TW201322359A - Substrate delivery method - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention is to provide a substrate delivery method which allows a substrate to be mounted on a mounting table in such a flat manner and makes it difficult for abnormal discharge to occur on the substrate when the substrate is lifted up from the mounting table by releasing the sucking due to an electrostatic chuck. A substrate delivery method includes: a substrate mounting step of mounting a substrate G from a middle part of the substrate G on a substrate mounting surface 4c by moving down the substrate G supported above the substrate mounting surface 4c by a first lifting pin 8a and a second lifting pin 8b located at a lower position than the first lifting pin 8a; a step of performing plasma processing of the substrate G by sucking the substrate G mounted on the substrate mounting surface 4c by an electrostatic chuck 41; and a substrate separation step of separating the substrate G from the substrate mounting surface 4c by releasing the sucking due to the electrostatic chuck after the plasma processing is terminated, and supporting the substrate G with the first lifting pin 8a and the second lifting pin 8b set at the same height.

Description

Substrate receiving method

This invention relates to a substrate receiving method for feeding a substrate to a mounting table.

In an FPD manufacturing apparatus, a solar cell manufacturing apparatus, or the like, a large-sized glass substrate is subjected to plasma treatment such as etching or film formation in a processing chamber, and thus a transport device for carrying the glass substrate into the processing chamber and moving out of the processing chamber is provided. . In this conveyance device, a glass substrate is supported by a robot arm that can advance and retreat, and can be carried in and out between the processing chamber and the processing chamber. In the processing chamber, the mounting table on which the glass substrate is placed is provided, and the lifting pin that can be protruded from the substrate mounting surface of the mounting table can be instructed to enter the substrate between the robot arm and the mounting table in the processing chamber. .

When the glass substrate picked up by the lift pin from the robot arm is placed on the mounting table, when the lift pins are supported at the same height in the peripheral portion and the center portion, since the glass substrate has flexibility, the glass substrate is flexible. A part of the recess supported by the lift pin of the center portion forms a space between the substrate mounting surface of the mounting table and the glass substrate when the glass substrate is placed on the mounting table.

In order to prevent the formation of such a space, the substrate is placed in a uniform contact with the mounting table, and the glass substrate is supported by the glass substrate in which the height of the lift pin of the peripheral portion is higher than that of the center portion. The technique of placing on the substrate mounting surface of the mounting table in a state where the substrate mounting surface is curved and convex.

Furthermore, in Patent Document 1, even if it is lifted from the mounting table in reverse At the same time, the lift pins of the peripheral portion are first protruded, and the glass substrate is lifted while the glass substrate is bent toward the substrate mounting surface. Suppress the shaking of the glass substrate.

[Previous Technical Literature]

[Patent Literature]

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2008-60285

However, while the glass substrate is placed on the mounting table and subjected to the plasma treatment, the glass substrate is adsorbed by the electrostatic chuck provided on the mounting table, and after the plasma treatment, the static electricity is not sufficiently removed even after the electrostatic adsorption is released. At the time, there is a case where the glass substrate is charged. Therefore, when the glass substrate is lifted from the mounting table when the adsorption is released, when the glass substrate is lifted in a state of being bent toward the substrate mounting surface, the charge charged by the entire glass substrate moves to the portion that is still in contact, and finally The electric charge is concentrated on the central portion of the glass substrate having a small contact area, and a large electric field is formed between the glass substrate and the substrate mounting surface, which may cause abnormal discharge.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a substrate that can be placed in a flexible manner by uniformly contacting the substrate with the flexible substrate, and to release the substrate from the mounting table by the adsorption of the electrostatic chuck, and to prevent the substrate from being abnormally discharged. Method of award.

