. According to this, it is preferable that the front end of the substrate W and the light shielding plate 373 are overlapped with each other even slightly when viewed from the Y direction.

On the other hand, when the overlap amount X2 becomes larger, the area where the foreign matter cannot be detected by being blocked by the light shielding plate 373 at the end of the substrate W becomes larger. This can cause problems especially when foreign object detection is required from a region closer to the end of the substrate W. When the range in which foreign matter detection is required on the substrate W is known in advance, the amount of overlap can be determined as follows.

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram showing a positional relationship in a case where a range of foreign object detection on a substrate is known. As shown in FIG. 15, the detection range required for foreign object detection is set to start from the position where the end of the substrate W is separated by a distance X3. In order to perform stable detection, it is necessary to make the light beam L reach the detection range after the time T4 when the received light amount is stabilized. Therefore, as can be understood from FIG. 15, the distance X4 from the end of the (-Y) side of the vertical portion 373b of the light shielding plate 373 to the detection range may be larger than the beam diameter D of the beam L. Since the distance X4 is equivalent to the value obtained by subtracting the overlap amount X2 of the substrate W and the light shielding plate 373 from the distance X3, the result is that the overlap amount X2 is as follows: 0 ≦ X2 <(X3-D) Just set it.

It is necessary to enter the travel path of the light beam L in a state where the light beam L is shielded by the light shielding plate 373 at the front end of the substrate W, and the light beam L reaches the detection range after the light shielding by the light shielding plate 373 is completed. The period during which the amount of received light has stabilized. For this purpose, as long as the positional relationship between the light shielding plate 373 and the front end portion of the substrate W and the distance between the light shielding plate 373 and the range to be detected can be appropriately set when viewed along the travel path of the light beam L. In particular, when the leakage of the light beam L below the substrate W is not considered, it is not necessary to focus on the amount of protrusion of the substrate W from the chuck.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the flow of a foreign object detection process. The foreign object detection processing is implemented by the control unit 9 executing a control program determined in advance. At the start time of the foreign object detection processing, the emission of the light beam L from the light projecting section 371 and the light reception by the light receiving section 372 are started (step S201). In addition, although the method is not particularly limited, it is assumed that the detection signal output from the light receiving unit 372 corresponding to the amount of received light is appropriately filtered to detect an effective change in the amount of light.

The foreign object detection is performed on the premise that the light amount shown in FIG. 14 is changed, in other words, a full penetration state, a total light-shielding state, and a partial light-shielding state caused by the substrate appear in this order. First, the light-receiving unit 372 determines whether or not a light amount equal to or greater than the first light amount L1 that is set to an appropriate light-receiving light amount in the full transmission state is detected (step S202). As long as the light-emitting section 371 and the light-receiving section 372 operate normally, the light amount above the first light amount L1 should be detected. If the detection is not performed even after a predetermined time has elapsed (step S211), it is suspected that the device has some abnormality such as insufficient light amount from the light projecting section 371. In this case, a predetermined error process is performed (step S214).

When the light amount greater than the first light amount L1 is detected, it is then determined whether the light amount greater than the second light amount L2 that is set corresponding to the appropriate received light amount in the full light-shielding state is detected (step S203). If it is not detected even after a predetermined time has elapsed (step S212), it is suspected that noise, stray light, or the like due to a defect of the light receiving unit 372 is abnormal. Error processing is also performed in this case (step S214).

When the light amount greater than the second light amount L2 is detected, it waits for the time T4 at which the received light amount is stable to pass (step S204). If the amount of light is not stable even after a predetermined time has elapsed (step S213), error processing is performed (S214). Furthermore, the content of error handling in each of the cases described above is arbitrary.

When it is determined that the light amount has stabilized, the foreign object detection on the substrate W is started (step S205). That is, the amount of received light by the light receiving unit 372 is constantly monitored in advance, and when an effective light amount decrease is detected (step S206), the existence of a foreign substance is suspected. In this case, the conveyance of the substrate W is stopped (step S207), and a retreat operation from the application position is performed when any of the nozzles is located at the application position (step S208). When a foreign object is detected in the substrate W, the conveyance of the substrate W is stopped immediately, and the nozzle is retracted, thereby avoiding the foreign object from colliding with the nozzle or the foreign object being sandwiched between the substrate and the nozzle.

The user is notified that a foreign object has been detected (step S209). The users who have received the notification are able to take appropriate measures such as confirmation or removal of foreign objects, and differential execution of coating processes. The content of actions after a foreign object has been detected is not limited to such actions but is arbitrary.

