Disk-shaped substrate manufacturing apparatus and method for manufacturing disk-shaped substrate

Abstract

To provide a technique for reliably peeling a carrier from an upper surface plate after polishing or grinding. [Solution] A manufacturing apparatus 10 for disc-shaped substrates comprises a lower platen 12 on which a carrier 52 storing a disc-shaped substrate 50 is placed, an upper platen 14 arranged above the lower platen 12 so as to be able to move close to or away from the lower platen 12 and having a nozzle hole 21 facing the disc-shaped substrate 50 and a through hole 22 facing the carrier 52, a polishing liquid supply section 30 (processing liquid supply section) which supplies a polishing liquid or grinding liquid between the lower platen 12 and the upper platen 14, an air supply system 41 which supplies peeling air 71 to the nozzle hole 21 to be sprayed toward the disc-shaped substrate 50, a pressing member 82 arranged inside the through hole 22 and which presses down the carrier 52 from above when the upper platen 14 moves away from the lower platen 12, and a drive mechanism 80 which lowers the pressing member 82 to a position where the pressing member 82 contacts the carrier 52.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a disk-shaped substrate manufacturing apparatus and a disk-shaped substrate manufacturing method. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, in the manufacturing process of a disk-shaped substrate used as a substrate for a magnetic disk, it is known that a grinding process for grinding the disk-shaped substrate using a grinding device and a polishing process for polishing the surface of the disk-shaped substrate using a polishing device are performed. For example, in the polishing device disclosed in Patent Document 1, a lower surface plate and an upper surface plate are arranged opposite each other, and the disk-shaped substrate is arranged between the lower surface plate and the upper surface plate in a state of being housed in a housing hole of a carrier. In Patent Document 1, the surface of the disk-shaped substrate is polished by rotating the disk-shaped substrate while supplying a polishing liquid between the lower surface plate and the upper surface plate in a state where the lower surface plate and the upper surface plate are in contact with the disk-shaped substrate.

[0003] In a polishing apparatus, after a disk-shaped substrate is polished, the polished disk-shaped substrate and the carrier are adsorbed to an upper platen via the polishing liquid, and therefore the disk-shaped substrate and the carrier may not be separated from the upper platen even when the upper platen is raised. To solve this problem, in Patent Document 1, separation air is sprayed between the upper platen and the disk-shaped substrate, and between the upper platen and the carrier, to separate both the disk-shaped substrate and the carrier from the upper platen. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2005-230978 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Here, the thickness of the carrier located around the disk-shaped substrate is usually thinner than the thickness of the disk-shaped substrate. Therefore, when the carrier containing the disk-shaped substrate is placed on the lower surface plate, the height of the disk-shaped substrate becomes higher than the height of the carrier. In other words, between the lower surface plate and the upper surface plate, the spatial volume per unit area of ​​the carrier in the upper part of the carrier is larger than the spatial volume per unit area of ​​the disk-shaped substrate in the upper part of the disk-shaped substrate.

[0006] For this reason, in Patent Document 1, the stripping gas supplied to the upper side of the disk-shaped substrate is likely to be deflected to the upper side of the carrier, which has a large spatial volume per unit area. In other words, the stripping gas flows to the upper side of the carrier, which has a smaller pressure loss than the upper side of the disk-shaped substrate. As a result, in the polishing device of Patent Document 1, the stripping air flows into the gap between the carrier and the substrate that occurs when the upper platen is lowered. For this reason, during the stripping process after polishing, even if the disk-shaped substrate is stripped, the carrier does not sufficiently strip from the upper platen with only the stripping air, and as a result, the carrier adsorbed to the upper platen may float as the upper platen rises. If the disk-shaped substrate gets under the floating carrier, it becomes difficult to transport the disk-shaped substrate after polishing. In addition, even in a grinding device that uses a grinding fluid, the grinding fluid accumulated in the upper part of the disk-shaped substrate is not sufficiently discharged, which similarly causes the problem that it is difficult to strip both the disk-shaped substrate and the carrier from the upper platen after grinding.

[0007] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and provides a novel technique for reliably separating a carrier from an upper platen after polishing or grinding. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] Specific means for achieving the above object are as follows: <1> a lower surface plate on which a carrier for accommodating a disk-shaped substrate is placed; an upper surface plate disposed above the lower surface plate so as to be capable of approaching or being separated from the lower surface plate, the upper surface plate having a nozzle hole facing the disk-shaped substrate and a through hole facing the carrier; a processing liquid supply unit for supplying a polishing liquid or a grinding liquid between the lower platen and the upper platen; an air supply system that supplies the nozzle hole with separation air to be sprayed toward the disk-shaped substrate; a pressing member disposed inside the through hole and configured to press the carrier from above when the upper platen is separated from the lower platen; a drive mechanism for lowering the pressing member to a position where the pressing member contacts the carrier; An apparatus for manufacturing a disk-shaped substrate comprising:

[0009] <2> The drive mechanism is an air cylinder. <1> The manufacturing apparatus for the disk-shaped substrate according to claim 1 .

[0010] <3> The air supply system supplies the stripping air to the air cylinder as driving air. <2> The manufacturing apparatus for the disk-shaped substrate according to claim 1 .

