JP2012151258A - Substrate processing apparatus, and substrate processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

In a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method for heating while transporting a substrate, a technique for improving the thermal uniformity of the substrate is provided.
When a front end surface of a substrate 9 passes through an upstream end portion of a high temperature heating plate 11, the height in the vicinity of the front end surface of the substrate 9 is switched to an upper position that is above a transfer position (lowering position). . Thereafter, the substrate 9 is transported at the transport position, and when the rear end surface of the substrate 9 passes the downstream end of the high-temperature heating plate 11, the height near the rear end surface of the substrate 9 is switched to the upper position again. As a result, the front end surface and the rear end surface of the substrate 9 are transported in a state where they are not easily affected by the heat from the high temperature heating plate 11. For this reason, the amount of heat given from the high temperature heating plate 11 to the front end face and the rear end face of the substrate 9 is suppressed. As a result, the thermal uniformity of the substrate 9 is improved.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method for heating a substrate while transporting the substrate.

  Glass substrates for liquid crystal display devices, substrates for organic EL (Electro Luminescence) displays, semiconductor wafers, glass substrates for PDP, flexible substrates for film liquid crystals, substrates for photomasks, substrates for color filters, substrates for recording disks, substrates for solar cells In the manufacturing process of the substrate for precision electronic devices such as the substrate for electronic paper, the substrate is appropriately heated. For example, in a photolithography process of a substrate, after a resist solution is applied to the surface of the substrate, heat treatment is performed on the substrate in order to improve adhesion between the surface of the substrate and the resist.

  A conventional substrate processing apparatus used for such heat treatment is disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example.

JP 2008-16543 A

  In paragraphs 0066 to 0093 of Patent Document 1, a substrate processing apparatus including a plurality of plates having heaters and a transport mechanism that transports the substrate along the upper surface of the plate is described. The substrate processing apparatus heats the substrate with heat from the plate while transporting the substrate along the upper surfaces of the plurality of plates.

  However, in this way, in the substrate processing apparatus that heats the substrate while transporting, the vicinity of the front end portion (end on the downstream side in the transport direction) and the vicinity of the rear end portion (end on the upstream side in the transport direction) of the substrate Heated more easily than other parts. This is because the vicinity of the front end portion and the rear end portion of the substrate receives heat not only from the lower surface of the substrate but also by heated air on the upstream side and the downstream side of the substrate. Therefore, when the substrate is transported at a constant speed on a plate having a constant temperature, the temperatures near the front end and the rear end of the substrate tend to be higher than those at the center of the substrate.

  In order to suppress such temperature unevenness, it is preferable to reduce the amount of heat applied to the vicinity of the front end portion and the rear end portion of the substrate. However, it is difficult to temporarily reduce the temperature of the plate only when the vicinity of the front end portion and the vicinity of the rear end portion of the substrate passes because high responsiveness is required for heating and cooling the plate itself.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for improving the thermal uniformity of a substrate in a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method for heating a substrate while transporting the substrate.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, a first invention of the present application is a substrate processing apparatus that heats a substrate while transporting the substrate from the upstream side to the downstream side, a heating unit that applies heat to the substrate, and a substrate along the heating unit Transporting means for transporting the substrate, and the transporting means can switch the distance between the substrate and the heating unit in at least two stages, a first distance and a second distance larger than the first distance. And at least when the front end of the substrate passes the upstream end of a predetermined heating region of the heating unit, the distance between the substrate and the heating unit is switched to the second distance. To do.

  A second invention of the present application is the substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transport unit is a roller transport mechanism that transports the substrate from the upstream side to the downstream side, and the roller transport mechanism is the substrate transport device. A conveying roller that applies a driving force to the substrate when the distance between the heating unit and the heating unit is a first distance, and an upper and lower roller that switches the distance between the substrate and the heating unit from a first distance to a second distance It is characterized by providing.

  A third invention of the present application is the substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the transport unit is configured to heat the substrate and the heating member for a predetermined time after the front end portion of the substrate passes through the upper and lower rollers. The distance to the part is maintained at the second distance.

  A fourth invention of the present application is the substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the transfer means further includes a rear end portion of the substrate at a downstream end portion of the heating region. When passing, the distance between the substrate and the heating unit is switched to the second distance.

  A fifth invention of the present application is the substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the transfer means has a rear end portion of the substrate that reaches a position upstream by a predetermined distance from a downstream end portion of the heating region. In this case, the distance between the substrate and the heating unit is switched from the first distance to the second distance.

