A high-density cleaning equipment

By adding a flow guide assembly in the drying section of the high-density cleaning equipment, the second airflow intersects with the first airflow, and the drying efficiency of the substrate is enhanced, and the problems of film formation abnormalities and Open-type defects in the TFT-LCD manufacturing process are solved, and the product yield and production capacity are improved.

CN115513095BActive Publication Date: 2025-04-04BOE TECHNOLOGY GROUP CO LTD +1
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Patent Information

Application Number
CN202211139683.X
Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Patents(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2022-09-19
Publication Date
2025-04-04
Estimated Expiration
2042-09-19

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

During the manufacturing process of TFT-LCD, when the substrate cleaned by high-density cleaning equipment enters the Sputter film formation stage, it is easy to lead to film formation abnormalities, and the incidence of Open-type defects is high, which affects the improvement of product yield and production capacity.

Method used

The flow guide assembly is added in the drying section of the high-density cleaning device, and the second airflow output through the flow guide assembly intersects with the first airflow, increasing the width of the drying action zone and/or the shear stress of the airflow on the substrate surface liquid, thereby enhancing the drying efficiency.

Benefits of technology

By enhancing drying efficiency, the incidence of Open-type defects is reduced, and the yield and production capacity of the product are improved.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

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Abstract

The present invention discloses a high-density cleaning device, in which a cleaning channel for conveying a substrate is provided; the cleaning channel includes a liquid washing section and a drying section connected in sequence along the conveying direction; a liquid washing component is provided in the liquid washing section, and a drying component and a flow guide component are provided in the drying section; the drying component is configured to output a first airflow for drying the substrate; the output direction of the first airflow forms a first angle with the conveying plane of the substrate, and the first angle is an acute angle; the first airflow forms a drying action zone on the substrate to dry the liquid generated by the liquid washing component on the surface of the substrate; the flow guide component is configured to output a second airflow for guiding the direction of the first airflow; the second airflow intersects with the first airflow to increase the width of the drying action zone and / or the shear stress of the airflow in the drying action zone on the liquid on the surface of the substrate. The high-density cleaning device of the present invention can enhance the drying efficiency of the substrate surface and reduce the incidence of Open-type defects.
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Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of display panel manufacturing, and in particular to a high-density cleaning device. Background Art

[0002] TFT-LCD (Thin film transistor liquid crystal display) has the advantages of low cost, low power consumption, low radiation, and long life cycle, and is also the mainstream of large-size display panels. The TFT substrate is an array substrate arranged on a glass substrate by a TFT array. It is a key component of the display panel and is used to control the deflection of liquid crystal molecules, thereby controlling the color and brightness of each sub-pixel of the display panel. The TFT substrate manufacturing process includes substrate cleaning process, Sputter (sputtering) film forming process, CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) film forming process, photoresist coating process, exposure process, development process, wet etching process, dry etching process, stripping process, annealing process, and detection and maintenance. With the continuous iteration of products, the process requirements of TFT-LCD are getting higher and higher, especially for large-size panels of large-generation lines. The substrate cleaning process is completed by a high-density cleaning device (High density cleaner, HDC). HDC mainly cleans the organic matter and particles on the surface of the substrate through AP plasma (plasma cleaning), brushes, high-pressure two-fluid, etc., and dries the substrate through the HDC drying device air knife (Air knife, AK). Factories generally connect HDC and Sputter film forming equipment together to form a production line, which can save costs and reduce contamination during substrate transportation.

[0003] However, it has been found that when the HDC substrate enters the Sputter film formation stage, film formation abnormalities are prone to occur, and the incidence of Open-type defects in the manufactured TFT substrates is high, seriously affecting the improvement of product yield and production capacity. Summary of the invention

[0004] In view of the above problems, the present invention proposes a high-density cleaning equipment, wherein an added guide component increases the width of the drying action zone and / or the shear stress of the airflow in the drying action zone on the liquid on the substrate surface, thereby enhancing the drying efficiency of the substrate surface and reducing the incidence of Open-type defects.

[0005] In the first aspect, the present application provides the following technical solution through an embodiment:

[0006] A high-density cleaning device is provided with a cleaning channel for conveying substrates; the cleaning channel includes a liquid washing section and a drying section connected in sequence along the conveying direction; a liquid washing component is provided in the liquid washing section, and a drying component and a flow guide component are provided in the drying section; the drying component is configured to output a first airflow for drying the substrate; a first angle is formed between the output direction of the first airflow and the conveying plane of the substrate, and the first angle is an acute angle; the first airflow forms a drying action zone on the substrate to dry the liquid generated by the liquid washing component on the surface of the substrate; the flow guide component is configured to output a second airflow for guiding the direction of the first airflow; the second airflow intersects with the first airflow to increase the width of the drying action zone and / or the shear stress of the airflow in the drying action zone on the liquid on the surface of the substrate.

[0007] Optionally, the air guide component includes an air supply unit; the air supply unit is used to generate the second airflow.

