JP2018073872A - Etching apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an etching apparatus which performs etching of a processed substrate, such as a glass substrate, while transporting, and capable of transporting a thin processed substrate suitably.SOLUTION: An etching apparatus 10 jets an etchant for a processed substrate being transported in a prescribed direction. The etching apparatus 10 includes at least a transport roller 30, and multiple processing chambers 14, 161-163 and 18. The transport rollers 30 are arranged at regular intervals, so as to transport a glass substrate 24 in the horizontal direction. The processing chambers are coupled in the transport direction of the glass substrate 24. Furthermore, in at least one processing chamber 18 located on the most downstream side, out of the multiple processing chambers, the transport roller 30 is located at a lower position than that of the pre-stage processing chamber 163.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an etching apparatus for a substrate to be processed such as a glass substrate, and more particularly to an etching apparatus capable of suitably transporting a thin substrate to be processed.

  In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for thinning of flat panel displays such as liquid crystal displays. In the manufacturing process of a flat panel display, it is manufactured by sealing functional layers necessary for image display such as a liquid crystal layer with two glass substrates. In order to provide a thin display, it is effective to thin the glass substrate by an etching process.

  As the etching process, a wet etching process in which a glass substrate is brought into contact with an etching solution is generally employed. The wet etching process is roughly classified into single-wafer etching and immersion etching. Single wafer etching is a method in which an etching solution is sprayed onto a glass substrate being transported using a spray or the like. Immersion etching is processed by immersing a jig holding a plurality of glass substrates in an etching bath containing an etching solution. In particular, single-wafer etching is more advantageous for etching a large glass substrate than immersion etching, and the demand for single-wafer etching has increased in recent years.

  However, as the thickness of the glass substrate has been reduced by such an etching process, it has become difficult to handle the glass substrate in the manufacturing process. In particular, when the thickness of the glass substrate is less than 0.3 mm, the strength of the glass substrate is lowered, and the glass substrate may be damaged in the display manufacturing process.

  Therefore, there has been a transport mechanism configured to dispose a ring-shaped member having a large diameter on the outer peripheral surface of the transport roller (see, for example, Patent Document 1). According to this technique, the contact area between the glass substrate and the transport roller can be reduced by the ring-shaped member, so that the glass substrate can be prevented from being damaged or broken. For this reason, it has been said that the glass substrate can be stably conveyed during the etching process or in other manufacturing processes.

JP 2010-083596 A

  However, it may be difficult to prevent a conveyance failure in the etching apparatus with only the conveyance mechanism as described above. When a glass substrate is processed with a single-wafer etching apparatus, the glass substrate may be bent during transportation due to its own weight. If the glass substrate bends during the etching process, the glass substrate may be damaged by being pinched or dropped between the transport rollers. In addition, the broken glass substrate may affect the transport mechanism of the etching apparatus, and the apparatus may have to be stopped. As described above, when processing a thin glass substrate, there is a possibility that a problem inherent in the single-wafer etching apparatus may occur. Therefore, an etching apparatus having a stable transfer mechanism has been demanded.

  The objective of this invention is providing the etching apparatus which can convey the to-be-processed substrate with thin board | plate thickness suitably.

  An etching apparatus according to the present invention is an etching apparatus configured to inject an etching solution onto a substrate to be processed that is transported in a predetermined direction. This etching apparatus includes at least a transfer roller and a plurality of processing chambers. The transport rollers are arranged at regular intervals so as to transport the substrate to be processed in the horizontal direction. The processing chambers are connected along the transfer direction of the substrate to be processed. Furthermore, in at least one processing chamber located on the most downstream side, the conveying roller is disposed at a lower position than the conveying roller of the preceding processing chamber. When the transport roller is arranged at a low position, for example, when the front end of the substrate to be processed is bent due to thinning, the bent front end can be lifted by the peripheral surface of the transport roller on the rear stage side. It is better to lower the position of the transport roller on the rear stage side so that Usually, since the substrate to be processed is thinnest at the most downstream position, the arrangement position of the transport roller is lowered in the processing chamber at the most downstream position. A similar configuration may be adopted.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to suitably transport a substrate to be processed whose thickness is gradually reduced by etching and becomes difficult to handle. In particular, in the etching process, since the thickness of the substrate to be processed is sufficiently secured at the beginning, the substrate can be transported suitably. However, the thickness decreases as the etching process proceeds. In the present invention, even if it is a post-processing chamber for processing a substrate having a thin plate thickness, the substrate to be processed can be suitably supported by disposing the transport roller at a low position.