  A sixth invention of the present application is the substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the heating unit is disposed on a downstream side of the flat plate-shaped high-temperature heating plate and the high-temperature plate. And a flat low temperature heating plate having a temperature lower than that of the high temperature heating plate, wherein the heating region is the high temperature heating plate.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the distance between the substrate and the heating unit is switched from at least two stages of the first distance and the second distance larger than the first distance, from the upstream side to the downstream side along the heating unit. A substrate processing method for heating a substrate by transporting the substrate to the substrate, at least when the front end portion of the substrate passes through an upstream end portion of a predetermined heating region of the heating portion. The distance from the heating unit is switched to the second distance.

  An eighth invention of the present application is the substrate processing method according to claim 7, wherein a step of switching a distance between the substrate and the heating unit from the first distance to the second distance, and the substrate and the heating unit. Maintaining the distance to the second distance for a predetermined time.

  A ninth invention of the present application is the substrate processing method according to claim 7 or claim 8, and further, when the rear end portion of the substrate passes the downstream end portion of the heating region, The distance from the heating unit is switched to the second distance.

  A tenth invention of the present application is the substrate processing method according to claim 9, wherein the rear end of the substrate reaches a position upstream by a predetermined distance from the downstream end of the heating region. The distance between the substrate and the heating unit is switched to the second distance.

  An eleventh invention of the present application is the substrate processing method according to any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein the heating unit is disposed on a downstream side of the flat plate-like high-temperature heating plate and the high-temperature plate. And a flat low temperature heating plate having a temperature lower than that of the high temperature heating plate, wherein the heating region is the high temperature heating plate.

  According to the first to twelfth inventions of the present application, it is possible to improve the thermal uniformity when heating the substrate while transporting it.

  In particular, according to the second invention, it is possible to reduce the influence of heat from the heating unit by raising the front end portion of the substrate by a simple method while conveying the substrate by the roller.

  In particular, according to the third and eighth aspects of the invention, it is possible to reduce the influence of heat from the heating part even in the vicinity of the front end part.

  In particular, according to the fourth and ninth inventions, it is possible to reduce the influence of heat from the heating section on the rear end portion of the substrate.

  In particular, according to the fifth and tenth inventions, it is possible to reduce the influence of heat from the heating part even in the vicinity of the rear end part.

  In particular, according to the sixth and eleventh inventions, it is possible to uniformly heat the entire surface of the substrate.

It is a perspective view of a substrate processing apparatus. It is a top view of a substrate processing apparatus. It is the partial side view of the substrate processing apparatus seen from the A direction of FIG. It is the fragmentary sectional view of the substrate processing apparatus seen from the B direction of FIG. It is the flowchart which showed the flow of the board | substrate process in a board | substrate front-end part. It is a schematic diagram explaining operation | movement of a substrate processing apparatus. It is a schematic diagram explaining operation | movement of a substrate processing apparatus. It is a schematic diagram explaining operation | movement of a substrate processing apparatus. It is a schematic diagram explaining operation | movement of a substrate processing apparatus. It is the flowchart which showed the flow of the board | substrate process in a board | substrate rear end part. It is a schematic diagram explaining operation | movement of a substrate processing apparatus. It is a schematic diagram explaining operation | movement of a substrate processing apparatus. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the surface temperature of a board | substrate, and a board | substrate position.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Hereinafter, the direction in which the substrate 9 is transported is referred to as “transport direction”, and the horizontal direction orthogonal to the transport direction is referred to as “width direction”.

  <1. Regarding the configuration of the substrate processing apparatus>

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a substrate processing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a top view of the substrate processing apparatus 1. The substrate processing apparatus 1 heat-treats the substrate 9 after resist application in a photolithography process for selectively etching the surface of a rectangular glass substrate 9 (hereinafter simply referred to as “substrate 9”) for a liquid crystal display device. It is a device for performing. The substrate processing apparatus 1 heats the substrate 9 while transporting the substrate 9 from the upstream side to the downstream side along a predetermined transport direction.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in the substrate processing apparatus 1, a plurality of heating plates 10 are arranged along the substrate transport direction. The heating plate 10 is further adjusted to correspond to the high temperature heating plate 11 and the low temperature heating plate 12, but the structure is the same and only the set temperature is different. In FIG. 1, for convenience of illustration, only two heating plates are depicted, but actually, as shown in FIG. 2, it is composed of one high temperature heating plate and two low temperature heating plates.

  Each of these heating plates 10 is formed in a rectangular flat plate shape that is long in the width direction, and is fixed by a side plate 15. Inside each heating plate 11, 12, a thin plate heater (not shown) is embedded on the back surface of each heating plate. When the heater is energized, the temperature of each heating plate 10 rises due to the heat generated by the heater. The substrate 9 transported along the upper surface of each heating plate 10 is heated by receiving radiant heat and convection heat from the upper surface of each heating plate 10.

  The high temperature heating plate 11 serves to heat the substrate 9 and rapidly increase the temperature of the substrate 9 to a temperature close to the target temperature. The temperature of the upper surface of the high temperature heating plate 11 is set to a temperature higher than the target temperature of the substrate 9. For example, the temperature of the upper surface of the high temperature heating plate 11 is set to a Celsius temperature that is 1.5 to 3 times the target Celsius temperature of the substrate 9.

  The two low temperature heating plates 12 are arranged on the downstream side in the conveying direction of the high temperature heating plate 11. The low temperature heating plate 12 serves to heat the substrate 9 and maintain the temperature of the substrate 9 at a target temperature. The temperature of the upper surface of the low temperature heating plate 12 is set to a temperature lower than the temperature of the upper surface of the high temperature heating plate 11. For example, the temperature of the upper surface of the low-temperature heating plate 12 is set to a Celsius temperature that is 1 to 1.3 times the target Celsius temperature of the substrate 9.

  That is, the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment has a heating unit constituted by three heating plates 11, 12, and 12. The high temperature heating plate 11 constitutes a heating area for rapidly heating the substrate 9, and the low temperature heating plate 12 constitutes a heating area for stably maintaining the temperature of the substrate 9.

  A plurality of support rollers 20 are arranged on the upper surface of the heating plate 10 at intervals in the width direction and the longitudinal direction. The support roller 20 is partially accommodated in a recess or a through hole provided on the upper surface of each heating plate 10. The upper end portion of the support roller 20 protrudes above the upper surface of each heating plate 10.

  The support roller 20 is further classified into an upper and lower roller 21, a transport roller 22, and a carry-in roller 23. The upper and lower rollers are arranged only on the high temperature heating plate 11 and are arranged alternately with the row of the conveying rollers 22. The vertical mechanism of the vertical roller will be described later.

  The transport roller 22 is disposed on the high temperature heating plate 11 and the low temperature heating plate 12 and has a function of transporting the substrate 9 in the transport direction when the transport roller 22 rotates.

  The carry-in roller 23 is used to carry the substrate into the substrate processing apparatus 1 and is disposed at a carry-in position on the upstream side of the high-temperature heating plate 11.

  Each support roller 20 is connected by a respective rotation shaft, and is supported by the side plate 15 so as to be rotatable in the substrate transport direction. By arranging such support rollers 20 along the transport direction, the substrate 9 can be transported while being supported in a direction along the upper surface of the heating plate 10.

  FIG. 3 is a partial side view for explaining the drive mechanism 30. A drive mechanism 30 for driving each support roller 20 is disposed on the side plate 15.

  A vertical motor 31 and a drive motor 32 are disposed on the side plate 15 at a position corresponding to the high temperature heating plate 11. Only the drive motor 32 is disposed on the low-temperature heating plate 12 and the side plate 15 at a position corresponding to the carry-in position. Here, representatively, the position corresponding to the high temperature heating plate 11 will be described.

  The transport roller 22 is supported by the side plate 15 so as to be rotatable about the transport roller shaft 221. Similarly, the transport roller 22 includes a transport roller gear 222 centered on the transport roller shaft 221. The drive motor 32 is connected to the transport roller gear 222 by a drive belt 325. Further, the conveyance roller 22 on the right side in the figure is connected by a drive motor 32 and a drive belt 325 via an intermediate roller 322.

  In addition, although illustration is abbreviate | omitted, the carrying-in roller 23 arrange | positioned in the carrying-in position and the conveyance roller 22 arrange | positioned at the low temperature heating plate 12 are similarly connected by the drive motor 32 and the drive belt 325.

  The drive motor 32 is electrically connected to the control unit 50 as conceptually shown in FIG. The control unit 50 is configured by a computer having a CPU and a memory. The control unit 50 can perform on / off switching of the drive motor 32 and control of the rotation speed of the drive motor 32 by electrically controlling the drive motor 32.

