KR20150024200A - Supply equipment for chemical liquid and slit coater including the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention discloses a slit coater. Specifically, the present invention relates to a liquid chemical supplying apparatus which prevents damage to an inside member of the liquid chemical supplying apparatus included in a slit coater used for manufacturing a flat panel display device, thereby minimizing contamination of a medium solution; and to a slit coater including the same. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the slit coater has much more buffer area formed between a pistol part and an inner wall to receive an extra medium solution inside, thereby enabling the power transferred to the pistol part to spread and accordingly preventing degradation. In addition, the slit coater of the present invention blocks air which flows inside and maintains the volume of the medium solution even though the medium solution is leaked, thereby increasing life-service period of the liquid chemical supplying apparatus and supplying the liquid chemical in a more stable manner.

Description

Technical Field [0001] The present invention relates to a chemical liquid supply apparatus and a slit coater including the chemical liquid supply apparatus and slit coater including the chemical liquid supply apparatus.

The present invention relates to a slit coater, and more particularly, to a slit coater which can prevent breakage of an inner member of a slit coater included in a slit coater used in manufacturing a flat panel display and minimizes contamination of an indirect liquid injected into the slit coater, and To the slit coater.

As information electronic devices for realizing high-resolution and high-quality images such as potable devices such as mobile phones and notebook computers and HDTVs are developed, a flat panel display device ) Are increasingly in demand. Such flat panel display devices include a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display panel (PDP), a field emission display (FED), and an organic light emitting diode (OLED) ).

In manufacturing the above-described flat panel display device, a plurality of processes for applying various chemical liquids are used. In the photolithography process for forming a plurality of circuit patterns including thin film transistors, It can be used when applying the main material.

In this chemical solution coating process, there are a spin coating method in which a chemical liquid is dropped on a substrate to be coated and then the substrate is rotated to coat a chemical liquid, and a spin coating method in which a chemical liquid is discharged onto a substrate through a slit- A spinless or slit coating method is used.

The spin coating method has been widely used in the conventional coating process since the chemical solution can be coated on the substrate in a uniform thickness. However, recently, as the size of the flat panel display increases, the substrate becomes larger and heavier and the substrate is difficult to rotate In recent years, the slit coating method is being replaced.

In the slit coating method, a slit coater having a slit-shaped slit nozzle having a length corresponding to the width of the substrate is used. The slit coater applies a chemical solution while moving the slit nozzle from one side toward the other on the substrate placed on the stage .

1 is a view schematically showing a structure of a conventional slit coater.

1, a slit coater for use in manufacturing a substrate of a flat panel display comprises a glass substrate 1 to be coated with a chemical solution on a stage, a slit nozzle 20 for applying a chemical solution 10 to the glass substrate 1 And the slit nozzle 20 is moved from one side of the glass substrate 1 to the other side by the moving member to apply the chemical solution CL to the surface of the substrate.

Here, the chemical liquid CL is stored in a predetermined storage tank 30, and the chemical liquid supply device 50, under the control of the motor unit 40, To the nozzle (20).

In the slit coater 1 having such a structure, a direct discharge system in which the chemical liquid and the drive unit are directly in contact with each other is used as the chemical liquid supply system for the chemical liquid supply system 50 and an indirect discharge system in which the chemical liquid and the drive unit are not in direct contact .

The direct discharge method has a merit that the structure is simple, but it has a disadvantage that it is difficult to precisely control the amount of the discharged chemical liquid, because the chemical liquid and the driving part are in direct contact with each other. Therefore, it is not preferable to apply the present invention to manufacturing a highly integrated circuit device such as a flat panel display device. Thus, in the process of manufacturing a flat panel display device, an indirect discharge method for preventing direct contact between a chemical liquid and a driving unit using indirect liquid is widely used.

However, even if the chemical liquid supply device of the indirect discharge type is used, the chemical liquid discharge operation is precisely performed when driving for a long period of time.

2, the chemical liquid supply device 50 has an indirect fluid ML injected into the inner frame 51, and the chemical liquid supply device 50 includes a piston 57 The indirect liquid ML applies a pressure to the contraction tube (not shown) to fill and discharge the chemical liquid.

