Ultraviolet treatment device and ultraviolet treatment method

Abstract

To provide an ultraviolet treatment device and an ultraviolet treatment method capable of appropriately forming a space between a lamp and an object to be treated as a space having a low oxygen concentration and performing an ultraviolet irradiation treatment on the object to be treated in a short time.SOLUTION: An ultraviolet treatment device 10 includes: an excimer lamp 20; a lamp house 30 that accommodates the excimer lamp 20 and has an opening 30a to take out ultraviolet rays emitted from the excimer lamp 20; a stage 40 that transports an object to be treated, W, to an irradiation position in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp 20 as the transport direction, the irradiation position facing the opening 30a of the lamp house 30, where ultraviolet rays are irradiated; and a gas ejection mechanism 50 that ejects inert gas along the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp 20 into a space between the excimer lamp 20 and the object to be treated, W, at the irradiation position.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an ultraviolet treatment apparatus and an ultraviolet treatment method for performing ultraviolet irradiation treatment on the surface of a treatment object by irradiating the surface with ultraviolet rays. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a surface modification process using ultraviolet light for glass substrates such as liquid crystal display panels, an ultraviolet treatment apparatus equipped with an excimer lamp that emits vacuum ultraviolet light with a wavelength of 200 nm or less has been used. One such ultraviolet treatment device has an opening at the bottom of a lamp house that houses an excimer lamp, and treats glass substrates by irradiating them with ultraviolet light through the opening as they are transported in front of the opening.

[0003] Furthermore, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses an excimer light irradiation device that is configured to take in outside air into a lamp house to cool an excimer lamp and exhaust the cooling air that hits the lamp in a direction away from the glass substrate. In this excimer light irradiation device, the space between the excimer lamp and the glass substrate is an air atmosphere with an oxygen concentration of about 21%. Furthermore, for example, Patent Document 2 discloses an excimer lamp device in which a blower mechanism that sprays nitrogen inside the lamp house is installed to cool the lamp with the sprayed nitrogen and to flow nitrogen into the space between the excimer lamp and the glass substrate to reduce the oxygen concentration in the space. In this excimer lamp device, the oxygen concentration in the space between the excimer lamp and the glass substrate is about 5%. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-230838 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-43925 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Since vacuum ultraviolet rays are absorbed by oxygen, one possible way to increase the processing speed of ultraviolet irradiation processing is to shorten the distance between the excimer lamp and the workpiece, or to lower the oxygen concentration in the space between the excimer lamp and the workpiece. The lamp and the workpiece must be spaced apart to a certain extent so that they do not come into contact, and it is difficult to place the lamp and the workpiece close together. Therefore, in order to increase the processing speed of the ultraviolet irradiation treatment, a means is used to lower the oxygen concentration in the space between the lamp and the workpiece.

[0006] However, the technology described in Patent Document 1 does not involve flowing an inert gas such as nitrogen between the lamp and the glass substrate, and it is necessary to separately use an inert gas to replace the oxygen in the space between the lamp and the glass substrate. Furthermore, in the technology described in Patent Document 2, a blower mechanism that sprays nitrogen is placed inside the lamp house, but the nitrogen is sprayed above the lamp to cool it. Therefore, even if the amount of nitrogen sprayed from the blower mechanism is increased, the nitrogen does not flow well into the space between the lamp and the glass substrate below, which causes the problem of inadequate nitrogen replacement.

[0007] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an ultraviolet treatment device and an ultraviolet treatment method that can make the space between the lamp and the workpiece an appropriately low oxygen concentration space and perform ultraviolet irradiation treatment on the workpiece in a short period of time. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to solve the above problems, one aspect of the ultraviolet treatment device according to the present invention comprises an excimer lamp, a lamp house that houses the excimer lamp and has an opening for extracting ultraviolet light emitted from the excimer lamp, a stage that transports an object to be treated to an irradiation position opposite the opening of the lamp house where the ultraviolet light is irradiated, with the transport direction being perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp, and a gas injection mechanism that ejects an inert gas along the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp into the space between the excimer lamp and the object to be treated at the irradiation position.

[0009] In this way, by injecting inert gas into the space between the excimer lamp and the workpiece at the irradiation position, the oxygen concentration in the space can be appropriately reduced, thereby suppressing the attenuation of ultraviolet light in the space and shortening the processing time of the ultraviolet irradiation process. Furthermore, since the transport direction of the stage and the gas ejection direction of the gas ejection mechanism are orthogonal to each other, interference between the gas ejection mechanism and the workpiece being transported by the stage can be appropriately prevented.

[0010] In the ultraviolet treatment apparatus, the gas ejection mechanism may be provided on the stage, and may eject the inert gas along the surface of the object to be treated placed on the stage. In this case, while the stage is being transported, an inert gas can be sprayed along the surface of the workpiece placed on the stage, thereby reducing the oxygen concentration in the space above the surface of the workpiece before the workpiece reaches the irradiation position.

[0011] Furthermore, in the above ultraviolet treatment apparatus, the gas ejection mechanism may be provided in the lamp house, and may eject the inert gas along the surface of the workpiece moved to the irradiation position by the stage. In this case, the inert gas can be ejected along the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp regardless of the position of the stage, so that the oxygen concentration in the space in front of the excimer lamp can be reduced before the workpiece reaches the irradiation position.

[0012] In addition, in the above-mentioned ultraviolet treatment device, the gas injection mechanisms may be arranged opposite each other in the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp, sandwiching the object to be treated at the irradiation position, and may eject the inert gas in directions opposite each other. In this case, since the inert gas can be ejected from both sides of the workpiece, the inert gas can be appropriately supplied to the space between the excimer lamp and the workpiece at the irradiation position, thereby reliably reducing the oxygen concentration in that space.

[0013] Furthermore, in the ultraviolet treatment apparatus, the gas ejection mechanism may be disposed on one side of the workpiece at the irradiation position in the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp, and eject the inert gas toward the other side. In this case, since the inert gas is ejected from one side of the workpiece, the apparatus configuration can be simplified. In this case, a gas retention plate for blocking the inert gas ejected from the gas ejection mechanism may be provided at a position facing the gas ejection mechanism across the workpiece at the irradiation position in the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp. In this case, the inert gas ejected from the gas ejection mechanism can be retained in the space between the excimer lamp and the workpiece at the irradiation position, thereby reliably reducing the oxygen concentration in the space.

[0014] Furthermore, the above-mentioned ultraviolet treatment device may be provided with a shielding plate on at least a portion of the outer periphery of the stage on which the object to be treated is placed, which blocks the flow of gas between the internal space of the lamp house and the space on the opposite side of the lamp house across the stage at the irradiation position. In this case, it is possible to prevent the generation of gas flow near the workpiece at the irradiation position, and therefore the inert gas ejected from the gas ejection mechanism tends to accumulate in the space between the excimer lamp and the workpiece at the irradiation position, thereby appropriately reducing the oxygen concentration in that space.

[0015] Furthermore, in the ultraviolet treatment apparatus, the width of a stage member made up of the stage and the shielding plate in the transport direction may be larger than the width of the opening of the lamp house in the transport direction. In this case, the opening of the lamp house can be closed by a stage member consisting of a stage and a shielding plate, making the space between the excimer lamp and the workpiece at the irradiation position a substantially closed space, which makes it easier to accumulate the inert gas ejected from the gas ejection mechanism in the space, and makes it easier to reduce the oxygen concentration in the space.

[0016] Furthermore, the ultraviolet treatment device may be provided with a diffusion prevention plate that is provided at least on the side of the lamp house where the stage is loaded in the transport direction, and that prevents the inert gas ejected from the gas ejection mechanism from diffusing. In this case, it is possible to help reduce the oxygen concentration on the surface of the workpiece before the workpiece is transported to the irradiation position, and therefore the workpiece can be transported to the irradiation position with the oxygen concentration on the surface of the workpiece reduced to a certain extent.

[0017] Furthermore, in the ultraviolet treatment device, the diffusion prevention plate may protrude from the opening of the lamp house in the transport direction. In this case, the distance between the diffusion prevention plate and the stage can be minimized, which can more appropriately support the reduction of the oxygen concentration on the surface of the workpiece.

[0018] In addition, in the above-mentioned ultraviolet treatment device, the gas injection mechanism may inject the inert gas at least while the workpiece is being transported by the stage from a non-irradiation position where the ultraviolet rays are not irradiated to the irradiation position, and while the ultraviolet rays are being irradiated onto the workpiece at the irradiation position. In this case, local purging of the space between the excimer lamp and the workpiece at the irradiation position can be started from the stage movement stage, thereby shortening the takt time.

[0019] Furthermore, one aspect of the ultraviolet treatment method according to the present invention includes the steps of transporting an object to be treated to an irradiation position where ultraviolet light emitted from an excimer lamp is irradiated, with the transport direction being perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp; spraying an inert gas from a gas spray mechanism along the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp into a space between the excimer lamp and the object to be treated at the irradiation position; and irradiating the object to be treated at the irradiation position with ultraviolet light, thereby performing ultraviolet irradiation treatment on the object to be treated.

[0020] In this way, by injecting inert gas into the space between the excimer lamp and the workpiece at the irradiation position, the oxygen concentration in the space can be appropriately reduced, thereby suppressing the attenuation of ultraviolet light in the space and shortening the processing time of the ultraviolet irradiation process. Furthermore, since the transport direction of the stage and the gas ejection direction of the gas ejection mechanism are orthogonal to each other, interference between the gas ejection mechanism and the workpiece being transported by the stage can be appropriately prevented. [Effects of the Invention]

[0021] According to the present invention, the space between the lamp and the object to be treated can be made into a space with an appropriately low oxygen concentration, and ultraviolet irradiation treatment of the object to be treated can be carried out in a short time. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0022] [Figure 1] 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of an ultraviolet treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the ultraviolet treatment device. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is an external view showing an example of an ultraviolet irradiation unit. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of a gas ejection mechanism. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a modified example of the ultraviolet treatment device. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a modified example of the ultraviolet treatment device. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is an external view showing a modified example of the ultraviolet irradiation unit. [Figure 8] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the flow of air in the ultraviolet treatment device of the present embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the flow of air in the ultraviolet treatment device of the first comparative example. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the flow of air in a modified example of the ultraviolet treatment device. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the flow of air in the ultraviolet treatment device of the second comparative example. [Figure 12] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the flow of air in the ultraviolet treatment device of the present embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the flow of air in an ultraviolet treatment device of a third comparative example. [Figure 14] 10 is a diagram showing experimental results illustrating the effects of the ultraviolet treatment device of the present embodiment. [Figure 15] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a modified example of the ultraviolet treatment device. [Figure 16] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a modified example of the ultraviolet treatment device. [Figure 17] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a modified example of the ultraviolet treatment device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0023] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an XZ cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of an ultraviolet treatment device 10 in this embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a YZ cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of the ultraviolet treatment device 10 in this embodiment. In this embodiment, the ultraviolet treatment device 10 is described as a device that performs ultraviolet irradiation treatment such as surface modification treatment of the workpiece W by irradiating the surface of the workpiece W with ultraviolet rays. The workpiece W can be, for example, a glass case for a smartphone or tablet terminal, or a cover resin for an in-vehicle sensor. In the following description, the X direction in FIG. 1 is also referred to as the "width direction," the Y direction in FIG. 2 as the "longitudinal direction," and the Z direction in FIGS. 1 and 2 as the "height direction."

[0024] 1 and 2, the ultraviolet treatment device 10 includes an excimer lamp 20 as a light source, a lamp house 30 that houses the excimer lamp 20, and a stage 40 that carries and transports an object to be treated W. The excimer lamp 20 and the lamp house 30 form an ultraviolet irradiation unit. The excimer lamp 20 emits ultraviolet light within a specific wavelength range. In this embodiment, the excimer lamp 20 may be, for example, a xenon excimer lamp that emits ultraviolet light with a central wavelength of 172 nm. The excimer lamp 20 has, for example, a rectangular arc tube with a flattened cross section perpendicular to the central axis of the lamp, and is disposed so that the central axis of the lamp coincides with the longitudinal direction of the ultraviolet treatment device 10. In other words, the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp 20 coincides with the longitudinal direction of the ultraviolet treatment device 10. The arc tube may be, for example, a glass tube made of synthetic quartz. In this embodiment, the ultraviolet treatment device 10 is described as having one excimer lamp 20, but the ultraviolet treatment device 10 may be provided with a plurality of excimer lamps 20.

[0025] FIG. 3 is an external view showing an example of the ultraviolet irradiation unit. 3, the ultraviolet irradiation unit includes a rectangular parallelepiped lamp house 30. The lamp house 30 is a rectangular parallelepiped housing having an opening 30a on the bottom, and houses the excimer lamp 20 inside. An intake hole 31 and an exhaust hole 32 are formed in the upper wall 30b of the lamp house 30. The intake hole 31 is an opening for taking in outside air (atmosphere) that serves as cooling air into the lamp house 30, and can be formed, for example, by a plurality of slits. The cooling air taken in through the intake hole 31 passes through a defined air path inside the lamp house 30, cools the components of the ultraviolet irradiation unit such as the excimer lamp 20, and is then exhausted from the exhaust hole 32 as exhaust air.

[0026] For example, the air intake holes 31 are formed in the vicinity of the widthwise ends of the upper wall 30b. The exhaust hole 32 has, for example, a cylindrical shape and is arranged so that its axial direction coincides with the height direction. The upper end of the exhaust hole 32 is inserted into an opening provided in the upper wall 30b of the lamp house 30 and protrudes from the upper wall 30b to the outside of the lamp house 30 (upward). As shown in FIG. 1, the exhaust hole 32 is formed directly above the excimer lamp 20 .

[0027] 3 is connected to an exhaust mechanism of a facility such as a factory, and by driving the exhaust mechanism, it is possible to create a negative pressure relative to the pressure outside the device. As a result, outside air is taken into the lamp house 30 through the intake hole 31 provided in the lamp house 30. The air taken into the lamp house 30 through the intake hole 31 flows downward within the lamp house 30, tracing the surface of the excimer lamp 20, and becomes exhaust air which is then exhausted to the outside of the lamp house 30 through the exhaust hole 32. Ozone, which is generated when oxygen is irradiated with light from the excimer lamp 20, is also exhausted from the exhaust hole 32. In this way, the lamp house 30 is configured so that the outside air taken in thereto is used as cooling air for the excimer lamps 20, and then is discharged in a direction away from the workpiece W.

[0028] The number, positions and shapes of the intake holes 31 and exhaust holes 32 are not limited to those shown in FIG. Although not shown, electrical components such as a sensor (photodiode) for checking whether the excimer lamp 20 is lit and a lighting power supply (transformer) for lighting the excimer lamp 20 may be disposed inside the lamp house 30. In this case, power can be supplied to the lighting power supply via a power cable 34.

[0029] Returning to Fig. 1, the stage 40 is configured to be movable in one direction by a movement mechanism 41. The stage 40 can transport the workpiece W between an irradiation position, which is a position facing the opening 30a of the lamp house 30 and is irradiated with ultraviolet light emitted from the excimer lamp 20, and a non-irradiation position, which is not irradiated with ultraviolet light emitted from the excimer lamp 20. The stage 40 transports the workpiece W in the X direction, which is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp 20. 1 shows a state in which the workpiece W is at the irradiation position. At this irradiation position, the workpiece W is irradiated with ultraviolet light emitted from the excimer lamp 20, and ultraviolet irradiation treatment such as surface modification is performed. For example, in the ultraviolet processing apparatus 10, the distance from the front light extraction surface (the lower surface in FIG. 1) of the excimer lamp 20 to the surface of the stage 40 is 9 mm.

[0030] Furthermore, in the ultraviolet treatment device 10 of this embodiment, the stage 40 is provided with a gas ejection mechanism 50 that ejects an inert gas along the surface of the stage 40. Here, the inert gas may be, for example, nitrogen gas. 1, the gas ejection mechanism 50 includes a plurality of gas ejection ports 51 arranged in the X direction near the surface of the stage 40. The width of the gas ejection mechanism 50 in the X direction can be set to be equal to the width of the opening 30a of the lamp house 30 in the X direction, for example.

[0031] 2, the gas ejection mechanisms 50 are arranged spaced apart from each other in the Y direction. The distance between the gas ejection mechanisms 50 in the Y direction is greater than the width in the Y direction of the workpiece W placed on the stage 40, and the gas ejection mechanisms 50 eject nitrogen gas in directions facing each other. In other words, the gas ejection mechanisms 50 are arranged opposite each other in the Y direction with the workpiece W sandwiched therebetween, and spray nitrogen gas from both sides in the Y direction of the workpiece W on the stage 40. In this way, the gas ejection mechanism 50 ejects an inert gas (nitrogen gas) along the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp 20 into the irradiation space between the excimer lamp 20 and the stage 40, which is irradiated with ultraviolet rays emitted from the excimer lamp 20.

[0032] 1, shielding plates 42 are provided at both ends of the stage 40 in the X direction. The shielding plates 42 are members that block the flow of gas between the internal space of the lamp house 30 and the space on the opposite side of the lamp house 30, with the stage 40 at the irradiation position in between. The shape of the shielding plates 42 is not limited to the shape shown in FIG. 1, and may be any shape that can block the flow of gas as described above.

[0033] Here, the width in the X direction of the stage member including the stage 40 and the shielding plate 42 is greater than the width in the X direction of the opening 30a of the lamp house 30. In this way, by providing the shielding plate 42 so that the stage member is larger than the opening 30a of the lamp house 30 at least in the X direction, a structure is created in which the stage member (stage 40 and shielding plate 42) blocks the opening 30a of the lamp house 30, and the space between the excimer lamp 20 and the workpiece W can be made into a substantially closed space. As a result, nitrogen gas ejected from the gas ejection mechanism 50 can be easily accumulated in this space, making it easier to reduce the oxygen concentration in this space.

[0034] 1, a diffusion prevention plate 33 protruding in the X direction from the opening 30a is provided on the side of the lamp house 30 where the stage 40 (workpiece W) is carried in. The diffusion prevention plate 33 is a member that prevents the diffusion of nitrogen gas ejected from the gas ejection mechanism 50 when the stage 40 (workpiece W) is carried in from a non-irradiation position to an irradiation position of ultraviolet light. The shape of the diffusion prevention plate 33 is not limited to the shape shown in FIG. 1, and may be any shape that can prevent the diffusion of nitrogen gas ejected from the gas ejection mechanism 50 as described above. By providing the diffusion prevention plate 33 on the side where the stage 40 (workpiece W) is carried in, the diffusion prevention plate 33 closes the top of the stage 40 before the stage 40 (workpiece W) reaches the ultraviolet irradiation position. Therefore, before the stage 40 (workpiece W) reaches the ultraviolet irradiation position, the nitrogen gas ejected from the gas ejection mechanism 50 is more likely to accumulate in the space above the workpiece W, and the oxygen concentration in that space can be reduced.

[0035] The diffusion prevention plate 33 may be provided at both ends in the X direction of the lamp house 30. In this case, for example, the width in the X direction of the housing including the lamp house 30 and the diffusion prevention plate 33 may be larger than the width in the X direction of the stage member including the stage 40 and the shielding plate 42. This results in a structure in which the housing (lamp house 30 and diffusion prevention plate 33) blocks the upper side of the stage member (stage 40 and shielding plate 42) at the irradiation position, making the space between the excimer lamp 20 and the workpiece W into an even more substantially closed space. As a result, the oxygen concentration in the space can be more easily reduced.

[0036] An example of an ultraviolet irradiation treatment method in the ultraviolet treatment device 10 will be described below. First, the workpiece W is placed on the stage 40 at a mounting position for the workpiece W (for example, a non-irradiation position set on the left side of the lamp house 30 in FIG. 1). At this time, nitrogen gas is not being ejected from the gas ejection mechanism 50. When the workpiece W is placed on the stage 40, the stage 40 starts transporting the workpiece W, and moves the workpiece W from the non-irradiated position toward the irradiated position, to the right in Fig. 1. Simultaneously with the start of transport, the gas ejection mechanism 50 starts ejecting nitrogen gas.

[0037] When the workpiece W reaches the irradiation position, the stage 40 stops transporting the workpiece W, and the excimer lamp 20 emits ultraviolet rays. As a result, ultraviolet irradiation processing is performed on the workpiece W at the irradiation position. When the ultraviolet irradiation process is completed, the excimer lamp 20 stops emitting ultraviolet rays. Then, the stage 40 starts transporting the workpiece W, moving the workpiece W from the irradiation position to the non-irradiation position. At this time, the workpiece W may be moved leftward in FIG. 1 to return to the workpiece W mounting position, or may be moved rightward in FIG. 1 to proceed to another processing step.

[0038] Furthermore, after the ultraviolet irradiation process is completed, the excimer lamp 20 stops emitting ultraviolet rays, and then the gas injection mechanism 50 stops injecting nitrogen gas before starting to transport the workpiece W, or the gas injection mechanism 50 may stop injecting nitrogen gas after the workpiece W is transported from the irradiation position to a non-irradiation position. In this manner, the ultraviolet irradiation process for the workpiece W is carried out.

[0039] Here, the case of fixed irradiation in which the workpiece W is stopped at the irradiation position and irradiated with ultraviolet light has been described. However, for example, when the width of the workpiece W in the X direction is larger than the width of the ultraviolet light irradiation area in the X direction, or when it is desired to irradiate the side surface of the workpiece W with ultraviolet light, moving irradiation in which the workpiece W is irradiated with ultraviolet light while moving (passing the irradiation position) may be performed. In this case, the stage 40 may move at high speed until the workpiece W reaches the irradiation position, and then may shift to low speed movement when the ultraviolet irradiation process starts at the irradiation position. After the ultraviolet irradiation process is completed, the stage 40 may shift to high speed movement again to return the workpiece W to the non-irradiation position.

[0040] 1 and 2, the gas ejection mechanism 50 is configured to spray nitrogen gas from both sides in the Y direction of the workpiece W on the stage 40, but the gas ejection mechanism 50 may be configured to spray nitrogen gas from one side in the Y direction of the workpiece W on the stage 40. In other words, the gas ejection mechanism 50 may be disposed on one side of the workpiece W in the Y direction and eject nitrogen gas toward the other side. 4, a gas retention plate 52 may be provided at a position facing the gas injection mechanism 50 in the Y direction to block the nitrogen gas injected from the gas injection mechanism 50 and cause the nitrogen gas to accumulate around the workpiece W. The gas retention plate 52 is, for example, a plate-shaped member, and the width of the gas retention plate 52 in the X direction may be set to be equal to the width of the gas injection mechanism 50 in the X direction, for example.

[0041] Furthermore, in the above-described ultraviolet treatment device 10, the gas injection mechanism 50 is attached to the stage 40, but the gas injection mechanism 50 may also be attached to the lamp house 30. An ultraviolet treatment device 10A in this case is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. The gas ejection mechanism 50 is attached to the lamp house 30 via a holding member 53. For example, the holding member 53 can be a plate-shaped member as shown in FIG. 7. The holding members 53 are arranged spaced apart from one another in the Y direction and are attached to straddle the opening 30a of the lamp house 30. The gas ejection mechanism 50 is fixed to the surface of the holding member 53 opposite to the surface facing the excimer lamp 20. In this case, the gas ejection mechanism 50 ejects nitrogen gas into the space in front of the excimer lamp 20 along the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp 20 regardless of the position of the workpiece W to be processed.

[0042] Here, the separation distance in the Y direction of the holding members 53 is greater than the width in the Y direction of the workpiece W placed on the stage 40, and the gas ejection mechanisms 50 eject nitrogen gas in directions facing each other. In other words, the gas ejection mechanisms 50 are arranged opposite each other in the Y direction with the workpiece W at the irradiation position in between, and spray nitrogen gas from both sides in the Y direction of the workpiece W at the irradiation position.

[0043] In this way, when the gas ejection mechanism 50 is attached to the lamp house 30, the diffusion prevention plate 33 as shown in Fig. 1 is not necessary. However, even when the gas ejection mechanism 50 is attached to the lamp house 30, the diffusion prevention plate 33 may be attached to the lamp house 30. If the diffusion prevention plate 33 is attached to the side of the lamp house 30 where the stage 40 is carried in, it is possible to prevent the nitrogen gas ejected from the gas ejection mechanism 50 from diffusing upward outside the lamp house 30. Therefore, when the stage 40 (workpiece W) is carried in from a non-irradiation position to an irradiation position of ultraviolet light, the nitrogen gas can be accumulated in the space above the workpiece W, and the oxygen concentration in that space can be reduced. Furthermore, if the diffusion prevention plates 33 are attached to both sides of the lamp house 30 in the X direction, as described above, the housing (lamp house 30 and diffusion prevention plates 33) can block the upper side of the stage member (stage 40 and shielding plate 42), making it easier to reduce the oxygen concentration in the space between the excimer lamp 20 and the workpiece W.

[0044] 1 and 2, the case has been described in which only the space between the excimer lamp 20 and the workpiece W is locally purged with nitrogen, and no nitrogen purging is performed inside the lamp house 30. However, as in the case of an ultraviolet treatment device 10A shown in FIG. 5, a configuration in which nitrogen purging is performed inside the lamp house 30 may also be used. The ultraviolet treatment device 10A includes a blow tube 35 disposed above the excimer lamp 20 in the lamp house 30. The blow tube 35 supplies an inert gas (e.g., nitrogen gas) to the space above the excimer lamp 20. The inert gas released from the blow tube 35 flows along the tube wall of the excimer lamp 20 and flows out from the opening 30a of the lamp house 30. An exhaust mechanism 36 is provided below the stage 40 (on the opposite side of the stage 40 from the lamp house 30), and the inert gas released from the blow tube 35 and flowing out from the opening 30a of the lamp house 30 is exhausted from the exhaust mechanism 36 as exhaust air.

[0045] As described above, the ultraviolet treatment apparatus 10 in this embodiment includes the excimer lamp 20, the lamp house 30 that houses the excimer lamp 20, and the stage 40 that transports the workpiece W. Here, the lamp house 30 has an opening 30a through which ultraviolet light emitted from the excimer lamp 20 is extracted. The stage 40 transports the workpiece W to a position facing the opening 30a of the lamp house 30 and at an irradiation position where ultraviolet light from the excimer lamp 20 is irradiated, with the transport direction being a direction (X direction) perpendicular to the longitudinal direction (Y direction) of the excimer lamp 20.

[0046] The ultraviolet treatment device 10 in this embodiment is equipped with a gas injection mechanism 50 that injects an inert gas (e.g., nitrogen gas) along the longitudinal direction (Y direction) of the excimer lamp 20 into the space between the excimer lamp 20 and the workpiece W at the irradiation position. Here, the gas ejection mechanism 50 may be provided on the stage 40 and eject nitrogen gas along the surface of the workpiece W placed on the stage 40, or may be provided on the lamp house 30 and eject nitrogen gas along the surface of the workpiece W moved to the irradiation position by the stage 40.

[0047] In this way, nitrogen gas is ejected into the space between the excimer lamp 20 and the workpiece W at the irradiation position, so the oxygen concentration in the space can be appropriately reduced. Specifically, the oxygen concentration in the space can be reduced to 3% or less. In the ultraviolet treatment device 10 of this embodiment, where the distance (irradiation gap) from the light extraction surface of the excimer lamp 20 to the surface of the stage 40 is about 9 mm, if ultraviolet irradiation treatment is performed in an air atmosphere (oxygen concentration 21%) in the space between the excimer lamp 20 and the workpiece W, ultraviolet attenuation is large and a long treatment time is required. By lowering the oxygen concentration in the space between the excimer lamp 20 and the workpiece W, the attenuation of ultraviolet light can be suppressed and the treatment time can be shortened.

[0048] Here, the gas ejection mechanisms 50 are arranged opposite to each other in the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp 20, sandwiching the workpiece W at the irradiation position, and can eject nitrogen gas in directions opposite to each other. In this way, by arranging the gas ejection mechanisms 50 facing each other on both sides of the workpiece W, nitrogen gas can be appropriately supplied to the space between the excimer lamps 20 and the workpiece W, and the oxygen concentration in that space can be reliably reduced. Furthermore, by arranging the gas ejection mechanisms 50 facing each other on both sides of the workpiece W and configuring the gas ejection mechanisms 50 to eject nitrogen gas from both sides of the workpiece W, interference between the gas ejection mechanisms 50 and the workpiece W being transported by the stage 40 can be appropriately prevented.

[0049] Furthermore, the gas ejection mechanism 50 may be disposed on one side of the workpiece W at the irradiation position in the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp 20, and may eject nitrogen gas toward the other side. In this case, by providing a gas retention plate 52 that blocks the nitrogen gas ejected from the gas ejection mechanism 50 at a position facing the gas ejection mechanism 50 across the workpiece W at the irradiation position in the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp 20, the nitrogen gas can be appropriately retained in the space between the excimer lamp 20 and the workpiece W, and the oxygen concentration in the space can be reliably reduced.

[0050] Furthermore, a shielding plate 42 can be provided on at least a portion of the outer periphery of the stage 40. By providing the shielding plate 42 on the stage 40 in this way, it is possible to block the flow of gas between the internal space of the lamp house 30 and the space on the opposite side of the lamp house 30 with the stage 40 in the irradiation position in between (the space below the stage 40 in this embodiment). This makes it easier to reduce the oxygen concentration in the space between the excimer lamp 20 and the workpiece W. This point will be described in detail below.

[0051] Fig. 8 is a diagram showing the airflow in the lamp house 30 of the ultraviolet treatment device 10 in this embodiment, and Fig. 9 is a diagram showing the airflow in the lamp house 30 of an ultraviolet treatment device 110 as a first comparative example that does not have a shielding plate 42. In the ultraviolet treatment device 110 shown in Fig. 9, parts having the same configuration as the ultraviolet treatment device 10 shown in Fig. 8 are assigned the same reference numerals as those of the ultraviolet treatment device 10.

[0052] As shown in Figures 8 and 9, when lamp house 30 has air intake hole 31 and exhaust hole 32, a flow of air 61 is generated inside lamp house 30, which is introduced through air intake hole 31 and exhausted through exhaust hole 32. This wind 61 is introduced into the lamp house 30 through the intake hole 31, flows along the peripheral surface of the excimer lamp 20, and then flows in a direction away from the workpiece W and is exhausted through the exhaust hole 32. Therefore, the wind 61 is unlikely to flow into the space 60 between the excimer lamp 20 and the workpiece W.

[0053] 8, when the shielding plate 42 is provided on the stage 40, the stage members (stage 40 and shielding plate 42) can be used to close the opening 30a of the lamp house 30 as described above, thereby reducing the amount of outside air that enters the lamp house 30 from outside through the opening 30a into the lamp house 30. In the case of the ultraviolet treatment device 10 shown in FIG. 8, the only outside air that enters the lamp house 30 from outside through the opening 30a into the lamp house 30 is a slight breeze 62 that is introduced through a gap between the lamp house 30 and the shielding plate 42. Therefore, gases such as the atmosphere are less likely to flow into the space 60 between the excimer lamp 20 and the workpiece W, and the oxygen concentration in the space 60 can be more easily reduced by blowing nitrogen using the gas ejection mechanism 50. Furthermore, the provision of the shielding plate 42 prevents the nitrogen gas ejected from the gas ejection mechanism 50 from diffusing, allowing the oxygen concentration in the space 60 to be more appropriately reduced.

[0054] On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 9, if the shielding plate 42 is not provided on the stage 40, outside air is likely to enter the lamp house 30 from the outside through the opening 30a. In the ultraviolet treatment device 110, cooling air introduced into the lamp house 30 through the intake holes 31 is sucked out from the lamp house 30 and discharged through the exhaust holes 32. Therefore, the force of the exhaust from the exhaust holes 32 tends to draw outside air in the space below the stage 40 into the lamp house 30, causing a flow of air 63 to occur near the stage 40, i.e., near the workpiece W, as shown in FIG. Therefore, gas such as the atmosphere easily flows into the space 60 between the excimer lamp 20 and the workpiece W, making it difficult to reduce the oxygen concentration in the space 60.

[0055] In this embodiment, a shielding plate 42 is provided on the outer periphery of the stage 40, thereby blocking the flow of gas from the space below the stage 40 to the internal space of the lamp house 30 and preventing wind from flowing near the workpiece W. Here, if the width in the X direction of the stage member consisting of the stage 40 and the shielding plate 42 is made larger than the width in the X direction of the opening 30a of the lamp house 30, the flow of the gas can be appropriately blocked, making it easier to reduce the oxygen concentration in the space 60.

[0056] The same applies to the case where nitrogen purge is performed inside the lamp house 30 as in the ultraviolet treatment device 10A shown in FIG. Fig. 10 is a diagram showing the airflow in the lamp house 30 of the ultraviolet treatment device 10A, and Fig. 11 is a diagram showing the airflow in the lamp house 30 of an ultraviolet treatment device 110A as a second comparative example that does not have a shielding plate 42. In the ultraviolet treatment device 110A shown in Fig. 11, parts having the same configuration as the ultraviolet treatment device 10A shown in Fig. 10 are assigned the same reference numerals as those of the ultraviolet treatment device 10A.

[0057] As shown in Figure 10, when a blow tube 35 that sprays inert gas is provided above the excimer lamp 20 inside the lamp house 30, the inert gas released from the blow tube 35 flows along the tube wall of the excimer lamp 20 and flows out from the opening 30a of the lamp house 30. At this time, because the shielding plate 42 is provided on the stage 40, the inert gas emitted from the blow tube 35 and flowing along the tube wall of the excimer lamp 20 is guided by the shielding plate 42 and flows along the shielding plate 42. In other words, the inert gas emitted from the blow tube 35 becomes airflow 64 that flows in a direction away from the workpiece W. Therefore, no airflow occurs near the workpiece W. Therefore, nitrogen gas is likely to accumulate in the space 60 between the excimer lamp 20 and the workpiece W due to the nitrogen blown from the gas ejection mechanism 50, and the oxygen concentration in the space 60 can be easily reduced.

[0058] On the other hand, as shown in Figure 11, when a shielding plate 42 is not provided on the stage 40, the inert gas emitted from the blow tube 35 and flowing along the tube wall of the excimer lamp 20 tends to flow near the stage 40, i.e., near the workpiece W. In the ultraviolet treatment device 110A, the inert gas emitted from the blow tube 35 is sucked out and discharged by an exhaust mechanism 36 disposed below the stage 40. Therefore, due to the exhaust force of the exhaust mechanism 36, the inert gas in the internal space of the lamp house 30 becomes wind 65 that flows near the stage 40, i.e., near the workpiece W, and is discharged from the exhaust mechanism 36.

[0059] In this way, if there is a constant flow of wind 65 near the workpiece W, the nitrogen gas ejected from the gas ejection mechanism 50 is less likely to accumulate in the space 60 between the excimer lamp 20 and the workpiece W, making it difficult to reduce the oxygen concentration in the space 60. As in this embodiment, by providing a shielding plate 42 on the outer periphery of the stage 40, the flow of gas from the internal space of the lamp house 30 to the space below the stage 40 can be blocked, and the formation of wind flow near the workpiece W can be appropriately prevented.

[0060] In the above embodiment, the case where the shielding plate 42 is provided on the stage 40 having a size equivalent to that of the workpiece W has been described, but the stage 40 may have a width in the X direction greater than the width in the X direction of the opening 30a of the lamp house 30. In this case, the area of the stage 40 on which the workpiece W is not placed corresponds to the shielding plate.

[0061] Furthermore, the ultraviolet treatment device 10 in this embodiment can spray nitrogen gas from the gas spray mechanism 50 at least while the workpiece W is being transported by the stage 40 from a non-irradiation position to an irradiation position, and while ultraviolet rays are being irradiated onto the workpiece W at the irradiation position. In this way, instead of starting to blow nitrogen by the gas injection mechanism 50 after the workpiece W is transported to the irradiation position, the gas injection mechanism 50 blows nitrogen while the workpiece W is being transported. Therefore, the oxygen concentration can be lowered to a certain degree in advance in the space above the stage 40 when the gas injection mechanism 50 is provided on the stage 40, or in the space in front of the excimer lamp 20 when the gas injection mechanism 50 is provided in the lamp house 30. This allows the takt time to be shortened.

[0062] Furthermore, in the ultraviolet treatment apparatus 10 of this embodiment, a diffusion prevention plate 33 can be provided on the side of the lamp house 30 in the X direction where the stage 40 is carried in. By providing the diffusion prevention plate 33 on the lamp house 30 in this manner, it is possible to prevent the nitrogen gas ejected from the gas ejection mechanism 50 provided on the stage 40 from diffusing above the stage 40 when the stage 40 is carried in to the ultraviolet irradiation position from the lamp house 30. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately reduce the oxygen concentration on the surface of the workpiece W to be treated before the workpiece W reaches the irradiation position. This point will be described in detail below.

[0063] Fig. 12 is a diagram showing the flow of air while the object to be irradiated W is being transported in the ultraviolet treatment device 10 of this embodiment, and Fig. 13 is a diagram showing the flow of air while the object to be irradiated W is being transported in an ultraviolet treatment device 110' that does not have a diffusion prevention plate 3. In the ultraviolet treatment device 110' shown in Fig. 13, parts having the same configuration as the ultraviolet treatment device 10 shown in Fig. 12 are assigned the same reference numerals as those in the ultraviolet treatment device 10.

[0064] 12, in the case where the lamp house 30 is provided with the diffusion prevention plate 33, when nitrogen gas is sprayed by the gas spray mechanism 50 while the workpiece W is being transported toward the irradiation position, the nitrogen gas remains in the space between the stage member (stage 40 and shielding plate 42) and the diffusion prevention plate 33. In other words, a flow of wind 66 is generated above the stage 40. This allows the workpiece W to be carried into the irradiation position with the oxygen concentration on the surface of the workpiece W lowered to a certain degree.

[0065] 13, when the lamp house 30 is not provided with the diffusion prevention plate 33, the upper part of the stage 40 is open, and therefore when nitrogen gas is ejected by the gas ejection mechanism 50 while the workpiece W is being transported toward the irradiation position, the nitrogen gas diffuses above the stage 40. In other words, a flow of wind 67 is generated above the stage 40. In this case, the workpiece W is brought into the irradiation position without decreasing the oxygen concentration on the surface of the workpiece W. This results in a long processing time for the ultraviolet irradiation process (ultraviolet irradiation time).

[0066] As in this embodiment, by providing the diffusion prevention plate 33 on the side of the lamp house 30 in the X direction where the stage 40 is carried in, it is possible to support the reduction of the oxygen concentration on the surface of the workpiece W until the workpiece W is carried to the irradiation position. Therefore, the workpiece W can be carried to the irradiation position with the oxygen concentration on the surface of the workpiece W reduced to a certain extent, and the ultraviolet irradiation process can be performed with the oxygen concentration appropriately reduced. Here, the diffusion prevention plate 33 can be a plate-like member that protrudes in the X direction from the opening 30a of the lamp house 30. By providing the diffusion prevention plate 33 at the lower end of the lamp house 30 in this way, the distance between the diffusion prevention plate 33 and the stage 40 can be minimized, so that the nitrogen gas ejected from the gas ejection mechanism 50 can be appropriately retained on the surface of the workpiece W, and the oxygen concentration can be appropriately reduced.

[0067] The diffusion prevention plate 33 is not limited to a configuration that protrudes in the X direction from the opening 30a, which is the lower end of the lamp house 30. The diffusion prevention plate 33 may have any configuration that can prevent the diffusion of the nitrogen gas ejected from the gas ejection mechanism 50, and may, for example, protrude in the X direction from a side wall portion of the lamp house 30 above the opening 30a.

[0068] As described above, the ultraviolet treatment device 10 in this embodiment can make the space between the excimer lamp 20 and the workpiece W a space with an appropriately low oxygen concentration, and can reliably perform ultraviolet irradiation treatment on the workpiece W in a short period of time. 14 is a diagram showing the processing time of the ultraviolet irradiation processing in the ultraviolet treatment device 10. Here, a case will be described in which the surface of the workpiece W is modified by ultraviolet irradiation processing to improve hydrophilicity.

[0069] 14, the horizontal axis represents the ultraviolet irradiation time (sec), the vertical axis represents the contact angle (°) after ultraviolet irradiation, and the solid line A represents the experimental results for the ultraviolet treatment device 10 of this embodiment. Note that the dashed line B represents the experimental results for the ultraviolet treatment device 110 shown in FIG. 9, which does not have the gas ejection mechanism 50 and the diffusion prevention plate 33, and the dotted line C represents the experimental results for the ultraviolet treatment device 110A shown in FIG. 11, which does not have the gas ejection mechanism 50. As described above, with the ultraviolet treatment device 10 of this embodiment, the contact angle is equal to or less than the reference value (target value) of 15° when the irradiation time slightly exceeds 2 seconds, and it is clear that the treatment time can be reduced to less than half compared with the ultraviolet treatment device 110' of Fig. 13 and the ultraviolet treatment device 110A of Fig. 11. In other words, with the ultraviolet treatment device 10 of this embodiment, it is clear that the ultraviolet rays emitted from the excimer lamps 20 reach the workpiece W without being absorbed by oxygen in the space between the excimer lamps 20 and the workpiece W, and the surface modification treatment is performed appropriately.

[0070] In the above embodiment, as shown in Fig. 15 and Fig. 16, a light-transmitting window member 30c may be provided at the opening 30a of the lamp house 30 so as to close the opening 30a. Here, Fig. 15 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of an ultraviolet treatment device 10' in which the window member 30c is provided in the ultraviolet treatment device 10 shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 16 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of an ultraviolet treatment device 10A' in which the window member 30c is provided in the ultraviolet treatment device 10A shown in Fig. 5. In this case, the space between the excimer lamp 20 and the window member 30c becomes the space inside the lamp house 30 blocked by the window member 30c, and the gas ejected from the gas ejection mechanism 50 does not flow in. On the other hand, the space between the window member 30c and the workpiece W becomes a low-oxygen environment due to the gas ejected from the gas ejection mechanism 50. Therefore, the space between the excimer lamp 20 and the workpiece W can be made into a space with an appropriately low oxygen concentration.

[0071] Furthermore, as in an ultraviolet treatment device 10A″ shown in FIG. 17, an inert gas supply port 30d and an inert gas exhaust port 30e may be provided on the side surfaces of the lamp house 30 (a pair of side surfaces facing each other in the direction (X direction) perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp 20). The ultraviolet treatment device 10A'' shown in Figure 17 is a modified example of the ultraviolet treatment device 10A' shown in Figure 16, and has the same configuration as the ultraviolet treatment device 10A' shown in Figure 16, except that it has the above-mentioned inert gas supply port 30d and inert gas exhaust port 30e instead of the blow tube 35 in the ultraviolet treatment device 10A', and has a plurality of excimer lamps 20. Note that the number of excimer lamps 20 is not limited to the number shown in Figure 17. By flowing nitrogen gas as an inert gas through the inert gas supply port 30d and the inert gas exhaust port 30e, the oxygen concentration inside the lamp house 30 can be reduced, the transmittance of vacuum ultraviolet light in the space between the lamp house 30 and the window member 30c can be increased, and the vacuum ultraviolet light can be irradiated more efficiently through the window member 30c. The space between the window member 30c and the workpiece W becomes a low-oxygen environment due to the gas ejected from the gas ejection mechanism 50. Therefore, the space between the excimer lamp 20 and the workpiece W can be made into a space with an appropriate low oxygen concentration.

[0072] The ultraviolet treatment apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made. For example, the ultraviolet treatment device may be one in which the excimer lamps are arranged so that their longitudinal directions extend in a direction other than the horizontal direction. Furthermore, the structure of the lamp house is not limited to the structures shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 5, but can be determined as appropriate. [Explanation of symbols]

[0073] 10...ultraviolet treatment device, 20...excimer lamp, 30...lamp house, 30a...opening, 31...intake hole, 32...exhaust hole, 33...diffusion prevention plate, 34...power cable, 35...blow tube, 36...exhaust mechanism, 40...stage, 41...moving mechanism, 42...shielding plate, 50...gas ejection mechanism, 51...gas ejection port, 52...gas retention plate, 53...holding member, W...object to be treated

Claims

1. An excimer lamp a lamp house that houses the excimer lamp and has an opening through which ultraviolet light emitted from the excimer lamp is extracted; a stage on which the object to be processed is placed; a moving mechanism that moves the stage, on which the object to be treated is placed, in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp as a transport direction from a non-irradiation position where the object to be treated is not irradiated with the ultraviolet light to an irradiation position that faces the opening of the lamp house and where the surface of the object to be treated is irradiated with the ultraviolet light; a gas ejection mechanism having a gas ejection port disposed near the surface of the stage transported to the irradiation position, and disposed at a position spaced apart in a direction along the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp from the workpiece placed on the stage transported to the irradiation position, and configured to eject an inert gas along the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp into a space between the excimer lamp and the workpiece at the irradiation position; The gas ejection mechanism includes: a nozzle provided on the stage for ejecting the inert gas along the surface of the workpiece placed on the stage; An ultraviolet treatment device characterized in that the inert gas is ejected at least while the object to be treated placed on the stage is being transported by the moving mechanism from a non-irradiation position where the ultraviolet rays are not irradiated to the irradiation position, and while the object to be treated placed on the stage at the irradiation position is being irradiated with the ultraviolet rays.

2. An excimer lamp a lamp house that houses the excimer lamp and has an opening through which ultraviolet light emitted from the excimer lamp is extracted; a stage on which the object to be processed is placed; a moving mechanism that moves the stage, on which the object to be treated is placed, in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp as a transport direction from a non-irradiation position where the object to be treated is not irradiated with the ultraviolet light to an irradiation position that faces the opening of the lamp house and where the surface of the object to be treated is irradiated with the ultraviolet light; a gas ejection mechanism having a gas ejection port disposed near the surface of the stage transported to the irradiation position, and disposed at a position spaced apart in a direction along the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp from the workpiece placed on the stage transported to the irradiation position, and configured to eject an inert gas along the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp into a space between the excimer lamp and the workpiece at the irradiation position; The gas ejection mechanisms are arranged opposite each other in the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp, sandwiching the object to be treated at the irradiation position, and eject the inert gas in directions opposite each other.

3. An excimer lamp a lamp house that houses the excimer lamp and has an opening through which ultraviolet light emitted from the excimer lamp is extracted; a stage on which the workpiece is placed; a moving mechanism that moves the stage, on which the object to be treated is placed, in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp as a transport direction from a non-irradiation position where the object to be treated is not irradiated with the ultraviolet light to an irradiation position that faces the opening of the lamp house and where the surface of the object to be treated is irradiated with the ultraviolet light; a gas ejection mechanism having a gas ejection port disposed near the surface of the stage transported to the irradiation position, and disposed at a position spaced apart in a direction along the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp from the workpiece placed on the stage transported to the irradiation position, and configured to eject an inert gas along the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp into a space between the excimer lamp and the workpiece at the irradiation position; the gas ejection mechanism is disposed on one side of the workpiece at the irradiation position in the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp, and ejects the inert gas toward the other side; An ultraviolet treatment device characterized by having a gas retention plate that blocks the inert gas sprayed from the gas spray mechanism, located in a position opposite the gas spray mechanism across the workpiece at the irradiation position in the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp.

4. An excimer lamp a lamp house that houses the excimer lamp and has an opening through which ultraviolet light emitted from the excimer lamp is extracted; a stage on which the workpiece is placed; a moving mechanism that moves the stage, on which the object to be treated is placed, in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp as a transport direction from a non-irradiation position where the object to be treated is not irradiated with the ultraviolet light to an irradiation position that faces the opening of the lamp house and where the surface of the object to be treated is irradiated with the ultraviolet light; a gas ejection mechanism having a gas ejection port disposed near the surface of the stage transported to the irradiation position, and disposed at a position spaced apart in a direction along the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp from the workpiece placed on the stage transported to the irradiation position, and configured to eject an inert gas along the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp into a space between the excimer lamp and the workpiece at the irradiation position; An ultraviolet treatment device characterized by comprising a shielding plate on at least a portion of the outer periphery of the stage on which the workpiece is placed, which shields the flow of gas between the internal space of the lamp house and the space on the opposite side of the lamp house across the stage at the irradiation position.

5. 5. The ultraviolet treatment apparatus according to claim 4, wherein a width of a stage member made up of the stage and the shielding plate in the transport direction is larger than a width of the opening of the lamp house in the transport direction.

6. An excimer lamp a lamp house that houses the excimer lamp and has an opening through which ultraviolet light emitted from the excimer lamp is extracted; a stage on which the workpiece is placed; a moving mechanism that moves the stage, on which the object to be treated is placed, in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp as a transport direction from a non-irradiation position where the object to be treated is not irradiated with the ultraviolet light to an irradiation position that faces the opening of the lamp house and where the surface of the object to be treated is irradiated with the ultraviolet light; a gas ejection mechanism having a gas ejection port disposed near the surface of the stage transported to the irradiation position, and disposed at a position spaced apart in a direction along the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp from the workpiece placed on the stage transported to the irradiation position, and configured to eject an inert gas along the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp into a space between the excimer lamp and the workpiece at the irradiation position; a diffusion prevention plate provided at least on the side of the lamp house where the stage is carried in in the transport direction, for preventing the inert gas ejected from the gas ejection mechanism from diffusing; The gas ejection mechanism ejects the inert gas at least while the workpiece placed on the stage is being transported by the moving mechanism from a non-irradiation position where the ultraviolet rays are not irradiated to the irradiation position, and while the workpiece placed on the stage at the irradiation position is being irradiated with the ultraviolet rays.

7. 7. The ultraviolet treatment apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the diffusion prevention plate protrudes from the opening of the lamp house in the transport direction.

8. The gas ejection mechanism includes: The inert gas is ejected along the surface of the workpiece placed on the stage, which is provided in the lamp house and moved to the irradiation position by the moving mechanism, and 8. The ultraviolet treatment apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the inert gas is ejected at least while the object to be treated placed on the stage is being transported by the moving mechanism from a non-irradiation position where the ultraviolet rays are not irradiated to the irradiation position, and while the object to be treated placed on the stage at the irradiation position is being irradiated with the ultraviolet rays.

9. 6. The ultraviolet treatment apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the gas ejection mechanism ejects the inert gas at least while the object to be treated placed on the stage is being transported by the moving mechanism from a non-irradiation position where the ultraviolet rays are not irradiated to the irradiation position, and while the object to be treated placed on the stage at the irradiation position is being irradiated with the ultraviolet rays.

10. a step of transporting a stage on which an object to be processed is placed, in a transport direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp, from a non-irradiation position where the object to be processed is not irradiated with ultraviolet light emitted from the excimer lamp to an irradiation position where the object to be processed is irradiated with the ultraviolet light; a step of ejecting an inert gas along the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp from a gas ejection mechanism that is provided on the stage, has a gas ejection port located near the surface of the stage transported to the irradiation position, and is located at a position spaced apart in a direction along the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp from the workpiece placed on the stage transported to the irradiation position; and performing an ultraviolet irradiation process on the object to be treated by irradiating the object with the ultraviolet light at the irradiation position, In the step of spraying the inert gas, the inert gas is sprayed along the surface of the workpiece placed on the stage, and the inert gas is sprayed at least while the workpiece placed on the stage is being transported by the moving mechanism from a non-irradiation position where the ultraviolet rays are not irradiated to the irradiation position, and while the ultraviolet rays are irradiated onto the workpiece placed on the stage at the irradiation position.

11. a step of transporting a stage on which an object to be processed is placed, in a transport direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp, from a non-irradiation position where the object to be processed is not irradiated with ultraviolet light emitted from the excimer lamp to an irradiation position where the object to be processed is irradiated with the ultraviolet light; a step of ejecting an inert gas along the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp from a gas ejection mechanism that is provided on the stage, has a gas ejection port located near the surface of the stage transported to the irradiation position, and is located at a position spaced apart in a direction along the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp from the workpiece placed on the stage transported to the irradiation position; and performing an ultraviolet irradiation process on the object to be treated by irradiating the object with the ultraviolet light at the irradiation position, In the step of ejecting the inert gas, the inert gas is ejected in opposing directions from gas ejection mechanisms arranged opposite each other across the object to be treated at the irradiation position in the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp.

12. a step of transporting a stage on which an object to be processed is placed, in a transport direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp, from a non-irradiation position where the object to be processed is not irradiated with ultraviolet light emitted from the excimer lamp to an irradiation position where the object to be processed is irradiated with the ultraviolet light; a step of ejecting an inert gas along the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp from a gas ejection mechanism that is provided on the stage, has a gas ejection port located near the surface of the stage transported to the irradiation position, and is located at a position spaced apart in a direction along the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp from the workpiece placed on the stage transported to the irradiation position; and performing an ultraviolet irradiation process on the object to be treated by irradiating the object with the ultraviolet light at the irradiation position, In the step of ejecting the inert gas, the inert gas is ejected from a gas ejection mechanism arranged on one side of the workpiece at the irradiation position in the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp toward the other side, and the inert gas ejected from the gas ejection mechanism is blocked by a gas retention plate arranged in a position opposite the gas ejection mechanism across the workpiece at the irradiation position in the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp.

13. a step of transporting a stage on which an object to be processed is placed, in a transport direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp, from a non-irradiation position where the object to be processed is not irradiated with ultraviolet light emitted from the excimer lamp to an irradiation position where the object to be processed is irradiated with the ultraviolet light; a step of ejecting an inert gas along the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp from a gas ejection mechanism that is provided on the stage, has a gas ejection port located near the surface of the stage transported to the irradiation position, and is located at a position spaced apart in a direction along the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp from the workpiece placed on the stage transported to the irradiation position; and performing an ultraviolet irradiation process on the object to be treated by irradiating the object with the ultraviolet light at the irradiation position, In the step of ejecting the inert gas, a shielding plate is provided on at least a portion of the outer periphery of the stage on which the workpiece is placed, to block the flow of gas between the internal space of a lamp house that houses the excimer lamp and has an opening for extracting ultraviolet light emitted from the excimer lamp and the space on the opposite side of the lamp house across the stage at the irradiation position.

14. a step of transporting a stage on which an object to be processed is placed, in a transport direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp, from a non-irradiation position where the object to be processed is not irradiated with ultraviolet light emitted from the excimer lamp to an irradiation position where the object to be processed is irradiated with the ultraviolet light; a step of ejecting an inert gas along the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp from a gas ejection mechanism that is provided on the stage, has a gas ejection port located near the surface of the stage transported to the irradiation position, and is located at a position spaced apart in a direction along the longitudinal direction of the excimer lamp from the workpiece placed on the stage transported to the irradiation position; and performing an ultraviolet irradiation process on the object to be treated by irradiating the object with the ultraviolet light at the irradiation position, In the step of ejecting the inert gas, the inert gas ejected from the gas ejection mechanism is prevented from diffusing by a diffusion prevention plate provided on the side of the lamp house, which houses at least the excimer lamp and has an opening for extracting ultraviolet light emitted from the excimer lamp, where the stage is carried in the transport direction, and the inert gas is ejected at least while the object to be treated placed on the stage is being transported by the moving mechanism from a non-irradiation position where the ultraviolet light is not irradiated to the irradiation position, and while the object to be treated placed on the stage at the irradiation position is being irradiated with the ultraviolet light.

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