A substrate receiving method according to one aspect of the invention is a mounting table disposed in a processing chamber for plasma-treating a flexible substrate, and having an electrostatic chuck that adsorbs the substrate by electrostatic adsorption The substrate receiving method is characterized in that the mounting table includes a substrate mounting surface on which the substrate is placed, and a substrate mounting surface that can be protruded and retracted to support a peripheral portion of the substrate a lift pin and a second lift pin that can protrude from the substrate mounting surface and support the center portion of the substrate, wherein the substrate is placed above the mounting surface of the substrate by the first lift pin And the substrate supported by the second lift pins lower than the position of the first lift pins is lowered, and the substrate is placed on the substrate mounting surface from the central portion of the substrate to the substrate mounting surface; The chuck sucks the substrate placed on the substrate mounting surface to perform plasma processing on the substrate; and after the plasma treatment is completed, the adsorption by the electrostatic chuck is released. Said first and said second lift pins lift pins become the same height above the supporting substrate, and the substrate projects out from the substrate surface opposite from the above-described substrate.

According to the invention, it is possible to provide a substrate which can make the substrate difficult to generate abnormal discharge when the flexible substrate is uniformly contacted to the mounting table and the substrate is lifted from the mounting table by the adsorption of the electrostatic chuck. Receiving method.

Embodiments of the invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The same reference numerals are given to the same parts throughout the drawings.

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of a substrate processing apparatus capable of performing a substrate receiving method according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view in a planar direction. In this example, a plasma etching apparatus is shown as an example of a substrate processing apparatus.

As shown in Fig. 1, the plasma etching apparatus 1 is a capacitive coupling type parallel plate plasma etching apparatus which etches a flexible substrate such as a glass substrate (hereinafter referred to as a substrate) G for FPD production. And it is composed. A liquid crystal display (LCD), an electroluminescence (EL) display, a plasma display panel (PDP), and the like are exemplified as the FPD.

The plasma etching apparatus 1 is provided with a processing chamber (hereinafter referred to as a chamber) 2 as a processing container for accommodating the substrate G. The chamber 2 is made of, for example, aluminum whose surface is treated with anodized aluminum (anodized), and is formed into a rectangular tube shape in accordance with the shape of the substrate G.

A carrier 4 as a mounting table on which the substrate G is placed is provided on the bottom wall in the chamber 2. The carrier 4 is formed in a square plate shape or a column shape corresponding to the shape of the substrate G, has a base material 4a made of a conductive material such as metal, and is disposed on the bottom of the base material 4a and the bottom surface of the chamber 2. Between the insulating members 4b. A power supply line 23 for supplying high-frequency power is connected to the base material 4a, and a matching unit 24 and a high-frequency power source 25 are connected to the power supply line 23. High-frequency power from the high-frequency power source 25, for example, 13.56 MHz, is applied to the carrier 4, whereby the carrier 4 functions as a lower electrode.

Further, the carrier 4 is provided with an electrostatic chuck 41 that adsorbs the substrate G placed by electrostatic adsorption. The electrostatic chuck 41 is provided on the upper portion of the substrate 4a, and is composed of a dielectric body and an internal electrode 42 provided inside the dielectric body. A power source 43 that applies a voltage to the internal electrode 42 is connected to the internal electrode 42 via a switch 44 that turns on/off the application of a voltage.

In the upper portion or the upper wall of the chamber 2, a shower head 11 that supplies a processing gas to the chamber 2 and functions as an upper electrode is provided in a direction facing the carrier 4. The shower head 11 has a gas diffusion space 12 in which a processing gas is diffused, and a plurality of discharge holes 13 for discharging a processing gas on the lower surface or on the surface opposite to the carrier 4. The shower head 11 is grounded to form a pair of parallel plate electrodes together with the carrier 4.

A gas introduction port 14 is provided on the upper surface of the shower head 11, and a gas supply port 15 is connected to the process gas supply pipe 15, and a process gas supply source is connected to the process gas supply pipe 15 via a valve 16 and a mass flow controller 17. 18. The processing gas for etching is supplied from the processing gas supply source 18. As the processing gas, a halogen-based gas, an O ₂ gas, an Ar gas, or the like can be used, and a gas which is generally used in the field is used.

