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JP-7856682-B2 - Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method

JP7856682B2JP 7856682 B2JP7856682 B2JP 7856682B2JP-7856682-B2

Inventors

  • 川岸 稜也
  • 高村 幸宏
  • 大宅 宗明

Assignees

  • 株式会社ＳＣＲＥＥＮホールディングス

Dates

Publication Date
20260511
Application Date
20240116

Claims (13)

  1. A substrate processing apparatus for applying a processing solution to the surface of a substrate, A slit nozzle having a slit-shaped discharge port for discharging the processing liquid, Above the substrate, a nozzle moving unit moves the slit nozzle, with its discharge opening facing downward, in a direction along the surface of the substrate, relative to the substrate; A plate-shaped nozzle guard is provided on the front side of the slit nozzle in the relative movement direction in which the slit nozzle moves relative to the substrate by the nozzle moving part when the processing liquid is applied, and moves integrally with the slit nozzle. The nozzle guard is brought into contact with the nozzle guard by a first adhesive member, thereby transferring foreign matter adhering to the nozzle guard to the first adhesive member and removing it from the nozzle guard . The aforementioned foreign matter removal unit is A first fixed adhesive roller having the first adhesive member provided on the surface of a first roller body that is rotatable around a first rotation axis parallel to the longitudinal direction of the nozzle guard, A roller drive unit that rotates the first fixed adhesive roller around the first rotation axis while the first adhesive member contacts the entire length of the nozzle guard from below, thereby transferring the foreign matter adhering to the nozzle guard to the first adhesive member and removing it from the nozzle guard, The nozzle guard has a second fixed adhesive roller, on which a second adhesive member is provided on the surface of a second roller body that is rotatable about a second rotation axis parallel to the longitudinal direction of the nozzle guard. The substrate processing apparatus is characterized in that the second fixed adhesive roller rotates around the second rotation axis with the second adhesive member in contact with the first adhesive member, thereby transferring the foreign matter adhering to the first adhesive member to the second adhesive member and removing it from the first fixed adhesive roller .
  2. A substrate processing apparatus for applying a processing solution to the surface of a substrate, A slit nozzle having a slit-shaped discharge port for discharging the processing liquid, Above the substrate, a nozzle moving unit moves the slit nozzle, with its discharge opening facing downward, in a direction along the surface of the substrate, relative to the substrate; A plate-shaped nozzle guard is provided on the front side of the slit nozzle in the relative movement direction in which the slit nozzle moves relative to the substrate by the nozzle moving part when the processing liquid is applied, and moves integrally with the slit nozzle. The nozzle guard is brought into contact with the nozzle guard by a first adhesive member, thereby transferring foreign matter adhering to the nozzle guard to the first adhesive member and removing it from the nozzle guard . The aforementioned foreign matter removal unit is A first movable adhesive roller having the first adhesive member provided on the surface of the first roller body, A roller drive unit that, with the first adhesive member in contact with the nozzle guard from below to form a nip portion, rolls the first movable adhesive roller in the longitudinal direction of the nozzle guard, thereby moving the nip portion along the nozzle guard and transferring the foreign matter adhering to the nozzle guard to the first adhesive member to remove it from the nozzle guard, It has a second movable adhesive roller on which a second adhesive member is provided on the surface of the second roller body, A substrate processing apparatus wherein the second movable adhesive roller rotates in response to the rolling motion of the first movable adhesive roller while contacting the first adhesive member below the nip portion, thereby transferring the foreign matter transferred to the first adhesive member to the second adhesive member and removing it from the first movable adhesive roller .
  3. A substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 , A substrate processing apparatus wherein the adhesive strength of the second adhesive member is higher than that of the first adhesive member.
  4. A substrate processing apparatus for applying a processing solution to the surface of a substrate, A slit nozzle having a slit-shaped discharge port for discharging the processing liquid, Above the substrate, a nozzle moving unit moves the slit nozzle, with its discharge opening facing downward, in a direction along the surface of the substrate, relative to the substrate; A plate-shaped nozzle guard is provided on the front side of the slit nozzle in the relative movement direction in which the slit nozzle moves relative to the substrate by the nozzle moving part when the processing liquid is applied, and moves integrally with the slit nozzle. The nozzle guard is brought into contact with the nozzle guard by a first adhesive member, thereby transferring foreign matter adhering to the nozzle guard to the first adhesive member and removing it from the nozzle guard . The aforementioned foreign matter removal unit is The first adhesive member is provided on its surface, and a fixing tape supply unit supplies an adhesive tape having a width that can contact the entire nozzle guard in the longitudinal direction of the nozzle guard, A fixed tape collection unit that collects the adhesive tape supplied from the tape supply unit, A fixed backup roller that presses the surface of the adhesive tape supplied from the tape supply unit against the nozzle guard before it is collected in the tape collection unit, thereby transferring the foreign matter adhering to the nozzle guard to the first adhesive member, A tape running unit that runs the adhesive tape from the fixed tape supply unit to the fixed tape retrieval unit via the fixed backup roller, A substrate processing apparatus having
