JP3539515B2 - Rotary coating film forming equipment - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
[Industrial applications]
The present invention relates to a rotary type coating film forming apparatus used for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device such as a liquid crystal television, a word processor or a personal computer.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In manufacturing a liquid crystal display device, an operation of forming various films on a substrate to be coated made of, for example, a glass plate is performed. As an apparatus for forming this film, a spinner type rotary coating film forming apparatus is known. This rotary coating film forming apparatus rotates a substrate to be coated horizontally, and spreads and applies a liquid coating material supplied to the surface of the substrate outward by centrifugal force. This device is generally used frequently because the thickness of the coating film becomes uniform as compared with other devices such as a spray coating method.
[0003]
In the above-mentioned rotary coating film forming apparatus, the substrate to be coated is rotated while being held on a rotary table by vacuum suction, and the problem is that the liquid coating material applied to the surface of the substrate to be coated goes around the back surface of the substrate. It becomes. When such a liquid coating substance wraps around, for example, poor adhesion of the substrate to be applied in a later step, cracking of the substrate to be applied in a later pressing step, or a polarizing plate in a later polarizing plate attaching step This causes inconvenience such as poor adhesion.
[0004]
In order to solve such a problem, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-196396 discloses an auxiliary blade provided on an outer peripheral portion of a substrate to be applied to prevent the scattered liquid application material from entering the back surface of the substrate. This has been proposed. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, a rotary table, that is, a rotary stage 51 is driven by a motor 52 to rotate, and a substrate 53 to be coated is arranged on the rotary stage 51. An auxiliary blade 54 is provided on a side surface of the substrate 53 to be coated. The auxiliary blades 54 are scattered from the front surface of the rotating substrate 53 in order to prevent the liquid application material scattered from the surface of the substrate 53 from adhering to the side surface and traveling along the side surface to the back surface of the substrate 53. As a result, it becomes a shield for the liquid coating material that is to adhere to the side surface, and captures the liquid coating material.
[0005]
In addition, the auxiliary blade 54 forms a chamfered portion 54a, and as shown by an arrow in the figure, a liquid that enters the gap 55 between the substrate 53 and the auxiliary blade 54 from the surface of the substrate 53. The coating material is allowed to escape into the space between the chamfer 54a and the rotary stage 51. Further, in the auxiliary blade 54, a slight gap 56 is formed between the lower surface thereof and the upper surface of the rotary stage 51, and the liquid coating material of the chamfered portion 54a is discharged outside through the gap 56 by centrifugal force. Like that.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the above-described conventional structure, when the liquid coating material has a high viscosity or a high solidification speed, the liquid coating material collected in the space below the chamfered portion 54a is centrifugally forced through the gap 56. As a result, it cannot be smoothly discharged outside. For this reason, a situation in which the liquid coating material accumulated in the space below the chamfered portion 54a wraps around the back surface of the substrate 53 to be coated due to capillary action, or the liquid coating material is solidified in the space below the chamfered portion 54a or in the gap 56 described above. Is more likely to occur. In this case, the above-described inconvenience is caused by the liquid coating material solidified on the back surface of the substrate 53 to be coated, and the liquid coating material solidified in the space below the chamfered portion 54a and the gap 56 is removed. There is a problem that a cleaning operation for removing is required, which causes a decrease in productivity.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, in the rotary coating film forming apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, an upwardly projecting substrate holder is formed on a rotary stage that is driven to rotate, and the substrate holder is mounted on the substrate holder. A rotary coating film forming apparatus for holding a coating substrate, rotating the rotary stage, supplying a liquid coating material to the surface of the substrate to be coated, and applying the liquid coating material to the surface of the substrate by centrifugal force. In an outer position of the substrate holder on the rotary stage, an annular and rectangular frame-shaped coating substance blocking member surrounding the substrate holder is provided with a space between the substrate holder and the periphery thereof. Provided, when holding the substrate to be coated, the coating material blocking member is formed in an outer peripheral shape of an upper surface so that each side surface of the coating substrate and each side surface of the coating material blocking member coincide without shifting in the front-rear and left-right directions. Is the base to be coated The match with the rectangular back surface shape, the are formed at a height that is in contact with a back surface of the substrate to be coated which is held by the substrate holder unit, further on the upper surface of the coating material blocking member, coating material blocking An annular groove is formed over the entire circumference of the member .