An exhaust pipe 19 is connected to the bottom wall of the chamber 2, and an exhaust device 20 is connected to the exhaust pipe 19. The exhaust device 20 is provided with a vacuum pump such as a turbo molecular pump, and accordingly, the inside of the chamber 2 can be evacuated to a specific decompression atmosphere. In the side wall of the chamber 2, a loading/unloading port 21 (see FIG. 2) for loading and unloading the substrate G is formed, and a gate valve 22 for opening and closing the loading/unloading port 21 is provided, and when the loading/unloading port 21 is opened, The substrate G is transported from the transport arm 40 as a transport member (see FIGS. 2 and 4). When the lower side is supported, it is conveyed between the mounting lock chambers (not shown) adjacent to the loading/unloading port 21 and the gate valve 22.

The bottom wall of the chamber 2 and the carrier 4 are formed with the insertion holes 7a, 7b extending through the peripheral portion of the carrier 4 and the central portion (the inner or the center of the peripheral portion). . The insertion hole 7a is, for example, a total of eight places in which the respective sides are formed at two intervals with a predetermined interval therebetween, and the insertion holes 7b are arranged in parallel with one side of the opposite side of the carrier 4, for example, at a predetermined interval. It is formed in two places. The insertion holes 7a and 7b are inserted into the lift pins 8a (first lift pins) and 8b (the second lift pins) that are supported by the support substrate G from below to be inserted and contracted so that the substrate mounting surface 4c of the carrier 4 can be protruded and retracted. ). Each of the lift pins 8a and 8b is provided so as to abut against the peripheral edge portion and the central portion of the substrate G when protruding, and the positioning bushing (not shown) is inserted into the insertion hole 7a by being positioned in the radial direction or the wide direction. Within 7b.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a substrate mounting mechanism.

As shown in FIG. 3, the lift pins 8a and 8b each protrude to the outer side of the chamber 2, and the lower end portion is connected to the drive portions 9a and 9b, and is driven up and down by the drive portions 9a and 9b to constitute a pair of carriers. The substrate mounting surface 4c of 4 protrudes and retracts. Each of the drive units 9a and 9b is configured using, for example, a stepping motor.

A flange 26 is formed at each of lower portions of the lift pins 8a and 8b, and one end portion (lower end portion) of the telescopic telescopic tube 27 provided to surround the lift pins 8a and 8b is connected to each flange 26, and the bellows 27 is The other end portion is connected to the bottom wall of the chamber 2 (upper end portion). Accordingly, the bellows 27 expands and contracts following the lifting and lowering of the lift pins 8a, 8b, and seals the insertion holes 7a, 7b and the lift pins 8a. , 8b gap.

The driving of the driving units 9a and 9b is individually controlled by a controller 31 including a microprocessor (computer), and the lifting pin 8a and the lifting pin 8b are configured to be independently movable up and down. The controller 31 is connected to a keyboard including a keyboard for inputting an instruction by the engineering manager to manage the driving of the driving units 9a and 9b, or a display for visually displaying the driving conditions of the driving units 9a and 9b. The interface 32 and the memory portion 33 for storing a recipe for controlling a program for driving the driving portions 9a, 9b or driving condition data under the control of the controller 31 are stored. Then, according to the instruction from the user interface 32, an arbitrary recipe is called from the memory unit 33, and the controller 31 is executed. Accordingly, the driving of the driving units 9a, 9b is performed under the control of the controller 31. And stop. The above recipe can be utilized by being stored in a state of a computer readable memory medium such as a CD-ROM, a hard disk, a flash memory or the like, or transmitted from another device via, for example, a dedicated return line.

The controller 31, the user interface 32, and the memory unit 33 constitute a control unit that controls the elevation of the lift pins 8a and 8b by the drive units 9a and 9b, the carrier 4, the lift pins 8a and 8b, and the drive units 9a and 9b. And the control unit constitutes a substrate mounting mechanism.

Next, a substrate receiving method according to an embodiment will be described.

4(A) to 4(F) are schematic cross-sectional views showing an example of a substrate receiving method according to an embodiment.

