WO2022209197A1

WO2022209197A1 - Coating processing device, coating processing method, and coating processing program

Info

Publication number: WO2022209197A1
Application number: PCT/JP2022/002225
Authority: WO
Inventors: 陽介三根; 文宏宮▲崎▼; 耕三金川; 裕一道木; 光利冨田; 和幸池田; 繁実大野
Original assignee: 東京エレクトロン株式会社
Priority date: 2021-03-31
Filing date: 2022-01-21
Publication date: 2022-10-06
Also published as: TW202304599A

Abstract

This coating processing device comprises: stages (54-56) that cause a substrate (S) to float by means of the wind pressure of a gas; carriages (50) that are disposed above the stages (54-56) and that are provided with a plurality of discharge heads that discharge a functional liquid; a transportation unit that holds the floated substrate (S) and moves the substrate (S) along the transportation direction; raising/lowering mechanisms (510) that raise and lower the carriages (50) between a processing position at which the functional liquid is discharged at the substrate (S) and a retracted position above the processing position; and a control unit (81) that executes a first movement process for controlling a raising/lowering mechanism (510) and moving a carriage (50) from the retracted position to the processing position after transportation of the substrate (S) by the transportation unit has started and before discharging of the functional liquid at the substrate (S) is started, and a second movement process for controlling the raising/lowering mechanism (510) and moving the carriage (50) from the processing position to the retracted position after discharging of the functional liquid at the substrate (S) has ended.

Description

COATING PROCESSING APPARATUS, COATING PROCESSING METHOD, AND COATING PROGRAM

The present disclosure relates to a coating processing apparatus, a coating processing method, and a coating processing program.

Conventionally, there has been known a droplet ejection device that applies droplets of a coating liquid to a substrate being conveyed by an inkjet method.

Patent Document 1 discloses a stage section that floats a substrate to a predetermined height by the wind pressure of gas, and a plurality of ejections that drop functional liquid droplets from above onto the substrate that is floated at a predetermined height from the stage section. A coating device is disclosed that includes a head.

JP 2018-126718 A

The present disclosure provides a technique for suppressing ejection failure due to drying of the functional liquid.

A coating processing apparatus according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a stage, a carriage, a transport section, an elevating mechanism, and a control section. The stage floats the substrate by wind pressure of gas. The carriage is arranged above the stage and has a plurality of ejection heads for ejecting the functional liquid. The transport unit holds the substrate floated from the stage and moves it along the transport direction. The elevating mechanism elevates the carriage between a processing position where the functional liquid is discharged onto the substrate and a retracted position above the processing position. The control unit controls the elevating mechanism to move the carriage from the retracted position to the processing position after the transport of the substrate by the transport unit is started and before the functional liquid is started to be discharged onto the substrate. and a second moving process of controlling the elevating mechanism to move the carriage from the processing position to the retracted position after the discharge of the functional liquid onto the substrate is completed.

According to the present disclosure, ejection failure due to drying of the functional liquid can be suppressed.

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing part of the substrate processing apparatus according to the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing the configuration of a drawing unit according to the embodiment; FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view showing the configuration of the carriage according to the embodiment; FIG. 4 is a schematic side view showing the configuration of the drawing unit according to the embodiment; FIG. 5 is a schematic side view showing an operation example of the flushing section and the inspection section according to the embodiment; FIG. 6 is a schematic side view showing an operation example of the flushing section and the inspection section according to the embodiment; FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control device according to the embodiment. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of drawing gap information for a certain ejection head. FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining an example of a method of creating drawing gap information according to the embodiment. FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view showing the arrangement of the second measuring section according to the embodiment. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing procedures of a first movement process, a second movement process, a first pressure change process, and a second pressure change process among processes executed by the substrate processing apparatus according to the embodiment. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the state of the drawing unit before the first movement process, the second movement process, the first pressure change process, and the second pressure change process are started. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an operation example of the first movement process and the first pressure change process for the first carriage group. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an operation example of the first movement process and the first pressure change process for the second carriage group. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an operation example of the first movement process and the first pressure change process for the third carriage group. FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an operation example of the second movement process and the second pressure change process for the first carriage group. FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an operation example of the second movement process and the second pressure change process for the second carriage group. 18 is a schematic side view showing the configuration of a drawing unit according to the first modification of the embodiment; FIG. FIG. 19 is a schematic side view showing the configuration of the drawing unit according to the second modification of the embodiment;

Hereinafter, embodiments of the coating processing apparatus, the coating processing method, and the coating processing program disclosed in the present application will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the coating processing apparatus, the coating processing method, and the coating processing program disclosed by the embodiments shown below are not limited.

Each drawing referred to below shows an orthogonal coordinate system in which the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and the Z-axis direction are defined to be orthogonal to each other, and the Z-axis positive direction is the vertically upward direction, in order to make the explanation easier to understand.

Here, the front-rear direction is defined with the positive direction of the Y-axis as the front and the negative direction of the Y-axis as the rear, and the left-right direction with the positive direction of the X-axis as the right and the negative direction of the X-axis as the left. . A vertical direction is defined in which the positive direction of the Z-axis is upward and the negative direction of the Z-axis is downward. The substrate processing apparatus 1 processes the substrate S while transporting the substrate S forward and backward along the front-rear direction. That is, the substrate processing apparatus 1 processes the substrate S while transporting the substrate S along the transport direction (Y-axis positive direction).

<Overall composition>
An overall configuration of a substrate processing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing part of a substrate processing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment. The substrate processing apparatus 1 performs drawing on the substrate S by an inkjet method while horizontally transporting the substrate S as a work. The substrate S is, for example, a substrate used for flat panel displays.

The substrate processing apparatus 1 includes a first transfer stage 2 , a second transfer stage 3 , a transfer section 4 and a drawing section 5 . The substrate processing apparatus 1 also includes a flushing section 6 , an inspection section 7 and a control device 8 .

The first transfer stage 2 and the second transfer stage 3 have many ejection ports (not shown). The stage blows compressed gas (for example, air) from an ejection port toward the lower surface of the substrate S, and floats the substrate S by the wind pressure of the gas.

The first transport stage 2 and the second transport stage 3 are arranged along the substrate S transport direction. Specifically, the first carrier stage 2 is arranged on the upstream side (Y-axis negative direction side) of the substrate S in the carrier direction of the second carrier stage 3 . is disposed downstream (Y-axis positive direction side) in the transport direction of the substrate S. A drawing unit 5 is arranged between the first carrier stage 2 and the second carrier stage 3 . In this manner, the first carrier stage 2, the second carrier stage 3, and the drawing section 5 are arranged in the order of the first carrier stage 2, the drawing section 5, and the second carrier stage 3 along the positive Y-axis direction. there is

The transport unit 4 holds the substrate S floated from the first transport stage 2, the second transport stage 3, and a first processing stage 54 to a third processing stage 56 (see FIG. 2) to be described later, and moves the substrate S in the transport direction (positive Y-axis). direction). Specifically, the transport section 4 includes a pair of

guide rails

41 , 41 , a pair of moving

sections

42 , 42 , and a plurality of (here, four) holding sections 43 .

The pair of

guide rails

41, 41 are arranged in the horizontal direction (X-axis direction) and extend along the transport direction (Y-axis positive direction).

The pair of

guide rails

41, 41 are arranged so as to sandwich the first transfer stage 2, the second transfer stage 3, and the first to third processing stages 54 to 56, which will be described later, in the left-right direction (X-axis direction). . Specifically, one of the pair of

guide rails

41, 41 is arranged on the X-axis positive direction side of the first transfer stage 2, the second transfer stage 3, and the first processing stage 54 to the third processing stage 56 described later. be done. The other of the pair of

guide rails

41, 41 is arranged on the X-axis negative direction side of the first transfer stage 2, the second transfer stage 3, and the first to third processing stages 54 to 56 described later. The pair of

guide rails

41, 41 is made of granite, for example.

