US-12616994-B2 - Apparatus for preventing blockage of floating stage, substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method

US12616994B2US 12616994 B2US12616994 B2US 12616994B2US-12616994-B2

Abstract

An apparatus for preventing blockage of a floating stage includes a moving member moving between a floating stage for lifting a substrate and a nozzle disposed above the floating stage, and a cover installed on the moving member and moving between the floating stage and the nozzle by the moving member to cover the floating stage.

Inventors

Bong Moon LEE

Assignees

SEMES CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20230120
Priority Date: 20220629

Claims (16)

1 . An apparatus for preventing blockage of a floating stage, comprising: a moving member reciprocating toward a floating stage for lifting a substrate; and a cover installed on the moving member and moved toward the floating stage by the moving member to cover the floating stage; and a substrate detection sensor installed on a nozzle support in which a nozzle is installed, and detecting the substrate below the nozzle, wherein the moving member is a movable body installed on rails disposed on both sides of the floating stage, and the movable body is electrically connected to the substrate detection sensor and a controller and moves between the floating stage and the nozzle when the substrate detection sensor detects an absence of the substrate below the nozzle.
2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the moving member is a gripper holding and transferring the substrate.
3 . The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the cover is installed on a cover mounting portion of the gripper, opposite to a substrate loading portion of the gripper on which the substrate is loaded.
4 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the floating stage is divided into an entrance floating portion, a coating floating portion and an exit floating portion in a transfer direction of the substrate, and the cover has a plate shape and is larger than a size of an upper surface of the coating floating portion to cover the upper surface of the coating floating portion disposed in the floating stage below the nozzle.
5 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the cover has an anti-fall bump disposed on a rim of an upper surface thereof.
6 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the cover has a plurality of grooves in an upper surface thereof.
7 . An apparatus for preventing blockage of a floating stage, comprising: a moving member reciprocating toward a floating stage for lifting a substrate; a cover installed on the moving member and moved toward the floating stage by the moving member to cover the floating stage; and a substrate detection sensor installed on a nozzle support in which a nozzle is installed, and detecting the substrate below the nozzle, wherein the moving member is a rotating body installed on the nozzle support, and the rotating body is electrically connected to the substrate detection sensor by a controller, and rotates between the floating stage and the nozzle when the substrate detection sensor detects an absence of the substrate below the nozzle.
8 . A substrate processing apparatus comprising: a rail disposed on both sides of a floating stage lifting a substrate in a longitudinal direction of the floating stage; a moving member disposed on the rail, moving along the rail, and holding and transporting the substrate; a cover installed on the moving member, moved toward the floating stage by the moving member and covering the floating stage; and a nozzle disposed above the floating stage and processing the substrate by applying a liquid chemical to the substrate moved toward the floating stage; and a cleaning unit disposed above the floating stage and cleaning the cover.
9 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the floating stage is divided into an entrance floating portion, a coating floating portion and an exit floating portion in a transfer direction of the substrate, and the cover has a plate shape and has a size larger than a size of an upper surface of the coating floating portion to cover the upper surface of the coating floating portion disposed in the floating stage below the nozzle.
10 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the cover has an anti-fall bump disposed on both sides of an upper surface thereof.
11 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the cover has a plurality of grooves in an upper surface.
12 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the cleaning unit includes a suction member suctioning particles on an upper surface of the cover.
13 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the cleaning unit includes a cleaning member spraying a cleaning liquid onto an upper surface of the cover.
14 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the cleaning unit further includes an ultrasonic wave generating member disposed parallel to the cleaning member and ultrasonically vibrating the cleaning liquid.
15 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the cleaning unit further includes a drying member disposed in parallel with the cleaning member and drying the cover wet with the cleaning liquid.
