KR20090048330A - Coating machine and coating method - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided are a coating apparatus and a coating method which can suppress the prolongation of the cycle time of the entire coating apparatus even when time is required for fixing the substrate to the stage.

A substrate placing step of placing a substrate on the surface of the stage, an initial film forming step of forming an initial film on the substrate placed on the surface of the stage, and a coating film forming a coating film on the substrate while discharging the coating liquid from the coating unit. In the coating method of the coating apparatus provided with the formation process, the board | substrate mounting process is equipped with the adsorption process which adsorb | sucks a board | substrate to the surface of a stage, and this adsorption process is the initial film formation area | region of the board | substrate containing a coating start position. And an initial adsorption step of adsorbing the film, and a main adsorption step of adsorbing the coating film formation area of the substrate except the initial film formation area, and after the initial adsorption step is completed, the initial film formation step is completed. Let's start with the configuration.

Description

Coating device and coating method {COATING MACHINE AND COATING METHOD}

TECHNICAL FIELD This invention relates to the coating apparatus and coating method which apply | coat a coating liquid on a board | substrate.

BACKGROUND ART In a flat panel display such as a liquid crystal display or a plasma display, a resist liquid coated on a glass substrate (called a coating substrate) is used. This application board | substrate is formed by the application | coating device which apply | coats a resist liquid uniformly.

The coating device includes a stage on which a substrate is placed and a coating unit through which a resist liquid is discharged, and the substrate is moved by discharging the resist liquid from the coating unit. A resist liquid film having a uniform thickness is formed on the substrate.

Specifically, as described in Patent Document 1 below, when a substrate is supplied onto the stage, the substrate is adsorbed and supported on the stage by generating a negative pressure in the adsorption holes on the stage. At this time, in order to prevent the air layer from generating as bubbles between the substrate and the stage, when the substrate is placed, the substrate is placed on the stage from the center portion of the substrate in a state where the center portion of the substrate is removed. After the substrate is placed and adsorbed on the stage, the coating unit is moved so that the resist liquid is discharged to form a coating film on the substrate.

Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-281091

However, in the coating device described in Patent Document 1, since the coating unit moves after the entire substrate is adsorbed and fixed on the stage, there is a problem that the cycle time of the coating device becomes long. In other words, it is difficult to fine-tune the positioning of the substrate due to the increase in size of the substrate, so that it takes time to accurately mount and fix the entire large substrate on the stage, and the cycle time of the entire coating apparatus is extended. There was a tendency.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and the coating apparatus and coating method which can suppress the prolongation of the cycle time of the entire coating apparatus even when time is required for fixing the substrate to the stage in the coating apparatus. The purpose is to provide.

MEANS TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM In order to solve the said subject, the coating apparatus of this invention is equipped with the stage which mounts a board | substrate, and the coating unit which forms a coating film on a board | substrate by discharging a coating liquid, moving with respect to the board | substrate mounted on the surface of the said stage. In the coating apparatus, a substrate adsorption means for adsorbing and supporting a substrate is provided in the stage, and the substrate adsorption means includes an initial stage for adsorbing an initial film formation region of a substrate on which an initial film at the start of coating is formed. An adsorption part and the main adsorption part which adsorb | suck a coating film formation area except this initial film formation area are characterized by the above-mentioned.

According to the coating device, since the substrate adsorption means for adsorbing the substrate includes an initial adsorption part and the main adsorption part, after a portion of the substrate is adsorbed in the initial adsorption part, the coating unit is moved to correspond to the initial adsorption part. Application can be started to the substrate portion. That is, since the coating unit can be moved to the substrate portion corresponding to the initial adsorption unit immediately after the adsorption of the substrate, the cycle time as the whole coating apparatus as compared to the case where the coating operation is started after adsorption and fixing the entire substrate as in the prior art Can be shortened.

In addition, a suction hole is formed in each of the initial suction portion and the main suction portion of the substrate suction means, the suction hole being formed by opening on the surface of the stage. The substrate suction means includes suction means for generating a suction force in the suction hole; The suction force from the suction means can be configured to include switching means for selectively generating the initial suction portion and the main suction portion.

According to this configuration, by operating the switching means, a suction force is generated only in the initial adsorption portion to adsorb a portion of the substrate to the initial adsorption portion, and then a suction force is also generated in the main adsorption portion to adsorb and fix the entire substrate. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide suction means in both the initial adsorption unit and the main adsorption unit.

