JP7369227B2 - developing device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a developing device that transports a substrate with a transport roller and supplies and puddles a developer onto the surface of the substrate. In addition, substrates include glass substrates for FPDs such as liquid crystal display devices and organic EL display devices, semiconductor wafers, glass substrates for photomasks, color filter substrates, recording disk substrates, solar cell substrates, electronic paper substrates, etc. This includes substrates for precision electronic devices, substrates for semiconductor packages (hereinafter simply referred to as "substrates"), etc.

A developing device that performs a developing process on the substrate while the substrate, the surface of which is coated with a developer, is transported by a transport roller, is sometimes incorporated into the system as a component of the substrate processing system. For example, in Patent Document 1, a developing device is provided as a processing device in a substrate processing system along with a cleaning device, a dehydration bake device, a resist coating device, a reduced pressure drying device, a prebake device, an exposure device, and a postbake device. Further, the substrate processing system includes these processing apparatuses and an indexer section that moves substrates into and out of the above-described apparatus group.

A cassette that accommodates a plurality of substrates is placed in the indexer section. A substrate taken out from a cassette by an indexer robot disposed in an indexer section is first cleaned in a cleaning device. The substrate that has been processed by the cleaning device is transferred to a dehydration baking device, where it is subjected to dehydration baking processing. The substrate that has been subjected to the dehydration baking process is then transported to a resist coating device and subjected to a resist coating process. The substrate that has been subjected to the resist coating process is then transported to a reduced pressure drying device, and the solvent of the resist solution applied to the surface of the substrate is evaporated under reduced pressure, thereby drying the substrate. The substrate that has been dried under reduced pressure is then transported to a pre-bake device and subjected to heat treatment to solidify the resist components on the surface of the substrate. The substrate that has been subjected to the heat treatment is then transported to an exposure device and subjected to exposure treatment.

The substrate that has undergone these treatments is transported to a developing device and subjected to development processing. After the development process has been completed, the substrate is transported to a post-bake device and subjected to heat treatment. The substrate is then placed into the original cassette, which is placed on the indexer section by the indexer robot.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2016-167475

In the substrate processing system described in Patent Document 1, a plurality of transport rollers are used to transport the substrate along a transport path from the developing device to the post-bake device. That is, the substrate is conveyed while being supported from below by a plurality of conveyance rollers in a horizontal position with the surface of the substrate filled with developer facing upward. In recent years, a phenomenon has been observed in which, during substrate transportation, a developer containing dissolved resist components foams during the development process, and a portion of the foam adheres to the transportation roller. When the bubbles adhering to the conveyance roller aggregate with each other and adhere to the peripheral surface of the conveyance roller in a raised state, as the conveyance roller rotates, the bubbles move in the raised state to the conveyance path of the substrate. Therefore, the bubbles on the conveyance roller adhere not only to the back surface of the substrate but also to the front surface. As a result, the development process may become non-uniform, resulting in a problem of deterioration in development quality.

In addition, at the position directly below the nozzle that discharges the developer toward the substrate, when the developer discharged during the period when the substrate does not pass falls to the bottom of the device, splashes and bubbles are generated, and these droplets and bubbles are generated on the conveyor roller. Adhesion may cause similar problems.

This invention was made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a developing device that can effectively prevent bubbles generated during the developing process from adhering to the surface of the substrate via the conveyance roller. do.

One aspect of the present invention is a developing device that transports a substrate and fills it with a developer, which has a cylindrical shape with an axial length equal to or longer than the length of the substrate in the axial direction, and has a horizontal a conveyance roller that rotates around a rotation axis and conveys the substrate while supporting it from below; A nozzle for discharging the developer toward the upper surface of the substrate, and a liquid receiving member provided below the transport path and directly below the nozzle to receive the developer discharged from the nozzle , The upper surface of the receiving member facing the nozzle extends from the upstream side of the position directly below the nozzle to the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the substrate, and has an upper surface facing the nozzle at the upstream end. The liquid receiving member is a thin plate extending in the axial direction at the upstream end. The blade is finished in a shape and is disposed below the conveyance path with a predetermined gap from the circumferential surface of the conveyance roller to remove bubbles adhering to the surface of the conveyance roller .

