JPS5932057B2 - mask cleaning equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a mask cleaning apparatus suitable for use in cleaning photomasks.

Conventionally, photomask cleaning has been done manually for each mask, but these methods have the drawback of low work efficiency and the degree of cleaning being uneven depending on the operator. It was hot.

Moreover, since photomasks are usually made of materials such as glass, there are many situations in which hands and fingers are accidentally touched and injured during operation, which poses many safety problems. Therefore, the present invention has a conveyance means capable of conveying a photomask along a conveyance line, and a cleaning means and a drying means are sequentially installed along the conveyance line to automatically clean and dry the photomask. It is an object of the present invention to provide a mask cleaning device which is configured to obtain the following advantages and which eliminates the above-mentioned drawbacks.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically explained based on an embodiment shown in the drawings.

The mask cleaning apparatus 1 has a linear conveyance line 2, as shown in FIG. 1, and the conveyance line 2 includes rotatably supported pulleys 3, 3, as shown in FIG. ' has an endless wire 5 wound around the wire 5.

The pulley 3 is rotatably driven by a suitable driving means to move the wire 5 in the direction of arrow A in the figure. A plurality of plate-shaped carriers 6 are installed on the wire 5 at regular intervals, as shown in FIG. A rectangular window 6a is formed through the carrier 6vc, and a photomask 7 for manufacturing an integrated circuit can be fitted into the window 6a. On the other hand, conveyance line 2
As shown in FIG. 1, a rotor 9 and an unrotor 10, which can store a large number of photomasks 7 inside, are installed at both left and right ends of the rotor 9. Window 6a of carrier 6
The unrotor 10 can remove the photo masks 7 that are engaged with the carrier 6 one by one and store them inside the unrotor 10. Further, the conveyance line 2 is provided with disk-shaped sponge brushes 11, 1'' that sandwich the line 2 from both sides and constitute a cleaning means.
, 12, 12'' are installed, and each brush 11,
1'', 12, 125 are rotated and driven by a driving means such as a motor.Four injection nozzles 13, 135, 15, 15' are provided on both sides of the brushes 11, 115 in an opposed manner. Nozzle 13, 13゛, 15, 155
can spray detergent from its tip. brush 1
Similarly, there are two nozzles 16,165 on the right side of 2,12''.
are installed, and the nozzles 16, 16' can spray hot water from their tips. To the right of the nozzles 16, 165 in the figure are two pairs of spiral nozzles 17, 175, 19, 1.
92, high pressure hot water can be jetted out in a film form from the nozzles 1r and 1u, and high pressure hot air such as air or nitrogen gas can be jetted out in a film shape from the nozzles 19 and 19'. Can be done. Furthermore, ionizers 20 and 2'' for removing static electricity are installed on the right side of the nozzles 19 and 195 in the figure, and the conveyance line 2VC is equipped with brushes 11 and 1 as shown in FIGS. Rod-shaped guide bars 21, 215 are provided in parallel at locations other than the installation locations of , 12, 12'. When cleaning the photomask 7 for production, as shown in FIG. It is moved in the direction of arrow A in FIG.

