JP6336801B2 - Substrate dryer - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to apparatus for drying a substrate.

  For example, a series of processing steps for a semiconductor substrate or a liquid crystal glass substrate is provided with a cleaning step for removing foreign matter adhering to the previous step using water or a chemical solution, and the substrate cleaned in this cleaning step Is sent to a drying process to remove droplets adhering to the substrate. In the drying process, a substrate after cleaning is transported, and for example, a curtain-like gas is ejected from the slit of an air knife toward the surface of the substrate, and a droplet on the substrate is removed (for example, a patent) Reference 1).

  In the substrate drying process using the air knife described in Patent Document 1, an automatic flow rate adjusting valve is provided in a gas supply pipe for supplying gas to the air knife, and a gas having an optimum pressure for drying the substrate is supplied to the air knife. The substrate is dried by jetting gas onto the substrate from the slit of the air knife.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-100776

  By the way, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the substrate transported to the drying process is a substrate 102 in which a hole 101 passing from one surface to the other surface is formed, or as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B. As described above, there is a stacked substrate 104 in which a step 103 is formed by stacking a plurality of substrates 104a and 104b. When the substrates 102 and 104 are dried with the air knife described above with respect to such a substrate, the droplet 106 may remain inside the hole 101 of the substrate 102 and at the corner 103 a of the step 103 of the substrate 104. In order to efficiently remove the droplets on the substrate by the air knife, the air knife is inclined at a predetermined angle upstream of the transport direction of the substrate, and gas is ejected from an oblique direction to blow off the droplets. A portion where gas injection does not reach the substrates 102 and 104 as described above may occur, and droplets may remain. Insufficient drying of the substrates 102 and 104 not only deteriorates the quality, but also hinders substrate processing in a later process, and therefore, it is necessary to avoid droplets remaining on the substrate as much as possible.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate drying apparatus that can reduce as much as possible the droplets remaining on the substrate after the drying process with an air knife.

The substrate drying apparatus according to the present invention comprises:
Surface of the substrate to be conveyed after washing hand, the gas from the slits of an air knife, a substrate drying apparatus for drying the substrate by spraying toward the upstream side of the substrate, the substrate, In the substrate drying apparatus having a hole on one side of the width direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the substrate to be transported ,
Gas injection means for injecting gas toward at least one surface of the substrate on the downstream side in the transport direction of the substrate from the position where the air knife is disposed,
The gas jetting unit jets the gas toward the hole of the substrate at an angle different from an angle formed by the gas jetted from the air knife with the surface of the substrate ,
The air knife is provided so as to incline toward the downstream side in the transport direction of the substrate around one end of the substrate being transported near the hole portion in plan view.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce droplets remaining on the substrate as much as possible after performing a drying process by jetting gas onto the substrate using an air knife.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing each process of substrate processing including a substrate drying process using the substrate drying apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a substrate drying apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a schematic plan view of a substrate drying apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic plan view of the modification of the substrate drying apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic side view of the board | substrate drying apparatus which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic plan view of the board | substrate drying apparatus which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic plan view of the modification of the board | substrate drying apparatus which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the plane of a board | substrate when drying the board | substrate with which the hole part (through-hole) was formed only with the air knife. It is a schematic diagram which shows the cross section of a board | substrate when drying the board | substrate with which the hole part (through-hole) was formed only with the air knife. It is a schematic diagram which shows the plane of a board | substrate when drying the board | substrate with which the level | step difference was formed by lamination | stacking of two board | substrates was performed only with the air knife. It is a schematic diagram which shows the side surface of a board | substrate when drying the board | substrate in which the level | step difference was formed by lamination | stacking of two board | substrates was performed only with the air knife.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows each step of substrate processing including a substrate drying apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention and a substrate drying process using the substrate drying apparatus. A substrate processing step 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes a brush cleaning step 15 for cleaning the surface of a substrate 11 that is placed on a transfer roller 12 and transferred by a brush 13, and a rinse liquid is supplied to the surface of the substrate 11 that has been brush cleaned. A rinsing step 16, a high-pressure liquid cleaning step 17 for cleaning the surface of the rinsed substrate 11 by jetting high-pressure liquid, and a substrate drying step 18 for drying the substrate 11 cleaned by jetting high-pressure liquid.