  5. A substrate processing apparatus for applying a processing solution to the surface of a substrate, A slit nozzle having a slit-shaped discharge port for discharging the processing liquid, Above the substrate, a nozzle moving unit moves the slit nozzle, with its discharge opening facing downward, in a direction along the surface of the substrate, relative to the substrate; A plate-shaped nozzle guard is provided on the front side of the slit nozzle in the relative movement direction in which the slit nozzle moves relative to the substrate by the nozzle moving part when the processing liquid is applied, and moves integrally with the slit nozzle. The nozzle guard is brought into contact with the nozzle guard by a first adhesive member, thereby transferring foreign matter adhering to the nozzle guard to the first adhesive member and removing it from the nozzle guard . The aforementioned foreign matter removal unit is A movable tape supply unit that can move in the longitudinal direction of the nozzle guard while supplying an adhesive tape on which the first adhesive member is provided on its surface, A movable tape collection unit that can move in the longitudinal direction while collecting the adhesive tape supplied from the movable tape supply unit, A movable backup roller that is movable in the longitudinal direction, which is supplied from the movable tape supply unit and presses the surface of the adhesive tape against the nozzle guard before it is collected in the movable tape collection unit, thereby forming a nip portion that transfers the foreign matter adhering to the nozzle guard to the first adhesive member, The adhesive tape is transported from the movable tape supply unit to the movable tape collection unit via the movable backup roller, and the movable tape supply unit, the movable tape collection unit, and the movable backup roller are moved integrally in the longitudinal direction of the nozzle guard in accordance with the movement of the adhesive tape, thereby moving the nip portion along the nozzle guard, A substrate processing apparatus having
  6. A substrate processing apparatus for applying a processing solution to the surface of a substrate, A slit nozzle having a slit-shaped discharge port for discharging the processing liquid, Above the substrate, a nozzle moving unit moves the slit nozzle, with its discharge opening facing downward, in a direction along the surface of the substrate, relative to the substrate; A plate-shaped nozzle guard is provided on the front side of the slit nozzle in the relative movement direction in which the slit nozzle moves relative to the substrate by the nozzle moving part when the processing liquid is applied, and moves integrally with the slit nozzle. A foreign matter removal unit that removes foreign matter adhering to the nozzle guard by bringing the first adhesive member into contact with the nozzle guard and transferring the foreign matter to the first adhesive member, Before discharging the processing liquid from the outlet of the slit nozzle toward the surface of the substrate, a preliminary discharging unit waits at a preliminary discharging position away from the substrate, discharging a predetermined amount of the processing liquid from the outlet of the slit nozzle, A control unit that controls the pre-discharge unit and the foreign matter removal unit, Equipped with , The foreign matter removal unit is provided in the relative movement direction, on the front side of the pre-discharge unit, and at a distance from the pre-discharge unit equal to the distance from the slit nozzle to the nozzle guard. A substrate processing apparatus, wherein the control unit controls the pre-discharge unit and the foreign matter removal unit so that the discharge or standby of the processing liquid in the pre-discharge unit and the removal of the foreign matter in the foreign matter removal unit are performed at least partially in parallel .
  7. A substrate processing apparatus for applying a processing solution to the surface of a substrate, A slit nozzle having a slit-shaped discharge port for discharging the processing liquid, Above the substrate, a nozzle moving unit moves the slit nozzle, with its discharge opening facing downward, in a direction along the surface of the substrate, relative to the substrate; A plate-shaped nozzle guard is provided on the front side of the slit nozzle in the relative movement direction in which the slit nozzle moves relative to the substrate by the nozzle moving part when the processing liquid is applied, and moves integrally with the slit nozzle. A foreign matter removal unit that removes foreign matter adhering to the nozzle guard by bringing the first adhesive member into contact with the nozzle guard and transferring the foreign matter to the first adhesive member, A nozzle cleaning unit for cleaning the aforementioned slit nozzle, A control unit that controls the nozzle cleaning unit and the foreign matter removal unit, Equipped with , The foreign matter removal unit is provided in the relative movement direction on the front side of the nozzle cleaning unit and at a distance from the nozzle cleaning unit equal to the distance from the slit nozzle to the nozzle guard. A substrate processing apparatus, wherein the control unit controls the nozzle cleaning unit and the foreign matter removal unit so that the cleaning of the slit nozzle by the nozzle cleaning unit and the removal of the foreign matter by the foreign matter removal unit are performed at least partially in parallel .
