JPH11216433A - Substrate treating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To more effectively treat substrates in a device for feeding a treating liquid to the substrates to provide them with prescribed treatment while carrying them in the inclined state to the horizontal surface. SOLUTION: A substrate treating device 10 is constituted so that substrates S carried in a receiving part 12 are sent off to a transfer part 16 while they are carried by a carrying means 18 from a first stripping tank 14a to a second stripping tank 14b, a washing tank 14c, and a drying tank 14d of a treating device body 14. The second peeling tank 14b is provided with a position changing mechanism 19 as the carrying means 18. The substrates W which have been carried in the horizontal state have their position changed to the inclined position by the position changing mechanism 19, and then they are carried in this inclined position. And while the substrates W have their position changed by the position changing mechanism 19, a chemical is sprayed to the substrates W from chemical feeding nozzles 40a, 40b.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device, a glass substrate for a plasma display, a printed circuit board, a semiconductor wafer, etc., particularly, in a state where the substrate is inclined with respect to a horizontal plane, or The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus that performs a predetermined process by supplying a processing liquid to a substrate in an upright state.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a substrate processing apparatus such as a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device, the present applicant tilts a substrate by a predetermined angle in a direction orthogonal to a transport direction on a horizontal plane, and transports the substrate in this position while using a chemical solution. A substrate processing apparatus has been proposed in which various processing liquids such as water and pure water are supplied to a substrate to perform predetermined processing (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-155306).

According to this apparatus, since the processing is performed on the substrate while the processing liquid supplied to the substrate is caused to flow down along the surface of the substrate, excess processing liquid does not remain on the substrate surface and the drainage is excellent. There are features.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The above-mentioned conventional apparatus includes:
A processing apparatus main body in which a chemical washing section, a water washing section, and a drying section are arranged in series is provided, and the substrate is first taken out of a cassette or the like, and is provided upstream of the processing apparatus main body, that is, upstream of the substrate transport direction. After being placed in a horizontal posture on the provided substrate receiving part, the posture is tilted to an inclined state at the receiving part and then introduced into the processing apparatus main body.

However, providing an independent process for changing the posture of the substrate as described above during a series of processes from the loading of the substrate into the receiving portion to the unloading of the processed substrate is a problem in shortening the tact time. The above is wasteful and there is room for improvement.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an apparatus for supplying a processing liquid to a substrate and performing a predetermined processing while transporting the substrate in a state where the substrate is inclined with respect to a horizontal plane. It is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of processing a substrate more efficiently.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides an attitude changing means for inclining or erecting a substrate with respect to a horizontal plane, and supplying a processing liquid toward the surface of the substrate to thereby provide the substrate. A processing liquid supply unit for performing a predetermined substrate processing on the processing liquid, wherein the attitude changing unit is disposed in an area to which the processing liquid is supplied by the processing liquid supply unit, and while the processing liquid is being supplied by the processing liquid supply unit. The configuration is such that the posture of the substrate is changed in the following manner.

According to this apparatus, the operation of changing the attitude of the substrate and the processing of the substrate with the processing liquid are performed in parallel. Therefore, an independent process for changing the attitude of the substrate is eliminated, and the tact time is shortened accordingly.

Further, the present invention provides a transporting means for transporting a substrate, and a processing liquid supply for supplying a processing liquid toward a surface of the substrate transported by the transporting means and performing a predetermined substrate processing on the substrate. Means, and the transport means is configured to tilt or stand the substrate while transporting the substrate (claim 2).

According to this apparatus, the processing liquid is supplied during the transfer of the substrate by the transfer means, and the substrate is processed. Then, during such processing of the substrate, the posture of the substrate is changed to an inclined or standing posture as the substrate is transported. Therefore, the operation of changing the posture of the substrate and the processing of the substrate with the processing liquid are performed in parallel, thereby shortening the tact time.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing one embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. The substrate processing apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes a receiving unit 12 for receiving a substrate W carried in from a previous process, a processing apparatus body 14 having various processing tanks for the substrate W therein, and a substrate W after processing. A transfer unit 16 for transferring the substrate W to the process is provided in series, and a transfer unit 18 for the substrate W is provided. The transfer unit 16 sequentially transfers the substrate W to the receiving unit 12, the processing device main body 14, and the transfer unit 16. It is configured to perform a predetermined process inside.