First, the gate valve 22 shown in Fig. 2 is opened and the carry-out port 21 is opened, and the transport robot 40 is carried into the substrate G from the loading/unloading port 21, and is moved. Shipped above the carrier 4. Next, each of the lift pins 8a and 8b is raised to protrude higher than the transport robot 40. Accordingly, the substrate G is transferred from the transfer robot arm 40 to the lift pins 8a and 8b. Further, each of the lift pins 8a and 8b is disposed so as not to be in contact with the transport robot 40.

At this time, the position of the front end of the lift pin 8b of the center portion of the support substrate G is made lower than the position of the front end of the lift pin 8a of the peripheral edge portion of the support substrate G. For example, in the example shown in Fig. 4(A), the height Hc of the substrate mounting surface 4c from the front end of the lift pin 8b is lower than the height H _E of the substrate mounting surface 4c from the front end of the lift pin 8a. In this way, the lift pins 8a and 8b are supported by the lift pins 8a and 8b in a state where the substrate G is bent downward in a convex shape above the substrate mounting surface 4c.

Then, the positional relationship between the front ends of the lift pins 8a and 8b is not changed, and the lift pins 8a and 8b are lowered, and the lift pins 8b and the lift pins 8a are retracted to the substrate mounting surface 4c of the carrier 4. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4(B) to FIG. 4(C), the substrate G is placed on the substrate mounting surface 4c from the central portion of the substrate G toward the peripheral edge portion of the substrate G. At this time, since the load of the substrate G is uniformly dispersed in the respective lift pins 8a and 8b, the deformation of the substrate G due to the supporting reaction force of the lift pins 8a and 8b, in particular, the deformation of the central portion caused by the lift pins 8b is The suppression can be made in full or almost complete contact with the substrate mounting surface 4c of the carrier 4.

Then, when the loading/unloading port 21 is closed by the gate valve 22, when the substrate G is placed on the carrier 4, the switch 44 of the electrostatic chuck 41 is turned on, and a DC voltage is applied from the power source 43 to the internal electrode 42 to adsorb the substrate G. On the carrier 4. At the same time, the chamber 2 is evacuated to a specific state by the exhaust device 20. The degree of vacuum. Next, the flow rate of the process gas is adjusted from the process gas supply source 18 by the mass flow controller 17, and supplied to the chamber 2 through the process gas supply pipe 15, the gas introduction port 14, and the shower head 11. Next, high-frequency power is applied from the high-frequency power source 25 to the carrier 4 via the integrator 24, and a high-frequency electric field is generated between the carrier 4 as the lower electrode and the shower head 11 as the upper electrode. The process gas in chamber 2 is plasmated. The substrate G is subjected to, for example, an etching treatment by a plasma of a processing gas (see FIG. 4D).

Next, when the etching process of the substrate G is completed, the switch 44 is turned off, and the DC voltage is stopped from being applied to the internal electrode 42, and the adsorption by the electrostatic chuck 41 is released (see FIG. 4E).

Then, the height H _E of the substrate mounting surface 4c from the front end of the lift pin 8a is the same as the height Hc of the substrate mounting surface 4c from the front end of the lift pin 8b, and each protrudes from the insertion holes 7a and 7b and supports The substrate G is separated from the substrate mounting surface 4c. Thereafter, in particular, although not shown, the transfer robot 40 is inserted below the substrate G, and the lift pins 8a and 8b are lowered. Accordingly, the transfer of the substrate G is completed by transferring the substrate G from the lift pins 8a and 8b to the transfer robot 40.

When the substrate G is attached to the substrate mounting surface 4c from the lift pins 8a and 8b, the front end of the lift pin 8b at the center portion of the support substrate G is used when the substrate G is attached to the substrate mounting surface 4c. The height Hc is lower than the height H _E of the front end of the lift pin 8a of the peripheral portion of the support substrate G. In this manner, the substrate G is supported by the lift pins 8a and 8b while being bent by gravity to be convex toward the substrate mounting surface 4c. Since the substrate G is placed from the central portion of the substrate mounting surface 4c toward the peripheral portion, the recess of the central portion of the substrate formed by the lift pins 8b at the center of the support substrate remains, and the substrate G and the substrate mounting surface 4c remain. A space is generated therebetween, whereby the substrate G and the substrate mounting surface 4c can be prevented from being in non-contact portions, and the substrate G can be received onto the substrate in a state where it is in full or nearly uniform contact with the substrate mounting surface 4c. Set face 4c.

