JP4910899B2 - Processing head and processing method using this processing head - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a surface processing method in which a surface of a workpiece such as a glass substrate or a semiconductor substrate is highly planarized by chemical etching, and an etchant such as hydrofluoric acid (etching solution) is placed between the surface of the workpiece. The present invention relates to a processing head for supplying and sucking and a processing method using the processing head.

  A panel of a liquid crystal television or a personal computer monitor is composed of a TFT array and a color filter, and these are produced by repeatedly transferring a pattern drawn on a photomask using an exposure apparatus.

  In recent years, with the growing demand for large LCD TVs, the size of photomasks that support large panels has increased, and the display quality has been improved. It has been.

  An exposure apparatus having a size of 1220 mm × 1400 mm has been announced as a photomask size, and the size of the photomask will be further increased.

  Synthetic quartz glass having a small thermal expansion coefficient is used as the base material of the photomask, but the flatness of the base material greatly affects the exposure accuracy. When a base material with poor flatness is used, it is understood from experience that a high-definition product cannot be obtained due to pattern deviation, and a flatness of several μm is required.

  It is considered that it is very difficult to perform strict required performance such as flatness by a conventional mechanical polishing method such as a double-side polishing method or a single-side polishing method using water, polishing abrasive grains, and polishing cloth.

  In such a mechanical polishing method, the flatness of the substrate is improved by devising the uniforming of the relative movement speed between the polishing surface pressure and the polishing head and the workpiece, Since the entire surface of the substrate is flattened while being simultaneously polished, it is extremely difficult to control for flattening the partial shape.

  In view of this, a method for flattening the surface by performing local etching using plasma has been proposed as a processing method instead of machining. This is achieved by measuring the shape or thickness distribution of the workpiece in advance and then controlling the plasma scanning speed on the workpiece according to the distribution, thereby controlling the amount of etching removed and realizing high flatness. It is the correction processing method for doing.

  When this plasma etching method is applied to the processing of a glass substrate, the correction processing method by the plasma etching requires an increase in processing speed because the processing time becomes extremely long as the glass substrate becomes larger. In order to increase the processing speed, it is necessary to enlarge the processing area, that is, to increase the area of the plasma area. However, due to the difference in material properties, specifically, the relative permittivity and the difference in thermal conductivity, Becomes unstable, the amount of processing fluctuates, the input power increases, and heat accumulates on the glass substrate, making control difficult and worsening the surface roughness of the workpiece.

  In addition, the plasma etching method requires an expensive apparatus such as a vacuum chamber and a gas exhaust apparatus, and the processing of a large glass substrate has a problem that the cost for processing further increases.

  Therefore, the present applicant paid attention to the chemical etching method as a new processing method in place of the mechanical processing method and the plasma etching processing method described above (Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  The chemical etching method disclosed in Patent Document 1 uses an etching solution (etchant) that can take an active state and an inactive state depending on temperature, and is immersed in an inert etchant contained in a tank. The semiconductor substrate is moved relative to the etchant jet nozzle in a direction parallel to the main surface of the semiconductor substrate while an active etchant is applied to a part of the main surface of the semiconductor substrate by an etchant jet nozzle. The active etchant is applied to the entire surface, and the reacted etchant applied to the main surface of the semiconductor substrate is immediately discharged out of the tank through the etchant discharge pipe.

Patent Document 2 discloses a nozzle having a concentric tube structure in which a pipe having an introduction passage to which an etchant as a processing liquid is supplied and a discharge passage through which the etchant is discharged is disposed inside and outside, and the etchant is directed toward an object to be processed. Is supplied from the inner pipe, and the etchant supplied from the gap between the outer pipe and the inner pipe toward the object to be processed is supplied. The tip of the outer pipe protrudes from the tip of the inner pipe toward the object to be processed by about 0.1 to 2 mm.
JP-A-11-045872 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-163153

  When the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above is to be applied to a workpiece having a large size, a tank that can accommodate the workpiece is required, and the facility becomes very large, which is not realistic.

  On the other hand, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 2, although it is not necessary to immerse the substrate in a tank containing an inert etchant, it is completely unknown whether high flatness can be obtained.