In the invention configured in this way, the liquid receiving member has a function of removing bubbles adhering to the circumferential surface of the conveyance roller, and a function of suppressing droplets and bubbles generated from the developer flowing down from the nozzle from adhering to the conveyance roller. and

In other words, the upper end of the liquid receiving member is a blade that is placed at a predetermined gap from the circumferential surface of the conveying roller, and it is possible to transfer the bubbles attached to the circumferential surface of the conveying roller to the blade and remove them. be. Here, it is not necessary to remove all of the adhered bubbles; it is sufficient to prevent the bubbles from rising on the circumferential surface of the conveying roller and wrapping around the substrate surface. Therefore, it is not necessary to bring the blade into contact with the conveyance roller.

On the other hand, the surface of the liquid receiving member has an inclined surface at a position directly below the nozzle. Therefore, the developer flowing down from the nozzle when the substrate is not located directly below the nozzle is received by the inclined surface of the liquid receiving member and guided further downward along the inclined surface. Thereby, the generation of splashes and bubbles can be suppressed more than when the developer falls directly onto the bottom surface, and it is possible to suppress the adhesion of the droplets and bubbles to the conveyance roller and the substrate.

As described above, according to the present invention, the liquid receiving member has the function of removing bubbles adhering to the circumferential surface of the conveying roller, and suppressing the splashes and bubbles generated by the developer that is not supplied to the substrate from the nozzle and flows directly down. It has the function of Therefore, it is possible to solve the problem of bubbles adhering to the surface of the substrate being transported and deteriorating the development quality. Furthermore, since the liquid receiving member is arranged without contacting the transport roller, the substrate can be stably transported without the transport roller being damaged by the liquid receiving member.

1 is a side view showing the configuration of an embodiment of a developing device according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a part of the developing device. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a problem caused by generation of bubbles. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the dimensional relationship between the conveyance roller and the bubble cutting member. It is a figure which shows arrangement|positioning of a conveyance roller and a bubble cutter. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a modification of the developing device.

FIG. 1 is a side view showing the configuration of an embodiment of a developing device according to the present invention. Further, FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a part of the developing device. In order to uniformly indicate directions in each of the following figures, XYZ orthogonal coordinates are set as shown in FIG. 1. Here, the XY plane is a horizontal plane, and the Z axis represents a vertical direction. More specifically, the (-Z) direction represents a vertically downward direction.

The developing device 1 supplies a developer to a substrate S, such as a semiconductor wafer, on which a resist film (not shown) subjected to exposure processing is formed on the surface Sf, and after piling up the developer, the surface Sf is directed upward. This device transports the substrate S to the next processing device (post-bake device) in a horizontal position. During this substrate transportation, a development process using a developer is performed. In the developing device 1, the substrate S is horizontally transported from left to right in FIG. That is, the substrate S is transported in the (+Y) direction with the surface to be processed facing upward.

The developing device 1 has a processing chamber 2 in which developing processing is performed. The processing chamber 2 has a processing space inside, and at the upstream end of the processing chamber 2 (left end in FIG. 1), a substrate S exposed by an exposure device disposed upstream of the developing device 1 is placed. A loading port (not shown) is provided for loading. Further, at the downstream end (right end in FIG. 1) of the processing chamber 2, there is provided an exit for transporting the substrate S, which has been subjected to development processing, to the next post-bake device. Furthermore, a discharge mechanism 22 is provided on the bottom surface 21 of the processing chamber 2 for discharging the developer used within the processing chamber. Further, above the bottom surface of the processing chamber 2, a substrate transport device 3 for horizontally transporting the substrate S along the transport direction Y is provided.

The substrate transport device 3 includes a plurality of transport rollers 31 and a drive unit (not shown) that rotationally drives the transport rollers 31. The plurality of transport rollers 31 are arranged along the transport direction Y of the substrate S, and move the substrate S in the processing chamber 2 from the upstream side (the left side in FIG. 1) to the downstream side (the right side in FIG. 1) in the transport direction Y. Transport towards. In this specification, when it is necessary to distinguish between these conveyance rollers 31, a lower case letter of the alphabet is appropriately added to the reference numeral 31 as a subscript.

Each conveyance roller 31 has a UPE (Ultra High Molecular Weight Poly Ethylene) roller 312 fitted into a stainless steel shaft 311, and is arranged in the X direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction (Y direction). It rotates around the extending rotation axis AX. The substrate S is transported in the Y direction by rotating in the rotation direction R while supporting the substrate S from below at the top of the transport roller 31 .

