WO2005048336A1

WO2005048336A1 - Liquid removing device

Info

Publication number: WO2005048336A1
Application number: PCT/JP2004/016667
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kouichi Inoue; Tomoki Kondo; Osamu Fujine
Original assignee: Sumitomo Precision Products Co., Ltd
Priority date: 2003-11-14
Filing date: 2004-11-10
Publication date: 2005-05-26
Also published as: JP2005144325A; JP4057993B2

Abstract

Liquid remaining on the surface of a large-sized substrate is removed as much as possible without causing the surface to dry even when the substrate is transported at a high speed. Also, the thickness of a liquid film remaining after the removal is made uniform, and liquid scattering in the removal is suppressed. To achieve this, linear nozzles (30, 40) for removing liquid by air knives across the overall width of a substrate (10) are arranged in two stages in the transportation direction of the substrate (10). The linear nozzles (30, 40) are inclined at an angle of 5 to 30 degrees to the side relative to the transportation direction of the substrate (10). The distance (D) between the linear nozzles (30, 40) is set to 50 to 300 mm. The volume of air discharged from the linear nozzle (40) is set equal to or less than that from the linear nozzle (30). The inclination angle (θ2) of an air knife relative to a vertical line is set to 25 to 30 degrees for the linear nozzle (30) and to 20 to 25 degrees for the linear nozzle (40).

Description

Specification

Drainer

Technical field

The present invention relates to a liquid removal apparatus that removes a processing liquid remaining on the surface of a substrate at an outlet of a processing zone using a specific processing liquid in a substrate transfer type substrate processing equipment called a flat flow type. .

Background art

[0002] In the production of liquid crystal panels, an integrated circuit is formed on the surface of a large-area glass substrate by repeatedly performing a resist application, image development, etching, and resist peeling process on the surface of a large-sized glass substrate as a material. . One of the typical processing methods is a substrate transfer method called flat flow, in which various processing is performed on the surface of a substrate while the substrate is transported in a horizontal direction.

[0003] For example, in a flat-flow type etching process, an etchant is supplied to the surface of a substrate that is conveyed in a horizontal direction in a horizontal posture, and then the surface is washed with pure water. At the exit of the etching zone, so-called draining is performed to remove the etching liquid remaining on the surface of the substrate to the extent that it does not dry, in order to prevent the etching liquid from entering the next washing zone. . As the liquid draining device, an air knife type that ejects a slit nozzle cartridge in a thin film shape is frequently used (see Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2).

Patent Document 1: JP-A-8-2364987

Patent Document 2: JP 2001-50660 A

[0006] In the liquid draining with an air knife, the collision angle of the air knife is generally tilted in the counter direction with respect to the substrate surface in order to enhance the liquid draining effect. Apart from this inclination, the slit nozzle is often inclined laterally with respect to the substrate transport direction. This is a force that causes the collision of air to start from the corner of the substrate due to the inclination of the slit nozzle, thereby suppressing the liquid from scattering. On the other hand, when the substrate is inclined with respect to the substrate transport direction, there is a problem that residual liquid collects at corners located diagonally. In order to solve this problem, it has been considered to combine a short dedicated auxiliary nozzle for locally draining the corner (see Patent Reference 2).

[0007] In such liquid removal using an air knife, it is important not to dry the surface of the substrate. This is because if the surface of the substrate dries during the transition from the chemical solution treatment to the cleaning treatment, the surface becomes uneven in treatment. Therefore, it is required to remove as much chemical solution as possible without drying the surface of the substrate and to make the thickness of the liquid film remaining thin on the surface of the substrate uniform. Incidentally, if the film thickness of the chemical solution remaining after draining varies, processing unevenness occurs.

[0008] However, as a recent trend, substrates are becoming larger and larger (more than 730 X 920 mm), and the transfer speed thereof is significantly increasing (more than 200 mmZsec). For this reason, the amount of liquid remaining on the surface of the substrate after draining increases, and the film thickness after draining becomes non-uniform, resulting in uneven processing. The method of reducing the substrate transfer speed during draining is theoretically possible.However, changing the transfer speed creates ripples on the substrate, which not only has a problem in terms of processing efficiency, but also causes processing unevenness. It is difficult to adopt it in actual operation. In addition, the amount of air discharged has been increasing in order to enhance the liquid drainage ability, and the scattering of liquid and the resulting processing defects have become more pronounced.

