JP2018011000A - Spray etching device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a spray etching device which is easy to maintain and miniaturize and can perform high-quality spray etching treatment.SOLUTION: The spray etching device includes at least an etching chamber 16, a liquid-feeding unit 40, and a drive unit 50, where the liquid-feeding unit 40, the etching chamber 16 and the drive unit 50 are arranged in the width direction orthogonal to the transfer direction of a glass substrate 100. The etching chamber 16 includes at least an upper spray piping unit 162 and a lower spray piping unit 164, which are movable and configured to spray an etching liquid to the glass substrate 100.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to an etching apparatus configured to perform an etching process on a target substrate such as a glass substrate.

    There is an increasing chance that etching processing is used in thinning or cutting processing of glass substrates used in mobile phones, personal computers, liquid crystal televisions and the like. The reason is that when machining is performed on a glass substrate, scratches are likely to occur during processing, whereas when etching is performed, scratches do not occur during processing. By using the etching process, the strength of the processed glass substrate can be increased.

  A typical example of the etching process for the glass substrate is a wet etching process using an etchant such as hydrofluoric acid. This wet etching process is roughly classified into a dip method in which a glass substrate is immersed in a bath in which an etching solution is stored and a spray method in which an etching solution is sprayed on a glass substrate from a spray nozzle. In the past, a dip etching method having a simple configuration and a relatively low equipment cost has been widely used.

  However, in recent years, a spray-type wet etching process, which is considered to be easy to manage precipitates such as sludge and to easily manage an etching rate, has come to be preferred (for example, Patent Document 1). reference.). By performing such a spray type etching process, it has been said that processing of a glass substrate that requires dimensional accuracy can be suitably performed.

Table 2013-118867

  However, even in the spray type etching apparatus, the management of precipitates such as sludge may be a problem. For example, in a configuration in which a horizontally mounted glass substrate is spray-etched from above and below, there is a possibility that an etching solution may stay on the upper side of the glass substrate.

  Since the retention of the etching solution tends to affect the quality of the etching process, it is preferable to appropriately suppress the retention of the etching solution. In order to prevent stagnation on the upper side of the glass substrate, when a driving mechanism that varies the spray angle of etching is employed, it is necessary to frequently perform appropriate maintenance on the driving mechanism. In particular, when the drive mechanism is disposed at a position that is easily affected by the etching atmosphere, careful attention is required for maintenance of the drive mechanism.

  In addition, depending on the arrangement of the driving mechanism, the design of the etching apparatus may be limited, or the etching apparatus may be increased in size.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a spray etching apparatus that facilitates maintenance, facilitates downsizing of the apparatus, and can perform high-quality spray etching processing.

  The spray etching apparatus according to the present invention is configured to perform a spray etching process on a target substrate such as a glass substrate. The spray etching apparatus includes an etching chamber, a liquid feeding unit, and a drive unit. The etching chamber includes at least a movable spray piping unit configured to spray an etching solution onto a substrate to be processed that is sequentially transferred in a predetermined transfer direction. A configuration example of the spray piping unit includes a configuration in which a plurality of spray pipes provided with a plurality of spray nozzles for discharging an etching solution are arranged and unitized by a frame member or a casing member.

  The liquid feeding unit is configured to supply an etching liquid to the spray piping unit. As an example of the liquid feeding unit, there is a liquid feeding system mechanism including a group of pipes connecting the etching liquid tank and the etching chamber, and instruments such as pumps and pressure gauges provided in these pipe groups. . By the liquid feeding unit, the etching liquid stored in the etching liquid tank is supplied to the spray piping unit in the etching chamber. Further, the liquid feeding unit is configured to send liquids (cleaning liquid, water, etc.) other than the etching liquid to each chamber as necessary. A typical example of the moving direction of the spray piping unit is a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the substrate to be processed. However, the spray piping unit may be configured to move in an oblique direction or to draw a circle. .