Further, in the foreign object detection mechanism 37 described above, the light projecting section 371 emits the light beam L in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction Dt (X direction) of the substrate W, that is, in the Y direction. More generally, as long as the travel path of the light beam L is along the upper surface of the substrate W, it may not necessarily be orthogonal to the conveying direction. An example of such another aspect will be described below.

17A and 17B are schematic diagrams showing an example in which the traveling path of the light beam is not orthogonal to the conveying direction. FIG. 17A and FIG. 17B show the positional relationship of each part at two points in time when the position of the substrate W changes with the conveyance. As shown in FIG. 17A, the direction of the light beam L from the light projecting section 371 to the light receiving section 372 may be inclined with respect to the Y direction orthogonal to the transport direction Dt of the substrate W. In this case, the requirements to be satisfied by the foreign object detection mechanism 37 are as follows.

From the viewpoint of preventing foreign matter from being transported to the liquid-receiving position R, the traveling path of the light beam L is assumed to traverse above the coating table 32 on the upstream side in the transport direction Dt from the liquid-receiving position R. As shown in FIG. 17A, at the time when a part of the substrate W (lower right corner in the figure) first reaches the traveling route of the light beam L, it is necessary to continue the light beam L through the light shielding plate 373 before that time. Shelter. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 17B, at the time when the portion abutted by the supporting portion 513 of the lower surface chuck 51 in the substrate W first reaches the traveling route of the light beam L, the light beam by the light shielding plate 373 must have ended L's cover.

As long as the substrate W is moved by a distance greater than the cross-sectional length of the light beam L between two times, the state in which the light beam L is only shielded by the substrate W continues for a certain period. Therefore, the period during which the amount of light received by the light receiving unit 372 can be made constant can be made. In order to realize such a situation, the distance between the light shielding member 373 and the support portion 513 when viewed along the course of the light beam L may be longer than the length of the cross section of the light beam L viewed from the same direction. .

As described above, in this embodiment, the chuck 51 has a function as a "conveying unit" of the present invention, and the positioning mechanisms 63 and 73 have a function as a "positioning mechanism" of the present invention. In addition, the floating table section 3 has a function as the "floating section" of the present invention, and the coating table 32 and the floating control mechanism 35 herein correspond to the "table" and "buoyancy generation" of the present invention, respectively. mechanism". The preliminary ejection roller 652 and the nozzle cleaner 653 each have functions as the "first recovery unit" and the "first cleaning unit" of the present invention, and the preliminary ejection roller 752 and the nozzle cleaner 753 each have the functions of the present invention The functions of the "second recovery section" and "second cleaning section".

In the above embodiment, the bridge structure including the beam members 631, the column members 632, and 633 corresponds to the "first support portion" of the present invention. On the other hand, the bridge structure including the beam member 731 and the column members 732 and 733 corresponds to the "second support portion" of the present invention, and the walking guides 81L and 81R correspond to the "support mechanism" of the present invention.

In the above embodiment, the coating positions common to the first nozzle 61 and the second nozzle 71 correspond to the "first processing position" and the "second processing position" of the present invention. The coating liquid is equivalent to the "treatment liquid" of the present invention.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but can be variously modified in addition to the embodiments described above within a range not departing from the gist thereof. For example, in the embodiment described above, the coating process using the first nozzle 61 and the coating process using the second nozzle 71 have been described as separate processes. However, processing using both the first nozzle 61 and the second nozzle 71 can be performed in a series of processing procedures. For example, the coating apparatus 1 can also perform a coating process in which the first nozzle 61 and the second nozzle 71 are alternately moved to the coating position. Even in this case, the nozzles not in the coating position can be processed with excellent productivity by being placed in any of the preliminary discharge position, the cleaning position, and the standby position in accordance with the progress of the processing.

In the above embodiment, the first nozzle 61 and the second nozzle 71 are moved to the same coating position to perform the coating process. This is equivalent to the case where the "first processing position" and the "second processing position" of the present invention are the same. However, as mentioned before, it is not necessary that these positions are exactly the same. As long as the position control region Rc that can accurately manage the position in the vertical direction of the substrate W simultaneously covers the liquid injection position of the coating liquid from the first nozzle 61 and the second nozzle 71 to the substrate W, the first processing position and the second The processing position can also be shifted toward the carrying direction.

