TW202409166A - Light processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide an optical processing apparatus that can perform processing stably and homogeneously when processing a workpiece in a processing chamber having a lowered ozone concentration. The solution includes a transporting workpiece. The transporting workpiece includes a transporting mechanism having a plurality of transporting rollers, a main processing chamber having a first transport inlet and a first transport outlet. The transporting workpiece further includes a partition member that divides at least one part of spaces between the plurality of transporting rollers into a processing space and a retention space in the main processing chamber along a direction orthogonal to a transporting direction of the workpiece and a direction of rotation axis of the transporting rollers. The transporting workpiece further includes an ultraviolet light source configured to emit ultraviolet light having a wavelength under 200nm toward a surface of the workpiece being transported by the transporting mechanism in the processing space of the main processing chamber, a gas inlet configured to introduce a processing gas into the main processing chamber, a second transport inlet, and a second transport outlet. The second transport outlet is connected to an inlet secondary processing chamber connected to the first transport inlet. At least a part of the transporting rollers is located at a position closer to a side of the processing space than the partition member.

Description

light processing device

The present invention relates to a light processing device.

Conventionally, it has been known to perform surface treatment of the workpiece by exposing film materials, glass plates, etc. (hereinafter, the object to be processed is generally referred to as the "workpiece") to ozone generated by irradiating ultraviolet light to oxygen. Technology. For example, Patent Document 1 described below discloses a method of modifying the surface of a membrane material using an oxidation reaction caused by ozone. Patent Document 2 described below discloses a method of cleaning the surface of a glass plate using an oxidation reaction caused by ozone. [prior art] [Patent Document]

[Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2012/077553 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent No. 5083318

[The problem that the invention wants to solve]

In recent years, the method of treating the surface of a workpiece by exposing the workpiece to ozone has been used not only for the modification of film materials and the cleaning of glass plates, but also for the treatment of fine devices on liquid crystal substrates constituting thin displays. Specifically, for example, it is used to hydrophilize the surface of a gate electrode of a thin film transistor composed of a metal layer.

However, when a metal layer on a semiconductor substrate or a liquid crystal substrate is exposed to ozone for hydrophilization, the surface of the metal layer is hydrophilized and gradually oxidized to form a metal oxide film. In particular, when the ozone concentration is too high, the formation of the metal oxide film is promoted, and the thickness of the metal oxide film formed on the surface of the metal layer tends to increase.

The physical properties of the metal oxide film are different from those of the metal before oxidation, and it also depends on the etching solution used, but in general, it is less reactive and has a slower etching rate than the metal before oxidation. Therefore, the thicker the metal oxide film is, the more likely it is that the device cannot be processed into the desired shape through etching.

Here, in order to suppress the occurrence of the above-mentioned problems, the present inventors studied a method of performing treatment by transmitting an ozone concentration lower than that in the treatment of conventional membrane materials and glass plates.

However, the inventors of the present invention have attempted to control the ozone concentration in the processing chamber to be lower than before to achieve the processing of the workpieces. As a result, the ozone concentration was not stable within the desired range, and unacceptable processing unevenness often occurred, and very few workpieces could be processed normally.

The present invention is made in view of the above-mentioned problem, and its purpose is to provide a light processing device that can perform processing stably and uniformly even when the ozone concentration in the processing room is reduced to process the workpiece. [Means for solving the problem]

The light irradiation device of the present invention is characterized by comprising: a conveying mechanism for conveying the workpiece and having a plurality of conveying rollers; a main processing chamber having a first inlet for carrying in the workpiece conveyed by the conveying mechanism and a first outlet for carrying out the workpiece; a partition member for dividing at least a portion between the plurality of conveying rollers into a processing space and a retention space in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the workpiece and the direction of the rotation axis of the conveying roller in the main processing chamber; an ultraviolet light source disposed in the processing space of the main processing chamber and emitting ultraviolet light having a main emission wavelength of less than 200 nm toward one side of the workpiece conveyed along the conveying mechanism; a gas inlet for introducing processing gas into the main processing chamber; and The secondary processing chamber is provided with a second loading port for loading the workpiece to be transported and a second loading port for unloading the workpiece, and the second loading port is connected to the first loading port; At least a part of the transport drum is located closer to the processing space than the partition member.

In this specification, "main emission wavelength" refers to a wavelength that exhibits an integrated intensity of more than 40% of the total integrated intensity in the emission spectrum in a wavelength region Z (λ) specified for a certain wavelength λ ± 10 nm in the emission spectrum. The wavelength λi of area Z(λi).

In this specification, "process gas" refers to a mixed gas produced by mixing an inert gas and an oxygen-containing gas used to generate ozone.

In this specification, the "connection" between the import port and the transport port refers to a state in which at least part of them are continuously connected in the conveyance direction of the workpiece. For example, it is conceivable that the main processing chamber and the loading sub-processing chamber are brought into contact, and the first loading port and the second loading port are continuously connected, or a state is continuously connected via a connecting member.

The partitioning member does not need to be a member that completely separates the space in the main processing chamber into a processing space and a retention space, and may partially connect the processing space and the retention space. However, when viewed from the processing space side toward the retention space side, the total area of the area where the partitioning member and the transport mechanism are not arranged is preferably 10% or less, and more preferably 6% or less relative to the entire area of the partitioning member.