A pair of moving

parts

42 , 42 are provided corresponding to a pair of

guide rails

41 , 41 . Specifically, one of the pair of moving

parts

42 , 42 is provided on one of the pair of

guide rails

41 , 41 and moves along one of the guide rails 41 . The other of the pair of moving

parts

42 , 42 is provided on the other of the pair of

guide rails

41 , 41 and moves along the other guide rail 41 . The pair of moving

parts

42, 42 each have a driving part such as a motor, and can move independently.

A plurality of holding parts 43 are provided on the pair of moving

parts

42, 42, respectively, and hold the substrate S by suction from below.

Specifically, among the plurality of (here, four) holding portions 43, two holding

portions

43, 43 are provided on one of the pair of moving

portions

42, 42, and the remaining two holding

portions

43 , 43 are provided on the other of the pair of moving

parts

42 , 42 . Note that the number of the plurality of holding portions 43 is not limited to four.

In the embodiment, the plurality (here, four) of holding parts 43 suck and hold the four corners of the substrate S from below. The transport unit 4 uses a plurality of holding units 43 to hold the four corners of the substrate S floated by the first transport stage 2 or the like, and moves the held substrate S in the transport direction (Y axis positive direction).

The drawing unit 5 is arranged between the first carrier stage 2 and the second carrier stage 3 . The drawing unit 5 draws on the board surface of the substrate S by discharging the functional liquid toward the substrate S from above.

Here, the configuration of the drawing unit 5 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4. FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing the configuration of the drawing unit 5 according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view showing the configuration of the carriage 50 according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a schematic side view showing the configuration of the drawing unit 5 according to the embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 2, the drawing unit 5 includes a first carriage group 51, a second carriage group 52, a third carriage group 53, a first processing stage 54, a second processing stage 55, and a third processing stage. and a stage 56 .

The first carriage group 51, the second carriage group 52 and the third carriage group 53 are arranged along the transport direction. Specifically, the first carriage group 51, the second carriage group 52, and the third carriage group 53 are arranged in this order from the upstream side in the transport direction.

The first carriage group 51 , the second carriage group 52 and the third carriage group 53 each include a plurality of (here, six) carriages 50 . In each of the first carriage group 51, the second carriage group 52, and the third carriage group 53, a plurality of carriages 50 are arranged in a direction (X-axis direction) perpendicular to the transport direction.

As shown in FIG. 3, the carriage 50 is, for example, a flat member. The carriage 50 is provided with a plurality of ejection heads 500 . As an example, in the example shown in FIG. 3, the carriage 50 has a total of 12 ejection heads 500 arranged in a matrix along the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction. Although an example in which twelve ejection heads 500 are provided on the carriage 50 is shown here, the number of ejection heads 500 may be more or less than twelve.

The ejection head 500 is inserted into an opening (not shown) formed in the carriage 50 from above the carriage 50, for example. The ejection head 500 is fixed to the carriage 50 by a fixing portion (not shown).

The ejection head 500 is, for example, a piezo nozzle head. A plurality of ejection holes (not shown) are formed in the lower surface of the ejection head 500 (the surface facing the substrate S). A plurality of ejection holes are provided in a matrix along, for example, the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction.

The ejection head 500 has a pump section (not shown). The pump section includes a cavity that stores the functional liquid, a piezoelectric element that changes the volume of the cavity, a diaphragm, and the like. By applying a voltage to the piezoelectric element and vibrating the diaphragm, the volume of the cavity is changed. droplets of the functional liquid are ejected from the respective ejection holes. In addition, the ejection head 500 is provided with a functional liquid introduction section connected to the functional liquid tank via a supply tube, a head substrate connected to the control device 8 (see FIG. 1) via a flexible flat cable, and the like. ing.

The multiple carriages 50 eject the functional liquid from the multiple ejection heads 500 onto the substrate S transported along the transport direction (Y-axis positive direction). The functional liquid is ink.

As shown in FIG. 4, the drawing unit 5 includes a plurality of elevating mechanisms 510. The plurality of lifting mechanisms 510 are provided in one-to-one correspondence with the plurality of carriages 50 . The elevating mechanism 510 elevates the corresponding carriage 50 . Specifically, the elevating mechanism 510 elevates the carriage 50 between a processing position where the functional liquid is discharged onto the substrate S and a retracted position above the processing position.

Here, it is assumed that one carriage 50 is provided with one elevating mechanism 510 , but one elevating mechanism 510 is provided for each of the first carriage group 51 , the second carriage group 52 and the third carriage group 53 . It is sufficient if it is provided.

The first processing stage 54, the second processing stage 55, and the third processing stage 56 are arranged along the transport direction of the substrate S (Y-axis positive direction). Specifically, the first processing stage 54, the second processing stage 55, and the third processing stage 56 are arranged in this order along the transport direction. In the transport direction (Y-axis positive direction), the first transport stage 2 is positioned upstream of the first processing stage 54, and the second transport stage 3 is positioned downstream of the third processing stage 56. is doing.

A first processing stage 54, a second processing stage 55 and a third processing stage 56 are provided corresponding to the first carriage group 51, the second carriage group 52 and the third carriage group 53, respectively. Specifically, the first processing stage 54 is arranged below the first carriage group 51 , the second processing stage 55 is arranged below the second carriage group 52 , and the third processing stage 56 is arranged below the third carriage group 52 . It is arranged below the carriage group 53 .

The first processing stage 54, the second processing stage 55, and the third processing stage 56 discharge compressed gas (for example, air) toward the lower surface of the substrate S, and remove the air between the substrate S and the stage. The floating height of the substrate S can be adjusted by the suction.

Specifically, the first processing stage 54, the second processing stage 55, and the third processing stage 56 each include an air supply section 520, a suction section 530, and an air release valve 550. Hereinafter, the air supply unit 520, the suction unit 530, and the atmosphere release valve 550 will be described by taking the first processing stage 54 as an example.

A plurality of ejection ports (not shown) and a plurality of suction ports (not shown) are opened on the upper surface of the first processing stage 54 . The air supply unit 520 is connected to a plurality of ejection ports via an air supply pipe 521 and supplies compressed gas to the plurality of ejection ports. The suction unit 530 is connected to a plurality of suction ports via suction pipes 531, and suctions the atmosphere on the upper surface side of the first processing stage 54 via the plurality of suction ports.

The atmosphere release valve 550 is provided in a branch pipe 551 branching from the air supply pipe 521 . By opening the air release valve 550 , part of the gas supplied from the air supply unit 520 to the first processing stage 54 through the air supply pipe 521 is discharged from the branch pipe 551 to the outside. This weakens the wind pressure of the gas ejected from the plurality of ejection ports. As described above, the atmosphere release valve 550 is an example of a wind pressure adjustment unit that adjusts the wind pressure of the gas ejected from the first processing stage 54 .

Returning to FIG. 1, the flushing section 6 will be described. The flushing unit 6 is arranged downstream of the drawing unit 5 in the transport direction, and is used for the flushing process of periodically discharging the functional liquid in the ejection head 500 .

The flushing part 6 includes a base part 61 and a receiving part 62 arranged on the base part 61 . The base portion 61 is provided on the pair of

guide rails

41 and 41 and is movable along the pair of

guide rails

41 and 41 . The receiving portion 62 is made of, for example, porous resin or the like, and receives the functional liquid ejected from the plurality of ejection heads 500 . A drain pipe (not shown) is connected to the receiving portion 62, and the functional liquid received by the receiving portion 62 is discharged through the drain pipe.

