JP4676359B2 - Priming processing method and priming processing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a priming processing method and a priming processing apparatus for forming a liquid film of a processing liquid as a preparation for coating processing in the vicinity of a discharge port of a long nozzle used for spinless coating processing.

  In a photolithography process in the manufacturing process of flat panel displays (FPD) such as LCD, a long resist nozzle having a slit-like discharge port is scanned to apply a resist solution onto a substrate to be processed (glass substrate or the like). The spinless method is often used.

  In the spinless method, as disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1, a substrate is horizontally placed on a suction-holding type placement table or stage, and the substrate on the stage and the discharge port of the long resist nozzle are placed between them. For example, a small coating gap of about several hundred μm is set, and the resist nozzle is moved in the scanning direction (generally in the horizontal direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the nozzle) above the substrate, and the resist solution is discharged onto the substrate in a band shape for coating. . By simply moving the long resist nozzle once from one end to the other end of the substrate, the resist coating film can be formed on the substrate with a desired film thickness without dropping the resist solution outside the substrate.

  In such a spinless method, in order to prevent unevenness of coating thickness of the resist coating film and coating unevenness, the resist solution discharged onto the substrate during coating scanning rotates to the back side of the resist nozzle in the scanning direction. It is desirable that the meniscus formed in this way be aligned horizontally in the longitudinal direction of the nozzle, and for this purpose, the coating gap between the discharge port of the resist nozzle and the substrate is closed with an appropriate amount of resist solution immediately before the start of coating scanning. Is a necessary condition. In order to satisfy this requirement, a priming process for forming a liquid film of a resist solution from the discharge port of the resist nozzle to the lower end of the back surface is performed as a preparation for coating scanning.

  A typical priming method is to install a cylindrical priming roller with a length equal to or longer than that of the resist nozzle horizontally near the stage, up to a position facing the top edge of the priming roller through a small gap. The resist nozzle is brought close to discharge the resist solution, and at the same time or immediately after that, the priming roller is rotated in a predetermined direction. Then, the resist solution discharged near the top of the priming roller is wound around the priming roller so as to wrap around the lower back of the resist nozzle, and after the resist nozzle is separated from the priming roller, the resist solution liquid film is formed at the lower end of the nozzle. Remains.

A conventional priming processing apparatus includes not only a rotating mechanism that rotates the priming roller but also a scraper, a cleaning nozzle, and a drying nozzle for cleaning the priming roller. After one priming process is completed, the subsequent processing is performed. As described above, the priming roller is continuously rotated by a rotating mechanism, the resist solution is scraped off from the surface of the priming roller by a scraper, and the cleaning liquid and the drying gas are sprayed from the cleaning nozzle and the drying nozzle respectively onto the surface of the priming roller.
JP-A-10-156255

  The surface area of the priming roller used for receiving and winding the resist solution discharged from the resist nozzle in one priming process varies depending on the size of the resist nozzle and the priming roller, but the entire circumference of the priming roller (360 °). ), And is usually half a circle (180 °) or less and can be a quarter circle (90 °) or less. However, each time the priming process is performed, the conventional priming processing apparatus continuously rotates the priming roller as described above to spray the cleaning liquid on the entire surface (all circumferences) of the priming roller as described above. In addition, since the scraper is also cleaned, there is a problem that a large amount of cleaning liquid is used. Further, there is a concern that particles are generated due to friction between the priming roller and the scraper.

  The present invention has been made in view of the problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a priming processing method and a priming processing apparatus that can significantly reduce the amount of cleaning liquid used and that do not generate particles. To do.

  In order to achieve the above object, the priming processing method of the present invention is a priming for forming a liquid film of a processing solution as a preparation for coating processing in the vicinity of the discharge port of a long nozzle used for spinless coating processing. In the processing method, for a single priming process, the discharge port of the nozzle and the upper end of the priming roller are opposed to each other with a predetermined gap therebetween, and a predetermined processing liquid is discharged from the nozzle and the priming roller The surface of the priming roller after a predetermined number of continuous priming processes have been completed, and a first step of using a partial surface area equal to or less than a half circumference of the priming roller for the priming process. And a second step of collectively cleaning the entire circumference.

  The priming processing apparatus of the present invention is a priming processing apparatus for forming a liquid film of a processing liquid as a preparation for coating processing in the vicinity of a discharge port of a long nozzle used for spinless coating processing. A priming roller disposed at a predetermined position so that an upper end of the roller horizontally faces a discharge gap of the nozzle and a predetermined gap at the time of processing; a rotating mechanism that rotates the priming roller about its central axis; A cleaning unit for spraying a cleaning liquid onto the surface of the priming roller; and a drying unit for applying a liquid flow for applying a liquid to the surface of the priming roller. When the discharge port and the upper end of the priming roller are opposed to each other with a predetermined gap, a predetermined processing liquid is discharged from the nozzle. Further, the priming roller is rotated by a predetermined rotation angle by the rotation mechanism, and a partial surface area equal to or less than a half circumference of the priming roller is used for the priming process, and after a predetermined number of continuous priming processes are completed, The cleaning unit and the drying unit are operated while the priming roller is continuously rotated by a rotating mechanism to clean the surface of the priming roller all around.

  In the present invention, the surface or outer periphery of the priming roller is divided into a plurality of portions in the circumferential direction, and each partial surface region is assigned and used for a predetermined number of continuous priming processes. Clean around the entire circumference. This batch cleaning process is to clean the entire surface of the priming roller by operating the cleaning unit and the drying unit while continuously rotating the priming roller by the rotation mechanism. There is no need for a scraper for scraping off the liquid film of the processing liquid wound on the surface of the priming roller. Therefore, the cleaning liquid consumed in the cleaning process after the priming process can be greatly reduced, and particles are not generated during the cleaning process.

  According to a preferred aspect of the priming method of the present invention, according to a preferred embodiment, the collective cleaning process (second step) sprays cleaning liquid at a predetermined position on the surface of the priming roller while continuously rotating the priming roller at a constant rotational speed. The main cleaning process is to apply the air flow for liquid removal at another predetermined position at the same time as the application, and the liquid is removed at a predetermined position without spraying the cleaning liquid onto the surface of the priming roller while continuously rotating the priming roller at a constant rotational speed. And a main drying step of applying an air flow. In this case, in the main cleaning step, it is preferable that the cleaning liquid is mixed with gas toward the surface of the priming roller and sprayed with a high-pressure jet stream. According to such two-fluid jet cleaning, the liquid film of the processing liquid attached to the surface of the priming roller can be efficiently and completely washed away by the jet flow pressure.

  In the priming processing apparatus of the present invention, as a preferred embodiment, the cleaning unit is arranged on the way from the upper end to the lower end of the priming roller along the rotational direction. In this case, in order to prevent the mist of the cleaning liquid generated in the vicinity of the cleaning unit from scattering to the upper end side of the priming roller, a mist shielding unit is provided upstream of the cleaning unit along the rotation direction of the priming roller. preferable.

  Moreover, as a preferable aspect, the drying unit is arranged on the way from the lower end to the upper end of the priming roller along the rotation direction, and forms a first gap with the surface of the priming roller. And a first air flow forming portion for flowing liquid cutting air in a direction opposite to the rotation direction of the priming roller in the first gap. Here, it is preferable that the first gap extends along the rotation direction of the priming roller, and the first air flow forming portion includes a first vacuum mechanism connected to an upstream end portion of the first gap. It is preferable to have. The drying unit sucks air in the atmosphere into the first gap from the downstream end of the first gap, and the air is rotated along the outer circumferential surface of the priming roller in the first gap. Flowing in the opposite direction, the liquid remaining on the outer periphery of the priming roller is removed by the pressure of the air flow, and the mist that has escaped from the upstream end of the first gap is sent to the first vacuum mechanism. In this way, the vacuum is used to drain the liquid by applying an air flow in the direction opposite to the rotation direction to the outer peripheral surface of the priming roller, and the mist generated by the liquid draining is recovered by the vacuum as it is. High and can prevent mist from scattering.

