JPH0429857Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Summary] Regarding the improvement of the processing liquid supply structure attached to surface processing equipment for semiconductor substrates, etc., the present invention aims to supply processing liquids that easily volatilize or solidify when exposed to air without coming into contact with air. A pressurized cylinder having a piston driven by a pressing means, and a flexible container filled with a processing liquid and immersed in the liquid or gas enclosed in the pressurized cylinder, The liquid or gas is pressurized to deform and compress the outer shape of the container, and a fixed amount of processing liquid is supplied through a discharge pipe connected to the opening of the container.

[Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an improvement of a processing liquid supply structure attached to a surface processing apparatus for processing semiconductor substrates and the like.

2. Description of the Related Art Apparatuses for treating surfaces such as semiconductor substrates, such as resist coating apparatuses, are attached with processing liquid supply apparatuses that suck resist contained in a container using a pump and intermittently supply a fixed amount onto a workpiece. However, if the resist surface of an opened container is exposed to air for a long time, the solvent will volatilize and harden, making it impossible to supply a fixed amount of resist. Therefore, there is a need for a structure that can supply processing liquids that easily volatilize or solidify when exposed to air, such as resists and volatile solvents, without coming into contact with air.

[Conventional technology]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as shown in a side view of main parts in FIG. 3, a surface processing apparatus for semiconductor substrates, for example, a resist coating apparatus (not shown) is equipped with a processing liquid supply apparatus.

This processing liquid supply device includes a container 12, that is, a polyethylene bottle, containing a processing liquid 11, that is, a resist, to be supplied onto a workpiece (not shown), a check valve 13 that prevents backflow, and a bellows type that sucks the resist 11. Consisting of a pump 14 and a discharge pipe 16 connected to a solenoid valve 15 that opens and closes the flow of the resist 11, the discharge pipe 1
6 into the resist 11 through the opening 12a of the container 12, suctioned by the bellows pump 14, and controlling the amount of application by the opening/closing time of the solenoid valve 15.
cc resist 11 is intermittently supplied in a fixed amount. The liquid level in the resist 11 decreases as it is sucked and discharged, and that amount of air flows from the opening 12a into the container 1.
2.

[Problem that the invention attempts to solve]

However, according to the above structure,
If the resist surface is exposed to air for a long time, the solvent will volatilize and solidify, causing problems such as the suction amount of the bellows pump changing and the solenoid valve not being able to supply the required amount of resist depending on the opening/closing time. Ta.

In view of the above-mentioned problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a processing liquid supply structure that can supply processing liquids that easily volatilize or solidify when exposed to air, such as resist, without coming into contact with air.

[Means for solving problems]

The above-mentioned problems in the conventional structure include a pressurized cylinder in which a piston is driven by a pressing means, and a flexible container filled with a processing liquid and immersed in the liquid or gas sealed in the pressurized cylinder. This problem is solved by pressurizing the liquid or gas with the piston to deform and compress the outer shape of the container, and supplying a fixed amount of processing liquid through the discharge pipe connected to the opening of the container.

[Effect]

Since the processing liquid no longer comes into contact with air, it will no longer volatilize or solidify. Also, by pressurizing liquid or gas by moving the piston,
By deforming and compressing the outer shape of the container via liquid or gas, the internal volume of the pressurizing cylinder is reduced, and a quantity of processing liquid approximately equal to the reduced internal volume can be extruded and supplied without coming into contact with air.

〔Example〕

The gist of the present invention will be explained in detail below based on the embodiments shown in the drawings.

As shown in the main part side sectional view of FIG. 1, the processing liquid supply device is composed of a pressurizing cylinder 1 and a container 2.

The pressurizing cylinder 1 has one end of the cylinder body 1a with a bottom, a pressing means 1b, such as an air cylinder, is fixed to the outer surface of the bottom part 1a-1, and a piston shaft 1b-1 of the air cylinder passes through the center of the bottom part. and,
A ring-shaped gasket 1c- that pressurizes the liquid 3, such as hydraulic oil, sealed inside the cylinder body 1a.
A piston 1c into which a piston 1 is inserted is directly connected therein, and a lid 1d is provided which seals an opening 1a-2 at the other end and is removably screwed. A ring-shaped gasket 1a is provided on the flange surface 1a-3 around the opening 1a-2 to maintain airtightness by closely contacting the lid 1d.
-4 is provided. Also, oil 3 is in the cylinder body 1a.
A supply valve 4 for injecting oil 3, a discharge valve 5 for removing oil 3,
An air vent hole 1a-5 is provided to prevent negative pressure.