The developer nozzle 4 is arranged above the conveyance path of the substrate S formed by the plurality of conveyance rollers 31 . In this example, two developing nozzles 4 are provided at different positions in the transport direction (Y direction). In this specification, when it is necessary to distinguish between these developing nozzles 4, one on the upstream side, that is, on the (-Y) side in the transport direction of the substrate S will be given a reference numeral 4a, and the other one will be given a reference numeral 4b. Note that the number of developing nozzles provided is not limited to this and is arbitrary.

The developer nozzle 4 is arranged in the processing space of the processing chamber 2 at a different position from the conveyance roller 31 in the Y direction. Specifically, the developer nozzle 4a is arranged above the gap space between two transport rollers 31a and 31b arranged adjacently along the transport path. For example, the developer nozzle 4a is arranged above an intermediate position between the two transport rollers 31a and 31b. In other words, the transport roller 31 is not located directly below the developer nozzle 4a. Similarly, the developer nozzle 4b is arranged above the gap space between the two transport rollers 31c and 31d that are arranged adjacent to each other along the transport path.

The developer nozzle 4 discharges a developer onto the surface Sf of the substrate S that is transported downstream by the substrate transport device 3. The developer nozzle 4 extends in the X direction (direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 1) perpendicular to the transport direction, and has a slit extending in the X direction on its lower surface (the surface facing the substrate W). A discharge port 41 is formed. That is, in this embodiment, a slit nozzle is used as the developer nozzle 4. In this developer nozzle 4, the dimension of the discharge port 41 in the X direction is approximately the same as, or slightly larger than, the dimension (width dimension) of the substrate S in the X direction.

A developer supply section 5 is connected to the developer nozzle 4 through a pipe 6 . The developer supply section 5 has a pressure feeding mechanism (not shown) such as a pump and tank pressurization. By operating this pressure feeding mechanism, the developer L is force fed to the developer nozzle 4 via the pipe 6. As a result, the developer L is discharged from the discharge port 41 of the developer nozzle 4 in a curtain shape, and the developer L is supplied onto the upper surface of the substrate W.

In this embodiment, the surface Sf of the substrate S and the discharge port 41 of the developer nozzle 4 are arranged with a predetermined interval, and when the substrate S passes directly under the discharge port 41, the entire top surface of the substrate S is However, the developer L is piled up using surface tension (that is, a puddle of the developer L is formed). Thereafter, the surface Sf of the substrate S, that is, the resist film, is subjected to a development process while being transported to a post-bake device by the transport roller 31. In this embodiment, as such a developer L, a developer whose main components are TMAH (tetramethylammonium hydroxide) and water is used. Of course, developers other than these, such as those containing sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, and water as main components, can be used.

In recent years, it has been found that depending on the combination of resist film and developer, the developer tends to foam due to surfactants contained in the developer, resist materials dissolved in the developer during development processing, and the like. In particular, when the developer overflowing from the substrate S flows around between the transport roller 31 and the substrate S, the developer is agitated by the relative movement between the two, and a large amount of bubbles are generated. Bubbles may not only adhere to the lower surface of the substrate S, but also adhere to the upper surface of the substrate S, that is, the surface Sf that is the processing target surface, via the conveyance roller 31, as described below.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating problems caused by generation of bubbles. As shown in FIG. 3(a), the developer L that has entered between the lower surface Sb of the substrate S and the transport roller 31 becomes bubbles B and adheres to the lower surface Sb of the substrate S and the circumferential surface 313 of the transport roller 31. . As the transport roller 31 rotates, the bubbles B are also transported and move to the top where they come into contact with the substrate S.

When the bubbles B aggregate together and form a large lump, they may form a large bulge on the circumferential surface 313 of the conveyance roller 31, and when the substrate S is conveyed toward such a mass of bubbles, , some of the bubbles may wrap around and adhere to the upper surface (surface Sf) of the substrate S. The bubbles adhering to the substrate surface Sf in this manner cause deterioration in development quality, such as occurrence of development unevenness.

Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3(b), the bubble cutting member 7 is disposed close to the circumferential surface 313 of each conveyance roller 31 below the conveyance path of the substrate S. Remove the bubbles adhering to the surface by rubbing them off. The upper end 71 of the bubble cutting member 7 is close to and opposed to the circumferential surface 313 of the conveying roller 31 with a predetermined gap therebetween. Acts as a cutting blade. The size of the gap can be adjusted by the gap adjustment mechanism 8.

