JP4861082B2 - Coating device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a coating apparatus.

  As a technique for applying a resist solution or the like on a substrate, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, a resist solution is supplied onto the substrate while rotating the substrate, and the resist solution is extended over the entire surface of the substrate by centrifugal force. Is used. At this time, it is necessary to prevent the resist mist and the like from reattaching to the substrate after coating. For this reason, it is necessary to discharge the resist solution shaken off from the substrate to the outside of the rotary table that accommodates the substrate and the like.

  Due to intensifying market competition in recent years, improvement in productivity, that is, improvement in yield, is also required for coating apparatuses such as resists. In order to realize these, it is necessary to efficiently discharge resist waste liquid, resist mist, and the like after applying a resist to the substrate.

  FIG. 4 is a front sectional view showing an example of a conventional coating apparatus. FIG. 5 is a plan sectional view showing the ZZ section of FIG. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of only the rotating part seen from the direction of the arrow Y shown in FIG. The substrate 1 is held by a rotary table 102 on which the rotary cap 3 is placed, and rotates while holding the horizontal axis about the rotation axis. Then, a resist solution is supplied onto the substrate 1, and then the resist solution extends to the entire substrate 1 by centrifugal force.

  Waste substances such as resist solution or resist mist shaken off from the substrate 1 are discharged out of the turntable 102 through the discharge port 102a. However, a part is not discharged out of the rotary table 102 but remains in the rotary table 102. In this case, the resist mist is scattered by the rotation of the substrate 1 and the like, and is dispersed in the rotary table 102. As a result, there arises a problem that the resist mist is reattached on the substrate 1.

In order to prevent the resist mist from scattering, a protective plate (hereinafter referred to as a splash guard) 5 is provided outside the substrate 1 at the peripheral edge of the counter plate 104. The conventional splash guard 5 shown in FIG. 5 is formed by being fixed to a substantially rectangular counter plate 104. The splash guard 5 is disposed at a symmetrical position with respect to the XX axis. That is, they are attached substantially in parallel in the vertical and horizontal directions of the periphery of the counter plate 104.
JP-A-8-14176

  Here, there is a space formed by the rotating cap 3, the counter plate 104, and the rotating table 102 outside the splash guard 5. Here, the space outside the end of the splash guard 5 is A2, A3, B2, and B3. The sizes of the space A2, the space A3, the space B2, and the space B3 are A2> B2 and B3> A3. Here, when the turntable rotates in the R direction, air flows from the space A3 toward the space B3. In this case, the space A3 in the vicinity of the air inlet is small, and the space B3 in the vicinity of the outlet is larger than that. For this reason, the air flow is relatively smooth. However, when flowing from the space A2 to the space B2, the air flow is greatly disturbed because the entrance is large and the exit is narrow. For this reason, resist mist or the like may return to the substrate 1 or float outside the splash guard 5. Further, a part of the resist mist discharged from the discharge port 102a may remain floating between the inner wall 11 and the inner wall 13b as it is.

  When the rotation application of the substrate 1 is completed and replaced with the next substrate, the air flows into the application container 13 and thus the rotation table 102. At this time, the floating resist mist and the like flow in with the air and reattach to the next substrate.

  The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and an object thereof is to provide a coating apparatus that can efficiently discharge resist mist and the like.

The coating apparatus according to the present invention is:
A turntable on which the substrate is placed;
A rotating cap disposed on the rotary table so as to cover the substrate;
An applicator provided on the lower side of the rotating cap, and a substantially rectangular counter plate facing the substrate, and rotates integrally,
Oite outside of the substrate, a plurality of splash guard fixed protrudes downward from the face plate to the counter plate is disposed in point symmetry with respect to the rotation center in the plane parallel to the substrate, and wherein It is arranged axisymmetrically with respect to a straight line parallel to the side of the substrate and passing through the center of rotation,
A space formed by the rotary table, the rotary cap, and the opposing plate outside the splash guard;
Of the adjacent end portions of the adjacent splash guards, the space outside the end portion on the side preceding the rotation is smaller than the space outside the end portion on the side following the rotation. .

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a coating apparatus that can efficiently discharge resist mist and the like.

  Embodiments to which the present invention can be applied will be described below. The following description is about the embodiment of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the following embodiment.

