CN1776884A - Base-board treating device - Google Patents

Abstract

A substrate processing device having a mechanism for transferring a substrate from a horizontal transfer device to a substrate rotation processing unit, without worrying about generation of dust, even if wet processing is performed, no discomfort will occur, the structure is simple, and the space occupied is small. Relatively small. It has a substrate rotation processing unit (10) and a roller conveyor (16), and includes: a substrate support surface arranged to face a terminal portion of a conveying path of the roller conveyor so as to support a free roller (28) of a substrate (W) A transport plate (20) at the same height as the substrate transport surface of the roller conveyor; a transfer arm (32) that moves the substrate horizontally from the end of the transport path of the roller conveyor to the transport plate; A supporting and moving mechanism for moving the plate from the substrate handover position (A) to the rotating holding disc (12) of the substrate rotating processing unit. The rotating holding circular plate has a loading surface for transporting the plate and support pins (44, 46) for holding the substrate .

Description

Substrate processing equipment

technical field

The present invention relates to a device capable of cleaning, etching, and developing substrates while rotating substrates such as glass substrates for liquid crystal display (LCD), glass substrates for plasma displays (PDP), semiconductor wafers, printed circuit boards, and electronic device substrates. , film forming and other processing of the substrate rotation processing unit of the substrate processing device.

Background technique

For example, in the photoetching process of a substrate for a flat panel display (FPD) such as an LCD, the substrate is held in a horizontal state and rotated around a vertical axis, while photoetching using hydrofluoric acid, rinsing with pure water, and baking are performed separately. Dry and other substrate processing. However, as the size of the substrate has increased in recent years, it has gradually become difficult to perform all the processes by the above-mentioned rotation method. Therefore, a method has been proposed in which, for photolithography and rinsing, each process is performed by a rotary method with high processing efficiency using a chemical solution, and a method of drying the substrate is less damaged than the rotary method. The flat delivery method, that is, the support substrate is transported in the horizontal direction, and the substrate is dewatered and dried by the air knife for this treatment. In such a method, a device for horizontally conveying the substrate is required, for example, the substrate needs to be transferred from the roller conveyor to the substrate rotation processing unit, or the substrate is transferred from the substrate rotation processing unit to the roller conveyor.

As a mechanism for performing the substrate transfer operation as described above, the conventionally used mechanism has a structure in which the substrate rotation processing unit is arranged on the extension line of the roller conveyor in a plan view so that it is adjacent to the end of the roller conveyor. End part: A pair of slide rails parallel to each other are set on both sides of the roller conveyor and the substrate rotation processing unit, and are arranged to engage with the slide rails and be guided by the slide rails to reciprocate and rotate with the substrate at the end of the roller conveyor Shuttle between processing units: This shuttle can detachably support the four sides of the substrate, and move the substrate between the end of the roller conveyor and the substrate rotation processing unit. In addition, a transfer robot having a hand for holding the substrate and an arm connected to the hand is provided, and the transfer of the substrate can also be performed between the end of the roller conveyor and the basic rotation processing unit (for example, With reference to Japanese Heisei 10 Patent Application Publication No. 156295).

A device equipped with a mechanism that reciprocates the shuttle that freely supports the substrate through slide rail guide loading and unloading between the end of the roller conveyor and the substrate rotation processing unit, and moves due to the sliding contact between the shuttle and the slide rail, Therefore, dust may be generated when the shuttle moves, and it is not suitable for use in a device having a treatment unit for wet treatment using chemical liquid or pure water. In addition, there are also problems in that the mechanism for lifting the substrate, especially a large substrate, from the roller conveyor, or returning the substrate to the roller conveyor, and the mechanism for supporting the four sides of the large substrate become complicated. On the other hand, there is also the problem that the device for transferring substrates between the end of the roller conveyor and the basic rotary processing unit by the transfer robot is still not suitable for wet processing, and because of the need to swing the arm of the transfer robot The internal space, so the occupied space becomes larger.

Contents of the invention

In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus that includes a substrate rotation processing unit and a mechanism for transferring substrates from a horizontal conveyance device to the processing unit, without worrying about dust generation and having a wet substrate. No uncomfortable situation will occur in the device of the processing unit of the method, the structure is simple, and the occupied space is relatively smaller.

To achieve the above objects, the present invention provides such a device.

