JP2004299850A - Processing method and processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to quickly carry in and out a drying chamber without using a robot arm or a transfer belt, and to realize stable transfer even in drying involving heating and drying by radiation.
A drying chamber (12) is provided with a heating device (18) that is depressurized by a decompression pump (13) and heated by far-infrared light in the upper part of the room. A transport roller 31 for transporting the glass substrate G is provided in the drying chamber 12. A vacuum preparatory chamber 21 having transport rollers 32 is adjacent to the entrance 14 of the drying chamber 12, and a vacuum preparatory chamber 22 having transport rollers 33 is adjacent to the exit 16. The rollers constituting the dry transport rollers 31 and 33 are not arranged overlapping in the direction along the transport direction of the glass substrate G.
[Selection diagram] Fig. 1

Description

[0001]
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for processing a substrate.
[0002]
[Prior art]
For example, in a process of manufacturing a color filter of a liquid crystal display, when a black matrix or a colored pattern of R, G, and B is formed on a surface of a rectangular glass substrate, a predetermined coating liquid is applied onto the substrate to form a coating film. The glass substrate is subjected to a drying process for evaporating a solvent or the like in a reduced-pressure drying chamber.
[0003]
Then, the glass substrate after the coating process is carried into the reduced-pressure drying chamber by a so-called robot arm, and the glass substrate carried into the reduced-pressure drying chamber is placed on a mounting table at a predetermined position. The delivery to and from the mounting table is performed via lifting pins provided on the mounting table.
[0004]
However, when the glass substrate is carried in and out of the reduced-pressure drying chamber using the robot arm in such a manner, it takes a long time to exchange the substrates, and thus the throughput cannot be improved. Further, there is a possibility that the substrate may be damaged due to peeling charging at the time of substrate transfer.
[0005]
In this regard, for example, a technique has been proposed in which a substrate is placed on a transport belt and irradiated with an infrared lamp while being transported to subject the substrate to a drying process (see Patent Document 1).
[0006]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-86651
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the case of drying by drying under reduced pressure, for example, the substrate itself is cooled during evaporation, and the temperature of the substrate changes. Also, in drying by heating and other heat treatments, the temperature of the substrate naturally fluctuates. In such a case, in the prior art, since the back surface of the substrate is in close contact with the belt, heat flows in and out between the belt and the substrate. As a result, processing unevenness due to uneven temperature distribution is caused. Was likely to occur. In addition, when a treatment such as a heating treatment or a heating drying treatment is performed by an infrared lamp or hot air, the conveyance belt itself may be deformed by the heat, and stable conveyance may not be performed. Also, since the entire back surface of the substrate is in close contact with the belt, there is a problem of peeling charging.
[0008]
The present invention has been made in view of such a point, and can be quickly carried into and out of a processing chamber for reducing pressure or a processing chamber for heating without using a robot arm or a transfer belt, and in a processing involving heating. It is an object of the present invention to provide a processing method and a processing apparatus capable of performing stable transport even without causing damage to a substrate due to peeling charging.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
A processing method of the present invention for achieving the above object is a method for processing a substrate in a processing chamber by depressurizing the processing chamber, wherein the substrate is placed on a transfer roller in the processing chamber. A processing step of drying the substrate by depressurizing the processing chamber.
[0010]
In the present invention, since processing such as drying under reduced pressure is performed while the substrate is placed on the transport roller, a robot arm or the like is unnecessary, and operations such as loading, processing, and unloading into the processing chamber are sequentially performed. And throughput is improved. In addition, since the contact area between the roller surface and the back surface of the substrate that constitutes the transfer path is small, the flow of heat between the substrate and the roller is small, and the temperature distribution during processing can be suppressed from being uneven, and the peeling can be performed. There is no charging problem. Furthermore, it is easy to install the rollers close to the entrance and exit of the processing chamber, and the loading and unloading to and from the processing chamber to be decompressed can be performed extremely smoothly. Further, since the material of the rotating member can be freely selected, a material having a low thermal conductivity can be appropriately selected, so that the present invention can be applied to a process involving heating. Note that the roller in the present invention refers to a rotating member that comes into contact with a substrate, and is a concept that includes a so-called “roller” having a very narrow peripheral surface. A similar effect can be obtained by using a chain conveyor instead of the transport roller.