  When the drive motor 32 is operated according to a command from the control unit 50, the plurality of transport rollers 22 are rotated in the same direction by the rotational driving force generated from the drive motor 32. The carry-in roller 23 also rotates in the same direction. Therefore, the substrate 9 placed on the transport roller 22 or the carry-in roller 23 is transported from the upstream side to the downstream side in the transport direction by the rotation of the rollers 22 and 23.

  FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view seen from B in FIG. 2 for explaining the vertical mechanism of the vertical roller 21. The vertical motor 31 disposed on the side plate 15 is driven around the vertical motor shaft 311, and an eccentric cam 312 is connected to the vertical motor shaft 311 at a position corresponding to the vertical roller 21. A flange 313 is disposed so as to contact the upper surface of the eccentric cam 312.

  Since the flange 313 is connected to the high temperature heating plate 11 so as to be movable in the vertical direction, the flange 313 is moved up and down by the rotational movement of the eccentric cam 312. An upper and lower roller shaft 211 is fixed to the upper portion of the flange 313, and the upper and lower rollers 21 rotate around the upper and lower roller shaft 211.

  Similarly to the drive motor 32, the vertical motor 31 is electrically connected to the control unit 50. When the vertical motor 311 is rotated by a command from the control unit 50, the vertical motor 31 is driven by the rotational driving force generated by the vertical motor 311. The roller 21 is moved to the raised position and the lowered position.

  Further, the upper and lower rollers 21 arranged in the width direction of the substrate processing apparatus 1 are arranged around the same upper and lower roller shaft 211 and move up and down as a whole while maintaining the same height. Each of the upper and lower rollers 21 is freely rotatable with respect to the substrate transport direction. Therefore, when the upper and lower rollers 21 are moved to the ascending position by a command from the control unit 50, the substrate 9 transported on the upper surface of the heating plate 10 is transported in the transport direction with a part of the substrate 9 being pushed upward. The

  That is, in the present embodiment, the support roller 20, the drive mechanism 30, and the control unit 50 constitute a transport unit that transports the substrate 9 along the upper surface of the heating plate 10.

  The control unit 50 of the present embodiment can switch the upper and lower rollers between the raised position and the lowered position by rotating the vertical motor 31. When processing the substrate 9, the control unit 50 controls the drive mechanism 30 according to a preset program or data, thereby controlling the amount of heat received from the heating plate 10 while transporting the substrate 9. The substrate 9 is heated uniformly.

  <2. Regarding the processing operation of the substrate processing apparatus 1>

  Next, the flow of processing of the front end portion of the substrate in the substrate processing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a substrate processing flow in the substrate processing apparatus 1. 6 to 9 are partial side views of the substrate processing apparatus 1 showing changes in the processing position of the substrate.

  The substrate 9 that has been processed in the previous process and is carried into the apparatus 1 is first carried by the carry-in roller 23 (step S11). Specifically, the control unit 50 rotates the plurality of carry-in rollers 23 by operating the drive motor 32. Thereby, the board | substrate 9 on the carrying-in roller 23 is conveyed toward the conveyance direction downstream. In the present embodiment, the substrate 9 is conveyed at a conveyance speed of 3 m to 5 m / min.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the front end portion of the substrate 9 is the upper and lower rollers 21a of the high-temperature heating plate 11 (here, the upper and lower rollers on the upstream side in the transport direction will be described separately with reference to 21a and the upper and lower rollers 21b on the downstream side. (Step S12), the controller 50 operates the vertical motor 31 to move the vertical roller 21a to the raised position (Step S13). Specifically, the raising operation of the vertical motor 31 is started immediately before the front end of the substrate 9 reaches the center of the vertical roller 21a. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the temporal and positional front and back are appropriately determined. Selected.

  The movement of the upper and lower rollers 21 from the lowered position to the raised position is performed over about 1 second, thereby preventing a sudden bending stress from acting on the substrate 9. Further, the moving distance from the lowered position to the raised position is appropriately adjusted between 1 mm and 10 mm.

  Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 7, the transport of the substrate 9 by the carry-in roller 23 is continued with the upper and lower rollers 21 a maintained in the raised position. Specifically, the raised position is maintained for about 1 second after the raising of the upper and lower rollers 21a is completed (step S14). Meanwhile, the front end portion of the substrate 9 passes above the drive roller 22 on the downstream side in the transport direction of the upper and lower rollers 21a.

  Thereafter, the control unit 50 gives a command to the vertical motor 31 and moves the vertical roller 21a to the lowered position (step S14). As shown in FIG. 8, when the upper and lower rollers 21a are lowered, the front end portion of the substrate 9 is conveyed to just before the upper and lower rollers 21b (step S16).

