JPH06177109A - Centrifugal dryer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a centrifugal dryer which is downsized sufficiently even for a substrate having large diameter while shortening the drying time. CONSTITUTION:A substrate holding means 12 for holding a cleaned substrate 3 directly is disposed rotatably on a turn table 1 while being set such that the main surface of the substrate 3 is normal to the center of rotation 1a of the turn table 1 at the time of centrifugal drying operation.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a centrifugal drying device, and more particularly to a centrifugal drying device for drying a substrate by scattering water adhering to the surface of a substrate such as a cleaned silicon wafer by centrifugal force.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a centrifugal drying device of this type is known as shown in FIG.

This conventional centrifugal drying device is provided with a turntable 1 which is driven to rotate along a horizontal plane, and a plurality of cradle 2 mounted at appropriate positions on the outer peripheral portion of the turntable 1, and which is provided with silicon after washing. Substrate 3 such as wafer
Set the cassettes 4 which are arranged in such a manner that their main surfaces are parallel to each other and housed a plurality of them in the respective cradle 2 from above, and move the respective cradle 2 downward about the supporting shaft 5 along the vertical plane by 90 ^°. It is configured to rotate to maintain the main surface of each semiconductor substrate 3 in a horizontal state, that is, in a state orthogonal to the rotation center 1a of the turntable 1, and then rotate the turntable 1. An upper end of a spindle 6 is connected to the turntable 1, and a pulley 7 is fitted to the other end of the spindle 6. And
The belt 10 is wound around the other pulley 9 fitted to the output shaft of the motor 8 and this pulley 7, and the torque of the motor 8 is applied to the turntable 1 to be rotationally driven.

[0004]

In the above-mentioned conventional centrifugal drying apparatus, the cassette 4 having a relatively large occupied space as described above is used, and the cassettes 4 are dispersedly arranged on the turntable 1 having a large diameter. Therefore, there is a drawback that the entire apparatus must be upsized in order to use it for drying a silicon wafer having an increased diameter, for example, an 8-inch size silicon wafer.

In consideration of the drying of the cassette 4, the turntable 1 is rotated for a long time, and there is a demand for speeding up the drying.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, and provides a centrifugal drying apparatus which is sufficiently small for drying a large-diameter substrate and achieves shortening of the drying time. The purpose is to do.

[0007]

In a centrifugal dryer according to the present invention, a turntable, driving means for rotating the turntable, and a plurality of substrates are arranged so that their principal surfaces are parallel to each other. A substrate holding means which can be held and is movably attached to the turntable between a position where the main surface of the substrate to be held is in a state substantially orthogonal to the center of rotation of the turntable and another position; It is configured to include.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A centrifugal dryer as an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The centrifugal drying apparatus according to the present invention has the same configuration as that of the conventional apparatus shown in FIG. 9 except for the portions described below, and therefore the description of the apparatus as a whole will be omitted and only the main parts will be described. Further, in the following description, the same reference numerals are used for the same or corresponding components as those of the conventional centrifugal dryer.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the centrifugal dryer according to the present invention, for example, two cradle 12 as substrate holding means are mounted on the turntable 1.

The turntable 1 is surrounded by a casing 14 which is open at the top, and a lid 15 for opening and closing the opening is provided. Also, this lid 15
Is a hinge 17 on a frame 16 which constitutes the main body of the apparatus.
It is swingably attached (indicated by an arrow L) and is opened and closed by a driving force applied by a cylinder (not shown).

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 1. As is clear from the figures, the cradle 12 has a plurality of substrates 3 whose main surfaces are parallel to each other. Align and hold so that. Then, as shown by the solid line and the chain double-dashed line in FIG.
2 can be swung between a position where the main surface of the substrate 3 held by the substrate 3 is substantially orthogonal to the center of rotation 1a of the turntable 1 and another position which is substantially parallel (indicated by an arrow M in the figure).
It has become). In detail, the cradle 12 is fitted to the shaft 18 at its end, and the shaft 18 is provided with a cylinder as a positioning means for positioning the turntable 12 at the above-mentioned two positions.

The structure of the cradle 12 will be described in detail.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the cradle 1
Reference numeral 2 denotes a base portion that is composed of a frame-shaped main body 20 and a lid body 21 and is fixed to the shut 18, and each is formed in a substantially rod shape and is attached to the base portion so as to extend in the alignment direction of the substrate 3. It has, for example, six substrate holding members 23 that engage with the outer peripheral portion of the substrate 3 to receive them.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the substrate holding member 23 is formed in a substantially columnar shape. And each substrate 3
A plurality of receiving grooves 23a that can be engaged with the outer peripheral portion of the are arranged in parallel at equal pitches. Each of these receiving grooves 23
The cross-sectional shape of a is V-shaped. The substrate holding portion 23 has a circular cross section perpendicular to the direction in which the receiving grooves 23a are arranged. As is clear from FIG. 4, each receiving groove 23a is formed in a state where a part of the substrate holding member 23 is cut out, and the receiving groove 23a is formed.
Is the radius of the substrate 3 that engages with it (about 100 m / m)
Has a radius of curvature equal to.