  Furthermore, according to a preferred aspect, there is also provided a mist drawing section for drawing the mist of the cleaning liquid generated in the vicinity of the cleaning section downstream from the cleaning section along the rotation direction of the priming roller. As a preferred aspect, the mist pull-in portion is disposed between the cleaning portion and the drying portion along the rotation direction of the priming roller, and forms a second gap between the surface of the priming roller. A gap forming portion and a second air flow forming portion that forms an air flow for drawing mist in the same direction as the rotation direction of the priming roller in the second gap. Here, it is preferable that the second gap extends along the rotation direction of the priming roller, and the second air flow forming portion has a second vacuum mechanism connected to the downstream end portion of the second gap. It is preferable to have. This second vacuum mechanism can also be used as the first vacuum mechanism. In this case, the second gap is connected to the first gap via the second vacuum mechanism. The mist pull-in section sucks mist generated in the vicinity of the cleaning section into the second gap from the downstream end of the second gap, and rotates the mist along the outer periphery of the priming roller in the second gap. Then, the mist that has escaped from the second gap is sent to the second vacuum mechanism.

Further, according to a preferred aspect, at least the first priming process among the continuous predetermined number of priming processes is performed only for the partial surface area of the priming roller used for the priming process prior to the second step. A third step of partial cleaning is performed. The third step includes a partial cleaning step of spraying a cleaning liquid at a predetermined position on a partial surface region of the priming roller while rotating the priming roller by a predetermined rotation angle, and reversely rotating the priming roller by a predetermined rotation angle. And returning the partial surface area of the priming roller to the nozzle to a position before or after the partial cleaning process is started after the priming process is completed . In this case, in the partial cleaning step, it is preferable to spray a cleaning liquid having a pressure lower than the cleaning pressure used in the second step on the partial surface region of the priming roller, and thereby, the priming roller of the priming roller is generated without generating much mist. It is possible to wash away a part of the processing solution adhering to the partial surface area, or even if it prevents the processing solution from drying and solidifying, it has a sufficiently large effect in reducing the burden of batch cleaning processing in the subsequent process. can get. When a two-fluid jet nozzle is used in the cleaning unit, the ratio of the cleaning liquid pressure to the gas pressure in the two-fluid jet nozzle is variably controlled so that priming is performed during the main cleaning process and the partial cleaning process. The pressure of the cleaning liquid sprayed on the roller can be individually optimized.

  According to the priming processing method and the priming processing apparatus of the present invention, the use amount of the cleaning liquid can be greatly reduced without the possibility of generating particles due to the configuration and operation as described above.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a coating and developing processing system as an example of a configuration applicable to a priming processing method and a priming processing apparatus of the present invention. This coating / development processing system is installed in a clean room and uses, for example, an LCD substrate as a substrate to be processed, and performs cleaning, resist coating, pre-baking, development, and post-baking in the photolithography process in the LCD manufacturing process. is there. The exposure process is performed by an external exposure apparatus (not shown) installed adjacent to this system.

  This coating and developing system is roughly divided into a cassette station (C / S) 10, a process station (P / S) 12, and an interface unit (I / F) 14.

  A cassette station (C / S) 10 installed at one end of the system includes a cassette stage 16 on which a predetermined number, for example, four cassettes C for storing a plurality of substrates G can be placed, and a side on the cassette stage 16. And a transport path 17 provided in parallel with the arrangement direction of the cassette C, and a transport mechanism 20 that is movable on the transport path 17 and that allows the substrate C to be taken in and out of the cassette C on the stage 16. The transport mechanism 20 has a means for holding the substrate G, for example, a transport arm, can be operated with four axes of X, Y, Z, and θ, and is transported on the process station (P / S) 12 side described later. And the substrate G can be transferred.

  The process station (P / S) 12 includes, in order from the cassette station (C / S) 10 side, a cleaning process unit 22, a coating process unit 24, and a development process unit 26, a substrate relay unit 23, a chemical solution supply unit 25, and It is provided in a horizontal row via (spaced) the space 27.

  The cleaning process unit 22 includes two scrubber cleaning units (SCR) 28, an upper and lower ultraviolet irradiation / cooling unit (UV / COL) 30, a heating unit (HP) 32, and a cooling unit (COL) 34. Contains.

  The coating process unit 24 includes a spinless resist coating unit (CT) 40, a vacuum drying unit (VD) 42, an upper and lower two-stage adhesion / cooling unit (AD / COL) 46, and an upper and lower two-stage heating / cooling. A unit (HP / COL) 48 and a heating unit (HP) 50 are included.

  The development process unit 26 includes three development units (DEV) 52, two upper and lower two-stage heating / cooling units (HP / COL) 53, and a heating unit (HP) 55.

  Conveying paths 36, 51, 58 are provided in the longitudinal direction at the center of each process unit 22, 24, 26, and the conveying devices 38, 54, 60 move along the conveying paths 36, 51, 58, respectively. Each unit in the process unit is accessed to carry in / out or carry the substrate G. In this system, in each process part 22, 24, 26, a liquid processing system unit (SCR, CT, DEV, etc.) is disposed on one side of the transport paths 36, 51, 58, and heat treatment is performed on the other side. System units (HP, COL, etc.) are arranged.

  The interface unit (I / F) 14 installed at the other end of the system is provided with an extension (substrate transfer unit) 56 and a buffer stage 57 on the side adjacent to the process station 12, and is transported to the side adjacent to the exposure apparatus. A mechanism 59 is provided. The transport mechanism 59 is movable on the transport path 19 extending in the Y direction, and is used to load and unload the substrate G with respect to the buffer stage 57, and to extend from the extension (substrate transfer unit) 56 and the adjacent exposure device. The substrate G is transferred.

  FIG. 2 shows a processing procedure in this coating and developing processing system. First, in the cassette station (C / S) 10, the transport mechanism 20 takes out one substrate G from a predetermined cassette C on the cassette stage 16, and the cleaning process unit 22 of the process station (P / S) 12. It is transferred to the conveying device 38 (step S1).

  In the cleaning process section 22, the substrate G is first sequentially carried into an ultraviolet irradiation / cooling unit (UV / COL) 30, subjected to dry cleaning by ultraviolet irradiation in the first ultraviolet irradiation unit (UV), and then subjected to the next cooling unit ( In COL), the temperature is cooled to a predetermined temperature (step S2). This UV cleaning mainly removes organic substances on the substrate surface.

  Next, the substrate G is subjected to a scrubbing cleaning process by one of the scrubber cleaning units (SCR) 28 to remove particulate dirt from the substrate surface (step S3). After the scrubbing cleaning, the substrate G is subjected to dehydration treatment by heating in the heating unit (HP) 32 (step S4), and then cooled to a constant substrate temperature by the cooling unit (COL) 34 (step S5). Thus, the pretreatment in the cleaning process unit 22 is completed, and the substrate G is transferred to the coating process unit 24 by the transfer device 38 via the substrate transfer unit 23.

  In the coating process unit 24, the substrate G is first sequentially carried into an adhesion / cooling unit (AD / COL) 46, and undergoes a hydrophobic treatment (HMDS) in the first adhesion unit (AD) (step S6). The cooling unit (COL) cools to a constant substrate temperature (step S7).

  Thereafter, the substrate G is coated with a resist solution by a spinless method in a resist coating unit (CT) 40, and then subjected to a drying process by reduced pressure in a reduced pressure drying unit (VD) 42 (step S8).

  Next, the substrate G is sequentially carried into the heating / cooling unit (HP / COL) 48, and the first heating unit (HP) performs baking after coating (pre-baking) (step S9), and then the cooling unit ( COL) to cool to a constant substrate temperature (step S10). In addition, the heating unit (HP) 50 can also be used for baking after this application | coating.

