JP2831334B2 - Ultrasonic vibration device and ultrasonic cleaning device using the same - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ultrasonic vibration device for applying ultrasonic vibration to a cleaning liquid for cleaning an object to be cleaned and an ultrasonic cleaning device using the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, a manufacturing process of a liquid crystal manufacturing apparatus or a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus includes a step of cleaning a glass substrate for liquid crystal or a semiconductor wafer as an object to be cleaned with high cleanliness. As a method of cleaning such an object to be cleaned, there are a dip method in which a plurality of substrates to be cleaned are immersed in a cleaning liquid, and a single-wafer method in which a cleaning liquid is sprayed toward an object to be cleaned to wash one by one. In recent years, a single-wafer method which is advantageous in terms of cost while being able to obtain high cleanliness has been increasingly used.

[0003] As one of the single-wafer methods, a cleaning method has been put to practical use in which ultrasonic vibration is applied to a cleaning liquid sprayed on a cleaning object to thereby efficiently remove fine particles from the cleaning object by vibrating action. ing.

In a cleaning method for applying ultrasonic vibration to a cleaning liquid, an ultrasonic wave of about 20 to 50 kHz has been conventionally used, but recently, an ultrasonic cleaning apparatus using a sound wave in an ultra-ultrasonic band of about 600 to 2000 kHz. Is being developed.

When the cleaning liquid to which ultrasonic vibration is applied is sprayed onto the object to be cleaned, the effect of the vibration reduces the bonding force of the fine particles adhered to the object to be cleaned, so that the cleaning effect is improved as compared with the case where no vibration is applied. Can be improved.

Generally, the conventional ultrasonic cleaning apparatus has an elongated apparatus main body 1 as shown in FIG. A space 2 is formed in the apparatus main body 1 so as to penetrate in the thickness direction of the main body 1 and to extend along the longitudinal direction. The space portion 2 is formed in a tapered shape that becomes narrower in width from the upper end to the lower end, and the lower end is a nozzle port 3 opened on the lower surface of the apparatus main body 1.

The upper end opening of the space 2 is closed by a diaphragm 5 made of a metal plate such as tantalum via a seal material 4. A plurality of elongated rectangular vibrators 6 (only one is shown) are attached to the upper surface of the diaphragm 5 at predetermined intervals along a portion corresponding to the upper end opening of the space 2. The vibrator 6 is driven by an ultrasonic oscillator (not shown). Accordingly, the vibrator 6 vibrates ultrasonically, and the vibrating plate 5 also vibrates due to the ultrasonic vibration. That is, the vibration plate 5, the vibrator 6, and the ultrasonic oscillator constitute an ultrasonic vibration device.

On both sides of the space portion 2 of the apparatus main body 1, supply paths 8 are formed penetrating along the longitudinal direction. A pair of supply passages 8 for cleaning liquid (not shown) are connected to both ends of the pair of supply paths 8, and the cleaning liquid is supplied by the supply pipes.

Further, a plurality of ejection paths 9 having one end communicating with the supply path 8 and the other end communicating with the space 2 are formed at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction of the apparatus main body 1. Is formed. That is, the other end of the ejection path 9 is open to face the diaphragm 5. The ejection path 9 has a sufficiently smaller inner diameter than the supply path 8.

The cleaning liquid supplied to the supply path 8 is almost equally diverted to the plurality of ejection paths 9 and is ejected from the opening at the other end toward the lower surface of the vibration plate 5. Granted. The cleaning liquid to which the ultrasonic vibration has been applied is jetted from the nozzle port 3 of the space 2 toward the object to be cleaned (not shown). Thereby, the object to be cleaned can be cleaned with the cleaning liquid to which the ultrasonic vibration is applied.

The vibrator 6 of the conventional ultrasonic vibration device has a piezoelectric material 6a in which ceramic is formed in a thin plate shape as shown in FIG. An electrode film 6b made of a metal film such as Ag or Au is provided on a pair of plate surfaces of the piezoelectric material 6a, and after polarization at a high voltage, one electrode film 6b is formed.
Is bonded and fixed to the vibration plate 5 with an adhesive 10.