The transport means 18 transports the roller 17 to the substrate W
The roller conveyor is arranged at a predetermined interval in the transport direction of the roller, and is configured to transport the substrate W with the synchronous rotation of each roller 17 by a driving unit (not shown). And
The substrate W placed on the receiving unit 12 is transported in a horizontal state, and the substrate W is inclined at a predetermined angle in a horizontal direction on a horizontal plane with a transport direction at a predetermined position in the processing apparatus body, as described later. Thereafter, in this state, the substrate W is configured to be conveyed toward the transfer unit 16.

As shown in FIG. 1, the processing apparatus main body 14 is provided with a plurality of processing tanks formed in a partitioned manner.
Specifically, a first stripping tank 14a, a second stripping tank 14b, a washing tank 14c, and a drying tank 14d are provided in series, and the processing apparatus main body 14 is provided through an inlet 15a formed in the first stripping tank 14a. The substrate W is introduced into the inside, and while the substrate W is sequentially transferred from one tank to another through the communication port 15b formed in the wall between the tanks, the delivery is performed through the outlet 15c formed in the drying tank 14d. It is configured to send out the substrate W to the section 16.

The first stripping tank 14a is a processing tank for stripping an unnecessary thin film formed on the surface of the substrate W.
Of substrate W in chemical solution (immersion treatment)
And spraying (spraying) of a chemical solution onto the substrate W can be selectively performed.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 2A, a chemical immersion tank having an upper opening surrounding a part of the substrate transfer path by the transfer means 18 is provided inside the first stripping tank 14a. 20 and its front and rear side walls, that is, the substrate W
22 formed in the front and rear side walls in the transport direction of
The substrate W is configured to be able to pass through the immersion tank through the openings 22a and 22b.
22 b can be opened and closed by a shutter 24.
The openings 22a and 22ba have a minimum necessary size that allows the loading and unloading of the substrate W by the rollers 17, and usually, as shown in the drawing, the openings 22a and 22ba.
The chemical is stored up to the lower edge of b.

An ultrasonic generator 26 is installed inside the immersion tank 20, and a chemical supply pipe 30a drawn from a first chemical storage tank 28 is connected to the immersion tank 20, as shown in FIG. Pump 31 interposed in supply pipe 30a
By the operation of a, the first chemical liquid storage tank 28 is
Is supplied with a chemical solution.

In the first peeling tank 14a, a plurality of chemical solution supply nozzles 36 are arranged in the transport direction above the substrate transport path by the transport means 18, and these chemical solution supply nozzles 36 are connected to the chemical solution supply pipes. The first chemical liquid storage tank 28 is connected via 30b. These chemical liquid supply nozzles 36 are, for example, cone-shaped nozzles that eject a chemical liquid in a conical shape, and are pumps 31 provided in the chemical liquid supply pipe 30b.
By the operation of b, a chemical solution can be sprayed on the surface of the substrate W being transferred.

That is, when the immersion treatment is performed in the first peeling tank 14a, the substrate W is carried into the immersion tank 20 through the openings 22a and 22b, and then the openings 22a and 22b are closed. The chemical is supplied into the immersion tank 20 through the chemical supply pipe 30a. As a result, FIG.
As shown in (b), the substrate W is immersed in the chemical solution to perform the chemical treatment. At this time, the forward and reverse rotation of the roller 17 causes the substrate W to move forward and backward in the transport direction within a certain range, and the ultrasonic generator 26
The operation causes high frequency vibration to be applied to the chemical solution, thereby promoting the processing of the substrate W.