  The drive unit is configured to transmit a drive force from the outside of the etching chamber to at least the spray piping unit. The drive unit includes a motor unit and a cam mechanism configured to apply a force for reciprocating sliding movement of the spray piping unit along the guide member to the spray piping unit from the outside of the etching chamber. For example, when a pressing force or a tensile force is applied from the drive unit to the spray piping unit via a shaft or the like, the spray piping unit reciprocates on a straight line. Considering the maintainability of the spray piping unit, it is preferable that the spray piping unit is configured so that the connection state with the drive unit can be selectively released.

  In the spray etching apparatus described above, the liquid feeding unit, the etching chamber, and the drive unit are arranged in the width direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the substrate to be processed. By adopting this arrangement, when the etching chambers are arranged along the conveyance direction of the glass substrate, the liquid feeding unit and the drive unit do not physically interfere. In particular, when the etching chambers are continuously arranged, there is no need to arrange a liquid feeding unit or a drive unit between the etching chambers, so that the length of the apparatus in the transport direction does not become longer than necessary. Does not increase in size.

  Further, since the spray piping unit is configured as a unit and moved by applying a driving force to the entire unit, there is no need to have a movable part in the spray piping unit. For this reason, failure is less likely to occur compared to the case of driving for each nozzle or the case of adopting a configuration for transmitting driving force for each pipe. In addition, by preparing a spare spray piping unit or the like, it becomes possible to perform maintenance or the like of each nozzle or piping after removing the entire spray piping unit from the etching apparatus, so that maintenance is facilitated.

  By performing the etching process while applying a driving force to the spray piping unit, the retention of the etching solution on the upper side of the substrate to be processed is less likely to occur, and the occurrence of uneven etching due to the retention of the etching solution is prevented. In addition, it is easy to prevent clogging and sludge accumulation in the nozzles and pipes, so that it is easy to achieve high quality etching processes.

  In the spray etching apparatus described above, the spray piping unit is slidably supported by a linear guide member whose leg portion extends in the width direction, and the drive unit is reciprocally slid along the guide member. It is preferable to be configured to apply a force to the spray piping unit. By adopting such a configuration, the spray piping unit can be suitably reciprocated in the width direction, so that the etching liquid is prevented from staying on the upper side of the substrate to be processed. Moreover, since it becomes possible to drive a spray piping unit by simple structure, generation | occurrence | production of the malfunction of a drive mechanism is suppressed.

  In addition, the spray piping unit can be arranged on either the upper side or the lower side of the transport path of the substrate to be processed, but the upper side where the spray piping unit is disposed on the upper side of the transport path of the substrate to be processed. It is preferable to be configured to include a spray piping unit and a lower spray piping unit disposed on the lower side of the transport path of the substrate to be processed. In particular, in this case, the lower part of the liquid feeding unit and the upper spray piping unit are connected by a flexible hose, and the upper part of the liquid feeding unit and the lower spray piping unit are connected by a flexible hose. It is preferable to be connected. By adopting such a configuration, the hose becomes sufficiently long, so that it is easily bent appropriately with the movement of the spray piping unit.

  According to the present invention, maintenance is facilitated, the apparatus is easily downsized, and high-quality spray etching processing can be performed.

It is the schematic of the spray etching apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of an etching chamber. It is a figure which shows an example of schematic structure of a drive unit. It is a figure which shows an example of schematic structure of a drive unit. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of a spray piping unit. It is a figure explaining the outline of operation of a spray piping unit.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a spray etching apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the spray etching apparatus 10 includes an introduction unit 12, a pretreatment chamber 14, five etching chambers 16, a cleaning chamber 18, and a discharge unit 20. Each of the pretreatment chamber 14, the etching chamber 16, and the cleaning chamber 18 is formed with a slit-like opening through which the glass substrate 100 can pass through a part of the partition wall. In the following embodiments, an example in which the substrate to be processed is the glass substrate 100 will be described. However, the spray etching apparatus 10 is used for processing a substrate other than the glass substrate 100 (eg, a ceramic substrate, a printed substrate, a semiconductor substrate, etc.). Is also possible.

  The spray etching apparatus 10 includes a plurality of conveying rollers 30 arranged from the introduction section 12 at the most upstream position to the discharge section 20 at the most downstream position. The transport roller 30 is configured to transport the glass substrate 100 set (loaded) in the introduction unit 12 to the discharge unit 20 while sequentially passing through the pretreatment chamber 14, the etching chamber 16, and the cleaning chamber 18.