[0011] <4> The pressing member has an ejection portion that ejects air toward the deposit in the through hole. <1> ~ <3> 13. The apparatus for manufacturing a disk-shaped substrate according to claim 12 .

[0012] <5> a step of sandwiching a disk-shaped substrate between a lower surface plate and an upper surface plate, and polishing or grinding the disk-shaped substrate while supplying a polishing liquid or a grinding liquid between the lower surface plate and the upper surface plate; A step of jetting peeling air toward the disk-shaped substrate; a step of lowering a pressing member to a position where the pressing member contacts a carrier that stores the disk-shaped substrate; a step of pressing the carrier from above with the pressing member when the upper platen is separated from the lower platen; A method for manufacturing a disk-shaped substrate, comprising: Effect of the Invention

[0013] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a technique for reliably separating a carrier from an upper platen after polishing or grinding. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating a disk-shaped substrate manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 2] 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 2-2 in FIG. [Diagram 3] 5A to 5C are cross-sectional views illustrating a state in which a pressing portion presses a carrier in the method for manufacturing a disk-shaped substrate according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] 10 is an enlarged cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which an ejection portion of a pressing member ejects air toward an adherent object in the method for manufacturing a disk-shaped substrate according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Diagram 5] 10 is an enlarged cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which adherent matter falls off due to contact with a pressing member in the method for manufacturing a disk-shaped substrate according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0015] The following describes embodiments of the present disclosure. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the following embodiments. When an embodiment is described with reference to the drawings in the present disclosure, the configuration of the embodiment is not limited to the configuration shown in the drawings. In addition, the size of the members in each drawing is conceptual, and the relative relationship between the sizes of the members is not limited to this.

[0016] In the following description of the drawings, similar parts are given similar symbols. However, the drawings are schematic, and the relationship between thickness and planar dimensions, and the ratio of thickness of each device and each member are different from the actual ones. Therefore, the specific thickness and dimensions should be determined by taking into consideration the following explanation. In addition, there are parts in which the relationship and ratio of dimensions differ between the drawings. In addition, unless otherwise specified in the specification, the number of each component of the present disclosure is not limited to one, and there may be more than one.

[0017] In the following embodiments, the components (including element steps, etc.) are not essential unless otherwise specified. The same applies to the numerical values ​​and their ranges, and do not limit the present disclosure. In the present disclosure, a numerical range indicated using "~" includes the numerical values ​​before and after "~" as the minimum and maximum values, respectively. In the numerical ranges described in the present disclosure in stages, the upper or lower limit value described in one numerical range may be replaced with the upper or lower limit value of another numerical range described in stages. In addition, in the numerical ranges described in the present disclosure, the upper or lower limit value of the numerical range may be replaced with a value shown in the examples.

[0018] In the present disclosure, when components are included, each component may contain multiple types of corresponding substances. When multiple types of substances corresponding to each component are present in the composition, the content or amount of each component means the total content or amount of the multiple substances present in the composition, unless otherwise specified. In the present disclosure, the particles corresponding to each component may include multiple types of particles. When multiple types of particles corresponding to each component are present in the composition, the particle size of each component means the value for a mixture of the multiple types of particles present in the composition, unless otherwise specified. In the present disclosure, the terms "layer" and "film" include cases where the layer or film is formed over the entire area when the area in which the layer or film is present is observed, as well as cases where the layer or film is formed over only a portion of the area.

[0019] <Disc-shaped substrate manufacturing equipment> First, a disk-shaped substrate manufacturing apparatus 10 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2. As shown in Fig. 1, the disk-shaped substrate manufacturing apparatus 10 includes a lower surface plate 12, an upper surface plate 14, a drive mechanism 80, and a pressing member 82. As shown in Fig. 2, the disk-shaped substrate manufacturing apparatus 10 further includes a polishing liquid supply unit 30 and an air supply system 41. In this embodiment, the disk-shaped substrate manufacturing apparatus 10 is a polishing apparatus. In the present disclosure, the disk-shaped substrate manufacturing apparatus may be configured to include one or more other devices necessary for manufacturing a disk-shaped substrate.

[0020] Specifically, it may include a grinding device that grinds the disk-shaped substrate 50 in the upstream of the polishing device, a bulk transfer device for unprocessed or processed disk-shaped substrates 50, a standby device for waiting for unprocessed or processed disk-shaped substrates 50, etc. In addition, it may also include, independently of or in combination with these, a storage rack that stores unprocessed or processed disk-shaped substrates, a cleaning device that cleans the disk-shaped substrate 50, a drying device that dries the disk-shaped substrate 50, etc.

[0021] (Disc-shaped substrate) As shown in FIG. 2, during polishing, the disk-shaped substrate 50 is stored inside the storage hole 52A of the carrier 52. The disk-shaped substrate 50 in this embodiment is, for example, an aluminum substrate or an aluminum alloy substrate, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and a glass substrate or the like may be used. Hereinafter, the aluminum substrate, the aluminum alloy substrate, the glass substrate, and the like are collectively referred to as "substrate". The aluminum substrate and the aluminum alloy substrate are also collectively referred to as "aluminum substrate". A plating layer may be formed on the surface of the aluminum substrate. In this case, the surface to be polished can be the plating layer. The aluminum substrate is advantageous in that it is easy to process and can reduce manufacturing costs.