[0008] Optionally, the guide assembly further includes a guide plate; the guide plate is arranged below the air outlet of the air supply unit, and forms a guide chamber having a guide outlet between the guide plate and the air supply unit;

[0009] The guide chamber is used to gather the second airflow to output from the guide outlet, and a second angle is formed between a direction in which the second airflow is output from the guide outlet and a conveying plane of the substrate, and the second angle is an acute angle.

[0010] Optionally, the second angle is greater than the first angle.

[0011] Optionally, a flow rate of the second airflow output by the air supply unit is 0.38 m / s to 0.52 m / s.

[0012] Optionally, the high-density cleaning equipment further includes: an exhaust component; the exhaust component is arranged outside the cleaning channel, and the exhaust component is connected to the drying section of the cleaning channel to discharge the airflow generated after drying the substrate in the drying section.

[0013] Optionally, the side wall of the drying section of the cleaning channel is provided with at least a first connecting hole and a second connecting hole, and the exhaust assembly is connected to the drying section of the cleaning channel through the first connecting hole and the second connecting hole; the first connecting hole and the second connecting hole are respectively located on the two side walls along the conveying direction and perpendicular to the conveying plane, and the first connecting hole and the second connecting hole are both located on the side facing the front side of the substrate, and the front side of the substrate is the side used to manufacture the film layer.

[0014] Optionally, the liquid washing component includes a liquid cutting cleaning component and a high-pressure two-fluid liquid washing component; the liquid cutting cleaning component is arranged between the guide component and the high-pressure two-fluid liquid washing component.

[0015] Optionally, the drying component includes a strip-shaped air knife drying component; the angle between the air knife drying component and the conveying direction ranges from 72° to 76°.

[0016] Optionally, the air knife drying component is a double air knife drying component, and the double air knife drying component is used to simultaneously output two parallel first airflows.

[0017] Optionally, the first angle ranges from 31° to 33°.

[0018] A high-density cleaning device provided in an embodiment of the present invention is provided with a cleaning channel for conveying substrates; the cleaning channel includes a liquid washing section and a drying section connected in sequence along the conveying direction; a liquid washing component is provided in the liquid washing section, a drying component is provided in the drying section, and a flow guide component is added in the drying section. Among them, the drying component is configured to output a first airflow for drying the substrate; the output direction of the first airflow forms a first angle with the conveying plane of the substrate, and the first angle is an acute angle; the first airflow forms a drying action zone on the substrate to dry the liquid generated by the liquid washing component on the surface of the substrate; the flow guide component is configured to output a second airflow for guiding the direction of the first airflow; the second airflow intersects with the first airflow to increase the width of the drying action zone and / or the shear stress of the airflow in the drying action zone on the liquid on the surface of the substrate, thereby enhancing the drying efficiency on the substrate surface and reducing the incidence of Open-type defects.

[0019] The above description is only an overview of the technical solution of the present invention. In order to more clearly understand the technical means of the present invention, it can be implemented according to the contents of the specification. In order to make the above and other purposes, features and advantages of the present invention more obvious and easy to understand, the specific implementation methods of the present invention are listed below. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work.

[0021] Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a substrate with a residual water film shown in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a substrate without a visible water film shown in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the component position structure of a horizontal section of a high-density cleaning device shown in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the component position structure of a longitudinal section of a high-density cleaning device shown in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the cleaning range of the second water washing component in the embodiment of the present invention as a common water washing component;

[0026] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the cleaning range of the second water washing component being a liquid-cutting cleaning component in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the flow direction of the first airflow in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 8 Schematic diagram showing the comparison of drying principles before and after the second airflow is turned on in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0029] Fig. 9 Schematic diagram of the positional relationship between the flow guide component and the drying component of the drying section in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0030] Fig.10 Schematic diagram of the positional relationship between the air supply unit and the guide plate in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0031] Fig.11 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the exhaust assembly in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0032] Fig.12 Schematic diagram of the angle relationship of the drying components in the embodiment of the present invention;

[0033] Fig.13 It is a trend chart of the Open defect incidence rate between different improvement methods in the embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, it should be understood that these descriptions are exemplary only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. In addition, in the following description, descriptions of well-known structures and technologies are omitted to avoid unnecessary confusion of the concepts of the present disclosure.

[0035] Various structural schematic diagrams according to embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in the accompanying drawings. These figures are not drawn to scale, and some details are magnified and some details may be omitted for the purpose of clear expression. The shapes of various regions and layers shown in the figures and the relative sizes and positional relationships therebetween are only exemplary, and may deviate in practice due to manufacturing tolerances or technical limitations, and those skilled in the art may further design regions / layers with different shapes, sizes, and relative positions according to actual needs.

[0036] In the context of the present disclosure, when a layer / element is referred to as being "on" another layer / element, the layer / element may be directly on the other layer / element or an intervening layer / element may exist therebetween. In addition, if a layer / element is "on" another layer / element in one orientation, the layer / element may be "below" the other layer / element when the orientation is reversed.