[0009]
[Action]
According to the configuration of the first aspect, when forming a coating film on the substrate to be coated, the substrate to be coated is sucked and held on the substrate holding base of the rotary stage. At this time, the respective side surfaces of the substrate to be coated and the respective side surfaces of the coating material blocking member are aligned without shifting in the front, rear, left, and right directions. Next, when a liquid coating material for forming a coating film is applied to the upper surface of the substrate to be coated and the rotating stage 2 is rotated, the liquid coating material is spread by centrifugal force to form a coating film on the substrate to be coated. You.
[0010]
The liquid application material that has protruded from the upper surface of the substrate to be applied by centrifugal force flows down onto the rotary stage along the side surface of the substrate to be applied and the side surface of the application material blocking member. At this time, due to the effect of the air current generated by the rotation of the substrate to be coated, the liquid coating material traveling on the side surface of the substrate to be coated tends to go around the back surface of the substrate to be coated, but this is stopped by the coating material blocking member. . In addition, the liquid coating material wrapping around the back surface of the coating substrate due to the capillary phenomenon between the coating substrate and the coating material blocking member can be prevented by forming the coating material blocking member narrow. .
[0011]
Further, the capillarity between the substrate to be coated and the coating substance blocking member is prevented by the groove formed in the coating substance blocking member. Accordingly, it is possible to reliably prevent the liquid coating material from flowing to the back surface of the substrate to be coated due to the capillary phenomenon. In addition, since it is not necessary to particularly narrow the width of the coating substance blocking member in order to prevent the capillary phenomenon, positioning of the substrate to be coated on the coating substance blocking member is easy, and coating with the coating substance blocking member is easy. The periphery of the substrate can be stably held.
[0012]
【Example】
One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, a rotary coating film forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment rotates a rotary stage 2 for holding a substrate 5 to be coated made of, for example, glass, and rotates the rotary stage 2. A motor 3 and a coating material blocking member 4 are provided. 1A is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 1B, and FIG. 1B shows a state where the substrate 5 to be coated is not held.
[0013]
The rotary stage 2 is formed in a substantially disk shape, and has a protruding substrate holder 2a at the center. The upper surface of the substrate holder 2a has a reduced shape of the bottom surface of the substrate 5 to be applied, which is rectangular in this embodiment, and is a flat substrate holding surface. A suction device (not shown) is connected to the rotary stage 2, whereby the substrate 5 to be coated placed on the substrate holder 2a is adsorbed and held on the substrate holding surface. The rotation stage 2 is attached to a rotation shaft 3a of the motor 3.
[0014]
The coating material blocking member 4 is formed in a rectangular frame shape corresponding to the shape of the bottom surface of the substrate 5 to be coated, and is provided on the rotary stage 2 outside the substrate holder 2a. A predetermined space is secured between the inner peripheral surface of the coating material blocking member 4 and the outer peripheral surface of the substrate holding base 2a. The coating material blocking member 4 has the same vertical and horizontal outer dimensions as the substrate 5 to be coated, and has the same height as the substrate holder 2a in this embodiment. Grooves 4a are formed in two rows on the upper surface side of the coating material blocking member 4. These grooves 4 a are formed in a ring shape over the entire circumference of the coating substance blocking member 4.
[0015]
In the above configuration, when a coating film is formed on the substrate 5 to be coated by the rotary coating film forming apparatus 1, the substrate 5 to be coated is placed on the substrate holding table 2a of the rotary stage 2, and the suction device is used. Is operated to adsorb and hold the substrate 5 to be coated on the substrate holder 2a. At this time, the substrate 5 to be coated is arranged so that each side surface of the substrate 5 to be coated and each side surface of the coating material blocking member 4 are aligned without shifting in the front-rear and left-right directions.