Embodiment FIG. 1 is a front sectional view showing a coating apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a plan sectional view of the coating apparatus, which is a ZZ section of FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of FIG. 1 in which only the rotating part is viewed from the direction of the arrow Y. A substantially rectangular substrate 1 such as glass for applying a resist solution is held horizontally in a turntable 2. The turntable 2 has a circular shallow pan shape, and a disc-like turnable cap 3 that can be freely opened and closed is placed on the top. That is, when applying the resist to the substrate 1, the rotation cap 3 is closed with the substrate 1 placed on the turntable 2. The substrate 1 is covered with the rotating cap 3. A counter plate 4 is fixed to the lower portion of the rotating cap 3 so as to face the substrate 1.

  The substrate 1 rotates together with the turntable 2 on which the rotation cap 3 is placed while maintaining the horizontal. The center of rotation is the center C shown in FIG. The center C is also the center of each of the substrate 1, the rotary table 2, the rotary cap 3, and the counter plate 4. The resist solution is supplied onto the rotating substrate 1, and then extends to the entire substrate 1 by centrifugal force.

  A discharge port 2 a is provided in the outer peripheral portion of the rotary table 2 along the circumferential direction. A waste material such as a resist solution or resist mist shaken off from the substrate 1 by the rotation is discharged out of the turntable 2 through the discharge port 2a. In addition, a plurality of vent holes 2b are formed at the outer peripheral upper end of the turntable 2 at appropriate intervals in the circumferential direction. The vent 2b becomes a tunnel-like groove when the rotary cap 3 is placed on the rotary table 2.

  The resist mist or the like may not remain outside the turntable 2 but may remain in the turntable 2. In this case, the resist mist is scattered by the rotation of the substrate 1 and the like, and is dispersed in the rotary table 2. As a result, there arises a problem that the resist mist is reattached on the substrate 1. In order to prevent the resist mist from scattering, a splash guard 5 as a protective plate is provided outside the substrate 1 at the peripheral edge of the counter plate 4. Here, four splash guards 5 are provided. The splash guard 5 protrudes downward from the counter plate 4. The inner side surface of the splash guard is an inclined surface. Four splash guards 5 are provided corresponding to the four sides of the substrate 1. One splash guard 5 is arranged outside each side. The two splash guards 5 that face each other are arranged in parallel. On the other hand, two adjacent splash guards 5 are arranged such that their extension lines are orthogonal. A gap is provided between two adjacent splash guards 5. This gap is arranged in the vicinity of the corner of the substrate 1. Therefore, the splash guard 5 is provided along the side of the substrate 1 except for the corners of the substrate 1.

  The application container 13 is a container that houses the turntable 2 on which the rotation cap 3 is placed. An inner wall 11 protruding upward is provided in a ring shape on the outer peripheral bottom of the application container 13. The inner wall 11 is formed in a ring shape to receive the resist mist discharged from the discharge port 2a. Further, another inner wall 13 b is provided inside the application container 13 and outside the inner wall 11. There is a waste liquid receiving portion at the bottom between the inner wall 11 and the inner wall 13b, and temporarily stores the resist waste liquid discharged from the discharge port 2a.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a ring-shaped pipe 13c is installed in the waste liquid receiver. As shown in FIG. 7, the piping 13c is provided with piping holes 13d at appropriate intervals. Resist waste liquid or the like stored in the waste liquid receiving portion flows into the pipe 13c from the pipe hole 13d. Then, the resist waste liquid is appropriately discharged from the pipe 13c by an external suction means (not shown).

  The lid 12 of the application container 13 is made of a disk-like plate and is formed so as to be openable and closable with respect to the application container 13. At the bottom of the application container 13, there are exhaust ports 13 a provided at several appropriate portions. Therefore, as described above, the waste liquid that has been dispersed into the inside of the coating container 13 to become liquid is discharged from the pipe 13c. However, mist floating in the application container 13 other than this is discharged from the exhaust port 13 a together with the air inside the application container 13. At this time, air is supplied through a minute gap between the lid 12 and the application container 13.

  In such a coating apparatus, the rotary table 2 and the rotary cap 3 are integrally rotated by an appropriate rotating means (not shown). A coating material (not shown) such as a resist applied on the substrate 1 held in the turntable 2 is stretched to a uniform thickness by rotation. Then, excess resist or the like is shaken off and scattered from the substrate 1 in a mist form.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the counter plate 4 has a shape in which an arcuate projecting portion 4a is provided from a corner portion of a substantially rectangular shape in a direction opposite to the rotation direction. Thereby, the waste liquid adhering to the opposing plate 4 is shaken off without staying along the overhanging portion 4a. These resist waste liquid, resist mist, and the like accumulate in a waste liquid receiver formed at the bottom between the inner wall 11 and the inner wall 13b. Subsequently, it is discharged to the outside through the pipe 13c and the pipe hole 13d at an appropriate timing.