Conversely, in the configuration of the floating portion, as long as the "first processing position" and "second processing position" are included in a range that can achieve high-precision management of the position in the vertical direction of the substrate, these are set. Location. In other words, any of the following design ideas can be established: "First processing position" and "Second processing position" are determined first, and the design concept of "position control area" is set in such a way as to cover them; And firstly determine the "position control area" that can be realized in the device configuration, and set the design idea of "first processing position" and "second processing position" in accordance with this.

In addition, although the first nozzle 61 and the second nozzle 71 of the above-mentioned embodiment are both slit nozzles, the application method is not limited to the slit application but is arbitrary. In addition, the coating methods of the two nozzles need not be the same.

Moreover, although the said embodiment is a coating apparatus which performs the coating process which is "substrate processing" of this invention, the processing content is not limited to coating. For example, the present invention can be applied even when a substrate is supplied with a cleaning liquid or a rinse liquid from a nozzle for cleaning.

In addition, the above-mentioned embodiment is an apparatus that intermittently sequentially processes and processes a single substrate. However, the present invention can be applied to, for example, an apparatus that intermittently processes a long sheet-shaped substrate.

As described above, the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention may include a first maintenance unit having a first recovery unit and a first cleaning unit, and the first recovery unit may recover The first cleaning unit has positioned the processing liquid discharged from the first nozzle that has been positioned at the first preliminary discharge position on the upstream side in the conveying direction than the first processing position, and the first washing unit has been positioned to be discharged more than the first preliminary discharge. A first nozzle located closer to the first washing position on the upstream side of the conveying direction; and a second maintenance unit having a second recovery section and a second cleaning section, the second recovery section is The second cleaning unit is configured to carry the processing liquid discharged from the second nozzle at the second preliminary discharge position on the downstream side of the conveying direction closer to the second processing position than the second preparation discharge position. The second nozzle at the second washing position on the downstream side of the direction.

According to such a configuration, among the various stop positions of the nozzles, the positions for preliminary ejection and the positions for substrate processing can be arranged closest to each other. For this reason, it is possible to shorten the lead time in the case where the preliminary ejection and the substrate processing are performed alternately.

For another example, the space occupied by the first nozzle when it has been positioned at the first processing position and the space occupied by the second nozzle when it has been positioned at the second processing position may overlap each other on at least a portion. . In this case, the positioning of the first nozzle to the first processing position and the positioning of the second nozzle to the second processing position cannot be performed simultaneously and physically. The technical idea of the present invention and the functions and effects based on the technical idea can effectively function even in such a configuration.

For another example, the following configuration may be adopted: the processing liquid discharged from the discharge port of the first nozzle positioned at the first processing position is deposited on the substrate, and the liquid is deposited from the second processing position. The processing liquid discharged from the discharge port of the second nozzle is deposited on the liquid injection position of the substrate, and overlaps at least a part of the conveyance direction.

If the position of the ejection outlet of the first nozzle when it has been positioned at the first processing position and the position of the ejection outlet of the second nozzle when it has been positioned at the second processing position are exactly the same, in these cases, only the The treatment liquid is deposited on the substrate injection position, and the height of the substrate in the vertical direction can be managed well. Therefore, in this case, the length of the required position control area is minimized, and the position control of the substrate is the simplest. Even in the case where the positions of the discharge ports of the two nozzles are completely different, it can be said that as long as the positions of the processing liquids discharged from the respective nozzles overlap, they will be substantially the same. Even in such a case, since it is sufficient to provide a position control region that covers only the liquid injection positions from the two nozzles, it is still easy to control the position of the substrate.

For another example, the floating portion may have a table and a buoyancy generating mechanism. The table is provided with a flow hole for allowing gas to flow on the horizontal upper surface. The buoyancy generating mechanism is configured to circulate the gas through the flow hole. The substrate provides buoyancy; at least a portion of a portion of the substrate opposite to the upper surface of the substrate and the upper surface of the table in the conveyance path can also be set as a position control area. According to such a configuration, by controlling the gap between the upper surface of the table and the lower surface of the substrate, it is possible to realize a position control region for accurately controlling the position of the substrate in the vertical direction on at least a part of the position facing the table.

In this case, for example, the conveyance unit may hold the peripheral edge portion of the substrate further outside than the upper surface of the table in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction. According to such a configuration, the state in which the central portion of the substrate is largely opened can be formed by holding the peripheral edge portion of the substrate by the conveying portion, and a wide range of substrates can be processed. In this case, although the central portion of the substrate which is not held may be bent downward, it is easy to suppress deflection and maintain the substrate in a horizontal posture by disposing a table capable of providing buoyancy to the substrate.

