A dust removal device

Abstract

A dust removal device includes an air blowing mechanism and a dust extraction mechanism. The air blowing mechanism is connected to an air source and is disposed on a mask mounting mechanism or a support platform. The mask mounting mechanism and the support platform are arranged opposite each other, with a slit between the mask fixed to the mask mounting mechanism and the sheet fixed to the support platform. The dust extraction mechanism is connected to a dust extraction device and is disposed on the opposite side of the air blowing mechanism. The air blowing mechanism includes an air blowing port, which is opened on the surface of the mask mounting mechanism or the support platform and blows air towards the slit between the mask and the support platform. The blown air volume can be completely used for dust removal of the mask without any loss of gas flow. In addition, the fluid system of this dust removal device has low flow resistance, and a large air flow can be obtained under the existing plant air supply pressure, thereby achieving effective dust removal of the mask.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of laser mask processing technology, and in particular to a dust removal device for contaminants generated during laser processing. Background Technology

[0002] In the laser processing of semiconductor devices and other products, dirt and contamination are generated on the photomasks used for image processing. To ensure the cleanliness of the photomasks, dust removal is usually achieved by air jetting, such as the photomask dust removal device disclosed in CN103995434A. This device includes a photomask fixing mechanism located above the interior of a sealed cavity. It includes a suspension bracket that horizontally holds the photomask, and a nitrogen nozzle located below the suspension bracket. Nitrogen gas is sprayed from the nitrogen nozzle onto the lower surface of the photomask to clean and blow away surface contaminants. The cleaned contaminants are discharged from the cavity through the exhaust pipe. The photomask fixing mechanism also includes a rotating shaft. The upper part of the rotating shaft is rotatably connected to the outer shell of the sealed cavity, and the lower part of the rotating shaft is connected to the suspension bracket. The rotating shaft drives the photomask held by it to rotate horizontally around the axis of the rotating shaft through the suspension bracket, thereby quickly and efficiently removing dust from the surface of the photomask. However, the above method requires sufficient space for setup and an additional rotating mechanism, making it unsuitable for situations where the gap between the mask and sheet 3 is small. The dust removal device for laser processing equipment disclosed in CN215747087U has an external blowing structure on one side of the processing table and an external suction structure on the other side. When this structure is applied to situations where the gap between the mask and sheet 3 is small, the flow resistance in the gap is high, making it difficult for the blowing airflow to enter the gap. Therefore, it is difficult to form a high-velocity, high-flow-rate air curtain in the gap, resulting in poor dust removal performance. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The purpose of this application is to provide a mask dust removal device for use when the gap between the mask and the sheet is small.

[0004] To achieve the above objectives, this application adopts the following technical solution: a dust removal device, comprising an air blowing mechanism and a dust extraction mechanism, wherein the air blowing mechanism is connected to an air source and is disposed on a mask mounting mechanism or a support platform, the mask mounting mechanism and the support platform are disposed opposite to each other, and a slit is formed between the mask fixed to the mask mounting mechanism and the sheet fixed to the support platform; the dust extraction mechanism is connected to a dust extraction device and is disposed on the opposite side of the air blowing mechanism; the air blowing mechanism includes an air blowing port, the air blowing port being opened on the surface of the mask mounting mechanism or the support platform, blowing air toward the slit between the mask and the support platform; the dust removal device further includes a sealing mechanism, the sealing mechanism surrounding the air blowing port of the air blowing mechanism and the dust extraction port of the dust extraction mechanism, as well as the gas flow channel between the air blowing port and the dust extraction port.

[0005] In one embodiment, the air outlet is positioned on the opposite side of the dust extraction mechanism, around the sheet or mask, according to the shape of the sheet or mask, avoiding the fixed position of the sheet or mask.

[0006] In one embodiment, the air inlet is integrally formed, or multiple air inlets are arranged according to the shape of the sheet or mask.

[0007] In one embodiment, when the sheet is circular, the air inlet is symmetrically designed with the middle position of the edge of the sheet as the opening area is the largest at the middle position and gradually decreases towards both sides.

