JP3663450B2 - Coating apparatus and coating method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a coating apparatus for coating a coating liquid on a substrate and a coating method using the apparatus, and in particular, a liquid crystal display device or a semiconductor device, or a photomask for manufacturing them. The present invention relates to a coating apparatus and a coating method suitable for coating a thin film such as a protective film or a resist film on the substrate.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Recently, liquid crystal display devices and the like have become widespread, and it has become necessary to apply a coating liquid used for a protective film or the like on a glass plate of the liquid crystal display device.
[0003]
As a method for applying a coating solution to such a substrate such as a glass substrate, a coating apparatus utilizing a capillary phenomenon has been proposed (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 8-224528 and 6-343908).
[0004]
In this coating apparatus, a nozzle having a capillary gap is submerged inside a liquid layer filled with a coating liquid, and when coating, the nozzle is raised and positioned near the lower surface of the substrate. The coating liquid is contacted from the capillary gap, and the coating liquid is applied to the lower surface of the substrate.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the above-described coating apparatus, a method of pumping with a pump is conceivable as a method of supplying the coating liquid to the liquid tank. However, it is considered that some pressure pulsation is generated in the pump, and this pulsation has a problem that it causes the occurrence of uneven coating thickness of the coating liquid.
[0006]
In addition, when the coating liquid is solvent-based, there is a problem that explosion-proofing is required for electric parts such as pumps, and a countermeasure for safety is necessary, and the countermeasure cost is high.
[0007]
Further, depending on the type of coating liquid, there is a problem that liquid deterioration occurs due to pressure fluctuation of the pump, and the life of the liquid is remarkably shortened.
[0008]
In addition, when filtering is performed, there is a problem that pressure fluctuation of the pump makes the filtering effect thin.
[0009]
In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a coating apparatus that can stably supply a coating liquid to a liquid tank of a coating apparatus and that is safe.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
  The invention of claim 1 has a liquid tank containing a coating liquid, and a nozzle that sinks in the coating liquid contained in the liquid tank and extends in the left-right direction with a capillary gap. In the coating apparatus for applying the coating liquid from the capillary gap by causing the nozzle to protrude from the liquid tank on the lower surface of the base material traveling in the front-rear direction,The coating liquid to be supplied was collectedTank and said tankIn a sealed stateA gas pumping means for supplying a coating liquid to the liquid tank by pumping an inert gas;A filter provided in a supply path for supplying a coating liquid from the tank to the liquid tank; a gas discharging means for extracting gas from the tank to bring the inside of the tank to atmospheric pressure; and The coating liquid discharging means for discharging the coating liquid from the liquid tank to the tank by natural dropping to the atmospheric pressure, and the storage tank storing the coating liquid from the storage tank storing the coating liquid to the tank with the atmospheric pressure inside. Replenishment means for replenishing the coating liquid to a predetermined liquid level height;It is a coating apparatus characterized by having.
[0013]
  Claim2The invention of claim1It is a coating method characterized by coating a coating liquid on a substrate using the coating apparatus described.
[0014]
  Claim3The invention of claim1A coating method characterized in that a resist film is formed on a substrate using the coating apparatus described.
[0015]
[Operation]
In the coating apparatus of the present invention, when supplying the coating liquid to the liquid tank, the inert gas is pumped to the tank by the gas pumping means, and the coating liquid is supplied by this pressure, so pulsation does not occur. The coating solution can be supplied stably, and no unevenness occurs in the coating thickness.
[0016]
In addition, since inert gas is used, it is not necessary to provide explosion protection.
[0017]
Furthermore, since there is no pressure fluctuation, the life of the coating liquid is not shortened, and the filtering effect of the filter can be sufficiently obtained.
[0018]
With the coating method of the present invention, the occurrence of uneven coating thickness can be prevented, so that a coating film having a uniform film thickness can be formed.
[0019]
Further, according to the resist film forming method in the coating method of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of spots on the resist film, so that a resist film having a uniform thickness can be formed.
[0020]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
First embodiment
Hereinafter, the coating apparatus 10 which shows the 1st Example of this invention is demonstrated based on FIGS.