  Further, the substrate to be processed is a glass substrate, the interval between the conveyance rollers is 30 to 80 mm, and the conveyance roller arranged at a low position has an inclination angle of 4 to 10 ° with respect to the conveyance direction of the substrate to be processed. It is preferable to be arranged so as to fall within the range. By setting within this range, it is possible to lift the front end of the glass substrate that has been thinned and bent by the etching process on the peripheral surface of the transport roller disposed at a low position as described above.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it becomes possible to provide the etching apparatus which can convey the to-be-processed substrate with thin board | plate thickness suitably.

1 is a schematic side view of an etching apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure shown about the drive mechanism of a conveyance roller. It is a figure which shows the slide mechanism of a spray unit. It is a figure shown about the conveyance roller of a post-washing chamber. It is a figure which shows the mode of conveyance of a glass substrate.

  From here, one Embodiment of this invention is described using drawing. FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of an etching apparatus 10 according to this embodiment. The etching apparatus 10 includes a carry-in unit 12, a pre-rinsing chamber 14, a first etching chamber 161 to a third etching chamber 163, a post-rinsing chamber 18, a drying chamber 20, and a carry-out unit 22.

  The carry-in unit 12 is configured to introduce the glass substrate 24 into the etching apparatus 10 by placing the glass substrate 24 as a substrate to be processed on the transport roller 30. The glass substrate 24 is etched by passing through each chamber while being transported in the horizontal direction by the transport roller 30, and is etched until a desired plate thickness is obtained. The glass substrate 24 is sequentially put into the etching apparatus 10 with a predetermined interval.

  The conveyance roller 30 is arrange | positioned at fixed intervals along the conveyance direction of the glass substrate 24, and is comprised so that it may convey by supporting the glass substrate 24 from the downward direction. The conveyance roller 30 has a cylindrical shape, and a drive shaft 32 extends from both ends thereof. The drive shaft 32 has a driven gear 34 at its tip. The driven gear 34 is configured to contact the worm gear 36. The worm gear 36 is disposed on the rotary shaft 38 at a position corresponding to the transport roller 30. The rotation shaft 38 is disposed along the conveyance direction of the glass substrate 24 and is configured to rotate by a drive motor (not shown). The rotation of the rotation shaft 38 is transmitted to the conveyance roller 30 via the worm gear 36 and the driven gear 34, whereby the conveyance roller 30 rotates. As shown in FIG. 2, the rotating shaft 38 is provided so as to penetrate a plurality of processing chambers. For this reason, it becomes possible to drive the conveyance rollers 30 of a plurality of chambers with one drive motor. The drive motor is disposed in a region isolated from each processing chamber so as not to be contaminated by the acid atmosphere of the etching solution. The conveyance speed of the glass substrate 24 is preferably set as appropriate in consideration of the size and thickness of the glass substrate, the jetting pressure of the etching solution, the composition of the etching solution, and the like.

  The pre-rinsing chamber 14 is disposed at the rear stage of the carry-in unit 12. The pre-rinsing chamber 14 is configured to inject cleaning liquid from the spray units 40 disposed above and below the transport roller 30 onto the glass substrate 24 transported by the transport roller 30. If the etching solution is brought into contact with the dried glass substrate, the glass substrate may become cloudy. For this reason, the etching apparatus 10 is configured to inject the cleaning liquid at the front stage of the etching chamber. In this embodiment, city water is used as the cleaning liquid.