  The splash guard 5 shown in FIG. 2 is formed by being fixed to a substantially rectangular counter plate 4. In a plane parallel to the substrate 1, the splash guard 5 is arranged point-symmetrically with respect to the rotation center C, and is arranged axisymmetrically with respect to a straight line parallel to the side of the substrate 1 and passing through the rotation center C.

  As shown in FIG. 2, of the adjacent end portions of the adjacent splash guards 5, the end portion on the side leading in rotation is the splash guard end portion 5a, and the end portion on the side following in the rotation is the splash guard end portion. 5b. In this case, one end of the splash guard 5 is the splash guard end 5a, and the other is the splash guard end 5b. Here, the splash guard 5 is provided asymmetrically with respect to a straight line that is parallel to the side of the substrate 1 and passes through the rotation center C. Accordingly, the distance from the straight line parallel to the side of the substrate 1 and passing through the rotation center C to the splash guard end 5a is longer than the distance to the splash guard end 5b.

  Meanwhile, a space formed by the counter plate 4, the rotary table 2, and the rotary cap 3 exists outside the splash guard 5. In the space outside the splash guard 5, the rotating cap 3 or the counter plate 4 is disposed on the upper side, and the rotating table 2 is disposed on the lower side. The outer side in the outer peripheral direction of the space coincides with the outer peripheral end of the rotating cap 3. Here, the space above the splash guard end portions 5a and 5b is considered. As shown in FIG. 2, the space outside the splash guard 5a is A1, and the space outside the splash guard end 5b is B1. That is, the spaces A1 and B1 correspond to the adjacent splash guard ends 5a and 5b, respectively. Of the space A1 and the space B1, the space A1 is disposed on the preceding side during rotation, and the space B1 is disposed on the subsequent side during rotation. Accordingly, during rotation, the air that flows in from the space A1 flows out from the space B1.

  In other words, the gap from the splash guard end 5a to the inner surface of the turntable 2 is smaller than the gap from the splash guard end 5b to the inner surface of the turntable. Accordingly, the size of the space A1 is larger than the space B1. Further, for all four splash guards 5, the space A1 corresponding to the splash guard end 5a is smaller than the space B1 corresponding to the splash guard end 5b.

  When the rotary table rotates in the R direction, air flows from the space A1 toward the space B1. At this time, the space A1 near the entrance of the air is always small, and the space B1 near the exit is larger than that. For this reason, the air flow is relatively smooth and is not greatly disturbed. That is, resist mist and the like are discharged out of the rotary table 2 without returning to the substrate 1.

  A rotary blade 7 is provided on the outer periphery of the rotary table 2. The rotary blade 7 is provided in the entire outer circumferential direction. The rotary blade 7 includes a rotary blade 7a and a rotary blade 7b. The rotary blade 7a and the rotary blade 7b are disposed so as to sandwich the discharge port 2a up and down. That is, the rotary blade 7a extends outward from the upper portion of the discharge port 2a, and the rotary blade 7b extends outward from the lower portion of the discharge port 2a. The rotary blade 7 is formed so as to be gradually inclined downward from the rotary table 2 toward the peripheral portion. As a result, waste liquid such as resist mist is forcibly shaken off from the discharge port 2a. The waste liquid is efficiently stored in a waste liquid receiving portion formed by the inner wall 11 and the inner wall 13b.

  Further, the fixed blade 10 is provided on the inner wall 13 b of the application container 13 so as to face the rotating blade 7. The fixed wing 10 is formed so as to gradually incline upward from the inner wall 13b of the application container 13 toward the center where the rotary table 2 is disposed. By providing this inclination, it is possible to further prevent the waste liquid such as resist mist discharged by the rotary blade 7 from scattering in the coating container 13.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a receiving plate 10 a is disposed at one end of the fixed wing 10 on the rotational direction side. The receiving plate 10a is a plate-like member provided along the vertical direction. Accordingly, firstly, the waste liquid such as the resist discharged from the discharge port 2a is forcibly shaken downward by the rotary blade 7a and the rotary blade 7b. Subsequently, the fixed blade 10 and the receiving plate 10a of the fixed blade are forcibly shaken off. Thus, both the mist and the waste liquid are more reliably retained in the waste liquid receiving portion formed by the inner wall 11 and the inner wall 13b without scattering inside the coating container 13.