  The pretreatment chamber 14 is configured to clean the glass substrate 100 before being introduced into the etching chamber 16. In this embodiment, the glass substrate 100 is washed with water by spraying cleaning water onto the glass substrate 100 from above and below in the pretreatment chamber 14. The etching chamber 16 is configured to reduce the thickness of the glass substrate 100 by spraying an etching solution onto the glass substrate 100. In this embodiment, the spray etching apparatus 10 includes five etching chambers 16, but the number of etching chambers 16 can be increased or decreased as appropriate. The configuration of the etching chamber 16 will be described later.

  The cleaning chamber 18 is configured to clean the glass substrate 100 that has been etched in the etching chamber 16. Also in the cleaning chamber 18, as in the pretreatment chamber 14, the glass substrate 100 is washed with water by spraying cleaning water onto the glass substrate 100 from above and below. The glass substrate 100 subjected to the etching process and the cleaning process is discharged to the discharge unit 20. In the discharge part 20, the glass substrate 100 is taken out (unloaded).

  As shown in FIG. 1B, the etching chamber 16 and the cleaning chamber 18 are provided with drying means (eg, an air knife, a dehydrating roller, etc.) for removing the liquid on the glass substrate 100. Etching solution and cleaning water are removed. The spray etching apparatus 10 is connected to an exhaust system (not shown) including a scrubber and a drainage system (not shown) including a filter press and the like, and exhaust and drainage are appropriately performed.

  Next, the configuration of the etching chamber 16 will be described with reference to FIG. Since the five etching chambers 16 have the same configuration in principle, only a single etching chamber 16 will be described here. The etching chamber 16 includes at least an upper spray piping unit 162, a lower spray piping unit 164, an upper hose unit 166, a lower hose unit 167 (see FIG. 3), and a guide shaft 58.

  The upper spray piping unit 162 is disposed at a predetermined distance above the glass substrate 100 conveyed on the conveying roller 30. The upper spray pipe unit 162 is configured to arrange a plurality of pipes having a plurality of discharge nozzles for discharging the etching solution in parallel. In this embodiment, an example in which six discharge nozzles are provided in each pipe arranged in parallel is described, but the number of pipes and discharge nozzles is not limited to this.

 Here, the frame member, the discharge nozzle, and the piping of the upper spray piping unit 162 are made of polyvinyl chloride, but other acid-resistant members can also be used. The lower spray piping unit 164 is disposed at a predetermined distance below the glass substrate 100 that is transported on the transport roller 30. Since the basic configuration of the lower spray piping unit 164 is the same as that of the upper spray piping unit 162, description thereof is omitted.

  Each of the upper spray piping unit 162 and the lower spray piping unit 164 includes base members 170 serving as legs at four locations (four corners in this embodiment) at the bottom. The base member 170 is slidably supported by eight guide members 172 provided at predetermined positions in the etching chamber 16. The base member 170 has a bottom that is tapered, and the guide member 172 has a groove that fits the bottom of the base member 170. When the base member 170 reciprocates linearly along the groove portion of the guide member 172, the upper spray piping unit 162 and the lower spray piping unit 164 reciprocate linearly in the width direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the glass substrate 100. become.

  Since the base member 170 and the guide member 172 always rub against each other, it is preferable to use a material having acid resistance and high sliding characteristics and wear resistance. In this embodiment, polytetrafluoroethylene is used for the base member 170 and ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene resin (U-PE) is used for the guide member 172, but the material is not limited to these. By not using the same material for the base member 170 and the guide member 172, they are less likely to wear each other.