Disclosure of the invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

[0009] An object of the present invention is to remove residual liquid from the surface of a large substrate as much as possible without drying the surface even when the substrate is conveyed at high speed, and to reduce the thickness of the liquid film remaining after the removal. It is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of making the surface uniform and suppressing the liquid scattering.

Means for solving the problem

[0010] In order to achieve the above object, the liquid draining apparatus of the present invention is used in a transport type substrate processing facility for supplying a processing liquid to the surface of a substrate to be transported and performing various types of processing, and In the liquid removal device that removes the processing liquid remaining on the surface of the substrate, linear nozzles that perform liquid removal by air knife over the entire width of the substrate are arranged in parallel in two stages in the substrate transfer direction, and the straight nozzles are arranged in parallel. The nozzle is inclined at an angle of 5 to 30 degrees in the same direction as the transport direction of the substrate.

[0011] When a single linear nozzle forming an air knife is used, and a large substrate is conveyed at high speed, The drainage effect becomes insufficient, and the uniformity of the film thickness also decreases. Increasing the air discharge increases the liquid drainage effect, but further degrades the uniformity of the film thickness and makes the liquid splash more noticeable. On the other hand, if a linear nozzle for the air knife is provided in two stages, liquid removal can be performed mainly in the first stage, and the burden of drainage can be reduced in the second stage. Can be eliminated. The two linear nozzles are both main nozzles that cover the entire width of the substrate. By using these two main nozzles together and sharing functions, the amount of liquid remaining on the substrate surface is reduced even when large substrates are conveyed at high speed, and the liquid film thickness becomes uniform. In addition, liquid scattering by each air knife is also suppressed.

One of the important factors in the liquid draining device of the present invention is the inclination angle θ 1 of the linear nozzle with respect to the substrate transfer direction. If the angle is less than 5 degrees, the liquid scattering when the corner of the substrate enters the air knife becomes remarkable. If it exceeds 30 degrees, processing unevenness occurs in the substrate width direction. Therefore, the inclination angle θ1 is preferably 5 to 30 degrees. A particularly preferable inclination angle θ1 is 10 to 20 degrees.

[0013] Other important factors include the distance D between the two linear nozzles, the balance of the amount of air discharged from each nozzle, the angle of inclination of the air knife with respect to the substrate surface Θ2, and the distance from each nozzle to the substrate surface. Distance L and so on.

[0014] Explaining in order, the nozzle interval L is preferably from 50 to 300 mm, more preferably from 100 to 200 mm. If this interval is too short, there is a risk that air interference will occur between the first-stage air knife and the second-stage air knife, and the intended effect may not be obtained. If this interval is too large, when the liquid is removed in the first step, the film pressure is still non-uniform, so that the non-uniform processing proceeds up to the second step, resulting in processing unevenness.

[0015] With respect to the discharge amount, it is preferable that the force for making the second stage the same as the first stage is smaller than the first stage, and specifically, it is preferable that the discharge amount of the first stage be 1 and 0.5-1. . This is because the substrate may be dried when the discharge amount of the second stage is larger than the discharge amount of the first stage, and when the discharge amount of the second stage is extremely smaller than the discharge amount of the first stage, the uniformity of the liquid thickness is reduced. It is because it decreases. If the substrate dries, uneven spots will occur and cause processing failure.

The reference first-stage discharge amount is 1000 to 2000 LZmin per 1300 mm of substrate width. [0017] The angle of inclination Θ2 of the air knife with respect to the substrate surface is represented by an angle with respect to a vertical line, and 15-45 degrees is preferred in the counter direction. The first stage is preferably larger than the second stage. Particularly preferred inclination angles Θ2 are 25-30 degrees for the first stage and 20-25 degrees for the second stage. If the inclination angle is small, the liquid draining effect becomes insufficient, and if it is too large, liquid scattering becomes remarkable. This is why it is desirable to increase the inclination angle Θ2 of the first stage, which gives priority to the drainage effect.

The linear nozzle force and the distance D to the substrate surface are preferably 3 to 10 mm, and particularly preferably 5 to 7 mm. Linear nozzle force If the distance D to the substrate surface is too small, turbulence will occur, and if it is too large, the drainage effect will decrease.

[0019] A linear nozzle is a force that is usually a slit nozzle. Alternatively, for example, a plurality of flat nozzles may be arranged so as to form an air knife! /.

[0020] The liquid draining device of the present invention is particularly effective when a large substrate of 730 X 920 mm or more, at which the liquid draining effect is insufficient or unstable, is conveyed at a high speed of 200 mmZsec or more. The liquid draining device of the present invention is also effective for removing residual liquid remaining on the front surface of the substrate. Regarding residual liquid adhering and remaining on the back surface of the substrate, for example, even if the liquid draining device of the present invention is not necessarily used, for example, A one-stage liquid drainage device can be used sufficiently.

The invention's effect

[0021] In the liquid draining device of the present invention, linear nozzles for performing liquid removal by an air knife over the entire width of the substrate are arranged in parallel in two stages in the substrate transfer direction, and the two linear nozzles are arranged in parallel. By tilting the substrate in the same direction as the substrate transport direction at an angle of 5-30 degrees, even when transporting large substrates at high speed, the surface of the substrate can be Since the remaining liquid can be removed and the thickness of the liquid film remaining after the removal can be made as uniform as possible, high quality processing without unevenness is possible.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view of a liquid draining device showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an arrow AA in FIG.

The liquid draining device of the present embodiment is used for etching equipment used for manufacturing a glass substrate for a liquid crystal panel. Etching equipment is controlled by a roller-type substrate transfer mechanism 20. By horizontally supporting and transporting the glass substrate 10 horizontally, the substrate 10 is sequentially passed through a chemical treatment zone and a washing zone, so that a conductive film such as aluminum is coated with a resist. Selectively remove parts.

The liquid draining device of the present embodiment is provided at an outlet of a chemical solution processing zone for supplying an etching solution to the surface of the substrate 10, and more specifically, is provided above the outlet. . This liquid draining device has two slit nozzles 30 and 40 arranged in parallel in the transport direction of the substrate 10. Each slit nozzle is configured to discharge an air in a curtain shape from a narrow slit continuous in the longitudinal direction to form air knives 31 and 41 continuous in the nozzle longitudinal direction.

[0025] The two slit nozzles 30, 40 each have a total length straddling the substrate 10, and are laterally formed at a predetermined angle 01 (01 = 10-20 degrees) with respect to the transport direction of the substrate 10. It is inclined. Each of the slit nozzles 30 and 40 is inclined at an angle of Θ2 with respect to a vertical line so that the air knives 31 and 41 impinge and collide with the substrate 10 in the force center direction with respect to the transport direction of the substrate 10. The angle of inclination Θ2 is set to 25-30 degrees for the slit nozzle 30 on the upstream side and 20-25 degrees for the slit nozzle 40 on the downstream side.

[0026] The distance D between the slit nozzles 30, 40 is set to 100-200 mm, and the distance L (vertical height) from the slit nozzles 30, 40 to the surface of the substrate 10 is set to 5-7 mm. You.

[0027] The air discharge amount from the slit nozzles 30, 40 is set to be equal to or higher than the discharge amount force from the slit nozzle 30 located on the upstream side and the discharge amount force from the slit nozzle 40 located on the downstream side. . Here, the slit widths of the slit nozzles 30 and 40 are the same. Therefore, the discharge pressure is adjusted to achieve this discharge amount balance. As described above, 0.5-1 is appropriate as the ratio of the latter discharge amount when the former discharge amount is set to 1.