For another example, it may have the following structure: the first nozzle is supported by the first support portion, and on the other hand, the second nozzle is supported by the second support portion which is different from the first support portion; the first support portion The second support portion and the second support portion are supported to move freely in the conveying direction by the same support mechanism; the positioning mechanism moves the first support portion and the second support portion individually relative to the support mechanism.

According to such a configuration, the first nozzle and the second nozzle are supported by separate support portions, so that the movement of one side can be suppressed from affecting the other side. In addition, since the two nozzles do not need to move without interfering with each other, at least a part can be shared by a mechanism that supports such support portions. With such a configuration, it is possible to minimize the increase in size or complexity of the device caused by the two nozzles.

As another example, the processing liquids discharged between the first nozzle and the second nozzle may be different from each other. According to the present invention, while the first nozzle and the second nozzle can share the configuration of the conveying system, the processing performed by each configuration can be independent of each other. Therefore, the treatment liquids used need not be the same. By using different processing liquids, it is possible to quickly switch between two types of processing using the same device.

    (Industrial availability)    

The present invention can be applied to various substrate processing apparatuses that provide a buoyancy to a substrate to float the substrate and carry out processing by a processing liquid while carrying the substrate in a horizontal posture.

Claims (7)

A substrate processing apparatus includes: a conveying section that partially holds a substrate and conveys it toward a predetermined conveying direction; and a floating section that provides buoyancy to the conveyed substrate from below to control the substrate in a horizontal posture, and controls The vertical direction position of the substrate in the position control area of the position of the substrate in the transportation path of the substrate; the first nozzle and the second nozzle each have a discharge outlet for discharging the processing liquid; the positioning mechanism is used for The first nozzle is moved and positioned at a plurality of stop positions including a first processing position; on the other hand, the second nozzle is independently moved from the first nozzle and positioned at a plurality of stop positions including a second processing position; The first maintenance unit includes a first recovery unit and a first cleaning unit. The first recovery unit recovers from a first preliminary ejection position that has been positioned upstream of the conveyance direction from the first processing position. The processing liquid discharged from the first nozzle, the first cleaning unit cleaning has been positioned more than the first preparation And the second maintenance unit includes a second recovery unit and a second cleaning unit, and the second recovery unit recovers from the The second cleaning unit is configured to clean the processing liquid discharged from the second nozzle positioned at a second preliminary discharge position on the downstream side of the conveying direction from the second processing position, and the second cleaning unit is positioned to be cleaned from the first Two second nozzles that are ready to be ejected at a second cleaning position on the downstream side of the carrying direction; the first processing position is that the ejection outlet of the first nozzle is adjacent to the substrate that is located in the position control area; The position of the upper surface; the second processing position is a position where the outlet of the second nozzle is disposed adjacent to the upper surface of the substrate located in the position control area; the positioning mechanism selectively performs the first nozzle Positioning to the first processing position, and positioning the second nozzle to the second processing position; positioning the first nozzle at the first In the processing position, the second nozzle is positioned further downstream than the second processing position in the conveying direction, and the second nozzle is positioned so as not to interfere with the first nozzle positioned in the first processing position. When the second nozzle is positioned at the second processing position, the first nozzle is positioned at an upstream side of the conveying direction than the first processing position, and the first nozzle is positioned not at A position where the second nozzle positioned at the second processing position interferes. A substrate processing apparatus includes: a conveying section that partially holds a substrate and conveys it toward a predetermined conveying direction; and a floating section that provides buoyancy to the conveyed substrate from below to control the substrate in a horizontal posture, and controls A position in the vertical direction of the substrate in a position control region of the substrate conveyance path that is a part of the conveyance direction; the first nozzle and the second nozzle each have a discharge outlet for discharging a processing liquid; and a positioning mechanism, The first nozzle is moved and positioned at a plurality of stop positions including a first processing position, and the second nozzle is independently moved from the first nozzle and positioned at a plurality of stop positions including a second processing position. The first processing position is a position where the discharge port of the first nozzle is located adjacent to the upper surface of the substrate located in the position control area; the second processing position is a position where the discharge port of the second nozzle is located adjacent to The position on the upper surface of the substrate in the position control region; The space occupied by the first nozzle at the first processing position and the space occupied by the second nozzle when it has been positioned at the second processing position are superimposed on each other at least in part; the positioning mechanism is selected Positioning the first nozzle to the first processing position and positioning the second nozzle to the second processing position; when positioning the first nozzle at the first processing position, the second nozzle