When the substrate G is lifted from the substrate mounting surface 4c to the lift pins 8a and 8b by the electrostatic chuck 41, the height Hc of the front end of the lift pin 8b of the center portion of the support substrate G and the support substrate are released. The height H _E of the front end of the lift pin 8a of the peripheral portion of G becomes the same height. In this way, the substrate G can detach the substrate G from the substrate mounting surface 4c in a comprehensive or almost uniform manner. Therefore, when the lift pin 8a is separated from the peripheral edge portion of the substrate G toward the center portion from the substrate mounting surface 4c, the final contact area with the substrate mounting surface 4c can be suppressed from being locally small. As a result of suppressing a local decrease in the final contact area, it is possible to suppress the charge which is charged in the substrate G from being concentrated on the contact portion and cause abnormal discharge on the substrate G, and in particular, the substrate G which is in contact with the substrate mounting surface 4c and charged with charges is moved and concentrated. An abnormal discharge occurs in the central portion.

According to this, when the substrate receiving method according to the embodiment is employed, the electrostatic chuck 41 capable of placing the flexible substrate G uniformly in contact with the carrier 4 can be obtained, and the electrostatic chuck can be released by the electrostatic chuck. When the substrate G is lifted from the electrostatic chuck 41 of the carrier 4 by the adsorption of 41, the substrate G can be prevented from being abnormally discharged.

Furthermore, when the substrate G after the electrostatic adsorption is lifted is lifted, an abnormal discharge occurs. The possibility of electricity increases with the size of the substrate G. In this system, the larger the size of the substrate G, the greater the absolute amount of charge that cannot be completely removed from the back surface of the substrate G, and the electric field generated when the charge is concentrated at the final contact point.

For example, as schematically shown in the schematic diagram of the substrate G bending associated with the reference example of FIG. 5, when the substrate G is lifted from the peripheral portion, one of the central portions of the most concave portion of the substrate G becomes the final contact. C. Therefore, when there are residual charges e and h remaining on the back surface of the substrate G in such a manner that the power cannot be completely removed, the residual charges e and h are accumulated and accumulated in the final contact portion C. It is expected that if the absolute amount of residual charge accumulated in the final contact portion C is large and becomes a sufficient amount of discharge, the discharge is almost surely caused.

In this regard, according to the embodiment, as shown in the schematic diagram of Fig. 6, the heights of the front ends of the lift pins 8a and 8b are made the same, and the substrate G is lifted. Therefore, the substrate G is bent between the lift pins 8a and 8b by the supporting reaction force of the lift pins 8a, 8b. That is, in one embodiment, not one of the substrates G is bent, and the plural portions of the substrate G can be bent. As a result of bending the plurality of substrates G, the final contact C can be dispersed to a plurality of places. Therefore, if there is a residual charge remaining without being completely de-energized, the residual charge is dispersed to a plurality of final contact points C and accumulated. As a result of dispersing the residual charge in the complex number, the absolute amount of residual charge accumulated in the final contact C can be reduced as compared with the case where the final contact C is one. Accordingly, according to one embodiment, the absolute amount of residual charge accumulated in the final contact portion C can be reduced, and the probability that the amount of residual charge reaches a sufficient discharge amount can be suppressed to be low.

In this way, even when residual charge is present, the residual charge can be dispersed to one of the plurality of final contact portions C. It can be said that the larger the size of the substrate G, the higher the effect of suppressing abnormal discharge. When the size of the substrate G is 1320 mm × 1500 mm or more, a sufficient effect can be expected. The upper limit of the size is not particularly limited in view of the essence of the present invention, but the upper limit of the implementation is determined by the manufacturing technique of the substrate G and the plasma processing technique in the era.