The foam that has been rubbed off and transferred to the surface of the foam cutting member 7 flows down along the surface. Since the bubble cutting member 7 is not in contact with the conveyance roller 31, some bubbles may remain on the circumferential surface 313 of the conveyance roller 31. However, small bubbles or clusters of small bubbles do not come around to the upper surface Sf of the substrate S, but only adhere to the lower surface Sb, and do not pose a major problem.

The structure of the bubble cutting member 7 will be explained in more detail with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3(b). In this embodiment, the bubble cutter member 7 has a cylindrical shape made by curving a single thin flat plate material around the X axis, and is supported by a support member (not shown) connected to the gap adjustment mechanism 8. has been done. The upper end 71 of the bubble cutting member 7 extends linearly along a direction parallel to the rotation axis AX (X direction), and is arranged close to and facing the circumferential surface 313 of the conveyance roller 31 with a predetermined gap to be described later. has been done. The upper end 71 of the bubble cutting member 7 extends upward from below, while the circumferential surface 313 of the conveying roller 31 that the upper end 71 faces moves downward from above due to the rotation of the conveying roller 31 in the direction R. There is. In other words, the bubble cutting member 7 is arranged in a direction opposite to the rotation of the conveyance roller 31, that is, in a so-called counter direction.

Among the main surfaces of the foam cutting member 7, the main surface 72 opposite to the surface facing the conveyance roller 31 (in the following explanation, this surface is referred to as the "surface") is a smooth curved surface with a downward slope (an inclined surface). ), and the gradient decreases from the upper end 71 to the lower end 73. Therefore, the foam that has migrated from the conveyance roller 31 to the upper end 71 of the foam cutting member 7 initially flows down at high speed along the surface 72 with a relatively large slope, and as it moves toward the lower end 73, the slope becomes gentler and the speed decreases. descend. Eventually, it flows down from the lower end 73 of the bubble cutter 7 toward the bottom surface 21 of the processing chamber 2. Therefore, the bubbles scraped off from the conveyance roller 31 flow down toward the bottom surface 21 of the processing chamber 2 along the smooth surface 72 of the bubble cutter 7 without being retained. This prevents large bubbles or lumps of bubbles from being transported by the transport roller 31 and adhering to the surface Sf of the substrate S.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3(b), the position directly below the developer nozzle 4, more specifically, as shown by the broken line, the position directly below the discharge port 41, and the developer discharged from the discharge port 41. When viewed in the substrate transport direction (Y direction) with respect to the liquid flow path, the upper end 71 of the bubble cutting member 7 is located upstream from the position directly below, while the lower end 73 is located downstream from the position directly below. It extends to the side. Therefore, like the developer nozzle 4b in FIG. 3(b), the developer L discharged from the developer nozzle 4 when the substrate S is not present directly below passes through the conveyance path and further falls, causing bubbles to form. The liquid lands on the inclined surface, which is the surface 72 of the cutting member 7. In order to prevent the rebounding developer from adhering to the conveyance roller 31, the position at which the developer lands on the surface 72 of the bubble-cutting member 7 is preferably below the lower end of the conveyance roller 31.

The developer L further flows down along the surface 72 of the bubble cutter 7 and falls from the lower end 73 of the bubble cutter 7 onto the bottom surface 21 of the processing chamber 2 . If the developer discharged from the developer nozzle 4 falls directly to the bottom surface 21 of the processing chamber 2, there is a risk that splashes of the developer will be generated and adhere to the transport roller 31 and the substrate S. Further, there is a risk that new bubbles may be generated by stirring the developer waste accumulated on the bottom surface 21 of the processing chamber 2. The generation of such splashes and bubbles can be suppressed by receiving the developer on the inclined surface of the bubble cutting member 7 to reduce the flow velocity and then letting it fall toward the bottom surface 21 at a low position.

In this sense, it is preferable that the lower end 73 of the bubble cutter 7 extends as close to the bottom surface 21 of the processing chamber 2 as possible. Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3(b), there is a gap between the lower end 73 of the bubble cutter 7 and the bottom surface 21 of the processing chamber 2, which is further below the slope of the surface 72 near the lower end 73 of the bubble cutter 7. By arranging the inclined plate 23 having a gentle slope, it becomes possible to more effectively suppress the generation of splashes and bubbles.