[0022] On the other hand, a glass reinforced layer may be formed on the surface of the glass substrate. In this case, the surface to be polished may be the glass reinforced layer. The formation of the glass reinforced layer is not essential for the glass substrate. The present disclosure can also be applied to polishing the surface of a pure glass substrate on which a glass reinforced layer is not formed. Since the glass substrate is superior in strength, surface flatness, heat resistance, etc. compared to an aluminum substrate, it is easy to achieve miniaturization and high density of the disk-shaped substrate. The disk-shaped substrate 50 of this embodiment is for a magnetic recording medium, but this disclosure is not limited thereto. The disk-shaped substrate of the present disclosure may be, for example, a disk for other information recording, such as an optical disk.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 1, in the present embodiment, the number of disk-shaped substrates 50 stored in one carrier 52 is 3, but the present disclosure is not limited to this, and the number of stored disk-shaped substrates may be one or any multiple. Similarly, in the present embodiment, the number of carriers 52 placed on one lower surface plate 12 is 4, but the present disclosure is not limited to this, and the number of carriers placed may be one or any multiple. In the polishing apparatus, the disk-shaped substrate 50 rotates by itself around the axis of the disk-shaped substrate 50 via the carrier 52, i.e., rotates on its own axis, and rotates around the sun gear 16 around the axis of the sun gear 16, i.e., revolves around the sun gear 16.

[0024] (Lower surface plate) As shown in FIG. 2, the lower surface plate 12 has a disk-shaped lower base 12A and a disk-shaped lower polishing pad 12B provided on the lower base 12A in FIG. 2. A known polishing material such as a polishing cloth can be used as the lower polishing pad 12B. In this disclosure, the term "lower surface plate" may be used as a general term including the lower polishing pad. A carrier 52 that stores a disk-shaped substrate 50 is placed on the upper side of the lower polishing pad 12B of the lower surface plate 12. As shown in FIG. 1, a sun gear 16 that meshes with the peripheral gears of the four carriers 52 is arranged in the center of the lower surface plate 12. An internal gear 18 that meshes with the peripheral gears of the four carriers 52 is arranged around the lower surface plate 12. As shown in FIG. 2, a discharge path D that discharges the polishing liquid 60 is formed between the lower surface plate 12 and the internal gear 18.

[0025] (Upper surface plate) As shown in Fig. 2, the upper surface plate 14 has a disk-shaped upper base 14A and a disk-shaped upper polishing pad 14B provided under the upper base 14A in Fig. 2. As the upper polishing pad 14B, a known polishing material such as a polishing cloth can be used, similar to the lower polishing pad 12B. In this disclosure, the term "upper surface plate" may be used as a general term including the upper polishing pad. The upper surface plate 14 is disposed above the lower surface plate 12 in a state facing the lower surface plate 12. In this embodiment, both the lower surface plate 12 and the upper surface plate 14 are provided so as to be freely raised and lowered by being connected to a hydraulic drive device, an electric drive device, or the like. Therefore, the upper surface plate 14 is disposed so as to be able to approach or move away from the lower surface plate 12. In the present disclosure, the upper surface plate 14 may be disposed so as to be able to approach or move away from the lower surface plate 12 by at least one of the lower surface plate 12 and the upper surface plate 14 being freely raised and lowered.

[0026] 2, the upper surface plate 14 has a nozzle hole 21 and a through-hole 22. The nozzle hole 21 is formed in a portion facing the disk-shaped substrate 50, penetrating the upper base 14A and the upper polishing pad 14B. The through-hole 22 is formed in a portion facing the carrier 52, penetrating the upper base 14A and the upper polishing pad 14B. 1 shows an example in which two nozzle holes 21 are formed in a portion of one storage hole 52A facing the disk-shaped substrate 50, and six through holes 22 are formed in a portion facing the carrier 52 other than the storage hole 52A, but this is not limited to this in the present disclosure. In the present disclosure, the respective numbers of nozzle holes 21 and through holes 22 can be changed as appropriate. In this embodiment, as can be seen from line 2-2 in Fig. 1, a state in which two nozzle holes 21 and two through holes 22 are arranged on a single straight line in a plan view is illustrated, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. The arrangement pattern of the nozzle holes 21 and the through holes 22 can be changed as appropriate.

[0027] (polishing liquid supply section) As shown in FIG. 2, the polishing liquid supply unit 30 has a polishing liquid tank 30A in which a polishing liquid 60 is stored, and a polishing liquid pipe 30B connected between the polishing liquid tank 30A and the upper platen 14. The polishing liquid supply unit 30 supplies a polishing liquid (see the polishing liquid 60 in FIG. 3) between the lower platen 12 and the upper platen 14. Specifically, for example, the polishing liquid 60 can be dropped onto the upper surface of the upper base 14A of the upper platen 14 in FIG. 2 and moved on the surface from the upper surface side toward the lower side of the upper platen 14, thereby being supplied between the lower platen 12 and the upper platen 14. A through hole penetrating the upper base 14A and the upper polishing pad 14B may be formed as a path for the polishing liquid 60 to flow. The polishing liquid supply unit 30 of this embodiment corresponds to the processing liquid supply unit of the present disclosure.