In addition, a suction hole is formed in each of the initial adsorption unit and the main adsorption unit of the substrate adsorption unit, the suction hole being formed on the surface of the stage, and the substrate adsorption unit is a suction unit for generating a suction force at the suction port of the initial adsorption unit. And suction means for generating a suction force at the suction port of the main suction unit may be provided independently of the initial suction unit and the main suction unit.

According to this configuration, the suction force can be generated independently of each of the initial adsorption portion and the main absorption portion of the substrate adsorption means at appropriate timings.

Further, in the initial adsorption unit and the main adsorption unit, adsorption grooves for adsorbing the substrate to the surface of the stage are formed, which are connected to the suction hole and open to the surface of the stage. The adsorption groove of the initial adsorption part and the adsorption groove of the main adsorption part may be formed independently of each other by a boundary portion which prevents the mutual connection.

According to this configuration, when the suction force is generated in the suction hole, the suction force is also generated in the suction groove connected to the suction hole, so that the entire substrate portion facing the suction groove is sucked to the suction groove side. Even when bubbles are generated between the substrate and the stage, bubbles are attracted by the suction grooves, thereby avoiding the problem of bubbles remaining between the substrate and the stage. In addition, when the adsorption groove of the initial adsorption part and the adsorption groove of the main adsorption part are formed independently of each other, when suction force is generated in the initial adsorption part, it is possible to prevent the suction force from acting on the substrate portion to be adsorbed on the main adsorption part. Can be.

In addition, a fin member for supporting a substrate is provided in the initial adsorption unit and the main adsorption unit of the substrate adsorption unit, the pin members being accommodated in the stage and protruding from the surface of the stage, respectively. The negative pin member may be configured to be accommodated in the stage before the pin member of the main suction part.

According to this structure, when placing a board | substrate on a stage, a part of board | substrate can be mounted on an initial stage adsorption | suction part initially. As a result, the adsorption of the substrate in the initial adsorption unit can be started before the adsorption of the substrate in the main adsorption unit. In addition, since the substrate is placed from the initial adsorption unit and subsequently the main adsorption unit is placed, the air layer existing between the substrate and the initial adsorption unit is released to the side of the main adsorption unit. Thereby, it can suppress that an air layer exists as a bubble between a board | substrate and a stage (initial adsorption | suction part).

Moreover, the fin member of the said main adsorption part may be set as the structure accommodated in a stage sequentially from the said initial adsorption part side.

According to this structure, since the board | substrate part mounted in this adsorption | suction part is mounted one by one from the initial adsorption part side toward the main adsorption part side sequentially, the air layer which exists between a board | substrate and a stage falls out to the side which is not mounted one by one. Thereby, it can suppress that an air layer exists as a bubble between a board | substrate and a stage.

Moreover, in order to solve the said subject, the coating method of this invention provides a substrate mounting process of mounting a board | substrate on the surface of a stage, and the initial film | membrane in the state which stopped the coating unit which discharges a coating liquid on the board | substrate mounted on the said stage. Application | coating provided with the initial film formation process to form, and the coating film formation process which forms a coating film on a board | substrate by moving this coating unit relatively with respect to a board | substrate, discharging a coating liquid from a coating unit after forming the said initial film. In the coating method of the apparatus, the substrate placing step includes an adsorption step of adsorbing the substrate to the surface of the stage, and the adsorption step is an initial adsorption step of adsorbing the initial film forming region of the substrate on which the initial film is formed. And the coating film type of the substrate except the initial film forming region Including the adsorption step for adsorbing zone, and then after the initial adsorption step is completed, before the present adsorption process is completed, and is characterized in that the initial film forming step starts.

According to this structure, after the initial adsorption step is completed, and before the main adsorption step is completed, the coating film forming process by the coating unit is started, the coating film forming process starts after the substrate placing process is completed as in the prior art. The cycle time in the whole coating apparatus can be shortened compared with the coating method used.

According to the coating apparatus and the coating method of this invention, even if time is required for fixing the board | substrate with respect to the stage in a coating apparatus, it can suppress that the cycle time of the whole coating apparatus is extended.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing a coating apparatus in one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view thereof, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state where a part of the substrate is placed in the coating apparatus.

As shown in Figs. 1 to 3, the coating apparatus is a liquid substance such as a chemical liquid or a resist liquid on the substrate 10 (hereinafter referred to as a coating liquid). The base film 2 is formed, the stage 21 for mounting the substrate 10, and the specific direction with respect to the stage 21 (see Fig. 1). And a coating unit 30 configured to be movable in the horizontal direction).

