TWM537205U - Liquid level control system - Google Patents

Abstract

The present utility invention provides a liquid level control system. The present invention achieves a uniformly dipping process of a substrate during different segments of a fixed time period, by using a liquid removal device to gradually remove a processing liquid from a tank. The present invention can prevent the discard of the substrate, which is unevenly processed due to the issues of vibration and liquid surface disturbance accompanied with the control system and method in the conventional art which mechanically moves the substrate away from the processing liquid during the process.

Description

Liquid level control system

This creation relates to a liquid level control system, and more particularly to a liquid level control system suitable for wet processes, particularly for the panel industry and the semiconductor industry and the bio industry.

In the panel industry, the development of wet processes has become quite mature. However, due to the limitations of existing institutional designs, there are still many problems in actual operation.

Referring to Figure 1, a schematic diagram of a prior art level control system 10 is illustrated. The control system 10 includes a water tank 11 and a mechanical clamping device 13. The water tank 11 stores a liquid 12. In general, the liquid 12 is a treatment liquid such as an etchant and/or a biological solution. The mechanical clamping device 13 holds a substrate 14 and moves slowly away from the liquid 12 in the liquid 12 to achieve the purpose of evenly immersing the substrate 14 at a fixed time. In general, the substrate 14 refers to a glass panel or wafer. In the prior art, the substrate 14 is lifted up by the mechanical clamping device 13 every fixed time. In general, the mechanical actuation method does not affect, however, when the mechanical actuation method moves at a speed of a few micrometers per minute, it is easy to generate vibration, which causes disturbance on the liquid surface, so that it should not be originally A portion of the substrate 14 soaked into the liquid 12 contacts the liquid 12 again, causing the product to produce defects.

Therefore, it is necessary to provide a liquid level control system to solve the above problems.

In view of this, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a liquid level control system which has the effect of improving the above problems.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a liquid level control system for wet processing of a substrate, which includes a water tank, a fixture, and a liquid removal device.

The sink is for storing a liquid. The fixing device is configured to fix a substrate in the liquid, wherein the liquid is used to treat a portion of the substrate immersed in the liquid. The liquid removal device is in fluid communication with the sink and is used to remove the liquid from the sink. As the liquid is gradually removed from the water tank, the portion of the substrate that is immersed in the liquid is reduced.

In a preferred embodiment, the liquid is an etchant and/or a biological solution.

In a preferred embodiment, the fixture may be mounted to one of the bottom, side and exterior of the sink.

In a preferred embodiment, the liquid removal device is one of a micro valve and a quantity of pumps.

In a preferred embodiment, the liquid level control system further includes a filter disposed at a position before the liquid enters the liquid removal device.

In a preferred embodiment, the level control system further includes a dropper disposed on a side of the liquid exiting the liquid removal device.

In a preferred embodiment, the liquid level control system further includes a vacuum device coupled to the dropper.

In a preferred embodiment, the liquid removal device is a capillary unit that is removed from the sink by capillary action by contacting the liquid.

Compared with the prior art, in the present invention, the substrate is fixed at a certain distance from the bottom of the water tank, and the liquid is gradually removed from the water tank according to different needs by the liquid removing device, completely avoiding The prior art utilizes mechanical problems associated with vibrations and liquid level disturbances.

10, 100‧‧‧ liquid level control system

11, 110‧‧‧ sink

12, 120‧‧‧ liquid

13‧‧‧Mechanical clamping device

14, 140‧‧‧ substrate

130‧‧‧Fixed devices

150‧‧‧Liquid removal device

160‧‧‧Filter

170‧‧‧ dropper

172‧‧‧Negative pressure device

S01-S03‧‧‧Steps

1 is a schematic view showing a liquid level control system of the prior art; and FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a liquid level control system according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention, which is used for wet processing of a substrate; 3 is a schematic view showing a liquid level control system according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention, which is used for wet processing of a substrate; and FIG. 4, showing a flow of a micro liquid level control method according to the present invention. Figure, which is used for wet processing of substrates.

The embodiments described in detail below with reference to the drawings will make the advantages and features of the present invention and the methods for achieving these advantages and features more apparent. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, and the present invention can be implemented in various ways that are different from each other. The embodiments disclosed below are only used to make the disclosure of the present creation more complete and contribute to the creation of the present creation. A person of ordinary skill in the art can fully understand the scope of the present creation, and the creation is defined in accordance with the scope of the patent application. Throughout the specification, the same reference numerals denote the same device elements.

Referring to Figure 2, there is shown a schematic diagram of a level control system 100 in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the present invention for wet processing of substrates. The liquid level control system 100 includes a water The tank 110, a fixture 130, and a liquid removal device 150. It should be noted that the liquid removal device 150 in this figure is a microvalve, and additionally a filter 160 and a dropper 170 are provided. The dropper 170 can be connected to the atmosphere or a vacuum device 172. In other preferred embodiments, the filter 160 and/or the dropper 170 and/or the vacuum device 172 may be selectively disposed without limitation.