  The brush cleaning process 15 is a process in which the upper and lower rotary brushes 13 and 13 are brought into contact with the surface (upper and lower surfaces) of the substrate 11 that is transported by placing the lower surface on the transport roller 12 for cleaning. At this time, the cleaning liquid is supplied from the cleaning liquid supply device 20 to the rotating brush 13 that contacts the upper surface of the substrate.

  A rinsing process 16 for processing the substrate 11 after cleaning in the brush cleaning process 15 supplies a rinsing liquid from the rinsing liquid supply device 21 to the surface of the substrate 11, and a cleaning processing liquid, an etching liquid or the like attached to the substrate 11. Is a step of rinsing.

  The high-pressure liquid cleaning step 17 provided after the rinsing step 16 is a step in which high-pressure liquid (water, chemical liquid, etc.) is sprayed onto the surface of the substrate 11 by the high-pressure tool 22 to perform cleaning.

  Then, the substrate 11 cleaned in the high-pressure liquid cleaning step 17 is transferred to the substrate drying step 18. The substrate drying process 18 is a process for removing the droplets on the substrate 11 by jetting gas onto the surface of the substrate 11 being transported.

Here, the structure of the drying process 18 is demonstrated using FIG. 2A and 2B.
As shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B, the substrate drying apparatus 31 according to this embodiment used in the substrate drying step 18 has both surfaces (upper surfaces) of the substrate 11 mounted on the transport roller 12 and transported. , A pair of air knives 33 and 34 for injecting gas toward the lower surface, respectively, and the substrate on the downstream side in the transport direction of substrate 11 (direction indicated by arrow 14) from the position where the air knives 33 and 34 are disposed. 11 and a pair of air blow nozzles 35 and 36 which are gas injection means for injecting gas toward both surfaces (upper surface and lower surface) of the apparatus. A part of the substrate 11 conveyed to the substrate drying device 31 is formed with a hole 38 that penetrates the upper surface and the lower surface of the substrate 11.

  The air knives 33 and 34 are gas injection devices in which slits 33 a and 34 a that are gas outlets are formed at tapered tips, and high-pressure curtain-like (layered) gas is injected from the slits 33 a and 34 a onto the substrate 11. Thus, the liquid droplets on the substrate 11 are blown away. The air knives 33 and 34 are connected to a high-pressure gas supply source (not shown) and a pipe (not shown), respectively.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, which is a schematic side view of the substrate drying apparatus 31, the air knife 33 is provided on the upper surface side of the substrate 11, with the slit 33 a facing downward, and the substrate 11 from the direction perpendicular to the upper surface of the substrate 11. Is inclined (inclination angle A degree) on the downstream side in the conveying direction (direction indicated by arrow 14). The reason why it is arranged at the inclined position is to push the liquid droplets backward by blowing out the gas from the inclined direction and to blow it off from the substrate.

  The air knife 34 is provided on the lower surface side of the substrate 11, and is inclined (inclination angle A) from the direction perpendicular to the lower surface of the substrate 11 toward the downstream side in the transport direction (direction indicated by the arrow 14) of the substrate 11 with the slit 34 a facing upward. It is arranged at the position. As described above, the air knives 33 and 34 are disposed on the upper surface side and the lower surface side of the substrate 11 in order to remove droplets from the surface (upper surface and lower surface) of the substrate 11.

  The air knives 33 and 34 are arranged so that the high-pressure curtain-like (layered) gas ejected from the slits 33a and 33b covers the entire width direction of the substrate 11 (direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the substrate 11). It extends in the width direction and is at least longer than the dimension of the substrate 11 in the width direction.

  The air blow nozzles 35 and 36 are gas injection devices in which a plurality of nozzles 35a and 36a are formed at the tips, and have a function of injecting high-pressure gas from the plurality of nozzles 35a and 36a to directly blow off droplets. In the present embodiment, the air blow nozzles 35 and 36 are arranged to face each other up and down across the substrate 11 to be transported, and as shown in FIG. 2B, along the transport direction of the substrate 11 (the direction indicated by the arrow 14). The nozzles 35a and 36a are provided in two rows. Each row includes four nozzles extending in a direction (width direction of the substrate 11) orthogonal to the transport direction of the substrate 11. Accordingly, each of the air blow nozzles 35 and 36 has eight nozzles, and covers at least the hole 38 formed in the substrate conveyed by the conveying roller 12 (the hole 38 and its peripheral area). Inject high-pressure gas. The air nozzles 35 and 36 are connected to a high-pressure gas supply source (not shown) and a pipe (not shown), respectively, in the same manner as the air knives 33 and 34.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, the air blow nozzle 35 is arranged vertically on the upper surface side of the substrate 11 with the tip of the nozzle 35a facing the upper surface side of the substrate 11 (downward). The gas is set to be jetted perpendicularly to the upper surface of the substrate 11. As shown in FIG. 2B, the air blow nozzle 35 is disposed so as to face the movement path of the hole 38 formed in the substrate 11.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, the air blow nozzle 36 is arranged in the vertical direction on the lower surface side of the substrate 11 with the tip of the nozzle 36a facing the lower surface side of the substrate 11 (upward). The gas is set so as to be jetted vertically from the lower surface of the substrate 11 from 36a. Further, similarly to the air blow nozzle 35 described above, the air blow nozzle 35 is disposed so as to face the movement path of the hole 38 formed in the substrate 11.