In addition, in the following description, the direction which the application | coating unit 30 moves is made into the X-axis direction, and the direction orthogonal to this on a horizontal plane makes the direction orthogonal to both the Y-axis direction, the X-axis, and the Y-axis direction as Z-axis direction. It is assumed that the explanation proceeds.

On the base 2, a stage 21 is arranged at the center portion thereof. This stage 21 mounts and supports the board | substrate 10 carried in on the surface. Substrate adsorption means 40 is provided in this stage 21, and the board | substrate adsorption means 40 is able to adsorb | suck and support the board | substrate 10 on the surface of the stage 21. As shown in FIG. Specifically, the stage 21 is provided with a plurality of suction holes 41a and 42a (see FIG. 4) opening on the surface thereof, and the suction holes 41a and 42a and the vacuum pump 81 ( Vacuum pumps 81a and 81b are connected via a pipe 84. Then, by operating the vacuum pump 81 in a state where the substrate 10 is placed on the surface of the stage 21, suction force is generated in the suction holes 41a and 42a so that the substrate 10 is at the surface side of the stage 21. It is attracted to and is supported by adsorption. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the initial adsorption part 41 mentioned later is connected with the vacuum pump 81a, and this adsorption part 42 mentioned later is It is connected with the vacuum pump 81b, and the vacuum pump 81 (vacuum pump 81a, 81b) is provided independence with respect to the initial stage adsorption part 41 and this main adsorption part 42, respectively.

The substrate adsorption means 40 is composed of an initial adsorption part 41 and a main adsorption part 42, as shown in FIG. 4 is a view showing the stage 21, where FIG. 4A is an overall perspective view of the stage 21, and FIG. 4B is an enlarged view of the surface portion thereof. In the initial adsorption portion 41, an initial film is formed on the substrate 10 at the start of coating by the coating unit 30, and the surface portion of the substrate 10 on which the initial film is formed (initial shown in Fig. 3). The film forming region 11 is adsorbed on the stage 21. In addition, since the initial film formed by the coating unit 30 has a linear shape, the initial film forming region 11 may be a linear shape in which the initial film is formed, but may be a predetermined region including the linear shape. That is, even if it has an area | region with the grade which can form an initial film stably without generating a coating unevenness, it is a case where it is a constant area | region including the said line shape in this Example.

The suction hole 41a and the suction groove 41b are formed in this initial suction part 41, and by operating the vacuum pump 81a, the suction hole 41a and A suction force can be generated in the suction groove 41b. Specifically, the suction groove 41b is formed in a lattice shape on the surface of the stage 21 so as to connect the suction holes 41a. When the substrate 10 (initial film formation region 11) is placed on the initial adsorption portion 41, the suction hole 41a and the adsorption groove 41b are covered by the substrate 10. As shown in FIG. By operating the vacuum pump 81a in this state, a suction force acts on the suction hole 41a and the suction groove 41b, so that the initial film forming region 11 of the substrate 10 is adsorbed to the initial suction portion 41. It is supposed to be. And even if bubbles exist between the initial film formation region 11 of the substrate 10 and the initial adsorption portion 41 of the stage 21, the adsorption grooves are formed over the entire surface of the initial adsorption portion 41. By allowing bubbles to be attracted to 41b, bubbles remaining between the initial film forming region 11 of the substrate 10 and the initial adsorption portion 41 of the stage 21 can be avoided. Accordingly, it is not necessary to mount from the central portion of the substrate 10 in order to avoid the generation of bubbles, and it is possible to mount from the initial film forming region 11 which is an end of the substrate 10.

In addition, the main adsorption part 42 sucks on the stage 21 the surface (coating film formation area 12 shown in FIG. 3) of the board | substrate 10 except the part where an initial film is formed. This main adsorption part 42 has the same structure as the above-mentioned initial adsorption part 41, and the suction hole 42b formed in the grid | lattice form so that the suction hole 42a and this suction hole 42a are formed is formed. It is. Then, by operating the vacuum pump 81b, the coating film forming region 12 of the substrate 10 is allowed to be adsorbed by the main adsorption portion 42. Further, even when bubbles exist between the coating film forming region 12 of the substrate 10 and the main adsorption portion 42 of the stage 21, the bubbles are attracted to the adsorption groove 42b to thereby apply the substrate 10. It is possible to avoid bubbles remaining between the film forming region 12 and the main adsorption portion 42 of the stage 21.