(1) A substrate processing apparatus, comprising a substrate rotation processing unit, the substrate rotation processing unit has a rotation holding member that is supported rotatably about a vertical axis and holds a substrate in a horizontal state, and holds the substrate The processing is carried out by rotating, and it is characterized in that it includes: a horizontal conveying device that conveys the substrate linearly in the horizontal direction; The end of the path is opposed to each other, and the substrate supporting surface of the support portion is arranged at the same height as the substrate conveying surface of the horizontal conveying device; part to move horizontally on the aforementioned movable supporting member; a moving device for holding the aforementioned movable supporting member supporting the substrate from a position opposite to the terminal portion of the transport path of the aforementioned horizontal transporting device to the rotation of the aforementioned substrate rotation processing unit. The rotation holding member has a mounting surface on which the movable supporting member is mounted, and a substrate holding portion that moves upward from the movable supporting member mounted on the mounting surface to hold a substrate.

(2) The substrate processing apparatus according to (1), wherein the movable support member disposed so as to face the end portion of the transport path of the horizontal transport device is positioned on the rotation side of the substrate rotation processing unit. Immediately above the holding member, the moving device has an elevating mechanism for elevating the movable supporting member.

(3) The substrate processing apparatus according to (2), wherein the movable support member is provided with a plurality of through holes for inserting the substrate holding portion of the rotation holding member.

(4) The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the supporting parts of the movable supporting member are respectively mounted on the movable supporting member in a freely rotatable manner. Multiple free rollers on the upper surface side.

(5) The substrate processing apparatus described in any one of (1) to (3), characterized in that the moving device is engaged with the movable supporting member in a manner of engaging or disengaging freely, and supports the movable supporting member. The engaging support portion of the movable support member.

(6) The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the horizontal conveying device is composed of a plurality of conveying rollers arranged in parallel to each other.

In the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention described in the above (1), when the substrate is conveyed to the end of the conveyance path by the horizontal conveyance device, the substrate is moved horizontally from the end of the conveyance path of the horizontal conveyance device by the transfer device. , and transferred to the movable supporting member configured so that the substrate supporting surface of the supporting part is at the same height as the substrate conveying surface of the horizontal conveying device. When the substrate is supported by the support portion of the movable support member, the movable support member supporting the substrate is moved to the rotation holding member of the substrate rotation processing unit by the moving device, and the movable support member is loaded on the rotation holding member On the loading surface, the substrate moves upward from the movable support member and is held on the substrate holding portion of the rotation holding member. Accordingly, by rotating the holding member in a state where the movable support member is mounted, the substrate is rotated, and the substrate is processed.

Therefore, when the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention described in the above (1) is used, there is almost no sliding connection between the constituent members, so there is no need to worry about dust generation when the substrate is transferred from the horizontal transfer device to the substrate rotation processing unit. In addition, discomfort does not occur in plants with treatment units for wet treatment. In addition, since this substrate processing apparatus does not have a mechanism for lifting the substrate from the horizontal transfer device or a mechanism for supporting the four sides of the substrate, the structure becomes simple, and since the transfer robot is not provided, the occupied space becomes relatively small. Small.

In the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention described in (2) above, the movable support member is located directly above the rotation holding member of the substrate rotation processing unit, and can only be lowered and raised relative to the rotation holding member by the lifting mechanism, so it occupies Space gets smaller.

In the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention described in (3) above, when the movable supporting member descends relative to the rotation holding member of the substrate rotation processing unit, the substrate holding portion of the rotating holding member is inserted into the opening of the movable supporting member. In the through hole, the movable support member is mounted on the loading surface of the rotation holding member without interfering with the substrate holding portion, and the substrate is separated from the movable support member and held on the substrate holding portion of the rotation holding member. With such a simple structure, the loading operation of the movable support member on the loading surface of the rotation holding member and the substrate holding operation of the substrate holding portion of the rotation holding member can be realized.

In the substrate processing apparatus described in (4) above, when the moving device moves the substrate horizontally from the end portion of the transport path of the horizontal transport device, the substrate is transferred to and supported by the free roller of the movable support member. Therefore, the substrate can be reliably transferred from the horizontal transfer device to the movable support member without damaging the substrate.

In the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention described in (5) above, the movable supporting member is transported to the substrate rotation by the moving device in a state of being engaged with the engaging supporting part of the moving device and being supported by the engaging supporting part. The rotation holding member of the processing unit is then engaged with the support portion to disengage from the movable support member, so that the rotation holding member can rotate while holding the movable support member. With such a relatively simple mechanism, the movement of the movable support member on the rotation holding member of the substrate rotation processing unit can be reliably realized.