[0028] (Air supply system) 2, the air supply system 41 has an air supply source 41A and an air pipe 41B. The air supply source 41A stores separation air (see separation air 71 in FIG. 3) for separating the disk-shaped substrate 50 from the upper platen 14. The separation air 71 in this embodiment is, for example, air, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and any gas other than air can be used as the separation air. The air pipe 41B is connected between the air supply source 41A and the nozzle hole 21. The air supply source 41A includes a storage device such as a tank capable of storing the peeling air 71. When the upper surface plate 14 separates from the lower surface plate 12 after the polishing process, the air supply system 41 supplies the peeling air 71 to the nozzle hole 21, thereby spraying the peeling air 71 from the nozzle hole 21 toward the disk-shaped substrate 50.

[0029] (Control unit) 2, a control unit 44 that causes the polishing apparatus to execute one or more processes included in the polishing process is connected to an air supply system 41. In the present disclosure, one or more processes included in the polishing process may be provided to the control unit 44 in the form of a program, for example. In the present embodiment, a case has been exemplified in which one control unit 44 is connected to the air supply system 41, but in the present disclosure, the number of control units can be set to any number equal to or greater than one.

[0030] (Drive mechanism) 2, the driving mechanism 80 of this embodiment is an air cylinder. The driving mechanism 80 is capable of lowering the pressing member 82 to a position where the pressing member 82 contacts the carrier 52. The driving mechanism 80 is also capable of raising the pressing member 82 to a position where the pressing member 82 is separated from the carrier 52. In the present disclosure, the driving mechanism 80 is not limited to an air cylinder, and may be another driving mechanism that realizes sliding along the up-down direction, such as a screw feed mechanism. As shown in FIG. 2, the drive mechanism 80 is connected to the control unit 44 and the air supply system 41. The air supply system 41 in this embodiment supplies the stripping air 71 as driving air to the air cylinder of the drive mechanism 80. The supply source of the stripping air 71 and the supply source of the driving air for the air cylinder of the drive mechanism 80 are common. In the present disclosure, the driving air is not limited to air supplied from the air supply source 41A of the stripping air 71, and may be air supplied from a supply source other than the air supply source 41A of the stripping air 71. A pressing member 82, which is a cylinder rod of the air cylinder of the drive mechanism 80, is driven by the stripping air 71 as driving air.

[0031] Although not shown in the drawings, in this embodiment, a supply flow path for driving air is formed between the air supply source 41A and the drive mechanism 80. Necessary control elements such as an on-off valve and a pump are provided in the supply flow path for driving air and are connected to the control unit 44. The control unit 44 controls the driving pressure of the driving air of the drive mechanism 80.

[0032] (holding member, injection part) As shown in Fig. 2, the pressing member 82 of this embodiment is a cylinder rod of an air cylinder. The pressing member 82 slides in the up-down direction in Fig. 2 by being driven by the driving mechanism 80. The pressing member 82 is disposed inside the through hole 22. In Fig. 1, the driving mechanism 80 and the pressing member 82 are illustrated as being superimposed on the through hole 22 that opens above the carrier 52 in a plan view. An ejection part 82A is attached to the lower end of the pressing member 82 in Fig. 2. The pressing member 82 of this embodiment has a function of pressing the carrier 52 and a function of ejecting air. The ejection portion 82A slides in conjunction with the driving of the pressing member 82. The ejection portion 82A in this embodiment is a cylindrical air nozzle that ejects air from the tip on the carrier 52 side. In the present disclosure, the ejection portion is not limited to an air nozzle, and other known configurations may be adopted. In the present disclosure, it is not essential that the pressing member has the ejection portion 82A, and the pressing member may be composed of other members, such as a rod-shaped member having a simple structure, without ejecting air. 2, the spraying unit 82A is connected to the control unit 44 and the air supply source 41A. In this embodiment, the air supply system 41 supplies the peeling air 71 from the air supply source 41A to the spraying unit 82A as air to be sprayed by the air nozzle of the spraying unit 82A. Therefore, the supply source of the peeling air 71 and the supply source of the air of the spraying unit 82A are the same. In the present disclosure, the air of the spraying unit 82A may be different from the air of the peeling air 71.

[0033] Although not shown, in this embodiment, an air supply flow path is formed between the air supply source 41A and the ejection unit 82A. Necessary control elements such as an on-off valve and a pump are provided in the air supply flow path of the ejection unit 82A while being connected to the control unit 44. The control unit 44 controls the ejection pressure of the air ejected from the ejection unit 82A. The air supply flow path between the air supply source 41A and the ejection unit 82A may be formed, for example, inside the piston rod of the pressing member 82, or another flow path member such as piping may be used.