Leakage of the indirect liquid ML occurs at a portion where the indirect liquid ML comes in contact with the pistol portion 57 in the chemical liquid supply device 50 having such a structure or the indirect liquid ML is generated by the air introduced from the outside, A spectra seal (SS) is provided between the inner frame 51 and the piston portion 57 to prevent air bubbles from being generated in the inner frame 51.

However, when the chemical liquid supply device is driven for a long period of time, the physical properties of the spectral seal SS may deteriorate and air and leakage may occur. This may slightly change the amount of the indirect liquid ML, A change in the total volume or leaking to the outside causes contamination. As a result, the amount of the chemical liquid varies during the filling and discharging of the chemical liquid, resulting in a defective manufacturing process of the flat panel display.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been conceived to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a chemical liquid supply device for minimizing indirect liquid contamination due to deterioration of an indirect discharge chemical liquid supply device included in a slit coater used in manufacturing a flat panel display device And a slit coater having a plurality of slit coils.

In order to achieve the above object, a chemical liquid supply apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes: a mouth discharge unit having a shrink tube to which a chemical liquid is filled and discharged, the first discharge liquid being filled with a first indirect liquid; A piston connected to the inlet / outlet part by a connection pipe and performing filling and discharging of the chemical liquid by changing a volume of the first indirect liquid; An inner frame in which the mouth discharge portion and the pistol portion are disposed; And a buffer part formed between the pistol part and the inner frame and filled with a second indirect liquid.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a slit coater including: a slit nozzle for applying a chemical solution on a substrate; A storage tank in which the chemical liquid is stored; A chemical liquid supply device connected to the slit nozzle and the storage tank to supply the chemical liquid to the slit nozzle; And a motor unit for controlling the chemical liquid supply device, wherein the chemical liquid supply device is formed between the mouth discharge unit, the pistol unit, the inner frame, the pistol unit and the inner frame, and the second indirect liquid is filled And a buffer unit.

The chemical liquid supply apparatus and the slit coater including the chemical liquid supply apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention may further include a buffer region between the pistol and the inner wall to further inject a separate indirect liquid into the liquid to thereby distribute the force applied by the pistol Thereby preventing the deterioration, blocking the air flowing into the inside, and maintaining the internal indirect liquid volume even when the indirect liquid flows out, thereby extending the life of the chemical liquid supply device and supplying the chemical liquid more stably .

1 is a view schematically showing a structure of a conventional slit coater.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a part of a conventional indirect-dispensing chemical liquid supply apparatus.
FIG. 3 is a view showing an outer appearance of a chemical liquid supply apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the internal structure of the chemical liquid supply apparatus of FIG.
5 is a view for explaining a driving method of a chemical liquid supply apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is an enlarged view of the pistol portion of Fig.
7 is a view showing a spectra seal provided in the chemical liquid supply apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, a chemical liquid supply apparatus and a slit coater including the chemical liquid supply apparatus according to preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

The slit coater according to the present invention comprises a slit nozzle for applying a chemical liquid on a substrate, a storage tank for storing the chemical liquid, a chemical liquid supply device connected to the slit nozzle and the storage tank for supplying the chemical liquid to the slit nozzle, And a motor section. Particularly, the chemical liquid supply apparatus of the present invention further comprises a buffer unit, and the indirect solution other than the conventional indirect solution is further filled in the buffer unit. Hereinafter, the chemical liquid supply device of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 3 is a view showing an outer appearance of a chemical liquid supply apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the internal structure of the chemical liquid supply apparatus of FIG.

3 and 4, the chemical liquid supply apparatus 100 of the present invention includes an inlet / outlet unit 110 having a shrink tube 114 filled with a chemical liquid and discharged therefrom, And a driving unit 150 connected to the inlet / outlet unit 110 and having a pistol unit 157 for controlling the indirect liquid ML1.

First of all, the mouth discharge unit 110 is constructed such that a rectangular hexagonal outer frame surrounds the cylindrical shrinkable tube 114, one side of the outer frame is coupled to the driving unit 150, (111) and an injection pipe (112) are protruded by a predetermined length. On both sides of the discharge pipe 111 and the injection pipe 112 and the outer frame, the pipes are fixed to the outer frame, and a circular tank (not shown) is provided so as to mechanically engage with the storage tank and the slit nozzle of the slit coater A coupling member 115 is provided.

Similar to the mouth discharge unit 110, the driving unit 150 surrounds a cylindrical hexagonal outer frame of the cylindrical piston unit 157 and has a length longer than the mouth discharge unit 110 by a predetermined length. And a motor coupling member 159 is exposed on the lower surface so as to be coupled with the external motor unit 200 to move the pistol unit 157 up and down.

Here, the pistol unit 157 may be coupled to the motor engaging member 159 in a ball screw manner, and the pistol unit 157 may move up and down according to the rotation of the shaft.

Accordingly, the chemical liquid CL discharged onto the substrate in the manufacturing process of the actual flat panel display device does not directly contact the piston portion 157 for applying a force during driving, and the piston portion 157 is connected to the first indirect The first indirect fluid ML1 is also separated from the chemical liquid CL by the contraction tube 114 and only the expansion and contraction of the contraction tube 114 is involved.

Therefore, unlike the direct discharge method, leakage and contamination of the first indirect fluid ML1 are prevented from directly affecting the chemical solution CL.

The first and second indirect liquids ML1 and ML2 are filled in the inlet and outlet part 110 and the driving part 150 of the inlet and outlet part 110 and 150, respectively. The inner frames 116 and 156 are provided.

A cylindrical shrink tube 114 is provided at the center of the first inner frame 116 of the mouth discharge unit 110 and the chemical solution CL is filled in the hollow space. The first indirect fluid ML1 is filled in the inner space of the first inner frame 116 and the outer space of the shrink tube 114 to the second inner space 156 of the driving part 150 via the connection pipe 130 .

Here, polyimide (PI) having a low viscosity or a high viscosity may be used as the chemical liquid to be filled.

The shaft portion 153 mechanically connected to the motor portion 200 is inserted into the piston portion 157 so that the piston portion 157 moves upward and downward as the motor portion 200 is driven do. The first indirect fluid ML1 filled in the second inner frame 156 leaks to the lower portion of the pistol portion 157 because the side portion of the piston portion 157 abuts against the second inner frame 156 with almost no separation, It is configured not to go out.

Particularly, in the present invention, the second inner frame 156 has a ring shape in the outer direction on the side to which the second inner frame 156 and the piston portion 157 are connected, And a buffer portion 158 having a shape that is recessed is further formed.

The second indirect liquid ML2 is further filled in the inner space of the buffer unit 158 and the first and second spectral seals SS1 and SS2 are provided at the portions connected to the upper and lower end pistons 157 have. Here, the second indirect liquid ML2 may be the same substance as the first indirect liquid ML1. The first indirect liquid ML1 and the second indirect liquid ML2 are not mixed with each other by the first spectral seal SS1 and the second indirect liquid ML2 is mixed with the pistol 157 by the first spectacle seal SS1, The second inner frame 156, and the second inner frame 156. [0051] As shown in FIG.

For this, the first indirect fluid ML1 and the second indirect fluid ML2 must be completely injected into the inner frames 116 and 156 and the buffer part 158, respectively, so that the volume becomes 100%.

According to this structure, in the chemical liquid supply apparatus 100 of the present invention, when the chemical solution is replenished, the motor portion 200 causes the piston portion 157 to descend in the downward direction to lower the internal pressure of the second inner frame 156, The volume of the first indirect fluid ML1 filled in the interior of the first inner frame 116 is reduced and the volume of the first indirect fluid ML1 flowing through the connection pipe 130 ML1 are pulled into the second inner frame 156.

The chemical solution CL flows from the storage tank (not shown) connected to the injection pipe 112 to the inside of the shrink tube 114 by the expansion of the shrink tube 114 by the pressure of the first indirect fluid ML1 Lt; / RTI >

In the chemical liquid supply apparatus 100, the pistol unit 157 rises in the upward direction by the chemical liquid discharging motor unit 200, the internal pressure of the second inner frame 156 rises, and the first indirect liquid ML1, The first indirect fluid ML1 of the second inner frame 156 flows through the connection pipe 130 to the first inner fluid ML1 as the volume of the first indirect fluid ML1 filled therein is increased, And is pushed to the frame 156.

The first indirect fluid ML1 contracts the shrink tube 114 and the chemical liquid CL filled in the slurry nozzle 111 is discharged through the discharge pipe 111 connected to the inlet / ).

Particularly, even if a continuous force is applied, the force is dispersed to the first and second spectral seals SS1 and SS2 to delay deterioration due to the long-term upward and downward driving of the piston portion 157, ) Is filled with the second indirect liquid ML2, the leakage of the first indirect liquid ML1 through the first spectral seal SS1 to the outside is minimized. In addition, even if outside air flows into the second inner frame 156 through the second spectral seal SS2, air bubbles are generated only inside the buffer unit 158, and bubbles are not generated up to the first inner frame 156 . In addition, even if the second indirect fluid ML2 leaks into the lower portion of the buffer portion 158 due to the second spectral seal SS2, it affects the first indirect fluid ML1 of the first inner frame 156 I will not give it.

Therefore, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the leakage of the first indirect fluid or the generation of bubbles is minimized by the buffer layer formed between the pistol portion and the second inner frame and filled with the second indirect fluid, Can be provided.

Hereinafter, a method of driving a chemical liquid supply apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention and a chemical liquid filling and discharging method therefor will be described with reference to the drawings.

5 is a view for explaining a driving method of a chemical liquid supply apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5, the discharge pipe 111 and the injection pipe 112 are connected to the slit nozzle of the slit coater and the discharge port of the storage tank, respectively, for application to the manufacturing process of the flat panel display, Connect to the motor unit and complete the installation on the slit coater.

Next, when the chemical liquid supply device 100 is filled with the chemical liquid, the motor portion (not shown) is controlled to lower the piston portion 157 downward, so that the pistol portion 157 moves the first indirect liquid ML1 So that the internal pressure of the driving unit 150 and the coupling unit 110 is lowered so that the shrinkable tube 114 installed inside the coupling unit 110 is expanded.

The contraction tube 114 is connected to the lower side of the infusion tube 112 so that the chemical solution CL stored in the storage tank (not shown) is slowly injected by the expanding force of the contraction tube 114, As shown in FIG.

At this time, the second indirect liquid ML2 is filled in the buffer unit 158 formed in the driving unit 150. The first indirect liquid ML1 is discharged from the piston unit 157 by the driving of the piston unit 157 (A), air is prevented from entering into the space between the outer side and the inner side wall of the driving unit 150, that is, the inner frame.

After the filling of the chemical liquid CL is completed and the glass substrate is transferred to the slit coater in the manufacturing process of the flat panel display device and the glass substrate is prepared, the slit nozzle moves in a one- (Not shown) so as to correspond to the advancing speed of the slit nozzle, thereby raising the pistol portion 157 in the upward direction.

As the inner pressure of the discharge port 110 increases, the shrink tube 114 installed in the discharge port 110 is discharged to the outside of the discharge port 110, . The chemical solution CL filled in the shrink tube 114 is supplied to the slit nozzle through the discharge pipe 111 connected to the upper part to coat the chemical solution CL on the organic substrate.

At this time, even if the first indirect fluid ML1 is pushed by the pressure accompanying the rise of the piston portion 157 as in the filling step of the chemical solution CL, the second indirect fluid ML2 (B), the first indirect liquid ML1 is prevented from leaking to the outside.

5 is an enlarged view of the pistol portion of Fig. 5. As shown in Fig. 6, even if the first indirect liquid ML1 is pushed or pulled in accordance with the vertical up / down drive of the pistol portion 157, There may be a situation where a small amount of the second indirect liquid ML2 is mixed with the second indirect liquid ML2 or the external air is introduced by the second indirect liquid ML2. However, at least the first indirect liquid ML1 leaks to the outside Or external air (air) flows into the first indirect fluid ML1 to prevent bubbles from being generated.

Here, since the first indirect liquid ML1 and the second indirect liquid ML2 are the same substance, the indirect liquid is not contaminated with other substances even if a small amount is mixed, and the second indirect liquid ML2 leaks to the outside the fluctuation does not affect the first indirect liquid ML1.

Since the first spectral seal SS1 and the second spectral seal SS2 are surrounded by the buffer portion 158 as a center, the pressure applied to one spectral seal by the movement of the piston portion 157 is lower than that 1/2, and the deterioration of the spectra seals (SS1, SS2) is minimized and the lifetime is increased.

The first spectral seal (SS1) and the second spectral seal (SS2) are ring-shaped seal members having a flexible surface, and a plurality of resilient metal bodies are connected in a rib shape to the pistol portion 157) and the inner frame to prevent the indirect fluid from flowing. Hereinafter, the structure of the spectra seal used in the chemical liquid supply apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

7 is a view showing a spectra seal provided in the chemical liquid supply apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

7, the spectral seals SS1 and SS2 of the present invention have a U-shaped cross section extending to form a ring, and the main body 300 is made of a flexible material such as plastic and opened in one direction, A plurality of metal bodies 310 are connected to the inside of the main body 300 by a connection part 320 and inserted.

As the metal body 310 is inserted into the main body 300, a force acts in a direction of continuously opening the opened portion of the main body 300, So that no space is created between the pistol and the inner frame of the feeder. The metal bodies 310 are connected to each other by a connecting part 320 at the center, so that the metallic body 310 and the connecting part 320 have a rib shape in a circular direction.

Particularly, the width of the opened portion of the main body 300 by the metal body 310 is formed at least wider than the space between the pistol portion and the inner frame of the chemical liquid supply device. Therefore, The force is applied in the direction of the inner frame so that the spectra seals SS1 and SS2 do not deviate from the initial installed position without any movement.

These spectral seals SS1 and SS2 are disposed at both ends of the buffer portion of the chemical liquid supply device so that the first indirect liquid and the second indirect liquid are not mixed with each other and the second indirect liquid is leaked or the second indirect liquid Thereby preventing the generation of air bubbles due to the inflow of air.

While a number of embodiments have been described in detail above, it should be construed as being illustrative of preferred embodiments rather than limiting the scope of the invention. Therefore, the invention should not be construed as limited to the embodiments described, but should be determined by equivalents to the appended claims and the claims.

100: chemical liquid supply device 110: inlet /
111: Discharge piping 112: Infusion piping
114: shrink tube 116, 156: inner frame
130: Connector 153: Axis
157: pistol unit 158: buffer unit
159: motor coupling member 200: motor part
CL: chemical solution ML1: first indirect liquid
ML2: second indirect liquid SS1: first spectra seal
SS2: Second Spectra Seal

Claims (9)

An inlet / outlet unit having a shrink tube in which a chemical liquid is filled and discharged, and filled with a first indirect liquid;
A piston connected to the inlet / outlet part by a connection pipe and performing filling and discharging of the chemical liquid by changing a volume of the first indirect liquid;
An inner frame in which the mouth discharge portion and the pistol portion are disposed; And
A buffer portion formed between the pistol portion and the inner frame and filled with a second indirect liquid,
And a chemical liquid supply device. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the buffer unit is provided with at least one spectra seal on both sides thereof. 3. The method of claim 2,
In the spectra seal,
A ring-shaped body which is opened in one direction and is made of plastic;
A U-shaped metal body in which a plurality of U-shaped metal bodies are arranged side by side in the body; And
And a connecting member connecting the plurality of metal bodies. The method according to claim 1,
The buffer unit includes:
Wherein the inner frame is formed to have a predetermined depth recessed shape. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the first and second indirect liquids are made of the same material. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the chemical liquid is a polyimide liquid having a low viscosity or a high viscosity characteristic. A slit nozzle for applying a chemical solution on a substrate;
A storage tank in which the chemical liquid is stored;
A chemical liquid supply device connected to the slit nozzle and the storage tank to supply the chemical liquid to the slit nozzle; And
And a motor unit for controlling the chemical liquid supply device,
The chemical liquid supply device includes:
An inlet / outlet unit having a shrink tube in which a chemical liquid is filled and discharged, and filled with a first indirect liquid;
A piston connected to the inlet / outlet part by a connection pipe and performing filling and discharging of the chemical liquid by changing a volume of the first indirect liquid;
An inner frame in which the mouth discharge portion and the pistol portion are disposed; And
A buffer portion formed between the pistol portion and the inner frame and filled with a second indirect liquid,
. 8. The method of claim 7,
The shrink tube may include:
An injection pipe connected to the storage tank; And
And a discharge pipe connected to the slit nozzle. 8. The method of claim 7,
Wherein the pistol part is coupled to the motor part by a ball screw method.

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