The specific structure of the partition member will be described in the section "Embodiment" with reference to the drawings. The partition member may be installed not only in the main processing chamber but also in the loading sub-processing chamber.

The inventors of the present invention noticed that when a workpiece is processed with an ozone concentration lower than before, the gas existing outside (hereinafter referred to as "external gas") flows into the processing space and causes ozone. The relative fluctuation in concentration becomes large, so stable processing cannot be performed. Furthermore, the present inventors also noticed that when the entire internal space of the processing chamber is used as the processing space, ozone is difficult to stay around the workpiece due to natural convection, and the workpiece may not be processed. Furthermore, since it is difficult for ozone to stay around the workpiece, the lower the ozone concentration, the easier it is for the workpiece to remain unprocessed.

Therefore, according to the structure of the optical processing apparatus described above, since the first import port of the main processing chamber communicates with the second import port of the import sub-processing chamber, external air initially flows into the import sub-processing chamber from the second import port. That is, the import sub-processing chamber functions as a buffer space and suppresses external air from directly flowing in from the first import port.

In addition, the gas present in the transport sub-processing chamber is a mixed gas in which the gas in the processing space of the main processing chamber and the external air are mixed. Therefore, when the workpiece is moved into the main processing chamber, the gas moved into the sub-processing chamber flows into the main processing chamber, but this gas has less influence on the ozone concentration in the processing space than when the external air flows directly into the main processing chamber.

In addition, most of the ozone generated in the main processing chamber is suppressed by the partition member from passing through the conveyor drum and moving to the stagnation space side.

That is to say, compared with a structure in which external air flows directly into the main processing chamber, the optical processing device having the above-mentioned structure can suppress the fluctuation of the ozone concentration in the main processing chamber, and the ozone generated in the processing space can easily stay around the workpiece. Therefore, the light processing device having the above structure can stably and uniformly process the entire workpiece even at a lower ozone concentration than the previous light processing device.

The aforementioned light processing device may also be configured to include: At least one main exhaust port is used to discharge the gas in the aforementioned main processing chamber; At least one first auxiliary exhaust port is used to discharge the aforementioned gas moved into the auxiliary treatment chamber; and An exhaust control mechanism controls the amount of gas discharged from the aforementioned main exhaust port and the aforementioned first auxiliary exhaust port; The exhaust gas control mechanism may control the total amount of gas exhausted from the main exhaust port per unit time to be smaller than the total amount of gas exhausted from the first auxiliary exhaust port.

By adopting the above-mentioned structure, the air pressure in the sub-processing chamber is lower than the air pressure in the processing space of the main processing chamber. By forming such an air pressure relationship, it is possible to suppress the external gas flowing in from the second carrying port into the sub-processing chamber from flowing into the processing space of the main processing chamber. Therefore, the variation of the ozone concentration in the processing space of the main processing chamber during the process of processing the workpiece by the optical processing device is further reduced, and the entire workpiece can be processed more uniformly.

The aforementioned light processing device may also be equipped with: The sub-processing chamber is formed with a third carry-in port for loading in the workpieces conveyed along the transport mechanism and a third carry-out port for carrying out the workpieces. The third carry-in port is connected to the first carry-out port.

Furthermore, the aforementioned light processing device may also be configured to include: At least one main exhaust port is used to discharge the gas in the aforementioned main processing chamber; At least one first auxiliary exhaust port is used to discharge the aforementioned gas moved into the auxiliary processing chamber; At least one second auxiliary exhaust port is used to discharge the gas moved out of the auxiliary processing chamber; and An exhaust control mechanism controls the amount of gas discharged from the aforementioned main exhaust port, the aforementioned first auxiliary exhaust port, and the aforementioned second auxiliary exhaust port; The exhaust gas control mechanism is configured to make the total amount of gas exhausted from the main exhaust port per unit time smaller than the total amount of gas exhausted from the first auxiliary exhaust port, and smaller than the total amount of gas exhausted from the second auxiliary exhaust port. The total amount of gas discharged from the port is controlled in such a way that it is small.

Since the first unloading port is an opening for unloading workpieces from the main processing chamber to the outside, the gas in the main processing chamber is more likely to leak to the outside together with the workpieces than the first unloading port for loading the workpieces. The leakage of this gas from the main treatment chamber is likely to be an important cause of disturbance in the ozone concentration in the treatment space. In addition, there is a lot of outside air flowing in from the first outlet, although it is small compared with the first outlet.

Therefore, by adopting the above-mentioned structure, the influence of the outside air flowing in from the first outlet side can be further suppressed. Therefore, the optical processing apparatus can further reduce the fluctuation of the ozone concentration in the processing space of the main processing chamber during processing of the workpiece, and can process the entire workpiece more uniformly.

The aforementioned light treatment device may also be equipped with: an exhaust pipe having an inlet disposed in the aforementioned treatment space and an outlet disposed outside the aforementioned treatment space, and extracting the gas in the aforementioned treatment space from the aforementioned inlet; and a concentration meter connected to the aforementioned outlet of the aforementioned exhaust pipe, and measuring the ozone concentration of the gas flowing in from the aforementioned outlet.