[0011]
In the processing step, uniform heating is possible by driving the transport roller to move the substrate in one direction or reciprocate, thereby preventing drying unevenness and heating unevenness.
[0012]
Further, the processing apparatus of the present invention has the transport roller for carrying the loaded substrate into and out of the processing chamber at the predetermined position in the processing chamber, so that the above-described processing method can be suitably performed. In such a case, by making the transport roller reversible, the substrate can be reciprocated without stopping during processing, thereby preventing drying unevenness and heating unevenness due to heat transfer at the contact point.
[0013]
In a processing chamber having a substrate loading port and a substrate loading port, transfer rollers are installed outside the loading port and outside the loading port so that they can be loaded into the processing chamber without using a robot arm or the like. The operation such as carrying out of the processing chamber can be performed continuously and quickly.
[0014]
When the processing chamber has a configuration in which the substrate is dried by depressurizing the inside of the chamber, the transport roller located outside the loading port is provided in a vacuum preparatory chamber located on the loading port side of the processing chamber, and is provided outside the loading port. Is preferably provided in a pre-vacuum chamber located on the carry-out side of the processing chamber. As a result, it is not necessary to return the processing chamber to the atmosphere each time, and it is possible to shorten the time for reducing the pressure to a predetermined degree of reduced pressure for drying.
[0015]
By the way, when the peripheral surface of the roller comes into contact with the substrate, the contact portion of the substrate flows into and out of the roller due to the heat capacity of the roller itself. Therefore, for example, if the rollers are arranged in an overlapping manner in the transport direction, the temperature difference between the part in contact with the peripheral surface of the roller and the other part will be large, resulting in a streak or band shape. This causes drying unevenness and heating unevenness (so-called line unevenness). This is remarkable in the processing chamber or on the substrate immediately after the processing by heating or the like. Therefore, it is preferable that at least the transport rollers in the processing chamber or the transport rollers located outside the carry-out port have no overlapping rollers in the direction along the transport direction of the loaded substrate. As a result, the contact history (contact time) with the peripheral surface of the transport roller can be reduced as much as possible, and the occurrence of stripe unevenness can be suppressed.
[0016]
From the same viewpoint, it is preferable that the roller in contact with the substrate has a small heat capacity. However, for example, a coil spring or a brush is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the roller so that the roller can contact the substrate with the roller. It is possible to prevent heat from flowing into and out of the substrate.
[0017]
If the processing chamber is equipped with a heating device for heating the substrates in the room, such as an infrared lamp and a hot air blowing device, the rollers of the transport rollers are heated to a high temperature as the heating process is repeated. There is a risk of uneven drying, uneven heating and thermal shock due to contact with the transport roller.
In such a case, if a base is arranged near the transport roller and a cooling device for cooling the base is provided, the temperature rise of the roller can be suppressed. As the cooling device, for example, a cooling flow path for cooling the base by flowing a cooling fluid can be proposed. Further, when a cooling device is employed, it is preferable that a recess for accommodating a lower portion of the transport roller is provided on the base, and a cooling device such as a cooling channel is disposed near the recess. As a result, it is possible to suppress a rise in the temperature of the roller in the recess. When the pressure in the processing chamber is reduced, the temperature rise of the roller can be suppressed by radiant cooling to the base.
[0018]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 shows an outline of a system including a drying device 11 that continuously performs reduced-pressure drying on a glass substrate G that has been subjected to a coating process in a coating device 1.