As shown in Fig. 4B, a boundary portion 43 is formed between the adsorption groove 41b of the initial adsorption portion 41 and the adsorption groove 42b of the main adsorption portion 42. The 41b and the adsorption | suction groove | channel 42b are mutually connected independently, not connected and connected. Accordingly, even when the vacuum pump 81a (vacuum pump 81b) on the initial adsorption part 41 side (or the main adsorption part 42 side) is operated, the main adsorption part 42 (or the initial adsorption part 41) is operated. The suction force is not generated in the suction grooves 41b and 42b on the () side).

Moreover, the stage 21 is provided with the board | substrate elevating mechanism which raises and lowers the board | substrate 10. As shown in FIG. Specifically, a plurality of pin holes are formed on the surface of the stage 21, that is, the initial adsorption part 41 and the main adsorption part 42, and the lift pins are capable of lifting and lowering in the Z-axis direction. 51) (the pin member of this invention) is embedded. That is, when the substrate 10 is loaded while the lift pin 51 protrudes from the surface of the stage 21, the tip portion of the lift pin 51 may contact the substrate 10 to support the substrate 10. The substrate 10 can be placed on the surface of the stage 21 (initial adsorption part 41 and the main adsorption part 42) by lowering the lift pin 51 and accommodating the pin hole (see Fig. 3). .

In addition, by lifting the lift pin 51 in a state where the substrate 10 is placed on the surface of the stage 21, the tip portion of the lift pin 51 comes into contact with the substrate 10 so that the plurality of lift pins 51 The distal end portion can support the substrate 10 at a predetermined height position. Thereby, the contact part with the board | substrate 10 can be restrained and supported as much as possible, and it can change smoothly, without damaging the board | substrate 10. FIG.

In the case where the substrate 10 is placed here, the lift pins 51 in the initial suction unit 41 are accommodated in the pinholes at a timing earlier than the lift pins 51 in the main suction unit 42. The substrate 10 supported by the lift pins 51 is placed on the adsorption unit 42 after being placed first from the initial adsorption unit 41 and subsequently. As a result, the air layer existing between the substrate 10 and the initial adsorption part 41 falls out toward the main adsorption part 42 side, thereby suppressing the occurrence of air bubbles as bubbles between the substrate 10 and the initial adsorption part 41. It is supposed to be.

The lift pins 51 in the suction section 42 are also accommodated in the pinholes sequentially from the initial suction section 41 toward the side away from the initial suction section 41 (see FIG. 3). ). Thereby, the coating film formation area | region 12 of the board | substrate 10 is sequentially mounted in one direction toward the side (right side in FIG. 3) which is not mounted from the initial adsorption part 41 side. Therefore, the air layer which exists between the board | substrate 10 and the stage 21 falls to the side which is not mounted sequentially, and can suppress that an air layer exists as a bubble between the board | substrate 10 and the stage 21. FIG.

And the stage 21 is provided with the positioning mechanism (not shown) of the board | substrate 10, and is comprised so that the board | substrate 10 mounted in the initial stage adsorption | suction part 41 can be positioned. In other words, when a part of the substrate 10 (initial film forming region 11) is placed on the initial adsorption part 41, a part of the substrate 10 supported by the lift pin 51 is placed by the positioning mechanism. Position is determined. In the state where the initial film forming region 11 of the substrate 10 is positioned in the initial adsorption portion 41, the vacuum pump 81a is operated to move the initial film forming region 11 to the initial adsorption portion 41. Adsorbed to and supported. Thereafter, the vacuum pump 81b is operated to adsorb and support the substrate 10 to the main suction section 42. As a result, the entire substrate 10 is adsorbed and supported by the stage 21 with high accuracy.

In addition, the coating unit 30 coats the coating liquid on the substrate 10. This coating unit 30 is provided with the leg part 31 connected to the base 2, and the application part 34 extended in a Y-axis direction, as shown in FIG. It is attached so that a movement to an X-axis direction is possible in the state extended in the Y-axis direction. Specifically, rails 22 extending in the X-axis direction are provided at both end portions of the base 2 in the Y-axis direction, and leg portions 31 are attached to slide with the rails 22. And the linear part 33 is attached to the leg part 31, The application | coating unit 30 moves to an X-axis direction, and can stop in arbitrary positions by driving control of this linear motor 33. As shown in FIG. .

Specifically, in the initial state, the coating unit 30 is stopped at the position deviated from the stage 21, that is, the evacuation position (position A in Fig. 9). When the coating operation is started, it moves to the initial film formation position (position C in Fig. 9) where the initial film is formed, and can stop at that position.