When the wire 5 moves in the A direction, the carrier 6 also moves together with the wire 5 in the FlCA direction, and the rotor 9 fits and engages the masks 7 in the rotor 9 one by one into the window 6a of the carrier 6. The mask r engaged with the carrier 6f1C is conveyed together with the carrier 6 in the direction of arrow A in FIGS. 1 and 2. At this time, the carrier 6 moves at an angle of installation angle α with respect to the vertical direction V, as shown in FIG.
Since the upper and lower ends of the mask 7 are supported by the guide bars 21 and 21', the mask r will not fall down from the window 6a of the carrier 6. The brushes 11, 11 rotate as the carrier 6 moves in the direction A along the conveyance line 2.
′, the injection nozzles 13, 13゛, 15, 15′
As shown in FIG. 3, the mask 7 is simultaneously cleaned from both sides by the brushes 11 and 111IIC. At this time, the mask 7 is held by the brushes 11, 1'' while being pressed from both sides, so it will not fall off the carrier 6 even if the guide rails 21, 2'' are not provided. When the carrier 6 passes between the brushes 12 and 125 and the washing with the detergent is completed, the carrier 6 enters between the brushes 12 and 125. As shown in FIG. is sprayed, and the detergent that adheres to both surfaces of the mask 7 is washed away by the brushes 12,
125. Carrier 6 is brush 12,
When further conveyed in the A direction from 12', the spiral nozzle 1
7, 172 spray high-pressure hot water in a film along both surfaces of the mask 7, and the surface of the mask 1 is sufficiently cleaned.
Furthermore, the mask 7 is dried by high-pressure film-like warm air jetted from nozzles 19 and 19f, and then dried by ionizers 20 and 2.
By passing between 0' and 0', static electricity is removed, and finally the cleaning work is completed by being removed from the carrier 6 by the unrotor 10 and stored. Note that the photomask 1 may be transported in the transport line 2 either in an upright position or in a horizontally lying position, but in order to fully demonstrate the cleaning effect of the brushes 11, 115, etc., it is necessary to B
, B', it is preferable to use a vertical conveyance system in which the drained water after washing falls down independently on both surfaces of the mask 7.

Further, in the above embodiment, a case was described in which disc-shaped sponge brushes 11, 115, 12, and 12' were used as the cleaning means, but the cleaning means is not limited to disc-shaped brushes, and for example, a cylindrical brush or an intermittent brush can be used. Of course, an appropriate method such as a high-pressure water stream may be used.

Furthermore, although FIG. 3 shows an example in which a plurality of carriers 6 are provided, the carriers 6 need to escape when storing the mask in the unrotor 10, but it is possible to have a structure with only one carrier 6. This escape mechanism can also be simplified.

As explained above, according to the present invention, the photomask T
By simply moving the mask along the conveyance line 2VC, the mask 7
The entire process from cleaning to drying can be carried out automatically, so it is safe and does not injure hands or fingers unlike traditional manual cleaning operations, and it is possible to significantly improve work efficiency. Moreover, it is possible to obtain a uniform photomask r with no unevenness in the degree of cleaning.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of a mask cleaning apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view showing a transport line, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a carrier portion of the transport line. 1... Mask cleaning device, 2... Conveyance line, 6... Conveyance means (carrier), 7...
...Photomask, 11,115,12,12''...
...Cleaning means (brush), 17,175...
・Cleaning means (vortex nozzle Xl9, l95...
Drying means (vortex nozzle).

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A transport line having a plate-shaped carrier having a thickness approximately equal to the thickness of a photomask, which is provided with a window for inserting and engaging a photomask installed at an angle of installation angle α from the vertical direction; A cleaning means consisting of a pair of rotationally driven disk-shaped brushes installed to press and hold the fitted photomask; A mask cleaning device comprising a guide bar portion that supports a photomask fitted into a window of a carrier. 2. A transport line having a loader that engages photomasks one by one with a carrier, a plate-shaped carrier provided with a window for inserting and engaging a photomask attached to an endless wire at an installation angle α from the vertical direction, and the transport line. A first cleaning means consisting of a pair of rotatably driven brushes installed to sandwich the line from both sides;
at least one pair of spray nozzles for spraying detergent onto the pair of brushes constituting the cleaning means; and a pair of rotatably driven brushes installed to sandwich the conveyance line from both sides. a second cleaning means, a pair of injection nozzles that inject water to the pair of brushes arranged opposite to the line and forming the second cleaning means, and a pair of injection nozzles arranged opposite to the line to spray high-pressure water into a film. A pair of nozzles that eject high-pressure gas in the form of a film, which are arranged opposite to each other in the line, an ionizer which removes static electricity and which are arranged opposite to each other, and a photo frame that is fitted and engaged with the carrier. A mask cleaning device characterized in that an unloader for removing and storing masks one by one is sequentially installed to automatically clean and dry photomasks.