  The upper hose unit 166 is configured by a bundle of acid-resistant hoses having flexibility, and is configured to connect the upper spray piping unit 162 and the liquid feeding unit 40. The lower hose unit 167 is configured by a bundle of acid-resistant hoses having flexibility, and is configured to connect the lower spray piping unit 164 and the liquid feeding unit 40. (See FIG. 5.) The guide shaft 58 is configured to transmit the driving force from the drive unit 50 to the upper spray piping unit 162 and the lower spray piping unit 164.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the drive unit 50 is configured to transmit driving force to the upper spray piping unit 162 and the lower spray piping unit 164 via the guide shaft 56. Since the guide shaft 58 penetrates the side wall of the etching chamber 16, a seal mechanism such as a seal bearing 58 is used to maintain water tightness and air tightness. The seal bearing 58 is configured to slidably support the guide shaft 56. One end of the guide shaft 56 is connected to the upper spray piping unit 162 or the lower spray piping unit 164. The other end of the guide shaft 56 is connected to a movable frame 60 slidably supported by an LM guide (Linear Motion Guide) 64.

  The drive unit 50 includes a motor unit 52 having a motor as a drive source, a drive circuit thereof, and the like. A rotation shaft 54 is connected to the motor unit 52. A rotating disk 70 is attached to both ends of the rotating shaft 54.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, a cam follower 72 is attached to the rotating disk 70. On the other hand, the movable frame 60 is attached with a guide member 62 in which a groove of a size that fits the cam follower 72 is formed. 4A shows a state in which the cam follower 72 of the rotating disk 70 and the guide member 62 of the movable frame are separated for convenience of explanation, but the cam follower 72 becomes a guide member 62 in actual use. Fits in a slidable state.

  When the rotating shaft 54 is rotated by the driving force of the motor unit 52, the rotating force of the rotating disk 70 is transmitted to the movable frame 60 as a driving force for reciprocating the movable frame 60. The driving force transmitted to the movable frame 60 is transmitted to the upper spray piping unit 162 and the lower spray piping unit 164 via the guide shaft 56.

  The configuration of the drive unit 50 described above is an example, and the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 4B, a cam plate 74 having a difference between a desired major axis and a minor axis can be used instead of the rotating disc 70. In this case, when a configuration is adopted in which a force is constantly applied to the movable frame 60 in a predetermined direction (an urging force by an elastic member, a magnetic member, or the like) and the cam plate 74 presses the movable frame 60 against this force. good. In addition, an optimal cam mechanism can be selected as appropriate.

  The upper hose unit 166 is configured to supply the etching liquid from the liquid feeding unit 40 to the upper spray piping unit 162. The lower hose unit 167 is configured to supply the etching liquid from the liquid feeding unit 40 to the lower spray piping unit 164. The upper hose unit 166 and the lower hose unit 167 are made of an acid-resistant member such as tetrafluoroethylene / perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer (PFA). In the upper hose unit 166 and the lower hose unit 167, the distance between the liquid feeding unit 40, the upper spray piping unit 162, and the lower spray piping unit 164 is changed by the sliding operation of the upper spray piping unit 162 and the lower spray piping unit 164. Even in such a case, it is designed to be sufficiently longer than necessary so as to have sufficient deflection to absorb this change (see FIGS. 5 and 6).

  In this embodiment, the upper hose unit 166 connects the lower part of the liquid feeding unit 40 and the upper spray piping unit 162, while the lower hose unit 167 connects the upper part of the liquid feeding unit 40 and the lower spray piping unit 164. It is configured as follows. The reason is that the length of the upper hose unit 166 and the lower hose unit 167 can be increased, and when the upper spray pipe unit 162 and the lower spray pipe unit 164 are reciprocally slid, This is because the lower hose unit 167 is easily bent.

  As a result, even when a relatively hard fluorine resin is used, the upper hose unit 166 and the lower hose unit 167 can easily perform their original functions. Further, the lengths of the upper hose unit 166 and the lower hose unit 167 (particularly, the lengths of the portions located outside the upper spray piping unit 162 and the lower spray piping unit 164) can be increased. And it becomes possible to reliably prevent the upper hose unit 166 and the lower hose unit 167 from dripping into the spray area of the etching solution.

  In the spray etching apparatus 10 described above, the glass substrate 100 is loaded into the introduction unit 12 by an operator or a robot. The glass substrate 100 is sequentially loaded onto the introduction unit 12 with an appropriate interval. The glass substrate 100 is introduced into the pretreatment chamber 14 from the introducing portion 12 through the slit-shaped opening, and the entire surface is cleaned with cleaning water. Subsequently, the glass substrate 100 is introduced into the etching chamber 16 from the pretreatment chamber 14 through the slit-shaped opening.