[0016]
Next, when a liquid coating material for forming a coating film is applied on the upper surface of the substrate 5 and the motor 3 is rotated, the substrate 5 is rotated together with the rotary stage 2, and the liquid coating material is centrifuged. The coating film is spread on the substrate 5 to be coated.
[0017]
The liquid application substance that has protruded from the upper surface of the substrate to be applied 5 flows down onto the rotary stage 2 along the side surface of the substrate 5 to be applied and the side surface of the application material blocking member 4 as indicated by arrows in FIG. At this time, due to the effect of the air current generated by the rotation of the substrate 5 to be coated, the liquid coating material traveling on the side surface of the substrate 5 to be coated tries to go around the back surface of the substrate 5 to be coated. Is blocked by Further, since the grooves 4a are formed in the coating material blocking member 4, the liquid coating material is applied to the back surface of the coating substrate 5 by the capillary action between the coating substrate 5 and the coating material blocking member 4. Sneaking around is also prevented.
[0018]
Here, the inventor of the present application has previously proposed the rotary type coating film forming apparatuses 11 and 21 shown in FIGS. Next, the difference between the functions of the rotary coating film forming apparatuses 11 and 21 and the present rotary coating film forming apparatus 1 will be described.
[0019]
In the rotary type coating film forming apparatus 11 shown in FIG. 3A, the substrate holder 12 a of the rotary stage 12 has an upper surface that matches the back surface shape of the substrate 5 to be coated. This configuration is intended to prevent the influence of the air current caused by the rotation of the substrate 5 to be applied by bringing the back surface of the substrate 5 into contact with the upper surface of the substrate holder 12a having the same shape as the surface. . However, since the suction force for sucking the substrate 5 to be applied is acting on the upper surface of the substrate holding base 12a, in the above-described configuration, as shown by the arrow in FIG. As a result, the liquid coating material wraps around the back surface of the substrate 5 to be coated.
[0020]
Therefore, the rotary coating film forming apparatus 21 shown in FIG. 4 includes the same rotary stage 2 as the rotary coating film forming apparatus 1, and a rectangular frame-shaped coating substance blocking member 22 is provided on the rotary stage 2. A predetermined space is set between the coating material blocking member 22 and the substrate holding base 2a. The coating substance blocking member 22 has a vertical and horizontal outer dimension corresponding to the bottom shape of the substrate 5 to be coated, and is set to the same dimension as the substrate 5 to be coated, and has the same height as the substrate holder 2a, that is, The height is in contact with the back surface of the substrate 5.
[0021]
With such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the liquid application substance from being sucked by the suction force, and to prevent the liquid application substance from wrapping around the back surface of the substrate 5 due to the influence of the airflow. However, in the rotary type coating film forming apparatus 21, the upper surface of the coating substance blocking member 22 is a flat surface, and the capillary between the coating substance blocking member 22 and the back surface of the coating substrate 5 causes the coating substrate. 5 wrap around of the liquid coating material.
[0022]
Therefore, the rotary coating film forming apparatus 1 is provided with a coating material blocking member 4 having grooves 4a instead of the coating material blocking member 22, and the liquid coating is performed on the back surface of the substrate 5 to be coated by the capillary action. Prevents material from wrapping around.
[0023]
In the rotary coating film forming apparatus 21 shown in FIG. 4, if the width of the coating material blocking member 22 is reduced, the liquid coating material is prevented from flowing to the back surface of the substrate 5 due to the capillary phenomenon. be able to.
[0024]
In comparison with the rotary type coating film forming apparatus 21, the rotary type coating film forming apparatus 1 does not need to particularly narrow the width of the coating material blocking member 4 in order to prevent the capillary phenomenon. The positioning of the substrate 5 on the blocking member 4 is easy, and the periphery of the substrate 5 can be stably held by the coating material blocking member 4.
[0025]
Further, in the rotary type coating film forming apparatus 1, the coating material blocking member 4 does not form a gap between the coating material blocking member 4 and the upper surface of the rotary stage 2. The liquid application substance can be easily wiped off without removing and attaching the substance blocking member 4.
[0026]
The rotary coating film forming apparatus 1 is used for forming, for example, a resist, a protective film, or an insulating film on the substrate 5 to be coated.