When the processing of the substrate W is completed, the openings 22a and 22b are opened, and the substrate W is carried out through the opening 22b. At this time, when the openings 22a and 22b are opened, the chemical solution in the immersion tank 20 overflows through the openings 22a and 22b, and the rollers 17 are exposed, so that the substrate W can be unloaded. .

On the other hand, when the spraying process is performed in the first peeling tank 14a, the shutter 24 is always opened, the chemical liquid is not supplied to the immersion tank 20 by the pump 31a, and the substrate W is supplied from the chemical liquid supply nozzle 36. The chemical supplied to the first chemical storage tank 28 is returned from a valve (not shown) provided in the immersion tank 20 through a chemical recovery pipe 34 described later. At this time, the substrate W is subjected to the chemical treatment by spraying the substrate W with the chemical supply nozzle 36 while the substrate W is passed through the immersion tank 20 through the openings 22a and 22b. Becomes On this occasion,
The substrate W is moved forward and backward in the transport direction within a certain range by the forward and reverse rotation of the roller 17 as necessary, thereby promoting the processing.

In FIG. 1, reference numerals 32a and 32b denote filters interposed in the chemical solution supply pipes 30a and 30b.
Is used to transfer the chemical in the first peeling tank 14a to the first chemical storage tank 2
8 is a chemical solution recovery pipe 34 for recovery. In other words, the chemical liquid overflowing from the immersion tank 20 in the first stripping tank 14a and the chemical liquid ejected from the chemical liquid supply nozzle 36 and used for substrate processing are returned to the first chemical liquid storage tank 28 via the chemical liquid collection pipe 34. Then, again, the chemical supply pipes 30a, 3
0b, at which time the filters 32a, 32
By supplying the chemical solution via b, the chemical solution is purified and used in circulation.

The second peeling tank 14b is provided with the first peeling tank 14
This is a processing tank for a stripping process similar to the process a, and is provided to complement the process in the first stripping bath 14a.

In the second peeling tank 14b, a process is performed while spraying a chemical solution on the substrate W and moving the substrate W forward and backward in a transport direction within a certain range by driving the rollers 17 in forward and reverse rotations. A plurality of chemical liquid supply nozzles 40a and 40b (processing liquid supply means) are provided in parallel on the upper and lower sides of the substrate transport path by the transport means 18 in the transport direction of the substrate W, and the chemical liquid supply nozzles 40a and 40b are connected to the chemical liquid supply pipe 42. Is connected to the second chemical liquid storage tank 46 through the second liquid storage tank 46. These chemical liquid supply nozzles 40a and 40b are, for example, cone-shaped nozzles that eject a chemical liquid in a conical shape, and the chemical liquid is supplied to both the front and back surfaces of the substrate W being conveyed by the operation of a pump 44 provided in the chemical liquid supply pipe 42. It can be sprayed. In addition,
In the second peeling tank 14b, the peeling tank 14b and the second
A chemical solution collection pipe 48 is provided between the chemical solution storage tank 46 and the chemical solution collection pipe 48 so that the chemical solution used for the treatment is recovered and circulated in the second chemical solution storage tank 46 via the chemical solution collection pipe 48. Has become. At this time, the chemical solution is supplied through a filter 43 provided in the chemical solution supply pipe 42, so that the chemical solution is also purified and circulated in the second stripping tank 14b.

Here, in the second peeling tank 14b, the conveying means 18 is constituted by a posture changing mechanism 19 (posture changing means), and the chemical liquid is sprayed while tilting the substrate W by the posture changing mechanism 19. It is configured.