In the aforementioned light processing device, the aforementioned exhaust pipe is provided with a plurality of aforementioned inlets; the plurality of aforementioned inlets may be arranged along the direction of the rotation axis of the aforementioned conveying drum.

By adopting the above-mentioned structure, when some abnormality occurs, the ozone concentration in the main processing chamber exceeds the predetermined range, or the ozone concentration does not reach the predetermined range despite loading the workpiece, the light processing device can be stopped urgently. . Furthermore, in this configuration, since changes in the ozone concentration in the main processing chamber can be recorded, for example, when a defect occurs in a processed workpiece, it can be confirmed and analyzed whether it occurred during processing by the optical processing device. Exception.

The aforementioned light processing device may also be equipped with: The processing gas control unit controls the flow rate of the processing gas introduced from the gas inlet into the main processing chamber based on the ozone concentration measured by the concentration meter.

The aforementioned light processing device may also be equipped with: The power control unit controls the power supplied to the ultraviolet light source based on the ozone concentration measured by the densitometer.

By adopting the above structure, the ozone concentration in the processing space of the main processing chamber can be monitored, and feedback control can be performed to stabilize the ozone concentration in the processing space at a desired concentration. Therefore, the optical processing apparatus can further reduce the fluctuation of the ozone concentration in the processing space of the main processing chamber during processing of the workpiece, and can process the entire workpiece more uniformly. [Effects of the invention]

According to the present invention, it is possible to realize a light processing device that can perform processing stably and uniformly even when processing a workpiece with the ozone concentration in the processing room being reduced.

[Device structure]

The light processing device of the present invention is described below with reference to the drawings. In addition, the following drawings of the light processing device are schematic illustrations, and the size ratios and numbers in the drawings are not necessarily consistent with the actual size ratios and numbers.

In addition, in the following description of the configuration of the light processing device, a workpiece is specifically specified and described. However, the workpiece that the light processing device of the present invention is targeted at is not limited to the workpiece specified in the following description.

(Light processing device 1) FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the optical processing device viewed from the Y direction, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the periphery of the processing space A1 in FIG. 1 . As shown in FIG. 1 , the optical processing apparatus 1 includes a main processing chamber 2, a loading sub-processing chamber 3, a transport sub-processing chamber 4, a transport mechanism 5 composed of a plurality of transport rollers 5a, a process gas control unit 10, a gas supply source 11, and Exhaust gas control unit 12. In addition, the exhaust control unit 12 is one control unit, but for convenience of illustration, it is divided into plural units and shown in the figure.

In the following description, as shown in FIG. 1 , the conveying direction of the workpiece W1 is defined as the X direction, the rotation axis direction of the conveying roller 5 a provided in the conveying mechanism 5 is defined as the Y direction, and the direction perpendicular to the XY plane is defined as the Z direction.

In addition, when expressing a direction by distinguishing between positive and negative directions, such as "+Z direction" and "-Z direction", positive and negative symbols are added and described. When a direction is expressed without distinguishing between positive and negative directions, it is simply described as "Z direction".

As shown in FIG. 1 , in the optical processing apparatus 1 , a carry-in sub-processing chamber 3 , a main processing chamber 2 , and a carry-out sub-processing chamber 4 are arranged in order toward the +X direction. As shown in FIG. 1 , the conveyance mechanism 5 conveys the workpiece W1 placed on the conveyance drum 5a in the +X direction.

As shown in Fig. 2, the loading sub-processing chamber 3 and the main processing chamber 2 are arranged in contact with each other, and the first loading port 2a and the second loading port 3b described later are connected. In addition, the main processing chamber 2 and the unloading sub-processing chamber 4 are arranged in contact with each other, and the first loading port 2b and the third loading port 4a described later are connected.

As shown in FIG2 , the process gas control unit 10 is provided with a concentration meter 10a for measuring the ozone concentration of the atmospheric gas in the process space A1. The concentration meter 10a measures the ozone concentration of the atmospheric gas G2 in the main process chamber 2 extracted by the exhaust pipe 22. Then, as shown in FIG1 , the process gas control unit 10 outputs a control signal d1 including information related to the flow rate of the process gas G1 to the gas supply source 11 based on the ozone concentration measured by the concentration meter 10a. In addition, the process gas control unit 10 and the concentration meter 10a may also be separately configured.

The gas supply source 11 supplies the processing gas G1 at a designated flow rate into the processing space A1 in the main processing chamber 2 in which the ultraviolet light source 20 is arranged, based on the control signal d1 input from the processing gas control unit 10 .

The processing gas G1 in this embodiment is a mixed gas containing oxygen and nitrogen, and is typically not air. Furthermore, as the processing gas G1, for example, a mixed gas of CDA (clean dry air) and nitrogen may be used. The processing gas G1 in this embodiment is adjusted so that the oxygen content is 0.1% and the nitrogen content is 99.9%.