  The first etching chamber 161, the second etching chamber 162, and the third etching chamber 163 have substantially the same configuration, and are configured to inject an etching solution onto the glass substrate 24 being transferred. Each processing chamber is separated by a partition as shown in FIG. 2, and a slit 42 through which the glass substrate 24 passes is provided. In the etching chamber, spray units 40 are arranged above and below the transport roller 30, and an etching solution is sprayed from the spray unit 40. The spray unit 40 has a plurality of spray nozzles 402 disposed on the liquid feed pipe 401 and is configured so that the etching liquid is sprayed uniformly onto the glass substrate 24. Further, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the spray unit 40 is supported so as to be slidable in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction. By reciprocating the spray unit 40, it is possible to spray the etching solution uniformly on the glass substrate 24 and prevent the etching solution from staying on the upper surface of the glass substrate 24. The arrangement of the spray unit 40 and the number of spray nozzles 402 can be changed as appropriate according to the size of the substrate to be processed and the etching amount.

  Note that the etching solution in the present embodiment contains at least hydrofluoric acid, and may contain an inorganic acid such as hydrochloric acid or sulfuric acid, or a surfactant. The composition and temperature of the etching solution can be appropriately changed according to the etching amount and the substrate to be processed. The etching apparatus 10 has three etching chambers, but the number of etching chambers can be changed in consideration of the substrate to be processed, the installation location, and the like.

  The interval between the conveying rollers 30 in the processing chamber is preferably set to 30 to 80 mm. If the distance between the transport rollers 30 is less than 30 mm, the etching liquid sprayed from below is difficult to contact the glass substrate 24, and the etching process may not be performed suitably. Moreover, when the space | interval of the conveyance roller 30 exceeds 80 mm, it will become difficult to convey the glass substrate with which plate | board thickness became thin. In particular, it has been found by the applicant's experiment that a glass substrate thinned to less than 0.2 mm is easily bent during conveyance.

  The post-rinsing chamber 18 is disposed at the rear stage of the third etching chamber 163. The post-rinsing chamber 18 is configured to wash away the etching solution by spraying the cleaning solution onto the glass substrate 24 from above and below in the same manner as the pre-washing chamber 14. As the cleaning liquid, city water is used in the same manner as in the pre-wash chamber 14.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the transport roller 30 disposed in the post-rinsing chamber 18 is disposed at a position lower than the transport roller 30 disposed in the third etching chamber 163. The shape of the conveying roller 30 in the post-wash chamber 18 is the same as that of the preceding conveying roller, but the drive mechanism is preferably separated. This is because the height of the rotary shaft 38 is low, and it is difficult to control with a single drive motor.

  The thinned glass substrate 24 may be bent at the connecting portion between the third etching chamber 163 and the post-rinsing chamber 18, and may fall between the transport rollers 30. For this reason, it becomes possible to favorably support the bent glass substrate 24 by disposing the conveying roller 30 of the post-water washing chamber 18 by a predetermined amount. When the glass substrate 24 passes through the stepped portion, as shown in FIG. 5A, the front end of the glass substrate 24 comes into contact with the peripheral surface of the transport roller 30 and is transported by being lifted by the rotation of the transport roller. The

  Further, it is preferable that the spray unit 42 disposed in the post-water washing chamber 18 controls the placement position and the spraying pressure of the cleaning liquid according to the position of the transport roller 30. Furthermore, it is preferable to change the arrangement of the slits 42 between the third etching chamber 163 and the post-rinsing chamber 18 according to the height of the transport roller 30.

  The drying chamber 20 is connected to the post-rinsing chamber 18 and is configured to blow air onto the main surface of the glass substrate 24 by the air knife 201 to dry the glass substrate 24. The conveying roller 30 of the drying chamber 20 is configured to have the same height as the post-rinsing chamber 18. In addition to the air knife 201, the squeezing roller can be pressed against the main surface of the glass substrate 24 to perform the drying process. The glass substrate 24 subjected to the drying process is carried out by the carry-out unit 22. The glass substrate 24 subjected to the etching process is appropriately processed in a subsequent process.

  The reason why the transport roller 30 of the post-wash chamber 18 is arranged at a low position is that there are restrictions such as the arrangement of the driving unit and ensuring the water-tightness and air-tightness of the etching apparatus 10 at the connecting portion of each chamber, and a thin glass substrate This is because it is difficult to dispose the conveying rollers 30 at intervals necessary for conveying the toner. Although the interval between the conveying rollers in the processing chamber can be set as appropriate, the arrangement interval of the conveying rollers 30 in the connecting portion is larger than that in the processing chamber for the reasons described above. In the present invention, the connecting portion refers to a region between the transport roller 30 disposed at both ends in the transport direction and the partition wall provided with the slits 42 in the transport roller disposed in the processing chamber. Indicates. For this reason, when processing a glass substrate having a thickness of less than 0.2 mm, the glass substrate 24 is bent at the connecting portion as shown in FIG. There is a risk.

  Although it is possible to use an etching apparatus having no connecting portion by configuring the etching apparatus 10 with one long processing chamber, it is not realistic. The reason is that if one processing chamber becomes too long, the liquid supply pipe or the like may be bent due to the weight of the etching liquid. Further, the etching solution is temperature-controlled so that the solution temperature becomes 35 ° C. or higher in order to improve the etching rate, and the division of the processing chamber has an effect of suppressing the influence on the liquid supply piping due to thermal expansion. For the above reason, the etching apparatus 10 is divided into each etching chamber and water washing chamber.

  In the present embodiment, as an example, the height of the transport roller 30 is adjusted at the connecting portion of the third etching chamber 163 and the post-rinsing chamber 18, but the height of the transport roller 30 is changed between desired chambers. It is possible. However, since the thickness of the glass substrate often has a thickness of about 0.5 to 1 mm at the start of the etching process, the necessity for arranging such a mechanism is low. The post-rinsing chamber 18 is a processing chamber located in the most downstream portion configured to inject a chemical solution onto the glass substrate 24 in the etching apparatus 10, and is transported in a state where the thickness of the glass substrate 24 is the thinnest. The In addition, since the chemical solution used in the etching chamber and the water washing chamber for cleaning the etching solution are different, the interval between the connecting portions becomes wider than between the etching chambers using the same chemical solution due to the influence of the arrangement of the piping and the like. . For this reason, the glass substrate is suitably conveyed by changing the height of the conveyance roller 30 of the post-rinsing chamber 18. In addition, although the drying chamber 20 and the carrying-out part 22 are arrange | positioned in the back | latter stage of the post-washing chamber 18, since the drying chamber 20 and the carrying-out part 22 are not processing chambers which inject | pour a chemical | medical solution, the conveyance roller 30 is located in a low position. The need to transport to

  It is preferable that the conveyance roller 30 arranged at a low position is arranged to have an inclination angle of 4 to 10 ° with respect to the conveyance direction. By setting to this range, even if the front end of the bent glass substrate 24 contacts the peripheral surface of the transport roller, the glass substrate can be lifted and transported.

  Although it is conceivable to place a jig for supporting the glass substrate in the connecting portion, the main surface of the glass substrate cannot be etched uniformly, and there is a risk that minute irregularities will occur on the main surface of the glass substrate. is there. For this reason, it is preferable not to use the jig | tool which contacts a glass substrate as much as possible in the processing chamber which injects a chemical | medical solution with respect to a glass substrate.

  The above description of the embodiment is to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is shown not by the above embodiments but by the claims. Furthermore, the scope of the present invention is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10-Etching apparatus 12-Carry-in part 14-Pre-washing chamber 161-1st etching chamber 18-Post-washing chamber 20-Drying chamber 22-Carry-out part 24-Glass substrate 30-Conveyance roller 32-Shaft 34-Driven gear 36- Worm gear 38-Rotating shaft 40-Spray unit 42-Slit

Claims (2)

An etching apparatus configured to inject an etching liquid onto a substrate to be processed being conveyed in a predetermined direction,
A transport roller disposed at regular intervals so as to transport the substrate to be processed in a horizontal direction, and a plurality of processing chambers coupled along the transport direction of the substrate to be processed;
At least,
An etching apparatus characterized in that, in at least one processing chamber located at the most downstream of the plurality of processing chambers, a transfer roller is disposed at a position lower than a transfer roller of a preceding process chamber. The substrate to be processed is a glass substrate;
The interval between the conveyance rollers is 30 to 80 mm, and the conveyance rollers arranged at a low position are arranged such that the inclination angle is in the range of 4 to 10 ° with respect to the conveyance direction of the substrate to be processed. The etching apparatus according to claim 1.

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