  Further, the member 6 and the member 9 are attached to the lid 12. A member 8 is also attached to the rotary table 2. Each member forms a narrow gap (labyrinth), which also prevents mist from scattering.

  As described above, according to the coating apparatus of the present embodiment, the air flow around the rotary table becomes smooth, and resist mist and the like can be discharged efficiently. Moreover, the waste liquid adhering to the counter plate 4 is also shaken off without staying. The waste liquid discharged from the rotary table is efficiently sent to the waste liquid receiving portion inside the coating container 13 by the rotary blade 7a and the rotary blade 7b, the fixed blade 10 and the receiving plate 10a of the fixed blade. In other words, arcuate protruding portions 4 a are provided at the four corners of the counter plate 4. These are projected on the following side during rotation. Thereby, since neither mist nor waste liquid is scattered, floated, or stays in the application container 13, the yield of the application substrate can be improved.

  By the way, in this Embodiment, although the rotary blade 7a and the rotary blade 7b were arrange | positioned in the perimeter, you may arrange | position only in one part, such as the discharge port 2a. Moreover, the fixed wing | blade 10 does not necessarily need to have the receiving plate 10a. Even if the fixed blade 10 is provided with an inclination from the inner wall 13b toward the discharge port 2a, the waste liquid can be sufficiently discharged. In the above embodiment, the rotary blade 7 and the fixed blade 10 are disposed, but the present invention is not limited to this arrangement. When there is not enough space due to the structure of the application container 13, a sufficient discharge effect can be obtained by providing only one of the rotary blade 7 and the fixed blade 10.

  In the present embodiment, glass is exemplified as the substrate 1, but it may be a semiconductor wafer, a CD substrate, a printed substrate, a ceramic substrate, or the like. Further, the coating solution may be not only a resist solution but also a magnetic paint or the like. Furthermore, the basic structure is the same as that of the present embodiment, and the structure is not limited as long as the same function can be achieved.

It is front sectional drawing which shows the coating device concerning this Embodiment. It is a top sectional view showing the coating device concerning this embodiment, and is a sectional view of a ZZ cut part of Drawing 1. It is a fragmentary sectional perspective view which shows the coating device concerning this Embodiment, and is a Y arrow line view of FIG. It is front sectional drawing which shows the conventional coating device. It is a plane sectional view showing the conventional coating device, and is a sectional view of a ZZ cut part of Drawing 4. It is a fragmentary sectional perspective view which shows the conventional coating device, and is a Y arrow line view of FIG. It is a partial section perspective view showing ring-like piping 13c.

Explanation of symbols

1 substrate, 2, 102 rotary table, 2a, 102a discharge port,
2b, 102b Vent, 3 Rotating cap, 4, 104 Opposing plate,
4a overhang, 5 splash guard,
5a, 5b splash guard end, 6 members, 7 rotor blades,
7a, 7b Rotor blades, 8 members, 9 members, 10 fixed wings,
10a backing plate, 11 inner wall, 12 lid, 13 coating container,
13a Exhaust port, 13b Inner wall, 13c Ring-shaped piping, 13d Piping hole

Claims (7)

A turntable on which the substrate is placed;
A rotating cap disposed on the rotary table so as to cover the substrate;
An applicator provided on the lower side of the rotating cap, and a substantially rectangular counter plate facing the substrate, and rotates integrally,
Oite outside of the substrate, a plurality of splash guard fixed protrudes downward from the face plate to the counter plate is disposed in point symmetry with respect to the rotation center in the plane parallel to the substrate, and wherein It is arranged axisymmetrically with respect to a straight line parallel to the side of the substrate and passing through the center of rotation,
A space formed by the rotary table, the rotary cap, and the opposing plate outside the splash guard;
The coating apparatus in which the space outside the end on the side preceding the splash guard among the adjacent ends of the adjacent splash guards is smaller than the space outside the end following on the rotation.   The coating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the counter plate is formed with an overhanging portion that is arcuately formed on a side to be followed when rotating.   The coating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a rotary blade is provided on an outer periphery of the rotary table.   The coating device according to claim 3, wherein the rotary blade is formed of a pair of upper and lower rotary blades.   The coating device according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the rotary blade is formed so as to be inclined downward from the rotary table toward a peripheral portion.   The coating apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein a fixed blade facing the rotating blade is provided on an inner wall of a coating container that accommodates the rotating table.   The coating apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the fixed blade is formed so as to incline upward from an inner wall of the coating container toward a central portion.

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