[0037] At present, in the process of manufacturing TFT arrays, the incidence of Open-type defects such as abnormal film formation on the substrate is high, which seriously affects the improvement of product yield and production capacity. The cause analysis found that in the cleaning stage of the high-density cleaning equipment, the cleaned substrate will be dried in the latter part of the cleaning stage, and then the substrate will be transferred to the film forming equipment for subsequent manufacturing; the drying process of the high-density cleaning equipment is to arrange air knife drying components on the upper and lower sides of the substrate for purge drying, and use the airflow formed by the air knife to form shear stress on the surface of the substrate, thereby achieving drying of the substrate; however, after the drying is completed, a strip-shaped water film visible to the naked eye can still be found on the surface of the substrate, such as Figure 1 As shown, a stripe-shaped water film 2 appears on the substrate 1. Film formation is performed when the substrate surface is not well dried, resulting in serious Open-type defects.

[0038] In one embodiment of the present invention, the Out gas function in the Sputter film forming equipment is used to process the substrate again, which can cover the effect of poor drying to a certain extent, but the improvement is quite limited and cannot guarantee the subsequent production yield. In addition, this method also increases the working time of the Sputter film forming equipment, seriously consumes the service life of the equipment, and increases the process cycle, which is not conducive to large-scale mass production.

[0039] In another embodiment of the present invention, the airflow output angle, airflow flow rate and the distance between the air knife drying assembly and the substrate are adjusted and optimized. After the adjustment and optimization, a dummy substrate (test substrate) is used to perform a film transmission test, and then the water film on the substrate surface is observed. It is found that the substrate drying condition is greatly improved, and no water film is found to be visible to the naked eye. Figure 2As shown, there is no water film on the substrate 1. Therefore, the Out gas function of the Sputter film forming equipment in the process flow was removed for mass production testing. The Open type defect rate was reduced by 3.7% compared with the initial conditions. There was still invisible water vapor on the substrate surface. The water vapor did not evaporate in time during the transportation of the substrate, resulting in poor adhesion between the film layers after the substrate was coated, causing the Open type defect. Although the improvement method of this embodiment has improved the Open type defect rate to a certain extent, the improvement effect failed to meet the production yield requirements.

[0040] Therefore, the present invention further provides a high-density cleaning device, which is an improvement based on the structure of the existing device; in particular, the drying section of the cleaning channel of the high-density cleaning device is improved, and a guide component is added to control the airflow of the drying component, thereby improving the drying effect of the high-density cleaning device. The following is a detailed description through specific embodiments.

[0041] See also Figure 3 and Figure 4 In one embodiment of the present invention, a high-density cleaning device 10 is provided. The high-density cleaning device 10 can be used to clean and dry a substrate before forming a film on the substrate; of course, it is not limited to this.

[0042] The high-density cleaning equipment 10 is provided with a cleaning channel 100 for conveying substrates. It is understandable that the cleaning channel 100 may be provided with a conveying component 101, through which the substrate is conveyed. The conveying component 101 may be composed of multiple rows of rollers perpendicular to the conveying direction to achieve the conveying function. It may also be composed of multiple rotating shafts arranged perpendicular to the conveying direction to achieve the conveying function. In addition, it may also be any conveying component 101 structure that can realize conveying in the prior art, and when the conveying component 101 structure conveys the substrate, a gap is left for cleaning or drying the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate. The specific structure of the conveying component 101 is not limited here.

[0043] It should be noted that the substrate can be a base substrate for manufacturing a display panel, for example, a glass substrate for manufacturing a TFT (Thin Film Transistor) array substrate; in addition, it can also be a substrate for manufacturing other devices or circuit structures without limitation.

[0044] The cleaning channel 100 includes a liquid washing section 110 and a drying section 120 connected in sequence along the conveying direction, that is, the substrate is dried after liquid washing. The liquid washing section 110 and the drying section 120 can be a whole chamber without a clear boundary position, that is, the liquid washing section 110 and the drying section 120 are defined based on the functional role; the liquid washing section 110 and the drying section 120 can also be two chambers with a clear boundary position and interconnected to ensure that the substrate can enter the drying section 120 from the liquid washing section 110.

[0045] The liquid washing section 110 is provided with a liquid washing component, and the liquid washing component is used to rinse the substrate. The liquid washing component includes one or more combinations, and the liquid washing components can be arranged in groups. Arrangement in groups means that one type of liquid washing component may include two, which are arranged on both sides of the conveying plane, respectively used to clean the front and back of the substrate. The conveying plane means the plane where the substrate is located when the substrate is conveyed into the cleaning channel 100, and the front of the substrate is the side used for film formation. The liquid washing component can adopt a water washing component and a high pressure micro jet (HPMJ) component 112, and the water washing component can be a commonly used normal shower component. For example, the structural arrangement in the liquid washing section 110 can be the same as the structural arrangement in the prior art.

[0046] For the sake of convenience, in this article, the side of the cleaning channel 100 facing the front of the substrate is defined as the upper side of the cleaning channel 100, and the side facing the back of the substrate is defined as the lower side of the cleaning channel 100; the upper and lower sides of the liquid washing section 110 and the drying section 120 have the same definition as the upper and lower sides of the cleaning channel 100.