  Next, the operation of the substrate drying apparatus 31 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 2A, and 2B.

  The substrate 11 cleaned in the high-pressure liquid cleaning step 17 for cleaning by jetting the high-pressure liquid is placed on the transport roller 12 and transported to the substrate drying step 18. In the substrate drying step 18, the substrate drying device 31 jets gas to the substrate 11 transported by the transport roller 12 by the air knives 33 and 34 and the air blow nozzles 35 and 36, and both surfaces (upper surface) of the substrate 11. The substrate 11 is dried by blowing off the droplets adhering to the lower surface. Specific contents will be described below.

  The gas blown from the transport direction is inclined from the slit 33a of the air knife 33 on the upper surface of the substrate 11 placed on the transport roller 12 and transported, and the droplets on the upper surface of the substrate 11 are upstream in the transport direction. Pushed and blown away. Similarly to the above, the lower surface of the substrate 11 that is placed on the transport roller 12 and transported hits the gas blown from the transport direction through the slit 34a of the air knife 34 in an inclined direction, and the liquid droplets on the lower surface of the substrate 11 Is pushed to the upstream side in the transport direction and blown away.

  As described above, the droplets adhering to both surfaces (upper surface and lower surface) of the substrate 11 are transported in both surfaces (upper surface and lower surface) by the gas ejected from the slits 33a and 34a of the air knives 33 and 34 as described above. Pushed upstream, blown away and removed. However, since the gas sprayed from the slits 33a, 34a of the air knives 33, 34 is blown from the direction inclined with respect to both surfaces (upper surface, lower surface) as described above, holes that are through holes formed in the substrate 11 A sufficient amount of gas is not blown inside the portion 38 to blow off the droplets. Further, the droplets adhering to the downstream surface of the substrate 11 in the transport direction 14 are blown off by the gas ejected from the air knives 33 and 34 and enter the hole 38. Therefore, a droplet may remain inside the hole 38 after the gas is ejected by the air knives 33 and 34.

  At this time, the substrate 11 that has been subjected to the gas injection by the air knives 33 and 34 is subjected to gas injection by the air blow nozzles 35 and 36 provided on the downstream side of the air knife 33 and 34 in the transport direction of the substrate 11 on both sides ( The upper surface and the lower surface are received from the vertical direction. Thereby, the gas jetted from the air blow nozzles 35 and 36 sufficiently enters the inside of the hole 38 on the substrate 11, so that the liquid droplets remaining in the hole 38 are blown off and removed from the hole 38. It will be.

  As described above, the droplets adhering to the surfaces of the both surfaces (upper surface and lower surface) of the substrate 11 can be effectively removed by the jet gas inclined with respect to the surface by the air knives 33 and 34, and the air knife 33. , 34 can be removed by the gas jetted vertically from the plurality of nozzles 35a, 36a of the air blow nozzles 35, 36, because the droplets adhered to the inside of the hole 38 that cannot be sufficiently removed by the holes 34, The substrate 11 on which the portion 38 is formed can be sufficiently dried.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the gas from the air blow nozzles 35 and 36 is jetted from the direction perpendicular to the substrate 11, but an inclination angle is provided depending on the thickness of the substrate 11 and the diameter size of the hole 38. If this is effective in blowing off the droplets inside the hole 38, the air-boost nozzles 35, 36 are set in the vertical direction so that the jet gas from the air blow nozzles 35, 36 is inclined from the vertical direction. The setting position may be adjusted so as to be inclined at a predetermined angle from the angle.

  According to the embodiment described above, the air knife 33, 36 for injecting gas toward the substrate is provided on the downstream side in the transport direction of the substrate 11 from the position where the air knives 33, 34 are disposed. Since the gas is sprayed onto the substrate at an angle different from that of the gas, 34, the gas can be ejected onto the liquid droplets that cannot be removed by the air knives 33, 34.