[0019]
The coating apparatus 1 has a function of applying the coating liquid to the surface of the glass substrate G by discharging the coating liquid from the die head 3 while scanning the glass substrate G on the stage 2 with the die head 3. I have. The stage 2 has a roller 4 that can freely move in and out of the stage surface 2a. During the coating process, the roller 4 is accommodated in the stage, and the glass substrate G is, for example, suction-held on the stage surface 2a. . On the other hand, when the substrate is transferred to and from the stage, a part of the peripheral surface of the roller 4 projects on the stage surface 2a, and the glass substrate G moves from the carry-in entrance 1a to the stage surface 2a and moves from the stage surface 2a. The glass substrate G can be moved to the carry-out port 1b side. Outside the carry-in port 1a of the coating device 1, a plurality of rollers are arranged along the transport direction. Outside the carry-out port 1b of the coating device 1, a plurality of rollers are arranged along the transport direction. Transport rollers 7 are provided respectively.
[0020]
A drying apparatus 11 as a processing apparatus according to the present embodiment has a drying chamber 12 as a processing chamber for performing drying by vacuum drying, and the drying chamber 12 is controlled by a vacuum pump 13 used for this type of vacuum. The pressure can be reduced to a predetermined pressure reduction degree. A gate valve 15 is provided at the entrance 14 of the drying chamber 12, and a gate valve 17 is provided at the exit 16. The drying chamber 12 according to the present embodiment is provided with a heating device 18 for radiantly heating with far-infrared rays at the upper part of the drying chamber.
[0021]
A vacuum preparatory chamber 21, also called a load lock chamber, is adjacent to the loading port 14 side of the drying chamber 12 via a gate valve 15, and a gate valve 17 is located on the loading port 16 side of the drying chamber 12. , A vacuum auxiliary chamber 22 is adjacent to the vacuum auxiliary chamber 22. A gate valve 24 is provided at the inlet 23 of the vacuum preliminary chamber 21, and a gate valve 26 is provided at the outlet 25. These vacuum preparatory chambers 21 and 22 can be decompressed to a predetermined decompression degree by the corresponding decompression pumps 27 and 28, respectively.
[0022]
A transport roller 31 in which a plurality of rollers are arranged in the transport direction is provided in the drying chamber 12. The transport roller 31 is driven by a drive source (not shown) such as a motor via a pulley, a belt, and the like, and is capable of normal rotation and reversal. In addition, transport rollers 32 and 33 in which a plurality of rollers are arranged along the transport direction are provided also in the vacuum preparatory chambers 21 and 22. These transport rollers 32 and 33 are also driven by a drive source (not shown).
[0023]
The drying device 11 according to the present embodiment has the above-described configuration. The glass substrate G that has been coated by the coating device 1 is first carried into the pre-vacuum chamber 21 by the transfer roller 7. Next, after the gate valve 24 is closed, the pressure is reduced from the atmospheric pressure to a predetermined pressure reduction degree P1. Next, the gate valve 15 is opened (at this time, the pressure in the drying chamber 12 is set to P1), and the glass substrate G is carried into the drying chamber 12 from the carry-in port 14 by the carrying rollers 32 and 31. The glass substrate G is located at a predetermined position on the reference numeral 32, that is, at a drying position of the glass substrate G.
[0024]
Thereafter, the gate valve 15 is closed, the pressure is further reduced to a predetermined drying pressure reduction degree P2, and the glass substrate G is subjected to reduced pressure drying. Further, the glass substrate G is irradiated with far-infrared rays by the heating device 18, and the glass substrate G is subjected to a drying treatment by radiant heating. By these two drying methods, the solvent in the coating solution on the glass substrate G evaporates very quickly. During this drying step, the transport roller 31 rotates forward and backward as necessary, and the glass substrate G reciprocates in the drying chamber 12. This prevents the occurrence of drying unevenness.
[0025]
After the drying step is completed, the gate valve 17 is opened, and the glass substrate G is carried out into the vacuum preliminary chamber 22 through the carry-out port 16 by the operation of the transport rollers 31 and 33. At the same time as the carry-out, the next glass substrate G is carried into the drying chamber 12 from the vacuum preliminary chamber 21. When the unloading of the glass substrate G from the drying chamber 12 and the loading of the next glass substrate G into the drying chamber 12 are completed, the gate valves 17 and 15 are closed, and the next glass substrate loaded into the drying chamber 12 is closed. G is subjected to a drying treatment. On the other hand, after the drying process is completed, the glass substrate G that has been sent into the vacuum preparatory chamber 22 is pressurized to the atmospheric pressure in the vacuum preparatory chamber 22, and then the gate valve 26 is opened and the transfer roller 33 is moved. It is unloaded from outlet 25 by actuation.
[0026]
As described above, according to the system using the drying device 12 according to the present embodiment, the glass substrate G on which the coating process has been completed can be carried into and out of the drying chamber 12 at a very high speed to be continuously processed. , The throughput is extremely high. In addition, the transfer by the robot arm is unnecessary in any step, and there is no problem of peeling charging. Further, since the transport rollers 31, 32, and 33 are employed as the transport means, the transport rollers 31, 32, and 33 can be installed very close to the entrance 14 and the exit 16 of the drying chamber 12. It is possible, and smooth conveyance is realized. In addition, even with the radiation heating by the heating device 18, each roller of the transport roller 31 as the transport means is not deformed, so that stable transport can be realized.
[0027]
Since the glass substrate G is heated, the temperature difference between the drying chamber 12 and the transport rollers 31 and 33 for transporting the glass substrate G immediately after heating is caused by the temperature difference between the glass substrate G and the rollers in contact with the glass substrate. If there is, it is conceivable that band-like or streak-like temperature unevenness may occur in some cases due to heat flowing in and out due to contact with the rollers during conveyance.
[0028]
In order to improve this, for example, with respect to the transport roller in the drying chamber 12 and the transport roller 33 in the vacuum preparatory chamber 22, the roller 42 extends in the direction along the transport direction like the transport roller 41 shown in FIG. It is preferable that all of them are configured so as not to be overlapped. 43 is a shaft. As a result, the trajectories a to i of the rollers contacting the back surface of the glass substrate G are all required to be performed only once, that is, only one trajectory of the rollers, and the flow of heat between the rollers and the substrate is reduced accordingly. Such an arrangement of the rollers 42 is particularly effective when the substrate is continuously transferred. Therefore, the present invention can be applied to a transfer system in a device such as a so-called atmospheric conveyor furnace.
[0029]
From the viewpoint of reducing the flow of heat between the roller and the glass substrate G, the heat capacity of the roller itself or the heat capacity of the roller in contact with the substrate may be reduced. .
[0030]
In the example shown in FIG. 3, a brush 44 is provided on the peripheral surface of the roller 42. According to this configuration, since the brush 44 comes into contact with the glass substrate G, the contact area is even smaller than the peripheral surface of the roller. Moreover, since the heat transfer route is a brush, the heat is hardly transferred to the roller 42 itself, and the heat capacity of the brush 44 itself is extremely small. Therefore, the occurrence of stripe unevenness due to the conveyance of the conveyance roller and damage due to thermal shock can be further suppressed.
[0031]
Although the coil spring 45 is provided on the peripheral surface of the roller 42 in FIG. 4, the contact area is smaller than the peripheral surface of the roller as in the case of the brush. Is a wire, so that it is difficult for heat to be transmitted to the roller 42 itself. In addition, the heat capacity of the coil spring 45 itself is extremely small. Therefore, the occurrence of line unevenness due to the conveyance of the conveyance roller and damage due to thermal shock are further suppressed.
[0032]
By the way, the drying device 11 according to the embodiment employs the heating device 18 for performing radiant heating in the drying chamber 12. The rollers themselves also become high heat, and in some cases, temperature unevenness may occur in the portions that are in contact with the substrate. In order to prevent this, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, a base 51 that supports the shaft 43 of the roller 42 is installed, and a part of the roller 42, for example, about 3/4 of the lower part, is accommodated in the base 51. A recess 52 is formed. In the base 51, a cooling channel 53 for flowing a cooling fluid, for example, water, may be formed near the concave portion 52. Thereby, the atmosphere in the concave portion 52 is cooled by the cooling fluid flowing through the cooling channel 53, so that the rise in the temperature of the rollers 42 can be suppressed. Further, since the rollers 42 are not directly cooled, the rollers 42 can be excessively cooled, thereby suppressing the adverse effect on the substrate and the occurrence of temperature unevenness. Of course, instead of the cooling channel 53, an appropriate cooling means or element, for example, a Peltier element may be used.
[0033]
The methods shown in FIGS. 3 to 5 may be used in appropriate combinations. Although the above embodiment is an example in which the present invention is used for drying after the coating process on the glass substrate G, the present invention can be applied to a simple heating process.
[0034]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, loading and unloading into and from the reduced-pressure drying chamber can be performed quickly and smoothly without using a robot arm or a transfer belt, and drying by radiant heating such as heating and drying by an infrared lamp can be performed. Stable transport can be performed. In addition, there is no risk of damage to the substrate due to peeling electrification, processing failure due to temperature unevenness, and deterioration in quality.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of an integrated coating and drying system employing a drying device according to an embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an example of the arrangement of rollers.
FIG. 3 is a side view of a roller having a brush on a peripheral surface.
FIG. 4 is a side view of a roller having a spring coil on a peripheral surface.
FIG. 5 is a side sectional view of a base for suppressing a rise in temperature of the rollers.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Drying device 12 Drying room 14 Carry-in port 16 Carry-out port 6, 7, 31, 32, 33 Transport roller 42 Roller G Glass substrate

Claims (14)

A method of processing a substrate in a processing chamber by depressurizing the processing chamber,
A processing method, comprising a processing step of depressurizing the processing chamber and drying the substrate while the substrate is placed on a transport roller in the processing chamber. A method of processing a substrate in a processing chamber by heating the substrate in the processing chamber,
A processing step of heating the substrate in the processing chamber while the substrate is placed on a transport roller in the processing chamber. The processing method according to claim 1, wherein in the processing step, the substrate is moved by driving the transport roller. 4. The processing method according to claim 1, wherein a chain conveyor is used in place of the transport roller. An apparatus for processing a substrate at a predetermined position in a processing chamber,
A processing apparatus, comprising: a transport roller for carrying a loaded substrate into and out of the processing chamber at the predetermined position in the processing chamber. 6. The processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the transport roller is reversible. The processing chamber has a substrate entrance and a substrate exit.
7. The processing apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a transport roller located outside the carry-in port and a transport roller located outside the carry-out port. The processing chamber is a processing chamber for drying a substrate by reducing the pressure in the chamber,
A transfer roller located outside the carry-in port is provided in a vacuum preparatory chamber located on the carry-in side of the processing chamber,
A transfer roller located outside the carry-out port is provided in a vacuum preparatory chamber located on the carry-out side of the processing chamber.
The processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein: 8. The transfer roller according to claim 7, wherein at least a transfer roller in the processing chamber or a transfer roller located outside the discharge port is not overlapped in a direction along a transfer direction of the loaded substrate. Or the processing apparatus according to 8. The processing according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein a coil spring is provided on an outer peripheral surface of the roller at least in a transport roller in the processing chamber or a transport roller located outside the transport outlet. apparatus. 10. The processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein a brush is provided on an outer peripheral surface of at least a transport roller in the processing chamber or a transport roller located outside the carry-out port. . The processing chamber includes an irradiation device for irradiating and heating a substrate in the chamber,
A base arranged near a transport roller in the processing chamber;
The processing apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising: a cooling device that cools the base. 13. The processing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the cooling device is a cooling channel for cooling the base by flowing a cooling fluid. 14. The processing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the base includes a concave portion that accommodates a lower portion of the transport roller, and the cooling device is disposed near the concave portion. 15.

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