On the leg part 31 of the application unit 30, an application part 34 for applying the coating liquid is attached. Specifically, the leg portion 31 is provided with a rail 37 extending in the Z-axis direction and a slider 35 that slides along the rail 37. Such a slider 35 and an application portion ( 34) is connected. The slider 35 is provided with a ball screw mechanism driven by the servo motor 36 (see Fig. 6), and the slider 35 is moved in the Z-axis direction by driving control of the servo motor 36. In addition, it is possible to stop at an arbitrary position. That is, the application part 34 is supported so that it may approach or move away from the board | substrate 10 supported by the stage 21. FIG.

The application part 34 forms a coating film on the board | substrate 10 by apply | coating a coating liquid. This application part 34 is a columnar member having a shape extending in one direction and is provided to be substantially orthogonal to the traveling direction of the application unit 30. The application part 34 is provided with a slit nozzle 34a extending in the longitudinal direction, and the coating liquid supplied to the application part 34 is discharged uniformly from the slit nozzle 34a in the longitudinal direction. It is supposed to be. Accordingly, by running the coating unit 30 in the X-axis direction while discharging the coating liquid from the slit nozzle 34a, a coating film having a constant thickness is formed on the substrate 10 over the longitudinal direction of the slit nozzle 34a. It is supposed to be.

In addition, the height 31 detection sensor 32 (refer FIG. 2) is attached to the leg part 31. As shown in FIG. This height position detection sensor 32 measures the height position of the board | substrate 10 in a Z-axis direction. Specifically, the laser beam is output downward in the Z direction, and the laser beam reflected by the substrate 10 is received so that the distance in the Z direction to the substrate 10 can be measured. The height position of the substrate 10 can be calculated from the relationship between the measurement distance to the substrate 10 and the height position of the slit nozzle 34a of the application portion 34. As a result, the distance between the substrate 10 and the slit nozzle 34a of the application portion 34 is made constant so that the application operation can be performed.

In addition, the leg portion 31, the foreign matter detection sensor 39 is attached to a height position where the substrate 10 is supported. This foreign matter detection sensor 39 is for detecting whether or not foreign matter exists on the substrate 10. Specifically, the foreign material sensor is configured to emit the laser light from the light emitting portion to the light emitting portion for emitting the laser light to the leg portion 31 on one side in the Y axis direction, and to the leg portion 31 on the other side of the Y axis direction. It is comprised by the light-receiving part which receives light, and is attached to the position slightly higher than the surface of the board | substrate 10. FIG. If foreign matter is present on the substrate 10, the laser light received by the light receiving unit is shielded to detect the foreign matter. As a result, foreign matter enters between the slit nozzle 34a and the substrate 10, thereby preventing damage to the slit nozzle 34a or the substrate 10.

Next, the structure of the control system of the said coating apparatus is demonstrated using the block diagram shown in FIG.

6 is a block diagram showing a control system of the control device 90 provided in this mounting apparatus. As shown in Fig. 6, the coating device is provided with a control device 90 for controlling the driving of the various units described above. This control apparatus 90 is provided with the control main body 91, the drive control part 92, the input / output device control part 93, and the external device control part 94. As shown in FIG.

The control main body 91 includes a well-known CPU for executing logical operations, a ROM for storing various programs for controlling the CPU in advance, a RAM for temporarily storing various data during operation of the apparatus, various programs and OS, In addition, an HDD for storing various data such as a production program is provided. And the control main body 91 is equipped with the main control part 91a, the operation determination part 91b, and the memory | storage part 91c.

The main control unit 91a controls the drive devices such as the servo motor 36 and the linear motor 33 of each unit through the drive control unit 92 in order to execute a series of coating operations in accordance with a program stored in advance. It is.

The calculation determination part 91b calculates and determines from the measurement result of each sensor. In the present embodiment, the height position from the surface of the substrate 10 to the slit nozzle 34a of the coating portion 34 is calculated based on the height position data measured by the height position detection sensor 32. The calculation result is compared with the height position data stored in the storage unit 91c described later, and the main control unit 91a is arranged so that the height position of the slit nozzle 34a of the application unit 34 becomes a predetermined height position. To control.

In addition, it is determined whether or not foreign matter exists on the substrate 10 from the measurement result from the foreign matter detection sensor 39. In other words, it is determined whether foreign matter is present by the output signal from the foreign matter detection sensor 39 while moving the application unit 30. Specifically, when the light in the light emitting portion touches the foreign matter, it is determined that the foreign matter exists on the substrate 10 due to a change in the signal in the light receiving portion. In this case, the operator is alerted by stopping the application operation without starting the movement of the application unit 30 and displaying the abnormality on the touch panel 82 at the same time.