(Main processing chamber 2) As shown in FIG1 , the main processing chamber 2 has a plurality of ultraviolet light sources 20, piping 21, exhaust pipe 22, main exhaust port 2c, partition member 2p, and exhaust fan 2f. A portion of the conveying mechanism 5 is accommodated in the main processing chamber 2. Then, as shown in FIG2 , a first loading port 2a and a first loading port 2b facing each other in the X direction are provided on the wall surface of the main processing chamber 2, so that the workpiece W1 is loaded from the first loading port 2a and unloaded from the first loading port 2b.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the ultraviolet light source 20 is a light source that irradiates ultraviolet light to the workpiece W1 conveyed by the conveyance mechanism 5 . The ultraviolet light source 20 in this embodiment is an excimer lamp in which a luminescent gas containing xenon (Xe) gas is sealed in a tube body, and a voltage is applied from a power supply unit (not shown) to emit ultraviolet light with a main emission wavelength of 172 nm.

The ultraviolet light source 20 is disposed so as to be spaced apart from the workpiece W1 transported by the transport mechanism 5 in the Z direction by 10 mm or less.

Furthermore, the ultraviolet light source 20 may be a light source other than an excimer lamp as long as it can emit ultraviolet light with a main emission wavelength of 200 nm or less. Furthermore, even when an excimer lamp is used, an excimer lamp containing a luminescent gas other than xenon (Xe) gas may be used.

In addition, the excimer lamp in this embodiment is an excimer lamp that has a rectangular shape when cut along a plane orthogonal to the tube axis, and is also called a flat tube shape, but it may also be An excimer lamp having a shape other than a flat tube shape (for example, a shape called a single tube shape or a double tube shape) is used.

The piping 21 is a member that guides the processing gas G1 supplied from the gas supply source 11 into the main processing chamber 2 . In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2 , a part of the pipe 21 is branched, and the processing gas G1 is supplied from a plurality of gas inlets 21 a. In addition, the structure or shape of the piping 21, the number of the gas introduction ports 21a, etc. are determined taking into account the size, internal structure, etc. of the main processing chamber 2. For example, the pipe 21 may be further provided in the space between the lamp tubes 20 on the center side of the main processing chamber 2 in the X direction.

Here, as shown in Fig. 2, in this embodiment, the pipe 21 disposed on the side of the loading sub-processing chamber 3 is configured to spray the processing gas G1 in the +X direction and also spray the processing gas G1 in the -Z direction. According to this configuration, the gas including the external gas accompanying the loading of the workpiece W1 can be suppressed from flowing from the loading sub-processing chamber 3 into the main processing chamber 2.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of the main processing chamber 2 when viewed from the X direction. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 , in the exhaust pipe 22 , one end, that is, the inlet 22 a disposed in the main processing chamber 2 is disposed in the processing space A1 , and the other end, that is, the discharge port 22 b, is connected to the processing gas control unit 10 Equipped with a concentration meter 10a for measuring ozone concentration. With this configuration, the exhaust pipe 22 guides the ozone-containing atmospheric gas G2 in the processing space A1 to the concentration meter 10a.

The inlet 22a can also be arranged at any position in the processing space A1, but in this embodiment, in order to more accurately monitor whether the ozone concentration around the workpiece W1 is within the desired range, it is arranged at the same position as the light emitting surface 20a of the ultraviolet light source 20 in the Z direction.

As shown in Fig. 3, the exhaust pipe 22 of this embodiment is provided with a confluence portion 22c, and a plurality of inlets 22a are arranged at equal intervals in the Y direction. Furthermore, if the main processing chamber 2 is small enough and the ozone concentration can be stably measured by sucking the atmosphere gas G2 in the processing space A1 from one place, the exhaust pipe 22 does not have the confluence portion 22c, and the inlet 22a may be only one.

1, the main exhaust port 2c is an exhaust port for exhausting the atmosphere G2 in the main processing chamber 2 to the outside of the main processing chamber 2. In this embodiment, the exhaust control unit 12 controls the rotation speed of the exhaust fan 2f to adjust the amount of the atmosphere G2 exhausted from the main exhaust port 2c.

FIG. 4A is a perspective view schematically showing the structure of the conveying mechanism 5 in the main processing chamber 2, FIG. 4B is a view of the conveying mechanism 5 in FIG. 4A viewed from the +Z side, and FIG. 4C is a view of the conveying mechanism 5 in FIG. 4A viewed from the Y direction. As shown in FIG. 4A to FIG. 4C, the partition member 2p is formed with a plurality of holes 2pb corresponding to the plurality of conveying rollers 5a, and the conveying rollers 5a are inserted into the holes 2pb and fixed, thereby dividing the space in the main processing chamber 2 into a processing space A1 and a retention space A2 in the Z direction. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 4C, a portion of the conveying roller 5a protrudes further to the +Z side than the main surface 2pa of the partition member 2p, so that the workpiece W1 is conveyed in the X direction without being blocked by the partition member 2p.

Furthermore, although this is only an example, the size of the partition member 2p in this embodiment is (X, Y)=(280 mm, 3400 mm). In addition, the size of the hole 2pb provided in the partition member 2p is (X, Y)=(28mm, 13mm), the diameter of one conveying roller 5a is 45mm, and the length in the Y direction is 11mm. Furthermore, 60 conveyance rollers 5a are arranged in the main processing chamber 2.