[0021]
The coating apparatus 10 is an apparatus that thinly applies a coating liquid onto a glass substrate such as a photomask for a liquid crystal display device.
[0022]
FIG. 1 is a left side view of the coating apparatus 10, and FIG. 2 is a front view.
[0023]
1. Overall structure of coating apparatus 10
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the coating apparatus 10 includes a moving frame 16 that is movable in the front-rear direction via linear ways 14, 14 on a base frame 12 installed on a horizontal floor surface or the like. 16 is placed.
[0024]
A suction table (hereinafter simply referred to as a table) 24 is rotatably supported between a pair of left and right moving frames 16 and 16 by a rotating shaft 26. Note that the moving frames 16 and 16 are integrated on the left and right sides by a welding structure.
[0025]
Coating is performed by adsorbing a base material 28 made of a glass plate to the adsorption surface 27 of the table 24. The configuration of the table 24 will be described in detail later.
[0026]
2. Structure of coating system 30
A coating system 30 for coating a coating liquid is provided inside the base frame 12. Hereinafter, the coating system 30 will be described.
[0027]
3 is a perspective view of the coating system 30, FIG. 4 is a front view, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XX in FIG.
[0028]
The coating system 30 is configured on the basis of a base plate 32 arranged in the left-right direction of the base frame 12.
[0029]
A pair of left and right moving cotters 34 and 36 are provided on the upper surface of the base plate 32.
[0030]
Among these, the moving cotter 36 located on the right side is movable along a linear way 38 disposed on the upper surface of the base plate 32 in the left-right direction. The upper surface of the moving cotter 36 is a slope 40, and the left side is lower than the right side. A linear way 42 is also provided on the slope 40.
[0031]
Similarly, the moving cotter 34 is movable in the left-right direction by the linear way 44 with respect to the base plate 32, and a linear way 48 is provided on the slope 46.
[0032]
The pair of left and right moving cotters 34 and 36 are provided with a connecting shaft 50, and a servo motor 52 is disposed at the right end of the connecting shaft 50. A male screw portion is provided at the position of the moving cotters 34 and 36 of the connecting shaft 50, and a female screw portion is provided inside the moving cotters 34 and 36. By rotating the servo motor 52, the connecting shaft 50 rotates, and the moving cotters 34, 36 move in the left-right direction along the linear ways 38, 44.
[0033]
A support plate 54 is provided above the pair of moving cotters 34 and 36. The support plate 54 includes a support plate 56 extending in the left-right direction and a substrate 58 extending in the front-rear direction from the lower end of the support plate 56.
[0034]
A pair of left and right support legs 60 and 62 are provided on the lower surface of the substrate 58. The lower surfaces of the support legs 60 and 62 are inclined surfaces, and are movable along the linear ways 42 and 48 formed on the inclined surfaces of the moving cotters 34 and 36 described above.
[0035]
A guide shaft 64 for vertical movement projects from the base plate 32 to the center of the substrate 58 of the support plate 54. The support plate 54 can move up and down along the guide shaft 64, and movement in the left-right direction is restricted.
[0036]
A liquid tank 66 is provided at the upper end of the support plate 54 to store the coating liquid. The liquid tank 66 will be described later.
[0037]
A left and right moving plate 70 is provided on the support plate 56 of the support plate 54 via a pair of left and right linear ways 68. The linear way 68 is movable in the left-right direction. The left / right moving plate 70 can be moved in the left / right direction by an air cylinder 71.
[0038]
A vertical movement plate 74 is provided on the front surface of the left / right movement plate 70 via a linear way 72. The linear way 72 is movable in an oblique direction. Further, the vertical movement plate 74 is movable in the vertical direction along a pair of left and right guide shafts 76 protruding from the substrate 58 of the support plate 54, and the movement in the horizontal direction is restricted.
[0039]
A nozzle support shaft 78 protrudes from the vicinity of the left end and the right end of the vertical movement plate 74, and the nozzle 82 is supported by the pair of left and right nozzle support shafts 78 and 80. The nozzle 82 will be described later.