  Therefore, the inventors have corrected that the surface of the workpiece is processed into a target shape based on measurement data obtained by measuring the surface shape of the workpiece such as a glass substrate. In order to process the surface of the workpiece with high flatness by processing, the processing head is arranged so as to be movable (scanned) with respect to the surface of the workpiece so as to be spaced apart from each other. Research was continued on a system in which the surface of the workpiece is continuously supplied and the supplied etchant is sucked and discharged by the processing head.

  In this correction processing, when the etchant is supplied / suctioned / discharged with the processing head stationary, the processing trace shape (hereinafter referred to as unit processing trace) on the surface of the workpiece is measured, and the measurement result The removal amount to be removed by machining from the surface of the workpiece before machining and the scanning speed of the machining head are obtained based on the unit machining trace based on the above, and the machining head is driven by this scanning speed.

  However, even if the machining head is driven at a predetermined scanning speed, the machining cannot be performed as calculated, and the desired flatness may not be obtained.

  The present inventors consider that the reason why the target flatness cannot be obtained is that, when the processing head is scanned, the processing amount may be shifted due to some influence such as fluctuation of the etching region, for example. It was found that the cause is the shape of the tip surface of the machining head.

  The object of the present invention is made in view of such a viewpoint, and when the machining head is scanned relative to the workpiece, the deviation from the machining amount calculated from the stationary machining trace shape is eliminated. A processing head for supplying an etchant such as hydrofluoric acid, which can maintain a constant etching region without causing it to be processed, and can perform processing with high flatness between the surface of the workpiece, and the processing head, and the processing head are used. It is intended to provide a processing method.

A first configuration of a machining head that realizes the object of the present invention is to move a liquid etchant from a single supply port to a surface of a workpiece while moving relative to the surface of the workpiece held in a vertical direction. While continuously supplying, by sucking and discharging from a plurality of discharge ports surrounding the supply port, by the etching region that is in contact with the surface of the workpiece formed between the supply port and the discharge port, A processing head for etching the surface of the workpiece, wherein the head front end portion provided with the supply port and the plurality of discharge ports is formed of one member, and the front end surface is stepless. It is formed on a flat surface.

The second configuration of the machining head that achieves the object of the present invention is to move while relatively moving with respect to the surface of the work piece, while continuously supplying a liquid etchant to the surface of the work piece from the supply port. A processing head for etching the surface of the workpiece by an etching region that is sucked and discharged from the outlet and is in contact with the surface of the workpiece formed between the supply port and the discharge port. The front end of the head provided with the supply port and the discharge port has a concentric tube structure by two members: a cylindrical inner cylinder and an outer cylinder that houses the inner cylinder with a gap. The rear end portion of the inner cylinder is formed in a flange shape, and the rear end portion of the inner cylinder is formed on the rear end surface of the outer cylinder so as to match the front end surfaces of the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder. Is positioned with respect to the front in the axial direction, and the inner cylinder is connected to the supply port. , Characterized in that the annular gap formed between the outer cylinder and the inner cylinder and the exhaust port.

  Even in a processing head with a concentric tube structure, it is desirable that the head front end is flat and has no step, but the effect of the step generated at the tip of the inner and outer cylinders on the machining becomes more noticeable as the unit processing area increases. Tend to be. For this reason, in the third configuration described above, it is preferable that the step between the front end surface of the inner cylinder and the front end surface of the outer cylinder be less than 150 μm.

According to a third configuration for realizing the object of the present invention, in the above-described second configuration, the outer cylinder has an inner diameter behind the discharge port and a larger diameter than an opening diameter at a tip that forms the discharge port. It is characterized by being formed.

According to a fourth configuration for realizing the object of the present invention, in the above-described third or fourth configuration, an outer peripheral portion of the inner cylinder is externally mounted on a holding member fitted to the inner peripheral portion of the outer cylinder, The outer cylinder and the inner cylinder are held on the same axis, and the gap between the discharge ports is held constant over the entire circumference.

  A machining method that realizes the object of the present invention controls the relative movement speed between the machining head having any one of the above-described configurations and the workpiece based on the surface shape data of the workpiece measured in advance. The surface of the workpiece is processed.

  Another processing method for realizing the object of the present invention is characterized in that, in the above processing method, the workpiece is a glass substrate, a photomask substrate, or a semiconductor substrate.

