Substrate Tray Gas Purging for Faster Supercritical Drying
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional substrate processing techniques face challenges in efficiently removing liquid films from the lower surface of substrates during supercritical processing, leading to prolonged processing times and potential defects due to residual liquids.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the use of pressurized gas to sweep away liquid from the lower surface of a substrate by introducing it into the gap between the substrate and the support tray within a sealed chamber, followed by supercritical processing to remove any remaining liquid.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the substrate is carried into the chamber while being placed on the support tray, then the substrate can be easily transported and positioned, but the liquid having entered the minute gap between the lower surface of the substrate and the support tray becomes difficult to discharge
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by introducing pressurized gas to the lower surface of the substrate before the supercritical fluid processing begins. This pre-treatment removes liquid from the gap between the substrate and support tray in advance, preventing the liquid from interfering with the subsequent processing. The gas introduction creates a flow that sweeps liquid out through discharge holes in the support tray, resolving the time loss issue while maintaining the ease of substrate handling on the tray.
2Ease of operation
If the substrate is carried into the chamber while being placed on the support tray, then the substrate can be easily transported and positioned, but liquid remains trapped in the gap causing defective processing results
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by introducing pressurized gas to the lower surface of the substrate before the supercritical fluid processing begins. This pre-treatment removes liquid from the gap between the substrate and support tray in advance, preventing the liquid from interfering with the subsequent processing. The gas introduction creates a flow that sweeps liquid out through discharge holes in the support tray, resolving the time loss issue while maintaining the ease of substrate handling on the tray.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies the extraction principle by removing the harmful liquid from the system before processing. The support tray is designed with discharge holes that allow the pressurized gas to extract and remove trapped liquid from the gap between the substrate and tray. This extraction of the harmful element (liquid) ensures that no defective processing results occur while maintaining the operational simplicity of using a support tray.
3Productivity
If pressurized gas is introduced to the lower surface of the substrate, then liquid removal is accelerated, but the chamber pressure increases before processing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies periodic action by separating the gas introduction step from the supercritical fluid processing step. The pressurized gas is introduced only during a preliminary liquid removal phase, then the gas supply is stopped before the actual processing begins. This temporal separation allows rapid liquid removal when needed while avoiding sustained high pressure during processing, thus improving productivity without compromising processing quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary action by introducing pressurized gas to the lower surface of the substrate before the supercritical fluid processing begins. This pre-treatment removes liquid from the gap between the substrate and support tray in advance, preventing the liquid from interfering with the subsequent processing. The gas introduction creates a flow that sweeps liquid out through discharge holes in the support tray, resolving the time loss issue while maintaining the ease of substrate handling on the tray.
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 significantly reduces the time required to remove residual liquids and prevents processing failures by promoting efficient liquid removal and maintaining substrate integrity.
Implementation Method 1
a gas flow due to a pressure gradient is created from a lower side toward an upper side of the support tray
Implementation Method 2
This gas flow also enters a gap between the substrate lower surface and the support tray and sweeps away the liquid adhering to the substrate lower surface
Implementation Method 3
processing the substrate by a supercritical processing fluid by introducing the supercritical processing fluid into the internal space
Data Source
AI summary
A substrate processing method according to this invention includes supporting a substrate having a liquid film on an upper surface substantially in a horizontal posture by placing the substrate on a flat plate-like support tray, accommodating the support tray into an internal space of a chamber and sealing the internal space, introducing a gas which is pressurized toward a gap space between a lower surface of the support tray and a bottom surface of the internal space, and processing the substrate by a supercritical processing fluid by introducing the supercritical processing fluid into the internal space. This makes it possible to shorten a time required to remove a liquid adhering to the lower surface of a substrate being carried into a chamber.