The bubbles removed from the conveyance roller 31 flow down the surface 72 of the bubble cutter 7 at a relatively low speed, while the developer discharged from the developer nozzle 4 flows at a higher speed and in a large amount. Therefore, the inclined plate 23 only needs to be located below the bubble cutter 7 provided directly below the developing nozzle 4, and such conditions do not need to be satisfied for all the bubble cutters 7.

In this way, the bubble cutting member 7 of this embodiment not only has the function of removing bubbles attached to the circumferential surface 313 of the conveyance roller 31 (bubble cutting function), but also has the function of receiving the developer discharged from the developer nozzle 4. It has a function as a "liquid receiving member" (liquid receiving function) that gently guides the liquid to the bottom surface 21 of the processing chamber 2. All of these functions have the effect of preventing bubbles attached to the transport roller 31 from going around to the surface Sf of the substrate S. This makes it possible to prevent deterioration in development quality, such as bubbles adhering to the substrate surface Sf, which is the surface to be processed, and uneven development.

It should be noted that among the plurality of conveyance rollers 31 arranged along the conveyance path, bubbles may be generated by the developer at those provided downstream of the developer nozzle 4a on the most upstream side in the conveyance direction. be. It is not necessary to provide the bubble cutter 7 for the conveyance roller 31 on the upstream side of the developer nozzle 4a.

However, regarding the conveyance roller 31a, which is provided upstream of the developer nozzle 4a but facing the developer flow path, there is a possibility that the developer supplied to the substrate surface Sf may go around the conveyor roller 31a, and that the developer Since it is necessary to receive the developer flowing down from the liquid nozzle 4a, it is preferable that a bubble cutter 7 is provided in the same way as the conveyance roller 31b and the like on the downstream side. Even in this case, since the bubble cutting member 7 is not in contact with the conveyance roller 31a, there is no risk of affecting the rotation of the conveyance roller 31a or wearing out the conveyance roller 31a.

Hereinafter, the dimensional relationship and arrangement of each part to further ensure this effect will be explained with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 based on the knowledge obtained by the inventor of the present application. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the dimensional relationship between the conveyance roller and the bubble cutting member. Moreover, FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the arrangement of the conveyance roller and the bubble cutting member.

As shown in FIG. 4(a), the upper end 71 of the bubble cutting member 7 is disposed in a non-contact manner with respect to the circumferential surface 313 of the conveyance roller 31 with a gap G therebetween. In order to satisfy the condition that bubbles remaining on the transport roller 31 do not wrap around the surface Sf of the substrate S, the size of the gap G is desirably smaller than the thickness of the substrate S. Specifically, for example, the gap G can be set to 1 mm or less.

Adjustment of the gap G can be realized by the gap adjustment mechanism 8 moving the bubble cutting member 7 in the Y direction, as shown by the dotted arrow in FIG. The gap adjustment mechanism 8 may be operated manually by an operator, or may be configured to automatically adjust a designated gap by using an actuator such as a motor.

The upper end 71 of the bubble-cutting member 7 is preferably finished in a thin blade shape, but the upper end 71 of the bubble-cutting member 7 is preferably finished in a thin blade shape to the extent that it can be prevented from being drawn toward the transport roller 31 by the surface tension of the developer interposed between it and the transport roller 31. stiffness is necessary. Therefore, the thickness of the upper end 71 can also be set to about 1 mm, for example. As for the materials, according to the knowledge of the present inventors, there was no significant difference in effectiveness between metal plates such as stainless steel and resin plates such as polyester.

Next, the width of each part, that is, the length in the X direction, is as shown in FIG. 4(b). That is, in order to evenly supply the developer to the surface Sf of the substrate S, the length W1 of the discharge port 41 of the developer nozzle 4 is preferably equal to or greater than the width W3 of the substrate S. In addition, in order to stably transport the substrate S filled with liquid without bending, the length W2 of the transport roller 31 (more precisely, the length of the UPE roller 312 in contact with the substrate S) is set to be smaller than the width W3 of the substrate S. It is preferable that it is also large. Further, in order to reliably remove bubbles from the conveyance roller 31, the width W4 of the bubble cutter 7 is larger than the length W2 of the conveyance roller 31, and the bubble cutter 7 extends to the outside of both ends of the conveyance roller 31. It is preferable that

Although the width of the bubble cutting member 7 does not necessarily need to be constant, at least the width at the position directly below the discharge port 41 is larger than the length W1 of the discharge port 41 in order to reliably catch the developer to be discharged, and the width of the bubble cutter 7 is larger than the length W1 of the discharge port 41 to ensure that the width of the bubble cutter 7 is larger than the length W1 of the discharge port 41. It is desirable that the cutting member 7 extends to the outside of both ends of the discharge port 41. Further, in order to reliably guide the developer to the lower end 73, it is desirable that there is no part where the width decreases from this position to the lower end 73.