  After the coating process, the substrate G is transported to the interface unit (I / F) 14 by the transport device 54 of the coating process unit 24 and the transport device 60 of the development process unit 26, and is passed from there to the exposure apparatus (step). S11). In the exposure apparatus, a predetermined circuit pattern is exposed on the resist on the substrate G. After the pattern exposure, the substrate G is returned from the exposure apparatus to the interface unit (I / F) 14. The transport mechanism 59 of the interface unit (I / F) 14 passes the substrate G received from the exposure apparatus to the development process unit 26 of the process station (P / S) 12 via the extension 56 (step S11).

  In the development process unit 26, the substrate G is subjected to development processing in any one of the development units (DEV) 52 (step S12), and then sequentially carried into one of the heating / cooling units (HP / COL) 53, Post baking is performed in the first heating unit (HP) (step S13), and then the substrate is cooled to a constant substrate temperature in the cooling unit (COL) (step S14). A heating unit (HP) 55 can also be used for this post-baking.

  The substrate G that has undergone a series of processing in the development process section 26 is returned to the cassette station (C / S) 10 by the transfer devices 60, 54, and 38 in the process station (P / S) 24, where the transfer mechanism 20 Is stored in one of the cassettes C (step S1).

  In this coating and developing processing system, the present invention can be applied to a priming processing method and apparatus in the resist coating unit (CT) 40 of the coating process unit 24. Hereinafter, a resist coating unit (CT) 40 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 3 shows the overall configuration of the resist coating unit (CT) 40 and the vacuum drying unit (VD) 42 in this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 3, a resist coating unit (CT) 40 and a vacuum drying unit (VD) 42 are arranged in a horizontal row on the support base or support frame 70 in the X direction. A new substrate G to be subjected to the coating process is carried into the resist coating unit (CT) 40 as indicated by an arrow F _A by the transfer device 54 (FIG. 1) on the transfer path 51 side. Substrate G after completion of the coating process in the resist coating unit (CT) 40 is a transfer arm 74 which is movable in the X direction is guided by the guide rails 72 on the support table 70, a vacuum drying unit as indicated by the arrow F _B (VD) 42. Substrate G having been subjected to the drying treatment in a vacuum drying unit (VD) 42 is drawn off as shown by the arrow F _C by the transfer device 54 of the transport path 51 side (FIG. 1).

  The resist coating unit (CT) 40 includes a stage 76 that extends long in the X direction, and a long shape disposed above the stage 76 while carrying the substrate G in a flat flow on the stage 76 in the same direction. A resist solution is supplied onto the substrate G from the resist nozzle 78, and a resist coating film having a constant film thickness is formed on the upper surface (surface to be processed) of the substrate by a spinless method. The configuration and operation of each part in the unit (CT) 40 will be described in detail later.

  The vacuum drying unit (VD) 42 includes a tray or shallow container type lower chamber 80 having an open upper surface, and a lid-shaped upper chamber configured to be tightly fitted or fitted to the upper surface of the lower chamber 80. (Not shown). The lower chamber 80 is substantially rectangular, and a stage 82 for placing and supporting the substrate G horizontally is disposed at the center, and exhaust ports 83 are provided at the four corners of the bottom surface. Each exhaust port 83 communicates with a vacuum pump (not shown) through an exhaust pipe (not shown). With the lower chamber 80 covered with the upper chamber, the sealed processing space in both chambers can be depressurized to a predetermined degree of vacuum by the vacuum pump.

  4 and 5 show a more detailed overall configuration in the resist coating unit (CT) 40. FIG. In this resist coating unit (CT) 40, the stage 76 does not function as a mounting table for fixing and holding the substrate G as in the prior art, but as a substrate floating table for floating the substrate G in the air by the force of air pressure. Function. Then, the linear movement type substrate transport portions 84 arranged on both sides of the stage 76 hold both side edges of the substrate G floating on the stage 76 in a detachable manner, and the stage longitudinal direction (X direction) The substrate G is transferred to the substrate.

Specifically, the stage 76 is divided into _five regions M ₁ , M ₂ , M ₃ , M ₄ , and M ₅ in the longitudinal direction (X direction) (FIG. 5). The leftmost area M ₁ is a carry-in area, and a new substrate G to be subjected to the coating process is carried into a predetermined position in this area M ₁ . In this carry-in area M ₁ , the substrate G is received from the transfer arm of the transfer device 54 (FIG. 1) and loaded onto the stage 76 so as to move up and down between the original position below the stage and the forward movement position above the stage. A plurality of possible lift pins 86 are provided at predetermined intervals. These lift pins 86 are driven up and down by, for example, a lift pin lift unit 85 (FIG. 13) for carrying in using an air cylinder (not shown) as a drive source.

The loading area M ₁ is also the area substrate transfer of a floating starts, high-pressure or positive pressure to the stage upper surface of the region to float in flying height or flying height H _a for carrying the substrate G A number of jet outlets 88 for jetting compressed air are provided at a constant density. Here, the flying height H _a of the substrate G in the carrying region M ₁ does not require a particularly high accuracy, for example if kept in the range of 250～350Myuemu. In the transport direction (X direction), the size of the carry-in area M ₁ is preferably larger than the size of the substrate G. Further, an alignment unit (not shown) for aligning the substrate G on the stage 76 may be provided in the carry-in area M ₁ .

A region M ₃ set at the center of the stage 76 is a resist solution supply region or a coating region, and the substrate G is supplied with the resist solution R from the upper resist nozzle 78 when passing through the coating region M ₃ . The substrate flying height _Hb in the coating region M ₃ defines a coating gap S (for example, 240 μm) between the lower end (discharge port) of the nozzle 78 and the upper surface of the substrate (surface to be processed). The coating gap S is an important parameter that affects the film thickness of the resist coating film and the resist consumption, and must be kept constant with high accuracy. From this, on the upper surface of the stage of the application region M ₃ , for example, a jet that ejects high-pressure or positive-pressure compressed air to float the substrate G with a desired flying height H _b in an arrangement or distribution pattern as shown in FIG. An outlet 88 and a suction port 90 for sucking air with a negative pressure are mixed and provided. Then, a vertical upward force due to compressed air is applied from the jet outlet 88 to a portion passing through the coating region M ₃ of the substrate G, and at the same time, a vertical downward force due to a negative pressure suction force is applied from the suction port 90. In addition, the flying height _Hb for application is maintained in the vicinity of a set value H _S (for example, 50 μm) by controlling the balance of the opposing forces. The size of the coating region M ₃ in the transport direction (X direction) only needs to be large enough to stably form the narrow coating gap S as described above immediately below the resist nozzle 78 and is usually smaller than the size of the substrate G. For example, about 1/3 to 1/4 may be sufficient.

As shown in FIG. 6, in the application region M ₃ , the jet ports 88 and the suction ports 90 are alternately arranged on a straight line C that forms an angle inclined with respect to the substrate transport direction (X direction). An appropriate offset α is provided for the pitch on the straight line C between the columns. According to such an arrangement pattern, not only can the mixing density of the nozzles 88 and the suction ports 90 be made uniform, the substrate levitation force on the stage can be made uniform, but also when the substrate G moves in the transport direction (X direction). It is also possible to make the ratio of the time facing the 88 and the suction port 90 uniform in each part of the substrate, whereby the coating film formed on the substrate G is traced or transferred by the ejection port 88 or the suction port 90. Can be prevented. At the entrance of the coating region M ₃ , the jet outlets 88 arranged in the same direction (on the straight line J) so that the tip of the substrate G stably receives a uniform levitation force in the direction (Y direction) perpendicular to the transport direction, and It is preferable to increase the density of the suction port 90. Also in the coating region M ₃ , it is preferable to arrange only the ejection port 88 at both side edges (on the straight line K) of the stage 76 in order to prevent the both side edges of the substrate G from dripping.