Further, in the prior art as described above, even when the substrate G is lifted, the substrate G is bent to be supported downward to prevent the substrate from being shaken, so that the substrate G and the lift pins 8a, 8b are caused. When the substrate G is lifted when the height of the front end is the same, the substrate G is raised from the substrate mounting surface 4c when the substrate G is lifted from the substrate mounting surface 4c when the height of the front end of the lift pin 8a is higher than the lift pin 8b. The possibility that the shaking of the substrate G becomes large.

Thus, the possibility that the sway of the substrate G becomes large can be released by suppressing the rising speed of the lift pins 8a and 8b to be slow.

In the above, the invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Furthermore, in the embodiment of the invention, the above-described embodiment is not the only embodiment.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the plurality of lift pins 8b are provided in the center portion of the support substrate G, and for example, two are provided as shown in Fig. 2, but the lift pins 8b may be provided.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the RIE type capacitive coupling type flat plate electric paste suitable for applying high frequency power to the lower electrode is used. The example of the etching apparatus is described, but the invention is not limited thereto, and can be applied to other plasma processing apparatuses such as ashing, CVD film formation, and the like, and can be applied to a plasma processing apparatus in which a substrate is placed on a mounting table and processed. A general substrate processing apparatus other than the one.

Further, in the above embodiment, an example of a glass substrate suitable for FPD is described, but it can be applied to a flexible general substrate other than the glass substrate for FPD.

Others can be applied to various deformations.

G‧‧‧Substrate

2‧‧‧Processing chamber

4‧‧‧Carrier

4c‧‧‧Substrate mounting surface

8a‧‧‧Supporting the lift pin of the peripheral part

8b‧‧‧Supporting the lift of the central department

41‧‧‧Electrostatic suction cup

Fig. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of a substrate processing apparatus including a substrate mounting mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the planar direction of the substrate processing apparatus shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a substrate mounting mechanism.

Fig. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of a substrate receiving method according to an embodiment.

Fig. 5 is a schematic view schematically showing the bending of the substrate G in relation to the reference example.

Fig. 6 is a schematic view showing the bending of the substrate G according to an embodiment.

G‧‧‧Substrate

4‧‧‧Carrier

4a‧‧‧Substrate

4b‧‧‧Insulating components

4c‧‧‧Substrate mounting surface

8a‧‧‧Supporting the lift pin of the peripheral part

8b‧‧‧Supporting the lift of the central department

24‧‧‧matcher

25‧‧‧High frequency power supply

40‧‧‧Handling robot

41‧‧‧Electrostatic suction cup

42‧‧‧Internal electrodes

43‧‧‧Power supply

44‧‧‧ switch

Claims (2)

A substrate receiving method for receiving a substrate placed in a processing chamber for plasma-treating a flexible substrate and having an electrostatic chuck that adsorbs the substrate by electrostatic adsorption The mounting method is characterized in that the mounting table includes a substrate mounting surface on which the substrate is placed, and a first lift pin that can protrude and retract to the substrate mounting surface to support a peripheral portion of the substrate, and The substrate mounting surface is protruded and retracted, and the second lift pin supporting the central portion of the substrate includes: the substrate is placed above the substrate mounting surface, and the first lift pin and the first lift pin are a substrate supported by the second lifting pin having a low position is lowered, and the substrate is placed on the substrate mounting surface from the central portion of the substrate to the substrate mounting surface; and the substrate is placed on the substrate by electrostatic chuck adsorption a process of plasma-treating the substrate on the substrate; and, after the plasma treatment is completed, releasing the adsorption by the electrostatic chuck to cause the first lift pin and the upper The second lift pins become the same height above the supporting substrate, and the substrate projects out from the substrate surface opposite from the above-described substrate. The substrate receiving method according to claim 1, wherein the substrate detachment system has the first lift pin and the second lift pin at the same height, and the substrate having the flexibility is restored. The plurality of portions are bent downward to be convex, and the substrate is detached from the substrate mounting surface.