The arrangement of the bubble cutter 7 with respect to the conveyance roller 31 is as follows. As shown in FIG. 5(a), the position (gap position) where the upper end 71 of the bubble cutter 7 is closest to the circumferential surface 313 of the conveyance roller 31 is located in the rotation direction R from the top of the conveyance roller 31 in contact with the substrate S. It is preferable that the angle α around the rotation axis AX as seen in the figure is in the range of 90 degrees or more and less than 180 degrees, more preferably 135 degrees or less. When the upper end 71 of the foam cutting member 7 is within this range, the transfer of foam from the conveying roller 31 to the foam cutting member 7 is performed most smoothly.

Further, the slope of the surface 72 at the upper end 71 of the bubble cutting member 7 is as follows. As shown in FIG. 5(b), the velocity vector V that the foam B conveyed by the conveyance roller 31 has at the gap position is divided into a vector component V1 in the direction along the surface 72 of the bubble cutter 7 and a vector component perpendicular to this. Preferably, the slope of the surface 72 is determined such that the magnitude of component V1 is greater than the magnitude of component V2 when resolved into component V2. Moreover, if the slope of the surface 72 is too small, there is a possibility that the foam scraped off from the conveyance roller 31 will not flow down and will stay near the upper end 71 of the foam cutting member 7 .

For these reasons, as shown in FIG. 5(c), the inclination angle β of the surface 72 at the upper end 71 of the bubble cutting member 7 with respect to the horizontal plane (double-dashed line) is as large as possible within the range of 45 degrees or more and 90 degrees or less. It is preferable. On the other hand, at the lower end 73 of the bubble cutting member 7, as shown in FIG. 5(d), the inclination angle γ with respect to the horizontal plane can be set to a value greater than 0 degrees and smaller than the inclination angle β.

As described above, in this embodiment, the bubble cutting member 7 removes the portion of the bubbles adhering to the conveyance roller 31 that is higher than the gap G. Therefore, it is possible to effectively prevent the bubbles attached to the carry-out roller 31 from transferring to the surface Sf of the substrate S. Moreover, since the bubble cutter 7 is arranged without contacting the conveyance roller 31, the substrate S can be stably conveyed toward the post-bake device without the bubble cutter 7 damaging the conveyance roller 31. can.

Further, the lower end 73 of the bubble cutting member 7 extends to the downstream side beyond the position directly below the developer nozzle 4 (strictly speaking, the discharge port 41) in the substrate transport direction (Y direction). The surface 72 of the bubble cutting member 7 at a position directly below the developer nozzle 4 is an inclined surface having a monotonous downward slope toward a lower end 73. Therefore, the developer discharged from the developer nozzle 4 when the substrate S is not present directly below the developer nozzle 4 is received by the bubble cutter 7, flows down along the surface 72, and flows into the processing chamber 2. It is guided to the bottom surface 21. Thereby, the generation of splashes and bubbles on the bottom surface 21 of the processing chamber 2 can be suppressed.

With these configurations, in this embodiment, bubbles generated due to bubbling of the developer are prevented from going around to the surface Sf of the substrate S via the circumferential surface of the conveyance roller 31. Therefore, it is possible to prevent deterioration in development quality such as uneven development caused by adhesion of bubbles.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various changes other than those described above can be made without departing from the spirit thereof. For example, in the above embodiment, since the bubble cutting member 7 is formed by curving a single plate-shaped body, the thickness of the bubble cutting member 7 is constant, and the thickness of the bubble cutting member 7 is constant, and the thickness of the bubble cutting member 7 is constant between the surface 72 and the opposite side. The main surface on the side facing the conveyance roller 31 has basically the same shape.

However, in the present invention, although the upper end of the bubble cutting member is required to be a thin plate-like blade, there is no such restriction at a position far away from the conveyance roller 31. Therefore, the cross-sectional shape of the foam cutting member 7 is not limited to the above-mentioned shape, and for example, there may be portions with different thicknesses.