[0047] In some embodiments, the water washing component may include a first water washing component 111 and a second water washing component 113. The first water washing component 111 is disposed on the side of the high-pressure two-fluid component away from the drying section 120, and the second water washing component 113 is disposed between the high-pressure two-fluid component 112 and the drying section 120. The first water washing component 111 and the second water washing component 113 may both be composed of a plurality of nozzles, with a gap of about 45 mm between each nozzle, and a gap of about 60 mm between the substrate and the nozzle. The water from the nozzle is divergent after being sprayed out, and the water flow is divergent after the nozzle sprays water. The spraying range between each two nozzles is overlapped to ensure that the substrate can be completely cleaned. However, since there is still a gap between two adjacent nozzles, there is still a gap less than 60 mm below the nozzle that is not covered during the head spraying, such as Figure 5As shown, it is shown that the width that can be covered by the divergent water flow after a single nozzle sprays water is H1, and there is a gap A that is not covered at a distance of 50 mm from the nozzle. Therefore, after the high-pressure two fluids will excite a large amount of water vapor on the substrate, the water vapor can overflow to the drying section 120 through the uncovered gap A between the second water washing component 113 and the substrate. In this embodiment, the original ordinary water washing component can be replaced with a liquid cutting (Aqua Knife) cleaning component, and the planar water flow output by the liquid cutting cleaning component forms an acute angle with the conveying plane, and the component of the speed direction in the conveying direction during output is in the opposite direction of the conveying direction. The liquid cutting cleaning component sprays the substrate in a planar manner to form a complete cleaning width H2, eliminating the gap and avoiding the escape of water vapor generated by the high-pressure two fluids. Figure 6 As shown. Therefore, the ordinary water washing component is replaced by the liquid cutting cleaning component, which can play a better shielding effect on the water vapor generated by the high-pressure two fluids, significantly inhibit the liquid in the liquid washing section 110 from escaping to the drying section 120, and improve the drying effect.

[0048] The drying section 120 is provided with a drying component 121 and a flow guide component 122. The flow guide component 122 should be arranged at a position that can ensure that the second airflow generated by it can guide the first airflow, so as to increase the width of the drying action zone and / or the shear stress of the airflow in the drying action zone on the liquid on the surface of the substrate. For example, the flow guide component 122 can be arranged between the drying component 121 and the liquid washing component, and specifically between the liquid cleaning component and the drying component 121; in addition, it can also be arranged at other positions to achieve the guiding effect on the first airflow by adjusting the output angle of the second airflow, without limitation.

[0049] The drying component 121 can be implemented by an air knife drying component 121, and the air knife drying component 121 can generate a planar airflow. Of course, it can also be implemented by other devices or structural components that can generate airflow to generate airflow for drying. It can be understood that the drying component 121 is configured to output a first airflow for drying the substrate. The output direction of the first airflow can be at a first angle with the conveying plane of the substrate. When the drying component 121 is implemented by an air knife drying component 121, the first airflow is planar, and the first angle can be understood as the plane angle between the surface formed by the first airflow when it is output and the conveying plane. If it is other types of first airflow, the angle between the center line of the airflow and the conveying plane can be used as the first angle. The first angle is an acute angle, and the component of the speed of the first airflow in the conveying direction when it is output is in the opposite direction of the conveying direction, thereby increasing the width of the drying action area, improving the drying efficiency, and avoiding the invasion of water vapor into the dried part of the substrate. The first angle may range from 30° to 35°, for example, 30°, 31°, 32°, 33°, 34°, 35°, etc., without limitation.

[0050] It can be understood that the airflow generated by the drying component 121 will generate shear stress on the liquid on the substrate, mainly water film / water stains in this embodiment, after impacting the substrate. However, after the first airflow contacts the substrate, it will gradually move away from the substrate. Therefore, as the distance from the impact position on the substrate gradually increases, the shear stress gradually decreases. Figure 7 As shown, the airflow B generated by the drying component 121 gradually increases the distance between the airflow B and the substrate G as the distance from the drying component 121 increases. As a result, the airflow away from the impact position can no longer generate shear stress on the water film on the substrate, or the shear stress is difficult to achieve an effective drying effect. In other words, the drying action area here is the area that plays a major drying role on the liquid generated by the liquid washing component on the surface of the substrate after the first airflow impacts the substrate.

[0051] Therefore, in some implementations of this embodiment, the width of the drying action area and the shear stress on the water stains can be increased by controlling the first airflow generated by the drying component 121, thereby improving the drying effect after cleaning of the high-density cleaning device 10. That is, the direction of the first airflow is limited and guided by the provided guide component 122.

[0052] The flow guide assembly 122 is configured to output a second airflow for guiding the direction of the first airflow. The second airflow intersects with the first airflow to increase the width of the drying action area. The first airflow and the second airflow can both be ordinary airflows; or compressed air (CDA) to ensure that shear stress can be generated on the water stains on the substrate to achieve effective drying.