The inspection unit 7 is arranged downstream of the flushing unit 6 in the transport direction, and inspects whether or not the functional liquid is normally ejected from the plurality of ejection heads 500 . Here, the configuration of the inspection unit 7 will be described with further reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. FIG. FIG. 5 is a schematic side view showing an operation example of the flushing section 6 and the inspection section 7 according to the embodiment. FIG. 6 is a schematic side view showing an operation example of the flushing section 6 and the inspection section 7 according to the embodiment.

The inspection unit 7 includes a base unit 71, a plurality of roll papers 72, and an imaging unit 73 (see FIGS. 5 and 6). The base portion 71 is provided on the pair of

guide rails

41 and 41 and is movable along the pair of

guide rails

41 and 41 . A plurality (here, three) of roll paper 72 are arranged side by side on the base portion 71 along the transport direction. A plurality of roll papers 72 correspond to the first carriage group 51, the second carriage group 52, and the third carriage group 53, respectively. The imaging unit 73 images the functional liquid ejected onto the roll paper 72 . As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the imaging unit 73 is arranged downstream of the drawing unit 5 in the transport direction. The imaging unit 73 is arranged at a position sufficiently distant from the drawing unit 5 , more specifically, at least downstream of the substrate S that has passed through the drawing unit 5 .

The control device 8 controls the base portion 71 of the inspection portion 7 to arrange the base portion 71 below the drawing portion 5 . Subsequently, the control device 8 controls the drawing section 5 to eject the functional liquid onto the plurality of roll papers 72 . Subsequently, the control device 8 positions the base section 71 of the inspection section 7 below the imaging section 73 . Then, the control device 8 controls the imaging unit 73 to capture an image of the roll paper 72 from above. Specifically, the imaging unit 73 is provided with a moving mechanism (not shown). The control device 8 controls a moving mechanism (not shown) to move the imaging unit 73 in the Y-axis direction and the X-axis direction, and captures an image of the roll paper 72 from above. Note that the inspection unit 7 may include a plurality of imaging units 73 corresponding to a plurality of roll papers 72 . In this case, a moving mechanism (not shown) may be provided in each imaging section 73 to move each imaging section 73 along the X-axis direction. The imaging result is output to the control device 8, and the control device 8 determines whether or not the functional liquid is normally discharged.

The inspection process by the inspection unit 7 is performed, for example, after the drawing unit 5 finishes drawing on the substrate S. Further, the flushing process by the flushing unit 6 is performed, for example, after the drawing on the substrate S is completed by the drawing unit 5 and before the drawing process on the next substrate S is performed. Specifically, after the base portion 71 of the inspection portion 7 has moved from below the drawing portion 5 , the control device 8 controls the base portion 61 of the flushing portion 6 to move the base portion 61 below the drawing portion 5 . place it. Then, the control device 8 controls the drawing section 5 to discharge the functional liquid to the receiving section 62 of the flushing section 6 .

Thus, in the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment, the flushing section 6 and the inspection section 7 are configured to be independently movable on the pair of

guide rails

41 , 41 . Further, in the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment, the imaging section 73 of the inspection section 7 is arranged at a position away from the drawing section 5 . By adopting such a configuration, for example, the flushing process by the flushing part 6 and the drawing process for the next substrate S can be started while the imaging part 73 is used to image the plurality of roll papers 72 . Therefore, according to the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment, it is possible to shorten the processing time of a series of substrate processing including drawing processing, inspection processing and flushing processing.

Next, the configuration of the control device 8 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control device 8 according to the embodiment.

The control device 8 is, for example, a computer, and includes a control section 81 and a storage section 82 as shown in FIG. The storage unit 82 stores programs for controlling various processes executed in the substrate processing apparatus 1 . The control unit 81 controls the operation of the substrate processing apparatus 1 by reading out and executing a program (an example of a substrate transfer program) stored in the storage unit 82 .

The program may be recorded in a computer-readable storage medium and installed in the storage unit 82 of the control device 8 from the storage medium. Examples of computer-readable storage media include hard disks (HD), flexible disks (FD), compact disks (CD), magnet optical disks (MO), and memory cards.

The control unit 81 is a controller. The control unit 81 is realized by executing various programs stored in a storage device inside the control device 8 using the RAM as a work area, for example, by a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or MPU (Micro Processing Unit). be. Also, the control unit 81 is a controller, and is implemented by an integrated circuit such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). The control unit 81 includes a transport control unit 811, a drawing control unit 812, an elevation control unit 813, and a stage control unit 814, and implements or executes the functions and actions of the processes described below.

The storage unit 82 is implemented by, for example, a semiconductor memory device such as RAM (Random Access Memory) or flash memory, or a storage device such as a hard disk or optical disk. As shown in FIG. 7, the storage unit 82 stores drawing gap information 821 .

The drawing gap information 821 is information indicating, for each ejection head 500, the change in the distance from the ejection head 500 to the landing position of the functional liquid on the predetermined substrate while the predetermined substrate passes under the ejection head 500. .

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of drawing gap information 821 for a certain ejection head 500. FIG. In FIG. 8, a graph with the substrate position on the horizontal axis and the writing gap on the vertical axis is shown as writing gap information 821 . The position of the substrate is, for example, the position of the substrate along the transport direction (Y-axis positive direction) when the position directly below the ejection head 500 is 0 mm. The drawing gap is the distance from the ejection head 500 to the landing position of the functional liquid on the predetermined substrate.

The storage unit 82 stores information as shown in FIG. 8 for each ejection head 500 as the drawing gap information 821 .

The writing gap information 821 is obtained by preliminary measurement using a predetermined substrate, for example, a measurement substrate on which no film is formed (hereinafter referred to as "measurement substrate"). Here, a method for creating the drawing gap information 821 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining an example of a method for creating drawing gap information 821 according to the embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 9, the substrate processing apparatus 1 may include a first measuring section 91 and a moving mechanism 92. The first measurement unit 91 is, for example, a laser displacement gauge, and measures the vertical distance from above the measurement substrate to the upper surface of the measurement substrate. The first measurement unit 91 is arranged, for example, near the ejection head 500 . Also, the first measurement unit 91 is arranged at a height position equivalent to that of the ejection head 500, for example.

The moving mechanism 92 moves the first measuring section 91 along the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction. Thereby, the first measurement unit 91 can be positioned near each ejection head 500 .

For example, the control unit 81 uses the transport unit 4 to move the substrate for measurement in the transport direction in a state in which the first measurement unit 91 is arranged in the vicinity of a certain ejection head 500, and uses the first measurement unit 91 to move the substrate for measurement in the transport direction. to measure the write gap. The control unit 81 converts the measurement result of the first measurement unit 91, specifically, the distance from the reference position of the first measurement unit 91 to the upper surface of the substrate for measurement into the distance from the ejection head 500 to the landing position of the functional liquid, that is, Get as drawing gap.

Subsequently, the control unit 81 uses the moving mechanism 92 to place the first measuring unit 91 near another ejection head 500, and then uses the transport unit 4 again to move the substrate for measurement in the transport direction. , the first measurement unit 91 is used to measure the writing gap. By repeating such processing for all the ejection heads 500, the control unit 81 can create the drawing gap information 821. FIG.