Further, in the above embodiment, the surface 72 of the bubble cutter 7 has a continuous smooth curved surface from the upper end 71 to the lower end 73, but even if the surface is flat, for example, the bubble cutter function and the liquid receiving function described above can still be achieved. It is possible to obtain. In this embodiment, by configuring the surface 72 of the bubble cutting member 7 with a curved surface having a large slope at the upper end 71 and decreasing the slope toward the lower end 73, the bubbles can be smoothly removed from the conveying roller 31 by the bubble cutting member 7. It also has the effect of catching the developer falling from the lower end 73 and weakening its flow. Note that even if the surface of the bubble cutting member is partially flat from its upper end to its lower end, it is possible to obtain the same effect as in the above embodiment.

For example, in the embodiment described above, the shapes of the bubble cutting members 7 provided on each of the plurality of conveyance rollers 31 are the same. Although this makes it possible to share parts, in principle, a liquid receiving function is not essential for a bubble removal member in which the developer nozzle 4 is not disposed above. From this, it is also possible to make the following modifications.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a modification of the developing device. In this modification, the configuration other than the bubble cutter can be the same as the embodiment shown in FIG. 1. Therefore, the same components as those in the above embodiment will be given the same reference numerals and detailed explanations will be omitted.

In a developing device 1A of a modified example shown in FIG. 6, a bubble cutter member 7A, which is the same as the bubble cutter member 7 of the above embodiment, is arranged directly below the developer nozzle 4, but there is no developer nozzle 4 above. A smaller bubble cutter 7B is arranged at the position. If there is no developer nozzle 4 above, the bubble removal member 7B only needs to have the function of removing bubbles adhering to the conveyance roller 31, and does not need a function of catching the developer flowing down from the developer nozzle 4. be. Therefore, it is possible to use the bubble cutting member 7B having a shape specialized for the bubble cutting function. For example, by making it smaller than the bubble cutting member 7A, it is possible to reduce the amount of material used.

Further, in the embodiment described above, the substrate W is transported by the transport roller 31 having the UPE roller 312 fitted into the shaft 311, but the configuration of the transport roller 31 is not limited to this, and is commonly used in the past. Any conveyance roller can be used.

As described above with reference to specific embodiments, in the developing device according to the present invention, the surface of the liquid receiving member is configured to be located directly below the nozzle and below the conveyance roller. Good too. According to such a configuration, the developer flowing down from the nozzle lands on the liquid receiving member below the conveyance roller. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the rebounding developer from adhering to the transport roller or the substrate.

Further, the surface of the liquid receiving member may be a smooth curved surface from the upper end to the lower end, for example, a cylindrical surface. According to such a configuration, bubbles and developer attached to the surface of the liquid receiving member are smoothly guided to the lower end, and these are prevented from staying on the surface of the liquid receiving member.

Alternatively, the slope of the surface may be configured to decrease monotonically from the upper end to the lower end. The "monotonic decrease" here is a so-called monotone decrease in a broad sense, and the slope may be constant in a part of the section from the upper end to the lower end. According to such a configuration, the velocity of the developer flowing down is reduced due to the decrease in the slope of the surface, so that it is possible to reduce the rebound of the developer when it falls from the lower end of the liquid receiving member.

Further, the angle of inclination of the surface at the upper end with respect to the horizontal plane may be greater than or equal to 45 degrees and less than or equal to 90 degrees. According to the knowledge of the inventor of the present invention, with such a configuration, the foam that has been rubbed off from the conveyance roller can be quickly flowed down without being retained in the upper end portion.

Further, the upper end of the liquid receiving member may be configured to be closest to the circumferential surface of the conveyance roller at a position where the angle around the rotation axis when viewed from the top of the conveyance roller in the rotation direction is 90 degrees or more and 135 degrees or less. good. According to the findings of the inventors of the present application, when such a configuration is used, the transfer of bubbles from the conveying roller to the liquid receiving member becomes smoothest, and the effect of removing bubbles from the conveying roller by the liquid receiving member can be enhanced.

Further, the length of the upper end along the axial direction is preferably equal to or longer than the length of the conveyance roller, and more preferably exceeds the length of the conveyance roller. According to such a configuration, it is possible to obtain a bubble-cutting effect over the entire circumferential surface of the conveyance roller.