  8. A coating step in which the processing liquid is applied to the surface of the substrate by moving the slit nozzle and a plate-shaped nozzle guard relative to the substrate while discharging the processing liquid from the discharge port of the slit nozzle with the discharge port close to the surface of the substrate, thereby preventing foreign matter from adhering to the slit nozzle with the nozzle guard, which is provided on the front side of the slit nozzle in the relative movement direction of the slit nozzle, Prior to the coating step, the system includes a removal step in which a first adhesive member is brought into contact with the nozzle guard using a foreign matter removal unit to transfer any foreign matter adhering to the nozzle guard to the first adhesive member and remove it from the nozzle guard . The aforementioned foreign matter removal unit is A first fixed adhesive roller having the first adhesive member provided on the surface of a first roller body that is rotatable around a first rotation axis parallel to the longitudinal direction of the nozzle guard, A roller drive unit that rotates the first fixed adhesive roller around the first rotation axis while the first adhesive member contacts the entire length of the nozzle guard from below, thereby transferring the foreign matter adhering to the nozzle guard to the first adhesive member and removing it from the nozzle guard, The nozzle guard has a second fixed adhesive roller, on which a second adhesive member is provided on the surface of a second roller body that is rotatable about a second rotation axis parallel to the longitudinal direction of the nozzle guard. The second fixed adhesive roller rotates around the second rotation axis with the second adhesive member in contact with the first adhesive member, thereby transferring the foreign matter adhering to the first adhesive member to the second adhesive member and removing it from the first fixed adhesive roller. A substrate processing method characterized by the following:
  9. A coating step in which the processing liquid is applied to the surface of the substrate by moving the slit nozzle and a plate-shaped nozzle guard relative to the substrate while discharging the processing liquid from the discharge port of the slit nozzle with the discharge port close to the surface of the substrate, thereby preventing foreign matter from adhering to the slit nozzle with the nozzle guard, which is provided on the front side of the slit nozzle in the relative movement direction of the slit nozzle, Prior to the coating step, the system includes a removal step in which a first adhesive member is brought into contact with the nozzle guard using a foreign matter removal unit to transfer any foreign matter adhering to the nozzle guard to the first adhesive member and remove it from the nozzle guard . The aforementioned foreign matter removal unit is A first movable adhesive roller having the first adhesive member provided on the surface of the first roller body, A roller drive unit that, with the first adhesive member in contact with the nozzle guard from below to form a nip portion, rolls the first movable adhesive roller in the longitudinal direction of the nozzle guard, thereby moving the nip portion along the nozzle guard and transferring the foreign matter adhering to the nozzle guard to the first adhesive member to remove it from the nozzle guard, It has a second movable adhesive roller on which a second adhesive member is provided on the surface of the second roller body, The second movable adhesive roller rotates in response to the rolling motion of the first movable adhesive roller while contacting the first adhesive member below the nip portion, thereby transferring the foreign matter transferred to the first adhesive member to the second adhesive member and removing it from the first movable adhesive roller. A substrate processing method characterized by the following:
  10. A coating step in which the processing liquid is applied to the surface of the substrate by moving the slit nozzle and a plate-shaped nozzle guard relative to the substrate while discharging the processing liquid from the discharge port of the slit nozzle with the discharge port close to the surface of the substrate, thereby preventing foreign matter from adhering to the slit nozzle with the nozzle guard, which is provided on the front side of the slit nozzle in the relative movement direction of the slit nozzle, Prior to the coating step, the system includes a removal step in which a first adhesive member is brought into contact with the nozzle guard using a foreign matter removal unit to transfer any foreign matter adhering to the nozzle guard to the first adhesive member and remove it from the nozzle guard . The aforementioned foreign matter removal unit is The first adhesive member is provided on its surface, and a fixing tape supply unit supplies an adhesive tape having a width that can contact the entire nozzle guard in the longitudinal direction of the nozzle guard, A fixed tape collection unit that collects the adhesive tape supplied from the tape supply unit, A fixed backup roller that presses the surface of the adhesive tape supplied from the tape supply unit against the nozzle guard before it is collected in the tape collection unit, thereby transferring the foreign matter adhering to the nozzle guard to the first adhesive member, A tape running unit that runs the adhesive tape from the fixed tape supply unit to the fixed tape retrieval unit via the fixed backup roller, Having, A substrate processing method characterized by the following:
  11. A coating step in which the processing liquid is applied to the surface of the substrate by moving the slit nozzle and a plate-shaped nozzle guard relative to the substrate while discharging the processing liquid from the discharge port of the slit nozzle with the discharge port close to the surface of the substrate, thereby preventing foreign matter from adhering to the slit nozzle with the nozzle guard, which is provided on the front side of the slit nozzle in the relative movement direction of the slit nozzle, Prior to the coating step, the system includes a removal step in which a first adhesive member is brought into contact with the nozzle guard using a foreign matter removal unit to transfer any foreign matter adhering to the nozzle guard to the first adhesive member and remove it from the nozzle guard . The aforementioned foreign matter removal unit is A movable tape supply unit that can move in the longitudinal direction of the nozzle guard while supplying an adhesive tape on which the first adhesive member is provided on its surface, A movable tape collection unit that can move in the longitudinal direction while collecting the adhesive tape supplied from the movable tape supply unit, A movable backup roller that is movable in the longitudinal direction, which is supplied from the movable tape supply unit and presses the surface of the adhesive tape against the nozzle guard before it is collected in the movable tape collection unit, thereby forming a nip portion that transfers the foreign matter adhering to the nozzle guard to the first adhesive member, The adhesive tape is transported from the movable tape supply unit to the movable tape collection unit via the movable backup roller, and the movable tape supply unit, the movable tape collection unit, and the movable backup roller are moved integrally in the longitudinal direction of the nozzle guard in accordance with the movement of the adhesive tape, thereby moving the nip portion along the nozzle guard, Having, A substrate processing method characterized by the following:
  12. A coating step in which the processing liquid is applied to the surface of the substrate by moving the slit nozzle and a plate-shaped nozzle guard relative to the substrate while discharging the processing liquid from the discharge port of the slit nozzle with the discharge port close to the surface of the substrate, thereby preventing foreign matter from adhering to the slit nozzle with the nozzle guard, which is provided on the front side of the slit nozzle in the relative movement direction of the slit nozzle, Prior to the coating step, a removal step is performed in which a first adhesive member is brought into contact with the nozzle guard using a foreign matter removal unit to transfer foreign matter adhering to the nozzle guard to the first adhesive member and remove it from the nozzle guard. Before discharging the processing liquid from the discharge port of the slit nozzle toward the surface of the substrate, a pre-discharging unit is used to discharge a predetermined amount of the processing liquid from the discharge port of the slit nozzle at a pre-discharging position away from the substrate, and the unit waits for this to happen. Equipped with , The foreign matter removal unit is provided in the relative movement direction, on the front side of the pre-discharge unit, and at a distance from the pre-discharge unit equal to the distance from the slit nozzle to the nozzle guard. The discharge or standby of the processing liquid in the pre-discharge unit and the removal of the foreign matter in the foreign matter removal unit are performed at least partially in parallel. A substrate processing method characterized by the following:
  13. A coating step in which the processing liquid is applied to the surface of the substrate by moving the slit nozzle and a plate-shaped nozzle guard relative to the substrate while discharging the processing liquid from the discharge port of the slit nozzle with the discharge port close to the surface of the substrate, thereby preventing foreign matter from adhering to the slit nozzle with the nozzle guard, which is provided on the front side of the slit nozzle in the relative movement direction of the slit nozzle, Prior to the coating step, a removal step is performed in which a first adhesive member is brought into contact with the nozzle guard using a foreign matter removal unit to transfer foreign matter adhering to the nozzle guard to the first adhesive member and remove it from the nozzle guard. A step of cleaning the slit nozzle using the nozzle cleaning unit, Equipped with , The cleaning of the slit nozzle by the nozzle cleaning unit and the removal of the foreign matter by the foreign matter removal unit are performed at least partially in parallel. A substrate processing method characterized by the following:

Description

This invention relates to a substrate processing technology for supplying and coating a processing solution from a slit nozzle onto substrates for precision electronic devices such as glass substrates for FPDs (Flat Panel Displays) like liquid crystal displays and organic EL displays, semiconductor wafers, glass substrates for photomasks, substrates for color filters, substrates for recording disks, substrates for solar cells, substrates for electronic paper, and substrates for semiconductor packages (hereinafter simply referred to as "substrates"). A substrate processing apparatus is known that applies a processing liquid to a substrate by discharging a processing liquid from a slit nozzle, which has a slit-shaped discharge opening, while moving the slit nozzle relative to the substrate. For example, in the apparatus described in Patent Document 1, the processing liquid is applied by moving the slit nozzle above the stage surface while holding the substrate on the stage surface. On the other hand, in the apparatus described in Patent Document 2, the substrate is moved in a so-called levitation method while the slit nozzle is positioned at a predetermined application position above the stage surface. More specifically, the processing liquid is applied by moving the substrate so that it passes through an application area sandwiched between the slit nozzle and the stage surface, while the substrate is levitated by a pressurized gas layer formed on the stage surface by a gas flow passing through gas holes provided on the stage surface. Although the substrate transport methods differ in this way, nozzle guards are provided in both apparatuses. This is to take into consideration that foreign matter or protrusions (hereinafter referred to as "foreign matter") may protrude upward on the surface side of the substrate. That is, if the processing liquid is applied while these foreign matter are present, the slit nozzle will collide with the foreign matter, hindering the application of the processing liquid. In other words, the above-mentioned collision can adversely affect the applied processing liquid and the slit nozzle. Therefore, in the conventional apparatus described above, a nozzle guard is positioned in front of the slit nozzle in the relative movement direction relative to the substrate. Incidentally, when removing foreign matter using a nozzle guard, the foreign matter may adhere to the nozzle guard. Depending on the size of the foreign matter, it may come into contact with the substrate when coating is performed using a slit nozzle equipped with such a nozzle guard, causing defects. Furthermore, if coating is repeated using the slit nozzle with foreign matter still attached, defects will occur in the same location on multiple sheets in a row. Therefore, it has been proposed to incorporate, for example, a nozzle guard cleaning device described in Patent Document 3 into the substrate processing apparatus. This nozzle guard cleaning device removes foreign matter by supplying rinsing liquid to the nozzle guard. Japanese Patent Publication No. 2006-102609Japanese Patent Publication No. 2011-212544Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-134204 This figure schematically shows the overall configuration of a coating apparatus, which is a first embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention.Figure 1 is a schematic side view of the coating apparatus shown.This is a perspective view showing the overall configuration and operation of the foreign object detection unit.This diagram schematically illustrates the operation of the foreign object detection unit.This is a perspective view showing the overall configuration and operation of a dry guard cleaner, which is an example of a foreign object removal unit.Figure 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating the operation of the dry guard cleaner.This flowchart shows the coating operation performed by the coating apparatus shown in Figure 1.This is a schematic side view showing the overall configuration of a coating apparatus, which is a second embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention.This flowchart shows the coating operation performed by the coating apparatus shown in Figure 8.This is a schematic side view showing the overall configuration of a coating apparatus, which is a third embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention.This figure schematically illustrates the operation of a dry guard cleaner, which is an example of a foreign matter removal unit equipped in a coating apparatus, which is a fourth embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention.Figure 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating the operation of the dry guard cleaner.This is a schematic perspective view showing the configuration and operation of a dry guard cleaner, which is an example of a foreign matter removal unit equipped in a coating apparatus, which is a fi