The sink 110 is used to store a liquid 120. In general, the liquid 120 is a treatment liquid such as an etchant and/or a biological solution, or other liquids that may be used in a wet process. The fixing device 130 is used to fix a substrate 140 in the liquid 120. The liquid removal device 150 is in fluid communication with the sink 110 and is used to remove the liquid 120 from the sink 110. Because in the panel or wafer industry, a fixed-time uniform segmentation soaking procedure is required for the substrate 140, in short, the portion of the substrate 140 that is immersed in the liquid 120 is gradually reduced. The present invention discards the conventional method of moving the substrate 140, but uses the liquid 120 to be gradually removed from the water tank 110, so that the portion of the substrate 140 soaked in the liquid 120 is reduced. As for the speed of removal, it can be determined by means of timed quantification and/or continuous quantification depending on actual demand.

In Fig. 1, the fixing device 130 is attached to the bottom of the water tank 110. However, in other preferred embodiments, the fixture 130 can also be mounted to the side of the sink 110 and to one of the exterior locations. As long as the distance of the substrate 140 from the bottom of the water tank 110 can be made constant, the substrate 140 can be subjected to a fixed-time uniform segmentation soaking procedure by changing the liquid level of the liquid 120.

Generally, the substrate 140 is a glass substrate or a wafer, so the substrate 140 is a sink in the liquid 120.

In the preferred embodiment, it is contemplated that the liquid 120 may produce etch deposits or other contaminants such that the filter 160 is disposed at a location before the liquid 120 enters the liquid removal device 150. In addition, in general, the liquid removal device 150 sets a relatively small amount of liquid removal, which may cause a vacuum or other problem that prevents the liquid 120 from being smoothly removed, so that the liquid 120 leaves the liquid removal device 150. The rear side of the dropper 170 can be coupled to the negative pressure device 172 by application of a negative pressure to ensure that the liquid 120 can continue to be removed from the sink 110.

3 is a schematic diagram of a liquid level control system 200 in accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the present invention for wet processing of substrates. The preferred embodiment differs from the first preferred embodiment in that the liquid removal device 150 is a capillary unit that is removed from the sink 110 by capillary action by contacting the liquid 120.

Fig. 4 is a flow chart showing a method for controlling a minute level according to the present invention, which is used for wet processing of a substrate. For the components used in the method, please refer to the foregoing preferred embodiment, and details are not described herein. The method for controlling the micro-level includes: first, performing a step S01, setting a water tank 110 to store a liquid 120; then, performing step S02, fixing a substrate 140 in the liquid 120 by a fixing device 130, wherein The liquid 120 is used to treat the portion of the substrate 140 immersed in the liquid 120; then, in step S03, the liquid 120 is gradually removed from the water tank 110 by a liquid removing device 150 to make the substrate 140 The portion that sinks in the liquid 120 gradually decreases.

In summary, in the present invention, the substrate is fixed at a certain distance from the bottom of the water tank, and the liquid is gradually removed from the water tank according to different needs by the liquid removing device, completely avoiding the previous The problem arises from the use of mechanical vibrations and liquid level disturbances: the substrate is scrapped due to uneven handling.

Although the present invention has been disclosed in the above preferred embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention, and those skilled in the art can make various changes without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Retouching, therefore, the scope of protection of this creation is subject to the definition of the scope of the patent application attached.

100‧‧‧Level Control System

110‧‧‧Sink

120‧‧‧Liquid

130‧‧‧Fixed devices

140‧‧‧Substrate

150‧‧‧Liquid removal device

160‧‧‧Filter

170‧‧‧ dropper

172‧‧‧Negative pressure device

Claims (8)

A liquid level control system for wet processing of a substrate, comprising: a water tank for storing a liquid; and a fixing device for fixing a substrate in the liquid, wherein the liquid is used for immersing the substrate in the liquid a portion of the liquid is treated; and a liquid removal device in fluid communication with the water tank and for removing the liquid from the water tank; wherein the substrate is gradually removed as the liquid is removed from the water tank The portion soaked in the liquid will be reduced. The liquid level control system of claim 1, wherein the liquid is an etchant and/or a biological solution. The liquid level control system according to claim 1, wherein the fixing device may be installed at one of a bottom, a side, and an outer side of the water tank. The liquid level control system of claim 1, wherein the liquid removal device is one of a micro valve and a quantity of pumps. The liquid level control system of claim 4, wherein the liquid level control system further comprises a filter disposed at a position before the liquid enters the liquid removal device. The liquid level control system of claim 5, wherein the liquid level control system further comprises a dropper disposed on a side of the liquid after the liquid removal device is removed. The liquid level control system of claim 6, wherein the liquid level control system further comprises a vacuum device connected to the dropper. The liquid level control system of claim 1, wherein the liquid removal device is a capillary unit that is removed from the water tank by capillary action by contacting the liquid.