Guide Plate Cleaning via Inclined Grooves and Hydrophilic Patterns
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional substrate treatment apparatuses face challenges in effectively cleaning guide plates due to photoresist contamination and inefficient use of cleaning solutions, which leads to incomplete cleaning and excessive solution consumption.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus and method that incorporate a guide plate with an inclined outer part and grooves for collecting and reusing cleaning solutions, along with a controller to synchronize the supply of treatment and cleaning solutions, ensuring efficient cleaning of the guide plate during the substrate coating process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If cleaning solution is supplied to clean the guide plate, then cleaning effectiveness is improved, but cleaning solution consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The guide plate is designed with different surface characteristics in different regions: a hydrophilic region that promotes cleaning solution flow and a hydrophobic region that prevents excessive solution adhesion. This local differentiation of surface properties enables effective cleaning while reducing overall cleaning solution consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide plate structure itself facilitates the cleaning process by using its hydrophilic-hydrophobic pattern to automatically direct and control cleaning solution flow, reducing the need for external cleaning mechanisms and minimizing solution waste through self-regulating flow patterns.
2Area of stationary object
If cleaning solution flows along the guide plate slope, then cleaning coverage is improved, but solution reuse becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
A collection tray or container is introduced as an intermediary element to capture the cleaning solution after it flows down the guide plate slope. This mediator enables both comprehensive cleaning coverage through slope-driven flow and solution reuse by collecting and recycling the spent cleaning solution.
3Reliability
If cleaning is performed after photoresist coating, then guide plate contamination is removed, but cleaning difficulty increases due to photoresist solidification
Solution Approach 1:
A hydrophilic layer is pre-formed on the guide plate surface before photoresist coating. This preliminary surface treatment creates a surface that resists photoresist adhesion, allowing for easier removal of contaminants during subsequent cleaning operations without requiring aggressive cleaning methods.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution reduces the amount of cleaning solution required and ensures thorough cleaning of the guide plate by utilizing centrifugal force to direct cleaning solutions to hard-to-reach areas, improving the efficiency of the cleaning process.
Implementation Method 1
utilizing centrifugal force to flow cleaning solution onto the guide plate
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to an apparatus for treating a substrate. The apparatus for treating a substrate includes a cup having an inner space whose top is open, a supporting unit for supporting a substrate in the inner space, a guide plate provided to surround the supporting unit, a treatment solution supplying unit for supplying a treatment solution to an upper surface of the substrate supported by the supporting unit, and a cleaning solution supplying unit for supplying a cleaning solution to an upper surface of the guide plate.