As described above, the base portion of the cradle 12 is composed of the main body 20 and the lid 21 which is openably and closably attached to the main body 20 (shown by an arrow N in FIG. 1). The member 23 is provided on the lid 21 together with the main body 20. Then, when the lid 21 is in the closed position, the main body 20 and the substrate holding members 23 provided on the lid 21 cooperate with each other to hold the substrate 3. Since the substrate 3 is firmly held in this manner, the held substrate 3 is prevented from rattling.

The lid 21 includes a frame 26 fitted to a shaft 25 rotatably attached to the main body 20, a substrate holding member 23 itself attached to the frame 26 at one end thereof, The block 27 fixed to the other end of the substrate holding member 23. Although not shown, a cylinder for opening and closing the lid 21 is provided.

Next, the operation of the centrifugal dryer having the above structure will be described with reference to FIG.

First, the lid 15 provided on the casing 14 is opened by a cylinder that operates it. Then, by operating the other cylinders, each cradle 12 is swung upward to stand by, and the lid 21 included in the cradle 12 is also opened by a dedicated cylinder.

In this state, the transfer device 3 shown in FIG.
The substrate 3 to be dried by 2 is loaded into each cradle 12. Specifically, the transfer means 32 is moved closer as shown by an arrow a ₁ in FIG. 5, and then lowered as shown by an arrow a ₂ , so that the substrate 3 is stored in the cradle 12. Board 3
After storing, the transporting means 32 is raised as indicated by arrow a ₃ and is then moved away as indicated by arrow a ₄ . By repeating this series of operations, the substrates 3 are stored in all the cradle 12 on the turntable 1.

Next, various cylinders are operated to close the lids 21 of the cradle 12 and swing the cradle 12 downward, and further close the lid 15 on the casing 14. As the cradle 12 swings downward in this manner, the main surface of each substrate 3 held by the cradle 12 has its main surface at the rotation center 1a of the turntable 1.
(See FIG. 1). In this state, the turntable 1 is rotationally driven. As a result, a centrifugal force acts on each substrate 3 and the water adhering to the surface of the substrate 3 scatters.

When the moisture is sufficiently removed from the surface of each substrate 3, the turntable 1 is stopped. Then, the cradle 12 is swung upward, and the lids 21, 1
Open 5 In this state, as in the case of loading the substrate, the transport means 3
The dried substrate 3 in the cradle 12 is carried out by 2 and collected.

In the present embodiment, a columnar member is used as the substrate holding member 23 for holding the substrate 3, but a rectangular plate-shaped substrate holding member 33 as shown in FIGS. 6 to 8 is used. It goes without saying that it may be adopted.
7 and 8, reference numeral 33a is a receiving groove 33a for board engagement formed in the board holding member 23.
Is shown.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since the substrate is directly held by the substrate holding means and dried, the conventional cassette for storing the substrate is not necessary, and the size can be sufficiently reduced even for drying a large-diameter substrate. There is. Further, since the time required for drying the cassette, which has been conventionally required, can be shortened, the effect of quick drying can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a main part of a centrifugal drying apparatus as an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a side view of a substrate holding member that is a constituent member of a cradle included in the centrifugal dryer shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line BB in FIG.

FIG. 5 is an operation explanatory view of the centrifugal drying apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a modified example of the cradle included in the centrifugal drying device shown in FIG.

7 is a perspective view of a part of a substrate holding member provided on the cradle shown in FIG.

8 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the substrate holding member shown in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a conventional centrifugal drying device.

[Explanation of sign]

 1 Turntable 1a Rotation Center 3 Substrate 8 Motor 12 Cradle (Substrate Holding Member) 15, 21 Lid 18, 25 Shut 20 Main Body 23 Substrate Holding Member 23a Receiving Groove

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A turntable, a driving means for rotating the turntable, and a plurality of substrates can be aligned and held so that their principal surfaces are parallel to each other, and the principal surface of the substrates to be held is A centrifugal drying apparatus, comprising: a substrate holding means attached to the turntable so as to be movable between a position that is substantially orthogonal to the rotation center of the turntable and another position. 2. The substrate holding means and a base portion movably attached to the turntable and a base portion each formed in a substantially rod shape and attached to the base portion so as to extend in the alignment direction of the substrates. The centrifugal drying apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of substrate holding members that are arranged in a longitudinal direction and that are provided with a plurality of receiving grooves that are engaged with an outer peripheral portion of the substrate to receive them. 3. The base portion comprises a main body and a lid body attached to the main body so as to be openable and closable, the substrate holding member is provided on both the main body and the lid body, and the lid body is closed. The centrifugal drying apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the substrate holding members cooperate with each other to hold the substrate when in the position.