In the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention described in (6) above, the substrate is horizontally conveyed to a position facing the movable support member by the plurality of conveyance rollers.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 shows an example of an embodiment of the present invention, and is a plan view showing the structure of a main part of a substrate processing apparatus;

Fig. 2 is a side sectional view of the substrate processing apparatus shown in Fig. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a movable support member (transfer plate) as a constituent element of the substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

Fig. 4A is the A-A sectional view of Fig. 3;

Fig. 4B is the B-B sectional view of Fig. 3;

Fig. 4 C is the C-C sectional view of Fig. 3;

5A to 5C are diagrams for explaining the substrate transfer operation in the substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 , and are side cross-sectional views showing a part of the roller conveyor;

Fig. 6 is also a side view showing part of the transport plate, the support and movement mechanism of the transport plate, and the substrate rotation processing unit;

Fig. 7 is also a side view showing a part of the transport plate, the support and movement mechanism of the transport plate, and the substrate rotation processing unit;

Fig. 8 is also a side view showing part of the transfer plate, the support and movement mechanism of the transfer plate, and the substrate rotation processing unit;

FIG. 9 is also a side view showing part of the transport plate, the support and movement mechanism for the transport plate, and a substrate rotation processing unit;

FIG. 10 is also a side view showing part of the transport plate, the support and movement mechanism for the transport plate, and a substrate rotation processing unit.

Detailed ways

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

1 to 4 show an example of an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the structure of a main part of a substrate processing apparatus, FIG. 2 is a side sectional view thereof, and FIG. The top view of the moving supporting member (transporting plate), Fig. 4A is the A-A sectional view of Fig. 3, Fig. 4B is the B-B sectional view of Fig. 3, and Fig. 4C is the C-C sectional view of Fig. 3 .

This substrate processing apparatus includes a substrate rotation processing unit 10 that performs processing while rotating a square substrate W such as a glass substrate for LCD. In the processing unit 10 , for example, photolithography using hydrofluoric acid, rinsing with pure water, and the like are performed. The processing unit 10 has a rotation holding disc 12 that is supported in a horizontal state by a rotation support shaft 14 that rotates the support shaft by a rotation motor (not shown) and holds the substrate W in a horizontal state. 14 rotation so that it can rotate about the vertical axis in the horizontal plane. In addition, the processing unit 10 is provided with a nozzle for spraying hydrofluoric acid, pure water, or the like onto the surface of the substrate W held on the rotating holding circular plate 12 , but description thereof will be omitted.

In this substrate processing apparatus, a roller conveyor 16 is disposed adjacent to the substrate rotation processing unit 10 and linearly conveys the substrate W in the horizontal direction. The roller conveyor 16 is composed of a plurality of conveying rollers 18 arranged in parallel to each other. A square transport plate 20 with a planar shape larger than the substrate W is disposed directly above the rotation holding circular plate 12 of the processing unit 10 and faces the end of the transport path of the roller conveyor 16 .

In the transfer plate 20, as shown in FIG. 3, a pair of each of the four corners is provided so that a total of eight corner through-holes 22 are provided, and a plurality of small-diameter through-holes 24 are provided scattered over the entire surface. In addition, a linear shallow groove 26 is formed in the central portion of the upper surface of the transport plate 20 . Furthermore, a plurality of free rollers 28 rotatably mounted on the upper surface of the conveyance plate 20 are arranged so that their respective rotation axes are perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the groove 26 . As shown in FIG. 4C , each free roller 28 is mounted so that a part protrudes from the upper surface of the conveyance plate 20 , and the upper ends of all the free rollers 28 are located in the same horizontal plane. The transport plate 20 supports the substrate W in a horizontal state by contacting the upper ends of the plurality of free rollers 28 to the lower surface of the substrate W, respectively. In addition, when the transport plate 20 is located at the substrate transfer position A facing the end portion of the transport path of the roller conveyor 16 as shown in FIG. It is arranged so as to be at the same height as the substrate conveying surface of the roller conveyor 16 . In addition, a horizontal hole 30 is formed in the central portion of one side surface of the conveyance plate 20 .