  According to the invention of the present invention, when the processing head is scanned relative to the workpiece, the target etching region can be maintained without losing the balance between supply and suction. For this reason, for example, when the processing head is scanned, it is possible to avoid the expansion of the etching region due to the protrusion of the etchant from the etching region or the liquid drawing of the etchant, that is, the variation of the etching processing amount. Processing can be performed according to the processing amount calculated in advance to make the surface of the object a target shape, and flattening can be performed with high accuracy.

In particular, the invention according to claim 1, the distal end portion of the processing head is formed by one member, the distal end surface of the machining head by a flat surface, when the size of the machining head, flat head front end The surface can be easily obtained.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, even when the front end portion of the processing head is configured to be concentric with two members to facilitate manufacture, the front end surface can be easily matched, and processing with high flatness can be achieved. realizable.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the etchant can be sucked and discharged from the discharge port with a margin in the gap formed between the inner diameter of the outer cylinder and the outer diameter of the inner cylinder.

According to the invention according to claim 4 , since the gap of the discharge port can be kept constant in the entire circumference, the etchant continuously supplied from the supply port flows uniformly toward the discharge port without partial deviation, A circular etchant region can be formed between the processing head and the surface of the workpiece, and unit processing traces without disturbance can be obtained.

According to the inventions according to claims 5 and 6 , it is possible to obtain a glass substrate, a mask substrate, a semiconductor substrate, or the like that has been subjected to surface processing with high flatness by correction processing using an etching method.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments shown in the drawings.
First Embodiment FIG. 1 is a view showing a wet etching processing apparatus provided with a processing head according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a relationship between the processing head of FIG. 1 and a substrate holder for holding a glass substrate as a workpiece in a vertical posture. FIG.

  A wet etching processing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes an etchant circulation device 1A surrounded by a broken line and a processing head 2 connected to the etchant circulation device 1A, and the processing head 2 with respect to the surface of a glass substrate 3 as a workpiece. And a processing head scanning device 1B that moves the two in two directions orthogonal to each other. Examples of the glass substrate 3 as a workpiece include a synthetic quartz glass plate, a photomask substrate, a large photomask substrate, and the like, and the large substrate is one having a side of 300 mm square or more. Further, the workpiece is not limited to a glass substrate, but may be a silicon wafer or the like.

  In the etchant circulation device 1A, an etchant 5 such as hydrofluoric acid is accommodated in an etchant tank 4 having a sealed structure, and the etchant 5 in the etchant tank 4 is supplied to the processing head 2 by an etchant supply system 6. Further, the processing head 2 and the etchant tank 4 are connected by an etchant recovery tube 7, and the etchant 5 supplied to the surface of the glass substrate 3 from the processing head 2 is sucked and returned from the etchant recovery tube 7 to the etchant tank 4.

  A gas exhaust pipe 8 is connected to the etchant tank 4, and the gas in the etchant tank 4 is exhausted by a gas exhaust pump 9 that also serves as a suction pump. When the concentration of the etchant 5 in the etchant tank 4 is reduced or increased, or when the amount of the etchant is reduced, water 11 and the etchant 5 are individually or mixed from the concentration controller 10 and supplied into the supply pipe in the etchant tank 4. 12 is supplied.

  The etchant supply system 6 includes, in order from the etchant tank 4 side, a liquid feed pump 13, a heat exchanger 14, a temperature measuring body 15 for measuring the temperature of the sent etchant 5, and the flow rate of the sent etchant 5. A flow rate adjusting valve 16 for adjusting, a flow meter 17 for measuring the flow rate of the etchant 5 to be fed, and a hydrofluoric acid concentration sensor 18 are arranged, and a supply pipe 19 comprising a flexible pipe provided downstream from the hydrofluoric acid concentration sensor 18. Is connected to the machining head 2.

  The heat exchanger 14 heats or cools the etchant 5 by the temperature control unit 20 so that the temperature of the etchant 5 fed based on the temperature measurement information of the temperature measuring body 15 becomes a predetermined temperature. Further, the flow rate adjusting valve 16 adjusts the flow rate so that the flow rate of the etchant 5 sent based on the flow rate information of the flow meter 17 becomes a predetermined flow rate. The hydrofluoric acid concentration sensor 18 feeds back the measured concentration value to the concentration controller 10 and controls the inside of the etchant tank 4 to a set concentration.