The storage unit 91c is for storing various data and temporarily storing arithmetic results and the like. Specifically, the height position data from the surface of the substrate 10 to the slit nozzle 34a of the application part 34 at the time of application | coating operation | movement is memorize | stored.

The drive control unit 92 drives the linear motor 33, the servo motor 36, and the like based on the control signal from the main control unit 91a. Specifically, the linear motor 33 and the servo motor 36 are controlled to control the movement of the coating unit 30 and the lifting operation of the coating unit 34.

The input / output device control unit 93 controls the input / output devices such as the foreign matter detection sensor 39, the keyboard 83, the touch panel 82, and the like. Specifically, when a change occurs in the signal at the light receiving unit due to the presence of foreign matter on the substrate 10, the input / output device control unit 93 controls the signal according to the signal from the foreign matter detection sensor 39. ) When it is determined that the foreign matter exists in the control main body 91, a warning display for prompting an operator to warn the operator through the input / output device control unit 93 is displayed on the touch panel 82. In addition, it is possible to set conditions for the coating operation and the like from the keyboard 83 and the touch panel 82.

The external device control unit 94 performs drive control of the external device based on the control signal from the main control unit 91a. In this embodiment, it is connected with the vacuum pump 81 (81a, 81b), and drives this vacuum pump 81, and adsorb | sucks the board | substrate 10 in the initial adsorption part 41 and this adsorption part 42. To support it.

Next, the operation in this coating device will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 and the schematic diagrams showing the positional relationship of the coating unit 30 shown in FIG. 9. In Fig. 9, the application unit 30 located at the evacuation position (position A) is indicated by a solid line, and the application unit located at the height position measurement start position (position B) and the initial film formation position (position C) ( 30 is shown by a dashed-dotted line.

First, in step S1, the board | substrate 10 is carried in. Specifically, the plurality of lift pins 51 protrude from the surface of the stage 21, and the substrate is held at the distal end portion of the lift pins 51 by a robot hand not shown. (10) is mounted.

Next, in steps S2 to S3, the substrate 10 is placed on the stage 21 (substrate placement step). Specifically, in step S2, in the state where the substrate 10 is supported by the lift pins 51, the lift pins 51 of the initial adsorption part 41 are lift pins 51 of the adsorption part 42. The accommodating film formation region 11 of the substrate 10 is placed on the initial adsorption portion 41 of the stage 21 by being accommodated at a slightly faster timing (to the extent that the substrate 10 does not fall). 3). As a result, the air layer existing between the substrate 10 and the initial adsorption part 41 falls out toward the main adsorption part 42, so that the air layer is effectively generated as bubbles between the substrate 10 and the initial adsorption part 41. It can be suppressed. When the initial film formation region 11 is placed on the initial adsorption portion 41, the positioning mechanism is operated to accurately position the initial film formation region 11. Thereafter, a suction force is generated in the suction hole 41a and the suction groove 41b in the initial suction part 41 by operating the vacuum pump 81a, thereby generating between the substrate 10 and the initial suction part 41. The bubbles to be absorbed are sucked into the suction holes 41a and the suction grooves 41b, and the initial film forming region 11 of the substrate 10 is adsorbed and supported by the initial adsorption portion 41 (initial adsorption step). The initial film forming region 11, which is an end of the substrate 10, is fixed in a precisely positioned state, whereby the positioning of the entire substrate 10 is performed with high accuracy.

Next, in step S3, the adsorption of the entire surface of the substrate 10 is carried out (main adsorption step), and at the same time, the coating operation is performed in S4. That is, in step S2, since the initial film formation region 11 of the substrate 10 is adsorbed by the initial adsorption part 41 of the stage 21, the substrate corresponding to the main adsorption part 42 which has not yet been adsorbed ( The surface (coating film forming region 12) of 10 is adsorbed to the main adsorption portion 42 of the stage 21. Specifically, the coating film forming region 12 of the substrate 10 is accommodated in the stage 21 sequentially from the one located on the initial adsorption part 41 side of the lift pins 51 of the main adsorption part 42. ) Is placed on the adsorption section 42, seen sequentially from the initial adsorption section 41 side. As a result, the air layer existing between the substrate 10 and the stage 21 falls out to the side which is not sequentially placed, thereby effectively suppressing the air layer existing as bubbles between the substrate 10 and the stage 21. have. As described above, since the initial film forming region 11 of the substrate 10 is accurately positioned, the coating film forming region 12 of the substrate 10 is opened by operating the vacuum pump 81b in this state. It adsorb | sucks to this adsorption part 42, and the board | substrate 10 is fixed to the stage 21 by adsorption. At this time, bubbles generated between the substrate 10 and the main suction section 42 are sucked into the suction holes 42a and the suction grooves 42b.