Further, at a position directly below the nozzle, it is preferable that the liquid receiving member extends to the outside in the axial direction with respect to the discharge port provided in the nozzle and for discharging the developer. According to such a configuration, the liquid flowing down from the nozzle can be reliably made to land on the liquid receiving member.

Further, it is desirable that the gap between the transport roller and the liquid receiving member be smaller than the thickness of the substrate. Since the liquid receiving member is provided in a non-contact manner with respect to the conveyance roller, bubbles or a mass of bubbles smaller than the gap remain on the circumferential surface of the conveyance roller without being removed. However, if the thickness of the substrate is greater than the height of such bubbles, the bubbles can be prevented from reaching the surface of the substrate.

Further, the liquid receiving member may be an integral plate-like member from the upper end to the lower end. According to such a configuration, the surface of the liquid receiving member can be made smooth, so that bubbles and developer can flow down smoothly. Furthermore, the surface shape can be easily adjusted.

Furthermore, a gap adjustment mechanism that changes the gap by moving the liquid receiving member relative to the conveyance roller may be further provided. According to such a configuration, the gap can be adjusted depending on the use and purpose, and it is possible to flexibly respond to changes in the thickness of the substrate, for example.

This invention can be applied to a developing device that progresses the development process by piling up a developer on the surface of the substrate while conveying it with a conveying roller, and can be used as part of the process of forming patterns on various substrates by exposure. suitable.

1 Developing device 3 Substrate transport device 4 Developing solution nozzle (nozzle)
7 Bubble cutter (liquid receiver)
31 Conveyance roller 71 Upper end (of the bubble cutter) 72 Surface (of the bubble cutter) 73 Lower end (of the bubble cutter) L Developer S Substrate Sf (Substrate) surface Y Conveyance direction

Claims (12)

A developing device that transports a substrate and fills up with a developer,
a conveyance roller having a cylindrical shape whose axial length is equal to or longer than the length of the substrate in the axial direction, and which rotates around a horizontal rotation axis and conveys the substrate while supporting it from below;
a nozzle that is provided above a conveyance path along which the conveyance roller conveys the substrate and at a position downstream of the conveyance roller, and discharges the developer toward the upper surface of the substrate;
a liquid receiving member provided below the transport path and directly below the nozzle to receive the developer discharged from the nozzle;
The upper surface of the liquid receiving member facing the nozzle extends from the upstream side of the position directly below the nozzle to the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the substrate, and the upper surface faces the nozzle. It is an inclined surface having a downward slope from the upper end, which is the upper end, to the lower end, which is the downstream end,
At the upstream end, the liquid receiving member is finished in a thin plate shape extending along the axial direction , and is spaced below the conveyance path with a predetermined gap from the circumferential surface of the conveyance roller. A developing device , which is arranged as a blade that removes bubbles adhering to the surface of the conveying roller . The developing device according to claim 1, wherein the upper surface of the liquid receiving member is located below the conveyance roller at a position directly below the nozzle. 3. The developing device according to claim 1, wherein the upper surface of the liquid receiving member is a smooth curved surface from the upper end to the lower end. 4. The developing device according to claim 3, wherein the curved surface is a cylindrical surface. 5. The developing device according to claim 3, wherein the slope of the upper surface monotonically decreases from the upper end to the lower end. 6. The developing device according to claim 1, wherein an angle of inclination of the upper surface with respect to a horizontal plane at the upper end is 45 degrees or more and 90 degrees or less. 7. The upper end is closest to the circumferential surface at a position where the angle around the rotation axis when viewed in the rotation direction from the top of the conveyance roller is 90 degrees or more and 135 degrees or less. developing device. 8. The developing device according to claim 1, wherein the length of the upper end along the axial direction is longer than the length of the conveyance roller. 9. The developer according to claim 1, wherein at a position directly below the nozzle, the liquid receiving member extends to the outside in the axial direction with respect to a discharge port provided in the nozzle and discharging the developer. Device. 10. The developing device according to claim 1, wherein the gap is smaller than the thickness of the substrate. 11. The developing device according to claim 1, wherein the liquid receiving member is an integral plate-like member from the upstream end to the downstream end . 12. The developing device according to claim 1, further comprising a gap adjustment mechanism that changes the gap by moving the liquid receiving member relative to the transport roller.

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