  A gas exhaust pump 9 also serving as a suction pump sucks and exhausts the gas in the etchant tank 4 to bring the inside of the etchant tank 4 into a negative pressure state, and the etchant 5 supplied between the processing head 2 and the glass substrate 3. The gas vaporized from a part of the etchant 5 is sucked from the processing head 2 and recovered into the etchant tank 4 through the recovery pipe 7. If the gas vaporized from a part of the etchant 5 supplied to the surface of the glass substrate 3 is diffused, the surface of the glass substrate 3 is corroded and the surface roughness is deteriorated. The surface roughness on the surface of the glass substrate 3 can be increased by sucking and exhausting.

  The various controls described above in the etchant circulation device 1A are executed by a control device (not shown).

  As shown in FIG. 2, the processing head scanning device 1B fixes a substrate holding table (not shown) that holds a glass substrate 3 as a workpiece in a vertical posture to an apparatus base 31 and is held by the substrate holding table. The processing head 2 is attached to a two-way moving stage 32 that can move in two directions perpendicular to the vertical direction and the horizontal direction along the surface of the glass substrate 3, and the main scanning speed for moving the processing head 2 in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction. The processing head scanning speed control unit 33 controls the feed amount in the sub-scanning direction to be fed at a predetermined pitch in the direction. The substrate holding table and the two-way moving stage 32 excluding the processing head scanning speed control unit 33 are provided. Covered by the apparatus cover 34, the etchant 5 is scattered in the room and the vaporized gas is prevented from being diffused.

  In the two-way moving stage 32, a linear movement guide mechanism 37 is attached to a pair of vertical frame members 36 constituting an aluminum vertical frame 35 formed in a gate shape, and a horizontal frame member is attached to the pair of linear movement guide mechanisms 37. 38 is attached so that the horizontal frame member 38 can be moved in the vertical direction with extremely high accuracy. Further, a ball screw 39 for driving in the main scanning direction is attached to the horizontal frame member 38 along the scanning direction, and the machining head 2 is attached to a nut portion of the ball screw 39. Further, a ball screw 40 for the sub-scanning direction is attached between the pair of vertical frame members 36 along the vertical direction, and a horizontal frame member 38 is attached to a nut portion of the ball screw 40.

  The ball screw 39 for driving in the main scanning direction and the ball screw 40 for driving in the sub scanning direction have motors (not shown) that rotationally drive the respective screw members, and these motors are driven and controlled by the machining head scanning speed control unit 33. ing.

  The machining head 2 according to the present embodiment is formed by integrating a nozzle block body 41 formed in a disk shape and a disk-shaped back block body 42 joined to the back side of the nozzle block body 41 with a fixing screw 43. The configuration is a disc shape.

The nozzle block body 41 forms one supply nozzle portion 44 for supplying an etchant at the center position, and a plurality of discharge holes 45 for sucking and discharging the etchant on the same circumference around the supply nozzle portion 44. It is formed at an equal pitch. On the back side of the nozzle block body 41, a first circumferential groove 46 that opens to the back side corresponding to the plurality of discharge holes 45 is formed, and the plurality of discharge holes 45 communicate with the first circumferential groove 46. ing.

  The back block body 42 is formed in a donut shape having an opening 47 in the center, and a second circumferential groove 48 having the same inner and outer diameter as the first circumferential groove 46 is formed on the front surface. When joined to the block body 41, the first circumferential groove 46 and the second circumferential groove 48 form an annular collection portion that collects the etchant from the plurality of discharge holes 45 at one place.

  In addition, as a material of the nozzle block body 41 and the back block body 42, it is desirable to select a material that is excellent in etchant resistance and excellent in mechanical properties such as bending strength and hardness. In particular, fluororesins such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), ABS, polyethylene, polypropylene, polycarbonate, methylpentene, PEEK and the like are used.

  A plurality of discharge passages 49 communicating with the second circumferential groove 48 are formed in the body portion of the back block body 42, and the recovery pipe 7 of the etchant circulation device 1 </ b> A is connected to the discharge end portions of these discharge passages 49. The supply pipe 19 of the etchant circulation device 1A is connected to the etchant supply nozzle section 44 of the nozzle block body 41 through the opening 47 of the back block body 42.

  The etchant 5 continuously supplied from the etchant supply nozzle portion 44 of the processing head 2 to the surface of the glass substrate 3 is supplied to a plurality of discharge holes 45 provided on the circumference of the radius R around the etchant supply nozzle portion 44. Since the suction and discharge are continuously performed, an etching region, which is a constant region where an etchant flow is formed between the head and the surface of the workpiece, is formed with a radius R.