  In the etching chamber 16, an etching solution is sprayed on the upper surface and the lower surface of the glass substrate 100 from the upper spray piping unit 162 and the lower spray piping unit 164, respectively. At the time of this etching process, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the upper spray piping unit 162 and the lower spray piping unit 164 repeat reciprocating movement in the width direction. It will change from time to time. As a result, it is difficult for the sprayed etchant to stay on the upper surface of the glass substrate 100.

  The glass substrate 100 is thinned while sequentially passing through the plurality of etching chambers 16. Then, after passing through the etching chamber 16 disposed on the most downstream side, the liquid is drained by an air knife or the like and then introduced into the cleaning chamber 18. The glass substrate 100 is cleaned with cleaning water in the cleaning chamber 18. Then, after dehydration processing by an air knife or the like, it is discharged to the discharge unit 20. The glass substrate 100 discharged to the discharge unit 20 is collected by an operator or a robot and transferred to a subsequent process.

  The spray etching apparatus 10 can perform the spray etching process on a large amount (for example, 500 sheets / day or more) of the glass substrate 100 by the procedure as described above. In this embodiment, an example of thinning the glass substrate 100 has been described. By using an etching-resistant masking agent having a desired patterning in combination, the glass substrate 100 can be subjected to cutting processing, end surface smoothing processing, and the like. It is also possible to do this.

  Considering the maintainability of the spray etching apparatus 10, it is preferable that the top plate of the etching chamber 16 is configured to be openable and detachable. The upper spray piping unit 162 can be easily taken out of the apparatus from the ceiling portion of the etching chamber 16 by removing the upper hose unit 166 and the guide shaft 58. At this time, it is preferable that the upper spray piping unit 162, the upper hose unit 166, and the guide shaft 58 are connected via a detachable configuration (such as a screw mechanism and a lock mechanism with a release function).

  Further, the conveyance roller 30 group can be easily taken out of the apparatus by being able to be easily disconnected from the drive transmission unit. Further, the lower spray piping unit 164 can be taken out of the apparatus from the ceiling as in the upper spray piping unit 162. Maintainability is improved by performing maintenance work such as removing precipitates such as sludge on the upper spray piping unit 162 and the lower spray piping unit 164 outside the apparatus. Also, if the spare upper spray piping unit 162 and the lower spray piping unit 164 are prepared, the time for stopping the operation of the spray etching apparatus 10 can be minimized.

  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- Introduction part 14- Pretreatment chamber 16- Etching chamber 18- Cleaning chamber 20- Discharge part 30- Conveyance roller 40- Liquid feeding unit 50- Drive unit 162- Upper spray piping unit 164- Lower spray piping Unit 166-Upper hose unit 167-Lower hose unit

Claims (2)

A spray etching apparatus configured to perform a spray-type etching process on a target substrate such as a glass substrate,
An etching chamber including at least a movable spray piping unit configured to spray an etching solution on a substrate to be processed that is sequentially transported in a predetermined transport direction;
A liquid feeding unit configured to supply an etching liquid to the spray piping unit;
A drive unit configured to transmit a drive force from outside the etching chamber to at least the spray piping unit;
Including
The liquid feeding unit, the etching chamber, and the driving unit are arranged in a width direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the substrate to be processed, and
The spray piping unit is slidably supported by a linear guide member whose leg extends in the width direction,
The drive unit includes a motor unit and a cam mechanism configured to apply a force for the spray piping unit to reciprocally slide along the guide member to the spray piping unit. Etching equipment. The spray piping unit is composed of an upper spray piping unit disposed on the upper side of the transport path of the substrate to be processed and a lower spray piping unit disposed on the lower side of the transport path of the substrate to be processed.
The lower portion of the liquid feeding unit and the upper spray piping unit are connected by a flexible hose, and the upper portion of the liquid feeding unit and the lower spray piping unit are connected by a flexible hose. The spray etching apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the spray etching apparatus is connected.

Images