Here, by moving the first measuring unit 91 using the moving mechanism 92 , it is positioned near each ejection head 500 , but the substrate processing apparatus 1 corresponds to a plurality of ejection heads 500 . A plurality of first measurement units 91 may be provided. In this case, the moving mechanism 92 is unnecessary. Also, the substrate processing apparatus 1 does not necessarily need to include the first measurement section 91 . That is, the first measuring unit 91 may be attached to the drawing unit 5 when creating the drawing gap information 821 .

Note that the “change in distance from the ejection head 500 to the landing position of the functional liquid on the predetermined substrate” in the drawing gap information 821 is from the upper surface of the first to third processing stages 54 to 56 to the lower surface of the predetermined substrate. (ie flying height).

The transport control unit 811 controls the transport unit 4 to perform transport processing of the substrate S. Specifically, the plurality of holding portions 43 are controlled to suck and hold the substrate S, and the pair of moving

portions

42, 42 are controlled to move the substrate S in the transport direction (Y-axis positive direction).

The drawing control unit 812 performs drawing processing on the substrate S by controlling the plurality of ejection heads 500 of the drawing unit 5 . Specifically, the drawing control unit 812 ejects the functional liquid from the plurality of ejection heads 500 onto the substrate S that is transported along the transport direction (Y-axis positive direction) by the transport process.

Here, the drawing control unit 812 may perform timing adjustment processing for adjusting the ejection timing of the functional liquid for each ejection head based on the drawing gap information 821 described above. Specifically, the drawing control unit 812 adjusts the ejection timing of the functional liquid based on the drawing gap information 821 assuming that there is no variation in the drawing gap.

For example, in the drawing gap information 821 shown in FIG. 8, assume that the drawing gap at the substrate position P1 is larger than the reference value C. In other words, assume that the flying height of the measurement substrate at the substrate position P1 is lower than the reference. In this case, the drawing control unit 812 controls the ejection head 500 corresponding to the drawing gap information 821 shown in FIG. faster than As a result, it is possible to prevent the landing position of the functional liquid from shifting to the upstream side in the transport direction (the Y-axis negative direction side).

Also, assume that the drawing gap at the substrate position P2 is smaller than the reference value C in the drawing gap information 821 shown in FIG. In other words, assume that the flying height of the measurement substrate at the substrate position P2 is higher than the reference. In this case, the drawing control unit 812 controls the ejection head 500 corresponding to the drawing gap information 821 shown in FIG. slower than As a result, it is possible to prevent the landing position of the functional liquid from shifting downstream in the transport direction (positive Y-axis direction).

In this manner, the drawing control unit 812 may perform timing adjustment processing for adjusting the ejection timing of the functional liquid for each ejection head based on the drawing gap information 821 . As a result, deviation of the writing gap due to the substrate processing apparatus 1, such as distortion of the pair of

guide rails

41, 41, can be suppressed. Therefore, according to the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment, it is possible to improve the accuracy of the drawing process.

FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view showing the arrangement of the second measuring section 93 according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 10 , the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment may have a plurality of second measurement units 93 .

The plurality of second measurement units 93 are arranged on the upstream side in the transport direction of the plurality of carriages 50 included in the drawing unit 5 . Also, the plurality of second measurement units 93 are arranged side by side in a direction (X-axis direction) orthogonal to the transport direction, for example. Here, an example is shown in which the number of the plurality of second measuring units 93 is the same as the number of the plurality of carriages 50 arranged along the X-axis direction and arranged at the same intervals. Not limited to this, the number of the plurality of second measurement units 93 may be less than or greater than the number of the plurality of carriages 50 arranged along the X-axis direction.

The second measuring unit 93 is, for example, a laser displacement meter, and measures the vertical distance from the reference position above the substrate S to the upper surface of the substrate S. The second measurement unit 93 is arranged at the same height position as the ejection head 500, for example.

In addition to the above-described drawing gap information 821, the drawing control unit 812 also controls the drawing gap derived from the substrate S on which drawing is actually performed, for example, the drawing caused by the thickness of the film formed on the substrate S, the warp of the substrate S, and the like. The ejection timing of the functional liquid may be adjusted in consideration of the gap. That is, the drawing control unit 812 measures the distance from the reference position to the board surface of the substrate S using the second measuring unit 93, and based on the obtained measurement result and the drawing gap information 821 acquired in advance. You may perform a timing adjustment process.

For example, assume that the substrate S warps downward at the substrate position P1 (see FIG. 8). In this case, the landing position of the functional liquid shifts to the upstream side in the transport direction compared to the case where there is no warp at the substrate position P1. The drawing control unit 812 further adjusts the ejection timing based on the measurement result of the second measurement unit 93, thereby suppressing the deviation of the landing position due to the warp of the substrate S. Therefore, according to the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment, it is possible to improve the accuracy of the drawing process.

The elevation control unit 813 controls the plurality of elevation mechanisms 510 to execute movement processing for moving the plurality of carriages 50 between the processing position and the retracted position during drawing processing.

Specifically, the elevation control unit 813 executes a first movement process and a second movement process. In the first movement process, the lifting mechanism 510 is controlled to move the carriage 50 from the retracted position after the transportation of the substrate S by the transportation section 4 is started and before the discharge of the functional liquid onto the substrate S is started. This is a process of moving to a position. The second movement process is a process of controlling the elevating mechanism to move the carriage from the processing position to the retracted position after the discharge of the functional liquid onto the substrate S is completed. The first movement process and the second movement process are executed for each of the first carriage group 51, the second carriage group 52 and the third carriage group 53. FIG.

The stage control unit 814 controls the first processing stage 54 to the third processing stage 56 to adjust the wind pressure of the gas jetted from the first processing stage 54 to the third processing stage 56 during the drawing processing. to run.

Specifically, the stage control unit 814 executes a first pressure change process and a second pressure change process. In the first pressure change process, after the transfer of the substrate S by the transfer unit 4 is started and before the discharge of the functional liquid onto the substrate S is started, the air release valve 550 is controlled to change the wind pressure to the first pressure. to a second pressure that is higher than the first pressure. The second pressure change process is a process of controlling the air release valve 550 to change the wind pressure from the second pressure to the first pressure after the functional liquid has been discharged onto the substrate S.

The first pressure change process and the second pressure change process are executed for each of the first processing stage 54, second processing stage 55 and third processing stage 56. Specifically, in the first pressure changing process for the first processing stage 54, the stage control unit 814 causes the first processing stage 54 to The air release valve 550 is controlled to change the wind pressure from the first pressure to the second pressure. In addition, in the first pressure change process for the second processing stage 55, the stage control unit 814 causes the second processing stage 55 to open the atmosphere release valve before the second carriage group 52 starts ejecting the functional liquid onto the substrate S. 550 is controlled to change the wind pressure from the first pressure to the second pressure. Further, in the first pressure change process for the third processing stage 56, the stage control unit 814 causes the third processing stage 56 to open the atmosphere release valve before the discharge of the functional liquid onto the substrate S from the third carriage group 53 is started. 550 is controlled to change the wind pressure from the first pressure to the second pressure.

In addition, in the second pressure change process for the first processing stage 54, the stage control unit 814 opens the air release valve 550 of the first processing stage 54 after the functional liquid is discharged from the first carriage group 51 onto the substrate S. The wind pressure is controlled to change from the second pressure to the first pressure. In addition, in the second pressure change process for the second processing stage 55, the stage control unit 814 opens the air release valve 550 of the second processing stage 55 after the ejection of the functional liquid onto the substrate S from the second carriage group 52 is completed. The wind pressure is controlled to change from the second pressure to the first pressure. In addition, in the second pressure change process for the third processing stage 56, the stage control unit 814 opens the air release valve 550 of the third processing stage 56 after the discharge of the functional liquid onto the substrate S from the third carriage group 53 is completed. The wind pressure is controlled to change from the second pressure to the first pressure.

<Processing Flow of Substrate Processing Apparatus>
Next, among the processes executed by the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment, procedures of the first movement process, the second movement process, the first pressure change process, and the second pressure change process will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 to 17. to explain. FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing procedures of the first movement process, the second movement process, the first pressure change process, and the second pressure change process among the processes executed by the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment. Each process shown in FIG. 11 is executed under the control of the control device 8 .

Also, FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the state of the drawing unit 5 before the first movement process, the second movement process, the first pressure change process, and the second pressure change process are started. 13A and 13B are diagrams showing an operation example of the first movement process and the first pressure change process for the first carriage group 51. FIG. 14A and 14B are diagrams showing an operation example of the first movement processing and the first pressure change processing for the second carriage group 52. FIG. 15A and 15B are diagrams showing an operation example of the first movement processing and the first pressure change processing for the third carriage group 53. FIG. 16A and 16B are diagrams showing operation examples of the second movement process and the second pressure change process for the first carriage group 51. FIG. 17A and 17B are diagrams showing operation examples of the second movement processing and the second pressure change processing for the second carriage group 52. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 11 , the control unit 81 executes the first movement process for the first carriage group 51 arranged on the most upstream side in the transport direction (Y-axis positive direction), and moves the first processing stage 54 . (step S101).

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 12, before the first movement process and the first pressure change process for the first carriage group 51 are started, the first carriage group 51 to the third carriage group 53 are positioned at the retreat position. is doing. In addition, the air release valves 550 of the first processing stage 54 to the third processing stage 56 are each opened, so that the wind pressure of the gas ejected from the first processing stage 54 to the third processing stage 56 is reduced to the first adjusted for pressure.

As described above, in the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment, the first carriage group 51 to the third carriage group 53 are separated from the first processing stage 54 to the third processing stage 56 before starting the drawing process on the substrate S. Keep As a result, the functional liquid accumulated in the ejection head 500 can be prevented from being dried by the gas ejected from the first to third processing stages 54 to 56 . That is, it is possible to suppress ejection failure due to drying of the functional liquid.

In addition, by weakening the air pressure of the gas ejected from the first to third processing stages 54 to 56 before the writing process on the substrate S is started, the functional liquid accumulated in the ejection head 500 can be discharged to the first stage. It is possible to further suppress drying by the gas jetted from the processing stage 54 to the third processing stage 56 .

The processing of step S101 is performed after the transportation of the substrate S by the transportation unit 4 is started and before the discharge of the functional liquid onto the substrate S is started. For example, the process of step S101 is performed before the substrate S transported by the transport section 4 enters the first processing stage 54 . As shown in FIG. 13, the control unit 81 controls a plurality of elevating mechanisms 510 corresponding to the plurality of ejection heads 500 included in the first carriage group 51 to move the plurality of ejection heads 500 from the retracted position to the processing position. move to In addition, the control unit 81 closes the atmosphere release valve 550 of the first processing stage 54 to change the wind pressure of the gas ejected from the first processing stage 54 from the first pressure to the second pressure.

Here, it is also conceivable to stop the ejection of gas from the first processing stage 54 before starting the drawing process. However, if the ejection of gas from the first processing stage 54 is completely stopped, it will take time for the wind pressure to stabilize even if the ejection of gas is started in the first pressure change processing. In this case, for example, it is necessary to wait for the substrate S to enter the first processing stage 54 until the air pressure is stabilized, resulting in a longer processing time for the substrate S.

On the other hand, in the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment, part of the gas supplied to the first processing stage 54 is diverted to a place other than the first processing stage 54 by using the air release valve 550 as the wind pressure adjustment unit. decided to eject. In other words, in the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment, the air pressure is weakened while continuing to blow out the gas from the first processing stage 54 . Thereby, in the first pressure change process, it is possible to shorten the time until the wind pressure of the gas is stabilized. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the processing time for the substrate S from becoming long.

Subsequently, the control unit 81 executes a first movement process for the second carriage group 52 and a first pressure change process for the second processing stage 55 (step S102). The processing of step S102 is performed, for example, after the substrate S enters the first processing stage 54 and before entering the second processing stage 55 .

As shown in FIG. 14, the control unit 81 controls a plurality of elevating mechanisms 510 corresponding to the plurality of ejection heads 500 included in the second carriage group 52 to move the plurality of ejection heads 500 from the retracted position to the processing position. move to In addition, the control unit 81 closes the atmosphere release valve 550 of the second processing stage 55 to change the wind pressure of the gas ejected from the second processing stage 55 from the first pressure to the second pressure.

Subsequently, the control unit 81 executes a first movement process for the third carriage group 53 and a first pressure change process for the third processing stage 56 (step S103). The process of step S103 is performed, for example, after the substrate S enters the second processing stage 55 and before entering the third processing stage 56 .

As shown in FIG. 15, the control unit 81 controls a plurality of elevating mechanisms 510 corresponding to the plurality of ejection heads 500 included in the third carriage group 53 to move the plurality of ejection heads 500 from the retracted position to the processing position. move to Further, the control unit 81 closes the atmosphere release valve 550 of the third processing stage 56 to change the wind pressure of the gas ejected from the third processing stage 56 from the first pressure to the second pressure.

Subsequently, the control unit 81 executes a second movement process for the first carriage group 51 and a second pressure change process for the first processing stage 54 (step S104). The processing of step S104 is performed, for example, after the substrate S passes through the first processing stage 54 and before passing through the second processing stage 55 .

As shown in FIG. 16, the control unit 81 controls a plurality of elevating mechanisms 510 corresponding to the plurality of ejection heads 500 included in the first carriage group 51 to move the plurality of ejection heads 500 from the processing position to the retracted position. move to Further, the control unit 81 opens the atmosphere release valve 550 of the first processing stage 54 to change the wind pressure of the gas ejected from the first processing stage 54 from the second pressure to the first pressure.

Subsequently, the control unit 81 executes a second movement process for the second carriage group 52 and a second pressure change process for the second processing stage 55 (step S105). The processing of step S105 is performed, for example, after the substrate S passes through the second processing stage 55 and before passing through the third processing stage 56 .

As shown in FIG. 17, the control unit 81 controls a plurality of elevating mechanisms 510 corresponding to the plurality of ejection heads 500 included in the second carriage group 52 to move the plurality of ejection heads 500 from the processing position to the retracted position. move to Further, the control unit 81 opens the atmosphere release valve 550 of the second processing stage 55 to change the wind pressure of the gas ejected from the second processing stage 55 from the second pressure to the first pressure.

Subsequently, the control unit 81 executes a second movement process for the third carriage group 53 and a second pressure change process for the third processing stage 56 (step S106). The processing of step S106 is performed, for example, after the substrate S has passed through the third processing stage 56 .

The control unit 81 controls a plurality of elevating mechanisms 510 corresponding to the plurality of ejection heads 500 included in the third carriage group 53 to move the plurality of ejection heads 500 from the processing position to the retracted position. Further, the control unit 81 opens the atmosphere release valve 550 of the third processing stage 56 to change the wind pressure of the gas ejected from the third processing stage 56 from the second pressure to the first pressure. As a result, the drawing unit 5 returns to the state shown in FIG.

(First modification)
FIG. 18 is a schematic side view showing the configuration of the drawing section 5 according to the first modified example of the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 18 , the substrate processing apparatus 1 may also include an atmosphere release valve 560 in the suction path of the atmosphere in the suction section 530 .