16 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the cleaning unit includes, a suction member suctioning foreign particles or ink on an upper surface of the cover; a cleaning member spraying a cleaning liquid onto the upper surface of the cover; an ultrasonic wave generating member vibrating the cleaning liquid ultrasonically; and a drying member drying the cover wet with the cleaning liquid, wherein the suction member, the cleaning member, the ultrasonic wave generating member, and the drying member are sequentially disposed in a moving direction of the moving member.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) This application claims benefit of priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2022-0079380 filed on Jun. 29, 2022 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. BACKGROUND 1. Field The present disclosure relates to an apparatus for preventing blockage of a floating stage in a facility for transferring substrates from a floating stage, a substrate processing apparatus, and a substrate processing method. 2. Description of Related Art In the process of manufacturing a flat panel display, a coating process of applying a chemical solution such as Red, Green, or Black (RGB) ink or a resist solution to the surface of a target substrate formed of glass or the like is accompanied. In the related art, when the size of the display is small, by rotating the substrate while applying a chemical liquid to the central portion of the substrate, which is the material of the display, a spin coating method is used to apply a chemical solution to the surface of the substrate. However, as the size of the display increases, the spin coating method is rarely used, a coating method in which, while the substrate is moved on the floating stage to pass through the lower side of the slit-shaped nozzle having a length corresponding to the width of the substrate, a liquid chemical sprayed from a nozzle is applied to the surface of a substrate, is used. SUMMARY An aspect of the present disclosure is to provide an apparatus for preventing blockage of a floating stage, a substrate processing apparatus, and a substrate processing method, in which an air intake hole of the floating stage may be prevented from being clogged. According to an aspect of the present disclosure, an apparatus for preventing blockage of a floating stage includes a moving member moving toward a floating stage for lifting a substrate; and a cover installed on the moving member and moved toward the floating stage by the moving member to cover the floating stage. The moving member may be a gripper holding and transferring the substrate. The cover may be installed on a cover mounting portion of gripper, opposite to a substrate loading portion of gripper on which the substrate is loaded in the gripper. The floating stage may be divided into an entrance floating portion, a coating floating portion and an exit floating portion in a transfer direction of the substrate, and the cover may have a plate shape and may be larger than a size of an upper surface of the coating floating portion to cover an upper surface of a portion disposed in the floating stage below the nozzle. The cover may have an anti-fall bump disposed on a rim of an upper surface thereof. The cover may have a plurality of grooves in an upper surface thereof. The apparatus for preventing blockage of a floating stage may further include a substrate detection sensor installed on a nozzle support in which the nozzle is installed, and detecting the substrate below the nozzle. The moving member may be a movable body installed on rails disposed on both sides of the floating stage, and the movable body may be electrically connected to the substrate detection sensor and a controller and may move between the floating stage and the nozzle when the substrate detection sensor detects an absence of the substrate below the nozzle. The moving member may be a rotating body installed on the nozzle support, and the rotating body may be electrically connected to the substrate detection sensor by a controller, and may rotate between the floating stage and the nozzle when the substrate detection sensor detects an absence of the substrate below the nozzle. According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a substrate processing apparatus includes a rail disposed on both sides of a floating stage lifting a substrate in a longitudinal direction of the floating stage; a moving member disposed on the rail, moving along the rail, and holding and transporting the substrate; a cover installed on the moving member, moved toward the floating stage by the moving member and covering the floating stage; and a nozzle disposed above the floating stage and processing the substrate by applying a liquid chemical to the substrate moved toward the floating stage. The substrate processing apparatus may further include a cleaning unit disposed above the cover and cleaning the cover. The cleaning unit may include a suction member suctioning foreign particles or ink on an upper surface of the cover. The cleaning unit may include a cleaning member spraying a cleaning liquid onto the upper surface of the cover. The cleaning unit may further include an ultrasonic wave generating member disposed parallel to the cleaning member and ultrasonically vibrating the cleaning liquid. The cleaning unit may further include a drying member disposed in parallel with the cleaning member and drying the cover wet with the cleaning liquid. The cleaning unit m