is positioned It is positioned further downstream than the second processing position in the conveying direction, and is positioned at a position where the second nozzle does not interfere with the first nozzle positioned at the first processing position; When positioning at the second processing position, the first nozzle is positioned at an upstream position in the conveying direction from the first processing position, and the first nozzle is not positioned at a position that is not at the second processing position. The position where the aforementioned second nozzle interferes. A substrate processing apparatus includes: a conveying section that partially holds a substrate and conveys it toward a predetermined conveying direction; and a floating section that provides buoyancy to the conveyed substrate from below to control the substrate in a horizontal posture, and controls A position in the vertical direction of the substrate in a position control region of the substrate conveyance path that is a part of the conveyance direction; the first nozzle and the second nozzle each have a discharge outlet for discharging a processing liquid; and a positioning mechanism, The first nozzle is moved and positioned at a plurality of stop positions including a first processing position, and the second nozzle is independently moved from the first nozzle and positioned at a plurality of stop positions including a second processing position. The first processing position is a position where the discharge port of the first nozzle is located adjacent to the upper surface of the substrate located in the position control area; the second processing position is a position where the discharge port of the second nozzle is located adjacent to The position on the upper surface of the substrate in the position control area; The processing liquid discharged from the discharge port of the first nozzle at the first processing position is deposited on the liquid injection position of the substrate, and the discharge port is discharged from the second nozzle that has been positioned at the second processing position. The liquid injection position of the discharged processing liquid on the substrate overlaps at least partly in the conveying direction; the positioning mechanism selectively performs the positioning of the first nozzle to the first processing position and the second nozzle to the foregoing Positioning of the second processing position; when positioning the first nozzle at the first processing position, positioning the second nozzle at a position on the downstream side of the conveying direction from the second processing position, and positioning at the first A position where the two nozzles do not interfere with the first nozzle positioned at the first processing position; when the second nozzle is positioned at the second processing position, the first nozzle is positioned more than the first processing position It is located on the upstream side of the conveying direction, and is positioned in a position where the first nozzle is not in contact with the second position which is positioned in the second processing position. Mouth interference position. A substrate processing apparatus includes: a conveying section that partially holds a substrate and conveys it toward a predetermined conveying direction; and a floating section that provides buoyancy to the conveyed substrate from below to control the substrate in a horizontal posture, and controls A position in the vertical direction of the substrate in a position control region of the substrate conveyance path that is a part of the conveyance direction; the first nozzle and the second nozzle each have a discharge outlet for discharging a processing liquid; and a positioning mechanism, The first nozzle is moved and positioned at a plurality of stop positions including a first processing position, and the second nozzle is independently moved from the first nozzle and positioned at a plurality of stop positions including a second processing position. The first nozzle is supported by a first support portion, on the other hand, the second nozzle is supported by a second support portion different from the first support portion; the first support portion and the second support The parts are supported by the same supporting mechanism to move freely in the conveying direction; the first processing position is the first The ejection outlet of the nozzle is located adjacent to the upper surface of the substrate located in the position control area; the second processing position is the ejection outlet of the second nozzle adjacent to the substrate located in the position control area. The position of the upper surface; the positioning mechanism moves the first support portion and the second support portion individually relative to the support mechanism, and selectively performs positioning of the first nozzle to the first processing position, and the positioning Positioning of the second nozzle toward the second processing position; when positioning the first nozzle at the first processing position, positioning the second nozzle at a position on the downstream side of the conveying direction than the second processing position, And positioned at a position where the second nozzle does not interfere with the first nozzle positioned at the first processing position; when the second nozzle is positioned at the second processing position, the first nozzle is positioned at a position higher than the first nozzle The first processing position is located further upstream from the carrying direction, and is positioned at a position where the first nozzle is not positioned at The second nozzle of said second processing position of the interference position. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the floating portion includes a table and a buoyancy generating mechanism, and the table is provided with a flow hole for allowing gas to flow on a horizontal upper surface, The buoyancy generating mechanism provides buoyancy to the substrate by allowing gas to circulate through the circulation hole; at least a part of a portion of the lower surface of the substrate being transported and the upper surface of the table facing in the transport path is The aforementioned position control area. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the conveyance section holds a peripheral edge portion of the substrate outside the upper surface of the table in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the processing liquid systems discharged between the first nozzle and the second nozzle are different from each other.