In parallel with this, based on the flow chart of Fig. 8, the application operation starts at substantially the same time as the adsorption of the initial film forming region 11 of the substrate 10 is completed.

First, in step S41, the application unit 30 is moved. That is, the adsorption of the surface of the board | substrate 10 corresponding to the initial adsorption part 41 is complete | finished simultaneously, and the movement of the application | coating unit 30 starts. Specifically, the coating unit 30 is moved from the evacuation position (position A) to the position (initial film formation position, position C in Fig. 9) for forming the initial film on the substrate 10.

In the middle of the movement, in step S42, the measurement of the height position of the substrate 10 is started. Specifically, as shown in Fig. 9, when the coating unit 30 reaches the height position measurement start position (position B), the measurement of the height position of the substrate 10 starts. That is, when the initial film formation area 11 of the board | substrate 10 is located directly under the height position detection sensor 32, the measurement of the height position of the board | substrate 10 will begin. And the height of the board | substrate 10 is continuously measured with the movement of the application | coating unit 30, and the distance of the surface of the board | substrate 10 of the slit nozzle 34a of the application part 34 is constant along this measurement value. The height position of the applicator 34 is adjusted.

In parallel with this, in step S43, the foreign matter detection sensor 39 detects the foreign matter. That is, after the height position measurement is started, it is detected whether or not foreign matter is present on the substrate 10. When foreign matter is detected on the substrate 10, the movement of the coating unit 30 is stopped, and when no foreign matter is detected, the foreign matter is moved to the initial film formation position. In this way, the application unit 30 travels on the initial adsorption part 41 while detecting the height position and the foreign matter detection.

Next, in step S44, an initial film is formed. Specifically, when the coating unit 30 reaches the initial film formation position (position C), the coating unit 30 stops at that position. Then, by discharging a predetermined amount of coating liquid while the coating unit 30 is stopped at the initial film formation position, the slit nozzle 34a and the substrate 10 are discharged by the coating liquid discharged from the slit nozzle 34a. You are connected. That is, an initial film by the coating liquid is formed between the slit nozzle 34a and the substrate 10. In this way, an initial film is formed in the longitudinal direction of the slit nozzle 34a, and the initial film formation process is complete | finished.

Next, in step S45, the main coating is started (coating film forming step). That is, the coating film is formed on the surface of the substrate 10 corresponding to the main suction part 42 by discharging the coating liquid while further running the coating unit 30 from the initial film forming position. In addition, when this main coating operation starts, adsorption of the whole surface of the board | substrate 10 in step S3 is completed.

Next, in step S5, the substrate 10 is taken out. That is, after formation of the coating film on the surface of the board | substrate 10 is completed by the main coating in S45, the lift pin 51 of the lift pin 51 is raised by raising the initial suction part 41 and the lift pin 51 of the main suction part 42. FIG. The substrate 10 is supported by the tip portion. And the board | substrate 10 is conveyed with the robot hand which is not shown in figure, and the board | substrate 10 is discharged | emitted from the surface of the stage 21. FIG.

According to such a coating apparatus and a coating method, the substrate adsorption means 40 for adsorbing a substrate includes an initial adsorption part 41 and a main adsorption part 42. After the portion of 10) is adsorbed, the application unit 30 may be moved to start application to the surface of the substrate 10 corresponding to the initial adsorption portion 41. That is, since the adsorption unit 30 can be moved to the surface of the substrate 10 corresponding to the initial adsorption portion 41 immediately after the adsorption of the substrate, the entire substrate 10 is absorbed and fixed as in the prior art. The cycle time as a whole coating apparatus can be shortened compared with the case where a coating operation | movement is started later.