The atmosphere release valve 560 is provided on a branch pipe 561 branching from the suction pipe 531 . When the atmospheric release valve 560 is opened, the suction ports provided on the upper surfaces of the first processing stage 54, the second processing stage 55, and the third processing stage 56 are sucked into the suction section 530 via the suction pipe 531. Part of the atmosphere is discharged outside through the branch pipe 561 . As a result, the suction forces generated on the upper surfaces of the first processing stage 54, the second processing stage 55, and the third processing stage 56 are weakened. As described above, the atmosphere release valve 560 is an example of a suction force adjustment unit that adjusts the suction force of the suction unit 530 .

The control unit 81 according to the first modification executes a first attraction force change process and a second attraction force change process. In the first suction force changing process, after the transfer of the substrate S by the transfer unit 4 is started and before the discharge of the functional liquid onto the substrate S is started, the atmospheric release valve 560 is controlled to change the suction force to the first level. This is the process of changing from the first attraction force to the second attraction force, which is greater than the first attraction force. Specifically, the control unit 81 changes the suction force from the first suction force to the second suction force by closing the open air valve 560 .

In addition, the second suction force changing process is a process of controlling the atmosphere release valve 560 to change the suction force from the second suction force to the first suction force after the functional liquid has been discharged onto the substrate S. Specifically, the control unit 81 changes the suction force from the second suction force to the first suction force by opening the atmosphere relief valve 560 .

These first suction force change processing and second suction force change processing are executed for each of the first processing stage 54, second processing stage 55 and third processing stage 56, similarly to the first pressure change processing and second pressure change processing. be done.

For example, the control unit 81 executes the first pressure change process and the first suction force change process on the first processing stage 54 in step S101 of the flowchart shown in FIG. Further, the control unit 81 executes the first pressure change process and the first suction force change process on the second processing stage 55 in step S102. Further, the control unit 81 executes the first pressure changing process and the first suction force changing process on the third processing stage 56 in step S103.

Also, the control unit 81 executes the second pressure change process and the second suction force change process on the first processing stage 54 in step S104. Further, the control unit 81 executes the second pressure change process and the second suction force change process on the second processing stage 55 in step S105. Further, the control unit 81 executes the second pressure change process and the second suction force change process on the third processing stage 56 in step S105.

Thus, the control unit 81 may perform the first attraction force adjustment process and the second attraction force adjustment process. As a result, it is possible to suppress drying of the functional liquid due to air currents of the atmosphere sucked into the first processing stage 54 , the second processing stage 55 and the third processing stage 56 . Therefore, drying of the functional liquid accumulated in the ejection head 500 can be suppressed more reliably. That is, it is possible to more reliably suppress ejection failure due to drying of the functional liquid.

Here, an example in which both the first pressure change process and the second pressure change process and the first suction force adjustment process and the second suction force adjustment process are executed has been described. Alternatively, the control unit 81 may execute the first suction force adjustment process and the second suction force adjustment process without executing the first pressure change process and the second pressure change process. In this case, the substrate processing apparatus 1 does not necessarily need to include the air release valve 550 as the wind pressure adjusting section.

(Second modification)
FIG. 19 is a schematic side view showing the configuration of the drawing unit according to the second modification of the embodiment; Note that the second carriage group 52 and the second processing stage 55 are omitted here. The configuration of the second processing stage 55 is similar to that of the first processing stage 54 and the third processing stage 56 .

As shown in FIG. 19, in the drawing unit 5 according to the second modification, each of the processing stages 54 to 56 has a plurality of first control areas 101 capable of individually controlling air ejection/suction. The plurality of first control areas 101 are arranged along the transport direction of the substrate S (Y-axis positive direction) and correspond to the plurality of ejection heads 500 provided on the carriage 50 . That is, in the drawing unit 5 according to the second modification, one first control area 101 is arranged directly below each ejection head 500 provided on the carriage 50 .

Also, each of the processing stages 54 to 56 has a second control area 102 in a region where the ejection head 500 is not positioned above. The second control area 102 is provided adjacent to the plurality of first control areas 101 . Specifically, the second control area 102 is arranged upstream or downstream of the plurality of first control areas 101 in the transport direction of the substrate S (Y-axis positive direction).

Each first control area 101 and second control area 102 are connected to an air supply section 520 . Specifically, the air supply unit 520 is connected to a collective air supply pipe 525, and each of the first control area 101 and the second control area 102 is connected to the collective air supply pipe 525 via individual air supply pipes 526. there is That is, each of first control area 101 and second control area 102 is connected to air supply section 520 via collective air supply pipe 525 and individual air supply pipe 526 .

The collective air supply pipe 525 is provided with a pressure gauge 131 and a pressure adjustment section 132 . A pressure gauge 131 detects the air pressure in the collective air supply pipe 525 . Pressure adjustment unit 132 is, for example, a manual regulator, and adjusts the pressure of air in collective air supply pipe 525 .

The individual air supply pipe 526 connected to the first control area 101 is provided with a filter 111, an on-off valve 112, a pressure gauge 113, and a pressure regulator 114. The filter 111 , the on-off valve 112 , the pressure gauge 113 and the pressure adjustment section 114 are provided in the order of the pressure adjustment section 114 , the pressure gauge 113 , the on-off valve 112 and the filter 111 from the side closer to the air supply section 520 . Filter 111 removes foreign matter from the air flowing through individual air supply pipe 526 . Note that the filter 111 is preferably of a type with as little pressure loss as possible in order to maintain responsiveness to the rise of wind pressure. The on-off valve 112 is, for example, an electromagnetic valve, and opens and closes the individual air supply pipe 526 . Pressure gauge 113 detects the pressure of air in individual air supply pipe 526 . Pressure adjustment unit 114 is, for example, an electro-pneumatic regulator, and adjusts the pressure of air in individual air supply pipe 526 .

The individual air supply pipe 526 connected to the second control area 102 is provided with a pressure gauge 121 and a pressure adjustment section 122 . Pressure gauge 121 detects the pressure of air in individual air supply pipe 526 . Pressure adjustment unit 122 is, for example, a manual regulator that adjusts the air pressure in individual air supply pipe 526 .

Also, each first control area 101 is connected to the first suction unit 530A. Specifically, the first suction section 530A is connected to a collective suction pipe 535A, and each first control area 101 is connected to the collective suction pipe 535A via individual air supply pipes 536A. That is, each first control area 101 is connected to the first suction section 530A via the collective suction pipe 535A and the individual air supply pipe 536A. An on-off valve 115 is provided in the individual air supply pipe 536A. The on-off valve 115 is, for example, an electromagnetic valve, and opens and closes the individual air supply pipe 536A.

Also, each second control area 102 is connected to the second suction unit 530B. Specifically, the second suction section 530B is connected to a collective suction pipe 535B, and each second control area 102 is connected to the collective suction pipe 535B via an individual air supply pipe 536B. That is, each second control area 102 is connected to the second suction section 530B via the collective suction pipe 535B and the individual air supply pipe 536B.

A plurality of jet openings opening on the upper surfaces of the processing stages 54-56 are connected to individual air supply pipes 526 via spaces formed inside the processing stages 54-56, for example. Similarly, a plurality of suction ports opening on the upper surfaces of the processing stages 54-56 are connected to individual

air supply pipes

536A or 536B via spaces formed inside the processing stages 54-56, for example.

Assuming that the distance between the ejection port and the suction port in the transport direction of the substrate S is D1 and the width of the ejection head 500 in the transport direction of the substrate S is D2, the relationship between the space D1 and the space D2 is D1=n. xD2 (n is a positive integer) is preferable.