  In the substrate drying process 18, the air blow nozzles 35 and 36 are configured to inject gas from a direction perpendicular to the surface of the substrate 11, so that the gas injection by the air knives 33 and 34 does not reach the part. However, it is possible to improve the gas ejection and the droplet removal from the substrate 11.

  Next, a modification of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, in the substrate drying apparatus 32 of the present modification, an air knife 33 (34) having the same mechanism as that of the first embodiment further includes a transport direction of the substrate 11 (direction indicated by the arrow 14). The air knife 33 (34) is arranged so as to be inclined (inclination angle B degrees) with respect to the orthogonal direction (the same applies to the air knife 34 not shown). The contents are the same as those in the first embodiment except for the arrangement of the air knife 33 (34).

  Of the two ends of the air knife 33 (34), it is possible to select to incline around the other end different from the one end of the above example, but in order to effectively eliminate the droplets on the substrate 11, It is preferable to incline the side of the substrate 11 close to the hole 38 around the one end. At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, the air knife 33 (34) is inclined to the downstream side in the transport direction of the substrate 11 around one end of the substrate 11 near the hole 38. The droplets of the substrate 11 that have passed through are collected at the corner of the substrate (on the side opposite to the hole 38 in the width direction of the substrate 11) and blown off.

  In this modification, since the air knives 33 and 34 are arranged in an inclined direction on the plane, the droplets on the substrate 11 by the air knives 33 and 34 can be gathered and removed at the corners, so that the air blow nozzle 35 , 36 and the drying effect of the substrate 11 by the substrate drying device 32 is improved.

  Next, a second embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4A and 4B. In addition, it demonstrates centering on a different point from 1st Embodiment, and attaches | subjects and demonstrates the same name and the same code | symbol about the component which has the same function as 1st Embodiment.

  The substrate drying apparatus 50 of the present embodiment is set so that the length in the width direction is longer than the length of the substrate so that the air blow nozzles 55 and 56 can inject gas over the entire width direction of the substrate 51. (Refer to FIG. 4B) is a difference from the first embodiment. The points other than the above are the same as those in the first embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, the substrate 51 transported to the substrate drying step 18 is a laminated substrate in which substrates 51a and 51b are laminated, and a step 53 is formed between the substrate 51a and the substrate 51b. A corner portion 54 of the step 53 extending in the width direction of the substrate 11 (a direction orthogonal to the substrate transport direction) is a range in which gas is not sufficiently ejected by the air knives 33, 34. The droplets collected from the surface of 51a are easy to collect, and the droplets cannot be sufficiently removed by the air knives 33 and 34.

  Since the step 53 formed on the substrate 51 is formed in the entire width direction of the substrate 51 (a method orthogonal to the transport direction), the nozzles 55 a and 56 a provided at the tip portions of the air blow nozzles 55 and 56 are formed on the substrate 51. Are arranged in two rows in the transfer direction (direction indicated by arrow 14), and are arranged at predetermined intervals in a direction (width direction of the substrate 51) orthogonal to the transfer direction of the substrate 51. The number of nozzles is appropriately set and arranged so that gas is jetted from the nozzles 55a and 56a over the entire width direction of the substrate 51.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. The substrate 51 cleaned in the high-pressure liquid cleaning process 17 that is cleaned by jetting high-pressure liquid is placed on the transport roller 12 and transported to the substrate drying process 18. In the substrate drying step 18, the substrate drying device 50 injects gas to the substrate 11 conveyed by the conveying roller 12 by the air knives 33 and 34 and the air blow nozzles 55 and 56, and both surfaces (upper surface) of the substrate 11. , The substrate 11 is dried by blowing off the droplets adhering to the lower surface. Specific contents will be described below.

  The upper surface of the upper substrate 51a of the substrate 51 that is placed on the transport roller 12 and transported hits the gas blown from the downstream side in the transport direction of the substrate through the slit 33a of the air knife 33, and the upper surface of the substrate 51a. Droplets are blown off to the upstream side of the substrate transfer direction. However, it is difficult for the gas from the slit 33a of the air knife 33 to be directly blown onto the corner portion 54 of the step 53, and as a result, the droplet tends to remain in the corner portion 54. On the other hand, since the lower surface of the lower substrate 51b is flat, the droplets are sufficiently blown off by the gas ejected by the air knife 34 and removed. Therefore, the substrate 51 has a high possibility that a droplet remains in the corner portion 54 of the step 53 after the gas is ejected by the air knives 33 and 34.