[0053] See also Figure 8 , wherein when the second airflow F2 is not output, the width of the drying action zone generated by the first airflow F1 on the substrate G is H3, and the first airflow F1 will generate a backflow F3 after it moves away from the substrate G. When the second airflow F2 is output downward, the second airflow intersects with the first airflow F1 at the position P, exerting a downward pressure on the first airflow F1. At this time, the width of the drying action zone is increased, and the width is H4 (H4>H3), and the shear stress of the drying action zone is also significantly increased. The backflow F3 generated by the first airflow is also effectively blocked by the second airflow, so that the drying effect is significantly improved. It can be understood that the intersection of the second airflow F2 and the first airflow F1 should be located at the stage where the first airflow F1 (after contacting the substrate) gradually moves away from the substrate G, so that the second airflow F2 exerts a downward pressure on the first airflow F1 toward the substrate G. In this way, the speed at which the first airflow F1 moves away from the substrate G can be slowed down, so that the width of the drying action zone is increased, and the magnitude of the shear stress on the water film on the substrate G will also increase, thereby improving the drying efficiency.

[0054] In some implementations, the air guide component 122 may include an air supply unit 1221, which is used to generate a second airflow. The air supply unit 1221 may be disposed between the liquid washing component and the drying component 121, and may be designed to better control the direction of the second airflow. Of course, it may also be disposed at other locations, but it should be satisfied that the second airflow can intersect with the first airflow, so that the width of the drying action area is increased, thereby achieving the effect of improving the drying effect. The air supply unit 1221 may be disposed only on the upper side of the drying section 120, which may ensure the drying effect on the front side of the substrate and avoid excessive cost increases; of course, the air supply unit 1221 may be disposed on both the upper and lower sides of the drying section 120, thereby ensuring the drying effect of the entire substrate and avoiding adverse effects caused by residual water vapor on the back side of the substrate.

[0055] When the air supply unit 1221 is provided, it should be ensured that the first airflow outputted from the air outlet of the air supply unit 1221 is within the cleaning channel 100, and the air outlet of the air supply unit 1221 should be sealed with the top wall on the upper side or the bottom wall on the lower side of the cleaning channel 100 to prevent impurities from intruding or water vapor or airflow in the cleaning channel 100 from leaking.

[0056] The air supply unit 1221 can be a general device or equipment capable of generating airflow; in this embodiment, a fan filter unit (FFU) can be used, such as Fig. 9 As shown, to avoid the introduction of impurities. The air supply unit 1221 can be one or more without limitation; for example, the second airflow generated by the air supply unit 1221 can cover the width range of the first airflow as much as possible to ensure a better drying effect. In addition, it is also possible to check which areas in the width direction of the substrate are particularly poorly dried according to actual tests, and these areas can be set with more dense fan filter units, or generate a larger second airflow. This achieves a balance between drying effect and equipment cost.

[0057] The output direction of the second airflow generated by the air supply unit 1221 can be implemented in a variety of ways, as follows:

[0058] The output direction of the second airflow generated by the air supply unit 1221 can be perpendicular to the conveying plane. For example, the air supply unit 1221 can be set in a position closer to the liquid washing section 110 in the drying section 120, and can be specifically set at any position in the 1 / 2 interval close to the liquid washing section 110 in the drying section 120, or any position in the 1 / 3 interval, or any position in the 1 / 4 interval, and so on. The output direction of the second airflow can be directly downward, and this implementation method can increase the width of the drying action area on the substrate, while also being able to block as much water vapor from the liquid washing section 110 as possible. After actual testing, when the air supply unit 1221 is added to the drying section 120, the Open-type defects generated in the later substrate film forming stage are significantly improved, and the defect incidence rate is reduced by more than 50% compared with the initial improvement, reaching 58.5%.

[0059] The output direction of the second airflow generated by the air supply unit 1221 can also be at a second angle with the conveying plane, and the second angle is an acute angle; and the component of the speed of the second airflow when it is output in the conveying direction is in the opposite direction of the conveying direction. In order to ensure that the second airflow guides the first airflow in the cleaning channel 100 with limited space, the size of the second angle can be 30° to 90°, for example, 40°, 50°, 60°, 70°, 80°, 85°, etc., without restriction. In this way, it is not necessary to set the air supply unit 1221 closer to the liquid cooling section, which can avoid the erosion of the rotating airflow on the air supply unit 1221; at the same time, when the second angle is an acute angle, it can also increase the intersection range of the first airflow and the second airflow to a certain extent, increase the kinetic energy of the airflow after the first airflow and the second airflow are mixed, effectively increase the shear stress of the mixed airflow on the water film on the surface of the substrate, improve the drying effect, and further reduce the Open type defect.

[0060] The second angle can be larger than the first angle, so that the air supply unit 1221 can be disposed between the drying component 121 and the liquid washing component, and can be located on the upper side of the cleaning channel 100, and its air outlet is farther from the substrate relative to the drying component 121. When the second airflow is generated, the second airflow can intersect with the first airflow well, increasing the width of the drying action area on the substrate, and further reducing the Open type defect.