  Further, the pressurizing head 2 configured as described above is directed from one horizontal end to the other end of the upper end of the glass substrate 3 held in a vertical posture by a two-way moving stage 32 as indicated by an arrow in FIG. The main scanning is performed horizontally, and when a predetermined position on the other end is reached, the sub-scan is sent downward by a predetermined amount, and then the main scanning is performed toward one end. I do. Then, this series of main scanning and sub-scanning is performed from the upper end to the lower end of the glass substrate 3, and the surface of the glass substrate 3 is flattened by an etching process.

  Before performing the etching process, the shape of the surface of the glass substrate 3 is measured and processed from the pre-processing shape and the static processing trace shape that is processed by the processing head 2 so as to be closest to the target shape based on the measurement result. The removal amount and the main scanning speed of the machining head are calculated. For example, the main scanning speed of the processing head 2 is controlled so that a large convex portion has a large etching amount, and a small convex portion or a concave portion has a small etching amount.

  The shape of the surface of the glass substrate 3 can be measured using a non-contact method using a laser or the like, or a contact method such as a stylus. In addition, since the measurement is performed with the glass substrate 3 held in a vertical posture, the influence of the self-weight deflection of the glass substrate 3 can be eliminated.

  In addition, it has been clarified by the present invention that the flatness is affected even when there is a deviation in the balance between the supply and suction of the etchant that forms the etching region, and when there is a change in the concentration of the etchant such as hydrofluoric acid. Yes.

  By the way, although the etching process was carried out by removing such elements that affect the flatness, the intended surface shape may not be obtained. As the cause, the present inventor thinks that there is some cause in the surface shape of the processing head, and as shown in FIG. 1, the processing head 2 is further flattened from the etchant supply nozzle portion 44 and the discharge hole 45 to the outer peripheral side. When it was formed on the surface and surface treatment was performed using this, it was confirmed that the machining amount obtained by actually scanning the machining head was consistent with the machining amount calculated from the unit machining trace.

  FIG. 7A is a diagram showing a comparison between the line cross-sectional shape calculated from the unit processing trace shown in the perspective view of FIG. 7B and the actual line cross-sectional shape, and the R of the processing head 2 is set to 40 (φ80 mm). The surface of the glass substrate 3 was scanned for one line at a scanning speed of 240 mm / min with a discharge hole diameter of 0.5 mm and a discharge hole interval of 0.5 mm. Other processing conditions are shown below.

Hydrofluoric acid concentration: 35wt /%
Distance between front end surface of processing head and glass substrate: 250μm
Hydrofluoric acid circulation flow rate: 30L / h
Suction flow rate: 31.4L / h
Hydrofluoric acid temperature: 40 ° C
Substrate holding posture: vertical holding As shown in FIG. 7 (a), the line cross-sectional shape obtained by the calculation and the line cross-sectional shape obtained as a result of scanning at a scanning speed of 240 mm / min almost overlap each other. It was confirmed that it could be processed.

  Like the processing head 2 of the present embodiment shown in FIG. 4A, the etchant supplied from the etchant supply nozzle portion 44 flows radially toward the discharge hole 45, and the etchant supply nozzle does not stay partway along the way. A new etchant supplied from the unit 44 always contacts the surface of the glass substrate 3. At that time, gas vaporized from a part of the etchant is also sucked and discharged, and air outside the discharge holes 45 is also sucked and discharged into the plurality of discharge holes 45 arranged on the same circumference. An etching area on a perfect circle is formed between the surface of the substrate 3.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the nozzle block body 41 is formed by integral molding on the front surface of the processing head 2 so that there is no step in the etching region, and the front surface of the nozzle block body 41 is a flat surface. . Then, by adjusting the supply amount of the etchant supplied from the etchant supply nozzle portion 44 and the discharge amount of the etchant sucked and discharged from the discharge hole 45, the etchant flow is always ensured on the surface of the glass substrate 3, so that the etching region is obtained. Even if the area is increased, processing can be performed without variation. Note that the fixing screw 43 disposed on the outer peripheral portion is formed at a lower level, but this step is located sufficiently away from the etching region and affects the flow of the etchant forming the etching region. It is not a thing.