[0027]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, in the rotary coating film forming apparatus according to the first aspect of the invention, an annular and rectangular frame-shaped coating substance blocking member surrounding the substrate holding pedestal is provided at a position outside the substrate holding pedestal on the rotary stage. , Provided with a space between the periphery of the substrate holder and the substrate to be coated, when holding the substrate to be coated, the respective side surfaces of the substrate to be coated and the respective side surfaces of the coating material blocking member coincide without shifting in the front, rear, left and right directions As a result, the applied substance blocking member is formed at a height such that the outer peripheral shape of the upper surface matches the rectangular back surface shape of the substrate to be coated, and is in contact with the back surface of the substrate to be coated held by the substrate holding base. Further, an annular groove is formed on the upper surface side of the coating substance blocking member over the entire circumference of the coating substance blocking member .
[0028]
This makes it possible to prevent the liquid application material from flowing around the back surface of the application substrate due to the influence of the air current generated by the rotation of the application substrate by the application material blocking member. In addition, it is possible to prevent the liquid coating material from flowing to the back surface of the coating substrate due to the capillary action between the coating substrate and the coating material blocking member by forming the coating material blocking member to have a small width. . As a result, the production of a product using the substrate to be coated can be improved. Further, since the coating material blocking member does not form a gap between the coating material blocking member and the upper surface of the rotary stage, there is an effect that cleaning of the liquid coating material attached to the rotary stage is easy.
[0030]
Further, in addition to the above effects, the capillary phenomenon between the substrate to be applied and the applied substance blocking member is prevented by the groove formed in the applied substance blocking member. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the liquid coating material from flowing to the back surface of the substrate to be coated due to the capillary phenomenon. In addition, since it is not necessary to particularly narrow the width of the coating substance blocking member in order to prevent the capillary phenomenon, positioning of the substrate to be coated on the coating substance blocking member is easy, and coating with the coating substance blocking member is easy. There is an effect that the peripheral portion of the substrate can be stably held.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1A shows a rotary coating film forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1B and FIG. () Is a plan view of the rotary coating film forming apparatus.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a flow of a liquid coating material during a coating film forming operation by the rotary coating film forming apparatus.
FIG. 3A is a longitudinal sectional view showing a rotary coating film forming apparatus which is a premise of the rotary coating film forming apparatus, and FIG. 3B is a rotary coating film forming apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a flow of a liquid coating material during a coating film forming operation by the film forming apparatus.
4 (a) shows another embodiment of the rotary coating film forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 (a), and is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 4 (b). FIG. 4B is a plan view of the rotary coating film forming apparatus shown in FIG.
FIG. 5 is a front view showing a conventional rotary coating film forming apparatus.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Rotary coating film forming apparatus 2 Rotary stage 2a Substrate holding stand 3 Motor 4 Coating substance blocking member 4a Groove 5 Substrate to be coated 21 Rotary coating film forming apparatus 22 Coating substance blocking member

Claims (1)

An upwardly protruding substrate holding base is formed on the rotating stage that is driven to rotate, and the substrate to be coated is held on the substrate holding base by suction, and the rotary stage is rotated, and the surface of the substrate to be coated is rotated. In a rotary coating film forming apparatus that supplies a liquid coating substance and applies the liquid coating substance to the surface of the substrate to be coated by centrifugal force,
An annular and rectangular frame-shaped coating material blocking member surrounding the substrate holding pedestal is provided at a position outside the substrate holding pedestal on the rotary stage, with a space between the substrate and the periphery of the substrate pedestal. When holding the substrate to be coated, the outer peripheral shape of the upper surface of the coating material blocking member is coated so that each side surface of the substrate to be coated and each side surface of the coating material blocking member are aligned without shifting in the front-rear and left-right directions. It conforms to the rectangular back surface shape of the coating substrate, and is formed at a height in contact with the back surface of the substrate to be coated held by the substrate holding pedestal portion .
A rotary type coating film forming apparatus, wherein an annular groove is formed on the upper surface side of the coating substance blocking member over the entire circumference of the coating substance blocking member .

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