That is, the posture changing mechanism 19 has a frame 49 as shown in FIG.
9 is provided with the roller 17 described above. This frame 49
Is a support shaft 49a whose one end side (left end side in FIG. 3) in the direction orthogonal to the transport direction on the horizontal plane extends in the transport direction.
And is rotatably supported in the tank through the other end, and the other end is fixed in the tank through the air cylinder 49b. In the rod retracting driving state of the air cylinder 49b, the substrate W on the roller 17 is horizontally supported as shown by a solid line in the same figure, while in the rod projecting driving state of the air cylinder 49b, As shown, the frame 49 is rotated about the support shaft 49a, thereby tilting the substrate W. Specifically, the substrate W is tilted at a predetermined angle with respect to the horizontal plane in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction on the horizontal plane. It has become.

The rinsing tank 14c is a rinsing tank, and a plurality of pure water supply nozzles 50a and 50b are provided in the tank on both the upper and lower sides of the substrate transport path by the transport means 18 in the transport direction of the substrate W. These pure water supply nozzles 50a, 50
b is connected to a pure water storage tank 56 via a pure water supply pipe 52. These pure water supply nozzles 50a, 50b
Is a cone-shaped nozzle that jets pure water in a conical shape, for example, and is configured to be able to spray pure water on both the front and back surfaces of the substrate W by operating a pump 54 provided in the pure water supply pipe 52. . A drain pipe 58 is connected to the washing tank 14c, and the pure water used for the treatment is stored in a waste tank (not shown) via the drain pipe 58.

The drying tank 14d is a processing tank for drying the substrate W by blowing off pure water attached to the substrate W by the water washing process. , Air nozzles 60a and 60b directed to both the front and back surfaces of the substrate W are provided,
These air nozzles 60 a and 60 b are connected to an air supply source 64 via an air supply pipe 62. These air nozzles 60a and 60b are nozzles having slit-shaped ejection ports, and are arranged so as to eject air toward the upstream side in the transport direction of the substrate W as shown in FIG.
By blowing air onto the transported substrate W, it is configured not to blow off the attached water.

In the substrate processing apparatus 10, the roller 17 of the conveying means 18 is supported in a state where the roller 17 is inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the horizontal plane in a portion from the washing tank 14c to the transfer section 16. As a result, the substrate W whose posture has been changed to the inclined posture in the washing tank 14b is thereafter transferred with the inclined posture.

The forward and backward swinging movement of the substrate W in the first peeling tank 14a and the second peeling tank 14b
A substrate detection sensor (not shown) is provided on each of the inlet side and the outlet side of a and b, and when the substrate reaches the position of each substrate detection sensor, the rotation direction of the roller 17 is reversed to perform the detection. I have.

Here, the substrate W in the substrate processing apparatus 10
In summary, as shown in FIG. 4, first, the substrate W
Is carried into the receiving unit 12 in a horizontal posture, and is introduced into the first peeling tank 14a in the same posture and processed. And
It is carried into the second peeling tank 14b in the horizontal posture, changed to the inclined posture here, and thereafter, is conveyed in this inclined posture until it reaches the delivery unit 16. Although not shown in detail, the communication port 15b and the outlet 15c after the second peeling tank in the transport direction of the substrate W are formed to be inclined corresponding to the inclined posture of the substrate W.

Although not shown, the above-described substrate processing apparatus 10 includes a controller having a computer as a component, and transports the substrate W by the transport means 18 and jets a processing liquid such as a chemical. The processing of the substrate W is performed as described below while the timing is totally controlled by the controller.

First, the receiving unit 1 is moved by a transfer mechanism (not shown).
When the substrate W is loaded into the roller 2 and placed on the roller 17,
The roller 17 is driven to rotate so that the substrate W is removed from the first peeling tank 14.
a. Then, the substrate W is subjected to a chemical solution treatment by one of the immersion treatment and the spray treatment, and is transported to the second peeling tank 14b. At this time, in the second peeling tank 14b, the air cylinder 49b of the posture changing mechanism 19 is in the rod retracting drive state (the state shown by the solid line in FIG. 3), whereby the substrate W is kept in the horizontal posture in the first posture. Stripping tank 1
4a is carried into the second peeling tank 14b.