  In the first embodiment, the discharge port has a structure in which a plurality of discharge holes 45 are provided at equal intervals on the same circumference centering on the etchant supply nozzle portion 44 that forms the supply port. In addition, an annular groove portion having a concave cross section with an open front surface may be formed on the same circumference centering on the etchant supply nozzle portion 44, and the annular groove portion may be used as a discharge port.

Second Embodiment FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of the present invention.

  FIG. 5 shows a wet etching processing apparatus similar to that of FIG. 1, and is the same as that of the first embodiment except that the structure of the processing head 2 is different from the processing head of FIG. Therefore, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted.

  The machining head 2 according to the second embodiment includes an outer cylinder 51 formed in a cylindrical shape, a cylindrical inner cylinder 52 that is housed in the outer cylinder 51 so as to coincide with the central axis, and an inner peripheral portion of the outer cylinder 51. The guide member 53 formed in a disk shape disposed between the outer periphery of the inner cylinder 52 and the outer cylinder 51 disposed concentrically and the back side of the inner cylinder 52 (the side opposite to the glass substrate 3) And a disk-shaped back plate 54 that comes into contact with the disk.

  The outer cylinder 51 has an outer diameter D0, an inner diameter D1, an opening diameter of the front opening 51a is D2 (D1> D2), and the inner cylinder 52 has an outer diameter D3 (D2> D3). The outer cylinder 51 has a flange portion 51b at an end on the back side, and a concave portion 51c is formed in the flange portion 51b. On the other hand, a flange portion 52 a is formed at an end portion on the back side of the inner cylinder 52, and the flange portion 52 a is fitted into the recess 51 c of the outer cylinder 51 without looseness. Then, in a state where the front surface of the flange portion 52a of the inner cylinder 52 is in contact with the rear surface of the recess 51c of the outer cylinder 51, the front end surface of the inner cylinder 52 and the front end surface of the outer cylinder 51 are matched to the same level without a step. The total length of the inner cylinder 52 and the outer cylinder 51 is set.

  Further, an annular discharge hole 55 having a gap of [(D2−D3) / 2 = d1] is formed between the inner cylinder 52 and the outer cylinder 51 at the tip of the inner cylinder 52.

  Here, the inner cylinder 52 is used as an etchant supply nozzle for supplying an etchant to the glass substrate 3, and the annular discharge hole 55 is used for sucking and discharging the supplied etchant. Therefore, the etching region is in a circle formed on the outer periphery of the annular discharge hole 55.

  The guide member 53 is concentrically mounted on the outer periphery of the inner cylinder 52 and concentrically mounted on the inner periphery of the outer cylinder 51, thereby holding the inner cylinder 52 in the same axis with respect to the outer cylinder 51, The gap d1 of the annular discharge hole 55 can be maintained over the entire circumference. Note that an opening 53a through which the etchant sucked from the annular discharge hole 55 passes is appropriately formed in the inner peripheral portion of the outer cylinder 51 on which the guide member 53 is mounted. Similarly, a plurality of liquid holes 52 b are formed on the same circumference in the circumferential direction in the flange portion 52 a of the inner cylinder 52.

  The back plate 54 has a connection hole 56 joined to the hollow hole portion 58 of the inner cylinder 52 at the center, and a concave circumferential groove 57 is formed on the front side corresponding to the plurality of liquid holes 52b, along the radial direction. Thus, a plurality of discharge paths 59 communicating with the circumferential groove 57 are formed. The recovery pipe 7 is connected to the discharge ends of the plurality of discharge paths 59. Further, the supply pipe 19 of the etchant circulation device 1 </ b> A is connected to the connection hole 56.

  The back plate 54 is fastened to the flange portion 51 b of the outer cylinder 51 by a fixing screw 43, abuts against the flange portion 52 a of the inner cylinder 52 and restricts the axial movement of the inner cylinder 52, and the outer cylinder 51, the inner cylinder 52, The back plate 54 is fixed integrally.

  In the second embodiment described above, the etchant 5 is supplied to the gap with the glass substrate 3 through the hollow hole portion 58 of the inner cylinder 52 and is sucked into the annular discharge hole 55 formed concentrically around the hollow hole portion 58. Then, it passes through the opening 53 a formed in the guide member 53, is further collected in the concave circumferential groove 57 through the liquid hole 52 b formed in the flange portion 52 a of the inner cylinder 52, and is further collected through the discharge path 59.