5 again, the middle region M _2, which is set between the loading area M ₁ and the application area M ₃ are, coating the flying height of the substrate G during transport from the flying height H _a of the loading area M ₁ it is a transition region for changing or transition to flying height H _b in the area M _3. Even in the transition region M ₂ , the jet port 88 and the suction port 90 can be mixed and arranged on the upper surface of the stage 76. In that case, the density of the suction port 90 gradually increases along the conveying direction, whereby it as the flying height of the substrate G during transport moves in H _b from progressively H _a. Alternatively, in this transition region M ₂ , a configuration in which only the ejection port 88 is provided without including the suction port 90 is also possible.

A region M ₄ adjacent to the downstream side of the coating region M ₃ is a transition region for changing the flying height of the substrate G from the flying height H _b for coating to the flying height H _c (for example, 250 to 350 μm) during transportation. It is. Even in the transition region M ₄ , the ejection port 88 and the suction port 90 may be mixed on the upper surface of the stage 76, and in this case, the density of the suction port 90 should be gradually reduced along the transport direction. . Alternatively, a configuration in which only the ejection port 88 is provided without including the suction port 90 is also possible. In addition, as shown in FIG. 6, in the transition region M ₄ as well as the coating region M ₃ , the suction port 90 (and the spray nozzle 90) is used to prevent the transfer mark from being applied to the resist coating film formed on the substrate G. It is preferable that the outlet 88) is disposed on a straight line E that forms a certain inclined angle with respect to the substrate transport direction (X direction), and an appropriate offset β is provided in the arrangement pitch between adjacent rows.

A region M ₅ at the downstream end (right end) of the stage 76 is a carry-out region. The resist coating unit (CT) substrate G having received a coating process with 40, the transport arm 74 from a predetermined position or unloading position of the unloading area M ₅ vacuum drying unit on the downstream side next (FIG. 3) (VD) 42 ( 3). In the carry-out area M ₅ , a number of jet outlets 88 for floating the substrate G with a flying height H _c for carrying out are provided on the upper surface of the stage at a constant density, and the substrate G is unloaded from the stage 76. Thus, a plurality of lift pins 92 that can be moved up and down between the original position below the stage and the forward movement position above the stage are provided at predetermined intervals for delivery to the transfer arm 74 (FIG. 3). These lift pins 92 are driven up and down by, for example, a lift pin lift unit 91 (FIG. 13) for carrying out using an air cylinder (not shown) as a drive source.

  The resist nozzle 78 has a length that can cover the substrate G on the stage 76 from one end to the other end, and has a slit-like discharge port 78a at the lower end of a long nozzle body that extends in the horizontal direction (Y direction) perpendicular to the transport direction. And is attached to a nozzle-shaped or inverted U-shaped nozzle support 130 so as to be movable up and down, and is connected to a resist solution supply pipe 94 (FIG. 4) from a resist solution supply mechanism 95 (FIG. 13).

  As shown in FIGS. 4, 7, and 8, the substrate transport unit 84 includes a pair of guide rails 96 arranged in parallel on the left and right sides of the stage 76, and an axial direction (X direction) on each guide rail 96. A slider 98 movably attached to each other, a transport drive unit 100 for moving the slider 98 linearly on each guide rail 96, and right and left side edges of the substrate G extending from each slider 98 toward the center of the stage 76. And a holding portion 102 that holds the detachable holder.

  Here, the conveyance drive unit 100 is configured by a linear drive mechanism such as a linear motor. The holding unit 102 supports the suction pad 104 coupled to the lower surfaces of the left and right side edges of the substrate G by a vacuum suction force, and supports the suction pad 104 at the distal end, with the proximal end on the slider 98 side serving as a fulcrum. And a plate spring type pad support portion 106 that can be elastically deformed so that the height position of each can be changed. The suction pads 104 are arranged in a line at a constant pitch, and the pad support part 106 supports each suction pad 104 independently. As a result, the individual suction pads 104 and the pad support portions 106 can stably hold the substrate G at independent height positions (even at different height positions).

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the pad support portion 106 is attached to a plate-like pad elevating member 108 that is attached to the inner side surface of the slider 98 so as to be elevable. A pad actuator 109 (FIG. 13) made of an air cylinder, for example, mounted on the slider 98 moves the pad elevating member 108 from the original position (retracted position) lower than the flying height position of the substrate G and the flying height of the substrate G. It is configured to move up and down between the forward movement position (coupling position) corresponding to the position.

  As shown in FIG. 9, each suction pad 104 is provided with a plurality of suction ports 112 on the upper surface of a rectangular parallelepiped pad body 110 made of, for example, synthetic rubber. These suction ports 112 are slit-like long holes, but may be round or rectangular small holes. For example, a belt-like vacuum tube 114 made of synthetic rubber is connected to the suction pad 104. The pipe lines 116 of these vacuum pipes 114 respectively communicate with the vacuum source of the pad suction control unit 115 (FIG. 13).

  As shown in FIG. 4, the holding unit 102 preferably has a separation type or completely independent type in which the vacuum suction pads 104 and the pad support units 106 on one side are separated for each set. However, as shown in FIG. 10, a single plate spring provided with a notch 118 is used to form a pad support portion 120 for one row on one side, and a vacuum suction pad 104 is placed on one row on the pad support portion 120. Configuration is also possible.

As described above, the large number of jets 88 formed on the upper surface of the stage 76, the compressed air supply mechanism 122 (FIG. 11) for supplying the compressed air for generating the levitation force to them, and the coating region M _{3 of the} stage 76. The substrate G is carried in the carry-in area M ₁ and the carry-out area M ₅ by a large number of suction ports 90 formed in the inside of the jet outlet 88 and a vacuum supply mechanism 124 (FIG. 11) for supplying vacuum pressure thereto. A stage substrate floating portion 145 (FIG. 13) for floating the substrate G at a set floating amount H _S suitable for stable and accurate resist coating scanning is formed in the coating region M ₃ . Has been.

FIG. 11 shows the configuration of the nozzle lifting mechanism 75, the nozzle horizontal movement mechanism 77, the compressed air supply mechanism 122, and the vacuum supply mechanism 124. The nozzle raising / lowering mechanism 75 is attached to the gate-shaped frame 130 and the portal frame 130 laid so as to straddle the coating region M _{3 in} the horizontal direction (Y direction) orthogonal to the transport direction (X direction). It has a pair of left and right vertical motion mechanisms 132L and 132R, and a nozzle support 134 of a moving body (lifting body) straddling between these vertical motion mechanisms 132L and 132R. The drive units of the vertical motion mechanisms 132L and 132R include electric motors 138L and 138R made of, for example, pulse motors, ball screws 140L and 140R, and guide members 142L and 142R. The rotational force of the pulse motors 138L and 138R is converted into a linear motion in the vertical direction by the ball screw mechanisms (140L and 142L) and (140R and 142R), and the registration nozzle 78 is moved up and down integrally with the nozzle support 134 of the lifting body. Moving. The amount of elevation movement and the height position of the left and right sides of the registration nozzle 78 can be arbitrarily controlled by the rotation amounts and rotation stop positions of the pulse motors 138L and 138R. The nozzle support 134 is made of, for example, a prismatic rigid body, and a resist nozzle 78 is detachably attached to the lower surface or side surface of the nozzle support 134 via a flange, a bolt, or the like.

  The nozzle horizontal movement mechanism 77 includes a pair of left and right guide rails (not shown) for guiding the portal frame 130 in a horizontal direction (X direction) orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the nozzle, and the portal frame 130 on the guide rails. It has a pair of left and right horizontal movement mechanisms that move linearly, for example, a pulse motor driven ball screw mechanism 135L, 135R, and is configured so that the portal frame 130 can be positioned at an arbitrary position on the guide rail.

