KR101338789B1 - Pre-discharging apparatus for slit coater - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a preliminary discharging device for a slit coater, comprising: a roller receiving preliminary discharge of a slit nozzle; and a receiving material exposing the upper outer edge of the roller to the slit nozzle side to rotatably support and accommodate the roller. A preliminary discharging device for a slit coater comprising: a preliminary discharging device for a slit coater including a cleaning module installed inside the receiving base and spraying and cleaning the air generated by mixing a cleaning liquid and compressed air to the roller; do. According to the present invention, as well as injecting the air current to the roller, there is an effect of maximizing the cleaning effect by maintaining the injected air current on the roller outer edge for a considerable time.

Slit Coater, Preliminary Discharge, Slit Nozzle, Air Flow, Cleaning Module

Description

Technical Field [0001] The present invention relates to a pre-discharging apparatus for slit coater,

1 is a schematic perspective view of a conventional slit coater by a spin coating method.

2 is a cross-sectional view of the preliminary discharging device for the slit coater shown in FIG.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional state of one embodiment of a pre-discharge device for a slit coater according to the present invention.

4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the cleaning module of the preliminary discharging device for the slit coater shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the cleaning module of the preliminary ejection device for the slit coater shown in FIG. 3.

Description of the Related Art [0002]

100: roller 200: receiving substrate

210: immersion portion 221, 222: cover

230: air knife 240: identity part

300: cleaning module 310: first body 311: mixing space 312: injection hole

313: discharge passage 320: second body

321: pipe 322: discharge hole

331, 332: knife 900: slit nozzle

The present invention relates to a preliminary discharging apparatus for a slit coater, and more particularly, to a preliminary discharging apparatus for a slit coater in which a slit nozzle of a slit coater in detail receives and dispenses the chemical liquid remaining in the slit before the chemical liquid is applied to a substrate.

In general, in the manufacturing process of a semiconductor device or flat panel display (FPD), a thin film that performs a specific function on a substrate (silicon wafer or glass substrate), for example, an oxide thin film, a metal thin film, a semiconductor thin film, etc. A process of applying a sensitive material on the thin film, which reacts with a light source, is patterned so as to be patterned into a desired shape.

As described above, a photoresist is coated by applying a photoresist to a thin film of the substrate to be processed so as to realize a predetermined circuit pattern, the photoresist is exposed in correspondence with the circuit pattern, and a series of processes are developed by removing the exposed or unexposed areas. This is called a photo process or a photolithography process.

In particular, in the photographing process, the photoresist film should be uniformly formed to a predetermined thickness so that no defects occur during the manufacturing process. For example, when the photoresist film is formed thicker than the reference value, a desired portion of the thin film may not be etched. When the photoresist film is formed thinner than the reference value, the thin film may be etched more than the desired etching amount.

In order to produce a photoresist film having a uniform thickness on the substrate to be processed as described above, it is important to first apply a photosensitive liquid to the substrate to be processed with a uniform thickness.

In the case of a glass substrate, a slit nozzle having a slit for discharging the photosensitive liquid in a direction crossing the substrate is supported on the substrate in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the slit is formed while the substrate is supported on a surface plate. A spinless coating method or a slit coating method of coating a photoresist on the surface of the substrate through the slit while traveling is mainly used.

1 is a schematic perspective view of a conventional slit coater by a spin coating method.

Referring to FIG. 1, the conventional slit coater has a surface plate 10 on which a substrate S to be treated is loaded and supported, and a slit nozzle 20 for applying photoresist to a substrate S loaded on the surface plate 10. ).

The slit nozzle 20 has a slit (not shown) having a length corresponding to the width W of the substrate S at a lower end thereof, and then waits on one side of the surface plate 10 to apply photoresist to the substrate S. When moving forward to the substrate (S) side and the photosensitive liquid is applied to the surface of the substrate (S) through the slit, and when the photosensitive liquid coating operation is completed, the substrate 10 is moved to the side of the stand by waiting.

Meanwhile, in the conventional slit coater, after the slit nozzle 20 is coated with a photoresist, a portion of the organic insulating material or the photoresist remains on the slit and both lips around the slit. In this way, the slit nozzle 20 has a property that the remaining photoresist is changed by contact with the outside air during the waiting time between the coating operation and the coating operation, or a surge occurs when performing the coating operation after waiting. This may adversely affect the creation of a homogeneous coating film.

Therefore, the conventional slit coater has a preliminary discharging device 30 for removing the coating liquid remaining immediately before the slit nozzle 20 to apply the coating liquid to the substrate (S) or to perform discharge for preventing a surge phenomenon during application. It is provided.

2 is a cross-sectional view of the preliminary discharging device for the slit coater shown in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 2, the conventional slit coater preliminary discharging device 30 accommodates the roller 31 and the roller 31 rotatably supporting the discharge liquid preliminarily discharged from the slit nozzle 20. And a plurality of cleaning modules 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, and 46 installed in the accommodation base 32 along the rotational direction of the roller.

The roller 31 rotates in the receiving base 32 and discharges residual liquid remaining in the slit from the upper slit nozzle 20.

The receiving base 32 immerses the roller 31 in the cleaning liquid stored below to remove the discharge liquid from the outer edge of the roller 31.

In addition, the receiving base 32 is in contact with the first injection nozzle 41 for spraying the cleaning liquid along the rotational direction of the roller 31 and the outer edge of the roller 31 so that the roller 31 is more effectively cleaned. , A second spray nozzle 43 for spraying the cleaning liquid, a third spray nozzle 44 for spraying the cleaning liquid again after immersion of the cleaning liquid of the roller 31, and a knife 45 for removing the residual cleaning liquid. ) And a fourth spray nozzle 46 for spraying dry air.

However, the conventional slit coater preliminary discharging device has a disadvantage in that the cleaning power is inferior because each spray nozzle for spraying the cleaning liquid simply sprays the cleaning liquid onto the roller surface.

In addition, the conventional slit coater pre-discharge device has a disadvantage that the cleaning time for the roller is reduced because the residence time of the cleaning liquid sprayed on the roller surface is short.

On the other hand, with the development of electronic material manufacturing technology, the size of the substrate becomes larger and larger, and in response, various processing apparatuses for processing the substrate become larger and larger.

As such, the enlargement of the substrate and the processing apparatus for processing the same requires a considerable burden on space and cost for electronic material manufacturers having limited space.

However, the conventional preliminary discharging device for the slit coater has a disadvantage in that the space occupancy is large because the plurality of cleaning modules are distributed along the rotational direction of the roller.

In addition, the conventional slit coater pre-discharge device is a structure that can not be removed by processing only the parts when the cleaning module installed on the lower side of the receiving substrate has a problem that it is inconvenient to remove the cleaning module and the roller on the upper side together.

In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a preliminary discharging apparatus for a slit coater capable of spraying a mixture of a cleaning liquid and dry air generated on a roller surface.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a preliminary discharging device for a slit coater capable of extending the residence time of the dual-fluid jets sprayed on the roller surface.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a preliminary discharging device for a slit coater having a low space occupancy and easy maintenance.

The present invention for achieving the above object includes a roller for preliminarily discharging the discharge liquid in the slit nozzle, and a receiving base for exposing the upper outer edge of the roller to the slit nozzle side to support the roller rotatably A preliminary discharging device for a slit coater, comprising: a cleaning module installed inside the receiving base material and cleaning the jet by spraying the air generated by mixing a cleaning liquid and compressed air onto the roller.

The cleaning module may be provided with a cleaning liquid and compressed air together to generate a mixture of air and spray the air into the outer edge of the roller, and installed inside the first body to compress the air for generation of the air. It includes a second body for supplying the first body.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the following embodiments are provided to those skilled in the art to fully understand the present invention, and may be modified in various forms, and the scope of the present invention is limited to the embodiments described below. It is not. Wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional state diagram of one embodiment of a pre-discharge device for a slit coater according to the present invention, Figure 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the cleaning module of the pre-discharge device for a slit coater shown in FIG.

Referring to Figure 3, the preliminary discharging device for a slit coater according to an embodiment of the present invention is the roller 100 and the upper outer edge of the roller 100 and the discharge liquid preliminarily discharged from the slit nozzle 900 An accommodation base 200 exposed to the slit nozzle 900 and rotatably supporting the roller 100 and accommodated therein, and installed in the accommodation base 200 to mix cleaning fluid and compressed air in the roller 100. It includes a cleaning module 300 for cleaning by spraying the generated air.

The roller 100 is formed to have a length equal to or greater than the length of the slit 901 of the slit nozzle 900 so as to discharge all the residual liquid remaining in the slit 901 of the slit nozzle 900 in a cylindrical shape. desirable.

The receiving substrate 200 is accommodated by rotatably supporting the roller 100 therein, the upper end portion is partially opened so that the discharge liquid from the slit nozzle 900 can be discharged to the roller 100 roller 100 The upper outer edge of the () is exposed to the lower side of the slit nozzle (900).

In the above, the receiving substrate 200 preferably further includes an immersion portion 210 for immersing the lower outer edge of the roller 100 in the cleaning liquid in the lower side thereof. Accordingly, since the roller 100 is accommodated in the receiving substrate 200 and rotates continuously, the discharged portion discharges into the immersion unit 210 of the receiving substrate 200 to be wet-cleaned, and the cleaned portion is the slit nozzle 900. The process of repositioning to the bottom of) is repeated.

As an example, as shown in FIG. 3, the roller 100 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction (CCW) as shown in FIG. 3, and the cleaning liquid stored in the receiving substrate 200 to clean the roller 100 is removed. It may be deionized water, ultrapure water or solvent.

The receiving base 200 is provided with lids 221 and 222 to prevent evaporation of the cleaning liquid stored in the immersion unit 210 therein to minimize the open area of the upper end thereof. The cover 221, 222 is preferably hinged to be installed to facilitate opening and closing, and therefore, the receiving substrate 200 is advantageous structure to be opened by the cover (221, 222) of the cleaning module 300 to be described later It has the advantage of easy desorption treatment for maintenance.

The cleaning module 300 is a component that cleans the roller 100 by injecting an air current to the roller 100, and is installed at a single point on one side of the receiving substrate 200 to roller before immersion of the cleaning liquid of the roller 100. It may also be considered to spray the air to the 100 to clean, it is installed at the other single point of the interior of the receiving substrate 200, after the immersion of the cleaning liquid of the roller 100 by spraying the air to the roller 100 for cleaning It may also be considered.

In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 3 is installed at one side and the other single point in the interior of the receiving substrate 200 to exemplify the cleaning of the roller 100 before / after immersion of the cleaning liquid of the roller 100.

As such, the roller 100 is further rinsed by the drip body sprayed from the cleaning module 300 at the same time as being immersed in the cleaning liquid stored in the immersion unit 210 of the receiving substrate 200.

In the above, the cleaning module 300 is supplied with a cleaning liquid and compressed air together to generate a mixture of air bodies to spray the air bodies on the outer edge of the roller 100, and the first body 310 It is preferable to include a second body 320 is installed inside to supply the compressed air for generating the air body to the first body (310).

For example, the cleaning module 300 may be supplied with a cleaning solution such as deionized water, ultrapure water, or solvent.

The cleaning module 300 has a first body 310 is in communication with the cleaning liquid supply line (not shown) without complicated hole processing such as the passage for receiving the cleaning liquid and the passage for receiving the compressed air therein. The cleaning liquid is supplied and the second body 320 is supplied with compressed air, and has a simple structure of supplying the inside of the first body 310 to have an excellent manufacturing and assembly convenience.

In the above, the first body 310 is a mixing space 311 and the mixing space for receiving the compressed air for generating the air flow is installed at the same time the second body 320 is installed to receive the cleaning solution for generating the air flow therein, It is preferable to include an injection port 312 for injecting the mixed air generated at 311 to the outer edge of the roller 100.