  The gap [(D1-D3) / 2 = d2] between the inner diameter (D1) of the outer cylinder 51 and the outer diameter (D3) of the inner cylinder 52 is made larger than the gap d1 of the annular discharge hole 55. If the gap d2 is equal to the gap d1, the etchant cannot be sufficiently sucked and discharged from the discharge hole 55 due to the influence of the pipe resistance reaching the recovery pipe 7 through the liquid hole 54. For this reason, the gap d2 is made larger than the gap d1 so that the etchant can be sufficiently sucked and discharged from the discharge hole 55.

  In the processing head 2 of the first embodiment, the nozzle block body 41 is integrally formed, and the front surface is formed on a flat surface having no level difference. However, the processing head 2 of the second embodiment described above has a front end surface. Since there are two members, the outer cylinder 51 and the inner cylinder 52, there is a slight difference in level.

  FIG. 4B shows a state in which the front end of the inner cylinder 52 is displaced rearward (in a direction away from the glass substrate 3) with respect to the front end of the outer cylinder 51, and a concave step is generated on the rear side. ) Shows a state where the tip of the inner cylinder 52 has a convex step ahead of the tip of the outer cylinder 51.

  When the concave step shown in FIG. 4B is generated, the etching region tends to fluctuate and liquid drawing tends to occur. When the convex step shown in FIG. 4C is generated, the supplied etchant In some cases, a part of the gas and a part of the vaporized gas are not sucked and discharged to the annular discharge hole 55 and flow during scanning.

  FIG. 6A is a diagram showing the relationship between the level difference of the machining head and the line machining cross-sectional shape.

  The processing conditions are as follows.

Unit processing etchant area; φ15mm
Hydrofluoric acid concentration: 25wt%
Head front-substrate distance; 500 μm
Hydrofluoric acid circulation flow rate: 30L / h
Suction: 31.4L / min
Hydrofluoric acid temperature: 25 ℃
Substrate holding; horizontal holding (processing head is placed below the glass substrate and hydrofluoric acid is supplied upward)
Scanning speed: 200mm / min
Under the above processing conditions, 20 reciprocating scans (40 scans) were performed at steps of +50 μm, +170 μm + 300 μm, −200 μm, and −320 μm, and the processing cross section in the scanning direction was measured. FIG. 6A shows the measurement result converted into the depth per scan. The step control was performed by adjusting a spacer between the flange portion 52a of the inner cylinder 52 and the concave portion 51c of the outer cylinder 51.

  As shown in FIG. 6A, in the case of the calculated value and the step +50 μm (overlapping with the calculated value), +170 μm, and −200 μm, substantially the same cross-sectional shape as the calculated value was obtained, but the step was +300 μm, − In the case of 320 μm, processing was deeper and narrower than the calculated value, and unevenness occurred in the processed cross-sectional shape.

  Next, Table 1 below shows the relationship between the step of the machining head and the machining cross-sectional area, and the ratio between the reference value and each machining cross-sectional area.

  Table 1 shows that the cross-sectional area of 1.7 is almost the same as the standard value at the step +50 μm, but it is 3.6 at +170 μm, −2.4 at −200 μm, and a slightly larger cross-sectional area than the standard value, and 45.7 at −300 μm. At 320μm, the cross-sectional area was 40.8, which was larger than the standard value.

  From these results, if the step is less than ± 200 μm, preferably less than ± 150 μm, a line processing cross-sectional shape equivalent to the calculated value can be obtained. The degree becomes difficult to obtain. Further, as shown in FIG. 6B, when the level difference becomes large, liquid drawing occurs backward in the scanning direction.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, the processing head scanning device 1B fixes the glass substrate 3 and moves the processing head 2 with respect to the glass substrate 3. Therefore, the mechanism for driving the processing head 2 is glass. It does not protrude beyond the substrate 3. Of course, the glass substrate 3 may be moved, but it is necessary to secure a space in which the glass substrate 3 can be moved around the glass substrate 3, leading to an increase in the size of the entire apparatus and a heavy glass substrate. In order to move 3, it is necessary to make the moving mechanism robust, which increases the weight of the entire apparatus and increases the power consumption.