  The compressed air supply mechanism 122 includes a positive pressure manifold 144 connected to a jet outlet 88 for each of a plurality of areas divided on the upper surface of the stage 76, and compressed air from a compressed air supply source 146 of factory force, for example, to the positive pressure manifold 144. Compressed air supply pipe 148 and a regulator 150 provided in the middle of the compressed air supply pipe 148. The vacuum supply mechanism 124 includes a negative pressure manifold 152 connected to the suction port 90 for each of a plurality of areas divided on the upper surface of the stage 76, and a vacuum that feeds, for example, vacuum from a vacuum source 154 of factory power into the negative pressure manifold 152. A pipe 156 and a throttle valve 158 provided in the middle of the vacuum pipe 156 are provided.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the resist coating unit (CT) 40 is provided with a nozzle standby unit 170 slightly above the resist nozzle 78 in the substrate transport direction (X direction). A priming processing unit is provided in 170.

  FIG. 12 shows a configuration inside the nozzle standby unit 170. As shown in the figure, the nozzle standby unit 170 has a priming processing unit 172, a solvent atmosphere chamber 174, and a cleaning unit 176 arranged in a horizontal row in the X direction. Among them, the priming processing unit 172 is installed at a location closest to the coating processing position. The straight drive units 135L and 135R of the nozzle horizontal movement mechanism 77 (FIG. 11) extend to the nozzle standby unit 170 (FIG. 3), and the resist nozzle 78 is transferred to each part (172, 174, 176) in the nozzle standby unit 170. It can be done.

The cleaning unit 176 has a nozzle cleaning head 178 that moves or scans in the longitudinal direction (Y direction) under the resist nozzle 78 positioned at a predetermined position. The nozzle cleaning head 178 is equipped with a cleaning nozzle 180 and a gas nozzle 182 for spraying a cleaning liquid (for example, thinner) and a drying gas (for example, N ₂ gas) toward the lower end portion of the resist nozzle 78 and the discharge port 78a. In addition, a drain part 184 is provided for collecting and collecting the cleaning liquid that has fallen on the resist nozzle 78 by vacuum.

  The solvent atmosphere chamber 174 has a length that covers the entire length of the resist nozzle 78 and extends in parallel with the nozzle longitudinal direction (Y direction), and a solvent such as thinner is contained in the chamber. On the upper surface of the solvent atmosphere chamber 174, a lid 186 having a V-shaped cross section provided with a slit-like opening 186a extending in the longitudinal direction (Y direction) is attached. When the nozzle portion of the resist nozzle 78 is aligned with the lid 186 from above, only the discharge port 78a and the lower end portion of the tapered nozzle are exposed to the solvent vapor standing in the room through the opening 186a. Yes. While the coating process is not performed on the stage 76 for a while, the resist nozzle 78 is cleaned by the cleaning unit 176 for the discharge port 78a and the nozzle unit, and then waits in the solvent atmosphere chamber 174.

  In the priming processing unit 172, a columnar priming roller 188 that covers the entire length of the resist nozzle 78 and extends in the horizontal direction (Y direction) is disposed in the housing 190. A priming roller rotating mechanism 192 disposed outside the housing 190 drives the priming roller 188 to rotate. A more detailed configuration and operation of the priming processing unit 172 will be described later in detail with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 13 shows the main configuration of the control system in the resist coating unit (CT) 40. The controller 200 is formed of a microcomputer, and each unit in the unit, in particular, a resist solution supply mechanism 95, a nozzle lifting mechanism 75, a stage substrate floating portion 145, a substrate transport unit 84 (transport drive unit 100, pad suction control unit 115, pad actuator). Eta 109), carry-in lift pin raising / lowering unit 85, carry-out lift pin raising / lowering unit 91, priming processing unit 172, etc., and the entire operation (sequence) are controlled.

  Next, the coating processing operation in the resist coating unit (CT) 40 will be described. The controller 200 takes in and executes a coating process program stored in a storage medium such as an optical disk in the main memory, and controls a series of programmed coating process operations.

When the transport device 54 new substrate G (FIG. 1) than the untreated is carried into the carry-area M ₁ stage 76, the lift pins 86 receives the substrate G at the forward position. After conveying device 54 has exited, the lift pins 86 are lowered down to a height position that is floating position H _a for conveying the substrate G (Figure 5). Next, an alignment unit (not shown) is operated, and a pressing member (not shown) is pressed against the floating substrate G from four directions to align the substrate G on the stage 76. When the alignment operation is completed, the pad actuator 109 is actuated immediately after that in the substrate transport section 84, and the suction pad 104 is raised (UP) from the original position (retracted position) to the forward movement position (coupled position). The suction pad 104 is vacuum-on from before, and is bonded by a vacuum suction force as soon as it comes into contact with the side edge of the floating substrate G. Immediately after the suction pad 104 is coupled to the side edge of the substrate G, the alignment unit retracts the pressing member to a predetermined position.

Next, the substrate transport unit 84 moves the slider 98 straight from the transport start point position to the transport direction (X direction) at a relatively high constant speed while holding the side edge of the substrate G by the holding unit 102. Thus straight movement in the conveying direction (X direction) in a state where the substrate G is floated on the stage 76, where the front end of the substrate G has reached the set position or applying scanning start position in the application region M _3, the substrate transport unit 84 stops the substrate transfer in the first stage. At this time, the resist nozzle 78 has already finished the priming process in the priming processing unit 172 of the nozzle standby unit 170, and is waiting at a predetermined application standby position set above the application position.

Here, the priming process in the priming processing unit 172 will be described with reference to FIGS. First, under the control of the controller 200, the nozzle lifting mechanism 75 and the nozzle horizontal movement mechanism 77 (FIG. 11) set the discharge port 78a of the registration nozzle 78 to the upper end or top of the priming roller 188 and a set distance as shown in FIG. The resist nozzle 78 is brought close to the priming roller 188 to a position facing in parallel across the gap. Then, the resist solution supply mechanism 95 (FIG. 13) discharges the resist solution R to the resist nozzle 78 (FIG. 14), and then the priming roller rotating mechanism 192 (FIG. 12) rotates the priming roller 188 in a certain direction (clockwise in FIG. 14). ) (FIG. 15). Then, the resist solution R discharged to the vicinity of the top of the priming roller 188 is wound around the surface or peripheral surface of the priming roller 188 so as to go around the nozzle back surface 78b. Thus, even after the priming process is finished, as shown in FIG. 16, a resist solution liquid film RF that extends straight and uniformly in the longitudinal direction of the nozzle (Y direction) below the discharge port 78a or the back surface 78b of the resist nozzle 78. Remains. The resist nozzle 78 subjected to the priming process is moved from the nozzle standby unit 170 to the application standby position by the nozzle lifting mechanism 75 and the nozzle horizontal movement mechanism 77 under the control of the controller 200.

As described above, when the substrate G arrives at the set position in the coating area M ₃ , that is, stops at the coating scanning start position, the nozzle lifting mechanism 75 is operated under the control of the controller 200 to lower the registration nozzle 78 vertically downward. The distance between the nozzle discharge port 78a and the substrate G or the coating gap is adjusted to the initial value (for example, 60 μm). Then, as shown in FIG. 17, the liquid film RF of the resist solution adhering to the discharge port of the resist nozzle 78 and the lower end of the back surface adheres to the substrate G so as to block the application gap of the set size d in a bead shape ( Liquid). Next, at the same time as the resist solution supply mechanism 95 (FIG. 13) starts to discharge the resist solution R, the substrate transport section 84 also starts the second stage substrate transport, while the nozzle lifting mechanism 75 moves the resist nozzle 78 over the coating gap. The substrate G is raised until it reaches a set value S _A (for example, 240 μm), and then the substrate G is moved horizontally. A relatively low transport speed is selected for this second stage, that is, substrate transport during coating.

Thus, in the coating region M ₃ , the substrate G moves at a constant speed in the transport direction (X direction) in a horizontal posture, and at the same time, the long resist nozzle 78 applies the resist solution R toward the substrate G immediately below. By discharging in a strip shape, a resist coating film RM is formed from the front end side to the rear end side of the substrate G as shown in FIG. As described above, the coating gap is closed with a bead of the resist solution without any gap immediately before the start of the coating process, so that the meniscus RQ of the resist solution formed at the lower portion of the back surface 78b of the resist nozzle 78 in the coating scan is aligned in a horizontal straight line. A flat resist coating film RM without coating unevenness can be formed.