[0061] In some implementations, the airflow of the air supply unit 1221 can also be controlled. For example, the rotation speed of the air supply unit 1221 is controlled at 800r / min to 1200r / min. However, it is actually found that when the rotation speed is too small, the wind pressure and wind speed generated are small, and the effect of the second airflow on the first airflow is insufficient. When the rotation speed is too large, the wind pressure and airflow speed generated are too large, which interferes with the first airflow too much and affects the exhaust, which ultimately leads to poor drying effect. Therefore, in this embodiment, it can be considered to control the rotation speed of the air supply unit 1221 at 1000r / min, so as to ensure a good yield.

[0062] In some implementations, in order to prevent the wind pressure and / or flow rate of the second airflow from affecting the drying effect, the wind pressure and / or flow rate of the air supply unit 1221 when outputting the second airflow can be controlled to improve the yield. Specifically, the wind pressure can be controlled at 59Pa~81Pa, specifically 60Pa, 65Pa, 70Pa, 75Pa, 80Pa, etc.; in this embodiment, it can be set to 70Pa, which can ensure a good yield. Similarly, the flow rate of the second airflow can be controlled at 0.38m / s~0.52m / s, specifically 0.40m / s, 0.43m / s, 0.45m / s, 0.48m / s, 0.5m / s, etc.; in this embodiment, it can be set to 0.45m / s, which can ensure a good yield.

[0063] In some embodiments, the flow guide assembly 122 further includes a flow guide plate 1222, such as Fig.10 As shown. The guide plate 1222 is arranged below the air outlet of the air supply unit 1221, and forms a guide chamber with a guide outlet between the guide plate 1222 and the air supply unit 1221. The guide chamber is used to gather the second airflow to be output from the guide outlet, and the direction in which the second airflow is output from the guide outlet forms a second angle with the conveying plane of the substrate, and the second angle is an acute angle. Similarly, the output direction of the second airflow output through the guide outlet should also satisfy that the second angle is greater than the first angle.

[0064] It is understandable that in this embodiment, the direction of the second airflow output can be controlled by controlling the structure of the guide plate 1222 or the opening direction of the guide outlet. It is possible to avoid adjusting the overall installation direction of the air supply unit 1221, thereby achieving the purpose of flexible adjustment. At the same time, since the air supply unit 1221 directly outputs the second airflow, there is also a defect that the second airflow is relatively dispersed. The guide chamber and the guide outlet formed by the guide plate 1222 can effectively converge the airflow, increase the wind speed of the second airflow output, further increase the width of the drying action area and the shear stress on the water film on the substrate, and further improve the drying effect.

[0065] It should be noted that the guide plate 1222 provided in this embodiment can be buckled below the air outlet of the air supply unit 1221 by means of a snap connection or a screw connection. Therefore, the guide plate 1222 can also protect the air supply unit 1221, preventing the air supply unit 1221 from being eroded by the circumferential airflow carrying water vapor during long-term operation, thereby increasing the service life of the air supply unit 1221.

[0066] In some embodiments, the high-density cleaning equipment 10 of this embodiment may further include an exhaust component 123, such as Fig.11 shown.

[0067] The exhaust assembly 123 is arranged outside the cleaning channel 100, and part of the pipeline structure of the exhaust assembly 123 is connected to the chamber of the drying section 120 to discharge the airflow generated after the substrate is dried in the drying section 120. The exhaust assembly 123 is arranged to effectively increase the exhaust capacity of the drying section 120. During the drying process, the first airflow, the second airflow, and the water vapor passing through the drying action area can be uniformly discharged to prevent the retained water vapor from generating a water film or invisible water vapor on the substrate of the drying section 120 again, thereby further improving the drying capacity of the drying section 120.

[0068] For the exhaust component 123, the side wall of the drying section 120 of the cleaning channel 100 may be provided with at least a first connection hole 101 and a second connection hole 102, and the exhaust component 123 is connected to the drying section 120 of the cleaning channel 100 through the first connection hole 101 and the second connection hole 102; the first connection hole 101 and the second connection hole 102 are respectively located on the two side walls along the conveying direction and perpendicular to the conveying plane; the first connection hole 101 and the second connection hole 102 are both located on the side facing the front of the substrate, that is, on the upper side of the side wall, and the front of the substrate is the side used to manufacture the film layer. In this way, the exhaust component 123 can exhaust the water vapor and airflow on the front of the substrate to a limited extent, ensuring the drying effect of the front of the substrate. The first connection hole 101 and the second connection hole 102 can be one or more, without limitation.

[0069] In addition, a group of connection holes or multiple groups of connection holes can also be set on the lower side of the two side walls to discharge the airflow and water vapor on the back side of the substrate to prevent the airflow and water vapor on the back side of the substrate from flowing around to the front side of the substrate and affecting the drying effect; the two side walls are the side walls where the first connection hole 101 and the second connection hole 102 are set.