[0008] In one embodiment, the air blowing mechanism further includes an air blowing channel connected to the air blowing port, and an inclined guide channel connected to the air blowing port is provided in the air blowing channel.

[0009] In one embodiment, the inclined guide channel includes a first guide surface and a second guide surface arranged opposite to each other, the first guide surface and the second guide surface being arranged parallel to each other, and the inclination angle of the first guide surface relative to the support platform being greater than 0 degrees and less than or equal to 40 degrees.

[0010] In one embodiment, the sealing mechanism includes a sealing groove and a sealing strip fixed to the sealing groove. In another embodiment, the sealing mechanism includes a first sealing mechanism and a second sealing mechanism. The first sealing mechanism includes a first annular groove and a first sealing strip fixed to the first annular groove. The second sealing mechanism includes a second annular groove and a second sealing strip fixed to the second annular groove. The first sealing mechanism is disposed between the support platform and the photomask, and the second sealing mechanism is disposed between the support platform and the photomask mounting mechanism.

[0011] In one embodiment, the first sealing mechanism and the second sealing mechanism are connected by an air guide channel. The air guide channel includes a first air guide port, a second air guide port, and an air passage connecting the first air guide port and the second air guide port. The sealing groove includes a first annular groove and a second annular groove. The first annular groove surrounds the air blowing port and the first air guide port, and the second annular groove surrounds the second air guide port and the dust extraction port. The sealing strip corresponding to the sealing groove includes a first sealing strip fixed to the first sealing groove and a second sealing strip fixed to the second sealing groove.

[0012] In one embodiment, the support platform has a moving mechanism, and when the moving mechanism moves the support platform, the air blowing mechanism is continuously activated. Compared with existing technologies, the technical solution of this application, by installing the air inlet on the support platform or the mask mounting mechanism, located in the slit between the mask mounting mechanism and the support platform, allows compressed air to be directly blown into the slit between the mask and the support platform with a larger diameter. The blown airflow can completely act on the mask for dust removal. Due to its large air jet diameter design and optimized flow channel resistance, this dust removal structure results in low resistance of the entire dust removal fluid system, thereby achieving a larger dust removal flow rate and velocity under existing air supply pressure conditions, and achieving better dust removal effect. Attached Figure Description

[0013] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a dust removal device.

[0014] Figure 2 This is a top view schematic diagram of the first embodiment of the support platform.

[0015] Figure 3 This is a top view schematic diagram of the second embodiment of the support platform.

[0016] Figure 4 This is a top view schematic diagram of the third embodiment of the support platform.

[0017] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the sealing mechanism of a dust removal device.

[0018] Figure 6 This is a top view schematic diagram of the fourth embodiment of the support platform.

[0019] Figure 7 This is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the fourth embodiment of the support platform.

[0020] Figure 8 This is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of another embodiment of the dust removal mechanism.

[0021] Figure 9 This is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of another embodiment of the dust removal mechanism.

[0022] Figure 10 A schematic diagram of the guide channel of an embodiment of a dust removal mechanism. Detailed Implementation

[0023] To make the technical solutions of this application clearer, the embodiments of this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the specific descriptions of the implementation methods are only for teaching those skilled in the art how to implement this application, and are not intended to exhaustively describe all feasible methods of this application, nor are they intended to limit the specific scope of implementation of this application. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort should fall within the scope of protection of this application.

[0024] In the description of this application, it should be understood that the terms "center," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," and "outer," etc., indicating the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, are used only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed, installed, or operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation on this application. In the description of this application, unless otherwise stated, "a plurality of" means two or more.

[0025] like Figure 1-10 The illustrated embodiment shows a laser processing system comprising a mask mounting mechanism 1 and a support platform 2. The mask mounting mechanism is used to fix and mount a mask 10, and the support platform 2 is used to hold a sheet 3. The mask mounting mechanism 1 and the support platform 2 are arranged opposite to each other, and a slit 30 is provided between the mask 10 and the sheet 3. The laser processing system also includes a dust removal device, which includes an air blowing mechanism and a dust extraction mechanism. The air blowing mechanism is disposed on the mask mounting mechanism 1 and / or the support platform 2 and is connected to an air source. The dust extraction mechanism is disposed on the opposite side of the air blowing mechanism and is connected to a dust extraction device.

[0026] The following detailed description uses the example of the air blowing mechanism being installed on the support platform 2 as an example. Figure 1-9 As shown, the air blowing mechanism includes an air inlet 20 disposed on the support platform 2, an air blowing port 21 formed on the surface of the support platform 2, and a conveying air channel 22 connecting the air inlet 20 and the air blowing port 21. The air inlet 20 is connected to an air source, and the air blowing port 21 blows air toward the slit 30 between the mask 10 and the sheet 3 to remove contaminants generated on the sheet 3 during laser processing, prevent contaminants from adhering to the mask 10, and discharge the contaminants through a dust extraction mechanism.

[0027] The dust extraction mechanism includes a dust extraction port 40 and a dust extraction pipe 41 communicating with the dust extraction port 40. The dust extraction port 40 faces the air blowing mechanism, and the dust extraction pipe 41 is connected to a dust extraction device to discharge the pollutants blown away by the air blowing mechanism. The air extraction mechanism is disposed on the mask mounting mechanism 1 or the support platform 2, or the air extraction mechanism is externally disposed on the mask mounting mechanism 1 and the support platform 2. The dust extraction port 40 of the air extraction mechanism is connected to the corresponding area of ​​the slit to discharge the pollutants blown away by the air blowing mechanism.

[0028] The air outlet 21 is located in the outer area of ​​the support platform 2, on the opposite side of the dust extraction mechanism, avoiding the fixing area of ​​the sheet 3. The air outlet 21 is arranged around one side of the sheet 3 according to its shape, so that it can cover the processing area of ​​the photomask. When the air blowing mechanism is installed on the photomask mounting mechanism, the air outlet is located on the periphery of the photomask mounting mechanism, on the opposite side of the dust extraction mechanism, avoiding the fixing area of ​​the photomask.

[0029] The conveying duct 22 is equipped with an inclined air guide channel 23 that connects to the air blowing port 21. This reduces the resistance of airflow into the gap between the mask and the sheet 3, ensuring that more airflow enters the gap under the same air supply pressure, cleaning the sheet 3 and the mask, and ensuring the cleanliness of the sheet 3 and the mask. The air guide channel includes a first guide surface 230 and a second guide surface 231 arranged opposite to each other. The first guide surface and the second guide surface are arranged parallel to each other. The inclination angle A of the first guide surface 230 relative to the support platform is greater than 0 degrees and less than or equal to 40 degrees. The inclination angle B of the second guide surface relative to the support platform is complementary to the inclination angle A. Even if the support platform 2 is moved out from under the mask, due to the presence of the inclined air guide channel 23, the airflow will generate a wall adhesion effect after flowing out from the air blowing port 21, thereby achieving continuous cleaning of the sheet 3 and the support platform 2, ensuring the cleanliness of the sheet 3 and the support platform 2.

[0030] The air inlet 21 is disposed on the support platform 2 or the mask mounting mechanism 1, located in the slit 30 between the mask and the support platform. It directly blows compressed air into the slit between the mask and the support platform 2, ensuring that the blown airflow can completely act on the mask for dust removal without any loss of gas flow, thus achieving effective dust removal of the mask. Furthermore, the nozzle diameter is not limited by the size of the slit between the mask and the support platform and can be designed according to requirements.

[0031] The air inlet is designed according to the edge shape of the sheet 3. When the sheet 3 is square, the air inlet is linearly arranged along the edge of the sheet 3, such as... Figure 2 The air inlet shown can be integrally formed on the edge of sheet 3, or as shown in the figure. Figure 4 As shown, multiple air inlets are provided, linearly arranged along the edge of sheet 3. When sheet 3 is circular, as... Figure 3 The air inlet shown can also be integrally formed into an arc shape along the edge of sheet 3, or as shown in the figure. Figure 5As shown, multiple air inlets 21 are provided, arranged in an arc shape along the edge of the sheet 3. Compared to a one-piece air inlet, the air inlets restrict the gas flow direction, resulting in more uniform airflow. Having multiple air inlets reduces the spacing between adjacent inlets, increasing the jet area. For a circular sheet 3, the arc shape of the air inlets 21 along the edge of the sheet 3 reduces the distance between the airflow from the air inlet 21 and the circular sheet 3, thereby reducing flow resistance. When multiple air inlets 21 are provided, their shapes can be square, circular, trapezoidal, or other shapes.

[0032] For the circular sheet 3, the longest path from upstream to downstream is in the middle, gradually decreasing towards both sides. This results in the airflow resistance being the highest in the middle and gradually decreasing towards both sides. To ensure uniform airflow within the gap between sheet 3 and the mask, and to counteract the influence of the flow resistance distribution on the flow distribution within the gap, the air inlets are designed symmetrically around the middle of the edge of sheet 3, with the largest opening area in the middle, gradually decreasing towards both sides. For the arc-shaped air inlets 21 that are easy to integrate along sheet 3, the air inlet 21 in the middle has the largest opening width, gradually decreasing towards both sides. For multiple air inlets 21 arc-shaped along the edge of sheet 3, the air inlet 21 in the middle has the largest opening area, gradually decreasing towards both sides. This ensures that the jet flow distribution from the air inlets 21 is high in the middle and gradually decreases towards both sides, counteracting the influence of the flow resistance distribution on the flow distribution within the gap, thus ensuring uniform airflow within the gap between sheet 3 and the mask. Both ends of the blowing duct are provided with air inlet ports. The blowing channel has the same axis of symmetry as the blowing port and is symmetrically arranged. The two ends of the blowing channel are the same size as the air inlet ports, and gradually increase smoothly towards the middle to reduce flow resistance, increase flow rate, and improve dust removal effect.

[0033] To meet different blowing needs, the air inlet 21 can also be set with multiple rows.

[0034] To increase airflow and adapt to the narrow gap between the mask and the workpiece for better dust removal, the mask dust removal mechanism also includes a sealing mechanism 4. The sealing mechanism 4 surrounds the air blowing port, the dust removal port, and the gas flow channel between the air blowing port and the dust removal port. It includes a sealing groove and a sealing strip. The sealing groove is formed in the mask mounting mechanism 1 or the support platform 2. The sealing strip is fixed to the sealing groove and fills the gap between the mask mounting mechanism 1 and the support platform 2.

[0035] If there is an installation gap between the mask and the mask mounting mechanism, the sealing mechanism will not be able to leak air. A first sealing mechanism and a second sealing mechanism can be used for sealing. The first sealing mechanism and the second sealing mechanism are connected by an air guide channel 42.

[0036] The first sealing mechanism includes a first annular groove 43 and a first sealing strip 45 fixed to the first annular groove; the second sealing mechanism includes a second annular groove 44 and a second sealing strip 46 fixed to the second annular groove. The first sealing mechanism is disposed between the support platform and the photomask, such that the photomask and the support platform form a sealed space; the second sealing mechanism is disposed between the support platform and the photomask mounting mechanism, such that the photomask mounting mechanism and the support platform form a sealed space; the two sealed spaces are connected through the air guide channel 42.

[0037] The air guiding channel 42 includes a first air guide port 420, a second air guide port 421, and an air passage 422 connecting the first air guide port 420 and the second air guide port 421. The air passage 422 is arc-shaped and connects the first air guide port 420 and the second air guide port 421. The second air guide port 421 and the dust extraction port 40 are arranged opposite to each other. A spacer bridge 423 is provided between the first air guide port 420 and the second air guide port 421. The gap between the first sealing mechanism and the second sealing mechanism on the spacer bridge corresponds to the mask mounting gap. The first annular groove 43 surrounds the air blowing port 21 and the first air guide port 420, and the second annular groove 44 surrounds the second air guide port 420 and the dust extraction port 40. Gas is ejected from the air blowing port, passes through the slit between the mask and the support platform, enters the second sealed space through the air guiding channel, and is discharged through the dust extraction pipe.

[0038] The design of the first sealing mechanism, the second sealing mechanism, and the air guide channel makes it applicable to various mask mounting mechanisms and support platforms, resulting in a better sealing effect.