An ultrasonic oscillator is connected between the electrode film 6b provided on the upper surface of the vibrator 6 and the vibrating plate 5, and the piezoelectric material 6a is ultrasonically vibrated by driving the ultrasonic oscillator. I was

As the electrode film 6b, A
Materials such as u (gold) and Ag (silver) are used. However, since these metal materials are soft, when a vibration stress or the like is applied in a state of being bonded to the diaphragm 5, the metal materials are easily separated from the piezoelectric material 6a. That is, the vibrator 6 may be easily separated from the diaphragm 5. Therefore, in the ultrasonic cleaning device using such an ultrasonic vibration device, a failure that the vibrator 6 is separated from the vibration plate 5 is likely to occur.

[0014]

As described above, in the conventional ultrasonic vibrating apparatus, since the electrode film provided on the piezoelectric material of the vibrator is bonded and fixed to the vibrating plate, the vibrating stress or the like is applied to the vibrator. When added, the electrode film may be easily peeled from the piezoelectric material. An object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic vibrator in which a vibrator is hardly peeled off from a diaphragm and an ultrasonic cleaning device using the same.

[0015]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ultrasonic vibration device in which a vibrator is attached to a vibrating plate, and the vibrator is driven by an ultrasonic oscillator. One surface of the piezoelectric material is provided with an electrode film, and at least a part of the other surface is directly adhered and fixed to the diaphragm without passing through the electrode film. It is characterized by.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the electrode film is removed from the other surface of the piezoelectric material, and the removed surface is directly bonded and fixed to the diaphragm. It is characterized by.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, an electrode film is provided on at least a part of a portion of the surface of the diaphragm where the vibrator is mounted.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ultrasonic cleaning apparatus provided with an ultrasonic vibration apparatus for applying ultrasonic vibration to a cleaning liquid for cleaning an object to be cleaned. It is the feature described.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, at least a part of the other surface of the vibrator is directly adhered and fixed to the vibrating plate without the interposition of the electrode film, so that the piezoelectric material of the vibrator can be formed. It is firmly fixed to the diaphragm.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the other of the piezoelectric material of the vibrator has the electrode film removed, and the removed surface is directly bonded and fixed to the diaphragm, so that the bonding strength is strong. Become.

According to the third aspect of the invention, the electrode film is partially provided on at least a part of the portion of the diaphragm to which the vibrator is attached, so that the other part of the vibrator is directly connected to the diaphragm. The adhesive strength is strengthened because the adhesive strength is fixed. According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the use of the ultrasonic vibration device according to the first aspect of the present invention as a cleaning device makes it less likely that a failure in which the vibrator peels off will occur.

[0022]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIGS. The ultrasonic cleaning apparatus of the present invention shown in FIG. This device body 1
Reference numeral 1 denotes an upper member 13 in which a concave portion 12 having an open upper surface is formed along the longitudinal direction, and a first seal on the lower surface of the upper member 13.
And a lower member 15 which is joined and fixed in a liquid-tight manner via a metal member 14 to form an elongated prism.

A fitting hole 16 is formed in the lower wall of the upper member 13 along the longitudinal direction, and a convex portion that fits into the fitting hole 16 is formed at the center of the upper surface of the lower member 15 in the width direction. 17 are formed.

A space 18 having one end opened on the upper surface and the other end opened on the lower surface is formed along the longitudinal direction at the central portion in the width direction of the lower member 15 where the convex portion 17 is formed. . The cross-sectional shape of the space 18 is tapered such that the width decreases from one end (upper end) to the other end (lower end), and the lower end opening is a narrow nozzle opening 19. .

The open end of the space 18 has a diaphragm 21 made of a thin conductive metal plate such as rectangular tantalum.
Fluid tight. That is, this diaphragm 2
1 is a frame-shaped second portion having a predetermined thickness at a peripheral portion of a lower surface thereof.
The upper member 13 is joined to the inner bottom surface of the concave portion 12 through the seal member 22.

A frame-like holding plate 23 is joined to the upper surface of the vibration plate 21 and is fixed to the upper member 13 by bolts 33. Thereby, the upper end opening of the space 18 is airtightly closed.

As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of vibrators 24 are spaced at predetermined intervals at a central portion in the width direction of the upper surface of the vibration plate 21, that is, at a portion corresponding to the space portion 18. It is bonded and fixed by an adhesive 20 as described later.

As shown in FIG. 1A, the vibrator 24 has a piezoelectric material 24a in which ceramic such as PZT is formed in a thin rectangular plate shape such as a rectangle or a square, in this embodiment, a rectangle. On one of the upper and lower plate surfaces of the material 24a, a thin-film electrode film 24b made of a metal material such as Au or Ag is provided over the entire surface, and is subjected to polarization processing.