On the side of the roller conveyor 16 , an elongated plate-shaped transfer arm portion 32 is arranged on the upper side of the rotation shaft of the transport roller 18 . Engagement protrusions 34a, 34b which engage with the edges of the respective ends of the substrate W are respectively provided on the upper surfaces of the front end portion and the rear end portion of the transfer arm portion 32 . The transfer arm portion 32 is supported in a horizontal state by a support and moving mechanism not shown, and reciprocates linearly in the horizontal direction and reciprocates in the vertical direction by a small distance. Therefore, the transfer arm portion 32 is configured to reciprocate between the end position of the transport path of the roller conveyor 16 and the substrate delivery position A where the transport plate 20 is provided by moving in the horizontal direction; The moving action in this direction reciprocates between the upper position where the engaging protrusions 34a, 34b engage with the sides of each end of the substrate W and the lower position where the engaging protrusions 34a, 34b disengage from the sides of each end of the substrate W.

In addition, as shown in FIGS. 6 to 10 , on the opposite side of the roller conveyor 16 across the conveyance plate 20 , a support and movement mechanism 36 for the conveyance plate 20 is arranged. The supporting and moving mechanism 36 includes: an engaging support rod 38, which has a screw part, and the front end part is engaged in the horizontal hole 30 of the conveying plate 20 in a manner that can be freely engaged or disengaged to support the conveying plate 20; the horizontal driving part 40. The description of the structure is omitted, but it has a nut part screwed with the screw part of the engaging support rod 38, so that it rotates without co-rotating with the engaging supporting rod 38, so that the engaging supporting rod 38 enters or withdraws from the horizontal hole 30 of the conveying plate 20; and the lifting driving part 42 supports the horizontal driving part 40 and makes it reciprocate in the up and down direction. With this supporting and moving mechanism 36 , the transfer plate 20 is positioned between the upper substrate delivery position A facing the terminal end of the transfer path of the roller conveyor 16 and the lower side of the rotation holding circular plate 12 mounted on the substrate rotation processing unit 10 . The reciprocating movement between the rotating processing position B.

The rotation holding circular plate 12 of the substrate rotation processing unit 10 has an upper surface configured as a loading surface for supporting the transfer plate 20, and a pair, a pair, and a disk for supporting the substrate W are respectively provided on the upper surface side to engage with respective corners of the substrate W and support the substrate W. A total of eight corner support pins 44 are distributed over the entire surface, and a plurality of lower surface support pins 46 are provided whose upper ends contact the lower surface of the substrate W and support the substrate W respectively. The corner support pins 44 and the lower surface support pins 46 are arranged at positions corresponding to the formation positions of the corner through-holes 22 and the small-diameter through-holes 24 provided on the conveyance plate 20 . Also, each corner support pin 44 and each lower surface support pin 46, as shown in FIG. 4A and FIG. In addition, the height of the substrate support portion of each corner support pin 44 and the height of the upper end of each lower surface support pin 46 are greater than the thickness of the transport plate 20. By having such a structure, when the conveyance plate 20 descends, each corner through-hole 22 and each small-diameter through-hole 24 of the conveyance plate 20 and each corner support pin 44 and each lower surface support pin 46 of the rotation holding circular plate 12 The lowering operation of the conveyance plate 20 is allowed without contacting each other, so that the conveyance plate 20 can be loaded on the rotation holding circular plate 12 .

Next, the transfer operation of the substrate W in the substrate processing apparatus having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 10 .

As shown in FIG. 5A , in the state where the transfer arm 32 is located at the lower part, when the substrate W is transported by the roller conveyor 16 to the end position of the transport path and stops, the transfer arm 32 moves to the upper position, As shown in FIG. 5B , the engaging convex portion 34 b of the transfer arm portion 32 engages with the rear end edge of the substrate W. As shown in FIG. Then, as shown in FIG. 5C , the substrate W is supported on the conveying rollers 18 of the roller conveyor 16 by the transfer arm 32 moving horizontally to the side of the substrate transfer position A where the transfer plate 20 is arranged, and is simultaneously transferred by the transfer arm. 32 to move to the board transfer position A by pushing the rear end edge. Thus, the substrate W is gradually switched from the state supported by the conveying roller 18 of the roller conveyor 16 to the state supported by the free roller 28 of the conveying plate 20 , and is conveyed to the substrate delivery position A by the transfer arm 32 .