When the above-described coating process is completed in the coating region M ₃ , that is, when the rear end portion of the substrate G passes just below the resist nozzle 78, the resist solution supply mechanism 95 finishes discharging the resist solution R from the resist nozzle 78. Let At the same time, the nozzle lifting mechanism 75 lifts the resist nozzle 78 vertically upward and retracts it from the substrate G. On the other hand, the substrate transport unit 84 switches to the third stage substrate transport with a relatively high transport speed. When the substrate G arrives at the conveying end position in the unloading area M _5, the substrate conveying unit 84 to stop the substrate carrying the third stage. Immediately after this, the pad suction control unit 115 stops the supply of vacuum to the suction pad 104, and at the same time, the pad actuator 109 lowers the suction pad 104 from the forward movement position (coupling position) to the original position (retraction position), and the substrate The suction pad 104 is separated from both end portions of G. At this time, the pad suction control unit 115 supplies positive pressure (compressed air) to the suction pad 104 to speed up the separation from the substrate G. Instead, the lift pins 92 rise from the original position below the stage to the forward movement position above the stage in order to unload the substrate G.

Thereafter, the unloader, that is, the transfer arm 74 accesses the unloading area M ₅ , receives the substrate G from the lift pins 92, and unloads it out of the stage 76. The substrate transport unit 84 immediately returns the substrate G to the loading region M ₁ at a high speed when the substrate G is transferred to the lift pins 92. When the processed substrate G is unloaded as described above in the unloading area M ₅ , loading, alignment, or transfer start is performed on the new substrate G to be subjected to the next coating process in the loading area M ₁ . Further, the resist nozzle 78 is moved to the priming processing unit 172 of the nozzle standby unit 170 by the nozzle lifting mechanism 75 and the nozzle horizontal moving mechanism 77, and receives the priming process as described above.

  Hereinafter, the configuration and operation of the priming processing unit 172 in this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 19 shows the configuration of the priming processing unit 172. For the convenience of illustration, the priming roller rotating mechanism 192 (FIG. 12) for rotating the priming roller 188 is not shown in FIG.

  In this priming processing section 172, the housing 190 is made of, for example, a stainless steel or aluminum casing having a slit-like opening 190a on the upper surface, and the priming roller 188 is a bearing (the top of which is exposed above the opening 190a). (Not shown) and the like are supported horizontally and rotatably.

  In the housing 190, a mist shielding plate 202 and a cleaning unit 204 are provided on the way from the upper end to the lower end of the priming roller 188 along the positive rotation direction (clockwise in FIG. 19).

  The cleaning unit 204 may be preferably disposed within a range of a rotation angle of 90 ° to 180 ° from the upper end to the lower end of the priming roller 188, and includes a long two-fluid jet nozzle 206 as a cleaning nozzle. The two-fluid jet nozzle 206 has a length that covers the entire length of the priming roller 188 and is disposed in parallel therewith, and is supplied with cleaning liquid (for example, thinner) and gas from the cleaning liquid supply unit 208 and the gas supply unit 210 via pipes 212 and 214, respectively. (For example, air or nitrogen gas) is received at a desired pressure, and the cleaning liquid and the gas are mixed in the nozzle and jetted substantially perpendicularly to the surface of the priming roller 188 from the slit or the porous discharge port by a jet flow. It is configured. The mist shielding plate 202 extends horizontally from the inner wall of the housing 190 toward the priming roller 188 at a position upstream of the cleaning unit 204, that is, slightly above the tip of the mist shielding plate 202 so as not to contact the surface of the priming roller 188. Gaps are formed.

  In the housing 190, a mist pull-in part 222 and a drying part 224 are also provided on the side opposite to the mist shielding plate 202 and the cleaning part 204 when viewed from the priming roller 188.

  The mist pull-in portion 222 is formed by the priming roller 188 in a direction opposite to the rotation direction (counterclockwise) from the suction port 226 provided at a substantially intermediate position along the rotation direction from the lower end to the upper end of the priming roller 188. A curved cover 228 extending to the front of the lower end is provided, and a mist pulling gap 230 is formed between the inner surface of the curved cover 228 and the surface of the priming roller 188. The drying unit 224 includes a block 232 that fills a space between the suction port 226 and the ceiling of the housing 190, and a gap for liquid drainage is provided between one side surface of the block 232 and the surface of the priming roller 188. 234 is formed. The material of the block 232 is preferably a resin having excellent chemical resistance, such as Teflon (registered trademark).

  The suction port 226 communicates with a vacuum mechanism 240 having, for example, a vacuum pump or an intake fan (not shown) and a mist trap or a filter through a vacuum passage 236 and a vacuum pipe 238. When the vacuum mechanism 240 is on (exhaust operation), the mist drawing section 222 and the drying section 224 are operated, and the mist drawing gap 230 and the liquid draining gap 234 are moved from the outside toward the intake port 226. An air flow for drawing and an air flow for draining flow, respectively.

  The bottom surface of the housing 190 is tapered downward, and a drain port 242 is formed at the lowermost end. The drain port 242 communicates with the drain tank 246 through the drain pipe 244.

  The priming processing control unit 216 is a local controller, and under the instruction of the main controller 200 (FIG. 13), each unit in the priming processing unit 172, that is, the cleaning liquid supply unit 208, the gas supply unit 210, the exhaust mechanism 240, and the priming roller The rotation mechanism 192 (FIG. 12) is directly controlled. In particular, for the cleaning liquid supply unit 208 and the gas supply unit 210, not only the on / off control of the on-off valves 218 and 220 provided in the pipes 212 and 214 is performed, but also the pressure of the cleaning liquid sent from the cleaning liquid supply unit 208 In addition, the pressure of the gas delivered from the gas supply unit 210 can be individually controlled.

  Next, the operation of the priming processing unit 172 will be described. As described above, every time one coating process is completed on the stage 76, the priming processing unit 172 performs the priming process as a preparation for the next coating process. In this priming process, FIGS. As described above, the discharge port 78a of the resist nozzle 78 and the upper end of the priming roller 188 are opposed to each other with a predetermined gap, the resist liquid R is discharged from the resist nozzle 78, and then the priming roller 188 is moved by a predetermined rotation angle. The resist liquid R discharged near the top of the priming roller 188 is wound around the surface or peripheral surface of the priming roller 188 so as to wrap around the nozzle back surface 78b. The surface area of the priming roller 188 subjected to this one-time priming process can be reduced to 1/4 or less (90 °) by increasing the roller diameter.

  In this priming processing unit 172, as a preferred embodiment, as shown in FIG. 20, the priming processing is performed a plurality of times, for example, three times while all the operations of the cleaning unit 204, the mist drawing unit 222, and the drying unit 224 are stopped. Is done. 20, (1), (2), and (3) are diagrams showing the priming process of each time step by step, and correspond to FIGS. 14, 15, and 16, respectively.

More specifically, in the first priming process, the resist solution R from the resist nozzle 78 is wound around the clean priming roller 188 over the entire circumference immediately after cleaning, and when the priming roller 188 is finished, A liquid film RK _{1 of the} resist solution is formed (wound up) in the outer peripheral region within the range of about 0 ° to 120 ° in the rotation direction from the upper end.

Next, in the second priming process, a resist nozzle 78 uses a vacant outer peripheral region offset by a predetermined angle in the circumferential direction with respect to the _first resist liquid film RK ₁ in the priming roller 188. The resist solution R from is wound up. As a result, when the second priming process is completed, the second resist liquid film RK ₂ is formed on the priming roller 188 in the outer peripheral region within the range of about 0 ° to 120 ° along the rotation direction from the upper end thereof. The first resist liquid film RK ₁ rotates from the upper end of the priming roller 188 to a position in the range of about 120 ° to 240 ° in the rotation direction.