An electrode film 24c is provided on a part of the other plate surface of the polarized piezoelectric material 24a. That is, the electrode film 24c is initially provided on the entire surface, and then a part is removed. In this embodiment, FIG.
(B) shows a surface of the piezoelectric material 24a on which the electrode film 24c is provided, and the electrode film 24c is provided, for example, in a lattice shape.

As a result, on the other plate surface of the piezoelectric material 24a, the electrode film 2c is removed from the portion where the electrode film 24c is removed.
4a is exposed. The vibrator 24 configured as described above has the other surface bonded and fixed to the upper surface of the vibration plate 21 with the adhesive 20.

That is, in the vibrator 24, the electrode film 24c on the other surface of the piezoelectric material 24a and a portion where the electrode film 24c is not provided are bonded and fixed by the adhesive 20, and the electrode film 24c is not provided. The portion is directly fixed to the diaphragm 21 by the adhesive 20.

A power supply plate 25 is mounted above the vibrating plate 21 on the holding plate 23 via a holding member 26. The power supply plate 25 is provided with a contact 27 that is in elastic contact with the electrode 24b on the upper surface side of the vibrator 24.

As shown in FIG. 2, a coil 28 is provided on the power supply plate 25, and the coil 28
5. One end of an ultrasonic oscillator (not shown) is connected to one electrode film 24b of the vibrator 24 via a contact 27, and the other end is connected to the other electrode 24b, which is adhered and fixed to the vibration plate 21 by an adhesive 20. It is connected to the.

Therefore, when the ultrasonic oscillator is operated, the vibrator 24 ultrasonically vibrates, and the vibrating plate 21 is linked to the ultrasonic vibration. In the lower member 15 of the apparatus main body 11, a pair of supply paths 31 located on both sides in the width direction of the space 18 are formed so as to penetrate in the longitudinal direction. A supply source (not shown) is connected to both ends of the supply path 31 via a tube (not shown) to supply a cleaning liquid such as pure water or a chemical solution.

Each of the pair of supply paths 31 is provided with a plurality of ejection paths 32 each having one end communicating with one another. That is, the ejection path 32 is provided between the upper member 13 and the lower member 15 of the apparatus main body 11.
And the other end is opened so as to communicate with a portion covered by the diaphragm 21 on the inner bottom surface of the concave portion 12 of the upper member 13, that is, the upper end side of the space portion 18. I have.

A plurality of the ejection paths 32 are formed at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction of the apparatus main body 11 on one side and the other side in the width direction of the space 18. As shown in FIG. 3, the other ends of the ejection passages 32 opened on the inner bottom surface of the recess 12 on one side and the other side in the width direction of the space portion 18 are connected to the apparatus main body 11.
Are staggered in the longitudinal direction. This may be provided to face.

Next, the operation of the ultrasonic cleaning apparatus having the above configuration will be described. The cleaning liquid is supplied to the pair of supply paths 31, and the ultrasonic oscillator connected to the vibrator 24 is operated to ultrasonically vibrate the diaphragm 21. The cleaning liquid supplied to the supply path 31 is divided into a plurality of ejection paths 32 and is ejected toward the diaphragm 21 from the other end opening of the ejection path 32.

When the cleaning liquid ejected from each ejection path 32 collides with the lower surface of the vibrating plate 21 which ultrasonically vibrates, the ultrasonic vibration is propagated to the cleaning liquid. The cleaning liquid to which the ultrasonic vibration has propagated, that is, the cleaning liquid which is ultrasonically vibrated, flows through the space 18 as shown by the arrow in FIG. Therefore, when the object to be cleaned is disposed below the nozzle port 19, the object to be cleaned can be cleaned with the cleaning liquid to which the ultrasonic vibration is applied.

The plurality of vibrators 24 provided on the vibration plate 21 have an electrode film 24b provided on one surface of the piezoelectric material 24a over the entire surface. An electrode film 24c is partially provided on the other surface to be bonded and fixed.

Therefore, the piezoelectric material 24a of the vibrator 24
Since not only the electrode film 24c but also a portion where the electrode film 24c is not provided is bonded and fixed to the vibration plate 21 with the adhesive 20, even if a vibration stress is applied to the vibrator 24, It hardly peels off together with the electrode 24c provided on the surface.