(Move into sub-processing room 3) As shown in FIG. 1 , the loading sub-processing chamber 3 is provided with a plurality of sub-exhaust ports (3c1, 3c2) and a partition member 3p, and accommodates a part of the transport mechanism 5. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 1 , a second import port 3 a and a second export port 3 b facing each other in the X direction are provided on the wall surface of the import sub-processing chamber 3 . The workpiece W1 is imported from the second import port 3 a and from the second import port 3 b . Move out through exit 3b.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the loading sub-processing chamber 3 is provided with a partition member 3 p, and the space inside is divided into a space B1 on the +Z side of the transport mechanism 5 and a space B2 on the -Z side.

The sub-exhaust port 3c1 is an opening for sucking in the atmospheric gas G3 existing in the space B1 and exhausting it to the outside of the sub-processing chamber 3.

The sub-exhaust port 3c2 is an opening for sucking in the atmospheric gas G3 existing in the space B2 and exhausting it to the outside of the sub-processing chamber 3.

The auxiliary exhaust ports (3c1, 3c2) in this embodiment are openings for exhausting the atmospheric gas G3 existing inside the loading sub-processing chamber 3 to the outside, and each of them corresponds to the first auxiliary exhaust port.

As shown in FIG. 1 , each of the auxiliary exhaust ports (3c1, 3c2) is provided with an exhaust fan 3f for exhausting the ambient gas G3 carried into the auxiliary processing chamber 3, and the exhaust is controlled by the exhaust control unit 12. The amount of exhaust gas G3 carried into the sub-processing chamber 3 is adjusted by the rotation speed of the fan 3f.

Furthermore, the exhaust control unit 12 controls the exhaust fan 3f in such a manner that the amount of the atmosphere gas G2 exhausted from the main exhaust port 2c per unit time is less than the total amount of the atmosphere gas G3 exhausted from the auxiliary exhaust ports (3c1, 3c2). Thus, the air pressure of the space B1 carried into the auxiliary processing chamber 3 is lower than the air pressure of the processing space A1 of the main processing chamber 2, and the flow of the atmosphere gas G3 from the carried-in auxiliary processing chamber 3 into the main processing chamber 2 can be suppressed.

In this embodiment, the amount of ambient gas G2 discharged from the main exhaust port 2c per unit time is adjusted to 10 L/min, and the amount of ambient gas G3 discharged from the auxiliary exhaust ports (3c1, 3c2) per unit time is adjusted to 10L/min. 950L/min. That is, it is controlled so that the total amount of the atmosphere gas G2 discharged from the main exhaust port 2c per unit time is smaller than the total amount of the atmosphere gas G3 discharged from the auxiliary exhaust ports (3c1, 3c2).

(Carry-out sub-processing chamber 4) As shown in FIG. 1 , the carry-out sub-processing chamber 4 has a plurality of second sub-exhaust ports (4c1, 4c2) and a partition member 4p, and accommodates a portion of the conveying mechanism 5. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 1 , a third carry-in port 4a and a third carry-out port 4b facing each other in the X direction are provided on the wall surface of the carry-out sub-processing chamber 4, and the workpiece W1 is carried in from the third carry-in port 4a and carried out from the third carry-out port 4b.

As shown in FIG. 1 , a partition member 4 p is provided in the unloading sub-processing chamber 4 , and the space inside is divided into a space C1 on the +Z side of the transport mechanism 5 and a space C2 on the −Z side.

The sub-exhaust port 4c1 is an opening for sucking in the atmospheric gas G4 existing in the space C1 and exhausting it out of the sub-processing chamber 4.

The sub-exhaust port 4c2 is an opening for sucking the atmospheric gas G4 existing in the space C2 and exhausting it to the outside of the sub-processing chamber 4.

The auxiliary exhaust ports (4c1, 4c2) in this embodiment are openings for exhausting the atmospheric gas G4 existing inside the unloading sub-processing chamber 4 to the outside, and each of them corresponds to the second auxiliary exhaust port.

As shown in Figure 1, an exhaust fan 4f is provided on each of the auxiliary exhaust ports (4c1, 4c2) for exhausting the atmospheric gas G4 carried out of the auxiliary processing chamber 4. The exhaust control unit 12 controls the speed of the exhaust fan 4f to adjust the amount of exhaust of the atmospheric gas G4 carried out of the auxiliary processing chamber 4.

In this embodiment, the amount of ambient gas G4 discharged from the auxiliary exhaust ports (4c1, 4c2) per unit time is adjusted so that it becomes 950 L/min. That is, it is controlled so that the total amount of the atmosphere gas G2 discharged from the main exhaust port 2c per unit time is smaller than the total amount of the atmosphere gas G4 discharged from the auxiliary exhaust ports (4c1, 4c2).

It is preferred that the total amount of the atmosphere gas G3 discharged from the auxiliary exhaust ports (3c1, 3c2) and the total amount of the atmosphere gas G4 discharged from the auxiliary exhaust ports (4c1, 4c2) are set to be the same as in the present embodiment. More specifically, it is preferred that the amount of the atmosphere gas G3 discharged from the auxiliary exhaust port 3c1 and the amount of the atmosphere gas G4 discharged from the auxiliary exhaust port 4c1 are the same per unit time, and it is preferred that the amount of the atmosphere gas G3 discharged from the auxiliary exhaust port 3c2 and the amount of the atmosphere gas G4 discharged from the auxiliary exhaust port 4c2 are the same per unit time. However, the amount of the atmosphere gas (G3, G4) discharged from each exhaust port (3c1, 3c2, 4c1, 4c2) may be different.

Furthermore, the exhaust gas control unit 12 controls the exhaust gas so that the amount of the atmosphere gas G2 discharged from the main exhaust port 2c per unit time is smaller than the total amount of the atmosphere gas G4 discharged from the auxiliary exhaust ports (4c1, 4c2). Gas fan 4f,. Thereby, the air pressure of the space C1 of the unloading sub-processing chamber 4 is lower than the air pressure of the processing space A1 of the main processing chamber 2 , thereby suppressing the flow of the ambient gas G4 from the unloading sub-processing chamber 4 into the main processing chamber 2 .

[Verification Experiment] Here, a verification experiment was conducted to confirm that the light processing device 1 of this embodiment can stabilize the ozone concentration in the processing space A1 of the main processing chamber 2 at a lower concentration than the light processing device of the previous configuration, and the following is an explanation.

(Example) The example is the light processing device 1 of the above-mentioned embodiment.

(Comparative example 1) FIG. 5A is a schematic diagram of the structure of Comparative Example 1 viewed from the Y direction. As shown in FIG. 5A , Comparative Example 1 has the same structure as the Example except that it does not include the partition members (2p, 3p, 4p).

(Comparative example 2) FIG. 5B is a schematic diagram of the structure of Comparative Example 2 when viewed from the Y direction. As shown in FIG. 5B , Comparative Example 2 has the same structure as the Example except that it does not include the loading sub-processing chamber 3 , the transporting sub-processing chamber 4 , and the partition member 2 p.

(Conditions) The ozone concentration is measured by the concentration meter 10a. In addition, the workpiece W1 is not transported, and the ozone concentration measurement time is set to 5 minutes.

(Results) Figure 6 is a graph showing the time variation of the ozone concentration measured by the concentration meter 10a. As shown in Figure 6, it can be confirmed that the ozone concentration of Comparative Example 1 is suppressed in variation and stabilized at a lower concentration than that of Comparative Example 2. Then, it can be confirmed that the variation of the embodiment is further suppressed and stabilized at a lower ozone concentration than that of Comparative Example 1.

According to the above, the optical processing device 1 suppresses the change of the ozone concentration in the main processing chamber 2, and the ozone generated in the processing space A1 tends to stay around the workpiece W1, compared with the previous optical processing device, even with a lower ozone concentration, the optical processing device 1 can stably and uniformly process the entire workpiece.

Furthermore, of the gas flowing into the main processing chamber 2, a large proportion of the gas flowing into the processing space A1 from the first loading port 2a accompanying the loading of the workpiece W1 is present. Therefore, even if the optical processing apparatus 1 does not have a sub-processing chamber 4 for unloading, the ozone concentration in the processing space A1 of the main processing chamber 2 can be sufficiently stabilized according to the sizes of the main processing chamber 2, the first loading port 2a, and the first loading port 2b.

Furthermore, the circulation of the atmosphere gas (G3, G4) in the auxiliary processing chambers (3, 4) has almost no effect on the ozone concentration in the processing space A1 of the main processing chamber 2. Therefore, the auxiliary processing chambers (3, 4) do not need to be provided with partition members (3p, 4p).

Fig. 7A and Fig. 7B are schematic diagrams showing an example of the structure of the conveying mechanism 5 and the partition member 2p. As shown in Fig. 7A, the partition member 2p may be a structure in which a receiving bag 2pc for receiving the conveying roller 5a is provided without a hole 2pb for passing the conveying roller 5a, or may be a plate-shaped member disposed on the -Z side of the conveying roller 5a without a hole 2pb or a receiving bag 2pc. In addition, although the structure of the partition member 2p is described here, the partition members (3p, 4p) provided in each auxiliary processing chamber (3, 4) may be the structure as described above, and further, the shapes of the partition members (2p, 3p, 4p) may be different from each other.

4A and 4B, the conveying rollers 5a are arranged in the X direction and the Y direction, but the arrangement position can be arbitrary, and an irregular arrangement can be adopted as long as the workpiece W1 can be transported without problems. Then, the shape of the conveying roller 5a unit can be arbitrary, and as shown in FIG. 7B, it can be a shape extending in the Y direction.

In this embodiment, an exhaust control mechanism is provided for exhausting the ambient gas (G2, G3, G4) in each processing chamber (2, 3, 4) from each exhaust port (2c, 3c1, 3c2, 4c1, 4c2). , but the light processing device 1 does not need to be equipped with an exhaust control mechanism. For example, when the pressure in the processing space A1 is increased by supplying the processing gas G1 into the processing space A1, and the inflow of the atmosphere gas (G3, G4) is sufficiently suppressed to stabilize the ozone concentration, an exhaust control mechanism is not provided. Yes. In addition, the exhaust volume of the ambient gas (G2, G3, G4) may be controlled using a mechanism other than the exhaust fan (2f, 3f, 4f). For example, each of the exhaust ports (2c, 3c1, 3c2, 4c1, 4c2) is connected to the exhaust port (2c, 3c1, 3c2, 4c1, 4c2) via a damper for air volume adjustment, a variable valve, etc., so that the amount of the discharged atmospheric gas (G2, G3, G4) can be adjusted. Exhaust ducts installed in the facility may also be used. According to this structure, the amount of gas introduced into the exhaust duct is adjusted through the air volume adjustment damper, variable valve, etc., thereby adjusting the atmospheric gas discharged from each exhaust port (2c, 3c1, 3c2, 4c1, 4c2) (G2, G3, G4) amount. Furthermore, the control of the damper and the variable valve for adjusting the air volume may be performed automatically by the exhaust control mechanism or manually.

In this embodiment, the ozone concentration of the atmospheric gas G2 in the processing space A1 is measured by the transmission concentration meter 10a, and the flow rate of the processing gas G1 supplied from the gas supply source 11 is controlled. However, the concentration meter 10a is not provided, and a constant flow rate is used. The processing gas G1 may be supplied from the gas supply source 11 .

[Other embodiments] Next, other embodiments will be described.

<1> FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the light processing device 1 viewed from the Y direction. As shown in FIG. 8 , the light processing apparatus 1 may include a concentration meter 10 a and power control for controlling the power supplied to the ultraviolet light source 20 in response to the ozone concentration of the atmospheric gas G2 in the main processing chamber 2 measured by the concentration meter 10 a. Department 80.

In the case of the above-mentioned structure, for example, the amount of the processing gas G1 supplied from the gas supply source 11 is set constant, and the amount of ozone generated in the processing space A1 is controlled by the intensity of the ultraviolet light emitted from the ultraviolet light source 20.

The intensity of the ultraviolet light emitted from the ultraviolet light source 20 can be adjusted more finely than the adjustment of the supply amount of gas by, for example, adjusting the driving voltage, the magnitude of the supplied current, and, in the case of AC supply, adjusting the frequency and the duty ratio.

＜2＞ FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the light processing device 1 different from FIG. 8 when viewed from the Y direction. As shown in FIG. 9 , the light processing device 1 may be provided with a concentration meter 90a for monitoring the ozone concentration of the atmosphere gas G2 of the processing space A1, and may be provided with a recording unit 90b for recording data of the ozone concentration of the atmosphere gas G2 measured by the concentration meter 90a. Furthermore, the light processing device 1 may be provided with a transmission unit for transmitting the data to an external device via wireless or wired means. Furthermore, the recording unit 90b is, for example, a memory provided in a microcomputer, a hard disk provided in an external device, or a single recording medium such as a memory device.

With the above-mentioned configuration, for example, when a defect occurs in the processed workpiece W1, it can be confirmed whether the ozone concentration in the processing space A1 is abnormal and the cause of the defect can be analyzed. Furthermore, in the case where the ozone concentration in the processing space A1 is always monitored, an abnormality in the ozone concentration in the processing space A1 can be detected during processing of the workpiece W1.

<3> The configuration of the light processing device 1 described above is only an example, and the present invention is not limited to the configurations shown in the figures.

1:Light processing device 2: Main processing room 2a: First entrance 2b: First exit 2c: Main exhaust port 2f: Exhaust fan 2p: Separate components 2pa: Main side 2pb: hole 2pc: Containment bag 3: Move into the deputy processing room 3a: Second entrance 3b: Second exit 3c1: Sub-exhaust port 3c2: Sub-exhaust port 3f: Exhaust fan 3p: Separate components 4: Move out of the deputy processing room 4a:The third entrance 4b: The third exit 4c1: Sub-exhaust port 4c2: Sub-exhaust port 4f: Exhaust fan 4p: Separate components 5:Transportation mechanism 5a:Conveying roller 10: Processing gas control department 10a:Concentrator 11:Gas supply source 12:Exhaust control department 20:UV light source 20a:Light exit surface 21:Piping 21a:Gas inlet 22:Suction tube 22a: Entrance 22b: Discharge outlet 22c: Convergence Department 80:Power Control Department 90a:Concentrator 90b:Records Department A1: Processing space A2: Detention space B1: Space B2: Space C1: Space C2: Space d1: control signal G1: Processing gas G2: Atmospheric gas G3: Atmospheric gas G4: Atmospheric gas W1: workpiece

[Fig. 1] A schematic diagram of an embodiment of a light processing device viewed from the Y direction. [Fig. 2] An enlarged view of the periphery of the processing space A1 in Fig. 1. [Fig. 3] A view of the main processing chamber when viewed from the X direction. [Fig. 4A] A perspective view schematically showing the structure of the transport mechanism in the main processing chamber. [Fig. 4B] A view of the transport mechanism of Fig. 4A when viewed from the +Z side. [Fig. 4C] A view of the conveying mechanism of Fig. 4A when viewed from the Y direction. [Fig. 5A] A schematic view of the structure of Comparative Example 1 when viewed from the Y direction. [Fig. 5B] A schematic view of the structure of Comparative Example 2 when viewed from the Y direction. [Fig. 6] A graph showing temporal changes in ozone concentration measured by a densitometer. [Fig. 7A] A schematic diagram showing a structural example of a conveying mechanism and a partition member. [Fig. 7B] A schematic diagram showing a structural example of a conveying mechanism and a partition member. [Fig. 8] A schematic view of another embodiment of the light processing apparatus when viewed from the Y direction. [Fig. 9] A schematic diagram of another embodiment of the light processing apparatus viewed from the Y direction.