[0070] The exhaust assembly 123 can be implemented by an exhaust pipe 1231 and an exhaust pump 1232. By setting the exhaust pipe 1231 to be connected to the first connection hole 101 and the second connection hole 102, a section of the exhaust pipe 1231 is exhausted by providing negative pressure through the exhaust pump 1232. During the operation of the exhaust pump 1232, the drying section 120 of the cleaning channel 100 generates negative pressure, thereby achieving the exhaust function of the drying section 120. In addition, other devices that can continuously generate negative pressure in the drying section 120 and inhale air can also be used to achieve this, without limitation.

[0071] In this embodiment, by adding a guide component 122 to the high-density cleaning equipment 10 and replacing the ordinary flushing component with a liquid-cutting cleaning component, actual mass production tests were conducted and it was found that the defect rate was significantly reduced by more than 60% compared with before the improvement, reaching 67.9%.

[0072] In this embodiment, the drying component 121 may include a strip-shaped air knife drying component 121. Based on the above improvements or partial improvements, the original drying component 121 is further debugged and improved.

[0073] In some implementations, the setting angle of the air knife drying component 121 is tilted so that the angle between the air knife drying component 121 and the conveying direction (such as Fig.12 The angle ∠α shown in FIG. 1 is in the range of 72° to 76°; that is, the angle between the air knife drying assembly 121 and the rotating shaft (such as Fig.12 The angle ∠β) shown in the figure is in the range of 14° to 18°, for example, it can be 15°, 16°, 17°, etc. After the tilt adjustment, during the process of the air knife drying assembly 121 drying the substrate, the water film on the substrate can be prevented from being concentrated or accumulated to a certain extent, thereby reducing the drying efficiency. Therefore, by adjusting the angle of the air knife drying assembly 121, the occurrence rate of Open-type defects can also be reduced to a certain extent.

[0074] In some implementations, the air knife drying component 121 can also be set as a double air knife drying component 121, and the double air knife drying component 121 is used to simultaneously output two parallel first airflows. When the air knife drying component 121 is set as a double air knife drying component 121, the angle and direction of the output first airflow can refer to the aforementioned setting of the air knife drying component 121. By setting the double air knife drying component 121, the flow rate of the first airflow used for drying is increased, the shear stress on water stains in the drying action area is increased, the drying efficiency is improved, and the incidence of Open-type defects is reduced.

[0075] In some implementations, the angle at which the air knife drying component 121 outputs the first airflow can also be optimized and adjusted. In the process of changing the setting angle of the air knife drying component 121, the gap (Gap value) between the air knife drying component 121 and the substrate will also change. In this embodiment, the range of the first angle can be set to 30° to 35°. Furthermore, the gap between the air knife drying component 121 and the substrate can also be set to the minimum value within the safe range, so that the first airflow can be guaranteed to have a good shear stress on the water stains of the substrate. It can be understood that when a double air knife drying component 121 is used and the first angle is small, the shear stress of the first airflow blown out from the outer air outlet of the double air knife drying component 121 on the surface of the substrate is greater, but the gap between the inner air outlet of the double air knife drying component 121 and the substrate will also become larger, and the shear stress of the first airflow blown out from the inner air outlet will become smaller; therefore, in order to ensure a better balance, the range of the first angle can be limited to 31° to 33°, for example, 32°, to maintain a good balance between the inner air outlet and the outer air outlet.

[0076] In some implementations, the air flow rate of the air knife drying assembly 121 is increased to 3000 lpm to 6000 lpm, which can also increase the shear stress of the drying action area on the water stains to a certain extent. Specifically, it can be 4000 lpm to 5000 lpm, which can achieve a better coupling state of power consumption, exhaust and drying effect.

[0077] See also Fig.13 In the present invention, by conducting mass production verification on each of the above embodiments, the improvement effect of the Open type defect rate obtained by different improvement methods can be determined. Among them, the equipment improvements are:

[0078] Condition 1: Original condition; that is, modified original equipment.

[0079] Condition 2: AK parameter debugging; that is, adjusting the placement angle of the air knife drying assembly 121, the output angle of the first airflow, the airflow volume of the output first airflow, and the gap between the air knife drying assembly 121 and the substrate;

[0080] Condition 3: The substrate cleaning and film forming processes are performed separately; that is, the high-density cleaning equipment 10 and the film forming equipment are independently set up;

[0081] Condition 4: Use the Out gas process; that is, use the Out gas function in the film forming equipment for drying;

[0082] Condition 5: Adding FFU equipment; that is, adding a flow guide component 122;

[0083] Condition 6: Add FFU equipment, guide plate 1222 and use water cutting; that is, add FFU equipment, set guide plate 1222 under the FFU equipment, and adjust the second water washing component 113 to a liquid cutting cleaning component.

[0084] It can be seen that the solution of adding the guide assembly 122 to the high-density cleaning equipment 10 has a significant improvement effect; and, compared with the Out gas solution, the effect is better, no process steps are added, and the equipment cost and process cost are lower. Therefore, on the basis of adding the guide assembly 122, the guide plate 1222 and the exhaust assembly 123 are further added, and the parameters of the air knife drying assembly 121 are adjusted to achieve a better drying effect.