The injection hole 312 may be a slit 901 type injection hole 312 installed in the longitudinal direction of the roller 100, as shown in Figure 5, even if a plurality of perforations are installed along the longitudinal direction of the roller 100 It's okay.

In the above, the receiving substrate 200 preferably further includes a stagnation portion 240 for stagnating the airflow body injected from the injection port 312 to the outer edge of the roller 100.

The stagnant portion 240 is a space between the surface formed with the injection hole 312 of the first body 310 and the outer edge of the roller 100 in the interior of the receiving substrate 200, sprayed on the outer edge of the roller 100 The stagnant fluid is stagnated so as not to fall off immediately, thereby increasing the residence time of the roller 100 to the outer edge thereof, thereby improving the cleaning effect on the roller 100.

For example, the surface on which the injection hole 312 of the first body 310 is formed is preferably formed in a concave shape corresponding to the outer edge of the roller 100.

Therefore, the stagnant portion 240 has an advantage of further increasing the stagnation time of the airflow injected from the injection hole 312 when the concave as described above than when the surface formed with the injection hole 312 of the first body 310 is flat There is this.

In the above, the first body 310 further includes a knife (331, 332) that isolates the upper and lower parts of the stagnation portion 240 and at the end contact the outer edge of the roller 100 to remove the foreign matter. desirable.

One end of the knife 331, 332 is coupled to the first body 310 and the other end is in contact with the outer edge of the roller 100 and at the same time may partition the upper and lower parts of the stagnation part 240.

As in the present embodiment, when the knives 331 and 332 are installed on the upper and lower sides of the injection hole 312 to seal the upper and lower parts of the stagnant part 240, the airflow injected from the injection hole 312 is stagnant. Since it does not flow out of the part 240, the remaining time for the outer edge of the roller 100 is long, and thus, the cleaning effect on the roller 100 may be dramatically improved.

In addition, the cleaning module 300 has a merit of miniaturizing the device by minimizing the space occupancy in the receiving substrate 200 because the means for wet cleaning and the means for contact cleaning is composed of one module.

In addition, the cleaning module 300 is advantageous in that it can be detached and detached without the need to remove the roller 100 inside the receiving substrate 200 during its failure or maintenance.

In the above, the first body 310 preferably further includes a discharge passage 313 for discharging the foreign matter collected in the stagnation portion 240.

The stagnant portion 240 is divided into one side by the surface formed with the injection hole 312 of the first body 310, the other side is partitioned by the outer edge of the roller 100, the upper and lower parts of the knife 331, 332 It is partitioned by), so its interior is sealed.

Therefore, the stagnation part 240 may be smoothly discharged by the discharge passage 313 in which the foreign matter and the foreign body injected from the injection port 312 of the outer edge of the roller 100 is in communication with the discharge pipe (not shown).

As described above, the roller 100, which is wet-washed and wet-cleaned by the knives 331 and 332 by the two-fluid jet injected by the cleaning module 300, is preferably sprayed with dry air for final drying of the outer edge. Do.

The cover 222 of the receiving substrate 200 is provided with an air knife 230 for spraying dry air for the final drying of the outer edge of the roller 100.

As such, the roller 100 undergoes a wet cleaning process and is finally dried by spraying dry air at the last stage, but may not be completely dried when the residual chemical is excessive.

Therefore, in the first exemplary embodiment, the air knife 230 may apply a method of spraying dry air in a reverse direction with respect to the rotation direction of the roller 100 to improve the drying effect.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the cleaning module of the preliminary ejection device for the slit coater shown in FIG. 3.

5, the second body 320 of the preliminary discharging device for a slit coater according to an embodiment of the present invention is installed in the mixing space 311 and the pipe 321 through which the compressed air is communicated Preferably, the pipe 321 is formed on an outer edge of the pipe 321 to include a discharge hole 322 for discharging the compressed air into the mixing space 311.