When the substrate W is carried into the second peeling tank 14b, the air cylinder 49b is switched to the rod protruding drive state, whereby the substrate W is changed from the horizontal posture to the inclined posture, and the chemical liquid on the substrate W is changed. Spraying is started. At this time, the spraying of the chemical solution is started at a timing when the substrate W starts to be tilted, or at a timing slightly earlier than this timing. Accordingly, the operation of changing the attitude of the substrate W and the spraying of the chemical solution on the substrate W are performed in parallel.

When the processing in the second stripping tank 14b is completed, the substrate W is transferred to the washing tank 14c and the drying tank 14d in the tilted posture, and the spraying of pure water and the blowing of air are performed sequentially. The substrate W is subjected to a water washing process and a drying process.

When all the processes in the processing apparatus main body 14 are completed in this way, the substrate W is transported to the transfer unit 16 and, for example, the substrate W is picked up from the transfer unit 16 by a transfer mechanism (not shown) and is transferred to a cassette or the like. It will be stored.

According to the substrate processing apparatus 10 described above, in the second stripping tank 14b and the washing tank 14c of the processing apparatus main body 14, the substrate W is inclined and the chemical solution or pure water is sprayed on the substrate W. Since the treatment is performed while the chemical liquid or the like is caused to flow down along the substrate W, the stagnation of an excessive processing liquid on the substrate surface is prevented, and the processing of the chemical liquid or the like is performed quickly.
And it will be performed well.

In particular, in the substrate processing apparatus 10, the substrate W loaded into the receiving section 12 in a horizontal posture is placed in the second peeling tank 14.
b, the attitude of the substrate W is changed while the attitude of the substrate W is changed by the attitude changing mechanism 19 provided in the second peeling tank 14b as described above. The chemical liquid is sprayed on the substrate W during the posture changing operation of the above, so that the posture changing operation and the chemical liquid processing operation are performed in parallel. There is no independent process for changing the attitude of the robot, and the tact time is shortened accordingly. Therefore, according to the substrate processing apparatus 10, processing can be performed on the substrate W more efficiently as compared with a conventional apparatus of this type.

The substrate processing apparatus 10 is an embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention, and its specific configuration, for example, the specific configuration of the processing apparatus main body 14 is the same as that of the present invention. It can be changed as appropriate without changing the gist.

For example, in the substrate processing apparatus 10 described above, the attitude changing mechanism 19 is provided to incline the roller 17 and the substrate W integrally by the operation of the air cylinder 49a. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which a posture changing mechanism for adsorbing from the back surface and maintaining the inclined posture is provided separately from the roller 17.

Further, instead of providing the attitude changing mechanism 19 as in the above embodiment, for example, each roller 17 is moved relative to the horizontal plane so that the angle gradually increases toward the downstream side in the transport direction of the substrate W. As a result, the substrate W may be gradually shifted from the horizontal position to the inclined position at a predetermined angle with the transfer in the second peeling tank 14b as shown in FIG. In the case of this configuration, if the processing liquid such as a chemical solution is sprayed on the substrate W while the substrate W passes through the second peeling tank 14b, the posture of the substrate W is changed as in the above embodiment. The operation and the processing operation using the chemical solution can be performed in parallel, thereby shortening the tact time.

If the operation of changing the attitude of the substrate W and the processing operation by spraying the chemical liquid are performed in parallel, the operation timing of the attitude changing mechanism 19 and the chemical liquid supply nozzle 40
The timing of spraying the chemical by the a and 40b is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, the chemical may be sprayed while the substrate W passes through the second peeling tank 14b, and the posture is changed. After the start, the chemical solution may be sprayed at a certain timing before the substrate W reaches the target inclination angle.