In the second modification, the control unit 81 starts ejecting air from the plurality of ejection ports in order from the first control area 101 located upstream in the transport direction of the substrate S among the plurality of first control areas 101. Let Specifically, the control unit 81 opens the on-off valve 112 of the first control area 101 a predetermined time before the substrate S passes over the first control area 101, thereby Blow out air.

After that, the control unit 81 stops the ejection of air from the plurality of ejection ports in order from the first control area 101 located upstream in the transport direction of the substrate S among the plurality of first control areas 101 . Specifically, the control unit 81 closes the on-off valve 112 of the first control area 101 after a predetermined period of time after the substrate S has finished passing over the first control area 101 . to stop air spurting from the

Thus, the drawing unit 5 according to the second modification can control the start and stop of air ejection for each of the plurality of first control areas 101 corresponding to the plurality of ejection heads 500 . Therefore, according to the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the second modified example, it is possible to further suppress ejection failure due to drying of the functional liquid.

Note that the control unit 81 starts sucking air from the plurality of suction ports in order from the first control area 101 positioned upstream in the transport direction of the substrate S among the plurality of first control areas 101 . Specifically, the control unit 81 opens the on-off valve 115 of the first control area 101 a predetermined time before the substrate S passes over the first control area 101, so that the first control area 101 Start sucking air. Similarly, the control unit 81 stops air suction from the plurality of suction ports in order from the first control area 101 located upstream in the transport direction of the substrate S among the plurality of first control areas 101 . Specifically, the control unit 81 closes the on-off valve 115 of the first control area 101 after a predetermined period of time after the substrate S has passed above the first control area 101, so that the air in the first control area 101 is Stop aspiration of

In addition, in the second modification, the control unit 81 opens the on-off valve 112 to eject air from the plurality of ejection ports provided in the first control area 101 . At this time, the control unit 81 adjusts the pressure of the air in the individual air supply pipe 526 (in other words, the wind pressure of the air ejected from the ejection port) to a preset startup pressure (third pressure). control unit 114; After that, for example, after a preset time has elapsed since opening the on-off valve 112, the control unit 81 controls the pressure adjustment unit 114 to make the air pressure in the individual air supply pipe 526 lower than the start-up pressure. Change to normal pressure (fourth pressure). The control unit 81 can adjust the wind pressure of the air ejected from the ejection port to the third pressure or the fourth pressure by controlling the pressure adjustment unit 114 based on the detection result of the pressure gauge 113 .

In this way, the control unit 81 sets the pressure of the air (third pressure) immediately after opening the on-off valve 112 to be higher than the pressure (fourth pressure) after that, so that the air from the plurality of ejection ports is It is possible to improve the responsiveness of the rise of wind pressure when starting to blow out. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to stop the ejection of air until immediately before the substrate S passes through the first control area 101, so that it is possible to further suppress ejection failure due to drying of the functional liquid.

As described above, the coating processing apparatus (substrate processing apparatus 1 as an example) according to the embodiment includes stages (first processing stage 54, second processing stage 55 and third processing stage 56 as an example) and a carriage. (a carriage 50 as an example), a conveying unit (a drawing unit 5 as an example), an elevating mechanism (an elevating mechanism 510 as an example), and a control unit (the control unit 81 as an example). The stage floats the substrate (substrate S as an example) by air pressure of gas. The carriage is arranged above the stage and includes a plurality of ejection heads (ejection heads 500 as an example) that eject functional liquid. The transport unit holds the substrate floated from the stage and moves it along the transport direction. The elevating mechanism elevates the carriage between a processing position where the functional liquid is discharged onto the substrate and a retracted position above the processing position. The control unit controls the elevating mechanism to move the carriage from the retracted position to the processing position after the transport of the substrate by the transport unit is started and before the functional liquid is started to be discharged onto the substrate. and a second moving process of controlling the elevating mechanism to move the carriage from the processing position to the retracted position after the discharge of the functional liquid onto the substrate is completed.

Therefore, according to the coating treatment apparatus according to the embodiment, it is possible to suppress ejection failure due to drying of the functional liquid.

The coating treatment apparatus according to the embodiment includes a plurality of carriages (as an example, a first carriage group 51, a second carriage group 52, and a third carriage group 53) arranged along the transport direction, and a plurality of carriages. It may be provided with a plurality of lifting mechanisms provided at the same time. In this case, the controller may control a plurality of lifting mechanisms to perform the first movement process and the second movement process for each carriage. As a result, for example, the ejection head can be placed at the retracted position until immediately before ejection of the functional liquid is started, so ejection failure due to drying of the functional liquid can be more reliably suppressed.

The coating treatment apparatus according to the embodiment may include a wind pressure adjustment section (for example, an air release valve 550) that adjusts the wind pressure of the gas ejected from the stage. In this case, the control unit controls the air pressure adjustment unit to reduce the air pressure from the first pressure to the first pressure after the transfer of the substrate by the transfer unit is started and before the discharge of the functional liquid onto the substrate is started. and a second pressure change process for changing the air pressure from the second pressure to the first pressure by controlling the air pressure adjustment unit after the discharge of the functional liquid onto the substrate is completed. processing may be performed. In this way, by weakening the wind pressure of the gas ejected from the stage, it is possible to more reliably suppress ejection failure due to drying of the functional liquid.

The coating treatment apparatus according to the embodiment includes a plurality of carriages (as an example, a first carriage group 51, a second carriage group 52, and a third carriage group 53) arranged along the transport direction, and a plurality of carriages arranged along the transport direction. a plurality of stages (for example, a first processing stage 54, a second processing stage 55, and a third processing stage 56) each arranged below each of the plurality of carriages; A plurality of wind pressure adjustment units may be provided. In this case, in the first pressure change process, the control unit controls the wind pressure adjustment unit to change the wind pressure from the first pressure to the second pressure before the discharge of the functional liquid onto the substrate from the corresponding carriage is started for each stage. In the second pressure change process, after the discharge of the functional liquid from the corresponding carriage to the substrate is completed for each stage, the air pressure adjustment unit is controlled to change the air pressure from the second pressure to the first pressure. may As a result, for example, the wind pressure of the gas ejected from the stage can be weakened until immediately before the functional liquid starts to be ejected, so that ejection failures due to drying of the functional liquid can be more reliably suppressed.

The coating treatment apparatus according to the embodiment may include a plurality of lifting mechanisms provided corresponding to a plurality of carriages (for example, first carriage group 51, second carriage group 52, and third carriage group 53). good. In this case, the controller controls the plurality of lifting mechanisms to perform the first movement process and the second movement process for each carriage, and controls the plurality of wind pressure adjustment sections to perform the first pressure change process and the second movement process for each stage. A second pressure change process may be performed. In this way, by retracting the ejection head and weakening the wind pressure of the gas ejected from the stage, ejection failure due to drying of the functional liquid can be suppressed more reliably.

The coating treatment apparatus according to the embodiment may include an air supply unit (as an example, the air supply unit 520) that supplies gas to a plurality of ejection ports provided on the stage. In this case, the wind pressure adjusting unit may be an atmosphere opening valve provided in the gas supply path (for example, the air supply pipe 521). Thereby, for example, in the first pressure change process, it is possible to shorten the time until the wind pressure of the gas is stabilized. Therefore, it is possible to suppress an increase in processing time for the substrate.