Similarly, the third priming process uses a vacant outer peripheral region offset by a predetermined angle in the circumferential direction with respect to the _second resist liquid film RK ₂ in the priming roller 188, and uses the resist nozzle 78. The resist solution R from is wound up. As a result, when the third priming process is completed, the third resist liquid film RK ₃ is formed on the priming roller 188 in the outer peripheral region within the range of about 0 ° to 120 ° along the rotational direction from the upper end thereof. The second resist liquid film RK ₂ is rotated and moved from the upper end of the priming roller 188 to a position within a range of about 120 ° to 240 ° in the rotational direction, and the first resist liquid film RK ₁ is moved to the priming roller. 188 rotates from the upper end of 188 to a position in the range of about 240 ° to 360 ° in the rotational direction.

  When the third priming process is completed, the priming process control unit 216 controls each part in the priming process unit 172 and executes a batch cleaning process in response to an instruction from the main controller 200 (FIG. 13).

  In this batch cleaning process, the priming roller rotating mechanism 192 (FIG. 12) continuously rotates the priming roller 188 at a constant rotational speed higher than that during the priming process.

The cleaning unit 204 opens the on-off valves 218 and 220, supplies cleaning liquid and air to the two-fluid jet nozzle 206 from the cleaning liquid supply unit 208 and the gas supply unit 210, respectively, and mixes them from the two-fluid jet nozzle 206. The cleaned cleaning liquid and air are sprayed over the entire surface of the priming roller 188 by the jet flow. Due to the strong impact force of the two-fluid jet flow, the resist liquid films RK ₁ , RK ₂ , and RK ₃ attached in the three-part partial surface region of the priming roller 188 are efficiently and thoroughly washed away. Most of them are mixed with the cleaning liquid and fall to the drain port 242 immediately below, and the rest are changed to mist ma and scattered in the vicinity. Thus, the mist ma generated in the vicinity of the cleaning unit 204 during the collective cleaning soars upward is blocked by the shielding plate 202 and hardly comes out to the opening 190a side of the housing 190.

  On the other hand, the vacuum mechanism 240 is turned on, and the vacuum from the vacuum mechanism 240 is supplied to the mist drawing unit 222 and the drying unit 224 via the vacuum pipe 238, the vacuum passage 236 and the suction port 226. As a result, the mist pulling unit 222 draws the mist ma generated near the cleaning unit 204 to the lower end opening of the curved cover 228 and sucks it into the gap 230, and the mist ma in the gap 230 on the outer peripheral surface of the priming roller 188. The mist ma that has flowed in the rotation direction along the upper side of the gap 230 and that has exited the suction port 226 is sent to the vacuum mechanism 240.

  Further, the drying unit 224 sucks air from the upper atmospheric space into a gap 234 formed between one side surface of the block 232 and the surface of the priming roller 188, and the air is supplied into the gap 234 from the priming roller 188. The liquid remaining on the outer peripheral surface of the priming roller 188 is scraped off by air pressure to form droplets, and the mist mb from the lower end of the gap 234 to the suction port 226 is removed. Send to vacuum mechanism 240. In this way, the vacuum is used to drain the liquid by applying an air flow in the direction opposite to the rotation direction to the outer peripheral surface of the priming roller 188, and the mist mb generated by the liquid draining is recovered by the vacuum as it is, so that it is dried. It is highly efficient and can prevent mist from scattering.

  When a predetermined time elapses after the batch cleaning process as described above is started, the priming process control unit 216 stops the two-fluid jet cleaning by the cleaning unit 204. Thereafter, while the priming roller 188 is continuously rotated, the mist drawing unit 222 and the drying unit 224 are continuously operated to perform a drying process for drying the surface of the priming roller 188 over the entire circumference. Then, after a predetermined time has elapsed, the vacuum mechanism 240 is turned off to stop the drying process, and all the steps of the batch cleaning process are completed.

  As described above, the priming processing unit 172 of this embodiment causes the resist nozzle 78 to discharge a predetermined amount of the resist solution R for one priming process, and the priming roller rotating mechanism 192 moves the priming roller 188 within 120 °. The surface area of the priming roller 188 is rotated by a predetermined rotation angle and used for the priming process. After three consecutive priming processes, the priming roller 188 is moved by the priming roller rotating mechanism 192. While continuously rotating, the cleaning unit 204 and the drying unit 224 are operated to clean the surface of the priming roller 188 all around. A scraper is not used to scrape off the resist liquid film RK from the surface of the priming roller 188. With this configuration or method, the cleaning liquid consumed in the cleaning process after the priming process can be greatly reduced, and particles are not generated during the cleaning process.

  In the above-described embodiment, the outer peripheral surface of the priming roller 188 is divided into three regions along the circumferential direction, and after performing the priming process three times continuously on the three surface regions, the collective cleaning process is performed. It is also possible to perform a batch cleaning process after two consecutive priming processes or after four or more consecutive priming processes.

Further, as a modification, separate temporary cleaning (partial cleaning) processing can be performed on each winding resist liquid film RK separately from the batch cleaning processing. For example, in FIG. 22, when the first priming process is completed, as shown in FIG. 22A, the priming roller 188 is wound around the outer peripheral area within the range of about 0.about.120.times. A liquid film RK _{1 of the} resist solution is formed. Immediately after this, as shown in (B), the priming roller rotating mechanism 192 rotates the priming roller 188 by a predetermined rotation angle in the forward direction and operates the cleaning unit 204 and the mist pulling unit 222 so that The winding resist liquid film RK ₁ is subjected to a temporary cleaning (partial cleaning) process by two-fluid jet cleaning.

In this temporary cleaning (partial cleaning) process, the cleaning liquid supply unit 208 and the gas supply unit 210 are controlled so that the respective pressures of the cleaning liquid and air ejected from the two-fluid jet nozzle 206 or the ratio of both pressures are collectively cleaned. It may be set to a value different from the time, and it is usually preferable to make the pressure of the cleaning liquid relatively larger than the pressure of air and make the pressure of the entire jet flow small. In this way, by spraying the cleaning liquid on the resist liquid film RK ₁ on the priming roller 188 at a pressure lower than that of the two-fluid jet nozzle 206 in a spray form, a part of the resist liquid film RK ₁ is washed out without generating much mist. It is possible to obtain a sufficiently large effect in reducing the burden of the collective cleaning process in the subsequent process only by preventing the resist liquid film RK ₁ from being dried and solidified. After the temporary cleaning (partial cleaning) process, as shown in FIG. 22C, the priming roller 188 is rotated in the reverse direction to temporarily clean the surface region with the resist liquid film RK ₁ (partial cleaning). ) Return to the position before or near the process.

A temporary cleaning (partial cleaning) process similar to the above can also be performed on the _second resist liquid film RK ₂ formed in the second partial surface region of the priming roller 188 by the second priming process. Further, the third resist liquid film RK ₃ formed on the third partial surface region of the priming roller 188 by the third priming process may be subjected to the same temporary cleaning (partial cleaning) process as described above. Although it is good, the third cleaning can be performed immediately after the batch cleaning, and the preliminary cleaning (partial cleaning) can be omitted.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the technical idea. For example, a plurality of cleaning nozzles may be provided in the cleaning unit 204, and these cleaning nozzles may be used simultaneously or selectively. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the mist pulling unit 222 and the drying unit 224 are integrally configured via the common exhaust port 226, but may be configured to be separated and independent from each other. Further, the priming processing method and apparatus of the present invention are not limited to application to the levitation transport spinless coating method as in the above embodiment. A substrate is fixedly mounted horizontally on a mounting stage, and a resist solution is discharged onto the substrate in a strip shape while the long resist nozzle is moved in the horizontal direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the nozzle above the substrate. It can also be applied to the spinless coating method.

  In addition to the resist solution, for example, a coating solution such as an interlayer insulating material, a dielectric material, and a wiring material can be used as the processing solution in the present invention, and a developing solution, a rinsing solution, and the like are also possible. The substrate to be processed in the present invention is not limited to an LCD substrate, and other flat panel display substrates, semiconductor wafers, CD substrates, photomasks, printed substrates and the like are also possible.

