Substrate Treating Apparatus Nozzle Impact Inspection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for inspecting impact points of discharge liquids from nozzles in substrate treating apparatuses are hindered by unclear borders of water streams due to lighting reflections from substrate patterns, making it difficult to determine whether the impact points are normal.
Innovation Solution
A substrate treating apparatus equipped with an imaging unit to photograph the loci of discharge liquids and an inspection unit that calculates impact points and determines their normalcy by synthesizing images, performing distance distortion correction, and converting the coordinate system to polar coordinates for comparison with threshold values.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If conventional template matching is used to inspect impact points, then the inspection method is simple, but the impact point borders become unclear due to lighting reflections from substrate patterns
Solution Approach 1:
The inspection process is divided into multiple sequential steps: photographing the substrate, synthesizing images to enhance discharge liquid visibility, pre-processing to correct distortions, and calculating impact points. This segmentation allows each step to address specific problems independently, resolving the contradiction between simplicity and accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
Image synthesis and pre-processing serve as intermediary steps between photographing and impact point calculation. These intermediaries enhance the discharge liquid images and correct distortions, enabling accurate impact point detection despite lighting reflections from substrate patterns.
2Measurement precision
If multiple image processing steps are performed to achieve accurate impact point inspection, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The image processing unit performs multiple functions including photographing, image synthesis, pre-processing, and impact point calculation within a single integrated system. This multi-functionality achieves high measurement precision while avoiding the need for separate complex devices for each processing step.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the substrate's own patterns and the discharge liquids' optical properties to enhance detection. By synthesizing images to highlight discharge liquids and using the substrate patterns as reference, the system achieves accurate impact point inspection without requiring external complex equipment.
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 apparatus effectively inspects the normalcy of impact points regardless of substrate patterns, preventing process accidents due to changes in flow rates or nozzle distortions, and ensuring accurate discharge of liquids onto the substrate.
Implementation Method 1
an imaging unit that photographs loci of the one or more discharge liquids discharged from the plurality of nozzles
Implementation Method 2
an image synthesizing unit that synthesizes a plurality of images captured by the imaging unit
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a substrate treating apparatus. The substrate treating apparatus includes an imaging unit that photographs loci of the one or more discharge liquids discharged from the plurality of nozzles, and an inspection unit that calculates impact points of the one or more discharge liquids discharged from the plurality of nozzles and determines whether the impact points of the one or more discharge liquids discharged from the plurality of nozzles are normal. The inspection unit includes an image synthesizing unit that synthesizes a plurality of images captured by the imaging unit, a pre-processing unit that pre-processes image data generated through the image synthesizing unit, and a calculation unit that calculates whether the impact points of the one or more discharge liquids discharged from the plurality of nozzles are normal by comparing the image data pre-processed by the pre-processing unit.