[0085] In summary, a high-density cleaning device 10 provided in an embodiment of the present invention is provided with a cleaning channel 100 for conveying substrates; the cleaning channel 100 includes a liquid washing section 110 and a drying section 120 connected in sequence along the conveying direction; a liquid washing component is provided in the liquid washing section 110, a drying component 121 is provided in the drying section 120, and a flow guide component 122 is added to the drying section 120. Among them, the drying component 121 is configured to output a first airflow for drying the substrate; the output direction of the first airflow forms a first angle with the conveying plane of the substrate, and the first angle is an acute angle; the first airflow forms a drying action zone on the substrate to dry the liquid generated by the liquid washing component on the surface of the substrate; the flow guide component 122 is configured to output a second airflow for guiding the direction of the first airflow; the second airflow intersects with the first airflow to increase the width of the drying action zone and / or the shear stress of the airflow in the drying action zone on the liquid on the surface of the substrate, thereby enhancing the drying efficiency on the substrate surface and reducing the incidence of Open-type defects.

[0086] In the above description, the technical details of the patterning and etching of each layer are not described in detail. However, those skilled in the art should understand that various technical means can be used to form layers, regions, etc. of desired shapes. In addition, in order to form the same structure, those skilled in the art can also design methods that are not completely the same as the methods described above. In addition, although the various embodiments are described above separately, this does not mean that the measures in the various embodiments cannot be used in combination to advantage.

[0087] Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described, those skilled in the art may make other changes and modifications to these embodiments once they have learned the basic creative concept. Therefore, the appended claims are intended to be interpreted as including the preferred embodiments and all changes and modifications that fall within the scope of the present invention.

[0088] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present invention fall within the scope of the claims of the present invention and their equivalents, the present invention is also intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A high-density cleaning device, characterized in that: A cleaning channel for conveying substrates is provided; the cleaning channel includes a liquid washing section and a drying section connected in sequence along the conveying direction; a liquid washing component is provided in the liquid washing section, and a drying component and a flow guide component are provided in the drying section; The drying component is configured to output a first airflow for drying the substrate; an output direction of the first airflow forms a first angle with a conveying plane of the substrate, and the first angle is an acute angle; the first airflow forms a drying action area on the substrate to dry the liquid generated by the liquid washing component on the surface of the substrate; The flow guide component is configured to output a second airflow for guiding the direction of the first airflow; the second airflow intersects with the first airflow to increase the width of the drying action zone and / or the shear stress of the airflow in the drying action zone on the liquid on the substrate surface.

2. The high-density cleaning equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The air guide component includes an air supply unit; the air supply unit is used to generate the second airflow.

3. The high-density cleaning equipment according to claim 2, characterized in that: The deflector assembly further includes a deflector plate; the deflector plate is disposed below the air outlet of the air supply unit and forms a deflector chamber having a deflector outlet between the deflector plate and the air supply unit; The guide chamber is used to gather the second airflow to output from the guide outlet, and a second angle is formed between a direction in which the second airflow is output from the guide outlet and a conveying plane of the substrate, and the second angle is an acute angle.

4. The high-density cleaning equipment according to claim 3, characterized in that: The second angle is greater than the first angle.

5. The high-density cleaning equipment according to claim 2, characterized in that: The flow rate of the second airflow output by the air supply unit is 0.38 m / s to 0.52 m / s.

6. The high-density cleaning equipment according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: Also includes: Exhaust components; The exhaust assembly is disposed outside the cleaning channel, and the exhaust assembly is communicated with a drying section of the cleaning channel to exhaust the airflow generated after the substrate is dried in the drying section.

7. The high-density cleaning equipment according to claim 6, characterized in that: The side wall of the drying section of the cleaning channel is provided with at least a first connecting hole and a second connecting hole, and the exhaust assembly is connected with the drying section of the cleaning channel through the first connecting hole and the second connecting hole; the first connecting hole and the second connecting hole are respectively located on two side walls along the conveying direction and perpendicular to the conveying plane, and the first connecting hole and the second connecting hole are both located on the side facing the front side of the substrate, and the front side of the substrate is the side used to manufacture the film layer.

8. The high-density cleaning equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The liquid washing component includes a liquid cutting cleaning component and a high-pressure two-fluid liquid washing component; the liquid cutting cleaning component is arranged between the guide component and the high-pressure two-fluid liquid washing component.

9. The high-density cleaning equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The drying component comprises a strip-shaped air knife drying component; the angle between the air knife drying component and the conveying direction is in the range of 72° to 76°.

10. The high-density cleaning equipment according to claim 9, characterized in that: The air knife drying component is a double air knife drying component, and the double air knife drying component is used to simultaneously output two parallel first airflows.

11. The high-density cleaning equipment according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that: The first angle ranges from 31° to 33°.

Citation Information

Patent Citations

  • Air knife and drying device with same

    CN109373743A

  • Substrate treatment device

    CN1840997A