The lid 1d has a screw hole 1d-2 that connects a male screw 2a-1 after removing the cap 2b of the container 2 shown in FIG. It includes a discharge pipe 1e airtightly connected to the screw hole 1d-2 of the lever, and a solenoid valve 6 connected to the outlet side of the discharge pipe 1e. A ring-shaped packing 1f is provided at the bottom of the screw hole 1d-2 to make the container 2 airtight when the container 2 is screwed.

As shown in the side view of FIG. 2, the container 2 is bottle-shaped and made of a chemical-resistant, thin-walled, flexible synthetic resin material, such as fluororesin (trade name: Teflon, etc.). A male screw 2a-1 is provided.
After filling the processing liquid 7, such as resist or cleaning liquid, without introducing air, the opening 2a is sealed with a cap 2b having a female thread 2b-1.
This cap 2b is removed when in use.

The container 2 is set from the cylinder body 1a to the lid 1.
d and connect the container 2 with the cap 2a removed to the screw hole 1d-1, then immerse the container 2 in the oil 3 of the cylinder body 1a and close the lid 1d.

Thereafter, the air cylinder 1b is operated, the piston 1c is moved a predetermined distance to pressurize the oil 3, and the container 2 is
Processing liquid 7 contained in a container by deforming and compressing the external shape of
is extruded into the discharge pipe 1e, and a predetermined amount of the processing liquid 7 can be supplied to the workpiece surface (not shown) through the electromagnetic valve 6. The solenoid valve 6 opens and closes in conjunction with the air cylinder 1b, and is normally kept closed.

According to the above structure, the processing liquid inside the container never comes into contact with air, so it does not volatilize or solidify. Moreover, the liquid or gas is pressurized by the piston, and the outer shape of the container is deformed through the oil. By compressing, it is possible to extrude and supply a quantity of processing liquid approximately equal to the reduced internal volume.

Any shape can be used for the container since the entire container is pressurized uniformly.

Furthermore, since a bellows pump is not used, there is no need for a check valve, and the supply amount can be arbitrarily controlled by the moving distance of the piston.

In the above description, hydraulic oil was used as the liquid to be introduced into the pressurizing cylinder, but other liquids or gases may be used. In addition to the air cylinder, the pressing means may be a hydraulic cylinder or a means capable of linearly reciprocating a piston.

[Effect of idea]

As detailed above, according to the present invention, the processing liquid does not volatilize or solidify when exposed to air, and instead pushes out a quantity of processing liquid approximately equal to the internal volume reduced by movement to the piston of the pressurized cylinder. It exhibits extremely useful effects in practice.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional side view of a main part of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view including a partial breakage of the container shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a side view of a main part according to the prior art. In the figure, 1 is a pressure cylinder, 1a is a cylinder body, 1a-1 is a bottom, 1a-2 is an opening, 1
a-3 is a flange, 1a-4 is a packing, 1a-
5 is an air vent hole, 1b is a pressurizing means (air cylinder), 1b-1 is a piston shaft, 1c is a piston,
1c-1 is a packing, 1d is a lid, 1d-1 is a projection, 1d-2 is a screw hole, 1e is a discharge pipe, 1f is a packing, 2 is a container, 2a is an opening, 2a-1 is a male thread, 2b is a Cap, 2b-1 is female thread, 3 is liquid (hydraulic oil), 4 is supply valve, 5 is discharge valve, 6
7 indicates a solenoid valve, and 7 indicates a processing liquid.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] A pressurized cylinder 1 having a piston 1c driven by a pressing means 1b, and a liquid 3 filled with a processing liquid 7 or immersed in a gas sealed in the pressurized cylinder. The liquid 3 or gas is pressurized by the piston 1c to deform and compress the outer shape of the container, and a fixed amount of processing liquid 7 is supplied through the discharge pipe 1e connected to the opening 2a of the container 2. A processing liquid supply structure characterized by: