JP2005123368A - Substrate etching equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus capable of uniforming the flow rate of an etching solution on the surface of the substrate when the substrate is etched while the substrate is supported in an inclined posture and an etching solution is supplied to the surface of the substrate.
A spray pipe having a plurality of discharge ports formed over the entire length in the longitudinal direction, arranged in parallel with the upper side edge of the substrate supported while being inclined with respect to a horizontal plane, and a spray. It has a plate surface that is arranged directly under the pipe for use in parallel with the inclined surface of the substrate, and receives the etching solution discharged from the discharge port of the spray pipe at the plate surface. And a liquid receiving plate for allowing the etching solution to flow in a direction parallel to the substrate surface after spreading the etching solution uniformly in the direction along the side edge and to the upper side edge of the substrate.
[Selection] Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate etching apparatus for supplying an etching solution to the surface of a substrate such as a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device, a glass substrate for a plasma display, a printed substrate, or a semiconductor wafer to etch the substrate.

  When performing etching on a substrate such as a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device, an etching solution is sprayed from the shower nozzle to the surface of the substrate while the substrate is supported in a horizontal position by a roller conveyor and conveyed in the horizontal direction. An etching apparatus is generally used. However, when the substrate is increased in size, in the etching apparatus that supports and transports the substrate in a horizontal posture, the etchant tends to stay on the surface of the substrate, and it is difficult to uniformly etch the entire surface of the substrate. There is a problem.

Therefore, in recent years, an apparatus has been proposed in which the substrate is held in an inclined posture so that the etching solution flows down on the surface of the substrate so that the etching solution does not stay on the surface of the substrate. As shown in FIG. 4, the etching apparatus includes a plurality of conveying rollers 1 supported by being inclined with respect to a horizontal plane, a roller conveyor configured in parallel in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface, and an inclined posture by the roller conveyor. And a slit nozzle 2 disposed above the upper edge of the substrate W in the inclined direction. The slit nozzle 2 has a slit-like discharge port 3 extending in a horizontal direction (direction orthogonal to the paper surface) orthogonal to the inclination direction of the substrate W. Then, an etching solution is supplied from the slit-like discharge port 3 of the slit nozzle 2 to the upper side edge of the substrate W supported in an inclined posture by the roller conveyor, and the etching solution supplied to the substrate W is applied to the surface of the substrate W. It flows down along the slope and flows out from the lower edge of the substrate W. As described above, the etching liquid flows along the inclination on the surface of the substrate W, so that the etching liquid is uniformly supplied to the entire surface of the substrate W, and the entire surface of the substrate W is uniformly etched (for example, , See Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-74247 (page 2-4, FIGS. 1 and 2)

  In the conventional etching apparatus shown in FIG. 4, the etching solution supplied from the slit-like discharge port 3 of the slit nozzle 2 to the upper side edge of the substrate W is discharged from an oblique direction with respect to the surface of the substrate W. After landing on the upper side edge of the substrate W, the flow direction is changed in the direction along the surface of the substrate W, and flows down along the inclination on the surface of the substrate W. For this reason, the flow rate of the etching solution increases near the upper side edge of the substrate W, and becomes substantially constant as it flows down on the surface of the substrate W. As described above, since the flow rate of the etching solution is higher in the vicinity of the upper side edge portion of the substrate W than the other portions, there is a problem that the etching process becomes uneven.

  The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances as described above. When the substrate is etched by supporting the substrate in an inclined posture and supplying the etching solution to the substrate surface, the etching solution on the surface of the substrate is removed. It is an object of the present invention to provide an etching apparatus for a substrate that can make the flow rate uniform and can improve the uniformity of the etching process.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the rectangular substrate is supported while being inclined with respect to the horizontal plane, and the substrate supporting / conveying means for conveying the substrate in a horizontal direction orthogonal to the inclined direction, and the substrate supporting / conveying means. Supplying an etching solution to the upper edge of the surface of the supported substrate in the tilt direction, and causing the etching solution to flow down from the upper edge to the lower edge on the substrate surface In the substrate etching apparatus, the etching solution supply means is arranged in parallel with the upper side edge of the substrate, and a plurality of discharge ports or slit-shaped discharge ports are provided over the entire length in the length direction. A formed etching solution discharging means, and a substrate disposed immediately below the etching solution discharging means in parallel with the etching solution discharging means and supported by the substrate supporting / conveying means. It has a plate surface arranged parallel to the inclined surface, receives the etchant discharged from the discharge port of the etchant discharge means on the plate surface, and evenly distributes the etchant in the direction along the upper side edge of the substrate And a liquid receiving plate for allowing the etching liquid to flow down to the upper side edge of the substrate after spreading.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the etching apparatus according to the first aspect, the etching solution discharge means is formed by arranging a plurality of through-holes in the pipe in the length direction. To do.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the etching apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the length of the etching solution supply means is longer than the dimension of the substrate in the transport direction, and the substrate support / transport means The substrate is reciprocated within an installation range of the etching solution supply means.

  In the substrate etching apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, the etching solution discharged from the plurality of discharge ports or the slit-shaped discharge ports of the etching solution discharge means once flows down on the liquid receiving plate. Since the plate surface of the liquid receiving plate is arranged in parallel with the inclined surface of the substrate supported by the substrate supporting / conveying means, the liquid receiving plate is discharged from the etching liquid discharging means onto the liquid receiving plate and flows down on the liquid receiving plate. The etching liquid flows out from the front end side of the liquid receiving plate in a direction along the surface of the substrate and is supplied to the upper side end of the substrate. For this reason, the etching solution flows straight down on the surface of the substrate from the upper side edge of the substrate as it is without changing the flow direction after landing on the upper side edge of the substrate. . Accordingly, the flow rate of the etching solution is substantially constant over the entire surface from the upper side edge to the lower side edge of the substrate W.

  In the etching apparatus of the invention according to claim 2, even if the etching solution discharge means has a simple configuration in which a plurality of through holes are formed in the pipe, the etching solution is applied to the surface of the substrate by the above action of the solution receiving plate. Is supplied uniformly.

  In the etching apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention, the etching solution is supplied onto the surface of the substrate from the etching solution supply means while the substrate is moved back and forth within the installation range of the etching solution supply means by the substrate support / conveyance means. Therefore, the etching solution is more uniformly and sufficiently supplied to the surface of the substrate.

  When the substrate etching apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention is used, when the substrate is tilted and the substrate is etched by supplying the etchant to the substrate surface, the flow rate of the etchant on the surface of the substrate is uniform. Therefore, the uniformity of the etching process can be improved.

  In the etching apparatus according to the second aspect of the invention, the supply of the etching solution to the surface of the substrate can be made uniform while simplifying the configuration of the etching solution discharge means.

  In the etching apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention, the etching solution is supplied onto the surface of the substrate from the etching solution supply means while the substrate is moved back and forth within the installation range of the etching solution supply means by the substrate support / conveyance means. Therefore, the etching solution is more uniformly and sufficiently supplied to the surface of the substrate.

  The best embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  1 to 3 show an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a side view showing the configuration of a main part of a substrate etching apparatus, and FIG. 2 is an etching solution supply as a component of the etching apparatus. FIG. 3 is a plan view schematically showing a schematic configuration of the etching apparatus.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the etching apparatus includes a box-shaped processing tank 10 having a substrate carry-in port 12 and a substrate carry-out port 14, and transports a rectangular substrate W into the processing tank 10. In this example, a roller conveyor 18 in which a plurality of conveyance rollers 16 are arranged in parallel in the conveyance direction of the substrate W is disposed. In addition, an etching solution supply unit 20 is disposed in the processing tank 10 over the substantially entire length of the processing tank 10 in a direction along the transport direction of the substrate W. A liquid curtain 22 is provided in the vicinity of the substrate carry-in port 12 of the processing tank 10.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the transport roller 16 has a roller shaft 24, and the roller shaft 24 is inclined with respect to a horizontal plane, for example, inclined at an angle of 5 ° to 20 ° with respect to the horizontal plane. It is supported freely (support mechanism not shown). A central roller 26 is fixed to the roller shaft 24 at the center, and side rollers 28 and 30 are fixed to both ends. A buffering O-ring 32 made of a flexible material such as rubber is fitted on the outer peripheral surfaces of the central roller 26 and the both side rollers 28 and 30. The roller shaft 24 is fixed with flanges 34 and 36 on the outer sides of the side rollers 28 and 30, respectively. The lower surface of the substrate W is supported by the rollers 26, 28, and 30 so that the substrate W is maintained in an inclined posture, and the lower side edge is brought into contact with the lower flange 34 so as not to slide down. And is supported by a plurality of transport rollers 16.

  Further, the plurality of transport rollers 16 can be rotated forward and reverse in synchronization by a driving mechanism (not shown). Then, the substrate W is carried into the processing tank 10 through the substrate carry-in port 12, supported and conveyed by the roller conveyor 18, and reciprocated within the processing tank 10 within the installation range of the etching solution supply unit 20 as necessary. When the etching process is completed and the etching process is completed, the substrate is unloaded from the processing tank 10 through the substrate unloading port 14.

  The etchant supply unit 20 includes a spray pipe 38 as an etchant discharge means, and a liquid receiving plate 42 disposed directly below the spray pipe 38 and in parallel therewith. In the spray pipe 38, a plurality of through holes are formed on the lower surface side so as to be equally arranged in the length direction, and these through holes form an etching solution discharge port 40. Although not shown, the spray pipe 38 is connected to the etching solution supply device by a pipe. The liquid receiving plate 42 is disposed so that its horizontal plate surface is parallel to the inclined surface of the substrate W supported by the roller conveyor 18. Therefore, the liquid receiving plate 42 is disposed such that the plate surface forms an angle equivalent to the inclination angle of the roller shaft 24 of the transport roller 16, that is, an angle of 5 ° to 20 ° with respect to the horizontal plane.

  In the etching apparatus having the above-described configuration, when the substrate W after the development processing is carried into the processing tank 10 through the substrate carry-in entrance 12, the substrate W is supported in an inclined posture by the roller conveyor 18. While being reciprocated in the processing tank 10, the etching solution is supplied from the etching solution supply unit 20 to the surface of the substrate W during this time. The etchant supplied from the etchant supply unit 20 to the upper edge of the substrate W in the tilt direction flows down along the tilt on the surface of the substrate W, and the etchant is supplied to the entire surface of the substrate W. Then, the substrate W is etched. At this time, in the etching solution supply unit 20, the etching solution discharged from the plurality of discharge ports 40 of the spray pipe 38 once flows down on the liquid receiving plate 42, and the upper end of the substrate W on the liquid receiving plate 42. After being spread evenly in the direction along the side, it flows down to the upper side edge of the substrate W and is supplied to the surface of the substrate W. Therefore, the etching solution is uniformly supplied to the surface of the substrate W, and the etching process is uniformly performed.

  Further, since the plate surface of the liquid receiving plate 42 is arranged in parallel with the inclined surface of the substrate W supported by the roller conveyor 18, the liquid receiving plate 42 is discharged from the discharge port 40 of the spray pipe 38 onto the liquid receiving plate 42. Then, the etching solution that has flowed down on the liquid receiving plate 42 flows out from the front end side portion of the liquid receiving plate 42 in the direction along the surface of the substrate W and is supplied to the upper side end portion of the substrate W. For this reason, the etching liquid is deposited on the upper side edge of the substrate W and changes the direction of the flow without changing the direction of the flow. Flow down. Accordingly, the flow rate of the etching solution is substantially constant over the entire surface from the upper side edge to the lower side edge of the substrate W, and the etching process is performed uniformly. When the etching process of the substrate W is completed, the substrate W is unloaded from the processing tank 10 through the substrate unloading port 14.

  In the above-described embodiment, the length of the etching solution supply unit 20 is made longer than the dimension of the substrate W in the transport direction, and the substrate W is moved back and forth in the processing tank 10 by the roller conveyor 18 while the etching solution is supplied. Although the etching solution is supplied from the supply unit 20 to the surface of the substrate W, the substrate W may be transported only in one direction without reciprocating in the processing tank 10, or the etching solution supply unit 20. May be shorter than the dimension of the substrate W. Further, the length of the etching solution supply unit 20 is made equal to the size of the substrate W, and the substrate W carried into the processing tank 10 is temporarily stopped while being supported by the roller conveyor 18, and in this state, the etching solution supply unit An etching solution may be supplied from 20 to the surface of the substrate W to perform an etching process, and after the etching process is completed, the roller conveyor 18 may be driven again to carry the substrate W out of the processing tank 10.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the spray pipe 38 having a simple configuration in which a plurality of through holes are formed in the pipe is used as the etching solution discharge means, but a general spray nozzle is used. May be. Moreover, you may use the slit nozzle in which the slit-shaped discharge port was formed. Furthermore, a spray pipe 38 and a spray nozzle or shower nozzle may be used in combination.

1 is a side view showing a configuration of a main part of a substrate etching apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an etching solution supply unit that is a component of the etching apparatus shown in FIG. 1. 1 is a plan view schematically showing a schematic configuration of an etching apparatus according to the present invention. It is a side view which shows the structure of the principal part of the conventional etching apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

W substrate 10 treatment tank 12 substrate carry-in port of treatment tank 14 substrate carry-out port of treatment tank 16 transport roller 18 roller conveyor 20 etching solution supply unit 24 roller shaft 26 central roller 28, 30 side roller 34, 36 collar 38 for spraying Pipe 40 Discharge port 42 Liquid receiving plate

Claims (3)

A substrate support / conveying means for supporting the rectangular substrate by inclining it with respect to the horizontal plane, and conveying the substrate in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the inclination direction;
An etching solution is supplied to the upper side edge in the inclination direction of the surface of the substrate supported by the substrate support / conveying means, and the etching solution is supplied from the upper side edge to the lower side edge on the substrate surface. Etching solution supply means to flow down to the part,
In a substrate etching apparatus comprising:
The etching solution supply means;
Etching solution discharge means disposed in parallel with the upper side edge of the substrate and having a plurality of discharge ports or slit-shaped discharge ports formed over the entire length in the length direction;
Etching solution discharging means having a plate surface disposed in parallel to the etching solution discharging means and directly parallel to the inclined surface of the substrate supported by the substrate supporting / conveying means. The liquid receiving plate that receives the etching solution discharged from the discharge port of the substrate on the plate surface, spreads the etching solution uniformly in the direction along the upper side edge of the substrate, and then flows the etching solution down to the upper side edge of the substrate When,
An etching apparatus for a substrate, comprising: 2. The substrate etching apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the etching solution discharge means is formed by arranging a plurality of through holes in a pipe in the length direction. The length of the etching liquid supply means is longer than the dimension of the substrate in the transport direction, and the substrate is reciprocated within the installation range of the etching liquid supply means by the substrate support / transport means. Item 3. A substrate etching apparatus according to Item 2.

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