  As shown in FIG. 9, when the front end of the substrate 9 reaches the upper and lower rollers 21b, the upper and lower rollers 21b move to the raised and lowered positions in the same manner as the upper and lower rollers 21a, and the same steps are repeated thereafter (step S12). To S15).

  Thereafter, the controller 50 continues to transport the substrate 9 with the upper and lower rollers 21 maintained at the lower position. Therefore, the upper and lower rollers 21 maintain the height position of the substrate 9 while rotating at the same height as the conveying rollers 22.

  Next, the flow of processing at the rear end of the substrate in the substrate processing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a substrate processing flow in the substrate processing apparatus 1. 11 and 12 are partial side views of the substrate processing apparatus 1 showing changes in the processing position of the substrate.

  As shown in FIG. 11, when the rear end of the substrate 9 reaches a predetermined position with respect to the upper and lower rollers 21a of the high temperature heating plate (step S21), the control unit 50 operates the upper and lower motors 31 to move the upper and lower rollers 21a. Move to the raised position (step S22). Specifically, when the rear end of the substrate 9 reaches a position 150 mm from the center of the upper and lower rollers 21a, the raising operation of the upper and lower motors 31 is started.

  Thereafter, when the rear end portion of the substrate 9 passes the position of the upper and lower rollers 21a (step S23), the control unit 50 gives a command to the upper and lower motors 31 and moves the upper and lower rollers 21a to the lowered position (step S24). As shown in FIG. 12, when the upper and lower rollers 21a are lowered, the substrate 9 is supported by the drive roller 22 and is conveyed toward the downstream in the conveying direction. When the rear end of the substrate 9 reaches the upper and lower rollers 21b, the upper and lower rollers 21b move to the raised and lowered positions in the same manner as the upper and lower rollers 21a, and the same steps are repeated thereafter (steps S21 to S24).

  When the substrate 9 is heated from the lower surface while being transported, the front end portion of the substrate 9 is also heated from the space upstream in the transport direction. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 13a, between the substrate front end portions X0 to X1 In comparison with the central part of the substrate, it tends to be heated. As a result, when the surface temperature of the central portion of the substrate is heated to T0, the front end portion is heated to around T1 where the temperature is higher than T0. This effect is the same for the rear end of the substrate.

  As in the present invention, when the front end and the rear end of the substrate pass over the high temperature heating plate 11, the influence of the radiant heat from the heating plate is reduced by increasing the distance between the upper surface of the plate and the lower surface of the substrate. Can do. As a result, as shown in FIG. 13b, the surface temperature of the front end portion of the substrate decreases to T2, which is closer to T0 than T1, and the surface temperature of the substrate 9 becomes uniform.

  <3. Modification>

  Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

  In the above embodiment, the substrate 9 is heated by the high-temperature heating plate 11 and the two low-temperature heating plates 12, but the present invention is not limited to this, and even if the two high-temperature heating plates 11 are arranged. Well, the number of low temperature heating plates is not limited to this. The entire heating plate 10 may be constituted by a single heating plate. For example, a high temperature heating region and a low temperature heating region may be provided in one heating plate. Moreover, the heating part of this invention may be comprised only with one high temperature heating plate. Further, the heating unit of the present invention may be one in which a plurality of rod-like or spherical heating elements such as lamp heaters are arranged.

  The vertical mechanism of the vertical roller 21 is a vertical mechanism using the vertical motor 31 and the cam 312, but is not limited thereto. The upper and lower rollers 21 may be moved up and down using a linear motion mechanism such as a cylinder.

  Further, the transport roller 22 and the upper and lower rollers 21 are continuously arranged so as to be adjacent to each other. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the upper and lower rollers 21 are inserted after the transport rollers 22 continue in two rows. May be. In the embodiment, the intervals between the rollers are equal, but the pitch may be changed.

  In the embodiment, the vertical speed of the upper and lower rollers 21 is relatively faster than the transport speed of the substrate 9. For this reason, after the upstream side upper and lower rollers 21a are raised and lowered, the downstream side upper and lower rollers 21b start to rise. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Specifically, after the upstream upper and lower rollers 21a are raised, the raised state is maintained for a predetermined time longer than that of the embodiment, and before the upper and lower rollers 21a start descending, the front end portion of the substrate 9 is The upper and lower rollers 21b may be raised by reaching the roller 21b. In this way, the amount of heat received from the high temperature heating plate 11 by the front end portion of the substrate 9 can be further reduced.