[0039] With the sealing mechanism in place, the blowing and dust extraction mechanisms perform dust removal operations in a sealed environment, increasing the air velocity under the same supply pressure. This allows for the delivery of a larger volume of dust-removing airflow into the gap at a lower supply pressure.

[0040] When the air guide channel is located on the mask mounting mechanism 1, the dust extraction mechanism is set on the support platform 2, and the dust extraction port 40 of the dust extraction mechanism is arranged opposite to the second air guide port 421; when the air guide channel is located on the support platform 2, the dust extraction mechanism is set on the mask mounting mechanism 1, and the dust extraction port 40 of the dust extraction mechanism is arranged opposite to the second air guide port 431.

[0041] The support platform includes a lifting mechanism, which drives the support platform 2 to move up and down relative to the mask mounting mechanism 1, so that the support platform 2 and the mask mounting mechanism 1 squeeze the sealing strip to achieve a sealing effect, or release the sealing strip to release the seal.

[0042] Finally, it should be noted that due to the limitations of written expression, the above description is merely exemplary and not exhaustive. This application is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Without departing from the scope and spirit of the above examples, those skilled in the art can make several improvements and modifications, and these improvements and modifications should also be considered within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the claims.

Claims

1. A dust removal device, comprising an air blowing mechanism and a dust extraction mechanism, characterized in that... The blowing mechanism is connected to an air source and is disposed on a mask mounting mechanism or a support platform. The mask mounting mechanism and the support platform are disposed opposite to each other, and a slit is formed between the mask fixed to the mask mounting mechanism and the sheet fixed to the support platform. The dust extraction mechanism is connected to a dust extraction device and is disposed on the opposite side of the blowing mechanism. The blowing mechanism includes an air outlet, which is opened on the surface of the mask mounting mechanism or the support platform and blows air toward the slit between the mask and the support platform. The dust extraction device also includes a sealing mechanism, which surrounds the air outlet of the blowing mechanism and the dust extraction port of the dust extraction mechanism, as well as the gas flow channel between the air outlet and the dust extraction port.

2. The dust removal device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The air inlet is positioned on the opposite side of the dust extraction mechanism, around the sheet or mask, according to the shape of the sheet or mask, avoiding the fixed position of the sheet or mask.

3. The dust removal device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The air inlet is integrally formed, or multiple air inlets are arranged according to the shape of the sheet or mask.

4. The dust removal device according to claim 2, characterized in that: When the sheet is circular, the air inlet is symmetrically designed with the middle position of the edge of the sheet as the opening area is the largest at the middle position and gradually decreases towards both sides.

5. The dust removal device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The air blowing mechanism also includes an air blowing channel that is connected to the air blowing port, and an inclined guide channel connected to the air blowing port is provided in the air blowing channel.

6. The dust removal device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The inclined guide channel includes a first guide surface and a second guide surface arranged opposite to each other. The first guide surface and the second guide surface are arranged parallel to each other, and the inclination angle of the first guide surface relative to the support platform is greater than 0 degrees and less than or equal to 40 degrees.

7. The dust removal device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The sealing mechanism includes a sealing groove and a sealing strip fixed to the sealing groove.

8. The dust removal device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The sealing mechanism includes a first sealing mechanism and a second sealing mechanism. The first sealing mechanism includes a first annular groove and a first sealing strip fixed to the first annular groove. The second sealing mechanism includes a second annular groove and a second sealing strip fixed to the second annular groove. The first sealing mechanism is disposed between the support platform and the photomask, and the second sealing mechanism is disposed between the support platform and the photomask mounting mechanism.

9. The dust removal device according to claim 8, characterized in that: The first sealing mechanism and the second sealing mechanism are connected by an air guide channel. The air guide channel includes a first air guide port, a second air guide port, and an air passage connecting the first air guide port and the second air guide port. The first annular groove surrounds the air blowing port and the first air guide port, and the second annular groove surrounds the second air guide port and the dust extraction port.

10. The dust removal device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The support platform has a moving mechanism, and when the moving mechanism moves the support platform, the air blowing mechanism is continuously activated.

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