1:Light processing device

2: Main processing room

2a: First entrance

2b: First exit

2c: Main exhaust port

2f: Exhaust fan

2p: Separating components

3: Move into the deputy processing room

3a: Second entrance

3b: Second exit

3c1: Sub-exhaust port

3c2: Auxiliary exhaust port

3f: Exhaust fan

3p: Separate components

4: Move out of the deputy processing room

4a:The third entrance

4b: The third exit

4c1: Sub-exhaust port

4c2: Sub-exhaust port

4f: Exhaust fan

4p: Separating components

5:Transportation mechanism

5a: Transport roller

10: Processing gas control department

10a: Concentration meter

11:Gas supply source

12: Exhaust control unit

21a:Gas inlet

A1: Processing space

A2: Stagnation space

B1: Space

B2: Space

C1: Space

C2: Space

d1: control signal

G1: Processing gas

G2: Atmosphere gas

G3: Atmospheric gas

G4: Atmospheric gas

W1: workpiece

Claims (8)

A light processing device is a light processing device that irradiates a workpiece being transported with ultraviolet light, and is characterized by comprising: a transport mechanism that transports the workpiece and has a plurality of transport rollers; a main processing chamber that has a first inlet for carrying in the workpiece transported by the transport mechanism and a first outlet for carrying out the workpiece; a partition member that divides at least a portion between the plurality of transport rollers in the main processing chamber in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the workpiece and the direction of the rotation axis of the transport roller into a processing space and a retention space; an ultraviolet light source that is disposed in the processing space of the main processing chamber and emits ultraviolet light having a main emission wavelength of less than 200 nm toward one side of the workpiece being transported along the transport mechanism; a gas inlet that introduces processing gas into the main processing chamber; and The secondary processing chamber is provided with a second loading port for loading the workpiece to be transported and a second loading port for unloading the workpiece, and the second loading port is connected to the first loading port; At least a part of the transport drum is located closer to the processing space than the partition member. The light processing device as described in claim 1, which includes: At least one main exhaust port is used to discharge the gas in the aforementioned main processing chamber; At least one first auxiliary exhaust port is used to discharge the aforementioned gas moved into the auxiliary treatment chamber; and An exhaust control mechanism controls the amount of gas discharged from the aforementioned main exhaust port and the aforementioned first auxiliary exhaust port; The exhaust control mechanism controls the total amount of gas discharged from the main exhaust port per unit time to be smaller than the total amount of gas discharged from the first auxiliary exhaust port. The optical processing device as described in claim 1, wherein: A secondary processing chamber for carrying out the workpiece transported along the transport mechanism is formed with a third carrying inlet for carrying in the workpiece and a third carrying outlet for carrying out the workpiece, wherein the third carrying inlet is connected to the first carrying outlet. The light processing device as described in claim 3, which includes: At least one main exhaust port is used to discharge the gas in the aforementioned main processing chamber; At least one first auxiliary exhaust port is used to discharge the aforementioned gas moved into the auxiliary processing chamber; At least one second auxiliary exhaust port is used to discharge the gas moved out of the auxiliary processing chamber; and An exhaust control mechanism controls the amount of gas discharged from the aforementioned main exhaust port, the aforementioned first auxiliary exhaust port, and the aforementioned second auxiliary exhaust port; The exhaust gas control mechanism is configured to make the total amount of gas exhausted from the main exhaust port per unit time smaller than the total amount of gas exhausted from the first auxiliary exhaust port, and smaller than the total amount of gas exhausted from the second auxiliary exhaust port. The total amount of gas discharged from the port is controlled in such a way that it is small. The light processing device as described in claim 1, which includes: The exhaust pipe has an inlet arranged in the processing space and an exhaust outlet arranged outside the processing space, and the gas in the processing space is extracted from the inlet; and A concentration meter is connected to the outlet of the exhaust pipe and measures the ozone concentration of the gas flowing in from the outlet. The light processing device as described in claim 5, wherein: the aforementioned exhaust pipe has a plurality of aforementioned inlets; the plurality of aforementioned inlets are arranged along the direction of the rotation axis of the aforementioned conveying drum. The light processing device as described in claim 5 or 6, which includes: The processing gas control unit controls the flow rate of the processing gas introduced into the main processing chamber from the gas inlet based on the ozone concentration measured by the concentration meter. The light processing device as described in claim 5 or 6, wherein the device comprises: A power control unit that controls the power supplied to the ultraviolet light source based on the ozone concentration measured by the concentration meter.

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