  In the above embodiment, the substrate 9 is transported by the plurality of transport rollers 22 and the transport rollers 23. However, the transport means of the present invention may transport the substrate 9 by other methods. For example, the substrate 9 may be transported by holding both side edges of the substrate 9 with a predetermined holding member and moving the holding member downstream in the transport direction.

  In addition, the substrate processing apparatus 1 described above is an apparatus that heats a rectangular glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device. However, the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention includes an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display substrate, a semiconductor wafer, and a PDP. Other substrates such as a glass substrate, a film liquid crystal flexible substrate, a photomask substrate, a color filter substrate, a recording disk substrate, a solar cell substrate, and an electronic paper substrate may be heated.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Substrate processing apparatus 9 Substrate 10 Heating plate 11 High temperature heating plate 12 Low temperature heating plate 15 Side plate 20 Support roller 21 Vertical roller 22 Conveyance roller 23 Carry-in roller 30 Drive mechanism 31 Vertical motor 32 Drive motor 50 Control part 211 Vertical roller shaft 221 Conveyance roller Shaft 222 Transport roller gear 311 Vertical motor shaft 312 Cam 313 Flange 322 Intermediate roller 325 Drive belt X0, X1 Position T0, T1, T2 Substrate surface temperature

Claims (11)

A substrate processing apparatus for heating while conveying a substrate from an upstream side to a downstream side,
A heating unit for applying heat to the substrate;
Transport means for transporting the substrate along the heating unit;
With
The transport means can switch the distance between the substrate and the heating unit in at least two stages of a first distance and a second distance larger than the first distance,
At least the distance between the substrate and the heating unit is switched to the second distance when the front end of the substrate passes an upstream end of a predetermined heating region of the heating unit. Processing equipment. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The transport means is a roller transport mechanism that transports the substrate from the upstream side to the downstream side,
The roller transport mechanism is configured to reduce a distance between the substrate and the heating unit from a first distance, and a transport roller that applies a driving force to the substrate when the distance between the substrate and the heating unit is a first distance A substrate processing apparatus comprising an upper and lower roller that switches to a second distance. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2,
The substrate processing is characterized in that the transport means maintains the distance between the substrate and the heating unit at the second distance for a predetermined time after the front end portion of the substrate passes through the upper and lower rollers. apparatus. A substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The transport means further switches the distance between the substrate and the heating unit to the second distance when the rear end of the substrate passes the downstream end of the heating region. Substrate processing equipment. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4,
When the rear end portion of the substrate reaches a position upstream of the downstream end portion of the heating region by a predetermined distance, the transfer means changes the distance between the substrate and the heating portion from the first distance to the second distance. A substrate processing apparatus characterized by switching to a distance. A substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein
The heating unit is
A flat high-temperature heating plate;
A flat plate-like low-temperature heating plate disposed downstream of the high-temperature plate and having a temperature lower than that of the high-temperature heating plate;
Including
The substrate processing apparatus, wherein the heating region is the high temperature heating plate. By transporting the substrate from the upstream side to the downstream side along the heating unit while switching the distance between the substrate and the heating unit to at least two stages of a first distance and a second distance larger than the first distance. A substrate processing method for heating a substrate,
The substrate processing characterized by switching the distance between the substrate and the heating unit to the second distance at least when the front end of the substrate passes the upstream end of the predetermined heating region of the heating unit. Method. The substrate processing method according to claim 7, comprising:
Switching the distance between the substrate and the heating unit from the first distance to the second distance;
Maintaining a distance between the substrate and the heating unit at a second distance for a predetermined time;
A substrate processing method comprising: The substrate processing method according to claim 7 or 8, wherein
Furthermore, when the rear end portion of the substrate passes the downstream end portion of the heating region, the distance between the substrate and the heating portion is switched to the second distance. The substrate processing method according to claim 9, comprising:
When the rear end of the substrate reaches a position upstream by a predetermined distance from the downstream end of the heating region, the distance between the substrate and the heating unit is switched to the second distance. Substrate processing method. A substrate processing method according to any one of claims 7 to 10, comprising:
The heating unit is
A flat high-temperature heating plate;
A flat plate-like low-temperature heating plate disposed downstream of the high-temperature plate and having a temperature lower than that of the high-temperature heating plate;
Including
The substrate processing method, wherein the heating region is the high temperature heating plate.

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