[0040]
3. Structure of liquid tank 66 and nozzle 82
Next, the structure of the liquid tank 66 and the nozzle 82 will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0041]
The liquid tank 66 supported on the upper part of the support plate 56 of the support plate 54 extends in the left-right direction, and the side surface has a trapezoidal shape as shown in FIG. A slit 84 extending in the left-right direction is formed at the center of the upper end of the liquid tank 66 (the top of the slope). The slit 84 can be closed by a lid 86 provided outside the liquid tank 66.
[0042]
A nozzle 82 is built in the liquid tank 66. The nozzle 82 includes a pair of front and rear front nozzle members 90 and a rear nozzle member 92 with a capillary gap 88 extending in the left-right direction. The front nozzle member 90 and the rear nozzle member 92 are symmetrical in the front-rear direction and have a sharp cross-sectional shape like a beak toward the upper side, and a capillary gap 88 is provided therebetween. The upper end portion of the capillary gap 88 opens along the left-right direction, and the lower surface also opens along the left-right direction.
[0043]
The pair of left and right nozzle support shafts 78 and 80 are fixed to the left end portion and the right end portion of the nozzle 82. The pair of left and right nozzle support shafts 78 and 80 slide in a pair of left and right holes 94 and 96 opened in the bottom surface of the liquid tank 66. In order to prevent the coating liquid from leaking from the holes 94 and 96, bellows-like closing members 98 and 100 are provided from the bottom surface of the nozzle 82 to the bottom surface of the liquid tank 66. Thereby, even if the support shafts 78 and 80 move up and down, the bellows-like closing members 98 and 100 extend and contract in the vertical direction so that the coating liquid does not leak from the holes 94 and 96 (FIG. 6 and FIG. 7).
[0044]
As shown in FIG. 8, the coating liquid opens on the left side of the bottom surface of the liquid tank 66 and is supplied from the supply port 108, and is discharged from the circulation port 110 opened on the right side of the bottom surface of the liquid tank 66. Further, a discharge port 111 is opened at the center of the bottom surface of the liquid tank 66.
[0045]
Further, a hole 111 is opened in the upper part of the right side surface of the liquid tank 66, and an L-shaped height adjusting tube 112 protrudes therefrom. An upper end of the height adjusting pipe 112 is opened, and a detection sensor 114 for detecting the height of the coating liquid is provided on the outer side surface of the adjusting pipe 112. That is, when the liquid tank 66 is filled with the coating liquid, the height adjusting pipe 112 is filled with the coating liquid up to the same height. And the detection sensor 114 detects a coating liquid according to this satisfy | filled quantity, and detects the height. The detected height data is sent to the control unit 115 made of a microcomputer.
[0046]
4). Coating liquid supply structure
A structure for supplying the coating liquid to the liquid tank 66 will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0047]
FIG. 11 shows the supply and discharge paths of the coating liquid.
[0048]
In this coating liquid supply structure, a sealed coating liquid sealing tank 102 and a storage tank 103 for supplying the coating liquid to the sealed tank 102 are provided.
[0049]
Inert gas is supplied to the sealed tank 102 via a solenoid valve V1 and a filter 132 from a gas pumping means 130 for pumping inert gas such as carbon dioxide or nitrogen gas. This path is referred to as a gas supply path 134.
[0050]
In addition, a gas discharge path 136 is arranged to discharge the inert gas from the sealed tank 102, and an electromagnetic valve V2 is provided in the middle thereof.
[0051]
A liquid supply path 140 is provided from the bottom of the sealed tank 102 via the electromagnetic valve V 3 and the filter 138, and is connected to the supply port 108 of the liquid tank 66.
[0052]
A liquid circulation path 142 is provided from the circulation port 110 of the liquid tank 66 toward the sealed tank 102, and an electromagnetic valve V5 is provided in the middle thereof.
[0053]
Furthermore, a liquid discharge path 144 is provided from the discharge port 111 of the liquid tank 66 toward the sealed tank 102, and an electromagnetic valve V4 is provided in the middle thereof.
[0054]
A supply path 146 for supplying the coating liquid is provided from the storage tank 103 toward the sealed tank 102, and an electromagnetic valve V6 is provided in the middle thereof. Further, a detection sensor 148 for detecting the liquid level of the sealed tank 102 is provided.