(A) is the schematic of the wet etching processing apparatus which shows 1st Embodiment of this invention, (b) is a front view of the processing head shown to (a). The AA arrow directional view of FIG. The figure which shows the scanning order in the process head scanning apparatus of FIG. (A) is a figure which shows the shape of the front end surface of a processing head, and the state through which an etchant flows, (b) (c) is a figure which shows the level | step difference of a processing head, and the state through which an etchant flows. (A) is the schematic of the wet etching processing apparatus which shows 2nd Embodiment of this invention, (b) is a front view of the processing head shown to (a). (A) is a figure which shows the relationship between the level | step difference of a process head, and a line process cross-sectional shape, (b) is a figure which shows the mode of the liquid drawing at the time of scanning. (A) is the figure which compared the line cross-sectional shape after line processing, and the line cross-sectional shape of a calculated value, (b) is a perspective view which shows the line cross-sectional shape of a calculated value.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Wet etching processing apparatus 1A Etchant circulation apparatus 1B Processing head scanning apparatus 2 Processing head 3 Glass substrate (workpiece)
4 Etchant Tank 5 Etchant 6 Etchant Supply System 7 Etchant Recovery Pipe 8 Gas Exhaust Pipe 9 Gas Exhaust Pump 10 Concentration Controller 11 Water 12 Supply Pipe 13 Liquid Pump 14 Heat Exchanger 15 Temperature Sensor 16 Flow Control Valve 17 Flowmeter 18 Foot Acid concentration sensor 19 Supply pipe 20 Temperature control unit 31 Device base 32 Two-way moving stage 33 Processing head scanning speed control unit 34 Device cover 35 Vertical frame 36 Vertical frame member 37 Linear movement guide mechanism 38 Horizontal frame member 39 Main scanning direction drive Ball screw 40 Ball screw 41 for sub-scanning direction Nozzle block body 42 Back block body 43 Fixing screw 44 Supply nozzle portion 45 Discharge hole 46 First circumferential groove 47 Opening 48 Second circumferential groove 49 Discharge path 51 Outer cylinder 51b Flange 51c Recess 52 Inner cylinder 52a Flange 52b liquid holes 53 guide members 53a opening 54 back plate 55 discharge hole 56 connecting hole 57 peripheral groove 58 hollow bore 59 discharge path 61 recess

Claims (6)

A plurality of discharge ports surrounding the supply port while continuously supplying a liquid etchant from one supply port to the surface of the workpiece while moving relative to the surface of the workpiece held in the vertical direction A processing head for etching the surface of the workpiece by an etching region that is sucked and discharged from the supply port and is in contact with the surface of the workpiece formed between the supply port and the discharge port. And
The processing head according to claim 1, wherein the head front end portion provided with the supply port and the plurality of discharge ports is formed of a single member, and the front end surface is formed on a flat surface having no step. While moving relative to the surface of the workpiece, a liquid etchant is continuously supplied from the supply port to the surface of the workpiece and sucked and discharged from the discharge port. The supply port, the discharge port, A processing head for etching the surface of the work piece by an etching region in contact with the surface of the work piece formed between
The head front end portion where the supply port and the discharge port are provided is configured in a concentric tube structure by two members, a cylindrical inner cylinder and an outer cylinder that includes the inner cylinder with a gap therebetween. The rear end portion of the inner cylinder is formed in a flange shape, and the rear end portion of the inner cylinder is brought into contact with the rear end surface of the outer cylinder so that the front end surfaces of the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder are aligned. A machining head characterized by positioning in an axially forward direction, using the inner cylinder as the supply port, and an annular gap formed between the outer cylinder and the inner cylinder as the discharge port. The machining head according to claim 2 , wherein the outer cylinder has an inner diameter behind the discharge port that is larger than an opening diameter at a tip that forms the discharge port. An outer peripheral portion of the inner cylinder is externally mounted on a holding member fitted to an inner peripheral portion of the outer cylinder, the outer cylinder and the inner cylinder are held on the same axis, and the gap of the discharge port is entirely surrounded. processing head according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that was held constant at. The surface of the workpiece is controlled by controlling the relative movement speed between the machining head according to any one of claims 1 to 4 and the workpiece based on data of the surface shape of the workpiece measured in advance. A processing method characterized by processing. The processing method according to claim 5 , wherein the workpiece is a glass substrate, a photomask substrate, or a semiconductor substrate.