Therefore, since the compressed air communicated in the pipe 321 is supplied to the mixing space 311 through each discharge hole 322, there is an advantage that it can be homogeneously mixed with the cleaning liquid in the mixing space 311.

In the above, it is preferable that the second body 320 has a plurality of discharge holes 322 formed in a spiral trajectory on the outer edge of the pipe 321.

Therefore, the compressed air communicated in the pipe 321 is uniformly supplied to each point of the mixing space 311 through each discharge hole 322 forming a spiral trajectory, and thus more uniformly mixed with the cleaning liquid in the mixing space 311. There is always an advantage that can produce a homogenous homogeneous conditions.

Although the present invention has been shown and described with reference to certain preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and has ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains without departing from the concept of the present invention. Various changes and modifications are possible by the user.

As described above, the present invention is sprayed on the surface of the roller and the air mixture mixed with the cleaning air and dry air has the effect of maximizing the cleaning power by hitting the surface of the cleaning solution in the form of a bubble.

In addition, the present invention has the effect of further maximizing the cleaning force on the roller surface by the injection of the air remains on the roller surface for a considerable time.

In addition, the present invention, since the wet and contact cleaning means of the cleaning module is composed of a single module has the effect of miniaturizing the device by minimizing the space occupancy in the receiving substrate.

In addition, the present invention has the effect that it is advantageous to the maintenance of the equipment can be removable only the cleaning module without the need to remove the roller inside the receiving substrate.

In addition, the present invention has a structure that the second body is installed inside the first body, so that the cleaning liquid and compressed air are supplied for generating the airflow, so that the manufacturing and assembly convenience is excellent.

Claims (10)

In the preliminary discharging device for a slit coater comprising a roller for preliminarily discharging the discharge liquid from the slit nozzle, and a receiving base for exposing the upper outer edge of the roller to the slit nozzle side and rotatably supporting the roller; A cleaning module installed inside the receiving base material and cleaning the sprayed air through an injection hole generated by mixing a cleaning liquid and compressed air on the roller; A stagnant portion configured to stagnate the air flow injected from the injection hole to the outer edge of the roller; The preliminary discharging device for a slit coater, characterized in that further comprises. The method of claim 1, The cleaning module includes: A first body receiving the cleaning liquid and compressed air together to generate a mixture of air and spraying the air to the outer edge of the roller; And A preliminary ejection device for a slit coater installed inside the first body and including a second body for supplying compressed air for generating an air stream to the first body. 3. The method of claim 2, The first body receives the cleaning liquid for generating the air flow therein and at the same time the second body is installed to form a mixing space for receiving the compressed air for air generation; The injection port is a preliminary discharge device for a slit coater, characterized in that for spraying the mixed air generated in the mixing space to the outer edge of the roller. The method of claim 3, The second body, A pipe installed in the mixing space to communicate compressed air therein; And Preliminary discharge device for a slit coater is formed on the outer edge of the pipe including a discharge hole for discharging the compressed air in the pipe to the mixed space. 5. The method of claim 4, The second body, Preliminary discharge device for a slit coater, characterized in that the discharge hole is formed in a plurality of spiral trajectory on the outer edge of the pipe. The method of claim 3, The first body is a pre-discharge device for a slit coater further comprises a knife for separating the upper and lower parts of the stagnation portion and the end portion in contact with the outer edge of the roller to remove the foreign matter. The method according to claim 6, The first body, Preliminary discharging device for a slit coater further comprising a discharge passage for discharging the foreign matter collected in the stagnation. 8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, The receiving base further includes an immersion portion for immersing the lower outer edge of the roller in the cleaning liquid on the inner lower side thereof, The cleaning module is installed at one single point inside the receiving base to clean before immersion of the cleaning liquid of the roller, or is installed at the other single point inside the receiving base to clean after immersion of the cleaning liquid of the roller. Spare discharge device for 9. The method of claim 8, The receiving base material is a pre-discharge device for a slit coater further comprises an air knife for spraying dry air to the cleaned portion of the roller. delete

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