[0055]
The above-described electromagnetic valves V1 to V6 are disposed so as to be opened and closed by the control unit 115, and the detection sensors 114 and 148 to the liquid level data are output to the control unit 115.
[0056]
The operation state of the coating liquid supply structure configured as described above will be described.
[0057]
(1) Supply of coating liquid to liquid tank 66
First, the solenoid valves V1, V4, V5, and V6 are closed, and the solenoid valves V2 and V3 are opened.
[0058]
Next, the electromagnetic valve V6 is opened, and the coating liquid flows from the storage tank 103 to the sealed tank 102 that is sealed by natural dropping.
[0059]
The height of the liquid level in the closed tank 102 is detected by the detection sensor 148, and when the predetermined height is reached, the solenoid valves V2 and V6 are closed.
[0060]
By opening the electromagnetic valve V1 and pumping the inert gas to the sealed tank 102, the coating liquid is sent from the sealed tank 102 to the liquid tank 66 through the filter 138.
[0061]
The detection sensor 114 detects the height of the liquid surface of the liquid tank 66, and when it reaches a predetermined height, the electromagnetic valve V3 is closed and the supply of the coating liquid is stopped.
[0062]
Then, coating is started by a method described later.
[0063]
(2) Replenishment of coating liquid to the liquid tank 66
When the coating liquid in the liquid tank 66 is insufficient, the detection sensor 114 detects this, the electromagnetic valve V3 is opened, and the coating liquid is replenished to the liquid tank 66.
[0064]
Next, the detection sensor 114 detects when the liquid level of the liquid tank 66 reaches a predetermined height, the electromagnetic valve V3 is closed, and the replenishment of the coating liquid is stopped.
[0065]
(3) Coating liquid circulation
The solenoid valve V1 is closed and the solenoid valve V2 is opened.
[0066]
The electromagnetic valve V5 is opened, and the coating liquid in the liquid tank 66 flows into the sealed tank 102 by natural fall.
[0067]
Then, by closing the electromagnetic valve V5, closing the electromagnetic valve V2, and opening the electromagnetic valve V1, the coating liquid is sent again to the liquid tank 66. The following operation is repeated and the coating liquid is circulated in the liquid tank 66 so as not to stagnate.
[0068]
(4) Replenishment of coating liquid to the sealed tank 102
The height of the liquid level in the closed tank 102 is detected by the detection sensor 148, and when it becomes lower than a predetermined value, the electromagnetic valve V1 is closed and the electromagnetic valve V2 is opened. As a result, the inert gas is discharged. The inside of the sealed tank 102 is at atmospheric pressure.
[0069]
Then, the electromagnetic valve V6 is opened, and the coating liquid is sent from the storage tank 103 to the sealed tank 102.
[0070]
When the height of the coating liquid reaches a predetermined height as detected by the detection sensor 148, the solenoid valves V2 and V6 are closed.
[0071]
(5) Discharge of coating liquid from the liquid tank 66
The solenoid valve V1 is closed and the solenoid valve V2 is opened. As a result, the inert gas is discharged from the sealed tank 102 to atmospheric pressure.
[0072]
The electromagnetic valve V4 is opened, and the coating liquid in the liquid tank 66 flows into the sealed tank 102 by natural fall and is discharged.
[0073]
In this case, the electromagnetic valve V5 may be opened.
[0074]
5. Moving structure of table 24
Next, a structure for moving the table 24 to the position of the nozzle 82 will be described.
[0075]
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the moving frames 16, 16 are moved to linear ways 14, 14 in the front-rear direction by rotating a screw rod 18 provided on the left side surface of the base frame 12 by a motor 20. It can move along.
[0076]
That is, a moving part 22 having a female threaded portion that engages with the screw rod 18 protrudes from the moving frame 16 on the left side of the pair of moving frames 16, 16, and the moving portion 22 is moved by rotating the screw rod 18. Moving along the screw rod 18, the pair of left and right moving frames 16, 16 moves in the front-rear direction.
[0077]
6). Adsorption structure of table 24
Next, a structure for adsorbing the base material 28 to the table 24 will be described.
[0078]
A table 24 provided between the pair of left and right moving frames 16, 16 can be rotated about 180 ° along the rotation shaft 26. A plurality of suction holes 116 are opened on the suction surface 27 of the table 24. The suction hole 116 is opened over the front surface of the table 24, and its internal structure is as shown in FIGS. That is, the suction space 118 divided into a plurality of sections is provided inside the table 24.
[0079]
Specifically, the first section is composed of four adsorption spaces 118 provided at the center of the upper portion of the table 24 in FIG. 10, and each adsorption space 118 is connected by a thin air path 120. And four adsorption holes 116 are opened in each part of these four adsorption spaces 118. As shown in FIG. 9, suction pipes 122 for sucking air are connected to the four suction spaces 118 of the first section, and the suction pipes 122 are inserted into the rotary shaft 26 through the manual valves 124. . The inserted suction pipe 122 is taken out from the left side of the moving frame 16 and connected to the vacuum pump 126.
[0080]
The second section of the table 24 is in a state of surrounding the first section in a U-shape, and is composed of six suction spaces 118, which are also connected by the air path 120. .
[0081]
Hereinafter, the third section and the fourth section are configured in the same manner.
[0082]
Here, the case where the table 24 adsorbs the base material 28 will be described.
[0083]
A base material 28 is placed on the center of the table 24. In this case, the manual valve 124 is opened from the first section to the nth section in accordance with the size of the base material 28, and the base material 28 is sucked from the suction holes 116 by the vacuum pump 126. That is, the first section at the center is always in the suction state, and the subsequent sections are in the suction state in accordance with the size of the base material 28. Further, in a section that is not necessary for suction, the manual valve 124 is closed to prevent suction.
[0084]
A motor 128 and a speed reducer for rotating the rotary shaft 26 of the table 24 are built in the moving frame 16.
[0085]
The reason why the four suction spaces 118 are provided without opening the first section in a rectangular shape and the respective suction spaces 118 are connected by the air path 120 is that the strength of the table 24 is taken into consideration.
[0086]
7). Coating process
The case where a coating liquid is applied to the base material 28 using the coating apparatus 10 having the above configuration will be described.
[0087]
The base material 28 is, for example, a photomask blank for manufacturing a photomask for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device, and a light shielding film made of chromium is formed on a glass substrate having a size (800 × 920 × 8). is there. A resist solution is used as a coating solution to form a resist film on the substrate 28.
[0088]
(First step)
In FIG. 1, the table 24 is positioned at the base material position A. In this case, the suction surface 27 faces upward. Then, the base 28 is placed on the suction surface 27 with the surface to be coated facing upward. Then, the vacuum pump 126 is operated to suck the base material 28 from the suction hole 116 and fix the base material 28 to the table 24.
[0089]
(Second step)
The table 24 is rotated by approximately 180 °, and the suction surface 27, that is, the base material 28 is positioned downward as shown in FIG.
[0090]
A motor 128 and a speed reducer for rotating the rotary shaft 26 are built in the moving frame 16.
[0091]
(Third step)
The inverted table 24 is moved by the motor 20 and moved to the coating start position by the moving frames 16 and 16.
[0092]
(4th process)
The liquid tank 66 is filled with the coating liquid up to a predetermined height. In this case, the current height of the coating liquid is adjusted by the detection sensor 114 provided on the outer side surface of the height adjusting tube 112, and the control unit 115 is used when the height of the coating liquid is increased to a predetermined height. Supplies the coating liquid by the operation described above.
[0093]
Further, the nozzle 82 is set in a state of sinking in the liquid tank 66 filled with the coating liquid. Then, the lid 86 of the slit 84 of the liquid tank 66 is opened with the nozzle 82 submerged in the coating liquid in this manner, and the liquid tank 66 is raised below the base material 28. In this raising method, as shown in FIG. 4, the servo motor 52 is rotated to move the pair of left and right moving cotters 34 and 36. Then, the support plate 54, whose movement is restricted in the left-right direction, moves only upward along the linear ways 42, 48 provided on the inclined surfaces 40, 46 of the moving cotters 34, 36. When the support plate 54 moves upward, the liquid tank 66 and the nozzle 82 simultaneously move upward.
[0094]
When the liquid tank 66 is raised below the base material 28, the rise is temporarily stopped.
[0095]
(5th process)
Only the nozzle 82 is protruded from the liquid tank 66 which has been lifted as described above.
[0096]
For this purpose, the left / right moving plate 70 is moved by the air cylinder 71. In this case, since the vertical movement plate 74 is restricted from moving in the left-right direction, when the left-right movement plate 70 moves in the left-right direction, since the linear way 72 is provided obliquely, the vertical movement plate 74 moves only upward. . When the vertical movement plate 74 moves upward, the nozzle support shafts 78 and 80 also move upward simultaneously, and the nozzle 82 rises. Since the coating liquid is filled between the capillary gaps 88 when the nozzle 82 rises from the coating liquid in the liquid tank 66, the capillary gap 88 is filled with the coating liquid to the tip. Rise in state. And the rise is stopped.
[0097]
(6th process)
With the nozzle 82 protruding as described above, the liquid tank 66 is raised again to come into contact with the lower surface of the substrate 28. That is, the coating liquid filled in the capillary gap 88 of the nozzle 82 is brought into contact with the lower surface of the substrate 28.
[0098]
During the ascent, the ascending speed and the ascending distance of the liquid tank 66 are required to be adjusted fairly delicately. Since this moves up and down, this delicate adjustment can be easily performed. In addition, since the liquid tank 66 can be lifted in a horizontal state in the left-right direction, the coating thickness of the base material 28 does not change in the left-right direction.
[0099]
(Seventh step)
The liquid tank 66 is lowered together with the nozzle 82 in the wetted state as described above in the wetted state to the position of the coating height. That is, the distance between the position of the tip of the nozzle 82 and the base material 28 is the coating thickness. This delicate adjustment can be easily performed using the servo motor 52 as described above.
[0100]
(8th step)
After the nozzle 82 is lowered to the coating height position as described above, the base material 28 is moved to the coating end position by the table 24 at a constant speed. Then. The coating liquid can be applied in a planar state by moving the base material 28 in the front-rear direction while being applied in the left-right direction by the nozzle 82. That is, it becomes possible to form a resist film having a uniform film thickness by coating the substrate 28 with a coating liquid with a predetermined coating thickness.
[0101]
In addition, in this conveyance, both the posture in the front-rear direction and the posture in the left-right direction of the base material 28 are kept horizontal.
[0102]
(9th step)
The base material 28 is temporarily stopped at the coating end position, and the nozzle 82 and the liquid tank 66 are lowered from the position of the coating height and separated from the base material 28.
[0103]
(10th step)
After the nozzle 82 is separated from the lower surface of the base material 28, the table 24 is moved backward as shown in FIG.
[0104]
(11th step)
The table 24 moved to the substrate position C is rotated again by 180 ° and reversed to the state of the substrate position D. As a result, the substrate 28 is positioned on the upper surface of the table 24.
[0105]
(12th step)
The suction force of the suction surface 27 is released, and the base material 28 is removed from the table 24. This completes a series of coating operations.
[0106]
As described above, in the coating apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, by performing the coating process as described above, the base material 28 made of a glass substrate has a predetermined coating thickness and is flat at a time. Coating can be performed. Further, since the support plate 54 moves up and down on the slopes of the moving cotters 34 and 36, the vertical positions of the liquid tank 66 and the nozzle 82 can be moved accurately and even in the middle.
[0107]
Further, since the nozzle 82 moves the left / right moving plate 70 by the air cylinder 71 and moves the up / down moving plate 74 in the up / down direction, the nozzle 82 can be moved up / down accurately and reliably.
[0108]
Furthermore, in the coating liquid supply structure having the above-described configuration, the coating liquid is supplied to the liquid tank 66 by pumping inert gas without using a pump, so there is no pulsation and the coating thickness is constant. It can be. Further, since the supply amount can be set by pressure, the apparatus itself becomes simple and the cost is low.
[0109]
Since electricity is not used, it is safe even if the coating solution is an organic solvent resin such as a resist solution. Further, since there are no parts inside the coating liquid path, no dust is generated in the coating liquid.
[0110]
Since there is no pressure fluctuation, the life of the coating liquid is not shortened, and the filtering effect of the filter 138 can be sufficiently obtained.
[0111]
Further, since the resist film formed according to this embodiment has a uniform film thickness, when the resist film is patterned to form a resist pattern and the light shielding film pattern is formed using the resist pattern as a mask, the resist film is fine. A light shielding film pattern can be formed with high dimensional accuracy.
[0112]
In this example, a photomask blank for manufacturing a liquid crystal display was used as a base material, and a resist film was used as an example of a coating film. Further, it may be a liquid crystal display device or a semiconductor device, and the coating film may be a protective film.
[0113]
Second embodiment
FIG. 12 shows a coating apparatus 200 according to the second embodiment.
[0114]
The coating apparatus 200 does not apply the coating liquid to the plate-like base material 28 like the coating apparatus 10 of the first embodiment, but is a long base material 202 (for example, a film or a non-woven fabric). ) Is applied with a coating solution.
[0115]
As shown in FIG. 11, the coating system 30 described above is disposed below the backup roll 204.
[0116]
The base material 202 is conveyed along the backup roll 204 and is coated by the nozzle 82 at the lowest point of the backup roll 204. This coating method is the same as described above.
[0117]
With this method, coating can be performed not only on the plate-like substrate 28 but also on the elongated substrate 202.
[0118]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, in the present invention, since the coating liquid is pumped to the liquid tank by the inert gas, there is no pulsation and the coating thickness can be made constant.
[0119]
Moreover, since electricity is not used, it is not necessary to have an explosion-proof structure even when an organic solvent coating solution is applied, and it is safe.
[0120]
Furthermore, since there is no pressure fluctuation, the life of the coating liquid is not shortened, and the filtering effect of the filter can be sufficiently obtained.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a left side view of a coating apparatus showing a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a front view of the same.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a coating system.
FIG. 4 is a front view of the coating system.
5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the X-ray line in FIG.
FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of a liquid tank and a nozzle, showing a state before coating.
FIG. 7 is also in a coating state.
FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a liquid tank.
FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view of a table.
FIG. 10 is a partially cutaway cross-sectional view of a table.
FIG. 11 is a piping diagram of a coating liquid of a coating apparatus.
FIG. 12 is a side view of a coating apparatus showing a second embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 Coating equipment
24 tables
28 Base material
30 Coating system
34 Moving cotter
36 Moving cotter
52 Servo motor
54 Support plate
60 support legs
62 Support legs
66 Liquid tank
70 Left and right moving plate
71 Air cylinder
74 Vertical movement plate
78 Nozzle support shaft
80 Nozzle support shaft
82 nozzles
84 slits
88 Capillary gap

Claims (3)

A liquid tank containing the coating liquid;
A nozzle that sinks in the coating liquid placed in the liquid tank and extends in the left-right direction with a capillary gap; and
Have
In the coating apparatus for applying the coating liquid from the capillary gap by causing the nozzle to protrude from the liquid tank on the lower surface of the base material traveling in the front-rear direction,
A tank in which a coating liquid to be supplied to the liquid tank is stored ;
A gas pumping means for supplying a coating liquid to the liquid tank by pumping an inert gas in a sealed state of the tank;
A filter provided in a supply path for supplying a coating liquid from the tank to the liquid tank;
Gas extraction means for extracting gas from the tank and setting the inside of the tank to atmospheric pressure;
Coating liquid discharging means for setting the inside of the tank to atmospheric pressure and discharging the coating liquid from the liquid tank to the tank by natural dropping;
Replenishing means for replenishing the tank with a coating liquid up to a predetermined liquid level from a storage tank in which the tank interior is at atmospheric pressure and coating liquid is stored;
The coating apparatus characterized by having. A coating method comprising: coating a coating liquid on a substrate using the coating apparatus according to claim 1 . A coating method comprising: forming a resist film on a substrate using the coating apparatus according to claim 1 .

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