That is, the electrode films 24b and 24c provided on the piezoelectric material 24a are made of a soft metal such as Au or Ag, and the material of the piezoelectric material 24a on which the electrode film is provided is ceramic. Difficult to adhere to. Therefore, when the electrode film 24c is provided on the entire surface adhered to the vibration plate 21, vibration stress is applied to the vibrator 24, and the electrode film 24c is
Easy to peel off.

However, as described above, the surface of the piezoelectric material 24a which is adhered and fixed to the diaphragm 21 has the electrode film 24a.
Since c is partially provided, a part of the background of the piezoelectric material 24 a is directly fixed to the diaphragm 21 by the adhesive 20. As a result, the vibrator 24 is bonded and fixed to the vibration plate 21 with high strength. Therefore, even if a vibration stress is applied to the vibrator 24, the vibrator 24 is not easily separated.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment,
Various modifications are possible. For example, although the electrode film 24c is partially provided on the surface of the vibrator 24 which is adhered and fixed to the vibration plate 21 of the piezoelectric material 24a, as shown in FIG.
May not be provided, and the plate surface may be directly bonded and fixed to the vibration plate 21 with the adhesive 20.

As shown in FIG. 5, an electrode film 24c is provided on at least a part of a portion of the surface of the vibration plate 21 to which the vibrator 24 is attached, and the surface of the electrode film 24c and the surface of the vibration plate 21 are provided. Alternatively, the surface of the piezoelectric material 24a may be directly adhered and fixed.

When the electrode film 24c is partially formed on the surface of the piezoelectric material 24a or the vibration plate 21, the electrode film 24c can be easily formed by sputtering and then etching. The polarization of the vibrator 24 is performed before bonding, but may be performed after bonding if the adhesive 20 can withstand a high voltage.

[0046]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, one surface of the piezoelectric material of the vibrator is provided with an electrode film over the entire surface, and the other surface is provided with at least a part of the piezoelectric material without interposing the electrode film. It was directly bonded and fixed to the diaphragm.

Therefore, since at least a part of the piezoelectric material is directly bonded and fixed to the diaphragm, the bonding strength can be increased as compared with the case where the whole is bonded and fixed via the electrode film. Even if stress is applied to the vibrator, it does not easily peel off from the diaphragm.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the electrode film on the other surface of the piezoelectric material of the vibrator is removed, and the removed surface is directly bonded to the diaphragm. Therefore, the surface to which the piezoelectric material and the diaphragm are directly bonded increases, so that the bonding strength can be sufficiently increased.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the electrode film is partially provided on a portion of the diaphragm to which the vibrator is attached. Therefore, the other surface of the piezoelectric material and a part of the vibration plate are directly adhered and fixed without the interposition of the electrode film, so that the adhesive strength can be increased.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the ultrasonic vibration device according to the first aspect is used for a cleaning device.
For this reason, it is possible to provide an ultrasonic cleaning apparatus in which a failure in which the vibrator is separated hardly occurs.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is an enlarged sectional view of a vibrator showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a plan view showing a state in which an electrode film is partially provided on a piezoelectric material of the vibrator.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the ultrasonic cleaning apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of a mounted state of a vibrator according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view showing a mounted state of a vibrator according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of a conventional ultrasonic cleaning device.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the bonding state between the diaphragm and the vibrator.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Device main body 21 ... Vibration plate 24 ... Vibrator 24a ... Piezoelectric material 24b ... Electrode film 24c ... Electrode film

Continuation of the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) H01L 21/304 341 B08B 3/12

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. An ultrasonic vibration device in which a vibrator is attached to a vibration plate and the vibrator is driven by an ultrasonic oscillator, wherein the vibrator has a plate-shaped piezoelectric material, and the piezoelectric material An ultrasonic vibration device characterized in that an electrode film is provided on one surface of the device, and at least a part of the other surface is directly adhered and fixed to the diaphragm without interposing the electrode film. 2. The ultrasonic vibration according to claim 1, wherein the electrode film is removed from the other surface of the piezoelectric material, and the removed surface is directly adhered and fixed to the diaphragm. apparatus. 3. The ultrasonic vibration device according to claim 1, wherein an electrode film is provided on at least a part of a portion of the surface of the vibration plate where the vibrator is mounted. 4. An ultrasonic cleaning device provided with an ultrasonic vibration device for applying ultrasonic vibration to a cleaning liquid for cleaning an object to be cleaned, wherein the ultrasonic vibration device has a configuration according to claim 1. An ultrasonic cleaning device, comprising: