A drip chamber assembly and showerhead device and a processor

Abstract

The application discloses a drip tube assembly, a shower nozzle device and a developing machine, the drip tube assembly comprising a drip tube body connected with a driving assembly; the top end of the drip tube body and the driving assembly are hingedly connected; the drip tube body comprises a columnar tube for containing liquid material; the top end of the columnar tube is communicated with a conveying pipeline, and the bottom end is connected with a drip nozzle; an exhaust port is arranged on the upper section of the columnar tube, and a semi-permeable membrane is arranged on the exhaust port; the semi-permeable membrane is air-permeable and blocks the liquid material; the driving assembly is used for driving the columnar tube to rotate around a vertical axis; when the driving assembly drives the columnar tube to rotate, the bottom end of the columnar tube swings in a vertical plane with the connecting point of the columnar tube and the driving assembly as a fulcrum. In the application, the driving assembly and the columnar tube jointly form a structure similar to a centrifuge, and the upper section of the columnar tube is provided with an air-exhaustable semi-permeable membrane, so that the air bubbles in the liquid material in the columnar tube are well exhausted, and the precision and processing effect of a semiconductor processing process are improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of semiconductor processing equipment technology, and in particular to a dropper assembly, a nozzle device, and a developing machine. Background Technology

[0002] In semiconductor manufacturing processes, it is often necessary to spray or coat liquid materials such as photoresist and organic solvents onto the workpiece using nozzles. However, air bubbles are inevitably trapped in these liquid materials, which can affect the processing accuracy and results. For example, if photoresist containing air bubbles is coated on the wafer surface, it will occupy the wafer surface volume, thereby affecting the uniformity of the photoresist film thickness and the normal exposure and development of the photolithographic pattern.

[0003] Currently, various methods exist for eliminating air bubbles in semiconductor manufacturing processes. These include using pressure pumps in the liquid material delivery system to pressurize the liquid and employing filters to separate air bubbles. However, in practical applications, these methods are not ideal, especially since tiny air bubbles in liquid materials are difficult to remove. This limits the precision of semiconductor processing and affects the overall processing results. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to provide a dropper assembly, a nozzle device, and a developing machine, which can reduce air bubbles trapped in the liquid material inside the dropper to a certain extent, thereby improving the precision and effect of semiconductor processing.

[0005] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the present invention provides a dropper assembly, including a dropper body connected to a driving component;

[0006] The top end of the dropper body is hinged to the drive assembly;

[0007] The dropper body includes a columnar tube for containing liquid material; the top end of the columnar tube is connected to a delivery pipe, and the bottom end is connected to a dropper nozzle; the upper section of the columnar tube is provided with an exhaust port, and a semi-permeable membrane is provided on the exhaust port, the semi-permeable membrane is permeable to air and blocks the liquid material from passing through.

[0008] The driving component is used to drive the columnar tube to rotate about a vertical axis;

[0009] When the driving component drives the columnar tube to rotate, the bottom end of the columnar tube swings in a vertical plane with the connection point between the columnar tube and the driving component as the fulcrum.

[0010] In one optional embodiment of this application, the cylindrical tube includes an upper section and a lower section; the upper section and the lower section are telescopically connected.

[0011] In an optional embodiment of this application, the cylindrical tube includes an upper cover plate fixedly connected to the upper section and a lower base plate connected to the lower section; a drive telescopic structure is provided between the upper cover plate and the lower base plate; the drive telescopic structure is used to drive the upper section and the lower section to extend and retract relative to each other.

[0012] In one optional embodiment of this application, the drive telescopic structure includes a strip rod, a flexible belt, a spring, a horizontal shaft, and a fixing plate;

[0013] The two fixed plates are vertically arranged parallel to each other on the lower base plate; the two ends of the horizontal axis are respectively placed on the fixed plates and can rotate relative to the fixed plates about the central axis of the horizontal axis.

[0014] The top end of the bar is fixedly connected to the upper cover plate, and the bottom end is connected to the first end of the flexible strip;

[0015] The second end of the spring and the flexible strip are wound in opposite directions on different sections of the horizontal axis.

[0016] In one optional embodiment of this application, the drive telescopic structure further includes a gear structure, a movable bow-shaped baffle, and a counterweight ball disposed within the bow-shaped baffle;

[0017] The gear structure uses the horizontal shaft as the pivot and is fixedly connected to the end of the horizontal shaft;

[0018] When the columnar tube is not rotating, the counterweight ball falls into the first end of the arc-shaped baffle, and the second end of the arc-shaped baffle is engaged between the two teeth of the gear structure, preventing the gear structure from rotating in the second direction, but not preventing the gear structure from rotating in the first direction; wherein, the first direction and the second direction are opposite to each other; and when the horizontal axis rotates around the first direction, the spring is wound up.

[0019] When the columnar tube is rotating, the counterweight ball falls into the second end of the bow-shaped baffle, and the second end of the bow-shaped baffle and the gear structure disengage from each other;

[0020] One side of the saw teeth is a convex curved surface, and the other side is a non-convex surface;

[0021] When the second end of the bow-shaped baffle is engaged with the two adjacent saw teeth, the second end of the bow-shaped baffle is tangent to the convex curved surface of one saw tooth and abuts against the non-convex surface of the other saw tooth, thereby preventing the gear structure from rotating in the second direction;

[0022] The second direction is the direction in which the horizontal axis rotates when the spring releases its elastic potential energy.

[0023] In one optional embodiment of this application, the dropper body further includes an outer shell disposed on the outer periphery of the columnar tube;

[0024] The outer shell forms a closed cavity on the outer periphery of the columnar tube that is in communication with the exhaust port, and the outer shell is connected to an air extraction pipe.

[0025] In one optional embodiment of this application, the outer shell is a columnar structure; the top end of the outer shell is connected to the top end of the columnar tube; the bottom end of the outer shell is movably connected to the bottom plate of the bottom end of the columnar tube.

[0026] The inner wall of the outer casing is provided with a sliding groove, and the edge of the lower base plate is provided with a slider that can be inserted into the sliding groove.

[0027] A nozzle device includes a dropper assembly, a drive assembly, and a robotic arm as described in any of the preceding claims;

[0028] The dropper body and the drive assembly in the dropper assembly are hinged together.

[0029] The robotic arm is used to control the movement of the dropper assembly.

[0030] In one optional embodiment of this application, the nozzle device further includes a plurality of nozzles;

[0031] The drive assembly includes a drive motor and a rotating platform, with the drive motor shaft and the center of the rotating platform fixedly connected.

[0032] Each of the nozzles and the dropper body in the dropper assembly is connected to the rotating platform, and each of the nozzles and the dropper body is arranged in a ring around the center of the rotating platform.

[0033] A developing machine includes a nozzle assembly as described in any of the preceding claims; a carrier platform for carrying processed chips; a rotary motor connected to the carrier platform; and a cavity structure.

[0034] The nozzle device and the support platform are both disposed within the cavity structure; the robotic arm in the nozzle device is used to control the movement of the drip tube assembly above the support platform; and the rotary motor is used to drive the support platform to rotate.

[0035] The present invention provides a dropper assembly, a nozzle device, and a developing machine. The dropper assembly includes a dropper body connected to a driving component; the top end of the dropper body is hinged to the driving component; the dropper body includes a columnar tube for containing liquid material; the top end of the columnar tube is connected to a delivery pipe, and the bottom end is connected to a nozzle; an exhaust port is provided in the upper section of the columnar tube, and a semi-permeable membrane is provided on the exhaust port, the semi-permeable membrane being permeable to air and blocking the liquid material from passing through; the driving component is used to drive the columnar tube to rotate around a vertical axis; when the driving component drives the columnar tube to rotate, the bottom end of the columnar tube swings in a vertical plane with the connection point between the columnar tube and the driving component as the fulcrum.

[0036] In this application, the top end of the dropper body and the driving component are hinged together. When the driving component drives the columnar tube to rotate, the columnar tube rotates in the vertical plane using the connection between the top end of the dropper body and the driving component as a fulcrum. The bottom end of the columnar tube rises in space, so that the driving component and the columnar tube together form a centrifuge-like structure. The liquid material inside the columnar tube rotates centrifugally with the columnar tube, thereby causing the tiny bubbles in the liquid material to be gradually squeezed towards the top section of the columnar tube, that is, the tiny bubbles are detached from the liquid material. On this basis, an exhaust port is also provided on the upper section of the columnar tube, and a semi-permeable membrane is provided on the exhaust port. This semi-permeable membrane can be used to discharge the tiny bubble gas that is squeezed into the upper section of the columnar tube, which greatly reduces the interference of the liquid material containing bubbles in the columnar tube on the semiconductor processing process, thereby improving the semiconductor processing precision and processing effect to a certain extent. Attached Figure Description

[0037] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0038] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the dropper assembly provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0039] Figure 2 A cross-sectional structural diagram of the dropper body provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0040] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of a dropper body provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0041] Figure 4 This is another internal structural diagram of the dropper body provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0042] Figure 5 This is a partial structural diagram of the driving telescopic structure in the dropper body provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0043] Figure 6 This is a cross-sectional structural diagram of the nozzle device provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0044] Figure 7 This is a partial structural schematic diagram of the nozzle device provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0045] Figure 8 This is a partial structural schematic diagram of a developing machine provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0046] In the attached diagram: 10 is the drive assembly, 11 is the drive motor, 12 is the rotating platform, 20 is the drip tube body, 21 is the columnar tube, 211 is the upper section, 212 is the lower section, 213 is the upper cover plate, 214 is the lower base plate, 22 is the delivery pipe, 221 is the valve switch, 23 is the drip nozzle, 240 is the telescopic spring, 241 is the strip rod, 242 is the flexible belt, 243 is the fixing plate, 244 is the horizontal shaft, 245 is the clock spring, 246 is the gear structure, 247 is the bow-shaped baffle, 248 is the breeding ball, 25 is the outer shell, 251 is the air extraction pipe, 252 is the chute, 30 is the nozzle; 40 is the robotic arm, 50 is the cavity structure, 60 is the bearing platform, and 70 is the rotating motor. Detailed Implementation

[0047] To eliminate air bubbles in liquid materials such as photoresist, devices or structures for venting air bubbles are typically installed in the delivery pipeline. However, the dropper section lacks such structures and equipment. Taking photoresist as an example, when a can of photoresist is used up and replaced with a new one, air bubbles often remain between the remaining photoresist from the previous can and the newly injected photoresist in the final dropper. These air bubbles cannot be eliminated by the air-venting devices in the delivery pipeline. Furthermore, even if the delivery pipeline is equipped with filters and pressure pumps, it is often difficult to remove the tiny air bubbles within the liquid material.

[0048] Based on this, this application provides a method to eliminate the discharge of liquid material that has been delivered to the dropper, thereby improving the bubble elimination effect in the liquid material to a certain extent, which is beneficial to improving the semiconductor processing precision and processing effect.

[0049] To enable those skilled in the art to better understand the present invention, the invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. Obviously, the described embodiments are merely some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0050] like Figures 1 to 3 As shown, Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the dropper assembly provided in the embodiments of this application; Figure 2 A cross-sectional structural diagram of the dropper body provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of a dropper body provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0051] In one specific embodiment of this application, the dropper assembly may include:

[0052] The dropper body 20 is connected to the drive assembly 10;

[0053] The top end of the dropper body 20 is hinged to the drive assembly 10;

[0054] The dropper body 20 includes a columnar tube 21 for containing liquid material; the top end of the columnar tube 21 is connected to the delivery pipe 22, and the bottom end is connected to the dropper nozzle 23; the upper section 211 of the columnar tube 21 is provided with an exhaust port, and a semi-permeable membrane is provided on the exhaust port, which is permeable to air and blocks the liquid material from passing through.

[0055] The drive assembly 10 is used to drive the columnar tube 21 to rotate about the vertical axis;

[0056] When the drive assembly 10 drives the columnar tube 21 to rotate, the bottom end of the columnar tube 21 swings in the vertical plane with the connection point between the columnar tube 21 and the drive assembly 10 as the fulcrum.

[0057] Reference Figures 1 to 3 In this embodiment, the dropper body 20 includes a columnar tube 21, the top end of which is connected to a delivery pipe 22, and a valve switch 221 is provided between the columnar tube 21 and the delivery pipe 22. Thus, when the valve switch 221 is opened, liquid material can be injected into the columnar tube 21 through the delivery pipe 22. A dropper nozzle 23 is provided at the bottom end of the columnar tube 21, and a valve is also provided between the bottom end of the columnar tube 21 and the dropper nozzle 23. Thus, when the valve is opened, the liquid material in the columnar tube 21 can flow out from the dropper nozzle 23 to the processing component requiring processing.

[0058] Furthermore, the top end of the columnar tube 21 is hinged to the drive assembly 10, meaning that the columnar tube 21 can move relative to the drive assembly 10 with the point where the two are connected as the fulcrum.

[0059] When the drive assembly 10 does not drive the columnar tube 21 to rotate around the vertical axis, the entire columnar tube 21 is suspended from the drive assembly 10 by its top end, and the entire columnar tube 21 is arranged vertically; while if Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, when the driving assembly 10 drives the columnar tube 21 to rotate around the vertical axis, because the top of the dropper body 20 is hinged to the driving assembly 10, the columnar tube 21 rotates centrifugally around the vertical rotation axis. This causes the bottom of the columnar tube 21 to swing upward in the vertical plane with its top as the fulcrum, thus raising the bottom of the columnar tube 21 and making the columnar tube 21 tilted. When the rotation speed of the columnar tube 21 around the vertical axis reaches a certain speed, it can be set to make the columnar tube 21 horizontal.

[0060] The liquid material inside the column tube 21 will obviously rotate along with the centrifugal rotation of the column tube 21; however, because the bubbles trapped in the liquid material are lighter, the centrifugal force they experience is also smaller than that experienced by the liquid material. The liquid material can then squeeze the bubbles inside it toward the upper section 211 of the column tube 21, thus achieving separation between the liquid material and the bubbles. The faster the column tube 21 rotates, the better the effect of discharging the bubbles trapped in the liquid material. Even tiny bubbles can be squeezed to a large extent toward the upper section 211 of the column tube 21.

[0061] Furthermore, in this embodiment, an exhaust port is further provided in the upper section 211 of the columnar tube 21. In this embodiment, the upper section 211 of the columnar tube 21 refers to the annular section structure near the top of the columnar tube 21. A semi-permeable membrane is also provided on the exhaust port of the upper section 211. This semi-permeable membrane is permeable to air but can block the passage of liquid material. Thus, when the columnar tube 21 is filled with liquid material, the semi-permeable membrane can prevent the liquid material from overflowing from the exhaust port. As the columnar tube 21 rotates, the liquid material inside it squeezes the air bubbles to the upper section 211 of the columnar tube 21, that is, the section with the exhaust port. The air bubbles can then be discharged from the columnar tube 21 through the semi-permeable membrane, thus realizing the gas discharge from the liquid material.

[0062] Based on the above discussion, in this embodiment, the dropper body 20 and the drive assembly 10 are connected by a hinge. When the drive assembly 10 drives the column tube 21 to rotate, the drive assembly 10 and the column tube 21 are equivalent to forming a centrifuge, which can separate the liquid material in the column tube 21 from the bubbles trapped inside it. On this basis, the gas in the upper section 211 of the column tube 21 is further discharged by the exhaust port and semi-permeable membrane on the column tube 21, thereby realizing the discharge of the gas trapped in the liquid material in the dropper body 20.

[0063] Based on this, in order to ensure that the gas bubbles discharged from the liquid material can be discharged from the columnar tube 21 as much as possible, thereby preventing the gas bubbles from re-incorporating into the liquid material, in another optional embodiment of this embodiment, the columnar tube 21 may further include:

[0064] Upper section 211 and lower section 212; the upper section 211 and lower section 212 are retractably connected.

[0065] exist Figure 1 and Figure 2 In the illustrated embodiment, the upper section 211 and the lower section 212 of the columnar tube 21 can be two columnar structures, and the upper section 211 and the lower section 212 are spliced ​​together. The entire upper section 211 is a semi-permeable membrane, which can be a rigid filter. The outer radius of the upper section 211 and the inner radius of the lower section 212 can be basically the same. This allows the upper section 211 to be inserted into the lower section 212 along the inner wall of the lower section 212, causing the upper section 211 and the lower section 212 to contract relative to each other. Alternatively, the upper section 211 can be moved upward along the inner wall of the lower section 212, achieving relative elongation between the upper section 211 and the lower section 212.

[0066] Therefore, in practical applications, when the valve switch 221 at the top of the columnar tube 21 is opened, the delivery pipe 22 injects liquid material into the columnar tube 21. A drive pump is generally installed on the delivery pipe 22, and the driving force provided by this pump drives the liquid material to fill the columnar tube 21. Due to the expansion and compression of the liquid material within the columnar tube 21, the upper section 211 and the lower section 212 elongate relative to each other. When the columnar tube 21 is completely filled with liquid material… The valve switch 221 at the top of the column tube 21 can be closed, and the column tube 21 can be driven to rotate by the drive assembly 10. As the column tube 21 rotates, the air bubbles in the liquid material in the column tube 21 are discharged and squeezed into the upper section 211, which can form a small gas cavity in the upper section 211. At this time, the upper section 211 and the lower section 212 can contract relative to each other. The lower section 212 drives the liquid material to squeeze the gas cavity upward, so that the gas in the gas cavity is discharged from the semi-permeable membrane of the upper section 211.

[0067] It is understandable that in practical applications, the upper section 211 is not necessarily entirely a semi-permeable membrane. The upper section 211 and the lower section 212 can use the same material and structure. The difference is that multiple exhaust ports can be formed along the circumference of the upper section 211, and the exhaust ports can be covered with a semi-permeable membrane. This can also achieve the technical solution of this embodiment. Of course, the upper section 211 in this embodiment can also be a structure formed by fixing and splicing a section of annular semi-permeable membrane and a section of tubular structure. In practical applications, this embodiment can also have other implementation methods, which will not be listed here.

[0068] Furthermore, as described above, when the liquid material inside the columnar tube 21 compresses the air bubbles trapped inside to the top of the columnar tube 21, the lower section 212 and the upper section 211 need to contract relative to each other; therefore, in an optional embodiment of this example, the columnar tube 21 may further include:

[0069] The upper cover plate 213 is fixedly connected to the upper section 211, and the lower base plate 214 is connected to the lower section 212; a drive telescopic structure is provided between the upper cover plate 213 and the lower base plate 214; the drive telescopic structure is used to drive the upper section 211 and the lower section 212 to extend and retract relative to each other.

[0070] As described above, the upper section 211 and the lower section 212 of the column tube 21 can be elongated by filling the column tube 21 with liquid material, and the relative movement between the two can be driven by the filling pressure of the liquid material; on this basis, in order to discharge the gas bubbles that are concentrated in the upper section 211 after the column tube 21 is rotated, that is, the upper section 211 and the lower section 212 need to contract with each other.

[0071] In practical applications, it is possible to directly evacuate the gas bubbles in the upper section 211 of the columnar tube 21, thereby subjecting the lower section 212 and the liquid material to negative pressure, which together compresses the upper section 211. This embodiment provides a drive telescopic structure disposed between the upper cover plate 213 and the lower bottom plate 214 of the columnar tube 21.

[0072] exist Figure 2 In the illustrated embodiment, the top end of the upper cover plate 213 of the columnar tube 21 is sealed to the top end of the upper section 211, and the edge extends radially outward beyond the outer periphery of the upper section 211. Similarly, the bottom end of the lower base plate 214 of the columnar tube 21 is sealed to the bottom end of the lower section 212, and may even be integrally formed, and the edge of the bottom plate 214 also extends radially outward beyond the outer periphery of the lower section 212. Thus, a drive telescopic structure that can drive the upper cover plate 213 and the bottom plate 214 to move closer to each other can be provided between the outer periphery of the upper section 211 and the lower section 212, which can also drive the upper section 211 and the lower section 212 to contract with each other.

[0073] The drive-retractable structure in this embodiment can be implemented in various ways. In one optional implementation of this embodiment, the drive-retractable structure may include:

[0074] The drive telescopic structure includes a telescopic spring 240; and the telescopic spring 240 is in a non-compressed state.

[0075] To ensure that the telescopic spring 240 can provide sufficient driving force for the mutual contraction between the upper section 211 and the lower section 212, when the upper section 211 and the lower section 212 are in a contracted state, the telescopic spring 240 is preferably in an extended state, or at least in a non-compressed state. Therefore, when the upper section 211 and the lower section 212 extend with the injection of liquid material, the telescopic spring 240 will inevitably be stretched. As the columnar tube 21 rotates, causing the bubbles in the liquid material to gradually concentrate at the top of the upper section 211, forming a bubble gas cavity, the stretched telescopic spring 240 can apply a mutual contraction force to the upper section 211 and the lower section 212, thereby causing the lower section 212 and the liquid material to be compressed towards the upper section 211, achieving mutual contraction between the upper section 211 and the lower section 212, and gradually discharging the bubble gas in the upper section 211 through the semi-permeable membrane.

[0076] Of course, in practical applications, an elastic strip can also be used, with one end attached to the outer wall of the upper section 211 and the other end attached to the outer wall of the lower section 212. The elastic strip is also in a stretched state. Thus, after the air bubbles in the liquid material are concentrated in the upper section 211, the upper section 211 and the lower section 212 can be mutually contracted.

[0077] The drive telescopic structure in this embodiment is not limited to the structure with elastic telescopic properties described above. In another optional embodiment of this embodiment, the drive telescopic structure may include:

[0078] Strip rod 241, flexible belt 242, spring 245, horizontal shaft 244, and fixing plate 243;

[0079] Two fixed plates 243 are vertically arranged parallel to each other on the bottom plate 214; the two ends of the horizontal shaft 244 are respectively placed on the fixed plates 243 and can rotate relative to the fixed plates 243 about the central axis of the horizontal shaft 244.

[0080] The top end of the bar 241 is fixedly connected to the upper cover plate 213, and the bottom end is connected to the first end of the flexible belt 242;

[0081] The second ends of the spring 245 and the flexible strip 242 are wound in opposite directions on different sections of the horizontal shaft 244.

[0082] Reference Figure 3 ,exist Figure 3 In the illustrated embodiment, two parallel fixing plates 243 are vertically arranged on the lower base plate 214 of the columnar tube 21. Each fixing plate 243 can have a through hole structure, so that both ends of the horizontal shaft 244 pass through the two through holes and are mounted on the fixing plate 243. The radius of the through hole structure can be slightly larger than the outer diameter of the end of the horizontal shaft 244. The end of the through hole structure and the end surface of the horizontal shaft 244 should also be in smooth contact, so that the horizontal shaft 244 can rotate around its own central axis. Alternatively, the two ends of the horizontal shaft 244 and the fixing plate 243 can be connected by bearings.

[0083] Based on this, one end of the flexible belt 242 is fixedly connected to the strip rod 241, and the other end can be wound around the middle section of the horizontal shaft 244; the spring 245 can be set in the sections at both ends of the horizontal shaft 244, and one end of the spring 245 is fixed on the fixing plate 243, and the other end is fixed on the horizontal shaft 244.

[0084] Reference Figure 3Because the mainspring 245 and the flexible band 242 are wound in opposite directions on the horizontal shaft 244; taking the direction in which the mainspring 245 is wound on the horizontal shaft 244 as the second direction, and the direction in which the mainspring 245 is coiled and tightened as the first direction, it is clear that the first direction and the second direction are opposite to each other. When the horizontal shaft 244 rotates along the first direction, the flexible band 242 is gradually pulled out from the horizontal shaft 244, and the winding of the mainspring 245 on the horizontal shaft 244 will tighten; when the horizontal shaft 244 rotates along the second direction, the flexible band 242 gradually winds onto the horizontal shaft 244, and the winding of the mainspring 245 on the horizontal shaft 244 will loosen.

[0085] Therefore, during the process of injecting liquid material into the columnar tube 21, as the squeezing pressure of the injected liquid material increases, the upper section 211 and the lower section 212 of the columnar tube 21 stretch each other, which also increases the distance between the upper cover plate 213 and the lower bottom plate 214. This causes the strip rod 241 to apply an upward pulling force to the flexible band 242 at its lower end, and the flexible band 242 is gradually pulled out from the horizontal shaft 244. At the same time, the horizontal shaft 244 rotates along the first direction. Obviously, this rotation process will inevitably cause the spring 245 to be wound tightly on the horizontal shaft 244. As the columnar tube 21 rotates under the drive of the drive assembly 10, the bubbles in the liquid material gradually concentrate in the upper section 211. After forming a bubble gas cavity in the upper section 211, the torsional force applied by the wound spring 245 to the horizontal shaft 244 drives the horizontal shaft 244 to rotate in the second direction, causing the flexible belt 242 to wind around the horizontal shaft 244, thereby shortening the distance between the bottom end of the horizontal shaft 244 and the strip rod 241, that is, reducing the distance between the upper cover plate 213 and the lower bottom plate 214, thereby causing the upper section 211 and the lower section 212 to contract with each other, thus squeezing and discharging the bubble gas in the upper section 211.

[0086] Additionally, it should be noted that, as Figure 3 As shown, in practical applications, multiple sets of drive telescopic structures can be symmetrically arranged on the outer periphery of the columnar tube 21. Each set of drive telescopic structures can be the same, that is, each set of drive telescopic structures can include a strip rod 241, a flexible belt 242, a spring 245, a horizontal shaft 244, and two fixing plates 234.

[0087] Based on the above discussion, such as Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown, the drive telescopic structure in this embodiment may further include:

[0088] Gear structure 246, movable bow-shaped baffle 247 and counterweight ball 248 disposed in bow-shaped baffle 247;

[0089] The gear structure 246 uses the horizontal shaft 244 as the pivot and is fixedly connected to the end of the horizontal shaft 244;

[0090] When the columnar tube 21 is not rotating, the counterweight ball falls into the first end of the arc-shaped baffle 247, and the second end of the arc-shaped baffle 247 is engaged between the two teeth of the gear structure 246 to prevent the gear structure 246 from rotating in the second direction, but not to prevent the gear structure 246 from rotating in the first direction; wherein, the first direction and the second direction are opposite to each other; the second direction is the direction in which the spring 245 is wound on the horizontal shaft 244, and when the horizontal shaft 244 rotates around the first direction, the spring 245 is wound tightly;

[0091] When the columnar tube 21 is rotating, the counterweight ball 248 falls into the second end of the arc-shaped baffle 247, and the second end of the arc-shaped baffle 247 and the gear structure 246 disengage from each other.

[0092] Reference Figures 3 to 5 As shown, in this embodiment, the gear structure 246 and the spring 245 can be respectively mounted on two different fixing plates 243 at both ends of the horizontal shaft 244, and are respectively located on two opposing surfaces of the two fixing plates 243; thus, Figure 4 The illustrated embodiments show partial enlarged schematic diagrams of gear structure 246 and... Figure 3 In the partially enlarged schematic diagram showing the mainspring 245, the first directions, viewed from two different angles of the gear structure 246 and the mainspring 245, are clockwise and counterclockwise, respectively. Additionally, the flexible belt 242 is located between the two fixed plates 243, therefore... Figure 4 Gear structure 246 and Figure 3 In the partially enlarged schematic diagram of the mainspring 245, the flexible strip 242 is not visible, therefore... Figure 3 and Figure 4 In the two enlarged partial schematic diagrams, only the dashed curves are used to roughly indicate the winding direction of the flexible strip 242 on the horizontal axis. Furthermore, in Figure 5 The diagram roughly illustrates the relative positions of the gear structure 246, the spring 245, and the flexible belt 242.

[0093] Based on this, in order to achieve the second end of the bow-shaped baffle 247 engaging between the two teeth of the gear structure 246 to prevent the gear structure 246 from rotating in the second direction without preventing the gear structure 246 from rotating in the first direction, it can further include:

[0094] One side surface of the sawtooth on gear structure 246 is a convex curved surface, and the other side surface is a non-convex surface;

[0095] When the second end of the bow-shaped baffle 247 is engaged between two adjacent saw teeth, the second end of the bow-shaped baffle 247 is tangent to the convex curved surface of one saw tooth and abuts against the non-convex surface of the other saw tooth.

[0096] like Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown, an arc-shaped baffle 247 is provided on the fixed plate 243 where the gear structure 246 is located. The second end of the arc-shaped baffle 247 is the end that is engaged between the two teeth of the gear structure 246. The first end of the arc-shaped baffle 247 is hinged to the fixed plate 243 where it is located, so that the arc-shaped baffle 247 can swing and move on the surface of the fixed plate 243 with the hinge connection point as the fulcrum; and the second end of the arc-shaped baffle 247 is slightly higher than the first end. When the columnar tube 21 remains stationary, the counterweight ball 248 inside the arc-shaped baffle 247 slides down to the first end of the arc-shaped baffle 247 due to gravity. At this time, the second end of the arc-shaped baffle 247 is attached to the convex curved surface of the saw teeth on the gear structure 246 and is tangent to the convex curved surface. Thus, if the gear structure 246 rotates in the first direction, the second end of the arc-shaped baffle 247 can slide and attach to the convex curved surface passing through each saw tooth without hindering the rotation of the gear structure 246, because the gear structure 246 and the horizontal shaft 244 are fixedly connected, and the gear structure 246 can rotate synchronously with the horizontal shaft 244 in the first direction. If the gear structure 246 rotates in the second direction, the second end of the arc-shaped baffle 247 abuts against the non-convex surface of the saw teeth, that is, it blocks the gear structure 246 from rotating in the second direction, which also blocks the horizontal shaft 244 from rotating in the second direction. It can be seen that when the columnar tube 21 remains stationary, the cooperation between the gear structure 246 and the bow-shaped baffle 247 can restrict the horizontal shaft 244 to rotate only in the first direction, that is, the direction in which the spring 245 is wound and the direction in which the flexible belt 242 gradually detaches from the horizontal shaft 244.

[0097] When the drive assembly 10 drives the columnar tube 21 to rotate around the vertical axis, the rotation direction of the columnar tube 21 is perpendicular to the horizontal axis 244 and is from the first end of the bow-shaped baffle 247 to the second end. Thus, when the columnar tube 21 starts to rotate, the counterweight ball 248 can slide towards the second end of the bow-shaped baffle 247 due to inertia, and squeeze the second end of the bow-shaped baffle 247 away from the sawtooth direction of the gear structure 246, thereby causing the second end of the bow-shaped baffle 247 to disengage from the two sawtooths. At this time, the bow-shaped baffle 247 does not restrict the rotation of the gear structure 246.

[0098] Based on the above discussion, when the columnar tube 21 is re-injected with liquid material, the upper section 211 and the lower section 212 of the columnar tube 21 are stretched together, which causes the gear structure 246 to rotate along the horizontal axis 244 in the first direction. At the same time, the gear action is blocked by the bow-shaped baffle 247, which can also limit the rotation of the horizontal axis 244 in the second direction. This avoids the release of the elastic potential energy of the spring 245 during the stretching process between the upper section 211 and the lower section 212, thereby reducing the resistance of the liquid material injected into the columnar tube 21 to a certain extent and ensuring the amount of glue injected into the columnar tube 21.

[0099] When the columnar tube 21 is filled with liquid material and rotated by the drive assembly 10, the counterweight ball, due to inertia, squeezes the second end of the arc-shaped baffle 247 out of the teeth on the gear structure 246. The gear structure 246 can then rotate along the second direction with the horizontal axis 244, thereby achieving the contraction of the strip 242 until the air bubbles in the upper section 211 are discharged through the semi-permeable membrane. The columnar tube 21 gradually stops rotating, and the counterweight ball 248 can slide back into the first end of the arc-shaped baffle 247 due to gravity. The arc-shaped baffle 247 swings, causing its second end to re-engage between the teeth of the gear structure 246.

[0100] Based on any of the above embodiments, in another optional embodiment of this application, the dropper body 20 may further include:

[0101] The outer casing 25 is disposed on the outer periphery of the columnar tube 21;

[0102] The outer shell 25 forms a closed cavity on the outer periphery of the columnar tube 21 that communicates with the exhaust port, and the outer shell 25 is connected to an exhaust pipe 251.

[0103] As described above, in this application, the cavity formed by the gas bubbles in the upper section 211 of the columnar tube 21 can also be evacuated directly. However, the volume of the gas bubble cavity in the upper section 211 is obviously not large. Therefore, in this embodiment, a closed cavity communicating with the exhaust port is formed on the outer periphery of the columnar tube 21 by the outer shell 25. In practical applications, the evacuation pipe 251 communicating with the closed cavity can be used to evacuate the closed cavity formed between the outer shell 25 and the columnar tube 21, so that the closed cavity is in a vacuum or negative pressure state. Thus, when there is gas bubble in the upper section 211 of the columnar tube 21, the negative pressure formed in the closed cavity relative to the gas bubble will promote the discharge of the gas bubble into the closed cavity.

[0104] Furthermore, when the closed cavity formed by the outer shell 25 works in conjunction with the aforementioned drive telescopic structure, the effect of venting bubbles in the columnar tube 21 can be further improved.

[0105] In addition, in an optional embodiment of this embodiment, the outer shell 25 may be further configured as a columnar structure; the top end of the outer shell 25 is connected to the top end of the columnar tube 21; the bottom end of the outer shell 25 is movably connected to the bottom plate 214 of the bottom end of the columnar tube 21; a groove 252 is provided on the inner wall of the outer shell 25, and a slider that fits into the groove 252 is provided on the edge of the bottom plate 214.

[0106] In this embodiment, the outer shell 25 and the upper cover plate 213 and lower bottom plate 214 of the columnar tube 21 are connected to form a closed cavity. The outer shell 25 and the lower bottom plate 214 are slidably connected, which can accommodate the height expansion and contraction of the columnar tube 21.

[0107] like Figure 1 and Figure 3 As shown, in Figure 1 and Figure 3 In the embodiment shown, the outer shell 25, in addition to forming a closed cavity with the columnar tube 21, further encapsulates the drive telescopic structure that drives the contraction between the upper section 211 and the lower section 212 within the closed cavity.

[0108] In summary, this application uses a hinged connection between the dropper body and the drive assembly. As the drive assembly drives the dropper body to rotate, the columnar tube can perform centrifugal rotation. The columnar tube can rotate vertically in an inclined or even horizontal state, using the connection between its top and the drive assembly as a fulcrum. In other words, the drive assembly and the columnar tube together form a centrifuge-like structure, gradually squeezing tiny bubbles within the liquid material towards the top section of the columnar tube, allowing the bubbles to detach from the liquid material. Furthermore, the upper section of the columnar tube is equipped with an exhaust port and a semi-permeable membrane, allowing the expulsion of the compressed gas bubbles. This significantly reduces the interference of the liquid material bubbles within the columnar tube on the semiconductor processing, thereby improving the precision and efficiency of the semiconductor processing.

[0109] Based on the above discussion, and referring to... Figures 1 to 7 This application also provides a nozzle device that may include a dropper assembly as described in any of the preceding claims and a robotic arm 40; the robotic arm 40 is used to control the movement of the dropper assembly in space.

[0110] In this embodiment, the nozzle body 20 is not directly fixed to the end of the robotic arm 40. Instead, the nozzle body 20 is connected to the drive assembly 10, and then the drive assembly 10 is fixedly connected to the end of the robotic arm 40. Thus, when liquid materials such as photoresist are injected into the columnar tube 21 of the nozzle body 20, the drive assembly 10 can be used to discharge the air bubbles trapped in the liquid material in the columnar tube 21 without the robotic arm 40 moving. This ensures the processing accuracy of semiconductor processing using the liquid material and improves the processing effect.

[0111] Optionally, the nozzle device in this embodiment further includes a plurality of nozzles 30;

[0112] The drive assembly 10 includes a drive motor 11 and a rotating platform 12, with the shaft of the drive motor 11 and the center part of the rotating platform 12 being fixedly connected.

[0113] Each nozzle 30 and the nozzle body 20 in the drip assembly are connected to the rotating platform 12, and each nozzle 30 and nozzle body 20 are arranged in a ring around the center of the rotating platform 12.

[0114] In this embodiment, various nozzles 30 with different functions required in the semiconductor processing are integrated and connected to the same drive component 10; each nozzle 30 can be an edge adhesive removal nozzle, an anti-reflective layer nozzle, or other solvent nozzles.

[0115] like Figure 6 As shown, the nozzles 30 and nozzle bodies 20 are arranged in a ring around the center of the rotating platform, meaning that each nozzle 30 and nozzle body 20 is equidistant from the shaft of the drive motor. Thus, the robotic arm moves the drive motor 11 and the rotating platform 12 until one nozzle 30 is directly above the processing component. After this nozzle 30 outputs the liquid material currently needed by the processing component, the drive motor 11 drives the rotating platform 12 to rotate, switching to another nozzle 30 directly above the processing component. This nozzle then outputs a second type of liquid material onto the processing component. In other words, this embodiment allows for the switching of different liquid material nozzles above the processing component while keeping the robotic arm stationary, reducing the control difficulty of the robotic arm and simplifying semiconductor processing. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the drive motor 11 not only serves to remove air bubbles from the liquid material in the columnar tube 21 of the dropper assembly but also functions as a component for switching between the nozzles 30.

[0116] like Figures 1 to 8As shown, this application also provides an embodiment of a developing machine, which includes a nozzle device as described in any of the preceding claims; a carrier platform 60 for carrying the processed chip; a rotary motor 70 connected to the carrier platform 60; and a cavity structure 50.

[0117] The nozzle assembly and the support platform 60 are both housed within the cavity structure 50; the robotic arm 40 in the nozzle assembly is used to control the movement of the drip tube assembly above the support platform 60; and the rotary motor 70 is used to drive the support platform 60 to rotate.

[0118] like Figure 8 As shown, the cavity structure 50 in this embodiment provides a closed processing environment for the chip development process. In practical applications, the cavity structure 50 is also connected to a vacuum pump, which can evacuate the cavity structure 50 before developing the chip, so that the chip can be processed in a vacuum environment.

[0119] Based on this, the rotary motor 70 can drive the carrier platform 60 to rotate, thereby driving the processing chip on the carrier platform 60 to rotate; and the robotic arm 40 can also control the dropper assembly to move on the carrier platform 60. Thus, whether the carrier platform 60 rotates, the robotic arm 40 controls the dropper assembly to translate, or the drive assembly 10 drives each nozzle 30 to rotate, the relative movement between the nozzle 30 and the processing chip can be realized, ultimately achieving precise processing of each position point on the processing chip.

[0120] It should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used merely to distinguish one entity or operation from another, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Furthermore, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that the elements inherent in a process, method, article, or apparatus that includes a list of elements are included. Without further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes said element. Additionally, portions of the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application that are consistent with the implementation principles of corresponding technical solutions in the prior art have not been described in detail to avoid excessive elaboration.

[0121] This article uses specific examples to illustrate the principles and implementation methods of the present invention. The descriptions of the above embodiments are only for the purpose of helping to understand the method and core ideas of the present invention. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make several improvements and modifications to the present invention without departing from the principles of the present invention, and these improvements and modifications also fall within the protection scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A dropper assembly, characterized in that, Includes the dropper body connected to the drive assembly; The top end of the dropper body is hinged to the drive assembly; The dropper body includes a columnar tube for containing liquid material; the top end of the columnar tube is connected to a delivery pipe, and the bottom end is connected to a dropper nozzle; the upper section of the columnar tube is provided with an exhaust port, and a semi-permeable membrane is provided on the exhaust port, the semi-permeable membrane is permeable to air and blocks the liquid material from passing through. The driving component is used to drive the columnar tube to rotate about a vertical axis; When the driving component drives the columnar tube to rotate, the bottom end of the columnar tube swings in a vertical plane with the connection point between the columnar tube and the driving component as the fulcrum. The cylindrical tube includes an upper section and a lower section; the upper section and the lower section are telescopically connected. When the columnar tube is filled with liquid material, the upper section and the lower section extend relative to each other. When the columnar tube rotates, it rotates centrifugally around the vertical rotation axis. The air bubbles in the liquid material in the columnar tube are discharged and squeezed into the upper section to form a gas cavity. The upper section and the lower section contract relative to each other. The lower section drives the liquid material to squeeze the gas cavity upward, so that the gas in the gas cavity is discharged from the semi-permeable membrane of the upper section.

2. The dropper assembly as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The cylindrical tube includes an upper cover plate fixedly connected to the upper section and a lower base plate connected to the lower section; a drive telescopic structure is provided between the upper cover plate and the lower base plate; the drive telescopic structure is used to drive the upper section and the lower section to extend and retract relative to each other.

3. The dropper assembly as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The drive telescopic structure includes a bar rod, a flexible belt, a spring, a horizontal shaft, and a fixing plate; The two fixed plates are vertically arranged parallel to each other on the lower base plate; the two ends of the horizontal axis are respectively placed on the fixed plates and can rotate relative to the fixed plates about the central axis of the horizontal axis. The top end of the bar is fixedly connected to the upper cover plate, and the bottom end is connected to the first end of the flexible strip; The second end of the spring and the flexible strip are wound in opposite directions on different sections of the horizontal axis.

4. The dropper assembly as described in claim 3, characterized in that, The drive telescopic structure also includes a gear structure, a movable bow-shaped baffle, and a counterweight ball disposed within the bow-shaped baffle; The gear structure uses the horizontal shaft as the pivot and is fixedly connected to the end of the horizontal shaft; When the columnar tube is not rotating, the counterweight ball falls into the first end of the arc-shaped baffle, and the second end of the arc-shaped baffle is engaged between the two teeth of the gear structure, preventing the gear structure from rotating in the second direction, but not preventing the gear structure from rotating in the first direction; wherein, the first direction and the second direction are opposite to each other; and when the horizontal axis rotates around the first direction, the spring is wound up. When the columnar tube is rotating, the counterweight ball falls into the second end of the bow-shaped baffle, and the second end of the bow-shaped baffle and the gear structure disengage from each other.

5. The dropper assembly as described in any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The dropper body also includes an outer shell disposed on the outer periphery of the columnar tube; The outer shell forms a closed cavity on the outer periphery of the columnar tube that is in communication with the exhaust port, and the outer shell is connected to an air extraction pipe.

6. The dropper assembly as described in claim 5, characterized in that, The outer shell is a columnar structure; the top end of the outer shell is connected to the top end of the columnar tube; the bottom end of the outer shell is movably connected to the bottom plate of the bottom end of the columnar tube. The inner wall of the outer casing is provided with a sliding groove, and the edge of the lower base plate is provided with a slider that can be inserted into the sliding groove.

7. A nozzle device, characterized in that, Includes the dropper assembly, drive assembly, and robotic arm as described in any one of claims 1 to 6; The dropper body and the drive assembly in the dropper assembly are hinged together. The robotic arm is used to control the movement of the dropper assembly.

8. The nozzle device as described in claim 7, characterized in that, It also includes multiple nozzles; The drive assembly includes a drive motor and a rotating platform, with the drive motor shaft and the center of the rotating platform fixedly connected. Each of the nozzles and the dropper body in the dropper assembly is connected to the rotating platform, and each of the nozzles and the dropper body is arranged in a ring around the center of the rotating platform.

9. A developing machine, characterized in that, Includes the nozzle device as described in claim 7 or 8; a support platform for carrying the processed chip; a rotary motor connected to the support platform; and a cavity structure; The nozzle device and the support platform are both disposed within the cavity structure; the robotic arm in the nozzle device is used to control the movement of the drip tube assembly above the support platform; and the rotary motor is used to drive the support platform to rotate.

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