It is a top view which shows the structure of the application | coating development processing system which can apply this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence in the said application | coating development processing system. It is a schematic plan view showing the entire configuration of a resist coating unit and a vacuum drying unit in the coating and developing treatment system. It is a perspective view which shows the whole structure of the said resist application unit. It is a schematic front view which shows the whole structure of the said resist application unit. It is a top view which shows an example of the array pattern of the jet nozzle and suction inlet in the stage application | coating area | region in the said resist application unit. It is a partial cross section schematic side view which shows the structure of the board | substrate conveyance part in the said resist application unit. It is an expanded sectional view which shows the structure of the holding | maintenance part of the board | substrate conveyance part in the said resist application unit. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the pad part of the board | substrate conveyance part in the said resist application unit. It is a perspective view which shows one modification of the holding | maintenance part of the board | substrate conveyance part in the said resist application unit. It is a figure which shows the structure of the nozzle raising / lowering mechanism, compressed air supply mechanism, and vacuum supply mechanism in the said resist application unit. It is a partial cross section side view which shows the structure of the nozzle standby part in the said resist application unit. It is a block diagram which shows the main structures of the control system in the said resist application unit. It is a partial cross section side view which shows one step of the priming process in the priming process part by one Embodiment. It is a partial cross section side view which shows one step of the priming process in the priming process part by one Embodiment. It is a partial cross section side view which shows one step of the priming process in the priming process part by one Embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows a liquid landing state when a long resist nozzle is lowered | hung to the application | coating start position on a board | substrate after a priming process. It is a partial cross section side view which shows the film thickness state of the resist coating film formed in the application | coating scanning start part in embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the priming process part of embodiment. It is a schematic side view for demonstrating the effect | action of the continuous priming process in the priming process part of embodiment. It is a partial expanded sectional view for demonstrating the effect | action of the package cleaning process in the priming process part of embodiment. It is a schematic side view for demonstrating the effect | action of the temporary washing process in the priming process part of embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

40 resist coating unit (CT)
75 Nozzle lifting mechanism 76 Stage 78 Resist nozzle 78a Discharge port 84 Substrate transport unit 95 Resist liquid supply mechanism 172 Priming processing unit 188 Priming roller 190 Housing 200 Controller
202 Shielding plate 204 Cleaning unit 206 2 Fluid jet nozzle 208 Cleaning liquid supply unit 210 Gas supply unit 216 Priming processing control unit 222 Mist drawing unit 224 Drying unit 226 Exhaust port 228 Curved cover 230 Mist pulling gap 232 Block 234 Liquid cutting gap 236 Exhaust path 238 Exhaust pipe 240 Exhaust mechanism 242 Drain port

Claims (21)

A priming processing method for forming a liquid film of a processing liquid as a preparation for coating processing in the vicinity of a discharge port of a long nozzle used for spinless coating processing,
For a single priming process, the discharge port of the nozzle and the upper end of a cylindrical or cylindrical priming roller face each other in parallel with a predetermined gap to discharge a predetermined processing liquid from the nozzle and the priming A first step of rotating a roller by a predetermined rotation angle, and using a partial surface area equal to or less than a half circumference of the priming roller for the priming process;
And a second step of cleaning the entire surface of the priming roller after the predetermined number of continuous priming processes have been completed. The second step includes
A main cleaning step of spraying a cleaning liquid at a predetermined position on the surface of the priming roller while continuously rotating the priming roller at a constant rotation speed and simultaneously applying an air flow for liquid removal at another predetermined position;
While continuously rotating the priming roller at a constant rotational speed and a main drying step of applying an air flow for draining a predetermined position without sprayed a cleaning liquid to the surface of the priming roller, priming of claim 1 Processing method. Wherein in the main washing step, the towards the surface of the priming roller mixed cleaning liquid and gas by spraying with a high pressure jet stream, priming method according to claim 2. For at least the first priming process among the predetermined number of continuous priming processes , prior to the second process, a third step of partially cleaning only a partial surface region of the priming roller used in the priming process the a, priming method according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The third step includes
A partial cleaning step of spraying a cleaning liquid at a predetermined position on a partial surface region of the priming roller while rotating the priming roller by a predetermined rotation angle;
The priming roller is reversely rotated by a predetermined rotation angle to return the partial surface area of the priming roller with respect to the nozzle to a position before or after the partial cleaning process is started after the priming process is completed. The priming processing method according to claim 4, further comprising a return step. Wherein in the partial cleaning process, it said blowing low pressure of the cleaning liquid than the pressure of the washing with a partial surface region in the second step of the priming roller, priming method according to claim 5. A priming processing apparatus for forming a liquid film of a processing liquid as a preparation for coating processing in the vicinity of a discharge port of a long nozzle used for spinless coating processing,
A columnar or cylindrical priming roller disposed horizontally at a predetermined position;
A rotation mechanism for rotating the priming roller about its central axis;
A cleaning section for spraying a cleaning liquid onto the surface of the priming roller;
A drying section for applying an air stream for draining liquid to the surface of the priming roller,
For a single priming process, the discharge port of the nozzle and the upper end of the priming roller face each other in parallel with a predetermined gap therebetween, and a predetermined processing liquid is discharged from the nozzle and the priming roller is driven by the rotating mechanism. Is rotated by a predetermined rotation angle, and a partial surface area equal to or less than a half circumference of the priming roller is used for the priming process. A priming processing apparatus that operates the cleaning unit and the drying unit while cleaning the entire surface of the priming roller. Wherein the cleaning unit has a two-fluid jet nozzle by mixing the cleaning liquid and a gas ejected by a jet stream, priming device according to claim 7. The cleaning unit, the have a two-fluid pressure control unit for variably controlling the ratio of the pressure of the pressure and the gas of the cleaning liquid in the two-fluid jet nozzles, priming device according to claim 8. The cleaning unit, wherein are arranged on the way toward the rotation direction from the upper end of the priming roller to the lower end, priming device according to any one of claims 7-9. The drying section forms a first gap between the surface of the priming roller and a first gap forming section, and the liquid draining in a direction opposite to the rotation direction of the priming roller in the first gap. and a first air flow forming section for forming an air flow of use, priming device according to any one of claims 7-10. In the first gap forming portion, the first gap extends along a rotation direction of the priming roller, and the first air flow forming portion is connected to an upstream end portion of the first gap. a first vacuum mechanism, priming device according to claim 11. The downstream end of the first gap is open to the atmosphere space, priming device according to claim 12. The drying section, the are arranged in the middle towards the rotation direction from the lower end of the priming roller to the top edge, priming device according to any one of claims 7-13. A mist shielding unit disposed upstream of the cleaning unit along the rotational direction of the priming roller in order to prevent the cleaning liquid mist generated near the cleaning unit from scattering to the upper end side of the priming roller. the a, priming device according to any one of claims 7 to 14. Having a mist retraction portion for drawing in the downstream side of the cleaning unit along the rotational direction of the mist of the priming roller of the cleaning liquid occurs near the cleaning unit, according to any one of claims 7 to 15 Priming processing device. The mist pull portion, said being disposed between the cleaning unit along the rotational direction of the priming roller and the drying section, priming device according to claim 16. The mist pull-in part forms a second gap between the surface of the priming roller and a mist pull-in part in the second gap and in the same direction as the rotation direction of the priming roller. and a second air flow forming section for forming an air flow, priming device according to claim 17. In the second gap forming portion, the second gap extends along the rotation direction of the priming roller, and the second air flow forming portion is connected to a downstream end portion of the second gap. a second vacuum mechanism, priming device according to claim 18. It said second vacuum mechanism also serves as a first vacuum mechanism, the second gap is connected to the first gap through the second vacuum mechanism, priming of claim 19 apparatus. The priming processing apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 20 , further comprising a drainage unit that collects and discharges the used cleaning liquid that falls under the priming roller.

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