[0034] <Method of manufacturing disk-shaped substrate> Next, a method for manufacturing a disk-shaped substrate using the disk-shaped substrate manufacturing apparatus 10 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. (A) a step of placing a carrier 52 for accommodating a disk-shaped substrate 50 between a lower surface plate 12 and an upper surface plate 14; (B) a step of sandwiching the disk-shaped substrate 50 between the lower surface plate 12 and the upper surface plate 14 and polishing the disk-shaped substrate 50 while supplying a polishing liquid 60 between the lower surface plate 12 and the upper surface plate 14; (C) supplying separation air 71 between the upper surface plate 14 and the disk-shaped substrate 50 by using an air supply system 41 to separate the disk-shaped substrate 50 from the upper surface plate 14; (D) lowering the pressing member 82 to a position where the pressing member 82 contacts the carrier 52; (E) a step of pressing the carrier 52 from above with a pressing member 82 when the upper platen 14 is separated from the lower platen 12 after the polishing process; Includes. In the present embodiment, a case will be described as an example in which the method for manufacturing a disk-shaped substrate including steps (A) to (E) is implemented by operating the control unit 44 using a program for implementing the method for manufacturing a disk-shaped substrate. In the present disclosure, the method for manufacturing a disk-shaped substrate may be implemented by an operator of the manufacturing apparatus 10 for manufacturing a disk-shaped substrate operating the control unit 44.

[0035] In this embodiment, the method for manufacturing a disk-shaped substrate includes a process for peeling the disk-shaped substrate 50 from the upper surface plate 14 in the polishing process, such as the processes (C) to (E). In the present disclosure, the method for manufacturing a disk-shaped substrate may include one or more other commonly known processes required for manufacturing the disk-shaped substrate 50, depending on the type of the disk-shaped substrate.

[0036] For example, in the case of an aluminum substrate, the method for producing a disk-shaped substrate includes the following steps. Blank substrate preparation process: An aluminum alloy ingot is rolled to obtain an aluminum alloy plate material with a thickness of about 2 mm or less. The obtained aluminum alloy plate material is punched into a disk shape to prepare an aluminum alloy substrate of the desired dimensions. Cutting step: The prepared aluminum alloy substrate is subjected to chamfering on the inner and outer circumferences and cutting on both main surfaces. Grinding process: In order to reduce the surface roughness and waviness of the aluminum alloy substrate after cutting, both main surfaces of the aluminum alloy substrate are ground with a grindstone. Plating process: After grinding, the surface of the aluminum alloy substrate is plated with electroless nickel plating (NiP) or other plating in order to impart surface hardness and reduce surface defects. Polishing step: Both main surfaces of the aluminum alloy substrate on which the plating film has been formed are polished.

[0037] In the case of a glass substrate, the method for producing a disk-shaped substrate includes, for example, the following steps. Blank substrate preparation process: A glass blank, which is a material for a plate-shaped glass substrate for a magnetic recording medium having a pair of main surfaces, is prepared by press molding or the like. A circular hole is formed in the center of the prepared glass blank to form the glass blank into an annular shape. Next, a shape processing is performed to obtain a glass substrate having a chamfered surface. A grinding process and a polishing process are performed on the inner and outer peripheral end surfaces of the shaped glass substrate. Grinding process: The main surfaces of the glass substrate after edge polishing are ground with fixed abrasive grains. Polishing step: The main surface of the glass substrate after the grinding step is polished with a predetermined abrasive. During the polishing step, the glass substrate may be subjected to a chemical strengthening treatment.

[0038] The polishing step according to this embodiment will be described in detail below. [Polishing process] In the polishing process, with the lower platen 12 and the upper platen 14 in contact with the disk-shaped substrate 50, the disk-shaped substrate 50 is rotated while a polishing liquid 60 is supplied between the lower platen 12 and the upper platen 14, so that the surface of the disk-shaped substrate 50 is polished by the lower platen 12 and the upper platen 14. The polishing liquid used when polishing an aluminum substrate is not particularly limited as long as it is a commonly used one, and examples of the polishing liquid include slurries containing aluminum oxide, colloidal silica, etc. The polishing liquid used when polishing a glass substrate is not particularly limited as long as it is a commonly used one, and examples of the polishing liquid include slurries containing cerium oxide, zirconia, colloidal silica, etc.

[0039] Here, after the disk-shaped substrate 50 is polished, the polished disk-shaped substrate 50 and the carrier 52 are adsorbed to the upper surface plate 14 via the polishing liquid 60, and therefore the disk-shaped substrate 50 may not be peeled off from the upper surface plate 14 even if the upper surface plate 14 is raised. 3, for the disk-shaped substrate 50, peeling air 71 is supplied from the outside by the air supply system 41 to between the upper surface plate 14 and the disk-shaped substrate 50 through the nozzle holes 21 provided in the upper surface plate 14. When the control unit 44 is used, the control unit 44 controls the air supply system 41 to execute a process of supplying the peeling air 71 between the upper surface plate 14 and the disk-shaped substrate 50.

[0040] In the present disclosure, "supply" means to eventually reach a target location. For example, supplying the peeling air 71 means that the peeling air 71 reaches between the upper platen 14 and the disk-shaped substrate 50.

[0041] The timing at which the air supply system 41 starts applying a driving force to the stripping air 71 in order to supply the stripping air 71 may be before or after the upper platen 14 starts to rise. When the stripping air 71 is supplied after the upper platen 14 starts to rise, it is preferable in consideration of the stripping effect to supply the stripping air 71 at a timing when the upper platen 14 is not too far from the lower platen 12, such as immediately after the upper platen 14 starts to rise. The timing at which the application of the driving force to the stripping air 71 is stopped may be before or after the upper platen 14 has completed rising to a preset height.

[0042] 3, when the upper platen 14 is lifted away from the lower platen 12 after the polishing process, the driving mechanism 80 lowers the pressing member 82 to a position where the pressing member 82 comes into contact with the carrier 52. The lowered pressing member 82 presses down the carrier 52 from above.

[0043] The timing at which the drive mechanism 80 starts applying the drive force to the presser member 82 to bring the presser member 82 into contact with the carrier 52 may be before or after the upper platen 14 starts to rise. The timing at which the drive mechanism 80 stops applying the drive force to the presser member 82 may be before or after the upper platen 14 has completed rising to a preset height.

[0044] The supply process of the peeling air 71 to the disk-shaped substrate 50, the process of lowering the pressing member 82 toward the carrier 52, and the process of raising the upper surface plate 14 away from the lower surface plate 12 may be performed separately or in parallel. As an example of a case where each process is performed separately, first, the pressing member 82 lowers toward the carrier 52, and then the pressing member 82 stops in a state of contact with the carrier 52. Next, the peeling air 71 is supplied to the disk-shaped substrate 50. Then, the upper surface plate 14 is lifted away from the lower surface plate 12. When the upper surface plate 14 is lifted, the protruding length of the pressing member 82 from the through hole 22 is controlled by the control unit 44 so that the length of the pressing member 82 necessary to maintain contact with the carrier 52 is maintained.

[0045] As described above, it is not excluded that a time gap may be formed between the timing at which the peeling air 71 reaches the disk-shaped substrate 50 and the timing at which the pressing member 82 reaches the carrier 52. Furthermore, when peeling the disk-shaped substrate 50 and the carrier 52 from the upper surface plate 14, the time difference between the arrival of the peeling air 71 at the disk-shaped substrate 50 and the arrival of the ejection portion 82A at the lower end of the pressing member 82 at the carrier 52 may be reduced. As a result, both the disk-shaped substrate 50 and the carrier 52 are peeled off from the upper surface plate 14.

[0046] As shown in Figure 3, after the disk-shaped substrate 50 and carrier 52 have been peeled off from the upper platen 14, the polishing liquid 60 that adsorbs the polished disk-shaped substrate 50 and carrier 52 to the upper platen 14 is discharged through the discharge path D between the lower platen 12 and the internal gear 18. Thereafter, the disk-shaped substrate 50 is removed from the inside of the carrier 52 by a collective transfer device (not shown) and transferred to a subsequent process. After the peeling process, the drive mechanism 80 raises the pressing member 82 at any timing to a position where the pressing member 82 is separated from the carrier 52 when the disk-shaped substrate 50 is subjected to grinding or polishing.

[0047] In the present disclosure, the polishing process may be performed multiple times. When the polishing process is performed multiple times, the type of polishing liquid 60 used in each polishing process may be different from each other. In addition, for example, a chemical strengthening process for the disk-shaped substrate 50 may be included between multiple polishing processes in order to improve the impact resistance of the disk-shaped substrate 50. Then, the transferred disk-shaped substrate 50 is subjected to predetermined processes such as cleaning, forming a magnetic film, and cooling, thereby manufacturing a magnetic recording medium having desired specifications.

[0048] (Removal of adhesions) The through hole 22 of this embodiment is used as a flow path for the cleaning liquid during the cleaning process. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, the remaining cleaning liquid dries and solidifies, forming a deposit S of cleaning components on the inner surface of the through hole 22. The deposit S is so-called sludge. If the deposit S falls onto the upper surface of the disk-shaped substrate 50, onto the upper surface of the carrier 52, or onto the inside of the storage hole 52A of the carrier 52, and if a force is applied to the deposit S from the upper surface plate 14 during polishing, there is a concern that the deposit S may damage the disk-shaped substrate 50 or the carrier 52. The deposit S is a factor that causes problems in the polishing process. For this reason, in this embodiment, the deposit S is peeled off using the air nozzle of the injection unit 82A.

[0049] For example, after both the disk-shaped substrate 50 and the carrier 52 have been peeled off from the upper surface plate 14, as shown in Fig. 4, air is sprayed from the air nozzle of the spray unit 82A located above the deposit S toward the deposit S adhering to the inner surface of the through-hole 22. The height of the air nozzle of the spray unit 82A during spraying can be appropriately adjusted by the control unit. This spray of air promotes the peeling off of the deposit S from the inner surface of the through-hole 22.

[0050] Next, as shown in FIG. 5, after the air is sprayed, the press member 82 is lowered, so that the spray portion 82A at the lower end of the press member 82 physically contacts the deposit S. This contact further promotes the removal of the deposit S from the inner surface of the through-hole 22. The deposit S that has fallen onto the carrier 52 can be discharged together with the polishing liquid 60 into the discharge path D, for example, by supplying a cleaning liquid to the disk-shaped substrate. FIG. 5 illustrates an example of the state in which the deposit S that has been removed by contact with the spray portion 82A falls. In the present disclosure, the removal and discharge processes of the deposit S may be performed in a state in which the disk-shaped substrate 50 is not stored in the storage hole 52A of the carrier 52.

[0051] In the present disclosure, the through-hole 22 does not have to be used as a flow path for the cleaning liquid. The through-hole in which the pressing member is disposed and the through-hole used as a flow path for the cleaning liquid may be formed separately.

[0052] (Action and effect) In the manufacturing apparatus 10 for disk-shaped substrates of the present embodiment, the driving mechanism 80 raises the pressing member 82 to a position where the pressing member 82 separates from the carrier 52 when the disk-shaped substrate 50 is subjected to grinding or polishing. Also, when the upper surface plate 14 separates from the lower surface plate 12 after the grinding or polishing process, the peeling air 71 is sprayed toward the disk-shaped substrate 50. When the pressing member 82 presses the carrier 52, the driving mechanism 80 lowers the pressing member 82 to a position where the pressing member 82 contacts the carrier 52. The pressing member 82 presses the carrier 52 from above. Since the movement of the carrier 52 is physically stopped by the pressing member 82, the carrier 52 moves away from the upper surface plate 14 as the upper surface plate 14 moves away from the lower surface plate 12. Therefore, even if the disk-shaped substrate 50 and the carrier 52 after polishing are adsorbed to the upper surface plate 14 via the polishing liquid 60, both the disk-shaped substrate 50 and the carrier 52 can be easily peeled off from the upper surface plate 14. In particular, the carrier 52 can be reliably peeled off from the upper surface plate 14.

[0053] Furthermore, when the disk-shaped substrate 50 or the carrier 52 is adsorbed to the upper surface plate 14, it becomes necessary to remove the adsorbed disk-shaped substrate 50 or carrier 52 from the upper surface plate 14 while stopping the automatic operation of the polishing apparatus. In this embodiment, the adsorption of the disk-shaped substrate 50 or carrier 52 to the upper surface plate 14 is suppressed, so the occurrence of the removal operation is reduced. Therefore, the automatic operation of the polishing apparatus can be stably performed. Furthermore, if a collective transfer process by the transfer device or the next polishing process is performed while the disk-shaped substrate 50 or carrier 52 is still attached to the upper surface plate 14, malfunctions will occur in the transfer device, upper surface plate 14, lower surface plate 12, and other devices. In this embodiment, the attachment of the disk-shaped substrate 50 or carrier 52 to the upper surface plate 14 is suppressed, so the occurrence of malfunctions in the devices is reduced. This improves the operating rate of the devices, and as a result, the production volume can be increased.

[0054] In this embodiment, the drive mechanism 80 is an air cylinder. Therefore, by finely adjusting the air supply pressure, it is easy to control the contact pressure applied to the carrier 52 when the pressing member 82 contacts the carrier 52. For example, compared to a case where the pressing member 82 is brought into contact with the carrier 52 by a screw feed mechanism, the load applied to the carrier 52 at the time of contact can be reduced.

[0055] In this embodiment, the driving air for the air cylinder is air supplied from air supply source 41A for peeling air 71. Peeling air 71 is supplied as driving air to the air cylinder of drive mechanism 80. Since the supply source of peeling air 71 and the supply source of driving air for the air cylinder of drive mechanism 80 are common, manufacturing apparatus 10 for disk-shaped substrate 50 can be easily configured.

[0056] In this embodiment, the ejection portion 82A of the pressing member 82 ejects air toward the deposit S on the inner surface of the through hole 22, so that the deposit S can be removed.

[0057] <Other embodiments> Although the present disclosure has been described with reference to the above disclosed embodiments, the descriptions and drawings forming a part of this disclosure should not be construed as limiting the present disclosure.

[0058] For example, in the present embodiment, the carrier 52 is rotated and revolved around the internal gear 18 and the sun gear 16 to polish a plurality of disk-shaped substrates 50 at once, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. In the present disclosure, for example, a polishing plate may be brought into contact with the surfaces of the disk-shaped substrates from above while holding the disk-shaped substrates in a state where they protrude upward. Then, the upper polishing plate may be rotated to polish the plurality of disk-shaped substrates at once. The polishing plate may rotate and revolve without rotating the disk-shaped substrates.

[0059] (Grinding Equipment) In the present embodiment, the manufacturing apparatus 10 for disk-shaped substrates has been described as a polishing apparatus, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the manufacturing apparatus 10 may be a grinding apparatus. In the present embodiment, as a method for manufacturing a disk-shaped substrate, a method for manufacturing a polished disk-shaped substrate using a polishing apparatus as the manufacturing apparatus 10 has been exemplified, but in the present disclosure, the manufacturing method for a disk-shaped substrate may be a method for manufacturing a ground disk-shaped substrate using a grinding apparatus as the manufacturing apparatus.

[0060] When the manufacturing apparatus for disk-shaped substrates is a grinding apparatus, grindstones are applied to the lower polishing pad 12B on the lower surface plate 12 and the upper polishing pad 14B on the upper surface plate 14 of the manufacturing apparatus 10 in Fig. 2. In this case, the terms "upper surface plate" and "lower surface plate" may be used as generic terms including grindstones. In addition, in the grinding process in the grinding device, for example, coolant is supplied as the grinding liquid instead of the polishing liquid 60. Therefore, the polishing liquid tank 30A, the polishing liquid pipe 30B, etc. in this embodiment can be appropriately read as a coolant tank, a coolant pipe, etc., respectively. The grinding liquid in the grinding process is not limited to coolant, and other liquids may be used as long as they are supplied between the upper and lower plates.

[0061] When the manufacturing apparatus is a grinding apparatus, the pressing member presses the carrier from above, as in the present embodiment described above. The movement of the carrier is physically stopped by the pressing member, so that the carrier moves away from the upper platen as the upper platen moves away from the lower platen. Therefore, as in the present embodiment described above, even if the disk-shaped substrate and the carrier after grinding are adsorbed to the upper platen via the grinding fluid, it has the advantage that both the disk-shaped substrate and the carrier can be easily peeled off from the upper platen. Other advantages when the manufacturing apparatus is a grinding apparatus are the same as in the present embodiment described above.

[0062] (Manufacturing method) The method for producing a ground disk-shaped substrate of the present disclosure includes steps similar to steps (A), (C), and (D) in the method for producing a polished disk-shaped substrate of the present embodiment, and steps corresponding to steps (B) and (E) in the method for producing a disk-shaped substrate of the present embodiment, and specifically includes the following steps in a grinding device: (A1) a step of disposing a carrier for accommodating a disk-shaped substrate between a lower surface plate and an upper surface plate; (B1) a step of sandwiching a disk-shaped substrate between a lower platen and an upper platen, and grinding the disk-shaped substrate while supplying a grinding fluid between the lower platen and the upper platen; (C1) supplying separation air between the upper platen and the disk-shaped substrate by using an air supply system to separate the disk-shaped substrate from the upper platen; (D1) lowering a pressing member to a position where the pressing member contacts the carrier; (E1) a step of pressing the carrier from above with a pressing member when the upper platen is separated from the lower platen after the grinding process; It may include.

[0063] The method for manufacturing a ground disk-shaped substrate of this embodiment may include, as the processing steps in the grinding apparatus, the steps (A1), (B1), (C1), (D1), and (E1) in the method for manufacturing a ground disk-shaped substrate described above, and, as the processing steps in the polishing apparatus, the steps (A), (B), (C), (D), and (E) in this embodiment. This allows for an efficient production of a ground and polished disk-shaped substrate while obtaining, over time, both the advantages of the method for manufacturing a ground disk-shaped substrate and the advantages of the method for manufacturing a polished disk-shaped substrate.

[0064] The present disclosure includes various embodiments not described above, and the technical scope of the present disclosure is defined by the invention-specifying matters in the claims that are appropriate from the above description. [Explanation of symbols]

[0065] 10: Disk-shaped substrate manufacturing device 12: Lower surface plate 14 Upper surface plate 21 Nozzle hole 22 through hole 30 polishing liquid supply section (processing liquid supply section) 41 Air supply system 50 Disk-shaped substrate 52 Carrier 52A Storage hole 60 Polishing fluid 71 Stripping air 80 Drive mechanism 82 Pressing member 82A Injection part S Adherence

Claims

1. a lower surface plate on which a carrier for accommodating a disk-shaped substrate is placed; an upper surface plate disposed above the lower surface plate so as to be capable of approaching or being separated from the lower surface plate, the upper surface plate having a nozzle hole facing the disk-shaped substrate and a through hole facing the carrier; a processing liquid supply unit for supplying a polishing liquid or a grinding liquid between the lower platen and the upper platen; an air supply system that supplies the nozzle hole with separation air to be sprayed toward the disk-shaped substrate; a pressing member disposed inside the through hole and configured to press the carrier from above when the upper platen is separated from the lower platen; a drive mechanism for lowering the pressing member to a position where the pressing member contacts the carrier; Equipped with The pressing member has an ejection portion that ejects air toward the deposit in the through hole.

2. The drive mechanism is an air cylinder. The apparatus for manufacturing a disk-shaped substrate according to claim 1 .

3. The air supply system supplies the stripping air to the air cylinder as driving air. The apparatus for manufacturing a disk-shaped substrate according to claim 2 .

4. a step of sandwiching a disk-shaped substrate between a lower surface plate and an upper surface plate, and polishing or grinding the disk-shaped substrate while supplying a polishing liquid or a grinding liquid between the lower surface plate and the upper surface plate; A step of jetting peeling air toward the disk-shaped substrate; injecting air toward the deposit in a through hole of the upper platen facing the carrier using an injection part of a pressing member disposed inside the through hole; lowering the pressing member to a position where the pressing member contacts the carrier that stores the disk-shaped substrate; a step of pressing the carrier from above with the pressing member when the upper platen is separated from the lower platen; A method for manufacturing a disk-shaped substrate, comprising:

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