Although description has been omitted in the above embodiment, when pure water is sprayed on the substrate W in the washing tank 14c, for example, the rollers 17 are rotated in the same manner as the first and second peeling tanks 14a and 14b. It is preferable to spray pure water on the substrate W while rotating and rotating the substrate W in a predetermined range in the transport direction. By doing so, the first and second peeling tanks 1
Similarly to 4a and 14b, the processing can be promoted by supplying a sufficient amount of pure water to the substrate W while keeping the washing tank 14c compact in the transport direction.

In the above embodiment, if the immersion treatment is not performed in the first peeling tank 14a, the substrate W can be tilted in the first peeling tank 14a, and the substrate W can be tilted in the second peeling tank 14b. You may make it convey with an inclination attitude | position. Alternatively, the substrate W may be subjected to the peeling treatment only by the second peeling tank 14b without the first peeling tank 14a itself. In this case, the second peeling tank 14b
Is used to tilt the substrate W.

In the above embodiment, the substrate provided with the peeling tank (the first peeling tank 14a, the second peeling tank 14b), the washing tank (the washing tank 14c), and the drying tank (the drying tank 14d) is provided. Although this is an example in which the present invention is applied to the processing apparatus 10, the present invention can be applied to each processing apparatus such as a developing process or an etching process in addition to such a peeling and cleaning device. Further, in addition to the apparatus for performing the processing while transporting the substrate W while being inclined with respect to the horizontal plane as in the substrate processing apparatus 10, the processing while transporting the substrate W while the substrate W is upright so that the surface is vertical. It can also be applied to an apparatus for performing

[0045]

As described above, according to the present invention, the attitude changing means for inclining or erecting the substrate with respect to the horizontal plane is arranged in the processing liquid supply area by the processing liquid supply means, and the processing liquid supply means is provided. Since the posture of the substrate is changed during the supply of the processing liquid, and the operation of changing the posture of the substrate and the processing of the substrate with the processing liquid are performed in parallel, there is no independent process for changing the posture of the substrate, and accordingly, Tact time is reduced. Therefore, the substrate can be processed more efficiently than a conventional apparatus of this type which requires an independent process for changing the posture of the substrate.

Further, the present invention includes a transfer means for transferring a substrate, and a processing liquid supply means for supplying a processing liquid toward the substrate transferred by the transfer means, wherein the substrate is transferred during processing of the substrate. Since the transfer means is configured so that the posture of the substrate is changed to the inclined or standing posture as it is moved, an independent process for changing the posture of the substrate is eliminated, and the tact time is reduced. Therefore, also in the present invention, a substrate can be processed more efficiently than a conventional apparatus of this type.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional configuration diagram showing a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are schematic cross-sectional views illustrating a configuration of a first peeling tank in a processing apparatus main body.

FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view illustrating a configuration of a posture changing mechanism in a second peeling tank.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining a posture of a substrate during processing in the substrate processing apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining another means for changing the posture of the substrate.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Substrate processing apparatus 12 Receiving part 14 Processing apparatus main body 14a 1st peeling tank 14b 2nd peeling tank 14c Rinsing tank 14d Drying tank 16 Transfer part 17 Roller 18 Transport means 20 Immersion tank 26 Ultrasonic generator 36, 40a, 40b Chemical liquid supply Nozzles 50a, 50b Pure water supply nozzles 60a, 60b Air nozzles

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A method according to claim 1, further comprising: a posture changing unit configured to incline or raise the substrate with respect to a horizontal plane; and a processing liquid supply unit configured to supply a processing liquid toward the surface of the substrate and perform predetermined substrate processing on the substrate. Wherein the attitude changing means is arranged in a region to which the processing liquid is supplied by the processing liquid supply means, and is configured to change the substrate attitude while the processing liquid is being supplied by the processing liquid supply means. Substrate processing apparatus. A transporting means for transporting the substrate; and a processing liquid supplying means for supplying a processing liquid toward a surface of the substrate transported by the transporting means and performing a predetermined substrate processing on the substrate. The substrate processing apparatus is characterized in that the transfer means is configured to tilt or stand the substrate while transferring the substrate.