At this time, the substrate 51 that has been subjected to the gas injection by the air knives 33 and 34 is subjected to gas injection by the air blow nozzles 55 and 56 provided on the downstream side of the air knife 33 and 34 in the transport direction of the substrate 11 (both sides). Since the injected gas sufficiently enters the corners of the step 53 on the substrate 51, the liquid droplets remaining on the step 53 are blown off, and the droplets are discharged from the step 53. Will be removed. Even if the air blow nozzle 55 is used alone, the liquid droplets are removed from the corners of the step 53. However, when the air blow nozzle 55 is used alone, the liquid drops around the lower surface of the lower substrate 51b, and the liquid drops. Since droplets may remain, it is preferable to use the air blow nozzles 55 and 56 in a pair at the upper and lower positions in order to sufficiently dry the entire substrate 51.

  As described above, with respect to the laminated substrate 51 having the step 53 obtained by the lamination of the two substrates 51a and 51b, the droplets adhering to the surfaces of both surfaces of the substrate 51 are effectively removed by the jet gas from the air knives 33 and 34. In addition, droplets attached to the corners 54 of the step 53 that cannot be sufficiently removed by the air knives 33 and 34 are ejected vertically from the plurality of nozzles 55a and 56a of the air blow nozzles 55 and 56. Therefore, the substrate 51 on which the step 53 is formed can be sufficiently dried.

  As described above, in this embodiment, gas is injected from the air blow nozzles 55 and 56 from the direction perpendicular to the substrate 51. However, depending on the thickness of the substrate 51, the shape of the step 53, etc. Is effective in blowing off the droplets at the corners 54 of the step 53, the air blow nozzles 55, 56 are moved in the vertical direction in order to incline the jet gas from the air blow nozzles 55, 56 from the vertical direction. The set position is adjusted so as to be inclined at a predetermined angle from

  According to the embodiment described above, for example, it is possible to efficiently remove the droplets at the corner portion 54 of the step 53 formed on the laminated substrate 51 remaining after the gas is ejected by the air knives 33 and 34.

Next, a modification of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, in the substrate drying apparatus 61 of this modification, the air knife 33 (34) shown in the second embodiment is further in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the substrate 11 (direction indicated by the arrow 14). On the other hand, the air knife 33 (34) is disposed at a position inclined (inclination angle B degrees) around one end (the same applies to the air knife 34 not shown). The contents are the same as those of the second embodiment except for the arrangement of the air knife 33 (34).

  As shown in FIG. 5, since the air knife 33 (34) is inclined to the downstream side in the transport direction of the substrate 11 around one end, the droplets on the substrate 11 that have passed under the air knife 33 , Collected at the corner of the substrate (upper left of the page) and blown away.

  In this modification, since the air knives 33 and 34 are arranged in an inclined direction on the plane, the air knives 33 and 34 can collect and remove the droplets on the substrate 11. The drying effect of the substrate 11 by the combined substrate drying device 61 is improved.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the air blow nozzles are vertically opposed to each other has been described. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and any one of the upper and lower air blow nozzles may be shifted in the transport direction. .

11 Substrate 12 Transport roller 14 Arrow (Indicates substrate transport direction)
33, 34 Air knife 33a, 34b Slit 35, 36 Air blow nozzle 35a, 35b Nozzle 38 Hole

Claims (4)

Surface of the substrate to be conveyed after washing hand, the gas from the slits of an air knife, a substrate drying apparatus for drying the substrate by spraying toward the upstream side of the substrate, the substrate, In the substrate drying apparatus having a hole on one side of the width direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the substrate to be transported ,
Gas injection means for injecting gas toward at least one surface of the substrate on the downstream side in the transport direction of the substrate from the position where the air knife is disposed,
The gas jetting unit jets the gas toward the hole of the substrate at an angle different from an angle formed by the gas jetted from the air knife with the surface of the substrate ,
The substrate drying apparatus , wherein the air knife is provided so as to incline toward the downstream side in the transport direction of the substrate around one end of the substrate being transported near the hole portion in plan view . The substrate drying apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the gas ejecting unit ejects the gas from a direction perpendicular to a surface of the substrate to be transported . Said gas injecting means, the substrate drying apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 having an air blow nozzle for injecting the gas into the substrate. It said gas injection means, a substrate drying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3 are respectively provided on both sides of the substrate.

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