On the other hand, a slit nozzle 50 provided below the substrate transfer line is provided for an etchant adhering to the back surface of the substrate 10. The slit nozzle 50 is provided opposite to the slit nozzle 30 with the transfer line of the substrate 10 interposed therebetween. As with the slit nozzle 30, the slit nozzle 50 is inclined with respect to the transfer line of the substrate 10, and the air knife 51 to be formed is formed on the back surface of the substrate 10. Power It is arranged obliquely with respect to the vertical line so that it collides in the center direction.

According to the liquid draining apparatus of the present embodiment, after the etching liquid is supplied in the chemical processing zone of the etching apparatus, it is discharged from the slit nozzles 30 and 40 provided on the substrate transfer line at the outlet thereof. The etching liquid remaining on the surface of the substrate 10 is gradually removed by air, that is, the air knives 31 and 41. The etching liquid remaining on the back surface of the substrate 10 is removed by air discharged from a slit nozzle 50 provided below the substrate transfer line, that is, an air knife 51.

Here, paying attention to the etching solution remaining on the surface of the substrate 10, first, almost half of the etching solution is removed by the air knife 31 formed by the first-stage slit nozzle 30. With this alone, it takes time to replace water with water in the washing zone, which has a large amount of residual liquid after removal, and as a result, processing unevenness occurs. On the other hand, if most of the etching liquid is to be removed by the first-stage slit nozzle 30, the residual liquid decreases but the film thickness becomes uneven.

However, according to the liquid draining apparatus of the present embodiment, after almost half of the etching liquid on the substrate 10 is removed by the air knife 31 formed by the first-stage slit nozzle 30, the two-step The residual liquid is removed by the air knife 41 formed by the slit nozzle 40 of the eye. Since the burden of the second-stage air knife 41 is reduced, the minimum etching liquid that can prevent drying can be left on the substrate 10 to remove the etching liquid, and the thickness of the remaining etching liquid can be reduced. It can be made uniform.

[0032] In addition, the two slit nozzles 30, 40 are inclined sideways with respect to the transport direction of the substrate 10. Therefore, the air knives 31 and 41 formed by the slit nozzles 30 and 40 gradually enter the corners of the substrate 10. For this reason, liquid scattering is suppressed. Also, with respect to this liquid scattering, the two slit nozzles 30 and 40 are arranged in two stages, so that drastic suppression can be achieved.

[0033] Even when a large substrate of 730 X 920 mm or more is conveyed at a high speed of 200 mmZsec or more, residual liquid can be removed from the surface of the substrate as much as possible without drying the surface, As a result, the amount of the etchant taken out to the washing zone can be reduced, and the replacement efficiency in the washing zone can be increased. Further, since the film thickness remaining after removing the etching solution can be made as uniform as possible, processing unevenness can be prevented. [0034] In the above embodiment, the liquid draining device is used for etching equipment, but it can be used for other wet processing including washing with water. In the above embodiment, the substrate is horizontally supported. However, an inclined transfer system in which the substrate is transferred while being tilted to the side may be employed.

Brief Description of Drawings

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a liquid draining device showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an arrow AA in FIG. 1.

Claims

The scope of the claims

[1] In a liquid removal apparatus that is used in a transport type substrate processing equipment that supplies various types of wet processing by supplying a processing liquid to the surface of a substrate to be transported and that removes a processing liquid remaining on the surface of the substrate, Linear nozzles that remove liquid with an air knife over the entire width of the substrate are arranged in parallel in two stages in the substrate transfer direction, and the linear nozzles are set at 5 to 30 degrees in the same direction as the substrate transfer direction. A liquid draining device characterized by being inclined at an angle.

[2] The two linear nozzles are arranged at an angle to the vertical so that each air knife strikes the substrate surface at an angle of 30-60 degrees to one direction of the counter with respect to the substrate transfer direction. Been! The liquid drainage device according to claim 1.

[3] The liquid draining device according to claim 1, wherein an interval between the two linear nozzles is 50 to 300 mm.

[4] The amount of air discharged from the upstream linear nozzle is greater than the amount of air discharged from the downstream linear nozzle! The liquid drainage device according to claim 1,

5. The liquid draining device according to claim 1, wherein the linear nozzle is a slit nozzle.