In the above embodiment, the vacuum pump 81a for generating a suction force in the suction hole 41a of the initial suction part 41 and the vacuum pump 81b for generating a suction force in the suction hole 42a of the main suction part 42. ), The suction holes 41a and 42a of the initial suction unit 41 and the main suction unit 42 are sucked by one vacuum pump 81 as shown in FIG. It may be generated. Specifically, the switching valve 44 is attached to the pipe 84 which connects the vacuum pump 81, the initial suction part 41, and the suction holes 41a, 42a of the main suction part 42, The switch valve 44 can be automatically switched by the control device, thereby selectively generating a suction force in the suction hole 41a of the initial suction part 41 and the suction hole 42a of the main suction part 42. You may do it. By using the vacuum pump 81 in this way, a more inexpensive coating device can be obtained.

In addition, in the above embodiment, an example in which the lift pin 51 of the initial suction unit 41 is accommodated at a slightly faster timing than the lift pin 51 of the main suction unit 42 has been described, but all the lift pins 51 It may be accommodated at the same timing. Thereby, the board | substrate 10 supported by the front-end | tip part of the lift pin 51 can be prevented from falling from the lift pin 51 side of the initial adsorption | suction part 41 accommodated at an early timing.

1 is a plan view showing a coating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a side view of the coating device.

3 is a view showing a state where a part of the substrate is placed on the coating device.

Fig. 4 is a diagram showing a stage of the coating device, where (a) is a view showing the whole stage, and (b) is an enlarged view of the surface portion thereof.

Fig. 5 is a diagram showing details of legs of the coating unit in the coating apparatus.

6 is a block diagram showing a control system of the coating device.

Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the coating device.

Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing the coating operation of the coating device.

9 is a diagram showing the positional relationship of the coating unit in the operation of the coating apparatus.

10 is a schematic view showing a vacuum pump and a piping system of a coating apparatus according to another embodiment.

** Explanation of symbols for main parts of drawings **

10 boards

11 Initial film formation area

12 Coating film formation area

21 stage

30 Dispensing Units

34 Applicator

40 substrate adsorption means

41 Initial Adsorption Section

42 main adsorption part

90 controls

Claims (7)

A stage for mounting the substrate, A coating unit for forming a coating film on the substrate by discharging the coating liquid while moving relative to the substrate placed on the surface of the stage is provided. In the coating device provided, The stage is provided with substrate adsorption means for adsorbing and supporting a substrate, The substrate adsorption means includes an initial adsorption portion for adsorbing the initial film formation region of the substrate on which the initial film is formed at the start of coating, and a bone for adsorbing the coating film formation region except for the initial film formation region. An applicator having an adsorptive part. The method of claim 1, At the initial suction part and the main suction part of the substrate suction means, suction holes are formed which are formed to be opened on the surface of the stage, respectively, and the substrate suction means includes suction means for generating suction force in the suction hole, and the suction means. And a switching means for selectively generating suction force from the means for the initial adsorption portion and the main absorption portion. The method of claim 1, Suction holes are formed in the initial adsorption unit and the main adsorption unit of the substrate adsorption unit, respectively, and are formed to open on the surface of the stage, and the substrate adsorption unit includes suction means for generating a suction force at the suction port of the initial adsorption unit; And a suction means for generating a suction force at the suction port of the main suction unit is provided independently of the initial suction unit and the main suction unit. The method according to claim 2 or 3, Adsorption grooves for adsorbing the substrate to the surface of the stage are formed in the initial adsorption portion and the main absorption portion, which are connected to the suction hole and open to the surface of the stage. And the adsorption grooves of the adsorption part and the adsorption grooves of the main adsorption part are formed independently of each other by a boundary part which prevents them from being connected to each other. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, The initial adsorption | suction part of this board | substrate adsorption means, and this adsorption | suction part are provided with the pin member which supports a board | substrate, These pin members are accommodated in a stage, respectively, and are able to protrude from the surface of a stage. And the pin member of the initial adsorption part is accommodated in the stage before the pin member of the main adsorption part. The method of claim 5, The fin member of the said main adsorption part is accommodated in a stage sequentially from the said initial adsorption part side. A substrate placing step of placing the substrate on the surface of the stage; An initial film forming step of forming an initial film on a substrate placed on the stage with the coating unit discharging the coating liquid stopped; After the initial film is formed, the coating film forming step of forming a coating film on the substrate is performed by moving the coating unit relative to the substrate while discharging the coating liquid from the coating unit. In the coating method of the coating apparatus provided, The substrate placing step includes an adsorption step of adsorbing the substrate to the surface of the stage, and the adsorption step includes an initial adsorption step of adsorbing an initial film forming region of the substrate on which the initial film is formed, and the initial film forming area. A main adsorption step of adsorbing the coating film forming region of the substrate except for And after the initial adsorption step is completed and before the main adsorption step is completed, the initial film forming step is started.

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