As shown in FIG. 6 , the substrate W is transported to the substrate delivery position A by the transfer arm portion 32 , and the substrate W is supported on the free roller 28 of the transport plate 20 supported by the engaging support rod 38 of the supporting and moving mechanism 36 . As shown in FIG. 7 , the transfer arm 32 moves to the lower position in the groove 26 of the transport plate 20 . As a result, the engaged state between the engaging protrusions 34a, 34b of the transfer arm portion 32 and both ends of the substrate W is released. Then, the transfer arm part 32 moves horizontally to the position of the terminal part of the transport path of the roller conveyor 16, and departs from the substrate delivery position A. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 8 , when the transfer arm 32 is separated from the substrate transfer position A, the transfer plate 20 supporting the substrate W on the free roller 28 is moved to the substrate by the lifting drive part 42 of the supporting and moving mechanism 36 . Rotation processing unit 10 . Then, as the transport plate 20 descends from the substrate transfer position A to the substrate rotation processing position B, as shown in FIG. While the substrate W is held by the corner support pins 44 and the lower surface support pins 46 of the rotation holding circular plate 12, the carrier plate 20 is loaded and held on the rotation holding circular plate 12. on the upper surface.

When the transport plate 20 is held on the upper surface of the rotation holding circular plate 12, and the substrate W is held by the corner support pins 44 and the lower surface support pins 46, the horizontal drive part 40 of the support and movement mechanism 36 is engaged and supported. The rod 38 moves in a direction away from the conveyance plate 20 . Thereby, as shown in FIG. 10 , the front end portion of the engaging support rod 38 is pulled out from the horizontal hole 30 of the conveying plate 20 , and the engaged state of the engaging supporting rod 38 and the conveying plate 20 is released. Therefore, the rotation holding disc 12 becomes rotatable, and predetermined substrate processing is performed in the substrate rotation processing unit 10 .

When the processing of the substrate W in the substrate rotation processing unit 10 is completed, the substrate W is transferred from the rotation holding circular plate 12 to the conveying plate 20 by the reverse operation to the above-mentioned operation, and is supported on the conveying plate 20 to After moving from the substrate rotation processing position B to the substrate delivery position A, the substrate is returned from the transfer plate 20 to the roller conveyor 16 by the transfer arm portion 32 .

The substrate processing apparatus of the present invention is configured and operated as described above, but the horizontal transfer device for the substrate, the transfer plate, the transfer device for the substrate from the horizontal transfer device to the transfer plate, the supporting and moving device for the transfer plate, etc., It is not limited by the content of the said embodiment, Various mechanisms can be employ|adopted.

Claims (6)

1. substrate board treatment, possess the substrate rotation processing unit, this substrate rotation processing unit have with the vertical axis be the center rotate freely ground supported, substrate is remained the rotation retaining member of level, and make the substrate rotation and handle, it is characterized in that, comprising:

Horizontal conveyance device, it transports substrate to the horizontal direction straight line;

Movable supporting member, it has base plate supports is the support portion of level, and with relative with the Trail termination portion that transports of aforementioned levels conveyer to mode, and transport face with the substrate of the base plate supports face of aforementioned support portion and horizontal conveyance device and become the mode of equal height and be configured;

Change assembling device, it makes substrate move horizontally to aforementioned movable supporting member from the Trail termination portion that transports of aforementioned horizontal conveyance device;

Mobile device, it makes the aforementioned movable supporting member that is supporting substrate, from the Trail termination portion that transports of aforementioned levels conveyer relative to the position move to the rotation retaining member of aforesaid base plate rotation processing unit,

Aforementioned rotation retaining member has the loading surface that loads aforementioned movable supporting member and from being loaded in that aforementioned movable supporting member on this loading surface is left upward and the substrate maintaining part that keeps substrate.

2. substrate board treatment as claimed in claim 1, it is characterized in that, with relative with the Trail termination portion that transports of aforementioned levels conveyer to the aforementioned movable supporting member that disposes of mode, be positioned at the aforesaid base plate rotation processing unit the rotation retaining member directly over, aforementioned mobile device has the elevating mechanism that makes aforementioned movable support member lifting.

3. substrate board treatment as claimed in claim 2 is characterized in that, on aforementioned movable supporting member, is provided with a plurality of through holes that are used to insert the substrate maintaining part that connects aforementioned rotation retaining member.

4. as each described substrate board treatment in the claim 1 to 3, it is characterized in that the support portion of aforementioned movable supporting member is for being installed in a plurality of free roller of the upper surface side of movable supporting member respectively in the mode freely of rotating.

5. as each described substrate board treatment in the claim 1 to 3, it is characterized in that aforementioned mobile device has with engaging or the mode freely of breaking away from and is sticked in aforementioned movable supporting member and supports the engaging support portion of movable supporting member.

6. as each described substrate board treatment in the claim 1 to 3, it is characterized in that the aforementioned levels conveyer is that a plurality of rollers that transport by arrangement parallel to each other constitute.

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