The coating treatment apparatus according to the embodiment includes a suction unit (for example, the suction unit 530) that sucks the atmosphere through a plurality of suction ports provided on the stage, and a suction force adjustment unit that adjusts the suction force of the suction unit ( As an example, an air release valve 560) may be provided. In this case, the control unit controls the suction force adjusting unit to reduce the suction force from the first suction force after the transfer of the substrate by the transfer unit is started and before the discharge of the functional liquid onto the substrate is started. After the first suction force changing process for changing the suction force to a second suction force larger than the first suction force and the discharge of the functional liquid onto the substrate are completed, the suction force adjustment unit is controlled to change the suction force from the second suction force to the second suction force. A second suction force changing process for changing the suction force to 1 suction force may be executed. As a result, it is possible to suppress the drying of the functional liquid due to the atmospheric airflow sucked into the stage. Therefore, ejection failure due to drying of the functional liquid can be suppressed more reliably.

The suction force adjustment unit may be an atmosphere release valve provided in the atmosphere suction path (for example, the suction pipe 531). As a result, for example, in the first suction force changing process, it is possible to shorten the time until the suction force is stabilized. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the substrate from being processed for a long time.

The control unit acquires drawing gap information (example Alternatively, a timing adjustment process may be executed to adjust the ejection timing of the functional liquid for each ejection head based on the drawing gap information 821). As a result, it is possible to suppress deviation of the writing gap caused by the coating processing apparatus, such as distortion of the conveying section. Therefore, the accuracy of drawing processing can be improved.

The coating treatment apparatus according to the embodiment includes a measurement unit (as an example, the second measurement unit 93) that is provided on the upstream side in the transport direction of the carriage and measures the distance from the reference position above the substrate to the plate surface of the substrate. may be provided. In this case, the control unit measures the distance from the reference position to the surface of the substrate using the measurement unit, and executes the timing adjustment process based on the obtained measurement result and the drawing gap information obtained in advance. You may As a result, for example, the writing gap caused by the substrate on which writing is actually performed, for example, the writing gap caused by the thickness of the film formed on the substrate, the warpage of the substrate, etc., can be taken into account to adjust the ejection timing of the functional liquid. be able to. Therefore, the accuracy of drawing processing can be further improved.

It should be noted that the embodiments disclosed this time should be considered as examples in all respects and not restrictive. Indeed, the above-described embodiments may be embodied in many different forms. Also, the above-described embodiments may be omitted, substituted, or modified in various ways without departing from the scope and spirit of the appended claims.

S Substrate 1 Substrate processing apparatus 2 First transfer stage 3 Second transfer stage 4 Transfer section 5 Drawing section 6 Flushing section 7 Inspection section 8 Control device 41 Guide rail 42 Moving section 43 Holding section 50 Carriage 51 First carriage group 52 Second Carriage group 53 Third carriage group 54 First processing stage 55 Second processing stage 56 Third processing stage 81 Control unit 82 Storage unit 500 Ejection head 510 Elevating mechanism 550 Atmospheric release valve

Claims

a stage that floats the substrate by gas wind pressure;
a carriage disposed above the stage and provided with a plurality of ejection heads for ejecting functional liquid;
a transport unit that holds the substrate levitated from the stage and moves it along the transport direction;
an elevating mechanism for elevating the carriage between a processing position where the functional liquid is discharged onto the substrate and a retracted position above the processing position;
After the transfer of the substrate by the transfer unit is started and before the discharge of the functional liquid onto the substrate is started, the lifting mechanism is controlled to move the carriage from the retracted position to the processing position. and a second movement process of controlling the elevating mechanism to move the carriage from the processing position to the retracted position after the discharge of the functional liquid onto the substrate is completed. A coating processing apparatus comprising:
a plurality of the carriages arranged along the transport direction;
a plurality of lifting mechanisms provided corresponding to the plurality of carriages,
The control unit
2. The coating processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said first movement processing and said second movement processing are performed for each of said carriages by controlling a plurality of said elevating mechanisms.
a wind pressure adjustment unit that adjusts the wind pressure of the gas ejected from the stage,
The control unit
After the transfer of the substrate by the transfer unit is started and before the discharge of the functional liquid onto the substrate is started, the air pressure adjustment unit is controlled to reduce the air pressure from the first pressure to the first pressure. and a first pressure change process for changing the pressure to a second pressure higher than the pressure of the substrate, and after the discharge of the functional liquid onto the substrate is completed, the wind pressure adjusting unit is controlled to change the wind pressure from the second pressure to the first pressure. 2. The coating processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said second pressure changing process is executed.
a plurality of the carriages arranged along the transport direction;
a plurality of stages arranged along the transport direction and arranged below each of the plurality of carriages;
and a plurality of wind pressure adjustment units provided corresponding to the plurality of stages,
The control unit
In the first pressure changing process, before the discharge of the functional liquid from the corresponding carriage to the substrate is started for each stage, the wind pressure adjusting unit is controlled to change the wind pressure from the first pressure to the change to the second pressure,
In the second pressure changing process, after the discharge of the functional liquid from the corresponding carriage to the substrate is completed for each stage, the wind pressure adjusting unit is controlled to change the wind pressure from the second pressure to the first pressure. 4. The coating treatment apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the pressure is changed.
a plurality of lifting mechanisms provided corresponding to the plurality of carriages,
The control unit
controlling the plurality of lifting mechanisms to perform the first movement processing and the second movement processing for each carriage; controlling the plurality of wind pressure adjustment units to perform the first pressure change processing and the 5. The coating processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said second pressure change processing is performed.
an air supply unit that supplies the gas to a plurality of ejection ports provided on the stage;
The coating treatment apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the wind pressure adjustment unit is an atmosphere release valve provided in the gas supply path.
a suction unit that sucks the atmosphere through a plurality of suction ports provided on the stage;
a suction force adjustment unit that adjusts the suction force of the suction unit,
The control unit
After the transfer of the substrate by the transfer unit is started and before the discharge of the functional liquid onto the substrate is started, the suction force adjustment unit is controlled to reduce the suction force from the first suction force to the A first suction force changing process for changing the suction force to a second suction force larger than the first suction force, and after the discharge of the functional liquid onto the substrate is completed, the suction force adjustment unit is controlled to change the suction force to the second suction force. 2. The coating processing apparatus according to claim 1, further executing a second suction force changing process of changing from the second suction force to the first suction force.
The coating processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the suction force adjustment unit is an air release valve provided in the atmosphere suction path.
The control unit
The ejection timing of the functional liquid is determined based on the drawing gap information indicating the change in the distance from the ejection head to the landing position of the functional liquid for each ejection head while a predetermined substrate passes under the ejection head. 9. The coating processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein a timing adjustment process for adjusting each ejection head is executed.
a measuring unit that is provided upstream of the carriage in the transport direction and measures a distance from a reference position above the substrate to a plate surface of the substrate;
The control unit
While measuring the distance from the reference position to the board surface of the substrate using the measurement unit, the timing adjustment process is performed based on the obtained measurement result and the previously acquired writing gap information. The coating processing apparatus according to claim 9.
A step of transporting the substrate using a transport unit that holds and moves the substrate floated from the stage along the transport direction while floating the substrate using a stage that floats the substrate by air pressure of gas;
a step of ejecting the functional liquid onto the substrate transported by the transport section using a carriage disposed above the stage and having a plurality of ejection heads for ejecting the functional liquid;
A processing position at which the functional liquid is discharged onto the substrate and a position above the processing position after the transport of the substrate by the transport section is started and before the discharge of the functional liquid onto the substrate is started. a step of moving the carriage from the retracted position to the processing position using an elevating mechanism that moves the carriage up and down between the retracted position and the retracted position;
and a step of moving the carriage from the processing position to the retracted position using the elevating mechanism after the functional liquid has been discharged onto the substrate.
A coating processing program that causes a computer to execute the coating processing method according to claim 11.