Substrate Water-Repellent Gas Flow for Uniform Surface Treatment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing substrate processing methods face challenges in ensuring the entire substrate surface is effectively made water repellent, particularly at the lower parts, due to insufficient supply of water repellent agents as the liquid layer descends, leading to incomplete water repellency and potential collapse of surface patterns.
Innovation Solution
A substrate processing apparatus with a processing tank, holder, organic solvent supply, drainage port, gas supply, and exhaust port is designed to immerse substrates in an aqueous layer, replace surface water with an organic solvent, and supply a water repellent gas to the descending liquid layer, ensuring uniform water repellency across the substrate surface through a downward flow of the water repellent agent facilitated by strategically positioned exhaust ports.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the liquid layer of organic solvent descends to replace water on the substrate surface, then water is effectively replaced and surface patterns are protected, but the supply of water repellent agent becomes insufficient especially at lower parts of the substrate
Solution Approach 1:
The water repellent agent is supplied in advance before the organic solvent liquid layer descends to replace water. This preliminary supply ensures that the substrate surface, including lower parts, is adequately coated with the water repellent agent before water removal begins, preventing insufficient supply during the descent process.
Solution Approach 2:
The system maintains continuous supply of water repellent agent throughout the process. The gas supply unit continues to supply the water repellent agent even as the organic solvent liquid layer descends, ensuring uninterrupted coverage and maintaining effective concentration at all levels of the substrate throughout the entire water replacement process.
2Manufacturing precision
If more water repellent agent is supplied to ensure complete coverage, then uniform water repellency is achieved, but the amount of water repellent agent needed increases
Solution Approach 1:
By supplying the water repellent agent before the water replacement process begins, the substrate surface is pre-coated efficiently. This preliminary action ensures uniform distribution without requiring excessive amounts of the agent, as the coating is established before water removal creates conditions that would require additional agent to maintain coverage.
Solution Approach 2:
The organic solvent liquid layer itself serves as a carrier and delivery mechanism for the water repellent agent during its descent. As the liquid layer moves down the substrate, it naturally distributes the water repellent agent uniformly across the surface, eliminating the need for additional agent to achieve complete coverage.
3Productivity
If the liquid layer descends quickly to improve throughput, then processing time is reduced, but uniform water repellency cannot be maintained especially at lower parts
Solution Approach 1:
The water repellent agent supply is maintained continuously throughout the entire descent process. Even as the organic solvent liquid layer moves quickly down the substrate to improve throughput, the continuous supply ensures that the descending liquid layer remains saturated with the water repellent agent, maintaining uniform coverage at all speeds.
Solution Approach 2:
The organic solvent liquid layer acts as an intermediary carrier that transports the water repellent agent uniformly during descent. This intermediary mechanism ensures that regardless of descent speed, the water repellent agent is evenly distributed along the entire path of the liquid layer, maintaining uniformity even during rapid processing.
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
This approach reduces the amount of water repellent agent required, improves throughput by allowing the substrate to be made water repellent and dried efficiently, and ensures the entire substrate surface is uniformly treated, preventing pattern collapse and enhancing processing effectiveness.
Implementation Method 1
an organic solvent with a lower density than water is supplied onto an aqueous layer in which a substrate is immersed, thereby forming a liquid layer of the organic solvent
Implementation Method 2
a gas supply of water repellent agents is used to ensure uniform water repellency across the substrate
Implementation Method 3
an exhaust port ensuring continuous downward flow of the water repellent gas to maintain effective coverage
Data Source
AI summary
A substrate processing apparatus includes a processing tank, a holder, an organic solvent supply, a drainage port, a gas supply, and an exhaust port. The processing tank stores an aqueous layer. The holder holds a substrate. The organic solvent supply supplies an organic solvent onto the aqueous layer to form a liquid layer of the organic solvent. The drainage port discharges the aqueous layer from a bottom wall of the processing tank and causes the liquid layer of the organic solvent to descend from above the substrate to below the substrate. The gas supply supplies a gas of a water repellent agent to the liquid layer from above the processing tank while the liquid layer descends. The exhaust port is exposed on a side wall of the processing tank by the descending of the liquid layer and discharges the gas of the water repellent gas.